#and yes i struggle with the pronunciations too but i just want the show to at least TRY

[thewanderingace]

If the Fourth Wing TV show says all the Ghàidhlig wrong I will be physically unable to watch it. I already can't handle the audiobooks and tiktok videos when people mispronounce the names. I will not be able to handle a whole show fucking it up. So Amazon you better fucking do your research and make sure your Scottish Gaelic is pronounced correctly. Right the wrong the author made.

[dropthedemiurge]

Sangmin Dinneaw Ep.1 Reaction

I started watching Sangmin Dinneaw (despite all rational thoughts that I should finish other 7 BLs in progress now xD) and it's already cute since the very first episode xD

Okay, I didn't expect both main leads to be so charming and mischievous xD Definitely a fun dynamic to look forward to

Funny how Dinneaw just accepted his mom loves some other foreign kid as her second son and keeps bringing him up and there wasn't a single ounce of jealousy or bitterness (so far, let's see how it goes once he meets grown up version)

"I know the phrase 'annoying/stir up trouble' in Thai" Said with the sweetest and fake innocence xD Also cutely nodding to mom bringing up embarrassing stories about Dinneaw, I'm so sure they will clash a lot in the beginning xD

I listened to "petty/pretty" a few times and the difference is barely noticeable to me, I will never do well with intonational languages 🥲

Actor who plays Sangmin does a great job at giving exact face expression that is "I can kinda have a conversation in your language but also my brain is working at 200% trying to keep up and understand what's going on and behave accordingly" As someone who's currently living in Korea and trying to learn Korean, I feel his struggles so much (even if he doesn't seem to show them xD)

Honestly, geckos chilling on walls were my favorite part of staying in Thailand :D Much better than all other insects and spiders in bathroom...

Lol Sangmin is doing everything to annoy Dinneaw indeed, not sure if it's simply to get mom's praise but his smug smile doesn't seem perfectly genuine to me xD

This trilingual series is giving me life but I laughed so hard when subtitles in English said "Mom, go into the kitchen and eat the baby" as if there were not enough language shenanigans in show itself - ah wait, they gave up and subtitles became auto, okay

Sangmin told him "You must achieve your dream" in Korean, even if he didn't understand Dinneaw explain about "responsibilities" 🥺🥺🥺 (Is Dream as sleeping and as goal is the same word? Kkum and Fan? Got curious cuz in mine these are different words) And they exchanged "Sleep well" in their respective languages, awwww. I love it.

Dinneaw means Clay in Thai?😅 His mom is really going through all her hyperfixations

What a time to be alive and understand Sangmin's phone calls in Korean without subs (wait, isn't actor Thai? His pronunciation of both languages is good, is he bilingual? Mixed? I'm curious)

I am definitely learning a lot of Thai with this series (and 5 different pronunciations of the word Coffee, I didn't need more, thanks)

I would never go to Thai massage, that feels awfully intimate for two strangers (although these two have a lot of unresolved tension and playfulness to go around xD). Sir, why are you caressing his oiled nipples while holding down his other hand on bed?? Sir?? That's Thai people's hospitality, I guess, Dinneaw took his mom's advice -- Oh wait, I get it, yes, fooled me. Was right about unresolved tension tho xD

Talking about tension - the two boys at the market 👀👀👀 The flirting is through the rooftop but the merchant thinks his crush is unrequited or what? How?xD

Sangmin trying to do Thai dance - aww I want to try it too. This guy does the "look of wonder" very well.

Sangmin's looks were so striking that one guy got meatball stuck in his throat so Sangmin did Heimlich maneuver on him and they aren't even main couple? This series is so silly, I'm surprisingly having pretty joyful time xD

Guy flirts with Sangmin in Thai - Sangmin silently steps back and glues himself to Dinneaw - I think the choice was made here from the very first second, sorry, man)))

"Daddy Arthit" owns the "Yadong" bar?xD Certainly EVERYTHING screams about his reputation lmao And behavior suits the place as well.

Oooh poor Dinneaw is jealous and hurt from the way Sangmin plays as people pleaser and loved by everyone aww :( I knew it was coming. I like that we tackle this situation.

I wonder why Sangmin keeps using 3rd pov when he speaks Thai decently and both Korean and Thai use 1st pov so it's not a habit... Maybe simply a way to make character feel more foreign. Okay, wait, Dinneaw speaks like that too. Maybe my perception on Thai was wrong.

Yadong has returned sgdjssjakl

Okay, first ep done! It's silly, it's charming, it makes me think about Twins, I think I'll have the same sentiment towards SD too^^ And I'm definitely using this series to learn more Thai words, so it's a win-win :P Let's see what comes next.

[wonder-farm-hc]

Hi J, nice to meet you!! I saw your Shane's headcanons post and I tought it were SO CUTE!!! I love it!!

anyway, could you make some Sam headcanons? He's one of my fav bechelores (right after Shane)

Omg thank you so much, and yes ofc!! He's actually one of my favorites too, I find his character amazing, as well as his family dynamic so compelling and well thought-of.

Anyway, here's some headcanons!

As always, some stuff is under a "read more" banner, bc it was longer than I anticipated. And also, requests are still open for anyone!

-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-

��� Sam and Vincent get along very well, despite there being a bunch of years of difference between them (I headcanon Sam in his early 20s, whereas Vincent is around 8 - 10)

🧡 He and Vincent do a lot stuff together: play videogames, watch movies, catch bugs...they have fun! They care about each other a lot

🧡 Vincent has a slight pronunciation problem: he doesn’t say words super clearly, and he tends to talk fast and/or in a lower tone

🧡 For this reason, Jodi sometimes can’t understand what Vincent says, whereas Sam understands all of it (he spends more time with Vincent, so he’s accustomed to it)

🧡 Everytime Jas and Vincent hang out, Jodi used to say “Oh is she your little girlfriend?” despite Vincent getting embarrassed and Sam telling her to stop. One day it was too much, and Sam just blurted out “Hey I spend all the time with Sebastian, why don’t you ask if he’s my boyfriend?”

🧡 The next day Sam avoided Jodi and went straight to work, when he came back he closed himself in his room. Ultimately, he emerged late at night and Jodi was in the kitchen, seated at the table. She looked at him worriedly, asking where he’d been all day and if he’d eaten anything, and Sam just started crying and apologizing. In the end, Jodi hugged him, Sam came out to her mid-breakdown and apologized for being rude. Jodi apologized too for making the same joke over and over

🧡 Sam is bi (preference for boys)

🧡 Upon his big brother coming out, Vincent tried to think of that too, for Sam to then go “It’s ok you don’t have to answer right now, or ever really”. Vincent was relieved

🧡 Sam likes horror movies: it’s one of the reasons why he, Abigail and Sebastian became friends in the first place

🧡 Sam has ADHD. He struggled with it in school, but Jodi was always there for him

🧡 He likes to annoy Shane at work, but in the beginning he was actually kind of scared of him. He wanted to get his approval, as it was his first job. One particular day, he annoyed Shane so much that he snapped at him. Sam didn't want to make it show, but he was almost crying, and for a week after he barely spoke to Shane

🧡 After said week, Shane approached Sam after work in the locker room. He silently showed him a frozen pizza he had snuck out, and passed a slice to Sam. After a quiet “thank you”, Sam proceeded to eat it and the two of them passed the break mostly in silence. That was the start of their friendship, and Sam was grateful for the second chance

🧡 Of course he's best friends with Sebastian and Abigail, and one time Abigail convinced him to dye a chunk of his hair orange (like a tiger’s eye gemstone!)

🧡 He's also pretty good friends with Penny, as she looks after Vincent, and he thinks she's cool for knowing so much about history! (He goes to pick up Vincent from the museum from time to time, and he listens in to the explanations)

🧡 He finds Maru to be pretty cool, too! At first, Sebastian didn't want to include her in their outings, but little by little he opened up to her, and so Sam came to know her well. He finds the science experiments she does so cool and awesome

🧡 Actually, he's curious and eager to learn by nature. But being neurodivergent, he didn’t have the best experience in school

🧡 When his dad came back, he of course was very glad, but…it felt strange, at first. They didn't know how to properly talk or converse. But then, one night when Sam came home late from a DnD session with Sebastian and Abigail, Kent was still up, and asked him what he was out doing. Turns out, Kent used to play DnD with his friend group, and he's more than glad to discuss it with his son!

☆-☆-☆

Ngl, I could develop the one headcanon about him coming out into a little draft, or something. I just really like exploring dynamics like these!

[crguang]

iono bout you my dawgster but the way she pronounces some words reminds me of a southern accent. sometimes it’s noticeable and sometimes it’s not😭. i think its just bit of inconsistency from the va, iono. (still love her fr.)

like if she were to say darling, i feel like it’d come out as darlin’ 😭

i was (prob still am because I haven’t did wrote anything for kafka in a while. I think i did some angst with her, iono) a victim of mischaracterizing kafka, esp earlier on when she first came out. i thought of her as someone who adopts this silly and easy personality to give those who encounters her a false sense of comfortability. really, she’s a mysterious person who’s not quite connected with her feelings and can be unintentionally intimidating when her mask slips off. if you tried to get to know her, she’ll misdirect you, leave out clues and it’ll only lead you to dead ends, etc.

some of the things maybe somewhat accurate. but now, I see her more reserved, calculated, and more aware of how she feels. kafka is and can subtle about her true feelings. depending on how she feels and her relationship with you, she can misdirect you whether it be smoothly changing the topic somehow about yourself or whatever. she can give small pieces of herself to you then leave you in the dark right after. sometimes she can be spontaneous and surprise you when she directly express herself to you through affection, gifts, and acts of service. she can be a lil distant and cold, pushing you away and sometimes you don’t realize it because it’s subtle. the cycle starts all over again and she’s aware of all of this. that’s what make kafka so frustrating😭 push and pull.

when it comes to arguments, kafka will say her piece and let you have it if you still don’t like her reasoning. often times, you don’t because she thinks logically and strangely ahead and it’s frustrating because you’re like, what are you saying? that’s not how a “normal person” would approach the situation! the way she thinks is like ugh but that’s just how kafka is. if you give her the silent treatment, she’ll find it childish but would still come back to make it up to you. she’ll give you gifts, be a little more affectionate with you than usual, blah blah. if you end up pushing her away; she will lowkey sulk about it but won’t give up. that woman does not know how to GIVE UP. in a way, kafka’s stubborn.😭

gosh I wanna write Kafka again

TRENDYYYYY HOW ARE YOUUU hope uni isnt kicking ur ass too much

i think it might be inconsistency from cheryl because i swear last time i wondered about kafka’s pronunciation she was pronouncing every letter of her words, she just has a lazy drawl. i think i mostly based that on her introduction and that scene of her showing up on the express. it’s been a while but to me it felt like more effort was put into the kind of voice she has than differentiating her way of speaking from other characters so she enunciates likes the others from what im hearing😭 im also canadian and my first language is french so ppl might hear the subtleties better than me, thats entirely possible. but the southern accent paired with the corny horny teenage boy roleplaying dirty talk is too much omggg like we gotta draw a line gjhhdsh sometimes i see her speak some aave too like thats NOT happening please 😭

you should definitely write for her again cause you got her character down with this… i mentioned it a few times but i do feel like she’d have the reflex to distance herself when she realizes she’s getting too attached while actively fighting the part of her that wants this good thing despite it not going to last (perhaps because it’s ephemeral even?) so the push and pull effect you describe is literally how that inner struggle would be portrayed in my head. the gifts then emotionally closing herself off afterwards as if she told herself that she was too obvious just now likeee yes absolutely. i think she is just like u said, calculated in her affection and guarded when it comes to receiving it, and she intellectualizes her feelings rather than feeling them. the way she opens up is so subtle too i feel like, it can just be a mention of something she hasn’t told anyone else but since it seems mundane, you won’t necessarily understand that she’s revealing herself to you. i think that would make vulnerability feel less uncomfortable because on some level you’re not aware of said vulnerability. approaching others is easy, reciprocating isn’t, so yeah i believe it’d feel like she’s leading you on sometimes and that she’s just pretending, that her genuine actions are mocking in nature. i write it that way in wasted with longing and it’s pretty fun 😭😭 i’d lose my shit tho.

the arguments omg ok what i love about kafka is that she has a high level of emotional intelligence (depending on the definition, always; i see it as having empathy, being able to understand/recognize others emotions + context and adjust your behavior in response to that, have the capacity for conflict resolution without falling into manipulation or control, have good social skills, etc) but it’s mostly cognitive empathy imo. she’ll understand why you might react a certain way but she’ll double down on what’s logical rather than put herself in your shoes and that would make me go crazy because emotions arent always logical. she may sound dismissive bc of it imo. she’d see certain situations in a “conflict -> resolution -> no more problem” way and will get annoyed if you’re “stuck on details” rather than seeing the big picture. ouh shes so irritating, god forbid we ever fight bc id be so heated while she’s unbothered and that would make me even more mad LMFAO. but yes sometimes kafka speaks and im like “what the fuck are you saying” so imagine her unnecessary, riddle-like way of speaking during an argument i’d lose my mind fr. she’s good at getting you to forgive her tho 🙄 will be on her best behavior until she knows you’re no longer mad and will probably be corny for a while just to get you to smile ughhhhhhhh my wife

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog Anime Festival - Part 2

I never had thought that the second day was about to be exciting as the first one, therefore I had to split the blog into two.

I had started writing it in the hotel, but this one here is done a few days later on, there was so much going on, but I loved every minute.

29. October - 3rd Uniform revival & on stage the 2nd

Last day of the con, started super early as the daylight savings and my bio rhythm doesn't go hand in hand. But I took the time to note down a few things already which was nice. Also a bit of drawing, didn't came to it the day prior and somehow I was drawing or at least inking something every day in october but not the saturday. Except you count in painting my face :'D

Checked out of the Hotel and went to Kassel. Decided to take my dolls out for some photos and fetch a hot drink, it was a bit warmer but super stormy.

Then I fought the make up and got dressed up for the last day. I had not much planned and aimed to head home around 14-15 as well, there was not much to do.

Walked around the hall several times, went through the park, actually met some people from the day before and talked with them again. Here some more impressions of the vendors and some of the guests/quests they had.

And then finally met another D.Grayman Cosplayer, an Allen! He told me that on Saturday there was at least two Allens and two Lavis,... I didn't meet any of them *sob* (one Allen could have been me though), a shame.

As I walked around I got yelled at that the person loves my costume AND my bag, thank you so much it means a lot to me. Also I got called Moyashi. I was like "huh what?!" but the person actually was a former Kanda cosplayer and couldn't resist. I love interactions like this, pls just go ahead with those.

Then I somehow gathered more and more courage, I ordered a bubble tea at a booth I had to speak english at (speaking english in public is always a bit of a struggle for me, I can do it fine but I am so nervous in regards of my pronunciation that I'm like WOAH FULL ANXIETY HITTING) and got told the tapioca pearls I wanted weren't done. Past-me would have went with the other option they offered but no I returned later on and got what I truly wanted.

Then things got wild. I randomly decided to join "Show your costume"-Contest as I told myself "fuck it now or never" and had no idea what to say. Was I nervous? Yes. But I somehow managed super well and even calmed down other participants.

I went on stage, joked about me not being lost from yesterday and told the audience that everyone who went on this very stage is a hero on their own and that everyone should stop talking themselves down. I got very positive feedback for my little speech and also some more positive for the act I had showed for the main contest. Thank you all. It was a pleasure to meet you all and I feel more connected to the community than I ever was.

The day went on with me challenging myself more. Like I talked to someone who I somehow see on every con but never had any relation to and we had such a nice talk. Then I went and ordered more food while speaking english.

As I was almost done and heading home another Cosplayer (Della Duck) whom entered the contest and was having almost a mental breakdown on stage came across me and I pulled her aside and told her how amazing she was and I could see how much she was sparkling and thriving. Please keep on going, you were amazing, I know how much a character/a costume can mean.

The day came to an end as I needed to get make up down and travel back before it got too dark. I snatched another snacky on my way back and arrived very happy at home.

I can say this weekend was an absolute blast and I am glad I decided to give it a go. Kassel is now connected with positive memories again and I am motivated for next year to challenge myself more again.

And I have to figure out the make up situation, I will change the eyeliner as it smears so much its horrible. It was the first time for me in years wearing make up and getting it off was another can of worms, my eyes suffered several days(!).

[the-consortium]

How does one start committing “Unethical Scientific Experiments” without getting caught? What would a good starter lab look like?

"Uh-oh" Saqqara does not often sound worried. He overthinks things to the point of absolute amorphousness - but concern right from the start is not his usual modus operandi.

Arrian turns, pushes his welding goggles to his forehead. Growls a curse as a loop on one of the temples tangles with one of the nails and he struggles for a few moments with being tied to his work equipment. Eventually he gets a grip, feeling a little less undignified, takes a deep breath and says, "What uh-oh?"

"This doesn't bode well!" - "Can you be less ominous?" - "You know what he's like when he's told he's practising unethical science!"

Arrian laughs, reaches for the datapad. Looks around searchingly for a moment, as if the Chief Apothecary might suddenly leap out of a box like an avenging ghost to drastically punish any disrespect immediately. When the coast seems suitably clear, he throws himself into a pose. Which means he gives his posture a slightly forward bent aggressiveness. Like a menacing spider. The nickname, after all, doesn't just refer to the chirurgeon. He imitates Fabius' sharp, clear pronunciation with the hard consonants. "If one thing is certain, it's that far too many inferiors in science confuse morality with ethos! This is the same sort of person who uses aphorisms as a truncated method of communication!"

Saqqara has switched from apprehensive to absolutely delighted. He watches with affectionate admiration as Arrian demonstrates comedic talent.

But because he is a Word Bearer and therefore words are always important to him, he can't help but remark, "But he's right."

Arrian falls out of character with a roll of the shoulders and a stretch that cracks the vertebrae, and turns back to his workbench. "Sure he is. I don't think anyone else in this cursed galaxy has ever given the subject so much, so long, thought."

Saqqara smiles cryptically. "Probably one of the reasons he kept me." - "You're morally and ethically questionable." - "Oh yeah?!" - "Absolutely yes."

Both grin. Saqqara claps his hands on his thighs, says " Well!" and stands up. Reaches for the datapad. Arrian holds out his hand. "No." - "What no?" - "Don't give him that." - "Oh stop it. He's a big boy. He can take it!" - "He can! But I don't want to listen to days of caustic tractates on medical ethics and how little he thinks of that branch of philosophy. He always does air quotes then and it makes me so bloody annoyed that I go through far too many vials of Nails Suppressant."

Saqqara hesitates. Finally puts the datapad down again. "All right. But I'm only doing this for you!" - "I appreciate it very much." - "Show me how much!" - "Oh, stop it!"

[sofiaaaaaaaa03]

Did You Mean It?

Pairing: Dad!Din Djnarin x GN foundling! Reader

Rating: G

Word Count:1,449

Summary: Din has been teaching you Mando'a and does not know how to react after you call him buir (father) for the first time.

