#but i kinda like them trying to resist it.. i dunno we shall see

[vampirebiter]

this is the fit and color combo rosie ended up with for now btw :3

[memes-in-a-half-shell]

Business AU - Working Late, Part 9

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || Part 6 || Part 7 || Part 8

Let’s fuck things up a bit, shall we?

She woke up peacefully, the soft warmth of the early sun washing over her naked body tangled in the bedsheets. As she stretched her limbs, she found herself to be alone in bed, lazily reaching for her glasses on the nightstand nearby only so she could have a clearer view of her surroundings. Donnie was nowhere to be seen, Vee taking this moment to sit in bed, envelopping her form in the sheets and just think about last night's events. What would that make out of them? No real declarations of any sorts had been made, but the feelings were there and real, that she couldn't deny. Sure, it wasn't the first time she had slept with someone without any real attachment, but never had she felt that way with someone before... Donnie was a tender and very attentive man. She had that feeling that whatever he'd say or do, it must be true to him. She wanted to believe he would wish for them to be more... But for now she laid her expectations to rest and simply reveled in whatever was happening between them. She felt good. She felt appreciated. And, to be frank, the sex had been amazing.

She heard footsteps approaching the room, along a rolling sound. The mutant soon came in view, accompanied by a small trolley that held two plates with food, empty mugs and a pot of coffee. He was only wearing black boxer briefs and his glasses, his whole self a delectable sight. As he noticed that the woman was awake, he playfully struck a little pose while saying:

“Breakfast in bed for madame.”

That brought a soft giggle from Vee, though touched by this attention given to her. Instead of handing a plate, Donnie moved to sit by the woman's side in bed, unable to resist cupping one of her cheeks, his thumb tenderly brushing her skin. His eyes kept scanning her, his joy blooming at the mere sight of her smile.

“… Can't believe there's such a beautiful woman in my bed this morning,” he softly said.

“Can't believe such a sexy man is bringing me breakfast in bed,” replied Vee.

“I can bring more than that.”

Remnants of last night's emotions still brought some sparks in the air, Donnie's motion fluid and met halfway by Vee. It was sweet and slow, a kiss that felt like a dream. As it kept going, the terrapin started to shift his position and Vee's; soon the covers out of the way and Donnie's frame over the woman, forever careful not to be too much of a weight. They couldn't let go of one another, this morning's laziness bringing each motions to a tender point. As the terrapin was kissing at the woman's neck, she did add in a soft tone:

“What about breakfast? It's gonna get cold, just like the food last night...”

“I don't mind cooking another one later. … I'd cook one for you everyday even.”

That brought a hushed chuckle out of Vee, but deep down she was touched by that small confession. The simplicity and tenderness of this moment brought such ease in her.

“Donnie, I-...”

She stopped herself, knowing exactly what her heart wanted to say, but knowing now was not the time. Their gaze crossed, Donnie patient and Vee trying to find the right words to say next.

“... I’m so happy right now. Being with you feels so nice,” she ended.

“It does feel nice, indeed,” first replied the terrapin in a sweet tone. “... I could spend the rest of my life like this.”

Vee felt speechless, trying her best to read his emotions. He did sound sincere, but maybe it was this honeymoon type of feeling that was talking as well.... In any case, she prefered to kiss him in answer, knowing she did think the same as well. It was much preferable to live in this present moment, rather than worry in speculations.... At least, only for this morning.

***

That Monday morning was as grey and rainy as it could get, the usual omen for a bad day and week to come, but in Vee’s mind and heart, it was as sunny as it could ever be. Her work started with the usual routine; reviewing the projects for the day and then handing the paperwork. Her step around the office was light, humming some tunes to herself as she distributed the documents among her team.

“You look awfully happy for a Monday morning,” started one of her coworker’s voice, a guy.

That broke her stride, turning around to the source. She noticed a small handful of employees grouped together, probably discussing first amongst themselves until they saw their manager. Vee recognized the man who had spoken, already going through her papers as she walked towards the small group.

“I had a nice weekend, that’s all,” she answered, handing him the work.

“What, you buttered up the boss enough for you to get a raise?” said the other, reluctantly taking his due.

Vee instantly frowned: “... Excuse me?”

“We saw you leave with that Donatello, Friday evening,” added another coworker, a woman. “You’re not fooling anyone. It’s been quite some time that you both have been hanging together.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see how that’s any of your concerns,” said Vee. “We’re friends, I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”

“Yah, sure, friends with benefits perhaps,” continued another person. “Soon you’ll benefit from a monetary gain while he benefits from your tits. Workplace logic.”

Vee was disgusted, knowing if she continued to argue, she’d make things worse: “I don’t know what’s wrong with you all, but you better mind your damn business.”

As she was walking away, she heard that last jab: “If I buy you a drink, will you give me a raise?” She did not stop, her step slightly getting faster instead. Her blood was boiling, her heartbeat thundering in her ears. At once, she wished she could simply disappear... Turning a corner, she abruptly bumped into someone, her remaining folders flying out of her hands and spilling to the floor. She felt strong hands hold her forearms, forbidding her to fall backward

“Woah there, easy. Are you alright?”

She met baby blue eyes surrounded by orange, quickly recognizing the presence as another one of her bosses: Michelangelo. She quickly nodded, trying to get a hold of her senses once more. Her eyes next scanned the floor, letting out a big sigh as she noticed the mess.

“Damn... I’m sorry,” she started. “I should’ve looked where I was going...”

“Nah, it’s fine,” smile the orange clad terrapin. “Next time I’ll be careful not to be on your war path!”

Both were already crouching down to pick up the fallen papers, Vee feeling so absent-minded by this meaningless task. All she wanted to do was to run away, to be quite frank. As Michelangelo handed her the last files, he did inquire again: “... You sure you’re alright?”

Vee faked a small smile, quick to dismiss his concern.

“Yes, I’m okay. No worries. Have a nice day, sir.”

As she got back on the move, her distress did not escape the mutant, although he did not try to push his questionning any further.

***

“What’s up, D, my man?”

Donnie paused his writing, glancing up towards his office’s entry. He saw Mikey standing there, the purple clad mutant huffing lightly as he then continued his task.

“I’m busy, Mikey.”

“You’re always busy, so any time to poke you is as good as any.”

The tall one rolled his eyes, although he did smile a little. He quickly gestured for his brother to come in.

“What’s up?” he asked as the other was taking a seat.

“Meh, I dunno man, just wanted to take some news from you,” shrugged Michelangelo. “You’ve been staying late a lot these days... How was your weekend?”

Donnie stopped writing once more, leaning back into his chair with a dreamy smile.

“It was hella nice.”

“Oh yeah? How so?”

“Spent some time with a beautiful lady.”

“There yooouu gooo!” lightly laughed the youngest. “T’was about time you’d get some fun. Who is she?”

“Slow down, I’ll present her to you soon enough. ... We’re just taking some time to ourselves first, you know...”

Mikey was disappointed by the lack of details, but he did respect his brother’s choice: “Fair enough.” A thought came back to him, suddenly adding: “Oh, speaking of meeting ladies, before I got in here I bumped into one. I dunno what’s going on in the office, but she did look kinda distressed. ... She’s got nice green hair though! We don’t see lots of people with different hairstyles around here.”

Donnie slightly jumped in his chair as he heard the mention of ‘distress’ and then ‘green hair’. It had to be Vee.

“Where is she?” he instantly asked.

Mikey was surprised by his brother’s reaction, vaguely gesturing a direction.

“I, uh, I have no idea. Somewhere around those parts we don’t really have a use for.”

She must’ve went to the drawing room... Donatello did not waste any second, already on his feet and heading out.

“Sorry gotta go,” he quickly excused himself. “Talk to you later.”

Mikey didn’t even have time to place a word, still seated as he watched the other dart straight to a precise direction. “Oooookay...”

***

It didn’t take long for Donnie to reach the room in question, already hearing some quiet sobs when he was close to the entrance. As soon as he stepped in, he found Vee at one corner, by a table, her glasses removed as she tried to forbid tears to ruin her makeup. The woman jumped as she saw the terrapin’s form appear in, trying her best to gain a better posture and make herself more presentable as she put back on her glasses.

“Shit! D-Donnie, I-”

The turtle was already on the move, soon next to her and certainly preoccupied.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Nothing,” tried to brush away Vee. “I’m not- ... fuck, I don’t want you to see me cry.”

“Don’t worry. Tell me what happened,” he asked again, his touch gentle as his thumb dried some faint trails on the woman’s cheek.

“It’s nothing,” she repeated. “I just heard some stuff I didn’t want to, that’s all. I’ll stop my bullshit soon enough and get back to work.”

Donnie tsked, not wasting any second to get a hold of her hips, barely giving any effort as he slightly lifted her up to sit on the table. At least now he wouldn’t need to lean down too much, his hands resting at her sides, on the table, now their eyes at the same level.

“Talk to me.”

She couldn’t hold his gaze long enough, a sigh escaping her first. ... It would be preferable to touch the subject anyway, before any rumors would start flowing around.

“I had some employees on my team this morning saying some ... stuff about us.”

“What kind?”

“The kind that makes it look as if I’m hanging out with you only so I can get a promotion or something like that to advance my career,” she added, her tone slightly harsh. She paused, trying to calm herself down quickly: “... Look, before you say anything, I want you to know that it’s not true. I’m not some kind of business leech that’ll try to flirt her way up. I work hard and-and- I do an honest job, and-”

“Don’t worry, I believe you,” cut Donnie gently, trying to have her look at him again.

When their gazes met, she did feel some relief.

“I don’t give a damn what they say,” he continued. “They don’t have the full details anyway, so their judgement is invalid.”

“I hope they don’t get all the details, I’d prefer to keep most of them to myself,” added Vee with some amusement.

“Me too,” he smiled.

He tried, and succeeded, to lift her morale by giving a sweet kiss on her lips. Vee couldn’t help bringing him into an embrace afterward, her arms resting around his neck. She wanted to stay like this forever... His strong arms around her were so reassuring.

“Don’t mind them,” softly said Donnie as he was nuzzling her hair. “There’s always gonna be some assholes everywhere we go...  The best thing we can do is stand up to them and stay true to ourselves, okay?”

“I don’t think I’m ready to stand up to them today,” mumbled the woman against his scales.

“Alright, I’ll do it then.”

Vee instantly frowned, backing up a bit to give him a stern look.

“Don’t you dare! I don’t want anymore troubles.”

The terrapin chuckled: “Don’t worry, you don’t have to say names. ... I’m just gonna teach them all a little lesson. ... There’s no place for rivalry and petty discourses regarding matters they have no involvement with.”

“If things turn to hell, I blame you.”

“Deal!” he winked.

***

Time was passing by and Vee was somehow getting more and more anxious about what Donnie would do in regards to her team...  She most certainly hoped he wouldn’t rub in the issue and ask the others to mind their own business. But at the same time she knew he could demonstrate tactfulness and would probably approach the matter at hand appropriately.

She first heard the squeak of small wheels, her attention shifting and soon noticing the terrapin walk in with a portable whiteboard. She groaned internally, tempted to melt on her chair and disappear under her desk...

Donnie attracted people’s attention by clearing his throat first, then adding: “Hi there! If you guys won’t mind, let’s have a talk.”

He removed the cap from an erasable pen he was holding, writing in big letters “TEAMWORK”. Vaguely gesturing the word, he started:

“What defines teamwork?”

Silence at first. At some point a woman shyly rose her hand, Donnie inviting her to speak:

“Please, don't be shy, no need to raise your hand. What do you have in mind?”

“Teamwork could be defined by good communication?”

“That's a good start, what else?” smiled the terrapin as he wrote “COMMUNICATION” on the whiteboard.

“Sharing the workload equally?” started another person.

“Efficiency!”

“Having a common goal.”

“Trust!”

Donnie lighted up at that word, circling it a couple of times for emphasis.

“Yes, trust!” he said. “Seeking a common end, resolving conflicts and frictions, having an open conversation about issues you might be experiencing in the workplace. All that trust you can put in your coworkers mirrors the trust you have in regards to their skills and abilities. A mutual trust is defined by a confidence between team members that each puts the best interest of the team ahead of individual priorities.”

“I guess it depends on the person and their position,” added in a guy.

Vee recognized him as the man who had first sparked the comments this morning. She tried to avoid his gaze, Donnie noticing the sudden tension.

“I suspect you have something on your mind,” started the terrapin calmly to the man. “What’s your name?”

“Ben.”

“What do you mean by ‘it depends on the person and their position’, Ben?”

The guy was obviously feeling some discomfort by being the center of interest.

“Well... when you see someone like, let’s say a manager, taking advantage of their position and time to advance themselves in the work place, it’s hard to put trust on them.”

Donnie clapsed his pen shut.

“Are those allegations founded? Have you spoken to that person and tried to see if that was actually the case? Miscommunication and misunderstanding can lead to a lack of trust, indeed.”

“When you see them hanging with higher ups, that kinda confirms some questioning,” continued Ben. “When she stays late at night and fraternizes with a boss, that does raise some concerns about the practices of this workplace.”

“There we go,” smiled Donnie, accentuating his words with a sharp point of his pen. “Now we’ve come to the source of your concern; first you mentionned a manager and now a ‘she’. Knowing there’s only one project manager for the creative team, I can suspect you have some concerns in regards to Véronique.”

“You’re just gonna defend her, why should we listen to you?” said the other.

“Because I’m not here to defend anyone,” shrugged the mutant. “I’m here to make you understand that you’re a team, and all its members shouldn’t feel afraid to speak to one another, instead of raising suspicions.” He gestured Vee, the woman only wanting to disappear. “Ever since Véronique started working here she has been spending countless hours in office to learn the ropes of this place and give the best of herself only so you can give the best of you all in return. I value her judgement and experience, and she has agreed, on her free will, to participate on a project I was personally struggling with. In return I have been helping her with her work, because that is how trust is built: by sharing the work-” he started to point the words on the board. “-being efficient, communicating, and having a common goal. ... And that’s something I want in this office, for its people to be open and help eachother - not because they feel they need to, but because they want to.”

That gave everyone a pause, somehow giving a feeling of accomplishment to the turtle.

“May that spark a friendship or not - when it does not involve this work environment and it’s out of office, it’s nothing to worry about afterward. ... Let that be food for thought.”

He looked a bit toward Vee’s position, giving her a quick wink. The woman did feel some relief by his speech, knowing he might have struck some chords here and there. She wasn’t fully convinced that everyone would be on that same line of thought, especially that Ben, but there was no denying that it would ease some tension somehow.

***

Vee had waited until work got back to a somewhat normal pace before she wrote that to the terrapin.

