#but instead of asking for them to cook it more

[darknight3904]

𝘐𝘴 𝘐𝘵 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘠𝘦𝘵?

𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵 𝘹 𝘍𝘦𝘮!𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: 𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘺.

𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭 & 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 (2024).

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵.

𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦.

𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳.

𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 2.4 𝘬

𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 / 𝘔𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵

Logan dislikes December. He always has. From the over priced gifts to the over played music, who could forget the biting cold. He hated it all. One of the things he hated most had to be some of the desserts people tried to pass off as edible.

"Get that out of my face." He growls as you try to feed him a forkful of something Al made

"One taste, Logan." You groan

"Don't like fruitcake. Makes me sick." He grumbles, "You eat it."

"But what if she screwed it up. Like those cookies she made that she used salt instead of sugar in?" You pout

"So I'm your guinea pig?" He asks with a sigh

"No! You're my loving boyfriend who will try Al's cooking for me."

"Nice try, bub." Logan takes the fork from your hands and set it back down on the plate, "I'm not dying of food poisoning."

You scoff, like food poisoning would be the thing to take him out.

"Hey, do we have any more lights? I think this strand is broken." Laura asks as she digs through boxes of decorations

"Uhh...I think we had a few more strands somewhere." You say, leaving Logan's side to help the girl with her decoration.

For whatever reason, you and Laura had insisted on not only buying an enormous tree but also that the entire apartment needed to look like an elf threw up in it. Odd little decorations had accumulated in every spare surface of the house. Even Logan's favorite coffee mug had been replaced by a Santa-shaped one that Wade had found at some store. He was pretty sure he was living in a nightmare.

"Do you think he's still scowling over the fruitcake?" You ask

"Probably. I bet his face is doing that dumb thing where it-"

"You two know I can hear you, right?" Logan asked, entering the living room and plopping down on the couch

"If you're not going to eat, can't you help?" You ask

"Help with what?" He sighs

You toss a big ball of tangled-up lights for the tree into his lap. Yes, this really was a nightmare he was stuck in.

Another issue Logan had was gift-giving. Not because he didn't think people deserved gifts, but he never knew what to buy. He'd been alive for nearly 200 Christmases and he still struggled with gift-giving. How's that for bad luck?

He already had something for nearly everyone in his life. Al was getting a container of that hair stuff she liked, Wade and Vanessa were getting matching Hello Kitty sweatshirts, hell he even found a toy for Mary sitting in a discount bin at the grocery store. Now, the two biggest struggles in his life, You and Laura.

Laura had asked for new games for her Switch but Logan had a suspicion you bought them already. So, here he was standing in a Macy's in the Young Women's section, hoping something would catch his eye for the teen in his life. Most of the clothes were either ugly or not her style.

Holy shit, there was no way that qualified as a top. Logan wouldn't let Laura two steps out the door in something like that. That had to be an undershirt or something...right?

An ugly sweater catches his eye. Perhaps he could get her a gag gift. There was a sweater with an overweight cow drinking beer. That seemed decent.

"Excuse me, son. I need to get by."

Logan glances down to see a little old lady pushing a shopping cart. He steps to the side and easily lets her slide past.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" He blurts out to her

"Of course!" She smiled

"I got this teen girl at home. I need gift ideas." He sighs, "She's not the girliest and I can't figure it out."

The woman stands there for a second and thinks it over. A small snap of her wrinkled fingers cut through the air.

"How about shoes? Girly girl or not, every young girl likes a new pair of shoes every once in a while."

Logan thought about it, what shoes did Laura even wear? Usually, she was in that black pair of boots. Surely this huge store had something like that.

"Sounds perfect." He nods, "Do you have any ideas for my girl?"

"Oh well, what does she like?" The woman asks

What do you like? He swears he knows yet his brain is empty right now. You like him, that's for sure, "She likes me. I think"

"You're a bit empty-headed, aren't you?" The woman chuckles

Logan slowly nodded in agreement, normally an insult like that would have him simmering but he couldn't fight this old woman. She looked like she was 90.

"Well, when I was young, I always liked receiving a nice pair of pajamas. Or, a candle that smells like cookies. Honestly, I still like getting those things. One of my favorite things though to get was a day of peace and quiet. I used to tell my husband Howard to clean the house and take the kids out in the snow so I could take a long bath and read a book."

Logan thanks the woman, who he learns her name is Darlene, and goes off to find a pair of boots for Laura. He guesses on the size and shoves the gift receipt in the box just in case. He feels a bit unsuccessful as he walks back to the apartment he shares with Laura and you. He had one day left. Christmas Eve was tomorrow and you had wanted to bake cookies and watch movies all day.

He stashed the gifts under the bed, making a mental note to wrap them tonight after you passed out in bed. He tossed the idea around his brain of just giving himself as a gift to you, he'd like that if you did that for him. Honestly, it was the perfect gift for him. Of course, it seemed lamer coming from him now since he had done that for your birthday. Sure, the sex had been great but he wanted to give you something better.

Darlene had suggested pajamas but all you ever wore were his t-shirts to bed, that or nothing. You already had a huge collection of candles, and Laura really wasn't that chaotic so he didn't see any need to keep her away from you.

Fuck, what was he going to do?

The loud slam of the front door has him groaning. You were back from work, and he was still empty-handed in the gift department.

"How was work?" Laura asks

"Good. I gave Matt his gift early since he is driving to his parent's house for the next few days. Oh! I also saw the cutest kitten in that Petshop's window. An itty bitty orange one, looked like he was a few weeks old." You sigh dreamily

Logan officially had an idea. Perhaps it was a bad one, cats never did like him. Oh, fuck it, it beats not having a gift.

The next day, he sets out early. Laura is still snoring in her bed and you've gone off to help Vanessa with something. It's the perfect time to sneak a cat into the apartment.

The pet store is just opening as he arrives. The single employee looks like he'd rather be anywhere else as he welcomes Logan to the store with a monotone voice. So much for the Christmas spirit.

"Hey, there was an orange kitten here. Where is it?" Logan asked looking around an empty cage that was labeled Cats

"What?" The guy asked, not listening

"The orange kitten." Logan huffs, "I want to buy him."

"Oh, he was sold last night. Some lady came in, said her kids wanted a cat for Christmas." The guy says

"What?" Logan asks

"He's gone, man." The guy snorts

"Well, when do you get more?" Logan asks he can feel his blood pressure rising but he took a deep breath.

"More what?" The guy asks dumbly

"Cats! When do you get more fucking cats?!" Logan angrily slams his hand on the counter, "I need one for my girl. Any color I don't give a shit!"

"Oh, not for a while. Probably after the new year. The holiday season, those kittens go fast." The guy shrugs, "The shelters don't really give us too many at a time anyway."

Logan wipes a hand over his face with a groan, "You're really unfuckinghelpful."

Back outside, Logan's legs carry him to the bar he always went to when he was stressed. Two glasses of whiskey deep he's still giftless. It was starting to look like he was going to be the gift. Maybe he could borrow that giant bow Wade had, wrap it around his waist, and surprise you. He was so fucking lame.

Logan stumbles back out onto the sidewalk. Thoroughly drunk, he thinks about hiding in Wade and Al's apartment until this Christmas is over. Seriously, is it New Year's yet? He was losing his damn mind over this entire month.

Down a back alleyway, he pukes into a dumpster. He might've overdone it this time. How long was he even at the bar? You were so going to chew into him about this. A loud crash behind him had him jumping. He spins around, ready for some fight. Instead, little pawprints in the snow catch his eye. They lead to the smallest drain pipe Logan's ever seen. He kneels down, feeling the snow soak into his pants as he peers into the pipe. A little black and white kitten with yellow eyes stares back at him.

Maybe he wasn't entirely fucked this Christmas after all.

"Hey, bub." He greets the kitten, "Wanna c'mon out?"

He sticks a finger into the drain pipe and recoils when the kitten slices it open with a claw.

"Motherfucker!" He curses at the sudden, unexpected pain. The cat hisses from inside the pipe and Logan groans.

He sticks his face closer to the pipe and the kitten backs up a few small steps.

"Listen here, you little shit stain. You're going to save my ass tomorrow morning, so get out here. Or so help me I'll- "

The animal mockingly meows in his face.

A can of tuna from the corner store, and multiple scratches later, Logan is victorious. The black and white kitten has been secured. Logan has it tightly bundled up in his jacket, in an effort to not only keep it warm but also keep it from scratching his eyes out.

When he reaches the apartment, he pushes the door open and calls your name. Lucky for him, you're still out with Vanessa. He enters the bathroom and shuts it behind him.

"Bath time you little monster. I can't have you stinking tomorrow up."

The kitten, despite it's size is elusively strong. It wiggles out of Logan's grasp multiple times and somehow manages to have his entire shirt soaked from the water that he's filled the sink with.

"It's warm water. Just gotta rinse the soap off." He reasons with the animal as it scratches at the door.

"Is someone in here?" Laura's voice calls

"Yeah, It's me. Bathroom!" He yells back

The bathroom door swings open just as he snatches the kitten back up and Laura stares at him in bewilderment.

"What are you doing? Is that a cat?"

"No, he's the devil. Help me rinse it." Logan huffs

To his dismay, Laura is able to get the cat to stay relatively still under the running water as she rinses the soap off.

"Where did you find a kitten? That local pet store is sold out." She says

"You know that bar a few blocks away?" He asks

"The one you go to when you stress drink?" Laura asks, her eyes narrowing in suspicion

Logan shoots her a look but nods, " I found him in a drain pipe nearby."

Laura coos down at the little animal as she wraps a big towel around it.

"What's its name?" She asks as she dries it off

"I dunno. Frank?" He shrugs sitting down on the edge of the tub

"Not everything can be named Frank," Laura judges him

"Alright, fine." He huffs, and a wreath that you hung on the bathroom door catches his eye. Jingle bells that gleam in the light are decorated with holly and berries adorn the wreath.

"Jingle. Or maybe Bell." He says staring at the wet kitten who seems hypnotized by Laura.

"Sounds good to me." She smiles at the kitten who meows back, "Hello, Jingle."

Logan sighs in relief and stands up, "Hide Jingle in your room."

"Where are you going?" Laura asks as he exits the bathroom

"Jingle needs a place to shit. We need cat stuff."

The next day, Logan is woken up by you gently kissing his neck.

"Morning." He mumbles

"Good morning." You smile, "It's Christmas."

He nods with a small grin.

"C'mon time to get up." You huff and stand up to pull at his arm

"What are you five?" He groans as you fail to move him

"Yes. Now get up."

Presents opened and a million pictures taken, Logan feels even more tired than when he went to bed last night.

To his glee, Laura loves the boots, and he's even managed to get the right size. Darlene as it turns out is full of good ideas.

"Last one." He says to you, "Put your hands out and close your eyes."

You give him a look like he's about to prank you.

"Wade put a cicada in your hands one time and now you distrust everyone?" He asks

"Yes. That was the scariest moment of my life." You affirm

"Just shut your eyes." Logan huffs

He has somehow gotten Jingle to stay in a little basket he found in the closet and he gingerly places it into your hands. The kitten shifts and nearly tips the basket over as you open your eyes.

"Logan!" You gasp, looking between him and the black-and-white fuzz ball.

"Like it? That orange one was gone when I got to the store. But I-"

You're jumping off the couch and tossing your arms around his broad shoulders. Jingle still sitting in his basket.

"I love him." You smile, leaning in for a kiss

"Good. You have no idea what I went through to get him for you." He presses a chaste kiss to your lips, aware that Laura is watching and just a sentence away from teasing him.

"What's his name?" You ask as he lets you go, "Or are you a girl?"

Logan hadn't bothered to check as he shrugs and you pick the kitten up, lifting it's little tail up.

"A boy...I think" You say

"We were going with Jingle." He says looking at Laura who nods, "But you can change it."

"I think that's perfect." You smile, petting the animal's head.

Luckily this cat likes you a lot more than it liked him yesterday. Logan's eyes narrow at the way the cat stares at him, what was this animal's deal?

"So how'd you get him?" You ask curiously

"Would you believe me if I said I nicely talked to him and then let him follow me home?"

"No, not in a thousand years."

Logan chuckles as you smile back at him. Alright, maybe the holidays aren't so bad. He still thinks New Years could come quicker though.

Next Extra

I was feeling like I needed Christmas when I wrote this. Fun fact, originally I was going to have Logan tell the reader he loved them with a kitten at Christmas. Scrapped that for the scene in the yard at the school. :)

Also, I've gotten a couple of anons sliding into my inbox asking if I'm doing kinktober or anything like that. I am not unfortunately as I have a busy college schedule that is somehow getting even busier... that being said I do still plan to write just not on a daily basis.

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[seungkwanniee]

pairings : boyfriend!seventeen x gn!reader

warnings : mention of food , being lefted out , some cursing

genre : fluff , angsty (w/ happy ending)

synopsis : when they get jealous because you have a close bond with another member

an : last post went so well, im so happy yall liked it 😭

〔masterlist〕

SCOUPS 』

he is the typs to get sooo jealous

so, when you go visit them at the dance pratice room and the frist one that you hug it's not him but Dino, he is already sulking

he looks at you quickly messing with Dino hair while he waits you to notice his presence too with arm folded

"yah~, what are you doing"

he needs to speak for himself when you're taking your sweet time with the maknae you seem to love more than him

you don't even need to turn around to know that his lips are pouted because of how his words are sounding

(I have in mind that one video of Scoups sulking bc the members didn't wished him hb at midnight lol)

but deep down he is smiling because he loves the way you are so close with is friends

JEONGHAN 』

on the spot, he doesn't say anything

he would just sit on the couch with arm folded while he side eye you and Seungkwan cooking something in the kitchen

but don't ever think you will get away with that

he start to ignores your calls from the kitchen when you finally decided to give him attention too but, oh right now it's too late

he will not eat the food you prepared

or to tease you, he will eat it just to compliments Seungkwan skills

he would be a tease and ignores you until you are on your knees asking for forgiveness

this is the Jeonghan effect

he isn't even that jealous, he just wanted to tease you because you made him bored

JOSHUA 』

boi is so jealous be he will not show it

he looks at you and Jeonghan having an animated conversation about an anime he doesn't even know the existence

he feels a litte left out :(

he eat his meal in silence with a long face but when you turn to see what he is doing he will just go with his ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ face

but under the table he's clenching his fists

when Jeonghan is gone, he would be still upset and from his mouth wasn't escaping a single word

and even when you ask him what's wronf, he would come up with some excuses that you, ofcurse, don't take

he is hugging you after he found the courage to say he didn't liked your behavior

JUN 』

he looks around confused with his mouth slightly open

why his s.o. is sitting beside Minghao and not him, their boyfriend?

jun is absent the whole hangout because his mind is flying too far and thousand scenarios are going through it

he looks at your direction maybe too much, you two aren't even interacting but still

you feel his eyes on you and notice his frown expression

when you sit beside him, he feels like a kid that just got the toy of his dream

his eyes are sparkling

and when you say you got his jealousy, he will not admit it in words but his blushed cheeks will

HOSHI 』

don't mess with him when he is jealous/angry

yk that one video of him being angry with the members? yeah, well he is exactly like this

he is going insane the moment he see how you and woozi are sharing the same meal

you ofcurse asked him frist, but when he rejected you didn't thought there was something bad on asking him instead

when hoshi stands up and slams on the floor his seat, everyone turn and look at him shocked

you rarely see him angry, thats why you didn't though about your action twice. You really thought he wouldn't mind

after he forgived you and letted you promise you wouldn't do it again, like kids do, he would still pouts a little for the whole week

WONWOO 』

he is also so silent about it, but his expression every now and then shows perfectly how he is feeling

his golden retriver bsf is always so happy and close with you, but today he was doing a little too much

or maybe he was being more sensitive today

but in anycase, it was Mingyu fault

he is sorry for you that you have to listen all his yapping about everything (he is just mad jealous)

but you enjoy all his yapping too, you two are basically gossipping togheter

and that is tesing his patience because today you two were supposted to read that one book he wanted to read with you for so long

"how much this is going to last?"

he tries to ask with a soft tone, but he is so annoyed that he can't hide it

at the end, you ends Mingyu never ending yap and lay on your boyfriend lap reading that unfamous book

WOOZI 』

for once he is feeling a little more clingy today but his plans are all ruined guess because of who?