Request: Heyyy, love your writing! Definitely not enough platonic mando fics out there. But I was just wondering if you were interested in making a tag list, if not that's fine I just don't want to miss anything you write! Also, if your still taking requests I was wondering if you would write a fic around the reader calling Din some form of dad for the first time. By accident or on purpose (like after Din teaches her the word buir) it doesn't matter to me. I'm just curious how Din would react lol!

A/N: Hey hey!! I’m fairly new to tumblr so I’ll do my best to do tag lists in the furure! Just let me know if you wanna join so I can write it down somewhere :)) (That was for the general public I’ll definitely mark your name down) I’ve seemed to have grown a habit for writing in Din’s perspective haha, but yes I do think that no matter how Din first hears the reader call him buir he’d still be like “...me?” I hope what I did was okay and you enjoyed it. And thanks so much for liking what I write!!!

Although you were not raised in Mandalorian culture, Din took it upon himself to teach you Mando’a. He first brought it up some time after his encounter with Bo Katan and the other Mandalorians. When he finally saw others of his kind, albeit reassuring, it reminded him that the effort it took to find them could only mean his people were slowly being wiped out. Din needed to hold onto his deteriorating culture, and hoped that you would take an interest in learning from it as a member of Clan Mudhorn. When he inquired about your interest in learning the language he did so thinking that you would probably be daunted by the challenge. He wouldn’t have been offended if you declined as he didn’t want to force you into something you had no interest in, but much to his surprise you were ecstatic about it!

It warmed Din’s heart to watch you fumble over syllables during your first lessons. He began with simple introduction phrases and vocabulary. Nothing too difficult but sufficient enough to help you progress. You were often praised for your efforts and encouraged to converse with Din for practice, which you did. He often corrected you on grammar mistakes and your pronunciation. One thing you hated was how he wouldn’t remind you of a word you’d forgotten during a conversation. He’d simply ignore your plea to remind him and continue his work, leaving you to try to remember the term by yourself.

After some time, you were capable of holding simple conversations. Nothing too complex, but enough for you to get by if there was ever the need for you to use it. On one occasion, it helped you avoid getting arrested.

Although it was not entirely your fault, it often sounded like it was the way Din told it. The Clan had taken the day off to visit a local market after a successful bounty to stock up on fresh supplies and eat a good meal. Din gave you several credits to spend on whatever you pleased while he went to run his errands. The day was particularly sunny. Shoppers wandered around Din, although he stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the civilians with his beskar. Curious eyes casted towards him but he paid no mind to them as he walked up to a vendor and greeted her with a nod.

“Can I buy a holopad around here?” He inquired, waiting for the vendor to return his change. She paused a moment, credits in separate hands as she thought a moment.

“Not too far off that road,” Din followed her gaze and thanked her, pocketing his change before making his way to the shop she’d pointed out to. In truth, he already had a holopad of his own but wanted to give one to you for your upcoming birthday. He approached the shop, pausing a moment to gaze at the door, before making a move to open it. Wait.

What was that?

Din slowly moved back and surveyed the area. He could have sworn he could have heard something familiar. He strained his ears to listen once more.

“Buir!”

Suddenly his attention was caught by your figure as you desperately ran towards him, almost tripping on your feet with Grogu clinging onto you in your arms. Behind you was a vendor tailing you, anger written over his expression. Din marched forward quickly, pushing you and Grogu behind him when the two of you were close enough and held a hand out as the vendor approached.

“What did you do?” He looked down at you, not waiting for an answer but rather looked at the vendor. He hunched over, hands on his knees while he caught his breath. “Can I help you?”

He inhaled sharply and straightened himself up after gathering his breath, gesturing at you. “Is this yours?”

“Can’t you see the resemblance?” Din’s voice was monotonous despite the sarcastic comment. You made a face at the man from your place behind Din. The man inhaled sharply at your expression, though Din chose to ignore your actions.

“Is there a problem here?” Din inquired, pushing you further behind his back so you wouldn’t upset the man even more.

“I caught them trying to steal some of my produce. I have half the mind to call the sheriff-”

“That’s not true!” You interjected, pushing yourself into view but Din was fast enough to push you back in your place.

“Y/N.” Din warned, “vaabir no ukoror bic. Tonaid was bic?”

You shifted uncomfortably in your stance, raising Grogu higher in your arms. “Grogu.”

“Kaysh hiibir mayen?”

“Nayc, he grabbed some things and I didn’t realize.”

Din understood now that you meant this was just a misunderstanding. He placed a firm hand on your shoulder and turned to the impatient vendor. “My foundling has a habit of grabbing anything he can get a hold of. He’s still a child. You can understand.”

At first the vendor was reluctant to leave, convinced that Din’s little clan members were nothing but no good thieves. He even insisted that Din paid reparations for what Grogu had taken, for he tried to eat some before you took it from his mouth. It took some convincing, and several credits, to make the vendor walk away satisfied.

“Well, that’s that.” Din sighed, shaking his head a little and tucked his hands onto his hips. He turned to the two of you, “C’mon, let’s get something for you two to eat.”

At the local cantina Grogu helped himself to a hearty bowl of soup while you ate your own favorite meal from there. Din simply sat back, checking his credits before placing the payment on the table so that he wouldn’t have to worry about it later. When he was done and his mind left wondering, he thought back to when he first heard you call for him in Mando’a.

Buir…

The term you used was one that a child would call its father. You called him father. He wondered if it came out naturally for you, or if you used it because you had to prove that you and Din had some sort of relation. That must have been the case. You’d only been a member of the clan for almost a year now. Seeing Din as a guardian should be natural, but a parental figure? Din wasn’t so sure. He had grown fond of having you around. As an older child you were a far better conversationalist than Grogu was and many times showed that you trusted Din. But still, Din wasn’t your father. He had to remind himself that sometimes. But still, he couldn’t stop wondering how you saw him as he watched you eat your meal.

“Did you mean it?” Din didn’t know where he found the courage to start speaking, but he didn’t stop himself.

“Hm?” You lifted your head, your dish in your hands as you were about to take a bite.

“You called me… buir.” The word sounded strange to call himself.

Your face lit up when you reminisced the incident. “Oh! I mean, yeah. I knew it was the only way to grab your attention. It was really crowded today.”

Din chuckled, “It worked.”

You couldn’t help but smile before taking another bite into your meal, smiling to yourself at its taste. It’d been awhile since the clan ate at a cantina. It’d been awhile that the kiddos had gone out actually. Why was it that every time they joined Din out into town trouble would occur? Din shook his head lightly, deeming that only he would have ended up with such troublemakers.

“But, it’s not like I don’t see you as one.”

You stared back at him, cocking your head to the side and giving him a small smile. Although you couldn’t see it, Din held a big smile underneath his helmet. For a moment he almost forgot that you couldn’t see his expression and collected himself as you waited for his response.

“I’m really proud of you, Y/N.” He beamed, turning to wipe some smudge off of Grogu’s face. “You’re a great kid.”

You grinned widely and a pleasant moment of silence falls upon you two despite the noisy environment. Din told the two of you to finish soon so that the group would return to the ship before nightfall. During the last moments of supper, you and Din conversed with each other in Mando’a to practice your pronunciation once again. At some moments you grazed through phrases you previously struggled on, though you did not realize it Din certainly did, and it made him even more proud of how you’d grown.

[thelargefrye]

MR. HOUSEDAD. yunho, ep. one

── summary. where yunho finally introduces you and taeyong to each other.

── roles. single dad!yunho + girlfriend!reader

── kids. taeyong (four)

── genre. single parent + slice of life + fluff

── run time. 1.2k words

to say you were nervous would be an understatement. because you were hella fucking nervous.

you don’t remember the last time you were this nervous. but why were you nervous? you nervous because this was the first time you will meeting yunho’s son, taeyong.

you and yunho have been dating for seven months now and he finally asked you if you wanted to meet his son, so of course you said yes.

taeyong was the most important thing in his life and the fact that yunho felt your relationship was serious enough for you to finally introduce you to his son almost made you cry.

“aw, baby, why are you tearing up?” yunho asked, cupping your face with his large hands as he wiped away the one tear that fell.

“it just... it just means a lot to me that you asked if i wanted to meet taeyong,” you confess, tears now falling from your eyes. “they’re tears of happiness.”

“baby,” he says wiping them away once more before bringing your face to his so he could kiss you. “i love you.”

“i love you too, yunho.”

and so now here you were standing outside of yunho’s apartment, palms sweating as you hesitate to ring the doorbell.

you screw your eyes shut before quickly hitting the doorbell letting yunho know you are here. it doesn’t take long before the door opens and your boyfriend greets you with a smile.

“come in,” he says allowing you space to enter before leaning down to greet you with a quick peck to the cheek.

“taeyong, i have someone i want you to meet,” yunho says as the two of you walk down the hallway and into the living room where you spot the four year old sitting in the floor playing with his toys.

taeyong looks up from his toys with curious eyes. first landing on his father before moving to you. gosh, he looked just like yunho, especially in the eyes and nose region.

“taeyong, this is y/n, my special friend i was telling you about,” yunho says, his hand coming to the small of your back as to move your forward a little bit.

“hi, taeyong, your dad has told me a lot about you,” you say with a nervous smile and you feel yourself getting flustered as the young boy just stares at you.

“do you like dinosaurs?” is the first thing he says to you catching you off guard.

“u-um, yes i do!” you say after you recover from the random question. well... he is four so what do you expect.

“yongie, why don’t you show y/n your dinosaurs while i go finish cooking dinner,” yunho suggest and that seems to the make taeyong excited as he is quick to stand up and take your hand to lead you to his room.

for the next twenty minutes, you and taeyong spend it going through his dinosaur collection while he tells you the name of each one. you try your best to say them all, but of course you struggle and stumble over the pronunciation here and there.

the sight honestly made yunho’s heart melt. he was glad taeyong seemed to be welcoming you well. taeyong was an extrovert just like yunho, so the older male wasn’t too surprised by how his son was acting towards you.

he honestly didn’t want to interrupt you two, but he knew you both needed to eat.

“hey you two, dinner’s ready,” yunho said as he stood in his son’s doorway.

“okay!” taeyong said before putting down the dinosaur that was in his hand and gently tugged at your hand to get you to come with him.

yunho followed after you both as the three of you sat down and began eating. dinner went smoothly, you all ate and talked and laughed. by now your nerves have gone down and you were glad.

after dinner, yunho had taeyong go play in the living room while you and him cleaned up the kitchen. while you were washing dishes yunho had come up behind you.

“still nervous?”

“not as much as when i arrived. i was really worried when i first got here, but taeyong is sweet. reminds me of someone else i know,” you tease, turning to look at your boyfriend who is smiling brightly at you.

“seeing you two talking about dinosaurs together honestly made my heart melt,” yunho confesses, arms wrapping around your waist before he leans over to kiss you.

“thank you for inviting me,” you mumble against his lips causing his smile to brighten even more, if it was even possible.

“thank you for coming,” he mumbles back before he steps away but not before giving you one last peck on the lips.

when you finish cleaning up the kitchen you go to the living room to see yunho and taeyong sitting on the couch waiting for you, movie on the tv paused.

“come watch a movie with us y/n!” taeyong says patting the seat next to him.

“what movie is this?”

“despicable me!”

“ah, nice choice.”

the rest of the night went with you all watching each despicable me movie, but about halfway through the third one was when taeyong fell asleep cuddled into his dad.

now it was your turn for your heart to melt. the father and son looked so cute together that you couldn’t help but take your phone out to get a picture.

you then watch as yunho carefully picks his son up and cares him to bed. he comes back a few minutes later, but instead of sitting down on the couch. he lays down sprawled out across the couch, his head resting on your lap.

your not surprised by his action as this is a usual occurrence between the two of you. your hand immediately goes to his hair, running through his black locks and you watch his eyes close.

you find yourself mindless combing through his hair as you go back to the movie. you think that by the time the movie is over he’s asleep, but when you remove your fingers his hair, he opens his eyes and a pout is on his lips.

“the movie’s over and it’s getting late. i should get back home,” you say and yunho whines just a little bit as he turns to shove his face into your stomach.

“stay the night, please?”

stay the night? this will be your first time either one of you will be spending the night at the others place. sure yunho comes over to your apartment, but he’s never stayed the night. always having to come back home to taeyong.

“a-are you sure? i don’t want to be any trou—

“i’m positive. stay the night, you can borrow some of my clothes.”

the look in his eyes assures you he’s serious and it makes your heart flutter a little bit.

“okay,” you answer making yunho smile up at you before he moves to stand up and takes you to his bedroom where he gives you clothes to change into.

yunho smiles at you, pressing a kiss to your forehead, nose, and then lips when the two of you climb into bed together.

“good night, y/n.”

“good night, yunho.”

[pen-observing]

request: satan helping a gn!reader who has dyslexia with their RAD language exam.

warnings: satan goes on rants about language but they’re endearing word count: 1.1k

You’ve always claimed to hate studying for exams because the human world had such a dumb school system. And granted, perhaps you’ve been a bit naïve to imagine that a magical world would bring a magic change. A world without exams? No. A world where exams were even worse? Sadly, yes.

It is wrong that intelligence becomes a numbers game whenever exam time comes around. It is wrong that suddenly those scores determine all your value and if you do not manage to succeed; you did not just simply fail – you are a failure in their eyes. That is how the self-entitled educational systems work and if you could burn them to the ground, you would gladly do so with everlasting flames.  

To you, especially, they are the biggest enemy. And while the world is certainly not fair in that regard you still have to go to the extra lengths because failing RAD classes means not seeing the brothers anymore. Failing RAD classes means willingly admitting defeat because...they’ve always said that the only reason students don’t succeed is a lack of effort.  

But you have tried! And you have done so well in all the subjects that do not deal with language explicitly! RAD, the world of immortal demons that actually know every language as soon as they are born, just has no idea how limited humans are nor do they know what dyslexia is.  

If you wanted to exceed in language classes at RAD you knew you had to ask Satan for help. Rather, he offered it himself on multiple occasions. ‘If you ever struggle be sure to come to me.’ Why shouldn’t you take him up on that offer?  

Satan did not know what dyslexia was either but he did not ask you invasive questions like unsympathetic fools did back in the human world. He was simply just there to help you because you were your own person and nothing else. Satan is focused on you.

A localized weakness within the phonologic module of the brain means that you are frustrated while looking at Latin right now.  

“I just don’t understand the point of this Satan! I really don’t get it!” “Have patience.” “Why do I have to study a dead language anyway? Makes absolutely no sense.”

Emotional fluctuations are inevitable while studying for exams so Satan is not surprised at all. He just closes his book and leans against the chair to look at you.

“Well, passing Latin is a pre-requisite to take infernal next semester. And once you take that class you will know what ‘oep mgl ao wglsnepi’ [1] means.” “See, that is my point exactly! Demons use infernal right? Why is Latin a pre-requisite? Is it just so it can torture me with the conjugations?”

Satan chuckled at your tone and put his book down on the table choosing to sit in the chair next to you.  

“I will explain.” He placed his hands on your arm rests and turned the chair around so that you are facing him. Satan seemed to have a fascination that caused him to look into your eyes every time he wanted to explain something. It made you more focused because how could you resist gazing at him?

“We say that humans have always been rather weird creatures. Infernal is the demonic language yes but how are humans supposed to know it? How are they supposed to learn infernal? They know about our existence and have a general idea about our powers even today but in the past, they knew even less. So, somehow through their train of thought, they came to the idea to use the holy language – Latin – for unholy purposes. Your kind really is rather silly sometimes. However, it worked. Some texts still describe us using Latin and we are called forth in that language too.”

You knew when Satan wanted to continue talking in that smooth voice so, instead of interrupting, you nodded your head for him to continue.

“I am going to ask you something now. I know that you believe in souls but do you believe that languages themselves have souls too?”

Do you believe that languages have souls? What kind of a question is that? It certainly sounds like something only Satan and those alike to him would ask.

“I have...never really thought about it if I am being honest...”  

“I believe that they have souls. Beautiful ones at that. You see, you call Latin a dead language but that is the primary way humans call to us. How could it be dead then? Well, I understand why you humans rush to claim so. The power it once had, the status it once had and the overwhelming use of it certainly have died but... I think the soul of the Latin language hides in all other languages. You will find a Latin form in any, you will find a Latin prophecy or saying. You repeat the roots in the languages you use today even if you are unaware of them. Latin was the language from which multiple others have been born. You see, I believe that the soul of the Latin language still lives through that. I believe that it sleeps but that it is still alive. Even when it comes to your own pursuit of Latin: Ad Astra per aspera.[2] I will continue to help you until you reach the stars.”

And he does. He reads everything that you need. He repeats them, he writes them down for you and makes sure to explain why there is regular Latin and Latin using the demonic spelling. He looks at how your hand does it and he smiles at you throughout it all. Even when you make a mistake in pronunciation - he remains gentle. 

Others like to say that Satan is quick to anger and that while he knows the dictionary definition of patience, he never shows that virtue. They’re wrong. Having Satan help you has made you realize that. He holds an overwhelming amount of patience and knowledge only reserved for you. Because of this you get a 91 on the Latin final and run to tell him. As you do, halfway down the hallway, you hear his voice coming from behind the door.  

“I find it incredibly difficult to understand why RAD takes in exchange students, why we claim to be the best in the field of education yet the teaching techniques we use are being forgotten by the human realm let alone the angels. Should we not be ashamed that we haven’t modernized anything?

The school system sucks but Satan clearly wants to make it better. He would never say it is because he realized it while helping you and you would never dare ask. It does matter. The only thing that matters which you are well aware of is: Satan will help you as long as you are willing to come to him and ask him for help.

-

[1] - it means - you are my precious. [2] - it means - to the stars through difficulties 

[vanillasakura]

RDRSW21 Day 2- Epilogue

Title: I Learned it All By Heart

Words: 2098

Pairing: Abigail/Sadie

Warnings/Notes: NSFW

(Title from comme tu dis by Pomme)

≿━━━━━━━━━━༺❀━━━━━━━━━━≾

I'll try to believe in myself. Like you say that you believe in me

“He almost loo.. Loo-kehd? No, that’s not a word.”

“You sure you don’t need any help, Ma?” Jack asked, looking at Abigail from across the kitchen table.

“I’ve got this, thanks though. I know this one, I know I do, it just always trips me up.”

“I can just read it to you, if you want. Or if you’d prefer that I wait until Miss Gaskill is able to come over, I don’t mind at all.”

“Jack, I wanna read what you wrote. I know I can’t offer as good advice as Mary-Beth, if I can even offer any at all, I just need to work on my readin’, or I’ll never get it at all.”

“That is true.” Jack clicked his tongue. “Do you want me to give you a hint?”

Abigail sighed. “Sure, that might help.”

“Two os next to each other don’t always make an ooo sound. Sometimes, like in the word ‘good’, they make-”

“Looked! ” Abigail exclaimed triumphantly, grabbing the pencil she kept next to her and writing down the word, its pronunciation, and Jack’s hint in her journal. She knew the alphabet by now (largely thanks to a mix of help from Jack, Charles, John, and, whenever she could make the trip west, Mary-Beth), but still struggled with bigger, more complicated words. Still, Jack told her she was doing great, and she supposed that was true, given that she could read through most of his old penny-novels now.