Her smile was tender, her fingers easily typing away.

Thinking about it also, today was one hell of a long and stressful Monday...

Probably one of the only good things today...

There it was again, that damn charm of his! She could feel the rush in her veins, remembering those moments with him. Frankly, she wanted more as well...

***

The following morning was as normal as it could get on a weekday, Donnie taking the opportunity to clean around his office. He was going through a filing cabinet, starting from the top drawer. Some papers did slip from his hold, the terrapin next crouching to get them off the floor. But at the same moment the entry door was harshly opened, a voice sternly calling his name. Donnie’s reaction was to jump straight back up, but that resulted in him hitting the top of his head on the previously opened drawer, getting a yelp out of him. He quickly diverted his gaze to the newcomer, rubbing his scales.

“Leo!” scolded the purple clad mutant as he saw his older brother. “The fuck?! Don’t you know how to knock or something?”

“We have to go.”

“Go where?”

“No time to explain, we’ve found them. We need to move right now before we lose their track again.”

Donnie instantly got serious as well, his posture straightening up.

“... Do we still have our backup gear in this building?” he asked.

“Yes,” confirmed the blue banded turtle. “Mikey and Raph are already aware as well. Get your stuff and we leave in fifteen minutes top.”

A simple nod in answer was good for Leonardo to get on the move again, leaving Donnie. There was no time to lose, the tall mutant rapidly tidying up his space before grabbing any personal items and exiting his office. His mind was running, thinking about what was to come. On his way he did notice Vee at her desk, somehow pausing only to bask into that view. At first she was focused on whatever she was working, but she did feel a gaze on her, her eyes lifting to meet Donnie. She first offered him a sweet smile, to which he briefly returned, then she saw him get back on the move - an expression of concern coloring his traits. That did confuse the woman, her eyes following his path and noticing that he was about to leave the building. She tried to shrug the feeling away, only telling herself that she’d poke him later about that...

((Part 10))

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-yigas]

Can we get Sooga (and maybe Kohga) babysitting lil Tulin????

GET READY TO SEE THE GAYS BECOME DILFS, BITCHES.

“We came as soon as we saw your message.”

“Yeah, it was urgent! Where’s the fire?”

Teba turned as he saw Sooga and Kohga dash on into his home. He nodded at them.

“Yeah. Sorry. Was gonna ask Mipha, but she’s with her boy toy. Figured I’d trust you two instead.”

Teba took a step to the side, showing his son, Tulin, who was currently sitting on the floor, writing in his journal. Kohga cocked his head to the side, before shrugging.

“What? You want me to tell him to beat it? He a freeloader or what?”

“No. I need you two to chicksit for me. I’m taking Saki out, and I need someone to watch Tulin.”

Saki walked in just in time, adjusting her feathers.

“Teba, are you ready dear?”

“I’m ready, so long as these two are. So, how about it you two?”

Kohga was about to say ‘fuck no’, when he saw that look in Sooga’s eyes. He WANTED to do this, because he was a moron. Ugh. He sighed, before nodding.

“Fine. You two go and have fun, we got the little guy.”

Saki clapped her hands together, before leaning down to kiss Tulin’s head.

“Be good for Kohga and Sooga, my little nugget.”

“But not TOO good, kiddo.”

Teba patted his head, and Saki chuckled at the sight. She turned to the two yigas.

“Now, Tulin is supposed to be in bed by nine. No playing with Kass’s girls, as they’re supposed to be in bed, and they get into all kinds of mischief. That’s about it! Have fun you three, stay safe!”

Teba held his arm out for his lady, who giggled as she accepted it. Once they left, Sooga turned to Kohga.

“You didn’t want to do this. Why did you say yes?”

“Because YOU wanted to. And don’t look at me like that, you idiot.”

“I love you so much.”

“Tell someone who cares, moron.”

“You guys are weird.”

They both turned to look at Tulin, who was looking at them oddly. Kohga motioned to him.

“So...the fuck do we do with his white lookin’ ass?”

“Stop swearing, for one. It’s not good that he gets a pottymouth so early on. Two, we should properly introduce ourselves.”

Sooga walked over to him, kneeling down as he held out his hand.

“It is nice to meet you, Tulin. My name is Sooga, and that’s Kohga. How are you?”

Tulin put his book down, in order to stand up, and shake his hand properly.

“Hello! And good day!”

“What manners! And a good day to you too, little one.”

“My dad said good kids make good greeters!”

“God that’s a weird saying.”

Kohga sighed as he walked over to Teba’s hammock, before jumping into it, and getting himself nice and comfy. So comfy, he fell right to sleep. Sooga softly sighed. He loved his husband, very, very much.

“So. We have three hours until your bedtime, what would you like to-oh. You’re practicing your penmanship?”

Sooga looked over to the notebook on the floor, and Tulin nodded.

“Yep! Kheel has really pretty handwriting, I want mine to look good too! I wanna surprise her!”

“Huh. Why, if I didn’t know little one, I’d say that’s rather romantic.”

Tulin’s blush shone through his feathers, and he shook his head.

“N-no. She’s my friend, that’s it.”

“Uh huh, I see, I see,”

Sooga sat down next to Tulin, looking at the notebook.

“Regardless, I’d love to give you feedback. My father practiced calligraphy, I think I have a proper position on the matter.”

Tulin handed him his notebook, and Sooga skimmed through the pages. He nodded in approval.

“This is very nice! Have you shown your father?”

“No, just mom.”

“Why is that?”

Tulin shrugged, reaching up to grab his book again.

“It’s just a mom thing. Flight range and arrows are for me and dad, writing is for me and mom.”

Sooga nodded. Such a sweet, talented little boy.

“You have a good bond with your mother, little one.”

“Dad calls her a ‘worrybeak’, but yeah, I love my mom. Are you close with yours?”

Sooga froze. For a moment, he recalled her. Recalled her hair, her eyes, her smile. Her tears, her screams, her pain. His father holding onto her hand, his father scolding him for choosing to leave, using his mother’s name like a curse. A curse that cut into his hide like a-

“Yoohoo? Mr.Sooga?”

He suddenly snapped back into reality as Tulin waved his wing in front of his face. He cleared his throat, shaking his head.

“We...were. But she is no longer here.”

“Oh. I’m super sorry. What about your dad?”

“My father...wanted me to leave the nest, so to speak. But it’s fine. I’m loved enough.”

Tulin followed his gaze to Kohga, who gave his ass a good scratch. Tulin snickered, and Sooga couldn’t resist a small chuckle as well. Tulin put his book away, In order to look at his blades. The little rito was clearly very interested.

“Did he give you those swords?”

“No. Master Kohga did. Have you ever wielded a weapon before?”

“A bow and arrow, but never something cool like swords!”

Sooga thought about it for a moment. This child DID seem rather mature, despite his small size. Not to mention bows were just awful for up close combat. Against his better judgement, he decided to give the little one a gift.

“Would you like a present, Tulin?”

“YES! Please!”

Oh the way his little eyes shone in excitement. He pulled out something from his back, and placed it right into Tulin’s awaiting wings. A Vicious Sickle. Tulin looked it over in his hands, clearly in awe. Sooga chuckled, lightly patting his little bird head.

“It’s a light, easy to use weapon, with enough practice. It’s a wonderful starter weapon, and it never hurts to have extra protection. You will soon be the man of the house, you must learn to defend what is yours.”

“Woah! SO cool!”

Tulin was so excited, he started waving the damn thing around like a madlad. Even someone as calm as Sooga felt slightly panicked; for the only thing more dangerous than a blade, was an inexperienced hand. He grabbed onto Tulin’s hand, barely keeping himself from being cut.

“It IS cool. But what’s cooler is knowing how to use it. Would you like to learn?”

“Yes!! Please teach me! Please please please!”

“Very well. I should hope to be a good teacher to an eager student.”

Sooga held onto his hand, showing him the proper way to hold it; tightly, with the blade angled for a downward motion.

“Okay, I think I got it. Like this?”

“Perfect. Now, it’s a limber weapon, so if you need to move it in your hand, feel free to do so. Just be careful, it’s very easy to cut yourself. Now, let’s try to get a feel for it, shall we?”

Sooga stood up, and brandished one of his swords. He gave Tulin a moment to get his stance ready, before he let Tulin come at him. Course, he was very easy to block, but the point was so Tulin could feel comfortable holding it.

“Good, good. Side to side motions, just as you are.”

“It’s...kinda heavy, my arms hurt.”

“Suppose for your size, it’s not as limber as it is intended to be. Do your arms really hurt, or can you keep trying?”

“I...can keep trying, I think.”

“Good, a true fighter keeps going. Swing at me again.”

He noticed Tulin had to use almost both his hands as he swung. Poor thing was struggling. Light as his weapons were, Tulin was small. Determined, but very tiny. Still, he did rather well, all things considered. He blocked another blow rather easily.

“You aren’t uncomfortable around weapons. Good.”

“It’s usually bows, but training with my dad is a LOT like this.”

“Good of your father, teaching you to be comfortable with such a vital tool.”

He was about to do a mock swing, just to see if Tulin could dodge, when he saw Tulin was already weary, panting and even sweating a little. For living in a peaceful village, and armed with a bow and arrow, this WAS a lot of practice, especially from someone who was essentially a stranger. Sooga put his weapon away, and knelt down to Tulin.

“Why don’t we take a break? A weapon is useless without a body.”

“Okay...can we eat? I’m hungry.”

Sooga nodded, letting Tulin take the weapon, and sneak it into his own hammock. Tulin helped him find the cooking pot, and in a moment, Sooga had a fire going, and a few ingredients to throw inside.

“So, what are we hungry for?”

“I dunno, what can you make?”

“I suppose I can make poultry curry.”

“Oh! Yes! Do that one!”

Sooga nodded. He had no issues cooking the rice, and the chicken appropriately, and as soon as it was done, he handed a bowl to Tulin. Tulin dug into it hungrily, before slowly ceasing his eating. Sooga cocked his head down as the child stared at the bowl.

“What’s the matter?”

“I don’t like how it tastes. Super bland. I don’t wanna eat it.”

“God fucking dammit, Sooga, I can smell your shit cooking in my dreams.”

They both turned to look at Kohga, who had just woken up. He got out of the hammock, and walked over to the pot, taking the soup ladle to help himself to a taste. He then used it to smack Sooga on the back of his head.

“You. Cannot cook. I’d rather eat wet sand, at least THAT has salt.”

“I thought I was cooking it right-”

“Yeah right to hell. Fuck shit, move. What even is this?”

“Poultry curry.”

Kohga looked at him as if he had just gone insane.

“You’re...feeding chicken...to a baby chicken. That’s fucked up, Sooga.”

He was about to bitch at him some more, when Tulin nudged the bowl against Sooga. Kohga turned to look at him, and the little one was whimpering.

“Please fix it, I’m really hungry.”

“For the love of- fine. But only because I hate it when Sooga cooks.”

And Kohga did not disappoint. Not only did he fix Sooga’s awful poultry curry, he made the tastiest, sweetest egg pudding Tulin had ever tasted. The little one had two helpings of each, burping as soon as he was done. Kohga chuckled as he saw just how content the little guy was.

“Look at you, hungry fella. You need anything else, kid?”

“Uh huh. Can I please have some warm milk?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll make it just how my mom made mine.”

Tulin peered over as Kohga not only poured milk onto the pot, but cane sugar, courser bee honey, and even ground up some Chickaloo Tree Nuts. It made for a sweet, fragrant drink that Tulin accepted gleefully. He took one sip, and started kicking his little legs around wildly.

“This is SOOO good! This is WAY better than when mom makes it! Your mom is super cool!”

“She really was, she really was. Glad you like it, kiddo. Your turn, Sooga.”

Sooga didn’t LOVE sweets, but who was he to refuse such a treat from his Master? He accepted his own cup, took a sip, and found himself recalling...the good times. The times where he stood with his mother as they sipped tea, the times where she would get rid of his dirty, wet clothes, in order to get him warm and dry again. There was...only good in this drink, honestly. Sooga nodded, trying not to dwell so much on what was.

“I agree with Tulin. This is excellent. I’m surprised I’m just now trying it.”

“Eh, I only make it if I really need to go to bed. I usually make them with banana cookies-”

“Can you make those next time, please?!”

Tulin was practically giddy at the notion of more treats, and Kohga found it amusing. He patted Tulin’s head, nodding.

“Sure. Next time I’ll bring some over, just for you kid.”

“You’re SO cool!”

“I mean, I know that, but thank you.”

Kohga chuckled. He helped himself to his own drink, sighing in content. A nice, cold night, warmed by a nice fire, and some warm drinks. What more could one want? Sooga chuckled to himself, realizing he had downed nearly half of his cup. No wonder he was feeling so calm, so still.

“Thank you. I don’t think I’d know how to handle a hungry child who didn’t like my food.”

“That's why I’M the cook between us. Your food is so bland. I had half a mind to-”

He went silent, and Sooga saw why. Tulin had finished his drink, and had passed out, right into Kohga’s lap. Kohga struggled, clearly not knowing how to handle this, before groaning, and just patting the bird’s back, lulling him further into sleep. Sooga sat there for a moment, watching them. Kohga didn’t want children, but...they did like him. Found enough comfort in him to fall asleep on him, to cherish the plentiful meals he made them. Sooga even turned to look at his face, and caught him smiling oh so fondly at the little bird. Kohga seemed to catch his grin, and huffed.

“Hell you looking at?”

“I’m just. Seeing how wonderful you are with Tulin...and it really, really makes me realize; you’d make a wonderful, wonderful parent. You act so standoffish, but you...truly love taking care of children and-”

“God don’t you start that shit with me, Sooga.”

“I’m just saying! Family life might be for you! How do you know, you’ve never tried it!”

“Shut the hell up, you absolute fucking idiot.”

Sooga stopped for a moment as Kohga leaned into him, still keeping his hand on Tulin. Sooga looked down at these two, and was confident, more than ever, that he wanted a family. This feeling, that he was feeling right now, was something he desperately, terribly wanted. He wrapped his arm around Kohga, letting the dancing fire illuminate his features. He kissed the top of his head, softly sighing.

“I...love you. I love you so terribly much.”

------------------------------

“Sooga! Kohga! We’re ba-oh!”

Saki immediately silenced herself as she saw the little cuddle train that was happening here. Teba walked in behind her, chuckling at the sight. He nodded towards Sooga, who was too busy protecting them to sleep.

“Teba, Saki. How was your date?”

“Oh it was lovely, we went out to eat and everything. Quite sweet, honestly. Here, let me put him into bed, I’d hate for him to get a cramp, laying on the floor like that.”

