#and yeah sometimes i want to be that dog who pisses directly into the rose garden because why not?

[twilightofthe]

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[purrincess-chat]

Cat’s Not-All-Encompassing Character Ranking

Okay, so I have to admit that I omitted a lot of characters I don't have strong opinions on. Most of them were one-off akumas, so don't get your panties in a twist, your faves are probably still on here (and ranked lower than you think).

As a preface again, these are just my personal opinions. They can't hurt you. You can still like characters more or less than me. And I don't care how you feel about them. This list is for me. And the person that asked for it. So shut up. Go make your own rank list if you’re so butthurt. 

We're going in reverse order this time, starting from the bottom:

84. Gabriel Agreste- I mean, is anyone surprised? I am not private about how I think Gabriel should go to jail. Or fall off a cliff. Or be erased from existence. Rip to those that like him, but I’m different.

83. Thomas Astruc- Honestly, he’s down here on principle. Self-inserts are generally a no-no, and I just laugh every time I see him on screen because he really put himself in this show and said boohoo no one appreciates me XD

82. Bob Roth- I feel like this one should also be obvious. He’s just a dick. Terrible human. I give him 0 stars.

81. Tomoe Tsurugi- We all collectively hate her, right? It’s not just me?

80. Su Han- This mans has small peepee energy. And he bad mouthed Fu, so get FUCKED, my dude.

79. Rolland Dupain- Listen, I get it, he liked Marinette in the end, but I could do without the racism.

78. Nathalie Sancoeur- My opinion of Nathalie took a nosedive after the s2 finale. I just do not care that she is in love with her boss. Don’t care that she’s dying. Just do not have it in me.

77. XY- Justin Bieber ass wannabe.

76. Nora Cesiare- I didn’t care for Nora. I know Thomas loves her, but the overbearing sibling trope is tired.

75. Anarka Couffaine- I underestimated how much I don’t really like her. Like, it’s not full-on hate, but I just do not care for her.

74. Otis Cesaire- Got akumatized because a kid said he could outrun a panther. I’m still not over it, Otis.

73. Andre Bourgeois- No love for the crooked mayor. I hope your wife divorces you. 

72. Alec Cataldi- The real villain of Stormy Weather. Like fr why is he such an asshole?

71. Roger Raincomprix- Is Officer Roger just doing his best? Sometimes. But like sometimes this mans just needs to take a chill pill.

70. M. D'Argencourt- Please get out of the 1600s

69. Ella/Etta- These two are basically the same character, and I am indifferent to both of them.

68. KnightOwl/Barbara- Listen, I would have liked you more if you were less controlling.

67. Majestia- Same as above, but like I guess I like you more

66. Theo- *Mean Girls principal voice* Stay away from underaged girls!

65. Andre the ice cream man- I just want a scoop of chocolate, Andre. Is that too much to ask??

64. Amelie Graham de Vanily- We haven’t seen much of her, but she seems like a snake bitch.

63. M. Kubdel- I mean, if my son wanted to resurrect an ancient mummy and believed in aliens, I’d give the family heirloom to my daughter too.

62. Jalil Kubdel- Lolol, buddy, pal, dude, my guy. Chill.

61. Vincent (Adrien's photographer)- Head empty. Mom’s spaghetti. Idk he’s alright.

60. Manon- I don’t hate Manon. She just gets on my nerves every time she talks.

59. M. Ramier- This mans got akumatized a billion times because he gets emotional about pigeons. I mean, honestly mood.

58. Mme. Mendeleiev- She doesn’t put up with Chloe’s shit, and we respect her for this.

57. Baby August- Someone just give this mans some food. He’s a growing boy.

56. Santa Claus- If I were Santa, I too would list Ladybug as the best kid in the world.

55. Art Teacher- He doesn’t even have a name, but I vibe with him. He seems like he likes to paint scenes of nature with his pet squirrels.

54. Prince Ali- Lil mans just wanted to have a good time. I can respect that.

53. Duusu- Duusu, I get that your Miraculous was broken, but get with the program, girl. You is a hostage.

52. Other Kwamis- Idk, all the ones we haven’t seen as much. I don’t have real opinions on them yet. Just neutral.

51. Sass- He gives me dad vibes.

50. M. Damocles- You go, you funky owl man

49. Jean (Chloe's Butler)- He deserves a raise. What is your name, sir? We may never know.

48. Mireille Caquet- She’s pretty cute. No complaints.

47. Aurore Beaureal- Baby’s first akuma. I love her design. She’s a cutie.

46. Claudie Kante (Max’s mom)- This womans just wanted to go to space and live her dream. We stan a hardworking queen.

45. Hot Dog Dan- I like him more than Andre the ice cream fraud. Sure, my hotdog might turn me purple, but if I ask for chili on it, I bet he’d oblige.

44. Nadja Chamack- I mean, she’s doing her best.

43. Audrey Bourgeois- So, as I said in the episode ranking, I have a love-hate relationship with Audrey. She’s the worst, but that’s why I love her. I love her ironically. Like, yeah she’s atrocious, but I just want to watch her burn the world.

42. Luka Couffaine- Directly in the middle, like he’s always been.

41. Nathaniel Kurtzberg- My opinion of Nath improved after Reverser surprisingly. I ship it.

40. Chris Lahiffe- I like Chris better than Ella/Etta. He’s just a little mans out here living life wanting to grow up. Don’t believe it, Chris. Stay little forever. Being an adult suuuuucks.

39. Fang the Crocodile- The goodest boy.

38. Nooroo- I just want to give him a hug.

37. Mlle. Bustier- She’s doing her best, but I mean, when ya whole class keeps getting turned into supervillains, I’m surprised she’s not an alcoholic.

36. Penny Rolling- I just like her. I think she’s neat.

35. Ondine- Mermaid queen! She’s so sweet, and I love her with Kim. I hope we see more of her in the future.

34. Marc Anciel- Marc is a little cutie bean. Idc if he’s based off one of Thomas’s irl friends. He can stay.

33. Wayzz- He loves Master Fu so much I cry.

32. Felix Graham de Vanily- I know everyone hates canon Felix, but tbh he exudes massive chaotic neutral gremlin energy, and I actually kinda vibe with that. And he pisses with his uncle which is a whole ass mood.

31. Tikki- Tikki is very cute, but bby please work on the preaching. You don’t always know what’s right, babe.

30. Sabrina Raincomprix- Sabrina deserves better. I hope we see good things happen for her.

29. Lila Rossi- Surprised? I actually like Lila. The first fic I ever wrote for this fandom was a Lila redemption. I think she is a good antagonist and foil to Marinette. I absolutely want to see her get dunked on in canon, but that doesn’t mean I hate her.

28. Wayhem- I don’t know why, but Wayhem makes me laugh. I love him XD

27. Uncle Cheng- He’s just a good mans with a birb who wants to make you tasty food. What’s not to like?

26. Trixx- Trixx shot up after GoS. Chaotic bean make Eiffel Tower go bendy

25. Jess- She’s pretty cool. She’s a vibe.

24. Aeon- The cutest bean!!! She saw Adrien and Marinette and said yep. Those two are meant to be together. Jess, we gotta make it happen.

23. Ivan Bruel- Ivan is such a gentle bean. We love him.

22. Mylene Haprele- Smol

21. Fei Wu- I still have not watched the Shanghai special with subs, but I liked her.

20. Gina Dupain- The grandma I aspire to be.

19. Marianne Lenoir- I love her. She is good. She and Fu are so cute. And she seems like she would have kicked le ass back in the day. (and even now)

18. Rose Lavillant- I am so excited for Pigella!! Rose is too cute. We love her. 

17. Gorilla- aka Adrien’s real dad. If the series doesn’t end with Gabriel getting yeeted into the stratosphere and Gorilla adopting Adrien, I don’t want it.

16. Clara Nightingale- She’s in love with Marinette. You can’t change my mind. 16 is also how old I hc her to be, so don’t nobody come for me.

15. Tom Dupain- Most. Supportive. Dad. Soft bean. Just wants to make you fresh bread.

14. Sabine Cheng- Good mom vibes. We love to see her.

13. Juleka Couffaine- Shy goth bean. Just wants to have her picture taken. Definitely a lesbian. We stan.

12. Nino Lahiffe- The goodest boy. He’s just out here doing his best, loving his friends.

11. Chloe Bourgeois- Chloe is another one I have a love-hate relationship with. Her brattiness is funny to me. We had high hopes for her. Honestly, she ranks this high because I like to play with her in fic.

10. Max Kante- He smol and smort. And I adore his friendship with Kim and the fact that he made an AI himself at 14. What a legend.

9. Alya Cesaire- Rip to Alya salters, but I’m different. Outside of Chameleon, Alya is fine. She’s a supportive bff. All yall people that are mad she doesn’t kiss Marinette’s ass all the time need to go out and make real friends. I said what I said.

8. Alix Kubdel- I love Alix. I love how she is always so done with all the lovey-dovey bullshit. She is tiny queen, and Bunnix, while OP af, is still super cool. We love to see her.

7. Kagami Tsurugi- I will fight anyone who shits on Kagami. She has done nothing wrong, you guys are just haters. All she did was exist, and yall said, wow what a toxic bitch?? Disgraceful.

6. Jagged Stone- We are going to ignore the deadbeat dad trope that canon thrust upon him. He is a Marinette stan, and we love that.

5. Kim Le Chien- I really love Kim, you guys. Does that surprise you? Listen, my favorite male character types are sweet beans and himbos. Kim is both of these.

4. Master Fu- If you didn’t pick up on how much I love Fu from the episodes ranking, then idk what to tell you. I want him to be my grandpa. I would trust this mans with my life. He did his best. You paint those pictures, you funky little man. I love you.

3. Plagg- My galaxy trash man. Love him. 10/10 chefs kisses all around.

2. Adrien Agreste- The biggest Marinette stan there is. I just want him to kiss her on the face. And marry her. Idk, I just think that would be neat if he could do that. I just want good things for them.

1. Marinette Dupain-Cheng- Honestly, are you surprised? I have always been and always will be a Marinette stan. If you expected anyone else to be in this spot, then clown suit rentals are off to the left.

[parkerparts]

you tell me ‘bout your past (thinking your future was me)

Mary and Peter Parker Realize What It Means to Fall in Love: It Begins and Ends with a Dance (AO3 here)

They say you can’t find love on the streets of New York City, but Mary Fitzpatrick has spent her entire life defying the odds. She meets Richard Parker on the sidewalk of a college campus neither of them attends.

Their son will attend that university. He’ll major in Dance at first, but then he’ll decide on Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Then he will fall in love again, or maybe it will be for the first time. He will end up majoring in both, and it might take him five years, but he’ll be proud. They’ll all be so proud of him.

Summer is hot in New York City. Richard still wears a leather jacket. Mary still wears closed-toed shoes.

“You’re that dancer,” he says. “My brother loves the ballet. Mary Fitzpatrick, right?”

“Just Mary,” she replies. “Fitzpatrick isn’t much of a stage name.” “Mary Parker has a nice ring to it.”

Mary thinks for a moment. It’s a moment neither of them should share on a busy New York City street, but they share it anyway. “You know what? You’re kind of right.”

Richard flashes her a smile, and it’s the type of smile you fall in love with. “I’m always right.”

They’ll find out later that he’s wrong. He’s a good man, and he tries to be right, but it will still be a lie when he tells his baby boy years later that he’ll be there for him when he first steps foot in a dance studio or first slides around on a baby skateboard. It’s an entirely human flaw, that sort of hope.

Mary goes to her studio two weeks later and tells them she’s changing her name. She starts her second season as principal dancer with the name Mary Parker, and it’s a name that doesn’t really belong to her -- not quite yet -- but she makes it hers anyway.

They let Richard, Ben, and May Parker backstage after the show because they tell security they’re family.

“Your last name is Parker?” she exclaims when she meets them. “God, I’m such an idiot.”

“You don’t really think I pulled the name ‘Parker’ for you out of my ass, did you? I was flirting.”

Ben steps forward and holds out a bouquet of orange roses. “I’m sorry my brother’s an idiot. You did good out there, Parker.”

Mary takes the flowers. “You’re the brother who likes ballet? I’m glad to share the name Parker with a man of some sense.”

“Hey!” Richard cries out, and Mary lets out a laugh. She thinks she has an ugly laugh. It’s the same laugh she gives to her baby boy, but it’s beautiful on him.

“You’ll keep the name, then?” May asks over the lighthearted bickering that broke out between the brothers. “It’ll be good to have another one of us to balance out all the trouble these two get into.”

“I’ll keep the name,” Mary replies, “but you might find that I’m just as much of a troublemaker myself.”

May grins. “Good. You’ll fit right in.”

They say you can’t find love on the streets of New York City, they’re right. As much as Spider-Man frequents those very streets, Peter Parker finds love on a rooftop just outside the city. He meets Harley Keener on the rooftop of the Compound on the first night he spends there.

“You’re that dancer,” he says. “Spider-Man, right?”

“Just Peter,” he replies. “And yeah, I’m Spider-Man. Guess nothing really stays a secret around here.”

Harley smiles, and it’s the kind of smile you fall in love with. Like mother, like son. Peter and Mary Parker have always been suckers for a beautiful smile. “There’s plenty of secrets to go around. Nah, Tony just can’t keep his mouth shut about you. Besides, he has everyone’s measurements on file, and Peter Parker and Spider-Man had very similar -- exactly the same, actually -- leg to body ratios.”

“Could just be a weird coincidence.”

“I live in a building with most of America’s Mightiest Heroes. I’ll take my chances that the things that catch my eye aren’t just weird coincidences.”

Peter smiles because, weirdly, Harley reminds him of Aunt May in that moment. Two normal people in an abnormal world, doing their absolute best and succeeding. “You’re smart. I see why Mr. Stark likes you.”

Harley barks a laugh that echoes in the relative quiet of the lands around them. “I’ve been pissing Tony off since I was twelve. He tolerates me, maybe.”

“You know him, better than I do, probably. You know that’s not true.”

Harley is still for a moment, and Peter starts to worry he overstepped. Then he sighs and sinks down until his back is against the rooftop, still warm from the just-set sun. “Yeah,” he says to the emerging stars. “I know.”

