#but i think when the cat leaves me lap i might check my temperature just in case

[battywitch]

Did the annoying and stressful thing that was top priority on my list for this week 👍

[boydiisaster]

It's so awesome there's blogs like yours out there trying to provide content for GN and Male fans. It's so hard to find anything even GN, and as a nonbinary person I just want you to know how much it's appreciated! If you're okay with taking requests right now, I have an Obey Me one? Do you have any headcanons on a poly/throuple relationship between a GN MC, Satan, and Solomon? Those two are surprisingly good friends in canon and alike in a lot of ways, I love them both so much!

throuple satan and solomon headcanons

reader: gender neutral, they/them pronouns

tw/cw: a bit of spoilers and fighting/blood mentions

author's note: AWW YOU'RE GONNA MAKE ME CRY YOU'RE SO NICE, ANON :,) i'm trying my hardest to provide more content for other male and gender neutral readers out there, so i really hope that what i write is enjoyable for yall <33 also i haven't the slightest idea of satan and solomon's canon relationship because i'm only at like lesson 30 smth and don't keep up with my messages so i just pulled most of their dynamic for this out of my ass ( ._.)

It was like a cat just met a dog when Satan and Solomon started dating. They have similarities, sure, but whereas Satan is cold and calculated with his spells, plans, and pranks, it's as if Solomon doesn't think. Like, ever.

How was someone so smart so insufferably stupid at the same time? It's as if Satan is his babysitter more than he's his boyfriend.

Oh god and when Solomon ropes you into doing something with him-

"I hate you both," Satan grumbles, checking your temperature and seeing how it's well above the normal temperature for humans. "Solomon, you can't just drag MC on all your dangerous adventures. They're much more human than you are."

"Just because I accidentally made a spell that cursed me with immortality doesn't mean I'm any less human than they are." Solomon crosses his arms at his boyfriend's hurtful words. "Besides, MC wanted to come with me. Isn't that right, MC?"

You didn't speak. That was probably because you had passed out from how incredibly fatigued you were. Your skin was sticky and noticeably sweaty, eyes closed shut while letting out painful whimpers.

"Tell me again just what happened to them?" Satan groans as he opens a spell book. God knows where he got it. He did that a lot. He was like a video game character or something the way he'd just pull books or spell jars from out his ass. He was always the one Mammon would ask for a pencil, because hell he had like hundreds on him at all times.

"Well," Solomon cheekily smiles and scratches the back of his neck. "We went looking for some herbs for a new spell I concocted."

"Uh huh?"

"And MC sort of... fell."

"What did they fall on, Solomon?"

Said man falls silent. "Solomon?" Satan drags out his lover's name, threatening him, to which all Solomon can do is smile again, this time more nervous.

"They kind of, maybe, fell into a bush of what could have been poisonous flowers...."

"What kind of poisonous flowers, Solomon?" Satan glares at him.

Solomon thinks for a moment, then clasps his hands together. "Let's just say that if we don't get Diavolo or Lucifer in the next," he looks toward a clock, "fifteen or so minutes, MC might fall asleep for probably a whole millennium."

That earns the sorcerer a big thwack to the back of his head by Satan's spell book.

That was probably the first major incident where you were dragged into Solomon's dangerous plans, but it certainly wasn't the last. Most of the time you either ended up with several scrapes or bruises, things Satan or Solomon could easily patch up on their own. But sometimes you'd come back missing a shirt or as a cat.

(It's hard for Satan to be mad at Solomon for accidentally turning you into a cat, but he manages it because you were furious.)

... You were a really cute cat though, MC.

A cat was frantically trying to climb up Satan's pant leg. He was out in the garden tending to his flowers when a kitty he'd never seen before made their way through the bushes and crashed into his leg.

"Hello little one," he smiled at the cat. "Are you lost?"

The cat let out a pitiful wail and latched themselves onto Satan's leg. Satan frowned a bit and started to get worried. "Are you hurt? What's wrong?"

He picked up the cat to examine them. They were a cute little thing with [eye color] eyes and a sleek fur coat. Satan couldn't see anything physically wrong with them. Their paws looked fine, and there was no blood anywhere.

"Did you lose your mom? Maybe your kitten?" he began to muse, then Solomon exploded through the bushes looking frantic as ever.

"Have you seen a cat?" he gasped for air. "About this tall, [eye color] eyes, clearly upset?"

"You mean this one?" Satan held up the cat he found.

"Yes! Give them here-"

The cat hissed and clawed at Solomon's hand, burying themselves further into Satan's grasp. They growled, then looked toward Satan to let out another pitiful whine.

"MC, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Solomon cried.

The cat hissed again.

"I'm sorry, did you just say MC?"

Solomon stiffened. He started to laugh nervously, fiddling with his cuffs. "Uh... would you break up with me if I told you I turned our darling MC into a tiny cat...? If so then no, I didn't say MC."

"You did what?!"

"Oh would you look at the time! I have a meeting with Lord Diavolo I must attend to right now, goodbye Satan, I love you!"

And then Solomon left, leaving Satan to fix whatever spell he put on their partner by himself. Satan wasn't angry about it, but the look of pure rage on your little furry face was enough to let Satan know that if he kept you as a cat for a moment longer you'd raise hell upon everyone in the vicinity.

Having a pact with a demon means that pretty much everything you do is shared with said demon. You feel emotions stronger, god forbid if you feel their specific emotions. You could be angry at Mammon for swiping a bag of candy you bought for yourself, but you act as if Mammon robbed you of every last thing you had just because of the pact you share with Satan. He feels awful about that, even though you reassure him time and time again that:

1.) It's not his fault, and

2.) You wanted a pact with him

Even so, please give Satan cuddles and kisses after he gets all sulky. He acts composed, but on the inside he's so incredibly self-conscious of both his sin and his pact with you.

"You need to be more careful," Satan quietly mused as he bandaged your hurt hands and face. You had gotten into a fight at school because a demon shoved you, and now you were currently inside Satan's room, getting blood all over his pretty carpet.

"I know," you softly sighed and hissed once the rubbing alcohol came into contact with the cuts on your face. "I just, I don't know. It set me off for some reason."

Your boyfriend hesitated for a moment, then applied a bandage to your cheek. "It's because of the pact."

"Satan-"

"You know I'm right, MC." Satan didn't look at you when he talked. Instead he looked at his lap, which had the first aid kit he was using to fix you up in it. "I know I talk about this a lot but... I am truly sorry for doing this to you."

"Hey," you cupped his cheek. "It's not your fault. I can learn to live with this. I learnt to handle my greed, envy, and gluttony when I built pacts with your brothers, right?"

"You shouldn't have to though. Maybe it's best if I-"

You silently kissed him. It was a bittersweet kiss, one filled with love yet unspeakable sadness and hurt. Satan was so self-conscious of his sin, yet you loved him still anyway. You wished he could see that.

"Don't finish that thought," you whispered as you pulled away. Resting your forehead against his, you continued. "I love you. Despite your sin, despite how you were born, despite everything; I love you. I chose you, and I wanted a pact with you." You smiled, and Satan couldn't help but blush at your next sentence.

"You silly demon. You really can't see how amazing you are, huh? It's okay though, because both me and Solomon will always be here to remind you."

Solomon touches all your pact marks constantly. When you take off your shirt it's hard to stop him from touching Leviathan's mark located directly on your back. He's always rubbing his fingers over Beelzebub's symbol on your stomach, always outlining Mammon's mark on your wrist. Sometimes he kisses Belphegor's symbol on your throat. When meeting your eyes, he never fails to stare into the one that holds Lucifer's mark, and even though you cover your thighs almost all the time, it's like Solomon can tell where Asmodeus's mark is. It's his favorite place on your thigh to touch.

You sighed whenever you felt Solomon's lips touch the small of your back. A smile made its way onto your own lips as you giggled.

"I didn't expect Satan to place his mark somewhere so... subtle," he admitted as he popped up to press a kiss to your cheek.

You looked at him out of the corner of your eye. He was playing with your wrist again, looking at the symbol of greed that adorns your skin.

"Solomon," you started.

Your lover hummed. You could tell he was beginning to grow drowsy. His eyes were closed and his movements slowed.

"Are you... jealous?"

That woke him up. He made you face him, and the expression he wore was unreadable. It worried you. Maybe you shouldn't have said that.

"I just mean, like," you grew embarrassed. "Um... you're always touching my pact marks, or always looking at them, and I don't know. Are you mad at me for them?"

The sorcerer gently grasped your hands. His fingers were weirdly soft considering how much he uses them. He sat there for a moment, just running his thumbs over your palms before speaking.

"I am a little," he admitted. "But I'm not mad at you. If anything I'm proud."

You smiled a bit. It was a lopsided and awkward sort of smile, but to Solomon it was the most beautiful thing in the world, as cheesy as that sounded.. He loves seeing his partners happy. He loves seeing you happy.

"You're much stronger than you think," Solomon continued. "Being able to hold seven different pact marks, ones belonging to Avatars, as a human with no sort of prior knowledge on magic?" He beamed. "You're incredible."

That only embarrassed you more. You groaned a bit and tried swatting Solomon away to hide your face, but your lover only pulled you in for a short yet loving kiss.

"You're cute, you know that?"

"You're cuter," you retorted. Solomon just smiled.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, dear. Speaking of which," he leaned back on your bed and made grabby hands at you, indicating that he wanted you to lay next to him. "I'm tired. Cuddle me."

"So needy," you joked, but instantly complied to Solomon's request. He was never like this in public. It was nice seeing him so open and vulnerable... and cute.

[sweetestlamb]

Flashlight

Author's note: Wasn't episode 8 just lovely? I just couldn't get this out of my head, they're becoming so dependent on each other. Be still my beating heart. They're reminding me of my MoonMun couple so much and I think that explains my obsession and the amount of fics I've written thus far lol.

Summary: Just for tonight he'll be selfish.

"Are you okay now? Is there someone there?" He moves towards the dark alley that she came bolting from looking as frightened as he's ever seen her. He feels his muscles coil ready to protect her by any means possible. But before he can move she's tightening her hold on him, clinging to him now he can feel her warmth all around him like a blanket.

"No! Don't leave me." Hearing that scared plea causes a blurry memory to resurface in his mind, he can almost feel the words swimming in his mind but the memory is foggy and it evaporates as quickly as it formed.

Strange.

"Okay, okay. I'm not going anywhere. Let's go inside." He starts to maneuver her toward her house at first she moves with him but then she stills, letting out a small sound of recollection.

"My phone." She whispers into his chest, they are pressed so closely he can feel her heartbeat still pounding through her chest into his. He strokes her back in a lazy soothing manner, shocked when she melts into his embrace further. Nothing is making sense at this moment but he doesn't care enough to stop, this.

"What about your phone?" He redirects the conversation and she continues, "I dropped it in there when I ran away."

"Okay. I'll go get it, wait here." He starts to gently untangle her hands from his flannel but she lets out a whine, gripping his shirt even stronger and moving with him.

"I'll---let's go together."

She's trembling now, positively shaking in her spot and he wants to argue with her to just go inside and wait for him but her earlier plea echoes in his ears. He can't leave her alone not right now, so he steps forward feeling her move with him, one step after another until he sees the rectangular object on the ground.

"I'm going to bend down to get it." He can feel her shifting beside him looking around wildly but thankfully no ominous figure appears, they are alone.

After a moment she nods, letting go enough for him to bend and retrieve the device and he checks the screen noting happily that it's not damaged but when he touches the screen it doesn't turn on so he tries again.

"It's dead. I forgot to charge it." She admits, taking the phone from his grasp.

He turns to her with a sharp stare, "You stayed out late after what happened and didn't charge your phone? Are you that fearless?" He chides, frustrated with her lack of awareness and disregard for her safety. If anything ever happened to her he would.... He would.......

"It wasn't on purpose. I didn't realize. I know it was irresponsible."

It's not a response he's expecting, the Hye Jin he knows would argue back, hardly taking shit from him ergo her meek uncharacteristic reply makes him feel worst, he shouldn't be blaming her especially after seeing first-hand how scared she is.

"Let's go inside now, it's cold and you're shaking." They both know the temperature has very little to do with her tremors but she doesn't disagree and carelessly he enters the code when they reach the door, ignoring the jolt in his chest that erupts as he enters his own birthday and the door clicks open. He thought she would have changed it by now.

He's grateful she hasn't.

They both take off their shoes, standing side by side now her arm around his waist and his around her shoulder. It's a small space and they can barely move but they work around it, reluctant to release each other.

"Thank you." Her voice is barely above a whisper, he thinks that he almost imagined it. He had an excuse prepared this time, he was merely patrolling and happened to pass her house. That was the lie he intended to go with, but something in her voice stops him from saying those deceitful words. He's tired of hiding and making up excuses for being around her.

"You're welcome. Here sit down, I'll make you some tea." Thoughtlessly he moves towards the kitchen, taking two steps until he can't move anymore. She's holding onto him tightly, he turns around looking at her small closed fists and then her trembling pretty face.

With a soft sigh, he takes her hand rubbing a thumb across the smooth skin.

"Just come with me." Immediately she steps forward pressing into his back, he tries to calm his heart taking the teapot and filling it with water, then he opens the cabinet retrieving a mug and setting it aside.

"I like honey. And a squeeze of lemon." He smiles at her soft demands.

Now that sounds more like his dentist. The bottle of honey is in her top cabinet and he grabs a fresh lemon from the fridge cutting it in half.

They stand silently as the water boils and he finally feels his anger boiling away as well. Angry that he was almost too late and that his town isn't safe anymore, angry that someone was able to shake this immoveable woman.

The shrill ringing of the teapot breaks him from his impasse, on autopilot he pours the water on the tea bag, then squeezes the honey in the steaming water, "I like a lot of honey." She's attached to his back her voice vibrating straight through him, he freezes when she wraps her arms around his waist. Her closeness is messing with his mind, but he tries to finish his job and get them on the couch maybe with some distance between them.

For his sanity.

"Let's go sit down." He grabs both mugs walking over to her couch, placing her cup on the far right and taking a seat on the far left putting a sea of distance between them. But immediately she sits down right next to him, leaving no space between them she might as well be in his lap. He squirms in place, standing up to get some reprieve but she grabs his hand staring up at him.

"Where are you going?" Fear bleeds into her voice and he lets go of his hesitations, tonight is not about him.

Leaning over he grabs her cup, tugging it closer.

"Nowhere, I'm not going anywhere. Drink your tea."

She blinks slowly at him before nodding and bringing the warm beverage to her lips. Her hum of satisfaction warms him all the way down to his toes.

"It's good. You really are good at everything." He preens at the compliment, thinking of all the times this week he wasn't needed or was cast aside for Director Ji. He's been swallowing his jealousy all week. So her words fill a hollow space in his chest.

He watches her drink the entire cup, ignoring his own growing cold on the table.

"I need to charge my phone." She suddenly says and he stares before nodding, taking the opportunity to drink his lukewarm tea. But then he notices that she's not moving despite having the phone and charging in her hand.

"What's wrong?" He raises an eyebrow in confusion.

She looks embarrassed now, unable to meet his eyes and he's flabbergasted at her reaction.

"Come with me?" He stares at her, feeling the same pride bloom as when she sat next to him instead of her sunbae, she's leaning on him.

He spots an outlet across the room, "Okay let's go there." She looks relieved at his lack of teasing, together they walk over to the outlet and she bends to plug in the charger and puts the phone on the ground.

In seconds the phone comes to life and he feels a sharp pain in his chest as a barrage of messages light up her phone, the majority from one person. When she clicks to open the message he instinctively looks away, not wanting to witness their conversation.

"He messaged so much." Her voice is filled with awe and childishly he moves away. He'd almost forgotten that she didn't actually need him. He was just conveniently there.

"I should go now. You're safe. Make sure to come home earlier from now on, maybe ask him to walk you home." It hurts to utter those words but it's easier than being replaced later, it's okay if he's the one that pushes her away first. "I'll see myself out."

He stands ready to leave, pointedly not looking back before he changes his mind and stays forever.

She was just scared, tonight didn't mean anything.

He grabs his fallen bagpack thrusting it on his shoulder, hopping into his boots all ready to head out. But it's unusually quiet, the silence is so deafening that he can't stop himself from looking back over at her. It's a mistake, a huge one at that. The phone has fallen from her hands, abandoned to the side and she's looking at him with the most desolate stare he's ever seen, moisture pooling in her huge round eyes.

"What's wrong? Why are you cry--"

"You said you wouldn't leave me. Why are you changing your mind? What if someone is still there? What am I supposed to do without yo--u?" Her voice cracks on the last word and his heart follows, she needs him. Nobody else has this week but here she is breaking down because he tried to leave, she needs him.

His decision is made for him in that moment.

As soon as he's close enough to touch she's clinging to him once again, he only absently realizes that she's trying to lead them to her bedroom but even he's not saintly enough for that so he stops her.

"Let's go to the couch. You'll feel more comfortable."

She doesn't question him seemingly happy to follow his lead.

The couch is comfy but definitely not intended for two grown adults, leaning over the arm rest he tries to get situated and once he stops moving she's snuggling into his side curling around him like a cat.

"Whenever I was scared, my mom used to stroke my hair."

He stares at the wall in front of them, wondering if she's aware of just how many lines they're crossing tonight- no catapulting over. But he's tired of second guessing himself so he stops thinking and just listens, bringing the hand that is curled on her shoulder up to her head before dragging his palm down her soft hair, gulping when she moans at the ministrations.

Her breathing starts to deepen and he feels her body losing its tension, she's falling asleep and once she succumbs he can finally make his escape, that's his plan. But he doesn't expect her to start stroking him too, her hand delicate on his chest.

"You've worked hard. Stopping a scammer and saving me all while recovering from a cold."

It's nothing. It's what he's supposed to do.

But it feels so good to hear those words, words that he hardly heard growing up.

"Go to sleep." He says instead of thank you, instead of kissing her like he's wanted to since he saw her outside and she ran straight into his heart.

It's a miracle but she listens to him, drifting to sleep her head heavy on his chest and he knows that he should wait a few minutes and try to extract himself but he can't, not tonight. Just for tonight he'll be selfish.

"You're making me want all sorts of things." He whispers to her sleeping face, terrified of her and all that she makes him feel. Feeling emboldened by their almost kiss initiated by her, he pushes her hair behind her ear taking a second to really looking at her face. She really is that beautiful. It doesn't seem fair. Leaning down he presses a soft kiss to her forehead, her skin is sleep warm and perfectly smooth. He presses a second one shamelessly. Her lips are right there and heavens knows that he's tempted but he can't take advantage, can't bring himself to do anything else. That's enough.

He doesn't know when he fell asleep but he wakes up to Mi-seon throwing a blanket over them, he keeps his eyes tightly shut mentally berating himself for that leaving when he had a chance.

"Just friends my ass. Just admit that you like him, look at the way you're clinging to him."

Somehow they traversed further down the couch in their sleep, both laying horizontal now with her body on top on his and her head tucked under his chin.

"I've never seen her sleep so peacefully though. She looks so young."

He tries not to think too deeply into what that might mean, listening to the retreating footsteps of her roommate and feeling himself losing the battle with sleep. She'll probably be embarrassed to find them this way tomorrow but that's a hurdle for another day.

Just for tonight I'll hold her. Until I'm not allowed to hold her anymore.

[author-k]

Clueless Together

Levi Ackerman x Reader

Summary: The reader is clueless about their feelings towards Levi until Hanji points it out to the reader. (gender-neutral)

Even though you always seemed to be at each other's throats, in some weird way Levi found it comforting to be around you even though he found your attitude and witty remarks annoying. However today you were unusually quiet and it put him on edge.

No matter the order or chore he gave you, you had obediently complied without a single complaint and a dazed expression, you had also been avoiding eye-contact. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask what was bothering you.

he was seated in his office, you seated across from him helping him out with some paperwork. The air was quiet the only sound meeting their ears were that of pens scribbling and papers being flipped over. This was new and much different to the loud and bubbly atmosphere you brought wherever you went.

He finally decided to speak “ Cat got your tongue today?” he didn’t need to look up at you to know you had thrown a glare in his direction, “you're quiet today”, his eyes still turned toward the papers in front of him as he spoke to you. “ are you trying to provoke me?” you answered curtly, the venom dripping from your tone almost unnoticeable. He knew you better than that and he knew that even if you weren’t entirely yourself today there were things about that would never change.

“ you’re just acting out of character is all.” he played off his concern like he wasn’t interested but in reality, he was trying to understand why you were behaving this way. “why? miss my witty attitude? afraid you’ll never find someone to challenge your sarcasm?” you smirked at him.

your subtle flirting wasn’t new either and occasionally you'd throw in a flirty comment now and then but with your current state today he honestly wasn’t expecting it. Levi was very good at controlling his emotions and although he never gave in to your flirting he couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy it.

