#buddy and honey will only get u so far

[sailermoon]

1st grade teacher out again and so I have to sub again but this time I have the advantage of knowing their names so if they’re goofing off I can call them out more easily

[vaguesxrrow]

Platonic monty x witch reader where the reader would frequently visit esther with witchy duties and would always bring crow monty trinkets so when human monty came around he just starts fanboying seeing reader but they're confused about it so he just tries to act cool talking ab hearing good things about them from his "ghost friend" thank u <3

(p.s this was actually a dream I had and I think it's cute😭😭😭)

I AM SOOO SORRY THIS TOOK OVER A MONTH LIKE ACTUALLY 😭😭😭🙏

monty & witch!reader

a/n: yayy cheers for my first monty fic

wc: 1408

tags: gender neutral reader, witch reader, platonic monty & reader

"hi, esther!" you called as you opened the door to her house, lugging behind you a rucksack filled with... well, the contents of your bag were probably best left unsaid. "hi, monty!" you said as you caught sight of the crow in his cage. "oh, it's been so long. missed you, buddy."

you usually came around to esther's twice a month for your witchy duties. 'duties' meaning exchanging ingredients, and the occasional (frequent) gossip of other witches in the magic community. really, though, your favourite part of your visits were visiting monty.

the crow chirped at you in greeting. you grinned, retrieving from your pocket two trinkets. first, you handed him the necklace, which you had found when you were doing some spring cleaning. the gem on it was almost black, but blue enough that you thought it would pop against monty's feathers. and you were right - as you handed it to him, he deftly swung it up as if to put it on, but wasn't quite successful and instead it landed on his head. you laughed, unlocking the door of the cage to adjust it for him. he cawed and puffed up his chest, clearly pleased with the new gift.

next, you handed him a shiny pebble. this, you only just found on your journey here. you had parked at the beach, intending to collect some green seaglass for a spell, when you found a rock gleaming so brightly it could have been a crystal. it held no magical properties as far as you were concerned, but you knew monty had to have it.

monty took that, too, setting it down on a cushion in the corner of his enclosure. then, he flew out the open door to perch on your shoulder, nipping your hair affectionately.

"are you planning on stealing my monty, [name]?" esther teased, appearing from the kitchen.

"you know what? maybe i will," you mused as you stroked monty's feathers.

esther barked out a laugh that was equal parts disbelieving and threatening. "sure, honey. now let's talk business."

you left the place two elemental teeth and three vials of blood richer, and with a promise to visit again soon.

⌦ --

'soon' ended up being a whole month and a half later, having missed your second visit last month. you had an extra bounce in your step as you strolled up to esther's front porch, yet still taking care not to jostle your bag full of potions in glass jars.

before you could open the door, it swung open, revealing a boy who seemed to be about your age.

your first thought was, did esther have children?

after ruling out the first question with a no way in hell, your second thought was, did esther kidnap a teenager?

"uh.. hi," you said awkwardly. "is esther home?"

"not at the moment! she went to the store, but we were expecting you, so she shouldn't be much longer," he told you. "but, uh, come in, please!"

he held the door open for you as you walked inside. you set your bag down on the table. "how'd you end up living with esther?" you questioned. you weren't judging (mostly), just surprised that esther would ever live with another human, especially a teenager. she seemed to barely tolerate you. "and what's your name?"

"well, esther calls me 'handsome' most of the time." he rolled his eyes. "really annoying habit, but i let her do it, cause you know her!"

nice evasion, you thought to yourself, noting that mystery boy had deigned to actually answer any of your questions. he was getting more interesting by the second.

you sat down on a stool at the kitchen table. "well, nice to meet you. i'm-"

"[name]!" he blurted. "i know."

you paused in surprise. "and how do you know that, exactly?"

he froze for a millisecond, before launching into another long-winded explanation. "well, you're actually pretty famous, in case you didn't know! i heard about you from this, uh, cool ghost friend of mine. yeah, they're like, super cool, and if they think you're cool then you must be, like, even cooler."

you gave him a once-over, still confused. he noticed you staring and self-consciously tugged at a chain around his neck, tucking the necklace into his shirt. weird.

before you could interrogate him more, the front door audibly swung open, creaking on its hinges. esther's voice sing-songed from the entrance as she complained about the cashier at the supermarket, vaguely plottint his demise.

"where are you, m- oh!" she paused as she caught sight of you. "[name]!" her tone was cheerful, but you weren't sure if she was exactly happy to see you. then again, you never were.

"hi, esther," you greeted back. "just came to drop off the potions." you gave your bag a jostle, and the glass jars inside clinked against each other noisily.

she half-grinned, half-grimaced at you. "thank you, dear. you can be on your way now." she waved you away, undoubtedly using her magic, as you felt an invisible force tug you towards the front door.

"uh, my bag-" you began.

"i'll return it!" mystery boy piped up. "um, meet me at the park tomorrow at noon? we can be friends!"

"sure!" you called, having to raise your voice as your body moves further and further away. "um, see you then!"

it wasn't until you arrived at the sole motel in port townsend that you realised you'd never gotten the name of your to-be friend.

⌦ --

you met mystery boy on the bench at the park, as you had arranged yesterday. you were determined to get his name this time; if you were going to be friends, then you couldn't call him mystery boy forever. he already knew your name after all.

"[name]!"

you turned around to find him approaching, two paper coffee cups in his hands, along with your bag, as promised. smiling, you waved at him.

"hi. wow," he said. he handed you back your bag, and one of the cups. "this is for you. i wasn't sure what kind of coffee you like, so i just chose the special, cause y'know, from what i heard from my ghost friend, you seem like the kind of laid back person who can just do whatever, which i admire."

amused, and slightly puzzled, you chuckled. "thank you?" you took a sip of the drink he offered, nodding in approval to let him know it was good. "i didn't think i had that high of a reputation. i mean, you seem to know a lot about me, but i don't even know your name."

he fiddled with the chain around his neck again, drawing your attention to the piece of jewelry. today, it wasn't concealed under his shirt. you squinted. it was a metal chain, with a gem that was a dark sapphire blue. you could recognise it anywhere.

"is that... the necklace i gave esther's crow?" you blurted.

he froze.

your eyes widened. "wait..." you scanned him, and the more you scrutinised his features the more oddly familiar they looked. "monty?"

"uhh, about that..."

"oh my god." you stood up in shock. "did esther turn you into a crow? i didn't think she'd do something like that, transforming humans.. if she's been keeping you with her all this time-"

"what? no!" he shook his head. "she recently turned me human."

your rant ended abruptly. "oh."

you were a bit confused about that, too. how? when? why? but you supposed you might as well enjoy it for what it was: finally being able to talk to your favourite crow-boy.

"but thanks for looking out for me." he - monty (monty!) smiled.

"it's no problem," you responded, slightly embarrassed at your outburst. "i mean, you're my friend. so like, any time." you really were touched. being a witch didn't give much time for socialising, and even within the magic community, relationships were often kept professional. talking to monty, even when he couldn't respond, was nice for you.

"we're friends?" he asked, eyes sparkling hopefully.

"yeah, duh," you said. "i didn't give you all those trinkets for nothing. i'm glad to see you kept some of them, though." you motioned to the necklace.

"of course i did. guess i'm kind of wired to like shiny things. ex-crow and all."

"makes sense." you shrugged. "how'd you end up becoming human, anyway?"

he huffed, grinning. "oh, boy, it's a long story…”

[lostonmyroad]

Moments That I Want Tattooed On My Forehead From S-Classes That I Raised Chapters 30-50

BEWARE OF SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

things are starting to get going. and by get going i mean starting to get unhinged but its still nothing compared to the shit going on by the 300s

chapter 30-40

lmfao yoojin forgetting he blocked yoohyun’s number...king shit

yoojin daring yoohyun to call him out on his suspicious behavior...also king shit 

chapters 40-50

let’s go sung hyunjae makes his debut!!!!

YOOHYUN ACTING INNOCENT IN FRONT OF YOOJIN AS HE MEETS THE GUILD LEADERS AKFJEIDIDOODSOOS highkey one of my favorite scenes ever. “my brother is more mild mannered than me” “yoohyun is an angel” everyone else in the room: press X to doubt

moon hyuna woman that you are. my beloved. you’re too good for this world 

i live for yoohyun generally being a freak about yoojin

i need to know what blackmail he has on moon hyuna. what happened at the convenience store????? moon hyuna what did you do???

thank u yerim and moon hyuna friendship. we love to see it. Now s ranks also passes the bechdel test!!

ah yes potion addict yoojin has arrived. rip buddy at least you get better flavors later down the line

it’s only chapter 44 and yoojin is already being overworked. true cale henituse moment. rip your slacker life!!!

everyone ganging up on him to start enforcing self care. oh honey it only gets worse from here!!!

so far yoojin is: a monster tamer, social media account manager, recruiter for hayeon, owns a building with a research lab…my guy was speedy with it

yoojin going "i just need to complete one (1) more task and then I can live like a slacker" in the early chapters is. oh wow. famous last words. truly need to learn from cale

even peace is a borderline freak when it comes to yoojin. doesn’t give a shit about anyone else 

YOOJIN ANSWERING SPAM CALLS JUST TO MESS WITH PEOPLE SKDJEIODO…he enjoys it…this explains so much about him…he’s bragging about how much experience he has answering them…

yoojin guessing who the kidnappers were because they didn’t call Peace cute is so valid. Anyone who doesn’t like Peace is an enemy

we’re starting to get into “oh wow fear resistance is kind of fucked territory”!!! yoojin is a little freak!!! he’s committing war crimes but sometimes it just be like that

rip blackie chapter 46-47 :(

yoojin treating the s ranks like normal people and them not knowing how to handle it ;((

GIVE YOOJIN HIS OSCAR NOW “uwu i’m a poor kidnapping victim” like sir. you dissolved your kidnappers in acid. sir. 

all the details about yoojin’s life as a low ranked hunter pre-regression :(((

like not yoojin casually mentioning he used to be an alcoholic and yoohyun sent him to rehab pre regression. ok king. we don’t have time to unpack all that

kang soyoung intro!!! i so desperately need to know what her deal was with yoohyun pre regression. why does yoojin think of her as his sister in law. why did everyone believe they were dating.

next chapter brings us a real introduction to sung hyunjae character of all time

[jonathanbyersphd]

⭐️

Hi Faith, tysm for the ask bc I get to talk about my baby.

OK so I LOVE everything about we'll be a fine line, we'll be alright like it's one of my favorite fics I've ever written but ANYWAYS SPECIFICALLY this part:

"No uh I'm going to the Wheelers for dinner" he rattles off. "Oh" "Yea" he smiles hesitantly. "You're not going to the Wheelers too?" She asks Will. "Can I???" Will exclaims, lighting up like he's getting away with something. "No" Jonathan answers gravely. "Jonathan!" She scolds. "Mom, seriously?" He begs. "What I'm sure Karen-" "Can't I just" he starts before stopping himself to rethink his words "I can bring Will next time I promise but tonight I'd like to go alone if that's ok" His eyes are flitting around the room but can't seem to meet hers and she wonders if he's lying about his dinner plans. For a minute, she's about to tell him that she knows about the vodka. And then ask what else he's lying about. She’s pretty sure she’s smelled weed on him a couple times. She’s dying to ask how stupid he thinks she is. To pick a fight, just to feel something. But his expression is so soft and concerned. And she recoils, remembering that she swore she'd never be as cruel as her mother. "Ok honey" she concedes. Jonathan nods, ruffles Will's hair, and kisses her on the cheeks before leaving the kitchen. "Jonathan" she calls after him. "Yea" he responds, stopping dead in his tracks in the living room. "Why don't you put your black sweater over your shirt. It matches better" she advises.

Like we've got Jonathan (You're on your own kid coded) nervous as HELL for his first dinner at the Wheeler's as Nancy's boyfriend. We have Will (precious angel bby) being a complete SHITHEAD about it. And lastly, we have Joyce (Mother) who is completely overwhelmed/feeling like she's failing as a parent wanting to fight with him just because she can but pulls back.

And what I especially love about this whole sequence of first dinner events. Is that Joyce is SO close to understanding what's happening. Like she knows he's off, but she thinks it's because he's drinking. And then there's this part of her that wants to be mean but the thing that holds her back is her own generational trauma. (and I imagine also a little unconscious fear that if she pushes him too far she'll lose one of the few supports she has, bc themes of her unintentional parentification of him u know?) Like???

AND THEN because the inquisitive, smart, "always right" Joyce that we know is still there just below the surface she tells him to put something else on that makes him look better. (It's the sweater he wears at Murray's btw) Like she knows that this dinner is important, that he wants to go alone, and she tells him what will make a better impression to the point that there's also this line after he leaves:

She hears him pop into his room and then he's out the door. His car turns over just as she sits down. It's only then that it registers how weird a dinner invitation without Will is. Maybe he and Nancy are more friends than study buddies, he is teaching her how to drive after all. Then again maybe they finally… but no. No, no, that’s just her old fantasy talking.

Like subconsciously she KNOWS they're together but she's so filled with grief, depression, etc. that she deep in denial.

This is also one of the scenes that I wish I wrote from Jonathan's POV in a separate fic. Because I imagine that he hasn't been able to go to 'Meet The Parents' dinner this whole time and he feels so guilty. But a couple days before he promises Nancy he can finally do it. (and she's so happy and he's so in love with her) Because Mom's doing better, surely they can get on without him for a couple hours. And it's important to him, like he wants to be a Good™️ boyfriend. (that boy is desperate for parental approval I know it in my heart) But then he comes home and Joyce is hiding in her room, and he's like fuck. So he makes an easy dinner for her and Will, while he's getting ready but he can't figure out his tie and he can't ask Joyce because she has her own problems. (Jonathan feeling like a burden for needing to parented is so important to me) BUT HE STILL GOES TO DINNER. Like it's such a beautiful moment of Jonathan struggling with what he feels like he has to do and what he wants to do and picking what he wants. (a little independence as a treat). There's also a very cute moment of Nancy (who's been watching from her window) cutting him off before he rings the doorbell so she can frantically put a tie on him before Ted can start shit.

ANYWAYS, clearly I could talk about this fic for a while

Send me a fanfic director's cut ask

[bump1nthen1ght]

I’m Still Hurting (F!Reader/M!Orc)

Pairings: Fem!Reader/Male!Orc

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Angst

Warnings: (Almost) Infidelity

Word Count: 3376 words

Summary: Your boyfriend does something he’d never thought he’d do, and you’re left to try and pick up the pieces.

Request: can I make a request? About an angst story between an m!orc and f!human. I like the idea of like maybe the orc sorta misses being with other orc women or like she can't fulfill his needs and she hears this. I like the idea of almost infidelity

A/N: Surprise bitches! I’m alive! And back with some delicious angst for y’all!! I really loved doing this request, as I don’t often write full on angst. I am also working on a fluffy request  at the moment, if some of you would like some nice comfort after this haha. Hope y’all enjoy!

Honey ❤️: Babe

Honey ❤️: Babe please answer the phone I need to talk to you

Honey ❤️: I know you’re angry, you should be angry, but please talk to me

Honey ❤️: Baby please

“____? Is that my phone?” Brynn yells from the kitchen, already mixing another cocktail for you to down. Her bright red horns peek over the living room divider, bouncing back as she grabs the alcohol from the fridge. Still looking at your bright screen, you don’t even have the energy to respond.

“____?” You throw your phone away as she peaks her head over, giving her a shameful look. Brynn furrows her brow, pulling away from the kitchen island and putting one hand on her hip. “Was that him?” With your eyes darting back and forth from the pillow you shoved your phone under and Brynn’s face, you nod.

“Y-yeah, it was him.”

Brynn sighs, fiddling with her hands.

“Listen, I don’t want to tell you what to do, especially not tonight, but I just think-”

“No, no, it’s alright. You’re right, you’re right.” A jolt hits you as your phone vibrates, the vibrations rumbling through the fabric and stabbing right into your stomach. You force yourself to look away, fiddling with your fingers. Brynn shoots you a pitiful look, you’re sure of it, even as your efuse to meet her gaze. “I shouldn’t talk to him tonight. Not right now, not when I’m like….this.” A slow, tired breath escapes you. “I’ll make him wait, just like he did.”

The coach cushion bends as Brynn sits next to you, rubbing your shoulder as she leans in for a side each. You accept it, your body like a deadweight as you let yourself go slack in her arms.

“Do you want anything? Chocolate, maybe a movie? I’ve got some leftover cheesecake?”

“A movie sounds nice.” You murmur, nodding against her chest. Brynn hums, her tail coming up and massaging your lower back as she kisses you on the forward.

“Of course, your choice. Do you want me to get your drink?”

You nod once more, letting Brynn untangle herself from the hug and laying back on the couch, grabbing the comfiest blanket and the remote. You quickly flick through you and Brynn’s ‘most watched’ section on Netflix. You need something new tonight, something to get your mind off.

All your regular comfort movies are romances, after all.

By the time Brynn comes back, a rum and coke and a carton of ice cream in hand, you’re already snuggled into a blanket burrito. She hands you a spoon and the glass, which you wordlessly accept. She sits down and throws a hand over your shoulder, trying her best to massage the left over tension in your neck. You sink into the feeling, pressing on your movie of choice.

“Mad Max: Fury Road, huh? I’ve heard this movie’s great.”

“Yeah,” you whisper, “It is.”

And chocked full of shitty men getting what they deserve.

As the opening title plays, the deep voice of Tom Hardy kicking the movie off, you snuggle into Brynn’s side. Your phone buzzes again, but it’s drowned out by screaming men and loud engines. Just how you like it.

Honey ❤️: Could you call me in the morning?

Honey ❤️: I’ll leave you alone for the night, I’m sorry

Honey ❤️: I love you

--------

Waruck sighs, his fingers shaking as another small ‘message delivered’ shows up on his screen. No response, just like the last 15 texts. He finds himself typing out another anyway.

I love you so fucking much

It reads, but is quickly deleted. Waruck clicks off his phone, but it stays in his hand, taunting him. The black mirror shows a sad, pathetic boyfriend, getting the silent treatment.

He falls back onto his bed, exhausted from a day of doing nothing. Nothing but worrying and feeling guilty, with the occasional flicking through TV channels and texting his girlfriend.

It’s getting late, his bedside clock cutting through the dark of his room to remind him he’s been up for almost 16 hours now. Waruck slides a hand through his hair and gets up. He’s going to have to camp out in front of the TV, because he knows he won’t be able to sleep tonight.

Not after what he did.

--------

He had gone out with friends. Friends from highschool who he still occasionally chatted with, friends he didn’t even really like anymore. But the past two weeks had him feeling oddly...nostalgic, like something was out of place. So when his buddy Simon had invited him to the bar, he had eagerly accepted.

He remembers grabbing his coat, you sending him a text to have fun, and him not replying. He didn’t know why he didn’t respond, he still doesn’t. The two of you had been going strong for almost 8 months now, with only the occasional hiccup that most couples have. So why didn’t he respond? What made him casually throw your sweet remark to the side like that?

Waruck shakes his head, trying to focus on the movie in front of him. Now isn’t the time to get existential over tiny shit like that, not with how the rest of the night went.

When he met up with the group, Waruck immediately knew that tonight was going to be different. His current group of friends are quite different, less rowdy, than his old posse. At only 10 PM, three of the guys we’re already halfway drunk, saving a spot in line from him outside the noisy bar. The electronic music that thrummed through the concrete and out onto the street reminded him of how much time has passed, how different his usual party-scene is now, and he revels in that feeling of former good-times.

