#bells hells stand still for a long time and they look down at her feet and theyre fully purple

[c-kiddo]

ik i say it often abt cad but i just know laudna has EDS and POTs too. she's canon super hypermobile and like theres no way on exandria that her heart is pumping her haunted fantasy goo blood around her body efficiently

[poppadom0912]

Princess tea party

Warnings: none

Summary: With only girls, Will has a hard time saying no.

A/N: So long story short I was in hospital for three weeks because of extreme pain from the hips down so I'm unable to stand, walk and barely even sit. I was bored out of my mind so I wrote this but couldn't do anymore because of how bad the pain was. I apologise for any mistakes, I was all over the place but nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!!

It was a normal Saturday afternoon. You were at work and Will was at home which was quite unusual with Will’s random working hours and your very fixed one but you had a big event today that you were in charge of that you could not miss.

Lunch had been made and served under an hour ago, Will had taken his time clearing the table away and cleaning the kitchen. The house wasn’t completely silent, he could hear little giggles and pattering feet above him, the result of the smile permanent on his face.

Putting away all the dishes in the cupboards, Will’s movements stilled when the house had suddenly become silent, not a single sound of life.

Standing up straight, Will tried straining his ear to hear his kids but only silence followed.

Setting the plate down, he turned around ready to go upstairs and investigate when he was met with the suspects at the dining room entryway.

The three young girls were stood together, the two younger flanking the elders sides, all dressed in their princess dresses on top of their shirts, quite messily put on and even the wrong way round.

“Girls.” Will said slowly, squinting his eyes trying to see if he could tell what they were doing just like how you could. “What were you doing?”

Sophie, your oldest, stood tall in her Ariel dress, fire and a certain glint in her eyes that let Will know she was up to no good and she was always the ringleader with her two younger sisters following her every whim, meaning Will was in for one hell of an afternoon.

On her right was your middle child and the elder twin Scarlet. Dressed in a Rapunzel dress, eyes mirroring her sisters but without a certain gleam. On the other side was Crimson, the youngest but the same determination as the rest, in her Belle dress with her arms crossed. The twins looked way too much like you it was freaky, but you could say the exact same for Sophie and Will.

Will felt slightly intimidated and cornered, something that he found himself being a lot of since the twins turned three. He was outnumbered in his own home but he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Nothing!" Sophie cheerily replied, her smile widening as did the gleam in her eyes. She looked ever so innocent dressed up as a princess.

"But, daddy..." She looked up at him with those eyes that she had taught her younger sisters to use, knowing he was useless against them. "Can you, can you pleeeaase, pretty pretty please?"

Will found it hard to keep his smile hidden but he had to keep it up just for a little bit longer.

"Tea party please!" Crimson said, bouncing on her toes, the impatience getting the better of her.

"Princess tea party please please daddy!" Scarlet joined in, letting go of Sophie's hand to pull on Will's.

"Hmm." Will hummed, acting like he was heavily contemplating over it, trying not to smile as all three girls looked up at him like he had all the answers in the world.

"Okay fine." He finally gave in, smile blooming on his face as his girls broke out in cheers as they dragged him upstairs.

*****

"Girls I'm home!" You exclaimed as you entered the house, locking the door behind you. You waited for the sound of a stamped of feet but it never came.

Confused, you slipped out your shoes and hung your jacket, making your way further into the house looking for your family but the entire downstairs was empty. If it wasn't for the shoes on the rack you'd think no one was home.

Then, you heard the faintest sound of giggles, the familiar sound being one of the things you loved most in the world.

Making your way up the stairs, the giggles only got louder and you could slowly decipher a deeper voice that could only belong to one man.

Your office/playroom door was slightly ajar, allowing you to peek in and be graced with one of the greatest scenes known to man.

Sat around a small kids table was your entire life, all in fancy princess dress with kids makeup Jay had bought for Sophie's sixth birthday.

Sitting in a circle were four pretty princesses who were clearly having a tea party: an Ariel pouring tea for her guests, a Rapunzel offering toy cookies, a Belle correcting everyone's specific coloured cutlery and a... supposed cinderella who was just sitting there looking pretty, nodding at everything he was being told.

"Cinderella, would you like some sugar in your tea?" Sophie asked, looking up at her dad with the sugar pot in hands.

"Yes, just one please." Cinderella replied, holding out his plastic blue mug as tiny white blocks were plunked into water.

That was different. It seemed that Will folded again and allowed the girls to use water as tea, a big step up from just drinking air. You just hoped the teapot was half empty.

"No, you're holding it wrong." Crimson pointed at Will's hand holding the mug. Without any prompting, she reached out and pulled his pinkie finger so that it was sticking out. "Good, don't mistake again daddy."

"His name is Cinderella." Scarlett corrected as she sipped on her 'tea'. "He can be daddy later."

"Okay ladies!" Sophie announced, taking charge and getting the attention of the three other princesses in a manner that only an older sister could. You just knew she would be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

She was definitely a Halstead; you saw the exact same in her dad and uncle.

"We have to clink all our cups - and Cinderella, you have to say clink okay? Cheers is for the adults only." Sophie looked Will dead in the eyes as if this was a life threatening moment.

"Clink, not cheers - got it." Will nodded, a soft smile permanent on his face like a real life princess.

Your three daughters picked up their cups, holding them high in the middle of the table, Will following close behind.

"Clink!!"

Just as they all started drinking, Crimson finally caught sight of you peeking your head in through the thin gap in the door. "Mummy! Mummy's home!"

All three heads whipped to your direction as Crimson ditched her cup as she ran towards you, clutching your legs as she giggled, ignorant of the water spilled on the table trickling onto the floor.

Ignoring it, you picked up the toddler, perching her on your hip. "Oh hello my beautiful Belle. You girls look so gorgeous, all of you."

You stressed the last part, purposefully looking at your husband with a knowing smirk on your face.

Will rolled his eyes, standing up, groaning as his legs straightened after sitting in a child's chair for so long.

"Look at all my pretty princesses, were you having fun with daddy?" You bent down to hug all through of your daughters, your shoulders slumping as they all cuddled in your arms.

"We made him a really pretty princess with makeup. We tried doing it like you do mummy." Sophie said, pointing to your red tinted lips.

"Oh I can see that." You nodded smugly, looking back at Will who looked down at all his girls adoringly.

"Okay I think that's enough teasing for one day." Will put a stop to the 'bullying'. "Now can I get my turn and hug mummy?"

All three girls thought about it before leaving your arms, giggling as they moved out so you could enter his.

Will's arms wrapped around you tightly allowing you to melt into his embrace, all the tension in your body evaporating.

Sighing in relief, you closed your eyes as Will rocked the two of you side to side. Kissing your temple, he let the silence continue as you relaxed while he kept an eye on your girls started creating chaos.

"Did you just get glitter on my forehead?" You asked, feeling the sticky residue of the glittery lipgloss.

Will hummed, trying not to think of the purple blush painted on his cheeks and the blue glitter on his eyelids.

"I think I can excuse it just this once since its from the prettiest princess in the land." You whispered so your daughters didn't hear.

Rolling his eyes, Will dramatically kissed you on the cheek this time, emphasising the sound.

"Hmm so lovely, thank you so much." You nodded with faux aggression.

"Okay princesses! Tea party over, we need to get ready to go to Uncle Jay's."

As soon as you mentioned his name, the girls stopped their mess and started scrambling, getting up to clean their mess as fast as possible.

"You're getting the towels to get rid of that water - my carpet better be dry."

"Yes ma'am."

"Now I've got the twins, you got Sophie - ready?" You held up your fist, the girls' table clean of any toys.

"Always." He bumped fists, kissing you on the lips before scooping up Sophie. "Alright princess Ariel, we gotta beat the queen and the other princesses."

"Oh you are on, come on girls, we're not letting a man beat us."

Crimson and Scarlett were already running out to their room, their competitiveness getting the better of them and you were right behind them.

In this house, Will stood no chance at all.

[railroad-migraine]

Hello! I was wondering if you could write a Mighty Nein version of the hiding in the alley together Bell's hells scenario you wrote? I really loved your Bell's hells one! Thanks!

Thank you darling! I love that post so much too 🥰

Bell's Hells version 💙

Tight Squeeze (hiding in an alley together)

Beau 💜

You're standing on her toes, and her elbow is poking harshly into your side, and you both just don't know where to look. "Sorry, I'll scoot over a little bit-" "No, wait, hang on a sec-" Awkward scrambling ensues. You whisper and try to convince her to put up with the closeness until you guys are safe, but she. Just. Won't. Listen. Eventually, her squirming has you both off centre and reaching for each other for balance, and she murmurs a quiet: "... oh."

Beau isn't a romantic, never has been, and she's never really gazed into someone's eyes as purposefully as she is right now. You're fucking gorgeous. How has she never stopped to just look at you before? Have you always been so... You blink in confusion as she seems to soften, ever so slightly, calming down enough to breathe in sync with you.

You feel a palm drag itself up your arm, up, up, up until she finally cradles your jaw. And you both stand there, unmoving, for who knows how long, before she eventually tears herself away from you and the alley with a grumble. You take a moment to recover from the intense look in her eye, running after Beau only when she calls your name to hurry up.

-

Caleb 💜

His mouth is puckered in a tight frown as he looks anywhere but your face. It's an incredibly tight squeeze where you've found yourselves, so narrow that you're effectively pinning the wizard to the wall behind him. Your palms rest flat at either side of his neck and his hands have curled into little fists between your chests. Your heartbeat is thundering in your ears - or maybe it's Caleb's - you're not quite sure whose it is when you're this close together.

It's incredibly quiet. Awkward, even. So you say something. Anything. A stupid comment on how this is like a cheesy scene in one of the awful smutty books that's been passed around the group, and he can't help but huff a laugh and try to hold back an amused smile. His shoulders relax and he rests his head against the wall to finally get a better look at you, and something makes you lean your head towards him, following his lead. His lips part slightly as you move closer and-

Nott/Veth calling both your names from outside the alley jerks your faces apart, and Caleb very hurriedly inches away from you. "We should, ah..." He reluctantly shuffles towards the road, adjusts unkempt hair and smooths down the front of his coat, fingers twisting the buttons shyly. "W-we should go join the others, ja?" His heart sings at the simple touch of you linking pinkies with him. It's a quiet message he doesn't need to worry about deciphering.

-

Fjord 💜

"Beggin' your pardon." You can't help but snort. Even in times of peril, in situations where you're taking cover from the intense fighting outside of alleyways, Fjord still manages to treat you well and act the perfect gentleman. He shushes you, smiling himself, and it briefly feels like you're the only two people in the world - except for those in the battle mere feet away from your hiding spot.

His eyes soften as you share a secret grin with him, but not in the way you'd like. He clears his throat, peeks out of the gap of the alley."Look, I know this isn't an ideal situation but..." You say his name sweetly, urge him to look up from the ground to meet your gaze, and you see colour quickly spread across his neck in embarrassment. He swallows thickly and looks away, and breathes out the quietest shuddering sigh.

A hesitant hand reaches out for yours, and you grip it tight before he can regret taking the leap. The rest of the Nein find you both in that same position minutes later once the battle had officially ended and it was safe to leave, all tangled fingers and soft gazes. Fjord never wants to let go.

-

Jester 💜

"Are you gonna kiss me?" She's a little cross eyed, a little flushed and out of breath, and so so pretty this close up. Her eyes flick between your own, both your noses just barely grazing. "It feels like now would be a good time to kiss me." And it does.

But the moment is ruined when a swarm of soldiers charges right by the alley's entrance, and Jester lunges forward to hug you close. Together you find yourselves huddled further in the shadows while the enemy runs right by your hiding spot. She's so soft in your arms, perfect - it's like she belongs there - and you want to tell her that, but saying so out loud would easily blow your cover. So you settle for keeping her close, a hand in her hair while she ducks her head under your chin.

You wait until the last soldier has gone before you reluctantly remove yourself from the tiefling (who visibly pouts) and peek outside the alley. Once the coast is clear, you look over your shoulder, only to find Jester already looping arms with you. She smiles, this time confidently, and you enter daylight once more with no mention of the almost-kiss.

-

Mollymauk 💜

He doesn't say a word. Which, y'know, is ideal when skulking about in an abandoned alley, away from prying eyes of spies and mercenaries - but the way how Mollymauk is not-so-subtly glancing your way every few seconds is awfully distracting. You lightly push against his chest, tell him in a hushed voice to stop smirking so much, that this is a very serious situation. "What? Can I not look at you now? Can I not enjoy the little things while we fear for our lives? Who knows when I'll see something so lovely again~"

You push him again, a little more forcefully this time, and he actually barks a laugh, sways back to you and tilts his head with sticky fondness. There's a sudden commotion nearby - heavily armoured folk who suddenly look in the direction of the sound and touch their weapons suspiciously. Quick thinking in the moment has you press your body closely to Molly's, making your forms fit within shadow, and cover his mouth with your hand.

And he's silent again, but his expression has changed. He never looks away from you, nor you him, both of you holding breaths in anticipation - of being discovered, or of something more passionate, you are not completely sure - but the moment is never interrupted. When all is safe and sound once more after the hired fighters evacuate the nearby area, he slowly peels your hand away and presses a single, simple touch of his lips to your palm. It's barely even a kiss, but you don't mind. It's nothing. It's something. It's a promise.

-

Yasha 💜

She's... Well, you already knew that she was tall before this, but you never really knew exactly how tall Yasha was until you were up against each other in a tiny alleyway in some fancy town neither of you know the name of. It's a small space, and there are hired thugs sniffing around town looking for you and the Nein, but you feel so safe with the barbarian - a protective barrier between you and the rest of the world. Your face warms at the thought.

