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asena-graywolf · 1 year ago

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Happy Family Life

You united your lives with Aone 3 years ago. You were each other's only love both in high school and university. Naturally, you decided to crown your relationship with marriage. You got married in a simple and fun ceremony. The side-by-side photo of you at your wedding was still hanging on your bedroom wall. Every morning when you woke up, you woke up to a happy day by looking at that photo.

You posed in an elegant wedding dress, hugging your husband. This was a document of your love. You intend to wake up looking at that picture every morning for the rest of your life.

Because you wanted to live in touch with nature after marriage, you bought a country house in an area away from city life, crowds and noise. Everywhere was covered with trees and grass. You had a cute two-storey house, just like in fairy tales. Moreover, the garden was so fascinating that it resembled your dreams.

Aone would get up before you in the morning. You would get up right after him and prepare breakfast together. Your husband would take great pleasure in making you breakfast. That day, you woke up to such a peaceful morning. As soon as you woke up, your eyes searched for Aone, you thought you would find him in the kitchen preparing breakfast for you as usual. You put on your dressing gown, went down the stairs and went to the kitchen. But strangely, you saw that Aone was not there. You called out to him, thinking he might be inside the house.

“Aone?!” When there was no response from Aone, you tried once again.

“Aone? Where are you?''

Apparently he wasn't at home. He was either in the garden or busy with flowers in the greenhouse. You left the kitchen and went into the hall, then you went out to the living room and through the door of the living room that opened to the glass greenhouse. You found it exactly where you thought it would be. Aone was wearing his gardener's clothes and was working on flowers. You saw him refilling the pots

“Good morning” you said smiling to your husband.

He answered you without looking up

"Good morning. I'm sorry, I couldn't prepare breakfast for you." ''It's not important. "Is there something wrong?" you wondered.

"Unfortunately, the three naughty kittens I once rescued from the street are now big enough to enter the greenhouse and knock over the flower pots."

You responded with a giggle.

"Oh my God! I don't believe. "How did they get into the greenhouse?"

"I forgot to close the door when I left here last night. "The door was left ajar, so they entered and broke everything."

''Look at the naughty kitties! They'll make trouble for my husband! "Now they will see their day" you said jokingly

Aone was focused on what he was doing and had to ignore your joke. You cleared your throat

“Okay…then let me prepare something for you. "You'll need energy to refill the broken pots."

Aone replied as he grabbed handfuls of soil

"Don't bother. I'll eat later. You have your breakfast, then feed those three naughty cats. "If I finish work, we can garden together."

You patted Aone on the back

"I'll take care of the garden. After saying "Do your job in peace", you gave him a kiss for luck. While kissing your cheek, you felt his smooth skin on your lips.

You left your husband alone with his work and returned to the kitchen. The three kittens Aone rescued from the street have now turned into beautiful adult cats. You called your cats, as soon as they heard you they came to the kitchen and started rubbing on your legs.

"You naughty bastards! So, you broke into the greenhouse last night and knocked over the flower pots. "Lucky for your cuteness, otherwise you would be deprived of a delicious breakfast this morning."

You put food in your cats' food bowls. Then you washed your hands and set about making sandwiches for yourself and Aone at the counter. Next to it, you would squeeze the juice from the oranges you picked from the orange tree in your garden.

Aone loved orange juice. Tomatoes, ham and cheddar cheese were indispensable for him in the sandwich. You've prepared a sandwich just like Aone likes it. You filled the oranges with juice and took them to the greenhouse.

“Aone? I made your favorite sandwich. Come on, eat something. "Then you can keep on your work."

''Y/n. "Didn't I tell you I would eat later?" he said to you in a calm tone.

"You said you know, but I couldn't stand you working on an empty stomach."

Aone sighed. He took off his gloves and took the tray from your hands.

"Bon apetit to you.I will finish my breakfast soon and go out to the yard."

Aone called after you as you exited the greenhouse.

"Leave Kame in the yard. Let him wander around a bit. "We'll put him back in its nest in the evening."

''Ok. "I'll handle it," you said as you walked in.

You went back to the kitchen and had your breakfast. It looks like your cats had also had their fill and were asking you to play. You took them out into the garden. At least they would play by themselves and not bother you

"Cuties" you muttered while looking after them

As soon as you finished your work in the kitchen, you went back to your bedroom and changed your clothes. Since you will be working in the garden, you chose comfortable and loose-fitting clothes. You didn't forget to wear your gardening overalls. Before going to the garden, you took your pet turtle, Kame, out of his nest.

"Good morning Kame! "Come on" you said and took it between your palms.

"Shall we go out to the garden together? What do you say?''

You gently caressed the turtle's shell and then went out into the garden. You put the turtle down and then started to do your work.

But before that, you had another job. You walked into the backyard and stopped in front of the rabbit cage. You had four rabbits: brown, white, black and black spotted. You made an area for them in the backyard. You would take them out of their cages every morning, feed them, and let them wander around the backyard until evening.

You and your pets were like a big family. You took care of each of them as if they were your own children. You and your husband were both a very animal-loving couple. You had a very happy and joyful life. Your only wish throughout your life was to live in this house and in this environment with your family until you die.

"Good morning, my babies!" you greeted your rabbits with a smile. You took them out of their cages and released them into the garden Aone had left lettuce and carrots in the cages for the rabbits. You put them where your rabbits can eat them. You won't die or leave having left something and you could get your work done in the front yard

You returned to the front garden and looked at the strawberry seedlings you planted in your tiny field. Strawberries were starting to ripen, and since it was summer, they were ripening fast.

You went to the nearby tank, took the watering jug and filled it with water from the pump. Then you started watering your strawberry seedlings. You cut the weeds that had started to grow around them. Now your seedlings looked healthier than before. The strawberries of one of them looked ripe. It was big and red. You immediately plucked it and popped it into your mouth.

The taste of organic strawberries created a flavor explosion in your mouth. I wish there was more for you and Aone to eat You've finished watering and pruning your strawberry seedlings. You did not need to spray them because they were not infested. Next was to prune the apple, lemon and orange trees. Since the fruits of the trees were ripe, they had to be collected.

You used to pick fruit from the tree with Aone. Aone would hold a basket in his hand, lift you onto his shoulders, and give you access to the tree. This way, you could reach the fruits more easily, and Aone would fill the fruits you collected into the basket.

You would either sell the fruits or make products such as pickles and jam from them.

You entered the greenhouse to look for the fruit basket. While you were in the greenhouse, you wanted to tell Aone that you had to take care of this now. But it looks like Aone wasn't done yet

"Dear, we need to pick the fruits. Can you help me?''

Aone stopped putting soil in the pot

"If your work is not done, I can handle it alone."

He answered you while taking off his gloves

"How will you handle it alone? You know we have to wait a while to get a new staircase."

You fluttered your eyelashes

"But you're not done yet"

"Come on," he said, going out of the door and into the garden.

You followed your husband. When you arrived under the fruit trees, Aone lifted you onto his shoulders and you picked the fruits one by one, starting from the lemon tree first.

When your basket was full, you got off your husband's back

''Babe?''

"Hm?"

"Gardening is a lot of fun, but…doing that with you is more enjoyable."

Aone wasn't used to this kind of compliment. Until he met you, no one had made him feel this valuable. During his high school years, no one would sit next to him when he got on the train. You were the first person to sit next to him. Aone didn't tell you, but he was so happy when he finally realized he wouldn't be traveling alone. He was so happy that he almost cried Aone bowed his head at what you said. Naturally, you were worried because he wasn't responding.

''Dear? What happened? "Did I say something wrong?" you touched his arm curiously.

He turned to you and put his arm around your shoulder.

''No. "You didn't say anything wrong," he replied.

"Then why did you remain so unresponsive?"

It seems like Aone had feelings to express to you. She put the basket on the ground. She sat on the grass. He made you sit in front of him.

''Do you know? "When you suddenly said that, my high school years came to mind."

You giggled

"We were two young lovers then. "It was beautiful, wasn't it?"

Aone nodded.

"No one has ever valued me this much. Besides you. Admittedly, I had social phobia at that time. Because of the serious expression on my face, people were afraid of me in the places I entered. I would travel alone, even on the train. I hated it when people looked at me like they saw a ghost."

You placed your palm on Aone's cheek

"I wish they could see the goodness and kindness in you. "You may have a tough exterior, but your heart is hot as fire." He held your hand on his cheek with his big palm and gently caressed your fingers.

"I didn't tell you, but the day you sat next to me on the train, I couldn't hold back my tears of happiness. Could such a terribly tyrant-looking man cry? Of course he would cry. The day you agreed to be my girlfriend was the biggest turning point in my life. Even if my happiness that day killed me, I was okay with it. Because I was with you, y/n.”

Aone's words were enough to move you. You tried not to show that your eyes were filled with tears.

“Aone…you are truly a man with a heart of gold. I'm so lucky to have you as my husband. "You are the person I love most in this life."

With his thick fingers, he gently cupped your chin and locked his eyes with yours.

Even though he had a serious and stern expression on his face from years ago, you saw the kind and good-hearted man behind that look.

"I've never talked to anyone for this long. For the first time, I started chatting with you using long sentences. "You know, when I spoke, my teammates were surprised by it."

You held each other's hands tightly and looked at each other deeply.

"It's okay if you don't talk to them. "All I care about is you."

He smiled slightly at you. Only you understood that he wanted to laugh sincerely, even if it was forced.

You both stood up.

''Come on! "There's still a lot of work to be done," you said, and you and your husband set about your daily work.

Your days have always been like this. You were busy gardening and feeding your animals from morning to evening. Sometimes you would go on nature trips with Aone. You were trying to go fishing at a nearby lake

So the months passed.

One day, while you were getting dressed in the bedroom, Aone texted you. You took your phone and read the message

Come to the backyard

You were afraid that something bad had happened to your rabbits and you went down the stairs at full speed in panic.

You went straight to the backyard and saw Aone looking at your rabbits from behind the cage

“Aone? Did something happen to the rabbits?"

Aone gestured for you to come with his hand. You walked next to him and watched the rabbits from behind the cage.

A soft feeling filled you when you saw the view. One of your rabbits had babies. And there were exactly 6 of them.

"Oh my God! I cant believe. How did we not notice? Six cute baby rabbits. Our family is expanding," you said happily.

“I wanted you to see this too,” Aone said to you in a soft voice.

You had something else on your mind. Good news you should tell Aone

"Um…Aone" you said and couldn't hide your blush.

Aone looked at your face as if he wanted to hear something from you.

''I have something to tell you''

''Yes?''

Aone suddenly became serious. He was suspicious that you were going to give him bad news.

"I think…we will have a baby in 7 months too"

The serious and cold look on your husband's face was replaced by a sweet and surprised smile.

“Y/n? Is this…is this really true?”

''Yes. I was going to tell you today. I found it more appropriate to say it as soon as I saw the baby rabbits."

Aone's big hands found your belly that hadn't grown yet and caressed it.

"I will teach our baby to love nature. Because he is the child of a dryad. Yes y/n. You are my dryad"

You embraced each other with love and from that day on you started counting the days for your baby.

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Did you remember my ''Kittens'' scenario? Aone was rescued three fluffy kittens from street. These cats, the same cats. They're just grew up. Aone has really golden heart man. I love him so much

#haikyuu x imagines #haikyuu!!#hq x y/n #haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #haikyuu scenarios #aone takanobu x you #aone takanobu imagine #aone takanobu #aone takanobu x reader #aone takanobu scenario #aone takanobu x y/n #haikyuu aone #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x y/n #x reader #female reader #fem reader

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luminousvision · 7 months ago

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for the record

The service was held in his very own backyard, a lush and well-manicured expanse of a fifteen acre estate. To the south stood the house, perhaps better described as a mansion: a thick, imposing rectangular block with its Greek columns and deep blue exterior. Ivy climbed the back walls. On the trim grass waited hundreds of folding chairs in neat rows, each with a small label taped to its back.

The pastor cleared his throat. “We gather today to celebrate the life of Philip Casserman…”

This man in white spoke to an audience of chairs, almost all of which were empty. There was one middle-aged brown-haired man and his dog in the seventh or eighth row. The housekeepers, groundskeepers, chefs, and other estate staff sat huddled in the far back left corner wearing plain black clothes.

“Is it really just us?”

“Can’t say I’m surprised after the trial.”

“Can you believe the paper turned down the obituary?”

The butler in a blue navy suit was the only staff member dressed in uniform. He sat one seat away from the rest of the group and silently looked forward.

“He never took his luck in the oil industry for granted and wanted to share some of his good fortune,” the pastor said, looking down frequently at the lectern. “Among his varied and generous contributions, a few stand out in particular…”

Many years ago, Philip Casserman single-handedly revived the flagging fortunes and enrollment of Haverford College. The president and dean had offered to rename their humanities building, but he declined in modesty. Two empty chairs in the grass bore each of their names.

“… and the construction of a new children’s hospital plus an expanded mental health facility…”

One of the senior hospital administrators had been a good friend of Philip’s for many years but her seat also sat empty.

“… not to mention the reinvigoration of the library and its surr—“

“Doesn’t sound like the boss.”

“Yeah, turned me down on a fifty cent raise.”

“Turned us all down on fifty cent raises.”

“Then pays us to come to his damn funeral?”

“Hey, we don’t know that yet.”

The pastor stifled a yawn before continuing in monotone: “Today, we are fortunate to be surrounded by his dear family and friends. Would anyone like to share a story in Philip’s memory?”

The pastor paused briefly to survey the audience of empty chairs. The trees rustled loudly in the breeze. “Well, we thank everyone who generously shared their most precious—“

“I’d like to,” said the brown-haired man who was now standing. The chatter in the back resumed.

“He looks familiar. Was he on the jury?”

“No, I know them like the back of my hand now. I’m sure he wasn’t.”

“Maybe he lives under a rock. Maybe he hasn’t heard.”

“Pretty sure every last cat and gerbil of Haverford knows.”

“Hello?” the man spoke into the microphone. The dog sat obediently next to the lectern. He cleared his throat. “I—I’d like to share my old memory of Phil, just for the record.”

“He knows! And he still came.”

“Shut up, I can’t hear him.”

“My—my name is Larry. Twenty years ago, a black Mercedes drove past a scared teenager walking aimlessly through the mountainous back roads just a few miles north of here. My jacket wasn’t thick enough in the windy November late afternoon and I had only twenty dollars to my name. The car doubled back, lowered the window, and asked where I was going. Where was I going? Nowhere, of course. And no, I didn’t have a place to stay.

“Phil didn’t believe me. I didn’t look homeless. But he idled his car with the passenger window down and gave me that look you get from your uncle when he’s going to make all the time in the world for your story.

“I won’t go into my story. After all, this is about Phil, not me. Let’s just say I ran away, away from my mom who can’t walk straight and passes out on the couch most days. But what matters is that he drove me to his place and gave me one of his many guest rooms. A chef brought me a delicious bowl of pea soup.”

Everyone looked at the chef. “Don’t look at me. He never let me serve a meal to anyone else. Let alone for free.”

“Did the boss pay this dude too?”

“Probably.”

“Sheesh, maybe he was different back then.”

“Fat chance.”

Larry looked up. “And the butler, Walter, handed me this much warmer jacket and told me there was an entire closet of clothing for the various people Phil took in.”

They all looked at the butler who raised his chin just slightly.

“Phil told me I could stay until I was ready to leave. I didn’t know when I’d be ready to leave. I told him that every day at the breakfast he invited me to until he would just nod at me in the mornings while we ate some eggs and toast. Even several days later I’d sit there, as stiff as the bacon, having no idea why Phil seemed to rather enjoy my presence.”

The thrumming of an engine grew louder until there was a loud squeal of brakes. It seemed to come from the other side of the house. The butler made several quick gestures with his hands. The housekeeper seemed to understand and nodded. The butler departed in the direction of the house.

Larry pointed toward the house. “We were sitting in pink lounge chairs just about over there when I finally mustered the courage to thank him. He gave me his usual nod, looked straight ahead, and said something I’ll never forget. We’re monstrously selfish, Larry. Even the kindest of people will kill to make sure their heart has a home.”

“That bastard, I knew it.”

“If we had that boy on the witness stand, the trial would have shut in three weeks.”

“I don’t know, love triangles are always complicated.”

“Man kills man—clear as day to me.”

“It’s never so simple—don’t you read the news?”

“Hush, I can’t hear anything.”

The pastor cleared his throat, but Larry held up a finger and said he was almost done: “Phil said he was worried for my mother. I eventually thought he might have a point, so I went back home a few days later. Soon the whole thing was almost a dream. And I forgot about what he said—until the recent trial.”

“I told you!”

“Not in my ear, please.”

“And perhaps,” Larry said, “we now know what he meant.”

“Yeah, we do.”

“Psychopath.”

“But—” Larry continued, “but, I don’t believe him. I’ve seen selfish eyes. They’re shallow, like artificial lakes where the light hits the dull concrete below the sad fish. Phil’s was like a vast ocean. That is why I came today. Thank you.”

There was no applause.

The pastor returned to the lectern. “Thank you, Larry, for sharing your touching story. Would anyone else like to speak?”

Nobody wanted to speak.

“Well then, we thank everyone who generously shared their most precious memories with Phil. Before we conclude our service for today, you’ll have to forgive the unusual nature of this request, but Mr. Casserman asked his will to be read out loud now.”

The pastor took a letter opener to a sealed envelope and extracted a small slip of paper.

“Mr. Casserman wrote: I want to extend my utmost gratitude to those of you who stayed with me until the end. Given I am not survived by any family, in my final act, I hereby bequeath my remaining possessions evenly to those present to hear this statement spoken.”

There was a hushed uproar.

“He was right!”

“Walter, that man. He knows everything.”

“Wait, where is Walter?”

“He left to receive the repairman.”

“Now? For a window?”

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

A silence fell over them.

“He doesn’t get anything then?”

“More for me.”

“Geez. No, that’s not fair. Walter’s one of us.”

“Yeah, he should get his share.”

“We can’t cheat the will.”

“He’s dead, why the hell not?”

Larry stared blankly past the pastor into the far off evergreens that walled the outer boundaries of the estate. Rising, he briefly looked at the group in the back. “Let’s go,” he said to his dog.

The pastor was taking pictures. When Larry reached the lectern, the pastor was adding his signature to list of names a sheet of paper. Larry studied him for awhile.

“You don’t look so surprised.”

The pastor looked up. “About what?” he asked innocently.

“About this,” Larry said, gesturing around the yard.

“Well, eventually, we all recognize our sins and choose to repent.”

White puffy clouds covered the sun, casting a gray filter over the whole estate. The staff had circled their chairs and were whispering amongst themselves. Larry walked toward the mansion.

Larry stopped at the broken window, a huge panel of glass looking out of the first floor. It looked like someone had hit it with a large object. Violent fissures radiated outward. Even through the cracked glass, it was possible to make out a collage of framed photographs on the wall. One framed a large photograph of a woman with hazel eyes and smooth brown hair. Many smaller photographs showed her smiling alongside Phils of various ages.

“Poor thing,” Larry said, shaking his head. The dog sat quietly next to him. He turned at the sound of dress shoes on the concrete.

The butler nodded. They looked at the window again. Two chirping birds arrived at the bird feeder on the other side of the front yard. The birds poked at the seeds and splashed in the bird bath.

“Are you going to fix it?”

He shrugged. Larry nodded.

Running footsteps clattered throughout the house. Voices floated from an open second floor window. Footsteps were headed up to the third floor.

“Dibs on the cookware!”

“I want the curtains. They’re so nice and soft.”

The dog barked at the open window. Larry looked up before facing the butler. “Thank you,” Larry said.

A third bird arrived at the bird feeder. There was a scuffle of wings. After several screeches, all three of them flew away.

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the-travelling-witch · 2 years ago

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ship your moots!!

have a good day!!

oh oh oh!! okay okay, i´ve never done this but i‘ll give my best for my lovelies!! ♡

@dustofthedailylife x kamisato ayato- honest, funny and charming...which of the two did i just describe? who knows... are you guys still a couple or already married because you give major domestic vibes; ayato is a busy man but he really loves spending his free time with you trying new things or joining in on your hobbies (ahem ahem, can you imagine gardening together with this man?)

@kazu-sun x kaedehara kazuha- imagine laying in the soft grass with kazuha, talking about everything and nothing as the autumn breeze curls through your hair and the sun slowly sets beneath the horizon, revealing a dazzling sky of stars for seemingly just the two of you

@kreideprinzessin x albedo- domestic life strikes again; you´re just minding your own business, living a small distance away from the city in your own little house/ cottage; klee comes to visit so often, she might as well live there already; there´s enough space for a cute garden with all sorts of herbs and flowers and a lab for albedo to blow things up-- i mean, experiment-- in a safe environment

@scaranya x scaramouche- "i would kill for you" "can you just hold me?" "...fine" kinda couple; scara is ready to throw hands if someone treats you lesser than you should be and if it´s you who´s underestimating yourself well... i hope you´re ready for some cuddles and affection because that shit simply won´t fly under his watch

@crown5 x holly- married life, end of discussion; strangers to moots to talking almost every day, a modern love story par execllence

@crown5 x ran haitani- this menace lives to fluster you and will literally remember everything that made you blush once just to use it against you later; but, on the other hand, he´s also the cheesiest romantic out there? i visualize candle light dinners in some penthouse, high above the streets of tokyo

@softbajis x rindou haitani- "you´re the bane of my existence" "but you love me" "unfortunately yes" rin acts all unfazed and unbothered to hide the massive blush creeping up his neck (you´re not fooling anybody hon); really clingy when it´s just the two of you; wrote a song for you once and proceeded to be too shy to show it to you

@virtue-and-beneviolence x shuji hanma- oh god, where do i even start? you´re 99% of shuji´s impulse control but really... should you be? teases the hell out of you to a) see you flustered b) maybe get you to shut him up with a kiss; holds things out of your reach

@bunny-rambles x albedo- soo supportive, there´s absoultely no judgement in this house and we are here for it; albedo loves listening to you, doesn´t matter where or when, you always have 120% of his undivided attention; such a chill couple, you guys just radiate calm

@ashy-lyn x bokuto kōtarō- sweet & sweet, you guys are so cute, i might get a sugar rush just looking at you; bokuto is basically a puppy of a boyfriend, is it even possible he‘d upset you? lets you style his hair in funny shapes after he showers

@kaeyatic x kaeya alberich- royalcore aesthetic; "better than you and you know it too" couple; if you guys show up anywhere together, people are torn between wanting to be you or wanting to be with you; at home you´re the silliest idiots (affectionate) though (kaeya will not let you go once he got some cuddles, you´re staying there for a while; but you don´t mind, right?)