“Anyways, where was I.. ‘He almost looked like someone you would expect to find in a bib… bib-li-cal story, but this was not the bib … oh, bible, this was real life. This was a real man, and one who had lived... through his fair share of hardships, if the scars and the lines that marred his face were anything to go by.’ Jack,” Abigail put the paper down for a moment, looking her son in the eye, “this is amazing so far. I could never formulate words the way that you do.”

“Thanks Ma, I appreciate it.” Jack smiled, and Abigail did too. She was blessed that, despite all of the hardships he had gone through, Jack was still a happy and polite kid. He still loved reading more than anything (she doubted that would ever change, but why should it, when it provided him a way to pass his time and gave him a way to be happy?) and had been working on writing since he was eight or nine. Ever since John had run into Mary-Beth about six months ago, however, she had been coming out to Beecher’s Hope every few months, not only helping around the farm, but also doing her best to work with Abigail on her reading and giving Jack pointers on his writing. Honestly, as long as Jack was happy, Abigail was content. She wasn’t alone anymore, like she had been for so long, she had a wonderful lover, a husband who cared for her even if the romance had faded away, and said husband’s lover to lighten up her life in ways she had never dreamed possible for someone like her.

“You two been okay while I was gone?” The door swung open, and Abigail turned around to see Sadie walking in, a pleasant smile on her face.

“Sadie!” Abigail cried, getting up from her place at the table and running over to the other woman, practically throwing herself into her arms and kissing her cheek gently. 

Sadie chuckled, smoothing her hands over Abigail’s hair. “Oh come on, Abi, I didn’t leave you alone for that long, only eight hours or so.”

“Still, I missed you.” Abigail insisted, pulling back a bit to give Sadie some space. “D’you need anything? I bet you’re exhausted.”

“I’m alright, just need to rest a bit is all.” Sadie walked over to the table, peaking at the paper in front of Jack. “You still working on your story?”

“Yep. It’s coming along pretty well, too. Miss Gaskill said she should be able to make it over in two weeks or so, so I’m trying to get three more chapters written before then.”

“Ooh, Mary-Beth’s on her way? That’s great news! I hope John and Charles will be back from… wherever the hell they are before then so we can have a real party.”

“I’m hopeful they’ll be back too. It’s always great when everybody’s here.” Jack smiled.

“That it is.” Sadie agreed, moving to sit down in the empty chair to Jack’s left.

“Oh, I figure we should tell you; Ma’s been getting a lot better on her reading!”

“Hm, is that so?” Sadie glanced in Abigail’s direction, a small smile forming on her face as their eyes met.

“I mean, I suppose.” Abigail blushed, embarrassed by the attention. “

“Suppose? Ma, you got through three pages of my work in about fifteen minutes, and that’s including the time you took to write down the hard words and your notes and such. You’re doing amazingly well! Just wait until Mr. Jones and Pa and Miss Gaskill all find out, they’re gonna be blown away!”

“I’m pretty blown away too.” Sadie said, her eyes still locked onto Abigail’s. “You should be proud of yourself. Readin’ ain’t easy.”

Abigail somehow felt herself turning redder, and spun on her heel to go and work on sewing. She heard Sadie laugh behind her, the sound ringing out like brazen bells.

--

Abigail watched as Sadie changed into her nightdress, entranced. She was gorgeous, her sun-kissed figure nearly glowing in the low light. Something about the way that she went about unbuckling and unbuttoning every piece of clothing was enough to put Abigail in a spell. She still didn’t know how she had gotten so lucky so as to be with a woman so wonderful as her.

“I meant it when I said I missed you, y’know.” Abigail said.

Sadie turned around pulling her nightdress over her head. “And I meant it when I said I was proud of you.”

The comment had Abigail blushing again, biting her lip as she tried to avert her gaze from Sadie’s piercing eyes.

“I’m serious, Abi.” She walked over to the bed, taking a seat on the edge next to her. “Let me compliment you, please.”

“It ain’t anythin’ that really warrants a compliment. It’s pretty straightforward, I just need to get around to doin’ it more often.” Abigail laughed. “If I had started a bit earlier, I would probably be literate by now. And if I had more time I could dedicate to it, I’d be a hell of a lot closer.”

“I’d already say you’re pretty damn near literate now.” Sadie pressed a kiss to Abigail’s temple. “You can read Jack’s old books without a problem, and with someone’s help, you can read bigger works, like his work in progress.”

“I appreciate it Sadie, I really do, I just don’t know if it’s somethin’ that really warrants this much.”

“Well I sure as hell do.” Sadie reached her hand out, rubbing it softly in circles on Abigail’s thigh. “If anything, I think this kind of progress deserves a reward, don’t you?”

Abigail made a happy noise, resting her head on Sadie’s shoulder. “Not sure I’d say that much, but I’m the last person to be complaining.”

“Good.” Sadie reached her free hand out, turning so she faced Abigail and letting it rest on her cheek. “Because I’m gonna force you to be proud of yourself.”

Abigail wasn’t sure just who leaned in first, all she knew was that their lips eventually met and they were kissing, slow and warm and relaxing. Sadie slid the hand on Abigail’s cheek back, letting it tangle in her hair as she undid her braid. All the while, the hand on Abigail’s thigh kept stroking.

They broke apart momentarily, Abigail lifting her night dress up and over her head, casting it somewhere off the side of the bed. Sadie’s face lit up, and she eased Abigail down onto the mattress gently, kissing her once more, catching her bottom lip and nibbling gently.

“‘M gonna make you feel so good, Abi.” Sadie drew her hands up and along Abigail’s breasts, smiling at the breath that caught in her throat as she did so. “Just like you deserve.”

“Mm, why don’t you show me then, instead of tellin’ me?” she teased, unable to help herself. “Don’t you think that would be better?”

“Hm, maybe you’re right…” Sadie traced the outline of Abigail’s left nipple, smirking at the shaky gasp she let out. “Need to get you nice and wet for me first, though.”

“Then touch me where I need it.” Abigail sighed again as Sadie kept teasing her nipples, spreading her legs in an attempt to entice her lover. “Sadie…”

“Fine, you do deserve it after working so hard today.” Sadie let one of her hands dip down between Abigail’s legs, finding her clit and massaging in slow, steady circles. “This feel good?”

“Yes.” Abigail breathed out, arching her back into Sadie’s touch. “Don’t stop, please.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Sadie eased herself down, using her left elbow to support herself as she leaned over Abigail and whispered in her ear. “You’re so smart, d’you know that? You pick up on things so quickly, you always take the time to teach yourself about things, you think things through logically…” Sadie trailed off, scraping her teeth along the side of Abigail’s neck. “It’s attractive. It’s so attractive, Abigail. You’re so attractive.”

“Were you thinkin’ that earlier?” she asked, smiling as pleasure fizzed through her. “You sure were lookin’ at me like somethin’-- fuck, Sadie -- somethin’ was on your mind.”

“I sure was. Damn near wanted to kick Jack outta the house and take you right there on the table. But that’s not all. You wanna know what else I was thinkin’ about?” Sadie’s breath fanned down Abigail’s neck.

“What?”

Sadie pulled back a bit so she could get a better look at Abigail, smiling down at her as though she were the only thing in the world.

“I was thinkin’ about how lovely you are. How cute you are when you blush, how perfect you always are… you’re so attractive, Abi. You always have been.”

Sadie’s words drew a moan out of Abigail, who began to grind against her fingers. “Sadie, my love…”

“Shh, I gotcha. I’ve always gotcha.” Sadie moved her finger down Abigail’s slit, circling her entrance once, twice. “I think you’re wet enough now, my darling.”

Abigail had to bite down on her lip to try and keep herself at least somewhat quiet as Sadie slid into her, stroking at that soft spot. “Sadie, goodness…”

“I know, that feels really good.” Sadie added a second finger, leaning in and capturing Abigail’s lips with her own once more, this kiss more heated than any previous one.

Abigail felt her legs begin to shake as she neared her peak. She pushed Sadie off of her lightly to try and warn her, but Sadie was already a step ahead, moving her mouth down to Abigail’s neck and sucking gently on a spot her collar would cover.

When Sadie’s thumb pressed into her clit, both of her fingers crooking just right, that was all, the coil in Abigail’s stomach coming undone as Sadie covered her mouth with hers, lips and tongues crashing together as Abigail rode out her high. She couldn’t remember the last time she had come this hard for seemingly no reason, but she wasn’t about to complain, not when everything felt this good.

Sadie pulled back as Abigail began to calm down, her breath hot and heavy on Sadie’s forehead as Abigail pulled her flush against her chest.

“That good, Abi?” Sadie asked, kissing the top of a breast lightly.

“Stop sellin’ yourself short.” Abigail panted, running a hand through Sadie’s undone hair. “That was amazin’ and you know it.”

“You really did deserve it, Abi. I’m so proud of you.” Sadie kissed Abigail’s breast again, wrapping an arm around her. Abigail hummed.

“I’ll take your word for it, then. If every time I do well on somethin, this is the reward I’ll get, I’m gonna be readin’ until I pass out from exhaustion.” she laughed.

“Just keep it at, Abi. I know you’ve got this, and you’re only gonna get better. You’ll be literate one day, and that day just keeps on gettin’ closer with every bit of progress you make.”

Abigail sighed happily. “Let’s both look forward to it, then.”

[mari-beau]

PARTNERS - A Rogue One Fanfiction

Written for Cassian Appreciation Week 2021 Day 4: Alliance Intelligence

(I know I missed Cassian Appreciation Week entirely with this one, but it got a little more out of hand than the quick scene tags and etc. Actually, tumblr posting etiquette question: At what point is a fanfic considered too long to post directly and should be hosted elsewhere and linked to? Or is inserting a ‘keep reading’ break enough?)

Title: Partners

Characters: Cassian Andor POV; Jyn Erso, Draven

Pairing: Cassian/Jyn

Words: 2633

Setting: Post-Rogue One, Canon-divergent (in that Cassian & Jyn live)

Summary: Cassian receives his first assignment for Alliance Intelligence after recovering from his Scarif injuries, but something is amiss with Jyn Erso. And something is gnawing at him as well...

Spoilers: Rogue One

Warnings: Our heroes have a little bit of PTSD/Separation Anxiety; Also it’s in a layered/nonlinear narrative format, which hopefully is clear/works.

“Where?” she asked. Was there a desperate edge to Jyn’s voice? Or did he just want there to be?

“You know I can’t tell you where.”

Cassian thought she would at least roll her eyes, if not spout sardonic criticism of Alliance Intelligence not even trusting their own people, not trusting those rebels who’d sacrificed everything for the Cause. But she surprisingly remained silent, pursing her lips and giving a little shake of her head.

“Are you allowed to tell me how long you’ll-” She swallowed, uncharacteristically vulnerable. “You’ll be gone?”

“I’m not sure.” Cassian wanted to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but he’d never seen her look so fragile, and he was afraid a single touch might shatter her.

“Okay.” Her response was clipped, even for her, and she just nodded her head, refusing to meet his eyes.

“I’ll be back, Jyn,” he said. And maybe he’d never actually said it outright, but maybe she needed to hear it. “I’ll never leave you behind.”

Again, she only nodded her head, repeating “Okay.”

He gave into the urge, placed a hand on her biceps and stroked her arm through the layers of her thick thermal jumpsuit.

“Are you-” he tried to ask her whether she was feeling okay, but she shrugged his hand off and bolted, leaving him to watch her fleeing back as she disappeared down an icy corridor, blinking in surprise.

…

Earlier…

“Medical informs me you’re cleared for active duty, Captain Andor.” Draven managed to make it both a statement and a question. Of course he was the head of Intelligence, a spy to his very core, working in vagaries. Except when he issued orders. Those were always clear.

“Yes, sir.” Cassian tried to stand at full attention, but the stance honestly put a little too much pressure on his bad leg. If it was just the artificial hip, he’d probably be sprier than he’d been before. But the deep tissue damage was going to take awhile, if he ever did regain the full musculature in his leg, the tendons and ligaments would never be the same. The fractures in his vertebrae and ribs had thankfully knitted back up and neither bothered him too badly. Even with the unrelenting cold of Hoth.

“I have your next assignment.”

Cassian nodded, accepting the datapad with mission specifics. He gave it a cursory glance.

Deep cover.

“Is this a solo mission?” he asked, but pretended to continue to study the information rather than risk revealing his insecurities to his commanding officer. “Or am I going to need a team?”

Maybe just a partner?

“It has to be you,” Draven said. “And only you. They’re your connections. Well, one of your alias’ connections.”

The older man hesitated, not dismissing Cassian, not continuing with the briefing, just standing, waiting. Cassian mustered the best impassive face he could before meeting his commanding officer’s gaze.

“You’re still one of the best agents we have, Andor.”

Cassian nodded his head in silent acceptance of the reassurance.

“When do you need me to leave?” he asked.

“Whenever you’re comfortable enough with the mission brief. But the sooner, the better.” Draven was still studying him intently, with more scrutiny than Cassian had even faced as an undercover spy. “You know where to find me if you have any follow up questions.”

“Yes, sir,” Cassian said, recognizing his dismissal.

Something twisted deep in his chest as he walked away.

He needed to find Jyn and tell her he’d be leaving.

…

That Day on the Beach of Scarif…

“Look.”

It sounded like Jyn’s voice. Was there an afterlife, then? And could Cassian have somehow been lucky enough to be with her there?

No. No, that couldn’t be the case. There was too much pain. If he no longer had a body, then why did it hurt in the way physical flesh only could?

“Cassian!” Jyn’s voice was more urgent and she was squirming in his arms, her hands tugging on the sleeves of his shirt. “What is that?”

He forced his eyes open. It was bright. So bright. Why was she confused? It was Death.

No. No, it wasn’t?

He squinted, blinking his eyes as he looked off toward the ocean, well, where the ocean had been, where the wall of destruction had… stopped?

Jyn looked at him in wide-eyed amazement. “Is that a-”

“Shield,” Cassian gasped, in utter shock himself. “The Empire must have installed an emergency shield to protect the facility.”

“How long?” Jyn was breathing hard, already scrambling to her feet.

“Against that blastwave? Not long,” Cassian said. “Maybe it has dispersed some of the explosive force already but…”

“Come on.” Jyn was standing, leaning down to tug at his arms. He felt like he was ten times the weight he’d ever been on any planet.

“There’s not a lot of time,” he said, hoping she’d understand.

“Which is why you need to move your ass.” Jyn squatted in front of him instead, shoving her arms under his armpits and basically hugging him, she tried hauling him to his feet, but he was dead weight. He hissed with overwhelming pain that was practically blinding, his legs refusing to function. They collapsed back to the sand in a heap.

Jyn got back up, wincing and holding her injured shoulder before she renewed her attempts to get Cassian onto his feet.

It was a herculean effort for his weary body, but he managed to grab her arm.

“Listen to me, Jyn.” She locked eyes with him, and the desperation and pain he found there stabbed him in the chest, hurting worse than his aching ribs. “You have to go. You have to leave me behind. There’s got to be others still alive out there. Find them, get off Scarif. Leave me here. It’s okay. I want you to leave me. Do you understand?”

“No,” she said. There was a ferocious passion in the depths of her eyes, the green gone all steel grey. Any argument he could possibly make, any plea for her to save herself would not be tolerated.

“You listen to me, Cassian Andor.” Her hands captured his face. Her fierceness took away what little breath he had. “We live together. Or we die together.”

This time when she grabbed him, somehow her small body managed to haul him up, maybe she’d somehow given him some of her strength, some of her unrelenting determination, because his legs held... mostly.

…

Present

Cassian found Jyn hiding in a storage room, sitting on a crate with her hands on her knees, doubled over, breathing in big, sobbing gulps of air. He could only stand there and stare in complete shock. Not even on the beach that day had he ever seen Jyn Erso so… such an emotional mess. Angry. Passionate. Vulnerable. Yes. All those things he had seen in her eyes. But this sort of tangible, physical reaction? It was jarring to witness.

And he hesitated. Never hesitate. It could cost lives, the lives of others, your own.

Rushing to her side, he dropped to his knees beside her, the hard ice floor’s impact mitigated by his thick thermal pants.

“Jyn, what is it? What’s wrong? Should I find a medic?”

He placed a hand on her leg, tried to get her to look at him, but she turned away, her breathing still disturbingly uneven, like she wasn’t getting enough oxygen.

“N-no,” she choked out. “Just- Just give me a m-minute.”

“Okay,” he said. “But I’m right here. If you need anything, I’m here.”

A sob escaped her, and then she gasped, continuing to struggle to breath, hyperventilating. Cassian just remained there, kneeling beside her, a previously unfamiliar agony tearing at him, watching Jyn suffer whatever it was she was enduring and unable to help her. But he’d stay there, by her side, forever, if she needed him to.

Her breathing gradually grew placid until she was taking deep, regulated draughts of air. And then those determined breaths evened out as well until she was finally breathing normally. And still he waited.

Jyn swore, wiping at her face before she turned to him, and oh, force, her cheeks were raw-looking with tear tracks staining her skin. There were dark circles under her eyes. She looked exhausted. As if she’d been awake, hunted, for a week. How did that happen in just half an hour or so?

“Can you tell me what’s going on?” Cassian asked. He wanted to know, needed to know, so, “Maybe I can help.”

She nodded but her eyes were bright, welling up with tears. This was Jyn Erso. It took a lot to make the woman cry.

“What is responsible for this? Did someone hurt you?” Cassian could hear his own accent thickening but didn’t care, becoming too agitated to focus on proper Basic pronunciations.

Jyn shook her head but said, “No. Yes… I… fuck. This is so embarrassing.”

“What is it, querida?” He took her hand and when she didn’t pull away, squeezed it, caressed her bare palm with his thumb, noting that her skin was getting cold and he should get her back closer to the core of the base where the temperature was more bearable. “You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

She nodded. And again, Cassian was struck by how vulnerable the woman was. She always had a deeply hurt portion of her soul, but she seemed incapable of letting it show, even to him. It wasn’t deluding himself, or an over-exaggeration. Cassian knew that her friendship with him was different than any other she’d had in her life. It was the same for him. They finally had someone they could trust wholeheartedly.

But he still held his breath, waiting for her to bestow that trust once again.

She looked down at her hands in his, then to his face, her weary eyes holding his gaze, searching for something.

“You haven’t realized it, yet, have you?” she asked. Cassian’s heart beat faster. Realized what? “Until your Intelligence briefing this morning, we hadn’t been more than an arm’s length apart since Scarif. And force, I’m having a fucking panic attack just at the thought of being separated from you. How ridiculous is that?”

Cassian’s mouth had gone dry. He swallowed and wet his lips before he could even contemplate speaking.

“It’s not ridiculous, Jyn.” Maybe he hadn’t realized why, but that uneasy feeling had been twisting his insides since he’d first left for his briefing. And now, now he couldn’t deny its cause.

