#bugs should Not be near my neck thank you very much

[raynavan]

I was a bit to tried to mention this last night, but when I was drawing that picture, it was in a like. A Pitch black room. I also had music on so I couldn’t really hear anything, so. THIS GUY

THIS FELLA RIGHT HERE

GAVE ME MULTIPLE HEART ATTACKS

there is something quite startling about a thing suddenly Being There. I could only hear them when they were like. Right Next To Me and that was also when I could hear them. Decidedly not cool.

[stagbells]

From: @pollyannam3

To: @nochromity

Note: "Noch, I have been buzzing since the day I found out I would get to write for you. You are one of my best friends in the world and getting to make this for you has been the highlight of the month for me. I hope you like all of my headcanons and that I did your pairings justice!! I love you so much, my friend! You are so very very dear to me, I can't imagine a better friend! 

You light up my life and always make me feel loved and safe <333"

Link to written work: (Here)

“You should not run so far, you know not how quick we can follow. Other things can be faster, and if you’re foolhardy I can’t guarantee your safety.”

This voice was not heeded, as Quirrel excitedly waved for them to follow. Nailmaster Oro was following, but was being easily outpaced by the pillbug. 

“Oro, my love, my nettle, you need to see this immediately. Small jabs like that can wait!”

He crossed under a natural arch in the Kingdom’s edge, pausing under the shade to let his companion catch up. 

“I say that not for myself.” Oro finally caught up to Quirrel, and they both turned and heard, “HEY DON’T STOP-” 

From the distance, Tiso crossed the expanse, albeit with a staggering limp supported by a simple cane. It helped immensely with his balance, since he was missing an arm now. 

It took him a moment but he finally caught up with his partners, despite the wobbliness.

Oro regarded Tiso with his usual blank look, but said with a concern in his voice, “Really, take up my father on the physical therapy advice.” 

Tiso responded by playfully jabbing Oro with the end of his cane, “I got it!”

“You won’t win this fight. You’re practically out of breath.” “Try me!”

Quirrel grabbed Tiso by the shoulder and Oro by the neck of his cloak, gently pulling their humorous spat apart. “We’re here for a reason, dears.” 

Tiso and Oro huffed, and gave Quirrel their attention. “I found this place while hunting, and thought you both would adore this view for a pleasant outing. I figure after your surgery and your visit with your brothers, you could both use just. A day to sit.” He gestured at both of his dears, who nodded. They were both going through big things. 

Healing from wounds physical and emotional. 

Quirrel waved again, and they followed him through the arch and across the last bit of the path. 

They came across a cavern, extending to what felt like infinity off the edge of the cliff. The buzz of aspids was near, but far enough away to not worry. All they could hear was the chug of Boofly wings. 

“So your plan for us is to sit, do nothing, and watch booflies be brainless?” Tiso gestured his fingers to the view, flabbergasted.

Quirrel sat down, kicking his feet off the edge of the cliff. “It is a wonderful view. You could talk, if you like. You like hearing that voice of yours.”

“...You got me there.” Tiso moved to sit next to Quirrel, Oro following to help him. Without a word, the large bug gently sat Tiso down so his torso wouldn’t be aggravated. 

Tiso looked up at him, a look of silent thanks.

Oro looked down, a look of silent gratitude to be needed. He stood there. For a hot second. 

“Oro, you may sit too, nettle dear.” 

“Oh…Oh, correct.” Oro plopped down, crossing his legs above the cliff instead of risking them below.

They all sat, and the quiet set in. The only noises were the ambience of the bugs below, Tiso stretching and his back cracking, or Quirrel taking the old cracked glasses off of his head to give them a squeaky clean on the cloak Oro had given him. The little squeak, squeak, squeak combined with him putting them back on the top of his head made Tiso ask, “Do you even need those?” 

“Ah, no, they aren’t my prescription, anyways.”

“Then why do you have them…?”

“They belonged to an old dear friend of mine, is all. Passed long ago.”

Tiso hummed, thinking about his shield, hung up at their lovely little home. “That’s nice of you, what of you, big guy?” Tiso looked at Oro, wondering if he related to such a story.

“Do not call me “big guy” or I will go back to calling you “Runt”, Tiso.”

Tiso waved his arm down, “Hey, I’m just playing.”

“Find out if I am.”

Tiso gave Oro a little shove, “Do you have any cool keepsakes or what?”

Oro flicked his hand, making Quirrel chuckle at their antics. Always entertaining, the two of them.

“Not many. None of importance.” Oro put his hands in his lap, fiddling with two of his fingers. Feeling the cracked shell underneath, trying to think if he wanted to share.

“Ah, I see, You revel in being boring at times.” Tiso spoke, so blunt Oro could almost mistake his partner’s voice for his brother’s. 

“Hey-” Quirrel gave him a gentle smack with the back of his palm to Tiso’s shoulder. “Ow-” Tiso said, despite having little to  no feeling on that side of his body. 

Oro put a hand on the side of his head, fiddling with his mask as he thought.  He didn’t know if he wanted to share: but they both shared things like this often. At least knowledge of their existence. 

“I have a moth wing-feather. Old books from my father. Pots that held childhood meals, things like that.”

That made both Quirrel and Tiso pipe up. “What was that?” Quirrel asked, inquisitive but with an air of lightness.

Oro grew confused, “Books from my father?”

“Where’d you get a moth feather???” Tiso blurted, making Oro regret his words. He reached up and pulled down his bandanna, to almost try and cover his eyes. 

“Ah that, a loathsomely boring story, you’ll find it ridiculous and odd. I should not share.”

Tiso, in a tizzy, tried to stand in fiery passion for his answer.

“You can’t not share! You’re telling me our beloved broody spark of a nailmaster got close enough to a moth to get a FEATHER and refuses to tell us how?? Like-”

Quirrel put a hand on Tiso’s shoulder, and pulled him back to sit before he fell in an awkward way for his injuries. “We did not pry for your precious story. We will not pry for Oro’s. Is that alright, my nettle?”

Oro nodded, and Tiso could only pout and attempt to cross his arms by just wrapping the one around his body, tucking his hand under his small stump.

“Let us set our own pace, and be calm with one another. The last thing we need is an argument and for one of you to get thrown off this edge to the spikes below.” Quirrel ran his hand over his headscarf and adjusted it, giving both of them a look, “If you cause that fight, I will not leap to the rescue and injure my back.” Quirrel scolded, mostly Tiso, who just coughed and mumbled under his breath about just being curious. They went back to a slightly tense silence. 

Oro closed his eyes and went into his thoughts. Quirrel pulled up a leg and let out a small sigh of relief. 

Tiso rubbed his residual arm, and looked at the booflies.

He wished they could just go catch one, eat, and then go home to amend the awkwardness. 

The gusts of wind from the Fool’s falling grave was getting a bit cold. If there was anything he hated more than his partners being upset, it was the cold with his injuries. 

It made the ant begin to shiver, the naturally coldest of the three of them. He then felt a heavy warmth come over him, and saw Oro quietly putting half of his cloak around Tiso. 

Tiso looked up at him, and gave him a small smile. Oro just kept looking down, as if what he was doing was unconscious. Quirrel saw them move into a small cuddle, and scooted closer to join. It was calming, the protection against the winds on top of the buzzing below.

It felt…safe. They should all just sit, and be safe, despite their quarrel. 

The thrill of sparring and hunting was top tier in Tiso’s heart, but he could see it in Oro and Quirrel’s postures. This was better.

Oro felt Tiso melt closer to him, and in turn Quirrel pressed more into Tiso. A line of falling into comfort. A comfort that he has no idea how he could get used to it like this. Not again, at least. 

Not since he was young.

Not since…

Since he was…

…Safe.

He held onto Quirrel with one hand, and adjusted Tiso’s poor posture with the other, moving to fully shield them. He bent his head close to Tiso, and whispered.

“The feather was from an old friend.”

Tiso looked up at him with wide eyes, but a claw booped him gently. “Shh.” Oro said, gesturing to Quirrel who was, hilariously, already dozing in the warmth.

“Oh…” Tiso adjusted himself, and let Quirrel settle down into his lap as Oro held the two of them close.

The quiet turned back to comfortable, as the chug of boofly wings and the buzz of bees lulled it into being. 

Oro looked over his partners, and reveled in that. 

He knew where that feather was, a keepsake of the past. 

Of a Past love. A love that was so short lived but so dear. He hoped to keep blue headscarfs and canes that fold into nails away from the keepsakes. He wanted them to keep where they were for now.

He wanted them both there. In his arms, despite any grumbling or huffing that usually comes with cuddles, he loved every moment of it.

He wonders how he earned it, as Tiso dozes too. He keeps him upright for his poor back.

The isolated nailmaster, sitting on the edge of the world. 

The crushed gladiator, sleeping on the edge of the world.

The retired scholar, resting on the edge of the world.

To ever find warmth, and comfort, and love, and light, and everything in between.

Sticking together, no matter how hard life throws them down, they’ll never be thrown away.

They would grow beyond the edge, and break the boundaries. One precious moment at a time. 

After, a short nap, of course. As they doze, bees and booflies circling curiously about, they know it can't be long before they’re bothered. 

It’s no mind.

The edge of the world’s change would wait for them.

[ghouly-boiiiii]

A Light in the Dark 🕯️

Chapter 4: The Price of Freedom

Lucy x Cooper Howard / The Ghoul

In this chapter…

The bounty hunter turned back to her. “You alright?”

Lucy shook her head. “I don't know… I mean… I should be grateful that I got to grow up in a safe place where people aren't constantly killing each other, but…”

The old wastelander turned away again, then said thoughtfully, “Man wasn’t made to live in a cage. We’re animals. Same as any.”

“Yeah…” She said, her voice soft and forlorn. “I donno… there’s just… so much more out here than I ever imagined… Back in my vault, everything was… regulated, regimented. You were told what to do, what to think, how to feel. Everything was so… controlled… Then, I come up here and it’s…” She shook her head. “It’s violent and chaotic and brutal, but… it’s real.”

<<< Previous Chapter

Summary: As they begin their journey across the Wasteland, Lucy is very angry and fearful towards the Ghoul, but she wants answers. He, however, is harboring secret feelings for Lucy ever since she saved his life. Having not been with anyone since Barb, and believing she would never feel the same, the bounty hunter has to deal with these feelings on his own. Little does he know, Lucy finds herself having inexplicable feelings for him as well, and struggling to make sense of them.

Tags: Slow Burn, Romance, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Casual Sex Lucy and No Wait Let Me Court You Cooper, Cooper is touch-starved and rusty in bed, He’s also self-conscious about his body, Ghoul channels old romantic Cooper, Lucy is confused by strange surface dweller mating customs, She helps him discover his old self, He helps her discover her true self, Did I mention there would be angst

Rating: Mature - Word Count: 4,723

SPOILER WARNING: Contains all the spoilers. No trigger warnings except eventual sexy time with a zombie man and lots of angst.

Once they started walking, Lucy strolled briskly ahead of The Ghoul, with her chin held high and a smirk on her face. Feeling rather confident, but also a bit nervous. She wasn’t sure what had come over her. That was nothing like what those conflict resolution courses had taught her to do back in the vault. But it sure as hell felt good.

The vault dweller was starting to surprise herself. Wilzig has told her that if she were going to survive, she would have to adapt. And she was. She was adapting. The realization that she was starting to get acquainted with a part of herself she didn't even know was both exciting and terrifying. In the past, she always put considerable effort into being fair and civil when resolving issues with others. Never threatening with violence. But, thanks to the Ghoul, she had to learn quickly that… that kind of diplomacy wasn't gonna cut it up here. Still, it was pure posturing. Lucy knew she could never overpower The Ghoul. She could never beat him in a gun fight or a fist fight or probably even a pillow fight. But the last thing she was going to do is roll over and take his bullshit anymore. After several near-death experiences, her patience had run thin. 

“Hey, Vaulty… Slow down.” She heard him grunt behind her. “I ain’t no spring chicken, ya know.” 

“Oh! I’m sorry.” The vault dweller said and spun around, continuing to walk backwards, with a contemptuous scowl on her face. “Would you like me to put a rope around your neck and drag you?”

“Huh.” The Ghoul grunted again as he stared at her, jutting out his chin. “Behind you.”

The vault dweller heard the buzz right away, and turned around just in time to see a giant bug flying towards her. 

Her companion fired, splashing it's innards everywhere, before Lucy could even let out a yelp. 

“Jesus!” She screamed as she tried to shake the bug juice off her. 

The bounty hunter laughed. “Better not get too cocky.” He said and eyed the pistol on her belt. “By the way… you any good with that thang?” 

Lucy looked up at him, trying to wipe the slime off her arms. “...The pistol?”

“Yeah.”

“I can shoot.” She said, turning away and focusing on cleaning herself off. 

“You sure?” He said, walking towards her. “It's more complicated than you might thank...” 

“I can shoot.” The vault dweller insisted in annoyance. 

The wastelander tilted his head slightly. “Alright… Well, I hope so. You're gonna need it…” He looked around a moment. “ In fact, maybe we should do some target practice before we run into some real trouble...” 

She quickly spun around to face him and shrugged, waving her slimy hands at him. “Hey, I've got an idea. Maybe I'll use your face for target practice. Then you can tell me if I'm any good or not.” She hissed, then turned and kept walking.

“Ah. Well… I suppose that would settle it.” He joked as he watched her stomp ahead of him.

Lucy paused and looked around a moment, then back at him. “...You sure this is the right way?” 

“Sure is. Just keep yer eye out.”

She exhaled in frustration, then turned away from him and looked up, finding herself standing at the edge of a deep, dark forest.

The trees …

They had to be one of the most breathtaking things she’d seen since she came to the surface. Even though she’d seen plenty of pictures growing up… witnessing the sheer scale of them in person - the way they stretched up towards the sky and towered over her - was a completely different experience. Every time she came across them, she had to pause. Their looming presence and delicate beauty, drawing her eyes up towards the canopy.  

“Scared, Vaulty?” The Ghoul teased.

The vault dweller ignored him, not letting him interrupt her moment. But despite it's beauty, she trembled. Even though she'd trekked through a forest before, now she was a lot more aware of the horrors that could be lurking among the seemingly peaceful scenery. 

She still had nightmares about that damn Gulper. 

“What do we gotta look out for?”

“Out here?” The Ghoul stepped up next to her, craning his head up at the tall oaks and pines. “Mostly just bugs. Probably…” He smirked. “Like that cazador you was makin’ friends with back there.” 

She turned her head towards him, her expression unamused. “What else could be in there?”

“Well, there could be anythang.” He said as he brought his gaze back down and shrugged his shoulders. “Raiders. Supermutants. Deathclaws. Ya never really know.” 

“I thought this way we’re supposed to be avoiding the Deathclaws.”

He just looked at her and shrugged again. “Like I said. Ya never know.” 

She huffed, blowing her hair out of her face in annoyance, and crept carefully into the dense trees.

As they continued on, she admired how the light of the midday sun trickled through the canopy. Flooding the forest with glistening beams of light. The buzzing of the (normal sized) insects filled the air, along with the melodic chirping of (unmutated) birds and other wildlife. It amazed her how even after so much destruction, there were still places where the world brimmed with so much natural life.

She must have been smiling without realizing it, because The Ghoul saw fit to point it out. 

“Enjoying yourself?” 

Lucy turned to him, furrowing her brow and glaring. “Until you start talking, yeah.”

“Huh… So mean.” The Ghoul snickered, then turned to Dogmeat. “Why she so mean to me, huh?” 

“Tch…” She scoffed, looking away. “I'm mean.” 

“Big ‘ol meanie.”

They continued in silence for a while, until suddenly he whispered sharply to her, breaking her from her thoughts. “Hey! Get down!” he said, taking cover behind a tree.

She quickly found a tree to hide behind as well. “What is it?” 

The Ghoul pointed a gloved finger out ahead. “There she is.” He said quietly as he peered past the tree and a smile formed on his face.

Lucy looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a rather unsettling looking creature. “That's a… rad horse?” 

Dogmeat whined quietly as she eyed the animal. 

“Shh… Dogmeat.” The bounty hunter said, motioning to the dog to lay low. To which the canine obediently crouched and licked her lips in excitement. 

“Stay here.” He said, turning to Lucy as he pulled out his lasso, then started creeping towards the mutated horse. “Take notes.”

She glared at him a moment, but watched diligently. 

With a surprising amount of finesse for such an old coot, The Ghoul approached the radhorse with the stealth of a wolf on the hunt, readying the rope with an expert touch. 

 Lucy remembered when he used that rope on her, and it made her even more pissed off.

The bounty hunter closed in, spun the lasso into the air, and tossed it at the radhorse, expertly landing it around the beast's neck. 

Her eyes widened as the monstrous creature let out a horrifying howl. Not quite a normal horse's neigh, but more like a scream. 

“Whoa!” he shouted as it rose to its hind legs and thrashed its head, dragging him closer and nearly knocking him down. 

But he stood his ground as he fought to get control over the animal. He certainly seemed to have more experience with horses than gulpers, Lucy thought. 

“Hya! Hya!” The Ghoul called out as he pulled in the rope, gradually forcing the creature into submission, until he was face to face with its rotting carcass of a head as it spat and grunted in protest. 

“Ha-ha!” He barked victoriously. “That's right. Easy, girl.” Then, with a surprisingly gentle touch, he rubbed the creature's long muzzle. “That's a good horse.”

She smiled as she watched, finding herself quite fascinated, but also excited about the prospect of riding this thing.

As he pulled his old body up onto the horse, she slowly approached.

He grinned from atop its back when he noticed her. “There, you see? You just gotta show ‘em who’s boss!” Then he reached out to Lucy, offering his hand to help her climb up. “Come on now. Let's get a move on.”

With some hesitation, Lucy reached up and took his hand, letting him pull her up to sit behind him. 

Although she wanted to ride, she also felt rather uncomfortable suddenly being so close to The Ghoul. He was like… right there. “Oookay… so… we’re just gonna… ride this thing?” Lucy said with a lot of concern in her voice as she tried to keep herself steady. 

“Yup.” He smirked, tying the rope around the horse's head to use as makeshift reigns. “You best hold onto somethin’.”

“Like wha–!!” She was cut off when the bounty hunter clicked his teeth and the horse suddenly rose to its hind legs, letting out a raspy scream before it started galloping ahead.

With nothing else to hold onto, Lucy had no choice but to throw her arms around The Ghoul’s torso and hang on for dear life. “Gahhhh!!!”

“Yeah!!” He laughed in excitement, grabbing onto Lucy’s arms to make sure she didn’t fly away.

“Oh my God!!” She screamed and buried her face in his back, squeezing her eyes shut and praying she wasn’t about to die.

“Whoa, girl!” He shouted excitedly. “That’s it! Ha ha!” 

One thing the vault dweller was not anticipating was the way being on the horse jerked and tossed her body around. She was used to living in a vault, where everything was in walking distance. They had no need for transportation. She’d never moved this fast in her life.

The speed made the blood rush to her head. She felt a welling come up from her stomach, and expel from her mouth laughter that was both terrified and excited. 

Oh my God!! Oh my God!!!” She kept screaming.

“What's the matter, Vaulty? I thought ya wanted a' ride a horse?” He shouted tauntingly as they sped through the forest. “Ain't this everythang ya ever dreamed it would be?”

“I’m gonna throw up!!” She cried out, still unable to open her eyes and genuinely feeling nauseous.

The bounty hunter let out a hearty laugh. “Alright, alright. I’ll give ya a break. Don’t want’cha pukin’ on my good coat.” He joked, then pulled on the rope to coax the horse to a steadier pace.

Lucy finally got her bearings, realizing she was clinging onto him, then finally let go. “I-I'm sorry!”

“I’m just glad you didn't fly off.” he laughed. “Coulda put you up front. Then we'd be real cozy.”

Lucy's eye twitched a little. She couldn't tell, but it almost sounded like he was trying to flirt with her… “Ugh… no thanks.”

The two rode at a steady pace for a while with Dogmeat patrolling beside them, who was sure to investigate any sign of life she came across. Lucy found the ride to be a lot less fun and exciting and a lot more uncomfortable and unpleasant than she imagined. Mainly because of the man sitting in front of her. If he'd been a handsome, good man… like Cooper Howard, for example… maybe she'd enjoy it a bit more. 

But no. It had to be The Ghoul she was sharing this experience with. Her stomach muscles ached from trying to lean back away from him. She felt disgusted, being so close to him, and wanted nothing more than to take a shower after having touched that filthy coat. He smelled like a combination of dirt, gunpowder and cigarettes. An earthy, smoky, slightly damp-ish smell. Which was better than what she expected, but still not very nice. 

Lucy tried to distract herself by focusing on the environment around them. As the day drifted late into the evening, the intense golden-orange rays of the sun pierced through the great green canopy above, and she again found herself admiring its delicate beauty. And as they approached a body of water, the shimmering waves reflected the light even brighter. 

The Ghoul directed the radhorse to stop, looking out at the lake before them. “This should be a good place to rest for the night.” 

She eyed the seemingly calm scenery and glared suspiciously. “You sure this is safe? …What about gulpers? ”

“Ain't never seen a gulper ‘round these parts.” He half-heartedly assured her. “Lakelurks more wha’cha gotta worry ‘bout.” 

“...What's a lakelurk?” 

“You'll find out eventually.” 

Lucy huffed, then jerked her head back as he suddenly turned to look over his shoulder at her. “Alright. Come on, now. Scoot.” 

She blinked. “Oh… right.” Then hopped off the horse.

