#as dante says it’s like if a control freak could actually control things.

[moonshynecybin]

one of my favorite marc things is his immediate and insane responses to hardship. contact. mechanical malfunction. fucked bike. getting overtaken. pain. injury. jorge martin having positive conversations with ducati surrounding contracts. broken aero. broken windscreen. deployed airbag. shit quali. his pramac bargaining chip era. like anything wrong happens in a race or in his career and it’s like he instachugged ten energy drinks he literally just starts going absolutely balls to the wall crazy

[desmond69miles]

Relationship HC’s for trish

NSFW included. luv u ! submit an ask

[-: Trish has dated around before, experimenting with men and women alike. It’d take her awhile to find someone she connects with and that’s not freaked out with her demonic nature, as well as the time it takes to develop romantic attraction. It would take a good friendship with a strong bond before Trish would consider you as a partner.

[-: Besides the fact that Trish wears heels, she’s tall. I think her canon hight is around 5’11” (180cm) without heels, so she’d most likely be taller than you. I don’t think she’s the type to explicitly place things higher than needed for you, in fact, I’d imagine she’d place things you needed daily on lower shelves. However, she does like to take advantage of her height when you’re napping together. She’d be the perfect person for the bigger spoon.

[-: Trish loves all body types. She’s the type of person to not care about hip dips, stretch marks, cellulite, etc, and in fact finds the imperfections alluring. It’s canon (she told me herself) that she loves dimples, scars, freckles, pigment issues, the little things. She’s literally the definition of a super model and likes the mundane things that make her feel like a human with a normal partner.

[-: Dates usually consist of clothing hauls, makeup shopping sprees, in-home fashion shows, and the occasional dinner away from home. Expect to come back with hundreds of dollars worth of makeup and clothing, then put on a fashion show for the other. You’re not even sure what to do with all the clothes, so most of them are kept at Trish’s place. Trish also loves to do your makeup, practicing looks she wants to try for herself. At the end of your dates, the whole house is a mess and your tired out from changing clothing and wiping makeup off.

[-: I feel like Trish has a certain knack for goths. Besides just liking the culture and music, she’s amazing at trad goth and romantic goth makeup. She could totally fit into a darker scene and by the subcultures definition, she’s already goth! Playing into this more; if you were goth Trish would call you “battie” and know exactly where to get the good goth clothing for cheap. She has so many connections with clothing stores it’s actually insane.

[-: Trish is a tactile and verbal lover. Expect her to ghost a hand up your spine, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and giving an endearing comment; “Your makeup looks good today.” “Oh! I love that shirt on you, you’ll have to let me borrow it sometime.” “You look nice today, babe.”

[-: If you had gotten so far into the relationship where Trish wanted to place a mating bite/mark on you, Dante would constantly tease you both by poking and commenting at it. Trish would respond by gut-punching Dante Lady-style, or hitting the man in the jugular. It would be an intricate golden design, one that Trish would ghost over with her lips and gently nibble on. Mating bites are sensitive! She knows how to toy with you.

[-: Her hands are magic, literally. She gives the best electro-therapy massages ever. On the contrary, she likes to have her hands massaged from pulling triggers all the time.

[-: Loves when you help her clean her guns/other weapons. Often she doesn't have time to fully clean and inspect her weapons, so she'd offer to teach you. Say yes! She enjoys coming back from shopping to see you wiping down a sword or swabbing down a gun, giving you a kiss on the cheek and a meaningful "Thank you, babe."

——/—\——

NSFW !

[-; Most always the dominant roll in bed. She much prefers being able to control and bend your pleasure at her fingertips, leading you to orgasm after orgasm. While she won’t mind being the bottom once in awhile, it gets repetitive and frustrating for her when done often.

[-; Type of woman to say “sit on my face” and mean put your full weight on her. She’s a demon, it’s nothing she can’t take. Adding onto this, she rakes her finely manicured nails across your thighs and butt leaving red trails while her tongue flicks around.

[-; Y’know she has those electrical powers? What’s to say she won’t give you a not so gentle zap while fingering you? Nothing so bad it hurts, but strong enough to make your heart kick up and legs instinctively shut.

[-; Has all kinds of strap ons. Big ones, small ones, clear ones, colored ones, knotted ones, tentacle ones, a shit load. What ever your feeling to mess your guts up she probably has.

[-; Trish has a light degradation kink, but a massive praise one as well. She won't push degradation/humiliation if you aren't comfortable with it. If you are however, Trish loves to make comments on you, mixing in praise.

[-; Adding onto the degradation, I don't think Trish would be into slut shaming or any other name calling. Trish has seen her fair share of lonely, short-dicked men cat calling her and while It doesn't affect her much, the last thing she would want is her partner to think Trish thinks of them in that way.

[-; Loves to be ate out after a long mission. If you couldn't fight/didn't want to fight, there would be nothing better than coming back to her sweet little partner and getting treated. "Good doll, you're doing such a good job." She'd say, raking her nude nails through your scalp. Oh, to have your head crushed between her thighs.

[-; She'd be up for trying public play if you were comfortable. To be more specific, Trish would be up for buying you a remote-controlled vibrator. Those ones that hit your g-spot as well as stimulating your clit? She'd totally have one of those. If she's off on a mission or even just out simply shopping with you, her hands on her phone, gently increasing and decreasing the vibes. If you'd happen to loose your composure and crouch down, trying to look like your inspecting the item shelf, Trish would make a jesting comment. "What? Can't handle some vibrations?"

[-; Likes phone sex while she's on missions. If she's not there to touch and tease you, the next best option is to hear your pretty voice. Just because she's not there with you doesn't mean you can come, though.

[tsunael]

10 characters/10 fandoms/10 tags

Tagged by : @icehearts & @aethergazing Tagging : Girl you think I know 10 people??

1. Bayonetta <- Bayonetta

I just love her, okay. She's gorgeous, she's confident, she's a witch that fights with her hair and can run 80 mph in 5in pumps. Jokes aside, I just love that her sexuality is a thing that she owns and has fun with-- and it's never used against her maliciously. (I also love her parallels to Dante my other fave). I could go on more but basically... she's truly one of a kind.

2. Akihiko Sanada <- Persona 3

My long-time beau. I RP'd him for about 8 years and met a lot of good people through that blog so I'm a little biased in how sentimental I am over him and Mitsuru. I'd add her too but I'm doing my best to be diverse here. Anyway, I just love him-- he fits all of my standards. He represents the Emperor arcana: the 'father' type. He's a control freak, he drags his guilt around by the ankle, is fiercely protective, has a little jealous streak, and is a hot-headed idiot (who is actually very smart)... And DON'T say it's because he has white hair.

3. Garnet <- Final Fantasy IX

The older I get, the more IX means to me. She has been my favorite since I was little. Not to get personal but I find her relatable: she grew up sheltered but was expected to do great things, and I am sympathetic that her mother (once kind and loving, even though we don't see it) was turned against her by forces she couldn't control. She deals with her grief more realistically than most FF heroines-- she gives into depression and self doubt but she never becomes bitter and that's something I want for myself.

4. Yuna <- Final Fantasy X

My grandma and I played all the FFs together, but the one that really made an impression was X. Yuna is my love: thematically, symbolically, and aesthetically. My sacrificial lamb who would burn herself to keep others warm. She takes her notoriety and her father's burden with grace and never shies from it even when she loses her faith in the system designed to throw her to the wolves. Also every line she has has such gravitas behind it... beautiful writing, beautiful voice acting. My forever girl.

5. Nier <- NieR

My doomed boy. I don't want to go into spoilers because Nier is more of a niche game, but I love him so much (and dadnier, too.) The moral quandary this game has... the morally grey protagonists... I love a character who loves with all his heart and would give anything for the people he loves. The side-story where it's implied he even ***** ******* for some coin was... man.

6. Kim <- Xenogears

Trying not to spoil here either it's just vague. IYKYK.

I thought about putting Elhaym here but I feel like the Zeboim era has more characterization than the main lol. Anyway. I love how he has become so cynical about the world around him, yet he is still willing to save and create life, only to find he suffers from the same affliction. As a scientist, he embodies the question: 'What makes a God?' and 'What is does it mean to be human?'. I love his story and I wish there was more.

7. Rubedo Yuriev <- Xenosaga

He's an idiot, he's a tragic figure, he's learned, he's traumatized, and his relationship with MOMO is uhhhhhh complicated. Honestly maybe I should have put Yuriev here because he's such an interesting villain. The URTVs are all squashed together for me like one big delicious smoothie anyway so.

Anyway Rubedo, your dad stared into The Abyss and it stared back and now he's insane and his fear of God and his own mortality was so strong he would use his own flesh and blood to run (and it was honestly really sexy of him) but what he never seems to grasp is that you can't run from what you can't see and sooner or later it will catch up.

8. Misato Katsuragi <- Neon Genesis Evangelion

Hi I love women with daddy issues.

I love her with Kaji. She looks for her father in him, while he's searching for his mother, but Misato, try as she may, she will never be a mother to anyone--not to Kaji, and certainly not to Shinji. There's a ton you can read into nge characters but there's something to be said about the trauma our parents force us (willing or unwillingly) to inherit, and how we hurt others as a result of that.

9. Dante <- Devil May Cry

He's so fucking stupid (affectionate). Dante Alighieri is rolling in his grave.

He's not only a boyloser but a boyfailure. He gets bullied by women and children and could probably suplex the earth. He loves his mom!!!

Anyway I love that he exudes a type of masculinity and machismo at first glance only to play the game and see he's a little fruity. I'm also a sucker for characters with duality themes that, when asked 'what makes us different?', the answer is because they chose to love-- which is not something you'd expect from a hack n slash game, inspired by resident evil in which you find new and exciting ways to kill things... yanno?

10. Kenzo Tenma <- Naoki Urasawa's Monster

I was running out of characters and was about to put Thancred or Squall but that's too many FFs so I tried to think of some anime that made an impression on me and Tenma came to me. We needed another Liam O'Brien rep here, clearly.

Anyway read/watch Monster if you haven't, it's an amazing mature series that barely feels like an anime.

Again, the themes of duality here-- who embraced life and who would rather take it? If Johan represents the inherent evil in the world, and man's propensity for it, then Tenma represents all that is good. He's just so tragic. The moment he finally stands up for himself he's punished for it, then when pushed to his limit, saves the life of a little boy only to be cursed for it. Even through everything he never gives up on people, and every life he touches is changed for the better. And that ending... oh man.

He's babygirl x100.

[marlborodean]

here’s my analysis of a 14-yr-old supernatural episode

so remember that episode where sam fucked a werewolf? because he related to her unwilling monstrosity? well that episode is actually just about dean starting to come to grips with his childhood and his sexuality.

if you ship w/ncest do not interact. this post is not anti-sam either btw. 

content warning: discussions of childhood trauma, internalized homophobia, guns, killing. 

does include some images with Image Descriptions following them.

[ID: An over-the-shoulder close-up shot from the episode, focused on Madison, the werewolf, as she cries. Dean is standing behind her. They are both looking at Sam, whose shoulder is on the edge of the frame. End ID.]

Brief episode recap just in case u don’t remember. This ep is 2x17 “Heart.” Sam and Dean are hunting a werewolf. They discover that the woman they interviewed, Madison, is a werewolf (not THEE werewolf, but one of them). Sam develops a lil crush on her <3 I wrote the majority of this after watching it for the first time in almost SIX years, so i was just vibing the whole time UNTIL the last shot changed it all for me. So let me explain!

Three important points that i will refer back to:

1. The episode begins with Dean being excited to hunt a werewolf because "what about a human by day, a freak animal killing machine by moonlight don't you understand? I mean, werewolves are badass. We haven't seen one since we were kids."

2. Then the episode centers on Sam and his relationship with the werewolf woman and his own monstrosity: "[Dean: Sam, she's a monster and you're feeling sorry for her?] Maybe I understand her."

3. BUT THEN the last shot of the episode is of Dean crying as music plays (see below for the specific lyrics) and then Dean jumps at the sound of the gunshot. That's it! That's the end of the episode!

[ID: For all three screencaps, Dean is looking torturously sad. Each one is zoomed a little bit closer to his face than the last. In the last image, Dean sheds a single man tear. The captioned lyrics for the first one say "Relax, child, you were there." The second says "but only didn't realize" and the third says "and you were scared." End ID]

Even though the story is supposed to be about Sam and his monstrosity, and partly about his relationship w/romance since this is the first person he’s slept with since Jess died (at least with what is shown on screen)...the Dean Sandwich tells us otherwise. We're supposed to be taking away something about DEAN here. Like, that's the whole purpose behind the last shot focusing solely on Dean instead of Sam who is AT THAT MOMENT, KILLING THE GIRL HE HAS FEELINGS FOR. It's literally a heartbreaking, devastating, super traumatic thing for Sam to be going through, but instead we're watching Dean as a single tear slides down his face lmao. It's because this episode is about DEAN, and furthering his story.

Let’s not queer this just yet. The death of the werewolf is about/representing his loss of innocence. It's a violent disconnect from his childhood. Point # 1 shows that he is fascinated by werewolves because since he was a kid he thought they were badass, not to mention all the werewolf films he references throughout. Then, through the music lyrics over that last scene, they mirror that theme of childhood. They’ve done this before, having the diegetic music directly reference what the characters are going through. No different here: Dean is the child they’re referring to.

I have to reiterate that that's the last thing we hear before the gunshot cuts the music short and then the cut to black. "You were scared" is the last thing we hear before the gunshot, as Dean cries. ALSO I have to reiterate that Dean was looking forward to killing a werewolf and shooting it himself. So it's super fascinating that, not only is Sam the one that kills the werewolf, WE DON’T EVEN SEE IT HAPPEN.

[ID: A medium-close shot of Dean as he looks at Sam, who takes up the right half of the frame. The caption says, “Sammy, I got this one. I’ll do it.” End ID.]

Am i gonna have to say this now? The werewolf is a metaphor, okay? It's a metaphor for his innocence, which is long-dead, forever doomed. I mean, a lot of kids love werewolves because they ARE badass! It's a classic monster that anyone could easily obsess over, and with Dean's childhood it must've seemed even cooler, knowing they're real and having the power to kill this "mythical" beast. So the way he's looking forward to killing one is the way a child imagines themselves as a hero.

But what happens instead is a tragic mercy killing. It's flipping his fantasy completely on its head, and it makes Dean realize that.....his fantasies are just fantasies. They aren't real, never would be. There's nothing heroic about killing this werewolf. It's tragic as hell. When he offers to kill her himself, it's just to relieve Sam's burden, but he's reluctant still. Because, as he keeps saying, he doesn't want to be a hunter! He doesn't want this life! He's tired of killing! And that's also what he's mourning as he cries and startles at the gunshot. His fantasies will never be real and his childhood could never have been normal and he never got a chance to be a kid because being a hunter was thrust on him at such a young age. And now it feels inescapable.

[ID: A gif of the slow zoom on Dean’s face as the single tears slips down his cheek. He jumps at the gunshot, then blinks and his lip wobbles. End ID.]

So now we can queer it :-) Of course all monster stories can be easily queered, but werewolves are popularly queered. The first example that comes to mind is An American Werewolf in London (1981) isn’t an overtly queer film (though it is Jewish!) but it’s definitely read that way by a lot of people!! Anyway the film was directed by John Landis which JUST SO HAPPENS to be the pseudonym Dean goes by in this episode. hmm. (Also, interestingly, the BTVS ep where the first gay character comes out references this film too)

[ID: Sam and Dean are standing close to each other. Sam is in the foreground, not in focus. Dean, behind him, says, “Landis. And Detective Dante.” End ID.]

There’s this essay about the queer werewolf that you can read here (and they also talk about fandom in it! very fascinating), where they say in the intro: “the werewolf seems an obvious choice as a queer monster with its identity-disrupting hybridity, as well as its atavistic, and, thus, disallowable sexuality.” A lot like Kristeva’s theory of the abject body! which is popular in queer theory. 

This episode is then queering Sam—his attraction to the werewolf makes him abject—but it also queers Dean thru the way his attitude towards the werewolf transforms (get it?) throughout the ep. His desire and eagerness to kill the werewolves is obviously ingrained in him from John’s parenting. Consider what he said in 2x03 “Bloodlust”: “And the way he raised us, to hate those things—and man, I hate them, I do.” In conjunction with the monsters in the show being seen as queer allegories (the gorgon, as an example of an explicit comparison), Dean’s excitement to kill the werewolf can be read as internalized homophobia and repressing any of his own feelings. 

Remember, though, right before that line in “Bloodlust,” he also said, “What if we killed things that didn’t deserve killing?” He’s really beginning to question whether all monsters are bad, and what it means to kill them. Is he also questioning what he believes of queer people? What John believed of queer people? The loss of innocence and queering both slot together through that final shot, imo: he’s crying because he realizes his fantasies aren’t real, but he’s also mourning the fact that he never could have had the chance to grow up without John’s control, and now it’s forever tainted his worldview. What else could he have been without that? (The answer is evident in 4x17 “It’s a Terrible Life.”)

Dean was taught to hate queer people but he doesn't want to. He wants to get out of the life but it feels inescapable. He wants to kill a werewolf and then when he has the chance, he doesn't want to. He actually cries as it's killed. It scares him, having to confront that what he thought he knew was wrong, but he knows all the same that he’ll never have the chance to have grown up without that. 

[phantom-curve]

Second birthday is such a cool thing to call that! 8 or 35 if you are feeling so inclined.

Thank you! When I was a kid my mom always tried to call it my rebirth-day and I was like no❤️ I went with some Willex whump (with a fluffy end) for this one! Set in the gimme a chance AU, featuring pro-skateboarder Willie and anxious Alex. This is also a bit of a companion piece to the #8 prompt I wrote earlier!

#35: kissing their bruises and scars (Trigger Warning: mentions of injury, mild description of panic attack, and mentions of a car accident. Rated T for language) 

Alex generally tried not to think about worst case scenarios when Willie was competing. If he let himself, it was way too easy to imagine all types of situations that ended with Willie broken and bleeding at the base of a halfpipe while Alex stood helplessly on the sidelines. It didn’t help anything for him to obsess over what could happen, especially because at this point, Alex knew skateboarding was as much a part of Willie as drumming was a part of him.

It was just that ever since Willie had gotten his first sponsorship and moved to the pro circuit six months ago, he had started taking bigger risks. More complex tricks and a lot less hesitation to go big when he was representing the brands that were paying his bills. And that meant longer hours practicing and a higher chance of injury on a daily basis. Alex wanted to be a supportive boyfriend, the kind that would show up at the skate park to cheer and not have a panic attack every time that Willie wiped out, but he wasn’t. He was just an anxious guy in love with a dude who seemed determined to break every single bone in his body.

Things only got worse when Willie started traveling for competitions. He was gone almost every weekend, and Luke had finally convinced the manager at the bar he worked at to let Sunset Curve preform regular Saturday shows, and so, more often than not, Willie would be somewhere else in California flinging his body down an insanely tall ramp with nothing but a helmet and some pads to protect him while Alex was trapped in LA losing himself in the familiar pattern of sticks against drums in an attempt to control his raging anxiety. It had about a 68% success rate. That success rate increased dramatically when Willie called Alex the second he knew his set was ending. It plummeted on the nights Alex didn’t hear from him until much later, or worse, heard from a different skater entirely.

Tonight was unfortunately one of those nights.

When their set ended, Reggie called out the same line he had coined after their first performance, a couple audience members chiming in with him because they actually had a bit of a fan following now, and Alex wasted no time in grabbing his phone from the fanny pack he kept behind his kit during shows. Instead of it lighting up with a picture of his boyfriend’s face, he was met with a series of missed calls and text messages from the guys Willie was rooming with for the weekend. He tried not to panic, tried to breathe in deeply to a count of five, holding it for just as long before exhaling again. It kept the anxiety at bay for as long as it took for him to unlock the phone and read the last missed message.

Don’t worry, bro. They’re gonna airlift him back to LA so you can just meet him at the hospital whenever.

Panic hit full force. What the actual fuck had happened to his boyfriend?! Alex’s fingers were shaking too much for him to open the other messages, his vision going blurry and a distant ringing sounding out in his ears. It took him longer than it should to realize Luke was crouched down in front of him, Reggie hovering just beyond the drum kit.

“You have to breathe, Lex. C’mon, follow me.”

Luke inhaled deeply before letting his breath out in a loud woosh. Alex tried to copy him, but his chest felt too tight, his throat closing in the more he tried to open it. Luke kept talking, his voice low and calm.

“Try again, we can do it together. We just have to breathe, nothing else.”

Alex inhaled with Luke that time, not quite as deeply and not quite as steady, but more air than he had managed to get before. It took several long moments before he was able to match Luke completely, the fog starting to clear from his brain, surroundings snapping back into focus.

“Great, good, just keep breathing, okay? I’m gonna go grab the office keys and we’ll take a minute in there to talk, okay?”

Alex nodded, not exactly wanting Luke to leave but knowing whatever his best friend was saying logically made sense. Reggie slipped into the space Luke had been occupying, breathing in the exact same pattern, and Alex refocused on him. When Reggie stood, Alex copied him, reaching out to grip the back of Reggie’s red flannel as he led them both off of the stage and down the hallway to the office in the back of the bar. Alex dropped onto the couch, burying his face in his hands.

“Lex? Can you tell us what’s going on?”

Reggie’s voice was soft and quiet, like a gentle melody. Alex let it wash over him, knew his boys would be able to help if he could just figure out how to get his mouth to form the words it desperately didn’t want to say out loud. He fought to speak for a few moments before finally just thrusting his phone forward. A hush fell over the room as Luke and Reggie scrolled through the texts and Alex was suddenly grateful that he wouldn’t have to read through them himself. After what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes, Luke cleared his throat and spoke.

“Okay, so good news or bad news first?”

“How can there possibly be good news?”

Alex’s throat felt raw and scratchy, the words coming out broken and strangled. Luke and Reggie exchanged a quick glance before Reggie sat next to Alex on the couch. Not touching, but close enough for Alex to feel comforted all the same.

“Willie isn’t dead or dying, so yes, there is good news. Which one do you want first?”

A significant amount of the panic left Alex’s system at the reassurance that his boyfriend was alive and going to stay that way for the time being. It hit him all at once, sending him into Reggie’s side as he let out a cry of relief. Reggie’s hand stroked up and down Alex’s arm, a low hum sounding in the back of his throat. Luke spoke again.

“Okay, so good news is that Willie is probably already back in LA, he’s at the best hospital he can be at, and he’s going to be fine.”

Alex clung to the words like a life raft. Willie was going to be fine. He turned it into a mantra, repeating it over and over again until he felt like he was back in control, no longer on the precipice of drowning. He disentangled himself from Reggie’s arms, took a deep breath, and met Luke’s gaze.

“I’m ready. Gimme the bad news.”

Luke let out a long breath before sitting down on Alex’s other side.

“The guys were in a car accident. They didn’t even make it to the competition. Willie was in the passenger seat and he took the worst hit in the collision. The other guys got taken to a local hospital, but they had to send Willie to Cedars-Sinai because of some special orthopedic department there. Max said they mentioned he would be admitted to the post-trauma floor.”

A car accident. He didn’t even make it to the competition. Alex had considered himself prepared for the worst when it came to Willie and his chosen profession. He had told himself that loving Willie meant accepting the risk that came with skateboarding, especially at the level that Willie did it. He had not once considered the fact that Willie could be hurt in some type of freak accident that had nothing to do with skating. The life raft slipped from his mental fingers, hurtling him back into the sea of despair once again.

“We got this, okay?” Luke was still speaking. “Reg is gonna call an Uber and take you to the hospital, and I’m gonna get Dante and Felix to help pack up stuff here and then come meet you. It’s gonna be okay.”

Luke’s words painted a path for Alex to follow, a way to move forward without having to fight so hard to do so. He nodded, allowed himself to be bundled out of the employee entrance and into the car Reggie had called. Clung to Reggie’s flannel again as they traversed the white hallways of the hospital, eventually making their way to a nurse’s station situated on the post-trauma surgical floor. Alex didn’t even let himself think about what that string of words implied. Not until Reggie nudged him forward to speak with the blonde-haired woman with kind brown eyes sitting behind the welcome desk. He forced himself to clear the lump in his throat and scrape some words together.

“Hi, I’m uh, my name is Alex. Alex Mercer? I’m looking for my boyfriend Willie? William, actually, his name is William Stewart. He was...he was in a car crash.”

The words came out in starts and stops, cracking at the edges as Alex forced them through numb lips. The nurse nodded, her fingers tapping across the keyboard in a sharp staccato.

“He’s out of surgery, but might still be a bit groggy. The limit is one visitor at a time, so your friend will have to wait out here.”

Alex turned to Reggie with a blank stare.

“You got this, Lex. Remember, he’s gonna be fine. I’ll be right here, and Luke is on his way too. Whatever you need, okay? We got you.”

