#but I’m currently on a road trip and drawing this during the breaks so I think its forgivable lol

[dork-a-doodle]

You know I just had to throw my hat into the ring for the @forgettable-au DTIYS!

Also have this as a bonus:

[emberfrostlovesloki]

Criminal Minds July  Prompt List - Summer Vacation

All photo credits at the end

Good evening loves! We made it to June and Happy Pride Month! Here are some more Summer Prompts for July. This prompt list is inspired by the always amazing, @imagining-in-the-margins, who always make the best prompt lists. Her current prompt list can be found here (linked). I won’t write for all of my prompts, but I might for a few. I decided to go with a theme for these July Promts and it is Summer Vacation, and there are a few in here that I am very excited about.

The rules for using these prompts are that there are no rules! You could use any Criminal Minds characters, OCs, reader inserts, etc. You could draw, write, make mood boards, or imagine anything else. I have included 31 prompts for each day of the month. I also get inspiration from plain old words, so I’ve included 10 Summer words that might inspire something. Lastly, I’ve included a few dialog and art prompts too. If any of these prompts inspire you to create, I’d love to be tagged to see what you have made. This is all just for fun. I wish everyone a great start to the month. Please know I’m proud of you wherever you are right now - Love Levi ❤️

You can find all the prompts below the cut

General Prompts

Characters A and B plan their first summer vacation together as a couple. 

Character A accidentally picks up Character B’s matching suitcase at the airport. What they find inside is a surprise. 

At a wedding on the beach, a fem presenting member of the BAU catches the bride’s flower bouquet and makes eye contact with Character B. 

At a wedding on the beach, a masc presenting member of the BAU catches the bride's garter and makes eye contact with Character B. 

A swimming suit mishap at the pool leaves Character A in an awkward position until Character B comes to the rescue. 

Spin the bottle with any members of the BAU when they might have had a bit too much to drink. 

After an incident last year with fireworks on the 4th of July, the BAU received an in-service on fireworks safety from the department. 

Character A finds a piece of jewelry they really like at a market but doesn’t want to spend the money on it, so Character B buys it for them as a surprise. 

Explain what Emily’s ‘Sin To Win’ story is. 

Character A finds out that they need to wear glasses and feels insecure about it, but Character B lets them know that they are as beautiful as they have ever been. 

Spring Break with the BAU. 

A member(s) of the BAU must go undercover at a summer frat party. 

While on a road trip, Character A looks over at a sleeping Character B and realizes they are in love with them. 

Character A learns how to surf, Character B is their instructor. 

For Character A’s milestone birthday, the team goes skydiving. 

Character A has a secret hobby/talent that Character B discovers and supports. 

Character A eats a popsicle in a ‘certain way’ in front of Character B to make them flustered. 

Jack catches his teacher with an ‘adult drink’ at dinner and asks Aaron if they can have that?  

Characters A and B decide to spend some money and have a staycation at home. 

When Character A gets misgendered at a water park, Character B is quick to step up and support them. 

Character A learns how to rollerskate during the summer and Character B can’t stop taking pictures and videos of them. 

Character A gets kidnapped by an Unsub on their vacation and the team comes to save them. 

Character A sees Character B without their shirt for the first time because it’s just so hot. 

Character A and B make icecream with a BAU kid. 

BAU water balloon fight. 

Crossover BAU and NCIS case. 

Only one bed troop with Charater A and B. 

Character A loses something special and Character B tries to find them something else. 

Character A and B are having a rocky patch in their relationship, so they take a week apart and realize just how much they need each other. 

Characters A and B announce a pregnancy to the team. 

A BAU kids first dance where Characters A and B get over involved. 

Word Prompts

Heatwave

Drunk

Chapstick 

Cherries 

Sleep 

Files

Snow Cone

Lake 

Alone 

Risque 

Dialog Prompts 

“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” 

“Alright, who put on “Last Friday Night’ by Kary Perry?” 

“No, no, no __________, no more adult juice, let’s get you some water instead.” 

“... Thanks for the offer, but I don’t drink. Could you get me a _________ instead?” 

“Hey kiddo, it’s time to get up. Remember we’re going to Disneyland today.” 

“Well, sorry to tell you you’re tires not going to take you any farther. Would you like me to put on your spare for you?” 

Art Prompts

Any BAU character with a silly sunburn. 

Any BAU member in funny sunglasses. 

Any CM character at the beach. 

Any CM kid on their last day of school.

Text Break Banner by @cafekitsune

Taglist: (🩷) @tgskitten @geminitapestry @silk-spun @alicewonderao3

Want to be added to my tag list? Please check out this post (linked) 

Want to send in a request? Please check out this post, CM Request Post (linked)

Photo credits

Top: Left (@whoisspence) Center (@honeyrosepetals) Right (@flowersforfrancis)

Middle: Left (@cocaineheartz) Center (@littlecarmine) Right (@earlydawnings-blog)

Bottom: Left (@earlydawnings-blog) Center (@autumncottageattic) Right (@emilyinsuits)

[intheticklecloset]

The Great Academia Road Trip, Part 1 (My Hero Academia)

Primary Universe

Summary: Class 1-A (plus Shinsou) is going on a road trip! In this first installment, Bakugou contemplates how he's going to get Deku back for cornering him before, having a little fun with the nerd along the way.

A/N: Welcome to the first official mini-series within the Primary Universe! I was hoping to do this more in the middle of summer than towards the end, but better late than never! I hope you enjoy taking a road trip with the students of Class 1-A - with plenty of tickling included! ^^

Shoutout to @ticklishscumbag for the "Bakugou loves strawberry milk" headcanon that is briefly referenced here.

Word Count: 1,796

**SPOILER ALERT:** This fic contains spoilers from Season 5 of the anime. (Below the cut.)

~~~

The door to Bakugou’s dorm room slammed open.

“Road trip!”

“What the—?!” Bakugou yelled, instinctively shoving his covers off and scrambling to his feet, heart racing from the anticipation of an oncoming battle. When he saw it was just Kirishima, he clutched his chest and yelled, “Kiri, you idiot! You gave me a heart attack!”

“Forget that,” Kiri replied easily, bounding inside with a huge grin on his face. “It’s road trip time! Where’s your bag? You packed it already, right?”

“Freakin’ – yeah, it’s over there.” The blonde gestured to his closet. “God dang, Kirishima.”

Kiri laughed, punching him lightly in the shoulder. “Sorry, dude. I’m just so excited, and we’re leaving in less than an hour! How could you still be asleep? Get dressed! Eat some breakfast! We’re gonna hit the rooooad!”

Bakugou grumbled as he shoved Kirishima back out his door, barely registering that his friend had grabbed his bag on his way out. Still, he couldn’t help but smile once he was alone. Today was the day. Their entire class – along with Shinsou, who would be entering the hero course next year – were taking a month-long trip around the country as both part of their training and as a vacation. Officially, they were touring the different prefectures and meeting the top heroes across the nation, learning how things worked in different places and sometimes even helping out if needed. Unofficially, they were getting away from the stress of school and the League of Villains for a while, making stops at popular tourist locations and having some down time to balance out the work they’d still be doing.

No rest for the weary, but honestly, Bakugou was looking forward to this trip just as much as Kirishima and the rest of the class were. He couldn’t wait to meet pro heroes in other prefectures, beat up some bad guys, and take a dip in the pool at the end of their long days. It was going to be great.

But first, he had to get dressed.

*

Downstairs, the entire dorm was alive with activity. It seemed everyone was either finishing up breakfast or hauling their gear out to the bus that was already waiting outside. Bakugou made a mental note to ask Kiri if he’d actually gotten his luggage all the way out there before they left. In the meantime, he headed to the fridge, hoping Sato hadn’t taken the last strawberry milk.

It was still there. He grinned, grabbed it, and twisted open the cap.

Just beyond his hearing range in the living room stood Iida, Kaminari, Ojiro, Shinsou, and stupid Deku. Bakugou narrowed his eyes. He still hadn’t gotten the nerd back for tickling him to death while he was trapped under his bed last week. He was rather looking forward to finding ways to mess with him on this trip in retaliation.

“Baku-bro!” Sero said by way of greeting, slapping him on the back. “Good morning! Ready to go?”

“Yeah, sure.” Bakugou took a swig of strawberry milk, savoring the flavor, trying not to let it show how much he loved it. “Where’s Kiri?”

“Probably taking Mina’s bag out to the bus. He already grabbed mine and his own.”

“Mine, too.”

Sero laughed. “He’s pretty excited.”

“Yeah, well…” Bakugou shrugged. “It’s a good opportunity.”

“I take it that means you’re excited, too? Good! It wouldn’t be any fun if you were a grump the whole time. Though we have ways of making you cheer up nowadays, don’t we?” Sero winked, nudged him, and moved on to the next person, greeting them enthusiastically as he made his way to the front door.

Bakugou scowled. He supposed he would have been stupid to think he’d get a break from his own torture just because they were on a tour of the country. Oh, well. As long as no one else found out, he’d survive.

He took another drink just as Deku suddenly broke away from his group and hurried past him toward his own dorm room.

Must have left some All Might backpack or something, he thought, grunting. Stupid nerd.

*

Somehow, despite the fact that it was obvious the two of them didn’t get along, Bakugou wound up seated next to Shinsou right in the middle of the bus. Kaminari had practically shoved him into the taller boy’s lap, much to both of their annoyance.

“Bakugou,” Shinsou greeted coolly, polite but not much more than that.

The blonde bit his tongue to resist calling him a mind-reader again. “Shinsou.”

After that, the two lapsed into silence as the bus finished loading, pulled out of the school grounds, and made its way onto the highway.

It was a long, grueling twenty minutes before Bakugou finally sighed angrily and got up, turning on his heel to stride toward the back of the bus to where Kiri and Deku were sharing a seat.

He interrupted their conversation without an apology. “Deku, switch with me.”

Deku blinked. “What?”

“Swap seats with me. You’re friends with that freak from 1-C, right?”

“He’s not a freak. And yes, we’re friends.”

“Then swap with me. I don’t want to be near him.”

Kirishima gave him a withering look. “You’ll have to get used to having him around sooner or later. When he joins the hero course, there’s a fifty percent chance he’ll be in our class.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like him.”

Deku poked his head up over the seat in front of him, glancing to where Shinsou now sat alone. He stood to do as Bakugou asked, but before he could even get a step down the aisle, Kirishima shot out in front of him, declaring, “I’ll sit with him! I never get to talk to the guy.”

“Wait – I don’t want to sit with stupid Deku, either!” Bakugou yelled. “What are you doing?”

Kiri turned back to him. “It’s Shinsou or Midoriya. Take your pick.”

Bakugou gritted his teeth, growled, and shoved Deku down into the seat he’d just vacated. “Fine. Move over, nerd.”

Deku smiled, scooting over to the window seat to allow the blonde to sit with him while Kiri moved up to join Shinsou.

More silence.

“You’re not going to make it, you know,” Bakugou said at last, crossing his arms.

Deku startled. “What?”

“To the end of the trip. You won’t make it back.”

“Why?”

“Because you declared war, idiot. And I’m not going to lose to you.”

The greenette was silent for a long moment, seeming lost. Then it clicked, and his face brightened. “Yeah? Well, I’m not losing to you, either. So where does that leave us?”

“With you begging me for mercy.”

“Or you begging me.”

“Never.”

Deku smirked, then glanced out the window at the passing scenery. Bakugou smirked, too. This was going to be an interesting road trip for the both of them.

*

Several hours later – after they’d arrived at their first destination, unloaded, trained, had dinner, and were wrapping up for the day – Bakugou stood just inside the door of the four-person room he was sharing with Kirishima, Tokoyami, and Shoji, waiting patiently. Any minute now, Deku would pop into the hall on his way to the shared bathroom to clean up before bed, and he’d pass Bakugou’s room on his way to do so. It was just a matter of time now.

There he was.

Bakugou reached into the hall, grabbing Deku by the back of his shirt and pulling him into the currently empty room, throwing him onto a bedroll. Then he pounced, climbing on top of him and digging his fingers into his sides, ribs, and underarms in rapid succession.

Deku burst into hysterical giggles, shocked and confused for just a moment before his brain caught up to what his body was feeling. “Ahahahahahahaha Kacchan! Nahahahahahahaha!”

“So about this tickle war you’ve so stupidly decided to start with me, nerd.” Bakugou spoke casually, though he smirked at his friend’s useless attempts to get away. “How do we know who’s won? Begging for mercy doesn’t seem like enough, since I get you to do that anyway during our normal tickle fights.”

“I-I mahahahahahake you beheheheheg, too!” Deku protested, earning a sharp jab into his hip bone for his trouble. He squealed and laughed. “NOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!”

“Like I was saying, I don’t think it’s enough to end a tickle war. What exactly was your plan going into this?”

“I dohohohohohohon’t knohohohohohow!” Deku writhed on the ground, smiling wide and pushing at Bakugou’s hands weakly. “I dihihihihidn’t thihihihihihihink about it!”

“Well, think now.”

“I cahahahahahahahan’t! Y-You’re distrahahahahacting me!”

Bakugou hummed, swinging a leg over to straddle Deku and reach up into his underarms, drawing out a fresh burst of laughter and kicking. “Better come up with some excuse.”

“NAHAHAHAHAHAHA KACCHAHAHAHAHAHAN!!”

“Is it because you can never beat me on your own? You’ve got to use furniture to help you come out on top?” Bakugou half-mocked, half-teased. “Is that why you decided it was smart to challenge me like that?”

“IT WAS JUHUHUHUHUHUST – JUST AN OPP-P-PFFAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” Deku tossed his head back and laughed freely, still trying to push Bakugou away with whatever strength he had left after the long day and the surprise tickle attack. “STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

“Opportunity? Is that what you were trying to say?”

“YEHEHEHEHEHEHES!!”

“Interesting. An opportunity to come after me while I was completely helpless, right?” Bakugou left his underarms at last, trailing back down to his sides and belly. “Because that’s the only way you can really win against me.”

“P-Plehehehehehease,” Deku whined, looking up at him with mirthful but tired eyes. “Lehehehet me gohohohoho, Kacchan…”

Bakugou thought a moment, then relented entirely, grabbing Deku’s wrists and pinning them down by his head, looming over him. “I’ll let you go for now, nerd, since the others will be back soon. But you’d better start watching your back extra closely from now on, because when I catch you, I will not show mercy until you’re pleading for it.”

Deku’s eyes widened, but he nodded, and Bakugou released him and stood up just as Tokoyami returned from the bathroom.

“Midoriya,” he said, “I’m fairly certain sleepovers are not allowed.”

“Oh, n-no, I was just…” Deku trailed off, then laughed and got to his feet. “Ah, never mind. I’ve still got to get ready for bed. Night, guys!” And he hurried out of the room, waving as he went.

Tokoyami turned to Bakugou. “Why was Midoriya here?”

Bakugou scoffed. “Stupid nerd wanted to get his butt handed to him, that’s what.” The blonde flopped onto his own bedroll and turned toward the wall, facing away from Tokoyami and the door.

“All right, then…” Tokoyami muttered, then went blissfully silent.

Bakugou grinned at the wall.

This was going to be the best road trip ever.

~~~

Part 2

[elizabeethan]

Steal Away: 2 / 5

When a bank robbery with his brother goes horribly wrong, Killian Jones learns to heal with the help of a fiery blonde who happened to get caught in the crosshairs.

A Modern AU

Based loosely on the movie Hell Or High Water (and so I tag @captainswanmoviemarathon)

Read on Ao3

Read The Rest

Read my Other Stuff

A/N: So this was supposed to be a one shot, but it’s, like, 24k words so I thought it would be best to split it up. I’m probably going to post one part a night for the next week or so, though.

This part is rated T as well, mostly for language and car sickness :) (I’ll let you know when we get to M hehehe)

thank you as usual to @the-darkdragonfly​, @donteattheappleshook​ and @xhookswenchx for letting me ramble about this for weeks, and to Kay for beta-ing <3

~~~~ 

It happens quickly. 

 Her sense of humor, her taste in music, the adorable way she snorts when he hits a pothole while she’s sleeping… it’s impossible for him to avoid the feelings that stir in him. It’s almost embarrassing, the speed at which he begins to recognize his feelings, but it’s not as if he plans on sharing them at any point. 

 The fact is… he likes her. She’s cute, and funny, and undeniably sexy, and he knows that if she wasn’t here, he probably wouldn’t be either. He would’ve been arrested right off the bat, or shot in the bank himself, or drowning in a bottle of rum beside his brother’s grave. If it wasn’t for Emma Swan and her insistence to stay in his life, he wouldn’t be on his way to Maine to pick up the only remaining person in his life who means something.  

 Although, perhaps that isn’t true, because after a day on the road, he’s discovered that she’s starting to mean something, too. 

 He doesn’t know enough about her to dignify a crush, but he also isn’t stupid. He knows that he’s infatuated with her. He knows that he’s finding it hard to keep his gaze off of her. He knows that her stunning green eyes play off of the gold of her skin and her hair in such a way that makes his heart race. He knows that, based solely on what she’s told him so far, he’s desperate to know more. 

 She doesn't have a family. She spent much of her childhood homeless and running away from abusive foster placements. She was abandoned as an infant, left in the woods at only a few hours old. She’s been through hell and back, and she still manages a blinding smile.

 Her ex boyfriend is the reason she’s here with him, he thinks. She says that he screwed her over and that she wants nothing more than to get away from him and from the place that reminds her of him, and Killian thinks this all happened at a rather convenient time for her. She told him yesterday, when he was panicking over his brother’s demise, that she could tell that he was there in that bank for a good reason, and he’s taken to assuming that she has a good reason to assume that. 

 They hardly know each other, and yet he feels as though he’s known her his whole life. He knows so little about her, and yet, he can read her like she’s an open book. The term kindred spirits feels naive, and yet, that’s exactly what they are. 

 “Are we gonna stop in Chicago?” she asks excitedly as she watches the Welcome to Illinois sign pass them by. 

 “Definitely not,” he laughs. “It’s far too north for where we’re headed.” 

 “What, and Maine isn’t?” she snorts, shaking her head and pointing out a bird that flies by. “What’s up there, anyway?” 

Immediately, his heart starts racing and his palms start sweating at the thought of telling her the true reason for their trip. It dawns on him that, when they arrive, he would have to tell her anyway, lest he abandon her in town before he arrives at the lawyer’s office. 

 Of course, Emma has experienced her fair share of abandonment at this point in her life, and while he hardly knows her and shouldn’t care, he wouldn’t dare contribute to the trauma that comes with the feeling of being left behind and forgotten. 

 Bloody hell. 

 “You don’t have to tell me,” she says after a long moment of silence. 

 He clears his throat, drawing his focus back to the highway before him. “It’s alright, love. I just… it’s a sore subject, I suppose.” 

 “We share a lot of those,” she jokes, smirking at him and making his heart race. More gently, she reasons, “which means you should know by now that I won’t judge you.” 

 “Aye,” he agrees immediately, because he does know that. “Aye, you’re right. It’s, um… my child.” 

 He catches her balking, her jaw dropping and then snapping shut in quick succession before he needs to focus back on the road. “You have a kid?” 

 With a nod, his grip on the steering wheel tightens. This vehicle is better than the last, the clutch not sticking like the one in the truck had, but it’s so small and cramped that he doubts they’ll be able to sleep comfortably in these seats tonight. He’d best pull over soon so that they can find a place to sleep. “I do,” he confirms. “A daughter. She’s eight.” 

 “How old are you?” she asks in shock. 

 He narrows his eyes, shifting his gaze to her briefly and suspiciously asking, “how old are you?”

 “I asked you first,” she says seriously, as if she truly doesn't want to disclose her age, and he begins to panic. She looks old enough, but the potential that he’s just kidnapped a minor on top of everything else begins to assault his thoughts. 

 “Please just tell me I didn’t kidnap you,” he begs, his heart racing. 

 “No,” she rolls her eyes. “I’m 23, and much more mature than you.” 

 With a sound that’s somewhere between a snort and a sigh of relief, he nods. “Aye, love. I’m sure you are.”

 She sits in silence, staring at him expectantly, and he knows that it drives her mad when he smirks and begins to laugh. “Don’t be stupid! Just tell me how old you are!” 

 “I’m… I’m 31.”

 “Oh,” she says, chuckling beside him. “So you’re not that much of a cradle robber. Just a regular old bank robber.” 

 “Oy!” he shouts in offense, staring at her in shock. “Sensitive subject. And what makes you think I’m trying to rob your... cradle?”

 She snorts and shakes her head. “Please. I saw the way you were staring at my ass at that last rest stop.” 

 She could’ve chosen a more opportune time to say that, perhaps when he wasn’t taking a sip of coffee. It’s rather uncomfortable coming up his nose. “Love,” he says through a cough. “I’m not— that is, I meant not to—”

 “It’s fine, Killian,” she tells him, giggling softly and playfully. “A girl likes to feel flattered, especially a girl who feels like a—”

 Her jaw snaps shut and her eyes grow wide, the emerald catching the rays of the sun and throwing glints of gold. “Like a what, darling?”

 “Like… um, like I could eat everything on the menu at McDonalds. Is it time to stop yet?”

 “No,” he laughs, although he finds that he struggles to say no to her and mean it, even after such little time, and he indicates his intent to change lanes and moves towards an exit. “We only stopped for breakfast a few hours ago.”

 “Well, I’m starving,” she tells him, shooting him a soft smile. “And if I don’t stretch my legs in a minute, they’re gonna fall off.” 

 “You need to stretch your legs? Your feet are currently on top of my dashboard. Is that not enough of a stretch?”

 “Your dashboard? I’m pretty sure I witnessed you stealing this car.”

 “From a scrapyard,” he mumbles, giving her a shy smile as he exits the highway. “What do you want for lunch? Or should I say brunch? It’s barely eleven.”

 “We crossed time zones, you ass.”

 “What do you want?” he laughs. 

 She hums playfully, pretending to ponder his question seriously and says, “a prime rib, cooked medium rare, with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. Caramelized onion and mushroom sauce on the steak. And some green beans, for balance.” 

 Shaking his head and laughing along with her, he says, “chicken nuggets and fries it is, darling.”

