#cloud just got a little more flirty than required

[asreoninfusion]

I wwant the K with Cloudgeal

9: Jawline Kiss

Cloud had stopped paying attention a long time ago. He didn’t really care about what the man - a ShinRa business manager in charge of some kind of publicity - was talking about. Angeal didn’t either, but was too damn polite to tell the guy to go away, since whatever it was he was on about involved the First Classes and he felt obliged to listen.

That was the downside to the so-called business parties ShinRa held. They were supposedly to allow all the various departments of the company to intermingle and share ideas in a casual environment, but Cloud had yet to meet anyone who actually benefited from the process. It seemed more interdepartmental battles were started than rifts healed - especially since alcohol was involved.

As a Third Class, Cloud wasn’t obligated to be there. But he wanted to offer moral support to his boyfriend, who was.

He fought off the urge to yawn, just slightly nudging against Angeal’s side. With their arms mostly concealed behind them, he took Angeal’s hand and gave it a soft squeeze.

Cloud’s eyes drifted, scanning the crowd. Lots of suits. None of them looked as handsome as Angeal did in his suit, though. Well - maybe Sephiroth could give him a run for his money, but Cloud was biased enough to maintain Angeal was the most handsome SOLDIER. Sephiroth could be the prettiest, maybe. Not that he would ever say that to his face.

Although it probably wasn’t the best idea in the world and Cloud knew it, he took another complimentary glass of champagne from one of the servers offering them around. Just out of sheer boredom and need for something to do.

The combination of the alcohol (it certainly wasn’t his first drink that night) and close proximity to his very handome boyfriend in his very handsome suit was making Cloud restless.

Angeal’s eyes flicked to Cloud briefly, stern but smiling at the same time, when Cloud’s hand migrated to Angeal’s ass.

Gods, he looked so good though. The tailor who had worked on that suit had done a fantastic job, fitting it just right over Angeal’s muscles. It showed them off perfectly, only highlighting the fact that Angeal was built like a fucking tank - a big soft cuddly tank. Cloud only came up to his shoulders. 

The size difference was pretty hot though, Cloud thought. He loved it when Angeal pinned him down and covered him completely in bed, or picked him up so easily and held him against the wall while those thick fingers stretched him out ready for–

He really needed to stop that train of thought, shit.

He tried turning his mind to other things he liked about Angeal - things that weren’t likely to end up with him in an embarrassing state. 

He liked that Angeal’s hands were so big and tactile; when they embraced he liked to run those hands down Cloud’s back, and those were the best hugs Cloud had ever experienced. He liked Angeal’s stubble, an interesting texture when Cloud took Angeal’s face in his hands or when they kissed. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, because he was more than a little tired of the short jokes (he wasn’t short, gods damnit, it was just the rest of the SOLDIERs were freakishly tall), but he really loved having to go up onto his tiptoes just to be able to kiss Angeal’s jaw.

Fuck it. Was that man still talking? Angeal had already said at least three times that none of the SOLDIERs wanted to partake in the production of merchandise for profit. And he was trying to push the idea again.

Cloud stepped between Angeal and the manager, wrapping a possessive arm around Angeal’s waist. His other hand braced on Angeal’s chest. He raised himself up and nuzzled his face against Angeal’s jaw.

His lips traced a line from Angeal’s chin all the way to behind his ear, leaving a trail of kisses. “I wanna go home now,” Cloud said.

Angeal blushed. It was cute.

He cleared his throat before addressing the manager. “Apologies. I’ve kept you talking to long. I’m sure you have other… committments…”

There was a very long moment of silence between. The manager finally muttered some sort of acquiesse and scuttled awkwardly away.

Angeal chuckled and gently pulled Cloud off him. “That was unnecessary.”

Cloud shrugged. “He was getting annoying. But mostly I just wanted to kiss you. You’re hot in that suit… I can’t wait to get you out of it.”

Angeal was caught somewhere between finding Cloud’s forwardness endearing and it making his breath catch. His eyes darkened as Cloud leaned up and pressed another kiss against Angeal’s jaw.

“Alright,alright” Angeal growled warmly. “Time to blow this joint, what do you say?”

“About time,” Cloud laughed.

[ybangtannies]

Hiiii I am new t the whole requesting thing so first for everything 🥰 So, here it goes A scenario for yandere namjoon where there’s lawyer y/n who’s hardworking and mature x businessman namjoon who is corrupt in his business ways 👉👈 I dunno if this is okay 🤡

Masterlist

Word count: 3.1k

“I don’t get it, why don’t we just throw them off and stop having them as our clients? This could end so bad for us, the whole law firm could be affected by their- his antics.”

“We have already talked about this,” your friend sighed not sparing you a look, eyes focused on her phone, “yes, it’s a well-known secret that Mr. Kim’s business is corrupt, and he surely doesn’t make the most legal negotiations but,” now she did look at you, her brown eyes showing the tiredness of having to have this conversation with you, again, “we don’t really have the liberty of saying no to him. A lot of tabloids would be up in no time if we decided to stop representing them which would lead to him surely making declarations against us and that wouldn’t surely end up being beneficial for us. We’re already a small firm, Mr. Kim being our client is a huge deal, most of our - including yours- income comes from his business.”

You sighed, about to reply that yes, you understand her point but maybe if you made public those documents that prove his corrupt ways, the whole scene could be different for the firm and you’d be able to turn the tables, but she beat you and added, “plus, he’s a whole snack, girl, why are you even complaining?”

Not even bothering to answer, you rolled your eyes and let out a groan, taking your cup of coffee and going back to your office. On your way there, you saw your boss, “Good morning, y/n,” he said with a smile, “please remember that Mr. Kim is coming later to discuss some things with you.”

The smile you previously had on your face faltered a little, surely you decided it was better to erase that from your mind and was hoping -in vain- that another thing would have come up so Namjoon couldn’t make it to the meeting. “Of course, Mr. Min, I already have prepared the files he asked me about and possible solutions.”

“Good, it’s wonderful to see how hard you work, y/n. Keep it like that, and you’ll make it big.” With that and another polite smile, Mr. Min walked away from you.

You sighed heavily and finally arrived at your office. It seems that these days the only thing you do is sigh and feel frustrated. Of course, you knew that being a lawyer in a firm meant that you won’t always be working for people you like but you didn’t think that it would entail working with a corrupt businessman without any chance of exposing him or just putting a halt to your contract with him. You knew the risks of doing that, of course, and that it would most likely mean you being fired alongside all your co-workers and put on a blacklist for all the other law firms to know that you weren’t trustworthy. However, that didn’t shake the guiltiness and rage you felt when thinking about how hard you have worked all your life to get where you are now just to risk it all for an asshole that was incompetent enough to do dangerous deals with people he shouldn’t.

You were wrong, though, Namjoon wasn’t an incompetent, quite the contrary actually. He was a very clever man indeed, knowing that having a law firm by his side would most likely help him cover his back in case something was to happen, especially if said firm is small and he is the main source of income.

“Mr. Kim is here” said the receptionist through the phone.

“Okay, send him up here.”

You collected your thoughts and breathed deep, praying you won’t snap at him like it had happened some other times before. It wasn’t just that you didn’t like the way he was managing his company but his personality and overall aura… you didn’t like it, not one bit. No matter how handsome and attractive he was.

A knock was heard in your office, followed by a voice “It’s Kim Namjoon, Mrs. y/s, may I come in?”

You arched your brow looking at him through the glass windows your office had, seeing his dimples showing because of the smile he had on his face.

“You may, Mr. Kim” you spoke in a monotonous voice, focusing again on the screen of your computer.

Namjoon’s smile turned to be more amused seeing your reaction, the one as always: trying your best not to look at him. He opened the door and walked in, closing it after him and taking a seat in a chair in front of your desk, not waiting for you to ask him to do it. You probably wouldn’t, anyways.

Of course, he knew the animosity you felt towards him and while at first that made him a little miserable and he almost lost his mind, with time he started finding it more amusing than anything and viewed it as a challenge to finally get on your good side. Naturally, the desire of taking you with him to keep you in his house was always at the back of his mind and he knew that sooner or later he would have to resort to that if he wanted you to be finally his, which of course he did. Until that moment, though, he would enjoy you being feisty towards him, it was amusing and kind of endearing seeing you struggling and fighting against yourself to not give in.

“How are you feeling on this beautiful day, Mrs. y/s?” Namjoon asked with a grin, if you didn’t know better, you’d think he’s actually interested in your answer.

He’s so hot, y/n! And the fact that he’s going against the law and with your help at that, only succeeds at making the situation even hotter.

That’s the message your friend sent you merely minutes ago, probably when she saw Namjoon was on his way to your office. Message you, of course, decided to ignore.

“It’s been good so far but I’m afraid that a big black cloud has just appeared to ruin it” you answered with a fake smile and felt pride at seeing how his smile faltered. You almost felt bad if it wasn’t for the fact that he was a criminal.

Namjoon cleared his throat, clearly ready to say one of the numerous flirty lines he’s been trying to use on you since the very beginning, but you were faster than him and asked about what it was that he needed help with this time.

“Ah, you see, there’s this huge deal I’m about to sign in two days so I thought that it would be a good idea for us both to go through the contract together and also, I wanted you to redact a confidential agreement.” You hated the way in which he said it, like if everything were okay, as if it was just a normal deal and there was nothing fishy about it. You also hated knowing that he could very much do this with his own men -it wouldn’t be the first time- but still decided to come here to torment you.

That was how time passed: you both going through the contract, making sure everything was in order -or as in order as it could considering there were definitely some fishy things that needed to be disguised or be described in a very vaguely-, you trying to dodge every attempt from Namjoon part at flirting with you and him finding it both amusing and adorable.

You danced in your interior once everything was done and it was finally time for him to leave, looking into your watch you realised it was almost time for you to go home as well and mentally sighed in relief. You got over another day.

“If that was all, Mr. Kim, you’re free to go now,” you said with a tired smile that Namjoon noticed didn’t reach your eyes. He so desperately wanted to make you smile for real, be the one on the receiving end of the cheerfulness he knew you had in you; he’d make sure he was the only one getting it one day. “I’ll send you the confidential agreement tomorrow before lunchtime so you can go through it in case there is something else that needs to be changed for the day of the signing.”

“Just one more thing, miss” he said, getting up from the chair he occupied for almost two hours in your office, “I think it’ll be better if you came to me with the agreement in person instead of just sending it to me.” Namjoon saw the protest and confusion on your face and before you could give him a negative, he talked again “there had been several attempts these past few weeks at hacking my accounts as well as the one of my other employers so I’d prefer it if the agreement could me better in my hands rather than on my email. We’re working on it, but until I’m sure there would be no possibility for a cyber-attack...an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”

As much as you wanted to say, ‘fuck no, not in a million years I’m going to see you more than was needed’, you obviously couldn’t, and there was no good reason for you to deny his request.

“Sure, I understand it. I’ll be there tomorrow.” Your answer came more tense than you wanted to, but you wanted Namjoon to know of your discomfort at the premise of having to spend more time with him.

“I’ll send a car for you, darling, there’s no need for you to go anywhere.”

With that and a wink, Namjoon abandoned your office, leaving you there hanging, you wanted to refute that there is no need for him to send a car for you, that you can very happily go on your own and have a car that works very well but, of course, he always has to have the last words. You rolled your eyes and groaned, touching the bridge of your nose. Tomorrow was going to be a very long day.

As Namjoon said, a car was sent your way to the law firm you worked at to take you to his office, or at least that was where you supposed you were going to meet him. But upon seeing the car taking a completely different direction from where it should go, your uneasiness started growing.

“Excuse me,” you called for the attention of the chauffeur, “aren’t we going to Mr. Kim’s office?”

“No, Ms. y/s, I was told to take you to Mr. Kim’s place of residence.”

That fucker, you muttered under your breath. Once you arrived, you couldn’t help but gawk at Namjoon’s place of residence. You were expecting it to be huge and over the top, that’s the kind of house that Namjoon required to have considering the way he carried himself, but this was something else. A whole family could live here, and they wouldn’t even have to see each other if they didn’t want to -and you were referring to a family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and kids.

The chauffeur opened the door of the car for you and was the one leading the way into Namjoon’s mansion as well. The interior was even more dazzling if that was possible: it was decorated in a minimalistic and modern way but there was a hint of old fashioned in some of the furniture. It was exquisite. You were guided all through the mansion until you arrived at the front of two huge mahogany doors, the chauffeur -you felt bad you didn’t ask for his name, he seemed nice- knocked on one of them and from the other side you could hear Namjoon’s voice ordering whoever was at the other side to come in, immediately he opened the door and made you a gesture with his hands for you to go in. You nodded your head and muttered a ‘thank you’ before entering the room. The door closed right behind you.

Namjoon looked up from his computer and a smile quickly found its way to his face upon seeing you right there in the middle of his office. He got up from his chair and moved around his massive table. “Y/n, it’s a pleasure to see you, please come and take a seat,” you did as tell and came near him, smiling slightly when Namjoon moved the chair so you could sit, “I apologize for the inconvenience I may have caused you with coming all the way here, some problems came up this morning and I wasn’t able to make it to my building.”

“Is everything okay, Mr. Kim?” You asked more out of courtesy than because you were actually concerned or interested in what his answer would be.

“Nothing you have to worry about, darling,” the paternalistic tone he used made you almost roll your eyes even if you were secretly grateful, he didn’t bother you with the problems of his corrupt business, “since it’s almost lunchtime, I asked my service to bring us the meal here later so we can eat together.”

“There was no need for that, Mr. Kim, I won’t be here much, you’re just required to go through the agreement and then I’ll be on my way to work again.”

Namjoon only hummed and went back to his chair in front of you. Without any further distractions you both proceeded to went through the document and, right as you stated, it didn’t take much time and since Namjoon didn’t really have any objections, you wrapped it up in no more than an hour but, much to your dismay, by that time the food has already been brought up to his office and you didn’t have it in you to deny it when it looked and smelled as delicious as it did.

“Please, try it,” Namjoon encouraged you, both of you have moved to one of the sofas on his office, and he took advantage of it and was now right next to you, “I didn’t know what you enjoy, so tell me if you don’t like this and I’ll ask for the chefs to make you something different.”

Now, that was a lie, Namjoon already knew everything there was to know about you, having made an exhaustive study of your life himself two days after seeing you for the first time; he knew the name of all your relatives, how many times you’d moved, the college you attended, the marks you got, hell, he even knew the name of all your ex-boyfriends and friends that were no longer in your life. You were fascinating to him, and he couldn't wait until he could uncover every single secret you kept to yourself.

“This looks amazing, I’m sure it’ll taste just the same” you said almost salivating, it’s been a long time since you last ate a proper home cooked meal. You could feel the intense gaze of Namjoon on you while you took the fork on your mouth and swallowed the food, you couldn’t help but make a sound of satisfaction at the taste and it was only in that moment that he averted his eyes from you at the sight, clearing his throat and taking a sip of the wine that was brought alongside the meal. “This is amazing! Thank you so much, Namjoon.”

You didn’t even notice you called him by his name or the real smile that was on your face and directed at him. But he did, and he could feel his heart galloping in his chest like crazy, feeling already addicted to hearing his name rolling on your tone without an annoyed tone to it and being on the receiving end of your more than beautiful smile.

You both kept eating and eventually started talking about everything and anything. It surprised you how you found yourself having a good time and enjoying Namjoon’s company more than what you thought you’d ever do. He was still an asshole in your eyes, and you didn’t like not one bit the way he made business, but you couldn’t deny that he gave you an interesting conversation and was funny even when he wasn’t trying to. Eventually though, you started to feel more and more dizzy, and a migraine was starting to form in your head.