Alex nodded even though the movement itself felt like a lie. The nurse smiled softly at him and for one split moment Alex wished he could call his mom, hear her comforting voice the way he used to when he was a scared little kid. But he had Luke and Reggie now. And Willie, who was alive somewhere in this hospital.

“He’s in room 604, just down the hall.”

Alex forced his feet to move. Forced himself to count the numbers on the wall until he found 604. Forced himself to open the door and enter the room.

Willie looked so small on the bed, his dark hair a mess across the stark white pillowcase, his leg encased in plaster and suspended from some contraption that hung down from the ceiling. He turned his head at the noise of the door opening, eyes half open and soft with sleep or maybe painkillers. The smile on his face was a mere shadow of its normal sunshine.

“Hey, Hotdog.”

Alex wanted to cry. He wanted to scream and curl into a ball and absolutely lose it. But instead, he walked to the side of Willie’s bed and sat down in the chair next to it that seemed to have been waiting just for him.

“Have you been crying? Please tell me you weren’t crying.”

Okay, Willie was definitely on drugs. Because of course, Alex had been crying.

“Yes, I’ve been crying! Are you kidding me?”

Willie winced slightly and Alex was instantly swamped with guilt.

“No, okay, let me try that again.”

He took a deep breath and reached up to brush a few stray hairs away from Willie’s face. There were a number of cuts and bruises marring his skin, a few of them hidden under bandages.

“Hey pretty boy, I’m so glad you’re not dead. I’ve never been more scared than when I saw that text from Max. I thought you cracked your head open on a halfpipe or something, what the hell happened?”

Willie tried to shrug and grimaced, like it hurt. Alex’s hands fluttered uselessly above his boyfriend’s body, unsure where would be safe to touch. He settled for grabbing the hand that Willie offered which was thankfully unmarked, nothing but some leftover scars from catching himself at the skatepark.

“I think our car flipped? There was a lot of crashing and my leg really fuckin hurt. It’s still hurts.”

Willie frowned, clearly addled from the leftover anesthesia and whatever they were giving him for the pain. Alex pulled his hand up to press a series of kisses across Willie’s knuckles, making sure to cover each scar at least once.

“You can’t die on me, Wills. I fucking love you, okay? I know you do insane stunts and regularly let yourself get beat to crap at the skate park, but you can’t fucking die on me in some stupid car accident. I’d lose my goddamn mind without you.”

“You love me?”

Willie’s voice was soft and awed and Alex suddenly realized he hadn’t ever actually said those words out loud before even though they’d been living in his brain for months now. When he looked into Willie’s eyes he saw a hint of wetness there, and his heart melted.

“Yes, I love you, you fucking dork. I’ve been in love with you for months.”

Willie grinned, dopey eyed and pink cheeked.

“Well, I’ve been in love with you for like, ever. So, I win. Gimme a kiss for my prize.”

Alex laughed and rolled his eyes, but obliged, nonetheless. Willie might not remember this interaction, but Alex would never forget it. A look of absolute peace settled onto his boyfriend’s face.

“I knew you’d come. I knew as soon as that car hit us that when I woke up, you’d be here. You’re the best boyfriend ever, that’s why I love you. And you’re so hot. Like, really hot.”

Alex’s cheeks burned, his heart kicking into overdrive.

“C’mere,” Willie nodded his head to the side and tried to shuffle over, like he was inviting Alex to climb in next to him. He made a disgruntled sound when the contraption his leg was in refused to budge, frowning up at the suspension system.

“That’s so lame, what the fuck? I wanna cuddle.”

And Alex, unable to resist even when he knew it would probably be better for Willie if he did, climbed up to wedge his body into the small space between Willie and the guardrails on his bed. He tucked one arm behind Willie’s head, pulling his face into the space between his neck and shoulder. Willie let out a contented sigh, his breath sending shivers down Alex’s spine.

“You smell like you,” Willie whispered, the sound happy and relaxed. “I love you, Lex.”

“I love you, too.” Alex sighed, kissing his way across every single cut and bruise he could reach without moving.

Willie settled into place, his body going lax and soft snores sounding out against Alex’s chest within moments. Alex let his own head fall to rest against the top of Willie’s, finally allowing himself to believe everything would be okay. When the same nurse came to tell him that his other friend had arrived and maybe it would be best to come back in the morning, he accepted it without complaint. She gave him a final moment to say goodnight, Alex taking the time to make sure Willie was tucked in tight before kissing his temple softly.

Willie was going to be okay, and Alex was going to spend the rest of his life making sure he was always the one there to kiss his scrapes and bruises.

Send me prompts for my second birthday!

[elencelebrindal]

Time to ramble about Shun

Sooo... you said you wanted my rambling to become reality. Here I go. 

Shun not holding back for the whole series would have been a disaster for our dear villains, let me tell you.  But let’s go in order. And I mean, from training to Hades. Obviously, this completely disregards the fact that Shun was Hades the whole time, because if I am to take that into consideration everything would end before starting.  Small disclaimer, this is mostly anime-based. I’ve read the manga, but my memory is so bad in remembering what was just manga and what was just anime, and I have a better memory for the anime.  Also, this is going to praise Shun a lot. No, not because of my undying love for this character, but because logically speaking, he’s freaking powerful; this young man stood against a god that was possessing his body, dammit. 

Now, his training.  Of course, I won’t even imagine Shun actually going to Death Queen Island, mostly because it was Ikki, and not him, the reason why he went to Andromeda Island instead.  What we know, is that Shun nearly awakened his Seventh Sense there and then, when he donned the Cloth for the first time. And we know that he won the right to the trial after winning a fight against his “rival”.  But, before winning, he took a good beating, because he held back.  What would have happened, in the eventuality that Shun did not hold back? Well, probably just quicker access to the trial for the Cloth, but also... this might be the only time Shun not holding back would have affected him negatively.  What if he, by not holding back, lost his right to the Cloth? Andromeda is famous for her sacrifice, after all, not for her brave charging into battle.  This is mostly my own idea about it, because of course Shun was destined to become the Andromeda Saint, but luckily he held back, and only fought when he needed to. 

That aside, now it’s time to tackle all the positive things that could have happened had he not held back. 

Galaxian Wars / Black Saints Arc (forgive me, I forgot the actual name)

We had a taste of how smart and capable Shun is during his fight against Jabu, but all of that was thrown away thanks to Ikki’s appearance. Now, this doesn’t mean than Shun completely lost his competence, but he definitely held back for the sake of his brother.  This is obvious when we take into account the fight they all have against Ikki, when Shun tries to help his brother rather than stop him.  We already saw how dangerous Shun can be, when he faced Black Andromeda, so it’s easy to understand how much easier it could have been for the Bronze to stop Ikki if Shun was there to actively help against him.  Sure, he helped in the end, but he was probably the only one (at least at that point, because remember, he was the only one to have almost awakened the Seventh Sense) capable to stand his ground against Ikki.  Seiya’s success was more plot than skills, honestly speaking.  Shun could have been infinitely helpful, at least in making sure they earned a faster victory with less blood spilled.  To me, what we know about Shun’s power (though it’s only revealed later) makes it that he has a huge advantage that is ignored because of 1. Shun’s personality and 2. what’s needed for the plot and what was known of the plot. You all know he’s my favorite Bronze, at this point, but following a logical reasoning I cannot find something against this. 

On a side note, can you imagine how fast he would have destroyed Black Swan, if only he used his brain and not his heart?  Considering the outcome of his fight against Black Andromeda, and his knowledge about Hyoga’s techniques (which are kinda imitated by Black Swan), it’s not difficult to imagine he would have won.  He wouldn’t have done as good against all of them together, at this point of the story, but a one vs one fight would have definitely seem him victorious. 

Silver Saints Arc

I have no clear memory if that Docrates mess is in this arc or the one before it (the Italian division is a bit different and it confuses the hell out of me when I have to switch), but let’s put him here.  Because come on.  Shun getting thrown around like a doll? Yeah, no. Docrates might be a powerful - and not so brilliant or likable - warrior, but to the point of overwhelming a Saint like Shun with so much ease? I hardly believe it. I can  believe Shun having a hard time against him, especially considering how they won that fight.  Full power, I think Shun could have helped way more. I’m not saying he could have defeated a beat like Docrates all by himself, not at that point. Hyoga’s help was crucial for him to actually deal an effective blow.  But I’m pretty convinced they could have had a bit of a better time - especially Saori - because power makes the difference, even if it’s not enough to turn the tide without aid. 

Continuing with the same arc, we have another example of Shun being extremely competent and showing how strong he is when he doesn’t hold back.  How long did it take him to completely obliterate a Silver Saint? Not even enough to appreciate how badass he was.  It didn’t seem forced at all, more importantly! Most times, especially with Seiya, their victories seem so... well, convenient that it’s hard to believe they’re actually strong enough to beat their enemies. The plot armor around them is stronger than their actual armor, from time to time. This fight against Dante, instead, felt completely genuine. Shun and Ikki beating so easily two Silver Saints seemed incredibly normal and realistic, rather than feeling forced by the plot.  Of course, all the other characters have their genuine moments (yes, even Seiya), but I wanted to point this out for Shun in this particular instance because it’s necessary to understand how underrated he is. 

Sanctuary Arc

Moving on, we have what I like to call “Shun could have choked Saga to death and ended the entire Sanctuary Arc in less than five episodes”. Listen, does it seem so unreasonable? If it does, remember how Shun (with Ikki’s help, this is not something I’m ignoring, I like Shun but I don’t play dirty here) used his chain to break free of the Other Dimension (a place that’s supposedly impossible to leave? Hello????) and literally reached Saga where he was sitting.  What the hell, are we just ignoring the fact that he legitimately broke into the throne room of the most protected place of the entire Sanctuary, stole Saga’s cheap-looking trinkets, and shattered his control over him? For god’s sake, I’m SURE he could have at least managed to try and kill Saga where he was.  I’m aware he had no idea what the hell was going on, but had he used a bit more of his cosmo? A bit more of his concentration and intelligence? To me, it seems really weird that he only properly awakened his Seventh Sense so late in the arc. If Seiya was able to screw the plot over and get his precious Seventh Sense so early and easily, why wasn’t Shun given the same opportunity? Well, I know why, plot and everything, Shun’s actual power was still very much a mystery, but I’m going chronologically, and by logic. And what logic tells me is: Shun should have awakened his goddamn Seventh Sense there, realized he was stealing costume jewelry from the Pope, and at least knocked him out for the next couple hours.  For as much as i like joking about it, I know Saga is smarter and stronger than the average guy, Shun wasn’t going to be able to strangle him with the chain. But a good old pointy cosmo-powered chain to the forehead, well... come on. Would have been hilarious, other than useful. 

For the rest, the arc was pretty amazing.  His sacrifice for Hyoga? Yeah, he wasn’t holding back there.  And the fight against Aphrodite we all know how incredible it was.

Something I’m going to point out is how much Shun held back against Leda and Spica. That was all his personality, but he was able to defeat both of them in a couple seconds as soon as he used his true power.  I don’t really want to count that as holding back, but I have to. Because he was keeping his strength low, and it counts.  That was a time loss that could have been avoided. 

Asgard Arc

Now this, this makes me mad.  As soon as Shun leaves canon territory, it gets turned into this weak warrior with no desire to fight.  Either that, or he gets to fight but accomplishes little.  And this is exactly what happened in this arc. 

By now, we know how lethal Shun can be, and we know he awakened his Seventh Sense. It’s not theory anymore, it’s not fan wishes anymore, it’s Shun with one more sense to deal with.  And what happens? They give him the fight against the only enemy his goddamn chain doesn’t want to hit. Of course he gets that, and that his - actually beautiful - personality refuses to fight and instead insists on diplomacy.  Now, I loved that. I love how Shun tries to find a peaceful way around the war. But, once again, this is not the point of my rambling.  The point of my rambling is: Shun shouldn’t have needed Ikki to come and save the day.  Let’s take away Mime’s tragic backstory for a second, and let’s put Shun in the “classic” mind of a Saint; fight the enemy to the death, or die trying.  Shun would have won without any help. Sure, Mime is powerful, but Shun is as well. And we know that Shun is capable of facing enemies that use music as a weapon (as we learn later, in the Poseidon Arc).  Also, I’m pretty positive he has control over his chain, is not like the chain is going to ignore him like that. That weapon has a mind of its own, that’s true, but seriously speaking Shun has to be able to control it more than the chain controls itself.  That, and Shun himself refused to recognize Mime as an enemy.  Without holding back, Shun would have seen him as a proper enemy, and fought with no chain deciding “oh no no no, this is a friend!” like an overly friendly puppy.  Wrongfully, maybe, because as we learned Mime was, in fact, not a real enemy, but that’s not the point. 

Syd doesn’t really count. Shun was actually standing his ground against him, and incredibly well.  The reason Shun didn’t win right there and there was not him holding back, but the plot advancing and throwing Bud at him.  I don’t know how high I should hold this opinion, though, because to me it seems a bit weird that Bud is so powerful/stealthy that no one realizes he’s there. I’ve been skeptical about him, especially considering how he incapacitated freaking Aldebaran, but it is still a good reason for Shun not having won the fight.  Stealth can be more effective than raw power, sometimes.  Though, I believe Shun (and Aldebaran, for what it counts) should have been able to sense him. What, they’re going to show us the Saints can sense any kind of cosmo approaching them or far from them, but not realize that there’s someone right behind them ready to strike? Eh, it’s bizarre. 

Poseidon Arc

Right off the bat, he got his moment to shine against Io.  THAT, my friends, was incredible, and if Shun didn’t hold back - because he did, to avoid killing him, bless his merciful soul - Io would have died pretty easily.  Shun claimed his rights as Gold Saint, there, didn’t use all his power, and still beat the everloving soul out of him. 

Also, the fight against Sorrento? Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.  I literally have nothing to say, he had a reason to hold back there, and I will not give him a forced victory. Sorrento was on his level, and even though I think the Nebula Storm would have killed him (remember, that technique keeps getting more and more powerful the longer it’s used), they were pretty equal.  Shun didn’t hold back, save for when he understood what the hell was going on and got an ally. 

What I didn’t like, however, was how harshly he was treated when Poseidon was the threat. Damn, I’m not saying he should have been able to face a god, not without a Gold Cloth and not alone, but jeez, he ended up being completely ignored.  Like “wait, I’ll help!”, and then poof. Disappeared.  But in this instance, not holding back wouldn’t have made much of a difference. Unless you want to be 100% full of logic, and use the fact that Shun was already a vessel for a god, there’s no viable excuses for him to be able to fight a god on his own.  Not at that point in time, and not in his conditions.  Things work only if they can work. 

Hades Chapter

I don’t have much to say here.  Shun was incredible, he fought without holding back for almost the entire series, and showed an almost merciless side. A good handful of that behavior was Hades, if we go by how Shun was portrayed beforehand, but I like to believe he finally got his time to shine and acted competent again.  After hall, he had his angry moments back in the classic, they were no different from this chapter. 

What I will say, however, is how they diminished him in Elysium.  Because let’s face it: a Saint that not only survived one of the most powerful gods ever possessing him, but also tricked and held him back, had every single right to be powerful enough while wearing a God Cloth to obliterate Hypnos from the face of Elysium.  How are you telling me to believe that the same person that defeated the god of the Underworld just... fell asleep against a minor deity? He was the first to get his God Cloth without the plot aiding him (yes, I’m still salty about Seiya), yet he did nothing, and got defeated by Hypnos like he was a weak little boy.  I understand he’s a god, but Hades was worse! I’ll tell you what would have happened. Shun would have sent Hypnos’ sorry ass back in the void he deserved to be in (I actually like Hypnos okay, Shun doesn’t) without batting an eye.  Surely someone that was able to withstand Hades’ power - and overwhelmed it, even if for a short time - could resist some minor god’s power. 

To conclude, on the same not, Shun should have definitely punched Hades in the face.  He was probably the only one strong enough to do so, aside from Athena. And probably the one with the right to do so, also. 

This is probablt the stupidest rambling I’ve ever wrote on this blog, but I regret nothing. 

[afaimsarrowverse]

The 14 Creepiest Arrowverse Villains:

Yes, this one should have been made for Halloween. But after the year we just had, let’s take comfort in the fact that were are not forced to ever meet this guys here on the street in the dark. While two of the villains on this list had rather big seasonal arcs, I specifically disqualified characters from here, have proper motivations and character arcs as well as villains, who are creepy but at the same time quite a lot of fun. This why you won’t find Alice, her Mouse, Ramsay, Eobard, the Trickster, Mallus, Neron or even the Thinker here.

This list mainly consists of people we want to put back in the box, they got out of, until not seeing them at least for a season or so, and who we want to yell at: „What’s wrong with you!“ while they are on screen.

 14.  Toyman Senior (Winslow Schott Sr., Supergirl, Henry Czerny)

Technically this one should not be on this list, because he was redeemed in Season 5, however that happend after his death and on Earth Prime rather than Supergirls Original Eart,h so we will ignore that for now (also I wrecked my head whom from „Supergirl“ to put on here, so I overlooked that on purpose). Toyman is more creepy as a concept than in reality. He blows up kids (and other than the Trickster is no fun at all while he is doing it), threatened the life of his son to get his wife to leave him and did God knows what else to said wife and son. And did not even stop terrorizing people after his death. Can you imagine growing up as Toyman’s son? Poor Winn, you truly deserved better!

 13. Bug Eyed Bandit (Brie Larvan, Queen Bee, The Flash, Arrow, Emily Kinney)

Yes, it’s because of the Bees. Because she controls Mechanical Bees that sting and kill people! I am sorry, but what’s your problem, can’t you just kill your enemies like a normal person, Brie? Not to mention the whole Felicity-thing, because yes it’s totally normal to go around and kidnap and threaten to get what you want and then try to murder again. I still do not get why they let her into the Young Rogues anyway, but then … most members of that gang were all wrong, weren’t they?

 12. Garfield Lynns (Arrow, Andrew Dunbar)

Most of us have tried to forget about Season 1 Episode „Burned“ for several reasons. But the villain of it is also one of those. Because, yes Mick was a Pyromanic as well, but for more complex reasons. Garfield Lynns was a fire fighter who started burning people and ended burning himself to death because of reasons and … well let’s be honest, he was nuts and burning people is not cool at all!

 11. Jake Simmons (Deathbolt, Arrow, The Flash, Doug Jones)

That’s what you get, if you hire a creature actor (no offense, Doug, we love your work!) to play a psychopatic villain. Occasionally kind of fun, yes, but mostly Simmons is crazy and creepy, and we never liked him very much, but crucial Captain Cold killed him with a flimsey excuse, which no one ever bought, and let’s put it that way: If Leonard killed him just like that, there had to be something wrong with him in a big way, and yes, the hints were there, so, yeah, what a creep.

 10. The Mist (Kyle Nimbus, The Flash, Antony Carrigan)

A former Mob Hitman that looks like that and can turn into Mist. Do I have to say any more? I would take Victor Szasz over this one any day. Because Nimbus … well you would not want to meet him during a misty night, would you?

 9. Murmur (Michael Amar, Arrow, Adrian Glynn McMorran)

This one actually cares about his grandma, I will give him that, but SOMEONE SEWED HIS FUCKING LIPS TOGETHER! So you don’t really like looking at him, and he kind of went over board after he was pressured into joining Damien Darhk with, you know, killing everyone and joining HIVE, who as you recall planned to end the world as wen know it, so what about everyone elses grandmas, they can just die or what? No, Mister Amar, there is quite a lot wrong with you, that’s for sure.

 8. Everyman (Hannibal Bates, The Flash, Various)

That one could be a tragedy, but well, he got so mixed up and wrong in the head, that he became a danger to everyone else. He is creepy trapped between shapes and he is creepy in other shapes because … you don’t just go around and kiss random women, who think you are somebody else. That is just wrong. But Bates is kind of mostly wrong, so, yeah.

 7. Anthony Ivo (Arrow, Dylan Neal)

Ivo is Sara’s Personal Case of #Metoo, which really should be enough to earn him a spot on this list, but there is also his habit of keeping people in cages and the whole „You have to choose, whom I shoot dead!“- thing and all of that is only the tip of the iceberg. Not even Dylan Neal can stop me from wanting to scream at the top of my lungs: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! at Dr. Ivo.

 6. Nocturna (Natalia Knight, Batwoman, Kayla Ewell)

We all know the story how Nocturna was not allowed to show up in the Animated Batman Series in the 90s, because she was considered too disturbing (Morbius on the other hand was allowed to show up in the Spider-Man Cartoon but had to … undergo some changes, which made a perfectly good vampire into the creepies cartoon-villain ever unleashed on kids and scarred me for life, but that’s another story). Here she finally is, and yes, she is rather disturbing. Because she acutally knows very well that she isn’t a vampire, but still strings her victims up and bleeds them out, after biting them with laced spikey teeth. It would be kinky, if it were the least bit sexy, which it totally isn’t, so yeah, put her away for good please.

 5. Vandal Savages Hawk Creatures (Legends of Tomorrow, Various)

Season 1 of „Legends“ was quite different than what came after, but „Night of the Hawk“ was an early highlight. While it was kind of a parody, being Season 1 it still played it straight for the most part, which resulted in an episode with the vibe of „American Horror Story“: We are in on the joke, but it’s still Horror. No wonder, after all Joe Dante directed this one. Vandal Savage turned poor teenagers into hawklike monsters, that no one would want to meet … ever. So yeah, thanks, but no thanks.

 4.      August Cartwright (Ethan Campell, Batwoman, John Emmet Tracy, Sebastian Roche)

Oh, God, that guy. So his mother wasn’t particulary ... nice, but that is no excuse to kidnap, gaslight, and brainwash a young girl, keep that girl’s mother’s head in a fridge for years, turn said girl into a slave and get her to make facemasks out of actual human face! Nor is that any excuse for fear-gasing your own son just because you are mad at him. Or anything in any way related to face-stealing, ,killing, identitiy theft, or anything else Dr. Cartwright has ever been up to. Like, seriously it has been a long time a character that desevers to be hated that much has been on our televions screens. Creepy Creep!

 3. Duela Dent (Batwoman, Alessandra Torresani)

Female Slashers have become kind of a common trope in fiction by now, but Duela is kind of different. Suffering from a pretty extreme version of of body dysmorphic disorder Duela sees beauty through a different lense than the rest of the world (we will never forget what she deems to be her face being perfect, even though we desperatly want to). So yeah, she slashes faces, mainly her own, is out to punish people, who force beauty ideals on her and othes, and somehow has no problem with … donating her face to Alice. … Can someone please get that poor woman help, I mean, seriously?!

 2.      Rag Doll (Peter Merkel, The Flash, Troy James, Phil LaMarr)

He did make Joe West throw up. And not only him. Rag Doll is plains disgusting. So disgusting actually, that the producers dialed him back in Season 6 and used more CG and less pratical „Troy James freaks us out“- bending. But while he could be fun all elongaty, we actually prefer him as his creepy original Season 5 Self. He is demented, wears a creepy mask, acts creepy, and we really don’t want to see him do his stuff but can’t look away at the same time. I have no idea why he was in the Young Rogues either, because he is really mainly creepy – und would be the Overcreep on this list, if it weren’t for….

 1.      The Dollmaker (Barton Mathis, The Broken Doll Killer, Arrow, Michael Eklund)

I am still amazed to this day that they were allowed to make this episode. You have to remember „Arrow“ had been only on for one Season at this point and „The 100“ was still about to premier. The CW was yet to change it’s image. Still they somehow got to made the Dollmaker-Episode, which left us disturbed to this very day. What Mathis was doing to his victims …. Well not only Quentin got nightmares about it. Poor Laurel went understandable full addict after almost being made into a puppet by him. So, Rag Doll might look creepier, but the Dollmaker is one of this Serial Killers we never want to even hear from again. It’s really no wonder he was an one-off, like I said, I am still amazed they were even allowed to make the episode on Network Television let alone The CW at all.

[hlcreators]

AUTHOR REC:  star_k / @perfectdagger​

Be sure to show some love and leave kudos and a comment! 

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“My Dear,

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Louis would also hold onto those three words until the weekend came along.

Part 4 of the Mistletoes & Wrackspurts series, or the year when Louis and Harry finally decided to give themselves a try, (re)falling in love and making memories for a life time.

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Reason #24: Because you forgot to buy a birthday present

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“It’s, hm, his name is…” Oh boy, Harry was about to pass out, he couldn’t bear to hear what Louis would say. Susie was looking at him, worried eyes watching him from the till as she noticed that Harry had simply abandoned his cupcake duties. “Harry. Harry Styles.”

To win a pair of tickets to watch Manchester United playing, Louis may have possibly lied to Nick Grimshaw on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, asking Harry, his best friend, to be his boyfriend. Problem is - Harry has always been in love with Louis and so, this Valentine’s he’s gonna see his dreams come true, with a tiny bit of a twist, in order to watch the football team they have loved together since they were kids.

