#and today i was like oh ive got to call them mom can you give me their phone number

[shownusfool]

parents overstepping boundaries!! we love to see it!! im gonna cry!! im so frustrated!! im so mad!! i don’t want to do this anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lunar-wandering]

im going to kill the canadian revenue agency website thing like for real

for the past like. 2?? 3?? hell maybe 4. years. ive been meant to be getting some amount of money from the government just cause that's a Thing They Do.

i have not gotten a single dollar. why? because my mail never made it to me, and since it got sent back to them, without double checking (the LEAST they could've done was send a verification email) they decided i wanted to swap over to an online account and started sending the money to said account.

an account which i do not have access to.

so i tried to get into it. the online account that everyone automatically has. they say they gotta send me a code for me to fully activate it.

i wait. the code does not arrive.

so then. these fuckers want me to CALL them. and go through a "press (number) if you need help with (thing)" but NONE OF THE THINGS ARE CLEARLY THE ONE I NEED HELP WITH. HELLO. IM AUTISTIC AND HAVE BAD PHONE ANXIETY. WHAT DO YOU EVEN DO FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T HEAR/USE A PHONE IN THIS SCENARIO BECAUSE IT SURE DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THERE WERE OPTIONS FOR THEM-

i hung up the first time i tried this cause my mom yelled at me for hesitating, reached over and pressed a number button WITHOUT MY PERMISSION before they could finish listing the options. i panicked cause what if that was the wrong one (there is a history of my parents clicking on the first link on a site they see when trying to help me set something up and ending up on the Entirely Wrong Page while im sitting there knowing full well what the right one was cause i actually Read All The Words On The Page), and proceeded to get yelled at for an hour for being immature and that i needed to grow up because everyone makes phonecalls. i have not tried to phone them again.

so now. today. my dad tries to get me to sign in to the account using my bank account that we recently set up. this could give me full access to that account + the likely hundreds of dollars in unclaimed money just sitting in there, without needing a phonecall.

and you know what it says??? after ive done the sign in and verified that it's me??

"you already have an account on this site. please use that one."

bitch ive CLEARLY clarified that this is ME. YOU VERY OBVIOUSLY CAN TELL THAT THIS IS ME SINCE I INPUTTED THE SAME INFORMATION TO MAKE YOU GO "OH, THIS PERSON ALREADY IS HERE". IS IT TRULY THAT HARD TO LINK THE TWO ACCOUNTS TOGETHER??? HEL-FUCKING-LO??? GET A FUCKING GODDAMN REALITY CHECK AND UPGRADE/FIX YOUR DAMN SITE CAUSE IM TIRED OF BOTH NOT GETTING THE MONEY IM SUPPOSED TO AND MY PARENTS BUGGING ME ABOUT IT.

[sugrhigh]

hey girl… imma give u a storytime cuz im going CRAZY

so me and this guy we work together, we have a seasonal job in the summer. we got really close real fast and we don’t exactly flirt like complement each other we like have a flirty banter if that makes sense? anyway i used to like him a lot but then the job ended and we didn’t really see each other that much but we still talk like daily so i kinda lost feelings. he also was talking to this other girl so i didn’t want to get in between them yk. but then we smoked together after not seeing each other for probably 2 months? then he told me ab how this girl is literally crazy and technically cheated on him even though they weren’t really dating. so then he goes “so as of today im a free man” and then we start talking about our sex history LMAO and then at the end of that convo he goes “i honestly thought me and you were gonna end up doing something” i literally DIED that was my confirmation that we both liked each other at one point ya know… so i replied saying something like “oh yeah same here” and he goes “yeah don’t you remember the rumours of us dating??” (i literally don’t and never heard of it) he was literally SOO SURE about it he was like “like 10 of our coworkers came up to me and asked if we were dating” im like oooookay whatever you say… (my friend is convinced he was “lying” to make something happen yk… i kinda think so too cuz i NEVER HEARD OF THAT RUMOUR. im also way closer with all the other coworkers because this guy im talking ab came into the job like during the last 2 months when i was there the whole time if that makes sense LMAO) so im like “oh really? i never heard anything ab that” and hes like “oh yeah it was crazy” and then it was like silent for a good minute and then all the sudden he goes “wanna makeout?” HOLYYYY FUCK I DIED BRO I FUCKING DIED so then we did and it was gooooooood until my fucking mom called and interrupted us… still mad ab it to this day. anyway that was all we did just makeout then i had to drop him off at home cuz he had work or something the next day, and i had a early flight the next day too LMAO.

so we never talked ab that AT ALL, and i get home from my vacation which was literally A WEEK. he’s texting me saying “girl i might have a gf soon” so im like oh! okay!!! great!!! and hes like “you have to hear the tea its so good” so then we hung out that night and he told me how he is now dating the best friend of the girl who cheated on him 😭😭 like okay king get it but i was kinda bummed that he sorta used me as a rebound but I honestly didn’t give a fuck and I didn’t let it hurt me. cuz i wasn’t gonna lose one of my best friends over stupid feelings ya knoww. so thats that NOW HERES THE GOOD PART.

me and him only ever hangout just us two or with our other coworkers. this weekend my girlfriends finally came home from uni and stuff so we obviously went out to bars lol, i was asking him to pick me up because we both live out in the country side of our town rather than the city ya know? so it was just easier that way, and it was supposed to be just me him and one of his friends but then my girls ride canceled on them so i asked if he could drive them home and he said yes. so now this the first time my friends have met him and like seen us together. keep in mind he still has that gf… the car ride was so fun all of us were laughing and we all got along very well. we drop off my one friend at her house and then he turns to me and is like “can we all come into your house i need to hit that bong” so im like yeah ofc duh and literally he wanted to get to my house SO BAD he didn’t even drop my other friend off, she was forced to stay the night at mine like 😭😭😭 anyway its the four of us now (me and my girlfriend, then him and his best friend) and we get to my house, i quickly change outta my bar clothes cuz fuck that then i go upstairs to see him at the top of the stairs and hes like “dude ive been WAITINGGGG lets fucking go” im like “what about our other friends dont they wanna smoke too?” And hes like “nahhh we need our time together” HELLO??!!! Died. so then we smoked blah blah our usual conversations and then we go back inside and all of us start playing mariokart. then they left cuz he was forcing me to go to bed so i could wake up and go to work in the morning 😭 but as soon as they left my girlfriend turned to me and was like “DUDEEEEE HE WANTS YOU SOOOO BAD” …. so now im going crazy 😀 mans has a fucking gf but is lowkey so flirty towards me and if my FRIENDS SAW THAT DURING THE FIRST TIME THEY MET HIM…. and the morning after i texted our girls gc and was like so guys am i going crazy or is there something here?? and they all replied with yes he wants you so bad bro. and my girlfriend apparently overheard him talking to his best friend and was like “me and my gf are fighting and shes literally crazy” so im like FUCKKKK LIKE WHAT DO I DO. and i think us 4 are gonna hangout again this weekend. so uh ill keep u updated if u want 😀 also sorry this is terribly long but IM GOING CRAZY AND I NEED HELP

OH MY GOD I AM SO INVESTED IN THIS PLS KEEP ME UPDATED MY SWEET LADY!!!!

he def sounds like he wants u in my humble opinion, i think whoever he’s dating now is the rebound from making out with YOU cuz it doesn’t seem like he likes her too much plus he jumped into it really quick. if yall hang out this weekend i would be a little extra flirty and see if maybe that inspires him to grow a pair and tell u how he feels

but always remember that no man is ever worth ur peace of mind so if he doesn’t sack up and be honest with you and his gf and himself….he can move to the back of the line!

[just-some-random-blogger]

hello, hottie-cutie!! good morning!! how did your live sound check go? 'wait you read genshin fanfics?' hm well.. these pretty boys.. also idk anything about ekaterina but the fact my name is in genshin?? 'i have met a bunch of hannahs in college' ive just imagined a bunch of yous looking at each other like in that spider-men meme TT 'we all call kitties in the ph mingming or muning' oooh it's cute. you can call me this hfjdjd if you want. we call cats with kiskis (hope you meant it bc idk if i got you right) 'i think it has to do with the sound they make' yeah ig every language has words that imitate animal's sounds but interpret them differently. it's a cute and amusing difference. 'i hate raising my voice' so true. since i only knew how my mom expressed anger through raising her voice, now i do it unintentionally?? so i try to just not talk.. i'm really proud of your good job at calming yourself and all. it's admirable. this world is too angry. 'i hate angriness so much.' so true. 'im so annoyed im making everything so long' it's totally fine. you have life beside tumblr and it like.. takes time. so everything's fine. take your time. it's not a job or some real responsibility to have strict deadlines. dont forget to enjoy it all! it's exciting to know youre writing modern au (ok can we say wfal? anything i'm running out of symbols TT). hope it's not overwhelming or too much. 'also ive been trying not to curse' curse *devil emoji* no but if it's your goal or kind of a challenge for yourself, i respect it and hope you'll do well. but cursing isnt really bad! it's a big part of language's vocabulary so i see it as a real crime to forbid it. 'i was checking to see if you sent me a message and i was like 'oh i didnt get a message today’ ghfjdkdj lol it's funny how i've been only sending you the message when (as i learned later) you had already got up. like it was 7:40 in philippines? 'pls dont forget i will always reply to you' TT arent you cute?? thanks TT love you TT i cant really help my anxiety but im trying to calm myself with your kind words, thanks for you patience TT 'OMG YES I GOT THE NEW CHARACTER LOOK' OMG congratulations!!! so happy for you! hes hot. rip for his weakness. yk men are just never enough, its not your fault. 'i only play it to kill the enemies and to explore AND TO GET CHARACTERS' respectable. ig enjoyment is the aim of playing games? so if you're satisfied with it it's perfect. i'm really lucky my bestie didn't continue to play genshin bc the last time she liked a game, she made me download phasmophobia... and my laptop was hardly even alive... 1) it wasnt hbo it was a fucking COMPLEX SUBSCRIPTION on a russian idk browser? it has its own system with the plenty of services including the one that gives access to hbo. it just was the one they offered me to try fro free TT 2) and they NEVER replied me. no im not crying. suddenly i've read some articles on the wiki of ice and fire and all of the english cursing words are too soft to describe this PIZDETZ. the only thought i had was imsorryimsorry. like i knew about the dance of the dragons and all but later?? i still want to read the books later but it was just... idk i was just a little shocked and A LOT regretful.. i've also just started watching helluva boss bc i've seen a lot of shorts with the dad/daughter moments that made me pour my heart out with tears. daddy issues strike bad. though i've come to hate daddy kink in a way? not screaming it's disgusting why do you want to fuck your dad way but reading a pretty fic, seeing 'tell me whos your daddy' 'oh daddy fuck me harder' and closing the tab silently way. guess my daddy issues conflicted with the insecurities about being too big and these fic's always teeny-tine sweet readers... not my type ig. sugar daddies though? yeah i liked that modern sugar daddy au yk... money sounds attractive af. hope it wasn't too much!! glad to know i bring your mood up. have a nice day!! good luck with the classes (online or offline or whatever)!! love you! take care and get some rest before the homework <з

MEOW HELLOW YOURE SO EARLY TODAY???? DID YOU SLEEP 😡

LOOK AT THIS KITTY IS THIS DREAM OF THE ENDLESS IN CAT FORM? (lol just say yes even tho you dont know him HAHAHHAH)

how did your live sound check go?

T_T it was tiring. i was supposed to work out before i left for school because i work out every other day, but i woke up pretty early and so i didnt feel like working out, and it was a pretty good choice, i think, becAUSE WE DID SO MUCH MANUAL LABOR IN CARRYING EQUIPMENT BACK AND FORTH FROM THE 6th to 12th floor T_T LIKE BIG SPEAKERS AND DRUMS AND BOXES AND H:LAHF:ASF i was sweating T_T but it was pretty enjoyable i felt like i was the main character AHHAAHHAH even though i couldnt even perform like how i secretly wanted to. T_T

'wait you read genshin fanfics?' hm well.. these pretty boys.. also idk anything about ekaterina but the fact my name is in genshin??

HAHAHAHAHA YOURE SO REAL FOR THAT ME WITH MATT SMITH FR HAHAHAHAHAHHAHH my archnemesis. also

apparently this is ekaterina T_T and idk i havent been paying attention to the lore so i think she's an extra and idk anything about her HAHAHHAAH

'i have met a bunch of hannahs in college' ive just imagined a bunch of yous looking at each other like in that spider-men meme TT

T_T LOL NONE OF THE HANNAHS IVE EVER MET LOOK EVEN REMOTELY SIMILAR TO ME but its still a pretty funny thought.

'we all call kitties in the ph mingming or muning' oooh it's cute. you can call me this hfjdjd if you want. we call cats with kiskis (hope you meant it bc idk if i got you right)

yes yes! you got it right. ITS SO FUNNY YOU CALL CATS WITH KISKIS HASHFLHASF SO CUTE KISS KISS MWAH MWAH and sure you can be my muning mingming kitty kitty cat cat <3 <3

'i think it has to do with the sound they make' yeah ig every language has words that imitate animal's sounds but interpret them differently. it's a cute and amusing difference.

HONESTLY ITS SO INTERESTING AND FUNNY TO THINK THAT SOUNDS DIFFER IN COUNTRIES T_T like frog for example is it ribbit in english T_T ???? like ok but in filipino its kokak and i think it's more correct AHHAAHAHAHAH what is it in russian

'i hate raising my voice' so true. since i only knew how my mom expressed anger through raising her voice, now i do it unintentionally?? so i try to just not talk.. i'm really proud of your good job at calming yourself and all. it's admirable. this world is too angry. 'i hate angriness so much.' so true.

omg even are moms are the same T_T generational trauma coming through T_T i made that decision because of her tbh T_T [hug] anger is so ugly bOOOO TOMATO TOMATO 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

'im so annoyed im making everything so long' it's totally fine. you have life beside tumblr and it like.. takes time. so everything's fine. take your time. it's not a job or some real responsibility to have strict deadlines. dont forget to enjoy it all! it's exciting to know youre writing modern au (ok can we say wfal? anything i'm running out of symbols TT). hope it's not overwhelming or too much.

HAHAAH WE CAN CALL IT WFAL waffle 🧇 i lof it HAHAHA

'also ive been trying not to curse' curse *devil emoji* no but if it's your goal or kind of a challenge for yourself, i respect it and hope you'll do well. but cursing isnt really bad! it's a big part of language's vocabulary so i see it as a real crime to forbid it.

😈😈😈😈 HHAHHAHHAHHH. idk cursing is kinda ugly but so fun HAHHAAHAAH i love how passionate you are to vocabulary and language <3

'i was checking to see if you sent me a message and i was like 'oh i didnt get a message today’ ghfjdkdj lol it's funny how i've been only sending you the message when (as i learned later) you had already got up. like it was 7:40 in philippines?

T_T thats so thoughtful of you tbh <3 I HOPE YOURE NOT SENDING ME MESSAGES IN EARLY-LATE HOURS T_T😡😡😡😡

'pls dont forget i will always reply to you' TT arent you cute?? thanks TT love you TT i cant really help my anxiety but im trying to calm myself with your kind words, thanks for you patience TT

<3 ur cute

'OMG YES I GOT THE NEW CHARACTER LOOK' OMG congratulations!!! so happy for you! hes hot. rip for his weakness. yk men are just never enough, its not your fault.

HAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

ur so right men are never enough /: yuck

idk i wanna show you all my pretty boys T_T

this is zhong (li) i love him he keeps me safe with his shield BUT HES SO CHATTY OSMATHUS WINE TASTES THE SAME AS EVER BUT WHERE ARE THOSE THO SHARE THE MEMORY he says that ever 3 seconds so when he dies im like , u deserved it tho T_T but i love him i was so lucky when i got him i got him AND XINGQIU at the SAME TIME

this is him he likes literature i think you'd like him

tHIS IS GOROU MY PUPPY BOY HES SO SOFT AND PUPPY BUT HES SO WEAK FOR ME BUT IDC I LOVE HIM AND I WILL KEEP LEVELING HIM UP BECAUSE I LOVE HIM

yeah and you know this dude im not typing his name because ITS TOO HARD T_T

he almost fell while i was climbing a cliff T_T he ugly for that

this is diluc with his long pony tail and hes so emo i love him

ill end with bennet because i luv him he's so clumsy and canonically, people dont like hanging out with him cos he's 'bad luck' BUT I LOVE HIM T_T

he deserves the world T_T

i wanted to share mah girls too but maybe next time this is getting too long

'i only play it to kill the enemies and to explore AND TO GET CHARACTERS' respectable. ig enjoyment is the aim of playing games? so if you're satisfied with it it's perfect. i'm really lucky my bestie didn't continue to play genshin bc the last time she liked a game, she made me download phasmophobia... and my laptop was hardly even alive...

HAHAHAHAHAAHHAHHAAHHA i had a freind who played phasmophobia and asked if i wanted to join but horror freaks me out so i said HECK NO. WHAT IF YOU PLAY GENSHIN WITH ME HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAAH <3 <3 <3

1) it wasnt hbo it was a fucking COMPLEX SUBSCRIPTION on a russian idk browser? it has its own system with the plenty of services including the one that gives access to hbo. it just was the one they offered me to try fro free TT

ah SCAMMMMEEEERRRRRSSS T_T /: HAHHAHAH

2) and they NEVER replied me. no im not crying.

it ok u can cry scammers are heartless

suddenly i've read some articles on the wiki of ice and fire and all of the english cursing words are too soft to describe this PIZDETZ. the only thought i had was imsorryimsorry.

HAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHH

like i knew about the dance of the dragons and all but later?? i still want to read the books later but it was just... idk i was just a little shocked and A LOT regretful..

lol you wanna talk about it? HAHAHAH i dont really care but that blood and cheese thing, according to one girl on tiktok, you should either read about or watch and so ive been avoiding it but idc anymore tbh

i've also just started watching helluva boss bc i've seen a lot of shorts with the dad/daughter moments that made me pour my heart out with tears. daddy issues strike bad. though i've come to hate daddy kink in a way? not screaming it's disgusting why do you want to fuck your dad way but reading a pretty fic, seeing 'tell me whos your daddy' 'oh daddy fuck me harder' and closing the tab silently way.

MY JAW ON THE FLOOR HAHAHHAHAAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH. i dont know helluva boss so i looked it up. im glad you enjoy it? do you enjoy it? DADDY ISSUES T_T you like me fr but idk i dont care about what people think about what i read like im reblogging so the writer knows how much i like it you can judge me all you want. idk i dont think i have daddy issues HAHHAAHAH i just really like the idea of a man all rugged and handsome and rich taking care of me. maybe i am mentally ill smh HAHAAHHH

guess my daddy issues conflicted with the insecurities about being too big and these fic's always teeny-tine sweet readers... not my type ig.

T_T i kiss. im luv u. youre not too big. 'too' is not real. its a social construct. you're just you and that's enough <3

sugar daddies though? yeah i liked that modern sugar daddy au yk... money sounds attractive af.

HAHHHAHAHA youre talking about that fic i reblogged right? JAJA I LOVE HTAT TOO HAHAHHAH gimme me all ur cash

hope it wasn't too much!! glad to know i bring your mood up.

not at all <3 you do bring up my mood very much

have a nice day!! good luck with the classes (online or offline or whatever)!! love you! take care and get some rest before the homework <з

<3 you too my love. i love you take care I HOPE YOURE BETTER NOW WITH YOUR FEVER AND ALL

xxx

[librarybunny13]

Kinda pissed

This has not been an easy year. Hell, my life fall apart back in March. The 28th to be acurate.

So my epilepsy has returned and boy is it pissed that I went four years off of all meds without a single seizure. But as all epileptics say, "Fuck Epilepsy". I was in the hospital for 3 or 4 days. With a woman going through alchol withdrawls who took out her IVS and everything else and peed and pooped and layed in her head and then escaped to the bathroom. Once that was over with, my bad luck contuined.

I had to have a doctor's note to go back to work. My general doctor said not until you talk to a neurologist. I said fine. But also told the doctor that I had no epilepsy medications. He said not to worry I cuold get into a neurologist in 2 days and be on meds and I would be fine.

First doctor appointment I could get was 3 weeks away. I said fine, I have lots of vacation time! My mom drives me to the appointment, I have a seizure right there in the parking lot. The neurologist refuses to see me and tells me mom to take me to the ER. Already been there and they refuse to give me medication. Bitch give me a presciption and I'm out of here. No diec. And honestly, all I did was look around confused as all get out.

Second doctor appointment for a neur........3 weeks away. Fine. My vacation days are slipping away, but I can handle it. The day my mom starts driving me to this place an hour away we get a phone call. Doctor called in because of a family emergency.

Third appointment, another 3 week wait. Fine. First meds he puts me on has me vomiting like in the movie Stand By Me. So after the vomiting does not stop after he asked me to wait for 2 weeks, and the fact that I develop a rash and literally scratched until I bled on my back of all places, he gives me another drug. But he tells me to be careful because these are super strong drugs and they have "street value" and I might be robbed if anyone knows I have them. Fine I take them.

First time I take one I'm okay. I take 1 for 1 week, then he moves me up to 2 a day. One at night and one in the morning. Then 2 in the morning and 1 at night, then 2 during the day and 2 at night. The next day at work, one of the bosses calls an ambulance because she says I'm acting weird. I admit, that moring I took a little cough medicine, not even a full dose. And that's how I ended up at the hospital again.They let me go after 2 days.

A month later I'm at work, I'm running some old library books to the front desk. Next thing I know someone is standing over me, "Do you know who I am?" I shake my head no. I'm literally looking at you with my blind eye. I can barely see a thing. Oh look, they called 911 again. And off I am carted to the hospital, against my wishes. But I admit I tried to call my mom, but couldn't figure out how to use the phone. They let me go after 4 hours.

My neuro decides I need MORE medication. So he gives me another one. Now I'm taking 5 epilepsy pills in the morning and 5 at night.

Epilepsy pills are known for giving brain fogs , making you forget everything, and for some people, making you want to suicide. So I know run around work and forget what I'm doing. Or better yet, forget the names of things..........like what a pencil is called.

I'm keeping a journal because my new shrink said to give it a try for some CBT - cognitive behavior therapy. And I told him in the beginning, I have tried that before, it DOES NOT HELP WITH THE DEPRESSION. Heck, it makes it worse. Look, I saw this shrink 2 times then he moved out of state. (because of course he did)

So now I have a system, where were you on the suicide scale today, 1-10. And no I will not kill myself. I promised my mother I would not hurt myself again until she was dead. And now I kinda have to take care of dad. So even if mom dies, I still have to take care of dad (deaf and blind and lots of other medical issues). I fear I will make it to my 60s.

At the same time I got a new diabetic doctor. He gave me 2 meds. One was ozempic. He told me just to get past the first 4 weeks. That I was fat, and it would help with that and help with my diabetes. I was all, I've taken meds my whole life I'll be fine. I couldn't move out of the bed. I got dizzy. Two weeks in, I tell my mom what was going on. At one point I just stopped eatting for 4 days. Then I had a yogurt. I had to drag myself down the stairs in stages. Literally my mom drove ten hours and brought me to her summer home. She forced me to eat at least one yogurt or soup a day. We tried calling the diabetic doctor, but he had quit his job and moved to Ohio. Because of course he did! So we had to find another diabetic doctor. And of course the wait list was forever. And he thinks I should be on these medications. So he refuses to change them, even when I end up vomiting in a trash can.

At the same time I'm going to a cardiologist. He decides I'm not having seizures. That I have too much blood pressure meds and takes me off them cold turkey. The hospital people think that the time I was half drunk off cough medicine that the blood was leaving my head because I was standing up. ANd he also thinks it's because of the medicine the diabetic doctor is giving me. Not the ozempic, the other one. Angry notes and phone calls are written between the two. They each decide the other doctor is wrong.

Did I mention I used up four months worth of vacation leave before I got a doctoe note to go back to work? Four MONTHS. ANd at one point my job just stopped giving me money. I ended up asking mom for a loan.

So I'm already sick. I was suppose to go to Spain for my cousin's wedding. Didn't get to go. Was super pissed. Since I don't have Any time left I also missed the family reunion that we only have every four years. And did I mention, during all of thiss, my cousin's 22 year old daughter decides to show up. She's here to take a class At Georgia Tech in English. I love Monica, I really do. Bit I haven't been able to drive because no driving once epilepsy comes back. At my house I was just walking to Walmart. At my mom's house there's nothing around. So I have to find a way to bring my lunch to work. For those of you wondering, there is a lunch thief. Also are fridges are not that clean or young.

Anyhow, Monica is taking my car to the beach and stuff. Good for her. Until I actually she her at the beach. Look, people think she's 12 because of the way she looks. She's tiny, petite. Her shoe size is 5. I'm glaring at all the old men out there looking at her like she's a steak dinner.

So the lifeguard blows his whistle and puts up the red flag. We were about to get in the water. So I ask him what does the red flag mean. "Shark" he says. So I tell my cousin. She says, "ah, okay" goes down the beach a bit so the lifeguard can't see her and just goes in the ocean anyhow. And I'm all like, "What the fuck?!" SO I chase in after her. If she got bitten, my cousin would KILL me and all of Florida. We actually saw the shark, just a small one. But she swims towards the shark. At this point I'm starting to think that I must be dreamng. What kind of idiot goes up to try to pet a shark?! Luckily the shark wims away terrified of my cousin.

Is it done? Oh no, the lifeguard now puts up the flag for jellyfish. And I have to chase her as she chases the jelly fish. She claims Florida jellyfish don't sting as badly as the Spainish ones. I'm like......how do I get her out of the ocean. Well the sun starts setting and I tempt her with another pina colda. That's how I got her out of the ocean.

Then my mom decides I'm well enough and leaves me alone with her for like 2 weeks so she can get her chemo. At this point Monica is kinda panicing. She had to do a test to figure out which English class to put her in. She got 6 out of 7 so she did great. But she thinks she's going to be the dumbest peron there and gets all blue. I'm an introvert. I need my alone time. But I took her to a street with bars and dancing. Yuck, I hate dancing. ANd this calmed her down, especially after all the phone numbers she got from the local guys.