“Is everything okay, darling? You’re getting paler by the second” you heard Namjoon voiced next to you, he sounded concerned and was closer to you than a minute before, one of his hands almost resting on your knee.

“Yeah...no, do you happen to have any pills? My head is starting to kill me…” your voice sounded estranged even to yourself and the strength was quickly leaving your body.

Before you could try to fight it, darkness consumed your every sense and the last thing you could feel or hear was Namjoon’s body pressed against yours and his smooth voice calling your name.

After twenty minutes or so, Namjoon finally decided that it was time to lead you to his room and rest your body on his bed. He’s been admiring your face, being this the first time, he has had the chance to do it from such a close distance, delighting himself in how perfect your body felt pressed to his and how from this day on, he’d be able to feel this way for the rest of his life.

He closed the door from his bedroom and locked it just in case, though he doubted you’ll wake up until tomorrow. On his way to the door, he made a call.

“What’s up, Namjoon?”

“I’m going there now, Yoongi. She’s already in my bed resting.”

Nothing more needed to be exchanged between the two men and Namjoon hung up right when he got into his car. Yoongi and Namjoon have been friends since they were both teenagers, having gone through a lot together. When Namjoon received an email with several photos of you he hadn’t order to take and a simple message saying, ‘we are keeping an eye on her too’, he knew he had to do something to keep you safe and it was actually Yoongi’s idea to lead you to Namjoon’s house, drug you and keep you there finally with him. They still had to figure out who the fuck had guessed Namjoon favoured you, but now that you were going to be safe by his side, he couldn’t help but smile silly all the way up to Yoongi’s building.

He knew he had a long way ahead of him until you fell in love with the same intensity, he had fallen for you, but he was sure you’d both get there and be the perfect couple he’d been dreaming of for so long.

[peterparkers-bad-youtube-apology]

The Angel Nextdoor

Pairing: Artist!Tom Holland x Reader

A/N: This is the first Tom fic I’ve ever posted and I’m a little nervous, but I’m really proud of it. I hope you guys really like it, I’d love to hear your feedback. Now, this is my Valentine’s day special, and I know what you’re thinking, “Ashley, how can you post a Valentine’s say special on February 15th? It doesn’t make any sense.”. But to that I say, you’ve just never seen this kind of innovation, I’m an artist and I have to take risks like this sometimes. I hope you can understand, love you all xx

Summary: Tom’s latest assignment might just give him the push he needs to finally confess his feelings. 

Masterlist

Promt list

//

“This is the handout for your final, we’re going to talk about it more next class, but for now just look this over and start brainstorming,” Ms. Miller passed a stack of papers down the row with a smile, “You’ll have a full month to work on it so I expect really polished pieces for this.”

Tom glanced over the requirements before settling at the prompt.

‘Paint someone close to you (friend, family member, significant other, ect…) in the style of their favorite artist or painting.’

It seemed simple enough, and he could think of a handful of people to ask. Definitely not family, he didn’t want to travel home and back that frequently. He could ask Harrison, and he was sure he would say yes, but there was one person who really stuck out in his mind. It was (y/n) of course, who better to paint than the most beautiful person in the world? And could anyone really expect an artist like him not to want to paint the object of her affection? Of course actually doing it was a different story. Asking her to let him paint her was a daunting task, one Tom was sure he couldn’t complete. So he was going to paint Harrison.

“Try to come to class with a narrowed down list of who you may end up painting, you’ll need to know for sure by Friday,” Ms. Miller sighed as the class began packing up, “I’ll see you all on Wednesday.”

Tom shoved everything in his bag and went straight for the dinning hall, where he was supposed to meet Harrison and (y/n) for lunch. He debated again trying to ask her, but quickly shoved the thought from his mind. She had inspired his work before certainly, it was inevitable that she’d inspire him, or her image would wander to his mind when he was working, but he had never painted her. Of course he wanted to paint her directly, but it was intimate, it always felt wrong to do without her permission. Just asking to paint her surely would have revealed his feelings too, something he wanted to do on his own terms, when he was ready, with concrete proof that she liked him back and he wouldn’t embarrass himself.

“That’s not a happy face,” Harrison hummed as Tom sat down in front of him, “Bad grade or something?”

“No, we just got our final already,” he sighed, letting his bag fall besides him.

“Already?”

He nodded, “Yeah, she wants it to be really polished.”

“Does it seem really hard?”

“It’s nothing I can’t do, I’m gonna need your help though.”

“I’m sorry, you’ve seen me paint before right?”

Tom rolled his eyes, “Obviously not with that. I’m just supposed to paint someone close to me and I don’t want to drive home every other day so I was gonna ask if I could paint you.”

Harrison knit his brow in confusion, “Why wouldn’t you ask (y/n)?”

Tom flushed, “Absolutely not.”

“Why not? You two would get to spend a lot of time together, alone. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Yes, and I’d like to paint her, but it’s so intimate. I want to be the one to tell her I like her, not a painting. Plus she could say no and then I’d never be able to show my face in public again.”

“There is no way she would say no,” Harrison rolled her eyes, “Just ask her, she’d be happy to help and you might just finally see that she’s into you. Then I can stop watching you two pine over one another.”

“No, just drop it,” Tom ordered, spotting (y/n) approaching their table, “Don’t say anything to her.”

“Hey boys,” she smiled as she sat besides Tom, “How were classes?”

“Mine were fine, Tom’s already getting his finals though.”

Tom shot him a glare while she sighed, “That’s brutal, I’m sorry Tom.”

“I’ll survive,” he hummed, “It’s not anything too rough.”

“What is it?” she asked curiously.

“Just painting someone I know,” his cheeks dusted pink, “Nothing too hard.”

“Too bad I can’t help you out with it more,” Harrison bit his cheek, “Maybe (y/n) could pose for you.”

Tom decided he’d have to push Harrison out their dorm window when they got home. 

“Oh yeah, I don’t mind,” she smiled kindly to him.

“It’s okay, it’s probably going to take me awhile and I know you’re busy, I can just ask one of my brothers,” he insisted.

“And drive home every other day? That’s ridiculous, I’ll just do it.”

Tom sucked in a deep breath, trying to decide quickly what the right decision to make was. But he was a painter, he couldn’t give up the chance to paint something so perfect in good conscience, and he didn’t really want to say no either.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” he smiled to her.

“No problem. So what do I need to do?”

“I’m supposed to paint you in the style of your favorite artist, or painting.”

“Well…” she tapped her lip thoughtfully, “Oh, they guy that painted those little cupids, and he did that Birth of Venus you showed me with all the cupids in it, I really liked his stuff. What was his name again?”

“William-Adolphe Bouguereau,” Tom pursed his lips, “I could do that, it’s not too far off from what I like to do anyway.”

“Cool, I guess I should start practicing my poses then?”

He chuckled, “No, we’ll just do something comfortable for you,” he bit the inside of his cheek, “There’s a bit of planning to do first, like what you’re gonna wear and the colors I’m gonna use, and sketching, I’ll just need a few days.”

“Well why don’t you come over and we can raid my closet? Maybe I can help with some of the other stuff too.”

Harrison was smiling like a proud dad when Tom glanced over at him, “Um, yeah, that would be good, I could come over after class Wednesday?”

“It’s a date.”

/

“I laid out some clothes already,” (y/n) smiled to Tom as she led him to her room, “I mean you’ll know better than me, but I tried to pick some things I thought would paint well.”

“Thanks, I was thinking something really simple would be best,” he began examining the clothes on her bed, smiling when he spotted the same white, babydoll dress she liked to wear whenever it got hot, “How about this one? It has that sort of angelic feel.”

She picked up the dress and held it against her, “It’s the comfiest too.”

He laughed, “Well that one for sure then. Next would be location, and I know you really like L'Amour et Psyché, enfants, so I thought it would be nice to have you sitting on a cloud to reference that.”

“Whatever you think is best Tom, you’re the artist,” she hummed, “I think that sounds nice though.”

“I think we’ll do that then. Do you want to toss the dress on so we can run through some poses?”

She nodded and Tom stepped outside, allowing her a moment to change. He’d thought about the painting all night, sketching out different poses and swatching colors he wanted to try. The anger he’d felt towards Harrison at lunch had faded almost instantly to excitement. He’d hung out with her a million times before, but he usually let his nerves get the best of him if things started getting flirty. Painting always relaxed him though, and he was sure that he would be able to make his feelings known once he was behind the canvas.

Of course, unbeknownst to Tom, her feelings were quite similar. Tom was handsome, of course, and funny and kind, and she got along with him better than anyone else. She had never felt the way she felt for him with anyone else, but flirting was hard. She always got nervous and backed off, there was just too much at risk. She didn’t know if Tom felt the same way, and she didn’t want to risk damaging their relationship by telling him she was into him. Of course she was happy just to help Tom for the class, but she thought it was a good chance to tread the waters.

“Ready,” (y/n) smiled as she left her room, “Where do you want me boss?”

“The couch is fine,” he was holding his sketchbook now, holding it firm against his chest, “If you could sit kind of sideways and put your arms on the back of the couch.”

She sat as he told her, glancing over her shoulder at him, “Like this?”

“That’s really nice, very reminiscent of the original…” he glanced down at his sketchbook, “Are you comfortable?”

“It’s a little awkward,” she admitted.

“Then it’s a no. How about with your hands in front of you, just resting.”

“This is better,” she smiled as she switched positions, “But if you want me the other way I don’t mind.”

“I just want you to be comfortable,” he assured before glancing back at the sketchbook, “Why don’t you try on your stomach, with your arms under your head.”

She giggled as she moved, kicking her legs like a child, “This is like the fifth grade slumber party position. I feel like we’re gonna play truth or dare.”

He rolled his eyes, “You’re never going to break into the modeling industry if you mess around like that.”

“You’re lucky I’m not a model or I’d be charging,” she stuck her tongue out before laying her head on her hands, “Is this right?”

“Almost, just cross your arms like this,” he set her arms in the position he wanted before stepping away again, “Are you comfy like that?”

“Yeah, I could sleep like this.”

“Good, there’s just one other pose I wanted to try. Could you roll over?”

She flipped to her back and set her hands over her stomach, “Do I look like an angel now?”

“Almost,” he moved one of his arms, extending it above her head and leaving the other over her stomach, “Perfect,” he declared, looking her over with a smile, “Very angelic.”

Her cheeks dusted pink and she bit down on her cheek, “Thanks.”

“I think this is the one,” he scribbled a few things in his sketchbook, “What do you think?”

"I could lay here all day."

“Perfect, can you stay there for a few so I can sketch you?”

She nodded, drumming her fingers along her stomach, "Did you get a better explanation of the project today?"

"Yeah, she said our grade is going to be focused on the emotion of the piece since we're painting someone close to us. She wants us to focus on portraying them how we see them."

"How are you gonna portray me then?" she blushed as she questioned him.

"An angel," he spoke without thinking, his cheeks flushing instantly, "Not with wings or anything, just sort of what I'm going for."

She was sure her face was about to catch on fire, "You don't have to do that, I mean I like the angel paintings, but you should portray me how you see me."

"I am, it just happened to fit with what you like," he tried his best to conceal his face behind his sketchbook as he spoke, "You're really sweet, and you always make everyone around you really happy, I think an angel is fitting."

“I think you’re like that,” she met his eyes, just barely peeking over the edge of his sketchbook, “You always make me happy.”

“I’m really glad I do,” he bit the inside of his cheek nervously, “I think I’ve got everything I need for today, I’ll do some thumbnailing tonight and go pick up some supplies.”

“Cool,” she sat back up, twirling some of her hair nervously, “So when do you want to start?”

“You have that essay right? Why don’t we do Saturday? I don’t want to take up a bunch of your time.”

“That’s sweet but I’m gonna procrastinate no matter what,” she giggled, “Saturday is good though, then we’d have all day to work.”

“I’ll be over at ten then,” he closed his sketchbook before shoving is back into his bag, “If you really want to procrastinate you could come to the store with me. I mean I have to make sure I can match your skin and hair and everything…”

“Well sure, but if you want even more of my very valuable time I at least expect you to buy me some tea.”

He laughed, “Fine, fine, we’ll stop for tea.”

/

Day 1

Tom was surprised by how awake (y/n) was when he arrived, she was never much of a morning person. When he showed up she had brewed some tea for them both and was already wearing the white dress they’d agreed upon. Tom had drawn about a thousand thumbnails before finally deciding on exactly what he wanted the painting to look like. He decided he’d start on it Friday night, figuring it would be good to get most of the background out of the way so he could focus on painting her while they were together. She gushed over how good the painting already looked, telling him they were the most perfect clouds she’d ever seen while he set up his work station. She was always hyping him up, he appreciated it, even though he was nervous to get started.

“You ready?” he asked finally.

She nodded, “Yeah,” she sat down, doing her best to mimic the pose she had earlier in the week, “Am I good?”

Tom nodded, “Perfect.”

“Awesome, I won’t move a muscle.”

He chuckled, “You can move. Just not too much,” he sighed, picking up his palette and taking one more moment to stare at his canvas, “Okay, time to start.”

(y/n) watched him quietly at first, watching the cute way he stuck out his tongue when he concentrated. She had never seen him paint, the occasional sketch sure, but with painting she’d only even seen finished pieces. They were always amazing, but she felt like getting to see the work in progress was something special. Most people never got to meet someone as passionate or as talented as Tom, let alone get to be the subject of their work.

“Do you mind if I draw the curtains?” Tom broke her trance.

“It’s your painting.”

He laughed, “No, I mean open them. Why on earth would I add a window to a painting of you in the sky?”

“I don’t know how your artist brain works, maybe you think clouds have windows,” she laughed in response, “Go ahead, I thought you wouldn’t want the lighting changing all day.”

“Well I’m going to paint the light source where I want it to be,” he explained as he stood, “But I want to make sure I’m painting you how you’d look in more natural light. Maybe angels have windows, but I’m nearly certain they don’t have iridescent light bulbs.”

“You seriously think heaven has fluorescent lighting?”

“I think they use the sun,” he deadpanned, though a smirk tempted the corners of his mouth, “You can turn on the tv or something.”

“That’s okay, I like watching you.”

He furrowed his brow in confusion, “Why? I’m just staring at a canvas.”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, “It’s something you're passionate about, it’s cute watching you get in the zone.”

“Oh,” he blushed and turned his attention back to his work, “Thanks. I’ll be more talkative once I get a little further along, I just really like to concentrate in the beginning.”

“It’s fine,” she assured again, “I’m not bored Tom, I don’t mind a bit of quiet time.”

“Okay.” 

Truthfully he didn’t mind it either, at least when he was with her. He just liked being in the same room together, even if they were just studying or watching a movie, it was nice to just be together. 

/

Day 2

“Would you mind if I came over after class tomorrow?” Tom questioned, breaking (y/n)’s attention from the tv.

“That’s fine by me,” she smiled to him, “It’s not like I usually have plans with anyone else on a Monday afternoon.”

“Yeah, no one else can stand you,” he chuckled while she feigned offense.

“You know I could be charging you for this? I’m doing this for free out of the goodness of my heart.”

“You think I have money? I’m a starving artist darling, free is all I can afford.”

“You better be nice then,” she teased with a smile.

“I’m cooking you lunch aren’t I?” he sighed before setting his paints down, “Speaking of which, I think I’m ready for a lunch break.”