@mari-on-dragonspine x thoma- domestic but cranked to the max; i can absolutely picture the two of you baking and cooking together; just imagine him feeding you spoonfulls of the food he made to "taste-test", he actually just loves seeing your face light up at the delicious treat; you also take care of the stray cats together

@the-mourning-stars x chūya nakahara- have you ever felt so safe with someone that you feel absoultely untouchable in their arms? and has that someone ironically been part of the mafia? because that´s chūya nakahara for you; and just to be clear, he definitely thrives on being your protector and would do more than just throw hands for your safety; imagine going on late-night flights over the city with him and never having to fear the height because you know he´d never ever let any harm come to you; lets you wear his hat

@sakuraoora x xiao- our touch-deprived adeptus tries so hard for you... and then gets completely flustered when you show the slightest bit of affection towards him, and no, i don´t think he will ever change; you´re just so gorgeous, he still can´t believe you´re actually dating him!! gifts you protective adepti charms he made himself

@awlumii x kaedehara kazuha- i´m thinking intertwined hands, hushed voices and soft giggles as you make your way home from a night in town; kazuha pulling you close to him, so that the crisp air doesn´t chill you as he quietly hums, for the millionth time that night, how gorgeous you looked today (who knows, you might find a haiku about a certain beauty on your nightstand the next morning)

@zhongrin x zhongli- "you don´t have to tell everyone about me, love" "yes, i have to, HAVE YOU SEEN YOURSELF" (/lh); zhongli very much enjoys having someone who so avidly listens to his stories, whether it´s because of the actual story or him is, well... does it really matter? but even more so, he loves experiencing new things with you or seeing your reactions to something you´ve never come across before; it gives him back the sense of liveliness he had missed for a long time

@y0imyas x al-haitham- mmh just imagine cuddling with him when he´s finally not busy, strong hands pulling you against his broad chest as he whispers sweet nothings in your ear (i´m sorry, i saw someone was having al-haitham thoughts and what kind of moot would i be if i didn´t fan the flames a little??)

if i didn´t include some of my moots it´s either because i don´t know if you self-sjip and i don´t want to make you uncomfortable or i literally forgot someone as cool as you is my moot because i still need to update my moot page oops ehe

also, no, there is no theme, thank you very much, i just wrote down what i thought of first

#coffee & tea break #letter from: a mysterious sender ❁#kazuha is genshin‘s mitsuya #i wanna ship everyone with him #thank you for coming to my ted talk #i´ll knock myself out now #i wanted to make this aesthetic but then tumblr gave me error messages all the time #so i give up #boo tumblr #i´ll just finish this quickly #it´s a lie #run #it´s never quick

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redux-iterum · 3 years ago

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A Kindling: Chapter One

(AO3 counterpart here.)

Rusty jerked awake and banged his head on the bottom of the armchair he lay under.

His immediate reaction was to hiss and duck down again, silently bemoaning each residual wave of pain between his ears. The armchair, just tall enough to allow him space to crawl underneath, shifted above him. The top of his human’s head appeared upside-down to peer at him curiously, mane dragging on the floor. He blinked at them and they chuffed, eyes crinkled, before the head disappeared again.

Rusty waited for the last achy throb to fade away before he crawled out from underneath the armchair, stopping to stretch between his human’s feet and shake his fur out to the irritating dinging of the bell on his collar. He felt fingers gently scratch at his neck and between his shoulders, to which he responded with an obligatory purr. The fingers lifted away as the human trilled something in a high pitch. Rusty’s pelt brushed against one of their legs as he turned and headed for the next room.

His food was still there, in its bowl. Rusty ignored it completely, even as his stomach gave a hint of a growl. The stuff tasted terrible and never seemed to make him full. Not for the first time, he reminisced about his last home, where he had been given something soft and much more delicious.

His mind started wandering on the topic of new and old sensations, as it always did, and he distantly felt his feet carrying him through the overly-warm kitchen and to the flap in the door he’d learned to use on his first few days in this house. He barely paid attention to where he was going; he was in the throes of his dream, before he had been startled into the waking world.

It was always the same: he would be prowling through a place he had never been, yet felt right at home in. The place changed every time he dreamed. Sometimes the grass was tall enough that he had to rear up to see ahead, sometimes it was unending stone formations that curved oddly smoothly and arched above his path. Usually…

Rusty pushed through the flap into the night, walked across the yard with cut grass that irritated his pawpads, and leaped onto chairs and pots until he was at the top of the fence that separated him from the outside world.

Usually, it was what he saw ahead of him—a thick forest, so dense with trees and ferns and bushes that it was impossible to track any potential trails to follow, and rich with the scents of the wild. Even from this distance, through the dark and the petrichor from the rain, those scents seemed to find him at all times of the day and night.

Rusty breathed deep, enjoying the freshness of the damp earth and the many, many smells he could not identify from the forest. It was close. Very close—

“There you are!”

Rusty blinked in surprise and turned his head to see another kitten in the next yard, who did a much less graceful job of getting up onto his fence, scrabbling and puffing for air every time he had to heft his considerable weight to meet with his friend.

“I didn’t think you’d be out this late, Smudge,” Rusty said once he had finally sat down on the rail and was catching his breath.

“Well, I was looking for you all day,” Smudge said, letting out one final huff before sitting up straight. “Were you inside the entire time? What were you doing?”

“Ehm…” Rusty cocked his head sideways a little in thought. “Sleeping, I guess. I was having a lot of nice dreams. I suppose I didn’t want to wake up.”

“Very unlike you, bud.” Smudge gave him an amused look. “Even the old homebody down the way asked where you were today. He said you weren’t around to scare his prey off.”

Rusty snorted. “He’s never caught a thing in his life and we all know it.”

“Well, neither have we,” Smudge said. “Just a matter of time with you, though, I suppose.”

Rusty frowned. “You could catch something one day, too—”

Smudge blinked slowly, unimpressed, and motioned with a paw to his own chest and belly. He was quite different from Rusty—black-and-white and much softer and rounder. He looked like how he lived, never moving far from his bed and food bowl if he could help it.

Rusty, ginger and much wirier, persisted. “Still, you never know.”

“S’pose we don’t.” Smudge glanced out at the forest before them. “Though I wouldn’t dare try, myself. Not over there, anyway, since you keep looking that way.”

“There aren’t really any other places to hunt, though,” Rusty said. “Unless we wanted to go—”

“’We’,” Smudge muttered.

“’We’.” Rusty nodded. “Unless we wanted to go further into the neighborhood and try that park.”

“Eh.” Smudge rolled a shoulder like the very idea of walking that far pained his limbs. “There’re probably ferals out there too.”

Rusty did not respond to this. He was looking back into the forest, thinking. He’d heard stories of feral cats living in those woods—wild giants that lined their borders with the fur of trespassers and ate the bones of helpless kittens and house cats. He’d been warned many times by the adults in his neighborhood to stay away from them, and to run as soon as he saw a hint of their eyes or caught the scent of strange plants and cut wood (whatever that smelled like, he wasn’t sure). Apparently there were even more feral colonies far away, but he knew nothing about them. What everyone was concerned about was the group in the forest.

“Mind a nibble on your thoughts?” Smudge said, jerking Rusty back to the present.

“Just—” Rusty looked between his friend and the woods. “Just wondering what’s in there.”

“Probably nothing good.” Smudge wrinkled his nose distastefully. “A bunch of mud and bullies, I’ll bet.”

“Really?” Rusty looked at Smudge sideways, head tilted a little. “I’ll bet there’s a lot of prey and adventures waiting past those trees.”

“Ohhh,” Smudge said with a grand sarcasm. “Lots of good times in there?”

“All of the good times,” Rusty returned. “And if there are cats, I’ll bet they’re not as bad as everyone says.”

Smudge huffed an amused breath. “Tell you what, you bring one back for me to see myself, one that’s real nice and friendly, and I’ll personally take you to the park tomorrow.”

A spark of something lit up Rusty’s mind. “You know, I might take you up on that.”

All of Smudge’s snarky demeanor vanished in an instant. “Rusty, I was joking.”

“Well, I’m not.” Rusty bunched up and looked over the fence, eyeing the best place to land.

“Don’t—” Smudge puffed up out of the corner of his eye and his volume rose. “Rusty, don’t.”

“No, no, we have a bet.” Rusty jumped and landed with, he proudly noted, barely a stumble. “I’ve got to go find you a feral.”

“They’ll eat you alive!” Smudge protested, looking genuinely anxious. “Come back here! I wasn’t even serious!”

“See you in a while, Smudge!” Rusty called over his shoulder, and started off at a trot through the soft, uncut grass.

“Rusty!” Smudge shouted, but Rusty didn’t look back. He simply padded along, ignoring his friend’s yells, only pausing for an instant as he hit the treeline before pushing his way past a fern. The forest swallowed him and Smudge’s voice faded away.

Rusty stopped a few steps in, eyes wide. The trees, he knew, were always taller than the houses, but up close they seemed to scratch the sky—he wasn’t sure he was even able to see their peaks from here. Some smaller forms of them, much more delicate and thin, fought their way out of the brush that covered almost every bit of ground. The ferns, soft and broad and fringed, took up what the brush didn’t, and patches of incredibly soft grass soaked up what little moonlight they could catch. Everything was vibrant, fresh, alive.

More than that, though, were the scents, so numerous and strong that they threatened to knock Rusty off his feet. Even the trees clouded his nose, and he understood instantly what smells the adults were talking about. The ferns and grass were almost delicious, and the packed soil under his paws smelled not only of rain, but of something that made Rusty’s stomach growl. Something like what he had eaten in his old home.

He wanted to find it.

Without quite understanding what he was doing, Rusty lowered his body into a half-crouch and he tried to pinpoint the scent past all the others. Experimentally, he opened his mouth, and the air brought him a taste that seemed to be coming from his right. He sniffed, turning slowly, ears swiveling.

Something rustled in the ferns, and something else lit up in his head.

Very slowly, very carefully, Rusty moved forward, trying to track the scent as he went. His shoulders brushed against the fronds, but luckily, they made no sound (“Luckily?” What was he trying to sneak up on?). He cursed in his head when his feet shifted the soil and the rustling stopped. He paused, and the rustling eventually continued, as did he.

He closed in on this unknown target, until he ducked below a fern that was blocking his view. In a little clear patch of ground, he could see something tiny and brown scuttling back and forth, digging at the earth or chewing on grass. It had a long, naked tail and wide ears, and Rusty had a vague idea of what it was supposed to be, based on a toy he had at home that looked about the same, save being much more brightly colored.

Again, not having a clue why, Rusty crouched further, eyes focused on the animal. He kept as still as possible, waiting for an opportunity to… do something. The animal was entirely unaware of him. He lifted one paw and took a step, pulling himself closer.

The bush ahead of him violently shook and the animal darted into the undergrowth.

Rusty straightened up, greatly annoyed. He glared at the bush, now catching a scent of something else. Something that was also familiar, but still as new as the rest of this forest. And, going by the continued shaking, something quite large.

Rusty had a faint idea that he should probably run.

#warrior cats #warriors redux iterum #iterum #chapter #chapter one #book one #arc one #a kindling

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twomanyideas · 3 years ago

Text

The Grill Next Door

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

Gratsu Week 2021 Prompt(s): Impress, Smile, Smokey Pairing: Gray x Natsu

AO3

Summary: Natsu had to repress a loud snort when he caught his first glimpse of his neighbor. The guy was dressed in only a pair of black boxers, his fair skin slick and shiny from the thick layer of sunblock he had applied. His back had white streaks and missed spots all over it from where he hadn’t been able to distribute it evenly, and some of the lotion was sticking to the dark hairs on his neck.

But the absolute worst thing of all was that he obviously had no idea how to use a barbeque properly.

0-0 Summer was arguably the worst time to be moving. Who in their right mind would want to spend all day inside unpacking boxes when it was 90 degrees outside? Definitely not Natsu, and yet here he was, dragging another box full of stuff up the stairs in his new home. He was grateful for his friends, who had been there when he’d gotten the key and helped him clean the house, paint some walls, and install the larger pieces of furniture. But now that there was only the smaller clutter left, he was on his own, and he was missing out on all the summer fun. His friends were all enjoying themselves without him; spending their free time at the beach or the pool, barbecuing in their yards, raiding the ice cream parlor… “Soon…” Natsu sighed to himself. Soon, he could join them again. He just had a few more boxes filled with necessary items to go.

He’d already unpacked the ones filled with kitchen utensils and Happy’s stuff. All that was left were his toiletries and a few clothes. He’d sort through the rest of his crap bit by bit, one or two boxes every night until he was done. That way, he could still get the most out of the vacation days he'd pulled out for moving. He opened the box he’d brought upstairs with him and groaned; of course, he’d grabbed the wrong one. Instead of towels and shower products, he was looking at some of the housewarming gifts he’d gotten. A key hanger from Lucy, because he was always losing his keys. A baking set from Erza, which Natsu had to admit was the most optimistic gift he’d ever gotten, and a cute houseplant from Wendy, carefully wrapped up in brown paper, with wet paper towels to keep the soil moist.

There were a few more small gifts, but Natsu’s attention was drawn to the flat package at the bottom. More specifically, to the image that was on it, giving away what was inside: a bright pink flamingo kiddie pool. “So you can have a pool in your backyard!” Sting had grinned when Natsu unwrapped the gift. It was obviously a gag gift, and at the time, Natsu had seen the humor in it. He’d even joked that he’d call Sting for a pool party once he was all settled in, but right now, it only fueled his longing to do something fun. Actually… Screw unpacking, he’d do that later. One look through the window, at the bright blue sky and the burning sun, was all it took to finalize his decision. He picked up the box and took it downstairs again, quickly watering the plant before it could die in the summer heat, and putting it on a windowsill. Leaving the rest of the box’s contents for now, he took out the inflatable pool and started digging through one of the other boxes in search of his swim trunks.

He’d done enough for today. He was going to sit in his backyard and enjoy his stupid pool, damn it. Once he’d changed into his swimwear, he applied a thin layer of sunblock he’d found during his search for a towel. He went outside with the pool under his arm, sticking his foot out when he slipped through the sliding door to keep Happy from sneaking outside.

“Sorry buddy, you can’t go out yet,” he apologized, knowing that it was for the best.

They'd only moved in a few days ago, and Happy needed to get used to his new home. If he were to run away, he'd get lost trying to find his way back to their old apartment, and the last thing Natsu wanted was to end up like Rogue, who had spent all night frantically searching for Frosch when he had just moved in with Sting and failed to shut the front door behind him fast enough. Still, Natsu couldn’t help but feel guilty at the sight of Happy pawing at him from behind the glass. Maybe he could get him a cat leash tomorrow, so he could at least explore the backyard safely. One thing was for sure, he’d definitely give him some of his favorite fish treats to make up for a few hours of sitting alone inside. With that in mind, he smiled and took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh summer air and the delicious smell that came along with it. It was one of his favorites, and he instantly recognized it. One of his neighbors was grilling in his backyard. Too curious for his own good, Natsu followed the scent. His nose told him it was coming from the house to his left, from the backyard that was only separated from his by a tall wooden fence. Tall, but not tall enough to keep Natsu away. He was just able to peek over the top if he stood on his tippy toes.

He wanted to get an idea of who was living next to him, that’s all. Okay, and maybe he wanted to live through them a little as they indulged in one of his all-time favorite summer activities. \

Natsu had to repress a loud snort when he caught his first glimpse of his neighbor. The guy was dressed in only a pair of black boxers, his fair skin slick and shiny from the thick layer of sunblock he had applied. His back had white streaks and missed spots all over it from where he hadn’t been able to distribute it evenly, and some of the lotion was sticking to the dark hairs on his neck. But the absolute worst thing of all was that he obviously had no idea how to use a barbeque properly. “You know, your food is going to cook more evenly and taste a lot better if you close the lid,” Natsu suggested, bursting out in laughter when the guy jumped and almost dropped his tongs. “Idiot!” He whirled around and glared at Natsu, waving the tongs in the air as he stomped closer. Damn! This guy was actually pretty cute when he was mad.

"I almost burned myself. What were you thinking?!"

"That you weren't doing those ribs the justice they deserve," Natsu retorted, frustration rising within him once he managed to tear his eyes away from his half-naked neighbor and focus back on the grill. All that delicious aroma-filled smoke that would've added so much flavor to that gorgeous meat was getting away!

It was a fucking crime.

"Pay attention to what you were doing, you jackass! You gotta flip them over!"

The guy quickly returned to his grill to tend to his ribs, cursing as he fumbled with the tongs while trying to keep a safe distance between the searing heat of the barbecue and his own bare ribs.

"Man, you really suck at this," Natsu couldn't resist pointing out.

"Oh, and I suppose _you _could do better?"

In all honesty, Natsu was a terrible cook. He lacked the ability to multitask in the kitchen, always made an enormous mess, and often combined ingredients that his friends insisted should never be combined.

However, cooking and grilling were two completely different things to him. His dad had taught him how to cook meat on an open fire or a makeshift grill during camping trips since he was little, and he had it down to a fine art by now.

"You're damn right I can," he scoffed, taking the question as a challenge and being kind enough to climb over the fence and invite himself to his neighbor's backyard so he could show him how it was done.

"What are you doing?!"

"Saving your meat, of course! Move over."

Too stunned by what was happening, the guy didn't protest when Natsu snatched away the tongs. He just watched with his mouth open as Natsu flipped the ribs and set the grate to a higher level, making sure they'd cook slower. And much to Natsu’s amusement, it wasn't just the grill he was staring at.

Satisfied with his intervention, Natsu closed the lid and stepped back. "There, that should do it!" he grinned, putting the tongs down on a plate on the nearby table so he could hold out his hand in greeting. "I'm Natsu, by the way. I just moved here last Wednesday."

"... Gray," his neighbor replied, frowning warily but still accepting Natsu's hand and shaking it briefly. "Do you always stick your nose into other people's business like that?"

“Just wait, you’ll be thanking me soon enough.” Natsu said, amused by his neighbor's grumpy tone. “Anyway, you should be fine as long as you leave the lid closed for about an hour.”

“An hour?” Gray complained, “I thought grilling was supposed to be faster.”

“I mean, do you want fast, or do you want good?” Natsu drawled suggestively. He wasn’t sure if it was the beautiful weather or just the high he felt from having had a hot guy so obviously checking him out because normally he wasn’t much of a flirt, but he felt the urge to test the waters. “Cause I could show you both.”

Gray surprised him by laughing heartily at his innuendo. “There is seriously nothing subtle about you, is there?”

“Nope.” Natsu agreed and laughed along. “Well, it was nice to meet you. I’ll leave you to your grilling, gotta go set up my pool.”

He climbed the fence to get back into his yard, hearing Gray yell behind him. “You’re going to get yourself killed. Just use the gate next time.”

“But then, how could I show you my best asset?” Natsu retorted once he was safely over, chuckling as Gray muttered something he couldn’t quite make out. He wasn’t too worried, though. After all Gray had said next time.

0-0

Gray looked back at the grill, already tempted to open the lid and check on the ribs. What was he supposed to do for an hour? He’d mowed the grass earlier, and he didn’t feel comfortable staying inside while the grill was going.

The sun felt overly hot on his skin and he found shelter under a tree in his backyard. Playing on his phone had netted him ten minutes of entertainment and two group conversations he wasn’t all that interested in.

Maybe Natsu did know what he was talking about because the smell of the ribs cooking was making his mouth water in ravenous anticipation. Thinking about his new neighbor brought a smile to his face, especially since he heard odd noises coming from the other side of the fence. Didn’t he say something about a pool?

With all this time to kill, maybe he should go return the favor and see what he was up to.

With that in mind, Gray walked over to the fence and peered over it, unable to hold back a snort when he saw Natsu sitting on the ground and puffing air into a pink flamingo-shaped pool.

"Wow, I guess you really are full of hot air."

Natsu looked up at him, flashing that grin Gray was quickly developing a weak spot for. "So you think I'm hot?"

Yes, he sure as hell did, but he wasn’t about to give Natsu the satisfaction of saying so. At least... not yet.

“I think you’re having an awfully hard time blowing, which is… disappointing.”

"Huh. Never had any complaints before." Natsu shrugged, returning his attention to blowing air into the flamingo.

“Why don’t you let me show you how it’s done?” Gray said, feeling confident.

God knows he’d blown up a ton of these things for his brother’s kid. He’d quickly learned there was a little trick to it. You had to squeeze the valve as you blew into it or the air wouldn’t get in properly. Clearly, his hot dumbass of a neighbor didn't get that.

“You want to show me how well you blow?” Natsu tilted his head, looking amused by Gray’s suggestion. “How can I say no to that?”

Gray let himself into Natsu’s backyard, using the gate that connected their properties, like a normal person, and grabbed the pool away from Natsu. Using his trick, he quickly filled both rings of the pool.

“Color me impressed.” Natsu whistled in appreciation once Gray set the pool down on the grass. He filled it with water from the hose, which he oh so charmingly put between his legs, giggling to himself as he swung it around.

How the guy could go from flirting to acting like a five-year-old within the blink of an eye was beyond Gray, but he had to admit that it was oddly endearing.

Natsu jumped in with both feet as soon as the pool was filled, watching with glee as water sloshed out onto the grass from his efforts. He sat down, stretching his legs out in front of him, and immediately propped his arms around the pool’s rim.

“That feels so much better!” Natsu moaned happily.

Now that Natsu was inside it, Gray couldn't help but notice that the pool could fit two people, albeit a little snugly considering their size. And though normally he wouldn't be caught dead in one of these things- especially a pink flamingo one- it was a very hot day, and Natsu’s yard was a lot shadier than his.

"You want in?" Natsu asked, his lips stretching into a mischievous smile.

Gray’s eyes were drawn to the slightly pointy canines, finding them incredibly sexy, and he immediately wondered what kissing that mouth would feel like as Natsu patted the empty spot next to him invitingly.

What had gotten into him? He’d just met the guy, knew next to nothing about him, yet here he was acting like a hormone driven teenager. It wasn’t like him at all, but he couldn’t deny the chemistry that sizzled between them, so palpable he could almost touch it.

Besides, what was wrong with having a little fun? It was summer, and he had been in a bit of a dry spell for months.

That thought decided him.

“I suppose I could join you for a bit.”

He had just stepped one foot inside the pool when, to his surprise, Natsu stopped him. “Hang on a minute. I didn’t say you could come in. I only asked if you wanted to.”

“If you want in-” Natsu winked at him. “It’s gonna cost ya.”

“Cost me?” Gray sputtered in protest. “You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious. I will be more than happy to share my pool with you on this incredibly hot day, but only if you share some of those ribs with me.”

Gray had already been planning on doing that, but it was infinitely more fun to make Natsu work for it.

“I don’t know,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, which only netted him greasy fingers from the sunblock he’d slathered on earlier. “It seems to me like you’re getting the better end of the deal here. This is just a kiddie pool after all.”

“Alright, you drive a hard bargain, but I can respect that. How about this then? I’ll throw in some of my world famous special sauce.”

“World famous?” Gray scoffed, “It’s probably just something you picked up at the grocery store, but… okay, I’ll bite.”

“You promise?” Natsu gave him a cheeky smirk, one that ignited a need in Gray to get in that damn pool right the hell now and show him what he intended to do.

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Gray said. “Just don’t complain if it ends up being more than you bargained for.”

Gray was so determined to get in there that he completely forgot he was already partly in the pool, and tripped over the edge when he tried to step in. He caught himself with his hands but still ended up splashing Natsu, not to mention had the wind yanked out of his sails.

He looked up to see the damage. The water had darkened Natsu’s pink hair and flattened it against his face, softening his features and somehow making the bastard look even more attractive. Gray watched in rapt fascination as a drop of water traveled from Natsu’s cheek, joining others on its way down his neck and over his chest until rejoining the rest of the water at waist level.

“You’re right,” Natsu laughed loudly, slicking his hair back and away from his face. “That was definitely more than I bargained for. Nice entrance, by the way.”

Gray was utterly mortified, and he scrambled to sit down, desperately trying to come up with a witty comeback, but before he could say a word, Natsu had already splashed him.

“There you go. No need to make that face. It’s a pool. We were going to get wet, eventually.” Natsu shrugged, his expression gradually changing to distaste as he looked at the water.

“Dude, what did you use for sunblock, SPF lard?”

“I burn easily!” Gray protested, smoothing out the bits of sunblock he could see on his skin.

“Yeah? Then maybe you should actually get it on all of your skin. Turn around.”

“It’s hard to reach back there! Besides, you just want an excuse to get your hands on me,” he argued, but did as he was told anyway, turning his back to Natsu.

“Yeah, that’s the idea. Are you complaining?”

Gray pouted but remained silent.

“That’s what I thought.”

It was hard to miss the smug tone in his voice.

Natsu’s hands spread the globs of lotion evenly across his back, occasionally stopping to knead on one of his muscles and then concentrating on his shoulders. Gray closed his eyes, biting his lip so as not to let on how much he was enjoying it. If this was what he got in exchange for some barbecued ribs, he'd love to know what other types of food Natsu liked.