 ~~~~

 “You need to pull over,” she says suddenly, breaking almost an hour of silence between them during which he was certain she was asleep. After their early lunch, he decided to keep driving, anticipating that she would take over in a few hours. 

 “Emma,” he sighs, “we only just stopped two hours ago.”

 “I’m not asking,” she demands. “I’m telling you that if you don’t pull over,” she puts her hand over her mouth, her retching and gagging preventing her from saying anything more. 

 “Jesus,” he mumbles as he pulls into the breakdown lane, barely stopped and still in gear when she thrusts the door open and loses her lunch all over the ground. He can’t ask her if she’s alright because she hasn’t stopped vomiting, so he checks his side mirror and opens his door, walking around the front of the car to meet her. He stands behind the door and places his hand in her hair, massaging her scalp as she shudders violently. “I didn’t realize you were prone to car sickness.” 

 She groans, shaking her head and resting it against the window at her side. “I think your driving has gotten worse.”

 He hums, continuing his ministrations on her scalp as she catches her breath. “Was it the chicken, love? I knew that stuff was crap.”

 “No, it’s your crap driving.”

 “Do you want to take over, then?”

 “No, I want to sleep.”

 “Come on out and get some fresh air, would you?” She whimpers as he pulls the door open a bit more, and he takes her hand to help her out and around her sick. “It’s alright, love, come here.”

 She breathes deeply as she stands, and only remains in front of him for a moment before she falls forward against his chest and into his arms. “Sorry,” she whispers into his sweatshirts wrapping her arms around his waist and holding herself close to him. “For delaying the trip.”

 “You needn’t worry about that, love,” he soothes, and he focuses on moving his hands along her back and hair in the same way she had his. “A few moments while you find your bearings won’t hurt. Are you alright?”

 She nods against him, a sound coming from her throat that makes him squeeze her tighter. He can’t stop himself from pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, the need to comfort her interrupting any reasonable thoughts in his head. She whispers, “yeah,” so softly that he kisses her again. 

 “During lunch I found a small campground that takes cash. It’s only another few hours; can you make it that far? We can use the tent and the camping mat instead of sleeping in the car.”

 “Luxurious,” she jokes softly, maintaining her firm embrace around his middle. “That sounds perfect.”

 ~~~~

 She’s relentless in her jokes at his expense as he struggles with the tent. It’s dusk, and there’s a decent canopy of trees above him, and, as she points out often, he’s getting old. He struggles to see the small pieces and determine what goes where, and she’s hardly any help as she sits in the car laughing at him as she claims to be recovering from another spell of car sickness. 

 “You could try helping me, you know,” he finally mumbles as the structure collapses again and he’s met with her symphonic laughter. 

 “Need a newer pair of eyes, Captain?” she asks in good humor, standing and bounding towards him confidently. It’s almost miraculous how quickly she’s recovered, and yet her nausea seems to keep coming back. 

 “Very funny, love. Come and tell me where E connects to G.”

 It’s impossible to ignore the way the full moon shines against her hair, almost white in the dim light of the night sky. The gentle waves flow freely as she releases the tie from around her locks, rubbing her palms over her face as she settles into the warm cocoon of the sleeping bag. She gives him a soft, gentle smile as he zips the tent’s opening securely shut, taking his place upon the ground between her and the door. “Where’s yours?” she asks, gesturing down at her sleeping bag and camping mat.

 He shrugs and then nods towards her. “Someone stole it.” 

 Her eyes widen in surprised embarrassment and she asks, “this is yours? What about-- weren’t you and… I mean…” 

 Smiling as he lies down on his back, he turns his head to face her and says, “I was meant to travel alone, actually.”

 Just as he thinks she’s about to match his position and lie back herself, she stirs and begins tugging on the sleeping bag until she’s out of it. She shakes it out in front of herself to straighten it and then feels around in the dark for the zipper, pulling it around the puffy fabric until it’s fully open before her. Turning towards him, she gives him another soft smile and dramatically opens it like a parachute, draping it over the both of them. “There you go,” she says with finality. “We can share.” 

 “You don’t have to do that, love. It’s summer anyway.” 

 “We’re sleeping outside, and you're taking a second, unexpected person on your trip across the country, who also happens to frequently demand pit stops. The least I can do is share your sleeping bag with you.” 

 “Well… thank you, lass. That’s very kind of you.” 

 “I just can’t part with the mat, sorry. The ground is way too hard.”

 He laughs as he turns to his side, silently agreeing with her that the ground is mighty firm as he grimaces. “You can’t spare it for an old man with old bones?” 

 She shrugs, laughing softly as well as she rolls to her side to face him head on. “You're not that old.” 

 “So I'm only young when it suits you?” 

 “I didn’t say you were young.”

 He hasn’t laughed this much in years. Before he met her, he hadn’t been so close to a woman in almost a decade. He’s forgotten how soothing the gentle touch of another can be, and he’s been hard pressed to ignore how especially soothing she is, in particular. “You do have quite the sense of humor, love.” 

 “All in good fun,” she smiles. He catches her gaze shooting down at the hem of the old sleeping bag, her fingers fiddling with some thread that has pulled away from its place. “Will you tell me something?” she asks in a whisper. 

 “What is it?” 

 She clears her throat nervously, continuing to avert her eyes from his, and asks, “will you tell me about your daughter?” 

 With a hum and a sad smile, he bites his bottom lip and nods, the memories of his love flooding back into his mind, as if he’s ever been able to prevent them. “Alice,” he says. “She’s just turned eight a few months ago. I missed her birthday.” 

 “Why? What happened?” 

 He notes the way that her fingers continue to play at the loose threads, and he matches her actions just beside her. “I was with my mother; she was dying and had no one else while Liam was in jail. I wanted to bring Alice with me, but… her mother wouldn’t allow it.” 

 “I’m sorry,” she says immediately. He hears a rustle against the mat her head lies on and lifts his own gaze to meet hers. 

 “Thank you.” 

 “When did you see her last, then?” 

 He gulps over the lump in his throat. “It’s been well over a year.”

 She sighs, and he doesn’t think he imagines the minute amount of space that she closes between them. “You must miss her terribly.”

 “Aye, I do. Everyday.”

 “Is there… I mean, is there a reason it’s been so long? I’m not trying to judge you, I’m sorry, I just—“

 “It’s alright, love,” he interrupts, noting the sudden shift in her demeanor as she realizes the nature of her question. “Her mother was rather… controlling, I suppose. I believe she used drugs and alcohol for much of Alice’s early life. I don’t have any reason to believe she used during her pregnancy, but I cared for Alice from birth when Eloise fell off the wagon. I even named her, after my ailing mother. But a few years later, she got clean and started to take over. She took Alice to live with her; became upset when I came around. And eventually, the way she would scream at me when I tried to visit made Alice upset, so I stopped coming around as much.” 

 She’s quiet for a moment, and he wonders if he’s taken things a bit too far. If he’s opened up to her too much. He fears this for what feels like an eternity as she lies beside him, her warm breath washing over his nose as he thinks the worst. That he’s upset her, that he’s offended her, that he’s made her think of the trauma of being abandoned herself as he describes the way he abandoned his own daughter. And his fears are confirmed when she sniffles softly before him and moves her fingers from the frayed threads to her eyes, wiping tears away. 

 “Emma,” he whispers into the darkness, “I’m sor--”

 “That’s so terrible,” she interrupts sadly, and he bows his head in shame, knowing already that his actions are deplorable. Until she whispers, “I’m so sorry.” 

 “Sorry… for what?” he asks in shock, speaking almost at full volume, a contrast to their whispering tones. 

 “You just--” she sniffs once more, “--it’s obvious how badly you want to be in your daughter’s life, and you haven’t been able to. That’s got to be the worst feeling… I can’t even imagine not being allowed to…”

 Clearing his throat, he takes a risk by reaching before himself to wipe a tear from her soft cheek with his thumb, almost desperate to comfort her as she has him the entire time he’s known her. “It’s alright, love,” he whispers. “I’m going to get her back, with your help. I wouldn’t be here, on my way to her, if it weren’t for you.” 

 She sniffles and laughs at the same time, adorably embarrassed at the sound that escapes her, and asks, “what’s changed now? With you and her mom?” 

 “She died,” he answers simply. If she had begun to relax slightly into his hand, she stiffens at his words. “She relapsed, mixed drugs and alcohol… her body couldn’t handle it.” 

 “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “That must’ve been hard, too.” 

 “Not much,” he answers too quickly. She draws her brows together in question and he continues, “I’m sad for Alice; she’s lost her mother. But she never really had her much. Eloise was never a very devout mother. It always seemed like she was in it for the image, or only when it suited her. I don’t think she ever really wanted a child.” 

 Emma nods gently, the small gap between them getting smaller when a gust of wind shakes the tent and she slides closer to him. “Was she, I mean, was Alice a surprise?” 

 “Oh, aye, very much so,” he laughs softly. “El and I weren’t ever a couple, we just met at a bar and… well, we were only together once. It was sort of a low point for me.” 

 “I get that,” she nods again. “Sleeping with the wrong person, I mean. Not that… I mean, not that Alice was a mistake or anything, of course.” 

 “I know what you mean,” he consoles in a whisper as she again worries that she’s offended him. She should know that she couldn’t possibly say the wrong thing, because despite how short of a time he’s known her, he knows that she can do no wrong in his eyes. 

 “Will you tell me about her? Like… What was it like when she was a baby? Was it very hard?” 

 He hums and nods, agreeing, “it was hard, yes; I was mostly alone. But it was so worth it.” 

 “It was?” she asks softly, almost insecurely and making him narrow his eyes in thought. 

 She hasn’t told him anything, but he isn’t a fool. He means every word of what he says to her next, and says it in hopes that he can give her solace. “Aye. As hard as life has been, I wouldn't change anything because it’s how I got Alice.” 

 In a move that surprises him almost as much as it doesn’t, she moves as close to him as she can and tucks her head into his chest, just below his chin, and wraps her arm around his waist. “That’s a good point,” she murmurs into his sweatshirt.

 “Are you alright, love?” he asks, accepting her into his embrace and letting his hand run along the length of her spine over her own sweatshirt. He reminds himself that he doesn’t truly know her, so he can’t assume that this isn’t like her, but it feels profound. 

 She nods against his chest, pulling herself impossibly closer as she seems to seek more warmth and a firmer embrace. “It’s weird,” she starts, her voice muffled. “I barely know you, but it feels like you're my friend.” 

 “I am your friend,” he agrees with a smile. “And you’re mine. I told you I wouldn’t be here without you.” 

 “I wouldn’t either.” 

 “Of course not. I’ve been driving most of the way.” 

 She snorts, nuzzling her nose into the crook between his neck and his shoulder and squeezing around his waist. “Yeah, that’s why I’ve been puking nonstop.” 

 “Would you like to drive tomorrow, then?” he laughs. 

 “Sure.” 

 “Alright. We’ll need to leave quite early. Just another two days to go, I think.”

 “Okay,” she yawns, falling asleep in his arms feeling, he hopes, as safe as he does.

~~~~

Tagging:

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[cheri-translates]

[CN] Kiro’s Winter Tour Date

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, 冬游之约, which has not been released in English servers! 🍒

[ Released on 24 January 2021 ]

[ PROLOGUE ]

Despite the cold and harsh wind, the strands of Kiro’s hair are drenched with sweat as he rides a motocross in a dashing manner from within the camera lens. 

With a “cut!” from the director, today’s shoot once again ends early and smoothly. While all the staff are still present, I clear my throat.

MC: It’s not easy filming a variety show outdoors during winter. Everyone has worked hard this month!

This time round, the shoot is taking place in a faraway city in the northwest. Even though the scenery is magnificent, the filming conditions are rather trying. 

I pause for a moment, continuing with a grin.

MC: Now, I’m going to announce a piece of good news. Because we’re ahead of schedule for the filming, the production team has decided that there’ll be a two day vacation. Have a good rest, everyone!

The crowd immediately bursts into cheers, but my gaze has already landed on the figure who is currently walking towards me. 

Kiro casually wipes his sweat drenched hair, looking at me with bright eyes. 

Kiro: How was the scene earlier? 

MC: You could ride it in such a dashing manner despite being a beginner. Very incredible!

Kiro: Hearing this from you, I can rest easy. The company put in a lot of effort for this plan, and everyone has worked hard. I must definitely showcase my most perfect self, and not disappoint everyone. 

As the light gradually dims in this cold winter, I can clearly see the seriousness and resoluteness in his eyes.

MC: Don’t worry, you're always more amazing than you think.

I deliberately give his fatigued cheeks a rub, shooting him a mischievous smile. 

MC: Since work has already ended, let’s not dwell on it. Come to think of it, how do you want to spend the vacation tomorrow?

Thinking about the continuous filming he has done this month, I hurriedly search for the best way to relax.

MC: Mm... how about a spa?

Kiro: Even though this idea isn’t bad, it’s rare for us to come to such a faraway place. It’d be such a waste if we don’t walk around.

Blinking his sparking eyes, Kiro offers me his hand. 

Kiro: Miss Chips, are you interested in accompanying me on an exploration trip?

-

[ THE ACTUAL DATE ]

Kiro: Oh no... did I really remember it wrongly?

Kiro scratches his head, a perplexed look on his face, lowering his head in dismay.

Watching as the ends of his golden coloured hair curl upwards with his action, I can’t help but laugh aloud. 

MC: It’s okay. Anyway, it isn’t the first time...

Kiro places his hands behind his back, pretending to look incredibly angry.

Kiro: It’s just that the road recognition system in my mind has temporarily short-circuited. Wait for it to reboot. I’ll definitely find the correct direction!

While speaking, he makes a huge show of scanning his surroundings, rubbing his chin as though he’s in deep contemplation.

[ flashback starts ]

Very quickly, we’ve come to the last day of break. Kiro and I start a day of vacation without a goal in mind.

Walking and pausing aimlessly, we munch on food and take photographs, spending this “Idle Winter Strolling Day” in a leisurely manner.

When evening arrives, Kiro suggests returning to the plum blossom park where we had taken pictures at before, but...

Kiro: I think this should be the street. There’s a convenience store, a newspaper box, but where’s the park...

With Kiro leading us confidently, we head in the direction of the setting sun. However, the surroundings look increasingly dilapidated.

He furrows his brows, pursing his lips tightly.

After making another turn, he gives up struggling and starts searching for the destination on the map of his phone. However, it becomes clear that... the situation is a little complicated.

[ flashback ends ]

MC: How is it? Has the “road recognition system” rebooted?

Kiro pouts. 

Kiro: It doesn’t happen that quickly. Rebooting always requires some time...

With a “pfft”, I chuckle and take his hand in mine.

MC: Let’s not waste “battery” then. Let’s just “continue in our mistakes”! We might even have an unexpected encounter!

I pause, mimicking his tone as I speak.

MC: Mr Kiro, would you be interested in going on another exploration trip?

Kiro blinks, the expression in his eyes relaxing considerably. 

Kiro: In that case, looks like MC will be the one pointing the direction. Should we head to the left or right for our “unexpected encounter”?

MC: How about forward?

Pointing at a pile of solid iron bars and the dirt road ahead, my eyes flit to Kiro with interest.

Kiro leans his head closer to me, gazing towards the direction I’m pointing at.

Kiro: Crossing the pile of iron bars? Looks like it’s truly an unknown adventure.

He turns his head to look at me, his eyes crinkled into a smile, the corners of his lips curled into a handsome arc.

Kiro: Since it’s an invitation from Miss Chips, of course it isn’t a problem!

Kiro tugs me along, and we very quickly climb over the pile of iron bars and reach a layer of flat ground.

At the side of the somewhat empty and spacious road, there’s a colourful building. Drawing closer to it, we realise that it’s actually an amusement arcade.

Stepping in excitedly, we find that it’s completely empty. There’s only a middle-aged man, who appears to the boss, packing some items.

Noticing us from the corner of his eye, he greets us immediately.

Boss: Welcome. I’m really sorry, but our arcade will only be officially open for business tomorrow.

Hearing the apologetic explanation from the boss, Kiro’s initially excited gaze dims in an instant.

Kiro: Ah... what a pity. 

Kiro: We won’t bother you then. Wishing you a happy opening tomorrow!

A smile reminiscent of sunlight once again surfaces on Kiro’s lips, but his line of sight sweeps across the amusement arcade longingly.

In the next second, his eyes light up. Excited, he points at a spot nearby and leans close to my ear, lowering his voice.

Kiro: Look, that’s the shooting game I mentioned before. This place even has Taiko no Tatsujin and Whac-A-Mole... this place is basically a treasure trove!

Perhaps meeting a customer who “knows all about the goods”, the boss’ interest is piqued. He suddenly calls out to us. 

Boss: Lad, so you’re an connoisseur! Since we share an affinity, you’re welcome to try the games for free if you’re interested! Just treat it as a large bargain sale before the business starts.

MC: ...huh?!

Kiro: !!!

Faced with such an unexpected surprise, I subconsciously turn to Kiro, and see disbelief flowing in his large eyes. 

Seeing that we’re bursting with anticipation, the boss smiles even more widely.

Boss: Anyway, I need to make a trip to the warehouse. The two of you can just help yourselves.

-

After the boss leaves, Kiro is unable to contain himself, and he steps in front of the game consoles, an excited expression dancing on his face. Meanwhile, I also become increasingly elated.

Kiro walks over to my side, his azure eyes sparkling.

Kiro: As expected of a miraculous MC... Seems like we’ve really triggered an “unexpected encounter”! Are you ready to begin this “unexpected gaming encounter”?

Meeting his expectant gaze, I release a large grin, nodding furiously.

Kiro: Let’s start from...

MC: There’s a capsule machine selling bear cubs! I remember that you’ve been collecting this set.

Kiro: That’s right. Other than the red one, I’ve already collected the other nine!

Kiro tilts his chin upwards, revealing a proud yet satisfied smile.

Kiro: I’ll tell you a secret - I’m a mini expert at capsule machines.

He leans closer to me, his warm breath filling my nose.

Kiro: Which baby bear does MC want? If you make a wish now, I might even fulfil it immediately for you.

MC: In that case... the red one!

Hearing my response, Kiro blinks his crystal clear eyes, an amused smile on his lips. 

Kiro: It’s definitely not a problem! 

He lifts up a game coin, clasping it in both of his hands. After pretending to recite some words, he inserts the coin into the slot of the capsule machine smoothly.

Along with the sound of the hand-crank turning, I soon hear a clear “thud”.

Kiro retrieves the fallen capsule, shaking it gently at his ear.  He lowers his voice, deliberately mysterious.

Kiro: Make a guess - do you think we’ll succeed with one try?

Seeing how animated Kiro looks, I suddenly feel like teasing him with the opposite. 

MC: I don’t think so. We probably need at least five or six tries!

Hearing this, Kiro’s mouth turns into the shape of an “O” from shock, just as I expected.

Kiro: MC, I’m trying to fulfil your wish!

Watching me laugh gleefully, Kiro puffs up his cheeks. With a soft “hmph”, he turns his head, then pumps himself up light-heartedly.