Sooga, despite how it hurt his heart, let Saki take Tulin, and put him into his own little bed. Suppose that was his cue. He got up, carrying a sleeping Kohga in his arms. Teba nodded at him.

“Thanks for watching him. Hope he wasn’t too much for you two.”

“Not at all. You have a very wonderful, and very honest boy. You should be proud.”

“I am, I am, honestly. Especially if he made an impression on you.”

“I...hope this isn’t too much, but may we stay? I just, really wanted to-”

“What is this?”

They both turned to look at Saki, who was holding the vicious sickle in her hand. Teba winced, before shaking his head.

“yeah...I think staying is a really bad idea.”

Sooga looked at Saki, and shrugged.

“In my defense, he was excited to receive a present.”

So Sooga and Kohga weren’t ready to be dads.

Just yet, anyway.

[aceloha]

S4 content???? I personally think people focus on the same handful of S4 pair Dynamics™ and honestly? I think aloha wanting to do some stupid shit but not wanting to do it alone and skull just kinda being Along For The Ride is hilarious. I can totally see aloha being like there's a new clothes store open and I wanna go anyone wanna come with me and mask is like lmao nope and army's like unfortunately busy today 😔 but Skull's like sure I'll come and then they spend the day shopping and buying lunch at a fancy cafe and they come back with like new hats and sunglasses and jackets and four bags of shopping each and Aloha's bought a bunch of co-ordinated outfits but skull has just bought 6 identical spare bandanas and 20 pairs of socks

I can ALSO seem them going for a spa day and aloha asks a load of questions and chats with the staff and has a great time and skull spends the whole time trying to resist eating the cucumbers they put on his eyes (I can see him enjoying it too tho)

BUT ALSO LIKE. if they go Out and do stupid shit army and mask stay In and due stupid shit. they'd make like a house of cards and play like jumbo jenga and I can see mask getting army into stratergy games and I dunno, would army play like, chess? it gets super heated but only because army goes All Out on stratergies and mask goes All Out on being a bastard (and also the stratergy) and their stuff probably starts out with a friendly level of competition and then gets intense and then gets almost collaborative (mask's pulling out the last jenga piece and even though army would win if he fucks it up their jenga stack is now ridiculously high and army actually wants to see if they can make this work)

bonus if these happen at the same time..... skull and aloha come back with bags of shopping and fancy drinks/snacks and they walk in on a house of cards, a huge jenga stack and an intense game of battleships or something

ANYWAY ask for S4 content and u shall receive my kinnie ass is obsessed

OUGHHHHHB WAA ASKSJODNDIDJD YESYESYES I really like the idea of Aloha being like? Idk how to say it? Like the most active in the group? Like he cannot stand to be stuck in appartment all day. And I do hc him to struggle abit more with money compared to the others who got some sort of kick off aid from their family when they moved to live on their own, but on days he knows he has plenty of spare money and time he will immediately hit up the others. I love the idea that Skull is just always willing to do whatever. Like, Aloha could be like “AYO I found this super cool pond with this beep ass cave in it by the beach? Anyone wanna see how deep it goes?” And Army would lecture about how dangerous that would be and Skull just “what time should we meet up?” JSISIDJDJ.

ALSO ALSO Army and Mask bonding OML- like maybe Aloha DOES drag them out to the under water cave but they actually want to stay alive so they just watch the two get ready and Army tried to small talk with Mask and asks what type of games he likes and is greeted by Masks info dump about an online game he’s never heard of. And while Aloha and Skull are off doing god knows what Army and Mask are talking about theoretical battle plans for Masks game or viseversa. Army is taking excessive notes while Masks blabbers in about stats and some of the battle plans he and the rest of cyan team used during a raid or something

I KNOW I didn’t cover the Mask and Army like. Competive bonding but I can see them trying to make the tallest Jenga tower possible. Every second Army is analysing the set up and Mask is to focused on GENTLY removing a center block to understand what army means by “structural baring support center block” jdisjeosjdidj

Also thank you for s4 content my kinnie ass is also obsessed

[feverinfeveroutfic]

chapter thirty-three: among us

Sam drove herself and Joey back to his place by the time the lake effect snow began to fall over them. There was no way they were going to stay there for very long, especially since she didn't have her boots on. He shivered in the seat next to her even though he wore a long black coat: he knitted his knees together and bowed his head to better keep the warmth in his body even though the heater was switched on. She flexed her fingers a bit along the edge of the steering wheel: those hockey gloves were back at his place, but she wondered if she could have one of those pairs of gloves with the finger tips snipped off.

Right outside of town, Joey bowed his head a bit more and his inky black curls sprawled over his shoulders like the tentacles of an octopus.

“You feel okay?” she asked him with a glimpse over at him.

“Yeah—I've just got a chill up a spine that won't go away is all.”

“Would you like something warm when we get back to your place?”

“Please. I need a bit of sump'n filling, too.”

“We didn't really eat much of breakfast, anyway,” she pointed out. Joey shook his head about so the black curls brushed against his shoulders.

Sam wound her way off the highway and she recognized the side street from the night before. It took her a single night and a couple of trips throughout there in order for her to recall the way back to his place. Joey slid out of the front seat first once they took the same spot from the night before; Sam followed suit right behind him with her hands upon her upper arms. He reached the door first and thus he held it for her once she padded up to his front step.

“See, there's a gentleman in there,” she told him in a light voice and with a nod of her head. He showed her another lopsided grin as she ducked inside: once he came in behind her, the rain began to fall out there in sheer sheets. He shook his head about even though his hair was dry.

Sam continued onward to the kitchen for his kettle: she opened the cupboard next to the fridge in search of cocoa and marshmallows, but there was nothing. He had a little bit of food on hand but not a lot. She could only assume it was because he was about to head out on tour soon that he had cleaned out his pantry, but she could feel herself growing hungry again.

“What you looking for?” he asked her once he stood next to the counter.

“When Cliff was alive, I made some Mexican hot chocolate for him one morning.”

“Oh, shit—I don't think I have any of those things.”

“If we were back at my place, I'd make you a cup wing bang boom. It's just the kind of day for something like this—with the cinnamon and kiss of spices.”

“Kiss of spices,” he chuckled at that. She turned around to find him stooped down behind the counter.

“Yeah—like a little kiss of spices.”

“Spices before I head out to Europe in a few days.”

“You oughta give me a kiss,” she joked, and Joey raised his head from behind the counter. His lips were parted a bit; she froze in place. She had blurted it out. He had been making jokes with her with each encounter they had, especially when they were out on the hockey rink. It wasn't a joke even though she intended it to be as such.

“Did you say what I think you said?” he asked her in a low voice. Sam swallowed and she shifted her weight right in that spot. He stood to his feet, but he never moved closer to her. Those brown eyes swallowed her whole like a pair of black holes.

She shifted her weight again, and she turned her head into the partially empty cupboard next to her. Joey let out a long low whistle, and then he ran his fingers through the black curls on the side of his head. She never moved a muscle as he ambled over to the fridge for something. He took out a brown glass bottle from the top shelf.

“Put the booze away, Joey,” she begged him. “I don't want you to drink. Please—don't drink. Besides you already had one earlier.”

He stared at the bottle as it rested in his right hand.

“Joey—I didn't mean to say that,” she blurted out, but then she realized that was the wrong thing to say. But he didn't move: he kept his gazed fixated on the crinkled label plastered on the front there.

“Joey—I—” she sputtered. Her mind went blank. “—I—I—”

Joey set the bottle down on the counter next to him and he moved in closer to her. Sam pressed her back to the wall. He brought his dark lips closer to her face. The skin looked smooth and delicate, and it made her think of dark chocolate.

“Nah,” he muttered with a shake of his head.

“What's wrong?” she asked him.

“I don't really wanna do it,” he confessed. “Even though I'm curious.”

“Well—I don't understand?” she coaxed him.

“I mean, you said it,” he pointed out.

“I was making a joke, though.”

“Oh, I see,” he showed her a grin again.

“It was a joke but it kinda sucked.”

“Try saying it in a funny voice,” he suggested.

“You oughta gimme a kiss,” she repeated in a phony high voice, and that brought a laugh out of him.

“Where would you like me to kiss ya?”

“On the lips, of course.”

“Which lips? The mouth or in between your legs?”

“The mouth. Although I would have to touch the lips in between my legs to get myself going.” Even though she had touched herself in the past, it felt so odd to tell another person about it, especially when she didn't really feel it there in front of Joey.

“You sure about that?” He raised those little black eyebrows at her.

“Positive.”

“Maybe I can do ya a favor, though,” he said with a little gyration of his head.

“I'd have to get to know you a little better, though, Joey,” she pointed out. “Get to know you a little better to really see how I feel about you.”

“You've got a taste of it, though—you're ahead of the game already.”

“Unless you wanna play a game of hockey with me,” she quipped.

“Play a game of hockey and fuck yes with me,” he added, and he burst out laughing right there. She tried to resist a chuckle but it slipped out from her. Why that was so funny to her was almost beyond her, and yet she laughed anyway.

“Fuck yes? What about fuck maybe?”

“Fuck maybe, fuck yes—fuck it all and fuck the pain away.”

“So many fucks,” she remarked.

“All the fucks in the world. All the fucks in the world in between your legs.”

“Hey, now—let's not get ahead of ourselves. I already am kind of ahead of myself.”

Joey raked the hair on the side of his head yet again.

“So you wanna make me some Mexican hot chocolate?” he asked her.

“Yeah. With nutmeg and cinnamon. Maybe a little star anise or something particularly special to make it a little more Native American influenced.”

“Hmm—” He stroked his chin. “I dunno if I've seen anything like that here in Camillus. We'd haveta go to Syracuse, and I don't really feel like going out again.”

“I can go alone,” she suggested with a shrug. “I know my way back here.”

“I'll be awaiting for you.” He flashed her a wink and a slight pucker of his dark lips. She shifted her weight yet again and she adjusted her shirt; he was adorable with his little lopsided smile and his little cheekbones. It made her think of Lars and she wondered how he was doing right then before Metallica's first tour without Cliff onboard. Even though she made a joke, she wondered how he really felt about her.

“Would you like me to bring back something else for you?” she asked him in a trembling voice: she flashed back on the scuffle between him and Alex even though she had no reason to do so.

“Maybe sump'n for dinner and some more coffee for us in the morning. Get yourself something nice, too.” He shook his black curls about and showed off his neck to her all the while. She skirted past him and her hand brushed upon his shoulder. A single touch against his clothes and she shuddered a bit. She was always alone with it, but perhaps that would change soon enough for her. She returned to the couch for her coat. The thought of going to fetch some coffee made her think of that scuffle yet again.

It was right then she had an idea.

“Do you remember where the dudes from Legacy went off to?” she asked him, to which he shrugged his slender shoulders.

“Why's that?” he asked her, and the warmth had vanished from his face at that.

“Oh—just curious.”

“I dunno, to be quite frank.”

“So there's 'to be frank' and there's 'to be quite frank',” she recalled.

“It's almost Frank,” he said, and the grin returned to his face.

“Or sophisticated Frank,” she pointed out.

“That's Frank with a suit on.” And he couldn't resist the laugh right there. She slipped her coat back on and picked up the keys again.

“I'll be back soon, you crazy boy,” she told him and she headed back outside, where the rain poured down, still in sheets. She bowed her head as she made her way back around the corner and towards the car: Cliff's hat was in the back seat. Hopefully, the rain continued over in Syracuse.

It felt so weird driving there without Joey or anyone else with her, but she managed to do it anyway. Right before the inner city, she took the first exit and rolled up to the first stoplight. Even through the sheets of cold rain, she recognized that van down the block, right up against the corner.

“Ask and you shall receive,” she muttered to herself. She gazed up at the red light over her head, and she thought about Zelda and Belinda's remarks about their desire to do more for the boys. It was a fleeting thought, but she wondered if they had management of sorts around them, besides the Zazulas of course. She was their very first member of their fan club after all. Maybe she could do more, something more than Stormtroopers especially since she hadn't heard a word about them from either Scott or Charlie, especially since she hadn't heard a word about them following the tour from last summer.

The light turned green and she lunged forward. She took the spot right behind them: she recognized Chuck's smooth brown curls underneath his sweater hood. He turned in her direction and she flashed the headlights at him. He frowned at her and she opened the door, and poked her head out for him to see. And his face lit up at her.

“Hey, guys, Sam's here!” he declared into the back section of the van. She reached into the back seat for the hat and she put it on before she climbed out all the way. She set a hand on the crown and Chuck flashed her two thumbs up.

“Bitchin' hat, little Sammich,” he told her once she came within earshot. Eric emerged from the inside there, also with a hood on his head.

“What're you guys doing here?” she asked them.

“We were about to head on back home,” Chuck told her as he put his arm around her again.

“That is a bitchin' hat,” Eric remarked.

“It used to be Cliff's hat,” she said with a nudge of the brim.

“I thought it looked familiar,” Chuck noted; she looked past Eric at that little jet black helmet of hair posted up against the van wall behind him. He lingered in the background with his hand upon his brow: single gray hairs slithered out from in between his fingers. He kept his head bowed a bit as if he had a headache: but she recognized his fine prominent features paired with that boyish round face.

“He's grounded,” Greg, who sat right across from him, told her. “He's been a bad boy.”

“He's grounded?” she chuckled, but she stopped herself in her tracks.

“Tried a little acid,” Chuck said into her ear in a low voice. “Just to see what it was like.”

“Yeah—a short trip—sort of, anyways—and he's still coming down from it,” Eric added, “and his parents caught wind of it. His mom was like, 'he may be eighteen now but he's still our baby!' over the phone, so I was like, 'yes, alright, Mrs. Skolnick—we'll get your little boy home soon enough. It'll probably be out of his system by then.' So when he gets home, he's gotta serve out his sentence for a bit.”

Alex bowed his head a bit more and he kept his hand upon the crown, and she wondered how he was feeling right then. He was barely eighteen and yet he tried out something that seemed so strange even to her. He breathed a little hard as if he had just run a mile but he wasn't acting strange in any other way. Louie knelt down before the double doors, complete with his hair combed down flat upon the top of his head.

“Hey, you,” Sam greeted him, and he showed her a big toothy grin. “How you doing?”

“I'm doing better now,” he replied and he shook his head so his hair lifted off of the crown. “How's Zelda?”

“She's kicking ass right now. I guess the Cherry Suicides are trying to get something for themselves with the label, at least that's according to her.”

“Awesome! I hope they get it.”

“By the way, when are Metallica coming?” Eric asked her as he knitted his eyebrows together and adjusted his hood. “Do you know already?”