“of course not, its been peaceful” he brushed off your comment. you narrowed your eyes at him, him not making eye-contact before continuing with your assigned duties. An awkward silence had fallen between you two but it seemed Levi was the only one who was affected by it.

you continued to work in silence until the sun began to set turning the sky an orange hue. Levi had dismissed you for the night and he was left alone in his office to gather his thoughts. Yet even with all that thinking he still couldn’t understand what could be wrong with you, it was like you had changed overnight.

He let out a frustrated sigh and decided to take a walk to clear his head. On his way back however he noticed you from afar having a serious conversation with Hanji, although he couldn’t hear what you were saying, from what he knew about you there was no doubt you were complaining about something.

You and Hanji spent a lot of time together it wasn’t even farfetched to say you two were best friends. He knew you confided in Hanji a lot more then you confided in him, so he wouldn’t be surprised if they knew things about you that he didn’t. It made him quite nervous, he was afraid that Hanji might have accidentally told you about his fondness for you, he didn’t want to cause complications.

You had suddenly gasped raising your hands in defence and shaking your head and rushed off to bed. The event puzzled him, had he done something wrong? He eventually decided that he wasn’t going to figure out what was wrong with you tonight and he’ll just ask you tomorrow.

The previous night's thoughts went out the window when he saw you the next morning, he greeted you as usual but when he turned to you, you made an expression he’d never seen you make.

Your cheeks were dusted pink and your eyes were glued to the floor as you quietly returned the greeting. Genuinely concerned for your health he took a step towards you and placed the back of his hand against your forehead to check your temperature. “ are you sick?” he asked concerned. It would explain the sudden change in your behaviour but your cheeks only reddened at his actions. Even more flustered then before you knocked his hand away from your forehead “n- n- no” you were a stuttering mess. unsure how to react or handle the situation you bolted out the door leaving him more confused then yesterday.

He hadn’t seen or heard from you all day. Even if he didn’t show it he was worried about you and your lack of communication with him was pissing him off. Anybody who came into contact with him was either death-glared or reprimanded.

While he was doing training drills with the newer scouts you and Hanji passed by his field of vision, he quickly issued them with laps and went in the direction he last saw you. He was fed up with the current situation. Just as he was about to turn the corner he heard you talking to who he presumed to be Hanji. He wasn’t one for eavesdropping and he never really cared what you two spoke about but he just wanted to understand what in the world was going on.

“What do I do now Hanji...?” you wined causing him to roll his eyes, this was so typical of you always causing trouble and then wining about the consequences. “ well what exactly is going on?” his assumption correct when he heard Hanji’s voice. “ I don’t know Hanji ever since you said that ridiculous thing to me last night I get this weird feeling around Levi, I feel this anxious feeling in my chest and I feel really hot but I don't have a fever” Hanji’s chuckle rang through his ears and his heart rate picked up. “ You have feelings for shorty” “ Jeez Hanji!” you began to shush them “Not so loud if people hear you they’ll spread rumours” Levi was shocked beyond compare his thoughts were messy and his mind jumped into every scenario under the sun “ Are you sure is not a heart condition or something because...” the conversation seemed to continue but he didn’t stay to hear anymore as he was sure him being the topic of that conversation wasn’t meant for his ears.

Later that day when the sun was just about ready to start setting. A knock on his door pulled Levi’s attention away from the paperwork he was drowning his thoughts out with. “come in” he muttered. He was astonished to see you slip into the room, he didn’t expect to see at all for the rest of the day.

You awkwardly stood quite a distance from his desk. He put his pen down to focus on you. he vividly remembered Hanji’s words from earlier and grimaced at the distasteful nickname they'd given him. 

He spoke first as it didn’t seem you were going to say anything anytime soon. “ where were you today ?” he questioned his eyes trained on you as you looked everywhere except him. 

You took a deep breath before answering “ The doctors... turns out I may have an underlying heart condition” you nervously laughed. He stared at you deadpanned not sure if you were being serious or trying to be funny. Either way your words warmed his heart and he’d never let you know but he had the same underlying heart condition except you were the root of his.

[ayybtch]

You’re Worth A Perjury Charge

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Part of A Mutual Weirdness

Summary: Bucky finds a kitten outside of your apartment and brings him inside. You make him be a responsible adult and take the cat to the vet to find out if it's microchipped, but Bucky is so head over heels for his newfound furbaby he’s willing to risk legal repercussions. 

Word Count: 2,422

Warnings: None! Bucky being absolutely adorable with a cat

A/N: So I didn’t previously have a tag list for this series, but I started one for my Wanda fic and a couple people asked about it for this so I’m starting one! Let me know if you’d like a tag! Additionally, you don’t have to have read the part before this but it’s a little funnier if you have given that the script is flipped between them. 

“Uh, Bucky, what the hell is that?” you ask, eyes wide at the wet ball of fur poking out of Bucky’s leather jacket. 

Bucky looked down at the little white cat, smiling as it meowed softly. “I found this little guy by the trash cans downstairs. It was raining so I couldn’t just leave him there.” 

You stared at him in disbelief.  “If that’s where you found him, how do you know he isn’t one of my neighbors’ cats? I get wanting to get him out of the rain, but the heart eyes you’re giving him makes me think you want to keep him.”

Bucky frowned at you, “Of course I’m keeping him. Look at him, he’s soaking wet and looks half starved! Clearly, he’s not being taken care of if he does belong to someone, so really I’m just doing everyone here a favor by taking him in.” He glared at you as you started to laugh.

“Oh, I can just see the headline now: ‘Former Winter Soldier Locked in Cat Custody Battle’. Some little old lady who just adopted this cat - ” you laughed too hard to speak for a moment, “- is going to go berserk and sue you for everything you’re worth just because you like her cat.” 

Bucky huffed and opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the cat meowing. The smile on his face as he stared down at the little bundle of fur made you melt, though you did your best to hide that fact from Bucky.  

Bucky nodded along attentively as the kitten continued to meow. “I know, she’s being so inconsiderate of your well-being, isn’t she? She’s worried about some little old lady suing me over you. Well, guess what? She can sue me all she wants, I’m not letting you go. Even if I have to lie to a judge and say ‘I plead not guilty in case of the missing cat. Please ignore the gentle meows coming from inside my jacket - ” He paused again as the cat continued to meow. “Mhm, you are absolutely right. You’re worth a perjury charge.” 

What on Earth was happening here? You are the animal crazy one, not Bucky. Yet here you are, being the reasonable and responsible adult in a situation involving an animal. The irony of the situation hit you and you couldn't help but chuckle. 

Your laughter eventually died as you noticed the heart eye expression on Bucky’s face. He was already completely enamored with the kitten. Sighing, you knew you needed to find a middle ground and fast. 

“Bucky, baby, would you at least be willing to take him to go see a vet? We owe it to whoever might own the cat to see if there’s a microchip. If there’s not one, we can get a check up on the little guy while we’re there and make sure he’s good to go.” 

Bucky stared at you suspiciously for a moment before responding. “What do you mean ‘good to go’? You don’t mean to get rid of him, do you?” 

You shook your head. “No baby, I just want to make sure he’s okay so you have a happy, healthy kitty in your life.” You almost didn’t get your sentence out before he was squishing you into a hug. A small gasp escaped his lips and he pulled away abruptly.

“I could’ve squished the baby! Are you okay?” Bucky pulled out the cat and examined him anxiously. A small squeak left the cat, confirming he was okay. 

While he agreed that a vet visit was in order, the new challenge was figuring out when to take the cat. Bucky refused to take him back into the rain, claiming it was going to make him sick. You conceded and agreed to let the kitten stay until the weather broke. That was all Bucky needed to start trying his hardest to convince you that he should keep the cat regardless of what the vet said. Every time the cat did anything cute, Bucky was gasping and pointing out how cute he was. He almost started crying when the cat pounced on a random sock laying next to the coffee table, swearing up and down he had never seen a more precious sight in his life. 

The number of pictures Bucky was taking of the kitten as he explored the apartment was hysterical. Any time he took an exceptionally cute picture, he immediately sent it to you. You currently had 18 unopened messages from Bucky, each one a different picture of the cat. You finally had to put an end to it once the kitten curled up on a pillow in the living room, settling down for a nap.

You tugged on Bucky’s hand and led him over to a barstool and gestured for him to sit. You made two sandwiches, handing one to him once it was done. The two of you ate in silence. It wasn’t until you were almost done eating that you spoke.

“You know, it’s kind of refreshing having you be the one that’s animal crazy for a change.”

Bucky smiled at you sheepishly. “What can I say, you’ve rubbed off on me.” His voice was teasing as he spoke, but the slight blush on his face suggested this was all just as unexpected to him as it was to you. A second silence fell over you, but this time he was the one who broke it.

“So what should we name him?” he asked, pulling out his phone and scrolling through the new pictures on his camera roll. 

You sighed and put your head in your hands. “Baby, I know you’re excited but remember what we talked about. We don’t know if he belongs to anyone yet. Let’s not go getting ahead of ourselves.”

Bucky sighed and nodded slightly.

Four days later, the two of you walked into the vet’s office hand in hand. It was the earliest appointment you were able to make without it being an emergency and you were worried that the extra few days did nothing but increase Bucky’s attachment. The kitten was adorable, you couldn’t deny it. There were times you thought about how nice it would be to finally have a little furry companion but you refused to keep an animal that could belong to someone else. 

Once the three of you arrived, you were checked in promptly by the receptionist and were led into the exam room by an overly peppy vet-tech a few minutes later. Once inside, she gently grabbed him out of Bucky’s arms and made kissy noises at him as she began her portion of the exam. 

Watching the kitten refuse to hold still during the weighing process was amusing to say the least. He kept moving around and trying to jump off the scale. It took several attempts, but she was finally able to record his weight. She fared a little better while taking his temperature given she was holding him, but the kitten still wiggled trying to escape her hold. 

“I wonder why he’s being such a spaz right now. He had no issues with me holding him yesterday. At least, none that I noticed.” Bucky paused and turned to face you, confusion written on his face, “Did he give you a hard time when you held him?” 

The vet-tech chimed in before you had the chance to respond, “He’s probably just decided you’re his person. Cats are a lot like people in that they pick their person and trust them to do things they don’t trust anyone else with. He doesn’t know me, so it makes sense he’s being a little fussy.” She set the kitten back on the exam table and he jumped into Bucky’s lap.

Bucky stared down at the little bundle of fur that was now purring as he rubbed his face against Bucky’s stomach. His expression was a mixture of shock, joy, and love. 

For the first time since Bucky had walked in with the cat, you truly contemplated helping Bucky keeping him even if he was microchipped. He was going to be crushed if this cat belonged to someone else. Your stomach twisted at the thought. If we can’t take him home, we’re immediately going to the animal shelter and Bucky can pick out as many cats as he likes, you thought. 

A knock at the door pulled your thoughts back to the room. A new woman in a white lab coat walked in with a smile on her face. “Good morning everyone, I’m Dr. Brown. I hear you guys were lucky enough to find a cat, is that right?”

Bucky nodded and looked down again at the cat with a smile, “Yes ma’am. I found him in the alley next to our apartment.” He carefully picked up the kitten still laying on his lap and handed him out to her. 

Dr. Brown smiled again as she reached out to grab him. “Why hello there handsome, how are you doing today? I’m gonna check to see if you’ve got a microchip which won’t be too bad, but I may have to give you a couple of shots -” her sentence was cut off by loud meowing from the kitten, almost as if he understood what she was saying. 

She chuckled before continuing, “I know, I know. Shots aren’t fun for anyone. But let’s find out about your microchip and finish the rest of the exam and see if they’re needed before we start complaining too much.” 

Bucky reached out and gripped your hand tightly as she set him down on top of the exam table. She held a small rectangular device just above his shoulder blades for a few moments before setting it down and continuing with the exam. She spent the entire time talking to the cat as she went about the exam. She checked both of his ears and his mouth before moving on to checking on the various limbs in his body. Once the exam was complete, she turned to face the two of you.

“Well, good news on all accounts. Mister Man here is a perfectly healthy kitten. He looks to be about 16 weeks and is in great shape all things considered. He does not have a microchip though, so that leaves us with some options moving forward.”

You let out a sigh of relief you didn’t know you were holding in. Bucky remained silent, though his grip on your hand grew slightly tighter. Dr. Brown didn’t wait for a response before continuing. 

“If you want to keep him, we’ll microchip him and start giving him his first round of shots today since we don’t know if he’s had any so far. We’ll also send you home with a little goodie bag with some treats, a small toy, and a packet with some basic information about caring for a new pet. If you don’t want to keep him, you guys are free to go and we can take him to a shelter from here. Fostering is another option if you’re not interested in keeping him but also don’t want him to go to a shelter.”

Bucky, who almost seemed to be in a daze after hearing there was no microchip, was suddenly brought back to life. “We’re keeping him,” he said firmly. The smile on his face was contagious and soon everyone in the room was smiling just as wide.

“Very well then, let me go get what I need so we can finish up here. I’ll be right back,” she said. You waited for her to leave the room before turning to face Bucky. 

“Well, since he’s officially yours now, I think it’s finally time for you to start thinking of names.”

Bucky chuckled, “Yeah, about that... I kind of already named him. I decided on a name after you went to bed the first night he was in the apartment with us.”

You faltered for a moment, unable to hide your shock. “O-okay. What are we calling him?”

“Alpine. It seems like a good name for a cat.”

Twenty minutes later, you and Bucky were walking out of the vet's office feeling lighter than you did when you first walked in. Bucky was beaming as he looked down at Alpine, who was now officially his according to the paperwork stuffed inside his jacket. His joy was contagious and you were starting to feel the same sort of excitement Bucky had been feeling ever since he came across the poor thing in the alley. 

“So what do we do now?” you asked, moving closer to Bucky. He wrapped his free arm around your waist and thought for a moment. 

“Well, now that there are no foreseeable perjury charges over a cat in my future, I think it’s probably time to focus on my newfound fatherhood.” 

You groaned as he spoke, “Does this mean I’m going to have to put up with Dad jokes from now on?” 

The shit-eating grin on Bucky’s face answered for him. 

The walk back to the apartment was quick. The two of you spoke occasionally, but mostly enjoyed the quiet comfort of just being close to the other. Once you arrived at your apartment building, the doorman greeted you. You were ready to wave and keep walking, but Bucky held you back.

“Hey man, could you get a picture of the three of us? We just adopted this little guy and I’d like a picture to commemorate it,” Bucky asked, letting go of you to pull out his phone. The doorman nodded and took the phone.

Once he was done, Bucky thanked him and the three of you finally made your way back to the apartment. As soon as he was inside, Alpine jumped out of Bucky’s arm and made his way to the couch. He curled up in what was now officially his spot, making your heart swell. You turned to see if Bucky noticed, but he was too focused on his phone. 

“Already sending pictures of Alpine to Steve and Sam to brag about your newfound fatherhood?” you teased, arms wrapping around his middle as you spoke. He shook his head no and remained focused on the phone. Just as you were about to ask what he was doing instead, Bucky turned his phone around so you could see his screen. 

You were stunned, completely unsure of how to respond to what you were seeing. Slowly, you opened your mouth and tried to find the words, “Bucky, please explain to me how our cat already has a verified Instagram account?”

[thebeebi]

your little games pt. 12

pairing: Jungkook x reader

warnings: fluff in later chapters, smut, non-con, mention of r*pe attempt, implied murder and many more! Read only if you are okay with these topics!

genre: historical AU, 18th century?

word count: 3k+ [part 12]

a/n: Hello, I am sorry for posting late, but I am trying to learn some coding so I could fix the tumblr themes up to my liking. ALSO huge shout out for people who messaged me a suggested some themes ♥ Love you. ♥ 

taglist: @njrwifey​ @danietoww04​  @kaithezaftig​​ @she-is-dreaming​  [If you want to be added, just let me know :)]

You ran away from the man who tried to take an advantage of you. You stabbed him and escaped. Escaped to the arms of the handsome captain who was even worse than the man you just killed.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // Part 7 // Part 8 // Part 9 // Part 10 // Part 11

In the silence, you could hear that Jungkook was back. He was taking off his clothes and the only source of light was the lamp from the outside. He laid down next to you and turned his face towards the door just in case something might happen again and because he could not look at you. It was silent in the room once again and the only thing you could hear was his breath, which started becoming more stable and calm.

Before you could even open your eyes, you heard that it was raining outside. The man lying next to you moved and pulled away the blanket that was covering him. Jungkook sat up at first then stood up. You finally opened your eyes and also hopped out of the bed which got his attention. He frowned while looking at you. “You do not have to wake up yet.” He said tetchily. “I have to take care of a few things and I cannot take you with me.” You opened your mouth in o while nodding. “Are you leaving right away?” You asked timidly since his expression was not the most welcoming you have ever seen. “No. Not right now. Firstly I have to wash up and then eat breakfast.” You looked around the room and then backed away from him. “If you don’t mind, I would rather wake up now.”

“Do whatever you want.” He murmured. “I don’t care.” When the servants from the tavern brought him the warm water into the tub, ha made sure it was the temperature up to his liking. Once they left and you stayed with Jungkook alone once again, he sat down in the tub. It looked like Jungkook was in a bad mood, enjoying the silence. It was too silent that you were scared to even come closer to him and offer him help with washing up. You gathered all of the courage and walked towards him but once you were close, you stood still unable to say a word. You tried to reach for the sponge, that Jungkook was holding, while your hands were shaking. Jungkook looked at you surprised. “What do you want?” He asked annoyed. “A cat got your tongue?”

You took a deep breath before you finally spoke up: “I want… I want to help you to wash up.” Jungkook frowned even more. “You don’t have to.” He spat out. “Go and dress up and if you want, you can eat breakfast with me.” You nervously backed away from the tub and turned to the chair, where you left the dress last night. It was more than evident that he wants nothing to do with you today. You decided to keep your distance for now so you won't make him even more upset with your presence. You decided it would be best to brush your hair. You made your way towards the mirror and started trying to fix the mess with the fingers while Jungkook got out of the tub. He took the towel that was hanging on the chair and wiped the drops that were slowly going down his toned abs. Once you were finished you made your way towards the table but at the same moment, Jungkook turned to you and also walked towards the table to grab the freshly washed white shirt. You quickly moved to the side to let him through, but the action was met with a frown. “You don’t have to be so scared.” He said bitterly. “I won't hurt you.”

You looked down biting your lower lip. “I… I am sorry.” You whispered. “I didn’t want to be in your way.” Jungkook cursed under his nose. “I don’t care if you avoid me or be in my way. I am not planning on beating you for things as your aunt did. I have never hit any woman in my life.” You looked at him unsurely. Should you move or should you stay, where you are right now? Jungkook was trying to tie the ribbon of his shirt in the bow-knot but anger did not help him and he failed to do so. You walked towards him slowly and pushed away his hands from the ribbon. Jungkook was staring at you but you did not look at him back. With the nervously shaking fingers, you tied up his ribbon into an even bow. Then you walked towards the chair and took the coak. You approached him again, wanting to help him put it on but he grabbed it from you. “Let me do it.” He said looking away from you. “You go and brush your hair again with a brush.” You smiled and quickly nodded, running towards his bag to take out the brush. While you were softly caressing your hair, Jungkook walked to you and buttoned up your dress. You thanked him and shyly smiled.

After that, the days flew quickly and it was the day when Jungkook was supposed to take you to the dressmaker to try on the dresses they made so far and to check on the fittings. “Today you are supposed to go and try on the dresses.” Said Jungkook slowly and took a bite of the bread. “I will come to pick you up around 2 in the afternoon. Tell Jimin to ask for the carriage.” When he looked at you, you obediently answered and nodded while taking a sip of coffee. Jungkook was softly caressing your body with his eyes. You always tensed up feeling his eyes on you, but after a while, you relaxed but still blushing a little.

While Jungkook was eating, you were watching him in silence. He was wearing a dark blue coat with a stiff tall collar quilted with a golden stitch. The shirt and the bow were of the bright white colour and you could smell a soft hint of his cologne. He was dressed up perfectly as always and he looked so attractive that all women in the tavern went weak just seeing him breathe. Then you realised he had the same effect on you. It was more than often when you stood still while looking at him. You would keep looking at him but his sudden voice surprised you and you looked down at your bread on the plate. “Yesterday I lost the button on my shirt.” He pushed away the plate from him and wiped the plump lower lip. “I would like you to fix it for me. Jimin is not so good when it comes to these things.” He looked up at you and raised his eyebrows. “I am assuming you would be good at that.” You smiled shyly, glad that he finally asked you to do something. “Stitching is one of the works I enjoy the most. It is the first thing I was taught to become a proper lady.”

“A proper lady…” Murmured Jungkook more for himself than for you to hear. “Excuse me?” You asked warily, not sure if he is going to make fun of you again, not understanding why he would do that after such peaceful days you spent together. Jungkook did not answer but reached for the strand of your hair that was in your face and softly pushed it behind your ear. “I mean nothing by that, little one. I am just thinking about how educated you are in this field.” You thought he was making fun of you but weren’t sure and there was no way to find out.