She peers down at you with a blank expression, and you expect awkward silence, but she surprises you with: "Well this is quite cosy, isn't it?" It's dark in the alley, but she can see the wrinkles by your eyes when you smile at her. Good. That'll ease the tension immensely... And the slightly nervous pitter patter of her heart.

Despite it all, she's a little flustered being so close to you. It's weirdly intimate caging you in, and she curses under her breath quietly when you look away bashfully and bite your lip with a grin. She's obviously done something right when you gently rest a hand on her arm and ease her wandering mind. She still feels that touch hours after, and wonders if you're thinking of it too.

-

Kingsley 💜

You don't want to admit it, but you're panicking. What started off as a cheeky side quest quickly spiralled into a catastrophe, and you now find yourself in a claustrophobic space with bad guys on your tails, and you have grazed knees after tripping earlier and you're stuck with your most charming friend who looks at you like he loves you, and it's all too much, and- "Hey, keep your eyes on me."

Kingsley is holding your face in his hands, and you can barely make out his crimson eyes in the dark, but you know he's giving you that look again. "We're gonna be fine, we're gonna get out of this. I'll buy you a drink later, you'll see." You want to believe him, even as your heart drums loudly in your chest, leftover adrenaline dulling in your veins. You follow his lead, breathe in, and breathe out as you move to hold the wrists of his hand that are cupping your face still. You find calm, and he looks proud. Maybe it's only a shadow of an expression in the dark though.

Instead of leading you back towards the ship, Kingsley takes you by the hand and dances around the crowded marketplace towards a quiet tavern on the outskirts of town. He reaches out and holds the door open for you, and grins when you look puzzled."I owe you a drink, remember?"

[astridthevalkyrie]

inferno | enji todoroki x reader | chapter 1

“Why do you want to be a hero?” he finally asks, knowing the answer doesn’t matter. “Doesn’t everyone want to be number one?” You shrug. “If you don’t agree, I’ll tell everyone it’s because I’m a woman and expose you as a misogynist.”

warnings: afab reader with she/her pronouns, age difference, enji's bad parenting, eventual smut, eventual daddy kink probably

a/n: right off the bat this is an au where enji and rei are divorced and touya never “died” because i can’t do my girl rei dirty (she’s living her best life away from fire ppl) and frankly touya being alive and well (relatively) just adds a certain spice to the story. enji is still a terrible dad and i’ve got issues lol

word count: 1.3k

Next

“Sup, Endeavour,” you greet when the door opens, popping the p.

The number one hero stands before you, and his eyes take you in sharply—from the equestrian boots on your feet to the bell bottom jeans trailing up your legs to the black crop top that hugs your chest and shoulders to the Ray-Bans covering your eyes to the coffee in your hand that you obnoxiously take a sip out of as you stare at him.

Then, bluntly, he asks, “Who the hell are you?”

Without answering, you make your way in, even though he towers over you, and Enji’s first thought is to burn you alive. It would be justified, considering you’re breaking and entering his residence. But an intruder would know that, wouldn’t they? An intruder, even a foolish one, would be ready for an attack. From the way you only take another sip of your coffee and raise your glasses to peer around the foyer, you’re either so beyond help that you accidentally stumbled here or you’re entirely confident that you could beat him in a fight.

Frankly, he’d rather question the young woman before he incinerates her.

“This is a nice place.” You whistle lowly, settling the Ray-Bans atop your head before turning to face him. “Oh, right. I’d like you to train and sponsor me.”

“Get out,” Enji says. He should have gone with the burn first, ask later method.

“Please?” You just your lower lip out; it’s still wet from your drink. 

“Get out or I’ll call the authorities.”

You’re nothing special, he realizes as your fist balls up, just a child who wandered too far from home. Countless people have begged him to train them, thinking that he has the time or the patience or the willingness to waste his time on such a pointless task. Mostly it’s men and women who he has at least heard of, as half rate as they are. Even being a friend of a friend of a friend of a colleague can go a long way, but never has someone demanded such outrageous things without even a reference to back them up.

He never gave in to any of them, so whatever delusion you created to think you could even ask must be a hell of a drug.

With an infernal pout still on your face, you set the plastic cup down on his console table, the one Fuyumi picked out three years ago and the one he’s never so much as let a stain form on. 

“Don’t call the authorities.” Slowly, one after the other, your lashes flutter, and it’s been so long since any woman has looked at him like that in such proximity that he actually feels a redness creep up his neck, making him cough into his fist, sending you a furious, stern gaze over his hand. “C’mon, I haven’t even shown you my quirk yet.”

“I said no.”

“It’s called inferno.” You snap your fingers, and in a second, you’ve set your top half on fire, including your head. 

The smoke detector goes off right away, even as he shouts, pinning you to the wall and covering your face with a large hand. The flames sear his hand, much like Touya’s used to, much hotter than the fire he creates. He isn’t able to control fire that he didn’t create, but that doesn’t matter, you’re going to burn alive and he needs to absorb it because he didn’t actually mean to kill you.

It takes three seconds for him to feel a movement against his hand that he realizes is your lips and another four for him to catch your muffled voice, very much not burnt to a crisp.

“Ey! Hey! Endeavor!” Your squirming turns to smacks against the back of his hand, and he only then realizes he’s crushing you. “I’m fine! I’m fine!”

The advanced water systems have already gone off, soaking you both in water. In a few minutes, he’ll receive a personal call from the fire marshall, who will be in the middle of shoving his boots on, asking him frantically if everything is alright.

And what will Enji tell him? That a brat broke into his home and set it off by trying to cremate herself?

“We have the same quirk,” you whisper, eyes gleaming as you bring his hand down—his thumb accidentally catches your lower lip and Enji pulls back in disgust. The sprinklers have water trickling down your face, putting out the last bits of flames on your eyelashes. “Only fire doesn’t burn me at all. I could sit in it for hours and I wouldn’t have a mark.” Without even trying, your Ray-Bans fall over your eyes again, so he can’t even see your eyes as you proceed to lean back against the wall, clearly not minding the water dripping onto your neck. “You have a setback—you can overheat. You’ve tried having multiple kids and one of them can cool himself down, but I don’t need to do that. I’ll never overheat. You want someone who can take the number one spot without just defaulting to it? Sponsor me, and I’ll be the best damn hero you’ve ever seen.”

Now that you’ve explained yourself, he really wishes he had just thrown you out when he got the chance. Because now there is something in Enji’s throat, an opportunity, a dangerous opportunity and a path that he was just starting to stray from. In front of him is a mold of clay to shape, but not one of his own creation—and he’d be insane to not be skeptical of something falling into his lap like this. The irrational (or is it rational?) part of his mind tells him that he’d be equally as insane to let you walk out the door with nothing.

“How old are you?” is the question he finally settles on, glaring, not letting you in on a single thought of his.

“Twenty-six. Plenty old enough to be a pro, don’t you think?”

“Why didn’t you go to a hero school or university?”

The droplets rolling down your arms do nothing to make your skin look less delicate, even though it was surrounded by flames a minute ago. “Don’t like working in a classroom setting. I prefer one-on-ones.”

“Why not approach my son instead? He’s closer to your age.”

“No offense, Endeavor.” You push your hair out of your face—Enji has the urge to rip your sunglasses off your face and crush them under his feet. “But your son is notoriously bad to work with. And so are you, but he hasn’t figured out how to make it part of his brand yet, and I’d rather train with the top hero in Japan instead of a nepo baby that only debuted this year and isn’t in the charts at all.”

A shallow child, he realizes. Either there is no thought behind that head, but, and he thinks this is the far more likely conclusion, you are just inherently a cruel person.

Much like him. The only reason he’s survived so far is because unlike other horrible folks, he doesn’t break so easily. You look so flimsy that he’s sure if he bends you enough you’ll crack like a board, but Shoto will not answer his texts, Touya has sworn him off and Natsuo and Fuyumi will never have what he desires. Maybe someone easy to break is what he needs, someone that he can destroy and build back up, someone that is begging for him to do such a thing.

“Why do you want to be a hero?” he finally asks, knowing the answer doesn’t matter.

“Doesn’t everyone want to be number one?” You shrug. “If you don’t agree, I’ll tell everyone it’s because I’m a woman and expose you as a misogynist.”

His phone rings in his pocket. Enji takes it out, flipping it open (you snort) before pressing it to his ear.

“Hello. No, no emergency, we’re fine.” He settles you with a hard look, hoping you’re ready for the absolute hell he plans to inflict upon you. “I was just training my newest student.”

[bellysoupset]

heyy it’s me, could u maybe write another fic like after luke’s surgery and bells taking care of him but like he’s still throwing up because he’s not sure how to properly take care of himself ( my friend told me when she ate fried stuff after she had appendicitis like the surgery she’d throw up ) and him and bell still working through their issues ,,, no pressure tho :))

i love these two sm and ur fics never miss ur so so talented 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

Had so much fun navigating the aftermath of a surgery and the aftermath of a breakup all together. Thank you so much for the prompt!

-------

Bella would be lying if she said it didn't feel weird as hell to be back in the apartment.

Luke's apartment. It had taken her a long time to accept having a key and an even longer time to start thinking of that place as "theirs", even though the large majority of everything she owned was there.

It had been a punch in the gut to finally think of that place as home, only for the break up to happen.

"Bells?" Luke called her, concerned when she stopped walking. She shook her head, offering him a smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he smiled back, "just like I was fine ten minutes ago when you asked. Or twenty. Or-"

"Don't be snarky, you scared the life out of me," Bella scoffed, slapping his chest. Luke winced when the pain echoed down, but his smile didn't waver.

"Sorry, baby..." he sat down on the couch, putting his feet up and breathing out deeply. It was clear that the short walk from the car to the apartment had already been too much.

"I think you should go to bed, not the couch," Bella told him, avoiding looking around. She wanted to see what had changed in the three months she had been away. Hopefully nothing.

"I know, I know," he grabbed the belt loop of her jeans and tugged at it, causing her to fall sideways across his lap. Bella let out a squeal, while he groaned and leaned his head back, "shit, that was a bad idea."

"What the hell was the idea!?" Bella squealed, scrambling out of his lap, "burst your stitches?"

He pouted, "I just wanted to hug you..."

"Oh for fuck's sake, Luke," Bella chuckled, surprised and then she moved closer on the couch, throwing her arms around him, "better?"

"Not quite," he sighed, but leaned his head against hers, nose brushing her temple, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you t-"

A loud growl interrupted her and Bella glanced down at Lucas' belly, "wow, are you alright?"

He nodded, refusing to pull back, "hungry," Luke kissed her cheek, "what's going through your mind?"

"What do you wanna eat?" She asked instead of acknowledging the question. That was a can of worms Bella did not want to get into.

"Uhm, you-"

"Lucas."

"Fries," he chuckled, "milkshake and fries."

It did sound great and better yet, it sounded like something they could order in. Bella smiled, "as you wish, your royal highness."

"Don't be mean to me, I'm severely woun- Ah fuck," Lucas' well humored voice vanished, "I'm gonna miss the quarter finals!"

Bella rolled her eyes, slumping against him as she scrolled through the restaurant app, "you could use a break, Luke."

"At the quarter finals!?" he whined, "fucking hell, that's what we spent the whole year playing for."

"Well, if we win we move to the semifinals and then you can join", she glanced up, then planted a kiss over his pout, standing up, "it'll work out... Alright, I need to stop by my dorm to pick up the rest of my boxes and then on the way back I'll grab our order, sounds good?"

Lucas frowned, "you're... No, where are you going?" he looked confused, "I thought you said you'd stay here..."

"I'm coming back here after," she planted a kiss over his pout, "I need to finish clearing my room."

"I-"

"I'll be right back," she interrupted again, kissing him once more before grabbing her purse by the door and walking out.

Lucas let out a sour sigh, something was wrong.

He wasn't dumb, not for a second had Luke thought everything would be back to how it always were, but still, a small part of him had hoped.

He mulled over her words, while answering his texts. Vince had sent a bunch of messages, ranging from worried questions, to memes about him and Bella being back together - how the hell did he know that already?? -, to serious messages about the incoming game.

As Lucas typed back, it dawned on him that Bella had mentioned clearing the dorms. By the time she made it back, holding a bag of greasy fast food and already sucking on her milkshake, Lucas' good mood had all but vanished.

"They didn't have strawberry," Bella said, handing him the large plastic cup, "but they had banana."

"Thank you," Lucas scooted up on the couch, accepting the bag and moving so Bells would have enough space to sit next to him. He planted the milkshake on the coffee table, starting to dig through the bag and handing her the chicken option, "Bells?"

"Yes?" she settled comfortably down next to him, unwrapping the sandwich.

Lucas fiddled with the wrapping paper of his burger, deciding against it and then going for the fries. He stuffed a bunch in his mouth while Bella watched him with a small frown on.

"Luke? What is it?"

Lucas took his sweet time chewing. He didn't want to fight, he had just gotten her back and after four days at the hospital, he just wanted to get in bed with his girlfriend and finally fall asleep knowing Bella would be there in the morning. He considered waving it off, say he didn't mean anything and ask about all the other things he wanted to know from the 4 months they had been broken up for...

"Lucas?"

"You said you were clearing the dorms," he said slowly, "but there are no boxes here, so clearly you're not- You're not coming back?"

It tasted sour just to say that. Lucas reached for the milkshake, sucking it in while he watched Bella open her mouth to answer and then snap it shut twice. She lowered her sandwich, untouched.

"Luke..."