“Coming where? To California?”

“No, here to New York and the rest of the country.”

“I think they already left, Eric,” Louie confessed as he ran a hand over the smooth wave of hair upon his head.

“Left for Europe,” Sam added.

“Let's see, you're a student,” Louie said, “I kinda wanna see you on tour with us if and when it happens. It'll happen soon enough, we just have to—you know, record our album and get it put out and everything.”

“Well, if I go along with you, I don't want you guys to stay in dingy hotels,” she declared. “I went on tour with Stormtroopers last summer and we stayed in one hotel the entire tour. All over New York and Pennsylvania, Marla and I stayed in Charlie's car.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Eric groaned.

“But I don't think we will,” Chuck assured her. “At least, that's what I think, anyway. All I know is we're staying far away from the hallucinogens, that's for sure.” His dark eyes wandered over to Alex, who finally lifted his head up but he didn't appear to be looking at anything in particular.

“Hang on—when are you guys going into the studio?” Sam asked them.

“Uh, January, I think?” said Eric. “We're coming out here to do the recording, too.”

“If it comes out in the spring, we'll tour over the summer,” Greg added from inside of the van, and Alex shuddered in response to that.

“Dude, Sam—you gotta come with us!” Chuck encouraged her.

“Yeah, come with us!” Louie exclaimed.

“Yeah, walk among us,” Eric joined in.

“I'd have to do something about school, though,” she pointed out as she adjusted the brim of her hat again. “Where are you guys going?”

“We hope it'll just be all along the West Coast,” Chuck explained. “Well, you're part of the fan club which means you're on our mailing list. You'll get your first perks!”

“Oh, cool! I'll keep an eye out for that.”

Eric gazed up at the darkening sky and squinted his brown eyes in the wake of the rain.

“Let's get out of this rain,” he said to Chuck and Louie.

“Yeah, we just stopped here to get our bearings anyways,” the former told Sam as he rubbed his hand upon her shoulder.

“I like how you just unabashedly put your arm around me,” she remarked to him.

“He's protecting you,” Louie told her with a bow of his head. “Believe me, I did that a lot for Zelda.”

“I gotta get some stuff for Joey, too—he's gotta have some stuff at the moment before Anthrax goes out soon.”

“How's he doing, by the way?” Chuck asked her in a low voice.

“Oh, he's doing great. I've been trying to get him to drop the drinking lately.”

“Good, 'cause if a little hit of acid can mess up our little man lead guitarist for several hours, I can't imagine what the booze must be doing to a lead singer,” Eric said in a single breath.

“No idea,” she confessed with a shake of her head and yet another adjusting of the brim.

“You're getting a full on lake up there!” Greg joked.

“There's a lake out there somewhere,” Alex spoke out of the blue, and in an absent tone.

“Yeah, we gotta get going,” Chuck told Eric, “he sounds lucid.”

“Earlier, he could barely talk,” Eric told her.

“You boys stay healthy for me,” she decreed with her arms outstretched for him. She embraced the three of them and blew Greg a kiss, who promptly caught it and lay it across his chest. Chuck climbed into the driver's seat and Eric took to the passenger side.

“Have some tea, Alex,” she said into the back section of the van; he didn't reply but she knew he heard her. Without another word, she backed away and doubled back to Joey's car. She slid back into the driver's seat and watched Legacy's van haul off into the sheets of lake effect rain. She glanced to her right and she spotted a little spice shop there on the corner in front of her. It would give her the chance to let the hat dry off a bit more as she dodged her way inside for some cinnamon, nutmeg, and chocolate.

She bowed next door for those tiny marshmallows, and soon, she ducked back into the car: Cliff's hat was soaking wet from the rain water and she let out a loud sigh as she lay on the seat next to her. His scent would be washed out for sure at that point, replaced by that earthy rain smell.

Sam drove back to Joey's place, which proved to be a little bit more difficult given the amount of rain that was falling right then: she had to peer past the literal rivulets on the windshield just to see the street signs. But she recognized that art shop across the street and she made that same right hand turn. She bounded into the parking lot and she hurried back to Joey's apartment. He greeted her with yet another lopsided grin and his inky black hair tousled over his shoulder: as she rubbed the rain water from her eyes, she noticed the glisten to his curls. He also had put on a different shirt from before.

“D'you take a shower?”

“I sure did!” he replied. “I had been meanin' to, anyways.” He then rubbed his hands together. “So—this Mexican hot chocolate for the two of us?”

“I served it to Cliff one time when he visited me, and I wanna give you a little taste now.”

Sam put the jars of ground cinnamon and nutmeg on the counter, and she reached into his cupboard for a pair of mugs.

“What if we add a little bitta—” He hesitated as she put on the kettle.

“A bit of what?” she asked him, and she turned around to find him making a drink motion towards his dark lips. She rolled his eyes.

“What? It's Mexican. How 'bout we make it a little Irish, too?”

“Joey—no.” And yet she couldn't help but laugh at that.

“If we serve it with a bit of pasta, it becomes Italian,” he continued.

“Really?”

“Nah, I just made that up. I dunno where that would go, to be honest—and I'm half Italian!”

She laughed at that as she poured the dark cocoa into their mugs. She then thought about the other side of Joey's heritage, especially with the curls and stray ringlets all about his head.

“What about Iroquois?” she asked him as she followed it up with the nutmeg.

“Iroquois, you put it in the ground and hope for the best.”

“Wouldn't that taste like dirt, though?”

“Maybe. Or it might be poured all over my skin for all we know. At least, that was the impression I got growing up as a half blood boy among a shitload of white people.”

She wrinkled her nose at that, and he nibbled on his bottom lip.

“What if I take a few of those tiny marshmallows and rub them all over my belly?” he quipped.

“You do that, I might lick them all off,” she joked, and he clapped his hands together he laughed so hard.

She could hear the kettle boiling right behind her. Joey then leaned his hip against the edge of the counter top and he folded his arms across his chest. She had seen him not even a few hours ago, and yet he was already lucid again. The man could hardly hold his liquor for very long and yet he was lucid again: it made her think of Alex and when exactly he took that hit. She poured the near boiling water into the white mugs and she let the ingredients mix together by themselves before she added the cinnamon and stirred it all together.

A few marshmallows into his mug followed by her own. Joey picked up the mug before him and he raised it to her. She followed suit with both hands.

“To the tour,” he said.

“To art,” she added.

“To art!” he added with a twinkle in his eye. “And to new music in the future as well.”

Eric and Greg had mentioned Legacy would go into the studio themselves in a couple of months time for their very first album. She even opened her mouth a bit as if to mention it to him. But he had such a cold reaction to her asking about Legacy earlier, and thus she pursed her lips together at the thought and corrected herself.

“To brand new music—all around,” she followed up, “from everyone.” And they clinked their mugs together in a toast.

She loved Joey but there was something about Alex. She thought about the mysterious man in her dreams, and yet she was convinced that there was no way that was him. And thus maybe it was because he was still a teenage boy. There he was, nestled there in the back part of their van, at the end of the hallucinatory trip, but he struck her as small and gentle, and even precious. That little plume of gray at the crown of his head made him older but it also added to the roundness of his face. Eric even referred to him as his parents' little boy after all. He was still a young boy, even with that big jarring voice and those grays.

She loved Joey but she needed to protect Alex. She kept that firmly in mind as he lowered the mug down to his chest.

“Holy shit, that's excellent,” Joey remarked. “The spice comes in at the back, too, I love that!”

“It's not the traditional way they make it south of the border, but it's something, though,” Sam confessed with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Is that why it took you so long to get back?”

“Yes. I was—looking around for the traditional way of making it, just to kind of change it up from when I served it to Cliff, but—I decided to go the basic route.”

“Sometimes basic is all that's needed,” he assured her with a raise of his eyebrows. He brought the mug to his dark lips again for another sip.

“I got you more coffee, by the way,” she added, and he moved his free hand out for a high five from her. She loved Joey a lot and she was comfortable around him, but she had no idea what he would do at the mere mention of Alex, or the fact she still smelled like Chuck. For all he knew, however, it still lingered from the day before. She hoped to keep up the lie because the idea of the man she loved going nuts about the other five men she loved made her squirm in that very spot.

[smolbeandrabbles]

Kiss You - Anders Harris x Reader (The Land of Steady Habits)

Author’s Note: Literally me in Bed, Bath and Beyond, tho. Could this technically count as a Christmas fic for the 0.1 seconds I talk about Christmas?! So. I realised whilst doing some clearing up on my Masterlist that actually the only time I’ve written this man is a request... Without further ado. Let’s give this film it’s own section, shall we...?

Disclaimer: The Land of Steady Habits & Characters not mine... etc etc etc... Premise: When the father of your favourite co-worker offers to take you home as a favour, you can’t resist the temptation of having him stay...  Words: 3902 Warnings: One Night Stand / mild swearing 

______ Oh, I just wanna take you anywhere that you’d like We could go out any day, any night Baby, I'll take you there, take you there Baby, I'll take you there Oh, tell me, tell me, tell me how to turn your love on You can get, get anything that you want Baby, just shout it out, shout it out Baby, just shout it out And if you You want me too Let's make a move, yeah So tell me girl if every time we touch You get this kind of rush Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah If you don't wanna take it slow And you just wanna take me home Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah And let me kiss you Oh baby baby don't you know you got what I need Lookin' so good from your head to your feet Come-a come over here, over here Come-a come over here yeah Oh, I just wanna show you off to all of my friends... Baby, be mine tonight, mine tonight Baby, be mine tonight yeah