“There you go.” Natsu said, giving his shoulders one last squeeze. “You can turn around now. It should be safe for you to walk in daylight again.”

Gray turned just in time to see Natsu lean back into his previous position.

“Are you implying I'm some sort of vampire? Cause I’m not the one with the pointy teeth.”

“No, but you are the one who offered to bite me.”

“True.” Gray laughed, and not wanting to lose the mood, he made his move, adjusting from a sitting position to a half straddle. He leaned in, close enough that he could feel the slight puff of Natsu’s breaths on his face as he murmured, “I can still make that happen.”

“You talk too much.” Natsu said just as quietly, peering into his eyes for a split second before closing his eyes and bridging the distance between them.

Gray hadn’t expected Natsu’s body to feel so warm against his, especially considering they were both wet from the pool water, and he instinctively pulled him closer. As arousing as the kiss was, and Natsu sucking on his tongue was definitely doing things to him, he realized he had no urge to push for more.

That should have been his first warning.

But he wasn’t really thinking about anything. His world had narrowed down to sensations. The torrid heat of Natsu’s mouth, the sharp sting of teeth nibbling on his lips, and the tingling pleasure of his hair being tugged, coupled with the sounds they were both making. Needy moans that would have embarrassed him if Natsu hadn’t sounded the same.

Gray liked it all a little too much. Already, the thought of separating filled him with a sense of dread. And perhaps that should have been his second warning.

He was busy running his hands up and down Natsu’s back when he felt him let go of his hair. His hands trailed down to his chest, but no lower, and he pulled away, leaving Gray to chase after him. Confused and more than a little disappointed, Gray opened his eyes. Natsu sat perfectly still, his eyes slightly widening as he sniffed the air. “THE RIBS!!!” Oh crap! He’d forgotten all about the ribs!

“Go open the lid,” Natsu urged, scrambling to get up and out of the pool. “I’ll be there in a few minutes with the sauce.”

Gray watched Natsu enter his house and then hurried over to his yard. The food smelled even better than before and when he opened the lid and poked the ribs with the tongs; he saw they were indeed done, the meat tender and ready to fall off the bone. Rather than stand around waiting awkwardly, he grabbed two beers from his fridge along with plates, napkins and utensils to bring outside.

He opened the sliding door that led to his backyard and found Natsu brushing sauce onto the ribs from an unmarked blue bottle. There was a content smile on his face as he worked away, and Gray felt a flutter in his stomach at the sight.

Shit!

He’d never been one for one-night stands, so why had he thought he’d just be able to go along this time? Because Natsu was hot and seemed willing?

Gray wanted to know more about him, but he wasn’t sure if Natsu felt the same way or if this was just a game he liked to play. What would happen if he played along to its inevitable conclusion? Would that be the end of it? The two of them- probably awkwardly- moving on as just neighbors who happened to have hooked up?

Was it wrong of him to want more?

Natsu looked up then, waving at him and gesturing him over. His smile widened when he noticed the beer bottles Gray was holding.

“Ooh, beer wasn’t part of the deal! I must have kissed you real good!” Natsu teased, accepting the bottle and easing some of the uncertainty Gray had felt about whether things would turn awkward after their make-out session in the pool.

“You’ll notice this is only domestic beer, so I wouldn’t get too full of myself if I were you.” Gray retorted, still playing along.

“Meh, beer is beer, and it goes great with ribs.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”

The back and forth was nice, but Gray was itching to ask what was really on his mind.

Can I keep you? Or will you run off after the next pretty face that strikes your fancy?

The lid of the barbecue closed again, and Natsu walked over. “They should be ready in about five more minutes.”

He clinked bottles with him and took a swig. Gray followed suit and decided to just go for it. He’d rather know what to expect than hope for something that wasn’t meant to be.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” he blurted out, sounding a bit more eager than he would have liked.

“Sure, shoot.”

Natsu gave no sign he knew what was coming, or at least that’s what his relaxed posture seemed to broadcast.

“Do you do this kind of thing often?”

“Moving? God, no, I hate it with a passion. Might as well bury me here cause I’m never doing it again.”

“No,” Gray frowned. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.” Natsu mock sighed, “I’m just trying to think of an answer that won’t go to your head.”

“What?” Gray didn’t know what to make of that answer. Was he trying to find a way to let him down gently?

“No, I don’t do this type of thing often.” Natsu admitted, meeting Gray’s eyes and holding his gaze. “Look, you’re hot and turned out to be fun to mess with, so I figured there was no harm in seeing where that led. But I’m not expecting anything if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Gray wanted to ask if that meant that he’d like to date, but to his chagrin, all that came out of his mouth was, “You think I’m hot?”

“See?” Natsu said, sounding amused. “What’d I tell you? Right to your head!”

He put his beer bottle down on the table and traded it in for the tongs and the plates before hurrying back to the grill to check on their food. Satisfied, he turned it off and heaped a large serving of ribs onto each plate.

Gray followed him to the table, only then noticing the sliced watermelon Natsu must have brought with him from his house. He bit into one to buy himself some time to organize his thoughts.

Next to him, Natsu had already begun to dig in, messily devouring the ribs, stopping only long enough to take a sip from his beer. Gray shrugged and did the same. It wasn’t like his table manners were anything to write home about, either. The moment the meat from the ribs touched his tongue, his taste buds were assaulted with flavor. Sweet, salty, spicy… all blending together in perfect harmony. It was by far the best ribs Gray had ever tasted. He could hardly believe they’d come off his grill. He glanced at Natsu admiringly. Not that he noticed, focused as he was on his plate.

“So, what other things can you make?”

Natsu looked up at his question. There was a glob of sauce at the corner of his mouth, driving Gray all sorts of crazy with the urge to kiss it off him, but he held strong.

For now.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but this is it. I can’t cook worth a damn.”

“That’s too bad.” Gray tried but failed to suppress a smile. “Guess I’ll just have to show you all the best places to eat around here, then. You busy tomorrow night?”

Natsu shook his head, breaking into a smile so blinding it wiped every single thought out of Gray’s head. Save one.

"Nope, I'm all yours," Natsu answered after what looked like a brief moment of contemplation.

Gray sure as hell liked the sound of that.

“There’s just one thing…”

Natsu tilted his head and scrunched up his nose in silent question, which was just perfect.

“You’ve got a little something there,” Gray said, leaning in and licking the sauce off before claiming Natsu’s lips hungrily.

The kiss tasted like sauce and beer, but most of all, it tasted like more. And more was definitely bound to follow soon, tomorrow night, and many more days after.

Gray could feel it.

#fairy tail #gratsu #gratsuweek2k21 #natray #gray x natsu #natsu x gray #Gratsu Week 2021 #fics #other #prompt: impress #prompt: smile #prompt: smokey #humor #flirty

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dancingthesambaa · 3 years ago

Text

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 3

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black-furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past

“Mhmmmmm,” Mei's eyes sparkled as she munched on the moon cake on the outdoor patio. “This is the most amazing thing I have ever eaten, I don’t even think the chefs can top this.”

“I seriously have to ask your parents what they do one day,” Macaque said as he ruffled her hair and picked up the empty plates with his hands and used his tail to set down the plate of mooncakes right beside an assortment of origami made by both Macaque and the kids. They were in the shapes of people, a vulture, monkey, jellyfish, rabbit, lion, and other varieties of animals and objects. They had a little too much fun making them all. After he put the dishes in the soap-filled sink he took off his apron and sat down next to MK, who was stuffing his face, “cause there is no way they can have normal jobs to have a chef.”

“I think they dig stuff up,” Mei shrugged her shoulders.

“Archaeologist,” he mused as he snatched up a sugar ring from MK plate, receiving an outraged ‘Hey’ from MK, “Didn’t think they were the down and dirty people, though...” The first time he met them was when Mei wanted to go visit MK at their house for his tenth birthday. Nice people, a bit cutthroat and sharp tongue, but nice people, especially when it comes to the safety of their daughter. “I have been wrong before.”

“It’s nice to hear you admit that,” a deep voice chuckled as both the kids jumped up in fright at the unexpected voice.

“Yeah yeah yeah, can it kitty cat,” Mac grumbled as he took a bite of the sugar ring, then wrinkled his nose at the sweet taste. “Can’t afford Raki to hear that.”

A figure softly leaped down from out of nowhere and by the lanterns' soft glow, they saw that the figure was dressed in an extravagant red robe that had rings of gold displayed all across, but the kids were more focused on the figure being a giant lion demon than anything else.

“I brought Eight Treasure Rice Pudding,” he tempted him as he held up the dessert in one hand and a floating lantern in the other.

“Well then you're more than welcome to join,” the monkey jokes, “Happy New Year kitty.”

“Happy New Year,” he said as he put the tray down and gave a smile as he noticed that Macaque was not alone, “and a Happy New Year to the both of you as well, I’m Ahmed.”

“MK!” The boy greeted him as his eyes went from the figure to the pudding.

“Mei the name and let me say that the pudding smells really good,” she drooled a bit.

“Well I hope it is, here,” he cut a slice for the two of them and sat down on the other side of Mac once the two began to dig in.

“Delicious!” They both said in glee.

“Bottomless pit I swear,” the monkey demon muttered.

“Your food is just that delicious,” Ahmed teased and gave a small nudge to his shoulder.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Mac then took notice of his mane and gave a small eye twitch, “oi when’s the last time you took care of that mane of yours?”

The lion stiffens as he avoided eye contact, “oh not too long ago.”

“How long?”

“I don’t quite remember it could have been-,”

“How. Long.”

“....a few months ago.”

“I swear-what is with you guys and not taking care of your goddamn fur,” Mac grumbled as he forced the lion head to lay down on his lap as he began to fix his fur, “only can count on Bohai to take proper care.”

“But he doesn’t even have any fur,” the demon tried to refute, only to be met with a stink eye.

“And he can still take better care than the rest of you lot.”

“Does this happen a lot?” Mei pointed out the scene and MK nodded.

“Tons, usually it’s with Daiyu since she tends to get blood in her wings, the monkeys, or even me.” He can’t remember the first time he had his hair played with, but once it began it just never stopped. “He said that monkeys tend to the other fur when they care for the other.”

“Ohhh,” then Mei's eyes widened, and had to hold back a large smile as she realized that Macaque had been messing with her hair for the past month. He may be gruff, but he is just one big softy on the inside. Though she couldn’t help but take a longer look at the pair and noticed that the lion's eyes were closed in pure content...like a cat, she couldn’t hold back a giggle.

Ahmed's ears perked up and looked towards her, Mac's eyes didn’t even move from his grooming as he was used to both children's strange outburst, and he saw the young child just eerily smile at him. He decided that it would be better if he just ignored all of that.

Almost an hour later, Mei noticed that a soft glow of light was slowly flying above the forest. “Hey what’s that?”

They all looked in the direction of her pointed finger and it was MK who reacted first.

“Someone released their lantern! Can we do it now!” He eagerly said as he watched many more lights begin to emerge from the treetops.

Mac laughed as he pushed the purring cat off his lap, who didn’t take any offense as he stretched, and grabbed the lanterns, “yeah we can.”

“Yes!” He grabbed his lantern and waited by the edge of the patio with Mei.

“Don’t forget yours as well rocky,” he handed a lantern to the surprised Mei.

She blinked, a bit taken aback by the sudden action, but smiled brightly, “thanks fluffy!”

“Not fluffy,” he muttered as he slapped his tail at the back of the laughing lion's head. The two joined them with their lanterns and at once they all released it in the air as they all joined the small trove of floating lanterns in the air as the light almost illuminated the pink forest in its entirety.

They watched the scene until they could no longer see it anymore and when they thought it was all done they diverted their attention to the first crackle of fireworks and the kids cheered loudly as much more came.

“If I was a snake, where would I be?” MK hummed as he looked through the trees, hoping he didn't run into any creepy crawly spiders, as he tried to find his slithery friend.

The Qilin merely snorted as he laid down against the Yao grass, MK met him one day when he was visiting Whatever. He tried so many times to call him Shui Gui or Kappa, but the webbed spirit would just ignore him, and the horse-like creature trotted from across the lake and up to him, and after a moment of staring, just decided to take a nap next to him. Ever, MK managed to haggle that nickname out of him, once again busted out laughing and left a confused eleven year old.

“They have to be around here somewhere,” he grumbled as he searched further through the woods only to stumble upon an open clearing with an old house in the middle. “Huh, didn’t know anyone lived here.”

He walked closer to the home and he gave a cheerful yell “Hello! Anyone home?!”

No response.

“Doesn’t seem like they're here right now...let’s take a closer look,” he mischievously scurried over to the open window and peeked inside to see that it almost looked like he traveled back to the Tang Dynasty, see he has been paying attention to history, take that Dad.

“I wonder who could live here?” He pondered as he looked through the clean wooden and sun dried brick structure. “It actually looks clean, but everything is just so...well old?”

“What are you doing here kit?” He jumped up at the melodic voice.

“You scared me Ní!” He yelled at the Huli Jing, the brown nine-tailed fox.

“Well everyone needs a good scare every once in a while,” they said with a grin as they walked forward.

“Course I did,” he grumbled as he turned to face the shack, “so do you know whose house this is?”

Sadly, the fox smiled, “just one filled with fond memories kit, now come,” they nudged him away from the old home. “I heard that you were looking for our lost slithery friend of ours.”

“Yeah, they took my fidget spinner after learning that they could spin it on their tail,” he huffed as he once again.

“I presume you mean our Xian,” she hummed as they walked back to the trees.

“Who else?”

“Well there are our many reptilian friends amongst the trees, for all I know you could mean our biggest companion,” they teased.

MK looked at the fox as if they were crazy, “I don’t think that there even is a fidget spinner big enough for her.”

“You never know,” they swished their tails as they made it back to where the Qilin was and they took on a grin, “oh, it seems that we have found them.”

MK's eyes twitched as he saw that the snake was just chilling next to the horned horse beast as they played with the spinner, “Hey!”

All nine snakeheads lift at the voice and with a unison hiss, they promptly slither away with fidget spinner in hand, or rather tail in their case.

“Don’t you dare run! Get back here with that! I need it for class!”The boy yelled as he ran after the Xiangliu with much fervor.

“-but how?!” MK threw his hands in the air, “Monkey King has all these amazing powers, it doesn’t make sense that he can’t use them underwater.

“He is a stone monkey!” Mei pointed out to a section of the book as she leaned against MK’s bed, “stone sink, not float!”

“But he can still transform into all these different animals, can’t he just make himself a fish or something?”

“He is still stone!”

“But he can fly!”

“I don’t know magic,” she was half tempted to throw her book at her friend, she doesn’t have all the answers either.

“Then why can’t he use it underwater then?!” He was then hit by a thrown book as he fell off the bed, “you didn’t have to throw it at me.”

“Well maybe I did,” she crossed her arms and just laid down on top of him, “this is so confusing...maybe we can ask Mac, he knows a thing or two about magic.”

“He does,” the thirteen year old shot straight up, knocking Mei off, but then he slumped down when a thought occurred to him, “but he’s currently helping Ning right now.”

“Ning?” She asked as she sat back up.

“She’s a client,” he added.

“Oohh...I wonder what she’s in for?”

“When she sneezes or burps, she breathes fire,” MK easily answered. He already saw this happen when she first crawled in, she gave a wave to him, but quickly turned away when she sneezed. He is glad that the wood in the house has been enchanted to be fireproof, cause he doubted that there would have been a house standing after that fireball.

“She’s a dragon!” Mei got in his face, if there was one creature she loved it would hand down be the dragons.

“No, just a lizard demon.”

“Well technically dragons are reptiles,” she slumped down, her dreams of seeing the magnificent beast being thoroughly crushed. She then picked up the Journey to the West book and she gave an amused huff as she saw what page it landed on. “I still find it funny that your dad shares the same name as Monkey King rival.”

MK shared her grin, “it is pretty funny, like can you imagine him going toe to toe with the Monkey King.”

Mei’s grin widened, “the same monkey who let me put braids in his fur with ribbons!”

“The one who has a heart attack each time I get a bruise out in the forest,” he joined in.

“Who wears aprons when cooking food!”

“Let the baby monkey cling onto him!”

“He makes medicine for any demon or human that stops by!”

“He uses scented shampoo cause he likes the smell and it makes his fur soft,” the two couldn’t help but roll on the floor laughing.

“Do you want to hear something even more hilarious,” MK grinned.

“What?!” Mei asked after her laughter died down.

“There are some customers who even call him the Six-eared Macaque,” he snorted even louder.

Mei's face completely froze, “Huh?”

“Yeah,” he vigorously nodded, not taking any notice of his friend's change of mood, “I heard them call him with full respect and everything!”

“...what?”

“And what’s even better, he has six ears!”

“What?!” MK jumped up at Mei’s outburst.

“What was that for?!”

“You just told me that he has six ears?!” She began to shake him. “Do you not realize what you just implied?!”

“NoOoOo,” he shakily answered.

Mei then dropped him as she reached back towards the book and flipped through the pages until she found another, “oh my god, how could I have not realized it before!”

“What?” He asked as he managed to sit back up.

“Shadow manipulation, clones, stealthy,” she read out some of the powers, “they both share almost the same abilities! Hell, he even is a black-haired monkey!”

“Fur, but yeah and?” He still didn’t get what she was implying.

“And doesn’t he have super hearing?” She pressed further hoping that her dense friend would get it.

“Yes andddd?” He didn’t.

She pushed the book to his face, “Your Dad is the Six-Eared Macaque from the book!”

“What?! No he isn’t,” he snatched the book from her hands, “I mean it doesn’t make any sense, he may be grumpy, but he is not anything like the one from the story! He is downright mean and cruel!”

“Well, maybe he changed?!” She threw her hands in the air, “it won’t be that big of a stretch, I mean 500 years is a long time.”

“But I have never seen him fight before, not even when Daiyu would plead to him for a spar, he would just roll his eyes.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t fight when you're around,” she threw in her answer.

“But, but, but it just can’t,” MK threw the book away from him, “it just can’t.”

“MK,” Mei worriedly put a hand on his shoulder, “are you okay?”

“Yes-no-I don’t know,” he leaned on the ground with a groan. “He just can’t be the same one from the book okay.”

“Well, why not?”

“He can’t, he can’t because if he is then he has purposefully kept this a secret from me,” he whispered out.

“Then that’s more reason to ask him,” Mei insisted.

“No!” He shot up and grabbed her shoulders, “we can’t!”

“Well why not!”

“It might not even be him!”

“But what if it is?!” She countered back.

“But what if it's not,” he firmly stood his ground.

“And if it is?”

“It’s not!”

“It is!”

“It’s not!”

“It is!”

“It’s not!”

“MK, we have to ask him.”

“Ask me what?” They both scooted back in shock when the said monkey demon walked into the room. “I’m hoping by those reactions that you were just startled and not guilty of doing something you weren’t supposed to.” He decided to check out their yells after he had finished with his patient.

The two shot a look at one another.

“Right?”

“Yeah, nothing bad, nothing and at all,” MK nervously said as he scratched the back of his neck and avoided his golden eyes.

“You know that right there isn’t helping your case,” Mac deadpanned.

“It's just that we have a question,” Mei butted in as she grabbed the tossed book.

“Mei no,” MK tried to stop her, but she was determined to get her answers.

“Are you the same Six-Eared Macaque from the book?!” The pigtailed girl showed him the Journey to the West book up to him.

Macaque stilled at the question for a moment before easing down as he took a look at the book, “Huh, haven’t read this book in a while,” he said noncommittally.

“Well? Are you?!” Mei pushed him for the answer, she was not leaving until she got one.

Even MK was silently watching this whole interaction but didn’t move an inch, because deep down, even he wanted to know.

The monkey demon let out a sigh as he nodded, “yeah, I am.”

It was silent as the two kids took in that information.

MK's mind was racing, he didn’t know what to even think. The cruel demon in the story, the one who constantly attacked innocent people, killed so many, clashed fiercely against the Monkey King, is the same one who found him all those years ago and took care of him. It just doesn’t make any sense!

“Want to talk here or in the living room?” Macaque’s voice pierced through the silence.

It took a moment before MK finally responded, “living room.”

“Alright, I’ll go make some tea. This won’t be an easy talk,” he said as he began to reach out to ruffle his hair only to stop at his child's nervous stare. He puts his hands down and promptly walks out of the room and turns away to the kitchen, while he ignores the tight squeeze in his chest.

“So,” Mac sat down on the opposing chair from the couch that had the two kids on it as the pot of tea and a bowl of peeled mangos sat in the middle of the table, “where do you want me to start?”

“Were you ever gonna tell me?” MK blurred out first as he clenched his fist. “Or was this gonna be kept in the dark.”

“When you turned 18, I was gonna sit down with you and talk about this,” he firmly told his son. “I had no intention in hiding this from you forever.”

MK didn’t reply as he lowered his head.

“The beginning is usually a good place,” Mei tried to joke, but only the demon gave a small smirk as MK stayed silent.

“That’s as good a place as any, well before that book ever took place, before even the thought of the Journey took place, me and Sun Wukong were friends.”

“You were friends?!” This time MK didn’t stay silent as both kids shouted.

“Surprising right,” he mirthlessly chuckled.

“It never said anything like that in the books!” Mei exclaimed as she held up her book.

“Well first that’s a kid-friendly book of the story,” he pointed out the childish cartoon design on the front cover. “Don’t think they want kids reading books about graphic violence, especially with the disembowelment and all types of gore,” he muttered the last part quietly to himself. “And second, not everything you read or hear is correct.”

“Huh?”

“History is told by the victors and survivors, not by those who lie dead,” he softly said.

“Oh,” Mei shuffled at the uncomfortable thought.

“So how did you two meet?” MK prompted.

“When we first met, he looted some food from a shrine and got caught like an idiot, which pissed off the mountain god.”

“He did?!”

“Yeah, this was way before he met Subodhi, the one who taught Wukong about how to take on immortality.” He reminisces back to the scene where he met his first friend.

‘Shit! Shit! Shit!’ Sun Wukong leaped from rock to rock as he tried to get as much distance as he could from him and the deity. He spotted a cluster of rocks that looked like it had some amount of cover as he leaped behind it and waited. “All I wanted was some damn food! How was I supposed to know that it was supposed to go to a God?! It makes no damn sense to just leave food lying out!” He whispered angrily.

“So you're the one who pissed him off,” Wukong managed to suppress a yelp as he noticed that he wasn’t alone in his hiding spot. It was a bit surprising to see that it was a Monkey demon like him, only with black fur and a red scarf hiding the bottom of his face. “One would think that you shouldn’t piss off a deity, but that is just my opinion,” he snarked.

“Well one shouldn’t leave food lying out like an idiot,” he shot back.

“So you decided to steal from a mountain God? Yeah, real smart,” Macaque drawled out. “Usually I steal from fields, but you took the idiot crown today.”

“How was I supposed to know that it was for someone!” He retorted.

“Just by looking at it dumbass, have you never seen a shrine before?”

“What’s a shrine?” He questioned.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he deadpanned. “How can you not know? Were you living under some kind of rock before?”

“No, I was born from one!” He cheekily grinned.

“...I don’t know if you're insane or if that’s just the weirdest thing I heard,” he then froze as he dragged Wukong closer to the rocks.

“Wha-,” he was about to break free but was hushed by his fellow hider.

“Shhh,” he silently pointed to the right of them and after a moment noticed that a shadow was getting larger. Wukong smartly decided, for the first time, to keep his mouth shut.

It was only after the shadow left did the two relax.

“So I guess we’re stuck here for awhile,” the brown-furred monkey sprawled against the rocks and made himself comfortable, “I’m Sun Wukong, but people call me the Monkey King.”