"Are we not back together?" he asked, unable to stop himself. Bella's eyes widened.

"Of course! Of course we are!"

The squeeze around his heart undid just a bit. Lucas frowned, "then where-"

"But I'm not coming back here, Luke," she pouted, looking around the apartment, "I can't do this again... This- It's a type of instability that I can't deal with."

"What do you mean? This is our-"

"It's not," she glared at him, but not in an angry way, just stern, "it's not our place, Lucas. I knew this from the start, that's why I took so long to move in, remember? But then... Then I moved in, because we were really serious and steady by then, only for you to break up with me and kick me out."

"I never kicked you out," he said strongly, only to receive an eyeroll.

"Same fucking difference, Lucas. The apartment is yours, I was the one who had to move out. Don't act like I'm being irrational."

She was right. Of course she was right, it hadn't even occurred him to leave because it was his place, after all. However to him this was a small, unimportant detail. Not to Bella.

Lucas nodded, looking away from her, unable to support her serious gaze and continued to polish off the fries, if only so he'd have anything to busy himself with.

Bella let out a heavy sigh, "you're angry."

"I am," he agreed, "not at you, though."

"No?"

"No" he finished off the last five fries and pushed the package away, settling back against the couch cushions, stirring the milkshake with his straw in order to put his thoughts together, "I loved the life we had, Bell. It took a fucking while to get you to move in with me, I remember, and it was worth it. I loved sharing this place, I loved coming home and finding you here. I hated the past few months and the extra bed space and the empty closet and none of your sauces in the fridge."

He met her eyes and Bella's nose looked slightly red, blue eyes overly shiny. Lucas sighed, "I'm just angry I blew all of that."

"I..." her voice broke and Bella breathed out slowly, pulling herself together, "I'm sorry Luke."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he shrugged, stabbing the milkshake again with the straw, "tell me about the new place? Do you have pictures? When did you pick it?"

Her shoulders dropped in visible relief, another huge sign of how immensely he had fucked them up that now his girlfriend felt tense about her choices around him. Lucas mentally kicked himself, but leaned in as Bell fished out her phone to show him, finally starting to eat.

She rested her head on his shoulder, scrolling through her camera roll, "okay so, Wen helped me pick-"

"Wendy?" He raised his eyebrows, sucking in the rest of the milkshake and wincing at the overly sweet taste, "Vin's girl?"

"Yeah," Bella nodded eagerly, "I met her in a bar during- A couple months ago and she's been really amazing. She introduced me to a bunch of her friends and she's helped so fucking much, Luke."

"Oh," he felt his chest burn, "that's great, Bella, I'm happy you two are friends now."

Bella beamed, turning her face to plant a kiss on his chest and then clicking on the first pick, "so it's up the hill, near that house decor store, you know?" she said, showing him the map, "the rent in that area is cheaper, so that's great-"

He listened eagerly as Bell continued to blab on about the new place, which Lucas was feeling more and more jealous of. He knew it was insanity to feel jealous of a place, but he did. Nevertheless he kept the smile on and it wasn't even a fake one. He might hate her moving away from him, but he did love to see Bella so eager about something.

His belly cramped lightly and he shifted on the couch, regretting eating all of that food so fast after four days of a purely liquid diet. Bella moved along with his body, draping herself over him as she continued to gush about her plans to DIY the bedroom floor.

"I could help you build a floating desk here," he said, pointing at a corner in the room, "so you have a work station and don't fuck your back working in bed."

"Yeah!?" Bella smiled, excited, "I was thinking of putting floating shelves here for the viny-" she interrupted herself as Lucas' stomach let out a loud growl. With her pressed so close to him, she had heard it clearly. Her eyebrows jumped up, "Are you still hungry?"

"No," he winced, tugging on the pants, "ate too fast, my belly's a little upset."

"it's probably gas, they warned you about it remember?" Bella noted, leaning in to kiss his cheek, "let's go to bed, we can keep talking there."

Getting up released some of the pressure and Lucas muffled a gross, thick belch against his hand, blowing it out away from her. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of bananas, "gross."

Bella snorted, grabbing the ditched wrappers and plastic cups, "go lie down, I'll be there in a minute."

He nodded, walking slowly towards the bedroom. While sitting down he had completely forgotten about the stitches, but now an overall ache was spreading all over his stomach and they throbbed the most.

As he reached the bathroom to brush his teeth, Lucas noticed his stomach pushing against his hoodie. Bella had brought him clothes to be discharged from the hospital and she had made a point to pick loose fitting clothes, but the hoodie did not feel loose at all anymore. Granted it wasn't hugging his stomach, but the fabric was brushing over his navel and scratching against the bandage.

Lucas let out a groan, tugging it up and throwing it, alongside his sweatpants, on the basket under the sink for laundry. He wasn't sure if he managed to hit the basket, because bending down pushed up yet another sour burp and he groaned, bracing against the cold sink.

"Luke?" Bella's cold hand rested in the middle of his back, startling him. He looked up and caught her eyes in the mirror. She looked worried and tired and he felt awful for the past 4 days and the mess he was once again bringing on her life.

"Sorry," he squeezed the marble of the sink counter, "you can go home if you-"

"Don't be ridiculous," Bella said harshly, glaring at him in the mirror, "I'm not going anywhere when you're sick, are you crazy?" then before he could answer she looked down and grimaced, "your poor belly is so bloated, Luke."

It truly was. He had a squishy belly over hard abs most days and during the breakup he had lost weight, but now he just looked pregnant.

"Yeah, it's fucking hurting too," he sighed, tugging on the elastic of his boxers. Bella's brows met with concern, but she didn't follow him to the bedroom, busying herself with brushing her teeth and getting changed.

Lucas sat down on the bed, then hunched forward. He really wasn't feeling well, the fries and milkshake had been a silly mistake. It felt like his dinner wasn't digesting at all, sitting in belly like a ball of cement, but the cramps continued to wreck through his lower belly like little electric shocks, sending up sour burps that made him feel vaguely queasy, but mostly just hurt. Nothing was moving.

"Would tums help?" Bella asked, walking into the room. He pondered the question, before shaking his head.

"Do we still have pepto?" just as he said it, it occurred to him how dumb of a question that was. Bella hadn't been in his place in nearly fourth months, she definitely didn't know.

Still she didn't correct him, instead went to where he usually kept the bottle and came back to the room, "Almost out. Just drink the rest that's in the bottle."

He swallowed it all, gagging at the end with the overly sweet taste and then leaned back against the headboard, pushing his boxers down.

"It's pressing on your belly?" Bella asked, crawling on the bed to lie next to him.

"It feels itchy as hell," Lucas complained, planting a hand on his stomach and pushing lightly. It pushed up a burp that tasted like fries and made his chest burn. He swallowed again, "feels disgusting, Bells..."

She didn't answer, but he felt her hand touch his stomach, fingers pushing here and there, rubbing in circles over a particularly tender spot and causing a gurgle to go up his throat. Lucas grimaced as a string of burps turned wet at the end.

"So how-" he belched again, throwing his head back and staring at the ceiling, "how's work?"

Bella let out a giggle and planted a kiss on his bare chest, "small talk is not your forte even when you're not feeling sick," she peppered a bunch of kisses up and then one over his lips, "just close your eyes, let me take care of you."

"Uhm, sounds boring as fu-" he cut himself off with a burp, deep from his belly and then a string of gurgles followed as the medicine started to take effect. Lucas grimaced, poking his distended belly and causing another loud whine, "oh that's so gross..."

Bella's hand stroked the round part of his upper belly, the slightly pressure pushing another airy burp out, "sounds so upset, Luke... I don't think you should have had junk food so soon after surgery."

"Yeah, that was stupid," he agreed, planting a hand over hers and pressing it on his belly button. The heavy pressure forced up a disgusting wet burp, but that at least carried some relief, "Eew..." he breathed out, sliding on the bed, so his head would hit the pillows and feeling Bell's hand move to rub little circles on his left side. She wouldn't go near the right, with the stitches.

"Are you sleepy?"

"No," he opened his eyes and turned his head lazily to look at her, "just feeling kinda crappy. Are you sleepy?"

Bella shrugged, but he could see very clearly how exhausted she was. Lucas rolled his eyes, pushing her hand away from his stomach and pulling so she could rest her head on his chest, "go to sleep, baby."

"No, you're feeling sick-"

"I'll be fine, it's just indigestion," he said, although it felt a little like a lie. Sure it was indigestion, but his stomach was starting to churn slowly with nausea, "you need to rest, you've been looking after me for almost five days now."

Bella let out a huff, but she didn't argue, moving up so she could tuck her head neatly under his chin.

Her weight didn't help the vaguely unsettled feeling, but Lucas was not about to tell her that. Instead he continued to breathe through the queasiness, letting out some small burps and making sure his neck was turned away from Bella.

Slowly tiredness was starting to take over him, but all it took was Bell groaning and rolling closer, planting her elbow lightly over his belly button to push out the most nauseating burp yet. Lucas rushed sitting up, clamping a hand over his mouth as the burp turned incredibly wet at the end. He gulped down convulsively, a clammy sticky sensation spreading all over him, his mouth watering.

"Luke...?"

He couldn't answer her, because every time he managed to push down the knot in his throat, a new soft gag pushed it up. Bella sat up too, a hand on his shoulder.

"Luke- Oh no," she realized, seeing his hand firmly clamped over his lips. Luke groaned, eyes squeezed shut and tasted the milkshake in the back of his tongue. It was enough to cause a wave of revulsion and he gagged harshly.

The heave, rocking his belly, pulled on his stitches and pain radiated all over his stomach, causing him to whimper. Bella said something, but he couldn't hear her, he just felt so incredibly sick...

He pressed his hand harder, but the next heave was productive and vomit exploded out of his mouth, leaking through his fingers and causing him to choke and cough. Bella thumped his back and Luke coughed harder, the motion causing more puke to cover the blankets, his stomach and the boxers.

The sensation of warm liquid hitting his skin caused Luke to gag again, more vomit coming up. It was all a mushy cream color, the fries and milkshake mixing in a disgusting sludge.

"Shit Lucas, shit-" Bella sounded vaguely frantically and he couldn't understand why she was pushing his back, "baby, I know it's messy but aim at the blankets-"

What?

He frowned, coughing again, "I don't... What...?"

Before she could answer though, his belly contracted again and he puked again, all over his lap. Lucas groaned, head hanging in shame and queasiness, his mouth open as yet another stream of just liquid and some chunks of pale yellow came out.

"I don't feel good..." he moaned, knowing he sounded like a baby but feeling dangerously close to tears. It had been 4 days of pain so far, more of nausea considering he had felt sick even during the graduation. And his girlfriend wasn't coming back home. And his head was hurting like a motherfucker. And he was covered in vomit, but he was so fucking tired-

"Luke, hey..." Bella's voice was incredibly tender as she cupped his face, wiping away one lonely tear, "shh... You're okay, love. You'll feel better soon, your poor belly just needed to get rid of that."

"I don't want you to leave," he groaned, "I don't want- I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm being dumb-"

"Lucas," Bella planted a kiss on the top of his head, "are you done?"

He nodded, feeling pathetic, "think so..." he still felt nauseous as all hell, but all he had eaten in four days was the milkshake and the fries, so there was nothing else to bring up. Bella rubbed his back, nodding.

"Okay, let's get you cleaned up," she said, grabbing his elbow and gently ushering him up. She helped him strip the destroyed boxers and Lucas groaned, feeling horribly exposed, even though he knew for a fact that Bell had seen him naked a million times.

"Fuck, that's gross..." he mumbled, using a clean part of the soiled blanket to wipe his stomach. Only then he understood that Bella had attempted to keep him from vomiting over the bandaged side of his belly, "oh shit, I hope I didn't pull any stitches there."

Bella frowned, circling the bed to hold him, "does it feel like you did?"

"No, just achy and sick," Lucas leaned unto her hold, then braced against the sink, the motion pushing up a deep gutural belch. He panted, while Bella carefully pushed the hair away from his eyes, cupping his forehead. Another flash of hot nausea passed through him and he coughed lightly, then a weak heave brought up a small stream of puke.

He heaved twice more, just as painful as before as the stitches flared up, but nothing came up and he finally turned on the water and washed the sink basin and his mouth.

"I need to shower," Luke groaned.

"Can you stand on your own?" Bella asked and he nodded, attempting to grab the crumbs of his dignity. She rushed back in the room to get rid of the ruined blankets and Lucas slowly walked to the shower.

He had no energy in him, so he just stood under the hot water stream. The heat helped with the ache in his middle and the sticky sensation, but also made him dizzy.

"That's enough, baby," Bella said, closing the register and throwing a towel around him, "c'mon, let me take a look at the stitches."

"You hate this stuff," Lucas mumbled, pushing her hand away from the soaked wet bandages, "I'll look."

"Don't be silly, I can do this," she rolled her eyes, pushing him to sit on the closet toilet and cupping his forehead. He watches as his girlfriend crouched down between his legs, carefully pulling the adhesive that kept the gauze to his skin and revealing the appendectomy wound.

She hissed and made a face, visibly cringing, causing Luke to snort, "are you sure, Bells?"

"It's fine," she glared at him, "it's just... nasty."

"Uhm?" he glanced down and wrinkled his nose. His skin was red around the wound, from the warm water and the black stitches stuck out horribly, "yeah, that's pretty gnarly."

"Nothing looks burst though, so that's good," she fumbled with the first aid kit that he only then noticed sitting on top of the sink, in search of another gauze pad, "how's your belly feeling?"

"Still pretty gross," Lucas admitted, "but empty. No more..." he gagged in his fist, "no more junk food for a while though."

