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therugcollective · 1 year ago
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The Ultimate Guide to Practical and Affordable Style: Machine Washable Rugs for Every Room
In the quest for stylish yet convenient home decor, machine washable rugs emerge as the unsung heroes of modern living. This article unveils the versatility and affordability of machine washable rugs, particularly focusing on their application in bedrooms and living rooms. We'll also explore the realm of cheap rugs, proving that budget-friendly options can be both fashionable and functional.
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1. Practical Luxury: Machine Washable Rugs
Discover the freedom of hassle-free maintenance with machine washable rugs. From spills to everyday wear, these rugs offer a convenient solution for keeping your spaces clean and stylish.
2. Bedroom Bliss: Transforming Spaces
Explore how machine washable rugs add a layer of comfort and style to bedrooms. Learn about sizing, materials, and design options to create a cozy haven without compromising on practicality.
3. Living Room Elegance: Function Meets Fashion
Delve into the world of machine washable rugs as the perfect addition to your living room. Uncover tips on selecting the right size, color coordination, and patterns for a seamless integration into your living space.
4. Cheap Rugs, High Style: Affordable Options
Challenge the notion that cheap rugs compromise on quality or style. Discover budget-friendly alternatives that bring both flair and functionality to your home.
5. The Rug Collective's Affordable Excellence
Introduce readers to The Rug Collective's selection of machine washable rugs, bedroom rugs, living room rugs, and cheap rugs. Highlight the commitment to quality, diverse designs, and pocket-friendly options that set us apart.
6. Customer Testimonials: Real Stories, Real Satisfaction
Share testimonials from satisfied customers who have experienced the practicality and affordability of machine washable rugs from The Rug Collective.
7. Style Tips and Trends: Expert Insights
Provide style tips and trends on incorporating machine washable rugs into modern home decor. From color trends to innovative placements, empower readers to unleash their creativity.
8. Elevate Your Spaces: The Perfect Rug for Every Budget
Conclude by inviting readers to explore The Rug Collective's collection and elevate their living spaces with the perfect rug for every room, proving that practicality and style can coexist harmoniously.
Embrace the convenience and charm of machine washable rugs while discovering affordable yet stylish options for your bedroom and living room. Transform your spaces with The Rug Collective, where practicality meets elegance without breaking the bank. Explore our collection and redefine your home decor with rugs that make a statement in every room.
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thewinter-eden · 1 month ago
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You Live Like This?
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images are mine (except middle chan pic that I got from pinterest). please do not use without permission. Chan's ATE pcs are my inspo this time.
Series master list PART 2 INFO
pairing: Bang Chan x fem!reader rating: mature, dark themes, one shot summary: home invader!Chris breaks into your home one night to rob you blind, only to realize you’re too poor to rob.
warnings: knives, threatening behavior, mention of rape (nothing in actuality), mention of murder (nothing in actuality), light violence (no harm), swearing, mentions of Carry-On (Netflix), mentions of cheating, fear, terrified but exhausted reader, attempted kiss (no force), satirical plotline. chan fluff.
word count: 5k
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Your fingers are curled around the handle of the pot on the stove when you hear it. The slightest click, the faintest ruffle of air. It’s a familiar sound, the gentle push of your front door closing when you’re trying to be quiet.
You freeze, heart pounding, and try to mentally walk yourself back through the past couple of hours. You’d come home from work, still reeling from the latest verbal onslaught from your (former) boss, and kicked the door shut behind you. Had it closed? Had it latched?
It hadn’t.
It must not have.
One of the dogs must have just pushed it closed.
You push the pot off the burner and turn the stove off, smoothing your hands down the front of your sweats. Baited breath, shoulders tensed, you cross the kitchen and poke your head into the entryway, peering through the shadows. You have every light in the chilly house off except for the kitchen, because you’re finally settling down to watch a long awaited film, and you like to set the scene with a dark house.
But that means your entryway is pitch black, and to your slowly adjusting eyes, the coatrack looks like a person’s silhouette.
Before you can convince yourself otherwise, your hand snaps out and hits the light switch.
Flickering yellow light floods the small hall, revealing nothing but your coatrack, the tiny side table that bears the weight of your house keys and the mail, and your kicked off work heels, still laying messily on the inside rug.
Your eyes flick to the other doorway in the hall, the one leading to your living room, but it’s still dark and quiet, so you flick the lights back off.
Dinner is a painfully cheap meal of instant ramen with an egg cracked on top and half a sausage chopped up into the noodles. You don’t bother plating it, rather setting the sauce pan that it cooked in onto a large oven mitt on the table, right next to that damn cardboard filing box.
Retrieving a pair of chopsticks, you settle into your chair and stir the noodles through the eggy broth, unable to stop the heavy sigh the swirls steam directly into your face. Cheap ramen is going to make many appearances in the next couple of months.
It’s not the heat or the spice that brings tears to your eyes as you fight down a mouthful, but rather the weight of your last few days. And, to top it all off, the email from the real estate office that you found waiting for you when you got home a few hours ago, haphazardly dropping the final straw on the proverbial camel’s back.
There’s a thump from your living room, and then the rattle of your dog’s favorite bell toy rolling across the floor.
You grab a napkin and dab your lips, reaching for your bottled water. “Mira,” Your voice fills the empty house. Your oldest dog, thirteen, likes to use the obnoxious rattling of that toy to inform you that you’ve forgotten her dinner time. “Bring it here, Mira.”
The next series of noises makes your heart stop.
The sound of both of your dogs jumping off your bed upstairs, and the absolute elephant stampede of them skittering down the stairs.
Your eyes slide to the dark living room doorway, mind racing as Mira and Pip come skating across the kitchen floor, both trembling excitedly at the prospect of dinner.
You’re out of your chair in a second, ramen forgotten, tripping over both dogs in your lurch for the living room. Your hand reaches through the doorway and slaps the light switch, illuminating the room. Your tv is on, paused where you left it at the opening title of the movie you’re about to watch, but your eyes are pinned to the furniture—the couch and recliner, which both face away from you.
Mira and Pip are swarming around your legs, unbothered by whatever has captured your attention, their wet noses bumping your hips and hands. They want food, and they’re not impressed by how distracted you are, and you know it’s only a matter of time before they’re confiscating the rest of your ramen.
A rush of confidence hits you out of nowhere and you surge into the living room, turning to face down the furniture.
Both empty.
The dog toy is on the floor under the coffee table, innocently silent.
It’s close enough under the lip of the table that you realize it must have been teetering on the edge and finally fallen off just in time to mess with your head.
The breath you let out is loud enough to stir the dogs up again, and Pip snags the hem of your sweater playfully.
“Alright, alright.” Your fright is forgotten as you lead your girls into the laundry room, lowering your voice to try to calm their steadily rising excitement. “Here’s your food, quit your nagging.” You ruffle their ears affectionately and step out, closing them into the laundry room to eat.
They don’t steal from each other, but Pip likes to run between the laundry room and the living room between bites, zooming down the hall and bouncing off the couch, too hyper to chill and eat unless you lock her into the room.
You return to your half-eaten ramen and realize that you’re not hungry.
A second passes as you contemplate dumping the rest of it into the trash, but you decide against it. God knows if you’re going to be able to manage dinners like this in the coming weeks, and you can’t bring yourself to waste the food you have.
But just as you’re sitting down, you hear a creak.
You know that creak.
You know your house.
It’s the fourth step of your staircase, the creak that sounds when you put your weight on the left edge.
The chopsticks fall out of your hand. “Hello?” Your voice booms before you’ve realized you’ve released it, and your eyes skate your countertops. There’s an immersion blender in it’s stand next to your toaster, and it’s heavier than the bamboo spoon that sits next to it, so you grab the handheld appliance.
“Hello?” You don’t really mean to say it again, but you can’t think of anything else to say. What, like a murderer is going to respond? Like they’re going to say, ‘it’s just me, looking for a place to hide in your bedroom!’
You flip every light switch that you pass between your kitchen and the stairs, the cold plastic of the blender pressing painfully into the bones of your hand. You’re holding it so tight that it’s trembling.
There’s no one on the stairs.
As you make your way up, you experimentally put your food to the left edge of the fourth step. Maybe you’d heard wrong. Maybe your brain was messing with you. But as you sink your weight down, that same old creak groans from the wood like it’s mocking you.
Heart hammering, plummeting to the rock bottom of your stomach, you bolt up the rest of the stairs. If someone’s in your house, you’re not just going to give them time to hide by creeping slowly up your own staircase.
Your entire house illuminates in your wake, until there’s not a single shadow left. You poke your head into every room—your room, the guest room, the bathrooms, even the linen closet.
There’s no one.
You lower your battle blender and sag against the wall in relief.
It’s the stress. Burning the candle at both ends for the past week and unsuccessfully attempting to roll with the numerous unprovoked punches has got your brain all strung out and playing tricks on you.
One by one, the lights in your cold house shut off as you double back on yourself and return to the kitchen.
No more interruptions.
You’ll eat the rest of your (now cold) dinner, wash your chopsticks and your sauce pan, and then you’ll settle into your recliner with a cup of cocoa and finally watch that movie.
The noodles are mushy in your mouth, the egg rubbery.
A ragged, frustrated sob scrapes past your teeth as you hunch over the pan.
You’re so busy trying to convince yourself that your dinner isn’t gross, that the noodles don’t look like the worms from that horror movie you watched last week, that you really shouldn’t throw it on the floor and cry, that you don’t even notice the soft footsteps of the man entering your kitchen behind you.
You don’t notice the kitchen knife that glints in his hand, or the way his eyes alight on your cellphone where you abandoned it on the counter.
You don’t notice him slip it into his pocket and settle his eyes on you.
In fact, you don’t notice him at all until his breath is on your ear, returning your greeting from earlier. “Hello.”
Both chopsticks fly out of your hand as you dive away from the voice in your ear. The shriek you utter deafens you, and the table scrapes the floor when you try to use it to push yourself away.
Hands clamp down on your arms, immobilizing you completely.
There’s a moment where your brain blanks out, and then it’s filling with answers and questions. You’re trying to cope, all whilst being held down in your own kitchen. Maybe it’s your friend from work? Maybe it’s Woosung, but would he really come back like this? Maybe it’s your neighbor—anything to manifest an answer other than the truth.
There’s a stranger in your kitchen.
There’s a stranger in your house.
His grip tightens as you thrash and scream, and suddenly you’re yanked back against your chairback and his mouth is pressed to your ear again.
“Stop screaming.”
That’s when you see the knife. It’s in the corner of your eye, reflecting light from your overhead onto your face, and you realize that he’s holding your left arm with a thumb and two fingers because the other two are gripping a blade from your knife block.
You have a damn knife block.
Why the hell did you run upstairs with an immersion blender when you have a block full of knives?
Your mouth clamps shut.
The grip on your arms loosen and your chair is suddenly being jerked away from the table.
You use the second of freedom to bolt out of your seat, arms reaching for the counter where you’d left your phone.
It isn’t there.
Before you can redirect your efforts to searching for a weapon, a hand grips your wrist and spins you around so forcefully that your shoulder twinges.
You see him now.
He looms over you, and he’s everything you’ve ever feared finding in the dark shadows of your house. His broad shoulders are cloaked in a huge black hoodie, black gloves covering his hands, a mask covering his mouth and nose and his hood drowning the rest of his face in darkness.
In the next second, the man swathed in darkness lunges at you and you crumple, screaming.
Your knees hit the floor with a painful crack, your arms whipping up to protect your face, but then he’s on you, impossibly fast.
“I told you to stop screaming.”
He wrenches your arms around behind your back, and you feel something rough wrap around your wrists—a kitchen towel binding your hands together.
When your hands are secured behind your back, his gloved hand claps over your mouth, the movement crushing you back against his chest.
Terror claws at your heart. Every muscle in your body trembles as the man pants against you and your eyes squeeze shut.
He’s going to kill you.
Or he’s going to rape you.
Or he’s going to rape you and then kill you.
“Are you going to shut up?” His voice rasps in your ear, his fingers still pressing harshly into your face.
You nod.
He waits before he lets go, as though testing the tension in your body, and then his hand falls away and he pushes you off of his chest.
The man rises and moves away from you, leaving you to sag against the kitchen cabinets as a swell of emotion leaves your body in a rush. He’s left you on the tile floor, not bothering to even look at you once he’s back on his feet.
You pull your legs under you to sit cross-legged, curiosity suddenly overwhelming the fear that has you in a vice.
He’s at your table, ignoring your pot of ramen and the cardboard box, gloved fingers picking up your laptop and flipping it over to see the manufacturer’s stickers. Then he slides the laptop into the backpack slung across his shoulders and your heart sinks for what feels like the hundredth time.
When he turns to your expensive Nikon camera next, you can’t help but let your head droop in defeat.
Of course you’re being robbed.
After everything this week already, why not?
Might as well put the icing on the cake and steal everything you own.
You almost hope he decides to kill you on his way out, so at least then you don’t have to think about waking up tomorrow with nothing at all to your name.
After sliding the professional grade camera gently into his bag, the intruder turns on his heel to reach for your purse hanging on the back of one of your chairs, and his eyes fall on your dejected form.
Shoulders slumped, head bowed, tears free falling to plop a little mascara-swirled splatter pattern into your white socks.
He puts the knife down and snatches up the purse.
A second later, though, he’s looking at you again.
He’s seen your entire house. He knows you’re struggling—from the empty living room with nothing but old furniture and a TV from 2018, to your bedroom with your empty jewelry box, to the entryway table stacked high with unpaid bills, to the empty driveway and lack of car keys—literally the only thing he’s going to get away with tonight is your relatively nice laptop (last year’s model) and the camera that probably costs the same as a new motorcycle.
Your empty house is so pathetic that he almost feels bad for taking the two electronics.
They’re literally all you have, if he doesn’t count the Walmart-brand clothing hanging in your closet and the dirty fast food uniform crumpled in the floor of your bedroom.
From where you sit on the floor, you take in a deep breath, sniffle once, and close your eyes.
A fresh round of tears splash down on your socks.
“Are you…okay?” He doesn’t know why he asks, or why he thinks he’ll get any answer other than some insult regarding his assault on your person, but he can’t help it.
Your body sways like his words have had a physical impact. “Of course I’m not fucking okay.” You hiss, and turn your head away from him.
He unzips your wallet and thumbs through the bills. There’s not a lot of money, and you don’t have any credit cards. “I could be the last person you ever talk to,” He says absently, and he’s joking, but you don’t know that. “You might as well get it all out now.”
He hears your head smack into the kitchen cabinet just before it all comes out in a devastated wail. “I just wanted to watch this stupid movie. I’ve been waiting for two weeks for it to come out so I could watch it with Woosung—”
Your boyfriend, he assumes.
“But two days ago he decided to fuck my best friend instead—”
Your ex boyfriend, he corrects himself.
“And then I got laid off because my boss found out that three quarters of his workforce is going to try to get unionized, and I already wasn’t getting paid enough to pay my bills so I had to get a second job in fast food even though I had to sell my car and the realtor is coming to look at the house tomorrow—”
He cuts you off mid-sob. “Which movie?”
You blink, stunned. “What?”
He’s now leaning against your table, fingers playing with the edge of the cardboard box that he now realizes is full of the contents of your desk, still unpacked because you clearly had to go collect your things earlier today. His backpack is on the table next to your pot of ramen, your purse still hanging on your chair with your wallet still inside.
Between the hood and the face mask, you see his eyebrows lift. “Which movie have you been waiting for?”
Your face screws up in confusion, tears and snot dripping off your chin, and your eyes dart to the living room. “It…it’s called Carry-On. On Netflix.”
The man follows your gaze, thinking for a long second, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Alright, sure. I’m down.”
Fear and confusion battle it out in your chest until you’re sure you’re having a stroke. He wants to watch a movie with you? In the middle of his robbery? “I can’t watch a movie with you.”
His face swings back around to you. “Why not?”
He sounds so genuinely curious (and a little bit offended) that you have to remind yourself to stop gaping at him.
“Because…you…you’re robbing me.” Gaze darting significantly to his backpack full of the only remnants of your livelihood, you find yourself having an even harder time understanding this turn of events than you had when he first appeared behind you.
The man lets out a scoff, head canting back as though you’ve cracked a joke. “And you’re an expert on robbing procedure?” A huffs a short laugh and tosses his hood off with a quick swipe of his hand.
Dark curls burst into view.
As he reaches for his face mask, your feet kick out on reflex and you’re suddenly fighting the stiffness in your spine to wildly turn your body away from him. Dozens of episodes of the true crime podcast you listen to every day come to mind, ringing through your skull at the implication of seeing this man’s face, and the fear sets in like a poison. “No, please don’t take your mask off—I swear I won’t report any of this—you don’t have to kill me—”
He cuts off your desperate pleas abruptly. “Babygirl, shut up and go push play.”
The completely unexpected pet name, combined with the feeling of him releasing your hands from the dish towel binding has you falling utterly still, mouth silent. His thumb and forefinger grasp your chin and pull your head around, and you’re faced with a young man and his dimpled smile that grins at you like you’re his best friend.
It’s weird. It’s all wrong.
“What are you going to do to me?” You whisper, edging as slowly as you can out of his grasp.
You can’t see his knife anywhere, but that doesn’t mean that this man with his huge shoulders and massive hands can’t crush you without the use of a weapon.
“I’m going to force you to watch a movie with me.”
Your face blanches at his choice of words and he leans back, exasperated. “Not like that. Go into the living room. You got any more of that?” He nods to the cocoa packet on your counter, next to the hot water kettle.
His hands on your elbows bring you to your feet, and you point shakily to the drawer beneath the counter. “In the drawer.”
The next thing you know, you’re sitting on the couch with a mug of cocoa, your robber sitting on the other end with his own cup, and you can’t even process the scenes on the TV in front of you. You’ve been wanting to watch this stupid movie for two full weeks, and now you don’t even acknowledge it.
Your limbs are as stiff as steel, your heart pounding obnoxiously in your ears, your body leaning as far away from the man who’s introduced himself as Chris as possible. Your eyes are pinned on him, memorizing the slope of his nose and the cut of his jaw and the curve of his eyes.
You tell yourself it’s to get a description for the police, but as the movie goes on and he just keeps to himself and comments on the scenes, you start to relax. It takes half an hour, but you finally allow yourself to move enough to take a sip from the cocoa in your hands.
It warms your insides, fighting against the chill of your house, and lowers your defenses ever so slightly.
Suddenly, Chris notices your eyes on him and he looks at you, one eyebrow quirked. “You don’t like the movie?”
You don’t even remember what you’re watching.
“Are you going to take my TV?”
His eyes disappear into crescents as his face breaks into a smile. “Babygirl, your TV is shit.”
There’s that pet name again.
Heat floods into your cheeks but you tell yourself it’s because he’s identified the fact that you haven’t been able to afford to replace your ancient television, even though the apps frequently crash. He’s going to kill you later when Netflix crashes and you have to get up and unplug the TV for ten seconds to make it work again.
Oh, God, he might actually kill you.
But he just goes back to commenting on the movie. “I can’t look at her without thinking Disney channel.”
You’re thinking about his backpack in the kitchen, wondering if you can get up and steal your stuff back and hide it without him noticing. You wonder where your phone went, if you left it on the bus or if you actually did leave it on the counter—which means Chris has it.
The knife he grabbed from your block is probably on the table, too. You could hide it, or take it for yourself. You just have to tell him you want a drink from the kitchen and get up—
You have a drink. It’s the cocoa he made for you.
Maybe he poisoned it? Roofied it?
But you watched him make it. You already know it’s safe.
“Did you see him in the Kingsman movies?” He asks, and your eyes flick to the screen.
You nod absently, humming a noncommittal yes as you sip from your cup.
Chris cups his own mug in both hands, his focus never leaving the TV screen. “I can’t take Jason Bateman seriously after Identity Thief.”
You’re so confused you could cry. “Why are you doing this?” You burst out, tears flooding your eyes again. “You attacked me and tried to rob me and now you’re drinking my cocoa and watching my Netflix?”
His gaze swings to you again, eyes wide with surprise. He watches you, huddled in the corner of your own couch with your knees crushed to your chest, literally shaking from head to toe, and his features soften into a smile. “I can’t do it,” He admits.
You sniffle, blinking at him.
“It’d be like that scene from the Disney Robin Hood, when the sheriff takes the kid’s birthday money. God, I still can’t watch that without tearing up.” He rolls his eyes to the ceiling in remembrance and then looks back at you, his lips cutely pursed.
No, not cutely.
This man tried to rob you.
He’s not cute.
“So, you’re not robbing me?”
He shakes his head with a shrug. “Nah. But don’t worry about it, your neighbors have some good shit. I’ll hit them next week, as per my original plan. And I was never going to hurt you, by the way. That’s way too high profile for me. I like to skate under the radar.” He makes a sweeping gesture with his hand, miming his skating under the radar. After a moment, he brings his mug to his lips and muttered, “Boy did I fail tonight.”
You let your feet drop to the floor, turning to face him as some of the tension releases from your muscles. “Don’t do that—you can’t do that. Don’t rob my neighbors.”
He raises an eyebrow at you over the lip of his cup. “I will rob your entire neighborhood before I put on a uniform like the one you’ve got upstairs.”
You gasp, the creak on your stairs returning to mind. “I knew it—you were upstairs!”
He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Yeah. And I was soooo scared of you and your stirrer stick thing. Thanks for putting your dogs away for me—made my snooping much easier.”
You’ve forgotten about your girls, but they can wait. “It’s an immersion blender.” You snap. “And I could have blended the hell out of you.”
He fakes a shiver and makes a mocking noise of fear. “You sure we shouldn’t be watching a horror movie?”
“My life is a horror movie.” You shoot back, smacking your mug down on the side table. Returning to your earlier point, you turn back to him and almost find yourself leaning closer. “Please don’t rob my neighborhood, Chris. The people next door have me over for dinner on Sundays and the family down the street helps me with the yard work and home repairs.”