Simon greets him with a hug, the guys shouting his name as he joins them. From the corner of his eye, he sees a gaggle of girls giggling.

And that's where it started.

An orc woman, dressed in a beautiful black dress, winks as she passes him at the bar. Simon nudges his side as Waruck takes a drink.

“Dude, that chick is totally sending you the look”

Waruck furrows his brow, stirring his drink.

“What’s ‘the look’?” He says, taking another sip of his scotch.

Simon rolls his eyes. “The ‘come hit on me’ look dude! That’s the sign you need to go for it!”

“I have a girlfriend, Simon.”

Simon scoffs, throwing his hand out dramatically. “What, that human chick?”

Waruck has half of mind to set down his drink and ask Simon what he means with that sarcastic tone of voice. It pisses him off, but he says nothing, just rolls his eyes.

“No offense, bro, she looks cute and all. But is she really worth missing out on some great ass?”

Waruck grimaces and shoots Simon a dirty look. “Jesus, Simon, are you serious?”

“I’m serious! When was the last time you had fun, y’know? Everyone knows an orc chick can throw down, wild-style.” Simon nudges him in his side, playfully, but it only serves to make Waruck more annoyed. “C’mon, you seriously don’t miss it?”

Waruck should tell him a firm ‘No’, finish his drink, and leave. He should call a cab and go home, call you and rant about his gross misogynistic friend from high school.

But he doesn’t.

The part of him, the part of him that feels slightly off, wonders if this is it. It had been a long time since he had been with another orc. You were a great girlfriend, but so different from in so many ways. Is that it?

Maybe relieving the old days will satisfy whatever longing he has, and then it will leave forever. Would that be so bad, to let loose for one night?

Waruck feels a tap on his shoulder, and turns to see the orc girl from earlier; The one who sent him ‘the look’.

“Hey handsome, can I buy you a drink?”

Between the boosted bass of the music and the orc woman pressing up against him, Waruck doesn’t notice Simon slip away, giving him a pat on the back.

Leave, say no, tell her she’s got the wrong guy, you fucking idiot. His consciousness yells.

“U-uh, sure.” He stutters.

She introduces herself as Naz and says she noticed him the minute he walked in.

“Hard not to notice the best-dressed guy in the room.” She flirts, pressing herself closer and up against him.

He has a thousand little moments like that, to say something; To pull back and apologize, but he doesn’t.

Instead, he slips into a corner booth with her, purposely ignoring the texts you send to check up on him. You had remembered that he wasn’t sure how much fun this night would be, and routinely checked in if he needed a convenient excuse to leave early. You’re sweet like that.

Naz is sweet too. She's a great conversationalist, with a good head on her shoulders and an interesting career in zoology. Waruck could see the two of you being good friends.

Is that why she seems so alluring? Because she’s so similar to you? Waruck’s mind does mental gymnastics to try and justify his hesitance, his compliance in believing that maybe she has something different after all, even though he knows that isn’t true.

The two of them talk for a solid hour and a half, Naz slowly inching herself closer and putting a hand on his knee. His body screams in resistance, his stomach tying up into knots, but he doesn’t push her away.

“So, I’ve got a room not too far from here. What do you say we go make ourselves a bit more comfortable?”

This is his final chance to find an excuse and say goodnight. To run back home and forget this ever happened. But the words are caught in his throat and he’s further silenced by the nearby whooping of his asshole friends.

“Yeah, Waruck! Get some!”

Naz chuckles and mistakenly reads his seething anger at himself with embarrassment for his friends. She leans in, grabbing his jaw, and whispers.

“Let's give them a show, huh?” Then, she kisses him.

The noises of the bar, his friends, and Naz all drown away as her lips mold into his. Waruck’s body goes rigid, terrified as time seems to freeze as he kisses someone who is not his girlfriend.

But all of that stops when your ringtone begins to blast in his pocket. It should be near silent when compared to the pounding bar music, but that familiar jingle seems to cut deep into his skin and skewer his heart. Waruck pulls away with a quick jerk, Naz almost falling over as he pushes himself into his seat and away from her body-heat. Every nerve is a light with tension as he quickly pulls out his phone.

There on the screen is a picture of you, your contact name, “Sweetie❤️”, shining through the dimmed light of that bar. Waruck breathes heavily, feeling like he’s just run an emotional marathon, stuck in his own head until Naz slides away from him.

“Wait, hold on, do you have a girlfriend?”

Waruck looks at her, then looks at his still-ringing phone, then back to Naz. He nods.

Naz's face curls up into obvious disgust, quickly directing her body to be as far away from him as possible. “Fucking hell, dude. What the fuck?” She grabs her handbag and stomps out of the booth, not before throwing her drink in his face and telling him to go to hell.

He almost watches her move across the bar, most likely to go complain to her friends about the asshole she just wasted the last 2 hours chatting up, but all he can focus on is your picture on his phone.

--------

Waruck practically runs out of the bar, his whole body covered in sweat and his mind racing a mile a minute.

What the hell was wrong with him?

He felt like a 15 year old, goaded into another shitty prank just because he wanted to look cool in front of his friends, buying into their weird bullshit about humans. Was he seriously going to throw away your wonderful relationship over one night, over one urge?

Naz had been strikingly beautiful, in all the ways he was taught an orc like himself should look for. She could probably get any guy in that club tonight, but she wasn’t you. You’re different, but in so many cool, inconsequential, uniquely-you ways.

Waruck doesn’t know how long he walks before he sits down outside a cafe, trying to collect his racing emotions. He feels gross, sticky with the kind of sweat you only get after too much alcohol and too many people. The screen of his phone seems to reflect every smudge and finger-print as he swipes it to unlock it, finally getting the courage to read your text messages.

They start off normal, spread out over several hours. The occasional “How are the guys?” and “Hope you are having fun! Just let me know when you get home safe.” before dropping off into nothing. Right up until 20 minutes ago, where you send a short and curt text that has his heart dropping to his stomach.

Sweetie❤️: Can you call me right now?

Sweetie❤️: Waruck, I need to talk to you

Sweetie❤️: Are you still at the bar?

After that is a notification of your missed call from earlier and Waruck can’t help but feel  guilt stir in his gut.

It could be nothing, something unrelated to what he almost did tonight. But the notification he gets from his Instagram says otherwise. It says a mutual of his tagged him in a photo 30 minutes ago.

Waruck feels like vomiting when he opens up Simon’s story and sees a shaky picture of Naz, draped over him in the corner booth, with him looking all too happy to have her there. The caption reads

“At least someone’s getting lucky tonight 🤣🤣 #BoysNight20XX”

But what comes next is even worse; An even blurrier photo of Naz kissing him, both of their eyes closed as she almost sits in his lap.

Waruck can’t even look at the caption, quickly exiting out of the app and calling you.

He needs to explain himself.

But what will he say?

The phone rings, rings, rings….

Waruck waits with bated breath, thinking you’re going to let it go to voicemail, but you answer. There is no cheerful “Hi Babe” or even a tired and drawn-out “Hey.” Instead all Waruck hears is a shaky sigh, waiting for an explanation.

The words stay caught in Warucks throat, trying to find a way to maneuver and swing around to a solid excuse, a lie he hopes you won’t catch.

But he can’t, he can’t. Not to you.

So you make it easy for him, like you always do, and start the conversation off instead.

“Were you flirting with that girl?”

Waruck’s mind doesn’t give him a choice, the truth already spilling out like a tidal wave.

“Yes.”

Waruck hears you suck in a breath, before you shakily ask once more,

“Did you kiss her? Did you kiss her back?”

“Yes.”

There's 15 seconds of brutal silence as Waruck sits with his confession. In the moment, Waruck feels like he can hear your pounding heartbeat through the receiver.

You hang up.

---------

You hate the weather outside for two reasons.

One: You had far too much rum last night to enjoy any amount of sunlight. And,

Two: On a terrible morning like this one, it feels unfair that there aren't any dramatic thunder storms.

The bell rings on the cafe door as you walk in, causing you to wince as you pull down your sunglasses.

Thank god for the low lighting of these cafes.

You rub your brow, eyes scanning the menu above the bar. Some caffeine should do you good, at least with your headache.

But when you spot him, tucked away at a table, tapping his foot, all that aching pain seems to fall to your subconscious. Before you can meet eyes, you look away, forcing yourself to re-read the menu and blink away your tears.

You face the inevitable when you put in your order, turning to walk towards Waruck. He’s locked his gaze into the wood grain of the table, his large body hunched up and small, like he wants to sink into the shadows. He looks like shit, with large bags under his eyes and a nervous tension in his face.

He startles when you pull out a chair, sitting down across from him, but quickly curls back into his ball of shame. He looks so guilty, a small part of you wants to comfort him and tell him it’ll be alright.

You punch away that part of you with a baseball bat.

“Why did you flirt with her?”

Waruck says nothing. He looks at you with his tired eyes, big and racked with guilt.

I don’t know. They whisper.

Your fingers dig into your jeans, anger boiling up and through your nerves.

That’s not a good enough answer.

“Were you,” You suck in a breath, trying to control your volume, “Were you going to sleep with her? If I hadn’t called you, would you have-”

“No!” Waruck nearly shouts, shaking the table as his knees bang against the bottom, but he recoils once he sees the way you flinch. “No, I wasn’t going to.”

Those pesky tears press against your eyelids once more. You can feel your nails digging indents into your thighs.

“I don’t know if  I can believe that.” You whisper, failing to catch the crack in your voice.

Waruck’s brow furrows as he nervously chews his bottom lip. He tries to meet your gaze, but you seem to look right through him.

“I know.” Waruck sighs, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck.

There's a tenuous silence; Waruck tries to find the words to fix things  while you focus on the details of the cafe walls, examining every nook and cranny as you try not to sob.

“I-I understand if you don’t trust me. I understand if you hate me, or you want to break up. But please, please know that I love you, and that I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I’ve been kicking myself over flirting with that girl because I love you so fucking much. I-”

You hold up your hand, stopping Waruck in his tracks. He realizes how loud he’s been talking and that people are beginning to stare. He huddles back into his corner, tucking his hands into his lap. You let out a long breath. Waruck takes the risk and looks up.

When his eyes finally meet yours, he realizes just how sad you look. A treacherous tear has begun falling down your cheek, sending a lightning bolt of remorse into Waruck’s chest.

You take in another deep breath, wiping away the tear with the back of your hand. You look at Waruck, exhausted.

“I don’t,”  You falter, but catch yourself, “I don’t want to break up with you. I just don’t know if I’m ready to forgive you yet.”

Waruck nods, fiddling with his fingers.

“Of course, I get it-”

“I’m not done.” Waruck quickly shuts his mouth. “You hurt me, Waruck. Hurt me in a way I don’t think I’ll ever forget. So I need time. Time before I can even see you again without thinking,” You hiccup, but this time you let the wave of emotion hit you, full force.  “Without thinking about that night.”

A lady calls out your order, but neither of you makes a move. You sit in each other's presence, trying to wrap yourselves around the mess of emotions, trying to read the others mind without seeming too obvious.

You both sit here, in the presence of something that's been broken, damaged in a way that’s cut the heart of your chest and slams them on the table. There’s a crack that runs down between you two, inching open more and more with each breath.

But somehow, somehow, you both think you have a chance of fixing it.

[archived-kin]

you are hopelessly in love with one (1) librarian

note from kin: i’m (kinda) back baby!!!!!

i thought i’d start with something for myself to get back into the ~groove~ so i chose lisa since i love her so much

in this one you’re venti’s accompanist bard buddy and play the flute! whether or not you’re a vision-holder isn’t mentioned but i like to imagine that venti gives you an anemo vision after the two of you bond as fellow musicians (though of course you don’t know it’s him who gave you it, you basically just woke up one night after a performance and found it in your pocket)

fandom: genshin impact

character(s): gn!reader, lisa, kaeya, venti, razor

pairing(s): lisa/reader (+ some wholesome best friend venti content)

warning(s): none!

genre: fluff

“She’s so pretty,” You groan into the table. “I’m going to die.”

“You probably shouldn’t,” Kaeya replies through a mouthful of hash brown. “Your bard friends would be rather sad without their favourite Buoyant Balladeer.”

“What difference is it going to make?” You raise your head and stare at him with soulless eyes. “My life has no meaning anyway.”

“Oh, now you’re just being dramatic.” Kaeya slaps your shoulder so hard that you swear you feel your bones dislocate. “Cheer up.”

You groan, but sit up and take the hash brown he offers you anyway. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” He responds, already shoving another one into his mouth and beginning to chew.

You let out a heavy sigh and begin to nibble miserably on your own hash brown. “Sorry about all this. I probably sound like an idiot.”

“Don’t worry about it,” He reaches over and gives your hair a playful ruffle. “And you don’t sound like an idiot. Lisa’s a very beautiful lady, after all.”

You raise your head in a snap, glaring at your friend through narrow eyes. “Hey, watch it.”

“I’m uninterested, not blind. Calm down.” He flicks you in the head with a chuckle. Raising his eyes to the sky, he gives a content sigh, as if the sun that he appears to be staring directly into isn’t burning his eye. “You know, a sky like this really calls for a nice glass of dandelion wine…”

“You have beyond enough problems to deal with right now without becoming a day drinker as well,” You shoot back. “Don’t you still have a report to file about those Treasure Hoarders over in Windrise?”

“Oh, that’s taken care of,” He says dismissively, taking a sip from his cup of water. “All dealt with.”

“Careful, Mr Kaeya,” comes a familiar honey-sweet voice from somewhere behind you, and you immediately tense. “Lying is a sin.”

“Miss Lisa!” laughs your blue-haired companion as the librarian pulls up a seat at your table, leaning forward and resting her chin on a single gloved hand. It’s an innocent motion by all means, but it still makes your heart skip a beat. “So kind of you to join us. What brings you here?”

“I simply saw two familiar faces while out on a stroll,” She smiles, stealing Kaeya’s mug and taking a sip of his Wolfhook juice. “How have we all been doing?”

“I-I’m doing great,” You quickly reply as her eyes land on you, unable to form a more intelligent response under her clear green-eyed gaze.

Much better now that you’re here, you add silently as she turns her attention to Kaeya, sliding his mug back over to him with such ease that you get the impression she does this a lot.

Kaeya himself either hasn’t noticed Lisa stealing his drink or doesn’t care, since he promptly curls his fingers back around the tankard and takes a long drink without any indication that he’s noticed anything out of the norm.

“Craving some wine, but I suppose I’m fine,” He sighs, tilting his head slightly to the side and swirling the contents of his mug around. “[Name] here says I shouldn’t be drinking during daylight.”

“And [Name] is very right,” Lisa shakes her head, the little rose accessory on the end of her hat tinkling with the motion. You can’t help but silently compare the sound to the ringing of heaven’s bells. Curse your stupidly romantic heart. “You drink more than enough in the evenings.”

“Then what of you?” Kaeya counters, smirking playfully. “I know for a fact that you can drink most of Angel’s Share’s patrons under the table within a single night.”

“Perhaps so, but I spend far less nights in front of the bar than you do.”

You stare determinedly down into the bottom of your water tankard as Lisa and Kaeya continue their little back-and-forth, feeling an odd sensation tugging at the pit of your stomach. What is this? Anger? Jealousy?

Tapping your fingers agitatedly on the tabletop, you kick yourself firmly in the shin. You’re being ridiculous. Kaeya knows just how head-over-heels you are for the Witch of Purple Rose, and even if he is a sneaky little snake who swaps around the chess pieces when he thinks you’re not looking, you know that he’d never do something like… that to you. Besides, you know full well that, even if they’re close friends, they don’t harbour any romantic feelings for each other.

As the songs say, though, jealousy is a green-eyed demon that will listen to irrationality over reason any day, and so you can’t help but glare subtle holes into the side of Kaeya’s head as he continues to converse with the object of your affections as if you’re not even there.

“... I jest, I jest,” He laughs, waving his hand about as Lisa giggles into her glove. “Anyway, as I was saying to our friend here earlier - the weather’s been beautiful recently, hasn’t it?”

You raise your eyebrows at him, a signal that Kaeya clearly sees and pointedly ignores. The both of you know that the weather was far from what you had been conversing about earlier, but you’re glad that Kaeya isn’t giving you away, at the very least.

“Quite,” Lisa agrees, tossing a lock of hair out of her face in a way that knocks all the breath out of your lungs. “Pleasant weather for a stroll around Starsnatch Cliff, wouldn’t you say, [Name]?”

You jolt in your seat and heat up so abruptly that you wouldn’t be surprised if you started smoking. Kaeya sniggers not-so-subtly into his hand as you hurriedly stutter, “U-uh, yeah, totally!”

“Is that an invitation?” Kaeya raises an eyebrow with a coy smirk, and you’ve never wanted to punch him more than you do at this moment. “I’m sure [Name] would be glad to accompany you.”

“Ah, I couldn't impose myself like that,” Lisa shakes her head, and you want to cry because if only you weren’t such a coward you could tell her that she’d never be imposing on you. “Razor could do with some new scenery for his training. I might as well show him the sights.”

“How is training with your protégé going, then?” Kaeya asks. “He seems to have become quite the loyal little wolf since you first took him under your wing.”

“Oh, he’s an absolute darling,” Lisa says breezily. “He still isn’t very verbal, unfortunately, but he’s learning to communicate like a star. And he’s becoming a dab hand at using his Vision more effectively, too.”

“Sounds like you’re a wonderful teacher, then,” Kaeya compliments, then gives you a side-eyed look. “Wouldn’t you agree, [Name]?”

You nod vigorously. “Absolutely!”

“You flatter me,” Lisa sighs, “But a good teacher is nothing without a bright and willing student.”

Kaeya gives you a subtle dig in the side, and you hurriedly go to reply. “H-hey, give yourself some credit. Razor never would have been able to open up so much without you.”

“You’re too kind, darling.” She gives you a brilliant smile, and you very nearly pass out on the spot, but Kaeya helpfully keeps you conscious by stomping hard on your left foot like the little shit he is. You’ll have to get him back for that later - when your heart rate isn’t so rapid that it feels like you might just ascend to Celestia any minute now.

Lisa doesn’t stay for long after that, conversing with Kaeya for another five minutes or so while you stew in your own flustered chagrin and silently continue to freak out over just how… perfect she is. It’s honestly ridiculous. How is she even human? How are you worthy of even being in her presence?

“Well,” Kaeya says as Lisa disappears back down the street, presumably to return to her place in the office. “That went well.”

You glare at him. “You think?”

“You spoke to her, didn’t you?” He counters, grinning cheekily. “That’s a start.”

You open your mouth to give him a grumpy response, then give up and slump forward on the table again. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” He hums, draining the last of his Wolfhook juice and setting the mug down with a sharp thunk. “Anyway, shouldn’t you be preparing for your performance tonight? You should probably go find your partner.”

“Our friend Kaeya is very right,” calls an all-too-familiar figure from atop a nearby roof. “You’re late.”

If it had been any other occasion, you might have jumped, but right now you’re too emotionally exhausted to do anything but let out a long, tired sigh. Ignoring Kaeya’s evil little cackle, you look up and turn to see Venti grinning down at you. “Bard.”