Bella opened a lopsided smile, snickering, "what? No more fries?"

Just the thought of them caused him to gag harshly and bring up a small, disgusting burp, "Bell..."

"Sorry," she huffed, smiling still, "couldn't resist," she gently pressed the gauze to the wound, "Luke."

"Yeah?" he asked, taking in the gentleness of everything she was doing. Bella wasn't a normally delicate girl, so it was very deliberate that he could barely feel her touches.

"I'm not leaving you, you know that, right?" she smiled, cutting a piece of adhesive to keep the little square of gauze in place, "and we're gonna get through this rough patch."

A new, surprising churning sensation filled up his stomach. Butterflies, all over again. Lucas nodded, "I know... It just sucks, but I know we will."

Her cheeks turned a shade of pink and Bella smiled, moving up and kissing him, causing his head to hit the flush and startling them both. Lucas smiled, resting his forehead against hers, "I love you... Can we go to bed now, though? My dick's freezing out here."

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Don't Go Blindly Into the Dark

Summary:

To hide that he can't read, Jan Van Eck has been forcing his son to pretend he's blind since he was eight years old. Wylan is now attending Ketterdam University, and meeting Jesper Fahey may very well be about to change his life. But is he safe to tell Jesper the truth? And what will Jesper say if he does?

Jesper is struggling to weigh up his life in the Barrel and his life at the University of Ketterdam, and there's a good chance that his growing debt is about to make the decision for him. He hasn't attended class consecutively for months, but maybe that will change when his newest project includes partnering up with Wylan Van Eck. But can he really leave the Barrel behind him? And how long can he keep up the pretence of who he thinks Wylan wants him to be?

Tags: @justalunaticfangirl @lunarthecorvus

If anyone else would like to be tagged let me know :)

Content warnings for this chapter: ptsd, implied child abuse, weapons

AO3 link

Chapter 21 - Jesper

“What the fuck do you mean it was already gone?” Jesper was trying not to shout. Or scream, “You should’ve got there twenty minutes before-”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Jesper,” said Roeder, “The boat was gone, there was no-one there,”

Jesper ran a hand over his face. 

“Nina, what’s the time?”

She glanced at the slim, silvery timepiece on her wrist.

“Five bells half chime,”

Jesper grabbed his jacket, took Anika’s gun straight out of her hand, and began to run towards the door.

“Hey!”

“I’ll give it back to you,” he shouted, “Promise!” 

He could hear all of them calling for him and Nina hurried a few steps in his wake, but he knew she wouldn’t leave Inej. It didn’t matter. He ignored them all and broke out into the street, almost falling over his own feet as he tried to move faster than they could carry him, and trying desperately to remember which canals the Belendt line travelled down. Five bells half chime. There was a very tiny chance of that boat still being in this city, and damn it to hell Jesper was going to find it if it was. 

He flew South, forcing his way through the crowds that were slowly thinning the farther he went, trying to picture the map in his mind; the little red line Kaz had referenced snaking its way out into the countryside for them to follow if they missed the boat at the harbour. He followed the canal until he reached an East-West waterway blocking his path, with Black Veil island, the long since closed cemetery, coming vaguely into view farther South on the other side. Jesper stopped, bouncing on the balls of his feet with anxiety fizzing through his limbs, trying to decide where to go. He didn’t have much time to just stand here trying to make a decision. 

The ferry wouldn’t have passed the graveyard, would it? And surely it wouldn’t have gone down the Geldcanal either - imagine the complaints the Merchant Council members would have at such a thing blocking their private docks or ruining their pretty view. The boat had set off from Third Harbour so it must have gone past the embassies in the Government District and then down the back of the Church of Barter, but after that would it slip straight South or weave its way around the Financial District and then trace the edge of the Barrel before it went South? Jesper didn’t know the way to Belendt, but that red line hadn’t been perfectly straight. The boat must have travelled West along the canal currently blocking Jesper’s path, which meant he needed to find the first bridge he could and get to the next North-South waterway. 

His lungs were starting to put up a protest but he tried to force himself to run again anyway - or he would’ve done, if he wasn’t convinced he'd just heard someone say his name. He sputtered to a halt before he’d really started, turning to look around for the voice he’d heard. There were thin crowds ahead of him, mostly moving North towards the Slat and the Crow Club, and beyond - there was little this far South for the tourists; this was where the Barrel stored its sharpest teeth. But there didn’t seem to be anyone looking at him, or even in his direction. He must have imagined it. He began to turn away, to set back off and pray his stupid little setback hadn’t cost him too badly, when the corner of his eye caught a boy with what would have been ruddy golden curls, if he wasn’t completely and utterly sopping wet.

“Wylan?”

Jesper was in disbelief. He wasn’t close enough for Wylan to have heard him, and as he hurried over he placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder.

“Wylan-”

Wylan flinched so violently he might actually have come a foot off the ground, stumbling away as he turned to face Jesper, panic burning in his eyes. Jesper stepped backwards, retracting his hand.

“Shit- sorry, sorry. It’s just me, it’s Jesper,”

Wylan blinked for a moment, nodding quickly and breathing heavily. Jesper stared at him. He was dripping wet - literally dripping right onto the cobblestones, there was even water starting to pool in the cracks between them - and his hair had darkened where it was plastered to his forehead. His clothes clung to him and he was wearing a very wet satchel on his back, he didn’t have his cane, and Jesper wasn’t entirely certain if he was shaking because he was cold or because he was so taken so badly by surprise from him touching his shoulder. Quite possibly both. Jesper should’ve thought it through - whatever had just happened to Wylan had clearly not been fun, and he couldn’t see him coming.

“Jesper?”

“Yep. What-?” Jesper hesitated. He wasn’t entirely sure where to start, “What happened?”

There was a shaky pause.

“I… I fell off the boat. On the way - on my way to Belendt,”

“You just fell off the boat?”

Wylan nodded. He looked about as convinced as Jesper felt.

“Right…”

Jesper didn’t want to take Wylan back to see Kaz like this, but he was pretty sure Dirtyhands had gone to the Crow Club whilst Nina was Healing Inej. He could take Wylan back to the Slat, find him some dry clothes and suggest he got some sleep, but for as long as he didn’t want to volunteer the truth of his apparent swim Jesper wasn’t going to press for it, or let Wylan realise that he knew more than he was letting on. He swallowed.

“You remember I said I had a second place, in the city?”

Wylan nodded again.

“It’s about a ten minute walk from here, more or less, we can go there,”

He didn’t really want to say that it was the Slat, he didn’t know if Wylan would agree to follow him there. He was doubtless going to have a good guess at what kind of place they were in when he heard the crowds and the voices of the Dregs’, but hopefully by that point already having arrived would be a good enough argument to convince him to hang around. 

“Why?”

Jesper was taken slightly by surprise.

“Because it’s cold and you’re soaking wet, perhaps? Or maybe because I’m not just going to leave you standing alone in the middle of the Barrel looking so deeply lost that you’re basically just a walking target?”

Wylan’s face blanched a little at that. It then occurred to Jesper that the kid might be wondering why he’d assumed he had nowhere else to go, so he added:

“I mean, I can walk you home of course, but I thought you might want to get some clean clothes-”

“No,” Wylan managed, as if the word had been forced from his chest, “I… it would be really nice of you, to let me come to yours. Thank you,”

“Of course,” Jesper tried to smile reassuringly, and then remembered that wouldn’t make much of a difference to Wylan. 

He was about to set them both moving, when he remembered again that Wylan didn’t have his cane.

“Er, the ground’s kind of uneven,” he ventured, “Are you okay…?”

“We might have to go slow,” said Wylan, after a moment, “but I’m okay,”

The Slat was, of course, still busy when they arrived, but it seemed like Kaz was still absent. That was good; Jesper didn’t think this was a good time to spring anything more on Wylan than he was already dealing with. There were a few Dregs hanging around outside the building but the crowds weren’t thick around the place like they would be at the Crow Club, and Nina must have gone back to Inej’s room because he couldn’t see her as they came in. Someone on the far side of the room dropped a bottle and it shattered across the floorboards, leading several of the people around them to give a loud cheer.

“Jesper? Where are we?”

“It’s just, erm - careful, step - it’s just like a… small apartment building?” He probably shouldn’t have said that like it was a question, “I’m upstairs, just this way,”

Eventually they made it to the relative quiet of Jesper’s room, the door closed behind them. It was a little messy in here, but Jesper quickly dug through his stuff and found a clean towel to give to Wylan. He didn’t have any clothes that would fit him but he was sure he could find something somewhere in the house that would work until Wylan’s things were dry. 

“You can sit down,” he said, glancing over his shoulder and realising Wylan was still hovering next to the door handle with the towel clutched between his shivering fingers, “If you want. I’ll get you a drink - do you want something to eat?”

Wylan didn’t say anything, so Jesper returned with tea in the cleanest looking mug he could find and a slightly pathetic looking plate of two bread rolls and a hunk of cheese that was the best he could do at the moment. He knocked and waited for a moment, then when Wylan didn’t call him in knocked again and said:

“It’s Jesper. You alright?”

The door creaked open. Wylan must have run the towel through his hair because it was now slightly frizzy through the damp, and he’d dried his hands and face as well. He sat back down as Jesper set the plate and mug onto the little table that just about fit into his room. 

“I’ll go find you something dry to wear,” he said, after a minute of silence, “But then I, erm, due at work pretty soon,” he needed an excuse to run and tell the others Wylan was alive, and ask Kaz to wait until at least tomorrow until he followed up, “You gonna be okay here for a few hours? Or I can stay, but I’ll need to run out to let them kno-”

“It’s okay,”

Wylan’s voice was soft, almost distant. He sat very still where he was perching on the edge of Jesper’s bed, hands folded on his lap, eyes fixed blankly on the wall. After a minute, Jesper sat down next to him.

“Do you want to talk?”

“No,”

“Do you want me to talk about something else?”

There was a pause.

“Maybe,”

“Alright,” Jesper pulled his feet onto the bed so her could sit cross-legged, drumming his fingers against his knees, “Just let me know when you’ve decided,”

Wylan turned slowly so they were facing each other again. His scar glistened in the light that was coming through Jesper’s window; sunrise was all but complete and the rays painted dreams of light and shadow across Wylan’s face, and glistened in the water droplets still clinging to his curls. 

“Jesper…”

There was silence for a moment.

“Talk to me,” he whispered, “Just… keep talking. About anything. Please,”

“You’re in luck, merchling,” Jesper grinned, “That just so happens to be be my superpower,”

[final-girl96]

Firefly Chapter Forty-Nine

Joel's pov

Joel sat in the town's workshop, his boots sitting on the bench. They were falling apart, the duct tape he put around them was barely holding them together and the soles were so thin he could feel the terrain against the soles Of his feet. Every rock, stick, sharp jagged object they walked across he felt it.

His emotions were just like his boots. Held together by duct tape and barely holding on. He was relieved he found his brother, he was happy that Tommy was alright and safe. The new information about him Being married to a woman; a woman that most definitely hates him for that fact, was shocking. He was happy for him, but that to Joel…to Joel that meant Tommy wouldn't need him anymore. There was no way Maria would let him stay here. The news about Tommy becoming A father hit harder though. He had no doubt in his mind that Tommy would be an amazing father.

But being with Ellie and yn, Joel started to feel a little more like his old self. Ellie was a huge pain in his ass, but she was starting to become more than a package that he had to deliver. He grew to care for the girl. It has been so long since he's had a child in his presence. After Sarah, he didn't care for children much. He can't say he pictured having a family with yn because he has. It was just a picture of a time when Cordyceps never happened and Sarah was still alive. Yn would have finished college, dated guys her own age, and maybe then down the road when she was older, they could have been something more than just neighbors.

Their age gap has always bothered him. He kept it in the back of his mind though because he was in love with her, is in love with her. That doesn't matter though, she's not safe with him. Ellie isn't safe with him. Tommy would be able to get Ellie to where she needed to go and yn would be safer here. She could be happy here, and find someone closer to her age. Someone who could give her everything she deserves.

The bell over the door rang and Tommy walked in. “The guys said I might find you here,” he said, shutting the door behind him. “Figured I'd save you the trouble.” He sat down a pair of boots for Joel. Joel went and sat down on a stool and slowly started to put them on. “I shouldn't have said what I said,” Joel told him. “I don't even believe it. I know you're happy for me. It just... It's complicated for you... and I'm sorry. So you gonna let me off the hook, or what?”

“This ride to the University, is it a suicide mission?” Joel asked. “No. It's dangerous, but it's nothin' you can't handle. Just prepare and do what you do,” Tommy said. Joel finished putting his boots 9n and looked up at him. “You've had people go that way and come back?” He asked. He wanted to make sure it was going to be safe before he dropped a bomb on Tommy. “All of 'em. What is this?”

“She's immune.” Tommy pulled his eyebrows together in confusion. “What?” He asked. “Ellie. She got infected, but she didn't get sick. Tommy. Tommy, I saw her get bit myself. That was months ago. Months. She's immune. From the beginning. It was Marlene. She hired us to help yn smuggle her to some Fireflies. It went bad. Tess got bit. She made me swear to take the kid and go with yn. It was her dyin' wish. What the hell was I supposed to do?” Tommy didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent and listened to Joel, who's eyes were getting glossy.

“We went through Pittsburg and made it as far as Kansas City then... You know, she saved my life and yn's there... from another kid. Five years ago, I would've destroyed him. But she had to shoot him to save us. Fourteen years old. Because I was too slow and too fսckin' deaf to hear him comin' and get to yn before the other guy Got to her. And I saw... I saw a man kill his own brother... to save her, while I just watched. And today, I thought that dog was gonna tear her apart because it smelled somethin' on her. And all I did was stand there.”