After a moment, he relents with a thoughtful nod. “Alright fine, I’ll rob your ex then.”
You can’t help the wicked pleasure that brings you. “I suppose that’s alright. I have his address in my phone somewhere.” Your eyebrows lift as you say it, hoping he’ll get the hint.
He does.
Chris gives a little jump, like he’d totally forgotten, and then digs in the pockets of his joggers. “Oh, right. Here. I’m hoping you won’t call the cops now that we have a pact.” He bobs his eyebrows at you.
You take your phone from him and roll your eyes, finally settling into your couch with little concern for the danger from earlier. “Scare him like you scared me and we have a deal.” You can just imagine Woosung huddled in some corner of his apartment, screaming his rotten little heart out while Chris looms over him with a knife. “But, like, don’t kill him.”
Chris deflates a little, like he’d been interested in trying something new, but he jabs out a hand anyway. “Deal.”
You clap your hand into his and find yourself smiling.
When you don’t pull away immediately, Chris searches your face with soft eyes. “He really fucked you up, didn’t he?”
The memory from a few days ago, finding your boyfriend of two years in your bed with your best friend comes crashing back down on you. You’re so busy fighting the rush of tears that you don’t notice that your playful handshake has turned into Chris cradling your hand in his. “He said it was a mistake.” You sniffle and turn your eyes to the TV.
Chris gives your hand a squeeze. “Me thinking I could find anything worth stealing in this house was a mistake.” He grins widely when you take the bait and slap his chest with your free hand.
It’s way flirtier than you were intending.
“He’s an asshole.” Chris says, and it helps.
“Yeah.” You agree. “They both are. You are, too, kinda.”
Chris gapes at you, actually offended. “I’m the only one who showed up for you this week, how can you say that?”
“You also tied me up and held me at knifepoint, which is definitely asshole behavior.” You realize your hand is still in his, and you pull away, but your shocked smile doesn’t leave your face.
How is this happening? This man broke into your house and you’re sitting on your couch, watching a movie and flirting with him? You must be insane.
You’re so deeply lost in your mind, questioning your own sanity, that you don’t notice how close he’s leaning to you until his breath hits your ear.
It’s a parallel of earlier, but this time the heat his closeness carries is an entirely different sort.
Your heart pounds wildly in your throat and you lean away, gawking at him. “Woah, pump the brakes, Klepto.”
He falls back against your couch, a defeated smile curling his lips as he laughs at himself. “I thought we were having a moment?”
“I’m not kissing you after you broke into my house.” You refute weakly, crossing your arms over your chest. You have to do something to put distance between the two of you, because the way Chris is looking at you is putting a fluttering sensation in the pit of your stomach.
“Babygirl, the only broke in here is you.”
Your jaw hits the floor. The third use of that damn pet name is getting to you. “I can’t believe I’m being poverty shamed by the guy who steals stuff for a living.”
He practically squeaks with laughter, the movie finally forgotten. “If I go outside and knock, can I kiss you then?” Chris leans in close again, but lets himself be shoved away by your hand on his chest.
“Why don’t you try it?” Your cheeks are on fire.
Chris sighs, abandoning his efforts and leans back into his own space. “You’re not going to let me back in, are you?”
The movie fills the silence. You’re finally comfortable enough that you want to ask if you can put it back to the beginning and watch it over again, but you don’t.
It feels like only moments later that you’re being gently shaken awake, a hard warmth under your cheek.
“You’re falling asleep on me babygirl. Why don’t you go to bed?” Chris’s voice asks, and you realize you’re slumped over on his shoulder.
This man broke into your house, attacked you in your kitchen, all but called you pathetically broke, and now you’ve fallen asleep on him.
Your life is utterly wrecked.
“Don’t have a bed. I sleep here.” You mumble.
Chris freezes. “What?”
He was upstairs earlier, looking for valuables. How did he miss a detail like that?
“Sold my bedroom set,” You say. “Bought groceries and paid the mortgage. I sleep on the couch.”
Chris is suddenly scooting out from under you, carefully lowering your head to rest on the couch pillow. “Alright, go to sleep then. I’ll turn the heater on before I go, where’s your thermostat?” He smooths a hand over your hair, glancing around the walls.
“I had my heating turned off,” You explain sleepily. “Just blankets.”
Chris can’t believe he tried to rob you, and he further can’t believe how much it bothers him that you can’t afford basic necessities. “Babygirl, you can’t live like this.”
You’re already asleep.
When you wake up in the morning, huddled on the couch under an obnoxious pile of blankets, you find your laptop and your camera on the kitchen table, and Chris’s phone number scrawled onto a sticky note on your coffee table.
‘Had a great time last night. Coffee later? Also, text me your ex’s address. - Chris.’
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PART 2 INFO
Hope you guys liked it! Comments make my day :)
@whatdoyouwanttocallmefor @estella-novella
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yanderefarm · 3 months ago
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yandere pornstar
cw; choking, p in v, heterosexuals, nsft, murder, violence against women, dub con, dark content
ive had this one sitting in production for a minute but it's one of the darker ones in my opinion. i think he's so interesting and so fucked in the head. his yandere isn't as explicit in this but that's kinda on purpose. he's obsessed with you but he's good at hiding it especially because he's definitely also battling some internalized homophobia. like he will not examine how badly he wants to be your girlfriend no sir he'll just ask you uncomfortable questions and date women who he thinks are your type. and even then it doesn't matter if you don't like women because he'll just date women who remind him of you.
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you live in a nice modern style house. the kind of house you'd usually find belonging to a billionaire who thinks having natural light is a personality trait. never in a million years would you be able to afford this place but a few months ago you'd found this guy looking for a roommate. the rent was dirt cheap, like the kind of dirt cheap that meant this was probably a scam. honestly, even after 3 months living there you were waiting for the rug to get pulled out from under you but as far as you could tell it was real and your roommate was just a nice guy. 
he was a large guy, his chest was broad and he was extremely tall. he was pretty hot too, he had piercings and tattoos and he was always wearing tight obscure rock shirts or horror shirts. personality wise he was a bit of a loud obnoxious guy, he could act like a real frat bro but he was nice? nice enough. the only real quirk about being his roommate was the part about sex. apparently your roommate was in porn and would often record videos in his house. it was like living with a frat bro in effect, he'd have big networking parties and sometimes that turned into big networking orgies. sometimes you would come home to see him and a young woman half naked surrounded by a camera crew. it was weird. but rent was cheap and your room had good noise insulation so you adapted. 
sometimes you would wake up in the morning and go to the kitchen only to find a random woman with messy makeup sitting there checking her phone. the first time it happened you offered to make her some pancakes and she appreciated the gesture. it was an odd morning routine but it was kind of nice making pancakes for your roommate and whatever girl he'd spent the night with so it became the norm. all in all living in this place was odd but comfortable, all it took was getting used to it. you even got used to your roommate's weird personal questions, the way he'd ask you about what kind of porn you liked or what kind of people you were into. it was awkward but you got used to it as just part of his personality.
eventually you started noticing the same girl at the kitchen table over and over again only with progressively more bruises and cuts on her. it's not really your place but you can't help but ask her if she's ok.
"oh! yeah don't worry it's from work."
"what kind of work do you do?"
"wanna see?"
she shows you her only fans account including her most recent post, a scene where she's in a familiar looking room with a masked man choking her out while they have sex. that's definitely your roommate in the video, it was definitely filmed in his room. your body couldn't help but react to the stimulation and you awkwardly excused yourself to eat breakfast. she didn't mind, in fact she said it was a compliment so atleast she was cool about it. still embarrassing.
it doesn't help that at some point she clearly told your roommate who's embarrassing personal questions start to shift. are you into choking? receiving or giving? do you think his girlfriend is hot? is she your type? you have to stop him from showing you more of their videos together because he's just way too eager.
in the end you do shamefully subscribe to her only fans. she's pretty for sure but you're more interested in your roommate and the scenarios they act out. she makes a lot of dark content; things like a kidnapper using her for his own entertainment and threatening to send the video to her parents, or a drunk friend breaking into her room, or a serial killer having fun with her before he kills her. in her older stuff before she started working with your roommate the guys who would bust into her room didn't have the right body type or demeanor to sell it. some of them acted like the cringiest internet doms. for some reason your roommate was so good at it.
you watched his arm flex around her throat while he held her in a headlock, her body bouncing on his lap while he looked at the camera. part of you wondered how good he'd look if he was in her position instead, his big muscles and large dick completely useless as his kidnapper made his eyes roll back. you really shouldn't have those thoughts about your roommate, you know that, but you can't stop fucking your fist to the thought of him. he's straight, nothing will ever come of it.
for the sake of your cheap rent and comfortable room you just pushed your feelings down only letting them out late at night into a bunch of tissues. that's until you come home one night to the living room dark and a tripod set up in front of the couch. that's not such an unusual sight, its not even the first time you've walked in on your roommate in the middle of work. it is the first time you've caught him actually balls deep in someone. he doesn't even take his hands off his throat when he looks at you with a stupid smile.
"hey, welcome home."
you were trying so hard to look anywhere else. "sorry.. uh im-im gonna-"
"oh! hey, babes!" his girlfriend was also smiling at you now.
you were hard. why were you hard. why did he notice that you were hard. you watched his eyes flick from your hard on to your face and back again a wide smile cracking across his face.
"yo, you like what you see? wanna take a ride?"
you don't know how they both actually convinced you to do this, maybe you were hornier than you realized. your roommates large rough hands were stroking your heavy cock while his girlfriend was on her knees in front of you her tongue stuck out to catch every drop of precum. you leaned your head back against his shoulder and moaned as he squeezed your tip. you looked at him for a moment, your face flushing red as he gave you a confident smirk. his girlfriend wrapped her lips around your tip and began licking and sucking trying to drain you of every drop while your roommates hands squeezed your cock so firmly it felt like he was trying to push your cum out. you moaned louder this time, one of your hands gripping onto his forearms to steady yourself.
"baby, you should give him a nice reward for all his donations."
oh god he knew. of course he knew. his girlfriend pulled her mouth off your cock with a wet pop and moved onto her back. your roommate guided you onto your knees in front of her, his breath heavy in your ears.
"you ever do this before buddy?"
all you could do was shake your head, most people probably have never been in this scenario before either.
"gonna make you feel so good. gonna fuck her real nice."
he guided your large cock along her folds, rubbing it against her clit and soaking you in her juices. you watched as he pressed your tip against her hole and pushed it in drawing a loud moan from her. she was definitely a pornstar the way she reacted and played up your cock filling her, moans and arching her back and tightening her cunt. it felt good but you soon came to miss the feeling of your roommate's hands squeezing you as they instead moved to help guide your hips. he kept you at a fast pace until you were the one maintaining it yourself, hips drilling into her as hard and fast as you could.
"why haven't you cum yet? you like it don't you?" he grunted in annoyance. "here let's tighten her up, huh?"
he moved his hands over your own and wrapped them around her neck. it took you a moment to notice and you immediately tried to squirm and pull away.
"you know how much she likes it"
"mmmhmmm~ c'mon babes.. make me see stars..."
his hands squeezed around your own forcing you to choke her as your hips began to slow down a bit. you didn't know what you were doing, this seemed incredibly unsafe but his hands were stronger than yours. her pussy squeezed around you but the stimulation wasn't enough to keep you hard as your panic was more overwhelming. your hips stopped entirely when her face started to get red.
"stop! pl-please i want to stop!"
"i'll stop when she makes you cum."
you knew that wasn't going to happen but you didn't know what else to do. your hips picked up a frantic desperate pace as you tried so hard to feel good. there were tears splashing onto her reddening face as you began to cry and babble your apologies as best you could.
her eyes started to roll back and you still hadn't gotten any closer to cumming so with an annoyed huff your roommate pulled your hands off of her. she sucked in a gasp of air her entire body heaving as she could finally breathed. your roommate moved away from you letting you pull out and you crawled over away from them, sobbing.
"tch... guess you didn't like her that much huh?"
you couldn't speak just whimpering and rubbing your hands.
"poor guy..."
he easily lifted you in his arms and carried you to your bed. you thought he said something else but you didn't catch it as your body started to relax. you managed a small thank you before his figure disappeared.
you expected it to just be a weird story and an awkward breakfast but she never came to sit in the kitchen. you had finished making all the pancakes when the front door opened and your roommate walked in looking dour. he stopped when he looked at you, looking away from you then back.
he took a deep breath. "... she's dead."
your eyes widened and you felt your stomach churn.
"last night i brought her back to my room but she wasn't feeling well and i thought she was just tired... when i woke up she wasn't breathing."
you covered your mouth with your hand as tears flooded your vision. you moved to get your phone when your roommate grabbed your hand tight enough to hurt.
"you get it right? you killed her." you were forced to drop your phone which cracked on the tile. "i hid the body, made sure no one will ever know. I'm willing to help you cause you're my friend but you gotta be good."
you couldn't speak all you could do was slowly nod.
"thats a good boy."
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1-800-local-slut · 1 year ago
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House of Memories (Spencer's Version)
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Spencer Reid x Black! Fem! FBI! Reader
A look at your life with Spencer through the eyes of his team mates
Warnings: none really, just fluff, the team being observant, adult objects (condoms, alcohol, etc.,), not a warning but a note: reader isn't in the BAU but she works in the FBI, through Emily's POV
“I wasn’t expecting an invite from you, Reid. Thanks for having me over.” The front door to the apartment opened. Emily was holding a bottle of cheap wine that she grabbed from the liquor store down the street when she realized she forgot to bring a house gift. It was a close call too, she was literally driving past it when she realized and had to make a very hasty u-turn. 
“It’s no problem, thank you for coming! Derek, Garcia and Hotch are in the living room, Rossi’s in the bathroom and JJ’s coming late. Her loss though, I think she’d really enjoy Interstellar and if she comes late I know she’s going to complain. Come in, just take your shoes off if you don’t mind.” Emily nodded, after Spencer gave her a light side hug and accepted the bottle from her. 
He wore a white tee-shirt, pajama bottoms, and smelt fresh. His hair was damp as well, like he’d showered a few hours ago but his hair is so thick that it takes a minute for it to dry. She noticed his light shrug, as if it wasn’t his preference but he would take it anyways. 
Ghosting through the threshold, she bent down and slipped off her boots. She heard light chatter, music, smelt a vanilla and sea salt (it was a rough guess) candle burning, and heard the clatter of pots in the kitchen. 
She couldn’t help it, her analytical mind working before she could stop it. Sometimes she would find herself profiling strangers even when it was rude. And profiling your coworker who invited you into his home was very rude. 
Spencer’s shoes were thrown on the floor, one knocked on its side but still close together. As if it was an attempt on his end to be some sort of neat. Pairs of heels, pumps, boots were lined on the shoe rack but after doing a quick count, she noticed something. There were far more womens shoes than there were mens shoes. About six pairs of men's shoes to a 10 women’s shoe ratio.
Aaron, David, Derek make three, and the other three were clearly Spencer’s. Pen’s shoes obviously were one of those female shoes. The bright purple heels sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the browns, blacks, and deep reds of the female shoes. 
‘Enough Emily, stop being rude.’ 
��Your house is beautiful Spencer.” She couldn’t help but look around in slight awe. She wasn’t expecting Spencer’s house to be so…neat? No, that sounds mean. Neat in a way that didn’t seem like it was all Spencer. Sure Spencer’s little unique touches were sprinkled about the apartment and she was still standing at the doorway.
There were pictures of nature hanging on the wall, of a young black woman standing in front of a large pond far from the camera. She wore a pink baseball cap and had her hands flung out as if to emphasize how big the pond was. Who was that? A secret lover? She looked familiar, like a face Emily had seen in passing.
“Oh thanks. I just moved in a few months ago so not everything is fully set up.” Spencer called from the kitchen, and there were three clicks from the stove. Then he slid out, wiping his hands on a towel. As she walked through the house, she noticed more.
Potted plants with lush green leaves, knitted plant holders hanging from the ceiling, a red and dark blue patterned rug on the floor in the hall. From where she stood, she could see there was a small dining area. A nice wooden table, with papers and files scattered all over. 
She found her way to the living room and saw her coworkers engaged in whispers on the couch. More papers and files were on the small tables on either side of the couch, a contrast to the neatness of the rest of the house.
“Hey everybody, what’s up?” Emily asked. Heads snapped towards her, and she noticed Penelope’s eyes curved up in a mischievous grin. 
“Hi! Come sit, come sit.” Penelope motioned next to her, Derek and Rossi sliding over to make room for her. 
“Did you make it in okay?” Hotch asked and Emily nodded while she slipped onto the brown leather sofa. A dark purple hand knitted black was thrown over the back of it. Did Spencer take up knitting or was this just a nice purchase? 
Spencer plopped down into the brown leather armchair and rested his feet on the pouf in front of him. Emily noticed how spotless the glass coffee table in front of them was. 
The whole house was ridiculously clean. The wooden floors sparkled, the carpets meticulously vacuumed, the TV sparkled and the speakers next to the TV were flawlessly dusted. The large oak bookshelf that was up against the wall that was closest to the kitchen was also dusted and the books neatly organized. 
When would Spencer have time to clean his house so thoroughly? They were on a mission all of last week, got back two nights ago and have been at work since then. Sure, it’s Spencer he could just be very clean but the way things sparkled, it was clear they were cleaned merely a few hours ago. 
When they did go home it was late at night and they were back at work early the next day. Did he spend his whole Saturday afternoon scrubbing his floors, and preparing to cook for them? Spencer wasn’t the type to have a housekeeper, especially when he does his work all over and you can’t exactly leave FBI documents in the eye of the eye of a random house keeper.
“Sorry about the paperwork, I still have to set up my study. I have to put up my desk and everything.” Everyone voiced a consolation, some variation of ‘I don’t mind’ or ‘you should see my place’.
“Not the handyman?” Derek teased, wiggling his eyebrows. Spencer chuckled and shook his head. Spencer’s been smiling a lot more lately.
“I like keeping myself out of the hospital. Did you know every 45 minutes a piece of furniture falls on someone, and 25,000 people a year are treated at the hospital for a furniture related incident?” Spencer rattled off, emphasizing the numbers with his fingers.
Before anyone else could say anything, the doorbell rang. Spencer glanced back at the door, before he sprung to his feet with enthusiasm like he was expecting  Emily and Penelope exchanged looks, giggling while Rossi lightly rolled his eyes.
“Of course he knows that. Also, did any of you know that Spencer moved to a new place?” Derek asked.
“Well I knew. I know where all of you live. But it was very considerate of him to invite us over.” Hotch nodded, taking a sip of a bottle of water. Not Spencer’s usual brand but she did notice a switch some time ago. From Purelife to Poland Spring.
“Did you see the coat? Hanging by the door rack?” Penelope whispered, motioning for everyone to come in closer. There was a devilish twinkle in her eyes, her brain working overtime.
“What, you think he has some… extra company? A secret lover?” Rossi chuckled. Of course she noticed, but she just thought it was Penelope’s. 
“Maybe! Do you think?” Penelope asked excitedly, her hands flapping around with enthusiasm. Oh Penelope, ever the romantic. Derek giggled next to Penelope. He was lightly smacked by Penelope as a rebuttal and he giggled as if the slaps tickled him and they heard Spencer’s reapproaching foot steps along with an extra pair of heels. 
They all turned, eager to see who it was. Would it be the woman in the photo? His mom? Someone else?
“JJ!” Emily exclaimed when the final member of their team came in. She twisted around in her seat, happy to see her friend. JJ wasn’t able to make it on their last assignment so it had been a minute since they’d seen her. For people who practically live together, spending almost every moment together while at work was normal. They’d all fallen into a natural balance of being around each other. Of course they’d missed JJ while she was out sick.
“Hi!” She held her arms open for hugs, while the entire team voiced their hellos.
“Sorry I’m late, the grocery store was ridiculous. You wouldn’t believe what I saw, some lady's ex boyfriend came there and she called the cops on him like right there in the store. Apparently, he gave her something on purpose. She got on the speaker and called him ‘Dirty Dick David’. And then they fired her for playing with the mic that way!” She told her story while passing out hugs and then plopped down in the opposite arm chair across from the one Spencer was sitting in before.
“What?” Spencer laughed while he sat back down. 
“Right there it happened.” The whole team was laughing and Emily remembered that this was why she got along with her team so well. The easy laughter was so simple and refreshing.
“Woah, right there is insane! I guess she was sick of him.” Emily leaned slightly into Penny, allowing herself more comfort
“Imagine being at work and your ex who purposely infected you with something shows up to both you? I’d be pissed too.” Derek chuckled.
“I’ve been through three wives and never got a reaction like that, Dirty Dick David certainly had it coming.” Rossi added before they all laughed even harder.
Then there was a loud ringing noise. Spencer’s phone was going off and he patted himself down, lifting himself up checking to see if he was sitting on it. Then he got up, his face making a tiny expression like he could finally recall.
“I’ll be right back guys.” He ran into the kitchen and Penelope pulled everyone into a huddle.
“Okay, here’s what you missed JJ, you ready?”
“I’m ready?” She asked with an arch eyebrow and a nervous smile.
“There’s a bunch of lady stuff around here, like a coat and I don’t know if you saw the shoes but there are a lot of lady shoes. Rossi was in the bathroom and saw a bunch of lady stuff too, like a special face cleanser but he didn’t wanna snoop. I think he should’ve gone for it but whatever. Also I don’t know if you know but I know that Spencer doesn’t cook. 
His house is also really clean like really really clean like it was just clean but when would he have gotten the time to clean it? I mean we got off work like three hours ago. Running theories? Spencer has a housekeeper, a secret girlfriend, or his moms visiting. Got it? Okay, got it.” 
JJ blinked after Garcia’s rapid rundown, Derek nodding like he was able to keep up with that and Hotch all around looked displeased.