“Accompanist,” He imitates your monotone address, hopping down from the roof and landing softly on the pavement without so much as a click of his shoes. Flicking out his cape, he sets his hands on his hips and offers you his usual cheeky grin. “What’s got you so gloomy?”

“Nothing,” You reply, standing up and dusting off the front of your clothes. “Let’s go.”

Venti doesn’t move. He raises a single, suspiciously perfectly-shaped eyebrow, cocking his head to the side, then looks to Kaeya, who not-so-subtly mouths something at him. You pretend not to notice his obvious hand gestures in the corner of your eye.

“Ah,” Venti says suddenly, his expression taking on a mock-wise air. “Love troubles once again, I presume. Is our dear [Name] still ailed by a paralysing infatuation with one Miss Lisa?”

Kaeya claps enthusiastically, as if he isn’t the one who basically just told Venti the whole story through poorly-done charades. “Correct! I keep telling them to make a move, you know, but they’re too much of a coward.”

You aim a kick at his shin under the table that he dodges easily. “I’m not a coward! I’m just… gauging the territory.”

“You’ve been ‘gauging the territory’ for months now,” Venti whines, holding his fists in front of his chest and giving you the widest-eye look he can muster. “Come on! The eagle that never dives will never catch its prey, after all!”

“Lisa isn’t prey,” You counter. “And I’m not an eagle.”

“Hopeless is what you are,” comments Kaeya, leaning back in his chair and toying absently with a lock of his hair. “Hmmm, why don’t you write her a song? That’s your strong suit, isn’t it?”

“A song?!” You practically combust right there and then - if you’d been a Pyro Vision holder, you have no doubt that you’d have erupted into a column of flame on the spot. “No way!”

“I think that’s a splendid idea!” Venti exclaims, hopping up and down excitedly on the spot, hat threatening to fly off his head all the while. “You write the lyrics and melody, we compose the instrumental part together, and I’ll sing it for you! We’ll be an absolutely unresistable duo!”

“Easy there,” Kaeya teases, holding up a hand. “Our friend here is the one trying to win Lisa’s affections, after all.”

“Then I’ll be sure to try to direct as much of the spotlight to them as possible,” Venti replies, completely unaffected by Kaeya’s attempt to fluster him. You wish you had his coolheadedness sometimes. “C’mon, [Name], what do you say?”

“I said no!” You holler as he jumps energetically up at you like an over-excited puppy. “No way! There’s no way I’m going to just— broadcast my feelings like that!”

“You won’t be,” Kaeya explains, infuriatingly calm in the face of your explosive embarrassment. “Write the song so that only Lisa would be able to understand the true feelings behind it. It shouldn’t be difficult - you’re the master lyricist, after all.”

“Plus you have me to help as well,” Venti chimes in, holding up a single, proud finger. “The Windborne Bard himself - with me by your side, you can’t possibly fail!”

“Look—” You sink back into your seat and hunch forward, burying your face into your hands. A moment later, you raise your head again to see Venti giving you a concerned look. “I appreciate it, I really do, but… I can’t.”

“Of course you can,” Kaeya says unhelpfully, giving you a hearty slap on the back that is also unhelpful in every way. “You’ve performed all over Teyvat - this would be a small feat in comparison.”

“You aren’t helping, Master Kaeya,” Venti says, not-so-subtly elbowing Kaeya in the side. “We need to be cautious here. Like coaxing a young hatchling to fly the nest… we must take baby steps.”

“No baby steps!” You protest, leaning away as he takes a threatening step closer. “No steps at all!”

“Surely writing a subtle confessional song would be much easier than playing an intricate ballad in front of some of the most influential figures of Liyue?” Kaeya doesn’t show any signs of relenting. “Archons above, [Name], it seems that you’ve channelled all of your courage to entirely the wrong places.”

You drop your head into your hands again and glare at him through the cracks between your fingers. “Kaeya, I’d die for you any day, but for the love of the Archons, please shut up.”

He shrugs and obligingly places his finger over his lips, but you can clearly see him hiding a laugh behind it.

Venti hums, leaning over and giving your shoulder a comforting rub as you sigh miserably into your hands. “Hey, relax. I’m not going to drag you out on stage and force you to confess in song, much as I’m tempted to. If you don’t want to do it, we don’t have to.”

You ignore that middle part and choose to focus on Venti’s earnest attempt at consolation. “...thanks.”

“No need to thank me!” He winks playfully and gives your knees a firm pat. “Now come on! Confession or not, we still have a performance to practise for!”

You sigh and smile. “...sure.”

Leaving Kaeya to pay the lunch bill in retaliation for his teasing, you and Venti head off to your usual practice spot in the gardens outside the Cathedral. There’s some debate over who gets to wear the ‘Star of the Show’ Windwheel Aster pin today, but Venti relents quickly and gives you an easy win. You’re pretty sure it’s out of pity for your romantic plight, but you don’t care. The pin looks a lot nicer fastened on the lapel of your coat, anyway - the colour doesn’t match Venti’s cloak at all.

“So what’s the quota for tonight?” Venti asks, giving his lyre an absent-minded strum. “Celestial Destiny on repeat once more, I presume.”

“Shut up,” You groan, flipping open the latches of your instrument case and carefully lifting out your flute. “I’ve just been… lacking inspiration.”

“What you’ve been lacking is emotional fulfilment,” Venti sighs, reaching over and flicking you in the side of the head. “All you do is wander around Mondstadt, practise, and perform. Surely you could compose something flavourful if you had a little more excitement in your life.”

“I have excitement enough just as I am,” You bring your flute to your mouth. “Now shut up and start practising.”

Venti huffs, but begins strumming the opening chords anyway.

The two of you work your way steadily through your usual repertoire for the next hour or so. It goes smoothly as always - you’ve performed these pieces so many times that you could probably play them in your sleep - but you can’t help but feel like something is missing throughout the entire practice. Venti seems to be fully aware of it as well - rather than closing his eyes and swaying along to the music like usual, he just keeps glancing at you when he thinks you aren’t looking, wearing that frown that says ‘I know exactly what’s going on here but I don’t know if I should bring it up’.

Finally, he has enough, abruptly stopping his strumming in the middle of Early Dawn and setting his lyre down on the bench with a huff. “Alright, that’s it!”

You lower your flute and stare at him blankly as he stands and turns to glare at you, hands set firmly on his hips like a scolding parent. “You’re far too dismal! What happened to the Buoyant Balladeer? There’s no breeze in your playing at all!”

“I’m sorry if my heart is too heavy to play as light as the wind,” You retort, setting your flute back in its case. “I’m afraid I’m a little preoccupied.”

Venti looks at you with a furrowed brow as you shut the case with a harsh snap. After a moment, his voice much softer, he asks, “Are you alright?”

You hesitate for a moment. “...yes.”

He raises an eyebrow at you and doesn’t say anything else. After a pause, you groan and concede. “Alright, I’m miserable, so what? Let’s just get on with it.”

“We are most certainly not getting on with it,” He shoots back, turning to face you directly and crossing his arms stubbornly across his chest. “I can’t have my dear [Name] walking around with such a heavy heart. Come on, talk to me. What is it that weighs you down so?”

You stare at him for a long moment. He looks back at you almost unblinkingly, and try as you might to turn away and dismiss him again, there’s something about his wide green eyes that just compels you to tell the truth.

“I’m...afraid.” You say quietly. “It’s such a cliche thing to say, but I’ve really never felt this way before. I don’t… I don’t know how to deal with it.”

Venti smiles reassuringly. “There’s nothing wrong with that. First loves are always scary.”

“I understand that, but…” You bury your face in your hands and groan. “...she’s just so perfect and I’m just so me and it just feels like it’d never work out.”

“Hey, I don’t like that tone!” He scolds lightly, reaching out and flicking you in the cheek. “No talking bad about yourself. Besides, who says it’d never work out? As far as we know, your feelings are mutual.”

“I seriously doubt that,” You sigh, raising your head once again.

Venti raises an eyebrow. “Have you ever asked?”

You’re quiet for another few moments. “...no…”

“Then how do you know what her answer will be?” He asks. “Why assume that it’ll be no?”

You open your mouth to respond, but something suddenly compels you to look over to the town square. Venti goes quiet beside you as you see Lisa, standing beneath the Anemo Archon statue with Razor beside her. She seems to be explaining something to him.

Razor seems to feel your gaze almost as soon as it lands on him and his mentor. His hair bristles, and he abruptly whips around to look at you, but as soon as he sees you, he seems to relax. He lifts a gloved hand to send you a brief wave; you hesitantly return it.

He turns around and tugs on Lisa’s sleeve; she pauses and turns around to follow his pointing finger. You hold your breath as your eyes meet hers.

She raises her hand, and there’s no mistaking it - she’s smiling. An eternity seems to pass within those few seconds of eye contact, and for once your heart isn’t beating in your throat, your breaths aren’t becoming shallow and uneven, you aren’t heating up and boiling over. Instead, you feel a kind of pleasant warmth well up inside you, and you can’t help but beam and wave back.

Lisa looks at you for another moment, smiles once more, then turns around and begins walking away, gently tapping Razor’s shoulder as she goes. He glances back between you and his teacher, then turns around and follows behind her.

A long silence stretches between you and Venti.

You take a deep breath and turn to look at him, and he immediately grins. Somehow, you get the feeling that he knows what you're going to say.

“I need you to help me write a love song.”

[sunflowersandotherthings]

snow day (aaron hotchner)

you and jack convince aaron to take a snowday.

a/n: first hotch fic, and it’s a fluffy one. im a sucker for happy hotchners. i tried my best to make this gender neutral (im a female so thats just my default but i want to make things more inclusive if i can). please let me know if make any mistakes. any (kind) feedback is appreciated! (also this is not edited sooo)

1.2k words (I made this a bit longer than I intended)

warnings: tooth-rotting fluff, happy hotch (yes, thats a warning). 

masterlist

You woke up to a pair a big brown eyes staring at you, shaking you out of your slumber. 

“Y/n! Look!” Jack whisper-shouts (although he’s a kid, so it’s more of an attempt at whispering.

He points outside, directing your gaze to the window, showing the ground below coated in white.

“It snowed!” He exclaimed, much louder this time. You turn to the sleeping man beside you, making sure that his son’s excitement didn’t wake him from his much-needed sleep.

“I see that, buddy,” You whisper excitedly, placing a hand on Jack’s back, “Why don’t you go get your snow pants out and get dressed to go play outside.” When you say that, the mini-Hotchner’s face lights up with a smile, and he runs out of the room at top speed.

Once Jack is gone, you roll over and face Aaron, still sound asleep. However, as you inspect his face closer you see the corner of his mouth twitch up, and you know that he’s faking. You place a kiss there, and he opens his eyes. He groans at the light filling the room, stretching and pulling you into his chest. 

“Aaron, your son wants to play outside in the snow.” You say, trying to wiggle out of his arms (to no avail). 

“But it’s so cold outside. And it’s so warm here in bed.” If only his team could see him now, pouting at you and grumbling like a teenager. 

Instead of responding, you crane your neck up and kiss him. Distracted, his grip on you loosens and you take the chance to slip out of his arms, which earns a groan from him. As you start to pull on your warmest clothes, you give Aaron (who hasn’t moved from the bed) a pointed look.

He sits up, but doesn’t make a move to get out of the bed. He turns his body to face you, and you already know what he’s about to say.

“I have a lot of files I need to go through.”

You shake your head, moving over to him and snatching away his computer sitting on his bedside table, which he had begun to reach for. 

“Paperwork can wait.” You say, “Right now your assignment is to get dressed and build a snowman with your son.” You give Aaron another quick kiss before walking out of the room to get the rest of your snow gear.

Soon, you and Jack are ready to go outside, gloves on and boots laced up.

“Do we have to wait for dad?” Jack asks, slowly shuffling closer to the door.

“No, I think that Dad is gonna take a little bit. We can go out now and he’ll join us when he’s all ready.” You respond, pulling Jack into your side and bracing yourself for the cold.

It’s a lot colder outside than you had imagined, although 30 degrees is pretty cold. Jack immediately dives into the snow, making a mini snow angel in the front yard. You lay in the snow and make one yourself, right next to his. (Of course he runs right over it as soon as you stand up). 

“Snowball fight!” You hear Jack’s little voice yell out behind you, right before getting pelted in the head with a ball of snow. You’ve gotta admit, the kid has good aim.

He must get it from his dad, you think.

“No fair! I wasn’t ready!” You say before making your own snowball and hitting him in the leg. He’s running all over the place, a small moving target. You and Jack throw snowballs at each other for another couple of minutes, hiding behind bushes and tree trunks. 

At one point, Jack tackles your legs as you’re running and you fall face-first in the cold snow, Jack landing on top of your back, giggling in your ear. 

Aaron watches the scene in front of him fold out, unbeknownst to his son and his lover. A rare smile adorns his face, seeing his two favorite people in the world so happy. In this moment, Aaron wasn’t thinking about a case, or a deadline, or worrying about his family’s safety. He was living in this moment, enjoying the feeling of joy. He takes his phone out of his pocket, removing a glove with his teeth and snapping a picture of you and Jack running around in the snow with each other. He puts his phone back in his pocket and starts walking down the steps.

“Dad!” Jack exclaims, bringing your attention to Aaron, walking down the steps bundled up in his snow gear. There’s a smile on his face, and you feel your heart swell as you watch him pick his son up, both of them laughing. You see them whisper something between themselves, and suddenly they’re running behind a nearby tree.

Confused, you walk over to where they disappeared slowly, only to get pelted with snowballs from both Hotchners. Screeching, you run and hide behind a bush, preparing your own round of snowballs. You can hear Jack giggling loudly. When you jump out from behind the bush, snowballs are flying in every direction as the three of you run towards each other, having the time of your lives. 

You reach Aaron and Jack, all of you out of snowballs. 

“Truce?” Aaron asks, holding his hand out for you to shake. 

You quirk your eyebrow, surprised at his peace offering. You reach your hand out and grab his.

“Tru-” You begin to speak, but your words catch in your throat as he pulls you to his chest. You squeal, trying to pull back. He has his arms wrapped tight around you, holding you too him. You look up at him to find him already looking at you, a type of happiness in his eyes that you rarely see. You commit the moment to memory, him smiling down at you and looking at you like you’re his whole world.

That’s because you are, a part of you says.

You look into his eyes, both of you conveying your love without speaking a word. He leans his head down, kissing you in such a gentle and loving way that you want to melt (despite the fact that you can’t feel your fingers because of the cold). Even through the kiss, you can feel him smiling.

“Ewww, gross guys.” Jack says, trying to pull you away from his dad. You reluctantly pull your lips from Aaron’s but he doesn’t let you go far, resting his forehead on yours for a few seconds. He nudges his nose against yours, and you pull away when Jack gives an especially strong tug on your hand.

“Come on guys, let’s make a snowman!” He pulls you over to the center of the yard, and Aaron walks by your side with a hand on your back.

“Thank you.” He whispers in your ear. You turn with a smile, giving his lips a peck before responding.

“No, thank you, love. Seeing you smile makes me feel so happy, I can’t even explain it.” You say.

“It’s because I love you, Honey,” He says before turning back to Jack, who is already gathering snow for his snowman. “I love both of you. Now, let’s make this snowman.”

“We love you, Aaron.” You respond, thankful that you convinced your man to take a snow day. 

I hope you enjoyed this! Happy Hotch is my absolute favorite! <3

[krysphycookiez]

ooohhhhh r requests open???? i wanna ask for a itzy or blacpink 5th member pls :((( tysm if u ever make one <3 i like ur writings btw hihi

blackpink | you as the 5th member

synopsis: you have become the 5th member of blackpink! let’s see how you get along with the girls

genre: fluff, platonic, imagines

pairing: blackpink x gn member!reader

tw: none

a/n: eyyyy another girl group request! thanks honey for requesting, i really love blackpink with all my heart and i hope you enjoy this! also thanks for enjoying my work, i appreciate it!

♡︎

this amazing woman would love you the moment she laid eyes on you

jisoo would act very motherly and caring towards you, constantly watching out for you and making sure you’re healthy and happy

also loves to spoil you with gifts and such, she just loves you too much

and she’s very good at making you laugh, her funny and cute antics are just really endearing

when you’re upset she’s upset

like bro, no one messes with her baby or they are getting a piece of jisoo’s mind

will baby you more than the other members, guaranteed

she also crashes your vlives and you just don’t have the heart to be mad at her because she’s jisoo

movie nights!!!

she would get some popcorn and other snacks along with a cozy blanket

it’s mainly just action movies but every now and then you pull out the horror movie card

sometimes lisa would join in too, she likes to hang out with you guys a lot

and jisoo would also take you on a bunch of shopping dates, because she has no control

10/10 best mom friend and she wouldn’t know what to do without you

she would scare you a bit at first because of her big sassy energy

but then you learn she’s just a big lovable dork who you cherish

jennie is basically your dream best friend. kind, loving, savage and very talented! when you first met she took notice of you and was pretty intrigued

she then got closer to you and BOOM! suddenly you two are inseparable

if you aren’t a rapper, she’d teach you two to rap because she has a love for it

insult battles? hell yes

it’s always a 50/50 win, with Jennie getting the slight advantage at times

PLATONIC CUDDLES AND KISSES! she just loves hugging you and you only for some reason, which baffles the girls at times

also uh, jennie goes to you the most when she has to deal with dhit from haters and immature fans

you’ve caught her crying before all by herself and you basically forced her to tell her what was up

you got ice cream with her after that

and when you’re feeling down the dumps, jennie would surprise you with some chocolate and candy to make you feel better

ofc you two are still roasting each other every now and then but it’s cute

you and jennie would have an adorable relationship, and be emotional cuddle buddies forever

power couple of the century? hell yes

chaeyoung just loves you to bits and pieces and vice versa

if you’re a foreigner like her then the friendship is even stronger, both of you are like two peas in a pod

chaeyoung would probably teach you about some australian culture and stuff, and you’d be fascinated by it

if fans start coming at her for the way her vocals sound they are getting a piece of your mind

speaking of singing, vocal buddies for days

you two would coach each other when your vocal coaches aren’t around, and praise one another

BOBA DATES!!! chaeyoung loves to take you to some of the best boba places and you two would just chat like you’re in high school again, it’s really cute

she would also give you snacks and such when you’re feeling down, since she’s not the type to confront people directly about this stuff

also you two cuddle a lot, and give each other head kisses, it’s adorable as hell

did i forget to mention fansign moments? yeah you two get chaotic asf, with jisoo joining in every now and then

chaeyoung would also be the type of person to text you at 3am saying she misses you when you’re literally one room away from her

she’s cute tho so you can’t stay mad forever

overall chaeyoung is a great best friend, crack duo and soft cuties <3

sibling goals is one way to sum up your guy’s friendship

lisa would act like an energetic small puppy around you it’s adorable af. not to mention she gets clingy with you too

if you’re younger she’d tease you a lot, like how you’re so young and she’s the older one so you have to listen to her

and if you’re older she’d act like a sweet angel around you, throwing in some jokes every now and then about you

dance nights? hell yes

both of you would do a lot of dancing covers together of different girl groups, and boy groups every now and then, it’s crazy

also you probably accompanied lisa to be a dance mentor on that one variety show, both of you were scary as hell

COFFEE DATES! you two would go out in the mall or a cozy coffee shop and have some drinks with a few snacks and just chat

it’s always so relaxing and calming to be in a homey atmosphere with your best friend, talking about nothing in particular

flirty duo

you two flirt a lot with each other, and sometimes with the other members too, but we all know it’s just a joke

sometimes it goes too far that the other members start screaming and teasing you

but it���s all just fun and games

lisa would be one of your best friends, and you two would be immensely close

♡︎

that wraps up this fic, that’s again for requesting, i had a lot of fun writing this one! PLEASE SEND IN REQUESTS DON’T BE SHY, I’D BE REALLY HAPPY IF YOU DID

this is @/krysphycookiez logging off... ♡︎

[praphit]

A message from Reverend Candyman

Before I even entered the theater, I was mad. I was mad due to certain people on social media stating that this film is "too woke", "super-woke", "BLM propaganda", etc, etc.

