#but i'd ALSO miss out on these. fucking AFFIXES

[bookwyrminspiration]

constantly torn between "i wish I could magically learn this language immediately and speak it perfectly" and "part of language acquisition is the process, and learning it immediately wouldn't have as much meaning or significance to me"

[ollieblogs-stuff]

By lamplight

Leon awoke at an ungodly hour, his eyes registering a warm glow in the hallway outside their bedroom. Despite knowing what the hallway light meant, he flung a desperate arm out on the mattress next to him. As his flopping limb met empty space, the blonde could hesitate no further.

A deep sigh clawed up his throat as Leon sat up and swung his legs off the mattress and into the fluffy slippers waiting below. His left hand felt around the bedside table skillfully, locating his glasses on the second try. The blond placed his glasses on his nose as he trudged down the hallway and towards the cosy living room.

Squinting as the source of light came into direct view - a desk lamp balancing precariously on the edge of the dark rattan coffee table - Leon spotted his partner as predicted.

Nick sat cross-legged on the carpeted floor next to the coffee table. Yet to notice the other’s entrance, his dark brows were furrowed in concentration as he scribbled furiously on a piece of paper.

Leon used this time unnoticed to survey their living space. It soon became evident that the brunet had not remained in bed very long at all.

No less than 5 different coffee mugs sat scattered on various surfaces. Nick loved collecting mugs. Not in a professional manner - what, with set themes and quality standards? No. Instead, the brunet eagerly re-homed the tacky, the oddly-specific, the cringey, the poorly-designed. They were his prized possessions.

He also had the awful habit of never reusing them in one sitting, hence the mugs currently littering the space. The upside of this, though, was that Leon could use the mugs as an accurate tracker of just how much hot chocolate his boyfriend had consumed.

Nick took a deep sip from his current conquest, an ageing ‘I have kids and a sense of humour. What's your superpower?’ mug that refused to chip in the dishwasher. He cupped the mug with both hands and inhaled the sweet, steaming aroma with eyes closed in appreciation.

He was so fucking cute. God, he made Leon's heart ache. A good hurt - the best hurt! There was just TOO MUCH love to squeeze into one puny human heart. How was it possible for someone to love another so deeply? Leon didn't know. He didn't need to, not with Nick by his side.

Finally deciding to announce his presence, the blonde cleared his throat. “What are you doing? It's late.”

To his credit, Nick managed to morph his shock into a flicker of his closed eyelids and a short ‘eep’ sound that he'd later deny. He opened one eye lazily as his heart once again began to slow,

“I'm planning out our deaths.”

Leon's responding smile was soft, wide, and only for his partner. “I'm going out first, then?”

The amber eyes he loved so wholly narrowed coolly.

“The fuck you are!” Nick growled. “You're not leaving me to live in a world without you! Do you know how absolutely devastated I'd be? No - shall all things go as planned, I'M dying first.”

Leon's smile remained firmly affixed to his face as he lowered himself to the floor next to the brunet. He leant a tired head on his partner’s pointy shoulder and cast his own eyes over the papers scattered in front of them.

“You know I'd miss you so fucking much if you went first, right?” he whispered into Nick's ear. “I think that's the double-edged sword for two people who love each other as much as we do. In the best case scenario, we'd die at the same time.”

The brunet didn't respond. Instead, he raised an arm behind the pair to gently stroke Leon's back. The pair sat in the contemplative silence for an unknown age until Nick's soft whisper broke,

“I just - You remember Alex’s friend, Sarah, right?”

Nodding sagely, the blonde responded, “Sure, uh huh, Sarah. The one with the…. Eyes. And the nose. And the ears?”

Nick smiled as he nudged Leon, “Her childhood best friend? Sarah? We went to her wedding?”

Finally, recognition sparked. “Oh! Microwave Sarah - right. Yes, I remember her, why?”

Nick's shoulders dropped. “Well, Sarah's sister lost her husband last week. Car crash. They were meant to be in Brazil together this week.”

“Oh honey,” Leon crooned. His alarm rose as Nick's head dropped between his now raised shoulders, out of view. Circling his arms around the brunet, Leon gently pulled his body to lean against his. Sudden sobs emerged from the other, and all the blonde could do was hug him tighter.

“I just - I - I - they were so happy! They were about to go overseas! They'd been happily married for so long, and this just came out of absolutely nowhere!” Nick gasped through his tears.