“Me too,” she rubbed her stomach, “Break time?”

He nodded, “Yeah, you still want pasta?”

“You know I do,” she winked as she stood up, stretching her arms up above her head, “Can I peak?”

He nodded, “It still doesn’t look like much, but I’m making good progress.”

She bounced over to the painting, smiling ear to ear as she took in all he had done, “It looks more and more amazing every time I see it. This is amazing Tom, seriously it looks so good already.”

He smiled, blushing at the praise, “Thanks, I think it’s coming along really well.”

/

Day 3

Tom was making much quicker progress than he had expected, he just found it very easy to find his rhythm every time they sat down to work. Part of it was her, part of it was the subject matter, also her. He was pretty sure all the hours he’d previously spent staring at her had something to do with it too. So far he was proud of his work, though he was sure it wouldn’t have been possible for a painting of her to look bad anyway. When he sat down to paint her he didn’t have to think about it much, just paint, it came very natural. It just felt naturally to immortalize someone like her, but the talking helped the most. Normally he painted alone and he’d wear himself out or hit some kind of wall and be forced to stop, but he hadn’t had that problem since working with her. It was like his hands moved on their own while he just hung out with his best friend. It was just easy...

“Tom?”

“Yeah?”

“How do you stay so clean when you paint?”

“I figured it out around the same time I stopped fingerpainting.”

She laughed, “Okay well when I try to paint I still get at least some paint on my hands and arms and stuff, you never get paint anywhere.”

“This is the third time you’ve seen me paint, I’ve gotten messy plenty of times but I’m trying really hard not to get paint all over your house.”

“Have you ever painted a girl?” she giggled, “Her body I mean, like gotten naked and painted on each other?”

He flushed suddenly, “No, have you?”

“No, but it would be fun wouldn’t it?”

“It would be cold,” he pursed his lips, he was well hidden by the canvas, so he had a lot more confidence in his ability to be cheeky, “We can take a break if you want to try it out.”

She went quiet for a moment, Tom thought he might have to throw himself out of her window but when he looked at her her cheeks were just as red, and she decided to press on, “What would you paint?”

“Depends where I’m painting.”

She bit her bottom lip, a playful smile overtaking her despite her pink cheeks, “Well I would paint a grid and play tic tac toe on your abs.”

She burst into laughter at her own awful joke and Tom did his best to fight off his own laughter, “That was not funny.”

“Yes it was that’s hilarious!” she kept laughing, clenching her stomach and rolling onto her side, only to find there was no room and roll onto the floor with a thud, “Ow.”

Tom started laughing, “You deserve that for making such a shit joke.”

“Fuck off,” she groaned.

/

Day 4

“Do you ever get lonely living here all alone?” Tom knit his brow as he tried to perfect her nose.

She nodded, “Sometimes, but I don’t really want a roommate you know? I need a boyfriend or something so I can just call him over when I decide I want someone to spend the night.”

“You could call me,” Tom didn’t dare peek out from behind the canvas after that comment, “I wouldn’t mind if you wanted me to spend the night sometimes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we could even build a pillow fort and play truth or dare.”

She laughed lightly, “Well who could pass up an offer like that?”

/

Day 5

Rather than painting the whole night, Tom and (y/n) had decided to get some studying done, putting them at a much later start when they eventually did get to the painting. (y/n) seemed tired, and Tom had told her they could skip the night, especially since he was making such good progress already, but she had insisted she was fine. So they started working, and (y/n) watched tv, half away while Tom started working. The painting was coming along amazing, and Tom had planned to just get some of the more tedious, detailing work done and let her get to bed, but of course once he actually started working it was a different story. He had quickly gotten wrapped up in his work, not stopping until the noise of the tv stopped, the screen flashing to ask if anyone was still watching. 

“Sorry, I was just getting in the zone I-” Tom stopped mid sentence, spotting her already passed out on the couch. Her head was tossed to the side and one of her arms hung off the couch. The sight was endearing, but Tom felt bad about not noticing, “Oh dear,” he set his pallet down and stood up, flicking the tv off before approaching her, “Well come on darling, let’s get you to bed,” he nudged her lightly, “(y/n), time to wake up.”

She stirred slightly, a small groan leaving her lips before her eyes peaked open, “Tommy?”

He nodded, a small smile on his lips, “I would have carried you, but you’ve got to lock up behind me.”

She yawned, “Sorry, I’ll stay awake Tom, you can keep working.”

“You’re exhausted sweetheart, you need to get some sleep,” he smiled, setting a hand on her cheek carefully, “I got a lot done today anyway, promise.”

“Okay,” she yawned again before taking his hand, “I’ll help you clean up.”

“I’ll take care of it, why don’t you go get ready for bed?”

She nodded again, pushing herself up sleepily and padding off to her bedroom. Tom smiled to himself while he cleaned up, thinking about how nice it would have been to carry her off and tuck her in, or better yet fall asleep besides her. He could only hope he’d get there one day, if he could ever force out his feelings. It was seeming more and more possible everyday. Just as he’d suspected, hiding behind the canvas had made it much easier to flip the conversation to something flirty, and much to his delight, she didn’t seem to mind, if anything she flirted back.

“Looks good,” (y/n) hummed as she glanced over the painting, “Tomorrow we should be able to start early.”

“Thank you, honestly at this rate I’ll only need a few more days.”

“That’s awesome Tommy, I can’t wait to see it all done.”

“Me too,” he tossed an arm over her shoulder with a smile, “Come see me out.”

“I am, I am,” she smiled as he led her to the door, “Drive safe.”

“I will, get some sleep darling,” he kissed the top of her head before heading for the car.

/

Day 6

The doorbell made Tom jump, and nearly swipe a black line through one of her eyes, “Fucking hell,” he swore under his breath,

She giggles, “It’s just the pizza Tom,” she jumped off the couch, heading straight for the door, “Which means stop working busy bee we’ve got a pizza to devour!”

He pushed himself up with a sigh, “I’m in the homestretch here, I just need to push through.”

“No, you need to nourish your body and keep your mind sharp,” she winked to him as she opened the door accepting the pizza with a quick thank you.

“Smells delicious,” he plucked the box from her arms, “I think I’ll pretty much finish up tonight, but I’ll want to really polish it tomorrow when I’ve got fresh eyes. And I probably won’t want to stop once I’ve got started so eat and pee before I get here.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute or you wouldn’t get away with bossing people around like that,” she passed him a plate before tossing open the box.

“I know,” he winked to her, dishing them both a slice, “You know I probably only need another hour or so tonight, so we could watch a movie or something while we eat, then I could finish up after.”

A swarm of butterflies fluttered around her stomach, almost making it impossible for her to answer, “That sounds nice Tom, you definitely deserve to relax.”

“We both do,” he grabbed her remote as he fell down on the couch.

“I’ve been laying on the couch, relaxing is currently all I know.”

“Nah, I’m sure it gets tiring sitting there looking pretty all day,” he sucked in a sharp breath when she sat down, pressed right against his side.

“It does,” she nodded in agreement, “Alright, you pick for us alright?”

“Sure.”

He didn’t pay much attention to what he was picking, he was much more concerned with their proximity. They’d watched plenty of movies and tv shows together during their friendship, but they never sat so close. It gave Tom a lot of confidence, since she’d opted to sit besides him, he took it as a sign that his flirting was landing. So after they finished eating he decided he should also initiate something and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Without even thinking she had laid her head on his shoulder, it just felt natural. Tom pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head and turned his attention to the tv.

/

Day 7

Tom stood up, stepping back a few feet to examine his work. He did it fairly frequently so (y/n) didn’t think anything of it and turned right back to the tv, until Tom spoke.

“It’s perfect, I’m done,” he declared with a small smile.

(y/n) raised a brow, “Seriously?”

He nodded, “Yeah, I have to seal it and everything, but the actual painting is done. I’ll turn it in on Monday.”

“Don’t you have a few more weeks?” she asked as she stood.

He nodded, “I don’t need them, I’m finished, it’s gorgeous, I don’t need to do anything else.”

“Well can I see?”

“Of course!” he grabbed her shoulders, quickly pulling her to face the work, “What do you think?”

She went wide eyed, taken back by how good he’d made her look. It was strange, seeing herself in a painting. It was done well of course, and it looked just like her, but better somehow. She couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was, maybe the background or the romantic theme of the painting, but she just looked better. She looked like an angel, perched on a bed of pink and blue swirling clouds, reminiscent of the paintings she likes, but distinctly Tom’s work.

“Wow,” she turned to him with a big smile, “Tom it’s incredible, I don’t know how you made me look like that.”

“That’s just what you look like.”

She shook her head, “It’s better somehow, like the perfect version of me or something. You did incredible.”

“No,” he shook his head, “That’s just you, but thank you. I’m really proud of this, I think it’s one of my best.”

She blushed, “Yeah, you’re gonna get a killer grade.”

He hadn’t thought much about the grave, the assignment had taken a back seat to just painting her, “Yeah, I hope so,” he grabbed her upper arms and smiled down at her, “You’re incredible you know that? Thank you so much for doing this for me.”

She bit her lip and nodded, “You don’t have to thank me, I had fun.”

“Me too,” his eyes caught her lips for just a moment, soft and supple and more than kissable, “I, uh, we should do something to celebrate, dinner or something.”

“That would be fun too,” she tucked some hair behind her ear, leaning towards him just slightly.

He found himself leaning in too, but as much as he wanted to kiss her, something just wouldn’t let him. He kissed her forehead and backed away awkwardly, “I, uh, need to pack everything up, I have to get the sealant on pretty quick and I left it at home so…” 

The sealant was in his bag, but he felt like running away suddenly, his nerves truly getting the best of him.

Her cheeks burned in embarrassment but she nodded, ‘Y-Yeah, no problem, I’ll help you pack up.”

/

“Wait so let me get this straight, all this flirting and pining, you chickened out on the kiss?” Harrison’s jaw fell open in disbelief. 

Tom nodded, hiding his head against his arms, “Yes, and I nearly died the first time so let's not talk about it now.”

“Dude,” he gaped, “Are you kidding me? All you had to do was pucker up!”

“I know!” Tom groaned, “I know, I don’t even know what happened, I just froze up. I mean what if I misread it? She probably didn’t want me to kiss her, in fact I know she didn’t.”

“You said she leaned in first!”

“I thought she did but I’m stupid! There’s no way she was trying to kiss me.” “It literally could not be more obvious that you two like each other so I don’t want to hear it. You need to just call her up and tell her you froze up and ask her out.”

“I can’t, I will literally drop dead.”

Harrison rolled his eyes, “Then I’ll do it.”

“Dude no! I’m not ten, I can’t send you to ask a girl out for me, that’s a guaranteed no at this point.”

“Then just tell her,” Harrison groaned, “Before I lose it, please.”

/

Tom was coming to terms with the fact that he was going to die alone by Wednesday morning. It was hard to accept, but easier to accept than almost kissing his dream girl and chickening out, so the choice had been easy. But apparently the universe had other plans for him, as Ms. Miller decided to pull him aside after class.

“I want to talk about your final,” she placed his painting on an easel.

He blushed, “You don’t like it?”

She shook her head, “No, no, Tom this is incredible. I was going to suggest that you enter it into the National Galleries up and coming contest.”

“Seriously?”

She nodded, “Yeah, this is amazing, it would be a shame if the world didn’t see it,” she chuckled lightly, “And I’m sure it would get you some brownie points with your girlfriend.”

“Oh, she’s not my girlfriend,” he spoke softly, pretending to cough to try and hide his words, “Just my friend.”

“You painted just a friend like this?”

He nodded.

“And remind me of the title.”

“The Angel Nextdoor.”

“Do you call all your friends angel?”

“Uh no, just her,” he bit his lip while she raised a brow at him, “She doesn’t know I’m into her.”

Ms. Miller glanced at the painting with a hum, “Has she seen the painting?”

He nodded, “Yeah, she was there the whole time.”

“I think she knows.”

He began to blush again, “Really?”

She nodded, “I could tell just from looking at it that you must really love this girl, I’m sure she can tell too,” she smiled and leaned back on her desk, “Anyways, I just wanted to let you know about the competition, I’ll have your marks soon.”

He nodded, “Thanks, I’ll, uh, think about it.”

He scrambled out of class quickly, wondering if maybe he didn’t have to die alone. Maybe he could confess, and maybe (y/n) who had gushed to him about the painting he’d poured all his love into, would reciprocate. Maybe she had leaned in to try and kiss him, and maybe, just maybe, she really did like him back. Instead of stopping at the dining hall where he was supposed to meet Harrison and (y/n) he paced right past it, towards (y/n)’s class, trying to hype himself up the whole way. 

(y/n) had spent the past few days with her mind full of questions. She had leaned in, hoping Tom would get the hint and they would kiss. It seemed to be going that way but then he stopped. Tom had seemed flirty while he was painting her, and she tried her best to show her own interest. He had even held her while they watched a movie, but then he didn’t kiss her. He just kissed her on the forehead and left. She was worried she had misread everything, and almost certain she had. She was anxious about seeing him for the first time since the almost kiss, worried things would be tense or weird. So she was quite worried when she spotted him outside of her class, worried he was about to tell her to never bring up the incident and forget anything happened.

“Hey,” she smiled to him, “What are you doing here?” “I came to talk to you,” he blushed a bit, “Uh, Ms. Miller really likes my painting, she thought I should enter it in this competition for up and comers.”

“Really? Tom that’s awesome, congrats!”

He nodded, “Yeah, thanks, I thought it was really cool too, but she said she thought it was good because she could really see my emotions.”

“Also awesome, you’re gonna ace that class.”

“Okay, but, um…” he trailed off for a minute, unsure of how to force the words out, “The emotion was love, that she saw I mean. She said she could tell I really loved you, a-and I know you know that I do love you, but I love you way more than any of my other friends, and it’s different too… I mean I know I’m like a struggling artist, and that’s not the most desirable thing, and I’m not this perfect, beautiful person like you are, but I do love you, and I love you so much it’s overwhelming sometimes. The best thing I’ve ever painted is you because I love you so much, romantically.”

She stood totally frozen, with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open, making Tom’s heart pound nervously against his chest. He thought he might black out but she moved suddenly, grabbing him by the neck and kissing him hard. Her lips were plump and soft and so much better than he could have imagined. He grabbed her waist, leaning into her with a smile.

“I love you too,” she smiled as she pulled away, “I think you’re perfect and I am totally crazy about you.”

“Seriously?”

She nodded excitedly, “Of course! How could I not? You’re incredibly talented and you're funny and your kind, Tom you’re amazing, of course I am so totally in love with you.”

He smiled and sealed their lips again, “Maybe we could go on a date sometime then?”

She nodded again, “Of course, but I’ve got one condition.”

“Anything.”

“There has to be more kissing.”

He laughed before pecking her lips again, “I think I can handle that.”

[writers-worst-nightmare]

Till new flowers bloom (Lance x reader):

Ask: Hey! :D Just saw that your requests are open, so I thought I could tell you one of my favorite fanfic ideas: How about a Lance (from VLD) x Reader fanfic in which he and the reader eventually start dating post-canon. Everything is absolutely perfect, but he’s a unsure about saying the words ‘I love you’ for the first time. Not because he’s unsure about his feelings, but because he doesn’t want to lose another person that he loves. But, with the help of his friends, he eventually finds the courage, arranges an amazing date, and tells the reader how much they mean to him, and promises to protect them with anything he can.