I'm not saying that they're right or wrong, at this point, but how did those people not know what they were getting into? Did they not watch any "Candyman" films before this? Do they not know of Jordan Peele's previous film productions? Have they never seen any of Key & Peele? It's mostly race stuff!

Some of them were probably only hate-watching. There a re a handful of pundits I like to hate-watch. Sometimes, getting heated by their takes fuels my work days. But, I know what I’m doing to myself... *smh* but these people.

I didn't stay mad for long though, because Nia DaCosta, the director of "Candyman", is on point! This whole movie, strictly from a cinematic view, is very cool. How bout that?? "The Rambling Praphit says Candyman is VERY COOL." :) She'll be working on the next Capt Marvel movie. 

Most people did not like that movie (I'm excluded from that crowd). Marvel is so scared of the public's dislike of that movie, that they're not even calling it "Capt Marvel 2". It's just called "The Marvels"; leaving the first movie's "captain" as far away from the title as they could. I bring this up, cuz after watching "Candyman", I have high hopes for "The Marvels".

In the trailer we see some shadow puppet type action going on to tell Candyman's story.

So, if you haven't seen the 1992 film, you can get mostly caught up. A creative way to knock out exposition.

They still didn't get into why Candyman rocks a pimpish coat. Or why he's called "Candyman". I mean... they address the name, kinda... (Razor blades in candy - also seen in the trailer) but there's a bit of a hole in the timeline of that story. Plus, how would Candyman (a vengeful spirit) even have the time or patience required to put razor blades in hard candy? If he were an actual pimp named "Candyman", it would make more sense... but anyway...

The main character (Anthony, played by Yahya Adbul Mateen II) 

needed more of Candyman's story , so he went into the depths to find more horror, and he found it. Now, there's a white woman, who's the main character in the 1992 version, who does the same thing, and... let's just say things end poorly for her, and Anthony is foolishly following in her footsteps.

He's a broke visual artist, but thankfully he's got himself a suga mama (played by Teyonah Parris) , 

a not-so-broke art gallery director named Brianna. Lesson number one, you broke artists - gym membership. 

Follow the path of Yahya. He’s the only hard candy mama needs! Keep that suga mama money coming to fuel your art.

I appreciate this couple though - a lot of times (in movies) we see black couples where the woman is struggling to feed the kids with like 3 or 4 jobs, while the man juggles cheating on her, being involved with drugs, and dreaming of one day being the greatest rapper there ever was. We've been there and done that with black movie couples enough.

But, Candyman can't allow this couple to be too happy, so the killing begins!

Say his name 5 times! He dares you! After the fifth time, he appears to brutally kill you. What kind of game is that? I could see if it was a 50/50 chance - win some money or die, but straight up 100% death? Who would play such a game?? 

"Let's go to the top of a snowy, slippery mountain. Let's slide down it with crazy speed and immovable objects in our way." Who’s game?

(white people)

"Let's take a detour through the woods, at night, right pass the area where those teenagers were murdered, LAST NIGHT... I don't think they ever caught the perp. Oh, well... let's go!" Who’s going?

(white people)

So, who will play the candyman name game? - white people, of course :)

I heard someone say that Candyman is only killing white people. That’s not true #1, but #2 - they’re the ones mostly playing this game.

No, this isn't just some movie about a black, pimpish, man with a hook, killing white people. We've got story as well.

Three parts to this story, actually:

The look -

Which I mentioned is great! The gruesome horror elements and the killings are well done. In fact, the kill scenes are so good that I wanted to see more of it. A lot of the kills effectiveness come from NOT showing you the gore. There's plenty gore as well, but the balance of times when you have to imagine what's happening as people scream is also dope.

The horror part to the film is kinda slowed down though by the social commentary. part to the film: The 1992 film has this as well, but it's more subtle, and flows with the story better. This... well, I can see why some hyper-sensitive conservatives might cry "wokeism!" I disagree with their sentiment, but I get it. If this movie had come out before 2020, perhaps the feeling would be different. There's a scene that's directly addressing gentrification. It's a group of four people (three black people and a white dude) talking. The movie shows how the seemingly enlightened and likable white dude was involved in the convo, but still didn't really get it. Perhaps that's how they see a lot of their audience with this, cuz there's no subtlety going on here at all. It's more of an "F U" at times. It's effective hate-watching though.

Lastly there's the psychological part to the movie. Something has clearly gone wrong inside of Anthony, and no one seems to be taking it all that seriously.

Something is also wrong outside of Anthony as well.... as seen in the trailer, he gets stung by a bee. One of those Candyman Bees! (Not a thing, but it should be) It's... maybe... infected (they never really explain), and gets worse and worse. Why doesn't anyone demand that he go to the doctor?! Not even his suga mama says anything! You know damn well, that no matter how sexy one may be, if you've got some sort of creepy Candyman infection, that's gonna mess up that sexy-suga-money flow, y'all feel me?? And if there is some sort of ghostly infection, shouldn't we be more scared of the bees than even Candyman? He only appears when you say his name! The bees on the other hand...

I guess it's kinda real though - I could certainly see people these days getting "the candyman infection" I speak of, and saying proudly "It's not real! And I will NOT be treated!" while waving a flag, with their clearly infected hand.

These three parts collide, sloppily. It's funny, cuz the film, as I said, is heavy-handed with hot topics, but the story (particular in the third act) will confuse you. I mean, I get it, cuz I saw the original film, but had I not... ??? There's a scene when Candyman is summoned and he proceeds to kill a bunch of cops. THEY didn't even summon him! They said “Defund the Police” not kill’em!  Idk if Candyman had been listening to nothing but Louis Farrakhan and Marvel’s Kilmonger nonstop during 2020, and it's all spilling over or what?? Some people are overachievers. Then he says "Spread my message" What message is that?!

Imagine if you say my name 5 times, and I appear in your kitchen, drink all of your beer, walking into your living room, and pee in the corner... then I say to you, before disappearing "Spread my Message".

You'd be like "What the hell?"

Despite this movies' flaws, I still enjoyed it. The social commentary really is important to the times we're living in, and should still be discussed, and not just discussed, by acted on. Plus, I truly am impressed by director Nia DaCosta. I do recommend that you see it, but you should probably watch the 1992 one first. Or who knows what message you'll leave with :)

Grade: generous B-

I doubt that there'll be a sequel, but if there is one, i really do hope that we can finally get to the bottom of this name thing. With Candyman, I'm still thinking drug dealer. It's not that scary of a name. Maybe CandyHOOK! Hooks wielded by maniacs are always scary.

No? Yeah, it does make me think his hook is made out of candy.

With the bees involved, perhaps "Bee Guy", or "Bee King", but... they're not really his thing. Plus, that's lame, and kinda sounds like he's buddies with Ant-Man. That could hurt his street cred. The 1992 film gets into a honey type of scenario as to the etymology. But, then, it should be "Honey Man", right? - that sounds kinda like a gigolo though. But, perhaps this is a good thing! That gives me an idea that could add some surprise to this whole name game thang! Call his name 5 times and either receive drugs, murder, a confusing sermon, or sweet, sweet lovin. Now, that's a game!

[mintenochian]

what other people want added to Minecraft: g u n s

what I want added to Minecraft

•Birds

-For multiple biomes, but mainly for the forests.

-Songbirds would add SO MUCH life to the otherwise quiet areas of the game

-Ravens and crows would be awesome and could use some of the parrot mimicking AI

-Cardinals in the snow biomes would bring a GORGEOUS pop of colour into the white atmosphere

-Seriously we need something to populate the sky, parrots do NOT fly like they should

-nests in trees, can find eggs in them

-doesn't really add a use but fun new feather types would be cool

•Owls

-technically still a bird but would go really well in covered rooftop forests and snow biomes

-we're already getting larger avians added in the form of vultures so why not more large birds?

•Mice and / or rats

-absolute precious babies

-sadly would go well with owls :(

-with cave update coming we need adorable rodents scurrying around

-lil bastards could make mouseholes inside of blocks

-will they be tameable? idk.

-adds the necessity for cheese

•Deer

-MOJANG this is a MUST, this is a NEED

-You literally have pigs, chickens, cows, and sheep spawning in forests what the fuck

-Deer with spotty baby fawns??? Yes

-Young bucks with different stages of antler growth? Yes

-Fawns frolicking in flower forests bc they feel safe

-Stripped wood appearing on trees where bucks scrape velvet off their antlers

-Being able to collect sets of antlers when they fall off periodically (would NOT be attainable by killing the deer, you have to wait for them to shed)

•Elk and Moose

-Same vein as deer

-Bigger, much bigger, neutral instead of passive, less shy

-Snowy biomes

-Better additions than fucking llamas tyvm

-Sidenote but savannahs could also really use some endangered deer-like species to help raise awareness for their status

•Squirrels

-Mojang plz

-Adds nuts to Minecraft ;)

-Black, grey, red, and mixed colour squirrels and breeding

-Brings life to forests like songbirds and deer

•Bears

-Mojang bby you literally already have a neutral bear in Minecraft why have you not reskinned it for grizzly/brown/black bears?

-Bear caves

-Hibernating mobs

-Brings more use to the beehives and bees, bears could be attracted to any area that has more than one bee hive with honey

•WOLVES AND DOGS

-They NEED the ocelots and cats update

-More wolf types (red, timber, snow, black, etc)

-Actual wolf packs (the AI would be difficult to program but the doges are worth it)

-Please let the howl at the moon, if foxes get to say ringdingding all night long wolves deserve to be allowed to howl

-More dog breeds (I know that there's no reason for domesticated dog breeds in Minecraft but ACTUALLY THERE IS)

-Hunting dogs like springers that can jump and run faster

-Foxhounds :D

-Most Important Goodest Boy: Herding dogs like collies and sheepdogs

-Herding dogs could be found in plains where cows and sheep spawn and create herds

-LET DOGS LAY DOWN FOR FUCKS SAKE

•Herding

-Instead of having to pen up and enclose your livestock you could form herds of cows and sheep

-Your Goodest Boi herding dog would protect them and move around with them when they graze

-Just soft peaceful minecraft tingz

•Salt licks

-Something SO SMALL but would make SO MUCH HAPPINESS

-Drawing new cows into your herd by putting up a salt lick

-I'm soft

-I guess salt would be a new ore???

•Bird feeders

-idk I think it would be cool

-excess seeds used for SOMETHING

•Raccoons

-The coolness of wolves, the chaos of foxes, the cunning of cats

-thumbs

-be gay do crimes

-can open chests (trigger trap chests to catch them?)

-Fantastic little shits

-Not tameable but will trust players like foxes do

•Snakes

-I know it's a lot to ask and it would be hard to make them look good

-But??? Imagine a tiny lil garter snake in your garden

-unlikely but would be so fantastic

•Rope

-climeable

-please Mojang we need this so badly

-imagine the ships? The bridges? The bell towers and everything?

-super easy to add, just reskin vines and add a string crafting recipie

•Butterflies and Moths

-Bflies could be a unique mob to flower forests and friends with bees

-if moobloom is added they would all be BEST BUDS

-get it "buds" ahahaha

-help with flower polination but just gives a TON of life to flower forests

-We literally have lanterns in minecraft why do we NOT have moths? Such a cool aesthetic addition.

-helps fill both the daytime and nighttime sky

•Hummingbirds

-fourth member of BEST BUDS

-just soft baby

-i love birbs okay

-the only avian who does not work for the bourgeoisie

•Fireflies

-10 million of them please

-they give great hugs

-adds so much atmosphere to the night world

•Cheese

-We have milk

-We have, presumably, goat milk

-Quit being cowards and add butter and cheese

-Butter churn job block for villagers

-V funny bc they have no arms to churn with?? Oh well

•Seashells

-Something decorative and beautiful that could 1) liven up beaches and 2) have snails and crabs inside!

-Mojang plz do not add sand dollars to the game people already don't know how to tell if they're still alive before trying to take them home

•Whales

-WHALES.

-Imagine something as massive as the ender dragon but peaceful. Allows you to stand on them (idk how but make it happen Jeb)

-WHALE SONGS.

-Being so deep and far out into the ocean, and when the moon is high in the sky and you're sitting in your boat, you just hear the beautiful melancholy sounds of the whales in the distance

•Jellyfish

-Idk if y'all know this but the glow squid is a bad idea

-Dream buddy you fucked up, please use your influence to get in contact with Mojang and have them redo the vote. People would have so much regained respect for you if you tried to fix your mistake.

-Also why does a speedrunner get to tell millions of people what mob would bring more life to Minecraft? He's only playing the game for 5 minutes smh

-aNYWAYS

-Jellyfish could literally do everything the glow squid is going to and look better for it AND possibly be neutral instead of peaceful

•Orcas

-Not much to say but it would liven up the frozen water biomes a bit

•Penguins

-You already know why

-Imagine giving a new home to all the Club Penguin players? Legendary.

-Gender doesn't exist in Minecraft but we all know penguins would be hella gay

•Lobsters

-I think they would be cute

-You would NOT BE ABLE TO BOIL THEM ALIVE THANK YOU VERY MUCH

•Mermaids

-Never going to happen since passive mobs are generally real life animals but it would be so cool

•Otters

-they can hold hands

-brings life to the rivers

-super cute

•Frogs and possibly toads

-Swamp gods

-Absolute mad lads

-maybe grow from tadpoles

-wouldn't do much but needed

•Fairy Forests

-NOT Twilight Forests. Not a new dimension.

-Just gentle hidden groves in forests

-ADD FAIRY RING GENERATION TO MINECRAFT.

•Big cats

-Tigers, lions, bobcats, panthers

-Literally anything that could finally add a strong predator possibility to savannahs and jungles

•Zebras and Giraffes

-Shy and skittish

-cannot ride (their skeletal structure is NOT MADE FOR CARRYING HUMANS)

-Super cute tho, brings much needed life to savannahs

•Camels

-The better llama

-Can honestly just be a reskin

-brings much needed life to the desert

-spits and wears carpet and forms caravans like llamas

•Lemurs

-Easier to add to "jungles" than monkeys

-it would be really cool if we could just get a Rainforest biome

-King Julian stans awaken

•Red pandas

-we need them

-cuter than normal pandas and you can @ me

-better idea than sloths or koalas

•More Eldritch Horror Hostile Mobs

-Fun fact time

-The enchanting table language already has Lovecraftian references

-"phnglui mglwnafh cthulhu rlyeh wgahnagl fhtagn" is literally a quote from the enchanting table

-translates to "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."

-Bet you didn't know that fun fact

-aNYWAYS add the Kraken to Minecraft instead of the shitty guardians. Thanks.

-imagine how cool it would be to see lights slowly extinguish as something terrifying and dangerous slowly moves in for the kill

-torches get extinguished and can get relit

-if not relit fast enough Something will be waiting

•Ice statues

-We have giant fossils and ship wrecks and cool stuff like that but please imagine finding a GIANT humanoid ice sculpture in an ice spikes biome

-maybe bones inside to show you that... That wasn't carved or naturally generated.

•Skeletons

-Not a mob but a decoration block

-Found in temples, mineshafts, and caves

-implied to be the remains of miners and explorers

-rare

-also implies that every skeleton you kill has some backstory since they look the same

•Constellations

-Not real world star maps but completely unique to Minecraft

-chance for LOTS of fun references

-The stars are your only companions in an apocalyptic world where you are the last of your kind

-Space is gay minecraft is gay thus minecraft space is gay

•Corn

-we have butter in this list

-we have salt in this list

-popcorn. That is all.

And finally

•Leeks

-mostly a joke but would be a cool crop

-100% a reference to Hatsune Miku the creator of Minecraft

DISCLAIMER: I recognize that mobs are added to Minecraft to serve a purpose within the game and that many of these mobs would be better in mods and such, but I also feel like many of these suggestions would really bring so much more life to parts of the game that really need it. Even if they don't serve a huge purpose, they would still be really amazing additions imo.

I would love to see the ideas and suggestions that other people have for what they want added to Minecraft, please TAG ME if you make a post like this, I wanna hear and read it!

[yikesharringrove]

Hi! I love your blog and i check daily for updates because your fics/drabbles make my days! I wanted to request (if you're up to it) something with steve going deaf after the concussion in s2? Thank you so much! I hope you feel better soon and have a great day❤

So, I’ve broken my eardrums several times and that causes temporary hearing loss, so I based what Steve experiences on that as well as some stuff I read written by folks that lost their hearing.

I also wanna rec this fic, which has a similar idea, but Steve begins the story hard of hearing, so I tried to make them different!

Read on Ao3

-

Billy doesn’t know what happened when the kids drugged him and left him there.

All he knows is that he was startled awake by the sounds of Maxine driving his own car and the kids fucking screaming.

Something about Harrington being bitten?

And they dragged Steve out of his car, and he was bloody, and unconscious, and had a big gash in the back of his head.

Billy helped them bring him to the couch, using Steve’s jacket to pillow his head, trying to staunch the bleeding from the wound there.

“Why the fuck didn’t you take him to the hospital?”

Everyone was quiet as Steve groaned, shifting slightly.

His eyes fluttered open.

They were hazy and unfocused, looking slowly around the room.

“Hey, buddy. How are ya feeling?” Steve stared blankly at Dustin.

“I, what?”

Steve felt like he was underwater.

The world was moving too slowly around him, everything was hazy and muffled and he didn’t know which way was up, which part of his body hurt more.

He barely remembers being in those tunnels, the ‘dogs rushing them, getting tossed against the cave wall.

And then, nothing.

Nothing but blue eyes and rough hands.

And Dustin asked him something, but he was too far away, or maybe he was being quiet for once in his life, but Steve just heard ay-u are-a ee.

And then Billy said something, and Steve could pick up osital before Billy was picking him up like he weighed nothing and putting him back in that car.

And Steve could sort of make out the sound of the engine through his underwater brain.

But it didn’t sound anything like it did that first day when Billy roared into the high school parking lot, didn’t even sound like when Max was driving earlier.

And Billy fucking knew something was wrong.

Every time he spoke, Steve didn’t acknowledge him. And he would chalk it up to Steve just fucking hating him, but he figured he’d get some kind of response, even if it was just a glare.

He took him to the emergency room, helping him out of the car.

“My friend hit his head. He’s bleeding and he’s really spaced out.”

-

Steve let the nurses and the doctors examine him.

He felt like he was only going deeper under water.

“I’m sorry, I can’t, I can’t hear you.”

He couldn’t even hear his own voice.

The nurse’s smile slid right off her face.

And then there was another doctor, and he was wheeled into a new room, and had to lay very still in a large cream colored tube.

-

“Harrington?”

Billy hadn’t been allowed to accompany Steve back. No familial relation, and all that.

But he was getting regular updates as they performed new tests.