Sick of Losing Soulmates (I Like You) (7.6k)

Time and hearts will wear us thin So which path will you take, ‘cause we both know a break Does exactly what it says on the tin

‘Cause I’m sick of losing soulmates, so where do we begin I can finally see, you’re as fucked up as me So how do we win?

//

I hope I’m not stuck on your waiting list Because I dream of you in colors that don’t exist And I think it’s high time for you to know I like you I like you I like you And I hope you like me too

Part 2 of the Mistletoes & Wrackspurts series, or the interlude in which 3 years apart seems to be nothing and too much at the same time.

Every Little Thing He Does Is Magic (92k)

There were only a few things Louis didn’t believe in. You could include in that list the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy, and also Father Christmas. Having four little sisters, though, he had to pretend that all of them were real for the sake of keeping their imagination alive.

Surprisingly, there was one thing, that not until his oldest little sister turned 11 did Louis believe in and did he think would actually be real: magic.

Louis’ sister was a witch and everything he knew would never be the same again.

Part 1 of the Mistletoes & Wrackspurts series, or the Hogwarts AU where Louis is a muggle, Lottie finds out she is a witch and Harry is Lottie’s wizard friend from Hogwarts, with a lot of magic, letters, owl cuddles and crushes on boys from different worlds.

[prolestariwrites]

The Wish [2]

Fandom: Devil May Cry Characters: Dante, Vergil, Nero, V, Lady, Eva, Sparda, OC Rating: General Tags: Family, Humor, Fluff, Angst, Typical demon hunting violence

Summary: A demon gives Dante the chance to have his greatest desires made real. When he finds himself in a seemingly idyllic life, all seems well until it starts to unravel. Will he sacrifice himself to save the family he lost, or will he choose to give them up for the truth?

Now Posted: Chapter 2, in which Dante hunts for clues and to who he is, and where he is, when he reconnects with a long-lost relative.

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Chapter 2: Pictures and Clues

Dante spends a full ten minutes just sitting on the bed in his underwear. He reviews every step of the night before: Nero texting him about this job, catching the train to Fortuna, the two of them driving out to the warehouse with the radio blaring and picking up burgers on the way. Then the demons, dozens upon dozens, that weren't difficult but packed to the brim so that when they pried open the front door of the building they swarmed like roaches.

He had found the queen at the top, but there it gets fuzzy. It talked to him, but about what? Something about his family? Every time he gets to that part, his headache turns a little sharper, so Dante decides to give thinking a rest so he can figure out where the hell he actually is.

His jeans are slung over a chair so he grabs them and fishes inside for his cell phone. It's different from the one he normally has, and he frowns as he turns it on and finds a passcode. He tries the first thing he can think of—1, 2, 3, 4, easy enough—and luckily it works. Quickly he dials Nero's number, but isn't really surprised when the automated voice comes on the line to tell him that number is not in service.

Dante scratches the back of his head. He's here, in a strange house with a woman who knows his parents, and Nero is… somewhere. Got it.

But then he wonders if something might have happened to Nero. What if he needs his help? Then this has got to be a dream, right? So how does he wake up?

Once he pulls his jeans on and finds a t-shirt in the other set of drawers, he tries the door. Cautiously he opens it, but the house is quiet, so Dante slips into the hallway. There are two other bedrooms and a bathroom which look suspiciously normal. Even the closets are tidy, and Dante snorts when he gets to the linen closet. This must be a dream. Who owns so many towels?

Next, he heads downstairs to the main floor. At the bottom is a living room, complete with a comfortable-looking sofa and a big-screen television. Dante stands in front of it and admires it for a minute before grabbing the remote control. He lets out a low whistle when he sees the picture quality, thinking if this is a dream, he's got good taste.

That demon's got good taste.

Dante shakes his head and continues his search. A small dining room is to the left, and to the right is a hallway leading to another half bath. The kitchen is nice too, the dishwasher humming and a pot of coffee warm on the counter. Even the refrigerator is stocked, and Dante helps himself to a piece of chicken he finds in a plastic container, figuring he can eat whatever he wants in a dream.

Out the kitchen window he can see a little backyard, and Dante sighs as he leans against the counter and chews thoughtfully. It's a nice enough house, something any ordinary couple might buy for a starter home. He glances down at the gold band on his finger, holding it up so he can examine it closely. Setting the chicken down, he wipes his hand on his jeans and slips it off, turning it over until he notices an inscription on the inside: Dante and Lir Forever.

He pictures the cute blonde who was half his size but acted more than familiar. "Lir," he murmurs out loud, slipping the ring back on as he looks around.

Wandering back through the house, Dante notices some pictures sitting on the windowsill in the living room. He walks over and picks up the first one, his face going a bit pale. He is in a suit, and that woman‚ Lir, is in a wedding dress. They are posed and smiling in front of a cake, holding a knife together as if to cut it. He turns it over but there's nothing out of the ordinary about it, and Dante snorts as he sets it back down again.

The next few are of them as well: a selfie in winter gear, posing in what Patty would call "Sunday attire", in bathing suits at a beach, arms around each other and grinning at the camera. He's gotta admit, they look pretty good together. His brain did a good job dreaming this girl up.

The next photo, however, feels like a punch to the gut. It's a double-sided frame on a hinge, and on one side it's him and a man who looks exactly like him, only his hair is slicked back instead of hanging in fringes around his face. In fact, he looks exactly like what Vergil would look like. If he was still alive.

Dante's hand shakes as he examines the picture. It is Vergil, it's got to be, the same slightly slimmer build and the half-inch in height that made it possible to tell them apart. The only thing that shocks him more than seeing this picture is the one opposite. Across from Dante and Vergil posed with small smiles is Vergil and Lady, her hand in his arm as they smile into the camera.

Gripping the picture frame, he grabs the next one and braces himself. Staring up at him are two people he somewhat recognizes, as if he had seen them in a dream. They are older, in their 60s maybe, the man grinning with his arm around his wife, sitting together on a couch. He has longish silver hair, not unlike Dante's, a pair of glasses hanging around his neck. Her blonde hair is swept up into a bun, streaks of white only making her more dignified, her hand on the man's knee. Dante brings the picture up so close his nose nearly touches it, and that's when he realizes that the woman is a dead ringer for Trish, if Trish was about 40 years older.

His cell phone rings in his pocket, startling him out of his examination. Dante fumbles for the phone but freezes when he sees the name Vergil appear on the screen. It takes another three rings before he gets the courage to answer. "Yeah?"

"Did I wake you or something?"

Dante staggers to the couch and sits heavily, still clutching the two pictures in his hands. He knew what to expect, but nothing could have prepared him for hearing that voice on the other end. "Dante," it says again. "You there?"

"Y-yeah," he stammers, his voice cracking around a dry throat. "Verge, is that you?"

"Of course it's me. I want to talk about tonight." Dante's eyes close as he listens, trying not to freak out. Even Vergil's exasperation for him is the same. "I'm paying for dinner, and I don't want to hear anything about it. We need to settle this now so we don't argue at the restaurant."

"What uh…" Dante's mind is spinning and he shakes his head to clear it. "Yeah uh, Lir mentioned something about a dinner. Do you know Lir?"

"I'm surprised you forgot, Dante. Usually you remember these sorts of things." Dante leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he tries to breathe. "This dinner tonight is important and I don't want a scene. Just let me pay for it, and afterward we can agree on how you'll pay me back your half. Agreed?"

Dante swallows thickly. "Yeah, yeah that's fine. Vergil. Vergil."

Even saying his name gives Dante the shivers. "Well I expected more of an argument. Glad you're going to listen to reason. Don't be late."

"Wait, Verge?" Dante looks down at the picture in his hand, something hot and tight tickling his throat. "Can I see you? Can you come over?"

"What for? I'll be seeing you tonight, and I have the kids. Are you sick? Where's Lir?"

"She covered a shift," Dante replies. "Please, Verge, I got… I need to say some things."

"Well say it tonight. I'm not driving all the way over there when I'll see you in a few hours."

Dante chuckles, swallowing tears as his breath escapes in a laugh. "Okay. Yeah. Hey uh, is mom and dad… they really gonna be there? At this dinner thing?"

There is a long pause, and then Vergil huffs, "Don't be stupid," before hanging up on him.

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The rest of the afternoon Dante spends figuring out his life. He finds photo albums in the closet, handmade scrapbooks that Lir definitely made. They chronicle some of their vacations, and he smiles as he turns the pages to see them camping, at the beach, at Disneyworld. The wedding one makes him wince a bit, the smiling faces of his brother and his parents making something in his chest tight. The date on the preserved invitation tells him they've been married about ten years, which is pretty funny since the longest relationship he's ever had was about ten minutes after getting dressed.

He looks weird in a suit, and Dante snorts to think what Lady or Trish would say if they saw him. But Lady is there, on Vergil's arm, and that is a mystery he can't wait to solve. And Trish kind of is there, in the form of his mother, looking slightly older but just as lovely.

There is a drawer in the desk in the office that has some bills, and he boots up the computer to take a look through. The email is pretty normal, receipts from online orders and utility companies, messages from the family and people he doesn't know. There is a link to a bank account and Dante's brows lift to see the balance. Compared to his normal finances, the amount seems like a small fortune.

There must be something a god of fortune can give you.

A cat appears suddenly, jumping onto the desk and stalking across the keyboard to plop across his arms. Dante pulls back in reaction, which earns him a very annoyed look from the cat. "Hey uh, there," he says, tentatively reaching out to pat its head.

The cat snaps at him, and Dante rolls his eyes. He never got along with animals as a rule. "So you want to sit on my computer as I'm using it but I can't pet you, hm?" he grumbles. The cat yawns in response, so he decides to go find lunch instead.

There's not much more to discover after having a sandwich. His life seems completely ordinary, although he doesn't know exactly what he does or even if he's still in Red Grave City. The other question still to solve is Nero. If Vergil is alive and married to Lady, then does Nero even exist? His face goes a bit hot to think of the kid not being around. But Vergil had mentioned kids on the phone… is it possible?

He is dozing on the couch and watching television when the door bursts open. Dante is on his feet and reaching for his guns that aren't there when Lir hurries in, her arms filled with dry cleaning as she comes like a whirlwind into the living room. "I'm so sorry I'm late! I can't believe I got stuck there! I told them I couldn't stay, and now look at the time!"

She pushes the clothes and plastic into his arms and pulls her cell phone from her purse. "Did you take a shower yet? You still need to shave. You are going to shave, right? You can't look like a sasquatch at the party."

Lir looks up at him expectantly, and Dante shrugs. "Yeah, I guess?"

"Good. Wait. Are you okay?" She steps up and presses a hand to his forehead. "You were sick this morning. How do you feel?"

"I'm okay," he assures her. "I had a weird dream."

She smiles, and his heart actually skips a beat. His brain is good. "Good. Did you feed Claudius?"

"Claudius?"

"Yes. The cat." Lir laughs and pats his chest. "Was he a problem today?"

Dante thinks about the cat that interrupted his computer search. "No. And no, I didn't feed him."

"Okay. I'll take care of it. You go shower and get dressed. And don't take too much off, you know I prefer a bit of facial hair." She takes the dry cleaning from his arms and pulls one of the hangers to hand back to him. "Here's your shirt and pants. I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Yeah." He watches her step around him, draping the rest of the clothes over the back of a chair before disappearing into the kitchen. If this is a dream, it's more vivid than any he can remember.

The shower feels good, even if Dante is amazed by how many things are on the shelves. He's never lived with a girl but is there anything needed really other than a bar of soap? In one of the drawers under the sink he finds a shaving kit and goes to work before the shower fixing up his face just like she asked. It occurs to Dante that this is his dream and he can do whatever he wants, but something makes him not want to disappoint her, so he makes sure to leave a nicely trimmed beard while removing the rest from his cheeks and neck. Once the shower is hot, he goes for the least-strange sounding soaps before finishing up and drying off with a nice fluffy towel.

He peeks into the bedroom and finds it empty. Quickly he hurries over to the bureau and opens the top drawer, rummaging around for some underwear. Dante just has his first foot in when Lir enters, and he yelps when he sees her. "Hey! I'm getting dressed!" he protests.

She freezes and looks at him in surprise as he pulls his boxer briefs up. "Yeah. I see that." With a laugh she moves to the closet and hangs the rest of the dry cleaning up before disappearing into the bathroom.

Dante frowns before he remembers, they are married. He rubs his hand on his face with an internal groan. He is going to have to get used to this as long as this dream or whatever lasted, including being half-dressed in front of her. While she's gone he quickly pulls on the dark slacks and gray dress shirt before heading to the closet. He finds some black dress shoes he figures Lir will like, and once he's all ready he stands and looks at himself in the full-length mirror that is propped against the wall.

Dante barely recognizes himself without the low-slung denim and some red leather, but he figures he still looks pretty good. As long as he looks better than Vergil, he'll be satisfied, chuckling to himself at the thought. But then he sobers a bit as his stomach turns, wondering what it will be like to see Vergil again. The last time was on Mallet Island, and before that, watching him fall off the Temen-ni-gru. Did that even happen in this place? There had to be a Temen-ni-gru if Lady was here, right? He shakes his head, confused as ever. He needs to figure this out, and fast.

Lir steps past him, again dressed in only a bra and panties, and Dante quickly looks the other way as she pulls her dress over her head. "Will you get this zipper?" she asks as she steps into a pair of heels.

Clearing his throat, he steps up behind her and carefully pulls the zipper up as she smooths her hands down the front. It's a sleeveless blue little number that fits her just right, and when she turns around to fix his collar he admires how nice she looks. "Okay," Lir smiles. "You ready to go? Dinner with the family is always interesting."

Dinner with the family. "Yeah, I'm ready," he grins. Maybe the mystery-solving can wait until after seeing them again at least. Couldn't hurt, right?

[buffyversefanfiction]

Twisted Tristan’s Tormented Christmas

Fandoms: Buffy the vampire slayer, Angel, Buffy Dark Horse comics, Buffyverse and A Christmas Carol.

Warnings: I do not own the rights to the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its spin-off series Angel, its dark horse comics continuation series, or any of the characters created by Joss Whedon and others in the Buffyverse.

15 years +, Mild to Strong Violence, Sexual References. F/F, F/M, M/M, Other +

“Have yourself a merry little…” The voice on the television began to sing with a campy Christmas cheer before the song was abruptly ended by Tristan switching off the television in the living room of the apartment, he shared with Faith above their bar Rogue’s. “Christmas is cancelled this year; we are drinking straight through to New Year’s.” A drunken Tristan declared, while wearing just a pair of tight white boxer briefs as he held a half empty bottle of whisky in his hands, before crashing on to the nearby couch. This year had been especially difficult for Tristan Summers, who had went from being a vampire who was possessed by a demon, to being killed, only to come back to life and find himself sucked into a twisted dimension where he and his parents Buffy and Angel worked together to kill the shadow demon that had once possessed him. Being back from the dead should have been reason enough for Tristan to celebrate Christmas, however, despite many pleas from both of his infamous parents he continued to decline, even going as far as convincing Faith to head to Los Angels for Christmas so he would not have anybody to remind him come the day. The earliest Christmases that Tristan could remember with his adoptive parents seemed like a perfect Christmas looking back which were probably heavily influenced by nostalgia and how much he missed them. Heck, even his Christmases spent with vampires Dante and Drusilla were fun for him, of course they were all crazy and there’d usually be humans on the table instead of turkey but it still felt like a family holiday, a deeply disturbed family, but family nonetheless and after so many losses, heartbreaks, and betrayals, Tristan was done with it all, especially Christmas. After everything him, Buffy, and Angel had gone through to get to a place where their relationship was somewhat healthy, or at least healthier than Tristan trying to kill his biological parents, he did feel guilty for rejecting both of their invitations but he just did not feel ready to open himself up to another form of family, especially not on Christmas Day.

As the hours passed, Tristan waited until his bottle of whisky was completely empty before passing out drunk on the couch where he sat but sleep was not something he would get much of on the night of December 22nd as he suddenly found himself being awakened by his old high school friend Mandi Jenkins, startling him to his core, considering Mandi was killed by Drusilla not too long ago. “Mandi,” Tristan mumbled as he rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what stood before him. “How is this possible? Your dead…I saw your body myself after Dru killed you.” “I believe the correct answer would be it’s the magic of Christmas, believe it or not that kind of thing really does exist but to be fair in a world filled with vampires, witches, slayers and sons of slayers is it really that far of a stretch that Christmas really is that special after all.” Mandi replied to her old friend. “Clearly, I am dreaming once again.” Tristan realized, as he stood up from his couch. “There’s only so many twisted dream scenarios one unhinged slayer can handle before he becomes completely and utterly tormented like…” “Drusilla…you were going to say Drusilla, right?” Mandi interrupted the slayer’s son, instantly noticing his guilt over mention the name of her killer to her so casually. “It’s okay Drusilla killed me, biggest surprise was it was not you who killed me…and I use the term loosely considering I am not actually Mandi.” “Are you the first? Please tell me you’re the first and not the shadow demon because I am getting sick of going up against the shadow demon.” Tristan complained. “I am the ghost of Christmas past.” Mandi revealed to him, only to be met by laughs of disbelief from Tristan. “Are we really doing this?” Tristan asked in between laughs.

Exactly one blink later and before his very eyes he was now standing next to Mandi on the snow covered grass of his family home in Riverborn looking into the dining room window to see his adoptive parents playing games, talking and laughing with each other and a six year old version of himself. “They loved Christmas so much, my dad used to dress up as Santa, I guess like most dads did but he really committed to the role either that or I was a really dumb kid because I was shocked when I found it was him.” Tristan admitted to Mandi, with tears in his eyes as he watched a beautiful Christmas memory before his very eyes. “Do you remember how our parents used to meet up on Christmas night and it would be like this big mash up of Christmas? And how you used to spend New Year’s with me every year?” “I know I look like Mandi, but I am not actually her remember,” The ghost of Christmas past reminded him. “I can see why Christmas is so difficult when it serves as a reminder of all you’ve lost but not all of which you have lost is bad…” “What does that mean?” Tristan wondered, before realizing. “Dante and Drusilla…I loved them like family too and the whole time they were the ones who killed my real family, first my parents, then you, well Mandi…” “I know how much Mandi Jenkins meant to you which is why I chose to take this form and I know the guilt you feel for not only her death but your parents’ too but all of that was out of your control.” Mandi of Christmas past explained to the son of the slayer. “Maybe not…but killing Mandi’s boyfriend was definitely all me, killing all those slayers, and all those innocents, that is all on me without any excuses and that is something I can never make up for.” Tristan admitted, never forgetting the horrors he had committed with his own hands. “I could feed you the line and play the role of a person endorsing your shit by saying you were manipulated by two vampires, one whom you were in love with, but the truth is you chose that path and you killed all of those innocents and that is something you should have to live with for the rest of your life without a doubt!” Mandi made clear to Tristan. “However, that does not mean you should resign yourself to the shadows, if you truly want to redeem yourself and be the better person then you need to learn the true differences between the past you, your present and what your future may look like.”

It was December 23rd the eve before Christmas eve and Tristan had all but regulated his experiences the night before as nothing more than a drunken dream as he pulled himself together, showered, washed, and put on some clothes before opening up his and Faith’s bar Rogues which they opened during the day despite the fact most of their customers couldn’t step out in the day, however, one particularly loyal customer only showed up during the day, Miss Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins, a former vengeance demon from an alternate world who had found herself annoyingly human and in New York City. “So, you spend a thousand years give or take with the best gig a girl can ask for…minus all the bloody bunnies and then boom some shadow demon gives you an offer you cannot refuse although in hindsight I probably should have…” A drunk Anya Jenkins slurred while drinking her bottle of beer, sat on a stool, at the bar counter, within Rogues bar, which was empty barring her and her bartender Tristan Summers, who stood behind the counter, looking far from amused by his company. “Only to be beat by two humans and the worst part of it all is not only does the world suck a lot more than I hoped for but this world’s version of my boss tells me I have no choice but to stay human because this world’s me was given too many chances…” “You have told me this story every time you come in here in the afternoon, always drunk before the sunsets, forcing me to get you a taxi so you do not wind up some vamp’s dinner…” Tristan complained to her. “You need to get over it already and find yourself some kind of life you do not totally hate living.” “Oh, I am very sorry if my life’s problems bore you!” Anya said with great sarcasm. “It was you lot who did this to me…it’s only fair you have to wallow in my misery with me.” “Hey, do not get uppity with me because you were bested by a broken key and a halfwit.” Tristan mocked the former vengeance demon, and by doing so also mocked Dawn and her boyfriend Xander. “You are almost as bad as Sid for the complaining, but the guy is a freaking puppet who cannot drink…real problems, unlike yours!” “Remind me again why I keep choosing to come back here to a bar which service is severely lacking?” Anya asked, while digging at Tristan at the same time. “Because this is the only place stupid enough to let you have a tab!” Tristan replied. “Which was definitely more Faith’s idea than mine considering I know for a fact you are never going to find a way of paying us back nor do you want to look.” “You make an excellent point,” Anya responded before finishing her beer and placing the empty bottle onto the bar counter. “Where is your fellow slayer anyway?” “Spending Christmas in Los Angeles with everyone including the two humans who brought you down to your knees.” Tristan informed her, all too happily. “If I knew you were this much fun during the holidays I would have told her to take you with them although considering you’re an alternate world version of the girl Xander almost married I do not think Dawn would be too happy…saying that I am not too sure if I care about her not being happy.” “So, you turned down being somewhere for Christmas so you could serve me alcohol all through the holiday and yet I’m the one who needs to get a life?” Anya said blatantly, as she stood up from the barstool and began walking towards the bar door, ready to leave Tristan alone to think about her latest insult.

Later that very same night after he was finished closing up Rogues, the only male slayer Tristan went straight to bed, avoiding any drinks in an attempt to avoid further dreams about Christmas past, but alas the ghost of Christmas past and had come and gone and it was now time for the ghost of Christmas present and who better to represent it than Drusilla, a vampire that Tristan had a lot of history with, history which continued to troubled him right up to this very day, and possibly in the future too. “My boy still looks like an angel when he sleeps but the things, he’s done makes his daddy angel weep and weep.” Drusilla tormented Tristan, as the male slayer awoke from his sleep to find her stood above his bed within his bedroom. “Considering you were not invited into this home this has got to be another dream,” Tristan reassured himself, as he climbed out of bed and stood up on the floor, ready to face the vampire who made him into the monster he once was. “So, are we still on the theme of Christmas or is this just another dream with you in it?” “Yes, I do seem to haunt your dreams on the regular…tell me what is worse for you? The dreams in which I am killing everybody you loved which serve more like flashbacks than dreams, or is it the dreams in which you’re happy, we’re happy, Dante, and Mandi too?” Drusilla, the ghost of Christmas present, questioned the man who once loved her like a mother, knowing the turmoil her mere presence caused him. “I cannot believe I am saying this,” Tristan admitted to both himself and the ghost of Christmas present, eager to avoid anymore talk of his troubling past. “Please tell me this is another Christmas dream…” “Yes,” Drusilla said after a sinister cackle, the Christmas ghost playing their part of the deranged vampire a little to well, before the two found themselves standing outside the front doors of the Hyperion Hotel, within the garden, looking through the front doors to see Tristan’s father Angel reluctantly decorating a large tree within the reception area of the hotel, under close super vision by the all-powerful witch Willow. “Hate to break it to you Dru but if this is what you have to show me then your seriously lacking in the sinister department these days…or this Christmas ghost version of you is way too much Christmas and not enough Halloween.” Tristan scorned Drusilla, as he continued to watch his father Angel decorate a tree with Willow, looking further to find Faith and Spike knocking back drinks at the counter of the reception area, while behind the reception area Giles, his mother’s watcher, was heavy into what looked like a game of scrabble with Dawn and Xander, the watcher looking justifiably frustrated by what Tristan assumed was the others lack of verbal intellect in comparison to Giles. As Tristan continued to search through the festive scenery before his very eyes, taking Drusilla’s silence as a hint to continue examining what lay before him, after a few more moments he found his mother Buffy Summers sat on the stairs playing dolls with her six year old niece, and his cousin, Joyce Harris, and for some reason that he did not want to admit to himself he began to feel a gut in his stomach, jealous not of Joyce or her child play, but broken by the sign of Buffy being motherly to a child, a child that was not him, a child that would never be him. “You are right in thinking she will never be like that with you, for you a neither a child, or remotely innocent…the days of that ever being likely for you are well and truly over.” Drusilla told him. “You are never too old to be somebody’s son but are you too far gone to allow anyone to love you like that?” “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Tristan questioned the vampire, confused by her often-cryptic ways of putting a sentence together. But before the son of the slayer could get any answers from the ghost of Christmas present he found himself waking back up in his bed in his bedroom, only this time there was no sign of Drusilla to be found.