--- You didn’t want to call it a bad idea. Far from it. Maybe a little stupid? Maybe.   Sleeping with the father of someone you worked with...? Ehhhh Your night wasn’t really meant to go that way, but hell as if you’d minded.  Preston hadn’t introduced you to Anders on anything more than a coincidence. Anders still liked seeing his son, and you knew he took him out to their favourite lunch spot maybe once every few weeks. You’d heard a lot about Anders Harris but you hadn’t actually had the pleasure of meeting him until you’d been coming back from picking up lunch in town, and he was waiting for your star team member in the lobby. You would have walked straight past him then, had Preston not been walking out of the office and caught you in the middle of the foyer, only for Anders to casually wander over.  Even then you hadn’t had enough time to be interested. You caught his name, shook his hand. Were polite. He seemed sweet enough, but didn’t necessarily catch your eye; you had to excuse yourself to the twenty different projects you had deadlines for. But it was nice to momentarily meet a man Preston talked so much about. Then you started to notice him around the office a little more either on your way to or from lunch, and you would give him a nod or a wave at times.   A few months after that first interaction, also known as last night, you’d been on the way home from Christmas drinks with friends walking to your car, and Anders was coming the other way up the street. You had been looking at each other a good portion of the way up the street - and you knew you both recognised each other, but maybe not enough to chat? But it was Christmas, and you kinda felt the situation was unavoidable... so you both slowed to a stop; “Hey!” “Hi! What are you doing in town this late?” Though your eyes flicked to his hands; “Oh! Late night Christmas shopping...! Yourself?” “Catching up with friends before they all split for the Holidays... it’s good to see you!” “And finally talk properly I guess...!” He laughed gently “Hey, I, always mean to ask... how is he... doing? You know I just... as his dad-” “He’s amazing what can I say?” You grinned, “Probably one of the most incredible team members I’ve ever worked with. He’s incredibly bright and independent and a good team player. Trust me, you don’t have to worry... you can be very proud of him...” There was a bashful smile on his face as he looked away from you; “Well... thank you for saying that...” “You’re very welcome... I do try to aim to be the cool boss!” you winked; “So, if you can push that notion his way.” Anders laughed “oh, I don’t think I need to. He likes you a lot.” “Well that’s made my day!” You grinned back, giving him a laugh of your own “Glad to be of service... where you headed now?” “Home, cab...” You pointed to the end of the street that you knew was easiest to catch them from. “And yourself with all those bags?” He nodded for a second, eyeline following your point, before turning back to your question; “Oh, I’m driving home... do you... I can drive you back home!” Anders’ eyes flashed, and his smile got considerably cuter at his bright idea “Oh no! You don’t have to do that.” “I would like to though, it saves you money, c’mon!” You knew you wouldn’t need much persuading to spend some more time with him, but you wanted to act like it was a hard decision, sway on the spot for a minute, “Okay!” But you wouldn’t let him get away with just that, “Then hand over some of those bags!! I can’t watch you walk around with all those!” ** He only begrudgingly let you take them off him to walk back to his car, and you made small talk. You found talking to him was as easy as his son, and the conversation flowed naturally. Anders was tall and attractive and had a boyish look about him that somehow meant you couldn’t tear your eyes away. Every so often he said something that subtly sounded like flirting, but could have been passed of as anything else – except by the way he looked over at you and smiled. And from time to time that smile would have you looking away from him and blaming the cold, or the alcohol, for your flushed cheeks. Sometimes you could return that smile with a subtle flirt of your own. And then he would laugh – and you were having real-time in work flashbacks. They are so alike… You wondered if they even realised it, or if they would even like the comparison. Preston would probably roll his eyes and call you crazy, Anders seemed like the kind of guy to smile bashfully, look to his feet and mumble that he wished he was half as good as his kid. You wondered if you would ever get the opportunity to tell them both – and which reaction would hold most true. One thing was for sure, you weren’t about to do it your very first real conversation with him here and now. He unlocked his car from the other side of the parking lot; “Safety first?!” you joked “Uh. You have felt this outdoor temperature right!? I wanna get in it, and get home…” He blew out a breath which instantly fogged in the atmosphere to make his point for him. “…Dunno, guess I’m keeping the chill off just fine.” Anders scoffed; “Yeah alright. I can do late night drinks with friends too, y’know! I just… not this week, probably next…” “Preston says you do cooking classes!” It didn’t mean to come out quite the way it did, what you had meant to follow up on was his statement on his friends - because you knew he happened to do these courses with one. He spluttered instead with a choked laugh “HA-! God, what else has he said about me-!?!” You held your hands up innocently; “I didn’t say it was a bad thing! He just tells me things here and there…” “I bet it’s all terrible.” You bit your lip through your smile; “…If it was Mr. Harris, I wouldn’t be getting in your car.” “Ah. Well, there’s that…” He popped the trunk and you helped him arrange the multitude of carriers, as he asked for your address – typing it into his phone. Anders paused for a second before he tapped the ‘go’ button to start the navigation system and allowed his eyes to flick back to you arranging things and standing back to admire your handy work; giving yourself a small smile and self-assured nod that everything was bound to fit, and the trunk would close properly now. He wondered if you wouldn’t mind… not going home… “Well... alternatively...” he shut the trunk “You know you could just come to mine..?” You gave a smirk, leaning against his car, as you turned back to him – there was only one notion behind his question; “Like, a one night stand?” He was attractive. His just-grey hair was still stylishly spiked and matched his cool blue eyes, and he even dressed with a sense of style that made him out to be half as old as he was. Yet, retired… divorced… and into finance? No. Not here and now, not with him looking at you like this.  You were into his humour too, which was the biggest plus. This didn’t sound like a bad suggestion. He squinted a little to make sure he was getting the notion from you he thought he was; “Yeaaaah?” “You think that’s a good idea? The father of someone in the boss of?” You teased, folding your arms. He gave a shrug “There are worse ideas, right?” You laughed in agreement “To be honest; I think that’s one of the best ideas I’ve ever heard.” You thought hard for a moment, looking to the parking lot and back to his car… hadn’t he just spent the time and effort typing in your address though, wouldn’t you just have to get home in the morning...? That cancelled out the fact he was doing you a favour and then turned back to him; “Why risk the journey to yours at all?” “Hmm?” You knew from when Preston liked to complain about having to drive over there in “rush” hour after work, that it was slightly further away from town than yours. And on the other side... “Well, you could simply take me home like a gentleman... and stay...” you added to let him know that there was no-way you were having second thoughts. Anders smiled with a knowing nod - “That sounds agreeable...” He leant into you - so close, and you did want to completely get wrapped up in him then. He looked cozy and your body was just aching to be held by him. You pressed further up against his car with a gasp - the metal was freezing in the temperature but it almost didn’t faze you. He kept on leaning. Hands sliding down your arms to find your fingers. And then he kissed you: sweet and comforting, and better than you might expect from a man potentially still hung up on his divorce and the pursuit of happiness. If he had meant to keep it short Anders failed through no fault of his own - after a few seconds of linking with his, your hands wanted nothing more than to pull him closer - and you wound your arms around his neck, drawing him into you up against his car. And you didn’t know if the drink was getting to you or it was his kissing giving you this buzz. But it was expert, thrilling; he was by no means a shy kisser. Not that his invitation had been anything short of forward. It was the kind of drunk kiss in the bar you were supposed to have that made a one night stand happen - not the one you made when you were both (practically) sober that sealed the deal after you’d already agreed to it. But there was a softness to that confidence - and you didn’t want that make out session to end, despite the fact you were standing outside in the freezing cold and dark and could have been doing this in his nice warm car. You broke apart - warm breath now visible as you tried to catch it. Oh yeah, you’d made the right decision here. This unassuming, kinda awkward, father of your favourite co-worker might be about to show you the time of your life…  *** So that’s how you ended up waking up... wait, hold on...?! Were you alone-!? He’d left you alone-!?! Son of a-! You sat up for a minute, had he really got up and driven away – no note? No nothing…? You left your bed and dressed quickly. Guess you were about to find yourself stuck at another boring weekend... You jogged down your stairs. No matter; one feel good pill, and a glass of water and you’d be ready to go jogging. You ran past your living room and front door, and almost made it to the kitchen. Before you stopped dead in your trainers and jogged back a couple of paces. Standing looking at your bookshelf, was Anders. Didn’t leave me after all?! You smiled, standing in the doorway and waiting for him to notice you; "You don't have any of those f**king self-help books…" he mused, eyes tracing from shelf to shelf just in case he’d missed it. You raised an eyebrow at that; "No! Why would I!? Do you think I need them!?" He turned to you and raised an eyebrow. Bright red and grey hooded sports jacket, your soft shirt hugging you just right, leggings and yellow running shoes meant no one out there was going to miss you. Why didn't that surprise him... “Where are you going?" "Running!" you were amused by the look he was giving you – somewhere between bewildered and impressed; “You run?” “Jog. Saturday and Sunday. Well. Most Sundays...” You nodded to him “You stayed?” “Oh shoot - Yeah, I shoulda... I dunno I got up and couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t want to wake you so...” He gave a shrug “I figured I’d wait up down here...” “Oh! No, no! Honestly that’s okay! Stay, if you got nowhere to be… please stay!” You gave a wink, “If you wait up a little longer we can have breakfast...” “Ah-! Breakfast too!? Careful Y/N, this is going to become a date...” “Maybe I want it to...!” You grinned and stepped backwards, “Enjoy my books!!!” “I will help myself to...” He couldn’t help his laugh “...no self-help!” “Well if you want me to get you one-!” “God, no please! Mercy!” “I won’t be too long I promise...” You scanned his outfit for yourself as you placed your headphones in, he looked good. Nice shirt, nice pants, jumper you could get wrapped up in on really cold days. Jumper you’d quite like to get wrapped up in right now, actually... Shoulda taken your time last night... Y/N!! He gave you a gentle smile and shook his head; “Aw, you don’t have to promise me anything... take your time.” “Still, I don’t want a guest of mine to wait around for breakfast!!!” you smirked, pulling open your front door and calling back; “Sorry to disappoint on the book front-!” You were followed out your door by the delightful sound of his laugh; “Quite the contrary!”  *** When you got back from a very short (very light!!!) jog you were surprised to find Anders sitting on your couch genuinely reading. You leant against the door frame again; "Oh...I didn't think you'd actually take me up on that offer." "Well..." He mused, not looking up for a second as he finished the page. "...You do have a good collection." You tipped your head to try to read the cover, so he held it up for you.  "Oh! You a Stephen King fan?" His smile was a little on the awkward side "I haven't read a lot but... What I've read is good." "You should read some more. He's awesome." You gave a wink, and he stood; "So uh, breakfast...?" "Oh! Sweetie, let me go change!" He raised his eyebrow at you calling him sweetie - considering you couldn't have been all that near his age... "You don't have to do that for me..." "Yes I do...! I do...!" Ander gave a shrug, to indicate that it didn't matter to him at all, but he knew it was important to you - so he let you go. "I'll be five minutes!" "Good with me..!" He called after your disappearing frame ascending the stairs. ** But Anders, now knowing you were back home, decided he wanted to surprise you a little - and went about making breakfast and setting the table by himself. This was possibly the longest he'd ever stayed at a one night stands house. And the least awkward he'd ever felt after having one... There was something comfortable here... Whether that be his surroundings, or whatever was going on between him and you. He tried to keep what Preston might think about this out of his mind for as long as possible. You knew what he was doing when you caught the familiar scent of coffee half way back down your stairs. And couldn't help but be a little impressed as you trod softly into the kitchen; "Wow... I mean, I don't think I've ever had a guy make me breakfast at my own house before... Or make me breakfast period..." "Well, consider this - hopefully - a nice first..." He handed over a mug with a warm smile, and took a sip of his own. "Oh, I don't know, you're the guest! I feel like..." "Guest?" He raised an eyebrow; "Is that what I am now?" You flushed slightly "I mean...I guess..." Your eyes left his face, and your coffee became very interesting. Anders chuckled, "Well. I'm okay with that..." He brushed his hand across your shoulder, and guided you to the table "I'm... VERY okay with that..." "Oh really?" "Is it surprising?" He eyed you for a minute, you were a smart girl, you'd have picked something up. You paused, and then flushed a little more; "Please don't tell me you wait for Preston in our lobby... to see me?" "...Well... I guess it's not the only reason..." Anders pulled your chair out before sitting next to you, but you were a little lost for words – and continued to stare at him in awe with that gentle blush crossing your cheeks. “I…” You looked to the table for a moment “…I don’t…” He laughed; “You don’t have to say anything. And heck, the last thing I was looking for was making this morning awkward…” “No-! No!” You stammered, placing your hand affectionately on Anders’ arm, “You didn’t-! I’m just..! Overwhelmed a little that you…” your smile was as much in quiet adoration as your voice; “…that’s really… cute…”  *** You had danced around the subject all breakfast time, gingerly sipping coffee - then the pause came when it felt like it was the right time, but it never was. So, the both of you just ended up chatting about something else. But it was good conversation - and you didn’t want this feeling to end discussing something you knew you eventually would have to. Preston. And what you might decide to tell him. Anders had noticed that you had let him place his hand over yours, and the adorable way you were smiling at his gentle caresses. There was no fairly embarrassing redressing and sneaking out... No see you later that neither of you would ever mean... sure he’d drive home in what he was wearing yesterday, but as far as he was concerned it wouldn’t be a drive of shame. And yet... if you did want to see each other again, Preston became even more of an issue. And eventually you were the one to open your mouth; “Anders I... I really like you... you know? And I... I mean I’d like to see you again-” He cut you off before you could even think the but “I Like you too... I think that would be a good decision...” he didn’t want to give the impression that the matter of his son was going to stop that from happening. “But Preston… I...” “We’ll...” he waved his hand “We’ll deal with Preston when it comes to it... he’s an adult he can handle it, I’m sure...” Your expression remained fairly uncertain as you bit your lip; “I don’t want to act like it’s a big secret-!” “No. No! He just... Let’s see where this goes - if we both want to continue being serious about it...” Anders smiled, thinking that you probably both did, “then we’ll figure out the best way to tell him. But it’s probably not the first thing to do.” “A priority though.” You wanted to make sure he agreed on this, because you didn’t want to affect his relationship with his son - that you had learned from Preston himself was rebuilding pretty well - neither did you want to affect your working relationship with him, because honestly if you lost that banter work would become the most dull place again. And you cared about that kid a lot, he was a sweetheart. Anders nodded “of course, it’s an absolute priority...” Glad you were in agreement, and sure for yourself now this was going to end up being much more than just a one night thing, you turned to your cabinet and picked up your phone. Now you were determined to take the initiative here; “Anders, can I get your number?” He stared at you for a moment in almost childish wonder, then gave you a laugh to match - taking your phone: “Oh, Y/N! Of course, you may...!” He tapped it in, pulling his phone from his pocket “Though I might quite like you to return the favour!” *** He decided not to outstay his welcome, but it was practically lunch time by the time Anders pushed his chair out to leave. You’d already persuaded him to stay talking with you for one more (one more!) coffee. And this time Anders politely declined, there was still a little bit of irrational fear inside him that you might get sick of him. Or that he would say something stupid – he was used to doing something like that. But he also noticed how slowly you walked together to your front door, and he knew this was something already. He shrugged his jacket on and tied his scarf – with that same wonderful smile on his face. Which you were trying to fathom a reason for. And only realised it might be you when he turned back with those glittering blue eyes. “So, now you have my number. I guess I don’t have to wait to pick him up from work to see you around.” “Guess not… And I don’t have to hope that I might just coordinate my timing to see you either.” He grinned “Ah-! I knew there was a reason you liked walking out with him.” You waved your hand at his suggestion “Nah, that’s coincidence!” but your laugh gave you away. He opened your door to the colder temperature and shivered a little; “Man… Don’t you get tired of this?” You had to bite your lips together to not blurt out that he looked so good in clothes made for this weather, that from now on your answer would probably be ‘no!’ “…Well… By the time summer rolls around… but at this time of year…” “True…” He took the step down onto your drive way and turned back to you; “Thank you… Y/N… for having me.” “Uhm. Thank you for driving me home… and uh… Staying.” “Mmm…” Anders winked “Anytime.” Then he leant in to kiss you goodbye “…I’ll call you, text you… Whatever you want… and we’ll go out.” “That sounds good.” “Good… What are you doing for Christmas?” “Oh!” you couldn’t hide that surprise; “…Going to see my family.” “Ah… well, if you change your mind…” He gave a shrug “I’ll still be around.” You giggled; “Okay, I’ll keep it in mind…” Anders gave a smart nod; “Next week good with you?” “Should be.” You couldn’t help but mirror his amused smile “Awesome!” He patted his pocket “Keep your phone on you, and await my calls!” “Don’t be one of those men that calls me every minute of the day now… They usually get blacklisted.” Anders couldn’t help but laugh; “No promises! But thanks for the tip! Enjoy your day, Y/N!” He gave you a wave and set off down your drive to his car. “And you… And thank you…! I had a great time… sometimes stay at home dates are the best!” He opened his car door and turned back to you with another gorgeous smile; "…Well, I've had worse first dates... Much, much, worse first dates!" --- @3134045126​ 😘

@dennismitchell @happyskywhale @wltz-bby #MendoTagSquad. 

[misha-moose-dean-burger-lover]

Forecast's for Bitches

Prompt by: @smodernlife : I just got caught in a rainstorm I should have been prepared for and now I'm loving the idea of Cas and Dean in a rainstorm and Cas refuses to share his umbrella and raincoat because "if you insist on making fun of my weather preparedness you shall suffer the consequences".

Except, this isn't a rainstorm. It's just rain.

***

"For fuck's sake, Cas," Dean groaned, glaring at his boyfriend, as the rain flattened his hair unbecomingly, as it bounced off of Cas's stupid Oscar-Wilde-quotes umbrella to hit Dean precisely on the head. "You're in a trenchcoat, and you have an umbrella." He sucked in a breath. "I have neither. Sharing is caring."

"Dean," Cas declared, definite and smug. "Despite what they taught us in preschool, sharing - at least, right now - is to spoil you by encouraging your deprecating sarcasm. Not making fun of my weather preparedness is caring."

"You're kidding, right?" Dean blinked, and raised his arms in annoyance. "I'm getting soaked, and you want to nag me for making fun of you, instead of being a gentleman and protecting my ass from the rain!"

"When the rain threatens to kidnap you and somehow doubles your student loans, I promise to intervene for the sake of your ass." Cas shot back, sure of mind. "And, by the way, hand over your phone and wallet."

Dean feigned shock. "You won't share your umbrella with me, and you're trying to mug me?"

"Your possessions shouldn't have to pay the price for your assholery towards my weather-cautious attitute," Cas elaborated, and pocketed the articles Dean handed over submissively. "So, I'll keep your things safe. You, on the other hand, are encouraged to get drenched in the rain, Dean."

"You're such a dick, why do you also have to be McWordy Worderson?" Dean whined, kicking a pebble, and continuing to walk - still getting drenched from the downpour, his clothes sticking to his skin.

"You calling me that just brought the already marginal chances of me giving in, down to nil." Cas stubbornly informed Dean, earning himself another ferocious roll of his eyes.

"Marginal, my ass." Dean muttered. "You were so not gonna give in yet. I know you, Cas, I've been dating your stubborn-frigging-ass for too long."

It was Castiel's turn to roll his eyes. They went on walking, Cas comfortably holding the umbrella over solely himself while Dean drudged along his side.

"By the way, would you be okay with me finishing my draft before we resume watching -" Cas had begun, perfectly casual, but Dean glared at him incredulously.