Did I mention the medications that I'm taking are destroying my one good eye? So soon I might be totally blind. It's lke a fog sometimes shows up and I know no one else can see it. So I'm not sure I can do storytime. I'm gonna ask my eye doctor next time I see him. (I get steroid shots in my eyes once a month).

And the newest drama. The car wreck on March 28th? I was served papers. Two of the people are sueing me for 100,000 each. My anxiety is through the roof.

If you got this far, thank you for reading my word vomit.

I am so depressed and anxious and tired. I feel like I'm going to explode

[baroquebucky]

smooth like butter

bucky just loves flirting with you

word count: 3.7k

masterlist

a/n: hi hi bffs !! hope ur all doing well <3 here is a flirty bucky fic inspired by butter !! he is so charming i am gonna punch a wall,, hope u all enjoy let me know what u guys think & remember to stream butter <33

Bucky didn’t think he had it in him anymore, he thought surely that part of him from the 40s was long gone, erased from him after all these years.

Then his eyes landed on you at the coffee shop, a bright smile on your face as you picked up your order and made small talk with the barista, you looked so happy and god you were the most beautiful person in the world. He felt himself blushing as you turned around, his gaze quickly focusing on the the coffee infront of him.

He pulled his phone and immediately texted Sam, not know how to handle the situation.

just talk to her buck, I’m sure you’ll fall into routine like back in the day ;)

Bucky scoffed at his message, looking up to find you but you were nowhere in sight. He frowned, looking out the window and seeing you walking down the street, coffee in hand. His heart dropped a bit, upset he would never see you again, but he brushed it off quickly.

Sam was over for the weekend, the two sat in Buckys living room, watching a soccer game and making small talk.

“was thinking of getting a cat” bucky mentioned, taking a sip of his beer and looking at Sam. The man smiled, nudging his friend.

“ooh okay! gonna get yourself a little grumpy staring partner i see” Sam teased and bucky rolled his eyes smiling at his friend.

“dunno if i should, you know since we go on missions all the time” he frowned and Sam shook his head.

“you can always ask your neighbors to cat sit if your gone for too long, I’m sure it won’t be too much of a hassle” Sam assured his friend and bucky smiled, nodding his head as the two friends relaxed.

The next day bucky headed to the nearest animal shelter, nervous to pick out his new feline friend, his eyes shining as they took him around the facility, presenting each of the cats with utmost pride.

“this guys name is alpine, he’s quite mellow and sweet, very well behaved and house trained” Buckys eyes met with the cats and he smiled, the cat purring into Buckys hand.

“I’ll take him” he smiled, the cat cooing up to the super soldier with ease. As he signed all the papers, alpine continued to purr into Buckys touch, excited to finally have a home.

“you can pick him up in two to three weeks after we finish up checking him out and giving him some shots! We’ll give you a call two days prior if that’s fine with you?” The receptionist smiled and bucky nodded, waving goodbye to alpine and walking out the shelter doors.

Bucky had a smile on his face and his eyes were for once off the floor, smiling to himself as he shopped for his new friend, getting him all sorts of toys and treats. He easily went up the stairs to his apartment before stopping at his door and realizing he need to unlock the door. The boxed and bags he had so delicately balanced came tumbling down as he set them down to reach for his key.

“fuck” he whispered, trying to balance everything only to have him drop his key.

“let me help!” he heard a sweet voice, he was too embarrassed to look up, fumbling with everything as you took half the things in your hand and let him grab the keys. Bucky looked up and met your eyes, his heart raced and he realized it was you, from the coffee shop.

He didn’t let his state linger for long, quickly moving to unlock the door and grab the rest of the things from the floor, holding the door open and inviting you in.

“you can set it on the counter, thanks so much” he smiled, you nodded, placing everything down gently as your arms already shook from how heavy the boxes were.

“you’re getting a cat?” You smiled and bucky heard sams words ringing in his ears, just be yourself, let the 40s flow back to you, he had scoffed at him before but now here was bucky, letting himself just trust his gut.

“yeah! i get lonely sometimes and ive always wanted a cat” bucky smiled, your knees buckled. God his smile, that had to be the most charming smile in all of Brooklyn, you were sure of it.

“oh nice! I used to have a cat, his name was mittens” you smiled, nervous as he looked at you, your fiddled with your fingers before realizing he probably wanted you to leave.

“I’ll get going don’t wanna bother you” you smiled, waving goodbye to him.

“wait!” bucky called out and you stopped in your tracks, face flushed as you turned around. Bucky smiled at you before speaking up.

“what’s your name? I could’ve sworn I’ve never seen you around, i would’ve remembered someone a pretty as you” he asked and you chuckled lightly, blushing at his words and your palms sweating a bit.

“y/n, I’m two doors down” you smiled and he returned it, walking up to you, your heart raced in your chest as he stuck his hand out for you to shake. You shook his hand quickly, noting the way his hands were much warmer than yours and how his calloused hand felt against yours. Your stomach was in knots by the time you pulled away, mind racing and wondering if he felt how sweaty your hands were.

“I’m bucky” he replied, “I’ll see you around i hope” bucky grinned and you nodded.

“if you ever need anything you know where to find me!” You shot him one last grin and walked out, face hot and heart racing. You felt a bead of sweat rolling down the side of your face and you couldn’t stop yourself from laughing once you shut the door to your apartment, you were so flustered by him you were fucking sweating.

You had seen bucky in the halls a couple times, flashing each other a smile and making small talk. Each and every time you found yourself nervous under his gaze, sweating once the two of you parted ways and you hoped to god he never noticed. Bucky being the observant super soldier he was, did notice, but he found it sickeningly sweet. His heart fluttering as he noticed the way your heart rate quickened around him, the way you fumbled over your words at times and fiddled with your fingers.

Bucky took any and every opportunity to talk to you, helping you with groceries even if you weren’t struggling, dropping stuff on purpose for you to help him out. He even invited you out for dinner a couple times, the two of you getting along perfectly and conversation flowing easily.

“you know you have a really nice smile” you complimented him as you stopped infront of your door.

“do i?” Bucky grinned and you nodded, heart racing as you looked away from him, “then whyd you always look away when i smile at you?” He teased your mouth flew open.

“i- well it’s just- you-” he cut you off with a small laugh.

“just teasing you doll, i have the same smile as my mom” he spoke softly and you smiled, you hand squeezing his slightly, “you should get to bed, don’t you have work in the morning?” Bucky grinned and you nodded.

“You’re quite the charmer james” you whispered and you looked into his blue eyes, leaning in and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, “I’ll see you soon” you smiled before walking into your apartment, leaving bucky outside smiling like a fool.

The shelter called bucky a couple days after that date and bucky couldn’t get to the shelter fast enough, excited to bring home his new friend. Scooping him up into his arms and signing a couple more papers before walking out of the shelter with a wide smile, cooing at the white cat.

“got someone who i think’ll wanna meet you buddy” he smiled, pulling into the apartment complex and walking up to his apartment, letting himself in and setting down alpine to explore.

“youll pee here, this is your litter box, best of the best for you” bucky smiled, pointing everything out to the cat. He played with him for a bit, giving the cat sometime to get used to his surroundings before going two doors down and knocking, a smile on his face.

Your heart jumped at the sudden sound, you weren’t expecting anyone so who was this? You looked through the peephole and saw bucky, a small smile on his face as he looked down at the floor and then back down to his door.

“oh god, oh fuck” you whispered, looking at the mirror next to you and taking in your appearance, you were in sweats and a t shirt, hair slightly messy. You tried fixing your hair to the best of your abilities before taking a deep breath and opening the door.

Bucky could hear you panicking, he bit his lip to stop the smile on his face. But he failed miserably as you opened the door and gave him a shy smile.

“hi bucky! i wasn’t expecting you” you laughed softly and he gave you a small smile.

“sorry, i just- i got alpine- my cat, i picked him up today and figured maybe you wanna meet him?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck and your eyes lit up, a smile on your face as you nodded quickly.

“oh! yes oh my god yeah let’s go!” You giggled, following bucky quickly down the hall and into his apartment. Your eyes landed on the white cat and your hands flew to your mouth.

“he’s so cute!” You cried out, bucky smiling at your reaction, alpine quickly noticing you and walking up to you. “hi little kitty, are you alpine? such a sweet name for a sweet boy!” you cooed, smiling as you crouched down and let the cat. Bucky couldn’t stop his heart from fluttering, cheeks flushing as he watched you.

“can i pick him up?” You asked, looking up at bucky and he nodded, you swiftly picked the cat up with a wide smile.

“you can sit on the couch if you’d like” bucky smiled and you thanked him, gently sitting on the couch and bucky followed suit, giving you some space. The two of you took turns petting and cuddling on alpine, soft giggled filling his apartment.

“thanks for introducing me” you spoke and bucky grinned at you.

“‘course, had to show him the most beautiful gal here” bucky smiled and you blushed at his comment, but he didn’t stop there. “i was wondering actually uh- stark has this gala thing- i mean you can say no it’s just- do you wanna go with me?”

Now it was Buckys turn to blush, he knew there was a huge chance you’d say no. I mean you hardly knew each other, the longest you had talked was for like 30 minutes in your apartment when he helped you bring up groceries two days ago.

“me?” You questioned, eyes wide as bucky nodded.

“I’ll get a dress for you and everything, just need to take someone and I’d prefer it be you” he smiled, how could you say no to him?

“uh- i wow- i mean” you sputtered out before stopping yourself and nodding, “yeah okay” you smiled and bucky grinned.

“thanks so much doll” he spoke and you couldn’t wipe the smile off your face, giddy with excitement.

Soon enough the gala came and bucky dropped off your dress, letting you know he’d drop by at 5:30 to pick you up to head to the dance. You were nervous as you slipped the gown on, it was a black to match the suit he’d be wearing, somewhat simple but had some pretty accents throughout that made it absolutely stunning.

You got ready quickly, bucky knocking at the door before you had a chance to slip your shoes on. You opened the door with a smile, Buckys mouth falling open.

“oh wow” was all he said, immediately closing his mouth and clearing his throat, “i mean- i- hi” he chuckled and you smiled, letting him.

“i brought you flowers” he grinned and you blushed, smiling at the beautiful roses he handed you.

“bucky barnes ever the gentleman” you grinned and he smirked.

“only the best for my gal” he shot back and your heart raced, moving to put the flowers in water and rushing to slip your heels on.

“let me just finish getting ready, I’ll be done in a minute” you smiled, looking at him through the mirror as you put on some earrings.

“you’re so gorgeous, melting my heart like it’s butter” he smiled, dazed in your beauty. Your heart continued to face and you smiled, rolling your eyes at him.

“oh hush” you protested, finally finishing and holding the door for the two of you to head out. He offered you his arm and you gladly too it, taking the elevator and stealing a glance at him. Bucky noticed and smiled, standing up a bit straighter.

As the two of you arrived you grew self conscious, there were so many other people here, so many girls that were much prettier than you and most likely much better than you. Bucky noticed your discomfort quickly and pulled you closer to him, giving you a reassuring smile.

The two of you walking over to where the rest of the team was and he smiled widely as Sam and steve made eye contact with him. Tony flashing you a smile.

“hey guys” bucky smiled and you followed his lead, grinning at everybody, trying to appear composed even though you were absolutely yelling your lungs out on the inside. “this is y/n, y/n this is- well this is the rest of the team” he chuckled and you laughed softly.

“hi! it’s a pleasure to meet you all” you greeted and they smiled, wanda immediately coming up to you and giving you a hug.

“I’m wanda! It’s nice to meet you, do you wanna get a drink?” She asked and you looked at bucky quickly before smiling with a nod, natasha following the two of you as you all walked over to the bar, bucky sitting next to steve and Sam.

“you’re dating bucky?” She whispered and you blushed, shaking your head.

“oh no! we’re just neighbors- well we’re friends, we talk sometimes” you rambled and Natasha smiled.

“ever since you helped him with whatever it was last week or two weeks ago he hasn’t shut up about you” Natasha whispered and you blushed, looking over at where bucky was and your heart raced as you made eye contact with him, quickly turning your head away from him.

“it’s true, even came to me for advice, I’m the one who suggested he ask you to come tonight!” Wanda smiled widely and you took a sip from your drink.

“let’s change the topic, what’s your favorite pasta shape?” You smiled.

Steve and Sam cheered on bucky as he sat down next to them.

“told you she would say yes!” Sam smiled, patting his back.

“i knew you still had it in you” steve smirked and bucky couldn’t stop the smile on his face as he watched you talk and laugh with nat and wanda.

“shes perfect” bucky mumbled, face beating up as Sam and steve made a fuss, “oh will you two shut up” he rolled his eyes, smile still on his face as his two friends continued to tease him, forcing him to spill his guts.

“can i buy you drink sweet cheeks?” You heard from behind you, but you ignored it, thinking they were talking to Natasha or wanda. The two girls looked at you with wide eyes when you didn’t react. Your eyes wide when you realized they were talking to you.

“me?” You asked, laughing slightly as the man nodded, a smirk on his face. You looked over at wanda and Natasha and they gave you a wink, your heart raced.

“uh- okay i guess” you smiled, ordering up enough for the three of you before smiling at the man, downing your shot with wanda and Natasha and ditching the man before he could even see where the three of you headed off to.

Bucky smiled as he watched the way you doubled over in laughter with the girls, wiping at your eyes softly to stop the tears of joy from ruining your makeup.

Soon enough the three of you walked back to the team, you sat next to bucky, letting yourself relax into his touch. After a couple minutes you saw steve and bucky both perk up, the sound of some 40s song playing as couples swayed on the dance floor.

“would you care to dance with me doll?” bucky asked with a smile and your heart raced.

“oh i don’t know how to dance” you whispered and Buckys smile only grew, “I’ll teach you darlin” he smirked as he easily pulled to to your feet, leading you to the dance floor and ignoring the whoops and cheers from the others.

With seconds the two of you were on the dance floor, bucky looking at you with soft eyes as you stood in front of him, looking around at everyone.

“eyes on me doll, or else you won’t learn” he teased you felt your stomach flutter. “side step right left to my beat doll, just follow the flow of the music” he spoke softly, your arms snaking around his neck and his cautiously let his hands rest on your hips.

“look at you, already getting the hang of it” he praised you and your heart raced, smiling up at him, you were only inches away from his face.

“you know nat and wanda told me some pretty crazy things” you whispered and bucky hummed.

“things like what?” he smirked, already knowing what you were gonna say.

“like how you’ve been talking ‘bout me” you spoke, the two of you still swaying to the music.

“i have been doll” he replied quickly, spinning you around before catching you back in his arms once again.

“what’ve you been saying?” You asked, breathless as the two of you were closer than before.

“oh you know, just how you’re the girl of my dreams, how i wanna make you my girl but i dunno what you’d say” he spoke smoothly, his cool tone causing your knees to buckle. Bucky held you up firmly, smiling at you.

“oh” you managed to squeak out, “well i wouldn’t say no” was all you managed out and bucky laughed softly. Your blue eyes met his and you felt your heartbeat in your ears, eyes flickering down to his lips. “what- what else did you say” you asked and he smiled.

“let me show you, talk is cheap and don’t mean a thing” he mumbled, slowly leaning into you, without a moments hesitation you crashed your lips onto his, your eyes fluttering closed as your mouths moved together, smiling into the kiss and pulling at the hair at the nape of his neck.

For a second the world melted away, it was just the two of you, rocking back and forth to the soft music as you smiled into the kiss, pulling away breathless with sparkling eyes and pink lips.

Then everything came back to you, suddenly everyone’s presence was a little too prominent for your liking, face growing hot. Bucky smiled at you, not wasting a second before grabbing your wrist and pulling you along, walking out of the venue and waving goodbye to everyone hastily. Wanda and Natasha shot you a thumbs up and you smiled brightly.

Within moments the two of you were alone outside, the cool Brooklyn air refreshing both of your flushed skin.

“you know, was gonna ask you to be my girl with a bunch of flowers and over a candle lit dinner” bucky chuckled and you smiled softly at him, your fingers intertwining in his hand.

“why don’t you?” you asked softly, he smiled at you as he threw his head back with a soft groan.

“cant wait that long doll face, i just wanna be yours already” he grinned, looking at you with soft eyes, adoration clear on his face.

“what’re you waiting for barnes?” You teased, stopping in your tracks and crossing your arms over your chest.

“for us to get back to your apartment so i can kiss you all night” he shot back with a smirk, loving the way you looked at him with wide eyes and your heart raced. He pulled you into his chest, kissing you on the lips quickly before pulling away, not caring that he had red lipstick all over his mouth or that it was now smudged on your lips now.

“will you be my girl y/n?” He asked breathless, the stars twinkling above the two of you and the cold New York wind cooling your hot bodies.

“depends” you smiled, “how much time do i get to spend with alpine?” Bucky smiled brightly at you, picking you up in his arms and walking to the car.

“of course I’ll be your girl james” you replied, kissing up his neck and leaving a trail of red lipstick. Bucky opened the door with one hand, easily holding you up with his other before setting you down in the car seat.

“i know, just wanted to hear you say it” he smirked and you gasped.

“you’re too cocky for your own good” you teased him as he slid into the drivers seat.

“not cocky, just charming, that what you called me didn’t you” he replied quickly, leaning over and kissing you before starting to drive back to your apartment.

It’s safe to say that you spent a lot of time with alpine, cat sitting when bucky was away on missions and lazing the weekends away cuddled in bed or on the couch with bucky.

There was never a dull moment in your relationship with bucky, constantly flirting with you as if he hadn’t been dating you for years already. The Brooklyn boy was head over heels for you and was not afraid to let the world know.

Which is why he reminded you everyday how much he loved you. Because to him, you were his whole world and all he’d ever need.

[dadbodosamu]

only you || part ii

Stepdad Osamu x Fem!Reader

WARNINGS: slight (consensual!!) somnophilia, cockwarming, public sex, semi-public sex, daddy kink, oral (m+f receiving), Osamu has a dick piercing

3.3k words

part i || part ii || part iii || part iv || part v || part vi || extras || only you, too

You woke up to Osamu crawling into your bed.

“Good morning, princess,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around you.

“Morning,” you mumbled as he kissed your forehead.

“Go back to sleep, baby. I just wanted to hold ya for a lil’ while,” he said. You nodded and closed your eyes again.

Osamu’s cock was pressing against your clothed cunt.

“Samu,” you groaned.

“Just sleep, princess,” he mumbled, pushing down his boxers. He rutted his cock against your pussy. He buried his face in your neck, kissing and sucking along your skin as he rutted against you. You spread your legs slightly, giving him a better angle.

“Good girl,” he breathed. He reached down, rubbing your clit through your thin panties.

“Want more,” you moaned.

“Wanna warm my cock, princess?” Osamu asked.

“Please,” you whimpered as he played with your clit. He pushed your panties to the side and slowly slid inside you. You moaned as he pulled your leg over his hip to push deeper inside of you.

“There we go,” Osamu sighed. You sighed as you closed your eyes and cuddled against his broad chest. “Go back to sleep, baby.”

You yawned and nodded, drifting back to sleep, stretched and full.

The second time you woke up, Osamu was gently rocking into you.

“Samu,” you mumbled as his cock brushed against that spongy spot inside you.

“Shh, shh, baby, let me take care of ya,” he said. He reached down and circled your clit with his fingers. You moaned softly.

“Ya were squeezin’ me so tight in yer sleep, must’ve been havin’ a good dream,” Osamu teased.

You had, in fact, dreamed of something along the lines of this.

“Dreamt about you,” you moaned, moving your hips against his.

“Yeah?” Osamu asked, timing his slow thrusts with yours. “What about me?”

“This,” you said. “‘Cept you kissed me.”

“Like this?” He asked, kissing you softly. You sighed into the kiss.

“Yeah,” you said, breathlessly after he pulled away.

He leaned his forehead against yours, looking at you with soft, grey eyes.

“Gonna fill ya up again, okay?” Osamu asked. You nodded.

You whined as he pinched your clit, driving you closer to your own orgasm.

“Samu,” you moaned. “Gonna cum.”

“Cum with me, baby,” he moaned. You cried out as you creamed around his cock as he painted your insides white.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

“Good morning,” you said, pulling away from him.

“Do you want to go to Osaka with me today?” He asked. “I’m opening a new location and need to look at a few different areas.”

“If you make me breakfast,” you said, smiling.

“Deal.” Osamu pecked your lips and slowly pulled out of you before hopping out of your bed.

You sighed happily and laid back in bed for a moment. You listened to Osamu moving around in the kitchen before hopping up and walking into your bathroom.

You quickly showered and brushed your teeth before getting dressed in a short, black skirt and a white Onigiri Miya shirt.

In the kitchen, Osamu had opted to make omurice. He was just plating the second plate when you entered.

“Who said ya could be so cute?” Osamu asked, looking you up and down. You smiled as your cheeks burned.

“Who said you could be so handsome?” You shot back. Even in just a pair of black briefs, Osamu was the most handsome man you’d ever seen.

“Bon appetit,” he said, placing both plates on the table. You smiled as he pulled your chair out for you.

“Thank you,” you said. You ate in relative silence, playing a childish game of footsies under the table.

“Let me go get dressed and we’ll leave,” Osamu said after the two of you finished eating.

“I’ll be here,” you said as he kissed your forehead.

You fiddled with your phone as you waited. You had a few new texts, all from the MSBY boys who had all apparently gotten your number from Osamu the day before.

‘hey it’s uncle tsumu,’ Atsumu texted. You smiled and saved his number under ‘Uncle Tsumu’ before texting back.

‘hi uncle tsumu,’ you responded. You opened and responded to the rest of the boys, saving their numbers and momentarily fangirling over the fact that you now had your favourite volleyball players’ numbers.

“Ready?” Osamu asked, stepping into the kitchen. He was dressed casually, in jeans and an Onigiri Miya shirt that matched your own.

“Nice shirt,” you teased.

“It’s my restaurant,” Osamu said.

You laughed as you followed him out of the door and to the car.

“We have to be back by 7 to pick up yer mom,” Osamu said as he started the car.

You frowned at the mention of her.

“Hey, no pouting,” he said. “I didn’t even sleep with her last night. Like you asked.”

“She’s still your wife, you’re going to have to eventually fuck her again,” you said.

“What do ya want me to do?” Osamu asked. “Leave her?”

You stayed silent.

“Give it some time, it’ll be suspicious if I ask for a divorce right after I met ya,” he said, resting a hand on your thigh.

“How much time?” You asked.

“Let’s say, six months,” he said. “That’s long enough that it doesn’t seem suspicious.”

“You won’t sleep with her?” You asked.

“Promise, princess,” he said.

“What about when I go back to school?” You asked.

“I’ll come visit you,” he said. You nodded, satisfied with his answers.

The ride was long and filled with questions of you and Osamu getting to know each other better.

When you finally arrived in Osaka, Osamu grabbed your hand as you walked towards the subway. You smiled widely and intertwined your fingers with his.

“Don’t wanna lose ya in the crowd,” he teased, pulling you closer to him. You grabbed onto his arm and smiled up at him.

“You’re so tall, I’m pretty sure you could spot me if we got separated,” you said.

“Maybe I just want to hold yer hand,” he said.

“Maybe I want to hold yours,” you said.

He smiled down at you.

It took a few hours to check out three locations for the new Onigiri Miya.

“We still have a few hours before we have to be back,” Osamu said. “Ya wanna go get lunch?”

“Are you asking me on a date, Osamu?” You teased.

“If I am?” He said.

“I’d say yes,” you said.

“Then, I definitely am,” he said, leaning down to press his lips against yours.

You ended up in a small restaurant near the last location you had checked on.

“You come here often?” Osamu joked as you sat at a small table.

“I actually do go to school around here,” you said.

“Really?” Osamu asked. You nodded.

“Kansai University in Suita,” you said.

“Oh, so yer not just good at volleyball, yer smart too?” Osamu asked.

“I am,” you said.

“And humble, wow,” he said. You smiled at him.

“Where did you go to school?” You asked.

“Otemae in Nishinomiya,” Osamu said. “Majored in business.”

“And then you opened Onigiri Miya right after you graduated?” You asked.

“Yep,” he said. The two of you chatted as you ate.

“Ooo, we still have two hours before we have to leave,” Osamu said, glancing at his phone.

“We can just walk around until we find something,” you said. “Who knows, we might find somewhere to put Onigiri Miya.”

Osamu nodded as he paid for your food.

You grabbed his hand as you stepped out onto the street and immediately pulled him down a street of cute, little shops. You wandered into shop after shop, dragging Osamu behind you as you tried on clothes.

“That’s cute,” Osamu said as you twirled around in a sundress covered in sunflowers.

“You think?” You asked. “Not too short?”

“Oh, definitely,” Osamu said, running his hand up your bare thigh. “I can already see the cute little panties you wore today.”

“Samu!” You exclaimed as he popped the elastic of your panties.

“Come on, try something else on,” he said, pushing you back into the dressing room. He closed the door behind him and pushed you against the wall before kneeling in front of you

“Samu,” you whispered as he lifted one of your legs over his shoulder.

“Cute, little cunt,” he said, shamelessly licking over your already wet panties. “Wanted to taste ya since I first saw ya.”

“Samu!” You hissed as he pulled your panties to the side and licked deep into your core.

“Taste so good, baby,” he moaned. You bit back a moan of your own as his plush lips wrapped around your clit.

“Samu,” you moaned softly. You heard a knock at the door.

“Is everything alright in there, Miss?” An employee called.

Osamu sucked harshly at your clit as you tried to respond.

“Ev-everything is fine!” You called back. “Just a little trouble with a zipper.”

“Okay, let me know if you would like any help,” she said.

“Thank you,” you responded.

“Cum for me, princess,” Osamu whispered, inserting two fingers in your sopping cunt. He curled them just right, pressing against that spot inside of you.

“Fuck, Samu,” you moaned. “Gonna cum.”