He followed suit and quickly got to work setting up a spot to camp. Tying the radhorse to a nearby tree where there was plenty of vegetation for it to nibble on, and enough slack on the rope where it could reach the lake for water. He didn’t make a fire this time, not with the wide open lake before them where plenty of prying eyes could see. Lucy did her part, picking up twigs and brush to clear a place to sleep, and kept her eye on the water for any sign of those… lakelurk things.

After making a quick scope of the area, The Ghoul pulled out the sack of leftover molerat and sat down on a fallen tree with Dogmeat excitedly taking a spot in front of him, hungrily licking her lips.

“We outta fill up on water while we're here, Vaulty.” He said, looking out at the lake as Lucy approached, and pulling out a handful of meat. “This lake is cleaner than most.”

Dogmeat whined and shuffled her paws in front of him. The wastelander threw her a piece before starting to gnaw on one himself. 

Lucy sat down on the log as well - keeping some distance as she'd spent enough time in uncomfortably close proximity to him - then held out her hand.

Without a word, he handed her the bag. 

The vault dweller took out a couple pieces, then placed it down between them.

The two sat in silence for a while as they ate. It was a silence that Lucy appreciated. It gave her a moment to listen to the sound of the water. The swish of the gentle waves as they washed in and out from the shore. Only interrupted by Dogmeat whining for more food, and the occasional cough from The Ghoul.  

She then found herself fixated on the sight of the sun settling behind the lake and hills beyond. Even with the silhouettes of crumbling ruins in the distance - the bright, multicolored sky and the sparkling waters beneath was an incredible sight. 

The Ghoul must have noticed her gaze, as he said something then that she found quite unexpected. “...Beautiful, ain't it?”

Lucy blinked, then looked at him. “...What?”

“The sunset…”

The vault dweller turned, shifting her eyes back out to the scene before them. She wasn’t sure what to say, and was a little annoyed. The way he was commenting on the beauty of nature, like he was some kinda sensitive soul. Still… she simply replied, “...Yeah.”

“Even after two-hundred years… it never gets old.”

Lucy blinked again, glancing over at him a moment, although he didn't look back. As she averted her eyes and again looked up at where the sun touched the water, a thought came to her mind. “Two-hundred years…” she repeated as the reality of his age finally sunk in. “So many sunsets…”

He nodded. “Sure is.”

Slowly, her face took on a subtle expression of sadness and loss. “You've seen so many…” Then she looked down at the ground. “Me, I've only seen… just a handful...”

“Mmm…” The bounty hunter nodded in acknowledgement, keeping his eyes forward. 

“...Back in my vault, we had this… projector.” The vault dweller said thoughtfully. “Every night… it would show a sunset. The same one every night.” She fidgeted with the food in her hands, idly turning and turning it. “I suppose… I got it in my head that... that's just what sunsets looked like. But… since I came up here… every single one has been completely different. Every single one is unique... And every single one is… absolutely breathtaking..." She turned her head down and shrugged a little, suddenly looking a bit embarrassed. "I mean... I'm sure everyone up here takes it for granted... but for me its...” 

The Ghoul stopped chewing and looked over at her, a realization suddenly hitting him as well. He turned back and thought a moment before responding. “You know… I can’t even imagine what it must be like never bein’ outside yer whole life.” 

Lucy sunk a little more, her eyes drifting to the ground as an inexplicable feeling of grief came over her. 

Noticing her silence, the old bounty hunter turned back to her. “...You alright?”

She shook her head and shrugged. “I don't know… I mean… I should be grateful that I got to grow up in a safe place where people aren't constantly killing each other, but… there are things up here that… I donno…”

The old wastelander turned away again, then said thoughtfully, “Man wasn’t made to be locked in a cage. We’re animals. Same as any.”

“Yeah…” She said, her voice soft and forlorn. “I donno… there’s just… so much more out here than I ever imagined… There’s so much to see, so much to experience… Back in my vault, everything was… regulated, regimented. You were told what to do, what to think, how to feel. Everything was so… controlled… Then, I come up here and it’s…” She shook her head. “I mean… it’s violent and chaotic and brutal, but… it’s real.”

The Ghoul nodded, then replied. “You know... I had'a opportunity to get in one'a them vaults once.”

She looked up at him. “Really? …What happened?” 

“Well… I turned it down,” he said and took another bite of the molerat meat.

“You did?” Lucy lifted her head a bit higher, looking at him with shock and disbelief. “Why would you do that?” 

“‘Cause a’ all the thangs you just said.” The wastelander scowled as he looked out at the lake. “I didn't fight for our freedom in'a war just'a let some company control my life.” He turned to her, looking at her with serious indignation. “Vault-tec… they ain't no saviors. They didn't give a damn 'bout savin' America, or the world, or nothin’. They just about profits, like any other corporation.” 

She returned his stare with reluctant defeat. 

“You've seen it. You might’a been indoctrinated yer whole life, but yer smart. You see...” 

The vault dweller blinked, then looked away. “I don't understand… how could anyone prioritize money over human life…?” 

“Huh…” The bounty hunter chuckled. 

She shook her head. “...No. You're right.” Then looked away. “People do it all the time.” 

“Guilty as charged.” The Ghoul acknowledged. 

“But in the face of complete extinction? I mean… if their goal is to make money, it seems like letting humanity die out would be pretty counter intuitive...”

“Oh, it's even worse than that.” He said, aggressively gnawing on more molerat and spitting out some of the tougher, burnt pieces. “These delusional fuckers thought they were gonna create some kinda fuckin’ utopia up here. By killin’ off everyone except the people in they own damn company. Hell, even the folks who shelled out millions a’ dollars to get a spot in them vaults weren't safe.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Most’a the vaults weren't even meant for people to live in, no matter how rich ya were. See, Vault-tec sold off most’a their vaults to some’a the biggest companies in America. One’s wanted a way to do unethical shit without nobody sayin’ nothin’ ‘bout it. Most’a the people who went in them damn vaults just wound up bein’ test subjects for all kinds’a fucked up experiments.”

Lucy stared at him a moment, then looked down, remembering the question she was asked by the Overseer of Vault 4. He’d asked her what the experiment in her vault was. It was a question she didn't want to think about. But now, being told this, the revelations from her father and Moldaver - realizing how little she actually knew, how much she’d been in the dark… it made her sick to her stomach. 

What… was the experiment in her vault?

The vault dweller sat in thoughtful silence for a moment. “...What else do you know?” She asked, then looked back up at him. 

“Hmm… Well, I know how ta play a mean game a’ Rummy.” He joked.

“Come on… What else do you know about Vault-Tec…?” She leaned in, her eyes pleading. “Please… Whatever you know… Just tell me…”

He paused and looked over at her, chewing on his cheek.

She looked back at him, square in the eye. “Please… I… I want to know everything… I need to know.”

The Ghoul rolled his jaw, then looked back at the water and took another deep breath. “Well, I ain't tellin’ you everything… and I probably don't know as much as you're hopin’ anyway...” He looked back at her, flashing a reluctant smile.

“Then tell me whatever you can…” 

He looked down at the ground. “Well… I supposed I can tell ya this. You'd probably put it together eventually, anyway." He pulled out a knife, and started cutting some of the meat up into smaller pieces, before tossing them to Dogmeat. "Before the war… My wife worked for Vault-tec...” 

“Ohhh…” Lucy's eyes widened a bit. “Before the war… That's how you got a chance at getting in a vault.” 

“Yeah… but then I found out what Vault-tec was up to…” he shook his head and furrowed his brow. “And, well… that was it for our marriage.”

“Oh… I see…” She looked down in thought. “I remember... at the observatory... you asked my father where your family is…" Then she looked up at him. "Have you... really been searching for them for… two-hundred years…?” 

“Eh… I ain’t talkin’ about that.” 

“They must have got into a vault, right? But you didn't? Is that how you got separated?” She pressed.

He chewed on his cheek. “Somethin’ like that…” 

“But you don't know which one they’re in?” 

The bounty hunter didn’t answer.

Lucy looked at him in confusion and shook her head. “But… if it's been over two-hundred years… What makes you think they're even still alive?”

“Damnit, I said I’m not talkin’ about that, Vaulty!” He snapped, raising his voice. 

She leaned back a little. “Alright. Geez. No need to get all cranky.” 

The Ghoul exhaled and shook his head, looking away. “Anyways… What I was tryin’ ta say… was that I actually learned most’a what I know 'bout Vault-Tec from other vault dwellers.” 

“Other vault dwellers…? You’ve… met other vault dwellers?”

“Well, sure. You thank yer the only one crawled outta them hamster cages?” 

Lucy glared at him a moment. “Did you use them as fish bait too?”

“Personally, I’d call gulpers amphibians, not fish.” 

“Tch…” She huffed. “Way to dodge the question.” 

“You wanna know if I messed with ‘em too?” He said, leaning towards her. “Well, the answer is yes. In fact, I practically tortured the first three.”

“God…” The vault dweller looked away, then back. “What is wrong with you?” 

“I was determined to find out where my family was, by any means necessary.” He leaned back and ran his tongue over his lips. “Needless to say, It didn’t work.” 

“Did you kill them?”

“One a ‘em died. But I didn’t kill ‘em. Fuckin’ centaur attacked us. Neither one a’ us had ever seen one’a them thangs before in our lives. Scared the fuckin’ shit outta me. I almost pissed myself. Poor bastard didn't know what hit 'im.”

She shook her head. “You really do only care about yourself, don’t you? ...Also, what’s a centaur?” 

“Aw, come on. That’s not true.” He said, flashing her a smirk. “I shared my molerat with ya, didn’t I?” 

“Only because you need me to help you find my father.” 

“Eh…” He shrugged. “I could probably do that myself. Way I see it, you’re a sort of… insurance.” 

Lucy rose a brow. “...Insurance?” 

“I figure he’s gonna want his daughter back, ain’t he?” He took a drink from a bottle of whiskey he had in his pocket as he looked out at the water. “Maybe, if he thanks it’s the only way, he’ll tell me what I wanna know in exchange...”

“Oh… so you’re just gonna trade me again.” She said indignantly. 

“Not without your permission…" He said, looking over at her. "And it ain’t like we gotta be honest about it, neither. Unless you’re that committed to that golden rule a’ yers.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, the wheels in her head starting to turn. “...What are you suggesting?” 

“When we find yo’ daddy, he’s probably gonna assume I took you captive." He turned back to the water and took another bite. "We can use that.” 

“Right…” The vault dweller pondered his words. “And if I do that… If I let you leverage me so you can find your family… you’ll help me get the answers I want?” 

“Those are answers we both want, darlin’. So, yeah.” 

“And how do I know you’re not gonna just ditch me after you get what you’re after?” 

“Well… I guess you’re just gonna have to trust me.” He said, turning to her and flashing her a smile.

“I’ll never trust you.” She scowled. “How can I possibly trust you?” 

“You know you’re free to leave anytime you want.” The Ghoul said, raising his arm towards the woods. “I ain’t forcin’ ya ta be here.” Then, he looked down at her hands. “...You gonna eat that?” 

“Huh… this time…” Lucy scoffed, then shifted her weight a little, looking down. “So… if you asked the other vault dwellers… why didn’t you ask me? You know… about your family..."

He smirked and looked down at the ground. “...I was runnin’ low on vials. I had other priorities.” 

“Okay… but still… Wouldn’t it make sense to just ask before potentially killing me? I mean… they wouldn't be around anymore but... their descendants could be living in my vault.” 

He shook his head. “God, you ask a lotta questions…”

“…I’m just trying to help.”

“Yeah, well I’m tryin’a answer, but ya keep interruptin’!” He snapped.

Lucy folded her arms over her chest. “...Geez… Touchy.” 

“Agh… Forget it.” The Ghoul stood up, then lied on the ground, using the log as a pillow, and tilted his hat over his face. “I’m goin’a sleep…” Then started grumbling inaudibly under his breath. 

She just stared at him for a moment and watched Dogmeat lay down next to him, then unfolded her arms and looked down at the molerat still in her hands. After a moment, she found her eyes drifting over to The Ghoul again.

“What'chu starin’ at?” He muttered. She wasn’t sure how he could see her, but apparently he could. 

“...Your fly’s undone.” 

“What?” The bounty hunter jumped up into a sitting position and looked down at his pants, but saw he was fully zipped.

Lucy started laughing.

“Tch…” The Ghoul scowled at her. “Get some fuckin’ sleep, would ya?” He laid back again and pulled his hat over his eyes. 

“Just keeping you on your toes.” She said and finally started eating. 

“Yeah. Sure ya are. Just can’t help yerself, can ya?” He joked. “Well, keep dreamin’, sweetheart.” 

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Lucy teased back as she laid down as well, still chewing on her food.

He just huffed and grumbled some more. “You don’t shut up, I’m gonna choke you with that meat.”

“What’s that about choking me with meat?”

“Aagghh…” He growled, then grabbed a stick and threw it at her. “Get outta here.”

She laughed as she put her hand up to block it.

Then Dogmeat quickly gave chase, retrieving the stick and bringing it back to The Ghoul.

“Ugh… No. Not right now...” He lifted his hat and looked over at Lucy. “Goddamnit. Now look what’cha done.”

“What? I didn’t throw the stick.”

The old bounty hunter just grumbled and grumbled some more as Dogmeat whined and Lucy giggled in amusement.

To be continued...

<<< Previous Chapter

[domi-scu]

Bulgarian trains should be used as a torture tactic

I'm not even going to complain about waking up at 5am to get to the train. I'm happy and willing to not sleep on holiday if I need to. But the lack of coffee was our first problem. I stupidly thought that there might be a little coffee shop at the train station or that the train would have one of those coffee carts that hasn't been cleaned in 30 years. Well, my bad because they definitely did not have any of that. There was some coffee at the train station but everything was cash only and the cash machine had, surprisingly, no cash. I'm also not entirely sure why we decided to pay extra for first class because there was absolutely no difference.

Thankfully, we came armed with a bag of snacks but the lack of coffee could be felt. The first 3ish hours weren't too bad but then it got incredibly hot and the only AC available were open windows. Which not only did nothing to help with the heat but also wesn't exactly the best thing for those of us with hayfever. I managed to get couple of naps in but otherwise, it was a very unproductive ride with lots of sweating and overheating phone. I fell asleep for the last 1.5h but I'm convinced that was purely because I was on the brink of death at that point. I gotta say, unlike UK, at least there was phone service throughout the whole train ride.

We stopped at the first restaurant we came across for the much needed caffeine, beer, toilet and a sink to wash my face as I was struggling to breathe from the pollen. Funnily enough, beer helps with hayfever. Admittedly, it's the cold rather than the alcohol but I'll take both. We organised a taxi for later in the day and then sent Alex to get some hayfever spray from a pharmacy we passed. Godsend! I could breathe again!

We had to wait until about 6pm until my sis and her bf fly in as we're sharing the taxi so after a few drinks, we moved to a different place for more drinks. Rasto and Eli took a bus to Sozopol and we just chilled. What is it with everyone serving Carlsberg here? I want something local, I didn't suffer on the train to be drinking danish beer. But it'll do for now.

The taxi pricing was rather interesting. Ahead of time, we were told it would cost us 90 lev, when we booked it, the man said 80, and when we arrived, the driver asked for 60. Although I'm convinced that might've been a discount for Alex talking to him in Russian cause the man didn't speak English.

Martina and Malte are staying at the same hotel as us and the (czech) receptionist kindly figured out we'd like rooms next to each other since the last name on the reservations was the same. Rooms are great, although we definitely have a better view- of Lidl. We had a quick break and headed out to dinner near the beach.

Thought it would be great to walk across the beach which turned out to be a mistake as soon as we realised that the path to it is filled with massive buzzing things (hornets or some sort of bugs), that love to buzz right next to your ear. One has landed on the back of my neck and Alex, instead of trying to shoo it off, simply informed me that it's trying to burry inside my hair. Thank you, love!

One very seafood-y dinner later, I was slowly shutting down so it was time for bed. As soon as I stuffed myself with all the hayfever meds I could find because fuck me, it's bad here.

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

hello, could u possibly do a matchup for mha/bnha, aot and/or kny? if not its ok.

im a chinese (with quite a tan) and i have a brown almost black overgown mullet. im rlly short, about 5'2 and a transmasculine guy (he/him). i have chocolate colored eyes. I have an awkard body shape (skinny arms and legs with a chubbier torso and neck). I have smaller hands and faded scars on my upper thighs and my wrists. but i have scars on my upper arms due to picking at ache. i am near-sighted and have glasses i dont rlly wear.(even tho i should...)i also have scarred knees and lower legs (due to picking at bug bites cause i live in the country/rural area).

im biromantic, homosexual (but have a romantic lean towards guys) and im on the aroace spec.

my mbti type is infp ;; im a ambivert and can be really outgoing and loud at sometimes but be reserved and closed off at other times. At first im pretty awkward and shy but i become attavhed easily and in turn makes me way more comfortableand out going around them. I love analyzing ever detail, especially if im interested in the topic. Im rather physically clingy but if its too much i will stop.

I love animals, especially bugs, archnids, amphibians and reptiles. i plan to go into marine biology/herpetogly/zoology in the future. i love to write and draw (even though im going thruogh a major burnout) and i like to read too. i love to explore/hike even though i cant stand the heat. i own a bunch stuffed animals and sleep with them at night. i also love analog horror, but not really horror movies, its odd but i dunno. i like games with a deep story based asset such as OMORI, FNAF, Amphibia, etc etc.

My love language is physical touch and quality time. Im very understanding a loyal, maybe partly cause im a people pleaser but, i tend to worry about others, especially close friends and partners before my own needs. Im very clingy as a partner, either texting you alot or just hanging with you a bunch. I do give people space when they ask though and i respect any boundaries my partner has. it might seem like im love bombing at first but thats just kinda how i always am. what i look for in a partner is someone who is loyal and just a good person thatd id like to hang out with.

uhhh idk if i forgot anything-

Hi Anon! Thank you for your request! Sorry it took a while! I hope you like your matchups!

In My Hero Academia, I match you with...

Your ambivert nature really helps Koda come out of his shell. He’s so timid that no matter how introverted you’re feeling in the moment, you’ll still seem extroverted next to him.

You inspire him to be more outgoing. He still won’t be going up to strangers and starting small talk, but you can hear him when he talks now.

Will run his fingers over your scars. Whether you feel bad about them or not, it’s his way of saying that he loves all parts of you.

Please share your enthusiasm for marine biology and zoology with him! He love animals so much and he would talk for hours about them with you.

Also please let him cuddle your stuffed animals. He finds them comforting.

Even though it doesn’t happen often, when he’s out by himself and he sees a stuffed animal he thinks you would like, he’ll buy it for you as a present.

In Attack on Titan, I match you with...

Jean is probably one of the most loyal people you’re likely to meet. He may seem aloof at first but when he cares about someone, he cares deeply.

Loves how clingy you are! I see Jean as a very physically affectionate person so having someone who reciprocates that affection means a lot to him.

He also loves spending quality time with you. Whether that takes the form of listening to you talk about your interests or just laying together with your stuffed animals, he’s happy.

Speaking about your interests, Jean is absolutely going to research everything he can about animals and biology so he can understand what you’re talking about.

Like Koda, whenever he’s out and sees a stuffed animal he thinks you’d like, he’ll buy it for you. He will smuggle it into your room though. He can’t even begin to imagine the amount of teasing he would go through if someone like Eren saw him with a stuffed animal…

In Demon Slayer, I match you with...

Tanjiro is another super loyal person. There’s no way he will ever betray your trust. If something happened that meant he lost even the smallest amount of your trust, he would work ten times harder to win it back.

Hiking dates! He loves being out and about with you and he finds nature relaxing.

Tanjiro is also a people pleaser so he’ll help you help others as much as he can. He also checks in frequently to make sure you’re doing okay.

He knows helping others can sometimes be hard on your own physical or mental health. You (and Nezuko) are his top priorities so he’ll do everything within his power to make sure you’re doing okay.

Would be honoured if you let him hug or sleep with your stuffed animals. In a way, he sees them as your children so if you let him hug them, he will treat them with the utmost respect.

[from-a-reckless-writer]

dove down my rabbit hole of wips and one of my wips isnt a wip anymore! so here, have some gay shit....

“Kelly wants to get married in the woods, I want to get married in Midvale. So, apparently, our wedding will just happen via Zoom. Her in the woods, me at the beach. Ain’t that just fucking grand?”

Alex comes through the door like a hurricane covered in leather. Her helmet lands on Kara’s counter loudly. Her keys haphazardly thrown somewhere in the general direction of the bowl by the door.

“Then have two weddings.”

Alex follows the voice and her eyes zero in on her sister’s best friend.

Lena is sitting on the floor of Kara’s apartment, wearing an oversized sweater. Her dark hair spilling down her shoulders softly. A hand wrapping around a wine glass, the other typing on her laptop, not even jumping in the slightest at the commotion that is Alex’s entrance.

Alex plops down on the couch sighing loudly, not even batting an eye at this utterly domestic scene that is her sister washing the dishes with Lena Luthor on the floor of her apartment.

Lena doesn’t comment at the Danvers’ Sisters antics and Alex doesn’t call them out on the ridiculousness that Lena and Kara are still keen on keeping up.

The three of them already well desensitized to one another’s preferred brand of bullshitery.

“You know, sometimes I forget you're a rich-ass bitch and then you say shit like that and suddenly, I remember,” Alex says, smoothly snatching the wine from Lena’s hand.

She finishes the entire glass in one gulp and Lena rolls her eyes. Alex had finally proposed to Kelly the other week and well, that meant this week all of them had fallen victim to the Olsen-Danvers wedding debacle. It seems today isn’t the day that that whole dilemma is going to stop.

