#being able to watch it all in one go was really nice too

[simp4fictionalmenandjesus]

Yandere platonic batfamily with a ‘definition of average reader.’

You’ve always been a low-key background character type person. Your grades were normal, every report card since you started getting report cards are all filled with B’s. At school, you’re not popular or unpopular. You have a close group of friends, and know a few people from outside of school. You play a sport, but don’t exceed at it.

The only thing that wasn’t average about you was your family.

Gotham’s sweetheart, Bruce Wayne, adopted you when you were 12 for IDK WHAT REASON HE JUST DID OKAY?????? Anyways. You were the normal amount of awkward that a 12 year old is in the face of their new family.

At your first official family dinner you sat between your older brother Dick and older sister Cass. (Yes, Alfred did strategically plan the seating so the most amicable people would be next to you.) Dick Ames you about school, your friends, your hobbies and all that jazz.

Now, you’d think a table full of vigilantes who have faced off against Gods, traveled the universe, made leaps of technology, and regularly interact with aliens and creatures of myth would be a bit bored when hearing about your math class and a new tv show you were watching. However, the fact that you’re biggest life problems was learning algebra made you seem somewhat precious in their eyes.

So they listen, and they watch, and they become more invested in your life, then, in you.

When Dick’s in town he picks you up from school and brings you to get a sweet treat while asking you about your school day. Unfortunately for the vigilante, he’s not stationed in Gotham so he’ll have to settle for face time calls. Sometimes it’s surprising how much he remembers from your past rambles. You swear he lost have a recording device in his brain, when you bring thay up to him, he laughs, ruffles your hair and glances at the tiny scar behind your ear.

Jason, on the other hand, insists on taking you out for outings, thought he always insists that you plan them. He asks you to bring him to your favourite places and you always comply, taking him to the street food stand where you go with your friends to buy snacks after school, or the manor’s own gardens where Jason will carry you on his shoulders to get a closer look at whatever caught your eyes in a tree. And sure, it’s kind of weird that he already knows the most efficient way to drive to those places before asking you, but he told you he just knew Gotham well.

The brother you see least is Tim seeing as he spends a lot of his time at the office or his own apartment and doesn’t particularly like going on outings much. However, you do text Tim the most. Updating him on random things as he does the same. It is a bit surprising when he texts you to stop picking your fingers in class, but when you ask him how he knows, he’ll claim it’s his sixth sense.

The brother you see most is Damian. Though he’s the one you talk to least. It’s kind of like he’s a shadow following you around. When you start attending Gotham Academy, he’ll sit with you every lunch time just listening to you talk. At the Manor, he’ll let you study in his room while he does art. All the conversations you have with him are mostly one sided with only slight nods to indicate he’s listening. When you ask why he doesn’t talk much he says that he isn’t use to saying nice things to siblings. You (correctly) assume that he doesn’t have friends and treat him extra kindly, sure, you haven’t been able to hangout with your friends at the academy lately but Damian’s family, so he gets priority, right?

Bruce isn’t too sure on how to raise you. When he suggested to his sons that they should tell you about them being vigilantes, all four refused. So, for once, the Batman didn’t really know what to do. Sure, the hundreds of parenting books he read placed emphasise on boundaries and not invading his kids privacy, but in a place like Gotham, Bruce had to be much more hands on. He has a tracker on ALL his kids, so what’s the harm of having one on you? He’s just a worried father.

The family’s yandere-ness boils over after Gotham Academy gets invaded by a group of thugs. Damian stays by you the whole time while the rest of your family, in costume, easily dispose of the thugs. You really didn’t get harmed at all, so when Bruce pulls you out of school you’re a bit shocked. Even if you can understand his worries, you explain to Bruce that you were okay and school was important to you. The conversation ends with an argument.

See, the thing with the bats is that they’re not normal at all. So the arguments that the family is used to ends with bloodshed or leaving the country. They don’t want you to hurt you but they also really don’t want you to try leaving.

The manor has a lot of stairs. Even thought Alfred can clean every corner of the manor perfectly, he won’t always know when there’s a mess. It’s rainy season as well, Titus likes rolling around in the puddles outside. So a wet trail on the stairs isn’t too absurd. Plus, it’s early in the morning, you’re a bit groggy. So when you tumbled down the stairs and break your leg, it’s not too crazy of a situation.

————————-

Posting for now but might rewrite i was tweaking when I wrote this late at night, i confused myself and I def lost the plot a lil oops

[f1cflcfic]

The Prophecy (SMAU ft. Lando Norris) Part II

pairing: lando norris x singer!reader (y/n)

summary: what happens after the break-up that noone saw coming? as Y/N L/N gears up to release her next album, each song reveals a little bit of the past, present and future of her relationship with Lando Norris. Inspired by a curated playlist built around "The Prophecy".

note: this is RPF and is obviously in no way, shape, or form reflective of real persons.

genre: social media au, angst, exes to lovers, happy ending

part i

♥･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♡･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♥

September, 2026

[Excerpt from Kelly Clarkson interview with Y/N]

“We’re so excited to have y/n l/n with us today, I can’t get your latest song out of my head. It’s really such a great revival of the sultry pop ballads,” Kelly says joyously, and y/n can’t help but smile.

“Thank you! That means a lot coming from you – I grew up watching you on American Idol, I can’t believe I’m even sitting across from you now.”

“Oh my god, stop! You’re gonna make me feel real old. Congratulations again on your Grammy for your sophomore album, All I Ever Needed. How did it feel going into your new project with that in the back of your mind?”

Y/N shuffles uncomfortably on the couch. “Hmm thank you. I – well, it was really different. The songs I wrote on there were coming from this feeling of bliss which was fading fast by the time the Grammy’s rolled around. I had to figure out what kind of artist I am if I’m not in love, or writing about happiness. It felt embarrassing. I don’t like being vulnerable, but I love sharing love. So it was hard for me, not gonna lie. But I’m happy that we got there in the end.”

“Wow, well I was able to listen to a few other songs on this record. I gotta say, I think it’s by far your best record yet. And did you write on all of the songs this time around again?”

Y/N nods her head, a small smile creeping back up on her face. “Yeah, I did. It turns out that writing about sad things can be really cathartic. But I really want people to know that it doesn’t mean this isn’t an album about love. At the end of the day, each of these songs are love letters to every single moment or person that made me feel something – for better or worse.”

early October, 2026

[Transcription of Capital FM segment with Y/N]

“We’ve got Y/N L/N with us here on Capital FM, and we’re about to play a quick round of Never Have I Ever! Are you ready?”

Y/N smiles, holding a paddle with “I Have” and “I Have Never”. “Sure, as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Great! Now first one: Never have I ever… regifted a gift someone bought me.”

“Ooooh, not a gift someone bought me. But things I have been sent or given in goodie bags I’ve definitely regifted,” Y/N says, and raises the “I Have Never” paddle.  

“That’s alright! I think that’s not too bad. In fact, I’d volunteer to get something regifted from you,” the host laughs. “I usually donate it, but next time I’ll keep you in mind!”

“Perfect. Next one: Never have I ever slid into someone’s DMs”

Y/N rolls her eyes and raises the “I Have” paddle. “Who hasn’t? If people say they haven’t, they’re just lying to you.”

“Who’s the most famous person who’s ever been in your DMs?” The host asks, and Y/N laughs. “Hmm Taylor Swift, maybe?”

“You’re good friends, aren’t you?” Y/N nods. “Yeah, I actually wrote ‘how did it end?’ during a studio session with her.”

“Hmm that brings me to the next question – never have I ever written a song about an ex.”

Again, Y/N raises the “I Have” paddle, but then twists it so it’s halfway. “I think sometimes, no scratch that, I think almost always songs work way better when they’re open for interpretation. Isn’t it nice how everyone can take something else from it, that way?”

“Have you ever gotten back together with an ex?” The host asks, and Y/N makes a ‘tsk’ noise. “Never! First rule in the book, or so my friends tell me all the time.”

"Even when the heart wants what it wants?"

"Even then."

mid October, 2026

[Excerpt from Call Her Daddy episode with Y/N]

“I think in many ways this album is the most naked I’ve ever felt in my emotions. But maybe that’s actually a good thing,” Y/N grins.

“They do say that sex sells,” Alex (Cooper) responds, and Y/N chuckles. “You’ll find hardly any of that on this album.”

“That’s not entirely true, there’s a song on there with some explicit lyrics,” she adds.

“Undrunk? Funnily enough, that one was probably one of the easier ones to write because it actually felt the furthest removed from myself? It’s inspired by, but not based on my own experiences. I’d say it’s my unlived life,” Y/N tries to explain.

“Talk to me about that. People are always quite eager to pinpoint all experiences of a celebrity. They know who you’ve dated, look for clues and dissect every lyric. How do you decide what to share and what not to share?”

“I think it’s sort of why I wanted to share ‘how did it end?’. Even the title track is me addressing the fact that everyone feels entitled to determine my love story. Including me, I think everyone tries to engineer or hack happiness at one point in their life. But it doesn’t work like that. And at the same time, it’s important for me to try and have some semblance of control over my own narrative, my feelings, my sense of self. And that also goes for the people whose presence in my life inspired me to write these songs. For better or worse, I’m grateful for it.”

Alex smirks. “Look, we can’t avoid the topic here. We all know that one of those people is Formula One driver Lando Norris. He’s also got a lot of very dedicated fans, who’ve been clamoring under every post of yours to leave him alone ever since you started dating. How did, and do you deal with that? It would have been easy to erase him from your social media, once the relationship ended, but you chose not to do that. Was that a conscious decision on your end, or something you ever discussed?”

Y/N takes a sip of water, and purses her lips. “I kinda feel like it’s just not really my place to expand on that – it’s between Lando and his fans. Like, it actually has nothing to do with me, I feel. If people are surprised I didn’t delete like three photos, it’s just because I like them – it’s not that deep. I can still cherish good moments, even when they’re in the past. I’m not embarrassed or ashamed of the fact that my ex was part of my life. But it’s not for me to comment on it beyond that. He’s well within his rights to want to delete them, and he doesn’t need to explain to anyone – not to me, not to his fans, anyone why he did it.”

“But it’s more than that. It does seem to imply he doesn’t like the association. And yet you referenced him in the video for “Jaded”. It’s caused some controversy,” she prods a little more.

Y/N snorts. “I was just paying homage to my co-writer, and her iconic 7 Things video. But it’s also partly me taking that ownership. A video is one of the few spaces where you can set the scene. If I wanted to expand on it, I’d have done it through art. People will be mad either way, and the props don’t add anything you can’t already infer from the lyrics.”

“Has he listened to it?”

“Have you?” Y/N counters. Alex smiles, then moves on.

end of October, 2026

[The Independent excerpt]

Y/N L/N reveals tracklist to her third album as anticipation grows!

An obvious contender for the BRITs, is what the first reviews are saying about L/N's latest record “Jaded”. The LP will arrive in just two weeks, but up until today we did not know the exact runtime of the highly anticipated album. After posting to her Instagram, Y/N L/N revealed that the regular version of The Prophecy will count 12 tracks, with the deluxe edition raising that to a comfortable 16. Fans will surely be delighted to know that they can purchase various versions, all contributing to what is looking to be a very easy chart victory.

Talking to Jimmy Fallon earlier this week, L/N stated that she hopes her fans will listen to the album in its running order. “I know it’s really tempting to skip straight to your favourite, but I spent ages ruminating over how to tell my story in the best way – so I hope that translates.”

So far, all official singles of “The Prophecy” have charted both in the Official Top 20 as well as the Billboard Top 40, with The Heart Want What It Wants peaking on top, and Jaded just outside the top 10 at #11.

♥･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♡･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♥ I was soooooo happily surprised by the response to the previous part that I hurried up to post this :) Any comments, likes, reblogs, asks are super appreciated. ♥ Part III will follow shortly, it'll be four parts in total. for those interested, official tracklist songs

how did it end? - Taylor Swift / The Heart Wants What It Wants - Selena Gomez / Jaded - Miley Cyrus / Lie to Girls - Sabrina Carpenter / Breakeven - The Script / The Prophecy - Taylor Swift / Stay - Gracie Abrams / Science + Faith - The Script / Moral of the Story ft. Niall Horan - Ashe / Undrunk - Fletcher / Vertigo - Griff / No More Sad Songs - Little Mix / Paper Hearts - Tori Kelly / Into You - Julia Michaels / Supercut - Lorde / Genesis - Dua Lipa

[rekino2114]

Type of dates the p:e.g. girls like

A/n:here is the eden's garden fluff post hope you enjoy and that it's not too late to at least ease a bit of the trauma

Eva tsunaka

She likes board games date

She has a lot of tabletop games that she likes to play with you, and so she just invites you to her dorm, and you two do a board game night

She prepares snacks and everything so you can go on for a long while, and she's actually amazing at explaining the rules

Sometimes you also invite some other of your classmates to play together (mostly Damon because no one else wants to hang out with him)

Her favorite game is monopoly cause she knows all the strategies and doesn't mind how long it gets (it's more time she gets to spend with you) and her least favorite is uno simply because it brings out her more competitive and angry side like it does in everyone

"W-wait no that's illegal! You can't put a plus 2 on a plus 4....I'm gonna look it up!"

Cassidy amber

This one's pretty obvious but video games date

She has basically almost every video game in existence so of course she would share them with her lovers

This girl has a terrible sleeping schedule, so sometimes she'll just call you in the middle of the night cause she has this new really cool game she wants you to try

She likes playing co-op games most of the time because when she plays games against you, she absolutely destroys you. She lets you win sometimes because she loves you, though

Sometimes you also play together on stream and Cassidy's chat loves you

"Come on, babe, don't be upset that you lost. I'm the ultimate pro gamer after all, it was pretty obvious I would have won. Wanna do another round? I promise I'll go easy on you this time"

Eloise taulner

After watching her train, you two go take a walk in a park

The whole ambiance is really relaxing, and that's what Eloise likes the most in dates, especially after a hard day of fencing

You two sit at a bench, and sometimes she talks about what's on her mind, and other times, she just silently lays her head on your shoulder and relaxes

She likes to pet the animals she sees there

You often pick flowers for her along the way so that at the end you can give them to her, she always blushes but her heart just melts at how cute the gesture is

"O-oh are those......for me? T-thanks they look really pretty.......I love you.....t-them I-i meant I love them!"

Wenona

Shopping dates all the way

It's more like she buys anything you even look at while you just wander around the store

She already is basically your sugar mommy, and in her words, spending her money on you is the best thing she could use it for

Even with how much she reassures you that it's fine you still feel kinda guilty about using her money sometimes so you buy stuff for her too, which she appreciates

If anyone has anything to say about that or is just rude to you in general her attitude and a few comments about being able to buy the entire shop quickly shuts them up

"What's that y/n? Do you want that? Oh no don't worry, that's just pocket change to me"

Grace madison

She can't be bothered to plan a date so you often just follow her around for what she does for fun, which is mostly playing golf and working out

Working out with grace is kinda awkward cause she won't pay attention to you at all while exercising, and any conversation you try to strike up with her is mostly ignored

She does appreciate it when you help her though, like bringing her a water bottle or a towel later. If she's in a good mood she might even kiss you and then immensely go back to her aggressive self

She'll yell at you a lot if she catches you, staring a bit too much at her while she works out.....But she's not stopping you don't tell anyone that, but she actually kinda likes when you watch her. It's nice to know you think she's attractive

Which is the reason why she occasionally sends you gym pics when you don't come with her. If you dare mention it to her, she'll just call you a dumbass while blushing

"Oi, what are you looking at? Tch damn soybean, just go and get me my water or something instead of ogling me, idiot"

Diana venicia

Diana is down for basically any date you want to go together, she just really loves being with you no matter what you're doing

But if you ask her to pick a date, she usually resorts to very simple and cozy home dates

You stay and cuddle on the couch while watching some movie that fits the season. she usually likes corny romance movies cause she actually believes in true love, she has you after all

When the movie ends you talk about whatever you want, mostly about classes or your classmates or how much you love each other. Diana could rant for hours about how amazing you are

If you're OK with that she'd love to do your make-up, or just do her own make-up while you watch, she asks you what kinds look good on her (you think she looks beautiful with anything)

"So baby, what do you think of this? It's a new color I didn't try before. Awww, thanks so much. You look even better than me, hehe I love you so much"

Ingrid grimwall

Like Diana Ingrid doesn't really mind what dates you go on, she just likes being with you

She'd probably be into more thrilling dates like going to amusement parks or walks in the woods

If you're scared to go on the roller coaster she'll hold you the whole way through and that makes everything better

Even if it's not really a date she also likes to bring you to watch her work, especially if she's crafting something for you, she wants you to see how it's made with all her love

"So how do ya like it sugar? Is it good? I tried my best I really hope you like it, if ya want I can make another one for me so we can match"

[eighthchair]

Bracelets, a Fields of Mistria Fanfic

March x Gender Neutral Farmer

Based on this bit of dialogue

Gods, this is so fucking stupid.

March stood on the first step of the farmers house fidgeting with the small box he held in his hands. In all honesty, he doesn’t full know why he’s here in the first place.

Well, he knows why he’s here, he just doesn’t know why he chose to do this specifically. He doesn’t know why he chose to make something for them of all people.

From the very moment that overly-cheerful, disgustingly optimistic…

pretty, confident, hardworking—

… pain in his ass farmer moved to Mistria, they have gotten on his last nerve.

They never know when to quit. Almost everyday without fail, the farmer would bother him. Stopping by the shop to say hi or using his forge to make bars and armor, it was infuriating. The days that they left him alone were…

Lonely, empty, unsettling—

… a blessing.

And then once they started venturing into the mines, the gifting started. It was only a few nice pieces of ore here and there, which he appreciated. But then it turned into whole ingots at least once a week. They even found him a piece of Meteorite for him to experiment with! Honestly, if that brain dead idiot thought that they could win him over with shiny pieces of metal, they’re stupider than he thought.

But then...

“March!” The farmer came barreling into his workshop, covered in dirt and debris, “March, you’ll never believe what I found!”

March stood from his workbench and rolled his eyes, before turning around and stretching a bit, “Can’t you see I’m busy Farmer? What could be so important?”

The farmer deflated a bit and pouted, “Come on, it’s really cool! I think you’re going to love it.”

March just scoffed, “If it’s another ingot you smithed up, I can make some that are ten times better ya know.”

They shook their head and approached him, “It’s better than anything I could have done, that’s for sure, but I found it just now in the mines.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” March said, looking up and down at their dirtied figure, “Would it kill you to wash up before coming in here, you’re trailing in dirt.”

“Sorry, I just couldn’t wait to show you!” Their hands were still behind their back, clearly hiding whatever it was they wanted to give him this time.

“Well then stop wasting time and show me!”

Their smile got impossibly larger as they brought their hands to the front of them. The item was still a bit dusty from being excavated, but the shine and luster of it was undeniable.

“No way,” March’s jaw dropped, “Is that—”

“A perfect copper ore!” The farmer exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement, “I didn’t even know ore could be so perfect, but just look at it!”

March grabbed the ore from the farmers hand and studied it closely, the structure of it is almost crystalline and it’s denser than any piece of copper he’s ever held before, plus if he shines it up a bit, he can almost see his own shocked expression looking back at him.

“Incredible,” he whispered to himself, still staring at the chuck of metal in awe.

“Isn’t it?” The farmers voice broke him out of his reverie, “I thought you’d really appreciate having something as nice as this.”

March’s head snapped up to look at the farmer, their face sporting a small smile while they watched him admire the ore.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I found two today and the first one went to the museum and I don’t have any idea what to do with this one so…”

“You can’t be serious.”

The farmer tilted their head in confusion, “Why not?”

March sputtered and pushed the ore back into their hands, “What do you mean ‘why not?’ This is much too nice to just give away!”

“Well it’s not like I’m just going to put it in my shipping bin and let Balor sell it to whoever will pay the highest price for it. Plus, you’d be able to do much more with it than any other blacksmith that could buy it.”

“But—”

The farmer placed the ore on his workbench, “No buts, it’s yours now.”

He spent the next day staring at the metal and contemplating what to do with it.

I mean, with something so naturally perfect the possibilities were endless! He could forge a beautiful sword or a glistening shield to display in his workshop to show just how impressive his work is. He could make a new set of tools for Ryis that would last him forever. He could make Reina new cooking utensils to go with the newly renovated inn.

Or he could make something just for them.

It took days to get it just right, one just to sketch out and plan the design, another to make a few test pieces with other, more dull pieces of copper to ensure that everything went smoothly, and nearly three days were spent delicately curving and carving the metal into something beautiful and intricate.

March has no idea why he did it, but he did and now he’s standing on their front porch like a moron wondering if he’s made the right choice or if he should just run back to his workshop while he still can.

“March?”

A voice from behind him causes him to nearly jump out of his skin, he turned around slowly and came face to face with the person who’s been living in his head for the past few weeks.

“What are you doing here?” The farmer asked, their flannel tied around their waist instead of around their shoulders, their well defined figure on display, “I mean, I’m happy to see you of course, but I don’t think I’ve ever had you on my farm before.”

March coughed a bit, hoping that the blush he could feel creeping up his cheeks wasn’t noticeable, “No I’ve never been here before. I just…” His voice trailed off, what the hell was he supposed to say!

The farmer climbed the steps to stand next to him, “Well, do you want to come inside? It’s a bit warm out here, don’t you think?”

March just nodded, not completely trusting himself to speak, and the farmer waved at him to follow them in.

Their house was exactly what he expected it to be.

For such a small space, they sure did know how to make the most of it. Even with the bed, the couch, the kitchenette, a carpentry table, and more than a few chests, the house felt cozy and welcoming.

“Wow, you can really tell that you live here, Farmer.”

They just laughed while putting things from their backpack into their respective chests, “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

March watched as they meticulously placed crafting materials, cooking ingredients, artifacts, and foraging items in specific places in each chest. Considering how incredibly busy they kept themself, it made sense that the root of that was a well organized storage system.

They finally finished their task and stood up straight to look at March once again, “Well, welcome to my home. It’s not much, but I’m working on it,” They laughed a bit and started walking towards their kitchenette, “Do you want a drink? I can put on a pot.”

“Oh, um, I’m not really a tea person.”

The farmer just smiled, “I know.”

Of course they knew.

“S-sure.”

The farmer gestured towards the couch, telling March to have a seat while they made refreshments.

The bright yellow couch was much comfier than March thought it would be and he found himself getting lost in thought again.