When Mary first invites Richard over to her apartment, he spends a solid minute laughing when he sees her set-up. She’s twenty-two and she lives alone. Her living room consists of two beanbags, two panels of marley, and a barre. “Don’t you get priority time at your studio as a principal of whatever?”

“I’m twenty-two and insecure,” she tells him. “Besides, everyone starts somewhere.”

She feels vindicated by the sheepish look on his face.

They eat corn dogs on the fire escape, and Mary makes fun of Richard for liking mustard. The sounds of the city unfurl around them as they talk. Mary says she never thought she’d be a star. Richard says he never thought he’d make it past twenty-one. Mary says she doesn’t quite believe it sometimes. Richard says he doesn’t either.

Mary opens a bottle of wine. She says, “My father always liked this kind.”

Richard says, “My grandmother did too.”

At midnight, Mary says, “My father was a secret agent. My mother was in the business too, but she didn’t do field work. She got injured anyway. She didn’t want me to follow in her footsteps or my father’s. She wanted me to be a god.”

Richard asks her, “Aren’t you?”

Mary takes a sip directly from the bottle of wine. “No,” she says eventually. “I’m just Mary Parker.”

“Formally Fitzgerald.”

Mary pauses with the bottle half-raised to her lips. She lets a smile slip onto her face. “Perhaps,” she tells him. “But no one needs to know about that.”

Natasha takes Peter to Varna one winter to see the International Ballet Competition, and Tony and Harley tag along. She spends the Quinjet ride trying to teach Peter a little bit of Bulgarian. Tony and Harley don’t help.

“Teach him some swear words,” Harley says, not even looking up from where he and Tony are huddled over the computer system.

“Don’t teach him the swear words,” Tony says, in a similar fashion. “Harley swears at me enough in English. I don’t need another one coming at me in a language I can’t understand.”

Peter pipes up, “I’d never swear at you, Mr. Stark.”

“Момчета,” Natasha says, snapping a finger in Peter’s face. “Focus.”

Peter gets a decent foundation in Bulgarian by the time they land, and as a treat, Natasha teaches Peter чекиджия. “It means wanker,” she tells him.

Peter keeps his promise. He doesn’t swear at Tony, but he swears at Harley when he pushes him into the hotel pool. Tony glares at Natasha, and she just winks at him from above the rim of her glass of pina colada.

Later that night, Peter finds himself on the balcony of his room, murmuring Bulgarian phrases to himself in an attempt to remember what Natasha taught him. She’ll quiz him on his Bulgarian in the morning.She’s tough on him like that, and she’s a great teacher because of it.

“So Natasha did teach you some swear words.” Peter looks up, and there’s Harley on the balcony of the room next to his, looking at him with a grin.

“Just one,” Peter admits. “I called you a wanker earlier.”

Harley lets out a laugh. “I deserved it.”

“You did.”

They’re silent for another minute or two.

Eventually, Harley says in a voice barely above a whisper, “Abbie used to come up with the most ridiculous names to call me when I annoyed her. Her favorite was boxhead.”

“You miss her,” Peter points out.

“More than anything.”

Peter climbs up on the hotel’s wall and skittles over to Harley’s balcony, dropping next to the boy silently. “It’s okay to miss her. It’s okay to be sad.”

“She wants to be a journalist,” Harley says. “She’s going to graduate high school and go to journalism school and make our mama proud.”

“You don’t think you’ve made your mom proud?”

“Do you?”

Peter loses his breath for a moment. In the darkness, he feels Harley lean into him slightly, like an apology. He lets out a breath. “Touche. I’ll drink to that.”

“There’s whiskey and vodka in the mini fridge. Think Tony will notice if we drink any?”

“He will. I accidentally bought porn on the hotel TV in Germany, and Happy found out.”

Harley chokes on a laugh, and Peter’s kind of proud of that. “Diet Coke and Sprite it is, then.”

They bring their drinks out to the balcony again because nights like these are always too beautiful to miss. Peter asks, “What are we drinking to?”

“To making no one but ourselves proud.”

Peter smiles and drinks to that. Their conversation lightens up, and they gossip like grandmothers going out to tea. It’s easier to talk about other people than to talk about themselves. Peter’s head slips onto Harley’s shoulder as he tells Peter a story, and within a minute, he’s asleep.

Harley doesn’t move. They fall asleep like that, on a balcony in Bulgaria on a beautiful night.

Mary’s Tuesday nights are reserved for the weekly Parker women meeting (which will one day be called the Parker wives meeting). After dinner, they meet at a coffee shop near May and Ben’s apartment and talk over countless cups of tea until closing.

“So you and Richard,” May begins one night. “How’s it going.”

Mary takes a sip of her tea and a shaky breath. “I don’t know.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m twenty-two, and I know absolutely nothing about love. I started thinking about it the other day, and I sort of panicked? I’ve already named myself Mary Parker. Does that mean I have to be a Parker forever? Do I have to date Richard forever or, god forbid, marry him?” May takes Mary’s hand. “Would it be so awful?”

Mary waits a very long time before answering. Yes, she thinks at first. She spent her whole life making it alone in this world, and she was fully prepared to do it forever. Now, she’s twenty-two, and she’s basically married to this man and his family. She doesn’t even know if she loves him. She doesn’t really know what love is.

But she knows that it’s easy to be around him, almost as easy as it is to breathe. Maybe as easy as it is to dance. It’s like everything dark and nervous in her shuts down, and she just gets to let herself be.

“No,” she says eventually. “I don’t think I’d mind at all.”

“That’s love,” May says with a smile. “Or, at least, it’s the closest thing any of us are ever going to get to it.”

Mary bites her lip. “Isn’t that, I don’t know, sort of settling for second best?”

May shakes her head. “True love is for the fairytales. Us girls, girls grown up too fast, we know a little better than to believe in love like that.”

As much as Mary adores May, she disagrees. Her name is Mary, Mary Parker, and she has always defied the odds.

The next day, Richard proposes to her at his skate park that she visits on Wednesdays for lunch with him. Mary says yes. She cries. She falls in love.

Maybe what she has with Richard’s not true love, but true love is the feeling in her heart when she sees her baby boy for the very first time. She names him Terry, and he dies before the week is over.

May picks Peter up from the Compound after two weeks spent in Varna. She pulls him in for a hug and kisses his forehead, and Peter catches Harley’s eye from over her shoulder. He looks sad. Peter’s seen a glimpse of the depth of loneliness beneath that gaze.

Peter buries his head in May’s shoulder and breathes her in.

Happy drives May and Peter home, and both adults listen as Peter babbles on about the beautiful performances at Varna. May knows more about dance than Happy, so she chimes in every now and then, but they both just let Peter talk until he tires himself out. He falls asleep with his head in May’s lap.

Happy carries Peter into the apartment when they arrive, and Peter wakes up just enough to wrap his arms around Happy’s neck and hold tight. He wonders what he did to deserve being treated like a child. He wants to stay like this forever.

Happy lays Peter down on his bed, and Peter lets go.

Peter wakes up hours later, just as the sun is setting. May makes a box of easy mac, and asks, “So what’s up?”

Peter dodges the question for ten minutes, and then he says, “I spent a lot of time with Harley and swore at him in Bulgarian.”

May ignores that second part. “So you and Harley?”

“Me and Harley nothing, May. We’re friends, or something like that. I don’t know. I think we’re kind of close, and it’s kind of nice. Harley gets me, like really gets me, and he’s not afraid of anything.”

“Do you love him?”

Peter smiles sadly. “I’m seventeen,” he says. “What do I know about love?”

May reaches across the table and takes his hand. “Your mother once said the same thing.”

Peter blinks back a sudden tear. “About my dad?”

“About your dad. And you know what? He was planning to propose to her the next day.”

“So what happened?”

“She said yes.” May runs her thumb against the back of Peter’s hand. “Don’t go getting married any time soon, baby, but don’t be afraid of letting yourself fall in love.”

Richard runs away when Terry dies. Mary goes back to dancing. Despite the months that she took off, her body still remembers. Her body, her body.

It’s a body that betrayed her.

Richard comes back, eventually. He comes to see her first performance since childbirth. He lets her take him home.

“I’m sorry,” he says, burying his head in her body. Mary holds him close.

“We do what we can to cope.” He lifts his head up and wipes away his tears. He wipes away her tears. He lifts her left hand to his lips and presses a kiss to the ring that she never took off.

They get married in the winter, even though Mary had always wanted a summer wedding. People change. Mary falls in love with a wedding gown that has sleeves.

There’s no one by her side as she walks down the aisle. She gives herself away.

May makes a toast and then Ben does. Mary cries a lot. “To the Parkers,” one of the guests yells when the speeches are over. Everyone drinks to that.

The four of them in the wedding party share smiles. Mary was a Parker long before the wedding took place.

Nine months later, Peter Benjamin Parker is born. “We’ll name the next one after you, May,” Mary promises.

May smiles as she rocks the little boy in her arms. “You don’t need to,” she says. “This one right here is the only baby I’ll ever need.”

Months later, Mary will fall asleep on the couch with the baby on her chest, and her husband will carry her to bed. She’ll wake up to an empty bed and the sound of a baby crying. Richard will sing the little boy to sleep, and Mary will watch silently from the doorway wondering what she did to get this lucky in life.

When Harley bursts into the lab at midnight one night, it’s just Peter in there. Bruce had bullied Tony into bed about an hour ago but had given up on Peter. “What’s wrong?”

Harley takes two heaving breaths. “It’s my dad,” he manages to say. “He’s back.”

Peter can’t go with Harley to Rose Hill because they’re gearing up for a performance at the studio. Tony wants to go, but Pepper intervenes, and she brings Natasha along with her.

“It’s for the best,” Tony says, still in his pajamas and even more tired than before, after helping Pepper pack. “Pepper’s good at dealing with people, and Scary Red is, well, she’s good back-up. She’s always worked well with Pepper too. Did I ever tell you about Pepper having the Black Widow as her PA?”

“You did,” Peter says. They watch the Quinjet take off.

“It’s for the best,” Tony repeats, almost as if to himself. “I think I’d just have made the situation much worse.”

Peter sees through the act in an instant. It’s flimsy; he wonders if Tony has let his guard down, or if he’s too tired to pretend. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“You sound like Pepper. Or Bruce. He’s even worse. Very zen, despite, you know, the whole green rage monster thing.” Tony sighs and turns around, slinging an arm around Peter’s shoulders. “Anyway, I get to spend time with the Spider-Baby, now that Harley’s not hogging you. Midnight snack?”

Peter starts to protest the whole Harley thing. He thinks better of it. Instead, he says, “I want juice pops.”

“You just read my mind, kid.”

They eat juice pops and watch the sunrise. Steve and Sam pass by the window on their early morning run. Tony says, “Cap is going to propose to Metal Man.”

Peter smiles. Tony and Harley are such gossips. “I know. Harley told me.”

Tony raises an eyebrow, and Peter braces himself for his next words. “So you and Tinkerbell, huh?”

“It’s not like that. It’s just-- It’s nice to have a friend.”

“Do you want it to be more?”

“Dunno,” Peter murmurs. “I’m scared of wanting things.”

Tony sighs, and Peter knows he understands. “It gets better, kiddo. That fear. I don’t think it ever really goes away, but you learn to ignore it. You learn that some things, some people, are just stronger and bigger and braver than fear itself.”

Peter smiles sadly. “Is it time for coffee yet?”

“No,” Tony says, snapping immediately into what Harley and Peter like to call his dad-voice. “It’s time for bed.”

“Since when did you become so responsible?”

“I’m old, kid. You and Harley and this whole damn team aged me prematurely.”

Peter is the most beautiful baby the world has ever seen. Mary whispers this into the top of his head as they sway around the living room. Richard’s going through a jazz phase; one of his CDs is playing softly. Mary wonders if Peter will ever know how loved he really is.

Spoiler Alert: he doesn’t. That kind of love is infinite, and it grows with every person he touches. But as Peter grows older, he begins to understand.

The door of the new Parker apartment opens quietly, and Mary smiles, turning away from the window to greet her husband with a kiss. “Hush,” she says, before he can even begin to speak. “Peter’s sleeping.”

Richard nods and presses a kiss to Peter’s head. The baby doesn’t stir. Distantly, Mary hears the shower turn on. She continues swaying to her husband’s jazz and staring out the window at the city she calls home.

Her son will call it home. Her son will dedicate his life to protecting that very city.

Richard joins her in by the window after a moment. He takes the baby from her arms and sways to the music. Mary sits on the couch. It’s been a very long day, and she should go to bed, but she wants to stay in this moment just a little longer.

Eventually, Richard goes to the CD player, and Mary thinks he’s going to turn the music off. She stands up, ready to go to bed, but the music just changes. Richard shifts Peter to one arm and pulls Mary in with the other. They sway together like that to the sound of Ella Fitzgerald’s voice, their baby in between them. Mary lets out a sigh. She lets her forehead rest against Richard’s.

Like always, when her thoughts drift away, they drift to her baby’s future.

Peter will grow up, and every day, he will look more and more like Richard. He will take after his mom, though. He’ll learn how to dance. He will defy all odds. He will fall in love without even knowing what love is.

He will make mistakes. He will live and lose. He’ll forget what it’s like to be loved.

But he will remember. He always does. He is, after all, a Parker.

Pepper, Natasha, and Harley come home after half a week. Peter skips rehearsal and patrol and convinces Happy to drive him to the Compound to meet them. Harley steps off the Quinjet, takes one look at Peter, and falls into his open arms.

“He wanted to take Abbie,” Harley tells him while everyone else crowds into the kitchen to fight over whose turn it is to make dinner. “Mama wouldn’t let him.”

“So what then?”

“He left. Pepper bribed him with a little money and threatened him with a restraining order, so he took the money and left. For good, this time, he says, but I won’t be surprised if he turns up again in the next five years. Pepper says she won’t offer money next time around, just the restraining order.”

“She’s a good person,” Peter says with a smile.

“The best.”

Harley’s phone starts ringing then, so he leaves the room to take it. Peter wanders into the kitchen and watches the commotion of his family until Tony pulls him into a debate with Happy, Steve, and Bucky about motorcycles.

Peter politely reminds Tony that he knows absolutely nothing about motorcycles.