A/N: this was fun to do! I love the idea of a sensitive Lance (almost as much as a sensitive Keith)

Warning(s): the fluff to angst might kill some readers

Pairing(s): Lance x reader

Word Count: 2,579

Request are always open!

Lance and you had been together since the eighth grade in middle school. You guys fit perfectly together, you where more in the calm side of things while Lance was always up and about. You still remember the day that he said he loved you…it was very…well…Lance to say the least…

***

“Y/NNNNNNNNN!!!!!” Lance yelled, phone gripped tightly in his hands, you perked up and cocked your left brow slightly upwards. The brown-haired male rarely talked to you, but you didn’t take it as a offense. You didn’t talk unless it was required to by a teacher or you where in trouble for something you didn’t do (that happened more often then you would think, the shy and quiet kids always get blamed for the things the loud kids do. Always.

“What?” You inquired, leaning back in your chair as Lance propped his phone up on your water bottle and gave you a sly smirk. Your eyes clouded with even more confusion as Lance went on tiktok and started to playing Electric Love.

”Do you know this trend?” Lance asked, you shook your head ‘no’ before lightly humming to yourself.

”No, but the song sounds nice,” you commented slowly. Picking out your words as carefully as a old lady picking out beautiful blooming flowers for her husbands funeral.

“I know it does…” Lance smoothed talked, doing the classic bisexual finger guns as you. You giggled at the boys attempt to get your attention. But just as the song picked up to the chorus Lance pulled you in by the collar of your shirt and kissed you roughly. You tensed up, muscles bunching up in the toughness that held in the kiss. But, soon, you found it to be comforting and relaxed slightly. Lance pulled away from you and smiled brightly.

”I am guessing this means that you like me?” You giggled, staring at Lance as he curled into you and hide his face in the crook of your neck. You felt your body temperature go up slightly as you hugged Lance back and laid your chin on his back.

***

It was short and sweet, anything that somebody could dream of in Middle School. The tiktok bad blown up to massive number and got both you and Lance a following (your followers demanding more Lance x you content, and you happily gave them it). The relationship through half of high school and training pilot school was so sweet. Even when Voltron was formed you guys stuck together likes two peas and a pod.

But one thing differed

One thing stuck out to you

It was always the same thing…

You would sat the words ‘I love you’ and wait for a response

But it never happened. He never responded with ‘I love you too’ or anything. He would just seem happy that you said you loved him and carried on with the day as if nothing happened. The crew started to pick up on slight hints but nobody got it! They would just say that Lance was being nice and shy but you knew the Cuban boy more then anybody. If you had to describe him personality wise ‘shy’ and ‘quiet’ are some words that too wouldn’t use. Lance's personality is very complex, as he has shown several different, often conflicting sides throughout the course of your relationship with him (even in the classmate side of things way back when). He can be very egotistical, cocky, confrontational, and arrogant at times. At other times, he is friendly, kind, reflective, and shows great intelligence. He is usually the first to make light of a delicate situation, either by joking around or flirting. Lance is noted for his poor-timed or vulgar humor at times, noted by him ripping a fart as a joke. Lance's friendly and outgoing personality allows him to connect with mostly everyone (maybe not as much with Keith) despite their many differences. Around girls, however, Lance tends to focus on flirting, sometimes neglecting his teammates. Lance is brave, adventurous, friendly, and free-spirited, often howling like a wild man during his fights and adventures, showcasing his unrestrained love for what he does. However the moments he is able to let go of those feelings are the times he is able to do the most for his team. He can be quite sensitive, reflective, and distant at times when his teammates are not around or when his guard is lowered. Lance is shown to be quite homesick, deeply missing the Earth and desiring to return to his family, reminiscing on the beach near his home, splashing in puddles, and experiencing rainfall. This is one of the few times he appears sad and he is unwilling to let his friends witness it.

He is often impulsive, not very in control of his emotions and often loses the gravity of the team's mission to dreams of glory, praise, and being the center of attention. Lance reacts angrily when Keith doesn't prioritize the shows Voltron is putting on to gain support, and he is easily the most enthusiastic of the Paladins about performing in front of a crowd. Lance tends to get caught up in the way that he sees the world rather than the way things actually are. Because of this, he is noted to be the least perceptive of his team. Lance was the only one fooled by Pidge's disguise as a boy. He also sees many of Keith's comments as insulting or aggressive when Keith does not appear to mean them that way because Lance believes Keith is his rival, and the "rivalry" between them is entirely Lance's own creation. Lance is insecure about his own abilities and placement on the team, and so often acts as though he has something to prove. Lance admits that he doesn't see himself as one of Voltron's best warriors and suggests that he may not be the best choice for a Paladin of Voltron. Contrastingly, Lance often shows a high degree of situational awareness and tactical skill while on missions, as shown when he corrected Keith's errors twice to protect the Balmera from harm from Keith's reckless attacks. When meeting the Blade of Marmora for the first time, Lance pointed out to Shiro that Keith would become angry and attack someone if taken on the mission. While this was most likely said because of his rivalry with Keith, Lance was correct in his assessment of Keith's character, as Keith's antagonistic nature created tension with the Blade when they discovered the knife in his possession.

Following Shiro's disappearance after the temporary defeat of Zarkon, Lance matured rapidly. He became far more serious in his missions and coordinating battles with his allies. During this time, he also lost much of his animosity towards Keith. Although initially desiring to be leader himself, Lance accepted the Black Lion's choice of Keith as Paladin. He becomes a much more supportive member of the team and steps up to take more of a tactical advisor's role, not sugar-coating his criticism of Keith's leadership tactics but supporting him to move forward all the same. Lance's acceptance by the Red Lion as its new pilot echoes King Alfor: acting as a right hand, trusting the Black Paladin to be a better leader than himself in battle, giving assistance when needed, and supporting his friends.

So he would often be the side character that got only a small amount of screen time and often bullies by other characters and the fandom. Although you loved him and all of his moments. Whether he is sad, cocky, sensitive, or doesn’t say the three words ‘I love you’ back whenever you say it.

It was the complete opposite for you

If someone where to describe you they would say that you where sometimes flirty but not as level headed as Lance. You used to be shy but you think that phase has left your body now (as least you hope with dating the one and only Lance McClain). Usually you flirted a lot with Pidge friendship wise and Pidge would always joke about killing Lance and getting together with you. You woud laugh and laugh as Lance fears for his own life in the corner. But other then the teasing with your best friend Pidge a lot of people labeled you as kind and understanding. You where the one to talk Keith out of leaving the moment he knew who is Mother is. Instead he stayed for a little longer. And when Keith left you defended him with your life. Sometimes arguments would burst out in Shiro saying that you cared more about Keith then you any other teammates. And maybe he was right, but you admired Keith in some way. He was the person that did what you didn’t want to do. The one thing that every half-breed thought of doing but never did in the end. When the days where off and you could relax a playful pillow fight would often kick off or you could be seen watching some anime (usually the gore stuff but sometimes you couldn’t help but watch Ouran High School Host Club souly based on the fact that Haruhi was there and it is Haruhi).

Maybe you where the toxic one in the relationship, maybe you needed to fix something and do something right.

“Y/n?” Pidge asked, snapping you out of your daydream and into reality. Sighing heavily you let down your guard and turned back on your mic to reach out to your non-binary teammate.

“Yes Pidge?” You called through the mic of your helmet. The slight grief that you felt for Lance handing thickly in your throat. You might have gotten use to if. Used to the feeling that Lance was never going to say ‘I love you’ in your relationship but it still felt worse then getting knocked down by Zarkon when you had a tom of weapons and he had none.

“Something happened to Lance I need you to—“ Pidge was cut off by the sound of you racing to get the rest of your uniform on. You where at the spaceship of backup was needed, although they rarely ever needed you. So you just wore your helmet (you thought it looked pretty cool). You pulled the purple uniform over your head and rushed into your lion.

“OPEN UP PURPLE!!” You called, clearly in a hurry. You grabbed your purple taser that Shiro had given everyone at the start of the mission and went in the mouth of Purple.

You where the purple Paladin, usually the person who has the purple Paladin is connected to royalty somehow. Everyone wanted to talk about it but you always ignored them when it came up in discussion.

The truth is that you are Zarkon’s child, being raised on the planets and then brought down to Earth when a war happened. You where raised by a old lady who found you left alone in the cold and brought you in. She fed you and kept you safe although she didn’t know what you truly where (she just guessed you where a human like everyone else on Earth). You covered up the marks on your face unlike Keith. You didn’t want to leave yet. You couldn’t leave…if you left then what would Lance do? No, you won’t be like Keith and leave your friends and boyfriend to rot in the spaceship while war goes plundering on like a lighting storm all around you. You may be Zarkon’s kid but you weren’t like him at all. You weren’t like Keith. You were y/n. And if you had to die to prove it, then so be it. Purple halted in front of Red. Your eyes widened as you saw Lance, he looks beaten up to the point of near death. Your breath hitched in your throat as you jumped out of your seat, making sure to grab the first-aid kit and then bang on Purple’s door to open faster.

“LANCE!!!” You screeched when Purple finally opened the door to let you out. Blue was beat up badly also, parts of Blue’s body was falling off and their usually clear crystal blue eyes where now dusty and clouded with thought. You found a gap in Blue and rushed in to save Lance’s life. “LANCE!!!” You exclaimed, going to Lance’s side and shaking him rapidly. Thick tears starting to prick at the corners of your eyes.

“HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA SJSNEURKNR AHAHHAHAHA!!!!” Keith howled in laughter. You whipped your head around and stared at the black-haired male. You fumbled with your pocket and pulled out the taser. Soon Lance joined in on the laughing as well. Both of them howling like maned wolves on a full moon.

“What are you two laughing at?!” You huffed, arms crossed and staring at the two boys. Soon the rest of the Paladin‘s arrived. All of them laughing together.

“Come in love…let’s get away from them…” Lance suggested, standing up on his own and taking you away. You didn’t have time to notice it before but now you looked around where you stood and there was a bunch of blooming flowers around the place. A small park where some kids sat at the dark navy blue coated bench and watched in awe at the lions and the two of you like you where some superhero’s flying through the sky.

“Where are we going?” You asked, leaning against Lance’s arm and intertwining fingers with him.

“You will see.” Lance chuckled, you rolled your eyes and started following Lance. Totally embraced in the fact that he was still alive. His scent smelled like the fresh clean breeze and coconut mixed together in the most perfect way.

Soon, the two of you went to a small opening in the park, kids where gathered around and staring at you with excitement filling their eyes. “Y/n! Can you read me a story?” One of the kids begged, the kids had curly blonde hair and round blue eyes. You nodded your head and sat down to pick up the book. You opened your mouth to start resting it to the blonde-haired girl before Lance coughed. You turned around and couldn’t believe the sight in front of your eyes. It was Lance on one knee, a dark purple case in his hands and a warm smile on his face. You looked for any sign of joking or a prank but all you could see was admirable and love for you in his tired dark blue eyes.

“I know this is kind of out of plan, but you know what? I am like that…so…” Lance trailed off, looking into your eyes. You stared at each other in silence before Lance spoke again. “I love you…and I am sorry that I hadn’t said it to you in all these years of us being together…but I hope I will make it up you…so y/n, will you make me the luckiest man on Earth and take this ring…?” Lance asked, pulling out the ring from the box. The ring had a small diamond but in it was a lavender flower inside. On the inner ring it had the lyrics for Electric Love in Lance’s handwriting.

“I guess McClain isn’t that bad of a last name…” You teased. Lance laughed softly before he took the ring into his hands and slipped it on your ring finger as a final say that you two where going to get married soon.

[s4ijoh]

heaven is a place on earth. atsumu miya

ATSUMU MIYA X GN! READER

GENRE: domestic; slice of life; just a comfort piece

WORD COUNT: 1.6k+

WARNINGS: established relationship; mentions of stress; atsumu is a tease (yes, it deserves a warning), + heavy imagery, i enjoy setting the mood

coming home to atsumu after an exhausting day…

you are greeted with a welcoming warmth engulfing your body once you step into atsumu’s apartment. it is rather quiet inside, other than the static buzzing noise coming from the living room at the end of the corridor - you remember atsumu complaining about how the television signal gets worse on days like this.

the homely environment felt inside the dimly lit apartment instantly comforts you, providing you with a shelter from the hostile weather outside. the orange lighting creates a cozy atmosphere in stark contrast to grey sky outdoors, covered in a thick layer of clouds - a prevailing threat that it should start to rain at any moment.

while kicking off your shoes, after you’re done getting rid of the layers of clothing that were weighing on your body, you wonder if you should accept, at last, atsumu’s offer to move in with him. despite the fact that this place was not your actual house, it sure did feel like coming home whenever you walked in. it was, indeed, your safe haven, not only from the weather outside but from the world. as soon as you set a foot inside this place, all your concerns seem to be washed away.

you figured it must have been the weather to further instigate your current bad mood but you can’t put aside the thought that today, everything seems to be working against you and there is nothing more you crave than to sit in the comfort of atsumu’s presence and forget all about the trivial things plaguing your mind.

oddly enough, you are not greeted with his familiar face peeking through the door of the living room, his lips stretching into a beamy smile as he excitedly yells your name upon seeing you, as it is usual. however, although your boyfriend is nowhere to be seen, his presence is felt throughout the whole apartment.

the place is charged with traces of him - from the sweet but manly scent of his perfume lingering faintly in the air, to his keys with the small pendant you bought tossed carelessly next to a framed picture of the two of you, on top of the entry table as well as osamu’s coat that atsumu never returned because he claimed it suited him better anyway, hung on the doorknob of his room.

it is also hard not to notice the different pairs of slippers scattered along the wooden floor of the entry hall however, you have grown so familiar with the sight that you would have paid no mind to it if it weren’t for you tripping over one of the long forgotten pairs of fuzzy slippers. what otherwise would have looked like slouchiness only made the place feel more inviting. you have grown acquainted with the chaos, learned to embrace even, it’s familiarity never failed to put you at ease - in the end, everything was just on it’s right place.

atsumu is clumsier than he looks. he whined about how every new set of slippers he bought would go missing within a week, only for him to purchase a new set and for you to find the previous lost pair somewhere under a piece of furniture which resulted in the eclectic collection of slippers he owns to this day. 

walking across the hall, you come to a halt once you reach the living room, waiting for a frowning atsumu to notice you leaning against the doorway whilst he presses on the buttons of the tv remote in a frenzy on yet another hopeless attempt to get the television to miraculously start working - the “no signal” alert on the screen won’t disappear no matter how many times or how rough he hits the buttons on the remote, you have been over this many times with him.

“you never know” he would answer adamantly, with his brows raised in mock defiance. how naive, desperate times require desperate measures, you suppose.

a small giggle erupts from your chest capturing atsumu’s attention, his head snapping in your direction as his lips almost instantly stretch into bright smile - it was his body’s intuitive reaction whenever he laid eyes on you. atsumu calls out for you, dragging on the last syllable of your name in enthusiasm and you can’t help the grin, albeit weak, that crawls its way up to your lips. he could always steal a smile from you, no matter how tired you were.

upon noticing the clear exhaustion on your features, his broad smile morphs into a sympathetic pout as he tosses the remote on the cushions next to him, stretching his arms wide open for you, inviting you in with a quiet “get over here”

you drag yourself to the the checkered sofa where atsumu is sitting, awaiting you, to gladly accept his offer. and just like magnetic attraction, your body falls limp into his embrace, finding solace in his arms as you slump down on his lap with a relieved sob.

atsumu is left to deal with the dead weight of your body on top of him yet instead of complaining, he embraces you just tight enough to earn a quiet squeal from you, your head lifting itself from it’s comfortable spot snuggled against the warm skin of his neck only for you to shoot him a glare.