The door to the tavern opened up and a tall young man entered in, wearing the typical coat that sailors wore. He looked around before his eyes stopped at Jungkook and he made his way towards your table. When he came closer, Jungkook stood up looking at him. “Good morning, sir.” Said the young man in the strange accent you could not identify. He looked at you then bowed while smiling. “Good morning, madam.” Jungkook introduced him to you as Kim Seokjin.  When Jungkook introduced you as his wife, Seokjin showed no sign of surprise. For sure he was told about our marriage. You did not know to what extent and what kind of details he knew but you knew that he knew. When I will be big enough, the crew of Bangtan could count on their fingers and realise that we slept together before marriage. Seokjin’s face was really handsome but you thought that your husband looked better. Seokjin smiled at you brightly. “I am glad to finally meet you, madam.“ You smiled at him and Jungkook asked Seokjin to sit down while he sat down in his chair.

When Jungkook and Seokjin left, you returned to the room. You asked Jimin to bring you a needle with a thread and scissors so you could start working on Jungkook’s button. This kind of work relaxed you a little while you did not even know you needed it. With his shirt in your lap and a baby in your womb, you felt happy and for a moment you felt like a real wife. You stopped working and the calmness disappeared soon enough. Soon you will have to pack your bags and leave the place you called home. The new life you were going to live was still unknown to you. You will be brought to a place full of strangers and your child is going to grow up among them. You weren't sure if you are going to be happy there but only time will tell.

When you finished up the stitching, you folded Jungkook’s shirt and placed it on the table. Jimin brought you a light lunch and then you got ready to leave for the town to see the dressmaker once again. Jimin knocked on the door, telling you that the carriage was downstairs waiting for you. Suddenly you could hear the loud tintinnabulation of the bells in the town centre but Jungkook’s voice was the only thing you could hear. You smiled once you heard the footsteps in front of the room and when he opened the door and looked at you, Jungkook noted. “I see that you are ready.” He did not look as happy as you were once you saw him, he furrowed his brows looking you up and down. “There was nothing to keep me from getting ready” You smiled a bit but quickly looked away unsure if you won't make him upset. He handed you the cloak that was hanging on his forearm. “It is cold outside.” You took it from him. “I think this one will fit you better than mine.” At first, you thought it was another one of his cloaks but when you put it on, you realised it was for women and it looked expensive. You never had such an elegant cloak before, not even when you were living with your father. You run your fingers through the material smiling. “Oh, Jungkook.” You exhaled. “It's so beautiful.” He reached in to button it up, but you were so happy with the present you started turning and spinning smiling at how beautiful it was. You were moving from one side to the other to see it better which caused Jungkook to laugh. “Stay still, my little bunny, so I can button it up.”

You giggled happily and looked down at his fingers that reached for your cloak once again. Since you did not tie up your hair, they fell down and covered your face alongside with the button and the hole Jungkook was trying to find. “Well, now I don’t even see what I am doing,” he lectured you lovingly. You started laughing so hard, you bent backwards letting him help you. Jungkook saw how happy you were with a little present and he was honestly glad he decided to buy you such a surprise gift. His eyes darkened once you touched his chest with your hand smiling. At that moment your eyes met and the touch was electrifying. The moment was interrupted by the horselaugh from the outside and Jungkook pulled his hands away from you. He shook his head as if wanting to get rid of all the sparkly feeling and then he smiled again and reached out his arm to let you wrap yours around it. “Let's go, little one,” you finally laid your hand on his as he continued. “We have to hurry up.”

Mrs Dubois welcomed you in front of her shop and then quickly led you inside, not wasting any minute. “Everything is going smoothly, captain Jeon. We will make dresses on time.”  Jungkook sat down on the offered chair and nodded. “Well done, madam.” The dressmaker then made her way to bring out all kinds of dresses. You walked to Jungkook and turned to him with your back, moving your hair to the front so he could help you unbutton them. His face had a strange expression when he reached up to help you and his fingers were clumsier than usual. You stepped out of the dress and Mrs Dubois helped you into the first one prepared.

“You are really lucky that it’s fashionable right now to have the middle higher.“ Said the dressmaker. “When the middle is so high, you will have no problem wearing this dress even in a few months when you will have a bigger belly. We will keep a bit of fabric inside, so you could cut the mold joint so it would create more room just in case.” Jungkook’s eyes suddenly slid down on his wife’s stomach. Today he forgot about your state and about the circumstances of your marriage. “Do you like the dress, monsieur?”  Jungkook then looked at your body, looking you up and down, not really caring about the pink dress you were wearing and but was covering something he really wanted to see. He murmured something in agreement then looked away. Mrs Dubois kept on putting you in the dresses, asking Jungkook if he liked them and he just always mumbled something as a yes. He moved on the chair while seeing you in the beautiful black dress. He was sweating as he started thinking about how he almost broke his promise a while ago. If the moment in the tavern was not interrupted, he would have thrown away the pride and would let his words mean nothing in a second. If the moment was not interrupted, he would hold you, brought you to the bed and nothing would stop him from making love to you. Now he was painfully aroused and was watching you how you are putting on and off different kinds of dresses. He was battling with himself. His pride and lust were battling and Jungkook was not sure which one was winning.

He frowned and dusted off his coat, wanting to look anywhere but at you. He did not want to look at you anymore. If he did, he would just run to you and would act as some kind of animal. At that moment he would be content with the carriage and privacy it offered. Nothing would help you, not even begging. He was feeling as if his insides were rupturing because he knew it would cause you to hate him even more. To Jungkook, it looked like you were happy with the situation you two were both in and he was worried that you would start playing the game of cat and mouse if he told you that he wanted to make love to you. And who was he really to say anything to you after the first experience you had with him? But he did not want it to be like that again. He did not want you to be scared of him. He wanted to be gentle with you. He wanted to show you how beautiful it could be.

Jungkook was really unlucky. You tried a few more dresses and he was cursing himself inside for actually buying you that many. He was frowning more and more and whenever Mrs Dubois asked him, he would answer even shorter each time. Mrs Dubois just exhaled knowing that he was just like any other men. She thought Jungkook hated the time it took them to try on the dresses. Oh, how wrong she actually was. Jungkook moved to the side on the chair, looking at you briefly thanking God and the dressmaker for finally putting you in the dress that covered your bust. Is she really unaware of what she is doing to me? Even though he promised to himself he is not going to touch you, it did not mean that you in a sating undergarment did not cause him to feel things. It barely covered anything and his mind was already full of images of you without it anyways.

Mrs Dubois helped you into another dress and said something in a quick French. The dress was small around your bust causing it to almost spill over youre breasts. Jungkook started twisting on the chair and was cursing inside. The cold sweat appeared on his forehead and he dug his fingernails into his knees. “Oh, girl! I have to show her the mistake she made.” Mrs Dubois spat out. “Not everyone is as flat as she is.” The dressmaker ran out of the room and you could barely breathe in the dress that was still full of pins. You moved your arm a little but it only caused you to whimper in pain.

“Jungkook, could you, please?” You asked him pitifully. “I feel like as if I were a pin cushion. That girl left there all of the pins she used. I cannot even breathe, they are pricking me.” Jungkook rather unwillingly stood up and walked towards you and put his hand underneath your bust-bodice feeling the warmth of your body. For a second your eyes met and to your surprise, he started blushing. He quickly pulled away his hand as if he was burnt. “You will have to wait for Mrs Dubois.” He spat out. “I cannot do it.” You were surprised by how rough he was. Obviously, he was nervous the whole time he was sitting in the chair, moving around. You nodded silently and looked down. Does he hate seeing me in the dresses? But he bought them… Did I do something?

Chapter 13

a/n: how did you like this chapter??? How long do you think is Jungkook going to be able suppress all of his urges and feelings? ;))))))  If you have any guess and would like to share go ahead :D I know the answer and I am curious if you can get it right :D love you lots ♥ 

[justmeandmysickies]

@angstyaches this is probably not exactly what you had in mind but I hope you still like it!

Bonding

characters: Nick and Joe

warnings: emeto

„Please come over, I’m sick.“ That was all Nick had said, before the line clicked, indicating that the call had ended.

Now usually Joe would have called him right back to give him a piece of his mind – he wasn’t Nick’s mother after all – but it was different this time.

Nick was always whiny when sick. His usually so stoic and smug self would be replaced by the attitude of a needy 7-year-old as soon as he had the sniffles. And that was never a reason to worry. He’d be back to behaving like himself after a few days of resting, so Joe usually wouldn’t bother going over there to take care of him. Since Nick would be either sleeping or harassing him 24/7 it was simply not worth it.

But something about Nick’s call had Joe in his car and on the road in a matter of seconds. Something was wrong. Nick hadn’t sounded whiny. He had sounded like he was in pain. Genuine pain. And Joe didn’t like the idea of that one bit.

He arrived at Nick’s building several minutes later, grocery bag filled with sick-day-supplies in hand.

Joe briefly wondered if his boyfriend had been smart enough to leave the apartment unlocked for him but fortunately the door swung open with ease.

Upon entering the small but cozy living room, he was immediately greeted by Fork, the red cat Nick had adopted just a few months prior to the beginning of their relationship. Joe had never understood that decision – he wasn’t particularly fond of the general concept of having pets, especially not the ones that could kill you in your sleep if they wanted to.

Nick however seemed to love his miniature tiger, so Joe had to live with that. Still, he couldn’t help the face of disgust as Fork rubbed up against his leg, leaving behind a trail of red hair on his black jeans.

Despite his obvious dislike for the cat, Joe stepped into the kitchen to check if his ill-stricken boyfriend had remembered to feed his pet. The food-bowl seemed reasonably full, so he started putting away the few groceries he had bought, ignoring Fork who was looking up at him expectantly as he opened up the cabinet that contained the cat treats.

Satisfied with himself, he closed the cabinets and grabbed some Gatorade for Nick to drink. Now came the hard stuff.

Joe had no idea how to care for other people. His entire life he had been taking care of himself but when it came to others he was at a loss. Maybe it was his lack of empathy. Or maybe it was his fear of things that aren’t in his control. Or he was simply scared that people would see that he actually cared. Whatever the reason, he usually avoided having to take care of someone at all costs. But this was his boyfriend, and he needed his help, so Joe had to suck it up.

And that’s why he braced himself with a deep breath and took off down the hallway to Nick’s bedroom, Fork right on his heels.

Joe opened the door in one swift motion, letting the two of them into the room. It was dark; Nick had pulled all the curtains closed. The sick man himself was only a lump buried in pillows and blankets.

Joe stood still for a few seconds, trying to figure out if his boyfriend was asleep, momentarily forgetting about the cat that had followed him into the room. And before he could stop him, Fork had already jumped up the bed, immediately cuddling close to his owner’s face.

Nick groaned and Joe could have slapped himself. He had probably been asleep before Fork decided to get in his face. “Fork, how the hell did you open the door?” The blonde asked, voice heavy with sleep as he gave his cat a little shove.

“He didn’t.” Joe answered as he stepped closer to the bed.

Nick looked up in confusion. He obviously hadn’t noticed Joe standing there. “Josh? What are you doing here?”

Joe frowned. That was alarming to say the least. “You called me.” He put a careful hand on his boyfriend’s forehead, fearing the worst. Nick just hummed, leaning into Joe’s cool palm, who clicked his tongue in concern. “You’re burning up. Have you taken your temperature?” He drew his hand back and Nick whined at the loss of contact.

“I didn’t feel like it.” He mumbled quietly, burying himself deeper in his pillow.

“What do you mean you didn’t feel like taking your temperature? Have you at least taken some medicine?” Joe couldn’t decide if he was very irritated or very concerned.

“No, didn’t feel like doing that either.”

Irritated. He was definitely very irritated. And it took him every ounce of willpower to not yell at the sick man in front of him.

Joe took a deep breath. He could do this. “I’ll get you some medication in a second. First, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Everything.” Came the reply from deep within the covers. It was clear Nick didn’t feel like talking but in order to help him, Joe had to know what was going on.

“Babe.” Joe sighed impatiently, waiting for a useful answer.

Nick groaned but stuck his head out from under the covers anyway. He was quiet for a moment, before he answered. “Everything. I’m not kidding. But mainly my ear. It hurts so bad, when I first woke up this morning I actually cried for a while.”

He laughed nervously after the last part, trying to play it off as a joke but Joe knew it was true. Nick was honest when he wasn’t feeling well.

His concern only grew when Nick winced visibly, closed his eyes, and started taking deep breaths.

Joe thought for a moment and then it hit him.

“Are you dizzy?” Nick hummed affirmatively. “Feel sick?” Another hum. “Does it feel like there is pressure in your ear or your head in general?” Nick stilled for a second, seemingly thinking about his answer before nodding.

“You have an ear infection.” Joe stated matter-of-factly. Unfortunately, he was all too familiar with the concept. He used to get ear infections all the time as a kid and even as an adult he still dealt with them every other year. The pain could be excruciating, at times having you unable to move. No wonder Nick was feeling so awful.

The latter only groaned, too exhausted to form words or even sentences.

“Alright, here is the deal.” In a way Joe was glad it was an ear infection – that was at least something he would be able to deal with. “I’ll get you some fever reducers and something to drink. You’ll take a bath and then you’ll go back to resting. If this isn’t better by tomorrow, I’ll take you to a doctor.”

“Why do I need to take a bath?” Nick whined, once again burying his face under his blanket.

Rolling his eyes at his boyfriend’s childish behavior, Joe pulled the blanket lower to expose Nick’s face. “Because you stink. And it might make you feel better.”

Nick wanted to argue but Joe had already left the room to grab some medicine so there really was no point. He returned seconds later with some pills.

The next step was the bath. Nick reached his arms out and Joe pulled him upwards with seemingly no effort. In hindsight, that was a horrible idea. A wave of dizziness hit Nick like a truck as soon as he was upright. If it hadn’t been for Joe, he would have crumpled to the floor right then and there.

Joe held his partner close, encouraging him to take some deep breaths when suddenly Nick’s entire body convulsed with a dangerously wet sounding retch. He was trying to decide whether to get a bucket or get his boyfriend to the bathroom, but Nick made that decision for him as he bolted towards the door, a hand clamped tightly over his mouth.

He was so dizzy he could barely see where he was going – it was like his body was moving on autopilot. It’s a miracle he didn’t run face first into a wall.

He crashed to the floor in front of the toilet, just seconds before last nights meager dinner made a reappearance, along with the medicine he’d just taken.

Joe went after him hesitantly, wanting to help but not knowing how. He ultimately settled on keeping Nick’s hair out of his face. It wasn’t much but it was appreciated.

The entire ordeal seemed to be a one-and-done thing. The blonde was left panting and spitting excess saliva into the toilet for a while, but his stomach seemed to have calmed down for the time being.

“Why the fuck do you puke, when your ear is infected?” Nick asked breathlessly while wiping some sweat from his brow.

“I’m not a doctor but I’m pretty sure it’s cause of the pain.” Joe answered, getting up to turn on the water for the bathtub.

At that moment Fork casually strolled into the bathroom and right onto Nick’s lap where he immediately settled down, purring lovingly. The blonde couldn’t help but smile a bit as he scratched his cat behind his ear.

The three of them sat there in silence for a while, Nick being too exhausted to talk and Joe not knowing what to say anyway.

Joe once again helped his boyfriend to his feet, when the bath was ready, although a lot slower this time. He even helped the sick man undress before he turned to leave the bathroom. “Wash up, I’m gonna change your bedsheets.”

“But I’m too tired to bathe by myself.” Nick whined as he struggled to step into the tub.

Joe turned around slowly, not quite believing what his boyfriend had just said. “Are you telling me that you need my help bathing?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Please?” Nick pouted, which was a rather bizarre image, considering that he was muscular, over 6 feet tall and covered in tattoos.

The younger man sighed in defeat. “Fine. But I’m not getting in with you. I literally just showered two hours ago.”

“Deal.”

Turns out, it was a good decision not to leave Nick alone. He was sleepy and if it hadn’t been for Joe, he would’ve probably drowned in his own bathtub. Right now Joe was carefully massaging shampoo into his boyfriend’s scalp who was about to drift off to sleep. He had been fighting to keep his eyes open for the last ten minutes, but it was a losing battle. It was impossible to stay awake with the heavenly feeling of Joe’s fingers in his hair.

And the latter didn’t mind. Any other day he’d yell at Nick for sleeping in the bathtub but not today. He could use the rest and Joe was there to watch him, make sure he was alright. A few minutes wouldn’t hurt him. So Joe started rinsing out the shampoo as Nick fell asleep.

Fork, who had been forced to get up from his owners lap several minutes ago, now decided to settle into the brunette’s side. He still wasn’t a fan of pets but maybe he could get used to this one, Joe thought, unable to hide the fond smile that had snuck up on him.

[cuddlepilefics]

Funny Cat Videos

Fandom: Stray Kids

Sickie: Minho

Caregivers: Jisung, Felix

Prompt: Persistent Sniffles @sicktember

No one’s POV.:

Minho had caught a runny nose about a week ago. He didn’t really feel sick at all and he knew his nose had always been sensitive, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the weather changes were messing with it. The temperatures had dropped significantly last week and it had been rather windy since then. Already used to being a bit sniffly during the colder seasons, Minho didn’t think he had caught a cold, so he didn’t let his runny nose stop him from going over his day as usual. He’d just have to make sure to take some tissues everywhere he went. The group too knew that little quirk of his and didn’t think much of their friend’s sniffles. They had a few practices together till lunch, during which Minho was fooling around with his dongsaengs as usual. He even promised to meet up with Jisung again after their separated practices in the afternoon, to go for a walk and take some pictures before the seasons would change entirely. They split up after lunch and Minho went to the practice room with Hyunjin and Felix to work on some choreographies. It all was well and they had a lot of fun, at least in the beginning. The longer they continued dancing, the more run-down Minho felt. He usually had more stamina than that but wasn’t all too surprised to be more out of breath as his nose was slowly closing up. “Hyung, do you want to go home?”, Hyunjin offered. They had just struck the ending pose before Minho doubled over with his hands on his knees, panting. His lips were chapped already from only breathing through his mouth. The older shook his head, breathing: “I’b fide, just ndeed to catch mby breath.” – “Come on, you sound so stuffed up and we’ve already been at it for hours. We’d go home in a bit more than an hour anyway, so let’s just head back a bit early”, Felix frowned, surprised when Minho gave in and nodded.

They took their time to drink some water and stretch before, packing their things and throwing on their hoodies. Felix also texted Jisung that he might need to postpone his plans with Minho for the evening. He also secretly shot a picture of the older and sent it to Jisung, who agreed that their hyung looked a little worse for wear and told the Aussie that 3racha had actually gone back to the dorm an hour ago. There was construction work in the part of the building where the studios were located and they found their dorm to have less background noise at the moment. Felix smiled at the thought of having their friends back already. Way too often did they stay at the studio till the early morning hours, so this was a pleasant change. The three dancers made their way back mostly silent, apart from Minho’s frequent sniffles. The wind had picked up, making his nose run and eyes water. At this point, he wasn’t so sure about not having caught a cold anymore. The fatigue a strong indicator, as dancing didn’t usually take that much out of him. The longer they walked through the cold wind, the more aware Minho became of a few things. He felt weak and exhausted, shuddering from time to time as the wind penetrated the fabric of his hoodie. Sure, he had been dancing for a while but it wasn’t enough to explain why he felt so sore. All he wanted now was a hot shower, maybe a cup of tea and to curl up in his bed. Yeah, he had probably caught a cold, he figured.

Minho sluggishly stumbled into the dorm, kicking off his shoes. His eyes fell on the trio sitting at the dining table with sheets of papers scattered around Chan’s laptop. That was when he remembered, he had promised to take Jisung out as soon as they got home. A shiver ran down his spine and he rubbed his arms in an attempt to generate warmth, dreading the thought of having to go out again. Hyunjin had gone straight to his room to get changed while Felix sat down next to Chan, who looked at the quiet Minho and mused: “You were a lot more upbeat a few hours ago.” – “That was whend I could still breathe through mby ndose”, the dancer sniffled, giving a soft cough afterwards. Feeling to tired to stand, he sat down at the table too and was soon joined by Seungmin and Jeongin, who had gotten back mere minutes before the dance-line. “You sound rough”, Jisung smiled sympathetically, as his hyung crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on top of them, whining: “I’b so condgested, I cad’t evend swear properly ‘bout how bad I feel.” – “Oh, my gosh, what a tragedy!”, Seungmin mocked, smiling innocently when his hyung lifted his head to glare at him through watery eyes. “I dond’t appreciate that sarcasmb”, Minho pouted, dropping his head onto his arms again with a pathetic sniffle. Jisung got up and rounded the table, resting a hand on the older’s back and whispering: “Come on, you’ll feel a lot better after taking a shower.” Felix had been completely right earlier, there was no way the rapper would drag his friend outside in this condition.