“Come on, let me taste ya for real,” he said.

You leaned against the wall and tangled your fingers in Osamu’s hair, shoving his face deeper in your pussy as you gushed all over his face.

Osamu pulled back as you breathed heavily. His face glistened with your juices as he smiled widely up at you.

“Fuck you,” you gasped out.

“That’ll have to come later, baby,” he said, standing up. “I’m buying you that dress.”

“Okay,” you said, not having the energy to argue. You slowly redressed in your original clothes and followed Osamu out of the dressing room with the sundress in hand.

The employee pursed her lips as she noticed there were no zippers to be found.

You smiled at her apologetically and left quickly after Osamu paid.

“Wanna suck my dick in a public restroom?” Osamu asked, only half-joking.

“Thought you’d never ask,” you said, smiling as you pushed him into the bathroom only a few doors down from the shop you’d just been in.

You locked the door behind you and fell to your knees in front of Osamu. His cock was straining against his jeans, begging to be let out.

You quickly undid his jeans, pushing them down. His cock bobbed heavily as you pulled his briefs down.

“Fuck,” you mumbled, wrapping your hands around his length. The girth was so great your fingers couldn’t wrap all the way around it. You placed a kitten lick on the pierced tip, slurping up the leaking precum.

“Go ‘head, princess,” Osamu said, grabbing your hair.

“It’s so big,” you said, marvelling at his size. “Is the piercing sensitive?”

“Why don’t ya find out, baby?” Osamu asked. You nodded and took just the tip in your mouth. You gently tongued at the apadravya as Osamu moaned above you.

“Fuck,” he hissed, struggling not to just force his cock down your throat and you sucked the tip. “Can ya take more, princess?”

You hummed and slowly took a few extra inches into your mouth. Your lips were stretched around his cock as you struggled to take more down your throat. You wrapped a hand around the remaining inches and pumped him slowly as you bobbed your head up and down his length.

“Fuck, so good for me,” Osamu moaned. “Made to take my cock, huh? My lil’ cock sleeve.”

You moaned as he pulled you back by your hair. His cock fell from your mouth along with a whine.

“‘m sorry, baby, just need t’ be in ya,” Osamu said. “Promise I’ll let ya suck my cock later.”

Osamu shoved your skirt up and pulled your soaked panties to the side before plunging two fingers in your cunt.

“So wet and ready for me,” Osamu said, curling his fingers inside of you. He pulled his fingers out and sucked them into his mouth, licking them clean. Osamu pushed you against the sink, lifting you up and sitting you on the cool porcelain.

“In me,” you moaned as Osamu’s cock teased your wet folds. “Samu, please.”

“I know ya need me, princess,” Osamu said. “Need me fillin’ up yer sweet, lil’ cunt.”

“Need it,” you whined. He slowly pressed his cock into you, stretching your walls. Your mouth fell open in a silent moan.

“Samu,” you moaned, softly. He nodded as he gently rutted into your tight cunt.

“S’good ‘n tight around me, princess,” Osamu moaned. He reached down and his fingers circled your clit. “Not gonna last long, baby.”

“Make me cum, please, daddy,” you begged.

“What was that, princess?” Osamu asked, moving his fingers faster over your clit. His hips snapped against yours roughly.

“Wanna cum on your cock, daddy,” you said, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him closer to you.

Osamu groaned as his hips moved faster. “Say that again, princess.”

“Daddy,” you moaned lightly in his ear. Osamu moaned as your walls clenched around him.

“Gonna make you cum on daddy’s cock, princess,” Osamu said. His forehead leaned against yours as he thrusted into you harder. Your walls fluttered as your stomach tightened.

“Daddy, gonna cum,” you gasped. Osamu teased your clit with long fingers.

“Cum around daddy’s cock, baby,” he cooed. You bit his shoulder to muffle your cry as you came. His cock twitched deep inside you and Osamu filled you up.

“Fuck,” Osamu groaned as he came. The two of you panted for a moment, trying to catch your breath.

“Oh,” you breathed as Osamu slowly pulled out of you. He pulled your underwear back over your pussy and helped you stand and straighten out your skirt.

“We’re insatiable,” you said, smiling widely. “Like a bunch of horny teenagers.”

“If you give me a few minutes, we can go again,” Osamu said, fixing his hair in the mirror.

“Well, if we leave now, we can probably fuck in the car on the way back,” you said.

“After you, princess,” Osamu said, holding the door open.

“How was Osaka?” Your mom asked as the three of you sat around the table.

“Fine,” Osamu said. “None of the locations were right, though.”

“We did go to this cute, little restaurant, though,” you said, taking a bite of rice. “And there was this nice boutique we went to.”

“You get anything?” Your mom asked.

“Just a sundress,” you said. “Might wear it to the game tomorrow.”

Osamu coughed and banged on the table as he choked. You patted his back as your mom handed him a glass of water.

“Okay?” You asked as he stopped coughing.

“Fine, fine,” Osamu said, taking a sip of water. “Wrong pipe.”

“You should try on the dress, let me see it,” your mom said, leaning back in her chair as Osamu calmed down.

You bit back a smirk as you nodded. “Of course, Mom. Give me one second.”

You padded down the hallway to your room and quickly changed into the dress.

You twirled around in your dress as you stood in front of your mom and Osamu.

Osamu narrowed his eyes at you as you faced them.

“It’s-It’s a little short, no?” Your mom asked.

“I think it’s cute,” you said, smiling.

“It is a lil’ short,” Osamu said, casually. You glared at him. “Maybe ya should wear something else to the game?”

“Wouldn’t want to distract the players,” your mom said. “Or let someone get too handsy with you.”

“They’re professional athletes, they won’t be distracted,” you said, waving their comments away. “And I’ll be with Osamu, so I’m sure no one would try anything.”

“Wear what ya want,” Osamu said, going back to his dinner.

You rolled your eyes as you sat down at the table. “Was planning on it.”

“Hey, I don’t want you two to argue over this,” your mom said. “You’ve been getting along so well.”

“I’m going to go get ready for bed,” Osamu said. He stood up abruptly, shaking the table.

“Osamu,” your mom called as he walked down the hallway. “What has gotten into him?”

“He’s a man,” you said. “He’s just pissed I wouldn’t listen to him.”

“He probably just wants you to be safe,” your mom said.

“I’m going to change,” you mumbled, standing up. You were walking down the hallway when Osamu pulled you into the bathroom suddenly.

“What the fuck?” You asked as he pushed you against the door. “Mom’s right in the kitchen.”

The shower was running and steam was filling the bathroom quickly.

“It’s that fuckin’ dress,” Osamu said, grinding against you. The towel wrapped low on his hips threatened to fall to the floor. “Jus’ wanna rip it off ya.”

“You’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” you said, wrapping your arms around his waist.

“Ya better not leave my side,” he said, kissing your lips.

“Promise,” you mumbled against his plush lips. “Now let me go before my mom catches us in a precarious situation.”

“Get outta here,” Osamu said, opening the door. He smacked your ass as you crossed the hallway into your room.

You changed into a t-shirt and shorts before going to the living room where your mom was watching TV.

“So,” your mom said, looking over at you, “I noticed you had a few… bruises on your neck.”

Your eyes widened as you pulled your phone out and used the camera to look at your neck. It looked like you’d been in a fight.

“I can explain, Mom,” you started.

“So which one is it? I figure it’s one of Osamu’s friends you met yesterday at the restaurant?” She said.

“Uh, yes! Exactly!” You exclaimed. “I actually didn’t work at the restaurant all day.”

“So which one?” Your mom asked excitedly. “Is it Hinata? He’s so cute, I just want to eat him up! Ooo, maybe Sakusa? He’s so dark and mysterious.”

“It’s, um, well,” you stuttered. Osamu chose that moment to enter the room, wearing just a pair of basketball shorts.

“What are we talking about?” He asked, sitting next to your mom. You tried not to frown as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

“Just which one of your friends Y/n here was with yesterday,” your mom said, leaning into Osamu’s touch.

“Yesterday?” Osamu asked.

“Oh, you don’t have to keep covering for her,” she said. “Look at her neck! You’re the only one she’s been with, so surely you didn’t give her those.”

“Ah, her neck,” Osamu said. He mouthed an apology as your mom turned back towards you.

“So which one was it?” She asked.

“Um, Bokuto,” you said quickly.

“Bokuto?” She questioned. She looked back at Osamu. “Isn’t he older than you? Sweetie, isn’t he a little too old for you?”

“Surely you don’t have a problem with age gaps,” you said, looking at Osamu pointedly. “Bo’s twenty-six. That’s only five years.”

“You should bring him to dinner before you leave,” your mom said. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Mom, we’re not really, like, a thing,” you said. “It’s really just a casual thing.”

“Nonsense! Invite him over,” she exclaimed.

“I’ll, um, see if he’s free tomorrow at the game,” you said.

“Oh, I wish I could go now!” She said. “I should’ve taken off work.”

“It’s too bad,” you said.

“I’m glad you and Osamu are bonding, though,” she said. “Maybe you’ll come visit more often.”

“Maybe,” you said, noncommittally.

“Well, I’m going to bed,” Osamu said with a yawn. “You two have fun talking boys.”

“I’m actually going to head to bed, too,” you said. “Guess all that travelling today wore me out.”

“Night, you two,” your mom called after you.

[reidsnose]

sticky notes (spencer reid x reader) (platonic!baux reader)

overview: reader leaves and recieves a passive aggressive sticky note before going on a case

genre: fluff and humor?

a/n: i thought of this last night while i was trying to go to sleep and i could not stop thinking about that one vine and its also super snowy where i live lol. anyway i wrote it today throughout the school day and couldnt wait to put it on here :)

-

masterlist

-

'whoever used the last sugar packet, your moms a hoe.'

you let out a small chuckle and stuck the sticky not to the container that usually held packets of sugar before taking a sip of your bitter, unsweetened coffee that you would have to deal with for the rest of the day.

"i hope hotch didn't take it," prentiss laughed, peering over at the note.

"everyone knows hotch drinks his coffee black." you retorted.

"no only you know that because you were his assistant before you joined the team," she joked, resulting in you sending a light elbow to her side. "you know we are handwriting analysts. everyones going to know you wrote that."

"except that they wont because i type everything. besides, i dont really think anyone on the team wont take the joke." you chuckled, pushing the door open with your free hand and heading into the bullpen.

"briefing room in 5 minutes, we have a case," hotch called from the balcony.

"theres fresh coffee in the break room, i feel like were going to need it," you said to the rest of the team that were sitting at there desks.

they all eagerly got up, ready for a fresh, hot drink to wake them up. you smiled as you walked to the briefing room, standing by your unassigned assigned seat. you took a sip of your drink, making a face at the bitter taste.

"why is your beautiful face scrunched up?" Garcia asked, setting down files in front of all the empty seats.

"someone took the last sugar." you stated simply.

"i have some in the batcave, youre always welcome" she winked, sending you a warm smile which you gladly returned.

"youre the best."

"yeah i know," she answered before the other agents began filing in, Spencer taking a seat next to you. "alright crime fighters, today youre all headed to snowy Alaska."

"actually," rossi looked at hotch and then garcia before continuing, "Garcia i think youre coming too."

"sir?" she looked over at hotch.

"dave is right. the connection will be spotty anyway, it would be best if you came a long and worked from the precinct." hotch confirmed.

"oh. alright." she obliged before continuing with the details of the case.

(a/n: im waaayyyy too lazy to write a whole case)

"wheels up in 5, it will take a while to get there and we dont have time to waste." hotch said at the end of the briefing before walking out.

"oh shoot i left my phone in the break room," i whispered, smacking my forehead with my palm.

"do you want me to wait for you?" spencer offered.

"no its ok," you smiled, jogging down the stairs.

"ill take your go bag. hurry i dont know if i can convince them not to leave without you!" he called after me, a giggle escaping his throat at his own joke.

"thanks! it'll be their loss anyway!" you laughed, as you sped walked to the break room. "there you are." you whispered to your phone that was sitting on the counter.

your eyes drifted to the note you had left earlier only it was gone. a new note sat in its place, a reply scrawled on it.

'ill have you know my mother is a very nice lady'

you smiled and rolled your eyes, slipping the note into your pocket as you walked briskly towards the jet. you walked out and saw reid waiting for you at the door of the jet, motioning frantically for you to board. you had taken a little too long looking at the note.

"10 more seconds before you're officially late!" he yelled, looking at his watch.

you broke out into a sprint, running as fast as you possibly could, trying to get across the runway in time.

"dont leave without me!" you yelled out, knowing they wouldn't.

you looked at the windows, seeing the team's faces pressed against the glass, watching amused.

"5 seconds!" he warned as you neared the stairs. "3..." almost there! "2..." just a few more steps. "1!" his arms shot up as you pushed past him into the jet, just in the nick of time.

"wow im impressed pretty lady!" morgan laughed, giving you a high-five which you exasperatedly accepted.

"have a seat y/l/n, we have a long flight." hotch said. you began thinking he was made at you but then you saw him trying to stifle a smile, "i dont think ive even seen you run like that in the field."

he held out his fist which you bumped with your own before flopping breathlessly down onto one of the chairs on the jet.

~time skip to the end of the case because i feel like it~

you walked out of the police department, watching your own breath swirl around the air in front of you.

"could you believe that detective?" jj scoffed walking with you towards the suvs in the parking lot.

"i know he was so...creepy." you agreed, "if i smelled his coffee breath one more time id take his tiny d-"

you didnt get to finish your sentence, though; you felt a cold snowball bash against the back of your head.

"gotta go!" jj laughed, hopping into one of the last suvs and driving off.

"whoever threw that snowball, your moms a hoe!" you yelled out crouching down to gather some snow.

"what?" spencer yelled, emerging from behind a trashcan.

"IT WAS YOU!" you laughed, throwing a snowball and hitting him straight in the chest.

"wait no. what did you just say?" he asked, eyes wide.

"i said whoever threw that snowball, your moms a hoe." you stated, suddenly feeling bad, "but not your mom, diana is-"

"a very nice lady." he finished, reaching into his pocket and fishing out a crumpled little paper.

"oh my gosh," you breathed, pulling out a note from your own pocket.

"i had a feeling it was you!" he laughed.

you raised your eyebrows, "yeah right! you had no clue!"

"i totally did! i was like, 'hmmm who in the office talks like this? oh yeah my idiot best friend'." he countered, smirking.

"well i had a feeling it was you too!" you lied, crossing your arms.

"youre lying!" he laughed.

"no im not!"

"yes you are! you have a tell!"

"i do?!"

"yes! you purse your-" he swiftly reached to the floor and picked up a small amount of snow, wiping it across your mouth, "-lips."

the cool snow melted quickly on your now very warm face, causing you to instinctively wipe your it with your sleeve, "oh its on!"

snowballs were flying left and right in the nearly empty parking lot, seeking refuge all over your bodies. you watched him sneakily duck behind a trashcan, thinking you hadn't seen him. letting out a small chuckle you creeped towards the trashcan, standing behind him as he peered his head around the other side, looking for where you had gone. you took a small amout of snow and reached your arm around his head, wiping it against his mouth as he had. he jumped letting out a small scream before turning around and latching his arms around your waist.

he picked you up and spun you around, loosing his footing on the slippery, causing a strange mix of a laugh and a scream to escape your mouth. he fell back on a fresh layer of snow, with a dull thump. you fell directly on top of him, your foggy breaths melding together as your laughs started fading. his eyes flickered from your eyes down to your lips, a new rouge gracing his cheeks and nose, one that would be there regardless of the cold.

"ca-can i kiss you?" he asked, looking back up at your eyes.

"please." you smiled, heart close to bursting out of your chest as he closed the gap between you.

[fan4196]

Happiness (Part 3)

Evermore

Hey everyone here’s part 3, the last part, as requested by so many of you. Hope you like it. Enjoy!

-

After they dropped Izzie of at the hospital to see her mother alone at first, Jo convinced Alex to drive them to the loft and order some lunch. The twins were already sleepy from the flight and also jet lagged, so Alex gave in and drove them to the place he once called home instead of driving them around city, looking for a hotel to stay at.

As soon as they walked through the loft door, Alex has this weird feeling of being home again. It feels like the place where he belongs, the place he once thought he would start a family with Jo in - now he sort of does but he also feels like a complete stranger. Like he shouldn't be here. Like he shouldn't be allowed to feel like home here.

He immediately notices the missing of all their pictures. The corner were is workout stuff used to be holds two cribs and a changing table now. Most of the stuff he once brought into the loft is gone. Jo's closet is half empty and all in all it just doesn't look like it used to.

All of them get rid of their shoes and jackets and Jo prepares the bed for the twins, so they could take a nap. She and Alex sat on the couch talking until the twins woke up again and they ordered pizza.

The evening went over rather quickly with them watching movies and playing games. Heavy hearted the twins said goodbye to their new friend Jo, but got immediately excited again when she promised to accompany them at the zoo tomorrow.

Exhausted Jo falls into bed that night. Letting the day reminisce. She's really relieved that the twins immediately liked her and also that Alex is back or at least near. It makes her feel safer, to know that if something would happen now Alex is only a fifteen minutes drive away and not a three and a half hours flight. Although her due date is still seven weeks away, you just never know.

-

For Alex the next morning starts quite early - like almost every day with the twins but today they are extra excited. From getting them dressed, through breakfast and through out the whole car ride to the loft, they couldn't stop talking and asking about Jo.

They pick Jo up from the loft and Alex drives them to the zoo. The twins chat happily with Jo and sing along to the Taylor Swift songs she plays for them. Alex is quiet the whole car ride, smiling and thinking about how this right here is everything he ever wanted - a family with Jo.

At the zoo they start with the otter as requested by the twins. They walk the big round, looking at all the animals before then decide to take a break at the playground.

While the twins play and show Jo their skills at the monkeybars, Alex sits down on one of the benches from where he has a good few at them.

"Are they all yours?" An old man that sat down on the bench with Alex a few minutes ago asks all of a sudden.

"Yeah." Alex answers simply with a toothless smile, not really in the mood to explain his family constellation to a complete stranger.

"If an old man can give you an advise, try to keep them as happy as they are right now. If they are happy you are happy." He says before he stands up again and walks away.

"I see while I was gone you made a new friend your age." Jo jokes as she comes towards him and sits down on the bench.

"Shut up." He snorts, keeping his eyes on the twins.

"Never." She mocks, laughing at the sulky look on his face.

They sit in silence watching the twins play for a while, when out of nowhere Jo grabs Alex's leg and doubles over in pain.

"Jo what is it? Are you in pain? Jo talk to me!" Alex immediately asks concerned, grabbing her hand that's on his thigh, while his other hand strokes her back.

"I think I'm having contractions." Jo answers as the pain subsides and she sits up straight again.

"Since when?" He asks worried, not letting go of her hand while he's also not taking his eyes off of her.

"This morning?" She answers a little quieter, looking away to escape his look.

"What?"

"I'm having braxton hicks since probably a week. I saw Carina and she said everything was alright. But I don't think that those are braxton hicks, this one was way stronger and it hurt a lot more." She answers, trying to take deep breaths to calm herself down. Alex hand on hers was helping a little bit.

"Ok. Ahm we can do this. We're gonna get you to the hospital. Can you walk?" He asks before he gets up from the bench, holding his hands out to help her up.

"Yeah." Jo answers, taking both of his hands and letting him pull her up.

"Ok. Alexis! Eli! Come here! We need to go!" He screams in the twins direction, waving at them.

"Noo, Daddy." His daughter immediately complains from the sandpit.

"Yes. No complaints we need to take Jo to the hospital now!" He shouts again.

The twins know their dads serious voice so without further complaints they come running towards them and all of them make their way out of the zoo as fast as Jo can. Alex arm is around her to support her while walking and to stabalize her when another contraction hits.

"You're doing so good. Deep breaths." Alex whispers in her ear when they stop for another contraction break. His arms are around Jo, calmly stroking her back while her head is against his chest.

"It's way too early." She whispers a little out of breath from working through the contraction.

"I know. Let's get you to the hospital and see from there ok-" He says while her head still leans against his chest.

"Sir, Ma'am do you need help?" An older lady asks, coming up to them.

"No!" Alex immediately answers rather rudely which scares the lady off.

"Alex! They just wanted to be nice."

"They should mind their own god damn business." He answers "You good again?"

"Yeah." Jo nods and they keep walking, finally making their way out of the zoo.

"Ok you stay here with Jo and have an eye on her and I'm getting the car." Alex orders, already running off to get the car.

"Are the babies hurting you, Jojo?" Eli asks as he sits down beside Jo on the bench in front of the zoo.

"A little bit but it's fine. It's nothing you have to worry about, ok?" Jo assures him with a smile stroking his hair. "There's your dad. Come on."

They get up from the bench while Alex parks in front of them. He quickly gets out of the car to help Jo in the passenger seat and the twins buckling up in the backseats.

During their ride to the hospital the car is silent. The twins are completely quiet while Jo calmly works through her contractions and Alex tries to get them as fast but also as safe as possible to the hospital.

"Kiddos when we are at the hospital a nurse will take you to your mom, ok?" He explains to the twins, watching them nod in the rearview mirror.

"Ok daddy."

"Good." He takes his view from his kids and takes a quick look at Jo, "You ok?"

"Yeah." She smiles as he reaches for her hand to let her squeeze it during the next contraction.

"Ok unbuckle. I'm gonna get you in a second ok?" He tells Jo before he gets the twins inside where a nurse takes them to Izzie. He comes back with a wheelchair and helps Jo sitting down in it.

"Karev? You can't park here." Owen orders as he comes around the car, which is parked directly in front of the ER door.

"Jo's in labor!" Alex replies immediately, handing his key to Owen.

"Alright don't worry. Go get her admitted I'm gonna take care of your car."

"Thanks Owen." Alex screams as he pushes Jo into the ER.

"Stop!" Jo interrupts Alex before he can get them into the elevator, "Levi! Can you go to my place and get me my hospital bag it's right at the front door?" She stops the resident before he could walk past them.

"Are you in labor?" He asks totally surprised.

"Yes."

"Oh my god. Ahm- Of course. I still have my key."

"Thanks." Jo smiles, letting go of his arm so Alex can get them onto the elevator.

He pushes the number to the OB/Gyn floor and squads down in front of Jo, taking her hands in his.

"You're doing so good." He smiles up to her, his eyes softly looking at her.

"It's way too early." She whispers, trying to hold back tears while she keeps looking into his soft, brown eyes.

"It's not. You are 30 weeks which is far enough for them to survive. You kept them save as long as you could and once they're out I promise that I'll keep them save as long as they need, ok?" He assures her softly.

"I'm so glad you are here right now." She whispers.

"Me too."

The opening doors of the elevator interrupt their moment of intimacy and Alex gets her admitted and into a room.

"Jo, bambina I didn't expect you here so soon. Oh hello Doctor Karev." Carina DeLuca greets then as she walks into Jo's room.

"Hi Doctor DeLuca." Alex returns her greeting.

"Carina." She smiles at him, as she puts on a pair of gloves.

"Carina. Alex." He smiles back, taking Jo's clothes from her and puts them on the chair in corner.

"Ok let's see. Did your water already break, Jo?" Carina asks, getting the ultrasound machine ready.

"No- yes." Jo corrects her answer, as she feels the liquid running down her leg.

"Alright then there's no turning back now. Your bambino's want to come today. Can you lay down so I can do an ultrasound and check how far you are dialated?" She asks, getting everything ready.

Alex helps Jo on the bed and sits down on the chair beside her while Carina does the ultrasound and checks her.

"Your babies look great. They are both with their heads down which means we can try the vaginal birth you wanted." Carina smiles, taking off her gloves.

"Yes."

"Perfecto. I'll give you an IV with fluids and something to develop their little lungs and then we'll see. You are seven centimeters so you'll have a little more to go." Carina informs them before she gets the ultrasound machine to take it with her again.

"Thank you Carina." Alex smiles at the OB as he gets up to help Jo sit up again.

"Of course. I'll send a nurse for your IV and check on you in an hour."

"Thank you." Jo smiles.

Carina pads Alexs shoulder before she leaves the two alone again.

"If you need to get the twins or something you can go, I'm fine." Jo turns to Alex.

"Hell no I'm not leaving your side again. Izzie can take care of them for once." He replies, sitting down in his chair again.

"What do you mean?"

"Since the day I got there she plays the 'You missed five years of their life' card which means I have them 24/7 and she doesn't give a shit about them. Don't get me wrong I love my kids but Izzie couldn't care less. She's happy when they are at school or at a friends house and she doesn't have to deal with them all day. Why do you think she has this big ass farm with a hundred animals and a nanny? Just so they can run around outside and she has her quiet inside the house." He vents, laying his head back agains the headrest of the chair.

"So you have them all the time?"

"Yeah they basically live at my place and visit Izzie when she's free on the weekends."

Jo had heard enough, with Alex's help she gets up from the bed and sits down on one of the yoga balls. Closing her eyes and thinking about everything Alex just told her. 

The next few hours go by quietly. Carina checks on Jo every hour and Alex tries to help Jo whenever she needs it.

"I'm thinking about moving here again." Alex voice breaks the silence from his new place on the bed, "Would that be ok with you?"

"What?" She asks again, opening her eyes to be sure he really said what he said.

"I wanna be closer to you and our babies. I wanna see them growing up, Jo. I already missed the first five years once and I don't wanna miss them again. I wanna be their dad - who is around, who is there for their their first words and their first steps. I wanna change dirty diapers and get puked on, I wanna take them to daddy and me classes, I wanna have the whole damn thing - if you'll let me." He finishes, waiting for her answer, "Jo?"

He gets up from the bed and walks to her. Seeing that her eyes are closed, he takes her hands.

"I need to push."

-

An hour later their beautiful babies are born.

Small but healthy. They need a little help with their breathing but other than that they are both perfectly fine.

Jo has Emery on her chest, Alex has Parker for a little skin to skin time. They are all four curled up on the hospital bed - happier than they ever believed they could be.