Kiro: With the mini capsule expert Kiro personally turning the hand-crank, it’d definitely be a success on the first try!

After saying this, he cups the capsule with both hands, pretentiously blowing a puff of air onto his palms. Then, he’s filled with confidence as he turns the capsule--

But in the next second, his shoulders sag in disappointment - what’s inside is a small yellow bear.

Kiro: ...it was just an accident. 

Kiro: I vow on the bear cub that the next one will definitely be red!

Carrying this lofty aspiration, Kiro tries five more times.

He didn’t expect that with each determined turn, his face would morph into a crestfallen expression the moment he opens the capsule. 

With these repeated coincidences, Kiro lowers his eyes dejectedly, curling his finger and tapping against the glass of the capsule machine.

Kiro: Capsule Machine, tell me secretly - did you discuss this beforehand with MC behind my back?

Hearing Kiro’s mutters, I mimic him and speak softly.

MC: Capsule Machine, you can’t disclose our secret.

Kiro’s eyes grow wide, and he raises his hands in mock anger.

Kiro: I hereby announce that the mini expert has gone on strike because of unfair treatment! MC will have to do the next try.

He purses his lips, adding another soft, indignant grumble.

Kiro: [softly] I want to see if the capsule machine is truly that biased.

The corners of my lips involuntarily curl upwards. With light-hearted movements, I insert the coin into the slot. Very soon, a capsule falls out.

Mimicking his earlier posture, I bring the capsule to my ear and give it a shake. Then, I grin as I hold it out to Kiro.

MC: The capsule told me that there’s probably a red one inside! Since there’s such a lucky opportunity, give it one more try!

Kiro takes it from me doubtfully, raising it to his left eye. Squinting with his right eye, he attempts to peer into the capsule.

With a forceful twist -- there’s really a red coloured bear cub!

The light of dusk streams in through the glass window, casting the disobedient strand of hair beneath Kiro’s cap with a glittering glow.

He very carefully retrieves the small red bear from the capsule, eyes filled will disbelief. Even I’m left flabbergasted for a long while, mouth hanging open.

Kiro: ...Miss Chips, I really believe the whispering between you and the capsule machine now.

After the initial shock passes, Kiro straightens his back, confidence slowly returning to him.

Kiro: [clears throat] In that case, I’ll have to ask MC to greet it on my behalf. So that it’d also give me a red bear cub soon!

Taking the small bear, I lift my head to see a flashing anticipation in those blue eyes. I immediately furl my fingers.

MC: Whispering too many times will lose its effectiveness. But giving this small bear to you... I could consider it.

Kiro watches me eagerly. I pretend to keep the bear, but he swiftly takes my hand in the next second. 

Kiro: “Consider”? What’s there to consider? If you can’t think of an idea, I have one.

Standing next to the capsule machine, the corners of Kiro’s lips lift into a large arc, and his smile is full of confidence. 

Kiro: Let’s have a competition! There are so many games here. Let’s pick one and have a competition to decide who's the winner and loser. If I win, you’ll give the bear to me. How’s that?

MC: That’s not a bad idea... but what if I win?

Kiro: You’re free to decide on the condition!

Since the game would determine the winner, Kiro and I walk around the amusement arcade, carefully selecting a game.

Just when I plan to ask if the simulation game before us would work, Kiro’s eyes suddenly widen when he looks at a corner behind us.

Kiro: Eh? Hold on--

He jogs over to the machine, eyes brimming with a surprised light.

Kiro: It’s really this music game...

MC: Have you played it before?

Kiro lifts his head sharply, pulling on my hand with excitement.

Kiro: I didn’t just play it! This music game is a classic. Last time, I often sneaked out to the amusement arcades to play this...

Kiro subconsciously pinches my fingers, a tinge of nostalgia flashing across his eyes.

Kiro: When I first went overseas, I didn’t have many friends, so I could only go to amusement arcades on my own to pass the time. It’s been so many years, and I wonder if my skills have deteriorated.

Even though he only mentioned it casually, the thought of a young Kiro being alone abroad causes the tip of my heart to clench tightly.

Kiro: Hm? What kind of an expression is that?

Kiro leans his head over abruptly, his azure eyes in front of mine, a smile hidden in their depths. 

Kiro: Those things happened a very long time ago.

All of a sudden, Kiro is struck with an idea.

Kiro: MC... do you want to experience the charm of this music game?

Even without realising it, I nod lightly.

Kiro immediately reveals a smile reminiscent of someone who has gotten his way.

Kiro: [laughs] Let’s use it for the competition then! It’s been a long time since I played it, and I miss it a little.

Before I come to my senses, Kiro has already pulled me over to the PK area in front of the music game. 

Unfurling his long and slender fingers, he places them gently on the round ‘start’ button. 

Turning his head, he shoots me a beautiful wink. At this moment, a beam of slyness appears in his eyes, which are as pure as the sky.

Kiro: Ready? The time to witness Kiro’s incredibly high skills begins now!

Cheery and lively music sounds. The screen of the game lights up with all sorts of colours and icons. Taken by surprise, I quickly and clumsily tap on them.

Even though the tune doesn’t have a fast rhythm, I just can’t tap on them in time. 

Watching the messy “BAD” and “MISS” filling the screen, I get increasingly frantic, and my movements become even less synchronised.

Sweeping a glance at Kiro beside me, he’s already completely in the zone, nodding and tapping leisurely along with the melody, humming softly.

MC: ...! Why did I miss it again!!

While Kiro plays the game skilfully and with ease, he can’t help but laugh aloud at my embarrassing display. 

MC: ...Kiro, how dare you laugh! Hurry up and help me. Why can’t I tap them in time?

Quickly forgetting that this is a PK determining who the winner is, I instinctively ask him for help. 

Kiro looks at my screen from behind, then stops his actions without realising it.

Kiro: ...right now! No no, that’s too early...

Seeing that teaching verbally isn’t effective, Kiro, who is fully engrossed in teaching, stretches out his long arms and cages me from behind.

In the next second, the familiar body temperature leans even closer -- he reaches out from behind me, latching onto my fingers tightly.

With his chest pressed against me, I can’t help but pause. However, Kiro doesn’t seem to notice, and he continues bobbing his head as he hums along with the melody.

Warm breaths gently brush the back of my head, causing me to move along with his rhythm.

What moves with my body is also my thrumming heartbeat. 

Kiro: An easy feat... How is it? Isn’t it pretty easy? Look, just like this -- Perfect!

Kiro seems to have his head bowed, sticking against my ear. Hearing him call my name, I instinctively lift my head--

In that moment, his lips gently brush against my ear.

What surrounds me is his nice-smelling scent. My heart thumps continuously, and my mind is completely filled with him and nothing else.

Kiro also freezes for a second. Soon after, those azure eyes, reminiscent of the sea, seem to become ignited.

His face grows larger in my vision. Moist and tender lips plant a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose. 

“Game over!”

Along with the loud and clear electronic beep, the game coincidentally reaches its end. The multiplayer music game quickly rolls out the scores. 

My face is slightly red, stunned by his action. Suddenly, I hear a loud voice at my ear.

Kiro: What?! 

Following Kiro’s stupefied line of sight, I turn my head--

I actually obtained the highest score?!

I can’t believe my eyes. Behind me, Kiro pouts and jokes around.

Kiro: Terrible... I fell for Miss Chips’ trap so easily.

MC: No, I didn’t--

Kiro: But it’s fine, I’m willing to admit defeat.

Kiro nuzzles his head on the crook of my neck. Tightening his grip on our laced fingers, he takes me into his arms gently.

Kiro: Tell me, what’s your request?

His muffled voice drifts from the side of my neck, his warm breaths tickling my ear, causing my heart to stir.

MC: My request is actually very simple. Kiro, when you go back tonight, don’t look at your script. Sleep early, okay?

When Kiro hears this, he straightens up. His arms deftly turn me around to face him. Then, he pretends to give me a salute.

Kiro: Miss Producer, don’t worry. I’m a very professional artiste. Even without rest, I can finish filming the variety show in perfect condition.

Even though I know he’s just joking, I give Kiro a glare, then rub his cheeks.

MC: Work is just one part of life. Even if you want to do your best for this variety show, you have to take care of your body first, right?

Kiro nods, his crystal clear eyes looking at me, a brilliant smile on his face.

Kiro: Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.

He tilts his head sideways, giving me a drawn out and focused gaze. Lifting his hand, he tousles my hair. 

Kiro: You’ve been following me around this month and didn’t much rest either. I’m the one who feels a little worried...

MC: It’s not the same! Whether it’s working with you or walking around aimlessly, as long as as I’m with you... it makes me feel very happy and at peace.

Kiro: To me, MC is also my only happy medicine.

He blurts out. 

The remaining light from the setting sun dances on Kiro’s smiling face, leaving me unable to avert my gaze.

Kiro: For example, even though the conditions and timelines for this shoot are really tough, it’s a combination of both mine and MC’s effort. 

Kiro: Once I think about how you’re keeping me company from behind the camera, and think about the incredible results from our twin efforts, I don’t feel tired at all. Because I know we share the same feelings.

Kiro embraces me tightly, resting his chin on my shoulder. Although I can’t see his expression, his voice enters my ears clearly.

Kiro: The strength you give me is of far greater importance than you can imagine.

Kiro: Which is why even without additional promises, we can be each other’s strength. 

Kiro: That’s how I’ve always been thinking.

In the empty amusement arcade, the lights are akin to twinkling stars, illuminating the area brightly.

🧸 Moments and Texts: here

🧸 Support the cafe by dropping by the tip jar!

[honey-dewey]

We all Cope Somehow

Javier Peña x Reader

Word Count: 2,017

Warnings: Javier gets sad, Steve gets drunk, Javier is creepy for all of two seconds, Javier has a breakdown, talking about scars and injuries. 

Permanent Taglist: @phoenixhalliwell

The fight is hard, and at the end of the day, everyone has their coping mechanism. Steve drinks until he can’t remember why he opened a bottle. Javier gets lost with some corner girl who won’t remember his name or face. You cook and nurture your boys because no one else will. That’s just how life is, until Javier comes home late, unable to find his forgetfulness.

“Javi?” 

“What?” 

You shuffled slightly, the ache in your back ever persistent. “I made dinner. Are you staying?” 

Javier nodded, putting out his cigarette and coming in from the balcony, seeing Steve with his third drink at the table already. “What’s for dinner?” 

“Figured we could use a taste of home,” you said, putting a plate with a steak on it in front of Javier. “Texas, right?” 

Another nod from Javier, who wordlessly began to eat. Steve gulped down his drink and shakily picked up his knife. You immediately stepped in, taking the steak knife and cutting Steve’s food for him. 

“Thank you,” he slurred, and you smiled.

“Any time.” 

After dinner, you cut Steve off, giving him some water and bread and sitting him down on your couch. Javier scooped his jacket up and made to leave, turning back to look at you one last time before silently slipping out. 

You noticed Javier leaving, not bothering to say anything. Turning to face him walking out your door would be painful, seeing him and knowing he was going to bury himself in some stranger on the street, not looking for comfort but escape. Knowing those kind eyes would go dark with a feral, primal lust that couldn’t be stopped. You tucked a blanket around Steve, left him two painkillers, and went to go sleep yourself. 

Harsh knocking at your door hours later woke you. Steve groaned, and you immediately tugged a robe around yourself and ran to the door. 

“Go back to sleep Stevie,” you said softly, peering through the door’s peephole and seeing the back of Javier’s head. “It’s just Javi.” 

Steve fell back into the couch, disappearing into sleep once more. You tugged the door open quietly, shushing Javier as he went to talk. “Shh. Steve’s asleep.” 

Javier nodded, gesturing to your bedroom. You silently agreed, bare feet making almost no noise as you two headed towards the room. 

“What are you doing back here?” You asked, shutting your bedroom door and turning to Javier. “You never come back after you leave for the night and, Javi!” 

You shouted his name, shoving his hands off your body. In the dim bedroom lights, you could see his pupils blown wide with that lust he reserved for women who could handle it. But now, with no outlet and no other options, Javier was turning to the next available thing.

“C’mon,” he crooned softly, reaching out for you again. “You know you want me.” 

“Not like this!” You shouted, jumping away from his wandering hands. “Javi! Christ, get away from me! Javier!” 

That seemed to break Javier, his body crumpling as you shied away. You knew that no matter what state he was in, he would never hurt you. But this still wasn’t comforting. 

“Javi?” You asked softly, seeing him still. “Javi, honey, you okay? Are you in there?” 

Javier shook his head. Tiny, minuscule movements that made you scared. 

“Hey,” you said, reaching out but not touching. “Let’s go for a drive.” 

He followed you out, numbly climbing into the car and waiting for you to start it. Taking a midnight drive probably wasn’t advised, but it calmed Javier down and to see him smile again, you’d personally fight Escobar, no matter the odds. 

Taking a turn out of the neighborhood and finding your favorite winding road, you drove in relative silence, Javier gazing out the window as the lights grew smaller and smaller until they looked like bright stars in the sky, making messy bunches of constellations. The hum of the car and the rock of the road beneath you calmed him, easing his troubled mind until he finally began to cry. 

“Oh Javi, honey, it’s okay,” you mumbled, stopping the car in an abandoned parking lot and leaning over the console to hug Javier. “Hey, it’s okay honey. You weren’t right, and that’s just fine. It’s okay to not be okay, you hear me?” 

Javier nodded, burying himself in your arms and mumbling out soft, broken, apologies. 

You hummed, smoothing a hand over his heaving back. “Javi, I forgive you. I will always forgive you.” 

Another agonizing ten minutes passed, during which you held Javier as he shook and cried and let everything out. You simply rubbed his back and held him close, promising you would always be there. 

Finally, finally, Javier pulled away, still trembling. You held his hands, smoothing your thumbs over the scarred skin on the backs of his hands. “You never told me about this,” you realized, peering deeper at the pebbled scar that spanned the entire back of Javier’s left hand. 

Javier pulled in a breath. You couldn’t tell if he knew you were trying to distract him, but you needed to get his mind off his current pain. “My brother,” he said slowly, a horrible rasp to his voice. “we had a treadmill, and my hand got caught in it. My brother was running on top of it. It wasn’t his fault.” 

You smiled, examining his face. Pushing sweaty hair off his forehead, you traced another scar, barely an inch long, in the dead center of Javier’s forehead. “This one?” 

“I was six,” Javier remembered. “My sister threw a ball under a table, and I ran too fast to duck in time. Hit the stupid thing head on. Thirteen stitches.” 

Another kind smile, and this time you moved forward to press a warm kiss to the scar. “And that one on your elbow you refuse to tell Steve about?” 

That was able to draw a laugh out of Javier, even if it was skittering and faint. “My other sister, the oldest, let me have her old roller skates when she outgrew them.” As he talked, Javier’s words got steadier and steadier, the shake to his hands slowly fading. “We lived on a street with a cul-de-sac at the end, and there was a hill leading up to the circle. My sister showed me how to turn at the cul-de-sac, in a big loop. I started at the top of the hill to gain speed. But I fucked it up. I was going too fast and couldn’t control myself, so I ended up tripping, and skidded three feet. It’s a miracle I didn’t break something. My elbow was somehow the only casualty.” 

You giggled, rolling his sleeves up and lifting his right arm so you could kiss the quarter sized scar. “A daring injury,” you promised. “That one on your ankle I teased you about?” 

Javier shook his head, a small smile pulling at his lips. “A glass cup my sisters used to shave shattered in the shower. Cut me in two places. Why are you asking about the boring ones?” 

Shrugging, you traced a longer, more wicked scar on Javier’s left arm. “Because they’re fun scars. War stories are interesting, but they’re not you.” As you explained, you felt a knot in your chest grow, drawing the breath from your lungs. “Those little scars, they tell me who you are. You’re a dork, a family man, a brother, a lover, a truster. When I ask about the bad scars, all I see is a soldier.” 

Javier grabbed your arms, steadying you. “Tell me about this,” he said, poking a scar on your cheek that was often mistaken for a dimple. 

You nodded. “I was a toddler. Ran into a bannister in the hallway, and the sharp edge got my cheek. I needed two stitches.” 

Tracing down your arms, Javier turned your wrists over and thumbed over the identical lines that were burned into the crease of each wrist. “These?” 

“A common contact point for the blazingly hot pots and pans I cook with.” You shivered as Javier kissed each one. “I dunno if there’s much feeling in that bit of my skin.” 

Javier’s eyebrows knit, the worry plain in his face. “And you cook anyway?” 

“It’s my escape,” you said softly. “When I cook, I can imagine we’re not getting death threats, that we’re just a few close friends on a trip together and we didn’t want to go out for dinner. I can imagine I’m back home, cooking for my family or that we’re celebrating your birthday when I make a cake instead of us getting a huge lead. You find women who help you forget, I cook and bake to escape.” 

“Oh.” Javier smoothed a thumb over another small scar, half an inch long, on the delicate flesh between your finger and thumb. “Knife?” 

You nodded. “I got myself pretty good there when I was cutting veggies a few years back. No stitches, but I bled like crazy. My roommate thought I was super hurt.” 

Gently resting your captive hands on the wheel of the car, Javier ticked the radio up, letting soft music fill the space. “Thank you,” he said. “For driving me out here. For not hating me.” 

You shook your head. “I could never hate you Javi. You were just lost. I helped find you again.” 

That grin you’d worked so hard for finally returned, the one that he’d give you over dinner when you made something impressive and when he had to help you with your bulletproof vest. “Should we go home? Steve’s gonna wake up soon.” 

You nodded. “Sure. Poor thing’s gonna be so hungover today.” 

Sure enough, when you two got home, Steve was sitting up on the couch. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but you were DEA agents. You woke up before the day even started. 

“Where were you?” Steve said, standing and stumbling to the door. “I was so worried!” 

“We went for a drive,” you reassured, grabbing Steve’s arms to steady him. “Javi, darling, will you grab a pack of bacon from the fridge? I’m gonna make breakfast.” 

Javier grabbed the bacon while you steered Steve back to the couch. 

“You called me darling,” Javier noticed once you’d entered the kitchen, tossing on an apron and turning a small portable radio on. “Intentional?” 

You grabbed his shirt collar and kissed him. “Yeah. Intentional,” you said as you broke away, opening the bacon. “Start the coffee?” 

Javier swore softly, grabbing the coffee and three mugs. “I guess I should stop finding those corner girls to help me forget, huh?”

Taking out a pan, you shrugged. “I could always teach you to cook,” you said. “Or you could take up photography like Steve. Or, better yet, sewing. I know you can already do it.” 

“I cannot sew.” 

“Yes you can,” you countered, reaching around Javier to grab the eggs. “I watched you fix a shirt once.” 

Javier swore again. “I think I’ll try cooking,” he decided, standing behind you and loosely wrapping his arms around your middle. “Scrambled?” 

Nodding, you cracked six eggs into the pan. “Start making the toast please,” you said, and Javier did so, touching you every time he passed. Just soft touches, a comforting hand brushing your back or shoulder when he walked behind you. 

Over breakfast, you read the paper as best you could, occasionally asking Javier to translate. Steve had his head in his hand, the other hand holding his coffee cup. He listened halfheartedly, not making a sound as he took in the information. 

“Alright,” you said, folding the paper and standing, taking everyone’s empty plate. “Get ready for work. Today’s gonna be busy.” 

Steve left, heading upstairs to grab clothes. Javier went across the hall, finishing first and coming back, finding you already ready, adjusting your lipstick in the mirror. “Waiting on Steve?” 

“Waiting on Steve,” you confirmed, turning to Javier. “Well don’t you look good.” 

Javier smiled. He was wearing the red shirt you openly adored, the top few buttons popped open. 

“Lovebirds,” Steve said from your doorway, adjusting his own shirt. “C’mon, we’re gonna be late.” 

You laughed. “We could never. Not with how you drive.” 

Javier nodded his agreement and followed you out to the car. Steve looked back at the two of you, arm in arm. “So, what’s this?” 

“This, Steve,” you said, turning a finger and gesturing for him to look where he was going. “Is love.”

[some-dr-writings]

Gundham’s and Kazuichi’s mangaka S/O wants to draw them

Gundham Tanaka:

·       Though you were the Super High School Level Mangaka you specialized in historical fantasy! You absolutely adored doing research and finding new mythical beasts and species to sketch and incorporate into your work. It was no surprise that Gundham became your muse the moment you two met!

·       Gundham would allow you to visit his creatures and draw them to use as bases for cryptids and monsters of all sorts in your manga. The four Dark Devas often acted as your pose models given how unusually animated they were for hamsters.