Hoshi was in his studio right when you arrived to visit him

you didn't done that much to greet Woozi as you know he doesn't like kissing or stuff like that in front of people

but what you don't know is that he would kiss you right in front of Hoshi because today he is so needy

he tries to give the third wheel boy some suggesting, but he is not leaving as he is too immersed in the silly compositions on Woozi's computer

just to add fuel you sit beside him watching how he is messing on the computer being so invested in this project

you two were laughing uncontrollably at the shit he was making

but when woozi calls you aside and tells you to find a way to get hoshi out of the studio, you get the clingy mood he is in today and practically kick him out

you are excused tho, when you'll find Woozi in a clingy mood again

DOKYEOM 』

he is OFFENDED and ofcurse his iconic pout is here

why his scoups hyung was wrapping your shoulder with his arms?

he knows you two have a close bond since you are childhood friends, but still...

leave him, he is jealous anyway for some reasons

what he didn't know is that you two were intentionally teasing him, but he doesn't notice the looks you were give him as he is now too busy at acting upset

you just wanted to see his cute pout and his nochalant act he builds everytime

"dokyeom-ah, you okay?" Jeonghan love to tease, so he jumps in

"yeah, why I wouldn't" said with a pout still on his lips

liar

MINGYU 』

a pouted and clingy dog, he isn't even mad he would be just sad

he watches how Wonwoo touches your fingers while he is trying to teach you how to play

at frist, he didn't even notice it as he was too invested on what was playing on his phone

but when he raises his head once again and finally realize how Wonwoo's hands were touching yours, he is pouting for sure

he puts away his phone and now his eyes are glued to you two

he decided to mark his territory and clinges by your side, his arm wrappped around your waist and his head layed on your shoulder

"i'll teach her" Mingyu says with his upset voice

"you don't even know how to hold a controller, Mingyu" roasted as always

MINGHAO 』

why the fuck another man is messing with his beloved

he is going crazy when he noticed how Jun is trying to make you laugh so hard, and it makes him even more angry how you laugh at every single joke

c'mon, he is way more funnier you don't need another man doing his job

he never walked to your side faster

he is acting all nochalant with his annoyed smirk writted on his face

his arm wrapped around your waist while Jun is just too involved into the story to notice the annoyance in Hao's face

"Jun, don't you think you are yapping nonstop?" he is sassy bitch

Minghao laughs a little when Jun make a shocked face, just now getting that he was being jealous

now all your attention is his

SEUNGKWAN 』

he is jealous as fuck and he isn't afraid to show it

because what do you mean Vernon growned the habit to touch ears like him and now he was doing it on you

only him, your boyfriend, can do it to you

since Vernon it's a pretty cold person, that means you two have a really really close bond like siblings, but he is still jealous

he was side eyeing Vernon that at frist didn't even noticed

but when Seungkwan come behind him and grab his hand he goes like "oh"

Vernon would be so embarassed and Seungkwan just laughs at him

now he is messing with you ears, leave them alone please

VERNON 』

he is disconnected but even when he notice something a little strage, he is nonchalant

he sees how dokyeom acts around you, but he is a sun everytime and everywhere so he doesn't mind at all

but today was a bit different, he wasn't nonchalant like the other times because you two had an argoument right before coming to dk's house

so you are basically ignoring him all the time, not giving him a look

at this point he got that you are teasing him, clinging more than the usual to dokeyeom

and when he was sick and tired of that stupid act, he suddently grabs your wrist and brought you to the other room

refuses to let you go, not until you promise him to stop with that act

DINO 』

his confused and frowned face goes hard

why his hyung was acting like that all of the sudden?

it was usual hanging out around the boys too and he is aware that you are pretty close with Joshua but not that much

but by looking at your face, he is guessing that you are confused too

he is like "hyung, what are you doing?"

at this point, the evil twins can't hold in anymore and they brust into laughter

seeing their youngest one standing up for theirself it seems too hilarious

and since you are their maknae s.o., they are bulling you too

[fuji-sen]

the 'evil imposter' just wants to be a baker!

Prologue: The Food turned Imposter?!

Part 8: Buttery Mamon

[ part 7 ] || [ masterlist ] || [ part 9 ]

I keep forgetting to add trigger warnings uhhh: one scene has you panicing and nearly falling into an anxious mess, ptsd of course and the general sagau obsession with the creator.

divider is made by @/saradika-graphics

While Kaeya was finishing the last of the skewers you were busy near the stove, using the stocked ingredients in the panty when Kaeya reassured you it was fine, that he'd handle it and just hoped you'd make it worth his while.

Rolling your eyes at his teasing, you knew he meant it when he said that he'll take the brunt if Adelinde or Diluc came to scold them or rather her, for using the ingredients in the kitchen.

A simple snack was what you preferred, something light that would contrast to the meaty skewers that Kaeya had provided for the both of you. You were craving something sweet and soft, so you decided on a pastry. Though you initially thought of something cold, like ice cream or sorbet or maybe pudding, you don't think they have any ice here unless you wished to go to Mondstadt, Kaeya had a cryo vision but it would be rude to ask him to make you some ice during your first meeting.

So some fluffy mamoms would have to do, and you could probably top it with some cheese or a bit more powdered sugar. And he could share it with the other workers as a light treat.

Kaeya watched as you quickly gathered the ingredients, and skillfully start. It was apparent that you were very experienced in cooking from the way you easily cracked the eggs without worry, and how you beat them with a whisk.

To think that you were the supposed imposter, instead of brewing chaos or using the fact that you look like the creator to your advantage, you were here, hiding your identity, talking about food with him.

It wasn't hard to notice, despite you well crafted lie of a background, he could see through it. He noticed the bandages on one of your arm, and peeking out of it was something purple, no doubt Scars from Lisa's electro fueled attacks. Then there was your mask, though you didn't take it off while you ate, you didn't noticed how the mask would flap around due to the wind, luckily letting him take a glimpse of your face.

It was uncanny how you mirrored the old statues of their Divine Creator. Had he been obsessed with pleasing the great God like Jean and Lisa were, he'd have easily killed you on the spot, labelling you as an imposter. But he wasn't like them. Although he respected the Great Creator, the origin of all, he wasn't blinded by such faith.

Perhaps there was a chance you were just a regular person caught up in a bad time in the wrong place.

Because as rarely as it happens, it does happen.

Hopefully he could convince the others about that, maybe with the Travelers help.

"How long will that take?" he asked as you popped whatever you were making in the oven. "Usually half an our, but since I'm using a less advanced oven I'm not sure. I'll have to watch it so it doesn't burn." You explained, wiping your hands with a rag.

He nodded in understanding, the smell of eggs and something buttery was filing the room, no doubt it was appetizing and enticing when even Adelinde curiously checked in on them.

"Oh Master Kaeya, you're still here. I would have thought you'd have scurry off somewhere like usual." She said with a smile, Adelinde was always smiling though, huh?"

"Ah I just had to stay for [Name]'s dish, what was it again?"

You shrugged, "It's simply some mamon, it's like a chiffon cake. And there should be enough for everybody." You added, facing Adelinde who chuckled, embarrassed of having been caught eying the baking pastry.

"That is very sweet of you, Thank you [name]." The blonde haired maid said and turned to Kaeya once again. The duo left the kitchen, holding a conversation that was no doubt confidential that someone like her, an outsider, shouldn't hear.

The smile on your face slowly disappeared, replaced with a calculating frown. "Kaeya probably knows I'm the person the other knights are looking for." You said to yourself, eyes casting down towards the mamon which were slowly rising up.

"I don't think he'll attack me unless I give him a reason." you interacting with him was like a gamble, you were easing your way in, waiting for a chance to ask, what did he think about this great creator?

There was a part of you expecting him to give a passive response or an answer that danced around your question. Because you knew of his lineage, you wondered how do the people of khaenri'ah view the creator, for they are the nation without a God.

Of course just when you were about to ask him the question you had carefully thought about, he was whisked away by Adelinde. Perhaps it was a sign for her to leave, that she shouldn't ask less she gave herself away.

You were preparing the glaze for the mamon, which was simply melted butter as well as the jar of honey and powdered sugar in case they wanted to top the chiffon bread with something a bit more sweeter.

Suddenly the door had burst open as Kaeya quickly grabbed her shoulders, the charismatic mask he had worn had slipped off for a moment, now replaced with something urgent. Your eyes widened in fear, as you felt your hands shake, was he going to kill you?

"You need to be extra careful, not only are the knights looking for you but the fatui delegates are as well." He told you which shocked you, was the reach of this so called great creator truly so magnificent to even make its way to Shezhnaya, a region you thought who was only devoted to the Tsaritsa?

He knew as well, Kaeya knew who you were- you pushed him away, backing until you hit the counter. "Don't" you practically pleaded "Don't hurt me!"

"I won't" he said, "I'm sorry I suddenly grabbed you" he quickly added realizing his mistake "but you need to listen to me. Jean wants you dead, as well as Amber, and Lisa and the other knights. They are convinced you are the imposter. And Jean is desperate enough to accept the Fatui's help."

"You understand what that means right?"

It just got more difficult, you felt yourself fall to the floor, your chest felt painfully suffocating. He cursed under his breath, mentally berating himself for losing his tact, his cool level-headedness as he crouched down.

"[Name]" he called out softly, stretching out his hand "I need you to calm down okay? can you do that? You need to breathe."

His voice fell on deaf ears, you covered your face with your hands, murmuring pleads of mercy, even if the pain was gone, even if the samachurl helped heal you, you still felt it, that electrocuting pain that traveled your body, it made you freeze, and cry, feeling so helpless as instead of being in the kitchen, it felt like you were in Jean's office.

The cold metal that touched your neck,

their uncaring eyes, and deaf ears that turned away from your cries and fears. .

the electro, the lightning that-

"You know, how about when all of this is just over, I treat you to some food."

". . . . ."

Your mutterings had stopped, as you tried so hard, straining your ears to just focus on Kaeya's voice. Ignoring Jean's and Lisa's who spat such poisonous words at you.

"Have you tried the moon pies here?" he asked, noticing your attention was slowly coming back as you broke free from the cage that was that night. Your small voice could be heard "I. . I don't really like meat pies."

Kaeya fought a grin "and here I thought you were a foodie." You pouted, rubbing your face, "meat pies are weird for me, I like apple pies more." you commented with a deep breath, your heart was still racing, and despite not being able to truly break away from that night, Kaeya's eye that stared into your soul told you that you'd be just fine.

"It'll be okay." he said quietly.

"Hopefully." you pitifully said and he corrected you,

"Definitely."

You and Kaeya heard the door open and close, and a rush of footsteps followed by Adelinde's loud greeting. "Master Diluc, you're home early!"

"Shit." Was the only thing you and Kaeya said, staring at the door and then at each other. You would be screwed if Diluc of all people had found you after all!

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦

Diluc raised a brow at Adelinde, she was usually on the less. . vocal side in her greetings. From the way she fidget and avoided making eye contact it meant that the maid was hiding something from him, which wasn't out of common.

Usually Adelinde, bless her heart, tried to help fix the relationship between him and Kaeya. Often that meant orchestrating surprises or uncanny coincidences where in the two would bump into each other and have to deal with something suspiciously or well, clearly crafted by the maid.

The red headed male sighed "Where's Kaeya?"

Adelinde sweated profusely, perhaps it was better to hide from Diluc to and claim later that she had been busy, curse her for being a bad liar. Usually she was better than this but because of the current situation, there was a whole lot of pressure.

"He-"

"Diluc!" Kaeya had strolled out of the kitchens, wine glass in hand as he nodded at Adelinde who sighed in relief. Perhaps by now the look-alike was gone, 'poor girl, to think she's being hunted down by her face' she couldn't help but sigh at the situation, eying the two brothers. They didn't usually agree with each other, but maybe, maybe they'll agree on this.

"Kaeya, what are you doing here? as far as I know Jean had ordered all Knights to focus on the search for the Imposter." Diluc crossed his arms, giving the other male a look. "Oh please Diluc, do you really support their decision about this whole. ." he trailed off, acting as if he was trying to find the right words "witch hunt?"

The red hair was silent at his question, and Kaeya couldn't help but let a grin fall on his mouth, of course Diluc would object to this. He was just as righteous at their dad. . no Mr. Crepus was. "Does it matter? as much as a witch hunt is. . overkill. I understand Jean's sentiments that an imposter running around in Monstadt is a grave sign."

"Are you willing to risk the chance of harming or even killing an innocent person, or worse, the real creator then?" Kaeya asked, swirling the contents of his wine glass, watching the blood colored liquid to move like a whirlpool. Silence was the only answer he got.

"Why are you vouching for this imposter?" Diluc asked, eyes narrowing "Have you met them?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not."

Knowing he wouldn't get a clear answer from him, not with his skill of dancing around with his words and controlling his body languages, Diluc resorted to turning to Adelinde who flinched.

"Adelinde."

"Yes, Master Diluc?"

Adelinde tried her best to smile at Diluc as if she was unaware of what he was talking about. If the situation wasn't dire, Kaeya would have laughed at her failed attempt to appear innocent.

"Did the imposter came here?"

"My Master Diluc, I don't know about any Imposter." She said. Diluc sighed, and decided to investigate, he headed straight towards the kitchen, the same place Kaeya had left in a hurry. From his peripheral Vision he could see the cavalry captain hold the wine glass tighter.

He swung the door open, ignoring Adelinde's calls. The kitchen door and window was left open, it was warm inside, suggesting the oven had been used. The smell of butter filled his nose and he turned his gaze to the table finding something akin to small cakes shaped like tarts.

Hurried footsteps followed after, a sigh of relief left Kaeya's mouth. "What did you do?" Diluc immediately responded with frustration, turning to the cryo wielder with a heated gaze, hand gripping Kaeya's shirt.

"I merely let an innocent victim go. Don't you know the saying? innocent until proven guilty." Kaeya easily responded turning to Adelinde who clearly looked worried that the two might fight. "Adelinde, thank your for your assistance, I'm sorry you had to lie. Why don't you leave me and Diluc to talk things out."

"but. ."

"Please Adelinde." Diluc added, despite his frustrations, his face softened as he turned to the maid who nodded, lips trembling due to the conflicting emotions.

". . ."

"If you wish to risk your life for someone, then so be it." Diluc sighed letting go of his collar. A hand combing through his flaming red locks. "So what have you gathered about this person?"

"They're certainly have the face of the creator, that I will confess however" Kaeya approached the table, setting down the wine glass as his eyes glanced at the chiffon cake, "mamon" her voice lingered in his mind. "she's no imposter, she didn't intentionally deceive anyone. Besides, is it a person's fault for the face they are born with?"

"That would be like blaming a person for the crimes of their parents. . or blaming a person for their heritage. ."

". . ."

Diluc looked tired, his usual mask of indifference had disappeared as he took a seat. "I take it the meeting with Jean was. . less than favorable?"

"I suppose that would be the correct word to describe it." he admitted, Jean had been acting weird, it wasn't just her. Lisa, the usual lazy or too relaxed librarian was rather energetic in her plans to find, catch and kill the imposter. Amber as well was leading the knights to searching the region. "I think she's trying to compensate for not being favored by the Creator." Kaeya offhandedly mentioned, quickly raising his hands however at his brother's penetrative glare.

Kaeya gulped but continued on, "Listen, there's no use letting our personal relationships cloud our judgement. You know how Jean has been when the creator has manifested in her but never truly favored her."

It was hard to deduce when it started, their memories had begun to feel clouded, controlled, and rewritten. Numerous vision users in Mondstadt had felt an awaken, briefly being covered with a golden light, their bodies controlled by someone powerful, a being they would come to realized as the Divine Creator who had awoken from their long slumber, ready to guide the people.

Their favor came in many forms, often or really, it was only the vision holders did the Creator cast their gaze on. The first to be awakened was Amber, followed by Lisa and Kaeya and from then it branched on from Bennett, to Noelle, to Razor and more. Diluc himself had been one of the few to not experience this awakening, but he wasn't bothered by it or at least if he was, he was good at hiding it to the point that Kaeya wasn't entirely sure of how he felt with not being experiencing the Creator's control.

Jean had also been awakened, however unlike the others who felt the Creator's favor and guidance in forms of weapons and artifacts, she didn't experience or receive anything. It was like the Creator casted her gaze on the acting grandmaster only for a moment, and decided that she was not worth any effort.

Nobody outright commented on it, the civilians of course were not aware. The only reason why Diluc knew despite not being in the knights of Favonius was because the blonde haired knight drunkenly confessed her feelings of doubts. Seemed that the pressure of being the acting grand master, the Stormterror problem and the neglect from the Divine Creator had made the woman he once respected spiral down in a pit of self-destruction.

"Here, have some." Noticing how sad or at least worried Diluc was becoming, Kaeya took one of the mamoms and force-fed Diluc. "Omph-" The man glared at the cavalry captain who shrugged, slapping his hand away Diluc bit into the chiffon break cake and instantly melted at the buttery goodness.

It was very soft and warm, a hint of sweetness and definitely butter. "This is. . good. Who made this?"

"The so called imposter." To his credit, Diluc didn't spit it out. It was too late anyways. So he begrudgingly continued to eat it, despite assuming there might be something bad in it.

"I hate you."

Kaeya rolled his eyes at his brother's reactions, "Diluc it's not poisoned. I was watching her the entire time she made them!"

I always wondered how Khaenri'ah played with the sagau elements considering they are canonically the nation without a God. So for now, they would no doubt respect the great Creator who is seen as the origin of everything, but since they managed well without a God, perhaps they aren't as obsessed as the other acolytes. That's why its interesting for me to write Kaeya's pov about the creator. But since he grew up with the Ragnvindr, a family who no doubt respected and paid tribute to the Creator, he'd probably have more respect to the Creator than most Khaenri'ans.