"They are so perfect Jo." Alex whispers, watching his son and daughter sleeping peacefully.

"They really are." She smiles towards Alex, "And yes."

"Yes what?" He asks, now looking at Jo.

"You can have the whole damn thing if you want but only if I'll get the whole damn thing with your twins too." She throws him a toothless smile.

"Are you saying-"

"I'm saying after all I still love you and I wanna do this with you. I'll probably need a little more time to fully trust you again but I want them to have their dad around." She nods, not interrupting their stare.

"Thank you." He really doesn't know what other to say.

They get interrupt by a knock and the door opening.

"I'm so sorry Jo that it took this long. I got pulled into a surgery with Bailey- Oh my god you had the babies." Levi stops in this movement.

"Thanks Levi." Jo smiles at him.

"Sure. They are perfect, Jo. Congratulations."

He smiles at them before he puts the bag down at the door and leaves the four alone again.

"How come you call him Levi?" Alex asks interested, watching her carefully.

"He was my roommate for a while right after you left." She answers, carefully stroking her daughters rosy cheek.

"Oh-"

"And Taryn too." She adds, taking her glance of her daughter now looking at him again.

"Who?" He asks, scrunching his nose as he returns her glance.

"Helm."

"Oh ok."

Another knock at the door interrupts them. This time it's one of the nurses.

"Are you up for some visitors?" She asks carefully before she opens the door completely as Jo nods. And the twins come into the room.

"Hey guys. Come on in." Alex assures them as they are a little careful. But within a minute they are on the bed with the rest.

"Eli, Alexis those are Emery and Parker." Alex announces with the biggest smile an his face. Right in this moment he was the happiest man alive.

"They are so tiny." His daughter marvels over her little siblings. Scooting closer to her dad to have a better look at her new baby brother.

"They are." Jo laughs at the twins reaction.

"But they are soo cute." Eli adds, scooting a little closer to Jo to get an even better look.

"Right? Don't you think that Parker looks just like your daddy?" Jo asks, pulling the blanket a little from Parker's face so the twins have a better few.

"A little." Alexis agrees with a nod.

"Can we hold them?" Eli asks excited, scooting even closer to Jo.

"Sure. Are you guys strong enough to get me this bag?" Jo asks them, ponying towards the bag Levi just brought.

"I'll get it."

"Thank you, Eli. Let's get them dressed then you can hold them ok?"

The twins nod before they help Jo dressing Emery and Parker. When the smallest Karevs are dressed Jo gets something else out of the bag and hands one to Alex.

"I think you were right about their heads. These are a little big now but just think about their heads if they would have been full term."

"Where do you have those from?" Alex looks at the little hat in his hand, before he looks at Jo.

"Your mom send them."

"You're still in touch with my mom?" He blankly.

"Yeah. And Amber and Matt. And I finally met Aaron too-"

"When?" He asks quite surprised.

"Well your mom invited me to Easter and Amber, Matt, the kids and Aaron where there too."

"We would have been there too but the twins were sick," Alex gasps, looking at Jo.

"Well now we're all gonna be there for Christmas." Jo smiles at him.

"We will." He smiles back.

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being Tony Stark’s stepkid

Tony Stark x Potts!child!reader

warnings: alcohol mention

a/n: i rushed these so bad i just wanted to post dhhshsnsna

prompt: y/n is pepper’s kiddo!

it was just you and your mom for a long time

pepper and y/n potts

she couldn’t keep up with you sometimes, too busy dealing with the manchild that was mister anthony edward stark

speaking of—

“uh, who’s this?” -tony, pointing at you

“mr. stark, i am so sorry, the school closed because some kid set fire to the science lab and i didn’t have time to find a sitter—”

“no, it’s fine, no need to apologize. hey, kid, you wanna sit in the boss’s chair? i’ll let you run the company for the day!” *cue you nodding* “sweet, would you mind that, ms. potts?”

“oh? no, not at all” *mouthing* “thank you”

“so, uh, what’s your name? no, don’t tell me: ketchup.”

*giggling* “y/n”

“no way! that was my second guess!”

tony wasn’t used to being around kids

he had no idea that he was actually kind of good around them

despite a few minor hiccups

“you sit in my chair and im gonna spin you around, sound like fun?”

he spun you around WAY too fast and you were diiiiizzy, also you fell off the chair

“don’t tell your mom that we did that. she may be my assistant, but she scares the shit out of me. also, don’t say ‘shit’”

dude he just thought you were a cool kid!!!

“hey, you know, ms. potts, you dont really need to hire a babysitter anymore. y/n’s doing just fine hanging out here”

“how am i not surprised you befriended an actual child?”

she still took him up on his offer, you seemed pretty happy

when your mom worked late, you passed out in tonys office

tony and you had your own little secrets (like falling off the spinning chair), tony showed you around stark tower, and you practically lived there

“i got you a happy meal from mcdonalds!” -tony every day after your school

in all honesty, you weren’t the “popular” kid at school...not even close

but tony made up for it

“y/n! i found this old racecar toy in a box of old stuff, you wanna hold onto it for me?”

you kind of grew up in stark tower tbh? it was pretty cool

and as you grew up, you started to notice more

“mr. tony, do you have a crush on my mom?”

“do i what? no, no, i do—who the hell am i kidding? you caught me”

“called it!”

after that you did everything to try and get them together

when your mom was talking to tony, you would stand behind her and wiggle your eyebrows and just taunt tony endlessly

no! tony cannot remember your mom’s birthday for the life of him! you are his calendar now

“dude, why dont you just ask JARVIS to remind you?”

“i may be a genius, but that doesn’t mean i have common sense”

“wise words, sir” -JARVIS

when tony disappeared for 3 months you were so sad???? like you were not okay at all

no

and when he came back, he literally exited the plane saying “WHERE’S ‘T-POTT??’”

(your wonderful nickname. ‘t’ for ‘tony jr.’ and ‘pott’ for ‘potts’)

“my mom missed you”

“oh, i bet she did”

“you turned my child into you, tony. i will never forgive you for this”

“well, at least y/n was here to fill in for me, huh?”

tony wanted to show you the arc reactor but he was actually afraid of scarring you lmfaoooo

but he did let you in on the iron man secret (he knew you wouldn’t snitch)

and just to make sure:

“if you dont tell anyone, i’ll buy you a car when you turn 16”

“man, that’s like, forever away”

“good, maybe you’ll forget by then”

ur mom kinda maybe sorta found out abt iron man :/ she told you that tony was a bad influence

“mom! no, tony’s cool! he’s like a superhero”

“no, sweetie, he’s a rich guy with issues. we’re leaving”

that didn’t last long

not long at all

and soon they FINALLY got together

“jeez, i thought you two would never stop pining after each other”

“couldnt have done it without my wingman” -tony *fistbump*

“as thanks can i have my own iron man suit?”

“yes.” *pepper glaring at him* “no.”

sooner or later your mom and you moved into tony’s house and you got a really big room!!!!

it was completely decked out

king sized bed, flatscreen tv, mini-fridge, microwave, computer, your own bathroom with a smaller tv, a poster of tony??? (you vandalized it and put it in his workshop), and more!!!

okay you were spoiled

“do you like it here? are you sure i made the right choice?” -pepper

“are you kidding, mom? this is awesome! plus, you’re happy, i’m happy, tony’s happy, i think JARVIS is even happy!”

“i am, mx. potts. simply ecstatic” -JARVIS

pepper was really happy!! it was a pretty cool family

you started giving your school tony’s number if you ever got in trouble, you knew he’d cover for you

“mr. potts, is it?”

“sure”

“your child, y/n, punched another student in the face today. we’re very disappointed in their behavior”

“why’d they punch the kid?”

“well, the other student punched y/n first”

“HAH! thank you for wasting my time. send y/n back to class and call me back if something important comes up”

he literally gave you a high five when you got home

“i gave him a black eye!”

“i couldn’t be more proud. i mean, i dont condone violence, but self defense is a whole other story”

a little help in the workshop, tony asks you to hold the flashlight

“why don’t you get one of your robots to hold this for you?”

“are you kidding me, you’re complaining? we’re having stepdad/stepkid bonding time! and dum-e can’t do anything right, i dont trust him”

youve had a few theme park trips as a family ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

also tony has 100% told you to wait in the car and then left you alone for 2+ hours

“i’m not like a regular dad, im a step-dad. want some beer? you can have a little sip. i’d rather you do it in the house”

your mother actually does love how he actually cares about you!

“y/n is 12% my responsibility” -tony

“tony, you are impossible” -pepper

no avengering for you! pepper said no!!!!!!

disappointed but not surprised

iron man 3: y/n potts is put through the wringer

Text Message to Mr. Tony: bro you better come get your girl, me and happy are watching this other guy flirting with her. he’s showing her pics of his ‘big brain’

Mr. Tony: HE WHAT

Text Message to Mr. Tony: Tony he looks creepy i don’t want him to be my new stepdad do something!!!

anyways ur house kinda blew up and ur mom and you kinda got kidnapped and u were right abt that guy being creepy and thankfully no experiments were done on you but like your mom kinda almost died and her and tony were fine!!! all good in the end

you met mr. col. james rhodes that day

“aw, you’re the kid ive heard so much about” -rhodey

“you mean the coolest kid in the world?check.”

“you cant tell me you aren’t tony’s biological child, good god”

you got to meet the avengers later on too! (you’d already met natasha tho, only briefly)

“i know it can be a little overwhelming, right? meeting all these heros, legends even—” -rhodey

“oh, my god, is that thor? thor!!” -you, leaving rhodey in the dust

literally why does pepper trust you around tony something always goes wrong there were literally robots attacking, you were only at avengers tower bc your mom was busy with the company and she thought you’d be safe with the avengers. the AVENGERS.

“please dont tell your mom that i created a bad robot that tried to kill us. the robot will be the least of our problems” -tony

he made happy pick you up and you had to miss out on FUN and it sucked a lot

“it’s okay, y/n! i’m fun, too!” -happy

then your mom and tony took a break and your life got mega-boring for a while, but they weren’t separated for that long. you try not to think about it. it was brutal

Mr. Tony: Does she miss me?

New Message to Mr. Tony: I think so. Either that or she’s crying and drinking wine in the dark for no reason.

Mr. Tony: Damn it, now I feel bad. I miss her a lot. Oh, also, the Avengers say ‘hi,’ I’m in Germany with some bad news, I’ll explain later if you don’t see it on TV first, and I found you the perfect friend! His name is Peter and I think you’d like the school he goes to, it’s in Midtown. Smart kid school.

New Message to Mr. Tony: I’ll look into it, thanks. Also, I don’t like how those all connect. Please update me asap

watching the news to see several avengers arrested, cap on the run, and more!

“maybe it was good i didn’t fall in with the avengers”

tony and pepper finally got back together and you actually transferred to midtown high! peter and his friend group accepted you quickly, it was great. you and flash unfortunately had the most in common

you’d literally text happy right next to peter and he’d immediately reply to you. it hurt peter’s feelings

Momma: Sweetie! I’m working in the office late, leftovers are in the fridge, hope you have a wonderful day at school! 💕

👉👈the vulture tried to kill you for being tony’s stepkid, tony made peter promise to protect you

“y/n, you gotta stay out of harm’s way. mr. stark gave me an actual mission and it’s terrifying, i have to make sure you stay safe”

legit why the fuck was this old man tryna kill you bro grow up

anyyyywayssss your mom and tony got engaged!!

“wow, i thought the day would never come!!” -you

ppl told you tony isnt your stepdad bc ur mom and him werent married but who tf asked

why is the earth always in fucking danger

you and peter were just vibing on the field trip bus and all the sudden: space donut

“go! i’ll cover for you...FRIDAY, call tony”

“...hi there, little one”

“what the fuck”

“oh, so you see the aliens, too? well, at least im not crazy”

tony stark has left the atmosphere

you and your mom were kinda......not chillin tho

she and you didn’t sleep for a few nights, then ppl just straight up disappeared

plot twist: you survived the snap and your family was lucky to be alive, you even got a little sister who became a big handful!

only bad thing was all your friends dusted and you were pretty lonely

but watching morgan grow up kept you busy

“ahhh, shes so big!”

happy times in bad times

bad times!!!!! bc after five years thanos came back as thanos from like ten years ago. outdated thanos. obsolete thanos.

but you made your first and only appearance in the suit tony actually designed for you many years ago

you should have just stayed home tho bc that fight didnt pass the vibe check

“please dont tell me he...no, no, no, no, no”

you and your mom latched onto each other in tears, tony was one of the best people in your life, he made you and your mom two of the happiest people on earth

best stepdad a kid could ever ask for

taglist: @alwaysananglophile // @rorybutnotgilmore // @locke-writes // @sweetheartliz07 // @queen-destenie // @natasha-danvers // @lokihiddles // @frostedgiantfavs // @emygirl // @lotsoffandomrecs // @johnmurphyisbisexual // @teenwaywardasgardian // @pappydaddy // @captainshazamerica // @freya-xo // @ravenmoore14 // @purpleskiesstorm // @ofthedewthesunlight //

[ampintherain]

I’m Yours:

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

Chapter IV

Y/N is Kenny Ortega’s ‘niece’ after going through a rough breakup, Kenny decides to fly her over to stay with him, will her broken heart mend?

(Female Reader, NO SMUT, Romance, Friendship, THIS IS MY FIRST EVER FANFIC/IMAGINE, I hope it’s good, Kenny is lifelong family friend so reader calls him Uncle Kenny. I’m British so the writing is going to be British so like ‘mum’ not ‘mom’ yanno?)

TW- swearing. mentions of alcohol, drugs & divorce

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Y/N

“Doll, you ready to go?” Kenny asked as he shrugged on his coat, we had been at Tori’s for a good three hours and I could see Kenny was getting tired and we did have a really long day tomorrow, I nodded at my uncle happily before bidding farewell to my new found friends. I found it quite strange as to how quickly they had befriended me and made me feel more than welcome- Charlie especially, I mean throughout the day he asked me if I was alright and he encouraged me to share my ideas with Uncle Kenny, it really was strange.

“See you tomorrow Y/n” Owen chirped, pulling me in for a quick hug, I was soon passed round through the group of friends each of them giving me a tight hug which I gladly reciprocated, I waved everyone a final goodbye before Kenny and I left Tori’s apartment and made our way back to the car.

As Uncle Kenny drove through the streets of Vancouver, I paid most attention to the lights displayed throughout, I watched as birds flew through the sky and listened to the soft sound of the radio, “you okay Y/n?” Uncle Kenny questioned,

“Hm?” I said, as the questioned tore me out of my unknown daydream, I turned to face my uncle Kenny and before he could repeat himself, my brain managed to process what he originally asked “oh oh yeah, I’m fine Uncle Kenny, just sight seeing” I laughed quietly,

“Okay, just making sure, I’m worried about you...” Kenny admitted, I had a feeling that he was but he just didn’t want to draw attention to me and my situation, I have always been very good at hiding my emotions it came from years and years of being told that my emotions and the way I felt weren’t ‘necessary’ and that I shouldn’t feel the way I did- in the end, I decided to no longer tell anyone my problems but deal with them myself, battling through the pain as a lone warrior, I didn’t even tell Kenny what was going on, I built up layers of walls around me to protect myself and make it seem like I was this strong, capable woman. “You’re only 19, Y/n, I know you’re strong but... I just want you to know that I am here should you ever need me” I nodded in response, worried that if I did speak, my voice would give way and I would be revealed as this weak character, I’ve already cried once today and I’m not planning on crying anymore, not in front of Kenny at least.

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Kenny locked the door behind me as we both entered the apartment, “do you want a drink or anything Uncle Kenny?” I questioned as I made my way into the kitchen, opening the fridge and taking out the carton of orange juice,

“No you’re alright Star, I’m just going to head to bed, I’ll wake you up at 7 alright?” He assured me, I nodded as I sipped at my juice, I looked at the digital clock placed on the side- 12:00am, luckily I had sorted through all of my clothes before going to set and again before going to Tori’s because, quite honestly, I hadn’t the energy to do much at this point, I watched as my uncle wandered into his room, closing the door behind him. I let out a deep breath, the thoughts of a few nights ago coming back into my memory, replaying itself there, why wasn’t I good enough? I did absolutely everything I could for him... I loved him with everything I had... why wasn’t I good enough?

I kept asking myself, it was truly lost on me, I didn’t see myself as this perfect girl, this perfect girlfriend but I knew what I did for him. I was there for him when his dad spiralled, turning to alcoholism and drug abuse, I was there whenever he called, whenever he showed up randomly at my house at 4 in the morning crying and looking for a cuddle, I made sure to visit him mum every Tuesday evening for dinner because Zac wanted to move out once his parents split, deciding to live with his grandparents instead. We were even thinking about moving in together... well him moving in with me as I had already had my own place at 18. That boy was my entire world for 3 years and the fact that he could throw it all away so easily, really hurt me, and I don’t think it was anything that I could understand ever.

The thought alone caused my heart to feel crushed, it felt like Zac had a hold of my heart and whenever I thought about it, he just squeezed my heart as hard as he possibly could, it felt like a gut wrenching type of pain, I wiped away the tears that I didn’t even realise were spilling quickly out of my eyes. I cleared my throat and drank the rest of my juice before making my way to bed, I changed into my grey cable knit sweater and my plaid shorts and clambered into the large double bed, snuggling into the comfort that the bed brought me before I let sleep take over me.

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“Rise and shine” Kenny said quietly into my bedroom, I groaned as I stretched in bed, “morning sleepyhead” he chuckled,

“Morning” I mumbled, scratching the back of my head, Kenny told me that we’d be leaving in 20 minutes, “okay, I’ll see you in 20” I smiled, sliding out of bed and heading into my closet, I grabbed my white tennis skirt, white shirt and dark blue sweater, I paired the outfit with white tennis socks and my white and blue Nike Jordan’s that Uncle Kenny bought me for Christmas. I placed my clothes on my bed and went for a quick shower, this time I dried my hair before chucking it up into a high ponytail, I brushed my teeth and did some light makeup again before changing and grabbing my phone off the side,

“Let’s go” I stated as I made my way over to Kenny,

“You look amazing” he smiled genuinely at me, I thanked him and we made our way back to the set of his new show.

“So... how did you sleep?” Kenny asked me,

“Oh really well thank you, that bed was huge, you could fit like five of me in there” I joked, just as my phone chimed, I looked down at the lit screen to see messages from the one person I didn’t want to hear from.

Zac- Hey, where are you? I came to your place to see you and you weren’t there...

I rolled my eyes and groaned internally before locking my phone and sinking into my seat, “what’s on your mind?” Uncle Kenny asked immediately, I swear it’s like this man lives in my brain. I turned my phone on vibrate just as another text came through,

“It’s nothing Uncle Kenny” I sighed, the man driving next to me simply hummed in response, he definitely didn’t believe me but I knew he wasn’t going to push for answers- he never did, he would always let me come to him if I needed and that was one of the things I loved most about him. I could feel my phone constantly vibrating in my hand whilst Kenny was driving, so I turned it on do not disturb just to try and escape it.

“Alright kiddo, we’ve arrived” Kenny said as he swiftly parked up, I went to unbuckle myself but Kenny stopped me, “you don’t have to tell me right now, but I am here, you know I won’t judge you like your parents” he explained, I sighed and leant over to rest my head on his arm,

“I know Uncle Kenny... it’s Zac, he texted me... I’m ignoring him though” I replied, he sighed and looked down at me, placing a kiss to the top of my head,

“You’re going to have to” Kenny started before I cut him off mid sentence,

“Message him at some point, I know I know” I sat back upright and unbuckled the seat before getting out the car, “come on” I sighed, putting back on my brave face before heading into the lot with Uncle Kenny in tow.

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Charlie

“Y/n!” I heard Sav yell from across the lot, I turned to see Y/n walking towards us, her arms linked with Kenny’s as he was talking and joking with her, I watched as she let out a quick laugh before shaking her head, probably at some corny joke that Kenny told. “We’re matching!” Sav exclaimed as Y/n got closer,

“So we are!” Y/n giggled, “but don’t you have to be in your Carrie costume?” She questioned, pointing at the costume trailer just a way behind us,

“We are rehearsing Wow today in costume” Kenny announced, this prompted Sav to scrunch her face and turn on her heels, grabbing Tori by her upper arm as they both ran to the costume trailer, “those girls” Kenny laughed, shaking his head, “I’m going to get some breakfast, do you want anything Y/n?” The girl shook her head, “you have to eat Star, I’ll get you a croissant okay?”

“If I have to eat, can you get me some blueberry pancakes?” Y/n questioned innocently, smiling up at her ‘uncle.’ Kenny simply nodded and walked over to catering to grab him and Y/n some breakfast. “Hey” Y/n said as she took a step closer to me, I looked down at her and smiled,

“Hey” I mirrored, “sleep well last night?” I asked, the girl nodded and started to walk down the lot, I naturally started to follow her, not wanting the conversation to end,

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever slept in a bed that big before” she giggled, causing my heart to skip a beat slightly, “how about you? Did you sleep well?” She questioned, looking up at me with her beautiful y/e/c eyes.

“Oh yeah, Owen and I left Tori’s a little while after you and Ken left, we grabbed some food and then just crashed as soon as we got home” I said simply, just as I mentioned Owen I saw him come out of his trailer dressed as Alex,

“You, Charles. Have to be in costume” he stated, pointing at me, I rolled my eyes before he shoo’d me away, I nodded slightly at Y/n as a way to say goodbye and she saluted me slightly which caused me to laugh before jogging up to costume.

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Y/N

“Why the long face?” Owen asked me as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, “wassup Buttercup?” I bit the inside of my cheek and looked up at the blonde boy,

“It’s my ex” I stated plainly, “he messaged me this morning and I just...” I trailed off, not really knowing what to say, was I ignoring Zac because I hated him, or was I ignoring him because I was worried that if I did text him back, I would fall for him all over again? You can’t get over someone that quickly, no matter how much they hurt you... right?

“Don’t know what to say to him?” Owen answered for me, “what did he say?” He asked, I daren’t look at my phone again because I knew that he had probably texted more so I tried to remember what I saw at quick glance.

“It was something about why I wasn’t home and where I was” I remembered, sitting down on the small couch in the resting tent, my back against the arm rest and my legs tucked up to my chest, Owen sat down, facing me and mirroring my position, “I just don’t see why I have to tell him that anymore... he’s my ex y’know?” I vented, leaning my head back and closing my eyes.

“Hey, you shouldn’t let him get to you like that, it’s not cool... look, I’m pretty sure we have a day off tomorrow, why don’t you come over to mine and Charlie’s place and we can watch movies and pig out?” Owen offered, I lifted my head back up and nodded, it didn’t sound like the worst idea, in fact, it sounded like the best thing for me, I mean karaoke last night helped me a lot so maybe just a chilled day would help too?

“Yeah that sounds amazing actually” I smiled.

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“Okay you guys, Sav, Sacha, Tori, Mads and Jay you guys can all go home, thank you so much for your excellence today, you’re all amazing!” Uncle Kenny beamed with pride at his cast that he was dismissing for the day, we had just filmed 3 more scenes for the show and the cast had rehearsals for as many dances they could fit in today, the only thing left on the agenda was the hot dog scene, “now, I will see everyone at the next location? Y/n, you ready?” Kenny asked, I nodded as I felt a shiver run up my spine causing my body to visibly shake,

“Hey” I heard Charlie whisper, “you okay?” He questioned, staying within earshot of me,

“Yeah I’m good, just cold, I forgot a jacket and it was warm today... I kinda forgot how long today was” I laughed, slightly embarrassed about my sieve of a brain, although the presence of Charlie stood behind me seemed to keep me fairly warm, that is, until I felt him leave. I turned to see Owen looking behind him as Charlie darted off, “I’ll be one second” Charlie yelled loud enough for everyone to hear and wait for him.

“Where’s he going?” Jeremy asked, pointing behind him towards where Charlie had just disappeared to,

“I have... no idea” Owen sighed, shrugging his shoulders, “Y/n/n, do you know?” I shook my head,

“He just ran off, maybe he forgot something” I stated, just as Charlie came running back, handing me a brown corduroy jacket with a wool collar,

“Here, it has pockets too so you won’t have to keep holding your phone” he said, only slightly out of breath.

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Charlie

Y/n gently took the jacket from me, “oh... thanks” she said as a red tint reached her cheeks, she shrugged the jacket on and I couldn’t help but smile at how it looked on her, on me, it fit perfectly but on Y/n, it nearly swamped her, the sleeves hung so low only her fingertips could be seen and the length of the jacket went just above where her skirt ended. She looked adorable.

“Yeah.. yeah anytime” I replied, Y/n placed her phone in her pocket and started to walk towards Kenny,

“Hey, I’ve gotta talk to my Uncle Kenny about some things for the hot dog scene, I had some ideas but I’ll see you on location okay?” She said, not just to me, but to Owen and Jeremy as well, all three of us nodded and joined together so we could all walk out of the lot,

“You like her...” Jeremy stated, Owen nudged him slightly and rolled his eyes,

“I made that observation last night!” He said, “but yeah, you totally like her... it’s obvious”

“I just gave her my jacket, she said she was cold, I would’ve done the same for anybody, like Mads” I defended, “she did look really cute in it though” I admitted, Owen agreed with me which caused me to look at him sceptically,

“Before you get jealous and ask me, no I don’t like her, she’s just a friend” he answered before I even had a chance to ask the question, “oh by the way, she was talking to me about her ex today, something about how he messaged her and she doesn’t know what to say to him, she seemed really down so I invited her to come over tomorrow” Owen explained,

“Oh really? Okay cool” was all I could say, Jeremy soon decided to change the subject to running lines as he could see that I was becoming nervous at the fact that Y/n was coming over, I had no idea why the thought of it had my heart racing and my mind scattered but it did, there was something about Y/n that I couldn’t quite put my finger on but whatever it was drove me crazy about her.