Minho brought his sweater-paw up to his face and pressed his fabric-covered knuckles against his itching nose, sniffling while Jisung pulled him to the bathroom, promising: “I’ll get you some comfy clothes, hyung. Just go and warm up, yeah?” A hot shower sounded way too tempting for the dancer to argue and he slowly peeled off his sweaty practice clothes. Sighing as the hot water soothed his achy muscles, Minho relaxed his tense shoulders and tried to breathe deeply, so the steam would help clear him up a bit. He heard the bathroom door open and close again a short time after and when he poked his head out of the shower, he found his favorite sweater along with his warmest sweatpants on the sink. Jisung really knew him too well. Minho didn’t want to leave the shower but he knew his dongsaengs wanted to wash up as well, so he forced himself out and hurried to towel off and put on his clothes before he could get cold again. The shower had really helped him to feel better and he could at least breathe through his nose a little. The only downside was that he felt incredibly sleepy and knew he still had plans for the evening. He felt guilty, especially after Chan had pointed out that he wasn’t as upbeat anymore, and worried about ruining Jisung’s fun during their walk later.

Minho went back to the living room to ask the younger at what time he was planning to head out but Jisung was nowhere to be seen. Felix sat where the rapper had sat earlier and got up when his hyung approached them, frowning: “Hyung, your hair is dripping.” – “Where’s Sungie?”, the older asked as Felix dragged him back to the bathroom to properly towel-dry his hair. “Jisung is waiting in your room for you. There you go, that’s better. I’ll make you some tea”, he smiled when he was satisfied the older’s hair was only slightly damp. Minho nodded and shuffled to his room, while Felix made his way to the kitchen to fix his hyung a cup of tea. Dropping onto his bed next to Jisung, the dancer rested his face in his hands for a moment and sniffled before looking at his dongsaeng blearily. “I’m sorry, I’m not as upbeat as this morning. When do you want to head out, so I can change into something more fashionable in time?”, Minho rasped, feeling more drained as the minutes ticked by. The younger looked at him with a shocked expression before asking: “You don’t really think I’m dragging you out like this? It’s totally fine that you’re tired and I didn’t make you put on something comfy only to change again.” – “Oh”, the dancer hummed, too out of it to really catch on.

There was a knock at the door before Felix entered, placing a steaming cup on Minho’s nightstand. “How do you feel, hyung?”, the Aussie frowned, taking the opportunity of Minho lifting his head to look at him to feel his forehead, “You feel a bit warm to me.” – “Ndo, I’b cold”, the older argued, “I’b jus’ stuffed up ad tired.” Hugging him for warmth, Jisung cooed: “Do you need company?” He himself always preferred to have a cuddle buddy when he wasn’t at his best and he knew the same was true for Felix, so they wouldn’t mind hanging around their friend. “I dond’t want you to catch mby cold”,Minho muttered sadly, wishing at least one of them would stay. He was dead tired but he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, since he had always struggled to sleep when his nose was blocked. From experience he could tell, he’d just keep tossing and turning restlessly. Hugging him tighter, Jisung pouted: “Shame, that’s exactly what I came here for.” – “Wait, really?”, Minho asked confused, causing both his dongsaengs to laugh. “No hyung, I’m joking but I really don’t care. I don’t mind keeping you company even if that means taking a risk”, the rapper explained, moving aside, so the older could lay down. “Same goes for me”, Felix smiled, “For now, I’m going to take a shower but I’ll check on the two of you later.”

Once the Aussie had left, Jisung settled with his back against the headboard, Minho instantly rolling onto his side to hide is face against the rapper’s thigh. “Want to try and sleep already? I could wake you for dinner”, the younger offered. The dancer shook his head, sniffling: “I cand’t really sleep when I’b sick. Mbaybe we could watch sombethi’g.” Jisung nodded and went to retrieve his hyung’s laptop from his desk. He knew the older loved funny cat videos and it would hopefully take his mind off his misery for some time, at least till dinner. Afterwards, he’d try to convince him to sleep. Minho got comfortable with his head on Jisung’s lap, while the younger absentmindedly played with his damp hair. The soothing action almost made the dancer drift off to sleep and he drowsily closed his eyes, when the door opened. Felix had finished his shower and quietly slipped into the room, a tissue-box under his arm. “Hey, I thought you might need this”, he whispered, placing it down on the nightstand before climbing over his hyung and cuddling against his back. Sandwiched between his dongsaengs, Minho melted into the warmth, accepting the drowsiness and letting Jisung’s hand in his hair lull him to sleep.

When Chan went to get them for dinner, he was surprised to find both, Minho and Felix asleep. Jisung paused their video and looked at the leader questioningly. “Dinner’s ready, do you think we should wake them?”, the oldest whispered. Shrugging, Jisung reached over, tapped Felix’ shoulder and whispered: “Lix would be mad if we wouldn’t wake him but I think Minho-hyung should sleep.” – “Hmm?”, Felix hummed lowly, blinking at his hyung standing in the doorway. “Dinner”, Chan mouthed and Jisung carefully slid out of bed. However, when Felix tried to climb over Minho, the older woke up and looked at him confused. Cooing at the dancer’s disoriented expression, Felix whispered: “Sorry, we didn’t want to wake you but dinner’s ready. Do you want to come or go back to sleep?” Minho rubbed at his face a few times, yawning before sitting up and swinging his legs out of bed. He shouldn’t have slept anyway, so he wouldn’t lie awake at night, and now that he was awake, he might as well eat.

Minho spent the entire meal in a sleepy daze, completely zoned out of the conversations and only focusing on eating whatever Chan had scooped onto his plate. Eating itself was a quite tricky task, as his nose was blocked entirely and he struggled to breathe at all while eating. It also didn’t help that everything tasted bland to him. If he could at least enjoy the flavor, he’d probably find more motivation to eat. When they all finished and the table was cleared, Minho sluggishly made his way to the living room, plopping down on the couch. “Hyung, you still look sleepy, don’t you think you’d be more comfortable in your bed?”, Felix frowned, reaching out his hand to smooth down his hyung’s disheveled hair. Minho’s eyes fluttered shut, lips slightly parted before he brought his sleeve up to his face, ducking down with a sneeze. “I’b sleepy but I always get restless. Dond’t thigk I could go back to sleep”, he sniffled, rubbing at his tired and watery eyes. The ceiling light made his eyes water even more and he contemplated going back to his room, just to have some dark and quiet, but that would mean him laying awake all by himself with no distraction from how miserable he felt. Seemingly having read his mind, Felix sighed: “How about cuddles? That worked pretty well earlier, didn’t it?” The older bit his lip, feeling guilty. It truly sounded nice but he had already ruined Jisung’s plans of going out, he didn’t want to ruin Felix’ evening too.

“Come on, we’ll get you to sleep somehow”, the Aussie smiled, pulling Minho up without giving him much chance to argue. Jisung watched the two of them with a fond smile and followed, taking a short detour to the bathroom. When he joined them in Minho’s room, they were already in bed with Felix snuggled against the older’s back. “Hey, don’t exclude me from the cuddle session”, the rapper pouted, making Felix laugh. Minho shuffled a bit to the side, so Jisung could squeeze into bed too, which he did, going back to his earlier position as the dancer’s pillow. “Before you go to sleep, please put on some lip balm because they look like their going to bleed soon”, he whispered, handing his hyung the lip balm he had collected from the bathroom. Minho hummed and put some on his lips before getting comfy again. Gently running his hand through the older’s hair, Jisung questioned: “Does it feel good like that?” Minho hummed in confirmation, closing his eyes again. The younger two exchanged a smile at their hyung’s pleased face. He really resembled a cat sometimes and they were sure, if he could purr, he’d be purring right now. Despite his earlier objections, Minho actually fell asleep pretty fast. At some point during the night, Jisung shuffled down into a laying position too, sandwiching the older between him and Felix. Laying that tightly squeezed into a small bed, at least one of the two woke up every time their hyung grew restless and was quick to pat his hair, successfully soothing him back to sleep.

[talkcloneshipstome]

I stan spite writing, and in support for the revolution might I request Fox/Dogma? Any prompt would be cool, I just love giving the boys content

Oh, man. I’ve never written Fox before, to my knowledge, and I know I haven’t written Dogma at length, either. This didn’t turn out super shippy and is sorta angsty, so forgive me for that, but I am pleased with it. I also just chose a word from you ask that stuck out to me, so I went with “cool”. I hope you like this!

They’re used to cool weather. Kamino as a rule is never particularly hot. It can get warm, and the temperature comfortable, especially when the sun is shining. But that would require the sun to shine, so perhaps those days are fewer and further between than they are at first thought. Perhaps Dogma just never spent much time outside before being shipped out.

He’d been one of the younger batches; his training sped up and considered complete earlier than the previous batches had been. For a while, he’d thought perhaps that was something to be proud of. He knows now that it really just made it easier to produce more soldiers faster when the Senate offered up more money.

Dogma tries not to think about it now.

It’s been a month — less, maybe, since he was transferred. Since Umbara. Since Krell.

He shouldn’t still be here. Dogma shouldn’t be alive. After all, he disobeyed orders and he killed a Jedi. He killed their commanding officer. If he hadn’t been decommissioned, he knows he at least should have been reconditioned. Even if his body continued to live, his mind should be gone. He should be someone else now.

But he’s not.

Dogma doesn’t know how or why, but instead of being sent back to Kamino, he was transferred into the Coruscant Guard. He was carted off of Umbara in handcuffs and handed over to Commander Fox upon their arrival on Coruscant. The blue on his armor (which he hadn’t technically gotten back anyway) was traded for red. He was assigned a bunk in a room with four other men who didn’t talk to him, and that was that.

It’s been an adjustment, working here on the streets of the capital rather than fighting on the front lines. It’s both less and more dangerous. Less droids shooting at him, but more hostile glares thrown his way just for daring to be what he is.

Dogma can’t decide if this is supposed to be mercy for what he’d done, or punishment worse than what Kamino could give him. Not that anything could be worse than being turned over to the Kaminoans. He’s not stupid. He’s heard about the experiments.

A shiver runs down his spine.

He’s off duty right now. Sitting in his bunk all alone with nothing to do and nothing to look at is boring, and joining the others in the common areas isn’t all that much of an option. They’re still warming up to him. Still deciding if they should name this stray loth cat or not, he supposes. After all, he might not cut it, and then where will that leave him? Dogma doesn’t really know.

And besides, he’s marked. Everyone knows what he did. No one wants to talk to him. He almost got two of his brothers killed, based on orders from a general Dogma himself shot.

No, it’s best he doesn’t join them.

So he sits outside, where the weather is cool. It’s raining, actually. It’s almost like Kamino, except that the rain isn’t as clean. Doesn’t smell quite the way that ozone smells like in the stormy days on their home planet.

Not that they have a home.

He doesn’t expect it when a door opens to his little “rooftop”, or when boots on the duracrete approach and pause before a body plops down next to him.

“Hey, kid,” the brother says. Dogma glances to the side, somehow unsurprised to find Fox there.

He’s the only person who hasn’t treated Dogma like the leper he is. Fox smiles at Dogma, draws him into conversation. Sits with him in the rain when no one else would notice his absence.

Dogma looks back at the rain, and tries extra hard to keep his heart in check when a hand slips into his own. Fox twines their fingers together, settles their linked hands in his own lap.

Dogma squeezes Fox’s hand, and mumbles out his own delated greeting.

He doesn’t know why he’s here in the cool of Coruscant’s rain, rather than the freezing labs of Kamino.

But he supposes as long as Fox is okay with it, and willing to do this, he’s willing to stick around long enough to see where this takes them.

[lokidokitom]

Wrong Type of Comfort

This Imagine from @imagine-loki submitted by @jotun-philosopher gave me an idea for a small fic. Did not follow it much so there’s a twist to it.

Word Count : 1700

Prompt : Imagine Loki noticing you’re upset about something, so he turns himself into a huge purry fluffy cat and jumps on you to tromple you with his fuzzy lil’ paddy-paws and give you snuggles and headpushes

_______________________________________

Sometimes the world is just not on your side and you feel like it’s personally out to get you.

The last few weeks feel like you were running on autopilot. Going through the motions at work and crashing without any energy left at the end of the day.

The weekend finally arrived and you were able to relax around the tower. Tony had given you the weekend off when he noticed how beat up you were but it was now Sunday and all the sleeping and relaxing hadn’t helped at all. You still felt exhausted.

When you woke up this morning, you made your way to the shared living room. Since you had spent the last two days in your room to rest and it hadn’t worked, you thought that a change of scenery might help you recharge.

Tony was the first person to see you on the couch under your pile of blankets.

“Hey there Y/N! Are you feeling any better?” Tony asked you, trying to see where your head was under everything.

“Hi Tony, I thought the time off would help but I can’t seem to shake off this tiredness,” you admit popping your head up to see him clearly.

“You can take more time off Y/N. We need you on the team but we need you at a hundred percent. I want you to be okay and not burnt out,” You can see the worry in Tony’s eyes. You feel bad for making him worry so much.

“I can’t make you just wait for me Tony. I’ll be able to work tomorrow.”

“Don’t rush it Y/N, you can take at least another day okay? I don’t want to see you do any work before Tuesday, got it?”

“If that makes you stop worrying so much about me Tony, I’ll do it.”

“I always worry about you Y/N/ Now, do you need anything? Soup, tea, water.. anything?”

“I’m okay Tony, really please stop worrying about me.”

“Okay then. I’ll send someone to check on you in a few hours to make sure you’re eating,” with that he ruffled your hair and walked away.

You smiled and fixed up the hair that fell into your eyes. Having someone care so much about you feels good, but it’s not enough to completely lift the funk that you’re in.

Flipping the channels on the tv, you stopped on a cartoon that you enjoyed when you were younger and cuddled further into the couch. An hour into the movie, Steve comes in the room with a tray full of food.

“Tony sent me a message saying that you were in here and needed, and I quote, ‘a shit ton of food’. Is there anything that you want and don’t see here?”

“Thank you Steve but you didn’t have to do all of this! I won’t be able to eat it all.” He had brought you a giant bowl of mixed fruits, some eggs, pancakes, toasts, a few different kinds of jams, waffles with all the toppings, and a plate full of bacon.

“I can help with that,” Loki smoothly waltz in the room with a smirk. Loki and you weren’t what you would call friends but you would talk once in a while.

“I mean, if Steve is okay with it, he’s the one who made it all,” you look at him for his input.

“Go right ahead Loki I just ate, but make sure Y/N eats her share. Tony’s orders.”

You roll your eyes but Loki nods and comes to sit beside you on the couch. Once Steve leaves the room, Loki turns to you looking curious.

“So why are the Captain and robotic man so worried about you this time?” Loki asks when he pops a grape into his mouth.

“They’re just over reacting. I’ve been tired lately and all the sleep I had in the last two days hasn’t helped, but I’ll be okay.”

“Have you fallen ill?”

“I don’t think I have.” You hadn’t thought of that. You didn’t notice any more symptoms but that didn’t mean you didn’t have a small fever.

Loki surprised you by sitting closer and reaching his hand to touch your forehead. That is the first time he’s ever touched you and you weren’t expecting how smooth his hand was. You’ve seen videos of how he fights and you expected his hands to be rough.

“Well, your temperature seems okay but I wouldn’t be the best judge since, well, frost giant and everything,” he moves back to his previous spot on the couch and reaches for more food.

You chuckle and reach for some food as well. “Friday, could you check my vitals please?”

“Of course Y/N, your vitals are all good.”

“So no fever Friday?”

“Your temperature is normal Miss Y/N.”

“Thank you Friday. I guess you were right Loki.”

“I guess so, now make sure you eat enough of this before I get blamed.” Loki grabs the bowl of fruits and plops it onto your lap.

Talking to people and seeing them trying to take care of you is helping lift your spirits just a little bit.

“So what has been going on Y/N? Friday said there was nothing medically wrong,” Loki asks again, not pushing but curious.

“I think it’s mentally. I’ve been feeling a lot negative and low energy for the last few weeks and nothing seems to get better. Usually a good night’s sleep will help but lately it’s been dream after dream where I wake up even more stressed than I was before.���

“So you haven’t been sleeping well?”

“No. Even the last two days, the only thing I did was sleep and relax but it didn’t help me.”

“Could I try something to help?”

“Of course,” you nod almost enthusiastically, wanting anything to help you rest.

You watch as Loki completely disappears in front of your eyes and a black cat is sitting right where he was, the eyes are the same ones you were looking into a few seconds before just more cat-like.

The cat pads his way to you and head-butts your cheek before sitting next to the fruit bowl on your lap.

You smile sweetly at him until you feel a sneeze explode out of you. Once your eyes open, even Loki notices how watered they got. Another sneeze comes out and Loki jumps back to his previous spot and turns back into himself.

“What’s wrong? I thought you weren’t sick,” worry floods his eyes.

“No I’m not sick it’s,” another sneeze. “It’s only allergies. I’m allergic to cats,” and another sneeze.

“I am so sorry, darling!” You can see how bad Loki feels. “Is there something I can do?”

A sneeze comes out before you can start talking. “Could you just get my allergy medication from my bathroom?”

“Yes, of course!” Loki jumps up from the couch and disappears from the room.

A few seconds later, Loki comes back with the bottle of medication you needed and hands it to you. You pop a pill and swallow it between sneezes.

“I apologize, Y/N. I didn’t know you’d have a bad reaction like this.”

“It’s okay Loki, you didn’t know I was allergic. It’s not your fault.” By the end of the conversation your symptoms had already slowed down a lot. You’re sneezing stopped but your nose was still congested. “Thank you for trying to make me feel better.”

“Trying being the key word right?” You laugh. “Are you allergic to dogs as well?” 

“No, I love dogs!”

Loki smirks and transforms himself into a beautiful black lab and makes his way towards you on the couch. You smile and pat his head when he rests it on your lap.

“Would you like some?” You ask Loki pointing to the fruit bowl next to his face. He just pushes the bowl a bit with his nose closer towards you.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be eating some too.” You pick up a piece of watermelon and put it next to his mouth.

You spend the rest of the morning like this, eating through the food tray together and finishing the rest of your movie, you even start another one. After all the food is gone you make yourself more comfortable on the couch and Loki does too, coming closer to you.

He head-butts your hand until you get the message and you start to pet him. The soothing motion of petting his soft fur slowly makes you fall into a comfortable, stress free sleep and Loki falls asleep as well.

A few hours later, Tony walks in to check on Y/N and what he sees is not something he’d ever imagine seeing. His little chuckle wakes up the dog on the couch. Loki slowly removes himself from next to you and makes his way toward Tony and by the time he’s in front of him, he’s back to his Asgardian form.

“One word of this to anyone and you will regret it,” Loki fumes into Tony’s face.

“Don’t worry Lassie, you helped Y/N feel better so I’ll keep your soft side a secret,” Tony smirks and leaves the room.

Loki’s furious face disappears when he turns around and sees you still sound asleep on the couch with a peaceful expression on your face. He makes his way closer to you and makes sure you’re covered under your blanket then picks up everything around and brings it all to the kitchen.

“Did she eat some of it or did you eat it all?” Steve asks when he sees Loki dropping off the empty food tray.

“She ate most of it actually. After she got comfortable she ate a lot more. She’s sleeping peacefully now so don’t go rushing in there.”

“Tony sent out a message just a few minutes ago to the whole tower saying not to bother her.”

“Of course he did,” Loki rolls his eyes and turns to leave the room.

“Hey, Loki. Thanks for helping her,” Steve sincerely says.

Loki nods and leaves the room. You might be able to call your relationship a friendship now.

[elisaphoenix13]

Celebration Of Mama Bear

A fic for Stephen's birthday (yes I know it's late)! This also takes place before Lucy!

"Buongiorno, duchessa." Tony mumbles against Stephen's lips when he bends down to kiss him.

"Tony, it's too early for this." Stephen weakly bats in his direction without opening his eyes. "I can already hear things crashing and I'm not ready to deal with that."

Tony chuckles. "Not crashing, I promise. The kids are making breakfast."

Stephen cracks an eye open and looks at him suspiciously. "Which ones?"

"Harley and Cassie."

"Thank the Vishanti." Stephen mumbles.

There's a brief pitter patter of feet outside their open door and both Valerie and William appear in the doorway. The teen was behind the little girl who was holding her stuffed cow in one of her arms. Her eyes glittered in excitement and had Stephen opening his other eye before sitting up. Well he attempted to, but Athena was currently laying half of her body across his chest.

"Mama, i pancake sono pronti!" Valerie says and Stephen looks back at Tony.

"Of course she's speaking Italian at two."

"What can I say? Our children are geniuses." Tony shrugs. "Now get up before I have a certain 600 pound cat come lay on top of you."

Stephen rolls his eyes but gets out of bed after quietly commanding Athena off of him. Tony stood up and directed the two kids back downstairs while Stephen got ready for the day, and Athena waited patiently by the door like she always did. Whenever Tony got out of bed first, which was a rare occasion, the wolf would replace him as Stephen's cuddle buddy. Especially whenever the sorcerer was sick. He had grown so accustomed to cuddling (courtesy of Peter), that it felt wrong not to wrap himself around someone when he was ill. It was usually Tony or Athena, with the occasion of Peter or Harley.