"What, you think you can just make conversation, right now?" He barked, at the slightly smirking man. "The least I can do to retaliate is take away your privilege of getting to talk with me."

"You're not supposed to retaliate to my retaliation, you're supposed to learn a lesson." Cas informed Dean, pursing his lips.

"Oh, is the lesson going to be that death from pneumonia is painful as fuck?" Dean mocked.

"I have faith in your immune system, Dean." Cas simply replied, looking utterly pleased with his boyfriend's predicament.

Dean huffed.

"And what about the fact that I'm wet and getting wetter by the second, honey?" He egged on.

"I like the sound of it." Cas deadpanned.

"Cas, you dirty sonuvabitch," Dean couldn't resist. "But I didn't mean for you," He teased. "What about the girls who're gonna see me all drenched and faux-naked and alone, since clearly if I were walking with my boyfriend who has an umbrella, I wouldn't be in this state, and what if they offer me a ride or their coats or -"

"I have an umbrella." Cas stopped him. "And I won't hesitate to use it."

"You can use that thing to poke away kind, helpful chicks who approach me, but not to provide me shelter?" Dean protested.

"Exactly." Cas agreed, unperturbed.

"That's it." Dean grumbled. "I'm not talking to you."

Cas gave him a look. "You propose we walk home in silence?"

Dean, true to his word, didn't reply. He took a longer step than usual to cross a puddle, and focussed his attention on the ground solely.

"Alright." Cas said, partially annoyed. "Let's not."

There was silence for barely a moment before Dean spoke up again.

"Where's the fun in me bitching about you, if you're not here to listen to it?" He declared.

Cas nodded.

"And, for the record, I propose that we walk closer - near enough to share the umbrella and then I propose you kiss me under it." Dean crossed his arms on his chest, a drenched mess now. A stray droplet landed on his forehead, and trickled down the left of his face.

Cas narrowed his eyes.

"Don't you try to be -"

"What? That wasn't seductive or anything." Dean excused himself before he'd even been accused. "You mind me being a cliche lover of romantic tropes, now?"

"No, I like that fairly." Cas scoffed. And then, on a seemingly unrelated note, he went on. "You know, you haven't even apologized yet." Cas finally admitted

"What for?"

Cas gave him the universal in-a-relationship look for If I have to tell you, you don't deserve to know.

"Is this still about the stupid weather forecast thing in the morning?" Dean knitted his eyebrows together in a frown. "Or, are you projecting? Is this a bigger issue? A larger dick move on my part?"

A car zoomed past them. Dean got splashed, and swore at it. Cas was already speaking.

"No, this isn't something big. The 'stupid weather forecast thing' is all this is about." Cas sounded offended. "It's that small. If something is of the slightest import to me, you cannot - you can't just up and diss it, Dean."

"Oh -"

"I don't enjoy being mocked. And it isn't as if I was cancelling a wedding because my horoscope said so. I was carrying an umbrella because the news said it'd rain. Meteorology is a science."

Dean was taken aback. There was silence for a while.

"Can I just say that I honestly didn't know it meant a single thing? If I was a jerk, which I bet I was, now that I think of it - I'm sorry. Won't happen again. I didn't mean it like that." He finally uttered, in a rush, sounding embarrassed, and genuinely sincere.

"I know, Dean," Cas nodded. "That's why I'm not 'mad' mad."

"You're stuck in the 'passive-aggressive' mad zone." Dean helped.

"Just like you're eternally stuck in the not-exactly-but-somehow-an-assbutt mode." Cas served back, continuing to walk.

"Exactly like that, yeah." Dean grinned, the temporary drop and the tension resolved. "Hey, so, that being said and sorted..?"

"I suppose we could follow through with before mentioned kiss in the rain." Cas was being a little shit on purpose, Dean recognized the humor in his tone, and leaned in nonetheless.

Just as Dean was close enough to be sheltered by the umbrella, he was close enough to be pulled right up against Cas. With a hand on his back, almost against his skin through the layers of fabric, Cas shuddered, and almost pulled back. "Whoa, you're soaked."

"You're the one doing laundry," Dean retorted. "I'm gonna stink of rain."

"Rain doesn't -" Cas pulled back to say, but Dean closed the gap, putting one damp palm on Cas's face, to position them correctly. Their lips fit against each other familiarly, soft brushes and swirling tongues, and Cas held the umbrella over them as Dean held them together.

"You're more handsy than usual." Cas laughed, pulling away, his face almost as wet as Dean's, because Dean had made it a point to touch.

"What do you mean - I'm always into you, sweetheart." Dean winked, mischievously.

"You haven't found my forehead worthy of your attention in quite a while." Cas explained, smiling as well.

"That's a lie, I think you've got a really sexy one." Dean laughed, and Cas mirrored him. "You know, I had half a mind to pull away the umbrella and let you be the one getting drenched while you were caught up in the kiss. But," he dramatized. "It's like you held on to it on purpose. You have messed up priorities, Cas."

"I just anticipated it, because as you say, I know you, I've been dating you for too long. And, choosing to hold the umbrella over you was a one-time-thing, I promise." Cas told him, sliding an arm around his waist, wet or not. They resumed walking, and well, Cas' had always been a generous, forgiving spirit. He shared the umbrella, but kept it mostly over himself, because push comes to shove; two men, six foot tall and enough wide, cannot really share an umbrella that well.

*

The next time, Dean doesn't laugh at Cas for taking an umbrella and his coat on a sunny day, but it turns out to be one of the brightest days of the year.

The one after that, lesson forgotten, Dean has to actually walk the whole ten blocks home in the rain, while Cas doesn't deter from his promise to not share his Oscar Wilde quotes umbrella at all, even when Dean - admittedly adorably - swallows raindrops and tries to be endearing while skipping over a pothole. Castiel is a man of his words, with an awfully cute boyfriend.

***

Taglist alert: @ctrl-alt-destiel @awkward-penguin-in-a-trenchcoat @styggtroll @adventurous-blob @petrichoravellichor @all-or-nothing-baby @iamcharliebradburylevelperfect @moderatelypanickedbisexual @elvenlicht @legendary-destiel @a-mess-of-many-fandoms @trenchcoatsandfreckles @noemithenephilim @naitia @ladywaywarddsc I'm really sorry for the super-late fic, dear taglist! It's been a weird-ass month. Sadly enough, I dunno when the next one will be, though I'm constantly thinking up stuff :( Anyways, do leave a note, and maybe some words. Thank you for reading. Have an awesome day!

Edit: I realize the plot is kinda all about the place and doesn't make much sense now that I got it pointed out to me, but I'm gonna keep it posted just so because I need to get back to Trig. Just ~ if you don't like it, please don't read. I wrote after very long and I'm sorry if it sucks. Hope you smile.

[mikes-on-prometheus]

Prompt: Virgil lost his cat. Patton is concerned and Logan does the only logical thing. Human au

based off of this post

Pairing: lamp

Word count: about 1,400

Read on Ao3

“But- Lolo, what if they never find their kitty? What if something happened to it?” Patton kept insisting. It had been at least half an hour since they had passed the poster and Patton with his big soft heart had immediately jumped onto it.

“They will probably be alright, Patton. Felines have a habit of wandering and returning to their home once they grow hungry or bored. Whoever distributed the posters might already have their cat back by now, the poster was from approximately four days ago.” Logan tried to reassure his boyfriend so he would finally - hopefully - focus on gathering all the groceries they needed.

“But- but Logan. What if the kitty got lost and now that there’s so much snow it doesn’t recognise the way home? What will happen to the poor baby?”

Logan sighed. It seemed, to him, that he would have to manage the groceries on his own. Roman could deal with Patton and his illogical love for cats once they got home.

Regardless of how annoyed he seemed, Logan still took a picture of the poster as Patton and him passed it on the way from the store to their car. If Patton really was that worried about the cat and its owner he would have to do the one and only logical thing. He would contact the owner of the runaway cat.

I lost my damn cat.

His name is Brendon but he only answers to Goblin because he’s an asshole but he’s my asshole and i love him and want him back.

50$ reward.

Text 202-555-0196

Once home Logan was abandoned to put away their purchases on his own while Patton greeted their other boyfriend, Roman, and told him all about the little black cat that was depicted on the poster.

While alone Logan took the opportunity to take action.

[202-555-0110] Salutations, I am looking to inquire whether or not you have found your feline companion again.

Logan did not have to wait long for an answer. It arrived within a few minutes of him sending the first message.

[202-555-0196] yeah i found him. the Bastard was at the shelter after being caught stealing some neighbour’s shoes

[202-555-0110] That is fortunate. I shall tell Patton. He saw the poster you had posted by the local store and worried for both you and your feline.

[202-555-0196] aw man that’s actually kinda nice of patton whoever they are tell them thanks from me plz? name’s virgil btw

[202-555-0110] Very well, Virgil. Seeing as I know your name and you know my boyfriend’s name I assume it is only polite to introduce myself. My name is Logan.

[202-555-0196] yeah. nice 2 meet you logan and thanks again

Logan deemed the conversation fairly over by that point and rejoined his boyfriends where they were cuddling on the living room couch with Patton in Roman’s lap.

“The person who distributed the posters has found their cat. Their name is Virgil and they would like to extend their thanks to you, Patton, for worrying about them and their cat.” He told them stiffly, making himself comfortable on the opposite end of the couch, pushing roman’s feet aside to make room for himself.

“What? Did you talk to them?” Roman asked at the same time that Patton let out a medium pitched squeal.

“Aww, it’s no problem! I’m just glad they have their kitty back! Can we talk to them too? I wanna make sure they’re okay.”

“Patton, there is no need to contact Virgil again, they have told me that they and their cat are alright.” Logan insisted but faltered.

Now, Logan has always been a serious, logical man. He did not do emotions. But in the face of Patton’s big sad eyes, even the most emotionless of men would crumble. And so did Logan.

“Fine! Alright! I will ask them if they are alright with talking to you.” He grumbled after resisting the puppy dog eyes for a whopping five seconds.

[202-555-0110] Apologies but Patton is insistent on double checking that you and your cat are alright. Will you be alright with talking to him?

[202-555-0196] yeah i guess? i mean- we’re fine so you can tell him that but it’s fine if he wants to know from me personally? so go ahead i guess?

Logan sighed and sent both of them the stranger’s number.

[202-555-0101] hi! This is patton, lo probably mentioned me, i just wanted to make sure you and your kitty are alright! I got really worried because of how cold it was

[202-555-0196] yeah we’re both fine. he was brought to the shelter by a neighbour before the snow set in

[202-555-0101] oh that’s great to hear! I just love cats a lot

What followed was not what Patton had expected. Admittedly, it startled him and Roman, who had been reading over his shoulder, a little bit.

What followed was a picture of a pale man with vibrant purple hair, holding a midnight black cat in his arm. The caption read

[202-555-0196] that’s us the day i got him back from the shelter he was brought to he was a bit peeved but not hurt in any way

Oh gosh they’re cute Patton thought and from the strangled noise Roman made he probably thought the same.

Logan made an inquisitive noise and leaned in to see what had his boyfriends so surprised. The stranger was admittedly… aesthetically pleasing, to say the least.

[202-555-0101] oh my gosh! That’s so cute! And aaah!!!! Look at the kitty cats lil toe beans!!!! He’s so adorable!

[202-555-0196] heh thanks this is one of the only good pics i have of him he never holds still long enough

“Can we keep them?” Patton burst out after a minute of staring at the picture again.

“Patton, they are a practical stranger and not a pet we could just keep. And we don’t even know if they would want to pursue a relationship, let alone with three men.”

“My darling, I think Logan might be right. No matter how handsome, we do not know anything about them.” Roman agreed, an unusual happenstance.

Patton pouted but nodded.

[202-555-0101] hey you seem like a really nice person, would you wanna meet with my boyfriends and me for coffee or something to become friends?

“Just cuz we can’t ask them to join us doesn’t mean i can’t make them our friend.”

[202-555-0196] uhm dunno I’m actually a really anxious guy don’t know how well meeting complete strangers would go over. we could keep talking over text for now maybe

[202-555-0101] of course! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, I’m told I’m just a little over excited sometimes. And i would love to keep talking to you!

“Are you sure this is necessary, Virgil?”

“Yes Logan it is necessary. Brendon has escaped his coop once and was gone for days. I’m not risking it again. And besides, I don’t want him to go barging into nature and destroy the balance of the ecosystem.” Virgil insisted.

Once so shy to even talk to them he now seemed to have none of those fears. To be fair, it had been well over a year since they had ‘met’ but still.

They had kept talking over the phone for weeks before Virgil felt secure enough to meet them at a local coffee shop. Their friendship had evolved well and quickly and a few months later Patton, supported by Logan and Roman, had asked Virgil to join their relationship.

The man had been nervous but declared himself willing to try.

And all that was in the past now.

Virgil had just finished bringing all his boxes into their now shared home and Logan had begun assembling the 'cat coop’ as it was referred to. It was a simple safety measure to keep Virgil’s cat from running away or killing the local wildlife while still allowing for time outside of the house. Even Logan had to agree that it was a brilliant idea.

They eventually gave up on the coop for the time being, seeing as it was growing dark quickly.

The evening found the four of them cuddled up on the couch, tired out and content in each other’s embrace and there they stayed for the rest of the night, warm and loved and loving.

Taglist: @emthetimelady @ilovereadingandilovebreathing @stormcrawler75 @treehouseart

[princessofthedarkrealm]

Nova Bright- Chapter 4

(Thanos x OC)

I am so so sorry that it took so long for me to get this out. I had gotten stuck with it for a long time.

I paced back and forth in my cell. Ugh. What had I been thinking kissing Thanos? Like I would have had a choice anyway. I ran a hand through my hair and tried to steady my breathing. Had I betrayed Loki? Not really. Loki was dead. But at the hand of Thanos. I rubbed my arms. Damn I wished they would hurry up with my new room. Now that knew that they were making this room colder on purpose, I was more than ready to move out of it. I replayed what had all had just happened again in my head. What was this place called Knowhere that that alien had been talking about? Had it had anything to do with the Infinity Stones? Gods, I hoped not. The bastard already had two of them. And I still didn’t know what Thanos wanted with me. I covered my face with my hands. Why did I have a feeling I was about to become a pawn in the most epic battle of chess this universe would ever witness?

I heard a familiar crackling sound and turned, lowering my hands as I did so. Neri came inside.

“Boy am I glad to see you,” I told her.

I could have hugged her, but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

“Your chambers are ready, Lady Nova.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her. Lady Nova? What was with the formalities all of a sudden?

“Thank you, Neri.”