What the hell was he doing? All he came here to do was give the stupid farmer this stupid gift and leave without having to look at their stupid face for long, and now he’s sitting on their fucking couch. Maybe he should have just sent it in the mail.

The couch dipped next to him, alerting him to the farmers presence. They held out a mug for him to grab and he could smell the mixture of chocolate and coffee coming from it.

“Oh, you remembered.”

They laughed, “Of course I did, it’s not a hard thing to remember anyways.”

They both took a sip and March had to stop himself from groaning, it was delicious. How the fuck are they so good at everything?

“So, what brings you to my humble abode?”

Oh right their stupid gift.

March looked at them, their eyes peeking at him over their coffee mug, shining and curious.

“Well, um…”

Fuck this is harder than he thought it would be. His mouth opened and closed a few times while he tried to find the right words to say to them.

They waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts, sipping away at their drink.

March cleared his throat before he started talking, “Well, since you’ve moved to town you’ve been…”

A huge help to the community—

“… more competent than I expected you to be.”

They chucked a bit, “Thank you, that is certainly high praise coming from you.”

“Don’t let it go to your head, Farmer.”

The soft smile they gave him almost left him breathless.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

He shifted slightly away from them before continuing, “And, you’ve been, well… y’know… giving me gifts and shit so I wanted to…”

Give you something in return, to tell you how much I appreciate them, how much I appreciate you—

“… make sure you don’t think I owe you anything.”

“They're called gifts March, you’re not supposed to pay me back,” they said with an eyeroll.

He flushed a bit, “Whatever! Either way I don’t want to owe you shit so I made you something.”

March set his mug down on the coffee table, pulled the box out from behind his back and handed it to the farmer.

“What? You made me something? You didn’t have to do that,” The farmer gasped, taking the box from him tenderly.

“Well I did so, do whatever you want with it I don’t care.”

I hope you love them.

“Can I..” The farmer looked at him shyly, “Can I open it now?”

March scoffed, “If you must.”

The farmer set their own drink down and lifted the lid gingerly before pulling out a set of copper bracelets.

March could almost feel his soul leaving his body as he watched them examine the jewelry.

The first two were plain bands, perfectly shiny and glittering in the light. The next was one with rubies set into the metal. The fourth was a band carved to look like vines intersecting and intertwining with each other. The fifth was a delicate chain with four charms on it, a sickle, a hammer, an anvil, and a cow.

“Oh my gods…” the farmer whispered, their hands trembling slightly as they held the gift.

Shit they hate it.

March scrambled in his brain for something— anything— to say to get the bracelets back. It was a stupid idea anyways, of course they would hate it.

Before he could make a move to snatch them back, he was thrown back onto the arm of the couch as the farmer threw themselves at him and wrapped their arms around his neck.

March sat their frozen, his arms suspended in the air.

What the hell is happening?

He could feel their breath brushing against his neck as they whispered to him.

“They’re beautiful.”

It felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders.

March let out a sigh of relief before letting his arms drop and wrap around the person in his arms.

“You really like them?”

“Are you kidding?” They pulled away from him to look him in the eyes, their own shimmering with unshed tears, “This is the best gift anyone has ever given me.”

They moved to sit up and wiped at their eyes, “I don’t even know what to say.”

March followed them in sitting up, letting his hands rest at their waist and a small smile to grace his features.

“Well, you could start with a thank you.”

The farmer laughed loudly, a huge grin on their face.

“Thank you March, so so much,” they said as they leaned over to rest their head in the crook of his neck.

March tilted his head to rest his cheek against theirs, “Of course.”

Beautiful creatures such as you deserve beautiful things.

[lyricwritesprose]

Me versus a fanfic idea, trying to cohere

Having been watching some of "My Adventures With Superman" lately, and I have become kind of obsessed with a crack idea that came to me last night at fuck o'clock in the morning, that being: what if (in the MAWS continuity or any one in which the Kents are both alive) Jonathan and Martha got roped into briefly housing or fostering a teen after Clark was out on his own?

I mean. Like. Imagine you're this kid. You are staying with the most tragically uncool individuals on this planet, but they're honestly nice, they aren't bothered by all the stuff that got you labeled A Troubled Youth or the gender stuff you may have going on or any of that, they just seem fundamentally Able To Roll With It, and, okay, this is going to be fine. It's temporary anyway. Just keep out of trouble.

And they have an adult son who comes around sometimes? He's kind of nice too. Maybe twenty-one, twenty-two, he's built like a moose and you'd think he'd be imposing but he's kind of shy and awkward and somehow just fundamentally Not Like the people who beat you up before, so you're pretty chill with him. He knows all the good places on the farm to sit and think, or sit and draw. One time when he comes around he shows you the creek and you learn all about the frogs and the crawdads and the snakes. Tells you about the corn snake he rescued once. Stuff like that.

Only some things really don't add up.

Like, there's never a car in the driveway when he shows up. And it's not on weekends or anything like that, it's weird times.

And there's a note on the fridge that says, "If you drink all the milk please replace it THIS MEANS YOU," and before long you figure out it's gotta be meant for him, because he will take a gallon and finish it a glass at a time and who can even do that without throwing up? Wasn't there some kind of ghastly TikTok challenge about that?

And when you joked to his Dad and Mom that he seems to have a real superpower for figuring out whether there is going to be pie, you got such weird, almost nervous looks that you quickly dropped the subject.

And one time you swear he appeared out of absolutely nowhere to walk you back to the house because Mr. Peterson's bull broke the fence and is wandering this way. (He was the first one to realize this. How did he realize this? He's sort of guiltily evasive on the subject.)

And he reassures you one time that you don't actually need to fear the Kansas Mothman because he accidentally started that legend. How? He really doesn't want to talk about it.

What with one thing and another, you start wondering…

Maybe he's a ghost.

Maybe something awful happened and he can't move on. You don't want to suspect the Kents, they are honestly pretty top-notch for parental types (especially after some of the ones you've known) but other people in the town? You know personally how ghastly a small town can be to That Weird Kid. Maybe something really bad happened.

(Maybe it could happen to you too.)

So you've got to figure out what's going on so you can get justice for your friend. You start to investigate. Smallville does have rather more than its fair share of Weird Shit—like possibly a lot more—but you're not really getting anywhere. And it occurs to you that you don't really have the wherewithal to go and try to find—well, let's not put too fine a point on it, to find an unmarked grave—that could be anywhere.

Meanwhile the world has at this point in time started to see some Seriously Weird Shit, although at this point it's largely In Other Places because that's where everything in the world happens, there is absolutely Nothing Significant In Kansas and probably never will be, but it gives you an idea. Slightly insane and scary idea, but you've hit so many dead ends that it might be worth it.

You're going to try to contact Superman and see if he can use his rumored X-ray vision to figure out what happened to Clark.

…

Just to be clear, I have no idea what the ultimate punchline is for this piece of ridiculous meandering is, and it's the sort of thing that does require a pretty good punchline. So I don't know if it's ever actually going to get written. On the other hand, it is one of my favorite dishes, which is Canon Characters Helping Queer Kid, with a heavy helping of Following Logic-like Structures To Wrong Conclusions sauce.

So I thought I might post the idea, because I have this lovely optimistic belief that sometimes, I am in fact extremely funny, and tumblr is a place that often eggs me on.

[eternal-love-song]

In Flowers And Blood

Siffrin swallows his feelings and coughs up flowers.

[Siffrin/Odile]

[Hanahaki Disease, Siffrin POV, Angst, Angst with a happy ending, Second Person POV, Character Study, Relationship Study, Introspection, Pre-canon (at first)]

You knew you were in trouble the first time you went drinking together.

You had still been a little uncertain about your place in the party. You were the fastest attacker, sure, and your scissors attacks had really come in handy, but you hadn't yet settled in with them outside of battle. You'd barely figured out how to make Isabeau laugh, Mirabelle acted like she was afraid of you half the time, and Odile was cold. You constantly thought you were doing something wrong and tried to keep out of the way as much as possible.

Mostly, that meant that you lurked on the edges of conversations being silent and still so as not to interrupt anything you weren't meant to be a part of. That sometimes backfired, as you'd often scared Mirabelle because she didn't realize you'd been there, but you hadn't figured out how else to handle things.

It was easier in the bar. It was just the three of you, as Mirabelle wasn't a big fan of drinking. You'd been drinking plenty of times before and no one usually expected much out of you other than telling a story or two, so you were able to relax for the first time since joining up with them.

The private table that they'd chosen made it easier to relax than if they had sat at the bar. Isabeau got all of your drink orders and brought them to the table.

Isabeau was exactly as you'd expected him to be, friendly and loud and wearing a smile that only seemed to grow over the course of the night. He told stories about his time with the Defenders that had you and Odile both making comments and jokes more easily than you ever had before.

Madame Odile was the one to surprise you. A few drinks in and she became almost a different person. Warmer, looser, and full of wry commentary. She laughed more openly than you'd ever heard her. She teased you instead of making the careful comments that you had been used to.

It was nice!

You found yourself trying to tell your own stories just to join in with them. You didn't think that you had anything very interesting to say, but Isabeau seemed to hang on your every word and Madame Odile looked at you with keen interest. For once you found the attention nice instead of suffocating.

When you got back to your room at the Inn, Isabeau ended up passing out on the couch without even making it to the bed. You fumbled your shoes off at the door and helped Madame Odile to the other bed in the room. She was a bit shakier than you were. Her tolerance was higher, but because of that she had also drunk a lot more to get to the level of drunk she was at. You were drunk too, but the instinct to care about your friends made you careful with them where you wouldn't have been with yourself.

You spent over a minute staring at the other bed, afraid that your stumbling and shuffling into bed would wake Mirabelle, before you found yourself being pulled backward into the bed.

You squeaked! Then your face flushed darkly at the noise that came out of you. You looked over your shoulder to see Madame Odile watching you with tied eyes.

"Just go to sleep, Siffrin," she said. You could see her making herself comfortable, only withdrawing the hand she had on your shoulder once she was sure that you would stay put. "Let's leave poor Mirabelle alone, shall we?"

You nodded, not trusting your voice after the strange sound that had come out of you. You ended up staring at her for a while before eventually nestling into your pillow and letting your heavy eyelids close.

It was in the morning that you knew.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

You weren't the first one awake, you never were. But you heard Mirabelle in the bathroom and Isabeau's heavy breaths were still coming from the direction of the couch. It took a while for you to wake up. You blinked slowly as you tried to force yourself awake. Once you did, all you could do was stare.

You had never been this close to Odile before. You'd never had the chance to really look at her without her catching you or making some comment about it. Odile was… really pretty. All your party members were, in your opinion, but it was different with Odile. You wanted to trace her face with your fingertips. The lines beneath her eyes that only barely smoothed in her sleep, the worry lines that scrunched up her forehead. You took it all in with a greed that surprised you.

You couldn't remember the last time you'd felt this warm and comfortable when watching another person. It wouldn't last, you knew that it wouldn't. Whatever closeness the two of you had shared last night was a one off, brought on by alcohol and the atmosphere. You couldn't expect to have the same ease again, but you desperately wanted to.

Selfishly, you moved just a tiny bit closer to her. Close enough that your head was almost pressed against her shoulder. You wouldn't dare touch her on your own, but you wanted to be closer to her, if you could just figure out how. When she shifted slightly in her sleep, enough that you were finally touching skin to skin, you almost jumped out of the bed.

Almost.

You forced yourself to remain still, too afraid that when you lost that contact you'd never get it back. It was nice. It was addictive. You knew that she had only pulled you into her bed for convenience, but the thought that she might want you there, might want you to be closer to you too made something in your chest feel warm and full.

Something in your chest… and in your throat.

You held it in. Whatever it was, you wanted to ignore it as long as possible.

An hour later, when you found yourself having a coughing fit in the bathroom, crouched beside the sink as you tried to desperately muffle the sound with your hands, you knew. Even before you opened your hand and found the small shredded petals, you knew.

You were in trouble.

It was pretty easy to ignore that tickle you felt in your throat.

At least, that's what you told yourself. With enough water and deep breathing, it hadn't progressed to the point of a coughing fit again. You could even pretend that you'd imagined the tiny, crushed things you'd found in your hand that one time. You were barely awake, after all, and you'd been drunk the night before. Your mind had probably been playing tricks on you.

You told yourself that it was nothing and then you decided to believe it.

In the time since that night, things had actually gotten a lot better! You finally felt like you fit in with your party, a little bit, at least. You and Isabeau traded jokes back and forth a lot more often. You'd gotten better at talking to Mirabelle, though you still didn't feel like you ever knew what the right thing to say to her was. And you and Madame Odile had settled into a… something.

You weren't quite sure what to call it. You both sent each other commiserating looks when you tripped over some strange and new part of Vaugardian culture. She didn't look at you with the same caution that she had prior. You felt less like a parasite intruding upon her space when you were near her.

And you wanted to be near her a lot. More than anyone else in the party.

That… was probably bad. You think if you ever said that to Mirabelle, she would cry. You didn't want to make Mirabelle cry. So you had to make sure that you didn't say anything upsetting to her. And anyway, Madame Odile would probably find it odd that you wanted to spend so much time with her.

It… was weird, wasn't it? It was clingy, at the very least. You didn't want to be clingy. You didn't want her to hate you.

You must have been doing a good job at not being weird or clingy or any of those things though, because she invited you to spend time alone with her!

You were surprised at first. Really, really surprised! It made more sense once she told you what she wanted to do. There was no way that Mirabelle or Isabeau would be interested in walking around in an antique shop all day. Isabeau was usually pretty loud and energetic, while Mirabelle was pretty anxious. You didn't think either of them would enjoy being cooped up in a cramped old shop very much.

Even if it was only because you were her only option, you still appreciated being asked. You enjoyed sharing space with her. You liked that you didn't feel pressured to speak around her like you often did with the others. You could just as easily walk around the shop in silent solidarity as you could share a simple conversation with each other. It was nice.

"Siffrin," Odile called to you softly, leaning down over one of the shelves. "Come here."

You walked around one of the tables that cluttered the center of the shop to get to her side. There was barely enough space for you to slip between the aisles, you couldn't imagine someone as big as Isabeau being comfortable here. You stopped a few steps away from Odile, not wanting to crowd her in the already cramped shop.

She pointed to a small collection of glass figurines. Fat, round things with exaggerated expressions. Laughter, surprise, horror, anger… There were about a dozen of them all clustered together. "I'm curious, which of these do you think would suit us all?"

She was wearing a teasing expression, lips quirked up into a wry smirk. The question felt like a trap, but not a mean one. You knew she was going to think whatever you picked was silly, but you hoped that you'd be able to get a laugh out of her, at least.

You sorted through the little figures for a few minutes before you finally settled on your final picks. "This one is Isa." The one you pointed to was particularly short, but it had its hands on a round belly and looked like it was laughing loudly, so you knew it fit. It gots a small chuckle out of her and you thought it was because of how stout the figure looked compared to Isabeau. "Next… these two are Mira." One had an absolutely horrified expression and the other looked ready to fight.

Odile's laugh was nearly a snort. "Yes, I'd say that fits our little housemaiden perfectly."

The last one that you pointed to was showing teeth in a smile. You couldn't tell if it was teasing or threatening. You thought that fit Madame Odile better you could describe her in words. "This one is you."

She didn't laugh, but her smirk did widen. She picked up the little figure to examine it closely. "So this is how you see me, is it?" Her words had a teasing lilt when she looked at you. You found yourself shrinking into your cloak and your face darkening without being fully sure why.

"Do you think I'm wrong?" you asked.

"Oh no, I think you've read me perfectly." She flashed you a smile. It reminded you of the figure, dangerous and teasing. You liked it more than you thought you should.

She carefully sat the figure back down. After a brief glance at the collection of figures, she picked out another one. This one looked kind of mysterious. Most of its body was hidden and even though it was smiling, you couldn't quite figure out what the smile meant. Was it joking? Did it know a secret? She held it out to you and dropped it into your hand.

"That one is you," she said.

You weren't sure what to think of it, other than feeling kind of warm and happy that she thought about you. "What makes this one me?"

Odile smiled as she stood straight. "I think I'll let you figure that one out on your own," she said with a slaugh.

You watched her as she walked away to look through the other shelves. Your hand curled gently around the figure. You felt a little hiccup in your thought, but you decided to ignore that. The warmth you felt in your cheeks was more worthy of attention than the little scratching of your throat.

And if you coughed into your hand on your way out of the shop, well, you didn't bother looking at your hand so you didn't see anything that may have been worth fretting over.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

You were able to see a new side of Odile once you found Bonnie. Really, Bonnie's presence revealed a new side to all of you. Isabeau acted sillier, Mirabelle smiled more often, and Odile… she didn't get softer, exactly, but she changed in more subtle ways. She explained herself more often, she corrected them and they absorbed every new word she offered enthusiastically, and she played along with them.

You… were the same. At least, you thought that you were. Except that now you had a new shadow that followed you around most of the time. You were flattered by the attention and tried really hard to impress them. But that was true of most of your party.

You liked Bonnie. You liked the way that they made your friends smile more. You liked the food that they cooked. Most of all, you liked watching the way Odile sent small smiles their way whenever they did something she thought was clever.

"You know," you whisper to her when you catch her secretly smiling. "I'd almost think that you liked our new kid."

Madame Odile huffed, holding her book higher and hiding her face. "You're imagining things."

She was cute like this. Cute in a different way from Mira or Isa or anyone else. She was letting more and more pieces of herself slip out around you all and you liked it. You loved it! You wished that you could get to know her even more, even better.

You coughed. It went on for just long enough that she raised an eyebrow at you.

"Are you alright there, Siffrin?"

You nodded, keeping your hand glued to your mouth. "Just… need water?"

She nodded and handed you your canteen so that you could drink. You took a long sip without looking at your hand. You felt better afterwards, so you didn't think about it anymore than that.

"We don't need you getting sick," she told you. "Best take care."

You felt warm.

"Thanks."

You found yourself split into pairs more often with Bonnie around. They required a lot of attention and it was easier to give it to them when there was someone that you could tag team with. It was easiest with Isa. He could pick Bonnie up and let them crawl over him, or he would ask questions in a way that made Bonnie feel like he was teaching them something when they answered. You found it easy to play off Isabbeau. Either it was the two of you making jokes together and teasing Bonnie, or it was you and Bonnie teaming up to tease Isabeau. Isa rarely joined Bonnie in teasing you, but you were alright with that.

It was most difficult with Mirabelle. The two of you had very difficult levels of care and she often got worried watching you and Bonnie together or else misunderstood something that you meant as a joke for them. She'd been very concerned about you showing them tricks with your dagger, likewise when you offered to show them how to hold it even though they used a knife regularly when cooking. You knew that it was just because Mirabelle was really anxious and worried about them hurting themselves, but it still made you self conscious a lot and caused you to second guess your actions around them a lot.

Of course, you enjoyed it most when it was you and Odile. Bonnie often thought that the two of you were boring together, but Odile took all the comments about her age in stride and they always listened to what she said. You were a bit better at indulging them and she was better at being stern, which meant that neither of you had to act much differently to keep their attention contained between them.

"This is boring," Bonnie complained after staring at the two of you for a full minute. You were sitting side by side, your gaze fixed on a bird hopping around on the ground while Odile was watching one perched on a branch above them. You could see her scribbling things done every so often but you didn't try to look at what she wrote. "You're not even doing anything."

"No one told you that you had to stay behind with us, Boniface," Odile answered without missing a beat.

Bonnie pouted and visibly deflated. "I thought I'd get to see you do secret old people things."

You snickered. They were watching you do secret old person things, but they'd wanted to see something exciting and dangerous, not calm and relaxing. You decide to show them mercy that you knew Madame Odile would not. You reached into your pocket pulling out a handful of seeds and gestured for them to come closer. "Do you want to feed them?"

Bonnie perked up a bit. "Can I?"

Bonnie almost ran to your side, but you quickly gestured for them to slow down and walk so that they didn't scare away the birds. You dumped half your seeds into the palm of their hand. "Start by throwing them out further away and then you can leave some closer to lure them in."

Bonnie was nodding eagerly, like you'd just imparted some secret knowledge to them. Perhaps you had. They were pretty young after all.

They threw out almost all their seeds immediately, which you kind of expected. You tossed your seeds a bit closer, hoping that you could get something to come a bit closer to you.

You didn't even need to watch that long before a few birds had taken the bait and begun hopping on the ground closer to you all.

"Whoa," they whispered with large, entranced eyes. They could be really cute when they got like this.

"Would you like to know more about that bird there?" Odile asked, nodding toward one of the birds in particular.

"Like what?" they asked. "They're all just birds, right?"

Odile smiled like she was telling them a secret. "Oh no, not at all. These birds are all quite different from each other."

Bonnie squinted at her like they expected this to be a trick. "Like what?"

The next hour was spent with Odile telling Bonnie a few facts that she knew about birds and you adding stories that you'd mostly made up off the top of your head, sometimes based on things Odile told him. It was fun! You were both pretty good at bouncing off each other and she had the poker face to make it hard for Bonnie to tell when she was joking or poking fun at them.

You hoped that you were able to have more days like this. Calm, lazy days where you didn't feel like you needed to worry too much.

When Mira and Isa returned, Bonnie ran over to them almost immediately, scarring off all the birds that had previously gathered. You laughed at their enthusiasm while Odile just sighed. She closed her book and turned to you. "Shall we?"

She got to her feet, pausing as she looked down at him. She reached out to him, her hand brushing across his hair and making him shiver briefly. "You had feathers in your hair," she told you.

You didn't see it, but then again, you didn't really check. Your eyes were glued to her and the small smile that she had saved just for you. The smile that only came out when you were both alone. A smile that was a little teasing, a little playful, a little knowing, a little sincere…

A little bit of everything that made your heartbeat a little weird and your face heat up.

You kept watching her even as she walked away.

You had to cough a few times before you leveraged yourself to your feet. Odile had already turned away though, so there was no one to see. No one to worry.

You cleared your throat and went to join everyone else.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

The coughing started coming more often. You did your best to hold it in, to hide it from the others. You didn’t want them worrying about you. You pressed your hand to your mouth and coughed, and coughed, until your hand was full of petals.

You didn’t look at them.

You wiped your hand off on the grass to scatter the petals and drank water until the burning in your throat passed.

You told yourself that you'd be fine.

And you were!

For a while, you were.

And then you messed up.

"Siffrin!"