Current compiled suggestions to name the pyro slime <3

Fuji_Sen has suggested! Lava Cake or "Java" based on the food / coffee" Fuji_Sen has suggested! Monsieur Creme Brulee or "Creme" based on the food. @Fantasyhopperhea has suggested! Soleil or "Sol" @Cactus4226 has suggested! Ruru (Py-ro, ro -> ru -> ruru) @bunniotomia has suggested! Helios or "Hel" @airyravenmaid has suggested! Cinnamon or "Cinna" @kindofscenic has suggested! Pyrex from the glass or "Pyruru" @shyentsmissingink has suggested! Pyri or "Pyrico"

kinda wished there was more food based names, since of the whole foodie theme, but I kinda think Sol or Hel is cute too and Cinna.

also I have an idea like for a self aware or at least reader insert hsr

taglist:

@fantasyhopperhea @rhoswen-drake @cchiiwinkle @aman3kkun @coffee-or-hot-cocoa @bunniotomia @esthelily

@earth-to-name @fandomfan-102 @kh1ffy @jiyeons-closet @dragontammerz / @mercy-not-merci @aryuunachigiri @randomnatics @alexx197197 @keirennyx @vianitry @game-savvy @laviniadraws

[sweeteaacakes]

Okay I have this funny idea about WHB families that I love to share.

Imagine that one day MC is making desserts for the kings and their kids (the kings are in a meeting maybe), then when MC comes back from the meeting room, all the delicious cakes and candies are gone. Only the kids stand there with their 'innocent' eyes.

Already now who's the culprit, but MC couldn't just punish them, only then the kings come to the dining room, and know everything just by looking at the empty dishes and their kids puffy mouth ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

I absolutely need some shorts for each of the kings' reactions and how they gonna act (in my mind, Beelzebub would turn his kid upside down by grabbing their little legs, then just shake shake until all the candies fall out hoho (^∇^*))

♡》 『WHB || Kings & Their Children, Little Sweet Tooth』

┊ ➶ ｡˚ ° This was fun to write. I made reader deciding to cook/bake instead! It's somehow triggers curiosity to see how those ingredients would taste like. Especially those leftover bowl of chocolate 👀

»»-----------►

Satan

Satan was elated when he heard you were going to make them desserts that he couldn't wait for the meeting to be quickly done (he went, he made the point and then gone like how he came).

So finding out all of it was now in his child's tummy was enough to devastate him that he laid on the floor, face down and "silently” groaning and going through a different stage of grief every 5 seconds.

The nobles doesn't help either because one is praising your child for cuteness, the other is analyzing the situation and another is shouting badly filtered profanity

Oh, and! Please refrain your child from spitting out all the food because they feel so bad for their father now.

After reaching the acceptance phase, everything was shoved aside and Satan looked at you and your child saying:

“It's fine. It means it was good.” with his goofish smile

He can't let your hard work go to waste and he can't let it go off either. So he had the idea to help you instead with cooking another while sharing a recipe native to Gehenna along with the other nobles with your child watching in amazement at their teamwork in the kitchen.

It's a messy process but you get done with it along with the help of other nobles and you had sweets for a tea time!

Mammon

Mammon was eagerly waiting for the surprise you told him the other day. With the things you spent your money on and how he could smell the scent of pastry from the hallway leading to the kitchen of Tartaros, he could guess what the surprise was. But even more, it fills him with curiosity and tests his integrity.

Should he go in the kitchen and wrap his arms around you while you bake? Wait until the end when you give him your surprise? How will you serve it?

He leaned on the wall. His massive body that seems like a mountain blocking the way as he entertained himself how he can see your lovely face—

“AAHHHH!!!” until he heard you shrieking along with Eligos.

Mammon quickly rushed in the kitchen and found you on the ground, defeated, and Eligos bended on the table groaning.

In front of him there's the young prin. Cheeks puffed.

Munch… munch… munch… gulp!

Mammon burst into laughter, amused at his little one.

“Mammoooonnn….”

“Your Mejestyyyy.…”

You and Eligos both groaned.

Your work, all gone... in a bite.

“Someone just satisfied their greedy belly. I can't help but be amused.” Mammon grinned, lifting up the young prin to sit on his arms. The same for Eligos and you.

He wants to treat you to something nice.

Like a big banquet.

Leviathan

Leviathan loomed above your child looking down on them. You'd think he would scold them but WRONG!!

“Is it good?” He asked, kneeling on their height and stroking their heads. Your child nodded with exaggeration, cheeks puffed bouncing ups and downs with saliva threatening to drip from their mouth that Leviathan wiped away with his napkin.

He lifts them in his arm and waits for them to gulp it all down or in case they throw it up.

Later he will give them words of advice on why they should not stuff their mouth with lots of food and how to be respectful toward others.

After (gently) putting them on a time out and having your child out of vision, Leviathan's cool and calm expression falls down and looks at you with a face that looks frowning, angry and at the same time about to cry beautifully.

It was a plea. Please, can you go to make him another sweet? He will (try) to help you too :)

Beelzebub

Despite his title as the Glutton King, Beelzebub does know the word ‘moderation’. But not decency. What is that?

He was more than amused when he saw your child's face stuffed with sweets and he lifted them by the legs and shook him up and down as if he was trying to make a squirrel with a full mouth spit out the acorns.

You were telling him that you'd make a new one but it seems like he isn't gonna stop— until you hear a loud gulp and burp and your child's mouth is not puffed anymore.

Beel smacked his lips.

...

...

...

“Oh well. Let's just make a new one.” He said, putting down your child. He patted their head and gave them a spatula with melted chocolate as if he wasn't shaking them upside down a moment before.

You just gave up and went to retrieve the utensils and ingredients.

Lucifer

He wasn't surprised how much the young one could stuff in their mouth. Afterall, devils and even angels do that. Instead, he had a staring contest while your child was trying to munch all the sweets.

It was as if Lucifer was waiting to see what would happen next. Will they gulp it all? Will they throw it up?

Either way, if they end up feeling sick for eating too much Lucifer will take care of them by giving them drinks for digestion and easily eaten food.

Lucifer would gladly help you bake another sweet next time. He would love coming up and sharing his recipes with you and using some edible flowers in his garden.

And as for candies in the bowl and cookie jars, he made a little game that will subtly make them stop sneaking to devour. Paradise Lost's devils are very good when it comes to health and maybe with sprinkles of psychology.

Belphegor

It's been hours since you told him you were going to bake him some sweets. And he opened his eyes… Wait… how much time has passed? A day? Weeks? He looked at the clock. Almost two days or so…? Ah. A day.

Beleth has been absent a minute ago and hasn't come back so he can't ask anyone where you are right now. The kitchen, he guessed. Since you were rambling about baking something for him.

The little one isn't there to nag him either with random facts of the day….

He misses them.

He closed his eyes and started sleeping. His body felt light as the darkness engulfs him. Voices echoed and blurry movement in the darkness then became clear.

“Agh! What am I gonna do now… It took me all day…” You pouted, crying while poking the puffy cheek of the little one.

“Your Majesty?” Beleth called, making your head turn around left and right searching for him.

“Belphegor!? Where!??”

Meanwhile, the little prin just sleepily waved ‘hi’ at the direction Beleth was looking.

Now, that's a predicament… He doesn't want to move anymore and walks to kill himself for bothering to move a single nerve of his body or even thinking…

“Bring them to my room. With '3am menu',” he commanded.

Belphegor's presence vanished as he came. Beleth puffed a chuckle and a playful hiss.

Later, you're on Belphie's bed as Beleth said. A large tray is on the table full of sweets and savory snacks while Belphegor cradles your child who fell asleep. His other arm wrapped around your shoulder while you fed him.

“Next time, I'll keep them asleep with me so you can bake at peace…” He said, snuggling his cheek on your head.

»»———-　　———-«

[clarisse0o]

Camp Wiegman-Part 84

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternative Universe: Military School

Words: 5K

Masterlist

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Friday, July 1st; 8:30 AM – Ona and Lucy's apartment.

I hum while cooking my pancakes in the pan. It's early, but I couldn't sleep anymore. Instead of waking Lucy, who was peacefully sleeping, I decided to make myself useful. So, here I am, in front of the stove. After several mornings of Lucy teaching me how to make pancakes, I finally decided to try it on my own. It was the perfect time while everyone else was still asleep. At least I knew no one would disturb me or offer their help, thinking I wouldn’t succeed. For once, I wanted to do it all by myself. This solitary moment is deeply relaxing for me. I feel good, with only the sounds of cooking and the TV in the background. The music coming from it puts me in a good mood. I sing along, swaying my body to the rhythm. When my pancake is ready, I remove it and start on the next one. That's when two arms gently wrap around me.

"What a lovely sight this early in the morning," I hear Lucy whisper in my ear.

I smile and stop moving my hips to feel her press against my back.

"Good morning," I murmur.

"So, how dare you leave me alone in bed?"

She takes advantage of my hair being tied up in a messy bun to plant a kiss on my exposed neck. A shiver runs through me, but it's a delightful way to start the day.

"And you have the nerve to complain? You don't think twice about leaving me alone when you go for your runs."

She laughs, tightening her grip around me. My stomach flutters in response. Yeah, I could definitely get used to this kind of morning.

"You're right. Forgive me for putting you through that."

"I’m adapting. You’ve got to make some sacrifices if I want to enjoy my girlfriend’s athletic body."

Lucy laughs again and kisses my cheek. Then she steps aside to lean against the counter with her arms crossed.

"True."

"So, where’s my kiss?"

She smiles and leans in to meet my lips. I close my eyes to savor our first kiss of the day. These tender moments between us mean a lot. They're spontaneous, which makes our relationship even more special. I sincerely hope they will continue and help our love last.

"Are you satisfied now, princess?"

"More than ever."

"You make me so happy. But why didn’t you wake me?"

"You were sleeping so deeply. I didn’t want to disturb you, especially since you so rarely sleep in. Besides, I wanted to use the time to make breakfast by myself."

"I see. It smells delicious."

"Thanks."

I blush softly. She runs her hand along the back of my neck as she straightens up, glancing at my plate full of pancakes, ready to be eaten.

"I suppose I can’t have a taste yet?"

"No," I giggle. "We’re all waiting for my mom and Joan to wake up."

She pouts, but I stand firm.

"Alright, but you should at least cover them," she says as I add another pancake to the pile. "They’ll get cold by then."

"Can you do it for me, please?"

"Hmm."

Her hand slides down my back before her touch fades away. She covers the plate and starts setting the table. She knows I’m not in my usual state. In an hour and a half, I’ll finally find out the result of my exam. I’m grateful that she’s not pressing me about it. I finish the last pancakes, and just in time for my mom and Joan to make their appearance. Lucy has also finished her tasks. She’s prepared freshly squeezed orange juice and is getting the hot drinks ready.

"Good morning, girls."

"Hey. Did you sleep well?" I ask them.

"As well as ever. I could get used to this place, especially if we’re treated this nicely every day."

"Uh… I like you, but no thanks."

"Ona!" Lucy scolds me.

My mom chuckles. Even though things have mostly been patched up, if I leave home, it won’t be so she can stay here.

"No, Lucy, she's right. The two of us under one roof, it’d be fireworks."

"Maybe, but that’s no excuse."

"It’s fine, I’m just joking."

I stick my tongue out as I place the plate on the table, where everyone is already seated.

"Well, this is quite a feast."

"Ona made it," Lucy points out.

"Really?"

I nod, visibly embarrassed. Lucy, sitting next to me, places her hand on my thigh as I take my seat.

"You're barely showing any signs of stress," she teases me.

"I knew something was off—I hadn't heard a single jab from you yet."

"Oh, don’t take it like that, honey."

My mom chuckles as she serves us, while Joan makes it clear he's hungry. They’ve been here for almost a week, and it seems like they've settled in. Their return to Barcelona later this afternoon is going to feel strange to them. One thing's for sure, I’m glad my mom finally got to see my life here. I'm not the rebellious kid I was when I left Barcelona. She can see I’m building my life successfully. She loves our apartment and, of course, has fully embraced Lucy into our family since our commitment to each other. She’s kept the promise she made at her wedding, and I don’t think that will change anytime soon. At least, I hope not. Lucy has helped me understand the importance of family, and even though I no longer have my father, I still have my mom.

"I can finally have a taste!" my girlfriend rejoices when her plate is served.

I’m nervous about her reaction. In fact, I haven’t even told her that I didn’t taste them myself. They look good, but we all know appearances can be deceiving. Lucy, however, seems completely unbothered. She’s totally calm as she takes the first bite. The tension rises in me as she chews slowly. Everyone waits for her reaction, which doesn’t take long. A hum escapes her soft lips.

"Hmm... not bad at all, my love."

"Really?" I ask, surprised. "You’re not just saying that to be nice?"

She laughs, shaking her head. I relax as she takes another bite. I’m happy to know it's at least edible.

"No, really, it's good. You didn’t even try it beforehand?"

"No," I admit, embarrassed. "I was scared of the result."

"Well, go ahead, taste it."

She cuts a piece and holds the fork out to me. I accept it without hesitation. My mom and sister have also started eating. I take my time to savor all the flavors of the dish, and I have to admit it turned out pretty well. For a first try, I did really well. They’re not as good as Lucy's yet, but I managed to make something. Just a few days ago, I was redoing the batter three times over, so I guess I’ve improved.

"It’s not bad at all, actually."

"I never imagined I'd eat one of your dishes one day," my mom confirms.

"Well, thanks!" I giggle.

"Oh no, it's a compliment. I never took the time to learn how to cook. That’s why I have Samuel at home."

I laugh, nodding. Indeed, I remember her as a walking disaster in the kitchen. Since she worked a lot, it was rare for her to cook for me, and yet, I vividly remember her burnt meals when she did. I was always relieved when my dad or grandmother stepped in to save the day. And if neither of them was around, I knew Nick's mom, our neighbor, would gladly serve me food discreetly after my mom’s meal. I focus on Joan, who also seems to be enjoying the food. He confirms this by asking for seconds twice before being refused a third helping.

"What time do we need to be at school?"

"The results are posted at ten," Lucy responds. "So, a bit earlier would be good."

"What about Mapi and Ingrid? Are they meeting us here?"

"Yes, that’s the plan," I confirm. "Have you heard from them?" I ask Lucy.

"They just left their place. They should be here soon."

"Okay," I reply with a shared smile.

Mapi came back with us a week ago. It feels really strange having her so close now, but I’m not complaining. For now, she seems to be enjoying her life here. We’re all on vacation, so we see each other regularly. Ingrid and she are helping out at the gym, where we’ll all start working next week. Jenni finished her contract at her previous job and will be wrapping up the major renovations. This summer is going to be intense as we try to finish everything before the start of September. There are six of us helping now, including the rest of our friends. I have no doubt we’ll get it done.

"Go get ready. We’ll take care of cleaning up."

"Are you sure?" Lucy asks.

After several months, she’s finally comfortable enough to use informal speech with my mom, although you can still tell she’s not entirely at ease with it.

"Of course. Your friends are arriving soon, and we’re already ready. We don’t want to be late."

"Alright."

I wasn’t going to argue since she was offering her help. Lucy shoots me a look, but I just take her hand, ignoring it.

"See you later."

I lead her with me to our room, which is still a bit of a mess. My mom had brought over a few more things I had packed up at their place before I left. Since we’ve been out with them all week, I haven’t had time to sort it all out.

"We could’ve helped first."

"Stop complaining. We’ve been serving them all week. They can clean the kitchen for once."

She rolls her eyes but doesn’t say anything else. I start changing into the clothes I’d laid out the night before. Lucy smiles when she sees my school jacket.

"Already missing it?"

"Hey, I’ve always said I liked it," I defend myself.

"That’s true. It does suit you."

She winks, and I laugh. Once we’re both changed and have made the bed, we head to the bathroom to do our makeup. When we return to the living room, Mapi and Ingrid have arrived. We heard the doorbell ring earlier, but didn’t pay much attention since my mom and Joan were already in the living room.

"Good morning!" I greet them as we walk in.

"Ah, there you are. You look less stressed than what we were just told," Mapi teases.

"That’s because she cooked for the first time on her own this morning," Lucy announces from behind me.

"Hey!"

"Yeah, she’s not quite herself today," my best friend jokes.

I’m about to respond, but Lucy gets there first, turning me around and kissing me.

"We’re just teasing, love. It’s okay."

"Hmm..."

"Anyway, it’s time to go."

"Yeah..."

"Let’s head down," Ingrid says.

Lucy nods. They head out since they’re already ready. I sit on the couch to put on my shoes. Lucy, having slipped on hers quickly, crouches down in front of me.

"Everything’s going to be fine, okay?"

"What are we going to do if I didn’t pass?"

I feel a knot in my stomach just thinking about it. Lucy smiles, lifting my hand to her lips to kiss it.

