#can’t get over everyone thinking it’s a JOKE at first… and then a cold rush on the back of your neck and your stomach drops

[moonshynecybin]

[babydollmarauders]

BALLAD OF A HOMESCHOOLED GIRL — JACK HUGHES

jack hughes x fem!reader

summary: in which y/n goes on a date with Jack and thinks she made a complete fool of herself

notes: obviously inspired by Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl by Olivia Rodrigo, not proofread and written on extreme sleepiness. (3.6k words)

third dates.

my mother always told me to have them in group settings.

she said the first date is to get to know each other; the second is to learn how he’d treat you in private; the third date is to learn how he’d treat you in front of his friends.

most guys seem to get intimidated when i ask about joining a hang out with his friends for the third date, but Jack was different. i had told Jack on our first about my rules.

first date in a public setting, but alone.

second date in private, his apartment or mine.

third date with a group of friends.

i hadn’t expected him to take it so well, nodding along as though even without context, it made sense. he didn’t ask for clarification, which was good because i had learned after my last relationship not to give any; lest they’ll act like a gentlemen in front of their friends until we start dating.

i honestly didn’t expect Jack to contact me again, fully awaiting the discovery that he’d ghosted me, possibly even blocked me to keep me from talking to him again. but then he texted me tonight.

“i know it’s last minute, but third date tonight? me and some guys from the team are going for drinks, would you wanna come?”

and now here i am, walking into a pretty secluded bar to meet Jack and about half a dozen other professional hockey players. to say i’m nervous would be a massive understatement.

i spent at least half an hour trying on various outfits, but nothing felt right. every article of clothing i tried on had something wrong with it; whether it be that it didn’t fit quite right, or it didn’t match the occasion, or i just deemed it didn’t look good on me, something was always wrong. so i finally settled on a nice sundress, despite the chilled air of the evening.

“y/n!” my head turns in search of the voice that called my name, locking eyes with Jack, where he sits at a high top table with five other guys. “i was starting to think you’d stood me up!”

my eyebrows furrow as i walk over to him, stopping at the end of the table. my stomach ties in knots at all of the eyes on me. i hate attention.

“why would i do that?” a few of the guys chuckle at my question, but i’m not sure i understand what’s so funny.

“i was joking.” Jack clarifies.

oh.

embarrassment washes over me and i can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, but Jack just smiles sweetly, rising to his feet and pulling out the chair beside him.

“oh, thank you.” i take a seat and he returns to his, his hand settling on my knee as one of the guys begin to speak.

“so, you’re y/n?” my eyes go wide, and i glance over at Jack but he’s looking over at the other guy. “i’m Luke.”

“nice to meet you, Luke.” i give the curly headed boy a tight smile, “so, you play with Jack?”

the boy grins, nodding his head, “i guess you could say that.”

everyone snickers, and i fear i’ve made a mistake of some sort. my blood runs cold; i hate feeling like i’m on the outside of some giant inside joke.

maybe this was a mistake.

Jack squeezes my knee, and i look over at him with subtly pleading eyes, silently begging for him to save me.

“Luke is my younger brother, but he does play on the team with me.” there it is. that’s where i messed up.

“oh, i’m sorry.” i’m not sure what i’m apologizing for, but it seems like the right thing to do. i glance back at Luke, “i knew Jack had mentioned your name before but, he’s mentioned so many names that at this point they all jumble together in my head.”

Luke just shakes his head, waving it off. “nah, don’t worry, it’s okay.”

after that, i decide it’s better to go quiet; only really speaking when spoken to. i can’t embarrass myself if i’m not saying anything.

“hey.” Jack’s voice is soft, and at first, i don’t even realize he’s talking to me, until i tear my eyes from who i now know as Dawson, who’s telling a story with wildly gesturing hands. “do you wanna go get a drink?”

he nods his head over towards the bar, and i nod, desperately in need of something to ease my nerves, “yes, please.”

Jack and i rise from our seats, his hand going to my lower back to stabilize me as i stumble. my cheeks go red, but i decide it’s better not to acknowledge my clumsiness.

“and i— where are you guys going?” Dawson cuts himself off, drawing attention to Jack and i’s retreating pair. “did i bore you, y/n?”

i stop in my tracks, freezing up as guilt takes over me.

“i- what? n-no! Jack-” i stumble over my words in a panic, attempting to reassure him, but apparently i didn’t help my case.

“see, Merc! poor y/n even finds your story stupid.” John laughs and i shake my head wildly.

“no! i found it interesting!” Nico snickers at my words, his hand coming up to cover his mouth.

“interesting. that’s one way of putting it.”

oh god, i made it worse.

“guys, leave her alone.” Jack speaks up, rolling his eyes at his friends before he turns back to me. “c’mon, ignore them, they’re just raggin’ on you.”

my brows thread together in confusion, but i nod nonetheless, allowing him to use his hand that still rests on my back to guide me over to the bar.

“i’m sorry about them.” he sighs as we reach the counter, waiting for a bartender. “they have a stupid sense of humor.”

“no! no, it’s fine!” i assure him.

it’s not them, it’s me.

i’ve never been great at picking up on social cues, perhaps due to my odd lifestyle as a child.

when the bartender reaches us, Jack orders another beer before looking over at me, “oh, can i just get an aperol spritz, please?”

Jack hands over his card and when he gets it back he turns to me.

“i gotta run to the bathroom, are you okay waiting for the drinks? i’ll be back in a second.” i nod and he takes off towards the restroom, leaving me alone.

“so, you like him?” apparently not alone for long.

i turn my head in surprise, only to find Luke standing beside me. he asks the bartender who arrives back with Jack and i’s drinks for another beer and the man nods.

“hmm? Jack?” Luke nods and i smile looking down into my glass. “yeah, i really like him.”

“see, i said so!” my face scrunched in confusion as i look back at him.

“you said so?” i question.

“yeah! Johnny was trying to say you must not like him because you aren’t being very flirty, but i told him- i said you obviously like him if you’re on a third date.”

flirting.

i’ve never been great at that. and i haven’t needed to be, Jack is the one who approached me first, he’s the one who asked me out and he hasn’t given any indication that i have any reason to have to flirt to keep his attention.

“oh.”

Luke pays for his beer before retreating back to the table with a low “see you in a few.”

i’m quick to tear my phone out of my pocket, glancing over towards the restrooms for a moment to make sure my date isn’t coming back before making a quick google search.

this seems impossible.

“hey.” Jack reappears beside me and i hastily lock my phone, looking up at him as i go to slide it back into my pocket. but the combination of my fidgety hands, quick movements, and not paying attention to my surroundings doesn’t end well.

before i can even blink, my hand is knocking into my glass, the drink sliding off the bar top and onto the floor, shattering upon impact.

“oh my god!” i squeal, jumping back from the broken shards. i glance down at the mess before looking back up at Jack. “i am so sorry!”

i turn to the waitress who comes rushing towards us with a broom and towels, apologizing profusely and offering to clean it up myself.

“it’s no problem, happens all the time.” she tells me with a smile, but i still bury my face in my hands.

i’m making a fool of myself.

“can we get another aperol spritz?” i peek through my eyes at the sound of Jack’s voice, watching as he hands the bartender his card again.

“i am so sorry, Jack.” my voice is low and whimpered, my shoulders rising as though to protect myself. “i just wasted your money and made a huge mess.”

Jack smiles softly, shaking his head as he chuckles, “don’t worry about it. it’s seriously okay, y/n. accidents happen, don’t beat yourself up about it.”

i nod, but i truly feel horrible now.

this was a mistake. i should’ve just stayed home; watched a cheesy romance or read a true crime novel and gone to bed early.

the bartender hands me the new drink, and i thank him before Jack leads me back to the table.

“everything okay?” Timo questions as we return and Jack just nods as we settle back in our seats.

“yeah, just a little accident. it’s all good.” the guys chuckle but all turn back to their previous conversation, somehow now on the topic of the wildest things they did in school.

i stay silent, hoping and praying to any higher power that they don’t involve me in this conversation, but my luck runs out pretty quickly. although i’m not sure i’ve had any tonight in the first place.

“what about you, y/n?” Nico is the one to rope me in, “what’s the wildest thing you did in school?”

“i- uh-” i internally cringe, mentally preparing myself for their jokes, “i was homeschooled. so, i didn’t really get to do anything crazy like you guys.”

“ohh, you’re a homeschool kid.” Luke nods as if it makes sense.

“did you know that statistically speaking, homeschoolers are more likely to graduate than public schoolers?” John pipes up, and i shake my head.

“really?” Jack questions, his nose scrunched cutely in disbelief.

“no, i- uh, i didn’t know that.” John nods at my words.

“yeah, look it up!” he points to my phone, which never actually made it to my pocket after the broken glass fiasco and now resides face down on the table.

i pick it up and Jack and Dawson, who both reside on either respective side of me, lean in to see my phone screen, eager to find out whether their teammate is correct.

but when i unlock my phone, my eyes grow wide and i’m eagerly attempting to swipe out of the current window, but it’s as if the world is against me because this is the exact moment that my phone screen decides to freeze.

“does that say ‘how to flirt?’” Dawson chuckles and i bite my lip, giving up and slamming my phone face down onto my lap as the table bursts into laughter.

i’m blushing like a mad woman, squeezing my eyes shut as i bury my face into my hands for the second time that night.

“aww y/n, you really let John get to you, huh?” Luke teases, and i feel like i could cry of embarrassment.

everything i do is tragic.

suddenly my seat is moving, scooting further to my right, before an arm is spindling around my waist. i let my hands lower just slightly to peer up at Jack, who wears a happy grin, his cheeks tinged pink.

he glances down at me, smiling even wider when he sees that i’m already looking at him.

it’s like a cat’s got my tongue, too stunned by the overwhelming mortification of the situation to even get a word out to explain or defend myself.

but Jack doesn’t seem to mind, pulling me into his body until my head is against his collarbone as he changes the subject; bringing up a story about he and his older brother trying to free an infant Luke from his crib when they were younger.

i’m quiet as the group speaks, most of them speaking over each other, which in turn makes others get louder to try and be heard. my head aches and i need a break.

“i’m gonna go to the bathroom.” i whisper, freeing myself from Jack’s hold as he nods in understanding.

“okay. are you okay?” i give him a small smile, reassuring him that i’m fine before i leave.

my hands rest upon the bathroom sink, my eyes glaring into my reflection in the wonky bar mirror.

“get it together.” i try and tell myself, but it comes out in more of a whine.

why am i like this?

i run my hands through my hair, making sure it’s volumized, and heave out a sigh before i make my way back out of the restroom to join the table again.

on my way back, i can’t help but smile at the sight of Jack laughing with his friends.

he seems so carefree.

but i should’ve been watching where i was going, because halfway to the table, i’m tripping over someone’s heeled foot, landing on my knee on the hard ground.

“oh shit!” Jack’s voice echoes over the loudness of the music and bar-goers, and i can hear multiple chairs screech across the floor. “y/n, are you okay?”

oh god, i wanna curl up and die.

“yeah, i’m fine.” my voice is wavering and weak, so over making an idiot of myself tonight.

Jack appears in front of me, holding his hands out to help me up. his skin is soft as i slide my hands into his, allowing him to pull me up to my feet.

his friends stand behind him, a couple biting back laughs, but the others wide eyed in concern.

i let Jack guide me back to the table, and when i sit down, he’s kneeling in front of me, inspecting my knee for any immediate bruising or marks.

i sigh and he looks up at me, worry settled into his expression.

“that was a hell of a tumble.” Timo snickers, but he sobers up quickly as his eyes meet Jack’s, “you’re okay though, right?”

“physically? yes. mentally? questionable.” the table laughs, but i didn’t mean to joke, which only makes me press my lips together.

Jack finally deems my knee okay, settling back into his seat and letting his arm rest over the back of my chair.

“what were we talking about?” Jack asks, effectively diverting the attention away from my fall and back to the conversation from while i was gone.

“cheating.” John states, taking a sip from his beer.

i let out a little laugh, thinking he was just joking, but i sober up as i realize nobody else is.

“oh, you were serious.” i bite my lip as he nods.

“right!” Luke exclaims, “so people are saying he cheated on her?”

“yeah,” Dawson nods, and i’m a bit lost, “which i don’t understand, because all he did was hold hands with the other girl. we don’t know anything other than that. holding hands could have so many different meanings.”

i take a big gulp of my drink, listening intently as the guys debate cheating and what counts as cheating.

“i think, if one of you guys cheated on your girlfriend, i might ‘accidentally’ knock your teeth out on the ice.” Nico tells them, making the guys and i laugh. “i’m serious, you’d be bag skating until you physically drop from exhaustion.”

and like word vomit, before i can stop myself, i’m speaking, “my friend recently cheated on her boyfriend, and i can’t tell if i should tell him or let him find out on his own.”

their heads turn to me and i shrink in my seat as i realize what just escaped my lips.

“oh my god, i’m not supposed to be telling that to anyone.” my hand covers my mouth, and a few of the guys laugh at my actions.

“you should definitely tell him.” John shrugs, ���he deserves to know.”

“i thought so too, but if i do tell him, does that make me a horrible friend?” the guys all start shouting different things along the same lines.

some telling me it doesn’t make me a bad friend, while others telling me that i shouldn’t be friends with her anymore anyways.

“has she done anything else?” Luke asks, and i scrunch my nose.

“cheating wise, no: just one drunken kiss with some guy.” i start. “but she told him she was sick to get out of meeting his parents.”

i clap my hand over my mouth again, shocked that these secrets are just tumbling out of me.

“fuck, i shouldn’t be telling you guys these things.”

the guys cackle and Dawson changes the subject, apparently just remembering a story of something that happened to him back home over the summer.

i remain quiet for the next fifteen or so minutes, just listening as the guys go back and forth, telling stories of their summers, until i feel Jack’s hand on my shoulder.

“hey, i’m heading home, do you want me to drop you off at your house?”

i eagerly accept his offer, happily willing to leave now and avoid paying for an uber during surge pricing. the both of us bid goodbye to his teammates and his brother, who says he’ll hitch a ride back to the apartment with Dawson, before we head out to his car.

i smile as he opens the car door for me, allowing me to climb in before he shuts the door again and jogs around the front of the car, slipping into the drivers side.

i don’t need to give him my address, our second date having been at my apartment, so i just clasp my hands tightly together in my lap, both of his on his steering wheel.

“i had fun tonight.” he tells me as we pull up to my apartment building.

“yeah, your friends are nice.”

not a complete lie. they are nice, i’m just not sure i got along with them, or more so, that they liked me.

“can i walk you up?” i accept his request and he exits the car, running around it to open my door before i get the chance to.

i mentally prepare myself on the silent elevator up to my apartment, readying myself to have him tell me that he doesn’t think we fit.

i was awkward tonight, breaking a glass, stumbling over my words, tripping, googling things that should be common knowledge, and telling secrets i had no business telling.

i couldn’t think of any worse ways to ruin a potential relationship.

when we reach my apartment, Jack stops me in front of my door, and before he gets the chance to belittle my dignity any further than i, myself, already have, i’m speaking up.

“i completely understand if you don’t wanna continue this.” i sigh, finding sudden interest in my shoes. “i made a complete fool of myself tonight.”

“why would you think i don’t wanna see you again?” he sounds hurt, his finger hooking under my chin and pulling my head up to look at him.

i chuckle lowly, “you can’t take me anywhere. every time i go out, it’s social suicide.”

“so you’re a bit clumsy and you need time to click with my friends and their humor, so what?” he shrugs, “i think you’re cute. and i’m incredibly honored that you wanted to flirt with me.”

i groan, my face flushing, and i tip my head back to look up at the ceiling.

“oh god, that was so embarrassing.” i whine.

“it was sweet.” Jack chuckles, pulling me into his chest. his arms wrap around me and i melt into his embrace, his chin resting on top of my head.

“i really like you, y/n. and tonight may not have gone the way you would’ve liked, and i can respect that, you’re allowed to feel that way, but i really liked it. i got a chance to figure out more about you and what you’re like, and it only solidified that i’d really like to keep getting to know you, see where this could lead.”

my head snaps up to look him in the eyes, “you would?”

he giggles at my actions, nodding his head. “yeah, i would.”

his head dips down and i suck in a breath as his lips near mine.

“can i kiss you?” he questions, and i nod.

“yes, please.”

his lips slot against mine, moving in sync and pulling me even closer to him if it’s possible. his hands slide up to cup the back of my neck, his tongue tracing my bottom lip and i part my lips to allow him entrance.

what starts slow and passionate, turns into something hot and heavy. i huff as he pulls away, my lips chasing after his and making him smile.

“do you wanna come inside?” i ask him, my voice low and sultry, and his eyes darken almost instantly.

he smirks, answering only by taking my keys from my hands and unlocking my door, leading me into my own apartment.

“ya know, i don’t think you needed that google search. you’re pretty good at luring me in all on your own.”

[seungsuki]

head pats - who doesn't love head pats? (gn!reader)

warning: none

note: nini is in her lazy era ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Summer has already spread in the fields of Easton Magic Academy. It was one of those rare days when the divine visionaries of the building got a brief break from work. Having nothing planned [name] quietly stood in front of a window and enjoyed the breeze. 

Rayne Ames, the serious and somewhat reserved divine visionary, stood not too far. His yellow eyes locked onto the sight in front of him; you. He silently watched you, trying to print the image in his mind. 