It was now December 24th, officially the eve before Christmas, and it felt to Tristan like this particular Christmas was on steroids, as Christmases tended to feel like during times people were far from feeling the festive spirit, and it seemed to Mr. Summers that he could not turn on a television, stream a song, or listen to the radio, without the message of Christmas being shoved down his throat, but as he opened up his bar for another day to night shift, he began to look forward to the distraction of Anya Jenkins, knowing she would be the last person to feel the festive cheer, or at least that is what he thought. As Anya strolled into Rogue’s dressed as a literal elf, holding a hot, sexy, and barely dressed, male Santa in her arms looking happier than she had ever looked before, Tristan could not believe his eyes, believing instantly some sinister magic was to blame for this ungodly sight before him. “I thought you hated elves why the hell are you dressed up like one?” Tristan asked Anya, as she sat down at the bar with her festive suitor. “It’s bunnies, it’s always been bunnies, bloody bunnies!” Anya corrected the male slayer, unnerved by mentioning the creatures she feared the most. “So, you hate Easter but not Christmas then?” Tristan wondered, before turning to examine the sexy Santa, failing to not notice his amazingly chiseled and seemingly oiled hairless chest. “Or do you just have a kink for Santa’s…which judging by this one makes a whole lot of sense.” “I like money, and lots of it, and I got myself as an elf at some shopping mall…can you believe shopping malls are still a thing on this world? In my world we enslaved all designers forcing them to make their designs exclusive to us which definitely wound up backfiring when they started stitching terribly and we got all angry and killed them all.” Anya revealed to Tristan, with a sense of fondness. “Now those were the days…” “Did you just say this world…as in you’re from another planet or something? Because that is super cool, everyone meets vampires and demons these days, but I never hear stories about aliens.” A clearly confused sexy Santa asked Anya, all too excited by the potential of her being an alien. “I knew by Xander that dumb was your type but at least this one’s hot.” Tristan told Anya, mocking both Xander and the sexy Santa without care. “Well aliens are from another planet and I am from another universe so yes, I’m technically an alien to this world anyways.” Anya replied to Tristan, before going on to say. “Also, I am not the Anya who almost married that lump I am the Anya that has only had the misfortune to meet him once.” “So, Santa what do you want to drink?” Tristan asked the man, eager to change from the topic of aliens. “Oh, I do not drink, I respect what goes into my body.” The sexy Santa, instantly losing all appeal to both Anya and Tristan within that one instant. “I’m cool with the whole not drinking thing but respecting your body? Is that really a thing when there is literally a fast-food joint on every corner? I mean I am all for self-love and stuff but keep your greens and I will keep my fats.” Tristan responded to the man dressed as Santa. “Tristan your bitterness over no Christmas date is starting to show, maybe you should hitch a ride to L.A. before it’s too late and spend Christmas with that god-awful family of yours.” Anya suggested to the male slayer. “I’d gladly tend to the bar for you…if I’m payed Christmas wages of course.” “No thank you,” Tristan scoffed, not willing to trust Anya, nor willing to go anywhere, especially not on Christmas. “I mean I know this place is just a dive bar and everything, but I would not trust you to take care of my stakes never mind my bar, and everything’s a stake if it’s wooden and you get creative…”

After spending his day shift watching Anya making out with the sexy Santa she brought to Rogues, and the night shift serving demon after demon, creature after creature, and the odd human who were very odd indeed, Tristan shut down the bar for another night before putting himself to bed once again, falling into a deep sleep, hoping the future was further away than what it would be…as before long he found himself awakening on the cold hard ground of his own grave. “Well this is definitely a little too much melancholy for even me…” He mumbled to himself as he stood up from the ground and walked off his grave, looking around the San Francisco cemetery, confused by how he got there. “Down here big guy!” Sid instructed the slayer, forcing Tristan to look below to find the living puppet stood in front of him. “In case you’ve not quite caught up on all of this, yet I am your ghost of Christmas future.” “I figured that much but why take to me to where Buffy buried me before the whole coming back to life via some powers that be meddling?” Tristan replied to the puppet man, made of wood. “Well where else were they going to stick your lifeless body the next time around?” Sid answered him. “They never got round to getting rid of the grave, not that they needed too considering you wound up back in it before long.” “What did I die of a severe lack of Christmas cheer?” Tristan joked, unaffected so far by this spiritual visit. “Or maybe a vampire staked me with a candy cane, the amount I’ve staked seems kind of poetic actually…” “Nope, after you went back to the bad way of life much to no-one’s surprise your mum Buffy stepped up and killed you…if memory serves right you were stabbed to death with way too many wounds for it not to be a little…you know…fun for her.” Sid revealed to the slayer. “But after all the work they put in saving you just for you to go back to being a bastard who would blame her…” “So, I go back evil? I wouldn’t do that…not after everything…” Tristan dismissed his claims, all while fearing Sid was telling the truth. “Yep, that’s what you thought too but after continuously pushing away the parents, then Faith, and even Anya got sick of you…well after all that you had nobody and before long you were back budding it up with Drusilla acting as if you did not know she and Dante killed your parents…or maybe you just really did not care anymore.” Sid continued to explain to a stunned Tristan. “I mean how are you supposed to be human when you haven’t bonded with any since you started playing with monsters.” “That’s not true!” Tristan snapped at the ghost of Christmas future. “I care about Faith she has never given up on me, and I care about Buffy and Angel, I mean sure the parents thing is a little complicated but I do care about them…and I cared about Mandi, Lucas, and the parents that raised me.” “If you really care about all these people, the ones who aren’t dead yet then why are you treating them like they are already gone?” Sid asked Tristan, already knowing the slayer’s answer. “Because you fear one day you might end up caring too much and losing them which will happen as nobody lives forever, thing is…if you don’t care, lose, get hurt, and let your heart break, then you’re not really human as much as it sucks, we got to feel the bad as well as the good because nothing is more dangerous than becoming numb to it all.” Tristan wanted to argue back with the man trapped within the dummy, wanting to prove him wrong, but Sid’s words were wiser than Tristan would like to admit, and even if he was not a fan of Christmas itself he was certainly a fan of those who did care about it, those who wanted to spend it with him and before long he started to realize that he had made a huge mistake by trying to skip Christmas….

As Tristan woke up in his bed within his room on Christmas Day, he was immediately met with guilt as he realized he had missed out on a chance to bond with his friends, his family, and potential loved ones. He was not suddenly a fan of Christmas itself, that would take some time, but he began to remember its message and how important it was for people, how important it once was for him, and as he climbed out of his bed, rising onto his feet, and walked over to his window to see the back alleyway, in between his building and several others, was covered in snow, as snow continued to fall from the sky, and for a moment, just a moment, he even considered opening that window and yelling Merry Christmas. Instead, he chose to get changed and then call up those who would answer to him, so he could wish them a Merry Christmas and admit to his regrets of not being with them on this special occasion but after he had got changed, and walked into the living room of his apartment, he quickly realized he had no calls to make as his living room was decked to the halls with Christmas decorations, including a fully decorated tree, as his mother Buffy Summers, his father Angel, his aunt Dawn, her man Xander, and their daughter Joyce, stood beside his friend Faith, the vampire Spike, his mother’s best friend Willow and the retired watcher Giles…all of them ready to spend Christmas with him whether he wanted to or not…but luckily for him he was more than ready to celebrate Christmas with them all.

Have a truly twisted Christmas that only torments you in the more joyous ways and a happy new year, a year which will hopefully be less chaotic than 2020, keep slaying slayerettes.

[sometimesrosy]

i know what kind of the show the 100 is, but i really expect at least a good ending for bellarke and i hope your spec is right and we get some kind of that with them, in the past years shows did end in dissapointment, so i hope jason is in the group of 12 monkeys, bones, castle, shadowhunters, OUAT....

okay. but are you SURE you know what kind of show The 100 is?

What kind is it? 

Yes, it’s the post apocalyptic sci fi action tragedy, but there are actually two kinds of post apocalyptic stories, the kind where there’s no hope and humanity is doomed and the kind where there IS hope and humanity can be saved.

This one is DEFINITELY the later. Hope is important in this show. THIS kind of pos apocalyptic story CAN have a happy ending, or at least a happy ending that costs a price, a bittersweet happy ending. JR has told us that there would be a “The 100 style” happy ending, and the last time he said that would happen was with one couple in s5, which we now know was Marper, who got to live their lives on their own terms, alone and without people, but in love and happiness and peace while guiding their people towards a new future. I suspect the ending of the series will *match* that description of a happy ending, but with Bellarke, who was HIGHLY mirrored with Marper in the finale of s5.

And seeing as our heroes have had a happy ending with a cost every single season, what we’re watching is a story where there is hope. And *probably* hope for Bellarke.

But. I see that you aren’t really concerned with the story, you’re concerned with if Clarke and Bellamy get together, and this, to you is what’s in doubt, because you’re looking for a romance novel, or bellarke fic or something.

For you, the story ending in disappointment is the story not ending with Bellarke romantically together with a kiss/confession/sex. Or at least that’s what is seems to me, because as I’m watching, I have not felt denied bellarke since season 2. S1 I didn’t ship them yet, not really. S2 gutted me when she left because of bellarke. S3 they were together and closer than ever, S4 okay i was gutted when she was left behind, but had hope for bellarke with the 2199 radio calls. S5 I was not disappointed with bellarke because of that last part of the finale. S6 was so freaking romantic and ended, for all intents and purposes, with that romantic, intimate bellarke hug in the sunrise, so to me, it was clearly romantic bellarke, even without an official kiss(apparently kiss of life doesn’t count)/confess (apparently all the conversation of love and care and pledges not to leave or let each other die, or the confession that he needs her don’t count)/sex.

This is why I ask if you do know what kind of story this is. Because you are acting like my spec about bellarke is based in my personal feelings and not the development of the narrative that I’ve been following, but I don’t know if you have, or you’d see that bellarke is already a romantic story, and has been since AT LEAST season 5, when bellarke shippers abandoned the show because b/e existed, instead of recognizing a canon love triangle when they see one. (I will admit that this has been what has made me most frustrated with the Bellarke fandom. They’re giving us what we want and we’re acting like it’s not happening in canon on screen.)

Like my “spec” is pretending there’s a love triangle, or the love triangle is just an interpretation rather than written in the script, the direction, the cinematography and the acting. 

I cannot tell you if JR will back out of the bellarke love story or not, because I am not in control of what another person creates, but I can tell you that the story of The 100 has been an epic love story, truly from season 1, because it has been about GROWTH, but as a main plot line from season 5, or the end of s4 when he left her behind. 

If you say you know what kind of story The 100 is and you don’t recognize the actual romantic story of Bellarke, then you don’t know what the story is. 

This is not fanon. This is canon. It’s not my speculation. It’s the narrative. JR has called it an epic love story. He has told us it would happen eventually. He has said they were soul mates. He has said they love each other. And the story he is telling has them revolving around each other closer and closer until they connect. 

When I speculate that the story might be following the structure of The Divine Comedy, with the Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise, giving us the darkest moments in the beginning and ending up NOT a tragedy, that’s a speculation that is based on a remarkable similarity to the narrative and also literal allusions to the text and a painting we stared at in TWO seasons to point out the connection and character names like Dante and Blake to make the connections. So yeah. I’m speculating on the theme of the story that won’t, perhaps, be clear until the end, but it’s less a speculation and more a theory-- a theory has evidence to support it while a speculation doesn’t necessarily. 

There IS a point to the story, though. He’s told us there is. And it will be clear at the end. What I’m saying is that in order to tell a good story, he needs to incorporate that point into the whole story so we can follow along and it will all add up at the end. So I’ve been looking for those breadcrumbs that tell us where it’s going. This is what I do, and I’m pretty good at it. Finding those clues. I know not everyone knows how to do that, and I know a lot of people have been gaslighted by those who have been telling us Bellarke is not romantic or not the central relationship, or not the heroes, or are actually the bad guys, or are unimportant etc. 

Back in season 3 after Hakeldama, I wrote a meta theorizing that this whole story was about Clarke and Bellamy coming together. That in order to succeed, they must be together. It was based on some significant evidence from the first 2.5 seasons, but it has been proven correct in the following 3.5 seasons. This show is DEFINITELY about bellarke, the head and the heart, being TOGETHER and saving the world. There were points where it could have been a sun/moon story, never getting together. There were points where it could have remained platonic with no romantic connection. Those points have all been passed now, and they MUST be together and it is ALREADY romantic, so the eventual COMPLETE union of Bellarke is going to be romantic. They are already married, imo, committed, pledged, intimate, loving, devoted, respecting, trusting, and the ONLY thing separating them from what fandom wants is the physical. Because it has already moved into the romantic (EVERY love triangle is a romantic story, even for the losing couple, it’s still a romantic story, therefore, in the IMPOSSIBLE event that bellamy choses Echo over Clarke, it’s still romantic, just a broken hearted romance without the necessary genre happy ending,) it is no longer a platonic relationship.

What I CAN’T do is tell you how it’s going to end. If Bellarke will live or die. They might die and that’s always been a possibility that I’ve said for the end of the series. Here are the possibilities i can see for a Bellarke ending. In all but one (very unlikely possibility) Bellarke are kiss/confess/sex canon romantic, even if they don’t get a happy ever after.

Bellarke alive, together, romantically, married, raise a family and a peaceful society with their friends. (Happy Ever After ending common in the romance genre.)

Bellarke alive, together, romantically, married, have a family and life with their friends but there are more struggles coming, like maybe another apocalypse or political upheaval or violence. (Happy For Now ending also common in the more ‘realistic’ romance genre or romantic stories.)

Bellarke alive, together, romantically, married, have a family.... but not with their friends who are left behind to create the peaceful society. (Marper ending, The 100 Style Happy Ending, as described by JR. Bittersweet. This is the one I think is most likely in some ways.)

Bellarke dead, together romantically before they die, their family and friends go on without them to create a peaceful society. (Happy Ever After for humanity, but not for Bellarke. Bittersweet. A Romeo and Juliet ending, and though Bellarke has never been framed as R&J it’s possible. This could happen. The sooner they get together romantically in season 7 the more likely they won’t get a happy ending.)

Bellarke together romantically, but Clarke dies saving them, and Bellamy carries on in her absence, broken, perhaps eventually settling for Echo, or perhaps not. He creates a peaceful society for their friends in her name. (this is Happy Ever After for humanity, but a tragedy for Bellarke. I believe this was the ending of s4, and I think it’s developed past that so I don’t think it will happen.)

Bellarke together romantically, but Bellamy dies saving them, and Clarke carries on in his absence. The only way I think this could happen is if she has his baby, so carries him with her. She creates a peaceful society for their friends and her children in his name. (Happy Ever After for humanity, but a tragedy for Bellarke. This was the ending of s4 for Clarke with Madi as the substitute child. I believe we’ve developed past that so I don’t think it will happen.)

Bellarke together platonically... i do not think this can happen, it would have to RETURN to platonic partnership, because we’ve left platonic, but let me explore it. Clarke would need to give up Bellamy to Echo because it was “the right thing to do” and Bellamy would need to stay with Echo because it was “the right thing to do,” and neither of them would make the claim on the other. But I believe part of the journey of s6 was about Bellamy CHOOSING Clarke because he loves her. It’s part of the narrative. So he’s already chosen her, so something would have to happen to reverse that decision and I don’t know what it could be. Clarke looks like she’s ready to wait for him. I don’t think this story would have them together platonically with Bellamy sacrificing his happiness being with Echo, who is Ash and doesn’t want to be king/spy anymore, and leaving Clarke pining for her soulmate. That’s a bad story because there’s no reason for them to not admit they love each other. Staying with Echo because he promised is a bad reason and disrespectful to all involved. But okay. Bellamy chooses Echo and Clarke eventually finds someone else and they lead a peaceful society without fully engaging the heart. Oh that doesn’t make sense. They’re the head and the heart. That would not be living up to what Monty asked of them. No it doesn’t work. This ending is already off the table, sorry. Unless JR really is the asshole that you all think he is. If it happens, I’ll admit that you were right and he’s a dick as bad as D&D. But if it doesn’t happen, then y’all need to go apologize to JR for doubting him and hating him and calling him evil and a bad writer. 

Where I am now, I think the most likely is a mix of the above. I think the bittersweet ending will include a happy ever after for Bellarke, like Marper, as they are separated from their friends and family and assumed dead. So Bellarke will die together saving their people, but they won’t die, rather they will be separated from them so they can have their happy ending although it is alone and they’ve lost everyone they love, except each other. It fits the narrative, the circular storytelling, the bellarke mythos, the breaking of the cycle, clarke and bellamy’s characters, the sacrifice theme, the head and the heart, the marper foreshadowing, “together,” wanheda, the survival plot twists where we think they’re dead but they’re not, soulmates, the bittersweet endings, the victory but with a price, etc. 

[cocastyle]

The In-Between Chapter 8

Stranger Things x It Crossover

with some Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 14,120

Warning - just a lot of emotions😭💗also, I put one of the It Chapter 2 scenes in here for Richie so here’s the warning for that!!

A/N- so this is THE LONGEST chapter I have written for this series but it’s 100% necessary for the series. this chapter is going to show a small but very important memory of Y/N with each of the characters, each one showcasing just a little bit of how much Y/N means to them which will help show you all how much her situation affects them. since there are so many characters and flashbacks that means this chapter is super long so I apologize in advance if you think it’s too long, but I just couldn’t split it up, you know? also, I changed a scene from It Chapter 2 and basically had it happen when Y/N was around to fit the storyline, so just pretend like it happened after they defeated It in the first movie, okay? anyways, I really hope you guys like this chapter! we still have plenty of more until the end! also, all flashbacks will be in italics!

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

T H E I N - B E T W E E N

Intro The Losers’ Club The Party Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Epilogue

Steve Harrington stared at the little girl in front of him, a small frown etched onto his face as he did so. It was only him and the little girl in the room, both of their parents out in the hallway conversing while Steve got left to watch the young girl and 'bond with her' as his parents had put it.

He didn't know what to think as he stared at the girl who was currently sleeping in the crib wrapped up in a small blanket. He didn't particularly like her at the moment even though she was only a baby, still unable to talk or annoy him like a regular person his age could.

No, she was five years younger than him and had only been born the week before. His parents were just really close parents with hers, so the moment his parents got the call about Y/N L/N being born, they were pulling him towards the car so that they could go visit.

Steve wouldn't admit it, but he was kind of jealous. He just didn't get how Y/N was so special and why his parents were gushing over her when they hardly paid attention to him half of the time.

"What makes you so special?" Steve softly asked as he leaned against the edge of the crib, his fist pushing against his cheek and causing his skin to scrunch up as he stared at her. He brushed his hair back with his hand and scrunched his nose up as Y/N started to move. The baby then let out a small yawn and Steve froze. Okay, so that was kind of cute.

Steve quickly shook his head, his mop of hair moving with him as he did so. He wouldn't allow himself to have those thoughts. He wouldn't let himself break when he was trying everything in his power not to like the girl that had stolen the attention of his parents away from him.

A small coo had him looking back down at the girl and his breath hitched slightly at the sight of big e/c eyes staring up at him. A huge grin appeared on her face as she looked up at him, her arm moving in a jerking motion as she squirmed. "I won't lie. You are kind of adorable," Steve muttered as he looked down at the girl. She let out a small coo and the corners of Steve's lips turned up ever so slightly.

He noticed that her blanket was staring to fall off and reached in to fix it, the small action causing Y/N to reach out and grab onto his thumb with her tiny hand. Steve instantly froze, his eyes flickering over to lock on the baby who was staring at him with wide eyes and a toothless grin. Steve's heart melted in that moment and he gently moved her arm up and down by moving his thumb that she was still latched onto. "I guess you're not that bad," Steve whispered.

As if understanding what he had said, Y/N let out a small laugh that made him smile as a giddy feeling filled the five year old's body. And it was in that moment, with the little girl staring up at him, that he realized the responsibility that he had now bestowed upon himself.

Steve lovingly rubbed the soft skin of Y/N's tiny hand before whispering, "I'm Steve. You don't have a brother right now, but. . .but I can be that for you if you want? I'll love you with all my heart and take care of you. And don't worry, I'll protect you, okay? I'll always protect you."

- - -

Lucas let out a small sigh as he looked around his first grade classroom, watching as the kids all went to sit by their friends, making sure to avoid his table entirely. He didn't know what he did that was so wrong, but no one ever seemed to want to talk to him or even sit at the same table as him.

Staring at his empty table, Lucas let out a sigh before reaching for the crayons and beginning to work on his drawing. He didn't even realize someone had walked up to his table before a small voice asked, "Can I sit here?"

Lucas almost fell out of his seat from the sudden noise and looked up with wide eyes to see a young girl standing there. She gave him a small smile and it was only then that he remembered she had asked him a question.

"Uh. . .sure. Yeah," Lucas smiled, happy that someone actually wanted to sit with him. He watched as she sat down, but his eyebrows furrowed in confusion once he saw her pull back the other chair as if someone were going to sit down.

The girl noticed his stare and slapped her forehead. "Silly me. I'm Y/N and this is my friend Frank," she said with a giggle. She then glanced at the empty seat before leaning closer to Lucas and whispering, "He's a bit shy." Lucas snickered and Y/N winked at him before pulling away and grabbing a green crayon. She began coloring and started to tell Lucas her whole life story it seemed like.

Lucas didn't mind. He actually enjoyed the girl's company, finding her quite funny and entertaining with the way she moved her hands around as she spoke. It was only when she was in the middle of telling Lucas a story about the time she broke her arm because Frank told her to try and stick a landing by jumping off a tree that her crayon broke and she fell silent.

"Shit."

The two froze at that and Lucas looked up at the girl who seemed a bit surprised that she had uttered that word. Her eyes locked with Lucas' and the two sat there for a moment before they burst into laughter, huge grins on their faces.

"I like you!" Lucas exclaimed as he pointed his crayon in her direction. He gave her a big grin before tilting his head and asking, "Want to be best friends?" Y/N returned the smile before saying, "Sure! I was getting kind of bored of Frank anyways. He likes to eat too much candy and I don't need that or the cavities in my life." She then picked up a red crayon before glancing over at the empty seat and shrugging her shoulders. “Sorry, Frank."

- - -

Dustin skipped out of school with a grin on his face as he headed towards his bike. It was the second week of second grade and Dustin loved it so far. He didn't have many friends except for a boy named Lucas, but he had slowly started becoming friends with two other boys named Mike and Will. He didn't care about not having many friends. He was just happy with life and that was all that mattered.

In that moment, Dustin was most excited about getting home to show his mother the small painting he had made for her today. It was two stick figures, one being him and one being his mother, with a small blob that he had determined was his cat Mews. He was no Picasso, but his mother wouldn't care. The fact that it was coming from him was all that mattered.

Dustin could see his bike by now and his grin widened just a little as he stopped skipping and went to run towards it. However, just when he went to step forward, the force of two hands shoving him in the back had him tumbling to the ground.

His hands scrapped against the ground as he tried to catch himself and he let out a small hiss of pain as he stilled on the ground. "Ouch," Dustin muttered, pulling himself up slightly so that he could turn and see who had just pushed him.

He let out a mental groan at the sight of Troy Walsh and his friend James Dante, the two school bullies in his grade. "Better watch where you're going, Toothless. You don't want to lose more teeth, do ya?" Troy cackled, James snickering from his side.

Dustin tried to get up, but James just shoved the boy down. Dustin let out a defeated sigh and looked up at the boys from under his hat. "I've told you before. I have cleidocranial dysplasia," he muttered, his shoulders slumping slightly as he was being bullied for a condition he couldn't control.

"Those are some big words. You sure you know what they mean?" James laughed. “You sure you do?" Dustin retorted earning glares from the boys before Troy sent a kick to his side. Dustin groaned and held onto his side while the two bullies glared at him.

"A little birdie told me you have a pretty gross trick you can do with your arm. We want you to show us, freak," Troy demanded. Dustin went to shake his head, but James kicked him hard enough to have him falling back again. "Show us!" James exclaimed.

Dustin looked up at the boys shyly before moving his arms in a weird way so that they popped. Troy and James both winced before Troy muttered, "That was disgusting. Do it again." "I don't want to," Dustin told them as he fixed the way his arms looked. Not that it hurt doing it, but the movement could feel uncomfortable at times.

"You really are a freak, aren't you?" Troy laughed before sending another kick at the boy's side. Dustin groaned and hugged his body close to himself as the boys continued to taunt and kick him. All he wanted was to go home, but the fact that he had no friends meant that he had no one who would stand up for him. So all he could do was wait until the boys were done having their fun.

"Hey, assholes!" a voice exclaimed making the kicking stop for a second as all three boys turned to see a girl in a yellow dress with her hair tied back with a yellow bow standing there with a glare on her face.