Last he heard, Steve was being taken for a scan, which Billy didn’t like the sound of.

“Our imaging has presented us with the cause of his loss of hearing. It appears that-”

“Sorry, loss of hearing?” And it made sense, it really did, but it also sent a fucking chill down Billy’s spine. Moreso than the unexplained animal bite that was oozing blood and puss from Steve’s leg.

“Yes, it appears Mr. Harrington has suffered a severe enough concussion we have classified it as a traumatic brain injury. Due to the location of the blow, his auditory processing has been affected. We believe he has lost approximately 90% of his hearing.”

“But this is like, just temporary, right? He’ll be fine?”

“It’s rare to lose hearing due to damage to the brainstem, so unfortunately, we don’t know.”

“You don’t, you don’t know? He could be fucking deaf forever, and you don’t know?” She gave him an unimpressed look, stared him down until he deflated, mumbled a sorry.

“Look, his injury is uncommon, not unprecedented. We hope for a full recovery, but at this point, it’s unlikely.” She gave him a half smile as he thanked her, and turned on her heel.

-

They gave Steve a notepad.

He didn’t like talking.

Felt like he sounded stupid.

Couldn’t hear himself to know otherwise.

And of course, he didn’t know sign language. Never had put much thought into learning it.

The nurses would give him pitying smiles, would write down their questions for him. They mostly kept to yes or no’s, allowing him to nod or shake his head.

Does it still hurt? Has your hearing improved? Do you need more pain killers?

He slept through the rest of the night, but he chalks that up to the morphine they pumped him with, the adrenaline draining from his body.

The next morning he woke up to a sweet looking nurse, writing him a note that he had visitors, and he was welcome to tell them no.

He sighed, and nodded, giving a vague come in gesture.

It was Joyce and Hop.

And Steve realized he was relieved the kids weren’t there.

Joyce scribbled something on his pad.

They told us everything. I’m so sorry, Honey.

And Steve stared crying. Started sobbing, because Joyce’s hugs were warm but her soft voice was gone.

-

Billy had never left the emergency room.

He had curled in one of the uncomfortable chairs, and dozed off until morning, when the Police Chief rolled in with the gaggle of kids and a short woman that gave him a shockingly tight hug, and thanked him for taking care of Steve.

“He’s deaf.” Billy’s throat felt raw. “They told me last night. Scanned his brain and the injury was real bad. They don’t know if he’ll ever hear again.”

“But they, there’s nothing they can do?” Dustin was pale.

“Not really. They said, it’s rare for how he was injured to result in hearing loss, so they just don’t know.”

The chief took that woman back to see Steve, told the kids they didn’t know if he was up for visitors just yet.

Dustin had an odd look on his face.

He set his jaw, rolled his shoulders back, planted himself in front of Billy.

“Take me to the library.” Billy raised an eyebrow.

“Not a chance.”

“Take me to the library.”

“Kid, no.”

“Yes! I need to do research! If I learn sign language, I can help Steve so we can communicate!” Lucas stood behind him.

“Take us to the library.” When Maxine stood as well, Billy sighed.

“Fine. Get in the car.”

-

Apparently Nancy and Jonathan broke into his house.

Nancy still remembered where he kept the spare key.

She had an odd look on her face as she passed Steve some sweats, a clean shirt. Jonathan scribbled a note and gestured to the bag he placed on one of the chairs.

We brought more clothes, didn’t know how long you’re staying.

He didn’t know either.

He told them thanks. One word was easy enough, and he’s pretty sure he saw Nancy’s eyes go a little teary at the sound of his voice.

-

Billy ushered the kids into the building, going over to chat with the librarian.

He had spent a decent amount of time here since moving to Hawkins. They had a decent selection, and plenty of the classics he liked to read.

He was too tired to flirt, but kept polite conversation as the kids rushed around.

“We need all the books you have on American Sign Language, deafness, and anything else on the subject.” She gave Dustin a pointed look.

“Mr. Henderson, you have five books checked out, as well as five you stole-”

“I’ll bring those back. This is urgent.” Billy put on his best tragic look.

“Marissa, the kid’s best friend has a, well he’s just gone deaf. Had a terrible accident. They just wanna be there for him, you know?” She looked at him. Her resolve was slipping. “You know, use my card for ‘em. You know I’m reliable.”

He checked out very few books, opted to read them in the library instead.

She sighed.

“I’ll show you what we’ve got.” And she grumbled all the way to the stack.

-

Steve was staring out the window when he received a note about more visitors.

He knew he’d have to face the kids at some point, he was just hoping to put it off.

He smiled as warmly as he could when they came in, his eyes going wide when Billy trailed in behind them.

He looked like shit.

Dustin scribbled something on the notepad.

Billy took us to the library and we got books on sign language and we’re all going to learn together so that we can all still communicate.

He wrote like he talked, run on sentences with rushed, sloppy, handwriting.

Everyone was staring at him weird, and he realized he had laughed. He took notepad scribbling on it quickly.

Thank you guys. Means a lot. Dustin smiled at him, nodding. He cast a glance over to Billy, leaning against the wall, staring out the window. Dustin took the pad.

He hasn’t left since he brought you here he slept out in the waiting room and took us to the library to get all the books AND let us check them out on his library card.

Steve nodded, clearing his throat. Billy’s jaw tightened at the sound.

“Billy.” His head whipped around, his eyes wide at Steve’s voice. Not too loud. He held up what Dustin had written down. “Thank you.” Billy just nodded at him.

-

The kids were picked up one by one, giving Steve tight hugs before they left.

Until it was Max asleep in a chair, Billy sitting in the other.

Steve watched as Billy took off his jacket, draping it over Max like a blanket.

He gave Steve a tight smile. Steve picked up the pad.

Why have you stayed? You didn’t have to.

Billy shrugged. Worried about you.

Steve flushed.

I’m okay.

Billy gave him a look.

Well, I will be. Billy gave him a little half smile. You really took them to the library?

The little mouthy one bullied me into it.

Steve laughed. Billy tried to stifle his own smile.

Love the image of Dustin bullying you into doing something.

Yeah well, it was humiliating. Steve smiled at him again.

So, are you learning sign language too?

Just the important shit. Princess, Pretty Boy, pain in my ass. The three P’s. Steve laughed again.

Right. Important shit. Remind me to learn asshole and piece of trash.

Steve had never really taken much notice to the way Billy laughed. But now that he couldn’t hear it, he studied Billy’s face. His eyes scrunched up, and had his teeth always been that white, and that straight? His Adam’s apple bobbed when he laughed and Steve didn’t even think, reached out and pressed his fingers softly against his throat, his palm flat on his chest.

Billy went still. Steve recoiled.

Sorry. Wanted to see if I could feel your laugh. Billy smiled sheepishly at him, taking his hand and bringing it back to his throat.

Steve could feel the vibrations in his throat, the way the air made his neck shift, his Adam’s apple moving.

He didn’t know what Billy was saying, just liked the way his lips moved, the way he could feel the words in his fingertips.

-

Steve’s face was soft as Billy spoke, his eyes big, his fingers soft against Billy’s throat.

“I guess I can say this now. Since you’re not ever gonna hear me say it, but I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I said to you, did to you. You just, you scare the shit outta me, Pretty Boy. I’m not, not allowed to feel this way about you. About, about any boy. Neil’s made that really fucking clear. But I saw you, and I wanted to be near you, to hear you laugh, be the, the cause of all your damn smiles, and I’ve made you laugh twice today. And that’s the best damn feelin’ in the world.”

Steve’s eyes flicked up to his face when he couldn’t feel words anymore, and those soft fingers retreated again.

Steve took the notepad.

Billy liked his handwriting.

I like the way it feels when you talk. He smiled all bright and Steve Harrington pretty. Never thought about feeling someone speaking like that before. And then Billy’s heart sank. What did you say.

Talkin’ shit on you.

That’s rude. I’m a deaf person now. That’s bigamy.

I’m going to assume you meant bigotry. Steve flushed.

Yeah, whatever.  Steve was all huffy. It was adorable.

Sorry, I’ll only talk shit in sign once we all earn it.

Thank you. I appreciate it. Steve reached out, slapping playfully at Billy’s chest. Billy had the overwhelming urge to take his hand, kiss his knuckles.

He was too scared.

When do you get out of here? I got an idea.

-

Billy was there to pick him and take him home.

Steve had been in the hospital for over two weeks, as they wanted to monitor the injury.

He had completely lost his hearing, and had given up hope of it returning.

But Billy had been by everyday, usually bringing Dustin and some of the library books, and they had all mastered the sign language alphabet, and had all learned a few words.

Steve had a few bags of things people had brought to him, everything fitting nicely in the trunk of the Camaro.

Billy had offered to drive him own, wanted to see something.

He made a beeline to the quarry, finding a spot overlooking the water.

He took the pad from Steve’s lap, writing I have an idea, tell me when you can feel it.

He rifled through the cardboard box in the backseat, holding up the tape for Steve to see.

It was KISS, Dynasty.

Steve made a face.

Billy rolled his eyes, pushing the tape in. He turned up the bass, cranking the volume.

The first song, I Was Made For Lovin’ You, had one of Billy’s favorite bass lines ever.

He turned up the bass some more, until his speakers sounded like shit, the song completely distorted.

But Steve’s eyes were wide, his hand on his chest. Billy stole the pad.

At concerts, sometimes you can feel the bass in your body. I thought that might work for you. Can still listen to music. I got a lot of bass heavy stuff.

Steve’s bottom lip trembled.

He sniffed, wiping at his eyes.

Billy doesn’t know what he had done wrong, if maybe it was insensitive, this whole music thing.

He went to turn down the music, but Steve grabbed his wrist. He took the notepad.

Thank you, Billy. You’re really nice. Not listening to music anymore was really making me sad. This was a good idea.

Steve smiled at him, his eyes still wide and gooey wet.

Billy didn’t think about.

Just put one hand on the back of Steve’s neck, and pulled him forward, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

Steve was stiff against him, and Billy was about to pull back, scribble an apology on the pad, put then Steve sighed, and melted against Billy.

They pulled away from one another, and Steve was biting his lip, made Billy kiss him again.

Been wanting to do that for a while. Billy had tossed the pad onto his lap. Steve scoffed at it.

Why didn’t you?

Too scared. Steve just looked at him. The song clicked to the next, the steady kick drum of 2,000 Man made Steve’s hand flutter back to his chest. You like this one?

This album is good. Now that I can’t actually hear it. Billy shoved him. Steve huffed a little laugh.

Dick.

[obaby-me]

Hey there buddy would u plz do a headcanon the guys reacting to mc being drunk and she confesses her feeling for them in a cute manner

Drunk confessions are never recommended.

But they are hilarious.

If you or someone you know is about to confess while drunk, do them a favor, and buy them another drink. They’re gonna need it.

Lucifer

Lucifer hardly ever lets go on a night out with his brothers. He has to remain the sober one to take them home without them destroying the town. So he nurses a drink, that gets him just tipsy enough that the giddy drunk in him just peeking out into a smile.

“I love when you do that,” you giggle from beside him, swaying and bumping into his side.

“Oh?” He asks, raising a brow with interest. “When I do what?”

With a grin you point to his face. “Smile! I wanna do that,” you tell him your voice slow and drawn out.

Leaning towards you with a chuckle, he bumps you gently back. “You’re already doing that. Your face is practically made up of only a smile right now.” He teases.

“No!” You protest with a laugh. “I wanna make you smile,” you slur, fingers tracing his lips, and then prodding up the ends to his cheeks. “I wanna be the one to make you smile. I wanna do it every day.”

He’d have been annoyed by the child-like display if he wasn’t so charmed by that adoring look in your eye as you stared at him.

Lucifer can feel himself flush and his smiles widen. “You already do that too,” he assures you as pulls your fingers from his face, a tender look in his eye as he wraps an arm around you pulls you into his side. He places a gentle kiss on your cheek when he thinks no one is watching.

But they all saw it. No one dares to say anything about it though, not when he looks happier than he has in a long time.

Mammon

Mammon’s been having the most wonderful time. Drinks are a plenty on the tab of Lucifer, and the alcohol’s been boosting his boisterous nature to new heights. He’s clung to you most of the night, dragging you about as he fetches drinks, chats up other demons and swapping tall tales to boost his ego, and attempting to convince other patrons into some games by which to gamble. No one’s taken him up on the offer yet.

“This my human,” he announces to everyone he meets. He doesn’t generally bother to give your name. He’s too busy keeping the attention on himself. When the inevitable question of your relationship comes up, a blushing Mammon is quick to deny it. “I—it’s not like that!” He’ll stutter. “As if THE great Mammon would have any interest in a human!”

You and no one else believe him.

One demon attempts to take the teasing just a step too far and wraps his own arm around your waist, tugging you to him. “Well, I certainly have an interest,” he drawls, leaning into your ear. “I could love ya, honey, since he won’t,” he offers.

“No, thank you,” you say pushing away from him with an awkward laugh back towards Mammon, swaying as you do so. The second-born is quick to catch you. Looking at the demon, teeth bared, he growls in a way your rarely hear from him, “Don’t touch my human!”

There’s laughter amongst the surrounding demons and he’s quickly pulling you outside of the bar, desperately in need of air for his burning face.

You’re giggling behind him, adding to his mortification, but as you stumble, you grip tight to his hand throw yourself on to his arm for support.

“Don’t you worry, human, I’ve got ya.” He says with a soft smile. “THE great Mammon won’t let anything happen to ya. Won’t let anyone take ya from me,” he says as he pulls you into him, burying his face out of your sight. He knows he’s saying it more for himself than for you. The demon’s comment eating away at him.

There’s some silence and you can feel his embarrassment radiating off of him. But he refuses to let you go. “He wishes he could love you,” he hisses, after much contemplation.

“You know, if you said you loved me, I’d tell you I’d love you too,” you whisper into him, your fingers tracing hearts into his back. With wide eyes he pulls back to stare at your face in utter disbelief.

With a smile, you take his hands and place them against you, and begin to rock side to side as if dancing with him, trying to distract him from his mile a minute thoughts. And that giggle and that spin, did it perfectly. You were too cute to deny a dance. He’ll worry about how to tell you he loved you properly later. Maybe.

Leviathan

He’s fuming, he’s furious at having been dragged into this night out with his brothers only to be abandoned at the booth with his drink. Lucifer had confiscated his D.D.D. in an effort to get him to talk with people, though the

Levi was deep in thought, trying to strategize a way to steal his phone back and make it out alive.

“This is exactly why I hate—hate— normies!” He seethes, screeching his hate for them again, another rant rolling—the fourth in the last hour. He had been constant flipping screaming his hatred to lamenting into his drink. Speaking of which, was now empty.

“D-do you really hate all normies that much?” He heard a soft whisper from beside him. You slid into the booth beside him with another drink for him. You had been refilling his drink for him, spending your time beside him.

“Yes,” he said in his fury. “They’re the worst.”

“Even me?” You ask as you push the drink into his hands and taking the empty one from him.

Levi’s head snapped to you.

“No! Never you. You’re a normie but you’re also my Henry!” He explains quickly. “You should know that!”

You smile back at him, giggling as his face flushed as he attempted to backtrack.

“I know,” you assure him. Your body tilts and leans against him. Red trailed from his face and travelled down his neck, his body going rigid. For a time you stay there, sipping at your drink.

“J-just how much have you had?” Levi asked, unable to comprehend the intimate contact as something you would willing do.

“Not enough,” you say with a laugh. “They call this liquid courage but I’m still so nervous,” you admit.

“Ugh, I know what you mean! There’s so many people, and it’s so loud—“ he begins. You cut him off with another laugh. “That’s not what’s gettin’ me,” you say with a bit of a hiccup.

“What is it then?” He asks with some concern.

You hum as you swirl your drink in its cup, the turn to him eyeing him, assessing him for some unknown criteria. You smile gently at him, reaching a hand up to cup his brightly blushing face, coaxing a noise of surprise out of him.

“Do you think I could ever be more than a Henry to you?” You ask as you a thumb over his heated skin.

“M-more?” He practically shouts.

“Henry never kisses the Lord of Shadows,” you murmur leaning in. “I wanna kiss my Lord of Shadows,” you breathe against his lips, waiting for him. Levi’s heart beats so hard he’s sure he’s dying.

“Y—you do? You mean it? Really?” He asks, requiring further confirmation. You nod happily at him, smile brighter than any star, and he thinks surely he has died and returned to the heavens. Eagerly, he meets you halfway for a kiss that he’ll wish he remembered later.

Satan

He’s not entirely sure if you’re listening to him still at this point, but he doesn’t much care. You’re both inebriated to the point of nonsense. He’s not even sure what the subject of the initial conversation was, or how he got to the current topic, but you seem quite happy simply listening to him, your head in your palm as you lean on the bar. Your face is flushed, your eyes lidded, and your smile content—it’s a look he’s finding to be more intoxicating than his spirits.

Your lips start moving, interrupting him suddenly. He has to take a moment snap his attentions from his meandering eyes and babbling mouth to concentrate on his hearing.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I said, your brain, it’s sexy,” you repeat.

Satan was rather stunned, and could only blink blearily at you in return given how many glasses he’d himself.

“But, you know, I know something you don’t know,” you giggle into another sip of your drink.

“And what’s that?” He asks tilting his head curiously, leaning towards you.

“I think the rest of you is sexy too.” You say poking at his chest with a bout of laughter. He can’t quite tell if you’re telling the truth or just teasing him, and he feels his face flush with more than the alcohol this time around. He’s quietly staring at you contemplating, overturning the statement again and again in his head.

“Hey, did you, did you hear me this time?” You asked fidgeting with no real response from him. The way you redden with embarrassment dissolves any doubts.

“S—say it again,” he asks, leaving his seat to wrap his arms around you, with a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

You repeat the message, faltering slightly given the proximity, and he demands of you again, “say it again.”

And that’s all the rest of your conversation for the night, repeated requests for you to say it over and over again, between, spurts of laughter and sloppy kisses.

Asmodeus

“You know what I like about you?” You say swinging your drink towards him.

“Everything?” Asmo asks with a winning smile, his slung around your shoulders.

“Yes.” You reply with a nod that came out of sync with the drawn out word.

“You and everyone else, darling. But I’m so happy to hear you finally say it!” He says, squeezing you against him.

“No, no!” You whine in protest, pushing against him. “More than anyone else!”

Asmo only laughs, pouring another drink. “Oh, honey, of course you do! Everyone says that. And even if they don’t they certainly think,” he says with a wink. “I mean, look at me, what’s not to love?” He says with a wave of his hand.

Then raking his hand through his hair he leans in close. “Do you finally want to know why they call me the Avatar of Lust?” He coos into your ear.

“No.” You pout. “Not yet,” you admit shyly, turning your face into your drink.

“I just wanna be with you all the time, Asmo. Like, all the time. I just want to hold your hand everywhere we go, and—and hold you while we watch our fashion shows, and I wanna go to all those little trendy cafes and watch you eat all those cute parfaits that make you smile and—and I just...” You’re babbling at this point, slurring your words as you try to define all the ways in which you love him and the croaking sound in your voice indicates to him that you’re on the verge of tears.

So is he.

“That’s what you want from me?” He asks, his heart clenching at the sight of your glossy eyes staring up at him. What a sight. He knows he should feel guilty about the thought, but you were just too cute in your earnestness.

“Do—do you not want that?” You ask hesitantly, looking meek. Your expression, though sad, make his heart flutter.