·       Having asked the Overlord of Ice to allow you near his animals so often you spent much time together and eventually started dating.

·       “My Queen, the Stringer of Fates, what curse dares to plague your soul?! You’ve not touched the pages with which you create and destroy worlds, as if it were deadly to do so! You’ve yet to search out a demon to immortalize. Not even have you greeted the four Dark Devas of Destruction as you always have.” You huffed lazily watching the rabbit Gundham was currently grooming. “Artists’ block. I can’t seem to draw or write anything. Either I just stare at a blank page for hours, or I start something which quickly dissolves into an incoherent mess!” Rubbing your temples, you grumbled at the clogged feeling fogging your mind. “I did pull a few all-nighters last week. Maybe I’m just drained. But if things keep going like this, I’ll miss my deadline! I already asked for an extension on it last week, I can’t keep doing this!”

·       Gundham watched as you picked up the sketch pad and pencil. There was this stiffness in your movements. Your hand which once flowed about gracefully like a bird in flight now paved plain straight lines. Your eyes darted about unable to focus on anything. “UGH! I can’t even draw a proper circle for the rabbit’s body!” Sinking into your seat you tossed your sketch pad and pencil aside. “Perhaps a day of respite is in order.” “No, I already took a day off yesterday. I feel I’m even worse now than I was two day ago.”

·       The Devas quickly scurried over to you, hopping into your lap, or climbing onto your shoulder to nuzzle your cheek. “… thanks.” Gently petting the two in your lap you sighed in defeat.

·       It was at that Gundham abruptly stood up. “Where is my Queen, and what have you done with her, villain?!” “… Huh?” “MY Queen would never rot away so quickly into a decrepit state such as this! She’d fight and claw till her final breath! She’d never faulter so easily!” “I Am, your Queen.” “Hmph! No, you are not. Now, tell me where she is.” You marched right up to Gundham glaring at him. “I’m right here! I am your Queen, the Stringer of Fates!”

·       It started as a chuckle which boomed into uproarious laughter! “There you are. That determination, your will to live has returned to your eyes. I am glad to have you back.” Surprisingly, you did feel like you had more energy than before. “So, shall we be off? A piece of you is still missing and we must search it out less you start to fade away once more.” “… Yeah, a date sounds nice right now.”

·       As a bright blush dusted his cheeks, the Overlord of Ice took your hand into his bandaged one, the other taking your bag of sketch supplies, he led you out of the school grounds into the great beyond!

·       The day was filled with fun and laughter as you raced from place to place, doing anything you could think of. A walk in the park, a trip to the arcade, lunch at a café, shopping at a bookstore, and anything else you could have dreamed of.

·       As the sun began to set, Gundham and you found yourselves at the clear beach, dancing around barefoot, not a care in the world. “… Gundham. Thank you, today was amazing.” His entire face instantaneously flushed hearing his true name being called. In that moment he just looked so beautiful to you. His sheepish smile, those tender eyes, just, everything about him.

·       “May I draw you?” “… Of course, my Queen.”

·       And thus you drew, having completely forgotten that morning or the past few days, you were struggling.

·       “Ah! Your depiction captured my true form! I should have known you could see through my mortal guise!” He so happily admired your drawing with sparkling eyes.

·       While he was distracted you worked on another piece, one of a dark king holding his queen close on the soft shores of the beach.

  Kazuichi Soda:

·       You never held much interest in machinery till you came to Hope’s Peak and met Kazuichi. It seemed just about every time you saw him, he was tinkering with something, from a small robot toy to a monster truck engine. Often times the parts of whatever he was working on were spread out, and then seeing how they all fit together fascinated you. Without realizing it you’d end up just watching him work for hours and sketching out the pieces and tools he was using.

·       Quickly this fascination bled into your own work, incorporating steampunk-esque elements into it. And the more elements you added, the more references you needed. At first you tried getting some on your own, but you’d just end up injuring your hands and fingers in some way or you’d break the pieces.

·       “Look, you got me into this mess and now you have to take responsibility.” “W-what!?” Before Kazuichi could panic you placed an old, rusted pocket watch before him. “How do I disassemble this!?” For a week or two after you’d bring some new item to Kazuichi to disassemble and reassemble. You eagerly sketched out the pieces you needed the references of and more.

·       Quickly you and Kazuichi became friends. You would chatter away as you did your own things. Before you knew it the two of you ended up spending time together just to be together, no drawing and no tinkering.

·       Kazuichi would go to you for advice for his unrequited crush on Princess Sonia to which you’d try your best to help, even if it did hurt a little given your crush on the mechanic. She wasn’t the only thing he spoke of though, so you had plenty of other conversations.

·       Kazuichi certainly liked chatting so when one day he was quiet you got a bit worried… Then you remembered something. “Oh Soda. You’ve never been on a school trip before, right?” “Hmm, uh, yeah. I skipped out on the only one I got a chance to go on.” “Because of financial issues, right.” “Yeah.” “Well, I happen to be going on a trip all over Europe for background references and I was thinking who better to take along than my best friend and best mechanic I know!” The news certainly perked him right up, and he excitedly chattered on about traveling! Quickly the news spread, and it ended up becoming a class trip! Honestly, though a trip alone with Soda sounded lovely, you more enjoyed seeing how ecstatic he was to be going on an actual class trip with everyone.

·       The trip was fantastic, it seemed to be nonstop fun. Often you’d forget that you were being payed to go on this trip for work and that you needed to get reference materials, thankfully Mikan took more than enough reference photos for you.

·       Though during the trip, you noticed how Kazuichi, though still friendly, was a bit more reserved than usual. When you asked him what was wrong, he said he appreciated the concern, but it was something he had to work out on his own.

·       Eventually your trip took you all to France the city of love. The place was certainly an artist’s dream, you found yourself drawing nonstop there. It was amazing!

·       At one point in your trip your class wanted to get to a restaurant at the top of a rather large hill, but the only way to get there was via a thin road by car. So, you, Kazuichi, Sonia and your driver were the last to get to the restaurant.

·       Then the car broke down. Kazuichi immediately went to check the engine while Sonia stood at the edge of the road, looking out at the sunset. It was a gorgeous sight, her profile, the sunset, the city lights, everything. You had started sketching out the scenery when a though struck you.

·       You elbowed Kazuich, gaining his attention. You then leaned in real close while still looking at Sonia, not noticing the blush spreading on his cheeks as he kept looking to you. “Hey Soda, now’s your chance. This view is absolutely romantic, and you’re in the city of love. Don’t you think this is the perfect time to ask out the girl you like?” This hurt, it really did, but seeing how happy he was to be going on a school trip without worry like he always wanted, you could hardly imagine his joy if Sonia got together with him at a time like this. It hurt, but you just wanted to see him happy.

·       “… Ask out the girl I like, huh…… Okay.”

·       Turning to you he placed his hands atop your shoulders. “Y/N I have a crush on you. Please go out on a date with me.” “… Wait? I thought… what about Nevermind?” “I, well, yeah, I do like her, but… I really like you… I… That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out lately and... so I... You get it, don’t you!?” “… Soda, please let me draw you!” “Huh?” “Well, if we start going out, we’ll be boyfriend and girlfriend, right? I’d like to have something to commemorate the moment by.” “S/O!” He pulled you into a tight hug, giddy out of his mind.

·       You ended up drawing him at the restaurant. He loved the drawing so much he took a picture to use as his phone’s lock screen. From then on you often drew him for references for poses and though all great, his favorite would forever be the first one you made of him. It was made to celebrate you getting together, it was always so special to him.

[et-lesailes]

missing linc // chapter three

series masterlist

pairing: ceo!dad!steve x reader

word count: 2950

series summary:  you are a college student working at a daycare full time during your summer break, and you have grown especially fond of one of the toddlers in your class, lincoln rogers. you are certainly not expecting to develop such a huge crush on his dad steve when you meet him for the first time, but you can’t help but be attracted to the businessman– despite the fact that he’s married. however, as intelligent and mature as steve comes across, he has a few secrets behind his marriage- one in particular he may never be able to make up for.

series themes: romance, drama, age gap, infidelity, smut in later chapters

chapter summary: steve and reader start getting to know each other more. while steve is on his business trip, reader is asked to babysit and ends up seeing something she definitely was not meant to see...

taglist:  @viarogers , @evanstush , @chibi-crazy , @chalamet-evans , @world-of-losers , @songforhema, @sebabestianstan101 , @tanyam93 , @bval-1, @wonderwinchester , @little-miss-exo, @poerebel , @pining-and-tired , @gogomez-509 , @patzammit, @a-distantdreamer, @malthestorytellerblog, @rainbowkisses31, @jbug491writinghelp, @quaiderade, @melannie77, @gigistorm, @lille-kattunge, @teller258316, @rohaintahquil, @deidrashouseofpain, @firstangeldragonranch, @peach-acid, @allsortsofinterests, @xoxabs88xox, @honeyloverogers, @capsiclesdoll, @qrndevans, @mcueveryday, @drkstrangeson, @bangtan-serendipity, @heyyouwiththeassbutt, @cptn-sgrogers, @heyiamthatbitch, @captainscanadian, @kaithezaftig, @morganhoran1671, @booktease21, @hista-girl, @steeeeverogers, @okilover02, @collete04, @sadella-adams, @rumoured-whispers, @aletteredaffair, @shannon124, @isawritesstories, @knuffeltuff, @wxntersoldiers, @kelbabyblue, @macgruberrr, @troublermalik, @deepmuffinspymaker

notes: i swear if the taglist notification thing doesn’t work this time i will just resort to sending out an email newsletter to yall like i just am so done w tumblr ok. anyways, just wanted to say thank you guys for all the love and support you’ve been giving me for this fic, and tbh if you wanted to give a little extra tonight i’d really appreciate it because i’m having a suuuuper shitty night. :c

** please send an ask if you would like to be added to the taglist!

For the rest of that week, Steve dropped off and picked up Linc from daycare, much to you and your coworkers’ delight. Besides his enthralling looks, he was a genuinely charming and kind person, and it was easy to keep up conversation with him. He did not come past 6 again, but he did generally come at around 5:45 or 5:50, which still had Linc being the only toddler left in the class with you.

You supposed because it was just the two of you there with Linc and no other children for you to watch, it had been a given that there would be more conversation. He did not have to rush to get anywhere and neither did you, and so each day became hanging around slightly more whether it be in the classroom or out on the parking lot, chatting just a bit more than the day before. You would make sure to clean the room before he got there so he could walk you out, and you couldn’t help but wish this could be an everyday routine-- unfortunately, he had told you he would be traveling again just the next week.

You now knew a little more about him, and he about you. He knew you were a college student, a soon-to-be junior, to be exact. He knew you studied psychology and that you eventually wanted to work with children and child development. He knew where you were from, your favorite foods, hobbies, interests-- mainly the basics, really, nothing too deep. He had told you that he was a CEO of a pharmaceutical company and that he grew up in New York. He liked running and exercise in general (of course) and drawing-- he had even shown you a few photos of some sketches he did in his spare time and you were blown away, especially upon a particularly realistic portrait of Linc as an infant. He had told you that he loved seeing the ocean and that he wanted to be able to take Linc to the beach soon, hoping his son would appreciate the water just as much as he did.

When Sunday night came around, you were a little sad knowing that you would not be seeing Steve the next day. You weren’t even sure when he’d be back-- when you had asked, he said that it depended on how long it would take for him to get his current project done. Still, being with Linc throughout the days felt even more special than it did before. Now that you knew he got so many of his traits from his father, you felt more connected to him thanks to the many conversations you had shared with Steve throughout the past week.

You hadn’t expected to hear from Steve while he was gone; he hadn’t even sent you a message ever since he got your number, probably because he hadn’t needed any babysitting during that time. However, when a random number popped up on your lockscreen with a message underneath it at 1:30 AM on Wednesday, your heart skipped a beat simply from seeing the name that came with it.

Hi Y/N. It’s Steve. How are you?

Why were you acting like a girl with her first crush over this? You had been about to go to sleep, figuring you probably should since you had to be up at 8, but now you simply had to reply. You saved his number to your contacts before texting back.

Y/N: Hi Steve! I’m good, what about you? How’s the Philippines?

The screen showed him typing already, and you couldn’t deny you were pleased. The thought of having his full attention made you feel unnecessarily happy, but you also needed to force yourself to stop thinking about it so much.

Steve: Great. The beaches here are beautiful, I think you’d like them too.

He was already typing again and so you waited, biting your lip as you stared at the screen.

Steve: I told Tiana that you were open to babysitting and she wanted me to check with you if Thursday night would work. Maybe from around 6:30-9:30? She has a dinner event for work.

Y/N: Sure, I’m available that night! I’d love to help

Steve: I’ll let her know. Thank you- how much do you charge?

Y/N: Would $15 an hour work?

Steve: $25 it is ;-) Thanks again. Have a good night, Y/N.

You blinked and widened your eyes, wondering if he had made a typo, though the winky face told you otherwise.

Y/N: Wait, you meant 15 right?

You waited a few moments, but unlike before, no typing bubbles appeared.

Y/N: Just to clarify, 15. Just 15! 25 is too much!

Again, no typing bubbles. You stared at the screen in disbelief, though you couldn’t help but smile. Not because of the extra money, but just because of him. This was not good. You could not be catching feelings for Steve, it made absolutely no sense. You still barely knew the guy, and he was a married man, for God’s sake.

Putting your phone on your nightstand, you sighed as you settled into bed, wondering if you should explore dating options within your school-- anything to get your mind off Steve.

Thursday came around faster than you thought it would. Steve had texted you the address the night before, and you were now on your way there from work-- your boss had actually let you leave slightly early for once, and so you figured you’d just show up and wait in your car so Tiana did not feel rushed. She had seemed grateful to you when she had come to pick Linc up-- she had assured you she would have him fed before you got there, so you would only need to bathe him and get him ready for bed.

When you turned down Steve’s road itself, you were already in shock as you stared at the huge houses lining the street. Of course, Steve’s was at the very end and the most grand of them all, extending father both horizontally and vertically looking like a mansion right out of a movie. As you pulled into the long driveway, you noticed three cars-- Steve’s Mercedes, which made sense because he had probably been dropped off to the airport, and two others. One had to be Tiana’s, perhaps the other was another car they both used? To be honest, you were surprised there weren’t even more cars in the driveway, if that was the case.

You parked in a spot that was out of the way of all three cars, not knowing which one Tiana would use-- the driveway was quite roomy, and even if you were on the far side of it, it was probably the most convenient seeing she’d need to get out. You were parked on the other side of a rather large Range Rover, your much smaller car practically hidden behind it. Checking your phone, you saw that it was only 6. Eh, you could probably just go ahead in-- now that you were already in the driveway, it felt weird to simply sit there. You were about to open the car door when you noticed movement coming from one of the home’s large windows. When you looked towards it, your eyes immediately widened.

There stood Tiana and a male who was certainly not Steve, engaged in a rather steamy lip lock as his hands moved over her waist. She was continuously trying to pull back but giggling at the same time, clearly not bothered by the situation, gladly allowing him to keep pulling her back in for more kisses. You froze, staring in shock before making yourself look away, completely in disbelief. She was cheating on Steve? Who the hell could cheat on Steve? The more you thought about it, the more angry you got, but you took a deep breath. It was not your responsibility to be upset with her or lecture her, but you could tell Steve about what you had seen. In fact, you were itching to at that very moment, but the curtains suddenly closed and you were frozen again. Had she seen you? Did she know that you saw her? Did staying in your car look too suspicious, like you were spying? To make it seem like you had just gotten there, you quickly got out of the car, sliding your phone in your pocket. You could tell him after she left.

Trying to act as normal as possible, you walked up to the front door and rang the bell. She answered moments later, a smile on her face as she opened the door, though you could tell she looked a little nervous. “Hi there, Y/N!” You smiled in return as best as you could. “Hi, Tiana. Sorry I’m a little early, I got off work earlier than expected and figured I’d just head here. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” she assured, perhaps assuming she was in the clear if you didn’t seem like you knew anything. “Linc actually ended up passing out pretty early tonight, he was exhausted after dinner,” she explained as she let you in, and you couldn’t help but discreetly look around while listening to her; where did the man go? “So you can just sit back and relax-- there’s books in the study if you’re into reading, or the TV has Netflix, Hulu, cable, whatever you wanna watch. Oh, and feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

She showed you around the main parts of the house just so you would know where everything was, and although you were still tense about what you had just witnessed, you couldn’t help but marvel at how luxurious this house was. It did not even seem like a toddler lived there until she showed you the playroom, Linc’s nursery where he was fast asleep, and even his own personal bathroom. She showed you where his diapers and other personal items were in case he were to wake up before bringing you back downstairs. You were still extremely confused on where her little “boyfriend” could be, wondering if he had actually snuck out of the house-- until she called out, “David? Are you still in the study?”

‘Wait, what?’ you thought, now even more shocked than before. She was blatantly admitting to having this man in her home? She looked to you with a smile. “David is one of my associates at work. We were just going over a presentation we have tonight.”

‘Is it a presentation on French kissing?’ you thought to yourself in disbelief, seeing she was clearly trying to make it seem like they were only coworkers. “Ah, I see,” you said politely nonetheless, then looked up as David came into the room, dressed in a suit and tie matching the shade of Tiana’s dress. “Hi. My name’s Y/N,” you introduced yourself, and he shook your hand with a smile. “David. Nice to meet you.”

“Alright, we should get going-- wouldn’t hurt to get there early.” Tiana picked up her purse. “Thank you again, Y/N!” You nodded and waved them off, waiting until they left before letting out an exhale and turning around, making your way to the living room. It was a little disappointing that Linc was sleeping, considering you had been excited to play with him, but at the same time, maybe it was for the best. You wouldn’t be able to have this conversation with Steve if you were bathing a hyper one-year-old. Plopping down on one of the leather couches, you took your phone out and typed a message.

Y/N: Hey Steve, are you busy right now? Think you could call me?

You figured telling him over the phone would be better rather than simply in a text, and besides, you did not exactly want potential screenshot evidence that you were involved in this mess, if it were to somehow come back to bite you in the ass. Your phone dinged a few minutes later and you immediately turned it on silent, even though there was no possible way Linc could hear it all the way from his nursery. The only reason you would even be able to hear him was because of the high tech baby monitor on the TV stand.

Steve: In a meeting right now, so unfortunately I can’t at the moment. Why? Is everything okay?

You couldn’t help but take note that he was texting you despite being in a meeting, but then reminded yourself to stay focused.

Y/N: I saw something and I wanted to talk to you about it. Just call me whenever you’re free? Linc is sleeping so I should be able to answer.

Steve: Sounds good. You’re okay though right?

You hated how nice he was, how thoughtful-- only because it was making you more angry that Tiana would have the nerve to cheat on him.

Y/N: Yes I’m okay it’s not about me or anything. Just call me as soon as you can okay?

Steve: Ok. Talk to you soon.

You started scrolling through Instagram to distract yourself, but you still couldn’t believe it. This probably had to do with what Stephanie had been saying about Steve and Tiana seeming to have an odd relationship based on how they acted with one another; had Tiana really been cheating for that long, though? How could she live with herself? You felt so disgusted with her, getting more and more irritated that she couldn’t appreciate what literally any woman in this universe would-- being married to Steve Rogers.

You realized you weren’t even looking at the photos on Instagram but rather absentmindedly continuing to scroll with your thumb; God knows how many you had missed. Sighing, you swiped out of the app and leaned back on the couch, resting your head back and staring up at the ceiling. What would happen now? Were you about to destroy a marriage? You felt guilty thinking about it that way, but it had to be done, right? It was wrong to withhold such information from Steve, he deserved to know.

Thankfully your phone rang, and you answered it almost immediately, just wanting to get this over with. “Hi, Steve. Thanks for calling me…”

“Of course, Y/N. I have a bit of time before my next meeting. What’s going on? I gotta say, you’re worrying me here…”

You wished you could tell him it was alright, but you really couldn’t, and you felt horrible.

“I, uh-- there’s really no easy way for me to say this Steve, but… um, well, I got to your house a little early,” you finally began, trying not to be so tongue tied. “And I saw Tiana in the window and… w-well… she was kissing another guy.”

There was silence for a few seconds, and your heart was racing. Why were you drowning in anxiety over here? You could only imagine how Steve felt in this moment. Was he just going to hang up on you? Was he going to explode? Was he going to cry? You didn’t know him well enough to know how he would take news like this, and each second was killing you.