"Well, you’ll repeat the year, and we’ll push back your art school plans to the following year. Grace said she’d wait for you, though she’d be a bit disappointed."

I nod, looking down. She strokes my cheek.

"Come on, babe. We don’t know anything yet. What matters most is that you gave it your best."

I smile softly and nod again. I then lift my head to meet her loving gaze.

"I was just wondering how you wanted to handle things once we’re there. Do you still want to introduce me to your friends tonight?"

I take a deep breath and shrug. I’m not sure, really. Lucy has officially left her job as an instructor, so I know we could go together. I had thought it would be more intimate to do it with just a small group. The other students don’t need to know about our relationship.

"I guess," I mumble.

She chuckles and stands up, kissing my forehead.

"I’ll probably meet up with my colleagues who will likely be there. I suggest we go separately at first, and we’ll figure it out if needed?"

This idea lightens my heavy heart. To be honest, I was mostly worried about keeping it together if I passed my exam.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Alright. Then I’ll ride with Ingrid. You can take my car if you want."

"You’re letting me drive?" I ask, surprised.

"Well, yeah. You’ve been driving it these past few days."

My smile widens as I take her keys. It’s true she’s given me the opportunity to drive her car. Lucy wants me to get used to driving again before we buy a car for me next year. It’s been great practice. Plus, it’s little gestures like this that boost my confidence. I’m starting to become independent, and it feels good.

"Thank you."

We kiss one last time before leaving the apartment. We stick to our plan and each drive separately. In front of us, Ingrid leads the way, though I know the route well by now, having done it many times with Lucy. She only lives a few blocks away. As we get closer, it’s clear today is a special day. There are so many cars parked outside. The street has never been this full. I take my time parking the car, just like Lucy taught me, in the first available spot. Then we step out. From a distance, I can see Lucy and Ingrid walking toward the entrance of the building.

"They’re not waiting for us?" Mapi asks.

"No. They’re going to see their colleagues first, and we’ll catch up with them later."

"I see."

She gives me a look that clearly shows she’s teasing me.

"What?"

"You know you won’t be able to hold it together, right?"

"Shut up."

She laughs heartily, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Come on, I’ll escort you then."

I smile and nod. That works for me. With my free hand, I grab Joan’s, and we head toward the entrance. Unlike the first time I came here, the gate is wide open, although there are people there to greet us. In fact, it’s Wiegman herself, along with several professors I didn’t have.

"Abby! What a surprise to see you here!" she says as we approach.

"Well, I couldn’t miss my daughter’s results, could I?"

They exchange a friendly hug before she shakes all of our hands.

"Is this your youngest?" she asks, noticing Joan.

My brother immediately hides behind me, making me smile.

"Yes, this is Joan."

"He’s grown so much!"

"Oh, yes."

"Let’s hope we don’t see him here."

"We’ll make sure of that."

"And how’s Marcus doing?"

Not wanting to get caught in a long conversation, I quickly say:

"We’re going to head off without you, if you don’t mind. My friends are probably waiting for me."

"Oh, sure, no problem," my mom replies. "We’ll meet up later. Are you taking Joan with you?"

I glance at my brother, who nods eagerly. I chuckle and nod as well.

"Yeah, I’ll take him. He can stay with Mapi."

After agreeing, we continue. The anxiety rises as we walk down the path.

"Come on, relax."

"I’d like to see you in my shoes. If I don’t pass this exam, I don’t know what I’ll do."

"Lucy said it’s not the end of the world."

"No, it’s not, but it would push back a lot of plans between us."

"I’m sure you’ll pass."

That’s not even the question. I *have* to pass. It’s crucial. As we reach the end of the path, we finally arrive at the central building. It’s packed. We can’t even see the entrance. Luckily, it’s a beautiful day. There’s a light breeze, but it’s not bothersome.

"Wow. This place is huge. So this is where you spent your year?"

"Yeah," I reply with a small smile. "You haven’t seen anything yet. I’ll check with Lucy if we can take a tour later."

"That’d be cool! Is that where you did those famous laps?" she asks, pointing to our left.

I chuckle, nodding.

"Yeah, I know those pretty well, if you want to know."

"I bet you do," she teases.

- Over there, those are the classroom buildings, I said, pointing them out to her.

- And next to the fields?

- The gym. That, I said, pointing to the building in front of us, is the administration building. And the two buildings you see on the right are the dormitories.

- Wow. Which one was yours?

- The one in front. We were on the first floor. There's also the cafeteria behind it, but according to what Lucy told me, there will be a snack bar there soon. You'll get to see it.

She nodded with a smile. I could tell she was excited to be here. I understood her. After everything I'd told her, I'd have been in the same state. She looked around, trying to get her bearings. I did the same, but mostly to find my friends. There were so many people. I was surprised to see how many had come with someone. Lucy was probably right. It's an experience that marks the students, and they're proud to show where they were. That's how I felt with Mapi. My eyes eventually landed on Alexia, who was waving wildly until she reached us.

- You’re finally here. I saw Lucy and Ingrid arrive without you, and I was starting to wonder.

- Ona doesn't want to be seen with her just yet.

- For how long? Alexia giggled.

I rolled my eyes as they laughed together. Those two were getting along just a little too well.

- Where are they anyway?

- What, you want to join them already? Mapi teased.

- No. Just testing the waters. So?

Alexia smiled and nodded her head toward something behind me. I turned around to see Lucy with her former colleagues, and even Jenni was there.

- She ended up coming with you?

- Thankfully. She wasn’t too thrilled, but I didn’t give her a choice.

- Poor girl, Mapi teased.

I laughed softly and nodded. I got it, but I also understood Alexia perfectly. I felt the same way. I turned back to them, but this time I saw Lucy looking right at us. The others around her were deep in conversation, but she was fully focused on me. We exchanged a smile. I would’ve given anything to be by her side, but it wasn’t time yet.

- The others are over there if you want to join, Alexia said, grabbing my attention again.

- Yeah, good idea, I replied. I’m happy to finally see everyone again.

- They’re excited to see you too. Honestly, we were just waiting for you.

- Well, here we are.

We followed Alexia as she led us to the others. I ended up carrying Joan since he got shy around my friends. I couldn’t blame him. It was a lot of people, after all. It was the first time I’d been surrounded by so many people, but I wasn’t complaining. I liked my friends, and I planned to keep them close now that I was staying here.

- Ah! We were wondering if you’d come over, Alba greeted us.

- As if I’d ignore you, I chuckled. Hi, everyone.

- Well, you never know. You didn’t want to be friends with us at first, so we were wondering if you’d still talk to us now that classes are over, they teased.

- Fair point, but times have changed.

- That’s true.

I took the time to greet everyone individually. Mapi did the same, following behind me. She might have only met them once before, but she was so at ease with everyone.

- How did you accept your sister’s girlfriend? I teased.

- You knew? She seemed surprised.

- Like She wouldn’t? Alexia responded.

- Wait, so you know her?

- Well, yeah, I chuckled.

- Whatever, that’s not what’s important, Patri interrupted.

- Oh really?

I tilted my head as she nodded.

- We heard this is Bronze' last year. Since you were always with her, maybe you know something?

- Where did you hear that? I asked, frowning.

It was true, of course, but I was supposed to be the only one who knew. As far as I knew, I hadn’t told anyone. Did someone overhear us, or worse, see us together? Well, at this point, I guess it didn’t matter much anymore. Lucy wasn’t my supervisor anymore. She was just my fiancée now.

- Well, people came up to us thinking you were already here, Claudia continued. They saw her packing up on the last day, so now there are rumors.

- Oh, um...

I didn’t know what to say. Luckily, just then, a commotion started around us. Everyone rushed toward the notice board where the exam results were being posted.

- Oh! They’re putting up the results! Alba announced.

- Finally, her sister replied.

It had been a while since I’d felt this anxious. I felt sick to my stomach. Even back in high school, I hadn’t felt this way. Most of my friends rushed over to get a front-row view. Only Mapi, Alexia, and Leah and Alessia stayed with me.

- I feel sick, I confessed.

Leah burst out laughing.

- Come on, princess. It’s all done now anyway.

She was right, but I couldn’t help it.

- Well, I’m going, Alexia announced.

She led the way, and everyone followed. I turned to Mapi, who was happily playing with Joan, who I put down.

- Go ahead. We’ll wait here for you.

I smiled softly and followed the others at a slow pace. People were already reacting—some were exploding with joy, while others were crying. I didn’t know where to look, feeling completely lost. My eyes scanned the crowd, and I realized I was unconsciously searching for Lucy until our eyes locked. I relaxed instantly when I saw her walking toward me with a reassuring smile.

- Don’t be scared. I’ll go with you, she said as she reached my side.

- Thanks.

I bit my lip and let her guide me with her hand resting on my lower back. We walked together to my section, where I saw Alessia, Leah, and even Lotte screaming with joy. I figured everyone had passed. I would feel so awful if I was the only one who didn’t. We made our way to the front of the list as most people had already seen their results, making it easier to approach. I grabbed Lucy’s hand, squeezing it as hard as I could as I scanned the list for my name. I could feel my heart pounding, and finally, I spotted my name. I shifted my eyes slightly to the right, and as soon as I saw the result, I started to cry.

- I can’t believe it... I whispered.

- So? Lucy asked beside me.

- I... I passed! Oh my God, Lucy, I did it!

I literally jumped on Lucy, who wasn’t expecting it at all. She laughed as she caught me as best she could. Without thinking and not giving her time to react, I kissed her passionately. At first, she was so taken aback that she didn’t kiss me back. I almost regretted it, but she eventually responded, wrapping her arms around me. I hugged her back, burying my face in her neck.

- Oh my God. I can’t believe it. It’s all thanks to you!

- I wasn’t the one taking the tests.

- No, but without you, I wouldn’t have come this far, I said, pulling back to look at her. Thanks to you, I can now chase my dream and get into art school. And also, we can finally start our life together. I never imagined ending the school year like this.

Lucy smiled and kissed me again. I was sure everyone was watching, but I didn’t care. I was so happy that all that mattered was the two of us. It had always been like that from the beginning. Lucy took my hand and led me out of the crowd. Everyone was staring at us. At first, I felt a little self-conscious, which made Lucy laugh.

- I would’ve preferred to spare you this, but now we’ve got to own it.

- The last thing I’d ever be ashamed of is you, my love.

She turned with a smirk. I stopped in step and eagerly accepted her next kiss. She knew those words meant everything coming from me. A few months ago, I couldn’t even fully accept myself. When we finally made it out of the crowd, we rejoined Mapi and my sister, who had found Ingrid and Jenni. I left my girlfriend to jump into my best friend’s arms.

- "Guess who got their diploma, guys?!"

- "Yeah! Now that's some great news!" she exclaims.

I laugh with relief in her arms. All the pressure has finally eased away, making room for joy. I still can't believe it.

- "You really surprised everyone. People haven't stopped staring at us," Ingrid giggles.

Indeed, the stares don't stop. Not just from students, but even the staff. No one knew, but Lucy doesn’t seem bothered. She just shrugs.

- "As far as I know, we’re in the clear. I’m no longer part of this school."

I nod and savor a final hug from Mapi, which she surprises me with. She whispers in my ear:

- "I’m so happy for you, darling. You really deserve this."

- "Thank you," I whisper back.

Before I can fully part from Mapi, Alexia jumps on me next. I see our friends following, but for now, I’m waiting for her reaction.

- "We all made it!" she shouts. "We're going to have a blast tonight!"

She keeps screaming with joy as she runs over to Jenni, who struggles to catch her. And she, too, doesn’t hold back, kissing her girlfriend in front of everyone. After all, school’s over now, and nothing else matters. I also turn back to Lucy and kiss her again.

- "About time you two made it official," Leah teases. "Now we can finally get to know the commander for real."

- "You knew?" Alba says, surprised.

- "Come on, Alba, it was so obvious, »Misa tell her . "They were practically eating each other up with their eyes every chance they got."

I chuckle at her shocked expression while still clinging to Lucy’s neck. I exchange a knowing smile with Misa. I kind of suspected she had figured it out. In the end, not many people hadn’t. From what I can see, it’s only Alba and Patri who didn’t see it coming.

- "Maybe we weren’t as discreet as we thought," Lucy comments, noticing the same thing I did.

Everyone laughs because, honestly, I think by the end, we really weren’t. Still, when I went to see her in her office, it was genuinely to study. I worked my butt off, and it looks like all my effort paid off.

- "So, she’s the girlfriend you’ve had these past months?" Alba asks, still in shock.

- "Indeed. I said I’d come with someone tonight to introduce you all, but… well, I couldn’t hold back."

- "We called it! Mapi and I saw this coming ages ago," Alexia teases.

- "You’re dating Bronze. I can’t believe it. That’s insane!"

- "I’m not your instructor anymore. You can call me Lucy after all, we’ll probably be seeing a lot of each other."

- "Oh my God..."

I burst into laughter at her reaction.

- "What’s with all of you dating instructors?"

- "Hey, they’re pretty sexy," Mapi chimes in.

- "Wait, you too?" Patri exclaims, seeing my best friend hanging on Ingrid.

- "Yep. But I was never part of this school," she giggles.

I smile as Lucy kisses my forehead. I’ve finally introduced her. It was about time. She doesn’t seem as nervous as she thought she’d be. I imagine the situation feels strange for her, but thanks to Jenni and Ingrid, she’s surrounded by her friends.

- "What about the rumor going around?" Claudia asks. "Is it true you won’t be here next year?"

- "Yes, it’s true."

- "Really?" Leah says, surprised. "Did Wiegman find out?"

- "Yes, but that’s not why I’m leaving. I’m opening a gym with Jenni. And by the way, thank you, Alba, for your help. It was invaluable."

Poor Alba doesn’t know what to say. She’s just come to terms with Jenni and her sister, so I imagine it’ll take her some time to accept Bronze and me as well. But I have to admit, they’ve done a great job with Jenni. The kitchen was installed in the break room, but they’ve made the most progress in the locker rooms. They’ve revamped everything, installing new tiles, new shower cabins, and changing areas.

- "You’re opening it with Jenni?"

- "Yes," she replies with amusement. "So, if you really plan to lend a hand this summer, you’ll be seeing a lot more of me."

She’d been pestering Jenni to help, but from the look on her face, I sense he might change her mind soon. I can understand her reaction. Lucy is known to be intimidating here. At first, it won’t be easy for her to be accepted as my girlfriend. Or maybe... She finally smiles.

- "Well, at least I know my sister was in good hands all along... I guess I owe you a lot, too."

Lucy chuckles softly.

- "No, you’ve got it wrong. I hated your sister for a long time because of Jenni’s dismissal. It’s my relationship with Ona that made us friends, since they’re so close. But I can assure you Jenni takes great care of her. You have nothing to worry about."

She nods appreciatively, then looks at all six of us. I think she’s realized her sister is in good company now. She finally looks at me with a small smile.

- "You really don’t do things halfway when it comes to making changes. Making the commander bend, seriously."

I laugh, shrugging.

- "We both bent to each other. What can I say?" I reply, snuggling into my girlfriend. "I’m just glad you’re all okay with it."

- "Of course, princess. But now it’s time to let us into your little bubble."

- "No problem with that," Lucy responds. "We’ll start with tonight’s party."

They nod eagerly. In the end, everything turned out great. I’m so happy. Well, they don’t know yet that they’re now tied to Lucy for life after our engagement, but that’s a story for another time. They don’t need to know just yet. Lucy and I haven’t even picked a wedding date. Ideally, it would be next year, but with all the current projects, it might get pushed back. Neither of us wants to rush into it. What mattered was the commitment we made to each other. We wanted to make it official because we know we complete each other, and there’s no question of looking elsewhere. For now, the most important thing is to enjoy this moment together. We still need to pick up our transcripts, then grab a drink in the cafeteria to celebrate. After that, it’s time to unwind at tonight’s party at Leah house, but more importantly, to celebrate the beginning of our new life—life after Camp Wiegman. It’s clear everyone’s excited about it. I know I am. I can’t wait to live out my dreams alongside the love of my life. 

[yan-lorkai]

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡Day one: Azul sewing buttons over their darling eyes

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ A/N: I've been meaning to watch Coraline again because i remember that it was such a good movie. Then, thinking about it, I got kinda inspired by the whole button eyes thing and wrote this, and well it's october, so I had to start my halloween event with style <3

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Warnings: Yandere content, violence agaisnt the reader (hair pulling, choking, pulling their eyes out to sewn buttons on, yknow the usual), threats, gn!reader.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Tagging: @harukishiyo @kiraiyugen @orisaspirin

The room was cold, a stark contrast to the suffocating heat of your skin - winter had begun in both this world and yours, but here it was harsher and more cutting, impossible to bear even after you had wrapped yourself up warm.

Normally you would have taken refuge in Azul's room so the two of you could cuddle together and talk about each other's day. He was sweet and caring, so different from the Azul of your world. However, he had business to finish and asked only that you wait for him in the Mostro Lounge.

And you've been waiting for him for thirty minutes now.