Harley wasn't much of a cuddler but he would put up with it just to help Stephen feel a little better. At least until someone could take his place. The twins...they were still a little unsure of the physical contact but they were slowly growing to love it. Diana and Valerie were not allowed because Stephen didn't want to risk spreading whatever he was sick with to them. Valerie was pretty grumpy whenever Mommy got sick but she still behaved for her father and siblings.

"Why don't you go check and make sure Gerald has been fed?" Stephen says as he opens a portal for Athena.

She immediately hops through and he watches as a second one opens to let Emir and Flynn through. The tiger was, of course, carrying the fox by his scruff and only put him down once they were safely through. Stephen left the portals open so the animals could get back when they were finished, and leaves the room once he's dressed for the day.

When he gets down to the kitchen, he finds it and his family in chaos. A pleasant chaos. The air was filled with their constant chatter and the smell of food, and there was a lot of it. Pancakes, sausages, eggs, bacon, fruit... anything and everything was spread out on the counter and the table.

"What's all this?" He asks as he grabs a piece of bacon.

"Birthday breakfast." Thomas says as he gently pushes Stephen over to his chair.

"You didn't have to do any of this." Stephen huffs fondly as he sits down.

"Of course we did. You always take care of us and make sure we have our own awesome birthdays, and now it's our turn to do it for you." Peter says. "There's a whole day planned for you."

"If any magical emergencies come up, Wong will take care of it today." Tony adds.

Stephen couldn't even respond before a full plate of breakfast was placed in front of him and Cassie kissed his cheek. He thanked her and started eating as the rest of them sat down with their own plates, and of course their meal was consumed quickly. It was normal for them. There was always plenty of food but it always felt like the kids were arguing over food anyway. At least it was over their favorites.

When Stephen got up to take his plate to the sink, Peter hopped out of his seat and took it from him. "I got it! You go relax!"

Relax? That hadn't been in his vocabulary for years. Especially now that he had six kids...and that wasn't even including Cassie. He did sit down on the couch though and was joined by Athena who had returned through the portal after he had finished eating. He turned on the TV and pet her head when she laid it in his lap, and enjoyed not having to worry about cleaning up. He didn't have to cook, and he didn't have to clean...it made him wonder what they had planned for him.

When Tony was finished eating dinner and he made sure the girls were okay with the older kids, he walked over to Stephen and led him back upstairs. Instead of asking him what he was doing, he waited and let himself be led up to their bathroom and over to their large tub. Tony personally leaned over to run the bath and Stephen raised an eyebrow when he pulled a box of rose petals out of nowhere.

"Tony-"

"Don't argue. Let me pamper you." He says as he adds the petals to the water.

Stephen had to admit that the smell was nice, and having his husband help him undress was even nicer. The second he was in the bath, he sank down a bit with a pleased groan as the hot water relaxed the muscles he didn't even know were stiff and Tony chuckles.

"How's that?"

"This should be a weekly thing," Stephen sighs.

"We have six kids and a handful of Avengers. Maybe monthly."

"Better than nothing."

Tony smiles. "You soak and relax, I'm about to make this even better."

"Mmm...okay."

Stephen sunk down further into the water until all but his head was submerged. The tub was large enough for that and even almost stretch out completely. The tub was so big that he was pretty sure Quill and Thor could submerge completely. By the time Tony got back, he laughed and sat on the small stool he dragged next to the tub.

"Duchess, if you sink any lower, you might drown." He chuckles again and sets a flat box on the edge on the tub.

Stephen knew exactly what it contained before his husband even opened it. Dark chocolate truffles. If he was right, they were at room temperature so that the middle was almost liquid and would melt the second it hit his tongue.

"Is it my birthday or is this foreplay?" Stephen asks as he sits up a little to grab one.

"Maybe both. Up to you." Tony teases.

"Maybe tonight before the day is over and our youngest absolutely needs my attention." The doctor purrs before popping a truffle in his mouth.

He wasn't really one to take baths, but this one was amazing. Tony made sure it remained uninterrupted so that Stephen could properly relax and the sorcerer was almost tempted to ask for a glass of wine. Almost. It was still a little too early for a glass of wine, even on his birthday. He enjoyed the remaining flowery smell from the petals and finished off half his box of truffles before he was done in the bath. When he told Tony, the other man got him his towel and led him to their bed.

"Keep the towel on and lay face down."

Stephen didn't question it and did as he was told. At least at first. Then the thought that Tony might want to give him a massage struck him. The older man wasn't really capable of giving him one with his bad arm. At least not a proper one.

"Tony, I don't want you hurting yourself to give me a day of pampering." Stephen frowns and starts to lift himself up, but Tony pushes him back down.

"Relax. I love you and as much as I would like to give you a massage myself, I know I can't. Besides, I wouldn't have had you keep the towel on if I was going to be the one doing it." He walks over to the door and opens it to let Wanda in. "Red is going to do it. With oils and everything."

"Not Scott?" Stephen jokes.

"You two do enough together when I'm not home. I'm not giving him oil."

Stephen laughs and then settles to let Wanda start the massage when Tony leaves to do whatever it was he needed to do to make sure the day went off without a hitch. The witch gave him such an amazing massage that Stephen dozed halfway through it. She found knots he didn't even know he had and worked them over gently until he was putty under her hands. From his shoulders down to his feet...and he almost moaned when she got to his feet. Now he understood why people were so infatuated with foot massages.

When she was finally done, she smiled. "How was that?" She asks in her Sokovian accent.

"Don't be surprised if I call you up in the future." Stephen says.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

The doctor laid there as she gathered her oils and left the room, and it didn't take long for Tony to return. His husband wordlessly grabbed a hot, wet washcloth and walked over to the bed to wipe the oil off of Stephen and at that point, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to get his body to function. He couldn't recall the last time he was this relaxed...if he ever was.

"If this was all you had planned for today, I wouldn't have any complaints." Stephen admits.

"Oh no, honey. We have dinner reservations at that Italian restaurant you like. But for now, how about you watch a couple of movies and snack on some fancy cheese and crackers until then?"

"Send my wolf up and I think I can manage that."

"Your wish is my command."

Tony tossed the washcloth into the bathroom and left the bedroom after whistling for Athena, and Stephen makes the small effort to roll onto his side when the wolf jumps onto the bed and lays next to him obediently.

"Hello there pretty girl." Stephen mutters as he pets her.

He then requested Friday to put on one of his favorite movies and he lounged under a single bed sheet (to cover his modesty just in case) to watch it. Tony brought him the promised cheese and crackers to snack on, and Stephen enjoyed the calm. A small part of him wanted his kids with him, but a bigger part won over and made him enjoy this. He knew it was rare to get a day like this so he ignored the tiny nagging feeling to have his kids be part of his day. They made plans for him and he didn't want them to go to waste, especially since he could trust the older kids to behave for a day and help with their sisters.

When five o'clock rolled around, Tony popped back into the bedroom and walked straight into their closet to pull out their dining suits. Fortunately, Stephen felt like most of his basic motor functions were back and was able to get up and get dressed and he once again emerged from the master bedroom when they were ready. Athena was told to stay with the kids, and then they were in the elevator on their way to the garage.

"How was your day so far?" Tony asks as he wraps an arm around Stephen's waist and kisses his temple.

"I don't think I've ever been so relaxed in my entire life." Stephen chuckles.

"Don't worry. I'll get you nice and wound up for when we get home and the cubs are in bed." The engineer chuckles.

A frown does briefly cross the doctor's face and Tony gives him a look.

"What? Why the look?"

"Sometimes I worry that me not aging anymore will get to you." Stephen admits.

Tony snorts. "Shouldn't I be the one worrying about that? Besides…" he smiles and rubs his thumb against a sharp cheekbone. "Don't think I haven't noticed the slight change in my wrinkles...the ones I don't have anymore."

Stephen winces. "It's not immortality or anything like that. I just...stopped your aging. The physical part anyway. You asked me not to do to you what I did to myself, but I can't do what Quill can for Scott-"

"Duchess...I'm not mad. It's fine." Tony kisses him. "It has helped me ignore our age difference when we both don't age a day. I'm pretty sure it helps with my libido." He then narrows his eyes suspiciously. "Unless you have a hand in that too."

Stephen actually laughs. "No. You're healthy libido is all you. I see no need for Viagra in our future."

"Don't even joke about that." Tony sighs dramatically. "If for some reason I can never get it up again, please put me out of my misery. I do actually like being able to make you scream."

"I do too." Stephen purrs.

And true to Tony's promise, he got Stephen so riled up at dinner, that when they got back home and the kids were asleep, he made sure the sorcerer couldn't walk the next morning. Stephen could barely talk...and it was one of the best birthdays he'd ever had.

[tomhardysteeth]

Tattooed

[ao3] Eddie Brock/Venom 5.9k words

Eddie.

“Hmm.”

Tell me what this is.

Eddie shifts in bed and blinks himself awake with a groan. Venom is at his right hip, tendrils like small streams of water passing curiously over his skin. Eddie used to wear pajama pants and a t-shirt to bed each night, but his temperature runs hot with Venom inside him so he started wearing just a pair of gym shorts instead, and now he’s regretting it. 

 “Venom. I’ve told you this. Stop waking me up for stupid shit.”

The tendrils press insistently into Eddie’s skin, which tickles a little bit. You slept long enough.

“That’s not the—what are you even doing?” Eddie props himself up on his elbows and looks down at where Venom is pressing into the tattoo on his abdomen. “Oh. It’s a, uh—I got it after I proposed to Anne. It says ‘til I die AW,’ which, you know, in hindsight, is, uh…”

A long silence passes before Venom says, What do you mean you “got it”?

“What—what do you mean what do I mean? It’s a tattoo.”

Venom spreads out over his body, crawling itself up over the tattoos on his sides, chest, arms and back. Are these also called “tattoos”?

“Can’t you read my mind, man? You’ve been inside me for several weeks, you’ve gotta know what a goddamn tattoo is by now.”

That is not how it works. Explain to me what a tattoo is.

Eddie groans in frustration. He sits up on the side of the bed and grabs his phone from the nightstand, checking and deleting emails like he compulsively does each morning. He is going to lunch with Anne today, but other than that, his schedule is free. 

Eddie.

“Look, I’ve actually been thinking about getting another one, so, uh, maybe I’ll make an appointment and then you can see—”

Anne’s skin is not like this. Do only some people wear tattoos as part of their bodies? 

“Um, hmm. Well, yeah, only some people have them. But they’re permanent. Once you add them to your skin, they stay there.” Eddie stands up and stretches his back out before heading into the bathroom for a shower. 

He can feel Venom still exploring his tattoos, the symbiote moving its liquidy strands in such a meticulous way like it’s tracing each tableau: the wolf on his left forearm, the numbers near his right clavicle, the corvid over his left pec, and so on until Eddie is so mesmerized by the feeling that he spends several minutes in the shower just standing completely still as cold water pours over him.

Venom nudges him out of his trance, merging itself with the muscles of Eddie’s legs to get him to move and sending hunger signals to his brain.

“Hey, no taking over without my permission, how many times do I have to tell you?” Eddie says, annoyed as he awkwardly jerks his legs in a fruitless attempt to regain control. 

This is our body, Eddie. 

“No. No, there’s my body and there’s your body, and whichever one of us is driving is the one in control.” Eddie stops and tries to work out what he means. “That’s me most of the time, in control.”

A tickle runs through Eddie’s whole body, which means that Venom is laughing. Even so, it cedes leg muscle control back to Eddie, allowing him to get dressed before going to the kitchen.

I keep you alive. If I left your body, you would die very quickly.

“Yeah, well, so would you, so I’m not sure what your point is.”

Venom pulls part of its body out of Eddie and floats its head directly in front of his face. The first few times it did this, Eddie felt terrified and found Venom repulsive. Now, he feels a begrudging fondness for it. He thinks it probably has to do with the kiss they shared in the woods, but in general he tries not to think too hard about that.

You do not know the things I do for you, Eddie, Venom says, slowly.

Eddie blinks. “OK. Uh, I don’t really—don’t give me more information than that, please.”

Venom just smiles with all its teeth in response, then it turns toward the fridge and coaxes Eddie into making a heinous breakfast. 

Eddie tries to get some writing done before his lunch with Anne, but Venom is more active than usual as it continues its ministrations of his tattoos, so Eddie impulsively calls the artist he always goes to, Marie, and asks her if she can fit him in by the end of the week. She tells him he can come in later that afternoon if he wants, since she had a last-minute cancellation. Eddie has been going to her for years, so she has several of his designs ready and waiting. 

Eddie meets Anne at an Indian restaurant across town, one of their favorite date-night joints when they were still together, and the only difference now is that they don’t sit on the same side of the booth anymore. 

Anne greets Eddie with a hug and comments on how warm he feels.

“You say that every time,” Eddie replies with a small laugh as they break apart. He removes his leather jacket before taking a seat. 

“Well, you’re just always feverishly warm. I don’t know how it doesn’t bother you,” she says as she sits across from him.

“I mean, it does bother me sometimes. I only take cold showers now. And I sleep mostly naked.”

Anne raises her eyebrows at him. “Mr. I-have-to-shower-and-change-into-PJs-immediately-after-sex sleeps naked now?”

He smiles at her. “Yeah, alright, I deserved that.”

A server comes by to take their drink order. Anne makes a face when Eddie orders water.

“You never drink water.”

Now he’s the one making a face. “That’s not true. I used to drink water, uh, sometimes.”

“So what else is he making you do besides drink water?”

Eddie shifts in the booth. “Nothing. He’s just, um, mostly just irritating.”

Venom rumbles and slithers uncomfortably inside Eddie, clearly angry with his assessment.

“He’s been asking me about my tattoos today. He definitely doesn’t understand what they are.”

Anne laughs. “Does that happen a lot, him not understanding something basic?”

The server returns with their drinks and asks if they are ready to order, and just as Eddie is about to say no, Anne orders for both of them. 

Eddie pouts at her.

“What?” she asks after the server walks away. “We’ve been here a million times, I know what you like.”

She doesn’t know what we like.

“Yeah, uh, you know Vee’s appetite is a little different.” Eddie clears his throat. “Which means, um, my appetite’s a little different, too. It’s OK, I’ll just have to order more food. We eat a lot.”

“Are you sure you’re OK, Eddie?” She drops her voice to a whisper and leans across the table. “He’s not torturing you or anything, is he?”

Eddie imitates her, leaning across the table and narrowing his eyes as he says, “He’s inside me, Annie, so getting closer to me and whispering doesn’t mean he can’t hear you.”

Anne bats playfully at Eddie’s shoulder before leaning back again. “I’m just trying to make sure you’re safe, that’s all.”

Venom moves and twists its tendrils through Eddie’s body, coming closer to the surface of his skin before burrowing back down into Eddie’s muscles. It was an annoying sensation the first few times Venom did it, but now Eddie thinks of it like a cat repositioning on his lap—which, to be fair, was also annoying when Mr. Belvedere deemed Eddie worthy enough to sit on, but even so, thinking of Venom like a pet makes the alien seem like less of a nuisance. 

“Yeah, Annie, I’m safe,” Eddie responds softly. “We’re still, uh, just trying to figure out living together. It’s annoying, sometimes, but we’re working on it.”

“Is ‘living together’ the right term for it, though? You’re just...together. It’s kind of a big commitment, if you think about it.”

Eddie laughs and scratches the back of his head. “Yeah, which is why I don’t really think about it. But, you know, I don’t really have that much of a choice. If he leaves, I die.”

Venom moves in a way that feels like it is tightening inside Eddie, like all of its strands are taut, which Eddie’s body responds to antagonistically: he relaxes. 

“OK, so if you knew you wouldn’t die if he left, would you want him to leave?”

Venom simmers, angry.

“No,” Eddie answers honestly. “I mean, there are definitely things I would change, but…”

“You like the power.”

Eddie looks around, irrationally embarrassed that someone might overhear them. He nods shyly then takes a drink of water. 

“Oh, Eddie, you’re so predictable.”

“What?”

“You don’t like having your own power, you just like taking it from other people. Or, in this case, an alien.”

He leans back in his chair and defensively crosses his arms over his chest, tucking his hands under his armpits. “What are you talking about?”

“Your career. And now this.” She shrugs. “I just hope you sort it all out with Venom, is all. You’re irritable, like you were the first couple weeks after you moved in with me. Remember that?”

Eddie rolls his eyes. “Yes, I remember because you won’t let me forget. This is different though. I’m not—um, I’m not in a relationship with Venom.”

“Aren’t you though?”

Yes.

Eddie swallows. “Not—it’s not—I can’t think of it that way, it’s too weird.”

“Yeah, probably. But it’s something you're gonna have to deal with eventually.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Eddie changes the subject after that, asking Anne about her work and about Dan. When their food arrives, Eddie immediately orders another entree and an appetizer and tries not to feel embarrassed about it. He could actually eat way more than that, but he won’t in front of Anne. Venom complains in his head, insists their bodies are still hungry, swirls its strands frantically around Eddie’s midsection to make its point, but Eddie just sets his jaw and ignores it. 

When Eddie tells Anne at the end of lunch that he has an appointment to get a tattoo, Anne just laughs and says, “Still the same old Eddie.” She pays for the meal, Eddie leaves a cash tip, and they walk out to his bike together. 

Feeling relaxed and brave, Eddie gives Anne a kiss on the temple as they hug goodbye. She doesn’t acknowledge it. 

On the drive over to the tattoo shop, Venom asks, How long will it take to win her back?

Eddie hates when Venom talks to him when he’s driving because although Venom can hear his voice no matter what volume he speaks, he can’t hear himself over the sound of the engine and the wind. “I told you, it’s not happening.”

But we like her.

“I know we like her, but she’s with Dan and you and I are, uh, kind of fucked up.”

I don’t understand. 

Eddie sighs. “Anne’s right. Like it or not, you and I are together—a package deal, so the chances of me having any kind of human relationship with anyone is just out of the question.” Realizing how depressing that is, Eddie tacks on, "Right now."

But Anne likes us. I think she would like being with both of us.

Eddie doesn’t respond. Surprisingly, Venom doesn’t push the issue.

At the tattoo shop, Eddie is greeted by one of the artists, Solomon, with little more than a curt nod and a waiver slapped down on the counter, which Eddie signs without reading. He then takes a seat out front to wait for Marie.

Your pulse has quickened. You’re beginning to sweat.

“Yeah, well, that’s because the guy that just helped us is my ex, and it did not end well,” Eddie whispers through gritted teeth.

Oh, like Anne?

“Stop playing dumb, you know what an ex is.”

Eddie watches as Sol greets another client. Despite having dated nearly a decade ago when Eddie was only in San Francisco for a six-month temporary gig, Sol still acts like it was just yesterday that Eddie chickened out on their relationship and told him he had to get back to his “real life” in New York. Not his best choice of words. 

Sol looks bigger every time Eddie comes to the shop. He is older than Eddie, has to be in his 50s by now, but he clearly still lifts as evidenced by the broad muscles of his back and the thickness of his tattooed biceps. His muscled chest tapers into a soft torso, his belly significantly more pronounced than when they dated. His beard looks thicker, too, a few fuzzy gray hairs mixed in with the black, and he is bald—has always been bald—and richly dark-skinned and six inches taller than Eddie.

You are still attracted to him.

Eddie clenches his fist against his thigh. “He’s still attractive.”

You are attracted to Anne, too. But Solomon looks very different from Anne.

“I don’t know if now is the best time for me to explain race and gender and sexuality to you.”

Anne is small, so I assumed you preferred someone smaller than you. But Solomon is—

Eddie ignores the rest of Venom’s sentence as Marie comes out of the back office and waves Eddie over to her workstation. Marie is rail thin and only ever wears baggy tank tops and baggy ripped jeans, and nearly every inch of visible skin is covered in colorful tattoos. 

“Did you pierce more of your face since the last time I was here?” Eddie teases as he takes a seat.

She swivels toward him on her stool. She has piercings everywhere: eyebrows, nose, lip, tongue, all over her ears, and a barbell through her sternum. “I’m sure I have, since you haven’t been here in forever, buddy. I was wondering what the hell happened to you.”

“Yeah, uh, I’ve been going through some stuff, you know how it is.”

She pulls her long black hair up into a bun on top of her head then grabs a stack of drawings off a table as she says, “My aunt told me you ate a dude in her store.”

Venom vibrates through Eddie’s entire body.

“You know no matter how many times you tell me, I’m never gonna remember you’re Mrs. Chen’s niece.”

Marie holds out three drawings for Eddie to pick. 

“Ah fuck, they’re gorgeous, Marie,” he says as he leans forward to get a better look. He points to the one in the middle, a partial skeleton of a rib cage and pelvis held together by nuts and bolts. “Let’s put that one on my left side.”

“You got it, bud.”

As Marie prepares everything, she says casually, “So you gonna tell me about the dude you ate, or?”

