#but yeah I decided to volunteer tomorrow! I like volunteering for stuff gets me out in the world

[hannahhasafact]

Debating wearing my tumblr hat to pride tomorrow because on one hand I need a hat to protect my face from the sun but on the other hand I don’t want people to think I’m transphobic

[moni-logues]

Wax On

Pairing: Taehyung x reader

Established relationship, fluff

Word count: 3k

Content: uh, waxing? An erection? That's it.

Summary: Your waxer cancelled on you last minute and there was no one else available. Your boyfriend volunteers and, against all your better judgement, you let him do it.

A/N: a repost of a pretty recent fic! BUT I got a wax today (brb firing my waxer 💀) and remembered this weird little fic and decided to repost! It's not edited; ngl, didn't even read it back through PEACE

You throw your bag on to the kitchen counter with a huff. 

“Everything ok, sweetheart?” Taehyung calls from the sofa. 

“My fucking waxer cancelled on me!” you cry.

“I was right there! I had arrived early and she text me to say she had to cancel! My appointment was in ten minutes!!! And no one else had any time today and they don’t have anyone with any time tomorrow so now I’m going to have to find somewhere else to go and someone else to do it at the last minute and you know good places don’t have space at the last minute-” 

“Hey, hey, hey...” 

Taehyung wraps his arms around you and kisses your forehead. 

“Slow the stress down a bit, eh?”  

He strokes your hair and you lean into him, resting your head heavily against his chest. 

“Why does it have to be in the next two days? Can’t you make an appointment for next week?”  

“No, there’s a cycle; I can’t get out of the cycle! It has to be now.” 

“Ok, why don’t you do it yourself?” 

You push yourself off him and stare at him, unimpressed. 

“Wax my own pussy? Seriously?” 

“You wax your own legs!” 

“Yeah, legs! Legs are very different, Taehyung. There is a reason I pay a professional.” 

He sighs, tips his head to the side as if he’s thinking, then grins. 

“Let me do it.”  

“Excuse me?” 

“I could do it.”  

His grin is dark and mischievous and he bites his lip at you.  

“You think I’m going to let you do that to me? Have you ever waxed anything before?” 

“No. But I’m sure there’ll be tutorials on youtube; it can’t be that hard.” 

“You say that to my waxer and she’ll hit you.” 

“Hey, come on! Let me try! I’ll study! I’ll study all night and all tomorrow and then I’ll do it; I’ll do a good job, I swear.” 

Taehyung’s misplaced confidence in his abilities is part of what charmed you about him in the first place. So confident and, more often than not, so rubbish. Yet he always takes it all in stride like an indefatigable puppy. His enthusiasm is relentless and hard to resist.  

You consider his proposition. You know he will not do a good job; you’re just not sure how bad a job he’ll do. You can’t deny that there is a part of you that’s curious to see how he does, how he reacts. This is the behind the curtain stuff that men – some men – are weird and squeamish and childish about. Taehyung is not like that; in fact, he is so not squeamish about the weird things your body does that he almost swings the other way and chucks them all into his fetish list. The fact that he brought it up so readily, so quickly, so easily makes you think he might have thought about this before now.  

“Ok,” you say slowly. “I agree on two conditions-” 

He grins. 

“That was easy.” 

“I can change my mind!” 

“No, no! Name your conditions.” 

“One, I wax your legs first.” 

“Well, that’s not really equivalent, is it?” 

“Are you suggesting I give you a sack and crack wax? Because I am not doing that.” 

“Why not? I’m going to wax yours!” 

“Because I’m not a freak like you are!”  

He laughs.  

“And I’ve never done it before! And I wouldn’t want to hurt you!” 

“You can youtube it. If I’m willing to let you, you should accept.” 

“No. My condition- my first condition is that you let me wax your legs first.” 

He sighs, making a show of being annoyed and disappointed, though you know he doesn’t mind really. 

“Fine. Next condition?” 

“For every bruise you give me, I get a present.” 

“What sort of present?” 

“A big one.” 

“Deal.” 

* * * 

When you get home from work the next day, slightly apprehensive, Taehyung is on the sofa again, glued to his phone. You’ve barely taken your shoes off before he’s calling to you. 

“Are you ready? Are we doing this now?”  

“Give me a fucking second to take my shoes off, Tae!”  

“I’m ready whenever you are!” He turns his phone around and you can see he’s watching a waxing video. “I’m all studied up; I know exactly what I’m doing!” 

“In theory...” 

You go to the kitchen to pour you each a glass of wine and spot that he has already set everything up: wax pot on, towel down, ready and waiting for you.  

“Why are you so keen and why are you so weird?” you ask him as you hand him his glass.  

He takes it from you and keeps on coming, closing the distance between you, meeting your lips with a kiss that leaves you breathless.  

“Oh... What was that for?” You lean on the kitchen counter and blink up at him. 

“I just love you, that’s all,” he shrugs. “Are you ready?”  

“I think you mean, are you ready?”  

You kneel down beside the towel, give the hot wax a stir and pat the floor for him to sit. He looks at you, a little reluctant, like he’s done something naughty and is about to be found out. Then he pushes his trousers down. 

“Taehyung! What have you done?!”  

He has just one hairy leg. 

“I had to practise!” he argues, pouting as he sits on the towel. “I left you a leg!”  

You can’t be annoyed because he has a point and any practice he can get before you spread-eagle yourself before him is a good thing. You sigh and shake your head, unable to keep yourself from grinning.  

“And how did you find it?”  

He shrugged.  

“Kind of not as bad as I thought, actually.”  

“Good. Tell me if this is too hot.”  

You spread wax over his shin and check his face. He just nods and takes a sip of wine. Then you flick up the edge and rip. He flinches, his face pinched, and you laugh. 

“Not as bad as you thought?” 

He groans. 

“It’s somehow worse now I’m not doing it to myself.” 

“Well, you just hang in there because you’ve a lot of leg to go yet.” 

When you finally finish, you tell him to stay put, lying on his front, and run to the bathroom for moisturiser, which he forgot to get out. You apply it liberally over both his legs and he hums peacefully. 

“This is nice; you keep doing that,” he mumbles, head resting on his forearms.  

You rub the lotion in in a way that would probably get a professional fired and when your hands flow up to the top of his leg, you press a kiss against his hip and he shifts. 

“Hey, don’t do that,” he says softly. “Not unless you want to deal with the consequences.” 

“You are such a horndog. Is there nothing that doesn’t turn you on?” 

“Not when it’s you...” 

You switch places and lie down on the towel. You are beginning to regret ever agreeing to this. You’ve done it yourself before, only twice, and it did not go well either time; it was awkward and painful and took forever. Taehyung may well have ‘studied’ but he’s never actually ripped the hair out of anyone’s genitals before. You concede that he does have the advantage of being a person apart from you and having a bonus pair of hands (yours) which will absolutely be there to help him if he needs. 

He taps your left knee, in exactly the way your waxer does, to get you to bend your leg out to the side. He’s frowning as he dips the stick in the wax, wipes off one side, swirls it around and brings it over to you. He hesitates. Wax drops from the stick, blobs of it sticking thick on your delicate skin.  

“Taehyung,” you prompt. “You have to actually do something now.” 

He grins at you with his bottom lip stuck in his teeth. Then he turns his eyes down and spreads a thin strip of wax across your mound.  

“Hold on,” he says, putting the stick down and bringing up his phone. “I want to check...”  

You sit up, using the pause as an opportunity to drink some of your wine. The look of concentration on his face is fierce as he glares at the screen, trying to lodge someone else’s knowledge in his brain. 

“Ok, ready now.”  

You lie back down. He flicks up an edge of the wax and holds it tight between thumb and forefinger. He presses down heavily with his other hand along the length of the strip and you can see him counting down in his head to the moment when he rips it back. He bites his lip, holds his breath and pulls. Pulls slowly. 

“Ow, ow, ow!” you cry. “You have to do it quicker than that!” 

“Sorry! Sorry! I just- it's weird actually doing it when I know it’s going to hurt you.” 

“It hurts a lot more when you go that slowly. Really, seriously, as quickly as you can.” 

“Ok, let me try again.” 

He looks at you this time, with the edge of wax in his fingers and you nod and do a quick, swishing movement with your hand to demonstrate. He pulls again.  

“How was that?” 

“Much better, thank you. Make sure you pull along not up, though.” You demonstrate, miming waxing a strip from your leg, keeping your hand low. “See?” 

He nods, serious, and tries again. 

“That was good, right? Look!” 

He shoves the strip of wax in your face, little hairs sticking up all over the surface. You push his hand away. 

“Yes, that was better but I do not need to see it. I also don’t want to rain on your parade but you know this is the easiest spot, right? There are lips and creases and shit to navigate soon, you realise?” 

He swats your thigh. 

“Yes, I know your pretty, little pussy very well, thank you very much.”  

He moves carefully, one small strip at a time and you would be annoyed at how long it was taking if it were anyone but him. You’re grateful that he’s taking his time with it. You lie back and watch the ceiling, letting him get on with it; he’s surprising you by doing a not altogether horrendous job. You feel like you should feel weird about it – your boyfriend giving you a wax – but Taehyung has never, not even once in the whole time you’ve known him, made you feel weird about anything. When you struggled to tell him something you’d always wanted, a fantasy no one else had ever realised, he had looked at you with such open enthusiasm, such a keen willingness that the words fell from your mouth suddenly without effort; then he did it. When you had your period and the flu and could barely stand, he was the one who fished out your menstrual cup, no quibbling, no squawking, not even when he dropped it and it all went everywhere: all over you, all over him, all over the floor; he just emptied, rinsed, re-inserted and then cleaned everything up. And then did it again twelve hours later.  When you feel ugly and bloated and undesirable, he takes as long as you’ll give him (hours sometimes) telling and showing you just how desired you are. Nothing phases him. Nothing puts him off. He accepts you entirely. 

“Um.”  

“What?” Your stomach drops; of course, it has been going too well... 

“Does it matter if I get wax on your piercing?” he asks, frowning uncertainly at the jewellery in question. 

You jolt up, eyes wide. 

“Are you asking if it matters if you accidentally try to rip my piercing out? Yes, yes it does. It matters a lot.” 

“How do I get it off?” 

“Just flick it, Tae.” 

He smirks at you and you can only roll your eyes. 

“Stop being a child; get on with your job.” 

“A child? You’d have a child do this, would you?”  

“Shut up. You know what I mean.”  

As you lower your head back down, your eyes alight on something that makes your mouth drop. 

“Taehyung, what is that?”  

You point at his boxers, or rather, the distinct and entirely noticeable bulge in them. 

“What?!” He asks, defensively, turning away from you. 

“You cannot be getting hard right now.”  

“I can’t help it,” he mumbles.  

“Please tell me you did not get yourself off today watching waxing videos.” 

He turns to you now, his face outraged and indignant. 

“I did not. How could you say I would do that?” 

“You’re an enormous freak, baby; I wouldn’t put anything past you.” 

“Hey! I’m only a freak for you.” He’s mumbling again, his cheeks slightly pink, lower lip slightly jutting. “No one else has a pussy this pretty; I can’t help that I like it.” He turns his head and looks you in the eye. “I like doing things for you.”  

You reach up and push his hair out of his face. 

“I know you do,” you tell him softly. “I know. And I love you... But if you keep that up, you’re going to lose your job at the salon.” 

He laughs.  

“Some of your hairs aren’t coming out,” he tells you. “Do I just leave them?” 

“Tweezers. Did you bring them?” 

He shakes his head and you tell him where he can find them in the bathroom. He holds them up to you to check they are the right ones and, when you nod, gets back to work. 

“Ow, fuck, Tae! Grab the hair, not the skin!” 

“Sorry!” 

He moves his head closer, much closer, to get a better look and then he reels back. He looks at you to see if you saw (you did) and grins.  

“If I get too close, I’ll have to kiss you,” he explains. 

You roll your eyes.  

He taps your knee and then your ribs and you pull them together, holding your shins tight. Taehyung moves so he’s directly in front of you and swears quietly. He looks at the ceiling, resting heavily on his palms. 

“What?” you ask. 

“You told me I’m not allowed to get hard,” he said, not without effort, screwing his eyes shut tight.  

You chuckle softly, and put your legs down, taking the opportunity to finish your wine.  

“Ready yet?” you ask, looking at Taehyung looking anywhere but you. 

“No,” he answers with a whine.  

“You are so nearly done. If you can get your mind out of the gutter for five minutes, it’ll all be over.” 

“That is easier said than done when I have to look at you and touch you but can’t actually touch you.” 

“Call it an exercise in self-control. Pretend you’re edging yourself. You like that.” 

He hums thoughtfully. 

“True... Ok, fine, knees up.” 

When he’s finally finished, he breathes a sigh of relief.  

“Why am I sweating?” he laughs. “That was so much pressure.” 

“You’re not considering a career change, then? Kim Taehyungie waxer extraordinaire?!” 

“Fuck no,” he replies with feeling. “I would do anything for you, but doing this for someone else? No. No. No, thank you.”  

You chuckle as you inspect yourself, surprised to find that he really did do an ok job. The next few days will reveal just how many of your hairs he managed to break rather than pull out but, all things considered, you are impressed. You are even fairly sure he hasn’t bruised you – and a little disappointed that this means no presents. 

He crawls over to you and kisses you deeply, pulling you close. 

“So?” he asks, grinning at you. “Did I do a good job?” 

“Actually, you kind of did, yeah.” 

“See? Didn’t I promise I would?” 

“You did.” You heave a sigh knowing that gloating is forthcoming.  

“And you had the audacity to doubt me. As if I would ever endanger-” 

“Your favourite part of me, I know-” 

“Hey! No! That’s not what I was going to say! It’s not my favourite part of you!” 

You raise a sceptical brow. 

“It’s one of them, sure. But I love you for more than the sex, you know. Like I said, I would do anything for you. I even offered to let you give me a sack and crack wax; that’s true love!” 

You laugh, your eyes alighting on the wax pot – still on, wax still hot.  

“Well,” you start, a grin tugging at your lips. “I mean, I could do it.” 

Taehyung’s eyes widen and he starts to grimace. 

“It was your idea! Come on, my little freak; let’s get a little freakier.” 

He screws up his face and sighs, standing up to take off his boxers. You swap places: him on the towel, you kneeling above him. You search quickly on your phone for a few tutorials and give the wax a stir. When you’re finally ready to start, Taehyung turns his face towards the ceiling, breathing out carefully while his fingers tap repeatedly against the floor.  

“Of course this was my idea,” he mutters quietly. “Of fucking course. Had to say I’d do anything for you. Had to suggest this.” He turns his head back to you. “Never let me suggest anything else again, ok?” 

You laugh and spread a stripe of wax across his skin. You wait for it to harden and flick up the edge. 

“Ready?” 

[sugurusbbg]

“I still remember 3rd of december, me in your sweater” itadori x reader

Info : you n yuuji are best friends. You are lovesick and want a relationship and sulk at all the couples you see. Read out to find out the rest… :)

You lie in bed while scrolling through instagram. You like the photos posted by a cute couple in matching clothes. You tear up at the sight and then open tiktok up.

You expected to see loads of relationship tiktoks however… you end up seeing SINGLE relatable videos. Of course tiktok HAS to make you feel a need and want for love.

Your heart had a desire. A desire for a long and meaningful relationship. Every sight of love made you vomit. You wanted it more than anything in the world. You would always tell your best friend yuuji about your hatred towards couples. But everytime you did he would always have some sort of disappointed or displeased look.

It was the day before heather day ( 3rd of December where a loved one would give you their sweater ) you obviously knew you would have a breakdown on that day so you and yuuji decided to have a sleepover on the 2nd to make you happy.

You packed your bag excitedly to arrive at your best friends house. After packing very little you made your way out the door. You knew itadori would offer you some of his clothes and stuff so you didn’t really bring alot. Only necessary stuff.

You close the door to your house and look at the road to see yuuji. He rolled the window down in the passenger side and told you to quickly get in. It was snowing outside so it was really cold.

You opened the door to yuuji scar and welcomed him with a bright warm smile. Closing the door you look at him for a couple seconds and he smiled to himself before saying.

“You look really pretty right now. I love your hair. It suits you.”

“Oh thank you yuuji! I guess i did it just for you.” You giggle.

However yuuji didn’t take it as a sign of a joke. In fact he blushed at the thought of you styling your hair as it is just for him to look at.

The journey to yuujis house wasn’t long so when you arrived you and yuuji hurriedly went up the stairs. As always the bed was really comfy with sk many pillows and blankets on. On the table beside his bed was your favourite snacks and your favourite drink.

It was 9:41pm and you guys were getting ready to sleep. You ravage through itadoris closet and pull out one of his shirts. You brang your own shorts and thought yuujis shirt would look big on you so you decided to use one of his oversized shirts.

After putting on the shirt you see itadori walk into the room closing the door behind. He brings in a massive bag. He hugged it against his chest so you don’t know what it is. He places it on the window sill after closing the curtains.

“What’s that yuuji?” You question.

“Oh it’s nothing important, you can see what it is tomorrow don’t worry.” He smiled to himself while a tint off pink flushed onto his cheeks”.

“In the morning?” You look up at him.

“Sure, but I’ll give it you. Alright?”

“Yeah! Okay!.” You smile up at him.

“It’s time for bed now. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Mhm!” You say while sleeping on the bed beside his.

The sun shined onto your resting face as you start to open your eyes. You find yuuji sat on his bed staring at you until he looks away quickly noticing your sudden movement.

“Goodmorning yuuji.” You manage to say.

“Goodmorning to you too.” He says with happiness.

“It’s time for you to go now I have to help out at a shop I volunteered. I’m sorry I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh of course I don’t mind!” You say waving your hands at him.

You and yuuji manage to change into your regular outside clothes and your ready to go out to the car.

You and yuuji make your way outside and he holds the bag he had yesterday. You peek into it then look up at him.

He nods at you and gives it to you.

“Can I open it?”

“Oh uh yeah you can.” He says with his hand resting on the back of his neck.

You begin to open the gift bag when you mentally scream inside. You look up at yuuji and you can’t tell if the cold was making his nose blush up or his emotions.

Inside was a sweater a letter with hearts on it and some flower petals inside. You take the sweater out and hug it. You have tears in your eyes. As soon as a plushie drops out the sweater you were for sure your tears fell down onto your cheek. Yuuji picks the plushie up and grabs hold of the sweater and puts it back inside the bag.

You try to wipe your tears but then for a sudden moment. Where everything around you stopped. Yuujis hand was now on your check. His thumb wiping your tears on your eyes.

“Listen I know you have always wanted to be in a relationship and stuff. You would always come up to me speaking out your jealousy of couples. I knew heather day was coming and I thought I’d give you a sweater. Maybe you could like, I don’t know. You could feel loved? Especially uhh by me.” He says with trying to avoid eye contact with you.

You grab his hand and hold onto it. The sun shined onto you and yuuji like you were under a spotlight.

You stand very close together like nothing in the world mattered but apart from what was infront of you. Yuuji itadori.

Itadori’s face comes closer to your face. And before you know it your pulled into a passionate, loving kiss. Better than anything you have ever imagined. It was your first kiss. And hopefully your last. The kiss seemed to last an eternity until you both break away.

They both stare at eachother. For a long time. After that there was silence in the car. With you hugging onto the bag.

Was the kiss really appropriate for the situation? Did it mean anything to him? What was your relationship with him gonna be like now? What now? Your head was a pile of dizziness and hope into a moment as more than friends.

You end up home waving yuuji goodbye however he is not looking at you. You then look back at him driving away with out a single word or action from him. You look shaken as to what will now happen between you and him. Will you remain friends?

.

The next day you earned a text from yuuji. He said he was going to come over. You then rush to get changed and you did your hair as you did the day of the sleepover.

A knock is on the door and you then hesitate to open it. Eventually you do. Then stood before you was a blushing mess. Itadori was sweating until he finally spoke up.

“Listen that kiss. It really did mean something to me. You keep complaining about all these couples about. You seem more focused on all of them that you don’t even pay attention to me. Someone that is deeply in love with you. I am in need to be in a relationship. And not just any. One with you. And only you. Every since that kiss my lips were kissing something. It was missing the taste of your lips. The shape of them. The feeling of it. I really like you okay. I love everything about you and I just thought I’d let you know.”

Your heart is touched at his words. You seem to puzzle up all the words he has just uttered out. You look up at him staring at his lips.