It was strange to be there with no one around, other than the sound of the fish swimming in the aquariums, your own breathing and foot tapping impatiently against the floor. The atmosphere that used to be vibrant and welcoming during the mornings seemed strangely heavy - maybe it was the strangeness of being there alone, in a dark-toned environment, or maybe it was your damn curiosity.

Even though you loved this version of Azul more and liked this version of the twins more, because they were the opposite of what they were in your world and how they treated you there, you couldn't help but miss your world, even if just a little. You couldn't help but feel like recently the three of them had been acting strange, whispering among themselves, stopping talking whenever you were around, watching you like vultures looking for carrion.

Perhaps, you think, this will be the last time I return to this world.

You could leave whenever you wanted, you could walk through the door and never come back. You could do that even now - you look towards Azul's office. The secret door was there. Hidden behind his desk.

The first time you had walked through that door was because of your curiosity, you wanted to know what was on the other side. And both you and this Azul, with his beautiful buttons for eyes, stared at each other for several seconds before he looked away and put his hand to his chest, asking himself out loud if he was seeing things, if the stress was driving him crazy.

And Floyd, next to him, began to laugh uncontrollably, tears falling from his buttons as he saw the expression on your face and Azul's face. Which caught Jade's attention, who entered the office, saw you still in the same position, Azul's face, and began to laugh too.

Sweet moments like this became more and more distant, leaving you with a bitter taste in your mouth. They left you with a deep longing.

You wanted back the jokes and pranks, and the care the three of them had for you. You want to feel part of this world again. You want to sit beside Jade and watch the sun rising from his window, you want to bake and cook with Floyd and you want Azul to look at you his shiny buttons and soft smile that made you weak.

You wanted everything back. Yet you couldn't have it back.

You were sitting in a comfortable chair, unable to understand why you had been called there so late. The silence was only broken by the distant sound of the clock on the wall, marking the passing of time. The fish were all asleep now.

Suddenly, the door opened softly, and Azul entered the room, followed by Jade and Floyd. There was something strange about them. Their eyes… They didn't glow like they usually did, I mean, they were made of buttons, but even so, there were times when they glowed as brightly as normal, living eyes.

Instead, what you saw now were dull button eyes. Black and lifeless. Like black holes that stared at you without ever closing their eyes, always searching for a secret where there was none.

“Oh, I’m glad you could come,” Azul’s voice was both calm and cold, as if he wanted you there but didn’t care that you were there, there was still a hint of somberness in his tone. “We really wanted to see you… We’ve been thinking about something a lot lately, planning, I mean, I know it’s nerve-wracking, but of course it’s your decision.”

Your body froze as Jade and Floyd approached, their firm hands gripping your shoulders, pinning you to the chair. A disturbing smile formed on Floyd's face, his gaze fixed on you, but empty, as empty as the buttons in his eyes.

A soft sigh escaped your lips as Azul stepped closer, the crazy grin on his face accentuated even further by his black buttons. "What... What does all this mean?"

Azul pouted. He was between doubt and hope that you would accept whatever offer he had to offer. "That's just precaution."

He ignored your startled look, calmly taking out a small sewing kit from his pocket. Inside, needles and buttons. “You’re so out of date with your human eyes, obsolete, sorry to say. But we can fix that, buttons are much better, don’t you agree? Will you… accept them?”

You wanted to deny it, you wanted to scream and run away, and never look back. But the twins' strong hands held you tightly, leaving painful marks on your forearms. It would be impossible to fight them, you concluded.

Deceiving them, on the other hand... Maybe it would work.

You took a deep breath, trying your best to pretend irritation instead of fear. And then you lifted your chin and answered him. "Zuzu, as a couple I thought we should discuss this between us without them being present. You hurt me with your attitude."

Azul hesitated for a second, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. "Honey... I'm sorry, it's just..." He pressed his lips into a thin line as he forced his mind to work. "I'm sorry, but you didn't answer my question. Do you accept them?"

You turned your face away and bit your lips, a clear indication of your anger. You always did that when you were angry and that was what you wanted him to think. Jade, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the fight between the two of you while Floyd chuckled softly.

"Alone, Zuzu." You answered him. "Or maybe... You don't love me anymore and that's why you don't trust me?"

Your eyes watered, they were more tears of fear than sadness, and perhaps anger for not having listened to your instincts before and having escaped, still, Azul seemed to buy your act and let out a big sigh.

The sewing bag was placed on a table, a safe distance away, you watched, as he motioned for the twins to move away.

"You know what to do." He muttered.

And you turned in time to see Jade disappearing into the office while Floyd headed for the exit, as if they had rehearsed it. You suppressed a scream of rage inside you.

It was Azul, of course, he would now be predicting your strategies carefully, searching for a bluff or a lie. But you were confident that you could beat him somehow, that you could be smarter.

"We could have talked, you know... Instead of you just deciding everything for me... Like he always does." Your mention of another version of him made him grind his teeth, Azul hated being compared to his otherworldly self.

He had to be better, even better than himself.

He was waiting for whatever you had to say, but you weren't in any hurry at all, far from it. You were trying hard not to let the panic show in your eyes or posture. Still seated, you rubbed your sore arms, fully aware that he continued to stare at you.

Azul truly had an awful habit of staring at people until they felt uncomfortable and started to reveal what they didn’t want to. You took a deep breath. You couldn't let this technique work on you.

Instead, you stood up with feline steps, trying not to appear desperate as you approached him and wrapped him in an embrace. Almost instantly, he returned the gesture, but it wasn't comfortable.

It was suffocating, like a cage. Cold as ice. You missed Azul. Either one of them, any of them who loved you well and treated you kindly. But they were both the same. They were horrible. Bitter.

“When did we stop communicating, Zuzu?” It was a question with many answers, one that made your heart beat slowly with growing sadness. You looked at him. He looked back at you with a kind of nervous smile.

“I don't know,” Azul confessed, his voice losing its dominant cadence. He truly seemed not to know when things fell apart or maybe he was pretending very well to make you feel sorry for him. “But I was afraid you'd leave and never come back. There are so many differences between my world and yours, and if I were you, I would've gone back home.”

Your throat tightened at the confession but you didn’t allow guilt to take over. Not now, not when every second was vital. Gently, you stroked his hair, a gesture more to calm yourself than to soothe him.

“I would never leave, Azul.” Your words were soft, almost a whisper as you looked at him. “I always come back to you, don’t I? Because I know I love you more than I love my old world.”

Azul sighed, relaxing slightly in your embrace, as if he believed every word you said. But you knew you couldn’t let your guard down. He was far too clever for that and any slip would be fatal.

“Then why do you never really look at me?” His question cut like a knife and the grip around you tightened. “You always look beyond me, as if I’m… disposable. I don't want to be disposable, not to you.”

Your heart tightened and you had to fight to stay in control. You couldn’t hesitate now. “You’re not disposable, Azul. But you need to trust me, the same way I’m trying to trust you now, even after you’ve scared me like this.” You knew those words were fragile, a tightrope between a lie and the truth.

But it was all you had.

For a moment, Azul seemed to waver, his body trembling slightly against yours. This was your chance. Slowly, without letting go of the embrace, you reached for your pocket, where a small object was hidden, something that could help you free yourself from this trap.

“Do you… do you really want this?” He whispered, his voice broken by doubts and insecurities that seemed so human they almost made you hesitate. “For me to trust you?”

“Yes, I do.” You replied, keeping your gaze fixed on him, even though his button eyes couldn’t reflect the emotion he felt and that pulsed in your rapid heartbeat. “I believe we’re all too agitated right now, so how about we talk in the morning?”

Azul blinked, surprised. The tension in his arms eased, just a bit, but it was enough. In one swift, precise movement, you pulled the object from your pocket. In a desperate gesture, you pressed it against Azul's arm.

He choked, his button eyes widening with an expression that bordered on shock and horror. Betrayal was written on his face and eyes, and everywhere you could see, and you hated yourself for it.

“Why?” He asked, his voice sounding like that of a lost child, on the verge of tears. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I still want to save you, Azul.” You said, even knowing that the words wouldn’t be enough to erase the darkness that had engulfed him. "And to save you, I have to save myself."

With a shove, you broke free from him and stepped back, keeping the knife raised as your heart pounded in your ears.

Azul stood still, blood dripping slowly from his arm, his button eyes shining with a mix of confusion and sadness that was painful to see. But you had no more time. You had to leave before Jade and Floyd noticed what was happening – you glanced over your shoulder, Jade was still in the office.

And then, with one last look at the man you loved and feared, you ran toward the exit, hoping there was still time to escape, praying that Floyd was far away, knowing there was no other option.

The room seemed to freeze the moment you made your move. The knife in your hand trembled slightly, you tightened your grip as you saw from the corner of your eye Azul was still motionless, you hoped the shock would be enough for him to hesitate.

But he didn’t.

In an instant, the confusion and vulnerability on Azul’s face transformed into something far darker, colder and more calculated. His hand moved with terrifying speed, grabbing your hair forcefully, the knife now pressed uselessly between the two of you as pain pulsed in your head.

“You think you can fool me like this?” He whispered, his voice regaining that controlled, ocean-cold tone. “I’m much smarter than that, my dear. You never stood a chance.”

Your body stiffened and a shiver ran down your spine. Azul smiled, a cutting, empty smilex and in one quick motion, he twisted your wrist, making the knife fall from your hand with a metallic clatter on the floor.

“You wanted to save me?” He laughed softly but there was no humor in his laugh. His fingers now squeezed your neck with increasing force. "And you thought running away would solve everything? I’d follow you to the other world and kill them all.”

Your heart pounded in your chest as oxygen gradually left you, his grip unyielding. There was no opening. Fear began to consume you and you finally realized you had underestimated Azul, how he had always been one step ahead.

He knew you would lie; he knew you would attack him.

And he had prepared for it.

“I never intended to hurt you, you know…” Azul leaned closer, his button eyes gleaming ominously in the dim light of the room. “But now, you’ve left me no choice.”

He released your wrist only to, in one agile move, grab your hair again, forcing you to look directly into his button eyes that, ironically, seemed to see even deeper into you. “I would never let you go. And now… You will learn to stay with me. Forever.”

You felt a tightening in your throat and the words you wanted to say were lost in the growing panic. Azul's touch on your neck was cold, but his smile, still gentle, was now a silent warning.

There was no more escape.

There never had been.

“I’ll show you how we truly belong to each other.” Azul’s voice was soft but it carried a weight that crushed any hope you still had.

He then made a quick gesture with his free hand and before you could react, Jade and Floyd emerged from the shadows, their twisted smiles amplifying the terror that gripped you - you hadn't even realized when they returned.

“You thought you could fool us all, didn't you?” Jade said softly, while Floyd chuckled beside him. “I thought we were friends, shrimpy? Friends don't abandon each other.”

Before you could even try to struggle, Jade and Floyd’s hands were on you again, holding your arms with a grip that made your bones ache even more than before. Azul took a step back, observing the scene with an almost analytical gaze, as if evaluating your last desperate attempt, uncaring about your tears and fear.

“Now, now,” Azul said calmly, picking up the small sewing kit he had set aside. “No more running, no more lies. Let’s start over, shall we? This time… you won’t escape.”

“It’ll be fun,” Floyd whispered, his voice drawn out with a sadistic tone that made your skin crawl.

Terror gripped you. Trying to move seemed futile with Jade and Floyd's strength holding you firmly in place. Your breathing quickened and your heartbeat echoed in your head like drums.

The silence was piercing and your senses were sharpened with fear. Jade and Floyd’s hands were tight around your arms, their claws firm and preventing any attempt at escape. They smiled sinisterly, their button eyes reflecting the soft glow of the light above, lifeless and yet piercing.

They weren't your friends.

Friends protect each other.

They don't let harm get you.

They don't lie to you.

Azul approached you with calm steps, his gentle smile looking more like a grotesque mask now. He held a long needle, with the black thread already attached, and in his other hand, there was a scalpel shining in the dim light.

“Oh, you’re scared, aren’t you?” Azul’s voice was soft, almost comforting but the wicked glint in his button eyes gave away his true intentions. “Don’t worry, it’ll be quick. If you had agreed, I would have given you an injection so you wouldn’t feel so much pain, but in this case, I think you deserve a little pain and fear.”

You tried to struggle, your body instinctively fighting the impending terror but Jade and Floyd chuckled softly as they kept your body firmly pinned down. Azul's scalpel flashed once more as he leaned closer, bringing the blade to eye level.

“Let’s begin…” Azul whispered, and without further warning, he pressed the cold blade against the skin around your left eye. "Breathe deep, my love. Don't go faiting on me now."

The pain was instantaneous, searing, as if your skin was being torn by fire. You tried to scream, but fear and horror tightened your throat.

All that came out was a muffled, desperate groan. The blade glided smoothly, with meticulous precision, as Azul cut around your eye with the same calmness as someone sewing simple fabric.

Floyd leaned close to your ear and laughed. “I can hear your heart beating so fast, so excited, shrimpy!”

Jade, with his restrained smile, whispered softly, “Don’t move too much or the cut might become… Uneven, fufu. Surely, you don't want this?”

Azul’s scalpel finally made the final cut around your eye, and you felt a horrible sensation — a pressure that dissipated, as if something vital was about to be ripped out of you. Azul calmly set the scalpel aside and, with two thin, cool fingers, reached for your eye. He pulled, and pain shot through you like a wave of fire.

You felt the connection snap. Your eye was ripped out.

The emptiness that was left was worse than the pain.

The world around you grew darker, more distorted, but there was no time for rest. Azul was already preparing to repeat the process on the other eye, the same expression of cold concentration as the needle and thread rested, waiting for the final touch.

“Please…” You pleaded, gripping onto the tweels arms for comfort. The pain too much to bear. "Please don't..."

It was horrible. More painful than any pain you had ever felt before. A scream tore from your throat as the blade made contact with your other eye, blood and tears mixing in equal measure as Azul calmly continued his work.

"Breathe in, Yuu, and breathe out." Jade instructed as the pain became suffocating and, instead of trying to run away, you sank into his and Floyd's arms, reaching for something, anything that could stop it. "It's almost over, darling. And you were so brave."

Floyd nodded, releasing his grip on you to instead lean down and wrap you in a hug. “Almost over. And soon you’ll be one of us.”

The sound of voices didn't seem to register in your mind, only the absurd amount of blood dripping down your face like a grotesque river. And then, Azul tugged on your other eye, leaving you completely in the dark.

It was dark and cold, and horrible. You felt Floyd pull you closer to him, no doubt trying to convey some comfort.

He failed.

Your lungs seemed to be unable to receive any air, but you managed to take a deep breath. Your head was already starting to hurt from the lack of air and the tears had stopped falling. The blood was still dripping in smaller quantities, and your ears were working at full speed to find out what they were doing, where Azul was moving.

No doubt, everyone should be smiling. You failed to convince Azul, you failed to escape, you failed to realize their intentions.

You failed at everything.

A hand on your shoulder made you jump, whimpering.

"Oh, I'm sorry, love," It was Azul and he sounded so happy, far too cheerful for someone who had just stolen your vision. "Which color do you want for your buttons? Baby pink or soft blue?"

His words made your blood run cold, each syllable laced with a casualness that felt like a knife twisting deeper into your heart. You blinked, even though you knew you couldn’t see anything now; the darkness was absolute, smothering and suffocating.

You could only feel — the wet warmth of blood trickling down your cheeks, the sharp sting where your eyes had once been.

“Please… Azul…” You rasped, throat dry from the pain and fear, struggling to form coherent words through the haze of agony. “Don’t… please…”

He shushed you softly, his fingers gently brushing against your cheek, tracing the blood that stained your skin. "Shhh, don't worry, dear. This is for the best, you'll see," He murmured, his tone soothing, as if he were comforting a frightened child. "Now, tell me. Which color do you prefer?"

You couldn’t tell if it was the pain or his words that made you feel like you were spiraling into madness. Your hands were trembling uncontrollably and you tried to lift them to your face, but Floyd’s grip on your wrists tightened, forcing them back down.

“Azul, come on,” Floyd whined, his voice filled with impatience. “They’re not gonna choose. Can’t we just go with the pink? It’s cuter and suits them better”

“Patience, Floyd.” Jade’s voice, smooth and unhurried, cut in. You could feel his presence, too, close, far too close, he too was leaning to join the hug that was suffocating you. “Our dear friend should have the opportunity to decide. It’s only fair, after all.”

Your mind raced, desperate for some kind of escape, some way to make them stop, but you were trapped. Every breath you took felt like shards of glass scraping down your throat, the panic rising, threatening to drown you.

“Azul,” you whispered again, barely more than a breath, “You don’t have to do this…”

“Ah, but I do,” He replied, and his tone shifted, taking on a wistful quality, like he was talking about something terribly precious to him. “Unless you don't want your vision back, then be my guest, darling.”

You choked on a sob, your body trembling violently now, your knees threatening to give out. “I want... But please... Just...”

But he wasn’t listening. Instead, he hummed thoughtfully, as if genuinely considering your words, yet he was too into his own little world thinking about the buttons that would adorn your adorable face.