Because Jyn was right. She’d basically dragged him bodily out of that massacre, off that cursed planet, held him as he drifted in and out of consciousness until he’d blacked out entirely, to wake up in the infirmary on Yavin 4 with Jyn sitting at his bedside, arms folded on the edge of his cot, supporting her head as she slept. And from there, she had been with him his entire recovery. She refused to leave the room when medical staff or droids checked on him, only turning her back to give him privacy. He hadn’t complained. He hadn’t objected. Even when she set up a bedroll in the corner of his quarters when he’d been released from the infirmary. Even when she wordlessly climbed into his bed to soothe his fitful, painful sleep, even when she helped him dress. And shower. And limp down the corridors to exercise his injured leg. And after he was basically as recovered as he was going to get, she stayed. Always by his side.

The memory that would always forever be seared into his existence slapped him in the face.

“We live together. Or we die together,” he whispered.

Jyn’s pupils dilated, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on his.

“I meant it,” she said quietly. “But I didn’t think…”

Her hand reflexively clutched at the front of her thermal jumpsuit, seeking the only possession she cared about, the only thing she had left of her mother, her father, the only thing she had that was her own, special. But hadn’t she realized?

She had him.

Cassian took a risk, slid his fingertips over her cheek, which was soft and smooth and warm against his doubtless chilled fingers. But she didn’t flinch from his cool touch. Rather, she leaned into his palm as he cupped her face.

“I know,” he said. And he did know, could see the knowledge of it in her eyes, as well. He didn’t much believe in the Force, and despite the kyber crystal perpetually around Jyn’s neck, she had had a hard life, was a survivor, with a practicality that ran so deep it had taken him, a heartless assassin to make her believe in hope again.

Sometimes, though… Okay, often, he felt like that blastwave had swept them away, disintegrated them on the submolecular level. And then somehow they’d reformed. But their atoms had been mixed up, and he was as much composed of her stardust as his own, and she of his.

It was fanciful. And completely unlike Cassian. The Before Cassian. But now, it was absolutely the way he felt. It was foolish to deny it. And from the way Jyn was looking at him...

He leaned in, his nose brushing hers, his lips feathering over hers as he hesitated, waited for any signal from her, acceptance, invitation, or rejection.

It was an exquisite, agonizing eternity.

But then Jyn sucked in a sharp breath, one of her small yet strong hands grabbing the front of his coat, the other the nape of his neck, fingers curling in his hair. She pulled him into her, her mouth crashing against, hard and hot, and needy. Aggressive and tender at the same time. An inextricable mess. It was how they were. It was who they were.

It was perfect.

…

A little bit later...

“You have concerns regarding the mission, Captain Andor?”

Cassian had managed to catch General Draven in the rare moment where the man was actually in his office, sitting at his desk, reviewing… who knew what… intelligence, battle plans… food reserves…

“I do, sir.”

Draven looked up. Cassian had never questioned an assignment before. He’d always been such a good little soldier-spy. Even though it had been costing him his very soul.

Still, even with the feeling of Jyn’s kisses freshly on his lips, the presence of her burned into his entire being, questioning orders made him nervous. Almost as nervous as allowing himself to have wants, a sense of self beyond what the Alliance had given him.

“Well, what is it, captain?”

“I need a partner.”

Draven frowned in thought. “If I recall… the assignment is best suited for a single operative.”

Cassian swallowed but looked his commanding officer straight in the eye. “Then I won’t be taking this assignment. Or any others for Alliance Intelligence. Not unless I can work with a partner.”

Draven stood, did a quick pace behind his desk before he fixed Cassian with a hard stare. “You would desert the Alliance over Jyn Erso?”

Cassian wet his lips. Revealing such personal, emotional aspects to himself was… entirely against his nature. Jyn did not count. She was simply an extension of himself.

“I would choose her.” Cassian held the man’s war-weary, hardened gaze that still somehow seemed to have an iota of softness about the edges. “I have chosen her.”

We live together. Or we die together.

“She’s my partner.”

Draven sighed, but inclined his head.

“I’ll update the rosters. Make whatever alterations to the mission outline you view fit.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I don’t know if you should be thanking me, Andor,” Draven said, but an elusive smirk flitted across his face.

Cassian did not hide his smile as he left, to find Jyn, and to tell her she was the newest member of the Alliance Intelligence unit.

[saiilorstars]

Ch.14: The Heroes of Central City

[Current Masterlist] // Previous Story: It Had To Be You

Pairings: Barry Allen x OFC

Chapter Summary: As Christmas nears, Belén and Barry struggle to find the perfect present for each other on top of having to catch Mark Mardon all over again.

Pronunciation of OC: Bell-en. The last syllable has an emphasis so it’s not pronounced like ‘Helen’ would be.

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother​ @anotherunreadblog​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​ @stareyedplanet​ @perfectlystiles​ [If you’d like to be part of this OC’s taglist, let me know!]

The sound of a buzzing phone was the alarm that neither Belén nor Barry needed. And it wasn't just one of theirs, it was both their cellphones. Problem was...both phones were somewhere on the ground away from their bed.

"I'm not getting them," Belén sleepily murmured before turning to her left.

"Morning to you too," Barry exhaled and sped out of bed just to find one cellphone. In two seconds he was back, lying next to Belén. "There's like twenty calls from Cisco, from Caitlin, Joe..."

"Basically everyone we want to ignore right now."

Barry laughed and dropped his phone on the ground again then turned to Belén's side. He scooted closer to her and pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. "Pretty much, sorry. But good morning, sleep well?"

Even if Belén was looking at him, she could practically hear his big grin. "Don't be a show off." She turned to be on her back and shot him a look. "I don't like a show off."

"Me? Never," Barry wrapped an arm around her waist and closed the (already small) gap between them by scooting her up to him. "I'm so happy, you know that? Really, really happy." He nuzzled his nose on the side of her neck, missing the smile on her face.

He didn't have to tell her, she knew. She could sense it. And she felt sad when she realized she hardly heard him sound so content, relaxed. It was a testament to the challenging lives they led. She supposed it meant that they had to truly value every small moment of happiness they got.

"So am I," Belén said after a moment. She turned her head to meet his face and shared another smile. She then leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to his lips. Barry shifted so that he could move his arm from her waist to the back of her head where his fingers could thread through her hair. But of course, just when things were getting heating...the cellphones started buzzing again.

Barry reached for his phone he'd dropped on the floor and answered Cisco's call. "Yes?" his tone was rather sharp, which made Belén giggle knowing fully well Cisco would snap at Barry for it. Of course, once Belén saw Barry's eyes widen, she knew something bad happened.

"What is it?" she pushed herself to sit upright. Barry had hung up but he had yet to explain what Cisco so urgently called for. "What's happened?" She watched Barry's face morph into that concern and dread that was usually a part of him. It made her despondent, honestly.

"Mark Mardon broke James Jesse and Snart out of prison," Barry closed his eyes and brought a hand to rub his forehead.

"What?" Belén yelped. "But...what!?"

"I'm so sorry Bells," Barry sighed and dropped his hand to his side. "I thought we could have a day to ourselves but..."

"Hey, it's the lives of heroes, right?" Belén put on her best smile for him. She didn't want him feeling guilty for something that was completely out of his control. "Plus, just because we can't have a day to ourselves doesn't mean the nights are gone too." She smirked then kissed his cheek.

"Does that mean I'm invited again tonight?" Barry gave her own smirk.

"Tonight and all the days after that," Belén bopped his nose then told him it was time to get to work.

~ 0 ~

So in having to fight Mardon, Barry had to reveal the fact he time traveled last year when he was fighting Mardon again. It was a revelation that did end up bringing something good to the table, which was the right weapon they would need to bring Mardon down. Of course, while the team built the weapon - which would once again be a rod or a wand if Cisco had anything to say about it - all they had to do was wait...

...until the next day when the James Jesse, aka the Trickster, made his presence known in the city.

With one public video, he had challenged the Flash to a 'battle' that resulted in - surprise, surprise - a trap with a bomb. What was most surprising for Barry was finding Patty in the same spot, alone, and without intentions of getting back up any moment soon. When he told the story to his friends, no one could really understand the reasons of the woman to put herself in danger like that.

Then, Barry told Belén what happened.

And she knew.

"I'm only telling you this because I know you won't tell anyone else," Belén warned Barry as the two headed down the street towards Jitters.

As soon as she heard the story, Belén made it clear she needed to see Patty, and since Patty was on her lunch break Barry was taking Belén to Jitters so she could do it.

"Patty's a cop because her father was killed by Mardon and she blames it on herself."

"What!? Why would she do that!?" Barry couldn't find a logical reason for that idea.

"Because Mardon killed her dad in a bank on the day she was meant to be there instead. I believe it's called survivor's guilt?"

"That...that is awful…" Barry stopped just in front of Jitters and opened the door for Belén. "But as bad as that is...we can't have her snooping around where she's inevitably going to get hurt."

"I know that," Belén said, soon spotting Patty sitting alone at a table. "Which is why I'm going to talk to her."

"How are you going to explain the fact you knew she was in the same factory as the Flash?"

"It's kind of a rumor that I know you, remember?" Belén replied with a clean smirk on her face.

"Oh, right," Barry, too, began to smirk. "Kinda nice, don't you think?"

"You're an idiot," Belén shook her head, though she smiling too. "But I love you so you get a free pass. Get back to work!"

"Yes ma'am," Barry pretended to salute. He kissed her temple and left her in Jitters.

Belén took a deep breath then headed for Patty's table. It was no surprise to find the blonde cop staring blankly into the wall across her.

"Patty?" Belén approached cautiously. Patty startled from her thoughts and quickly looked down at her meal. "Hey, can I sit?"

"Of course," Patty said, politely, and looked back up with a fake smile. "Lunch break too?"

Belén looked around before she spoke again. "Patty, I know...about the...factory thing…"

Patty's eyes widened, but her shock was soon replaced with confusion. "How do you know that? Not even the station knows it."

"I, um...sort of know the Flash, you know? From a reporter's angle."

"Well…" Patty took a moment to process that, but found she wasn't that surprised either considering she remembered Belén had been saved by said vigilante at one point.

"Patty I don't think I need to go into detail on how dangerous that entire situation was, right?"

"You don't."

"Then why am I here about to do it?"

Patty gave a mild shake of her head. "I'm not about to get scolded by you, alright? You don't understand, just leave it alone."

"I don't understand?" Belén repeated, a tad offended by the statement. But of course Patty didn't know about her father who was murdered by another metahuman.

Patty's eyes glistened with tears. "No, you don't. I need to catch Mardon before he hurts anyone else."

"I'm a bit afraid to think of what you plan to do after you catch him," Belén said quietly. Because she was no stranger to the thoughts running through Patty's head right now.

Patty's surprise was clear, because really how would Belén know of her revenge plans?

"Finding him and arresting him is okay - it's what you do - but I can tell that's not why you're doing it. You're still thinking about your father…"

"And how could I not?" Patty snapped. "He was shot and killed by Mardon when I should have been there instead!" She jabbed a finger to her chest, "Me!"

"I'm so sorry, Patty..."

"This is why I became a cop. I joined the meta-human task force exactly for this. It'll be legal when I kill Mardon," Patty said, ever so darkly that it actually produced a shiver in Belén. "I have made my whole life about getting justice for my father, even if it meant I didn't have a life."

"Yeah, believe me, I've seen that story before…" Belén eyed the woman with sympathy on someone else's behalf. "And you know what? It doesn't lead to good things."

"I'll be glad to prove you wrong," Patty bitterly said in return. She started getting out of her chair, getting her purse too.

"Patty if we could just continue talking about this-"

"Belén, I'm sorry - I really am - but you just wouldn't get it. Let me handle this, alright?"

Belén didn't even have the chance to respond because Patty made it her business to leave as fast as possible.

That went lovely. Belén cursed herself for being so useless at that moment. She needed to make Patty understand that in the long run she would get even more hurt. Still, she would probably have to think about a new strategy before she saw Patty again.

Leaving Jitters, Belén checked her phone for the time and decided to at least give it another try with her mother. It was Veronica's day off at the station and Belén recalled something about Santa's lap and Axel. She could put two and two together and that is how Belén found herself at the city's square where Santa was meant to make an appearance to hear all the children's desires for Christmas.

It wasn't hard to spot the loudest four year old coming just from Santa's lap, holding a small, green present in his hands.

"I want to open it now!" Axel was complaining to his grandmother while said woman was barely paying him attention.

"You know the rules, Axel," Veronica merely said.

Axel groaned but his mood was lifted when he saw Belén coming towards them. He gasped and ran straight for her. "Auntie Belén! Look what Santa gave me!"

Belén smiled softly at the boy. "Wow, I wonder what that is."

Axel gave it a light shake. "I don't know. Maybe I can poke a hole, and…"

Belén put a finger on her lips. "Remember what your grandma said?"

Axel sighed, lowering the present. "The rules."

"Exactly," Belén chuckled then faced her mother. Veronica was looking cold as ever. "Mom…"

"You and I both know there is nothing to speak about until you decide that I am right about this," Veronica began with the calmest of moods.

"Mom, c'mon, aren't you a little tired of this same argument? You tell me what to do, I remind you that I'm not five-"

"But I'm almost five!" Axel cheerfully inputted.

"-and then you just yell again," Belén finished, but gave Axel a tiny smile of acknowledgment.

"This is a little more than our usual arguments, Belén. You don't get how dangerous things are out there-"

"I want to disagree there with the utmost respect. I know you're a cop so you know things about this world, but I'm also going to remind you that I have faced my share fair of metahumans now which gives me a little perspective of this world too."

"You have no need to be out there," Veronica gestured to the streets, "Endangering yourself when people like me - like the station - work to keep you all safe."

"What about Flash, Grandma?" Axel had caught onto (at least a bit) over what was being discussed and was eager to remind them of his own favorite metahuman. "He protects too!"

"Exactly," Veronica agreed without a second doubt.

Belén stopped for a moment to process this double-standard. Putting her hands together, she pointed them at her mother. "Do you hear yourself? You think it's okay for Barry to be out there doing what I want to do? Why would that be, mother? Because he's a man?"

"No, because he's not my son."

The words struck deep in Belén that for a moment she didn't really have words to create a comeback. Veronica looked hard at her daughter, hoping that Belén would finally understand where this was stemming from.

"We are the only ones left, Belén," she spoke quietly, "And the last thing I want is to see my only child here...die."

"That's not going to happen-"

"Who says? Who can guarantee me that you won't ever get hurt?" Veronica demanded. Belén truly thought about it for a minute and ultimately came to the answer that of course Veronica already knew.

"Okay, so...I can't promise you that...but I can't stop because you're scared. I have worked my ass off trying to get myself back out on the streets, and I'm not going to stop."

"But what is the need!?" Veronica frantically exclaimed.

"It's an explicable feeling, mother," Belén answered softly, a smile gracing her lips. "It's so...amazing...being out there, helping people. I can't give it up. I tried to once and it brought me here."

Veronica shook her head. She grabbed Axel's hand and threw a hard look at her daughter. "This is all nonsense! You're ruining our first Christmas together!"

"Me-" Belén was going to answer in her rightfully offended voice when Veronica added on.

"You have to give up that ridiculous idea of endangering yourself. Until then you can consider Axel and I off your Christmas list." Veronica hurriedly took Axel away.

Two fails in one afternoon - how lovely. Belén frowned and stalked off in the opposite direction.

~ 0 ~

"Wow, this place looks..." Barry couldn't even speak his thoughts on the greenhouse Shivhan had finished for Belén. She'd worked hard and it honestly paid off.

Even though it was still a room inside STAR Labs, it didn't give off the vibe. It had a glass ceiling like nearly any traditional greenhouse would have. It had dark mahogany wood outlining its squares. Most of the ground was actual hardwood floor but there were areas that had sand instead. Those areas then had sprouting bushes of plants. The room had been furnished with bought plants in their pots and others that Shivhan had grown herself. There were a couple of chairs around, though with time maybe they would disappear depending on what Belén would prefer later on. There was a couch as well, facing a small bookshelf that was already stocked up on books. Shivhan explained that they were botanical books, something she thought Belén would be interested in since it was part of who she was.

"I don't know why you act so surprised since you helped me build this place," Shivhan stood beside Barry, her arms folded. She tried giving off an indifferent vibe but Barry knew the woman was proud of her work and the fact he and everyone else had agreed that the place was great made her ecstatic. "You and Cisco, actually."

"We just put out your vision. This was all you," Barry pointed at her. "And Belén is going to love this place! I'm actually a little scared I'll never get her of here."

Shivhan then smirked. "Careful, Allen. I might steal your girl." Barry playfully rolled his eyes but then paused to consider the idea. Shivhan laughed and turned away, heading towards the threshold. "I told Cisco that we just need to watch out for the temperature in the room. Can't have it too cold like the other rooms. But other than that, I think it's all done."

"Good that you've finished your Christmas shopping then," Barry turned as well and went after her. "It's almost Christmas Eve and I still have no present for Belén."

Shivhan looked back with another smirk. "Hm, maybe I might actually steal Belén, then."

"I'm serious!"

"What do you want me to do about it? I just met you. I don't know what she likes. Only reason I could make this up-" Shivhan gestured to the room, "-is because I knew Belén needed one after seeing no other room for her here. So shouldn't you be having this conversation with say, Cisco? Or Caitlin? Or that adoptive sister of yours?"

Barry tilted his head at her, giving her the same look others had been doing. Shivhan had come to name that look as the 'why do we let you hang out with us?' look. It was kind of funny, actually. "I'm going to go," the speedster said after a moment.

Shivhan laughed. "Hurry up! Clock's ticking for that present!"

Barry wanted to argue that it wasn't...but it really was...

~ 0 ~

"I love when it's your turn to make dinner," Belén laughed when Barry set down a plate of lasagna on her kitchen table. "Cos, you know, you cheat and have Iris do it for you. She's such a good cook."

"How do you know I didn't do this?" Barry pretended to be deeply offended she was doubting his cooking skills.

"You can do breakfast but dinners just are not your stuff," Belén shrugged and sat down. She reached for the spoon to serve herself when someone knocked on her door.

"I'll get it," Barry said so she wouldn't have to get up. "Did you expect anyone today?"

"Um, no...not that I remember…" Belén said dismissively. Iris' casserole was filling the air and boy, oh, boy did it smell good.

"Delivery for Miss Palayta," a young blonde teenager stood on the other side holding a scarlet red gown covered with a protective plastic bag.

"Uh…" Barry stepped back and glanced at Belén. "Were you expecting the cleaner's?"

"Oh!" Belén exclaimed, dropping her fork. "Mark and Selena's wedding!" she came running up to the two men and snatched the dress from the teenager.

"Sign please?"

Belén, unfortunately, had already rushed off to go see the dress so Barry had to sign off. Belén was unzipping the plastic bag by the time Barry joined her in the living room.

"So...you've got a party?" he crossed his arms.

"Selena's and Mark's wedding, remember? I'm a bridesmaid! Oh look at the dress it's so pretty!" Belén gushed over her gown while her fingers worked to gently pull it out from its bag.

Barry began to smile as he watched her go back and forth in her rambles over what she would pair it with and what hairstyles and whatnot. It was nice to see some honest, pure happiness in the midst of their problems.

Belén pressed the dress to her body and turned to Barry. "What do you think? And be honest."

"I think...the Flash pales in comparison to your scarlet."