The other monkey let out a burst of laughter at his ridiculous name, “Ha! Yeah, no I’m not calling you that. I’m Liu Er Mihou.”

“Pfft, boring,” he grumbled back as he then got curious, “so why are you hiding behind this rock anyways? You certainly were here long before I was.”

“Well unlike you, I was taking a nice nap before this happened,” he smirked as he leaned back.

“Just napping you say,” his eyes happen to spot a bag filled with different goods and food.

“Well napping after I nicked off some things from the fields and market and unlike you, I didn’t get caught.”

“Would have been helpful, but-,” they were cut off when a huge explosion erupted from underneath them.

“You thought you could run from me you little ape!” The mountain God’s echoey voice boomed out. “I am one with all upon this mountain! Every pebble is my ears! Every rock is my voice! You can-,” he was cut off by a voice angrily yelling at him.

“I’m not an ape!” Wukong screeched as the two of them started to run.

“That’s what you're concerned about?!” Liu Er confusedly asked though it was laced with a twinge of amusement and fear.

“I have a tail!” He emphasized the tail carrying the bag of food. “Obviously not an ape!”

“You can’t run forever little ape,” the voice snarled out with every crushed rock booming behind them.

“You got one more time to call me an ape!” He yelled out as his eye twitched.

“And what are you gonna do about it little. Ape.” The voice mockingly said with a toothy grin.

“That’s it!” The angered monkey stopped in his tracks as he flung the bag over to Macaque, “hold this!” And with that, his eyes started to glow bright yellow as he flung himself at the God.

“What are you doi-,” he cut himself off as he noticed that the impulsive monkey that he was hiding with had suddenly begun to shoot lasers from his eyes. “Huh, maybe there was something about him being born from the stone that was true.”

“GHA stop that!” The Mountain God wheezed out as he was hit by another bludgeoning punch from the mortal monkey.

“Not so tough now are you!” He mocked as he sent a flying kick towards the immortal being, only for him to slink down into the mountain. “Oh now who's the coward! Come out and fight me!”

“This dumbass,” Macaque grumbled as he was half-tempted to just take the bag and run, but even he doubted that he would hold up against the enraged monkey like this. His ears twitched as he heard the lingering God about to move so he yelled to Sun, “you might want to duck, he’s about to strike from the left.”

Sun Wukong heard him and managed to leap high enough to avoid the Mountain God claws, “got you now fucker!” And with a couple of spins, he struck down upon the God and landed a killing blow upon his head. “That’s what you get.”

“Remind me never to piss you off,” Macaque said as he casually walked up next to him, tossed his stolen bag of food, and examined the dead God.

“Thanks!” He cheerfully reverted from his enraged form once he got his food and happily began to chew on an apple as he sat down against the fallen God. “So how did you know that the God was there?” He curiously asked as he took another bite.

Liu Er blinked at the odd scene and let loose a snort as he sat down a little ways away from him. “Well seeing that you managed to kill a God with your bare hands, mine is definitely not weirder than yours,” he said as he pulled down his scarf to reveal his two extra pairs of ears.

“Cool!” Wukong's eyes glisten as he immediately began to touch his ears.

Macaque only flinched for a moment at the unexpected touch, but became a little more at ease when he didn’t feel any sharp pulling or twisting the longer he touched them, but he batted his hand away, “Heard of personal space?”

It was after the two had eaten that Mac decided to speak again, “alright let’s make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?” Wukong hesitantly asked.

“You are shit when it comes down to stealing,” he bluntly told him.

“Rude, fair, but rude.”

“But I can.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“How about we team up for a bit, with your strength and my stealth, I think the two of us make out with a lot more goods than this,” he tossed up their near empty bags.

“Hmmm, I don’t know. How do I know that you can actually steal,” Wukong pointed out, but the six eared monkey smirked.

“Well you haven’t noticed this,” he tossed up the half eaten apple in his other hand.

“Wha-,” his eyes widened as he now noticed that the apple in hand had disappeared in a poof of violet energy. “How did you do that?”

“Misdirection,” he tossed his apple back to him.

Wukong blinked as he caught the apple then a large grin took up his face as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder, “I think that this is the start of a beautiful relationship.”

“And the start of so many headaches,” Mac couldn’t help but grumble out.

“Well you can only blame yourself.”

“I already am.”

“So you two had stuck together from that moment,” MK said as he stayed in his seat with his knees covering his face.

“For all of nine years, until he left to learn under Subodhi, then I was free roaming once more. Though I did learn a few things from Wukong as it made my travels a bit easier,” Mac said as he took a sip from his lukewarm tea.

“And he probably learned a few things from you...like how to steal so many things from the celestial realm,” Mei's eyes widened as the realization hit her. “Now that’s how he managed to do that! You taught him how to steal!”

The simian paused as that hadn’t occurred to him in the slightest, “...to be fair I didn’t teach him shit, he simply watched what I was doing and used it in practice. All the havoc he managed to cause in the celestial realm and below was his reckless ideas, I had nothing to do with that...for the most part.”

“But the Monkey King is an immortal being,” MK interjected, “and you're not...unless.”

“Yeahhh, I’m immortal too,” he sipped his tea at their dumbfounded stares.

“How?!”

“Once again, blame Sun Wukong for that.”

“I’m sorry, run that by me again,” Mac let the book hang freely from his hands as he listened to Wukong.

“You're immortal! You can thank me with words of praise and/or delicious food,” he cheekily grinned at him as he hung upside down from the tree branch above.

The monkey demon had to blink for a moment and take a deep breath before closing his book and putting full attention to his friend, “I’m almost scared to ask how the fuck you managed to pull that off, but also dying to know.”

“Well,” the simian jumped down to the same branch as Macaque, “I was kidnapped by Yama lackeys, which was uncool you know, I earned my immortality fair and square,” he huffed out.

“You got kidnapped by the emissaries of the God of Death...okay that’s kinda funny,” he cracked a grin.

“Well it wasn’t for me,” he crossed his arms, “so I kicked all of their asses and spoke with some old folks, who call themselves the ten kings which is a stupid title itself, to get things straight you know and they tried to do? They tried to pull a fast one on me and say that they meant to take another Sun Wukong, which I call bullshit on. I mean who else is a stone monkey that’s name is Sun Wukong?”

“No one,” Mac snorted as his partner threw his hands in the air.

“Exactly! So they take me to the place where they keep track of the ones dying and we all look around to find where those names happen to be and lo and behold, I found my name and you want to know what I did?”

“You erased your name,” he was getting more and more amused by this, he can only imagine the chaos that must have happened due to Wukong antics.

“I erased my name! And I also decided that I wasn’t gonna be alone in this so I decided to erase some of the other monkeys back at Flower Fruit Mountain and I found your name and I erased that too,” he proudly grinned. “You can’t believe the sheer amount of panic that was on all of their faces when they realized what I did.”

“I really can’t,” he chuckled as he then scooted over and wrapped his arm around his neck in affection, “thanks for immortality I guess, never thought I would ever get anything close to that.”

“Well a little more praise than that would be nice,” he teased as he felt the back of his head get slapped.

“Oh, I’m sorry your royal highness, did that harm your oh so precious fur of yours?” Mac took on a haughty tone, “let me be the first to go to my knees and bow for your kind gesture that you have bestowed upon me.”

“Shut up,” Wukong snorted as he nudged his friend's shoulder.

“You asked for it,” the black furred monkey tone returned to normal as he grabbed his book and began to read it once more. Though he was interrupted by Sun sprawling over his lap all of a sudden, “can I help you?”

“Read to me!” He demanded.

“Don’t you get bored with stuff like this? Actually, I’m surprised you haven’t already left to cause some sort of chaos at this point Sunny?”

“Meh, don’t feel like moving now, so read to me!”

Mac knew that when he got like this there was little to change his mind, so with a mockingly reluctant sigh he said, “As his highness wishes,” and began to continue where he left off. It was during that, when Macaque was lost in the book and Wukong was lost in the soft words, did two tails slowly curl up and intertwine with one another.

“You know, it’s a bit surreal to hear that the Gods are real,” Mei hummed out. “I mean reading about it is one thing, but knowing someone who actually met with a God is another.”

“If you think that’s surreal then that’s nothing compared to actually meeting one,” Mac pointed to her.

“Trueeee.”

“So what happened next?” MK spoke up as he managed to get out of his curled up position halfway through the story and was instead leaning in close.

“Well you know what happens next, he gets a position in the heavens, his infamous havoc in heaven, left the heavens, fought some gods, got tricked by Buddha and he had the mountain pin him down for 500 years or so,” he casually said.

“Only you would manage to screw it up big time huh peaches,” Liu Er said as he jumped off the top of the mountain and back down next to his friend. “I mean, what were you thinking?”

“Heyyy mango,” Wukong nervously chuckled, “I might have pissed off all the gods in the heavens, you know how it goes.”

“Yeah I heard, but how did they do this,” he gestured to the entire mountain.

“Well, that was maybe...Buddha,” he softly said the last part, but Macaque didn’t have six ears for nothing.

“You managed to piss off Buddha themself,” he said incredulously. “How in the fuck?!”

“I didn’t piss him off!” He said in defense, “I just maybe lost a bet with him.”

“You lost a bet with Buddha.”

“Look, it's complicated!” He huffed as he tried to wiggle under the mountain, “look there’s a seal on the top of this mountain, if you can just rip it off I can easily-,”

“Already tried that,” he showed him his blackened fingers, “didn’t quite work for me.”

“Well shit there goes that idea,” he muttered as a horrible thought occurred to him, “Flower Fruit mountain! The tribe-you have to-,” he was cut off once again.

“Already have a few clones stationed there since you got that position in heaven dumbass,” he whacked his head, “you don’t have to worry about them, now let’s think of a way to free you.”

Wukong let out a breath of relief as he lay his head against the ground. “It ain’t gonna be easy you know.”

Macaque grinned cheekily at him as he sat down next to him and his dark purple daxiushan flared out underneath him, “who said it ever was,” he joked as he began to groom his friend's fur.

“Might have to go against the Gods,” he said as he relaxed to the grooming.

“You can’t have all the fun,” he retorted back.

The Monkey King merely hummed as the grooming went, they can discuss more later, but he sorely needed this.

“But you didn’t free him,” Mei quietly pointed out.

“No, I didn’t,” he shook his head as his tail silently swooshed behind him.

“But you did something,” MK noticed that something was amiss by his relaxed position as he ate a peeled mango.

“Welll, let’s just say that there was a reason why Guanyin happened to find Wukong.”

“You tricked Guanyin,” Mei deadpanned.

“I wouldn’t say trick, more like a gust of wind in the right direction,” he knew that he teetered along the line when he subtly diverted the God's attention to his friend. He heard through some of his contacts that they were looking for immortals for the Journey, so he managed to arrange some coincidental happenings that maybe got the Goddess of mercy to float in Wukong’s direction.

“You tricked Guanyin,” Mei still bluntly told him.

“Anyways,” Macaque ignored Mei as he picked up his empty cup, “then you all know the rest, Wukong infamous Journey to the West and all that.”

“But that doesn’t explain how you went from friends to enemies in the book,” MK pressed and watched as his father's shoulder slightly slumped.

“I-,” he looked down to his empty cup and sighed, “I was an idiot, I-I thought he was being tortu-something cruel was being done to him. When Tripitaka used that sutra, I thought they had managed to enslave my friend and harm him,” he gripped his cup before setting it down, he refused to dive further in that memory. “Clearly I was wrong and you know how that went down.”

The two once again became silent as they took in the information.

“Okay, okay,” Mei nodded as she crossed her legs, “but here’s what’s confusing me. In the Journey to the West, it told you were ruthless, but I know that in some other books it is said that you are a minor deity of trickery and medicine and that you would help wandering travelers by giving them medicine and give them protection by tricking the bandits and Gods. So what is that about?”

“Okay that minor deity thing is just not true,” Mac pinched his nose, “I still don’t know who even put that down in the first place.”

“How did you change?” MK added as well.

“Well,” he let out a soft smile, “I met someone.”

“Ooooo,” the two couldn’t help themselves.

“No,” he firmly told them, “No. No-fuck no. Hell no. Hell to the no. By all the Gods-no just no,” he shuddered. “It’s not anything like that at all.”

“Who was it?” MK asked.

“It was a weird man named Ping who found me on the side of the road somehow and decided to just drag my body to his house,” he snorted at their confused faces. “Yeah, that was me when I first awoke.”

Macaque groggily came to as he heard the faint sound of clinking metals coming a little ways away from him, but as he got up a sharp pain emerged from his entire body as he fell back to the bed.

“Shit, what the hell knocked me ou-...oh,” his memories came back to him in a rush as he remembered just who exactly did this to him. “Fuck, but why? Why, why why!” He gripped his fur and then his right eye as he noticed that there was a distinct lack of sight from that one, “it doesn’t make sense! Why the fuck would he, just why?!”

“So you're finally awake,” he had to freeze as for the first time in a long while, he was snuck up on, “you were knocked out for quite some time.” The monkey turned to see a graying middle aged man wipe his hands on the cloth.

“Who are you,” he went on the immediate defense. He doesn’t sense any celestial or demonic aura coming from him, but he knows it better wary than dead.

“People call me Ping,” he gave a small bow to him, “it’s nice to see you awake.”

“...Are you blind by any chance,” Macaque couldn’t help but blurt out. “Cause there's no way in hell would someone be happy on seeing a demon alive unless they were a goddamn monk…” he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

“Ohoho, believe me, I am no Monk,” the man chuckled as he began to pick up some materials from the side, “I have very little patience for just sitting around and meditating all day.”

“Can’t front ya there,” he grumbled as he tried to get back up only for him to wheeze in pain and cough viciously.

“Here, this will help your throat,” Ping handed him a steaming cup of tea that was next to a brown rabbit, which was a bit strange as he didn’t even notice it before.

The monkey hesitantly accepts it, he was unsure if the tea had poison in it, but decided that the human literally could have left him on the side of the road to die and spare him the troubles of killing him himself, so he took a sip of the tea and his nose scrunched up, “why is it sweet?”

“Not to your liking,” he chuckled as he sipped on his own cup.

“You know people-humans are usually terrified when encountering a demon,” he deadpanned as he realized that not only was he half clothed, but his six ears were out in the open. “Just saying.”

“And usually, most demons would have tried to take a bite out of me,” he retorted

“And that is usually enough to not even get close to one of us, let alone bring one to your home,” he emphasized.

“Well we're all a little bit crazy in this world,” Ping chortled as he ambled off to the other room. “You can leave when you want to!”

Macaque could only watch dumbfounded at what just took place as he loosely cradled the teacup in his hand. Though he could do without the rabbit gaze boring into him.

“So what happened next,” MK asked.

“I left,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“You just left?!” Mei shouted as she squished the fruit in her hand.

“Yep.”

“Why?!”

“I had no reason to stay with a man who just up and saved me for no reason, especially one who was so confident in his capabilities that I wasn’t going to attack him,” he pointed out.

“So where did you go?” MK asked next.

“A little bit of everywhere,” he lied a little, he may be spilling his secrets, but even he has a hard stop on some of his more personal ones. He was not about to tell them that he essentially stalked Wukong and his friends for a good portion of the Journey. “But, for some damn reason, I went back to Ping.”

“You went back?” Mei said as MK asked, “Why?”

“Curiosity? Boredom? I honestly still don’t know,” he sighed and leaned back in his chair. “But I just kept going back every few months and the strangest thing is, he would just give a slight wave and give me some tea. Each and every time, until eventually I stayed a bit longer.”

Macaque watched in interest as Ping began to crush some herbs together and mix them. He knows some of those plants and they tasted downright horrible. “What’s the point of making that? It doesn’t taste any good with food, old man.”

Ping simply chuckled as his rabbit laid silently to the side, “I'm not that old, unlike you. It helps with backaches, I know many of the elderly will need it in the coming winter, so it’s always good to prepare ahead.”

“Oohhh, that’s medicine,” Mac hummed. He hasn't seen much of it since he was able to heal fairly fast and also that usually medicine is one of the hardest items to steal due to it usually being hidden or secured.

“Would you like a closer look?” The graying man asked as he stepped a little to the side.

“Sure, why not,” he shrugged his shoulders as he watched with rapt attention to how the medicine was being made.

“He must have a lot of patience to be able to teach you,” Mei grinned.

The monkey huffed in amusement, “I honestly thought the same thing.”

“But how was he different?” MK hesitantly asked as all he heard was of Ping doing completely normal things. “How did he get you to...well change?”

“Does it matter that he was supposed to be some amazing being with special abilities,” he gave a small smirk.

“Well no,” he deflated a bit.

“Cause let me tell you that Ping was one of the farthest things to have anything godly about him. The only thing special about him was his strange ability to practically befriend anyone that passed him and that was it. He never went on any magical adventure, wasn’t appointed a great duty by a God, hell the man has never taken a single martial art or learned under any great sage before,” he couldn’t hold back laugh at their confused looks. “He never tried to force me to change into what he believed to be good.”

“Then why did you keep going back?” Mei jumped off the couch and leaned over the table. “If he didn’t have anything mystical about him, why did you keep going back?”

“Have you ever heard the age-old question on if you can teach a monster how to love?” He suddenly asks, throwing them all off guard.

“No?”

“Cause the answer is no, but rather you have to show them,” he smiled fondly.

“...what does that have to do with this?” MK whispered out.

“He may not have any special abilities, but there was something about him, something- I can’t say good because it’s not strictly subjective in that, but just something comforting about him. About the way he wouldn’t bat an eye at my appearance, the way he would simply give me a cup of tea, the way he would let me stay when I had my bad days, just the way he was just was comforting,” he breathed in as he unhooked his fingers that he unconsciously grabbed together. “He was just Ping and that was enough for a monster to change.”

“You're not-/Don’t believe-,” he cut off both kids.

“I know I did...horrible things in the past, things can’t be redeemable no matter how many times I may help those, I couldn’t forgive myself, but he showed me that I could.

“How?”

“I planted a seed.”

“What?”

“Oh yeah, I was just as confused as you guys were too,” he smiled as he leaned back. “He straight up told me to plant a seed each time my anger or frustration overwhelmed me.” He threw his hands in the air, “I didn’t know what he meant, by the Gods know how many of those things I planted even long after he passed.”

“So he did pass away,” Mei said underneath her breath.

“Humans tend to do that, especially with one as old as him,” he said with a small smile.

“You still kept planting,” MK huddled together as he wrapped his arms around his knees.

“...Yeah,” he wrapped his tail around his waist in comfort, “I didn’t know what else to do and I know I raged and cried, but I couldn’t just go down to Yama and demand his soul back or up to the heavens and just steal a peach. Not even the drunk old man could change fate,” he whispered that last part quietly. “I’m not that strong, so I did the only thing I could and just planted the seeds and plant and plant until one day I was interrupted.

“I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but did you happen to grow these yourself?” The woman asked as she carried her child upon her back.

“Yeah, and?” He didn’t feel in the mood to even attempt to snark back against a human as he tended to some of the flowers.

“Well let me tell you that they're simply beautiful,” she smiled at him.

“Huh?” Mac froze at the sudden compliment.

“Yeah!” He looked down to see a young girl with a wide smile, “they are super pretty.”

“Very pretty,” another child shyly piped up as he peeled from behind his mother's skirt.

The monkey demon could faintly remember their goodbyes as they proceeded to walk away from him. “What beauty is there in a bunch of seeds?” He turned to look at his plants and for the first time, he realized that they haven’t been seeds in a very long time as they sprouted into a giant, pink, flourishing Plum Blossom trees-no not trees a blossoming forest.

“Oh.” He then decided to slowly walk through it all as he plunked a plum from one of the branches. “Damn, I must have been really out of it for so many years that I didn’t even realize that it...that it grew…during all these years it grew and grew into something beautiful.” He paused as he now realized what Ping was trying to show him for all these years, that even when he got angry and made so many mistakes, they can turn into something beautiful. He let out a full body laugh as he just screeched and screeched.

“Only you, you fucking coot! Only you would think of such a weird ass idea and actually be of help, I swear if you weren’t already dead I would be yelling at you for this!” He screeches as tears or amusement and anguish filled his eyes, “you made me plant a forest of mistakes and did a fuck you and made it something worthwhile, something beautiful!”

He eventually laid down with plum in hand, ears out as he listened to the chirps of the bird and rustles of the leaves and his heart didn’t feel as empty as before. “Couldn’t have told me straight out his thoughts,” he huffed with a watery smile as he took a bite out of the plum.

“You made this forest-the Plum Blossom forest?!” MK asks shockingly despite listening to the story.

“A good portion of it, yes, the rest done simply by Hòutû herself.”

“So what happened next?” Mei said as she kneeled and put her elbows on the table.

“Life happened and time slowly crawled forward and I slowly began to change and probably still will,” he shrugged his shoulders.

MK fidgeted in his seat before finally speaking up again, “so...what happens now.”

“That’s for you two to decide,” he stood up and stretched, “You're the only ones who can decide for yourself.” He picked up the empty plates and cup, “Take as much time as you need kiddos,” he began to walk away with a heavy heart.

He knew that he couldn’t force their minds into completely accepting him, but he prays, one of the very few times he does, that he didn’t fuck two of the few good things he had. He can accept that they may not forgive him, but he damn hopes that there is still a sliver of affection-he stiffen as he felt two pairs of arms hug tightly around his waist. “Wha-?”

“You can’t get rid of us that easily Goldilocks,” Mei smiled as she cuddled her face in his soft fur, “No amount of scares can force us away from you.”

“Mei-,”

“At first I was angry,” he heard his son's voice even when it was muffled against his fur. “You kept secrets and I didn’t like that, but you told me and I was so confused, still am, but you aren’t the same mean monkey in the past, I don’t think you would have saved me if you were the same as your past self and I am happy about that. I am happy that I know you now, because I may have not liked you and if I didn’t like you then I would have never stayed with you and I really don’t like that,” MK looked up at him with tears in his eyes as he hugged him tighter. “I really don't like the idea of never being here, being with you Dad, so thank you for being you, thank you and I love you so much.”

Liu Er barely had the forethought to place the dishes down before wrapping his arms around them both with a tight grip. “Well I guess you're stuck with me.”

“Like old gum stuck in your fur,” MK squeezed out through the fur.

“I swear you spend way too much time with Minsheng…love you too Starlight,” he huffed as he ruffled his child's hair.

“And besides,” Mei started, “you may be a grump but you're our grumpy monkey demon now. And if anyone tries to say otherwise then I would need to have a few words with them,” she ended with a wide creepy smile on her face as her eyes promised vengeance.

“I’ll direct them towards you little newt,” he chuckled as he also messed with her hair as well and gave them both a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“Fuzz butt,” she shot back then got a gleam in her eyes, “a fuzz butt who can teach us how to fight.”

“No.”

“I’ll wear you down eventually,” she grinned, “sooo can we see what you really look like?” MK’s head shot up at that and shared the same gleam as well.

“Nosy, all of you,” he said as he gently pried them off of him, and in barely a flicker, he had transformed and he looked more...dangerous. His nails and teeth have become sharper, a few scars were more visible upon his hands and feet, the scar on his right eye was very prominent as it displayed a dull yellow pupil, even his ears seemed to add to his threatening appearance as the middle violet ear on the right was missing a portion of the upper cartilage.

“You look badass/So Cool!” Though he didn’t have to worry about scaring those two off as their eyes sparkled at his appearance and rushed to touch his fur as MK happily exclaimed as he put his face on his fluffy chest, “why does your fur feel even softer than before?!”

Macaque snorted loudly as he sat down on the floor and let them have a better reach, “shouldn’t even be surprised that was what you took away from this.”

“Seriously, now it looks like you actually know how to fight,” Mei ‘ooed’ as she felt some of his scars underneath his fur. “How’d this one happen,” she felt a faint scar right above the left shoulder.