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Y/N

We had just finished filming the final scene of the day- the hot dog scene and it was the longest scene ever, the amount of re-runs and developments on the scene was enough to drive anybody insane, I groaned slightly as I turned and sat on the seat that one of the crew members brought with them just as Kenny was wrapping the scene up. “Y/n, I’ve just got to do some paperwork and I’ll be right with you okay? I’m sure the boys will keep you company once they change” Kenny announced, to which I simply nodded, not having the energy to say anything or do anything else, I rubbed my eye as I pulled my phone out of Charlie’s jacket pocket, I looked down at the screen and saw the notification, I had 36 unread messages from Zac:

>Zac- hello? Y/n! Where are you?

>Zac- I’m worried about you...

>Zac- Y/n! Would you please just answer me...

>Zac- I went to the coffee shop, you weren’t there either, where have you run off to?

>Zac- look Y/n, I’m really sorry about what I did to you

>Zac- WTF! WHERE ARE YOU?!?

>Zac- you can’t possibly be giving me the silent treatment? Seriously.

>Zac- I didn’t realise you were so childish.

>Zac- I’m glad I cheated on you, you’re worthless

>Zac- wait no, I’m sorry I didn’t mean that I’m just worried about you.

The list went on and on, a mixture of emotions, I kept scrolling through the text screen until I saw the most recent text, delivered 1 minute ago,

>Zac- call me. Please.

I rolled my eyes, I couldn’t call him, I shouldn’t call him right? But alas, like muscle memory, I clicked on the call icon and there was his voice, “Y/n! Hey... how’re you?” All I did was sigh in response, I watched as the boys came out of the venue and into sight, they all waved at me before noticing I was on the phone, Owen and Jeremy dispersed whereas Charlie stayed, walking slowly towards me with a half-smile on his face, clearly worried about whether or not I wanted him to come closer.

“What do you want?” I said bluntly, “I’m not in the mood to hear your pathetic apologies Zac, you’re messages were ridiculous, you went from being apologetic to calling me worthless and saying that you were happy that you cheated on me!”

“Listen Y/n... I can’t explain” Zac began but I was in no mood to hear it,

“No you listen Zac, you don’t get to be sad, you don’t get to cry. You are the one who cheated remember? Or have you suddenly developed amnesia? You went behind my back and had this whole other relationship for 13 months... and on top of that, it was with Quinn! My best friend and you think I’m going to sit here and listen to your silly little apologies, no, you have another thing coming. We were together for 3 years and for a year of that you were with someone else, I was nothing but loyal to you, I was nothing but kind to you, I loved you so much and I thought that you would never hurt me, but I was wrong, you’re just a piece of shit Zac, you and Quinn deserve each other, you’re both snakes, you’re both pathetic and you both betrayed me. I dont want to hear from you again? Do I make myself clear?” I ranted down the phone, I never raised my voice, I kept calm, I wouldn’t let him know that he made me so angry that I wanted to scream and throw my phone into the road, no. I wouldn’t let him have that power over me.

“But Y/n- we’ve been through so much... Quinn doesn’t know me like you do... she’s not there for me like you do” Zac grovelled, I scoffed in response,

“Well isn’t that just a crying shame? You should’ve thought about that before you decided to go behind my back and fuck her, you should’ve thought about it before you decided to be unfaithful. Hey, I’ll make this easy for you, I’ll just block you on everything that way you have no way of contacting me. Goodbye Zac” I said as I abruptly hung up, giving Zac no chance to talk, I blocked his number and started to go through my social media, blocking him on everything that I had.

“Uh... you okay?” I heard a worried voice speak, I looked up to see those eyes that could only belong to Charlie, he tilted his head and looked at me with concern riddled all over his face, I placed my phone on my lap and rubbed my temples to try and reduce to incoming headache.

“Yeah... that was my ex” I stated the absolute obvious, unsure of what else to say, Charlie nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets before taking the seat next to me, he didn’t ask me to go on and explain but I felt like I could talk to him and so I did “you probably heard but he cheated on me, with my best friend”

“Yeah... yeah I did hear, look, Y/n, I know it probably won’t mean much but he really doesn’t deserve you and he isn’t worth your tears” he said calmly, placing his thumb on my cheek and gently brushed away the tears that I had no idea were slowly falling from my eyes, “by the sounds of it, he sounds like a dick and you were way too good for him” I laughed in response, “I’m being serious, Y/n, you’re gorgeous and kind and funny and insanely talented! I know it’s hard but you shouldn’t let a guy like that get to you...”

“Yeah I know... but he and I were together for so long, it just makes me feel like everything was a lie y’know? And like I can’t truly be loved by anyone” I admitted, hearing this Charlie stood up in front of me and held his hands out, “what...?” I questioned, he beckoned me to stand up before pulling me in for a hug,

“You? You can’t truly be loved? Y/n you’re one of the most lovable people I’ve ever met, everyone loves you here... I know that’s not the type of love you meant but trust me on this okay? You can very easily be loved” I pulled out of the hug slightly and Charlie lightly placed his hands on my face, looking deep into my eyes, he smiled slightly to himself causing me to become shy and look down, Charlie used his index finger to lift my head back up by my chin ever so gently, “who wouldn’t want to fall in love with you?”

💜thank you for reading💜

♡︎𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 : @thesweetestsinner , @ifilwtmfc , @ashleyleblancx , @chloepart03 , @obxflowr , @lukeys-giggle ♡︎

[actualbird]

// main story 6.1 spoilers, reactions from 06-03 to LITERALLY THE END LMAO, I BINGED IT I FEEL LIKE I ATE A WHOLE JAR OF CANDY aND THIS POST IS SO LONG OMFGKJFG

HHHHHHH

pls...this is such a sweet thing for mc to say [pleading emoji]

and then im immediately hit by the absolute hilarity that arTEM'S FATHER IS A JUDGE, LMAOOOO. IF IM NOT MISTAKEN, the specific judge mentioned, thats the male judge with the greying hair and the closed eyes we see in murder court, right?? NO RESEMBLANCE WHATSOEVER KAJBFKASJFA

also omg? artem's mom's ENG name isnt the translated from CN server placeholder An Wing but....Kimberly Garner. i got pretty attached to the name "An" but thats fine. what im more interested in is how she kept her surname, girlboss, but also does it have something to do with the whole nepotism shebang? or was it just a personal choice? idk, nitpicky thoughts HAHAKJDSBKFJD

that being said: MANNN, i already talked a lot about artem being a legacy kid from a legacy family but. WHY DIDNT THE RUMORS ABOUT NEPOTISM EVER CROSS MY MIND OMFG. YEAH. ABSOLUTELY, if people knew his dad is a super high ranking judge and his mom is super renowned law prof, ofc theyd think they got to his position thanks to nepotism. very interesting to me!!

AVA KENDRICKS PLS CALL ME, U R SO PRETTY AND PROBABLY EVIL BUT THATS FINE, NOT A DEALBREAKER (I JEST, SHES SO PRETTY THO)

and then boom, another thing thats living in my mind rent free that was very small but STILL

sublimely interested in how neil played into the beginning of this chapter. i hope the story maybe digs deeper into artem and neil's relationship before neil's disappearance....

also wAIT, THIS IS FROM EARLIER THAN THIS POINT IN THE STORY BUT I GOT REMINDED OF HOW INTERESTING I FOUND THIS BIT

all this time i had thought that the og nxx team was just neil and giann vs. the world

but huh! vyn was with them! implied to have been there from the beginning, maybe? this piques my interest cuz like, at first, i thought vyn would only have been connected to giann cuz of the research center. but if he was og nxx, he must have gotten some kind of close with neil too

so like, maybe vyn has personal stakes in the missing persons boogaloo afterall. for Both People

anyway, darius morgan is the funniest person alive

my MAN. U WORK HERE AND UR THE BOSS, HOW DID U FORGET IT'S A NO-SMOKING AREA LMAOKDSJFBSDK

AND THESE AS WELL HAD ME LAUGHING KFJABKS

a SCATHING grade from artem wing and also the most perplexing mid-story debate ive seen thus far akjfbaksjfkas

ugh uuGGGHHHH THE S CENE WHEREARTEM TIES HER SHOES

WHO GAVE HIM THE RIGHT TO LOOK THAT CUTE

WHO ALSO GAVE HIM THE RIGHT TO SAY THIS ADORABLE TIDBIT

I NEED TO SEE KID!ARTEM WITH HIS VELCRO STRAP SHOES POSTHASTE!!!

and then

jerry and the narrative and mc and artem: the apartment is quite small

the apartment: looks roomier than luke's place kjKHBSDKJFSBDGS

and then

it is CRIMINAL that the story drops on us that artem swims on a regular basis. and we have NOT gotten an IMAGE OF HIM SWIMMING. skadi invite doesnt count, hes not swimming, hes just Standing In The Water, i wanna see artem wing doing a backstroke thru the pool

and THEN

mc: how long can you hold your breath?

artem:

me: haha. this is specific. so artemcore, to give the exact time down to the second. this totally didnt make me go "oh god" cuz i have....certain context i saw from the cn server version 6.2 trailer i watched way back when. HAHA. THANKS FOR THE SPECIFIC ANSWER ARTEM.....

none of these reactions ive typed are intelligent in any manner, i will think smart thoughts on ANOTHER DAY. TODAY, I PROCESS WHAT IVE SEEN AKJBFKJSAFA

[honeykawa]

Home

pairing: oikawa tooru x single parent! reader

genre: fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

word count: 4.8k

a/n: wow it’s been a hot minutes since ive posted but this is something ive been working on for a while. hope you enjoy!

Summary: Oikawa wanted nothing more than a happy life and when he met you he thought it was within his reach. The days he spent with you filled him with so much happiness, happiness he didn’t even know existed. The way you smiled, laughed and cried for him made him want to keep you all to himself. But he knew he couldn’t be so selfish.

“Y/n!” your nephew called out to you as he ran home from school. You picked up your adorable nephew and gave him a big hug.

“How was your day Kota?” You walked back to your home as Kota told you about his day at school. His face lit up as he spoke to you. It was only recently that he had begun to smile again since the passing of his mom, your sister, and had been placed in your care.

“Do you want to go to the volleyball program for kids your age today?” he nodded his head enthusiastically. “Then go get changed and we’ll go,” you smiled as he ran off to his room. As soon as he ran back out he was putting on his shoes to leave, “Let’s go y/n!”

He was basically dragging you at this point as he ran up the stairs to where the volleyball program was. “Kota please slow down! Someone might fall!” And as if on cue you tripped over your own feet but before you hit the ground you felt someone’s arms catch you.

“Are you okay?” You looked up to see a man with brunette hair and a gentle smile. He helped you back onto your feet as your nephew came over to you with teary eyes. “I’m so sorry y/n!” You quickly kneeled down to his height and patted his head, “Ahh it’s okay Kota! Look! I’m not injured anywhere so go ahead and go to your lessons!” He nodded his head and went off after you wiped his face.

After you made sure he was enjoying himself you turned to the man next to you and bowed, “Thank you so much! I’m sorry if I troubled you,” your words were frantic. “Don’t worry about it! Just be careful okay? Wouldn’t want you to worry Kota,” his words sounded playful but the concern was there. 

You both started walking to where all the kids were playing, “Do you know Kota?” The way he casually said his name made you curious. “Oh, I’m one of the instructors here! My name’s Oikawa Tooru.” Your eyes widened at the name. “Oikawa Tooru? I thought you lived in Argentina?” You could have sworn that he played for the national team there. His hand scratched the back of his head and a light laugh left his mouth, “Aha well I recently moved back after another injury and now I help out here in my free time.” His story left a lot to be desired but you left it at that. 

“Well in any case thank you for looking after Kota while he’s here! Ever since his mother passed he hasn’t really smiled but after attending this program it’s come back little by little,” he watched as your gaze settled on your little nephew, “I know I can’t ever replace my sister but if I can do anything to make him happy then I’ll gladly do it.” The words just fell out of your mouth as you spoke to him, “Sorry if that was too much! I have a tendency to overshare sometimes. I’ll let you get back to the kids now! I’m sure I’ve taken up too much of your time already. Thanks again!” Before he could even say anything you had already run away.

You came back a little later to pick your nephew up with groceries in hand. You didn’t realize how late it had gotten and rushed back only to see Oikawa and Kota still playing together even though everyone else had gone. A smile appeared on your face at the sight of them together. “Ah y/n!” Oikawa saw you and waved. 

You walked towards the two of them and picked Kota up. “Thank you for watching him Oikawa! I lost track of time at the grocery store.” Kota was already asleep in your arms and you both chuckled. 

“Must have been a long day for him.” Oikawa smiled as he ruffled Kota’s hair. “I’ll see you later y/n” he was about to turn and leave before you called out to him.

“Wait! Would you like to have dinner with us tonight? It’s the least I could do after you stayed with him,” the smile on your face made his heart speed up a bit. It couldn’t hurt to just have dinner, right? He nodded his head and followed you home.

“Here let me carry that,” he reached for the grocery bags in your hand and took them before you could object. “Oh, thank you!”

As soon as you two made it back to your apartment you set Kota down in his room. “You can just sit at the table and wait for it to be ready! I hope you don’t mind having curry. Do you like yours spicy or sweet?” You were so preoccupied placing everything out you didn’t even hear Oikawa behind you.

“Hmm let’s do sweet since Kota’s still young,” his breath tickled your ear causing you to jump. “Oh sorry y/n! I didn’t mean to scare you!” Even though he said that you could see the mischievous look on his face.

You rolled your eyes and went back to cooking, “Sweet it is then. Now, either sit back down or help me. Don’t just stand there.” you lightly smacked him with the back of your wooden spoon to which he just laughed. “Ok, ok. Just tell me what to do.”

Dinner was quickly ready and Kota came out of his room rubbing his eyes. “Why good Morning, Kota! C’mon, let’s wash your hands before we eat.” Oikawa’s eyes never left you as you took care of your nephew. You were so kind to him, it almost made him jealous. Would you also wish him a good morning after he wakes up? It was something he could only dream of. 

“Oikawa why are you here?” Kota took a bite of his food as he asked his question, making it a bit hard to understand what he said. “I’m just here to play with Kota,” He patted Kota’s head to which his eyes lit up. “Really?! Can we play some more volleyball?”

You laughed at their little interaction which caught Oikawa’s attention. It was a sound that was soft and light on his ears, he wanted to hear it again. “Kota, there’s nowhere to play volleyball here so why don’t you show him your room after we eat instead?” Kota nodded his head and quickly finished his meal.

A little while later Kota fell asleep for the night after forcing Oikawa to play with him and now it was just you and Oikawa in the living room. You brought out a can of beer for him while you just drank some water. 

“You’re not going to drink with me?” You shook your head and looked towards Kota’s room. “If something were to happen to him I need to be ready to act. But please, go ahead.” He opened the can and talked with you for a little bit.

After a couple of cans, he was definitely starting to feel a little tipsy. “You know, you’re a good parent. Kota might not be your kid but you treat him with such care and kindness. I was worried when I first met him that his home life wasn’t good since he was always quiet and never smiled but...after meeting you I can see that everything’s fine.” his eyes widened and he quickly covered his mouth. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. My lips are a little loose right now.” He laid his head on the table with his shoulders slumped, a bit embarrassed of his sudden words. You just smiled and ran a hand through his hair, “Thank you Oikawa. You can sleep here if you want. Let me go get a few blankets and pillows for you.”

You set up the couch for him and helped him settle for the night. “Goodnight, sleep well,” but before you could leave he grabbed your wrist and pulled you onto the couch with him. “Sleep with me” he leaned down to give you a kiss but fell asleep before he could with you locked in his arms. You took a sigh and brushed some hair out from his face. Despite the happy-go-lucky attitude he had, you felt a sense of sadness whenever you looked at him.

The morning quickly came and Oikawa woke up before anyone else. He felt a weight against him and when he looked down his memories of last night suddenly came back to him. Of course, he was embarrassed by his actions but at the same time waking up next to you didn’t seem so bad.

He felt you starting to move around and saw your eyes flutter open, “Good morning, y/n~” He had a cheeky smile on his face that made your face feel as if it were on fire. You immediately shot up, “G-good morning, Oikawa.” You stood up and headed towards your bedroom to get ready for your day. You had to go to work in a little bit and needed to get Kota to school soon.

You quickly came out in work attire and made some breakfast for the three of you. Kota sat down at the table and ate quietly as you prepared some bentos for the day. “Okay, Kota! We have to go otherwise you’ll be late for school!”

You turned to Oikawa and handed him a bento as well. “I don’t know if you need to get to work too but here’s some lunch! See you later Oikawa!” You parted ways at the street and he couldn’t stop the smile from appearing on his face. You truly were a kind person.

A few days passed and Oikawa decided to stop by your apartment to return the bento box to you. Maybe he was acting on his own whims but he just wanted to see you again. “Oh, Oikawa! It’s pretty late but come in!” 

You ushered him into your house and poured him a cup of tea. “So to what do I owe the honor?” He held up the bento box and handed it back to you.

“Just thought I’d return this. It was really good, I wouldn’t mind eating your food every day,” his eyes locked with yours and you could feel your face heating up from his blatant flirting. The look on your face made his breath hitch though. Just how cute could you get?

“You know, you should call me Tooru. We’re friends, right?” The more embarrassed you got the more he wanted to tease you. He wanted to see all of your expressions. “C’mon, say it!”

He leaned closer and closer to you as he kept trying to get you flustered. “T...Tooru,” he smiled at the sound of his name.

“See? Was that so hard?” He patted your head to which you just swatted it away. He knew when to stop and you might end up hating him if he went any further. So he drank the rest of his tea and then got up.

“Well, it’s been fun y/n but I’ll see you later.” He was about to leave before you stopped him.

You pulled on his shirt and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before letting go. “Good night, Tooru” and with that, you closed your door leaving him there too shocked to even move. 

Once he got a hold of himself he chuckled a bit as he walked home. He had always thought you were interesting but who knew you could catch him by surprise like that as well.

A couple of weeks went by and you’ve seen Oikawa a few times at volleyball lessons and you talked to him a bit every time. Your conversations with him, though short, were always meaningful. They were the highlight of Oikawa’s day and he couldn’t wait to see you again.

Sooner or later he and Kota had started playing together on the weekends because if there was even a slight chance that he’d see you again, then he’d take it. Plus Kota wasn’t bad company. Oikawa had always been fond of the kid, he saw the same loneliness in Kota that he had in himself.

Whenever you came to come pick Kota up you always greeted the both of them with a smile. With the way you looked at Oikawa anyone could tell that you liked the man. Soon enough, you two waved goodbye and left the park.

Kota wanted to leave it alone...and he did for a few days but the weird feeling he got when he saw you two together looking at each other like that made him want to know. So he finally asked you what’s been on his mind.

“Do you like Oikawa?” You and Kota were walking home together hand in hand. An unconscious smile appeared on your face and maybe you weren’t aware of it but Kota saw it. And it left an uneasy feeling in him again.

“I like him. He’s a good person, though I get the feeling he’s hiding something but I hope that he’ll be comfortable to let me see someday. Now c’mon, you don’t want to miss volleyball right?” 

You dropped him off at practice and as Kota ran off to go to his friends, Oikawa came up to talk to you for a moment. Kota looked back at the two of you and the weird feeling from earlier came back to him. He didn’t know how to even explain how he felt other than...scared.

When you came back to pick him up he was still feeling weird. He didn’t like feeling like this. The next few days he couldn’t shake this feeling and he didn’t know what to do. 

As time went on the gross feeling never left Kota and you noticed his change in behavior but thought that he would talk to you when he was ready. “Kota? Do you want dinner?” He just shook his head and went to his room. Odd.

You decided to call your parents and talk to them about it, “I don’t know what’s happening. He was just starting to smile again but he hasn’t in the past few days...I think something happened but he won’t talk about it. Maybe he’d be better off somewhere else.” Little did you know that he was listening and he felt like time just stopped around him. 

The sudden noise of your front door slamming shut scared you. You said your goodbyes to your parents and went looking around. It was raining so maybe it was just the storm, “Kota?” You opened the door to his room only to see it was empty. 

You immediately ran out of your apartment after noticing Kota’s shoes weren’t there anymore. “Kota?!” you called out his name as you ran, not knowing where he would even go. Tears were streaming down your face at the thought of something happening to him. 

Suddenly you got a call on your phone from Oikawa, “Tooru I lost Kota I don’t know where he is or where he went!” your sobs could be heard through the cell phone and he could hear the hurt in your voice.

“Don’t worry, y/n. He’s with me at the park, the one where we have volleyball and he’s fine.” He heard you hang up the phone and in less than five minutes you were seen running towards the two of them.

Despite the ground being wet and hard, you slid onto your knees and took Kota into your arms, “Kota! I was so worried! Why would you run off like that?!” Kota pushed you away and wouldn’t meet your eyes. “Kota?”

Oikawa patted the kid’s head, “Don’t you think it’s time you told them? And you,” his eyes landed on you, “listen to what he says. He’s nervous and yelling won’t help right now.”

You watched as Kota looked up at you as he tried to say something but the words were struggling to leave his mouth. “Y/n please don’t get rid of me I promise to be good! I don’t want to be alone again!” He went in and hugged you, clinging to your clothes.

You held him as he cried, “Kota I love you so much I would never get rid of you!”

“But..but you said maybe it’d be better if I went somewhere else…” Did he overhear your conversation with your parents? You shook your head and held his face in your hands.

“Kota...that was because you seemed so sad again lately. I thought you didn’t like living with me so I thought that you’d might want to go somewhere else. But I would be so happy if you wanted to stay with me.” You kissed his tears away and picked him up as you stood. “Let’s go home, okay?” You then looked at Oikawa and gave him a smile and a slight bow before walking back home.

Once you thought Kota was asleep you called Oikawa, “What’s up y/n?”

You sat on your bed while you talked, “Just calling to thank you for today. I didn’t know what I would do if I lost him. So thank you for finding him.” He smiled listening to you speak.

“Don’t worry about it. Just be sure to keep talking to him. He’s quiet but...he’s holding a lot in.”

“You sound like you’re talking from experience.” You let out a breathy laugh but were met with silence on his end.

His eyes narrowed slightly before speaking his next words, “And what if I am?”

There was a brief silence between the two of you, “Then I’d let you know that it’s okay to lean on other people every once in a while. And that it’s okay to lean on me.”

His breathing was silent and you thought that maybe he had hung up. “Don’t be so serious y/n! I was only joking. Well, I have an early start tomorrow so I’m going to let you go. Good night, y/n.”

He hung up before you could even say goodbye back. Just when you thought you were having more than a surface-level moment, he goes back to playing around. You took a deep sigh, slightly hurt but also maybe you were overestimating your importance in his life.

“Y/n?” you looked over at your door to see Kota just barely poking his head in.

You just smiled at him and waved him in, “Can’t sleep?” He snuggled right up to you and shook his head no.

“I thought you sounded kind of sad so I came over.” The walls here must be really thin huh. But you just pulled him close and the both of you fell asleep together.

A few days later it was finally the weekend so Kota went to the park to see if Oikawa was there to play with him. Oikawa had been meeting up with the kid to watch him while he played. That scare really did a number on you so Oikawa thought the least he could do was watch him while you were busy. 

After an hour or so of playing together Kota asked what’s been on his mind ever since you and he had that conversation about the tall setter a while back, “Oikawa why do you seem different when it’s just you and me?” Oikawa let out a small laugh as he bumped it back, “Different? Different how?”

Kota tossed it up while not holding anything back, “You just seem lonely around others but at the same time it doesn’t feel like you want to get to know them. But I feel like you don’t hide things around me”

Oikawa had never felt so called out before, especially by a seven-year-old. “I think y/n would still like you if you let them get to know you. I mean, I still like you,” Oikawa just shook his head and focused on keeping the ball up. “I’m not confident they would but thank you, Kota. I like you too.”

The two of them played for a bit longer before Oikawa asked Kota a question, “How would you feel if I took y/n from you?” the ball dropped onto the ground as Kota just stood there with a look of pure fear evident on his face. “No! Please don’t take them!” Oikawa almost regretted asking him the question, “I don’t want to lose y/n!” His heart shattered at his words and before he knew it Kota was being held tight in his arms, “Don’t worry Kota, I promise I won’t take them.”

Oikawa soon walked Kota back to your apartment once the sun started to set. Kota immediately ran to you as soon as he opened the door and you gave him a nice big hug, “Oh, welcome home!”

Welcome home. It was a simple greeting but he hadn’t heard it in years. The thought of you greeting him like that after a long day...it was something he could only long for. “You’re staying for dinner right, Tooru?”

How could he say no? Dinner went along just fine and soon enough Kota fell asleep in your lap as the three of you watched some cartoons with him. Oikawa’s eye never left you as you set Kota down in bed.

“Sorry ‘bout that. He always falls asleep at the most random times.” You flipped off the TV and went to get up to clean but was quickly pulled down onto the ground with Oikawa on top of you with both hands beside your head.

Your eyes locked with his, his clouded with a mixture of emotions. He wanted to take you and keep you only for himself. “I think they would still like you.”  How he wanted to believe that was true. 

He wanted your kindness and the soft and gentle feeling you gave him whenever you spoiled him but he also wanted to see you withering beneath him on the edge of tears. He leaned down and kissed you and you could feel the desperation in it. Both of you pulled away out of breath. He went to kiss you again but you stopped him before he could. “Tooru, Kota’s in the other room. We can’t do this here.”

It was brief but you saw a look of hurt run across his face. He got off of you and stood up. “Sorry, y/n. I’ll see you sometime!” He quickly put his usual smile back on his face before leaving out the front door not even stopping to look at you as he left.

Oikawa walked home drowning in his thoughts. What the fuck was wrong with him? For a brief second, he forgot about everything else like it was only you and him. But you had Kota and Kota needed you. But the smile you showed him...the laughter you had...he hated this feeling. The feeling of having something so close but just barely being out of his reach.

Once he got home he curled himself in his bed, still possessed by thoughts of you. ‘I want them. I want them. I want them so bad.’ He held his head between his hands, ‘I want to be loved by y/n.’