“where’s my kiss” atsumu taps his lips twice with his index finger to which you bend your head down to comply with his request.

honestly, how could you have forgotten. exhaustion really must have got the best of you because there was nothing more you had craved throughout the whole day than to feel his lips against yours, you could really use a kiss or two - or maybe a few - right now. however, you barely have the chance to connect your lips with his before atsumu is pinching your nose, prompting you to withdraw.

“your lips are freezing cold!” he whines in response to the inquisitive look on your face, his eyes wide in a rather theatrical manner. your boyfriend’s melodramatic behaviour has you rolling your eyes back in annoyance before you lean back in only for atsumu to cover your mouth with the palm of him hand.

“needy are we? rough day, pretty girl?” he teases with a taunting grin plastered on that frustratingly pretty face of his.

“go to hell, atsumu. just kiss me already” if only you weren’t this tired and atsumu wasn’t looking this tempting, maybe you could’ve kept the frustration from overflowing for you knew how he would pick on your helplessness only to keep teasing you and test the effect he had on you. and, you hate to admit that you have no restraint when it comes to him but, truth is, there is not much you can endure until you give in to atsumu and he manages to get you right where he wants you - you were always so pliant on his hands, he found it endearing to say the least.

trying your luck yet again, you hesitantly brush your lips against his, looking up at him through your lashes. you move carefully, almost as if you’re lurking on a prey, keeping a close watch on his face as you knew all it took was a false step for him to get away.

“you didn’t answer me” and just like that he pulls away from you, his voice cutting through the silence and ruining the mood, much to your dismay.

“yes, i had a rough day and you’re not making it any better, ‘tsumu” you spit the words out, although you reckon your tone was sorta harsh you are fuming at this point. on days like this, where it almost feels like it is your body’s basic need to feel him close to you, there is nothing you wouldn’t do for a kiss of his and he truly wasn’t helping you feel any better. two could play this game but you don’t even have the strength to put up a fight and taunt him back, wishing he would just give in to you as easily as you give in to him.

“so eager, i must be one hell of a kisser” he whispers against your lips. atsumu is having too much fun playing this little game of cat and mouse, repeatedly dodging your every move as you chase after his lips. if you didn't know any better, you would almost say it was taking every fiber on his being to hold himself back by the way he is ogling your lips.

“tell me, baby, do you want to feel my lips against yours that bad, hm?”

“yes, can you kiss me now?” your straightforwardness catches him off guard, earning a chuckle from your boyfriend as he tilts his head to kiss you on the cheek, dropping the act at last.

“no need to be mad, baby, patient girls get whatever they want” he grabs your cheeks, squishing them together and proceeds to place a quick peck on your pout before he slumps back against the couch, resting his arms over the lenght of the back of the couch.

“come get your kiss” he says in defiance with a wicked smirk which has you narrowing your eyes.

you lean forward cautiously, trying to understand what is the catch here, though he doesn’t even flinch when you crawl your way to wrap your arms around his neck. it is when you let your guard down, wearing the smile of victory as you lean in for a kiss that atsumu dodges you once again but he doesnt even give you time to complain before he is gripping your waist and tugging you into his chest before he crashes his lips into yours.

oh and was it worth the wait. atsumu could take you to heaven and beyond with just a simple innocent kiss. you feel like you’re soaring the sky and now you never want to come back down to earth ever again. you could argue that he is not perfect but, despite all his flaws, atsumu is still a true angel in disguise.

[a/n]: honestly i made atsumu’s character out to be messier than i imagine him to be but, i had this really cute picture in my head of a v v cozy house with lots of slippers scattered all over + had these flirty dialogue prompts written down & decided to put them together and thought atsumu fitted the role perfectly so yea!

this aint nothing special, just a good ol’ domestic au! but i hope you all enjoy what i have come up with after i’ve been neglecting writing for a whole month now <33

+ next batch is soulmate au! mattsun!!

[the-wintershade]

trust me (always)

pairing: sam wilson x f!reader  summary: it’s hard for you to trust anyone, especially people you get close to. you and Sam share a bond, a trust on the battlefield, but the Sam you see when you get back is different. however, things are changing and maybe the two Sam’s aren’t so different after all. wc: 3.4k+ genre: a little angst, some fluff, confusion, protectiveness, reader can’t see things as clearly as Stephen Strange, that’s for sure.

He held you as if you were something ancient, endowed with power but still delicate enough to require a special touch, a touch that recognized the silent strength within its bones.

It was reassuring. 

You clutched onto him that much tighter despite the blood racing against your hand. You would have been more concerned if it weren’t for the fact that you were miles above the ground grasping against his chest for dear life.

Your legs tensed against his waist as you buried your head further against his neck. One of his arms stayed securely wrapped around you as he glided through the clouds, navigating through the smoke and clouds, wrapping the two of you in an invisible mist.

“Hey,” He breathlessly whispered against your cheek. “You good?” 

You nodded, keeping your eyes squeezed tight. 

A fear of heights never made any of this any better for you. You could barely accept the idea that you were up as high as you are.

Sam grunted a bit as he pushed both of you faster through the atmosphere. His suit whined a little in the strain of having only one wing to guide you but still held firm. Tony knew what he was doing with the upgrades.

“I’ve got you.” The words felt reassuring, but you didn’t bother to drop your death grip on his neck. “I’ve got you. I’m not letting you go.” 

You weren’t sure who he was trying to assuage more: you or him.

You cracked your eyes open for a second, just as he swerved slightly to avoid a heavy pocket of air, and saw the swirls of white and grey. Adrenaline shot through you, fresh and hot, but you kept your muscles locked. You wouldn’t squeeze him to suffocation, not up here where there’s nothing to catch you if you fell.

You squoze your eyes shut again, waiting till seconds felt like hours.

“We’re here.” He abruptly pulled up before gently lowering you two to the ground. He kept you tucked against his body, kneeling on the hard earth as his other arm circled around you. 

For a second, for just a moment, you were pressed so tight in his embrace that you were sure that his fear of losing you was just as real as your fear of having to let him go.

Then the moment was over and he was crumbling into fits of laughter, his default face of charms and smiles came back. Good old Sam.

Just like before, like basic training and initiation, running side missions with Sam and Bucky, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. He was always your guy, always there to get you if something went wrong, always coming to your aide if you called him, he was always around. Always smiling, always teasing.

And he knew you had him to.

If he needed anything, recon, an infiltration team, a scout or just a man on the inside, you were there. You were good.

And that’s why, even when everything was falling apart around you, you waited, you closed your eyes, and you trusted him to catch you as you jumped out of the building.

There he was. Just like always.

“That was insane.” His teeth shinned at you, dazzling you into silence just like so many times before. He watched your face freeze, distracted in nostalgia, and his own brightness dimmed slightly, his teeth receding like the slow crawl of the tide working its way back into the ocean. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” He stood up and you slowly unwrapped your arms from around him, finally noticing the vermillion streaking down your forearm.

You felt Sam tense for just a moment, his gleeful mask dissolving for just a second, before leading your charge inside the building. He moved fast despite the fact that you only landed seconds ago.

You, on the other hand, felt disoriented, and stumbled your way forward. It wasn’t the blood loss, or the dizziness from flight. It was something much deeper. Something that had everything to do with him.

Everything to do with the feelings that never went away but you always ignored.

You tried to brush aside the sucking void that appeared in your chest at the easy dismissal of his previous display, but it kept pulling at you, making you feel hollow in the middle.

It hurt. But you don’t need to admit that.

Just keep it in. Just keep it all contained until this is all over and then your void can devour anything it wants.

He led you through all the twists and turns before coming to stop at the medbay. Dr. Strange was in your path almost immediately after Sam hit the button. He’d been on special call for anyone hurt within the facility. 

Plus, you and the doctor had become good friends over the years. He taught you basic first aid and you were able to teach him about philosophy, ways to help him see the world and better himself.

It was an exchange of information, but not deceitful, not in exchange for money or for self-gain. It was equal and the company was always nice.

“Hello, (name).” Good to see you again,” He softly smiled in your direction. You forced your eyes to crinkle with the same amount of enthusiasm.

“Always a pleasure, Dr. Strange.” Your voice was calm, lovely even, as you responded. It betrayed none of the subtle agony you felt, nor the pain at the throbbing in your arm. It made your confidence strengthen and the void die down just a little.

He stepped over to you slowly, reaching out to take a look at your arm. “Debris in the arm?”

“Sam managed to pull me out before the building collapsed.” You spared a cautious glance in his direction, careful to manage the sucking pull of his eyes and the void within you. His stare was dark and...upset (out of character for him), before it immediately became ambivalent, balancing on the edge of nonchalance and subtle amusement.

It would have given you whiplash if you hadn’t been trying to keep your face as neutral as possible.

“Lucky girl,” Stephen smirked at you while gently tugging on your arm and pulling you along into the examination room. He looked past you, right to Sam.“I’ll take good care of her, promise.” 

Your heart lept for a second. 

Stephan looked down at you and winked before glancing back at Sam. “Do what you have to do. I gotta get back anyway.” His voice sounded cheerful, but the develivry of the response held something deeper, something more hidden and protective. He paused for a moment and the silence made you turn in his direction. His gaze was warm and gentle, but if you closely, just beyond it, there was a wall of steel. “I’ll be back.”

You heard his receding footsteps before Stephen closed the door.

“What was that about?” You sat up on the table as Stephen began examining your arm, working around the blood and dirt.

He scoffed. “We’ve talked about this before, (name).” He poured alcohol over your wound and a hiss left your mouth involuntarily. He pressed a towel against the exposed skin and waited for the bubbling to stop before moving on. “He would have stayed here if I hadn’t said you were okay.”

Why?

You were talking about the same Sam, weren’t you? The Sam who was a massive flirt, who couldn’t be tied down to anyone? Sam, who was always so carefree and flirty, who didn’t have to time for anyone else in his life? That Sam?

Or the other Sam? Reliable Sam. Dependable Sam. The Sam who always had your back.

Because that Sam only existed during battle, when everything was going left and the trust you needed to put in each other was stronger than his need to be witty. 

But the Sam that came back was always different. It always stung a little. The Sam you came back with would go out and forget about you. 

And you couldn’t forget about him.

The void grew bigger.

“We can’t be talking about the same person.” Your tone was grounded in defeat. You’d already fought this battle with yourself, you knew what your decision was.

“Oh,” He grinned. “But we are.”

You shook your head. “You got this all wrong. He doesn’t care that much. He saved me, that’s his job after all. That’s what we do during missions, that’s who we are. When we get back it’s always different.”

“If he was just saving you, why do you think he brought you here?” Stephan’s hands were fast as he wrapped up your arm. You’d been so distracted talking about Sam that you hadn’t noticed when he’d removed the glass from your arm. “He would have put you on the street if you were just another citizen, if it were just another mission.”

“Right,” You rolled your eyes before Stephen set your arm down. “Like that actually means anything. I’m an agent; it’s only right that I’m here.” Everyone was pretty much gone anyway. It makes sense he brought you here.

“Oh?” He smirked as he turned to put the supplies away. “You and Sam were pretty close when he brought you in. Almost glued to the hip.” The first aid kit shut with a loud click. The next sentence makes you question if he’s been watching your interactions properly. He’s done it before, “for research” he claims. “He watches you a lot. If he’s not physically close to you, his staring more than makes up for it.”

“Dr., don’t say all of this to make me feel better. I know when I’m not really wanted. He’s just being good ol’ Sam. It doesn’t really mean anything.”

“Are you saying this because you truly don’t believe that he cares or that you don’t think that anyone could possibly care about you like this?” His stare is deep and hard. He’s not upset necessarily, but he’s frustrated and you know better than to lie to him.

“To be honest,” you sigh and massage your fingers, aching from holding onto Sam’s suit, aching from not being able to hold onto him. “I’m not sure anymore.”

And if your sad eyes gives him any pause, Stephen pushes through it. He comes over and squeezes your hand. 

“Listen kid, lord knows that I’m not good at any of this stuff.” He places the back of his hand against your cheek, a soft tap of affection. “But I do know that you deserve to be happy. Allow yourself that much.”

Your throat hurts from trying to push back the heartbreaking agony in his words, but you manage to nod, touching his hand gently in return.

The void still threatens to suck you in, but it doesn’t feel as indomitable as it did before.

…

“Where’d you go?” Bucky grunts through the radio as he knocks out his assailant, watching Sam come gliding down out of the sky.

“I had to grab someone.” He mentions in passing as he sets down on the ground. He pulls out his own gun and puts down a few more guards. 

He catches Bucky’s smirk from out of the corner of his eye. His own gaze darkens and he’s unable to check the deep warning in his tone before the words come out. “Don’t say anything.”

“Wasn’t going to, flighty.” 

“Call me flighty one more time and I’ll throw you off the bridge.”

He chuckles before swinging around Sam’s side and shooting another enemy with their gun aimed at Sam. 

Sam pauses for a second, shooting two quick glances over in Bucky’s direction. 

“Thank me later.” Bucky smirked at him with a spark and charm that Sam would have usually given him. Sam clamps his jaw down to avoid saying anything. “I’m sure a special someone would appreciate it.”

“When we get through this, remind me to never give you rides anywhere ever again.”

“Oh no,” he said in fake seriousness. “Who am I gonna call now?”

“Shut up.” Sam said stiffly, thinking briefly to you and Stephen’s knowing assurance. How many people knew how he felt? He didn’t even know how he felt. He didn’t know why your call over the radio made him as nervous as he felt or why he’d abandoned Bucky suddenly. 

He just knew he needed to get to you.

Just like all those times before. He needed to be there. He needed you to know that you could trust him, with anything. Just like the confidence and trust that you’d given him.

You hadn’t sounded frightened — no — you sounded reserved. And reserved scared him a lot more than frightened did.

And so he was there, just before you were sucked down into the collapsing building.

Now, he just wanted to get out of this so he could get back to you. Surprisingly, although the thought scared him more than he wanted to admit — it’d been a while since Sam was willing to really settle in one place — he just wanted to get out of the field for just a moment, just to know you were safe before he moved on.

Even then, moving on wasn’t going to be easy. He didn’t let himself think hard about that.

Sam shook his head slightly before getting back into focus. He still had a job to do.

Bucky’s eyes narrowed, harrowing with laser focus as a plan formulated in his mind. “I’m pushing that building, there’s still people inside. Can you keep the sky clear? I really don’t want to be hit by shells while I’m moving people.”

“On it.” Sam jetted off into the sky, eyes peeled, ready to shoot down anything that would stand in the way.

…

Sam tried to keep his pace at a normal speed, but failed. 

Bucky noticed. 

They exited the quinjet back at base and Bucky picked up his pace to match Sam’s quicker clip. “I’ll debrief. You do what you need to do.”

Sam didn’t really care what he said.

Bucky knew better than to demand a response. He was always like this when it came to you.

Sam made it to the medbay and he paused for a moment, expecting you to be there resting at least. When you were nowhere to be found, Sam swallowed down his rising anxiety.

He moved around the corner, looking for someone around to ask where you’d gone. When he’d seen the red cape, he knew he’d found exactly who he was looking for. 

“Sam,” He greeted, sitting and pouring over a text. “I trust that everything went well.”

“Something like that.” He compromised in response. “Where’d (name) go? Is she alright?”