When Harley returns, dinner is ready, so they crowd around the table and pass around massive plates. After dinner, Harley calls Tony, Pepper, Natasha, Happy, Rhodey, and Peter and asks to talk with them.

“There’s a harvest festival in Rose Hill in about a month,” he says. “Mama and Abbie want you all to come.”

A month later, all of them plus May pile into a Quinjet, and they take off for Rose Hill. Harley sits next to Peter and spends the entire ride telling him about his mom and his sister while Peter nods along nervously.

He’s very oddly nervous. All of the adults shoot one of the two a knowing look before the Quinjet has landed.

“Relax,” May whispers to him as they step off the ramp. “Just be yourself. That’s the best way to make a first impression.”

Natasha whispers in his other ear, “Besides, there’s no harm done if Mrs. Keener doesn’t like you. She’ll just hit you over the head with a frying pan or a wrench.”

Peter sometimes wishes his life wasn’t so chock-full of the most intimidating women in the world.

He makes a wonderful first impression, and he thinks to himself that it’s probably because he’s had a lot of practice being around intimidating women.

Later that night, the ten of them claim a campfire at the festival and roast s’mores. Someone offers them slices of leftover apple pie from the baking contest. Peter stuffs his face with peach cobbler.

Up on the platform, the band begins to play some jaunty tune that the whole town knows. Harley sweeps his mother up and they’re some of the first out on the dance floor, a fact which makes Peter’s jaw drop.

Abbie laughs at his expression and goes to find her friends, all of whom run out onto the dance floor and form a circle. Peter thinks violently of school dances. He doesn’t think about homecoming.

Happy gets May on the dance floor, which makes Pepper turn to Tony. “Dance with the kid,” he tells her. “I’m old.”

Peter turns to Pepper, and she takes his hand. “Thank goodness,” Pepper whispers to him with a smile and a twinkle in her eye. “You’re a much better dance partner than Tony.”

Peter laughs and spends the song proving her right. He catches Tony’s eye at one point, and he looks so very proud.

Somehow, at the next song, Peter ends up with Abbie’s hand in his and a challenge dancing in her eyes. Harley winks at him from where he’s dancing with Pepper. “Alright, dancer boy,” Abbie says. “Show me what you got.”

He dips her at the next available chance with absolutely no warning, and she takes it like a champ. “I like you,” Peter tells her.

Abbie lets out a laugh that sounds almost exactly like Harley’s.

Harley comes up to Peter at the end of the song with a smile that’s lighter and wider than Peter has seen in a long time. This is where he belongs, Peter realizes. On a dance floor surrounded by the people he has loved for forever.

Harley taps his shoulder with his. “Could I get a dance with my sister?”

“Sure,” Peter says, and before he can lose his courage, he continues, “if I get one with you right after.”

Harley doesn’t even hesitate. “Deal.”

As Harley whisks Abbie away, Peter goes back to the campfire and shoves a marshmallow in his mouth before May can stop him. “A dance with my favorite aunt, by any chance?”

May rolls her eyes. “Sure thing, my favorite nephew.”

“I have a dance with Harley next,” he tells her. “What do I do?”

May smiles with all the laughter in her soul reflected in her eyes. “Peter, you do what you do best. You dance.”

So Peter does just that.

The band picks it up for the next song, and Peter takes Harley’s hand. They share a grin. They jump and swing their way across and around the entire fun, laughing all the way. Harley’s cheeks are flushed, and his hair is a mess from all their jumping around. Peter realizes he will never see a sight more beautiful than this.

It’s easy, Peter realizes, to fall in love. It happens just like that. He dances with Harley for the rest of the night.

[takeiteasypeasybaby]

Save Me: Chapter 60 - I Know You

~Hey guys! Chapter 60 is out now :) I can't believe I’ve posted 60 chapters on tumblr :0 Thank you to everyone who has been following this story since the very beginning and to those who have just joined, I appreciate you all more than you know <3~

Molly and Negan make their relationship public as Negan struggles with what is best for the one he loves.

'What about you?' I asked worriedly as I looked up to see his smiling face.

'What d'ya mean?' he asked.

'Michonne will put you back in your cell when she finds out you escaped' I said sadly.

He nodded.

'Yeah, she probably will. But hopefully she'll understand' he said tiredly.

'We're in this together remember, no exceptions' I said smirking.

He chuckled and repeated, 'no exceptions'.

He held my hand as we started to walk back until I stopped, making him turn back around.

'Life's too short, I don't wanna waste a single moment. Let's just be together, fuck everyone else' I said throwing my hands in the air.

'Not sure how your fellow Alexandrian's will feel about that' he chuckled as he played with my hand.

'I don't care, I want you, I want us and I'm tired of putting everyones happiness above mine' I said pleadingly.

'So we do this' Negan said excitedly as I nodded, 'we do this'.

'No exceptions' he uttered smirking.

'No exceptions' I repeated as we intertwined our fingers together and walked back.

I had butterflies in my stomach the whole way, anticipating what was to come.

I looked up at Negan to see that he was just as anxious as I was and he was rarely ever nervous about anything.

He usually concealed his nerves with humour but I could always tell when he was really nervous by his complete silence because he usually loved to talk.

We had stayed out quite a while and the sun was now starting to rise so I knew labourers would be starting their work.

Plus, Michonne liked to get up early so I knew she would be out and about.

As we got closer to the fence, I could hear the hustle and bustle of voices.

I climbed up the fence when Negan gave me a boost and he climbed up after me.

We dropped down into the compound just at the back of my house and as we peered around, we noticed that no one had seen us.

'See, she doesn't have to know' I whispered to him as we strolled through the street.

Michonne spotted us while she was in the field and furrowed her brows, probably wondering where Negan's guard was.

She started to walk over to us which made Negan let go of my hand.

I turned to him and frowned in confusion, thinking he had chickened out when all of a sudden he turned to face me directly.

He placed his hands gently on my face and planted a deep kiss against my lips for all to see.

I raised my eyebrows in shock, but soon melted into the kiss as my hands snaked around his torso.

I could tell he was going for an all or nothing kind of situation, so I deepened the kiss.

My tongue traced along his bottom lip as I nibbled gently, begging for access to his sweet mouth which made him smirk.

His tongue playfully flicked against mine as our hands roamed all over each other.

I had actually forgotten that people would be staring at us right now as my hands travelled down to his ass.

I had to physically stop myself from going to far, even though Negan had no problem with that and when I pulled away he actually leant in further, trying to make it last longer.

We smiled as we pressed our noses together and he planted one last light kiss against my lips before he sauntered back to his cell, whistling as he went.

'Hey neighbour!' he said enthusiastically as Seth came running out and hovered around him, prodding him back into his cell.

I just stared at the ground, still dazed by that fucking amazing kiss!

I smiled as I touched my lip as it still tingled from his touch.

I looked up to see that all the workers had stopped and were just staring open mouthed at me.

I hesitated to look at Michonne but as my eyes flickered over to her, I saw the furious look on her face.

Shit.

I mean I knew that was gonna happen and I thought that she was gonna walk over and punch me or lock me up in a cell but instead she just turned on her heels and walked away.

As soon as she left, the workers started to slowly get back to work and at that moment, I turned around to walk back to my house when I saw Lydia standing behind me.

She was shocked to say the least and stormed off angrily.

'Lydia! Wait, let me explain, please?' I said as I followed her.

She didn't respond but instead stormed back into the house, up the stairs and out onto the terrace.

'Lydia, please' I continued as I saw her leaning over the railing, looking out onto the compound.

'I thought that you were in trouble, that someone had taken you or killed you. I thought my mother had done that, but you were just out there with your boyfriend making out?!' she shouted.

I scowled, saying 'that's not fair' as she rolled her eyes.

'I should have told you about Negan, but it was complicated, it still is' I pleaded as I came to lean against the railing next to her.

'I hear people all the time talking about this guy 'Negan' and how he's a monster and that's why he's in a cell, but here you are kissing the guy?!' she shouted, still enraged.

'I'll tell you everything Lydia, just ask' I said calmly as she exhaled and turned sharply to face me.

'Why do they hate him? And why don't you?' she asked more calmly now.

I sighed and nodded.

'Negan used to be the leader of a group named the Saviours. Their compound was the Sanctuary and they took from people to feed their own. I didn't agree with that aspect but I saw how they saved people, helped make them strong for this world. Michonne's partner, Rick Grimes, he brought us all here and before he died. He fought against Negan and the Saviour's tyranny. He fought for our freedom because of what Negan did, what he took from Rick' I started to say until I took a deep breath before I continued.

'Negan killed people we loved, other Saviour's killed more. That's why they hate him, but they only saw that side, they never knew him like I did. I went to the Sanctuary to try and kill Negan and he spared me, wanted me to join his forces. I denied a dozen times until I saw what he was trying to build' I said slowly.

'I never became a Saviour, but Negan and I, we just had a connection, a bond. I tried to deny it, I felt so guilty that the man my people were fighting was the man I loved. But, like I said, they didn't know him like I did. I saw his potential for goodness, I could tell he wanted to change and I was right because he did. So yes, he has done monstrous things, but he isn't a monster' I said calmly as Lydia just listened attentively.

'You love him?' she asked questioningly.

I smiled and said 'I do, always have, always will'.

'If love was a choice, I wouldn't choose this because us being together has caused so much pain, but you can't control your heart and sometimes it's more dangerous to fight it' I said seriously.

'That's why you kissed, in front of everyone?' she asked.

'It's our time now, it was never right before, but after everything...I don't want to waste a single moment' I said seriously as she smiled slightly.

'Okay' she said nonchalantly.

'Okay?' I replied, shocked by now understanding she was.

'I get it, people didn't want Henry and I to be together but we couldn't deny it, so I know how that feels' she said smiling sadly.

I nodded as we hugged on the terrace.

'Michonne looked pretty pissed' Lydia said worriedly.

'Yep, but she's seen how much Negan's changed over the years. He protected her daughter and would take a bullet for anyone of us here now. She knows that' I said assuredly.

'For the record, I think Negan's a cool guy' she said smiling.

'Uh huh, so do I have your approval?' I asked in faux seriousness.

'Yes, of course. It's like you're my mo-' she started to say before she stopped herself, yet we both knew what she was about to say.

Mom.

My eyes widened, as did hers as we just stared at each other awkwardly.

She gasped and her eyes darted around frantically.

'I have to go, uh, help Michonne with a thing' she said as she rushed off the terrace and left the house.

I was left there speechless as a little smile crept across my face, was she thinking about me being her mom?

A tear rose to my eye as I thought about how much she must trust me.

Lydia's POV//

I paced across the field hurriedly, trying to forget what I almost just said.

Wow, that shit was embarrassing.

I mean, Molly had been more of a mom to me than my own had been in all the years I had been on this Earth.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I darted past Michonne's house and headed for Negan's cell, making sure no one was watching, especially not Molly.

I hesitated about doing this, but I knew now that Negan cared about Molly's wellbeing so he was the one to ask.

I just couldn't bare the thought of anyone else I cared about getting hurt and I knew Molly would kill my mom if she got out of the compound.

I mean that's why she was out there last night, even though she would never admit that to me.

I marched down to the cell, past the guard and saw Negan reading in the corner of the room.

'Hey kiddo' he said happily.

'Why are you back in here?' I asked, pretending I didn't know the answer.

'Agh, Michonne's not too impressed with me right now, so I'm back in the dog house' he said chuckling.

I nodded, 'because of the kiss' I pressed.

'Yeah, that. Is this not something Molly should be talking to you about?' he said awkwardly.

I shook my head and said, 'I just want her to be happy'.

He chuckled and said, 'I want that to'.

'Listen, the real reason I came down here was because I'm worried and I don't know who else to talk to' I said nervously as I sat down on a chair.

He frowned, saying 'alright kid, shoot' as he closed his book.

'I don't think Molly is doing okay. She's trying to hold it together but something is broken. She's acting weird and I think she might go after my mom, which I get but she could get herself killed' I said worriedly.

He nodded and sighed.

'Yeah, you and me both kid. I think you're right and now that I know you are smart as hell, I'm gonna take your word for it' he said sadly.

'I'll speak to Michonne, just don't mention this to Molly, okay?' he asked as I just nodded before I went.

Negan's POV//

'What do you want?' Michonne said as she stormed into the cell.

I had asked Seth to get her because I needed to talk.

'I know I'm public enemy number one right now, but this is serious. It's about Molly, she needs help' I said seriously as I pleaded.

She scoffed, saying 'yeah I could see that when she engaged in a vomit inducing kiss with you'.

I chuckled as I replied 'a tad harsh, but I get it. Look, after Tara, she's losing it. She says she's holding it together but last night, she left the compound to go kill walkers and almost put herself in danger in the process'.

'How the hell do you know that?' she asked angrily.

'Because I went after her. I had to Michonne, if I hadn't gotten there in time, she would have died so you can thank me later' I said in faux amusement.

'I want Seth removed from his duties and that window barred up, you here me?' she said to one of the workers who replied, 'yes boss'.

I sighed and mumbled 'shit' under my breath.

'If you so much as put one toe out of line, I won't hesitate to relieve you of your duties' she growled as she was about to leave the room.

'Michonne, I am begging you, just make sure Molly cannot leave Alexandria, at least not yet' I pleaded as she continued to leave.

[heartshapedcreaturefromcriptoon]

Name: Moon or Rose, sometimes Luna to people who have known me for a long time

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Height: I honestly can’t remember what they said last time they measured me an it wasn’t even “accurate” because slouching and hunching and scoliosis but my mother did it again when I was in bed and she had a tape measure and I’m 4′8 I think? :D

Languages: English

Nationality: Irish (American...Long Island)

Favorite Fruit: Rasberries, Strawberries, Pomegranate, Tomatos, Cherries

Favorite Sent: Roses, Fresh dirt, Gardens, plants and Flowers, any type of wood, rain, popcorn, Curry, (never actually tried but WANT TO) any type of hot beverage, any type of bake goods out the oven ..

Favorite colors: Black, purples and blues, ESPECIALLY the dark ones, any type greens ......... Also reds and pinks .......