You put your hands on his cheek and bring his head down. You kiss him. It was warming. Passionate. You both cherished that moment. You both made eye contact.

“So what does this make us?” You question.

“I don’t know. It’s up to you if you wanna make it work.” He smiles seeing you in the sweater he gave you.

“Of course it will work.” You both smile to eachother.

AAAAAAHHHHH. THIS IS THE LONGEST IVE DONE AND OMGGGG. I FEEL SOOOO PROUD OF THIS. I SOBBING NOT GETTING A SWEATER AT ALL. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS! IM SRRY FOR ALL THE SPELLING 🤍🤍

[cryptidsurveys]

Tuesday, July 16th, 2024.

How have you been doing? I'm a little worn out from volunteering, but otherwise, I've been doing well. Cassie was telling me that I need to stay for a full day sometime, that way I can understand what they mean about the nonsense that goes on in the evenings. Basically, over the past few months, the time they actually get off work has been pushed farther and farther back. They're supposed to get off at 5pm, but Alex said the other day that she didn't get off until 6pm (and she already comes in ~30 minutes early). There also seems to be some growing animosity/resentment between the dog & cat people. Dog people are allegedly the hold-up. I'm not sure what changed, but it wasn't like this last summer. Cattery is usually finished early, often expected to help with the dog stuff; but when they ask for the final check to be done so they can go home, they're typically left for last.

I feel like that's eventually what will drive Cassie to quit. She had somewhere she had to be last night and they dragged things out until she was like, Yeah, I need to leave. She said it was "fine" in that situation; but in the future, when she has cheer practice, she's not going to be able to wait around for them because cheer won't take work as an excuse for being late. Also, I was told that Lucy might be looking for another job. Lucy told Cassie she wasn't going to quit until she found one, but after her absence last weekend, she might have just decided to go for it.

I know I'm essentially backseat managing here, lmao, but they really need to get ahead of this turnover issue. Since I started volunteering again last summer, they've lost something like 15 employees.

Anything you're looking forward to? Hopefully going for a picnic at the Mountain Park tomorrow. I haven't been there since last autumn, which is way too long. There's a certain rock in a certain stream that I just need to lie down on for a while.

Do you or anyone you know play the violin? No.

Do you have a nice view out of the closest window? It's just a view of some houses. And today, some construction. They're doing idk what on the corner diagonal from us.

What is one of your favorite breakup songs? I don't think I'm really a fan of any breakup songs.

Do you know anyone named Georgia or George? No.

What age did you learn how to ride a bike? Without training wheels? I think I was around 6 years old.

Are you currently listening to music or watching TV? I'm not. Sometimes I will listen to music while taking surveys, but it just feels like a bit much atm.

What is your morning routine? On volunteer days: depending on the day, get up somewhere between 5:15-5:45am. I'm usually awake a bit before that, though, so I just lie in bed and listen to something on YouTube. Shower, get dressed, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, gather the remainder of my things, talk with my dad for a bit. Then, depending on the day, leave somewhere between 6:20-6:45am.

On Wednesday: wake up, brush my teeth, make myself presentable, go grocery shopping, then come home and eat breakfast.

On Saturday: wake up whenever I feel like it, make breakfast, clean my bedroom, and make some art.

Are you someone who gets easily agitated by hearing someone chewing? No. It doesn't tend to bother me.

What was the last text you sent? It was a text to my mom. We might be going to see Despicable Me 4 on Saturday, and I was like, "I'll finally find out what all those little yellow minions are about."

What did you last have to eat? Some mixed veggies with sriracha sauce and a cheese and jalapeno sandwich.

What's your favorite kind of oatmeal/porridge? If we're talking about the flavored pouches, then probably brown sugar, birthday cake, strawberry, or peach. However, I typically use plain oatmeal as my base and use fruit, peanut butter, etc, to flavor it from there.

Have you ever ate a whole pizza in one sitting? I don't think so…maybe a half, though…? In elemntary school, we used to have pizza days on Friday (was it weekly? monthly? I can't recall); if you didn't "flip a card" (their disciplinary system), then you could pay some small $ amount that I no longer recall and get a half/full pizza, a cookie, and drinks.

What are some things you are grateful for? Volunteering. Even with all the drama, I can't imagine giving it up. I feel like it's a good exercise in detachment (not that I'm so detached, lmao; I'm obviously here dishing the constant tea). Like, if you ever just want to be an observer without any real expectations or responsibility for the system as a whole, go volunteer somewhere. It's an interesting experience… It's helping me learn to step back, stop trying to control everything, and just sort of let everything play out the way it will. It's not that I've given up all autonomy to the flow, but seriously, sometimes it helps to really see just how little of this teeming, chaotic world has anything to do with me. Thought I was going to make a difference; instead, found out what a cosmic speck I am. Maybe not what I wanted, but definitely what I needed. Still a speck, but now a free speck.

What's the last thing you done while outside? Drive, I guess.

How often do you do laundry? Every few days. It just depends on how quickly it piles up.

Have you already had your birthday this year? Yes, back in March. Which feels like forever ago. June 1st feels like it was last week, but March feels like it was last year.

Last thing you done before this survey? Vacuum the living room and dining room.

Do you like sleeping with multiple pillows? I have multiple pillows on my bed, but I only sleep with one.

How many candles do you have in your bedroom? A couple.

What emojis have you used the most here recently? D; and :')

What color is your favorite shirt? I don't have a favorite shirt, but my favorite hoodie is black.

Do you currently smell food cooking? No. Oh, but at the shelter earlier, I walked out of cattery to go to the bathroom and it smelled like someone was cooking hot dogs with ketchup or something. Come to find out it was ant killer. What a wild smell for such a thing…like luring them to a picnic or something…

If you were given $1,000 to spend at one store. What's your store of choice? Walmart (groceries).

How much sugar do you consume on a daily basis? Idk.

Do you have any ice cream in your freezer? Yeah. Well, it's custard, but same basic deal. It's from Culver's. Strawberry cheesecake and mint choco-chip.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "chaos"? Chaos theory, chaos magicians…etc.

Do you own anything that has an animated character on it? Somewhere.

Have you used a microwave today? Yeah.

What's the last book you read? Still in the midst of the third Dune book. I haven't picked it up in a while, though. I just haven't felt much like reading lately.

What's something that always makes you cringe? Idk.

What's a word or phrase you say a lot? My toxic trait is that I'm blind to my own annoying catchphrases.

What's something that always makes you emotional? Music. Not always in a good/cathartic way. Sometimes in an overwhelming/spiraling way.

How many times have you changed clothes today? Twice. From pajamas to volunteer clothes and back to pajamas.

What's on your mind currently? Just how busy this next week-ish feels. I hope I don't get a migraine…

In what ways have you changed over the past year? So many ways.

Do you really care about others opinions of you? Ehhhhh. Much less than I used to, but still to some extent.

What's your favorite pasta? Spirals, bowties, macaroni elbows.

Do you currently see anything yellow? Some watercolor flowers I painted.

What did you last try to do and failed? Not sure.

Does your bathroom have a certain theme or color scheme? Not really.

If you have Netflix or any streaming service.. what's your favorite shows to stream? N/a.

Are you currently wearing anything red? No.

What was the last thing that caught your eye while shopping? I'm not sure.

What's a social media site you have no interest in? Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok…I don't even know what's out there these days because I don't keep up.

Have you ever tripped and fallen in a public place? Yeah.

When did you last buy a dairy product? Last Wednesday.

What's the last song you sang out loud? I'm not sure.

[tetsunabouquet]

Basic Instinct Chapter 10

A/N: Just a little bit of fluff of Akashi being lovedrunk after the date. Masterpost

Akashi arrived home, still on cloud nine. The date had gone over so well, he could hardly believe it. The two of you were dating, truly, dating. He felt as if he could float. His father wasn't anywhere in sight. Good, he did not want his father to disturb his happy bubble. He went up to the staircase, wanting to go up to his room when he saw Fujioka standing above. "Welcome home, young master." "Fujioka-san!" Akashi greeted, with a warm smile upon his face. "I take it your confession went well. Congratulations," the butler smiled back at him, and Akashi once again felt grateful for the older man. It felt so nice to have someone be happy for him once he came home. "It did. Our first date went spectacularly well, it's a shame it couldn't last longer," Akashi sighed, missing you already. "Young love is such a sweet thing. I remember the first time your father took your mother out for a date. When he and his driver dropped her off at home, she spent the first half hour just sighing at the door, as if she couldn't part her mind off of the event." Fujioka smiled at the memory, and Akashi's own bright smile softened upon the mention of his mother. 'I wonder if y/n is still staring at her door, or out of her bedroom window into the direction I left.' "I am truly happy for you, young master. Now may I suggest a bath and relax after a day of racing emotions?" Akashi nodded, wordlessly drifting his way to the bathroom.

When he woke up that Sunday, he realized he had overslept. With a yawn, he came out of his bed and reached for his phone.

Good morning, I hope you slept well - A

As he send out the text to you, he couldn't keep himself from letting out a dreamy sigh. Yesterday truly had been amazing. He felt happy, knowing he could share his precious first time ever doing things with you as he explored things his father had kept from him growing up. With you at his side, he felt alive. Akashi felt himself practically bouncing off the staircase to go to the kitchen, in order to ask for breakfast. As he asked his cook for two simple pancakes, he started thinking about tomorrow, when he could see you again. He wondered how he should drop the news you were dating. Should he just tell everyone, or subtly hint at it with subtle displays of affection? He kind of wanted to boast to everyone you were his girlfriend now, though. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world, to have you as his own. After carelessly shrugging down his pancakes, he decided to go for a ride with Yukimaru, wanting to tell his best friend all about his succesful date. His tall, white coated friend had his eyes light up at the sight of Akashi and he smiled. "Hey Yukimaru, everything went well with y/n, just as I hoped. So you'll get to meet her soon enough." Akashi cooed with pride, stroking the horse's long nose. Yukimaru whinied softly, almost sounding genuinely enthousiastic. "Yeah? You're going to have to try really hard if you want her for yourself." Akashi teased and Yukimaru grunted. Akashi was grinning as he mounted the horse, and they galloped through the field behind his house, enjoying the scent of the green grass, the trees. He truly couldn't wait to ride with you.

As he went back to the kitchen for lunch, he looked at his phone, noticing a message from you.

I did, thank you! I had a wonderful time yesterday x o x o -Y/N

Akashi smiled at the message, and with a grin he typed back,

Me 2. So, my beautiful lady, what are you up to? - A

It was as Akashi was half-way digging into his lunch that he felt his phone vibrate, and impatiently he immediately checked.

Busy with my volunteering job. I'm wrapping up small gift sets for this elementary school in a very poor district. Things like pencils, cute animal themed erasers, that sort of stuff. - Y/n

Akashi smiled at your answer, his heart melting into a small puddle inside of his chest. 'She has such a lovely, big heart. I doubt I'll ever get over how wonderfully sweet she is.'

I love how you try to do so much for children in need. Your heart is such a pure thing, I am grateful it is mine to love. - A

With his lunch abandoned, all he could do was stare at his phone, awaiting your answer. Thankfully, he did not have to wait for long.

Stop it! I'm practically swooning right now, and I am supposed to be working! I'll see you tomorrow at school, my sweetest prince x o x o - Y/n

And as Akashi texted you back, promising to see you tomorrow, a warm smile passed over his face. This was real. The two of you, were really real. You were his, and he was yours. Talking to you over text, flirting so casually, this was his reality now. Perhaps he was losing his mind all over again, but Akashi couldn't stop himself from screaming out of joy. If the servants and his father cared or disapproved, they wouldn't let him now. Everyone just allowed Akashi to stay in his bubble. Whatever Fujioka had done to convince his father, it had worked tremendously. Akashi felt free to explore the sensations he felt, and whilst it scared him a little, he would not trade it for anything in the whole wide world.

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

1.2 committing a felony (don't do this)

warnings : ANOTHER effing monster attack, some more cussing, mention of arson

word count : 5.8k

1.2 Blow Torching a National Monument So Badly, I Could Be Tried for Arson (Even Though It Literally Wasn't My Fault)

I could safely say we were all miserable that night. None of us liked the thought of spending the night in a place where we had just killed the only occupant, so instead, we spent the night camped out in the woods a few miles away.

The clearing we settled down in was obviously a frequent gathering point for the local kids to hang around. It was about a hundred yards from the main road and rather marshy. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers. We spent a few minutes piling the garbage together so we could dump it in a trash can tomorrow on Luke's suggestion.

It was easily the worst place that I'd ever spent the night, but with the snug sleeping bags we'd taken from Camp, it wasn't too bad. We'd decided against a fire. The Furies and Medusa were enough for one day, and a fire would most definitely bring more unwanted visitors.

I kind of regretted it, cause frankly, I was freezing, but again, I'd had enough of fighting for today. Well, for the rest of my existence really, but I didn't exactly have a choice in that matter. My father had seen to that very firmly.

I volunteered for the first watch, and Luke gave only a moment's objection before he fell fast asleep. Grover, however, simply laid down, staring up at the sky with a brooding expression.

"Regretting ever meeting me?" I asked as lightly as I could. Really though, I wouldn't blame him for it if he was. Tyche definitely had some sort of grudge against me. On the other hand, I did manage to survive all the shit I went through, so maybe she actually liked me. Something to dwell on at another time, I guess. 

Grover startled out of his thoughts, turning to stare at me and shake his head wildly.

"Don't be ridiculous, Allie!" he objected. "You're my best friend, I love you. It just... it makes me so sad. And mad. I'm mad about it too."

I frowned at him. "What makes you sad?" I pressed. "Can I help?"

The side of his lip quirked up briefly before falling again, his frown returning. "This makes me sad," he gestured at the rubbish pile and up at the sky. "I mean just look at the sky. You can't even see the stars. They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr."

I bit my lip. I knew already that Grover was an environmentalist, but he talked about this with so much emotion, feeling guilty seemed to be my only option. For what, I wasn't exactly sure.

"I'm sorry," I finally ventured. "I guess it must be really hard for a nature spirit to see this sort of stuff. We'll dump it tomorrow."

He sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. "Do you know what a searcher's license is?"

I shook my head. "Not really," I admitted freely, not worrying about my lack of knowledge on the subject. "I just know that your family has a tradition of getting them, and you'll only get yours if we succeed in the quest."

I cocked my head to the side for a moment as a breeze wafted through the clearing. It was fresh and sweet and brought with it the smell of berries and clean air. Suddenly, I was nostalgic for something I didn't know.

"Tell me about it," I requested quietly. 

Grover gave me a studying look, like he was trying to decide if I was worthy of knowing about his dream or not. I must've been, because he nodded, straightening and beginning to explain. "The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago," he told me. "A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore—"

"'Tell them that the great god Pan has died!' Yeah, I know that story," I said, recalling Chiron teaching it at the beginning of the year.

"RIght. When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep."

"Wow," I said simply. "So you want to join them?"

Grover nodded. "My whole family has been searchers for generations," he explained. "My dad, and my Uncle Ferdinand. You saw his statue back at Aunty Em's."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Grover waved me off. "Dad and Uncle knew the risks. Every searcher does. But I'll succeed. I'll be the first one to come back alive."

My eyes widened in shock at that. "The first? What happened to them all?"

"Nobody knows," Grover shrugged gloomily. "But we have to keep trying. We have to believe that we'll be the one to find Pan and wake him up. It's the only thing that keeps us from giving in to despair when we look at what's happened to the world."

I stared at the orange haze of the sky and tried to understand how Grover could pursue a dream that seemed so hopeless. Then again, was I any better?

There was no way I'd ever be able to make Hades do what I wanted, after all. I was only a seventeen-year-old girl with a sharp tongue and a stupidly large amount of money. He was a god, and one of the most powerful gods at that. I was screwed and I knew it.

"How are we going to get into the Underworld?" I asked him. "I mean, what chance do we have against a god?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But we'll figure it out. We all have faith that you'll succeed in this, Allie."

"Why?" I demanded, angry that I could feel that my voice was shaking and trying to hide it. "Why is everyone so goddamn confident that I can do this? I've known about this stuff being real for a week!"

Grover chewed on his lip, genuinely considering my question, which I appreciated. "You've just got this aura around you," he finally told me. 

I paused in tugging agitatedly on my braids to stare at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just the way you talk and move and just... just act. It makes everyone feel that you'd lay down your life for ours without thinking about it."

"Of course I would," I replied instantly. 

Grover flashed me a sad smile. "And that's why we trust you," he insisted. "And you have real power. In multiple ways. Allie, you are quite literally a global celebrity. You could probably go to the White House and create any law you wanted and it would get passed. And as a demigod? You probably can't control it yet, but your father is the god of the seas. He holds an extensive amount of power and you are his first mortal daughter. It's reasonable to suggest you are going to be stronger than most of his other children." 

I didn't know what to say to that. Truthfully, I'd thought about it a lot the night before, but didn't want to go much further with my thoughts— they still scared me. Not wanting to do the same now, I changed the subject to something I did want to ponder.

"I think something is off about this whole thing," I admitted to him. "On the bus, the Kindly Ones, did you hear them? They were asking where it is. Not her, it. We're missing something big, I know it."

Grover bit his lip, worry flashing over his expression. "Well, we have to go to the Underworld anyway," he finally stated. "The prophecy said we'd go west and face the god who has turned. And it said you'd find the bolt and return it safely. Everything will work out, Allie, you'll see."

I said nothing, but the Oracle's warning about being betrayed and war beginning played ominously in my mind as I watched Grover fiddle silently with his reed pipes.

More than anything, I wished for my mom to be there, holding me and stroking my hair.

"How about I take first watch?" he suggested. "You could use a rest." 

Before I could protest, he lifted the pipes to his mouth and began to play. Unlike his earlier attempts, the tune, something by Mozart I think, actually sent me to sleep. 

Eventually, the nightmare started. I was standing in a dark cavern before a gaping pit. Grey mist creatures churned all around me, whispering rags of smoke that I somehow knew were the spirits of the dead.

They tugged at my clothes, trying to pull me back, but I felt compelled to walk forward to the very edge of the chasm. Looking down made me dizzy. The pit yawned so wide and was so completely black, I knew it must be bottomless. Yet I had a feeling that something was trying to rise from the abyss, something huge and evil.

"The little heroine," an amused voice echoed far down in the darkness. "Too weak, too young. But perhaps you will do."

The voice felt ancient— cold and heavy. It wrapped around me like sheets of lead and filled me with sheer terror. I wanted to run, but my feet were frozen in fear.

"They have misled you, girl," it said. "Barter with me. I will give you what you want."

An image appeared in front of me of my mother. She looked just like she did the day she died. Her long brown hair was down, flowing around her messily, her face was bare of make-up with her loving smile that always made me feel safe and happy, no matter what. She was dressed in her pajamas. And her arms were open, like she was waiting for me to run into her embrace like when I was a little girl being picked up from school.

I tried to cry out, but my voice wouldn't work.

Cold laughter echoed from the chasm. An invisible force pulled me forward. It would drag me into the pit unless I stood firm.

"Help me rise, Astraea." The voice became hungrier. "Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!"

The spirits of the dead whispered around me, "No! Wake!" The image of my mother began to fade. The thing in the pit tightened its unseen grip around me. I realized it wasn't interested in pulling me in. It was using me to pull itself out.

"Good," it murmured. "Good."

"Wake!" the dead whispered urgently. "Wake!"

Someone was shaking me. My eyes opened, and it was daylight. I shot up, gasping for breath.

"Allie?" Luke asked, just barely avoiding our heads knocking together. "What happened, are you okay?"

I shuddered. "Just a nightmare," I managed to croak. "It was just a nightmare."

Luke looked tense. "Allie—"

"Come on," I interrupted. "We need to get to the train station, and quickly. I can get all of our tickets."

***

We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, and past amber waves of grain.

We weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax. I felt like we were traveling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity. I tried to read the books my friends had packed for me and played some cards with the boys, but I just couldn't get into it. Our deadline and my prophecy loomed ominously over me and I always ended up getting up to pace the length of the train instead.

Once, I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they (I assumed) hunted lunch. The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, caught my eye and waved. I looked around the passenger car, but nobody else had noticed. The adult riders all had their faces buried in laptop computers or magazines.