The wedding, of course, was still a few months away, but both parties were stressing about it as if it was going to happen immediately the next day.

Kara swoops in then, mussing up Alex’s hair, earning her an annoyed Hey stop it! before putting down another wine glass and pouring for Lena. Her arms are still wet from washing the dishes.

Lena murmurs her thanks and continues what she was saying, “Well, since you’ve finally remembered that I’m a billionaire. Let me pay for two weddings.”

Alex chokes on the wine.

“What? You’re kidding me, right?”

Lena continues typing, ignoring Alex’s shock, you’d think she didn’t just offer to pay for a wedding.

“Well, I mean, I’m never gonna get married,” Lena explains, “but if you let me do this, I can brag around that I’ve paid for two weddings. Not to mention I’m gonna make two brides very, very happy.”

“Or,” Kara interjects, lowering herself on the opposite side of the couch, perfect for Lena to lean back between Kara’s legs and lay her head on the side of her thigh. “You can just wait for Kelly to get here,” Kara says, pointedly. “Talk it out like normal adults and reach a compromise.”

Kara’s hands start to snake their way from Lena’s hair to Lena’s shoulders, massaging, all too aware that Lena won’t stop whatever it is she’s working on on her laptop till everybody gets here.

Lena lets herself melt and closes her eyes, sighing as Kara’s fingers dip at the junction of her neck and shoulder with just the right amount of pressure.

“I don’t wanna get married in the woods, Kara.”

Lena opens one eye to take a peek at Alex, who looks exasperated, her eyes pleading, gulping down another glass of wine.

“Don’t tell me,” Kara replies. “Tell Kelly.”

“The bugs, Kara,” Alex moans. “Imagine the bugs, and the moss and the ughhh.”

She dramatically thumps the back of her head on the couch.

“Imagine the soil. Clumpy wet soil. Eurgh. Ew. What if I fall face first in that? What if I trip over a stupid tree root in my heels? In my wedding dress?!”

“Alex, you don’t even have a dress yet,” Kara deadpans.

“I thought you were gonna wear a suit,” Lena adds.

“You two suck.” Alex pouts.

****

The rest of their friends arrive and Kara finally succeeds in prying Lena’s work laptop away from her. Alex was already teasing the line from tipsy to drunk by the time Kelly comes through the door.

“Let’s get married in Vegas!!!!” Is how Alex decides to greet her fiance.

Kelly laughs, gives her a peck then answers, “As much as that sounds like a very convenient wedding, I don’t think Eliza would appreciate that, baby.”

Alex frowns at being rejected, sags against the couch and crosses her arms. Why does Kelly always have to be right?

“How much has she had to drink?” Kelly turns to Kara.

“Uhh ask Lena. She made her switch to whiskey.”

Lena—who Kelly thinks was way too busy nuzzling against Kara’s neck to even answer her question—mumbles something that sounds like “S’was just two glasses.”

Kelly just shakes her head, makes Alex drink a glass of water. Her ring making a clink against the glass.

“Alright, what if,” Nia sing-songs, eyes sparkling with mischief, “we just settle this whole wedding thing with Charades?”

Nia claps her hands together like some gameshow host and Kelly takes a deep breath through the nose.

She’s been to enough Game Nights to know where this is headed.

Everybody else was intoxicated enough to accept the suggestion as a grand idea, not at all even thinking that: Hey, isn’t this something we should all take seriously?? Maybe ask the brides what they want, maybe???

Kara nods enthusiastically, agreeing immediately, “Oh!! That’s a great idea! Fun and fair at the same time!”

“Olsen vs. Danvers. Brides get to pick their teams.”

Nia pulls a white board out of nowhere, uncaps a marker and writes “Team Danvers”, “Team Olsen” separated by a neat line in the middle.

“Are we really letting Nia take charge of our wedding venue?" She hears Alex whisper from where she has her tucked at the crook of her neck.

Kelly sneaks a glance at the chaos happening before their eyes; Brainy already claiming to be on Kelly’s team, J’onn shaking his head opting to be the game scorer instead and refusing to participate, somebody’s shouting about: NIA, DREAM PROJECTIONS AT CHARADES IS CHEATING!!!!

Guess this is their life now.

Kelly smirks, boops Alex on the nose and says, “Scared you’ll lose, Danvers?”

****

Alex loses by three points.

“How was I supposed to know you were gesturing 'Transformers'!?!” She barks at Kara, throwing her hands in exasperation.

“I pointed at Nia!” Kara huffs, incredulous at the fact that her sister is blaming her.

Nia lost them a point too!

“What does Nia even have to do with it???” Alex’s voice grows higher in pitch. Her brows furrow in a mix of confusion and frustration.

“Trans, Alex. Trans.”

“Oh my God,” Alex groans. “How are you this dumb?”

And that was the story of how Kelly got her dream wedding.

****

The frenzy finally dies down, some time between Nia making up another drinking game and J’onn making her sit back down. A movie that none of them were watching provides a background noise to the almost lazy atmosphere. Kelly and Alex were pressed close on the far end of the couch, enjoying the temporary quiet.

“Guess we’re getting married in the woods, huh?” Alex murmurs.

“I guess we are,” Kelly whispers back. Alex beams at her, grinning dopily at the thought of finally getting the ending they deserve. It would be the perfect day, she has no doubt about that. No matter where they are. It would be perfect because they got there together.

Alex can’t wait.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing.”

Alex continues to smile stupidly, nudges her nose to Kelly’s.

“Just— I don’t really care where we get married, I guess.”

“Oh yeah?” Kelly raises an amused brow at her.

“Mm-hm. So long as you’re the one walking down the aisle.”

Alex presses their lips together, breathes Kelly in deep and for the first time that night, she feels that the future isn’t so scary, even though there is still a very large possibility that she might trip over a tree root on her wedding day.

Somebody interrupts their kiss.

“She’s only saying that ‘cos she lost.”

“Shut up, Luthor.”

****

“Text me when you get home!”

Lena hears Kara call loudly after her sister, before closing the door. Game Night has officially ended and as usual she’s still here. She’ll always be here, she thinks for a brief moment. The thought holding more depth than it should.

Kara didn’t even question her when everybody began filing out and Lena just started picking up the discarded dirty plates and walking them to the sink. They’re well past the point of asking each other if the other would stay over.

It was already some unspoken rule.

Already well past the point of Lena wanting to ask Kara what the hell it is they’re doing.

She’s bent over the sink, scrubbing—Kara doesn’t own a dishwasher for the sole reason that she finds doing the dishes therapeutic—when Lena takes a glance over her shoulder.

Kara is sitting on a high stool near the counter, casually flicking through her phone. It was Lena’s turn to do the dishes tonight. Once upon a time her doing the dishes would have resulted in a fight. “I can superspeed the dishes. Why would you even want to do them?” A statement that would be met with an eye roll.

Kara has learned not to fight her on it again, after around the 7th time that Lena had stubbornly insisted and Supergirl got doused with dishwashing liquid.

And now, it’s become some sort of routine, Kara does the dishes after lunch and Lena does the dishes after dinner. Oh, how the paparazzi would kill for this—Lena Luthor Knows What A Sponge Is?

“Is it true when you told Alex you’re never going to get married?”

Kara decides to break their quiet.

“Yeah, pretty certain about that one, why?” Lena turns around, cocks a curious brow. If she’s being honest she’s beyond certain that she’s not going to get married. She always jokes about how she’s married to L-Corp but it isn’t till now that she realizes how true that is, and...how lonely.

“I don’t know,” Kara murmurs, not meeting Lena’s eyes. “I just like the idea of you getting married, I guess.”

“What?” Lena chuckles at that; genuinely confused but still curious.

“Well, I mean—” Kara wobbles through her words.

“I guess, I just— I like the idea of you walking down the aisle...in a white dress,” Kara muses.

Then, “Or a suit!!” she quickly amends. “If you wanna wear a suit, that is. That can totally be arranged, you know?” Kara waves her hand around and it’s like now that she’s started, she can’t stop.

And Lena’s just standing there, water still dripping from her elbow, unsure of how to feel about Kara imagining her getting married. Quite an incredulous scene isn’t it? Her getting married? What a crazy thing to say, an even crazier scenario to imagine!

She snaps out of it, realizing Kara’s still rambling.

“I have no objections whatsoever with that, if you wanna wear a suit. And yeah, you know? I just— I like that idea. I like the idea of you dancing to your wedding song. The idea of you exchanging your vows, the idea of you-”

“Kara,” Lena decides to put a stop to it, since it’s clearly evident Kara won’t be stopping any time soon. And Lena's feeling way too many things that she doesn’t want to feel at the moment. She’s sure that she’s going to feel more, if she doesn’t put a stop to it herself.

“I’m well aware that it’s the best friend’s job to help with the bride’s wedding,” She says, “but, darling don’t you think you’re putting just a bit too much effort into this? Certainly seems like you’ve thought about it a lot.”

At that, Kara’s cheeks turn a light pink, squirming sheepishly under Lena’s questioning gaze.

Shouldn’t Kara be thinking about her own wedding? How beautiful she would look walking down the aisle. How her blonde hair would look so nicely with her dress. How happy she would finally be after finding someone she could share her life with. Not that Lena's been thinking about those kinds of things. No, of course not. That’d be hypocritical of her at this point. Why would she even— Why were they even talking about this again???

Lena tries to rein in it, tries to focus on Kara again; hands finally finding a dry towel, hesitantly walking into Kara’s space to hear the blonde more clearly.

“Well, I mean- Like I said, I do really like the idea of you getting married,” Kara repeats herself slowly.

And before Lena can come any closer, “Like the idea of you getting married…to me. More specifically,” Kara adds more quietly.

“What?”

Lena stands frozen.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard y- Kara, did you just?”

Lena’s heart is pounding away in her chest. Did she hear her right? Did Kara really just—

Lena’s a step away from her and Kara uses this to her advantage. She pulls Lena closer, tugging at her wrist, the towel dropping from Lena’s hands. Kara summons enough willpower to stare into Lena’s eyes.

“I like the idea of you getting married to me, Lena Luthor.”

“Kara, I’m sorry- What?” Lena jerks away from her, the words finally landing.

“Is that a no?”

Kara lets her go. She can’t focus on Lena’s heartbeat to assess the situation more. Kara’s own heart is betraying her, drumming so loudly in her ears.

“Uh- no, that's definitely not a no?” says Lena hesitantly, eyes wide, breathing nervously. She turns away from Kara for a minute to take a breath, hands fidgeting about.

She whirls around again to face, mutters, “You do realize marriages are for people who are—”

She pauses.

How do you exactly phrase that wedding proposals are for people who are actually in some kind of romantic relationship? And not for people who casually stay over every goddamn Thursday without fail?And okay, maybe sometimes, in a much different reality, would willingly commit fratricide to save the other? And in an also much different reality, willingly expose a secret identity to save the other?

Lena can’t find the right words.

“Oh, I don’t know, Kara,” Lena scoffs, shaking her head disbelievingly. “Marriage is for people who are actually dating each other.”

Kara takes her sarcasm as a good sign and pulls her in again.

“Well,” Kara begins. She can hear Lena’s heart thumping erratically, now that Kara’s gotten her bearings.

“We can always have our first date after the wedding, right?”

Aren’t they well past the point of dating anyway?

She’s got Lena standing between her legs now, her hands wrapping around her waist.

“First date and honeymoon all in one. That sounds great, doesn’t it? I can fly you wherever you want, Paris, Maldives, hell I even have a Fortress in the Arctic, if you’re into that.”

Lena stares at her, blinks once, twice; shakes her head and lets out a noise between a laugh and a scoff.

“Kara Zor-El, you are one ridiculous woman,” She breathes, putting a hand on Kara’s cheek. Because what else is there to say? This whole conversation really is ridiculous. But at the same time Lena feels like she’s floating? Like this may be the best moment of her life, and of course, it’s going to be ridiculous. This is Kara she’s dealing with, after all.

She doesn’t know what she’s going to do if Kara reveals this to be just some sort of joke.

But the way her blue eyes are piercing through Lena’s, so earnest and so warm, argues otherwise.

“So, what do you say? Wanna get married?”

“Are you serious right now?” Lena asks, still unbelieving. This is beyond crazy. They’ve fought aliens and monsters and traveled through time but this? This is just beyond crazy.

“Lena, do I look like I’m joking? And besides, you’d already offered to pay for two weddings, why not pay for our two weddings, instead?”

She shakes her head again, let’s herself fall closer to Kara, lets out a laugh against her neck.

“Mm. You want a Kryptonian ceremony too?”

“Yeah.” Kara’s voice turns shy. “If that’s alright by you.”

“Of course, that’s alright by me. I’d be honored.”

Her heart feels more than full at the thought of Kara wanting to share that part of her with Lena. She’s always had some doubts whenever the topic of Kara’s Kryptonian heritage arises, always half-afraid she’s overstepped on something that isn’t hers.

But looks like there was nothing to fear all along.

“So, we’re getting married, huh?” Kara wiggles her brows, her face breaking into a wide grin.

“Yes. Mm-hm,” Lena hums against her. “I do. I’d marry you. Let’s get married.”

“Seal it with a kiss?"

****

“Hi.”

Lena blearily opens her eyes, follows the soft voice, her bare back being caressed by the sun filtering through Kara’s curtains.

“Hi,” She whispers back. All this feels much too like a fever dream. She’s half-tempted to pinch herself just to check. She’s woken up beside Kara a million times before but she’ll never get used to the sight of soft golden hair and sleepy blue eyes.

Kara gives her a soft peck and the feel of her lips sends Lena reeling.

The previous night was a whirlwind in her mind’s eye. The moment Lena murmured her 'Yes, please.', Kara kissed her passionately. Once they broke away, Kara had zipped around the apartment, Lena too dazed to even ask what it was Kara was looking for.

She watched as Kara tore off a keychain from one of her bags, curled the keyring to fit Lena’s finger and whispered, “This’ll do. For now.”

Kara had kissed her knuckles reverently, her lips making Lena’s blood sing in her veins. The feel of mangled metal fitted just for her left hand is an imprint on her soul. A promise of more to come.

They didn’t make it out of the kitchen the first time. Kara had lifted her by the waist and set her down on the kitchen counter. Which was a good thing, because Lena couldn’t feel her legs after.

They didn’t make it to the bedroom the second time either. She had tackled Kara onto the couch, pinning her wrists together, licking at the shell of Kara’s ear. “My turn now,” Lena had whispered. The way Kara shivered underneath her was enough of a reward. How long had they been waiting for this?

Flashes of last night had her hips bucking slightly unto Kara’s leg sandwiched between her own, but before it could escalate further...

“I have exciting news to share,” Kara tells her.

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm,” Kara hums, now nosing at Lena’s hair.

“What is it?” Lena asks.

“I’m getting married.”

“Oh you are?” Lena plays along.

“Yes. I’m getting married to my best friend,” whispers Kara, almost conspiratorially. “How cool is that?”

Kara looks giddy with excitement and Lena knows she’s mirroring that exact same expression right now.

“Mm. Very cool, darling.”

Kara giggles and they trade more lazy kisses before Lena breaks away to breathe.

“Quite a coincidence though,” Lena husks out against Kara’s lips.

“Oh really? Why?” Kara asks, tries to keep a serious neutral face despite her nose scrunching up in that cute smile that Lena can’t resist

“I’m also getting married,” Lena confides, “To my best friend," she adds, eyes flashing. "Isn’t that great?”

“Very great.” Kara nods slowly, blonde hair falling into her face, a hand running through dark tresses.

“I love you,” Lena whispers, her lips brushing Kara’s softly.

“I love you, too.” Kara kisses her harder then, her hands lazily wandering along Lena’s skin.

They lie there quietly for a few moments, basking in the morning glow and then, “Alex will kill us.”

Lena snorts, twists in the sheets and says, “I think your sister is too busy planning her wedding to even think about plotting our murder.”

read follow-up here.

[alcinadimitrescuwu]

This Woman's Work Part I (Alcina x Fem!Reader Fanfic)

Warnings: NSFW at the beginning, but the rest is just fluff. Also some morning sickness and nosebleeding.

Part II Part III

You awaken to sunlight filtering through the curtains in your bedroom. You try to stretch, but find it a tad difficult. Especially considering your 9’6” vampire wife has cocooned herself around you. You gently move your body so you are facing Alcina. There have been so many moments like this in your marriage where you can hardly believe you have the pleasure of waking up every morning next to such a beautiful creature. You take her in, from the creases under her eyes, her long lashes framing her pale cheeks, her adorable laugh lines, and her parted lips free of her usual deep carmine pigment. You love moments like this when she is in such a deep slumber as it is the most peaceful you’ve ever seen her.

You press your lips gently to her temple and see those gorgeous golden eyes open. She smiles and runs a thumb along your cheek. You lean into her touch kissing the palm of her hand. “Good morning, draga mea,” she says, giving you a chaste kiss.

“Good morning, my love,” you say, stretching your arms above your head. “Do we have anything special planned today?” You turn to her and can’t help but notice the way Alcina is looking at your body arch as its stretches.

Alcina gives you a wolfish grin. “We haven’t anything planned until after luncheon.” She suddenly takes you in her powerful arms and flips you so she is above you. “So we have the whole morning to ourselves.”

You suddenly find that your mouth has run dry. The neck of her nightgown is gaping, so you can see the full outline of each breast.

She takes you gently by the chin and presses her lips to yours. You pull her down so she is lying down on top of you and weave your hands through her raven hair. She shifts her body weight so she doesn’t crush you and deepens the kiss, coaxing your mouth open with her tongue. You take her wrists and place them above you on either side of the pillow.

Alcina breaks from the kiss and chuckles. “Iubirea mea, how will I take your clothes off now?”

“You can use your teeth, can’t you?” you reply breathlessly.

Alcina breaks out into a wicked smile. “Great idea.”

She lowers herself near your chest and takes the ribbon fastening your nightgown in her teeth. The glint of her fangs flashes in the early morning light. You gasp as she rips the ribbon out and the top of your nightgown falls away, revealing your breasts. She cups one of your breasts and moves in to kiss you again. However, you notice her smile falls and a look of concern crosses her face.

“Darling, what’s wrong?” you ask, trying and failing to keep the whine out of your voice. “Why did you stop?”

She puts a hand to your nose and it comes away bloody. “Your nose is bleeding?”

“What?”

“Here, sit up.” Aclina pulls you up to a sitting position on the bed and adjusts your nightgown so your chest is covered again. She fetches one of her handkerchiefs from the nightstand and presses it to your nose. “Just hold it there and try not to move too much. There’s a good girl.”

Alcina stays there while you keep the handkerchief pressed to your nose to stem the blood flow. “Sorry, I know this isn’t very attractive,” you apologize.

“Darling, that is the furthest thing on my mind right now.” She brushes a stray curl from your forehead. “I just want to ensure that you’re alright.”

Once the blood has stopped flowing, the entire handkerchief is soiled. “Sorry about your handkerchief.”

“Iubirea mea, that handkerchief has seen so much blood over the years. This isn’t the worst it’s been, trust me.” She looks at you with such tender concern your heart melts. “How are you feeling now?’

You feel your stomach lurch. “I think I’m gonna puke.”

Luckily you make it to the bathroom in time.

You lean against the toilet scene, spent from heaving. You glance over at Alcina who had been holding your hair while you were sick. A look of worry has creased her brow. “Maybe we should take you to Mother Miranda and have her take a look at you.”

You shake your head. “No, I’m sure I must have caught something while I was in the village.”

Alcina gives you a stubborn look. “No malady I know gives you nosebleeds in addition to nausea.”

You’re about to protest, when suddenly it dawns on you. “I’m late.”

“Late for what, darling?”

“My cycle,” you lean your head against the bathroom wall, your nausea having passed for the moment. “I was supposed to have it last week.”

Alcina’s breath hitches. “Does that mean…?”

“Only one way to find out!” you say grabbing a pregnancy test from the medicine cabinet. You turn to your wife, who is still standing there. “Er…This bit’s rather private.”

Alcina tilts her head in confusion. “Draga mea, I’ve seen every inch of you. I don’t think there’s anything I’ve missed.”

You feel your cheeks redden. “Aclina, do you know the way a pregnancy test works?”

Your wife shakes her head, her curls bouncing to and fro. “I’m ashamed to admit I don’t know.”

You motion for her to lower her dark head so you can whisper it in her ear. Her brow knots in confusion. “Isn’t that a bit archaic given the technological advances of your species?”

“They haven’t found anything better,” you say brightly and give her a playful slap on the bum. “Now, shoo.”

You wash your hands and brush your teeth for good measure while waiting for the results. When you are done, you glance at the stick and behold two parallel lines. No doubt about it now. You are pregnant.

Alcina raps her hands on the door. “Iubirea mea? May I come in now?”

You wipe a tear from your eye and smile. “Yes, darling.”

She comes in, bending her head under the frame. She is wringing her hands, a nervous habit.

“We’re pregnant!”

Alcina doesn’t move for the longest time. She puts her hand on her heart and then rushes over to you and takes your face in her hands. She gives you a kiss on the forehead and leans it against yours. Her aureate eyes are brimming over with tears of joy.

The moment is broken when your daughters suddenly materialize from the bug shrouds. They begin talking all at once. “Maman? Is it true that you’re pregnant?” “Maman, did you cheat on Mother? I’ll kill you if you did!” “Oh, thank God that means I’m not the youngest anymore!”

You wave a placating hand over their babble. “Girls, girls, yes I’m pregnant. No, I did not cheat on your mother.”