Stephen nodded absentmindedly. “She’s fine, just needed a few stitches and a bandage. The last time I talked to her, she went out.”

“Out?” Sam worked to school his face into a neutral state despite the rising anxiety bubbling up in his core. He wasn’t overjoyed at the idea of you going out by yourself, especially after just sustaining an injury. “Where?”

“I’m not sure, Sam. But I assure you, she’s more than capable of taking care of herself. She just probably needs a break. Thinking you might die in a crumbling building isn’t something you just bounce back from.” Sam processed the information and slowed down, searching for an answer, a rational explanation of going after you.

Dr. Strange sighed before giving up this as a solution. “I’d wait. She’ll be back soon.”

Sam nodded, unable to come up with anything that would vindicate him from further suspicion. But just like how he’d almost promised you that he’d return, he’d be patient until you came back.

“Shawarma?” Stephen held out a paper towel. Sam looked cautiously, not sure if he really trusted what he was offering. He looked at him with a guarded expression before removing a glove and grabbing it out of his hand. 

“Thanks,” Sam said, still in the middle of deciding whether he should eat it or not. “I guess.”

…

You waltzed back to the compound at the call of Stephen who rang you while you were out getting coffee. He’d sounded amused despite the seriousness of his words. 

You didn’t bother rushing back to the office.

Whatever Stephen had going on, he could wait another thirty minutes as you made the walk back up the forested street back to the compound. Your wrap served as a constant marker of what happened, how your life was almost ripped from your clutches. You tried to ignore it now, but the white of the wrap consistently caught your attention.

You huffed in frustration as you worked back to the medbay. What in the world could be wrong now? You didn’t really want to relive the experience of nearly crying in his examination room.

You needed time to absorb it all.

“Stephen, what’s going on?” 

You came to a stop behind his chair. Stephen only turned slightly to look at you. “Sam’s waiting for you.”

“Sam?” You scoffed and sipped your coffee. “Like he’d come looking for me. He’s got a debrief, not to mention plenty of other things to do in the meantime.”

“Well, he came here looking for you. Thought you might want to know.”

Disappointingly, you did kind of want to know. You pretended to be annoyed, asking F.R.I.D.A.Y his location in the driest voice you could possibly muster. 

When she directed you to his rooms, you pushed down the jolt of surprise and kept your expression neutral as you turned out the examination room and down the hallway.

…

“Sam?” You knocked gently on the door, the anxiousness you felt earlier steadily rising as you waited outside. Maybe coffee wasn’t the smartest idea. “It’s (name). Stephen said you were looking for me.”

You took a few deep breaths, nearly resting your forehead against the door. Your nerves were jittering now, climbing to a fever pitch.

When Sam swung the door open, you nearly fell straight into him. You straightened as quickly as you could, clearing your throat and swallowing abruptly.

“Hi.” You said, meeker than usual.

Sam’s eyes glowed for a second before he found his usual charm, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed. “Greetings.” You almost swore his voice was deeper than usual.

You looked at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation. He just stared back.

You sighed, dropping your head and turning slightly away. This was stupid. “Well, he said you asked for me, but, if you don’t have anything to say, I’ll go.”

“Wait.” He reached out to you for a second before inching his hand slowly backward. “How’s your arm.”

“Fine.” You responded. It was throbbing more than before, but you figured the pain would linger for some time, despite the pain meds. “It should be a little while before I can take it off though.”

Sam nodded. “Good.”

You both stood in a tense silence again, just staring at each other for a moment. 

“Okay, well, if that’s all…” You took a couple steps away from him, moving down the hall.

“(name)?” 

You turned slowly, sparing a small smile in his direction. “Yes, Sam?”

“If, perhaps,” He tilted his head with a smirk. “I knew this place downtown….”

Your heart leaped into a gallop.

“And I asked you to join me, would you say yes?” His eyes did the soft twinkly thing and your heart melted.

Maybe this wasn’t such a stupid idea. 

Maybe your Sam, that Sam that was always there in battle, didn’t actually disappear when you came home.

“Maybe…” You drawled out, slowly stepping closer to him until you’d slipped your hands into his, feeling his warmth stabilize yours. Maybe the good doctor was right. You deserved this, you deserved happiness. And if Sam was willing to take that chance on you, just another agent, then why not take a chance on him. “Depends on how you ask.”

Sam grinned for a moment. “(name), will you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner tomorrow evening?”

You hid a smile before leaning up to kiss him on the cheek, staying by his shoulder while your arms wrapped around him in a hug. Sam’s arms pulled you close, holding on tightly. 

It felt like you were flying, but not anything else like your first experience in the air. You weren’t afraid now like you were then. You felt safe, calm, like you were in control.

You were soaring on something much stronger than air. Hope.

“I’d love to, Sam.”

He grasped you tighter as he picked you up and spun you around, your laughs joining together in bliss. And when he set you down, his eyes sparkled like a thousand suns and for the first time in a while, you were ready to let yourself fall.

Because this Sam, your Sam would catch you. Always.

[cloudywriter]

i never got to say i love you - 3

honestly no idea how this actually worked out but i did find it in me to pick it up where i had left off. i’ll keep working on this story and see where it goes but i think i have a few ideas. it’s not very long but it’s a start ya know. it looks nice right now too but don’t worry the angst will be there soon. xoxo

masterlist, main masterlist, AO3

~~~

From that fateful night on, Feyre spent all of her free time in the art building’s studio not even returning to her dorm until long after dark. Quite frankly, she was a little embarrassed. She showed up outside of Mor’s door fully prepared to ask her to please quiet down only to be reminded of how ridiculously dressed she was and then to top it all off after that all she did was stare at Rhysand until she ran off stuttering like a fool which was so unlike her. 

She had a close call one afternoon in the dining hall but was able to make a speedy escape. 

Of course, the one time she decided she should work and study somewhere that wasn’t the art studio she ended up in the library. It had been fine until they strutted in, strolling down the center of the library as if it it was a catwalk. A group of girls next to her looked up at them, giggling and blushing, and quickly averted their gazes when Cassian shot them a swift wink. 

Feyre just kept her head down, trying to concentrate on the book of art history in front of her but just knowing he was in the same room as her, that she was in his vicinity had her mind unable to comprehend anything but that fact. Should she just stand up and leave? Would that draw more attention to herself? 

She quickly deduced she could not wiggle her way out of this one. 

Feyre propped up her textbook in hopes it would shield most of her face while she finished up the chapter and then she promised herself she could make her leave. 

The scraping of a chair across the tile floor informed her she was not going to be so lucky. She zoned in on the words in front of her, she was not going to look up.

“Art history,” a voice read aloud.

Feyre looked up and arched an eyebrow at the man in front of her. “Congrats, you can read.”

“Are you an art major?” He asked, leaning back in his chair.

“I could be or maybe I just enjoy a little art history. What are you majoring in making obvious observations?”

“Is that a new major? Because I’ll admit I’d love to take it up,” Cassian commented, crossing his arms and tucking his fist underneath his chin.

Feyre didn’t deign to respond instead she leaned further back in her chair once again focusing on the textbook. 

That was until the remaining members of the trio wandered up to Feyre’s table as well.

Cassian turned around a little and gestured to Feyre, “Hey guys, I’m just hanging with my girl, Fey. You know, the one who came to yell at us last week and then drooled over Rhys.”

Feyre slammed her book flat on the table, “I did not drool!”

Cassian shrugged, “I don’t know I think I had to whip up a few drops after you left.” 

Feyre just knew her bright red face betrayed her. 

Rhys only laughed, a deep, sultry laugh that sounded the way expensive velvet felt. “It’s alright Feyre, darling, I’m used to it obviously.”

“Oh, don’t call me darling,” Feyre sighed, burying her face in her hands. Rhysand only smirked in response, drumming his fingers on the edge of the desk. 

Azriel and Cassian were hunched over, studying something on Cassian’s phone while Feyre desperately tried to pretend they weren’t there. Rhys kept on drumming his fingers, completely disrupting Feyre, to be fair she was dyslexic and she required quiet in order to sit and read. 

Feyre reached out her hand, holding a pencil, and wacked Rhysand’s fingers. “Stop it!” She whisper-yelled at him. 

“Feyre, darling, you wound me,” he purred, leaning back to slip his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. On almost anyone else Feyre would’ve thought the leather jacket looked stupid but it just worked on Rhysand. 

Rhysand was quiet for a moment when he spoke back up, “What does one do with an art degree?” 

Feyre lifted her eyes from the page in front of her, “Gods, you sound like my sister.”

Rhys cracked a smile at that, “I don’t mean it in a negative way, of course, just curious.” 

“I just want to spend the rest of my life doing something I love and I happen to love painting. I know it's not the standard but I wouldn’t be happy in a 9 to 5 desk job,” Feyre explained. 

Rhys nodded, he looked as though that statement had resonated with him.

At that moment both Cassian and Azriel stood up, “Hey, Rhys, Mor is texting us that she wants to meet at Rita’s for lunch. You coming?” 

Feyre glanced up, making direct eye contact with Rhys, “No,” he says in a husky voice, still looking into her eyes, “I think I’ll stay.” Feyre concentrates on her book again, a small, secret smile poised on her lips. Cassian and Azriel make their exit with knowing glances passed between them. 

Cassian and Azriel had only been gone for around five minutes, Feyre was trying her hardest to appear unruffled by Rhysand’s presence, her eyes glued to her book though they weren’t reading a thing. Rhys then broke the silence, “Are you hungry?” 

Feyre raised an eyebrow, “Are you?”

“Famished.”

“Strange, pretty sure I saw you turn down an invite to lunch a few minutes ago,” she replied simply. 

“I go to lunch everyday with Az, Mor, and Cas, but I don’t go to lunch with you, Feyre, darling. I thought I might switch it up.”

Feyre gave him her best unimpressed expression even though her heart was pumping in her chest. “You’re a shameless flirt.” 

“Well, what do you say?”

Despite Feyre finding Rhysand annoyingly attractive she was hesitant to accept his invitation. She had just transferred schools, she was in the market for some friends, but the haunting memory of her failed relationship crept in like a spider knitting a web of doubt. 

Feyre banished that spider, “Fine.”

+++

Rhys had taken Feyre to a cute little coffee shop that served the best sandwiches in Prythian as Rhysand had claimed. Feyre didn’t have any room to disagree. Their conversation came easy, it felt natural, not stiff like the beginning of most budding friendships. They argued, joked, and even poked fun at each other the entire time. 

Rhysand continued with his brazen, flirty attitude and persistent usage of the endearment ‘darling’ much to Feyre’s dismay. It was irritating but charming, it just seemed to be wholly Rhys. 

Now, Rhys and Feyre were walking side by side back towards the dorm buildings. The conversation proceeded to flow easily. When they were about to enter the courtyard adjoining the separate dorm buildings, Rhys flopped onto a bench just a little ways off the sideway. Feyre raised her eyebrow at him. 

“Sit, darling. All this walking after eating and I’ll get a cramp,” he reasoned. 

Feyre rolled her eyes, it certainly wasn’t that but she entertained him. She took a spot a little bit down the bench from him and leaned her head back, staring up at the tree overhead and the afternoon sun beaming through its leaves. 

A question popped into Feyre’s mind and she pivoted towards Rhys, “What are you majoring in?”

Rhys’s beautiful face turned into a grimace as he turned his attention from the same tree back to her. 

“Business,” he finally supplied.

“You seem disappointed by that,” Feyre commented. Rhysand looked away as his head bobbed in a noncommittal yes. 

“I wanted to major in English, really. I love books, stories, even poetry as mind boggling as it may be sometimes,” Rhys let out a small chuckle, mostly to himself. “I love language too, the way you can manipulate and articulate it, it’s remarkable. I would be more than content to pour over books the rest of my life or share my passion for stories and language with others.”

“Then why do business?” Feyre knew she was probably prying but her curious nature always got the best of her. 

“My father,” Rhys admitted. “He’s a businessman you know, convinced it's always the way to go whether you truly enjoy it or not. Doesn’t matter if you’re happy if you have a stable job and are making good money in his eyes. Not to mention, he demands I work with him at his company after school. I lost the will to fight him on it, just easier to appease him at this point. Books will still be there.”

Feyre let the words hang in the air between them. She knew, of course, the feeling of being unsupported but still her family hadn’t forced her hand. Feyre reached out, resting her hand lightly over Rhysand’s in silent support while still giving him the option to pull away. 

He didn’t. He wrapped her small hand in his own and turned his head toward her. 

The wind tousled his black hair back and forth with each turn of its direction. In the sun’s light his eyes were bright, framed by thick lashes. Feyre wished she could freeze time and pull out her paints to capture the image. The overwhelming desire to do so took Feyre by surprise. Since leaving for Velaris that deep yearning to paint a particular scene, a moment of inspiration so strong it paralyzed her, hadn’t been prominent. Truly, it hadn’t been there for a while. She usually had to force out a drawing or painting for an assignment. 

Then Rhys gave her a gentle smile, it looked how Feyre imagined touching clouds would feel. It brought a funny feeling to her stomach. 

“Do what makes you happy, Rhys, always,” she added so quietly she thought her words might’ve been blown away by the breeze before they even reached his ears. 

Yet, Rhys squeezed her hand the smallest bit. 

~~~

well this is for you @maybekindasortaace​

let me know if you wanted to be added to my feysand taglist or my rowaelin taglist or both, ya know 

[realityhelixcreates]

The Mystic Garden: Sowing

Chapters: 1/5

Fandom:  Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: PG

Warnings: death

Characters: Loki(Marvel) 

Additional Tags:  Infinity War Doesn’t Exist, Everybody Lives, Mutants Exist In The MCU, The Reparations Of Loki Of Asgard

Summary:   Despite S.H.I.E.L.D. becoming a smaller and more selective organization, Loki still finds himself assigned to them upon Asgard's arrival on Earth. Required to perform a kind of specialized community service, Loki is paired up with another outcast, of a kind he is not familiar with: A mutant named Iris.

Loki of Asgard was a very beautiful man.

Loki of Asgard was a very powerful man.

Loki of Asgard was a very dangerous man.

And that was about all that anyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. could agree on about Loki of Asgard.

To some, he was an asshole. To others, perfectly charming. To yet more, he was polite, but distant. Funny. Serious. Sarcastic. Aloof. Morbid. Morose. Intimidating. Shy. Threatening. Angry. Flirty. Each person Iris asked described him in a different way.

To Iris, he was a looming presence, staring her down with searing intensity. Her shiny, brand new partner. Joy.

“So you're the unfortunate one.” He grumbled. “Winner of the worst lottery this organization has ever thrown.”

“I'm Iris Devereaux.” She said, holding out her hand. “Pleased to finally meet you.”

He glanced at her hand with a sneer. “No you aren't.”

“Beg pardon?”

“No one is pleased to meet me.”

“Oh. Well. Here's the thing: you don't decide that for me.”

He raised one perfect eyebrow, tilting his head back.

“I don't tolerate men telling me what I do and don't think or feel. Only I can know that. Now, you gonna shake my hand or not, Mister 'of Asgard'?”

Loki harrumphed. “As you demand, Miss 'of the Riverbank'.”

“What?” Iris took his hand and gave it a firm shake. He allowed it, but drew his hand back the instant she released it.

“Your surname. It means 'riverbank'. Didn't you know? Named after a goddess, and yet you seem to have lived humbly.”

“I'm named after a flower.” Iris corrected.