Kota’s crying face suddenly flashed through his mind, “Please don’t take them!” and he knew he had to stop. He couldn’t do that to that boy.

Oikawa didn’t come back to volleyball lessons after that. You hadn’t seen him in a little over a week and it was starting to scare you. Your change in behavior started to worry your nephew and he started to feel somewhat guilty. 

Tears started to form in his eyes as you two sat at the table together, “Y/n.” He got out of his chair and came over to you to which you picked him up and sat him in your lap, “What’s wrong Kota?” The tears just wouldn’t stop coming out of his eyes as he tried to explain what was wrong.

“Oi-Oikawa and you aren’t talking, right? That’s why you’ve been so sad! Y/n doesn’t smile anymore and it’s my fault! I said something mean to him and said he couldn’t have you and now he’s angry...I’m sorry, y/n!”

Your heart ached at his words. You held him tight against you until he calmed down, “Shh Kota it’s okay. It’s not your fault, it’s not anyone’s fault, do you understand? Oikawa isn’t angry I promise you that. He knew you’d answer like that because he knows how much I love you.” His sniffles got quieter and quieter as you spoke. “I love you so much Kota but I also...like Oikawa too. Would it be okay if I fell in love with him?”

Kota nodded his head into your chest and got off of your lap, “Okay because I like Oikawa too. Please find him.” You ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead. “Thank you, Kota. Please know that this doesn’t mean I’ll love you any less, rather, my love for the both of you will be doubled.”

The next day when you went to drop off Kota at volleyball you talked to some of the other instructors there and they told you where Oikawa lived. You thanked them and went on your way hoping that it wasn’t too late.

You finally found his apartment and knocked on the door in front of you hoping that he’d answer it. The door slowly opened to reveal a disheveled Oikawa. “Y/n, What are you doing here?” His voice was cold and emotionless and his eyes seemed like they were just looking through you instead of at you. You could cry seeing him in this state. You couldn’t hold yourself back before lunging at him for a hug. But you weren’t met with a warm welcome.

“What, I kiss you once and you want me? You must be so easy huh. Bet you’d do it with anyone that showed you any amount of affection.” The words just...came out. It hurt him so much to say them but Kota...he couldn’t bear for Kota to cry because of him.

But you wouldn’t let go. “That’s not what you really think. I know it isn’t. I love Kota so much and I’ll always be praying for his happiness but I love you as well and want nothing more than for your happiness too. Please don’t think that I can’t love you both. You’re always holding back how you feel and your true self may be selfish and stubborn, but Oikawa is Oikawa through and through and I’ll always love every aspect of you. I know I don’t know everything about you but you don’t know everything about me either. I want to be with you and Kota does too! So will you please stay?”

You held onto him as if your life depended on it and slowly he raised his arms to hug you back. Tears streamed down his face and he held you as close to him as he could. “I’m sorry y/n. I’m so sorry. I love you too.”

You had told Oikawa that your parents had picked Kota from volleyball and he was staying at their house. “Is it really okay to send him off like that?” Oikawa couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about making him feel like he needed to leave.

“Kota actually said he wanted to go visit them. When I said it was okay he refused to take no for an answer.” you chuckled at your nephew’s clumsiness. But he was a good kid and you loved him for it.

Oikawa came up behind you and snaked his arms around your waist, “He’s a sweet kid.” He kissed you tenderly and slowly you two made your way into your bedroom. 

Every touch from you was like a drug leaving him only wanting more. That night was filled with nothing but gentle touches and soft kisses. And he absolutely couldn’t get enough of it. Enough of you. “I love you, y/n” he wiped the tears that left your eyes as you laid under him. You leaned into his touch and kissed his warm hand, “I love you too.”

The next day Oikawa went to go pick Kota up while you went to go get some groceries for dinner and Kota immediately clung to Oikawa’s leg upon seeing him, “I’m so sorry Oikawa! Please don’t leave again.” Oikawa picked him up and threw him into the air a bit to cheer him up. “Don’t worry Kota, it’s not your fault. Y/n talked some sense into me so I won’t be going anywhere.”

The two of them walked in the door and were welcomed by you, the person that they both loved the most, with a smile on your face.

“Welcome home you two!”

[daddynegandesires]

Secrets chapter 3

Summary: ellies birthday and mothers day is coming up as emotions and pent up anger are spiraling between you, negan, and jack while more and more secrets begin to unfold.

18+

Warming: nsfw, fluff, kink, depression, abuse

Sorry for the late update on this chapter its kind of a short one ive just have been going through some personal things and havent found the motivation to finish this one yet.❤ i hope you all like it!❤

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You and negan haven't spoke in a few days ellies birthday is today and you have been busy decorating. Negan is suppose to be picking up the cake at the store. jack has returned back from his "business trip" withq an odd hickey on his neck that keeps gawking at you everytime you speak to him. You want to avoid conflict because you arent so innocent yourself after what happen with negan last time you saw him but thats just not who you are....you have to confront him but you also dont want to ruin ellies day infront of everyone.

"Hey jack, do you mind helping me with this streamer" you called out to him from the ladder

"Sure hun" he took the streamer from your hand taping it up to the wall

"Thank you.....uh negan should be here soon with her cake" you said folding up the step ladder

"I could of went and grabbed it" he scoffs

"I uh..well sorry i didnt know it was a big deal" you try to laugh it off politely

"Dont even worry about it...." He walks past you ramming his ahoulder into you heading outside

Negan had arrive with the cake and so did a few of ellies friends and your mother. You and your mothers relationship really has never been that great but you try to make peace with it for ellies sake. Negan came in with a huge gift box all wrapped in pink with a bow.

" i thought we agreed nothing crazy" you whispered to him

"Whaat...can i not spoil my girl" negan grins at you

Ellie runs out of her room her eyes light up at the size of the gift her dad got her.

"Mommy look at this...its humongo!" She says messing with the bow

"I see honey..dont mess with it yet" you giggle

"Where is your boy toy.." His tongue slides across his bottom lip

You kept silent while negan stared you down waiting for a response but nothing came out his eyes were burning a hole through you he always knew when shit was up.

"Ah i see....the silent treatment" folding his arms

Negan walks off to go play with ellie and say hello to a few people when your mother walks up to you.

"Hey mom..." You say emotionless

"What is negan doing here.." She asks

"Mom...please dont. Thats ellies dad. I told you we are trying to work on things for ellies sake" you say annoyed.

"Well...once a cheater always a cheater. Im just saying" as she sips on her cup of wine walking away

A few hours have passed and ellie got to blow out her candles and eat cake. Jack still hasnt said much to you throughout the whole party and its more than obvious that negan is starting to catch on im just hoping he doesn't notice the hicky on his neck. Ellie has been bugging you about negans gift so you were going to let her open it.

"Ellie open it up over here sweetie so everyone can see" you say smiling

Ellie quikly rips the hot pink rapping paper off and squeals in excitement as she realizes its a electric scooter that she has been wanting. Negan was standing by your side with his hand sneakily rested on your lower back with a huge smile on his face.

"Oh my god you got me that scooter!!" Ellie begins jumping up and down

"Negan....those cost alot" you whispered in his ear

"dont worry about it....i got it taken car of" he says sternly

"Lets take it outside!!" Negans runs over and picks it up in excitment with all of the kids following him outside to ride on the scooter. You were throwing away dirty plates when jack came up to you

"So you want to explain why you and negan have been so close" he quietly says to you

You instantly start to burn with rage as he asks you that knowing he has been keeping things from you too and the fact his assistant melissa has been speaking to him inappropriately. You were holing the knife in your hand for cutting the cake reminding you of the incident that happened between you and negan once you found out he was cheating. you froze and gripped tightly on the knife thinking of how to approach this.

"You're a fucking whore..." He spat at you

"Jack.....get the fuck away from me" you quietly say

"Yeah i bet thats what you want.....so he can fuck you" he says through gritted teeth

"Its. Ellies. Birthday.....fucking knock it off we can settle this later" you slowly set the knife down unclenching your fist

Jack stands there glaring at you with his jaw clecnhed before giving up and walking away. You let out a sigh of relief and pour yourself a glass of wine. You take a sip closing your eyes feeling like everything is going in slomotion in that moment when you here yelling outside and notice its negan and jack. You drop your glass spilling your wine everywhere running outside.

"Back the fuck off man!" Jack yells with his fist balled up

"Ohh...you really want to go there dude..." Negan laughs

"You are fucking (y/n) and i know it!" Jack lunges towards him throwing a punch hitting negan in the face making him stumble

Negan catches his balace reaching up to his face touching where jack punched him in the mouth realizing he is bleeding negan licks the blood off his lips and lets out a sinister almost scary deep chuckle.

"Oh...you fucked up." Negan lunges towards jack football tackling him to the ground he starts punching jack over and over again blood all over his fists

"Negan!!!...no! Stop!" You rush over trying to pry negan off of jack

"Negan stop for ellie please!" You begin to cry struggling to finally get him off causing you to fall backwards with negan on you

"You are a dead fucking man!....now get the fuck off my property..." Negan threats

You push negan off to go check on jack you try to get jack to respond to you and see if he is okay but he just spits in your face shoving you away causing you to fall before you know it negan charges back over and starts beating the shit out of him all you can do is scream at them and cry. Through tear filled eyes you notice the cops rushing up the street pulling into the drive way the last thing you remember is the cops pulling negan off and everything went black.

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Jack and negan were both arrested but were soon let go apparently i had fainted due to stress and dehydration they kept me in the hospital until i was better. You kicked jack out of the house and you haven't spoke to negan since ellies birthday. Things have been rough being alone for ahwile and ellie was getting upset about not seeing her dad.

Text from negan:

Hey....im coming by

You looked at your phone to see a text from negan but you just ignored it and continued to cook some food for ellie. There was a knock at the door you sighed annoyingly before unlocking the deadbolt and opening the door to negans innocent brown eyes staring back at you. before you could give him a chance to speak you shut the door in his face but he quickly caught it in time with his foot in the doorway before it closed.

"Negan...ellie should be home. She is still upset" you sigh

"Thats okay i want to make it up to you two" he says pushing the door open coming inside

You just stand there silent with your arms crossed untill you hear ellies bus coming down the road and before you know it she busts through the door yelling.

"Mommmyyyy! Happy mothers dayzz!" Ellies runs up to you handing you a picture she made at school

"Awe...thank you sweet heart its gorgeous" you took the pink paper from her smiling and when to hang it on the fridge

"Look i want to take you two out to dinner...its mothers day and you deserve it..look i know i fucked up but that asshole had it coming" negan says

"Negan dont.....go ask Ellie she is the real one you need to be apologizing to not me" you stare at the ground avoiding eye contact.

"Ohh ellie daddy wants to talk to you!" He walks off to her room

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You, negan, and ellie were all out at dinner at your favorite steakhouse enjoying your meal when the waiter brought a bottle of wine

"Negan....i cant afford that" you quietly say

"Ah ah....you deserve it i mean you are the best mom ever" he winks at you popping the lid off pouring wine into your glass

"Thanks..." You shyly say before taking a sip

"So.....the school fired me" negan cleared his throat

You choked on your drink hearing the words that had just came out of negans mouth

"What?..how come" you say wipping wine off your chin

"Well....they dont want me as a coach anymore since what happened at ellies birthday. They say its wildly inappropriate and against policy to still have me there" he bites in his steak

"What are you going to do..." You ask worried

"Ohhh no biggie i always have things taken care of" he smiles at you

"If you need anything im here..." You look up at him

" i know....thank you" he reaches across the table holding your hand

The three of you finish up dinner afterwards you all go for a late walk through the park. It felt nice to get out and have some fresh air after what happended at the party. Your phone kept buzzing off the hook of texts from jack you kept trying to hide it from negan to not let him worry. You felt bad hiding it from negan but you knew it would start a fight but you also didnt want to let jack go without some talking. Negan took you and ellie back home ellie ran inside and got ready for bed.

"I know he is talking to you..." Negan says sternly while placing one hand against the wall beside your head

"Negan....can we not talk about this right now" you say turning your head away from him

"No!...you will look at me when im speaking to you" negan grabs ahold of your chin forcing you to look at him

"Yes....yes im still talking to him.." You say embarassed

"Why....he is such a load of whoreshit....im standing right infront of you (y/n)...im here now! Take me back please. Im an honest man now!" Negan growls

" get...off of me!" You scream and shove him away from you and begin to walk angrily down the road

"(Y/n) get back here now!...where the fuck do you think you are going!" Negan trys to catch up with you when it suddenly starts raining

"Negan stop trying so hard!...this is going nowhere!" You say crying

"Why do you keep saying that!...i want this to work!" Negan finally catches up to you grabbing you by the arm spinning you around

"......well i dont..." You choked on those words as they slipped out of your mouth it felt like your heart had just stopped for a split second it killed you to say that to negan but it had to be done

"You....dont want this." He said quietly and upset with rain drops running down his perfect face

"Negan....i.... I cant. You have to let me go" you say caressing his face" you said giving him a half smile with a single tear rolling down your cheek

"W....what about ellie.....thats my babygirl" Negan begans to tear up pulling you into a hug

"You can still be in ellies life.....i start therapy next tuesday" you say ending the hug

"You can talk to me (y/n)" negan sniffles

"There are just things that just feel easier letting out to a stranger sometimes..."

"I love you....." Negan says bresthlessly

"....i love you too but from a distance.....i have boundaries set now negan"

You and negan began to walk back to the house getting inside you hand him a towel to dry himself off. Negan follows you to the bedroom.

"There are still some of your clothes in the closet...." You say facing away from him

"You still have some of my old clothes here...." Negan opens the door seeing his shirts still hanging in the same spot before he moved out

"I didnt know if you still wanted them or not..." You say nervously

"Its okay. Thank you" negan takes off his soaking wet shirt switching it out with an old faded band shirt

"You can sleep on the couch if you would like..." You offer him

"You sure you are going to be okay with that?" He raises an eyebrow at you

"Yeah....plus its been lonely here just me and ellie" you chuckle handing him a blanket

Negan takes the blanket from you before turing around to open the bedroom door to leave. As soon as the door shut you quietly sobbed making sure it wasnt loud enough for negan to hear. You wiped your tears away before getting yourself ready for bed. You tossed and turned for most of the night your head filled with unnecessary thoughts and cenarios. You just wanted all of this pain to go away you dont know what you are doing with yourself anymore the only thing that keeps you holding on is ellie and negan.

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[thewritewolf]

Mari Christmas And A Happy New Adrien

Summary:

Lost in the aftermath of Hawkmoth's defeat, Adrien loses complete track of time and before he knows it, the holiday season is upon him. Will a Christmas visit to his girlfriend's house be just what he needs to move on?

Hello and welcome to my piece for the @mlsecretsanta event! My giftee, @lesslinette, asked for among other things, Adrienette, family bonding, fluff and just a bit of hurt/comfort and I aimed to please!

I had to do a good amount of research into French and Chinese Christmas traditions (including interviewing my long-suffering French friend - thanks @emsylcatac!), so hopefully I didn't get anything *too* wrong.

Read on Ao3

Enjoy!

Marinette 💖: You still up?

Adrien: Yeah Still not sleeping great House was always too quiet Never thought it could get more quiet tho lol Whats up?

Marinette 💖: :( Just wondering what u were doing 4 xmas Since You know

Adrien: Since father went to jail and mom died again? Haven’t thought about it Guess ive still got time to figure it out

Marinette 💖: … ..Its the 23rd of Dec Like 2am Not a lot of time left

Adrien: oh Guess uh Stay at home?

Marinette 💖: Adrien Its been like two months Youve been going crazy in there Youll just be stuck in there all by yourself Why don’t you come over?

Adrien: I don’t know… I don’t want to bring anyone down Or ruin anyone’s christmas

Marinette 💖: Adrien ‘Kindest Boy in Paris’ Agreste

Adrien: Oh no she used my middle name

Marinette 💖: You are coming over tomorrow And letting me pamper you And letting my family - your REAL family - love you And that is the end of that ...Is that okay with you?

Adrien: Whatever you say ma’am

Marinette 💖: Good Be here no later than fifteen hundred Let me know if I need to pick you up

Adrien: Will do

Adrien laid back down, his face lit up only by the glow of his phone and the only noise in the room being Plagg’s snoring. Putting his phone to sleep, he turned over, closed his eyes, and honestly smiled for what felt like the first time in a long time.

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Adrien reached the door to his girlfriend’s house with a gift under one arm, an envelope in his pocket, and a weak smile on his face. The latter wasn’t because of a lack of feeling on his part - the exact opposite, actually.

It had been hard to go to sleep after their conversation that night, a swirl of mixed emotions keeping him from getting the rest that he craved. Last night wasn’t much better and he was left exhausted. He’d even been half tempted to call and say that he couldn’t make it, but somehow that only made him feel worse.

So here he was. He’d shambled his way to the car, driven himself there through blurry eyes and frequent yawns, and turned the doorknob. Maybe they’d understand if he just dropped off the present and headed home.

Well, maybe not home, but just where he lived.

The instant the door opened, a wave of hot air buffeted him. Not only did it warm his freezing face, it brought all sorts of wonderful smells on it. There were the expected scents - baked potatoes, salmon, chicken. But then was something else, something a little harder to place.

After puzzling over it for a moment, he shook his head and stepped into the house. No sooner had he closed the door behind him than he heard some voices calling out from deeper inside.

“Wait, was that the door? The family wasn’t supposed to be over until tomorrow, weren’t they?”

“Tom, that has to be Adrien!”

There was excitement in Sabine’s voice that warmed his heart, but not quite as much as when he’d taken a couple steps into the house and was blindsided by Marinette bursting out of the living room to wrap him in a hug.

“Worried I might not show?” Adrien whispered after they parted from their kiss.

“Not even for a moment, chaton.” She smiled up at him before her eyes wandered down to his arms, a suspicious look on her face when she saw the one present. “Looks like you showed some restraint this year.”

“Of course!” At her continued doubting look, he added. “Come on, I’m perfectly capable of giving reasonable gifts.”

“Last year you tried to give me my favorite restaurant.”

“But I didn’t!”

“Only because I hid your checkbook and credit cards!”

Adrien snorted. “Details.”

Rolling her eyes, Marinette tugged on his coat sleeve. “Follow me, you ridiculous man. You can put your gifts under the tree, we’ll open them tomorrow.”

She led him into the living room, where their Christmas tree had been set up in all its glory. There were red paper chains wrapped all around it and a huge variety of homemade ornaments - including a few that he’d made in years past. Ever since he and Marinette had started dating, he’d been welcomed into their household with open arms. And even before that, they’d been nothing but kind to him.

His eyes poured over the tree, looking for one specific ornament. It didn’t take him long to find it - with its poor quality, it stood out among the beautiful glass orbs and painted baubles. His fingers brushed over the patches of glitter, a nostalgic smile spreading across his face as he took in the patterns of melted wax inside it. His first ornament. They’d barely been dating a few months when he’d made that one.

Had it really been four years already?

Arms wrapped around him from the side and he looked down at Marinette’s chin resting on his shoulder, peering up at him with big blue eyes.

“What’re you thinking about, hot stuff?”

“Old memories, that’s all.”

“Hmm…” She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. “You just about ready to make some new ones?”

“With you? Always.”

“You two want to come in and help us finish cooking dinner?” They both jumped when Sabine’s voice reached them.

Blushing, Marinette reluctantly let Adrien go and headed toward the kitchen. “Coming, maman!”

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A few hours later and the four of them were seated around the dining room table. Some things had been moved around from what Adrien remembered from the usual arrangement, and a long table had been set up. Most of the spaces were empty - with the four of them, only about a third of the table was occupied. But while the chairs were mostly left bare, the table was not.

Even though he had helped make some of it, Adrien was still amazed at how good the food all looked when laid out on the table like this.

Most of it was pretty traditional, at least from what he knew. A lot of the time his experience with Christmas dinners were meals allowed to grow cold until he gave up on his father showing. But the roasted chicken was still steaming when they cut into it, the smoked salmon and toast still holding the heat of the oven on them. Add in the gratin dauphinois and this was just about the ideal Christmas dinner he could imagine.

Naturally, it got even better with Sabine’s contribution - spring rolls.

As Adrien shoveled them onto his plate, he asked Sabine, “Is this the only Chinese dish for today, maman?”

“Just you wait, dear.” She smiled over her plate. “Today was Tom’s turn to make dinner. Tomorrow will be mine and you’ll definitely have your fill then.”

“I can’t wait!” Adrien took some of the chestnut sauce to pour over his chicken. Which reminded him… He glanced nervously toward the oven. “I don’t suppose you made foie gras, did you?”

Marinette made a face and shivered.

Tom quickly shook his head. “Oh no, son. Back when Marinette was… what? Eight, nine? She found out how it was made and made us promise to never have it again.”

“Eleven years later and we haven’t broken that promise yet,” Sabine finished. “There are plenty of other foods in the world.”

“That’s good.” Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. “It always made me uncomfortable when my father ordered it.”

“Ordered, dear?” Sabine gave him a confused look.

“Oh, we never really cooked our own dinners.”

Tom’s jaw dropped. “Not even Christmas dinner?”

“Nope. Sometimes he’d have to order the dinner prepared the day before and then we’d reheat it the day of, since no one wanted to come into work on Christmas day, you know?”

“I see…” Tom shared a look with Sabine, but the meaning was lost on Adrien. “Well, you make sure you have your fill, son! We’ll be making more for tomorrow, so this is all for us.”

“Thanks,” Adrien said with a grateful smile.

The conversation meandered and for the most part Adrien was just content to listen in, drinking in the company after spending so much of his time recently just by himself. Well, mostly by himself. Marinette would visit whenever she could get the time between college classes and internships. Nino and Alya were more elusive, if only because they were outside the city so often these days.

But there was one person who was his constant companion, Adrien thought with a smile as he peeked into the breast pocket of his T-shirt…

...Only to see that it was empty. Maybe he’d gone to visit Tikki and the kwamis of the miracle box? Adrien was drawn out of his thoughts when Sabine directed a question at him.

“Are you ready for the pre-dessert snacks, dear?”

“Oh! Sure, yeah. What do you have?”

“You’ll love it!” Tom excitedly got up and hustled over to the kitchen, Sabine right behind him. He raised his voice to be heard as he went to the room next door. “We know how much you love camembert so…”

Adrien’s eyes widened. They didn’t…

Tom returned with a platter of cheeses in his hands and a frown on his lips.

“Something wrong, papa?” Marinette’s eyes glanced between Tom and the cheese platter.

“No, no… its just… I could have sworn I bought more cheese than this. And I was so sure that I had purchased camembert.” He rubbed his chin. “Ah well, there is more than enough for the three of us anyway.”

While Sabine set down a large bowl of salad in the middle of the table, Adrien glanced at Marinette. At his side, Marinette was biting her lips and pointedly staring into the middle distance, trying her hardest not to laugh. For his part, Adrien was frustrated that he couldn’t go anywhere without Plagg making a noticeable dent in the food supply.

His annoyance with Plagg was so great he almost didn’t enjoy the Yule Log that Tom had made for dessert. Almost, but not quite.

Once they were done with dinner, they cleared the table.

“So, how’d you like the meal?” Marinette asked as she dried off the dishes while Adrien washed them.

“Definitely better hot. And homemade.”

Marinette chuckled. “I’m glad the bar was so high for us. Really makes us feel like we accomplished something here.”

“How about…” Adrien bit down on his lips and narrowed his eyes in thought. “It was the most delicious meal I’ve had in months.”

“Ooo, now we’re getting somewhere.”

“Years even.”

“Good, good, go on.”

“I had never known food could taste so delicious until you graced me with your heavenly meals.”

Marinette’s eyes gleamed with restrained laughter, the hint of a barely contained smile ruining her deadpan. “Glad I could finally weasel how you really feel out of you.”

“Yeah you’re pretty good at that, aren’t you?” Hands still in the sink’s soapy water, he leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead.

“No fooling around now, we still have to help put up the last decorations before we relax for the night.”

“What sort of decorations?”

“Paper lanterns and paper chains. That sort of thing.” At Adrien’s politely confused look, she added, “It’ll help make mom’s side of the family feel welcome. Plus they look pretty cool.”

“Well what are we waiting for then? Let’s kick this into overdrive!”

Adrien suddenly worked in a flurry, Marinette scream laughing as she got splashed with some of the water thrown up by his breakneck pace. Marinette could barely keep up between her giggling, but she somehow managed.

With the last fork, plate, and glass sparkling clean and put away, Marinette shook her head and dabbed at her slightly damp shirt with a fresh towel.

“You’re a dork, you know that?”

“So my girlfriend tells me.”

Adrien relished the sometimes quiet, sometimes loud evening he spent with the Dupain-Chengs. When he went upstairs and cuddled Marinette in the cozy darkness, Adrien felt only excitement for the next day

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Morning came swiftly, but Adrien rose to meet the dawn’s first light with a smile on his lips and a spring in his step. Marinette was… a little less eager, but he managed to coax her out of the bed, eventually.

When they finally got down the stairs and made it to the kitchen, Sabine’s eyes widened and she even froze in the middle of folding one of her dumplings.

“Marinette? I’m surprised to see you up so early.”

Bleary eyed, her daughter simply jabbed a finger toward Adrien and grunted. Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled.

“I knew you’d be a good influence on her, sweetie.”  Sabine patted his cheek with a warm smile. “Now, once you’ve had some breakfast I’d really appreciate some help out here. From you especially, Marinette, since you know exactly how to do it the way I like it.”

“Can’t Tom help?” Adrien made some toast for him and Marinette, doing his best to stay out of Sabine’s way. “Not that I’m not willing to lend a hand, but he’s got to be pretty good at it after all this time, right?”

Sabine laughed and even Marinette cracked a smile. “You’d think so, but no. The man can make almost any dessert known to French mankind, but I’ve yet to see him finish one spring roll or dumpling in all our years of marriage. Just about the only thing I’m trusting him with today is the roasted pork.”

“Not even the cheese plate?” Adrien asked, tongue in cheek. To his surprise, Sabine shook her head gravely.