“Well let me tell you that it all began by a river and I just found out that a certain monkey can’t fight underwater,” the two teenagers leaned in close as he began to tell the tale of the blood demon beast that rested underneath the river.

#monkie kid #mk #macaque #PlumTeaAU

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ibelieveinturtles · 3 years ago

Text

Chapter 7 - From Hogwarts to Hobbiton

Title: The Quantum Cat

Collaborator(s): ibelieveinturtles

Square (letter, number, and prompt): SWB - N5, Fantasy BBB - Y3, Shipwrecked

Pairing/Main Ship: N/A

Rating: T for swearing

Major tags: Sam Wilson, Goose the Cat, The Multiverse, The Quantum Tunnel, Not Endgame compliant, Everybody Lives (Eventually), Sam to the rescue

Warnings/Triggers: a little swearing here and there

Summary: It's time for the next rescue mission and Sam knows exactly who he wants to get next, in spite of Ian's objections.

Word Count: Ch 7 - 896

A/N: This is *mostly* unbeta'd but I hope to have it properly edited before I post it on AO3. I'll be posting all 7 chapters on Tumblr for as long as September 1st lasts around the world and on AO3 later. The reason it's going up on Sept 1st is because it is the only day that the Sam Wilson Bingo overlaps with Samtember :-)

Chapter 7

"Well," said Boothby. "Who do you want to get next?"

Sam swung around, trying very hard not to show his disgruntlement. Fury hadn't even said thank you!

"Gimme a look at that list."

Boothby put the list up on the largest screen he had and they both bent forward to examine it. Sam chose a name almost immediately.

“Him,” he said. “I’m gonna go get him.”

“Are you sure? I’d prefer it if you brought Jane or Darcy back to help me with the Quantum Tunnel.”

“Then I’ll get them next but he can help with the rescuing, which means we’ll get people back twice as fast.”

Boothby input the coordinates and Sam climbed to the steps to the platform. Halfway up he remembered something and paused.

“Hey, could you hear me on the comms while I was out there?”

“What?” Boothby turned from the screen and blinked at him. “Oh, that. Yes, we could hear you but I don’t know why you couldn’t hear us. Lieutenant Torres is working on the problem but he suspects it might have been Hogwarts magical field interfering with the tech?” He paused for a moment. “Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say,” he finished.

Sam nodded. “I guess we’ll find out this time.”

“Yes, I suppose we will. Ready?”

Sam activated the suit.

“Ready.”

The floor disappeared, Sam flew, and once again landed on thick grass.

“You know, I was really hoping you weren’t gonna show up,” a familiar voice said behind him.

“Well, I did think about just leaving you here but then I thought about how much I’d miss annoying your ass,” Sam said, turning around with a relieved smile on his face.

Bucky Barnes was sitting in a garden at the front of a small hill with a tiny round door in it. He had a long pipe in one hand and what looked like a small bucket masquerading as a cup in the other. Next to him, a small table bore a plate of the biggest and most delicious sandwiches Sam had ever seen.

His stomach gurgled and he realised he hadn’t had anything to eat since leaving the charity ball.

“You look hungry,” Bucky said. “Sandwich?”

Sam practically fell over the gate in his haste to reach the food. Mouth full, he sank into the chair next to Bucky.

“Oh man, this is so good,” he said once his mouth was empty enough to form words.

“I’ll get you something to wash it down,” said Bucky, heaving himself out of the chair and squeezing in through the tiny door. Sam didn’t reply, too busy chewing on another mouthful of sandwich. By the time Bucky returned, he was onto his second.

“Here, try this.” Bucky handed Sam one of the bucket cups. It was brimming with foamy ale and Sam drank eagerly.

“It’s good, huh?”

“I’ve never tasted anything like it,” Sam declared.

“I don’t suppose I can convince you to leave me here?”

Sam drained his bucket and burped loudly. “Man, I wish I could, but we need you.”

“Are you sure about that? Can’t you just tell ‘em I was shipwrecked or something? Tell ‘em you couldn’t find me!”

“Sorry, man. No can do.” Sam put the empty bucket on the table, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he studied the vista in front of them. Bucky’s hidey hole overlooked a wide, shallow valley, filled with fields, trees, numerous hilly mounds - each with it’s own little round door - and several streams flowing down to join a river winding through the valley floor. There were people scattered here and there, made tiny by the distance- no, Sam realised, watching one of the figures walking along the road towards them. They were just… small.

“Buck - where are we?” he asked.

“Hobbiton,” Bucky replied, and a smoke ring floated past Sam’s head.

“Damn. First Hogwarts, then The Shire? I am having a good day.”

“You were at Hogwarts?” Bucky asked, surprise clear in his voice.

“Ahuh. Fury was a ghost. Had his head nearly chopped off.”

There was a pause.

“So… he was Nearly Headless Nick?”

“Godamnit.”

“I’m a Brandybuck here,” Bucky said. “Jimmy Brandybuck. Adopted apparently.”

Sam snorted. “Well you are a little tall for a hobbit.”

There was another pause before Sam confessed, “Kids at Hogwarts called me Professor Falcon.”

They sat in companionable silence for several minutes before Bucky spoke again.

“How long have we got?”

Sam glanced at the chronometer on the Time-Space GPS strapped to his wrist.

“About a half hour.” He turned his head to look at his friend. “How long have you been here for?”

“Not long enough. You want more ale?”

“Oh, hell yes. You got any more of those sandwiches?”

Bucky shook his head. “Nah, that was all of them, but I got a pie.”

Bucky brought out the pie and more ale, and they sat in the afternoon sun. Several hobbits passed by, all of them greeting Bucky - no, Jimmy - as they went past, and to Sam’s surprise, a couple of them also greeted him as if they knew him.

Eventually the GPS beeped it’s five minute warning. Bucky cleared all the dishes inside before rejoining Sam in the garden. Together they activated the Tech Suits and as the GPS screamed it’s warning, the ground fell away beneath their feet.

#sam wilson #sam wilson bingo #bucky barnes #bucky barnes bingo #bbb2021 #hobbiton #ale #sandwiches #bucky's living his best life #i wish i could leave him there #but we need him

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boizandgurlzinthehouse · 4 years ago

Text

𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭 ♡

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙛

𝐚 = 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫?)

he appreciate you, but the most attractive in you for him is your loyality. don't matter how many time he get beaten up from the bowers or getting bullied because of his religion, you never leave his side. and everytime you stand by his side, he falls in love with you more and more.

𝐛 = 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 (𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲? 𝐰𝐡𝐲/𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭?)

after the school and the university –yes, of course, but if you don't want them, then that's entirely okay. but now, he don't want to talk about kids, or family, he just wants to live his little dream with you.

𝐜 = 𝐜𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 (𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞?)

stan loves the most when you hug him from behind while he bikes with you. it's even better if you tilt your head to the nape of his neck; the little curls down there strokes your forehead, just like his kisses.

𝐝 = 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞?)

he likes the quiet, peaceful dates. the sunny saturdays, where the two of you just go out, sitting under a tree, reading and eating little biscuits. you make pictures about the birds he likes with your polaroid cam, the instant photo get sticked in his book immediately.

𝐞 = 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 ____ (𝐞.𝐠. 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝...))

"you are my precious."

𝐟 = 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 (𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞?)

stan fell in love with you in the moment when he saw that you sit right before him in history class. your (h/c) locks before him, and when you turned around to give him a pen -

𝐠 = 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 (𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞? 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐨, 𝐡𝐨𝐰?)

he's the most gentle boy you have ever know. not the most pda-ish guy, but at home, in your room, he always gonna stroke your hair at night, or telling you how cute you were today in the t-shirt you bought recently.

𝐡 = 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 (𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬?)

as i told, stan would kiss you rather than hold your hands, but if you're inscure, or just need a fix point, you can always grab his hand and he would squeeze it, i promise you.

𝐢 = 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧?)

he met you at first in the library, to search for one books he needs for his tests. you sat there at the table, reading already "the hound of baskervilles", your hair lazily falling in your face, your knees propped up to the edge of the table.

-sorry, can i... can i sit here? -he faltered, grabbing tighter the books he found. you nodded, smiled a little bit.

-one flew over the cuckoo's nest? pretty good book -you commented, pointing with your pen on the title, than leaning back to your own work, leaving him flustered and lovely.

𝐣 = 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲 (𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬?)

he don't get jealous easily, he trusts you, so please don't disappoint my little bean )):

besides, if he sees that you're close to richie or bill, stan always have an eye to see, whose hand are where.

𝐤 = 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 (𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬? 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬?)

you were the first. and also, his first.

you and the losers watched a movie at mike's, during the movie you and stan gave soft strokes on the hand or pinches on each other's thighs non-stop –you lied your head on stan's shoulder, bringing your knees close to your abdomen.

when the movie's over, stan guides you home, carrying your backpack, and at the doorstep, you walk in, whispering a little "wait" to him.

–i forgot something -you mutter, surprisingly pushing your lips to his, quieting his mind and savouring it with love and affection.

𝐥 = 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 (𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 '𝐢 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮' 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭?)

new saturday, new lazy day with stan.

the two of you met on the end of the street, from that point you two can easily go to the fluffy, green field near to the lake. you like these summer days –no school, no responsibilities, only the two of you, a pair of snadwiches from your lovely mom and a good book.

you hold stan's hand while walking to your usual place, the grass slightly appressed from the several days you spent here. when you sit down, you heard stan whisper something.

–did you say something, stan the man?

stan frowns, then shrugging his shoulders, grabbing your hands, kissing your forehead, his tender kiss tingling on the little curls near your temples too.

–i just wanted to say... that i love you. and thank you for being here for me, darling.

𝐦 = 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫?)

laying on your flat roof at night, staring at the starry, dark sky, in the summer. soft rock music playing in the background, your favourites... cuddling with him, giving you the warmth you need, but his hands cold enough to give you the perfect temperature.

–you like this? –he asked quietly, not letting know your parents that the two of you sneak out in 2 am. you snuggle up to his cheek, nuzzling your nose on the curve of his dimple; your eyelashes tickling his soft skin.

–i love it. and you?

–i love it, too –he mumbles, lifting your shoulders a little bit, so now you lay on his chest. –mainly because i am with you, babylove.

and you are freaking happy too –with him, every moment is blissful and dream-like, just like him.

𝐧 = 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐥 (𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥? 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠?)

he will do everything to reassure you that you're his love, his princess. you saw a missing piece from the comics you read? he'll slip it into your school-box. he always gonna buy you sweets and chocolate, sweet or salty popcorn or your favourite candy ─not only on your birthday, even when you feeling down or stressed. if stan collect enough courage, he will write little love letters to tuck it in your pocket during studying when you don't pay attention ─just to cause you a small, sweet suprise.

𝐨 = 𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟?)

pastel pink. the color of the soft love and angels.

𝐩 = 𝐩𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞?)

stan will call you babylove ─baby and love, just the pure definition of you for him.

𝐪 = 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠?)

his old matchboxes (𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘴? 𝘪'𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘴𝘰𝘸𝘸𝘺)): ), little do you know, but when his mother scolds him to clean up his room a little bit, he find them in one old, dusty shoe-box. stan can play with them for hours, and at the end of the turn-out session you can be sure, that he sneaks a pair from them onto the shelf.

𝐫 = 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲?)

sleep. even better if it's with you.

𝐬 = 𝐬𝐚𝐝 (𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬/𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐩?)

stan is very, very emphatic, he feels immediately if something's wrong or not so right. he would talk with you, give one shoulder to cry on it, kissing and stroking your hair and cheeks ─sometimes he thinks that he can't do nothing, but when you began to snoring calmly, snuggling to his side, he get's a little more satisfied for being a good boyfriend.

𝐭 = 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭?)

mostly about the future, about a better life, you two can involve into a very deep conversation. stan like it very much when you talk about the things you like, your goals, your ideals –to him, you're a very pleasureable person.

𝐮 = 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐱?)

silence. a little bit of loneliness always helps him to purify his messy mind. if the two of you sit beside each other in silence, that's absolutely perfect for stan.

𝐯 = 𝐯𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟𝐟? 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟?)

he's proud of your relationship: you two can talk about everything, and always help the other to find a solution, to figure out something to the actual problem.

𝐰 = 𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐡𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞?)

in his mind, his plans are pretty simple: stan would make you the perfect day in your –going to your favourite town, eating delicious foods, making photos from the two of you (mostly you, but you can't bear the thought to stand alone in all of the pictures; that's so allegoric, isn't it?). then, when the two of you sit on the hood of the car, he gently sneaks his hand into his pocket, gently holding your ring-finger, getting ready with the big speech, waiting for your reaction when you feel the cold stain against your soft skin...

𝐱 = 𝐱𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 (𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠?)

tears for fears – everybody wants to rule the world

❝𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯

𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.❞

𝐲 = 𝐲𝐞𝐬 (𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝/𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠?)

yeah, actually –a lot!! but don't want to pressure you, if you don't want to. stan would like to know you to be his, forever.

𝐳 = 𝐳𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚 (𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭?)

stan is not the fan of the animals with fur, he mostly want a little, cute bird, or even more of them –but not to cage those little feather-balls, you help him to build a bird feeder with pastell pink walls and heart-shaped entrance. if you want a cat or dog, he doesn't mind it, but don't let them hurt the birdies, please )):

—お誕生日おめでとうレビーちゃｎ ♡

𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 <𝟹

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alltheworldsinmyhead · 4 years ago

Photo

time, wondrous time

elain & azriel & lucien // ao3

Time, curious time

Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs

Were there clues I didn't see?

And isn't it just so pretty to think

All along there was some

Invisible string

Tying you to me?

Bright sunlight wakes Elain up, relentlessly tapping on her closed eyelids until she groans softly; making her clammy skin sizzle. She cannot escape from it, not sandwiched naked between two bodies the way she is. Flushed all-over, not an inch of her untouched; her cheek pressed to one male’s back, her legs tangled up with another’s. Some minuscule human part of her left weeping in shame, quietly, somewhere too deep inside her to bother with it.

Instead of hiding underneath thin sheets, she spits out a strand of hair stuck to her lower lip and begins grounding herself. It’s a slow, meticulous process, boring and alike to fishing out pebbles of a certain shade from a riverbed full of all kinds of rocks – but then, Elain’s well versed in it for now. Last night’s memories are a bit brighter, a bit more solid than all of the other images blooming in her head. There is laughter and auburn wine, the taste of it on her tongue, pomegranate juice dripping down her neck until it was licked off. Sand-colored marble kissing the bare soles of her feet when she was running through the corridors. Sheer silk swishing around her calves. Sweet ache coiling deep in her belly, between her slick thighs, the release hard enough to leave her feeling breathless, almost empty. There’s snow falling in the Steppes, chubby cheeks and round, silver-blue eyes of her mother-

Which don’t belong to yesterday, nor to any of the yesterdays before. Elain indulges herself though; let’s happiness and adoration fill her to the brim when she stays with this image for a bit longer. Those tiny fingers locked around a lock of her sister’s hair, Nesta’s cooing, a lullaby falling from her lips soft like a caress… It’s too nice, too delicious to not melt into this vision.

But then - a rough hand slides up her thigh, fingers tracing the arch of her hipbone. Quiet laughter echoes when she trembles in response.

The future bursts like a soap bubble in the air and Elain falls painfully into here and now. She bares her throat to rest the back of her head on Azriel’s chest, smiling brightly with her eyes still firmly closed when he presses a kiss underneath her jaw.

‘’Good morning, Elain.’’ He whispers.

Before she can reply, a familiar warmth spills deep inside her belly – happiness and annoyance and pleasure mixed up in equal measure – and Lucien huffs, his voice muffled by the pillow:

‘’Why do you always have to wake up so early?’’

It’s the sun. – Elain wants to say, want to sing-song into his ear until he fully awakens.- It’s the sun and you are the one responsible for it.

But she’s too content, too comfy – so he blindly moves her hand from Lucien’s waist to his back, traces loopy I love you-s on the bare skin with her fingertips as the bond inside her purrs like a cat in response. She can feel the silky strands of his hair brushing her knuckles and, for the thousandth time, she vows she’ll never let him cut them.

‘’Good morning.’’ She lets out an exhale. ‘’The sun’s telling you to rise and shine, my lord.’’

Azriel’s near-soundless laugh makes the bed shake a bit. It’s her favorite sound in the world – as beautiful as her future nephew’s shrieks of joy, as beautiful as Nesta’s singing voice.

As beautiful as Lucien’s fond, irritated groan.

‘’You two will pay me back for it, you know.’’

Oh, she knows.

Lips and hands and cocks and wings and starlight underneath her eyelids; and moans and names and curses; in the daylight, in the moonlight; on the soft grass in her personal garden, bees buzzing around them as they make love, her knees scraped raw, teeth-marks on her neck, finger-shaped bruises on her thighs.

Before now – before them, she didn’t know it’s even possible to feel such ecstasy, that sex can be like this. She doesn’t know how she was managing to live without it, how she did not crave this connection as one craves air every second, every heartbeat of her life.

‘’Is that a threat or promise, oh mighty High Lord?’’ Azriel snickers and Elain hides her face in Lucien’s hair to suppress her giggle. ‘’Be careful not to bite more than you can chew.’’

‘’I think we all know I can chew plenty.’’ Lucien shoots back, unflinchingly. Just enough bite in his tone that she squeezes her thighs together, that she feels Azriel’s hand climbing up the ladder of her ribs to brush her breast.

‘’Shush, both of you.’’ She whispers. ‘’It’s too early for that.’’

She can almost feel Lucien’s grin on her own lips.

‘’It’s never too early for that.’’

Like a cat waking up from a nap on a sunny afternoon, Elain slowly stretches her body- brushing, caressing, electing hisses and groans left and right in process, her bones and muscles re-forming from their half-molten state when she yawns.

And then she opens her eyes.

Lucien has turned to lay flat on his back, smiling at her in the light of the morning. There are pillow creases pressed on his cheek and she almost manages to reach out and touch them before Azriel throws his arms across her torso and beats her to it.

Darling, terrible Azriel, all the impossible contradictions of him. All brutality and goodness, quiet agony, dark humor. How delicately his hand caresses Lucien’s cheek. How delicately he touches her, every time, until she tells him not to – as if she was something holy and precious, and worth living for.

Life’s – life’s just this, being tangled up, tied into a knot with her mate and her beloved, her glorious, gorgeous, grand lovers keeping her tethered, keeping her safe. Not for the first time, Elain feels a quiet glee at this thought – oh, let her sisters’ keep their mates and their great love stories full of heartbreak and pain, and impossible choices. Elain refused to go down this road. Elain refused impossible choices.

Elain, for the first time in her life, took a stand for something, refused to let the tide of fate to carry her from one place to another as if she was a petal on the wind.

And Elain is adored.

And Elain adores in return.

She wants to melt in-between them, slither underneath their ribs, bind them together for all eternity. Time is a river and she has long ago stopped drowning – now she’s swimming like a fish, no longer gasping for air, no longer cold and lost. The Cauldron’s power hums in her, this horrifyingly ancient beast Nesta has conquered and Elain has tamed: you’ll go first, you’ll go first into this ageless dark, sweet doe.

And how exactly does it matter?

Lucien turns his face slightly to press his lips to the inside of Azriel’s hand. His own hand grips her waist to press her closer, closer; the three of them, hips pressing together, legs entangling, until their heartbeats sound like one perfect harmony in her ears.

How does it matter, when they will have each other even when I’m gone?

Her human life, brief and long evaporated like a puff of an exhale on a frost morning.

The centuries of love she got in exchange.

Feyre, her little sister always so nosy beyond measure, burning in curiosity when she asks, time and time again, how does it even work, as if the three of them sat down around the business table the way Nesta sits with foreign traders to discuss terms and conditions; Mor biting the inside of her cheek not to laugh whenever Elain just shrugs in response. It’s not strange for her, loving them both, sharing and being shared. She has always had too much love inside her anyway, too much to know how to use it properly – wasting it on undeserving human men and pretty, petty things, this love without a purpose that she has now. Enough love for both of the best men she has ever met, both of them always so hungry for love, starved for it.

Elain has shed her humanity and all her human inhibitions the way silk dress slides to the marble floor, exposing skin and flesh begging to be touched – kept them on her and then got rid of them all at once, instantaneously.

Future rushes through her mind like a waterfall, all the good things: roses blooming, stars falling, Feyre’s rounded belly and her son’s first word, Lucien’s hungry gaze, Cassian’s deep laughter and Nesta’s silver one, rows and endless rows of books in the thousand libraries all toppled over, Azriel sleeping peacefully by her side-

Elain rests her head on Lucien’s shoulder and tangles her fingers in Azriel’s hair when he hides his face in the crook of her neck. The Day Court keeps them warm and safe when they drift back into dreams.

Oh, how truly blessed she is.

#elriel #elucien #elain x azriel x lucien #azriel x lucien #acotar #acotar fanfiction #acotar fic #elain archeron

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brooklynislandgirl · 4 years ago

Note

📝 for the answering of applicable questions, please!

~Quietly, in the Lower Garden District~

~Colour~

The man behind the counter is ready to reach over and strangle her. She can see it in his expression, so put upon by each time she shakes her head and asks if she can have another sample made. She almost wishes he would try, he'd lose more than the hour that she's been at this. That might be uncharitable of her but the man reminds her of the kind of person who, when not wearing his little vest, is exactly the kind of person who sees Beth and Anakin walking down the street together and curls a lip, makes passing commentary to other middle-age white guys. Too poor, too weird, too questionably ethnic to suit them. The kind of person who would walk faster when it got dark, or would lock up before they could make it to a door. There's more of those than either one of them care to acknowledge, and the irony is almost delicious. Except that sometimes Anakin cannot help but to be very aware of that kind of prejudice and it really takes another chunk out of his self-confidence.

"Allow me to explain again," she says softly, in crisp and enunciated haole. "I said I want a very specific shade of blue. A hint of royal with a tinge of cadet number five. Then mix at the edges a touch of Prussian and just enough Turkish Steel to give that depth soft edges. Then overly sky atop it all. Or better yet, please find me a customer service specialist who can, in fact, understand what I am looking for because clearly? You're not it." That might be her fault, she does want to paint the living room the exact shade of Anakin's eyes.

~Song~

She doesn't play as well as Andy could, and she would never be a singer though she enjoyed it maybe because it was more about intent than execution, one of the few things that held true in absolute. And sometimes neither one really mattered when he folded himself up like an envelope just so he could rest his head against her chest and instead of plucking strings, she only ran fingers through his hair. He closes his eyes and she focuses hers across the back yard. Beyond the pool and past the grass. Colours blur and fade and there's a ripple of dissonance within the Tapestry to make a boundary between what is solid and inflexible and what is hidden in a space outside of the Tellurian. Words they don't use in every day conversation. She isn't quite singing now instead humming a tune that would reveal more than maybe they're ready to dive into. Other words they don't use, either. Her palm comes to rest on his brow as tender as she knows how. The other reaches around him to tuck one of the knitted blankets around him. He doesn't seem to mind the combination of warmth between herself and the acrylic, is maybe the only other person who could be cold in anything else less than 80 degrees and 90% humidity. It takes an infinite amount of patience, skill, and mana to redirect the rain to a different part of the city. He'll forgive her weariness even if he doesn't understand why she will go to bed early, sleep in late. And that's okay. He doesn't need to know. It's better if he doesn't, it would spoil the gift. 'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home.

~Scent~ The balcony door is open letting muggy air move sluggishly in through the French doors. Beneath her the bed is a little too stiff for comfort. Her laptop almost too warm as it rests on her thighs and only serves to remind her that she should probably get out of the charcoal grey suit she's wearing. She closes the screen and pulls her glasses off, raising them so they rest in her hair. Takes a sip of the wine she'd bought at...some store she won't remember the name of... but that came recommended by the bellhop.