"Blue," He finally decided, almost sounding satisfied. "It'll match the shade of my eyes. Yes, I think that's perfect."

“Good choice, boss,” Floyd chimed in and you could feel the grin in his voice, his excitement palpable. “Let’s get started then, yeah?”

Azul’s grip on your shoulder tightened, not painfully, but firmly, like he was anchoring you to him. "Don't worry," He murmured softly, so close you could feel his breath against your skin. "This will only hurt for a moment."

“No—no, please!” You tried to jerk away, but Jade’s hands were suddenly on you too, their combined strength pinning you in place, forcing you to be still. Panic surged through you, a scream building in your throat as you felt the sharp, metallic touch of a needle pressing against your skin.

Azul’s voice came again, soothing and gentle, but laced with that same terrifying undertone. “Just stay still, love. It'll all be over soon, and then… then you’ll be perfect.”

And as the needle began to pierce through, the pain flaring white-hot, you knew with a sickening certainty that there would be no escape.

Not anymore.

[alexanderwales]

I did end up buying Tiny Glade, mostly to see whether it had something for me.

It's cute, but I think to enjoy it I need to engage my creative muscles, and when I do that, I feel restrained.

I found myself making up a story about a wizard who lived in a big tower and hired on a live-in maid. She had been brought in to tidy things up, to clean his clothes, to cook him dinner.

She had no family, and was happy to have the cramped space at the bottom of the tower with little privacy. The wizard paid well, and she saved every scrap she could, fearing that he would be capricious. Instead he kept to himself at the top of the tower, surveying the lands and sometimes mounting expeditions that would see him gone for days, returning home sodden and with a smell of sweat soaking his clothes.

It was awkward between the two of them, not least because her bed in the bottom of the tower meant that he needed to move through her space when he wanted to come or go.

Eventually, after six months had past and she was feeling more secure in her position, she asked whether he didn't want a proper kitchen somewhere in the tower. She wanted a proper kitchen. All the meals she'd made for him had been over a campfire just outside the house, or more often, put together from pickled, chilled, or dried ingredients. He had harumphed and said that he would think about it, and she had assumed that this was his way of saying "no".

But when she came back from a trip to her estranged sister's house, the first vacation she'd asked for since taking the job, she was surprised to find that the tower had a small, single-story building at its base, built into it. She stepped through the door, feeling unsure of herself, and found that she was in a well-appointed kitchen with a cast iron stove, an ice box, two sinks, and checkered blue and white countertops. She had stared at it, befuddled, and the wizard had asked her whether it was to her liking. She had nodded, but then said that the kitchen was lacking one important thing, which was food. He'd handed her far too much money and sent her to the market.

When she returned with far too much food, she made a large dinner for the two of them, and they ate together at a small table in the kitchen, sitting on stools.

"If you can make such a thing as this kitchen over the course of a weekend," she said slowly. "Would it be possible ... would it be within your power to make me a room of my own?"

"You have a room of your own," he replied. "At the base of the tower."

"Somewhere that you didn't need to trek through," she said. "Where I wouldn't feel the need to wake early in the morning and make myself presentable in case you were going out."

He widened his eyes. "I didn't know you did that."

"I do," she replied.

"Then I'll think about it," he said.

She was more hopeful this time. It did not seem as though that meant "no". Indeed, it seemed that when the wizard said he would think about something, it meant that he was putting his considerable intelligence to the problem.

This time, she was around to see the wizard do his magic. Most of it consisted of crystals and chalks, and lengthy consultations with books that sometimes resulted in him saying a single syllable in thirty different ways, feeling which one was right. She'd had little to do in the way of her daily chores, and was past the point in her employment when she was always trying to look busy, so she watched most of it, and made them marmalade sandwiches with tea, enjoying the warm summer day. The wizard talked, explaining things to her that must have taken a decade of study for him to understand, and while it went over her head, she nodded along. He seemed to like having an audience of one.

When he was finished, the house had sprouted an extra room, far larger and more extravagant than she had been expecting. It was larger, in fact, than the room at the top of the tower the wizard lived in.

From that point onward, they were something like friends. He did more of his work outdoors, and did his reading in the kitchen, which gave them more chances to talk. The time seemed to pass more quickly. She had saved quite a bit of money by this point, and was tucking away every coin he gave her a bit less carefully. She bought a fine dress for herself, nothing too fancy but far more fair than the old one.

She came down from her room one morning to discover that a rag and brush had been enchanted to do dishes for her. She was befuddled at first, but the wizard seemed quite pleased with himself, and said that it had only taken a month or so of work. At first it felt unnatural to simply set the dirty dishes in the sink and have them be soaped and washed without her lifting a finger.

After that, the wizard entered a sort of mania. He was clearly pushing himself, spending more ever more time with his books, and every so often he would have some new miracle in the house they shared. His books sorted themselves automatically, a washtub cleaned their clothes, dust was drawn to a small bin rather than settling on their shelves. The very last straw was when the wizard made a complicated device to make dinners.

"Are you trying to replace me?" she asked.

He didn't seem to understand. "Replace you?" he asked. "Why would I ever?"

She gestured around the kitchen, which had been expanded since he'd first magicked it up. "You've been taking away my jobs one by one," she said. "If I'm not cleaning, not cooking, not putting things to order, not doing laundry or making small repairs, what use am I? And we both know that you pay me a handsome salary. I don't know a wizard's ways, but I know when preparations are being made to not have me work here."

"Ah," said the wizard. He rubbed the back of his neck. "This is terribly awkward, but you have it right. I don't wish to employ you any longer, but not because I'm hoping to replace you with magic. This was," he looked around the kitchen at all he'd done, and at the house he'd built up around the tower. "Well, I'm afraid this was all a way of courting you, but I can see that you haven't taken it as I've intended."

The maid sat there, stunned. They weren't so far apart in age, that was true, and she'd thought about it often in her first months there, sometimes trying to decide what she would do if he tried to take liberties, and later, with those thoughts tinted with fantasy rather than fear. But there were so many things they didn't know about each other, and he had always kept his distance from her, so the crush she'd carried had been smothered.