A laughter filled the entire room, and probably the entire floor. Belén dropped the dress on the couch and rushed to Barry, encasing him in a hug.

"I love you!" she planted a kiss on him. "With everything that's been happening I forgot about the wedding. You are coming with me, right?"

"I'll have to think about it…" Barry said, pretending to be thinking about it right then. "I mean...I think I may have to…"

"Barry," Belén frowned.

"Of course I will," Barry chuckled. "I'm sure it'll be fun."

"Yes," Belén gave him a short kiss then turned for the kitchen. Barry walked behind her, with his arms wrapped around her. "Oh, it'll be fun, you know. We can dance together. Oh, you can meet my dancing team. And Selena says her cake is going to be super good."

"Sounds great. It can be a glimpse into our future."

Belén stopped and immediately Barry stopped too, figuring he probably shouldn't have said those words. "Do you mean...like...for our own wedding…?" Belén dared to ask, tilting her head up. "You think about that stuff?"

Barry's face went completely red. Sure he had once said that he thought about a future with Belén but there was a difference between that and thinking about marriage. "I-I mean...I d-d-on't think...a-all th-the time, just...just the...the, um…"

Belén laughed and turned around, draping her arms over his shoulders. "That is so sweet to hear," she cooed, somewhat letting Barry relaxing. "I think about it too sometimes."

"Really?"

"Mhm," Belén nodded her head. "I just...I wasn't sure if you did too."

"The mind wanders sometimes…a lot...sometimes…" Barry admitted.

"You are so sweet, I love you! Does that mean you promise you'll be with me forever and ever?" Belén got on her toes to press her forehead against his. "And I do mean forever, you know."

With a smile, Barry nodded too. "I promise."

Belén obviously wasn't thinking as serious but it was still a sweet moment. She kissed him on the lips then returned to the kitchen to finally start their dinner. Barry stared hard at her from his spot, his mind 'wandering' again...only this time it wandered to a brand new idea he hadn't yet thought of yet.

A present.

Finally, he told himself and happily went into the kitchen.

~ 0 ~

The next day was Christmas Eve which meant anyone who hadn't yet bought presents was frantically fighting through crowds at the mall. At least, that's what Belén thought as she looked at her finished project meant to be Barry's present. She'd worked on it for days now, and because she had worked through the morning she'd finally finished that day. She was so excited for him to see it! Caitlin's suggestion to hand-make a present turned out to be such a good idea!

After taking a shower (to get rid of glue in her hair) she came into her room to get dressed. She had gotten Patty to agree to a small get together at Jitters since the woman was refusing to come to the Wests' Christmas party. Picking up Patty's present bag, she left the apartment and headed for the station.

Meanwhile, in STAR Labs, the rest of the group was waiting for news on Mardon and Jesse. The two finally made their presence known when Cisco's alarm system went off.

"What is it?" Barry rushed over to the desk. "Is it Mardon?"

Cisco checked the computer just to be sure. "That's definitely him. Atmospheric pressure just dropped 200 hectopascals."

"Where?"

"Central City Square."

A light gasp came from Caitlin. "The tree lighting ceremony."

Barry's eyes widened with panic. "There's thousands of people there." He sped off for his suit and took the weather 'wand' with him.

"So am I just not going to help, then?" Shivhan was left asking by the desk.

"Maybe it's best if you don't," Caitlin said kindly. "You don't know his ways, after all."

Mardon was standing over the ledge of a building merely staring out the night city view. Despite feeling the familiar gust of air, he didn't turn away. "Oh, glad to see you. Maybe you can help me."

"Help get back into a jail cell?" Barry responded with dripping sarcasm. "It'll be my pleasure, Mark."

"No. No, see, I'm trying to decide if I should kill everybody down there with a deadly hail storm, or... little trickier, with acid rain, what do you think?"

"Ah, let me think, um…" Barry stepped forwards, "How about neither? You see this wand here?" he waved said wand in the air. Mardon smirked and did the unthinkable. He turned to face Barry and held his arms on either side of him...before letting himself falling over the ledge. Barry quickly sped to the edge and found Mardon literally hovering in the air and slowly getting away. "Um...guys? He's flying?"

"He can fly?" he could almost hear Caitlin's frown. "Since when can he fly?"

Cisco had the logical response. "Well, he's using his powers to alter the air pressure around him to create pockets of updraft that can…"

"No, he can fly," Harry interrupted.

"Barry, get him!" exclaimed Jay.

Barry forced himself to get over his stupor and remember that Mardon needed to be caught quick. "Yeah!" he sped down the building and went after Mardon, intedning on bringing him down at all costs.

~ 0 ~

When Belén arrived at the station, she was nearly crashed into three times by different cops before she saw Patty.

"What is going on?" Belén set Patty's present on her desk. The blonde woman was crazily going through her computer to look up to her visitor. "Patty? I had to literally protect myself from the running cops. What's happening?"

"Mardon showed up," Patty responded through gritted teeth. Belén froze on her spot. "I'm trying to locate their precise location-"

"Their?"

"Well, I imagine if Mardon is around then the Flash will be too, but considering they can both move rather fast...I need to predict where they're going to stop."

Belén looked around the room and saw her mother coming out of Singh's office with that worrisome face. "Maybe you should leave this, Patty. Others can handle it, I'm sure."

Patty snorted. "I'm sorry Belén. I think our dinner is going to be cancelled."

"But-" Belén's phone decided to start ringing at that moment. "Give me a second," she turned away to take the call. "Hello?"

"Bells!" Cisco's voice rang in her ear. "Hi, listen, don't panic-"

"Unlikely," Belén said quietly so that Patty wouldn't overhear. Although the woman was so focused on her computer she probably already forgot Belén was there.

"-but the wand didn't quite work on Mardon."

"Yeah, see, I'd be panicking but I'm in public...and at the station!"

"Right, so, um, listen...Jesse put in bombs in a random selection of kids from the public Santa job a couple days ago and unless we find them Barry is probably going to be beaten like a pulp."

"Wait, what-"

"I was thinking maybe this is the time to use some of your Azalea powers to maybe help out while we try to find the bombs-"

"No, Cisco, shut up for a minute!" Belén made a hand gesture as if Cisco would see it. "Did you say a bomb in a present?"

"Yeah. There's about a hundred in the city wrapped in green-"

"Holy…" Belén turned to her mother. "Just give me a second, okay? Don't hang up!" Without waiting to hear Cisco's answer, she ran for her mother at her desk. "Mom!"

Veronica flinched with the sudden visit. "Belén-"

"Listen! That little present Axel got from Santa a couple days ago...what color was its wrapping?"

"Excuse me?" Veronica blinked lazily. "What?"

"Mom, please!" Belén tried her best to remain polite. "Barry's life is on the line so just listen and answer my question! The present thing Axel got...was it green!?"

Veronica still gave her daughter a crazed look but, seeing Belén's utter concern, she gave it a real thought before answering. "Well...I think it was. Yes. Why?"

"Hold that thought!" Belén then raised a finger to keep her mother quiet while she tended back to the waiting Cisco. "Okay, Cisco, listen to me carefully! Axel got one of those bomb present things and right now it's in my childhood house. Get it from there!" she covered the phone and asked her mother, "Axel is with Mrs. Andrews right?"

"Yes, but I don't-" Veronica tried to voice her confusion but Belén put her on hold again.

"Cisco! Get in by all means! Got it!?"

"Got it!" Cisco dutifully responded and hung up.

"Okay," Belén took a moment to breathe after hanging up herself. When she opened her eyes, she found an expectant Veronica in front of her, arms crossed and everything.

"Annah-Belén would you like to explain now or after I yell?"

"Mom, please, not the time, okay? Barry went out to fight that Mardon guy and they're basically going to kill him if Cisco can't deactivate the bombs in the 100 presents James Jesse handed out to kids as Santa! One of those kids being my nephew and your grandson!"

"See, this is why I don't want you to be the Azalea anymore!"

Belén groaned. "Are you seriously picking this moment to argue again?"

"I'm not arguing. I'm simply showing you a live example! You can't be the Azalea when things are like this!"

"Forget it, I'm going to help Barry," Belén turned to leave. "I'm just going to say goodbye to Patty and - where'd she go?"

Patty was no longer at her desk.

"Belén, you are not going anywhere!" Veronica came after her. "If you had any common sense you'd go home! Or at the very least you'd go to Mrs. Andrew and Axel!"

Belén couldn't listen to her mother at the moment as she hurried to Patty's desk. She checked the computer's last activity and saw Patty had more or less discovered the location Mardon would probably be waiting at. "She is going to get herself killed," she mumbled and started to leave for real.

"Belén! Are you listening to me!?" Veronica went after her again.

"Yes! I am!" Belén turned around suddenly. "I have been listening to each of your arguments and entertaining them! Just give it up already! I'm not stopping, okay? Nothing you say is ever going to change my mind. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go save my boyfriend's life and maybe my friend's too."

But just as Belén was turning to leave again, Veronica reached out for her arm. "You are not going there! It's too dangerous! Leave the job to me and the station!"

"I'm going there whether you want me or not," Belén pulled her arm from her mother's hold. "If you're that scared, then give me a lift."

"What?"

"Half the station's gone anyways. Look, Mom, with all due respect, I love you but you don't make my decisions anymore. I am going and that is that."

Veronica swallowed hard and stared long and hard at her daughter.

~ 0 ~

Cisco, Harry and Jay drove all the way to Belén's childhood home without actually stopping. Ignoring all the mad honks their way from other cars, they parked - all wrong - and while Harry and Jay started unloading, Cisco hurried towards the house.

"Cisco?" a child's voice stopped him midway.

Axel had been playing outside in their neighbor's front yard, with Mrs. Andrews overwatching from the porch. "Why are you going into my house?"

"Uuh…" Cisco ran a hand through his hair.

"Cisco! We're wasting time!" Harry snapped.

"Right!" Cisco them rushed to the door. "Uuh, I don't have a key!"

"Break the window!"

"I have the key! I have they key!" Axel shouted excitedly. With much huff and puff from Mrs. Andrews, who had has no idea why three men were trying to break into the house, the old woman and the boy crossed the street.

"He's not a stranger, Mrs. Andrews," Axel was explaining. "That's Cisco, that's Dr. Wells, and that's Jay. They're auntie Belén's friends."

"Who want to break into the house," Mrs. Andrews finished.

"Not break in," Cisco smiled widely, "Belén told us we could get in. It's an emergency, please."

"I'll just break the window," Harry said and started for the house.

"Alright!" Mrs. Andrews exclaimed and quickly handed the keys to Cisco. "But don't think just because I'm old I won't remember your faces if the police comes questioning me."

"Mrs. Andrews we've already met before," Cisco felt the need to remind the woman. "Countless times."

Mrs. Andrews paused and really looked at Cisco's face. "All you young people look the same," she mumbled.

Cisco awkwardly smiled and let the woman continue talking about their similarities, going as far as comparing him with her grandson. Meanwhile, Axel followed Cisco right in.

"Why did Auntie Belén say you could come in?" he began asking the third degree (4 year old style) questions. "Grandma says no one can come in except her, Auntie Belén, and Mrs. Andrews. And why are you going to my presents?"

"Uuh...because Santa wanted me to look through them to, uh, make sure they're all there, yeah," Cisco wasn't sure if coming up with answers for a four year old was trickier or not than coming up woth scientific ones.

"Oh...but then why did you need the key? Didn't Santa give you a magic key?" Axel suddenly gasped. "Or did he let you borrow his sleigh!?"

"Oh geez," Cisco forgot what it was like being around kids. But he soon forgot about that trouble when his hands found the current, bomb trouble.

"Hey! That's the present Santa at the mall gave me!" Axel chased after Cisco who was taking away (in his eyes) his green present.

~0~

"Let me get this straight-" Veronica began as soon as she parked the car just by the lighting tree sqaure, "-James Jesse gave Axel a present that is actually a bomb and so now your friends are breaking into the house to get it ans hopefully- through some way - turn it into a magnet so that it'll attract the other 99 bombs in the city? All in the meanwhile Barry tries staying alive by not fighting Mark Mardon James Jesse?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty much," Belén knew how that sounded and was expecting some sort of another round of scolding.

"That's...amazing," Veronica, instead, said, sounding truly in awe. Belén did a double-take just to make sure she'd heard right. Realizing what she said, Veronica quickly explained. "I mean, what you have to do to save the people. Can Cisco do it?"

"I have full trust in him, Harry, and Jay," Belén said without a second thought.

A loud crackling made both women turn away from their conversation. They saw a blip of a thunder clap striking down, and while they couldn't see it completely, they were sure of who was the target.

Belén unfastened her seatbelt and was about to get out the car when her mother caught her arm.

"Belén, you can't go out there," Veronica softly said, her eyes full of nothing but fear. "If it's like you said, then you'll only end up getting hurt like Barry is right now. What's the point?"

"They don't know me, I have that upper hand. I can sneak in and maybe take away the control for the bombs…"

"And if that doesn't work, hm? What happens then?"

Belén hated she couldn't answer that.

"Or what if, like you said, you lose control? You haven't actually been out anymore."

"Mom…"

"Just think about it!" Veronica begged. "Think about this logically - like a cop would - and tell me you think this is a gold idea?"

Belén had always hated when her parents were right. How was she supposed to argue against her mother if she decided to go and be right!?

~0~

"Why is my present in there?" Axel stood just beside Cisco who was working the machine that would hopefully get rid of the bombs. Neither Axel nor Mrs. Andrews had left the scene.

"It's a bomb, we told you," Harry bluntly said, once again making Cisco question how the hell that man had a daughter with those parenting skills.

"Oi, Grinch, cool it with the answers. He's still a four year old who believes in Santa," Cisco scolded.

"You don't believe in Santa!?" there was an alarm on Axel's face, like that of blasphemy.

"Way to go, Cisco," Jay gave him a pat on the back.

Axel would have continued to question Cisco over his beliefs had it not been for a streak of presents flying in the air above them.

"What in heavens is that?" Mrs. Andrews blinked and rubbed her eyes. Things came more as a shock when a breech opened up.

"It's Santa!"

"It's not Santa-" Harry had begun to say when Cisco shushed him.

"Look, Mrs. Andrews! It's Santa!"

~0~

There was a noise in the sky that crippled like thunder.

"That has to be them!" Belén figured Cisco's plan was on the move. "Maybe it'll be safe now…"

But just as soon as she said those words, there was a strong force of wind that they took notice of by the trees swishing more.

"That's Barry!" Belén almost laughed. The fear was gone and replaced by a heavy measure of peace. "Cisco's plan must have worked!"

"Which means we can arrest them now," Veronica pulled her radio to communicate the news and location.

But soon as she did, another police car swooped by. Belén leaned forwards and caught a blonde cop coming out of the car. "Oh no, that's Patty!" and the woman was carrying a large metal gun in her arms which signaled nothing good.

"What is she doing!?" Veronica asked incredulously.

"A mistake! That's what!" this time Belén didn't stop to chat and think. She flung open the passenger door and got out.

"Belén! No!" Veronica called after her but did no good.

Belén ran towards the scene and flinched in the process when Patty shot the gun at Barry. The metahuman had been grounded by a contraption around his leg. Its metals were binding him to the ground. "PATTY! Stop!"

Patty was shaking in her spot but she pulled out her regular gun nonetheless. "Belén, get out of here. This is a cop's job."

"No, this isn't," Belén didn't dare take a closer step. She could see Barry's concerned looks for both her and Patty. Neither wanted Patty to make the biggest mistake of her life. "This is a revenge plot - I know one when I see one."

"He killed my father for a couple hundred dollars," Patty gritted her teeth, her hand tightening on the gun.

"I know…" Belén sighed, letting her head hang for a moment.

"What was so important that my father had to lose his life!?" Patty practically shouted at Mardon on the ground.

"Mardon will get what he deserves," Barry tried to get through to her as well, but it seemed Patty was more determined than ever.

"He deserves to die!"

"Yes! Probably so, but not like this," Belén shook her head.

"You don't have it in you, pretty lady," Mardon flashed a sinister, teasing smirk Patty's way that just made the woman's blood boil.

"I've been asking myself that for the last four years, and now I know," Patty quipped.

"Patty, please just listen!" Belén begged. "You can't do it! This isn't you!"

"You don't understand..." Patty had begun in that same snappish voice she'd used earlier at Jitters.

"Yes, I do! I so do!" Belén frantically waved her hands. "Believe me, I am no stranger to that. Did you ever hear how my Dad died?"

Barry saw Patty's eyes flicker for a brief moment. "Bells…" he nodded Belén to keep going. If anyone was going to get through to Patty, it would be Belén.

"Do you remember that yellow speedster that was terrorizing the city last year?"

"Dr. Wells, yeah," Patty nodded, swallowing hard.

"He broke into Mercury Labs last year and he killed my Dad because he was in the way of some science gadget," Belén's eyes were glossy with the memory. "My Dad was just doing his job and some criminal decided my Dad wouldn't get to survive. So yes, Patty, I do understand your feelings. You feel like it's up to you to get that man and make him pay. And that's fine...but not this way. He doesn't get to take away more from you. Because if you pull that trigger, your life ends here too. You'll go to prison and everything and everyone you could have had in your life will be taken from you. Again. Mardon can't take anything else from you unless you let him."

Patty's gaze lowered to the ground but her trembling hands remained at aim.

Belén took a cautious step forwards. "When my Dad died, I nearly entered this identity crisis...I felt like nothing mattered so I...kind of let my life just pass me by...until someone told me that my Dad would have never wanted that. I thought he was annoying at the moment-" she crossed glances with Barry for a moment, both smiling at each other, "-but then I realized he was right. Our Dads, Patty, loved us. I didn't have to meet yours to know that. And I didn't have to meet him to know that he would never want you to do this. Please?"

Patty sucked in a breath and gave Mardon a hard look. The man was too weak to move thanks to Barry, but still upheld his teasing smirk, practically begging her to do it.

"Not over you," she muttered and kicked him so that he fell on his stomach. She put away her gun and took out handcuffs instead. "Mark Mardon, you're under arrest."

Belén released a hearty sigh and a great big smile started spreading across her face. She then rushed over to Barry, hoping to get him out of his own trouble.

"That was beautiful," James Jesse's heartfelt sob from the pole Barry had tied him to.

"When we're done here can you let me punch one of them just to feel like a part of this?" Belén asked Barry while secretly releasing some of her vines from her palms. She was hoping to pull the metal tendrils from the root.

"You are kidding me right?" Barry laughed.

Belén just smiled to herself.

~ 0 ~

Christmas at the Wests' wasn't complete until someone broke out the Grandma Esther's eggnog. The smell of whiskey and eggnog filled the room as Joe and Cisco came out of the kitchen passing out mugs.

"What a beautiful tree," Belén remarked when Iris put the last decorative figure on the tree - it was golden lightning bolt.

"Yeah, I did good," Iris proudly said, crossing her arms and looking at her masterpiece.