You squeezed your arms tight around Bonnie, even as pain lashed through one side of your face. You took the hit for them, but the blow still tossed the both of you a few feet backward. You could hear the others coming to finish it off even as you screamed in pain. But you refused to let Bonnie go. You didn't want them seeing how hurt you were.

"Frin?"

You bit your tongue to stop your screaming. You wanted to say that you were okay, but if you opened your mouth, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself again.

"Siffrin." Odile's voice, but your eyes were closed too tightly to see her. "Let me see the damage." You felt her hands on your face, tilting your head. "Shattered gems!"

That didn't sound good.

Bonnie started to squirm in your arms. "What's going on? I want to see!"

You held them tighter and bit your tongue harder. You couldn’t scream again, you couldn’t make them worry. You couldn’t let Bonnie see.

It hurt so much that you couldn't tell if the wetness on your face was from blood or tears. It was all you could do to hold Bonnie and bite your tongue. All you could think about was how it hurt, hurt, hurt!

"Siffrin." Odile's hand moved from your face to your arm. "Let go of Boniface. I'll take him."

Your arms were locked in place. You weren't sure that you could let go without losing your grip on everything. All of your control was wrapped up together in a tight ball of tension. You couldn't. You just couldn't.

"Siffrin." For one moment, you felt Odile's arms around you, embracing you as she squeezed Bonnie between you both. "It's okay, you can let go."

You felt warm.

You let go.

When you woke up, it was either several hours or several days later. You were alone, except for Odile sitting in the chair by your bed, eyes focused on her book. As soon as you began to stir, she was closing it to look at you, though. All of her attention was on you as she leaned closer.

"Ah, Siffrin." Her voice was softer than normal. Her eyes trailed over her with careful precision. "How are you feeling?"

You opened your mouth to answer and…

You coughed.

You couldn't stop coughing. You pressed a hand to your mouth as you coughed and coughed and…

Odile helped you sit up, one hand gripping your shoulder tightly. It took longer than you expected to get yourself under control. You looked down at your palm when she turned away to get you a glass of water. In the center of your palm was a mess of blood and petals. You closed your fist tight and hid your hand beneath the blanket.

"I'll help you," she said, holding the glass up for you. You lifted your other hand to take hold of the glass and she waited until she was sure your grip was firm before she let go.

You empted the glass before asking what happened.

You'd never seen that look on her face before. She looked… conflicted. Distressed.

You did that.

You did that to her.

You made her feel that way.

You needed to fix it. You needed to undo whatever it was that you did to make her look so unhappy.

"Siffrin, your eye…" Odile took a deep breath, steeling herself. "They couldn't…"

Oh. Your eye.

You brought your hand up to your injured side, surprised to find bandages there. Even without her finishing the statement, you understood what she had been trying to say. You remembered the pain that you were in, the way that you could barely stop yourself from screaming.

"It's gone, isn't it?"

To Odile's credit, she didn't hesitate as much when answering you. "Yes. I'm so sorry."

You wished that you could reach out and smooth away the worry lines from her face. You wished that you could hold her hand and tell her that you would be fine. You wished that, you wished…

You… didn't wish for anything. You took a breath deep enough to be certain that you wouldn't cough and you said, "I'm fine."

You tried to smile, but from the look that she gave you, you weren't sure that it worked.

You were a failure.

You couldn't make Odile feel better. You couldn't lift her burdens.

You were one.

"Siffrin." You hated the exasperation you heard in her voice more than anything else.

You placed the glass on the table beside you.

Or, you tried to. You missed and only realized it when you heard the sound of glass shattering on the floor.

You stared at your hand as if it had betrayed you.

"It's alright," she told you. "I'll take care of it later."

You curled up in a ball and pulled the blanket over your head, hoping to disappear.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

You knew what was happening to you and, despite your best efforts, you couldn't keep ignoring it. You had hoped that it would go away, that you were imaging things. You hoped that the coughing was a symptom of something else, the petals just your imagination. But as you stared into the sink, cluttered with handfuls of petals and splatters of blood, you had to admit to yourself what was happening.

You were sick.

You were dying.

It was a slow death. You'd cough more and more often. There would be more petals, and then flowers, and then roots taking hold in your lungs until there was no room for anything else. You would bleed; maybe from coughing your throat raw, maybe from the flowers scratching up your insides, maybe you'd drown in it, unable to cough everything up in time. The details didn't really matter. All that mattered was that you were on a time limit now and a rather short one at that.

You pressed your back to the door and let yourself slide to the floor. You were alone for the first time since your injury, so you didn't have to worry about taking too long or pretending to feel better than you did.

You hurt.

Your throat, your eye, even your lungs from all the coughing you'd just done. It all hurt so much and you didn't want to pretend that it didn't.

But you would.

You would.

You would pretend for them, so that you didn't make them worry.

You were already on your way to becoming dead weight, you didn't want to make it worse. You were too close to the end to start holding them back.

You tried to remember what you knew about this disease, or even what it was called, but you… couldn't. Trying to do so just made your head hurt along with everything else. You didn't remember, you just… knew.

You knew that you were going to die from this. You didn't know why.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Even if you didn't know, even if you had tried not to know, you couldn't lie to yourself forever. There was something in you. Something… longing. Something hungry. Something desperate and disgusting and selfish.

Something that you didn't want to look at too closely. Didn't want anyone else to look at. You didn't know how to make yourself stop… wanting.

You knew that you cared about your friends much more than they cared about you and you tried to be content with that. You tried not to think about the fact that you would lose them when you beat The King.

If you beat The King…

If you beat The King, and they left you like you knew they would, you would be alone again… wouldn't you?

You desperately didn't want to be alone but even more than that…

Even more than that…

If you could just keep one of them…

You knew that it was selfish. You knew that it would be beyond presumptuous to even ask. You knew that you didn't deserve any of them. But if you could stay with any one of them, you… knew… who you would choose.

You coughed.

You coughed and you choked and you cried tears that only fell from one eye. You slammed a fist against the ground as you coughed and wailed. Your vision was blurry as you watched flower petals and splatters of blood hit the floor and then be diluted by tears.

You hoped and you hated and you wanted and you wished and you…

You heard the opening in the other room open.

You pressed a hand to your mouth to muffle the sound of your coughing, but you couldn't stop. You curled up into a ball and closed your eyes.

You knew that you would need to clean everything up to hide it from your party. You knew that you couldn't take too long or else they would start to worry. But you couldn't bring yourself to get up just yet. So you stayed on the ground, you curled up so tightly that it made your stomach hurt, and waited for the coughing to stop.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

By the time you reached Dormont, the others were convinced that you were sick. You hadn't been able to hide your coughing as well as you'd wanted to. The fits had become a little too frequent for that. No one had noticed the petals though or the blood, so you were fine.

You had to be fine.

You needed to fight The King. You didn't have the luxury of not being fine.

Everyone else knew that, too. As much as they hadn't wanted to let you fight with them, they couldn't deny that they would need all the help that you could do.

So you had one more chance. One more chance to be useful to them. One more chance to help them. One more chance to be with them and smile with them, to fight with them and struggle with them, to make them laugh and give them a good memory of you to keep before they left you behind.

You coughed. Hard.

You covered your mouth, but you knew that there was no stopping these fits at this point. You were resigned to just hiding the petals and hoping that there wasn't much blood this time.

"That cough of yours is getting worse," Odile said. You jumped, surprised to find her standing next to you when the others had already walked on past you. She was frowning at you, giving you the stern look that you knew was her way of expressing concern more than it was a look of disapproval.

You thought there might have also been disapproval there.

You thought that she would tell you that you needed to keep it together for the fight. You thought that she might have wanted to tell you not to hold them all back. You thought that she might have wanted to scold you for getting sick in the eleventh hour. Or if she wouldn't have said that, you thought that maybe she should.

She should be mad at you for potentially crippling them at the last moment like this. You were certainly mad at yourself, so it would only make sense if she was mad at you too.

You didn't want Odile to be mad at you.

You really, really didn't want to disappoint her.

You wished…

Another fit of coughing interrupted your thought before you could finish it.

Odile waited for you to get yourself under control before you a canteen of water. You drank greedily, trying to wash down the clutter in your throat. It would have been better to spit them out, but you couldn't do that with her watching you.

"Once this whole business with The King is done, we are going to make you rest," she told you sternly.

You managed to smile at her. "Going to nurse me back to health?"

She surprised you by returning the smile. "If need be," she told you. "Though I think the others would be better suited to the task."

"But your company would be more enjoyable."

She… stared.

You realized your mistake all at once and scrambled to think of something that didn't sound so clingy and weird. "I-I mean, you're a lot quieter so it would be easier to rest!"

It was a weak reasoning but it was all that you'd been able to come up with.

She stared at you for a while longer, a considering look upon her face before she eventually nodded at you. "I suppose that is true. Boniface would be rather disruptive, for all he would want to cook something to make you feel better."

"And Mirabelle would be too worried," you added.

"And Isabeau might tip you into a coughing fit with the way the two of you can't seem to help telling jokes to each other," she went on.

It was nice, being able to talk to her this way. You wished that you could move closer to her, maybe lean against her shoulder or take her hand.

But you knew better than to indulge silly, selfish thoughts like that. Odile didn't like to touch people. And more than that, none of them liked to touch you. You shouldn't even think about things like that.

"Let's not get too far behind," she said, gesturing toward the others. They'd gotten pretty far ahead of you now, but that didn't matter as much in a town as small as dormont. "We'd best settle in. We have a difficult day ahead of us."

Your agreement felt hollow when all you wanted was to stay at her side and continue talking with her.

"Yeah," you agreed anyway.

You all spent the rest of the day apart.

When you ended up standing before the Favor Tree, you finally managed to gather together your repressed thoughts and feelings. You didn't want to die. Not now. Not like this.

You didn't want to die holding everything inside you. You didn't want to end up as a flowerbed to your buried feelings. You didn't think that you had much of a choice though.

Tomorrow you would fight The King.

Tomorrow you might die.

You didn't want to die, but you didn't want to watch the others die either. Maybe if you could protect them, if you could spend your life doing something worthwhile, it might not be so bad.

But…

But you…

You wanted…

You wished…

You wished…………

You whispered into the leaf, you folded it over, and then you let it go. Off into the Universe.

You spent a few minutes staring at nothing, standing in silence, feeling absolutely empty. Almost peaceful.

Eventually, you told yourself that you had to go. You had to move. You made yourself smile, you turned around, and you left the Favor Tree behind you.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Your trip into the house ended in failure.

No, worse than that, it started in failure.

But on the bright side, you could only go up from there. You failed forward through the house, slowly making your way past locked doors and traps and Sadnesses.

Mirabelle doubted herself nearly every step of the way. You wished that you could tell her how amazing she was without her looking at you like she didn't believe a word you said. You wished you could tell her that the only weak link in the party was you. You wished that you weren't the thing holding everyone back, but you also knew that you were the reason that they could make it forward at all.

Isabeau would try to cheer her up with words, which got a weak smile in turn. Bonnie would try to cheer her up with snacks, which got a much brighter, much faker smile. Odile tried to offer logic and advice, which… was the best response any of you were able to pull from her honestly.

You wished that you had the same grounded approach that Madame Odile had to helping Mirabelle. But you didn't. All you knew how to do was to open your mouth and crack jokes.

And you couldn't even do that right anymore as half the time you opened your mouth, you would cough. And then Mirabelle was right back to worrying. Right back to doubting. Right back to creased eyebrows and a small frown and biting her nails until someone else was able to take her hand and get her to stop.

"I don't know how you're always able to get through to her," you said quietly, when it was just you and Odile standing together, watching as the others talked about some diary they'd found. "Sometimes I think you're the only one she listens to."

"Perhaps," she replied, just as quietly as you. "But I would never be able to make her smile the way that you and Isabeau do. We all have our roles, Siffrin."

She was right. You all had your roles.

Odile's role was to keep Mirabelle grounded.

And your role was to die. Over and over again until your friends were finally able to make it through the house.

It was the only thing that you could do, so you might as well do it.

"We all have our roles," you repeated to yourself. Then you turned back to the room to make sure you'd gathered everything you needed to.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

When The King killed you for the first time, you'd felt helpless. It had taken everything you had just to get to The King in the first place and then he'd taken you out in one strike. One devastating blow that had shown you just how outclassed you all were.

You tried to think of anything that you could do, any way that you could move forward, but you… couldn't.

You couldn't!

All you could think about was the strange vision that you had gotten. An image of a tree sprouting up out of your chest until you were buried beneath its roots and your still beating heart dangled from one of the branches.

Was that your fate? Would that be all that you would be remembered as?

You laid in the field until Mirabelle woke you up.

And then you laid beneath the Favor Tree until the stars came out.

And then kept laying there. You kept waiting, kept watching, as your thoughts spun around you. Around and around in a big, overwhelming storm that left you thinking about everything and nothing all at once.

You weren't seeing anything that was around you. You felt the ground beneath your back, saw the branches overhead, and you thought about the way those branches stretched into the sky without ever reaching it. You thought of how hopeless it was for a tree to reach for the stars.

You wondered if it was hopeless for you to try and beat The King.

You wondered if all your desires were hopeless.

"There you are." You blinked back to reality, turning your head to the side and watching as Odile marched over to you. "We've been looking all over for you."

You found that a little hard to believe, when you've been in this same spot for most of the afternoon. Then again, they’d probably only started looking for you once you had missed dinner. There wouldn't have been any reason to think anything was wrong before that.

Odile stared down at you for a minute before lowering herself onto the ground next to you. "Alright, what is it?"

Your brow furrowed in confusion. "What is what?"

Odile huffed like you were being difficult. "What is wrong, Siffrin? Mirabelle said that you were napping earlier and even as much as you like your sleep, I doubt you've been asleep this whole time." She tilted her head to look at you, but you couldn't tell what her expression meant.

For one moment, your head was completely empty. You couldn't think of a single problem, a single positive, a single fact that had led you to this moment. You couldn't think of anything you could say that would justify putting that concerned look on her face. You couldn't think of anything that was worth worrying her.

"You're thinking too hard," she told you after waiting a while for you to speak.

"H-huh?"

"I can practically see you scrambling to figure out what to say." Part of you froze at being read so easily, but Odile had always been able to read you. You'd never been sure if you were just easy to read or if she understood you better than anyone else. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, I'm not going to make you talk. I do think that you'll feel better if you talk about what's on your mind, however."

You tried to think about what you could tell her. Which of the million thoughts that were clogging up your head could you actually release into the air without feeling like they would just start eating you from the outside instead.

"I'm… worried about fighting The King."

Odile barked a laugh. "Yes, I think we're all rather concerned about that." She shakes her head, a wry smile on her lips. "Mirabelle's worry is… rather obvious, I think. And potent. Isabaeu won't dare say anything that would risk morale, but I doubt that he hasn't considered how dangerous this all is. Boniface may be young, but they are anything but stupid, they know that this is dangerous even if they have chosen to focus on everything but the fear they are surely feeling."

You waited for her to say something about herself and when she didn't, you sat up to look at her more closely. "What about you? You never talk about how you're feeling, Odile."

Silence fell between the two of you. You didn't mind. You were willing to wait for her to confide in you if you had to, if she wanted to. You wouldn't have pushed her. You never pushed any of them, too afraid of potentially overstepping the tentative place that you had been allowed.

"I'm worried that we are walking into our own graves," she finally answered, keeping her eyes on her hand, where they rested in her lap.

Your breath caught in your throat. Not because you'd been surprised by what she said, you were pretty sure you all worried that tomorrow might be your last day, but by the fact that she'd actually said it. By the fact that Odile had chosen to talk to you about her worry.

Your silence must have worried her, or maybe she felt encouraged to keep going once she'd started. You weren't sure, but either way, she had added more. "I know that it isn't appropriate to say such a thing the night before a big battle. Mirabelle would crumble if she heard me saying such a thing, and Isabeau would try fruitlessly to cheer me up. I don't find it helpful to ignore the inevitable, though."

"That isn't really fair to you," you'd told her. "That you have to keep that all bottled inside for our sake."

She looked at you, her expression a myriad tangle of sadness, bitterness, and resignation. "No, perhaps not," she admitted. "But neither is it fair to all of Vaugarde that some tyrant has decided to freeze them all in time. Neither is it fair that Mirabelle is the one that has to carry the weight of victory or defeat on her shoulders." She reached up to touch one of the gems that dangled on the end of her glasses, cradled it. "None of this is fair. Life never is. We carry on anyway… or we die. That is always how it's been."

"I won't let you die tomorrow!" You blurted out the words before you could help yourself.

She turned to look at you with more raw surprise than you'd ever seen on her face. Then it smoothed down into something softer. Pitying, maybe. Unconvinced, surely. "Siffrin…"

"I mean it," you insisted. "Maybe… maybe I can't do anything about The King yet, but I'll figure out a way. I promise… I won't let you die. I'll do anything… to keep you from dying tomorrow.."

Even if it meant throwing yourself into a meat grinder over and over and over again. Even if it meant being crushed by The King a thousand times. Even if he had to be frozen by tears or killed by Sadnesses… Even if he had to die, and die, and die, and die…

Even if the only way that he survived was as a bloody tree with its heart hanging from the branches, he refused to let her die. To let any of them die!

"That's not the sort of promise you should make Siffrin."

"But I am!" you said stubbornly. You felt a familiar tickle in the back of your throat, but you ignored it.

Odile sighed as she turned to look at you full on. "That's not the sort of weight that you should bear."

"But I will!" You moved onto your knees, just so that you could be closer to her, so that you could look into her eyes and show her that you were determined. That you meant every word that you were saying. Maybe she wouldn't believe you anyway, but you wanted her to know! You wanted her to see.

"Siffrin…" She sounded tired. You hated it.

"Odile," you said back, voice hard and certain.

She softened again. You knew it wasn't with pity that time, but you didn't know what it was. She reached out to you, placed a hand on your shoulder. You shivered under the touch, but she didn't remove it. "Siffrin, you can't make a promise like that. You don't know what will happen tomorrow. I know that you want to help, but lying… won't help me."

You felt… cold.

Something in your heart twisted painfully.

Something in your chest felt horribly broken.

You opened your mouth to speak, to say anything to try and change her mind. Anything you could think of to make her believe you!

You opened your mouth and all that came out was a harsh, painful cough. It raked your throat raw on the first few heaves, but it didn't stop.

"Siffrin?" Odile's hands tightened on your shoulders as your hands went to your throat. You were choking. You could feel something stuck in your throat. You… couldn't breathe… "Siffrin!"

Her hands tightened on your shoulder as you coughed, and choked, and wheezed.

You hunched over, one hand resting uselessly around your throat while the other hovered in front of your mouth as if you could shield her from it. You couldn't think about that though, not really. Your mind could only focus on how much you needed to breathe, how hard you were coughing and wheezing, how desperately you needed to--

You felt the wet, sticking thing land in your palm. All at once, you were free. You could breathe.

You gasped, drawing in large. desperate breaths. There was a rattle in your throat. It wasn't clear yet. something was still there. The more you gasped, the closer you got to another fit, but you couldn't stop.

You felt Odile's hands shaking where they still grasped your shoulders tightly. "Siffrin…"

You coughed.

Splatters of blood and petals hit the ground with each cough. Your eye had watered so much that you could barely see.

When you managed to blink your vision clear, you felt frozen. On the ground between you and Odile, was a flower. Not a handful of petals, but a bloodstained wisteria.

You lifted your head slightly and met Odile's horrified gaze before--

You woke up in the field, staring at the sky.

You only had three thoughts circling around in your head.

Tomorrow, you were going to die.

You were never going to see past tomorrow.

No matter what you did, how hard you tried, how much you died, you were never going to be able to get closer to Odile.

You imagined yourself as fertilizer for a wisteria tree.

You refused to move when Mirabelle came to wake you.

You refused to move at all.

You just laid still and hoped that the earth would swallow you whole while you coughed and cried and laid in a grave of your own feelings.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Your new reality became filled with flowers. It was impossible to get through an entire floor in the house without coughing. When you coughed, you found flowers with the crushed petals in your hand. The increased frequency was a lot harder to hide.

Anytime Bonnie was near you they commented that you smelled like flowers.

Mirabelle was constantly brushing missed petals off of you.

Isabeau hovered around you whenever a coughing fit started.

Madame Odile watched you like a hawk.

There wasn't anything that you could do to stop it. There wasn't a way for you to hide it anymore.

You tried to anyway.

You searched as hard as you could through the house, looking for any hint that you could find on how to beat The King. The longer your search went on though, the harder it became.

The coughing became so bad, so frequent, that they stopped asking you if you were okay after each fit. They knew you weren't okay.

Every loop you got a little more pale, a little more short of breath. Fighting was getting harder.

Trying was getting harder.

But you'd made a promise that you wouldn't let them die. You wouldn't let this all end in failure. You had to keep going for them.

"Siffrin," Mirabelle pulled you aside before your fight with The King. "Are you sure…" She looked unsure, almost afraid to say what was on her mind. She steadied herself anyway and pushed the question out. "Are you sure that you want to… that you can fight with us?"

The ever present pain in your lungs felt like a needle of ice.

"What?"

"It's just… you're… you don't look very…"

"I'm fine!" You said it too quickly. Your smile was too thin. Mirabelle didn't believe you.

Slowly, she reached out for your hands. She hesitated.

Why did they always hesitate? Why did no one want to touch you? Did they know? Could they see how selfish you were? Could they see the roots of sickness beneath your veins? Did they know that you were so disgustingly attached to them that it was bleeding out of you? Pouring out you in a mess of earth and blood and pain?

Mirabelle took your hands anyway. "You don't have to do this," she told you, soft but determined. "If you aren't feeling well, we'll… we'll find a way to fight The King all on our own! I… I know that we can do it if we just… so please… Please, Siffrin. If you aren't feeling well… if you don't think that you can do it…"

She… didn't believe in you either, did she?

Of course she didn't. Of course she didn't!

Why would Mirabelle think you were someone that she could depend on? Why would she think that she could rely on you? All you did was get in their way, slow them down, cause them trouble.

You'd never been reliable. You forgot everything. You slowed them down by losing an eye. You were no better than the parasite that was ravaging you from the inside. You were filling up the air around them, taking up precious space, smothering them, suffocating them! You were just a weight pressing down on them all. A dead weight at the end of a chain that they couldn't get rid of.

You were nothing.

You coughed into your shoulder once, twice, before getting yourself under control. You smiled at her. Weak. You knew it was weak. It was all that you could do.

"I'll be fine, Mira. I wouldn't make you do this alone."