Alcina turns her adoring gaze from you to her daughters. “We actually meant to tell you girls this, but we have been consulting with Mother Miranda for us to have a child. The embryo was implanted a couple months ago and we weren’t sure if it would be a success, but-” She gives you a peck on the cheek. “It worked!”

The girls erupt into cheers. Caught up in the jubilation, Alcina picks you up and swings you around. The smile falls from her face as she sees your face turn green. “Oh, dear.”

Lucky for both of you, you’re already in the bathroom.

[dreamwritesimagines]

Twisted 29 - Miracles and Endings [Spencer Reid x Reader]

A.N.: Oh my goodness, the last chapter before the epilogue! ❤ Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback my loves, I hope you will like it! ❤ Ilysm! ❤❤❤

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Murder, serial killers, death, mentions of sex, drinking.

Word Count: 4600

Summary: Sometimes, miracles happen.

The following weeks were more of a bliss than you were used to. It was like you could finally breathe, finally lose yourself in peace.

You heaved a sigh and snuggled into the soft covers, not ready to leave the pleasant haze of sleep yet but when you felt the empty space beside you, you opened your eyes and sat up straight in bed, looking around.

“Spencer?” you called out and heard the footsteps in the living room. You yawned as you stretched your body, then pushed the covers off of you, grabbed your dressing gown to put it on and made your way to the living room.

You found him by the desk, busy with something you couldn’t see just yet and you cleared your throat, making him jump out of his skin before he pushed whatever he was holding into his satchel.

“Hey,” you said when he turned to you, “What have you got there?”

“Nothing,” he said way too quickly, “Nothing, I- I didn’t hear you wake up.”

“Oh, clearly,” you grinned before you walked to him and pecked him on the lips, “You’re not thinking about bailing on the brunch, are you?”

“I can’t believe we put your family’s brunch and team’s dinner on the same Sunday.”

“Yes but that way, we can do whatever we want the next Sunday,” you pointed out, “Including staying in bed whole day.”

“The whole day?” he mused and you kissed his lips again,

“I mean, I’m sure we can find something to…entertain ourselves.”

“Oh I’m sure,” he wrapped his arms around you, and your phone beeped, making you heave a sigh.

“That’s our cue to get ready, I guess,” you said, “Before my mom barges in here.”

“Does she even know where I live?”

You shot him a look, “Spencer. Come on.”

“Right.”

You reached out to run your fingers through his curls, “So, your last week at BAU,” you said, “How are we feeling?”

“I mean, I’m already teaching most of the time, it was just…formalities at BAU at this point,” he said, “But yeah. Next week will be interesting I guess.”

“A new slate,” you reminded him, “It will be fun. And you know, I will still love you when you’re this old and hot professor, so keep that in mind.”

Even though your joke was supposed to make him laugh, you couldn’t help but notice that look of hesitation on his face.

“You—you do, right?” he asked, and you raised your brows.

“Hm?”

“You love me?”

You blinked a couple of times, then let out a small laugh.

“Oh wow, sex makes you clingy doesn’t it professor?”

“Y/N.”

“No seriously, having to wait for a couple of weeks because of something so trivial-“

“Broken ribs are not trivial,” he corrected you and you rolled your eyes.

“Whatever. If this is your way of saying last night was mind blowing for you,” you said “So much that it made you forget one very simple fact…”

“Very simple fact, huh?” he repeated with a smile and you nodded.

“Consider this your daily reminder,” you said and stood on your tiptoes to give him a kiss, “I love you,” you muttered against his lips, kissing him again, “So, so much.”

He pulled you closer to himself, deepening the kiss, his fingertips caressing your neck before you pulled back with a sigh.

“We should get ready,” you told him, “No distractions professor, come on."

                                                   ***

Since the weather was so nice and warm, your mother had decided that you could have the brunch outside. The maid let you in and Lily screeched, then rushed to hug Spencer as soon as she saw you two and he lifted her up.

“Is that a new headband?” he joked and she giggled.

“Yes!” she said “Hi auntie!”

“Hi bug,” you kissed her cheek, “What, you like him better or something?”

“No, but you can’t lift me yet,” she said with her nose in the air, “Mama said it’d hurt you.”

“She does have a point,” Spencer pointed out and you narrowed your eyes at him.

“I’m fine!”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Mina commented from the living room, making Kenzie let out a laugh. Spencer’s phone started ringing as soon as you stepped into the room and he had to put Lily down.

“Excuse me,” he said and made his way to the hallway while Nolan approached you to kiss you on the cheek.

“Hey there,”

“Hey, where’s mom?”

“Upstairs, picking earrings,” he said, “The table isn’t ready yet but if Spencer wants, I have this wonderful coffee, he needs to try it.”

“Why do I get no love today?” you asked to no one in particular and Kenzie smiled before wrapping her arms around you.

“Aw but I love you!” she said, making you grin.

“Only you are going to be in my will, none of these people.” You motioned around the room and Mina scoffed.

“I think I’ll be fine thank you. I’ve seen your wardrobe, I’m not impressed.”

“How dare you?” you gasped, making Lily giggle.

“What’s a will?” she asked and Mina shook her head.

“It’s a grown up document baby.”

“Speaking of grown up documents,” you grinned and turned to Nolan, “Please tell me we won’t have any surprises during brunch. Because me and Spencer have this bet going on—“

“Oh please, he’s not going to ask her here,” Mina said, “It’ll be on top of a mountain or something.”

“Mountains are cold this time of the year.”

“I just want to point out,” you said, “If it is a plan that will take place in near future—Lily, cover your ears baby.”

Lily put her hands over her ears, looking up at you curiously.

“My assistant tried to kill me very recently, so I’m behind my schedule and my client list is full.”

“It’s not full, and you’re not getting out of this that easy.”

“I almost died!”

“Yeah and see, now you have another excuse besides my father is a serial—“

“Can I listen now please?” Lily asked very loudly, making you smile and you nodded so that she could uncover her ears as Mina pulled her to her lap to press a kiss into her hair, fixing her headband.

“Besides, Nolan won’t have something huge, right Nolan?”

“Yeah like… hundred people, maximum.” Nolan stated and you shook your head.

“Unbelievable,” you said, “I’m going outside to get some fresh air.”

You grabbed your cigarette pack from your purse, then made your way to the backyard while the table was still being set, and you lit your cigarette, closing your eyes for a moment, laughing to yourself.

You had already prepared a plan for your mom’s wedding but it didn’t mean you couldn’t whine about it.

You exhaled the smoke, then looked over your shoulder when someone touched the small of your back.

“Hey,” you smiled at Spencer, “Is everything okay?”

He swallowed thickly and nodded, “Uh huh,” he said, “Everything is fine. But um- Luke just called.”

“About tonight’s dinner?”

“No, about um…” he pursed his lips for a moment, “I’m only telling you this because you should hear this from me, not anyone else.”

“Oh God, what happened?” you pressed a hand over your chest, “Spencer, is everyone okay?”

“Yeah!” he said quickly, “Yeah, it’s not like that. It’s just um…”

“What?”

“Lincoln is dead.”

You gawked at him, trying to wrap your mind around it and ignoring the goosebumps on your skin. “I’m sorry?”

“There was an accident,” he said, “Apparently some inmates got into a fight, and while they were closing the doors, there was this glitch so his door didn’t close completely before someone could get into his cell.”

You blinked a couple of times, “A glitch,” you repeated, “What glitch?”

“It’s all automatic, the doors are connected to the security system.”

“What security system?”

He crossed his arms, “I didn’t ask—“

“Yes you did,” you said, “What security system?”

He didn’t even flinch. “Yates Security.”

“You can’t be serious,” you covered your mouth and he shrugged his shoulders, as if it meant nothing.

“These things happen.”

“They don’t just….” you trailed off “That wasn’t an accident, you know it as much as I do!”

“No actually, I don’t,” he said, “I just know that the FBI has no reason to investigate it further.”

You let out a breath, still staring up at him.

“Did you know?” you asked him, “That it would happen?”

“No,” he said, “But even if I knew, I wouldn’t have stopped it.”

You shook your head, “You don’t mean that.”

He let out a bitter laugh, “I do,” he said, “I really do. Hell, I’d help if I knew.”

“Spencer-“

“You don’t think I wanted to do that?” he cut you off, “While we were waiting for you?  I could’ve just gone to his room and make sure it was done. Make sure he wouldn’t wake up again— I was going to do it, Y/N. I stood up to go to his floor, right before a nurse told us that you were out of the surgery.”

You were supposed to feel guilt. You were supposed to feel something, but you knew what he meant. You knew that red haze of anger all too well, that was exactly how you had felt back at the cabin, when Lincoln had mentioned hurting Spencer.

“I… I need to talk to my mom, excuse me,” you said and made your way upstairs to your mother’s bedroom before you opened it.

“Oh welcome honey!” she said, putting her earrings on, “I’ll be right downsta—“

“Lincoln is dead,” you cut her off and she froze only for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, not a huge tragedy.”

“Mom.”

“I doubt anyone will miss that monster.”

“Nolan wouldn’t do it without you asking him,” you shook your head, “It was your idea, wasn’t it?”

She rolled her eyes, then looked at you. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Mom you—“ you lowered your voice, looking around before you took a step towards her, “I never asked you to do that. I would never. Me doing it is one thing, you doing it—“

“Is exactly the same thing,” she finished your sentence for you, “I made my decision while waiting for you to wake up, Y/N. Don’t feel bad about it.”

“I don’t feel bad about it!” you insisted, “That’s not it! But it’s my mess, you guys aren’t supposed to be involved in this—“

“Why did you go with Lincoln again?” she asked you, taking you by surprise, “You and I both know you were more than capable of taking him down. Remind me, why did you follow him to that cabin?”

That was more than enough to make you fall silent before you shifted your weight.

“I thought he had Lily.”

Your mother smiled slightly, “There you go.”

“Mom it’s different though!” you said through your teeth, “You and Mina—you guys don’t have it in you!”

“We all have it in us, Y/N,” she said, “When it comes to protecting the ones we love. I wasn’t going to let him hurt my daughter and get away with it. I don’t care who gets hurt in the process as long as my family survives.”

A silence fell upon you as she heaved a sigh.

“Let’s go downstairs, I’m starving!” she said and pressed a kiss on your cheek, then walked out of the room while you stood there, frozen.

Through the shock, your mind was slowly putting the pieces together.

When your father had threatened Spencer and you unleashed hell on him, that look in his eyes wasn’t just intimidation. It was a familiar fear because he had seen your mother in you, that was why he was shocked that much.

Contrary to everything he had said, you weren’t really his daughter.

You were your mother’s.

                                                     ***

You didn’t feel bad. In fact, you didn’t feel a damn thing about Lincoln’s death to be honest, this dinner with Spencer’s friends was of higher importance than that monster who had tormented you for months.

Prey dies, predator moves on, your father would say.

Or as your mother had said, as long as your family survived…

“Are you okay?” Spencer asked as he pulled over in front of a mansion that he had said belonged to Rossi, and you turned your head.

“Yeah,” you said, “Yeah, I’m just thinking.”

“About Lincoln?”

“Yeah,” you said, “It’s just that… I think I now understand that everyone has some red lines, right? Maybe I’m not that different than the rest. The rest just doesn’t really think about it, that’s all.”

Spencer tilted his head, “So in other words, I was right?”

“I didn’t say that,” you pointed at him as he grabbed the wine bottle and got out of the car with you, “Speaking of death, my mom and Nolan’s wedding will have one hundred guests.”

“Okay?”

“And they will make me plan it and I’ll die.”

“You won’t die.”

“My mom has the fury of ten brides combined,” you grumbled as you both walked to the mansion, “On a good day, if I may add.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“I wish I were. Once I showed up to brunch wearing a silver ring,” you said, “She gave me a speech for a whole hour. An hour, Spencer!”

He let out a laugh and rang the doorbell as you shifted your weight, insecurity hitting you out of nowhere.

“Your whole team, you said?”

“And their spouses.”

“So no pressure at all,” you said, making him smile.

“You already know most of them.”

“Yeah but it’s different.”

“How is it different?”

“Well it’s—“ you started, but then the door opened and Garcia squealed at the sight of you two.

“Finally!” she hugged you carefully and then pulled you both into the mansion, “We were wondering where you two were!”

“Can we eat now that they’re here?” Luke called out and Garcia shook her head.

“Unbelievable, honestly,” she said as you followed her to the living room. Everyone was already there, and you greeted them, then Garcia introduced you to Matt’s wife and JJ’s husband before leading you to the kitchen where Rossi was cooking.

You hadn’t really had chance to talk to him a lot during the case, but you guessed it was a good sign that he had allowed Spencer to bring you there, considering everyone in there was either in the team or their spouses.

“Hi,” you smiled at him while Garcia and Luke bickered about food, and the man who was talking to a woman by the corner of the kitchen looked up, then both of them approached you.

“Pretty boy!” he greeted Spencer and Spencer hugged him.

“Hi Derek,” he said with a huge smile, “Savannah.”

“And this must be the girl you kept calling me to get some advice about,” he said and offered his hand, “Derek Morgan.”

“Oh I heard so much about you!” you said as you shook his hand, “Nice to meet you.”

“Not as much as I heard about you,” he said, “This is my wife, Savannah.”

“Hi,” you shook hands with her as well and Derek grinned.

“So now that you’re here, has he ever told you that he once called me at one in the morning to talk about you?”

You let out a laugh, looking up at Spencer who was rubbing the back of his neck, averting his gaze.

“Aw, that’s so cute,” you said, “What did he say?”

“Don’t.” Spencer shook his head fervently and Savannah raised her brows, then turned to Derek.

“Mmm, does this mean we can’t talk about the time he called me to help him decide which magnet looked better?”

Your jaw dropped, “Wait, what?”

“I suffered for two hours, you guys can’t whine about that!” Luke called out, “I was there with him in that damn shop!”

“I’m begging everyone in this kitchen to tell me more embarrassing stories.”

“Oh how about that time—“ Derek started but Spencer cleared his throat.

“Rossi, we brought wine!” he said loudly as he put the wine on the counter and Rossi tilted his head.

“I’m guessing the lady picked that,” he said and you smiled.

“Spencer mentioned you were making carbonara,” you said, “I um- I visited this small city in Italy couple of years back, and the cook there swore by this.”

Rossi stared at you and Derek let out a laugh,

“Yeah, you won him over just like that.”

“Where was it?”

“Parma.”

Rossi put the towel over his shoulder on the counter, “Please tell me you have tried torta fritta.”

“Are you kidding? I basically lived on that for the whole weekend!” you said and Rossi’s jaw dropped, “Seriously, I ate it for breakfast, and then for lunch with—“

“Rich people,” Luke shook his head as he reached out to get the wine bottle from the counter “But now I want to try it out.”

“Have you learned how to cook carbonara while you were there?” Rossi asked and you shook your head.

“Nah I don’t… I can’t cook. I know how to buy stuff but I don’t know anything about food aside from that.”

Luke frowned, “Your parents never taught you?”

“Not really. My mom taught me how to walk in heels and my dad taught me how to stab someone in the jugular.”

A silence fell upon the kitchen and you shifted your weight.

“Wrong crowd,” you murmured and Spencer pulled you closer to him while Luke shook his head.

“No, now we know that you were raised by wolves.”

“Newbie!” Garcia hissed, making him grin.

“This is why you’re no longer allowed to drive my car, Luke,” you said as Spencer rested his chin on top of your head, “No croissants for you either.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” he shot back and Rossi clapped his hands together.

“Dinner is ready, everyone to the living room, come on.”

“Um- Derek, can I talk to you for a moment? And Luke?” Spencer asked and you looked up at him.

“If this is about embarrassing stories, I’m so going to find out.”

“Oh we can tell you,” Savannah motioned between her and Garcia and you grinned.

“Victory.”

“I’ll be right there,” Spencer said and you nodded, then walked to the living room with Rossi, Savannah and Garcia. You took your seat beside Garcia, and JJ frowned.

“Where’s Spencer?”

“Talking to Derek and Luke in the kitchen,” you said while Rossi put generous amounts of pasta in everyone’s plates, and Garcia squeezed your hand.

“I’m so glad you’re okay and here with us now,” she said, “We all are.”

You couldn’t help but smile at that, “Thank you,” you said, “It…it means a lot.”

“So, do you want to hear an embarrassing story?” Savannah asked and JJ turned to look at you two.

“We’re exchanging embarrassing stories?”

“About Spencer’s romantic side.”

JJ let out a laugh, “Oh I have a lot of them, if you’re interested.”

“I’m very interested,” you said and Savannah cleared her throat.

“So do I start with the one when he called Derek right before this…ball you were attending? Apparently he panicked because you looked too good and he didn’t know how to talk to you.”

Your jaw dropped, “You’re not serious.”

“He told me to fix his phone while you weren’t texting him, because he thought his phone was broken.” Garcia tipped her glass towards you as if toasting.

“Oh my God.”

“He walked into my desk when Luke was telling Tara about you.” JJ added and you let out a laugh.

“Am I dreaming?” you asked, “I’m begging you, please give me more stories like these, I thought I was the one who was a mess in the beginning.”

“Not at all, you should’ve seen the texts he sent me.”

That reminded you to check your phone, but then you remembered you had left it in the kitchen and you nibbled on your lip before pushing your chair back.

“Excuse me,” you said and approached the kitchen, the voices reaching you now.

“I just…” Spencer heaved a sigh, “I don’t think you understand.”

“I don’t?” Derek asked, “Spencer, you do realize that I went through the same thing, right?”

“I mean I didn’t,” Luke said, “But I still don’t think it’s that difficult, man.”

“See? He doesn’t understand the stress it puts you under, not me.” Derek said and Luke scoffed.

“You guys faced serial killers, that’s what scares you off?”

Ah. They were talking about changing jobs.

Of course Spencer was stressed about it. Derek had already left the BAU and Luke didn’t, and he wanted to get their opinion.

You knocked on the doorframe and cleared your throat before stepping inside.

“Sorry, I left my purse here,” you grabbed it off the counter and Spencer ran his hand through his hair.

“Oh it’s- it’s okay, we were done.”

“I’m starving.” Luke commented and Derek grinned, and both of them walked out of the kitchen, leaving you and Spencer there. He stared at you like he was almost hesitant and you tilted your head.

“Is everything okay?” you asked, and he cleared his throat.

“Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” you stepped closer to him, “Because you know…changing jobs and all, it might be a little stressful.”

“What?” he asked as if he didn’t understand what you were talking about, then it dawned on him, “Ah no. No, I’m not stressed about that.”

“Then something else?” you asked, “Spencer, you can tell me anything, you know that right?”

He squeezed your hand and pulled you closer to wrap his arms around you, “Yeah, I know.”

“But you won’t,” you said with a smile, reaching out to smooth the lines of worry between his brows and he let out a breath.

“I will,” he said, “It’s just that um… not right now?”

“Okay. That’s alright, whenever you’re ready.”

He nodded, then pressed his lips on top of your head.

“I love you,” he mumbled into your hair and you ran your hand up and down over his arm, then pulled back,

“I love carbonara,” you said, making him laugh. “Come on, dinner is getting cold.”

                                                    ***

By the time you got home, it was already night time. You kicked off your heels and made your way to Spencer’s bedroom to change into an oversized shirt, then whined to yourself when you realized you still had make up on.

Well. That could wait until you checked your email.

Apparently, Kenzie had sent you a list of her colleagues that worked as assistants and you really needed to replace Erica with someone hopefully less tendencies to want you dead. You had left your laptop in the living room so you stretched out and made your way to the living room.

“I wish Kenzie could just decide on someone instead of me,” you said as Spencer took a deep breath, looking for something in his bag “It would make it so much easier. What are you looking for? Maybe I saw it around.”

Spencer looked over his shoulder, the look in his eyes softening almost immediately and a smile pulled at his lips.

“What?” you asked, and he held out his hand.

“Come here,” he said and you took his hand before you let him pull you closer.

“What’s happening, professor?” you giggled as he pushed your hair behind your ear.

“You’re so beautiful.”

“I know, it’s the eyeliner.”

“It really isn’t,” he said and a fire crept under your cheeks, making you scrunch up your nose.

“It’s the oxytocin,” you corrected yourself, making him laugh before he licked his lips and grabbed something from his bag.

“I..I got you something,” he handed you something that looked either like a notebook or a book wrapped in giftwrap and you gasped, snatching it out of his hand.

“Thank you! Can I open it now?”

“Yeah,” he sounded breathless for some reason as he stepped back and you turned around, carefully unwrapping it.

Paradise by Dante.

“Spencer…”

“It’s um- it’s a special edition,” he said from behind you, “You should check out the preface.”

You nodded fervently and opened the cover to see this preface, but Spencer’s handwriting caught your attention, and it took you a second to actually acknowledge what he had written on the page.

Will you marry me?

Your breath got caught in your throat and your heart started pacing in your chest, making you stare at the page for a couple of second with your jaw hanging before you looked over your shoulder, then turned around to see him on one knee, holding the tiny box which had the most gorgeous ring you had ever seen in it.

“Oh my God…” you heard yourself breathe out, tears already filling your eyes, “Yes!”

An almost giddy laughter escaped from his lips, “Can I- can I ask first?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I just— Spencer, how did you afford that ring? Not that it—just let me know if you robbed a bank. I feel like that’s something I might need to know.”

Spencer pulled his brows together, “For a person who specializes in weddings, you’re terrible at this part.”

“Because this part isn’t my specialty- just ask me so that I can say yes.”

He smiled as if he was hypnotized, then nodded.

“I um…” he cleared his throat, “I asked your family first because I know how much it means to you to have their blessing even if you pretend like it doesn’t matter,” he said, “And um- they all gave their blessing. Mina sat me down and threatened me for a full hour before that, but she did in the end.”