Dustin recognized her almost immediately. He had seen her hanging around Lucas quite often. The girl was Y/N L/N and her and Lucas had been best friends since the previous year. He had always wanted to try and talk to her, but she was never around Lucas when he was there and the idea of talking to a girl scared him from talking to her when she was around Lucas.

By now the kids that were outside waiting on their parents to pick them up had turned their attention over to the group and the girl who had just openly cussed in front of everyone. Some children were snickering while others were wide eyed, but no one made a move to stop them.

"I'm sorry. Were you talking to us?" Troy asked, turning his attention away from Dustin to look at Y/N in disbelief. "Well you're the only assholes here, so who else would I be talking to?" Y/N questioned. Troy and James both went to say something, but Y/N didn't even give them the time of day as she said, "Leave the boy alone."

"Who? Toothless over here?" James asked as he kicked Dustin for good measure. "No, I don't think we will," Troy told her. "Why? Because your life sucks so badly and you're so insecure that you have to make up for it by bullying others?" Y/N retorted, earning small snickers from the kids while Troy and James glared at her with red faces.

"Insecure? What makes you think we're insecure? If anything, you should be. I mean, with a rat face like yours who wouldn't be?" Troy laughed, James joining in, but Y/N only stared at them blankly, not fazed by them at all. The fact that she didn't react made the boys' laughter die down and a silence fell among the front schoolyard.

"Your words don't bother me, Walsh. Yours either, Dante. Want to know why? Cause why the hell would I listen to the two of you when you can't even take any of the quizzes in class without cheating off of others. And guess what? You still manage to fail! So why would the words of two dumbasses such as yourselves bother me?" Y/N asked, her eyebrows raised as she awaited an answer.

The laughter was getting louder by now and and Troy and James were both red faced. "I don't need to explain why you're insecure because I know you both know exactly what I'm talking about. Or do you want me to tell everyone right now just how much a pussy you two really are?" Y/N asked as she took a few steps closer to the boys.

To Dustin's surprise, they stepped back. "You bitch," James muttered. "No, you are the bitch," Y/N whispered in a dark tone. "So why don't you two stop being bitches and head home. Your mothers will be waiting for you."

Troy and James glared at the girl, but began to walk away. "You're going to pay for this, L/N!" Troy yelled after her. Y/N just rolled her eyes and flicked the boys off before turning away and looking to Dustin who was still on the ground. "You okay?" she asked as she walked over to the boy.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay," Dustin said as he stared up at the girl in shock. Y/N smiled and held a hand out for the boy to take. He quickly grabbed on and she helped him into his feet before the two smiled at each other. “That was amazing," Dustin told her. "Thank you."

"Don't let them bother you. Troy and James are idiots," Y/N said. She stared at the boy for a moment before saying, "I think I've seen you with Lucas before. Lucas is like my best friend."

"Yeah, we've hung out a couple of times," Dustin told her before he held a hand out. "I'm Dustin by the way. Dustin Henderson." Y/N smiled and took his hand before shaking it. "Y/N," she said, "Y/N L/N." And that was the beginning of their friendship.

- - -

"Y/N can do it!" Wheeler exclaimed causing Y/N to blink out of her thoughts she had been having to see Wheeler, Dustin, and Lucas all staring at her. “What?" Y/N asked confused seeing as she hadn't listened to a word the boys were saying. She was too busy thinking about Will who had been missing for a couple of days now. She was really worried about him, so she had found herself drifting off into space more and more often because of how much she missed him.

"You're a girl," Dustin said causing Y/N to blink. "Wow. Nice going, Sherlock. How long did it take for you to figure that out?" Y/N asked sarcastically earning a snort from Lucas who high fived her while Dustin looked unamused.

"What we are getting at is that because you are a girl, you can help get El ready and like do her makeup and stuff," Wheeler explained. Y/N hesitated and let her eyes flicker over to the girl who had literally appeared out of no where.

Eleven was the girl the group had met in the woods the other night. She had been wearing ratty clothes, had all of her hair shaved off, and didn't seem to know many words since all of her responses were only a couple words long. Y/N still didn't entirely know the girl, but Eleven seemed nice enough and Y/N actually liked her. The fact that Eleven seemed to know how to help Will also made her more accepting of her as well.

"Okay, I'm going to pretend like you didn't just assume I know how to use makeup because I'm a girl. But I probably do know more than you three, so you guys figure out an outfit while I go do El's makeup," Y/N sighed. The boys nodded and Y/N was quick to turn and take Eleven's hand before gently pulling her towards Nancy Wheeler's bedroom where she knew she would be able to find makeup of some kind.

It took a few minutes, but the two girls were eventually sitting on Nancy's bed while Y/N did Eleven's makeup. Eleven was a shy girl and didn't like to say much, so Y/N just softly hummed as she worked, pretending not to notice the way Eleven looked at her and smiling softly when Eleven tried humming the song back.

"And done!" Y/N exclaimed once she had finished up, closing the lipstick as she leaned back to look at the girl. Y/N grinned before putting the makeup down and pulling Eleven off the bed, a small laugh escaping her lips as she brought the girl over to the mirror.

Eleven froze at the sight of herself before she hesitantly reached up and poked at her face. She was silent for a minute before whispering, "Pretty?" Y/N smiled and whispered, "You're pretty with or without the makeup, El."

Eleven smiled at that and Y/N returned it as she wrapped an arm around the girl's neck and hugged her, the two looking at their reflections. Eleven was silent again as her eyes flickered between her own reflection and Y/N's. Y/N could tell she wanted to ask something, so she didn't move as she waited for Eleven to speak.

"Friends?" Eleven finally asked, her eyes flickering to look at Y/N's through the mirror as if she were afraid to ask the question in fear of Y/N saying no. Y/N smiled and whispered, "Even better. We're best friends." Eleven smiled, obviously liking the sound of that. She found herself wrapping an arm around Y/N and hugging her just like Y/N was doing before whispering back in confirmation, "Best friends."

- - -

Playing D&D with only two people was quite hard and Y/N and Will didn't realize that until one afternoon when everyone else was busy. It didn't seem to bother either of them though since it only made the game that much more fun to figure out and Will really needed that at the moment.

It had been a couple of weeks since he had returned from the Upside Down and things hadn't been the same since before he had disappeared. Wheeler was depressed because of losing Eleven, so he had been kind of off the radar, wanting nothing more than to be alone. As for Lucas and Dustin, they talked to Will like they were walking on egg shells, so Will didn't hang out with them as much at the moment.

But Y/N was different. She knew how hard it was for Will to adjust after an experience like that, especially seeing as he couldn't even sleep without waking up screaming due to nightmares. Y/N knew Will would talk to her eventually, so she just decided to treat him like normal, joking and laughing around with him like the events that had taken place never happened. It helped both of them seeing as Y/N was also affected by the loss of Eleven.

Y/N treated Will like a normal human being and it was so comforting that he had been spending most of his days by her side, the two hanging out outside of school whenever the others couldn't and just enjoying being kids.

That's how they ended up where they were right now— in Will's living room playing D&D while Jonathan listened to music in his room. Lucas had had a doctor's appointment that day, Dustin had been grounded for accidentally setting his cat's tail on fire, and Wheeler had gone home, so Y/N had brought it upon herself to entertain Will by playing D&D.

Y/N was dressed up as a magician while Will was dressed up as a wizard and the two would break character every so often to chuckle at their outfits. Besides Will, Y/N was probably the second most enthusiastic about the game and she often took over the role of narrator when Wheeler didn't want to.

This was probably one of Will's favorite days with Y/N and he didn't know why. They were just playing a game, but maybe that's exactly why it was. There was no special treatment, no walking on egg shells. It was just the two of them, two best friends being the kids that they were.

Will watched Y/N silently, his mind racing as he tried to figure out how he had gained such a great friend like Y/N. As if sensing his stare, the girl glanced over at him, her hat tilting slightly as she did. She quickly fixed her hat and gave her friend an amused look as she raised her eyebrows. "What?" she asked, the corners of her lips turning up into a smile.

"I just. . ." Will hesitated and Y/N furrowed her eyebrows. Will smiled softly before whispering, "Thank you, Y/N." He didn't have to explain what he was thanking her for. It was for her treating him normally, for playing D&D with him, for just being his friend.

Y/N was silent for a minute as she just stared at her friend, her heart warming slightly as she realized just how much she had missed him while he was gone. She smiled, "No problem, Will the Wise. Now choose your action!"

Will let out a loud laugh and neither of the kids noticed Jonathan who was watching from the doorway, happy to see his brother finally acting like himself for once. Will glanced at his friend and gave her a sly look as he picked up the dice. "Fireball."

- - -

"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" Y/N muttered in frustration as she flipped through the pile of records she had in the box in front of her. Letting out a groan once she had hit the back of the box, Y/N turned her body to look at Wheeler who was standing on the other end of the store.

"Wheeler, tell me some good news please!" Y/N called out, but the frown on Wheeler's face was enough of a response. "Shit," the twelve year old muttered as she hurried over to one of the boxes she had checked when they first arrived at the record shop. It was the morning before the Party's monthly karaoke night at Y/N's house and Y/N needed to get the latest Bruce Springsteen record to be able to use. Her and Wheeler always sang a song together and they were determined to sing Born in the U.S.A. However, they couldn't do that until they found the record first.

"We've checked everywhere, L/N. I don't think they have it," Wheeler said as he came to a stop beside the girl. "But how? It's still such a new album!" Y/N complained. "Exactly. They probably sold out," Wheeler told her.

"May I help you two?" a small voice asked causing the two to turn and see a young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties standing at the end of the aisle. "Oh, yes!" Y/N exclaimed as she hurried over to the woman. "We're looking for the new Bruce Springsteen record but can't seem to find it."

"Oh, you two are fans of Bruce? I think we sold our last record earlier this morning," the woman told them causing Wheeler and Y/N to frown. "But I think we might have a few stragglers in the back if you two want to come and check." The twelve year olds' eyes lit up and Y/N gripped onto Wheeler's arm as the two jumped up and down in excitement. "Yes, please!" they both exclaimed.

The woman chuckled before gesturing to follow her. She brought them to the back where there were a few boxes of records laying in storage. "You two are free to look through the boxes if you would like. I'll be out front once you two are done," the woman told them before she began to walk away. "Thank you!" the two kids yelled after her before they looked to the boxes. They glanced at each other before practically breaking into a run.

The two were looking through the boxes within seconds and it took a few minutes before Wheeler cried out triumphantly, "I found it!" Y/N's eyes lit up and she turned to see Wheeler holding the record up in the air. She squealed before running over to the boy and hugging him in excitement. "We hit the jackpot! Hurry! Let's go buy this so we can try it out!" Y/N said.

Wheeler nodded and the two went up to the front to pay for the record. It took about twenty minutes for them to buy the record and bike all the way to Y/N's house, but it was totally worth it once they heard the familiar beat of Born in the U.S.A filling the air.

"Born down in a dead man's town. The first kick I took was when I hit the ground," Y/N sang as she pointed to Wheeler, one hand up as if she were holding a microphone. Wheeler mimicked her actions and squeezed his eyes shut as he sang along to the music with as much passion as he could, "End up like a dog that's been beat too much. 'Til you spend half your life just covering up."

The two kids grinned before singing out, "Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A!" The two kids danced crazily around the room with their eyes shut, neither of them realizing how close they had gotten before they tripped over each other's feet and went tumbling to the ground. Y/N and Wheeler opened their eyes and the moment their eyes locked, they burst into a round of childish laughter.

This is what it was like whenever the two were together. Their friendship could be a bit odd at times, but it was about as strong as her friendship with Lucas. They were best friends and partners in crime. But even more importantly, they were karaoke partners and that night when they sang along to their favorite song would just be another win on their long list of karaoke accomplishments.

So with their laughter filling the air and five more hours until the others were supposed to come over for karaoke night, the two kids got up and spun around the room, singing their favorite song and enjoying the moment they had together.

"I was born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A."

- - -

"You sure this is going to work?" Max whispered as she stared at the place in front of her. Y/N glanced over at her friend and chuckled before nudging her. "Of course it will," she told her. "Besides, you're with me. They love me."

Max rolled her eyes at her friend's ego and Y/N chuckled before linking her arm with her friend, the two walking into Scoops Ahoy side by side. "Harrington!" Y/N cried out before said boy came running out of the back room.

His eyes searched frantically before he saw Y/N standing there with Max by her side at the counter. "You little shit," he breathed out. "You can't just come running in here yelling for me like that. I thought something was wrong."

"But something is wrong," Y/N told him, the boy raising an eyebrow in amusement as a response. "I'm hungry." Steve rolled his eyes, but let out a small chuckle. "You've got a problematic life I see," he joked making Max chuckle while Y/N reached across the counter to lightly punch the boy's arm. "What would you two like?"

"Can we try one of everything and then decide what we want?" Y/N asked as she put an innocent smile on her face. Steve looked at her unamused. "I know what you're trying to do-" he began, but Y/N leaned on the counter and gave him her best pleading face as she batted her eyelashes. "Please, Stevie. Please," she said.

Steve was silent for a minute before a voice behind him said, "You're screwed." The group turned to see Robin standing with a whiteboard that had Y/N's name written on one side and Steve's on the other. "I know you, Harrington, and Y/N just pulled the puppy dog eyes on you. She's going to win this round once again," Robin said as she went ahead and drew another tally mark under Y/N's name, adding it to the collection of tally marks already there.

"No one asked you. Put that thing away!" Steve exclaimed in annoyance. Robin chuckled and held her hands up in surrender before pushing the board aside. Steve rolled his eyes before turning back to Y/N and Max who were both now giving him their best puppy eyes. He let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll get you two your samples. Now go ahead and sit down," he told them.

Y/N grinned before leaning across the counter to kiss Steve's cheek. "Thanks, Steve. Love you!" she exclaimed as she turned and dragged Max away to go find a seat. "Love you too, squirt," Steve chuckled before going to get the samples for the girls.

"Holy shit. I can't believe that worked," Max muttered as the two slid into a booth. "It's Steve. He's a sucker when it comes to me," Y/N laughed. "I love him so much."

"I wish Billy was like that. Steve isn't even your real brother," Max pouted. "He might as well be," Y/N muttered. "I'm sorry about, Billy. I think he's just going through some things right now. But in the end, he's always going to love you." Max smiled softly at that and gave Y/N a thankful nod.

"I wish Eleven was here," Y/N said, trying to change the subject. "The three of us hanging out together? Think of all the mischief we could get into!" Max chuckled, "Yeah, but's she's too busy sucking faces with Mike." The two grimaced at the thought before letting out loud laughs.

"You know, I'm glad you moved here," Y/N suddenly said, the comment making Max freeze before she looked to her friend with a smile. "I don't know. I mean, I love the boys and everything, but it's nice having some friends that are girls as well." Max smiled softly, thankful that Y/N had said that especially since she had been doubting herself in the friend group recently. "Thanks, Y/N. It's a pleasure to be able to save you from the boys," Max jokingly said.

The two girls chuckled and were in the middle of laughing when Steve set their samples down before them. Their eyes instantly lit up and Steve pointed a finger at them. "Just this time, okay?" he said. "Yes, sir!" the two girls said before they mock saluted him, thus causing another round of laughter. Steve rolled his eyes with a smile on his face before he ruffled Y/N's hair and went back to working.

Max and Y/N both glanced at each other before looking to the samples before them. There were so many that they knew they wouldn't be hungry when they were done. Y/N smirked before looking up at the red head.

"First once to get a brain freeze loses."

"Oh you're so on."

- - -

"Dammit," Mike Hanlon muttered as he stared at the bags that had fallen from his bike and onto the sidewalk. Luckily nothing had spilled, but he was going to be late to meet up with his friends if he didn't get all of his shit together.

With a frown on his face, Mike set his bike up against a building before bending down to pick up the packages he had to deliver later. His grandfather had been in a good mood and allowed him to meet up with his friends before delivering the packages, so Mike could not mess this up.

Today was the day he was supposed to be meeting the girl who had become close to the Losers. From what the others had told him, she had just moved from Indiana and seemed to be pretty amazing. He hadn't had the chance to meet her yet because he was homeschooled and work had kept him busy, but he was finally getting to meet the girl today and Mike was honestly quite nervous. He wondered what she would be like especially since each of the Losers has described her in different ways.

Stan had called her a great listener while Eddie called her a kind and understanding person. Beverly had described her as the coolest chick one would ever meet and Ben had talked about how she had great taste in music. Then there was Richie who, in true Richie fashion, had called her a babe much to Bill's annoyance. And finally Bill, who was obviously crushing on the girl, had just gushed about how great of a person she was before realizing he was getting carried away and becoming embarrassed. Mike knew he was going to like the girl just from the way his friends described her, but whether she liked him or not was the nerve racking part.

Lost in his thoughts, Mike didn't even seem to realize someone was helping him pick up the packages until his head smacked into theirs. Both of them let out a groan before Mike looked up to see a girl staring at him. She gave him a small sheepish smile before saying, "Sorry, are you okay?" "No need to apologize. It was my fault," Mike quickly rushed out as he stood up, the girl following suit. The two stood there awkwardly for a moment and Mike blinked before turning and trying to put the packages back into the basket on his bike.

Noticing the struggle, the young girl who looked to be around his age chuckled and said, "Here. Let me help." Before Mike could say anything, she had reached out and taken the packages from Mike. In a matter of seconds she had the packages in the basket and was tying them in place with some string that he had tried to use, but failed to use properly.

Once she was done, the packages were so secure Mike knew they wouldn't fall. He looked to the girl surprised and she smiled before saying, "I was the newspaper girl back in my old town, so I kind of learned how to tie the huge pile of newspapers onto my bike pretty well." "Well, thanks," Mike told her, smiling softly as he did. "It's no problem really," she said. "I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I'm supposed to be meeting someone in a couple of minutes."

"Funnily enough, me too. Hopefully I see you around?" Mike suggested. The girl smiled and gave him a short nod before hopping onto her bike and pedaling away. It wasn't until she was gone that Mike realized he never got her name. Mike shrugged it off and checked his watch before muttering, "Shit." He was going to be late at this rate.

Mike quickly hoped into his home before pedaling across town and towards the quarry. Thankfully he made it with a minute to spare. However, the Losers were already there so he knew Richie was going to give him crap for not being there early.

The boy put his bike stand up before getting off his bike and running over to the cliff where the Losers were all standing there talking to someone that he couldn't quite see. It was when the others noticed him and stepped out of the way that Mike's eyes widened in disbelief.

He watched as the girl who had helped him earlier walked out, a small chuckle escaping her lips as she tilted her head at him. "Hello again. I'm guessing you're Mike, right?" she asked, the boy nodding in response. "Nice to meet you, Mike. I'm Y/N."

- - -

Richie and Y/N hadn't always been as close as they were. In fact, Richie had been a little skeptical about the girl at first, although it didn't quite show since he never allowed his true feelings to be on display for everyone to see.

So when he had invited the Losers to come to the arcade with him and Y/N had been the only one free, Richie had honestly debated on just not showing up. However, Richie wasn't that type of person and knew he would feel guilty about it for the next six months if he didn't show, so Richie made a point to go to the arcade and had even gotten there early to make sure he wasn't late when Y/N showed up.

While he waited, Richie found himself playing Streetfighter with a boy who he didn't know the name of. He didn't know how long they were playing, but both boys were laughing and kept sneaking glances at each other as they played. Richie had only felt this way around one other person, but he was still coming to terms with it, so he pushed it aside.

It was only when the game was over and the boy went to walk away that Richie realized he didn't want to boy to leave and began to panic. "Um. . ." Richie quickly grabbed a quarter and held it up for the boy to see. "How about we play again? Play some more, you know?"

The boy was silent for a minute before he glanced over his shoulder at the sound of some kid whimpering. He caught sight of Henry Bowers before turning back to Richie who, not wanting to make the boy uncomfortable, quickly added, "Only if you want to."

"Dude, why are you being weird?" the boy said making Richie furrow his eyebrows confused. "I'm not your fucking boyfriend." Richie's eyes widened. "Woah, I-I didn't-" Richie began to say, but he was cut off by Bowers appearing behind the boy with the rest of his gang.

At that moment, Y/N came rushing into the arcade looking a little frazzled. She checked her watch and muttered, "Shit." She was a couple of minutes late and she really hoped Richie was still here. She bolted into the arcade, but paused once she saw that everyone was standing still as they watched Bowers yell at Richie.

"You trying to bone my little cousin?" Bowers asked, Richie's face growing red as he stood there frozen in place not knowing what to think or what was happening. "Get the fuck out of here, faggot! Fucking move!"

Before Y/N could so much as react, Richie was running out of the arcade, the tears obviously blurring his vision as he stumbled outside. Y/N stared after her friend before hearing laughter in the air. She turned and her eyes instantly locked on Bowers who was laughing like he had just done the funniest thing in the world. She didn't know what she was doing, but she was blinded by rage and before she knew it Bowers was on the floor and she was on top of him, her fists punching him repeatedly as she screamed at him and cussed him out for what he had done to Richie.

As she did a double fist dance on Bowers' face, Richie sat outside on a bench in the park across the street from the arcade, his face in his hands as he cried. He didn't even care if anyone saw him at the moment, the idea of holding back his emotions only making him cry harder.

"Fucking Bowers!" Richie yelled out as he brought his hands up to his hair and pulled. "Fuck!" He was sobbing at this point, everything hurting so much that he didn't notice anything that was happening around him. He didn't even notice Y/N standing before him before she whispered, "Richie?"

Richie hesitated at that before he quickly wiped his tears away and looked up at the girl, her eyes already looking at him with so much concern that it made his heart ache. No one had ever looked that worried over him. He didn't know what it felt like to have someone care about him that much to be worried for him the way she was. Although hiding his emotions made it hard for anyone to ever worry about him. Anyone except for Eddie.

"Richie, are you okay?" Y/N whispered, her eyes pleading with him to tell her what was going on. She had called him Richie, not Tozier, Richie realized. For some reason, that alone was enough to make him break down a little more and he looked back down. "Of course I'm okay," Richie tried to reply in his usual upbeat tone, but him having to wipe away his own tears took away the effect.

Y/N was silent for a moment before she sat down next to the boy. Richie stared at the ground, not wanting to look her in the eyes. Y/N remained silent a little longer before she placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered again, "Richie, are you okay?" Richie broke at that, the sobs returning while Y/N quickly wrapped her arms around him causing the boy to turn and hug her back just as tight. She let him stay like that as long as he needed before the boy eventually pulled away, his eyes landing on her hands which were caked with blood.

"Well shit, what happened to you?" Richie asked with a small laugh as he wiped away his tears. “I beat the shit out of Bowers, that's what happened," Y/N explained, finally allowing Richie to connect the dots and realize that she had seen everything that had happened in the arcade.

For some reason, he found himself chuckling at that and turning his head so that he could look at her. He stared at her for a moment before suddenly blurting out, "I'm gay." Y/N glanced at the boy and Richie blushed before looking away and whispering, "Fuck. That wasn't how I wanted to say that. Fuck, Richie, you fucking loser. Holy shit, I can't believe I just- Fuck!"

Richie let out a sigh before looking at his hands. "I know you saw what happened in the arcade with Bowers, but I didn't even do anything. I didn't even know that was his cousin for starters. We were just playing Streetfighter and I asked if he wanted to play again and he started making fun of me before Bowers appeared and then you know the rest," Richie went on.

Richie was red faced by now. He had never opened up to someone like this before especially not to Eddie who he knew would never know about any of this. So telling Y/N was a big deal for him and he suddenly felt weird about having told her, the fear of rejection looming over him as he sat there. He was embarrassed.

Y/N was silent for longer than Richie would've liked, but she eventually reached out and took his hand before giving it a small squeeze and whispering, "Rich?" The boy was hesitant but let his eyes flicker over to her, the small smile she gave him making him relax a little bit. "It's okay if you're gay or straight or bi. Who you like isn't what defines you. You're still the same person. And I'm going to love you no matter what because you're still Richie 'Trashmouth' Tozier," Y/N assured him.

Richie was silent for a moment as he stared at the girl in disbelief. His eyes began to well with tears and it took him a moment longer to reach out and hug the girl, the weight from finally telling someone and being accepted for who he really was being lifted off his shoulders. Y/N hugged the boy back and, once again, allowed him to hug her for as long as he needed. It was only when he pulled away that she stood up and held a hand out to him.

"Come on. I brought a bag full of quarters and I intend on using them," she told him, a small smile on her face as she stared at the boy. "What about Bowers?" Richie asked, trying not to seem like he was afraid of coming face to face with the boy once again.

"We can handle him," Y/N assured him. "Besides, he's got a shit punch anyways." Richie let out a small snort at that before reaching out and taking the girl's hand. She smiled and pulled him up onto his feet before they began to walk away from the bench.

And with that, the two went back to the arcade hand in hand, both of them happy that they now had a new best friend by their side.