You suddenly shuddered. Was it the cold wind hitting your sensitive skin? You looked around and saw a piercing set of eyes watching your every move. An awkward smile painted your face as you quietly strolled over to the double-liner 

“Surprise seeing you here Rayne”, you joked 

“Why would it be a surprise?”, he asked locking eyes with you 

Oh god, here we go again. Your eyes never left his gaze and you painfully gulped. A small blush erupted, enhancing your already perfect features. Your heart beating faster and faster as time slows down 

“You’re never this quiet”, Rayne spoke again 

You broke out of your trance and shook your head from the thoughts lingering in your mind. You hoped Rayne didn’t notice how much of a lovesick puppy you become whenever he’s present in front of you. 

“I can’t think of anything to say”, you muttered 

Liar. your internal thoughts overlapped your actual words. You could go on and on about how great this moment was. How you wish you could frame this opportunity to look back at it… you cringed at how you sounded right now.

“That’s unusual. You’re always chatty”, Rayne questioned your behaviour 

“I’m using my only chance to escape from the paperwork orter throws on my desk”, you sighed remembering your long-due work 

“Then you better get to it”, Rayne said 

In an attempt to leave, he gave you a small pat on the head before leaving you behind. As soon as Rayne was out of sight, you fell flat on the ground. Your knees gave up and your heartbeat rate skyrocketed. Coincidentally, mash and his gang were walking around the corridors. They walked into the scene and Finn was the first one to run over 

“[name]! Are you okay?”, Finn bent down to reach your level 

“Rayne”, you whispered 

“Rayne..? What about him?”, Finn asked trying to piece together the problem 

“He patted my head!!”, you joyfully remembered touching your head 

“That’s it? You gave me a heart attack!” 

Lemon overheard the conversation and squealed in joy. She quickly rushed to you and got you back on your feet. Holding your hand tightly, the both of you jumped up and down in excitement 

“You’re one step closer to winning his heart!”, lemon cheered 

Lance and Mash watched the interaction in confusion. They knew you had a crush on Rayne but they didn't expect you to be down bad for the divine visionary. Finn sighed at your behaviour.

While everyone watched you and Lemon gush over the simple touch, Rayne was behind the wall, listening to everything. He knew you liked him and he felt the same. Maybe a new love story will bloom? Only time will tell (definitely not nini being too lazy to write an actual story)

© seungsuki 2024-25 -- do not repost, translate, alter, etc on any platform without permission. Any characters used in my work do not belong to me, they are created by their original creator

[clarisse0o]

Camp Wiegman-Part 21

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternative Universe : Military School

Words : 5k

Masterlist

———————————————————————

Wednesday, November 25; 6:10 AM - Ona and Alexia's Room

I was running late this morning. For the first time since the beginning, I stayed up past curfew to study a bit more. Luckily, I didn’t get caught, but it did mess up my wake-up time. I hurried to get ready in the bathroom while Alexia was already in the room.

“Oh crap!” shouted Ale. “Ona, come here!”

“What? Wait a second, or Bronze will be all over me if I’m not ready.”

I finished applying my mascara as Alexia rushed to the bathroom door, smiling from ear to ear. I barely had time to put the mascara away before she pulled me to the only window in our room. I was speechless.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! It’s snowing?!”

“This is amazing!!!” Alexia exclaimed. “Look, everything’s white! It must’ve snowed all night. And we get out early today! Imagine the huge snowball fight we can have!”

“No way! And Bronze wants me to run with her this morning... She’s out of her mind.”

“You’re the one who’s out of your mind if you think you can get out of it.”

We jumped in sync at the voice. I closed my eyes, instantly regretting my words.

“And to your positions by the bed, young ladies? Immediately!” she scolded.

Alexia wasted no time trotting over. I swallowed hard and slowly turned around. She raised an eyebrow, seeing I wasn’t obeying.

“Seriously? You’re going to make me run in the snow?”

“It won’t just be a simple run if you don’t listen to me right now.”

In less than a second, I was in place. One look at her stern gaze changed my mind about defying her. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye and noticed she wasn’t checking our room but rummaging through my wardrobe. I frowned, assuming she was looking for my sports clothes. I wasn’t wrong when she stood before me with a tracksuit and a thick sweater.

“You won’t leave this room until you’re changed.”

The witch! I sighed, grabbed the clothes angrily, and locked myself in the bathroom. I came out once I was done changing. Bronze smiled proudly when she saw me.

“Can’t we postpone this to tomorrow? I have a test later.”

“No, otherwise, you’ll keep making excuses, and you made it clear yesterday you needed motivation. Guess who’s in charge of your motivation?”

I rolled my eyes. She looked at her watch before looking back at me.

“You have half an hour to eat. I expect you on the field at seven. If you’re not there, I’ll drag you out by your ear if I have to.”

I grumbled as soon as she left the room. Alexia was laughing her head off. She could be happy about not having a supervisor on her case anymore.

“Why does she insist on you running today?”

“She remembered I missed my runs when things were tense between us. She’s determined to get me back on track. I guess she hasn’t figured out yet that I’m not interested.”

She burst out laughing. I only chuckled weakly. I could’ve done without this, especially today. I’m already sleep-deprived as it is. We headed to the cafeteria in the freezing cold. The temperature must have dropped at least five to ten degrees overnight. Until now, my uniform jacket and sweaters had been enough, but not anymore. I was freezing. I was glad when we reached the cafeteria. The meal went on cheerfully, as usual. Everyone was excited because of the snow. I must be the only one who doesn’t like it. It seemed no special arrangements were made for this type of weather. Alexia wasn’t kidding about the snowball fight after classes. I’d have to find a way to get out of it. Once I finished my breakfast, I joined Bronze after the meal. I knew she wasn’t joking with her threats, so I’d better not make her mad. I managed to arrive on the field early. I wasn’t surprised to see her already there. The snow had stayed on the ground overnight, but it didn’t seem to bother her in her run. I, on the other hand, had nearly slipped ten thousand times just on the way from the cafeteria to the field. Bronze smiled when she saw me.

“See, you can do it when you try.”

“Are you going to motivate me with threats every day?”

“Don’t take it that way,” she laughed. “It was the only way to get you moving. You need to clear your head before your test. I bet you’ve been thinking about it since last night, am I right?”

How does she know me so well? My silence answered her question. Thankfully, she couldn’t read my mind, or she’d know I stayed up past curfew last night. I hope she doesn’t notice I’m hiding something because I’m a terrible liar with her.

“Alright, let’s get started!”

I grumbled but got going. She matched my pace so we could run together. I went even slower than usual because of the snow. It wasn’t easy, and now wasn’t the time to break something. Bronze teased me, asking if I was running or trotting like a horse. Since I’m someone who can’t let my pride go unchallenged, I slightly picked up the pace halfway through our route. I regretted it a few steps later when I found myself sprawled on the ground. I heard Bronze laughing behind me. I groaned as I turned to see her trying to calm down, asking if I was okay, but failing.

“Stop laughing, it’s not funny! My back hurts!”

“Really?” she calmed down instantly.

She crouched next to me as I sat up. I groaned exaggeratedly, rubbing my back. I stifled a smile at her worried look. I took advantage of her lowered guard to push her shoulder with a big grin. I immediately lost my smile when I saw that my little push barely moved her.

“This isn’t funny, Ona,” she frowned. “I was really worried! Are you actually hurt or just messing with me?”

“A bit of both. My butt hurts a bit from the fall, but I’m okay.”

“And your back?”

“It’s manageable,” I giggled.

“Hm...”

I didn’t expect her to react so strongly. I bit my lip at the thought she might call me childish. That would offend me. But I let out a surprised gasp when snow hit my face. I barely had time to close my mouth and eyes before Bronze spread it all over. I spit out what got into my mouth, still in shock. I heard her laughing while I composed myself. I wiped my face with my arm to remove the rest. Well... It seems my supervisor knows how to have fun more than I thought. She got me at my own game.

“I hate you!” I laughed, throwing the first handful of snow I could grab at her.

Her laughter intensified as she brushed off the snow with one hand. She let herself fall to the ground, calming down. I laughed too, realizing what had just happened. I never thought Bronze would be capable of pranking me. My face must be bright red now. Anyway, I’m freezing. Snow must have gotten into my clothes. My thick sweater and small camouflaged jacket were no longer enough. I regretted not wearing the T-shirt Bronze had given me.

“Will you be alright?” she teased.

“You’ll pay for this! How old are you to be doing this?” I mocked.

“Okay, you win. We’ll stop for today,” she laughed. “It’s impossible to run in these conditions. Are you cold?”

“Yeah. Tell me, are we allowed to wear our big jackets over our uniforms?”

“Of course,” she smiled.

“Well, it won’t help me much. I didn’t bring any as big as I need.”

Bronze looked at her watch. I didn’t even know what time it was, but I hoped I had at least time to shower. I knew we started running early, so there was a good chance I did.

“It’s only a quarter past seven. Let’s shower, and I’ll bring one of my jackets to your room when I’m done. Is that okay?”

I nodded, smiling. She got up and helped me do the same right after. I was really cold but tried not to show it. We eventually split up to go to our respective rooms.

Wednesday, November 25; 2:50 PM - Math Class

I read through my paper one last time. I had ten minutes left if I wanted to change anything, but I couldn’t find any errors to correct. I really hoped I hadn’t messed up. I spent hours and hours working on it. Besides, Bronze asked me to tell her my grade once it was marked. She would kill me if I brought her a bad grade.

“Those who are finished may leave,” instructed my teacher. “The rest of you have five more minutes to finish.”

Many of my classmates sighed in relief. Chairs scraped noisily against the floor, creating a racket.

“In silence, please! Respect those still working.”

I look at Alexia, who is a bit further away next to me. My teacher had fun separating all the desks to prevent cheating. She's putting her things away. I put mine away as well. Anyway, I can't change much in five minutes. I managed to do all the exercises, so the die is cast now. I put my bag on my back and hand in my paper to the teacher before leaving. I see a lot of dejected faces as I exit, including Alexia's. Is it because of the test? I didn't find it that hard. It was even easier than I expected. Unless Bronze prepared me too well.

- Did you do well?

- Are you kidding? grumbled Alexia. Did you see how hard it was? I'm just glad it's over! He really went overboard with all those exponentials and everything! she added.

- I thought it was okay.

- Are you serious? You're the only one!

- Well, I must have spent at least six hours reviewing it since Monday.

- It's true, you fell asleep with your math book on you last night, she teased.

- Oh, come on! I grumbled.

Well, it's true. I fell asleep from exhaustion around midnight with my book on my chest. I really have to thank Bronze for preparing me so well. She did a great job by having me review everything from scratch. I have a lot to be proud of if I did well. Hopefully, that's the case. I take a deep breath, relieved that it's all over. It was my last class of the day. Alexia is all excited, and I don't think I can hold her back any longer.

- Come on, let's not drag. The girls are waiting for us!

- How can you be so eager to have a snowball fight, seriously? I chuckled.

- But it's fundamental! Don't you like it?

- Not really. Can't I be excused?

- No way! You won't back out.

- At least you'll have an even number, I argued.

- Alba is bringing one of her classmates, and I think Patri and Claudia are bringing people too.

Excuse failed. God will never be on my side. Alexia pulls me outside without giving me a choice. Fortunately, Bronze lent me a jacket and gloves. They keep me warm once outside. I find the jacket better than mine, which I forgot in Barcelona. It has fur inside that keeps me warm. I'm hesitating to buy a new one now that I know better. I might try to negotiate to keep it, or I hope she'll forget about it, though I highly doubt it. It's Bronze, after all. She never forgets anything. I don't know where Alexia is taking me. We just passed through the supervisors' dormitories. I didn't expect to find a large grassy and tree-filled area covered in snow just behind. It starts from one end of the school's wall and extends to the parking lot at the other end, hidden by a row of trees. Everything is white, it's beautiful. The place is already filled with many students having fun in different ways, alone or in groups. I find it surprising that they allow us to have fun here. Many snowmen have been made. Alexia guides us to our group of friends where I spot several unfamiliar faces.

- Ah! Finally, they're here, said Patri as we arrived.

- Sorry, we just finished a test, replied Alexia.

- How did it go? Lotte asked us.

- Too hard! Well... It depends on the perspective, apparently, she said, glancing at me.

I smiled, shrugging. I turned my eyes to the new faces. I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't know them, seeing how Alexia greets them. They seem to know me, though. One of the girls mentions my name while greeting me. It seems my reputation precedes me... They introduce themselves one by one. Ella, Misa, Maya, Laia, and Alessia. That's a lot of names to remember at once. I hope I won't mix them up. They all act differently. Alessia keeps smiling at me while Misa gives me a disapproving look. This whole situation makes me uncomfortable and makes me analyze it. From what I can see, the girls have a lot of spirit and won't back down easily. The battle is going to be tough.

- Well, I suggest we make two teams. Leah and I could be the leaders. Alba says.

- Are you kidding? retorted her sister. Why should it be the two of you?

- I agree with Alexia, Misa supported.I stand back as they start debating which arrangement would be best. I give Alessia, who comes to my side, a shy smile.

"The best thing is to let them argue among themselves," she comments.

"Absolutely," I chuckle. "Anyway, they won't have the final say against Alexia."

"It's true, she's hard to contradict," she agrees.

"Ona, in my team!"

"What did I say," I roll my eyes. "Never would be the right word..."

Alessia chuckles as I join Alexia, who, as predicted, won her position as team captain. Opposite her is her sister, who has chosen Laia as her first teammate. I'm relieved that Alexia asks for my opinion on the next picks. I suggest Leah and Alessia, since the latter seems nice. On the other side, Misa, Ella, Patri, and Maya complete the team. The last ones to join us are Claudia and Lotte. Alexia seems satisfied with her team. I thought we were going to have a little battle, but not at all. Alexia suggests we split up to find a "base" to prepare and come up with a plan of attack. I sense this game is going to be anything but fun. The two groups disperse into the small forest. Alexia finds us a big tree to hide behind. I crouch next to my roommate to prepare ammunition. I would do anything for her.

"Did you see the first girl Alba chose?"

« Laia »

« Yeah. She's my ex."

"Really?" I say in surprise. "What happened?"

"An overprotective sister who ruined everything, if you ask me," Alessia chimes in from across us.

"Because of Alba?"

"Yeah, among other things. She's friends with Leah here. They've been together in class for three years. Laia and I got together in our first year."

"And then Alba the savior threatened to beat her to death if she touched her sister."

I widen my eyes at Leah's revelation. I look at Alexia for confirmation. She just shrugs in response. I didn't think it was that serious. I understand better why she doesn't want to tell her about her instructor-turned-girlfriend.

"Why don't you put her in her place? You have the right to have relationships."

"You think I haven't tried?" she sighs. "We always end up fighting because she won't let it go."

"And you care too much about her, so you don't want to lose her."

Poor girl. I'm sure Alba doesn't even realize it. Because of her, her sister feels obligated to hide her new relationship from her. If I were in her shoes, I'd rather calm down than not know my sister is in a relationship. Well, with Joan, I still have plenty of time to worry about that.

"Enough with the balls," she says, standing up.

I admit we have plenty of ammunition already. I stand up too while Alexia discreetly looks behind the tree. I peer over her shoulder and spot Alba watching us a few meters away, also behind a tree.

"Should we pair up and take them from each side? One girl and one guy. One holds the ammunition, and the other shoots. How's that sound?"

"I'll pair up with Leah," I say without hesitation.

She smiles, approving our partnership. Alexia pairs up with Lotte and Claudia with Alessia. We each go our own way, trying to stay hidden behind the trees. I decided to hold the ammunition. I'm a terrible thrower.

"Why should I be the one to shoot?"

I giggle, thinking I’ve definitely chosen my partner well. She seems as motivated as I am for this stupid game. We're arguing about who should hold and who should throw when I’m already holding the balls in my arms. We stop when we're attacked by flying snowballs. We quickly locate the source. It's Alba and Ella - if I remember her name correctly - mocking us from not far away. I guess we weren't very discreet this time. Leah quickly reacts and sends a missile right into Alba's open mouth. Now it's our turn to laugh. We quickly take cover behind a tree, throwing snowballs at each other. Alba enjoys shooting at me since I can't respond with my arms full while Leah continues to attack them in turn. Our ammunition runs out quickly, so we decide to retreat. Our opponents don't seem to agree as they chase us. Finally, we abandon our initial plan, and I attack with Leah, both of us making our missiles. We try to lose them among the trees, but in the end, I just lose Leah . I sigh, seeing no one chasing me. Alba was following me, but she's no longer there. I try to hide to catch my breath. Bronze's punishments are taking a toll on my cardio. Maybe I should reconsider that jogging suggestion. It's always better to run for fun than be forced to do twenty laps as punishment. I jump when a hand touches my shoulder. My hand instinctively goes to my heart.

"Sorry," giggles Alessia. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Claudia?"

"And you with Leah?"

"We lost each other trying to shake off Alba and the brunette... Ella, I think?"

"Yes, that's right," she laughs. "I lost Claudia while escaping the others too."

Alessia moves closer to the tree to look behind it. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to catch my breath. I don’t even know if Alba caught up with me, but I think she did. She probably has better stamina than I do.

"Is someone chasing you?"

"Alba. Do you see her?"

"No."

I signal her to be quiet, and we start preparing some more ammunition. We leave our hiding spot. We find Alba more easily than I thought. We chain her up before she has time to realize what's happening. For the first time since the start, she's the one fleeing. I chase after her, not worrying about Alessia, trying to keep up with her pace. She's much faster, so it's hard. I try to throw snowballs at her, but I miss more than I hit. At one point, she stops abruptly to face me. She smiles while her chest rises and falls irregularly. She shows her hands in surrender. I'm not buying it. Alessia catches up to us. We simultaneously throw our last snowballs at her. I smile, seeing mine hit her squarely, unlike Alessia's, which lands much lower. She ducks to avoid it. My smile fades when I see who my snowball accidentally hit. I don’t even pay attention to the second snowball that must have perfectly hit Alba. I freeze in fear, imagining what's going to happen next. Her eyes are closed as if she’s absorbing the impact. The girl with her is laughing hysterically. I stifle a laugh, remembering her expression. My amusement fades when her eyes lock onto mine and her deep voice resonates through the forest.