Favorite Animal: Rat’s and rodents, always, ever since I was little ... Bats, Owls, bigger felines and canines (Lions, Tigers, Wolf’s, Etc.) Smaller Cats and Dogs, (Striped cats, fluffy cats, black cats, pit-bulls  and SPINX’S are my favorites cause those are the ones that I have expect for the last one) Frogs and toads too,... opossums,  chinchillas, squirrels, eye-eyes, pigs, rabbits, ravens, crows, in a certain way spiders, bees, moths, butterflies, fox’s, minks, lemurs....  skunks. flamingo’s, swans....lady bugs, crickets fireflies , goats....turtles, Gryphons ....(Far underrated and superior to dragons, this a fact not an opinion.)

And I’m about to admit this VERY, EXTREMELY begrudgingly and through my longest sigh ever but ... Deer? I just freaking. Wrote out an whole entire separate thing concerning my.... complicated perspective on deer and I had to copy and paste it into an entirely different document because I talked for way to long, but it’s gotten to the point where I have this desperate need to just ... vent of what this animal has become for me and what they mean to me, because this has currently became something that has made my heartache the more and more I’ve tried to pretend it does not effect me and I will say that it’s been a long time coming and as of recently I can no longer afford to avoid how much...So um. I’ve decided that this may be the year... That ...I am finally going to talk about this. Of course not like, right /now/ this minute ... But I will say in short that like, I live by a lot of deer and they’ve always been a part of my life for better or worse, and I could never really escape them or the part they’ve played in my life, hurting or healing, even if I wanted to. So, I say that, if I ever got the opportunity to observe one up close in my chair or feed a doe from my hand or hold a baby fawn or do anything like that with supervision in a moment, I totally would, in a heartbeat, without question. Even though from far away it hurts to think about the relationship I’ve had with them through who I was connected to. I refuse disrespect this animal just because someone who I loved who loved them hurt me once. Does that make sense? Sometimes.... Certain things that hurt you can also heal you. I’ve realized recently that I’m still not over how much I’ve been hurting. But that doesn’t mean that deer haven’t also, in their own way, been helping me heal. And I’m just thankful they exist for that because I’ve also learned through many narratives throughout the years, at in watching animation, how deer can have so many different sides to them and they don’t always have to be so interpreted as so “good” and “pure” and righteous and ...., ugh. As everyone projects to be, and I’ve always like to think that’s that’s helped keep a nuanced perspective of what’s happened to me throughout the years even as certain events were taking place and for that... I’ll always love and respect deer as an animal themself.  

As a character, trope though, I’ve always observed that they’ve always been these fucking, self important, entitled a-holes who always assume that they’re charming enough to deserve your time, and think they can just come and go in and out of your life as they please and are far too proud of themselves to admit  when they are wrong and will never apologize to you ever until they are pushed and until then, they just keep popping in and out of your life to vex and annoy you and ......

Mm.

Tastes like perspective.

Anyway, I’m writing something for later.

Maybe.

This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot.

First time sharing any inkling of my emotions about deer. 

I’m honestly so afraid about what this and the other post will entail for later, my other deer tail, if you will.

I’ll stop talking about deer before this gets weird.

You have no ideer......

Last pun until next post, promise.

Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate: My silly abled assistant worker got me addicted to coffee again before she had me institutionalized and soaking in my own piss for four days because she didn’t understand how hospitals worked, and then they cut her hours when she was about to abandon me in what was basically a nursing home for and after a month I started trying to explain to her and my caseworker that I wasn’t feeling very well and they basically laughed at me and told me I was dirty and so yeah I spent my 25th birthday in a nursing home with an infection that I didn’t know I had and then one of the staff yelled at me for allowing this nice hyper boy who lived there to help push my crappy black manual wheelchair (you know the one) and practically tossed me out of my wheelchair to get me to what she wanted and then accused me of soiling myself when she was removing my clothes for the shower when I was on the toilet and then started screaming at me again and accusing me of lying when I asked her why she thought I had an accident and then she slammed the door and abandoned me in the bathroom when I wouldn’t give her the answer that she wanted and then I had a breakdown ... So I decided to use my mom’s birthday as an excuse to come home and check what was going with me and get some real food and I told my assistant and my caseworker and they basically laughed at me and said was a bad idea and told me I was dirty again and then I was punished and taken home for being “rude” and “too emotional” but not before the assistant worker brought me some crappy bitter ass coffee flavored fudge when the rocky road was right next to it because she was some vegan ass “straight ally” one year younger then me with a 29 year old boyfriend millennial who “missed my birthday” and complained about how miserable I was and how wasn’t enjoying the pumpkin farm which she originally wasn’t even gonna take me through, because my caseworker insisted that she cancel plans and bring me back to the nursing home as punishment for calling my mother. So when she DID bring me back after arguing with me for being ungrateful enough to not enjoy a place that she didn’t even wanna take me, she left me parked on the living room carpet, instead of bringing back into the dining room where my laptop was set up, like she’d normally do, said “good luck with your mom”, and left. Then, it took me about an hour to wheel myself off of the carpet, find someone to help me to the bathroom, and get me the phone to call my mom back and tell her it was okay to pick me up.

I come home, discover I have a lump in my left breast which is benign but still hasn’t gone away, go to the doctor, and it turns out I had two infections. 

My mom seemed prepared to let me go back to the group home if I wanted to but after I told the doctor what happened with the staff worker the day after my birthday and the night before I called. The doctor told me that I wasn’t safe at the group home ether and ordered that I go back home with my mom and stay there.

So I’m back home now.

Two months. 

And of course my caseworker shit on me for THAT.

And of course she informed me that my assistant worker quit on me.

And I still haven’t spoken to my father since I’ve been back here.

And I still have the scar he gave me. 

And I’m still trying to ween myself off of coffee.

But before all of this my go to warm drinks were usual tea or hot chocolate. Sometimes hot chocolate with liquor.

My tongue went numb for a time because that was the first thing that I did non- stop each day for like four days after the day I finally finished my meds and my period hit immediately (which is already a whole other nightmare that I was dreading having to go through in a nursing home when everything already felt fucking inflamed and swollen and infected with already visible particles of dried up soap.... because.... it was ......) 

But like, yeah...... Tea and Hot Chocolate!  

Dream Trip: To have the opportunity to visit and interact with/get to know some queer cripple friends in person, and to visit my good friend @colorcinabrio in Mexico to travel round the world with them if ever given the chance! ❤

When Blog was created:

Somewhere around two years ago... I wanted to make blog that reflected my disability and really let me identify as a cripple and focused more focused more on cripple things and maybe make some cripple friends! ^ ^’  ❤

Last Movie Seen: That comes to mind that I actually enjoyed? The Favorite.

Favorite Holiday: I really love people’s birthday’s also and I always try and do something for my friends birthdays if I can! ^ ^  ❤

Songs on repeat: As of recently, ‘Fake Happy’, by Paramore.

 Tagged by @qjusttheletter

Tagging: @colorcinabrio @thetrainticket @finallyhaunted @thequantumqueer @rosered3 @isnezzed @purplepeoplelickingtruthpeddler @transplorer

Thank you so much for tagging me, Q! ^ ^’ ❤ I know it took a while to answer but as I said before I really did go on a deer tangent for a minute! ^ ^’ ❤ But being tagged by you brightened my day and  I know we don’t talk much directly but I really do think of you as a friend!!!! :D ❤ O.X

[golbrocklovely]

only the lonely survive // colby brock - chapter two: ain’t it fun

A/N: let me know what you think of the story so far :)

description of the story here

trigger warning: swearing, drinking, douchey guy, graphic language, light physical fighting (no blood or anything)

word count: 2589

During the car ride, I stayed silent. Corey and Casey are two of the most outgoing people I had ever met, and my introverted ass couldn't really jump in and say anything. Not that I minded, to be honest. I was kind of pissed at Casey.

How could she not tell that Corey Scherer was her best friend?

She knew that I watched him and all of the Trap House guys, and yet never mentioned he was her friend. I was conflicted... I thought we were close but maybe we weren't.

"So, Skye, what do you do for a living?" Corey asked, looking at me through his review mirror.

"Oh... I work in retail at the moment. I also do youtube on the side." I shrugged.

"Same here." He laughed.

"Yeah, me and Skye watch you all the time. Along with all your room mates." Casey replied, giggling.

"Are you a fan?" Corey questioned, smiling.

I cleared my throat, feeling uncomfortable. "I guess you could say that. I do love your content."

He nodded. "Aw thanks. What type of stuff do you make?"

"She does amazing covers. She is seriously one of the best singers I know." Casey said, jumping in.

"You can sing? That's cool." Corey beamed.

Casey chuckled, "No seriously, she is really good. I mean, she did study musical theater in college so she better be at least somewhat good."

"Oh that's sick." Corey cheered.

While Corey and Casey went back to catching up, I looked out the window, watching the houses we passed. Everything was white and pristine. The lawns were mowed to perfection. Every so often there would be a person walking a dog.

The car came to a stop as Corey pulled into the driveway of the house we were staying at. He turned the car off and popped the trunk. All three of us slowly got out of the car. Corey helped us bring our luggage inside the house.

The house was simple but beautiful. Everything looked new: the furniture, carpets, curtains, every little detail.

Man her uncle must be really rich.

"It was good seeing you again, Casey. I gotta go pick up Devyn from the gym and then we're gonna go get something to eat. I'll see you tomorrow. It was nice meeting you, Skye!" Corey said, giving Casey a quick hug and leaving.

Casey and I waved bye, watching Corey pull out of the driveway. Then she shut the door.

"Okay... what the fuck Casey?" I demanded.

"Alright, I know I have to explain myself. I'm sorry I never told you about Corey." She apologized, grabbing her luggage and starting to bring it to her room.

"I think you need to explain a little bit further." I crossed my arms, annoyed.

She sighed, putting her bag on her bed. "Look, back before Corey blew up on Vine, we were friends. I was even in one or two of his Vines. Because of this, when he got a following, immediately people pretended to be my friend just to get to him. Then he moved, and we remained friends, but I never told anyone I was friends with him. Then I went college and I met you. One day you brought up the Trap House and I thought 'shit she knows' but you never asked about him. Then you told me how you never followed Vine back when it was alive and that you only knew of them because of youtube. So I was in the clear..."

"I thought you trusted me a little more than that..." I muttered, looking down at the floor.

"I do trust you. I wouldn't have traveled across the country with someone I didn't trust. I just wasn't sure how to bring up the fact that I'm friends with people you stan. It would be like me telling you I'm related to the Jonas Brothers." She joked.

I looked up abruptly, "You aren't, are you? Because you know I love them."

"No I'm not." She laughed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just wasn't sure how I could tell you. Besides, seeing the look on your face when you saw Corey was kinda hilarious."

"You know what's more hilarious? Me punching you directly in the throat." I hissed jokingly.

"You're all talk." She retorted, throwing a shirt at me.

I threw the shirt back. "I wouldn't be so sure about it."

"Well, let me make it up to you. Tonight, let's go out clubbing and I'll buy you alcohol." She smiled.

"You're only suggesting that because I don't drink that much, you fucking cheapskate." I laughed.

She nodded her head, "Yes. However, I do have another gift for you."

"Oh goodie." I clapped my hands mockingly.

"How do you feel about meeting the Trap House tomorrow?" She asked, smirking.

I gulped, "What?"

"Corey and I were talking about hanging out tomorrow. He told me all the guys are gonna be home and I figured I could catch up with him and all of them. They haven't seen me in like a year or so." She said.

"I-I don't know." I stuttered, looking around her room.

"They all know about you." She replied.

I turned to her, wide eye, "I'm sorry, what?!"

"You know how during the summer I go home to Florida? Well sometimes I come out here instead and hang out with Corey and everyone in the Trap House. The last time I was out here I told them all about you. How you're my best friend and how amazing of a singer you are and also how you're a fan of them." She smiled brightly.

"Did you... go into detail of how much of a fan I am?" I questioned.

She turned her head to the side, "Like?"

"Like how I have a fan account? Like how I have all of their post notifications on and I follow them on literally every social media platform?" I stated.

She shook her head, "No. I just said you were a fan. That's it."

I sighed in relief, "Thank God."

"So... does that mean you're gonna hang out with me and the boys tomorrow?" She asked beaming.

Take chances, right?

"Sure. I guess so." I rolled my eyes.

"Yay! Honestly, you're gonna love them. Well, you're gonna love them more than you already do. They are seriously some of the nicest dudes you'll ever meet." She stopped in her tracks, gasping, "Oh my God, maybe you can get with one of them!"

"Everyone in the house has a girlfriend besides Colby." I said, confused.

"You're right. But... weirder things have happened." She replied, putting her clothes in the closet.

/  /  /  /

"Casey! Come on! Our uber's gonna be here in like two minutes." I yelled, filling up a cup with soda and vodka.

"I'm coming ya loud hoe!" Casey screamed, running into the kitchen. She grabbed the cup from my hands and took a swig of my cocktail.

I grumbled, "It's a little hard to be a hoe when no guy wants to fuck you." I snatched the cup from her hands, "Also make your own."

"There are plenty of guys that want to fuck you, Skye. It's just most of them are gross and don't deserve a text back, let alone seeing you naked." She replied.

"I think you're thinking of yourself. If you find a guy that wants me, feel free to send him my way." I rolled my eyes. I placed my cup down on the counter, grabbed my purse and headed towards the front door.

"Well if you want to attract a guy, maybe don't wear jeans to the club." She smirked, downing the rest of my drink.

I looked down at my outfit: a low-cut top, jeans, and platform boots. This was an average outfit for me.

I sighed, "Look my dude, I didn't feel like getting dressed up. Besides I haven't unpacked yet and this outfit was on top."

"We've been here for seven hours, why haven't you unpacked?" She asked, shutting and locking the front door behind her.

"I'll do it when we get home, mom." I mocked, turning to look at her. She raised her middle finger towards me. I blew her a kiss.

/  /  /  /

"It surprisingly busy for a Sunday night!" I yelled, getting close to Casey's ear.

The club 'Roses' was packed tonight. I asked Casey how she even knew of this place, telling me it's where her and Corey go every time she's in LA. Apparently this is also the go-to spot if you want to see D-Listers and influencers all in the same tiny place.

The whole place smelled like shitty cologne, tequila, sweat, and poor life choices.

I was home.

"Let's just try to get a drink! I need one!" She yelled back, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the bar.