Jesus Christ, how had no one told you anything? Not even an implication?

“When we first met,” he said, “That morning, I didn’t… I don’t know what I expected, but not you. It was supposed to be just a case, up until that point it was like any other and then you showed up in that hallway and for a second, just for a second, everything got silent in my head. I wasn’t…I’m not very used to that.”

You bit at your lip, holding your breath.

“And then, when I saw you again you told me something about Dante and Beatrice. You said, he sees her as his savior, his light, his eternal love. Even if they weren’t together. It didn’t make sense before, I’d read Dante multiple times but I didn’t exactly understand the depth of love you could….feel for someone that changes you completely,” he smiled at you sweetly, “I do now.”

You could only stare at him,

“So…” he took a deep breath, “The lady who imparadises my mind. Will you marry me?”

You let out a teary laugh and nodded fervently, tears rolling down your cheeks.

“Yes,” you managed to say through a sob and he grinned, then stood up to put the ring on your finger, pulling you into a deep kiss. You wrapped your arms around his neck, standing on your tiptoes.

“I love you so much,” you sniffled, wiping at your eyes, “God, you’re….this is perfect.”

His smiled widened and you pecked him on the lips again before hugging him tight and you buried your face into his chest, inhaling his scent.

You had been wrong earlier.

You would get to have your own fairytale ending after all. 

Epilogue

[gryffindors-weasley]

Starlit Confession

Young!Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: On a camping trip tradition, your friends have got other plans neither you or Sirius are aware of.

Requested by @expelliarmusmyass : “can i request a classic enemies to lovers "there's only one bed" sirius x reader where all the marauders (+lily!) have a sleepover or camping trip of some sorts and lily and remus finally decide they need to get reader and sirius already and plan to get them to sleep in the same room/bed/tent ? thanks !!”

Word Count: 5.4k

Warnings: little bit of jealousy, mutual pining, fluff, kissing

A/N: Thank you for my first Sirius request!! I absolutely loved everything about it, I hope you enjoy!

July 1979

The breeze swept coolly across your face against the warm summer sun as you stuck your hand outside the window, the air gliding over the back of it. You were headed to the stretch of woods that you’ve all come to know so well, something that was highly anticipated the moment the summer season had begun. Camping. It was something you and your friends had made into tradition without much discussion against it for the last three years. Lily had saved up for the very Volkswagen bus you’d been sitting in, knowing for a fact she’d get more use out of it than a simple small car; she knew her four closest friends were in it for the long haul and that was something that would always remain true.

It was mostly a golden yellow color, near orange, its roof white with a matching tire cover on the front of it between two round headlights. It was adorable, it was perfect, and most importantly it was big enough to fit a boisterous group of friends that surely needed the space. It’d already housed jovial memories that would be cherished for years to come.

You’d each packed up a bag or two, tossed them in the back and set off to the ever familiar place the five of you had found to be the perfect spot. A clearing amongst the woods, a place not far from the waters edge. It looked near enchanting when sunbeams filter through old yet thriving trees, as much as it could be for being a place without the very magic you’ve known all your life. It was perhaps your favorite tradition out of all others that had been created, one that you never failed to look forward to. No matter what’s been going on with any of you, traditions were never missed or forgotten. That was one thing that was constant and one thing would never change.

Another thing that had been just the same was the constant need for Sirius Black to get under your skin. You’d known him ever since you both were fourteen years old, and every day since then had been a battle of who’d been more witty and your three best friends had yet to determine who had been the rightful owner of that title. You were always bickering about something or another, always tossing narrowed stares and scrunched noses, grumbling under breaths and eye rolls. Even despite that, James, Remus and Lily especially had been convinced that there were feelings amongst it all. It hadn’t been too terribly hard for them to jump to that conclusion. They had their suspicions with each and every look Sirius had found himself giving you when your attention was fixed elsewhere. At the very same look you’d cast upon him when he wasn’t looking. They were absent minded actions to you both, and that was all the more reason for them to think there was something there.

It drove the tight knit group absolutely mad to see their two dearest friends love each other without even knowing of that very fact—James found himself far too close on multiple occasions to flat out complaining of the sheer obliviousness between you two. To simply tell them how blind the two of you must be. But each and every time he’d nearly done so it was promptly stopped by a stern Lily Evans who was not to be defied. They felt another day of this was simply not an option, too painful to watch a second more.

Even now, as you sat in the back with the raven haired wizard, the seating arrangement proved to make for an interesting trip. There was a flurry of jests and quips to match them; it was inevitable when he’d taken the seat right next to you, Remus on his other side. It’d been something entirely intentional on Lupin’s part, though the bickering was something to be expected.

First it had been over who was taking up too much of whose space, something accompanied by a lighthearted series of shoves and stifled laughter when you looked away in hopes the other wouldn’t see it. Then it had been when he’d changed the radio from your favorite song to his with a simple twitch of his fingers, a back and forth battle of rock and ABBA that nearly broke the radio, one that nearly drove your friends insane.

But now, Sirius had found himself staring as he so often does, at the way you waved your hand with the breeze, the way said breeze sifted through your hair and the way you sang along with James to the very same ABBA song that’d been on repeat for the past fifteen minutes. He’d reckon your voice far better than that of the brunette behind the wheel. He doesn’t know just why he always finds himself settling his attention upon you every moment he gets the chance. Or maybe he does and just refuses to admit the reasons for it. But there was something about you, there was always something about you to be admired. You were utterly enamoring even when you’ve got your brows scrunched over something entirely because of him. They never seem to stay furrowed for long.

“If you take a picture, it just might last longer,” you suggest with a raised brow and a smile indicative of your teasing, effectively pulling him from his thoughts.

“I’m sorry, it’s just you’ve got a bug in your hair,” he counters quickly, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards.

Your eyes are quick to widen slightly as your hand rises to your head in mild panic, combing your fingers through your hair in a hurry. His laughter was a telltale sign of his deception, that ever so familiar frown pulling down your lips as you swat at his shoulder. “Sirius Black, you’re a pain!”

His laughter was immediate as he caught your wrist from swatting him once more, “I’m not lying! There is something in your hair.”

He releases your arm in favor of reaching upwards, the tips of his fingers pinching the delicate flower petal tangled within your hair. Your words fell silent as his fingertips traveled down to the very end of your hair, a gentle action that had your cheeks staining what must have been an obvious pink as you found yourself looking at the smile on his lips. One that was soft and lopsided, one that grew as he held up the small pink petal before tilting his head at you. You hadn’t even realized you’d been holding your breath until that moment, hadn’t realized the new found quiet had drawn everyone’s attention.

“Told you so,” he states confidently, blowing away the petal and leaving it to flutter to your feet.

You squinted at him and mimicked his words to quickly move on from dwelling on your burning cheeks, something that brought a different kind of smile to his face mere seconds before you’d ruffled his own hair in retaliation.

“I meant what I said,” you remind him, trying to fight your grin as you watch tangled strands of black hair fall back against his cheeks once more.

“I am so terribly hurt,” he scoffs, placing a hand over his heart in a display of faux offense.

In that moment you settle for shaking your head, biting the inside of your cheek in a pitiful attempt to conceal your smile. A smile so awfully contagious he found himself mirroring it, having lingered on his lips even when you’d looked away from him in favor of looking out of the window. In doing so, you missed the way James had been glancing at you both in the rear view, at the way he shared a knowing grin with Lily, who’d then done so with Remus. It was a moment missed by you both, how could it not be with the way your thoughts had entirely been about each other unbeknownst to you.

It’d been quiet after that, save for the radio and James’ occasional startling outburst of song should a part come on that he’s fond of. It’d been peaceful and upbeat as Sirius crossed his arms over his chest, trying desperately not to think of how you’d made his stomach twist and flutter with butterflies. It was nothing, that’s what he told himself.

—

The place was just as beautiful and just the same as you’d left it the previous year, the sun still beaming through tall trees and the birds still chirping just as contently as they always do. Upon closer inspection, your initials had been carved in the very same tree, untouched since the five of you had left your mark on it the very first time you found it. Of course, it’d become weathered over time, moss having flourished over the bark, but the engraved letters remain regardless of that very fact.

The fire pit that James and Sirius had made still sat in the center of it all, it’s crumbled stones and charred logs and sticks sitting in a heap within it, waiting to be lit once more. Even the logs circling around it to serve as seats had still sat untouched by anyone else, unmoved from how they were left the previous trip out there.

It was exciting to finally be back there, to finally be out of the car in a place you longed to see again. All was well, except one thing.

“That is absolutely not happening,” you state matter of factly, the twigs snapping beneath your foot as you frown at Lily before narrowing your eyes at Sirius. One look at his smile, just one look, and you return your displeased gaze to the two in question, James making no effort to stifle his laughter at the situation. “No way, that is ridiculous!”

“Lupin must have forgotten to pack a third, Y/n/n,” Lily sympathizes with the softest of frowns to accompany her words, though you hadn’t missed the grin she’d tossed her friend’s way as he scratched the back of his neck and fought his own. “I’m sorry!”

“Then I’ll sleep in the bus with Remus,” you state quickly with a raised brow, crossing your arms over your chest stubbornly as you squint at Sirius’ very obvious grumbling behind you. His reasons for doing it were entirely unknown to you.

“C’mon, Y/n. Pad’s won’t bite,” James chimes in with a laugh, earning a swat to the back of the head from Lily before he protests her actions in return, shrugging his shoulders and rubbing his head. “Not very hard, at least.”

You purse your lips at the brunette and glared, biting the inside of your cheek to hide your smile. A smile that quickly faded as you glanced over your shoulder at the little tent that hadn’t stood very tall on the other side of the fire pit. Your heart leapt and raced within your chest at the thought of being so close, lips tugging downward as you looked back at them with a huff.

“I would say I can’t believe you, but I can,” you groan, brushing past them to get to the lake before they could become aware of your smile.

—

The last traces of sunshine were warm against your skin as you sat along the water’s edge with Lily, taking a moment to yourselves away from the utter chaos that came with the trio in the water. It was still a bit too cold to swim in but that’d never stop them from doing just that. Despite the chill that ran through you from it, everything around you had been exactly how it’s always been.

Wildflowers had bloomed just about everywhere you could imagine amongst patches of green and overgrown grass, framing the lake in varying hues of blues, yellows, purples, and pinks. When you sat at just the right angle, the reflection of the sky over the water had been absolutely wondrous, painting the water orange and pink. The ongoing breeze had been sifting through the leaves in the trees, leaving some to fall to the ground in its wake.

It was absolutely perfect, and you couldn’t think of just anywhere else you’d rather be in that moment than right where you are. You wouldn’t want to be there with anyone else.

“I think this is our best trip yet,” Lily states, leaning back on her palms as she tips her head back, allowing the sun to sweep across her skin.

“I think so too,” you sigh, letting your eyes fall closed as you hear another aguamenti spell used, followed by a bout of laughter that had a smile pulling at your lips at the sound. Her absence in conversation was sure a sign something was on her mind. It always was without fail.

She hadn’t left you to sit and wonder for too long before she spoke up.

“What do you think about Sirius?” There it is.

Your eyes squeeze shut at the question you anticipated, at the one you hadn’t expected her to wait so long in asked you. A soft huff left your lips as you opened your eyes, brows furrowing as she gave you an expectant look.

“Why do you ask?” You say, the corner of your mouth quirking up at her nosiness.

She shrugs her shoulders as she sits up more, heaps of red hair falling to splay against her back. “Just wondering.”

Her smirk was more than obvious as she looked at you, her smile widening. Lily and Remus had kept an eye on you both for quite a while, they knew that something had been there, it wasn’t that hard for them to figure out. Even if you hadn’t been aware of your own foolish love yourself, they’d certainly picked up on it. Because after every witty remark and every scoff and glare, there was always a smile to follow. After every frown and and nose scrunch as one of you stuck their tongue out at the other, there was always a lingering stare just moments after. Anyone could see that, anyone but to two involved that are far too stubborn and argumentative to realize that.

“Well?” She continues.

“Well what?” You ask, pulling your knees to your chest as you look at her.

“You can’t possibly have nothing to say about him, not after all the banter you do. What do you think of him?” She repeats.

You roll your eyes as you avert your gaze from her, resting your chin on your knees as you look ahead. You mull over your words as a laugh leaves your lips, your head shaking slightly as your eyes fall upon him. He’s got strands of wet black hair stuck to his face, cheeks reddened ever so slightly from the combined heat of the summer sun and the chilliness of the water. His smile was beaming and bright as he tips his head back and laughs at something James had said.

“He’s a pain, Lily,” you said, biting the inside of your cheek to hide your smile. “He’s a pain.”

She laughed at your words, though she took note of the smile that’d been on your lips as she followed your gaze to the very one in question. She hadn’t failed to notice the smile he had returned to you after having done a double take, an action that was far less subtle than he’d hoped. He couldn’t help it though. Not with the way you’ve got flowers tucked in your hair and the way the sunshine made you glow. But when he found himself looking for what he felt was far too long he’d stuck his tongue out at you, wiggling his fingers before you rolled your eyes.

“Oh really?” She inquires, her smile evident in her voice, laughing when you narrow your eyes only briefly.

You pluck a flower from the ground and hold it under your nose for a moment, twirling its stem as it sat pinched between your fingers. You shook your head once more.

“Yes, really.”

—

The tent was rather average, having danced dangerously on the edge being too small. Every gust of wind, no matter how gentle, had puffed against its very walls, rattling the zippers and the flap of the door until you’d finally closed it completely. You knew for a fact your friends had to have done this on purpose, at this point there was no way they couldn’t have judged by the smiles they’d done a terrible job at hiding.

It was becoming increasingly obvious when you sat around the campfire that evening when Lily sat with James, and when Remus managed to take up the entirety of the log he’d claimed his own. It left you no other option than to sit next to Sirius, his chin in his palm as he hid his taunting smile behind his fingers.

You could tell by the way their gaze fell upon the two of you more often than not, and by the way James had displayed his emotions a little too obviously each and every time Lily had whispered something undoubtedly about the two of you in his ear. By the very way that no matter how much your group of friends could talk and bounce from topic to topic with ease, the conversation would always, without fail wind up circling back to the two of you. You were becoming painfully aware of the plan made by none other than Lily and Remus.

You should have known they’d do something like this; they’ve done it at the spring ball in sixth year. It was the very first time Hogwarts had done something like that, it was magnificent. However, you thought your date had stood you up as you sat with Lily and Remus, the mysterious date they’d set you up with. Said date had finally showed up by the side of James, and your eyes nearly rolled to the back of your head upon realizing just who they’d set you up with. You’d frowned as you danced with him, accompanied by a few laughs when he twirled you, accompanied by a few eye rolls when he said something witty. The night had been far better than it started, but you hadn’t spoken of it since.

They’d done it at Hogsmeade. They’d told everyone to meet at the Three Broomsticks, having diligently reminded everyone to do so. You and Sirius had been the first ones there, having sat awkwardly across from each other as you sipped your butterbeer. It was quiet until the two of you began to bicker over something too trivial to remember, one smiling when the other wasn’t looking. It took about thirty minutes for you to realize that the rest of the group hadn’t been coming, thirty minutes with Sirius Black.

So yes, you should have known better than to think that they wouldn’t do something like this again.

“Sirius?” His only response is a hum in that moment, a rather dismal one at that. “How do you suppose I’ll get any sleep if you keep huffing and puffing? It’s rather hard to ignore, you know.”

“Maybe that’s the point,” he quips, though you could hear the very smile in his words even without seeing him.

You shake your head at that with a huff of your own, but he could see the shake of your shoulders from your stifled laughter that you had fought so hard to keep at bay. No, he most certainly could not know that he’d been making you laugh, that would be absolutely terrible to your cause for he wouldn’t forget that he’d been able to do something other than make you grumble.

It was quiet for a few moments after that, nothing but the crickets singing just outside the little tent and the whisper of the wind in the trees. He hadn’t huffed anymore after that, and you quickly came to realize that it was in fact not the cause of your restlessness, though a part of you already knew that. You knew as you lay in that tent that you hadn’t hated his company, not in the slightest as much as your protests would beg to differ otherwise on the matter.

“Would you really rather spend the night with him than me right now? Remus?” He asks quietly, curious after a little while, and you didn’t miss the small bit of offense in his tone. It was the most subtle of indicators that he’d been jealous. Not terribly so, but it was enough to have your words stick in his mind for a few lingering moments longer than it should. He found himself to be just a little offended, because while he hadn’t expected this to be the sleeping arrangements, he’d hoped maybe you wouldn’t dread it as much as you seemed to have.

“In this particular moment, yes,” you quip softly, a smile beginning to tug at the corners of your mouth when you hear his displeased huff. “I might even sleep outside with the bears should you continue being jealous.”

“That is not happening,” he says, quick to add more once he realizes just what you’ve said. “And I am not jealous.”

As much as you two may have bickered near incessantly, as much as it may have seemed as though you couldn’t stand each other, he didn’t want you to do such a thing. It was dangerous after all. He knows a flimsy tent would do little to protect you, he knows you’re more than capable with magic, but he’d much rather prefer you weren’t out of his sight. It was safer that way.

“Who’s to say?”

Your back remains to him as you close your eyes briefly, your grin having gone unseen. It’d always been your personal mission to get under his skin ever since he was just a boy who had made it a point to get under yours, and now that he was nearly twenty your goals were no different. Maybe they weren’t as childish and filled with a certain annoyance as they once had been in the very beginning, but the habit was still very much there.

“Y/n/n, could you be serious just once in your life?” He asks.

“You know,” you start, rolling over to lay on your other side. Your breath hitched upon realizing your closeness, his face mere inches from your own and you nearly lose your train of thought as he’d done the same. But you quickly gathered yourself as you swallowed thickly, a smile gracing your lips. “I don’t believe I could if I tried.”

He rolled his eyes as he moved to lay in his back once more, his smile bright as his hair splays across his pillow and you follow suit. Your heart had still been beating wildly in your chest at the closeness you’d shared just seconds earlier, cheeks flushed a soft shade of crimson as you dare not look over at him. He supposed he’s grateful for that because he’s too caught up in looking at you, that same smile on his lips that he knows shouldn’t be there. One look at him and you’d have days, even weeks worth of material to tease him with. But he can’t help it.

He also can’t help it when he laughs, his eyes squeezing shut. “What is it?”

He shakes his head as he continues, your own curious smile forming in your lips as you turn your head and look at him. “I’ve got that bloody ABBA song stuck in my head.”

Your smile widens and a giggle falls past your lips as you return your gaze to the sky, the mingled laughter between the two of you having been something not uncommon as of late. “Well I’ve got that dreaded AC/DC song stuck in mine.”

“It is not dreaded, it’s a classic,” he defends, scoffing lightly as a lingering chuckle accompanies his words.

“And so is mine,” you counter, just as much defense in your voice as he held in his.

“That is absolutely false.”

“It is absolutely not.”

He responded with a heaving sigh, a smile on his lips despite it but he let you win the argument this time because surely there would be more. There would always be more when the two of you were together, but he feels as though he can hardly count on one hand the amount of times you had argued over something serious.

Your shared laughter had since died down to silence amongst everything else, leaving you know choice but to think of how close the two of you were. To think of the fact that never in a million years did you believe you’d ever share a tent with each other. You will admit, only to yourself, that you hadn’t hated it as much as he may have thought. A part of you had found yourself thinking that maybe you’d even miss him had you not been less than a foot away. You thought that a lot lately, unbeknownst to everyone else, or so you thought.

It was then, as you lay beneath the stars in a tent you’d felt was far too small to house two, that you felt his knuckles brush against your own, the very tips of his fingers soon to follow it. The simple touch felt far more electrifying than you had cared to admit to, especially for a simple accident caused from the sheer closeness of your proximity. To be quite honest, you felt rather foolish with the way your heart had skipped a beat and fluttered relentlessly within your chest.

And it was then that you risk a glance to your left the same way he had risked one to his right, eyes meeting in a gaze that’d been shared for the very same reason. You both looked away from the other almost immediately, smiles pulling at your lips as you focus your attention on the sky. No attempts had been made to move.

“Something funny, Y/n/n?” He asks, humor in his tone that only made you smile more than you felt you should have been.

“Yeah,” you start, a soft laugh leaving your lips as your eyes flutter closed. “Are you desperate to hold my hand?”

The laughter he exhaled was immediate at your words, but not out of mocking. “Love, if I wanted to hold your hand I wouldn’t waste my time brushing my fingers over yours.”

That most certainly was a lie, it was absolutely false. As brave as Sirius Black can be, as bold as he always was, he was nervous to hold your hand. He felt as though he was tempting fate already by the mere nudge of his hand over yours. To him, the thought of being in love was both exhilarating and terrifying all the same. To care deeply for someone was in his nature despite his hardships, though he’ll never ever admit it aloud. He didn’t need to.

Sirius could and would risk his life for his friends without a drop of hesitation, he always would. But the idea of slipping his hand in yours, of telling you just how he felt—it was a feat that proved to be difficult. You, you were terrifyingly wonderful and breathtakingly beautiful. You always have a quip to counter his wit, and you would never hesitate to cast a harmless jinx upon him.

He hadn’t realized just how much he wanted to tell you until that very moment, that very day for that matter. With the way you sung that song he swears he dreads every time it plays on the radio. With the way you smiled at him, your cheeks stained a rosy pink when you told him he was a pain. Or the way you’d been beaming as you tucked flowers in your hair with Lily by the lake. He hasn’t known how he made it quite this far without telling you, it was beyond him how he did it.