"She's right. Siffrin." Odile stepped up behind Mirabelle. You wondered if everyone had been listening, but you didn't turn to find out. You didn't want to know. You didn't want to see what they thought about you written on all of their faces. It was bad enough seeing the way Mirabelle looked at you like you were made of glass.

You didn't want to see the way that Odile was looking at you, but you couldn't help yourself. You had to look. You had to look at her. Your hands tightened in Mirabelle's as you raised your head.

Odile's expression was… hard. Stone. There was none of the softness that Mirabelle had shown you. Odile looked at you like you were…

Like you were nothing…

"You shouldn't push yourself even harder than you already have," Odile continued. "You've already done enough. Let us take care of The King. You and Boniface can wait out here."

"What?" Bonnie yelled out. "No! No way! I'm not-"

You stopped listening.

You stopped breathing.

You stopped thinking.

You fell to your knees, hands still held in Mirabelle's. "Siffrin!"

You felt cold.

No, you felt worse than cold.

You felt like a corpse. You felt like fertilizer. You'd be better off if you curled up and died on the floor right then and there.

You all had your roles…

Your role was…. nothing…

You laughed. Or maybe you sobbed. It was hard to tell. It didn't matter when it devolved into coughing anyway. Coughing turned into choking.

You hacked up flower after flower, spitting them onto the floor at your friends feet.

You coughed and you cried and you choked and--

You woke up in a field.

That was okay. You probably wouldn't have beaten The King anyway.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

You decide to focus on helping your friends. You might as well, right? You weren't good at anything else! All you could do was cough and die to The King and fail at being anything to anyone!

But maybe there was something that even someone like you could do.

So you tried to help them.

You taught Bonnie's how to fight, and you looped, and you commiserated with Mirabelle, and you looped, and you searched for a familytale, and you looped, and listened to Isabeau's troubles, and you looped, and you found a way to fight The King, and you…

And you won!

You won!

You beat The King!

You beat The King… and you looped anyway.

You… really were useless, weren't you.

You laughed so hard you cried. Then you cried so hard you choked. Then you choked so hard that you couldn't even feel Mirabelle's healing craft working on you as she desperately tried to heal you.

When you woke up again, it didn't even feel like it mattered.

Every loop you only got worse. You only got more useless. Mirabelle and Odile were probably right that they could just fight The King without you. You were barely better than dead weight at this point.

You still wanted to see her though.

Even if you knew that you didn't deserve to, even if you knew that you were a worthless, disgusting, parasite of a person, you still wanted to… be near her.

You went to get the familytale and you brought it to Odile.

You sidestepped her questions about how you knew what she wanted and you just… listened. You listened as she shared more of herself with you than she ever had before. You thought about the fact that you only had this knowledge, this moment, because you were stuck in time. You thought about the fact that she never would have chosen to share this with you if you things were normal.

Would she have told you any of this if she didn't think you were all going to die tomorrow?

Would she have told you any of this, if you hadn't manipulated her by giving her the exact thing that she's wanted all along?

Would she ever want to see you again if she knew?

"Siffrin?" You turned your head in Odile's direction, but you weren't seeing her. You weren’t seeing anything. She reached out toward you, but she stopped before touching you. "Siffrin, you're crying."

"I…" You didn't know what to say. You didn't know how to explain this.

You blinked, hoping that would get rid of the tears but it didn't. You wiped your face on your cloak, but more tears took the place of those that you were wiping away.

"I… I don't…"

Odile sighed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…"

She couldn't have looked anymore like she didn't believe you if she was calling you a liar to your face. You deserved that, but it made you cough a few times, anyway.

Odile slammed the familytale closed and put it on the opposite side of her on the bench. She turned to face him, reaching into her pocket and producing a handkerchief, which she offered to him.

He took it.

"Siffrin, talk to me, please. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong."

You… didn't know what you could say. How could you put any of your problems into words? How could you show your worthless self and talk about your selfish problems with someone like Odile? How could you let yourself bring her down that way?

"I… I didn't mean to.."

"Siffrin, it's fine. I'm not angry at you." She sighed, looking distinctly uncertain before she scooted closer to you. She still wasn't touching you, but she wasn't as careful about the distance between the two of you, either. "Just… I want to help."

"Why?" You couldn't stop yourself from asking the question. "Why do you… Why bother?"

Because at this point, you really weren't sure why she was bothering with someone like you. Someone that was so… awful.

The look Odile gave you was almost confused. "I would have hoped that it was obvious by now, but I suppose I only have myself to blame."

You weren't sure what she was talking about, but by this point your tears had stopped. At least enough that you could see her clearly.

"Siffrin, I don't enjoy seeing you in distress. If I can help you, I would like to do so. I would have thought that that was something of a given, since you saw fit to help me."

"So.. you want to help me because I helped you first."

Odile stared at him. "Do you really think so little of me that-"

"No!" You yelled louder than you meant to, immediately doubling over as coughed into her handkerchief. "No, I… I don't…"

"Calm down first, then you can try to speak."

You… tried. You spent a few more minutes coughing. When you were done, Odile handed you her canteen to drink from.

"Feeling a bit better?" she asked.

You nodded slowly.

"Good. You shouldn't hold things like this inside, Siffrin."

"You're one to talk," you muttered.

Odile barked a laugh. "I suppose that's fair. How about this, let's make an agreement. I'll talk about my problems more if you do the same."

"Will you really?" You asked quietly.

She smiled. "You can hold me to it. Once we beat The King, we'll talk."

You weren't sure if you could keep that promise, but you would try.

"Alright. Once we beat The King."

You thought that you might have been looking forward to talking to Odile.

So of course, you don't make it to The King. Stupid you forgot about the stupid rock and got stupidly crushed.

So that was a dead promise that only you remembered now.

Wouldn't be the first one, but this one… hurt… even more.

You clutched at your chest as you coughed. It was hard to breathe. It was… always hard to breathe. You didn't think that you had much time left. You needed to save them all while you still could.

If you still could.

You hadn't been doing a very good job of saving anyone.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

You practically ran to the Favor Tree. You threw yourself down among the roots and beat your fist against the bark. You hit the tree over and over and over again.

"Why is this happening? Why are you doing this to me?"

You hit it harder and harder. You screamed louder and louder.

"Why? Why? WHY?"

You beat the tree until your fist was bloody and your throat was raw. You coughed in between blows, but you didn't stop. You just pounded your fist one after the other, demanding answers that you knew you would never get.

"Tell me why? Tell me!"

"Sif!"

Someone grabbed your wrist, holding it tightly. Gently.

You spun around, your eye wild as you tried to pull your hand away, only to be met with Isabeau's face staring right at you. He looked… concerned. Of course he was concerned. He probably thought you were crazy.

You probably were crazy. Who wouldn't be crazy?

Slowly, carefully, as if he was afraid to set you off, he pulled your hand away from the tree. He'd gone through so much trouble not to touch you before, but now he wouldn't let you go.

"Hey, buddy… What, uh, what did the tree do to you?"

You… couldn't tell him.

You didn't know what to tell him.

You let the tension leak out of your body. You felt exhausted. Your fist and your throat were both bloody and throbbing. You could feel the blood pooling in your mouth, but you didn't want to spit it out. Not where Isabeau could see.

Not that it would make that much of a difference when he had already seen you like… this.

"Let's get you to Mira, okay?"

You shook your head. You didn't want Mirabelle to see you like this. Not the day before she had to fight The King. She didn't need to carry your weight on top of everyone else's.

"I think I'm gonna have to veto that, Sif." Isabeau's expression was still worried, but he managed to smile at you a little bit. "'Cause see, it looks like my friend Sif hurt his hand, and I think my other Mirabelle would want to help with that if she could."

You stared at the ground. Your mouth was full of blood and petals.

"I could leave to bring her here," he started. "But I'm kind of concerned about leaving you alone right now. And also…" He looked at the tree, where your blood was splattered against the bark. "I think seeing this would make her even more worried, if I'm honest."

You thought about that. You're surprised that Isabeau let you think about it for as long as he did. Eventually though, you nodded.

"Alright! Then we'll go see Mirabelle!"

Isabeau hesitated before releasing your hand, then again before he decided to stand.

You looked to the side and spat out your mouthful of blood and petals. Isabeau didn't comment on it, but there was no way that he didn't see it. He was hovering at your side, undecided if he wanted to offer you a hand up or not.

You got up on your own. No reason to get blood all over him.

The two of you walked over to where Mirabelle was. She looked alarmed as soon as you showed her your bloodied hand.

"Oh no, what happened?" she asked worriedly. You felt the soothing balm of healing craft washing you. One hand, then the other. You… hesitated to ask her to heal your throat, but Isabeau did that for you.

"Uh, Mira? Do you think you can get his throat too? I, um, think he might have…"

Isabeau didn't have to explain further. Her hands hovered around your face as she begun to heal your throat too, soothing the raw scrape you felt from screaming and coughing.

The flowers were still there. You felt the heaviness in your lungs. Itt was still just that little bit difficult to breathe. It would get worse, you knew, the moment you laid eyes on Odile. But for now it was… manageable.

"Sif, do you want to talk about…" Isabeau trailed off, respecting you enough not to point out what happened in front of Mirabelle.

She jumped in anyway, eager to try and help. "If you need to talk, you know that we're here to listen, right?"

You shook your head and turned as if you would leave. Isabeau stepped in front of you.

"Yeah, not sure that's the best idea, Sif." He smiled at you, but it wasn't the smile you were used to. "Come for a walk with me?"

You sighed and nodded. You liked isabeau. You didn't mind spending time with him even if you were worried about what exactly he would say to you. He took you to the hill overlooking the house. The old lady that was usually there had gone, leaving the bench free for the two of you to sit on.

"So." He paused, looking at you. "Do you want to start or…"

He gave you another chance to approach this conversation on your own terms.

You… didn't take it.

"Alright, guess I have to be the one to do this," he said. He turned to properly face you, expression serious. "I wasn't going to say anything, since we have to fight The King tomorrow and all, but… I noticed that you seemed kinda sick lately?"

You nodded. You still didn't know what to say. You tried to curl into your cloak and disappear.

"Do you want to talk about that?" he asked cautiously.

"What is there to say?" you asked.

He stared at you.

He stared at you for a long time. Long enough that you were starting to suspect there had been a right answer to that question and you'd chosen wrong.

He folded his arms. "Alright, don't take this the wrong way, but… do you know what you have, Sif?"

You hesitated before nodding. Your uncertainty must have shown through.

"Alright. Okay. So. That kind of disease… it only comes from repressed feelings. So… you need to… talk about your feelings… for it to go away?"

You stared at him.

He stared back.

"That's it?" you asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, it's a little more complicated than that but… yeah?" He shrugged stiffly.

You knew that that couldn't be all there was to it. Part of you knew that your feelings had to be reciprocated in order to fix things. It couldn't be as simple as…

But Isabeau sounded like he knew what he was talking about. And you… you weren't even sure how you knew what you knew.

"I can't…"

"I'm going to stop you right there, Sif." He reached out for a moment, as if he was going to place a hand on your shoulder. He hesitated, nearly dropping his hand, before continuing the original action and reaching out anyway.

You flinched. but only a little.

To Isabeau's credit, he didn't remove his hand. "You can tell us anything, Sif! Whatever it is, I'm sure that any of us would be willing to listen. Just… trust in us a little bit? Please?"

You did trust them. That wasn't the problem, you just… didn't want to burden them.

"Just… think about it today?" Isabeau urged. "I know we have to fight The King tomorrow, but maybe you'd have a clearer head if you got this off your chest first? Or maybe you want to wait until after we defeat him? Just… please don't wait too long? I… don't want to watch something like this eating away at you."

Anymore, went unsaid. It was clear that he had noticed a while ago. Maybe if it wasn't for the loops, he would have waited even longer to talk to you. He didn't know that you were already much worse than whatever he'd seen before.

And… you already made a promise, didn't you? To talk to her? Even if she didn't remember, you… you promised. So you had to. You would.

After you beat The King, you would talk to Odile.

You nodded. "Alright, Isa. Thanks."

He smiled, a proper one this time. "Anytime, Sif!"

Anytime…

You… wanted to believe that.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

You didn't sleep that night. You couldn't. There was too much on your mind.

You waited until everyone went to bed and then you got up and went outside to look at the stars.

You had promises to keep tomorrow, but you weren't certain that doing so would actually help you. You weren't certain that anything would help you. But you had to at least try, right? For them?

You turned when you heard the door open behind you, surprised to see Odile striding out and coming to sit beside you. "I thought I might find you out here."

"Couldn't sleep?" you asked her.

She gave you a wry smile. "I could ask you the same thing."

You turned your gaze back toward the sky. "Just… thinking. About tomorrow," you told her.

Odile's gaze didn't waiver from you. You could feel her eyes on you and it made you feel… warm. For the first time in a long time. "Yes, there is a lot about tomorrow to worry about," she agreed. "But are you certain that it isn't today's events that are weighing on you?"

You turned to look at her, wide eyed with surprise. "Huh?"

"The others were rather obvious that they were worried about you," she told you. "Mirabelle couldn't stop watching you and Isabeau was only marginally more subtle."

You lowered your face to hide in your cloak. "Oh…"

Odile smirked. "Oh, indeed. Do you want to tell me what that was all about?"

You consider it, though still aren't still what to say. Your promise was for tomorrow though, so you didn't feel bad waiting.

"After we beat The King,' you told her, parroting her own words back at her. "And… only if you tell me something, too."

Odile's smirk widened. "A bargain, is it? Alright, Siffrin, you have yourself a deal. Once we defeat The King, I'll be looking forward to you fulfilling your bargain."

You would be too.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Going through the house was relatively easy.

Relatively, because you could still feel the heaviness in your lungs. By the time you got to the second floor, you were coughing more and more. By the time you got to the third floor, you were struggling to breathe.

This time, when Mirabelle tried to confront you, you didn't let her.

"We need everyone we can get, Mira. We can't afford to let me slow you all down."

She didn't like this answer. You could tell that she didn't. But she didn't try and insist that you stay behind. She hovered her hands over your body and pushed healing craft into you. It provided enough temporary relief that you thought you'd be able to get through the battle with The King, but probably not much further.

That was fine. You just needed to beat The King.

If you could do that much… if you could do that and then tell Odile how you really felt…

If you could just fulfill the promises that you made to her, you thought that you would be able to die happy.

You were practically dead on your feet by the time you finished fighting The King, but you pressed forward. You shielded Odile as you made your way to where the Head Housemaiden waited.

You… didn't think that you had the energy to make the rounds of talking to the others. You waited for everyone to go their separate ways and then you turned to face Odile, ready to keep your promise.

You opened your mouth and you… coughed.

You coughed hard and wet. Blood and flowers spilled onto the floor in front of you and pitched forward.

"Siffrin!" You were in Odile's arms before you knew it, as she kept you from falling to the floor.

"I… I promised…" You wheezed, coughing more as you tried to desperately clear the obstruction in your throat. You spat out more blood and flowers, staring at the pile of wisterias that were gathering beneath you. You couldn't let them stop you. "I said that I would… would tell you…"

You could hear the rest of your family rushing toward you. But it was distant, you couldn't really pay attention to it.

You reached up to put a hand on Odile's arm, wanting to make sure that you had her attention on you.

"Siffrin." Stars, she sounded scared. You didn't want to do that to her, but… you didn't think you had a choice. You thought you might have been out of time, so you had to do it now.

"I… was really happy… getting to know you." You coughed and coughed, but you wouldn't let that stop you. Blood was on your lips, but you just spat it out so that you could continue. "I liked… how you always listened to me… and… and spending time with you…"

There was a small burst of healing craft, but you barely felt it.

"Gems alive, Siffrin!"

"I… really care about you, Odile." You forced the words out and forced a smile to your lips while you were at it. "I… I love you. So I really want… more than anything…" Your throat felt like it might have been closing up on you. "I want to get… closer to you…"

Odile was clutching at you tightly. Your vision was blurry. Your throat burned.

You couldn't breathe…

"Gems, Siffrin, of course I feel the same!" She sounded… almost angry to say so. It made you happy to hear either way.

You smiled…

Then everything went dark.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

You didn't wake up in a field.

You could tell that almost immediately. There wasn't the blue of an open sky above you. There wasn't the hardness of the grass and ground beneath you. You didn't know where you were, but you knew where you weren't.

"Ah, you're awake." You jolted as you looked beside you, surprised to see Odile sitting beside your bed. She closed the book resting in her lap. "You gave everyone quite a scare, Siffrin."

The bags under her eyes looked even heavier. You wondered if she hadn't been sleeping well.

"S-sorry…"

"Hmm." She leaned closer to you, pressing a hand to your forehead. You jumped at the contact, and then stilled, holding your breath as if keeping still would be enough to prolong the contact. "It's not surprising," she added. "The Head Housemaiden said that you were suffering from craft exhaustion on top of… everything else."

"Oh…" You didn't know what else to say, so you didn't say anything at all.

Odile watched you closely for a moment before finally pulling her hand away, almost reluctantly. "You passed out on me before I could fulfill my end, so if you would allow me?"

She waited for you to respond. You nodded, pulling the blanket up a bit higher so that you could hide in it the same way you did with your cloak.

Odile began slowly. "I'm not as good at these… feelings talks as Mirabelle or Isabeau, but I rather thought that the two of us had an understanding."

You tilted your head as you listened to her.

"The two of them were always more alike than not. Initiating group hugs, being loud and excitable, wearing their emotions on their sleeve. It's honestly exhausting at times."

You nodded. You could definitely agree with that. You weren't as open with your emotions, but even if you were, you didn't think you'd ever be able to be as big or loud as them.

"Right," she sighed again. "I always found more similarities between the two of us. It's easier to be around you than either of them, easier to just… exist comfortably without the need to fill silence and we enjoy similar enough activities to be on our own together for far longer than the others."

You agreed. You always thought, hoped, that the two of you got along well.

"So you can see why it might surprise me to learn that you doubted my feelings enough to become sick over it." The look that she gave you was almost pained. You didn't like that you made her look that way. You had to look away before you could answer.

"It… It's not that you… did anything…" You had to say that first, because you didn't want her thinking that this was her fault. You were the one that was greedy and selfish, after all. "It's just… I know that you don't really like… feelings and touch and… and being close to people. So it's… really selfish of me to want more, isn't it?"

Odile laughed. "Siffrin, if you're selfish, then you're finding yourself in rather good company. For all that I may not seem as if I am as attached to you all, I can assure you that I am." She smiled as she looked down at him. "And it's rather cute to find out that you care about me so much."

Your face darkened and you pulled the blanket higher. "It's not…"

"It absolutely is," she said, talking over you. The teasing smile on her face lessened a bit and she leaned closer to you. She placed her hand on your forehead again and you leaned into it. "And Siffrin… I want to be closer to you, too. All of you, but also… just you."

You looked at her with your eye wide, and she looked back, unblinking.

You felt warm.

You felt good.

You didn't look away from her as you said, very softly, "I love you."

Odile's expression was just as soft as she answered. "Yes, I love you, as well. Perhaps next time it won't take you nearly dying for us to come to this understanding."

She smiled.

You smiled with her.

You felt… at peace.

[eliashawthorne]

“huh.” elias thoughtfully replied, intrigued. “you know, i supposed that isn’t too far fetched.” it was nice to think that the a good deed could be the reason millions of lives were saved, without the consequences of something else drastically happening. he tried not to think about if one of the lives saved could be the reason something does happen, perhaps their evil outweighs what we are prepared to handle as a society, instead he focused on the positive outcome of it all. now he knew that with all this time travel talk, he was going to go down a rabbit hole the moment he got home later. he was determined to gather all the theories he could for their next encounter because now he wanted to ramble on about space and time travel with zarah. he nods at her question, “yes, that’s true.” he pauses, then smiles, “well, all in all, at the end of the day, i think the choice we make would be the best one. i don’t know about you, but i think we make a killer duo.”

much like zarah, elias could easily adapt to various topic changes in conversations. actually it was quite fun to him to have different conversations going on in the same one, as long as it wasn’t too confusing. this was not confusing, it was fun. the idea of someone actually patrolling the worlds largest rubber band ball was amusing, unlikely, but he could see how even that might need protecting. “if you’re stealing the worlds largest rubber band ball and you manage to get away with that…i am both impressed and curious as to what the intentions are with said rubber band ball. maybe they would want to roll it off the grand canyon and see if it bounces up and how high it would bounce.” now he was just being a bit silly, but it was ideas like that that called for protection at even the most isolated of place like road side attractions. it was a shame, really. “i never really understood that, not being able to leave well enough alone. isn’t it enough to know you were there and simply take in the beauty?” as they continued on with their conversation and it turned to their road trip he got more excited at the idea. he smiles when zarah encourages his book savings idea, but nods at the auto draft option. “i will do both. get the book and begin auto drafting. that way if one fails, at least the other is in full effect.” though he wasn’t sure how auto drafting would fail, but he guesses there is a first time for everything and that would be no exception. “you know what? i’m going to invest in an adventure scrap book for our journey too.”

you were basically a parent, when owning a pet. luckily the only schedule that mochi was on was feeding times. he chose cat over a dog at the moment because he liked how independent they could be, and he did not have the time to properly give a pup. he understood that she couldn’t just get up and leave (as much fun as it sounded like) because he was in a similar boat. but there were times, like tonight, in which he simply had to trust mochi was going to be okay without him. he felt like the cat had already known something was on the horizon anyway, as he was also a firm believer that animals had a strong sixth sense. “i would be surprised if he wasn’t being a loaf on my bed or burrowed under blankets. but yes, once I get back home, i will be giving mochi extra love and affection to make up for my absence during the fireworks show.” when he hears her answer to his question it pulls a lighthearted chuckle from his lips, shaking his head before replying, “not even a little bit. i was just wondering if you wanted to watch them together.” then he thinks of something, not wanting her to feel like he has alternative motives, he ends up also adding, “we don’t have to kiss at the count down, just to throw that out there.”

“I feel like most modern science fiction and theory leans heavily into the whole altering one event altering all of history but there are some where that isn’t the case,” she could admit. She’d read a book series once that had time traveling didn’t ultimately change anything even though the protagonist had definitely taken some liberties by bringing modern medicine and technology. Ultimately, time travel went both ways and everything sort of ended up happening the way it had in history. “Every action has a reaction and at the end of the day I think everyone had to decide if the consequence is worth whatever it is they do whether that be in the day to day or in their hypothetical time travel experience. I think the potential of saving millions of lives would have to be deemed worth consideration.” Though at the end of the day, she didn’t suppose anyone could predict whether the lives saved would lean toward doing good in the world or bring additional chaos that they couldn’t have begun to prepare for. “At the end of the day, it’s a choice. Isn’t everything in the world a choice though?”