When we got there, we ordered our drinks. First, shots. Two each. Then a cocktail.

"I'm surprised you're letting me drink more than one tonight, you know, since you're paying." I stated, elbowing her lightly.

"We're only in California once, why not live it up a bit? Besides you won't have more than three drinks, four tops." She shrugged.

I raised my eyebrow, "How do you know that? Maybe I'll surprise you and have FIVE tonight."

She rolled her eyes. The bartender came up to us.

"That guy over there ordered you these." He said, pointing at the other end of the bar.

We both looked over to see a tall blonde hair guy. He was buff, wearing only a muscle shirt and tight black jeans. He had one sleeve of tattoos. He smiled, nodding over at us. He disappeared into the crowd, coming over.

One guess as to who he was going to talk to first.

"Sup ladies, my name's Mark. It's nice to meet ya!" Mark said, eyeing Casey.

"Hey. Thanks for the drink by the way." Casey replied, smiling.

"No problem. What's your name, beautiful?" He asked, smirking.

I rolled my eyes but jumped in before Casey could speak. "I'm Christina, and she's Emily."

We both made a pack many years ago that if we weren't comfortable around a guy, the easiest way to let each other know was to change our names. It was subtle, but efficient; especially when you're drunk.

Why was I uncomfortable with this guy? Who knows.

"Nice. Why don't you come dance with me?" He requested, grabbing Casey's hand.

Casey turned to me, "Are you good, Christina?"

I nodded my head. She winked at me, slowly being pulled onto the dance floor. I looked back at the two shots Mark ordered for us. I downed both.

Haha, jokes on you Casey. I have gone over my limit.

Bitch...

/  /  /  /

After scrolling through my phone for the nth time, I looked at the dance floor, trying to find Casey. I spotted her; she had her phone in one hand and her drink in the other. She was also grinding lazily against Mark.

Ew.

I looked back at my phone, checking the time. Suddenly, a text popped up.

 Casey: plz come ovr nd get ths douche away frm me

 I looked up at her, seeing her stare at me. I nodded my head, finishing my sixth drink tonight, and started walking over to her.

Time to use my theater degree for something.

"Oh my God Christinaaa let's goooo home I'm tired." I whined, bumping into Casey 'drunkenly'.

Casey turned towards Mark. "Hey I'm really sorry but I gotta get my friend home now."

"What why? Can't she call an uber herself? I thought we were having fun." Mark groaned.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, but I want to make sure she's okay getting home. Don't need her to fall into the wrong hands."

"Okay I guess. Wait... isn't your name Emily?" He questioned.

I looked at Casey, she looked at me. I grabbed her hand and we ran outside.

"Shit, how did you forget my fake name?" She hissed, throwing my hand off hers.

"I'm sorry I forgot your fake name, I'll make sure to remember it next time." I grunted, rolling my eyes. I grabbed my phone, clicked the uber app, and called one. "What was the problem with Marky-Mark back there anyway?"

"Well for one thing, he smelled like Axe body spray and I immediately felt like I was back in high school grinding on a dude during prom. Also, I really can't understand how he was out of rhythm when I was the one doing all the work." She explained.

"I had a feeling he was gonna be douchey. However, being a bad dancer and smelling weird doesn't make him a shitty person." I quipped.

Casey's eyes widen. I scrunched my face, confused. Turning around, I saw the reason for her shocked expression: Mark. Standing right behind me, with a beer bottle in hand.

"So... you're not that drunk anymore. Maybe now Emily, or Christina, or whatever the fuck your name is can come back inside and dance with me some more." Mark sneered, reaching for Casey.

I jumped in front of his hand, "Look dude, I understand you want to keep hanging out with my friend, but she doesn't want to hang with you anymore. The both of us... don't want her hanging with you anymore. So, we're just gonna go home and you can go find some other girl to party with."

"You know bitch, you keep cock-blocking me and I'm getting real tired of it." He shouted, getting in my face.

"Fucker it ain't cock-blocking if you were never gonna get fucked to begin with. Also, calling me a bitch really isn't helping your case." I replied, stepping up to him.

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever, slut." He started to walk away.

I grabbed my chest, mockingly, "Ow, you hurt me."

He stopped, turn back towards me, reached out, and poured his beer down the center of my shirt.

"Look: two wet bitches for me!" He bellowed, smiling.

All I saw was red. This motherfucker is about to lose his balls. But as I was rearing up to go Tonya Harding on him, the bouncer grabbed him and slammed him against the wall, smashing the beer bottle on Mark's hand in the process.

"What the fuck?!" Marked yelled, trying to get out of the bouncer's grip.

Casey started pulling my arm. I looked to see our uber pull up. I looked at Mark, flipped him off, and jumped into the car.

After a silent, uncomfortably wet, 20-minute drive, we finally got home.

I sighed, stepping into the house. I immediately took my shirt off, walking into the kitchen.

"Woah, I didn't know coming home with you would get me a free show." Casey joked, dropping her body onto the couch.

I grabbed two water bottles from the fridge. I placed one down on the coffee table in front of Casey.

"I feel like buying you two drinks isn't sufficient enough for the bs that we went through tonight so... how about tomorrow I buy you dinner?" She said, smiling sweetly.

I took a long swig of my water. "Yeah that sounds fine. I would also appreciate it if you could steer clear of douche bags for the rest of the trip, for the sake of my sanity and wardrobe."

"I can't make any promises, but I will do my best." She replied, scrunching her nose. 

 << CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 3 >>

[carbonated-chicken-broth]

Happy Valentine’s Day || Gabriel x Reader

Gabe is my favorite l'il angel and I had to write about him because I can see him as one of those “boyfriends” that goes all out on Valentine’s Day with one of those massive Teddy Bears and a fuck-ton of chocolate.

Type: Fluff (I know, I know, but I'm in a cutesy mood so suck it horn dogs!)

Reader Gender: Female 

Warnings: Kissing...? Also Gabriel in general, so innuendos and all that jazz. Oh, and language. And cliché.

Word Count: 2,000+

    "I think I'm gonna clock out!" you called over your shoulder to Sam, who was set up in his usual spot at the long wooden table in the dining/research room, immersed in whatever was on the screen.

    He hummed in response, taking his eyes off his laptop for a moment to direct his steely gaze at you through those wise-looking eyes of his. "Not gonna go...um...wipe some broken hearts off the bar floor?" he teased, quirking one eyebrow as his scruff-lined lips twisted into a smile.

    You chuckled sleepily and shook your head, noting how your joints cracked and realigned at even the smallest movement. "I'll pass. Dean can get enough work done out there for the both of us. Besides," you added as an afterthought, "I'm tired as hell."

    "I hear you," Sam responded quietly, sinking back into his work.

    You sighed heavily and plodded down the semi-elegant hallway to your room, stretching your arms over your head as you went and letting out a satisfied groan when something popped. All you wanted was a nice, warm shower, and maybe some peace and quiet. Maybe even a beer and a movie if you got bored. Yeah, some BAB sounded great right about then. It was Valentine’s Day, after all. Great day for porn.

   With that thought in mind, you swung open the large, mahogany door with the intent of flopping uninterrupted onto your bed when-

    "And how's the cutest little human in the world?"

    "Gabriel! Get out of my room!"

    There he was, the peskiest of the four archangels, sprawled out on your covers with a wide grin etched across his handsome face.

    "How about no?" he snickered, sitting up and smirking. "Besides, it's Valentine's Day!" he added enthusiastically, opening his arms as if to augment his stating of the obvious. "What kinda boyfriend would I be if I didn't stop in on my favorite human to give 'em a proper date?"

    You groaned and pinched the bridge of your nose, irritated beyond belief and sensing the stirrings of a migraine. "You're not my boyfriend, Gabriel. And I'm really not in the mood to deal with your shit right now. I just wanna take a shower and lie down and maybe get some shut-eye before Dean comes back with someone and makes sleep impossible."

    Raising one eyebrow, the smirking archangel sat forward, his whiskey eyes gazing straight into yours with an air of smug unpredictability that had the reverse affect on his counter. "Mind if I join you?"

    "Fuck off, Feathers."

    "Rude," he pouted, cuing yet another eye-roll.

    "What do you want, Gabriel?" you asked sharply, crossing your arms and lifting your chin in an attempt to convey a semblance of confidence, even though his presence made your insides squirm like worms on LSD.

    "You, naked, covered in rose petals,” he chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively in a way that never failed to make your heart do a little dance (often a frantic sort of “OH SHIT THOSE ARE SOME SEXY EYEBROWS” jig).

    You felt heat creep up your neck and gritted your teeth, balling your hands into fists. "Gabriel, I swear if you’re-"

    "It's just a joke, Sweetcheeks!" he exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender, before muttering, "I'd prefer syrup, anyway. Sweeter."

    "Gabe..."

    "Fine," he sighed, his smirk softening to a smile, "I'm here to help you loosen up a bit. You look tense."

    "Yeah, I wonder why!"

    "Aw, c'mon," he whined, scooting to the edge of your bed and pouting up at you. "All I wanna do is cuddle! I won't bother you for the rest of February if you say yes." At least he was asking for consent. How generous.

   "You're bribing me now?" you snorted, trying to sound casually annoyed to hide how flattered you were by him. He always did that to you; he twisted you into confused knots until you didn't know how to feel. 

    It wasn’t as if being with him would be a huge issue. Dean wouldn’t like it – he hated Gabriel, even more so after the T.V. land escapade – but after a while, he’d adjust. Sam wouldn’t be so vocal about his distaste, probably even supportive. He was already third wheeling one frustrating couple. What could be the harm in adding another?

   No, the problem was with you. You didn’t want to tie yourself down to an archangel if it only meant a quick (though undoubtedly amazing) fuck and decades of heartbreak. He was so wild, you doubted he’d be up for a long-term relationship, and you weren’t sure you could handle a one-night-stand, as tempting as that option was.

    Gabriel’s eyes twinkled, intrigue written across his face. He had an air of smugness that tended to linger around him but seemed unfounded at that moment. Quickly (and suspiciously), he cut off your thoughts: "Is it working?"

    "Nope," you lied, walking over to your dresser to give yourself something to do other than stand awkwardly and in a state of slowly depleting gobsmackery in the doorway. If you were going to have to deal with Gabriel, you would definitely be dealing with him in comfy clothes.

    "Why are you making me work so harrrrrrd?" the ever-childish archangel whined, tilting his head and watching you open one of the mahogany drawers and rummage around.

    Sifting through your clothes, you groaned again, pulling out one of Sam's giant flannels (red-checked and soft) you’d stolen a while back. Winchester clothing was just more comfortable; even their boxers. You were tentative about wearing men’s underwear in front of the perverted archangel stationed on your bed but you know what they say: fuck it.

    "Because giving you what you want is like feeding the animals," you said distractedly, moving to your bathroom door (you had one separate from the boys’ because they took long showers and sometimes menstruation couldn’t wait an hour) and calling over your shoulder, "We cuddle once and then you never leave me alone!"

   You could feel his eyes drilling into you as you slipped inside, carefully locking the door behind you even though his bothering to use it would only be out of courtesy and therefore very unlikely. You waited for a few seconds in case Gabriel was planning on breaking in, before pulling your shirt over your head and tossing it on the sink.

    Lo’ and behold, there came the flutter of wings from directly behind you, the cool breeze from invisible wings tickling your nearly bare back. "But I just wanna cu- wow you are...wow."

    You blushed heavily and spun around, ready to give him a piece of your mind, only to realize that he could see straight down your bra. With a yelp, you grabbed the first thing you saw – a towel hanging on the door behind him – and held it against your practically naked torso. "Gabriel, what the hell!?"

    "I just wanted to keep talking to you," he whined, his dark eyes twinkling with mischief and other emotions that you could recognize but didn't want to name.

    "So you came into the bathroom with me?!"

    "What's wrong with that?"

    "You're joking," you told him flatly, agitated, "You see nothing wrong with this? I'm half fucking naked, Gabriel!"

    "I noticed," the archangel smirked, wiggling his eyebrows again. "You're hotter than I imagined."

    "Than you imagined?" you snapped, your face flushing, "The hell is that supposed to mean?!" Oh God, did he…holy fuck, did he get off thinking about you? Christ, you couldn’t win with him!

    "Oh, you know what it means, Sugar~" Gabriel purred, taking a few steps forward so that his chest brushed against your forearms which pinned the towel to your quivering body.

    You blushed furiously, your eyes widening as you gazed breathlessly up at him. A strangled moan clawed its way out of your throat and past your clamped lips. After a beat, you finally found your voice, or some of it. "Shut up, Asshat!" you growled, wrinkling your nose and taking a step back.

    "Make me~"

    "Okay!" you snapped, stepping around him, "I get that it's Valentine's Day but I’m really not in the mood!"

    Gabriel sighed, gazing after you as you opened the door and slipped out, pulling the giant, tunic-like flannel over your scatterbrained head to hide your torso. ‘Sexy fucking angel,’ you thought, remembering vividly the way he could morph from innocent puppy-dog to I'm-gonna-fuck-you-'til-you-can't-walk in under a second. ‘What gives him the right.’

    "I just wanna help you relax," he whined (a tone he’d been taking quite a lot lately), watching you flop down on your bed and moving to sit on the end.

    "Leave me alone," you commanded, burying your face in the pillow and shutting your eyes right. You felt the bed creak next to you and you turned your head, coming eye to whiskey eye with the pesky archangel.

    "No."

    You groaned, turning your face to hide a blush as your heart fluttered from the proximity of his body to yours. Finally, you got up the courage to say it. "Fine."

    A grin spread across Gabriel's face. "What made you change your mind all of the sudden?" he asked innocently, the smirk on his face audible to your reddening ears.

    "Shut up."

    "Aww," he chuckled, his arm snaking around your waist as he pulled you against his chest, "Have I ever told you how cute you are when you're pissed off?"

    You gritted your teeth and rolled your eyes, your mind on hyper-alert as he pressed closer, breath dancing over your neck. "Every damn time you see me," you snapped agitatedly. It was true, you had a tendency to get riled up when he was around, for obvious reasons. He seemed to find it amusing, which did nothing to help your flustered state.

    "You really are adorable," he said, sounding almost genuine.