“Oh right, um, I have a parasite.”

Venom constricts inside Eddie, making the muscles in his arms and legs jump.

“It’s, like, an alien,” Eddie continues lamely.

Marie’s face doesn’t change. “Take your shirt off. So, can I see it? The alien? My aunt said it’s gnarly.”

Eddie pulls at the hem of his shirt and asks, “Do I have to take it all the way off?”

“Aww, poor little Eddie doesn’t wanna expose his cute body when his ex is right over there.”

I like her. I’m going to say hi to her.

“No, Vee, wait—”

It always feels like Eddie’s face is being sucked into a vacuum when Venom takes it over. 

Hi, Marie. Eddie and I are Venom.

Marie blinks. “OK, so. I think I understand why you ate a guy.”

Venom sticks its tongue out then relinquishes control back to Eddie.

“Goddamn it, I hate when he does that shit,” Eddie says with a nervous laugh, looking around the shop to make sure nobody noticed anything.

“You, like, straight up have an alien inside you, bud,” Marie says. “But for real, take your shirt off.”

Eddie complies, then turns over to his side so Marie can get started. She presses her gloved fingers against his skin and asks exactly where he wants it, how big he wants it, then she cleans the area. 

Venom stirs inside him, concentrating much of its mass in Eddie’s rib cage, where Marie is touching. What is she going to do to us?

“You’ll see, buddy, just be patient,” Eddie replies.

“Who you talking to, Eddie? Your alien?”

“Yeah, he talks to me. Constantly.”

Marie stands. “Ooh, sounds like that’s annoying. I’ll be right back.”

You think I am annoying.

“Yeah, we’ve established that already.” Eddie flips over to his back and crosses his arms over his bare chest. He has no qualms about his body, usually, but he does not like feeling exposed around an ex. 

I don’t think you are annoying. I still think you’re a loser, but I like you.

“Can you just—can we put a lid on this until we get home, please?”

Venom’s tendrils bury deeper inside Eddie before going still, which Eddie interprets as Venom doing its best to leave him alone.

Marie returns a moment later with a stencil, and Eddie turns back to his side without having to be asked. With the stencil in place, Marie leads Eddie over to the full-length mirror.

As Eddie looks at himself to make sure he likes the placement, he spots Sol in the mirror, managing equipment at his own workstation across the room and stealing a glance at Eddie. Eddie flushes, but not with embarrassment. More like pride. 

We can eat him if you’d like.

“No, Vee, we really can’t.”

He is looking at us. Do you think he still wants to be with you, Eddie?

“Why are you so nosy? Seriously?” To Marie, he says, “Looks perfect. Sorry I’m talking to myself.”

“What’s he talking to you about?” Marie asks as they walk back to her workstation. 

“Sol.”

“Oh, that’s awkward.” Marie sits on her stool and puts on new gloves. “If he’s in there with you all the time, how the hell are you supposed to have any privacy?”

“I don’t.”

Eddie, what is that? Why does she have needles?

“Calm down, buddy,” Eddie placates even as he feels Venom’s tendrils pull as taut as strings of a guitar inside his body. “This is what getting a tattoo is like, and we trust her.”

Marie laughs.

She is going to hurt you. 

“It’s OK.” Eddie’s entire body is rigid. “Can you please—loosen up a bit, Vee.”

It takes a moment for Eddie’s muscles to relax.

At the sound of the tattoo machine, Venom stirs but does not constrict again. 

“You ready?” Marie asks sweetly, machine poised over Eddie’s rib cage.

“Yep.”

At the press of the needle, Venom turns to liquid inside Eddie, concentrating into a single point and numbing his side completely. 

“Hey, hey, hey, no,” Eddie says.

Marie immediately stops. “What, what’s wrong?”

“Sorry, not you. Hold on a second.” Eddie flips to his back and looks down at himself. “The pain is OK. Don’t try to heal me.”

But it hurts you. She’s hurting you.

“I know that, but sometimes pain is...good. Just—hang out until she’s done.”

Marie doesn’t say anything, just waits for Eddie to give her the go ahead. She looks a little apprehensive as she presses the needle back to his skin.

After a few minutes, probably less than five, Venom swirls watery soft around Eddie’s ribs again, soothing the burned skin.

“Goddamn it, you’re doing it again.”

Marie stops. “Thank god I know about the alien, or else this would be a very strange experience for me.”

I don’t like feeling your body get hurt. I like your body.

Eddie sits up, groans, scrubs a hand down his face. “Venom. I am fine. Look at my body. This is how I got all the rest of the tattoos you love so much, by going through this pain. It’s not permanent, and it’s not even that bad. Please stop trying to fix it.”

Venom is quiet for a moment before saying, But why would you want to be in pain when I can fix it for you?

“I like this pain. I want to feel it. I’ll tell you what, if it gets to be too much, I’ll let you fix it. Deal?”

Fine. 

Eddie lies back down on his side.

“My god, Eddie, what the shit?” Marie asks.

“He should be OK now, you can go ahead,” Eddie replies.

Marie clears her throat and tentatively presses the needle against Eddie’s skin. The pain is a single small point, constantly moving, burning, tickling, unlike any other type of pain imaginable. Eddie relaxes into it.

“So, the alien likes your tattoos, huh?” Marie asks after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah. He likes pretty much everything about me.”

“Well, that sounds totally healthy and normal.”

Venom moves the bulk of itself into Eddie’s shoulders and neck and settles there. I can feel that you enjoy this pain. I think I understand. 

“Anne said he and I are in a relationship,” Eddie says quietly.

“Gross, dude. He’s an alien living inside you, you can’t be in a relationship.”

“I mean, I get what you’re saying, but it’s not like I can be in a relationship with anybody else either. Kind of hard to be intimate with another human being when an alien is always talking inside my head and moving around inside my body.”

You don’t want to be in a relationship with anybody but Anne, though, and Anne understands us. 

“Huh,” Marie says. “That kind of sucks, buddy.”

I don’t know how many times I’m going to have to tell you this today.

“Hmm?” 

We should talk to Anne.

“He’s talking to you now, isn’t he? You’re not listening to anything I’m saying.” Marie stops the machine and wipes the wound. “What about sex? Like, if you tried to have sex with someone, would he pop out your face and get in on the action?”

That might be fun. We could try that.

Eddie’s heart drops to his stomach. “Um, let’s not—can we not talk about that right now.”

“Oh my god, are you talking to me or to him? What did he say?” Marie asks.

“Nothing.” Eddie laughs nervously. “And I’m not discussing sex with you, Marie, you’re, like, 20 years younger than me.”

“You dork, it’s not like you’re my dad.”

Does sex make you uncomfortable, Eddie?

Eddie buries his face in the crook of his elbow. His body wants to squirm, to escape this situation, but he has to remain perfectly still on his side. 

Venom doesn’t say anything else to him, but it spreads itself evenly across Eddie’s body and holds him in place, immediately turning Eddie’s embarrassment into a quiet calm. 

The tattoo takes another two hours for Marie to finish. It’s not very big, just about the same size as the Buddha up and to the right of it, but it is intricate and beautiful in a way that makes Eddie stare at it in the mirror for a solid minute and a half before Marie asks if he likes it or not.

“It’s gorgeous, Marie, thank you,” he says softly. 

Marie pulls out her phone and presses a hand to Eddie’s side to make him turn toward her so she can snap a picture. Venom moves swiftly against the touch, pressing through Eddie’s muscle tissue and pushing out through the surface of his skin exactly where Marie’s hand is.

“Oh geez, what’s that?” Marie asks as she snatches her hand back.

“I don’t know, he’s never done that before. Vee, what’s the deal?” Eddie touches the spot where Venom still lingers.

Just testing something out.

“OK,” Eddie says, annoyed. “You’ve got to communicate with me, buddy, you can’t just randomly touch people.”

Venom rumbles through Eddie’s entire body in a long-suffering sigh.

“Why does he want to touch me anyway?” Marie asks.

She’s been touching us for hours, I was curious. 

“He was, uh, curious,” Eddie repeats. 

“About what?”

Venom rumbles again.

“I don’t know! I don’t know, Marie, he’s an alien.” Eddie glances around the shop and catches Sol’s eye before Sol quickly looks away. “Can we just—how much do I owe you?”

Marie doesn’t ask any other questions about Venom even though Eddie can tell she wants to, and she doesn’t say anything when he leaves her a much bigger tip than usual, but she does roll her eyes as she takes the cash. Eddie heads quickly out of the shop and is standing by his bike about to strap his helmet on when a familiar voice calls his name.

“Oh, hey, Sol,” Eddie says sheepishly, moving his helmet to his right hip and avoiding eye contact as Solomon walks up to him.

Stand up straight, Eddie. You look weak.

“Seems like Marie was giving you a hard time,” Sol replies, his voice deep and smooth. “You doing OK, Ed?”

Eddie scratches the back of his head. Stop fidgeting. “Yeah, I’m alright. You?”

“Your phone number the same?”

Stop moving. 

“What?”

Sol tilts his chin down, making himself slightly more eye-level with Eddie. “I still have your number, if it’s the same. I’d like to use it.”

Eddie involuntarily laughs like an idiot. “OK, um, yeah, it’s the same. But, uh—”

“Good. See you later, Ed,” Sol says as he walks back into the shop.

Why did you let him talk over you? Why didn’t you stand up taller? 

Eddie feels heat creeping up his neck, into his ears, as he recalls his and Sol’s relationship: there was rope sometimes, and Sol teasing Eddie about being a brat, and Sol always being the one in control even when they were out in public together, and Eddie enjoyed every bit of it. 

Although Eddie is pretty sure Venom can see his memories when they flare so vividly, he still says out loud, “I didn’t wanna stand up taller. Not with him.”

You are a loser.

“Nah, this is different,” Eddie replies as he gets on his bike. “Sometimes it’s a choice to let someone else have, uh, control. Willingly giving up your own control, you know, that kind of thing.”

Like willingly feeling pain when getting a tattoo.

“Yeah, actually, kind of,” Eddie shouts over the roar of his bike as he pulls out of the parking lot and onto a main road.

Or willingly letting me take over your body.

Eddie grips the handlebars tighter and doesn’t respond. 

He stops by Mrs. Chen’s before going home, letting Venom pick out whatever it wants (two bags of frozen tater tots, a gallon of chocolate milk, three different kinds of chocolate candy and a family-sized bag of salt and vinegar chips) and enjoying Mrs. Chen’s reaction when Eddie shows her his new tattoo.

“My niece is very talented, but I still think most of your tattoos are silly.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Chen.”

Back at their apartment, Eddie sits on the couch and reads the news on his phone while Venom eats all the food with its head and two arms protruding out of Eddie’s right side. Venom shares the chips and one of the candy bars with Eddie. 

Eddie.

“Yeah, buddy.”

Your side hurts.

“Well, yeah, it’s gonna hurt for a while. Tattoos are like burns.”

Venom recedes back into Eddie’s body and slithers to his left side, swirling several small tendrils around the new tattoo. Is it still the good pain?

Eddie thinks about it for a moment before answering, “No, actually, it sucks.”

Venom soothes the pain immediately. Eddie closes his eyes and drops his head back against the couch; he didn’t realize just how much his side had been hurting. He reaches his hand down to cup his rib cage, and Venom responds by pulling tendrils out of his skin and lacing them with Eddie’s fingers, directly over the new tattoo.

“What are you doing, buddy?” Eddie asks even as he squeezes Venom’s inhuman fingers. 

Marie called you ‘buddy,’ and now you’re calling me ‘buddy.’ It’s annoying.

“Oh good, something annoys you. Now I’m not the only one in this relationship that’s annoyed.”

Relationship.

Eddie clears his throat but still keeps his fingers tightly wound with Venom’s. “You know what I mean.”

Internally, Venom pulses near Eddie’s rib cage like a deep pressure concentrated against his bones. I think I can recreate the pain of getting a tattoo.

“What?” 

You like the pain of the needle marking your skin. I can imitate it.

Eddie feels tense, his body rigid. “But—but why?”

Why not?

Eddie blinks. He can’t come up with a reason why not. He lets his fingers slip out of Venom’s grasp as Venom narrows one of its tendrils into an impossibly small point and presses Eddie’s side, gently at first and then speeding up as Eddie relaxes against the couch cushions. 

“What the fuck, Vee, that’s so weird,” Eddie says on an exhale. 

You enjoy it.

“Yeah. It’s weird as shit, but yeah, I do.”

Maybe we would be less annoyed with each other if we did more things that we enjoyed.

“Hey, I basically let you do whatever you want.”

Venom stops poking him. I’d like to eat more people.

“Oh yeah? Well, I’d like to have some privacy every now and then.”

Privacy? What do you need privacy for?

“I don’t know, like maybe if I had someone over and wanted them to spend the night.”

Venom moves up Eddie’s chest and wraps the bulk of itself around Eddie’s shoulders. You want to have sex.

Eddie runs a hand down his face then settles both his hands on his knees. “Yeah, well, a man has needs, and my needs aren’t exactly being met right now, so.”

Venom creeps up Eddie’s neck. I can help meet your needs, Eddie.

“I don’t know if—I’m not sure that’s a good—you know, I just—”

You want this. We can do whatever we want, Eddie. What’s stopping you?

“Well, um, for starters, you’re an alien. I don’t even know how we would…”

Venom materializes in front of Eddie, massive and solid, deeply black and muscled with a nearly fully-formed body connected to Eddie directly at his hips. It places one hand on Eddie’s side, near the tattoo, and its other on his shoulder. This body is close to what you humans look and feel like.

“No, um, not really, Vee.” Eddie puts his hands on the couch, not daring to touch Venom even though it is taking up so much space in Eddie’s lap that it feels against instinct not to put his hands near where its hips would be if it had them. “Do you even know or, like, understand what sex is? Is it something that you want?”

Venom grins and then sticks its tongue out, moving it slowly from one side of its mouth to the other. Yes. And yes.

“What? For real?”

Definitely for real.

Eddie sucks his bottom lip between his teeth and looks up and down Venom’s body, considering. “When you kissed me in the woods—”

Yes, I wanted to. Venom moves its head forward, its sharp teeth an inch from Eddie’s face. I want to now.

Heart hammering in his chest, Eddie relents and puts his hands on Venom’s sides. They almost feel like hips, but Venom’s body is more like liquid and string than muscle and bone. Eddie digs his fingers in. He tilts his chin up tentatively, presses his nose against Venom’s face before pulling back, looking at the alien curiously, then he turns his head to the side and slots his mouth against Venom’s. 

Eddie tries to move his lips like a normal kiss, but Venom’s tongue fills his entire mouth, and it somehow suctions Eddie’s mouth against its own, and it’s too much, not enough, and Eddie’s arousal stirs in him so quickly that he would laugh if he could. The most he can do is make strained noises in the back of his throat.

After a minute or so, Eddie loses all sense of control and begins bucking his hips up, but there is nothing for him to buck against since their bodies are too intertwined in his lap. So he scrambles for one of Venom’s hands while simultaneously undoing his fly, and Venom gets the gist and wraps its weird malleable fingers around Eddie’s cock without breaking their kiss. 

Venom’s hand morphs around Eddie’s cock, stretching and folding and weaving threads together until it feels like Eddie is actually fucking into a hole—not quite human, so not possible to define as any type of genitalia—and while Eddie thrusts his hips up, Venom constricts and relaxes around his cock in a steady rhythm all while continuing to fuck its tongue down Eddie’s throat. Then, impossibly, tendrils are everywhere, snaking around Eddie’s balls, caressing his skin, kissing his nipples, pushing into his ass—Eddie comes early.

Venom unwinds itself from around Eddie’s cock and releases his mouth. Eddie takes a deep breath, choking a bit as he realizes just how far down his throat Venom’s tongue was. Venom rumbles a laugh, licks Eddie’s face, then noses at his jaw as it fuses its mass against Eddie’s skin like a moving blanket. There is a feminine quality to Venom’s movements, which Eddie struggles to rationalize with his skewed view of the alien as a hulking beast that rips and bites people’s heads off. He decides it’s time to stop assigning gender-specific qualities to his alien.

I liked that.

Eddie tangles his hand in the tendrils of Venom’s neck. “Yeah, me too. Fuck.”

Is this the part where you freak out?

“Uh yeah, I guess I should. Fuck. That just, um, it felt really fucking good. Really good.” Eddie tries to bring Venom’s face toward him for another kiss, but Venom resists.

So if you’re not going to freak out, then we should talk.

“What? Why?”

That’s what we are supposed to do. Our relationship has been nebulous and undefined, and it has made you irritable and difficult to live with.

“Hey, you never said I was difficult to live with,” Eddie replies, feeling irrationally hurt.

I’m saying it now. 

“OK. Fine.” Eddie tries to remember when he had to have this exact same conversation with Anne two weeks after he moved in with her. He thinks she may have approached him in a similar way, after sex, curled up close to him and soothing him with her touch. “It’s difficult for me to adjust to having you inside me, not because I don’t—it’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just that it’s, uh, different. You’re a fucking alien. There’s no human experience that could’ve prepared me for…” He points between their connected bodies. “This.”

I was not prepared either, Eddie.

“What do you mean?”

Venom kisses him. I did not expect to like you this much.

Eddie automatically smiles, then tries to downplay it by rolling his eyes. “OK. So. A relationship then? Do you even know what that entails?”

I hope it entails a lot more sex.

Eddie laughs. “Yeah. But it’s also, I don’t know, taking care of each other and—”

We already take care of each other.

“—And communicating our feelings, and spending time together.”

We spend all of our time together.

“Yeah. Um. I’m not sure you’re really understanding what I’m saying, and I’m pretty bad at this, too, so it’s probably gonna be different than, like, my relationship with Anne.”

Venom grins wide, showing every one of its teeth. Good. She can help us.

[read the rest on ao3]

[feminaexlux]

Chartreux

This is from Lukanette February 2020 (which feels like years ago at this point, doesn't it?). I wanted to repost it as a whole story because I went back and re-read some of my old stuff that I posted separately and I'd like to share it again :)

Enjoy! AO3 chapter link

⁂

Note

Plagg floated in front of Adrien. "Kid, you're sick. How are you gonna be Chat Noir if you're delirious?"

"Ladybug needs me," Adrien groaned. Last time he checked his temperature it was around 39c. "She… she shouldn't handle the akuma on her own!"

"She'll be fine," Plagg sighed. "Get some rest! Take a nap, you'll feel better after."

Adrien frowned. "No, I need to help her. Plagg, claws ou-!" He coughed. It was a hoarse, lung-bruising cough. "Oww."

"Eww, gross," Plagg complained. "Humans are so disgusting."

"Ladybug needs backup…" Adrien sighed. "If she gets caught it's game over, Plagg. Hawkmoth wins and everyone loses!"

"She's got plenty of other helpers, Adrien! You gotta relax."

"No, it's dangerous because Hawkmoth knows who they are! She needs Chat Noir."

"Ugh, fiiiine. Leave it to me, again, to save the day," Plagg griped.

Adrien smiled. "I knew you'd come around. Plagg, claws-!" Plagg threw a pillow at Adrien and knocked him backward into his bed. Adrien immediately passed out.

"Knocked over by a feather. You sure woulda been useful to Ladybug like that." Plagg huffed and floated over to Adrien's hand, gingerly pulling off the Miraculous. "I gotta find Ladybug's other boyfriend," the little kwami sighed.

⁂

Luka Couffaine was watching the livestream of the latest akuma through his phone. For some reason Ladybug was fighting the twin gorgons by herself and Chat Noir was nowhere to be seen, which worried everyone. Hopefully Chat Noir was alright… it wasn't like him to let Ladybug handle everything by herself.

Suddenly a wide silver ring dropped into his lap. Luka's immediate impulse was to look up and find who dropped it, but he wasn't able to see anyone or anything that might have possibly done it. There was a voice in his head that told him to put it on, but he wasn't going to start wearing someone else's prized just put it on you blockhead

What?

for gouda's sake just put the darn ring on kid

Okay. The ring was talking to him. Luka reluctantly put it on. Plagg appeared before him. "Finally. I'm Plagg, kwami of Destruction, you're gonna be using me today to help Ladybug. Your power is Cataclysm and after you use it you only got 5 minutes to wrap it up. Once you guys have won hand me over to Ladybug and it'll alllll be done and I can finally get a nap. You got it?"

Luka breathed out the breath he hadn't known he held in. "You're Chat's kwami. That's why he's not dealing with the akuma right now."

"Smart kid, you've already figured it out. You get to be Chat Noir today. But maybe you should call yourself something else. How about Chartreux? Transformation phrase is Claws Out, detransformation is Claws In. Got it? Let's go already."

⁂

Ladybug had already used her Lucky Charm and… she wasn't able to figure out which of the two gorgons had the akumatized object in time. She kept having to dodge the petrification beams from two akumas (though she was sure one was a sentimonster clone), and her Lucky Charm had been a guitar pick! She had no idea what to do with it. Actually, scratch that, she knew Tikki or the Lucky Charm wanted her to reach out to Viperion, but… that was dangerous. Hawkmoth knew Luka was Viperion, so she'd try her best without his help right now. But where the heck was that cat?! "Chaaaat, I really could use your help right now!" She yelled out to no one in particular.