He took a pause, hanging his head, and trying to swallow the lump in his throat. “I couldn't... move. I couldn't think of anything to say. I just... I was so afraid. You think I can still handle things, but... I'm not who I was. I'm weak. Lately, there are these moments where the fear comes up outta nowhere, and... my heart... feels like it's stopped. And I have dreams. Every night.”

“What kinda dreams?” Tommy asked. “I don't know. I can't remember. I just know that when I wake up... I've lost somethin'.” Joel let the tears go; let them slide down his cheeks. “I'm failin' in my sleep. That's all I do. It's all I've ever done is fail her again and again. I failed yn, too. Me coming back to her being gone repeats in my head over and over. I was too protective. I didn't spend time with her like she wanted because I was too busy off with Tess smuggling shit in and out of the QZ. I got her back but I've been failing her again.”

Tommy was silent for a while, thinking everything through. “You want me to take her.” Joel looked at him with a look of defeat. “I'm just gonna get her killed. I want yn to stay here where she's safe. She can have a life here, find someone her own age, someone who can take care of her and male her happy. I know it. I have to leave them.” He didn't want to but he knows he has to. Yn meant everything to him and Ellie had wormed her way into his heart. He wanted nothing more than for them to be with him but he couldn't do that. He wouldn't let himself do that.

“Joel…” Tommy was cut off before he could even respond. “I mean, it's why you took off on me, right? To make up for the things we did? Well, here's your chance to bring your kid into a better world. You're younger than me. You're still strong. You said it yourself, you'll come back. You have to take her. You have to make sure yn stays here where she's safest and will get what she deserves.happiness.And you can't tell anyone, not even Maria. Tommy, you're the only one I trust. If anyone else sees those bites on her, what's under her skin... they'll shoot her. It's the last thing I'll ever ask of you. I swear.” Tommy didn't say anything for a few long minutes. He thought it over. He knew yn would never agree to this. He knew he wouldn't be able to male her stay here, especially if Joel left. “I'll take her out at dawn. We got you in 38. It's left, left, right.”

[lal-ffxiv]

Prompt #29: On Cloud Nine

The elevator ride to the airship landing was short and easy. Asdis ate a light lunch at airship cafe as she waited on the preparations for departure. Then, Asdis saw the way to board the airship.

"Is it too late to walk?" Achlys teased Asdis for nerves in her stomach at the sight of the simple, lengthwise timber. Which could turn over with a tilt in Asdis' opinion, but there weren't any other choices. Debt collectors and their mercenaries have disrupted Asdis daily life in Ul'dah now. 

"Nonsense. I am not turning tail now." Asdis only steps onto the plank before halting again as she looks down to the city below.

"Are we scared of heights?" Asdis could feel the sneering in the words and she wouldn't have it.

"No, I'm not afraid of heights." 

Asdis was simply being cautious. Airships were relatively long standing for some people, but made only a fraction of Asdis's life. A life she was about to risk by stepping on an airship that could plummet from beneath her feet once she boards. It didn't though. The ship was solid and flew away from the city quite gently. 

"Are we happy now?" If Achlys had eyes to roll, Asdis was sure the voidsent would be making such an expression.

"Overall, I'm on cloud nine about these developments." Asdis said waving goodbye to the dwarfed people on the ground. Ah, thinking of goodbyes, Asdis had to wonder about her housemate. "Did I leave the note before departing today?" 

Any answer from Asdis' worse half is interrupted by an airship attendant.

"Are you alright, miss?" The lalafell asks. "It seems you were a bit nervous when you boarded." 

Asdis feels Achlys glee at the questioning, it makes Asdis seethe. 

"Yes. I'm quite alright." 

"Very well. We have seats below deck if you are feeling unwell. The estimated time of arrival to Ishgard is four bells."

Asdis nods at information. 

Once the attendant leaves, Asdis turns an inner eye to Achlys, "I won't speak to you for the rest of the flight. It is your fault that I can not travel long distances via aether." Asdis could feel the voidsent sulk in the corner of her soul, but she'd make true on her punishment anyways.

However, that left Asdis with only herself for company. Looking out at the clouds Asdis could not stop herself from recalling a conversation with Adanirus.

"As a child, and hells still to this day, I wonder what it would be like to ride on top of a dragon. Of course if I shared that thought with anyone they thought me simple or mad."

"Simple, I am not. Mad? That has yet to be proven." Asdis aches to her soul as she mimics his words. Asdis wishes to hear the words in his voice. Even the facsimile from #oo0 cracks and stutters with age though. Asdis settles on twisting the ring on her finger. She will have to find a new jeweler to have it mended soon. Unknowingly, Asdis becomes lost in her thoughts and is startled back into her body by the airship docking. 

"Enjoyed the flight?" Achlys asks to Asdis's realization that she is sitting in the commissary instead of last place she remembered being on the deck. 

"I better have not killed anyone on this ship." Asdis hisses under her breath as people prepare to depart the ship. 

"That would be bad manners." Achlys swears. 

Once off the airship Asdis approaches the aetheryte and finds she is still weakly attuned to the aethernet in the city. Well, it has been a few epochs, so she safely walks to the Forgotten Knight in place of the teleportation.  

"The city seems to be doing very well for itself now." Asdis comments out loud as she takes in the distant view of the new residential district. 

However, Asdis takes room at the Cloud Nine. Which has seen better days since Asdis last stayed there. 

"Hm, well I suppose this room will have to do for the time being. Only until we find proper accommodations of course."

[vacantgodling]

✨, 💅, 🎶, and 👩‍💻 !!!

thank youuuuu 🥹🥹

✨ share a snippet featuring night time — PARAMOUR

Amon only rolled his eyes and pulled open the side door. “I don’t like him, Eri. He’s just another trial in my means to an end.”

“You keep telling yourself that, dear.” with another knowing look, she vanished into the narrow passageway. Amon followed, letting the wooden hinge that squeaked softly behind them be the only witness to their midnight flight.

💅 share a snippet showing a character embracing their lgbtqness — TCOL

Clear deflated, finally sitting up. His eyes shone with tears brimming at their corners.

“I like men. I always have. No one here cares but my father did and he made me hate it. I can’t just. Especially not you, Forte, you're my closest friend. I can’t just like you—”

🎶 share a happy moment. ANY happy moment. You must have ONE. — JENNA THE WITCH KING

“Jenna!”

It was still odd to Carlos to see Yehna walking around, since she now had a body and it’d been several years since she and Jenna separated. She was still tall and pale as the day Jenna finished firing the initial clay of her body, and her eyes were still that eerie piercing green he remembered.

But the smile on her face was a new addition.

She quickly descended the stairs of the abandoned castle she’d currently taken up residence in (that was hell to track down, mind you), and despite what Carlos may have thought, small dandelions and daisy’s bloomed when her bare feet touched the forest floor. When the tall woman reached them, she cupped Jenna’s face lovingly in her hands, pressing kisses all over her face and cheeks and lips, and while Jenna’s face never changed, Carlos could feel the warmth emanating from her as she grasped Yehna’s arms and nuzzled against her.

It was crazy to think; how only a few years ago Jenna was almost dead. And now she was embracing the Reaper like an old friend.

That didn’t mean he was left out though, once Yehna laid eyes on him she let out a sound of delight and he too was swept up into her arms. Carlos couldn’t help but laugh and squeezed her tightly when she embraced him.

“And Carlos too! Happy!” Yehna smiled eagerly, clapping her hands. “Please, you must see my tiny children. Stay long?”

👩‍💻 share a snippet that you worked on for a long time or struggled with — PARAMOUR but like all of chapter 12 was ROUGH lol

Click clack his soft kitten heels went, the only anchor that he had to keep from falling into this dream. The bridge seemed to stretch on forever even if it was only a short way. When he reached the end of it, he was standing outside of a large round stained glass window. Up close the details were severe and intricate. Thousands of small designs were woven into each individual pane of glass, woven together in a clever mosaic to create a large portrait of The Savior hung like a sacrificial lamb in front of the pitch purple and black of The Vat of Darkness. Each outstretched arm did not weep blood but tears; crystalline watery blue stains, each depicting some horrible tragedy that had befallen Galeré over the centuries. The collapse of the first Iron Storm Bell that killed several thousand people; the flooding of the Halifax river in 841 that put half the city near underwater and truly established the difference between Uptown Halifax and the slums; even the horrible airship accident that took the young and beloved Princess Kalimeris from the world and set back the world he was familiar with today by nearly one hundred years. These tragedies pooled at the hanging Savior’s feet but not a tear was shed from the portrait’s eyes. Their dark black eyes were depicted with a humble determination, no different than the dark and wondering eyes of Aloe, and for a moment Hyacinthus was struck by the similarity.

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

will i wake tomorrow from this nightmare?

Claudia has accepted that she can't bring her dad back. But she can talk to him, and all she needs to do it is the blood of a Moonshadow elf. Please note: TW's for whump, torture, blood, and probably some other stuff, too. If it's not your cup of tea, do click off and find something else to read; we have lots of wonderful authors in this fandom, so you'll no doubt find something better suited to your tastes.

Needless to say, Claudia had been through hell and back. She’d lost her leg and her pride and her family, and even Aaravos, who was supposed to be able to do anything, that was the whole point, couldn’t do anything to bring him back.

For the third time. Claudia couldn’t help a scoff, shaking her head and wiping her stained palms on the fabric covering her thighs. She’d always been persistent– stubborn, more accurately.

“You can talk to him,” Aaravos murmured by the flickering firelight, the stars under his eyes and dotting his skin twinkling prettily like rhinestones. Shortly after he’d escaped, before that first barrage of arrows had rained down, he’d shrunk to average human size and led their escape into the smoldering woods surrounding the kingdom.

He could change his size, for the most part, he’d explained. It turned out his bells-and-whistles entrance was probably scripted and rehearsed, long-awaited. Aaravos had a flair for the dramatic– he carried glitter around in his pockets.

She whipped her head up, ignoring the tensing grip on the cloth between her shoulderblades. “I can what?”

“You can summon his spirit,” Aaravos elaborated, waving a hand to turn the fire from orangey-red to magenta and smiling softly. Claudia couldn’t help wondering if he’d done this with his own daughter millennia ago, the flames her favorite color. Had she clapped her hands and kicked her legs, giggling and fascinated? Had she known how deeply and truly her dad loved her? “Talk to him. If it will offer you closure.”

She soldiered to her feet. “Well, obviously I’m gonna do that! Why didn’t you tell me before?!”

He looked down. “I did not know if…” A sigh escaped, deep and velvety and sending tingles up her spine. “If I can offer you closure, I will do it. Everyone deserves that bare minimum.”

“Is it closure, though?” Terry piped up, the first words he’d said since he’d mumbled about going off to gather firewood, still traipsing away even after Aaravos assured him that with him, they wouldn’t need wood. “Won’t it just hurt you? Can’t we let the past stay in the past?”

“No, Terry!” Claudia snapped, then recoiled at herself. She got down on her knees next to him, reaching for his cute little four-fingered hands. She bit her lip apologetically. “Sorry. I’m sorry, Terr-bear. But if this can help me, if I can even just say goodbye… I have to. You understand, right?”

He was silent for a long time, slipping his hand from her wrist up her arm and to cup her face, a warm touch she eagerly leaned into. “Tell me it will help you,” he requested– no, begged. “Look at me and tell me it will help you, that it will only be one time, and I’ll support you.”

But where was the Terry who’d trusted her unconditionally?

Viren owed her a life he didn’t have to give anymore, so the very least he could do was hear her out and take her yelling at him, let him know that what he did to her was fucked up at the very least.

And it was such a small price to pay, too.

“It will help me,” she told him, tousling his hair even as she was unsure of if the words held any real truth. It had to help her, because what could she do if it didn’t? “It will be this one time, and then-” She swallowed. “Then, whatever happens is what happens.”

He kissed her forehead, drawing her into a standing embrace and supporting her when she turned to look back to the Startouch elf. “Then I’ll stand by you.”

“What do I need for it?”

“Wait,” Terry interjected, holding out a hand he pointed accusingly at Aaravos. “Why aren’t you doing it?”

He smiled almost apologetically. “Only the mage who performs the spell can lay their eyes upon the deceased.”

Claudia squeezed his hand. “It’s okay. It’s just one. What do I have to get?”

He flicked his hair back. “Just one thing: the blood of one between life and death. The blood of a Moonshadow elf.”

Read more on ao3

[another-heroine]

Flying Close to the Sun - Part One

A/N: another itch scratched as it should be lol

I was thinking about write a crossover with Ocean like this one for a long time, but I was insecure for many reasons, one of them was my judgement that Ekaterina's traits were not 'sharpen' enough. But here we are.

Thank you, @aelyosos for lending me your pirate lad. I really love his concept and you are one of the sweetest mutuals I ever had.

He must be dead. The ringing inside his ears certainly were Pharasma’s bells. Ocean should know better that sooner or later the Lady of the Graves would get tired of his boldness and catch him. After all, every legend had its end, why would his be different?

“To hell those—” He couldn’t end the phrase. The tiefling rubbed his eyes angrily, feeling the ringing echoing inside his brain. If he could get up, he would bury his head on the wall until that stops or he passes out.

He was so thirsty. At least, his body was laid on a soft mattress… But he didn’t recall that place. Pale curtains were closed, but it was still possible to spot sun rays infiltrating through the thin fabric. There was a rambling outside, with wagon wheels crossing the streets and children shouting. Everything was too bad — and loud — when you were drunk like him. Ocean wanted to puke, but his stomach seemed empty.