   You blushed and shook your head, glaring at him over your shoulder as your heart did backflips. "I am not, Gabriel!" It sounded so childish you had to fight to keep from cringing.

    "Don't deny it," Gabriel chuckled, poking you nose. "See? You're like a kitten dumped in ice water. I just wanna hug you and kiss every inch of your skin and listen to your voice say my name over and over and over again..." He sighed, taking in a breath and pulling back a bit, gazing adoringly at you.

    Your face felt like it was on fire from all the heat rushing through it, and your eyes were wide as saucers.

    "I-I...uhm...I mean that's-wow..."

    The archangel's eyes twinkled mischievously, and he leaned in to press his forehead against yours, whispering, "Plus, you're adorable when you're flustered."

    You swore you thought your heart stopped for a second. It skipped a beat or two — or five — at his words.

    He chewed his lip, waiting for a response of some sort, of which you seemed incapable. You gazed at him like a tourist at the Statue of Liberty, your eyes wide and your lips parted as thoughts rushed through your mind like hot pockets through someone's dietary tract.

    His stare was what caught you; his deep golden-brown eyes simultaneously grounded you in reality and sent you off on tangents of mental fantasy.

    "So, are you gonna kiss me or not?"

    Gabe's mouth dropped open; it was his turn to look dumbfounded. "What, (Y/N)?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

    You rolled your eyes. "You wore me down, okay? You win. Now do me a favor and finish what you started!"

    A smile spread across his handsome features as he lifted himself up on one arm and cupped your face with his hand. Gently, he drew your lips up to his. Your lips met and instantly you felt right, somehow. Complete. You could feel heat radiating off of him, like somewhere inside him was a burning fire; his grace. Softly, his lips moved against yours as his fingers dragging up to card through your hair. A small gasp rose in your throat. It was magical, caring, even loving.

    You stayed there, frozen in his arms, for a few minutes before realizing that sometime soon, you’d need to breathe. Pulling back, you gasped, your chest heaving against his. "Oh, I forgot," he chuckled.

    "What?" you asked incredulously, breathless, "To breathe?"

    "Maybe..."

    "Christ, Gabe," you groaned, glaring at him with amusement dancing in your features. "How have you survived this long?"

    Gabriel shrugged, grinning sheepishly. You knew that he was set on you being the adorable one, but the way he smiled was pretty damn cute. His eyes crinkled slightly, shining like pools of liquid gold. It struck you how just last year the pair of you had been enemies, and now there you were, lying in bed with him. The bed you had just kissed in.

    "You're hopeless," you sighed, resting your head back on the pillow.

    He tilted his head, propping himself up to glare jokingly down at you. "Ouch. Harsh."

    "But accurate, Mr. Century-Old-Archangel."

    ‘Mr. Century-Old-Archangel’ chuckled, pulling you closer with one arm and brushing a few wayward strands of hair out of your face. "Cutie."

    "I'm not cute!"

    "Whatever you say, Sugar. Happy Valentine’s Day."

    "You too, Gabe."

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

Yeah, yeah, it’s super cliché. It’s Valentine’s Day. Deal. Have a swell day/afternoon/evening/night/whatever else! Happy Valentine’s Day!

~Ev

[hairringtonsteve]

Please Understand

Soo, I haven’t written in a relly long time, so I hope this is good. I was wondering about doing a smut-ish second part. Hope you guys like it :)

Sorry if there are gross grammar mistakes, english is not my first language

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Word Count: 1553

Summary: You and your boyfriend have your first discussion. You know he’s hiding something from you, but you don’t understand why

Content: some swearing and some fluff as well

a/n added from hairringtonsteve: alright! so, i’ve never done this before, but i thought it’d be cool! someone submitted it to me (i’m not sure who, a name wasn’t left on it and it just said that it was submitted by “Me”) and i’m really excited to share it with you! i really like it, and personally, i vote that you start up a blog for fic because i’d read the shit out of all of your stuff! :) the only thing that i’ve added to this is a read more, just so the post isn’t super long on the dash! 

**************************************

“I still don’t understand how you and my brother became friends…” – you say, laughing, while cuddling with your boyfriend, Steve Harrington, on his bed.

“I’ve told you, baby. It’s a long story. Let’s say he needed some help with, uhm, something…”- he replied, thoughtfully.

You have been together for a couple of months now. Seeing Steve around your house now and then helped get you two to know each other well. Secretly, you always had a crush on him, but never tried a move because, well, how in the hell would king Steve notice you? At least that’s what you thought, until getting close to him.

From the beginning on, he was always kind and sweet to you. The only problem was, you thought he was a bit mysterious sometimes, as if he was hiding something from you, what you certainly disliked.

“That’s funny because…”- you looked at him- “Usually Dusty comes to me when he has a problem. He never hides anything from me.”

“Well (Y/N), at some point he would need a male help, am I right?”- he smiles, but you think it’s suspicious.

“Hmmm, I don’t know. I mean, I guess it’s just weird to see him growing up and talking about these ‘boy stuff’ with someone older. Especially you. I remember when we used to fight for our toys when we were little…”- you took that moment to give him a kiss. Boy, those lips! You loved to kiss and bite those lips of his. You just didn’t like it more than playing with his soft fluffy hair.

“Yeah, you shouldn’t worry about it. Besides, let the boy in peace. I think you’re a bit over-protective at times. Looks like you’re being nosy…” –he stared at the ceiling. That last sentence sounded like he was jealous. You always thought Steve liked to take care of your little brother more than you did.

But damn, he shouldn’t have said that. You get really angry when someone tells you how you should act. Especially when it comes to taking care of Dustin. You loved that ‘shithead’ – as Steve liked to say – a lot and you’d do everything to see him happy and safe.

You roll over your boyfriend’s messy bed, sitting up. You were mad. Nosy? He had no right of telling you that. Plus, you still felt like he was hiding something from you.

“I’m sorry, what? You’re telling me I’m being nosy? And, to be honest I keep thinking you’re hiding something from me! Whenever I talk to you about you guys you just… I don’t know… give me excuses.”

Now Steve was the one pissed.  He hated to talk about that. However, he had a reason, and a very good one. It couldn’t run through your mind, though. All you could focus on were “his lies”.

“Oh c’mon. Cut that bullshit (Y/N)! You know I am not hiding anything from you!” – you looked very angry and Steve hated that. Now he was pissed too. – “Seriously, you’re such a pain in the ass when you insist on that!” – he said, harshly.

Oh dear. He never talked to you like that. You could feel tears in your eyes and the urge to go away. And that’s what you did. You stood up, grabbed your purse and left, slamming the door. Steve’s eyes were wide open, he had suddenly realized what he had done. He muttered something like Shit under his breath and ran after you.

“(Y/N)! (Y/N)! I’m sorry, please, come back!”

It was too late. As he stood at his house’s door, you were already driving your car, leaving that place as fast as you could. His words were echoing on your mind. How could he say something like that? You never thought he could be that mean…

You parked in front of your house so furiously that the car made a screeching noise. Your mother went to buy stuff for the new cat, since Mews disappeared mysteriously, leaving Dustin by himself. He heard the noise and ran down the stairs to find you opening the door crying. He hated to see you like that. Actually, you both were very protective of each other, which was super cute.

“(Y/N)? What happened? Where’s Steve?”- he asked, while you walked in, as fast as you could to your room, your safe place.

“Please, don’t say that name!” – even though you were really angry, you still loved Steve and it really hurt to know that someone you love could make you feel that way.

“What? Did Steve do something mean to you? God, that motherfucker Harrington is SO dead!”- Dustin said closing his fist, as if he was going to punch Steve in the face or something.

“No, Dusty… I don’t know. Just leave me alone!”

You slammed your room’s door and in less than twenty minutes, you hear the doorbell ringing. You stand up and check the window, to see who it could be. There he was, Steve Harrington himself was standing in front of your door, with a beautiful rose bouquet on his left hand.

You ran back to your bed and decided you wouldn’t talk to Steve. How dare him call you names and show up five minutes later. At least, that’s what you told yourself. Deep down, you loved the fact that he was after you, wanting to clarify things and make up. Then, all good memories were running through your mind. The first kiss, the first time you held hands… That one time when you were caught making out inside his car… Your first time having sex… He was incredible and it would be awful to lose that man.

Suddenly you notice it’s taking quite a long time for Steve to reach to your room. You walk to the door and hesitate to open it. You think for a bit and when you get the guts to open it, you find Dustin, who was about to knock – he’s a very polite boy.

“Uhm, (Y/N). Can we talk for a minute? Steve’s down there and…”

“I know, tell him to go away, I don’t want to talk to him!” – you interrupt Dustin.

“I understand, I understand. So, listen. Let me talk to you then.” – he made a small pause to look right in your eyes – “He was just protecting you.”

You laugh, ironically.

“Protect from what? What the hell are you talking about, Dustin?”

Dustin takes your hand, leading you to sit on your bed. Then, he looks out to your room. He took a deep breath and turned back at you. You couldn’t help but let a little grin show. The kid knew how to be dramatic sometimes.

“So, do you remember, right when Steve and I started to hang out?”- he asked, smiling at those last words. He always felt so proud and loved to show off his friendship with Steve.

“Yes. Why? What’s the matter?”

Dustin took a deep breath and told you. Everything. Told about Will, D&D, all about Eleven,  that weird girl who recently showed up at his class out of nowhere. Also, how they fought the Demogorgon, the demo-dogs and the mind flayer. He emphasized, however, on Steve’s help. How he handled the situation with Dart (and that it ate Mews), how he risked himself in order to protect your brother and his friends. He even told about that one time where Billy punched the hell out of Steven, but that he stood there for the kids.

You were shocked at all this new information. You couldn’t reply directly, you needed a moment to think. Especially when Dustin told about Hawkins Lab and how they could be watching you all and arrest you, if needed. It seemed like the most creative child’s scary story ever, but you had to believe him. You knew Dustin. You knew he wouldn’t mess up and lie to you like this. Your first reaction, however, was to shout at him.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE FIGHTING MONSTERS OUT THERE? ARE YOU INSANE? IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO YOU, I SWEAR I’D KILL YOU DUSTIN HENDERSON!”

You were cut by a laughing Steve, who was standing at your room’s door. You didn’t notice him coming up, you were just too astonished by your little brother’s story. He came closer to your bed, and sat next to you, on the other side.

“See? I was lying, indeed. I’m sorry. But it was for a good reason.” – Steve’s soft voice were music to your ears at that moment. He places the flowers next to you.

“Oh, Steve, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted that way” – you hug him, feeling one or two tears on the corner of your eyes.

“It’s okay, baby. I shouldn’t have said those mean things either.”

Steve then brings your face closer and kisses you. You kiss him back, passionately. You could simply not resist him.

“Eeeeew! Can’t you guys wait until I’m gone? Gross!” – Dustin said while standing up and leaving the room as quickly as possible. He couldn’t handle seeing you kiss a man.

Dustin shut the door while you and Steve were laughing hard.

“No more lying from now on. I promise. You?”- said Steve, holding you close to him

“Promise”

You close your eyes and find his lips on yours again.

[itsallavengers]

Home is where the heart is

It was pouring with rain when Steve arrived outside the tower. Typical. He’d only just showered, and now he probably smelt like wet dog all over again.

Well. It was better than blood and dirt, he figured with a small, exhausted sigh.

The mission had been long and tiring and ultimately worthless. They’d lost anyway- too many people had died for it to be anything worth celebrating. Steve could still see some of their faces if he thought about it too hard- looking at him, pleading with him. The journey back had been rough on everyone.

He felt tired. Bone-deep weariness that was difficult to shake. It clung to him like the rain did; sticking in his hair, coating his clothes with coldness. He just wanted to curl up and sleep- let the storm pass over his head until he awoke and it had all dissipated again. And more than anything, he wanted Tony.

Tony always helped.

Pushing his card in the door and opening it with a sophisticated swish, Steve slipped through quietly, shaking off his hair as he did so to try and dislodge some of the raindrops. He was wearing a SHIELD uniform after his Cap one had been destroyed, and it felt a little too tight, a little uncomfortable. It obviously hadn’t been designed by someone who knew his body as intimately as Tony did- knew the lines and divots he’d traced with his hands countless times.

God, Steve had missed him.

Coming back home was always nice. Warm. Lovely. It was hard (although not impossible) to feel glum when he knew what was waiting for him upstairs. It was a bit of a gamble as to what exactly he got- whether it be a Norse God or an Archer or all of them at once- but Steve didn’t mind. They were all family to him anyway. Even if they did piss him off to the ends of the earth some days.

As he wandered into the elevator and pressed his finger against the button up to the penthouse, he heard JARVIS greet him with a soft ‘welcome back, Captain Rogers- the tower has missed you’ and smiled automatically. He loved hearing JARVIS’ voice- it was like the first sign of home. Wherever there was a JARVIS, a Tony wasn’t far behind.

Good.

“Who’s about?” Steve asked through a yawn, hoisting his kitbag a little higher on his shoulder.

“Only Mr Barton and Sir, currently- although Barton is down at the archery range in the basement and seems preoccupied, and sir appears to be napping in the living room.”

Steve nodded, feeling the tiny shift that signified they had come to a stop. “Thank you,” he told JARVIS politely.

“You’re very welcome- it is a pleasure to have you back in the building. Sir’s sleeping patterns have become increasingly irregular since your departure, and from my initial scans, so have yours. It will be nice to bring some balance back into the world.”

Steve huffed, and then the doors slipped open with barely a sound and suddenly, he was back on solid ground again. The penthouse floor span out around him- the kitchen somewhere off in the left and the large open-plan living room directly ahead of him- and Steve felt his face split into a content little beam of relief.

He loved coming home. That was his favourite part of missions.

Padding forward, he made his way to the living room. The TV was on, but turned down to an almost silent volume, and the couches appeared empty. Far off to the right, the windows of the tower glistened and tapped with the sound of rain against their panes. It was quiet. Peaceful.

Steve sighed in relief. Much as he loved his friends, he didn’t think he would have been able to handle loudness just then.

He reached the back of the biggest couch and placed a hand over it, spotting the figure curled up against the pillows immediately as he did so. Drenched in a jumper five sizes too big for him, hair a mess and face relaxed peacefully, was Tony. He must have taken a nap whilst waiting for Steve.