"Ona Batlle! I hope you can run fast because if I catch you, you're in big trouble!"

I don't take this as a joke. I turn around, using Alessia for momentum. I weave through the trees, fleeing from my pursuing supervisor. I find the edge of the small forest, trying to maintain distance, but it’s no use. I lose my balance when she grabs my arm, pulling us both down. We roll in the snow before stopping further away. Bronze is quicker and pins me down with her weight. Realizing the mess I'm in, I muster my last strength to try to break free, but Bronze tightens her grip with one hand while the other shoves snow in my mouth. It’s the same scene as this morning. The difference is she’s holding me so I can’t struggle. I hear laughter in the distance, but I can’t tell who it is. Bronze laughs too as I spit out the snow. Opening my eyes, I see her cheerful face, now sitting on me.

"Are you okay?" she mocks.

"All this for a simple snowball?" I say between coughs.

She laughs, reaching towards my face. I flinch, not wanting more snow.

"Let me, she giggles. I just want to help."

I remain skeptical, even when she removes her glove. Unexpectedly, she wipes the snow from my face and pulls down my jacket that must have ridden up during our tumble. She stands up and offers her hand, which I accept. I'm completely soaked. I can't feel my frozen body. A gust of wind makes me shiver. I see my friends mocking me behind Bronze. Engen is also watching with an unreadable smile. I stop looking around when I realize we aren’t the only ones who stopped their activity to watch. Bronze snaps her fingers in front of my face.

"Are you listening, Ona?"

"Huh?" I say, startled. "What did you say?"

"Take off your jacket. It's soaked. You'll get sick."

"My jacket isn’t the only thing soaked. I'm completely wet."

Since I don’t react, she unzips my jacket and takes it off. I can't feel any difference because I'm so frozen. My shivering worsens. I try to warm up with my arms, but it's useless. She removes her own jacket and helps me put it on.

"No more playing in the snow for you today."

"Whose fault is that?" I grumble.

"I'm not the one having a snowball fight," she smiles.

"I'm not the one who accidentally stood behind Alba when she was supposed to get hit by my snowball."

Thinking back, I wonder if Alba did it on purpose given the smile she gave me before ducking. She laughs while trying to warm me by rubbing my arms energetically. I let her do it. I don't dare move my little toe because I'm so sore all over from the cold.

- I didn't know you were such a good thrower.

- Neither did I, I snorted. A stroke of luck, and of course it hits you.

She laughs as Engen joins us. She picks up Bronze's gloves from the ground and my jacket that my supervisor had tucked between her legs.

- Are you okay?

I nod to show her that I am.

- Your lips are all blue, Engen tells me.

- You're going to hear from me if I get sick because of you, I grumble.

- Hey, it's not my fault! You shouldn't have played in the snow.

- Are you okay, Ona? asks Alexia, who just joined us. Are you coming back to play with us?

- No, Bronze answers for me. I'm taking her back to your room so she can have a nice hot shower to thaw out.

- Anyway, the others acknowledged our victory by saying that hitting Bronze was the pinnacle, she giggles. Well played!

Even Bronze laughs at the news. My teeth start chattering loudly. That’s the last straw for Bronze, who cuts the conversation short. I have no choice but to follow her and Engen to the dormitory.

- Why were you there?

- To keep an eye out. Things can quickly get out of hand at times like this.

Engen revisits what just happened. She keeps repeating that I should have seen my face when I hit Lucy. She adds that our fall was memorable. I’ll probably remember my first snow day in Manchester for a long time. I’ll laugh about it when I tell the story later. It’s not every day a snowball accidentally hits your supervisor in the face. Engen turns back to her post at the dorms to continue keeping watch. Bronze accompanies me to my dorm, taking me through a back door I’ve never seen before.

- Are these the stairs you used when you brought me to your room?

- Yes. It’s our way to come see you. It’s actually an emergency exit, but it’s never used, so no students know about it.

- I guess I’m not allowed to tell anyone?

- Preferably not. We’d rather avoid having students hanging around this hallway to escape us.

I nod in understanding. This path is shorter for them, saving them from having to go around the building to get to our dorm. I only feel the warmth of the building once we reach the hallway on the first floor. The first thing I do when I get to my room is sit on my bed to try and take off my boots. Bronze helps me when she sees me shaking like a leaf. Even my socks are soaked, even though nothing should have gotten through the thickness of these shoes. I take off my jacket but keep my sweater on, remembering that I have nothing underneath but my bra.

- Take off your clothes so I can dry them and go take a shower, she orders me. I'll get you some dry clothes in the meantime.

- Get me some sweatpants and a big sweater, please.

I take off my pants and sweater while she has her head in the closet. She’s seen me more undressed than this, but I still feel just as embarrassed. I leave my clothes on the floor and lock myself in the bathroom. I take off the rest of my clothes before slipping into the shower. I sigh as the warmth calms my shivers. I stay there for a while, hoping I haven’t used up all the hot water, as my roommate might want to do the same when she gets back. This day has shown me that I’m not used to cold temperatures. Of course, I’ve seen snow before, but it’s extremely cold in Manchester. I also come from a warm country. I was born in Portugal and lived in Barcelona. That says a lot about my weather habits. Once done, I return to my room with just a towel covering me. I’m surprised to see Bronze has stayed. She’s lying on my bed, careful not to get her shoes on it. I bite my lip when I see she’s holding my sketchbook. I don’t like people entering my world without asking permission. I take a deep breath and move towards the clothes she’s prepared and laid out on my desk.

- You’re talented. I especially love this one, she says, showing me.

- Thanks...

- Sorry, she says, noticing my discomfort. It was on your bedside table, and I couldn’t resist.

- Oh, I must have forgotten to put it away then.

- Are you feeling better? Not too cold anymore?

- I’m fine, but I’ll get dressed before it comes back.

- Yep, I’ll leave you to it then. I was supposed to be keeping watch outside anyway. I’ve put your wet clothes on the radiator. See you tomorrow if I don’t see you before then.

We wish each other a good evening before she leaves. I smile when I see she’s thought of all my clothes, even my underwear. I glance at my sketchbook, which she’s put back on my bedside table, thinking I should remember to put it away. I finally gather my clothes and lock myself in the bathroom, not knowing when Alexia will return. In the end, despite being frozen, I loved this day. Now I just have to hope I don’t get sick from all this nonsense. I’m already sniffling ten times. That would be the last straw…

[goldenraeofsun]

Paging Dr. Dad

Bruce wakes up to his phone ringing.

He clears his throat, swallowing past the lump of dread. “Go,” he says by way of greeting. No time for pleasantries at two in the morning.

“I just got a notification Steph is in the hospital,” Barbara says without preamble because they are actually very alike, not that Barbara would ever admit it. “Everyone’s on patrol except you, and I’m tied up with the Birds.”

“Her status?” Bruce asks as he gets up from bed, grimacing as his ankle boot bangs against the bed frame.

“Stable, according to her hospital intake form,” Barbara says, and some of his tension uncoils. “But,” she falters, “she shouldn’t be by herself. Not there.”

Bruce glances down at his flannel Superman pajamas Clark got him for Christmas partly as a joke. He’ll only admit it to Clark upon pain of death, but they are surprisingly comfortable and warm. He could wrestle them off over his boot and pull on a pair of sweatpants with even more difficulty, for what, his image? Stephanie is in the hospital, alone.

He forgoes his crutches – they’ll just slow him down – and clunks out of his bedroom. “I’m on my way,” he says. 

“I think her com got knocked out during the fight,” Barbara adds, “so she has to be pretty bored by now.”

Despite himself, Bruce smiles. “Well, we can’t have that. I shudder to think of what a bored Stephanie Brown can get up to.”

“Why do you think I called you?” Barbara says, her voice wry. “Thanks, Bruce.”

“Of course.” Bruce grits his teeth as he painstakingly makes his way down to the entrance hall. “I’ll be there in thirty.” 

“Twenty,” Barbara corrects. “I already sent a taxi to the Manor. Look, I’ve got to go. Give Steph a hug for me. I know you can. I know your arms are working just fine.”

Bruce says dryly, “Thanks for calling, Barbara.”

“See you at the next crisis.”

He hangs up and focuses on not tripping down the staircase and joining Stephanie in the hospital. After scribbling a note for Alfred still down in the Cave, he grabs his coat and heads out the door.

He waits for the taxi, hands shoved deep in his coat pockets, breath misting in the cold winter air. He hasn’t been further than the front lawn in a week, laid up with his broken ankle.

He thumbs his dark phone screen, lips pursed. He could call one of his sons for a full rundown of what went wrong and why Spoiler ended up in the hospital, but who knows if they could afford the distraction. If one of them could have been spared, they would be on their way to her, not Bruce. 

* * *

An extra fifty to the cab driver, and fifteen minutes later, Bruce is rushing through the doors of Gotham General. He throws the tired receptionist at the ER a winning smile that once made Miss America herself swoon. “I’m here to see Stephanie Brown. She was admitted about a half hour ago.”

The receptionist taps a few keys with one hand as she lifts a truly massive thermos with the other one. “ID?”

Bruce fishes out his wallet and hands over his driver’s license. “Bruce Wayne.”

The receptionist doesn’t blink as pushes it back towards him, “You can go on back,” she says. “Next!”

Bruce hurries around the welcome station, scanning the people in the ER slumped over in chairs, their expressions a mix of boredom, consternation, and pain.

If Stephanie was badly hurt enough to be admitted to the hospital, she wouldn’t be able to sit up, so he starts on the curtained off areas along the left wall, where the beds are. 

The first has an elderly lady spitting Spanish at a chastised-looking young man, so Bruce just mutters a low, “Lo siento,” and moves on. 

The second has an unconscious teen surrounded by his parents. His mother pats his hair worryingly, while his father is bent over a rosary. Bruce passes them by without saying anything. 

The third has Stephanie, just clad in her black nondescript black undersuit. Ice packs are shoved against her left side, and her left foot lays against the bed all wrong, the arch flat against the bed.

A doctor is talking to her in a low voice as he taps away on a tablet. 

Her eyes widen as Bruce pulls the curtain back so he can edge inside. 

The doctor looks up – Dr. Douglas Woods, according to the ID hanging off his lanyard. He’s young, his early thirties at most, and doesn’t yet have that haggard look of most of Gotham’s medical professionals. “I’m sorry, man,” he says to Bruce, “but you can’t be in here. We’re swamped tonight, but we’ll get to you as soon as –”

“He can stay,” Stephanie interrupts. “He’s family. He’s,” she throws Bruce an inscrutable look, pausing infinitesimally, “my dad. But most importantly, he’s wearing Superman pajamas. Do you have no pride, man?”

Bruce glares, his irritation spiking. This is what he gets for rushing to her side. “They were a gift.”

“From who? A novelty store BOGO sale?”

“From Clark,” Bruce says through gritted teeth. 

Stephanie’s eyes dance, and Bruce’s rigid posture loses some of its tension. If she can sass him, she can’t be in too much pain. “That man must have balls of steel.” And then she winks. 

“Stephanie.”

Dr. Woods coughs. “As I was saying, Steph, you got pretty roughed up.”

“Turns out I shouldn’t have tried to fight a speeding Subaru,” Stephanie drawls. “Not after I skip leg day.”

Bruce suppresses a pleased smile. A car accident is smart. 

“Yeah, don’t do that again,” Dr. Woods says with a small smile. “Your hip is dislocated, and we’ll try to set that in a few minutes. If we can’t get it on the first try, we’ll put you under anesthesia and pop it back. Do you consent to that, if we have to?”

Stephanie’s gaze darts to Bruce, who nods. He has dislocated his hip before; from experience, it should get back in its socket as soon as possible. 

“Yeah,” Stephanie says, subdued. 

“We’re going to get you to radiology to get that wrist looked at,” Dr. Wood says, “but it might be a while. They’re backlogged after that explosion in Chinatown.”

“I bet,” Stephanie deadpans, and ice wouldn’t melt on her tongue. 

Bruce’s gaze flicks up to the singed edges of her bangs.

“There’s not much we can do for your ribs,” Dr. Woods continues apologetically. “Just press the alert if your cold packs need replacing, and a nurse can help.”

“Thanks, doc,” Stephanie says as he gets up to leave. 

“How long until radiology will be able to look at Stephanie’s case?” Bruce cuts in before Dr. Woods can move on.

He grimaces as he glances down at his watch. “An hour?”

Two hours, then. 

As Dr. Woods pushes the curtain aside, Bruce asks loudly, “Are her ribs bruised, cracked, or broken?”

Stephanie shrinks down on her hospital bed, her expression darkening.

“Bruised, definitely,” Dr. Woods says. “But I wouldn’t rule out a few fractures from the impact. Regardless, treatment is the same.”

“What painkillers is she on?” Bruce presses.

“Just ibuprofen, but she’s also free to request aspirin from the nurse.” He frowns. “With her current injuries, I can’t prescribe her narcotics.”

“Will she need to be admitted overnight?”

Stephanie winces.

“It depends on that hip,” Dr. Woods says, clearly growing impatient at all the questions. “If we can’t set it without anesthesia, we’ll have to keep her, since it’s already,” he checks his watch, “three in the morning.” He more forcefully pulls the curtain back to leave. “I’ll stop by again soon.”

Once the curtain settles back in place, shielding Stephanie and Bruce from view, he turns back to find her glaring defiantly up at him, the fingers of her good hand tapping against the plastic bedding. “Well? Get on with it.”

Bruce frowns. “Get on with what?”

“The lecture.”

“What lecture?”

Stephanie huffs, “I don’t know. The You Took Unnecessary Risks lecture. The You’re Benched lecture. The You Fucked Up lecture. Take your pick.”

“I didn’t come here to lecture you,” Bruce says truthfully.

Stephanie makes a very skeptical noise in the back of her throat. “Then what are you doing here? Damian will report our run-in with the Ghost Dragons. Hopefully he’ll write in wherever he stashed my suit. Knowing him, the sewer, probably.” As Bruce just stares at her, her jaw takes on a distinctly mulish set. “Just get it over with, Bruce. My hip hurts, and I wanna pass out.”

“I didn’t come here to lecture you,” Bruce repeats.

Stephanie purses her lips. 

“I,” Bruce swallows, and why the hell did he race here, if Stephanie would clearly rather be alone? “I came here to keep you company,” he says, deliberately keeping his voice detached.

Stephanie chokes on air.

He surges forward, his concern spiking. “Stephanie –”

“I’m fine,” she coughs. “Just surprised.”

“Barbara called me,” Bruce says by way of explanation as he sits down in the chair Dr. Woods vacated.

“And you, what, rushed to my sickbed?” Stephanie asks, her tone still skeptical. “At three in the morning? Just to – what, make sure I can make it through the big bad ER?”

“Yes,” Bruce says helplessly.

Stephanie cackles.

Bruce feels vaguely offended.

As her grin fades, she says, “I didn’t – I would never have – what I mean is,” she squares her shoulders, meeting his gaze squarely, “Thanks, for coming. You didn’t have to.”

He scoots the chair closer. “It’s nothing, Stephanie. And, yes, I did.”

“But–” Stephanie cuts herself off as a distinctive voice from the waiting room doesn’t so much as float in but barrel through.

“Where is Brown? Where is my father? I demand –”

“No way,” Stephanie breathes.

Bruce barely has time to brace himself before Damian shoves the curtain aside. 

“There you are,” Damian says impatiently, but Bruce can read the concern in his youngest’s face clear as day, the pinched set to his mouth, the furrow between his brows, the way his eyes rove up and down Stephanie’s body, lingering on her ribs and hip.

“Hello, Damian,” Bruce says over the sound of rushing footsteps. “Dick,” he adds as his oldest skids to a stop behind Damian. “Where’s Tim?” Bruce asks because his family tends to travel in packs.

“Picking up Babs,” Dick says cheerfully. “Here, Dames, you forgot this.” He hands over a purple stuffed rabbit.

“I did no such thing,” Damian says, lifting his nose into the air. He makes no move to take it.

“Mm hm,” Dick hums, shaking his head. “This is for you,” he says, turning to Stephanie and tucking the purple rabbit against her good ribs. “Damian spotted it in the gift shop and thought you’d like it. He ran off while I was paying.”

Damian hisses, “You did not have to buy it, Richard.”

Dick chuckles, a broad grin spreading across his face. “Like I was going to steal from a hospital –”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Stephanie raises the rabbit to eye level. Casually, she asks, “What’s its name, Damian?”

Damian turns to her, his eyes wide. “I did not –”

Stephanie lowers the rabbit. “Seriously? You’re gonna lie to me when I’m wounded, suffering and in pain, could be dying –”

“… Antonia.”

Stephanie absorbs this for a long moment. “That’s a dumb name.”

Damian rears up. “It is not –” 

Bruce settles back in his chair, content to listen to them bicker. He keeps his gaze trained on Stephanie, though, watching as the tension eases from her face the longer she goads Damian, distracting him from his worry. 

As Damian and Dick get into an argument about Dick’s naming abilities – at least they keep their voices down as batarang, batcomputer, and batmobile get thrown down like gauntlets – Bruce leans in towards Stephanie. “If you’d like to pass out, now is the time to do it.”

“Roger,” Stephanie says, blinking heavy-lidded eyes. “You’ll take Antonia if I have to go to surgery, right?”

Bruce reaches over to rub one of Antonia’s soft ears between his thumb and forefinger. “Damian will probably guard her with his life.”

“And you?” she asks.

“To be honest, I’m far more concerned about you,” Bruce says. “You should get some sleep.”