A dark figure landed nearby. "Sorry, Ladybug," said a familiar voice that was not Chat Noir's. "Chat's out of commission today, but… I'm his substitute." A tall figure in Chat's outfit - no, it was kind of… spikier? and dark gray? - spoke to Ladybug, spinning the baton to create a shield to block the petrification beams. Oh no. What happened? "I'm… Chartreux."

"Ummmm, hi," Ladybug said. "Well, if you're on my side then I'm glad to have you." She looked him over more closely when she had a chance. Taller, black fluffy hair with green tips instead of all blond, and he had black earrings? Earrings? Oh no. She knew his voice sounded familiar. Oh no. She'd know those lips and that jawline from anywhere since she spent so long staring at them as Marinette. Oh no.

"I got some explanation of things, so… I'll try my best."

Ladybug had to make a mental note that Chat!Luka was going to be very, very distracting.

Teddy Bear

Ladybug sighed heavily as her earrings kept beeping. She gave Chartreux a rundown of everything she saw with Madusa (times two, ugh) and what she was attacking (seemed like mostly other girls? Yikes). Ladybug gave her thoughts on how she might have been a jilted girl(friend) with Valentine's Day coming around the corner and Chartreux gave a lopsided smirk.

Dang it stop doing that Luka, she thought, staring at his lips again. She shook her head to focus. "Chat… I mean Chartreux, I'm so sorry but I have to recharge. I really hate to leave you alone like this but…"

"It's alright, Ladybug. I understand. I'll try to distract them and lead them away from civilians."

She put a hand on his arm and squeezed. For encouragement. "Good plan, thank you. I'll be back as soon as I can. Alright, bug out!"

⁂

Marinette detransformed behind a building and watched Chat!Luka leap away surprisingly gracefully from the building they had just been on top of. She was fascinated at how… fluid everything looked with him. He was kind of a natural at strategically using his baton as an impromptu high-bar to swing himself between spaces and levels while keeping buildings between him and the Madusas for cover.

"MARINETTE!" Tikki yelled, apparently not for the first time. "Marinette?"

"Oh! Oh gosh, Tikki! I'm sorry."

"We have to figure out which one is the sentimonster first. I think we need to separate them and find out where the amok is."

"Alright, good idea, Tikki! Let me see if I can find a safe place." Marinette ran toward the end of the alleyway and ducked her head out to take a quick scan and nearly got hit by a beam. "Whoa!!!"

Unfortunately, it appeared that while Chat!Luka was able to get the attention of one of the Madusas and lead her away, the other one kept circling back to the apparent epicenter of the akumatization. That gave Marinette an idea. She was looking around for cover when she felt an arm around her waist and yelped as she was pulled sideways.

"Marinette, what are you doing here?!" Chartreux yelled, stumbling a little but recovering when she turned to face him and threw her arms around him reflexively.

"Ch-Chat?! Wait, what?!" While Chat!Luka was making an abrupt quarter turn, Marinette got further pressed into him as he made a braking maneuver against a wall and then launched them into an adjoining alleyway. It happened so fast she got slightly dizzy. "Whoa," she moaned.

"Marinette?! Sorry, I'm much faster than I thought I'd be," Chartreux said apologetically.

"It's okay, L–CHAT–I mean! Wh-who are you?"

Chartreux snickered a little. "Just a friend," he winked. "Let's get you somewhere safe."

That was what Marinette had been trying to do… She noticed something in the corner of her eye and turned her head, spotting the wax museum. "Um! Can you drop me off there?" She pointed her arm and directed his line of sight. Chat!Luka slowed down and pulled her in tight against him, weaving around the two streams of the petrifying lasers from both Madusas when they spotted the hero running across the street.

⁂

Adrien woke up a bit less headachey than when he went to sleep, and he groaned sitting up on his bed. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. There was something… different about things, but he shrugged and assumed it felt off because he was sick. He sighed and got to his couch, turning on the television. He was hardly paying attention until he heard Nadja Chamack talking about Chat Noir rescuing a civilian and how Ladybug was missing.

He blinked his bleary eyes. "Plagg?" There wasn't a response. "PLAGG?!" He was suddenly wide awake and stood up a bit too quickly, getting lightheaded and dizzy. He fell back to his couch and looked at a close-up shot of "Chat Noir" and the civilian. That "Chat Noir" was… taller? And That "Chat Noir" was holding Adrien's favorite civilian Marinette Dupain-Cheng up against himself (pretty intimately, Adrien thought irritably) while heading away from the akumas. Maybe Adrien was hallucinating. Yeah, that was it, this was all just a bad fever dream.

The Real Chat Noir needed to go help Ladybug right away.

Adrien stumbled back to his bed in his exhausted state and pulled off the covers off of a lump on his bed, assuming he'd find the kwami settled in like the lazy cat he was. Instead Adrien found a teddy bear with a heart pillow, inscribed with a "Feel Better Soon ❤️".

Letters

If the Madusas were turning people into stone, then running through the wax museum where the "people" there were already immobile seemed to be a good plan. That had been the thought process running through Marinette's mind before she realized that she and Chartreux needed to evacuate the real people inside. Luckily Chartreux was already on that as soon as they opened the doors, directing people to go down to the subway, goodness bless that boy.

Marinette helped him as much as she could while she kept trying to lose him in the evacuating crowd to duck out and transform back into Ladybug. Of course of all the people the black cat Miraculous could have gone to, it went to Luka Couffaine, who ten times out of ten could find Marinette in the chaos. Marinette had counted.

"Chat-um-whatever, could you let me go? Don't I need to go hide?!" Marinette yelled at Chartreux, who had unabashedly let his tail wrap around her ankle to keep tabs on her.

"I know you're brave, Marinette, but you don't hide, you keep throwing yourself into danger as soon as I turn my back so I'm going to personally drop you off at home. Good idea on using the wax museum, though."

"But I can get Ladybug!" Marinette groaned.

Chartreux's ears twitched with irritation as he glared at her. "Ladybug's going to get here on her own, you don't need to-" Marinette saw one ear rotate backward and Chartreux ran, pulling Marinette along with him after taking her hand. The twin gorgons burst into the museum and started using their beams on the wax figures. They were temporarily confused when no one turned into stone.

Once they got their bearings, the twin gorgons ran in the same direction they saw Chartreux and Marinette run. The hero and civilian pair had hidden behind a relatively large dupe of Horrificator and were able to sneak past the Madusas into a staff locker room. "Well, I think I can hide here, at least," Marinette sighed.

"Can't say it's too comfortable, but it's better than nothing," Chartreux reluctantly agreed, opening a large locker for Marinette. "Sorry. I guess I should have taken you home first." Both Marinette and Chartreux heard one of the Madusas walk closer and try to open the door. Marinette made a split second decision and pulled Chartreux in the locker with her and closed it behind them.

The Madusa broke down the door and prowled in, scanning the room. She sniffed, annoyed at finding nothing of value, and left. When Chartreux heard the gorgon's footsteps fade away he burst out of the locker, red-faced and stammering out a hasty "S-sorry!"

He was about a full head taller than she was, so when they crammed into the locker he ended up occupying way more of her personal space than either of them expected. He pressed himself into the furthest corner away from her but his head still ended up on her shoulder and his arm braced against her and her legs in between his. He kept thinking how he was getting kind of hungry because she smelled like freshly baked bread and warm apple pie and man was he ever getting distracted by the fact that Marinette Dupain-Cheng had pulled him in by the collar and now her hands were in his hair because they had nowhere else to go?

He stayed hidden with Marinette for several long seconds after the Madusa had left, ostensibly to make sure the akuma/sentimonster was far enough away, but maybe some part of him just kinda liked being held by Marinette.

"I'm sorry! I just pulled you in i-i-it was my fault so, so sorry," Marinette apologized back, also pretty embarrassed but fighting back a smirk at finding Chat!Luka so flustered. "I'll s-stay here and be out of your way, promise!"

Chartreux blew out a breath, composing himself, and nodded. "Stay safe. I mean it, Marinette, no heroics. That's my job."

She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck," she giggled, closing the locker. Chartreux went red again, slightly taken aback, but then he chuckled to himself and turned to leave.

"Marinette, you're teasing the poor boy," Tikki giggled.

"I think we're both enjoying it," Marinette giggled back. "Are you ready, Tikki?" The little kwami nodded. "Alright, Spots On!"

Ladybug stepped out of the locker and called her Lucky Charm. She got a pack of fridge magnet alphabet letters? What was she going to do with that?

Composition

It was actually a pretty straightforward plan. Chartreux and Ladybug ran in opposite directions and the twin gorgons split up to chase the both of them. The heroes lead them into the same room at opposite ends, Ladybug tied them up together with her yoyo, Chartreux Cataclysm'd the floor and the Madusas got caught hanging upside down. The magnets caught the Madusa's dislodged necklace and pen before they fell into the molten hot wax.

Amok and akuma were dealt with, the akuma victim reassured, and the Miraculous Ladybugs deployed. The heroes bumped fists and called out "Bien Joué!"

Ladybug's earrings beeped and Chartreux stopped her from running off. "Wait! Plagg said I needed to give you the ring."

"Plagg said what?!"

Chartreux raised an eyebrow. "I'm supposed to give you Chat Noir's ring back."

"I… I-I don't know who Chat Noir is, actually," Ladybug laughed uneasily. "I'm not sure who to give it back to! How did you get the ring?"

"Really?" Both of Luka's eyebrows rose. "It… just dropped into my lap. What should I do?"

Ladybug's earrings beeped again. "Umm. I-I guess keep it? For now? I'll ask my kwami what I should do. Anyway, thank you for your help! I gotta run!"

⁂

Marinette yelped as Chartreux opened the locker she was hiding in. "Wow," he laughed. "You actually stayed safe."

"I-is it over?" Marinette asked.

"Yeah. I wanted to make sure you were alright." Chartreux extended a hand and helped Marinette get out of the locker and onto her feet. "I also said I was going to personally drop you off at home."

"You did!" Marinette giggled. "That would be great!"

⁂

Chartreux landed softly on Marinette's balcony with her in a bridal carry.

"You definitely know who I am because I definitely didn't tell you where my house is, and I still don't have your name," Marinette laughed.

Chartreux hummed. "I don't know if I'll be coming back as a hero so I don't think it matters if you know my name. I promise I am a friend though." He let Marinette down and she kissed him on the cheek. "Careful, you don't know if Alya's nearby taking pictures and you don't want to give the boy you like the wrong idea."

Marinette blinked. "The boy I like?"

"Adri-" "Luka?" Chat!Luka and Marinette said respectively, at the same time.

Chartreux was taken aback and flushed. "I think I'm giving him the right idea," Marinette giggled. "Your ring is beeping, by the way."

"Oh. Really? I mean. Right. Thanks. I'm… gonna go." He turned away awkwardly, still flushed.

"Chartreux?" Chat!Luka spun back in surprise. Marinette went up on her toes and kissed him. "Thanks for helping out today. You did a great job."

⁂

Chartreux detransformed in a quiet alleyway and Luka made his way home in a daze. Luka barely heard Plagg complain the lack of camembert and about how the Guardian should know who Chat Noir was and how the kwami apparently needed to do things himself and to haul the ring back across all of Paris and how much of a pain it was.

Luka got back onto the houseboat and went to his room and sat on his bed. Plagg had noticed that the boy was more or less unresponsive and sighed, deciding to hide in Luka's jacket pocket. Luka finally shook his head to get his bearings and looked around him, pulling out a blank sheet of music staff paper.

He was pretty sure Marinette knew he was Chartreux. He was pretty sure Marinette just let him know she was Ladybug.

He had some brand new music to compose.

Noir & Gris

"I hear that you're a big fan of Chat Gris," Adrien smirked as he leaned into his right hand, silver ring glinting off the sunlight that streamed into their classroom. "You and the Chat Noir from last week had a moment it seems!" He gave Marinette a sly wink.

"A-Adrien!" Marinette squeaked, turning red. "Shhh!!!" Marinette had already had to tamp down all the rumors around her and "Chat Gris" as they called him. Alya had been nearby and she did take pictures and of course one of the pictures was of Marinette when she kissed Chat!Luka. (How did that girl even get that angle?!) Alya thankfully had only shared it with Marinette… and then the rest of the girls, after Marinette had been too embarrassed to deny anything about it.

"I think you may be a cat person after all, Marinette," Adrien laughed.

"How did you find out?!" Marinette stage-whispered. "Alya promised not to show anyone else!"

"It wasn't Alya, I promise. I had my very own informant. But interesting detail, you have a picture?"

"I'm sure not showing you!" Marinette huffed.

"That's alright!" Adrien laughed. "Well, since you seemed to be so familiar with Chat Gris and Chat Noir, I was wondering what you thought of Gris versus Noir?" Adrien had leaned in further, intensely focused on Marinette.

Marinette blinked at him. "Uh… they were both… good."

"Really? You didn't miss anything about Chat Noir?"

"Well, I mean, both Chats were very… nice. They saved me from the akumas. I guess Chat Noir is… um. More of a jokester?"

"I'm hearing Chat Noir is more fun," Adrien smiled. "But go on."

"You have some weird selective hearing there," Marinette said. "Anyway I mean, I don't really have anything else to say?"

"Aww, too bad. I'm jealous, Marinette. You got to hang out with two different versions of the same hero!" And kissed both, but she wasn't going to mention that.

"Getting caught up in the akuma attacks is not something I'd call ‘hanging out', Adrien." Marinette rolled her eyes. "But they were cool."

"Do you think you'd wanna see Chat Gris again? Instead of Chat Noir?" Adrien asked, way softer than he spoke before.

"Hmm, I like Chat Noir. I think Chat Noir is great at being Chat Noir. Ladybug and Paris would miss him terribly if he wasn't going to show up anymore. I liked Gris and he helped everyone out really well, but I think Chat Noir is who Paris loves."

Adrien blushed. "Well, it's nice of you to say that. Chat Noir seems like a great guy, whoever he is under the mask."

Marinette smiled. "I think so too."

[likesomekindofcheese]

The Nurse and the Skywalker (6 Undergound Oneshot)

Paring: Four/Billy x nurse! Reader

Word Count: 1847

From anon request:  Can you do one with Ben( as 4/Billy in underground 6) getting injured and you’re a no-nonsense nurse having to tend to his wounds and he flirts with you at first, but then he gets serious/tender and vulnerable with you and it makes your heart melt?

Warnings: Swearing, hospitals, mentions of blood, illness, surgery, and injuries.

A/N: Thanks for your patience! Much thanks to @rhapsodyrecs​ for suggesting a great line! As well as @yourlocalmusicalprostitute​ and @joeneslee​ when writers block got me in this one!

The afternoon coffee you had been sipping was gulped in one hot swig when your co-worker ran in, yelling “Y/N! It’s an emergency! You need to hurry!”

The 12-hour shift and it’s exhaustion was forgotten at the words. Your shoes squeaked against the floor as you were led into the room.

“A young man-he has a bad injury-he’s been shot and his bones are broken too!” she cried.

Looking over, the patient was young. Not too far from your own age in fact. He was groaning in pain. His arm and leg were broken. But you noticed a few gashes here and there. Still bleeding. A lot. But he looked up and kept his eyes on you. As you reached over to see some charts the mysterious man left and what could be known, you felt his eyes, and saw him even crane his neck just to keep an eye out on you.

Maybe I spilled something on my scrubs you thought, dismissing the notion as they wheeled his bed out into the hallway.

“Quick, give me the anathesea- and a surgeon- we can get the bullet out, but we have to be swift!”

You were handed the pain medicine to give to the patient.

As you put the tube over his mouth, he glanced up at you. His eyes were as green as a field on a picnic day. And you noticed his hair as well-it was cut short but very blonde.

“I…I’m scared…please don’t…” he muttered lowly. 

You felt your guts stir at the sound. He was deeply hurt. If he didn’t have the bullet removed, he was a goner.

“What is your name…?” you asked.

“I…don’t…have…a name…” he croaked. 

He turned ghostly white and then pink.

“I…I’m sorry, I should have been stronger…thought I could make that jump…I couldn’t. I’m not that fucking strong…” he muttered.

“Who dropped him off?” you asked your co-worker.

She shrugged.

“This guy with a beard and this weird voice and then after we got the kid on a bed, he just vanished with all the bills paid already in cash! The guy was loaded!” she gossiped, tugging at her bright pink scrubs. 

Turning to the patient, you forced him to look right into your eyes.“Okay mister, you don’t have a choice. You got lucky someone paid all of your bills, so you better suck it up and be grateful, got it?” you scolded.

He looked at you blankly before you put it right to his mouth and wheeled him to the surgeon’s office.

Two hours later you got word that the boy got lucky. The bullet was found and removed. It wasn’t too deep and nowhere near any vital organs. But he seemed to be ill and needed to be checked up and have his limbs bandaged.

“Here he is…he’s still on the pain medicine some, so he might be a little loopy…” the surgeon warned, before leaving you alone in the room to do your work.

“Hello…I’m Y/N, I’m your nurse…hang in there, you’re gonna be fine…” you said, he seemed half asleep. Almost in another world. There was no reply.You were checking his blood pressure when his eyes fluttered open. Your head whipped around as you tied the black strap tightly around his arm.

“Hey there…” he croaked out.

“Checking your blood pressure, hold up…” you mumbled, making it tight as possible.

“I must be in a museum…” he said softly.

“Well, I don’t see any Da Vinci any…”

“Because you’re a piece of art.”

Your jaw dropped and your head whipped around to see him. Did that really come out of him? Moments after he was near death.

“Pardon?”

He gave you a half smile and you felt a blush creeping up on you and it made you mad. Of all places this was happening- at work!

Did a patient really just flirt with me? Maybe it’s just my imagination.

You undid the black strap and set it away without a word, writing down the numbers. He reached over and picked up the menu of food options to be ordered for patients.

“Do you know what’s on the menu?” he asked.

“Vegetables. You better order some with your dinner. Eat up, your body’s in bad enough condition…”

“Close, but it’s Me ‘n you.” He added with a devilish grin. 

Your ears heard it right alright. You felt them grow hot.

“You know what else is on the menu? This antiseptic,” you ordered. Walking over to the side and getting an orange bottle and some cotton balls, eyes on his wounds. As you began to apply some to the cuts, the cool guy façade dropped.

“NNNnnnnng, no! No! And I’m sorry! Won’t do it! Won’t do it!” he whined. His voice getting a little higher than what was considered manly.

“Just shut up and suck it up, Romeo,” you replied, biting the inside of your cheek to keep from laughing.

The next day a woman arrived to check on the patient. A beautiful woman with tan skin and yellow hair with a white suit. You felt envy twinge in your stomach as her heels clicked on the tile floor.

She went into the room. If only you did not have duties currently. But no, scratch it, you weren’t interested. Not some cheeky patient that was trying to break all the medical oaths in the book. Passing by the room to put away your lunch box, you forced your ears shut at the quiet conversation they had.

As you returned, she left the door of the room. She looked up at you and pointed at you to come near. 

“You are nurse Y/N, right?” she asked in a European accent.

“Yes, I am.”

She glanced around to see if anyone was listening in. Then she leaned closer.

“How long have you worked here?” she asked.

You told her.

“Good, you know what you’re doing. We…we just need a bit of help. He’s on…on my company. He got hurt. Badly.” She said softly. 

Yeah, no shit you thought.

“What caused the wounds? I think he mentioned a jump…” you asked, folding your arms skeptically. What kind of sketchy company was this that was all hush and made gallons of money where people got shot?

Her pink lips tightened, she glanced to the left and then answered “It was a fall. Bad one. Just…an accident.”

“What’s your name? And what’s his name? Why did he get shot? Was there a shooting at your job?” you asked.

“We would prefer to be anonymous,” she answered coldly.

“What, why?”

“For protection. He’s here to get better, right?” she answered with a twinge of annoyed anger.

“Yes…”

“Don’t hurt him, then…or make him do anything to hurt himself more…”

She turned around and clicked away, but gave you one look, softened. As if to silently say thank you- even if you did ask questions about whatever this “company” was.

Hours later, you came into the room with the patient. Though you armed yourself to fight off like the black cat with Pepe le Pew, he looked at you and glanced down at his lap. His left arm and right foot was in a cast and he seemed red as a beet in his face. But the light in his eyes were glazed, but had dimmed. And he seemed in pain.

His forehead was like a furnace. Sticking a thermometer in his mouth, you watched the numbers rise above healthy at the end. Gently, you pulled it out to put it away.

A half-grin reappeared on his face.

“Is it hot in here or is it just you?” he said.

“No, you got a fever dumbass,” you replied.

You showed him the temperature and he huffed lightly.