- - -

Birds were Stan's favorite animals. They always had been since he was five years old and he was gifted a book on birds for his birthday. Since that day he had used that very book every Saturday, the day he would sit outside or camp out in the woods to just look at the birds and see which ones he could find.

Stan tended to go bird-watching by himself, the other Losers not particularly liking the activity. Each of them had come with him once before, but it didn't take much for Stan to notice how bored they were before he would sigh and let them leave. They always felt somewhat guilty for it—minus Richie who made some crude joke before leaving— but Stan always assured them it was okay and they would go, leaving Stan behind to bird-watch by himself once again.

But things changed one Saturday morning when Y/N decided she wanted to see what Stan spent his time doing when the others weren't around. Stan was afraid to show her seeing as she was one of his newest friends and he didn't want to scare her away.

He quite liked Y/N actually and the two had become almost as close as he was with all the other Losers. Y/N tried to divide her time up equally with everyone, but it wasn't much of a surprise that she spent just a little more time with Bill than the others. So when Y/N had asked Stan to let her tag along, the boy had been both surprised and nervous. For some reason, he really didn't want Y/N to be bored and make fun of him like the others.

To his surprise, Y/N did the exact opposite. They had been bird-watching for an hour now and Y/N hadn't lost the small sparkle in her eyes or the smile on her face as she desperately searched for the birds among the trees. Every so often she would nudge the boy and ask him what bird the one she was pointing at was and he would whisper facts to her while they stared at the bird ahead. It was the first time someone was genuinely interested and the fact warmed Stan's heart.

"Stanley," Y/N whispered before she nudged him gently, instantly knocking him out of his thoughts. "Stanley. Stanley. Stanley. Stan. Stan the Man." Stan chuckled softly before whispering back, "Yes?" Y/N glanced at the boy before pointing towards a small bird that was blue with a light yellow belly and a black stripe across its head that led away from the beak. "What's that one?" she asked softly in an attempt to not scare the bird away.

Stan turned his attention to the bird and narrowed his eyes slightly before whispering, "That bird is called a nuthatch. You know they can walk up and down a tree? They are really smart too. Some of them even use a piece of bark to help pry open other pieces of bark so that they can look for insects." "Woah," Y/N breathed out. "That's so cool."

Stan chuckled and whispered out a few more facts about the bird while they watched it walk up the tree. Eventually the bird flew away and Y/N made that same face where her lips opened up as a huge grin broke out on her face, her sparkling eyes following the bird until it had disappeared before she leaned back with a small content sigh escaping her lips.

Y/N had never realized how calming and intriguing bird-watching could be. Her life was always moving fast, so getting the chance to sit down and enjoy the world instead of running from its horrors was something she couldn't thank Stan enough for.

"Stanley?" Y/N whispered, the name falling from her lips with ease. Stan had told her plenty of times that she could call him Stan, but she still called him by his first name most of the time. He wouldn't admit it, but he secretly liked the fact that she did. "Yeah?" Stan asked, his eyes flickering over to look at her before he looked back out at the different birds that were flying around.

"Thanks for bringing me along."

Stan kind of froze at that before turning his head so that he could get a good look at her. Y/N was staring at the birds with a warm smile on her face, the sunrise hitting her face so that it glowed. Not that he would ever think of her in that way, but for a second he could see why Bill liked her so much.

"Thanks for coming with me," Stan told her, the girl sending a small smile in his direction before reaching out and squeezing his hand gently. And with that, the two turned their attention back to the birds.

Their friendship became ten times stronger that day and from then on they spent every Saturday morning in Stan's backyard watching the birds and taking a break from life.

- - -

The soft rustling of pages as he and Y/N flipped the pages of their books was all Ben could hear that Friday evening. They were in the library doing research on Hawkins since Ben found all of the events Y/N had described to be almost as interesting as Derry.

It had all started when she first told them about her life in Hawkins during the first day of school. She hadn't opened up about some of the more serious stuff until the group had become close and Ben hadn't been able to stop himself from raising his eyebrows and muttering, "Hawkins, Indiana? Well I guess I know the next place I'm going to research."

That's how the two had ended up in the library a week later, no one in the group except for the two of them wanting to go research the place. They had spent probably the last two hours in the place just flipping through different books, but nothing had popped out.

Y/N was currently reading a Russian book which Ben had questioned about, but she hadn't given him an explanation, only smiling and opening the book before beginning to read. Ben on the other hand was reading a book about Hawkins itself and hadn't found anything out of the ordinary which made the town that much more of a mystery.

Ben was just about to flip the page again when a soft humming suddenly filled his ears, the tune making him freeze as he recognized it almost instantly. His eyes flickered up to Y/N who had started to move her lips as she quietly whispered to a Kids on the Block song, one that Ben was very familiar with.

"First time was a great time. Second time was a blast. Third time I fell in love. Now I hope it lasts," Y/N whispered, not one hundred percent realizing what she was doing. Ben was quick to whisper the next lines which made the girl look up at him in shock, "I can see it in your walk. Tell 'em when you talk. See it in everything you do. Even in your thoughts.” The two grinned before whispering together, "You got the right stuff, baby. Love the way you turn me on. You got the right stuff, baby. You're the reason why I sing this song."

They didn't realize their voices were raising, each of them getting more excited about the fact that someone they knew was a huge Kids on the Block fan like them. For Y/N, the only other person she could sing with had been Wheeler, but for Ben, he had never had anyone.

"All that I needed was you. Oh girl, you're so right. And all that I wanted was you," they sang. "You made all-" Y/N said before she pointed to the boy with a grin. "My dreams come true," Ben finished. "The right stuff." "The right stuff," Y/N nodded with a small laugh. The two went to sing the next part of the song when they were suddenly hushed by the librarian. Y/N and Ben froze before turning to see that everyone in the library was looking at them and that the librarian was even glaring at them.

The two went red faced and gave the group apologetic smiles before looking back down at their books. They waited a second before glancing up at each other and chuckling softly. "The right stuff," Ben whispered making Y/N grin so big that Ben couldn't help but smile back. She nodded before reaching out and fist bumping the boy. “The right stuff."

- - -

"What are we doing here?" Beverly asked confused as she glanced over at Y/N who was smiling and practically bouncing up and down on her feet. Beverly looked at the clothing store in front of her before looking to Y/N again and raising an eyebrow.

"Back in Hawkins, two of my closest friends were Eleven and Max. We would have these girl days where we would hang out at the mall and try on clothes and just have fun. I know you haven't been in the best mood this week," Y/N began. Beverly went to deny it, but Y/N just smiled and said, "And don't deny it because Ben already told me. Anyways, I wanted to cheer you up by having a girls day and since Derry doesn't have a mall, this is the next best option."

Beverly was silent for a minute as she tried to process what Y/N was saying. Finally she let you a small sigh and gave the girl a weak smile. "Okay, but only for an hour or two," Beverly said making Y/N squeal in excitement before grabbing her arm and pulling the red head into the store. “Trust me, Bev. By the time an hour is up you're never going to want to leave," Y/N said.

"Okay," Beverly said, obviously not believing her. However, Beverly realized just how wrong she was once the two were reaching the end of their second hour of shopping. They weren't even buying anything, only trying on clothes and looking at themselves in the mirror. But somehow Y/N had made it fun.

Y/N had them both try on ridiculous outfits and they would spend forever looking the mirror at themselves as they laughed to the point where workers had to come up and ask if they were okay. Y/N had even brought a Polaroid so that they could take pictures to remember all the fun they were having and she made Beverly pretend as if she were walking down a runway while Y/N took pictures of her, the two girls bursting into giggling fits every couple of minutes.

By the time the two hours was up, Beverly never wanted to leave and the fact only made her mood dampen. Y/N noticed the sudden change in demeanor and frowned as she watched Beverly reluctantly putting the clothes away.

"Hey," Y/N whispered as she came to Beverly's side and placed a hand on the red head's shoulder. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" Beverly was silent for a minute before giving the girl a small smile. "Nothing," she assured her despite them both knowing she was lying.

"No, Bev. Come on. You don't need to lie. You can tell me anything. I promise I won't judge," Y/N said. "Was it all the pictures? I'm sorry. I should've asked before I-" “No, it wasn't the pictures," Beverly assured her. "I'm glad we have the memories."

Y/N smiled and Beverly returned it before looking down at her hands sadly. "I'm just a little sad it had to end is all," Beverly explained. "I never really had friends up until I met the boys, so I've never had a girl friend to hang out with. I guess I just didn't realize what I was missing and I'm afraid for it to end. I'm sorry. It probably sounds stupid."

"No, Beverly. It's not stupid," Y/N said. "I know how you feel. Until I met Eleven and Max, my four best friends were all guys. I hadn't even realized what having another girl around would be like and I was so afraid of losing Eleven and Max because I enjoyed getting away from the boys and spending time with them. I promise you this won't be the last girl day, okay? I can only handle Richie's trashmouth for so long."

Beverly chuckled softly before looking at her friend and smiling at her. "Thanks, Y/N," she whispered. Y/N smiled back and pulled Beverly in for a hug, the gesture making Beverly freeze for a moment before she fell into Y/N's embrace and hugged her back.

"Thanks for hanging out with me today," Y/N told her. "But the fun doesn't have to end here." Beverly pulled away to look at the girl and Y/N smirked. "Ice cream?" Beverly chuckled and shook her head at her friend before saying, "I thought you'd never ask."

- - -

All Eddie could hear was his own erratic breathing as he desperately tried to reach for his inhaler which was in his fanny pack. The only problem was that his fanny pack had been torn off of him by Henry Bowers and was lying on the concrete a few feet away and Bowers wouldn't let him near it long enough for him to grab his inhaler. His chest was on fire, his throat closing off more and more every second as it felt like someone was literally sitting on his lungs. He was growing more and more panicked, so his breathing continued to get worse and worse as tears filled his eyes.

This seemed to make Henry laugh harder and that made him start shoving and kicking Eddie harder than before. Eddie mentally cursed himself for having been walking alone. He had stayed after school to have a talk with his teacher and told the others to go ahead on to the quarry where he said he would meet them. Richie had been a little reluctant to go, but had left with the other Losers, leaving Eddie by himself. Eddie thought he would've been safe from Bowers, but it seemed as if Bowers had been waiting for him because the moment he stepped out of school, Bowers was there waiting.

Another kick to the side made Eddie's wheeze grow louder. He was biting his lip as he attempted not to cry, but his asthma was bothering him to the point where he could barely function and he knew if he didn't get to his inhaler soon he would end up having a full blown asthma attack.

As if sensing his prayers, the kicking and punching stopped, allowing Eddie to crawl over to his fanny pack and grab his inhaler. He quickly took a hit before holding his breath, allowing the medicine to fill his lungs and bring him some relief. He repeated the step once more, the medicine instantly making him feel better and allowing the beating of own heart in his ears to disappear.

Eddie put the inhaler in his fanny pack before putting it back around his waist and turning to see what had happened to Bowers. To his surprise, Y/N was standing there with a bloody fist while Bowers laid on the ground holding his face. He didn't even have time to think about why Y/N was still at school before Bowers was yelling out in anger.

"You bitch! I'm going to beat the shit out of you!" Bowers yelled as he pushed himself up and went to lunge for her, but Y/N was so mad that she merely swung back before sending her fist right into Bowers nose. A loud cracking nose filled the air and Eddie winced as he looked at Bowers who had fallen onto the ground with his nose turned at a weird angle. Eddie then quickly looked to Y/N and he paled at the sight of wrist bent in the wrong direction.

"Shit," he heard her whisper before she turned and looked to the boy. Her eyes widened at the sight of Eddie and she quickly ran over to him. "Eddie, are you okay?" "I'm. . .I'm fine. Your wrist though," Eddie muttered, his face paling more as he saw the injury up close. A groan had them both looking to see Bowers starting to get up off the ground.

Y/N was quick to think and grabbed Eddie's hand with her good one before pulling him up off his feet and dragging him away from the school as the two bolted away. They didn't stop running until they knew Bowers was far behind them and even then, Eddie had to be the one to stop the girl, his eyes still trained on her wrist.

They were both breathing heavily as Eddie gently reached out and went to move Y/N's wrist. She instantly winced and Eddie began to breath frantically as he started to panic. “It's broken. Shit, it has to be broken. We have to get help. We have to get you to the hospital. Do you know where the closest hospital is? Actually I think it's a few streets down. We should probably go before your wrist gets any worse. Shit, this is my fault! Why would you do that, Y/N?" Eddie rambled.

"Eds," she said causing the boy to quiet down and look at her. She was the only one that was ever allowed to call him that, so Eddie wasn't even fazed by the nickname. "First of all, I'm going to be fine, so calm down. Second of all, it was one hundred percent worth it. Bowers was being an asshole and I wasn't about to let him continue to treat you like that. Are you okay?" Before Eddie could think properly, the girl had reached up and brushed the hair out of his eyes, a gesture that made him blush because he had seen mothers do that to their own kids but he had never been on the receiving end of that kind of touch.

"I'm. . .I'm fine. My inhaler helped," Eddie explained. "But we shouldn't be worrying about me. You're the one with a broken hand." Y/N just shrugged before letting out a small chuckle and saying in excitement, "But, Eds, did you see his nose? That thing's got to be broken as well!" Eddie looked at the girl in disbelief, silently wondering how she was able to remain so calm when her hand was literally broken. Then again, Y/N L/N always had been one to surprise him.

Smiling lovingly at the girl who was not only his best friend but like a sister as well, the boy gently took her good hand before tugging her forward. "Come on, my knight in shining armor. Let's get you to the hospital and get that wrist checked out," Eddie said, feeling a little more calm now thanks to Y/N who he knew had purposefully been cracking jokes and acting like everything was okay just to keep him calm. Y/N didn't fight him that time and the two made their way to the hospital. Y/N walked out that day with Eddie by her side and a bright white cast on that day with one signature already on it. Eds.

- - -

"A shower cap?"

Stan blinked in surprise before nodding his head. "Yeah, it's supposed to help keep the spiders out of your hair," he explained as he held the shower cap out for his friend. He had made a special trip out to the pharmacy to get her one, so he really hoped she would just take it, even if she didn't use it. Y/N smiled at the boy before taking the shower cap from him, the boy instantly relaxing in response. "Thanks, Stanley," she said before she put the shower cap on and looked to the others. They were all busy either talking or doing something else, so no one was looking at her except for Stan and Bill, the later smiling at her in an almost dreamy sort of way as he too wore his shower cap.

Bill chuckled softly at the sight of her and Y/N glanced at him before making a small face causing the two to burst into a round of laughter that had the other Losers looking at them and shaking their heads at how oblivious the two teens were. The Losers all looked away, leaving Bill, Y/N, and Stan the only ones paying attention once again.

"How did I look?" she questioned, directing it more towards Bill which Stan quickly realized. Stan smirked before walking way, neither of the teens noticing because of the fact that they were too caught up with each other. "B-B-Beautiful as always," Bill whispered, a blush dusting his cheeks at his own words. Y/N instantly blushed before smiling thankfully at Bill and leaning back in the hammock she had been lying in. She had to fight Richie and Eddie for it, but Eddie gave in almost instantly because he loved making the girl happy so it had been mostly her fighting Richie over the hammock before he had eventually caved and let her have it.

Now that she had the shower cap on, Y/N was busying herself with reading a Spider-Man comic while the others all goofed off, Bill secretly sneaking glances at her every so often. It had been one of the days they spent at the quarry which meant the evening was spent in their clubhouse that Ben had built under ground, thus leading to the spider problem. However, it was already getting quite late, so the Losers were slowly beginning to leave one by one. Y/N was too lost in her comic to really notice, but that didn't stop her from calling out a goodbye every so often. As for Bill, his eyes hadn't left the girl since she put the shower cap on, the sight being just too adorable for him to look away.

Stan and Ben were the last ones to leave the clubhouse that night and they rolled their eyes at the sight of Bill staring at their best friend, his feelings so obvious that they wondered if Y/N was really as smart as she claimed to be. "Night guys," Stan called out before he began to climb up the ladder, Ben quickly following. "Bye, Ben! Bye, Stan!" Y/N called out, momentarily looking up to smile at the boys before she was back to reading her comic.

"B-B-bye, guys," Bill said as he waved at the two. They just smirked at him and waved back before disappearing into the night, not noticing the look of confusion on Bill's face as they did so. Bill didn't think too much about the smirks his friends had sent him before he let his eyes flicker back over to Y/N who was looking up from the comic and at the empty clubhouse. "Woah. When did everyone leave?" she muttered in confusion.

"A w-w-while ago," Bill chuckled as he titled his head at the girl. "M-M-Maybe if you weren't t-t-too busy reading you would've n-n-noticed." Y/N gasped in fake shock before saying, "Let me tell you, Bill Denbrough. Peter Parker is nothing to joke about." Bill chuckled and she couldn't stop herself from smiling at the sight of the beautiful boy before she waved him over.

Bill was quick to walk over to her and she smiled before holding the comic out. "Peter Parker is above his time, Bill. He's smart, sarcastic, funny, and a freaking superhero! He genuinely cares about people and he is always-" Y/N began to ramble on about the superhero, but her words fell on deaf ears as Bill just stared at her in amazement.

His eyes flickered over her face and the way her eyelashes fluttered against her cheek or the way her e/c eyes would flicker between him and the comic as she excitedly talked about the superhero she loved so much. It was like he was trying to memorize every inch of her face which maybe he was. He never wanted to forget this moment, even if nothing significant was happening. Y/N just looked so beautiful, shower cap and all, and Bill couldn't stop himself from not wanting to remember every little detail of this moment. The smell of wood in the air mixing with the strawberry scent of Y/N's shampoo that swirled through the air because of how close they were. The creaking of wood and the sound of the night filling the air around them. Then there was him and Y/N, Bill kneeling down beside the hammock with one hand against his cheek while the other was holding onto Y/N's hand, something neither had noticed yet.

A small smile appeared on Bill's face as he watched the girl and she paused for a moment before staring at him with an unreadable expression. Finally, she returned the smile before grabbing onto his arm and tugging him slightly as she whispered, "Come here." Bill's face reddened a little, but he still managed to pull himself into the hammock, Y/N instantly snuggling up against him as his arm wrapped around her waist.

Y/N seemed to be unfazed by the new step of their relationship, the two having never cuddled before, let alone been this close unless it was just to hug. Instead, she was already reading the comic out loud, adding her own little comments here and there to make Bill laugh, knowing that each laugh made him rest his face against the side of hers momentarily before he pulled away to look at the comic.

Or at least she thought he was looking at the comic. But in reality, his eyes were on her. Just like they always were and like they always would be. For to him, there was no better way to spend his evening than admiring the girl that had stolen his heart since the first day he met her almost two years ago.

- - -

The basement was unusually quiet that night as the Party and the Losers all sat in Y/N's basement trying to comprehend the events that had taken place only an hour before. None of them were able to come to terms with what had happened and no one even knew what to say. The silence was one they could all feel, each of them distantly hearing Y/N's laugh or one of her sarcastic and witty comments. It was haunting almost and the group could feel themselves breaking more and more with each second that passed.

Everyone was affected by what had happened to Y/N, but they all knew Bill was affected in a deeper way than they were. While their love for Y/N was merely a platonic, more family type of love, what Bill felt for the girl was the opposite. He cared about her so much that the group could practically feel their hearts aching for him, especially when they saw him sitting blankly in the corner with a tear stained face, red eyes, and his jacket clutched in his shaking hands.

"What are we going to do?" Eddie finally whispered as he wiped at the tears on his face. All he could think about was his friend, the girl who had stood up for him and who had promised to not let anything happen to him. Eddie could only think about how he should've promised that to her as well. He should've insisted on going with her, making sure that the girl was safe and by his side. Then maybe what happened wouldn't have happened.

"We're getting her back," Steve said, all eyes falling on him as he tried to act like he was fine despite the tears that kept falling from his eyes. The tears were collecting on his chin, threatening to fall down, and Steve was quick to wipe them away with a sniff. "That's what we're fucking going to do."

"Oh, really? And how do you plan on doing that, Einstein?" Richie asked bitterly, his emotions being out of whack making him lash out. Steve narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Watch it, Trashmouth. At least I intend on saving Y/N," he replied.

Richie shot up from his spot, his red eyes focused on Steve as he glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean? You think I don't want to save her?" Richie asked. "Wouldn't be surprised," Wheeler muttered, making Richie turn his gaze on the boy. "Of course you have something to say. You always do, don't you?" Richie shot back.

Wheeler stood up from his spot, ignoring Eleven as she tried to grab him and pull him back down. "Mike," Eleven whispered, but the boy shook his head. "No, El. I'm done with this asshole," Wheeler said as he walked over to Richie. Richie was raising an eyebrow at the boy and they both crossed their arms as Wheeler came to a stop in front of him.

"Steve was right. He's actually trying to do someone to help Y/N while you're just sitting there pouting. Y/N needs our fucking help, but you can't get over yourself enough to realize it. So why don't you just shut the hell up for once, go sit back down with your little friends, and let us handle the situation," Wheeler said.

Richie scoffed in disbelief. "I'm sorry. I don't seem to remember when I asked for your opinion? Y/N's just as much my friend as she is yours and you have to be batshit crazy to believe that I don't want to go save her," Richie shot back. "Well I didn't exactly see you rushing to save her when she was trapped behind the gate," Wheeler told him. "Oh, you mean the gate that your girlfriend shut? The gate that, because it was shut, allowed for Y/N to get trapped in the fucking Upside Down? That gate?" Richie asked as he jabbed Wheeler in the chest.

"Touch me again. No, better yet. Disrespect my girl again. See what fucking happens," Wheeler growled. "Mike," Eleven sighed as she got up from her spot. She knew Y/N wouldn't want them arguing like this and it seemed that Eddie realized this too. "Guys. Calm down. We really don't need to-" Eddie began as he walked forward and began to pull Richie away, Eleven doing the same to Wheeler. However, that was when Wheeler delivered the final blow, "You don't deserve, Y/N. None of you losers do."

Eddie froze at that, his hand that was on Richie's arm immediately dropping. He turned his face to look at Wheeler and gave him an unamused look before saying, "You fucking asshole!" Eddie was about to lunge at Wheeler, but Beverly and Ben quickly pulled him back. However, the Party seemed to notice Eddie's small advance and they were all up in a flash and by Wheeler's side, the Losers doing the same for Richie and Eddie. None of them knew how it happened, but before they knew it, the once silent room was filled with arguing as both side took shots at the other.

"Y/N's life has been one hundred times better since she left Hawkins! You ever wonder why she never comes back to visit?"

"I thought the move was the worst thing to ever happen to her, but after meeting you guys I see I stand corrected!"

"Say that shit again. I dare you!"

"Y/N would leave you all in a heartbeat to come back to Hawkins and she wouldn't even look back!"

"You motherfuckers!"

It all became a blur after that, everyone from each side yelling and shoving each other as their pent up emotions poured out of them. They were all hurt and upset about Y/N and this was all they could think of doing at the moment to relieve some of the pain.

As for Bill, he was still sitting in the corner by himself. It was only when the fighting seemed to register in his brain that the boy looked up, a look of complete disbelief on his face as he clutched the jacket harder and stood up from his spot. "Hey!" Bill yelled, but the groups were too red faced and into the fight for them to notice his yelling. Bill huffed in frustration before shoving his way to the middle of the group. He pushed the sides away from each other before yelling at the top of his lungs, "Sit the fuck down!" Hearing those words coming out of the stuttering boy who had been sitting quietly in the corner had them all freeze, each of them realizing what had just happened. Reluctantly, the two groups went to sit back down, but not before glaring at the other side.

Bill scoffed as he stared at the groups and shook his head as tears filled his eyes. "A-A-Are you fucking k-k-kidding me?" he asked, finally getting all eyes to turn on him as he looked at them in disbelief. "We have a life at st-st-stake and you all are bickering like a bunch of f-f-four year o-o-olds!" Bill exclaimed, his eyes looking at the groups in disbelief. "Pull yourselves t-t-together and get up off your asses. We've got a f-f-friend to save!" Everyone's anger seemed to dissolve slightly as they watched the boy, looks of guilt flashing across some of their faces.

Bill shook his head and looked down at the ground as he tried to calm himself down. When he looked back up and began to speak, his voice was clear and strong, not a single piece of evidence of his stutter falling from his lips causing everyone to realize just how serious he was being.

"I know each of you is hurting. I know. Y/N meant a lot to all of us. But you all have to realize just who is in this room because every person in this room plays a major role in Y/N's life," Bill said. He glanced at the Party and gestured towards them. "You guys grew up with her. You helped shape her into the person she was and gave her some of the best experiences of her life. You showed her what friendship was and what family means. She knows what she does today because of you."

Bill then gestured towards the Losers and himself. "We're the ones who have helped her through a tough part of her life. We've protected her with our own lives and have loved her unconditionally. She's been one of our own since day one and she will be until the day she dies," he told them. Bill sighed before saying, "Look, we all care about her and she cares about each of us. We're her friends. We're her family. No one can tell any of us any different."