“We don’t make one for Christmas day. After all, everyone that is going to be here is from my side of the family and we’re all lactose intolerant.”

“Oh.” Adrien glanced at Marinette, who shrugged.

“I got lucky and got papa’s tolerance for it, I guess.”

“Huh… well, can I help?”

A few hours passed, most of which Adrien spent doing vital but unskilled cooking like stirring and kneading. Although they did let him try to fold a few dumplings. It ended up nowhere near as well done as Marinette’s, but she still gave him a kiss on the cheek for the good effort. From what he gathered, Tom had never even managed to get it to stay together.

They had just put the last batch in the oven when they heard a knock at the door, Sabine quickly taking off her apron as she rushed to answer it.

Adrien’s ears perked up when he heard a conversation in Chinese start up, but between him being a little rusty and them speaking so fast, he couldn’t pick out much.

A few moments later, Sabine walked back into the room with an older Chinese couple. Marinette pulled him towards them. Sabine put a hand on Adrien’s shoulder and introduced them.

“Adrien, these are my parents. My mother, Ling,” she said, gesturing towards the grey-haired woman currently hugging Marinette. “And my father, Zheng.”

The older man’s grey eyes sparkled with excitement as he held out a red envelope for Adrien, who just now noticed that Marinette had also been given one. He froze, eyes widening. Was he supposed to have gotten them something too? He hadn’t realized that anyone would be getting him anything, except maybe Marinette. There was a moment where he was about to decline but he took a shot in the dark and accepted.

The moment his hand touched the envelope, Zheng spoke in Mandarin, “Best wishes for the New Year!”

“Thank you very much!” Adrien replied automatically in the same language. While the finer points might escape him, Adrien was fluent in niceties.

Zheng’s eyes widened before he nodded sagely to himself. “Ahh, I see you’ve picked up some Mandarin from my daughter, yes?”

“Oh, no, sir. I’ve been studying since I was fourteen.”

Once again, Zheng’s eyes widened before he chuckled and looked knowingly at Marinette. “This one is definitely a keeper! I approve.”

Marinette’s cheeks were almost as red as the envelope, but she still smiled.

The bright, enticing red of the envelope made him want nothing more than to open it right then and there. But Adrien took a nod from Marinette, who had very pointedly left it sealed even as she refused to set it down. He chose to follow her lead as they all made their way to the living room.

While the Dupain-Cheng parents and the Cheng parents were getting settled there, Marinette volunteered them to go make some tea. Once they were in the kitchen and out of earshot of the new arrivals, Adrien held up his envelope with a raised eyebrow and curious look.

“You can go ahead and look at it now, it’s just not polite to do it right when you get it.” She carefully unsealed the envelope. “It's this Chinese tradition - good luck money for the new year, you know?”

Adrien followed her lead and found one ten, one twenty, and one fifty euro note inside. Glancing over, it seemed Marinette got the same. He was half tempted to just give her his euros since he didn’t have any need for it, but decided that might be tacky. If she would even take them at all. After stashing the envelopes away in a kitchen drawer, they came back with tea for everyone.

Over the next few hours, more and more family members funneled into the house. Adrien, used to seeing maybe four people during the holiday season, thought the room would be close to bursting after the first aunt arrived with husband and two kids in tow. But then came the uncle and his family, then the second aunt with her boyfriend and by the end of it fifteen people were packed into the living room. For some reason apples in boxes became involved? Adrien thought that was a pun but that was more his pun sense than his linguistic skill.

Before anyone could get too settled in, they finally got to opening presents. Despite his fears from the red envelope, no one else seemed to have gotten Adrien anything.

At least, none of the extended family had. The Dupain-Cheng family, however…

“Here you go, dear.” While the rest of the room was chattering among themselves, Sabine placed a package about as big as a shoebox on Adrien’s lap. Before he could react to it, Marinette had shoved a bag stuffed with packing paper.

“Let me go get your-”

Adrien felt a tug on his arm and looked down at Marinette seated beside him. “Open your gifts first and then we’ll open the ones you got us.”

“Okay, okay.” Adrien looked at the box on his lap and tore it open. He tilted his head in confusion as he lifted the fabric that he found there out of the box. His eyes widened when he realized it was an apron with ‘Kiss the Chef’ on it.

“Its for when you come over to cook with us!” Tom beamed down at him proudly. “Now you don’t need to borrow our aprons any more - you’ll have one of your very own!”

Adrien felt his eyes get misty and he bit his lips to keep himself from crying. After a few moments of pulling himself together, he managed to say, “Thank you, guys. I’m really looking forward to wearing it!”

“Speaking of…” Marinette prodded the bag she left with him.

“Right, right.”

Adrien removed the paper and pulled out what turned out to be a sweater, cream colored and decorated with mistletoes and black cats in red scarves. It felt amazingly soft as he slipped it on over his head, embraced in a warm hug that - he lifted the fabric to his nose and took a deep breath - yes, smelled exactly like Marinette. For now at least.

“Do you like it?” Instead of replying, Adrien wrapped his arms around Marinette and pulled her close to him, nuzzling his nose against her neck. Giggling, she smacked his arms lightly. “I’ll take that as a yes, now let go!”

After he pulled his arms back, he stood up and stepped between the Cheng family members and made it to the tree before heading back to the little corner of the living room that they had claimed. He passed the envelope to Tom and the box to Marinette.

“A… gift card for an appliance store?” Tom said, his brow furrowing.

“I wanted to get you an actual new stove because you’re always upset at it,” Adrien explained in a rush, feeling embarrassed that his gift felt so… impersonal compared to theirs. “But when I went to the store I had no idea what actually made a good stove and searching it up on the internet only made it more confusing and… yeah,” he finished lamely.”

He glanced up at them and felt better to see them smiling back.

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Adrien! Thank you, we’ll make good use of this.”

Beside him, Marinette began opening her gift, which Adrien was much more excited for. Not because he had spent any less for it, but because that at least he knew exactly what to get.

He knew he’d done good when she gasped as she pulled out the expensive fabric she’d once stared at longingly from the otherside of a store’s window in Paris. Which, of course, meant that he was also expecting the smack on his arm from her as well.

“Adrien! This is expensive! You definitely shouldn’t have bought this.”

“Actually, you’ll remember that I get to spoil you exactly three times a year - birthdays, Valentine’s, and Christmas.” He gave her the most innocent look he could manage. “So you like it then?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know I absolutely love it, you cat.”

“Then that’s great!” He continued with the overly chipper and oblivious tone, knowing how much it bugged her. He rubbed his hands together. “So… when’s dinner?”

-----------

After a Christmas dinner packed with Chinese dishes, they slowly returned to the living room.

Adrien sat in a corner of the room, taking in the warm and inviting atmosphere, the excitement and energy of so many people gathered together in such a small space.

Holding Marinette close, Adrien felt like he was part of a real family for the first time in a long time.

[kinglazrus]

Smells Like Team Spirit

Phic phight 2020

Submitted by @phantomphangphucker: Danny Fenton seeming creepy, unnatural, predatory, etcetera to the general population of Amity Park. Or only seeming creepy, unnatural, predatory, etcetera to tourists, while Amity Park locals are confused by anyone finding Fenton ‘creepy/intimidating’.

Summary: Some mascots are great at pumping up a crowd. As Casper High's mascot, Danny has only one job: strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. This is the story of how Danny becomes the famed Mascot of Fear.

Word count: 9268

Tucker witnesses it first. His cousin from another state is visiting for the weekend and Danny comes over to hang out. Ozzy has met Danny before, a few times, so Tucker thinks they won't mind if Danny joins them for a little while. He arrives while Ozzy is in the bathroom, and Tucker gets a three-player game of the new Doomed: IV console game set up.

Danny lounges on a beanbag chair, leaving the couch to the Foley cousins. Clutching his controller, he plays with the controls, watching his character jump, roll, punch, and shoot, trying to get a feel for the different set up.

"I think they took out the high jump," Danny says. He spams the jump button while tapping various others across the controller, testing different combos.

"What?" Tucker lunges for the game case, taking out the pamphlet tucked inside the cover. He flips through, looking for the controls.

"Yeah, it doesn't seem to­—oh damn that's fun."

"What? What?" Tucker scrambles up, throwing the pamphlet aside, and watches Danny's avatar leap into the air, then sprint forward.

"Air-dashing," Danny says with a grin.

"Sweet." The boys bump fists.

Danny, kneeling on his beanbag, keeps air-dashing across the screen, whipping the controller back and forth emphatically. The action does nothing to improve the gameplay, but at the same time, it just wouldn't be as enjoyable without it. Tucker lays upside down on the couch, hands braced on the floor, cheering Danny on. "Go, go, go!"

It's stupid and fun. They haven't even started playing the game yet, but this is the most they'll enjoy themselves all afternoon. And that's the scene Ozzy walks in on.

They remember Tucker's best friend, although they hadn't seen him since coming out. Ozzy's not sure what to expect from him, but it certainly isn't this. And by this they don't mean the raw enthusiasm for a simple game mechanic. They mean the shiver that crawls up their spine the second they lay eyes on Danny. They feel cold, like they've stepped in a bath of ice-water rather than their cousin's living room.

Danny turns his head toward Tucker and sees Ozzy standing in the doorway. Both of them freeze. Ozzy's heart beats fast and heavy in their chest. Their pupils dilate, stretching wide, and sweat beads on their forehead. They can't look away. If they do, then they're dead. If they let Danny out of their sight, they're dead.

Danny gaze slides away, back to the TV, and Ozzy can breathe again.

"Ozzy's here," Danny says.

"Oh!" Tucker's head swivels toward them. He hadn't noticed Ozzy and Danny's little staring contest. It had only lasted a second, but to Ozzy, it felt like an hour.

"Check it out!" Tucker says. He kicks off the back of the couch, flipping forward. His knees hit the carpet hard, making a loud thud, which earns him a shout from the dining room.

"Don't bother the neighbours!" Tucker's mom, Angela, says.

"Okay, Mom!" Tucker calls back, without much conviction in his voice. He beckons Ozzy forward and points to the TV. "They replaced the double jump with air-dashing! Which seems stupid at first, 'cause jumping forward isn't the same as jumping higher. But it looks like if you air-dash into something, you can climb up it!"

Tucker talks fast, making lots of vague gestures with his hands, not really looking at Ozzy. He grabs his own controller off the couch and swivels toward his cousin. "Here's how you do it."

Tucker looks up at Ozzy and pauses. "Hey," he says, tilting his head. "You okay?"

Ozzy is not okay, but they can't really explain it. Danny glances there way again, just for a second, and a shudder passes through them. Something about Danny is off, but Ozzy can't really explain it. He looks the exact same as he did the last time Ozzy saw him, even wearing the same damn t-shirt. But when Ozzy looks at him, and Danny looks back, their brain starts screaming not right, not right, NOT RIGHT!

"I'm, uh, I'm good, yeah," Ozzy says. They shuffle into the room, casting nervous glances Danny's way, and sit down on the couch, taking the farthest spot from Danny. Ozzy leans up against the armrest, taking the controller Tucker passes them, and looks forward. They think that, maybe, if they look ahead instead, if they just don't look at Danny, they won't feel so weird, and whatever this is will pass.

But oh, god, this is so much worse, because now they can't see Danny, and that makes their heart pound. An image of Danny suddenly lunging from his seat bursts into their mind and Ozzy stiffens. Hands tightening around the controller, they glance out of the corner of their eye.

Danny hasn't moved. Danny isn't even looking at them. It doesn't make them feel better.

"Seriously, are you good?" Tucker asks. He sits down to Ozzy's left, blocking their view of Danny.

"Let's just play," Ozzy says.

Tucker shrugs and starts the game. As they play, he keeps looking over at Ozzy, wondering why they're acting so strange. They were just fine half an hour ago, but now they're stiff, and kind of pale, and they keep looking away from the screen, even when they're in the middle of a fight. Ozzy's always been better than Tucker at Doomed, but today they're at the bottom of the scoreboard.

Tucker racks his brain, trying to come up with a reason for the strange behaviour. A bad phone call, maybe? Ozzy's mom has been in and out of the hospital for a while. He hopes it's not that. He wants to ask them what's wrong, but he doesn't want to push it. And they might not be comfortable talking about it with Danny there, either. So, Tucker decides to wait until they're alone.

His chance comes sooner than expected, when Danny says he has to go.

"Aw, really?" Tucker asks. He droops, shoulders slumping. "You've only been here an hour."

"Yeah." Danny nods. "I just remembered that physics assignment. I haven't finished yet."

"I thought you finished that?"

"Uh, so did I. But Jazz just texted me. She found the sheet and apparently, I left a few questions blank. I should go home and finish before she really gets on my case." Danny stands up and stretches his arms above his head. "Sorry. We can make up for it next time."

Before Tucker can protest further, Danny leaves, casting one last furtive glance in Ozzy's direction. Ozzy doesn't relax until they hear the front door close.

"What did he even check his phone?" Tucker mutters. Thinking back, he can't even remember Danny looking down at his pocket. It bothers him, but he knows Danny wouldn't lie without a good reason, so he'll leave it for now.

He pounces on Ozzy instead

"What's wrong?" Tucker asks.

"Nothing's wrong."

"You're a worse liar than Danny. Is it... is it your mom?"

"What? No." Ozzy shakes their head. "Mom's fine. She's doing really good, actually."

"But there is something wrong," Tucker presses.

Ozzy groans. They reach up to run their fingers through their hair, faltering when they touch their shoulder instead. Moving their hand up, they touched their buzzed head. "I don't know. Danny, he–" Ozzy cuts themself off.

"Danny? What'd he do? Did he say something while I wasn't looking? I'll kick his ass," Tucker says, leaping to his feet.

"No, don't!" Ozzy grabs Tucker's belt and yanks him back down. "It's nothing, okay? He didn’t do anything. It's stupid."

Tucker stares intently at them, then sighs and backs off. "Okay. It's okay if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. But if you do want to talk about whatever it is, I'm right here."

"Yeah, okay," Ozzy says.

—

Valerie sees it next. She invites Danny over for a study session at her new place in Elmerton. People say Elmerton is a neighbourhood at the edge of Amity Park, but as someone who now lives there, Valerie knows it's its own town. The people in Elmerton aren't like the people Amity. They don't have the same mannerisms. They don't have the same slang. They don't even have the same ghosts.

In fact, Elmerton has no ghosts. Which makes it a pretty poor place for a ghost hunter to live, but the apartments are cheap, and it's all her dad can afford right now.

They take the bus after school. It's an inter-city bus, because none of the school buses go out that far. The ride is more than hour. Plenty of people get on and off the bus in that time. Valerie likes to watch them. She can tell exactly when the last person from Amity Park steps off.

Valerie doesn't know how she could explain it to an outsider, but people from Amity can recognize each other at a moment's glance. It's something about the way they hold themselves, how they react to things. When your life gets threatened every day by ghosts from another realm, you look at things a little differently. It's like one day everyone from Amity Park collectively decided to stop giving a damn about anything that didn't immediately threaten to kill them.

"Huh," Valerie says as she looks over the bus. She and Danny sit at the very back, in Valerie's usual seat. After her first few times taking the bus, she learned it was just polite to sit further back when you had a longer ride. It also gives her a good view of the whole bus.

"What is it?" Danny asks, looking away from the window. So far, he has been spending most of the ride staring out at the passing scenery, watching as things got dirtier and poor run down the closer they got to Elmerton.

Instead of answering, Valerie leans over Danny.

"Hey!" He presses himself back against his seat, raising his arms, a scarlet blush creeping across his cheeks.

Valerie ignores him in favour of scanning the skies. "You don't see any ghosts or anything, do you?"

"What? No. Why? Why would there be a ghost here? I mean, it's Elmerton, right?" Danny says. He laughs and looks away, tugging the collar of his shirt. Is it just him or is it a little hot in here all of a sudden?

"Yeah, I guess so," Valerie says, pulling back. Her frown stays settled on her face.

There are only a few people on the bus with them, besides the driver. At the very front, a woman with weathered skin and greying hair, who got on at the last stop. Even though the bus is already moving again, she still hasn't taken her seat. Instead, she stands straight, facing the back of the bus.

By the middle doors is a young woman and teenage girl, their backs to Valerie and Danny. The woman has her arm around the girl's shoulder. Every once in a while, she cranes her neck and looks in their direction.

A man in a rumpled suit sits closest to them. Valerie sees him on the bus every day. They've chatted a few times, and he's nice enough. They usually say hi to each other. Today, he had started down the aisle toward them, giving a cheery wave. But the moment his gaze slipped from Valerie to Danny, he paled, dropping into the nearest seat. He clutches his briefcase tightly, holding it like a shield.

Valerie knows instantly that none of these people are from Amity Park because they all look afraid and she has no idea why. She stares at them a moment longer, glaring at the young woman when she peeks over her shoulder again.

It takes Valerie a minute to realize it, but she finally notices the one thing all of them are doing.

"Are they... staring at you?" Valerie whispers to Danny.

He shifts uncomfortably, tucking his hands under his arms, and leans his head against hers to whisper back. "Yeah."

"Why?"

Danny shrugs. "It's just a thing people do sometimes."

"People sometimes stare at you like you're about to, I don't know, pounce on them?"

Danny shrugs again.

"That's... really weird."

"Maybe they've heard of my parents," he says, grinning sardonically.

Valerie rolls her eyes and pushes his shoulder. He laughs, and Valerie does her best to ignore the tense atmosphere for the rest of the ride. She ignores it, but she doesn't forget it.

—

Valerie finds Tucker in the gym sound booth after school one day and corners him there. She locks the door behind her and pins him against the sound board. "What's up with Danny?" she asks accusingly.

Both Tucker and Sam have the annoying habit of dancing around Valerie's words whenever she tries to approach them cautiously. She's learned, from experience, that being direct and forceful is the only way to get information out of them. Getting Tucker alone with no back up also helps.

"I don't know! He's not a ghost!" Tucker blurts out, raising his arms defensively.

"What?"

"I mean, nothing. Nothing's up with Danny. He's so great. You know how great he is. You dated him for a little bit, luck you."

Valerie stares at him, wondering for a moment if this is Tucker's way of confessing that he has a crush on his best friend. She shakes her head, casting that thought aside for now. Grabbing Tucker's collar, she pulls him forward until they're nose to nose.

"You mean you've never seen how odd people get around him?"

"What, no?" Tucker's genuinely confused by the question. His face screws up as he thinks, trying to figure out what the hell Valerie is talking about. He needs to tread lightly, so he doesn't accidentally spill Danny's secret. He doesn't think she knows, despite how weird her question is.

"Just think about it for a minute, okay?" Valerie says. She releases Tucker and steps back, crossing her arms.

Tucker composes himself, smoothing out his shirt, and gives her a dirty look. He decides to indulge her anyway. With a great, dramatic sigh, Tucker taps his chin, looking up at the ceiling, then down at the floor. He hums and haws, making a great show of how terrible and strenuous thinking about this is, and then he shrugs.

"Nope, can't say I know what you mean." Brushing past Valerie, he heads for the door.

She reaches out and grabs his collar again, yanking him back.

"Come on, you're gonna stretch it!" Tucker whines, batting Valerie's hand off.

"I'm being serious here, Tucker. You've never seen anyone looking, I don't know, afraid of Danny? Kind of wary?"

"Afraid? Of Danny? You can't be serious, he's not–" Tucker freezes.

"What is it?" Valerie reaches out for him again.

Tucker smacks her hands away and skips out of her reach. "A couple months ago. I had my cousin over, and Danny hung out with us for a bit. They were acting really weird. I thought it was about their mom. And then I thought it was because they weren't out the last time they saw Danny, but they said it wasn't either of those and told me to drop it."

"Danny came over to my place to work on our history project last week. On the bus, people wouldn't stop looking at him. He brushed it off, but that's weird, right?" Valerie asks. "They looked like... like they were afraid."

Tucker laughs. "So weird. Can you imagine people being scared of Danny?"

It's the most ridiculous thing either of them has heard all year. They break down into a fit of laughter, falling against each other. It's so outlandish and absurd that you couldn't make it up if you tried.

Which is why Star, who has her ear pressed against the sound booth door, grins and takes off the moment the conversation dissolves into laughter. She has only one thought in mind: Paulina has got to hear about this.

—

"No way."

"Yeah."

"No. Way."

"Yeah!" Star nods enthusiastically. "I swear that's what they said."

"Afraid of Fenton?" Paulina asks. Star's already said it three times, but it's so unbelievable she has to hear it again.

"Afraid of Fenton," Star repeats. "Foley's cousin and some," she waves her had dismissively, "Elmertonites."

"Ugh, Elmerton."

"I know."

"Who's Foley's cousin?" Paulina asks. She can't remember if Foley has any other family in the city, but Star would. Star's the only person who knows this town, and it's people, better than Paulina. They are the gossip queens and they make everybody's business their own. Knowing a little extra something about a certain somebody could always come in handy somewhere down the line.

"An out-of-towner," Star says.

"Interesting." Paulina closes her locker and leans against. She waves at a few boys walking by, giving them a disarming smile. They crane their necks around to keep looking at her for as long as they can. As soon as they're around the corner, Paulina's smile drops and she turns back to Star. "You know, I think now's a great time for my friend from New York to come visit!"

Star grins. "Oh, great idea, Paulie. Amity is so great this time of year."

They walk down the hall, arm in arm, giggling and conspiring.

—

Everyone knows about Paulina's New York friend. Theirs is a friendship built not out of love but a mutual desire to constantly get one up on each other. Which means they aren't friends at all. But, their dads are business partners, so the two girls often find themselves forced together. These occasions are typically full of sweet smiles and sweeter words. Which everyone knows is a clever rich girls choice weapon in any circumstance.

When Paulina invites Whitney van der Bloom to Amity Park for the weekend, Whitney answers with a cheerful, "Sweetie, do you even need to ask?"

Which really means, "Sweetie, why on Earth would I want to go?" Sweetie, in both cases, is not a complement.

Whitney goes, of course. With a slew of backhanded complements tucked in her pocket. The battle begins the moment her plane touches down and she is determined to come out of this weekend as the undisputed victor. Paulina may have a home advantage, but Whitney was born into this kind of conflict. New money always flounders around a bit before learning how to properly navigate the delicate social rules of high society, and she can tell Paulina is still getting her sea legs.

Whitney finds it adorable, like watching a baby toddle through their first steps.

On her walk through the airport, Whitney touches as little as possible. She left New York in a private plane, from a private airstrip, where every surface was clean and shiny. Amity Park was neither of those things.

By the main entrance, she finds Paulina's driver holding a sign with Whitney's name on it. She passes him her luggage, a single Gucci bag, and follows him outside to the waiting car. She's impressed by Paulina's power play, although she would never say it out loud. Staying in the car while sending her driver out to collect Whitney, like a nanny picking up a child from daycare, is a bold move.

It's fine. Whitney will let her have the lead, for now. She won't have it for long.

The driver opens the back door. Whitney slides inside like she owns the car, tossing her hair over her shoulder, giving the driver a sugary smile. When she turns and gets her first good look at the inside, she freezes.

Rather than sitting on the other side of the car, at a respectful distance, Paulina is right beside her in the middle seat. And there are four other people with her. Paulina's little satellite—Whitney thinks her name is Sun—sits to her left. And across from them are two boys she doesn't know—and doesn't want to, based on how they're dressed—plus a girl she does know.

"Sammy?" Whitney asks, looking across the car at the Sam Manson, heir to the Manson fortune.

"Bloom," Sam greets her coolly. Sam doesn't even twitch at the nickname she loathes. Because that would be a sign of weakness, and she knows that if there's one thing you never want to do, it's look weak in front of Whitney van der Bloom. The girl may only be fifteen but she's a menace.

"Hi." Whitney drags out the "i," her voice rising and falling. "Oh. My. God. I haven't seen you since the Cabo retreat! What are the chances of seeing you here?"

Sam grins wickedly. "Pretty high, actually."

"Oh?" Witney doesn't have a response for that. Sam has always thrown her off, purely because she refuses to play the same games Whitney and Paulina do. It's infuriating.

She turns to the two strangers instead, looking them up and down. The boy on Sam's right makes her cringe. A turtleneck and cargo pants? Whitney would give him points for boldness if the colours weren't so garish. When she meets his eyes, he wiggles his eyebrows at her.

Whitney immediately decides she wants nothing to do with him.

The other boy, sitting right across from her, isn't much better. Worn out jeans that are actually worn out and weren't just made to be like that, and a ratty old t-shirt with a flaming green "F" on it. Gross. Resisting the urge to curl her lip, she lifts her eyes to his face.

He's not looking at her. He's looking down and away, his stare so intense it should be burning a hole in the carpet. Little does she know, it could, with very little effort on his part.

Normally, Whitney takes that kind of gesture as a sign of submission. Instant victory. Right now, something about this boy makes her think she doesn't want his eyes on her.

"Whit! I'm so happy you could come!" Paulina throws her arms around Whitney's shoulders and pulls her in for a hug, kissing Whitney's cheeks twice.

Whitney snaps out of her daze, although not fast enough to return the kisses. Another victory for Paulina.

"Of course, Lina!" Whitney says. She sees the boy in the turtleneck mouth "Lina" at Sam. She wonders what their relationship is. "There's no way I would pass up the chance to visit somewhere as quaint as Amity Park. It's nice to get a break from the lavish lifestyle, you know?"

"Oh, I know. You look like you need a nice rest." Paulina smiles widely.

Whitney's eye twitches. "So, Lina, who are your friends?"

"Well, you already know Sam. I didn't realize you ran in such high circles,"  Paulina said, earning another twitch. Before she can say anything back, Paulina moves on. "And these two are her friends. Tucker." The boy in the turtleneck, "and Danny." The boy that Whitney does not want to look at her.

Paulina leans forward and grabs Danny's arm, pulling him right out of his seat. He yelps and stumbles, bumping his head on the top of the car. Tucker reaches out to stop him, but Sam holds her arm out and keeps him back, wearing that same fiendish smirk. Before Whitney can figure out what's happening, Star's moved to take Danny's place, and Paulina has slid over to the other side of the car. She drags Danny down and sits him right next to Whitney.