With that, her eyes close, and Bruce settles in to wait.

[foxgangfoxgang]

Blood Crown 2 (Yandere! King! San x Servant! Reader)

Warnings: Non con/ rape (mentioned), abusive nature, psychotic breakdown

You lay on the plush rug of San’s bedroom, you had less than 14 days to escape the psychotic king before he married you and bind you to him. San was as much a coward as he was an asshole, he wanted the marriage to be secret, he worried how his subjects were view him if he announced he was marrying some lowly maid. You were no longer allowed to be away from San, trapped in his bedroom from sun up to sundown. You were going insane being trapped in the room and it didn’t help the San got a sick kick out of forcing you to watch him fuck other servants, a form of punishment for attempting to end you own life.

You tried you best to blank your mind as San would praise them and belittle you at the same time. You would sit with your head lowly trying not to see the vulgar display, and as salt in the wound, San forced you to sleep on the floor like a animal while the other servants he fucked slept in the bed with him. Tonight was one of those nights, San and the Servant were out cold from their fun as you lay awake in a depressed mood. 

You sat up from the rug and wandered into the bathroom the only other area with a window excluding the bed room itself. You peer out of it and see the drop is quiet far, enough to injure yourself, or kill yourself if you went head first. You push against the window wondering if you could break it, a slight nudged move the glass. You felt the gears turn in your head as you made a plan.

It would take 5 days but the time came for you to escaped San, it was late in the night as San had another servant in his bed. You sneak into the bathroom and gently push on the window till the glass popped out you vault over the open sill and brace yourself for impact. You’re body become weightless as you fall to the ground, but instead of being met with scratches from the bushes you landed on a body, you scramble off the person you landed on. It was one of San’s knights, you panic thinking he’ll drag you back to San. “I get that working in the castle is no fun...but it’s not worth ending your life” the knight sighed sitting up.

“Then again it is demon king San we’re talking about” the knight joked. You couldn’t help but giggle, “My name is Johnny, yours my lady?” he asked, “Y/N” you say. “Y/N...well mind telling me why you landed on me from king San’s bathroom” Johnny asked helping you up. “I’m escaping king San...he’s abusive to me and I can’t take it anymore...so I’m leaving while I still can” you explain. Johnny nods and sighs “Well...don’t take it from me, but...there’s a path in the garden that leads to the woods...take it and walk forward the entire way...you’ll soon end up at King Wooyoung’s kingdom, visit him and tell him you were sent by Sir Johnny” You nod taking in the information, you thank him and run to the royal garden. You follow the path and reach the woods without looking back you run into the woods. 

The next morning was hell for everyone, San woke up to you missing, in a panicked state he orders for his guards search for you within the castle only for each one to come up empty handed. San paced his bedroom as he tried to figure out where you could be, needing to relax himself San walks to his bathroom and splash cold water in his face, chirping was heard as San turned to see a bird resting on the edge of his tub. “How did you get in here?” San asked aloud, almost like a response the bird flew out the open window. San’s eyes widened as he rushed to the window and clicked everything together. “Dammit...” he whispers his anger boiling “Dammit!!” San clenched the window sill, “DAMMIT!!!” San roared as he storms out.

He ordered for his knights to search the entire kingdom for you, San’s chest heaved as his blood boiled like lava, the enraged king thought of every harsh punishment. Suddenly San began to giggle, it wasn’t out of amusement, the king’s giggle turned into laughing, it soon turned into hysterical howling, San grabbed a vase and threw it against the wall breaking, he grabbed a picture frame and smashed it. San would go around smashing and breaking everything in his room, tears welled and ran down San’s face. San dropped to his knees as his laughing died down into pained chuckling, San ran his hand through his hair as he smiled insanely staring at the floor. “Oh my dear Y/N…you can’t and won’t escape me” San sighed. “I love you too much to let you go”

.

.

.

You drag yourself to the open path of the forest as you see a village ahead and pray that a nice family would take you in for the night. You walk through the quiet area as you notice most houses were dark meaning the owners were asleep. One house was lit up it was the largest house meaning whoever was there was rich, you whimper at your aching feet as you walk over hoping for help, you weakly knock on the door, moments later a man opens the door, he was handsome. He had lush pouty lips, sharp eyes that bored at your appearance, his skin was smooth and pale, his hair was an unnatural pink. “Why do you knock on my door at this hour?” the man asked, “I come seeking refuge, I have escaped a tyrant king who has abused and sexually assaulted me, I only need sleep for the night and then I am gone” you explain “Where is your destination?” the man asked his thick eyebrows quirking in interest “His majesty Jung Wooyoung sir, I was directed to walk to his kingdom for freedom” you say.

The man hummed as another voice spoke out, “Seonghwa who is that?” another male stepped to the door, he was much shorter than this Seonghwa, his hair was split in two colors blonde and black, he looked almost like a fantasy creature with his sharp and pointed nose, his doe like eyes, and his lips curling in a tiny smile. “A woman escaping a tyrant...she’s seeking refuge for the night and will continue her journey to Wooyoung” Seonghwa said. The other male gasped and grabbed your hands, “you poor thing you must be tired please come in, let us feed you and bed you” you’re pulled into the house as you are hit with the scent of sugar and wood, a fire was lit warming the area, two glasses were on a marble coffee table both half filled with wine.

The floor were cold as the marble actually soothed your feet. “I’ll show you to your room for the night, my name is Hongjoong this is my husband Seonghwa” why did those names sound familiar? You’re dragged to a large bedroom with a connected bedroom, the bed was massive, the sheets a pure white. “I’ll fetch some silks for you to sleep in, for now wash up” Hongjoong said. You take a long bath in the luxurious bathroom letting all the stress and worry melt away for the night. After your done you wear a silk night gown and walk back downstairs. Hongjoong and Seonghwa had papers on the coffee table both reading their own, “Excuse me” you speak up gaining both men’s attention. “I just want to thank you for your act of kindness, I’ll find a way to repay you both for this” you say “Nonsense, you’re very brave for escaping and tracking foot” Hongjoong sighed. 

Seonghwa cleared his throat as you look to him “If you don’t mind me asking...who is this tyrant king you are running from?” Seonghwa looks at you with cold eyes, you look down “King San” you say. The room gets quiet for a moment the tension thick, Hongjoong’s warm aurora gone, his face pale. “King...San? King of the Light kingdom....San?” Seonghwa asked. You nod a yes. The room is once again quiet, Hongjoong cuts the silence “Oh look at the time, its quite late, we should all head to bed now” Hongjoong said. The bi-color haired man guided you back your room. “Get some rest now...you have a long journey ahead of you” Hongjoong said as you climb and bed. 

Hongjoong closes the door as he turn to Seonghwa who is directly behind him, “What do we do?” Hongjoong asked placing his head on Seonghwa’s chest. “What we must my dear” 

[legolasbadass]

Home for Christmas

Summary: Richard returns home from Boston for the holidays and spends his first Christmas with Lorelei.

Relationship: Richard Armitage x OC (Professor AU)

Word Count: 4.4k

Rating: E

A/N: Hi everyone! I want to apologize for not posting much and not updating my fics in months. Real life got in the way, but I hope you will be pleased to know that I am definitely not abandoning my works, including Office Hours. As a little treat, here is a short and fluffy Christmas fic with your two favourite professors while you wait for the next chapter. 💙

My heart swells with relief and excitement at the sound of keys being inserted into the lock, and I rush to the front door just in time to see Richard stepping over the threshold, his cheeks red from the cold but his smile reflecting the love shining in his eyes. He barely has time to drop his bags onto the floor and close the front door before I jump into his arms, but his relieved laugh tells me he does not mind; it has not been that long since we saw each other last, but even just three weeks is too long for us to bear. 

“I’m so glad you’re back,” I breathe out as I bury my face in the crook of his neck, which is cold against my cheeks despite the thick scarf that should have kept him warm. 

Richard squeezes me tight, one of his arms wrapped around my waist while the other caresses my hair. “Me too. More than you know.” 

His voice is heavy with longing, so I squeeze him tight, reminding him that he is home now and he need not think about our separation anymore. At least not for a few weeks. The time will pass too quickly, but for now, I focus on the thought of our first Christmas together. 

Looking up to meet his eyes, I stand on my tiptoes and press a tender kiss on his lips, revelling in the familiar coarseness of his beard against my cheeks. When, a few moments later, I begin to pull away, Richard tightens his hold on me and deepens the kiss, his tongue slipping between my parted lips and kindling a deep need inside me. But as much as I want to give in and let him carry me to the bedroom, I have other plans in mind. 

“Come on,” I say between pecks as I slowly pull away. 

Richard frowns, and the lust darkening his eyes almost makes me give in. “Why are you putting on your coat?” 

I smile. “Because we are going to get our Christmas tree!” 

He stares at me as though hoping I am joking, but when he realizes I am serious, he chuckles. “Sweetheart, I just got here—can’t it wait?” 

“Oh, sorry—I’m excited and I was hoping you wouldn’t be too tired after your flight.” 

“I’m not really tired,” he says, closing the space between us once more. “But after three weeks apart, I was hoping I’d get to take you upstairs and have my way with you all night long.” 

I shiver at the rumbling tone with which he speaks these words and swallow hard. “Well, you will get to do that, but right now it’s still the afternoon,” I reply playfully, and he raises his eyebrows. “Come on! You made me wait for you to come home before decorating and now it’s already December 15th and there’s not a single Christmas decoration in the house!” Richard tries to hide his smile but fails. “I promise we will have lots of sex all night long—if we go get our Christmas tree now. I even got new lingerie for the occasion…” I say as I teasingly run a hand down his chest. 

“You’re cruel to mention new lingerie,” he groans, and I giggle as I press a fleeting kiss against his jaw. “Alright, fine. Let’s go get our Christmas tree—but only because I don’t want you to be thinking about the tree while I make love to you.” 

“I’m just excited!” I laugh. “It’s our first Christmas together.” 

Richard smiles. “I know.” For a fleeting moment, I think of last Christmas, when I thought I had ruined everything and he would never again hold me in his arms and look at me with the tenderness that now fills his eyes, but the soft kiss we share is a reminder that all that is in the past and it cannot affect our love for each other. 

After a few more kisses, we make our way to the car, and we share good laughs on our way to the Christmas market in the city centre. Finding a good parking spot takes us a while, but nothing can dampen my spirits. Christmas is my favourite holiday, and I am very excited to share this special time with Richard for the first time. 

Hand in hand, we meander through the market, the chill in the air forgotten in the warmth of our love and the festive atmosphere surrounding us. The market is a bustling hub of activity, with families, couples, and friends all wrapped up in coats and scarves, sipping hot chocolate and eating roasted nuts while admiring the array of holiday decorations on display. We stop at a stall adorned with delicate, handcrafted ornaments glimmering under the soft glow of fairy lights and pick out two ornaments—a delicate silver snowflake and a glimmering pale green bauble—to commemorate our first Christmas. Then, we follow the twinkling lights toward the Christmas trees; the sight of the evergreens fills me with childlike excitement, and I tug on Richard’s arm as my eyes scan the selection of trees in search of the perfect one.

“How about this one?” Richard suggests, and I turn around to see him eyeing a tree that is only as tall as he is. 

“It’s too small.” 

“You think?” 

“Yes—you’re as tall as that tree!” 

“But I’m 6’2,” he chuckles. 

“You can’t be as tall as the tree!” I exclaim and drag him away toward taller trees. “Besides, what’s the point of having high ceilings like we do if you don’t get the biggest tree?” 

We playfully argue as we make our way through the rows of Christmas trees, hand in hand. 

“Alright, how about this one, then? You can’t say this one is too small.” 

I follow Richard's gaze to a majestic, tall Norway spruce, its branches lush and green, and gasp. To ensure it is tall enough for my taste, Richard holds it up next to him, then stretches to touch the top, causing me to giggle.

“It’s perfect!” I say, clapping my hands together in excitement. 

With big smiles, we approach the friendly vendor, a bearded man in a yellow knitted hat, and he compliments us on our choice of tree before helping Richard load it onto the car. As we drive back home with our prized Christmas tree tied to the roof of the vehicle, a sense of joy and anticipation fills the air. 

***

As we drive back from the market, the sun begins to set, casting a warm, golden glow over the city’s famous spires. My fingers are stiff from the cold as we arrive home and untie the tree from the car, but thankfully, inside the house, it is warm, and we hasten to shrug off the layers that protected us from the chill.

“So, where do you usually put your tree?” I ask as we bring the spruce into the living room, fallen needles tracing our path through the house. 

“Well, I usually just get a small one and put it on the accent table near the window.” 

“What? You mean you didn’t get a full-size tree?” I ask in incredulity as we rest the tree against the wall. 

Richard shrugs as he unboxes the tree stand. “No. It’s always such a busy time of the year at the college, and I always spend Christmas at my parents’ anyways, so I just didn’t really decorate.” 

I frown. “Do you not love Christmas? Oh, God—I’m in a relationship with the Grinch!” 

Richard bursts out laughing and shakes his head. “No, I love Christmas. I just…”

“What?”

“For years, I didn’t have anyone to celebrate with. Christmas was just another reminder that I was alone and didn’t have a family of my own.” 

“Richard…”

He offers me a soft, lopsided smile and pulls me into his arms. “It’s okay—it was all worth it, in the end. I’ve got you now.” 

I return his smile and squeeze him tight. “I’m going to spoil you rotten,” I say, causing him to chuckle. “And we can do whatever you want. If you want to go back to the Christmas market, go ice skating, bake cookies—you name it and we’ll do it!” 

“The only thing I’m really interested in doing right now is you,” he says with a smirk as his eyes darken. 

Laughing, I playfully slap his arm, though the low rumble of his voice sends a shiver down my spine. “We have to decorate the tree first!” 

“If I had known I’d end up being second to that tree for the holidays…” 

I give him a teasing glare before taking the stand from him. It takes us a while to find a perfect spot for the tree—just in front of the bookshelves and window where it is still visible from outside without blocking our view—and an even longer while to ensure the tree is straight and secure it in the stand. I waste no time before excitedly opening the boxes of decorations in search of lights while Richard puts on some holiday music. 

“Richard, I’m gonna need your help with the lights—I’m not tall enough to reach the top.” 

As Frank Sinatra’s voice floats through the room, Richard takes the lights from my hands and begins to set them on the branches. Though I appreciate his help, I cannot help but grimace. 

“Hm, try to start a little higher and closer to the trunk so we don’t see the wire as much.” 

Richard rearranges the light and turns to me. “Better?” 

I eye the tree attentively, not wanting to annoy him but wanting the tree to be perfect. “It’s a little better, yes. But try to get more lights in the centre. If they’re just at the tips of the branches, it won’t look as nice.” 

“Alright,” he says, frowning in concentration as he revises his work once more, but then, as if sensing my disapproving frown, he turns around and sighs, though his eyes are soft with amusement. “You do it then.” 

I am about to remind him I cannot reach the top when he lifts me into his arms, and I squeal in surprise. 

“Don’t drop me,” I chuckle as I get to work. 

Richard smiles. “Don’t worry—I’ve got you.” 

He holds me tight as I wrap the lights around the top of the tree, carefully deciding on which branches the lights should hang and making sure the spacing is even. After Richard sets me down, we work together to illuminate the bottom; the tree is so tall we barely have enough lights, but it is still the most beautiful tree ever, especially when we begin to place the ornaments. Here, too, Richard needs a little guidance on where to place the decorations, but he learns quickly. The delicate snowflake and the glimmering bauble we picked out earlier at the market shine in places of honour among other glass baubles and handmade ornaments from our childhoods, carrying a nostalgic charm. 

A while later, we turn off the lights in the house to admire our work, and the two of us grin like children as the tree glimmers in the darkness, the mutlicoloured lights dancing in our eyes. 

“It’s beautiful!” Richard says with a wide smile as he pulls me into his arms. 

“It is!” I concur though I cannot help but fixate on a certain golden bauble near the bottom of the tree that is slightly too close to its neighbour.  “Although—”

When I step toward the tree and move the ornament, Richard scoffs in mock disbelief. “Hey!” 

I giggle and bite my bottom lip in embarrassment. “Don’t you think it looks better there?” 

Without even looking at the tree, Richard says, “I thought decorating the tree was supposed to be a team effort.”

“It is! You suggested a position for the ornment and I then followed up with a different suggestion—teamwork!” 

He shakes his head, though fondness shines in his eyes. “You are an impertinent lass, Lorelei Browning.” His teasing words are accompanied by a pinch of my bum.

I offer him an innocent smile and shrug playfully. “Alright, now where should we hang the stockings?” 

“Hold on—I thought the deal was tree then sex?” 

“Well, the stockings are in the ornament boxes we already opened, so it only makes sense to hang those now,” I say, feigning innocence as he groans and presses a lingering kiss on my neck. “So where should we hang them?” 

“On the mantle,” Richard replies as if there is no other option, though he does not remove his hand from my hip. He groans again when I move away from him, and I struggle to hold back my smile as I secure the stockings on the mantle. “Now all that’s missing is a nice fire,” Richard muses. 

“I was hoping you’d say that,” I respond with a smile, causing him to chuckle as he reaches for the stack of wood. “Alright, done!” I say, stepping back to admire my work.

Richard’s stocking is slightly larger than mine, and the deep burgundy velvet with golden embroidery is in stark contrast to the fading fabric of the stocking I have owned since I was a child. A hand-knit snowman grins from one corner, secured to the stocking with different coloured threads from the repairs made by my mum over the years that only add to its charm.

“Well, they don’t quite match,” I point out with a chuckle. “But I think they look great.” 

Richard looks up from his growing fire and smiles. “We can get matching ones next Christmas.” 