Another time, toward the evening, I saw something huge moving through the woods. I could've sworn it was a lion, except that lions don't live wild in America, and this thing was the size of a Hummer. Its fur glinted gold in the evening light. Then it leaped through the trees and was gone. Frankly, I was relieved. I'd seen it before and I was in a bad enough mood without adding fighting the Nemean Lion to it.

The tickets I'd bought only went as far as Denver and, since I didn't want to waste any time, we decided not to wait four more days for a train to get us where we wanted. I had a bad feeling about wasting time, and I knew it'd be quicker and easier if we just got off in Denver. 

Luke and Grover had to almost physically fight me to keep me from buying us expensive seats that would actually give us beds. I was tired of sleeping uncomfortably, but Luke said if we got into a fight, being in a bigger space would help a lot more. 

At one point, Grover's shoe fell off and Luke and I had to hurry to replace it before any mortals noticed something was off.

"Angel," Luke said seriously as we sat back down again. "We need to talk about your dreams."

I tensed at that. I had no desire to talk about my nightmares of the pit despite having had a repeat of the dream only that night. It seemed as if by doing so I'd be turning them from bad dreams into the quest related visions that Luke had mentioned to me before.

"Allie," Luke pressed me when I didn't speak. "This is important. I can't help if I don't know the problem. And I know you had another dream last night. Tell me." He cupped my face to turn my gaze to him. I felt a strange feeling of warmth in my stomach and chest at the amount of concern in his bright blue eyes.

He has to have gotten those eyes from his father, I thought hazily. No way is that color natural. Way too vibrant.

"Fine," I huffed, breaking his stare and crossing my arms stubbornly.

His smug look at having broken my stubborn will vanished as I spoke, his demeanor becoming serious again.

"That doesn't sound like Hades," he said, chewing over my explanation. "He usually appears on a black throne, and I've never heard of him laughing."

"He offered to bring my mother back to life in trade though," I argued, a pang in my heart. "Who else has the power to do something that if not the god of the dead?"

"Thanatos is the god of the dead," Luke corrected me, tapping on his leg. "Hades is the god of the Underworld and everything under the earth. But Thanatos has even less to gain from this than Hades does. I guess it could be him. But why tell you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"

I shook my head, wishing I knew the answer. I thought about what Grover and I had discussed, that the Furies on the bus seemed to have been looking for something.

"Where is it? Where?"

Maybe Grover sensed my emotions. He snorted in his sleep, muttered something about vegetables, and turned his head.

I silently reached over and readjusted his cap so it covered his horns.

"Allie," Luke began carefully. "You know that you can't barter with Hades. He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time—"

"If that was them being unaggressive, I never want to actually piss them off," I cut him off sharply. My eyes fell to my lap as I started fiddling with the locket and the new necklace that hung around my neck.

The locket was an antique, belonging first to my great-great-grandmother and then being passed down through the generations until I received it from my mom. It was in the shape of a rose, made of real gold. On the outer edges of it were engravings of a rose and in the very center was a diamond and engravings to make it look like the north star. When I opened it, I saw a picture of my mother at twenty. She was standing on the beach in front of the ocean, with me heavily bundled up against the cold sea air cradled in her arms. On the other side was the most recent picture we'd taken together, right in front of our beach house. I'd thrown myself in her arms and Danny took the picture at the perfect time.

"I know that I can't try to bring her back," my voice was ragged as I spoke, and my lip shook slightly. I scowled to keep the tears that were stinging my eyes from falling. "But I just..." I fell silent. I didn't even know what I was going to say.

I started when Luke's arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a strong embrace. I stayed there for about a minute before pulling away and adjusting myself on the bench.

"While you were still out you mumbled a little about your mother and what happened to her. What was she like?" Luke treaded anxiously. The question hung unvoiced in the air between us, and for a moment I contemplated pretending I didn't pick up his hint. Instead, I sighed, my shoulders slumping as I kept on playing with my locket.

"My mom's name was Sally Jackson," I finally told him. I didn't look away from the necklace, determinedly studying the rose engraved on the shiny surface to avoid his gaze. "She was actually the nicest person ever, I'd bet my life on it. Her parents died when she was five, in a plane crash if you can believe it. Every time I got on a plane she about had a heart attack. When she was in college, she ended up having to drop out of school to nurse her uncle until he died and then she had me when she was nineteen. She loved English literature, so I grew up on Jane Austen and Shakespeare, stuff like that."

He gave me a small smile. "Is that why you can quote the whole Romeo and Juliet balcony scene from memory and not have to grab a source?" 

I giggled. "That and I recently played Juliet in a remake that comes out in a few months."

"Ah, my mistake." 

"Anyway, she got me into acting around the time I turned two. The director of the first movie I was in saw her walking around outside our apartment and needed a young child for a few scenes and she let them use me. After that... I'm not sure. I guess they liked how natural I was at it and continued putting me in things and now... my life is what it is. Getting followed whenever I go out to dinner. Flying around the world to perform songs that I've written. Walking red carpets. Having every inch of my body scrutinized whenever I appear on a runway. It's not all bad, but it certainly isn't entirely glamorous, either." I shrugged. "And then, when I was six, she married this asshole named Gabe. He liked taking my money to fund his gambling problem. Then he'd get drunk, his equally bitchass buddies would leave, and if my mom wasn't home, we'd argue. A lot."

Luke frowned at me, obviously putting a few of my hints together in his head. It wasn't hard to see that the scars that most definitely didn't come from a monster weren't caused by accident. He obviously felt like I wouldn't go into it, and he was right, and changed the subject. 

"I met Thalia just outside of a dragon's lair in Charleston," Luke said quietly. 

I started in surprise at the non sequitur and opened my mouth to tell him he didn't have to explain, but he held a hand up. 

"She was twelve, same as me. We had both run away from bad home situations, not really abusive, just bad, and we met Annabeth a few months later. She had just turned seven. We traveled together for a few months, before meeting up with Grover. And then we headed for Half-Blood Hill. We were being pursued by a legion of monsters sent by Hades to kill Thalia, and there was no way that we could have made it. We were about to be overwhelmed, only minutes from the border. Thalia made us go on ahead. She sacrificed herself. Zeus turned her into a tree, so now her lifeforce guards Camp."

I glanced at him. "Is there some kind of rule?" I murmured. "All half-bloods must have as screwed up childhood as possible. Ancient Law number whatever."

It wasn't remotely funny, but Luke cackled in laughter, anyway. We both pretended not to see the other wiping away tears.

Toward the end of our second day on the train, June 13th, eight days before the summer solstice, we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. Luke craned his neck to see the Gateway Arch, which was a little anticlimactic, considering I'd been there before.

"Annabeth loves that stuff," he informed me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"What stuff?"

"Architecture. It's her favorite thing in the world. She wants to build a monument that'll last a thousand years."

"Lofty goal," I observed. "Makes me feel embarrassed about my ambition of living into my twenties."

"Ah now, Angel," Luke teased. "There's having a dream and there's being fanciful. All the trouble you get into will have you being buried at nineteen, tops."

"Make sure that there are roses and sunflowers at my funeral," I snarked back at him, ignoring Grover's obvious horror at our morbid humor.

"Oh, but of course, Angel," he answered in a posh British accent. I patted his shoulder condescendingly. 

"Let's visit the Arch!" Grover said, obviously trying to move the topic away from my funeral. I glared at him with an incredulous look on my face. He cowered from my infuriated glare as I went to whack him over the head with my bag.

"Are you serious? This is a mission to stop the apocalypse, not a fucking sightseeing tour! What the hell is the matter with you, you goddamned, furry—"

Luke placed a hand over my mouth. I tried to bite him, but he was too quick, pulling it away and putting it back too fast for me to either hurt him or continue my rant. "Calm yourself, Angel," he drawled. "I agree with Grover. We have a while before our train leaves again, we might as well do some sightseeing to distract ourselves from the whole apocalypse thing."

"But I've already been—"

"Doesn't matter, you can go again."

So that was how we ended up standing in line at an elevator in the St. Louis' Arch while Grover passed me jolly ranchers, me trying to slip them into my mouth without taking off the mask and sunglasses I'd put on to keep from being recognized.

I kept looking around, though, at the other people in line. "You smell anything?" I murmured to Grover, voice slightly muffled from the mask.

He took his nose out of the candy bag long enough to sniff. "Underground," he said distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."

But something felt wrong to me. I had a feeling we shouldn't be here.

"Guys," I said, shifting uneasily. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, Hade—"

Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... You mean, our friend downstairs?"

"Um, right," I said. "Our friend way downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Luke nodded. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there?" I asked.

He nodded again. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus— the shortest day of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful than Annabeth's invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..."

"It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

"But then... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" I asked.

Luke and Grover exchanged grim looks.

"We don't," Luke admitted. I noticed his hand slip to his disguised sheath, clutching his sword pommel as he scanned the area.

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," I said. "Got any Snickers left?"

I'd almost mastered my jumpy nerves when I remembered the tiny little elevator car we were going to ride to the top of the Arch, and I knew I was in trouble. It felt very different from the last time I was here.

We got shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. I figured maybe the dog was a seeing-eye chihuahua, because none of the guards said a word about it. Usually, I liked animals, but something about that dog made me feel uncomfortable.

We started going up, inside the Arch. 

"No parents?" the lady asked us. She definitely wasn't gonna be winning any beauty contests with her beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp. I scolded myself for the insulting thoughts, but couldn't help but feel as though I needed to be wary. 

"They're below," Luke lied smoothly. "Scared of heights."

"Oh, the poor darlings."

The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.

"Sonny," I repeated. "Is that his name?"

"No," the lady told me. She smiled, as if that cleared everything up.

At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded me of a tin can with carpeting. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. The view was okay, but it still felt weird and I wanted out of there.

Luckily for me, the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes. I actually thanked the gods, I was so relieved.

I steered Grover and Luke toward the exit, loaded them into the elevator, and I was about to get in myself when I realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for me. Fan-fucking-tastic. The gods were seriously out to get me.

The park ranger said, "Next car, miss."

"We'll get out," Luke offered. "We'll wait with you."

But that was going to mess everybody up and take even more time, so I waved him off as I spoke, "Nah, it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom."

Grover and Luke both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp.

Now the only people left on the observation deck were me, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.

I looked around uneasily and met the eyes of the fat lady. She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.

Forked tongue?

Fuck.

Before I even had time to sigh, her Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at me.

"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."

"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!" His parents pulled him back. The Chihuahua bared his teeth at me, foam dripping from his black lips.

"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."

"Uh, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"

"Chimera, dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."

She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's.

The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar. The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back toward the exit, straight into the park ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster.

Terror rose up inside my throat, nearly choking me as I scrambled to turn my necklace into a sword. There were still mortals there, so I didn't want to pull out Shaker. I'd have to go with only one sword this time.

The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA— RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS— IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS— EXT. 954.

I was ten feet away from the Chimera's bloody maw, and I knew that as soon as I moved, the creature would lunge.

The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "Be honored, Astraea Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"

I stared at her. All I could think to say was: "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"

She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Astraea Jackson, my son shall destroy you!"

The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. I managed to leap aside and dodge the bite.

I ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors.

I couldn't let them get hurt. I ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!" The Chimera turned faster than I would've thought possible.

Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me.

I dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off my eyebrows. For once I was grateful for being forced to do the lava climbing wall at camp. At least I was mostly desensitized to being viciously burned now. I was hardly able to feel the mask fall off of my face. 

Where I had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.

Great, I thought. I just blow torched a national monument. I was pretty sure that was a felony. Did Missouri have the death penalty? Oh, fuck, it did. Riptide was a shining bronze blade in my hands, and as the Chimera turned, I slashed at its neck.

That was my fatal mistake. The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar. I tried to regain my balance, losing my sunglasses in the process, but I was so worried about defending myself against the fiery lion's mouth, I completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf.

The pain was agonizing. My whole leg was on fire. I tried to jab Riptide into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around my ankles and pulled me off balance, and my blade flew out of my hand, spinning out of the hole in the Arch and down toward the Mississippi River.

As a last resort, I tried to pull out Shaker, but the Chimera wouldn't let me.

I managed to get to my feet, but I knew I had lost. I was weaponless. I could feel deadly poison racing up to my chest. I remembered Chiron saying that my swords would always return to me, but Riptide hadn't come back yet. 

I backed into the hole in the wall. The Chimera advanced, growling, smoke curling from its lips. The snake lady, Echidna, cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"

The monster growled. It seemed in no hurry to finish me off now that I was beaten. I summoned up enough strength to glare at it contemptuously like it was some sort of insect.

Then a noise made me glance at the park ranger and the family. The little boy was hiding behind his father's legs. I had to protect these people. I couldn't just... die. I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. My head felt dizzy. 

There was no place else to go, so I stepped to the edge of the hole. Far, far below, the river glittered.

If I died, would the monsters go away? Would they leave the humans alone?

"If you are truly the daughter of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. Jump, Astraea Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."

I was genuinely torn. I knew that hitting water from very high up was the same as hitting concrete, but still. Chiron had said that children of gods had control over their immortal parents' domains. And I was dying anyway.

The Chimera's mouth glowed red, heating up for another blast.

"You have no faith," Echidna told me. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."

She was right: I was dying. I could feel my breath slowing down. Nobody could save me, not even the gods.

I backed up and looked down at the water. I'd never been afraid of heights, but staring down, knowing I was dead save for a miracle, made me nauseous. I remembered the warm glow of what could've been my father. My mom had taught me never to give up until you were outright dead. I couldn't disrespect her memory by not trying to do something to survive. My eyes darted frantically around the area, searching for a solution to my situation.

My eyes again went to water swirling beneath us. I remembered the swirling green trident that had appeared above my head the night of that fateful game of capture the flag, when Poseidon had claimed me as his daughter.

But this wasn't the sea. This was the Mississippi River, dead center of the USA. There was no Sea God here.

"Die, faithless one," Echidna rasped, and the Chimera was about to send a column of fire towards my face, but I reacted quickly and with the last of my strength, pulled out Shaker and stuck it through the Chimera's mouth. I didn't wait to see if both had dusted or if I'd even fully killed the Chimera.

With a final thought of both of my parents, I turned and jumped out of the Arch.

*    *    *

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[talesfromasnarkylisa]

Lacey: Chapter 10

August 13, 2023

Lacey’s draft from Oscar was surprisingly easy to edit. All I had to do was switch up a few details and citations here and there. Once I sent it back to Lacey, I texted Corianna for a bit.

Archer J (08/13/23, 7:10 PM): Hello.

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:12 PM): Why did you greet me like that?

Archer J (08/13/23, 7:13 PM): ?

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:15 PM): Like with proper punctuation at the end of the word “Hello.”

Archer J (08/13/23, 7:16 PM): There’s nothing wrong with liking good grammar.

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:18 PM): Fair enough. How’s it going?

I answered less hesitantly this time. Perhaps being over text had something to do with it.

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:22 PM): That’s good. Can I vent?

Archer J (08/13/23, 7:23 PM): Always.

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:27 PM): My family’s been falling on rough times lately. Dad got laid off and Mom doesn’t make enough to pay for everyone. I’m mostly fine, since I work as a waitress in a high-end restaurant. But I’m not sure about my parents and my little brother. Especially my brother.

Archer J (08/13/23, 7:29 PM): Damn, I hope you guys have enough money soon. Do you have to work more?

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:31 PM): Matter of fact, yes. Have you seen how often stuff gets posted on my profile nowadays?

Archer J (08/13/23, 7:32 PM): I sometimes check.

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:34 PM): Then you should notice how wide the gaps between things getting posted are. My last article was on the 1st.

Archer J (08/13/23, 7:35 PM): Oh yeah, I noticed.

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:38 PM): Honestly, I’m not sure I’ll even be able to run my other blogs now. I work overtime a lot, which gives me a lot less time and energy to maintain them.

For a brief moment, I thought of using her desperation to my advantage. Get on Corianna’s team because she has little choice to maintain her group blogs. I chastised myself soon enough. 

She doesn’t need you running her reputation into the ground, I contemplated. You’re lucky she’s even around.

Instead, I decided to suggest getting a few more volunteer editors in general. She was rather hesitant.

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:40 PM): And how will I know if I can trust them? Last time I tried, some passive-aggressive anti-modernity stuff got published. Unless…I go with people you and I know.

I suddenly realized this was a perfect opportunity to get Betty back into my circles. Sure, it was rather underhanded to do so after I outed her to Augusta in sheer panic due to what the latter might have done to me. But Betty seemed to be okay with my content now - if not me. Maybe a few baby steps and we’d be back to the casual friendship we had before we got closer.

Archer J (08/13/23, 7:45 PM): Remember Lovergirl?

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:47 PM): Of course. We’re still in contact. You guys had a thing together, right?

Archer J (08/13/23, 7:50 PM): It was just an intimate friendship. Anyways, does she still have a ton of collabs to take care of?

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:52 PM): Not really, at least as far as I know. Why?

Archer J (08/13/23, 7:54 PM): I was just thinking maybe you could ask her to help out with your blogs until you don’t have to work too much overtime. She does know a lot about the celebrity side of it, after all.

Artsy Carolina (08/13/23, 7:56 PM): I’ll think about it. I wouldn’t want to overload my friend with too much either.

I didn’t respond. The envy I felt that Cori could still be friends with Betty while the latter was nearly completely out of my life kept me from doing it.

August 14, 2023

I called Inez after work. There was only time in the late afternoon to do so, as I had to video conference a guy in India for a funeral picture. Surprisingly, Inez picked up despite driving on a traffic jammed and bumpy road to get back home.

“Hellooooooo!” exclaimed Inez in a slightly strained voice.

“Hi,” I responded. “Sounds kind of rough on your end. Wanna wait until tomorrow to call?”

“Nah,” she stated. “I have lots to do tomorrow.”

I adjusted the volume on my iPhone 11.

“Like what?” I wondered.

“Work, shopping, the usual,” Inez told me.

“Ah,” I said. “Groceries or clothes?”

“Both,” she answered.

I checked my computer for the Indian guy.

“I only ever do shopping for groceries and supplies,” I said to Inez. “Never clothes.”

“Maybe you should try some new clothes sometime,” Inez changed streets. “I could take you with me.”

“No thanks,” I declined her offer. “I’m good. Men don’t really need too many sets of clothing.”

Inez sighed.

“If you insist,” she continued driving. “Anyways, what have you been up to? Why so busy on your side?”

I found it easier to conceal information around Inez than around Darian or Corianna. It seemed to have worked, which was good.

“I gotta go now,” Inez finished. “I’m almost home now. Bye!”

“Goodbye,” I hung up.

(Wattpad version: https://www.wattpad.com/1491360402-lacey-chapter-10)

[anapotatowriter]

Hiii are you taking requests? If so can you please do one for edmund where the reader is his wife and just lots of flufffff <3333 thank you sm :)))

Overwhelmed

Edmund Pevensie x reader

A/N: Hey, love! Yes, my requests are open! Check out my masterlist for the rules and the fandoms! This isn't very long, but it's like, cutesy, so~ I hope you like it! If you don't, feel free to ask me to edit it in any way! Also, when requesting, please specify the era you want the story in, it makes it much easier for me!

Summary: Edmund notices that his wife has been overexerting herself as Queen, drafting ideas, practicing archery, helping Peter with tasks, and a million other things. He decides to clear their schedules and have some fun.

Contains: Teeth rotting fluff, stressed reader, Golden age!Au, wife!reader, Edmund being the all-out good husband that he definitely would be, one swear word.

Requested: Yes!

"Good morning," I heard a familiar voice whisper, making me smile subconsciously. "Morning, my love," I said softly, opening my eyes to see Edmund looking at me already. His soft brown eyes were swirling with a lighter brown color, like coffee with swirls of milk. "We should get up," I yawned, going to get out of bed. "Mmmm, five more minutes," he mumbled, pulling back near him and nuzzling his nose into the base of my neck. The satin of my dress rubbed against my skin, a stark contrast from the cotton of the boy's nightclothes. "Fineeeee," I conceded, relaxing my body into the plush bed. "Wait, shit," I remember, my eyes flying open as I jumped out of bed. "Owwww," he groaned as he landed with a thud on the ground. "Sorry, love! Gotta go! I have stuff to do," I called, grabbing my towel and running into the bathroom. I quickly changed into a modest gown, simple enough to slip on easily but nice enough to not look odd. I quickly braided my hair, placing the rose gold crown, shaped into intricate flowers, on the top of my head.