“I do!” He shouts in return, “oh darling, you really do love me!” He sighs happily as he drags you fully into his lap, rubbing against you.

“B-but, do you think you can love me too?” You whisper, your breathe sweet with your cocktail, fanning against his cheek while he hovers above your lips.

“I already do,” he assures you with a soft smile. “More than anyone else.”

Beelzebub

“You really like cheeseburgers.” You say with a laugh as you sidle up to Beel at the bar. He holds in one hand a pub burger, and in the other a cup of fries, which he downs like it were a liquid. Stacked plates surround him and the servers are frantic to clear them as servers rush to out more.

“Yeah,” he confirms with a happy nod, turning his attention to you.

You’re staring at him in a way that he is unfamiliar with. Unfocused, with a lopsided smile, your face red from the alcohol you’ve consumed during your drinking games with his brothers. “And you like long islands,” he notes at the drink in your hand.

You look at the glass in your hand with some deep consideration for a moment before suddenly down the half glass in swigs. You suddenly look determined, or maybe angry as you look up at him.

“Are you okay?” He asks with a furrowed brow.

Beel, I—You...” you begin to stutter and slur, “No, wait, I mean—listen, Beel,” you say as you plant your hands on his chest to steady yourself.

“Maybe you should—“ Beel began to say as he wraps an arm around you to pull you into a seat.

“Beel, you are my cheeseburger.”

“What?” He asks stunned, unable to comprehend the statement.

“You like cheeseburgers.” You explain brows furrowed that you had to explain this obvious track of thinking to him, “and I like you. So you are like my cheeseburger.”

Beel laughs, and he laughs hard, and for a moment, your face drops, an overwhelming wave of embarrassment at his laughter crashing over you. But before you can turn away, Beel happily sweeps you up in his arms, and then into his lap. “I like you more than a cheeseburger,” he tells you as he holds you tight in one hand while the other returns to snack. “You’re much cuter, for one thing.”

Belphegor

“Belphie,” you drunkenly whine, “Belphie!” You slip into the booth beside him, moving leaning in close to Belphie’s ear as he tries to put his head as far into his arms as he can.

“I’m sleeping,” he tells you, irritated. The world around him was too noisy, too crowded. He wished he’d never agreed to come out here.

“Belphie, please. It’s important!” You insist, stomping your foot on to the ground.

How cute. You have his attention now.

He turns his head to look at you, your face red as can be, and he’s certain it’s not just the flush of the alcohol. “What is it?” He asks.

“Asmo says, he says,” you start, only to pause and try to remember the rest of the sentence, “that you like brunettes!” You state you’re face curious, almost worried about the answer.

“Asmo says a lot of things. I don’t care about hair color.” He says with a roll of his eyes. “What does that matter?” He asked curiously.

“Because I want you to like my hair,” you say as you slump down next to him, mimicking him by laying your head in shoulders.

“Yeah?” He asks a small smile forming on his face. “Why’s that?”

You giggle sweetly and pull an arm from under you to reach for his hair. “Because, because, I like your hair. I love it, I love it,” you mutter as you twirl your fingers around some strands.

“Just my hair?” Belphie asks.

“No, I like the rest of you too. I love it, I love it.” You yawn with a sleepy smile You nuzzle your face into your shoulder, drifting off to sleep, missing Belphie’s wide smile and flushed face, as he scoots closer to you, wrapping an arm around you, a hand stroking your hair as he watches you sleep soundly amongst the ruckus of the bar.

[spooderboyandtincan]

Please Don’t Kill Flash

TW: Mentions of death, mentions of blood, mentions of guns, violence

~~~~~

Peter pulled out his phone. 

SpiderChild: HAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Where r u????

Happy responded three minutes later. (record timing)

aSpunkyUncle: Sorry kid. Traffic is bad. I’ll be there in a while.

Peter sighed. Happy was often late. He didn’t mind, really, but he was starving.

Tony had been dragged to a meeting by Pepper, and couldn’t escape for at least another two hours. 

He wanted to talk to Tony. His spider-sense had been buzzing in the back of his mind. He could barely focus on his classes. Whenever he hugged Tony, though, the humming would disappear. 

He was always safe with Mr. Stark.

“Hey, Penis!” 

Peter suppressed a groan. 

Flash bounded up to him, elbowing him in the ribs. Before the spider-bite, that would have left a bruise. 

“What do you want, Flash?”

“What, can’t I talk to my buddy?” he said, slinging a heavy arm around Peter’s small shoulders. “C’mon, Penis, don’t be a spoilsport!”

“Leave me alone,” Peter muttered, shaking off the arm. 

Flash slapped his back. “In a bad mood, are we, Parker? Well, I’d try to cheer you up, but…” he shoved Peter forward. “This is much more fun!” 

He let Flash drag him and shove him against the wall, slamming his head on the bricks. “Listen, Penis,” he snarled, “you’re gonna pay for what you did!”

“Which is what, exactly?” Peter snorted, unfazed.

“Decathlon practice, remember? You embarrassed me in front of the whole class, even though I’m smarter than you, Parker!” 

Peter tried not to roll his eyes. “Okay, Flash, sorry. Sorry for knowing something you didn’t. Sorry for trying to help you out.”

“I don’t need help!” Flash raised a fist. “I told you, Penis, I’m smarter than you!”

“Flash, that’s-” Peter winced. A hot pain pierced through his head.

Danger.

“Flash! Get down, get away-!” he tried to shout. 

Until the muzzle of a gun was pressed to his temple. 

He froze. Flash stared at him with wide eyes. 

Peter knew he could get out of this. In just a few seconds. 

But no way would he risk Flash’s safety.

“Okay, dude, okay,” he said, raising his hands slowly. “You can chill with the gun. I’m not gonna run.”

He just had time to think, Hey, that rhymes. 

Then the gun slammed into his forehead, there was a shout from Flash, and everything went dark. 

~~~~~

“Parker!” Flash whispered. “Parker! Wake up!” 

Peter remained still, his head against his chest, his arms bound with thick rope behind him.

Flash groaned, tears in his eyes. 

He’d been kidnapped.

He’d been fucking kidnapped. 

“Hey!” he shouted. “Whoever you are, you’re gonna pay for this! My parents will kill you!”

That was unlikely. They probably wouldn’t notice he was gone. 

Peter blinked, his head throbbing. “Flash?”

“Parker! You’re alive!”

“‘Course. You okay?” Peter tried to clear his head. 

“I’m good. I guess. What do we do?”

Peter lifted his head. “We wait.”

“We just wait? Do you think they’re ransoming us?”

“They are, I think. We’ll see when they come in.”

Flash stared at him. He was so calm.

“Why would they ransom us?! What do we do, Parker?!”

“I’m sorry,” Peter said. “They were looking for me, you were just there.” He looked sadly at Flash. “Don’t worry, though. We’ll be fine.”

You can’t promise that, Flash thought. “Why the hell would they kidnap you? You’re poor, you have, like, no money!”

Peter raised his eyebrows. Flash really didn’t know that Tony Stark had basically adopted him?

Flash watched as Peter flinched violently. “Parker?”

“Flash, don’t move, stay still. Don’t talk. They’re coming,” Peter muttered. 

The metal door swung open.

Three people walked in, all dressed in red, wearing white theater masks over their faces. 

“Look what we have here,” the woman purred, stepping in front of Peter. She tilted his chin up with her sharp nails. He glared. “Stark’s precious son? You’ll bring us a lot, honey.”

“But who is this?” she asked, gazing at the cowering Flash. “An extra?”

“He was there too, miss,” an older man said. “We didn’t want a witness.”

“I see. We can dispose of him later.”

Flash gasped. “No! Please don’t hurt me! I’ll do anything!”

“Anything?” the woman pondered, rolling the word in her mouth. “Anything at all?”

“Yes, anything! Please!” 

Peter motioned frantically for Flash to stop talking. He could tell the woman was just toying with her prey. She had no intention of letting him live.

“Hey! You said you wanna ransom me?” he said loudly. “Well Flash here, he’s worth a lot! You don’t know it, but he comes from a pretty wealthy family! They’ll pay you to get him back!”

Peter wasn’t good at telling lies, but this one couldn’t be denied. Flash did come from a wealthy family. But he doubted they would pay ransom for him.

“Will they?” she asked. “I doubt it. You can tell this little brat doesn’t appreciate his parents much. So I doubt they appreciate him.” 

Flash turned pale, staring wildly between Peter and the woman. 

“Harold? Hand me my gun, won’t you?” 

Peter stiffened, testing the ropes.

No, he couldn’t let this happen.

The safety clicked off.

He broke the ropes apart.

The bullet fired.

Peter jumped.

~~~~~

Flash screamed, eyes clenched, waiting for the pain.

It never came. 

He heard a curse from the woman, and rapid footsteps leaving the room.

He blinked. 

Peter lay in a puddle of blood, panting. 

“Parker! What the hell?!”

Flash knelt by his side. “What do I do?! Parker?! Hey! What the hell should I do?!”

Peter groaned. “Press on the wound. ‘S okay. I’ll be fine.”

Flash pulled off his sweatshirt and nervously pressed down on the bullet hole.

Peter fumbled with his watch. He pressed a small button, nearly invisible, three times.

“What’s that?” Flash asked. 

“‘S for… ‘mergencies. Only,” Peter slurred. He blinked slowly.

“Hey, no! Parker, you gotta stay awake!” He slapped Peter’s cheek. 

Peter whimpered. “Misser Stark?” 

“What? No! I’m Flash!”

“Oh. Where… where ‘s M’sser St’rk?”

“Who the hell is that?! Why would I know?”

“Mmm.”

Peter’s breathing slowed, irregular, uneven. 

“No, no, Parker, stay awake!” Flash cried.

Peter lifted his watch to his face. He pressed a finger to it, the screen turning red, the clasp undone. “Call him. M’ss’r… Tony. Dad.” 

Flash took the watch, fumbling around until he found the contact button. There were three on speed dial, labeled IrondadMan, AuntMay, and Doctor Cho.

“Who should I call?”

“Firs’ one. Dad.”

Dad? Peter was an orphan. He only had May, as far as Flash knew.

He pressed the icon. Halfway through the first ring, it picked up.

“Peter?! Peter, are you okay?! I’m coming, baby, hold on!” The voice was deep, panicked, rushed. Flash could hear heavy, scared breathing.

“H-hello? Uh- who is this?” he asked. 

Peter smiled wearily when he heard the voice. 

“Who the fuck are you?! Where’s Peter?!” the voice snarled.

“Uh- he’s here, sir! He- he told me to call you! He got shot, I don’t- I…” 

“He got shot?! Is he awake?! Talking?” the voice sounded even more terrified. 

“H-he’s awake. There’s a lot of blood. He needs help, sir!”

“Oh god,” the voice whispered, horrified. “Keep him awake, hear? Do not let him fall asleep!”

Flash turned to Peter, slapping his cheek. His eyes drifted lazily to his.

Peter opened his mouth, trying to choke out a word.

Instead, all that came out was blood.

Flash gasped and dropped the watch. Peter coughed and choked, blood dribbling down his chin. 

Flash could hear shouting from the watch. But Peter’s eyes had closed.

“No! Parker!”

~~~~~

It seemed like only minutes had passed. 

Flash kept his hand on Peter’s wrist, where his pulse beat unsteadily.

“Please don’t die, Peter. Please.”

He blinked back a tear.

And then the entire building shook. 

Concrete crumbled from the walls, gunshots sounded, people shouted. 

There was a tremendous roar that shook the foundations. It sounded like the Hulk.

No way.

Flash’s eyes widened as the heavy metal door flew open and landed with a crash.

Iron Man

The Iron Man

This was possibly the worst and best day of his life.

The faceplate lifted, and Tony Stark himself stumbled out, eyes wide, face pale.

He collapsed to his knees, unceremoniously shoving Flash out of the way. 

Tony tore off his professional black coat, pressing it gently against the bullet wound.

His hands were shaking, Flash noticed. The great inventor’s incredibly steady hands were shaking. 

Tony cupped Peter’s pale face, whispering words Flash couldn’t hear. 

He was crying.

Iron Man was crying. 

Tony set his fingers on Peter’s pulse, turning frantically to the suit. “FRI! Get Cho here faster!”

Flash jumped when a woman’s voice, strangely robotic but still human echoed through the room.

“Boss, the med team is coming as fast as they can. The structure isn’t safe for them to enter, however. I would recommend bringing Peter to Helen.”

Tony breathed shakily, then leapt into action, the suit forming around him. He ever so carefully lifted Peter up, cradling him against his metal chest. 

“Wait- what about me? Are you leaving me?” Flash cried, before Tony could blast off.

The blank, unforgiving mask turned to him. “Kid, I really don’t care right now. Someone from the team’ll pick you up.”

And then he was gone, sprinting down the hallway and blasting into the sky.

~~~~~

Flash sat numbly on the ground, farthest from the blood, until the Falcon swooped through the doorway. 

“Flash, right?”

“Yes sir, I am. Flash. Flash Thompson.”

“Huh. Need a ride, kid?”

“Yeah, thanks!”

Flying with the Falcon was more terrifying than he’d expected. 

He was screaming most of the time. 

~~~~~

Flash stood stunned in the doorway. 

He never thought he’d see Tony Stark collapse to his knees and sob, tears flowing like a river.

“Is he gonna die?” he asked nervously. 

Tony looked up, his face forming a mask of fury. “No. My kid is not dying.” He stood up, striding towards Flash and wiping tears from his face. “I want you to get out of here, now. Out.”

“Sir… I-I’m sorry!”

Tony nodded. “I know you are. Now get out.”

Flash stumbled from the room. 

~~~~~

Flash sat on the cold floor of the medbay hallway. The lights were off, and he regarded every shape with wariness. 

Loud footsteps sounded near him, and then Pepper fucking Potts was bending in front of him. 

“You okay?”

He shrugged. “Y-yeah. I guess. Thanks.”

She sighed. “Tony didn’t mean to yell. He’s very protective of Peter. Overprotective, most of the time.”

“He was so mad,” he whispered, sniffing.

“He was terrified. Tony snapped.”

“But- but all I asked was if Peter’s gonna die!” he protested.

Pepper winced. “I don’t think you should say things like that, Flash. Everyone here loves Peter, especially Tony. What you said- it’s unimaginable for him.”

Flash stared. “The Avengers love Parker? But- but he’s just some pathetic kid!”

Pepper’s eyes turned to stone. “I do not want to hear you say that again.” She straightened. “Isn’t it about time you went home? I’ll call your parents.”

“No-no, wait! I wanna stay here! I wanna make sure he’s okay!” he cried. 

Pepper sighed. “You can stay until Peter’s out of surgery. Then you’ll have to go, understand? Your parents will be worried.”

I doubt it, he thought.

~~~~~

Flash sat in a hard plastic chair. Tony was leaning against the wall by Peter’s surgery room, head in his hands. Pepper rubbed his back comfortingly. 

And May Parker knelt by Tony, her arm around his shoulders.

They were a family.

Flash stared. He had been doing a lot of that.

~~~~~

Cho opened the door. Tony jerked his head up.

“He’s okay,” she said, smiling. “You can see him.”

Tony lunged up, and before Flash could blink, he was through the door. 

~~~~~

Tony leaned his forehead against Peter’s, clutching both his small hands in one of his. Flash could tell he was talking, murmuring words of comfort.

This was, by far, the strangest day he’d ever had. 

Tony Stark was crying in front of him.

He had flown with the Falcon. 

Peter Parker, apparently, was the son of Tony Stark? 

And the Avengers loved Peter? 

The nobody from Queens?

Flash stood there silently, feeling like a nobody himself.

May and Tony were both cooing over Peter, kissing his face, stroking his curls.

After minutes (was it hours?) Tony sat up, still holding Peter’s hand tightly. He glanced around, eyes red, tears staining his white shirt. 

When he saw Flash, however, his eyes gleamed with a murderous hint. 

“Get him out! Get him out of here, now!” he snarled, standing up. “I don’t want him anywhere near my kid!”

“Tony.” May said, setting a hand on his arm.

“I don’t want him here-”

He spun at the sound of a whimper.

“Petey?”

“M’ss’r... M’ss’r Dad?” Peter choked, tears spilling down his face. “D’n’t kill Fl’sh! ‘S not his fault.”

“Petey,” he whispered, cupping his cheek. “It’s okay, don’t cry, baby, I got you. I’m not gonna kill Flash. It’s okay. Please, don’t cry, sweetheart, I got you. Don’t cry. It’s okay.”

Peter’s big eyes found his. “Not gonna kill him?”

“Shh, no, Petey, it’s okay. I got you. Dad’s here, mimmo. I’m here.” Tony kissed his cheek. “It’s okay.”

Peter smiled. Tony gently wiped tears from both their faces, combing his fingers through his curls. 

Peter was okay.

He hadn’t killed Flash. 

But he would kill for Peter, without a second thought.

~~~~~

Tag List: @imissyoutoo @aj-that-person @tonystark-deserves-better @nathaly-ab @skeeter-110 @peter-and-tony-vlogs @teammightypen @joyful-soul-collector @loveliestdisappointment @hold-our-destiny @depuella @pixiethefirecat7 @spider-man-lover @jami161 @honeythepooh @bringitonvoldie

If anyone want to be added/ removed let me know!

~~~~~

/DO NOT TAG OR REBLOG AS ST*RKER/

[vintagedolan]

mixtape | track one

| masterlist | faceclaims | playlist |

Six. There were six different lines, tiny plastic tubes that hung down from the side of the bed, making the shape of a U in the air. Too many, but still, one less than yesterday.

“Is it alive?”

“No.”

“Is it a vegetable?”

“That’s oddly specific.”

“But is it a vegetable though?”

“No.”

“Aw shit.”

Indiana looked up from her hands then, brows furrowing at the small figure who had huddled herself under the thin cotton covers. You’d think, with how expensive hospital bills were that they could at least afford a real fucking blanket for their patients. Especially the kids.  

“C’mon now, watch the language.” She said. It was a half-hearted reprimand at best.

“You told me I could curse!”

“I told you that you could curse about your meds, there’s a difference.”

“Bullshit. I should be able to curse about anything I want to.”

“Bekah.” It was her mom voice – an instinct.

“Indiana.” The younger girl mimicked the tone as best she could.

There was a beat of silence then – well, as silent as a hospital room ever could get, that is. The monotonous song of machinery beeps, the muffled car horns outside on the streets, and nurses footsteps outside never truly faded.

“If the nurses hear you cursing in here they’re gonna say I’m a bad influence.” It was almost time for rounds and meds, 7pm on the dot - they’d be there any minute.

“Speak of the devil,” Bekah grumbled, eyes flitting to the door that was swinging open, the nurse bumping against it, her cart hitting the walls right on schedule.

“Hi miss Bekah, how’re we feeling this evening?”

“Shi-“

Indiana threw her a look, the kind she imagined her mom would give if she were there. Bekah sunk back into the pillow, rolling her eyes.

“-very. Shivery. It’s cold in here.”

She earned a thumbs up for that one and a wink that made her smile.

The nurse – Jennifer, Indiana realized – was as sweet as ever. She was one of the nicer ones, always let things slide, always let her stay 30 minutes after visiting hours if she really wanted to.

“That’s probably just the meds from earlier darling, they always make you a bit chilly.”