Warmth floods my heart at the casualness and certainty with which he speaks of our future, and I smile as I sit close to him by the fire. 

“Yes, next Christmas,” I say, and we seal the promise with a tender kiss, thinking of all the Christmases we hope to spend together in years to come. 

Time seems to stand still as I lose myself in the pleasure of his mouth. One kiss becomes two, then three, our mouths soft and open as our tongues lazily tangle together, and as he wraps one strong arm around my waist and brings me closer, he pulls away just enough to say, “Please tell me you won’t make me decorate anymore tonight.” 

Giggling, I press a fleeting kiss on the tip of his nose and shake my head. “No more decorating tonight.” 

He offers me a soft smile, and I melt as I gaze back into his loving eyes, which reflect the flames in the hearth and the glimmering lights of the Christmas tree behind me. The fire turns his skin golden and dances in the waves of his dark hair, urging me to caress it as I lean in for another series of deep, all-consuming kisses that kindle a fervent need inside me. 

With a gentle yet firm touch, Richard guides me down to the plush rug. Neither of us seems to care that it would take no time at all to reach our bed; the longing and frustration built up over three weeks apart, combined with the day’s teasing and lingering touches, fill our movements with a passionate urgency and leave us desperate for the pleasure to come. Even the short walk to our bedroom is too long a delay to savour each other now. 

Richard holds himself up on one forearm while his other hand caresses my curves over my jumper. Then, as his hand dips lower, slipping under the wool to caress my naked skin, his lips trace a sensuous path down my neck, circling but never settling on the sensitive spot he knows drives me wild. Whimpering, I tighten my hold on his hair and try to guide him, but he merely chuckles and pulls back. 

“So impatient,” he whispers playfully, then finally gives in to my silent pleas and gently bites the sensitive spot below my ear, causing me to arch under him as pleasure floods my core. 

Swallowing back another whimper, I lick my lips and say, “I think I’ve been patient enough over the past few weeks.” I had meant this playfully, but now he looks up to meet my gaze, and in his tender blue eyes, guilt and the pain of separation are clear, tugging at my heart. 

With a soft smile, I cradle his bearded face with one hand and slip the other under his shirt to caress his back, wanting to hold him, all of him, and touch him and love him because now we are together. And when we are together, everything is alright. I try to tell him as much with my next kiss, and his response is equally tender and hungry, as if he is reassuring himself that I am truly here, in his arms. The weight of separation slowly melts away with each caress and whispered endearment, and when, at last, he pulls my jumper over my head, revealing my sheer red bra, his eyes shine with more than just lust. 

“This is lovely,” he says, his voice thickened by lust, as he traces the outline of a beaded nipple through the sheer fabric, causing me to gasp. “But I think I’d like to see the full set.” 

My chuckle turns into a whimper as his fingers brush against my stomach on their way to the buttons of my jeans. I lift my hips to help him, but he is determined to take his time and torture me. With each button he undoes, he presses a lingering kiss on my stomach, and I squirm under him, my heartbeat thrumming between my ears as desire floods my senses. Then, even more slowly, he pulls my jeans down my legs and tosses my socks aside before sitting on his knees, annoyingly out of reach. His eyes roam over every inch of my body, lingering on my barely covered breasts and the equally sheer knickers that do nothing to conceal my arousal. Richard smiles to himself, and as though he cannot hold himself back, he reaches out to stroke the little red bow on the scalloped hem of my knickers. My breath hitches in my throat, causing his smirk to grow. 

“You do know how to welcome me home,” he chuckles as he lifts his shirt over his head before lowering himself back so that my breasts are flush against his chest. He tenderly traces the line of my jaw with his index, then buries one hand in my hair, all while he presses soft kisses all over my face before claiming my parted lips. “You are so beautiful,” he breathes out between passionate, open-mouthed kisses. “And you’re mine.” 

“I’m yours,” I whisper as he buries his face in the crook of my neck and bites the sensitive skin there before licking the pain away. 

His free hand moves down the column of my neck, tracing the line of my collarbone before settling on the swell of one breast. He squeezes gently—too gently—then pulls the sheer cups down to reveal my naked breasts to his hungry gaze. His lips close in on one beaded nipple, then the other, sucking and pulling with his teeth as he pushes one of my thighs aside to press himself flush against me; he is still wearing his jeans, and the roughness of the fabric, combined with his cold and hard belt and even harder arousal, is deliciously rough against me. 

“Richard… please…”

“Please what?” he says, but then he slips one hand under the sheer fabric of my knickers and slowly caresses my wet folds, depriving me of the ability to speak. 

He grows harder between my thighs as my moans echo through the room, mingling with the crackling of the fire. My blood hums in my veins, and pleasure pools between my thighs as he continues to touch me, rubbing my clit as he slips one long finger inside me, easily finding the spot that turns me into a breathless, mewling puddle. I am already on the edge of my orgasm, but I want him—I need him to fill me and join me in this bliss. 

“Please—I need you…” I say breathlessly, struggling to think, let alone form a coherent sentence. “I need you inside me.” 

Richard smirks as he hovers over me, his lips teasingly close to mine. He withdraws his hand, leaving me yearning for more, but when I begin to rise and reach out to unbuckle his belt, he rises to his knees and shakes his head. 

“Lie back, sweetheart.” 

Frowning, I gaze back into his eyes, torn between wanting to touch him and knowing he will not give me what I want if I disobey, but I soon become distracted by the movements of his large hands as he unbuckles his belt. Once he is fully undressed, I wait for him to crawl back into my arms, but instead, he remains where he is and slowly begins to stroke himself. My breath catches at the sight and I lick my lips, almost hypnotized by the way the flickering firelight turns his skin golden and highlights his flexing muscles. The air between us is warm and heavy with desire, and when, at last, he lowers himself above me, a breathless, relieved laugh escapes me. 

But he is not quite done teasing me. Gazing deep into my eyes, he drags my knickers down my legs, then grips his hardness and rubs himself against my wetness, teasing my clit. My whole body now aches with the need to touch him, to caress and kiss every inch of his skin, and I squirm under him, trying to increase the friction between us, but he holds me tightly in place with the weight of his body. 

“You bastard,” I groan, and he laughs as he presses his lips to mine. 

“Now, now—be nice or else you’ll end up on the naughty list,” he says playfully, and I giggle even as the low rumble of his voice sends heat swirling through me. 

Laughter still hangs in the air when, finally, he enters me. He moves with deliberate slowness, and I throw my head back as he fills me, inch by delectable inch, only to slide back out almost completely, leaving me painfully empty. He teases me like this a few times before pushing back in all the way, and the deep moan that tumbles from his lips tells me he is done teasing me even before the first thrust that leaves me grasping onto him. 

No words are spoken as he thrusts into me, hard claiming thrusts that shake me to my very core, our bodies falling into this familiar dance as if not a day has passed since we were last united in this way. His head is buried in the crook of my neck, and his kisses are interrupted only by his groans. My legs are now wrapped around him, my heels digging into the soft flesh of his bottom as I hold onto his strong shoulders, my nails lightly digging into his skin, and I move in tandem with him as he fills the emptiness that lingered in my heart during our time apart. 

With a final, breathless moan, we find release together. I press my thighs against him, my back arching as wave after wave of nearly overwhelming pleasure floods my senses, buzzing incessantly in my core. Richard continues to move inside me until our climaxes subside, then collapses next to me on the rug as our heavy breathing echoes around us. Sometime later, I turn my head to the side and find him staring up at the ceiling, his chest heaving as he struggles to catch his breath. Just as I scooch closer to him, he meets my gaze and smiles. 

“Could we make this a Christmas tradition?” he asks playfully as he wraps a strong arm around me, pulling me flush against him. 

“I think we could do that,” I giggle, reaching out to run my fingers through his tousled hair as his lips meet mine for a languid kiss. “I missed you so much.” 

Richard takes a deep breath and squeezes me tight. “I missed you, too, sweetheart. But these past few months went by fast, didn’t they?” I nod slowly. “Before you know it, it’ll be May and this whole thing will be behind us.” 

I gulp. “I want you to enjoy this year though. Living in Boston and working on this project—it’s an amazing opportunity,” I say, feeling guilty for wishing time would go faster so he can come home. 

“I know—and I am enjoying it,” he reassures me. “But part of me just wants the project to be over so I can come back to Oxford and be with you.” He pauses then, his eyes drifting to the fire behind me, and swallows hard. “I hope you won’t get tired of me before then.” 

“Don’t be silly,” I hasten to say, hurt that that thought would cross his mind for even a second. Being in a long-distance relationship is hard for both of us, but it is even harder for him; I know I cannot erase the past, but I desperately wish there was something I could do or say to make his insecurities disappear. “I love you, Richard. And I know just how special what we have is, so I’m not about to give it up anytime soon.” 

He smiles softly, his eyes brimming with love as he presses another tender kiss onto my lips. “I love you, too.” Then he reluctantly pulls away, groaning as he stretches. “I have to get up now; I’m a bit old to lie on the floor like that.” 

I chuckle, but then my eyes drift to the dimple at the base of his spine and his firm bottom. Despite tremors of release still humming between my legs, desire rushes through me, though I cannot help but laugh when I notice the spruce needles stuck to his back.

Richard chuckles as I brush them off him, then says, “I think round two should take place in the bedroom. What do you think?.” 

He does not even wait for my response before scooping me into his arms, and our laughter echoes through the house as he carries me to our bedroom. In the hours that follow, we exchange many more open-mouthed kisses and soft whispers of love as we cling to each other, for at last, no time or distance stands between us.

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[cookies-over-yonder]

it's not mutual pining, it's marriage

During a movie night, Taylor gets a bad headache from his horns growing in, and Link helps him out.

Swiftli Week Day 2: Angel/Demon & Hot/Cold!

ao3

The teens are watching a movie together at Link’s place, silent save for a few small jokes (everyone is exhausted), when Taylor doubles over with a whine, holding his head.

Link puts a hand on his back, rubbing small circles. Taylor’s been getting headaches a lot lately, growing pains from his horns coming in.

Right now they’re just tiny little bumps, barely perceptible, but easy to find by touch.

“Taylor, you okay?” Normal asks softly, though his expression betrays that he knows the answer.

“Mm-mm,” he groans.

Link remembers Taylor telling him that demon puberty supposedly happens when you’re nineteen, according to his dad. But Taylor’s barely seventeen, and from what Link can see, the growing pains have been consistently hellish.

Literally.

When Link shot up in height as a kid, his legs ached horribly . He remembers his dads massaging them until the pain subsided.

“Taylor, come here,” Link says, patting his lap.

Taylor takes his hands away from his head to crawl into his lap, with his back pressed against Link’s stomach.

“Is it okay if I massage your forehead? I think it might help.”

“Mhm.”

Link gently places his thumbs and index fingers at the bases of the little bumps on his head.

Taylor grabs a pillow from the arm of the couch and squeezes it, whimpering quietly.

Link starts to rub circles against the base of Taylor’s soon-to-be horns. He makes sure to he gentle, but to still apply enough pressure.

“Is that helping?”

“Think so.”

Taylor hums and leans further back against Link, letting out the tension in his shoulders.

The others have paused the movie. So now it’s quiet, save for a small conversation between Normal and Scary that Link can’t quite parse.

Taylor’s also been hotter lately. Like. Physically.

He becomes flushed rather easily nowadays, and his temperature to the touch is something inhuman.

He’s like a little space heater. Link likes it. As he tends to get cold easily, it’s nice and convenient to just scoop Taylor up for a rush of warmth. Taylor also gets flushed when Link does that, and it’s cute seeing his face all red and pouty.

Given the lack of whines and complaints, it feels safe to increase the pressure of the massage a little, so he does, pressing into Taylor’s warm skin with his thumb and index as he continues rubbing circles.

Taylor’s grip on the pillow loosens.

“Still okay?” Link asks.

No response.

“I think he’s asleep, dude,” Scary chimes in.

“‘M awake… ‘s good…” Taylor slurs softly, stretching his arms out before adjusting to press himself even further against Link.

Link can feel Taylor’s breathing slowing down, becoming heavier, and while he wasn’t planning on soothing Taylor to sleep, it’s not unwelcome at all.

Besides, Link doesn’t think he’s gotten much rest since these growing pains started up.

As the massaging continues, Link starts to feel a soft rumble coming from Taylor. At first, he thinks it might be snores, but it feels more like low, steady vibrations.

“Oh my god, is he purring?” Scary asks, a lilt of excited curiosity to her voice.

“Is that what that is?” Link asks, voice hushed so as not to disturb him.

“Aw, he’s like a little kitty!” Normal adds.

The purring gets louder as Link continues to massage Taylor’s forehead, and Link is sure he’s asleep when he suddenly turns around and nuzzles his face against Link’s chest. Taylor is a bit of a cuddlebug, but this is different.

It’s also really cute.

Link giggles, moving his hands from Taylor’s forehead to run them through his hair and cup his cheeks.

He’s so warm, and the weight against Link’s chest plus the purring is incredibly calming. It wouldn’t be the first time Taylor served Link as a weighted blanket either, but it’s just as nice every time. He looks so peaceful in his sleep, his eyes shut and a slight smile on his face, his breathing steady…

Link brushes hair out from the gap between his horns and plants a little kiss on his forehead.

Then he hears a giggle, and he glances up at Normal and Scary, Normal covering his mouth and Scary giving him some sort of knowing look.

“What?” Link whispers.

“Nothing,” Scary says.

“Your mutual pining can be silly sometimes,” Normal says.

“Wha—mutual pining?” Link asks, moving one hand to the back of Taylor’s head and one to the small of his back.

“Come on, man, you’re basically in love with him,” Scary says.

“I mean yeah, I love all you guys, not my fault Taylor is so cute,” he says, giving Taylor a squeeze.

“You’re cute too,” Taylor mumbles, his voice slightly altered from the rumbling in his chest. Ah, they must have woken him up. “‘S not mutual pining, ‘s marriage.”

“Yeah, we’re married, remember? You’re the ones making it weird.”

“Now everyone shut up,” Taylor says, squirming until his legs are stretched across the couch, with his feet in Normal’s lap and his head in Link’s, his face turned toward Link’s stomach.

“So much for movie night,” Scary teases.

“Fuck off, Scary! Bedtime now,” Taylor says, a little more aggressive than his usual light bickering with her.

“Jeez, sorry.”

“Sorry, Scary. Pain makes me sleepy. And cranky.”

“It’s okay,” Scary says, grabbing a pillow and standing up, bringing it over to where Taylor is lying in Link’s lap. She lifts his head and slides the pillow under.

Taylor mumbles a thanks to her before burying his face in it.

Right then, an alarm goes off, and Taylor whines, covering his ears before Scary grabs Taylor’s phone and shuts it off.

“Time for painkillers,” she says softly. “Since you two are compromised,” she shoots a look at Normal and Link, trapped under a sleepy Taylor, "I'll go get them.”

“Thanks wifey,” Taylor mumbles.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Got it.”

When she comes back, Link helps Taylor sit up, and he feeds him his meds and helps him drink some water.

“Is this what it was like when you got really tall?” Taylor asks Link.

“Yeah, pretty much. Except I didn’t have cute horns.”

Taylor giggles, but then he winces. “My back’s been hurting too… do you guys think I’m gonna get cool wings?”

“Nothing about you is cool.” Scary says, putting his glass of water back on the table.

“You don’t believe that for a second.”

“Fine, your red highlights are cool.”

“You did these for me!”

“Exactly.”

“One day you’re gonna accept that I’m cool. Link thinks I’m cool! Right, Link?”

“I think you’re cool,” Link says, poking Taylor’s cheek. “And cute.”

Taylor smiles, but then he winces again.

“You want me to massage your back?”

“Yes, please,” Taylor says, turning around to face his back toward Link.

“Alright.”

“Thank you, my angel,” Taylor says, caressing Link’s cheek and making him giggle.

“No problem,” Link says, turning to kiss the palm of his hand before getting to work.

[corinthianism]

last kiss | sam winchester (4)

pairing: sam winchester/f!reader additional tags: best friends to lovers (?), fluff, angst

masterlist | previous chapter | next chapter | ao3

CHAPTER FOUR: SOMEWHERE IN DETROIT

You sat on Bobby’s porch, sipping on coffee that had more espresso shots than what was healthy. You had all four of the Horsemen’s rings, and all you had to do now was to get Lucifer in Sam’s body. The problem was figuring out where Lucifer would be.

You rubbed your eyes, trying to shake off the exhaustion that’s been building up in your bones over the past few days. Weeks. Years. If someone asked you how you were doing right now and you had to say the truth, you’d say you felt like you were thrown around like a ragdoll by a bunch of super-powered toddlers. 

The brothers were out in the yard, probably making some tiny repairs to maintain Baby. If you had to guess, they were probably having the Big Conversation about Sam’s plan. Your head hung low, and for the umpteenth time this week, someone joined your little pity party. 

At least they never left you alone.

“How you holdin’ up?” Bobby asked you, taking off his cap as he sat beside you. The wooden boards creaked under the added weight. The older man grunted as he bent his knees to get to your level.

“How’re your knees holding up?” you grinned at your father figure. He shook his head and ruffled your hair. 

“Answer the question, young lady.”

“I’m barely holding up, Bobby,” you tried to joke, only to be met with a serious expression on his face. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. You don’t get to do that.”

“It’s about Sam, isn’t it?” he questioned softly. 

You took a long, deep breath and set your mug down, “Yes! Yes, it is. It always is. There. You happy?”

“Well, you don’t have to get all snippy with me. We’re all worried about him. I’m just worried about you,” he paused for a moment. “Because everyone knows what you have with him is special.”