“I.. see.” He finally spoke, and you bit your lip, wondering if he was maybe still processing. He sounded strangely emotionless, but perhaps that was how he showed his own disappointment or upset feelings. “I-- uh, wow. Thank you for telling me, Y/N.” You blinked. How was he so composed? Was this what being an adult was about? Maybe he was far too mature for you, because had you been in his shoes, you would have probably been flipping out. “Are you okay?” you somewhat blurted out, wondering if he was maybe just bottling up his feelings. “You.. you can talk to me about it, if you want, I mean I know it’s none of my business and that we barely know each other and that I just take care of your son but-- I, I’m sorry, I just--”

“It’s okay, Y/N,” he cut you off, and you swore that based off the sound of his voice, he was even smiling a little. “I really appreciate it. I think I just need some time to process and think about all of this. I wasn’t really expecting a call like this, you know?” You immediately nodded despite the fact he couldn’t see you. “Yeah, yeah of course. I get it. I-- I guess I’ll let you go, then? Again, I’m sorry, I just thought you should know… it felt wrong if I didn’t tell you.”

“Of course. You did the right thing.” Steve assured you, and you felt a weight lifted off your shoulders-- and then you felt guilty for even having that weight there in the first place. You had no reason to be feeling as if you were the burdened one from this. You wanted to help him as best as you could, but he was right. He needed some time to himself. “I’ll talk to you later, Y/N.”

You said your goodbyes and hung up, a loud sigh escaping your lips. You were still in shock over how… calm he was. Part of you wanted to sneak up to his and Tiana’s room to try and snoop around for more information, but you knew that was going too far. If anything, his maturity about the situation was actually somewhat inspiring, and so you picked up the remote and turned the TV on, telling yourself to stop thinking about it.

[x1musings]

“do you need a ride home?” + “your idea of fun always involves breaking the law.”

☆pairing: seungyoun x reader

☆request: #11 + #22 from 101 prompts by anon

☆genre: fluff

☆word count: 3.2k

☆a/n: nei not writing about a party challenge failed. i swear my last 4 one-shots all involve a party, which is hilarious considering i hate parties with a passion. anyway, sorry it’s late, but i hope you like my first seungyoun one-shot. be sure to reply, tag or send me asks with your reactions 😊 i want to read everything.

your head is pounding, and you couldn’t tell if it was because of the music that was so loud that it pulsed through your body, or the one too many shots you were peer pressured into drinking. either way, the room felt like it was spinning, and you knew you had to get out of that room before you passed out or threw up. you get up, and stagger to the balcony, sighing with relief when you see that it was empty. you had stopped drinking about an hour ago, but you could still feel the effects of the alcohol coursing through your blood. you lean your head over the railing, taking in deep breaths of fresh air.

“woah, i don’t think you should be doing that. not in your current state.”

you feel warm hands on your bare shoulders, drawing you back. you turn slowly, raising an eyebrow when you see who’s holding you upright. cho seungyoun. you had heard many things about him - some good, few bad and most ridiculous - but you had never actually met him before. even though you had seen him in passing before, you had never seen him this close. and the rumours did his appearance no justice. sure, he had that cliché bad boy vibe to him with his leather jacket, fitted white tee and ripped jeans, but there was a boyish aura to him beneath the troublemaker exterior.  his semi-long black hair was pushed back, showcasing his eyes, which are usually somewhat covered by his hair. his eyes draw you in, the easy-going humour in the surface, but something darker below. his smile was equally as sinful as it was charming. the cold rings on his fingers contrasted with the warmth his hands were radiating into the skin of your shoulder. just looking at him, you knew there was more to him, than the rumours say. and you didn’t know if it’s because of the alcohol coursing through your blood, but you wanted to get to know everything about him.

seungyoun waved his hand in front of your face. you had been staring at him so intently, you hadn’t noticed he was talking to you.

“i’m sorry, what did you say?”

he smirked, seemingly knowing that you were checking him out. “do you need a ride home? you look incredibly drunk right now, and i don’t think i should leave you alone.”

as much as drunk you wanted to get to know the real seungyoun, the growing sober part of you was sending warning signals throughout your body. you don’t know him well enough to trust him to take you home safely, it tells you.

“i…i don’t think i can go with you. i don’t know you.”

his smirk falls ever-so-slightly that you think you imagined it. “ah so you’ve heard the rumours about me, huh?”

“no, it’s not that,” you say quickly. “i just prefer someone that i know better.”

“well if you can find a sober person in there that you know better, then get them to take you home. but if you can’t, the offer still stands.”

you both knew that the chance of finding someone else who was sober was close to nil. most of your friends at the party lived either in the same building or in the other on-campus housing that was walking distance from this one, while you still lived with your parents. it was too late to catch the bus, and you didn’t trust yourself walking home, knowing your clumsy ass would somehow end up tripping and falling to your death. and to make matters worse, you had no cash on you and you phone had died two hours ago. if fate was pushing you towards seungyoun, it was doing a darn good job of giving you no other option.

“ok fine, but can i use your phone first? mine’s dead.”

he nodded, unlocking his phone and giving it to you. you log out of his facebook, and log into your account. opening your group chat, you send a quick message telling your friends that you were leaving and that seungyoun was taking you home. you send another message reassuring them that you would message them when you got home and charged your phone. you log out of your account and give him back his phone.

“all good?”

you nod, thanking him. you take a chance to actually see if he really was sober. he wasn’t swaying or slurring, but that didn’t mean he didn’t drink.

“why are you staring at me like that?” he asks, looking a little apprehensive.

“are you actually sober?” you ask, not hiding the suspicious tone in your voice.

“100%.”

“why would you come to a party and not drink at all?”

he leans in, caging you between his body and the railing behind you, and his sinful yet charming smile graces his lips again. “maybe because i wanted the chance to play prince charming for some drunken damsel.”

you roll your eyes and lean in to look him dead in the eye. “so, i’m just your unlucky target.”

he scoffs, “i wouldn’t call you unlucky, especially when i’m so kindly offering to drive you home.”

you were about to retort but someone had opened the balcony door, and the sound of the music made the pounding in your head return. you wince at the pain, surprised when you came to the realisation that the pain had disappeared while you had been talking to seungyoun.

“can you please take me away from here?” you ask, as you hold your head.

his eyes soften as he watches you cradle your head. “sure, let’s go. i just need to get something from the kitchen, so just wait outside for me.”

you nod, bracing yourself to walk through the loud apartment. you make your way through the crowd, quickly scanning to see if you could see any of your friends, so that you could tell them in person that you were leaving. but to your dismay, you couldn’t see any of them. you just hoped that they will see the messages you sent them before they panicked. though knowing them and their tendency to believe every rumour they hear, they would still panic after reading your messages, especially after the part where you tell them that you’re with cho seungyoun. the campus troublemaker.

you wait outside the front door, a safe distance from the music. it didn’t take long for seungyoun to leave the apartment and stand in front of you, holding out two bottles of water and a banana.

“this is for you. sorry i would have gotten you something else to eat, but this was all i could find.”

you heart swelled at his words. how did anyone actually believe that this boy was a big, bad troublemaker, especially after meeting him? he was a complete sweetheart. you thank him, as you take the banana and a water bottle from him. holding the other water bottle, he leads you to the elevator and then to his car.

“this is your ride?”

seungyoun paused as he opened the passenger door to let you in. “yeah, why?”

“nothing, i was half-expecting you to ride a motorcycle, and i was thinking of ways to avoid getting on it.”

he rolled his eyes as he gestured for you to get into the car. “i guess you believe all the rumours about me, huh?”

you brush past him and sit in the passenger seat. “not all of them, just a few that had proof to back it up.”

he closes the door and walks over to the driver’s seat. “like what?” he asks as he starts the engine.

“like the rumour that you were the one that beat the crap out of the headmaster’s kid. there were videos of that everywhere and everyone figured out it was you because of your tats.”

“he deserved it. the video only shows one half of the story,” seungyoun groaned, as he reversed out of the parking space and drove off. “where do you live?”

you sigh. you didn’t really want to go home while you were still drunk, knowing the lecture that would be waiting for you at home. “can we go somewhere else? i don’t want to go home right now.”

seungyoun smirked, “why? you don’t want your parents to see their goody-two-shoes daughter drunk?”

you scoff at his assumption. “what makes you think i’m a goody-two-shoes?”

“i’m not the only one who has rumours spread about them. our uni is small enough that everyone knows about you and all of your good-girl activities. like organising a big fundraiser for… what was it?”

“…the orphanage down the road.”

“oh yeah. noble cause.”

you roll your eyes at him, turning to stare outside. you watched the building blur as seungyoun sped through the empty road. you didn’t bother to tell him to slow down, knowing your words would just go through one ear and out the other.

“so, what’s the most ridiculous rumour that you’ve heard about yourself that’s false?” you ask, the curiosity eating at you. you had heard so many ridiculous rumours about him, but you couldn’t tell which were true and which were false.

“hmm, the one about me streaking through uni with a mask on. that was my friend, not me. i have standards, you know?”

you laugh, “oh do tell.”

he stopped at a red light, and turned to you, leaning close enough that you could see the mischievous glint in his eye. “the only time i take my clothes off in public is if i’m having sex with someone.”

for the first time in your life, you didn’t have a witty reply ready on the tip of your tongue. you wanted to blame the alcohol, but you knew it had less to do with that and more to do with seungyoun’s piercing gaze that threatened to unravel you. it was like he could read your every thought and feeling, and that scared you more than any of the rumours you had heard about him.  you quickly break your eye connection with him and turn back to the window.

he laughs to himself as he turns back to road ahead of him. he had wanted to get under your skin, ever since he first laid eyes on you. he had watched you during the party, the ever-composed girl that seemed to have her whole world under her control, even when she was completely drunk. or rather that was what you wanted everyone to think. he wanted to see the girl under the carefully constructed mask. and he had just seen his first glimpse of her.

when you composed yourself, you turned back to him. “so, where exactly are we going?”

his eyes lit up in a way that filled your stomach with dread. “i have an idea. it’ll be fun!”

you shake your head immediately. “your idea of fun always involves breaking the law.”

he huffed in indignation. “name one time i actually broke the law.”

“what about the time you decided to spray paint the wall near the law building? you can’t deny it, because i saw you get arrested with my own eyes.” you lean your elbow on the centre compartment and rested your head on your hand, looking at him with expectant eyes. let’s see you weasel your way out of this one, you think to yourself, unable to hide the smirk playing at your lips.

he took a second to look at you before turning back to the road. “ok, that one is true.” 

you grin to yourself, knowing he couldn’t see you, as you leaned back into your seat. “so, what’s your idea? let’s hear it before i say no.”

seungyoun smirked. “what makes you think you think i’ll tell you now? just wait and see.”

you continued to pester him for hints for the remainder of the ride, and he ignored every word you uttered, with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. you grumble to yourself about how he’s a massive asshole, loud enough that he could hear you. somehow, his grin widens as he parks the car.

“we’re here.” you glance outside to see that you had arrived at… the zoo?

you look at him with incredulous eyes. “you brought me to the zoo?”

“yes. have you ever been to the zoo after hours?”

“obviously not, because i’m a law-abiding citizen.”

“more like a boring citizen.” he unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the car. he walks over to your side, and opens the door, urging you out with his eyes, but you shake your head and hold onto your seatbelt. “come on y/n, it’ll be fun. no children, no people. just us, the animals and nature.”

“and security guards who will throw us in jail when they find us trespassing.”

he leans over you and unbuckles your seatbelt. “don’t be such a baby. i’ve done this before, and i’ve never been arrested. just trust me, ok? i won’t put you in danger.”

he offers you his hand and waits for you to make up your mind. did you trust him? short answer: no, but you wanted to. you debated the pros and cons of going with him, and slowly the logical side of you lost out. you pull your hands away from the seatbelt and grab his hand. he grins as he pulls you out of the car. he closes the door softly and leads you to a wall. he boosts you up over the wall, and you help to pull him up with your limited upper body strength. seungyoun jumps down, and land softly on the grass below. you hesitate, knowing from past experience that your clumsy self would roll your ankle as you jump down.  

seungyoun spreads his arms out, whispering, “jump, i’ll catch you.”  

you jumped, closing your eyes as you braced yourself for the inevitable pain you were going to feel. 

“you ok there, y/n?” seungyoun’s soft voice made you open your eyes to see that he had caught you safely in his arms, cradling you against his chest.

it took you a second to shake yourself out of the daze you had fallen into and scramble to your feet. “yeah, i’m fine, thanks.” 

“ok, let’s go.” seungyoun grabs your hand and leads you towards the closest enclosure, which happened to be the giraffe enclosure. in the dark, it was hard to see the animals properly. you could barely make out the curled-up giraffes sleeping. 

“i can’t see anything, and all the animals are sleeping. so why do you even come here?” you whispered. the more you knew about him, the more confused you got. who is this boy? 

“it’s peaceful being here but there’s also that sense of danger that you’d get caught.” 

you roll your eyes. he was hiding something behind that tough guy act. “you can feel that same sense of danger if you break into any place, like an office building or a shopping centre. so why here specifically?” 

seungyoun stares back at you, and you wait to see if his mask slips. but before you could do anything, seungyoun whips his head to the side, before pulling you behind the big tree next to you. you are flush against seungyoun, one hand on his chest and the other on his arm to stabilize you. his arms are wrapped around your waist, holding you against his body. you could feel every one of his muscles under his thin shirt, and smell of his cologne overpowered your senses.  

“what happened?” you whisper to him. 

“i saw a light. i think it’s the security guard.” 

you groan softly, as you rest your head against his chest, feeling like you were going to throw up due to the dread and anxiety in your stomach. “we’re going to be arrested. we’re going to jail.” you whisper into his chest, not knowing if he could hear you at all.  

seungyoun leans in close, sending a shiver down your spine as you feel his breath on your ear. “we’re not going to get arrested. but even if we do, i have really good lawyers.” 

you lift your head to give him a glare, but when you noticed how close his face was to yours, all thoughts flew out of your head. you were struck at how handsome he was. sure, you had noticed how attractive he was before, but now in the moonlight, with the wind in his hair, soft smile on his lips and that vulnerable look in his eye, he had never looked better. so, this is what he looks like without his mask on.  

you lean up slightly, smiling as he inhales sharply, and press your lips against his softly. you pull away to see his reaction, but he pulls you back, and kisses you with more passion. you moan softly, still aware of your surroundings, and you snake your arms around his neck, raking your fingers through his hair. he groans into your mouth as you pull at his hair slightly, his fingers digging into your waist as he pulls you closer to him. the kiss was messy, but passionate, like you two couldn’t get enough of each other.  

after a while, seungyoun pulls away slowly, still holding you close to him.

“we should go before we get caught.” his voice sounded huskier than it had before, which made you smile at the knowledge that you could unravel him in the same way he unravelled you.  

“let’s go.”  

once you had checked that the coast was clear, you both made a dash towards the wall, and left the same way you had come in. as you walked to seungyoun’s car, you couldn’t help but giggle at the ridiculous adventure you had been on. 

before you could open the passenger seat, seungyoun turned you around and pushed you against the door. he held your face in hands gently, like he was afraid to break you, and planted a soft kiss on your kiss-swollen lips. 

he pulled away with a shy smile, asking, “so when’s our next date?” 

you raise an eyebrow at his assumption. “this wasn’t a date. dates with me always involve a meal.” 

“i gave you a banana.” 

“that’s not a meal, that’s a snack.”  

seungyoun laughed to himself. “ok fine. are you free tomorrow for dinner?” 

you couldn’t help the smile that graced your lips. “i might be, i’ll have to check my schedule.” 

seungyoun leans in close, so close you could feel his breath on your lips. “clear it. go on an actual date with me?” 

you didn’t have to think twice before answering. “ok.” 

after laying another soft kiss on your lips, seungyoun ushers you into the car. as he drives to your home, you think about the crazy night you had. when you first arrived at the party, you had expected the night to go exactly like every other night. little did you know, you would end up on a date with the campus troublemaker, who was nothing like the rumours had claimed. you smile as you intertwine your fingers with his. boy, were you glad that fate pushed you to seungyoun.  

[xxx-cat-xxx]

Just a Bend in the Road

Something is wrong with Tony, Peter is sure. 

At least they’re only three hours out from the lakehouse now; Pepper will be able to figure out whatever it is that’s going on with him. Just a few hours, Peter thinks. They can do that. 

Turns out, that was a bit optimistic.

Happy Birthday to @ravenclaw-lair, who asked me for a carsickness-turned-worse fic with the Iron Family. This is set in my favourite post-Endgame AU where Tony lives and Peter finally gets to meet Morgan and Pepper.

A million thanks to @whumphoarder for beta reading and coming up with an ending :) And special thanks to @heyjupiter for the East Coast university expertise.

_____________________

“You know Pete,” Tony starts for the nth time this weekend when they pull back onto the road after a rest stop, “you could still go for MIT. I know the person in charge of the admissions office. And when I say know, I mean”—he glances through the rearview mirror at Morgan, who is contentedly listening to audiobooks through her tablet before lowering his voice—“we had some pretty  intense late-night study sessions in the physics lab together back in the day. And by intense, I mean -”

“Stop, please stop,” Peter protests, rapidly shaking his head to get rid of the mental image. “I don’t even wanna think about that. And besides the fact that May would never let this happen, I don’t want to get into MIT just because you know someone there. That would be unfair to everyone else who had to apply. Plus, I really liked Culver.”

“Whatever you say, kiddo…” Tony sighs. “But let me know if you change your mind.”

Peter is sure he won’t. His grades are good, but, due to his nightly superhero activities, not quite outstanding enough for MIT, and he’s actually fine with that. He did like what he saw of Culver University during their open day - it’s not as top ranked as MIT or the Ivy League schools, but the quality of teaching and their hands-on research approach sounded cool. Plus, it’s Bruce Banner’s old university, and he comes there to give guest lectures from time to time, something Peter would be thrilled to witness.

Peter just hopes that Tony isn’t too disappointed in him for not trying out MIT - he’s seemed a bit distant throughout the whole trip.

“Do you want some trail mix?” Peter offers. Food is usually a failsafe way to lift his mentor’s mood.

“Nah, I’m good,” Tony declines. 

“I WANT TRAIL MIX!” Morgan shouts from under her headphones, about six times louder than necessary.

“Morguna, keep your voice down,” Tony scolds. 

“Sorry,” Morgan stage-whispers. “Can I have some now?”

(Needless to mention, food works wonders on her, too.) 

Peter holds out the bag and Morgan reaches into it with both of her hands, grabbing so much at once that half of it spills back into her lap. Grinning, Peter turns back to Tony and offers the bag once more. “You sure? It’s the good stuff - half M&Ms and no raisins.”

Tony seems to pale a little bit. He shakes his head tightly. “Not hungry.”

Peter frowns. There is no way Tony can’t be hungry. He skipped breakfast that morning, claiming that he’d rather have a long and undisturbed shower, but by the time Peter and Morgan came back, stuffed full of hotel food delicacies, he’d still been in bed. And, thinking back to last night, Peter recalls that Tony barely finished the small pizza he’d shared with Morgan. 

Now that he’s paying attention, Peter notices the thin film of sweat forming on his mentor’s forehead despite the almost too-cold temperature in the air conditioned car. “Are you alri-”

“What’s that shrieking noise?” Tony interrupts, nodding at the radio playing something from the local station. “Doesn’t even deserve to be called music,” he grumbles, passing Peter his phone. “Here, play something decent.”

Peter connects the device and pulls up one of Tony’s playlists, but the worry in his gut only increases at the man’s not very subtle attempt at changing the topic. At least they’re only three hours out from the lakehouse now; Pepper will be able to figure out whatever it is that’s going on with him. Just a few hours, Peter thinks. They can do that. 

Turns out, that was a bit optimistic.

Forty-five minutes later, Peter is idly texting with Ned about their current Lego project when Morgan suddenly takes off her headphones. “Daddy, are we almost there?” she asks, her tone just bordering on a whine.

“It’s at least another two hours,” Tony replies, glancing at her through the mirror with a frown. “What’s bugging you, Morguna?”

“My tummy doesn’t feel good,” Morgan complains, bending forward and wrapping her arms around herself. 

“Do you feel carsick?”

Morgan nods, pressing her lips together. 

“Okay bud, hold on a second,” Tony reassures calmly, already taking his foot off the gas. “I’ll find us a rest stop and we take a break.”

They reach the rest stop without incident, much to Peter’s relief. He used to get carsick a lot as a kid and remembers just how awful it felt. Tony makes Morgan walk around the car a few rounds to get some fresh air and then coaxes her into drinking half a bottle of Sprite. 