"Good morning," I called as I walked into the dining room, where Susan, Peter, and Lucy were already sitting. "I am so sorry I am late," I gasped, rushing down the long dining table and grabbing a piece of toast. As I ran back out of the dining hall, I heard Susan say, "Y/N, can you help me with archery today?" "Yeah, of course, Susan," I called out, running to the courtyard. "Hello!" I called out, placing the piece of toast on the side. "Good morning, Queen Y/N," said Oreius, bowing his head. "Let's get to the guards, shall we?" I said, clapping my hands together. I walked with Oreius to the training grounds, the piece of toast left behind in the courtyard. "I would like to thank you again, Queen Y/N, for volunteering to encourage the troops and train with them. Your perceptive nature is useful to learn about with regards to battle," he said gratefully. I smiled and said, "It's no problem! Let's get to work, shall we?"

Two hours later, I scurried away to Peter's office. When I walked in, his golden crown, shaped into intertwined leaves, lay crooked on the top of his head, his equally golden hair disheveled as his hands ran through them. When the door creaked open, he looked up hopefully before breaking into a grin, his baby blue eyes releasing any of the tension they held earlier. "Thank god you are here, Y/N! You are literally a blessing," rambled the young king as we both sat down and poured over his notes, ideas, plans, and battle strategies for the next few hours. "I've gotta go help Susan with her archery now," I called, running out of the room, the dark green material of my dress flying behind me as I ran. "Thank you, Y/N! Same time tomorrow?' he asked. "Of course, Pete!" I yelled as I ran to the archery range. I reached the ground to see Susan standing in a purple dress, her own golden crown shining in the bright sunlight of the evening sun.

"Hello, Susan," I puffed, getting out my own bow and quiver. "Let's get some warm-up done first," I said, and she nodded. I pulled out one of the arrows from the white quiver on my back and placed it onto the bow. I pulled the string and arrow back, the dark green feathers of the arrow brushing against my cheek. Twang after twang rang through the empty field as Susan and I shot arrow after arrow. "So Susan, since your weapons rarely seem to miss, we should practice making your archery faster. There is no point in knowing archery if you are too slow to fight the enemy," I said. I spent hours with Susan training her in the dangerous art of archery. "Thank you so much, Y/N," she expressed thankfully as we packed away our stuff. "No problem!" I said happily before running to the library. I sat at one of the desks and lit a candle since the sun had already set. I barely acknowledged the empty feeling in my stomach from the lack of food as I poured upon the works in the library. I analyzed thick wads of texts bound by twine and intricately designed leather-bound books, writing agreements, treaties, and plans for the other nations around Narnia.

"Hello, my love," said a voice from behind me, making me jump violently and turn around. "Oh! You scared me, you daft bimbo," I complained, looking back at the words in the book in front of me. "Sorry," he chuckled sheepishly, swooping down to press a kiss on my cheek, making me giggle at the ticklish feeling. "Go away, I need to work," I protested when he walked around the table to face me. "Y/N, you haven't eaten all day!" he sighed, pushing some of the hair that had fallen from my braid. "Who cares, Ed! I don't have time to eat, I have so much work to do!" I exclaimed, rummaging through the notes I had made. "Ok then. I won't tell you what to do, since you know what is best for you. Just come to bed soon love," he said, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead before leaving, his sliver crown glinting under the flickering candlelight.

Hours later, I stretched and got out of my chair, putting away the manuscripts. I picked up the notes I had drafted and left them on Peter's table before going to Edmund and I's chambers. There, I saw the candles still burning, Edmund sleeping uncomfortable, his torso supported by the headboard. I slowly tried to ease the brunette under the sheets, but the movement made him make up. "Hey, love," he said sleepily. "Why are you sleeping like that?" I questioned, beginning to change into my nightgown. "I wanted to wait up for you, but you were really late, so I fell asleep," he said, clinging onto me as soon as I climbed into bed. "Go to bed, my love," I said, sighing in exhaustion before falling asleep.

As much as Y/N had hoped Edmund hadn't realized, he had. He noticed everything. The dark circles under her eyes, the late sleeping time, early wake-up time, the lack of eating, and the constant running around. When she was working in the library, he gathered all his siblings in one room. "What is wrong with all of you?!" he exclaimed agitatedly, his hand running through his hair as he paced the carpeted floors. "What are you talking about, Ed?" asked Susan, concerned for her younger brother. "Y/N. She has been running around all day, doing YOUR tasks! She is barely sleeping, not eating, constantly running around and accomplishing tasks for you!' he exclaimed. "What?" asked Peter defensively, though realization dawned on his face. "How long has it been since any of you saw Y/N eat? Or sleep for longer than three hours? Or even just sit and relax? She has been running around all day, helping with archery, meeting dignitaries, helping in the kitchen, helping the guards train, meeting the citizens, and millions of other things! She needs a fucking break, and none of you even realized!" said the brunette king angrily, accusingly pointing at his siblings, who had guilty expressions on their faces. "What should we do?" asked Susan, concerned for her young sister-in-law, who she loved dearly. "Clear her schedule for tomorrow, let her sleep in, and actually take a break," commanded Edmund, and all three siblings nodded. "Of course, Ed. Whatever she needs," said Peter, standing up. Edmund nodded gratefully before going to the library. There, you had fallen asleep on your books, your body more relaxed than it had been in ages. "Up we get love,"  said Edmund softly, picking up the H/C haired girl and carrying her bridal style to her room. "Hey Ed," stirred the young girl, rubbing her eyes. "Change and get into bed, Y/N," said the boy softly. Y/N nodded blearily, changed, and climbed into the cold sheets. "Cold," she whined sleepily, making Edmund chuckle as he climbed into bed with her, the sheets soon becoming warm. "Good night, darling," he said, kissing the girl's forehead softly before drifting off himself.

"Good morning," I said when I woke up, feeling better rested than I had felt in weeks. "Why is it so sunny out?" I yawned, looking up at the brunette sitting up next to me. "Because it's almost 11 in the morning," said Edmund, making my eye widen as I fell out of bed. "Why didn't you wake me? I have so much to do, I need to help Oreius, and Mr. Tumnus, and Peter, and," I rambled as I pushed myself off of the ground and tried to tie my hair up. "Y/N, Y/N, Y/N, stop panicking, I got everything on your schedule canceled for the day," said Edmund, grabbing my shoulders to make me look at him. "Why would you do that?" I asked, stopping my movements. "Because you were over-exerting yourself, Y/N! You needed a break," said Edmund, pushing away the strands of hair on my face and cupping my cheeks. "Now, you will go, get ready, and then meet me at the stables," he commanded, a playful glint in his eyes. "Fineeeee," I mock groaned, going to the bathroom and getting ready for the day. I donned a  light green dress, flowers embroidered into the hems. I placed my crown on my head, not bothering to do anything with my hair other than comb them.

"Hey, Ed!" I said as I reached the stables. "I got Andromeda ready for you," he said sweetly, helping me up onto the horse before climbing onto Philip himself. "Hey Andromeda, it's been a while," I said softly, nuzzling my nose into her neck. Her black coat shone in the dazzling sunlight as she whinnied slightly before starting off into a trot. I sighed happily as the gentle sunshine soaked into my skin. "It's been so long," I said, glancing at Edmund beside me. "Way longer than I would like," he agreed, smiling softly at me. "Stop here," said Edmund, making Andromeda pause right at the border to the western woods. "Why?" I questioned as Edmund swooped off of Philip and held his hand out to me to help me down. "You'll see," he said cheekily, making a smile spread across my face in excitement. He brought out a huge basket along with a sheet. He spread the sheet onto the grassy floor, half of the sheet in the shade of a tree. He placed the basket down and sat me down next to him. "FOOD!" he exclaimed dramatically, flipping over the lid of the basket to reveal all sorts of food, desserts, and delicacies. Delicate ices, thinly sliced fruit, dense chocolate cake, foamy fruit juices, and well-spiced dishes. "Edmund!" I cheered, kissing his cheek quickly before taking out the food. After we finished eating, Edmund lay down on the ground, his face under the shade of the tree. I curled up next to him, heavy drowsiness clouding my mind. "Today was amazing, Ed. I am glad you did this," I sighed happily, sleep quickly taking me.

"I love you, darling. You deserve this and more," I heard him say faintly. "I'll take better care of myself," I mumbled, nuzzling my face into his neck. "Sleep now, my love," I heard before I drifted off.

[primofate]

2K Followers Event: Pancake and Waffle Cafe Masterlist

Nutella Waffles (overhearing and misunderstanding a conversation/situation) MODERN AU ANGST

Characters: Childe, Kazuha, Thoma, Albedo, Kaeya, Zhongli, fem!reader

Warnings: not proofread :D, cheating, fighting, insulting, misunderstanding (duh), pregnancy, sexual innuendos, implying sex, mentions of sex, still SFW though, of course I bent the lore since it’s an AU

Notes: I had trouble with this so I decided to make it a modern AU. That’s also why it took so long. I think my brain is starting to run dry XD I mean, there’s only so much situations/conversations I could think of that could be misunderstood. Still, enjoy!

Childe

"Ah, sorry, Y/N, I can’t walk you home today... Maybe tomorrow?” Childe smiled at you, scratching the back of his head, his school bag swung over his shoulder already. He looked like he was in a hurry. 

It’s been a few days like this and you really didn’t know what was happening. You asked him if he needed help with stuff at home or if he was having a hard time with his homework and if that’s why he was always rushing off. He would just give you the same smile and wave a hand. “It’s nothing like that,” and then off he’d go. 

The next day, as you walk towards his classroom during lunchtime you hear him and his friends talking before you even reach the classroom door. 

“Zoe is totally cute,” Childe says. The voice he uses is something that he’d never used on you before. You freeze in your tracks and try to listen in more. “Wow, she really is! Great job picking her!” one of his friends said and it sounded as if they’d hit Childe on the back as a congratulations. “Let me see, let me see,” another one says followed by a gasp. “Have you taken her out yet?” Childe laughs nervously and you know all too well without even looking at him that he’s probably scratching his head. “No, not yet,” 

“Does your girlfriend know yet?” Someone else asks.

And then you hear a laugh that’s all too mischievous. All too playful. All too heart-wrenching. “She doesn’t know!” and they continue to laugh.

You turn away and try your hardest not to let tears escape from your eyes. It felt as if you were being laughed at. Like everyone knew that he was cheating. Everyone except you. It doesn’t help that there was a Zoe in the other class too. The way his friends laughed made your cheeks heat up in embarrassment and the tears you were so desperately holding back to finally flow through.

You ended up staying in the washroom for the whole of lunch time, staying in a cubicle for an extra few minutes, late for the next class.

Somehow you didn’t expect Childe to still show up in your classroom to pick you up for the day and walk you home. You stare at him at the classroom door, your eyes had already gone back to their normal shade, but still glossy. He doesn’t notice, he has a big smile on his face that mocks you. Ridicules you. 

“Y/N! Let’s go together today!” Does he feel guilty? Is that why he finally agrees to walk home with you? Cause he’s had his fill of Zoe already? You don’t say a word and exit the classroom, going past him. Childe blinks, and turns to watch you walking away from him. “Y/N?”

He walks after you, and takes his place next to you. He touches the strap of your backpack, as usual, and says “I’ll take this--”

“I got it,” you reply curtly and move away from him. He’s dumbfounded, eyes still a little wide at your sudden coldness. Now he’s getting anxious. Did he do something wrong? “H-Hey...Y/N, are you mad because I didn’t walk home with you the past couple days? See, I was just--”

“I’m not that petty!” You nearly growl at him, holding his gaze for a few seconds before walking off again. Your eyes are starting to prickle with more tears. You just wanted to get home. As soon as you can. Away from him. You didn’t have the heart to break up with him face to face. You liked him too much, you knew you wouldn’t be able to do it while looking at his handsome face. 

Then, he snatches your wrist and pulls you back towards him. The school hallways are emptying out, there’s a few students walking by who ignore the two of you. “Then what’s the matter? I don’t like it when we fight. At least tell me what I did!” 

You wrench your wrist away from his and start sniffing. He stands there, shocked at where your tears are coming from. Until you start talking. “I heard you, during lunch time,” his eyebrows furrow. “Lunch...time?” He mumbles, not following. “When you were talking about your cute Zoe!” He doesn’t say anything for a moment and that only confirms your fears. 

He’d been looking at other girls, and probably wanting them.

“...Y/N, Zoe is...” Childe scratched his cheek, averting his eyes away. 

“I don’t wanna hear it,” you try to turn away, but he doesn’t let you and holds your shoulders with his hands, staring straight at you. “My dog,” You were crying at this point, and when you hear his next words your eyes narrow. “W-What?”

“Zoe is my new dog,” 

“B-But your friend asked if you took her out yet...”

“Yeah,” Childe tilted his head, “for a walk?” As you start to connect the dots he takes out his phone and shows you the picture of a cute miniature poodle, it had a collar and a silver tag on it that said “Zoe”. You thought that you might cry again at how cute she was but you just glare up at Childe. “Well, I didn’t tell you cause I was gunna surprise you. I’ve been going home early these days cause we had to go visit the pound a few times and finalize the papers and everything...” 

“I-Is that true? Is that all it is?” You sniff, now wiping your stupid tears away. Childe smiles down at you and takes your hands away from your face, replacing it with his, thumbing away the streaks of wetness. “Y/N, no one can ever replace you,” you sniff and let him dote on you. You’d been missing him for a while anyway. 

“...Well except Zoe, maybe Zoe can,” he’s clearly teasing you and you don’t hesitate to lift your fist and punch him on the shoulder, earning a small “Ow,” from him followed by a laugh. “I’m just kidding, how ‘bout you come over and visit her today? It’s only her second day home!”

Thoma

You’d made an appointment with your friend a long time ago. Just a quick lunch and catch up date. Thoma had graciously volunteered to drive you to the mall where you were meeting up with her.

“You sure you don’t need me to pick you up? It’s Saturday. I’m free,” he flashes you a smile, his eyes darting towards you only for a second before going back to the road. “I’ll be fine hun, I’ll take the bus home,” you reply to him.

Halfway through your journey he says that he needs to buy something from a convenience store, and so he parks the car properly and grabs his wallet. His phone is on the car phone stand and you pay no heed to it until a soft ‘ding’ makes you pick your head up to look at the screen. 

Your best friend’s name pops up, she’s messaged him and your blood runs cold.

“I’ll come over when Y/N’s gone,” the message read. Your heart is already at your throat, and you don’t know what to think. What is this make-believe situation that you’re suddenly in. Is this really happening? Your eyes dart upwards to look at the door of the convenience store. You could see Thoma was still looking at the shelves.

You gulp and you wonder what the right thing to do is. Invade his privacy and peek at his messages? Let it go? Confront him? Cry? Another ‘ding’ fills up the car.

“How long is she going to be out? The longer the better. So...” you couldn’t read the rest of the message, it being cut off but you were already spiraling down the hole of despair. How could he? Your sweet and loyal Thoma ended up going behind your back with your best friend. You thought you were going to be sick, you actually had to roll the windows of the car down to get some fresh air, just as Thoma came out of the convenience store door with a plastic bag. 

You couldn’t look at him. You couldn’t even be in the same space as him. You were going to cancel today with your friend, you didn’t think you’d be able to function properly. When he sat on the driver’s seat and saw you looking out the window, he didn’t think much of it and revved the engine up. “Ready hu--”

“Take me to my sister’s place,” Thoma blinked and turned to you, confused. “But, what about your lunch date today, dear?”

“I don’t feel like going. My sister’s place is nearby, just drop me off there,” Your hands were already typing a reply to the friend that you were about to stand up on, but you couldn’t even think of what to do or say. 

“Dear is everything okay?” He asked while backing the car up, arm outstretched to your side while he’s looking at the rear. He was appalled by your sudden mood change. You didn’t answer but he hears you sniff and he immediately stops the car again. “Y/N? What’s wrong?” He’s alarmed that you’re crying and he reaches to cup your chin and tilt it towards him but you move your face away from him. 

“Y/N?” he asked, the confusion in his voice is actually genuine and you can hear a bit of panic in it. “How long have you been seeing Aya?” you spit the words as if they’re poison and the car is quiet. You laugh bitterly. “I thought so, cat got your tongue, huh?” 

Thoma shook himself out of his confusion to say, “No, wait, I don’t know what you mean,” You scoff at him. You’re shocked at the amount of resentment you had, you trusted this man and yet this is what happens. “Yeah? Why is she sneaking into our house then?” You point at his phone, the screen is still lit up because of the messages and there were more coming in from your best friend. 

Thoma snatches the phone away from the stand and looks at it. Then, he deflates and slumps back on his seat. “Y/N, it’s not what you think,” You hate that line so much. You cross your arms and say, “Just drop me at my sister’s house,” 

“Y/N--”

“NOW!”

The drive was quiet. You didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to push you but didn’t want to drop you off to your sister’s without explaining as well. So, just before your sister’s block, he parks on the side and unbuckles his seat belt, then opens your side of the door. “Y/N, listen to me,” he’s rarely this assertive, but you still don’t listen. He’s blocking your escape path. 

“It’s your birthday today,” Thoma starts and you blink, completely forgetting about it. “Ayu is sneaking in our house while you’re gone because we were going to set up a surprise for you.” He says slowly, as if he’s talking to a child. Your eyes widen, and you relax in your seat. He gives you his phone and urges you, “Go on, Y/N, you know my passcode right? I don’t hide anything from you, you can read the rest,” 

You hesitate, but accept his offer and type it in. 

“How long is she going to be out? The longer the better. So we can set up the balloons,”

“I got the cake don’t forget the candles and lighter,”

Thoma picks up his other hand that had the white plastic bag from the convenience store, he picks up the two items from inside. Birthday candles. And a lighter. 

Your mouth opens, but you can’t say anything and you only bury your face in your hands out of shame. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry Thoma, I--” He manages to let out a laugh and kisses the top of your head. “I’m so stupid. I trust you, I really do, I just--” now you’re not sure if you’re crying out of relief or embarrassment. “I’m so sorry,” You can’t say anything else and he only kisses you on the forehead again.

“It’s alright, you can make it up to me by going on that lunch date, okay? You deserve the rest. You haven’t cancelled yet have you? Let’s freshen up at your sister’s place and I’ll send you to the mall,” 

You nod your head, small smile on your face. This was gunna be one story to tell in the future.

“Oh and it would help if you act surprised when you come home,” Thoma adds with a full laugh that you join in on. 

Kaeya

"So how are you and Y/N?”

It’d only been a couple of months of the two of you dating. Kaeya was handsome, gallant and he knew exactly what to say to people. It wasn’t a secret that he was quite popular in school. 

Little old you was just another girl in just another class.

“Good, I think,” Kaeya responds, you smile around the corner, hidden from sight, knowing that he was taking a juice box break with his friends. “It’s a little annoying though,” your smile drops and your head tilts sideways in question. “I can’t keep her away and she doesn’t even realize how annoying it is,” 

Keep me away? You think. Am I too clingy? You hear them exchange words a bit more, but none of the other words process in your head. Their laughter spurs you out of your thoughts and you return to your classroom dumbfounded. 

When the bell rang for dismissal you immediately packed and walked home by yourself. Kaeya was confused when he arrived at your classroom door, and found that you weren’t there anymore. “...Hey, did Y/N go home?” he asked one of your passing classmates. “Yeah, she went out pretty fast,”

Now he was worried. Did something happen at home? He takes his phone out as he’s out the school building, tapping your name and calling, only for the call to not even connect. His brows furrow but nonetheless, he goes home for today and types in a message for you.

“Hey, you okay? Talk to me if you need something,” 

The next day, when he usually waits outside your door for you to come out, he realizes that you’re a little late and further realizes that you weren’t going to come out. He wasn’t about to knock on your door, your parents didn’t know about him yet. 

He tries to call you again but he’s met with the same result as yesterday. He sighs and looks up at the sky while he’s walking. He hasn’t seen you for nearly a full day now, and he doesn’t realize how long a full day is until now. He just wants to see your smiling face again and he starts to wonder if he’d done something wrong. 

By lunchtime, he’s sprinting towards your classroom as soon as the bell rings, wondering if you were there. Indeed, finally, he spots you in your classroom and his shoulders slump in relief only to tense up again when he sees a guy in your class talking to you, and you, smiling happily. 