Zarah could easily go from talking about one thing to another. Truth be told, given the opportunity she could probably talk to a leaf about a tree for hours on end. If there was someone willing to talk, she was willing to listen and join in on the conversation. It was definitely enough to keep her mind stimulated. “Security seems like such overkill,” she wanted to say though she knew that the world they lived in merited it. Just because most people who might want to take a stop and look at one thing or another on the side of the road were probably harmless, there were always people out there that lacked the ability to keep it together. Maybe they weren’t going out there and actively looking to put anyone else in danger but there were definitely people whose idea of a good time were stealing from National Parks and making their own mark at places they had no business touching. “It’s so easy to just visit a place, appreciate it and live it as it was but I completely understand that not everyone has that perspective,” she could admit. Zarah nodded, knowing full well that whatever his attributes or the employee circumstances they were going to be just fine. Saving money was the primary concern. It wouldn’t be too hard to do if they had months to get their ducks in a row for it though. “A book could be a good start for you,” she was willing to concede. “Only way to know what you can is to try and it and if you realize it’s not working you’ll still have time to change it up. Auto draft is a savior though.”

Pet ownership did come with responsibilities. It wasn’t always easy especially when there were things that could scare them or it impacted scheduling. She definitely couldn’t just pick up and disappear for days on end without putting in some thought into who was going to care for her pet. She knew that he got it. “I’m sure Mochi will be fine,” she reassured. “Plus when you get home, he’ll feel safe again. Hopefully, he’s asleep somewhere and doesn’t even know what is about to go down.” Then again, maybe he did. She felt like animals in general had a pretty strong sixth sense when things were about to happen – storms or fireworks. She her gaze move up to his with his question, laughing. “I didn’t really have any plans. Just you know, enjoying the crowd. Being where I end up, you know. Am I keeping you from someone?”

[giggly-squiggily]

Hi Hello it's midnight for me and I just finished watching Steven Universe and the movie (I haven't watched Future yet- gonna do that this weekend) so now I have thoughts

Spoilers for Steven Universe below the cut!

First of all: I'm kicking myself repeatedly for waiting so long to watch it cause HOLY- 😭🥰 IT WAS SO GOOD!!! I wasn't sure I was gonna be into shows like this (Wasn't massively into Adventure Time- don't get me wrong, it was cute as hell and funny but just kinda..eh?) But I finally gave it a shot and WOW!

My favorite gem is still Garnet; I just- I adore her. She's wise, funny, the whole Sapphire and Ruby ship is so cute ("They were my favorite couple!"- Bismuth my blacksmith queen) and just-GAH! I love how excited she got over fusions and just how lovely she is all around!

My second favorite is Peridot. I loved her- she is the cutest little green dorito EVA! The way she speaks, her mannerisms, her dynamic with Lapis (Who admittedly I still have mixed feelings on but generally I enjoy her alot)- it was all so freaking kfakjerakjkjrakjerkjekjr I can't get over how cute she is HELP!

Really- I found myself loving all the characters! Pearl is cute as heck, Amethyst is an icon (I loved that scene where she refused to put all her problems onto Steven and recognized he had so much on his plate already- it was truly such a growth moment and I'm beyond proud of her. Plus- Smokey Quartz is an icon), and STEVEN! He's a doll! I adore him so much!

As for Beach City- I don't think I have a non-favorite. Everyone is so charming and silly; and even when they were at their worst they managed to bring it back around. Lars becoming a space pirate and Sadie becoming a rockstar- the grandmother becoming mayor and Ronaldo being..well, Ronaldo; it was all so good! I really do love Greg aswell; that Comet song will be forever stuck in my head. Oh! And Connie! I adore Connie!

As for the movie....eh? Don't get me wrong, it was great- and I really like Spinel; but all the endless songs started to get a little much after a while 😅 There was some great ones like Garnet's return song True Love and Steven's Change song- and of course Other Friends and Drift Away are absolutely incredible. It was a good mix of great songs and....kinda meh songs but still incredibly pleasant to listen to. I had a great time. (I also really liked Happily Ever After but I think I prefer Natewantstobattle's version; the rock cover really gives it that extra oomph!)

The DIAMONDS! I kinda don't know how to feel about Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond. I get why she did what she did; it was clear as glass the home life she was living wasn't good to her- but the way she did it certainly wasn't the cleanest. I like how complex her situation is and how Steven navigated it. I also like how the diamonds were presented- not good gems but complex enough that they're enjoyable. (Not to be bisexual on tumblr but Yellow Diamond....👀)

Overall this was a great time all around! I don't know what I'm gonna watch next (post future), my sister and I are thinking either Owl House or Amphibia, but y'all are welcome to leave suggestions! This was a much needed comfort experience during an admittedly crappy time.

(Also I'm almost done with Season 2 of Vinland Saga and y'all it's absolutely incredible but so freaking SAD- ooooo, I got feelings but I'll share them all when I finish the last four episodes)

This is your gentle reminder to sit down and indulge yourself in something comforting! Especially if things are being tough right now- you deserve to treat yourself :)

[inbabylontheywept]

i did wrestling in middle school. on one hand, i was actually quite good at it, which was nice. being good at any sport was a new achievement for me. on the other hand, i was bi, and i was trying very hard not to notice that i was bi, and getting folded into knots by very kind, very muscular dorks made that task somewhat difficult.

adding fire to the problem was that my parents and my grandparents wanted to watch my matches, because they were very proud that their Gangly Nerd Son was actually Sporting, and they wanted to cheer me on. which would've been sweet and all, but if there are four people you do not want there during a key part of your Burgeoning Sexual Awakening, it is your mom and your dad and your grandma and your grandpa.

right? i mean, imagine some guy's got your head in his armpit, and you're going you know, old sweat smells bad, but fresh sweat has a sort of and then you make eye contact with your grandpa in the stands and you remember you're swearing spandex so if you pop a boner people aren't just going to be able to see the outline, they're going to be able to count the veins, and the only way you will be able to restore your family's honor after that would be by moving to siberia and renouncing joy, forever. that, or lift your entire body up by your kneck then twist 180 degrees without paralyzing yourself.

it’s a lot of pressure, is what i’m saying.

still it did motivate me to win my matches really fast. because i was so tall and skinny, i was stupidly good at the double leg takedown, and then once someone was knocked down, i'd just do the half nelson and kind of flip em over for the pin. then the ref would count to three and i’d win. EZPZ.

i had one match where that went great. won in the first ten seconds, sat back down, and prepared myself for a good hour or two of doing fuck all. didn't even feel bad the parents/grandparents were gonna be bored. the matches went up from me in 5 pound increments (i was in the 115 lbs division) and it was going great until we got to the 145 lbs division. the other school's wrestler stepped onto the mat, and she turned out to be a girl so our guy flipped, because for straight guys, wrestling a girl is not a pleasant experience.

i'm not entirely unsympathetic. my experience wrestling dudes was definitely a little traumatic. but also, i dealt. guy could've dealt too. instead, he refused to wrestle, and the coach went - fine. not even worth fighting over.

so he went to the 140 pounder, and that guy said, nosir, my mom said mormons can't wrestle girls. next guy down, 135 pounder, now he knew he could pull the same card and thus did. 130 pounder, 125, both tapped out. he got to the 120 guy, and that guy was catholic, but he said he was considering being mormon, and thus would have to pass. as a precaution.

coach blew up a little at that. he said "is there anyone - anyone - on this entire goddamn team that is willing to wrestle a girl?" and then he pointed at me and said "YOU. MAT. GO."

and i'll be real, if i'd been paying more attention, i'd have pulled the mormon card too, but i'd just been putting all that audio into a buffer file because i was reading, so i was halfway across the mat before i even processed what had been said and by then it was too late to turn back.

still i had a plan. and my plan - my beautiful, perfect plan - was to do what i'd always done. tackle, flip, pin, win. sit down. read. bore my family to death. move on.

i got the first part right. she was bigger than me, but she wasn't taller. just an incredibly stout woman. god built me like a snake with glasses, just as he built her like a combat cube. the problem was the half nelson. soon as she was down, i tried hooking my arm under hers from behind and for both genders, the defense for this move is just clamping your arms really fucking tight against your sides. if you're a guy, that's whatever, but if you're a girl - especially if you're god's chosen combat cube - that pins your opponents hand right against your boob.

so, i got the hook in, she clamped, my whole arm pressed against something soft, my coach was yelling THE HALF NELSON. BABYLON! JUST FINISH IT! FINISH THE HALF NELSON! and i was just trying to press hard enough to finish, when then my brain went

...oh.

and i flipped out. of course i flipped out. i like girls, and touching a boob is an elemental experience, and i was not ready. i was not prepared. i had not committed the sacred rites. i recoiled like i'd just brushed my arm against the surface of the sun, stood up, and backed away. nobody in the room knew why i'd given up. all they saw was me, right about to win, suddenly flailing around and scrambling. so everyone started screaming at me to just get the half nelson again, and i couldn't really yell back there's a fuckin' boob in the way and it was very distressing, and the only way i could think of to make them stop was just doing it over again the right way.

so i did.

i hunkered down and prepared myself for Wrasslin' Attempt #2: The Sequel.

i knocked her down again, EZPZ. i went for the half nelson again, but she knew what i was about to do so she super clamped, and i knew she was gonna super clamp, so i wound my arm back like a pop-eye cartoon punch before swinging my arm through the gap between her bicep and her side, but the amount of time i spent winding back super signalled what i was about to to do, which gave her time to clamp even harder, which somehow redirected the entire force of the popeye punch to the bottom of her bra.

it spat out a single boob the same way an action hero might spit out one single tooth after getting a solid crack across the jaw. as if to say:

*ptooie.* "that all you got?"

i did not actually see this. my experience was that first there was an arm, then there was a bit of boob, but i was braced, i was ready, forward at all costs, tatakae motherfuckers, and then the boob went away, and i didn't know where it went but my team, and the audience, and everyone who was in front of me, they all gasped like i just kicked them in the stomach. except for my coach. he was behind me, and thus one of the four people in the room who did not see the boob. now my mom, my dad, my grandma, and my grandpa, they all got flashed but nooooooo, coach thunderbutt was behind me, and he didn't see shit so he was still yelling NOOOOOO BABYLON WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST FINISH THE NELSON! GO FOR THE KILL! BABYLON! BABYLON!

but i did not go for the kill. i stood up and she stuffed her boob back real fast, and we just kind of circled each other awkwardly until time ran out and i won on points. that's not technically allowed, but the ref had some mercy on me.

my coach did not.

i barely had time to sit down before he strode over to the bench to chew me out.

"babylon," he said, in that very calm way people get when they're too pissed to yell. "why didn't you pin?"

and i didn't know how to say well coach, i tried, but there was a boob, and it kept getting in the way, and my mom was watching, and so was my dad, and so was his dad, and his mom, and god (like bible god) and that's a can of worms because i'm pretty sure he was already mad at me, and i'm wearing spandex, and i think i might have to move to siberia, so instead i said

"i uh. i forgot how to do the half nelson."

which is actually impossible. forgetting how to do the half nelson is like forgetting how to swallow your spit.

and he looked at me, like i was the dumbest person in the entire world, and i looked through him like i'd just survived my 250th day in a trench at verdun, and he said: fine.

fine.

but we're all going to practice it for an hour tomorrow because you forgot.

and then he left.

and my buddies had the gall to be salty about it. i got so many comments saying "dude, why didn't you just tell him the truth?" and i said "you can if you care so damn much. you could've wrestled the girl too. maybe someone else should do the hard thing today."

but they didn't. so the next day, we did an hour of half nelson drills, and i spent a decent amount of time getting thrown around the mat, and it was pleasant in exactly the way that i hated and the year after that, to the surprise of everyone but myself, i quit wrestling and joined the trivia team.

and if you want more reasons to love my mom, my grandpa joked after the match that i might have to talk to my bishop about it, and my mom told him he would be allowed to make jokes after he stood in front of a crowd of 110 people in spandex underpants while wrestling a woman that was not his wife.

he paused for almost five seconds after that. then he said: aw. hell. sorry babylon.

and i'd have preferred my apology from god, but getting it from him was pretty good too.

[phagodyke]

.

[adelliet]

Wolverine x f!reader

HOLY SHOWER

Summary: After an exhausting day, you finally wanted to take a shower, but the water stopped running in your apartment, so you decided to go to your neighbor for help. But you got more than help.

Warnings: MDNI 18+, age gap, strong language, overstimulation, unprotected sex (piv), shower sex, more rounds

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

You came home from work, exhausted and tired. Today was probably the worst day at work, the boss yelled at you, you almost got fired and you destroyed your clothes by spilling your coffee all over it, great. The only thing you wanted right now was a warm shower that would help you release all this negative chakras and relax.

On the way to the shower, you were already planning in your head how you're going to spend the rest of the evening, making popcorn and watching your favorite series while the vanilla-flavored candles were lit around. You'll only be wearing an oversized t-shirt and rabbit slippers that your moronic neighbor Wade Wilson bought you, after he almost set your flat on fire as part of his fight with some villian.

Wade is not a normal neighbor who occasionally throws parties and fucks with whores. He does this too, but he's really special. If you had to describe him in three words it would be a jerk, a narcissist and a wretch, but sometimes he's also nice, you have to admit that.

After you finally get out of your coffee-stained clothes, you threw them in the washing machine and went directly to the bathroom, naked. Opening the shower door, you took a deep breath and closed your eyes. Now, only well-being and relaxation begin, you may even practice yoga and meditate if you'll be sufficiently relaxed and full of energy. Just the thought encouraged you further and when you closed the shower door behind you, nothing and no one could stop you.

You turned on the hot water switch and took the citrus scented shower gel in your hand, you were about to squirt some on your palm when you realized the water didn't start running.

,,That's…weird” you said to yourself and reached for the cold water switch. Nothing. Not a drop came out and you were slowly starting to get furious inside. You reached for both switches at once and turned them to full power, but still nothing. You really held on, every nerve in your body was ticking not to explode but it happened anyway.

"Fuck!" you scream across the whole apartment and drop your head in your hands. This was something you had been looking forward to all day, you dreamed about it at work and the idea of ​​warm water running down your naked body was discouraging you from having a mental breakdown in the bathroom. The shower was your reason to get through the day and they're going to take it away from you like that? Fuck no.

You weren't going to just give up, the feeling of lukewarm water cleansing your body and your darkest thoughts, right now you need it more than anything in the world.

A light bulb went on in your head and you were out of the bathroom in no time. You quickly threw on an oversized white shirt, didn't even care that you’re not wearing anything under it, and went forward. Your face was focused on only one goal, Wade.

He's a devious bastard who's tried it on you countless times, but right now you're at the stage where you're even able to sleep with him just so you can indulge in that holy shower.

You knocked on the door right next to your apartment and waited for an answer. You started to be a little suspicious, because the apartment was truly gravely silent, but the creaking of the door interrupted your assumptions about what it might be. You took a deep breath and were ready to blurt out everything that had happened and convince Wade to let you take a shower at his place, but your words got stuck in your throat when Wade wasn't standing in the doorway.

Instead, there was standing a tall, old muscular man with a brown beard and sideburns, his hair was in the shape of beast ears and he had a stern expression on his face that immediately caught your attention. Wearing a white tank top that beautifully highlighted his body underneath and most importantly, showed off his shoulders which were way more massive than your thighs. You swallowed loudly in fear and blinked a few times to bring yourself back.

"Um hi! Is Wade here?"you asked and no matter how hard you tried, your voice was quiet and shaky, the guy definitely had to sense that you were so fucking nervous.

"Who's asking?" a deep grainy voice answered you with a question and leaned against the doorframe, as he crossed his hands on his chest, making his biceps pop out. He was really manipulating you with them, you had an incredible urge to stare at them and your brain was already automatically creating a million scenarios of what you wanted him to do to you with those hands. Luckily you were still somewhat conscious and didn't let your dirty toughts take over you.

"I am his neighbor...right next door" you pointed your head to your apartment, trying to keep your smile on your face. That man slowly looks at the direction you pointed, then looked back at you. "Wade's not home right now” his stern voice made you flinch every time you heard it, because it sounded like you just killed his parents and now you're going to pay hell for it.

You raised your eyebrows and nodded a few times. "Oh...okay well, when he comes back tell him I was there" you smiled again, hoping your smile would soften him up a bit, but you're too naive for even thinking this would work.

He was just looking at you, no response, not even a tiny movement of his face, nothing. You probably understood that you should finally get the fuck out of his face, and that was what you had planned. You turned on your tiptoes and walked back to your apartment, but he stopped you in your way there.

"Hey!" You immediately turned to face him.

"What do you want from him?" his biceps still hypnotizing you.

"My water stopped flowing and I really really need to take a shower" you put on a cute-innocent expression and your tone sounded so convincing that even a kidnapper, who was going to cut your throat, would let you take a shower.

He looked like he thought whether or not to let you in, even though he already knew his verdict long ago. "Come in" he nodded and disappeared in the apartment, thinking you were following him and you really did.

You were so grateful and happy that you would blow this man right here right now, not just because he was ridiculously handsome, but also as a thank you gift.

You closed the door behind you and the man made himself comfortable on the couch, a loud groan came out of him as he dropped himself there, making you feel that weird burning feeling in your lower stomach.

Although you knew Wade’s apartment layout even with your eyes closed, you still found it a bit inhospitable that man didn't even tell you where the bathroom is, but you didn't worry about it for too long. After all, you're not here to teach that grandpa good manners, you're only here for the shower.

You were almost headed to the bathroom, but something stopped you in your tracks. Thirst. Your apartment has no water and god knows how long it won't work and since it's quite late at night, all the shops here will be probably already closed.

You had to take your chance, that's why you backed into the kitchen and looked at him subtly. "Um, could I have a glass of water?" you asked politely. You only got an annoyed look and a stiff nod as response. You rolled your eyes and went to the kitchen.

You swallowed the water as if you had just been in the desert for few days, even that bastard noticed it too, but he didn't say anything.

"And um...you're Wade's partner?" "Fuck no" you wanted to start a conversation, get to know the stranger a bit, but this was probably not a good start. He looked disgusted, just thinking about it. "I'm his roomate, Logan" you finally got to know something about him and it wasn't just one thing, but even two. Wow, you're moving somewhere.

"Ah, nice to meet you" you said with a smile and poured yourself another glass of water which you drink like an animal. Logan just stared at you, scanning you and sensing that you were only wearing a light white fabric and literally nothing underneath it. Quite risky, he thought.

"And you're name?" he finally continued the conversation and you couldn't help but smile even more. Maybe you softened the grump a bit after all.

,,Y/N...” you fizz looking at Logan who just nodded and looked away. You felt it was time to finally indulge in what you were here for. Without another word you therefore went to bathroom, ripped off your shirt in one graceful motion and stomped into the shower, but you couldn't ignore the smell that clearly screamed Wade was touching himself here. Whatever.

Trying to ignore the smell, you reached for the hot water switch. The water finally touched your naked skin and you threw your head back, nearly blinding yourself with the hot water. After a while it started burning, so you reached for the cold switch, but it got stuck.

You tried to turn it with all your strenght, but nothing. So you quickly turned off the hot water and decided to ask Logan for help. After all, he has much bigger muscles than you, he will definitely be able to turn it on.

You didn't even bother drying off, you just threw your white shirt back on and went straight to Logan. When you stood next to the couch and waited for him to look at you, he wasn't just looking at you, he was admiring you.

You didn't realize that you were all wet and the white shirt was wet too, stuck to your body and practically transparent, revealing everything. Logan surprisingly cleared his throat and stopped breathing for a moment but still with the stern expression.

"Would you please help me with the shower? The switch is stuck and I can't turn it on" you beg, having no idea that your shirt is pointless to even wear at this moment.

Logan didn't take in a word you just said, he looked away from your body to your face and just stared. So you repeated your request to him and he instantly nodded in agreement. You were a little surprised that he was suddenly so active, but you didn't complain.

Logan quickly got up and went to the bathroom without giving any sign of being annoyed by your request. You walked right behind him, his whiskey scent tickled your olfactory cells.

When you entered the bathroom, you ran ahead of Logan to show him exactly where the problem was. "Here...s-see?" you struggle as you tried to turn on the cold water, but again, no avail. Logan just quietly took over the switch and effortlessly turned on the cold water, like it was nothing.

You laugh from the excitement of finally being able to enjoy a shower. But the thing was that the cold water was not only flowing on you, but also on Logan. His previously dry white tank top that covered his divine body was no longer dry and is definitely no longer covering anything. You looked at each other, your smile fade away in a second.

Your gaze locked on his body. His hairy body, developed and veined, his abs looked so eatable, so does his arms and boobs. His hair was damp, he looked irresistible and you fought your demons not to jump on him like an animal.

You, on the other hand, were practically naked in front of Logan and he hadn't seen such a beautiful woman with a beautiful body in a long time. The way the water drops ran down your neck, under your wet t-shirt, around your chest to your stomach, this was the end for Logan.

Without any warning, he pounced on you like a beast, cupping your cheeks with his big hands, almost surrounding your entire face. You automatically joined in and cooperated, wrapping your arms around his veiny neck and just gently digging into him with your fingernails.

Deep passionate kisses were making you vibrate more and more from excitement. Your tongues fight with each other for dominance, sure thing that Logan won. You were so hungry each time your lips touched, so desperate for him, for his body and what it can do to you.

Logan couldn't wait any longer, he grabbed your shirt and took it off pretty briskly, even though it was practically useless. But he didn't leave you alone and took off his tank top too. You broke the kiss just to see the treasure he offers. Naturally, you reached for him and gently ran your fingers around his abs, which caught your breath.

,,You like it?” he asked hurriedly and smiled as he saw your shocked face. For someone who is really truly old, he's not bad at all. You looked up at him and smiled, giving him a chance to start kissing you again, more likely, guzzle your face. He was rough and wild but at the same time tender and loving. This combination makes a total waterfall between your legs.

He was holding you by your weist, really digging his strong fingers into your flesh, making you moan into the hungry kisses. That itself make his erection begging to finally free him from those thigh boxers, what really keeps him trapped.