Perhaps that was the problem: he was also hungry.

Before he could gather forces to turn his body, the room’s door opened. On instinct, Ocean immediately stood up, his tail snapped over the bedside table and knocked out some souvenirs. The floor was moving under his feet, but he held on, ready for anything — or anyone — that was coming through that door.

But for his astonishment, it wasn’t an angry innkeeper or a voluptuous lover. Actually, it was a woman with copper-colored hair, carrying a bowl. Noticing the tiefling looking at her like he just saw a ghost, she muttered, “Good morning. It’s good to see you awake”.

Ocean didn’t know where to look. She wasn’t mad at him, and he was wearing pants and a shirt. Most probably they didn’t have a one night stand. If he could have a glimpse of what happened last night it would make things less confusing, but everything was a blur…

“Hey, take it easy.” She noticed his stiff body. “You are safe here.”

“But what happened?” he finally said.

She glanced at the small plant pot that he broke, and rested the lidded bowl on the bedside. “You were found unconscious in the streets.”

“Oh.”

It was true, he still remembered the innkeeper shouting at him before kicking him out. But that scene was so common that it could be a false memory.

“And you hit your head.” She pointed to her own.

The man moved his hand to touch his forehead and felt a trail of stitches, from the hairline to the temple. He was still intrigued, but slightly relieved. “Aye, it explains a lot why it hurts…”

She muffled a chuckle. “I daresay it is not only because of the hit. You were drunk as a skunk. And now you can’t even stand up.”

Ocean narrowed his eyes. “Who, me? Of course not, lass. I’m fine and in one piece, I just need to catch my thing—”

The stranger only put one hand on his shoulder and gave a little shove. That was enough for Ocean’s legs to fail for good, and he fell down onto the mattress.

“As I said”, she stated flatly, “No, you are not”. 

The tiefling opened and shutted his mouth, trying to formulate a statement, but soon he gave up and asked, “Bloody hell, who are you? Are you being paid to keep me captive here?”

“Me? Not at all.” She shrugged, taking a chair on the corner of the room. “The Saranrae’s local priests had the worst plans for you, trust me.”

Hearing about those fanatics made his tail curl nervously. They have been more ruthless lately.

“And you are a priest of…”

“No one. It’s just me and the Green Faith.”

Ocean arched his brows. It was unusual. A beautiful woman with a soft demeanor taking him from Saranrae's mad dogs. He had to give in; whoever she was, she saved him, after all.

The pirate sighed, “Aye, I believe ya… But, what’s your name?”

She sat before him and introduced herself, “Ekaterina. Now hold still, I have to clean those stitches”.

He straightened up on the edge of the bed. Ekaterina opened the bowl and a strong scent of lavender filled the room. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing curious blue tattoos and started her task.

While she was taking care of his forehead, Ocean couldn’t help but think that there was something odd on her. He couldn’t tell if that was one of the hangover side effects, but Ekaterina was… glowing. She was very pale, although had a pinkish alive undertone, but also there was a golden shine coming from her. And despite the cold room, her hands were very warm.

Suddenly, one thing connected to another.

“You are an aasimar.”

She smiled, amused. “You have a good perception for someone tipsy.”

“I’m not tipsy,” he grumbled. “And I just thought out loud, sorry. It didn’t mean to sound rude.”

“No offenses taken.”

Definitely she didn’t give a damn about his suspicions. Actually, she looked very concentrated while taking care of his stitches.

Probably because she knows how to cut somebody open as well. He swallowed hard.

Ocean continued, “But… I thought that every aasimar had metal colored eyes. And yours are like… an icy sea?”

They were not golden or silvery. Her irises were so pale that it was impossible to spot her pupils, if she had any at all. Ekaterina looked amused with his observations, and replied without turning her focus from his wounds, “Well, maybe I’m one of a kind. Not every tiefling has red skin, too, you know?”

That was one of few moments when he was grateful for not blushing easily. Ocean nodded, embarrassed. “Fair.”

They remained silent. He almost couldn’t catch her touching, or the suture being adjusted. Ocean was still feeling sick, but the lavender smell calmed his nerves slowly.

“I didn’t ask yet, but what’s your name?”

She broke the silence, squeezing the handkerchief over the bowl. They were almost done, and he felt his heart getting small.

“Ocean.”

“I suppose that you are not from Mendev either.” She stared at him.

He looked around, like there were more people there. “Who else isn’t?”

“Me.” She shook her head and got up.

The tiefling grimaced. “Seriously? What a lass like you are doing in a town like this?”

Ekaterina giggled. “I ask myself every day. But… it’s better than my homeland.” She peeked through the curtains. “I don’t know how long you are here in Kenabres or if you plan to stay longer, but be careful. Lately things are getting hard for anyone who doesn’t look… decent.”

Ocean scoffed, “Do you mean, people who look like demons?”

“Likewise. They are searching for witches and all sorts of outcasts as well.”

He lowered his eyes and pondered. “And you risked your life for me. Why?”

“I can’t just watch people being kicked and walk away like it was nothing!” She frowned.

Ocean took a deep breath and got up. “I owe you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about it.”

“No, no, I mean it,” he chuckled, raising a finger. “ 'specially when a beautiful lass saves my arse!”

Ekaterina looked at him with curiosity. Afterwards, she shook her head. “It sounds like you are getting back to normal. That’s great.”

Ocean smiled back. Being friends with that aasimar would be interesting.

[nerdieforpedro]

Maria's Tea

Part of the Post Apocalyptic Fluff and Stuff Collection

Joel Miller and Celeste (plus size OFC)

This fic and my blog overall is for readers 18+ MDNI

Word Count: about 1.2k

Summary: Joel sees Celeste while he's on his way and it turns out he's too early. They kill time together and Joel wonders if someone is trying to harm him. Maria's tea is called into question.

Warnings: attempted murder (Joel's perception), Nerdie's bad jokes again, talk of family, talk of children, discussions of possible futures, mentioning a past incident (if you read "Scarlet Stains and their Echoes" mind the bolded warnings), longing, some fluff (finally!)

Notes: I was finally able to give these two a bit of fluff. I'm proud of myself. I think they're good now.

Main Masterlist/ Joel Miller Masterlist/ Post Apocalyptic Fluff and Stuff Collection

“So you’ve never had her tea?”

“No, why would I drink anything she gives me without my brother around? She hates me and barely tolerates me.”

“Following your logic, if Maria is trying to kill you, and even if she’s trying to kill you slowly, she would need to hide her guilt from your brother.”

Miller rolled his eyes as he stopped in the middle of the street. He’d been on his way to pick up Elle from classes and Celeste had spotted him after finishing up a cup of Maria’s brewed tea. She thanked Maria and headed out to say hello. Joel stopped and returned her little wave. Within the month since taking her back to her house, it had been a fine balance in their interactions. Friendly but still at a distance.

“She reminds me of a woman I once knew. Maria could manage it. Not bat an eye and even place flowers on my grave like she didn’t put me there.”

Celeste shook her head and laughed. “Joel, that’s your sister-in-law. If she gets rid of you, who’s going to care for Elle?” She stands two feet away from Joel as they stand in front of makeshift school. Joel laughs and listens out for the bell. It was a large cowbell they used to signal when school let out.

“Between you and Tommy, Elle will be fine.” He stated without batting an eye. Celeste looked up at Joel, he seemed sure she would. Her hands were on her hips, flabbergasted at his response.

“Joel, I’ve never had kids. Only babysat and I didn’t even like that. How would I handle a teenager?” She was curious what his answer would be to that. His partner clapped her palm on his back. “Elle and I are going to fight like two hungry cats over a can over tuna.” Joel placed his large hand on her forearm and grinned. Shaking her head again. “You know what you’re implying right? Who the hell else am I going to patrol with?”

“If it happens anytime soon, I’m sure your dear Maria will partner you with someone less prickly.” Celeste rolled her eyes hard on that one, looking forward to the school building. No opening of doors at the moment. “But what I’m talking about is at least ten years if not twenty years down the line. She’ll need someone who doesn’t poison people’s tea. And who knows how to survive and someone I can trust to watch my back without question. You’d do the same for her.” Joel placed a tuff of hair behind Celeste’s ear. She didn’t move, the look on his face…it had her wondering if she could honor his supposed wish for her to look after Elle. 

“Hey! School doesn’t let out for another couple of hours. You two good?” The younger Miller brother was on his way home after helping to repair a fence for the sheep in Jackson. It was a good thing that his older brother had a patrol partner he could trust. Rotating him and having piss off so many of the patrol members didn’t help encourage people to sign up for it. Though Tommy wasn’t sure at his wife’s suggestion of matching them up at first, he was quickly proven wrong. Maria had mentioned to him that old man Jinkins had seen Celeste outside in her sleep clothes and Joel taking her inside during a heavy rain last month. He’d kept it in the back of his mind, how she came to Jackson. Maybe something about them both being haunted grounded them together.

“Just fine little brother. Where ya comin’ from? I haven’t done much today, ‘cept be somewhere at the wrong time.” Joel shrugged his shoulders and gave his brother a quick hug. Tommy patted Celeste’s head and she swatted at his arm. 

“Ugh…Millers. You headed home Tommy?” Smoothing down her hair, she shook her head and looked toward the school again. Looked like he was right, and school was not letting out. She was considering heading home as well. “Tell Maria to make some tea for Joel when you get in.” She smirks and steps away, but Joel grabs the sleeve of her jacket. 

“If you’re going to be setting me up like that, you’re coming too.” Joel tugged and Tommy laughed.

“You’re still convinced my wife is still trying to kill you? Joel, it’s been two years.” The younger Miller brother sighs and walks ahead of them to his home. “I mean, she’s okay with you now. It was just at first.”

Joel walks while still holding the edge of Celeste’s jacket. “She’s playing the long game brother. Mark my words.”

Rubbing his temples before opening the front door, Tommy groaned. “You’re a paranoid old man.”

“I’ve been alive this long and made it this far.” Joel defended himself. Celeste laughed at the two brothers. It was heart-warming to see a brotherly connection as strong as theirs. She watched as Tommy greeted Maria with a kiss and she started heating some water on the stove. She stood in the doorway as Joel said hello and so did Maria, their faces neutral toward one another. The Miller trio’s gazes fell on Celeste, Joel patted the seat next to him while Tommy got down four mugs. 

Maria got out a jar half full of honey, and poured the boiling water in the mugs, from some herbs she’d placed in the bottom of the pot. Tommy and Celeste added honey to their mugs while Joel tapped his fingers on the side of his. Tommy laughed softly as he watched his brother fidget. Celeste sat down next to Joel and slowly sipped her tea, looking directly at Maria. Mrs. Miller sipped from her mug and put her arm around her husband.

“Joel. I would have gotten rid of you a long time ago if I was really going to. The tea’s fine.” Maria scoffed and Joel tightened his lips.

“Alright. Fine.” Sipping the hot liquid quells his thirst and warms him from the inside. Tommy and Maria start talking about their respective days and Joel feels a hand on his back. He turns to his left where Celeste sits, always on his good side.

“Good isn’t it? Told you.” She continues to smirk. Joel gives her a small smile and lightly touches his shoulder to hers. It’s a small gesture but he appreciates a welcome place - maybe it was foolish to think that his sister-in-law would harm him. 

Joel maybe shouldn’t be that suspicious of her after all. Family is what he has now: Tommy, Elle, and Maria. The school bell finally goes off and the indistinct chatter of children is heard. Elle pops in to say hello, surprised that Joel and Celeste were here. Maria put on another pot to make more tea. 

It all seems so normal. To be here with everyone.

Celeste touches the back of her hand to Joel’s and their gazes meet. Their hands don’t move and stay in contact with each other. 

It’s nice. It’s warm. It’s life right now.

[thecollectionsof]

wip peer pressure game (aka a sampling board of my wips <3)

(i'm putting most of them under the cut so this post doesn't get too long <3)

hanahaki au: 3 votes “Hey,” she hears from above her, making her jump. Gigi’s standing there, just out of reach and hovering, looking like she doesn’t know if she should sit down or not. It sends another pang of guilt through Crystal, as if she hadn’t already been feeling bad enough, to know that Gigi was this uncomfortable around her after she was so mean to her. She knew she deserved it, but still. Proof of just how much she fucked up stings and she scrambles to her feet, not knowing if it would help Gigi feel more at ease but desperate to get rid of the unfamiliar and demanding tension between them that seems to press in from all sides.

soulmate au: 1 vote They need a break.