“Alex is helping her plan the funeral at the moment. Sarah and her sister are absolutely devastated, obviously. They're going to use his life insurance to invite absolutely everyone to the funeral, and meet each and every one of his plans for his remains,” he murmured into Leon's shirt.

The brunet straightened suddenly, meeting his red-rimmed eyes to Leon's, “It got me thinking, and I just - is it selfish for me to think about us when this is happening to Sarah's sister?” he questioned earnestly.

Cautiously, Leon responded, “No. What do you mean thinking about us?”

“About what will happen when one of us goes,” Nick whispered. At Leon's silence, he continued, “I- I tried to start gathering information and putting together a plan, but the options are pretty limited for an unmarried couple.”

Immediately, easily, as if commenting on the weather, Leon supplied, “Let's get married, then.”

Nick surged upwards into a seated position, his incredulous eyes trained on the blonde’s, “Wh- what?”

“Let's get married,” Leon restated calmly.

Nick gaped silently for a few long moments, “Are you - are you for real?”

The blonde laughed gently and kissed Nick's hand, “Of course I am. I love you more than anything in the world. We've talked about this, we both know we want to get married, it's been a welcome inevitable for most of our lives. If this whole situation is stressing you out so much, let's get married!”

Still processing, the brunet shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Just so I'm clear,” he said. “You,” he pointed a finger at Leon, “want to marry me?” he gestured to himself.

“Of course,” the blonde replied. “I've wanted to marry you since we were 15. You're it for me. I love you.”

“Okay,” Nick whispered slowly. “Okay. We'll get married! We're engaged!”

Leon drank in the sight of his FIANCE’s pleased grin and rising flush. God, he'd marry this man a million times if he could. He thanked the universe for allowing him this little piece of heaven on earth.

The blonde's musings were interrupted by a pointed throat clearing from the other. Looking up at Nick's persistent flush and attempted serious facial expression, he smiled again.

“I do hope you realise that, while we are officially engaged now, I still expect a lavish proposal that I can brag to Alex about,” the brunet stated. “I want to bring tears to my Aunties’ eyes when I tell them about my fairytale proposal. You have 2 weeks to get your shit together.”

Giddy with laughter, Leon kissed Nick softly.

“I shall begin my search for a white horse, castle, and scenic ocean views tomorrow,” he promised. “For now, you need some sleep. Come back to bed."

~ O.M.A

Dark Romance Prompts:

"I don't think it's smart to go with them." "Good thing I'm not asking for your opinion, then."

"I love you." "That's all? Darling, I would destroy the world for you if you asked, love doesn't begin to cover it."

"Stop! You're killing them!" "They hurt you, it's what they deserve."

"Should we be doing this? What if we get caught?" "I won't let that happen."

"I need you to be safe. Please be safe." "I'll be fine."

"I can't exist without you." "I'm sure you could." "I would cease to exist if you left."

"What are you doing? It's late." "I'm planning out our deaths."

"You mean everything to me." "I love you, too."

"How did you find me?" "I memorized the streets you frequent in case something like this happened."

"I want you to stay here, with me." "I..." "It would mean so much to me if you stayed."

"I don't want you to touch me!" "You'll get over that soon enough."

"You expect me to care about you when you kidnapped me? Go to hell!" "It was for your own good, it had to be done!"

"I keep thinking about it. The kiss, I mean." "Do you want to do it again?"

"Put the gun down, sweetheart. You don't even know how to shoot it." "I'm about to find out."

"I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry. Please, talk to me."

"They're not a bad person! Just because they aren't a saint doesn't mean they're the devil!"

"I want to stay." "Do you mean that? You tried that last time, and it didn't end well." "I mean it."

"Who was that?" "Oh. A friend of mine." "Just a friend?"

"Isn't this wrong?" "What? Breaking the law? Depends on if you find it wrong. I don't."

"At least try to look like you're having fun." "With you? Fat chance."

i'm not a big reader in this genre, so i hope these are what you wanted, anon! it was fun to do <3

[replicantdeviancy]

Connor rolled his coin over his knuckles and back again; thinking. He was thinking, sitting idly at his desk and reviewing case information, except his LED flickered away at his temple. He had a question. It took him a solid 20 seconds (impressive, really) to decide he wanted to ask it. "I think we should go back to the crimescene." More of a request, really - they'd JUST gotten back. "We missed something. I'd like to go over the dimensions of the room again. We could /solve/ it, Lieutenant."