Tony is kind and patient as always when he talks to Morgan (something Peter still isn’t used to, despite having had a few months now to get used to Dad Tony™), although Peter can’t help but notice that his mentor seems a little out of it. 

After ten minutes, when the colour has returned to Morgan’s cheeks, Tony moves gingerly around the car to put her back into the booster seat, his lips pressed together almost as if he’s in pain. Both his real and prosthetic hands are shaking slightly when he clicks the seatbelt. 

“Break’s over, back to the road,” Tony’s voice knocks Peter out of his thoughts. He tosses the car keys to Peter, who catches them in confusion. “Your turn, Underoos. I’ll sit in the back with Morguna until she feels better.”

“What? No!” Peter protests. “I can’t drive!”

“What do you mean, you can’t drive?” Tony rebuts. “Do you have a license or not?”

“Well, yeah, but...” Peter does have a license, and he’s definitely come a long way since the day he nearly wrecked Flash’s car, but that still doesn’t mean he feels comfortable behind the wheel. “This car is crazy expensive! What if I break something?”

“Then I’ll buy a new one,” Tony says simply.

That was definitely not the answer Peter was looking for. He lets out a sigh and Morgan giggles a bit from where she’s pressed against Tony’s arm. 

“Come on, kid, please?” The tone is joking, but there’s a hint of desperation under the surface. Something is very, very wrong. 

“Okay,” Peter gives in. “But no comments about me driving below the speed limit.”

Tony gives a half-hearted grin. “Deal.” 

“Deal!” Morgan echoes, which makes Peter smile a little.

Peter is so nervous as he steers them back onto the highway that he hardly dares to draw a full breath. But after a few minutes, he realises that this car runs much smoother than May’s old Toyota Corolla. It’s almost as intuitive as navigating his Spider-Man suit, and after a while, Peter feels himself relax to the point where he is nearly enjoying it. 

Then, he hears a cough from the backseat that quickly turns into a hitching gag. Peter glances in the rearview mirror, fully expecting to see Morgan throwing up. But instead, the girl is staring at her father with a mixture of fear and surprise. It’s Tony who is now white as a ghost and pressing a sleeve-covered hand to his mouth, visibly trying to keep himself from being sick. 

“Pull over,” he says through gritted teeth. 

Peter is flabbergasted. “I can’t just -” 

“Daddy?” Morgan asks, her voice wavering.

“Pete, pull over,” Tony urges, his voice sharp. 

“Okay, okay...” Peter mumbles. He forces himself to concentrate on the road. He indicates to the right to change lanes and then pulls off onto the highway shoulder. 

The car has barely come to a stop before Tony throws the door open and stumbles out of sight behind the vehicle. Peter hears a painful-sounding retch, then the sound of liquid hitting the asphalt. 

“Daddy?” Morgan asks again in a small voice, starting to unbuckle her seatbelt. Figuring the audience of an anxious six-year-old is the last thing Tony wants at the moment, Peter stops her.

“Morgan, wait. Stay here with me,” he says. “Just give your dad a minute, okay?”

She looks at him, her eyes wide. “Is Daddy okay?”

“I- I think he’s a bit sick,” Peter admits. “But he’s gonna be fine,” he adds when he sees Morgan’s eyes fill with tears, irrespective of the worry tightening in his own stomach. 

“Can you look for a water bottle and tissues?” he asks, mostly to give her something to do. 

Morgan nods earnestly and then starts digging in the back pockets of the seats. She finds a packet of tissues and has just pulled out a water bottle when Tony returns. He climbs back into the car rather unsteadily, and sinks down into the seat with a heavy sigh.

“Sorry for that,” he states, his voice hoarse. He looks pretty bad, his face almost grey now and with a feverish gleam to his eyes that makes them stand out even more.

“Daddy!” Morgan exclaims. “Are you okay?”

Tony puts on a forced smile as he turns to face her. “Yeah, I’m okay, sweetie. Sorry I scared you.”

“Did you get carsick?” Morgan asks, mimicking his adult tone.

“Yeah, um, I was carsick,” Tony replies without looking at either of them. 

Peter doesn’t buy it for one second, but he doesn’t want to freak Morgan out. “Morgan, give him the tissues and some water, okay?” he instructs instead.

She holds the items out to Tony. 

“Thanks, munchkin,” he says softly, then takes a sip of water to rinse out his mouth. He leans out of the door to spit it out and can’t suppress a pained groan when he comes back up. “Okay, let’s just get home.”

Morgan snuggles against her father for the rest of the ride, her eyes half-closed, but she doesn’t really fall asleep. Tony seems to be barely holding it together. He is breathing shallowly, wincing slightly every now and then. More than once Peter can hear him gulp as if trying not to puke again. 

“Tony, seriously, tell me when to stop,” Peter whispers when he hears his mentor draw in a sharp breath after a curve. 

“Let’s just get to the house,” Tony mumbles before burping sickly into his sleeve.

Peter has never been happier to turn onto the forest road that leads them off the highway and towards the lake. The moment they stop, Tony is out of the car again, shuffling - almost limping - towards the house as quickly as he can. Peter parks the car and tells Morgan to go find her mom before following Tony to - who would have guessed - the bathroom. 

Peter can hear him throwing up from outside the door. He knocks, but the only response is another retch. Worry takes over, his spider-sense humming in his ears, and he opens the door without waiting any longer. 

Tony is hunched over the bowl, his left arm braced on the toilet seat and the prosthetic one wrapped tightly around his abdomen. He’s in the middle of heaving up bile, his whole body shaking from the strain of it. Peter waits until the current round is finished before tearing off some toilet paper and handing it over for Tony to wipe his mouth with, which the man does clumsily with his left hand. 

“Don’t kill me,” Tony rasps, not looking up at Peter. “I just didn’t wanna freak out Morgan - she’s just always so worried since I lost my arm and all.” He drops the paper into the bowl and reaches up to flush the handle, his face contorting into a painful grimace as he does so.

“And that’s why you didn’t wanna tell her that you got a stomach bug?” Peter asks incredulously. 

“Um...actually…” Tony swallows. “I think it might be appendicitis.”

Peter blinks. “What the hell, Tony? You should be in a hospital.”

“Morgan is really scared of hospitals - it would have terrified her if she'd seen me get wheeled off to surgery again. I’m sorry, kid, but what was I supposed to do?” Tony tries to sit back carefully but then just sort of collapses against the wall, his right knee pulled up to his chest.

A hundred possible answers to this question spring to Peter’s mind, all of which include Tony telling him what was going on about three hours ago. But he swallows them down - now is not the time.

“C-Can you get Pepper?” Tony asks in a sort of pitiful voice.

He’s looking a lot worse than he did just ten minutes ago, and despite his anger, Peter feels a pang of sympathy when he realises just how much Tony must have been holding it together in front of Morgan. 

“Sure.” Peter nods. “But don’t think we’re done talking about this.”

Despite the misery he’s in, Tony manages a weak grin. “Yes, Dad,” he teases.

Peter just sighs.

He almost bumps into Pepper when he opens the door to the living room where Morgan is watching TV.

Pepper takes in the look on Peter’s face and frowns. “What did he do this time?” she mouths. 

“Appendicitis,” Peter whispers back. Pepper’s eyes widen a bit in concern, but otherwise she doesn’t seem nearly as shaken as Peter feels. Two decades of life with Tony Stark seems to have brought her anxiety threshold to an entirely new level. She steps out into the hall and pulls the door shut behind her.

“Are you sure?” she asks. 

“Tony seems sure. And the symptoms match - I think he’s been feeling sick at least since yesterday, and it’s just getting worse.” Peter bites his lip, suddenly overcome by guilt upon thinking about how long it took him to figure out that something was off. 

Pepper seems to catch on to this. “Hey, enough of that. It’s not your fault, okay? Tony is a stubborn idiot who’d rather have the whole world believe that he’s a class-A asshole than admit to being sick.” 

Peter swallows, thinking back to the little he knows about the palladium poisoning period of Tony’s life. His admiration for Pepper instantly increases tenfold.

“I’m gonna drive him to the hospital,” Pepper continues. “I know we were supposed to drop you back with your aunt later, but do you mind staying with Morgan until Happy can get here?”

“No problem,” Peter reassures. Pepper nods gratefully and then walks briskly past him to the bathroom, where, from the sound of it, Tony is being sick again.

Peter’s enhanced hearing picks up Tony’s croaky, “Hey, Pep,” when she enters.

“Oh, Tony,” Pepper replies. “You’re burning up. You’re a hot mess, you know that?” 

Tony chuckles weakly. 

“Do you think you can get up?” she goes on. “We need to get you straight to the hospital...” 

He’ll be fine, Peter tells himself. He’ll be alright.

He straightens up and opens the door to the living room. “Hey kid, what are you watching?”

*

Several hours later, Peter and Happy are sitting in front of the TV, Peter pretending to study his chemistry notes and Happy pretending to watch Grey’s Anatomy while mostly being caught up in their own thoughts. It took Happy a while to get to the lakehouse, and then Peter decided against driving home. It’s exam season and he can just as well study here. Plus, he wants to be able to visit Tony in the hospital the next day.

Morgan has finally succumbed to sleep after Happy read her four different picture books. She was cranky all evening, first asking for pudding and ice cream for dinner and then demanding extra TV time, but no one had the heart to stop her. Both Happy and Peter realised that that was just her way of dealing with the worry they’re all experiencing. 

Happy has almost fallen asleep on the couch when his phone starts to ring. He startles, then reaches out to pick it up. “Pepper,” he informs Peter. 

Peter shamelessly eavesdrops when Happy answers the call. 

“Hey,” Pepper greets on the other side. “It’s over. He’s awake now.”

Happy lets out a small exhale the same moment Peter feels the tension leave his own body. “Everything went well?” Happy asks. 

“Yeah, the operation went as planned. He was kind of out of it when he came around just now, sort of confused and anxious. Seems like Morgan isn’t the only one carrying around bad memories from the snap.”

Yeah, Peter thinks, you don’t say. 

“They gave him a light tranquilliser and he’ll probably sleep for the next few hours. I’ll stay here overnight if that’s alright with you, and if everything’s fine, you can bring Morgan here first thing in the morning. Peter too, if he wants to come.”

Happy raises a questioning eyebrow and Peter nods emphatically. 

“Yeah, he’ll come with us,” Happy reports. 

“Great.” Pepper lets out a sigh. “Tell Peter thanks for getting him home safely. Tony was asking about them - Morgan and Peter.”

“I will,” Happy says. “Try and get some sleep, boss.” 

“You too.” Peter practically hears the tired smile in Pepper’s voice. “Good night, Happy.” 

“So,” Happy turns to him after setting down the phone. “I suppose after today I should extend an official invitation to the official ‘Stark’s a Stubborn Idiot’ support group. We meet every other Thursday from seven to eight,” he deadpans. “Activities include dragging his ass to the hospital, dragging his ass to bed, dragging his... actually, mostly just a lot of ass-dragging.”

Peter laughs a bit at that. “Do I get a free t-shirt?”

Happy snorts. “I think that could be arranged.”

______________

If you liked this, you might also enjoy my 13k Irondad Endgame fix-it.

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Taglist: @toomuchtoread33  @yepokokfine

@badthingshappenbingo This is my fill for the ‘Appendicitis’ square.

[olympianpandback]

April 12 - 15

We got out of Roswell fairly early and headed to White Sands National Park near Holloman Air Force base. We decided to see if they had a spot at the RV park on base. They did but we had to register with the public health officer on base to verify that we had gotten our COVID 19 shots. The Tech sergeant that worked with us was very helpful and we got the paperwork completed on the phone which he forwarded to the visitor center where we had to pick up our pass. We got to the base visitor center and it was a seamless process. It turns out we are both in the Air Force computer system. It’s scary that we are, but makes getting on Air Force bases much easier. Let’s see what happens in California!  I'm good to get on base anytime with my ID card and Elizabeth has to get daily or a certain number of days Pass. The campground was very nice with very clean bathrooms and a free laundromat because they are planning an upgrade to larger machines, yea.  We checked in and went back to the White Sands National Park to look around. It is an absolutely beautiful place. It’s the largest gypsum area in the world over 200000 acres (275 sq. miles). We took a one-mile walk that has descriptors of the wildlife and how they survive. The definitions and descriptions were very detailed and interesting how animal and insect life survives and thrives in a desert environment. It was difficult to walk certain parts but if you knew to get all the beaten track and walk on the hardpacked sand that the wind had blown flat, it was easier.  It was pretty warm and of course dry but we hydrated before we left and had a relatively easy walk. The signs weren’t clear about which direction start so we ended up going backwards. I've always been a contrarian by nature and that didn't bother me at all. We met people coming in the opposite direction, just smiled and kept going. There was a different 600' boardwalk further on with easy walking with more descriptions of how the white sand developed. It turns out that there is moisture only 3' deep according to the signs. We kept driving into the park for a couple of miles until we came to the end of the pavement and turned around because the RV doesn't do well on washboard roads even though the sand was well compacted. We decided turn around and head back to camp. We had an uneventful evening with really good sleeping weather in the high forties to mid-fifties and dry, so dry. During our walk in the morning around the campground we bumped into a woman who had a German accent. I asked her where she was from and she said Illinois. I said where were you born. She said Berlin. We had a nice 30 minute conversation in German, mostl,y so I could practice my German. Marion is a very nice lady and we promised to give her some information about the windows in our house. She may want to upgrade her windows because it is so hard to clean them. That’s what we like about traveling, you meet some of the most interesting people.

April 14

Before we left the Air Force base in the morning and we went to buy some military T-shirts for Nunzio. We decided to go to the commissary to look around. Much to our surprise, we found real German bread from a bakery in El Paso. They had 2 of my favorites, farmers bread and Roggen brot (Rye bread). We snagged a loaf of each and now are trying to figure out how to preserve them for a couple of weeks. We were able to freeze most of the farmers bread and we will be eating ham and cheese on German bread for a couple of days for sure. The refrigerator is starting to get cleared out because we are using what we had there when we left home. On our way to Silver City, we saw something called Dripping Springs National Monument. We decided to take a side trip to look around and ended up taking a 1.5 mile hike up the mountain to see the Dripping Springs area. In the past there had been a hotel and Sanitorium there. It was a pretty strenuous hike but we made it along with couple of other crazy people to see water dripping out of a rock in some abandoned buildings. You will see the pictures below this narrative. We then headed towards Silver City knowing we wouldn’t get there until dinner time so we called ahead and booked two nights at an RV park near downtown. It is a very nice campground and we got a place right across from the bathhouse. We don’t always use full hookups because is too much trouble for 1 or 2 nights especially when we have to disconnect to go sightseeing.

April 15, 2021 we left the campground about 10 o’clock to drive the Cliff dwellings along the trail of the ancients byway. It took us an hour and a half to drive 45 miles because the road was very curvy and crossed the continental divide at 6900 feet. Along the way we ran into the couple we met in Albuquerque again for the third time and had a small chat as they were leaving the pictograph site. We asked if they were staying at the passport America campground and they were not. They ask if we thought the passport America pass was worth it. We said we paid for our annual fee in the first 4 camp sites. We agreed to sponsor them so they can get 6 more months on a regular subscription we will get 6 more months on our current stupid gin plus a $10 rebate. The walk up to the Cliff dwellings was fairly easy except for the 185 feet stairway section which was like climbing an 18 story building. We could not enter the Cliff dwellings, allegedly because of spring break which created spike in COVID 19 cases in New Mexico. I think it was a cop out to keep people out. The brochure says there are 42 rooms that YOU can walk through and investigate in normal times. Oh well, you have to adapt and adjust in this time frame. Before we started our trip to the cliff dwellings, we met a couple who had shipped RV over from Stuttgart to Argentina to start a world tour, probably more a South American in North American tour. They drove along the coast and west of South America all way up to Costa Rica until COVID hit. They were stuck for 5 months in Costa Rica. They shipped their RV to Florida’s east coast and began a journey around America before heading to Alaska via Canada, oops COVID.  The RV can stay in America for a year, but they have to leave after 180 days. They cannot get a waiver and there is no other country they can go to for one day. Ironically, they got one of the lottery passes to the wave rock formation in Arizona last year. We know people who have been trying for 10 years to get a pass to walk up to the Wave formation in Arizona. When we get closer, we may try to win the lottery using the formula that they used by registering for Saturday Sunday and Monday where they had 3 lottery drawings. Hey only 1% of people get to go there and we’d like to be in that group. We drove down from the mountain and did the rest of the loop trail of the ancients past Lake Roberts where we stopped for coffee and back to our campground before cocktail hour. That’s all folks through April the 15th.

[oscararcane]

The detective’s got a band (part 1)

Oh man. So I wanted to write a small thing about another one of my detectives but it turned into over 5000 words of Adam being angsty, I guess. I’ll post it in 2 parts plus a bonus scene, since it’s so long. Hope you’ll enjoy it! It takes place during book 2, but there’s next to no mention of it.

“I have to get out of town tomorrow night.” Leslie’s soft voice suddenly breaks the comfortable silence that had fallen over Adam, Nate and him in the library, the trio deeply focused on their research. Adam stiffens in his chair and his gaze snaps up from his book to land sharply on the detective. “You have to what?” Disapproval makes his words harsh. Leslie glances at him sheepishly. “I have a concert, he says like it explains everything.” “A concert?” The word draws Nate’s attention who looks at him with curiosity. Leslie rubs the back of his neck, looking a little embarassed. “Ah, that’s right, I never told you. I’m in a band.” Adam stares at him. “You? In a band?” He has a hard time not letting disbelief seep into his words. It does not seem to bother Leslie however who just nods. “A jazz band.”

Well that made a whole lot more sense. Nate leans forwards, sitting on the edge of his chair. He closes his book, his focus now entirely on Leslie. A delighted smile stretches the lips of Adam’s friend. “So you do play the bass.” Adam remembers Nate pointing out to him the massive instrument sitting in Leslie’s apartment, wondering if it was decorative, a heirloom or if Leslie actually played it. Adam guesses Nate never got around to ask him. Leslie shrugs but smiles back. “Yeah. I sing a bit too.” “It must be hard to balance it out with your work, Nate points out.” “It is, but it’s fine, everyone in the group has a day job. We do it for fun really.” “Then it won’t be too hard to cancel.” Adam should have interrupted them earlier, but curiosity made him hold his tongue, even if he would never admit it. Leslie gapes at him. A frown slowly wrinkles his usually smooth forehead. “I can’t do that.” “He can’t do that, Nate confirms, also frowning at Adam.” The team leader crosses his arms on his chest defensively. “It’s not safe, we can’t have him run off on a road trip in the middle of a crisis.” He looks at Nate, avoiding Leslie’s stare as long as possible. “Please, Adam, I can’t do that to the band. The-the tickets are sold. It’s been a long time in the making and we don’t get to perform live often…” Hearing Leslie’s pleading voice, Adam is forced to look at him in the light brown of his eyes. Guilt twists his gut and he has to bite the inside of his lip to prevent his face to betray the emotion. “Alright, he snaps, interrupting him. But we’ll drive you there and you’re not getting out of our sight.” Leslie’s eyebrows shoot up. Once the shock wears off, he smiles soflty. “Thank you, Adam.” “It’s an excellent idea, Nate says standing up, obviously excited. We should take Felix with...” “Felix doesn’t need to know, Adam interrupts.” A flash of movement attracts all their attention to the door where Felix appears, leaning on the frame. “What do I not need to know?” He asks with a bright grin. Adam groans, bringing his hand to his forehead.