“We are guests in Spencer’s home, don’t go looking through his stuff. Maybe Spencer likes that stuff, that’s not any of our concern.” He frowned with a crease in his eyebrows. 
“Yeah Garcia, besides if Spence did get a girlfriend then I think that’s great for him.” JJ chuckled and Derek rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.
“I’m back! I picked up the shrimp and some wine. I also got some beers if you want any. The coolers are for me, you can have one but don’t take any of the pink ones. I like those ones.”  A familiar voice sounded through the house.
The sound of socks hitting the floor padded through the house and a young woman walked in. The woman from the photo more specifically. Her hair was in long braids that curled around her waist. She was gorgeous, a red scarf was wrapped around her neck to protect her from the chilly winter air. More specifically she was familiar. 
More specifically she was from a different team. More specifically a member of the HRT. The Hostage Rescue Unit. They’ve seen Spencer speaking with her a lot. They’ve teased him for their closeness multiple times, and knew they were a bit closer. But Emily didn’t know they were such close friends. For her to just walk into his home this way.
No offense to Spencer but when Emily said she was hot, she meant she was hot. Like she just stepped out of a magazine. And she never thought Spencer would have it in him to pull. Spencer was certainly nothing to sneeze at but my god was this woman attractive.
She was making her way through the house, to the kitchen lightly waddling. She held a bag of groceries and as if she could feel all the eyes on her she turned. 
“Oh hi! I’m sorry, I ran out to the grocery store. I didn’t realize we ran out of shrimp but the food will be done soon.” She beamed at them and put one of her hands on her hips. And Emily did as profilers do. She profiled even if she didn’t truly mean too. She was wearing pajama pants, and a puffy coat that was zipped open to reveal a white tank top. Above all she radiated joy, confidence and comfort.
“It’s nice to see you again.” Hotch cleared his throat, and she nodded at the members of the BAU.
“You got the shrimp?” Spencer called, coming out of the kitchen, slipping his phone into the pocket of his pants. He came up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She instinctively angled her head to his and pushed herself up onto her tippy toes to plant a kiss on his lips.
Penelope was on the verge of exploding, her mouth open in a wide grin. She let out an excited squeal. The two agents jumped upon hearing the high pitched noise and everyone on the couch turned to face her.
“What?! Oh my god, when were you gonna tell us?!” Penelope asked, bounding up from the couch. Spencer looked confused above all as Penelope raced towards him and his apparent girlfriend.
“I didn’t think I had to, we weren’t exactly shy about it.” Spencer laughed as he looked at Penelope basically bouncing up and down in front of him. She giggled and Penelope paused.
“Dude we thought you were just friends?” Derek questioned from the couch. Spencer shook his head, looking more and more shocked by the second.
“So how long has this been going on?” Emily asked with a laugh. She had to laugh! How could she not be happy for Spencer? He looked so happy, he literally hadn’t stopped smiling since she came into the door and they kissed.
“Like a year? I mean, I know we jumped the gun with moving, but my lease was up and I decided that this would work and I couldn’t find anywhere close enough to work. We decided to go for it.” Spencer added, scratching the back of his neck.
“You guys really had no idea? I mean I tell you guys that we go out every weekend, I have a picture of her on my desk. We literally come to work together everyday.” Spencer exclaimed, motioning around with his hands.
“I don't see you that often at work, they probably don’t really notice those things.” She rationalized to him and rubbed a hand over his chest. He never moved his hand from around her waist. 
It all made sense. The candles littered around the house, the small basket of yarn and needles on the floor next to one of the arm chairs. The food even smelt too seasoned to be like anything Spencer could cook, the photos that Emily was just now realizing were taken of Spencer. The romance novel that Emily saw sitting on the glass coffee table. How spotless the entire house was. The shoes, the coat, Emily was just mad at herself for not recognizing the photo.
“Well. Way to go Reid, I didn’t know you had it in you.” She smirked at Derek’s remark and stood on her toes again. She whispered something in Spencer’s ear and he cackled with his mouth open in shock. 
He was turning a bashful shade of red and his voice squeaked as he sent her away. 
“I’ll be finished with your food soon, you guys.” Trailing into the kitchen, Spencer glanced over as if to check if she needed anything.
“Oh gosh, you didn’t have to cook for us! Thank you so much!” Emily exclaimed, realizing that she was just sitting there like a fish with her mouth wide open. 
“Let her cook, why not enjoy dinner and a movie?” Rossi joked. It seemed like the shock had dissipated and JJ giggled, her blonde hair shining like the Sun and Emily noted how her entire face lit up like a star.
“Honey, can you come help me with these groceries?” Spencer nodded, following her into the kitchen. They watched, waiting to watch them fully go into the kitchen. Then like little girls at a sleepover, they leaned back into their huddle. 
“Wow!”
“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.” Hotch tried to keep the peace before his team of impatient agents ran rampant. Emily herself felt like she needed answers and she needed them now. 
“Did you see the way he looked at her? They’re so cute, I had a feeling when he came to work that one time smelling like perfume and wearing the same clothes but they were like all up on each other.” Penelope whispered excitedly. 
“I always knew opposites attract. You know they make a handsome couple too.” The excitement died down for a second and everyone had to look at Rossi. Who even used that phrasing anymore?
“You’re so old, Rossi.” JJ giggled and Hotch shook his head. Rossi smiled playfully, the way he always did when they made fun of him for being ancient.
“What do they even talk about? I mean sure they have stuff in common but for a whole year? I wasn’t expecting that!” Emily exclaimed.
“Reid’s never short on things to talk about.” Derek teased and Penelope swatted him again.
“I mean I noticed he’d been a bit happier but I wasn’t expecting this! I guess you just never know.” JJ added in, glancing over to the kitchen to make sure the two weren’t standing right there. 
“We can find out what they talk about.” No one wanted to admit it but they wanted to snoop so bad. So bad that when Penelope suggested it the best thing to do was to stop talking and be extra quiet so they could hear. Even Hotch, slowly reclined.
Over the clatter of pans, the soft clinking of bottles and things being put away, and dishes being taken out they heard her voice. 
“Emily brought us some wine. Pink.” Spencer’s voice broke through and Emily tensed up. Oh god, what if they hated the wine? 
“Oh my favorite. I’ve always liked that Emily. If it wasn’t for you, I’d go for her.” She laughed and plopped something into what sounded like a liquid. 
Derek made some funny eyebrows at Emily and Emily felt her cheeks heat up. JJ and Penelope both grabbed each other to stifle a laugh. As bad as it was to listen to your teammate and his girlfriend's conversation, they couldn’t stop.
“Aw babe don’t pout.” Then a kissing noise.
“There’s that smile. Also I picked up some condoms, we were down to six and you know we go through those like crazy. Speaking of which, I was thinking, do we really need those? I mean I’m on the pill and at the rate we go we’d save more money just not having sex. To be honest we spend a bit too much money on that stuff anyways and I don’t want to replace another bed frame. I like this one and we literally just got it. That or we just need to stop having sex so often. The call is totally yours but that bitch who works at the front cashier keeps looking at me funny everytime she sees me walk up.” It took a moment for everyone to process what she was talking about. It really took a moment. An identical frown spread over both Rossi and Hotch, and Derek had to put his fist in his mouth to avoid cackling. 
Oh god, this was an awful idea. Now there was just awkward silence. None of them could say anything even if they wanted to.
“So my options are death, death or going raw?” Spencer whined immediately.  Emily focused her eyes on something else instantly, the patterned carpet on the floor, the TV that was showing different scenery as it was in rest mode.
“Oh my god, you are so dramatic! You’re not going to die if we don’t have sexy every day.” The sound of a spoon clattering down and then she broke out into a fit of giggles.
“But how do you know!” He whined again.
“Like I said, it's your choice. It doesn’t really matter to me, I’m just sick of always having to go to the store. And you’re squeezing my ribs.”
“I like your idea. Besides, we have abortion money.” She gasped softly and then broke into light laughter. JJ’s jaw dropped open and Derek snorted before he covered his nose. Of everything that was expected it wasn’t that.
“That’s awful, baby.” She scolded and Emily got a mental image of the two. Was she standing in front of the stove, the smell of food wafting through the house, Spencer standing behind her with arms wrapped firmly around her? If Emily wasn’t so uncomfortable right now her mouth would be watering. It would also warm her heart to hear how happy her friend was.
“I’m sorry.” He joined in on the laughter.
“Oh my god we’re being awful host! Plate up the soup and I’ll pour the wine.”
Once the two came back out, it was hard to even look at Spencer knowing that he had apparently helped break a bed frame. Even if he was holding trays of the most mouth watering gumbo.
“Who wants to watch Interstellar?”
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kimmiessimmies · 9 months ago
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Honeycomb Hills Apartments
Malte's home!
I shared a preview yesterday, but here is the full post. And when I say full, I mean "OMFG, Kim did you really have to write another essay?!" Yes. That kind of full. I'm not even sorry.
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I was so happy about finishing these apartments that I plunked down three in a row. 😄
Each building has four apartments, all similar: 2 bed, 1,5 bath.
Currently, I only moved one person in: Mister Malte Nerhus, aka Rachel's... I wanna say boyfriend, but then I might be getting ahead of things... crush! Let's say crush!
Malte came to Honeycomb with not a lot of money in his pocket, happy and eager to start working at the university library. When he started looking for a place to live, a two-bedroom apartment wasn't really what he had in mind, (Malte would have been fine in a studio apartment) but it was the only thing available to non-students in Honeycomb Hills and the rent was quite affordable because these apartments are part of an experimental project set up as part of "Greenify Honeycomb Valley": the tenants of the first apartments get a discount on their rent if they fill out regular questionnaires containing questions on how to make the apartment more sustainable and eco-friendly.
So, Malte moved into a two-bedroom apartment, claiming the smaller bedroom as his own and leaving the larger one empty. If they decided to come over, it could potentially sleep his entire family (his mother, grandmother, and two sisters). He spent his money wisely and using the resources available, soon made a home out of this place.
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The large windows are Malte's favourite feature of his home. He built sofas out of old mattresses. The Honeycomb campus has two rather large student dorms and whenever a student graduates and moves out of the dorm, the mattress on the bed they used gets replaced for the next resident. Some of those old mattresses are too filthy to even look at, but many are actually still in good shape. Priding itself on being green, the university actually has a website on which they put up old-but-still-good-for-another-round furnishings, free-to-collect. Malte put new, cheap coverings on the mattresses. Easy to take off and wash when needed.
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Malte loves cushions and blankets. You find those all around the house. Some were already his, the others were flea-market and thrift store finds, just like all the rugs in his home. Old crates function as a coffee table and makeshift shelves. Of course there's books everywhere. The lamps are wall fixtures that were already in the house, as were the curtains, and the poster on the wall is the cover of one of Malte's favourite books, gifted to him by his colleagues from the library where he works as a housewarming present. The guitar and the laptop are Malte's own possessions and the plants are the one item he actually spent a bit of money on, because plants are a must.
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Malte is a creative spirit. Painting, drawing, writing and making music all keep him sane. The painting easel was a thrift store find, and to protect the floors of his rented home, Malte put down a tarp underneath. The easel faces the window, of course. All the artwork on the wall is made by Malte or his sister Solveig. The shelves he built himself from old wood and on the top shelf there's a picture of Malte and his family. A little reminder of home.
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The kitchen came with the apartment. The table consists of a couple of boards on two sets of trestles. That was an easy build.
The two folding chairs (there's a third folded against the wall next to the fridge) Malte brought from home and the other two chairs are old discarded university classroom furniture Malte found on the previously mentioned website.
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Malte's bike has a place on the wall. It's his main means of transportation. The car in which he took Rachel on their second date wasn't his, a colleague lend it to him.
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In the other corner of the room, there's a little workspace. The desk was another university reject and the chair a thrift store find. The paintings are Malte's own work and the pictures show him and his mother and eldest sister.
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Here we have three very similar pictures from Malte's bedroom, but I still wanted to use them all xD. Here we find old mattresses again, although the top one is new. Old crates also make great night stands and a bedroom without books isn't a bedroom. The yellow lamp is a thrift store find and the green one a Swedish furniture store one. On Malte's nightstand there's a picture of his mother, grandmother and sisters. The poster above his bed as well as two on the other wall (see next picture) are enlarged prints of Saarqartoq pictures. Rachel had these printed as a gift for Malte because she knows he does miss home sometimes.
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Malte doesn't have a wardrobe, but installed a rod against the wall which does the job perfectly.
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In the orignal design of the room, the architect intended for people to place a bed below the high window. Malte thought this idea was no good at all. He wanted to wake up with a view! So he went against the design of the room and put his bed against the wall so it faced the tall windows and the green outside. The watermelon bean bag was his latest thrift store gem. It was just too cool to pass by.
And that concludes the tour of Malte's home. There's also a bathroom, which is just a bathroom, and a balcony, which I didn't take any pictures of at this time, but which will show up in a story post, I'm sure.
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cosyvelvetorchid · 2 months ago
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Chapter 2 of Death Becomes Them is up!
Reason on ao3 or below
(See ao3 for tags and TWs)
🩶
They turned into a typical suburban tree-lined street and pulled over beside the curb in front of the sixth house along. It was your average wood-built family home. Two storeys and an attic, with a wooden porch not too dissimilar to the one Tommy had along the front of his house, and a front yard that Tommy was not kidding about.
Green shrubs, all the exact same type and length ran along the edge of the porch, and a small grassy area in front that Buck was certain he could get out a measuring tape and each blade of grass would be the same height.
The only flaw was the two wide lines running parallel to each other diagonally across the grass, presumably from the gurney Thomas Sr was taken out on.
Tommy scoffed when he saw them. “He’d have hated that.”
He took the keys from the plastic bag and unlocked the door but didn’t open it straight away. His hand hovered on the large brass door knob.
“You don’t have to do this right now, Tommy. It’s okay if you’re not ready.” Buck reassured him softly.
Tommy sighed. “I have to. If I don’t do it now..” he let the sentence fall away.
Buck placed a gentle hand on Tommy’s back as he turned the knob and pushed open the door.
The house was emptier than Buck had expected. A shoe rack by the door; a sofa, coffee table and TV in the living room with a small dining table with 2 chairs at the other end. No artwork on the walls, no knickknacks and not a single photograph hung anywhere.
Tommy was frowning as he looked around, assessing the place.
“Did it always look like this?” Buck asked.
Tommy shook his head. “No. Last time I was here there were photographs on the walls, and a big rug here” he pointed to the centre of the living room. “There was my grandpas old drinks globe in the corner here and plants on the window ledge.”
Tommy walked through the living room and dining room and into the kitchen around the corner. It was just as bare. Wooden counters across two walls with only a microwave, a cheap looking coffee pot and a set of knives on top.
He opened the fridge and scoffed when he saw it was mostly filled with bottles of beer. “Some things never change.”
“He drank a lot?” Buck asked.
“I can’t remember a single time he didn’t have a beer bottle or whiskey glass in his hand.” He said it so matter of factly and so easily, showing that it was a normal thing for child Tommy to be seeing.
Buck followed him back through the downstairs and to the front entrance then up the stairs. The first door Tommy opened was his old man’s room. It followed the empty theme from downstairs—a bed, a nightstand on either side and a large dresser opposite. No homey touches or decor.
Tommy walked along to the next door and stopped. His finger tips trailed along the scratches halfway up the door. Buck squinted and could just make out the word ‘Lakers’ etched into the wood.
“You’ve always been a fan of the Lakers I see?” Buck smiled.
“Yeah.” He smiled back, but the smile slowly faded. “Got my ass beat for this, though.” He replied.
He pushed open the door and they walked into Tommy’s childhood bedroom. Except it wasn’t a bedroom anymore, not really; more of a storage room. A few dining chairs stacked up in the corner, an old scratched up coffee table and a couple of large cardboard boxes.
The bare floorboards creaked under Tommy’s feet as he walked to the center of the room and surveyed his surroundings with a somber look on his face. Suddenly his body straightened and he turned quickly and opened up the closet door and bent down. His hand reached to the back corner of the floor to find the familiar hole which he slid his finger into and pulled up the small length of floorboard.
“No way!” He laughed to himself.
“What?” Buck asked trying to look over his shoulder.
Tommy turned around with a small, rusting metal box in his hand and sat down fully on the floor to open it.
“What’s that?” Buck asked.
“My safe.” His fingertips caressed the items in the box. “It was something my mom got me. She said I should use it for things that were important to me.” He pulled out a set of cheap baseball cards. “Clearly my priorities were a little off.” He laughed to himself.
Some coins, a toy soldier and some other little childlike oddities came out of the box. Then Tommy’s hand stilled. He took a shaky breath as he lifted out a faded post-it note.
Buck leaned forward to read the beautifully cursive writing.
“Have a wonderful day at school, sweetheart. Love, Mom”
Tommy took a harsh breath. And then another. And another. His breaths were becoming short and fast and then a strangled sound came from his throat as his shoulders began to shake.
Buck immediately fell to the ground and wrapped his arms around Tommy as he broke apart with wrecked sobs. His body shook hard with every loud cry that became muffled when he shoved his head into Bucks neck.
It was all Buck could do to stop himself from breaking just seeing Tommy like this. He ran a hand up and down his back while the other softly ran through the hair on the back of his head.
“It’s okay.” He whispered. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
He gripped onto Bucks hoodie so tightly Buck had the fleeting thought that it might rip. That didn’t matter though; nothing else mattered.
“Just breathe, baby. Just breathe.” He could feel Tommy trying to gain control of his breathing. Eventually the sobs quietened but he kept hold of Buck.
Buck felt a big lump of guilt in his stomach. His priority was making sure that Tommy was okay but he couldn’t deny that it felt nice to have Tommy in his arms again.
He shook that thought away. This wasn’t about him, or them—it was about Tommy and what he was going through.
“Hey. Why don’t we go outside for a bit? Get some fresh air.” Buck suggested. Tommy nodded into Bucks shoulder before detaching himself and slowly standing up. As they made their way downstairs, Buck made sure to stick close enough to him just in case he needed to be leant on.
They both sat on the front porch steps quietly for a few minutes. Tommy rested his elbows on his knees and blankly stared at the street ahead. He sniffed and wiped his eyes.
“I miss her.” He said; his voice thick.
“Your mom? What happened to her?”
“She died. When I was 12. Drunk driver.” He answered.
“Oh god. Tommy, I’m so sorry.”
“My dad.. Things got so much worse after that.” He wiped more tears from his eyes.
Buck let his hand run up and down Tommy’s back in an act of comfort. Tommy blew out a heavy breath.
“I’m sorry. I..”
“No. No, Tommy. You have nothing to apologise for.”
“It’s just so stupid!” He said suddenly standing up. “I hated the man. And I mean truly hated him.” He began to pace around, getting more agitated. “Do you know how many times that I wished he’d died? Like actually hoped that he would die?! And now he has and.. and here I am crying about it. Crying about a man who never gave a shit about me my entire life! It’s pathetic. I’m pathetic.”
Buck stood and closed the distance between them quickly, holding onto Tommy by his upper arms.
“Hey! You are allowed to feel things about this. About him, about him dying. That doesn’t make you pathetic.” He tried to reassure him but he shook his head.
“He made my life hell. And my mom’s. He doesn’t deserve anybody grieving. Yet here I am..” He tried to move away from Buck but Buck held him tighter.
“I don’t.. I don’t think you’re grieving him, Tommy. I think maybe you’re grieving hope.”
“What? I don’t understand.” Tommy wiped his eyes again.
“As much as you hated him, maybe there was a part of you deep down that hoped one day he would change. And now that he’s died, that hope has died too.”
“I.. maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know how to.. deal with this. I..”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to figure it out right now. It’s still fresh and raw.”
He lifted his arms higher and pulled Tommy into a hug. Tommy arms gripped tightly around his waist.
“Thank you.” Tommys voice was strained and raw.
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“I do. After what I did-“
“Stop.” Buck interrupted, pulling back and letting go of him. “We should definitely talk about that, not least because I deserve to say my piece.” He had no anger in his voice, but his tone was clear. Tommy nodded, looking down at the ground. “But, right now isn’t the time. What you’re dealing with.. This is more important.”
“Okay.” Tommy agreed.
“We can take a break if you want.”
“I am actually starting to feel a little hungry.” He replied.
“I told you to eat some of that banana bread before left.” Buck reminded him and playfully nudged him with his shoulder. Tommy huffed a small laugh.
“Yeah I know, you were right.” He conceded. “Okay..” he said firmly, straightening himself up and shaking his head clear. “Let’s get something to eat and we can deal with the house later.”
“Good plan.” Buck smiled. Tommy locked up the house before they got into the truck and drove further into town.
“Hey, I was thinking.” Buck said after a while. “Maybe we should get a hotel for the night.”
Tommy’s head whipped to Bucks direction but Buck spoke before Tommy had the chance to say anything.
“Separate rooms.” He made clear. “I just think it’s a long drive back and you still have to speak to the funeral home and sort those arrangements—maybe it would be best to figure some things out today and finish the rest tomorrow.”
Tommy contemplated it for a minute before speaking. “Don’t you have a shift tomorrow?”
“How do you know that?” Buck asked.
“I, uh.. We still have our calendars synced.” Tommy admitted sheepishly.
“Oh.” Buck responded as though he hadn’t known, which was a blatant lie—he’d noticed a few days after they broke up. Much like the idea of throwing out Tommy’s things, he couldn’t bring himself to un-sync them.
“I’m sorry. I’ll un-sync them when we stop.”
“No!” Buck protested. “I mean, it’s fine. And-and you’re right I do have a shift tomorrow, but I’m sure Bobby won’t mind. It’s not like I take days off regularly anyway.”
“You sure? I don’t want my shit causing an issues for you at work.” Tommy argued.
“It’s fine, Tommy. I really don’t mind. I’ll call Bobby when we stop for food.”
They decided on a cheap diner in town and Buck found them a table while Tommy used the bathroom. Buck took the opportunity to call Bobby.