                     @wasscared | Prompted Inbox Submission | Always Accepting

                  Thick fingers drummed heavily across the projected keyboard of his desk in slow succession, almost meandering yet purposeful as a report slowly manifested on the screen before him. Hank Anderson had never been much of a typist, even when he grew up around the time of the true birth of the internet & the arguable apex of the digital frontier, technology had never been much of his thing. Nevertheless, he managed, dutiful as he filled out his report from the recent homicide scene traversed by himself & his android partner. A mug of coffee occasionally brought to his lips almost like an automatic compulsion, Hank’s concentration rarely strayed from the screen, cerulean blue affixed forward. Everyone now & then his gaze dipped towards the pictures spread out on his desk, the screen of his cellphone left within arms reach. The coroner should have submitted his report soon, he suspected. Hank wanted his report filed as toxicology might have held the key on the case.

                  It wasn’t as if he didn’t trust Connor’s judgement on the matter - rather that the android couldn’t legally extract samples for analysis the same as the forensics team could. Maybe that was a good thing; boundaries that kept the other officers from getting too nervous. Even after the revolution - especially after the revolution - people were anxiously anticipating their jobs would be taken over by androids. It was understandable that generic positions were at risk front he very start, but once independence & free will were realized in autonomy, androids which had been assigned certain tasks were not necessarily inclined to remain. Hank often wondered why Connor stayed after all was said & done. The kid really did like being a detective, enough to go through all the legal red tape. Maybe Hank also liked the company, liked Connor’s attitude & work ethic. He had gone all out & put his ass on the line to keep the android on, after all, even if he did catch the ire of most of the bullpen.

                  Then again, that was where those boundaries came into play. As an official officer of the DPD, Connor was limited to the bounds of his position, though neither were known for exactly playing by the rules. Regardless, the specialized trade positions seemed to be safeguarded for now. One could only imagine what the future would bring, especially as Markus & Jericho still continued to rally for equality between their peoples.

                  Drawn from his musings betwixt the monotony of the work ahead, those punctuated taps ceased & Hank cast a gaze over his shoulder, over the thin barrier that separated their desks, & squared a look with his partner.   ❝  Missed something? The fuck are you talkin’ about? ❞    Colorful as his speech often was - though it was not often stated how articulate Hank could be - there was no malice nor ill feelings in his voice. A bit of hazing, yes, but this was common between them. They were comfortable with the teasing; always had been. Callous remarks had almost become words of endearment or encouragement, but rarely were their offensive remarks serious. Connor had learned sarcasm early, even pre-deviancy. Hank wanted to believe he was responsible for corrupting his clean cut, unassuming partner.

                   ❝  You’re not going screwy on me already, are you? Didn’t think I was going to have to use the warranty on my partner this quick - Tech these days really does have a fail rate of about a year… ❞   A stupid kind of smirk slowly spread over the seasoned cop’s features, deepening the wrinkles around his eyes in a most endearing way. There had been something of chuckle not quite enunciated in Hank’s words, a knowing look in his eyes. With the aid of his feet the Lieutenant pushed away from the desk just a little, enough to turn & face Connor proper. Suddenly the teasing air was gone & a more attentive, though not entirely serious one took it’s place. Elbows rest atop the glass, forearms crossed as he leaned forward just a little. The posture made Hank look bigger than he really was, like a bear in waiting. There was something protective in his stare; the same consistent hint of encouragement.

                   ❝  What are you thinking, Con? Talk to me. ❞   They had only just returned no less than an hour ago, having completely gone over everything present at the time. As per usual, Hank had allowed Connor free reign & the two doubled over each other’s tracks, taking in their own perspectives - one of experience, one of technology - & met in the middle. Hank was the one to handle speaking with families & witnesses at the scene, as there was still an overarching sense of unrest around androids within the city. But he was unleashed on occasion, when Hank deemed it a benefit to their investigation. Sometimes, a little intimidation did a world of good when coaxing information out of an unwilling participant & Connor just did something to people psychologically that Hank could never do. This case, however, had felt different. This wasn’t the typical home invasion or wife murders husband for a previously unknown life insurance policy or the like.

                  The Lieutenant had felt it, too, & while he opted to say nothing he had been waiting for Connor to say something in his stead. The kid needed to learn to push more. Well, maybe not too much more. Connor did have a fucking mouth on him at times.

[stevviefox]

And wishing I knew all languages so figuring out the most accurate subject headings and call numbers would be a breeze!

constantly torn between "i wish I could magically learn this language immediately and speak it perfectly" and "part of language acquisition is the process, and learning it immediately wouldn't have as much meaning or significance to me"