“Nervous, Leslie?” The quiet did not last long, to nobody’s surprise since Felix is sharing the backseat of the Agency SUV with Leslie. The detective had made a feeble attempt at suggesting his car instead, not wanting to attract too much attention, but Adam’s concern for Nate’s comfort was enough to cut it short. Leslie gulps. “Yeah.” A slow grin stretches Felix’s lips. “More than usual?” “Yes, Leslie freely admits. Knowing the three of you will be listening is a little nerve-wracking.” His chuckle sounds a little strangled. “And why is that? Felix insists.” “I’m not used to have people I know in the audience.” Leslie shrugs, the movement is stiff. Felix blinks at him, his grin disappearing. “Really? No friends, no family?” “It’s not really Tina’s scene. Verda came with his husband a couple of times, when they could find someone to look after the girls. And Mum… You know how busy she is.” A heavy silence falls inside the car. Felix does not let it linger, of course. “Well, you’ll get used to it then, I wanna go to all your concerts!” Leslie stiffles a laugh. “You do realize it involves a lot of sitting down, right?” Felix folds his leg, hugging it close to his chest. “I don’t know, I’ve never been to a concert. But I can sit down.” “For several hours?” Felix narrows his eyes at Leslie, pondering if maybe he is bluffing. But his expression is as open and as honest as ever. “Absolutely.” “Alright.” Leslie chuckles. Nate and Adam exchange a skeptical look. There is a short pause and Felix starts talking. Again. “Too bad Mason didn’t want to go.” He pushes out a disappointed sigh. Of course Leslie asked him. Everyone knew Mason would not want to come, but the detective did not want him to feel excluded. Always a thoughtful man, even if Mason could not care less. He did give Leslie an appraising look when he learned he was in a band though, seeing him in a different light. “We’re here, Adam announces while parking the SUV.” Leslie lets out a shuddering breath. The concert hall is a small unassuming building in a rather quiet neighborhood at the edge of the big city. It had not been too hard to convince the team leader to park at the back of the venue, although his reasons for accepting are quite different from the ones that pushed Leslie to ask. Adam is more concerned with safety matters than the detective’s modesty. Glancing towards the rearview mirror, Adam sees Leslie looking nervously around through the SUV’s windows, making sure no one is around before opening the car’s passenger door. The shadow of an amused smile plays at the corners of the team leader’s lips. He joins the detective at the back of the vehicle, opening the trunk and grabbing the bass’ case before Leslie has the chance to make a move towards it. “I can carry it, he protests.” Adam throws a narrowed gaze at his thin frame. “But I don’t mind you doing it, Leslie backpedals quickly.” Instead he grabs his pressed suit with a sigh. He walks with long strides to catch up with Adam who is already heading towards the back entrance. “You do realize I’ve managed most of my life without vampiric super-strength, right?” Adam glances at him. “A fact I still can’t wrap my head around.” Leslie blinks up at him. But when he sees the team leader’s faint lopsided smile, he chuckles and answers with a warm smile of his own.

“These are you friends?” Poppy stares at Adam, Nate and Felix with eyes wide open. Leslie always forgets how abnormally attractive Unit Bravo is. He sometimes wonders if it is a vampire thing. “Yes! Felix, Nate, Adam, meet Poppy, saxophone…” He points at the woman with the platinum pony tail. “... Damon, drums…” The ebony-skinned man with short coiled hair nods politely. “... Valery, piano and vocals…” The woman with her brown hair neatly tucked in a french twist offers them a friendly smile. “... And Cory, guitar.” They rub a hand over their short brown hair as Leslie points to the last member of the band. The three vampires’ eyes snap suddenly toward them, which makes Leslie frown a little. But the strange tension dissipate too fast for anyone else to notice. “It’s nice to meet all of you, Nate says with his most charming smile.” “Likewise, Poppy answers, drawing out the word in an attempt to sound suave.” “You should get ready, Adam says abruptly, shoving the bass’ case towards Leslie.” Nate and Felix take it as a signal for them to leave. “We’ll keep your seat, Nate tells Adam as he turns away.” “See you later! Felix shouts at Leslie, sauntering in the corridor and waving excitedly.” Damon, Valery and Cory are making their way towards the dressing rooms, but Poppy keeps staring at Adam who leans his back against the wall, folding his arms against his chest. “You gonna stay here, she blurts out. Next to Leslie’s door. While he changes.” Adam bristles. “Yes.” The saxophonist lifts a suggestive eyebrow at Leslie whose ears start to burn. “Alright, then.” “Detective Langford and us are currently working on a dangerous case, Adam is quick to clarify. It’s for safety.” Poppy grins, looking between Adam and Leslie. “Nice.” Unit Bravo’s leader’s whole body becomes stiff and Leslie tenses in reaction. Adam pushes himself from the wall, unfolding his arms, fists tigthly closed at his sides. “Leslie being in potential danger is not something I’d call ‘nice’.” Poppy weathers the icy green glare with impressive composure. “Very nice.” Adam takes a step forward. Leslie immediatly intervenes and grabs Poppy’s shoulders to direct her towards her dressing room. “You should go get ready Poppy, we’ll be late.” The young woman let him push her all the way to her door, giggling to herself. She stops before entering the room however, turning to face Leslie. “Your boyfriend looks a bit on edge. You should give him a massage.” “He’s not my…” “Later, Leslie!” Poppy enters the dressing room, not letting him finish. Leslie can feel his whole face turning beet red, painfully aware Adam probably heard the whole thing. Those damned hypersenses. He takes a steadying breath before turning around to join his own dressing room, avoiding Adam’s gaze as he passes him by.

Leslie has to start over his bow tie a third time before Damon finally takes pity on him and helps him out. “You’re awfully nervous tonight.” Leslie lets out a strained laugh. “So I keep hearing.” “You gotta impress those very handsome friends of yours, huh?” Leslie cringes. “I’ll be content not embarassing myself in front of them.” Damon gives a low chuckle and gently taps Leslie’s cheek. “Don’t worry, you gonna rock their ass off their seat.” “Damon…” The reproach is lightened by Leslie’s own chuckle. Damon works on his bow tie in silence for a moment. “It’s muscle guy, huh?” “Shhhh! He can hear us.” Leslie brings a finger to his mouth, glancing nervously towards the door. Damon raises an eyebrow. “I doubt that.” “You’d be surprised, Leslie mutters.” The drummer lowers his voice despite his reservations. “You’re crushing hard on muscle guy, aren’t you?” “Adam, Leslie corrects him in a whisper, his cheeks warming.” “Adam.” Damon nods after finishing up Leslie’s bow tie. He adjusts it a bit. “I’m sure he’s nice… He is, right?” Leslie gives him a lopsided smile. ”It is known to happen.” Damon gives him a long look. Leslie sighs. “Don’t worry, he’s not… he’s not Bobby.” It makes his friend snorts. “He sure isn’t.” There is another pause. “Wanna throw a… huh… impromptu love song in there? Serenade him a little.” Damon winks. Leslie’s face is now burning up. “What? No! That’s just… No!”

[emberfrostlovesloki]

Aaron and Criminal Minds March/Spring Prompt List

Photo credits: Left (@foxy-eva) Center (@agentdilfhotchner) Right (@enid-rhees)

Good evening loves! We made it to February! It’s hard to believe we are one month into 2024! I love the idea of the team during Spring time and I thought I'd make some March/Spring prompts because it makes me happy. This prompt list is inspired by the always amazing, @imagining-in-the-margins who always make the best prompt lists. I'm currently writing for her New Beginnings Challenge (linked) and having a blast). For my prompts, I won’t write for all these prompts, but I will for at least a few. The rules for using these prompts are that there are no rules! You could use any Criminal Minds characters, OCs, reader inserts, etc. You could draw, write, make mood boards, or imagine anything else. I have included 31 prompts for each day of the month. I also get inspiration from plain old words, so I’ve included 10 Spring words that might inspire something. Lastly, I’ve included a few dialog and art prompts too. You can find that all below the cut. If any of these prompts inspire you to create, I’d love to be tagged to see what you have made. This is all just for fun. I wish everyone a great start to the month. Please know I’m proud of you wherever you are right now. Love - Levi 🌸

General Prompts

Character A buys Character B their favorite flowers once they are in season.

Character A plans a fun day out at the park with their kid and they run into Character B unexpectedly.

The team gets called to a case on the beach in Florida.

Character A had experienced something bad this time last year and Character B checks in on them.

Character A buys a new swimsuit to feel confident in their own skin.

Spring Break with the BAU (young AU or present-day or anything else.)

Character A becomes addicted to a seasonal drink at a coffee shop and begs the barista to teach them how to make it.

Character A buys pastel lingerie for Character B.

A night of celebration after the case reveals feelings that have been hidden for over a year.

The newest member of the BAU has their birthday on their first case ever. The team still tries to make it something for them anyway.

A Character manages to catch a cold in the middle of Spring.

On an incredibly hot case, Character A collapses from heat exhaustion.

Characters A and B bump into each other at a music festival.

The team goes to the beach together and Character A and B awkwardly put sunscreen on each other.

Characters A develops an allergy to a favorite food and tries to find alternatives.

The BAU faces a lockdown in Quantico as an active threat is in the building.

Character A confesses their love to someone and gets turned down. Character B makes sure Character A is holding up okay after the rejection.

Character A gets drugged and Character B gets them to the hospital.

Character A has a bad dream and calls Character B; they talk till morning.

Breakfast in bed.

Characters A and B go on a date to a bookstore/record store and things get more frisky than expected.

Characters A and B try role play in bed for the first time.

Characters A and B take a road trip.

There is a malfunction on the jet and it makes an emergency landing. The team is stuck in the airport for a few hours.

Characters A and B get matching tattoos.

Characters A and B get a little too competitive about March Madness / Sports.

Characters A and B talk about possible baby names.

BAU case on a ranch in the West (Yeehaw).

It's Characters A and B's last night before their wedding.

A tragedy strikes the team at the worst time. The must bond to move on.

Easter Egg Hunt with the BAU.

Word Prompts

Refreshed

Swimsuit

Break

Lemonade

Tipsy

Easter

Park

Blossom

Picnic

Beach

Dialog Prompts 

“If you can beat me at beach volleyball, I'll do your files for a week.” 

“________ people wear sunscreen for a reason. You're all burned up.” 

“Do you have any idea how many people lose their virginity during Spring Break?” "No... Why do you ask?"

“Spring is great until you get to the allergies.” 

“This time of year isn't all it's cracked up to be. At least, not for me.” 

“_______ if you don't buy that sun dress and make ______ swoon I'm gonna believe love is dead.” 

Art Prompts

Any CM kid in a cute Easter costume. Bonus if the parent matches.

Any BAU member in a swimsuit.

A BAU prank gone wrong.

Garcia in the most SPRING outfit possible.

______________________________________________________________

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[out-of-this-town]

The will to protect

Inuyasha AU, InuKag, romance & adventure

Before dying, Kikyo ties Inuyasha’s life to her little sister, Kagome, in order to ensure her safety.

Inuyasha is not too pleased about getting dragged into this mess and demands that Kagome undo the spell. Unfortunately for him, she has no idea how to do that. As danger draws near, Inuyasha has to find the willingness to keep Kagome out of harm’s way as Kagome tries to find a way to release Inuyasha from the spell.

Chapter 4 (ao3) (ff)

“Could you slow down?” Kagome snapped for what felt like the hundredth time that day. The sun had barely been up when Inuyasha had demanded that they leave for Mushin’s temple. He had wanted to go last night, but Kagome absolutely refused to travel when the sun had already been setting. From the speed he was traveling with now, Kagome assumed he was either trying to catch up on the lost time or trying to take revenge on her. Probably both. 

Every time she had asked, Inuyasha refused to slow down. If Kagome tried to sit down to take a break, he would grab her arm and drag her after him until she agreed to continue. Now she was tired, hungry and mad. And it was all Inuyasha’s fault. 

“Pick up the pace! I’m already going at a crawling speed because of you and I ain’t about to slow down any more,” came the shout from a half-demon that was nothing but a red silhouette in the distance. Thanks to his hearing, she didn’t have to raise her voice to be heard whereas Inuyasha had to yell out his replies, making it sound like he was mad... he probably was. 

“I’m just a human you know! I can’t run all day in order to keep up with you.” Kagome kicked a small rock in frustration. They had been traveling less than half a day and she was already done with this, never mind that the journey should take at least three more days. There was no chance that they were both coming out of this experience alive, one of them would end up murdered by the roadside during the next few days. Maybe even by the end of this day.

“Ain’t my fault that you’re just a lousy human, and I sure as fuck ain’t suffering the consequences of it. Now, pick. Up. The fucking. Pace!”

“No! And stop cursing at me!” Kagome stopped her walking and glared at the reason for her bad mood. 

She could see Inuyasha turning around and heading back towards her. Kagome rolled her eyes and sat down on a rock next to the dirt road. She set down her bow and quiver, before starting to dig through the sack in which she carried food as well as other things she might need for this trip.

She was just about to take a bite out of her peach when Inuyasha came to a stop in front of her and grabbed her wrist. “No you don’t. No breaks until I say so, and there won’t be one until the sun starts setting. And that’s only if I’m feeling generous.”

Kagome tried to tuck her wrist -and her food- free from his grip while giving him her best stink eye. “If I don’t eat and rest, I will pass out. And if that keeps happening, I won’t be in good enough shape to undo the spell.”

She could see his jaw tensing as he mulled her words, and then -at last- he relented. With an angry sigh, Inuyasha let go of her and drop down to sit on the ground, legs grossed and chin resting on his hand. Kagome could practically feel the annoyance radiating off of him. 

She might have been a little pleased about that.

“You better be quick about it, were wasting time whenever were not moving,” he grumbled. Kagome hummed as if in agreement, but in her mind she decided to take all the time she wanted just to spite him.

“What’s your hurry anyway? It’s not like the temple will disappear if were not there in the next few days.” She took a careful bite out of the fruit and made a little noise of delight when the juice hit her mouth. Gods, she was thirsty but she had run out of water by the fourth hour of this trip. She’d have to convince Inuyasha to find her a stream soon... or she could just die of dehydration, which honestly seemed like a more pleasant thing to do.

“This mess has already take far too long to clean up. I ain’t spending any more time on this than I have to,” he scoffed.

Kagome snorted and rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry, do you have some urgent half-demon things to take care of? Not enough villagers getting scared without your presence? A rabbit you have to hurry home to kill? Maybe there are some trees in your territory that you haven’t pissed on yet?”

He whirled around to face her, looking a little murderous. “What the fuck do you think you know about my life?”

“Nothing,” She shrugged. “That’s why I asked.” She did her best to adopt an innocent look on her face.

“Listen here you bitch,” Inuyasha barked. “we’re going to get to that temple and you ain’t gonna open you mouth again until we get there. Got that?”

“Or what, you’ll kill me? I thought you said yesterday that you weren’t suicidal.”

“I swear to the fucking Gods, I’m going to break your goddamn legs and drag you to that temple. See if that shut you up.”

���So, your plan is to drop a half-dead, severely injured priestess to a temple inhabited by powerful monks?” She raised an eyebrow. “Yes, that does sound like a great idea. I’m sure they will welcome you with open arms.”

Inuyasha’s lips started to peel back, revealing a set of sharp canines accompanied by the sound of a bone-chilling growl. The show of aggression would have probably freaked her out if she hadn’t known he couldn’t risk harming her. Also, her own anger and frustration did wonders in pushing down her natural instincts of ‘don’t piss him off, he can kill you in a blink of an eye’.

When, instead of answering, he just kept snarling at her, Kagome rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I want to talk to you either. Just let me rest and eat when I need to and we don’t have a problem.” 

He didn’t ease up. 

Kagome took an angry bite out of her peach and shook her head while swallowing, beyond annoyed with his attitude. “You seriously think I want to be here? I just found out my sister died and instead of dealing with that, I’m traveling with a complete jerk. I’m not planning on spending any unnecessary time with you, but I’m not going to get myself killed from sheer exhaustion just to keep you happy. So quit your growling and calm down, your the one wasting time arguing about this.” She grabbed her empty waterskin and threw it at him. “If you wan’t to be productive with your time, find water and fill that while I finish eating.”

To her surprise, Inuyasha did take the waterskin without another word and got up to head for the forest. He was, of course, glaring at her and muttering some less-than-kind words as he went, but that didn’t surprise her. 

Dumb jerk, was what she was thinking about while watching him go.

Trying to calm her anger, Kagome ate her food and watched as the clouds rolled past in the sky. She was really starting to regret deciding to help Inuyasha. He had said that, according to Kikyo, Kagome was the only one who could break the spell. And yet, he treated her like dirt. She should have just told him to get comfortable with his new way of life and to leave her be.

She was in the process of stretching out her legs and dreading the amount of blisters she would have by the end of this day, when she felt the shift in the air. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and a cold feeling of dread pool at the pit of her stomach.

Something bad was closing in. And that something wasn’t alone, there was a whole horde of them. 

Kagome slung the quiver over her shoulder and picked up her bow, ready to shoot as she felt the horde of demons coming to a stop as they reached the edge of the forest. She felt the mass of demon energy splitting up, no doubt they were planning to surround her before attacking from all sides.

Kagome kept herself facing towards the direction where the demonic energy was the strongest. Her accuracy was good, but unless these demons were extraordinarily slow she didn’t stand a chance against so many coming from all around her. Not to mention the limited amount of arrows she had. 

Even though she was sure Inuyasha had sensed the demons by now, and -unless he wanted to die- was on his way to make sure she survived this, she was still a little nervous. Kagome had never seen him fight, she didn’t know how well he would handle this. Add in the fact that they weren’t exactly on friendly terms, he probably wouldn’t mind if she lost a limb or two during this, as long as she remained alive.

As soon as she saw the first glimpse of a demon, Kagome let loose an arrow. It sunk into it’s target, the sacred light purifying the demon and a few others that were close enough to be affected by it. She was quick to turn to the side where another demon was trying to catch her off guard. The arrow did it’s duty, but Kagome cursed the fact that no other demon was close enough to be purified by the light. By her estimation there was at least forty different demonic auras, and her quiver could only hold 24 arrows -currently 22, so the more demons she took out in one shot the better.

Quickly, she took aim again, this time towards a grouping of demons, hoping to take out them all at once. Her concentration was broken when a loud, pained screech startled her. A fast glance told her that Inuyasha had arrived and was ripping off a demon’s arm and using it to skewer another. Charming.

Kagome returned to her earlier targets and cursed out loud when she noticed that they’d scattered and were running for her from three different directions. She let loose two arrows in quick succession, but the third demon was too close by the time she yanked out a new arrow. She gripped the arrow in her fist, preparing to duck from the demon’s claws and trying to spot a soft place on the demon that she’d be strong enough to stab her weapon into.

Just as the demon reached her, it collapsed to the ground as the result of a half-demon dropping down on it’s back.

“What the fuck are you standing there for!?” Inuyasha yelled as he ripped off the offending demon’s head. 

Kagome chose to ignore him in order to step away from the blood splatter and shoot down another group of demons.

“Put the fucking bow down! I’m getting us out of here.” Kagome yelped as pair of arms came around her, ready to whisk her away.

“No!” she yelled and let her powers flare a little. Inuyasha cursed and jumped away from her, shaking out his hands that had touched the purifying light.

“Did you already get hit on the head in the five fucking seconds I was away?” he growled at her while turning around and using his claws to slash at a demon that had tried to sneak up on him. “Or did you forget that you’ll get me killed too with your stupidity.” As soon as he was done with his opponent, he whirled back towards Kagome, who had gone back to aiming her bow.

“I didn’t forget, but if we run they’ll just follow us. Or they might move on to the nearest village. We can’t let that happen.” Kagome avoided looking at him, keeping her focus on her targets.

“What the hell do I care about some human village.” He stomped over to her and wrapped his fingers around her arm. “Now, put a fucking leash on your powers and quit being stupid. I’m getting us out of here.”

Kagome tried to free herself from him but he wasn’t letting up. “No! If you don’t want to fight then leave, but I’m not going anywhere until these demons are dead.” The demons in question were getting close, screeching and trying to find the best angle to attack from. Kagome was a little surprised at how smart they were being. Usually, a low-level demons like these would attack without much of a strategy, but these ones were taking their time, waiting until her focus was somewhere else before trying to charge at her from behind. 

She had a bad feeling on exactly who was responsible for teaching these demons.

“I’d get all of three steps away before keeling over because you got yourself gutted.” He was forced to let go of her so he could attack another demon that had dared to come too close. Kagome wasted no time before aiming again, now that her arm was free.

“Then I guess you’ll have to stay and help.” The only response she got was a string of insults and curses, as Inuyasha did just that.

It took a while and a few close calls, but they managed to kill all the demons. Neither of them were celebrating though, since they were busy glaring at each other.

“What the hell was that, wench? You nearly fucking shot me!” Inuyasha yelled and stomped towards her.

“I told you to get out of the way!” she snapped back while trying to shake off the demon goo from her sleeve. “Besides, I nearly got squashed by that demon corpse you threw!”

“If you don’t see a massive, dead demon flying your way, maybe you have no business being on the battlefield.”

“I shouldn’t have to worry about getting hurt by the person whose fighting on the same side as me!”

The arguing continued for a while longer until they had exhausted all their insults and accusations. After a long moment filled with more glaring, Kagome finally had enough and marched off, declaring that she needed wash off the demon blood from her hair. 

Surprisingly, Inuyasha didn’t fight her on that. Probably because he too was covered in demon entrails. He even showed her the way towards the river he had found earlier. Kagome had started to think that maybe they could get along, but as he walked past her, he made a comment about how awful she smelled.

Unsurprisingly, they argued some more after that.