She didn't have the forethought before leaving for Baton Rouge to steal borrow something to bring along. For reasons that she didn't want to explain because there's no very polite way to explain she's grown used to having him sleep beside her. That there's something soothing that comes wafting up from his skin the closer he gets, arm wrapped around her, leg half thrown over. At the end of a day there's his natural chemistry that mixes with clean laundry and cigarette smoke, something sweet and spicy from his preferred night cap. Sometimes there's blood. Sometimes the distinct smell of wood or metal from something he's working on for himself, the kind of tinkering that seems to bring him peace like nothing else can. There isn't an exact name for it but she can recognise it at a thousand paces. It makes her want to burrow furtively into his chest cavity and find some way to live inside of that newly hollowed out space. Maybe just thinking about it was all she needed. Maybe it's some new kind of magick trick. Regardless, she'd managed to doze off just long enough to be startled when the door of her hotel room clicks shut and he's there. Pulled out of her day dreams and turned into flesh. With exactly the kind of apologetic grin she's become as familiar with as she is the smell of him. "Guess, I jus' couldn't sleep." And she knows there's more going on behind the sheepish look, and the way he stands at a polite distance away, maybe waiting for permission. She doesn't say a word. Only turns down the previously pristine other side of the bed before slipping from hers. The white silk blouse hits the floor seconds before she disappears into the bathroom.

~Meme~ She eyes Anakin. Looks at her phone. Back and forth for five solid minutes before she just starts giggling. Which turns into a laugh.

~Sound~ It's those little sub-vocalisations that get her. Every near guttural groan, every single one of those breathless whimpers that cling to the edges of her senses soft as cobwebs or hard as thunder. There are so many layers between them, so much context to be drawn from even a half of a sigh. They are a siren song even if she doesn't know what rocks he wants her to dash herself on.

~Setting~

She cringes. "I don' wanna tell ya." He's helping her work on a psychological profiling assessment that's required of her continuing education class, which is all part of her professional development. But she's worried because it's going to sound incredibly racist, coming as it is not from a white-passing woman of colour but one of incredible privilege who absolutely knows what it's going to sound like. But she cannot resist the look of self-accusation and anxiety that creeps into his micro-expressions and doing anything else would feel incredibly dishonest. Something she doesn't want to foster in him. "Somewhere 'round sunset. Da bayou waddah look like it on fire. Dere's some soft Zydeco music goin' on in da backdrop. Air's hot an' heavy like steam 'tween lovers an' if ya real quiet, can hear da bayou jus' come alive wi' oddah souls. Dere's pirogues bobbin' along, an' you can smell some ono grindz cookin' somewhere. Spanish moss all hangin' down from cypress an' willow trees. A mixture of old spirituals an' dat beautiful, melodic pidgin dat get spoke down dere...I know is nevah really li'dat.... also make me t'ink of witch blood an' Mokole dat pass as gators... all dem ghosts an' da kine ya nevah can put ya finger on but dat give ya chicken skin jus' t'inkin' 'bout..." ~Fashion Style~

Clothes litter her floor. Flung without a care to their resting places. Some on the edge of her bed or the arm of a chair. Suits and jeans and tee-shirts. Undergarments and socks. Like some small hurricane exploded out of the closet, just with less water. There's sarongs too. Luau shirts that just aren't him. Shoes too. Finally, she steps back and examines her handiwork. A frame work of satin boxers that will caress the most delicate parts of him without bunching or pinching. An accent of which are picked up in the suit lapels and bow tie. White shirt, black buttons. Silver cuff-links. Socks that are thin as a Friday night prayer, and absolutely voluptuous Paolo Scafora oxfords in a blue so dark they look black at first glance, polished to a mirror gloss. Dior and Stefano Ricci. Famous labels from famous houses of style.

If the gala wasn't required...Anakin wouldn't be seeing the light of day and there'd be very different reasons the clothes would be laying scattered about.

But she kind of also misses that scruffy plain, slightly tattered tee-shirt and skinny jeans even she would have a hard time getting up past her own hips, and questionably aged converse. Aesthetically speakin, Anakin is ever clothing designer's wet dream and she has never wanted to be a circular scarf more in her life. "Wow. Jus'....wow." ~Feeling~

"Belonging."

It's all she says before she kisses him. Softly and sweetly, a little wet from a stray tear that slips down between their lips. Admitting this is admitting that maybe, just maybe, she loves him, too. Which puts a countdown on everything. Which means that he's going to find the wherewithal to leave her and to take with him every that makes her feel even the littlest bit real. She doesn't know if she'll survive the loss, so it's best that she make the most of it before he goes. ~Animal~ "If you were one dem changing breeds? You'd be a were-fossa. Dey are dese medium sized ....well. Dey kinda look like cats, but also...dey don't. Related to da civet but also like...mongooses. Mongeese? Wha'evah. Dey from Madagascar. Da Malagasy got kapu of a kind an' actually are sorta afraid of dem, an' wi' good reason...dey carnivorous ay-eff." She glances over. "Don' laugh! Dey beautiful an' rare an' I really like dem a lot. An' I'm not gonna tell ya any more about dem. Gonna make a new animal, an' call it a' Anakin." There is every possibility that she will do this. Some day.

~Holiday~ Christmas. It will always be Christmas. Not the lights and snow and carollers, though there's plenty of that to go around. Not the chill and dank air, not the interminably long night, not even because of gifts. It's not a childhood of Santa surfing or canoeing, and it isn't sandcastles and malasadas left by the lanai doors from Hawai'i, either. Maybe it's a touch of the peace and goodwill often associated with the season, and how he came to find her when he needed her the most. But if she had to give just one reason, it's that he brought her back a sense of wonder that she'd thought was lost when her world had shattered. He took something terrible and turned it into something beautiful. That isn't an ordinary, every day kind of magick and she doesn't know how she will ever be able to express her love and gratitude for him.

"Wha'ya t'ink about mebbe da Bahamas dis year? Get out of da city for a lil while, I promise I won' make ya go for da beach."

~Season~

When Beth thinks of seasons, she thinks of it being a mainland phenomenon. Her own islands only really have two: Kau from May to October, where everything is beautiful and averages about 85 degrees give or take, and Ho'oilo from November to April when the best tides bring in the biggest waves. It's only cooler by about ten degrees. Which is maybe why she always feels so cold so far away from home. And why she likes it here so much. She knows other places have as many as six seasons, broken up into more agricultural and solar tied patterns of weather and climate and sometimes even just spiritual nature. But taking all of Anakin into account, she would have to say... "Monsoon. It's da time of life-giving rains. But also it can be dangerous for the same reason. Cool but lingers along your skin. An' it's somet'ing I keep wi' me always, waitin' for it."

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bitsandbobsandstuff · 5 years ago

Text

never let you go (2)

Summary: After losing the woman they love, Bucky and Steve make a desperate decision with unimaginable consequences.

Characters: Stucky x Reader

Warnings: Violence, blood, mentions of demons and gore. Brief hints of SMUT. Swearing. Bucky and Steve are not exactly nice. A very brief appearance by my favorite Hunter (SPN crossover).

Prompt: “Heartache is one thing, but this…this is worse.”

A/N: This is my submission for the fantastic @sherrybaby14 for Sherry’s Fall Into You challenge, thanks babe for hosting. This is a dark story fam, different than my usual writing. Bucky and Steve really do make some bad decisions, so please heed the warnings. This is a short series, only 3 parts.

Want to find all my stories? Search #bitsmasterlist or try the link in my bio!

Previously...

“How did you do it?”

“Hmm?” Steve murmurs, drifting toward the balm of sleep. Bucky says nothing, simply snuggles closer, his steady breaths puffing warm on your skin.

“I remember what happened.” Softly the confession falls. “Please don’t lie to me. Tell me how you did it. How you brought me back.”

Both men stiffen. Bucky stops breathing. Steve stops stroking his hair. Dread fills you, cold as ice. You know then, whatever price they’ve paid? It will tear the world apart.

Breath tickling the back of your neck, Steve murmurs so quietly, you strain to hear.

“We made a deal.”

*****

“The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.” Mahatma Gandhi

*****

Along the glass smooth lake, the tufts of grass are wrapped in furry white frost. Fog rises in slow curls from the mirror of dark blue, warm water battling cold air, while white ice crackles along the edges in paper thin sheets. Each morning you walk out to the lake, the ice creeps further, a bitter omen of what will come.

It all feels surreal. Impossible and improbable. An endless winter waiting in the wings.

From the outside, life is the same. The world turns, the sun rises in the east. Bucky still giggles madly at cat videos on YouTube and Steve still argues that cough syrup tastes delicious. For the three of you, nothing has changed.

But for the world, it has.

Part of you wants to hate them. It was the most selfish, self-sacrificing act either has ever committed in their long lives, but no matter how monumentally fucked up the situation, it changes nothing. Regardless of the road ahead, there are no limits to the love you feel for them both, and one truth burns with a steadfast certainty - you will always follow in their footsteps.

Perhaps that fact will be your downfall.

Staring bleakly across the clear lake, you think back to that night, when they explained everything. With the proverbial cards on the table, the most complicated question of your entire life now looms.

What will you do to save them?

*****

Eyes downcast, they sit beside each other on the edge of the bed, overgrown children awaiting punishment. Fingers linked atop your head, you pace a short path in front of them, back and forth, breathing fast, words locked in your throat. When they finally burst free, both men flinch.

“Explain what you mean. I don’t understand, Steve. What does a deal with a demon mean? What is that?”

Refusing to look up, Steve remains silent, nervously pinching the callouses on his palm. Bucky stares mutely at his toes, wiggling them into the ropey blue rug beneath the bed. He cracks his knuckles and you can tell he’s mustering his courage. Wetting his lips, he finally meets your gaze.

“It means exactly what Steve said. I know it sounds insane, but it was a real demon. Like the kind you find in - in fairy tales or something. We met a couple guys and they told us how to find her. Said you can make a deal, whatever you want, the demon’ll give it to you...” Bucky trails off, losing steam; another deep breath and he plows on. “...she gives it to you in exchange for 10 years. Those are the contract terms, the regular deal. At the end of the 10 years, that’s it. She comes back to collect, and you’re sent - down. To hell.”

Disbelief clenches like an iron fist, heavy and suffocating. It makes no sense - demons don’t exist. Something else must have happened, some unknown magic, a wormhole, an alternate reality, a time loop maybe. Each ludicrous option seems more likely than their calm explanation, they must be wrong. If demons existed, SHIELD would know. There would be a documentation, strategies, fighting methods.

There would be safe guards to stop idiots in love from making disastrous decisions.

“Bucky, what you’re saying makes no sense. Demons aren’t real,” you say carefully, and goosebumps flare across your skin when Steve lifts guarded eyes to yours. “Steve? They’re not real. It was something else…right?”

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

Every fiber of your being screams this must be a nightmare, any moment you’ll wake up. Maybe you weren’t on the roof that day, maybe this is all a sick lucid dream. Maybe you’re alive and asleep in bed, and when you wake up Bucky will have stolen all the pillows and Steve will be in the kitchen making oatmeal.

Wake up, you chant to yourself. Wake up, wake up, wake up.

Nothing happens. Chest heaving, you spin away, hot tears burning your throat.

“So that’s what you did? You sold your souls to a demon? And in 10 years she comes back and - drags you to hell?”

“Wait,” Bucky says earnestly. “You didn’t let me finish, it wasn’t that. We didn’t sell our souls. That was the regular deal, but not for us. There’s no 10-year limit, we’re staying with you. All three of us, we get to stay together.”

He pushes off the bed and comes toward you, arms reaching for a hug. Surprise blooms over his face when you place both palms flat on his chest and shove. Stumbling back, he hits the mattress with a shocked bounce.

“No,” you grit out, “Tell me you’re not that naive. It had to cost something, so what was it. What did you give her?” Stubbornly, Bucky’s mouth tightens. Fine then. Turning to Steve, you cup his chin, tilting his face until you glimpse the swirl of shame glowing in his blue eyes. “Steve. Tell me what you gave her.”

It takes all of five seconds for him to give in; Steve never could keep a secret. Not from Bucky. Not from you.

“It wasn’t our souls,” he mumbles. Misery seeps from his skin and he stares intently, begging a forgiveness you never realized you had to give. “She asked for - humanity. That was what she wanted. We gave her our humanity.”

At his admission, a fresh urgency, a new panic, fills the hollowness in your heart.

“Your humanity? What does that mean? What happens now?”

Shrugging helplessly, Steve looks back to his feet. “I guess since we gave her that, then maybe we’ll - change. Maybe we’ll become - different.”

It clicks, then.

Different.

Two battle hardened soldiers, potent super strength flowing through their veins. If you take away their good hearts, strip out the kindness and patience and compassion, extinguish the beautiful tenderness that illuminates them from the inside, what remains?

Brutal violence powered by deadly strength. Something cold and destructive. It seems obvious now, why the demon offered this choice.

Stay above and be in love, happy and content for 10 years before death comes calling.

Or stay above and be in love, happy and content for as long as life allows, with one chilling caveat - abandon who you are.

Without a conscience to keep them in check, the scale of violence two super soldiers could wreak across the globe is breathtaking. And if they leave their humanity in the dust and use the serum thrumming in their veins for something dark and terrible? The outcome remains the same.

Someday in the future, death will still come for them. And with a list of innocent deaths attached to their names, it all means the same thing.

No matter what, they’ve damned themselves to hell. It’s only a matter of time.

“But she promised nothing changes between the three of us,” Bucky interrupts the morbid train of thought, gesturing at you, at Steve, at himself. “Other things might change, but she said the three of us, we’ll stay the same. We won’t change, not when it comes to you. We can make this work, I swear.”

His words make you want to scream. How could they be so stupid? How could they not realize?

“God dammit Bucky! You’re telling me that eventually every bit of goodness that makes you human, that will disappear? What then? The world has two psychopaths with fucking super powers? Is that what you’re saying?!”

“But we can fight it,” Bucky argues, rising again. He takes one step and you shove him harder, knocking him back. Frustrated, he slaps the bed. “We can. I know we can. This was a way around it.”

Before you, they both melt into blurry shadows as the tears spill over, rivers of sticky heat dripping down your neck, soaking the ragged collar of your shirt. Hopelessness shatters your voice.

“No you won’t, Bucky. You can’t. So now what? Huh? How am I supposed to save you?”

Deflated, Bucky hesitates before standing again. Cautiously, he steps forward, ignoring the hand you push against his chest, ignoring the bite of your nails scratching his skin. He murmurs your name, an imploring plea, and the sound breaks you. Trembling fingers curl into a fist and you slam your knuckles against the steel of his sternum, anger fading into fear. He says nothing, lets you expend your rage all over him, wild fists punching him over and over, until you collapse. Then he catches you easily, sitting on the bed, cuddling you in his lap.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, holding tight to your halfhearted struggles, before you finally give up. Burying your face against his neck, he rocks you gently, terrified tears drenching his skin like a spring rain. “But she gave you back. That was enough for us to say yes. You were worth the price.”

“I’m not, nothing is worth this,” you sob hysterically. Guilt pours out, overwhelming and soul-shattering. “This will kill you both, it’ll ruin you. I ruined you.”

“No.” Steve says fiercely. Gripping your arm, he gives a harsh shake. “You did not do this. This was our decision. We knew exactly what we were doing, sweetheart. This wasn’t a mistake.”

Steve moves closer, wrapping his arms around you both, one palm on the warm heat of Bucky’s shoulder blade, the other cupping your face. Pressing his lips to your forehead, the solidity of his presence a quiet reassurance. Tangling your hand in his hair, you tug hard, aching to bring him closer.

Maybe, you think, if you hold tight enough you can keep them intact. Humanity. Souls. Hearts. Whatever they’re made up of inside, maybe if you love them hard enough, you can save them.

“He’s right,” Bucky murmurs, trembling lips at your temple, “This was all on us. But if we had to choose between losing you and doing this again, we’d still do this. We’d choose you. We’ll always choose you.”

*****

There are five people who know the truth.

Nick Fury and Maria Hill. Steve tells them but keeps the specifics of the deal vague. Deep down, he knows Nick would lock them up if he knew everything. They were furious, but in different ways. Fury screamed at them for 30 straight minutes, before storming out in a swirl of black leather. Following close behind, Maria gave them a tight-lipped nod and somehow, that silent disappointment was worse.

And then there were the other three.

Natasha, Tony, Sam. All three received perplexing text messages asking them to meet at Bucky and Steve’s apartment; when they arrive, Sam knocks on cautiously and Bucky meets them with a blank face, wordlessly handing each a fresh bottle of whiskey.

“You’ll need it,” is all he says.

With each Avenger clutching their liquor, Bucky and Steve proceed to explain everything. Their sorrow, their grief. The inability to find any future without you. Their anger at everything, at the world, at each other. Calmly, they each offer their perspective and they see Tony looking confused, Sam looking uneasy, and Natasha looking - strangely resigned.

When they finally finish, there’s a long silence, until Natasha snaps the cap on her bottle of whiskey and takes a long swig. She wipes her mouth and asks.

“What did you do?”

Steve looks at Bucky, who stares determinedly at his feet. Nodding to himself, he rises slowly, walking into the bedroom. Beyond the doors, they hear the hum of low voices and then it creaks open. Bucky hesitates for a breath.

Then he leads you forward.

At the unexpected sight, Tony tumbles off the armchair with a garbled shout and Sam leaps to his feet.

Natasha still sits calmly.

“So. You met the Winchester boys,” she states. Defiance in his eyes, Bucky shoots her a cool glare.

“Yes,” he says shortly, and she simply nods. Carefully setting her bottle of whiskey on the floor, she rises gracefully and tiptoes toward you. Instantly, Steve and Bucky lean into a protective stance, mirrored snarls on their lips, but Natasha brushes them aside. With no hesitation, she wraps you in a fierce hug.

“I’m so glad you’re home,” she whispers in your ear. Burying your face in her hair, the sweet scents of lavender and leather swirl, so unequivocally Natasha.

They explain everything then. The deal, the magic, the price. All down to the last, gruesome detail. At the end of their story, the room is silent. Tony is the first to respond, ashen faced, shaking with unspeakable anger. He heaves his full bottle of whiskey into the fireplace and it explodes with a crash of flames, before he barrels through the front door with a resounding boom.

Sam sways where he stands, his vision folding along the edges. He wants to understand, he does. More than anyone, he saw the depths of grief into which they sunk, but this? He never considered this. But instead of screaming, he says nothing, just hugs you gently, thinking bizarrely of delicately spun glass. Shoulders sagging under the burden of knowing, he silently follows Tony, his footsteps as heavy as his heart.

And Natasha? Well. Standing in the doorway, she smiles sadly.

“I spoke to them too, you know. Found a crossroad in Colorado. Nine years ago,” she confesses. “One year to go.”

The door clicks shut, leaving them to ponder a new horror.

*****

The official SHIELD report stamps your return with CONFIDENTIAL block letters, and the file is buried deep in the vaults. It leaks to the press as a simple solution, a fake out, a way to throw the bad guys off the trail. Here you are, alive and well, on leave for an indeterminate period.

New York becomes too much. Hostile and loud, too many questions, too many opportunities to let the truth slip free. In the middle of the night, the three of you tangled in a mess of sleepy limbs, Steve offers a solution.

At sunrise you leave.

Refuge comes at a secluded cabin in upstate New York, a mossy pile of logs Steve fell in love with years ago and purchased on a whim. Hidden deep in the trees, it overlooks a crystalline lake and when you step inside, it smells of dust and mothballs. With a mop, a few dust rags, and a bit of elbow grease, it quickly becomes a home.

There, life finally moves forward.

Mornings with bitter coffee, mornings with breathless runs, mornings lazing in a massive claw foot bathtub, big enough for three.

Evenings by the crackling fire, evenings full of books and music, evenings filled with Bucky’s sweat slicked hair tangled in your fingers, with Steve’s quiet groans between your legs, with your shaking cries echoing off the walls.

Sheer perfection. Every waking moment.

After a few weeks, Bucky and Steve tentatively return to combat, agreeing to short missions that never tear them from your side for more than a few days. Stepping up together, they take on the world once more, protecting the innocent, righting the wrongs. Each time they return, they come refreshed and relaxed, full of sweet words and excited laughter, familiar bits of your former life spilling into the comfortable home the three of you have made together.

They seem so happy. So bright and wild and bursting with love.

It makes you wonder. Maybe, just maybe, Bucky was right. Maybe they found a way around the inevitable. Maybe the demon changed her mind. Maybe they’re safe.

Maybe it worked.

*****

Until slowly and certainly, things begin to change.

*****

Bullets are pinging around them, sparks flying through the air. Steve moves confidently, smoothly dodging every bullet slung their way with a flick of his shield. Behind him, Bucky slinks along, his gun at the ready. When they cut around the corner, three men put up a cursory fight, before all three are taken down with a flick of the shield and two well-placed bullets.

“Like taking candy from a baby,” Steve mutters. Sifting through a pile of paper, he gathers up the files, stuffs them in a secure pocket at his hip and motions for Bucky to leave.

They hear a faint moan.

Propped against the wall, sits a hostage. Mouth taped shut, feet tied together. Blood streams thick and heavy down his face, congealing in a warm pool along his collarbone. Death is imminent, even across the room they can smell it coming. As they come closer, the man registers footsteps and opens his eyes, blinking blearily at the two men looking down. Recognition when he sees the familiar red, white, and blue, a glimmer of hope cutting through the pain.

Staring down, Steve twitches his fingers, an unconscious motion to help, before something inside denies the move.

How peculiar.

Turning away, he issues a rough order at Bucky.

“He won’t make it. Put him out of his misery.”

Bucky gazes at the dying man at his feet.

Shrugging, he raises his pistol and pulls the trigger.

*****

Sunlight streams through the tall windows of the living room, as you laze on the couch. Down the hall, you hear the shower running, the sound of Steve’s off-key baritone singing as he soaps the red stains of death from his skin.

When he shuffles into the living room wearing sweatpants and a soft green shirt, his tired eyes find you. The lingering stress falls away and he bounds forward, flopping on the couch with a careless oompf. Dropping a kiss on your forehead, he carefully arranges a pillow in your lap, and plunks his head down. Post shower, his blond hair is wet dark and squeaky clean, the spicy scent of body wash still lingering.

“Scratch my head?” he asks, adding a sweet pout that never fails to make you give in. Dragging your fingers through the damp strands, you rub his scalp and he sighs happily. When he stretches his feet over the edge of the couch with a wide yawn, his muscles shift and twist, reminding you of a lion you saw once at the zoo. Big and lazy, soaking up the warm golden sunshine.

“Nothing but a big lazy cat,” you murmur, one hand in his hair, the other rubbing slow circles over his heart. Closing his eyes, he grins at the comparison. Catching the hand at his chest, he brings your palm to his lips and presses kisses along each finger, before linking his hand to yours. Moments pass, and his body goes lax, a low stream of steady breaths as he drifts to sleep.

In the shifting afternoon sun, you stay there, watching the light play off his pale eyelashes. You think about Steve. Warm skin and golden hair. Sharp claws retracted; teeth hidden. Deadly to everyone, except those he loves.

*****

“I gave you the intel, I gave it to you!”

Bucky stabs the knife into the muscled meat of the man’s thigh, and the responding scream reverberates off the walls. Like flame hot metal through butter, the pale skin is splayed open, revealing marbled streaks of yellow fat, white bone gleaming beneath. Blubbering incoherently, bloody spit foams in the corners of his mouth, wild eyes rolling back in his head.

“I gave it to you, I did, I did, I did, please!”

There is a pause and for a blessed moment, the man believes he has a reprieve. Swollen eyes fly open, meeting bright blue and Bucky smiles.

And then he punches the knife handle straight through the man’s thigh bone. It cracks and splinters apart and the man screams and screams and screams and Bucky laughs and laughs and laughs.

“Did you think I fucking cared?”

*****

The sticky scent of maple syrup wakes you.