It was adorable, and Steve found himself unable to stop smiling. Yeah- coming home. Definitely the best part.

He was quiet as he slipped around the armrest and then slid to his knees in front of Tony’s face, hand slowly rising to stroke softly across Tony’s cheek, into the thick hair. Curled up like that; Tony seemed so small, so vulnerable, and it made a burst of protectiveness and sheer, pure love erupt in Steve’s heart. He found often after particularly trying Ops, that he became a little more attached to Tony, if only for a few days. Those sort of things just... made a guy think. Remember exactly what he had to lose.

In his sleepy haze, Tony instinctively rose up and pressed his face against Steve’s palm, a half-smile forming across his mouth as he hummed happily. Steve’s stomach twisted- and it was almost funny, the fact that Tony could still give him butterflies, all these years in.

“Hey, love.”

Steve kept his hand in Tony’s hair as the man slowly woke; his eyes fluttering open and spotting Steve immediately. Steve just continued to let his fingers play against Tony’s nape, against the adorable curls that looped across the back of his head when it went too long without a cut.

“Steve?” Tony asked sleepily, as his brain finally kicked into gear.

“Yeah, sweetheart, I’m back. Sorry I took so long- you know how it is,” Steve whispered, even though there was no-one there to hear them and barely any other noise in the tower aside from the staccato beat of rain against glass.

Tony paused for a moment, eyes drinking in Steve and his tired face, his wet hair, his badly-fitted clothes. Then he rubbed a sleeved hand over his eye and yawned, the other set of fingers curling softly around the collar of Steve’s jacket. “C’mere, baby,” he muttered, still half-asleep.

“Tony, I’m soaking w-”

“Don’t care. Wanna cuddle. Deal.”

Steve couldn’t help but laugh as Tony tugged him forward, manoeuvred him so that Steve was lying against Tony’s chest with his arms curled loosely around his waist- all while the man was still half asleep. It didn’t even seem as if Tony had properly woken up at all, and that was definitely an indicator as to how little the man had been sleeping since Steve had been away.

Well. He could rectify that later.

Tony’s nose scrunched adorably as Steve’s wet hair touched his chin, and Steve was about to move away, but Tony just made a noise of disapproval and clutched tighter, wrapping his arms stubbornly around Steve’s shoulders and sticking his whole face into the blonde wetness without another complaint. Steve just laughed again. “God, I love you,” he said softly, placing his greeting kiss against the plating of the reactor, “I love you so much.”

Again Tony just hummed and curled himself tighter around Steve. “Missed you so much,” he mumbled, and Steve couldn’t see, but he’d bet their joint fortune that Tony was pouting at that moment.

His hand curled around Tony’s; finger tracing feather-light against the slightly faded gold band Tony wore. “Go back to sleep, darling,” he whispered, shutting his own eyes even as he said it.

One last time, Tony gave his little hum, and then immediately after Steve felt him switch off again, his hands still curled tight around Steve. He was like that, sometimes- unable to sleep even if you fed him horse tranquillisers some days, and out like a light as soon as you said the word on others. Steve preferred the latter- less hassle, after all.

He sighed in contentment, and felt a little bit of the tension drain from his shoulders.  He was home. Tony was there. The couch was warm and the weather was dreadful and they were both there, safe inside, watching the rain from against the panes of glass as it fell quietly around them.

He was home.

Slowly, his eyes fluttered shut, and his breathing levelled with Tony’s.

[savedbyharrington]

Please Understand

A/N: Yuup, I’m the one who submitted this to @hairringtonsteve and since it got so many likes and reblogs, I decided to make a blog dedicated to Stranger Things writings! I hope you guys like it :)

Soo, I haven’t written in a relly long time, so I hope this is good. I was wondering if I should do a smut-ish second part. If yes, please let me know! Hope you guys like it :)

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Word Count: 1553

Summary: You and your boyfriend have your first discussion. You know he’s hiding something from you, but you don’t understand why

Content: some swearing and some fluff as well

**************************************

“I still don’t understand how you and my brother became friends…” – you say, laughing, while cuddling with your boyfriend, Steve Harrington, on his bed.

“I’ve told you, baby. It’s a long story. Let’s say he needed some help with, uhm, something…”- he replied, thoughtfully.

You have been together for a couple of months now. Seeing Steve around your house now and then helped get you two to know each other well. Secretly, you always had a crush on him, but never tried a move because, well, how in the hell would king Steve notice you? At least that’s what you thought, until getting close to him.

From the beginning on, he was always kind and sweet to you. The only problem was, you thought he was a bit mysterious sometimes, as if he was hiding something from you, what you certainly disliked.

“That’s funny because…”- you looked at him- “Usually Dusty comes to me when he has a problem. He never hides anything from me.”

“Well (Y/N), at some point he would need a male help, am I right?”- he smiles, but you think it’s suspicious.

“Hmmm, I don’t know. I mean, I guess it’s just weird to see him growing up and talking about these ‘boy stuff’ with someone older. Especially you. I remember when we used to fight for our toys when we were little…”- you took that moment to give him a kiss. Boy, those lips! You loved to kiss and bite those lips of his. You just didn’t like it more than playing with his soft fluffy hair.

“Yeah, you shouldn’t worry about it. Besides, let the boy in peace. I think you’re a bit over-protective at times. Looks like you’re being nosy…” –he stared at the ceiling. That last sentence sounded like he was jealous. You always thought Steve liked to take care of your little brother more than you did.

But damn, he shouldn’t have said that. You get really angry when someone tells you how you should act. Especially when it comes to taking care of Dustin. You loved that ‘shithead’ – as Steve liked to say – a lot and you’d do everything to see him happy and safe.

You roll over your boyfriend’s messy bed, sitting up. You were mad. Nosy? He had no right of telling you that. Plus, you still felt like he was hiding something from you.

“I’m sorry, what? You’re telling me I’m being nosy? And, to be honest I keep thinking you’re hiding something from me! Whenever I talk to you about you guys you just… I don’t know… give me excuses.”

Now Steve was the one pissed.  He hated to talk about that. However, he had a reason, and a very good one. It couldn’t run through your mind, though. All you could focus on were “his lies”.

“Oh c’mon. Cut that bullshit (Y/N)! You know I am not hiding anything from you!” – you looked very angry and Steve hated that. Now he was pissed too. – “Seriously, you’re such a pain in the ass when you insist on that!” – he said, harshly.

Oh dear. He never talked to you like that. You could feel tears in your eyes and the urge to go away. And that’s what you did. You stood up, grabbed your purse and left, slamming the door. Steve’s eyes were wide open, he had suddenly realized what he had done. He muttered something like Shit under his breath and ran after you.

“(Y/N)! (Y/N)! I’m sorry, please, come back!”

It was too late. As he stood at his house’s door, you were already driving your car, leaving that place as fast as you could. His words were echoing on your mind. How could he say something like that? You never thought he could be that mean…

You parked in front of your house so furiously that the car made a screeching noise. Your mother went to buy stuff for the new cat, since Mews disappeared mysteriously, leaving Dustin by himself. He heard the noise and ran down the stairs to find you opening the door crying. He hated to see you like that. Actually, you both were very protective of each other, which was super cute.

“(Y/N)? What happened? Where’s Steve?”- he asked, while you walked in, as fast as you could to your room, your safe place.

“Please, don’t say that name!” – even though you were really angry, you still loved Steve and it really hurt to know that someone you love could make you feel that way.

“What? Did Steve do something mean to you? God, that motherfucker Harrington is SO dead!”- Dustin said closing his fist, as if he was going to punch Steve in the face or something.

“No, Dusty… I don’t know. Just leave me alone!”

You slammed your room’s door and in less than twenty minutes, you hear the doorbell ringing. You stand up and check the window, to see who it could be. There he was, Steve Harrington himself was standing in front of your door, with a beautiful rose bouquet on his left hand.

You ran back to your bed and decided you wouldn’t talk to Steve. How dare him call you names and show up five minutes later. At least, that’s what you told yourself. Deep down, you loved the fact that he was after you, wanting to clarify things and make up. Then, all good memories were running through your mind. The first kiss, the first time you held hands… That one time when you were caught making out inside his car… Your first time having sex… He was incredible and it would be awful to lose that man.

Suddenly you notice it’s taking quite a long time for Steve to reach to your room. You walk to the door and hesitate to open it. You think for a bit and when you get the guts to open it, you find Dustin, who was about to knock – he’s a very polite boy.

“Uhm, (Y/N). Can we talk for a minute? Steve’s down there and…”

“I know, tell him to go away, I don’t want to talk to him!” – you interrupt Dustin.

“I understand, I understand. So, listen. Let me talk to you then.” – he made a small pause to look right in your eyes – “He was just protecting you.”

You laugh, ironically.

“Protect from what? What the hell are you talking about, Dustin?”

Dustin takes your hand, leading you to sit on your bed. Then, he looks out to your room. He took a deep breath and turned back at you. You couldn’t help but let a little grin show. The kid knew how to be dramatic sometimes.

“So, do you remember, right when Steve and I started to hang out?”- he asked, smiling at those last words. He always felt so proud and loved to show off his friendship with Steve.

“Yes. Why? What’s the matter?”

Dustin took a deep breath and told you. Everything. Told about Will, D&D, all about Eleven,  that weird girl who recently showed up at his class out of nowhere. Also, how they fought the Demogorgon, the demo-dogs and the mind flayer. He emphasized, however, on Steve’s help. How he handled the situation with Dart (and that it ate Mews), how he risked himself in order to protect your brother and his friends. He even told about that one time where Billy punched the hell out of Steven, but that he stood there for the kids.

You were shocked at all this new information. You couldn’t reply directly, you needed a moment to think. Especially when Dustin told about Hawkins Lab and how they could be watching you all and arrest you, if needed. It seemed like the most creative child’s scary story ever, but you had to believe him. You knew Dustin. You knew he wouldn’t mess up and lie to you like this. Your first reaction, however, was to shout at him.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE FIGHTING MONSTERS OUT THERE? ARE YOU INSANE? IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO YOU, I SWEAR I’D KILL YOU DUSTIN HENDERSON!”

You were cut by a laughing Steve, who was standing at your room’s door. You didn’t notice him coming up, you were just too astonished by your little brother’s story. He came closer to your bed, and sat next to you, on the other side.

“See? I was lying, indeed. I’m sorry. But it was for a good reason.” – Steve’s soft voice were music to your ears at that moment. He places the flowers next to you.

“Oh, Steve, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted that way” – you hug him, feeling one or two tears on the corner of your eyes.

“It’s okay, baby. I shouldn’t have said those mean things either.”

Steve then brings your face closer and kisses you. You kiss him back, passionately. You could simply not resist him.

“Eeeeew! Can’t you guys wait until I’m gone? Gross!” – Dustin said while standing up and leaving the room as quickly as possible. He couldn’t handle seeing you kiss a man.

Dustin shut the door while you and Steve were laughing hard.

“No more lying from now on. I promise. You?”- said Steve, holding you close to him

“Promise”

You close your eyes and find his lips on yours again.

[bestwishes86]

Reputation part 1 - Intent

——

Perth Apichart stared at the dry erase board filled with diagrams of DNA and the breakdown of a cell but was completely lost. He scratched at the back of his head, a tell tale sign he got frustrated and tried writing it down as if that would make it make more sense but all he saw was gibberish of his own making. His wolffish handsome face was face of consternation. His large dark eyes closed in thought. His round nose flared at he let out a breath. Sighing in frustration he looked a few seats over and saw Lei was steadily writing answers to the pop quiz. The black glasses wearing Star Student was living up to the title. Dressed in crisp white button down with the emerald green tie of the 2nd years, and black slacks which was the private University dress code, he took extra care everything he wore looked perfect. While Perth, the star of the school Soccer Team wore his shirt with a few wrinkles, his pants were black jeans, in his eyes close enough, he frowned and had an idea, crumbling up his paper into a tight small ball he aimed and was about to throw it when Lei looked directly at him.

Perth froze, staring at the glaring face behind the black framed glasses. Lei mouthed the words (Do your test) and went back to writing. Moments later the ball bounced off his cheek. Lei stood with his hands on his hips and shouted "Perth!?!" And Perth looked up from his newly started answer page looking like a deer caught in high beams.

Lei looked confused and Perth shared his confusion both turned to look behind Perth where a blushing smiling girl waved at him. Lei waved back trying to laugh off the embarrassment as their classmates snickered. Perth’s eyes widened incredulously and he turned back to the girl and glared. In response she rolled her eyes. Lei being the smartest in their year was only one of the reasons so many admired him. Lei’s face is beautiful with large almond shaped eyes that were a mix of green with bits of amber brown beneath a pair of long dark eyebrows. He has a long nose with a rounded end above a Cupid's bow mouth. He has a limber swimmer's body. Even his thick brown hair, styled to the right with bangs falling above his green and amber eyes was perfect to Perth.

The loud sound of a wooden ruler hitting the desk brought everyone's eyes forward. Their teacher, a graceful older woman with long blond hair pulled back in a French braid wasn't pleased with the outburst. She folded her slender arms over her ample chest and purses her blue lips.

"Mister Bai, are you finished with your pop quiz?!" Miss Cecil asked in a slow menacing voice

"No Miss C," Lei said as he sat back down. Within seconds she had snatched his paper and spoke.

"Yes, you are now, so leave. Come back when you can keep in your seat and keep quiet," Miss Cecil said and when he opened his mouth to speak, a raised eyebrow from her caused him to shut his lips and leave in a hurry.

"Miss C it wasn't his fault he was provoked!" Perth explained and she didn't bother picking up his near blank paper and pointed at the door. Perth was buzzing with anger and wanted to say more but the look on her face was deadly. Looking down in defeat, he noticed the white canvas messenger bag beside Lei’s seat. He knew it was his because it had a human heart picture done in rainbow watercolor across the flap.

"Is there a reason you're still here?" Miss Cecil shouted. That snapped him out of his revelry and he nodded at her and moved between seats and students to grab the bag and head toward the door. He moved swiftly, his large brown eyes searching the hall for Lei but he was already gone.