“Well, you will have to stay here a bit longer. Injured and sick. It doesn’t seem bad, but it’s still a double whammy. Three or four days…” you said,

He pulled out his free hand to play with his phone, pouting in defeat. You stayed to type into the pad you used for work to keep track of patients charts.

“Bi-billy…”

“Hm, what?” you said, turning around.

“You wanted my name, I’m…I’m Billy…” he confessed.

“Okay, thank you! I can finally call you something other than Romeo,” you jested.

“That’s not a bad name, either though,” he said.

The doctor working on him informed you that his fever did have a chance of breaking in the night. You offered to stay.

“Why, Y/N…you’re worried about him?” the doctor asked, cocking her head.

You shook away the creeping blush and smile growing on you.

“I just want the extra hours for pay!” you insisted.

You stayed there, reading with him. You realized what he was doing on his phone- watching movies.

“American movies are the best, like, us on the Pond get all the boring, slow stuff- America is where the real movies are!” he commented when you glanced over.

“Hey- that one’s my favorite!” you cried, recognizing it at once.

Indulging it, you watched the rest of it. Talking about your favorite actors, quoting the lines, and smiling ear to ear by the time the credits rolled by on the tiny screen.

“I was so scared…I was gonna die…” Billy confessed, setting the phone down.

“It’s just medicine,” you scoffed.

“No…when I fell…” he said.

“Really?” you asked, leaving the sarcasm.

“I felt that was it. You see…I…no, I shouldn’t…” he mumbled, looking down.

“You can tell me…” you urged.

“I got a chance to…uh, do something important. It was risky, but it was better than what I had before but I…I thought I was dead for good because I slipped and fell…” he added on.

Recalling the first day, he had a bullet in his body as well. How did that get in there? There was no news you checked of a shooting anywhere.

“And you were shot…how did you get shot?” you questioned.

“I…I can’t tell you everything but I just feel…I can trust you…someone was in danger…and I was trying to get him out and some’ow…I got shot and I fell off…” Billy explained.

“Fell off? Of what?”

“The skyscraper downtown…” he confessed, eyes down to his lap again.

“What! No! That’s a hundred feet high! How in hell are you even alive?” you gasped.

He looked at you and laughed.

“That’s some bad fucking words for a medical professional!” he teased. “But that’s a good question, really…”

Outside the window, a bird sat in the darkness on the pane. Its feathers seemed to glean in the moonlight. It was a clear night, even a sky filled with stars could be seen despite the smoke of the city

“I…I’m glad you survived. I’m glad you didn’t die and so you could- you know- help whoever this person is you were trying to help,” you commented. And this time you smiled back.

“I…I’m glad you were there to help me…dunno what I’ll do next time I’ll fall…” he said.

“I should be there then…”

Taglist: @themarchoftherainbowqueen​ @rhapsodyrecs​ (thanks for the wonderful line!) @yourlocalmusicalprostitute​ @sgt-stardust-killer-queen @queenlover05​ @lady-ofmischief

[leah-halliwell92]

Princeling

Summary: After seeing what the Dursley’s are when it comes to Muggles, Professor Minerva McGonagall makes the judgement call to take Harry in before the worse can happen.

Part 1

Previously:

Severus looked down at the tabby and said, “This war has taken enough lives. Let’s not waste another.”

Minerva nodded and lay down letting the man make his way to the Forbidden Forest to the heard of thestrals that was there.

Part II

“We need to find a way to read the Potter will,” Severus said as he landed the thestrals a few ways away from the actual neighborhood. It wouldn’t do them any good to be seen by anyone. 

Minerva meowed from her place in the basket, her way of agreeing to what he’d said. 

“Lead the way Minerva,” he said putting the basket down.

She looked up at him and blinked owlishly, “Meow.”

He sighed exasperatedly and said, “I’m not carrying you.”

“Meow,” she patted the edge of the basket.

He sighed and grabbed the basket handles making sure the thestrals stayed where they'd landed before following Minerva’s meowing down the road to the house. 

It wasn’t hard to miss and he rolled his eyes when he found the shivering bundled that is one year old Harry Potter.

“He didn’t even bother placing a warming charm on him!?” Seethed Severus in a whisper. 

Minerva looked down in shame. She had not considered doing so and thought Albus had done it while she was calming Hagrid down. She should have double checked.

“Don’t worry yourself sick Minerva,” Severus whispered, “Albus wouldn’t be Albus if he didn’t have everyone’s unconditional blind trust and admiration as the leader of the light.”

She lay in the basket still in disbelief at herself for not checking. 

He picked up the the shivering babe and placed him beside Minerva who wiggled under the blanket to help warm Harry.

Severus placed a mild warming charm on Harry and pocketed the letter before making his way to where the thestrals is and fly to Cokeworth. 

Aberforth greeted them in the backyard as the thestral landed smoothly as to not wake the babe.

“If you can sit with him by the fire and bring his body temperature up some before unraveling him from the blanket,” Severus instructed carefully passing the basket to Aberforth who looked more than a little surprised at seeing where Minerva lay dozing next to the babe who had a death grip on her fur. 

“She’s almost as asleep as the babe,” Aberforth said in awe. 

“I’d watch out if I were you,” Severus warned, “We found the babe shivering and not a hint or residue of a warming charm.”

Aberforth’s eyes widened in wonder at that, “Did he not...?”

Severus shook his head and flew off to Hogwarts leaving Aberforth alone with a baby and a probably very pissed off tabby. 

He made his way back inside to Severus’ sitting room and did as was told. 

Minerva managed to get out of Harry’s hold and jumped out of the basket. 

“Minerva,” Aberforth began, “It’s not your fault.”

Minerva shook her fur out at that and jumped on the sofa next to him. 

Aberforth dared to lay a hand on her back. 

The baby cooed in his sleep. 

Aberforth shifted in his seat and picked up the bundle from the Moses basket. 

Minerva meowed as Aberforth unraveled the babe from his blanket, after making sure his temperature was alright. 

“He’s alright Pet,” Aberforth said tenderly as he ran his fingers over her coat, “Best not wake him dear.”

Just as he said this, the babe yawned and his Lily green eyes shown as the fire made them almost glow. 

Minerva let out a cat like scoffed laugh and jumped off the sofa to step into the hallway. 

“No need to laugh,” Aberforth said with a gruff as a now human Minerva walked in her outer cloak in hand. 

He gave the babe a gentle bounce as Minerva set her cloak down and took a seat beside him. 

“I do hope he’s not as head first as his father,” Minerva said running a knuckle gently down the one year old’s cheek. 

“He’s going to be a pleasant mix of his parents I think,” Aberforth said with a knowing nod. 

Harry got wiggly so Abe picked him up underneath his armpits and stood him on his lap allowing the babe to wave his arm around. 

“You might need to shave,” Minerva said giving his shoulder a gentle shove.

“I can finally take this blasted glamour off then,” he said with a grateful sigh as he continued bouncing the babe. 

“What do you mean?” Minerva asked curiously not having known this. 

“There came a point during his time with one Gellert Grindelwald that he got it in his head that I took too much to our mother in looks. Grindelwald took it upon himself to modify my physical appearance to look more like Albus.”

“And you’ve never taken it off?” Minerva said in numb shock at his revelation. 

He shook his head and said, “I didn’t see the need for it. Albus didn’t do or say anything especially after he was deemed second to Merlin himself after his fight with Grindelwald.”

“You must have been a lady killer then,” Minerva said trying to lighten up the mood. 

He shrugged at that and focused on keeping Harry from tugging at his beard. 

Minerva observed as Aberforth stood placing the lad on his hip and lit up the room with a wave of his hand. 

“Aren’t you a charming babe eh?” he said talking to Harry in a soft and tender tone. 

“You’re avoiding the question,” she said pursing her lips one brow in the air. 

He gave a very un-Dumbledore shrug and kept his attention on the baby.

“Come now Abe,” she said softy, as to not upset Harry, “What is it?”

“Nothing, really,” he said honestly tickling Harry under his chin causing the babe to giggle. 

Minerva looked like she was going to push on one matter. Luckily for him though, a tired looking Severus came through the fire looking like he’d run a marathon and was breathing like it too.

“Pardon my lateness,” he said trying to catch his breath, “Your brother is on a rampage this evening and is most likely going to hold an Order meeting these days. Aside from that, I don’t think he suspects anything.”

The older couple nodded at this and sighed in relief. When it came to Albus they had some time before anything needed to be rushed. 

“What should we do then?” Minerva asked clearly out of her element. 

Aberforth adjusted his hold on Harry as the babe got antsy.

“Yes lad?” He asked the babe as he plopped him on his bottom atop the table.

Harry pointed to Severus and extended his arms to him. 

Severus gave in to the boy and took him from Aberforth’s arms. 

The two stared at each other. One in curiosity and the other clearly at a loss as to what to do from there. Severus for his part, took this time to do some introspection. Not only regarding how he feels, or will feel, towards Harry, but also towards his parents and their respective friends. Also what this will mean for when the Dark Lord would ultimately return, as Albus so kindly told him on his way back to Spinner’s End after flying in on the thestral. 

There was no love lost between him and James Potter, he knew that. But he also knew he’d never condemn a child for the sins of the father. And like hell would he let Albus poison him against Harry for looking like James and having Lily’s eyes. The same eyes staring at him in wonder and curiosity. He could see them in Harry’s eyes...James and Lily. Severus isn’t a fool, he knew that this boy would always carry both as their son. He would always miss his friend and childhood love. And knew he’d care for her son as if he were his own son. As it shall be. 

“Before we begin...” Severus said with a deep sigh, “There is something you both must know.”

00//00//00

A/N: Like and reblog if you liked the first part!! Let me know if you want to be tagged.

Tag list: @disneymarina​ @hoefordarkness​ @thebeautyofdisorder​ @lets-talk-about-claes-baby​ @toooftenobsessed​ @smailaway @lady-sigyn​, @therealcountdracula1931​ @hoefordarkness​ @lokiisbrucebanner​ @197863451​ @always-severus-stan​ @miranak​ @nanasoo​ @thehallowsden​

[mahalkitajohnnysuh]

Housemates (Jaehyun)

Of course, I had to do my version of having Jeong Jaehyun as a housemate. Expect fluffy happenings and realizations on his part in this piece. 

As always, here’s a Jaehyun GIF for you. I just want to poke and squish his cheeks here!  

Mahal ko kayong lahat! :)

–––

Summary: Like the previous ones, this story is inspired by this post. There was one item that I wasn’t able to write about, and one of the scenarios here is inspired by real life. Can you guess what that is? 

POV: This has a mix of both 2nd and 3rd POVs since I wrote them at different times. 

Word count: 2,100 + words, which is the longest I have for this series. 

Warning: Truthfully, I wrote this piece sort of a prelude to their affair, so expect that he’s quite sweet with Essie on this. 

–––

There was a time in Essie’s life that she and Jaehyun were housemates before their affair. Maybe that experience was why the guy fell for her but still didn’t do anything about it until it was too late.

Essie stayed in Jaehyun’s old place when he and Taeil were still housemates. This time, Taeil was staying with Donghyuck since they became closer over time. Not that the old roommates weren’t friends anymore; they just grew apart.

Essie and Taeil loved bonding over music and cats. Jaehyun will observe them from afar, with his trademark dimpled smile, as they played with kittens while listening to Frank Ocean.

“Are you guys hungry?” The pink-haired guy interrupted their moment, moving closer to them so they will notice his presence. “Yeah, we are!” Essie and Taeil said at the same time, which made them giggle afterward. “Aren’t you hungry too, Ying?” The girl cooed at the white kitten on her lap. “I’m sure Yang is hungry!” The guy beside her said, stroking the fur of the black kitten he now carried in his arms.

Jaehyun chuckled at his housemates before grabbing his coat. “I’ll get you your favorites, please wait for me.”

“Okay, bye! Take care!” Both voices said at the same time, along with the soft meowing of kittens.

\\\

“I can’t sleep,” Essie whined one evening when she appeared in Jaehyun’s room. The girl was dressed in men’s pajamas, which she probably swiped from Johnny.

“How can I help you sleep?” The guy asked, motioning her to come further into his room. She walked hesitantly towards the small chair beside his shelf of knick-knacks, her eyes roaming all over his room.

“Your place looks cute and cozy, it’s very you,” she commented before taking a seat on said small chair.

Jaehyun had just closed the door to his room and was now standing in front of Essie. “Thanks sweetie, that’s very thoughtful of you,” he sat across from her on the edge of his bed, “but what would you want to do now?”

She assumed a thinker’s pose – hands cradling her chin – and hummed. “Are you watching anything right now?”

“A series? Let’s see,” he got his phone and checked Netflix. “Just re-runs of ‘Friends’. Would you like to watch it with me?”

She nodded eagerly, and he set up the television. “Thanks, dude. Maybe watching a series might make me sleepy,” she mumbled as she was now seated on one part of his bed.

“No problem, my sweet Essie. I’m happy to help you out,” he said as he plopped on the space beside her as the iconic introduction of the series now played.

A few episodes in and Jaehyun noticed that the girl was yawning. “Okay, I think you’re sleepy now,” he whispered. She gave a small nod before yawning loudly. “Thanks again, Jay. Sorry if I had to crash here just so I can be sleepy.”

“Anything for you, sweetie.” He squeezed her hand, which she returned. “Just drop by when you have a problem or something.”

She got up from the bed and waved silently before leaving his room. This was one of those moments that he felt weird and warm at the same time – he was slowly falling for her.

Maybe he should stop giving her pet names? That might be the reason why he found her more attractive each day. Or maybe he’s just making an excuse because he has always been interested in her from the start.

\\\

“Good morning, honey,” Jaehyun greeted Essie, who looked like she needed more hours of sleep despite sleeping for more than the recommended 8 hours.

“Honey? Yesterday I was sweetie,” she mumbled while rubbing her eyes. “You never seem to run out of nicknames for me, eh?”

“Yup, as long as I think of anything to call you, I’ll call you that.” He said, smiling at her as he handed her the box of cereal. “Do you want anything else?”

“Milk, of course. How am I supposed to eat this without it?” Essie shook the box in front of him in annoyance.

He chuckled at her reaction and handed her a carton of milk from the fridge. “You just want some milk, okay then,” he muttered.

This got her laughing as she remembered a viral video of him studying for his English oral exams, and netizens highlighted that line as one of his iconic moments.

“Don’t you dare bring it up, honey,” he grumbled as he got a bowl and spoon for her.

“But that was really funny, Yoon Oh!”

His only response was a glare, which didn’t faze Essie at all. Instead, she burst into laughter and even slapped the table for emphasis.

\\\

“You poor baby,” Jaehyun said, brushing the strands of Essie’s hair away from her face. “I’m sorry you had to see me like this, usually I get better with meds and rest,” the girl replied, her voice a bit hoarse.

Essie got sick during the second week of her stay in Jaehyun and Taeil’s apartment. The latter was out, and it was just her and the former at home.

At first, she was just sneezing more than usual. Then, she was coughing. Soon enough, she had to wear a facemask despite her aversion to them. Jaehyun noticed that her eyes were red and watery as well.

When he decided to check on Essie a while ago, he saw that she was completely wrapped in her comforter even if the AC was on. He took matters into his own hands, and that’s why they ended up like this.

“I heard from Johnny that your mom always made you warm calamansi juice whenever you got sick,” he said as he reached for the mug on her bedside table.

She got teary-eyed as she took the mug from him. “You didn’t have to do this for me,” she said before taking a sip. “I just needed more rest, that’s all.”

“You’ll get better faster when there’s someone to take care of you.”

Essie felt her insides warm up even more with Jaehyun’s comment, and she drank more of the juice he made her.

“I also made some chicken noodle soup. Everything to get your flu out of the way, okay?” He flashed her a smile and patted her thigh.

Essie was practically burning from his touch but did her best not to show that she felt such. She smiled weakly and went back to sleep.

Despite Jaehyun’s good intentions, his actions made Essie’s temperature go higher.

“And I thought you’ll be better faster with my warm offerings,” he said the following day as he got the thermometer from her.

“I’m sorry, but as I said, I need more rest. But you can make me more of that warm calamansi juice though. Please?” She attempted to bat her eyelashes at him, which made Jaehyun giggle.

“Alright, I’ll make you more of that. I’m glad you love it though,” he said as he kissed her temple.

“Thank you, Jay. You’re the best. Your future girlfriend will be so lucky to have you,” she murmured before closing her eyes.

He took one last look at her before going to the kitchen to prepare her drink.

Yes, Essie. You are lucky to have me.

\\\

One of the things that irked you when you were roommates with Jaehyun was that he always had to put his game on loudspeaker.

You groaned as you heard the sound of machine guns, a female voice screaming ‘Victory’, and conversations between the characters of the game.

“Jay, would you turn it down a bit? I’m trying to focus here,” you said as poked your head in his room.

He was intent on killing the enemy on the screen, and it took him a couple of seconds to respond to your request. He paused the game and flashed you an apologetic smile.

“Sorry about that, I’ll just lower the volume. I like playing games with the sound on, it gets me more in the mood.”

You rolled your eyes at his answer and closed the door. You hoped that he would do what he said since even your noise-canceling headphones weren’t strong enough to block the noises of his game.

Maybe it’s about time that you replace that Bose hand-me-down from your sister.

\\\

You were surprised to see two shirts, a pair of joggers, and a hoodie that wasn't yours in your hamper.

You examined the tags and realized that these clothes belonged to Jaehyun. Your rooms were just beside each other, with your hamper placed outside your room.

Since it was just outside, it was convenient for you to dump your laundry there. And maybe he thought the same since he also did with his clothes on your hamper.

“Jay…” You started as you poked your head in his room again. He was lying on his bed scrolling through his phone. He wore his headband, a black shirt, and a pair of shorts. He looked comfortable in his position – a bit of his torso showed as the shirt had risen.

“Yeah?” He said without turning around. When you squinted your eyes to look at what he was doing, you chuckled. He was responding to tweets from friends and fans.

“May I ask why you put some of your laundries in my basket?”

This got him to stand up immediately and rush to the hamper outside your rooms. “Sorry about that, Essie,” he said, plucking out his clothes that you have now carefully folded on top of yours. “It’s just easier to dump them there than put them in my hamper inside the room.”

“Then why not just put your hamper outside then? I’m sure ours don’t look the same,” you said, peeking into his room for his basket.

Shoot, it looked like yours as well – a wicker basket with a lid and linen lining inside.

“No wonder you’ve been putting your clothes in mine,” you groaned as you dragged the basket outside. “I’ll just put a label on which one’s yours and mine, okay?”

The guy nodded, opening the lid of his hamper and dumping his laundry in. “I’m sorry, Essie. This won’t happen again.”

But of course, it still happened again even if you have put labels on your baskets. Maybe that’s just the way it is with Jaehyun – you’ll always have to segregate what’s yours and his in your respective hampers.

If you only knew that he liked to put his clothes in your basket so it could mingle with the scent of yours. It’s a little bit creepy and sweet at the same time – who knew that the heartthrob has a side like this, eh?

\\\

“I can’t sleep again.”

You said, hoping your voice was loud enough for him through the wall.

“Well, we can talk if you want. Do you want to come here?”

Jaehyun answered, his voice loud enough to penetrate through the wall.

“I’m too tired to move, dude. My legs feel like jelly from bowling, which I haven’t played in ages.” You rubbed your thighs in hopes that they feel a bit better.

You heard him chuckle first before he responded to your comment. “Well, I suppose you didn’t stretch first?”

“Ugh, I forgot about that! I’ll take note of that next time. Anyway, what’s up with you?”

“I’m trying to compose something. I’m talking to you as I sit in front of my keyboard right now.”

“Do you have any chords in mind to start it off?”

“Well, here it goes,” he said, pressing a couple of chords that sounded melancholic. “That seems fitting for an emotional song,” you commented. “Have you thought about the lyrics?”

Your conversation continued even if there was a wall separating you two. Taeil wasn’t at the apartment right now as he went home to his parents. Lately, it’s always you and Jaehyun who hung out. You missed Taeil since only the two of you loved cats, and he brought Ying and Yang home.

As you and your housemate worked on a song together, you couldn’t help but feel warm inside. The AC in your room was on, but the warmth blooming inside you rendered it almost useless. It was nice talking to Jaehyun like this. You were able to collaborate on a song together even if you didn’t have to see each other’s faces.

Before you knew it, sunlight peeked in through your curtains. “Wow, dude. We’ve been talking for what, four to five hours straight? It’s now 5 in the morning.”

“Yeah, Essie. I can’t believe it as well,” he chortled. You heard the sound of a chair being moved and took it as a cue to wrap things up.

“Thanks for talking to me, Jay. And I’m glad that I was able to help you out with your composition.” You said, now lying on your bed instead of sitting on it.

“Sure thing, anything for you. Like I always say, right?” He never seemed to stop chuckling at his words, but you didn’t let it get to you for now.

“Good night, Jaehyun.”

“Good morning, Essie.”

–––

FIN

If you guessed that having warm calamansi juice while being sick is inspired by real life, then you are correct. I miss it though!