“Can’t wait to take more.” Bekah sighed, wiggling up in the bed and moving her shirt down, her collarbone prominent under her dark skin. Next to it sat a small bulge, surrounded by medical tape, two small tubes peeking out from underneath. They’d done a good job at making it subtle, unnoticeable if you weren’t looking for it – Indiana’s mom’s port had never looked like that. She wondered if it was because the technology had improved in four years, or if they were just more careful about it when the patient was young.

Because it’s okay for an adult to have cancer, but a kid? That’s where we draw the fuckin’ line.

“Is it food?”

“What?” Jennifer asked, quirking an eyebrow as she continued to hang the bags on the IV pole.

“None of your business. Indiana, is it a food?”

“Now now,” Jennifer tutted.

“No, it’s not a food.” Indiana sighed, knowing better than to try and keep Bekah’s attitude in check. That was a battle she’d lose before it began. “Keep trying.”

She paused while the nurse took her time in getting her meds set and ready, attaching them to her port. She didn’t even flinch at the needle, the brown skin of her forehead as smooth and perfect as ever, not a worry line in sight. The game picked up as soon as Jennifer walked back out of the room.

“Is it something you- something you wear?” That was always the first sign that the meds entered her system – the ‘brain fog’ as she called it. Bekah sucked in a deep breath, her seemingly tiny chest rising up as she tried to settle herself. 

Indiana’s eyes flickered over to the IV bag – the clear liquid looked harmless enough as it dripped down. She knew it was anything but – just Bekah’s hair was enough to attest to that. She wore it in a wrap mostly these days, but she’d seen what was underneath. Her beautiful curls had started to fall out only a few weeks prior, and it was only a matter of time before they were gone completely. If she had to guess from what she’d seen when she fixed the knot of her wrap, the last of it would be gone after today.

“Yes, it’s something you wear.”

“So it’s clothes.”

“Not necessarily. You wear other things,” she explained, scooting her chair a bit closer to the bedside, reaching a hand out.

In the three years that Indiana had known Bekah, she was always amazed at how strong she was. It had impressed her from the first time she’d mustered up the courage to sign up for the volunteer program at the hospital two blocks away from her college apartment. Bekah was twelve then, a spunky young girl with big headphones over her ears and thick rubber bracelets on her thin wrists.

“Stop looking at me like that,” was what she’d chosen as an introduction. She’d looked up at Indiana with accusatory eyes, wide and dark and annoyed in the middle of the overly colorful pediatric wing hallway.

“Like what?”

“Like I have cancer. Don’t treat me like I’m sick and I won’t act like it. Capeesh?”

She’d only been able to swallow and nod, somewhat embarrassed but mostly just in awe.

So, when Indiana got matched with her as her ‘buddy’, she tried her hardest to do as she’d agreed to. Or at least, she did her best to be subtle about it. She could sneak in her moments of worry at times like this, when Bekah’s eyes were scrunched closed and she didn’t bat away the hand holding hers.

“Damn. The BBJ is not making me feel very BB esque today,” she grumbled, breathing deep in through her nose. Indiana’s other hand inched towards the bedpan resting on the table – the nausea usually kicked in right about now, and her deep breathing was always a tell that her stomach was churning. BBJ stood for ‘Bad Bitch Juice’ which was just the fun term for chemo that Bekah had come up with during one of her rotations a few years back. The nurses hated it, gave Indiana dirty looks when she let her say it around them.

“Bed pan at the ready,” Indiana reassured her, making sure it was in reach in case it got to be too much.

“Just keep playing the game, it’ll distract me. What do I know so far?”

“It’s not alive, it’s not a vegetable or a food, you can wear it but it’s not clothes.”

“Makeup?”

Indiana shook her head, doing everything to avoid reacting to the way Bekah was squeezing her hand. It was so tight that she felt her bones were probably touching each other in a way they weren’t meant to.

“Shoes?”

“No.”

“Do you wear it on your head?”

“I mean… technically?”

“That’s a cop out answer.”

“Don’t dwell on it, just keep going.”

She saw it coming before it happened – the turn of Bekah’s face, the way her body jolted just barely. It’s a good thing it wasn’t her first time, or she wouldn’t have gotten the bedpan under her fast enough to catch her vomit. She held her breath, tried not to listen to the sounds of retching so she didn’t get sick herself, holding steady until Bekah’s stomach was empty and she’s laid back against the pillows, exhausted. Indiana followed the motions, got up and walked to the bathroom, dumped the contents down the toilet and flushed it, left the plastic basin on the floor for the nurses to get later and washed her hands. By the time she made it back to the side of the bed, Bekah’s eyes were closed.

There were three marked stages of a chemo session with Bekah: the ‘this doesn’t affect me’ phase, the puke phase, and finally, the sleep phase, which seemed to be fast approaching. Even with her eyes closed she felt Indiana join her at her bedside, and she sighed in defeat.

“What was it? I don’t wanna ask more questions.”

“Earrings.”

“That’s two things, you cheated.”

She could have argued, but you just don’t argue with a kid with cancer if you don’t have to. It’s an unspoken rule.

“You’re right. You win.”

Bekah seemed content enough with that, but her eyebrows scrunched up again like they always did when she was focusing.

“Where do you get earrings in your teeth?”

“Huh?”

“Earrings in teeth… there was a guy… yesterday… earrings.”

Indiana just held her hand as she rambled, drifting off as she turned her head into her pillow. Not that she knew personally, but she’d never seen anyone be comfortable during a chemo treatment. But there was a peace that took over when their body decided that it was too much to handle in the realm of consciousness and they drifted off into their dreams.

So she was happy to look at the bed after she picked up her backpack and see that Bekah’s was asleep. She closed the door on her way out, moved to the nurse’s desk to sign out like she always did. The nurses always smiled at her, sitting back there in their colorful scrubs and big headbands. This time, it was Valentina who beamed up at her.

“Indiana, honey, how’s school going?”

“It’s going.” It’s killing me. “Just one semester left to go!”

“Don’t you overwork yourself now, we need you around here,” she threw a wink with her long lashes, opening her mouth to say something else before her phone rang. “You have a good one honey, we’ll see you next week.” Valentina picked it up, another call to another room for another sick kid.

 With as many times as Indiana had made the walk, she was pretty sure she could do it with her eyes closed. Straight, past the forest murals, press the button on the left to open the doors. Then it was the ocean hallway on the left- the blues were peaceful, little sea turtles and fish floating on the walls. At the end, by the jellyfish, was the last door of the pediatric wing. Somehow, it always felt colder past that point, inside the ‘real hospital’. The nurse’s scrubs were plain blue there, the walls taupe and bland with paintings of trees and lakes instead of Winnie the Pooh and Dory. Indiana’s shoes squeaked against the polished floor on her way to the elevator, picking up her pace. She didn’t like this part. It was too familiar, too many memories of walking down the same hallway for much different reasons. Past that it was down two floors, out and to the right to get to the front doors.

As soon as she walked out into the New York city street, it was a breath of fresh air; if you could ever consider city air fresh. Still, she always preferred the smell of exhaust and cigarettes over the bleach that stung her nose inside the hospital. And if she sniffed hard enough and the wind was right, she swore she could smell Jet’s Coffee all the way from the small store that resided three blocks down the road. 

Want anything from Jet’s? She texted Charlie, hoping for a quick response from her sister as she hurried down the sidewalk, pulling her shirt sleeves down over her hands in a bid to ward off the brisk late September air.

Nah, Devin’s making dinner. Should be done by the time you get here. 

Also, where tf is your strainer?

Bottom cabinet by the oven, she answered, shaking her head.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love her sister. She did, with her whole heart. The same went for her sweet almost-brother-in-law Devin- they were both supportive pillars in her life, always there with a listening ear, a warm hug, or life advice.

But god damn did she miss having her apartment to herself sometimes. The peace that came over her when she walked into her cozy apartment, saw the rest of Chelsea through the high windows, her view over the river? Unmatched. It was still there - the fog over the river in the cool autumn mornings, the bustling streets of people wrapped up in their coats - but now, her sister was there too, catching her at the door with the latest story of the day before she could even let out a breath. Charlie could never understand how her younger sister wanted to live alone in college, wanted a place to herself ever since she even knew it was an option. Indiana was the opposite of her in a lot of ways- the older of the two was a social butterfly of sorts who always surrounded herself with people, with loud voices and louder personalities that could keep up with her. She was wild - dropped out of college after her first semester, spent her last dime on a camera so she could grow a photography business from the ground up.

Their mom always said that Indiana was the calm to Charlie’s storm, her little angel who hardly ever cried, who just fit into the family like a perfect final puzzle piece, completing the picture. The puzzle was long forgotten now, disassembled in a box in the attic somewhere collecting dust over the last five years. She didn’t have to wonder if it would make her mom sad - she knew that it would be devastating for her if she were still there to see what had become of the Cross clan.

“There she is, the myth, the legend, thee Indiana Jamie Cross!” 

Caught up in her mind, Indiana didn’t even realize that her autopilot route home had taken her all the way into the door of Jet’s, and she found herself in the familiar lobby when she came to. The walls were charcoal gray, with the delicate little single-line white flowers painted on them that she remembered them putting up a few years ago, back when she worked there. Her old manager, Patrick, beamed at her from behind the counter, wide smile framed out by his ever growing hair.

“What’s she gonna get today, wait don’t tell me, don’t tell me. Today is a… caramel macchiato with one less pump of vanilla? Hot?” He mused, raising his eyebrows in question.

“Oatmilk, then yes, you got it.”

“Of course I was gonna give you oatmilk, what do I look like, an amateur?” He scoffed, shaking his head as she went to reach for her wallet. “It’s on the house today.”

“You can’t give me my coffee on the house every time Patrick, it’s bad for business.” 

“It’s my business, so shush and go wait at the end of the bar like a good customer,” he rolled his eyes, sending the scribbled cup down the line. She rolled her eyes and dropped a few one’s in the tip jar before she went over to her favorite chair, the big blue one by the windows where she could people watch while she waited. She always wondered what people did in small towns while they waited for things, without the bustling streets outside full of people in their own little worlds. 

Her phone buzzed in her lap. Marty. 

Hey girlie, are you busy tomorrow? We’ve got a new orientee who needs the run down, and nobody does it better than you! 

Marty’s speciality was buttering people up. Which explained why Buddies had over 200 volunteers like Indiana - with Marty in charge, it was hard to say no, even if she had planned on spending a chilled out day tomorrow with her sister and Devin.

Fine by me, just let me know what time

Awesome. He didn’t give me a specific time so I’ll just give him your number if you’re good with that.

She sent back a thumbs up as her name was called at the counter, got her coffee and headed out the door.  It was another block to get to her apartment, and when she got there the elevator ride up to the 18th floor was almost as long as the walk. She didn’t mind though. It was her own little welcome home ritual that she’d grown fond of over the last few years of living there. 

As she predicted earlier, when she opened the door, her usually peaceful space was in a bit of chaos. There were four bowls out on the counter, measuring cups everywhere, two pans out in addition to whatever smelled so good in the oven.

“Don’t start Indy, I’m gonna clean it, I promise.” Charlie appeared around the corner, already on the defense of the look she knew she was going to get. It felt a lot like Indiana was the older sister despite the three years that Charlie had on her. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Indiana mumbled under her breath, clearing a small spot on the counter and hopping up.

“It’s all in your face,” Devin teased from in front of the oven. “Scootch, unless you want me to burn you with this casserole dish.” 

She grumbled and hopped down from her much too temporary spot so that he could open the oven, deciding it was probably best to leave the kitchen until everything was done. 

Her kitchen was the only ‘small’ part of her apartment. The rest was plenty big, and she was proud of all she had done over the years to make it her own. The living room was cozy, with a dark gray couch and a reasonable (Charlie would say excessive) amount of decorative pillows and blankets. The shelves on the wall had a few house plants - fake ones, of course, and picture frames that had moved with her each time she called a new place home. The white frame that contained an old picture of her and Charlie as babies, white-blonde hair wispy as they played on the swings in their backyard. The most recent addition was the rose gold frame, a picture of her, Devin and Charlie at their engagement last July in Zion National Park - she could practically feel the heat of the sun every time she looked at it. The last frame stood alone on the smaller shelf, a wooden frame with a small heart carved in the corner. Inside, a black and white picture of her and her mom. She was about one in it, in a little crewneck sweatshirt and tennis shoes, holding onto her mom’s hands as she walked, both of them beaming. She’d been told by so many people over the years that she had “Nicole’s smile”, and she tried her hardest to not cry nowadays if anyone ever mentioned it. 

“You know, our parents weren’t glassmakers, I can’t see through you,” Charlie grumbled from her spot on the couch, gesturing to the TV that her sister was blocking.

“You know, this is my house, you could just leave,” she countered, offering her fakest of smiles.

“You know, Dad pays the rent so it’s not technically yours.”

“Alright, dinner is ready, dinner is ready,” Devin called out, knowing that Charlie had already stepped one toe over the line, desperately trying to keep her from throwing herself fully over the edge.

Charlie popped up to her feet, unfazed by the glare that followed her all the way to the island as she went on to scoop out her pasta. 

Indiana didn’t have the energy to even think about her dad, much less talk about him. Kenneth Cross was a good father when she was little. He was attentive, taught her how to play basketball, how to ride her bike without training wheels. On a paper list, he checked off most of the dad boxes. And then his wife died, and he decided the time was nigh to abandon ship with very little regard for his 16 and 19 year old daughters. But if you asked him, he’d be sure to let you know that he took very good care of his kids, even put up his youngest in a nice New York apartment so she could go to school and not have to work a job. Taking care of things meant throwing money at them, whether it was at work or at home. His best, and only, sign of affection was the direct deposit that hit Indiana’s bank account on the 31st of every month. 

Needless to say, he was a sensitive subject.

She bit back the words she really wanted to spit out and made her way into the kitchen, grabbing her bowl a bit more aggressively than she needed to. As soon as she found her spot back on the counter she stabbed into the soft noodles and shoved them in her mouth, proceeding to burn the shit out of her tongue. 

Lovely.

Devin made small talk as best he could around the awkward tension - he was an only child, and anytime the two sisters fought he tried to fill in the void with anything he could. It always baffled him how the two of them could be pissed one moment, and then back to normal a few seconds later.

“Wanna go shopping tomorrow? And don’t say you have school shit, it’s a Sunday.” Charlie asked.

“A, I always have school shit, and B, I can’t anyways, I’ve got an orientation to do for Buddies.” 

“There’s no way you actually have that much school work to do, I think you’re just trying to avoid us,” she countered. 

“CJ she’s gonna be a doctor, that shit ain’t easy,” Devin piped up, eager to boost his almost sister-in-law up. Indy tried to ignore the little pang of jealousy she always felt when he called her sister that. Charlie Jo. CJ. She’d had her own fair share of nicknames over the years, shortened little versions of her name that everyone liked to use. But Devin was the only one who was allowed to call Charlie CJ, and there was something about the intimacy of it that had Indiana wishing someone was there to give her a cute nickname, just for them.

She held out until Charlie started in on the dishes that she promised to do and then she was headed to her room, social battery depleted. Despite her sister’s doubts, she did always have some form of school work that she could be working on, slowly chipping away at the constant stream of assignments and notes.  She liked to break it down into sections, tackling a certain class each night of the week. Saturdays were her ‘easy’ nights, reserved for reviewing her medical terminology notes and quizzing herself on new terms.

As nerdy as it seemed to anyone else, she actually found it fun. 10 year old her would have thought it was the coolest thing that she actually knew what choleodechojunostomy meant, though she was pretty sure she was never going to actually need to know. 

She was halfway through the abbreviations portion, stuck on the ‘G’ of esophagogastroduodenoscopy when her phone buzzed against her leg. She expected to see a text from Charlie asking her to join in on whatever movie they were watching in the living room, but instead she was met with a new number and an unfamiliar area code - 818. 

Probably spam. She left it alone, moving back to her cards, flipping between as she mumbled them quietly to herself.

“PRN. Pro re nata.”

Buzz

“EEG. Electroencephalography. TIA”

Buzz

“TIA. Transient-”

Buzz

“Jesus,” she huffed, grabbing her phone and swiping it open to her texts, all from that same 818 number.

Hey, Marty gave me your number, I’m your new orientee :)

My name is Grayson btw, probably should have started with that 

She told me to figure out a time with you but I’m p flexible so just let me know

And idk how to get to the pediatric part of the hosp so if you could meet me somewhere else and show me how to get there that would be awesome

Why he couldn’t have sent it all in one text she had no idea, but at least he was nice. She typed back quickly.

Hey! I’m Indiana. We can meet by the front doors if that’s easier, how about 9:30?

She didn’t even have time to pick up her next flashcard before the typing bubble popped back up.

Early riser, I like it. 9:30 is chill, I’ll see you then. Have a good night :)

You too :), she answered, quickly saving his contact as ‘Grayson’ before putting her phone back down on her comforter and diving back into her flashcards. She had 200 more to get through by the end of the night, and all she really wanted to do was get under her covers and go to sleep. By the time she reached the end of the stack, the definitions were just as hard to understand as their latin based counterparts. As soon as she flipped over arthralgia to reveal joint pain, she was moving the pile to her desk, pulling on a t-shirt and curling up in bed.

..............................................................................................................................

Indiana had never been a breakfast eater. She was always too eager to get to school, occasionally running out the door with a granola bar in hand at most at her mom’s request. The trend continued as she got older, though now she used her morning coffee as sustenance for the first few hours of the day. Which was why she found herself walking right back through the glass doors of Jet’s again, a mere 12 hours after her last visit. It smelled like fresh beans and vanilla soy as soon as she made in over the threshold - a comforting smell, familiar and warm. Patrick beamed at her from behind the espresso bar. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a day off.

“I’m paying today, no arguing,” she called out, giving him a serious look until he mouthed ‘fine’ at her over the bar. Satisfied, she pulled out her phone, surprised to see a text. Grayson.

I’m by the front doors on the left. I know im early so no rush :)

She checked the time at the top of her phone. 9:10.

I’m getting coffee and then I’ll be there

Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard, contemplating. Was it weird to buy coffee for someone you’d never met? She sent another text anyway.

Want anything?

The bubbles popped back up as she stepped up in line.

Biggest cup of the strongest stuff they’ve got please. I’ll shoot you a Venmo for it

She liked his response and slid her phone back in her pocket before she stepped up to the counter. The barista was a new face, someone that had been hired after she had left.

“What can I get started for you?”

“Can I do a 16 ounce vanilla oat milk latte and a 20 ounce dark roast please?”

“Absolutely, that’ll be-”

“Give her the drip for free,” Patrick interjected. “We don’t charge past employees for drip coffee.”

The barista looked a bit flustered but took the dark roast off anyways, quickly spouting off the total and taking the cash that Indiana handed her. She turned around and poured the dark roast, passing it over with a smile. An older man was sitting in the blue chair when Indiana made her way to the other end of the store, so she settled by the bar instead, watching Patrick pump syrup and steam milk in a bit of a sequenced dance. She missed being behind the bar sometimes, but not enough to justify going back and getting talked down to by shitty customers. 

He finished her latte in record time, only having a spare moment to blow her a kiss before he was right back to the next drink. She didn’t mind - the thought of Grayson waiting on her made her nervous. She tried to remind herself that she wasn’t running late. It wasn’t her fault that he liked to show up twenty minutes early to things and she only liked to show up ten minutes early. Ten minutes was reasonable and showed dedication - twenty was a bit excessive. 