"Knowing that geek, he's probably off somewhere crying over this. I doubt he's ever been in real trouble before..." Perth thought, anxiety growing as he took out his old iPhone and placed a call. The bag vibrated and cursing, he reached inside and dug around a bit before finding the sleek new sky blue Oppo phone. He looked at the screen and was shocked to see the contact photo was of him sleeping in class. Perth frowned at the photo, it wasn't a good one. His mouth had drool on it, and he looked like a dog passed out.

"That sneaky little fox," Perth said dropping the phone back into the bag and going off to find the little fox.

Lei sat in one of the stalls, breathing heavily and holding himself as he tried to get a hold of himself. He was so embarrassed, all the eyes on him, the laughter. His heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. He tried so hard to calm down, to just focus on breathing. That's what his mother had told him when she was alive.

"Sometimes the world seems too big for you, I know it well my love. But close your eyes and focus on each breath you take. With each breath think about one good thing. Count them, focus on each person or place and count them. It will help slow your heart and you'll smile after" he could still hear her soft, gentle voice and he closed his eyes. Tears ran down his cheeks as he remembered Miss Cecil failing his test. He clasped his hands to his ears and tried to block out the sounds of her angry voice and the students laughter.

Outside the stall, Graham Tavish was styling his hair. Tall and handsome with a face with no blemish, all the girls wanted Graham. His family's wealth and position of power in the world of Digital Tech made him a very sought after man. He took advantage of this every chance he could. Each lock of his recreated bed Head hairstyle needed to be flawless. The sound of wheezing and whimpering caught his attention and he turned quickly and looked at the white stall doors. He narrowed down the sounds to a doors few feet away from him and asked out loud.

"You ok!?!"

The sounds became muffled and he knocked on the door.

"I'm.....fine... please go away," came a choked reply. Graham remembered his older sister Becca when she was having anxiety attacks and knew it was the worst thing he could do. So he reared back and kicked the door hard. The door swung back and almost hit the boy huddled forward holding himself so tightly his knuckles were white.

"Hey...hey," Graham said softly crouching in front of Lei. He didn't know the boy, his tie was the green color of the junior, and he was a senior so this boy was his responsibility.

"C'mere," Graham said and reached out and grabbed Lei and lifted him off the toilet and carried him out of stall. The freshman was so small it was like lifting a girl Graham thought as he carries him out of the bathroom and to one of the benches beside it. Taking hold of Lei’s trembling hands he smiled down at Lei who watched him with frightened eyes.

"It's going to be ok, whatever it is, it's not as bad as you think it is. Just lay here and catch your breath," Graham said softly and kept smiling as he turned to make sure no one was around. His sister had always hated the way he looked at her when she was escalating . So he made sure no one could see Lei’s face as he cried. He was grateful no one came, after a few minutes be felt a soft tug on his shirt. He turned and his eyes widened as he looked down at the golden skinned boy with Amber eyes looking back at him. His cheeks were Rosy from crying and his eyes were puffy from it too.

"Thank you," Lei said slowly and Graham nodded. To him Lei looked as beautiful as any girl he had dated, and he couldn't think of words as the boy sat up slowly and held his held.

"Headache? Yeah that happens after a anxiety or panic attack."he finally said remembering how to talk.

"How did you know," Lei asked his eyes tearing up again.

"My sister used to have those, she still does but she doesn't live with me anymore so I don't know how many she has," Graham recounted. Lei nodded and looked around frowning.

"I have pills in my bag, but it's not here."Lei explained trying to get up but fell back down. Graham held him up against the wall and spoke, "Easy there, your body is coming down from being super active it takes a minute to feel right again" Graham said smiling a charming smile and wiped at Lei’s brow with his sweater sleeve.

The same smile Perth saw from a few feet away having finally found Lei. His large dark eyes were set in a glare as he stomped over. Graham's attention was on Lei but Lei saw the tall angry man heading there direction and quickly moved Graham's hands away.

"Little Fox! You forgot your bag!" Perth exclaimed his heartbeat pulsing in his ears as he watched Lei move away from the handsome guy Perth had seen at the Medical building. The man had a reputation for bedding any beautiful woman who walked past him.

Lei leaned forward and reached for it and Perth took a step back. His intent to get Lei to move away from the wolf next to him. Lei’s eyebrows rose in surprised confusion. He rose from the wooden bench and stepped forward to take it. Graham wise to his intent now, grabbed Lei’s other wrist. Perth reacted on pure instinct as he let Lei have the bag and shoved Graham back.

"Don't touch what's not yours." Perth growled as he moved into Graham's personal space. They were nose to nose, tension burning between them.

"Is he yours than? Last time I checked you were very straight or are the rumors about our star Soccer Player lies?" Graham asked smiling a teasing smile. One that made Perth really want to punch off his handsome face. Lei shoved his way in between the two of them, annoyed with the dog and the wolf snarling over him.

"I am not a Toy, Graham! You don't get to touch me no matter what condition I'm in when you find me." Lei stated, giving Graham a glare in dare to contradict him. Perth smirked at him. But Lei turned to face him with a similar look.

"And You! We are friends, we share a common goal but that doesn't make me your property. Stop acting like a dog pissing on my leg or stay away from me." Lei said and stomped off away from the two dumbfounded men. He was grateful neither chased him or they would have seen the redness of his face and the trembling of his hands. His crush had been jealous over him, he couldn't believe it, refused to believe it. He finally stopped at the elevator and took a breath.

"What is it with you," Graham asked, the smile he had used gone. In its place a frown and measuring curiosity. Perth looked into those eyes for a while. It was always easier to tell a stranger a secret, you don't care what they think of you. But the people you're close too, the ones who see you every day, it's impossible.

"I...I don't know.Lei, he makes me crazy. The things that run through my mind when he's happy or in pain. I don't know. I want him to look at me the way he looked at you," Perth said lowering his head in defeat.

"Sounds like you Love him." Graham said after a moment of thought. He sat down and folded his arms waiting. Perth heard the words, but it took him moments to process the weight of them.

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter. You heard him, friend, that's what I am," Perth said looking down at Graham who shrugged.

"You sure are stupid soccer star, but word of advice. If you don't tell him, you'll only ever be his friend." Graham stated before pulling his phone from his pocket and beginning to text someone. Noting that Perth was still there, he waved him away without another word.

"He seemed pretty angry with me," Perth thought as he walked back the way he came. He didn't take the elevator remaining on the second floor of the college Science building. He was lost in his head, his mind replaying the anger on Lei’s face as his feet moved on their own. Looking up finally he saw that he was back at Miss Cecil classroom. Looking through the glass of the metal door he saw she was still there. At her desk grading tests from the previous class. A thought came into his head and he knocked.

The look she gave him wasn't a happy one and he let out a sigh of relief when she motioned him in.

"Mister Pravit, I thought you'd be off with a short skirt by now." Miss Cecil said lowering her reading glasses and looking at him.

"No ma'am, I was wondering if you could let us retake the test," Perth asked sheepishly.

"Why would I do that? You don't comprehend the basic make up of cellular structure and think it's your mission to antagonize my star student. And he is easily baited by you to do something stupid every time." Miss Cecil said, her brows creasing into a straight line.

"You're right, it's my fault not Lei’s. Can he retake the test, me I will just work harder, pay more attention," Perth said clasping his hands in a sign of prayer to her. She raised an eyebrow

"If you could even stay awake during one of my lectures that would be an improvement," she added and paused thinking it over.

"You're not really here for you to retake this test at all. Are you?" Miss Cecil asked leaning back in her chair

"No, it's for him. I don't think he's ever failed at anything before. So to have a failed test is probably hitting him hard. So if you could let him do it again, I promise that I will leave him alone during your class. And I won't sleep anymore." Perth begged.

Miss Cecil closed her eyes, massaging the bridge of her nose as she sighed heavily and nodded.

"You both must be here tomorrow at 7am sharp, if either of you says a word I will fail you so fast your head will spin." Miss Cecil stated in a cold voice raising her ruler for emphasis. Perth ran to her and held her hand excitedly.

"Thank you Thank you Thank you!" He shouted, Miss Cecil shook with the strength of the shaking and finally had had enough and smacked his hand soundly with the ruler. Perth moved out of reach rubbing the back of his hand but still grinning from ear to ear.

"Get out, I have work to do and I assume you have studying to do if you want to pass this test. And do let Lei know" Miss Cecil said as she put on her reading glasses and went back to work.

Leaving the classroom, Perth’s eyes widened in fear at texting Lei about tomorrow. He was unsure of how to do it after the jealous ass he had made of himself. Taking a deep breath he pulled out his phone and unlocked it with his face and sent a "Hey Lil Fox" before exhaling loudly. His face red from holding his breath. Now to wait for an answer and get some lunch, his stomach growling as he made his way to the canteen.

———

[kamitra]

ToZ: Speech styles (pre-analysis)

Because I love going over this stuff and this gets really really interesting. However I haven’t taken apart a sampling of their lines so yeah, no serious analysis yet. That being said, I’m going by sheer memory.

Sorey: You’d think his is simple, but then you’d really be wrong. He has by far, the most complicated one to analyze for multiple reasons.

First and foremost reason -- he can’t seem to use polite language to save his life. Now this is not like Yuri (ToV) who literally can’t spit it out except as sarcasm at all. He really can use polite language, which he does in several scenes. One is with the priest of Ladylake in the form of asking for a favor. The other times all seem to be related to the Lords of the Land, or messing with Mikleo (acting). The strange part is that I can’t think of any other time he does this.

Second reason is that he has the speech style that gives off an impression of a little boy. Or just boyish. He rarely uses the masculine zo and ze (need to check for actual frequency) and instead uses the masculine-neutral da or neutral yo or the feminine-neutral no for softer effect.

His self-referential is ore. He uses kimi, omae, and anata in that order of frequency for recipient-referential, but I’ll have to analyze that more closely. Name-tag honorifics vary but usually are completely dropped or if they have any at all it’s -san.

He also sometimes slurs his words “kakkee” and uses quite a bit of slang at some points but since this is ToZ we won’t question why this exists for a country bumpkin (seriously, don’t). Sometimes uses more ‘cute’ or ‘softer’ methods of reference such as wanko-chan for dog (ie, doggie) or o-takara for treasure.

Mikleo: Boyish masculine. Gives of the impression of being raised properly. Uses polite language to Zenrai (while Sorey does not).

The stronger emphasis in his language in what seems like compensation (and probably is) is not really something new for anime/manga since as I’ve said before, speech style is like another level of fashion sense and it’s not really surprising that he’d want to emphasize a more masculine approach... while still speaking in a proper manner.

[Post-analysis edit: I gotta change my opinion. He pulls it off naturally in speaking. The combination between his speech, his body language, and then his dress style is very... odd. Definitely more refined, though. Could still be compensation but now I’m convinced I wouldn’t be able to tell in Mikleo’s case.

The initial impression of stronger masculine speech style is because Sorey’s wanders all over the damned place while Mikleo pretty much only has two modes -- masculine-neutral and approximate-neutral. If he’s pushed too far he gets slightly rougher in his speech but it’s obvious he prefers not to do that. Very water-like, I guess.]

He’s more likely to use zo (but not ze) than Sorey is, but that could just be personality too -- Sorey isn’t as given to making warnings (which is what the particle is used for). He’s the only one to use the kai and dai question forms, which is purely masculine (softened, I believe) while Sorey would have used no, ka, or dropped all of the particles in question. There are enough cases where the two speak exactly in the same manner that their speech styles completely overlap to the point that it’s hard to figure out who said what by text alone and without context or other clues. Good question between the two of them who is more likely to use ne or na.

Self-referential is boku. I believe he uses the same as Sorey for recipient-referential. Almost never uses any name-honorifics ever. Probably because he almost never has to talk to anyone directly...

I believe both of them use the kureru “giving” word (I’d rather call them directional words) and ageru (as opposed to directional yaru). Commands will either be plain te, te kure, or prohibition na, na yo, or naide. Both will use the words yatsu and yaru (not directional word but the lower form of suru), I think.

Alisha: Masculine-stilted and stiff in the main game (except one point which just sounds neutral), flips between that and a naturally-sounding feminine in the Epilogue.

For the most part, I’ll just talk about her main story part. Her word choice is always formal or stilted, but her speech style is plain (not polite/formal) masculine. This means a lot of her sentences end with da, zo, or nothing at all.

Self-referential is watashi. Recipient-referential I can’t pin down too easily so that’ll take some research but I could have sworn hers sounds like the other two. name tag honorifics is another one that is gonna be harder to pin down for Alisha.

Rose: Hers, oddly enough, sounds like a modern girl’s. However, in the setting of fiction, it comes across as neutral, if not tomboyish.

A lot of her sentences end in a more feminine-neutral way, but some of them end in a masculine-neutral way. Self-referential is atashi, which is the biggest emphasis she has on her feminine style. Rarely uses polite language but has no obvious problem with it when necessary. Recipient-referential is probably anata, but hard to pin down when I can’t remember her using it.

Referred to as Ojou by Eguille.

Lailah: Lady-like, is probably the best impression I could give of her. Polite and feminine, but is not usually formal. Has a higher frequency of desu over masu, which is the only surprising thing out of her speech style. Name-honorifics are going to be hell to analyze but the easy way out is to assume she’ll use -san for the person she knows.

Self-referential is watashi. Recipient is anata.

Edna: Stereotypical feminine in speech style. Surprising, considering her unenthusiastic spoken tone and her ridiculously trendy word-choices. Command is in -nasai. Sentences end in wa, no, or other such feminine or feminine-neutral markers. She gives everything nicknames. Once in a while she’ll refer to Mikleo not as Mibo (Eng: Meebo) or some nickname but as Mikleo-chan -- another way of her emphasizing his age.

Self-referential is watashi (I’m pretty sure. She rarely uses it). Recipient is anta.

Dezel: Rough mascuilne. A lot of his sentences end with the mascuilne slur -ee (instead of ai) but not all of them. His will take a lot of work to analyze too, since it’s harder to pick up his voice by sound rather than me reading the damned text.

Self-referential is ore. Recipient is omae (and degrades from there depending on how pissed off he is).

Zaveid: I don’t even know where to go with it. Masculine, slurs a lot, and kind of flips between masculine and neutral. Both rough.

Self-referential is ore-sama, but I’m not sure if he uses ore sometimes. Recipient is... I don’t know. I think I’ve heard him use everything...?

I believe all of the characters use contractions....