Belén tilted her head and stared at the tree beside Iris. "I didn't even get to put up a tree of my own in my place. Everything's been so hectic, and…" she sighed, "...last Christmas was a hard one so maybe that had something to do with it." Iris put a comforting hand on Belén's arm. "My Dad had this thing where he put this old picture of our family right on our fireplace mantle, above the stockings.. It was really old - I mean, I think I was seven?" Iris laughed. "But it reminded us that even if Mom and Dad were divorced and Maritza was married...we were still one family...however dysfunctional we were."

"Eggnog?" Cisco stopped by with two mugs for them.

"Don't mind if I do," Iris happily took hers and went by to take a seat on the couch with her father.

"No Harry?" Belén curiously wondered and looked around the room.

"No, Barry couldn't get him to come," Cisco gave a light shrug of his shoulders.

"Speaking of, where is Ba-"

But Cisco had seen Caitlin and Jay kissing under the mistletoe across them and just had to remark. "Finally!" he sarcastically called to them.

Belén promptly smacked him upside the head for that. "Leave Caitlin alone or next time you get a date I'll go full on annoying little sister."

"Don't you dare," Cisco shot her a look.

Raising her eggnog mug to her lips, Belén flashed a smirk. "I've got practice," she just warned.

Cisco decided it was better to end it right there and then. He noticed Iris opening the door to let Shivhan in, though the latter looked pretty out of place as she took small steps into the house.

"I, um, I took your invitation," Shivhan, uncharacteristically sheepish, told Iris. Iris laughed and reiterated the invitation still stood.

"Shivhan," Belén was quick to go and greet, though her big hug was startling for Shivhan. "You look great, by the way!"

"Thanks," Shivhan tucked some hair behind her ear. She was dressed in a high-waisted, black jeans with a long sleeved purple, blue and yellow striped shirt tucked into the jeans. Her high-heeled boots made her even more tall than she already was. "My, uh, my parents do Christmas until like 9 and then it'd bedtime so...I thought why not come here?"

Belén chuckled. "You made the right call. Listen, I really want to thank you for that greenhouse. It is insanely beautiful! I love it!"

Shivan beamed. "Really?"

"Oh yeah! Barry was right in being scared that I might never want to leave it!"

"I just wanted to thank you for saving my life."

"Ditto," Belén nodded. "So when do we start training?"

"December 27, that's the day I won't be hungover," Shivhan made a gesture to the wine bottles she saw sitting on the dining table. Belén laughed as the woman went to get herself a glass.

Hearing someone knocking on the door, Iris went to answer again and this time Patty stood on the other side. Patty had decided to come after all despite refusing to in the beginning. The woman came in wearing a red Christmas sweater and holding a bottle of wine.

"Patty!" Belén beamed. Patty walked further into the room and tried avoiding all the attention. "I'm so glad you came!"

"I think I deserved to," Patty admitted with a nervous laugh. "Did that come out mean? I so didn't mean that to come out mean - or disrespectful! Oh my - did that sound disrespectful?"

"My God there's two of them," Iris' eyes comically widened at Patty and Belén, though she quickly went somewhere else before Belén would hurt her for the comment.

"I'm really glad you did come, though," Belén said afterwards. "You deserve a nice Christmas night."

"Thank you," Patty said then looked at her a bit longer, "Really, thank you."

Understanding the meaning, Belén nodded her head. "I've been there - actually, I know someone else who's been there too. He helped me, and I'm glad I could help someone too." Patty nodded, sheepishly smiling.

The front door suddenly re-opened and just when Belén was about to ask Barry where he'd been (because honestly how could he be late to a Christmas party in his own house!?) when Axel came bustling through holding a bag.

"Axel?" Belén raised an eyebrow.

"I'm Santa!" the four year old happily declared, and loudly so that everyone would know the news.

Belén barely had time to react - which was to laugh - when she saw her mother coming in. "...Mom…?"

Veronica seemed awkward but everyone else nonetheless greeted her like they had done with Patty. "Barry came by...asking us to come…"

"Did he now?" Belén shot her boyfriend a look for not telling her.

"Surprise?" went the metahuman in return.

"Get out, get out right now," Belén pointed him to the living room.

"Love you," Barry stopped by to kiss her cheek. "C'mon, Axel, let's give those presents to everyone!" he then helped the four year old with his bag.

"Everyone gets one...except for Cisco!"

"What - hey! How come?"

"Because you made my present go to another dimension!"

Everyone comically looked at Cisco.

"Wha...well…" Cisco huffed, "...so did he!" he pointed a finger at Jay.

While the two argued it out, Belén approached her mother. "So did Barry have to get on his knees to convince you to come…?" she asked truthfully.

"Um, no...he really only had to stop by," Veronica bit her lip. "I wanted to come but I didn't wanna show up after...everything…"

Belén nodded, understanding the feeling. Veronica seemed to want to say something but her mouth kept opening and closing so many times.

"I am so proud of you," finally emerged from her mouth. Belén's eyes widened. "I know...after everything that's probably not what you expected…"

"Yeah, kind of…" Belén tilted her head. "We just argued so much, that…"

"Well, I am. I am really proud of you. I didn't...I had never seen you so...determined for something...than I did yesterday night," veronica swallowed hard. "Seeing you out there...talking Patty Spivot down from making a huge mistake...that was amazing. You saved her."

Belén's face was getting warmer but mostly her eyes were tearing up. She had never seen her mother so affectionate and open with her. "Y-you...you think…?" her voice was like a child's.

Veronica nodded her head. "I can see why you want to be out there now. You're good at it."

"Well, the Azalea has had her moments-"

"No, not that side. This side-" Veronica gestured to her daughter, "-is the hero. I mean, the Azalea is just you with a mask-"

"Well not exactly. My skin sort of turns green and…" but Belén realized she was messing up her mother's warm message and instantly shut herself up, "...never mind."

Veronica chuckled. "The Azalea is just someone you created so that no one would figure out who you were. But Belén is the one striving to do amazing things like yesterday. It scares me half to death knowing you'll be in danger, but...it's like being a cop...with a perk. A green perk," she made a face at the oddity of her words.

Belén smiled and hugged her mother. "Oh you have no idea how much this means to me, Mom. Thank you!"

For the first time in a long, long time, mother and daughter shared a deep, long hug.

It wasn't until Axel came running over with a present in hand that the two women broke apart. "Auntie Belén, here's your present!"

"But it's not midnight…" Belén looked at the rest who were already beginning to open presents.

"Let the kid pass out presents!" came Cisco's voice. In the end, Axel had given him a present as well and he was itching to get it open.

Belén took the present from Axel and he rushed back to the living room to continue giving out more presents. "Open it," Veronica encouraged Belén as the two came to join the others by the couches.

"Not gonna deny a present," Belén joked and began to unwrap it. Underneath, she found a familiar photograph with a golden string at its top. She pulled the picture up and laughed. "It's Dad's old picture for the fireplace! Oh my God I forgot how awful we all looked!"

"Let me see it," Barry came over to take a better look. The photograph was old but because it was laminated it lasted years and years. "Who's that one?" he pointed at a brunette little girl with a bowl over her head that had purple ribbons sticking out from it. "You or Maritza?"

"...Maritza...obviously," Belén cleared her throat and looked away.

Veronica laughed. "Oh I think not. This one-" she pointed to the second brunette girl sitting on the ground beside the only boy, "-is Maritza. Belén had a thing for climbing her Dad's back."

"And the bowl?" Barry was struggling not to laugh.

"I was a hunter…" Belén answered and rolled her eyes, "...with magic. I used to make my hair purple, okay?"

"Oh I can't wait to use this on you," Barry finally broke into his laughter.

"I will show everyone that video of you doing karaoke!"

"Now why do I have to suffer?" came poor Caitlin's question.

"Merry Christmas, dear," Veronica gave Belén another hug.

"Thank you," Belén grumbled a response. "Laugh it up, Barry. You know I can make you pay."

"Alright, alright," Barry handed her the picture, or at least tried to because Iris had swooped in and taken it to get a look herself...with Cisco...and Caitlin...and so on. "Let me give you my present, yeah?"

"Not before I give you mine," Belén rushed over to the three and pulled out her present for him. "Now please, if you don't like it, lie and say you do then throw it away when I leave because I spent a lot of time on it."

Barry graciously accepted his present. He carefully unwrapped the present that had a sort of book shape to it. Underneath it all was a scrapbook of some sort. As he opened it and passed the pages, he found it was an album full of himself as a young boy with both his parents. Belén was anxious as he passed the pages without saying a word.

"Caitlin gave me the idea of maybe making something for you and I got to thinking that maybe you had a lot of albums of you when you lived here and maybe that the old one - with your mom and dad - may have been lost or just...not touched in a long time so I thought 'let's give him a redo album' and I thought it was a good idea but since you're not saying anything maybe it wasn't," Belén was almost purple in the face from her speedy ramble.

Barry looked at her with the biggest smile on his face. He leaned in and gave her a kiss. "Thank you for this."

"Yeah? I did good?" Belén beamed.

"Yes! I love it! It's...it means a lot," Barry truly didn't have words to describe how he felt for her at the moment. Thankfully, he was sure that his present for her would encompass all his feelings. He set his album on the couch chair beside them and went looking for his own present. In no time did he pull out a small box for her. "Don't be deceived by the size."

With a laugh, Belén took it from him. "Last year you gave me tickets. The box can so be deceiving."

"Open it," now it was Barry's turn to be anxious.

Belén chuckled and unwrapped the present to reveal a small, black box. She opened it up and gasped when she found a rose-gold ring sitting inside. Her eyes nearly popped from her head. "I…"

"Don't freak out!" Barry said first before she thought of it wrong. "It's a p-promise ring!"

"I know what it was, you idiot," Belén playfully hit him on the arm. "Doesn't make it less shocking." The ring was silver with rose-gold accents on either side of it, the largest stone framed with sparkling, smaller stones. Belén couldn't take her eyes off it. "Barry, this is incredibly beautiful…"

Barry stepped closer to her, taking her free hand into his. "We both think about a future together, and I...wanted that to be seen by everyone. I know it's a huge step and I would definitely understand if you feel uncomfortable because of its commitment but I needed to give you this - at least to show you where I was. I love you Bells-" he raised her hand and kissed it, "-and I honestly believe you are going to be the last woman I will ever say those words to."

And swoon, Belén leaned forwards with a giggle escaping through her lips. "...maybe our future daughter?" she tested the waters of his confidence.

Barry's eyebrows raised in the moment he thought. "That would be a different sort of love, but I suppose in a sense she would be the on-"

Belén's heart fluttered with the thought. He had thought about things like that. She laughed and encased him in a hug, soon planting a kiss on him.

"Woah, woah, woah, there is a child present here!" Cisco's voice broke them apart. Both metahumans shot him a look but didn't let go of each other.

"You really do love to break up moments, huh?" Shivhan stopped beside him with a glass of wine in her hand.

Cisco rolled his eyes. "Not on purpose...most of the time." Shivhan shrugged and meant to leave when Cisco quietly called her name to stop her. "I want to say I'm sorry for digging into your past. It wasn't my intention to be nosy."

"You wanted to know who you brought into your team, I can respect that," Shivhan shrugged.

"Yeah but there's a difference between that and being plain...invasive. So, I am sorry."

Shivhan could see his honesty and decided that she should put him out of his guilty misery. "I got my powers the night of the Particle Accelerator but I didn't know it then. I didn't realize it until they started manifesting on their own." Cisco nodded that he was following but he would let her say what she wanted first. "And when they did start to manifest...it wasn't always in a nice way." Shivhan visibly swallowed hard at the memories. "I, uh, I started to trap things...like-like I would touch a book and next thing I knew it was all covered in vines until I squeezed it into nothing. One time..." she involuntarily paused for a few seconds, the guilt beginning to settle over her shoulders again, "...I was doing a dissection in a class and I accidentally trapped a dead cat in my vines. It was cut into pieces. I had such a hard time hiding that from people." Shivhan bit her lip the more she continued to explain, and honestly Cisco was about to tell her it was alright if she wanted to stop. She looked so frail, so...unlike the tough girl she usually was. "You were right, I was about to graduate when I dropped out. I didn't drop out because I wanted to, I dropped out because I needed to. I was becoming a danger to everyone around me. My girlfriend, she-she almost became one of my victims." She shook her head fervently, as if that would shake away the memory she was about to speak. "I was hugging her when I saw the vines creeping out of my fingernails...that's when I knew I had to stay away. I had to stay away from everyone that I cared about or else they might die."

"That's why you moved neighborhoods?" Cisco asked, keeping his voice as quiet as she had hers. Everyone else was in their own Christmas moments and if Shivhan wasn't going to share this with anyone else, he wouldn't say anything either.

Shivhan nodded. "Least if I accidentally killed someone, chances were they were criminals anyways."

"But you got better...you-you have your powers under control now..."

"Because I spent so much time practicing and training. But I separated myself from anyone I cared about until I knew for sure that I wouldn't hurt them."

"So then why don't you go back to school, then? Go back and finish your degree? And that girlfriend-"

"-oh, she's probably moved on. I made a pretty convincing breakup. And school? I don't know, I just..." Shivhan shrugged.

Cisco put a hand on her arm and offered her a friendly smile. "You don't have to give an explanation. Just...when you're ready, if you want to share this with anyone else, I'll be there."

"Yeah right," Shivhan sighed. "Belén wants me to train her. Can you imagine if I told her about this?"

"Believe me, she would understand," Cisco promised her on the spot. "Bells had her own trouble controlling her powers. In fact, you might connect better if you shared that with her."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. But in the meantime, it's Christmas, so..." Cisco raised his glass to clink with hers. Shivhan smiled and rose her glass to his.

After a few minutes, there came yet another knock on the front door, but this time no one expected another guest.

"Maybe Harry changed his mind," Barry offered an idea while Iris and Joe went to go answer. He distractedly swayed Belén a little. He didn't want to let her go anytime soon and she wasn't complaining either.

It had not been Harry, nor Nina as Belén later thought to add.

Wally West had come to visit.

[stevenbasic]

“Oh, we have to hire her,” Melissa giggled, pulling my phone closer, “She’s adorable...”

On her overstuffed white leather couch, in her elegant new office, Melissa and I were all but holding hands, mine wrapped in hers as she and I sat together going over these...whatever you’d call them...“Job Applications.” She was wearing a fitted grey skirt of tight houndstooth and a crisp white button-down showing several inches of cleavage. She was sitting close, so very close, and her perfume had already lulled me into quiet submission...

“This Bessie girl seems like a keeper,” she continued, pulling up the resume of the first girl I’d seen, the busty, long-haired, definitely-more-than-just-adorable ‘Bessie Bensen’. Melissa’s phone, her account, had the actual written applications of these girls, where all I had were the pictures they’d sent me. “She’s worked at Dairy Queen, a day-care center. Has lots of experience babysitting…” she listed, looking at Besdie’s photos once again, “that might come in very handy around here…”

“Wh-what..?” I stammered. This had gone too far. This was a medical practice! What kind of  experience did she think we were looking for? “How d-do you m-”

“Well, I think nurturing personalities can be very useful in the office,” Melissa explained, plainly, “Especially as we look ahead a little, how things are going to be changing…”

“Ch-changing?” I asked, obviously sounding confused. Alongside my irritation, I was uneasy, anxious.

“I have to get my girlfriend Shanette to apply,” Melissa continued, blithely ignoring my concerns, speaking quickly, the earnest excitement in her voice obvious. She sounded so confident, and her smile this morning seemed to suggest she knew some things that I didn’t. Like she had a secret...or a whole purse-full of secrets. “You’ll love her. She’s a nurturer, too,” she said, “Here, maybe I have an old picture of her....” She swiped through her phone for a few moments, but had a picture of ‘Shanette’ seemingly at the ready:

“I worked with her at Hooters. And Katie and Angie,” she explained, “so glad Angie already applied...she’s so smart. Katie I’ll call too…”

I noticed a yellow envelope, legal sized, on the low table in front of us. It had my name on it, across the bottom, and some other handwriting.

“Angie can work in accounts, maybe Doris’ old job, and so can Katie. Or Katie can work the front desk, maybe help organize. Shanette can.,.I dunno, we’ll find something!” Biting her lip in pause, Melissa looked at me, thinking. “Do you need a personal assistant?”

A wh-what? “n-n-no..I’m, uh...”

“She would take such good care of you...” she mused, biting her lip again in thought before speaking again, “but I like that being my job..!”

She giggled, and had already gone back to scrolling through my DMs, stopping on the video from a girl in glasses. “Columbia, huh?” she mused, “Is that a good school? Her resume’s reeeeeally long. But these girls look good too, don’t you think? I want to hire them all!”

“a-a-all..?” I answered nervously, knowing already this was out of my hands, unless I wanted to put up an argument, one I knew wouldn’t end well for me . There were, at my latest count, ten girls in my inbox. And more kept coming in.

Six people had left us.

“So, we need at least twelve full-time people...plus the new providers…” Melissa said, adjusting position on the couch, pulling her muscular legs up underneath herself and raising up higher. Her cleavage jiggled, invited my eyes to stay a while. She smiled, looking down at me patiently.

“You saw our postings for a new PA? A Nurse Atheist...tician?” she asked, sidling up closer to me. Her natural flirtiness was in high gear this morning, for sure, and seemed motivated with a new energy. It did weird things to me, cowed me.

What was in that envelope? There were papers sticking out of it.

“y-yes…” I stammered, deciding to not even bother to correct her pronunciation this time, doing my best to resist her advances, “but I st-still don’t know why-“

“Like we said in the job posting, silly,” Melissa giggled, reaching out to brush an errant strand of hair off my forehead, “to help us make the world more beautiful!” She regarded me, then looked at my phone again. “Like all these girls. Didn’t these pictures just brighten your day?”

What?? “B-brighten my duh..?” I began, trailing off, confused and feeling a little upset. I began again. “I...I need to talk to you about that,” I said, “I don’t think Randi should have told these girls to send me their pic-“

“But you said you wanted to be involved,” Melissa stopped me, “be part of the process this time…” Her voice had subtly changed, as if she was tolerantly acknowledging my complaints just to indulge me.

That made me even more upset. “y-yes but I didn’t mean like this!” I snapped, hearing the petulance in my voice, “And how can we say we’re just hiring attractive women??”

What was in that envelope? What did those papers say?

“Why?” she answered calmly, now tucking a lock of hair behind my left ear, “Don’t you think pretty girls can be smart? Good at what they do?”

I gulped, and realized I’d been staring at her mouth. Her teeth sparkled, her lips glistened. She had big features, large eyes, perfect cheekbones. Her makeup was done perfectly. I was having trouble answering.

“Maybe they can be even better, because they are pretty?” she continued, brushing aside my concerns, “And c’mon...would it be so bad if we hire a bunch of good-looking girls?” Her right hand, done fiddling with my hair, had slid behind me. Her fingers played with the nape of my neck, idly trying to soothe me. “I think it would be good for business,” she said, “lord knows we need it.“

Looking up at her, I blinked, noticing now how strong her perfume had become.

“And, besides…” she went on, voice dropping close to an amused purr, “wouldn’t it be nice to be surrounded by gorgeous women? Have them all at your beck and call?” Her left hand, now, snaked around my neck, and I felt her pull me subtly towards herself.