The cups kept her hands warm for the three blocks to the hospital, her pace a bit quicker than usual. She kept her eyes peeled for someone who looked like a Grayson once she made it. A tall, lanky man passed by her, headed towards the doors, but he didn’t seem like he was looking for anyone. She remembered the text. Front doors, to the left.

Sure enough, there was someone sitting alone.

He took up about half of the bench, his shoulders broad under a charcoal gray sweater that went well with the olive green of his pants. He looked well put together - a bit intimidating, but nice enough to send someone a have a good night text. He looked like he could be a Grayson. He must have felt her watching him, because he lifted his eyes from his phone and looked directly at her, taking in the two coffee cups in her hands with a smile.

“Indiana?”

His voice was deep, a bit commanding. It made her hesitate for some reason, panic just barely. “Uh yeah, that’s me.” Stupid.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Grayson.”

[atinybitofau]

W O O Y O U N G ➪ childhood friends au

THE ONE WHERE HE PUTS YOU ON A STUPID LIST.

a/n: kinda halfassed not gonna lie guys I’m so sorry. but regardless I still wanted to put something out for ya’ll so I hope you like it.

• “Y/n stop your whining. Now get ready because we’re going to be late.”

• “But mother, must you always meddle in my love life?! And Wooyoung no less. That man is out to get me!”

• your mother thinks your pleas are half hearted.

• bull hearted at most.

• thinking Jung Wooyoung was the nicest thing on the planet.

• that you deserve him.

• but not only do you not deserve him,

• he’s had it in for you since grade school.

• making sure you made close to zero friends.

• every girl you’ve hung out with,

• dated him at least once.

• and you can’t stand Wooyoung.

• he’s been a pain in your ass since you two were in diapers.

• and now your buddy-buddy mothers are trying to get you two together before you hit 21.

• “I’m not going.”

• she scoffs. “Yes you are. And unless you want your privelages taken away from going to Jongho’s party next week, then you have no choice.”

• “You can’t tell me that! I’m 20 years old!”

• “And still living in my house.”

• you two normally buttheads, you and your mom.

• funny on occasion.

• but this was far from that right now.

• “Remind me never to eat dinner with you again.” you grumble at your mother who also happened to be joining you tonight. “And to never eat your croissants in the middle of the day. Either the thought of seeing Wooyoung is going to make me hurl or your cooking really does suck.”

• your mom laughs at that despite your seriousness. “Honey, I don’t know how you two managed to hate each other all these years but this’ll be good for you. Regardless if you two end up with each other or not, you might actually make amends tonight. And as parents, that is our real goal.”

• you can’t blame them.

• the relationship between you and Wooyoung was bad.

• from ruining important business conferences,

• family dinners,

• each other’s lives—

• it got so bad that other people started to suffer from it.

• so you decided to live it out just for one night.

• “Look, we both don’t like this.” Wooyoung sighs noticing your temper as soon as you two are face to face in front of the flashing lights of the venue. “But for the sake of our parents, let’s act civil for once.”

• you think he’s sometimes the nicest guy.

• but you hated that he was the nicest guy to people that weren’t you.

• he thinks your amazing.

• but hated that other people thought that too.

• your disagreements revolved around the things you envied from one another.

• probably why you hate him and why he hates you.

• “Oh my god, wouldn’t they make the cutest pair?”

• “Their kids would be beautiful.”

• “Those two were made for each other.”

• people would murmur.

• our hands interlocked.

• no feelings involved. (so you think)

• while you two walked around and greeted potential business partners.

• and no. you two weren’t arranged to marry.

• but it sure felt like you both were.

• “Y/n, hey!”

• the one time you managed to slip away from Wooyoung, another willing handsome man saw his chance.

• you smiled back. “Oh hey Jongho. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

• “Well when I heard you would, I wanted to stop by.” he hands you a drink weary about the people around. “I don’t get to see you often you know.. with Wooyoung always around. And since he’ll be at my party next week, I might not even get the chance to talk to you.”

• your eyebrows furrow. “What is that supposed to mean?”

• he chuckles at you, lips curling. “You didn’t know?”

• “Didn’t know what?”

• “You’re on the OFF LIMITS list. Wooyoung signed you there.”

• oh god.

• that horrid list the boys of South Korea’s pride made years ago.

• “I’m sorry.” you chuckle nervously, eyes already burning in their sockets. “I think you’re kidding.”

• “You’ve been on there since high school. You never wondered why you couldn’t land a date?”

• you were gonna kill him.

• without knowing his intentions, you were so gonna kill him.

• and he was about to kill the man stepping over his boundaries.

• fists clenched as he approached the both of you.

• “Oh hey Wooyoung. I was just talking to—“

• “And now you’re not. Get lost.”

• you hiss pushing him away. “Would you fuck off? Ugh you’re such an asshole I hate you!”

• he’s taken aback.

• at how fast it happened—

• when you run away.

• not used to you sounding more distraught than annoyed.

• so he follows you.

• worried..

• worried that he might’ve went too far this time.

• usually stays behind the border.

• but he thinks he might’ve crossed it.

• now he’s gotta commit.

• “Y/n! Wait!”

• you look for a nearby place to hide but of course,

• though he’s got short legs.

• walks like an oompa lumpa.

• he’s always been faster than you.

• “What?”

• your glare pierces him and he’s tumbling.

• “What did I do?”

• you scoff in disbelief. “What did you do? Are you seriously asking me that after years of doing absolutely everything you shouldn’t have done?”

• shit.

• he’s thinking,

• you found out.

• about his feelings.

• “Y/n, I—“

• “I can’t believe you Wooyoung. I’ve been dateless my entire life because of a stupid list you kept me on. Because you just love to watch me suffer, single and a complete loser. How much you hate me, I still can’t comprehend.”

• now he’s thinking.

• wow you’re a goddamn idiot.

• eyes glaring back, he hisses. “That’s why you’re angry? Seriously?”

• “Yeah seriously! Why else would I be angry at you? Have anything else you’re hiding behind my back? Another list of sorts. Like the most unappealing females on the planet? List of undesirables? People who wouldn’t stand a chance with any—“

• you gasp when he slides his arms around your waist,

• tilting you like a teapot.

• lips on the spout.

• that spout being your own.

• and you can’t seem to understand.

• why this action would mean he hates you...

• cause well doesn’t he?

• he pulls away breathlessly staring from your unmoving lips back to your just as frozen eyes.

• “None. I have you on none of those lists. Those shouldn’t ever exist. However yes. Yes I did sign that stupid list years ago with your name in permenant ink but it wasn’t because I hated you. Far from that.”

• you don’t understand at all.

• how someone you hated,

• who you thought hated you,

• was suddenly confessing his love for you.

• “Everything you did had everybody in love. You think I’d be an exception? God, I hated that you’d want to share your everything with others. I had to force you to stop. Had to keep you from appealing to my competition cause god knows I already had less than a 10% chance with you.”

• you try to read him.

• his eyes and how he’s never looked at you like that before.

• being single your entire life, you’ve never seen it on someone before.

• is it bad that maybe...

• you only know what that look means because you’ve already given it to him?

• “They could do things that I couldn’t do. Things that you’d fall in love with. And that every time I did what I was capable of, you never even turned your head for me. I envied you and I envied them.”

• Wooyoung was hysterical.

• sounding untouched with his emotions.

• love lust and simple minded.

• confused and hurt.

• but relieved to finally let out his troubles.

• “Why the fuck would you envy them, Wooyoung?”

• cause you’ve always envied him.

• the things he were good at.

• when he was nicer than you.

• hotter than you, fitter than you.

• lord forbid smarter than you (all but right now),

• that everyone wanted him.

• you had no space in his life and felt no need to exert too much effort to make some.

• “I loved everything about you. From head to toe.” he mumbles not realizing he still had you in a princess hold.

• you two confessing in front of a water fountain under the stars like a freaking movie.

• “You let them. You never let me.”

• “You idiot.” you shook your head at him. “Wooyoung, you’re a damn fool, you know that?”

• he feels the way your fingers graze against his neck.

• lost in the feeling and in your eyes,

• then he speaks again.

• “I took things too far this time. And the only way I see this working out for the both of us is if I told you the truth so.. there it is.”

• you raise an eyebrow fighting a smile. “The truth.. That you love me?”

• “For someone who claims they’ve had no experience in love, you sound pretty good at this.”

• you’re never gonna get tired of teasing Wooyoung.

• he makes it too easy.

• you start to think maybe you made it too easy for him to.

• “Probably because I’ve had the experience for a long time. Just didn’t know it.”

• “What?”

• “You know, I was thinking about telling you to take me off that list. Cause you had no right to have put me there in the first place. But now I’m kind of thinking you shouldn’t take my name off.

• “H-huh?”

• “If you still don’t want another man to touch me, Jung Wooyoung, then I suggest you keep me there. Especially since I’ll be your girlfriend starting from today.”

• he’s taken aback at first.

• at how fast it happened—

• now he’s smiling like the fool he is.

• and you don’t see him smile enough, you think.

• and that maybe you’re gonna have to make a list of your own.

• a list of men you’ll never fall in love with.

• he’s gonna be the only man alive to not be on it.

• “A-are you asking me to be your boyfriend?”

• you curl your face into his,

• loving the feeling of making him all flustered like this.

• it might be because you’ve gotten so used to teasing the guy.

• or that you might just have fallen in love with it instead.

• “I’m telling you I’m gonna be your girlfriend, Woo. There’s a difference.”

@atinybitofau

[sohin-ace]

Josuke - Phone Buddies

This is cross-posted from Wattpad and available on AO3.

Enjoy~

"Yare yare daze, I'll pay, don't bother."

Jotaro was in a generous mood as he decided he would pay for the meal he shared with his uncle and grandfather today. He took out his wallet and got up to pay for the order, but right as he opened it and got the cash out, a small picture fell from it.

Josuke noticed it but as he was about to call Jotaro out to tell him, he was already far gone to the cash register.

Josuke took the picture in his hands and decided it wouldn't hurt to take a sneak peek. Also, he wondered what kind of photo a man like Jotaro could have tucked so preciously in his wallet.

The picture showed two smiling girls. One little girl with her hair styled in twin buns and a cute dress with butterflies on it, and right next to her, a very pretty H/C H/L haired girl with beautiful E/C eyes that was holding the child close to her.

Josuke's eyes widened upon seeing the picture and was astonished at how pretty you were. Were you Jotaro's family?

Jotaro had never mentionned a teenage girl in his family. Josuke already knew about Jolyne and even though he had yet to see her in person, he figured she was the child in the picture.

But you? Who were you? He suddenly became so curious. Were all girls living in America this cute? He blushed at his own thoughts.

"What the hell are you drooling at?" Jotaro grumbled as he came back.

Josuke subconsciously wiped his mouth at the remark and got up, handing him back the picture.

Jotaro's expression shifted slightly and his brow furrowed as he didn't expect to have lost such an important photo.

"W-who is she?" Josuke stuttered as he pointed at the picture, now in the hands of its owner.

"That's my daughter Jolyne and my sister-in-law, Y/N."

"Y-your sister-in-law? How old is she? She's very pretty..." He mumbled the last part, quite embarrassed to ask Jotaro these intrusive questions.

Josuke rubbed the back of his head as he looked away, obviously flustered. Jotaro was quick to catch on what was going on in this hopeless romantic's mind.

"She's around your age, and yes she's single. Let's go now." The taller male huffed as he turned around to leave, Joseph already waiting outside.

Josuke gasped loudly, a deep blush adorning his face as he trotted close behind.

"Wha- I wasn't even gonna ask that!"

Ever since that day, Josuke couldn't stop thinking about Y/N, the girl never leaving his mind. He was so curious and infatuated with her, he really wanted to know more about the mysterious girl.

Even if he knew the distance separating them was a big obstacle, he couldn't help but find it even more intriguing.

Jotaro of course had quickly noticed how dreamy Josuke had become ever since he fell upon that picture and sighed at the teenager's helplessness.

"Here. Call her in the morning before 12 or at midnight if you're still awake."

Jotaro came in one day and slammed a piece of paper on the table in front of Josuke, making the boy jolt and forcing him out of his train of thoughts.

He looked at the paper and on it was a phone number, most likely yours, and Josuke's eyes widened. He jumped from his seat and called out to his comicly older nephew who was already leaving.

"Wh- Really?! Oh my god, Jotaro you're a real man!Thanks!!"

Jotaro only dipped his hat while muttering his catchphrase and just like that, he left the scene, his good deed done.

Josuke's palms were sweaty and his heart was beating fast as he dialed the number and listened to the anxiety inducing bipping sound on the phone.

Yes. Tonight, he was calling you. He would know about you and, even if he didn't expect a relationship out of this, at least he could make a friend, right?

But what was he supposed to say? Were you going to find him weird? You never heard of him after all, and he suddenly had your phone number. What if he messed up? He was fairly good at English, but what if his accent was too strong and you couldn't understand him?

He didn't have time to fret any further as you finally picked up the phone, making his heart jump.

'Hello?'

His breath caught in his throat. Was that you? That was your voice right? This felt so unreal.

'Hello? Who is this?' You questionned and Josuke finally managed to blurt something out.

"H-hi! This is Y/N, r-right?" He stuttered uncontrollably and his hands were shaking.

'Get a grip, Josuke, that's so uncool for a guy like you!' He thought to himself. He wished Okuyasu would be there to give him a boost of confidence and some much needed bro support.

'Yes, it's me! Who's asking?'

Your voice was so sweet in his ears, he didn't expect that much honey in a single person's voice. A few words from you and he could already tell you were a kind person.

"I-I'm Josuke Higashikata! You don't know me, but I'm a relative of Jotaro." He was now calmer after introducing himself, the awkwardness fading slowly.

'Oh! Hi! It's so good to hear from Jotaro's family!' You chuckled lightly. 'How is he? Is he next to you?'

You sounded so happy to have news and his heart was restlessly hammering in his chest. But that was bad, the conversation was shifting towards Jotaro, he had to say something.

"Oh yeah, yeah he's fine, he's not here at the moment, it's pretty late in Japan..." He didn't know what to add. He was so shy, it was killing him.

'Oh I see, that's good. When you see him, tell him to give us a call, Jolyne misses him a lot!'

"Sure, I'll tell him!" He had to say something interesting, and quick, before you figured out how much of a weirdo he was. "U-um... So Y/N... You're... You're 16 right? Just like me!"

'Yes! I'm still in highschool. It's good that we're the same age Jojo. Oh- you don't mind if I call you Jojo? That's how my sister calls Jolyne.'

He blushed at the cute nickname. He wasn't very used to be called Jojo but coming from you it was almost tearing at his heartstrings.

"I-I don't mind!" He squeaked in an embarassingly high-pitched voice that he would have rathered not let you hear and you giggled.

'You sound so sweet! I wish we could talk more often, I'm sure you're a very nice guy!'

He wanted to scream at your cuteness but instead he resolved to balling his fists. Without even needing to meet you he was already falling hard in love with you. But at the same time it broke his heart that you two couldn't meet, or at least not until a very long time.

"Y-you too Y/N... You sound like my type of girl." He paused at his own words when he heard you gasp on the other end of the line.

'WHY THE HELL DID I SAY THAT WHAT THE FUCK ??!!!' He pulled at his precious hair as he cringed. Oh he messed up, just as he predicted. He goofed.

'J-jojo...! Y-you... Really? You think so...?'

You were embarrassed, but you couldn't deny that you were touched by his words, your heart racing as well as your thoughts. Nobody had ever said that to you before, and the mere thought of a boy, as far away as he was, liking you made you blush.

"I-I'm sorry! That... That was too much! Oh my god..." Josuke panicked and facepalmed, feeling so freaking dumb and not knowing how to save the situation.

'N-no it's just...' You trailed off thinking carefully of your next words. 'Maybe... I sound nice on the phone, but the reality may be disappointing, you know?'

"Huh? What do you mean?"

'I'm probably not as pretty as you imagine... Don't get your hopes up.' You laughed nervously his eyes widened at your words.

"N-no way!" He stopped himself before he could say something he would regret.

He couldn't let you know that he saw your picture. The last thing he wanted right was to seem like a major creep and that he only called you for your looks when he actually started to really like your personality.

He also sensed that you probably didn't have the best self-esteem, so disappointing you was out of the question.

"I... I truly believe you'd be nice to me if we met, regardless of what you look like. Also, if Jotaro trusts you then there's no way you can be a bad girl."

'R-really...?' Your heart skipped a million beats at his reassuring words and soft voice and you were glad he couldn't see you fidget in your seat. 'Ah, thank you Jojo, it's really sweet of you.'

He bit his lip and silenced himself from fanboying. You were just melting his heart by the second and he swore if you kept speaking with that airy voice, his brain would short-circuit.

'Actually... I think Jotaro has a picture of Jolyne with me on it, if you're ever curious of what I look like.'

"O-oh, really? I mean... Yeah, I guess I could ask him." He feigned ignorance and tried to keep his cool. "Should I send you a picture of me too?"

'You wouldn't mind? I kinda want to see what you're like, Josuke.'

"Oh, you won't be disappointed, I'm handsome as hell." He teased and you couldn't help but laugh at his boasting confidence.

'Ooh, I know I won't be, Josuke. I'll like you either way. I'm a simple girl.'

Oh no. Oh no. Your words had sent the boy reeling yet again, making his heart ache painfully in his chest and leaving him gaping in his seat like a fish out of water.

That was bad. So bad. He really didn't want to fall in love with you, but he guessed that was a huge failure on his part.

Why did you have to be so kind, so soft, and so far away? Did you feel the same way about him? Or was he the only one suffering in his bedroom right now?

Before he could add anything, he heard the phone beeping ominously, signaling his time with you was almost up. Damn, time flew way too fast.

"Y-Y/N, I'll have to hang up soon. I only bought two hours of phone time towards America."

'Ooh it has already been two hours? Aww man! It was so nice talking with you Josuke. Let's talk again like this soon, okay?'

You tried your hardest to conceal your disappointement, but at the same time you were hopeful to talk with him again in the future.

He was the only person that ever tried this hard to talk with you, and you managed to completely forget to ask him why he even called you in the first place.

You shrugged it off thinking that Jotaro must have talked about you to Josuke and tried to get him to make a foreign friend. If it was the case, you'd have to thank your brother-in-law, as you were really charmed by the young Japanese teenager and couldn't wait to learn more about him.

"Sure! Take care, Y/N..." He spoke softly to the phone, feeling all light and tingly inside.

He couldn't see it, but you were blushing at his sudden deep voice and tone.

'Goodnight, Jojo.'

He lingered a little bit, the phone still against his ear, then hung up. He sighed and held the phone close to his chest, his lips stretched in an unfaltering giddy smile.

"Oh my gooood..." He crossed his arms over his desk and buried his face in them, heavily flustered, your voice still echoing in his mind.

He took deep breaths to calm his excited heart. He couldn't even call his best friend Okuyasu and tell him what happened, it was already 2 A.M.

He knew he would regret having to wake up so early for school tomorrow, but the lack of sleep would be so worth it.

He just couldn't wait to speak to you more.

Do you guys remember when we had to buy cards with codes on it to call outside the country?

At the end of your limited time your phone would bip or tell you 'Time's up bitch, you have 5 min to say goodbye to your family'.

And it was so hard to say goodbye.

Damn, I feel old. The 90's man...