She gave me a weak smile. “So you know my name.”

“Thanos told me. So you give him updates about me?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“He sends me to take care of you.” She folded her hands in her lap. “I also am to tell you that he wishes you to dine with him.”

My eyes grew wide. “Really? So soon?”

“Do you wish to? I know I had said for you not resist him. But I do not wish for your discomfort either.”

Neri scowled. She idly rubbed her wrists. I had noticed her doing that before. It made me go back to my original assumption about her being a prisoner.

“I dunno.” I shrugged. “I guess I kinda want to. I am very curious of as to what he wants from me. I know I shouldn’t want to be anywhere around him considering what he just did not even hours ago.”

Had it just been hours? And my anger and sense of loss was actually starting to die down. Damn. I must be more far gone than I thought. Being with Loki for so long must have really desensitized me.

“If you wish to decline, I can tell him you are too tired.”

“No, I’ll go,” I responded dolefully. I glanced down at the floor and scuffed my boot against it. “I don’t want you to get in trouble. Besides,” I gave her a shy smile, “maybe we could be friends one day.”

She smiled at me, a genuine smile. “I would be honored, my lady.”

I cringed inwardly. The last people who had called me that were all dead. If there were any parts of them still left. I still didn’t know what had happened to me and Thor’s ship after Thanos had taken me.

And I never wanted to either.

**********

I stared down at the outfit that was lying on my new bed. I don’t know who picked this out, but whoever it was had a killer sense of fashion. There was just one problem.

“Is that the top?”

There were two pieces to my new outfit. I pointed to the much, much smaller one.

“Yes,” Neri replied as if she meant to say ‘of course, dumbass’.

“Hmph.”

I picked up the shirt by its straps and held it up in front of me. It was a shimmering light green, perfect to match my eyes. The design was asymmetrical, with the right side coming down to just a little under my breast. The left side went down to my waist. The straps were as wide as those of a halter top.

“You know, I think Thanos wants us to be twins,” I muttered sardonically.

When Neri didn’t respond, I glanced over at her. She was standing next to me. She tilted her head sideways at me.

“Twins?”

“Oh. It’s uh,” I tilted my head side to side. “People who look exactly alike who are born at the same time. Brothers or sisters. Or in our case, it would be people who are dressed alike.”

She smiled at me. Yeah I was gonna have to get this chick to open up more. I so badly wanted to hear her story. But first I had to get changed and get wined and dined by the big boss man. Neri left the room so that I would dress. The top fit me well. But the skirt was a bit snug. What can I say, when you get used to hanging out with Thor and his friends, you learn to develop an appetite. There was a slit in the skirt that came midway up my thigh too. There was no mirror to see myself in, but I glanced down at myself and smiled. Not because I thought I looked good, but because I was still wearing my grey boots. Yep that was me—part chic, part tough girl. As an afterthought, I decided to braid the left side of my hair to help add to my warrior goddess look. Finally I threw open my bedroom door. Neri was standing there. I spread my arms wide. “Well? How do I look?” She gave me a quick once-over. And then she smiled. “You look...lovely.” “You think Thanos will like it? I decided to put my hair up.” “Well we shall see.” She gave a nod, her hands folded in front of her again. I wanted to grab her arms and shake her and say ‘loosen up’. Everyone had been so stiff on Asgard. So formal. Which was probably why me, Loki, and Thor had all gotten along together so easily. We all fit into that gray area. Formal but badass. Is that why Thanos was so interested in me? Had Loki told him about me and Thanos had thought, hey maybe me and this chick would get along?

My nerves could not have been any more on edge as Neri led me to the dining hall. I don’t know why I was so nervous. I had already been up close and personal with Thanos. It’s not like he was going to throw me on the table and start fucking me right there.

Was he?

Neri led me to a room with large double doors that were almost as wide as the hallway. Two burly guards were standing right outside. As we neared, they grabbed the handles and pulled them open. As soon as  I caught a glimpse beyond, my jaw dropped. The room was long and not near as big as I had imagined it would be. It was mostly filled by a long table with chairs to sit several people on each side. Thanos was sitting to my right. He was holding a goblet that looked to be made of gold and was just lifting it to his lips as we walked in. But it was what lay straight ahead of me that really caught my attention.

A large oval window adorned the wall. I could see the stars beyond. The frame was a dark metal, with metal arms extending towards a smaller circular window in the middle. It reminded me of a dark, celestial egg. Thanos’s head turned towards us.

“Ah. Neri. I see you got my guest to take up my offer.”

Always the epitome of calm. Bastard.

“My lord.” Neri stopped and bowed her head. “I have brought you the lady Nova as requested.”

I raised an eyebrow as my head swiveled back and forth between the two. What the frick, you guys? I wanted to holler.

Thanos smiled at her. “Thank you, Neri. You have always been so…accommodating.”

Aha. Master and servant with a sexual twist. And then a thought occurred to me that made my stomach drop like a stone. Had he ever forced himself on her? Surely when they were together, it wasn’t because she wanted to be. Would he try to force himself on me next if I decided I didn’t want to have sex with him? Would he split me in half trying to ram his giant-

“So, Thanos, this looks like a pretty slick room.”

My voice was chipper, but my stomach felt like it had rabid chipmunks trapped inside it.

Thanos regarded me with a curious expression. “Slick?”

“Uh…” I felt my face flame up. “Cool. Nice. Sorry you must not know much Earth lingo, you probably don’t visit there very much.”

I was rambling. Thanos raised an eyebrow at me and I could see the corner of his mouth lift as he lifted the goblet to his lips again and drank. I wanted to run back to my room and hide. Not out of fear, but because I was clearly making a total fool of myself in front of this powerful warlord.

“Do you miss your home, little one?” He set his goblet down.

“Earth?”

I was guessing he meant Earth and not Asgard.

“Yes. Earth.” He started caressing his goblet with his thick fingers.

I took a really deep breath and let it out. “Sometimes. I miss my friends. The Avengers. I don’t even know where they are or if they would even still speak to me. Not after what Loki tried to do to…”

And then it hit me. Thanos had known about New York. And he had said earlier that he and Loki had a history together.

I glanced up at Thanos from under my lashes. My voice was flat as I spoke my suspicions. “You were the one who sent Loki after New York, weren’t you? He was working for you. So were the Chitari.”

Another grin. Part of me wanted to smack that smug ass smirk right off his face.

“So you’ve figured it out. I was hoping you would eventually.”

“Why?” I drew the word out. I was so confused now.

“Because I figured you wouldn’t want the details from the man who killed your…boyfriend.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “More of a partner, really. I think we’d been together long enough. And unfortunately, yes, I am very curious about what all transpired between you and Loki. But I’m sure that’s not why you invited me to dinner, is it?”

Thanos nodded. “A woman who likes to get down to business. I like that.” He gestured to the chair right in front of me. “Please sit.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. Thanos was telling me please? I pulled out the chair and sat. It felt strange doing something so basic, like sitting at a table, with someone so much larger than normal people. It reminded me of being around the Hulk, except Thanos was a purple and a lot more suave and collected.

He gestured with his goblet to Neri. “Refill our cups. And bring our meal. Now that my guest is here.” He shot me a suggestive glance. I couldn’t help but blush. Neri went around to a small cart against the wall that I hadn’t noticed earlier. A pitcher lay on it. She filled both of our goblets and then returned them to us.

“Thank you,” I said when she set mine in front of me. Thanos said nothing.

I picked up my cup and glanced down at the dark red contents. I lifted it to my lips and took a small sip. Then another.

“This tastes just like…” I narrowed my eyes at Thanos, “pomegranate.”

“Are you shocked, little one?”

“Yeah. A little. I didn’t know what to expect. Maybe wine. Or something else entirely.”

“Pomegranates aren’t native to just your world. Maybe one day, when all is said and done, I can take you to where these came from. You can drink your fill.  And partake in…whatever else you like.”

Thanos placed his gauntleted hand on the table and moved it towards mine. The man was a relentless flirt. A wave of fatigue hit me.

“I have been through a lot this night.”

It wasn’t an accusation, just a reminder that I would need to sleep at some point, and not the kind of unconscious sleep that I had partaken in earlier.

“I know.” His voice was gentle. “And is that not the story of your life?”

My eyes grew wide. “And what exactly do you know of my life?” I asked calmly.

At that moment, the door opened. Neri came in carrying a tray of food. And there was another woman. They set our food in front of us and left. The smell hit me and my stomach grumbled. Even though I had just eaten not too long ago, the stress that I had been going through must have really hit me hard.

The girls left. I looked to Thanos, who had already started tearing off a piece of meat with his hands. I grabbed my fork. It was the same kind of meat and pasta looking stuff from earlier, but this time I could tell someone had spruced it up some.

“You were saying?”  Thanos said.

“Oh. My life. How do you know about it? Did Loki tell you anything?”

“Perhaps. But then, you were one of the Avengers, were you not?” He took a bite of his meat.

I chewed thoughtfully. “So you were spying on us? Through Loki or someone else?”

“You’d be surprised how far my eyes and ears have reached…And for how long.”

I started to remember my past. Had he been watching me in particular? Did he know about the School? About my parents?

“Let me ask you this…”

Uh oh. Thanos had raised his voice. Time to get down to business. I squirmed in my seat and tightened my grip on my fork.

“If you could get revenge on all of those who have wronged you…would you?”

I scowled at him. “It’s not that simple.”

“It is.”

I raised my eyes to the ceiling. “No…it isn’t. You know how many people I would have to wipe out? How many people have been afraid of me? Have hurt me? Have you ever been tortured? That wasn’t exactly a picnic. But you know what? I’ve moved on. You know why? Because people are people. They hate and fear what they can’t understand. Nothing is going to change that.”

“Then they haven’t met me.”

I slowly lowered my fork, my gaze falling to meet Thanos’s. What exactly was he implying?

“You want to destroy Earth?”

“I want to bring balance it. The whole universe in fact.”

I slowly shook my head. Crazy. Thanos was crazy. There was no other explanation.

“That isn’t possible,” I whispered.

But I knew it was. That was the purpose of the Infinity Stones. Of the gauntlet. I had to stop him. I had to warn the Avengers. But how? Even if I could escape and get back to Earth, I didn’t even know where they were. And Thor was more than likely dead, maybe even the Hulk too.

“Let us play a game, my dove. I believe you humans call it True or False.”

I wanted to flee. Everything in my body was telling me to flee. But I couldn’t.

I shook my head hard, my eyes on my plate. “Crazy. You’re fucking crazy.”

“True or false. You despise your parents for giving you to that institute.”

“I’m not playing this game.”

“True or false.”

“Go fuck yourself. I am NOT playing this game!” I stood abruptly.

Thanos reached out and grabbed my arm. I let out a yelp.

“You will do exactly as I tell you to.”

Thanos’s voice was quiet. Lethal. I tried to pull away, but his hand was like a steel trap.

“Answer me, Nova.”

“Alright. I hate my goddamn parents. Is that what you want to hear? True. I hate my parents!”

I leaned towards him as I spoke.

“True or false. You hate those who tortured you. Those who experimented on you. Who turned you into what you are.”

“I fucking HATE THEM!!” I screamed.

“Do you want them to die?”

“Yes!”

I was shaking, I was so angry.

“Do you want them to go away, Nova? To cease to exist?”

I sank back into my chair. “Why are you doing this to me?” I asked in a quavering voice.

“Because Earth is a place for humans. And for those who like to play at being gods. But they do not know the power of a true god.” Thanos stood, still grasping my right arm. I was almost seeing red. How dare Thanos try to compromise me like this. He knelt next to me and held up my arm. “They do not know this kind of power.” I felt a strong jolt go straight through my arm and cried out. The metal clasp on my right wrist came open and fell with a clatter. My mouth fell open as my gaze shot from my wrist to Thanos’s face which was looming dangerously close to mine. “True or false. You hate not having your powers.” I nodded. What a question. “True,” I breathed. “True or false. You like the idea of the kind of power I can show you.” It was then that I noticed the power stone was lit up. I glanced up at Thanos. I tried to access my own powers and almost cried in relief as my hand lit up silver. Thanos looked at my hand and smiled. His gaze met mine. “Fate led you to me, Nova.” I didn’t say anything. Had it? Loki had never been a big fan of fate. He just believed in wanting something and then taking it upon yourself to retrieve it. No matter what the cost. Thanos’s face came closer to mine. “True or false.” “True.” Thanos’s face was now inches from mine. “True or false. You swear fealty to me.” My powers bubbled inside me like a volcano. My powers. The only thing I had ever been able to trust. Thanos was offering to give them back to me. In exchange for my fealty to him. What else can I say. I’ve always been a survivor. I grinned at my new master. “True.” I heard the clatter of metal on the floor as my second cuff fell off. Thanos leaned forward and kissed me. And I kissed him back.

@pinoflicious @tongueofareadywriter  @scarecrowsragdoll  @fridgebiscuit  @trashboaat  @annoyingwonderlandchild  @jakechillenhaal  @h3artshaped-box  @leauvel  @kurochan3  @coolblueintrovert  @the-lululemon

[fictivewriters]

lights! camera! action!

pairing: namjoon x reader

genre: fluff

word count: 735

summary: Namjoon’s lips slant into a bashful smile and you can’t help but think about how adorable he looks. “Well, you share all of that with me, so it’s not just me.”

“No. I suppose not, but you do work harder than any other actor I’ve ever met and you have a heart of gold. In this industry, that’s rare to find.”

“Can you justー” Namjoon begins.

“No. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say!” You shout back.

Namjoon takes a step back, suddenly startled. For all the years that you’ve known each other, you’ve never raised your voice at him once, no matter how badly he may have fucked up, you were never mad enough to yell. But, now, in this instant, you seem like you are.

You appear to be so mad that people would think all you see is red right now. You want to pound your fists on Namjoon’s chest and yell until your voice is hoarse, but you’re just too tired to do that, and besides, you don’t need to go over-the-top with this.

“Hey,” Namjoon says, his voice now softer than before and a pleading look in his eyes as he takes your curled fists into the palms of his hands. “Don’t do this. Don’t give up on us.”

You wrench your hands out of his, hoping that it doesn’t look too dramatic. “You’re the one who gave up on us. Don’t give me that bullshit!”

“And cut!”

Namjoon bursts into giggles as soon as the director calls the scene to an end. “Nice work, Y/N.”

You laugh and give him a playful shove, “Not so bad yourself, Joon.”

“Back in five!” The assistant director yells, holding his hand up for everyone to see before going back to scouring over his clipboard.

“Shall we?” Namjoon holds his elbow out for you to take, and take it you do.