“s-s-surrounded?” I answered, barely able to do anything but repeat after her and struggle to not drop my gaze and stare directly at her chest.

Melissa giggled. “Maybe you’re starting to feel that way already?” She drew a deep breath, inflating her big chest to within inches of my chin. I felt her warmth, the bewitching thrall of her perfume, and knew how easy it would be for her to pull me to her breasts. “Maybe you’re feeling a little...overwhelmed? Surrounded by girls?” At that I felt it: her large, strong hands cupped the back of my skull, gently encouraging my head downwards to stare into her full tits.

”M-Melissa...I, uh,” I stammered, unable to do anything but fight all-out gaping into her cleavage. She had huge tits, huge. And they were right there, straining against the button of her blouse. “R-remember…” I managed, somehow finding my tongue and wrenching my gaze up to look at her, “I’m a...a married man…”

Melissa cooed. “Ohhhhh...so brave, so good,” she clucked, “But now that Sheryl has - y’know, filed - you deserve it. You deserve to have some eye candy, to get some attention from women…” Gently, she tilted my head down again. “...don’t you think?”

Wait...what had Sheryl done?

“F-filed?” I stuttered, once again finding the strength to tear my gaze away from her chest, actually pull back away an inch, “Wh-what do you mean?”

“oh…” Melissa answered, allowing me a little more space but keeping her hands in possession of my shoulders, “I thought you would have known.” She looked down into my face, searching my eyes with her concern. “She didn’t talk to you about it? Oh you poor thing…” Her eyes were deep with pity, but I couldn’t help but think she was fighting back a smile.

”wh-what??” I blurted, now feeling even more nervous.

“These papers,” she explained, releasing my right shoulder and turning me by my left towards the table, “these arrived today…”

==================================

Next post up at my Patreon 

[iknowthekoolaidflavor]

Surrexit lingua vestra cattus

Thomas appears to be a friend, but he is a demon after all.

Pairing: demon!Thomas x reader

Word count: Abt 2k

A/N: The translations came from Google, so by any means, please correct my Latin. My idea for demons and their jobs is loosely based on Supernatural because I miss it so much 😭

Take Latin, they said.

It will be fun, they said.

As a senior, you thought taking a language class would somehow lighten your stressful workload, and you were wrong. Latin kicked your ass every single week.

“Why didn’t I take Spanish?”, you groaned, dropping your head on the desk

The dorm room was empty, save for the stressed-out senior studying for finals. Your roommate, the English major, breezed through all their courses with flying colors. Avery was a natural when it came to writing and criticizing your essays. They were sure to graduate at the top of the class. Y/N, on the other hand, struggled to conjugate daily activities in past tense. College may not have been too much of a stressor in life, but this semester has fucked you over in more ways than one. All you wanted to do was graduate on time and that meant for the next two semesters you had to take 18 credits.

With the final tomorrow, you knew relearning the information was a lost cause.

Can I go home and tell mom I failed? I will never hear the end of it.

I’ll have to sit through another lecture about switching majors.

The wayward thoughts took over, filling your head with how disappointed your family will be. You wrapped your arms around yourself, head dropped to your knees when you heard something hit the floor. To your left, a book managed to fall off the bookshelf, landing on its spine.

You took your time getting the open book off the floor and reading the bookmarked page. Who would have thought your precious roommate would also be interested in demonology? The page was in English except for one paragraph at the bottom written in Latin. You read it to yourself, wincing at your terrible pronunciation.

“I guess demons aren’t real after all”, you laughed to yourself as you placed the book back on the shelf

You turned on your heel, then ran into something solid.

“Who told you demons weren’t real, sweetheart?”

The figure braced himself for the scream that escaped your lips. It happened from time to time. Someone thought demon summoning was a joke, he showed up, then boom instant nightmare. The demon towered over you. He appeared to be in his thirties. The wild, but neat curls framing his face were enough to cover the bottom of his horns. He stared down at you with his pitch-black eyes, bored with your screams.

“Are you done yet?”, he scoffed, “I’m not that bad”

“You’re a demon”

“You say it like it’s a bad thing. I’m no longer disgusted in the presence of humans…although I should be. Just gross and full of emotions”

The demon walked around your small dorm, looking the at the bookshelf before his eyes landed on the book you just put away. He immediately perked up and pulled it off the shelf.

“I can’t believe they still make copies of these. Are you a fan of mine?”, he stared at you with a suggestive quirk of his brow

“It’s not my book, and why would I be a fan of you?”

“Sure, it isn’t. It’s also my book. Had to get the word out somehow”

“Everything is already stressing me out. Why would I want to add a demon to the mix?”, you hissed

“To make your life less stressful. That is what we’re here for”

“A demon just steps in, makes your life better at no cost at all?”

The demon smirked as he took a seat on your roommate’s desk. He remained composed during your interrogation. Typically, the deals were quick. Everyone knew what they wanted, and he set the nonnegotiable price for their demands. This might take a little longer, but he was up for the challenge.

“You have a point. Nothing is free, sweetheart”

“Don’t call me that”

“Don’t call me demon”

“Aren’t you a demon?”

He paused for a moment, opening his mouth for a smart remark, yet it never came. A soft laugh came in its wake.

“Thomas. You can call me Thomas”

The name put you at ease, but only for a little while. You sighed as you sat on your bed, picking up your Latin notes again.

“…and you are?”

“A human that doesn’t need your help. Nothing is worth risking a deal with a dem—you. I can’t risk that”

“There’s nothing I can help you with?”

“No”, you stated with as much firmness you could muster. The room felt slightly warmer since Satan’s spawn appeared out of nowhere.

“Not even your Latin homework?”, Thomas grinned, watching your faux hostility crumble. He knew you needed his help, but he did not mind waiting for you to ask nicely.

“I’m studying for a final and no, you can’t”

“I’ve lived for over three centuries. I think I’ve picked up more than enough Latin in my lifetime. Why do you think it’s all in my book?”

“Why would I want your help?”

“Because you’ll fail without me”

“No, I won’t. Maybe. Who cares? I don’t need your help”

“Well”, he sighed as he stepped off the bed, “te visurum”

Thomas’s hand touched the doorknob. How bad can it be? Why is he willing to help you? If he apparated in your room, why did he need to use the door?

“For dramatic effect. Do you want my help or not? I know a trick or two to help you study”, he reasoned, aware that you were already screaming yes

“Fine, but this is time for studying. I don’t need any distractions”

Thomas was indeed a distraction.

He stopped after every three phrases to ask you about your studies, hometown, and why you summoned him in the first place. You did not strike him as the type of person to summon a demon unless they were desperate.

The space between the two of you were sparse. The longer he stayed, the warmer it felt. The thermostat in the room remained untouched since he arrived. For some reason, you felt your body warming up the longer he stayed around you. You sat up on the bed with your laptop in front of you, attempting to put some space between you. Thomas laid on his side, holding himself up with his elbow. Every time his horn brushed against your arm; your skin tingled, sending small trembles to places in your body you did not want to speak about.

“Do demons have tails too?”

“Does it look like I have a tail?”

“You have black eyes and eyes, I wouldn’t put it past you”, you smirked, “Don’t get an attitude with me, blame the internet”

“I can’t do anything about the internet taking artistic liberties for what we look like, but some of it is erroneous. Don’t need a tail or wings”

“What about your horns? What’s their purpose?”

Thomas grew silent. He never wondered why he needed his horns, dark eyes, or claws. They were just there. They were a part of him. It made people fear him whenever they crossed paths and easier to get what he wanted without threatening violence. Although he loved the latter, it made his life much easier. It did not take much for him to intimidate the strongest of men, but you seemed different. Besides the initial reaction, it appeared that there’s no part of you that feared him. If no one knew who he was, one would think you were talking to another human.

“Did I offend you or something?”, you asked, finally looking up from your notebook

“No”, Thomas blinked, “Not at all. It’s going to take more than that to offend me…”

“I’m still not giving you my name and I like a challenge”

Little did you know, so did he.  

“I’ve been living amongst demons for so long, I forgot that humans aren’t used to our appearance. It got pretty lonely down there, then I came here and not much changed”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone who won’t scream for the hills when they see you”, you giggled

“I may have found one already”, Thomas replied with a devious smirk, “I’m going to give you a little push. There’s no way you’re passing this class…”

Trying to look offended was no use. You knew you were not going to pass either, regardless if Thomas helped you or not. This was a lost cause, and you were back where you started. Thomas pulled himself off the bed, collecting his coat and fixing his hair.

“There is another way I can help you, darling”

You closed your laptop and notebook, moving to the edge of the mattress.

“I’m not making a deal with you”

“You don’t have to. I’ll help you pass, and you’ll give me nothing in return”

“Why?”

“Do you know how often college students ask me for penis enlargement? Not help with studying. Not passing a class or paying for tuition. But you? You’re different. I like you, which is why this one’s on me”

“You’re going to help me…for free?”

“I only want to help”, he said, offering up his hands in mock surrender, “Next time, you’ll know when you’re summoning a demon. Do you know how much danger you put yourself in? Also, I’ll be happy to know you passed that final because you’re bound to fail”

“Gee, thanks”

If he helps you pass, he may come back and renege on his offer. There is probably some fine print that says you will belong to him for all of eternity. On the other hand, no more nagging from your mother about your major.

“Fine, I accept”, you agree as you moved to shake his hand

“Oh sweetheart”, Thomas laughed, “You naïve little thing. You really are new to this. That’s not how we seal the deal”

Thomas took a step forward, stepping in between your legs. In that moment, you became painfully aware of the dampness between your thighs.

“A quick kiss, then we’re all done”

You allowed him to move closer. He placed his hands against your cheeks as he placed a soft kiss on your lips. Thomas took his time kissing you, nails ghosting above your collar bone. The gasp that escaped gave him space to slide his tongue in your mouth. You found your hands tangled in his shirt, trying to pull him closer. Thomas happily obliged, placing his hands on the mattress, giving you the chance to wrap your arms around his neck.

Thomas’s hands inched up your shirts as he left rough kisses on your neck. The moan you released when he bit down on the flesh made him weak. His fingers wrapped around your hair and gave a slight tug. When your eyes rolled to the back of your head, he pulled harder, trying to hold himself up with his cock pressed into your thigh. You became so pliant in a matter of moments. This was all he wanted.

Before his hands could reach your bra, the faint sound of keys rang from the other side of the door. Panicked, you pushed Thomas off you.

“See you soon Y/N”, he winked before disappearing

Avery walked in as you were picking their book off the floor. You were quickly pulling your shirt down and trying to fix your hair.

“Told you the book was good”, they smirked

“Can I borrow it for a little longer?”

“Sure”

The next morning you woke up with last night as a distant memory. You quizzed yourself on past and present tense while you showered and focused on your phrases as you got dressed. You knew you were going to pass, something about today just felt right.

You stepped out your dormitory and headed to class. Across the yard, one of your classmates called out to you.

“Y/L/N, want to walk together?”

There was no reason to say no, but when you opened your mouth to say yes, nothing came out. You tried over and over, but each time, your mouth moved, your voice failed to follow suit. You stood in the middle of the yard. Everything felt like it moved in slow motion. Thomas took something valuable to you, and you were none the wiser to his game.

You yanked the demon book from your backpack, intent on summoning the very demon you now despise. In the middle of the cover was a sticky note with a message that made your blood boil.

Quid est? Surrexit lingua vestra cattus

 te visurum - see you later

Quid est? Surrexit lingua vestra cattus - What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?

[squadrablog]

ok I've joined the Ghiaccio hype train, could I request a Ghiaccio fic with a reader who doesn't like sudden loud noises and will definitely cry if you yell at them? they're really intimidated by Ghiaccio but they're comfortable with the rest of La Squadra, so he's struggling to be a good team member to someone who's always nervous around him. feel free to make it romantic or platonic, your writing is amazing!! 💕💕

Here you are! With the stuff I ended up focusing on I thought that shoehorning a romance in would feel weird, so I focused more on exploring the beginnings of a platonic friendship with him. Lots of awkward Ghiaccio and miscommunication but it all ends up good. :^)

Ghiaccio & Reader (platonic, gender neutral)

Ao3 Mirror Here.

Word Count: 3921

Warnings: Reader has childhood trauma w/ loud noises, not gone into in depth. Assassination job implied but doesn’t happen in text.

Under cut for length!

The last thing you saw yourself doing with your life was becoming an assassin, but here you were. You were a tough kid, scrappy and resourceful when it came down to it, but only because you had to be to get by. You always thought you’d eventually leave that old life behind. The gunshots echoing into the night from rival mafias squaring off to claim the neighborhood you lived in as their territory. The shouts from the man who took you in when you had nowhere else to go, only to berate you when you failed to pick enough pockets to meet his quotas. The way the older and meaner children would torment you, taunt and deride you, whenever you let your vulnerability show.

And you had, more or less, left those parts of it behind at least. When you joined Passione as a last ditch effort to survive you were given a sense of stability that you had never had before, and after initiation when your stand manifested as something powerful and deadly, it didn’t take too long for you to get placed into La Squadra di Esecuzione, Passione’s team of elite assassins. 

As a stand user working with other stand users you rarely relied on guns to get your work done. You were no longer struggling to get by, and although your new Capo held his team to high standards he made sure you had ample training and was patient with you while you were still getting your footing. All your teammates were surprisingly supportive; even if they were wary of outsiders, when it came to their own family they looked out for each other.

It was a dangerous life, not without its own anxieties, but it was a much quieter life. It was a life in the shadows, with a roof over your head, with work that allowed you to use stealth and silence. Even if you couldn’t exactly say you were thrilled about being an assassin you were at least surrounded by people who genuinely cared about you now, watched over by a man who never raised his voice at you for things outside your control, and most comforting of all: you never needed to use a gun.

Not all loud noises set you off, just the ones that reminded you of the violent instability of your childhood and the cruelty of your guardian and peers. Your new teammates could get pretty noisy and spirited, but the boisterous and jovial nature of their laughter, even from their more intense teasing, was a comforting change of pace. You didn’t doubt your value or the fact they respected you.

Well, mostly. There was one teammate who was a bit harder for you to let your guard down around.

His name was Ghiaccio, and to say he was loud would be an understatement. When you first met him he had been a bit standoffish, but so were Risotto and Prosciutto. You knew it would take some time for everyone to accept you as a real part of the squad, and you were ready to be patient. But as you quietly observed everyone for those first few weeks, getting a feel for their individual personalities and their dynamics with each other, you found yourself very intimidated by Ghiaccio. He was able to pal around with the rest of them, even if he was gruff as a default, but when something upset him it was like a switch had been flipped.

He was critical of his squadmates’ performance out in the field, and he never hesitated to offer his critiques regardless of how little anyone wanted to hear them. He was critical of the way people talked, constantly nitpicking everyone’s pronunciations and word choice. He was critical of the way that chores around the house got done, judging everyone’s efforts by timeliness and thoroughness.

Everyone was able to brush him off most of the time without problem. When they actually valued what he had to say they never seemed to take the mean way he said it personally. They’d had plenty of time to get used to him and sift through the bullshit. They knew when something actually mattered to him and when something was just him blowing off steam for the sake of it. They knew when it was fair to ask him to shut up and when it was best to let him get it out of his system.

You steeled yourself as best as you could in those first few weeks, just telling yourself you needed some time to understand his quirks like the rest of your squad did, but your opinion changed immediately after your first mission with him.

“Is Prosciutto teaching you anything?” he barked out at you after you two finally managed to take out your hit. You flinched and looked away from his intense gaze. You were a bit anxious about being alone with him for the first time, and you wanted to give him your best effort to impress him, but being on so on edge caused you to make some big mistakes.

“Well?” he demanded when you said nothing. You had assumed it was a rhetorical question.

“Y-yes?” you stuttered out.

“Then you’re the one accountable for fucking up today. What the hell was that?” he asked, his question ending in something similar to a snarl.

Something that was different about working with Ghiaccio as opposed to working with the others was that he argued out loud to no one in particular about random topics that pissed him off. At first you thought he was expecting you to talk to him about how nonsensical some phrase was that Formaggio used before the two of you left, and you listened attentively, but he never gave you any room to respond. Eventually you realized he wasn’t really conversing, just yelling to yell. It was very distracting and it only made you fidget and lose focus.

“I… well…” you choked out. “It’s usually quieter… on my missions, since my stand is- well, since my stand is made for stealth and-”

“Me talking prevented you from doing your job correctly?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. You just shrunk even deeper within yourself. The last thing you wanted to do was insinuate your mistake had been his fault. There was no way that wouldn’t provoke his ire.

“N-no! You didn’t do anything wrong! It was me, I’m really sorry! It won’t happen again!” you squeaked out.

“Better not,” he grumbled sarcastically with a huff before turning to walk down the street towards his car. You followed, keeping a good distance behind him, not looking forward to the ride back to the base.

---

That had been weeks ago. While you had been doing a decent job at tolerating Ghiaccio before that mission, afterwards was a different story. You actively avoided him, checking if he was in rooms before entering, excusing yourself when he came into a room you were already in, shutting yourself in your room upstairs when you heard him start up on a rant somewhere on the main floor.

Eventually it was shamelessly (or perhaps shamefully) obvious to just about everyone.

“Dude, what happened on your mission with them?” Formaggio asked in a hushed tone one time after your footsteps had disappeared up the stairs. “They’re terrified of you.”

“How the fuck should I know? They haven’t said anything to me about it,” Ghiaccio shot back.

“Uh, yeah, duh. That’s what I’m saying. They won’t even sit in the same room as you,” Formaggio muttered.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” he said, scrunching up his eyebrows. “But it’s not like they talk much to begin with.”

“Are you kidding?” Illuso interjected, inserting himself into his two teammates’ conversation, much to Ghiaccio’s annoyance. “I can get them to prattle on for hours about themself. They’re a real chatterbox once you get to know them.”

“Illuso, dude, have they told you the story about their mission with Pesci down at the wharf?” Formaggio asked with a big grin.

“Fuck, I almost forgot about that,” Illuso replied with a chuckle. “What about the time where-”

“Hey! Shut up for a second,” Ghiaccio snapped. “We’re all talking about the same person, right?”

Upon being interrupted Illuso narrowed his eyes at Ghiaccio before turning to Formaggio. “It’s obviously because of Ghiaccio’s poorly controlled rage. Have you ever seen the poor thing freeze up over a gunshot before?”

“No, but I can imagine. One time I tried scaring them from behind and it took them ten whole minutes to recover,” Formaggio responded.

“I haven’t done shit to them, what possible reason do they have to be scared of me?” Ghiaccio asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well, what happened on that mission?” Formaggio asked again.

“It was pretty standard, I killed the bastard while they assisted. They did fuck up pretty bad, which is typical during training, so I pointed it out for their benefit. Then we left,” Ghiaccio recounted. “Nothing else happened.”

Formaggio raised an eyebrow. “What did you say?”

“I don’t know! I think I asked if Prosciutto was doing his job right since they didn’t seem too confident. I asked if there was anything that might have contributed to their lackluster performance, but after thinking it over they said that it was on them.”

“Sounds pretty level headed and analytical of you,” Illuso said, stroking his chin. “Are you sure that’s how you said it?”