You weren’t just the girl he’d bicker lightheartedly with on a daily basis over the most trivial of things, always ending in scoffs and eye rolls and narrowed gazes that were more humorous than intended. You weren’t just the one who’d turn his hair every shade of the rainbow given the chance, who could outdo him on the scale of stubborn bravery. You were the girl he found himself following wherever you went, who he found himself thinking of far more often than he told himself he should.

He’s pulled from his thoughts at your soft laughter, turning to lay on his side once more. Before he could ask the reasoning behind it you’d already reached up, your fingers brushing through his hair to grab the lone petal tucked pretty and yellow amongst the strands of black. His gaze never left you, gray and admiring as you tucked his hair behind his ear, the tips of your fingers lingering for just a moment before you pulled them away.

The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile, his breath fanning warmly over your lips. “Can I kiss you?”

The question was soft yet confident, having had enough of the question merely sitting at the edge of his tongue for days, weeks, months on end. It’d made your heart skip a beat, and you were nearly unsure if you’d heard him correctly. Because Sirius Black, the boy who’d never failed to get under your skin, who never failed to make you roll your eyes or purse your lips, the one you’d seemingly loved all along was asking to kiss you.

The grin on your lips was nothing short of an indication that your words would be that of something jesting. “It depends.”

“Do tell, on what?” He inquires, the glow of the moon illuminating the mischief dancing in your eyes.

You moved to prop yourself up on your elbow, your grin widening a fraction the more you look at him. “Just how long has it been that you’ve wanted to ask me that?”

“Who’s to say I’ve ever given it thought before this very moment?” He counters, though he knows he has a million times. You roll your eyes then, tipping your head back only momentarily before looking at him again.

“Could you be serious just once in your life?” You ask, copying his earlier words.

“I don’t believe I could if I tried.”

You shook your head as your hand settled on his cheek, quieting his further mocking as you pressed your lips on his. His laughter sounded softly against your lips, soon dissolving in favor of finally kissing you, of finally doing just what he’d longed to do for an amount of time he’s far too prideful to admit. He found himself smiling when your hair brushed against his skin, at the feel of your nose nudging his own and your fingertips just barely tangling in his hair.

His hand came up to rest over your own, the action soft and distracted as you parted from him only briefly. Brief enough for you to smile against his lips, for your giddy laughter to puff softly against his skin. Fleeting before he kissed you again—once, twice, three times more.

You pulled away completely then, his hand falling from yours as you swipe the pad of your thumb across the dimple in his chin, your cheeks flushed and his lips kiss swollen and pink. He followed after you for just one more, gray eyes sparkling and smile blissful as you lay back on your side.

“I love you,” he murmurs, “bloody hell I do.”

“Sirius Black,” you say, taking your lip between your teeth as you looked at him. “I love you too.”

With that he tugged your hand gently, pulling you back to his lips in a soft yet lingering kiss, one that made your heart pound and another bout of butterflies to flutter in your stomach as he held your hand to his chest. He’d waited too long to ask you just that, wasted too much time bickering over this, that, and the next thing.

“Our friends will never let us hear the end of this, you know,” he murmurs, forehead resting on yours. “They’ll go on for weeks, love.”

“Let them.”

—

Tags: @vogueweasley @ch0colatefr0gs @anchoeritic @amourtentiaa @hahee154hq @snitches-at-dawn @dracosathenaeum @harrysweasleys @awritingtree @writeroutoftime

[poptod]

Will You? (Rami Malek x Reader)

Description: Meeting Rami in the back alley behind an awards show.

Notes: ugh ive been having writers block for the first time in like two years so ive only been writing short stuff. i have a couple fics backpiled for various rami characters so thats coming up! gender neutral as usual WC: 1.5k

+

Ugh.

How quickly it all became too much. You wondered, clutching your aching head, why you even came here; large parties were never your scene, public events even less so. A world-wide broadcasted movie awards event was nothing near anything you'd done before. Earlier in the day, as you were dressing and readying yourself for the evening, you stared into the mirror and wondered then, as well, what you were doing.

Maybe––probably––it had to do with the fact that one of your favorite actors' presence was assured, and you rarely ever visited New York, making this the first time you'd been in the right place at the right time to have the opportunity to do this. You steeled yourself then and you steeled yourself now, digging into your clutch bag to pull out a carton of cigarettes.

You fumbled with the cigarette as you reached back in, searching for your lighter. A frustrated grumble grew in your mouth and came out as a curse. With a harsh sigh you yanked your hand out, throwing it up into the air, and sitting with a thud on a wooden box laying by the side of a large trash bin. You rubbed your face harshly, attempting to wipe away the irritation. To no avail––you had no lighter, and your nerves were itching, teeming with aggravation that crawled like bugs beneath your skin. You needed this and the world didn't like you.

The door you'd left the building from opened once more, swinging shut with a loud clanking sound that seemed to echo in the vacant alleyway. Drops of water fell into the puddles at your feet, still present from the earlier rain, and now filled with bits of trash. The very same water almost splashed onto you as a car passed by, its' wheels revving and spinning away through a massive puddle. It must've been midnight, but assholes were still awake as well, and the city lights showed no sign of stopping.

This was why you only visited New York City.

"Here," someone with a deep, rough voice spoke, and you looked up to find a vein-filled hand balancing a blue lighter between the second and third fingers.

There weren't any active lights in the alleyway, but the puddles reflected the street lights that stood a few meters away. That was enough to recognize him when you glanced to his face.

Rami fucking Malek.

He turned almost the second you looked up at him, meaning he didn't catch the sudden, stumbling recognition that flooded your expression. Thankfully, you had the time to calm yourself before he sat down across from you on a dirty (and probably wet) stool.

"Thank you," you said, lighting your cigarette and breathing in the sweet smoke before you said anything else. "You're a lifesaver."

"No, I just have a smoking problem," he said.

You both laughed, softly, and looked away.

You took another drag.

"You're Rami Malek, aren't you?" You said through the smoke that escaped you. It was rough on your throat, but you didn't especially care anymore. Somehow, you remembered a flask of water––just not the lighter.

"Yeah," he said with another soft, bashful, chuckle.

"I like your work. Or, your style," you mumbled as you tapped the ashy end away. He might've been a star of your dreams, and mere images of him might've taken your breath away, but you would treat him like a regular person. "It's.. unique, but familiar."

"Thank you," he said, nodding, a charming grin on his face. "May I ask your name?"

"(Y/N)." You shifted in your seat as you looked down. An ounce of humor came to you once you said, "you won't recognize the name."

"No, but I'm happy to recognize it in the future," he said, tilting his head in your direction.

You broke out in a laugh and a wide, blushing grin, shaking your head. God, he looked good in a suit––all black. Silver in his lapel. His neck revealed colored veins that led up to a jawline that would surely cut you. Why was he talking to you? Why was he being nice?

"You're a charmer," you finally said through your giggling, continuing with, "do you want some?" before he could say anything.

You handed the cigarette to him and he took it, pursing his lips and letting go with a puff of smoke. Even in the hot, humid air, those clouds coalesced and drifted away just as usual.

"You're not an actor," he stated, his eyes fixed on the cigarette as he tapped the ashes away. "Not here for that, so why are you here? Just out of curiosity."

"That's... a very good question," you said with an exasperated laugh. "I'm a teacher, I don't know what I'm doing here."

"Teacher?" He repeated. "My brother's one of those. What d'you teach?"

He handed the cigarette back to you.

"Third graders," you grumbled. He sucked in a sharp breath in a wince. "I usually do first graders, but not this year."

"That's rough, I've heard those are demonic years," he said, earning a laugh from you.

"Yeah, that's a good way of putting it," you said as you doted on the cigarette. "I guess this is just the first time I've visited New York when an awards show is happening."

"How do you like the big screen life so far?"

"Not very much, but I never thought I would," you said quietly, but he still chuckled. "I... I did think about being an actor, when I was a kid. I think a lot of kids do these days, though. Actors are.. like the new Gods. You know, in ancient times people would worship idols, and that's what people call you now..." you met his gaze and couldn't tear yourself from it, "... idols. Images of something to strive for."

He nodded, his brow creased in deep thought.

"After a while the world shows you what celebrity life is really like, and you read all sorts of things, see how people change... eventually you don't really want it anymore," you said, shrugging. "Or you decide you want it, or want part of it despite the other stuff."

He nodded again but had little to say despite being a celebrity himself.

"Which was it for you?"

"Hm?"

A spell broke over his eyes and he appeared to return to normal, having not heard or comprehended your words.

"Did you become an actor because you wanted all of it, with the bad parts, or you wanted a specific part and still became an actor despite all the other things?"

"... complex question," he said after a moment, rocking his balance back and forth awkwardly as you laughed. "I wanted to become other people, transform myself into characters. I was attracted to the job. Not the other things attached to it."

"Well I'm glad you became an actor anyway," you said, relighting the cigarette with a quick drag. "That way I could meet you."

"And I could meet you, as well," he said in that same, deep voice he used when he first spoke to you.

You could do nothing but chuckle and cast your eyes down, shaking your head.

"Yeah, I guess you could," you mumbled.

He reached forward, snagging the cigarette from between your fingers. That made you look up, drawing your attention back to the subtle lines marking his face, and the glow of fire that revealed cool, green eyes behind thick lashes.

A loud wave of cheering came from inside the building, and the both of you looked back at the steel door. Still unopened.

"I should probably get inside, the cameras might notice my seat's empty," he said in a similar mumble.

The cigarette, now nothing more than a filter, dropped from his lips and fell to the ground, squashed beneath his shiny, black shoe.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Have to be," you said as you stood. "Not wasting a fifty dollar ticket on my damn social anxiety."

He chuckled and said, "I'd invite you to sit with me, but there aren't any free spots. How about..." He'd been opening the door, but he paused, causing you to misstep and halt yourself only when your chest was an inch from his. Your eyes darted up to his. "Come see me after the show. I have a '97 bottle of Montalcino at home that I think you'd enjoy."

You nearly choked on your own spit, but fortunately for you, it only came out as a cough and a clearing of the throat. 'What', almost escaped your mouth in the most astounded tone before you bit it back.

Was he propositioning you? Was this a friendly invitation? Why was, again, Rami fucking Malek asking to spend anymore time with you than he had to?

You realized a silence had spanned between you when his eyes flickered down to your lips, at which point shock fully brought you back into your body.

"Will you?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah," you murmured. "I'd like that."

[gaysimpsstuff]

Hawks Getting Y/n Pregnant After A Rut

This was a request but I can’t find the ask where it was requested, but it certainly was requested.

Genre: fluff

Type: headcannon/drabble

Word Count: 1.7K Words

Warnings: pregnancy, mentions of sex, mentions of rut, children, vomiting, Keigo being a bit of an asshole, doctors, mentions of sensory overload, mentions of blood, crying, reader calls Kei ‘daddy’ as a joke once,

Other: I did my best to keep it gender neutral, so there aren’t any gendered pronouns used for the reader, so they could be non binary or trans masc. Also, I do plan on never getting pregnant and have never been pregnant before so I really have no experience and no qualifications to be writing on this subject so let’s just see how this turns out.

Fluff Taglist: @smolchildfangirl @combat-wombatus @mandalorian-baby-bird @waffleareniceandfluffy @catcherisvibin @thesubtlewhore @popcatx0

“Kei.”

“Nope.”

“Kei.”

“I said no.”

“I said yes.”

“Well too damn bad. I’m not carrying you.”

“It’s your damn fault I can’t walk, you fucked me for five days straight this time around, I literally can’t feel my legs. You will carry me.”

“Except it isn’t my fault I have ruts, I’m not in control.”

“It was your dick fucking me, Kei. No one else’s, so it’s your fault.”

This was a normal occurrence in the springtime, right after Keigo’s ruts. The small fight over your capabilities. 

“You can walk to the bathroom yourself.” Keigo was in bed next to you, arms crossed. “It’s literally been a whole ass week.”

“You fucked me for five days!” you exclaimed. “Do you really expect me to be up and running the same amount of time after that?”

“Yes!” Keigo exclaimed. “It’s not like I hurt you or anything, you barely did anything the whole time, you’re fine!” 

You leaned across the bed to glare him in the eyes, examining his slitted pupils for any sign that he might back down. You found none.

“Ughhhh fiiiiiine I’ll walk.” you groaned, throwing the blankets aside and standing up. Your legs were still sore, but you could maneuver them well enough. “Asshole.” you grumbled

“Oh yes, I’m the asshole.” he smirked, sitting back. You rolled your eyes, pausing for a moment to hold onto the edge of the bed.

“Something doesn’t feel right...” you muttered. 

“Seriously, Y/n? I said I wasn’t carrying you so-”

“No, Kei I’m not joking, I feel sick.” 

“I’m sure you’re just hungry.” Keigo waved you off, seemingly uncaring about your situation. You shot him another glare that he totally missed. Suddenly, you felt something move up in your body, and you launched yourself into the bathroom to crouch over the toilet. 

“Babe?” Keigo sat up in bed, trying to peek into the bathroom. He blanched when he heard you gasp, and then a loud splat noise. He was on his feet in an instant, crouching next to you as you wiped your mouth with toilet paper. 

“I fuckin told you...” you grumbled, and he rubbed your back worriedly.

“Boy who cried wolf!” he exclaimed “I’m sorry, baby, are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?” you snapped, and he frowned. “I’m sorry, no, I’m not okay- hold up- more’s coming-”

You threw up the next day too. 

And the day after that. 

One the fourth day, Keigo was panicking, insisting he take you to the doctors.  

-

“I keep telling him I’m fine, I probably just caught a stomach bug or something.” you shrugged, sitting on the uncomfortable table bed thingie inside the doctor’s office. Keigo was in the chair behind you, holding your hand.

Not for your comfort, but for his.

He hated the sterile smell of the doctors, hated the smooth white walls with charts hanging from them, too bright lights stabbing at his eyes, and the smooth way the doctors spoke was all too similar to his handlers from the commission.

You wanted to get the visit over with and get Keigo out of here before he went into sensory overload, you knew just how much he hated hospitals and doctors, and while it was sweet that he would force himself to go through it for you, you didn’t want him to.

“I keep telling them they’re not fine,” Keigo grumbled. “Look at them, they don’t look fine and I keep telling them something’s wrong but-”

“Please don’t start to fight in my office,” the doctor sighed, she glanced between you and Keigo. “I understand Hawks goes through ‘ruts’ as you would call them in the springtime, and during that time he is much more fertile than usual. Have the two of you just finished one of those ruts?” 

“Yes,” you answered quickly. “It lasted five days this time.” Keigo nodded.

“DO you think maybe I got them sick?” Kei worried, squeezing your hand tighter.

“Keigo have you ever heard of someone getting sick after sex and not- oh oh, Doctor are you implying-”

“Yes, I am, you should probably get tested for it. We can do a blood test, they’re more accurate.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.” 

“I’ll send you to the Hematologist,” 

“The what?” 

“Blood doctor, Keigo. I need a blood test.”

“So I did get you sick!”

“Oh my god Keigo, no, just- we’ll see what happens.”

“Is it normal that I’m confused?” 

“Unfortunately, it’s very normal.”

-

Keigo continued to be confused and worried for the next few days, at least until you got an email. 

“Why’s this one so important?” Keigo pouted. “And why can’t I read it with you?”

“It’s the result of the blood test.” you explained, clicking on the email and scrolling past the formalities to get to the result

“So basically it’s the result of whether my cum is toxic or not...” Keigo was laying on the bed near your feet while you were sat up on your laptop.

“Your cum isn’t toxic, Kei.” you chuckled, reading through the email. “I would have gotten ‘sick’ much sooner if your cum was toxic.”

“How do you know my cum didn’t just- suddenly become toxic?” he exclaimed

“Keigo. Stop. Your cum is not toxic.” you sighed, finally reaching the results.

Your lips lifted up and you started to practically buzz with excitement. You cupped your hands over your mouth and squealed. Keigo lifted his head up, staring at you in confusion.

“Babe? What happened?” His wings twitched as you shut the laptop, setting it aside and flinging yourself at him. Your arms squeezing his midsection tight. “Ah shit- Y/n what’s going on? Why are you so happy?” He sat up, pulling you into his lap. “I’m not against you smiling and cuddling me but I am still very much confused.”

“Keigo, I’m pregnant!” you squealed, holding onto his shoulders, your face was stretched wide in a bright smile “We’re gonna have a baby!”

“Wait- what?” His face immediatelty lifted 

“Yes! We’re gonna have a kid!”

“Holy shit, really?” He hands flew to your stomach “My kid is in there?” He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth to keep it from quivering, his hands were shaking against your stomach.

“Yes, Keigo. You’re gonna be a dad!” He let out a warbled sort of chirp, pressing his face into your neck. His breath fanned out over your skin, and you could feel moisture against it. 

“I’m so happy!” he whispered, voice wavering slightly “Fuck I’m so happy with you, I- I’m gonna be a good dad for our little chick.” his hand rubbed circles against your belly. You traced your hand up to rub Keigo’s back.

“They’re lucky to have someone like you to be their dad, Kei. I love you, and I know you’ll raise our child right.” His grip in you tightened

“I- I can’t I’m just- fuck words can’t describe it, I-” He  pulled away from your neck and pressed his lips against yours, you closed your eyes and kisses back, enjoying his passion. It was like however close you could be wasn’t close enough, and he needed to just be with you.

You broke the kiss a few minutes later, pulling away to cup his face. His golden eyes were full of tears, and his smile was the brightest it had ever been. 

“I love you...” he whispered. “And I already love our kid.” You stroked his cheek with your finger, speechless. You kisses his nose, giggling a little.

“We’re gonna be a family,” you told him

“I can’t wait!” 

-

After that, Keigo just couldn’t keep his hands off you, especially your belly, even while it was small, he just couldn’t keep himself from holding your belly and talking to the baby.

“Goodnight, Y/n~” Keigo pressed a kiss to your cheek, a hand rubbing circles onto your growing belly. “And goodnight Akina!” 

“Keigo, we don’t know if it’s gonna be a girl, so don’t name it just yet!” you chuckled.

“But Akina’s just perfect, if it’s a girl then she’d be a lovely spring flower” he cooed, scooching down to your belly.

“Keigo, I’d be concerned if our baby was born in the springtime, that’s way late!”

“Well she was conceived in springtime!” Keigo exclaimed, pressing his cheek to your belly “Weren’t you, Akina? My beautiful daughter~” 

“You don’t know if it’s your daughter or your son yet, Kei! Seriously!” you laughed at the way he spoke to your belly, running your hands through his golden tresses. 

“Well if it’s a boy, what do you think his name should be?” he asked

“I was thinking Hajime, I mean this is a whole new beginning for both of us.”

“Hajime...” Keigo breathed, pressing a kiss to your belly. “My darling child, my Hajime, my Akina, my perfect child I already love you~” 

You buried your face in your hands, giggling, Keigo was just too precious sometimes, you couldn’t wait to have his and your child.

“Oh! Keigo I felt something!” you exclaimed, Keigo sat up, pressing his hand against your belly. 

“Was it a-”

“Yes! They’re kicking!” you placed your hand over Keigo’s, moving it so he could feel the small bursts of pressure. You heard him suck in a breath, vibrating with happiness.

“They’re so strong!” he was beaming with pride, feeling his child kick up against his hand. “I’m going to keep them so safe, they won’t cry like I have, like you have, they’ll know true happiness.” 

“We’ll protect them, and when our little birdie is ready, then one day they can fly away...”

“But we’ll always be there when they need us.” Keigo pressed himself against you, kissing your neck “We’ll all be so happy!”

“Keigo, that tickles!”

“I still can’t believe it, that little chick will call me ‘dad!’” 

“What, is me calling you ‘daddy’ not enough?” you joked and he laughed, pressing one more kiss to your skin before rolling onto his stomach and resting his head on your shoulder

“I love you Y/n, I love you Akina, Hajime,” he murmured, you settled into the blankets next to him, letting him cover your body with one of his wings as you absentmindedly wrapped an arm around his body.

“I love you too, Keigo. And you, my child.” 

Oh my gosh

I wanna do a part two

But like- angsty?

Idfk this is just v fun-

It’s either gonna be fluffy Hajime/Akina being born and living life to the fullest

A miscarriage

Or maybe the reader dies and Keigo has to raise the child alone- which could very well result in Keigo abusing the child- AHHH SO MANY POSSIBILITIESS

[gnocchighoul]

Hmm.. kind of a random thing but that's how my brain works sometimes but hear me out! The Bros (plus undatables and Luke if you want) get turned into cats. What type of cat would they be, how would mc react, and how would they react to being a cat.

I had SO much fun writing this one. Thank you for this excellent prompt 💗

This is just the demon bros getting turned into cats, but I might make a part two with the undateables! :D

~

Lucifer

Oh he’s going to be so pissed off. 

Seriously, even as a cat, his murder-death-murder-death stare is beyond intense. He will sit himself high up on furniture to glare down on everyone like the prettiest gargoyle you’ve ever seen. 

Nobody is allowed to come near him. He will swat and hiss at anyone and everyone who approaches, unless they are approaching to turn him back into a demon. 

BUT if you had nothing to do with this curse that’s fallen upon him, then he’ll probably let you near, as long as you’re not like, weird about it. Seriously, don’t baby talk at him, he’s not actually a cat.

Cat-Lucifer will probably just want to constantly stand on your shoulders and wrap his tail around your neck, which isn’t super comfortable because he’s not exactly small and dainty. 

Also, every time you say something stupid he’s gonna bite your ear lol

Tbh he’s probably going to make you carry him everywhere like that and he’s gonna control where you go -- you know, kinda like ratatouille LMAO

Mammon

You know those cats that climb literally everything and anything?