“The flower was named after the goddess.” He re-corrected. “The personification of the rainbow, a messenger of the gods. She who waters the clouds with her ocean-filled pitcher, flying on glowing, golden wings to carry the pleas of mankind to the gods they prayed to. As she connected the sea and the sky, her rainbows connected mankind to the gods. Just as our Bifrost connected Asgard to Midgard with the beauty and magnificence of the rainbow.”

“Oh, please.” Another agent groaned from their nearby work station. Loki glared.

“Well, that's...informative.” Iris said. Was this what Loki was like? Standoffish, unless given something to talk about? He was certainly well-spoken. “I'm pretty sure my parents just had the flower in mind though.”

“A delicate goddess, an ephemeral rainbow, or a nodding blossom on the riverbank: it all paints a pretty picture, does it not?” He asked.

Iris narrowed her eyes. “What are you trying to say?”

“I wonder.” Loki said.

“Will you two just go get some coffee or something?” the other agent snapped. “I've got to finish this by ten hundred.”

“Fine, jeez, keep your vest on.” Iris said. Loki glared once again. “C'mon, there's a thousand break rooms on this old boat. We can take one over for ourselves.”

   *****

“Who was that cur?” Loki demanded as Iris programmed the coffee machine for two cups. “Who does he think he is talking to? I am still a prince of Asgard, and a god! No pencil-pushing desk monkey speaks to me that way!”

“Hey, cool your chops.” Iris said, getting the mugs. “The pencil-pushing desk monkeys keep this whole show running. Who do you think runs this boat? Where does our intel come from? Who finds out if it's any good or not? Who does the budgets, communication, tech, cleanup, triage, programming, and supplies? The heroes get the fame, sure, but we're ultimately expendable. These guys own this shindig. Do you like caramel?”

“I...might?” He said, and Iris added a squirt of syrup to each steaming mug, then handed him his. “And you might be expendable, but I most certainly am not.”

“Cheers, bro. I'll drink to that.” Iris raised her mug in his direction and took a long gulp of fresh, caramel coffee. Oh boy, this was gonna be fun.

Loki seemed perplexed, either by the flavor of the coffee, or her casual acceptance of his declaration.

“Not that it will come to that.” He backtracked. “As my partner, you will have the advantage of my protection.”

“Joy. So, your highness, what's landed you here? You aren't exactly known as a friend to mankind. Why join S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

He harrumphed as Iris took another long pull from her mug. “You say 'join' as if I was given a choice. This is penance, nothing more. It was decided when Asgard had to relocate here, that I would work for a 'humanitarian' organization. Save lives equal to those whose deaths I was responsible for. Work towards paying off the cost it took to rebuild. And so I perform the Reparations of Loki of Asgard, defending this realm from itself. Once I have accomplished this, I will leave.”

“Mhm. And how far have you gotten?”

“It's only been a few months.” He huffed. “So not nearly as far as I'd like. How did they lure you in?”

Iris shrugged. “Job's a job. This one is steady, has good benefits, and it certainly keeps me engaged. It's no daily grind, that's for sure.”

“But with your power, could you not be a leader of some sort, rather than in a subservient 'expendable' position?”

“Ah. You've read my file.”

“Of course I did. As I assume you've read mine. Prying things. Why do they need so many personal details? But yes. It mentioned that you have an unusual power, beyond others of your type? Why are you not in charge?”

“Hoo boy.” Iris took a seat across from him. “You don't know much about human social structure, do you?”

Loki frowned. “It was never supposed to matter.”

“Well, it matters now. And it's mattered to me my whole life, because I can't just run off home to fairy tale land, so it looks like we both have no choice but to deal with it. You know what a mutant is?”

“I know what the word means, but I don't know how it applies to you.” Loki said, perplexed. “You look like any other human to me, so I assume it is something internal?”

Now it was Iris' turn to harrumph. “Well, you look like any other Asgardian to me, so I guess we've both got something going on under our skin, don't we? Tell you what: you explain to me what a 'frost giant' is, and I'll explain what a 'mutant' is in this context.”

“And if I refuse?” Loki sneered.

“Then I do too.” Iris said simply.

Loki stared at her across the table, the intensity of his gaze as hot as the coffee, and Iris tried her best to pretend to be unaffected by it. It wasn't that he wasn't intimidating, but an unfortunate lifetime of bigotry and constant background danger had given her a skin as thick as wood. Well, her mutation had done that as well.

“I can do this all day.” He warned.

“Alright.” Iris shrugged.

A few very awkward minutes passed, a silence spent sipping coffee, until her supervisor, Chris Timmitz, interrupted.

“Iris! Loki. There you are! I've been looking for you two. Lucky to find you in the same place, you've got a job coming up.”

“Oh yeah? Lay it on me boss.” Iris said. Loki grimaced.

“We think we've got another possible HYDRA shelter, kinda out in the open this time. We need more intel. That's where you come in.”

“It's located next to a forest, isn't it?”

“A meadow, actually.” He said a bit sheepishly. “We need you to, uh, plant some bugs on the property.”

“Ha ha.” Iris said flat-voiced.

“Aw c'mon, I didn't come up with the terminology.”

“Was that some kind of insult?” Loki asked darkly. “Do you degrade your employees?”

“Well, it wasn't meant to be.” Chris explained. “It's not my fault the language is what it is. And what about you? Iris may act tough, but she's really sweet and sensitive, so you'd better act right-”

“Or what?” Loki challenged.

“Chris. Cut it out. We don't have to be chummy, we just have to get the job done.” Iris said. “So give us the details.”

“Right, right. We're starting Tuesday. It seems to be when the fewest people are there...”

                ****

Iris crawled through the tall grass of the meadow, the plants moving naturally around her, so as to not alert her enemies that she was there. The shelter was an old schoolhouse apparently, that HYDRA agents had taken over, ostensibly to restore the historical building and turn it into a museum...all the while sheltering their agents from the law, and pushing revisionist history in an effort to spread their doctrine through yet another small town. They had done this so many times before, changing the narrative, changing the perceptions of the people.

HYDRA had many heads. It was the symbolism of the thing. Some of those heads infiltrated governments, and worked to influence world policy. Other heads overran small towns, influencing the vote, which served to make the jobs of the others easier.

Some people in S.H.I.E.L.D. likened them to a virus to be quarantined, cut out, and destroyed. Iris saw them as a sickness to be cured. Anyone could change their minds, given reason. The trick was to find the reason. That wasn't her job, and she didn't think she'd be good at it, but she knew that there were anti-radicalization support groups popping up here and there now, and no wonder, with the state of the current administration. Iris knew HYDRA must have gotten their voice very well entrenched into the government.

But Iris was more directly concerned with these little heads, with blocking their progress, slowing them down, and just generally inconveniencing them.

She'd gotten the usual stares and glares, upon entering the little town, but it was hard to tell if it was HYDRAs influence, or just typical American small town prejudice when faced with a dark-skinned stranger. Either way, she wouldn't want to live here.

She settled down in the grass, stretched out on her belly, and the sod began to part beneath her. Loki, who had simply made himself invisible with his alien magics, and crept along beside her, was clearly capable of sneaking with the best of them. He barely displaced a blade of grass. He crouched down beside her.

“We are stopping here?” He whispered. “How shall you place your devices? Will you throw them?”

“No, My aim isn't that good.” Iris said, ignoring his smug “Mine is.”, and beginning to sink into the newly exposed soil.

“Uh...Miss Devereaux...are you aware that the earth appears to be swallowing you?”

“Don't worry about it, it's fine.” She wriggled her feet out of her flimsy sandals and into the dirt. She was positioned to just be able to see the old schoolhouse over the edge of the trough that had been excavated beneath her. That was all she needed.

“Certainly. Nothing out of the ordinary here.”

“You're one to talk. Hand me the bugs.”

There were only three of them: tiny things, no larger than the creatures they were named after. Iris took them, then tore a packet of seeds open with her teeth, pouring the contents into her hands.

“This is going to take me a pretty long time. Couple of days, probably. What I'm going to need the most from you is tending. Every hour, give me something to drink. Every four hours, give me something to eat. Make sure no one sweeps through here with a lawn mower or a fire. I'm not going to be able to move, and will likely be in something of a trance. Sorry I won't be better company.”

“That's a lot of orders coming from one little human.” Loki grumbled.

“My life is in your hands.”

“That's...a bit better.”

She pressed her hand against the earth in front of her, and concentrated.

For some minutes it didn't appear to Loki that anything was happening at all. Then the first of the thin, white roots began squirming out from between her fingers, roping around her hand.

Loki stretched out in the tall grass next to her as the roots slowly formed a ragged, grasping ball of pale worms against her chestnut skin. He remained silent for hours alongside her, dutifully holding a small bottle of water to her lips every hour or so. As she had said earlier, Iris lay very still, and very trance-like, drinking without acknowledging that she even knew he was there.

“Hmmm.” He whispered. “I hate being ignored, you know. I wonder if you can even hear me? Could you explain what it is that you are doing, or are you so far away that you cannot even answer? What would happen if I touched you right now, Goddess-Flower of the Riverbank? Would I break your concentration? Would you even notice?”

He opened one of the little ration packs, half of which were specifically labeled with Iris' name. Within were little brown cubes that smelled deeply unappetizing to Loki, formed from a slurry of many mysterious ingredients.

“A special recipe, just for you? S.H.I.E.L.D. must value you more highly than you have previously stated. Here you go, Bright Blossom.” He held the little cube to Iris' lips, which parted automatically to accept the cube. “And so I have become no more than a nutrient dispensary. How far I have fallen.”

He fed her the cubes, one by one. Every brush of her petal-velvet lips against his fingers tempted him to push them into her mouth, a temptation that brought a chuckle to his own lips. There were only so many games he would be allowed to play, before S.H.I.E.L.D. kicked him out entirely. He wasn't attached to S.H.I.E.L.D., or anyone within the organization, but working for them kept him active, kept him relevant, kept him engaged, and most importantly, kept him out of prison. Community service was infuriating, but he had experienced the soul-crushing torment of solitary confinement, and this was much preferable.

A cold, uncomfortable cell? Or laying in the grass on a warm, sunny day, hand-feeding a pretty girl?

He was very tempted to lay his hand on the small of her back, where her uniform had ridden up just enough to show a strip of glistening skin, but it wouldn't have the proper punch with Iris in this deep trance. Without reaction, there was no fun.

The roots winding their way up her arms were somewhat unsettling. Was this what her file had meant when it noted that she was a 'mutant'? That she could cause plants to sprout? Could other humans do that?

Hours later, when the sun had set, and the roots had wriggled into the soil all around her, and crawled their way up to her shoulders, Iris stirred.

“Mph. Man, I'm sore.” She complained.

“Ah, welcome back. There is a powerful desire I need you to fulfill.”

“Not on company time. There's trees over there, go behind them and, uh, work it out? Also, for next time, I really don't need to know.”

“You flatter yourself, or you underestimate me. What I want, is for you to explain what you are doing. Are you making those plants grow?”

“Oh. Yeah, basically. You read my file; you know I'm a mutant.”

“Yes, but I do not know the significance of the term.” Loki admitted. “Is it this? This magic you wield?”

“It's not magic, it's just...it's genetic. I was born this way. At first it was just little things. Gardens grew better wherever I went, I didn't get hungry as much when there was sunlight, I didn't need to drink as much as long as there was water on the ground. I grew up in a way rural community tucked away in the Everglades. We were real poor, so being outside and having wet and muddy feet was just normal for all the kids.

As I got older, the signs got more obvious. I can do things that plants can do. I can direct their growth, and I sorta...change with the seasons, depending on where I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“Eh, stick around long enough and you'll see. Anyway, people aren't too fond of mutants, and it got...tough. To live at home, I mean. So I went out into the wild, and I did pretty well there, but S.H.I.E.L.D. found me and offered me something else. Not every mutant is like me. There's a lot of different ways to be a mutant, it's unpredictable. Some folks can fly, others can turn their bodies into metal, and some can heal wounds to their body in seconds. I manipulate plants, and am, in some ways, like them.”

“I see. And you are causing these plants to grow for what purpose?”

“Spying purposes. It's gonna take a few days, but these vines will tunnel through the ground, all the way up to the school house. When they break ground, I'll send one of them up that tree there, another one around the frame of that window there, and the third down the chimney. You saw those little devices? They're holding those in packets of leaves, and will position them so that they remain hidden, but they consist of audio, video, and heat signature recorders. Once I've gotten them in place, we'll leave. That's all this mission is; bugs on plants.”

“Then why am I here?” He wondered. “You seem to have this well in hand.”

“Someone's gotta feed me. And make sure I don't get found out. There's rumors you can make magic illusions. That's probably why. You can hide us both from any eyes or cameras.”

“And I have.” Loki said proudly. “And fed and...watered you, Little Blossom. What else do you need from me?”

“To do it all again tomorrow.” Iris said. Then she dropped her head into the nest of roots, and settled down to sleep.

                                                                         *****

Iris was awake and in her trance just as the first light of dawn kissed the horizon. Loki had been awake even before that, every swish of grass or crackle of leaves grabbing his attention.

“Rest.” He commanded her. “I have not the need of it that you do. Never forget: I am no weak mortal. You require a large amount of sleep, but I am all the greater.”

Iris had snorted at the bravado, but accepted the cubes he fed her, and fell into her trance, the roots curling further and further around her body.

Loki idly wondered how far the roots would go. Would they cocoon Iris entirely, prompting her to 'hatch' into a new form? Would they drag her down into the earth, entombing her away from Loki forever? Or would they just die back?

He watched people come and go to the old schoolhouse, working on its restoration. They looked for all the world like normal workers; he didn't even believe any of them to be armed. Not all HYDRA agents were combatants, after all. Just as many of them were spies, thieves, politicians, PR specialists and spin doctors.

Ever since what the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents called 'The Big Reveal', both organizations had been frantically rebuilding. S.H.I.E.L.D. more slowly, taking only the best, only the most trustworthy. Loki supposed he should be proud, even though he knew he was only there as a glorified prisoner.

HYDRA's recruits seemed to be skyrocketing, as they took to the internet in search of easily radicalized young men-mostly men, and boys-to bolster their numbers. They found plenty of them, and quickly, but they were sloppy and unpredictable. All too often, one let their ego overcome their loyalty to the cause, an event that almost always led to public confrontation and violence. But the news media-already infiltrated, most likely-was always quick to exonerate or sympathize with a young white man.

HYDRA disgusted Loki, even back when he had 'convinced' a small cell to work with him. No one group knew what the others were doing. There was a severe lack of communication between cells. Yes, Loki supposed it kept them safe from discovery, but he found it inefficient. A waste of potential by people more invested in the pageantry of a secret society, than by the end goal they hoped to achieve.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was little better, in his opinion, but at least its people were more serious about their work. Communication was more open, their goals more achievable. It felt like they made a difference, whether they really did or not. And they didn't waste potential. HYDRA would simply kill someone like Iris, S.H.I.E.L.D. found her valuable enough to spend resources on her. Under Loki's regime, had he succeeded, Iris, and all people like her, would have been of personal interest to him. All of these so-called 'mutants' would have been given places of high honor. Loki did not waste potential.

But that wasn't worth spending more time dwelling on. It was never meant to happen in the first place. When and where he would rule was yet to be discovered, but it would not happen until he was finished with his penance.

He provided Iris with her water, barely able to see her under all the roots. It was no wonder that she could not go into the field without a partner; she could not be ready for combat, couldn't even eat on her own! If they had to run, was he just supposed to tear her from the root wrapping and toss her over his shoulder? Would disconnecting her like that cause her harm?