“Hey Buck, I came by earlier to bring back your cake dish but you weren’t there.”
“Uh, yeah I’m, uh.. with Tommy.”
“You’re what?” Bobby replied in a surprise. “I thought you were trying to not see him?”
“I was. Uh, but then he turned up at my apartment last night, and-“
“Buck.” Bobby chastised.
“No, Bobby—it’s not like that. His dad died.”
“Oh jeez.”
“Yeah. He was.. Bobby I’ve never seen him this way. He really worried me.”
“Well, I guess it’s good he someone to help him.”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m calling actually.” Buck said.
“What do you need?”
“Couple of days off? We’re up by Tommy’s dad’s place a few hours away. He identified the body earlier and he wanted to see his old house and.. he just needs some time for it to sink in and make arrangements. I don’t want him to do it alone.”
“I understand. Take as long as you need.”
“Thanks Bobby. And.. I’m only telling you because I need the time off, but please don’t tell anybody else about Tommy’s dad, or that I’m with him.”
“Buck, you know they’re all going to wonder where you are.” Bobby reminded him.
“I know.” Buck conceded. He contemplated telling Maddie he’d gone away for a few days to clear his head, but after what happened with her after she had Jee she’d just worry he was going to do something more serious. Bobby sensed his appreciation.
“Look, I’ll tell them I sent you the academy for a few days to help with training. But after that you’re going to have to tell them something.”
Buck sighed with relief. “Thank you, Bobby.”
“You’re welcome. And I hope Tommy’s okay.”
“I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
“Bye Buck.”
“Who was that?” Tommy asked taking a seat across from Buck.
“Oh, uh, Bobby. I managed to get the next few days off. I had to tell him about your dad, but I asked him not to tell any of the others. I wasn’t sure if you wanted anybody else to know.”
“I appreciate that. Thank you.”
Buck opted for a burger and Tommy chose pancakes. They ate in silence for a while. Buck wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted to ask Tommy how he was feeling and offer comfort where he could but he also didn’t want to spook him.
He’d been more open in the last 18 or so hours than he’d ever been and though Buck hated the reason why, he was grateful that Tommy trusted him enough to come to him.
“So..” Tommy asked breaking the silence. “How have you been?”
Buck looked at Tommy for a second before laughing. Not because it was actually funny, but because it was a ludicrous question.
“Really?” He said trying not to sound snippy.
Tommy immediately understood and gave a small laugh too. “Yeah, I’m sorry. Stupid question.”
“Do you want the honest answer?” Buck asked. Tommy took a second before nodding.
“Not great.” He said. “Awful, actually.”
Tommy opened his mouth to say something but stopped and looked out of the window instead.
“What about you?” Buck asked. Tommy turned his face back to Buck and held his eyes for a moment.
“Same.” He said, sadly. Buck was torn between being glad he felt like shit, and hating it. He was still in pain from what Tommy did but he’d never found it in himself to hate him. He could never hate him.
There was a tension in the air between them. Something not entirely uncomfortable. It wasn’t exciting and electrifying as it had been numerous times between them in the past, but there was an underlying current of.. something.
“So,” Buck said trying to break some of that tension. “Once we’ve finished here, I thought maybe we could go to the funeral home, if you’re up to it? You don’t have to make any decisions yet, but we can find out what the next steps are for when you’re ready.”
Tommy sipped his coffee and took a deep breath. “Yeah. I think I can do that.”
*
The funeral home was much nicer than the last one Buck had been in. Then again, this one hadn’t had a car plough through it. There was soft string music playing gently throughout the place and fresh flowers dotted around.
“Can I help you, gentleman?”
They both turned around in the foyer to see a tall, bald and gaunt looking man in a black suit. His long thin fingers crossed together in front of him.
“Yeah. Yes. My.. my father passed away yesterday. I need to, uh, make arrangements.” He told the man. Buck noticed his breathing changing and took his hand and laced his fingers in between Tommy’s, who squeezed his hand in return.
“Let me first say that I’m sorry for your loss.” The man said.
“Thank you.”
“We offer a range of services to help honour the death of a loved one. If you’d like to follow me, I can take you through process. Do you have the relevant paperwork?” Tommy handed the forms the hospital had given him to the man. “Thank you.” The man gestured for them to follow him.
An hour later, they walked out of the funeral with plans in place for the collection of Tommy’s dad’s body from the hospital and basic funeral arrangements made.
Tommy chose a basic wooden casket, and a burial site in the cemetery closest to the house—it didn’t matter where, he was never going to visit. He chose not to have a service or memorial—the bastard didn’t deserve one. Due to the death being of natural causes the hospital would release the body straight away and so the burial was to take place the day after next.
Tommy sighed as they sat back in his truck.
“Was it me or did that guy look-“
“Like a corpse? Yeah.” Tommy replied. Buck sucked in his lips to prevent himself from laughing but couldn’t help the snort that came out. Tommy huffed in response, which made Buck laugh. They both began giggling.
“Billy Boils looked more alive.” Buck said and Tommy barked out a loud laugh in response. Suddenly the car was filled with raucous belly aching laughter.
An elderly woman, dressed in mourning clothes, walked past the truck and looked horrified at the two men laughing wildly. They didn’t notice.
Buck wiped tears from his eyes as their laughter began to wind down. “How are you feeling?” He asked.
“I’m.. I don’t know honestly. I’m glad I got this done though. Thank you coming with me.” He looked at Buck so softly that Buck had to hold himself together. He wanted to pull Tommy into his arms again and keep him there. This big, usually stoic and confident man who somehow looked smaller; the weight of his past trauma and current feelings weighing him down.
“Of course.” He simply said instead. Tommy gave a soft half smile at Buck using his words. “But I think that’s probably enough for you today. We should get to a hotel and get some rest.”
“Yeah. I think there’s one near here.”
“Wait, I just realised—we don’t have any clothes. Or toiletries. I don’t even have a phone charger.”
Tommy pulled out of the parking space. “It’s fine. I’ve got all that stuff in the back.”
“Well, yeah it’s your car.” Buck said knowing Tommy was referring to his emergency go-bag; the one all first responders kept in their cars. “But I don’t have anything.”
“Actually you do.” Tommy glanced at Buck before back to the road ahead.
“You.. you still have it?” Buck asked, surprised. A few months after they started dating they each added a small bag of essentials to their trunks for the other. Mostly in case one of them was in the hospital it would save the other from having to go to their place to pick up things.
“I kept meaning to take it out but kept forgetting.”
Buck wondered if this was a situation like his own and Tommy simply didn’t want to get rid of things that were his. That thought was doused quickly remembering it was Tommy that didn’t want to be with him so it was more likely that he did just forget.
They found the hotel and booked 2 rooms, only arguing when Tommy insisted on paying for them both given that Buck wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for his dad dying. Buck gave in, allowing him to pay.
“Okay. Here are your room keys, gentleman. Rooms 118 and 119.”
They both looked at each other and laughed.
“Is everything alright?” The lady at the desk asked, confused.
“Uh, yes. Everything’s fine. Thank you.”
They made their way up to their rooms and stood awkwardly in front of their doors.
“I..”
“Do-“
They both spoke at the same time.
“Sorry.” Tommy said.
“It-it’s okay.”
“What were you going to say?” Tommy asked.
“I was just going to say that I’m going to jump in the shower then maybe go downstairs for a drink at the bar. If-if you want to join me?” He well aware of how pathetic he sounded and was trying to hide his nerves in asking.
“Oh.” Tommy said. Buck immediately felt a flush of embarrassment heat up his face.
“You don’t have to. It’s-it’s fine, really.” He waved the key card over the lock and it clicked open.
“No, that’s not.. I.. I was going to say that I’m exhausted and thinking of ordering room service for dinner if.. if you wanted to join me?”
Oh. That wasn’t what Buck was expecting. Although it made sense that Tommy probably didn’t want to be alone.
“Uh, sure. Yeah. Just let me shower and change.” He told him.
“Don’t rush. I’m not going anywhere.”
This time. Buck couldn’t help but think.
18 notes · View notes
aliveinacoffin · 2 years ago
Note
Hello. Can i please request a part 2 of Hating You As Well? It was so good! 😩 Can part 2 be Aizawa’s and readers relationship developing and getting better throughout the year or something? Maybe throw in some aizawa getting a little jealous over reader’s relationship/friendship with another hero (maybe midnight or snipe)? Thank you so much! Feel free to ignore if you don’t want to write a part 2! xx
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AAAHH I LOVE YOU GUYS FR 😭😭😭 and but of course, i live and breath to serve yall munchkins.
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Hating You As Well
(And Loving You Just As Much)
Part One, Part Two (you're here dummy), Part Three
Aizawa still isn't honest with his feelings, but you weren't exactly one to jump ship and demand a relationship. So now, in this grey area, you two are forced to co-exist, while other feelings grow and fester.
Fem!Reader, She/Her pronouns
TW!: Slight descriptions of violence, nothing too crazy, suggestive language
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You two didn't speak about what happened on the couch afterward. You not wanting to bring it up and him just avoiding you. You got most of your papers graded, and when Aizawa finished with his portion, he rushed out of the living room. Your heart dropped to your stomach, watching him leave without a word. Sighing, you went back to your papers, trying to just get them done.
___________________________________________
The next morning was silent, the night before Aizawa hadn't come out of his room at all, and you watched his door, trying to listen to what he was doing. The next morning, you hadn't slept in, getting up early to go on a run. You knew Aizawa wouldn't be awake at this hour, but he probably would soon. So you started a large pot of coffee and grabbed a sports drink and made your way out.
The wait in the elevator was tedious, but you took the time to adjust yourself. Thinking about your life, thinking about him. Did you really like Aizawa? Maybe (yes), but did he like you? Maybe? I mean, there would be no other reason for him to also lean into a kiss, the feeling of his strong and large hand haunted you, fingers reaching around your shoulder blades. Dammit Hizashi, you spitefully thought to yourself.
But what would've come from it? Would there have been an awkward moment of 'where do we go from here?' or would there be an admission of feelings, but what feelings? Would there have been an unspoken moment of understanding?
You shook your head, willing away unnecessary thoughts. The elevator doors dinged open, and you happily trotted out, all you needed was an early morning run to clear your head, and everything would be fine.
___________________________________________
Okay everything was not fine.
When you came back, very sweaty and gross from your jog, you should work out more damn, Aizawa was already up. The slut* was walking around with absolutely no shirt on, and only the tightest goddamn pair of black boxers ever. His defined and scarred body on full display, lean but built body, languidly lounging around in the light morning sun. His dark and long hair was up in a messy bun, with a few strands of hair falling out. The scar beneath his eye was on full display, only adding to that rugged and overtly masculine look.
Cheap shot you bitch.
He was sipping coffee while leaning on one of the kitchen counters. Oddly on the one that faced the front door. He watched you pant in, immediately going to the cupboards to fill yourself a glass of water. You felt his eyes watching you, felt them watch and analyze every curve and scar, every dip and bump, every beauty and imperfection. You downed your cup, not acknowledging him in the slightest, lest you show the effect he had on you. Neither of you said a word to the other, not even a head nod to show that you had seen the other. Just ignoring him for the time being, with no complaints on the other end.
At the staff meeting later that day, you happily sat by Hizashi, joining in his excited chatter.
"I know this sounds cheesy, but I can't wait to see the students come back again! I've missed them." Hizashi swooned, a sad puppy dog look on his face.
You laughed and opened your mouth to join into his lighthearted admission before another voice cut you off.
"I don't, the little bastards have already gotten in enough trouble. I can't imagine what it'll be like when they move in." Aizawa grumbled out, looking in front of him with a disgruntled look.
You and Hizashi froze, just staring at him for a moment. He usually sat on the other side of you 'loudmouths,' usually too tired to deal with the shenanigans that you, said blonde, and Nemuri got up into. (Usually just passing notes between all three of you with the smashabiltiy of your coworkers and other heroes (also dicks, but not from the person you'd think)) So it was shocking to see him willingly sitting next to you three while earning a death glare from Anan, whose spot he'd stolen.
"Don't act like you don't love them you Tsundere. You'd probably eat your arm if it meant they were happy." You teased, sighing while you poked at him.
He deadpanned you for using such an outdated term but just grumbled while hiding his face in his scarf. Hizashi elbowed you, wiggling his eyebrows at you while smirking. You were confused for a second before you realized what he was implying, hitting his arm to make him stop. He yelped, angrily muttering curses at you while he looked down. Principle Nedzu loudly cleared his throat, standing up straight while looking at all of you. He clapped his soft hands, signing the beginning of the meeting.
___________________________________________
Well that meeting was a waste of your time. All the meeting was about how we should pay a little more attention to the students now that we're all in dorms. Those who work at night, namely Hizashi, Aizawa, Nemuri, etc., were asked to make sure they don't sneak out and do room checks randomly. Heroes who work in the day, you, Anan, Ken, and others were asked to make sure students acted right during the day, and stayed inside school property. Simple enough but...
"That could've just been an email." Nemuri sighed, peeling off her mask and putting her hair up. Ken was doing the opposite, putting down his cement-like hair and flattening it against his head.
"Agreed. I understand communication is important, especially during such difficult times but..." He sighed, rubbing his flat face.
"It's super annoying. We should all get coffee cups that say 'this meeting could've been an email' on them and just use them every time we have one." You sighed, adjusting yourself to make yourself more comfortable as well.
"Well, now that that's over, and we don't really have anything else to do...wanna go out for drinks?" Hizashi perked up, green sunglasses perched on his head, hair still gelled up.
"It's one o'clock in the afternoon." Aizawa scowled, looking disapprovingly at the man.
"I think he just wants to hang out rather than drink." You slung your arm over Aizawa. He scowled at you but didn't move your arm.
"No, I'm totally gonna drink." Hizashi said while walking backwards, already calling a cab.
"Oh yeah me too." Nemuri agreed, nodding her head.
___________________________________________
"I don't know why I came." Aizawa was acting pissy, laying down his head on his crossed arms, glaring at the loudmouths around him.
"Because you loveee us, admit it!" You sang, stirring the drink in your hands. You weren't drunk per say but you were definitely looser and happier now. "Cmon, won't you drink a little?" You looked down at him, smirk on your face.
He scoffed and looked away, sitting up straight. "Someone needs to get you home, and we share a living space, so I'm forced to babysit."
"Dawww, it's okay to show your emotions." You tugged on his uniform sleeve, putting yourself in his personal space.
"Hey!" Hizashi called out to you, definition more drunk than you were. "Let's do karaoke!" He motioned you over, pointing to Anan, who was already singing. You happily jumped up, waiting behind Sekijiro to sing.
When it was your turn, your singing was horrid. It was off-key and loud. Most of your friends just laughed and egged you on, spurring you to sing louder and worse. Still, even in your fuzzy mind you recognize on pair of dark eyes just staring at you. Not in a negative way, no, there was something in his face and eyes that made you quiet down some. Just so he knew you were singing for him.
___________________________________________
You don't know how you got home, but you did. Looking at the time, it was seven PM at night. You groaned, rubbing your head while your other hand limply hung off the couch. An oversized jacket was forced on you, baggy, and so so warm.
"Drink this." You looked up to the dark presence above, squinting at the harsh contrast of the shadow to the bright apartment. You got up and groggy drank the water.
"Thanks." You sighed, looking up at Aizawa.
"Sure. Just try to be more responsible next time. You have an image to uphold." He snatched back the cup when you finished, which you realized had prints of black cats on it.
"Mehmehmehmeh." You made a face, mocking him in a high-pitched voice while making a puppet with your hand. The man you were making fun glared at you from the kitchen, activating his quirk while washing your dish.
"I'm being serious. Anyone could've walked in and seen a UA teacher acting a fool at a bar." He growled, now in the drying process.
"Ahh, it was one drink! And plus, none of our dear students are gonna walk into a bar." You got up stretching, scratching your leg while walking past him.
"It was more than one drink!" He called out to you.
"One, ten does it matter?" You replied, entering your bedroom and shutting your door behind you, ending the conversation.
The next morning, you found yourself with a jacket you'd never had before. It was baggy, many sizes too large for you, and something right out of a goth magazine. You don't know where you got it from, but it was warm and comfortable, plus it smelt nice, so you added it to your closet.
___________________________________________
The students finally arrived and settled in the dorms, now UA dorm life was in full swing. It was peaceful to see such vibrant characters and youth constantly surround you, it filled you with a new vigor. That was, until now.
Loud crashing woke you up in the dead of night, and you immediately jumped up into action. You didn't yell or scream. Instead, you grabbed a flashlight and a small knife. You slowly opened your bedroom door, crouching out and keeping close to the wall. There was a large imposing figure standing in the middle of the hall, leaning against the wall while fussing with their boot.
Taking the chance, you kicked off the wall and laughed yourself forward. Landing on the interlopers back, you wrapped your arm around their neck, using your free hand to press the switch blade on their face. Your legs immediately wrapped around their muscled frame, trapping yourself onto them.
"What the fuck are you doing in my home." You growled in their ear, putting pressure on the knife to start to dig into their cheek.
"Getting my dumbass kids." Aizawa growled out, hands trying to rip you off of him.
You froze for a second, eyes going wide and mouth going slack.
"Huh!?" You yelled out, toppling off of your roommate. Knife clattering somewhere into the kitchen.
Aizawa turned to you, pissed off and resuming his fussing with his shoes. He tilted his head in your direction but not looking at you. You sat on the ground, still processing everything.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Did I get you anywhere?" You finally came to your senses, scrambling up to check him. Grabbing his chin, you tilted his head back and forth, inspecting.
"I'm fine. I've got to go." He ripped his head back, leaning away from your touch. He finally got his boots of fully, walking into the kitchen and to the front door.
"No you're not, I cut you." You ran into the kitchen, pulling out the first aid kit from under the sink.
"It's fine." He was already at the door, but you ran to him and grabbed the back of his shirt.
"No, it's not, I could've really hurt you." You had grabbed an antiseptic wipe and a bandaid to clean up the cut you made on him. It was small, a nonconsequential wound. But you still took delicate care to cleaning it and covering it up. He didn't get the chance to see what kind of bandaid you put on him, but he felt that it was small.
"As if." He mumbled, eyes fluttering closed as he accepted your gentle touch. There was no bite in his tone, like he was just saying it to say it, to keep up an image. You pulled back, and gave him a once-over.
Aizawa opened his eyes again, and turned to the door to hide his face from you.
"Now you can get your dumbass kids, asshole." You smiled softly, and even if he couldn't see your face, he registered the softness in your tone. The fondness.
When Aizawa got done with yelling at his two problems children, he turned and stomped away, leaving them to be angry at him.
Midoriya remembered something for a moment and hesitantly turned to his rival/best friend.
"Hey Kacchan, was there a Hello Kitty bandaid on his face?" Midoriya seemed a little dumbfounded. It couldn't be true, Aizawa with a bandaid on his face, let alone a Hello Kitty one?
"Hah? The fuck are you talking about?" Bakugo was still clearly pissed, but he was more taken aback than angry.
"That little pink sticker on him, I could swear I saw Hello Kitty on it." Midoriya responded, adamant that he did see it.
Bakugo was silent for a moment, and the freckled boy thought he was ignoring him. So he just sighed and returned inside.
Bakugo smirked a little, now fully remembering. Yeah, he was.
___________________________________________
The next morning you decided to ask what happened.
"My two biggest problems decided to sneak out and fight. It hasn't even been a week, and they're already trying to kill each other." Aizawa angrily muttered into his cup of coffee.
You stared at him for a second, pursing your lips. "Did you expel them?" You tilted your head, eyeing him warily.
"I wish." He chuckled, drinking his coffee.
"Ah, so they're your favorites." You smiled, wiping your hands and heading to serve yourself a plate of food. You heard the stern teacher sputtering behind you, coughing as a result of his reaction.
"I have no favorites, and those two would never be them." He responded, setting down his cup heavily.
"But you didn't expel them. You just gave them house arrest and chores. Your favorites." You shrugged, turning around to smirk at him.
"Well, it..." Aizawa shook his head, face pulling into one of anger as he looked for an excuse. He gave up, flopping his hands down to look at you. "They'll learn. They just need more discipline. It's hardly a call for expulsion."
"Let's see," You set down your toast to count examples. "Sneaking out after curfew barely a few days into moving into dorms, destructive of school property, assault on another student, three students snuck out without permission to save another classmate, Midoriya being the ringleader, anddd..." You screwed up your face, and you tried to remember more. You snapped your fingers and pointed at the scowling Aizawa. "Oh! First day, you should've expelled Midoriya and transferred him to another class, but you didn't." You leaned on the counter and tilted your head. "Instead, you let him stay in the hero course because you believed in him. Plus, that whole unwritten speech about Bakugo when he was kidnapped? There was nothing in our notes that said anything of what you said. But you said it anyway, from your heart."
Aizawa had a carefully neutral face, just staring at you while you grilled him.
"So my only crime is believing in my students." His voice was monotone, any semblance of emotion wiped from his face. If it were anyone else, you would've thought they were pissed at you or angry. But you knew better, you recognized that face from last night. The 'I'm pissed because I expected better from you' face.
"No," You grabbed your plate and walked past Aizawa to lounge in the living room, patting his shoulder as you walked. "Your only crime is having a huge heart, but the inability to even show you even have one."
___________________________________________
There was no real reason for you to be here, you thought to yourself. You barely helped out when the kids picked out their ultimate moves, and you were definitely not one of the teachers who regularly trained with the kids, but you still found yourself being dragged to go to the hero licensing exams.
You adjusted your hero costume, pulling down and pulling up the outfit where need be.
"Why am I coming again?" You asked Aizawa, turning to him to see he was already staring at you.
He shrugged, "Principal Nedzu just said you were to come." He looked away, fiddling with his phone while he waited for you to get ready.