He walks off towards your designated seats, easily waving away the flurry of makeup artists that try to descend upon you both. You laugh and shoot them an apologetic smile as Namjoon motions towards your chair, his elbow clutched in your hand. You sit with a smile and wait until your co-star has sat down before you turn to him and watch as he shifts his whole body to face you.

“How do you think we did just now?” You ask once you have his full attention.

Namjoon chuckles and gives you a dazzling smile. “To be honest, that whole ‘you’re the one who gave up’ part was pretty suited for the scene. And I mean, it was great for improv. I don’t think we did half bad.”

“You sure? The director didn’t seem all too happy when we finished.”

“He’s literally never happy, Y/N. Have you ever seen the dude smile?”

Your lips lift into a smile of your own and Namjoon laughs beside you. “Now that you mention it, no. I haven’t.”

“That’s exactly my point,” Namjoon says. “He could win the lottery and still not crack a smile. I don’t know what’s up with him, but it kind of freaked me out when I first met him.”

“And look at you now,” you murmur with a tender smile. “You’ve been on national TV for three years, have had four successful seasons on this show, and you have so many important people in your life.”

Namjoon’s lips slant into a bashful smile and you can’t help but think about how adorable he looks. “Well, you share all of that with me, so it’s not just me.”

“No. I suppose not, but you do work harder than any other actor I’ve ever met and you have a heart of gold. In this industry, that’s rare to find.”

A light blush settles upon Namjoon’s cheeks and you can’t resist letting your hand trail down the side of his face, causing him to lean into your touch and smile widely at you.

“You have a heart of gold too. A heart that I absolutely adore, Y/N.”

You chuckle and let your fingers trail up into Namjoon’s hair, bringing his face closer to your own until you’re able to press your lips to his in a soft kiss. When you break apart, his entire face is a dusty pink and the back of your neck feels warm and tingly.

“I adore you as well,” you whisper before he kisses you again.

You smile against his lips and simultaneously groan with your boyfriend when the assistant director yells that the five minute break is over.

“Save this for tonight?” Namjoon asks as he stands and holds his elbow out to you again.

You take it and smile, following after Namjoon as he makes his way towards the main stage. “Definitely.”

a/n: i’m kinda thinking of making a sequel maybe? i dunno. also, this is a re-post from my writing blog (@wenotes)!

❀ admin rosebud

[alex-guerin]

There may be no chance of anything happening between me and Jason, but I at least kinda have a friend out of the deal. One that I can pick on and tease and everything’s cool. I was picking on him today cuz I went into work 2 hrs early, so I was pretty much exhausted most of the day, so I needed something to do to keep me entertained and awake. So, I was picking on him. He didn’t come into the cooler a whole lot tonight, which was slightly disappointing, but the few times he did, I managed to get him to laugh (except for the couple times when I was too busy to do anything except either hand him his labels or just leave them up on the printer for him to find while I did other shit). At one point though, he’d printed off a couple labels and didn’t come get them right away, so I folded them and set ‘em aside and went, “...wait...naaaaaah...I wanna see his face if he thinks they didn’t print.” So, I stashed them under my truck sheet. He came in, he looked at the printer. Looked on top of the printer. Down at my stacks of trucks. Over to the side on top of a pallet where I occasionally set ‘em so he sees ‘em. Finally looked at me and looked all adorably confused and was like, “Did...any labels print off in here?” I just kinda gave him the best blank stare I could (which didn’t work too well cuz I was trying so hard not to laugh) and he’s like, “No?” I glanced at my little spot in front of the computer and shrugged and went, “Well, I mean, they mighta...” and slowly pulled them out from under the truck sheet. I did apologize and told him I was just picking on him. And that I just needed something to do to keep myself entertained. I’d been there since 10pm, and had told management I’d stay until 3:30pm to help get us caught up and everything. So, it was gonna be a 17hr day for me. If I didn’t keep myself entertained, I was gonna fucking die. (I got kicked out at 2, so really it was only about 16 hr day instead)

I also finally came up with a good way to ensure he knows my name. And once again, my plan to do it today failed horribly, so I stashed it away and will do it tomorrow at some point. I knew he was gonna be printing a shit ton of labels today, so I took a blank label and wrote “TAG! You’re it! =P -Alyssa” on it and had every intention of waiting until he started printing off the ridiculous stacks, attach it to the first label and let ‘em fall and then take off to hide like I was stacking and not able to get ‘em folded up for him. Well, when he finally started printing the ridiculous stack, my fucking gloves got in the way and I could fold back the corner of the first label back far enough to get the one I’d written on attached to it (I didn’t wanna stick it to the top of that label cuz I didn’t wanna screw up his labels with my dorkiness). I’d just about gotten it, heard the cooler door roll up, glanced back and he was already walking in. I did not expect him to be in so quickly, so I stashed the label I’d written and just pretended like I was having a hard time catching up to folding them for him. Tomorrow though! Tomorrow I do it! ...I may even officially tag him with a label to the back and see how long he either notices or someone points it out to him. 

Also, I’m not sure why everyone thinks I’m gay, but apparently they do. One of the second shifters, who is gay and is engaged to one of my managers, had offered to get me Jason’s number. But she was like, “Dude, no offence, but I legit thought you were straight up gay.” *Shrugs* Whatever. I ain’t mad about it. Then tonight though, a first shifter was picking on me and at first I had no idea what the fuck he was talking about, until he explained it more. He’d been calling me a little heartbreaker and something about my “girlfriend” and I was like, “What? I legit have no idea what you’re talking about. What girl??” He was like, “Ya know. That one you were turning down. Ari’s girlfriend or whatever.” I was like, “Dude! No man! There’s only one person back here that I have a crush on, and it sure as hell isn’t a female!” “It’s not?” “No!” “Oh!” Honestly, given the way this guy is, I was half expecting him to try and get me to tell him who it was I was crushing on. Just so he’d be able to embarrass me or pick on me. And with as tired and loopy as I was getting, there’s a very strong chance I would have said “Jason.” without even pausing to consider otherwise. I did tell him though Corie was gonna try and get the guy’s number for me, but I was telling her not to bother because I was pretty damn sure “the guy” wasn’t interested. ...Darryl told me to go for it. Much like everyone else has told me to do. And that I’ll never know until I try. I told him I was just about sleep deprived enough that I just may do that the next time he came into the cooler. I didn’t. I also nearly gave too much away. 

*SIGHS!* The heart doesn’t wanna give up hope while the rest of me is going, “just accept friendship and be happy about it.” I dunno. Maybe...once I finally get that label attached and I’ll know for certain he knows my name at last, maybe Friday I’ll leave another one that says “Smile!” and put my name and number on it. See what happens. I’ll spend all weekend an emotional, anxious mess wondering if he’ll text or call, but, at least I’ll have the weekend to also try and build up resistance and pretend it never happened if he doesn’t do anything with the number come Monday. Hopefully we’re both adult enough that, if nothing happens, nothing will change, either. We shall see. 

[randomstarmuffin]

Beauty and the Beast au

Loooooool what is chill This is basically just stream of consciousness ngl I just saw the new movie and thought of an angsty shallura excuse Also there’s things with the whole b & the b thing that I don’t like which I was reminded of by the movie but I’m not invested enough in actual beauty and the beast whereas my brain is currently in voltron everything mode so this is closer to canon than to (English) France Anyway…yeah Let’s see if I can correctly figure out how read more-ing works Also hopefully I’ll actually get myself to write this but in the meantime my basic ideas are here so like…spoilers on that if anyone’s wanting to read and be surprised eventually lol

(wowie this does not start coherently great yeesh I need to not reread or I’ll never post…) The castle is ‘haunted’ hah..ha Like I guess the galra got to earth before the five could get to blue and escape And haggar was like naughty champion we should get more drastic So like the four are turned into AIs? Kinda? And shiro’s galra now like the monster he doesn’t want to be but sees himself as Beauty and the Champion haaaah Haggar like…gave him a juniberry. This shit eheheheheh she’s altean and it’s like one of the last real flowers from altea in existence and like when it dies so does shiros humanity This shall come into play when the shallura interaction begins Like how the fuck do you have a juniberry you motherfucker did you destroy my planet WERE YOU THERE???? The four younger paladins just kinda…quintessence around like they’re just colors on the glowy parts of tech so like they’re not stuck as furniture per se… but they are They’ve all got favorite appliances of course (tbd) Or would it be beauty and the galra Idk I don’t like that as much And like originally gaston!lotor But I don’t know lotor as a character and like…idk it could work but I’m not feeling it Instead of townsfolk it’s resistance peeps Allura and Coran are awoken by castle defenses or something bc the paladins never got to arus And then there’s like prison escapees (and maybe malmora guys? Ehhhh idk?) but they don’t want to listen, voltron isn’t real, these two “alteans” are just crazy aliens HOH THE ATTACK ON THE CASTLE IS SHIRO AND THE PALADINS LIKE EARTH WONT BE DESTROYED IF YOU FOLLOW OUR ORDERS OR SOME SHIT AND LIKE SHIRO FEELS REALLY GUILTY GETTING THESE INNOCENT CHILDREN INVOLVED AND HIS SHITTY SPACESHIP ISN’T A GOOD HOME FOR AIS BUT THE CASTLE IS IN COMPARISON So yeah Yeeeaaaaah! Yeah. They nab Coran But then Allura’s all no not Coran I’ll do anything He’s like princess no you’re far more important leave and save the universe only you can do it! You need to collect the paladins and you have mystical royal powers and I’m just here to keep you safe anyway So of course she ejects Coran into space in a pod Gdi Allura Subsequently he’s picked up by freedom fighters but w/o Allura there’s no one to corroborate any of his claims, hence he’s just crazy Maurice Allura, hates, all galra with a burning passion She hates Shiro who’s been turned into one (not that she could know and not that he’ll tell her - he feels deserving of her hate anyway and might as well not drag humans down with him) and who ripped apart the only family she had left She doesn’t realize the AIs are humans turned into and stuck as quintessence at first Maybe haggar’s plan is to like…use them since they’re compatible with the lions but it takes a certain amount of time for them to like get absorbed into the astral plane and lose their physical forms forever or to be manipulate-able to her She’ll have them transferred to the lions eventually and just hijack the controls? Idk Like the galra have three lions now (they got blue?? I guess? Or maybe not but either way they’re for sure on earth now so it’s a matter of time) but zarkie’s probably pissed that the black lion is sealed away until the rest are there So red, blue, and black and for now since it’s sealed they don’t mind leaving Shiro to guard black Or maybe they don’t even know they have black And even then zarkon kinda needs Allura to open the hatch So like it’s important she’s kidnapped but Shiro has no idea she’s important and doesn’t report having captured her right away or something He doesn’t want to be the monster they made him into but he thinks there’s no choice He’s trying to free the kids. Save the children ahhhh Also though. The castle and Allura could point zarkon in the direction of the yellow and green lions but like eh will this come into play yet Right back on other track The townsfolk are resistance fighters They’re like. Not evil. They just don’t believe in Coran and altea and voltron (and maybe even if they do they know zarkon was the black lion or smth?) So like….there’s not really a gaston / at least not one obsessed with Allura But like…lowkey it’s Matt And like lefou is Sam Or the other way around I don’t really care But like these resilient 'human’ dudes are like leaders in this resistance And like fuck they’re going to let the galra get away with anything They got taken away from their family, might never see Katie or (shit what’s mom’s name???) again Also they took Shiro and neither (nor any of their alien compatriots) have ever seen him again Can only assume he’s dead at this point Besides it’s better than alternatives (like the truth hahahahhaha) So instead of getting married it’s like an obsession with defeating the galra? Or…something? Ah yes looked it up it’s Colleen Holt Also their dog is Gunther Just as notes here Ok cool right Um yea for like the transformation back I’m not doing this glorified Stockholm shit Sorry not sorry Basically haggar was like you have to love someone and be loved by them But like fine print you can’t truly love anyone if you don’t love yourself Like yes Shiro starts falling for Allura she’s amazing but she’s not what breaks the spell It’s the four paladins, maybe they were a bit of a mess when they got stuck in this situation and they were definitely not happy but they came to (or in Keith’s case already did) really care for Shiro and they help him learn to cope and accept himself and shit And awww they end up loving him they’d do anything for him he’s space family now They don’t blame him for the shitty situation and instead they figure out a way that they can use it to fight back and resist Maybe it doesn’t work but at least they’re 'going down swinging’ And Shiro realizes it’s not just guilt he feels for them He truly loves them too as family Even if he’s stuck as a galra for the rest of his life he’s going to fight for them and for earth and the universe and with his position he realizes he can make a difference He’s got the castle and black And the princess (of course he does let her go, prob before the mushy good feels family stuff, he might have been falling for her but he didn’t feel worthy of her anyway and he wanted better for her) So yeah the 'townsfolk’ show up after she reaches Coran and like they’re just confused Why are there more humans on this galra-infested warship? What happened to champion? Wtf even are humans? How do they manage this crazy shit? And all hell breaks loose when Matt and Sam see pidge And it gets crazier when Allura and Coran finally catch up to the resistance and get back on the castleship Alluras like who’re you people Lance: aw what babe c'mon there’s no way you don’t recognize someone this handsome (probably getting slapped and groaned at but also everyone’s just tired and relieved to be corporeal again and are glad he’s acting 'normal’ still) Allura: jfc wtf the galra created AIs that come to life???? Coran we can’t trust them it’s probably a trap And Shiro’s all no wait it’s not their fault they were stuck like that Anyway things are eventually cleared up Now they need to recover the lions Also Allura probably still has major galra trust issues which like Maybe should be addressed like haggar noticed Keith was part galra before doing the quintessence thing so everyone’s protective of him when she says something along the lines of being relieved that since shiros not galra it means all galra really are evil Something I don’t really want to leave it with her not confronting the issues not being able to cope with her planet’s destruction have caused Hm. Anywho yeah not sure if I’d want to continue at that point but the shallura would be warming up yet not fully at fruition and there’d probably be some actually-being-physical-lifeforms-again shenanigans but otherwise the open-endedness kinda works for me And shiro still learning to cope as well that ptsd ain’t just disappearing especially since he did even worse things in this au after being transformed Eventual recovering the lions and saving the universe ensues. Yay! And yeah I mean I left out like all the paladin interactions but those’re also really important to me and definitely a thing but it’s past 3am so I’m thinking I should stop now Also also the holt / resistance interactions And Coran Those too All the interactions Probably not much fight scenes just interactions those’re more my jam Wow if anyone actually read all that props to you man you just survived the wilderness of my mindscape, A+ nice job And I dunno if this has been done before or not? But yeah that’s my take on the thing.