“Probably not in so many words, I was probably more casual about it,” Ghiaccio grumbled. “Why does it matter how I said it? What’s important is what I said.”

“Ghiaccio, your brand of casual is a few decibels above what’s average,” Illuso said.

“Not to mention the casual expletives, or the casual sarcasm,” Formaggio added. “Are you sure you didn’t casually tell them to go fuck themself without realizing it?”

“No! I mean, if I was stern with them it was in the context of training!” Ghiaccio insisted.

“Are we being trained right now? Is that why you’re yelling at us?” Illuso asked with a smirk.

“This is just how I talk!” Ghiaccio said, bringing a hand up to his temple. “Ugh, I don’t fucking know! Maybe I yelled at them? I remember being very straightforward. They seemed kind of on edge, but I just assumed that’s how they always are!” He dropped his hand and turned to look at his two teammates. “Are they really not like that on missions with you?”

“Not anymore,” Illuso said with a shrug. “At first a bit, but they’re pretty reliable now.”

“You’ve got to go slow with them. They’re easily set off, but if they know they can count on you they’re able to push through it,” Formaggio said.

“My stand is invincible and I never even let the guy near them. There’s no one better suited for watching someone’s blind spot than me,” Ghiaccio said with his hand splayed out on his chest.

“I mean, like… emotionally,” Formaggio said, scratching the back of his head. “If I was to put myself in their headspace I’d say they probably think you hate them.”

“I don’t hate them,” Ghiaccio spat loudly.

“Good! Now step two is letting them know that,” Illuso said, clapping a hand on Ghiaccio’s back, causing his glasses to slide down his nose.

Ghiaccio grumbled and pushed his glasses back up. He knew that things were weird between the two of you ever since your mission, but it never even crossed his mind it was because of something he said. Is this what Prosciutto felt like training Pesci? But even Pesci had never been avoidant or scared of Prosciutto for all the tough love that he gave him. Pesci looked up to him like an older brother.

If he was really the only one in all of La Squadra that you were uncomfortable around, then he supposed it was on him now to figure out why.

---

The base was pretty quiet today, with a lot of missions landing on Risotto’s desk this week. While you were quite fond of your new teammates you liked having the common area all to yourself on a quiet evening, especially if you were curled up with a novel. When you first started living at the base it felt like a luxury, but even after you had gotten used to the quiet its novelty hadn’t worn off for you.

The sound of a key jingling at the front door had you peeking over your book. When Ghiaccio appeared framed by the living room entrance you held your breath. Hopefully he’d be going upstairs… no, it looked like he was coming into the common area. That’s okay, you could move, so you started standing up, except… he was looking right at you, heading in your direction.

“Sit down,” he said stiffly, and after a beat he added, “Please?”

“Uhh! Okay!” you said, sitting back down and bringing your book right back up to cover your face.

“Can you also, uh. Please. Put the book down?” Ghiaccio said, his voice strained to maintain a monotone and flatten out any inflection. You did as he asked, although you still couldn’t meet his eyes, and he just stared at you awkwardly.

“Uh-”

“Hello,” he said, and it left his mouth at the exact same time your muttered exclamation had. Another awkward pause.

“Hi?” you said, unsure. This wasn’t what you were expecting from your next conversation with the man, for as long as you had postponed it. You thought he’d be demanding to know why you were ignoring him, or getting on your case about being too sensitive to handle his criticism on your last mission. Maybe that was yet to come?

“You are afraid of me,” Ghiaccio stated flatly. Then perhaps he realized he wanted to ask it as a question. “Yes?”

“Oh, no, I’m…” you muttered.

“Of course you are,” he said quickly, cutting you off before you could mumble out an excuse. You got pretty embarrassed by that, but you swallowed and moved your eyes up to gauge his expression. He didn’t look angry, but he looked hyper focused to the point of distress. His lips were pressed together tightly as if he was trying to hold back from speaking again.

“I’m sorry,” you said.

“For being scared of me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. He was being sarcastic again, wasn’t he?

“No, I… I mean… I’m sorry for,” you started, trying to think of something legitimate to actually be sorry about. “For fucking up on the mission.”

“Did fucking up on the mission really bother you that much?” he said. Not only were you stupid for fucking up the mission, but you were also stupid for letting it bother you for so long! What did he want you to say?

“No, I mean…”

But Ghiaccio cut you off with a long loud exhale. “Look, I’m not great at this kind of thing. I understand that I make you anxious, and I understand that for whatever reason it’s hard for you to talk to me, but I really can’t understand what people say unless they drop all the bullshit.” When you frowned and looked away he tried again. “Not bullshit, fuck, uh. No, not fuck... It’s just that. I need you to say exactly what you mean. I can’t tell what people are thinking unless they make it… easy for me.”

You looked back at him. Whatever he was here to talk about with you, he was trying very hard not to raise his voice. The way he was talking to you was too stilted to be anything but intentional. If he was doing this for your sake, then you would try to meet him halfway. You took a moment to think, to choose what you wanted to say carefully.

“I don’t do well with loud noises. I also… take things very personally. I’ve been worrying that you…” You took another second before committing. “...Hate me.”

He pressed his lips in a thin line again as some noise tried to escape his throat, perhaps an instinctive denial. “What about me makes you think that?”

“Well… you seemed pretty disappointed in me after the mission.”

“I was checking in with you. I wanted to make sure Prosciutto was properly training you.”

You raised an eyebrow. “But… but you sounded really angry and sarcastic.”

Ghiaccio closed his eyes and thought about that for a second. “I probably was angry, but not at you. You just fucked up on something so basic that I had to wonder if Prosciutto was actually teaching you anything useful.”

“That’s… not how you said it though,” you said, feeling defensive. “I… I know I did something dumb… but I’ve never messed up with my stand like that before. It was different on that mission.”

“Me talking to myself?” Ghiaccio asked. He had been fixating over what he said to you at the end of that mission for days now, trying to remember all the details. He recalled how you had started with one explanation, but you quickly retracted it.

“You were… so angry the entire mission,” you complained. “Everyone else is quiet on missions with me because my stand is better suited to it.”

“It wasn’t a stealth mission,” Ghiaccio countered. “We were using your stand for something different. I wasn’t even talking to you.”

“I know!” you groaned. “You weren’t trying to distract me, but when things get too loud I…”

“But you took it back. You said it wasn’t me,” Ghiaccio said, leaning forward. His voice had risen just a little, but when he noticed how you reacted to that he tensed up.

“I took it back because I was afraid of upsetting you!” you said, leaning back into the couch as far as you could. “Because when I brought it up… you were mean about it… so I took it back! I thought you were trying to tell me it was my fault, so I took the blame like I thought you wanted!”

“I was… I was asking for clarification! If I did something that caused you to fuck up then I want to know that I did so we can talk about it!” He was clenching his fists to keep his upward inflections from becoming full-blown yelling.

“None of that came across!” you complained. “Like… maybe you technically said those things, but the way you said made it come across completely different!”

“What about you? Now you’re telling me that you meant something completely different from the things you actually said to me!?”

“I-I… but I was obviously upset! I was obviously just trying to appease you!”

“How was it obvious? I thought you were upset because you fucked up! No one likes fucking up!”

“Yeah, no kidding!” You realized at this point that your own voice was starting to rise, which was making Ghiaccio raise his to match yours, and you took a deep breath before speaking calmly again. “I was upset because I was afraid.”

It was quiet again for a little while until Ghiaccio broke the silence.

“Being mean and angry comes really easy to me,” he said, running his fingers through his curls. “Even when I don’t realize it, I still am. Even if I think I’m being reasonable, people misunderstand. I’ve been so used to the others actually being able to take it that I forgot how bad it was.” He scratched at his head a bit. “I also have a hard time telling how loud I actually am until someone points it out.”

You sat there for a moment, soaking that in, before you gave a small amused huff with a half-smile on your face. “I’m not great with loud noises because of what they mean to me. Gunshots remind me of a time when I wasn’t safe… but I can protect myself now, and I have other people who will protect me too. But yelling reminds me of… how I was never good enough for anyone.” You tapped your fingers on the cover of the book on your lap and shrugged.

“I hear from the others that you’re really skilled and reliable on missions,” Ghiaccio said. “I didn’t see that from you when we worked together, but maybe that’s because I was the one who fucked up.”

“But you didn’t...” you started.

“I fucked up by not meeting you where you were at. You’re new. I don’t know you, I don’t know what you’re like. If we had talked beforehand, if I had worked with you, then you probably wouldn’t have made that mistake. I was taking the lead on that mission, it was my job to train you to use your stand in an unfamiliar circumstance. I use missions to get out all the shit that makes me angry, since I don’t need to stay quiet. You don’t work like that. You had no idea what I was yelling for. I never told you how I do things, I just expected you to brush it off like everyone else does.”

You blinked a few times. You had been pretty quick to blame yourself for your own shortcomings, but hearing him say that really recontextualized that entire mission experience.  You might have fucked up, but it was now obvious that he did not hold it against you. “That’s surprisingly self-aware of you.”

He rolled his eyes and set his elbow on the couch’s armrest, plopping his head on his fist. “You don’t know me either. I’m more than a raving heartless bastard. Stuff like this… not understanding why other people think the way they do, or what I’m doing wrong… it really fucks me up. I don’t hate you. You’re a part of my family now and I genuinely want to help you get stronger. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

Ghiaccio was nothing like you thought. He was actually really sensitive and introspective. You could tell it was hard for him to confront you like this, almost as hard as it was for you to be confronted. You appreciated that he wanted to put in the effort to have a relationship with you.

“Thank you Ghiaccio. And I’m sorry I avoided you instead of trying to talk about it like this.” You reached over and placed your hand on his shoulder with a gentle smile. He seemed taken aback by the contact, but he relaxed after a moment.

“Are we… good?” he huffed out.

“I think so!”

He let out one long exhale that seemed to go on forever. “Thank fuck,” he muttered, before turning to look at you. “Goddamn it, sorry.”

“It’s not the swearing that bothers me,” you clarified. “It’s the intention behind it. You’re… uh… fucking good, my dude.”

He let out a snort at the awkward way you said that before bringing his hand up to cover his face, looking away in embarrassment.

“Aw, no, that was cute,” you assured him, which only made it worse.

“Well, if we’re done here then I’m heading to bed,” he said, and you glanced at the clock in the living room. It had gotten pretty late. He stood up and started walking towards the stairs.

“We have a mission together again this weekend, right?” you asked, and he looked at you over his shoulder.

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“I’m looking forward to it,” you said with as much enthusiasm as you could muster. And you meant it. “Goodnight!”

“...Night,” he said, before he disappeared around the corner.

[nitewrighter]

We've had Uncle Hanzo reading to little Rei but what about little Rei reading to Hanzo?

“Omnicode cipher one-one-eight-Delta-B underscore six is for...” 5-year-old Rei yawned, “Puhhh--pace--Peace!” She was tucked practically into a ball against Hanzo’s side, with Hanzo’s arm draping across the back of the loveseat, arching over her as he leaned his head back and rested his eyes. The late afternoon sun was streaming through the window and turning the insides of his eyelids sepia-red. A part of him knew he would probably stay awake if he took his hoodie off, but Rei was leaning against him and had finally seemed to stop fidgeting and he didn’t want to reset her posture by the action. He felt Rei nudge against him and he blinked his eyes open.

“I was listening--” he said, his voice a little groggy.

“But is it right?” asked Rei.

Hanzo gave a glance down to the page, the text was laid out in both english and Omnicode, with blocky, vivid illustrations showing a human and an omnic holding hands with yellow sunbeams streaming behind them and the Omnicode character for ‘Peace’ smack dab in the center of the sun. One corner of his mouth tugged up. Zenyatta had lent the book, Omnicode Adventure, to them to ask their opinion on it before the Shambali would publish it as a sort of gesture of goodwill between humans and omnics, but Hanzo wasn’t sure if a 144 character language with numerous complex context-and-sequence-shifted meanings translated all that well to a children’s book. It certainly felt far from an adventure.

“Yes, it’s right,” said Hanzo and Rei turned the page. 

“Omnicode cipher one-one-eight-Delta-B underscore seven is for....” Rei rubbed her eyes, “Family. Also Proh--uh...”

“Sound it out,” said Hanzo.

“Prooodue-”

“Little ‘u’ sound.”

“Produc--Produc-tee-own.”

“Production.”

“Production Seeress.”

“Production series.”

“Production series,” Rei nodded as she repeated.

The illustration for this cipher featured both a human family on one page and a group of identical omnics standing with their arms slung around each others’ shoulders on the other. Rei turned the page, rubbing one eye before adjusting her hold on the book.

“Omnicode cipher one-one-eight Delta-C underscore one is for---” Rei started to read when the door to the living room opened and McCree walked in, sighing and stretching. 

“You would not believe what happened with Jack at Winston’s latest--” McCree paused at the sight of Rei on the couch, “Oh hey, Sunshine.”

“Uncle Jesse, I’m reading!” she said.

“Oh yeah?” said McCree, setting a bag down in one of the chairs before plopping on the other side of Rei on the couch, “Something happen with Ange?”

“Something about a vid-com emergency meeting with one of her colleagues,” said Hanzo, with a hand wave, “And with Genji on that mission in Numbani... Rei gets to spend the afternoon with us.”

“And I’m reading,” Rei said again, a bit of that Genji theatrical cockiness in her voice this time. 

“I can see that,” said McCree with a chuckle.

“Zenyatta was kind enough to lend us a book to read,” said Hanzo.

“Really?” said Jesse, “Because you can’t get over your grudge against Little Lamby Lambkins?”

“Ha-ha,” said Hanzo drily, “No, this one is more... educational. If you want, I could get started on dinner while you take over.”

“Oh well you know I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” said McCree, taking his hat off before looking at Rei, “What do you think, Sunshine? You wanna read that book to me?”

 Rei excitedly gasped and bounced over to McCree’s side of the couch, shuffling her shoulders a little as she pushed under his arm and flipped the book back open.

Freedom, thought Hanzo with a slight smile, pushing up from the couch.

 McCree noticed the relative thickness of the book, but had assumed it was some kind of large board book, but as Rei turned the page, his brow crinkled with concern.

“Omnicode cipher one-one-eight Delta-C underscore one is for... Life,” Rei read, as McCree looked over the illustration of an omnic in some kind of farmer’s outfit looking fondly at a butterfly in its metal hand, while framed by greenery filled with more butterflies, birds, and flowers. “Omnicode cipher one-one-eight Delta-C underscore two is for life, sue--”

“’uh’ sound,” said McCree.

“Suuuhh-Sub-c-c-aaate---”

“Sub-cat-eg-or-ee,” said McCree, pointing at different sections of the word with his finger.

“Subcattergory,” Rei said, “Nuh-on-orr-gan-ick. Subcattergory Nonorganic!”

“Great job, kiddo,” said McCree, trying to will up the mental energy to correct her on the pronunciation of ‘Subcategory’ but at the same time it was well within her own half-Swiss-German, half-Japanese quirks of speaking.

“What’s nonorganic?” said Rei.

“...Zen’s nonorganic,” said McCree after a few seconds of thought.

“No, Master Zenyatta’s Omnic,” Rei corrected.

“That, too,” said McCree smiling a little. Rei seemed satisfied with this and kept reading.

“Omnicode cipher one-one-eight Delta-C underscore three is for life, subcattergory... Non?” she looked at McCree.

“Non,” said McCree, nodding.

“Non-sen-tee-ent life,” said Rei, “What’s ‘nonsentient?’”

Someone’s going to have to break it to Zenyatta that this is a terrible easy-to-read book, thought Hanzo, rinsing some rice off in the sink.

“Nonsentient means uh... like... plants? Like... living things but... they don’t uhh... think?”  McCree’s voice trailed off a little helplessly. 

“Like Junkrat?” said Rei.

“Well, no, Junkrat thinks... allegedly,” said McCree, “They’re talking about more like... uh... mushrooms and stuff. Mushrooms are alive, y’know?”

“Mushrooms...” Rei repeated thoughtfully.

“Hey sunshine?” said McCree.

“Yeah?” said Rei.

“Is uh... is the whole book like this?” McCree was trying to keep a smile up but his brow was crinkling.

“Uh huh!” said Rei.

“Do you wanna maybe... switch to an easier book?” McCree rubbed the back of his neck.

“But Master Zenyatta gave me this one! We have to finish it!” said Rei, clearly offended. 

“Okay, all right, we can keep goin’...” said McCree with a shrug.

Rei turned the page and started reading again. “Omnicode Cipher One-one-eight---”

As Rei read, McCree’s head swung around to look at the kitchen, where Hanzo was serenely slicing some onion. Jesse summoned his best, ‘I miscalculated, please help me, I love you’ face. Hanzo paused only momentarily to look up to meet his gaze and gave Jesse the smuggest, most cat-like, shit-eating ‘Suffer’ grin. There was a glint of ‘Oh you bastard’ in McCree’s eyes before he turned his attention to Rei, now struggling through the Omnicode cipher for the Turing test and its later variants. And of course he had to explain to her what a Turing test was. And the variants.

Hanzo let Rei’s chatter and hesitant sounding-out of syllables, and McCree’s stilted murmuring explanations fade to background noise as he fell into the motions of cooking. He wasn’t sure if it was ten or 15 minutes that had passed, but the savory smells of onion simmering in dashi filled the kitchen and lingered with rice cooker steam when McCree’s voice hoarsely drifted over.

“Hanzo--You gotta help me.”

“Mm?” Hanzo glanced up, turned down the heat on the stove, and toweled off his hands as he headed out of the kitchen to the living room. Rounding around the couch, he saw that Rei was asleep, one arm strung tight around McCree’s waist and her face smooshed against McCree’s side.

“She conked out around Omnicode cipher something-something epsilon. She’s like a vice,” McCree whispered.

“Mm-hmm,” said Hanzo, pulling his phone out of his pocket and opening the camera.

“Don’t just take pictures, help me out of this!” McCree hissed.

“Can you pretend to be asleep? It’s cuter that way,” said Hanzo, adjusting the lighting on the camera.

“I am not gonna pretend to be asleep, just so you can---” McCree heard the beep of the camera prepping and closed his eyes and relaxed his head slightly as Hanzo took the picture.

“You will and you did,” said Hanzo, tapping at his phone’s screen.

“That was for the doc and Genji and you know it,” muttered McCree.

“Mm-hmm,” said Hanzo, gently adjusting the lighting on the photo he had just taken and briefly puzzling over adding a ‘hearts and sparkles’ filter before deciding against it.

“...this is where all the displaced Yakuza boss evil goes, isn’t it?” said McCree.

“You love it,” said Hanzo, posting the photo to the family group chat.

“Mark me, Hanzo, had it not been for our 5 year old biotic mutant ninja niece currently threatening to break one of my ribs I would have cussed you out by now.”

“She’s not a mutant and she’s not going to break your ribs,” said Hanzo, bending and crisply kissing McCree on the temple before heading back into the kitchen.

“You don’t know that. I could be in danger right now.”

“Dinner’s in another 10 minutes,” Hanzo said airily from the kitchen.

“Save me, Han.”

“No.”