"Well, sure, I got that, but he didn't email me, and I don't exactly see why-" You were still pulling yourself together, grabbing an over-the-shoulder bag and checking whether or not you had your keys, your wallet, and extra makeup and other stuff you might need.
"Are you ready yet? At this rate, we'll hold up the whole class and make them late." He interrupted you, crossing his arms impatiently.
You deadpanned him and adjusted the strap. "Yes, I'm ready. Dick." You stuck your tongue out at him while he held the door open for you, trying to push you out.
"You need to watch your mouth more. Who knows who's listening." He scolded, pressing the elevator button. The elevator dinged open, and you two stepped inside. Aizawa went to press the floor button, but you beat him to it. He gave you a look.
You smiled. "I like pressing the buttons."
"What are you, a child?" He scoffed.
"Then you'd be a predator." You shot back without thinking. Both of you realized what you meant by that, but before you could spit out on explanation, the door opened again.
Hizashi strolled in, whistling a tune. "Hey guys!" He cheered, ignoring the tension behind him. "What's up?" He turned around, looking at your blushing face and Aizawa's blatant ignoring of you.
"Nothing, what are you up to?" You chuckled, rubbing your head.
"Gonna go out and be a radio host and communications guy." He smiled, but you heard the strain in his voice.
Your bashful attitude dropped, and you held out a hand. "Hey, don't spread yourself super thin." You advised, voice full of worry.
The elevator dinged to all of your last stops, and Hizashi strolled out before the two of you, walking backward to face you.
"Don't worry about me! I'll be fine." He waved you off, turning around to walk normally with his hands in his pockets.
"I worry about him sometimes." You admitted, stuck in place. Aizawa walked out before you, holding the elevator so it didn't close on you.
"He's fine, trust me. Hizashi doesn't think about much other than music and having fun." He shrugged, looking off.
"That's because he thinks through you. He speaks Aizawa and thinks Aizawa." You stepped out, walking out the bottom common room to the main grounds of UA.
Aizawa shrugged, not saying anything as he followed you. You looked out to all the excited students, the air buzzing with conversation.
Aizawa got his classes' attention, speaking to all his students.
"Now listen up. This is the most important test of your life, and only fifty percent of the whole student body will pass." That made the class tense up and freeze, dramatic whispers grew between them. "Even though some of you are in trouble." He made direct, unashamed eye contact with both Midoriya and Bakugo, "You will all take the test. Now let's go before we're late." He led the class in the bus, you two being the last ones in.
"They're your favorite." You sang, tapping your knees. You two were sitting in separate seats, but you two were as close to the edge as possible.
"Keep your voice down." He snapped but didn't deny it.
___________________________________________
Ms. Joke was awesome.
She shamelessly flirted with Aizawa, if not being a bit pushy with it, and teased him.
You knew of her, you had some run-ins with her when you first debuted. She was a light-hearted, strong woman who had a good sense of humor, she often used to make you double over in full-out belly laughter. But there was something different this time, she was funny, that didn't change, but you weren't laughing so hard you cried now.
"Eraser," Ms. Joke was barely holding back laughter now, "Your fly is down."
You and Aizawa sat next to each other while Ms. Joke was two seats away from you two. That... wasn't all that funny....huh. Maybe Aizawa's bitterness rubbed off of me? Aizawa just sat there like he hated the world, but especially her right now.
"I can't believe you have a full class! Usually, you would've expelled someone by now. You must actually like your class." She turned to him, and you leaned over.
"Right! I think he has a secret soft spot for all of them, but especially-" You exclaimed, excited that some outside of UA had noticed this.
Aizawa cut you off by putting his hand in front of your face, now angry at the world, Ms. Joke, and you.
She laughed, and you giggled. "You're so predictable! Date me." Ms. Joke immediately turned to him.
"Shut up." He scowled, and she just laughed in response.
You sat back up now, looking at him teasingly. "If I have a say-"
"You don't."
"I think you two would make a great couple!" You grabbed Aizawa's shoulders and leaned him to the loud woman, and she just laughed in response. Strangely, you could see her breath from this angle, but you could also see Aizawa's hair float up for a mere second before it dropped again. An action so small and unnoticeable that if you hadn't been so close, you wouldn't have seen it.
You let go, and she leaned to you two, a slightly angry look on her face.
"But c'mon, you both know what's going to happen in just a few seconds." Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, a strained smile.
You looked at the dark man beside you, really he sticks out pretty bad here, and gave him a confused and slightly scared look.
You heard her say something earlier, but you had no idea what it meant, let alone now.
"And yet, you didn't say a thing to your class. Every year the test is always different." She rested her chin on her fist, looking determined out on the field. Aizawa was blankly doing the same, but there was a different look in his eye, one you recognized. One of a teacher who knows what his students can do.
You were shifting on your seat, watching class 1-A break up into factions, trying to understand what the other woman was saying.
"It's a tradition during the exam, most if not almost all of the students have equal footing. Except for one." She dropped her hand, sitting up straight. You were watching her, a feeling of foreboding coming over you as she delved more and more into her dramatic rant.
"UA has a serious disadvantage. Showing off the country's top schools sports program to the whole country, which showed off not just your students' quirks, but their weaknesses and their fighting styles too." Your eyes widened, and you turned back to the field. Watching the majority of the class you grew to care about deeply, be unknowingly followed. "It's a little funny, isn't it?"
That made your heart race, surprise written all over your face. Aizawa ignored her, eyebrows deepening.
"If you actually liked your class this year, you should've warned them about this. It happens every time your school takes the exam, UA is immediately crushed." She said, and to prove her right, a crowd of students all aimed for one group. Yours.
You looked at Aizawa, wondering why he kept quiet about all this. He glanced at you briefly before nodding his head back to the field with the tiniest of motions. That feeling of dread was replaced with pride as you watched Midoriya effortlessly kick away a storm of balls with one kick. From this angle, Ms. Joke assumed you turned away from Aizawa, feeling a little awkward that she had now seemingly made you upset. What she didn't see was your proud smile, your smirk of arrogance. Yeah, they'll be fine.
"I don't really see a reason why I should've warned them. Nothing would've changed if I did, either way, they would've had to deal with it." You and Aizawa watched as your students effortlessly dodged and moved, using their quirks to the best of their abilities to take back the advantage that was stripped away from them. It was taking everything in you not to just cheer out for them, not to scream, hell yeah!
"Real heroes turn around any situation. Besides, when they become pros in the spotlight, they'll have to face villains who already know their quirks." His voice was stern and sharp, with no room for argument. "Perhaps at UA, we look further ahead than other schools." Even though he still had that monotone voice, Aizawa had a passion for his students, one that he barely contained.
A dark shadow fell over the laughing woman's face, now at an angle where she could see the both of you. She watched with bated breath as you watched Aizawa. Smiling while she huffed out a nose laugh. She recognized that look, looking down at her ring finger, she fiddled with the gold ring. There were rings decorating all her other fingers, but the one on that ring was the first and most important one. She's made that face hundreds of times at her own wife, and only a fool would mistake it for anything else.
___________________________________________
“‘UA looks further ahead than other schools’, huh? That’s pretty condescending of you to say Eraser.” Ms. Joke piped up, the two had been going back and forth, but you decided to ignore their banter in favor of anxiously watching the students, afraid. “There are as many kids who want to be heroes as there are stars in the sky. The strength of that will has nothing to do with being famous.” Ms. Jokes face had gone back to being serious, and it made you a little unsettled. The woman, in even the short amount of time you’d known her, had taken everything with a grain of salt. Never the one to take offense to someone's words or actions. But here she was scolding Aizawa. They really were the same. They hide the same deep love and care for their students, and the moment someone says something slightly mean, they pop off.
“If you act like you’re the stars of the show and look down on everyone else, then you’re only showing off your true weakness.”
While her words were true, they seemed a little misplaced. Aizawa constantly humbled the students to remind them that no matter how far they got, they would always have room to grow and improve. Not just in their physical strength, but their mental capabilities as well. Maybe it was about the students themselves? Bakugo and Monoma were the students that popped up in your mind immediately.
“You’re right, we will take your advice and make sure our stars don’t think they’re the only ones who shine.” You nodded, sliding your eyes over to her. She nodded, a small smile on her face. Aizawa looked over at you in a questioning manner. 
“Our students are great and all, but sometimes they need to be reminded that they’re not the main character, even if they act like it.” You smiled slightly, easily finding Bakugos yelling from in the arena.
“...Agreed.”
___________________________________________
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the test ended. Rubbing sleep from your eyes you walked by Aizawa while he went through the paper work he now needed to fill out. 
“You know, I’m starting to see why you’re so tired all the time.” You laughed, tapping the stack of appears in his hands.
He gave an airy laugh, “Sometimes I think they do it on purpose.”
“Well, I can do some it for you. I don’t spend as much time with the kiddos like you do, but I’m sure I could get the hang of it.” You offered, slightly pouting your lips. 
“You’d probably mess it up, or mark them in that atrocious pen you have.” He shook his head, tilting the papers away from you.
“Huh?! Why do you have such little faith in me!? I’m trying to be nice, you-” Kaminari was with his usual group of friends, but he was side-eying the two of you, snickering while watching your interaction. “Jerk.” 
“Good save.”
“Shaddup.” You punched his arm, snatching some of the papers away from him. “I can do this, no sweat, and I promise to use a normal pen.” 
He glared at you, before sighing and shaking his head. “Fine.”
Ms. Joke trotted up to you two and offered to do joint training. Aizawa accepted the offer and walked away, loading all the students onto the bus. 
She turned to where you were still standing, trying to organize and smooth out the stolen reports. “My real name is Emi Fukukado, by the way.” She held out a business card in her gloved hand.
You took it appreciatively. 
“Thanks!” You introduced yourself in turn, shaking her hand.
“Hey, between us two, you and Eraser would make a pretty cute couple.” Fukukado said nonchalantly, smiling easily.
“Hah?!” You exclaimed, freezing on the spot. Your face grew hot, and you tightened your grip on the jokesters hand.
Fukukado pulled away, smile never going away. “I recognize that look in your eyes when you look at him, and Aizawa doesn’t put up with just anyone you know.” She laughed slightly, putting her hands on her hips. “Trust me, my wife looks at me like that all the time, and we’ve been married about ten years now!”��
“Hahhhh?! You’re married?!” 
___________________________________________
“You didn’t know? She always wears her wedding ring.” Aizawa sat down heavily beside you on the couch, grunting while he leaned forward. 
“She wears like, ten. How would I know?” You shrugged, pulling down the black pen behind your ear, unglittered unfortunately, to continue your journey of legal HPSC papers. 
“Didn’t you know her when you were younger?” He raised an eyebrow to you, his dark hair out of his face and into a bun.
“Yeah, but we weren’t friends. It was more like, you’re a young woman in the same male-dominated field as me, if anything goes down we’ll have each other's backs. Not friends friends. I literally just learned what her name is.” You turned your attention to the work, already halfway through your stack, while Aizawa was just starting his.
“Women are weird.” He shook his head and rolled his eyes.
“Oh yeah? You’ve known Hizashi since high school and you still deny you two are literally best friends.” You rolled your eyes, remembering how vehemently Aizawa denied the two literally aren’t two peas in a pod.
“Because we’re not. We’re good friends.” You groaned and flicked a pen cap at him. He growled at you, but otherwise turned back to his work.
“Anyyyways, I still feel kinda bad that Todorki and Bakugo failed. That test was really important, and they’re the only two in 1-A who failed.” You sighed, eyes running over Bakugo’s paper.
“That’s their own fault, if they had seen above their own hubris, they would’ve acted better and passed. They will learn to do better at the retake.” The dark-haired man shook his head, sighing.
“True, it was their own pride that was their downfall.”
“Make sure to mark the date in your calendar, it's about three months from now.” He added nonchalantly, now fully focused on the papers.
You looked up and made a confused face. “Why would I need to, I’m not their homeroom teacher?” 
He didn’t respond for a moment, avoiding eye contact. You saw his ears go red slightly at the tips, perking up. “Because you went with me to the first exam, why not help me at the provisional?” 
“W-well, I guess. But I won’t be of much help.” You looked away, remembering the words Fukukado told you the other day making you go hot yourself. 
You both fell into a comfortable silence, the only sounds now were the ticking clock and the sounds of papers shuffling and pens scraping. 
It was nice.
___________________________________________
“Wait wait wait-” You were laughing now, holding a hand over your mouth. Hiazshi was smiling at you, and Midnight was shaking her head in disbelief. “He got naked?” 
“He didn’t get naked, his quirk made his clothes phase through him. So he ended up naked. There’s a difference.” Aizawa shook his head, sipping his coffee.
You laughed out loud now, leaning on Hizashi’s shoulder while he joined with you.
“I was shocked at first too! I mean, yeow! Everything was out.” That only spurred you on more, tears gathering in your eyes.
“Oh man,” You sighed, wiping away those tears. “I hope they helped him out with his costume, I mean, there’s no way that's safe.” You shook your head, sitting on Hizashi's armchair now.
“They did, they made it out of his hair, so it would phase with him.” He nodded, stuffing food in his mouth. You quirked an eyebrow but ignored it.
“That must’ve taken forever.” 
“Yes, it did.” Aizawa butt in, now fully paying attention to the both of you. You couldn’t see Hizashi smirk, but you were caught off guard by such aggressive behavior. 
“Oh,” You looked away, now feeling slightly awkward. “What was the point of them visiting, anyway? I mean, not that it’s bad to introduce the classes to the big three, but why now?” 
Aizawa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “To have them talk about the work studies.” 
The air in the teacher lounge shifted, now to a tense one. There was a meeting the day before the new term started, an open discussion on whether or not UA students should be allowed to even let them participate in them. Just like the internships, it was a heavily debated argument. You, Aizawa, Snipe, and Anan were against it, saying it well it went last time would only embarrass/harm UA’s reputation further. Nemuri, Sekijiro, Ken, and Ectoplasmi were for it, their reasoning that the students would need the practice. Others fell in between and allowed themselves to be swayed by the opinions of others.
“Oh.” That was all you said.
“Yeah.” That was all he replied with.
When the school day ended, Aizawa met you at home. He angrily kicked off his boots and hung up his capture scarf by the door. You turned around from the sink, hands wet from washing the dishes.
“Hey.” 
“Hey.” He looked up at you, standing at the doorway. “I don’t agree.”
“I don’t either.” You turned back, immediately knowing what he was talking about.
When the HPSC had first sent the letter to UA stating they would like the school to participate in the work studies, the teachers erupted in conversation. When the staff didn’t agree, Aizawa stood up an brought all the attention to him.
“Did we forget what happened the first time we allowed our students into the hands of the HPSC? My own students had gone off and could’ve gotten killed. I had no idea, thanks to the lies administered by the commission. Do we need a repeat of that?” He sat back down, looking angrily out at his fellow staff. You stood up beside him.
“I agree, who knows what danger is out there, and we all know from the past that the Hero Commission will just lie to us.”
Snipe nodded in agreement beside you. Ectoplasim stood up. “I assume your classes will have their provisional licenses now? Our students have grown since then, and they now have the ability to make their own calls and decisions.” He rebuttled. This statement only made a fight break out.
In the end, your side lost.
Aizawa was leaning on the counter beside you, hands clutching the counter in a white-knuckled grip. “They lied to us, three students could’ve died.” His voice cracked at the end, face screwed up in anger. You whipped your head at him, looking at him wide-eyed.
You decided not to say anything about his emotions, instead, you dried your hands and turned to him fully. 
“Want to spar?” You offered, holding out his goggles. Aizawa stared at them, then stared at you for a long moment. He snatched them up and quickly put them on. Wordlessly, he got back dressed in his hero outfit, and you complied by getting your shared duffle bag and followed him out. You both had decided to share a bag, hey, it would be easier to carry one than two, since you spar so often anyways.
___________________________________________
The next few weeks became hell. Immediately something was brewing, you, Aizawa, and other UA students were invited to an important meeting hosted by Sir Night Eye. You’ve heard of him, mostly through what you know about All Might, but you have never really seen him in action. He was a pretty cool dude, if not a little too serious for your liking. You could only deal with one grumpy man in your life, you didn't need to. There were also friends you made through your line of work, like Toyomitsu/FatGum, Takagi/Rock Lock, and Mr. Brave, you never learned his name, interactions were always brief, but friendly.
You mostly just listened in, you didn’t really have any new or helpful information to hand out to aid in the meeting. You had become slightly boring ever since you became a hero at UA, hero work slightly slacking now that tests and assignments stood in your way of aiding your friends. That is why you had an uptick in your sparring matches with Aizawa, no excuse to fall behind.
Takagi spoke up, questioning why your students were here in the meeting. Toyomitsu, in a burst of passion, declared that the students had valuable information to share. He then introduced himself, and when his attention turned to your side of the table, you waved at him happily.
Aizawa looked at you through the corner of his eyes, a small smile on his face. You elbowed him in response, brushing him off. Aizawa was called to speak, and his leg started to bounce from under the table, only you noticed.
“The bullets effects seem to be different from my Eraser. When my quirk is activated, I don’t attack the quirk itself, instead, I temporarily affect the genes themselves, but no permanent or harmful damage is done.”
“Immediately after Takami was shot, we rushed him to the hospital to have him looked at. We found his quirk was deactivated, but thankful after his rest he was returned back to normal.” That was a relief, not only were the effects of the bullet temporary, like Takagi had said, but the effects weren’t harmful in the long run. When it was revealed that the contents of the bullets were filled with human blood, everyone froze. Disgust filled you, wondering what kind of person would do that. 
“A man named Kai Chisaki is the young Yakuza head of this group, and is turning his daughter's body and blood to make the bullets.” You had decided to tune back into the conversation at the worst possible moment, or maybe you tuned out during the worst conversations of your life, your body tensing up as horror filled you. Aizawa sat slacked beside you, his eyes widening in horror as well. Tears sprung into your eyes, and your hand immediately flew up to cover your trembling mouth. How..how could anyone do that to a little girl? Let alone their own daughter?
The meeting went on with the same tense and angry energy, people piping up with their own angry opinions. You watched with a feeling that you were floating outside of your body as Nighteye folded more and more into himself. The pressure everyone putting on him only added to the guilt you knew he carried. 
The meeting was over late into the afternoon, and packets and folders of information were handed out to all of you. Aizawa was to patrol more in the designated at night, and any possible chance you were to follow yours.
Now you were situated in Aizawa’s car, his hands gripping the steering wheel while you leafed through both folders.
“Lock Rock is right. There’s no need for them to be there.”
“I know.” Your voice was watery, sniffing while you tried not to cry onto the packets. “But we don’t have a choice.”
There was silence when he rolled up to a red. A large hand came into your peripheral, pulling the folders away from you. Aizawa threw them in the back of his car, and you heard them scatter. 
“Don’t worry about that now, we can go through them when we get home.” You looked up at him, and while his expression was still guarded and hard, there was something soft hidden in his face. Maybe it was the way his eyebrows were turned up ever so slightly, or his sad eyes, either way, you nodded.
“I just hope we can save that little girl. She’s so small, and she must be so scared.” The light turned green, and he resumed his journey.
“We will, I know we can.”
___________________________________________
The next few weeks were hellish, after school you barely saw Aizawa, and he in turn hardly saw you during breaks/lunches/and during the weekends. You worked from sun up to sunset, using as much time as you could. During the day he worked with the others to make sure everyone was updated on information, whereas during the night you caught up on both your school work and added your own information. You left coffee and easy lunches for him to take out, and he left you jelly packets and energy drinks. 
Finally, there was one day when both of you were home, lying exhausted on the couch together. You were lying on your back, hands covering your eyes while you rested your legs on his. Aizawa complained at first but made no move to stop you, too focused on his iPad sifting through and adding important information. 
“Apparently, Nighteye has picked out people he thinks are assisted with Kai Chisaki. He’ll try to find out more before we move further.” He said out loud, not doing anything to get your attention.
“Good.” Your voice was raspy and tired, flopping your hands down you could barely keep them open. “I’m so tired.” Your voice was filled with pure exhaustion, running on less than thirty hours of sleep for the whole week.
“Me too, I can feel this coming to an end.” You could still hear him clicking away.
“God I hope so, I just want to save her already, I’m starting to see Eri in my goddamn dreams.” You shook your head, tears hotly running down the corner of your eyes. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or maybe it was because of how emotionally drained you were, but you just couldn’t hold back the floodgates.
You heard Aizawa stop tying, but you didn’t dare look over at him.
“Me too.” His voice was filled with utter grief.
___________________________________________
Finally, it was the day.
Nighteye had found one of Chisaki’s minions and tracked down the spot where they had been keeping Eri. Now everyone had gathered around in a large group, waiting anxiously in the bright early morning for their commands. You were following Aizawa tiredly, energy absolutely sapped out of you. Aizawa walked up to Midorya, who was surrounded by the only other UA students. 
“I am moving with the Night Eye agency.” You peeked out from behind the dark man, waving happily at your students, string to hide how tired you were. “Do you understand what that means?” 
Midoriya nodded, a hard look on his face. Aaizawa turned back to you, grabbing your shoulder to push you away. “What was that about?” You asked, confused as you turned and waved goodbye.
“He still hasn't earned my trust for running off last time, so I told him I expect him to do things right this time.” He looked down, still walking to get in position.
“You’re such a hardass.” You smiled, shoulders bouncing while you looked away.
“Good, then they stay on their feet and do their best.”
___________________________________________
Chaos quickly erupted outside, and you were stuck batting away villains with clubs of pure light. You swung around your makeshift weapons, filled with electricity and a feeling of burning pain. Police surrounded you, blocking your view of not only the entrance but of your allies. 
“This way!” A strong hand grabbed your arm, and you turned and growled. Your guard dropped when you saw Aizawa dragging you inside with him. Quickly, you put as much light as you could in your pockets, quickly closing them so they wouldn’t escape.
“I’m getting kind of worried, man.” Takagi admitted, looking around for any dangers.