"Danny's such a good friend, I can't believe I haven't introduced you to him sooner," Paulina says. She's still hugging his arm, pushing him forward a little more so Whitney has no choice but to squeeze up against the door to avoid touching him.

She doesn't want to touch him. She doesn't want to be next to him. She doesn't even want to be in the same car as him. Whitney unconsciously reaches for the door handle, but the car's already moving. She's trapped.

"Don't be rude, Danny. Say hi to Whitney," Sam says. She looks like the cat that ate the canary. And Whitney feels like the bird.

Danny gives Sam a disgruntled look before turning to Whitney. "Uh, hey, Whitney," he says.

Whitney tenses. The sound of his voice sends shivers down her spine. It washes over her, raising goosebumps along her arms. The cold certainly doesn't help. She thinks it's the AC in the car, until Danny's arm brushes against hers and she flinches away. His skin is icy to the touch.

"Sorry," Danny mutters. He finally looks at her.

Whitney wilts under his stare. Looking into his eyes is like looking into an endless expanse. Her own gaze jumps around, searching, but Danny's holds steady. Not even a twitch. Whitney's not even sure if he's blinked since she got in the car. When he looks away, his eyes slide off her.

"You– you're very," she stammers. For once, her words are lost to her.

Paulina's smile is bright as the sun. She leans back, giving Danny the space to do the same, and Whitney quickly tries to compose herself. She steadies her breathing, checking the other occupants of the car to see how they reacted. Tucker looks curious. Sam looks smug. Star looks delightfully vapid, eyes wide and smile wider.

"They're going to be with us all day, I hope you don't mine," Paulina says. "Danny knows the city really well, and Sam. Well, like I said. She's a Manson."

Whitney, still at a loss for words, nods numbly.

"This will be so much fun!" Star says, clapping her hands together.

Whitney doesn't think so.

—

Whitney lasts for four hours, which is far longer than anyone expected.

"I'm almost impressed," Star says, waving at Whitney's private jet as it takes off. "She's very good at faking important phone calls."

"Just never tell her that to her face," Paulina says. Hand on her hip, she eyes Sam, Tucker, and Danny. "I guess we can give you all rides home. But I hope you know this was a one-time thing. Mostly because Whitney probably won't come back after that."

"Uh." Danny raises his hand. "How do you know the phone call wasn't important? Why won't she be back? She's your friend, isn't she?"

"Oh, Danny. You're so sweet, you know that?" Paulina pats his cheek and pivots. Swaying her hips, she starts walking back toward the car. It's not even an insult this time.

"Thank you? I guess?" Danny says.

"Come on, Fenton. I might even help you with your math for what you did today." Star grabs his wrist and drags him after Paulina.

"I didn't do anything!"

Sam and Tucker linger a moment longer, watching Whitney's plane disappear into the sky. Tucker turns to Sam and says, "I'm so confused. Why did you even agree to this?"

Sam shrugs. "Whitney van der Bloom sucks."

"Yeah. Yeah, she does."

—

Paulina and Star eagerly spread the word: Danny Fenton scares outsiders. The rumour spreads quickly throughout Casper High, although everyone is careful never to mention it while Danny himself is around. Not even Sam and Tucker tell him. It's one of those rumours you don't want getting back to the person it's about. Not because it's bad, but because it's a hell of a lot more fun when they don’t know.

Nobody really gets the "why," except those who know Danny best. To everyone else, he's a scrawny kid with eccentric parents, and he wouldn't hurt a fly. Most of them decide outsiders are just weird like that and put it out of mind. But Mikey, clever kid that he is, decides to put Danny's mysterious ability to work.

"I'll help you with your physics homework if you cheer us on at the decathlon," Mikey says. He leans across the aisle between their desk, whispering low enough that the teacher won't hear them.

"You do sports?" Danny asks, raising on eyebrow.

"No, it's academic. Don't be ridiculous."

On the edge of his seat, Mikey waits for Danny's reply. The decathlon is tomorrow, which may have been short notice, but Mikey isn't a fool. He knows academics bore the hell out of Danny and the only way he will go is with incentive. Mikey waited until they got their most recent test back. Peeking at Danny's paper, he can see his classmate failed, which is good news for him.

One decathlon is a small price to pay for a passing grade.

Danny looks down at the big red F on his test. He whispers back, "Sure. When is it? Do people have to dress nice for these things?"

"Tomorrow. And," Mikey pauses a moment to consider, "yes. I mean, no. Not nice, but there's this thing we do. It's okay, I'll have you covered. Just wear what you usually do."

Danny looks uncertain, but Mikey knows he'll accept. He gave Danny no other choice.

—

Mikey tries to gauge Danny's reaction when he passes over the hoodie. It's ten minutes to the start of the competition. They're backstage getting ready for the judge to call them out. At the moment, they're separated from the other team, but there's no rule against some friendly banter before things get going, so Mikey has a plan. A plan that needs Danny to wear this hoodie.

Danny holds it up, frowning at the design on the front. A fierce raven with bright green eyes carrying a bloodied snake in its beak; they're competing with Silver Valley today whose mascot is a snake. He picks up the hood, inspecting the mask sewn into it. It's a simple black masquerade mask with a long, beak-like nose.

"And this is... standard?" Danny asks, lowering the hoodie so he can look Mikey in the eyes.

Mikey nods emphatically. "Yeah. I know decathlons don't seem exciting, but we get really into it. Lots of people do this."

"And you just had a hoodie with this exact picture lying around?" Danny turns the hoodie around, displaying the graphic image on the front.

"Yeah. Lester wore it last time. He's let me borrow it for you today," Mikey lies. It actually cost him thirty bucks to get custom made, but the mask was cheap. Besides, the competition today has a cash prize, which will more than make up for it when his team wins.

"If you say so," Danny says. He shucks off his button up and pulls the hoodie on instead, pushing the hood down to rest at the back of his neck.

Mikey immediately pulls it back up and lowers the mask over Danny's eyes. "It's part of the school spirit," Mikey says.

"Riiight." Danny adjusts the mask, but he doesn't take it down. "Shouldn't I be sitting in the audience?"

"You will. But I wanted to introduce you to the other team first. It's a sportsmanship thing," Mikey explains. He beckons Danny forward, leading him down a long hall behind the stage. As the hall opens up into the wings of the stage, the other team comes into view.

Like Mikey and the other decathlon members, they wear matching jackets. Although where Casper's jackets are red, Silver Valley wears grey.

Danny stops just before stepping into their line of sight. "Mikey," he hisses. "I don't see anyone dressed like a snake over here."

"Just trust me. You want that physics help, right?" Mikey only feels a little guilty about tricking Danny like this. Mikey's not actually hurting him, and they aren't breaking any competition rules, so it's fine.

Danny shuffles his feet, giving the other team a solid once through, and nods.

"Hi, everyone!" Mikey says, drawing the team's attention. "We just wanted to come over and wish you good luck! Friendly competition and all that."

Watching them closely, Mikey catches the exact moment they lay eyes on Danny, and it is so much better than he could have hoped. The whole team freezes. Mikey can see their eyes dilating, like they've been shot with a burst of adrenaline, a little kick-starter in their fight-or-flight response. Judging by the way a few of them shuffle back, they're leaning toward flight.

Mikey revels in the fear in their eyes. "Good luck!" he says.

"Yeah." Mikey turns at Danny's voice. For a second, he thinks he sees something in Danny's eyes, something swirling and green. But in a blink, it's gone. Danny smiles brightly, but with the mask it looks downright villainous. "Good luck. I think you'll need it."

The Silver Valley team pales. Casper High wins by a landslide that day.

—

The story of Casper High's raven boy spreads from Silver Valley out to other schools. Most of them think it's just a rumour, but enough people pass it along that it eventually works its way back to Casper and into the ears of one Dash Baxter. Dash, being the proud jock he is, can't let himself be one-upped by a nerd.

"Hey, Fenton!" he calls out to Danny at lunch hour. Shoving his way between Sam and Tucker, Dash slams his hands down on the table. Danny flinches. "Relax, I'm not here to wail on you. For once."

Sam shoves Dash's hand off the table. "Great, then get the hell out of here," she says.

"Shut up, Manson. I ain't talking to you." Dash sneers. He turns his focus back to Danny. "I got a proposition for you."

"I can't believe he knows the word proposition," Tucker whispers.

"I said shut it!" Dash raises his hand to smack Foley upside the head. Halfway through the swing, Danny lurches forward and snatches Dash's wrist.

"Dash, if you want to make a deal or something, I don't think hitting my best friend is the right way to start," Danny says.

Dash scowls at him. He jerks his hand out of Danny's grip and steps back, rubbing his wrist. He won't say it out loud, but Danny's got a pretty good grip. "Yeah, whatever. He's not worth it anyway."

"Dash."

People are staring at them now. Most of them looking for a show Dash isn't going to give, at least not today. Eager to get this over with fast, Dash leans over until he's so close there's no way anyone could overhear them.

"Listen. You do one thing for me, and maybe I won't wail on you for a week," he says.

Danny shoots him a deadpan stare. "Maybe?"

"Fine," Dash relents. "I definitely won't."

"What do I have to do?"

"Come to our next football game."

"I'm sorry?"

"Are you deaf, Fenton? Come. To. The. Game." Dash enunciates carefully, slapping his palms down with each word, leaning closer in. Danny reels back so far that he has to grab the table to keep from slipping off the bench. "And wear the sweater."

Dash saunters away before Danny has a chance to respond. The prying eyes turn away then, more than a few disappointed by the turn of events. Danny ignores them in favour of turning to his friends.

"Do you guys know what sweater he's talking about?" he asks.

"Probably the one Mikey had you wear," Tucker says. "Because it's so s–" Sam kicks him under the table. "–exy! It's uh... it's a sexy sweater."

"Oh, my god." Sam drops her face into her hands.

—

Danny doesn't know it's not standard practice to shake hands with the opposing team's quarterback, and their backup quarterback, and their backup backup quarter back before a football game. But he is pretty sure it's weird for him, a random student, to be doing it instead of someone from the actual team.

"Just stand in front of 'em until they shake your hand, that's it," Dash says, shoving Danny toward the Waterford Heights Weasels. He waves impatiently, motioning Danny forward. Dash personally doesn't see what's so scary about the getup. A sweat with a bird and a mask, big whoop. But he's willing to try it, anyway.

"Think it'll work?" Kwan asks. They stand side-by-side, arms crossed, elbows brushing. The rest of the team mills about behind them, some of them spying on Fenton, others getting in the right headspace for the game. It's only a couple minutes to kickoff.

Dash shrugs. "Worth a shot."

It's a great night for a game. The sky is clear. It's not too chilly. There's still an hour before the sun will set. It means they'll have the light in their eyes for half the game, but if this works, that won't even matter.

Dash and Kwan watch Danny approach the first player. They made sure to give him the jersey numbers beforehand. Kwan, who has neater penmanship, wrote them down on Danny's palm. Their original idea was to have him greet the whole team but that would take too long. They settled for the key players instead.

Danny plants himself in front of the star quarterback and sticks his hand out. Dash snickers when the guy tries to step around Danny, and Danny sidesteps right back into his path. He says something and shoves his hand in the quarterback's direction again.

"You think Fenton's playing along?" Kwan asks.

"Nah. As if he even knows what's up. Did you see the blank look he gave me in the cafeteria? Besides, I upped the 'no-beating' time to two weeks if he did the handshakes."

Kwan touches his fingers as he silently counts the dates in his head. "That's the next home game."

"Yep. If this works tonight, I might just give him the offer again then."

The Waterford's quarterback eventually shakes Danny's hand, scurrying away as soon as he's released. Danny moves on to the next one.

That night, the Waterford Weasels don't get a single touchdown.

—

Danny is suddenly the most popular kid at school, at least amongst the jocks. Considering how much weight Casper High puts behind their athletic programs, that makes him pretty damn high on the food chain. Not that he seems to realize.

The basketball team, the volleyball team, even the cheerleaders. They drag a confused Danny along whenever they can and set him lose on the opposing team. There's always a bribe, of course. Everybody knows Danny isn't big into school spirit. He'd never gone to a single game before all this, after all.

At first, they're just using him. He freaks out the competition so much it throws them off their game, which means a lot more trophies to fill up Casper High's dusty case in the near future. Eventually, though, it becomes something else. There's still the raw, primal joy of seeing Danny scare the hell out of some outsiders, but they start inviting him to the after parties, too. They let Danny's friends tag along. Dash even gives him a friendly slap on the back one day when they're passing in the hall.

Three months ago, nothing like that would have happened. Three months ago, Dash would have stuffed you in a locker for even suggesting it.

By some miracle, they manage to keep the teachers out of the loop. If any of them asks, the students either answer with a shrug, or suggest that Fenton's turned a new leaf and he's really into school spirit now. Most of them go for the shrug.

It doesn't last forever, though. The students get bolder, inviting Danny to away games outside the city. He rejects most of them, no matter how sweet the bribe, with a number of excuses.

"I have homework."

"I've got some extracurricular stuff to work on."

"I don't have a car."

"You don't need a car, we've got a bus!" Dash says.

Danny, already turning to walk away, stops. "What?"

"You can ride on the team bus with us," Dash says. It's not exactly conventional, but they've got the room for it. All they have to do is sneak Danny past Tetslaff and keep him out of sight until they're on the road. There's not much she can do about it once they've already set out.

"Are you serious?" Danny asks.

Dash rolls his eyes, not even deigning Danny with a proper response. Fishing his notebook out his backpack, Dash quickly scribbles out the time and date of the away game, plus when the team bus is going to leave.

Danny eyes the piece of paper, frowning as he tries to decipher Dash's cramped handwriting.. "You don't even know if I'll show up."

"You'll show up."

"I doubt it."

—

Danny shows up. He meets Dash by the back door, already donning the sweater he's now permanently borrowed from Mikey. He asked Mikey if Lester would ever want it back, but Mikey assured him his debt is settled. Whatever that means.

"Tetslaff usually waits until all the equipment is loaded up before getting on. We just have to sneak you by her, which won't be too hard," Dash says.

"You realize I'm not shorter than you anymore, right?" Danny asks.

Dash squints. No, he hadn't, actually. Even though they see each other every day, Dash still pictures Danny as the same wimpy kid from freshman year. But Danny's right. He has a few inches on Dash, now that they're a couple years older, although he's still got nothing in terms of muscle mass. Just looking at him, Dash is pretty sure Mikey has more muscle than Danny does.

"Whatever, let's just go." Dash leads Danny over to the bus.

Tetself stands with her back to them. She oversees the rest of the team as they throw their equipment bags into the storage compartment at the bottom of the bus. She's completely oblivious to the two rule breakers heading her way.

But Kwan and Dale see coming from afar and jog over to join them. They fall into step on Dash's left, making a little wall between Danny and Tetslaff. If Danny ducks his head, he's completely out of view. They're almost home free, a few feet from the bus, when Danny's foot slips into a rut in the grass he careens forward.

He cries out in shock, throwing his arms out to catch himself. Dash manages to snag his arm before he hits the ground, jerking Danny to a stop. He hangs there a moment, body limp, blinking at the grass and wondering if that really just happened.

"Daniel Fenton, what are you doing?" Tetslaff asks.

Dash jostles Danny out of his daze. He scrambles upright, brushing himself off as Tetslaff approaches. She stops right in front of him, fists on her hip, her glare stern.

"Getting on the bus?" Danny says.

Behind Tetslaff, Dash slaps a hand against his face.

"Only team members are allowed on the team bus. Those are the rules."

"But coach, he's out lucky charm!" Dash protests.

Tetslaff turns, squinting at Dash. Crossing her arms, she leans toward him. "Oh, yeah? How so?"

Dash, Kwan, and Dale share a long, considering look. Kwan shrugs. Dale tilts his head back. Shooting Danny a wary glance, Dash beckons Tetslaff over, out of earshot. She stays rooted to the spot.

"Please, Coach?"

Normally, a little something like saying please wouldn't do a lick of help in swaying Tetslaff. She's as stubborn as her arms are thick. But today, she feels a little indulgent. The team's being doing great, both in practice and on field. She's willing to give a little, if only for all the effort they're giving her back.

With a sigh, Tetslaff follows Dash.

"He scares the hell out of the other players so that they mess up and we win," Dash confesses once they're out of earshot.

Tetslaff's eyebrows shoot up her forehead. "Fear tactics, huh? Didn't want to rely on you own skill?"

"That's not it! I know we're a great team. We don't need Fenton. But he makes us work harder for it. He's kind of motivating, you know?"

Tetslaff looks at Dash and says nothing. With a shake of her head, she marches back to Danny. "Mr. Fenton, you're coming with me."

Danny gives the team a helpless look, a weak shrug, and follows their coach back into the school.

"Damn," Kwan says. "Almost had it."

"Did you mean what you said about Fenton, Dash?" Dale asks.

"I think I did?" Dash watches Danny and Tetslaff until they disappear through the doors. "I don't know about you guys, but whenever he scares the other team, I kind of want to earn that."

Dale nods. "Man, I wanted to see the fear in their eyes.

"Huh." Kwan taps his chin, deep in thought. "Does anyone else think we should be concerned about the fact that we enjoy that so much?"

All at once, more than half the team drones, "Nah."

"I think you're right, though," Kwan says to Dash. "Having Danny around is kind of fun."

"Today's game is gonna be so boring." Dale moans in disappointed. He boards the bus, quickly followed by his teammates. Soon enough, everyone is on and in their seats. All they need is for Tetslaff to return. She's gone for a solid ten minutes. There are still a few hours before the game starts, but it makes the players antsy. Dash keeps checking out the window for any sign of her.

The school's back door opens. Dash perks up, leaning toward the glass as Tetslaff steps out. She holds the door open. Danny comes out after her. And he's wearing the official Casper High Raven costume.

"Boys!" Tetslaff says when she climbs back on the boss. "Say hello to our new mascot!"

Her declaration is met with a round of cheers.

—

It's two hours before the game. Danny sits on a bench outside the locker rooms, the raven head resting beside him. When Tetslaff offered to make him the mascot, he admittedly hesitated. In the past, he didn't have time for stuff like this. But things are a little easier now, ghost-wise. His parents are better hunters. Valerie proves time and again how capable she is. The ghosts themselves have even backed off a little since Danny started junior year.

For the first time since starting high school, he actually has the time to do high school things outside of homework. It won't be his first time acting as the official mascot, either. He used to fill in for the mascot in freshman year, before things got too much for Danny to handle and he had to drop it.

He wishes Tetslaff let him keep wearing his hoodie, though. The raven costume isn't that comfortable.

The door to the locker rooms opens. Paulina steps through, already in her cheerleading outfit even though there's still an hour before she needs to be on the field. She takes one look at Danny and says, "Oh, hell no."

Danny recoils, offended. He thought they were on sort of good terms after everything with Whitney, but apparently, he was wrong.

"Tetslaff already made me the mascot, Paulina. I'm here whether you like it or not," he says.

"No, duh. I'm pretty sure you two were the only ones who didn't know you're are mascot." Paulina flicks the shoulder of the raven suit. It makes a dull thunk. The plastic feathers barely twitch. "But you're not scaring anyone in that thing. What are you gonna do, say 'boo?'"

Danny thinks about all the little tricks he has up his sleeve and grins. "I think you'd be surprise."

The costume may be bulky and round, with a wide friendly smile that gives one of those "huggable mascot" looks, but Danny's a ghost. If anybody can do scary, it's him. The past few months have proved that nicely.

"Wait, wait, wait," Paulina says, holding up her hands. She pivots in front of Danny and grabs his shoulders. "You know that you scare people?"

"I mean, yeah? It's kind of hard not to." Danny shakes his head. After the fifth time some stranger flinches away from your touch, you start piecing things together.

"And you never said anything?"

Danny honestly didn't think he had to. Did everyone just expect him not to catch on? Yes. Yes, they did. But that's not the point right now. Danny rubs the back of his neck and chuckles nervously. "I don't really care much about being popular anymore, but it's kind of nice to be invited to stuff, you know?"

Paulina doesn't believe him for a second. She crosses her arms and gives him a critical star. "And?" she asks.

Danny looks at her, looks away. Kicks the grass with his foot. He knows exactly what she wants to hear. He wants to deny it, but he can't. Sheepishly, he admits, "And it's kind of fun."

"Perfect. Then you won't mind what I'm about to do to you."

"Wait, what? Paulina, I– ah!" Paulina grabs his arm and drags him into the girl's locker room.

—

Danny holds himself perfectly still, arms out from his body. "Paulina, I don't think–"

"Ah, ah, ah! I'm almost done! No moving. And make sure you don't lean back against things too much, or else you'll smudge it." Paulina peers under Danny's arm, holding a paintbrush slathered in blue body paint so dark it's almost black.

"Aren't our team colours red and white?" Danny asks. Turning his arms over, he scans the parts of his skin Paulina has already finished painting. Bold feathers cover most of his upper arm, going up his shoulder and, from what Danny could feel as Paulina worked, down his back. She won't let him see what she's doing, though. He hopes it's cool.

"You mean the most boring colours in team colour history?" Paulina scoffs. She steps back, admiring her work for a moment, and drops her brush in the can of body paint. "I've been trying to get Ishiyama to change the school colours for years. Maybe with this, she will."

"Are you don’t yet?"

"Boy, I worked hard on this, let me breathe it in before you go out there and ruin it."

"Mikey's hoodie was scarier."

"Mikey's hoodie was garish. This is a work of art."

Danny picks at his new pants, heavy things made of a thick material and covered in a generous layer of black feathers. At least his legs will be warm tonight.

"You think I'm scarier without a shirt on? Gee, thanks." Danny rolls his eyes. He's not as offended as he sounds, though. Being a half ghost has led to some physical qualities he would rather do without, but can't do anything to change. Like an incredibly fast metabolism that burns through everything he eats before he even has a chance to taste it. Jazz keeps telling him he has to start making health choices, so he doesn't pass out or keel over from hunger.

He tries, but there's only so much he can do, and his ribs seem to be permanently on display. Danny pokes them now, scowling at how they press against his skin. That is so not healthy. He lets his hand drop back to the feathered pants.

"Where did you even get this on such short notice?" he asks. All Paulina did was make a phone call, then someone came buy and dropped off a paper bag with the pants, body paint, and a smaller plastic bag inside.

"I already had it made, silly. I told you, that sweater was so ugly. I couldn't let you keep repping Casper High in something like that." The noise Paulina makes is nothing short of disgusted. She really hates Mikey's sweater, effective as it was. But this is going to be glorious.

Danny peeks over his shoulder, trying to catch his reflection in the mirror, but he can't get a good view.

"Look straight," Paulina commands, pushing Danny's cheek. She raises his arms. "Hold them out like this, perfectly still. Perfect."

She takes out her phone and snaps a few photos of Danny's back. Flicking through them, she chooses the best one, posting it to the Casper Ravens twitter page with the caption "new mascot unveiling tonight." Once she's done, she passes her phone to Danny to show him her handiwork.

"Whoa." Danny stares down at the delicately painted wings on his back. Paulina made them just right so that when he raises his arms, it looks like the wings are unfurling. "Okay, that's a lot cooler than Mikey's hoodie. A shirt would still be nice, though."

"It'd take away from the look. You're practically a skeleton. What'll freak people out more than that?"

"Really feeling the love, Paulie."

"No using my nickname for her!" Star shouts from behind a row of lockers.

Paulina shooed the other girls to the other side of the room when she brought Danny in to give him his new look. By now, they are all changed into their uniforms and ready to show they're spirit.

"Okay. I'll just call her Lina instead."

"Please, god, no." Paulina groans. "That name is so stupid."

The other cheerleaders giggle as they join Danny and Paulina in the main room. They look nice, wearing their matching pleated skirts and crop tops. With their hands on their hips, the pom-poms give their steps a little extra bounce.

"We know you haven't choreographed anything. Just do your think, and we'll do ours. I know you aren't as clumsy as people think," Star says. She gives Danny an encouraging pat on his cheek. It is not as motivating as she thinks it is.

The girls start lining up by the door, doing a few small jumps to get their blood pumping. Danny does the same, shaking out his arms and hopping from foot to foot. He moves to take his place at the end of the line.

"Hold it!"

"Oh, what now?" Danny groans, slumping over. Paulina's shoes invade his vision. She sticks a plastic bag under his nose, holding it out for him to take. "What's this?"

"The last piece of your costume. It's my favourite."

Danny removes the piece from the bag. He grins wickedly.

—

Balmoral High, as the home team, runs onto the field first. Having heard of Caspers' unusual intimidation tactics, they came prepared. The players run onto the field amidst a burst of sparklers and strobe lights flashing their team colours. It pumps up the crowd, just as it's meant to, and the team is met with a roar of approval.

They pump their fists, leaping and bounding across the field. Cheerleaders in short skirts and shorter tops wave their pom-poms, do cartwheels and flips, and spur the crowd on. Their mascot runs on last. A guy in a bear costume, his raises his arms and roars, slashing his paws through the air.

It's all very cute.

Casper High comes in with far less fanfare. The cheerleaders are first, swishing their hips and blowing kisses at the crowd. Raising their voices, they cry out to the crowd. "We're the corvid to your carrion! We're here to fight to the break of dawn!" The few people from Amity Park who could make the trek to the neighbouring city cheer back, cranking their noise makers and stomping their feet. The players charge in next, thrusting their helmets in the air. They have feathers paint on their cheeks.

A few Balmoral players snort, bumping elbows and pointing to the face paint. When the last Casper student runs onto the field, all of Balmoral turns to watch for the infamous mascot. No one comes.

"Ha!" Balmoral's linebacker, in the middle of the team huddle, shouts. It would seem that Casper's reputation isn't all it's cracked up to be.

"Excuse me?"

The linebacker freezes, feeling a tap on his shoulder. He turns, slowly, and sees a boy wearing raven skull mask and a devilish grin.

"Boo."