"Give me some time," said the maid as she rose from the table. "I'll think about it."

~~~~

And this is all well and good, but the game doesn't really benefit from being played in this way. Adding onto a house does not feel like organically growing a house from the story you're telling. The houses have no interiors. There aren't people. I can make a new little house off the side, for when the maid's sister comes to live with them, but it exists statically, and can only be grown in specific ways, and it pens in what's going on in my head. Constraints breed creativity is one of those old chestnuts that I think it's only somewhat true, and in this case, I find the constraints penning me in a bit too much.

Still not the worst $10 I've ever spent on a game though, and maybe arguably I'll get enough mileage out of it in the end.

[collaredsoldat]

Domestic Winter Soldier / Soldat Stuff

warnings: PTSD | Slight self-harm | Mentions past abuse

a/n: Idk I wanted to write this because he deserves some love even when he's the soldier. Various hcs about domestic life with the Winter Soldier. Actual fics in the works. I run four blogs so I try to balance it all. Not edited ignore mistakes.

Soldat is a little awkward with home life at first. He isn't sure what to do, being free from constant control isn't something he can easily adjust to.

He looks to you for commands all the time. Can he sit? Can he go to the bathroom? Can he sleep? Can he eat? Every little thing he does. You have to reassure him that he doesn't need to ask permission for anything, but he still does.

He sometimes gets snappy at you, since he still can't decide whether or not to trust you 100% or not. He can't understand why someone is being so nice to him.

Sometimes he accidentally breaks something and he flinches away from you, or he hides out of fear. You have to coax him out, telling him it's okay and that you're not going to hurt him. He always hesitates.

He struggles to sleep so he comes into your room most nights and stares at you or roughly shakes you to wake you up. "Can't sleep." he speaks lowly, and he grunts and climbs over you into your bed, never waiting for a response. At first he sleeps away from the door, but as time goes on he moves to sleep closest to the door in case any unlucky person breaks into your apartment.

Very much like a cat, he stays back but when he wants attention he sort of just...flops near you and demands it by laying on you somehow, or sitting super close so your bodies are touching.

He watches you cook a lot. He sits down at the counter and watches or he stands over you and watches. Sometimes you have to pull him away from the stove because the oil will burn him and he doesn't bother moving away on his own.

He's much more curious than you'd think. He watches you do a lot of things, almost as if he's never seen anything like it. Something as simple as brushing your hair or doing laundry, he's mesmerized by it.

When he's not watching you do something, you notice that he just stares a lot. He always watches you, at first out of uneasiness, but then...just because. He's always watching you, almost like he's worried you'll disappear.

You help him shower, he doesn't like touching his scars. He tries to rub them away, and he's tries to claw his metal arm off. So you help him clean to prevent him from going into one of those episodes of hurting himself in that way.

He used to get aggressive when you came around him when he was naked, treating you like some big threat, but you realized this was something more than just fear. It took a lot for him to get comfortable enough to allow you to touch him in the shower/bath.

For being so heavily trained as the best assassin, he's quite accident prone. Nothing major, but enough to warrant some kind of care. He feels a little confused whenever he gets hurt by accident, like he never expected the corner of the table to leave a small cut on his flesh arm. He focuses too much on things he knows hurt, that other things go unnoticed.

He learns to cook with you some days, he was tired of just watching. It's a good way to show him you trust him too, letting him handle things like knives or sharp objects without worrying he will hurt you.

You learn he really likes pie. Apple pie especially.

You also learn the alarm on the oven is too loud for him so you use your phone instead.

If you bring him out with you, he's very protective. His head is on a swivel, constantly observing everyone around you. He stays glued to your side, not letting you take many steps away from him.

Gets overstimulated easily.

Sounds that are similar to a blender or electricity freak him out. A bug zapper is also a sound he hates.

Some foods he looks at with newfound curiosity, like he hadn't seen them before. There are things he doesn't even recognize, newer or modernized things, he didn't know what to think. What the hell is an air fryer? How do you fry with air??

Get one and watch how he looks at it with amazement and confusion.

He seeks out spaces where he can be alone a lot, he needs space sometimes and you understand.

During bad episodes he sometimes disappears from your apartment, making you panic a little each time. You find him in alleys or the streets from time to time, he never wanders too far. You are worried sick but your priority is to get him back home.

It's hard for him to show it, but he does appreciate you and everything you've done for him. He gives you hugs from behind a lot, sometimes he whispers a word to you, but mostly he's silent.

He likes puzzles. He likes putting them together. Maybe because he himself feels like there are so many pieces of himself missing and it's satisfying to fill a picture.

One thing that calms him down are fresh cookies. Chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven, he can go from high strung to calm and docile.

He hates porridge and/or oatmeal. It's too similar to the things he was forced to eat in HYDRA. Tasteless slop, he can't stand the texture.

He loves when you brush his hair. His scalp is sensitive since he had his hair yanked and pulled so much, but you're always gentle. He loves feeling your fingers run through it and it puts him to sleep within minutes.

You're the only one who can touch his scars. Not that he is close to anyone else, but he doesn't fight you when your hand roams over where metal meets flesh.

Watches over you when you sleep a lot, his eyes glued to the door and his ears alert to every single sound. He stays up until he literally can't keep his eyes open.

He's very attached to you and never wants to leave you, ever.

Dividers by @/strangergraphics

[kingsoowolves]

birthday boy | hsh

pairing: idol boyfriend!seunghan x fem reader

word count: 3.3k

author's note: idk if any of you know it, but Seunghan is actually my first bias in riize. since his hiatus, i miss him every day and each day that passes without his presence in the group, i want him to come back even more. i know there's a bunch of ot6 briizes and i honestly don't really care who everyone chooses to stan. we're all different and have different tastes and likings, i get it. but i'm still holding out hope for him to comeback and that feeling won't die down untill i see his beautiful smile while he's on a stage along with his members again. this work is to showcase my love for him, nothing else. and also for all the ot7 briizes and hongjjangus that miss him just as much as me. i hope you like it, babes 🐈‍⬛🫧🧡

contents: established relationship, aged up!seunghan. mentions of riize members. set in the future, on seunghan's 25th birthday. he is active in the group and riize has been in the scene for a few years. smut and fluff. seunghan wants to have his cake and eat it too, lol. fingering, sex in the shower. sex without protection, cumming inside (don't be like them).

Seunghan is needy and dramatic towards you on a daily basis. But on his birthday, it always gets worse. He ends every request with a “Please? It’s my birthday”, pulls you to sit on his lap every chance he gets and asks for smooches and attention each half an hour that passes by. It’s adorable and charming, and you always find yourself a willing victim to his whims, kissing and hugging him whenever he desires.

However, in times like this, when you’re rushing to get everything done for the small dinner party you’re hosting for his 25th birthday, it does annoy you a little bit. You’re already preoccupied about failing this day for him because the cake wasn’t yet delivered by the bakery and you only remembered to put the wine inside the freezer twenty minutes ago. At least, there’s still forty minutes left until the time you set for his members to show up and you hope that the wine is cold by then and the cake is inside your fridge.

You’re thinking about all of this while you’re finishing setting the fancy cutlery on the table. Seunghan should be checking on the lasagna inside the oven, but instead he catches you midway through your task, rubbing his chest on your back and his hands on your hips as he starts to place kisses on the side of your neck.

“Babe, the lasagna,” you warn.

“I just checked it. It’s still cooking,” he whispers over the wetness his spit gathered on your skin, making you shiver. He runs his nose from the side of your throat to your ear. “You smell so freaking good.”

“No, I don’t,” you say, closing your eyes, letting your body sag a little against his and reaching a hand back to his neck, keeping his face still on your neck while he resumes peppering kisses on your skin. “I still haven’t showered.”

“You always smell good for me, baby,” he says before nipping your earlobe. You can’t help but sigh from the attention he’s giving you. “And I can help you shower.”

His obvious naughty intentions make you open your eyes and spin around, your hands going to his chest to push him slightly away from you.

“No way,” you shake your head. “I know you’ll be distracting me and not helping at all. Plus, you’re already ready and someone needs to answer the delivery truck when they bring the cake.”

Seunghan gives you his best puppy look and steps closer to you again, his hands going around you to encircle your waist. “Baby, please,” he whines. “We spent the whole day organizing this place. I haven’t been able to fuck you yet and it’s my birthday.”

You chuckle and look up at him, resting your chin on his chest and squeezing his cheeks. “Well, you should’ve thought about that before hosting a dinner party at our place, birthday boy.”

He whines again, pressing his forehead on yours whilst his agile fingers start bunching up the skirt of your old saggy dress, one hand pressing on the underside of your left thigh as if he’s preparing to lift you over the table. “I could just slide right in like this. I promise I’ll be quick.”

“No, Seunghan,” you say, voice firm and serious. He gives you a defeated look and steps back, his hands dropping to his sides. “I’m sorry, baby. But we’re already late as it is. We can do all the shenanigans you want later, okay?”

You get on your tiptoes and press your hands on his shoulders to drop a quick peck to his lips, but Seunghan holds you there, his fingers closing on the back of your neck to turn the kiss into a heated one. You wrap your hands around his neck to give him a little taste of what he’s been craving, letting him kiss you the way he wants, his tongue licking up every crevice of your mouth. When he pulls back, you have to blink your eyes open to wake up your hazy mind.

“Okay,” he whispers, a sly smile playing on the corner of his lips as he watches the reaction only one really good kiss pulled out of you. “Go get ready.”

You gulp and nod your head. “Finish setting the table up for me, please? And don’t forget about the lasagna, too. Oh, and–”

“And the cake should be delivered any minute,” he completes for you. “I know, baby, I know. Now go get yourself prettier for my day.”

You nod again, giving him one last peck on his lips and finally turning around. Seunghan takes the moment to pat your butt lightly and you laugh back at him while you walk to your bedroom. After getting to the en suite bathroom, you turn the water to the temperature you like and hastily slip out of your clothes. You sigh when you step into the shower and the warm water hits your head and shoulders, massaging the knots on the back of your neck.

After you shampoo your hair and begin to cover yourself in soap, you hear the door to the bathroom open up and spin around to see Seunghan a few meters away from the glass enclosure separating you both, his fingers quickly removing his denim jacket and tugging his black t-shirt up.

“Seunghan, no!” You exclaim, watching him slide the shirt out of his body and dropping it on the floor along with your clothes. “I told you, I–”

“Babe, I already turned off the oven and put the lasagna to rest on the counter. I also texted the guys saying they should come an hour later,” he explains, moving his hands to his belt buckle to unfasten it and then zipping down the fly on his pants. “Wonbin hyung agreed to pick up the cake. Already let the bakery know it, too.”

You open your mouth at him in shock and your pink sponge falls from your hand onto the shower tiles. “No, you didn’t.”

“Oh, but I did.” Seunghan laughs at you and resumes taking his jeans off, his briefs going sliding down his legs along with it. He steps out of the fabric and his semi-hard cock springs free, the head of it slapping along his thigh. You bite your bottom lip whilst he slides the shower door open just enough for you to see him in all his glory, perfect body exposed bare right in front of your eyes. “So what it’s gonna be, baby? Are we going to fuck or do you prefer to keep pretending you don’t want this as much as I do?”

“Come in,” you say through gritted teeth and he laughs again, stepping inside and sliding the glass door back on its place. You wind your arms around his shoulders and press yourself against him. “You’re a pain in my ass, Hong Seunghan. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, and you love me,” he mutters while he holds you, splaying both of his hands on your ass.

“Unfortunately, I do,” you whisper back, pulling him in for a kiss.

Seunghan’s lips have always been addictive to you. You love how full and beautiful they are, how his smiles come easily when he quirks the sides of them up just a bit and especially how soft and moist they become while he’s kissing you. You always get lost in the feeling, biting on his bottom lip and drawing pretty sounds out of him. You’re so lost in him at this moment that you don’t even notice how his hands snake down your body, gripping on your flesh until his fingers find the place in between your legs.

He spreads you open with his fingers and you moan, your lips disconnecting with his. He laughs darkly as his forefinger rubs on your clit and you hold onto his shoulders for stability.

“You tried to deny me like that but yet you get this wet from just a few kisses?” He says while he watches your face contorting in pleasure.

“I was trying to be responsible,” you reply, trying to keep your moaning to a minimum while it’s still so early in the game. “Instead of you, who only thinks with your dick.”

Seunghan smiles, fingers massaging over your hole and trying to coax louder moans out of you. “That’s just your effect on me, sweetheart. I can’t help it.”

“I don’t know about that. Maybe you’re just a horndo–” You get cut off because of course Seunghan chooses that exact moment to insert two of his fingers inside of you, making the words on your lips turn into a groan and your head loll back.

“What were you saying, baby?” He asks slyly over your exposed neck, pumping his fingers in and out of you with precision. How can he be so fucking good at this?

You gulp down the saliva that collects in your throat and scrunch your eyes while you bask in the feeling of him pleasuring you. “Nothing.”

“That’s what I thought,” he replies with a smile, moving you to press your back against the bathroom wall and reaching down to wrap a hand around one of your thighs, hooking it up around his waist. You press the arch of your foot on his ass to pull him closer to you and soon enough his dick is pressed in between your bodies and he’s rutting on your lower belly. “That’s it, such a good girl for me.”

You move your hand down to cover his pretty cock, pumping him in your fist the best you can while Seunghan distracts you by scissoring his fingers inside your cunt. You try to look down to see what you’re doing, but Seunghan’s head eclipses your visions when he starts dropping kisses on the valley of your breasts. His lips move to one of your perk nipples and you moan out loud when he sucks it into his mouth, flicking the bud with his tongue. Your pace falters on his length and he pulls your hand away from it to intertwine your fingers together, resting them on the coldness of the bathroom tiles beside your head.

“Hani, it’s your birthday,” you say, and he looks up at you with your boob still inside his mouth. “I should be the one pleasuring you.”

He releases your nipple with a pop, then sinks his teeth on the flesh of your other breast. “But you are pleasuring me, baby. Doing whatever I want with you is all I need.”

You sigh when he licks over your neglected nipple, his tongue tracing around the areola over and over again until he gets tired of it and suctions on that one, too. He keeps the unrelenting pace of his fingers inside of you and moves his thumb up your clit again to rub on it.

“But I want to do more for you,” you whisper, starting to thrust your hips up against his hand. Your head already feels dizzy and your vision starts to get hazy with how much he’s overwhelming your senses. You feel that any moment now you might snap.

Seunghan releases his nipple from your mouth t at the same moment the revolutions down your clit get faster, and you can’t stop your moans from echoing around the restroom anymore while he kisses his way up to your lips again.

“Then you can suck me off after dinner, okay?” He mutters, his natural foxy eyes glinting at you and his mouth drinking up your sounds. “You’re close, right?”

“So close, Hani,” you cry out, gripping his hand tightly on yours and tugging on his hair with your other one.

He smiles at you and presses his lips to yours two times. Then, he mutters, “Cum for me now, pretty girl.”

It’s ridiculous that that’s all it takes to get you there. But either way, your orgasm washes over you, the tingling forming in your belly spreading through your limbs and head while your walls convulse around Seunghan’s fingers. He still keeps his work in your pussy while you scream and drop your lips to bite on his neck to give you something to do.

“That’s it, my love. You look so pretty when you fall apart. I want to watch this for the rest of my life,” he whispers in your ear while you sink your teeth on his flesh.

Once there’s no energy left in your body and you’re babbling incoherently on his skin, he slides his hand up to lift your chin and press your head back on the wall. His fingers wipe the drool from the corner of your mouth and you smell your juices on them, your tongue instinctively darting out to lick at them.

“Shit, baby, you got me so hard already,” he heaves while you suck his digits into your mouth, limp hand searching for his cock again. “There’s no need for that.”

You only release his fingers from your mouth after pressing little kisses on the tips of each one, then you smile at him and wrap your hand around his dick, slapping it against your folds to share your wetness and his precum with each other. “You’re going to fuck me now, birthday boy?”

“Are you up for it already?” He asks, trying to convey worry through his little groans and expletives. “I don’t wanna do too much too soon.”

“I don’t care, you can overstimulate me all you want,” you reply back, hitting his dick on your clit to show him that you’re serious. “I just need your dick inside me, Hani.”

“Fuck yeah,” he groans at both your words and how you guide his dick to your entrance, your cunt sucking his fat head inside. “I’ll fuck you dumb, baby.”

“Be my guest,” you moan back, feeling him slide all the way in one go and bottoming out, your walls stretching to accommodate his heavy girth inside.

Seunghan slides out and inside of you slowly only three times. Then he sets a merciless rhythm, hitting you with smooth, fast and hard thrusts. You wrap your other leg around him and he holds you up with his strong legs and arms, hands grasping your back and ass cheeks. You tug on his hair, kiss his cheeks, nip on his lips and suck on his neck and chest while he keeps fucking you through it all. The wet sounds of his dick fleetly moving in and out of your cunt and your skin slapping together bounce around the walls, becoming the back tracking for the harmony of moans you voice out together.

He doesn’t falter for a minute, not even when you reach down to squeeze his balls. Instead of easing down his flow, he spreads one of your legs apart, securing it to the wall behind you while he scrunches his nose and gazes down to watch how your cunt clutches to his cock every time he pulls back and your hand fondles his testicles.

Seunghan is giving you his everything. Hoisting you up, holding you together, pining you to the wall and fucking you deliciously. Ruining you. His arms bulge and his legs flex while he does it and you can see sweat forming on his forehead. The water still falling from the shower hits his shoulder blades and splash warm droplets on your skins and the shower doors, like it’s painting freckles on the scene, covering you both in the marks of your lovemaking.

You think he never looked as beautiful as he does right now.

“Seunghan,” you call for him and he looks at you with lust and love swimming inside his eyes. You run a hand over the fringe that falls on his forehead, slicking it back and then rubbing your fingers on his cheek bone. Handsome as hell. You can’t quite believe this man is all yours. “I’m close. I want you to cum inside, okay?”

He nods fervently and presses kisses on your hand that’s still on his face. “Yeah, baby, you got it,” he says, his voice faltering slightly.

Just then he slows down the drive of his hips, moving his legs and balancing himself again in between your thighs until he finds the new angle he’s searching for. Your breath hitches when it seems like he slides even deeper inside your pussy. The head of his cock starts to hit that amazing spongy spot inside you and he smiles victoriously when you’re reduced to a blubbering mess. When his thumb rubs on your clit, joining his dick in his effort to make you mad, you’re done for.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” you moan out, squeezing your eyes shut. Your legs tremble and you try to hold it together, but your peak is coming at you faster and faster. “Baby, I think I’m gonna– I’m cum–”

You’re interrupted by Seunghan’s lips crashing on yours and his tongue being shoved inside your mouth. Your orgasm rips through your body like an out-of-control train flying off its tracks. It’s brisk and powerful, leaving your heart racing and your breath short, your mouth hanging open while you moan your boyfriend’s name until your voice feels raw.

“That’s it, baby. That’s a good girl, cumming all over my cock,” Seunghan says, his eyes locking on yours when your jaw clenches. “I’m right behind you, baby. Going to give you my cum now.”

“I want it, Hani, please do it,” you request with a hoarse voice, fighting your words out through the soreness in your throat.

“Oh, shit,” he groans, his hips jerking and stuttering, his cock swelling up and twitching inside you. “Yeah, fucking take it, baby.”

He spills inside your cunt and you moan deeply one more time before he slumps against you, his forehead pressing on your shoulder while your pussy milks him dry. He’s still holding you up, but the hand that was pining your thigh to the wall is now limp, and you move your leg back to wrap around him, tightening your hold of him to keep him inside you as long as possible.

Seunghan moans some more in your ear and you press reassuring kisses on the moles over his shoulders while you both calm down and catch your breaths. When you feel his gasps mellowing out, you press your fingers on his nape and pull his head back to look into his eyes.

“Hi,” you whisper and he gives you the sweetest smile ever, the lines around his eyes cracking and his whisker dimples appearing on his cheeks. “Happy birthday, Hani.”

He hums happily and rests his forehead on yours, dropping five consecutive pecks on your mouth. “Thank you, baby. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” you say, pressing your lips on his to give him a full kiss. He responds eagerly, tongue stroking yours and hands sliding to the back of your thighs to kee you up.

You feel his dick stirring inside you again when he pulls back and says, “You think we can go for round two before the guys show up?”

You laugh incredulously at him and unwrap your legs from his body, pushing on his shoulders until he pulls out of you. He whimpers pathetically at the loss of contact and you lift a finger to shut him up.

“Don’t you start, Hong Seunghan,” you admonish him.

He just pouts and catches your finger with his hand, puts it inside of his mouth and starts to suck on it, looking at you wickedly as he does so, all that while his cum starts to seep out of you. Your breath hitches at the scene and because his remnants now sticking to your thighs. But you keep your cool, withdrawing your finger from between his lips until they’re out with a pop. You give his chest a slap and then turn, moving to stand under the shower head to clean yourself.

However, before you can get the soap on your body, his arms are around you again and his lips are ghosting over the shell of your ear. “I’ll be quick, baby. Please, it’s my birthday.”

You roll your eyes at him. He’s insatiable. And he’s definitely going to be late for his own birthday party.

happy birthday, hani, i love you! If you liked this work, consider sharing your thoughts with me on the comments or my ask box. thanks for reading! 🧡

[marshmellowfluff221]

Sniffles

Pairing: Kenma x Reader

Summary: Kenma gets sick and takes a day off to recover.

Warnings: None

A/N: This occurs when you guys are adults working and living together in an apartment

(also i swear i'll fix my masterlist soon)

-

You always woke up before Kenma, got ready, made breakfast and left a little note for the tired man that still slept soundly. Usually you'd write what he can do while you're gone if he's bored of work. Sometimes he stays home since there's no need to go in and during those times he usually sleeps in. Regardless, you didn't mind.

As you double checked your bag, to make sure everything you needed for work was in there, you heard a small snore emitting from your shared bedroom. A small smile crept onto your face as you put down your bag and keys and slowly walked over to the slightly open door and pushed it open. Kenma was peacefully sleeping, his arms around your pillow. He normally holds you but once you get up you have to expertly replace your body with a pillow or he'll wake up. His brows furrowed, his mouth parted slightly as light snores escape. Kenma wasn't a big snorer, only on days he was exhausted.