He didn't wait for another sound of yours and quickly started unbuckling his pants, his clumsy hands tried to take them off as quickly as possible and you tried to help him. Your hands touched, but there was no time for romance, his growls and your sighs said it all.

When you finally managed to unzip Logan's pants as part of your cooperation, they were on the floor next to the shower in no time, along with his black boxers. His dick sprang free, making a slappy sound as it hits his belly. You needed a moment to adore his little friend, and your eyes widened from his length. How can he even walk around with this thing?

He chuckled as he watched your surprised face once more, and got your attention by grabbing your chin and lifting your head up. "My face's right here, sweatheart" you melt at his words, his tone not as stern as it used to be just moments ago and his eyes...fuck his eyes were full of lust and desire just for you.

The rules have changed a bit, the shower is no longer what you longed for and can't live for, now it's Logan. You need him badly, like breathing or eating, you need him so badly that your knees almost start to buckle in desperation and Logan knew it and sensed it.

After all, he needed you just as much as you needed him. So he decided not to delay any longer and pinned you to the wall, the shower still continued with a flow of cold water that smoothed you at least a little, but still, you were burning with arousal and passion.

He glued his lips to yours again, his body was just as glued and his cock was poking you in your inner tight, unintentionally provoked your wet folds by moving his hips to feel at least a little friction. Of course, this movement made your neck make noises you didn't even know existed.

"I won't last long with you bub" Logan mumbled between kisses but he continued with both his movements and his uncontrollable kissing and biting of your numb lips. His wolfish voice excited you whenever you heard it and your legs were already shaking with anticipation.

Logan's tip started leaking with precum and this was a clear sign for him that he should finally fuck you like you deserved.

Before you could blink, he grabbed you by the neck, but not too hard to hurt you, but not too loose to not have control over you. He found the perfect center that suited both you and him and at that moment, he began to slide it into you.

Your jaw dropped and your eyes shut tightly as you felt his tip stretching your throbbing core. Logan growled, his face pinched but his eyes open to see your pleasing face. Oh he will remember this face for the rest of his life.

He was already fully in, fitting in perfectly as if you two were just meant for each other. Logan waited a while for you to get used to him and you had the opportunity to open your eyes for a moment and admire his wet head. How the drops slowly ran down his face, down his whole body, it was so fucking hot.

After a while, when you started getting impatient and get used to his length, you started moving your hips, just a tiny moves, but Logan knew damn well you were ready for more. That's why he helped you a little by pulling out and pushing back his member into you, making you whine his name out loud.

It was peaceful steady movements, he played with you like a toy and you marveled at it. Your eyes were opened and you were holding eye contact with Logan the whole time. Every time he pushes into you, he squishes his nose and hisses and he does that again anytime he pulls out of you.

It was pain but also a thrill for him going so incredibly slow, but both of you enjoyed it like nothing else. The thing was that you were insatiable barbarians who kept wanting more and more. Logan decided to indulge both of you.

He let go of your neck, leaving big red marks and fingerprints there and moved his strong hands to your hips. He needed to keep you in a place, because what was going to happen wasn't for some weaklings.

You looked at him with hope and curiosity of what was going to happen, and you found out really soon. Without any warning or hesitation, Logan started thrusting into you with no mercy. Now this was exactly what you needed.

His animal awoke in him, his teeth clenched as his balls was slapping against your ass. It all makes easier the running water, which served as a natural lubricant, keeping you both still wet, even though you didn't really need it.

He kept muttering something under his breath as he aggressively rammed his cock headlong into you. You just let yourself be led, he had full control over you and you fucking loved it. Your hands were tightly glued to his back, your nails digging deep into his flesh but it was just a tiny, hardly felt pinch for him.

Soon you started to feel that strange feeling in your lower abdomen, that need to go to the bathroom, that burning flame, that twirling writhing feeling, all together clearly proved that you were on the edge and you won't hold it in for long.

Logan was stretching you really hard, but you were still full of his dick inside you. From time to time, his base was touching your sensitive clit, making it even harder to keep you quiet. The moment you knew you loose it completely, was when he grabbed you by your ass and lifted you up so that your legs were wrapped around his waist and you weren't touching the ground. In this position, he easily found your g-spot and he was hitting it with rage and passion, sending you straight to your orgasm.

But Logan wasn't much better off. You were so incredibly tight around him, your pussy was literally just perfect. His veins were pulsating and his dick was twitching inside you, his heartbeat accelerated and he already lost control over his movements. He was so consumed by his climax that he had no idea what his hips were doing and how hard or fast he was thrusting into you.

He snarled like a beast, watching the part where your bodies connected, being so desperate to cum inside you, filling you up so that his sperm would drop out of you. You were already losing your senses, your eyes rolled back and you make a really long and deep bloody lines on Logan's back by your sharp nails, as you were really close.

,,Logan I-" you wanted to warn him, to inform him but it was useless, because before you could finish your sentence, you clench tightly around his member, your lower body started vibrating and the pleasant feeling of relief finally flooded you all over.

Your juice started dropping on the floor and you tried to catch your breath and gain your senses back, but Logan was still going in his full speed and strength. He was really frantic trying to catch up his orgasm, which he succeeded in after a few strong and wild thrusts.

The last one was the strongest and loudest one, he screamed really loudly, not caring if Wade was already home or not, the most juiciest and the most deepest.

The only sounds in the bathroom now were your heavy breathing and the steady flow of water that didn't stop. You felt dizzy, overstimulated, but the feeling of pleasure and relief was irreplaceable. Logan felt the same as you, although he didn't see twice unlike you, but this was an unforgettable experience for him. But he didn't want to stop yet.

"You ready for round two?" he asked, keep trying to catch his breath. This question woke you up like a slap in the morning and you looked at him with wide eyes. He was serious, he meant it and you were speechless. Although you were tired, you knew that the moment Logan will let you on your feet you wouldn't keep your balance, but of course you wanted a second round.

Logan waited impatiently for your answer and when you nodded your head, it warmed your heart to see a sparkle in his eyes. Immediately, his lips were on yours again, his dick that never leave your insideness started moving again, heating you up and creating another arousal.

The overstimulation was insane, you knew you would cum soon again and it made you feel a little embarassing, but Logan was on the same boat as you. His balls were so full that he could explode at any time, he needed to empty himself inside you.

He was starting to pick up his pace and speed again and before long you were in the same situation as few minutes ago, his hips thrusting into you with no limit, you mercilessly destroying Logan's back and praying your pelvis won't crack.

If he could, he would have turned you around and fucked you from behind like a brute, but he could feel your legs being weak and practically non-functional, so he held you tightly around his waist and continued in a position that soon brought you both to your second orgasm.

You both whimpered and wailed as you struggled to fill your lungs with oxygen. Logan was still full of energy but you're only human and when a beast like Wolverine jumps at you, there's no way you'll end up in better condition than him.

After you finally breathe normally and calmly, Logan started laughing out the two powerful orgasms and dropped his forehead to yours. You joined him and you both laughed like idiots while you were still inside each other and the freezing water was pouring over you.

Wade is going to be really surprised when his water bill comes.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

[somnoir]

Bats and Phantoms - Part 5

Part 4 | Masterpost

Jason and Phantom

Danny has noticed a pattern ever since he punched the Joker to death.

He's lost multiple things over the course of the past few weeks. Once, his laptop was smashed to bits during an attack by Bane (he really should have Tucker reinforce all his electronics). The next day, there was a new Wayne tech laptop on his counter.

When he visited his favorite cafe, his usual orders were paid for the next month. The barista refused to tell him who bought his month's supply of Living Dead. She was smiling a little too much in his opinion (he'd have to ask Tucker for a background check on Chelsea now. He liked her, but damn him if she was working with the crime lord.)

Danny knows very well that Gothamites either mug people or get mugged. And yet for the entire time, he hasn't gone through that BS... At all. It's almost nice.

He's done his best not to get caught up with the Bats, except for the fucking Red Hood. He tries to stay low, knowing that the Bats—especially Batman—was very strict on his no-kill-rule. Red Hood in the other hand... Unfortunately, he can't escape the bastard if all he wants to do is follow Danny around and gift him the most random shit. But if he's gonna deal with the Red Hood, then he's going to use it for good.

In other words, he was going to let the man feed him with godly food that he'd never been able to have. Danny's a decent cook but the Red Hood was almost godly when it came to cooking.

"You're never gonna leave me alone?" Danny doesn't even turn away from his laptop once he hears Red Hood slip into his apartment, shamelessly crawling through his window. He's so fucking sure there's a bunch of containers in his arms or maybe a reusable bag, but there's a bunch of containers. Filled with food.

"Someone's gotta keep you fed." Red Hood softly hums, passing Danny from where he was sitting on his floor while his dry eyes were watching instruction videos. By this point, Hood might be playing Tetris in his fridge with the containers. (Danny hopes there's chicken in there)

He doesn't move, doesn't want to.

Red Hood pokes his cheek.

Danny grunts in reply.

His cheek is poked again.

He might just bite the guy's hand off.

"Go away."

"Eat and then sleep."

"Perish."

"C'mon now, darling. You gotta take a break or whatever the hell you're studying for will go away."

"I will stab you."

But apparently, Red Hood isn't intimidated by his threats, already picking out one of the containers, heating it up, and then proceeding to make Danny suffer from the scent of something chicken. He's so hungry, he's sleepy, but he has exams! He has deadlines! A part of him wanted this handsome and sexy crime lord to pamper him but he'd drown in that contaminated ecto (Lazarus) than admit it.

And then his laptop is confiscated by a crime lord. Danny suddenly finds himself sitting on the Red Hood's lap and being forced to eat. At least the man isn't feeding Danny himself.

He was just enjoying the chicken casserole, sleepily trying not to stab a fork into his mouth while Red Hood has his hands on Danny's waist, caressing and cooing at him to keep eating.

The next day, he wakes up in his bed, tucked in, and the scent of freshly made coffee from his kitchen.

(God, his siblings are going to make fun of him for this)

Jason likes Danny. He'd actually tell himself that he legitimately adores the tired and unhinged college student. He wants that crazy little shit like he's gonna blow up the world if he doesn't. Because he wasn't just Joker's killer. Danny Fenton unknowingly became Jason Todd's avenger, the one person to actually avenge the second Robin. And he's just...

The infatuation would have been almost selfish, if not for the fact that Jason grew to actually fall for Danny after making sure the young man was okay. He's done his best to keep Danny away from the Bats. He didn't need Batman fucking this up for him.

Danny was so... strange. In a good and endearing way. He was dedicated to his studies, and tried to live his life but helped when he could. He's seen Danny stop by crime alley a couple of times just to help feed the kids, just to hand over blankets and what seemed to be his old clothes that nobody would be wearing. He was kind, and brutal if he wanted to be. Aside from the Joker, Jason had witnessed Danny almost drown a man for trying to kidnap a meta child in the same alley. The bastard was left for dead but survived when someone dragged him out.

Oh, Jason was in love. Horrifically so.

Honestly, he was kinda screwed at this point.

He's pretty happy that he doesn't share a class with Danny. If he did, he might not be able to focus on the lecture knowing that the very thing that calms the pits inside him was so close. The possibility of getting lulled into sleep was pretty high. But their schedules didn't even align and he barely saw Danny on campus. But he'd be lying if he wasn't trying to catch a small glimpse of him.

It's one of those days that he doesn't try looking for Danny when he's got some papers for Lit. But this was different.

Riddler is a maniac, even when he tries to be harmless. Anyone who failed to solve his riddles sometimes got blown up. Gotham U ends up becoming one of his targets. Jason just so happens to be there, waiting, watching, unable to operate out of his suit. The Waynes were not the Bats. They tried not to be to keep their identities face.

He needed to keep everyone away. He needed to keep them safe, even as Jason Todd. Fuck.

Riddles. Riddler liked his riddles, plagued the city with them. Barbara's voice is in his ears immediately, reciting Riddlers gods damned questions.

"I hold dreams cast by the desperate and bold,

My heart is silver, my whispers cold.

I’ve seen generations, yet I do not age,

A quiet witness to joy, love, and rage.

Though rooted in stone, I endlessly flow,

Reflecting the sky and the world below.

Look beneath where wishes sleep,

There lies a secret, dark and deep.

What am I?" Babs' voice is shaky, just a bit before she's hardened steel in seconds.

Jason cursed under his breath, trying to figure out the riddle. They weren't stupid. They've done this before and Nygma's Riddles were hard just for them, especially Tim and Bruce. But even so, Jason was raised by Batman. He could do this.

The words were complex, the poetic nature was irksome. But Jason took just a couple more minutes before he's identifying the answer.

"A fucking fountain. Gotham U has three of those." Jason responds immediately, sucking in a deep breath as he quickly evacuates his classmates and urges them out the building. "East, north, and south."

"Red Robin and Orphan en route to the south fountain. Robin and Nightwing to the east." Oracle quickly says, "Batman to north. Signal and Spoiler are evacuating everyone from the building. Hood, get out of there—now!"

No can do, Babs, he thinks to himself and goes running to the northern part of the campus. Batman can't do shit alone, even if he insists on it. They've learned not to let him.

He arrives before Batman, already rummaging through the fountain for the fucking bomb. If it was beneath the fountain then he'd have to destroy it, but if it was already attached to the water? Shit.

One second later, he's trying to find anything to destroy the cement, and then another passed. Jason is staring at a strange young man, white hair, green eyes—it reminds him of the descriptions of Wraith and Specter that Damian and Dick repeated. He blinks, meeting eyes with the maybe Ghost Hero. He flinched, looking into glowing Lazarus—a purer hue—eyes. "The bombs under the fountain?"

"Uh... Yes!"

The ghost nodded, phasing his hands through the fountain and a second later, he's dragging out a bomb. Fuck, it only had ten seconds to spare. Both of them stared at it, wide eyed as they panic on what to do. But the stranger doesn't seem to pay too much attention and proceeds to swallow the bomb.

"WHAT THE FUCK—"

An explosion—muffled and small—boomed through the courtyard and Jason stared at the smoke and flames covering the ghosts head. A coughing fit is heard through the smoke and the stranger is waving it away, whining about the horrible taste of burnt food.

Lazarus eyes look back at him, blinking before offering Jason a radiant smile. "Sorry about that! I'm Phantom, by the way. Was just passing by when I heard about the bomb." He offers Jason a hand, still smiling.

"Oh, uhm... Any relations to Specter?" Jason immediately asks, trying not to die from his own stupidity. Way to go Jay, immediately interrogating another guy that makes the pits all mushy and warm.

Fuck, fuck fuck. Was he going to fall for everyone that calms the pits? Fuck, he didn't want to cheat on Danny (Jayyoudelusionalidiotyou'renotevendating.)

Phantom tilts his head, before he's laughing loudly. "You've met my little sister?"

"No, but she saved my brother from a kidnapping."

"Is that so?" Phantom smiled, clearly amused. "Well then, I must bid you adieu. I can see that your city's knight has this all handled."

Just then, Batman drops just behind Jason. DAMNIT, B! GO AWAY!

Phantom just glances at Batman, amused before he takes Jason's hand and pressed a light kiss to it. Cold lips pressed against his hand and he's immediately blue screening. Fucking shit, this was the exact same scene he's read in those books about the heroine getting saved by the mysterious man who'd later on be her sexy enemy/lover. FUCK!

Phantom goes back to speak, but all Jason heard were a couple of trills and chirps, a language he couldn't understand but... It felt familiar.

"Ȋ̵̢̨͍̹̺̼̜͉̳͍̮̠̯͙̤͈̥͔̰̤̐͐͜ͅ ̴̡̤͔̪̠̗̤͉͙͓̥̺̗̎͒͒̔̎̑̀̑͜͝w̷̧̖͍̝̹̤̪̞̭͎̞͓̟̑̃̃̓̀̔̀̆̋͒͛̂ͅ��̗̱͕͜i̴̧̢̧̡̡̩̻̗̬̦͉͎̮̠̤̬̪͇̖̦̘͚̟̪̠̠̪̣̪̖͇̤̣̱̪̺̩̘̼͐̇̂̂͛̿̀͗̃͑̔͋̈́̐̽̿́͊̃̄̿̄̊́̔͘̕͜͠͠͝ͅļ̴̨̢̢̨̡̢̫̘͍͉̞̝̙̹̘̜͎̩̟̰̹̙̟͉̳̯̹̫̼͉̬̯̼̪̖̿̒ḷ̸̨̱̫̣̪͖̤̩̖̮̙̋͛͆̓͜ ̴̨̨͉̩͉̠̖̖̫̠̬̥̮̲̦͙̦̜̱̺̠̫̤̫̐̑͂́̇̆̐̋͂̈́͘ş̷̛̘͎̬͙̖̜̞̗̣͍̲̒̎̈͋̄̄͛̑̈́́̌̐́͋̃͑͑̈͛͋́̂̂̂͂̈́̌̄͊͂́̓̆̎͑̕̚͝ȩ̶̛̝̮̳̭̘̪̰͚̗̖̪̤̟͊̃̐͛͆̄̀͊̄̓̒͝͠e̶̡̢̧̨̢̨̢̛̞̖̤̲̱̯̘͇̖̹͖̻̱̜̼̹̠͙̺̞̽͌̍͗̿̒̃̍̆̽̓͂͗̽̈́̀͝ͅ ̵̢͚͔̦̹͚̱̝̪̗̽̕͜ỷ̵̛̲̘̟̭̬̩͇͖̮̉͋̑̽͂͛̆͆͂̃͋̀̎̆̑͊̃͛̐́̄̊͗̄̾͋̈́̕͝ỏ̶̖̹̦̭̱͇͔̲̝̜̹̹̗̗̮̪̗̬̥̜͍͉̻̍̍̈́̓͊̍͑́̀̈̇̄̐͐̔͛͌̊̀́̈́̍͑͆͑͒̈́̅̌́̄̉́̇͐̒̈̍̀̎̽͝͠͠͝͝ư̴̢̡͕̯̱̫̗̠̪͓̻̜̪̣̞̟̩͎̗̜̹̯̮̱͎̳̖̹͙̖̬̖͕̙͔̲͊̾͂̓̓̀͆̂̏̀̅̀̉̉͊̈́̅̎̍̇͋̽̿̒̓͐̄͛͊̄̉̽̏͛̋̓͗̍̎̆̒̄̕͘̕͝͝͠ͅ ̷̦̰͈͒̀̆̓̈́͑̂́̇͌̑͒̿̐̈́̅͋̎̄̎͒́̒͒̈́͊͛̚̚͠͝͠͠n̷̢̢̦̟͎͚̹̜̜̞͇̝̲̦̻̩͖̦̮̅̌̔̌͛̅̐̈́̋͌̂͋̈̋̎̈́̈̾̊̊͌̽̿̂̐͆͂̌͐̅́̌̚̚ȩ̵̨̧͔͔̩̭̦͈̪̟͉̦͚̘͚̥̰̰͓͓̤͉̫̳̜̲̲̖̘̜̮̠͉̪̤̤̮̣̫̼͓̦̣̤͖̘̹̉͐͗͆͆̉̐̂̀̄͑͑̄̈̒̀̈̀̀̎͘͜ͅx̶̝̘̼̟̜͎̲̪͎̥̖̠̼̀́̎̔͂͂͐̀̓̓̾̏̅̀̌̐̌̀̑̆̃͝͠ţ̵̢̭̫̫͇̟̣͓̲̦̩͉̞̞̳̬̞̘̙͈͓͈̺̱̮̮̘̠̤͔͍̼̼̳̳̳̦̼̣̼̹͍́͐̍͒͆̎͒͊̊̎͛͑̅̿͂̀̍̎͐́̋͛͗͗́̄͒̾͒͆̏̀̀̽͑͌̓͗̚͝͠͠͠ͅͅͅ ̷̨̧̡̮̝̜̟̠̦̳̼̝̭͖̭͚͎̦͕̦̩̺͓̺͚͈̺̤͋͌̔̏̒̾̓̈̅̃̑̏̓̂̚̚͜͝t̸̛̳̯̻͙̼̳̤͎̦̙̟͌̊͋͐̐͊́̑̈̽̎̎̾͂̓̉͆͗̐̇̏͋̕̚͝͝į̵̡̖̠̝̬̠̲̞̩̼͖̦̺͎͖̺͉̘̦̜̜̬͇̠̗̠̬̥͕̭̙̜̳͕̯͈͔̫̤̝̲̫̥͑̃͋̇̊̈́̍̈̉̑͛̈́͌̓̈̈̀̚͜͝͝͠͠ͅm̸̡͓̦͗͗̉͗̒̈́̂̆̿͒́͆ȩ̷̡͍̙͇̫͖̣͙̝̣̣̻͕͈͍͎̣̹̟͓̲̔̀̎̓͘͘͘͠,̶̢̨̨̧̧̢̖͖̠̲̞̮̘̮͉̩͔̭͕̻̝̤͚̻̭̘͈̮̥͉͎͙̜̭̿̿̆̑͗̌̈̈́͛͋̂̑̆̄̈́͋̈͐̑̍̆͂͆̂̌̍̅͊̍̌̓͘̕͝͝ͅͅ ̷̦̦͚̞̖̖̗̎̋̐́̍̆̾̑̾́͌̔́̀̿̀̓̂͒͐̑̋͊̒̈̕Ȑ̴̢̢͉̟̠͍̲̠e̷̢̡̢̡̡̨̨̢̨̛̝̰̪̠̥̠͓͍͔̗̩̯̺͕̬̮̳͎̩͈̼͕͙̯̟̦̺̣̠̺͔̓̉̈́̈̀͋̂̂̈́̆͑̏̅͌̌̂̓́̐͒̈͒̅͊̀̑̂̿̐̂̒̆̓̂̐͗̚͜͝d̶̢̧̛͇̙̰̺͉͔̼̘̩̟͎̖̪̻͖̥̳̠̣̖͎͈͓̳̯̤̲͔̻̱̝̿̈́̆͛́͛̆̄͛͒̿̈̊̉̈́̆̃̒͋́̽̒͐̀̃̑̂̔̋̈́̍̀̀̐̅̄̇͝͠ ̴̡̡̧̡̟̥̟̝̮̟̘̯̺̳̗͚̮̭͍̘̰̭̹͈͈̱̦͎̝͍̺͎͕̼̝̼̝̦͋̾̏́̐̍͌̍̋͒̕͜͠ͅḨ̵̡̧̧̤͓̖̺̭͕͉̖̝̲̖̙̣̳͚͙͚͇̙̼̻͖̺̼͉͖̞̤̞̝̭̂͐̒̑̓͂̈́́̉̽̇̀́̌͂͑͜ͅͅǫ̶̨̢̧̳̠̱̻͉̦̳͚̜͓̭̯̳̘͕͎͍͖̟͖̹̞̤̘̣̖̰͓̙̩͍̻͖̘͚̠͕̗͍̮͙̼͍̪̰̾̂͌̓͗̃̀͗̈́̚ͅõ̸̧̨̡̢̧̡͎̺̭̬̼̱̟̝͔̲̣͖͍̭̜̣͔̠̗͍̯̣̬̮͚̔ͅd̸̡̹̠̹͍̝̜̍̈́̄̇͋̈́́̈́̈̎̎̀̉̍̎̔̋̒͒̔̒̇͐̀̀́͌̊̉̓͌̕.̴̛̛̛̫̹͍̯̟͓̒̀̈́̑̈̏̓͊̽̈́͊͗͒͌͌̏̌̔͌̏́̄͊͒̽̏̏̏͆̅̐͋̐̿̿́̐̈͐͗̊̏̔̚͜͜͝͝"

(Later on, Danny gets one hell of a tongue lashing from his siblings for eating a fucking bomb. At least Red Hood comes to visit with some dessert to make the flavor of bomb go away.)