“Y/N,” he calls out to you, waving his hand. You look away from your conversation to him and he notices how your smile turns into a tight line on your face. His own smile drops, but you walk out of the classroom anyway and address him. “Yes?” He blinks down at your tone of voice. “U-Uh... Wanna have lunch together?” 

“...But it’s annoying that I’m clingy right?” The two of you unconsciously move away from the door to out in the hallway, so that you’re not blocking the way of people coming in and out. He narrows his eyes in confusion. Where is this coming from? “I--No, what do you mean? I never said that,” 

“Yesterday, you said you can’t keep me away and it’s annoying,” you averted your gaze, feeling your eyes start to water. Kaeya reels back a little, replaying things in his mind, trying to remember if he said something like that. And, with a light bulb moment, his face breaks into a grin and slight laughter. You glare up at him, “What? It’s funny?”

Kaeya places a hand on your shoulder and explains while smiling. “Y/N, you didn’t listen to the rest of the conversation, did you?”

---What really happened---

“It’s really annoying though. I can’t keep her away and she doesn’t even realize how annoying it is,” he sips on his juice box again.

One of his friends pipe up, “Dude that’s a little harsh,”

Kaeya blinks. Once, twice and thrice. Until it dawns on him. “Oh, no, I meant that I can’t keep her away from other people,” he grins and leans both his elbows on the windowsill. “She doesn’t realize that she’s super friendly, and other people like talking to her a lot. Whenever I go to her classroom she’s always talking to different people.”

His friends make a sound of understanding. “I wish I could just keep her to myself,” and continues sipping on his juice.

“That’s really cheesy, even for you, Kaeya,” one of his friends say and the lot of them starts laughing.

---That’s what really happened---

It was your turn to blink at him, confused. “S-So...”

Kaeya pats your head and smiles. “You can ask my friends if it makes you feel better,”

A small blush crosses your cheeks and you duck your head to hide it. It earns yet another chuckle from him. Your moment is interrupted by another guy who approaches the two of you. “Hey, Y/N, if you’re free, do you think you could help me out with this? I don’t really understand it,” 

Kaeya just looks at the guy and sighs, then turns to you again. “See what I mean?” to which you just goofily smile at. 

Kazuha 

“You saw what?”

Your hands freeze, holding the book you were reading open. The living room had gotten lively again, seeing as your little brother had come home from school. “I saw Kazuha with a girl,” 

You try to keep your face composed. It was a school day. You’d stayed home because you weren’t feeling too well. Your brother was saying it without a care in the world. He was just a grade schooler and telling you about the things he observed. He was looking through the fridge for something to drink. 

You didn’t ask more, but you were DYING to know more. Kazuha didn’t mention going anywhere today... You picked your phone up and wondered if you should ask him. Your phone had blown up this morning cause he didn’t see you at school and he was wondering if you were alright. 

But it seems that Kazuha himself was having a grand time too.

“So...T-The girl...Did they look close?”

Your little brother closes the fridge and looks at you while drinking from a milk carton. “Mm...They were holding each other...” You bit your lip as tingles run down your spine. They weren’t the good kind. It was the kind that you get when you watch horror movies and or a drama movie and a revelation had just happened. You were silent for a moment, but in your mind you were already thinking of how Kazuha looked with another girl. Holding each other? What did your brother mean? Like...hugging? Or...? But you couldn’t ask him about that, could you?!

You sighed out loud and slammed the book you were reading down on the table, just as your phone started ringing. “Kazuha,” you whispered under your breath and looked at your phone screen. Well...you believed in him, and you thought the best way to clear this up is to talk to him about it.

So, you grabbed your phone and retreated into your bedroom to talk to him. You picked up the call, “Kazu-kun?”

“Y/N,” he greeted. Even apart, his voice has this effect on you. Like he was really there and breathing into your ear, sending shivers down your spine. You were sure that you were blushing. “How are you? Are you feeling better?” His voice is smooth and calm and you melt into your bed. “Yeah, a little,”

“Could I come over later? I just want to check on you,” You smile into your phone and close your eyes. Kazuha could never do that to you, you think to yourself. But still, you really wanted to ask. “Of course, I don’t think my parents would mind...Hey,” you start, your fingers nervously drawing circles on your pillow. “My brother said he saw you...with a girl,”

There’s silence on the other line, and you can hear him shifting a little. “A...girl?” He repeats the question and you bite your lip. He sounds unsure and now you were unsure too. “Yeah, he said that you were holding on to each other...or something,” Again some silence, until he makes a sound of understanding.

“Ah, he must mean Sango,” there’s a little lilt to his voice, like he was happy and you were a little jealous. “Sango’s my cousin, she came to surprise me for my birthday week.” Kazuha laughs nervously and adds a little hesitantly. “She...uhm...would like to meet you actually, is it okay if I bring her over today?” 

Your heart sighs in relief, as do you and you don’t realize that you’ve done that out loud. In the next moment though, you smile and nod, even though he can’t see you. “Of course! Bring her over!” 

Albedo (More fluff than angst)

Cleaning at home was one of the things you did to get your mind off of things. Some people would call it tedious, but to you, it was sort of relaxing. It was something easy to do, you didn’t need much of your brain, just motor memory. Folding. Laundry. Ironing. Sweeping. Basic chores.

But when you clean up in the bedroom you shared with your boyfriend, and found a neatly wrapped present, red wrapping paper and blue ribbon tied on the top with a tag that said “To: Leila” you’re a little dumbfounded.

Who’s Leila? Is your first thought. Your second thought is, what’s inside? You hold the nicely wrapped box in your hand and turn it all over, trying to get some type of hint. A flash of doubt seeps into your mind but you shake it away. Albedo isn’t like that...Is he? He’s always so dedicated to his scientific research and sure he comes home late sometimes but he always makes it up to you on the weekends...

So who’s Leila? You ask yourself again. And why hasn’t he mentioned it to you? Why didn’t he ask YOU to wrap it? Menial tasks like these were usually passed on to you. You bite your thumb just thinking about it, but in the end just leave the present where you find it.

Later that night as you’re fixing dinner, you aren’t as bothered by the gift as when you first saw it. But it’s still there at the back of your mind and it resurfaces to the front when you hear the familiar keys rattle. Despite that, as he snakes his arms around your waist from behind you can’t help but smile and melt a little, pressing back against him as he leans over to kiss your cheek. “...Smells nice,” he simply mumbles and closes his eyes, enjoying the warmth of both you and your home.

“Welcome back,” you say, while closing the lid on the pot and turning around to give him a proper kiss on the lips. He hums into the kiss as a response and pulls you away from the stove. “How’s your day?” he asks you first and you smile, because your day is nearly the same time and time again. “Fine, I did find a little secret though...” you start and peek up at his beautiful eyes. 

He nods to ask you to continue. “A present, nicely wrapped. and it’s addressed to someone called Leila,” He looks down at you and you stare at him. A moment passes by before he takes his arms back and go into his thinking pose. “...Leila...?” he asks, eyes averting from your gaze. You wonder if he’s pretending. You wonder if he’s trying to make an excuse up. “...I don’t--” and then his eyebrows twitch. “Ah,” he says and drops his arms to his side.

“We were invited to a birthday party, remember? By a co-worker,” he tucks in strands of your hair as he talks. “It’s her daughter’s first birthday...I don’t care much for such things but you insisted it’d be alright to go.” he chuckles a little. “Her daughter’s name is Leila,” 

You make a sound of understanding. Suddenly your hesitant thoughts wither away. “Hmmm? You could’ve asked me to wrap the present,” Albedo pulls away from you and towards the fridge, wanting a glass of water. “The wrapping wasn’t done by me, it was the shop, free service,” and so it made more sense.

And although you want to ask more questions, like where he got it, when and what’s inside, you realize it’s such a trivial thing. It was not worth that much time. A gift is a gift, and you turn back to continue making dinner while making idle conversation with him. 

Zhongli (Warning: Suggestive) (but this is also my personal favourite... aha...)

“Zhongli?” You arrive home a little early today, dropping your keys at the front shelf. You don’t hear him anywhere and you shuffle around your living room for a while, looking at the letters for today. 

He was on a work from home arrangement today, and he would usually be in his office. You were quite sure that he would’ve come out to greet you though, if he heard you. He must be busy at the moment. 

You’d wanted to wash your hands as soon as you came home, and went for the guest washroom. When you open the door, your eyes land on something on the counter, next to the sink. This bathroom was always kept clean for visitors. You liked to host people once in a while, or just invite friends and you took pride in having them comfortable in your house.

Your eyes narrow as you go closer and your hands pick up a pregnancy test that was lying there. 

It was positive.

You put it back down and shudder a little. You don’t remember getting a pregnancy test. You bite your lip and look at yourself in the mirror. You’re already jumping to conclusions, and you can’t help it. Who the hell would leave a pregnancy test in YOUR guest bathroom? Zhongli didn’t mention anything...

You sigh a breath out and close the bathroom door behind you, taking your phone out to text your best friend.

“There’s a positive pregnancy test in our guest bathroom,”

After a moment, there’s a reply.

“OMG Are you preggers?!”

“No, it’s not mine,”

The next reply takes a moment more. “Oh, maybe ask him?” and you know that your friend hadn’t known what to reply at that moment. Because a random positive pregnancy test in your guest bathroom was NOT a good sign. To top it off, you didn’t announce to Zhongli that you were coming home early today.

Your perk up when you hear noise from the other room. You open the bathroom door slightly, and hear the unmistakable low voice of your fiance, coupled with...the voice of another woman. You close the bathroom door again, not bothering to lock it, and sit on the closed toilet seat. You’re sitting there with nothing in your mind, unable to think.

A few minutes later the voices are louder, they’ve moved to the living room, right outside the bathroom you were in. You tense up, and your jaw tightens. You don’t want to see them. You don’t want to hear them. For a moment you wish that you didn’t come home early, and just pretend this didn’t happen, but the door to the bathroom door opens, leaving you eye to eye with a woman you recognize.

Luna was a beautiful woman. Long cascading brown hair, they’re wavy and stops right at her waist. Doll-like blue eyes and a slender body. She sees you sitting there and you feel stupid, but she just breaks into a grin. “Y/N!” she grabs you by the wrist and pulls you out of the bathroom before you could even say anything. You’re numb, so you don’t respond to anything around you.

Zhongli turns around wide-eyed to see you standing there meekly, not meeting his gaze. He still goes to you though and asks curiously. “When did you come in? I didn’t hear you,” he places a hand on your arm while Luna releases you, but you still don’t look up and he wonders if something happened at your workplace to make you come home so early. “Luna and Childe stopped by,” Zhongli says, in at attempt to cheer you up. You look up, and only then did you realize that Childe was there too, talking animatedly to Luna. You tilt your head sideways, “They came with a surprise. Ah, but it’s not mine to tell,” 

That’s right... Luna and Childe had been together for a while and then it hits you when Luna shows you the same positive pregnancy test you saw on the counter, and announces that she’s pregnant. Your eyes are wide. You can’t tell if you’re more relieved that it wasn’t what you thought or more happy for your friends. You feel horrible about it but you manage to crack a smile and went along with the festivities. The more time passed the more you were able to enjoy their happiness and by the time they left, that was the only time you sighed and let your shoulders slump, exhausted.

“Is something the matter?” Zhongli asked. He noticed how your smiles were a tad bit forced. How you seemed to enjoy everything but also seemed to be on edge. You turn to him and shook your head. “It’s...stupid. It’s my mistake,” but he holds on to your waist and urges you to tell him.

And you tell him. How you came home and saw what you saw in the guest bathroom, what you thought it was and how you felt. The only thing you can feel now is embarrassment and shame. You couldn’t even feel happy for your friend. Zhongli only smiles and combs his hand through your hair. “It’s the normal reaction,” he reassures you, again trying to make you feel better. You only respond with your own hug but his next sentence makes you flustered, all thoughts of earlier gone as he whispers into your ear.

“Would you like your own positive pregnancy test?”

Taglist: @larkspyrr @rim0na @sweeti-pie @l3mon-mxshroom @hai-q-haikyuu @tkshoki @kyquu @kimbapsana @leefletter @hentaje @tempehlust @rinnesy @hallohun @softlybeloved @volleybloop @ssalamanderr @ben6ett @rytszk @guilixi @reiluvbot @mondstadts-favourite-traveler @xxcrowfeatherxx @b-trld @mkazuyuh @shittyeditsofwhatiwant @ayra2452008 @simpingover @soft-like-sunshine @lnrchii @scheophi @multifandomgeeks @sacredmouche @risasblog01 @mai-m4i @foxxtrot-116 @maple-leaaf @lucy-roo @bluepinkpink @myday6-studies @thraiaiscrying @missbuwan @the-one-that-lurks @adeptitao @xibrokensunriseix @ilovemyleftboob @marblesphere @allinduetimethefirst @nortdreww @jjsjjsjsjsjjsjjs @how-simpy @loltartaglia @minyoustar @sesetiger @Ghost1y-demon @lqvl3y @cysperia @candyqueen10 @ichigo-no-tsumi @omoriq @saving-for-xiao @trashykawasmilkbread @jjkclub @pearstears @seiiblue @midnightangelfox @korinkuu @heesocks @bobaducky @normalisthenewnorm @atasi-luna @callariri @milkypompon @fadinganchornight @coldstonecrematorium @probablybethere @qingxinteaa @hanachan_2481 @plumpkie @Ghost1yd3mon @idk-imjusthere @amigenshin @spirlimpo @hadesaedes @tsim-tsim @dilucragnvindrsgf @gahisb @yunaholics @that-one-air-collecter @allinduetime @albe4ove @berryqueue @give-xiao-almond-tofu @leafcaller @ninqat @mintyayu @luvmedaily @kiyokoshii @jendytub @thegayrubberducky @chuewi @bitandbytes @alatusorrow @midnightistyping @duskdawn052 @ventislatte @fishclaymore @jahnvi-d @justpeaxchy @tremmblingbling

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[themarvelhorse]

Oh wow, that’s really jam packed, sounds like you’ve got enough toast for it though!

Congrats on the manager position! And 10 months of it too, something they’ll definitely consider when deciding who should be the next, new manager if the opportunity opens up. I’m sure you’ll do great~

Oh man, ice cream and puppies? What kind of business are you in and how do I get in on that too? In all seriousness, that sounds really fun, and a great way to start off a birthday weekend, and I’m sure it’s an excellent team-building and networking experience.

Hope you had a great time with your mom, I actually just came back from a trip to Jamaica but I don’t quite know if I had real Jamaican food or mostly tourist-friendly versions, you’ll have to give me some recommendations or ways to spot the good stuff (I did have some steamed red snapper at a small place by a lagoon which was really good, so maybe I already do have an idea of what it’s like).

So many family meetings, hope it’s as fun as it sounds! No better way to chill than an ice cream cake, we all need vacations from our vacations, fr. Hope you and Bevin both have a wonderful time tomorrow!

Life’s been alright! As mentioned just got back from a trip to Jamaica, flew into  Montego Bay and spent a week at a resort and doing a couple of local ‘excursions’ with my mom. Neither of us have been out of the country for a while so it was nice to have one focused on just relaxing, and seeing a few of the local sights (as filtered by the tourist company no doubt but I still got the chance to see the Luminous Lagoon and some coral reefs!).

Going back and forth between adding onto some academic stuff I’ve always wanted to learn more about, doing volunteering, and searching for new work and the like. And trying to figure out a good mix of all three and how to separate them from each other to avoid burnout.

But today actually I’ve got a family gathering where we’re celebrating 5 birthdays we all missed since the start of the year as well as my brother’s homecoming, having been abroad for almost a year. So yeah! Busy weekend!

Happy Birthday, Marvel! Hope life's been treating you well! Got any birthday plans?

Awww, thanks, Marvel!! Life's been good to me recently, yeah! I just got some confirmation that I'll be receiving a job offer next week for a manager position! It’s a temporary reassignment/secondment for 10 months, but it's insanely great experience!

Also yesterday I had an all-day business meeting that featured spending time with a lot of great people, a free buffet lunch, along with ice cream and service dogs! I got ice cream and puppies, I really can't complain 😂

And I do! Too many, almost! 😂

Tonight I'm going out with my mom for a Jamaican dinner then seeing Spiderverse 2 with a friend afterwards! Then tomorrow I'm seeing my dad for brunch, my cousins midday, and then I have a different cousin who's having a Stag and Doe, so I don't have to plan shit but I get to go to a fun party Saturday night! The Sunday I'm keeping open. Only thing that day is calling Bevin and ice cream cake 😂🎂 I'll need the day to chill haha

My weekends are not usually this jam-packed, I swear

How about you? How's life been? Any fun plans coming up?

[favefandomimagines]

Oh (e.b.)

Summary: buck runs into his ex fling, taylor kelly, leaving you to feel like nothing but a second choice

AN: inspired by the winter finale of 911

You were a catch. You were smart, had a good job, beautiful. Guys were lining up to date you and yet the man you wanted to be with didn’t want you.

It seemed to everyone around you that the two of you were meant to be but to Buck, it wasn’t that obvious. He didn’t see how you looked at him, didn’t hear how you talked about him. Clearly, he didn’t know how you felt about him.

So, you stuck it out. You put your feelings on the back burner and just decided to be his friend. If he wanted to be with you, he would.

But you couldn’t ignore the feeling in your chest when he told you he was having dinner with Taylor Kelly.

“We got to talking at that call and then Albert said him and Veronica were having dinner and I just, called and asked if she wanted to come.” Buck explained. “And she said yes?” You asked.

“Yeah, she seemed on board. Maybe this is the universe telling me something.” He said. “The universe? You’ve never believed in that stuff.” You told him. “But this is Buck 3.0. I’m all for a change.” Buck answered. “When is this dinner again?” You asked. “Wednesday at 6.” He said. 

“Oh.” You muttered quietly. Wednesday was your birthday. And it seemed that Buck was caught up in bettering himself and finding someone that he had completely forgotten about you. But you had enough trying to remind him and get him to see that you were right there the whole time. 

You swallowed the lump in your throat as you looked at the mug in your hands. “You okay?” He asked. “Uh, yeah. I think I’m gonna head home. I have a long shift tomorrow.” You said, rising from your seat.

“You just got here.” Buck pointed out. “Buck, I just, I gotta go.” You said in a more stern manner. He looked at you with furrowed eyebrows and watched you leave his apartment.

You let out a large sigh as you got in your car before the tears came.

How were you so unlucky that the guy you were head over heels for, wanted someone else? He wanted someone else so much, he forgot about her birthday. When you were right there through everything? You were there through Abby leaving, Ally breaking up with him, the lawsuit against the department, his parents, everything. And yet you were left on the back burner. 

You always put his feelings above your own, not because you felt like you should. But because you cared about him and if he was happy, you were happy. Though, the more you thought about it, the more you realized that he sometimes didn’t give you that same courtesy. 

Your day was like the day from hell. Everything that could go wrong in your line of work, went completely wrong. To make matters worse, you had lost one of your favorite patients. She had stage 3 leukemia but she never let that change her personality. 

She made going to the hospital after shifts worth while because at least you got to spend time with her. But the cancer was too aggressive for the chemo and she died in her sleep that night. You tried not to let losses get to you but she had been your patient since you started volunteering at the hospital. You were really hoping you’d see her remission but the universe had other plans. 

All you wanted to do was lay on the couch with Buck and just cry. You got in your car and dialed his number, getting a few rings before he picked up. “Hey, you!” He greeted you. “Hey, do you maybe want to come over later? I’ve had the worst day. I lost a patient and-” You started before he cut you off. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N, I can’t. I have a date tonight, trying to put myself back out there.” He said. “I can come over after.” He added. “No, forget it. It’s fine.” You said. “You sound upset.” Buck said. “I’m fine, Buck. Enjoy your date.” You replied before hanging up the phone. 

Since that evening, you had been avoiding Buck like the plague. On shifts, you wouldn’t talk to him. Sticking to Chimney and Hen like glue to avoid any conversation with Buck. 

You went so far to ask to ride in the ambulance to calls, rather than in the fire engine like usual. It wasn’t odd for you to be in the ambulance because you were an EMT but you usually rode with the rest of the team.

“Does anyone know why Y/N won’t ride with us anymore?” Buck asked his crew. “Are you that dumb?” Hen asked. “Hen,” Bobby started. “It’s because of you, dude.” Eddie answered. “Me? What did I do?” Buck questioned. “Well, you blow her off all the time, completely ignore her feelings and ditch her for dates and you’re so oblivious you can’t see that she’s totally in love with you.” Eddie explained. “When you were hurt in the hospital, she didn’t come to work for days because she didn’t want you the throw a clot. She had to work triple shifts just to make enough to pay her rent because of all the days she missed sitting with you. Did you ever thank her for that?” Bobby added. “Well, no, but-” He started. 