Your jaw clenched, feeling a strong urge to just up and leave. No one, especially you, wanted to hear about how their relationship with someone they love was so special, only to be reminded of how they’d lose it all in the span of a week. There was only so much a person could take and as patient as you were, even you had a limit. 

When you didn’t respond, Bobby continued, “If I know anything about love, sweetheart, it’s that losing it could be the worst thing to happen to you.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

He shot you a look, his way of telling you to let him keep going, “It’s scary. You’ll have everything to lose. Love makes you do crazy, insane things, but you found something not a lot people have. People spend their whole lives looking for this sort of thing, and here you are, what? Sixteen, seventeen years strong?”

“Eighteen.”

He chuckled, “Eighteen. All I’m saying is, I’m sorry that this has to happen. I know you love him, and let me tell you, that boy looks at you like you’re his whole world. Sam was always the soft one. You took care of him in ways John and Dean couldn’t… but it’s time to let him go.”

Hot tears were spilling now, and you wanted to curse Bobby for hitting you with the cold hard truth, even if you knew deep down that you needed to hear it.

“I don’t think I can,” your voice trembled, a vulnerability you rarely showed in all your years of hunting. “I can’t lose him too, Bobby. Not him.”

“Listen to me,” he wiped away your tears. “When all of this is over, you’re the one who’ll be left here. You’re the one who’ll live. If I know anything about Sam, it’s that he’d want you to live your life as best as you can, even if he can’t say it to you straight.”

“Get to the point, Bobby,” you answer tiredly despite the caffeine rushing in your veins.

“Sam won’t be here,” you tried to steel yourself when these words left Bobby’s mouth. “But you will. I’m willing to bet a big part of why he’s so willing to jump in the first place was because he knew you’d be okay. So be okay for him, even if you aren’t.”

You didn’t notice how tight your grip was on the sleeve of your jacket, and you hated yourself just a little bit more in that moment because you felt like a child dealing with feelings she’s never had to face before. You were a hunter, you had to be above this.

Sam would’ve said otherwise. You were always more than that to him: more than a hunter. More than a friend.

You and Bobby eventually went back inside to prepare everything you needed for this final trip, which included gallons of demon blood for Sam to consume. You’d never say it to his face because it’d make him feel worse than he already felt, but it was disgusting. Perhaps you wouldn’t be in this predicament right now if you were a little bit more firm in keeping him away from hunting when Dean was in hell, maybe he would’ve been away from Ruby. With the help of Castiel, the work was finished much quicker.

Sam joined you and Cas in filling up the trunk of the Impala with the jugs while Bobby and Dean talked about Lucifer’s possible whereabouts. The work was silent between the three of you; it wasn’t the best time to discuss what-if’s when Cas was right there but then again, there was never a right time.

Dean came back to get Sam and Cas, after pinpointing where Lucifer was likely to be: Detroit. Sam looked at you one last time, and you felt his gaze on you. When you turned around, you knew then that everything Bobby told you earlier in the day was true. Sam’s arm rested on the car door, taking a moment to just look at you before he went into the Impala and marched right into the Death Star. He did look at you like you were his whole world, and it took your breath away. 

It was, of course, Dean and Bobby that broke you out of your little moment, urging the both of you to hurry up so you could all get going. You hopped into the passenger seat of Bobby’s van so that you could tail the Impala all the way to Detroit.

“Here goes nothing,” you thought.

▼△▼△▼△▼△▼

“Aw, ain’t he a little angel?” Dean grinned. Cas was sleeping in the backseat, probably beat from all the work they’ve had to do over the past few weeks. The brothers could only imagine what it must’ve been like to spend thousands of years following orders, and then suddenly breaking free from all of it. 

Sam only chuckled, muttering about how angels didn’t really sleep, and the car ride is silent for a while.

“Sam, I gotta bad feeling about this,” the older Winchester admitted.

“Well, you’d be nuts to have a good feeling about it.”

Dean frowned, “You know what I mean. Detroit. He always said he’d jump your bones in Detroit. Here we are.”

“Here we are.”

There was nothing Sam could say that would calm Dean’s worries. Not that anything could, since they were quite literally about to meet the Devil. Instead, the two talked about the possibilities; how Lucifer might’ve known something they didn’t. Sam was quick to point out how he probably did, hoping that at the very least, the fallen archangel didn’t know about the Horsemen’s rings.

Another bout of silence.

Sam shifted in his seat to face Dean, “Hey, um… on the subject, there’s something I gotta talk to you about.”

“What?”

“This thing goes our way and… I Triple Lindy into that box… you know I’m not coming back.”

“Yeah, I’m aware,” Dean’s answer was automatic. He barely looked away from the road.

Sam took a more serious tone, “So you gotta promise me something.”

“Okay, yeah. Anything.”

“You gotta promise not to try and bring me back.”

Dean very nearly stopped the car right then and there, “What? No! I didn’t sign up for that. Your hell is gonna make my tour look like Graceland. You want me to just sit by and do nothing?”

“Once the Cage is shut, you can’t go poking at it, Dean,” Sam stayed firm. “It’s too risky.”

“You can’t ask me to do this,” Dean pleaded with his baby brother. He wasn’t always one for thinking ahead, but he couldn’t fathom not trying to save his brother. 

“I’m sorry, Dean. You have to.”

“So then what am I supposed to do?” Dean pressed. 

“You go find Lisa,” Dean stiffened at the mention of her name, but Sam continued. “You pray to God that she’s dumb enough to take you in and you… you have barbecues and go to football games. You go live some normal, apple pie life, Dean. Promise me.”

“And what about her?”

This time, it was Sam that froze.

“What about her?” Sam’s words had a dangerous edge to them, a stark contrast to the gentleness he exhibited just moments prior.

“Did you give her this whole speech too? Because what is she supposed to do, Sammy? You tell me to go have a normal, apple pie life, but what does she have to come back to when this is all over?”

“She’ll live her life,” Sam answered softly. “She’ll have to.”

“For someone so smart, you’re goddamn stupid, you know that?” Dean grunted. 

“What is there to talk about, Dean? There’s no other way to get rid of Lucifer, and I’m doing this to keep her safe,” Sam tried to defend himself, unable to face the truth that he’d been trying to avoid ever since this plan was formulated all those nights ago.

“She loves you so damn much,” Dean tried to make his brother see the other side of things; how his death will echo through the lives of everyone that cared for him. How it’ll echo through your life. “Even when you’re being a dumbass, she fought tooth and nail to keep you safe. Now you’re asking, not just me, but her, to let you die?”

Sam stayed quiet for a while before answering his brother, “At least she’ll be alive, and that’s all that matters to me.”

The car ride was silent for the last time.

Sam craned his head to look out the window, even if there wasn’t anything particularly interesting to be seen outside. In a few short hours, Lucifer would possess him, and there was just no telling how that would go. He hoped he was strong enough, because once Lucifer got inside his head, he was scared that Lucifer would make it his mission to ruin you just to destroy Sam even further. It would’ve been the most effective way to do so.

He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. His fear and his anger weren’t gonna help him beat the devil. Sam tried his best, his damn hardest, to go to places in his mind that he cherished. He kept these memories close to his heart. They were sacred.

He remembered being thirteen, and reading lore books with you.

He remembered being seventeen, and dancing to Whitney Houston with you with nothing but a streetlight as your disco ball.

In between all those memories, there were feelings that only ever grew stronger with time. He doesn’t remember if he ever told you, maybe he has. Maybe after a couple of drinks, maybe at his lowest point. 

Still, all Sam knew, and all he needed to know, was that as long as you were alive and breathing, it was worth whatever price he had to pay. He owed you that much.

▼△▼△▼△▼△▼

In Detroit, there was a chill in the air that gave you goosebumps. The guys were unloading the gallon jugs of blood from the car. Bobby confirmed that there were at least two dozen demons inside one of the buildings. This had to be it.

You stayed back, making small talk with Castiel while Sam drank the demon blood in some faraway corner. 

“You are anxious.”

You gave him an amused smile, “That would be the understatement of the century.”

He simply nodded in acknowledgment and placed his hand on your shoulder.

“Sam is strong. He’ll conquer Lucifer.”

“I hope you’re right, Cas.”

Sam and Dean walked back over to your little group. Sam wiped away the remnants of blood that threatened to trickle down his chin. One by one, Sam talked to each of you. It was goodbye. A hug from Bobby, some awkward chatting with Cas. Then, he reached you. The whole world stopped.

“I wish you knew how much I don’t want you to do this,” you looked up at him, your arms were crossed in an attempt to both shield yourself from the cold and from him.

“Believe me, I know,” he sighed, before taking one of your hands into his own and bringing it up to his face. “I wouldn’t if I didn’t have to.”

“I know,” your answer was laced with something that was barely acceptance and more like defeat. 

“I’m sorry,” he squeezed your hand. “I wish it didn’t have to be like this.”

“It’s okay,” you wrapped your arms around him, letting his warmth and his scent and everything that was his just completely overwhelm you. “I’ll see you soon, won’t I?”

He buried his face into the crook of your neck, hugging you even tighter. It wasn’t often that you saw Sam cry, but you could feel the shakiness of his breath that he tried to hide as he clung onto you.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll see you soon.”

“Hey, don’t get all soft on me now, Sammy,” you joked, rubbing his back as you did so.

“I’m pretty sure I always was.”

It took him a while to pull away, not caring if Dean was waiting for him to catch up. This would be the last time he’d get to hold you like this, and he wanted to savor every second he could get before he was gone. He took a deep breath and pressed a kiss to your temple, then to your cheek, then finally, your lips.

It was everything you both hoped it would be and for a moment, you could ignore the sadness growing inside of you.

The kiss was soft. Tender. You moved in a way only two people whose souls were intertwined forever would. He wasn’t shaking anymore. If anything, this kiss flooded him with an overwhelming sense of clarity.

He had to keep you safe, so he forced himself to walk away from you, even if every fiber of his being told him to say those three little words… but he couldn’t hurt you anymore than he was about to, so he stayed silent.

You watched as the distance between you grew. The kiss lingered on your lips like a ghost. It was the calm before the storm because as soon as Sam was out of your sight, the sorrow pierced through you. This life always left you in pieces, but this was the first time in a long time, that you felt pain like this. It was precise; meant to target where it hurt the most.

Bobby and Cas approached you with solemn looks on their faces; they both knew that there was nothing they could say that would ease the pain you were feeling. You wanted to share your grief with them, you really did, in hopes that you wouldn’t be crushed by the weight of it.

But you couldn’t. Just like what Bobby said: what you had with Sam was special, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime kind of connection, and that meant your grief was a cross only you could bear. No one else could possibly hope to understand what it was like.

After about twenty minutes, a white flash of light erupted from the windows of the building where Sam was and you knew that the worst had come to pass. Lucifer was inside of him. Without thinking, you ran inside the building with nothing but the pistol you had strapped to your leg and a dagger tucked under your belt. You ignored the cold fear that seeped into your bones, no matter how much it tried to weaken your resolve. You ignored the shouts of Bobby and Cas from behind you, telling you to stop.

You thought of Sam, now possessed by Lucifer and no doubt revelling in taunting Dean.

Dean. He was still inside, and if he was still alive, you owed it to him to try and get him out of there.

As you made your way up the building, bodies were strewn about. Blood was spilled on the floor and splattered on the walls. You grit your teeth, and tightened the grip on your gun. Finally, you reached the fourth floor. A blast of cold air hit your face and standing in the middle of the room was Sam. Dean was backed up against a wall.

“Ah, you’re just in time,” Sam— no, Lucifer, exclaimed. “I was wondering when Sammy’s little girlfriend would come in to save the day. I didn’t see you before. You know, when these two tried to kill me with the Colt? It was so sad. For them, I mean. But let me tell you, you do not disappoint, honey. Prettier in person if I do say so myself.”

“Get the hell away from her!” Dean yelled, trying his best to fight against the force of Lucifer’s power.

“No, I don’t think so,” Lucifer cocked his head mockingly at Dean. He approached you, smirking when he noticed you were too terrified and confused to even take a step back. “Little Sammy certainly had taste. You’re just exquisite, aren’t you? I think… I’ll keep you.”

He brushed his fingers against your hair, taking a big whiff of your scent in an overdramatic and freakish show of dominance. He knew you wouldn’t and couldn’t do anything, not as long as he was wearing Sam’s face.

Humans were so simple.

“Well,” he turned to face Dean one last time with a malicious smile. “Bye-bye, big brother.”

With a snap of his fingers, both you and Lucifer were gone in a cloud of black smoke. Dean was all alone.

[petertingle-yipyip]

A NONSENSE CHRISTMAS - MATT MURDOCK

yknow what, don’t even blame me for this. it’s fun, the songs so ridiculous i love it. enjoy a break from our regularly scheduled MAG content :) super short, super rushed bc i forgot i wanted to do this lol

Pairing: drunk reader x college!matt (unofficial)

Word Count: 1,063

Summary: End of semester = massive holiday mixer before leaving for break. And a certain blind, super hot, super smart law student shows up when you’re a bit too tipsy for your own good. (merry christmas if you celebrate! hope everyone is safe and has fun!)

“It’s the end of semester!” Your roommate pleaded. “C’mon!”

“I still have KN430 final today.” You reasoned, flipping through your notes as you filled in your study guide. “Semester’s not over yet.”

“Y/N.” She said and bounced across the room. She dragged your chair away from the desk and spun you to face her. “You can’t just not go to the holiday party. Everyone goes!”

“Can I just focus on this test first?” You laughed.

“Wait, is that legal issues in youth sports? Because I know there’s a certain law student that you hooked up with that would-“

“It’s applied sport psych. And leave Murdock out of this.”

“But he’s gonna be at the party!”

“Really?” Your brows raised. “He hasn’t been to anything lately.”

“I know. But I talked to Foggy and he said that he can get Matt to go. He’s pretty sure he’ll stay as long as you’re there.”

“Why am I the bargaining chip?” You laughed at the pointed look she gave you. “Look, let me focus on studying for now and I’ll go. Okay? I really need to pass this one”

“Yes!” She hopped and clapped. “I’m picking your outfit.”

You chuckled and spun back to your notes.

Later that night, you kept your word and went to the party. Your roommate put you in a short long sleeved velvet dress, black glittery stockings, knee high boots and a Santa hat. You had on a heavy coat to keep the cold out until you got inside.

“What are you gonna say to him?” She asked, looking around the party.

“Let me come warm you up. You’ve been out in the snow.” You joked and she laughed.

“Sounds like hoe, hoe, hoe.” She teased.

“Learned it from you.” You winked and her jaw dropped before laughing.

You were about six shots deep when Matt finally showed up. Your coat was long since discarded and you were now playing beer pong with your roommate against two guys from the fraternity hosting the party. You had just sunk the center cup and were being handed a shot when you saw him.

“He’s here!” You whispered, though it wasn’t much of a whisper.

“What?” Your roommate looked around till she found him, only two shots behind you. “Oh! Foggy, Matt! We’re over here!”

You threw back your shot, making a face in regards to the heavy taste and reached around for your chaser. Your hand found Matt’s and you gave him a wide, inebriated grin.

“Matt!” You giggled and he let out a groan when you threw your arms around him. “You made it!”

“I didn’t think you’d be this excited to see me.” He laughed lightly.

“You’re my wishlist.” You gave a shrug.

“What?” His smile remained.

“Looking at you got me thinking Christmas.”

“Y/N! The game!” Your roommate whined so you turned back but missed your next shot. You smacked your hands together but your roommate made her next cup.

“I’m guessing your roommate is carrying your guys?” Matt teased and tapped your leg with his cane.

“It’s you!” You reasoned with a finger in his face. “You make me nervous!”

“Do I?” He smirked.

“Snowflakes in my stomach kind of nervous.”

The boys against you missed boths shots.

“Make this one.” He said warmly, a soft demand underlying his words that sent a shiver down your spine.

“And if I do?” You teased as your roommate took her shot.

He blew out a long sigh. “What do you want?”

“You could fill my stomach with something else.” You hinted and his brows raised. “You be Santa Claus and I’ll be Mrs. When you’re comin down the chimney, it feels so good.”

He gave a small smirk and you laughed. “How could I say no to that?”

You turned back to your game and bounced the shot, landing it perfectly.

“Yes!” You exclaimed as they rolled the balls back to your side. “Can we get a rerack? Uuuuuhhmmmm…. Diamond.”

The boys grumbled as they fixed the cups, muttering that they can’t be losing that obviously. You turned back to Matt with a shit-eating grin as your roommate took her turn. You took the Santa hat off your head and fit it on Matt, earning a chuckle.

“Just out of curiosity… How many drinks have you had already?”

“Pffft.” You waved a hand. “Less than ten.” You nodded confidently.

“That explains it.” He chuckled.

“Explains what?” Your voice went high.

“Why you’re talking like that.”

“What do you mean? I’m talking Christmas.” You turned innocently to your game and threw a shot that went wide.

“Really?” His brows raised.

“Yeah, y’know.. Decking all the halls, spiking eggnog.”

“Big snowballs!” Foggy announced and threw his arms over yours and Matt’s shoulders. “We play winners.”

“Might wanna rethink that.” Matt chuckled and tapped his cane against Foggy.

“I’ll line you up, man. All you gotta do is flick it.” Foggy reasoned and the way your mind was cloudy with liquor had you biting down a laugh at the potential to make a dirty joke.

“You sure?”

“Yeah! I trust you!”

“C’mon, Murdock.” You smiled and tapped his chest. “Where’s your holiday spirit? No gifts. No sweater. No hat.”

“Hey, I caught that holiday glee.” He nodded with a smile, reaching out to find your hand with one and used the other to thump the ball of the hat against your forehead. “My true love gave it to me.”

“Sounds like hoe, hoe, hoe to me.” Your roommate whispered in your ear and you laughed.