Crawling from the empty bed, you wrap the feather down comforter around your shoulders and shuffle from the bedroom, eager for the source.

The sight catches you off guard. Unimaginably soft.

There in the kitchen, Bucky stands in nothing but skintight black boxers.

Hair twisted in a messy knot, he shimmies through the small space, dancing absently to the music tinkling from the small speaker propped on the windowsill. On the stove, he has a flat skillet coated in butter and filled with bubbling silver-dollar pancakes. Along the edge of the counter, he taps out a rhythm with his spatula, tap tap tap-a-tap-a-tap, and your heart swells at the gentle domesticity.

When he whirls around, he discovers you watching from the doorway, sleepy and rumpled. He lights up, a honeyed smile on his lips, and stretches out a hand, a wordless request. Tripping into his arms, he tucks you safe against his chest.

“Morning baby,” he murmurs, warm breath tickling your ear. “God you look beautiful. How’d I get so lucky?”

The words are simple, lovely phrases he’s shared a million times before, but still your belly flips. Rubbing your cheek against his hot skin, you relax. Let yourself believe everything is perfect, while Bucky dances you slowly around the cozy kitchen until the charcoal crisp of pancake flavors the air.

“Buck, I think your pancakes are burning,” you breathe against the sandpaper stubble along his neck.

He merely hums.

“Let ‘em burn. I’m dancin’ with my girl.”

Mellow notes of smoky jazz drift through the air and you burrow closer, until Bucky pulls you down to the smooth kitchen tiles. The feather comforter pillows beneath you, the searing heat of his mouth tracing down your neck.

*****

“We’re out of time, set the bombs off. Now.”

In all the time he’s known known Steve Rogers, Sam has never heard his voice like this. Brittle. Cold. Devoid of emotion. On the ground below, amid soaring walls of steel and glass, screaming voices echo off the tower buildings. From his perch high above the melee, Sam stares watches people streaming from the front doors. He hesitates.

“There are still people inside,” he responds.

On the other end of the line is a bone crunching thunk, a truncated scream. Steve’s voice returns.

“Did I fucking stutter? Set it off. Now.”

Again, Sam hesitates, the trigger clenched in his sweaty hand. He shakes his head.

“Negative, Cap. There are still - “

“Jesus Christ, Wilson, you fucking pussy,” Bucky snarls. He rips the black box from Sam’s numb fingers and shoves him aside. Without pause, he flips the switch.

Across the street, the building rumbles and sways and in the space of a breath, the world is rent apart: glass shatters, steel beams screech, concrete explodes. All those still inside, fighting their way to freedom, go down in a crush of rubble, screams and shouts silenced by the thundering rush of crumbling stone.

Stalking around the corner, Steve is sliding the shield onto his back. Without a glance at the crowd below, he rushes at Sam.

“When I tell you to do something, don’t you ever fucking hesitate. You understand?”

Beside him, Bucky snorts and flings the device to the ground. He grinds it under his heel and strolls away, resuming his stance above the disaster. Blanching at the rage in those blue eyes, Sam takes a wordless step back.

“Yeah. Yeah, I understand.”

*****

The last time Steve came to the familiar meadow, was because he needed space to let the rage in his heart spill into the world. In the desolation of those black nights, he screamed his fury into the heavens, broken beyond repair.

This time is different.

Velvety night drips through the sparse tree branches as you walk through the dense forest, Steve leading the way, Bucky close behind. Slivers of moonlight streak through the dark trees, illuminating the huffs of frosty white breath.

When you reach the clearing, Steve slips his warm hand through your gloved fingers, Bucky curves a protective arm around your shoulders. Together, they lead you toward the middle of the field, until they come to an abrupt halt.

Bemused, you stare at them. Under the shy glow of white moonlight, they look carved from marble.

Fallen angels, maybe.

“Is everything okay?” you whisper, eyes roving uncertainly between them.

From the depths of his pocket, Bucky pulls free a black satin box. It sits in the palm of his hand and he looks nervously at you, over to Steve, back to you. He clears his throat.

“We’ve been talking about this forever.” A crooked smile lifts his lips. “Since the first night you spent with us. This here, what we have with you, it’s the only thing we want. We don’t need anything official, but we thought you should know. We’ll love you forever, sweetheart. If you’ll let us.”

Gently, he opens the case, revealing a dark ring set against white silk. Eyes wide, you watch as Bucky lifts the simple band, two strings of delicate black vibranium twisted into an infinity circle. As he holds it aloft, Steve nudges him, and they both fall, kneeling to worship at your feet.

“What do you think?” Steve murmurs. Tentative, hesitant. As though the answer could ever be anything other the words rolling from your tongue.

No matter the circumstance, the love you have for Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers is the one shining light in a world of darkness.

“Yes,” you breathe. “Of course. I love you both so much, nothing will ever change that. Forever.”

Under the raw, naked gleam of the bright night, you kneel before them, face to face with their delighted smiles. Together they reach for you, pulling you into the safe haven of their arms.

*****

“God dammit Rogers! You’re out of line with this shit!”

Leaning over his desk, Nick Fury wipes irritably at the fat beads of sweat dripping down his temple.

Across from him, Steve and Bucky sit in matching leather chairs, both still wearing their combat uniforms. They look like heathens, covered in dust and blood, the pervading reek of death defiling the pristine shine of the SHIELD office. Bucky sits with his legs sprawled open, Steve with one ankle balanced on the opposite knee.

Both are smirking.

“Are we though?” Steve shrugs, eyes wide. “If you’re not gonna do your job, someone has to pick up the slack. Like always.”

Nick grinds his teeth so hard they nearly crack. He sees red.

“That’s it, you cocky sonofabitch. We’re done with this. Effective immediately, you’re relieved of your duties. Both of you.”

Steve tips his head back and laughs, an inhuman sound. Nick feels his gut twist.

“Really? Buck did you hear that? We’re ‘relieved’ of our duties. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds like a fucking relief,” Bucky drawls. He picks at his fingernail, scraping dried blood from beneath and flicking it away. Tilting his head, he looks up at Fury with a poisonous smile. “But I dunno, the thing is Director, we’re pretty happy with our jobs. Pays the bills and gives us something to do, so I don’t think we’ll accept your offer. Another day, maybe. That sound good Stevie?”

“Sounds great, Buck.”

At a loss for words, Nick stares. Over the decades, he’s encountered some genuinely fucked up people, a common currency in this line of business, but this? This right here? This is a whole other level. Every hint of remorse, every bit of humanity, every last fragment of goodness is gone. Disappeared. Nothing more than ashes in the wind.

It is a bleak world, when superheroes become the monsters they hunt.

Steeling himself, Nick presses his fists into the desk to hide the shaking tremor of nerves.

“One last warning Rogers. Turn in your weapons and go home. Stand down, or I will make you.”

“Oh please,” Steve sneers, delight in his voice, “give it your best shot. I can’t wait to see how that goes.”

Smoothly simultaneous, they stand. The sound of raucous laughter follows them through the door and into the hallway, before abruptly ending as the heavy wood slams shut. Wide-eyed, Nick sinks slowly into his creaking leather chair.

The skin along the back of his neck tingles.

“Motherfucker,” he whispers.

*****

Standing at the edge of the dark lake, gentle ripples slide along the edges of cracked ice. It grows so fast now, stretching frozen fingers to claim the sheet of blue. Like a parasite, hardening the shoreline, freezing the world to stone.

The wicked irony of the metaphor is not lost.

Staring at the mobile phone clenched tight in your icy fingers, you turn it on for the first time in weeks and the screen lights up with a sea of notifications, red blips and blinking green lights, texts, emails, voicemails. Indicators of an increasingly desperate world beyond the confines of your comfortable bubble. Scrolling through, the names are an endless loop and your heart plummets.

Natasha, Sam, Tony. Nick Fury.

While Steve and Bucky have said nothing, the question itched at your brain. Upon each return, you begged them to tell you: what happened, how were they feeling, what did they see, was anything changing? And over and over, they answered with bashful shrugs and dashing smiles, fervent kisses pressed to your lips as they murmured the same response.

Nothing changed. Everything is good, we feel fine.

Nausea rises, thick and sour. Why did you ever let yourself believe them?

Before, they agonized over morality, what was right, the cost of their decisions. But now? The evidence of their lies glare up in black and white. Thumbing through, you see the increasing alarm in every message, descriptions of all they’ve done. Bombs, gunshots, torture. Blatant disregard for lives, for their team, for anything and anyone other than themselves.

Any semblance of humanity whittled away to nothing. Shattered by a desperate wish and a bargaining dance with a red-eyed demon.

Fuck.

Finger hovering over the latest message from Natasha, you brace yourself and click it open. The words jumble together, swimming black letters.

Nat: Dean Winchester. 785-555-0128. Call him. Please.

Eyes shut, you tip your face up to the sky, sucking in a lungful of sharp air.

For all the darkness circling their souls, the truth is, it remains pure and clear when it comes to their love for you. Bright smiles in the morning, rich laughter teasing through the day, sweet caresses in the night. The unconventionally beautiful relationship among the three of you created remains flawless.

Just as the demon promised.

Selfishly, you want that to be enough - if only it could be - but no. Some wrongs need to be righted, and this tragedy now rests squarely in your hands. Maybe you can save them. Maybe.

And if you can’t?

Heart hammering wildly in your chest, you punch the number, lift the phone to your ear and wait. It rings for so long, you nearly give up, until a gruff voice finally answers.

“Hello?”

*****

End

*****

#stucky x reader #bucky x reader x steve #bucky barnes #steve rogers #stucky #stucky fic #bucky x reader #steve x reader #supernatural #spn #crossover fic

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years ago

Text

Survey #403

“ashes to ashes, watch me disappear”

If given the opportunity, would you like to star in a musical? Definitely not. I don't like musicals. Name one person you’d take a bullet for: There's honestly a lot, but Mom immediately came to mind. Any posters of a band on your bedroom wall? Yeah: Metallica and Marilyn Manson currently. I want lots more, especially an Ozzy one. Do you think you’ve already met your soulmate? I don't believe in soulmates. Do you share your bedroom with anyone? No, unless you include my cat and snake. Is your favorite color yellow? No, it's actually one of my least favorites. Were you born in a hospital? I was. Do you know the name of the person that delivered you? No, but Mom does. I think he delivered me and my two sisters, and I know Mom has seen him since for other reasons. Was your birth recorded? God no. Good call, Mom. Did you eat a peach this week? Would you believe me if I told you I had a small bit of peach pie for my sister's birthday? For some reason, I just really wanted to try some. It was okay, but the aftertaste sucked. Are you leaving the house tomorrow? Yes, for TMS therapy. Every weekday. Do you enjoy romantic movies, even when they’re cliche? I honestly do. If you could get free vocal lessons would you take them? Probably not. I don't like singing in front of anyone, and it's not like I wanna get anywhere with my singing, so. Is your mother diabetic? She is. Are you? No. Ever sang someone to sleep? No. Who do you stalk the most through Facebook? Nobody. Have you ever deleted your Facebook, then brought it back? No. What is your main responsibility each day? Be sure to take my medications. Do you feel like you fulfill those responsibilities? Yeah. There are rare mornings where I forget, but I almost always remember. I don't fw skipping out on meds that keep my mental health stable. When was the last time you used spray paint? Good question. Do you know the middle name of the last person you kissed? Yep. Who is the friendliest person you know? My mom, probably. Something that annoys you about summer: THE HEAT. THE HUMIDITY. UGH. Something that annoys you about winter: Hm. That's hard to say, given I love winter. I guess the fact it doesn't snow enough here. Are the doors of your fridge side by side or on top of one another? Side-by-side. If you’ve moved out of the house you were born in, do you know the people who live in that house now? Nope. Have you ever cried in a movie theater? Not sobbed or anything, but I've definitely teared up and gotten the sniffles because of multiple movies. Do you read comic books? No. Do you force your way into conversations in which you are not involved? No. Have you ever seriously pretended to be clinically insane? I didn't need to pretend; I'm pretty damn sure I was for a while. Might I add that it's EXTREMELY inconsiderate to pretend you're insane, btw. Insanity is not "cool." It's not "funny." It's not "edgy." It's a serious, confusing, heart-wrenching issue that can ruin lives. Do you know anyone with a stutter? Yes, myself included when I'm even mildly nervous. And sometimes just randomly. With a lisp? I don't believe so. What was the last board game you played? The Disney version of "Pretty Pretty Princess" w/ my niece and even my nephew, even though his sexist-ass dad didn't want him to. Like let your kid have some fun with his sister and aunt, goddamn. They had a blast. It was Aubree's birthday present from me, so I am SO glad she loved it. Did you win? Ha ha, no, I always let Aubree or Ryder win. I came super close once, but I let the kids bend the rules a bit. They don't like losing, and even though they definitely need to understand that just happens and is totally fine for it to, I wasn't about to be the one to make them sad about it. When was the last time you tried to speak with an accent? OH MY LAAAAAWWWWWWD. Also at Aubree's b-day party, at one point, I spoke in a snobbish British accent while I was winning at the aforementioned game. Ryder asked, "Why are you speaking Spanish?", and I fuckin DIED. Have you ever made up a word before? Yeah, I know at least a few instances for fantasy animals in writing. When was the last time you went to a museum? A couple summers ago when my brother and his son visited, we went to a science museum. My nephew was sooooo into it. Do you have a nice yard? If so, do you spend a lot of time outside in it? If not, where do you go when you want to relax outdoors on nice days? Our front and back yards are both small and honestly very boring. The grass is a pretty green, but that's the only nice thing about it. I don't go to sit outside here on any day. Do your parents enjoy any of the things that you enjoy? Do you bond over these things? My parents and I have very similar music tastes, so there's that. I also didn't know for the longest time that Mom likes to write, which I sure as hell do, too! She doesn't really write anymore though, and she's self-conscious of it anyway, like I am. She and I also love a lot of the same shows. What is the movie that you have waited the longest for/which film do you remember anticipating the most/are still anticipating? I think The Incredibles 2. I aaaalways wanted to know what happened after the end of the first film. Do you have any ideas for a story or movie you’re planning to write or you’d write if you had the time/had the talent? Please share a synopsis! I genuinely think some RP I've written is series-worthy, but I don't feel like re-writing the YEARS of RP into a book format, and I sincerely worry that the ridiculously dark parts could inspire people like serial killers and cause A LOT of controversy, crime-blaming, and just general hate. I don't want to be involved in that. What is something that an interested guy/girl could comment about you, that would make you instantly open to them (e.g., “That book you’re reading is from my favorite author”)? Compliment my Markiplier tattoo, obviously knowing it's a tribute to him, and we're essentially besties. Is there a person in your life (maybe barely) that you feel in constant competition with (even just in your imagination)? Maybe you feel they are consistently outshining you? Ugh... there's a local photographer that's much more successful than I am that I admittedly am very envious of. I swear to whatever god you may believe in that I mean it from a modest perspective, I really, really do, but I genuinely think my skills surpasses hers, and she's only more prevalent because photography REALLY is about who you know. She's talented, yes, but like... come on. If you are single, even if you are normally happily single, are there certain specific things you witness that make you wish you were in a relationship (e.g., people getting engaged)? I mean yeah. I miss cuddling, holding hands, kissing, just being cute together, and especially people getting engaged or having kids. It's such a trigger to me. Once upon a time, that's all I wanted with Jason. I wanted to be that beautiful couple that got married and had two or three loved-beyond-words children, but then he left so abruptly, and I feel like it was so brutally robbed from me. I don't want kids anymore like at all, but the point still stands that I felt like my dreams were just ripped away. Out of all your usernames for websites, which one is your favorite? Do you use it for more than one site? I use "Ozzkat" just about everywhere. Have you ever spent the whole day (or multiple days) just looking up one thing on the internet (e.g., videos of your favorite band, how-to videos, quizzes, etc.)? OHHHHHHHHHH YEAH. There have been a couple days or so where I was totally glued to looking up various tattoo designs, bingeing let's plays or conspiracy theory videos, etc. etc. If you ever think about getting married, what are some aspects of the wedding that you would like to see in a non-traditional manner (e.g., a different color dress or “partners” over “husband” and “wife”)? I WILL NOT get married in a church, first of all. I'm also not having the traditional vows, and I probably won't wear a white dress, but instead black. Salt & vinegar, barbecue, sour cream & onion, or cheddar? Ohhhh, I like all those options but barbecue. I think I've gotta go with sour cream & onion, though. Bow ties on guys, dorky or adorable? A D O R A B L E ! ! ! I think they're ordinarily geeky, but I mean, geeky is cute in my world. :^) Do you believe in demonic possession? How about ghosts? Angels? Angels, no. Spirits/ghosts, 100%. I don't exactly believe in demons, per se, but I do question if evil spirits can possess someone. What is one romantic movie that you enjoy enough to watch more than once? I've seen The Notebook numerous times. Name three countries you want to visit; why those three? South Africa to interact with meerkats at the KMP, somewhere up in Canada to see the Northern Lights, and Germany just because, really. I took German for four semesters, and the culture and all just interests me. Do you have a good luck charm? No, considering I don't believe they do jack. Do you use Skype to talk to your friends? Only Sara. Now that I have Discord semi-figured out now though, we'll probably use that for voice chatting. Are you allergic to any animals? I might be allergic to dogs. Do you usually spend your weekends out, or at home? I'm like... always at home. Do you think it’s wrong for people to say "retard/retarded" as an insult? Absofuckinglutely. Don't pull that shit when I'm around. Have you ever had to go to the police department? No. Have you ever lived through a hurricane? Plenty. Have you ever had a home-grown tomato? Yes, from my old friend's garden. We'd have delicious tomato, mayo, and bacon sandwiches. The only instance where I've enjoyed tomatoes. Have you ever held a real gun? The former friend I mentioned just before, her husband always carried a gun, and he just needed me to hold it for a sec for some reason I don't recall. I hated the feeling. Would you rather wear Converse or Vans? I like both, but I think I prefer Converse. Have you ever been called bipolar? Yes, because I clinically am. Have you ever made fun of a handicapped person? FUCK no. And like the "retarded" thing, don't you fucking DARE to do this in front of me. I WILL deck the shit out of you. Do you think it’s okay to have sex before marriage? Sure, as long as you're being safe and are very thorough in communication. Do you like to watch old sitcoms? I don't really watch TV as I say in like every survey it seems, but I do enjoy some old sitcoms I grew up watching with my mom, like The Nanny, The Golden Girls, The Munsters, etc. If asked, could you run a mile nonstop right now? Being completely serious, I don't even know if I CAN physically run right now. My legs are so incredibly weak, and I'm humiliatingly close to what my heaviest weight was back in 2016, so I can almost guarantee my knees would crumple if I tried. Do you wear those rubber wristbands? I used to. I don't really like bracelets nowadays. If a necklace/ring gives you green marks, do you still wear it? Nope. Have you ever driven an electric car? No. When was the last time you saw someone you went to high school with? Uhhhh idk. What breed was the last dog you saw? A fucking GOLIATH of a lab. I shit you not when I say my sister's roommate's dog Hudson is the size of a goddamn bear. How long have your parents been together (or how long were they together, if they no longer are): I wanna say they were together at the very least 20 years. What has been your most epic cooking failure? I once accidentally put something (I don't remember what) in the microwave for around 45 minutes I believe, and I walked away and completely forgot about it. I remembered a long while later, and safe to say, it wasn't edible, whatever it was, lmao. Have you ever been to Mexico? No. Have you ever had a parrot sit on your shoulder? No, but that'd be cool. Has anyone in your life ever treated you abusively? No. How long has it been since your last breakup? Somewhere around two years ago? My memory is so garbage nowadays. Can you concentrate well while listening to music, or do you find it distracting? It's distracting, usually. What’s something you’ve been struggling with lately? I've been pretty bad about drinking too much soda lately. :/

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''under the graveyard'' by ozzy osbourne

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thiswasinevitableid · 4 years ago

Text

Apology Flowers (Indruck)

@cyborgrabbit requested 63 from the meet uglies: “sometimes I steal flowers from your garden on my way to the cemetery, but today you’ve caught me and have demanded to come with me to make sure the “[person] is [attractive] enough to warrant flower theft” and I’m trying to figure out how to break it to you that we’re on our way to a graveyard.” They added, “If it wasn't a personal Garden but like a large private/public outdoor Garden that Duck was the main care giver for he absolutely would verbally attack anyone who touched his flowers”

Indrid considers the plants before him carefully; he wants variety, but he also wants flowers that fit the occasion and the setting. Roses would be nice, but as a human he can’t get them off the plant easily. He needs his mandibles for that.

He picks snapdragons, some lilies, some foxglove, and a smattering of pink and orange blossoms he can’t quite identify, wrapping them all in one big bouquet in a few sheets of USA Today. He’s so busy preparing himself for the hour ahead that he misses a change in the future and the figure stepping around the bushes.

“Hey man, you know you ain’t supposed to pick those, right?”

He whirls, ill-gotten blossoms clutched to his chest.

“I, ah, I, yes, I, I am aware it is frowned upon in a public garden but none of the ones in the store quite, ah, suited my needs.”

The man, clearly an employee, crosses his arms, “so you decided to take some from the botanical gardens?”

“Yes. You have so may, I assumed a few would not be missed.”

“Maybe they wouldn’t, but if everyone gets it into their heads to take just a few, suddenly whole chunks of the garden are missing and all our hard work is for nothin’. Besides, average folks can’t tell the difference between a common plant that’s easy to replace and one that was a pain in the ass to grow.” He doesn’t sound angry so much as tired, as if he’s had this conversation dozens of times.

“I see your point. I, ah, I can’t really put them back though. May I keep these?”

The man smirks, “sure thing. I’m comin’ with you though. I wanna see if the person you’re given ‘em too is good-lookin enough to warrant flower theft.”

Indrid has zero desire to admit where he’s actually going.

“Ah, but, you are clearly at work. And I’m in a hurry.”

“Lucky for you I just got off and can walk pretty fast.”

Indrid sighs, defeated, “Very well. And no need to walk, I have a car.”

The man follows him to the little sedan he’s been towing behind the ‘Bago. Indrid opens the doors, pausing before he gets in, “are you certain you wish to come with me, Duck Newton? It’s not going to be very entertaining.”

“I’m sure. And how’d you know my name?”

“Name-tag.” Indrid replies automatically, hoping the man is actually wearing one.

Duck shrugs, and climbs into the car. As Indrid turns onto the main road, the gardener asks, “you been to Point Pleasant before?”

“A few times.”

“You got family here?”

“No. My family lives rather far away. Ah, what about you?” His distracted state is a blessing, as it keeps him from accidentally saying Duck’s words along with him.

“I’m from Kepler originally, moved out here for this job. Uh-” Duck turns, looking back at the arch they just drove under, “you sure we’re goin’ the right way?”

“Yes.” He says tightly, pulling into the cemetery parking lot.

“Fuuck” Duck groans, smacking a hand onto his face in embarrassment, “why didn’t you tell me those were for this? Woulda eased up on you a little.”

“I wasn’t sure how to explain it.” He opens the door, “will you be joining me, or do you wish to wait here?”

“I’ll come help you pay your respects, seems the polite thing to do.”

They enter the grounds, Duck removing his hat as they do. There are a few other visitors scattered about, the sky blue above them and the grass pleasantly fresh cut.

Indrid finds the first grave, removes a snapdragon from the bouquet and sets it atop the stone. Stares at the name a moment, long enough to think the words he’d usually say aloud, then walks to the next grave he needs to visit. He knows their order by heart.

He’s expecting Duck to become bored with his wandering, or try to talk with him, or offer some thoughtful but useless platitudes. But the human simply follows him from grave to grave, keeping a respectful distance between them.

Indrid doesn’t cry, he never does during this. But with Duck near him, he feels like he should. A human would cry, would they not? Only a monster would remain so unmoved.