“And when she lost her favorite patient, Emily, did you ask her if she was okay?” Bobby asked. “I-I couldn’t I had a date. And she didn’t say it was Emily.” Buck said, trying to defend yourself. “If you don’t reciprocate her feelings, that’s fine. But she’s your best friend. And as her best friend, you are supposed to be there when she needs you. She shouldn’t have to explain herself.” Bobby concluded. “You also forgot her birthday.” Chimney added as they all got out of the engine. 

The rest of his shift, Buck tried getting you to talk to him. But it was always, ‘I’m busy, Buck’ or ‘Can’t talk, we’re working.’ He’d given up when he tried to stop you after a call and you had given him a look he had never seen before. 

The guilt was eating him alive. He was a terrible friend to you and he thought being with you was a pipe dream. Until Hen and Eddie told him you loved him. But regardless of your feelings for him, you had done so much for him and he didn’t realize it until you were gone. 

That night, Buck went over to Taylor’s to gain more perspective on what he could do to fix what he royally screwed up. 

“I don’t know what to do. She hasn’t talked to me in weeks. We’ve never gone this long without talking.” Buck explained to Taylor.

“Well, you did forget her birthday. And not give it a second thought that she was hurting over the loss of a patient.” She said. “That’s not helping.” He replied. “You asked for my help and I’m being honest. You really hurt her. She almost got evicted because she was so worried about you. The first person she wanted to be with after her friend died was you and you went on a date instead.” Taylor said. “I know. I tried to talk to her but she won’t answer any of my calls or texts. She won’t even look at me anymore.” Buck said. 

“You are so stupid sometimes.” Taylor laughed. “What?” Buck asked. “She has feelings for you. Why else would she get so upset? If she only saw you as a friend, you would be getting screamed at not avoided.” She explained.

“Everyone keeps saying that but there’s no way Y/N has feelings for me. She’s...perfect. Perfect doesn’t fall for damaged goods.” Buck rebutted. “Trust me, she loves you.” Taylor told him. “And do you love her?” She asked. “Of course I do. But being with her seemed like it was too good to happen so I tried to move on. I guess I tried so hard I ended up hurting her anyways.” Buck answered. 

“Then tell her. And do a whole lot of graveling while you’re at it.” Taylor said. 

Buck quickly left the apartment and got into his car driving like a bat out of hell. When he arrived at your apartment, he didn't even bother to park in the parking stall correctly, his main focus was just getting to you.

When he finally reached your door, he knocked on it rather harshly and heard the sound of your urgent footsteps coming to find out who it was.

"Buck? What are you doing here?" You asked. Buck couldn't even find the words to answer because he was more focused on what you were wearing.

You had on a formed fitting red dress, your hair was curled and flowing over your shoulders and you looked beautiful.

"Wh-Why are you dressed like that?" He stammered. "I have a date." You answered. "You have a date? With who?" Buck asked. "Emily's brother. We became close when Emily had chemo and after she died we kept in tough. Why are you here?" You questioned.

"Don't go on the date. Please, for the love of god, don't go on that date. Because I love you, Y/N. I was too stupid to see it until you weren't around anymore. And I was terrible to you. I was supposed to be your best friend and I was so worried about my own life I dnd't even ask you how you were doing and oh my god I missed your birthday." Buck rambled.

"Slow down, Buckley, and talk to me at a normal rate, please." You said.

Buck took a deep breath and looked at you intently. "I'm in love with you. I-I always have but being with you always seemed like a pipe dream because you're perfect. You have always been perfect and you know that I'm not." Buck explained.

"Exactly. I've seen you at your worst and I still love you but even as your best friend you never gave me the time of day. Missing my birthday to go to dinner with Taylor Kelly. Brushing me off after Emily died because you had a date." You laughed bitterly. "I have stood by you no matter what. But god forbid I need you once in a while." You added.

"And I am so sorry, Y/N. You have every right to be upset with me, I'm upset with me. I'm pissed off at myself because I didn't realize what I had until it was too late." Buck replied. "Evan, do you understand the situation you just put me in? I get to go on a date with a great guy, one who actually pays attention and then the man I've been in love with for years, shows up at my doorstep to tell me he loves me back." You started.

Buck's facial expression fell, fearing the worst and anticipating you telling him that you'd moved on and he was too late.

"And I have to call that guy and tell him that I can't make it. Because the person I actually want to be with is right here." You finished.

The light in Buck's eyes returned at your words, looking at you with a gentle smile.

"Really?" He asked. "Yes, really and please don't make me regret it. You've screwed up a lot lately, let's not add us to the list." You said. "So there's an us now?" Buck questioned. "I-If that's okay with you." You stuttered. "It's absolutely okay with me." Buck said with a smile.

"I guess I got all dressed up for nothing." You sighed, letting Buck inside your apartment.

Buck was quiet for a moment as he watched you take your heels off and your earrings, placing them on the table by the door. "Then let's not make it for nothing. Let me take you out on our first official date." He said.

"Besides, I need to see you in that dress more often." He added a smirk on his face. "Alright then, Buckley. Take me on a date. You have a lot to make up for." You smiled, offering him your hand.

Buck took your hand in his, happily, and held you steady as you put your shoes back on. “Trust me, Y/N, it’ll be the best date you’ve ever been on.” He said. 

In the moment, you laughed at his words but after the date had concluded and all was said and done, it had indeed been the best date you have ever been on. 

[peachy-tea-anon]

𝙌𝙪𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙭 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠

TWs: Mentions of anxiety, School stress

Synopsis: you've been stressed at school so you call your boyfriend to help you out, and he goes above and beyond.

Its 1 am and You can't sleep. You have a huge paper due tomorrow, three tests in the morning, and what feels like an endless amount of assignments and reading.

When you had signed up for college, you knew there would be a lot to do, but, with you being an overachiever who always pushed yourself to your limits, you started to feel like you were drowning in work.

For the past 4 days, it's was the same old routine. Wake up at 6 am, go to school, come home, and stay up until 2 am doing assignments. You weren't getting nearly enough sleep, and at this point your blood flowed on red bull and iced coffee.

As you were working on a huge assignment for criminal studies, you felt dumbfounded. You couldn't have a single coherent thought, and no matter how many times you read the directions, you just couldn't get it through your head.

𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙢?

He, of course, was alex, your boyfriend.

One time in class, after working on a project together, he offered to help you any time you needed, saying "yeah, I literally have nothing to do so if you ever need me, just give me a call!"

You thought it would be useless, surely he was asleep at 1 am on a Tuesday. Right?

You decided it couldn't hurt to try, so you picked up your phone, pausing your Spotify playlist and dialed his number.

As the phone rang, you almost felt nervous. What if im just bothering him? He really needs his sleep... what if i-

Your thoughts were cut off by a familiar voice.

"Hey Y/N, what's up?" He says, no hint of disturbance or sleepiness in his tone.

"Hey... sorry it's so late, im just drowning in assignments right now, and i just can't figure out the one for criminal studies. I was wondering if you could help me out with it?"

"Yeah totally! Send me your address and ill be on my way!"

You didn't expect him to actually come over, but you quickly agreed, hanging up the phone to clean up a bit. Thank goodness that your roommate, who was out of town, had cleaned up the apartment for you, so it was mostly just throwing on some semi-acceptable clothes and clearing up your desk space.

You hear a knock at your door, and you geeet him with a half smile.

"Thanks again for coming over, sorry it was such short notice."

"It's really no problem at all, karl and sapnap have been in the U.K. So I've just been bored and lonely." He chuckles.

You both make your way to the couch, setting out your respective books.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I got you something..."

He pulls out a redbull and your favorite snack.

"Oh my gosh!! Quackity you didn't have to do that for me!!"

"it's really no trouble, I noticed you always had these in class so I stopped by the store on my way here."

You thank him, quickly downing the redbull and beginning to snack on the food.

"Also, are you okay Y/N? I know college is a bit difficult, but you've seemed really stressed lately. I wanted to make sure you're doing well."

You're a bit taken aback, I mean, any sane person would notice that you're not in the healthiest of lifestyles lately, with getting no sleep and overworking yourself, but nobody ever asked you about it.

"Uhhh yeah, I've just been super stressed because of school and stuff, I volunteered to fill out like 3 peoples notebooks on top of all of the stuff I have to do... it's just a lot." You say sleepily.

"Damn that sounds really difficult. You really should be getting enough sleep though, that's the only way you can actually get work done."

As he explains the assignment, you start to doze off and eventually fall asleep.

He smiles, as he starts to put your stuff away, carrying you to bed and abandoning the homework at the coffee table.

He slides you under the covers, and just as he's about to walk away you grasp his arm.

"Hey quackity... can you stay with me?" You say in your half asleep state.

"You sure?" He says while blushing, and you nod and pat the spot on the bed next to you. He slides under the covers, making sure to not make you uncomfortable.

A few minutes pass, and you're fully asleep. He feels your body shift, and you curl up next to him, laying your head on his chest. He blushed at this, then gave in to your touch and slowly fell asleep himself.

The next day, you wake up to sounds coming from the kitchen.

"Morning sleepyhead!" Quackity cheers as he plates up a stack of pancakes for you.

"Awww you didn't have to do all of this!" You say, feeling slightly bad but also very flustered that he would put in this effort for you.

"I wanted to! I went to the store early this morning to grab some stuff to make you breakfast, i also noticed that you didn't have any groceries so I got you some basics for the week!" Quackity smiles, looking proud of his accomplishments.

He had told you once in class that his love language was acts of service, and how much he loved doing things for others.

You check your phone, and it downs on you that it's 7:50.

"OH SHIT, I HAVE TO GO, class is starting in 10 mins!!!" You rush to get up and leave until he stops you.

"No need mi amor, I emailed all of your teachers excusing you for the day. Also, I finished your assignments for your classes, and I wrote out that essay for you!" He says cheerily.

Your eyes widen. "Alex no!! You didn't have to do all of that, don't you have things you need to work on?"

"Nope! I have all of my stuff done, and I wanted to help you out!"

You smile, quickly pulling him into a hug, almost starting to tear up from his kind gestures. He embraces you, stroking your hair until he finally carried you to the couch, turning on your favorite show and you two cuddle for the rest of the day.

Hey y'all! I noticed there was a severe lack of quackity x reader on here so I wanted to put some out there!! I got inspired to write this because I, too, have been stressed with school so I wanted to write some fluffy stuff. Comment any requests!! <3

[soyouthinkucanwrite]

The money thing (part 2/2) - Daniel Ricciardo

Warnings: SMUT! angst, confrontation... and more SMUT!

This is it, guys! Buuut... I think I'm gonna keep this story going, what do you say? Shall we find out about how shopping with Charlotte goes, and the party, and just how (y/n) handles this new dynamic overall? As always, let me know what you think! Read part 1 here!

When you got back at home, you were barely inside the apartment and Daniel was already pushing you against the door, kissing you passionately. You go down the corridor half kissing, half walking, Daniel chasing you all the way. You run to his room and then inside the shower, taking off your sweaty clothes on the process. You guys get under the shower and the feeling of the chill water along with Daniel’s kisses on your skin is just too good.

“You’re unbelievable” he says, letting your feet touch the ground again. You wash each other clean after that, running your hands through each other’s body and memorizing every curve, every detail.

“You’re unbelievable” he says, letting your feet touch the ground again. You wash each other clean after that, running your hands through each other’s body and memorizing every curve, every detail.

After a while, you get out of the shower, dry your hair quickly then wrap yourself in a towel. You go to your toiletry bag on the sink and take your toothbrush out, brushing your teeth while Daniel finished showering. Then you take your hair cream and put some on, your hair is really starting to feel the damage with all this boy’s shampoo, you think. Then you take some skin serum and apply some drops on your face, spreading lightly. Man, you missed skincare and it missed you. Last step: body lotion. Daniel gets out of the shower and you know he's watching you.

“Why you’re pampering yourself all up?” He asked coming behind you and kissing your neck.

“I’m doing what I was supposed to do the last two nights…but got distracted” you smirk at him. He lifts his hands in mock defense. Then you open the towel and start spreading the cream on your stomach, then your legs, then your butt. He’s watching you still, so you smile. “You say you like my skin, well it takes a lot of creaming to maintain it”

“I thought that was my job, love” He says in a low voice from behind me, putting his hands on my hips.

“Not like-” you start but decide it’s not even worthy, he knows what you meant. You just swat him on the shoulder and he laughs, going back to the room.

“By the way” he says putting his head back through the door. “You smell amazing, so finish up and get your ass back in the bed so I can properly cream you up”

“Daniel!” Little shit. He laughs even louder.

When you go back inside the room Daniel is sitting on the bed, looking through his phone. You pass him towards the closet and decide to take a look at the clothes you brought with you, to see if there's anything you could wear to this party tomorrow. What do you even wear to a yacht?

You take a few outfits and place them in front of your body, testing them on the mirror, but nothing seemed appropriate.

"You want a shirt baby?" Daniel asks you out of nowhere.

"Hum? Yeah, sure" you answer him, hanging the clothes back in the closet.

"Are you looking for something for tomorrow? Just buy something with Charlotte" he said simply while putting sweat pants on.

"Yeah... I..." you took a deep breath, "It's just..." you tried to say, but nothing seemed to come out. You were scared he was gonna think you're being ridiculous.

"What?" he looked at you.

"Nothing, never mind" you gave up, putting on his shirt with your underwear and going back to his room. He followed you, wearing nothing but his sweat pants.

"I'm just guessing here, but I have a feeling it's a good one" he started, "It's the money thing, isn't it? You don't want to spend money buying an outfit for this party?"

"It's not that I don't want to, Dan. I just can't afford it!" you said raising your voice tone a bit. He just stared at you for a while. "I don't know if you've noticed, I'm not on a million dollars contract but I'm still living like I was!" you sat down on the bed, eyes filling with water. "I just can't do this anymore, sorry. It's killing me and it's so stupid, so petty, but again, it's not! Cause what would the solution be? You paying for everything? Me just becoming a leech? A gold-digger?" he was watching you quietly, but let out a laugh at that last part.

"Don't laugh! I'm serious!" you continued.

"Baby, listen to yourself. What do you want me to do besides laughing?" he smiled sympathetically at you.

"Well, I'm glad you're finding it amusing because I feel sick everytime the subject comes up. The clothes, restaurants, plane tickets... I can't be living like that, and it's not just that. It's also because I know there's only one way this is going"

"You finally understanding this is ridiculous and accepting the credit card I made on your name months ago?" he said sitting by your side.

"Us not being together anymore. We're just from too different worlds, it's not gonna work. You need someone that can keep up with this lifestyle" you said getting up and walking towards the bathroom.

"No, you're not!" he said pulling you back down to his lap by your waist. "Enough with this bullshit" he said kissing your face and wipping your tears away. "Tell me what the real problem is. This is not about money, money is only a tool, a means to something, we can't let it have this much power over us. There's always more where that came from" you just looked at him. He had a much more healthy relationship with money than you, maybe because he had so much to spare. "This is not about money. You're not greedy, I know you. You're just the polar opposite of it. The most generous person I know. Is that it? You're feeling guilty?"

"I think... kind of. It's not fair, how can I have so much, knowing that most people have never even seen that much money. We’ve spent the average person's paycheck on a meal, Dan!" you said.

"(y/n), baby... it's not your responsibility. You can't carry this weight on you. You already do so much for people, you volunteer and donate all the time... you can't deprive yourself because other people don't have the same opportunity, that wouldn't be fair either" he tried to reason with you.

"But what about you?" you asked.

"What about me?"

"I just... listen, I know, rationally I mean... that I don't handle the idea of money very well. If you must know, I couldn't even take money from my parents as a kid. I just can't help but think it wasn't fair to them and it's not fair to you, to spend it with me. It's yours! You worked hard for it! I’m literally leeching on you!"

"So, you agree? The money is mine, so I can do with it what I please?" he said.

"Yes, but-"

"Why can't I spend it with the person I love most in the world? Huh? What is so wrong with it? Even if I was choosing to spend it on you instead of on myself, which I'm not, why couldn't I?"

"I feel like I'm taking advantage of you"

"Baby, we're taking advantage of this life. I was given this unholy amount of money for doing my dream job. Can you see how rare and fucking blessed this is? I mean, I thought so, until I met you. I thought I knew what a good life was until you were in it. This is a good life, with you enjoying this fucking lottery ticket with me" he said pecking your lips and rubbing your back, while you leaned on him. "Is this why you wouldn't come to London with me?" you looked at him and nodded.

"Sorry about that..."

"No, I'm sorry I didn't push more on the subject earlier. This has been going on for long enough now. It's just money, (y/n). Just it. Just a tool for the wonderful life we lead together. You understand?"

"Yeah"

"Look at me" he said turning your chin to look at him. "Do you really? Will you let me pay for stuff now? Tell me whenever you have an expense or even better, will you accept the credit card I made for you?"

"I don't think that's necessary"

"Please baby. Let's try it my way? Will you use it from now on?" he asked again pecking your lips. "Say yes. Say yes, or I'll give you a minimal monthly spending goal as well" he smiled and you looked at him like he was crazy.

"I'm not comfortable with it"

"Just try, please? You can start by buying something tomorrow for the party" the look on his face changed and you knew he was about to tease you. "If you'd prefer, we can say you're buying something for me... you wanna be my sugar baby?" he laughed.

"Too soon to joke about it" you said but laughed anyway. "Okay" you said after a while, "I'll use it. But you have to promise me you'll tell me if you change your mind"

"You're scared I'll go in debt?"

"I know you would"

"Good. Because I would. For you. But I know you don't need me to, so if we run out of money we'll just be poor together. Good thing you have experience, huh?" he laughed.

"Asshole!" you swatted him on the chest.

"You know I'm joking. But you get it now, don't you? We're lucky enough we don't have to worry about it, so let's not worry about it. It shouldn't even take a second of our day, it doesn't matter. Us, being together and our happiness is what matters. Okay?"

"Okay. Thank you, for being so understanding. Sorry for being... you know"

"I love you. And I don't expect you to simply go on a shopping spree, although I do expect you to buy those plane tickets soon. But the thing is, I'm here for it, I'm here to solve every little obstacle that gets in our way, no matter what, no matter how silly you're being"

"You're being so mature about this" you smirked at him.

"Well, what can I say? Being the perfect human I am, I understand that other humans are not, I'm just humbled that I can guide you on your path of enlightenment" he laughed and you rolled your eyes. "In all seriousness now, you know why is that, don't you?"

"Why? Because you're just better than everyone else?"

"Well, yes. But also because I have it really clear in my mind what really matters. And that's you. Us. It's all that matters to me. Being good for you" he said looking into your eyes.

"I love you, so much. I don't deser-" he cut you out by kissing you deeply and pulling you closer to him.

You moved so you were straddling him now, your arms around his neck and your hands on his hair. His hands that were on your waist, keeping you closer, started to slip down your body, so he was holding your bum.

"I want you" he said against your lips. You smiled and started to grind down against him. You were only wearing his shirt, which was bunched up around your waist, and your underwear, which wasn't the sexiest piece you owned but you didn't think Dan would care. In fact, he didn't seem to care at all for your underwear, cause he was already slipping his hand under you, pushing the thin layer to the side, and sliding his fingers through your lips.

You moaned at the sensation, still sensitive from your adventures early in the shower. "I... Dan..." you begin to say, but couldn't form a full sentence.

"What is it, baby girl? You want to say something?" he whispered against your ear, sucking your earlobe lightly. Then he pressed his pointer and middle finger against your clit, circling them firmly against you and making you moan louder for him.

"I'm still sensitive from early" you said against his lips, laughing a bit.

"You want me to stop?" he asked looking at you deeply.

"No!" you answered almost too fast, making him chuckle. "Don't stop, please"

"Hum... since you asked so nicely" he said sucking on your jaw, then your neck. You took that opportunity to slip your hand down his torso, feeling his chest and abs, and then reaching for him through his sweat pants. He was rock hard already. This man is insatiable. You smiled at the sound he made when you grabbed him lightly.