“I wonder if anyone leaked information.” Amajiki admitted aloud, but the chief rebuttled him.
“If they had, one would think they’d be smarter to avoid us.”
“They all should be used to working together already, a bond formed through devotion to their boss. They might feel ashamed now, Chisaki and the top brass haven't even shown themselves yet. They’re probably underground getting ready to flee or hide right now.” Aizawa pipped in. All of you were still running down the impossibly long hallway, hearts racing as one.
“No, there’s no way. That villain busted out the doorway as soon as the chief rang the doorbell, no one just does that. Plus, with how big these guys sound, there's no way they’d just leave.” You shook your head, mind swarming with what was to happen. Kirishima looked over to you, conflicted on whether to agree with his homeroom teacher or his history teacher.
“Either way, we’ll take them down.” He decided to say, not favoring either theory.
Suddenly, Nighteye skidded to a halt, stopping in front of an indent in a wall. He seamlessly opened a secret door, and everyone was thankful for his foresight. 
Three henchmen popped out of the darkness, trying to take the group by surprise. However, they were unable to be successful with Bubble Girls and Centipeder's quick thinking. They stayed back with Nighteye’s order to make sure they didn’t come after your group, and you rushed down a concrete hallway, only to be halted by a dead end.
Takagi called out to Nighteye in anger, but Midorya and Kirishima quickly resolved the problem by kicking through the thick wall that had been placed up. The room suddenly became less solid and started shaking around in an ocean. Panic filled the room as it rolled and changed around you, shoving you all around. You, Aizawa, and Toyomitsu formed a triangle. 
“Eraser, can’t you get rid of it?” Takagi yelled out, but Aizawa just shook his head. 
“Not if I can’t see the main body.” He called out, voice strained as he fought off nausea. 
“We need to hurry!” Your voice wobbled as you tried to find steady ground, “If they’re changing the building, then they can escape before we can even get to the end of the hallway!” You tried to step forward, but the mere action of moving knocked you off kilter, so you stood, fighting off gravity as you tried to move. You have to try!
The room stopped moving as violently, and Lemillion took action to run ahead, moving through another hall. You wished you could follow him, try and at least be there for the kid. A scream ripped out of your throat as the ground under you disappeared. You landed on your stomach, the breath knocked out of you on the dirty floor. Aizawa heaved you up, looking around and assessing the situation. 
Three villains made themselves known, launching themselves at Amajiki. Eraser quickly stepped up, erasing the blonde quirk before he could do serious damage to the kid. 
“Suneater-!” You called out, trying to stop his stupidly brave act.
“Go! I’ve got it.” He turned to you all, nodding towards another hallway, the others ran ahead, but Midoirya, Aizawa, and you staggered for a moment.
“Make sure you tie them up, my quirk will wear off soon.” He jogged off, the green-haired boy behind his teacher.
You nodded at him. “I believe in you, do your best.” You nodded at him before following your companion. Quickly you lost Toyomitsu and Kirishma, as they were sucked into and trapped in another room. 
“We have to keep going, there's no time.” Aizawa pulled you forward, trying to get you to keep moving.
“I know, it just feels like we’re purposely being split apart.” You followed him, worry filling your entire being. 
Takagi locked the room in place as soon as it started to move again, even if it was a tight fit, it allowed you all to push forward.
“Stand back, he’s coming from the places I haven't locked down.” Takagi held out a hand to stop you all from moving forward, and you watched as the end of the hallway rushed towards you all.
Midorya rushed again, kicking away an entrance point. The path never cleared, so the young boy continued his assault. The wall immediately retracted, clearing away the path for you. 
“What the hell..?” You wondered but were quickly cut off by the room changing once more, separating the main group into smaller groups. You were stuck with Aizawa and Midorya.
The wall dropped again, revealing two Takagi’s, and you stood in confusion between the two of them. Aizawa was fast and quickly attacked the fake Takagi before it could attack Midoriya. Himiko Toga was forcefully revealed, squealing while she chased after the boy. As effortlessly as he could, he dragged the crazed girl away, but not without getting stabbed in the shoulder.
Once more the room shifted, and tunnels of dirt and concrete erupted from the walls, you all looked around widely, trying to see where the dirt was coming from. Midoriya took action almost immediately, shooting up to kick where he thought Mimic was. The boy revealed the villain, and in an instant he erased his quirk, watching him fall to his death. 
“The League betrayed them?” Aizawa questioned looking out to where the two voices had come from.
“Seems so, and they used us to aid in their scheming. Though, at least we're on solid ground now.” Nighteye adjusted his glasses, looking forward to the dark hallway, police officers scattered around.
You took a moment to recap and interrogate Irinaka, but that led him into an angry frenzy. 
“As officers of the law, we cannot let them escape.” The chief held up his gun, his underlings looking around as well.
“It sounded like they were escaping, we should focus on our top priority for now instead of going into a circle.” You said, looking around. Takagi agreed with you, deciding to split up the pros with the mission and the police with the League. He decided to stay, you pulled out a small knife, handing it to him.
“Just in case.” He nodded, face still screwed up in pain. 
His speech renewed the hope in your heart, you and Aizawa shared a glace and immediately ran ahead to save Eri, trying to catch up before it was too late.
Following in Midorya's shadow, he bounced ahead of the villain lying on the ground, smashing the wall in front of the group. There a sight for only the strong-hearted was seen, Chisaki and Togata were already engaged in battle, with the electric blonde already having a considerable amount of damage. Aizawa immediately yelled out commands, ordering you to round up the fallen villains. Already quickly rounding up the three villains, you were hit in Chisaki order to Chrono. Aizawa called out to Midoriya, but his body screwed back to look at you. You grunted in pain, feeling like your body was put under molasses. Chrono had gotten straight through your side, cutting a clean medium-sized hole in your midsection. And before anyone could stop him, or help him, Aizawa blinked.
The ground erupted in spikes, sending you flying through the air. Thankfully, you landed in a hole in the ground before you could get caught by the spikes. Aizawa and Chrono were already down there, the latter of the two setting atop Aizawa. Both of you were practically paralyzed, with Aizawa immediately incapacitated by his quirk. He spent the time monologuing about Chisaki, explaining the relationship that Eri had with the others in the Yakuza. Shut the hell up you scum. You couldn’t even growl out loud. Straining as you tried to get him, you were behind the two, and he must not have even realized you were down here. You heard Aizawa grunting as he slowly moved away, you watched as Chrono took out Aizawa’s own knife, opening and getting ready to stab the man with it.
You took out a small piece of light from earlier, the electric gold energy lighting up the dark room.
“Huh?” He looked around to see you, and in one fell swoop, you slashed along his Achilles heels. “You bitch.” He groaned out, dropping the knife to clutch at his heels. At the same time, Amajiki appeared, stabbing his arm with one of his food quirks. There you saw the teenage boy surrounded by police officers, guns ready. He just glared at them in defeat.
The officers helped you up, someone pulled down the bandages on Aizawa's face, and he quickly removed the effects of the quirk. You were taken in an ambulance and Aizawa was taken up to the ground floor. 
“Wait! I can still help!” You tried to squirm out of their grasp, but Aizawa shook his head ‘no.’ Tears sprung in your eyes, did you do bad? You did your best. Still, you were forced into an ambulance.
___________________________________________
You were in and out of consciousness the first day, one part of the injury, but mostly out of laziness. Lack of sleep finally caught up to you, forcing you to pay your debts. Still, it wasn’t like you were out of it, you could hear voices, smell the clean hospital air, feel the thin sheets below you, and taste your dry mouth. Different types of voices visited you, your friends, you recognized dimly. But there was one who stayed as long as they could, and whenever they spoke, you turned your head to them, smiling and appreciating the smooth bass. A large and warm hand felt your forehead, then checked your cheek. But their touch lingered on your cheek, gently cupping the part of your face.
“Hmm, s’warm.” You mumbled, not really awake as you squished your face further in the hand.
“So weird.” But they never pulled away.
___________________________________________
The next day, you were fully awake, still in a little bit of pain. Thanks to quirks and advanced medical technology, your wound was mostly closed. It was still tender to the touch, and still able to open, but as long as you were careful, you’d be fine.
Now you were hungrily inhaling the food the nurse had dropped off, Aizawa watching you in muted disgust.
“Wha’?” Your mouth was still full, flakes of rice and meat juice surrounded your mouth.
“You eat like you’re an animal and not a fully grown woman.” He shook his head, eyeing you like you were gonna eat him next.
“I’m hungry dick!” Still, you wiped your mouth with the back of your hand, eating more delicately. Aizawa rolled his eyes but stopped to watch his hands.
“I have a favor to ask of you.” He didn’t look at you. 
You wanted to tease him, but there was something about his demeanor that made you hesitate. “Yeah, what do you need.” You set down your food, gently sitting up to stare at him.
“The little girl, Eri, her quirk is unstable and dangerous.” Aizawa looked up now, reaching behind him to grab a small packet of papers. He handed them to you, continuing to talk. “So is her emotional state, there’s no telling when she’ll get upset and activate her quirk.”
Multitasking, you opened the folder while listening to him Rewind. She can rewind the state of a person, down to nothing. You looked up with worried eyes.
“She’ll need someone who can stop it, and watch over her.” His words hung heavy in the air, and he was tense now, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
“Of course, what will you do with her?” He still hadn’t relaxed, hands clenching.
“I was thinking that she could live with us. We could watch over her.” Your eyes widened, mouth parting slightly.
“I-why me? I’m not exactly mother material.” You laughed nervously, looking at him confused. Why does he have to rope you into everything he does? Would you even be good enough to watch over the girl?
“She doesn’t need a mother, she needs someone to help her. And I..we live together, so it makes the most sense.” He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. Yet he was still tense, but why?
You looked down at your own hands, looking over her patient file. She was a traumatized little girl who needed help.
“What i…-what if I mess something up, what if I’m not good enough?” You voiced your concern, voice wavering already. When did you get so emotional?
“You won’t be doing it alone, I’ll be there.” Aizawa's voice was soft, comforting you. You looked up at him, staring into his soft eyes.
“But why me?”
“Because it’s always you.”
___________________________________________
You, as well as the other students, were released from the hospital not too long after the raid. The drive home was silent, both of you sleepy for different reasons. You were getting used to not sleeping all day, and Aizawa was exhausted from watching over Eri all night. Even if Aizawa never put on the radio, even if you hit every red light, even if the late-night roads were quiet, neither of you spoke about what he said in the hospital. Not even when you were in the hospital. 
Tiredly you both made it back home, stumbling in the dark room. 
“Aizawa wait.” You held out a hand, getting his attention while he poured his cup of coffee. You turned to him, “Where is she gonna sleep? There’s only two rooms.” 
Aizawa gave you a blank face, overpouring his cup, hot coffee spilling out from his hand and to the floor.
“Aizawa.” You repeated, his face still blank.
___________________________________________
“I could sleep in the living room.” Aizawa offered, both of you had your hair up/out of your way as you looked around the shared living space.
“Well that’s not fair to you, I’ll just sleep in the living room. You can keep the big room, which I still haven’t gotten over, by the way, and she gets the smaller room. You’ll be right there for her and I can just hang out.” Your hands on your hips while you stared out into the living room, staring down at the beige couch.
“I shouldn’t let you take the living room.” He shook his head, shooting down the idea immediately.
“Why not?” 
“One, because you’re a slob.” Aizawa looked over to you, “Two you have far too much stuff, and three you’re a woman.”
“Okay one, kiss my ass.” You faced him as well, crossing your arms. “And what does me being a girl have to do with anything?” You gave him a dirty look.
“Oh don’t look at me like that, I mean, if anyone needs their own space it should be you.” He waved you off, turning around to head into the kitchen.
“Well, Eri above anyone needs her own room, sooo…” You shook your head at him, giving him a look while he rustled through the cabinets. You thought for a moment, and a terrible idea came up in your head. Aizawa looked over at you, jelly pouch hanging out of your mouth.
“What terrible idea do you have.” He looked at you warily, still hanging into the snack through his teeth.
You shook your head, making a disgusted face.
“What?” He prodded.
“You’re not gonna like it, I don’t even like it, but we could share your room. We could buy another bed and separate the room into two.” You slowly lifted your hands in a questioning manner, your voice high.
Aizawa stared at you, one of his eyes raising in an annoyed look. “That’s a terrible idea.”
“Well, what other idea do you have?”
He looked around, thinking for a moment before he groaned very loudly. “You just want to have the bathroom in the room, don’t you?”
“I’m merely making the conscious decision for the both of us considering your situation.” You held your hands up in a non-accusing way, trying to fake some sort of innocence. 
“Fine.” He grunted, turning around to wash the dishes in the sink. You tried to ignore the implications of what sharing a room meant, far more intimate than sharing a home. Walking past, you willfully ignored his blushing ears.
___________________________________________
Aizawa’s time was spent between watching over Eri and working as a teacher. So you didn't see him often for a while, whereas you were suck with redecorating and adjusting your home. You started off slow, just buying kid shit for her, like books, stuffed animals, and cubbies. But when it came time to put together said cubbies and bookshelves you let them build up, and you very pointedly ignored moving the beds. Aizawa was too busy for you to ask, and you sure as hell couldn't, or was it wouldn't, who knows, do it all by yourself. So you called the one man who you knew would help you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“No lift with your legs.” 
“I am lifting with my legs! Hurry up jackass, I’m gonna drop the bed on my foot!” You groaned with the effort, damning yourself for wanting such a heavy frame.
Snipe sighed, rolling his eyes at you while he backed up. He had one hand holding the bottom of the sideways bed, the other supporting the top. Ever so gently he led you out of your old room and into Aizawa’s room.
“Okay ready? I’m gonna set it down, and you have to do it with me.” He looked back at you, his sharp eyes piercing. 
“Yup.” Your voice was strained, trying not to drop the bed. Following his lead, you turned the bed slowly and dropped it. You sighed, leaning over on your knees while you caught your breath. “Fuck.” Looking up, the bed was in the middle of the room, and you needed to shove it to the other side of the room, opposite to Aizawa’s
“I got it.” Snipe waved you away, immediately going to drag the bed in place.
“Thanks.”
You knew Snipe would answer your call, often times you hung out outside of work, and on the rare times he hosted an outing, you went with him. He stood back up, the muscle shirt he was wearing doing wonders for his body, showing off his toned arms and flashing you his exposed sides. And for a man whose quirk was a gun, he sure as hell did have a slutty waist.
“Alright break time.” You walked out of the room, Snipe following you with laughter.
“We’ve barely started.” 
“And now it’s break time.” You filled up two cups of water, handing one to him. Your hands brushed briefly, his course fingertips quickly ghosting over yours. There was a beat of silence, he made direct eye contact while he took a sip from his cup.
It’s not like you haven't thought about it, even before Snipe showed his face you knew he’d be hot under there. It was sometime after the final exams in the first term, he had been retelling the embarrassing story of his run-in with Hagakure. You had laughed at him loudly in the warm night air, tears springing to your eyes. You could feel his eyes on you, even if you couldn’t see them.
“Why do you wear your mask all the time?” You asked out loud after calming down. He stared ahead, and instead of responding he just tugged it off.
He looked at you with brilliant grey eyes, little targets in them. He had dark and thick eyebrows, long pretty eyelashes, and his full lips pulled in a smirk. Across his face was a gnarly scar, it looked like he had been slashed at an angle across, leaving behind a slightly raised thick wound.
“You’re face is a little lighter than your body.” You said stupidly, brain short-circuiting.
He just laughed and looked back out into the courtyard. 
“I know.”
You cleared your throat, willing away all of the not-very-safe-for-work thoughts that filled your head.
“I have to wonder, why are you and Aizawa sharing a room?” Snipe sat on the table, leaning back to watch you. His thick thighs were highlighted when he sat down, shorts leaving nothing to the imagination, and you swore he widened them when he caught you looking. Damn these slutty men.
“It’s nothing like that,” You waved him away. “Have you heard about the little girl that's going to be living here?” He nodded.
“Her name is Eri, and her quirk is unstable, so Aizawa has guardianship over her so she doesn’t accidentally kill someone. Which means that she’s gonna live with him, which means she’s gonna live with us.” You sighed.
“But why does that equate to you and Aizawa sharing a room?” He waved an arm, looking at you curiously.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would think that you’re jealous, Snipe.” You smirked, but it dropped. “Eri immediately gets a room, that’s a given, but I wanted Aizawa close by, but he thought it’d be inappropriate for me to sleep out here. So now we’re bunking together.” 
Snipe hummed, closing his eyes and looking away. But out of the corner of his eyes he peeked at you. “You could always spend the night at my place if you need, Sejikiro doesn’t mind guests over, since he’s usually out.” 
Before you could respond, a presence made themselves known.
“That’s completely inappropriate.” Aizawa snapped, holding a bag of groceries. 
“Hey, Aizawa.” Snipe turned in his direction, waving hello.
“Why are you here?” He greeted back.
“He helped me move my bed, and he’s helping me put together the bookcases and Eri’s bed.” You peeked over, looking at him. Aizawa was just angrily looking at Snipe, who was staring back.
“You couldn’t have asked me?” He was pissed at you now?
“You’ve been busy.” You shrugged, stepping out to try and cool the angry man.
“I would’ve helped, you just needed to ask.” Aizawa growled out. “Now I’m here, so you,” He looked over to Snipe, who was just lazily watching the whole conversation, “Can get out now.” Aizawa sidestepped the door, motioning for him to leave.
“I’m already here now, plus if we all three work together, I’m sure it’ll go by quickly.” He tried to soothe the stern teacher.
“I’m sure you’re very busy, get out.” Neither Aizawa nor Snipe moved, silently challenging one another.
Snipe got up without a word, and on his way out he turned to you. “Call me whenever you need help, you have my number.” He waved goodbye, Aizawa slamming the door in his face.
“What the hell was that?” You asked in disbelief, watching the man you lived with as he strutted across the room. He threw the bags on the groaned, angrily opening the edge door to shove the food in there. “Hello?” You got closer, standing right behind him.
“I didn’t know you were calling other men to come by our house alone. You can’t do this when Eri comes in.” He was basically throwing in the food now, the poor grapes and carrots chucked to the back.
“Like Snipe isn’t our friend, what was going to happen? He helped me move the bed.” You were leaning over him now, anger now filling you. It’s been a while since you fought, the song and dance you both created had shifted over time.
“He’s your friend, not mine.” Aizawa stood up. “Plus, anything he did I could’ve done easily, there was no reason to call him. I live here too.” Aizawa got in your face, glowering.
“You’ve been busy. I’m not going to bother you-” 
“It wouldn’t be a bother! All I’ve been doing is making sure Eri’s healing process goes as scheduled, nothing I couldn’t have left to help you.” 
Both of you just stood there, breathing angrily in each other's spaces, chest to chest.
“Why do you care so much? Aren’t you happier that I’m taking the work off your hands?” You asked, anger ebbing away.
Aizawa said nothing in response, looking away slightly ashamed. 
“Because I don’t like other people in my house.” Bull.
“What about Nemuri or Hizashi? You have no problem with them coming over? Or Anan and Sejikiro?” You asked, genuinely confused.
His shoulders slumped, eyebrows slightly going up. “It’s different.” 
“How? In what way?” 
Aizawa’s tired eyes looked at you, and you realized what Fukukado was talking about.
“I recognize that look in your eyes when you look at him..”
“It just is, if you need my help, you can just call me. I’ll be there.”
___________________________________________
The first thing you noticed was how small she was, and how stringy and thin her hair was.
You were sitting in the hallway of the front door, wearing a Hello Kitty jacket and baggy sweatpants. Eri was clutching onto Aizawa’s hand painfully, but he made no move to pull away.
“Hey, little one.” You made no movement, both you and Aizawa letting her decide what to do. He was just staring at her, gauging her reactions.
She said your name, asking whether or not you were you.
“Yes I am, did Mr. Aizawa tell you I was a hero?” You asked softly, smiling at her. She nodded, one hand on her face.
“And I’m going to be living with you too?”
“Yes ma’am.” You nodded dutifully.
“Why, uhm..” Her voice got quiet, and she mumbled into her hand. Aizawa crouched down, getting on her level. He whispered something in her ear, and she nodded shyly. She turned back to you, big eyes filling with tears. “Why didn’t you see me in the hospital?” She asked, looking down while her voice wavered. In turn, your eyes filled with tears, guilt ripping you open. You swallowed away your tears and leaned forward. 
“I’ve been busy getting your room all ready for you. Remember when Mr. Aizawa asked what your favorite animals and colors were?” You asked.
She turned back, eyes widening as she nodded.
“Well, want to go see?” She nodded enthusiastically again. You slowly got up, holding a hand out for her to grab. She did gratefully, but she never let go of Aizawa’s forcing you to walk side by side as you walked to her room. 
You opened the door, and she gasped, running in and looking excitedly at everything. You and Aizawa watched in adoration as she squealed, never moving from the doorway. 
You looked over at him and saw he was already staring at you.
“What?” You asked, laughing while a bashful blush spread across your face.
“You’ll do great, I don’t understand why you were so worried.” He shook his head, a small smile on his own face, ears burning hot. 
You exhaled out of your nose, smiling as you turned back to Eri, who was watching you two. She just slowly crawled up to you two, slowly hugging both of your legs. Her grip became tight, and you and Aizawa shot each other’s worried looks. 
“What’s wrong honey?”
“Eri is something wrong?”
She looked up to you two, face red and eyes watery. “You guys are like mommy and daddies.” She sniffed, “I promise I won’t hurt you.” 
You frowned deeply, eyes filling up again with tears. Aizawa started to blink rapidly, inhaling deeply as he looked up.
“Oh Eri, you could never hurt us. I promise to protect you.” You hugged her tiny frame, soothing her shaking. Aizawa joined you, hugging her just as tight.
“We’ll always be here for you, alright?”
That was a promise neither of you would break, no matter what happened.