"That's why we're all upset because not only are we scared of losing her, but we are scared of her forgetting about us in any way. But I promise you that it's not happening for either side. She's always going to be a member of the Party and she's always going to be a part of the Losers' Club. She's like the in-between, the perfect mix of each group. She won't forget her past and she won't forget her present," Bill said as he pointed to each of the groups.

"Y/N has always put our needs in front of her own, but right now, we're going to have to put her above everything else. Each of you is going to have to push aside your differences, your egos, your selfishness, and your attitudes if you want to get Y/N back. Because the only way to get our girl back is if we work together," Bill told them, his eyes flickering over the guilty expressions of the groups as they realized Bill was right about everything he had said.

"How are we going to do that?" Richie asked softly. "Cause I'm with you, Bill. I'm just. . .I don't want to screw up and lose her. We're going to have to make sure everything is perfect and right now the major thing in our way is finding a way to get back to her."

"That's w-w-where the first part of my p-p-plan comes into play," Bill told him. He then turned to look at Eleven who was looking to the ground. As if sending his stare, the girl glanced up. "Eleven, is th-th-there any way you th-th-think you could open the g-g-gate? I meant if you were able to cl-cl-close it, shouldn't you be able t-t-to either make one or o-o-open it?"

"You want her to make a portal that goes to the Upside Down?" Wheeler asked, his tone a little hard as he became protective of his girlfriend. "I can do it," Eleven said with a nod causing Wheeler to look to her. Eleven sighed and glanced at her boyfriend. "Y/N is our friend, Mike. Don't tell me you wouldn't try anything to get back the girl who you've been friends with since the second grade." Wheeler looked down, his expression softening at Eleven's words. Eleven put a hand to the boy's cheek before whispering, "I owe it to her to try." Wheeler nodded slightly and Eleven smiled before letting her eyes flicker over to Bill. Bill gave the girl a small nod in thanks which Eleven quickly returned.

"Bill is right," Beverly called out from where she was sitting beside Ben and Stan. Everyone looked to her and she glanced up from her hands before letting her eyes flicker around the room. "Both groups have to work together. It's the only way we are going to win this thing. It's the only way we are going to get Y/N back."

Bill nodded in agreement before allowing his eyes to flicker over each of the people in the room. His gaze stopped on Steve who was looking at the boy with an unreadable expression on his face. But then Steve was giving him a small nod of approval and thanks and Bill couldn't help but smile as a small wave of relief washed over him.

"All th-th-those in favor of t-t-teaming up to save Y/N?" Bill questioned as he looked around the room. Everyone's hands shot up into the air almost instantly and Bill smiled softly before looking down at the jacket in his hands. He then looked back up and gave the group a nod.

"Let's g-g-go save our g-g-girl then, shall we?"

* * *

Tag List

@witch-of-all-things-soft @nightbu-g @vickeystar @daniellajocelyn @alexthe80swhore @ren-ni @floralpiper @starshininginthedark @aimee-lucass @marvelismylifffe @dwcljh @sycard @connor---murphy @tinycolorwhispers @sarai-ibn-la-ahad @izzyisavengersupernaturaltrash @theamandarenee @amberkay284 @gryffingirl @dejewskoo @artlovingbre @jacinta-lexianne @gabiatthedisco @littlemaeve @newhopenessie @pheonix-nin @captn-sprkl-fngrs @flaredflowedrsuits @madelinelikesfics @mysteryartisticwriter @that-one-book-girl @spnsquirrel @galaxsea-707 @felicia-can-fly @whoops-im-gay-now @hollandcomics @lauren-theicecreamslinger @peterhollandd @princessserena23 @hollandstanleythomas @you-s-suckbowers @hitoshi-s-stupid-bitch @deviantly-gayy @pastel-rose-water @gothackedalready @fandoms-all-around-catiel @danas-wonderland @c00ln3rdz @lastjeon @fraeppuccino @80sthottie @hawkxyes @milk-n-cheese @mileven-reddie

[louadorable126]

Demons(you).me: Chapter 8 - The Cult of Fortuna’s charity event (Part 2)

Artwork Commissioned from Aya/Itouyas on twitter! Please check her out! <3

>>Click here to read on Ao3!<<

Summary:

In a city controlled by the generally altered race of Demons, Lady’s life as a mercenary on the lower floor was never easy. Especially when she ran into Dante. A demon on the hunt for his missing brother.

———–

Fandom: Devil May Cry

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Characters: Vergil, Lady, Dante, Trish

———–

Chapter 8:

“Who are you?!

The doppelgänger of Eva raised an eyebrow in confusion at his hysteria. “One of your kind?” She said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I’m on your side, so calm yourself."

Wait, she sees herself as a demon? Great, that totally didn’t soothe Dante’s fears! In fact the complete opposite. Only bringing forth more questions than answers in his already overworked mind.

“S-Sorry. I, uh didn’t expect to see another…” He gulped for the words. "Another one of us down here.” He said shakily, lowering his sword, yet still not letting go of it completely. Playing along seemed like the best option right now in Dante’s mind. Freaking out, as reasonable as it was, wasn’t going to get him anywhere with this.“Why are you here then?"

“I would think the reason is pretty obvious, given that they are currently sitting around us.” The doppelgänger gestured to the limp bodies of the leaders.  “Dispatch sent me to deal with these lunatics, and so I have. Though, how very thoughtful of them to send me a backup just in case~ You’re a damn good fighter, and I like that in an assistant."

“Dispatch?” So the demonic military had been looking into taking out the Cult of Fortuna as well then? Eh, not too big of a surprise. It was always gonna be a matter of time. At least on the upside, they’d saved him a job by pulling their ‘disappearing’ act on them here and now. “Oh right, dispatch! Yeah, they didn’t tell me anything about you being here. So hence, uh… all that-”

“Its fine, all is forgiven.” She cut in briskly, waving him off. Clearly holding no resentment at least. “They were probably trying to protect my identity. It's hard to put up a decent front if you know who you can trust!”

“True” Dante responded, somewhat detached; weakly leaning back against the solid wall behind him. In truth, he barely processed her words, too unsettled by the tone of her voice, that gentle yet smug smile not too dissimilar to his own… it was all too uncanny.

Ugh, this is so weird! He whined to himself, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. Why couldn’t she just be a clone of Lady? At least she’d have another pretty sister if that were the case! Maybe a little more murderous, but I could work with that-

A chorus of radio chatter spat its way out of the busted helmet. Easily startling the two of them, as they quickly turned their heads towards the sound. The thick static it emanated, made it far too hard to make out exactly what was being said. But if Dante had to guess just by how many voices were overlapping each other whenever it did get audible, the situation sounded quite hectic.

“Seems like security just found out about our little play session." Gloria commented, glancing over her shoulder towards the open door. The sound of a stampede of feet bashing against laminate sounding in the distance. She sighed, shaking her head. “And here I thought Agnus would be a slower runner.”

“Hang on, you didn’t kill all of them?!” Dante yelled in surprise. This wasn’t good at all. How the hell were they going to make good on their deal with Augustus if they hadn’t cut off all the hydra’s heads? (Maybe a bit too literally in the unfortunate case of the guy near to Dante.) God, Vergil was going to have his guts for this…

“I dealt with who I was ordered to deal with. We’ll leave it at that.” The woman in white said ominously, turning her back on him and heading towards the door.

“Right. Totally not the short and simple way of saying you fucked up!” Dante scoffed, unbelieving.

“Oh, I could’ve killed him if I wanted.” Gloria reassured him confidently. Throwing her gilded blade up into the air playfully and catching it again stylishly. “We need to get moving.”

She left the room. Leaving Dante to on hurry after her begrudgingly; his bold red half-cape billowing behind him.

Okay. Maybe we can still get away with this, even if the cult leaders aren’t all dead! Dante thought, trying to reassure himself. As long as the Cult of Fortuna doesn't reform under Agnus. Augustus will have no reason to think we screwed up. Yeah! All he wants is his family to be free. So like he need to know about the finer details of this mission anyway-

His stream of consciousness was abruptly cut off, when his foot came into contact with something solid and heavy, just as he passed through the doorway. The demon glanced down curiously, only to immediately regret the decision when he found the two guards who’d assailed him at the door, laying out cold on the floor. Looking distinctly very dead, if the large pools of blood around them was anything to go by.

That explains why you guys didn’t come charging in at the first sound of commotion. Damn. Dante mused, awkwardly stepping over the guard’s arm he’d come into contact with. Trying to avoid getting blood on his dark metallic feet, with picky, small steps.

“Are you coming?” Gloria’s impatient voice asked. Dante looked up, finding his mother’s doppelgänger standing there in the darkness with her arms crossed disapprovingly - still holding her sword in one hand. “The sight of a few dead bodies scaring you, recruit?”

“Hey, I’m not the summer intern lady! Show me some respect, alright?” Dante said, biting back with his usual wit. Confidently walking off ahead of her down the hall ahead of her. “What even gives you authority over me anyway?”

“Oh I’ve only spent the last six months infiltrating my way inside here. I’d think with that amount of effort, I should be in charge instead of the guy who rocks up at the last minute!”

“Hey, sometimes it’s only the last few minutes that count in the end anyway!” Dante responded cheekily, lifting his crimson sword up and resting it on his shoulders. An overly-dramatic, mournful sigh escaping him, as he pressed his hand on his forehead, like he was a tragic character on stage. “Though, not that my epic tea serving skills will ever be appreciated now."

“They were very nice, dear.” Gloria complimented calmly from his side. The blond woman had caught up with him once again. "Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Perhaps. Although your real name would be nice too.” Dante smirked.

He knew he was pushing it a bit here. If she was sent by the demonic military, it was likely she wasn’t allowed to reveal her true identity to anyone for the sake of keeping things nice and secure; names always meant loose ends, and that was never good for anything covert.

It was a rule that Dante knew better than most (He kinda broke it... pretty often. Had the higher-ups or his dad found out about his first meeting with Lady for example, he no doubt would’ve gotten one hell of a rocket up his ass for how many protocols he’d broken). So the chances that uptight ‘Gloria’ here was gonna spill the beans on…well anything about herself, let alone the similarities to his mother, was unlikely at best.  

It seemed he wasn’t wrong, as Trish’s face turned hard at the suggestion. Looking dead ahead with the stern procession, pretending as though he wasn’t there. Leaving an uncomfortable silence (Not that you couldn’t really call it that though, with all the panicked yelling and commands to ’search the area’ echoing down from a few corridors back) to fall upon them.

But that wasn’t to say there was a glimmer of hope. Every now and then, her lips would twitch almost like she was on the verge of saying something before shutting herself down once again. Until finally, she anxiously glanced over her shoulder and spoke.

“Trish.”

Hot damn! He actually got something out of her! “Trish? Oh like Beatrice-“

“Just Trish.” She insisted firmly. Her fixing her green eyes over to the young man beside her, with an fearsome intensity only Vergil could match. "And your’s?”

Oh. He hadn’t thought that far ahead with this.

Should I tell her? Crap, that was a tough question. Sure in the here and now it would be fine. Perfectly reasonable too since she’d given her own. But, what happened when this mission was over? Trish would most likely have to report back on how this operation went down. Write up some boring essay that Dante normally left Vergil to handle. She’d surely mention he was involved as her ‘back-up’ or something. And that would be fine if she left it vague. There were plenty of grunts like him out there so he’d be pretty anonymous.

But…if he was named. It wouldn’t take long for some clever-clogs back at dispatch to realise he was here unauthorised. Questions would be asked most certainly, and Dante wasn’t sure how well he or Vergil could defend themselves once that started happening. What, being involved in an unauthorised capacity on an operation months in the making, if he went off what Trish said. From there, it could only unravel more and more. The two week absence, Vergil’s little murder tour of the cities’ databanks, Lady, Eva-

What if they already know about Eva?  Stuck the sudden, horrifying thought. Trish thinks she’s a demon. What if they had- No! They can’t have done that!

“I’m risking a lot telling you that, you know?” Trish huffed angrily, brushing hair out of her face rather elegantly. “Going to return the favour or not?”

“Yeah yeah I am..” Dante brushed her off, his voice quivering slight. If.. if they had done what he thought they’d done. There was no point hiding anything anymore.

There was no point to anything.  

“Its.. its Dante”

“Good name.” Trish praised, a faint smile tracing her lips.

“Heard it before then?” He pried, returning with his usual confidant edge. Yet, that couldn’t be anywhere further from the truth in reality. His stomach was a torrent of nervous energy, swishing and swirling in anticipation for what would come as her reply. Honestly not sure if it would be a blessing or a curse if she did recognise him.

“No. It's just an instinct. Nothing grander than that I’m afraid.” Trish professed a little bashful. “Although, rolls off the tongue rather nicely I suppose."

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Dante said, smiling weakly. Perhaps there was something there after all…

All of a sudden, Trish reached an arm across Dante’s chest and pulled him so they were both pressed flat against the wall.

“Hey, what was that for-“

“Shut it.” Trish ordered sternly, voice low. Putting a finger to her lips, before gesturing with her eyes to the end of the corridor.

Dante followed their gaze. In the dull yellow light leaking from around the corner. Two shadows, large and twisted in a way that made their builds indistinguishable, traced their way across the floor. Thankfully it seemed they had already passed by, if Dante guessed from the direction the shadows were moving. Having missed the pair of demons completely by some stroke of luck.

“Think we’re safe. They’re leaving.” Dante whispered, moving to get up, only the flat edge of Trish’s golden blade to be pressed against his chest. Pinning down him in place, unmoving.

“Not so fast.” Trish advised sternly. Carefully observing the shadows’ movements as they danced across the floor. “They’re going to loop back round any minute now."

“Loop back round? Look, their probably just catering staff on the move. Unless they’ve dropped any napkins on the floor that I’ve missed here, they are going to be long gone any minute now-“

“And why exactly would catering staff move in groups of two?” Trish inquired. She had a point. Tonight had taught Dante enough to know he was barking up the wrong tree here. He’d been left to do stuff on his own, actively encouraged in fact. So yeah, for two people to be walking around together with no trolly did seem kinda strange to be honest. “They’re most likely guards on patrol no doubt. My men….the cults' guards have a protocol to move in groups of two. Means if one goes down the other can call for help. I know because I instituted it."

“Geez, thanks for making our lives harder I guess?” Dante joked.

“Oh I try my best~” Trish stated modestly. Removing her sword from his chest and lowering it back down to her side. “May as well make it up to you then, shouldn’t I Dante? I’ll only be a moment."

Sticking close to the wall, Trish swiftly began to make her way down the corridor. Disappearing around the corner moments later in one fluid, deadly movement.

Off she goes killing again. Dante sighed to himself, letting out air he didn’t even realise he was holding in. The relief that he was on his own again striking him in that moment. He was thankful for it. Any more stress, and his strained heart probably was gonna give out young. And let’s just say keeling over from a heart attack, wasn’t exactly on the demon's to-do list tonight.

The young man reclined his head back against the freezing wall. Maybe I should tell her to just keep to non-violent takedowns until we get out of here. Would’ve thought a trail of dead bodies is going to be pretty obvious to follow-

“What the-“ Cried a distinctly familiar, peppy voice. Followed by a surge of bright blue light streaking across the wall from around the corner. The crash of someone collapsing to the ground echoing down the corridor to Dante’s sensitive ears. Alerting him.

That can’t be good! Dante thought, imminently springing into action. Hurriedly sprinting down to check what was going on.

Only to be met at gunpoint by Lady when he rounded the corner.

———–

Click here to read more! :D

[dreamwritesimagines]

Twisted 15 - Playing with Fire [Spencer Reid x Reader]

A.N.: Thank you so much for your wonderful support my loves! Here’s the next chapter, I hope you will like it as well, and please let me know what you think of it! ❤❤ Ily, kisses! ❤❤❤

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Murder, serial killers, violence, manipulation, mentions of sex, drinking, smoking.

Word Count: 3800

Summary: Good intentions can lead to bad consequences.

Your first night with Spencer was different than any other time with anyone else you had ever been with, and you were one hundred percent sure that he would have some scientific explanation for it, but for you, the reason behind that was very simple.

Even if you couldn’t even admit it to yourself yet.

But for the first time in a very long time, your nightmares left you alone. Your sleep wasn’t disturbed, not by anything unpleasant anyway and you were almost sure that the small movement beside you in bed followed by a soft kiss into your neck was a part of your dreams.

The fuzzy feeling spread through you as the haze of the sleep slowly withdrew from your body and you snuggled closer into the covers, not ready to leave the warmth yet but as soon as you turned and felt the empty spot next to you, you opened your eyes, frowning. You sat up in bed, rubbing at your eyes and grabbed the folded paper lying on the pillow beside yours.

Beatrice;

She is the sum of nature’s universe,

To her perfection all of beauty tends.

Dante.

You smiled and your eyes skimmed the next lines under the quote.

New case in Ohio, they called in the whole team.

You heaved a sigh, falling back to bed again, pulling the silk sheets over your head and letting out a groan. The sunshine that seemed to fill your veins had disappeared already, leaving its place to coldness and you kicked off the sheets to walk to the bathroom.

After taking a long hot shower, you got dressed and blow dried your hair, humming a song to yourself, the memory of last night flashing in your mind, sending a spark through your whole system. You turned off the blow drier, stealing a look at your phone to see whether Spencer had texted you yet but there was nothing, so you grabbed it and left the bathroom.

As soon as you stepped into the kitchen, a shriek left your lips, making your mother turn around.

“Y/N!”

“Jesus Christ mom!” you pressed a hand over your chest, “How many times do I have to tell you not to break into my apartment?”

“It’s not breaking in if I have a key.”

“That key is for emergencies,” you let out a breath, “There’s a copycat killer sending me flowers, remember? Now is not the time for surprises.”

She tilted her head, “Speaking of, I heard you let the security I fixed you go.”

“I’m not going to walk around with bodyguards,” you said as you approached the coffee maker, “There’s security at my office already, I can’t have it in my building too.”

“I’m worried about you.”

“As long as you don’t give me a heart attack, I think we will be fine,” you checked your wristwatch, “Damn it, I need to leave in five.”

“Well, I won’t take much of your time,” she said and put a file on the kitchen island, making you look up from the cup you were pouring your coffee into.

“What’s that?”

“I took the liberty of contacting Philip.”

“Your P.I?” you asked, “Why?”

“To look into your boyfriend of course.”

You blinked a couple of times and put the coffee cup down, “Mom, no.”

“Relax, I didn’t read it.”

“No,” you insisted, “No way. Throw that away.”

“Y/N, don’t you want to know if there’s anything in his past that might be—”

“I’m not going to dig into his past!” you interrupted her, your heartbeat getting faster, “Anything he wants to tell me, he can tell me himself, I’m not going to learn it from a freaking P.I file.”

She heaved a sigh, “You don’t know what he might be hiding from you.”

“He’s not hiding anything from me,” you said, “Also, I know his father isn’t a serial killer, which is more than I can say for myself. I’m the last person to judge someone for their past.”

“What your father has done has nothing to do with you,” she said, “I didn’t tell Philip to look into his parents sweetheart, just him.”

“Throw that away.”

She rolled her eyes, “Y/N.”

“I’m not going to read it,” you told her as you put your coffee down and grabbed your purse from the counter, “I gotta go, but lock the door behind you when you leave okay?”

“Y/N, we need to talk about this!”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” you turned around to look at her, “Mom, for the first time in my life I actually feel—“ you paused for a moment, “He makes me happier than you could imagine, okay? I’m not going to betray his trust, not like that. Ever.”

She shot you a look and you walked out of the apartment, your phone already buzzing in your hand.

“Erica?” you greeted your assistant as you answered the phone, “I’m on my way.”

                                                           ***

You definitely had not imagined the next two days going like this.

For starters, you had thought you would get to wake up next to Spencer. That didn’t happen.

You had thought you would have a peaceful morning. That didn’t happen.

You had assumed Spencer would call you, at least text you sometime in these two days, but that didn’t happen either. Between meetings and clients and running from venues to pastry shops to flower shops, you kept checking your phone but there was nothing. Even after you had texted him good morning, it was radio silent.

You tried to convince yourself that it was because of his job. You were busy during the day yes, but he was dealing with actual serial killers and their victims, so it was more than normal that he couldn’t find….five seconds to text you.

Maybe.

On second day though, you were getting way too restless.

“Nothing?” Mina asked as she came back from the bathroom and you put your phone down, taking a sip of your rosé and averting your glances to the other people in the restaurant.

“No,” you murmured, “It’s—it’s fine.”

“Is it though?”

You clicked your tongue and pushed at your salad with your fork, “No,” you admitted, “It’s not fine.”

“Thought so.”

“It’s just that…” you heaved a sigh, “Maybe— I don’t know, maybe I misunderstood what this was?”

“Or maybe he’s an idiot.”

“He has an IQ of 187, Mina.”

“Doesn’t mean he’s not an idiot,” she pointed at you with her fork, “Listen, you know what kind of a job he has. Every second counts when you’re hunting down killers.”

“A text takes like five seconds to type,” you reminded her and bit inside your cheek, “What if—“

“No,” Mina said, “Whatever you’re thinking right now, that’s not what’s happening here. You just decided to date a guy who has the worst work hours, that’s it,” she tilted her head, “Speaking of, did mom seriously get Philip to look into him?”

“Oh my God yes!” you looked up at her, finally able to focus on something else, “Can you believe that?”

“Yes I can. I one hundred percent saw that coming,” she sipped her drink, “I didn’t think she would tell you though, not after what happened the last time.”

You frowned, but then a look of realization dawned on your face, “Right,” you said, “She did the same when you and Kenzie started dating. I almost forgot.”

“Kenzie broke up with me when she found out,” she reminded you, shaking her head, “It was the worst week of my life. I had to beg her to at least listen to me.”

“I mean I get that she was angry, but breaking up?”

“I don’t know how I would react if she did the same thing to me,” Mina stated, “I can’t blame her, not really. It was way out of line.”

You shrugged your shoulders, “I didn’t read it.”

“You shouldn’t read it,” Mina said, “Did you get rid of it?”

“I told mom to throw it away as I was leaving,” you said, “I didn’t see it on the counter when I came back, so I guess she did throw it away. Or took it with her, I don’t know.”

“You do realize none of this would be happening if you didn’t walk around announcing you’re in love—”

Your eyes widened, “Mina!”

“What? Just because you didn’t tell him doesn’t mean it’s not crystal clear to the rest of us.”

“I didn’t announce anything!”

“You might as well have,” she said, “Now that you got laid, there’s no excuse to that behavior.”

“At least I’m not calling him my love,” you pointed out and Mina scrunched up her nose.

“Don’t remind me,” she murmured, “I don’t know what mom is thinking. Also, apparently, there’s this auction for charity and all of us are supposed to be there. You, me, Kenzie…. Do you want to guess who the sponsor is?”

“Mom’s boyfriend.”

“Mom’s boyfriend,” she repeated, clinking her glass with yours, “Trust me, that’s gonna be a disaster.”

For the rest of the day, Spencer made no contact with you, and it was becoming more nerve-wrecking than you had thought it would be. Every hour your mind came up with some theory that was even more ridiculous than the other.

You had started with the theory of that night before not being as good for him as it was for you and somehow reached the theory of him lying dead in a ditch because a serial killer had gotten to him. Your fingers were practically itching for you to call him but you managed to control yourself, pouring yourself a glass of whiskey and trying to focus on the emails your assistant had sent you.

But the buzz of your phone was more than enough to make you sit up straight and snatch your phone off the coffee table. You touched the screen, your eyes skimming the text.

Sorry I couldn’t call, the case was chaotic and we just landed. Can I drop by? I missed you.

You stared at the screen, trying to repress the fury bubbling inside of you but managed to reply with just one word.

Sure.

Two days of complete silence, and then I missed you.

Lovely.

You let out a breath, forcing yourself to focus on the screen of your laptop instead of the anger filling you, because if you didn’t calm yourself down you were pretty damn sure that tonight would end in a huge argument.

And you didn’t want that. You didn’t want to let yourself play that messed up pushing and pulling game with him, because you knew where that would end.

It took more than an hour and a couple of glasses of whiskey, but when you heard the knock on your door, you pushed the cashmere throw off of you and walked to the door to open it.

Damn it, even the sight of him at your door was more than enough to make you want to rush into his arms, but you managed to hold your ground, leaning sideways to the door to take a look at him. He looked like he hadn’t slept in these two days and he was clearly exhausted, if not physically then mentally. The thought tugged at your heartstrings and you pressed your lips together.

“Welcome back,” you managed to say, not moving an inch to kiss or hug him and of course that didn’t escape his notice. Even when he was tired, he knew exactly how to read you.

You opened the door wider and walked back into the living room, listening to him close the door behind him and follow you.

“Tough case?”

“Yeah- is everything okay?”

His question made you turn around to look at him and you crossed your arms, frowning slightly.