"I just want to feel you inside me" you said pulling his pants down and out of the way. He lifted you both from the bed slightly to help you take them off, then you grabbed and lined him with your center, sitting down slowly, letting only the head in first.

“Babe, please,” it’s Daniel’s turn to beg now “I need you" and then you sink down on him, feeling all of his length while he bottoms out inside you. He sucks on your sweet spot, muffling the groan that comes out of his mouth.

"Oh my god Dan" you moan, dropping your head back and giving him even more access to your neck. You pull his hair a bit more, fingers clamped down so tightly you're scared you might pull his hair out. You stay like this, feeling him deep inside you, for a while. He pulls away to look you in the eyes and kiss your lips, massaging your tongue with his. It's so intimate, so truthful, like he said, the only thing that matters in the world.

"I love you" he says looking you deep in the eyes. You nod before replying because you want to make sure he knows you know. That you believe and trust him.

"I love you, so much" you say back.

Then you roll your hips, testing out the angle, and it's almost too much to handle. It feels like hours and seconds at the same time, but you find a rhythm together, a pace you can keep sitting on him, while he only worries about kissing you and keeping you both from falling from the bed.

You're sure you'll be feeling sore tomorrow. Actually, you already are. Your legs, tired from the running and all the sex you've been having lately, start to give out and you lose your strength. Luckily, Daniel seems to catch that before you have to say anything, so he brings his hands to your hips and starts to help you move up and down on him.

You sit up slightly, moaning at the different angle he hitting now and he groans, feeling you clench around him. "(y/n)" he moans your name, "baby, I'm go-" he moans, feeling you clench again.

"Me too" you reply.

"Where do want me to? Huh? I'm gonna cum for you baby" you kiss him, feeling your pussy spasm around him, making it even harder for him to keep a steady rhythm.

"Inside me. I need you to come inside me, please, please baby" and there's no time to think, to ask if you're sure. You feel his whole body tensing and his thrusts get sloppier. Then, when you feel the hot liquid spur inside you, he grabs a handful of your ass with one hand and slips his other in between the two of you, flicking your clit rapidly and precisely.

That's all it takes for you to lose it completely, your walls fluttering around him as your body trembles at the intensity of the pleasure.

You both ride your orgasms together, you rolling your hips slower and slower, and him holding you tighter and closer until you stop completely. The only sound being your heavy breathings.

After a while, you pull away to find him already staring at you.

"You are the most beautiful thing I ever laid eyes on" he says to you and you feel the warmth of his words.

"I'm yours. Forever" you say simply and kiss him lightly on the lips.

"I feel like I have so much to lose. It honestly scares the living shit out of me"

"I know what you mean. I feel the exact same, I promise. I don't know how I got so lucky to find you" you say.

"And I, you. But we're just being dumb, right? I guess it's good we know that, but also... that we're not going anywhere, right?" he asks and you can sense there's some insecurity behind his line.

"Right. We're only getting stronger" you say and kiss him again. "I love you, Daniel"

"I love you, so much" he says touching your foreheads. "Let me get something to clean you up, then we can cuddle the rest of the night"

"You're the only guy I know that likes cuddling this much" you smile getting up from him. He hisses a bit at the sensation but gets up right after you.

"You don't have to worry about other guys' preferences" he says rolling his eyes. Yep. If your thing is low self-esteem and money-related issues, his is definitely jealousy and overall insecurity.

"I don't, silly" you peck him in the lips. He seems to relax a bit and when he comes back from the bathroom his phone lights up, he goes to check on it after passing you the towel.

"Charles just texted Charlottes contact. I'll forward it to you, okay?"

"Yep" you answered and it was your phone's turn to light up. "Can I confess something?" you asked him, adjusting your clothes.

"Hum?"

"I'm really excited to hang out with her tomorrow. I kind of miss girl company during the GPs and even when I'm here in Monaco and you're busy" he smiled and put a shirt on.

"Look at you, making friends! How cute"

"Shut up" you playfully pushed him, while you guys climbed into bed. You texted her 'hello' and Daniel's address before locking your phone and adjusting in his arms. There's still a lot to figure out and you weren't sure you'd be able to handle the money thing any better. You hoped so, after all, you didn't know how much more Daniel can be understanding. But you could think about all that another time. Right now life was good in the arms of the man you loved and loved you back. You felt safe.

.

.

Tag list (this is so fancy! I've never done a tag list before haha): @scotlynaurora @your-favourite-blonde @unicornfairytail @c-d-9

@isntmadrid @lharrietg @sassybatflowerpaper

[kai-writes-fan-fiction]

could you write avengers x ocd!reader? 🥺 ty

I’d love to! I feel like OCD is such a stigmatized disorder, and I’ve been diagnosed myself. To make it more inclusive, I’ve done some extra research. This piece includes a few triggers like extreme Germaphobia, panic attacks, sensory symmetry, my safe numbers are anything divisible by five, my favorites are 10. 50, and 100, so for the sake of this sort, those are the numbers I’ll be using.

You were diagnosed with OCD at the age of 12

When you weren’t on your medication, your symptoms were pretty severe

You joined The Avengers at 13, and it’s been 2 years, so you were 15

You’d learned how to cope really well, but your symptoms fluctuated, and were often too much to handle without meds

Only Fury knew, and you asked him to keep it in between the two of you

He obliged, but advised you tell them eventually to prevent incidents

One day, you needed to go get your prescription refilled, but you were below the legal driving age

Instead of risking the reveal of your well guarded secret and asking someone to just take you to the pharmacy, which was, in no way, waking, flying, or running distance from the Compound

You decided to just suffer and get your prescription when you were in the city

You spent the next agonizing days in your room in fear of the rest of The Avengers thinking your routines, counting, taping, and whatnot was you just being a crazy teenager overreacting

Little did you know, all the time you’d been spending in your room was suspicious to the rest of the team and they began hypothesizing whatever you were doing in there for such a long amount of time

“I bet you she isn’t even in there!” -Sam

“She could be on her period or something.” -Tony

“Ew!” -Peter

“First of all, Tony, that’s inappropriate, secondly, Peter, don’t be immature it’s natural, thirdly, I’m with Sam she could be on one of her “teenage escapades”!” -Natasha

“What’re we taking about?” -Steve

“We’re trying to come up with reasons (Y/N) hasn’t left her room in a few days.” -Bucky

“Oh, my money’s on her being on her period.” -Steve

“EXACTLY.” -Tony

“S T E V E, NO.” -Natasha

“Instead of thinking about what she’s doing, why doesn’t someone check on her?” -Bruce

“Great. Thanks for volunteering Bruce!” -Tony

“But I didn’t-“ -Bruce

“I’ll go. I’m her favorite.” -Peter

“Only because you’re her age, spiderling.” -Tony

Peter went to your room, you didn’t respond, still worried about their judgement

“(Y/N), could you please let me in? I’m worried about you. Are you ok?” -Peter

On the verge of a panic attack “I’m ok! Please go away!” -you

“Ok, but can you come out later today? Please?”

“I’ll think about it.”

You were left alone until dinner

“(Y/N)! Dinner! I’ve got your favorite! If you come out you can have some!” -Bucky

Feeling better you decided to come out, as your symptoms had calmed down

You came and ate with the team, and they could tell your behavior was different

You washed your plate and silverware 5 times before you served yourself

You were counting things, and trying to tap things inconspicuously, which wasn’t working

You looked really grossed out when Sam sneezed and when Peter double-dipped the salsa (If you double-dip, and it isn’t your personal sauce/salsa/guacamole/etc. ew what’re you doing)

Natasha finally decided to break the tension

“(Y/N), why have you been in your room all week? Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Then why were you in your room? I bet on it being your period.” -Tony

“Dude, seriously? I wasn’t on my period. I’m fine.” -you snapped

“Are you sure?” -Steve

“I’m sure. Thanks for dinner.”

You went back to your room, and you already felt yourself getting riled up again. This was going to be a very long night

“She’s not ok.” -Peter

“Yeah, no duh. I’ll go check on her.” -Steve

Steve straight up walked into your room and found you in the middle of your bedtime routine

“Ever heard of privacy?” -you

“Nope. What’re you doing? And seriously, are you ok?” -Steve

He had good intentions, and you were done with the “I’m emotionally stable” charade, so you told the truth

He looked confused, and you immediately regretted E V E R Y T H I N G

“We can refill it tomorrow, I’ll drive you. You should’ve told us! We care about you and we wanna know what’s going on in your life. How about you tell the rest of the team?” -Steve

“Ughhhh fine.” -you

You told the rest of the team, and you watched as they exchanged money. Had they been betting on what you were doing?

“You guys are stupid.” -you

“We know.” -Sam

“Shut up Sam. You don’t need to hide stuff from us (Y/N).” -Natasha

“Yeah, I know, but I didn’t want you guys to think I’m crazy or just being a moody teenager or something.”

“Hey, having OCD doesn’t make you crazy! If you ever need anyone to talk to, we’re always here.” -Tony

“Thanks guys. I’m going to bed now though. Nighhhttt.”

You left all of them in the common room, and you went to bed

You were thankful for their kind words and happy you could go get a refill

They always checked on you when you were feeling anxious

They could somehow tell when something that wasn’t OCD friendly was bothering you, and it was always fixed

BONUS YAYYYYAYAYAYAY

“So that was unexpected.” -Loki

“When in the hell did you get here?!?” -Steve

“Been here the whole time. Night!” -Loki

“Man that was a lot though.” Strange

“When did YOU get here?!?” -Steve

“20 minutes ago. Anyway, goodnight.” -Strange

“Ok, who else is here that wasn’t here for dinner?” -Steve

“Me!” -Zemo

“YOU’RE IN PRISON WHAT?!?”

Shoot this kinda turned into a story sorry guys

[daryl-dixon-daydreams]

Words: 4,577 Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader Reader pronouns: she/her Era: Alexandria Warnings: Language, mentions of abuse, violence, sexuality, nudity, typical TWD A/N: STUFF. IS. HAPPENING! A/N: This is part of a series! Find the previous parts on the Masterlist! Summary: The Hilltop and Alexandria are well into preparations for the war against the Saviors, and someone goes missing.

Your name: submit What is this?

A couple weeks later

It had been an eventful couple of weeks. Alexandria and Hilltop were well into preparations for the first hammer blows to fall against the Saviors, but the Kingdom, the latest community Jesus had introduced you to, had just decided to join in the fight after shit went sideways. You and Daryl had stayed there for a few days to help before heading back to Hilltop. The biggest relief was finding Carol safe and sound, although changed from how both you and Daryl remembered her. You knew it was weighing on the archer, but there was simply too much to do to spend more time there and try to figure out exactly what was going on...

The intel from Dwight so far had been untested but consistent. He was keeping you all apprised of the Saviors movements and what Negan seemed to be focused on. There had been some concern after the discovery of the bodies that you and Daryl had been responsible for out by the survivalist cache, but the Saviors seemed to think it was a chance one-off skirmish with some other group and no more heat had come your way. Of course, Negan continued to pressure and terrorize Rick and Alexandria, but they had been able to keep him placated so far with supplies. But that wasn’t going to last forever, and it was almost time to kick the hornets’ nest.

The fine weather, moderate temperatures and ample sunshine, were in harsh contrast to the anxiety and worry plaguing you as you all prepared for a war that you were sure would result in heavy losses. That particular day, Daryl found you down by the armory, helping to sort and finish weapons that had just come from the blacksmith. His tall frame darkened the doorway, and although Daryl was well aware of how worried you were, you still always had a smile for him. He stopped and leaned on the table across from you, drinking in the sight. “Hey.”

“Hey. What’s up?” you asked, setting aside some broadhead arrows.

“Ya still wanna do that pick-up from the ammo cache today?” he asked.

You nodded. “I think we have to.”

He straightened up and nodded. “Yeah. I think so too. I’ll get the gear and my bike. Ya about done here?” he asked.

“Done. Let me just drop these few off to be sharpened. I’ll meet you down by the gate.”

Daryl nudged his nose up in a nod and headed to your trailer to collect the gear you would need. He was just about done, zipping up his pack, when he heard hurried footsteps coming up to the door, followed by urgent knocking.

Daryl spun and rushed to open it. Jesus was standing on the top step looking deeply concerned. “I think we might have a problem,” he said.

_ _ _ _ _ _

“Well, when was the last time anybody saw the little weasel?” you asked, pacing the length of the trailer anxiously. Maggie, Sasha, and Enid were gathered too.

“That’s what I mean. I’m not even sure,” Jesus said. “He’s just been holing up in his office drinking lately. By the time I realized he wasn’t around anywhere I couldn’t even tell how long he’d been gone.”

Daryl let out a low growl. “We shoulda locked his ass up. Guarantee he’s runnin’ off to find some Saviors,” he roared.

Jesus looked dumbfounded. “I never thought he’d actually try something like this. He’ll be lucky if they don’t kill him.”

You rubbed your hands over your face and shut your eyes for a moment. “It doesn’t matter. We can’t go back and stop him, if that’s really what he’s up to. The only thing we can do now is prepare for what’s going to happen.” You met Daryl’s eyes. “Our timeline just accelerated. We need to get word to the Kingdom and Alexandria ASAP.”

Daryl nodded gravely, a shadow over his narrowed blue eyes. “Did he know ‘bout that radio of theirs we’ve got?”

“No. He definitely didn’t,” Jesus said.

“Well, at least there’s that,” Maggie said. “I’ll handle gettin’ the volunteers here all armed and come up with a final defense plan. I’m sure they’re gonna be knockin’ sooner rather than later.”

Sasha shook her head, anger plain on her face. “I’ll set extra watches on the wall. Thank God we didn’t cut him in on our plans.”

“Yeah,” Daryl agreed, straightening up. “Never trusted the bastard. If I see him, he’s a dead man. We’ve got one thing goin’ for us at least. They’re gonna think we ain’t armed or prepared at all. They’re gonna think they’ll be surprising us, but they’re wrong.”

Jesus sighed heavily. “I’ll contact Rick and The Kingdom and then stay glued to that radio. If I hear anything, anything at all, I’ll make the rounds.”

You all had your plans and you watched as everyone cleared out of the trailer. Daryl turned to see you frozen and your face dark with worry.

He moved around the table and stopped in front of you, his hands reflexively landing gently on your hips. “Hey. This ain’t it. It ain’t over,” he said.

You nodded and met his blue eyes. “I know. That’s what scares me. It’s just starting. All the—all the death and destruction is coming. It’s like being on a set of train tracks with a locomotive bearing down and nowhere to go.” Your eyes turned downward, but not fast enough to hide the glassiness in them.

“Hey.” Daryl gently clasped your face and your wide eyes met his again. “Everything is gonna be alright.”

“You don’t know that…”

Daryl nodded and brushed a strand of your hair away from your face. “Ya. I do. ‘Cuz we’ve been makin’ these plans, and they’re all good. Smart. It’s like ya said. Timeline gets bumped up, but they ain’t winnin’. And I will do everything I have to, to keep ya safe. You and every one of our people.”

There was still some seed of doubt in your eyes, but your fear seemed to have diminished some and you nodded before looping your arms around his neck and hugging him against you tightly. Daryl sank into you, breathing in the semi-sweet scent of your hair and smoothing his hands over your back. “I’ve got you,” you murmured into the crook of his neck. Even despite the bad news, Daryl couldn’t help but smile.

“Mhm. And I got ya.” He was still bewildered by your constancy and how each of you seemed to carry the other when you most needed it. It was a give and take he had hardly known in his life. There were no strings attached, no deals or bargaining. You were just there.

The rest of the evening was chaotic as you rushed around preparing for what could come at any moment, but it was almost midnight and still there was no word over the radio that the Saviors were moving.

“If he went on foot, he won’t be anywhere near the closest Savior outpost until tomorrow. And that’s assuming he somehow manages to survive,” Jesus said.

You glanced toward the gate and the inky blackness beyond. “Closest ones we know about…” you said quietly.

Daryl shifted a little anxiously, your worry being his. “Jesus is right though. We best try and get some sleep while we can. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.”

You sighed, but Daryl saw you soften. “Yeah.” You placed a friendly hand on Jesus’ shoulder. “Wake us up if you hear a single peep over that radio.”

He gave you a tight smile and nodded. “You got it. Goodnight.”

“Night,” Daryl drawled, falling into stride behind you back to the trailer. He shut the door behind himself and simply watched you drifting about the space for a moment, getting ready for bed. You felt his eyes on you and paused, turning to read his expression.

“What are you thinking?” you asked the archer.

He shrugged and drifted toward you. “Nothin’. Tryin’ not to.”

You nodded and turned to face him, unable to stand the space between you any longer. You pushed the curtain of dark hair framing his face out of eyes and gently rested your hand lightly along his jaw. “You’re so strong, Daryl. Whatever else happens, I at least know you’re gonna come through this just fine. Hell, you’ll probably be the one to put Negan in the ground.”

“Hey.” He grabbed your hand in both of his, and marveled at how small and fragile it felt, despite how strong he knew you were too. “ What’d I tell ya? We are gonna be just fine.” He pressed your hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. You smiled at the forcefulness of his assertion followed by the tenderness of his action afterwards. “C’mon. Let’s at least try and catch a little sleep.” He tilted his head in the direction of the bed and you were eager to comply, falling down heavily with your head on the pillow. Daryl moved behind you until he could press his body against you. This time he was the one who moved until he could tangle his legs with yours. He draped an arm over your waist and his fingers tickled against the bare skin of your side, exposed by the way your t-shirt was draping. His hand suddenly sought more of that contact, pressing lightly, skin to skin.

You smiled at the sensation and your heart raced a little with him seeking that intimacy.

“S’this alright?” he asked softly, his breath tickling your ear.

“Mhm,” you hummed, smoothing your hand over the back of his and pulling him more tightly against you. You shut your eyes and breathed out your tension. You felt Daryl relaxing against you too, and despite all the fear and anxiety of the day, you both were soon fast asleep, feeling safe and like you were safely at home.

_ _ _ _ _ _

By the time the sun was up, you and Daryl were both awake and busy. And it wasn’t long before Jesus came striding up with a grave expression on his face, the radio in his hand. You felt your stomach twist. “What is it? Are they coming?”

He only nodded. “They’re moving out this afternoon.”

“To where?” Daryl asked gruffly. “Just here?”

“I think so,” Jesus said. “I haven’t heard any mention of Alexandria. But if Gregory did make it and did spill everything he knows, they’ll be heading there eventually.”

You felt like the wind had been knocked out of you for a brief moment before you steeled yourself again. You brought forward the image of your brother in your mind. You thought of the workers trapped in the Sanctuary with no way out, of Negan’s ‘wives’, of everything he had done to Daryl and to you and countless others… And your fear and anxiety didn’t dissipate, but it took a backseat to determination and anger. You gulped. “Fine. Good. Let them come. We’re ready.”

Daryl felt a swell of admiration for you and he nodded. “We are. That’s what all these plans have been for.” He glanced back at you, knowing you weren’t going to like the next thing he was going to say. “I gotta go check the drop-off location. Dwight might have more info,” he drawled.

A shadow darkened your expression. “What? Now? Daryl, they’re headed our way!”

“I gotta check. It was the plan. He’d get us word if shit was kicking off.”

You shook your head. “No. I don’t like it. You’re gonna go out there? What if—what if you can’t get back in time. What if—”

Jesus seemed to sense that the two of you needed a moment. “I’ll go start spreading the word, get everyone to their assignments.” He rushed off, leaving you behind staring at Daryl with renewed worry.

“Daryl, you can’t—”

He gulped, admittedly not liking the idea of separating from you while you were all seemingly standing on the threshold of potentially the hardest fight of your lives. But he had to go. He had to check. What if there was information waiting that would save lives? What if the Saviors somehow had found out you had that radio and this was going to be misdirection? “I gotta go. This was the plan.”

“Fine, then I’m coming with you!”

“Nah. Ya can’t. Everybody needs ya here. There’s too much to do to get ready.” He paused to read your expression. You looked pissed. “Ya know I’m right.”

You were wrestling with another upwelling of fear. But this was Daryl. He was a warrior. And he needed to do this. It wasn’t fair for you to try and selfishly keep him behind the walls with you when there could be critical information waiting out there. You sighed and shut your eyes for a moment and nodded. “Okay… alright.” You pointed at him vehemently. “But you come back in one piece, Daryl Dixon! I mean it!”

He couldn’t help but smile a little at you. Your tone reminded him of so many times you had scolded him for ignoring an injury or being stubborn. He nudged his nose up at you. “I will. I’ll come back to ya. Promise.”