___________________________________________
they make me mentally unwell,,AND BEFORE YOU ASK YESS I'LL WRITE A PT 3 its just this was already 12k words, and i knew that it would jest get more unreasonable the more I wrote,,,soooo,,,they make me so ill I just,,,
Also I know eri doesn't come home till later, but lick my bawls,,,I'm forcing parenthood on them
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oneforthemunny · 1 year ago
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Always wanted to ask, how does each Eddie's house/apartment look like; where do you envision each of them living?
dom!eddie i picture living in a trailer sorta similar to wayne's. less stuff if that makes sense, since he hasn't lived there as long??? very boy decorated. mismatch, hand-me-down furniture. he tries to make it homey and tapes pictures of you and him on the wall lol. no frame, just packing tape and it's sweet and a little funny. quilts on the bed he got from wayne, posters in his room- maybe the living room. not a throw pillow in sight until you move in lol. probably like one plate, one fork, one spoon, one knife type vibe lol. very boy coded.
janitor!eddie i picture the same vibe as before (i'll call dom!eddie the default) until he moves in with you. i think it would be a small home. two bedrooms (technically three if you count the small 'office' space that you turned into a room). no garage, but he built a covering for you. it's very homey. he built shelves in the living room for all your books (i fuckin' lost the book blurb if anyone has it lol). lots of pictures on the wall, over the mantle. really just a very homey cozy vibe, and i'll leave how that looks up to you :)
older!eddie also has a house. it's not huge by any means, bigger than average. like a one story, three or four bedroom, two and a half bath kinda vibe. he got it after the divorce and he could afford it. he wanted brielle to have her own space and have some extra room for the hopeful future, and he's glad he did. probably very bare minimum as well before you moved in. like a nicer couch- no throw pillows, maybe one throw brielle bought at target, like one of those cheap ones from the $5 section lol. pictures of brielle in frames, but that's the only decor. not even a doormat. two flat ass pillows on the bed, but in nice sheets. a toothbrush holder, hand soap, and no towel on the bathroom. has a music room with his guitar and stuff, garage full of tools to do oil changes and stuff if he needs to. one half broken plastic laundry basket, and candles brielle brings home from bath and body works lol. please tell me you're getting the vibe lol.
mafia!eddie is a 180 entirely. ENTIRELY. mansion. he built it so it's new, but he wanted it to look gothic and ominous as fuck. like very unapproachable. dark exterior, steel gates at the front of the property. he bought land out in the middle of the woods in hawkins, off the beaten path for sure so you wouldn't see the entrance unless you were looking for it type? lots of dark red oriental carpets, red sheets, mahogany wood, chandeliers that are kinda dramatic and dark. all the furniture looks victorian but dark. i think it's mentioned in curiosity killed the cat that he was going for a vibe that was "a mix between dracula and the godfather" lol. large book shelves, candle opera lighting, dark grand stair well, bear skin rug (with the head bc he thought it looked sick). large, tall windows but all the glass is one way glass so it looks even freakier from the outside. very gothic victorian chic.
rockstar!eddie ok so pre-kids- he had a home in malibu, a penthouse in la. owns a couple different properties bc why not. he hired someone to decorate, but really it's like he put weird shit in there lol. like very rockstar- bachelor pad coded. like there's a fifty thousand dollar imported couch... next to light sabers on the wall that he won at a bidding bc they were used in a movie. bedroom is very... interesting lol. def has a waterbed in at least one room. has a bed post with clips for his... activities lol. probably a hook for a sex swing too. then a whole music memorabilia type room. plaques, his achievements, but also things he's collected.
tamed rockstar!eddie with kids- he lets nb decorate mainly but he also adds a few things. he designs the sex dungeon and it does in fact look like a dungeon. dramatic ass lighting, literal chain cuffs on the wall, a bed that with thick posts, mirror on the ceiling, a whole wall of toys. it's so him, like his mind. then he also has a studio in his basement. really, it started bc when he started having kids, he didn't want to leave his house. didn't want to drive into the city to record, so had one put there bc why not? he's got the $$ lol. he also gets the flowers pressed from their three weddings, the baby showers, any really big achievement- he'll get a bouquet made and pressed and preserved. nb always hangs them and decorates with them, and it makes him so proud lol.
bouncer!eddie lives in an apartment. it's very sketch, very cheap. like one bedroom, one bath, tiny ass kitchen and little living room. he literally just lives there. no personal touches beside a tv, a boombox. mattress on the ground, card table and folding chairs, leftover box as a nightstand, towel as a bath mat. he mainly stays at your place so he's not too worried about it, but the first time you come in, you're a little horrified.
cowboy!eddie- i know this is going to sound cliche but if you've ever seen the ranch on netflix lol. that's what i picture. like that wooden, ranch style house. a little older, i think it's been renovated since it was built like forever ago. small screened in porch, wooden dutch doors. a sun room in the back of the house with some house plants. an older couch and recliner, a wooden heater stove in the living room- it was apart of the original design of the house so he kept it, even with the ac/heating unit. patterned quilts on the bed, old school floral sheets that came with the house lol. really, he didn't do much to it besides add a few of his things when he moved in, because it was his grandparent's home before his.
modern!eddie had an apartment close to the park for a very small time. roomed with gareth, and then once he started staying with you, he didn't stay there anymore. probably didn't have a bed, but a futon they put in one of the rooms and had all their gaming stuff in it. he's victim of the striped, blue comforter that's faded as hell. has a rick and morty poster he put on the wall with thumb tacks. tv on the ground with his gaming stuff, wires everywhere. a closet that has shit spilling out of it. very messy lol.
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onesentencemusings · 18 days ago
Text
Return of Jafar - Rewrite (Pt 5)
(Part 1)
The man tossed the board aside before kicking the brick away. He turned back to his partner. Didn’t look like they found anything either. Ridiculous. This rundown old guard tower had to have something. Even just a forgotten dagger, some old armor or a dusty shield would do. But no, nothing. Nothing but junk that probably fell down from higher up the tower years ago.
A clattering. Quiet but getting closer. The two scavengers looked at each other and nodded. They knew what was coming by. The man pulled his hood down to hide more of his face and ducked behind a support beam.
The noise grew more and more distinct. Leather slapping pots. Pans hitting carpets. Odds and ends rattling in bags. Thuds of heavy hooves on beaten down dirt. A figure turned the corner and led the heavily packed camel into the tower’s ground area. The person was shorter, must be a woman. And the camel, a two hump… those only came from the far east. She was a foreigner. Perfect.
The woman clicked her tongue and the camel layed down. The man looked back at his companion and saw him peeking around his cover, watching the woman as well. The man motioned towards the woman with his head and the man’s partner walked out. 
The woman stayed quiet when the men approached, holding her staff close. A parrot sitting on her mount squawked and took off into the night. The men drew their swords and got closer. The woman’s posture shifted, loose and unafraid. She moved her staff to her side and blew a plume of fire. The two men jumped back and took off through barely-standing doors behind them.
The woman chuckled to herself. She heard wings flapping and saw Iago landing back on Balavaan’s back. “Bravery’s not your strong suit, eh?” She scratched the back of the bird’s head gently. “When in the Valley of Serpents, one need only know how not to be prey.” The bird looked at her, tilting his head. “Aww, don’t worry about it.” She hooked her staff to her satchel, next to the black lamp. “Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Up a rickety ladder, a couple jumps across collapsed staircases, a duck under a half-sloped wall held up by a single board and the woman reached the top room. “Yoo-hoooo! Monkey!” 
The room wasn’t much. A small flat open area lined with piles of old baskets, cheap pots and overused cushions. In the back were a short set of steps, covered with a large rag that used to be a rug, leading to a long crumbled wall that neatly framed the Agrabah Palace like a painting. 
The woman made a disgusted groan before turning to Iago. “It’s a nice place but the view is terrible.” She marched to the back and pulled down a worn ratty tarp hung from the ceiling to cover the distant palace. “Much better. Monkey!” She went to a side wall and peaked through a boarded up window. ”Monkey?” 
Iago helped himself to a nice little dull red pillow and got comfortable. “Rrrawk Monkey monkey!”
“It’s not like him to be out this late.” The woman went to the other wall and looked through a hole to the outside. “Never liked the kinda people that ‘work’ at this hour....” 
“Oooh, bad monkey.” Iago flapped his wing, stirring a cloud of dust from the pillow. “Bad-- Gak! Bleck! Patooie!”
The woman looked at the parrot and saw the dust cloud. “Huh?” She rubbed the pillow and her hand came back with a noticeable layer of dust. She turned to a nearby water jug and ran her finger around the rim. More dust. “Does Monkey not live here anymore? But he was so proud of this place when I… huh.” 
She looked at Iago and smiled. “Hang on, bubbie.” She gently pulled the pillow out from under Iago and slapped it on the side of her leg to get the dust off. She fluffed it a little and set it down next to the bird. “There you go.” The woman unhooked her staff and set it in one of the taller pots. 
The lamp. She unhooked it and took in its details. Such a rough-edged brute of a genie held in such an elegant prison. Half of her knew she shouldn’t reward his actions. She had to throw his lamp just to make him stop! But her…. difficulties weren’t his fault. Even normal people had problems in the past dealing with her… hangups. She sighed and rubbed the lamp. 
A crimson cloud flowed out like a wave before taking the red genie’s form, albeit much more human sized than the gigantic proportions he had had until now. The genie floated for a moment, slightly hunched, arms crossed before he opened his eyes. He looked about a bit before finding the woman. “You.”
The nomad shrugged. “Me.”
“What did you do to me?” The genie growled.
The nomad scoffed. “You’ve never been lamp-handled before?”
 The genie gave a look, equal parts grumpy and confused.
“Never mind.” The nomad shook her head. “Just wait here and stretch out. I gotta unpack Balavaan for the night.” With that, the woman disappeared back down the tower.
Jafar huffed. “Wretched woman. How dare she. That… arrogant… impudent… smart-mouthed…lying little worm.” 
“That keeps letting you out.” Iago added.
“Yes, that keeps letting me--” Jafar glared and leaned over, looming rather threateningly over the parrot on a pillow. “Who’s side are you on, precisely?” 
Iago gulped and started scooting backwards. “You! Your side, of course! I’m.. ya know, just saying she keeps giving you chances!” He chuckled nervously. “That you keep blowing…” he finished under his breath. 
Jafar rolled his eyes and drifted up through a hole in the ceiling. “Perfectly supportive, as always, Iago.”
It was somewhat nicer being out in the open air again. Jafar had more than a lifetime’s worth of cramped spaces. He saw the palace in the distance and frowned. The woman had moved them a considerable distance further from the landmark. Not that he couldn’t get there instantly with his magic… if he were allowed to! 
He found himself staring at the central palace dome, the one housing the grand throne room of Agrabah. He could perfectly picture his lovely red throne basking under the gold cobra statue. The endless mountains of riches surrounding him. That dome, the largest and most grand amongst the palace’s features, a marvel of engineering unto itself, became so small and insignificant as he ascended to an all-powerful cosmic being. 
The stars. Bright little lanterns floating in the blackness of the night. Jafar reached up for them. The cuffs started glowing. He pulled his hand back and lowered himself. He wasn’t even as high up as some of the lesser outer domes now. He reached up again and willed for the stars. The bands on his wrists felt like they were tightening. The stars didn’t move. Jafar raised his other hand. He thought he saw a couple lights flicker out of position… or perhaps that’s just what he wanted to see. Jafar let his arms drop to his sides and looked away. It had been so easy before. So very incredibly, joyfully easy. 
“Uhh, you ok?” Iago landed on Jafar’s shoulder. 
“I can’t touch the stars anymore.” Jafar whined.
“Wha? Wait, are you… sad?”
Jafar quickly cleared his throat and straightened up, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his impressive chest. “I am stating a fact. That’s all.”
“Uh….. huh.” Iago sounded thoroughly unconvinced.
“I am.” Jafar stated firmly. “These shackles seem to be restricting my magic. More so than I initially assumed.”
“Great. Just perfect.” The bird muttered. “Did this wish come with any upsides?”
The pair both jumped when a minor crash came from below. The nomad brushed her hands off and smiled at the pile of junk she dumped on the floor. She looked up and motioned with two fingers for the pair to come to her. Jafar huffed. He was being called like a dog.
Iago yelped as his perch turned into a cloud of red smoke and sunk towards the tower. “Geez, no need to warn a guy or anything.” The parrot dove through the cloud and landed on the nomad’s staff. 
The genie reformed in front of the woman with hardly any pazazz, just his head in a hand and scowl on his face. She seemed somewhat taken aback. “What’s wrong? You don’t like being out or something?”
The genie sighed. “I do appreciate the modicum of ‘freedom’. As for my inner machinations, that is none of your concern.”
The woman clicked her tongue. “Aw…” She moved behind her genie. “I know what’ll cheer you up.” She grabbed his topknot and ran its length through her hand, smiling as he pulled back. “Magic!”
Jafar smoothed down his long black ponytail and glared. “A wish?”
The woman rooted through a pile of the tower’s junk and pulled out a dusty old step stool. “Nope.” She set the step stool down and piled up a small assortment of dusty worn-out pillows. “A promise.” She sat down and waved at Jafar. The genie gave her a puzzled look. “Bubbie, I gave you permission to bring me here to Agrabah if you gave me a free dinner. Now pay up.”
Jafar rolled his eyes and then a thought occurred. “Oh, of course, of course. How foolish of me.” Jafar smiled. A ring of red glittering magic formed as the genie waved his hand. “As you command.” He pointed to the makeshift table and five grains of uncooked rice appeared before the woman. “Enjoy, Master.” He chuckled.
Iago hid his grinning beak behind a wing, holding back a laugh. The woman leaned on the table and facepalmed. Silence. The woman gave a long sigh before starting to laugh; the long harder-than-warranted kind of laugh that made one question the person’s mental state. Jafar and Iago shared a look.
The woman put her arm down and looked at Jafar, smiling widely. “You aren’t supposed to be real.” She giggled. “You’re supposed to just be in the stories I was told before bed and--- and in the make-pretend games like ‘Back in the Bottle’!” She put her head down on the table, still snickering for a few more moments. 
The woman raised her arm, holding up a single finger. “You’re a funny guy. So here’s a new deal:” She sat up. “I’ll give you one more chance to show me you can be reasonable. I’m going to turn around for a couple minutes, let you do some thinking, and if there’s a decent meal on this table when I turn back around, we can keep being friendly. If you wanna keep being petty…” The woman’s smile and pleasant tone dropped as she stared straight into Jafar’s eyes. “I will teach you what petty really means.” With that, the woman turned around and started sorting through the pile of junk she brought with her.
Iago looked at Jafar. The red genie shook his head and started looking at his nails. Iago balked. He couldn’t be serious. Was he really-- It was Jafar; of course he was serious and really gonna blow it for himself… AGAIN! The parrot fluttered over to his partner and motioned to the far corner of the room with his head. Iago landed on a hole in the wall above a door-less door frame. He frowned when Jafar followed, looking wholly disinterested in their secret meeting. “Ok, we doing this the easy way or the hard way?”
Jafar glanced over his shoulder at the woman. “I suppose I’m in an ‘end it quickly just to get on with our lives’ mood more than anything.”
“No, no, no. Not about her. You.” Iago pointed at his partner.
“Me?”
“Jafar! Y--”
“Keep your voice down!” Jafar hissed. He looked at the woman. She blew a puff of fire to light a small metal lantern and set it next to her table.
“Jafar!” Iago yell-whispered. “You--” He covered his face with his wings and groaned. “Look, just magic her up some food tonight and we figure out how to off her tomorrow.”
“Absolutely not! I refuse.” Jafar crossed his arms in a pout.
“Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?” The bird growled.
“It’s… the principle.” 
“PRIN--” Iago started coughing from how hard he had to hold back his yelling. “Principle? Principle? We have principles now? Wow! Fantastic! I didn’t get the memo! We didn’t have principles when we dumped all those bodies in a well people drank from!” Iago held up one feather finger. “We didn’t have principles when we made the Sultan execute those royal chefs because one of ‘em gave you the evil eye and you didn’t trust eating their food anymore!” He held up another feather. “And we definitely, definitely, didn’t have principles when you were going ‘oh come here, pussycat’ to a princess young enough to be your granddaughter!” The bird started jumping angrily on his perch, tiny red feathers flying off as he thrashed.
“I don’t owe that woman anything outside of the wishes I am cursed to grant her.” Jafar crossed his arms. “An all-powerful being such as myself shouldn’t bow to anyone, much less a vagrant woman. The things I could do to that wretch if I were free--”
“But you’re not, are you.” Iago leaned in, tone dripping with cutting spite. Jafar looked away then down at the gold cuffs on his arms. No, he wasn’t. Iago took a deep breath and then flapped to Jafar’s shoulder. “Look, I’ll make this easy for both of us. I go sit with the lady, you make me something nice for dinner and I let her have some. She gets a meal and you get to keep your brand-new straight-out-of-the-packaging ‘principles’ nice and squeaky clean. Good? Good.” With that, Iago flew back to the woman’s table. After a moment, he angrily motioned at the space in front of him with his wings.
“Et tu, Iago?” Jafar watched the woman half-turn to Iago and start scratching his head gently. That bird was a selfish cowardly mess, worthless without a sturdy shoulder to perch on and an adamant mind to lead him. Iago’s fear of the woman’s wrath couldn’t come from any rational source. Surely. 
Then again… the woman wasn’t scared of Jafar either. She laughed at him outsmarting her. She knew the laws he was bound to. And that… ‘lamp-handling’. Never in all the legends he poured over in the decade he sought his own genie did Jafar hear of such a power. Where did she come from that such knowledge was so prevalent? How much more did she know?
Was it worth it?
Jafar waved his hand and pointed at the table again. This time, a ceramic bowl filled with a dull-red soup appeared, gently steaming, loaded with chunks of meat and dotted with finely chopped vegetables. 
The woman turned around and smiled. “You have chosen wisely, my friend.” 
“Oh, goody.” Jafar cooed, holding back an oh-so tempting bite of sarcasm. Another wave of his hand and a large lavish pillow poofed into existence opposite the woman. A snap of his fingers and Jafar was lounging on his self-made bedding, facing his so-called master. “Saloonat Laham.”
The woman took a long sip and paused. “It… sure tries to be.” Jafar’s smug look dropped instantly. “Hang on.” The woman turned back to her junk pile and rummaged through it. 
Jafar looked at Iago. The bird was rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He knew better than anyone that Jafar couldn’t cook but to not be able to cook with all the magic in the world was just pathetic. 
The woman pulled out a pouch and got some tied cloth bags and bottles out of it. “You’re lucky I’m mainly a spice trader.” She pulled out some cardamom cloves and tossed them in, followed by some black peppercorns, a pinch of coriander and finally a small curl of cinnamon she gently laid on top of the small mound of meat. 
She lifted up the bowl and blew a long lick of fire at the bottom, just enough for the soup to start bubbling. Iago jumped off the table with a squawk and hid under the woman’s scarf. She put the bowl down and started mixing everything together. “I know genies don’t do refunds but I’d ask for my money back in any restaurant you serve that in.” Her genie just scoffed. “Oh, don’t worry.” The woman continued. “We’re getting food tomorrow. I’ll get some stuff and show you how to make my famous Serpent Curry. That way the next master you have that depends on you for food might… survive.”
He wouldn’t have another master. He wouldn’t allow it. “As you wish…” Jafar said flatly.
Iago peeked out of his hiding spot and fluttered back to the table. The woman took a sip before putting a spoon-full in front of the bird. The soup definitely looked more colorful and smelled a lot nicer. Iago took a taste, pondered the flavor and then quickly shoved his whole beak in the dish.
“Iago, no!” The woman grabbed the bird gently and started pulling him away. Iago gave a yelp and grabbed the rim of the bowl with his talons. “No, stop it!” The woman laughed. “Bad birdy!”
“Mine!” Iago yelled. The woman held Iago in one hand and pulled the bowl away with the other. “Mine…” The bird whined.
“Maybe you should hold on to him for now.” The woman held out Iago to Jafar. With a flick of his hand, the genie made a small bird cage around Iago and let it drop to the ground next to him. “You two probably wanna go to bed soon anyway. It can’t be too much longer ‘til dawn at this point.” She reached under her scarf and pulled out the black lamp. “Same for me, I got my bedroll all set up too.” She pointed at the small upper landing behind her. 
“Pssst! Let me out.” Iago whispered. “I can fly for it! Don’t make me go back in that stupid thing!”
Jafar glared at Iago. As if it was any more enjoyable for him to share a prison with that bird. Especially since, while Jafar could shrink a considerable size, Iago couldn’t. The only upside of Iago being there was the fact the lamp basically made Jafar blind while Iago could--.
Another idea! 
Jafar picked up Iago’s cage and sat up. “I suppose I should retire for the evening. But I don’t know how I’ll ever sleep, what with so many exciting things happening today.”
“That’s about the nicest way anyone’s ever put meeting me.” The woman snickered, taking another bite of food.
“No! No! No! Let. The. Bird. Out. First!” Iago whispered frantically. “Let the bird--”
The cage vanished and before Iago could start flying, Jafar grabbed the bird by his feet. “You won’t keep me waiting long, will you?” He did his best to sound innocent. 
“I only let you out in the first place because I know those things are cramped.” She answered. “I’ll give you a rub first thing when I wake up. Promise.”
“You’re too kind, mad-- Master.” With that, Jafar’s form shifted to smoke and slipped inside the lamp. 
“What are you doing?!” Iago yelled in the lamp. “Why bring me back here! It’s gonna take forever for us to find whatever spot it was where we could get slightly comfortable!”
“Silence, Iago!” Jafar growled. “I have a plan…”
“Oh great, another gold-standard plan from the mind that brought us ‘oh Genie’,” Iago gave a pitch-perfect impression of Jafar. “ ‘I wish to be an eternal magic slave! That will really show up the helpless streetrat I’m two seconds away from crushing like a grape’!” 