[p1harmonyofficial]

[📰] Rising stars of K-pop: in conversation with P1Harmony, new breed of boy band from the agency behind AOA, CNBlue

By Tamar Herman

The group were introduced in the film ‘P1H: The Beginning of a New World’, and have released a debut EP, ‘Disharmony: Stand Out’ and a single, ‘Siren’

They talk about why it’s important to break stereotypes, acting in the future, and what music means to them

South Korea’s FNC Entertainment made its name with K-pop bands such as FT Island and CNBlue before producing acts including AOA and SF9. But its latest act, P1Harmony, is a new breed of boy band.

The boys were introduced in the movie P1H: The Beginning of a New World, and then with the release of their debut EP “Disharmony: Stand Out” and the single Siren on October 28. Just as a siren heralds the arrival of emergency workers, Siren is meant to signal the arrival of P1Harmony on the K-pop scene. After its release, the six members spoke to the Post.

How do you feel about your debut?

Intak: We have been dreaming about this for so long and we are grateful that people are responding to our movie and music.

What’s the most important thing you’d like listeners to take from “Disharmony: Stand Out”?

Keeho: To learn the importance of breaking stereotypes. To be brave, have courage, and stand up for what you believe in, what you like, and what you love.

Jiung: In Korea, students are graded for their personality and attitude, and there’s a lot of competition. We’re trying to talk about that situation and the role it plays at large.

You started your career by releasing a feature-length film. How did you feel about that experience?

Soul: I was really nervous before filming, but realised it was something I enjoyed. I want to pursue this and keep doing it.

Keeho: We’re thinking of [doing] a series, but right now we’re still focused on our music. Maybe if there’s time in the future, we’ll do more acting.

Jiung: Now that we’ve shared our movie and album, we’ve been able to learn what people liked and didn’t, and so we can correct our ways. It’s a new day every day.

How do you face disharmony among yourselves as a team?

Keeho: We sit around and talk. We say what we like about each other and can deal with uncomfortable situations. We display our emotions and work things out. We don’t have a lot of problems, but when we do we communicate and try to figure things out right then and there.

In Siren, you say “music without love means nothing” – I’m curious about what music means to you?

Jiung: I have a lot of thoughts and mood swings, and I wanted to find a way to let out my thoughts or emotions. I found that music worked for me and I got addicted.

Keeho: Music is a healer. It can connect people regardless of language. That’s why I think music is so important. It’s an honour being able to make music and being part of what music does to people.

In Western mythology, sirens are creatures that seduce sailors with their voices. What’s a vice or hobby that you personally feel a siren call for?

Jiung: Bulgogi [marinated beef] with gochujang [chilli paste].

Intak: Music is my life.

Theo: [Computer] games.

Jongseob: Friends.

Soul: Potatoes.

Keeho: Me too! Do you know how many ways you can make potatoes? There’s not a single food on the planet right now that’s doing better than potatoes.

Soul: Also sushi!

What’s a valuable trait of yours?

Keeho: Staying positive comes easy to me.

Intak: I’m very passionate.

Jiung: It might be negative sometimes, but my self-awareness. My ability to read the room.

Jongseob: Once I get obsessed with one thing, I go all in.

Theo: I’m a giver. I can read people easily. I’m happy to compromise.

Keeho: We call him a chameleon. He vibes [with people].

Soul: I don’t have strong opinions so I’m easy-going.

What’s an artist, song or album that you remember feeling intensely about when young, or one that made you think, “I want to do this”?

Intak: Not the first, but my rap teacher gave me an album by [American rapper] A$ap Rocky.

Keeho: On my hand-me-down pink iPod Nano from my sister, my mum put Girls’ Generation’s Genie.

Jiung: My family used to go on trips once a week, and I always remember listening to Lee Seung-chul’s White Bird.

Jongseob: The [2007 film] Once soundtrack.

Theo: Lee Moon-sae.

Soul: [K-pop band] Teen Top.

What’s a hobby you try to make time for?

Jongseob: I’ve never mentioned this before, but I like to draw flowers in my lyric notebook.

This year has been disharmonious for many people. How do you find your harmony again when stressed?

Intak: I like to hold concerts during my showers.

Keeho: He dances too. It’s kind of dangerous because it’s wet.

Theo: I speak to friends on the phone.

Jongseob: I might only be 15 but I like to go into my room, listen to jazz music, and do absolutely nothing.

Jiung: I like to be alone.

Soul: I don’t know if I get stressed.

Intak: He’s a happy child.

Keeho: I like to talk to my family. Also, everything’s very new to us currently so being able to be on stage and perform is a lot of fun. It’s a very good stress reliever.

What do you hope to accomplish together as a group?

Jiung: First and foremost, win the rookie of the year award.

Theo: Down the road, we want to be a group considered the most charismatic and inspiring among all idols.

Jiung: Of course we want to be loved, but what we also want people to pay attention to our growth and potential.

Keeho: We want to set a good example and inspire youth and people all over the world. And we want to last for a long time. We’d like to stay genuine to our music. And we want to see our fans. It’s unfortunate that we can’t see them because of the current situation.

Intak: We want to stand out among others as artists with an inspiring message and we want to surprise people with our endless ability.

[littlereyofsunlight]

Ever Wending Home

For day 1 of Steggy Week: Endgame. I posted part of this story back after I’d just seen the movie, and it became my most popular post on this website. So, no pressure on me to deliver with this one, LOL. Here goes:

Ever Wending Home

Bucky sits in on the meeting at Steve’s request. Afterwards, they walk back to the lake and stand on the dock, Steve skipping stones with little flair and expert aim. It’s peaceful, meditative. Steve finds Bucky’s solid, quiet presence comforting, now that he’s used to it. Before, Bucky had been the talker.

“You sure you’re up for this?”

His voice is pitched low and gravelly, another difference between this Bucky and the Bucky he’d known before.

Steve gives a curt, decisive nod. “It has to be done.”

Bucky moves closer so that their shoulders touch as they look out onto the water. “‘S not what I asked.” He nudges Steve with his elbow, just barely. “You could let someone else clean up the mess.”

Steve sighs and let himself sag a bit against his friend. The silence creeps back.

After a while, as the sun starts to sink behind the nearest mountain, Steve turns back and sits on the bench. Bucky hesitates at the end of the dock, watching as a bird wheels lazily over the water.

Eventually Bucky joins Steve on the bench. “You could let the Wasp do it. Scott would fuck it up but Hope would hardly break a sweat.”

“It’s gotta be me, Buck.” Steve ticks off on his fingers as he goes through the list. “Bruce, Nebula or Rocket would draw too much attention, Clint just wants to be back with his family, Carol’s got another intergalactic emergency on her hands, Thor has enough he’s not dealing with right now, Rhodey wants to be here for Pepper.” He sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “And the rest of you were only very recently dust.”

Bucky hunches his shoulders and nods. “I figured you’d say that.” He looks at Steve. “But after this mission, if you wanted. You could take a break. Get some rest.”

Steve nods back. “I could take a break.”

“You could at least try.”

Steve looks back out over the lake, gone orange with the sunset. “I could try.” He hears an echo, faint in the back of his head. “Allow him the dignity of his choice.” Steve thinks Peggy would approve of this choice. He thinks she’d choose the same, in his shoes.

—

Steve knows from Bruce to expect her, but seeing the Ancient One is still something of a shock. Not her appearance, of course. It’s the way she looks at him. The way she looks into him, looks through him.

“Your friend kept his promise,” she says, after looking her fill.

“Yes ma’am,” is his reply.

She takes the stone from his outstretched hand, tucking it safely back into the amulet around her neck.

“Have you thought, Captain Rogers, that this might be the one chance you have to keep yours?”

Steve blinks and knows he’s failed to keep the surprise off his face. He’s been trying not to think of it, preparing for this mission.

She folds her arms, tucking her hands into the sleeves of her robe. “You don’t think you deserve it.”

“That’s not exactly—” Steve begins, but she cuts him off.

“Oh yes, Banner told you about the branches.”

“It’s my mission to clip them.”

She tilts her head, reminding him of a bird as she looks down her nose at him. There’s no humor in her voice, but she has the ghost of a smile on her face. “Yes, the ones without the stones in them must not exist.”

Steve isn’t sure what to say to that. It’s not as if the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. Return the stones and use the Quantum Realm to travel not back to Bruce and Sam and Bucky, at least not at first. His mind keeps straying back to that framed 8x10 on a desk in 1970. Back to Peggy. His breath caught now, just thinking about it, the same way it had when he’d stood in her office and watched her at Camp Lehigh. He hadn’t realized it was possible for her to be even more beautiful than she had been during the war, but he’d seen her, and she was. She was so grounded, even more than she had been in the ‘40s. So comfortable in her skin, secure with her power. Seeing her had been like lighting striking: illuminating all the shadows and deficiencies of his life up until then.

The Ancient One, her eyes kind and sad and, yes, ancient, takes pity on him. “Once the stones are returned, Captain Rogers, you may do what you wish. The timelines exist whether you remain in them or not.”

Steve takes a deep breath and meets her level gaze. “And what if I choose a different time?” 1970 would be too late to keep that particular promise. He’d done his research. “The Stork Club, a week next Saturday. Don’t be late.” He could try.

At that, she does grace him with a real smile.

—

When Clint had said “the floaty guy”, Steve hadn’t pictured the ghost in front of him. Immediately, he recalled that day on the Valkyrie, Schmidt holding the cube in his hand and the stone within reacting—defending itself?

“I’d like to see her,” Steve tells him.

“Steven, son of Sarah,” the Red Skull intones, “there is no way to return her to the living.”

He nods. “So I’m told. She was my friend. I want to see her.”

The Red Skull smirks but draws back and points at the distant mountain crowned with two stone towers.

Mouth in a grim line, Steve sets off.

It’s a hard climb to the top, made harder by the knowledge of what waits for him there. He’s not sure how much time passes on the trek. Cold wind stings his cheeks and sneaks down the neck of his suit. The alien landscape is foreboding, hostile, even though it seems like there’s nothing living on this rock. Not even Schmidt.

As Steve ascends, panting in the thin air, the Red Skull overtakes him on the path. He’s floating near the edge, between the stones, when Steve finally makes it to the summit.

Steve hesitates, and Schmidt can sense it. “What you seek is below.”

Steve nods and begins unpacking the gear he brought with him.

Schmidt floats closer. “She cannot be saved, Captain.”

Steve grits his teeth. “She’s my teammate. I won’t leave her behind.” He sets out the ropes and spikes, squinting back at the ledge, calculating how much he might need.

It takes him a while to get everything set up. Steve finds the work clears his head. His grief for Nat threatened to bring him down, back on the road here. The thought of her, in this barren place. Cold. Alone. Steve can’t leave her like this. It’s why he left the Soul stone for last. There’s a chance he might fail, but at least he’ll have finished this one last mission. Either he brings her body back, or she’s no longer alone.

As Steve works, Schmidt watches him. He’s silent, offers none of the taunts he would have thrown at Steve before. Still, Steve can’t shake the feeling that the Red Skull is waiting for his moment. That he’ll do what he can to see Steve fall. Steve just isn’t sure what Schmidt’s abilities are in his current form. So far, he’s only been floating. Steve can’t even tell if he has a corporeal body.

“Why you?” he finally asks, curiosity getting the better of him. He’s nearly ready to strap into the harness.

He can feel the change in the air as Schmidt glides closer. “You will be disappointed to learn the truth, Captain.”

His hands have been steady the entire trip and now as he methodically tests the carabiners, a small tremor starts. Steve keeps his head ducked, focusing on the task in front of him. He makes no reply, only waits, and works.

“I only mean it is not a punishment, to guard the stone.” Schmidt’s robes flutter in Steve’s peripheral vision. “I was not handed this task as a judgment against my life on Earth. In fact, I volunteered.”

Steve’s head snaps up at this.

Schmidt is not facing him, but looking out over the ledge. “The stones are connected by the elemental energy from which they were formed. When I held the Tesseract, with the Space stone within it, I was able to reach out along the connections. As it happened, the Soul stone was without a keeper. It called me here, burning away what remained of my human self in the process, and I took up the mantle.”

Steve blinks down at the ropes in his hands. “But why? Why would the stone choose you?”

“Because I was there to be chosen.” Schmidt looks at Steve with something like pity in his eyes. “All of life is chance.” He looks back down over the ledge. “All that happens after, too.”

Steve shakes his head. He’s finished his work, and he tugs at the knots one last time. “That doesn’t make sense. You’re not telling the whole truth.” He steps to the ledge, deliberately not looking down to where he knows Natasha’s body landed, and turns back to face Schmidt.

The Red Skull moves, lightning fast, in front of Steve. He looms over him, the smirk back on his wretched face. “What is truth, to the dead?”

He pushes hard, and Steve thinks, stupidly, as he pitches over the cliff, that even without a body Schmidt is strong as he ever was.

As the ground rushes towards him, Steve reaches for the ropes at his waist, to reassure himself, but they’re gone.

Oh, Steve thinks, this is the last mission after all.

Everything goes dark.

—

There’s an orange glow behind his eyelids and a throbbing in his skull. Groaning, Steve sits up and raises a dripping hand to his aching head. He’s been lying in a shallow pool, somewhere on Vormir. The sky remains the same hazy orange, the landscape a muted purple, shadows clinging to every rock and crevasse. He moves his arms, flexes his hands, pats himself down experimentally. Aside from the headache, he is fine. Schmidt is not there, the cliff is nowhere on the horizon. He’ll have to go back, figure out another way to retrieve Nat’s body. But he doesn’t know which direction to go.

“I’d say you should get off this rock, for starters,” comes a voice from behind him. “It’ll be a long walk back to Rocket’s ship, though. You up for company?”

Steve can’t believe what he’s hearing, and he’s suddenly, paralyzingly terrified of turning around to prove his suspicion wrong. But he can hear her moving behind him, and then there’s a gentle hand on his shoulder as she comes around.

“Sorry, Rogers, we don’t really do towels here.” The Black Widow stands before him, offering her arm to help him up. “It’s a dry heat, though, so you won’t be damp for too long.”

She looks just as she did when they left on their mission, her two-tone hair swept back from her face and trailing over her shoulder in a braid. Natasha even has the same anticipatory gleam in her eye, the same fond smile, the same leashed, buoyant energy she has when she’s spoiling for a fight she knows she’ll win and have fun doing it.

Steve takes her arm and leans on her heavily as he stands. Her hand is warm in his, warm and calloused exactly where her hand grips her gun, where her thumb meets her palm.

He pulls her into a bruising hug and weeps into her braided hair.

“Aw, buddy, it’s okay.” Nat pats his back, a little stiff. If he’s imagining this, he’s imagining her exactly how she would be and not, necessarily, how he’d want this reunion to go. “Steve.” She pushes at him, just a little, and pulls out of his embrace. “I missed you too.” She reaches up a hand to cup his cheek, and her smile is still fond. Then she’s all business and sass. “Come on, Grandpa, I bet you forgot where you parked your ride.”

He wipes his face with the back of his hand and lets out a shaky laugh, a broad smile overtaking his face. “Nat, we thought you were dead.” The relief coursing through him makes his hands shake harder, somehow.

She looks back at him with that fond little smile, her wide eyes luminous in the perpetual dusk. “I am, Cap.” She shrugs and starts walking. “I fought Clint hard for that dubious honor, Steve, you think I’d give it up so quick?”

Steve scrambles a little to catch up with her. “But you—you’re not like Schmidt, I held your hand.” He feels muddled and dull, the earlier joy curdling in his veins.

She shakes her head. “I don’t pretend to know how it works, Steve.”

“You have gone through some big changes,” he retorts automatically.

Nat swings around to give him one of her sly grins, the one that tucks up into the corner of her cheek. “Gotta say, I thought it would take you longer to recover from the shock.”

Steve shrugs and picks up the pace, steadier now that they’re back in a familiar conversational rhythm. “You know me, I’m adaptable.” That earns him a snort.

They walk in companionable silence for a while. Steve isn’t sure what to ask Nat, or tell her. He’s had several friends return from the dead now; he’s not had the opportunity to make conversation with one who is still dead.

“I feel like I can hear the gears turning from over here,” she observes.

“Well, I can’t say I’m not thrown,” he admits. “This is a first for me.”

“Would you believe it is for me, too?”

He studies the side of her face. “Which part? Being dead, or having to talk to a friend about it?”

Nat never answers any question she doesn’t want to. “Since you’ve got the stone, I assume the plan worked.”

“Yeah, it did.”

She gives him a moment to elaborate, but he can’t find the words to tell her what it was like, fighting Thanos without her. Getting everyone else back. Losing Tony.

The Black Widow, however, is as perceptive as ever. “Who else, Steve?”

He heaves a sigh and his eyes fill with tears as he meets her gaze. Her whole body is tense, braced as if for a blow. When Steve thought about what it might be like to see her again, he hadn’t thought about this.

—

They’re back at the ship too soon. Steve still doesn’t know what to do. He thinks Nat wouldn’t leave him alone; but she seems certain there’s no way for her to leave Vormir, and he’s out of the meager supplies he’d packed for the mission.

“I could come back,” he offers, feeling how hollow the suggestion is. “Or we could send someone else; Clint, or maybe Bucky. I’m sure Wanda would love to visit.”

Nat nods to the final stone, in the pouch of his utility belt. “The only reason you can even see me right now is that stone, Rogers.” She gives him a rueful smile. “Once you hand it over, that’s it.” She says it with her usual inflection, as though she were only talking about a parking ticket. But Steve feels like a hole has opened under his feet, after he’d only just found solid ground.

He settles his palm over the Soul stone and a little frisson of something pulses under his hand. “I guess that settles it. You’re stuck with me.” He can’t leave her to—to what? To fade away? To become nothing?

“Cap, now’s not the time to dig your heels in.” Nat shakes her head, her eyes sad but her smile still in place.

He sticks out his chin. “You tell me you’d leave me behind if the situation were reversed, Romanoff.”

“In a heartbeat.” Nat sets her jaw, and Steve can tell from the tic of a muscle by her ear that she’s angry with him, though her tone stays lightly teasing. “If I had a hot date to keep with my long-lost love and I knew you were a goner either way? Pfft. I’ve had harder times deciding what to eat for breakfast.”

Steve blinks slowly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She leans her elbow against the side of the ship and examines her nails. “Like I said, I don’t get how it works, but before you got here, I heard—something like an echo. It was you and a woman, talking about going to a different time.” Nat shoots him a look.

A memory: Peggy, lips painted red, in a blue dress he’s sure he never saw her wear. He spins her into his arms, holds her much closer than propriety dictates. “We could go home, Steve. Imagine it.” He digs his fingers into the silky material at her sides, feels it slide against her curves. Her mouth curls up in a smile, her brown eyes flash with open hunger. And then it’s gone, and his arms are empty, always empty.

He feels guilty, like he’s betrayed the team for even considering it. “The Ancient One suggested I could go to another timeline, before Peggy met her husband,” he confesses. “I thought about it. I imagined our whole lives together, what could have been.” He shrugs. “But that chance is gone.”

Nat studies him, her face unreadable.

“There’s work to be done, and the team is hurting,” he explains. “I’m needed.” He runs a hand through his sweaty hair, feels it stand on end as he rakes his fingers through. “There’s always more work.”

Nat snorts again and he furrows his brows together. She pushes off the side of the ship. “That’s a load of horseshit.” Arms crossed, she stares him down. “All you’ve been through with us, and you still think the world depends on you alone? You think there isn’t anyone else up to the task of being Captain America?”

He doesn’t respond. It’s not a denial, though, and she digs in. “You know my story, Steve. You know how hard I fought to break out of Red Room’s conditioning, how I struggled to find a way forward even with Clint’s help. The Avengers saved me. Being part of your team, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t think I’m overstepping to say it’s the best thing to happen to any of us.” Her eyes are clear and her voice is steady. She takes one step towards him, and then another, until she’s toe to toe with him. “And I would give it up like that—” she snaps her fingers— “if it meant I could start over for real. That’s why it’s a team—everyone picks up the slack. No one is in it alone.” She pulls him into a hug, quick like a cat, and kisses him hard on both cheeks.

When she steps back, she has the stone in her hand. It may as well be Steve’s heart. “Go get your girl, Steve,” she says, voice thick with tears. “You did right by me. You can go.”

Before he can respond, she’s vanished. A cold wind howls through the valley, and Steve stares blindly out at the alien landscape.

When he comes out of the shock, it could be hours later. He hardly knows what he’s doing, but he punches coordinates into the quantum bracelet on his wrist and, with a prayer he hasn’t said since the war on his lips, he presses the button. Nat’s right. Bucky’s right. He has to try.