Your anxiety wasn’t relieved but you nodded. “Okay… Come here,” you said, your tone softened.

That was all Daryl needed. He paced over to you, chewing his bottom lip a little thoughtfully, and just waited for your touch. Your hands rested lightly on his sides and you looked up and met his blue eyes.

“I mean it. Come back.”

“Mm,” he hummed. “I will.” His arms looped around your lower back and pulled you against him. He watched, still amazed every time, as you shut your eyes and arched up onto your toes so your lips met his. Your kiss was gentle and soft at first, but he deepened it, tangling his fingers in your hair and relished the way your lips moved effortlessly with his, the taste of you and feel of you all he needed. When you finally broke apart, your eyes stayed linked with is for a long moment.

“Be careful,” was all you could whisper. Daryl nodded and slipped from you, heading for his bike by the gate. You crossed your arms over your chest like a shield, still feeling the ghost of his hands and lips on you, and watched his broad shoulders until they disappeared.

_ _ _ _ _ _

You purposely kept yourself so busy you hardly had a moment to think while Daryl was outside the walls. You were stocking ammo at strategic locations around Hilltop when Maggie came bounding up to you with a relieved smile.

“He’s back,” she said.

You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you had been holding since he left. You nodded and murmured a thank you, before glancing at the pile of supplies you were sorting. She laughed. “I got it. Go on,” she said kindly, taking your place.

You reached him as he was climbing off his bike and Daryl gave you a smile that made your heart jump. “How’d it go?” you asked, nervous to hear what info he had, if any.

“No problems. Couple walkers,” he said with a shrug.

“And nobody saw you? And you didn’t see anyone?” He shook his head.

“Not that I know of. I was careful,” he drawled. “Got somethin’ though.” His tone changed. There was tension in his voice and it made the gravel more pronounced.

You felt your throat constrict with nerves. “Okay. What is it?”

Daryl pulled out a small piece of paper, left in the agreed upon location by Dwight. “He’ll be here.”

“Negan,” you said. It wasn’t a question

Daryl nodded. “Mhm,” he hummed. He looked about how you felt. Determined, disgusted, and angry.

You nodded. “Okay. So, he’ll be here. So, what? Doesn’t change anything,” you said. Daryl was watching you carefully, worried with the realization that this would be the first time you’d have to see him since busting out of the Sanctuary. It would be like if his own father suddenly showed up at the gates. It would be understandable if you were a bit apprehensive or shaken up at the idea. But instead, to his continued amazement, you just looked pissed. Maybe you were trying to hide how much it was affecting you, but Daryl couldn’t see anything other than determined anger. He licked his lips a little nervously and nodded. “They ain’t comin’ to fight. This time. They’re comin’ to give us a chance to give up. Probably think that once we realize Gregory has snitched that we’ll fold.”

You scoffed. “Not gonna happen.”

Daryl glanced down at the paper in his hands one more time. “They’re goin’ to Alexandria tomorrow. Same thing. After that, they’ll get ready to fight us if we don’t give up.”

You nodded. “I guess it’s really starting then.”

Daryl nodded. “Yeah.” He reached out and laced his fingers with yours. “But we’re ready.”

_ _ _ _ _ _

“I don’t understand why we’re here to chat instead of hitting them before they know what’s coming,” Simon said vehemently, matching Negan’s long strides as they approached the heavy wooden gate to Hilltop.

Negan turned a piercing glare to his lieutenant. “People. Are. A resource,” he growled. “Dead people don’t work for me, do they, Simon? They don’t gather supplies. They don’t work in the Sanctuary. They don’t do a damn thing except rot in the sun or feed the dead, do they? There is a goddamn good reason why I am in charge instead of you. And this is the last time I’m going to remind you of that. In fact you should be grateful you aren’t out on the fence after all of this was happening right under your oversized nose.” The look on his face was dangerous, vicious, his lip almost curling.

Simon hung his thumbs in his belt and averted his gaze down toward his boots. “Right. Sorry.” But he was biting back anger.

“Don’t question me again,” Negan growled, pointing at Simon with his trusty sidekick, the barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat he called Lucille. Negan of course knew that all of you inside knew he was already there, but he raised a cheerful sounding hello at the gate. “Hello! The Saviors are here!”

Two guards appeared over the top of the fence, glaring down at the convoy of trucks and assembled men. “Ah, there we go. Would you mind opening the gates and letting us in?” Negan asked, keeping his manufactured charm thick.

“We won’t be letting you in. Not today. And not ever again.” This was a new voice, and Sasha appeared over the top of the fence now too, her trusty rifle clutched in hand.

Negan laughed and grinned up at her. “Oh, I remember you,” he said. “Well, is there someone else here I could have a civilized conversation with? There are some very important matters that need discussing.”

“Everyone in here will tell you the same thing,” Sasha spat back at him. “And that’s ‘Go to Hell.””

There was a quick flash of rage in Negan’s eyes, like a lightning bolt, but it was gone immediately and replaced with another charming smile. He laughed loudly. “Oh, come on, now! I know just who you have in there that I would just love to talk to! WHERE’S MY DARYL AT?!” he roared. “Little pig, little pig, let me come in!”

Sasha only glared down at Negan in disgust.

“Huh. Not very friendly, are they, Simon?”

“Not friendly at all, Negan,” Simon answered.

“I don’t know what you think you’re hiding back there,” Negan said, gesturing toward the gate with Lucille. “Because I have all the inside information I could possibly want courtesy of one of yours.” Negan snapped his fingers. “Dwight! Bring my best friend Gregory out here!”

Gregory was pushed forward through the crowd and Dwight grabbed his elbow and led him forward.

“You see, Gregory here has already told me that The Hilltop and Alexandria are working together. And I know that there are some more of you Alexandrians hiding out here while Rick the Prick is back there plotting my downfall with enthusiasm. But the thing is you can’t win. We are better prepared, and better supplied, and there are simply more of US. So, I thought we’d come on down here and give you one. last. chance. to do the right thing and fall back in line.” He paused and looked thoughtful, keeping up his charming, amiable act up until this very last part. “Because if you don’t, we will rain death and hellfire down on you. And believe me when I say that I do not want to do that. But I will.”

You and Daryl were backed up against the outer wall on the guard stand, right beside Sasha, keeping out of sight. But Daryl saw just a split second before you did it that you were barely keeping your anger in check.

“Y/N—Don’t—” he whispered harshly.

But you couldn’t just hide anymore. You stood up and peered over the wall, immediately meeting Negan’s eyes.

You were surprised to see that he looked surprised. “We’re not taking any more of your bullshit, Negan. You’re done. This is your last chance to walk away.”

But instead of responding to what you were saying, Negan was simply peering at you for a long moment before he resumed his usual persona. “You have got to be kidding me! Y/N? My wife is with you people?” He clicked his tongue and clenched his jaw. “Ain’t that just a kick in the crotch? And here I was thinking that you just took advantage of the chaos of my Daryl breaking out to escape again… You always were the type to get restless. But it seems maybe I need reevaluate that chain of events!”

Negan seized the back of Gregory’s neck hard and yanked him forward. “You know, it’s funny, because I specifically remember asking for the names of everyone hiding out in Hilltop and Y/N, your name, never came up,” he growled.

Gregory was shaking from head to toe. “I—I’m sorry! I got her name wrong! I didn’t remember—”

Negan looked like he was ready to strangle Gregory when your laughter broke through his pleading. Negan’s eyes shot back to your face. “That should give you some idea of the quality of information you’re working with from him. You might want to rethink things,” you said, leaning on the top of the fence casually, like you were discussing the weather.

You knew that if there was one thing Negan hated more than anyone defying him, it was being made to look weak.

He ran his thumb thoughtfully over his bottom lip as he stared up at you.

“You cocky little bitch,” Simon suddenly drew his pistol and pointed it straight at you.

You didn’t even flinch, but Sasha and the two other guards all had their guns to their shoulders and aimed right back at Simon.

Negan was furious as he turned toward his lieutenant. Simon felt Negan’s eyes like they were burning a hole in his skull and he waivered. Negan spoke to him through a growl. “Put your goddamn gun down. Now. I told you, she comes back to me alive.” Simon lowered his gun.

You felt your stomach twist. You weren’t sure whether Negan had meant for it to be heard or not, but the effect on you was an instantaneous, overwhelming sick feeling. You managed to keep your expression blank, but you knew that if Negan did ever get you back alive, you would be in for a fate worse than death.

Daryl’s hands landed lightly on your hips from behind and he gently pulled you slightly back, stepping forward, protectively putting his body in front of yours, glaring Negan down.

Negan noticed and it was like he suddenly flipped a switch back to his old persona. He grinned and chuckled. “Daryl, Daryl, Daryl…” He took in how close the two of you were standing, how Daryl was guarding you, and he realized… “So, what’s this? You two? You’re together? Really? Daryl, you and Y/N? I mean, I don’t know, but that doesn’t seem to make any sense to me.” He chuckled again as he watched Daryl’s chest heave with angry breaths.

“Wow. Alright. I don’t get it but, hey, some women like dumpster diving.” You watched Daryl’s entire body tense and you laced your fingers with his, resting your other hand on his arm, wishing more than anything that you could just shoot Negan in the fucking head right at that moment.

Negan knew what effect he was having on Daryl. He saw it. And he went on, grinning. “Did she tell you about all the things we did together? Dirty, dirty things…” He bit his bottom lip and cultivated a starry-eyed and vague smile on his face, remembrance. “And she is either a fantastic actress, or she was having just as much fun as I was, because I really didn’t have to do any convincing. I mean, she is good… I still dream about it and wake up rock hard…” he trailed off, grinning widely as he saw your face burning with anger and humiliation. You couldn’t help but be extremely aware of the fact that the entire Hilltop community was standing right behind the gate, listening to every word exchanged. You felt like you’d just been outed. Daryl shifted uncomfortably, his fist clenching.

“Oh my God,” Negan laughed, his eyebrows lifting. “Don’t tell me you two haven’t fucked yet?” He chewed his bottom lip, nodding, knowing exactly how much this was torturing both of you. “Oh, Daryl. You don’t know what you’re missing! This is some biblical level shit. I’m talking Whore of Babylon! I mean, really, you have no idea what—” But Negan had to duck as Daryl pulled his gun and fired a shot that whizzed just past his head and struck the truck behind him. Instantly, about fifty guns were aimed your way. The archer’s chest was heaving with anger as he glared through the drifting cloud of gun smoke. And this time when Negan straightened back up, the cocky smile and manufactured charm was gone. His eyes were dark and cold with rage. “Now, that—that was a mistake, Daryl.”

“Nah. You made the mistake,” Daryl growled. “And ya will pay for it.”

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Miss Americana (Part 3)

Summary: The reader recovers from her second dose of Compound V and explores her stronger abilities with Dean. But the events of a fun night out might give Miss Americana and Soldier Boy an unlikely ally...

Masterlist

Pairing: Soldier Boy!Dean x reader

Word Count: 1,900ish

Warnings: language, implied past torture/assault/killings

A/N: Enjoy this final part! This contains very minor spoilers for The Boys...

______

“Let me hide this stuff and I’ll be back in five, okay?” he asked. You nodded, Dean cupping your cheek before he was gone. It was barely a minute before he was returning, wearing sweats and a henley, a box under his arm. “Brownies from the bakery down the block.”

“I thought you liked pie.”

“I do. But you like brownies,” he said. “Something to look forward to after you spend the night shaking and sweating.”

“Lovely,” you said. He sat down beside you, urging you to lean into him. He tucked a blanket over your legs, watching the fire crackle. “I don’t think I mind if you’re a monster.”

“I can be pretty horrible.”

“You’re not horrible to me. You’ve never been that way. Even if your first instinct was to try to manipulate me you decided not to.”

“I hate most people. Think they’re worthless. Only care about myself.”

“So? I told you when we met...I’m the nice bad guy. I frankly don’t give a fuck anymore about being the pushover, the one that gets hurt. I just want to never be afraid again.”

“We never have to be afraid after tonight. Never,” he said. “You’ll be stronger than Homelander. Stronger than me. You’ll be safe.”

“For a bad guy, you were awfully nice giving me that dose with no strings attached.”

“There’s no strings,” he said. He stroked your arm when you shivered. 

“Partners?” you asked. He leaned down, kissing you more gently than he ever had. No need behind it.

“I like partners,” he said. He was warm as you started to feel cool, Dean drawing shapes on your bare skin. “I had a little brother.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“He got sick right after I shipped out. Died the morning I got my first dose of Compound V. Only reason I volunteered for the shot. They said volunteers got special benefits. I wanted my brother to get to a good hospital and proper care and he was already dead by the time I got my shot. Then uh, then some of us started dying cause they didn’t know dosages or shit. I thought at least Sam’s gonna be okay. Then I spent three days wishing it would kill me so I could be with him instead of having been away for the last year of his life. But I didn’t die. I was the only one. Then they gave me more and...I guess I enjoyed becoming the super soldier over grieving. Then it goes to your head and changes you and...Sammy wouldn’t even recognize me now. At least I know I’m not going to the same place he wound up so he won’t have to see.”

“What was that like, being honest just now,” you asked, goosebumps covering your skin. You bundled into him more, Dean pulling up the blanket.

“I miss Sammy. I haven’t thought about him in years. I hope the kid’s happy wherever he is.”

“Maybe you’ll see him again someday,” you said. You shook, sweat forming all over you, muscles aching. You turned, unable to get comfortable. “How long does this last?”

“About six hours. Then I passed out and when I woke up it was over.”

“Awesome.” You gripped the blanket tight, Dean massaging your tense shoulders. “Tell me more about Sammy. Please.”

“He absolutely hated being called Samuel,” said Dean with a chuckle. “So naturally I did it all the time when we were kids.”

“Keep going,” you said, stomach churning briefly. “Distract me.”

“Let me tell you about the time we jumped off the shed roof.”

You were in sweaty clothes when you woke, lifting your head off Dean’s chest to find him passed out and snoring lightly. You sat up, shaking out your head. Something was different. You stood, deciding to test out flying first. You yelped when you nearly hit the ceiling, freezing and plopping straight down onto the couch and Dean.

He groaned awake, peeling open his eyes to find you hovering above him.

“Sweetheart I’m all for a little rough in the bedroom but not a full body tackle awake,” he said. You moved to the side, the motion second nature quickly but it required much less effort than before. You looked around, nothing in the room heavy enough to test your strength. Dean sat up, smirking as he looked at you. “Wanna arm wrestle?”

“Yes!” you said, Dean chuckling, groggily taking a seat at the counter. You stood on the other side of the island, Dean clasping your hand.

“Let’s go,” he said. You squeezed, Dean keeping up with you for a good few seconds before he started to go down fast. You heard the counter creek and then it was breaking, Dean backing up. 

“Uh,” you said. 

“Don’t worry about it. What do you expect when you got supes in the place? But you, you’re stronger. Stronger than me,” he said. “How do you feel?”

“Good. Very good. I um, I’d like to go fly. I think I might be faster.”

“Go for it. I’ll call someone to get this fixed. Just be careful. Try not to fly into any planes.”

“I’ll do my best, Soldier Boy.”

“Again?” asked Dean that night. You flew up high and smiled, Dean letting go of you, free falling a few seconds before you dove down and caught him. He giggled and you flew higher, Dean jumping off. You could heard him laughing and went down, something hitting you on the way. You threw a punch and arms released you, Dean holding on tight when you finally caught up with him. You both looked up and glared, a cape and pair of red eyes looking down. “You do realize the fall won’t kill me.”

“Probably not. But it’d be fun to try,” said Homelander. He floated down to your level, your arm tight around Dean’s waist. “Oh relax. I won’t touch your boy toy again.”

“I thought I said to stay the fuck away from us,” you growled.

“I just thought you’d like to know that Soldier Boy’s internal file will be released to the major news outlets tomorrow. Did you know-”

You grabbed his neck with your free hand, squeezing hard, Homelander pawing at your wrist.

“Any good reasons why I shouldn’t kill him?” you asked Dean.

“None come to mind,” said Dean, Homelander’s eyes red but fading as he choked for air.

“Feel free to speak up,” you said, gripping his neck even tighter. 

“Stop,” said a voice, the three of you turning towards a small drone hovering close by. “Let him go.”

“He tried to kill Soldier Boy,” you said, holding on tight. You didn’t even see the drone shoot out the darts, the three of you hit. You instantly dropped Homelander, flying down to the roof of Vought as soon as you could, Dean out cold already and you quickly joining him.

You woke up on the couch in Edgar’s office, no sign of Dean or Homelander. Everything felt off still as you sat up, Mr. Edgar suddenly sitting on the edge of the coffee table.

“Are you alright?”

“No,” you groaned, stretching out. “What the hell was that?”

“If you’re going to act like children, we’ll treat you like them.”

“Dean and I were having fun, minding our own business-”

“Dean and you stole Compound V for your own benefit. I thought you were going to be more understanding of this arrangement.”

“I have to be stronger than Homelander and now I am. We didn’t hurt anybody to get it. You people let him do whatever the fuck he wanted so get off your high horse.”

“We understand. But you can’t kill him.”

“Why the fuck not.”

“He brings value in, even not as part of the Seven. Miss Americana and Soldier Boy can take over the leadership roles and Homelander is to be left alone.”

“He wants to kill-”

“I said to leave it be.” You stood, glaring down at him. “If an incident like this occurs again, there will be consequences. Dismissed.”

“Gonna throw us back in a hole? That’s kinda your thing isn’t it.”

“We know how to deal with problem children, even supe ones,” he said, standing up. “Back off before all three of you are worth more dead than alive. Don’t make me dismiss you again.”

You stormed out, slamming the door after you, not bothering to look back when you heard the wood splinter. You went straight to Dean’s apartment, Dean unscathed inside. But Homelander standing there, neither of them actively trying to kill the other, that was more than enough to forget your anger for the moment.

“You okay?” asked Dean, stepping over to grab your hand. You hummed, looking Homelander up and down. “You got the same message we did I’m guessing.”

“Behave or we’re all fucked. Yeah. Why the hell is he here?”

“We were spoken to at the same time. While he’s still a psycho and has some major fucked up issues, he has a different idea,” said Dean. 

“Said the mass murderer.” Homelander rolled his eyes. “We all want to be in charge of the Seven. Be the best.”

“You shoved your hand down my pants,” you growled.

“True. But enemies can work together when they have a larger, common enemy, hm?”

“Edgar,” said Dean. “He wants to wipe out Edgar. Ashley is the next logical choice and we can control her. She wouldn’t do jack shit to us.”

“Remove Edgar from the equation and we can all get along. Maybe form a little, trio, best of the best. Still part of the Seven but top dogs. Vought would eat that shit up. Behind the scenes you two fuck or whatever it is you do. Publicly, we’re the strongest go America team there ever was. The soldier from a simpler time, the soldier who fought the terrorists and defend her country, and the everyday man who protects his fellow citizens. All walks of life, all the basis covered. Between the three of us our numbers are sky high in every single demographic.”

“What’s to stop us from killing each other after Edgar is out of the picture,” you said.

“You’re strong enough to kill me. But your little boyfriend can’t fly. You come after me, I’ll drop him in the ocean. Leave me alone, I leave you two alone and we all win,” said Homelander. “Deal?”

“What do you think?” you asked Dean. 

“Lesser of two evils. I think,” said Dean. “I say we give it a chance to see if we can get Edgar out.”

“Fine. We can discuss this more tomorrow. Oh and Homelander. I ever catch you in my or Dean’s apartment again, I’ll snap your neck. Deal or no deal.”

“If you were only a little more twisted we could have had something,” he said. He nodded and left, Dean letting out a deep breath when he was gone. 

“Y/N,” said Dean. You hummed, wrapping your arms around him. “Thanks. For catching me earlier.”

“I’m sure you would have been fine.”

“Probably but I don’t want to test that theory out. If he dropped me in the ocean...I still need to breathe. We have to play nice.”

“We will. Until we don’t have to,” you said. He smirked, kissing your lips. “He tried to kill you. Now I hate him even more. As soon as we can, he’s gone.”

“That’s my girl,” he grinned.

“Yes I am and you, you’re my Soldier Boy. We’re going to own this place, very, very soon.”

“Damn straight we are sweetheart. Just a little bit longer and then we can do whatever we want to. Promise.”

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