The nomad heard the lamp rock slightly on the table and stared. After a moment, the lamp gave a tiny poof of a flame from its spout. Panicked bird noises! The woman flipped open the hinged lid on top and got a splash of red feather in her face. “Phehh. Good night, guys!” She stated firmly into the lamp.
“Ow, loud.” Iago whined.
“She gets it from you. Hush.” The genie answered.
The woman shook her head and closed the lid. These two were gonna keep her on her toes. This was going to be fun.
-----
Author's note: I keep being afraid my work isn't moving fast enough but then I remember I'm both putting up shorter parts to keep momentum up (and would absolutely combine 3-4 parts per chapter whenever I put it on AO3) and just because it takes an hour to write, doesn't mean it takes an hour to read.
(Part 4)
(Part 6)
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shewhoeatssand · 1 year ago
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Kaneki is my scrimbly scrimblo and he has an apartment now!
His apartment has 3 rooms - the kitchen/living area, his bedroom, and the bathroom!
The bathroom has a shower attached to a bathtub! He loves to take cold baths there in the summer while eating cucumber salad or ice cream from the tub! It’s a very cramped space, but he kinda likes the cramped-ness.
The sink in there is also a pedestal sink with not a lot of space for extra stuff. It fits his soap and toothbrush only, but his toothbrush keeps falling into the sink in the morning
EVERYDAY HE COOKS HIMSELF AN EGG!!!!!! HE LIKES FRIED EGGS!!!!!!!! KANEKI has a fried egg in the morning on toast. Sometimes he is lazy and just makes instant ramen because frying an egg means washing a pan (4/7 days). He usually has some coffee with this or some grocery store chocolate milk if he has any
Kaneki goes to the fresh food market sometimes. On the days he goes he doesn’t tend to do much else
The living room has a nice soft rug that he lays on sometimes. He only has a 2-seat lounge, cheap coffee table and small TV. He usually only has it on for background noise since complete silence makes him lonely
Kaneki sits on the floor in random places to read
KANEKI HAS LITTLE SLEEPS AND HE SLEEPS IN HIS BED!!!!!!!!!!!! WITH THE BLANKETS! SOMETIMES A FAN! SOMETIMES THE HEATER IS TURNED UP! KANEKI VALUES HIS COZINESS UNLESS HE DOESNT!!!
Sometimes Kaneki cannot sleep in his bed. He’s had so many nightmares that he associates the place with being afraid, so he goes to sleep in the living room. He brings his blanket and curls up on the couch or just on his rug and tries to sleep there to avoid the scraping on the wall and terrible thoughts. This does not work all the time
His apartment has a little balcony that he likes to sit and look out from sometimes. On a good day, he goes there to eat breakfast. When it rains, he puts his plants out for a drink, and can enjoy a hot chocolate from inside while watching. He can dry his laundry there on a sunny day and it saves him paying and waiting for the dryer.
He has a very large monstera in his apartment that he found being given away for free, a money tree near the entrance and a lucky bamboo for his homework desk. He is very good at looking after his plants! The vibrant greens are good at cheering him up!
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therugcollective · 1 year ago
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Exploring the Rich History of Rugs: From Antiquity to Modernity
Discover the Fascinating Journey of Rugs through Time: A Comprehensive Guide
Dear rug enthusiasts and history aficionados,
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Welcome to an immersive journey through the captivating history of rugs—a journey that unveils the stories, techniques, and cultural significance behind these timeless treasures. In this blog post, we'll explore the evolution of rugs, from their ancient origins to their modern-day presence in our homes.
Rugs have transcended centuries, bridged cultures and serving as artistic expressions. As we delve into this post, be prepared to be transported through time, uncovering how these woven marvels have left an indelible mark on civilizations worldwide.
Join us as we unroll the rich tapestry of rug history, one section at a time.
 Section 1: Origins of Rug Weaving
 Tracing the Beginnings of Rug Craftsmanship
In this section, we'll journey back to the dawn of rug weaving—a time when nomadic tribes and ancient civilizations first wove these functional and symbolic creations. We'll explore the earliest weaving techniques and designs, showcasing how these rugs have evolved into the exquisite pieces we cherish today.
 Section 2: Rugs in the Ancient World
 The Silk Road and the Global Reach of Rugs
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Our adventure then leads us along the Silk Road, a bustling trade route where cultures converged, and rug weaving flourished. Discover how these rugs became sought-after commodities, adorning the courts of emperors and sultans. Dive into the intriguing stories behind iconic carpets like the Pazyryk and the Ardabil Carpet.
 Section 3: Renaissance of Oriental Rugs
When East Meets West: Oriental Rugs in the Renaissance
In this section, we'll delve into the captivating fusion of Eastern and Western influences during the Renaissance. Explore the timeless allure of Oriental rugs, renowned for their intricate patterns, rich colors, and enduring elegance. Learn how these treasures captivated the Western world, shaping interior design for generations.
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 Section 4: Rugs as Cultural Artifacts
 Rugs: More Than Floor Coverings
Rugs hold stories, beliefs, and traditions of the communities that craft them. This section uncovers the cultural significance of rugs across different societies, from the symbolism of motifs to the rituals associated with their creation and use. Rugs are more than decor; they're cultural artifacts.
 Section 5: The Evolution of Rug Craftsmanship
 Innovations in Rug Making Techniques
Time brings progress, and so do rug-making techniques. Discover the evolution, from hand-spun fibers to modern mechanized looms. Learn how technology and design innovations have shaped the rug industry into the vibrant, diverse field it is today.
 Section 6: Rugs in Contemporary Design
 Modern Rugs: Blending Tradition with Innovation
In our final section, we bridge the gap between history and modernity, exploring how rugs continue to be vital in interior design. From minimalist concepts to avant-garde creations, contemporary designers seamlessly blend tradition with innovation, breathing new life into the ancient art of rug weaving.
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 Conclusion: Threads That Connect Us Through Time
As we conclude our journey through the history of rugs, we reflect on the enduring legacy of these woven wonders. Rugs that grace our homes today carry with them the stories of generations past, connecting us to traditions, cultures, and artistry. Rugs are not just decor; they are threads that bind us across time.
We hope this blog post has deepened your appreciation for rugs, revealing the rich tapestry of history they bring to your space. As you explore the world of rugs, remember that you're not just acquiring decor; you're preserving a piece of history.
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Ready to explore the world of rugs and bring history into your home? Visit www.therugcollective.com to discover a curated collection of rug designs honoring the timeless art of weaving.
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hekateinhell · 2 years ago
Note
♡ Hospital AU Lestat and Armand 🏥💕
*DYING at you picking an AU that technically does not exist yet lmao I'm obsessed! I really did love the back-and-forth tweet fic style thing with DA + everyone else who contributed because this one is just really fun and kinky and I've missed them!!
So for the sake of headcanons, let's say they're at the point in their relationship where they just started dating. Armand and therapist!Lestat are still engaging in unethical BDSM activities in the workplace (Armand is still seeing cute anesthesiologist!Daniel on the side; he doesn't ask about Lestat's extracurriculars).
Hospital AU tag for anyone who wants to know what exactly is going on here... you'll miss some stuff if you have the default 'Mature' content filters on, go check that if you follow me please. 🥹
NSFW below the cut.
Who is the most affectionate?
It's a weird transition from "Armand bending over Lestat's lap, spreading himself open and waiting for an insertion of some sort — in a purely professional capacity, of course" to "Hey, want me to pick you up after your shift? It'll be 3am..."
At first Lestat's somewhat hesitant to cuddle Armand because Armand just looks so standoffish and disinterested sometimes (hilarious considering Lestat's already had Armand panting and rutting against his jeans while Lestat fucks him with a silicone impression of his dick right there on his therapy couch).
But he gets over it by their second sleepover and just grabs Armand in this massive bear cuddle and pins him to his chest. Armand's startled at first but then he reaches up to grip Lestat's forearms and doesn't let go. Hard to envision a world where Lestat isn't the golden retriever boyfriend, and he is definitely still the most affectionate of the two, but Armand's much more open now that Lestat's ripped that Band-Aid off for them (so to speak).
Armand showing affection looks more like kissing Lestat's temple before leaving his office after one of their "therapy sessions", sore and hazy but grateful. Wrapping his arms around Lestat's back and pressing his cheek to his middle while he's trying to cook in Armand's kitchen (the first time that apartment has seen honest to goodness food). Touching Lestat's arm when they pass each other in the hallway, Armand pretending he hadn't just gotten rug-burn 10 minutes ago while he was busy choking on Lestat's dick and squirming on cheap carpet two rooms down (jk his gag reflex is excellent).
Who initiates the handholding?
Armand's not one for PDA so it's a Big Deal when he does reach for Lestat's hand to ground himself after a particularly rough shift if they're still in public/the hospital parking lot/running errands.
He does everything he can for his patients and his job is his whole identity, so he takes it very hard when something does go wrong.
He's a long way from ever even thinking about admitting it but sometimes Lestat's large, blazingly warm hands feel like the only thing keeping him tethered to reality.
Who worries more for the other?
Lestat worries about Armand a lot because he has the unhealthiest stereotypical baby surgeon habits—thinks he's invincible and can survive on Monster energy drinks and vending machine honeybuns and a combined six hours of sleep over a three-day period. He's seen a lot of young doctors crash and burn in the couple years he's been practicing at Trinity General.
Who is more likely to ask for help?
Lestat makes his living reminding people 'there's no shame in asking for help, we're all human', but it's always easier to preach rather to practice.
I'd say they both equally suck at this for very similar reasons: ego, pride, and trauma. Imagine a psychotherapist and a cardiothoracic surgeon asking for help.
Who is the one always losing the keys?
Armand can't remember when he ate his last "meal" or the last time he slept. It's Armand. At this point he more or less lives in Lestat's townhouse out of necessity (at least until he can find time to call the super and get another key and he will Not Be Doing That).
Who leaves little love notes for the other?
Since they're in the awkward, unofficial 'I know what your face looks like when you're having a god-tier orgasm but not your favorite food or color" stage, love notes look more like Lestat texting Armand "Did you eat today? I'll Uber you something to the hospital."
Or Armand simply asking him, "Text me when you're going to bed?" (which really means "Text me when you're staying put for the night so I know you're safe wherever you are.")
Comes more naturally to Lestat though for sure.
Who can’t sleep unless the other is there?
Lestat is finding more and more lately that he sleeps the best when Armand's ass is pressed up against his stomach. Or when somehow their positions switch up during the night and he wakes up from a dream to find his head over Armand's chest and Armand's hand in his hair.
Who is more likely to propose to the other?
ashsjksksgd don't mention that word right now, they'll both run for the hills.
(Lestat. He lowkey wanted to marry Armand ever since Armand took a stethoscope to his heart right in the middle of bouncing on his cock and came hard to the sound of Lestat's heart beating right out of his chest... it's exactly the kind of freakish behavior that captured Lestat's attention permanently and also his dick. It's... unusual, make no mistake, but also pretty fucking hot.)
Who introduced the other to their family first?
It's extremely unfortunate that Lestat's mother works at the same hospital in which he fucks his coworker on the regular. She knows, because Gabrielle knows all. She is unimpressed.
We'll say Lestat, even though he wishes very much that were not the case.
Who is more likely to play with the other’s hair?
Armand's getting better and better with showing affection (he's never had to do this before, he's never been in a situationship that wasn't based purely on sex). He's learning that Lestat really responds some kind of way to Armand dragging his nails through his hair and rubbing his scalp. And by some kind of way, I mean he makes the most pathetic whining sound and looks like he's in physical pain.
Who makes sure the other has meals/stays hydrated?
See 'love notes.'
It must be noted that Lestat is not above having Armand eat from his hand like a dog while he already has him pliant over his lap and laying in his own cum in the office, too blissed out and sweet to be snarky and dismissive.
(Also, this is Lestat. He's not completely selfless, don't get the wrong idea — at least 50% of this is rooted his own desire to not only be wanted but also needed).
Who is more likely to stand up to anyone for the other?
They're both feral, it's a tie.
Who is the most likely to prepare a surprise for the other?
Armand is not a fan of surprises, thank you very much. He experiences enough shocks in his day-to-day rummaging around people's chests.
Lestat on the other hand loves a good surprise; he's always exclaiming and gasping over stuff in a very childish and endearing way. Armand picks up on this early on in their dates and tries to surprise him throughout the week with little gifts (some of the adult and provocative nature).
Who makes the other pinky promise not to do certain things?
Lestat once dared say to Armand, "Pinky promise me you won't sleep in the on-call room for the fourth night in a row because you're that stressed out about your patient?"
Armand laughed in his face.
Who puts a blanket over the other when they fall asleep on the couch?
Both of them.
Lestat hunts down Armand during his lunch breaks (super casually, if he bumps into him it's purely coincidental) and sometimes he finds him asleep in the doctor's lounge or an empty patient's room, so he'll grab a blanket from the supply closet and tuck him in.
Lestat does actually work as well, and there have been times where Armand showed up for his "appointment" to find Lestat sound asleep on a pile of paperwork. Armand still privately thinks that what he does is more important (because he's a surgeon with a God complex), but he can't deny that Lestat's job also takes a very real toll on him. Armand raids the supply closet (different one) and even manages to slip a thin hospital pillow under Lestat's head while he frowns and sighs in his sleep.
It's one of those moments where things suddenly seem a little too real for Armand, and his own heart aches in a way he's not ready to acknowledge.
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bonfire-at-the-crossroads · 11 months ago
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Two weeks ago the Mee’s told me that the guy who I restored the two paintings for a little while ago - “is interested in maybe you cleaning some more…” and that he was going to call me.
We spoke - I thanked the .Mees, and they said “He’s very cheap, so be sure to bake in some extras that you can then remove, and make him feel he’s getting a bargain.”
We arranged for me to come out to his house because “there’s a LOT of paintings.”
Hoo boy.
A long winding drive up a hill, flanked by giant oaks - a tennis court, and an extraordinary Victorian stone mansion at the crest.
“My father collected art. The house has been sold, and must be cleared. I’m moving to Mullaghmore into a smaller home and can only take some of the favorites.”
I am in heaven. The walls are covered with paintings, lovely antique furniture, huge Asian vases, and bookcases filled with silver and statuary. Exquisite oriental rugs, the most incredible carved oak tall case clock I’ve ever seen ticks away in the hallway, and everywhere my eye falls - is a treasure.
The man collected what he liked - and although much of it is Victorian genre stuff - there are a few heart-stopping things which leave me breathless….
“Which pieces do you think are most valuable, and will bring enough at auction to justify the expense of your restoration? “
Welp.
When I stopped at the small Paul Henry landscape in the dining room - I told him “let’s start here” Henry is the single most famous and easily recognizable Irish artist imaginable. One of his paintings sold recently at Whytes in Dublin for €420,000.00.
“Funny.” Says the guy “Victor Mee walked right past that one.”
?!
I took photos, signatures, and got terribly excited by the Jack Yeats, and the Alfred J Munnings sketch of a man on horseback jumping a fence….
I told him that many of the paintings should go to Whytes, Christie’s, Sothebys or Bonhams - and I did some research when I got home - sending him the artists, and a few of their sale prices. (Munnings paintings are well over a million dollars each…)
I took six tiny oils with me, and promised to return for the series of large hunt paintings from the living room.
I texted the MEE’s to tell them about the afternoon, the amazing, VALUABLE. paintings - and to thank them again for hooking me up.
“Did you TELL HIM?!” Comes right back at me…and …”ummmmm….yes?”
Turns out, they had a handshake agreement to SELL THE ENTIRE COLLECTION - and didn’t tell me. Now I’m in Dutch with the MEE’s? For answering the questions put to me, and for KNOWING what the fuck I was looking at?
Somebody should’ve SAID SOMETHING - and now it’s all six kinds of AWKWARD.
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atplblog · 12 days ago
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probskay · 7 months ago
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This is another instance of manufactured home architecture at play. The low ceiling, the wood panel walls, striped ceiling pattern and the lush carpet indicate a trailer built likely in the late 70's, or perhaps the early 80's. Honestly, the condition of this one is absolutely pristine. In a lot of older homes like this the rugs are often stained and beaten, in generally poor shape. The wood panels are also generally quite cheap, too, and as a result they typically develop nicks and even holes with little stress.
All of the baffling decisions regarding this room, such as the deeply cramped space, large window, and vent placed directly in front of a close door, can be likely explained by the fact that it's a mobile home. These things average around either 850 or 1700 square feet depending on if the unit is a single wide or double wide. The double wides are generally pretty comfortable, being that they have twice as much space as a single wide does.
This cramped space is caused by the fact that the room exists at all. See, these homes are just big rectangles. If you want there to be a different room in that big rectangle, you're cutting down how much space can be dedicated to other things. Thus, a single wide trailer could have two or even three bedrooms, but a bedroom taking up 100 square feet has just eaten around 10-15% of your home's floor space. Now keep in mind these homes need a bathroom with a full tub, a kitchen, a living room, and at least one bedroom. You have to divide what little space there is between all of those rooms. What should you prioritise? What is going to matter most to the people buying these units?
Well, turns out bathrooms and kitchens have legal minimums of space they need to have, meaning every other room gets cut into, leaving front rooms frequently connected directly with kitchens (which isn't a bad thing, mind you, open floor plans are very pleasant to have) and bedrooms get shoved into small spaces at the end of the home.
That explains the weirdly small space, but what about that vent? Well, much like ventilation in any other home, they're all connected to the furnace. This furnace is likely located somewhere fairly central to the home, in order to reduce costs to heating. It's cheaper to have the air split up and move about 30 feet in two directions than to try and have it move 60 feet in one. These homes are built as cheaply as possible, though, so the hundred or two hundred bucks that it would've cost to simply put a corner bend in that vent or to simply extend it out further so that it is closer to a wall instead of immediately in front of a closet door was clearly determined to be a cost worth cutting. However, they couldn't put the vent *inside* of the closet, as that would result in the door being shut and all of the heat being trapped right in that closet, resulting in the rest of the room being too cold. Thus, they pushed it just far enough to leave the closet and no further. Cheapskate architecture.
Now the window is also a weird one, and I don't have the answer for that. Huge windows must've just been in fashion at the time, as a lot of units have windows of this size just cut into rooms that almost seem like they don't deserve such large hunks of glass cutting into them. Yet, there's enough wall space for a window of that size, so they just gave it a window of that size.
The decisions made in a lot of these photos *are* baffling, but you have to remember that there is always a human behind these decisions. Sometimes they're cutting costs. Sometimes they just have genuinely bad ideas. Other times they are the results of gross negligence. Human spaces like these don't just happen; they are designed.
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San Juan Drive, Moab, Utah.
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thelistingteammiami · 13 days ago
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Here's Why You Shouldn't Max Out Your Budget When Buying A Home
Here's Why You Shouldn't Max Out Your Budget When Buying A Home | The Listing Team
When it comes to purchasing a home, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of finding your dream property. However, it's important to consider the potential drawbacks of maxing out your budget for this significant investment. By buying a home that is within your means, you can maintain financial stability and preserve the ability to pursue other important financial goals. 
In this blog, we will explore several compelling reasons why stretching your budget to its limit when buying a home may not be the wisest choice. After all, homeownership isn't cheap, and the expenses that come with it don’t just end at the closing table.
Maybe you love to travel but still want to settle roots in one location. Or you want to start saving as early as now for your retirement. Or maybe you just want to guarantee you'll have enough funds in case of emergencies. Buying less house than you can afford means you’ll still be able to free up money in your budget which you can use for your other goals: savings, travel and leisure, emergency fund, college fund if you have kids, and even retirement fund. You don’t want to give up these objectives just to pay a large mortgage payment, ensuring that you have the freedom and flexibility to live your life as you’d like.
If you borrow the maximum amount you can afford, you might find it harder to stay current on your mortgage payments in case your life situation changes. Just think of any of these worst-case scenarios that can happen after you sign the dotted line: you lose your job, take a pay cut, your car breaks down, or you or anyone in your family have had a medical emergency. 
Depleting your savings just so you can buy a bigger home puts you at a greater financial risk in case such things happen. You can lessen this risk by keeping your monthly mortgage payments affordable and ensuring you have an emergency fund that won't leave you financially vulnerable.
While your potential mortgage payments are more fixed than rent and you think you can afford it, remember to give yourself as much wiggle room for rising costs. Higher grocery bills and energy costs, especially if you're moving to a bigger home, can make it harder to figure out a budget that you can comfortably afford each month. Likewise, homeowners association fees and property taxes also go up every year. While no one can plan for inflation, try to leave enough room when you’re putting together a post-home buying budget.
Perhaps one of the things you're looking forward to the most when it comes to having your own place is decorating it to your style and liking. And since most homes don’t have furniture and appliances, you’ll most likely need to buy these big-ticket items, which could dent your wallet. Even things such as rugs, blinds, and other necessary fixtures aren’t cheap. Purchasing a house within your budget will help you afford pieces of quality furniture and decor that will complement your space, as well as durable appliances that will last.
Finding the perfect property is a dream come true until you realize you aren't truly prepared for situations like leaky pipes, pest infestation, tree removal, or even gutter cleanings. If you’ve been renting for a long time before buying your first home, know that you can no longer count on your landlord to come over and fix things. 
Maintaining and improving a home isn’t cheap, nor will it be easy. This is why it’s critical to limit your spending during your home search so you can have extra funds available for any maintenance and repair. It’s safer as well to have a cash cushion for renovation projects after move-in day so you can improve your home to your specifications and enjoy your space comfortably.
Being house poor means you're spending most of your total income on homeownership expenses, including mortgage payments, property taxes, maintenance and repair costs, utilities, and insurance, among others. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck and are having a hard time making ends meet because your mortgage is too expensive, the bliss and excitement of living in your dream home could be short-lived. You will soon find yourself stressed out just thinking about your house-related bills, and having little cash for the occasional splurge or a well-deserved vacation.
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