Not all of them are buried here, and so after a half hour they return to the car.

Indrid stares at the wheel, “I have one more stop to take flowers to. I can drop you somewhere else if you’d like.”

“I’ll come with you. Come this far. But uh…”

“Indrid. You were about to ask my name. It’s Indrid.”

“Right, yeah. Look, Indrid, you seem like you’re dealin with somethin heavy and, well, I don’t feel quite right leavin you to deal with it alone. But if you need me gone, I can go.”

“I’d very much like your company on this next part.”

“You got it.”

They drive in silence, and Indrid turns on the radio because human music is one of his favorite things. Duck hums along at one point, the noise off-key and charming enough to make Indrid forget what’s ahead of him.

When they approach the memorial, Duck says softly, “ah, thought I recognized some of the names, couldn’t place where. The Silver Bridge Collapse.”

“Yes.” Indrid sits down on the ground near the first row of bricks inscribed with names of those he failed to save. He sets the remaining flowers on a nearby stone, so it will be clear what they are for.

A scuff as Duck sits down next to him.

“Did you know someone on the bridge.”

“Not exactly, no” Indrid sets his hands on his knees, focuses his gaze on cracked ground.

“I, uh, I think what you doin’ is real noble. Most folks come and just visit the Mothman statue.”

“I’ve seen Mothman plenty of times, I do not need to see him anymore.”

“Nicest ass in West Virginia.”

Indrid snorts in surprise, glancing over at Duck.

“Sorry, tend to goof when I’m feelin’ awkward.”

“It’s alright. My actions are less noble than you perhaps think. I, ah, I was there. The day it happened. I suppose you could say I have a, ah, a very intense case of survivors guilt.”

“Oh, Indrid, I’m so fuckin sorry. That must have been terrifyin.” Duck rests his hand on his knee and Indrid starts. He hasn’t been touched on purpose in two years, maybe more.

“It was. I come back whenever I can, to, to pay my respects. To say I’m sorry. Sorry that I couldn’t save them. Sorry that I failed.”

“Hold up now, you didn’t fail no one. Bridge collapse was an accident.”

“But-”

“Let’s say even if you, I dunno, had some way of seein’ it comin, you’re just one guy. One guy can do a lot, but he can only do so much. Trust me, I know. Whatever happened on the bridge, it wasn’t your fault.”

“I…” no one’s ever said that to him so sincerely, so plainly. But as the story he’s told himself all these years starts to crumble, emotion seeps through the cracks.

He shudders, head collapsing into his hands. The strong arm wraps around his shoulders and he crumples, falling against Duck’s chest. Through the silent, sharp tears, he tries to be polite, tries not to make the man feel Indrid is any strnager than he already must.

“I’m s-sorry, I shouldn’t, you don’t need to-”

“Hush now” Duck murmurs, hugging him, “just get it all out.”

Indrid does, streaking his face with and wetting Duck’s shirt with tears. When they finally abate, his mind is pleasingly clear, save for one question.

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Because it seems like someone needs to be. Plus, was kinda a dick earlier.”

Indrid snickers at his candor, “You were right to scold me for picking those flowers. Perhaps I should grow my own. There must be a way to do so inside a small space.”

“Can think of a few.”

In all the futures, Duck clears his throat and says that even so, he should be going and that it was nice to meet Indrid.

“If you, uh, if you want, could brainstorm so with you over dinner.” A warm hand rubs his upper arm, soothing and protective.

He sits up but stays in Duck’s arms, looking down at him, “I would, but you do not need to ruin your evening for my sake.”

“Wouldn’t call gettin’ to know you more ‘ruinin’ somethin’. Plus, you’re still in a raw spot. You telling me you wanna spent the rest of your evenin’ with your own thou-”

“No, no I do not.” Indrid says flatly.

“C’mon, some friends of mine have a real nice place to eat near the gardens. French Onion Soup is to die for.”

“I have never had it.”

“Fuck, really? Well now we gotta go.” Duck smiles, his mellow enthusiasm contagious, and by the time they’re in the car Indrid is smiling too.

Dinner really is delicious, though Indrid prefers the pie to the soup (though he must admit he enjoys watching the pleasure on Duck’s face as he eats said soup). Duck asks him about his travels, eagerly shares stories about the garden, and shows him pictures of his cat. When Indrid mentions he draws, Duck asks to see the little pocket sketchbook he carries, and proceeds to tell him a half-dozen times how amazing it is. He also hears Duck laugh for the first time, a ridiculous sound that he wants to hear a hundred times more.

They talk until closing time, no longer across from each other but side by side, as Duck had hopped around to Indrid’s booth to show him more pictures of the gardens. The human offers his arm, and they walk at a leisurely pace. When he reaches the car he hesitates, then hugs Duck. The shorter man hugs him back.

“Thank you, Duck, for everything.”

“You’re welcome. You stayin in town?”

“For awhile, yes.”

“Well, hopefully I’ll see you around.” Duck slowly retracts from the hug, tips his hat with a wink and heads to his car. Indrid gets into his own, watches Duck drive away before heading towards the trailer park. As he reaches into his pocket for his keys, he finds a folded slip of paper with the words “dinner and movie tomorrow?” followed by a phone number.

He grabs his phone, and hurriedly dials.

And in every future, including the one that comes to pass, Duck answers the phone with a smile.

#Indruck #indrid cold/duck newton #meet ugly #TAZ Amnesty #prompt fills

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bellakitse · 5 years ago

Text

Of little girls and their cats

TK Strand has seen Officer Carlos Reyes before, but it isn't until he meets his daughter that he gets to know the man.

* Carlos has a daughter, his daughter has a cat up a tree, TK brings the cat down.

TK watches as his fellow firefighter, Judd Ryder comes back into the kitchen from talking with his wife with a broad smile on his face.

“What’s so funny?” he can’t help but ask, he’s only known Judd for a few weeks, and this kind of open amusement is not something he’s used to.

“Grace,” Judd says with a smile, his voice fond the way it always is when he speaks about his wife. “She got a call from her goddaughter, telling her that her cat Mr. Whiskers is stuck in a tree and asked if she could ask the firemen to come and get it down. She called to ask if I could drive over there, it’s not far.” Judd finishes looking over at Owen in question.

TK watches his father too, no matter what the movies say, firefighters don’t really waste their time getting cats down from trees, but TK also knows his dad is a sucker for kids, plus, it’s been a painfully slow shift, everything is clean, and everyone is bored.

TK stands up, knowing before his father even opens his mouth that he’s going to indulge the little girl. Sure enough, Owen smiles.

“Let's go save Mr. Whiskers,” he says to the room, grinning when the rest of the crew laughs as they head downstairs.

Judd nods, pulling out his phone again as he follows Marjan and Paul, more than likely calling Grace back to tell her they’re going.

TK walks alongside his father, elbowing him in the side. “You old softy,” he says quietly, grinning when his father gasps at the word old.

“Who can say no to little girls and their cats?” Owen questions him.

TK shakes his head, amused. “Not us, it seems.”

They get into one of the trucks, and just like Judd promised, the ride takes no more than ten minutes before they’re pulling up to a blue ranch-style house with a massive tree in the front. As they get out, TK spots the cutest little girl, probably no older than seven with long curly hair in pigtails by the tree. Next to her is another girl, a teenager who is looking at them with wide eyes and worry on her face.

“Someone called about a Mr. Whiskers?” Judd calls out a step behind him, and TK watches as the little girl lights up.

“Uncle Judd!” she screams, pulling out of the teen’s hold to run to the other fireman. TK watches as the surly man grins widely, picking the girl up.

“Mr. Judd,” the older girl addresses him, and the rest of them. “I’m so sorry Lisbeth called you guys. I didn’t even realize she had the phone in her hand. Her dad is on the way, and he’s not happy about it.”

Judd waves the girl’s apologies away.

“She called Grace, not dispatch, we just had free time on our hands,” Judd reassures her, turning the little girl in his arms towards them. “Lisbeth, this is the 126, wanna say hi?”

The little girl seems to go shy as all eyes are on her, hiding her face in Judd’s neck as she gives them a small wave.

Judd just smiles, hiking her up higher on his hip. “Guys, this is Lisbeth Reyes, she’s officer Reyes’, daughter,” he tells them, and TK tries not to react.

He knows the name and the man, he’s seen him more than once on a call, and while they haven’t spoken much, there is still this thing between them. Something indefinable but very much there. Maybe it’s that TK is a hundred percent sure that they’re eye-fucking every time they’re near each other.

TK shakes his head, probably not the best time to think about Officer Reyes and how much he wants him when in front of his kid. He’s not done considering that, when they hear the siren of a police car. TK and the rest of the crew turn to watch as the car pulls up to the house, and TK holds his breath as Officer Reyes steps out of the car, large, imposing, and damn hot in his uniform. He has a frown on his face as he focuses his attention on his daughter.

“Lisbeth Rebekah Reyes,” Carlos starts as he steps on the grass with his hands on his hips.

“Uh-oh,” Lisbeth whispers, which Judd agrees with a hum as he puts her down.

“Mr. Reyes, I’m so sorry,” the teen says quickly, looking around at all of them littering the yard, watching and waiting.

Carlos flashes the young girl a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about it,” he says, pulling out his wallet and giving her a couple of bills. “I know how tenacious my kid can be, you couldn’t stop her. I need a sitter next Tuesday afternoon, that work for you?”

The girl nods, taking the money.

“Good, I’ll text you,” Carlos gives her another calming smile. “You can head home, I’m done for the day.”

The girl hesitates for a moment before heading back towards the house, more than likely to collect her stuff.

Carlos turns back towards them, kneeling in front of his daughter. “Lisbeth, what have I said about calling 9-1-1?”

Lisbeth looks around at them with wide-eyes, and TK has to bite down on his lip to keep from jumping in to defend her.

“Lisbeth?”

Lisbeth takes a deep breath, letting it out loudly. “9-1-1 is only for emergencies,” she recites.

Carlos raises an eyebrow as he nods. “And do you think Mr. Whiskers being in a tree, is an emergency worthy of calling 9-1-1?”

Lisbeth shakes her head, and Carlos nods again.

“That’s right –“

“But I didn’t call 9-1-1, Papi. I called madrina, and she called uncle Judd,” Lisbeth says, cutting her father off.

TK watches as Carlos closes his eyes for a moment before standing back up, glaring at Judd. “Seriously, man?”

Judd shrugs, unconcerned. “That’s what you get when you make my wife your daughter’s godmother.”

“I’m trying to teach a lesson here about not bothering first responders with non-emergencies,” Carlos says, rolling his eyes when Judd just shrugs again.

“We’re already here,” TK interrupts what looks to be a stalemate, and he has to remember to breathe when Carlos’ eyes lock on him for the first time since he arrived. TK feels the tension spike between them instantly, and he knows he’s not imagining it.

It’s there crackling like a live wire.

“We might as well get the cat down,” he continues, looking away from Carlos to look down at the little girl. “We’ll get him down, okay, sweetheart?” he says to her, getting a wide smile in return.

The next few minutes pass quickly as they set their ladder, and TK climbs up the tree. He gets a few scratches for his troubles, but soon he’s jumping back down with a fat tabby in his arms. He rolls his eyes as his team mockingly claps for him. Ignoring them, he gets down on one knee in front of Lisbeth.

He tries to focus on her and not on her father, who stands behind her with his hand on her shoulder, watching him.

“Here you go, sweetheart,” he says gently, smiling at her as he hands her the cat. He lets out a surprised sound when Lisbeth steps forward and wraps one small arm around his neck, Mr. Whiskers between them letting out a meow at the indignity.

“Thank you,” Lisbeth says quietly, those pretty brown eyes of her full of joy, and TK thinks he’s completely smitten with this cute little girl. It would make sense given his crush on her father. He sneaks a look up at Carlos to find him watching him with a smile on his face that makes TK’s heart skip.

“Thank you, TK,” Carlos says softly.

It's not the first time Carlos has called him by his name, but it's the first time he's said it in a way that feels personal and intimate. He watches him for a moment, spotting interest, and maybe even affection in his eyes, and TK wants to get lost in the warmth of Carlos' gaze.

Someone clears their throat behind him, and TK blinks, realizing that he's been in a staring contest with the officer while his crew and the man's daughter watch.

He stands from his kneeling position, feeling his face grow hot as he catches the smirk of more than one of his teammates, his father's eyes all too knowing for his comfort.

"No worries," he clears his throat. "It's our job," he says inanely, cringing when he hears his father let out a coughing laugh.

He's embarrassed, but still, as Lisbeth beams at him, and Carlos gives him a small quirk of his lips, he thinks it's worth the ribbing he's going to get when they get back to the station.

"TK!"

TK stops mid-pull-up to look over at Paul, who is walking into the equipment room with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Officer hottie and his kid are downstairs waiting for you," Paul grins, his eyes dancing with amusement when TK's hold on the bar slips, and he slightly trips as he lands. "And I believe we're at the baked goods of your mating ritual, because I spotted brownies."

TK smiles in spite of himself. It's been three days since they were at the Reyes household. Three days of his path, unfortunately not crossing with Carlos'.

He starts to leave the weight room only to have Paul throw him a shirt.

"Dude, don't send that man into cardiac arrest with all that on display," Paul gestures towards TK's sweaty torso making a face.

"Knew you thought I was hot," TK winks at Paul, grinning when Paul scoffs.

"Whatever pretty boy," Paul smirks. "Just make sure you get a date this time, or the teasing you've been getting these last few days will seem like child's play."

TK waves his middle finger in the air back at Paul, making the man laugh again. Going downstairs, he spots Carlos and Lisbeth talking to Judd over by the trucks.

"Hey," he calls out as he slips on his shirt over his head. He doesn't miss the quick way Carlos runs his eyes over him though. "What brings you by?" he questions as he comes to stand in front of the small family.

"Hi, sweetheart," he smiles down at Lisbeth.

"We made you some brownies," Lisbeth smiles back up at him, turning to tug on Carlo's shirt. "Daddy, give him the brownies."

TK looks at Carlos, taking the pan from his hand when Carlos extends it. Pulling back the aluminum foil, TK breaks off a piece of the treat, popping it into his mouth.

“Hmm,” he hums, his eyes lighting up at the chocolatey taste. “These are delicious Lisbeth, thank you.”

Lisbeth beams at him, her cheeks going rosy, and TK can’t help but be charmed.

“You going to share those?” Judd questions, crossing his arms over his chest.

TK raises an eyebrow, looking back down at Lisbeth. “What do you think sweetheart, should I share?”

Lisbeth makes a show of thinking it over, making TK and Carlos smile, while Judd makes a disbelieving sound.

“Lisbeth,” he pouts, putting on a show for the little girl making her giggle.

“I guess you should be nice and share,” she finally says, smiling so hard a dimple appears on her left cheek.

TK chuckles as he catches Carlos eyes, which are also amused as he watches TK interact with his daughter. There is something else there though that remind TK of Paul’s comment and springs him to action.

“What do you say to Judd showing you the station, and you can hand out the brownies to the rest of the crew? They’re all upstairs in the kitchen and the weight room.”

Lisbeth lights up, and she tilts her head up to look at her dad. “Papi puedo?”

Carlos nods at her giving her a nudge in Judd’s direction as TK snags another piece of the brownie before handing the pan to the older fireman.

“But stay with Uncle Judd, okay?”

Lisbeth nods, taking Judd’s hand. Judd flashes them a knowing look before he and Lisbeth take the stairs up.

“These are really good,” TK says once they’re alone, taking another bite of the brownie. He sucks on his thumb to clean it from the chocolate, grinning when Carlos’ eyes darken as he tracks the action.

“That’s how you want to play this?” Carlos asks, his voice low and rough as he takes a step closer towards TK, making his heart skip at the intensity he sees on Carlos’ face. Any doubt that maybe he’s been imagining this attraction between them gone. Still, he can’t help but tease.

“How do you want to play it?” he questions with a smirk, letting out a gasp when Carlos puts both hands on his chest and pushes him back until he finds himself pressed against the side of the truck. TK gives a quick look around, thankful that for once, no one is around on the ground floor. Not that it matters when seconds later, Carlos is covering his mouth with his.

TK moans, blindly grabbing at Carlos’ broad shoulders as he licks his way into his mouth. The kiss is rough, no hesitation of a first kiss as Carlos’ takes, it’s disarming in contrast to the gentle hold Carlos has on his face, and TK is left defenseless to the contradicting actions, leaving him feeling wrecked as he surrenders to the kiss.

“I knew you’d taste sweet,” Carlos murmurs against his mouth, biting down softly on TK’s bottom lip before soothing the sting with his tongue.

“Brownie,” TK gasps, chasing after it.

Carlos chuckles quietly, and TK feels it more than hears as Carlos presses his body against him, holding him up at this point as TK is sure he’s gone boneless from Carlos’ kisses. “No, that’s all you.”

TK pulls Carlos into another kiss, his hand sliding down the hard plains of Carlos' chest to cup him through his pants, moaning into the kiss as he finds him hard and thick. He can already picture getting his mouth on him, and it's only the noise of his team above him that reminds him where they are, keeping him from sinking to his knees.

He pulls back to look at Carlos, making a soft needy sound when he sees how blown Carlos' eyes are, his lips shiny from their kisses. He already looks wrecked, and TK just wants to mess him up some more.

Carlos touches the corner of his mouth with the pad of his thumb, running it over his bottom lip, and all TK can do is pant against the digit, in awe of the need, and want coursing through him for the man before him.

"Lisbeth has a sleepover tonight with her cousins," Carlos tells him, licking his lips. He closes his eyes like he can taste TK on them. "My sister is picking her up at 7."

Carlos looks at him, his gaze hot and promising, but also so sweetly hopeful, TK is filled with tenderness to go along with the lust that's making his blood pump harder.

He smiles at the man, getting one in return. "I get off at 9."

TK arrives at the Reyes household 15 minutes before ten. He took a quick shower at the fire station and ran out of there to the sound of his crew, teasing him for his rush. The ride over was short, but his anticipation of the night ahead made it feel forever, and when he steps up to the door, his heart is racing.

Carlos opens the door with a beautiful smile on his even more beautiful face, and all TK wants is to lick it off.

"Hi," he says breathlessly as he takes in the tight pale blue dress shirt and slacks, feeling more than a little underdressed in his yellow hoodie.

"Hi," Carlos greets him back, letting him in.

TK walks, looking around at the well lived-in home. "Lisbeth with her cousins?"

Carlos closes the door, stepping up behind him, his hands resting on TK's hips. "Yeah, she and the other little terrors should be driving my sister crazy as we speak."

TK chuckles, but it turns into a soft moan when Carlos pulls down his hood and presses his face into the crook of TK's neck, his lips touching the sensitive shell of TK's ear.

"I cooked," Carlos says softly, his breath against TK's skin makes the hairs stand up. "Tamales. Do you like them?"

"Never had them," TK answers honestly. "But I'm sure I'll love them."

He turns around in Carlos' embrace, wrapping his arms around Carlos’ neck while he pulls him closer.

"Later, though?" he questions, tilting his head an inch up to brush his mouth against Carlos'.

Carlos smiles against his mouth, his brown eyes shining with amusement and affection. He starts walking them deeper into the house towards a hallway. "Tamales are awesome as midnight food."

TK grins, surging forward to kiss him. Carlos wraps his arm around his waist, lifting him off his feet and TK gasps, wrapping his legs around Carlos' hips. He's not a small man, and yet Carlos carries him like it's nothing as he takes them into his bedroom.

TK let's out a laugh when Carlos drops him on the bed, causing him to bounce. Carlos flashes him a grin as he all but rips his shirt off. TK follows suit or tries to, cursing as he gets stuck in his stupid yellow hoodie.

He hears Carlos laugh from his hoodie prison before he feels a set of hands free him. He looks up to find Carlos looking down at him, tenderly amused.

"I'm usually better at this," TK promises as he blushes. "Much more seductive."

Carlos chuckles, he cups TK's face between his strong hands and leans down to give him a kiss that makes TK's toes curl.

"Believe me baby, you've been seducing me since the first call we were on together," Carlos tells him, giving him half a smile. "I took one look at those eyes of yours and knew I was in trouble. Haven't been able to get you out of my head since."

"I know the feeling," TK says softly, meaning it. He doesn't know much about the man before him, all he knows is that the moments he spends around him, even if it's a few seconds on an emergency is enough to lift the grey fog TK has been living in since even before he and his father left New York. Every encounter with Carlos is splashes of color, and TK craves more.

"Come here," he whispers as he lays back on the bed. Carlos follows his request and covers TK with his strong body. As Carlos finishes undressing them and touches TK precisely the way he likes, pulling moan after moan out of him, TK starts to see the bits of color, and by the time Carlos sinks into him, robbing him of breath everything is in technicolor for the first time in a long time.

TK wakes up warm, delightfully achy and with a strong arm thrown over his hip. He smiles, taking his time to open his eyes as he feels Carlos’ solid frame against his back, his breath warming TK’s neck as he sleeps with his face tucked into the crook of TK’s shoulder.

“Mr. Whiskers is up the tree again.”

TK opens is eyes at the soft voice, finding Lisbeth Reyes standing by his side of the bed, watching him calmly.

“Hi,” he says hesitantly, not knowing how the little girl is going to react to finding him in her father's bed.

“Hi, TK,” she greets him back. “Mr. Whiskers went up the tree, but I didn’t call 9-1-1 or my madrina this time.”

“That’s progress,” Carlos says, his words muffled against TK’s neck. He lifts his head, and TK turns his face, catching the adorably sleepy look on his face. “Morning, baby girl.”

Lisbeth smiles at her dad as she says good morning.

“I’m hungry, daddy,” she says just as TK’s own stomach grumbles, making Carlos smile.

“Seems you’re not the only one,” he teases, making Lisbeth giggle as she looks back at TK. “We have tamales from last night.”

Lisbeth’s eyes light up at the comment. “Yes! Tamales for breakfast!”

TK laughs softly at the little girl’s excitement, the weirdness of her finding him there, dissipating since it seemed he was the only one being weird about it.

“Go watch cartoons baby,” Carlos tells his daughter as he sits up, he takes a moment to rub his eyes, and TK doesn’t understand how someone can be so hot and so adorable at the same time. “We’ll get Mr. Whiskers down and heat up the tamales.”

Lisbeth nods, leaving them alone once more. In the distance, TK can hear the TV on. He watches as Carlos gets up, slipping on a pair of sweats and an Austin police t-shirt.

“She didn’t even blink to me being here,” TK questions as he sits up on the bed.

Carlos looks over at him with a small frown on his face. “I told her you would probably be here when she came home.”

TK looks up at Carlos, not sure what surprises him more, the fact that Carlos told his daughter about them or that he knew that TK would be here in the morning. “You did?”

Carlos tilts his head to the side, studying him, before coming over to sit down next to TK on the bed. He takes TK’s hand in his, lifting it to his mouth to press a small kiss to the back of it.

“I don’t hide things from my daughter,” Carlos starts with a look on his face that has TK holding his breath, his heart rate ticking up the longer Carlos watches him. “Especially the things that matter.”

“And I matter?” he can’t help but ask, hopeful.

Carlos smiles, leaning in to kiss him. “What do you think?” he whispers against TK’s mouth before giving him another kiss.

TK sighs into it, wrapping his arms around Carlos’s neck, holding him close, while Carlos’ hands go up and down TK’s back stroking him.

“Daddy! TK! Hurry up!”

TK smiles into the kiss. “I’ll get the cat, you get the food ready. You two keep bragging about these tamales, I expect them to be amazing.”

Carlos grins as he stands up. “Prepare to have your life changed forever,” Carlos promises as he leaves the room, and TK thinks as he slips into his pants and shirt – Yeah, he’s ready for that.

#911 lone star #tarlos #tarlos fic #911 lone star fic #tk x carlos #my writing

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