[motorsportbarbie13]

The Yapping Hour Is Upon Us - Part 3

In which you and Max spend the next six months just being obsessed with each other.

Warnings: A little angst, but not 'break up with you' angst, just 'i really fucking miss you' angst so it's okay. And fluff. Tooth achingly sweet fluff. Pairing: Max Verstappen x Podcaster!Reader Word Count: 4.4k plus a shit ton of social media posts. - The Yapping Hour is Upon Us - The Yapping Hour is Upon Us - Part 2 - Master List

(a/n before we begin: Probably one more part to this. Thinking of doing an 'after Max gets you back to the hotel post-race' part to wrap things up nicely if anyone wants to see that.)

Monaco May 2024

F1GossipOfficial posted

34,028 likes F1GossipOfficial Seems as if our favorite Red Bull driver and sunny little podcaster are getting closer! The pair was spotted around Monaco this week ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. The pair have been seen publicly a handful of times since Max made an appearance on her podcast The Yapping Hour in late April, most notably at the Miami Grand Prix at the beginning of the month and then the week later in New York City where she is based. Everyone who sent in photos said the pair were super cozy and seemed lost in their own world. user0299 she's only with him for the clout and money. Her little podcast was dying out and she latched onto Max like a leech. >>>user5572 go touch some grass my man. Her podcast is consistently the number 1 listened to show on all platforms all the fucking time. user9938 they are so cute, i can't handle it user4530 I saw them at dinner the other night and oh my GOD. They sat on the same side of the table even though it was just the two of them. He held her hand underneath the table all through dinner and I don't think either of them stopped smiling or looked anywhere else but at each other the entire night. >>>user39948 they are so fucking perfect oml

Canada June 2024 yourpersonalinsta posted

493,928 likes liked by maxverstappen1, landonorris, totowolff, and others yourpersonalinsta Over the moon to have been able to be with you for this win in Canada, Maxie. user299 MAXIE?! I have no one to talk to about this redbullracing our good luck charm strikes again! >>>user456 Red Bull calling her theirs??? Love this for her. maxverstsppen1 thank you for always being in my corner liefje ❤️ >>>user394 how am i supposed to be normal after reading this??? user8827 Not Toto in the likes trying to get on her good side so Max signs with Merc in 2026 >>>user778 HAHA can you imagine??

Amalfi Coast August 2024

maxverstappen1 posted

987,409 likes liked by yourpersonalinsta, redbullracing, yourdad and others maxverstappen1 summer break with this gorgeous girl user458 they are my royal couple yourpersonalinsta wishing we were back on that boat rn instead of on different continents :( >>>maxverstappen1 just a few more weeks until Singapore, schatje. >>>user4938 this is my roman empire >>>user024 mom and dad are sad so i am sad too

October 2024 Austin, Texas

You hadn't seen Max in over three weeks. Three very, very, very long weeks. And not to be dramatic or anything but you felt like you might actually pass away if the Uber that was currently picking it's way through very heavy Austin traffic drove any slower.

While the sleek Mercedes SUV waited at a red light, your gaze drifted away from the navigation system showing the the heavy traffic all around you towards the busy city streets around you. Whoever had decided to schedule an Eminem concert, a huge college rivalry football game, and a Formula 1 race all in the same city on the same weekend should have their head examined.

Fixated on the crowd on the sidewalk outside, you mull over the last six months of your life. It has certainly been a whirlwind, that was for sure. If someone had told you back in the beginning of May that you'd be on your way to your sixth Grand Prix of the year to watch your boyfriend race in Formula 1, you would have laughed in their faces. Because really, when you sat back and considered it, the fact that you had gone from being a fan of the sport and interviewing Max on a professional level to dating him in under six months was absolutely wild.

While you attended races whenever you could, you found yourself more often than not called to the other side of the world to attend to your flourishing career. In the last six months you had ping ponged around the globe, bouncing between weekends with Max and over scheduled weeks filled with work, interviews, and meetings. Some days you just wished that things were simpler and you could just dedicate yourself to following Max around from city to city but you knew that Susan B Anthony would roll over in her grave if you gave up everything for a man so quickly, even a man as amazing as Max Verstappen.

You brush aside the thought of leaving your work because in the end, all that is is a simple fantasy brought on by you missing the man that has become the center of your universe lately.

After attending the Singapore GP with Max, you had spent a few extra days with him in Asia before needing to fly home. While Max did have nearly an entire month break from racing, he couldn't follow you to New York like he had intended. After coming back from the summer break, Max's luck had started to slip and the car had deteriorated. He hadn't won a race in months, the car was an absolute tractor, and Lando was gaining on him in the Championship. He had needed to spend every extra moment he had in the sims and with the engineering team trying to salvage the season.

While Max had been in Europe, you had been in the US recording episodes with Heidi Klum, Wayne Gretzky, and finally Kylie Kelce. Heidi had been in LA, Wayne in Florida, and Kylie in Philly so you had spent most of the last three weeks on the road. As the SUV inched closer to the COTA track, you realized you couldn't remember the last time you'd set foot in your apartment.

Exhaustion seeps into your bones as the realization washes over you. You loved the life you lived, wouldn't trade it for the world but sometimes, in these quiet moments you wished for a break, a chance to go home, wherever that even was now, and just rest.

Your phone buzzing beside you pulls you back to the present. Ysou struggle to shake off the mind numbing melancholy that's settled over you like a thick woolen blanket before answering the call. "Hi baby." You sigh, knowing who it is without even looking at the caller ID.

"What's wrong?" Max's voice is sharp on the other end, effortlessly reading your tone.

You shake your head, chest tightening with anxiety. "Just..." You search for the right words. "tired is all. I just realized I can't even remember the last time I spent a night in my own bed."

"Oh, schatje." Max sighs, knowing how grueling this schedule is as he lives it as well. "Do you want me to have the jet take you home? It's at the airfield still."

Tears collect in your eyes as your chest squeezes painfully. "No, I just want to see you." You whisper, afraid if you raise your voice you'll start to cry.

"How far are you from the track?"

You pop your head around the SUV's headrest to check the nav system. "Not long. Five minutes. I can see the giant observation tower from here."

"Have the Uber bring you right to the paddock gates. I have a car here and a few hours before any media duties. I'll take you back to the hotel myself and we can take a nap together, okay?"

Your entire body sags with relief at his words. If there was one thing that Max was good at, it was taking care of you. He didn't hem and haw or waver on a plan of action. He saw what you needed and made sure that you were taken care of. The way the burden of everything that you had silently carried for years shifted towards Max the moment you landed in Miami all those months ago was something that would shock you for years to come.

"Okay." You whisper, swiping at a single tear that managed to escape.

You have a few moments to collect yourself before the Uber stops at the entrance to the paddock. From your seat in the back, you spot a familiar blonde head that belonged to your Dutch boyfriend waiting for you. You're suddenly simultaneously bursting with excitement and beside yourself with grief as the anxiety that has gnawed at you over the last 24 hours fully consumes you at the mere sight of Max.

Max has you out of the car and into his arms before you can barely catch your breath. The moment you inhale that uniquely Max scent something inside you shifts and becomes crystal clear. You didn't need Max to have his jet take you home because you already were home. It sounded cliche in your head and it probably was, but you knew there was some truth to it: somewhere over the last six months your home had shifted away from your apartment in New York to wherever Max was.

Max tightens his grip around your waist, settling his chin on your head while you stay buried deep in his neck, you realize that home isn't a place any longer. Home is a person now and Max is that person. You don't have to go home to New York to rest, you just have to be in Max's presence. With him, you are utterly and completely safe and secure. For someone who spends 99% of her time 'on' and performing, being able to come home to Max and just switch it all off, allowing him to lead and take over, is the most powerful form of rest you could have ever dreamt of.

Max nods at the driver as he unloads your luggage, arms still locked tight around you. He can feel you melt into him, like you've been waiting for this moment since the last time you saw him. He knows that for him at least, this is true. Everything else in his life is completley falling apart. The car sucks, they had to ditch the special livery for this weekend becuase the fucking paint had the potential to make the car too heavy and slow. Lando has been on a tear lately, that McLaren a complete rocket ship and the only reason Lando hasn't overtaken him in the championship is thanks to some spectacularly shitty calls from the McLaren pit wall.

The only bright spot in Max's day is you. Your voice, your touch, your face. Any bit of you he gets on a daily basis is what keeps him going right now. As he had stood on the curb just moments before, desperately and not so patiently waiting while watching the black Mercedes SUV creep down the street towards him, it had felt like cruel and unusual punishment after being apart from you for so long.

And now? Now you were back in his arms and he drew in the longest breath he could, taking in the scent of your perfume and laundry soap that he had missed so keenly while he'd been working, and he simply couldn't get enough.

Max pulls away slightly, so he can see your pretty face but what he sees in your eyes nearly breaks him. Pain and longing hang heavy in your eyes and there is nothing Max wouldn't do to make all of that go away for you. Fingers tip your chin up towards him so he can finally get his lips on yours, a soft sigh escaping your mouth when he makes that first contact.

You swear it's like a cool drink of water in the middle of a humid heatwave in July, the way Max kisses you with such relief and passion and affection. Like he's trying to tell you through his kiss how much he adores you, how much he's missed you, how much he craves you.

"I love you." Are the first words he says to you and your breath catches in your throat. It isn't the first time he's said those words, Max had said them first all those months back when he brought you home to Monaco. It had been quick, probably too quick by the world's standards, but it just clicked between the two of you and the words had tumbled out of Max like it was the most natural thing in the world. The reason the words had your breath catching in your chest was because of the ferocity behind them, like he could tell how bone tired you were from all the travel over the last few months and he was desperate to remind you why you were doing all of this. Why the two of you were doing all of this together and apart. It was for moments like this, moments where you were attached to each other in the middle of the busy paddock parking lot like no one else existed.

"I love you too, Max." You whisper, dusting your lips over the stubble that was scattered over his jaw. "Can we go take a nap now? I'm so tired."

yourpersonalinsta posted

348,209 likes liked by kyliekelce, maxverstappen1, assistantshannon, and others yourpersonalinsta home is wherever you are (tagged: maxverstappen1) user098 mad max is no more, there is only soft cuddly boyfie max user0399 this is the cutest thing i've ever seen user000 god i am so single maxverstappen1 love you baby >>>danielricciardo SIMP >>>maxverstappen1 absolutely >>>user9938 it kills me that he is loves her so boldly and loudly. girl hit the mfing jackpot. (liked by author)

It's not your alarm that fully wakes you up on Friday morning. It isn't Max's either. But as you try to untangle your limbs from Max's and search for the source of the ringing, you can't help but curse whoever is interrupting the slow sleepy cuddles that had been progressing into something more heated for the past 20 minutes.

You nearly spit you're so mad when you see the caller ID.

"John." You growl, sitting up in bed as Max settles himself back against the mountain of pillows beside you. "It is 8 in the morning on a Friday the day after I saw my boyfriend for the first time in over three weeks. I swear on all things good and holy, this had better be good."

John, to his credit, didn't even scoff at the threat. He'd been your business manager for going on four years now and was used to your early morning attitudes.

"She said yes."

You sit up, back going ramrod straight as the three words clang through you. "What?" You hiss.

Beside you, Max struggles to sit up too, alarm coursing through him at the panic in your voice.

"Tree just called me five minutes ago. Said that Kylie had sent her the episode and wouldn't stop gushing about how amazing you were and how you were the perfect person to do this interview on the end of the tour and everything. Tree said Taylor watched your episode with Michelle and Queen Maxima too, said they were the best interviews she's ever seen. Everything is a go."

Your entire world tilts as what John is telling you fully sinks in. "Taylor Swift's agreed to come on the show?" You voice is weak, heavy under the weight of the news John is telling you. Your hands tremble at the thought of what this means for you. For your career.

Beside you, Max sucks in a breath at your sentence, fully aware of how big of a moment this is for you. Pride soars through him as he watches literal sunshine dance across your face, your smile as bright as the Texas morning light. "Schatje." He whispers, pulling your free hand towards his lips. Your eyes dart over to him and you grin at him, kicking your feet a little, completely unable to hide your excitement.

"She also said yes to your suggestion of a behind the scenes vlog on your channel ahead of the release of the episode. Thought the idea was marketing gold. You've got full access to everything for the entire week."

Before you had landed Kylie Kelce on the show, you and John had made a silly, pie in the sky request to Tree Paine not even thinking that it would go anywhere. When Kylie had agreed to do an episode, a request that had actually been made to her people months before John had contacted Tree, the idea of maybe, just maybe you might be able to land Taylor after had grown a bit. You hadn't told anyone of the request, not even Max, because you didn't want to be embarrassed if it didn't work out.

"There's only one problem." Your heart stops and you grip at Max's hand for support. You knew there had to be a catch. "They want you in Toronto by Sunday."

"Wh-what?" Your stomach plummets through the floor. You had just gotten to Austin last night and now you were going to have to leave again? You were supposed to spend the entire triple header with Max. Three weeks of solid time with him had been the only thing getting you through the previous three week separation. You two had even planned to go visit your parents in Michigan between Austin and Mexico later next week.

"The first concert is Monday and Tree wants you to get as much content as you can and has asked you be there at 9am Monday morning."

You head spins. "Oh-okay." There's a giant Max shaped hole in your heart at what you have to agree to, simply exhausted by the fact that you're going to have to pick up and leave again so soon. "Okay. We'll figure it out."

"Do you want me to have Shannon make flight arrangements?"

You glance over at Max, who senses your apprehension. "Let me talk through it with Max and see what we can figure out. I'll call you in a few hours, okay?"

"Sounds good. Congratulations, kiddo. This is huge."

You smile despite yourself, excitement and anxiety winding their way through your chest making it a little hard to breathe. "Bye John."

You gently place your phone back on the bedside table before turning to Max, bracing yourself for the good and bad news you have to deliver.

"The beginning of that call looked phenomenal but now you look like you're going to be sick." Max observes, pulling you into his lap.

You shudder against when his lips graze your neck, dropping a kiss to his forehead. "Taylor Swift agreed to come on the show and to let me do a weeks worth of behind the scenes of her Toronto shows."

"Baby, that is amazing. This is going to be huge for you and the show!"

You nod, a bit dazed by all of this information you have to process. "But they want me there by Sunday night so I can start first thing Monday." Sadness edges into your voice, the dread of having to leave Max again begins to sink in fully.

"When should Greg have the jet ready to take off then? You'll probably want to leave before the end of the race to beat traffic, yeah? Although I suppose we could find you a helicopter to take you from the track to the airport."

You stare at Max like he's grown three heads. His voice is so nonchalant despite him suggesting he rent you a helicopter that all you can do is blink at him for a few moments. "Just...just like that? You're on board with it? You're not upset?"

Max scoffs, pulling you closer so he can rest his head on your shoulder. His arms go tighter around your waist as he gives you a kiss on the cheek. "Why would I be upset? I'll do anything I can to help you live out this dream, schatje. You know that. This is the biggest thing to happen to your career since you had F1 racing legend Max Verstappen as a guest."

The giggle that tumbles out of you has the tension in the room popping like a soap bubble. "You're ridiculous."

"And yet, you're still here." Max finds your lips then, the kiss full of reassurance and confidence. Of course he was disappointed you were going to be leaving in 2 days and he wasn't sure when you'd be back with him but this opportunity was too good to miss. "I'd never forgive myself if you missed spending a week doing what you love with one of your favorite artists because of me. Of course I'll miss you but you need to do this. So tell me, when should I have the jet ready to get you to Toronto?"

yourpersonalinsta story post

story replies: user8882 ARE YOU THERE FOR ERAS TOUR??? user029 what are you up to ma'am??? user837 wait. first kylie's on the show and now you're in Toronto the same week as Taylor. ARE WE GETTING A TAYLOR EPISODE OH MY GOD.

TheYappingHour posted

876,029 likes liked by maxverstappen1, taylorswift, alexandrasaintmleux, and others theyappinghour Toronto, you were stunning! Can anyone guess who our next guest on the show is going to be??? Behind the scenes vlog dropping next week ahead of a very very special two part episode set to drop later this month. user928 oh my god, everyone stay calm, it's happening. user020 IS THIS FOR REAL??? I will never recover maxverstappen1 so proud of you my love >>>yourpersonalinsta couldn't do it without you, maxie >>>user928 if there's one thing Max is going to be, it's the first one in the likes and comments on anything his girl does. (liked by yourpersonalinsta) >>>user0298 may this kind of love find me one day

Excerpt from Episode 59 of The Yapping Hour featuring Taylor Swift:

You: Speaking of what you do in your down time, can we talk about how supportive you are of your boyfriend and show up for him despite the Brad's and Chad's hating every second of it?

Taylor: It's so silly to me, how much everyone hates it. When I show up at the game, I'm just like every other significant other. I'm not there to take the spotlight away from anyone, I just want to watch my man play!

You: Oh my God, I totally get it. It's so strange to me the way some fans can't handle someone like you who has a whole other identity outside of who you're dating, showing up to support the person you love.

Taylor: It's like, relax! I'm just here to watch my boyfriend catch a ball!

You: Right? Just let me enjoy watching 20 cars drive around in circles in peace please!

Taylor: You two are so cute though. Trav was watching the race in Monaco a few months back, right after he invested in Alpine, and there was that one shot of you and Max after the end of the race in his garage and you were giving him a hug. I love how loudly you love him and how public he is about you. It's refreshing.

You: Oh gosh, thank you. Yes, he is so supportive of everything I do, just like Travis is. It's such a comfort, isn't it? *Taylor nods* He actually stayed in Austin an extra day so I could use his jet to come up here.

Taylor: Trav was supposed to go to that race but got caught up in training stuff. It looked like so much fun.

You: Have you ever been to a race? Either of you?

Taylor: I haven't but Travis went to the Las Vegas race last year. Said it was the one of the biggest parties he'd ever been to.

You: You'll have to come this year then! It's in a few weeks!

Taylor: I'll talk to Trav and see if we can make it happen.

TheYappingHour posted

1,039,928 likes liked by maxverstappen1, taylorswift, kikagomes, and others theyappinghour What an absolute whirlwind of a week and a half. Spending time with your favorite artist, seeing her in her element, and then spending a few hours talking about everything from what it's like to live such a public life to how important it is to have a supportive significant other. I simply can't wait to share the behind the scenes vlog dropping at the end of this week and then the episode later this month. Taylor, you are a dream of a human being and we are so happy to have had this opportunity. Can't wait to see you and Travis at a race! taylorswift You are such a sweetheart! So glad we got to spend time together this past week! Can't wait to hear the episode my love! kikagomes how does it feel to live my dreammmm bestie??? >>>yourpersonalinsta kiks omg i will never recover from this!! maxverstappen1 Proud of you, as always lifeje. >>>yourpersonalinsta can't wait to see you so so so soon baby

"And he doesn't expect a thing?" You glance up at the ticket counter where the airline employee has begun to call first class. You stand, phone still pressed to your ear, pulling your carry on behind you.

"Nope!" On the other end, Max's PR manager Sophie giggles conspiratorially. "He was just complaining to GP ten minutes ago how he couldn't believe they didn't have more flights from Sao Paulo to Paris. He said he was considering upgrading his jet to one with longer range so he could fly private next time."

You roll your eyes but chuckle. If you were a drama queen, your boyfriend could be the drama king to match sometimes. Although you didn't blame him to be quite honest. After leaving Austin mid way through the race, you had missed the Mexico race entirely. The plan had been for you to fly down to Brazil for the Sao Paulo race but editing and press had taken much longer than you had anticipated so now it was Saturday night and you were boarding a 9 hour flight from New York to the South American country.

Only, Max didn't know that. Max thought you were getting on a flight to Nice via Paris before driving to Monaco where he'd meet you sometime late Monday night or early Tuesday morning. Joke was on him though, you had finished everything up and had called Sophie for help to get you down to Brazil just in time for Sunday's race.

"He's such a baby." You murmur as the flight attendant leads you to your seat.

"He is beside himself missing you." Sophie says and you can hear the smile in her voice. "Just make sure I'm around when he sees you for the firs time, okay? He's going to lose it."

Laughing, you hoist your suitcase into the overhead bin before settling down in the luxurious lie flat seat that will be your bed for the next nine hours. If everything goes right, you'll land in Brazil just as the postponed qualifying is finishing up and will be able to watch the entire race in person.

"Thank you for helping coordinate this, Soph. I really appreciate it."

"Anything to get Max out of this slump he's in!" She replies brightly.

A few minutes later, you hang up the phone and type out a quick text letting Max know you're boarding the flight. Luckily, the flight from New York to Paris is roughly the same time as the flight to Sao Paulo so he doesn't bat an eye when you tell him you'll be unreachable, only telling you that the doorman to his building is expecting you and to make yourself at home in his apartment in Monaco when you get there before he does.

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

It is absolutely raining cats and dogs when the car Sophie hired pulls into the track after what feels like a lifetime of travel. Right after they served dinner on your flight, you took a sleeping pill and passed out for the duration of the flight, only waking up once the pilot turned on the overhead lights, signaling your arrival.

A quick text to Sophie alerts her to your arrival and she says she'll come and meet you outside the paddock with an extra umbrella. The driver that picked you up from the airport will take your luggage to the hotel where Max and the team are staying. When the car stops in front of the paddock gates, you spot Sophie immediately.