Yeah.

When he first gets turned into a cat, he freaks the fuck out. But when he finally calms down and isn’t meowing up an angry storm, he’s gonna realize that this is a great opportunity. for evil.

He's gonna book it the second he realizes that he can literally be a cat-thief.

Nothing is safe from his grabby little gremlin paws.

He steals so much shit (wallets, Asmo’s jewelry, Levi’s limited edition collectors items--anything he can carry in his mouth or drag around) and then he stashes it all in your room, because unfortunately, becoming a cat didn’t make him any smarter.

Lucifer tasks you with just sitting in your room and keeping track of everything cat-Mams steals so that you can return everything to their rightful owners.

You quickly become used to cat-Mams sauntering in and out of your room every five minutes with his newfound riches.

So it’s a bit concerning when Mams darts out of your room after stashing a wallet in his hoard, and doesn’t come back after thirty minutes.

Naturally, you go looking for him.

You’ve only been searching for about twenty minutes, when pathetic meowing reaches your ears. You follow the sound, and--

You find him stuck in a cardboard box.

(before fishing him out, you take tons of pictures. He’s very upset.)

Levi

Levi is so distraught. He’s literally going to just wail and roll around on the floor until somebody picks him up. 

He’s literally the crying cat meme.

Once he’s in your arms, do not put him down. He’s very sad and his reflexes really aren’t good. You know how you can just kinda toss cats onto the floor and they’ll land on their feet just fine?

He will not. 

Is suuuuper jumpy and only trusts you (and maybe Beel, but he’s lowkey afraid that Beel is going to eat him.) 

You should probably get him one of those bubble back-packs that cats can sit in and carry him around in that. 

He has the worst time as a cat. He just wants to play his video games :(

(But if you give him lots of smooches, it’ll make his suffering a little bit easier to deal with. But like, he’s gonna turn into an overwhelmed ragdoll when u start giving him the smooches)

Satan

Honestly? He isn’t that opposed to being a cat for a little while.

But he’s also like. So hyperactive. Goes from 0-1000 in half a second.

He’s got the zoomies.

He’s gonna parkour his way around the house of lamentation, testing how fast he can zoom, how high and far he can jump (and how far he can fall without hurting himself)

He’s gonna do a backflip off lucifer at the speed of light and then sprint away as fast as he can to go wreck some shit

If you want to hold him, you’re going to have to catch him mid-air. If he doesn’t just squirm out of your arms and actually lets you pet him, he’s gonna stare you dead in the eyes, extend his claws, and then pat your leg with his lil toe beans.

You’re not entirely sure if that means ‘keep petting me’ or ‘stop it right now’ so you just kinda scratch his ears instead

Asmo

Even as a cat he’s beautiful and everybody has to see just how pretty he is. 

He’s constantly striking poses. 

Looking back over his shoulder. Stretching his leggies out so you can see how long and lean they are. Contorting his body in the WEIRDEST ways because he’s even more flexible now.

He does not run anywhere, he struts very daintily and model-like.

He’s gonna be so affectionate. Constantly rubbing his cheeks all over you, and leaning against you, but be careful while you give him pets because if you mess up his fur he’s gonna swat your hands away.

He’s also definitely going to be really annoying and constantly walk in front of your feet and trip you up. Where are you going, why aren’t you admiring him, dammit

You know how most cats hate water?

Not asmo. 

He’s gonna make you fill the bathtub up to his chin so he can float around on his tiptoes with just the upper half of his head out of the water like a crocodile. 

Then you have to blow-dry him until he’s all nice and fluffy and give him a good brush. 

He will absolutely tolerate you dressing him up and taking pictures as long as you make him look nice. He won’t allow you to put him in stupid costumes (he’s gonna bite you when you bust out a lobster costume) but a pearl necklace? Hell yeah.

Beel

Feed him dammit, he’s starving.

Cat-Beel is going to gnaw on EVERYTHING. Furniture. Books. Clothes. Your hands and ankles. 

It’s not anxiety -- honestly he really doesn’t mind being a cat -- he’s just so hungy.

Also he’s MASSIVE. 

You don’t actually know that he’s been turned into a cat until you go to the kitchen for a snack and find an orange & white cat the size of a literal child raiding the fridge. 

Which brings me to my next point -- he’s gonna be SUCH a snuggle bug. Like those really big dogs that insist on sitting in your lap and crushing you. If he isn’t eating then he just wants to flop on top of you and crush you with his love.

You can baby-talk at him if you want, as long as you give him treats and snuggle him. 

He purrs so. Much. 

Will also let u just roll him around and do whatever you want to him dkjncdsn he’s honestly the chillest out of them all

Belphie

God he’s so fucking upset at first, like claws out, hissing and spitting at everyone, full on tantruming upset, BUT THEN. but then. You pick him up and press a kiss to his sweet little triangle head and he bleps and it's all over.

Good luck getting anything done. Cat-Belphie is going to demand your full attention for snuggles CONSTANTLY. 

No, he doesn’t care that you’re trying to research ways to turn him back, he’s gonna plop his little butt on the tome you’re attempting to read until you give him love, dammit.

Honestly, Belphie being a cat isn’t that much different from normal. The biggest difference is that now he can squeeze into weirder places to nap, which makes it very difficult to keep track of him. 

After searching for two fucking hours, you, Satan, Levi, and Beel find him stretched out across the arms of one of the chandeliers in the dining room, like it’s some kind of weird hammock. 

He’s fast asleep. Nobody knows how he got up there. 

(To get down, he ends up yeeting himself into Beel’s arms.)

If Bells isn’t napping, then he’s hiding under furniture, waiting for his next victim to walk by so he can attack their ankles.

(also the most likely to bite u when he wants your attention)

((part 2 with the undateables))

[spiderling-space]

This idea is inspired by @zozobegone ‘s this post 

Setting: Grim goes platonic yandere mode when he realizes MC is going to go back to their world

It is written from Grimm's perspective

Italics indicate thoughts

🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

The Great Grimm

Warning: Unhealthy dependency and friendship

"Henchperson, give me those candies!" Grimm ordered (Y/N) after trying so many times to reach the top shelf.

"Aw, you couldn't reach yourself?" (Y/N) had seen Grimm jumping and trying to climb to take the candies. They didn't do anything but watch him fail for the last 10 minutes, they couldn't help themselves as he was being so cute. "What's the magic word?"

After grumbling a little, Grimm spoke coercively, "Please..."

"That's a good boy!" They patted him on the head before grabbing the candies and giving them to him. 

He started devouring them the moment he got his hand on the candies. He thanked them quickly before focusing entirely on his food. They were just so delicious, he couldn't resist it!

"Honestly Grimm, what will you do once I'm gone?" They sighed as they took a seat in the kitchen.

The words didn't register for Grimm at first. "Eh?" He stopped eating for a moment and looked at them. "What nonsense are you babbling about?"

"Hmm? Oh! Well, you know, it's been months and lots of progress have been done. Crowley finding a way for me to return home is right around the corner." They spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That birdman doesn't do anything but whine and pin all the tasks on us."

"I convinced him to do the actual work and he made a progress on finding a way for me to go home." (Y/N) stood up, walking toward him and kneeling to his height. "I'll give you a secret, I haven't told anyone this." They gulped before smiling, "Crowley found the way for me to go back. We just need ingredients and get some tests done then I'll be able to go back. I haven't told others about it yet because I wanted to have something concrete but since you are like my second family, I wanted you to know first."

Huh, he thought.

Grimm continued eating, ignoring what (Y/N) had said who got up and left the kitchen after sharing their secret. At that moment, it didn't bug him at all since he thought they were joking.

🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

It didn't even pass a week that (Y/N) started to tell the others that they would be leaving soon and ask their help to get the ingredients and spend their last days together. Meanwhile, Grimm became more and more irritable as the days passed by.

Grimm didn't have a family nor a friend. When he opened his eyes to the world, he was in a back alley by just himself. He fended for himself and decided to become the greatest magician when he heard people talking about Night Raven Collage. He didn't have anyone who supported his dream nor he needed one. He would accomplish it on his own and show everyone how great he was. Of course, things didn't go as planned and he got thrown off the moment he revealed his true self at the entrance ceremony and was even threatened to get eaten. What's worse was that when he returned to NRC, showing the persistence of an NRC student, he was about to be thrown again. That would be the case if it weren't for (Y/N) sticking up for him. He wasn't a sentimental monster and he hated to be called cat by (Y/N) despite his catly activities as they called it. However, deep down he knew it was because of (Y/N) that he became a student in the NRC, getting one step closer to achieving his dream. Heck, he and (Y/N) were considered one student together.

It wasn't just (Y/N) creating him an opportunity that made him care about them, it was everything. They studied together; they slept on the same bed, shared meals and snacks, played games, did homework, complained about the school and students together. Not to mention, how much he enjoyed getting petted, belly rubbed and washed by them. They had each other when no one was around and always stood against overblot student together. In Grimm's eyes, they were an inseparable and astonishing duo; even a family he never had, not that he would say it out loud.

Maybe that was why he was miffed by everything that was going on... What would happen to me if (Y/N) were to go back? Become alone again? Get kicked out of NRC? Have no friends and family? No, that's not going to happen!

As the days passed, the attention he got from (Y/N) diminished gradually, came to a point that he only saw them in classes and when they got back. They were out with another person every day, not sparing enough time for the Great Grimm. 

How dare they, he thought while heatedly huffing and puffing on the couch.

Grimm dearly missed the old times when (Y/N) wasn't obsessed with going back. He didn't even receive enough petting last few days nor they studied together. His mind wandered to their time spent together when he noticed something. (Y/N) would leave everything behind regardless of how important it was when he got into serious trouble or got hurt. They would sweep in to save his neck. It just clicked at that moment. 

He would get into trouble or injured to get their attention on him. However, then the other minions would gather around them too and their attention would be divided. It was not something he wanted. An idea struck in his head after a few minutes of thinking. As expected out of the Great Grimm, it was a brilliant plan.

🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

"Oh my goodness, Grimm! What happened to your paw-paw?!" (Y/N) rushed to his side, kneeling and examining his paw.

Grimm grumbled acting as if he didn't want to tell them. "Nothing, Great Grimm is fine!"

"Don't be ridiculous! It looks broken!" The worry on (Y/N)'s face was gratifying since he got their attention back.

"Ask your best friends," He answered with faux melancholy, withdrawing his paw near his chest and turning back as if he would leave.

"What does that supposed to mean?" They asked, confussion evident on their face just like Grimm wanted.

"Azul tricked them into doing his work and asked them to collect all the feathers on the roof. Ace and Deuce took me with them then we got into a fight and I fell off the roof." He lowered his head for extra effect.

"And they didn't even take you to the infirmary?!" He managed to get them riled up.

"It was my fault th-"

"That's not an excuse! For fuck's sake! C'mon, we are going to the infirmary." (Y/N) wrapped their arms around Grimm and lifted him en route to the hospital wing.

"Hey (Y/N)! Do you -"

"I can't believe what you two did!"

"What we did?" Deuce mumbled, fearing their wrath.

"Don't talk to me for some time and at least take responsibility and apologize!" (Y/N) stormed off before Ace could finish his sentence. Both Ace and Deuce look perplexed as (Y/N) marched away. Grimm was looking at them over (Y/N)'s shoulder, taking in their puzzled looks and flashing a grin as (Y/N) walked away.

🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

For the next two weeks, Grimm continues with his plan.

"I swallowed a lot of soapy water." Grimm said as he was rubbing his belly, it genuinely hurt. Swallowing soapy water was more awful than hurting his paw.

"Azul! You promised to not do this and shame on you Jade, Floyd!"

3 more down, plenty to go...

"Leona, have you seen Grimm? He is way smaller than you! How couldn't you realize what your claws would do on Grimm?"

"Ruggie, Grimm got food poisoning because of you! You could have just stolen his food instead of replacing them with expired ones."

"Jack, I've never expected this from you. I'm very disappointed."

"What? What are you talking about?" Jack asked hastily but it fell on deaf ears as (Y/N) didn't even listen to him, grabbing Grimm and leaving them standing.

Woo hoo! My plan is working fantastically! 

"He could have died Kalim if it were higher!"

"Jamil, I thought you would stop making people poison taste. Grimm has been puking all day long because of you!"

Grimm grinned wickedly as he was once again carried by (Y/N).

Wait until I'm done with all of you! HAHA, You cannot defeat me!

Grimm was thinking of new original ways to distance (Y/N) from the rest of Heartslabyul, Pomefiore, Ignihyde and Diasomnia. The last one would be the hardest as he had a powerful competitor who also sought (Y/N)'s attention but it didn't matter, Grim would be the only one!

That was what he thought until Birdman came bearing the news...

"(Y/N)! Good news! All the tests we did on the mirror worked! You can go back now!"

Everything stopped right there and then. 

Grimm was so focused on getting (Y/N)'s affection and attention that he forgot about the tests they were doing on the mirror.

Now I am too late...

"My goodness! Thank you! I missed my home so much! I'll start saying my goodbyes!" (Y/N) spoke rapidly, they truly were happy to hear the news.

Happy to leave me all alone!

"No worries, they all gather around the magic mirror, waiting for you." Birdman informed, "Are you coming now?"

"Yes!" (Y/N) said before turning to him, taking him in arms and carrying him outside.

That is not how it was supposed to go...

As they were walking outside before leaving the Ramshackle perimeter, Grimm jumped on the ground.

"What's wrong?" (Y/N) stopped to ask.

"What's wrong?!" Grimm couldn't contain it anymore. everything was too much.

"(Y/N), do you need a moment to say goodbye to the dorm?" Birdman questioned, getting closer to where they were standing.

"Uhm... yes... I mean I spent months here so I should say goodbye to it. You can go, we will catch up in a moment."

With that Birdman walked away, leaving (Y/N) and Grimm alone.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" They asked idiotically. 

Are they too dumb to understand?

As Grimm was about to tell them what was on his mind, unfiltered, he felt a power within himself. A power that wanted to surge out of him and he let it since he had nothing to lose anymore.

"You will leave me all alone!"

"But you already knew that, Grimm. This place isn't my home and if I took you with me, you would be discovered and people would do experiments on you." Their voice was so soft as they tried to reason with him but none of them mattered.

"We are one student together, you can't leave until I graduate!" The power inside of him grew even more.

"Well, Crowley said he-"

"We fought the monsters together. We are a team, you called me your son!" He could feel that power getting closer

"I-" He wasn't going to let them speak anymore!

"So you see me as a family but you abandon me!" He felt the power leak outside and he didn't even care about it.

"GRIMM!" (Y/N) yelled, taking a few steps back. "I, I, I changed my mind, we will be together!"

"You want me to have no one again!" Grim screamed, not even noticing how his voice changed. "AAAAAHHH!"

Everything went black for a moment and the second he reopened his eyes, everything was different. He was no longer looking up to (Y/N); he now was looking down on them. They were so tiny.

"YOU CANNOT LEAVE!" Grimm screeched when he saw (Y/N) backing and running away. He jumped, landing right in front of them who fell on the ground from the shock and still trying to crawl away.

"G-Gr-Gr-Grim, i-i-it's me! We are friends, remember? I know you wouldn't hurt me because we are family, innit?"

"It is too late for everything but you are right. We are family..." Grimm said, his voice echoing, giving it more menacing feelings. 

Grimm was no longer waiting for (Y/N) to understand that they couldn't leave him. He had no intention of waiting anymore. He leaned towards them slowly, biting their clothing and lifting them.

It was always (Y/N) who carried Grimm around relentlessly now it was Grimm's turn. Once he was sure that they wouldn't fall, he took off, running away from the Ramshackle, leaving NRC behind.

[rainydaydream-gal18]

(The Bad Batch) Camping: Echo’s Ending

   Intro

   “I guess I’ll sunbathe with Echo,” you decided.  He had already begun carrying his folding chair across the clearing, and he stopped to wait for you.  Omega gave you a nudge, her eyes flickering to the rest of the folding chairs before coming back to you. 

   “Go on!” she whispered.

   “Alright, I’m going,” you whispered back, though you were trying your best to hide a smile.  She was way too excited about this.  “Where are you heading?”

   “I’m going with Hunter.  See you!”

   You shook your head as she hurried away before grabbing one of the chairs and catching up with Echo.  

   He chuckled.  “What’s with her?”

   “She’s probably just excited about the trip,” you replied with a shrug.  The two of you ventured to the very center of the clearing where you’d get the most sun with no trees towering over you to block it.  As you unfolded your chair, Echo tugged off his red t-shirt.  The sight out of the corner of your eye surprised you, but you managed to keep your eyes focused on the task at hand.

   “It is so bright here,” he murmured, lifting his face toward the sky.  His eyes were closed, and his mouth was pulled up in a smile.  Your heart leaped at the look of happiness on his face at something so simple.

   He deserves to be this happy all the time, you thought.  You wished you could bring the sun’s rays aboard the ship so he could enjoy it whenever he wanted.

   Echo released a sigh and took a seat in his chair, letting his arms stretch out on the rests.  You did the same beside him.  Your eyes slid shut as you appreciated the warmth that the sun brought to your face.  However, it was already getting a little too warm.  You peeked an eye open at Echo’s shirtless form.  If he was going to be comfortable, so would you.  You pulled your shirt off and tossed the garment aside to reveal your swimsuit underneath.

   He glanced your way at the sound of movement in your chair.  “You good?”

   “Yeah, I just didn’t realize how hot it really was out here.”

   “The shade of the trees can be deceiving,” he agreed with a chuckle.  “Want some water?”  He lifted a canister toward you, and you accepted it gratefully.

   “Thank you.”  You took a few sips and handed it over, watching as he tipped it back to take a swig himself.  “It got quiet really fast.”

   Echo stole a glance at the empty camp over his shoulder, nodding.  “Probably the quietest it’s been since I joined them.  They’re a nice group and all, but sometimes...”

   You recalled the many, many times you had to endure bickering aboard the ship.  There were some interesting dynamics that came into play in a group of seven.  Not to mention, it wasn’t very difficult to get on each other’s nerves on such a small vessel.

   You and Echo both exchanged glances and laughed aloud.

   “I know what you mean.”

   “Well sure, we can laugh about it now,” he chuckled.  “But just wait, when this trip’s over, it’ll be the same thing all over again.”  

   You shook your head in amusement.  “They really do drive me crazy, but sometimes it’s not a bad thing.”

   “You know, you probably drive me crazy the least.”

   You giggled.  “Why, Echo, that’s so nice of you to say.”

   “No, really.  I like that we get along.”

   You looked over to see Echo already meeting your eyes.  Your heart accelerated under his warm gaze.  Even though he put on a grumpy demeanor at times, there was no mistaking the depth of his kindness and affection.  You saw it in the little moments when he was tender with Omega or protective over his squad, including you.  There had been many occasions where he was particularly protective of you.  It made your heartbeat quicken in your chest, yet at the same time, it made you feel so safe.

   “I guess I can say the same about you.”  You smiled.  “You drive me crazy the least too.”

   “Good to know.”  Echo leaned his head against the back of the chair, exhaling.  Both of you fell into a comfortable silence as you soaked in the sun’s rays.  Bird songs filled the air.  The quiet buzz of some sort of bug sounded nearby.  Time passed.  You were drifting in and out of a peaceful nap, mind only focusing on the brightness beyond your eyelids and the warmth it provided.

   At one point, you awoke to see that the sun had drifted behind the clouds.  The sky had gone gray, and the air was beginning to cool.  You glanced over to see Echo still fast asleep in his chair.  His face was serene as if the sunshine brought him good dreams instead of the nightmares he had on occasion aboard the Marauder.  You hated the idea of waking him, but the sky was looking grayer by the minute.

   “Looks like it might rain,” you commented softly.

   “Hm?” Echo paused, mid-snore, and blinked his eyes open.  “What was that?”

   “Sorry to wake you...It looks like it’s going to rain.”

   He seemed to wake up a little more, rubbing the back of his neck with a yawn.  “That’s alright.  We’d better take cover then.”

   “Oh no…” you muttered.  “Omega and I forgot to put the tarps up.”  But as you stood from your chair and folded it up, you looked over to see someone had put the tarps over the tents.  “Nevermind.”

   “How long were we out?” Echo asked, glancing around.  It was then that you noticed a fire had been made and put out.  A raindrop on your forehead caught your attention.  You wiped it off with the back of your hand and looked at your teammate who was also wiping a droplet from his bare shoulder.  “Looks like it’s starting.  Let’s go.”

   Both of you hurried your chairs over to the pile and ducked into the nearest of the two tents.  It was totally empty except for a few sleeping bags.  You peeked out to see Tech sitting at the doorway of the other tent.

   “The two of you slept through lunch,” he called, handing over two containers.  “I took the liberty of saving you some leftovers.”

   “Thanks, Tech,” you nodded appreciatively.  “Is everyone back?”

   “Hunter, Wrecker, and Omega are here with me.”  He gazed out across the clearing.  “Crosshair still hasn’t returned, though he commed that he was on his way.”

   “Hi, _________!” Wrecker called, pushing past Tech to wave.

   You laughed and waved back.  “Hi, Wrecker.”

   “Anyway,” Tech tried to shove his brother back inside.  “My scanners indicate the rain should last a little while.  We plan to wait it out.”

   “Sounds good.”

   With one last nod, Tech zipped the doorway shut.  You did the same, crawling back in to see Echo getting his sleeping bag out.  You set down the containers next to him.  “Tech saved us some leftovers.”

   “We really must have been out,” Echo shook his head.  “Missed lunch and everything.”