They don’t get a break, not really. Not between the way their thoughts seem to revolve around Gigi at every slow moment or the glimpses of the coffee cup that only make it worse. Not when the bells at the front jingle merrily and Crystal sees a flash of ginger hair enter the store, almost making them drop the book of dad jokes they’d been idly flipping through.

postcards: 2 votes A friend.  She drops the postcard, feeling something bitter and acidic bubbling in her, something she’s not used to feeling, not when she used to feel so secure with Michael.  Ugh, jealousy, she greets caustically, disgusted at herself and just barely fighting off the ache at the thought. A friend. Clara. She’s never been one to be jealous, but she’d have also never thought that Michael would run from her like this, so what does she know? This friend could be a friend, or she could be Michael’s fuck buddy, or maybe she was her replacement. 

the girl in the library: 2 votes “I’m Jaida. What’d you do?” “I don’t know! I didn’t realize that it was her room when I went in but I needed to get some work done so I stayed, and then after a while she woke up, and she’s so pretty, also, nobody told me that,” Gigi rambles, running a hand through her hair. “And we talked for a second and then she smiled and turned over and I left. And I’m Gigi by the way.” Jaida nods in acknowledgment, but raises one eyebrow, “So why’d you run outta there like a bat out of hell?”  “I don’t know!” Gigi whines. Something about Jaida makes her feel like she was talking to a close friend, despite just meeting her. She doesn’t hesitate to slump down in the chair, acting petulant. “She’s really pretty.” “Oh bitch, you think she’s pretty pretty.” Gigi nods, playing with the strap of her bag. “Yeah, she’s… she’s pretty pretty. Like, she’s ‘I almost want to go back in there and pretend to do work so I'm in the same room as her’ pretty.”

enemies to lovers: 1 vote She wakes up the next day with her headphones askew, just barely perched on her head, and a crick in her neck that she can’t seem to work out. She doesn’t think about Gigi. (She does.)

leave the light on part 5: 3 votes Crystal’s hair is beautiful in the morning. Streaks of gold lace through the warm brown locks, messy from a night of turning over. Gigi always flips over and watches her in the mornings that she wakes up earlier than her—which was most mornings, given that Crystal tended to be a night owl when they both knew that Gigi would get grumpy if she stayed up too late.  But now, in the morning, admiring Crystal and waiting for her to wake up, then gently cuddling as they put off getting out of bed? This is her favorite time, her favorite moments. Seeing Crystal’s golden streaked hair and hearing her even breaths and feeling her warmth, all of it. 

[silvaswiftcast]

FFxivWrite2023 Prompt #12: Dowdy

Characters: Silva Cataracta and Hien Rijin

Rating: General

Notes: This scene takes place in Shadowbringers Patch 5.5. Ricmorn (Silva's husband) is mentioned here, but he's not in this bit. Miki is Silva's childhood friend, but the relationship between them is more of a sisterly one. Words contained in [brackets] are in another language, in this case, it's Doman.

Content Warnings/Additional Tags: Anxiety, Being Overwhelmed/Overstimulated and Needing to be Alone, Polyamory Relationship (V Relationship), M/F/M relationship Food, Alcohol.

“There! That’s all… finally done,” Silva sighed, carding a hand through her short waves. She set the dirty mop and bucket aside for the moment, needing a break from constantly moving and being on her feet for bells on end. Her eyes roamed over her large, very, very clean Kugane apartment, impressed with the work she’s done.

When was the last time this place had been so clean?

“Now… now what?”

She didn’t mean to spend the entire day deep-cleaning it. Today was supposed to be about relaxing and ignoring the world for a little while. Business at both of her selling stalls in Ul’dah and Kugane had slowed down. She and the rest of her Scion companions were still waiting to receive word from Krile on when they could join her in old Sharlayan. There was nothing for her or Ricmorn to do about the massive Telphoroi towers that dotted the realm for the moment — not without endangering the lives of so many others under the Alliance banners. 

All they could do was wait.

And Silva wasn’t in the mood to tag along with her husband to go visit his parents and siblings in Gridania for a week. The thought of it right now filled her with anxiety. But, thankfully, Ricmorn was understanding and didn’t mind going by himself.

That was until a few days into his trip — and her alone time — her linkpearl started blowing up with inquires from her uncle and sister. The questions were innocent at first. How are you? Do you need someone to bring you anything? Did you remember to eat? The dancer was happy to answer them, of course. They were worried about her and didn’t have time in their busy schedules to be at her side for long periods. She understood that. But it got annoying after the third day when the calls seemed to happen nearly every single bell she was awake — and always at the most inconvenient moment.

Whether it be while cooking or eating, bathing, folding ungodly amounts of laundry, tucked away in her office to mess with paperwork, or even napping, one of the two would call her. And it was usually Miki.

Speaking of cooking… she should probably scrounge her pantry and cold storage for ingredients to throw together for dinner.

She could only put up with it for a day before she was annoyed and decided to tell them to leave her be and would call if she needed anything. And then immediately removed her linkpearl and put it in a safe place. The situation felt unfair and overwhelming. She knew her family meant well, but gods and kami be good — they drove her wild more often than not.

So far, they seemed to respect her wishes, and she hadn’t heard from them since.

Or… so she thought.

A sudden knock at her door startled Silva from her thoughts, the jarring sound causing the spines at the base and tip of her tail to bristle in response. Confused, she poked her head out from her walk-in pantry, turning a horn toward the door. And when another loud knock sounded, she groaned.

“Great! Wonderful!” she grumbled. “Who in the hell could that be?”

The Au Ra crossed the apartment in fast strides, her long ivory tail swishing behind her as she made her way to the door. Her nimble fingers unlocked several latches before turning the knob and opening it to tell whoever was standing there to go away.

“Look, Miki— for the thousandth time, I do not want to go out anywhere or—” Her retort died on her tongue when it wasn’t her childhood friend standing before her, but the young Lord of Doma — her other lover. “Oh… you’re not my sister.”

The corner of Hien’s mouth twitched as he fought back a smile at her shocked expression. “[Wildflower.] Were you expecting someone else?” he teased.

Warmth filled her cheeks. “I-I wasn’t expecting anyone.”

Not that she wasn’t happy to see him — they’ve both been busy with their duties lately, and it was hard to find the time to meet up. But now she was even more confused. Did they plan a date for tonight, and she somehow forgot about it? That wasn’t like her.

And to think he would find her looking rather dowdy — the old pair of leggings and one of Ricmorn’s hooded sweaters she wore were for comfort and lounging around in. To be worn on a lazy day when dressing up in her ornate dancer gear was too much of a hassle.

He looked past her for a second before finding her wide eyes again. “May I come in?” he asked, adjusting the heavy bag from one arm to the other. “My arms are starting to fall asleep from carrying this around.”

“Oh! Yes, of course, please—”

She opened the door further and moved out of the way so he could walk past her and into the apartment. Her lips turned up into a quick smile when he gave her a chaste kiss and murmured his thanks before walking over to place the bag on the island in her kitchen. Soon, the smell of freshly made food filled her senses, and she prayed her empty stomach wouldn’t suddenly growl. Curiosity getting the better of her, she followed after him.

“You brought dinner?”

Hien grinned, nodding. “All your favorites: the chicken and scallion gyoza, sweet basil fried rice, a few of the spiced meat buns, and the sesame peanut noodles.” Once he laid all the food containers out, he reached into the bag one last time to pull out a full bottle of sake. “And, of course, our favorite drink to share.”

The abrupt but welcoming gesture touched Silva deeply. “After cleaning the entire apartment today by myself, I could use several cups of sake,” she admitted with a light laugh. “Thank you so much. You didn’t have to do this, Hien. I know how busy you’ve been as of late.”

“Think nothing of it, Silva,” he told her, giving her all his attention now. “I figured since you weren’t answering your linkpearl the past few days, something was troubling you. I gave me the excuse to come check on you myself.”

He chuckled when a string of curses left her, and she buried her face into her hands.

“Fuck— Of course, as soon as I take the stupid thing out of my horn, you or Ricmorn would try reaching out to me! Forgive me, I’ve just been—”

He shook his head, cutting her off. “No need to apologize. Your sister told me everything when I asked her what was happening — I understand. Everyone needs a moment to themselves from time to time.” The sound of her relieved sigh filled the space between them, and he couldn’t help but reach out for the tired Au Ra. “And if you wish to continue wanting to be alone, I can leave and—”

“No!” she rushed out, grabbing onto the fur lining of his dogi to keep him in place. “No, please— Stay! I don’t mind your company, and I would be a fool to turn you away after coming all this way with food and drink. You’ll just have to excuse my… frumpy appearance.”

The young lord laughed at her expression. His chest and shoulders shook from the force of it, amusement shining in his eyes. “[Wildflower,] you are anything but frumpy.”

[sapppy-cocktail]

The Girl From California? - Part 1

Max Mayfield x Reader

Masterlist

It’s the first day of sophomore year. The ground’s still open, earthquakes are uncommon and half the town is gone. The only people left are the ones that can’t afford to leave, the ones who have missing relatives, or the ones emotionally attached to the town. My family seems to fit in with the ones that are emotionally attached to the town. My family has lived here for generations so the pride of the town getting better is still stuck with my parents. Personally, I don’t care what we do, stay or go, it doesn’t really matter as long as I can do what I love. Soccer and skateboarding. Sure, I’ll miss my classmates and teammates but if it comes to them or the sports I’m going with sports. Honestly, I’m just sick of hearing people kill themselves by jumping into whatever the hell that is.

“Y/N?” The teacher calls out pulling me out of my trance. “Yes miss?” I ask as I look up. “You will be partnered with Will Byers for the project.” She says making me look around for the boy. I notice him already looking at me. I smile and wave at him, he shyly raises his hand in response. Once the bell rings I walk over to him. “So do you want to study at mine or yours?” I ask as he avoids eye contact with me. “Uh, maybe. If you want you could come to my house. No one's gonna be home so we can have the whole house to ourselves.” He says making me him in agreement. “What time?” I ask making him finally look at me. “Now. But if you’re busy we can do it another day.” He says quickly. “Nah, now’s good.” I say as I walk with him to his locker. “Actually wait. Do you mind if I meet you there? I promised I’d help coach out with organising the equipment.” I say as he looks at me nods. “Yeah uh it’s all good I’ll write my address on this piece of paper and you can meet me there when you’re done.” He says as he smiles in understanding. I thank him and wait as he writes his address down before handing it to me. “Great I’ll see you soon.” I call out as I walk backwards before turning around and jogging to the locker rooms.

Will’s POV

“Guys you won’t believe what happened… Hello. Come in.” I say into the walkie talkie. “Guys? Hello?” I ask before repeating the same thing just to be greeted with static. I double-check the frequency and try other ones before sighing and putting it back on my bedside table. I look around my room to see it's a bit messy. I quickly rush to pick up old toys and fix my bed and make it presentable before moving to the kitchen to do the same thing.

Y/N’s POV

The leaves crunch beneath my feet as I walk on a path and look around the woods. As I notice a root sticking out of the ground I’m hit with flashbacks of when we had the search party for Will. So many people had tripped over it so I was standing beside it making sure no one else would trip on it. I lightly kick it and smile at the memory of one of my friends tripping on it. Hearing faint music in the distance I look up and notice a house. Wills' I presume, I walk over to it and knock on the door. The music instantly stops and I hear footsteps running to the door. “Hey Y/N.” Will says as he smiles and holds the door open for me to enter. “You have a nice house.” I say as I look around as I step in. “Thank you.” He mumbles as he scratches his neck before walking in front of me. “I wasn’t sure what snacks you like but I got my favourites and if you don’t like any of them we have more in the pantry.” He says as nervously shows the table filled with snacks and drinks. “It's perfect. Thank you.” I say as I sit down at the table, him doing the same. “So I was thinking since you’re an artist you could do the creative side and I’ll work on the research.” I say as he nods quickly. “Y-yeah I can do that.” He says a bit of shock evident on his face. “I’ve heard you’re a really good drawer.” I say as his eyes widen. “Oh, really?” He asks curiosity in his eyes. “Yup. Miss Smith. Year 2. She said she was in love with the pony you drew for her daughter.” I say smirking as he cracks a smile. “Oh of course it’s miss smith.” He says laughing as his head goes back in laughter. “I’ll get started on the Macbeth drawing.” He says as he grabs his pencils. “And I’ll look through books.” I say as I pick up the book from my bag.

After a while I hear humming and since I was getting a bit bored of reading and writing notes I look up to see Will sticking his tongue out as he focuses on whatever he’s drawing. Lightly humming the words to should I stay or should I go. I smile as I watch him rock his head side to side to the beat. “I’m glad you’re okay.” I speak up grabbing his attention. “What?” He asks confused as he stops drawing to look up at me. “You know. When you went missing and all. I’m sorry I didn’t say it then but I’m glad you’re okay.” I say making him smile and nod his head. “Thank you.” He says before focusing back on his drawing, the smile still on his face as he bites his lip to hide it. I smile at him once more before putting my attention back to the book.

“So is tomorrow same time okay?” He asks as I put the books back in my bag. “Ooo, sorry I’ve got a game.” I say as look up at him apologetically. “Oh, that's, it’s fine. How about after?” He asks as I stand up. “Oh yeah. That’s fine.” I say as I sling my backpack over my shoulder. “So what times your game.” He asks as I look at my watch. “It’s straight after school. So I can get to your house at 5:30. 5:00 if I skate fast.” I say as we walk to the door. “My mum can drive us.” He offers which causes me to look at him confused. “What do you have after school?” I ask as he opens the door. “I'm going to watch your game.” He says making me laugh. “Oh really?” I ask sarcastically as I turn to face him. “Did you not want me to come?” He asks tilting his head, slight hurt evident on his features. “Oh, you’re serious?” I ask making him nod. “If you’re coming just to pick me up don’t worry about it I can bring my bike, get here faster.” I say making him shake his head. “I want to come to your game.” He says making me nod slowly with wide eyes. “Alright. If you change your mind it’s all good I’ll make to your house fast, I’m quick. Faster than lighting. I’ll be there one second then I’ll zoom right past you. I’m a zoomer. I zoom.” I say making him smile amusedly and raise an eyebrow at me. “Okay Y/N.” He says unable to contain his smile as I grab my skateboard off the floor. “Bye Will. Have a goodnight.” I say as I wave and walk away.