"Soph!!" You shout the moment you stumble out of the car, limbs a little stiff from the long car ride. Sao Paulo traffic is a beast in the best of weather but in a downpour like this? Nightmarish.

Sophie opens her arms to embrace you, "Oh I am so glad you're here. He is an absolute nightmare right now."

You grimace, knowing exactly why. He'd be starting P17 in a few hours. Between the team having got caught behind a red flag during Q2 and his 5 place grid penalty, it was a nightmare scenario for Max. All of this was compounded by Lando's win in the sprint yesterday and the fact that he was starting on pole today.

"Alright then, lets go. Maybe I can talk him down off a ledge before the race starts."

Sophie grins because she knows you'll be able to do just that. If there was anyone who could calm Mad Max down and bring him back to earth after the kind of morning the team had had today, it was you.

As you weave your way through the crowded paddock, the heavy rain simply not a deterrent to anyone at the track today, Max is in the garage considering the merits of scratching his eyeballs out so that he doesn't have to run this fucking race today. Everything is wrong. The car is terrible. Still. The FIA seemed to have a hard on for fucking up his weekend. Lando was on poll. And worst of all, he really fucking missed you. There was still several days between him and being reunited with you but if he could have just walked right out of the paddock and onto a plane to get to wherever you were in that moment, he would have. The only thing that seemed to settle him during these times lately was your steady presence in the garage. He didn't even need you to say anything, just knowing that you were around, within arms length if he needed you, did something to calm him like nothing else could.

He's talking to GP, actually, he's grumbling at GP when a familiar flash of hair and bright smile catches his eyes. Perfect, he thinks miserably, now I'm imagining her in the garage. I've gone full unhinged obsessed boyfriend, haven't I?

Imagine his shock when he actually hears your voice. "Max." You call out softly, hands clasped in front of you as you wait at the edge of the garage beside Sophie.

Max simply blinks a few times, as if he's trying to figure out if he's hallucinating or if you're really standing in front of him. His heart hammers in his chest when everything finally clicks into place. GP doesn't even bat an eye when Max walks away from him, mid sentence, before crossing the garage in a few short strides.

Max isn't usually one for intense public displays of affection, especailly in the garage and neither are you. There's a level of professionalism he likes to maintain while racing and you have always respected that but when Max sees you standing in front of him, practically drowning in one of his sweatshirts, hair wet and messy from walking through the paddock in the rain, he can't stop himself from scooping you up in his arms. Burying his head in your neck, he inhales deeply. So deeply that his lungs pinch with pain from the way he's trying to commit the way you smell to memory.

"You're here." He murmurs, voice thick and heavy with emotion. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to meet me in Monaco?"

Max sets you down, not really wanting you out of his arms but wanting to move you to a quieter part of the garage. Behind you, Sophie, GP and the rest of the team discreetly shuffle away to give you two a bit of privacy.

"I knew how hard the last two races were for you and I just..." Pausing, you have to wait for a moment for your hands to stop shaking. You've been running on sheer adrenaline and caffeine for what feels like the last three weeks now and the emotion of the moment catches up to you. "I just wanted to be here for you."

Max lowers his lips to yours, covering them in a kiss that is all longing and white hot heat. He keeps the kiss just this side of tame enough for the garage, not wanting to draw the ire of Christian but he had needed to taste you then. His hand comes up to cup your face while the other slips around your waist, pulling you in closer to his body. He's slightly damp from how wet it's been this morning but none of that matters now that you're back in his arms.

"I missed you so much." He murmurs, blue eyes practially sparkling down at you, he's so happy. It's been weeks since he's felt like this. Settled. Like he can take on the world. For the first time in what feels like forever, Max has a sense of determination that wraps itself around him. Like the championship isn't all but lost to Lando. Like the car isn't going to be terrible today, even though he might not even finish in the points. Like everything he's gone through the past few months on the track is all about to end because you're finally here and if anyone can bring the team luck, it's you.

"I love you." You whisper into his chest. "Now, let's go show the world why you're about to become a 4 time world champion, yeah?"

And that's exactly what he does.

yourpersonalinsta posted

938,398 likes liked by redbullracing, taylorswift, yourdad and others yourpersonalinsta we are SO back, baby!!! What started out as a nightmare of a day turned into a generational drive for the history books. P17 to P1 and I cannot believe I was there to witness it. Max, I am proud of you beyond words. You and the entire team deserve this win today. I love you to the moon and back, Maxie. (tagged: maxverstappen1) taylorswift what a race! Trav and I caught most of it before the game today. Congratulations!!! >>>yourpersonalinsta hope to see you in Vegas in a couple of weeks! >>>user928 oh my god, new bestie duo unlocked!? maxverstappen1 words fail to describe how much I love you baby. Thank you for always being in my corner and never giving up on me, even when I want to give up on myself. Love you to the ends of time, schatje >>>user928 i am SOBBING. Boyfriend Max is my favorite Max.

Tags: @shelbyteller @formulaal @martygraciesversion381 @longhairkoo @samantha-chicago @stelena-klayley @dark-night-sky-99

[deusfoundry]

part 2 here!

girl dad!zayne who simply smiles when his daughter knocks on the door of his office one night. she lets herself in, a deep crease present on her forehead, fingers wrung together. he can tell the moment she entered that something's bothering her, so he shuts his laptop off in favor of giving his daughter his undivided attention.

"what's wrong?" he asks with an encouraging smile on his lips.

girl dad!zayne who puts on a nice front when she tells him that a boy is coming over tomorrow night for dinner. he almost says "no.", mouth opening to reject the very prospect of boys. "you're too young to be dating." he very nearly says, if not for the quiet "please." that stops him in his tracks.

suddenly, he's taken back to a whole decade ago.

suddenly, his little girl has just turned seven years old.

suddenly, she's pleading with the widest doe eyes he's ever seen for him to get her the slice of carrot cake displayed on the counter of a bakery.

damn it, he thinks. those eyes are the bane of his existence. not once has he been able to resist them. curse you and your genes for passing those godforsaken eyes to your little girl.

so he smiles. he pulls his daughter into a warm, comforting hug.

"of course." he says, trying not to sound like he's forcing the words through gritted teeth. "i'm not mad at all, sweetheart."

"really?"

zayne merely hums, and when she squeals in delight, jumping up to plant a small kiss to his cheek between an onslaught of thank you's and i love you's, he almost forgets that he just agreed to having some boy over in his house.

girl dad!zayne who huffs when you press a kiss against his lips to stop him in the middle of his rant. he's spent the last half hour citing complaints about his daughter. how boys her age are stupid and none of them could even dream of treating her the way she deserves to be treated.

"when did she even get old enough to start talking to boys?" he manages to insert between exasperated claims every five minutes.

"it's part of being a teenage girl, love." you pull yourself away from his lips, lazily moving around to straddle his thighs. "let her be."

"and you're not the least bit concerned?" his breath hitches against his throat when you start to slowly trail kisses around his neck. he doesn't hear your response to his question, mind clouded with the feeling of your lips drawing stars on his skin.

his girls are truly going to be the death of him.

girl dad!zayne who purposely lingers near the front door so he can beat his daughter to opening it. he hears the doorbell ring and the subsequent thundering of her footsteps from upstairs, but he's already opened the door before she can even rush down the stairs.

girl dad!zayne who relishes in watching the way this boy's face falls. he's secretly glad that his career is as remarkable as it has been at this very moment, because he sees exactly when it dawns on the boy who exactly is standing before him.

the father of the girl he likes is the doctor zayne. world-renowned cardiac surgeon doctor zayne.

the boy splutters. he unfolds into a stuttering mess right in front of zayne and he has to resist the urge to slam the door on his face.

if doing so didn't end in him being in the receiving end of your sermons, he never would've opened the door in the first place.

girl dad!zayne who’s overtaken by surprise for a quick second when the boy finally collects himself.

“thank you for letting me join you tonight, sir. it's really an honor.” he says his name. zayne's impassive expression doesn't deter the boy as he holds his hand out.

zayne reluctantly takes it. he's about to settle on just giving him a subtle shake when the boy himself takes initiative, shaking zayne's hand with just the right amount of enthusiasm.

"this is for you and your wife." he hands over the basket that's been sitting beside his feet. zayne eyes it with his arms crossed over chest.

the basket is decorated with a ribbon tied into a neat bow. it comes in his daughter's favorite color, an oddly specific shade of pastel blue that she's been obsessed with since she was five. the inside is parted down the middle, one side filled with fruits and food that you like. the other half is, very obviously, for him.

it's packed to the brim with a whole assortment of sweets. a variety of cake slices from a bakery at the other side of the town he's been meaning to visit. packs of candies he likes. his favorite pastries from the bakery near the hospital.

zayne is ... delighted. but he refuses to let the boy know he's slowly winning him over so he quietly takes the basket in his hands and lets him in.

"dinner will be ready shortly." he says before disappearing into the kitchen.

zayne catches his daughter with a small bouquet of her favorite flowers in her hand.

girl dad!zayne who intends to stay quiet over dinner, but is forced to make small talk when you kick him under the table.

"be nice." you remain silent as you smile at the young boy sitting beside your daughter, but he knows that's what you mean with the threatening glare you send him.

"so," zayne purposely says his name wrong as he clears his throat. "what do you do for fun?"

he sees you shake your head from the corner of his eye.

girl dad!zayne who still isn't entirely convinced that this boy deserves to be with his daughter, the literal light of his life, his little girl, but relents a little as the hours go by.

zayne remembers telling his daughter time and time again to never settle. that he himself would pluck the night skies free of stars if you so much as imply that it's what you want. that she should look for the love you share with him, unconditional and boundless.

and as zayne watches with a keen eye how he treats her, he thinks he's done a good job at instilling those beliefs.

he's attentive to her needs, handing the bowls of food that's way out of her reach. he places a small portion of vegetables on her plate and successfully coaxes her into eating them, something even zayne struggles with. he's quick to cover the edge of the table with his hand when she leans down to pick up the fallen spoon from beneath the table.

girl dad!zayne who ends the night standing behind his daughter on their porch as she waves him goodbye.

"drive home safely." zayne says, uttering his name correctly as a sign of respect.

he doesn't miss the way his daughter's face lights up. and if accepting someone new in their small family lets him see that smile more, zayne thinks it's all worth it.

this has been in my drafts since the i made that girl dad!zayne post a few weeks backdhejhd

divider from @cafekitsune

[taintedtort]

hi hi hi, LOVED YOUR HCS N FLUFFS, can we get a haikyuu hc (any characters !! hehe wouldn't mind anyone) where the reader hugs their plushies instead of like cuddling w them, and n they suddenly got jealous n pouty 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 thank you so so so much, happy writing 🫶🏻🎀

" HUG ME! "

summary. you hug your plushie instead of them

characters. kenma, bokuto, kuroo, akaashi

warnings. gn!reader, none!

a/n. hi, tysm!!! hope these characters are fine! (unintentionally did the duos on nekoma and fukurodani oops)

KENMA

☆ he got you the stuffed animal, so it’s partly his fault. however, that doesn’t stop him from glaring daggers at it whenever you weren’t looking. it’s a cat plushie, one that you’d been wanting for a while, so of course he ordered it for you. he surprised you with it this morning, and you haven’t let go of the damn thing.

kenma is currently sat on your bed playing his switch, and usually you’d be cuddling up to him… but no. you have that stupid cat tucked under your chin and pressed to your chest as you lay facing away from him, scrolling on your phone.

you've been practically ignoring your boyfriend all day! too focused on that plushie that he so kindly bought you. he thought you’d give him lots of thanks and praise, but no. ignored.

he knows he’s being pouty, and that you’re just excited to finally have it, but cmon! your arms should be wrapped around him, not a cheap stuffed animal.

he finally cracks and nudges you, which he’s been contemplating doing for a while.

"hm?" you hum, not even turning to face him, too occupied with the video you’re watching on your phone.

he grumbles something under his breath before he’s pulling on your arm, forcing you to turn over and face him.

"cuddle with me," he murmurs, pulling you close and wrapping his arms around your waist. it’s not often he initiates cuddling or hugs, so you’re immediately focused on him, a big smile on your face. your attention shift causes you to forget your plushie, leaving it laying on the bed behind you. without a second thought, he sneakily snatches it up and tosses it to the floor without you noticing.

"finally…"

BOKUTO

☆ you two went on a little arcade date, and he’d won you a cute stuffie. it was a small teddy bear, and you fell in love with it when you saw it. bokuto, of course, spent at least $30 trying to get it for you. he’s not the best at claw machines, but he eventually was able to grab it for you.

you practically jumped up and down, snatching up the toy from his hands when he held it out to you. he was rewarded with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and of course a couple words of praise that made his chest swell with pride.

however, as you continued the date, he noticed that instead of holding his arm, you were holding the plushie. you like to be wrapped around his bicep, which he loves, so when he saw the bear clutched to your chest like his arm should be, he started pouting.

"what’s wrong?" you ask, noticing his frown and the way he keeps glancing between you and the teddy. his brows are furrowed, like he’s upset.

"i’ll hold it for you," he suddenly offers, extending a hand and waiting for you to hand it to him. he wasn’t being nice, not really, he just wanted your attention on him.

he watches as you shake your head and protectively hug the bear even tighter, which makes him even more moody.

"you're depriving me! fuck that bear," he practically whines, glaring at it dramatically. you knew he was going to make a scene and be moody for the rest of the date if you didn’t switch your attention.

with a sigh, you hand him the plushie, and he snatches it instantly. he half hazardously dangles it by his side, putting his free arm out to you to hold, which you do.

"you’re so dramatic," you tease, though he doesn’t mind. his mood was instantly lifted when he felt your hands on his bicep.

"i don’t care, this is where you should be."

KUROO

☆ similar to bokuto, you two went to a fair, and he won it for you. it was a huge husky puppy, as big as half your body. you were beyond excited, usually those games are rigged and super hard to win, especially the bigger prizes, but kuroo was determined. he was super proud of himself for making you smile so big, and you praised him while hugging the huge stuffed animal, which made his chest puff out a bit.

as you two continued to walk around the fair, you kept the stuffed animal hugged to your chest, both arms around it. you honestly couldn’t hold it any other way, so he wasn’t really upset about that. he was upset that you kept nuzzling your face into its fuzzy neck. you usually do that when you hug or cuddle with kuroo, so he got a bit pouty about it.

"you like it?" he asks, though he already knew you did. his tone was a bit salty, but you didn’t really catch it, too engrossed with the husky.

"i do! he's really soft," you smile widely, turning to lock eyes with him. he’s happy you’re happy, but he sort of wishes he waited till the end of your date to win you the prize.

"i can tell…" he murmurs, resisting the urge to glare at the poor puppy. he knows it’s not your fault, he's just feeling jealous, which is stupid.

he finally just wraps an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his side as you walk. this is the best he can get for now, he’d hate to spoil your fun. he can have you all to himself when you get to his house.

"you ready to go?" he asks, secretly trying to leave quicker so he can have you in his arms, like you should be. once you’re cuddled up with him, you’ll forget all about the stuffed husky, which is exactly what he wants.

"i think it’s about time you showed me the same attention you’ve been showing that plushie."

AKAASHI

☆ he isn’t usually a very jealous person, but cmon. how can he not get a little petty when you’ve been cuddled up with that stupid squishmellow all day? he got it for you the other day when he was out, knowing you like those things. it was a medium sized one, and it was supposed to be a turtle. he thinks they look kind of funny, but he will admit they’re soft and squishy. but even so, you should be cuddling with him, not a stuffed animal. he’s here for a reason!

you're on the couch watching a movie, that fucking squishmellow sitting in your lap, with akaashi next to you. he usually isn’t one to get angry, especially over trivial things like this, but when it comes to you, he feels all sorts of things he usually wouldn’t.

he knows you like it, which is why you’ve been carrying it around, and he can’t blame you for that. he really has no reason to be upset, which is why he doesn’t necessarily voice it, just waiting patiently for the moment you come crawling back into his arms.

he does give you a little motivation though, which isn’t technically cheating! but how can anyone resist when the akaashi keji drapes his arm over their shoulder and kisses their temple?!

it worked like a charm, and you're immediately turning your head to claim a kiss on the lips, which he gives to you. it’s not a normal peck though, it’s long and deep, and it leaves you a bit dazed when he pulls away. this is all part of his plan, get you so distracted that you don’t notice when the plushie falls to the ground, out of sight and out of mind.

he brings his other hand up to your jaw, keeping your eyes on his. he never fails to make you blush, even after being together for quite some time.

"i'm feeling tired, do you want to cuddle?" he smiles, putting on an innocent façade. just as expected, you eagerly nod and follow his lead when he lays down on the couch. the turtle falls to the floor, and you don’t even bat an eye. he wins.

[prettyboykatsuki]

✮ tags ; gn! reader, established relationship, fluff, alcohol.

"Shouto,"

"Hm?"

"You're drunk,"

Your boyfriend leans his head on your shoulder and makes a noise in the back of his throat. "A bit."

More than a bit, you think. In actuality, you don't think you've ever seen him this drunk before. He's okay with alcohol, usually - but tends to stay away from drinking too much. You think the last time you saw him get actually drunk at all, you were both twenty and he was barely tipsy then.

He doesn't like getting drunk, he's told you before. A few times. The lack of control and hazy memories make him just slightly anxious, so he's careful around liquor.

You've been dating for years now, and unless he's living some double-life (a different one than being a hero) - you've never seen him get this wasted. Ever. To everyone else in your surroundings, it probably doesn't look that way.

But you've spent enough time to know him, and he's not like this usually. Nowhere near as absent minded he is now, at least. He hasn't been able to sit still since he downed that last bottle of shochu. He went to go play with Bakugou's cat, Momo and you couldn't find him afterwards. You lost sight of him for about half-an-hour until you finally found him in the living room while everyone else was outside, feeding Momo some treat that squeezes from a tube.

(You still don't know where or how he found where Bakugou kept the treats, but you decide it's better you don't ask. Plausible deniability, or something.)

You're both grown-ups, and you're not one to worry about his liquor intake. Still, though - you're worried. Even if it seems like he's not different to everyone else, you can tell. And it's bothering you.

"Shouto," You call out to him, your hands reaching to pet the back of his neck. He's a head taller than you, and a little heavy. Palms smooth against the prickly ends of his hair - tapered and neat. He presses his cheek to your shoulder. "Shouto, love."

"Oh," He says, suddenly remember where he is. He stands up but doesn't back away far enough to give you space. You're in a far off empty corner. Most people are in the backyard but Shouto wanted some air - so you're crowded against a wooden fence and wall with your boyfriend locking you in out by the entrance. He smells nice, you think - clean with a soft touch of aftershave. You look up at him. "Hi,"

"You're drunk," You repeat, watching him blink rapidly - bleary eyes and the faintest line of a smile whenever he glances at you. He's bent over, staring at you hard. "Is something wrong?"

His expression is the same as always. Unchangingly neutral with a strong and uncharacteristic rosiness to it. Your boyfriend is handsome, alarmingly so. You're aware of it constantly, but this new face knocks the air out of your lungs.

He's... pouting you think. But not fully. His lips aren't drawn together, it's subtle like most expressions on him.

But it's...there. You're not imagining it - the soft furrow of his brow, the press of his lips. His expression grows warmer and it only makes you more confused. He shakes it off, all of a sudden, a micro-expression that fades just as quickly as it appears.

"I'm okay."

"Are you?""

He blinks slowly at that. Concern aside, you can't help but think he's cute like this. His ears are pink enough to stick out against his skin, cold air making them flush even darker.

"I'm okay," He says, then looks at you. He sobers up if only for that moment. "Had something on my mind."

"Something you can't tell me?"

"It's supposed to be a secret," He mumbles. He's really drunk. You realize this late. "So I don't know if I can."

"Mm," You reply. You feel like doting on him suddenly, so you do, petting the back of his neck before hugging him a little. "That's okay."

He follows up with a light groan. You've never heard him complain like that, so you laugh. "But I want to tell you."

"I promise I'll keep your secret at least."

He smiles at you more fully that time.

He pauses for a minute, thinking it over. You don't do or say anything in return. A beat passes of you two standing and swaying with silence where Shout to grabs your hands from in front of you. You think he's being affectionate again, wanting to hold them.

He draws your hands to his pocket though. The angle is awkward, makes you bend your wrist on the inside of coat pocket until you feel something hard and square touch your fingers. It's velvet from the material. A box of some kind.

...A box?

Shouto guides your hand again, this time out. When you pull it out, his palm is over yours. It's a jewellery box. You blink a few times, confused. Shouto hasn't let go of your hand.

"I keep missing the timing," He says, hiccuping. The lack of sobriety more clear than ever from the slight slur in his words. "It's been in my pockets for a while."

Your eyes go wide open. You can feel your own confusion and excitement twist and tangle inside of you, frantic to get a better read on the situation. He smiles down at you, disarmingly and then closes his eyes. His forehead is warm as it touches yours.

"...I thought you didn't want to married. Not really, at least." You whisper.

"Me too," He says, a wetness to his laugh that tugs at your heart . "It was on a whim. I wanted to talk to you about it. But." He frowns a little "It's tough."

You chuckle, a sudden wetness to your voice too. "I bet it was,"

He smiles at you, big and stupid. "I love you," He closes is eyes and presses his forehead to yours more. "Thank you for everything."

"Shouto," You repeat, unsure of what else to say. "What brought this up?"

"Mm," He shrugs, getting sleepier by the minute. "I thought giving you my last name would make you suffer." He admits, soft and unsure. "But taking yours. That felt...okay. Felt nice."

"You're silly."

"Yes," He says, not denying it. "And I love you."

"And you love me." You repeat, a grin splitting your face. Big tears at the corner of your eyes, making your vision sting and your cheeks ache. You look up at him again. "Enough to marry me?"

He seems almost sheepish that time. "If you'll have me."

"Are you sober enough to even remember this?"

His embarrassment makes him blush and laugh again. "My heart is beating so loud I'm a little afraid of it. So yes. I'm sure I'll remember." He admits.

"Let's get married, then." You repeat to him, so achingly happy you think you could die. You wonder when to tell your friends. Bakugou will be pissed you did at his place. "If you'll have me."

He smiles. "I'd like too."

You lean up to press a kiss to his mouth, and Shouto holds you there to kiss you longer than you expect. When you're done kissing, he's smiling.

"Anymore secrets?"

He thinks on it, then hums.

"We should get a cat."