“Give the ladies what they want, Matt.” Foggy insisted.

“Alright, alright.” He conceded.

“Oh, we’re gonna kick your ass!” You grinned.

“You’d beat a blind man? On purpose?” Matt asked incredulously.

“Yes I will.” You nodded. “Unless there’s a reason not to. You got a new toy for me?”

“Thought you were gonna be my Mrs.”

“Oh yeah.” You laughed. “I’ll take you for a ride. I’ll be your Vixen.”

You and roommate finished the game and won, beginning a new game against Matt and Foggy. Surprisingly, Matt’s accuracy after Foggy lined him up was better than you expected. Either that, or the shots were stronger than you had initially thought. Still, you and your roommate won and you ended up taking about five shots more.

And your Christmas present from Matt ended up being very worth it.

[harryissuchalittleshit]

So @liiilyevans and I were talking this morning about if Percy/Audrey or George/Angelina had “later in life” pregnancies and all that would involve 😂

George & Angelina:

So Freddie is about 13/14 and is quite happy being an only child

Angelina thinks that she’s just caught a flu/cold/sickness that comes around when the Hogwarts kids all come home

George isn’t worried at all

Then Angelina finds out she’s pregnant

It’s such a shock that she honestly doesn’t know how to tell her boys, she knows that they’ll be happy but she’s also nervous about having a newborn around

The big issue is, Angelina is simply miserable while pregnant, any side effect she has it, especially morning sickness

George knows there’s something up right away, even if Angelina isn’t saying anything, and Freddie is also aware that something isn’t right

They team up together and Angelina relents, telling them that she’s pregnant

Freddie starts to spend a lot more time around Angelina that summer, a weird amount that he won’t explain to anyone

Freddie has never been a writer, but he’s sending home letters nearly every two days and it’s driving his cousins crazy

George and Angelina tell the family while Freddie tells the cousins

He doesn’t know what it means to be an older brother and he’s not exactly sure James or Al’s lead should be followed

George waits on Angelina hand and foot for anything and everything she may need

Roxanne is born in early March, two weeks before Freddie’s birthday and a week before the Easter holidays start

Freddie skips the week of classes to be with his family, especially his new baby sister

She’s perfect, and he can’t imagine a world without her

Even as he grows older and he starts dating and his life changes, he makes the space for Roxanne

He is both her greatest protector and best friend

She’s 4 and he’s 18 when he graduates Hogwarts, but Freddie just sees it as more time to spend with his baby sister

He works at the joke shop and lives in the flat above the shop, but he makes sure that he’s the one to pick her up from preschool and they get to spend a few hours everyday together

He’s an amazing big brother and he’s her favorite person in the world!!

Percy & Audrey:

So Molly is 16 going on 17, basically in her sixth year when she comes home for the Christmas holidays

Molly is a popular girl, she’s a fun and easy going Hufflepuff with an eye for fashion like Audrey. She’s very sweet and kind and gets on well with her cousins and most anyone. Does she resent being an only child? Not really

But when Audrey sits her and Percy down and tells them that she’s pregnant, you would not believe the look of pure terror in their eyes

While Molly is more like Audrey in nearly every way, she does NOT like surprises (much like Percy)

There is a lot of spiraling and anger and just generally brattiness from Molly, Percy just can’t believe that they are about to start all over with a newborn again

Molly escapes to the Burrow for Christmas and then her boyfriend’s for the remainder of the holidays

Percy takes a day to be overwhelmed and then quickly comes to his senses

He is and will always be super supportive for Audrey, and this is so much for her to go through

They worry about Molly, sure that she will eventually come around

Molly stays distant from her parents for weeks after she receives the news, sending back unopened letters and ignoring everyone that tells her she’s being over dramatic

Being Percy’s daughter she does not take that lightly

She comes home for the Easter holidays, only to go to the beach house with the cousins and her boyfriend

Audrey does have a complication with her pregnancy, and Percy rushes her to St. Mungo’s, Molly shows up when the news gets to her

She comes just in time to see her baby sister on the ultrasound screen for the first time, and it breaks her in a way no one ever expected

Molly starts coming home on Saturdays, flooing from her head of house’s office to visit and help with the nursery

She’s so sorry with how she acted and uses all the time she can to spend time with Audrey and help

She makes Lucy’s first outfit, the little onesie and cap she’ll wear when they bring her home

Lucy is born in early June, just right before exams start, but Molly doesn’t care as long as she can she her baby sister

That summer is so wild for the three of them, but so wonderful too

Lucy is a daddy’s girl and adores Percy

She also becomes the youngest of the family, knocking Lily and Roxanne out of the running

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

Darkness (Percahlia week day 2)

ao3 @percahliaweek

Percy didn’t notice at first. That’s odd since he usually notices everything about Vex’ahlia. Maybe she’s just better at hiding it or he wasn’t looking close enough. Either way, it’s well into their first year of traveling together before he sees the way that she reacts to fire.

Once he sees it, he can’t stop seeing it. 

She sits further away from the fire than everyone else, even in the dead of winter. Vax seems to understand as he always gives her his cloak for an extra blanket on cold nights. When Keyleth shifts into a fire elemental, Vex keeps her distance, eyes never leaving her form. 

It’s perfectly normal to be afraid of things, but a part of Percy expected her to be fearless. Somehow her fear of fire makes her even more beautiful to him. He doesn’t mention it, not until they’re living in her house in Whitestone.

He came home from the workshop one night in the fall to find the house completely freezing. He could almost see his breath. Alarmed, Percy called out, “Vex? Are you home?”

“In here.” He followed the sound of her voice and found her in their bedroom. She was curled up with Trinket, shivering against him with blankets wrapped around her. 

He rushed to her side immediately, “Gods, it’s freezing in here. Are you ill?”

She shook her head, looking down in shame. Trinket nuzzled against her back, pushing her towards Percy slightly. He took one of her hands, her skin cold to the touch. Immediately he started rubbing her hand to warm her up.

“Why didn’t you light a fire this afternoon before it got cold?”

Vex flinched and pushed her hair out of her face, “I…I tried, Percy. I couldn’t do it. I saw the sparks and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.” She sniffed and tried again to push her thick hair out of her eyes. Knowing how easily frustrated she could get, Percy did it for her, tucking her hair behind her shoulder. “It’s so silly,” she told him, her voice wavering with emotion.

“It’s not,” Percy assured her, just like she had done for him time and time over. “We all have things we’re afraid of. And we will continue this conversation after we get you warm.” He touched her cheek, waiting for her to nod before kissing her and moving from the bed. 

It didn’t take long for Percy to light the fireplace, along with the ones in the kitchen and the living room. When Percy returned to the bedroom, he toed off of his shoes and climbed into bed beside her. 

Without saying a word, he slid under the blankets beside her and pulled her into his arms, tucking her against his chest. Her head found its place on his chest and he rubbed circles against her back, hoping to warm her up. Still he said nothing, not until Vex stopped shivering and her nose was warm. 

Vex swallowed thickly, and ever so softly asked, “How long have you known?”

He sighed and rubbed her back, “In our first year traveling. I didn’t know it was this bad.” He regretted his wording when Vex flinched again. “You’ve lit fires before.”

She shook her head, “Never alone. If something went wrong…someone would be there to help.” Percy held her just a bit tighter. “My mother died alone in a fire. I-I know it was caused by a dragon but every time I smell smoke or see a fire…” Vex took a shaky breath, “It’s like I’m there all over again, watching my mother’s house burn to the ground.”

Percy held her even tighter, pressing his cheek to her head. “That must be awful. Why did you never tell any of us?”

Vex shrugged, “I don’t know really. Vax knew and that was enough. I didn’t want to tell you all, I didn’t want to seem weak.”

“You are anything but,” Percy promised. “I remember a very wise woman once telling me that I was more than my fear. And I think that goes for her too, don’t you agree?”

Vex had the decency to chuckle at his attempt at a joke as she coyly said, “I’m not sure.”

Percy laughed and kissed her head. He’s not usually one for that kind of affection, it always felt unnatural, but Vex adored it, always has. “I believe we both know it does, dearest. And I vow that everyday there will be a warm fire in every room of this house and that there will be a Pale Guard stationed nearby so that if anything should happen, someone will know.”

Tears sprang to Vex’s eyes and she turned around burying her face into his shoulder. “I love you so much.”

Percy chuckled, “I should hope so, dear. I gave you a house and a title and-”

“A treasury full of gold, I know,” Vex smiled, her hand on his cheek. 

“I was going to say a happy and loving marriage, but that works too.”

Vex slapped his shoulder, “You ass, you were not going to say that.”

[fourtyfourcatss]

Hi! Hi! I saw your message about the inbox that you had requested and am willing to do the matchups! For my fandom, I would like a Demon Slayer and Percy Jackson matchup just like how you requested. Let’s start with the basic:

Personality: I am an INTJ Slytherclaw, Aquarius and a Type 6 when it comes to anagrams. I am a huge overthinker and stress a lot with anxiety. People tell me that I can be blunt which results in people thinking that I can be cold but in reality I try to be a kind person when it is needed. I am a realist and many consider me to be intelligent, often asking me to help with their work. I’m incredibly passionate about things I like to do and have a thirst to know everyone’s opinions as I feel that if someone is left out. I’m a creative person but sometimes my brain just goes blank, I hate when it does. I sometimes follow the rules and can be serious if I wish to be but normally I like to goof off and break rules, adrenaline rushing through my body is just a different feeling I can’t explain. I have a really dry sense of humour that usually is a mix of sarcasm, fandom jokes or self degrading jokes. I’m not that good at describing personality but here are a few kins if it is helpful : Navier, Mikasa, Regulus Black, Annabeth, Shinobu, Shoko ( Jjk), Geto etc.

Looks: I’m slightly chubby and have a pear body shape. Upon seeing me, many people point out my eyes which are hazel with slight flecks of many colours such as green and amber being the prominent ones. I have a button nose and thin heart shaped lips. My face is round and my eye shape is almond. I am approximately 5’3. Two small moles are fixated on my right cheek and underneath my lip. My clothing style tends to be anything comfortable and classy. I prefer to wear black and colours that are darker, you will never find me wearing orange or neon colours. My clothing always consists of a dress of some sort. 

Likes: Chocolate, Anime, Reading, Drawing, Strawberries, Smell of Rain, Sleeping, Being the Best, Baking, Daydreaming, Murder Mysteries, Romance , Name hunting, Pinterest and Flower Languages.

Dislike: Loud noises, Jerks, Slow Walkers, Insects, Studying, Fake People, Self-pity, Getting below 90% in a test, Coffee, Snow and the feeling where your brain is blank and can’t tell what you feel like.

Love Language: Physical Touch and Quality Time

I hope this is enough information and I am soon starting your matchup too.

-> giyuu tomioka

✤ “stay a bit longer” running in the rain together, umbrella in hand, forgetting about the weather, too consumed in the sweetness of each other’s company.

✤ have you realized how bright a person you are? not only that; your values, how your eyes are when the sun lights them — giyu is lightly attracted by your first appearance in his eyes. the other hashiras saw his noticeable interest lingering on you - he was a pretty obvious guy contrary to his own exterior.

✤ you’re going to have to be the one to break his shell, and break it you do. its the type of love that builds up with time on sturdy foundations; charming him with little actions.

✤ how is your relationship? calm, but exciting. is that a contraction? perhaps. i’d expect the two of you to someday meet at the same place over and over again, basking in each other’s presence. it would be a sunset during late spring where the wind is still warm, and holding hands despite that.

✤ here is the thing; he isnt into physical touch at all. but then you grew on him. have fun dragging this giant teddy bear around now. hes so attention and touch starved he’ll be clinging to you whenever you allow him to.

✤ leaning down to land a kiss on your temple. sleeping in bed together. you’re watching shows: he’s watching you.

✤ well, you do anything and he’s sort of watching you. he’s just curious what you’re doing all the time.

✤ honestly he just likes everything you do girl 🙏🙏 down tremendously bad. he’s the type to fall first, then you fall, then he falls even harder. what a loser /j

✤ 10/10 comfortable and healthy relationship

ok its not because you kin annabeth. you actually seem cute together.

✤ to be fair, you already know how he is in love. here’s whats different: your dynamics with each other

✤ bickering. like, good bickering. no shade on the novel, but its, its really bland sometimes. HoO threw romantic quality of relationships out the roof. the loyalty is shown, sure. but you have the superior dynamic.

✤ overthinker x overly dramatic. elusive, inner chaotic x smartass. percy is eccentric, like off the walls sometimes, and you seem like that one person who gets a critical hit by his personality and grow a Weakness to his presence

[chococustard]

Other than Yuying, Claire, and Elias, do the rest of kids have vision? Also curious about the backstory/reasoning of the first three kids with vision.

Also for some reason Chenxiao give me hydro-vision vibes.

OH ACTUALLY I DID HIS FIRST

the joke is venti keeps stealing zl's kids from him

the inazuma and sumeru kids dont have visions assigned yet im still!! thinking it over lmao. but liyue and mond will be here under!

Chenxiao (anemo): the world of the adepti, the world of mortals. The past and the future. The abyssal and the devine. In many ways he's the first of many things. The path that lays in front of him is vast with the freedom to take in all the sides it has to offer

Changjin (pyro): he's simple in a way that he's an anxious kid but he's determined and will always do his best:))) he’s obsessed with adventure and treasures and even if he’s scared he’s gonna go through with it anyway!!

Elias (geo): as the gunnhildr heir he has expectations on his shoulders. Jean's mom wants him to follow the family tradition of becoming a knight, but he's stubborn and chose the path of a scholar instead. And he's stubborn about it.

Yuying (cryo): born the daughter of the original 7, the blood of an adepti flows in her veins, her instincts are strong and difficult to control, forewarned to be able to create disaster in her future, her heart froze little by little. she was playing with claire one day at the winery. Her adeptal power went out of control and as claire tried to call for someone to help, she instead lashed out not wanting anyone to see the state she's in and slashed claires back. Diluc and some other winery staff found them, his daughter passed out and bleeding. He sees this kid, the child of a harbinger, born with abyssal taint, and he fucking freaked. He always knew nothing good would come out of associating with the fatui. "don't come anywhere near her ever again," he said, as he rushed claire back home. On that sunny day at dawn winery, the air suddenly felt cold. Yuyings heart has finally frozen over.

Claire (electro): she’s had it good all her life. her family is wealthy, diluc never forced unimaginable burdens on her, she gets to play wherever, her best friend is a dragon (!), and she’s allowed to do whatever she wants. however nothing is forever but change itself, and well, children has to grow up sooner or later. stuck in bed for weeks during recovery, diluc not letting her leave anyone’s sight, can’t even get in contact with yuying or her family (via venti and xiao) at all. talking with elias made her realize that not everyone get to be as lucky.

[sapphosmistress]

headaches

Warnings: mention of blood

A/N: this is my first fic so sorry if this sucks but! happy (late) birthday to my best girl. also still haven’t gotten the hang of formatting on tumblr so forgive me if it’s a bit off. enjoy :)

2:17 am. You squint your eyes to read out the faint neon numbers on your alarm clock. You’ve been tossing and turning all night, all because of a slight pounding on the back of your head. The room is cold and there’s a slight sound of wind rushing through the windows. A small beam of light comes in through a gap in the curtains from the lampposts Tony installed around the compound. As you get up from the warmth of your bed you shiver, as you prefer to sleep in shorts and a graphic tee. You step out of your room into the kitchen and wince at the frigid floor striking your bare feet. The kitchen is empty, or so you think as you serve yourself a glass of water. You look up to see a familiar redhead lurking in the shadows of the living room, almost blending in with the couch as she sits still. You jump slightly upon seeing her, almost spilling your glass.

“Natasha?! You scared me.”

You say just above a whisper, noting the time.

She had been gone on a mission for a week and although she had startled you, your heart couldn’t resist skipping upon seeing her.

Natasha was quiet, but you adored that. You always found yourself trying to spark the smallest conversation just to hear the spy’s raspy voice. Knowing of her past, she didn’t trust easily. But, you respected that. Some time passed and you found yourself easily engaging in conversation with the redhead, just not with words. Going on early morning runs, and finding each other down by the pond with a book in hand or Natasha lying on her back under the magnolia tree looking up at the pink colors of the sunset. You would hand her the lunch you made. No words needed to be spoken then. It was as if you both understood each other with a nod of the head or a small smile from the redhead that never failed to make you feel butterflies.

It was not a secret that you liked the older woman, especially when your best friend read your mind.

“Wanda seriously you need to stop doing that.”

“I’m sorry but your thoughts are just so LOUD. I mean WOW y/n you really need to keep it in your pants-“

“Okay, okay, okay stop please I beg.”

Wanda Maximoff, the cause of your headache in the first place. Sparring with the scarlet witch is without a doubt, no joke.

“Sorry.” The redhead mumbles under her breath it’s almost hard to catch.

You see her shift in her seat switching from her man spread position to hunch over her legs. A streak of light showcases the left side of her face.

Your eyes trail down from her sharp jaw down to her black suit, suddenly stopping when you notice a dark spot of red on her lower abdomen.

“Nat, you’re bleeding.” You gasp in a hushed tone.

You freeze.

“No it’s- it’s not mine.” She says shaking her head and from her hoarse voice you can tell she’s trying not to cry.

There’s a small silence as you watch the woman look down as to avoid your gaze.

You forget about the cup in your hand and rush to her side, kneeling before her.

You watch as tears roll down her face, and her left eye twitch as the tears don’t stop falling. You don’t know much about the mission she was sent on, just that she was the only one assigned by Fury to take it. In his words “Romanoff is the only person for the job.”