Wills POV

After watching her leave I go back to my room and wait until everyone comes home. Both my mum and Hopper are out working and since Jonathon went to go see Nancy he took El to the Wheelers' house with him. Therefore I had the whole house to myself. I play music and lay down on the bed throwing a ball at the ceiling until I hear a door open. “Will? I’m home!” My mum calls out from the living room. I turn the music off and get off my bed to walk out of my room. “Hey mum.” I say as I give her a hug. “How was work?” I ask as we sit down to eat at the table. “It was okay. Busier than usual.” She mentions as I nod. “So mum. I was wondering if you could pick me up maybe 2 hours after school ends.” I ask nervously looking up as I play with my food. “I think I can do that. Are you hanging out with your friends?” She asks as I shake my head. “I want to watch the soccer game. It’s right after school and my friend needs to be picked up as well if that’s okay.” I say as I smile shyly. “Yeah of course. Who’s your friend?” She asks making me smile. “Do you remember Y/N? The one from middle school. Really popular. She plays soccer.” I say as her eyes widen in realisation. “Oh! L/N! Yes! I remember her. Lovely girl.” She says smiling as she remembers who I’m talking about.

As I walk into the school i take notice of the party so I walk over to greet them. “Hey guys.” I say making them acknowledge me. “Hey Will.” Lucas smiles before putting his attention back on the others. “You won’t believe who I got partnered with for a class project.” I say trying to start a conversation with them. They don’t respond and continue talking and I sigh before mumbling. “Y/N L/N.” I say to the others who clearly weren’t listening. That’s when Lucas and Dustin perk up. “Y/N L/N?!” Dustin yells as he whips his head towards me. “You got partnered with Y/N? Like the Y/N?” Lucas asks as he steps closer to me. “You’re lying.” Mike speaks up taking his attention off El. “She came over yesterday.” I say cracking a smile to be able to finally talk to the group. “Why didn’t you tell us?“ Lucas whisper yells trying not the grab the attention of the other students. “I called but no one answered.” I say making them shake their heads. “What’s she like?” Dustin asks ignoring the comment I made previously. “She’s really nice and really funny.” I say as they all stare at me intensely. “Who’s Y/N?” El asks grabbing everyone’s attention. “Y/N. The best soccer player in Hawkins. The girl that’s been playing soccer since she took her first steps. Rumour is that her first words were Johan Cruyff. Best player in the 70s.” Dustin says elaborating to try to remove the confused expression on her face. “She’s probably the coolest person in our grade.” Lucas says to her. “She is the coolest person in our grade. Maybe even the whole school.” Dustin says as Mike nods in agreement. “Is she your friend?” El asks making their eyes widen as they shake their heads. “No no no no. She’s too popular for us.” Mike says as El furrows her eyebrows. “You like her?” She asks all of us. “My day 1 crush from the day she took me to a teacher to help me with the scratch on my leg.” Dustin says proudly making Lucas raise an eyebrow. “What about Suzie?” He asks making Dustin raise an eyebrow back at him. “As much as I like Suzie and her genius brain I’d follow Y/N to the end of the world.” He says smiling as Lucas shakes his head.

Y/Ns POV

I walk out onto the field and drink some water before throwing my bottle by my bag and jog on the spot as my coach tells us our positions and the game plan. “Y/N, you’re up in front. Get some goals, this one’s gonna get us to the finals.” He says as he looks at me making me nod. “Got it.” I say as I nod, him doing the same thing before he talks to the other strikers. I stand up straight and look at the other team huddling. Their coach doing the same thing and that’s when I see them point at me. I smile as the ref calls us up into positions. “Keeper!” He calls out making me look back at her to see her put a thumb up. As he writes in his notebook I look into the stands and that’s when I see Will smiling widely at me and waves at me before holding his thumbs up. “Ready?” The ref asks making me look down at the ball at my feet. I nod before he blows the whistle making me pass the ball before running up the field. The hall continues to go up down the field having a few close goals but eventually, I'm able to pass a few players and score. I laugh and cheer in excitement as my teammates run over to me hi-fiving me.

As we continue to play the scores go up and down and now it’s the last 2 minutes and we’re on a draw, 2 all. I wipe the sweat off my forehead and try to figure out a way to shoot one more goal. I sigh and look around for my teammates and take notice of their position. As we go back to our positions I call out to Will. “This one’s for you Will!” I yell loud enough for him to hear. He smiles shyly and turns red from me singling him out in the crowd. The ref blows and I pass the ball running up the field watching my offside and moving into free space. I pass to my teammate and she goes for the shot, sadly she misses but the keeper tapped it out so it’s a corner. I walk over to her and pat my teammate on the back and smile at her as she goes to take the corner while I go into the box. The keeper of the opposition asked how long was left. “10 seconds.” Was his reply. I put my hands up to her and signal that there's 10 seconds so her shot is what I’m counting on. She takes notice of me and nods as I tilt my head to point toward the goal. She takes a deep breath as she steps back for the run-up while I take a few steps to get a clear shot for the goal. She runs up and kicks the ball up into the air. I jump up to header it in. As I land back on the ground I hear cheering and screaming as the ref blows the whistle signalling the end of the game. As my teammates jump on me cheering I turn my head to see the ball at the back of the net. I smile and cheer as we all high-five each other. “WHOOO! YES Y/N!” I hear the boy who is usually shy and quiet. I turn to look at him and see him now beet red from screaming his words so loudly. “YES!” He screams pumping a fist into the air as he breathes heavily from screaming so loudly. I smile widely and pump a fist up in the air back at him. “TIGERS!” I yell as the whole team begins chanting my last name.

A/N: Hey guys, took a while to write this one and I'm sorry there's litteraly no mention of Max. That's why no ones been tagged in this one. So for this story drop a comment if you want to be tagged. I'm working on 'I Like You' right now. Shouldn't be too long. Anyways love you guys.

[sukunasweetheart]

A better way to enjoy chocolate.

Pretty much just reader trying to give Sukuna some chocolates on Valentines. Highschool AU, gender-neutral reader, SFW content

Sukuna looks at the pile of boxed chocolates, seemingly unphased. Everyone peers to look. “Uwah! You got so much this year!” Yuuji exclaims. “Ridiculous.” He sighs, shoving all of them into a disposable plastic bag. “It’s actually pretty amazing how you went out of your way to bring your own plastic bag for this. You were expecting this, weren’t you? Pretentious bastard,” Nobara adds. “Well, it does happen every year,” Megumi says as he casually scrolls through his phone.

Megumi's the first one to leave for class and Nobara and Yuuji follow after him. You look at the daunting bag of chocolates Sukuna holds in his hand and gulps. “Do you like chocolate, Sukuna?” You ask him carefully. “...Not particularly. I don’t like sweet things. But if I throw these out, that idiot’ll never stop yapping about it. Something about going to hell if you waste food. So annoying,” he clicks his tongue. You offer a laugh at his brutal honesty, quietly regretting your own chocolates that you had made to give him today.

The two of you were dating anyway, so it wasn’t exactly necessary, right? Sukuna discreetly gives you a side glance, but you don’t notice it.

Morning classes passed by without much happening, and it soon became lunch. You watch as a classmate approaches Sukuna at his desk and holds her own homemade chocolate out towards him. “Hey. I just wanted to give you this. No feelings involved though, so don’t worry about it,” she tells him. This was obviously said for you to hear, since there was almost nobody in this school who didn’t know of his relationship with you (Sukuna is notorious for just as many reasons as Yuuji is...maybe a little more towards the sinister side of things). This apparently didn’t stop people from trying though, unfortunately. It would be a lie if you said you didn’t feel the least bothered by this. Sukuna looks at her lazily, and just gestures towards the bulging plastic bag that lay beside his desk. The class atmosphere freezes up a little as everyone looks over. S-So cold…! They all thought in unison.

However, the girl just gives a small chuckle as if she had been expecting such a reaction and just added hers onto the pile before going back to her own group of friends. “What a cruel guy,” Nobara gives Sukuna a look of distaste. He shrugs in response and proceeds to yawn. “Now, now…” You naturally take the role of the peacemaker, simultaneously thinking about what you should do with your chocolates. You had actually made four small bags, one for each of your friends. They were wrapped in clear plastic sleeves, tied up with a ribbon on top. Except, Sukuna’s one is...

Yuuji and Megumi both stroll in through the classroom door. “Yo~! We came to visit. Let’s eat lunch here today!” He says cheerfully. The two of them take the empty seats of the students who went to the cafeteria to eat. You couldn’t give the chocolates to Sukuna in front of them. Then you’d have to give him his as well - or else it'd feel like you were excluding him. Guess I'll just give it to them later on, privately.

“And? Where’s our choco, Y/N?” Nobara cheekily grins at you. You freeze up, mind giving you a throwback to the memories of last night when you had told her of your plans in advance. Silent panic echoes in your mind. “I-It’s,” You feel Sukuna’s gaze shift onto you, “...In my bag!” You hurriedly rummage your bag and pull out the three bags, making sure to avoid eye contact. “I made one for all three of you…” You say, avoiding eye contact with him. “Eh? You made one for us too?” Yuuji asks, wide-eyed. “Yeah. I thought I’d give it a try this year.” You hand them all over. “Thanks, Y/N!” Yuuji immediately opens it and plops one into his mouth. “It’s good!” Megumi also gives you a thanks but puts it to the side for now, wanting to finish his lunch first. Nobara gives you a questioning look. “What about Sukuna?” “Eh? Ah, I... kind of figured he didn’t like sweets so,” you turn to face him. “Sorry, Sukuna. Should I have made you some as well? I wasn’t sure if couples who were already dating gave chocolates on Valentines.” It’s a painful lie, but you manage to say it. “...No. I don't really care.” He looks entirely unaffected. It kind of hurt in its own way, but you ignore it and sigh out of relief for now. It was way too embarrassing to give it to him in front of the group. But now that you've said such a lie, you don't think you’ll be able to give it to him at all anymore. There was a bit of an awkward silence momentarily, but Yuuji being Yuuji - naturally carried the group's conversation elsewhere.

A few minutes later, Sukuna stands up to go to the toilet. Whilst Yuuji and Megumi are talking about something that you admittedly zoned out on, Nobara snatches up your bag and takes a peek inside. “H-Hey!” You shout-whispered. “...I knew it. You did make them! Why are you-” She stops and notices their shape. “That’s so...cute?” She gives out an amused laugh and quietly puts it back down. You fan at your face, cheeks aching with embarrassment. “Make sure you give them to him. Trust me. I’ll beat him up if he doesn’t appreciate it,” she tells you. “I’ll try…” you say meekly. Unbeknownst to you, Yuuji grins at Megumi upon hearing this and Megumi responds with his own subtle smile. 

- The bell rings for the end of school. Sukuna stands and leaves first, telling you that he had something he needed to do after school and that you should go home first. Before you can stop him, he's already left the classroom. “Go after him,” Nobara pushes you, so you hurriedly pack your things up before running out.

More than ten minutes have passed, and you can’t find him. You want to call or text him, but you’re worried that he was in the midst of doing something important. It’s rare of him to stay back at school, after all. You sigh, and tell yourself that you’ll just give up with this year’s one.

Walking out of the school’s entrance, you see Sukuna standing nearby with his usual bored expression, hands in his pockets. He catches sight of you and immediately approaches. “I thought you had something to do at school?” You start to say. “Obviously a lie. What took you so damn long?” He scratches the back of his head in annoyance. “I was looking for you inside! Also why did you lie?” You question him. “Nevermind that. You could have just called...No, that’s not the issue right now. Give.” He suddenly stretches his palm out in front of you. “Eh? Give what?” The thought of the chocolates go right over your head.

“You...the thing that you gave to everyone else except me. I know you have mine. Don’t keep me waiting,” He says, frowning. The realisation hits you like a truck and you give him a helpless smile. “How’d you know…?” You ask, quick to reach into your bag. “How long do you think I’ve known you for? The others probably knew too,” he says nonchalantly. “But I thought you wouldn’t want them...you've gotten so much. And you don’t even like sweets.” You place the bag gently on his palm. “Idiot. We’re dating. There’s no reason to not accept them if you've made some for me.” He gives them a look and grins.  “Oh…? Now I understand why you couldn’t give it to me in front of the others.”

Only Sukuna’s chocolates were heart-shaped, when the others' had been circular ones. He’d rather die than admit it, but he thrives on getting this kind of special attention from you. You get flustered and look at your feet. “It’s true that I don’t really like sweets.” He tells you suddenly. “You don’t have to force yourself to eat them-” “But there’s a way of eating them that would make it taste a bit better,” he cuts you off. You were confused as to what he was talking about, and you watched as he opened the bag and popped one of them into his mouth before pulling you in for a kiss.

Your eyes were widened in shock as you barely had the time to register all of this - he was already slipping his tongue into your mouth. One hand on your hip, and the other on the back of your neck, you're so close to his body, getting pulled into his warmth that threatens to melt you, the taste of the chocolate starting to spreading across your taste buds as he's making out with you passionately. Before you know it, you're reciprocating the gesture and kissing him back, your hands rising up, gripping tightly onto his uniform. Chocolate has never tasted any sweeter. You can feel your own body beginning to heat up and you're gradually running out of breath. As your tongue is intertwining with his, the chocolate is getting pushed back and forth, and your desire to get even closer to him is growing, growing, growing.

The last of the chocolate had melted away from the exhilarating temperature the two of you had built up and he finally breaks the kiss, leaving you breathless and gasping for air. You can't tell if this remaining aftertaste that lingered on your tongue was the taste of the chocolate, or the taste of him. Nonetheless, you adore it.

“Much better.” He licks his lips and smirks at you. Still in shock, you lack a response except for your flustered face and your eyes that are now reflecting a glint of lust within. Sukuna hums in satisfaction at this expression of yours and he gently drags his thumb across your lower lip.

“We should do this more often.”