You contemplated taking a picture, but thought against it. His sixth sense would go off and you'd have a grumpy Kenma to deal with. You decided to instead tip toe up to his side of the bed and leave a small kiss upon his cheek.

"I love you too." Kenma grumbled, almost as if he was sleep talking- which he did pretty often. You couldn't tell if he was awake or not but he continued snoring so you made your swift exit and went to work.

After a long and exhausting day at work, you fumbled with your keys in the apartment door. You had been wanting to come home earlier, concerned when you never received a text from Kenma saying he made it to work. Perhaps he was working from home today. You finally managed to open the door and noticed how quiet the apartment was. Concern began creeping into your mind.

"Kenma?" You stepped inside, shutting the door behind you. You placed your bags on the kitchen island, seeing your note from the morning untouched. "Hm."

You didn't bother taking off your shoes as you stepped towards the bedroom, pushing the door open slightly. A lump laid in your shared bed. Kenma.

"Kenma? Are you okay?" You reached up to the top of the blanket, pulling it down slightly to reveal Kenma's tired face. He blinked slowly, red coating his nose and cheeks. A fever. You placed the back of your hand against his forehead, feeling the heat radiating off of him before you even touched his skin.

"Kenma honey, you're sick." You whispered, brushing his hair from his forehead and leaning down to place a kiss upon the redness. "Why didn't you text me? I would've come home early."

"Didn't wanna bother." Kenma mumbled. He wasn't his usual self, the fever making him tired. You sighed, knowing you would've done the same if you were sick.

"Okay, let me get you some medicine." You gave him another kiss to which he grumbled something about you getting sick from him. You rushed to the kitchen grabbing the proper pills and a wet towel. You came back to the room, Kenma a little more awake now. You placed the wet towel upon his forehead. He sighed instantly, closing his eyes in content. He pulled his hand out from under the covers, holding it out. You placed the pills in his palm and he took them.

"Thank you." Kenma mumbled, eyes still closed as he laid there. He never liked asking for help when he was sick. You two were similar in that way, and you both got mad at the other when neither of yiu said anything.

"Get some rest, I'll make dinner." You kissed his forehead for a third time and he nodded, his soft snores starting up again.

You cooked and ate your own dinner as Kenma was still sleeping. When he woke he looked better, but still trudged into the kitchen with a blanket wrapped around him and tissue stuffed into his nose. He ate and you sat with him and discussed your day. Some drama with coworkers that you needed to catch him up on.

Once the day was over both of you showered and then went to bed as usual. In the morning you woke, a little tired than normal, but got up and got ready. You'd just finished changing when you realized the man that sleeps beside you wasn't in bed. You were confused by the lack of Kenma.

You stepped out into the rest of the apartment, spotting him sitting at the dining room table. Eggs, bacon, and toast sat on a plate for you and him. A small smile made it's way to your lips. It was his way of saying thank you for taking care of me.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Several Sentences Sunday

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

FANON FanFic: Buddie Multi-Chapter - “I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Chapter 33 will be posted soon!

This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

Currently 32 chapters completed: 1.485M Words; Rated: Mature

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I'm excited to finish writing Chapter 33 because at the end of Chapter 32, Buck and Eddie got the call from Angelo, the real estate agent in San Gimignano, Italy regarding the house they bid on back in December and they were informed the builder accepted it. Later that evening, they told their found family at the 118 about it and they had a lot of questions including if they were going to immediately relocate to Italy.

Eddie explained they wouldn't do it right away but he included a caveat that if Buck or Chris say they're ready to go, they would pack up and leave, no questions asked. They still haven't told the Diazes yet and they haven't told Margaret and Phillip either. Will they tell them in the next chapter? Also, in Chapter 31, Buck and Bobby agreed to have a conversation at a later date regarding Buck's meeting with Captain Mehta and the job offer he got from Captain Clarke at the 115. Will they have that meeting in Chapter 33? 👀

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Here’s a snippet from Chapter 33 of a conversation Buck and Eddie are having on FaceTime.

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It’s 11:07PM and Buck’s lying in bed staring at the ceiling. As memories of the conversation that he had earlier today flow to the front of his mind like a tidal wave, he becomes frustrated all over again because the words he exchanged with his captain, mentor and father figure reached a level they hadn’t been at since 2019 right before he filed the lawsuit.  Even though he’s not planning to file another one, he is thinking about the appointment he scheduled for tomorrow and he wonders how it will go.

He’s deep in thought when his phone starts ringing and after he grabs it off the nightstand, he checks the display, sees it’s a FaceTime call from Eddie and he tries to adjust his facial expression.

After he inhales and slowly exhales, he slides his finger across the screen and greets, “Hey babe?”

“Hey, amore mio.  How are you and Chris doing?”

“Uh… we’re ok.  Chris is in bed and we finished all his Algebra homework after we made it home and guess what?”

Eddie’s smile widens because he loves it when his husband asks him that.  “What?”

“For dinner we cooked buttery Ritz cracker chicken with baby potatoes and broccoli.”

“Hmm, that sounds tasty.  Did you or Chris find the recipe?”

He shares a small smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.  “Um, we both did.  After we looked in the fridge, we saw the chicken breasts we ordered and the potatoes, so we entered the ingredients into Google Chrome and searched for a recipe.  It was the first one to pop up.”

His husband’s sad eyes and his sullen tone causes him to furrow his eyebrows because he can tell something’s wrong.  He looks directly into the camera and asks, “Amore mio, is everything, ok?”

He sighs, sits up in bed and leans his back against the headboard.  Once he positions the phone in front of his face again, he replies, “Babe, we can talk about it later because you’re at work and…”

“Buck, I’m going to stop you right there because you know nothing and no one is more important to me than you and Chris.”  He bites his bottom lip in anticipation of asking the question that’s on the tip of his tongue.  “Are you feeling, ok?  You’re not having any chest pains, are you?”

He shakes his head no but when he sees and hears Eddie gasp, he quickly explains, “I’m ok…” but he trails off and lowers his head.

Since Eddie’s working a 24-hour shift and he still has more than 6 hours left before it ends, he doesn't want to worry him. Also, it’s late and there’s a lot he wants to say but he’s not even sure where to begin.  Instead of trying to decide, he lifts his head, looks into the camera and asks, “Babe, when you get home in the morning, I know you’re going to be tired and you’ll want to get some sleep but uh… will you go to The Food Network with me after I finish my call with Edward?”

“Of course, I will and you know you don’t even have to ask.”

Buck nods his head in response and after a couple of seconds, he replies, “Thanks babe. I uh... called Lindsey Brown, the executive producer for the cooking show “All About Pasta” and she said she was glad I called because Emeril’s in L.A. until Saturday and she scheduled time for us to eat lunch with them so we can talk about their offer for me to be the new host of the show.”

Eddie nods but he’s worried about him and he figures something happened when he talked with Bobby earlier today.  He cautiously asks, “Does tomorrow’s appointment have anything to do with your meeting with Bobby?”

“It does.”

“Do you want to talk about it?  I’m in the loft by myself and I can put my AirPods in?”

He nods and replies, “I do…” but he trails off when he hears the alarm sound.  He looks into the camera and explains, “That’s ok, babe, we’ll talk about it after you get some sleep in the morning.”

“Buck, I can come home…”

“We’ll talk in the morning after you wake up.  I love you and be careful, ok?”

What is Eddie going to say next? 😉

Is he going to leave work? 🤷🏽‍♀️

What happened between Buck and Bobby? 🙃

Why did Buck call The Food Network about that job offer to host that TV show? 👀

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Fic Summary: Months after Buck and Eddie were hit by the same lightning strike; they’re still struggling with the aftermath of it.  But before they make their love confessions, they’ll spend time getting to know themselves as individuals first. Eddie learns to enjoy the simple things in life as he participates in activities on his own and with new friends while Buck learns the rest of the 31-year-old deep dark family secret about his conception and birth. Their journey to forever is still a work in progress but once they finally admit they’re in love with each other, everything that follows their love confessions will be cataclysmic.

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Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1 - Eddie makes a new friend while Buck receives devastating news regarding the sperm donation he made for Connor and Kameron.

Chapter 2 - Buck does a lot of research to learn more about the abnormalities found in his red blood cells and Eddie starts a new therapy journey that’s all about him and not the traumas he’s experienced.

Chapter 3 - After more than a month, Buck and Eddie finally spend time together outside of work but it doesn’t end well and they part with a lot of uncertainty regarding their places in each other’s lives.

Chapter 4 - Eddie has a few realizations about his life which causes him to consider moving back to El Paso, TX while Buck continues to be reminded of his past which causes him to take an impromptu road trip across America.

Chapter 5 - Both Buck and Eddie have difficult conversations with their parents and Buck finally learns the truth behind the reason why his mother despised him while Eddie finally tells his mother about the way she tries to control him.

Chapter 6 - More than two weeks after Buck pushed Eddie away after suggesting they needed a break; Eddie decides to try again. Eddie’s there for Buck when he’s at his worst just like Buck was there for him when he was at his worst and he won’t let Buck give up.

Chapter 7 - After Buck’s mental breakdown, Eddie has his back the same way Buck had his when he had his own breakdown more than a year ago.  They share several vulnerable and emotionally intimate moments with one another and they begin to realize their small, sweet and caring gestures matter just as much if not more than any grand gesture ever could because these are the foundations of a long-lasting love relationship.

Chapter 8 - Buck, Eddie and Chris all have their own therapists and during their sessions, they reflect on their pasts while they’re in the present so they can prepare for their future together as a family.

Chapter 9 - Buck and Eddie are there for each other when Buck has to testify as a witness during the trial.  But by the end of it, they’ll both realize their individual and shared traumas are going to keep resurfacing until they talk about them, deal with the fact that they’re in love with one another and face the fact that they can’t live without each other.

Chapter 10 - As Buck and Eddie finally begin to confront their past traumas, they realize how much they need each other to fill in the gaps of their memories.  Additionally, the universe screams at them for what appears to be the one hundredth time so Buck can realize he doesn’t have to ‘find it’ because he already ‘made it’ and Eddie’s reminded tomorrow isn’t promised and he doesn’t have to die alone if he doesn’t want to.

Chapter 11 - A “virga” or dry thunderstorm is in the forecast but once the rain starts, the thunderstorm happening outside won’t be able to match the storm brewing inside between Buck and Eddie.  It’s the universe’s final scream and when the tumultuous winds begin to blow, they’ll have one last chance to hold onto everything they’ve built over the last six years or they’ll lose it all forever.

Chapter 12 - Buck and Eddie have always shared a deep physical attraction and an emotional intimacy that’s unmatched but now that they’re in a relationship, they’re learning how to navigate the romantic intimacy they’ve been waiting for six years to explore. The love they have for each other is a once in a lifetime, soulmate, love of their lives type of love that transcends space and time.

Chapter 13 - While navigating the newness of their romantic relationship, Buck and Eddie take advantage of every moment they spend together. As their individual lives, people from their pasts, time constraints and the possibility of losing each other again make attempts to interrupt and interfere with their journey to forever, they love, care for, support and hold onto each other even tighter to withstand it all.

Chapter 14 - Buck and Eddie can see the lights at the end of the tunnels regarding the results of Buck’s Cancer Screening along with everything else they’re dealing with. But are the lights they see exits to the tunnels or are they headlights on different runaway trains that are speeding towards them in an effort to interrupt their forever?

Chapter 15 - Buck and Eddie have known they were exactly who the other one wanted in a partner since they met six years ago when they agreed to have each other’s backs. They’re in a romantic relationship, they’re both preparing to ask the other one to spend forever with them and by the end of the seventh week into their relationship, together they will plan their most important and greatest adventure for their future.

Chapter 16 - As Buck and Eddie begin to prepare for their marriage ceremony that will take place in Rome, Italy in December 2023, they start planning their first international adventure as a romantic couple. Even though Chris is still the only person they’ve told about their relationship, several people who know them have already witnessed the love they share and as the days continue, others will witness it too.

Chapter 17 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to departing Los Angeles for their international adventure, a moment in time will remind them; life is fragile, tomorrow isn’t promised and every second of everyday should be cherished because everything can change in an instant. The result of that realization will cause them to hold onto each other even more.

Chapter 18 - As Buck, Eddie and Chris prepare for family gatherings before and during the Thanksgiving holiday, the “Santa Ana Winds” start to blow and all sorts of expected and unexpected familial drama ensues.

Chapter 19 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to their wedding day, the universe begins to align everything so that some of their parent and children's relationships are strengthened while others come to an abrupt end.

Chapter 20 - With only 14 days remaining until Buck, Eddie and Chris depart Los Angeles, CA traveling to Rome, Italy, for their first family adventure, an early morning conversation about “tying up loose ends” helps Buck and Eddie realize there are still several things left unfinished on their ‘To Do’ lists. The question is will there be enough time to complete all of them?

Chapter 21 - Buck, Eddie and Chris are finalizing their ‘To Do’ Lists, double checking their itineraries and packing their suitcases in preparation for their trip to Europe so they can board their flight that departs Los Angeles, CA on Friday, December 15, 2023 at 3:25PM.

Chapter 22 - While Buck, Eddie and Chris spend the first 8 days of their European family adventure in Italy, their primary reason for going will be fulfilled as well as several others they hadn’t considered or anticipated.

Chapter 23 - As the Diaz Family continues their Italian family adventure, they’ll say, “Ciao” or hello and goodbye to a lot of things almost immediately after they become an official and legal family.

Chapter 24 - After Buck, Eddie and Chris arrive in London, England on December 24th; the Diazes immediately start preparing to spend their first family Christmas together. During their stay, each of them will hear a few choice words that will be the life raft to get them home to complete their searches to be seen and to be found.

Chapter 25 - After spending more than two weeks in Europe, Eddie, Buck and Chris are back in Los Angeles and they’re getting ready to attend Maddie and Chimney’s New Year’s Eve party. During the event, they have plans to make two surprise announcements but the question is, who’s really going to be surprised, the Diaz family or their found family at the 118?

Chapter 26 - Buck and Eddie are once again faced with their greatest fear of losing each other but this time it could be permanent and if it is, then they won’t be able to spend the rest of their lives together.

Chapter 27 - After Buck resumes therapy, he’ll continue to face the fact that he “DIED” in March 2023 and during those sessions, he’ll learn about the 7 stages of grief. As he continues his healing journey, Eddie will be right by his side just like he promised and the Diaz family will start to deal with their three minutes and seventeen seconds loss as a family.

Chapter 28 - Two years ago, Eddie was asked, “What are you afraid of?”; twice, once by Frank and once by Buck but he only answered one of them without deflecting. Since that time, he’s been to therapy and him and Buck got married but the question resurfaces when Frank asks Buck the same question and Buck asks it of Eddie for the second time. However, when Buck asks, his reasoning will be about something else entirely.

Chapter 29 - After Buck and Eddie have an emotionally intimate conversation regarding their dreams, they make several decisions that will affect their future. When everything falls into place, they’ll realize one of those decisions will result in them no longer being work partners.

Chapter 30 - In 2018, Buck and Eddie met at the 118 and after some initial apprehensions on Buck’s part, they became work partners and they agreed to have each other’s backs. It’s been more than 6 ½ years, a lot’s happened, they got married in December 2023 and they have the family they both chose. With Eddie leaving the 118 in 3 months and Buck getting closer to moving past his grief, what will him losing his work partner mean for him?

Chapter 31 - As Buck’s life hangs in the balance from what’s suspected to be another bradycardia event, Eddie’s by his bedside, their son is being cared for by relatives and their found family is in the waiting room. During this time, many questions will surface that could possibly lead to the truth but will everything be revealed before it’s too late?

Chapter 32 - On January 2, 2024, the figurative skies over the Diaz family became gray and filled with storm clouds. Buck’s recent trauma, Chris’ school project and Eddie’s paramedic studies combined with the attack on Buck’s life, all those things contributed to the grief they’ve been experiencing. However, as the middle of February approaches, will the dark clouds dissipate so blue skies can return?

Chapter 33 - Will be posted soon.

__________

Read chapters 1-32 are available on AO3.

Continue reading on AO3

Chapter 33 will be posted soon.

[1425fivefive]

27 and 11 for the prompts? you can do them separately or in one fic it’s fine :) THEYRE SO CUTEEE and i love ur writing style !! lestappen pls :)

This one's a bit longer and slightly nsfw. Inspired by "Everything is Romantic" by Charli xcx.

27. kiss on a place of insecurity & 11. kiss in secrecy

The villa is beautiful, all exposed brick and wooden beams, crumbling statues scattered across the grounds.

Max is lying on the edge of the pool, half-asleep as he listens to Charles chat with the cook about dinner plans. Or at least, that’s what Max thinks they’re talking about. They’re speaking Italian, Charles’s low, melodic voice washing over Max, so soothing Max thinks he could fall asleep right here, the hot Italian sun on his face and one leg dangling in the cool water of the pool.

But a shadow falls across Max’s face and he blinks his eyes open to discover Charles leaning over him, a soft smile on his face.

“Tired?” Charles asks.

Max hums, returning Charles’s smile. “A bit, yes.”

“You could nap, if you would like,” Charles says softly. “But my family is out, and I was thinking maybe we could—” Charles trails off, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Max has suddenly never felt more awake in his life.

They’ve come to the Amalfi Coast with Charles’s mother and brothers for the summer break, Max’s first time taking an extended vacation with Charles’s family. And while it’s been lovely, Max has felt far too self-conscious about being overheard by Pascale to have sex with Charles. It’s been almost two weeks since they’ve done anything, the longest they’ve gone since they started dating.

At times, Max feels like he’s being tortured. Waking up to Charles lying on his stomach, head pillowed on his hands, gorgeous tan skin and rippling back muscles on full display. Max wants nothing more than to trail a line of kisses down Charles’s back, enjoy slow, tender mornings with the view of Capri through the window.

Instead, Max rolls out of bed and takes a cold shower, trying to remind himself that he wants Charles’s family to like him, which definitely won’t happen if they overhear him moaning or whatever other horrible noises he makes during sex with Charles. No, he’s afraid he’d never be able to show his face around the Leclerc family again.

But now they’re gone and Max is scrambling to his feet, tugging Charles in for a bruising kiss.

Charles pulls back after a moment, laughing breathlessly. “If you still want to nap—”

“Charles,” Max whines.

Charles giggles. “Yes, okay, I think we can skip the nap.”

Max drags Charles to their bedroom, pausing to kiss Charles every few steps. Charles lets him, sighing into the kisses and wrapping his arms around Max’s neck, tugging him closer. At one point, Max thinks they might not make it to the bedroom, thinks he might have to get on his knees for Charles right here in the open, too desperate to make it even a few more steps.

But they make it in the end, Charles yanking Max down the hall and shoving him back onto their bed.

“Beautiful,” Charles breathes when he has Max naked and spread out, trembling beneath him.

“I’m not the beautiful one here,” Max says, laughing softly. He doesn’t mean it to be self-deprecating, just means it as a fact—Charles is beautiful. Max is many things, but he’s not that.

Charles makes a wounded noise. “You are.”

Max laughs again, tugging Charles in for a soft kiss. “I’m not. I don’t have an eight-pack, or whatever you have these days. I’ve been eating so much gelato”

“I don’t have an eight-pack,” Charles scoffs. “And I love your body like this, Max. Love when you are soft and happy, getting to enjoy gelato whenever you want.”

Max flushes at the praise. “Thank god you’re not my trainer,” he jokes. 

He’s trying to deflect, trying not to look head on at the adoration in Charles’s eyes. It’s too much, sometimes. Makes Max feel flayed open and tender, like an oyster pried out of its shell, vulnerable and soft.

“I love you like this,” Charles repeats, eyes dark as they rove over Max’s body. Charles leans forward pressing a kiss to Max’s chest. “Love how soft this is, how comfortable it is when I rest my head here.” He keeps pressing kisses down Max’s body, lips skating toward Max’s stomach.

Max has never liked his stomach. It’s never looked like any of the other driver’s, not even a hint of abs. He knows he’s in shape, obviously, but he worries sometimes that he doesn’t look like an athlete. That people look at him and think he’s lazy, that he doesn’t work hard enough.

When Charles licks over Max’s stomach, Max thinks briefly about pulling away. Tugging Charles up for a kiss or fishing lube out of the nightstand. Anything to get Charles to stop paying such close attention to the tender bits of Max.

But Max stays where he is, fingers digging into the sheets as Charles presses an open-mouthed kiss to Max’s stomach.

“Love this, baby,” Charles breathes, bringing a hand up to squeeze gently at Max’s stomach. “Love how it feels under my hands, love how it bounces when I fuck you.”

Max inhales a sharp breath, scarcely able to breathe as Charles takes him apart.

Charles licks over Max’s stomach again, before sucking a mark into Max’s skin. “I think I should feed you more gelato,” Charles muses, smiling up at Max. “Anything as long as it makes you like this, all soft and sweet for me.”

“Charles,” Max breathes, voice hitching on something humiliatingly close to a sob.

Charles crawls up the bed, leaning down, elbows on either side of Max’s head, to press a heated kiss to Max’s lips.

“You’ll let me fuck you, yes?” Charles murmurs. “Let me tell you how beautiful you look like this?”

It terrifies Max, feeling so exposed, but he nods, frantic, desperate. He wants everything, would let Charles do anything to him. He loves it, he realizes. Feeling taken apart by Charles’s gentle hands.

“Yes,” Max breathes. “Yes, Charles, anything.”

Charles moans, and kisses Max, long and hot and slow.

kiss prompt ask game here

[the-kneesbees]

that was the worst food experience of my life

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

real quick. to the the anon in my inbox a few weeks back asking about how free use medic came to be the agreed-upon method of stress relief for the whole of 141: i love you, you're perfect, i'm not ignoring you; i am drafting in direct response. several things.

at the anon who sent me the ask minutes ago about a particular au with Soap: good god. good god. i have 8 solid hours of meetings tomorrow and that's all i'm gonna be thinking about. thank you for the brain rot. rip.

[maddieandangel]

Had a weird Hollow Knight-related dream a couple days ago, so I decided to draw a major scene I remembered from it dgsgshf

More context will be in the tags, for those interested!

[todayisafridaynight]

Why not combine them? You could post about MineDai eating pasta! Does Mine bulk with pasta? Does Daigo have a favorite pasta dish? Do they cook it together for a date night? Does Daigo even know how to boil water?? (Genuinely if you have any interest in posting about this please do, would read)

mine could, in fact, be the one who makes daigo pasta with a lil olive oil and salt and parmesan youre right ......