Unsure of your next move, you delicately place your hands on her face. Her cold face suddenly warmed by both your hands and her tears. She looks beautiful even now, with patches of red appearing on her face as she cries. You slowly bring your lips to catch a falling tear on her cheek, and do the same for the other side of her face.

Natasha has stopped crying now and her breath is caught in her throat by your actions, but you can’t bring yourself to stop. Ever since you were little, you wished to carry everyone else’s burdens on, to take the pain away. So that’s what you did, by gently kissing all of Natasha’s tears off her face. You slide your hands down to her neck and observe her.

Natasha is still, eyes closed and her pink lips slightly parted. You want her so bad. To taste her lips and kiss her under that same magnolia tree by the pond. To hold her in your arms and have all of her.

Without thinking, your hands gently pull Natasha in and your lips connect.

The kiss is unreciprocated at first, the spy too caught up in the moment to believe it was real. So you slightly pull away and begin to ramble an apology when Natasha suddenly pulls you back in and kisses you.

This time it’s your turn to be shocked, but still you kiss her back slowly.

Her lips are soft and plump, and they taste of the salt from her tears.

It stays this way for a while, just taking each other in slowly.

Natasha’s hands find their way down to your abdomen and the kiss deepens as you feel her tongue slip into your mouth. You let out a low moan and break the kiss with a giggle.

“Nat,”

Her head rests against your forehead now and her nose nuzzles into yours causing you to giggle once more.

“Natasha.”

She lets out a soft hum to let you know she’s listening and finally opens her eyes.

You tilt your head with a slight smirk and she blushes.

“Sorry,” she rasps out.

You shake your head in disagreement.

“What for?”

It’s quiet now and all that can be heard is her heavy breathing and the wind picking up from outside.

“Why don’t we get you cleaned up and ready for bed, it’s late Natty.”

“Natty?”

“Don’t tease or I won’t let you sleep with me tonight.”

She lets out a breathy laugh and her face softens, her smile falls.

“I don’t know y/n.” She whispers.

Your eyebrows furrow at her words.

“Oh sorry If I had the wrong idea I’ll just go then-“

She grabs hold of your hands to stop you from leaving and shakes her head. She looks to the floor once more.

“No it’s not that y/n.”

Your left hand escapes her hold and moves to lift her chin up to look at you. You wait for her to speak. Knowing Natasha, there were things she didn’t speak about and certain topics the team knew not to bring up. Only Clint could talk to her, and even then he admitted to having a hard time in getting the widow to open up.

“I just…”

Her gaze moves back to the ground and the breath she lets out is shaky.

“I just haven’t had someone look after me like that in a long time.” She mumbles under her breath.

You think to yourself for a moment before moving your hands to intertwine with hers and you gently place a kiss on her bruised knuckles. It’s incredulous you think. That someone as caring and complex as she, didn’t have anyone to return the favor. It was a shock to find out that Natasha did not lead the avengers, when she took care of everyone. When Tony would get into trouble with Pepper, she was the one to make them talk. When Bucky and Sam would argue like children, she was the one to give them a stern look that would immediately make them shut up. She would also tease Peter about being the better arachnid, at which he would stutter his way through agreeing with her as he was intimidated by the older woman. She was the heart of the team, and yet no one seemed to return the favor.

“I’ll always take care of you, Nat.” you whisper.

She lets out a shaky breath and her green eyes lift to stare into yours. You lean in and kiss her once more and when the kiss is broken, her forehead lands onto yours and she releases a breathy laugh. You raise your eyebrow as if to question her and Natasha smirks with a proud look on her face.

“So I’m sleeping with you now?”

You sigh and roll your eyes, shifting up from your kneeling position, and begin to walk away from her. She laughs at your annoyance.

“Y/n, aren’t you forgetting something?”

You stop in your tracks and turn around to see her smirk only grow larger.

“What?”

Her eyes roll to her side as if pointing to the kitchen.

“Your water.”

You groan and continue to walk away. From a distance you yell at Natasha to bring your water when she comes into your room. She stays seated for a moment smiling to herself by your behavior. She thinks of how lucky she is to finally have you, after putting up with the bad sandwiches you would occasionally make her for lunch. Clint would tease her for doing so, but she didn’t mind. She would continue to do it for you, and only you.

[coughdontfeelwellcough]

So I haven’t been able to get this prompt by @perfectpaperbluebirds out of my head since they posted it and so this ridiculous thing was born. I hope you like it! 

Fandom: Any, I didn’t use any names so imagine whoever! 

Words: 3006... I got a little carried away. 

I was running late, the last band was just finishing up as I took my seat. I’d been looking forward to seeing my favourite band for months and was so happy to see they’d been added to the line up of a nearby show. It wasn’t long before the lights went off and the crowd screamed. I got to my feet ready to dance but as the band entered the stage I noticed something wrong, the lead singer wasn’t as excited or energetic as he usually was. He waved at the crowd and as he started to sing I realised what the problem was, his voice sounded a little hoarse and he had to turn away to cough more than once through the song, he was sick. When the song was over the lead guitarist greeted the crowd instead of the singer.

“You’ll have to forgive our frontman, he’s feeling a bit under the weather today.”

There was an awh from the crowd and I felt bad for him, even from my seat I could see he looked pale and tired. 

“I’ll still play better than you,” the front man tried to tease but it only made him cough again. 

“Just don’t die, I’m way too lazy to find a new lead singer,” the guitarist joked and the crowd laughed but I couldn’t take my eyes off the front man. He was sweaty and pale, and though he was playing his guitar just fine I could see he was struggling. 

They continued the set but with every song the back up singers were doing more and more work as the front man failed to keep up. He couldn’t seem to go long without coughing and at one point he had to get a tissue out of his pocket to blow his nose. After the fourth song he disappeared off stage for a few minutes and came back looking worse for wear. 

“Sorry guys, I think that’s going to be it for me tonight,” his voice was congested and almost gone. I felt really sorry for him, he sounded so sad not to be able to continue when he was so obviously ill. 

“Don’t worry,” the guitarist piped up. “We can play just fine without him, isn’t that right?” 

The crowd cheered and so the next song started as the singer departed the stage with a little wave and a cough.

I decided to take the moment to go to the bathroom, I’d been in such a rush to get to my seat I hadn’t had a chance to go beforehand. It was quiet in the corridor and I just went through the first door I found until I got to the toilet. I could still hear the music playing in the background but I couldn’t help wondering how the poor front man was doing, he did look miserable. I must have been thinking about him more than I realised as I left the bathroom as I walked straight into someone going the opposite way down the corridor. 

“Oh shit, I’m sorry,” 

I imidendly recognised that voice, even as hoarse it was, it was the front man! 

“No, I’m sorry I’m the one that wasn’t looking where I was going,” I said. 

He looked like he was going to say something else but was cut off by two harsh sneezes into his elbow. 

“Bless you, that’s some cold you’ve got there,” I said. 

He nodded, running a hand under his nose. “I don’t remember the last time I felt this ill.” 

“Poor you, it sucks you couldn’t finish the show but your guitarist is right, can’t have you dying.” He chuckled, coughing a little. 

“I just hate letting people down, they’ve come out to see us and I don’t want to be the one to mess that up.” 

“No, no, it’s not your fault. Everyone gets sick sometimes, even the front man in an awesome band.” 

“Than…” He was cut off by a harsh cough that quickly turned into a fit. By the time he could breathe again he was shaking and I could hear the slight wheeze to his breathing.

“No offence, but you sound like you should be in bed and as far away from people as possible,” I said. 

“That’s the plan, I was just going to order an uber back to the hotel and sleep,” he said, rubbing his chest. I could see that just being stood up was exhausting for him. I don't know how he managed to even get on stage. He was still wearing the clothes he’d been wearing on stage though he’d pulled a beanie over his messy hair, a few bits sticking out the front, clinging to his forehead. 

“Me too, are you in Carlton?” I asked. 

He looked at me like I was crazy. “Sorry, sorry, I must sound like some insane stalker. I promise you I’m not. It’s just the only hotel around here so it kind of slipped out.”  

He tried to laugh but his voice cracked and he coughed instead. 

“That cough sounds nasty and I know this sounds creepy so I promise I’m not trying to kidnap you, but would you like a lift to the hotel? I promise my car is nicer than some random uber and I’ll have you there in half the time.” 

I don’t know what made me offer, he was a famous musician and I was just a fan who’d walked through the wrong door but I cared about him and the poor guy was so ill I wanted to do something. 

He looked unsure and I would have totally understood if he’d said no, he didn’t even know me but then he sneezed again which quickly became a fit and each one sounded like it was scraping at his throat. 

“Ow,” he moaned, leaning back heavily against the wall. 

“Bless you, they sounded like they hurt.” 

He groaned, running a hand over his face. He looked worse than he had on stage and judging by the fact he was shivering he was probably feeling it too. 

“I think I’ll take that ride,” he said, his voice thick with congestion. 

“Are you sure?” I asked. 

He nodded, coughing lightly into his fist. “Thank you,” 

The poor thing sounded so pathetic I just wanted to give him a hug.

He led me out of a back entrance to avoid any people milling around and I took us to my car. I was suddenly embarrassed about the state of my car, there was mud splattered up the side and the footwell had all sorts of rubbish that I hadn’t had time to clean. 

“Sorry, it’s probably not up to your usual standards,” I said. 

He laughed. “I spend three hundred days of the year in a bus with six dudes, I don’t think a few cans can scare me.” 

As we got in I noticed he was still shivering so I whacked up the heat. 

The rest of the band aren’t going to be looking for you, are they? I don’t want them to think I’ve kidnapped you or something.” 

“No..” He coughed into his fist. “No, they told me to go to bed and stay as far away from them as possible.” 

I couldn’t help laughing a little. “Nice friends you’ve got,”

He smiled weakly and I felt my heart flutter a little. I'd had a crush on this man for years and now he was sitting in my car. 

“Can’t risk anyone else getting sick or we’ll have to cancel shows and we never want to do that.” 

“Makes sense but leaves you to suffer all alone,” I replied. 

It wasn’t a long drive to the hotel and I was already sad at the thought of leaving him, especially all alone. 

“It’s okay,” he sniffed, “I’m used to it.” 

My heart sank, he shouldn’t have to suffer all by himself even if it was to keep everyone else safe. He deserved comfort and love too. 

He instructed me to the back entrance of the hotel and I parked my car as close to the door as I could get. I watched him get out, stumbling a bit as he stood and resisted the temptation to help him. I didn’t want to over step. 

“You okay?” I asked. 

He nodded, coughing again. I hoped he wasn’t going to end up with some kind of chest infection, he sounded awful. 

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” 

I led him through the back door and straight up the stairs, avoiding the front desk and no doubt the fans that had gathered there hoping for a glimpse of the band. 

“What floor?” I asked. 

“Thirteen,” he replied. 

“Funny, me too.” 

“Are you sure you’re not stalking me?” he asked. For a moment I was actually scared he thought I was stalking him but his slight smile told me otherwise.

“Hand on my heart, I swear I didn’t know I was sleeping on the same floor as a famous rock star.” 

He laughed and started coughing again, leaning against the wall as he fought to catch his breath. “You’ve got to stop making me laugh.” 

“Sorry, I’m just naturally hilarious.” 

“We’ll see about that,” he said. 

My poor heart was hammering in my chest again, was he trying to say he wanted to see me again? 

I reached the top of the stairs, he was a few steps behind me and I could hear the wheezing in his breathing as he climbed. I knew he’d performed while ill before, it was eventable for all performers but whatever bug he’d picked up seemed to have really taken it out of him. 

“Which way?” I asked, pointing to the list of room numbers on the wall. 

“15,” he replied. 

“No way, that’s just freaky. I’m in room 14.” 

He looked at me then like I was some witch and for a moment I really thought he’d accuse me of being some creepy fan who's obviously planned the whole thing. 

“That is freaky,” he said, clearing his throat. “You’re not going to murder me in my sleep are you?” 

“No, god no. Then where would I get some great music?” 

He smiled as we reached our doors. I didn’t want to go in and say goodbye, it was like I’d stepped into one of my teenage dreams and I wasn’t ready to wake up. 

“Thank you, you’ve been really kind to me and I really appreciate it. If I’m still alive in the morning then I’ll speak to the guys about getting you a lifetime pass to our shows or something.” 

“You don’t have to do that, I was doing what any decent person would,” I said. 

“It’d be my pleasure, thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

He gave me one last smile, a real one like it’d seen so many times on magazine covers and on stage but this one was all for me. 

I replayed the night in my head over and over again until I must have fallen asleep, I couldn’t believe the whole thing hadn’t been a dream. The next thing I knew I was being woken up by screaming, I  jumped up thinking the worst only to realise the tv was still on and had turned into some horror film. I flicked it off and got out of bed, feeling a little shaken. I decided to make a hot chocolate before trying to go back to sleep. That’s when I heard him, the sound of coughing coming from the other side of the wall, followed by a sneeze and a groan. He sounded miserable and I hated the thought of him being all alone when he was so ill, just because he said he was used to it didn’t mean he wanted it.  I stared at the hot chocolate I was making and wondered if he’d like some or itf that was totally over stepping. I didn’t know him and he certainly didn’t know me, was I really going to knock on his door at four in the morning and over him hot chocolate? 

It took me a few minutes to convince myself it was a half decent idea but I figured the worst that could happen is he said no. 

I put the drinks on a tray and go knock on his door. For a few moments I think maybe he’s fallen asleep but then I hear more coughing and snuffling as he comes to the door. 

He looked worse, even in the low light his complexion looks ghostly pale and even wearing an oversized sweatshirt with the band's logo on it he was shaking. 

“Sorry, did I wake you?” His voice was so thick with congestion it was barely audible. 

“No.. Well yes but I was making myself a hot chocolate and I thought you might need one?” as I said it I was aware just how ridiculous I sounded. If I were him I’d want to be left alone, what was I thinking? 

He sighed, running his hand through his messed up hair. He was probably trying to think of a nice way to ask me to leave, I was already kicking myself for bothering him.

“That would be nice actually, come in.” 

I was so surprised I nearly dropped the try as he moved aside to let me in. 

“Sorry about the mess,” he said. 

It looked like he’d just thrown down all his things and gone straight to bed, the clothes he’d worn at the show were piled in the corner along with his trusty beanie. 

“So this is what a rockstars hotel room looks like,” I said, putting the tray on the dressing table. 

“I’m actually quite tidy norm…” he snapped forward with a sneeze. 

“Bless…” 

He sneezed again and again, each one harsher than the last and leaving him dizzy. 

“Sit down before you fall down.” 

He stumbled over to the bed and grabbed a handful of tissues to blow his nose. 

“Sorry, I’m so gross right now,” he apologised. 

“Stop apologising for being ill, you can’t help it,” I said, passing him the hot chocolate. 

“I am sorry about waking you up though, I tried not to,” he said. 

I took my drink and sat down in the chair next to the bed, my arm resting dangerously close to his. 

“It wasn’t just you actually, I’d fallen asleep with the tv on and it started playing some horror flick. I got woken up by the token blonde girl screaming,” 

“Oh..” He started coughing again, barking coughs that really sounded like they were grating against his chest. I finally broke and reached to pat his back, I could feel how hot his fever was even through his thick sweatshirt. 

“Oh honey, you sound terrible.” 

He groaned, leaning back against the pillows. “I feel awful, I can’t breathe through my nose and I’m freezing..” 

“Do you mind?” I asked, holding my hand out. He shook his head and I put my wrist against his forehead. 

“I knew you had a fever but you’re burning up, do you have medicine?” 

He nodded, coughing lightly. “On the table, I fell asleep before I could take any.”

I grabbed the bottles off the table along with a cup of water. 

“Here you go, though I have to tell you what I pictured rock stars doing drugs in their hotel rooms I never pictured it being Theraflu.” 

He laughed which quickly turned to coughing again, it sounded like he was trying to drag up all the gunk in lungs and failing. 

“Here drink,” I said, pushing the cup of water into his hands. He was shaking but managed to take a sip and calm down enough to breathe, though he was still trembling.

“Ugh… I hate this,” 

“I’m sorry you don’t feel well,” I said, I wanted to run my hand through his hair and take care of him probably. 

“Why are you sorry? You didn’t get me sick… did you?” he said, a little tease in his voice. 

“No, I mean being sick sucks, especially when you’re so far from home and have no one to keep you company,” I said. 

“You’re keeping me company,” he replied, sniffling thickly. 

“Only because you woke me up,” I teased but I could see something in his eyes, a little honesty behind the fever. 

“I’m thankful though, you’re right about being alone when you’re sick, it sucks.” 

I reached out and took his hand, feeling relieved when he didn’t pull away. I don’t know what made me feel so brave, maybe it was the fact it was the middle of the night or all the sugar I’d drunk. 

“Can I ask you something?” I asked. 

He nodded, sniffing into a tissue. 

“Why are you letting me help you? I don’t imagine you normally let fans into your hotel room.” 

He tried to clear his throat but it caught in his chest and he coughed.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s the fever or maybe it’s because you’re nice and treat me like a normal person. That can be rare in the line of work…” 

He trailed off and I felt bad for him. We’d all read about their relationships in magazines, how when things go wrong it’s everybody's business. 

“Well I hope you’re at least feeling a bit better,” I said. 

“I am, thank you,” he smiled, one of his genuine happy smiles and my heart melted. 

He took my hand and pulled me toward the bed. I ended up lying beside him with his head against my chest and my arm around him.

“Sorry if I get you sick though,” he said, sniffling.

“It’s okay, I know a good rockstar who can take care of me if that happens.” 

He chuckled, coughing against my shoulder. 

“I guess we’ll have to see,” 

I kept waiting for the moment I’d wake up and it would all turn out to be a dream but as he squeezed my hand I knew it was all real.