“Yeah.”

“Y/N.”

You shrugged your shoulders, “Hm?”

“What happened?”

“Nothing,” you said, “I guess I’m surprised to hear from you, that’s all.”

A look of realization flashed over his handsome face, “I wanted to call you,” he said quickly, “I really did, but as soon as we landed in Ohio they took us into the crime scene, and the whole night I tried to crack the case but it turned out the killer had already committed—“

“A text would’ve been fine,” you pointed out, rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet, “You didn’t get five seconds to yourself, professor?”

“Will you believe me if I say no?”

“No,” you stated, “Not really. It’s fine, I just misunderstood what this was,” you motioned at him,”It’s—like I said, it’s fine. I just didn’t know it before so I got confused, that’s all.”

“What did you misunderstand?” he asked you and you shrugged your shoulders again like a petulant child, keeping silent. He watched you, his brows furrowed as he tried to understand what was happening before he pulled back slightly.

“You thought—“ he started, his voice soft, “You thought I’d leave you like that?”

Don’t say it. Don’t say it.

Don’t fucking say—

“What do I care if you left?”

Anthony, -your ex you had broken up with months and months ago- had once told you that during the arguments, especially if you were mad at the person in front of you, it was like you were possessed by the devil himself.

“I have no idea what the fuck you want,” he had yelled at you, “I don’t think you know either.”

Now to think of it, you were beginning to agree with him about you being possessed because you knew it was illogical, you knew you were being petty and nonsense, and yet, you couldn’t stop yourself.

“You don’t care.” Spencer repeated, his aura changing completely, his tone calm and collected.

You supposed that was normal. You had already trespassed into his area of expertise voluntarily, and yes you could push and pull someone until they broke, but Spencer could play these mind games and come out on top no matter how much you tried to beat him at that.

The thought of him taking a peek into all these defenses you had spent years building was so intimidating that for a moment you felt almost naked and blinked a couple of times, your nose in the air.

Walking away when you were at your own goddamn apartment was a challenge but your pettiness knew no limits.

“You know what, I’m gonna take a shower, it’s really late.”

“Y/N.”

“Yeah listen, like I said, it’s fine. You missed me, you saw me and we’re clearly both very happy right now, so do you mind closing the door behind you when you leave?” you said, your voice cold as ice and took a step to walk past him but he grabbed your arm before you could do that, his grip firm but not painful.

“You know I can see through that, right?” his voice was low as your heart started pacing in your chest, the fire shooting through you despite anger, “Try to run away from it, lie to me all you want, but I’m not one of those clueless idiots around you. We both know you do care.”

It was as if there was an invisible electric wire crackling between your bodies, getting stronger and stronger with each second passing. Your eyes narrowed as you stood still for a moment, like a snake ready to strike, your mind going overdrive with where to attack him first.

“Then it’s a good thing one of us does,” you managed to say, your voice like a hiss, “Because we both know that you don’t.”

Something behind his eyes shifted but before you could even question what it was he had already pulled you into a kiss, his fingers buried into your hair while he walked you back until your back collided with the wall. You pushed his jacket off of him, not caring where it ended up and your fingers nimbly tried to get rid of his tie, a whine escaping from your lips when you had to break the kiss so that he could pull the oversized shirt you were wearing over your head. He pulled back for a moment, his fiery gaze focused on you and that was when you understood why he had stopped.

He was making sure he would remember this.

You pushed yourself off the wall, flinging yourself into his arms once again. It was nearly impossible to fight the urge of being closer to him, so you gave in as his hand tugged at the roots of your hair while both of you blindly tried to find the nearest flat surface, knocking over a vase and the floor lamp in process before he finally pushed you back to the couch. A squeal escaped from your lips when you landed on the soft cushions, but it soon turned into a moan when his body covered yours, his teeth grazing your neck.

“Well,” he murmured, his low voice in your ear giving you shivers, “Let’s test that theory then.”

                                                        ***

Of course he woke up before you. If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve thought he hadn’t slept at all but he looked better rested than when he first had got there, so you figured he at least got a couple of hours. He had put his pants and white button up on, but his tie and jacket were still scattered along the room. He was sitting by the edge of couch, his files all over the coffee table as his eyes darted between them and he dragged his fingertips over the papers, but when he felt you watching him, he turned his head to look at you, a smile pulling at his lips, mirroring yours.

“Good morning,” he said and your smile widened before he leaned in to kiss you.

“Hi,” you murmured as you reached out to touch his curls, “Why does your hair look prettier than mine in the morning?”

He chuckled against your lips, “You’re seeing things,” he said, stealing another kiss from you before pulling back, his thumb caressing over your cheekbone.

“What time is it?” you rasped out and he checked his wristwatch.

“7,” he said and you scrunched up your nose,

“How much time do you have?”

“Less than half an hour,” he sighed, “How much time do you have?”

“Perks of being the boss,” you wiggled your brows, “I don’t have any meetings before ten o’clock today.”

“Lucky.”

“Incredibly lucky,” you winked at him as you pecked him on the lips and grabbed your bra and underwear off the floor, painfully aware of his gaze on you sending fire underneath your cheeks. You got into your shirt, then narrowed your eyes at him.

“It’s rude to stare professor, where are your manners?” you asked, making him chuckle before he snapped his fingers as if he just thought of something.

“I almost forgot,” he said, pulling away to grab his satchel and he dug into it to pull out a small magnet, making you gasp and snatch it out of his hand.

“You remembered!” you said with a smile, “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll put it on the fridge. Coffee?”

He raised his brows and nodded his head, “Yes please.”

“I’m beginning to think I’m becoming a profiler,” you grinned at him and fixed your hair before jumping over the back of the couch. You had every intention to walk to the kitchen but you couldn’t help yourself as you leaned over to rest your chin on his shoulder and kissed his cheek, making him smile. He entwined his fingers with you, pressing his lips on the back of your hand, the warmth spreading from that spot through your whole body.

“Thank you,” you said softly and he turned his head to look at you,

“Of course, it’s nothing.”

“No, it’s… it’s not nothing.” You shook your head, “It makes me happy.”

The light in his eyes was so warm that you thought you would melt.

“Good, because I want—“ he swallowed thickly, “I need you to be happy.”

You nibbled on your lip before you stole a kiss from him,

“I am,” you murmured, not lying for the first time in your life. You rushed to the kitchen, putting the magnet on the fridge carefully before you turned the coffee machine on.

“So I was thinking,” you said, “About this 7 hour long conference.”

“You lost that bet, you have to attend it with me.”

“Ah no, I’m not trying to skip it,” you leaned on the kitchen island, “I just have a question.”

He looked over his shoulder, “Yeah?”

“There are bathrooms there right?”

“Of course.”

“And everyone will be pretty busy during and after the sessions?”

“Yeah because the Q and A sometimes goes longer than planned.”

“Great, so we can hook up in the bathroom?”

He blinked a couple of times, as if he couldn’t tell if you were joking.

“Come again?”

You shrugged your shoulders, “What? No one ever does anything fun in these conferences?”

“I don’t—“ he stammered, “They’re highly academic, so I don’t think… I don’t think anyone—um—”

“You okay there, professor?” you grinned, aware of your effect of your words “You’re telling me you keep attending these conferences and then you end up not hooking up with anyone?”

He shook his head, still confused and you winked at him.

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” you said, “You’re going to be late if you just keep sitting there and gawking at me by the way, IQ of 187.”  

He tried to pull himself together, gathering his files as you turned around to get the cups out of the cabinet.

“For the record, I think people are having fun in a non-academic way in these things, you just don’t know it yet,” you said, pouring the coffee into the cups “In one of the conferences we had to attend during college, me and my friend got these flasks of whiskey, then we—“ you stopped talking when you turned around and saw him standing there, completely frozen as he skimmed the papers in one of his files.

“What?” you asked when his eyes snapped up to yours, but there was something behind his gaze, completely void of the affection you were used to seeing. He swallowed thickly, his jaw clenched and he threw the file onto the kitchen island, making you frown.

Then a shudder ran down your spine.

Your mom’s file on Spencer. The one she had told her P.I to prepare when she paid him to look into Spencer’s past. You had just assumed your mother threw it away when you couldn’t see it after you came home that day, but apparently you should’ve looked harder.

“Y/N,” his voice sounded way too distant, way too cold, “What the hell is this?”

Chapter 16

[someone-always-cares]

[image description: a q&a for the webcomic someone always cares. full desc under the cut because its long and wordy sorry]

post chapter 3 Q&A

first - previous - next

thanks for yalls questions!! it was fun to answer! if anyone still has questions feel free to ask whenever i am always 100% down to ramble. even if i did go slightly off topic in some answers

additional: went off topic with the hair question a bit. their bright hair is all part of the transformations. regular hair dye does exist though. best way to tell is that if the eyebrow matches the hair its probably not dyed. also, quartz’s hair is naturally ginger.

also for more on ages, check out the character bios here

also was gonna keep this in the tags but thought i might as well actually try to answer it: the question i found it hardest to answer was someone the song one. my taste in music is. a mess really. ive been listening to like the same 5 songs on repeat all day. more under the cut because i was rambling again and now its uhhh half 1am

if it helps at the time of answering that specific question i had home by cavetown on repeat, and that song reminds me of both rami and lewis. but that may be because i project onto those two a lot, and as a aro trans dude. who sucks with people skills, yeah of course i love that song.

specifically the vibes of like not knowing how to communicate (rami is fine with his friends but other people are different), the lines “ Turn off your porcelain face, I can't really think right now and this place, Has too many colors, enough to drive all of us insane” idk what the porcelain face line is supposed to mean but im picturing it as like. a mask. that you need to take off and stop hiding and rami does tend to hide when hes feeling upset, and the next two lines kinda could tie into that, like the feeling of when youre overwhelemed and just want the world to stop so you just hide somewhere. also the colours could go with chapter 3 with the chromatic abberation.

also the bit with “ my eyes went dark, I don't know where, my pupils are, But I'll figure out a way to get us out of here” just kinda sums up ramis whole hero thing with his powers and all. anyway this has turned into less what songs rami would like and why this particular song reminds me of him and lewis (lewis specifically has the hair cutting/chest hiding, [big transmasc mood], and also messy haired trainwreck who doesnt know who he is yet. also the ghosts bit)

i did end up picking upbeat songs because ramis a dude who like to try and be upbeat even if things arent. even if hes not really feeling it he will pretend to.

[full description: Anonymous said to someone-always-cares: “hi ily!!! do characters like quartz who have colored hair have that naturally or did they dye it?”

“its both natural and not! while most supers can do a magical girl ish transformation, including a change in hair colour, there are some exceptions.”

theres two small full body drawings of rami, one in civilian clothes, one fully transformed.

“if a superhero were to have a biological child, the child will inherit the powers of the parent(s). however, the child will not inherit the full transfromation. they do inherit any physical transformations, but not the outfit.”

theres a drawing of a woman in blue, quartz’s mother, fully transformed, holding her mask in her hand, smiling down at a much younger quartz as a child. hes smiling back up at her with the same blue eyes, pointy ears, and blue hair, but hes still in normal clothes.

“in the case of quartz, both of hisparents had superpowers, and he inherited those powers and the physical transformations.he can also pick and mix whatphysical traits to change.“

next is a headshot of adult quartz, his face split down the middle with one side having hair and eye like his mother, the other like his father. theres a list of traits from each parents, blue hair and eyes and pointy ears from his mum, and purple hair and eyes and pointy teeth from their dad.

 “Anonymous said to someone-always-cares:  Are all the characters the same age? If not, how old are they? Are they irl friends or just superhero friends?”

theres some headshots of rami and his team lined up with ages labelled: cam is 15, rami himself is 17, lin, mateo, and dante, are all 18, and cap is 20.

“rami and xandra were somewhat friends before she got superpowers, so when, after the incident with her old team, she found rami had developed powers, xandra stuck close to him. their other teamates started off as superhero friends but soon turned into irl friends too”

theres a headshot of lewis and jade. theyre both 17

“when lewis first decided to start being a vigilante,jade quickly found him and decided to help train himand offered to be a mentor of sorts, as they both have similar powers. that quickly derailed.”

“ cinder5555 said to someone-always-cares: How long does it usually take to make a comic page? I'm curious because they're so freaking good that they must take FOREVER”

theres a drawing of myself, a fluffy hair tired bastard in a hoodie, smiling

“Thanks! Ive been doing this shit since like 2017 and i still have no idea how long it takes me. i can get a page done in a day if i have nothing else to do or if its a simple page, but if i have work then maybe 2-3 days? i spend like, most of my free time doing this.“

another drawing of me, now looking frustrated muttering “how the FUCK does time work”

“but i can never do it all on one sitting.i will inevitably get distracted and zone out daydreaming mid drawing so its very hard to get an accurate read on how long it takes. so however long a piece of string is i guess“

the only qustion not from tumblr is a discord message from RuneStone Cabin:

“Q: Can you talk about the incidence of superpowers in this world? Like many people are supers, which powers are more or less common, how long they've been a thing for, stuff like that. Also does Omen know I'd die for them “

theres a drawing of omen pointing at a date circled on a calender marked “decembuary”, theyre saying “i know. i already wrote your death in my calender.”

then a giant wall of text reading: “Supers have only existed for a relativly short time, since the early 1940s. momento mori was the second person to have ever gained powers.

Only a small number of the population are supers! the chances are higher in more populated cities, but unusally london has oneof the higher percentages of supers. while nobody in universe has any idea of the origins of superpowers, it does seem that powers are more likely to occur in people who would actually use their powers.

as for what powers are most common, after making a badly catagorized spreadsheet of every superpowered character ive made for this world (70% of which will probably never even be seen), turns out that elemental powers are the most common. although not all elemental powers manifest as the straight up 'controling this element' as seen in characters like lin or tsunami. for example, iris's powers would fall under shadow elemntal powers, but theyre a lot more weird that just controlling shadows.there are some abilities that have never been seen before,such as ressurection or full on time travel (aka anything that could bring a character back to life), but powers are certainly allowed to toe the line eg healing, powers involving undeath, immortality, pausing or manipulating time.

aside from that, anything goes. you could get plain old superstrength, but you could also get the ability to create dogs with your mind. other not quite rules, more guidelines are that supers are immune to their own powers hurting them (unless they were pushing themselves too hard), although the way the imminuties occur may be inconvinient to the super.

while some powers may be 'more powerful' than others, powers dont really get to be way underpowered or overpowered in comparision to others. sure being able to talk to animals may feel a bit useless compared to someone who can lift 4 tanks at once, but nobodys going to end up with a power like 'can turn into a goose but only once' or 'can grow toenails twice as fast' or 'if i sneeze i can change my hair colour'. at the same time, youre not going to get someone with the power to snap their fingers and level a city, or instantly blow up the moon or whatever.

“Anonymous said to someone-always-cares: I love rami PLEASE tell me his favorite song(s) and why. I will die for you”

a drawing of rami saying out loud “i dont really have any specific favourite song, really? i just listen to whatever sounds catchy and then listen to that on repeat for hours until i hate it. i guess i do like upbeat songs? ones that make you feel happy even if the lyrics are sad”

“ un1c0rnhh said to someone-always-cares: tell me,,, please,, cam,,, are they a cat person or a dog person?? ily"

theres a drawing of cam a metre away from a cat lying down. she has her arm out and is making ‘psspsspss’ noises at it. end id]

FUCK i am so glad i didnt hand write all of that, it would have been a major pain in the ass to write it all and then have to transcribe all that next. but nope i could directly copy paste the asks and word answers. cheers if anyone made it this far down. if anyone wonders why this is uploaded late, you know now.

[thedyingmoon]

V + Hanahaki Disease but with good ending?

Boy, you guys really come up with the most interesting ways to make V suffer, huh?

A/N: Written while listening to Rachmaninoff ( again ) Piano Concerto No. 2 In D Minor.

😏😏😏

Let's do this!

🥰🥰🥰

***

🌹 Love And Roses🌹

***

There it was again: a deep red rose petal on the floor.

You looked down at the thing with a raised eyebrow. You were sure that you just rid the floor of Nico's otherwise messy van of these curious and yet fragrant things.

But, there it was again: a deep red rose petal on the floor.

You carefully picked the fragile petal with your dainty fingers and looked at it, utterly confused as to its origins. Well, there were wild flowers outside but, none of them resembled the beauty of the thing in your hand. It looked like it came from a rare type of red rose, and you were absolutely sure you have never seen it before.

You do like the thing, however, since deep red is your favorite color, and the rose is your favorite flower.

But, to actually have numerous petals scattered about the floor really bewildered, amused and frightened you to the core all at the same time.

And the phenomenon has been going on for almost two months. Yeah, you were the one assigned to clean the van but, you don't have the heart to throw the pretty things away, so you just put them in a sack and hid them underneath the sofa you've been sleeping on. Heck, you can decorate a whole room full of these petals you've collected! Not to mention a cup of sweet, steamy tea rose or two.

Your musings were interrupted when you suddenly heard a coughing sound coming from the sofa. You looked down at the poet as he covered his mouth with a gloved hand.

You immediately went closer to him and rubbed his back to somehow soothe him, if that could help, at all.

"Ahem, sweet pea,..." the demonic bird, which was perched on top of Nico's broken jukebox, called your attention, at the same time V let out another batch of coughing fits. "That won't help him."

"Ah, I know! Ah,... " you mumbled as you went to the back of the van to prepare him a cup of tea or something warm to ease his symptoms. "Nico and Nero will be back in a bit with the medicine. Don't worry, V." You, then, said to the poet.

V's symptoms persisted for almost two months, the same time as the phenomenon of the rose petals, come to think of it, and it honestly unnerved you. Yes, V was a capable fighter just like Nero or Dante but, still, he's human, and clearly weaker than the two of them, as much as you hated to admit it.

However, despite this weakness, you liked him. A lot, actually. You're not the type of person who falls for muscles, pick up lines, or manly winks, no.

It's the cleverness, the gentleness, the mysterious aura, the deep voice,...

... the alluring smile,...

And V has all of that. And more.

And that's just scratching the surface -

"I told ya! That won't help him!" Griffon squawked as he helplessly watched you turn on the stove to boil water with Nico's old teapot.

"And what will?!" You angrily questioned the bird. He really was not helping with the situation, at all.

"Ah,... maybe a smooch to the Shakespeare will help? And a good make out session?"

You balled your hands into fists, controlling the strong urge to throw something at the bird or just put him in a steel pot and boil him to inflict pain. Oh, you really wanted to! V was freaking suffering! And his familiar was not doing anything to help! Instead, he chose to make crude jokes in front of you like it was nothing!

"NO!" You growled back at the bird,...

... which made V cough even harder.

"Oh, my God,..." you muttered under your breath as you made your way back to the poet. "V, do you need something? Ah, we should definitely take you to a hospital now. This is getting worse,..."

"Look what you've done to Shakespeare, woman!" The demonic bird shrieked as he flapped his wings and made his way towards his master.

"What?! I'm not doing anything to him!"

"Enough. P - please,..." V begged, his voice weak and his throat hoarse and painful. "Do not worry about my,... needs. I,... j - just needed some,... rest - !" His words were broken as he had another fit of coughs but, this time, he wasn't able to cover his mouth in time.

And then, you saw it. It was unmistakable despite the lack of proper lighting inside the vehicle.

It was blood. His lips became slightly stained with the crimson liquid that most probably came from his already wounded throat.

And it made you even more frightened for his health.

"No, no, no, no,..." You helplessly mumbled as you took out your handkerchief from your pocket to wipe the blood off his lips. The poet tried to stop you but, he was too weak to do so. And you were very stubborn. "Hang in there, V. They're coming back,..."

"Sweet pea, just give him a kiss. Just one in the lips is okay." The bird persisted with his joke.

"Griffon, I'm begging you. Stop with your nonsense already!"

With those words, V suddenly and forcefully took hold of your arms and bowed down low, seemingly throwing up on your lap or something, all the while continuously coughing.

Tears streamed down your face as you helplessly rubbed your hands up and down V's back, trying your very best to ease his discomfort.

"I'm so sorry,..." you cried. It just,... hurt,... seeing him like that. And you couldn't do anything but watch. "I'm so, so, sorry,..."

All of a sudden, something came out of the poet's mouth. It was not vomit or any kind of icky bodily fluid, no.

It was,... a fresh batch of deep red rose petals. It came cascading down like a beautiful crimson waterfall from his mouth down to your lap.

"Hanahaki disease,..." Griffon began calmly as he observed how the poet "lavish" you with the pretty petals. "Pretty nasty illness to have, if ye ask me."

"The,... what?!"

"Hanahaki disease!" The bird repeated as the two of you watched V release some more petals. And you were completely baffled, if not apologetically fascinated, by the strange display of weird human or demonic affliction.

"I - is this some kind of a demonic disease or something? Or a curse?"

"Eh, no. Not really."

"Then, what caused this? How did V get this illness?"

"Unrequited,... love,..." the poet weakly answered for you as he finally managed to inhale after the onslaught of petal showers. By that time, your lap was overflowing with the fragrant things, and it was safe to say that you have to clean the floor all over again.

But, his answer!

"Wait, did you just say unrequited love?"

"Ya heard it right!" Griffon answered, his beak high up in the air like he was feeling proud, or something. But, why? "That's why I told you to smooch and make out already! Come on, do it while the others are away."

"That again?! I don't understand! I - "

You felt absolutely dumb for not realizing this a bit sooner.

Unrequited love? Smooching? Making out?

Then, that means,...

"You have got to be kidding me,..."

"Ohohoho! Who's joking now?" The bird mocked.

With wide, confused eyes, you looked down at the poet, who started coughing again but, this time, he did not throw up petals. He threw up a full stem, instead. And a thorny one at that. And this made V cough up blood once more.

"Nasty." Griffon told you in such a tone that purposefully made you guilty. "Of all the flowers in the whole fuckin' world, why is rose your favorite one?"

"Stop, please." V pleaded despite his condition. "Don't make it harder for (Y/N)."

"Ya want me to stop? Do ya want me to watch ye die in front of her then, huh?! Won't let that happen! No shit!"

"Stop this, Griffon, please!" You begged as you held the poet closer as if to protect him.

"Oh, ye want me to stop? THEN FUCKIN' SHAG ALREADY! SHAKESPEARE'S DYIN'! AND IF THAT HAPPENS, IT'S ALL ON YA!"

"I still don't understand!" You screamed at the demonic bird in panic as V started coughing up petals, and full rose stems, again. "V, why me? What did I do to make you,... love,... me? I mean, I'm just a plain old,... me!"

The poet looked up at you, his beautiful eyes full of unspoken adoration towards you. He held up both his hands and cupped your soft cheeks. He, then, gently laid his forehead against yours, the contact making your face heat up.

And, damn! It's making you fall for him harder than ever before.

"I could sing praises for you all day,... my beautiful sparrow." The poet confessed, his voice soft, and yet hoarse due to the onslaught of roses, and probably thorns, as well. "However, no amount of words could describe,... how I truly feel about you. You don't have to,... do,... anything for me. Just you by my side,... is heaven enough,... for me,..."

You sighed and gently laid your hands against his. "V, I don't want you to die but, I'm,... ah,... inexperienced. If you know what I mean. But, I'll do my best. I will do everything I can to save you. I,... love you, V. Truly, I do. If I'm gonna do it with someone, then I want it to be you, and only you."

The man's eyes widened at what he just heard. And as he was about to shed tears of delight, he inhaled deeply and smiled.

"Is that true? That our feelings are mutual?"

You giggled at his silly little question and gave him a chaste peck on his nose. "Of course it is, you silly poet."

"Then, forgive,... this fool's,... selfishness,..." he whispered, then wrapped his arms around you. "For I just can't help myself."

Griffon's eyes widened with amusement. He began chuckling as he witnessed how the poet shower you with kisses on the cheeks, and on the nose, then finally capturing your lips in a heated and passionate kiss. Your hands automatically went around his neck and this made him pull you even closer, lifting you a bit and properly positioning your legs so you're now sitting on his lap.

"Ohohoho, and the boy's all grown up now,..." the forgotten bird chuckled to himself as he witnessed every caress, every movement, and every kiss that you and V shared.

And just when things started to really heat up, the teapot started whistling and ruining the moment.

"Shit! The water!" You shrieked as you wriggled off V's lap. You were about to run towards the stove when the poet took one of your hands and gave it a sweet and gentle kiss.

"I love you so much."

Your arms went around him once more as you peppered his forehead with kisses.

"I love you more."

Later that night, Nico and Nero were so baffled upon seeing the two of you so close and doing alright like nothing happened. It was safe to say that V was not able to take the medicine they provided for him, since he was already somewhat, and mysteriously, fully healed.

But, what confused them the most was how you two began vanishing each night from that day forward, only returning the next morning with mismatched clothes, flushed cheeks, and silly expressions on your faces,...

***

🌹🌹🌹

***