   “It was a good nap,” you said.  “Much-needed.”  You pulled your shirt back on over your bathing suit, feeling a shiver run down your spine from the disappearance of the sun.  Once Echo’s stuff was set up, he did the same.

   “Looks like we’ve got the place to ourselves,” he joked.

    As if you weren’t already aware that it was just you and him in the tent.  As if you weren’t already thrilled over it.

   “Yep, until Crosshair gets back or the rain stops.”

   “Well then, let’s enjoy it while it lasts.”  He patted the spot beside him, and you smiled and took a seat.  Leaning against his shoulder, you listened as the soft tap-tap of rain on the tarp grew heavier with each second.  It was a good thing the tent was on a higher part of the clearing, or else there might be water seeping in from the ground.

   “What a day,” you said.  “First we got to enjoy the sun, and now we get to enjoy the rain.”

   He hummed in agreement.  “There’s no one else I’d rather enjoy it with.” 

   Your gaze flickered to his profile as he gazed straight ahead.

   Your palm brushed his cheek, slowly turning his face toward you and bringing it closer.  The gentle contact evoked a small gasp from him as he leaned into your touch, eyes shut.  A few seconds passed before Echo closed the distance and kissed you.  What felt like electricity hummed through you at the contact.  He drew back only for a moment to whisper your name, half-lidded eyes glowing with adoration before molding his lips to yours.  It was your turn to gasp as his hand went around your waist and pulled you against him.

   “Echo,” you murmured.

   “Hm?” he paused, lips hovering near your chin as he listened.

   “There’s no one else I’d rather enjoy it with either.”

   He pressed a kiss to your jaw and another one to your cheek.  “Good.”  There was a smile that held a rare confidence as he gazed at you with eyes glinting, almost a smug smirk, and it made your heart thump wildly in your chest.

   The sound of the tent unzipping prompted the two of you to snap your gazes to the door.  It was so sudden that neither of you scooted away or put any distance between you.  Crosshair entered the tent, scowling and muttering at the dampness of his clothes.

   “What?” he halted, eyes flickering between you.  “Did I interrupt something?”

   You and Echo exchanged looks and shrugged, neither of you knowing quite what to say to that.  You scooted back to your own sleeping bag on account of not wanting to give Crosshair another reason to be grumpy.  He and Echo started talking about the interesting change in weather, and you let your gaze wander out the tent door which hadn’t been zipped shut just yet.  You felt a warm hand take yours, and you stole a glance at Echo as he looked your way.

[goosedawn]

//Oh gods, welp, here I go [cracks knuckles]

//Tiny farmer Techno Au,,,, prepare for some future lore cjkhcxk

Timestamps from: "I Became the Mayor of Skyblock" by Technoblade

--

(5:39) "I decided to call in an old rival..." - Technoblade

Techno continues on with his life for days on, but finally, he somehow finds his way to society again, seeing that the entire town has been taken over by a tyrant of a mayor. The townspeople called for aid, and from the depths of his cold heart, he decided to help (....what do you mean he only did it so people would buy his potatoes-).

For a bit, he did his work by himself, only getting help from some other living scarecrows (listen, I really like the idea of some scarecrows coming alive [cough] PHIL [cough]), TimeDeo and Jyn (...? Is that how you spell their name?). (Dunno what the process for taking over the mayor would be exactly but,,, chchskdlcx,,,)

But you can only do so much work with... living scarecrows. With a bit of reluctance, he calls for help from SquidKid. And then together they defeat Dante :]

(Also, it's funny to think that the town has a mayor that they've never seen. All they know is that the previous mayor is gone, and the new one is pretty chill. /Lh)

--

(6:31) "Is there any way to do the teleport room without just like.. guessing?" - SquidKid

(6:36) "You are like... little baby, watch this." - Technoblade

-

Being tiny has its perks.

"Wait, what do you mean you can solve this maze in an hour or less?"

Techno turned towards the bigger hybrid, crossing his arms as he nonchalantly stared up at them. SquidKid only gives him a baffled look back, their tentacle-like hair slightly sprung up to further show their confusion.

He knows this only because he's known the man for far longer than they've known him.

He knows more personal information than should be shared, somehow finding the other farmer's parent's numbers along with a few other things. He had jokingly pocketed away the parent's number in the back of his mind, although, he had no real plans of ever using it. Well, maybe he had played with the idea of calling SquidKid's parents to dunk on the fact that a wild borrower had been winning their competition, but he ultimately decided not to for obvious reasons.

He knows the hybrid's schedule like the back of his hand, having to work around it for the better part of an entire year. Using that knowledge, he had sabotaged countless of SquidKid's tools, poking small, unnoticeable holes into their hoses and irrigation systems.

And he knows SquidKid's behavior from how they speak to how they express any sort of emotion. Lies were easily debunked from the small twitch of the corner of their mouth as they suppressed a smile, and anger was easily shown from how their strange hair pieces would spike up.

Yet, he can't help but feel slightly at unease in front of them. He supposes it's only natural, seeing that there's a huge height difference between them. Plus, this was practically the first time they've been closer than two fields of length in between them. Well, disregarding the times he's gone snooping around the bigger farmer's place, but that's neither here nor there.

"Squid, look at me," he raises his hand, gesturing towards himself, "I'm tiny, yes?" the squid hybrid nodded slowly, and he pointed at the stalks of tall fern and crop, "to you, this would basically be a wall you can't get through. For me, though...."

He jumped off his perch, tightly holding his trusty bag and sliding towards the flora before easily disappearing behind the thicket and appearing moments later at eye level, holding the stalk of the crops easily,

"It's easy to go through."

SquidKid makes a quiet 'oh' sound with another nod of their head, looking slightly in awe. The amazed look turns to one of confusion again, though, and he awaited their next question with a raised eyebrow, "but... the maze is big, how are you going to get through it all without tiring?"

Techno grinned, lifting a hand to his mouth and loudly whistling. He doesn't hesitate to slide back to the floor as a blur of white fur bounds towards him.

"Carl!" he exclaims, wrapping his hands around the rabbit's fluffy neck and combing through the fur with his fingers. He backs away to pull out a broken-off piece of a carrot, feeding it to the eager bunny before turning towards the astonished squid hybrid with a grin, "my noble steed," he waves a hand towards the still feeding rabbit.

"You tamed a rabbit," they dumbly point out, having to metaphorically pick up their jaw off of the floor.

"Yup, I did. you can stop gawking now," he huffed, "you're going to catch a bug with your mouth if you keep your mouth wide open."

"...And you named it Carl?"

"What kind of question is that?" he snorts, shaking his head, "yes, I named him Carl, and yes he's going to be the one helping me through the maze. Any other silly questions?"

The man stumbles over their words for a second, and he amusedly watches from below, "I- yeah, yeah, you bozo," they finally settle on saying.

"Alright, cool, I'm going to go find the exit now," he turns away from the hybrid, climbing on the back of the rabbit's back, "see you there."

He doesn't give SquidKid the chance to respond, already setting off through the thicket. And he sure doesn't suppress the grin that crawls up his face as Carl bounds past stalks and stalks of crops.

Having distracted SquidKid enough to get away, the bigger farmer had barely thought to ask how they themselves would traverse the maze.

They must have realized soon enough, though, since not seconds later, he hears a strangled yell of his name along with a loud groan.

--

Pain, it's been too long since I've written something /Lh

--

"(Also, it's funny to think that the town has a mayor that they've never seen. All they know is that the previous mayor is gone, and the new one is pretty chill. /Lh)"

When the townspeople come to greet the new mayor, they come thinking that it's SquidKid who's done everything since it's always been SquidKid going into town and doing the talking- the scarecrows being unable to do so for obvious reasons, and Techno unable to do so without revealing his entire existence.

So when the sheepish farmer calmly explains that he's just a helper of the mayor, they're... rightfully confused. At first, they want to know the real identity of the mayor, but SquidKid wearily tries explaining that said mayor really doesn't want to be revealed. They only conceded when he shakily points to the unknown farmer's territory, most of them getting the message.

Techno is very thankful that SquidKid doesn't take his title and also doesn't reveal his existence.

-

"It would have been so easy for the squid hybrid to just pluck his tiny form from their back pocket and shove the wrathful spotlight onto him.

He wasn't even able to even escape now as he found himself stuck in the hybrid's pocket. The crowd had come quickly after SquidKid had removed the other mayor for him, and he remembered feeling panicked as he stared at the other hybrid. The next thing he knew, he was shoved into their pocket.

He couldn't get out without tumbling to the ground with a splat, and, even worse, the possibility of one of the townspeople pointing him out with gossip-drinking eyes was incredibly high too.

He shakily gulped, greedily taking the air around him as he tried to stay calm. He never liked being near anyone- not even the scarecrows - so the second-hand contact with his past rival was not the finest experience.

"I- uhm," the squid hybrid stumbled over their words, "t-the mayor really would rather not... have the entire town to greet them.."

The crowd hushedly mumbled to each other, and one straggler called out, "well, tell them to come out anyway!"

By the Blood God, he hated this. He shrunk to the bottom of the pocket. This was one of the worst worries for a borrower; he had already been pushing his limit with the scarecrows and SquidKid, but this was another level for him.

"...Uh, well, in that case," he felt SquidKid shift, and a hand brushed over his pocket. He tenses, waiting for the fingers to tug him out and waiting for SquidKid to finally prove that they're not as kind as they look, for them to finally get some semblance of petty revenge.

"You can find them over there." He pauses, confused to as why there's no hand reaching down for him. The words finally dawn on him, and he's both relieved and perplexed to what SquidKid could have meant by that.

But hatever they've done has made the crowd fall unnaturally silent, and so he's at least a little relieved for that too.

The same voice that was brave enough to speak before pipes up, "you mean the ghost farmer?"

....He didn't know that the townspeople had come up with a name for him, but he's suddenly thankful that he's gained enough popularity that people stop and gawk.

"Y...Yes," SquidKid slowly acknowledges the villager, "they were the one orchestrating all of this. I was just helping with the... talking parts," the hybrid is silent for a moment before they burst into a stammering mess,

"And- uh, I-I should take my leave now, b-because I should really h-head back and ch-check up on them," he feels the bigger farmer start to take a few steps back, supposedly away from the crowd, "I'll answer any questions later!"

He has to push against the fabric to keep himself from bouncing around in the pocket as SquidKid starts running. He faintly hears the townspeople shout for the male, but it's muffled through the fabric.

As it starts to seem as if the squid hybrid would never stop running, they finally start to slow down, their breaths coming out labored and airy.

He doesn't speak up for a moment, letting the other regain themselves first. When they finally seem well enough, he speaks up,

"That's the best you can come up with?"

--

chKFCHKDSJFSDF oh my Primes, this is so LONG,,,, I have no idea how to write SquidKid,,,, plus, I had no idea how to like,,, oOGHgds,f,, pain.

Anyways, hope you had fun reading ALL of this cchjxcvxkdsf,,,

AAUBHJDUHFJHBFNDKUFHN WENDYYY /POS

i dont have anything to add this is just fantastic,,,,, DEO AND JIYN AS SCARECROWS AS WELL,,, FBJHDKUHSJHHDV,,,,,, i love that techno gets to have Carl still 🥺🥺🥺 and him leaving squidkid on the other side of the maze??? FHJBDJNJKBF

ALSO 🥺 squid protecting techno and not telling people abt him,,,,, aaajfhkdojfh good,, i also appreciate that everyone in the village just has to be like. "the ghost farmer is mayor????... well this isnt the weirdest thing thats happened to me"

SQUIDKID RUNNING AWAY,,,, "ill answer any questions later" djhshhjhjhbhbfhdjhbe

*holds this gently* aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa i adore

[dreamcatcherrs]

3 types of kisses - dream

 okay, so this is basically a “top 3 kisses” that dream would like the most (based on what I think). thought it would be a good and different way to celebrate reaching 100 followers! thank you guys all for your support, I just started this mcytblr account a few weeks ago and I’m already at 100 followers. wow! you're all so amazing and make my day<3 thank you

FRENCH KISS

I mean, who doesn't like a nice and passionate french kiss? definitely one of his favs. would be the type to kiss you when coming home, for it to end up being a bunch of french kissing against the door. even though it’s one of his favourites, he doesn't like initiating it ALL the time. he likes to surprise you - slip in his tongue when he feels the need to - not every time you kiss.

you don't now how long you'd been laying there for - the minutes that had gone by felt timeless. the sun was setting and the wind was picking up slightly, the sound of leaves brushing against each other and the smell of grass filling your senses.

opening your eyes, you looked up at the sky, half covered by the tree leaves you were laying under. the blanket underneath you felt soft against your skin, restraining the grass from embedding into your skin beneath it.

slowly, you sat up, smiling as you looked towards his focused expression. he broke his focus away from the book once noticing you’d awoken from your nap, smiling back at you before bending the corner of the page he’d reached, and closing the book. it bugged you that he didn't just use a bookmark like any sane person, but you didn't want to ruin the peaceful moment surrounded by nature, just because you did some things differently than he did. in fact, you found it slightly attractive even though it pissed you off. only he could make you feel that way.

“good nap?” he asked, taking your hand in his and placing a short peck on your knuckles. you nodded, flattening out your hair and breathing in the freshness of the air.

“yeah, it was good.” you looked around the park, fixing your eyes on the different people there. most of the ones that were there before you’d taken a nap were gone by now - only a few people and a couple of dogs left. it was maybe around 6 pm now if you were to guess, based off of the temperature and the amount of people. “wanna pack things up and head home?”

he nodded; “yeah.”

he collected the things you’d brought with you, packing them into the bag, whilst you folded the blanket neatly back together. right when you were about to leave you noticed a funny mark etched into the tree you were laying beneath. out of instinct, you walked towards it, letting go of the hand that had been holding yours.

“hey, look.” you pointed at the small quote in the tree, letting your finger slide across the bark. “’sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory’. that's beautiful, don't you think?”

he walked up beside you, staring at the words embedded into the tree. he shrugged his shoulders. “it’s okay, I guess.”

you turned to him, arm falling to rest by your side again. “don’t you think it’s a sign? I mean, what are the chances that we’ve been under this tree the whole day, and now this is here? not a coincidence, I think” your words made him smile. he wrapped an arm around you, pulling your body closer to his.

“maybe. I mean, I’m sure it was there before we got here but, let’s take action in what it’s telling us, shall we?” as he spoke, he leaned in towards you, placing a gentle peck on your lips. pulling away ever so slightly, waiting for a response, you smiled at his words and took the chance to rest your hands on his neck, letting your index fingers rest behind his ears.

he placed his lips on yours again, this time adding more pressure. your heart pumped in your chest and blood flushed to your cheeks, your eyes closing as you let yourself get lost in the moment. he opened his mouth against yours, trying to pry your lips apart. you sighed once he’d successfully accomplished the action, gasping at the feeling of his tongue flicking against yours.

the feeling made your breath hitch, completely succumbing to his unpredictable moves. he moved his hand from your waist to your cheek, pulling your face closer to his and deepening the kiss further. his tongue caressed and hugged yours, making sure not to be too agressive. it was just perfect.

the moment ended sooner than you wanted it to once your need for oxygen became evident, pulling away from him slowly with a difficulty of catching your breath.

your eyes, wide as ever, stared into his green ones, glazed over with a dewy shine. your lips felt raw and abused and your heart was beating faster than you could muster - it felt amazing.

“I- wh- whoah,” was all you could say, leaving clay to giggle at your state. he pulled away from you to pick up the bag again, taking your hand in his on your journey home.

“come on - enough memories to make for today.”

SHOULDER KISS

okay so it might not seem like it, but dream LOVES a couple of shoulder kisses here and then. especially if he had a bad day or is just feeling kinda down. it warms his heart when he receives them from you, and would definitely give them to you as well. I do imagine him liking receiving them more than giving, though.

you averted your eyes from your phone and up to your boyfriend, widening at the sight before you. there stood your 6′3 boyfriend, hair wet and curly from the shower he took, droplets of water falling onto the bare skin of his chest, until reaching the towel hanging on by a thread on his hips. it was impossible for you to look away when he just walked in here from the bathroom like nobody’s business, looking like THAT.

a smirk appeared on his face as he watched you stare at him with your mouth agape, using a second and smaller towel to gently crunch the ends of his hair. walking towards your spot on the bed, his eyes met yours with a hint of mischief in them. then, a warm finger hooked under your chin, thumb brushing slightly against your bottom lip,

“you should close your mouth,” he said, gluing your lips together with a single hand movement. “you might catch flies.”

you could feel your cheeks flush in embarrassment, and therefore hit his hand away from you, giving him a pout. he laughed and crawled over you to his side of the bed, plopping onto his back and resting his head on his arms crossed behind his head. “shut up! I was just…” he raised an eyebrow at you, waiting for you to continue, a lock of wet hair popping out from behind his ear. “it’s not my fault you look like that.”

that made him laugh. he leaned over, cupping your cheek in his hand and kissing it. “you're cute when you're blushing.”

you rolled your eyes at him and crossed your arms over your chest stubbornly, before stepping out of the bed. “well, now that you're done messing around, I’m gonna get ready for bed,” you tutted, walking into the bathroom. he chuckled to himself, grabbing his phone from the nightstand to check twitter.

it only took about 10 minutes before you were back again, walking out to the sight of your boyfriend rolling his shoulders back uncomfortably, a look of pain on his face. immediately your face dropped, worried that something might've happened to him in the literal 10 MINUTES you were gone in. you swore, he was just like a kid.

“what’s wrong?” you asked, standing by the edge of the bed frame. you watched him hide the painful look on his face, a crooked smile appearing on his face. you raised your eyebrow for him to go on, parting your lips.

“oh, nothing… my back has just been aching a lot today.” by the look on your face, he knew exactly what you were about to do. “I’m sure it’s gone by tomorrow!”

“lay on your stomach,” you ordered, rolling up the sleeves of your pyjamas and moving over to his side of the bed. he huffed but did as you said, rolling onto his stomach with his arms laying flat by his side.

you climbed over him, straddling his hips and analysing what you had to work with. you pressed a hand against the skin between his shoulder blades, moving two fingers along his spine, applying pressure as you went.

“really, can't we just go to bed- ah!” you smirked slightly, being careful with pressing down onto the spot that was aching right as you found it.

“sorry, baby. but you're not going anywhere before I’m done here.” you licked your lips as you eased up the skin on his back, being extra cautious of the areas in which he would wince whenever you pressed down even just slightly. “it’s that stupid chair, I’m telling you. you should really get a new one - that’s what’s been destroying your back like this!”

he let out a sigh, closing his eyes and just enjoying the relief he felt as you caressed and massaged his skin. “I know… I’ll buy one soon.” you nodded, though he couldn't see that. leaning down, you pressed soft and pillowy kisses onto his shoulders, being aware of not pressing your weight onto him too much.

“tomorrow,” you said, massaging his shoulders and neck and leaving kisses behind wherever you had eased up his skin.

“tomorrow.”

BITE KISS

okay, so this one is obviously mostly for special occasions, but god does this man love a good ol’ bite in his kiss. he is probably the one to initiate it the most (because he usually likes being the one in control), but would find it very sexy if you did it to him as well. and don't be shy to really bite down - he sure isn't! he loves a bit of roughness and edge ;)

“I still can't get over how good that pasta was! it was just like - a dream” you  laughed, stepping inside of his apartment once he’d unlocked it, kicking off your high heels and letting your bag fall onto the floor in the hallway.

“ha ha ha, real funny,” he mocked, locking the door behind him as he entered after you. you giggled at him and peeled off your jacket, before hanging it onto the coat hanger. “but I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

you smiled, helping him out of his coat and appreciating the nice smell of his cologne as you neared him. “yeah, well, I don't think the food was the best part of tonight.” he cocked an eyebrow at you, showing his teeth off in a proud grin. “in fact, the night isn't over yet…”

he placed his hands on your hips, feeling the satin fabric move beneath his fingertips as he pulled you towards him. “you're definitely onto something,” he muttered. he stepped forward, making you step backwards until you were pushed fully against the wall of the dark hallway. the shine of the door light reflected onto his green orbs, the twinkles in them making your knees grow weak.

you could feel the heat of his clothes pressing into yours, bodies fitting together perfectly, and his hot breath fanning against your lips as you got closer. he pushed a knee between your legs, making you gasp at the feeling, caught off guard at the sudden motion. he took this opportunity to press his lips against yours, mouth opening up against yours. you rested the palms of your hands against his chest, his tuxedo feeling hot and damp under your fingers.

one of his hands trailed from your hip and onto your behind, pressing your body further into the depth of his and giving it a small squeeze while his hand was there. you hummed in approval, nose pressing against his as he angled his head to the right slightly, deepening the kiss further.

you were displeased when he pulled away to catch his breath, only to appear more satisfied once he moved his kisses onto your neck. he captured a piece of flesh between his teeth, nibbling, and then leaving a gentle kiss onto the spot he’d just abused. you sighed in pleasure, tilting your head back to give him more room, blonde strands of hair brushing against your chin as he continued.

needing more, you cupped his face in your hands and pressed your lips against his once again. this time he was the one to let out a hum, resting a hand on the wall right beside your head. suddenly, you felt a sharp string in your bottom lip, opening your eyes to stare right into his, watching as he pulled your lip towards him using his teeth. you gasped once he let go and your lip popped right back into place, closing your eyes again when he took your lip into his mouth to heal the wound by sucking gently on it.

he smirked at your reaction, taking this moment of weakness to grip onto your thighs and pushing you upwards as a sign for you to jump. you caught on to what he wanted, jumping into his arms as you moved towards the bedroom...