He would have to ask next time she woke.

A young man approached, wielding an unfamiliar device. Loki was immediately on high alert. Was that some kind of weapon? He wandered all the way up to the verge of the grasses, gazing placidly out over the meadow. This was a HYDRA agent? He was barely out of adolescence! But from what Loki remembered of his brothers youthful declarations of hatred towards the Jotunn, radicalization did indeed start young.

“Naw, I think it must have been a glitch.” He said into his lapel. “There's nothing out here, not even trails in the grass.” He paused, listening. “Naw. Maybe it was a coyote? There's plenty of wild animals that wander around out here. My bro swears he saw a puma last year. Anyway, I'm gonna trim the grass, since I'm here anyway. If you're really worried, come out and check your cameras. I ain't gonna do it for you.”

With that, the young man yanked a long string, attached to a pod on the device, causing the thing to roar to life. Its loud snarl effectively covered Loki's startled gasp, his invisible eyes wide at the noise and the fact that everything within a six inch radius of the device's head was shredded and flung in all directions.

He had to maintain the illusion. But Iris was right in the horrible things' path. It would rip right into her face.

Unacceptable.

Loki rolled over on top of her, covering her body, roots and all, with his own. He ducked his head just as the device passed by. The force was like a high speed whip, tearing at his hair. It would have lacerated his scalp, possibly to the bone, had he been human. It would have certainly injured Iris, whom he kept safely tucked under his body, protected by his armor and tough, godly flesh.

The young man made a few more passes, working his way down the edge of the meadow, leaving Loki with a stinging scalp from his impromptu haircut, eventually leaving after finishing a rough, sub-par job.

Loki kept still, concentrating on maintaining the illusion, now including fresh cut grass. He feared it had wavered under the assault he had suffered, but the young man hadn't seemed to notice. Hours passed with no movement from Loki, just watching as various people came and went, doing their jobs. Eventually they all trickled away.

The sun had grown low in the sky before Loki felt Iris stir.

“Um. Loki? What are you doing? Did something happen?” Iris asked, her voice muffled by his body.

“Pardon me.” He rolled back into the grass as Iris shook her face free of the grasping roots. “Some boy came through here with a horrible device that tore up the grasses. It was necessary to cover you.”

Iris sniffed the air. “Someone cut the grass. Geez, did he hit you? Your hair!”

“Is it bad?” He asked, then covered his vanity. “It doesn't matter. I made good on my word. Here, eat.” He held food to her mouth. It would be almost too bad when this was over. Feeding her was so easy, so satisfying, and his hair would grow back anyway. If only all missions could be this easy.

Iris ate, watching the sunset, Loki laying on his side in the grass next to her, just watching her. Roots and shredded grass decorated her body, cube after cube passing her lips.

“Miss Devereaux, how will you remove yourself from those roots? If I must tear them, will it hurt you?”

Iris shook her head. “No, the roots aren't attached to me. If we pull this off without a hitch, I'll direct them into the soil. But if we have to get out in a hurry, you can tear them; it won't hurt me.”

“That's good to know.” Loki rolled onto his back, hands behind his head. “There is much still to learn about this realm. What is this that you are eating?”

“You sure you wanna know?” She asked.

“I am suddenly less curious, now that you have said that.” He admitted. “They do smell incredibly unappealing.”

“It's fertilizer, essentially. Fish emulsion and seaweed, blood and bone meal, fermented vegetables, all mashed together. Sounds super gross, I know,” She said at his disgusted expression. “But it's really good for me. My body absorbs it so efficiently that there isn't even any waste. Like roots inside me that absorb everything.”

“Are there? Roots inside you, I mean.”

“Sometimes.” Iris said quietly. “Maybe.”

“It bothers you? I see. It removes you from humanity. Sets you apart. And yet, you think that makes you inferior, rather than the other way around?”

“I'm not better than anybody else.” Iris said.

“You think not? Is there anyone else in this world who can do what you can do? How many people have your S.H.I.E.L.D. actively recruited? They came to find you specifically, why would they do that?  Because you were completely average? You are a valued agent of a semi-clandestine organization bent on world improvement. You have been partnered to a god. You are above-average, Iris. Why is that difficult to accept?”

“Are you 'above average' in Asgard, Loki? Have you always been celebrated for it?”

“Mostly.”

“I haven't. I've been despised. I've been misunderstood. I've been coddled and hidden away by my parents in an attempt to protect me. I've been discriminated against by strangers, and teachers, and employers, and neighbors whose kids I grew up with. By those same kids.

I walked out into the wild one day, and didn't come back. I never planned on coming back, never planned on seeing another person ever again. But S.H.I.E.L.D. weren't the first to find me. There were two others. There was a man, a strange old man who could fly. He floated down from the sky, and told me that as a mutant, I was naturally superior to all other humans. He wanted me to come with him, said he was building some grand future for mutantkind, as if we were a different species.”

“Who was this man?” Loki asked, intrigued.

“No idea. I told him to leave. It wasn't long after I had left home, and I really didn't want to go back to any kind of civilization. I was kinda fantasizing about becoming some kind of cryptid, you know? The Everglades Swamp Witch, or something like that.

Then the botanists came. A whole group of them, trying to catalog Ghost Orchids. They're endangered, and people keep stealing them, and wrecking up their habitat. But I knew where they were. All two thousand of them. And I convinced them that I was in contact with all the remaining plants, so if any went missing after their expedition, I'd know, and come hunting for them.”

She grinned. “Like I said, Swamp Witch vibes. They even believed me!”

“So you cannot actually do that?” Loki asked. The stars had come out, forming unfamiliar shapes in the night sky. His eyes could pick out fainter lights than a humans could, and he admired the active beauty of this part of the universe while eating from one of the non-specialty ration packs.

“Well, I can, but not automatically. And not that far away. I have to be closer to a plant to really sense it, and I have to be trying really hard. Like, if I wanted to figure out where the nearest maple tree was, I would have to concentrate on that, and block out all the grass. But a maple has a different...I guess you could call it a signature? A different signature than grass does. A Ghost Orchid grows on trees, and is basically just a ball of roots when it's not blooming. Kinda like this-” Iris nodded at the roots tangled around her. “But way smaller. It looks like nothing, almost. They're very hard to spot. But they have that different signature than the tree they grow on, and I can follow that to where they are.”

“So you found all their plants, as if by magic.”

“Yeah, and they paid me pretty well for it, and I sent the money home to my parents, and then the botanists went home and blabbed. Next thing I know. S.H.I.E.L.D. is on my tail.”

“Because you were friendly to botanists?”

“Well...I might have also...sabotaged a development project.” Iris said sheepishly. “But it was right on the edge of the National Park, and I didn't let anybody get hurt! And I'm pretty sure it was dubiously legal anyway.”

The edges of Loki's mouth curled, even as his eyebrows lifted.

“What's this? You're 'shy and sensitive' I was told. Was I sold a bill of goods? Are you, in fact, a naughty little mutant?”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Ugh, don't joke. Naughty little mutants end up dead.”

The amusement drained from his face.

“You would be celebrated in Asgard.” He said.

“We aren't in Asgard.” She answered. “The only thing that matters is where we are now. Those guys in there? They'd kill us both just for being born. They'd make it so that no one like us could ever be born again. When S.H.I.E.L.D showed up, in their black uniforms and started introducing themselves as 'agents', I thought that's what they had come for. The government was there to kill me.

At that point, I'd been off the grid for over a year, and I didn't know anything about the S.H.I.E.L.D./HYDRA internet explosion. But when they started talking about rebuilding as a humanitarian organization, dedicated to the protection of people-marginalized people-from, like, terrorist groups and hostile aliens, I realized they weren't there to kill me or arrest me, they were just there for me.

So I didn't make them disappear, and went with them instead. I still send money home to my parents. They don't know where I am, or what I do. They don't know the true extent of my capabilities. I'm not sure I do either. The thing about being a mutant is that a lot of these powers don't get replicated exactly, so we each have to figure ourselves out. There's no training regimen or curriculum for this.”

“So all of this is self taught?” Loki asked, impressed. “I'm not even entirely self taught.”

“You were taught? This all didn't just come from being a god or whatever?”

“No, of course not. The power is there naturally, but it needs directing. Like you, I suppose. You're born with it, but need teaching to use it. I had the best teachers the universe could offer, and was exalted and encouraged. You had only yourself, and adversity. I've seen but little of you, but this seems a great feat so far.”

“A compliment?”

“An acknowledgment. It's good to know S.H.I.E.L.D. has become more discerning in its recruitment. I hear it was more than a little disastrous for them last time.”

“Like I said, I didn't find out about that until after. Though, I guess it's not all that surprising that it happened. There's a lot that can go wrong inside an organization that big, and with that much reach. There's just too much going on; there can never be enough oversight.”

“I know.” Loki said. “I used that against them when I attempted to bring down the planet. Somehow, they still didn't notice the traitors among them.”

“You worked with HYDRA?” Iris asked defensively.

“No.” Loki said. “I used them. I didn't...make many distinctions then, in my interactions with mortals.”

“Kinda seems like you still don't.” Iris pointed out. Loki took a breath and hesitated.

“Moreso than I did then.” He said slowly. “Then, you were just tools. A means to an end. Disposable. Interchangeable. There are so many of you, so it wasn't like any of your could actually be important.”

“Right up until barely six of us beat the tar out of you and blew up your entire army?”

Loki scowled. “That is a misstatement. The plan was always to lose.”

“Bull. Shit.”

“No, I'm serious. Earth was the weakest link in the Nine Realms, and it needed to be awakened. And you were. Spectacularly. Look what it's lead to. S.H.I.E.L.D. was purged, HYDRA exposed, and your world made ready for the arrival of Asgard. You've been opened to higher interactions, as a progressing member of the Realms.”

“Uh huh. That was totally the end goal, right? Inter-species altruism? That was what filled your heart while you blew people up?”

“Norns, no!” Loki snorted. “I hated every last one of you. I took a special delight in destroying that which was weaker than myself, never think I didn't. It's just...It wasn't entirely up to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean...I mean that losing was an act of defiance that sparked off the strengthening defense of Midgard, which I continue to participate in. Doing small jobs for S.H.I.E.L.D., rubbing out the likes of HYDRA and A.I.M., all of this contributes to this strengthening.”

Iris regarded him suspiciously through her framework of roots.

“You sound like you're running some sinister, behind-the-scenes shadow plan.” She accused. “You wanna explain?”

Loki smiled, a wan, false thing.

“Do you want some water?” He offered instead.

Iris rolled her eyes. “You're not gonna distract me.”

“And I am not going to elaborate further. Your curiosity will have to remain unsatisfied, or supplemented by your own imagination.”

“Hmph. Why'd you even bring it up then?”

“I? I think you'll find our conversation naturally meandered in this direction. That does not mean it must come to the conclusion you desire.”

“So this is what Abby meant when she said you were a pain in the ass to talk to.” Iris grumbled.

“I was not put here to satisfy Abby.” Loki said airily. “Who is Abby?”

“She asked you on a date.” Iris said. “You don't even remember her? Harsh.”

Loki shrugged. “She sounds frightfully dull. I may have to play nice for now, but I needn't entertain every persons sordid fantasies. Do you leap through every hoop set before you? Or do you also tell unimportant people that you aren't interested in entertaining them?”

“All right, that's fair.” Iris craned her head back to look up at the stars. “Which one is Asgard? Can you see it from here?”

“You can't.” Loki said. “The star is too far away, too small. And it doesn't matter now anyway. Home is gone, and we must rebuild from scratch. But that one, right there-do you see? Another realm orbits that one, the Frozen Realm of Jotunheim. They were our enemies once, and yours, but no more. Partly because they are under 'house arrest' as it were, trapped on their own planet. My father drove them off your planet over a thousand years ago. Your world actually warmed up without their influence, at least for a little while.”

“There were aliens here a thousand years ago?” Iris asked, incredulous.

“There have been 'aliens' here for ages.” Loki said. “Visitations and experiments, and failed colonies, and raids. Your ancestors were still getting the hang of fire, and there were 'aliens' visiting your lush and beautiful world. Making plans. Then your lot discovered agriculture and metal, and ruined a lot of those plans.”

“Seems like we're good at that.”

“Yes, yes, I was defeated by mortals. I am aware. I was the first to know.” Loki grumbled.

“Wait, does that mean the aliens really did build the pyramids?” Iris wondered.

Loki snickered. “The hubris of humanity is not universally shared. You are known for several things, and your inexplicable drive for monument building is one of them. Visitors did not build your great buildings; you did. They did come to see them though, like tourists. Some of them even took artifacts back home with them. Hopefully they weren't too historically important.”

“That's so rude.” Iris said.

“And you would never have known to take offense if I hadn't told you.”

God of Mischief indeed.

“What other realms are there? Just the nine?”

“Eight now, I suppose. But no. There are many peoples out there. The Nine Realms were just those places that were somehow related to Asgard. Allies, protectorates and...penal colonies, you might call them. But all interconnected, and all at least a little dependent on the others, at least some of the time. That has come to an end. There is a very powerful spot now empty. I fear there will be a great deal of turmoil before things even themselves back out. It would be interesting to see how that all plays out, but alas, I am trapped here for now.”

“Where would you go?” Iris asked.

“Alfheim first, I think.” Loki said. “They like me there. They are much less dour than the Dverguar, less serious than the Vanir, not so boastful and bombastic as Asgardins, not vicious as Jotunn, and nowhere near as hectic and anxious as Midgardians...humans, I mean. They like jokes and pranks, and value magic...perhaps I should have been Alfar? If only I could have chosen.”

“Yeah, I think we all feel that way sometimes. But I guess even gods don't get that choice. Hey, how do gods work, anyway? I mean, I stopped believing in any all-powerful force a long time ago. About when the only answer anyone could really give me as to why God would make someone like me was that I was put here to test faith. My own, or other people's maybe. It made me sick. What kind of 'father' puts a burden like that on a little kid?”

Loki scoffed. “The first mistake that humans make is in thinking that anything can be all-powerful, all-knowing, or infallible. It is a ridiculous fantasy notion, immature and irresponsible. That kind of thinking can only lead to two things: complete disillusionment, or harm to the self or others. I am a god, because I have a singular connection to a certain aspect of the universe, as does my brother, but neither of us are any of those things. How boring, to be all-knowing! How banal, to be all-powerful. And I have known people who seemed to think they were infallible, and the amount of misery and suffering they caused is unspeakable.

No, gods were never supposed to be all that. Greater than others, yes, but omnipotent...no, that's only for people who are overcompensating I think.”

“What's that about a special connection to the universe?” Iris asked.

“The universe is ridiculously unstable. Did you know that? I believe it was a human that posited that reality destroys and remakes itself fairly often in the scheme of things, but by the nature of it, it's impossible to ever know if that's true. Because if reality is destroyed, so are you, and so, you would never know. And if reality rebuilds itself, then that is the only reality that exists, so you would never know.”

“Oh hell, I don't like that.”

“Well just don't think about it. In any case, this instability seems to be occasionally expressed through individuals of particularly resilient and long-lived species, by connecting them to certain random forces. For my brother, it is the natural occurrence of thunder and lightning, those two things being directly connected. For me, it is an expression of sophisticated behaviors. Those forces are ours to deploy and manipulate to our will, and we affect them in the world around us, even as they effect us.”

“So you're just born with it too, huh?”

“So it seems.”

Iris settled back down into her swaddling roots to sleep, leaving Loki to stare up at the stars. The grass-cutting human had mentioned cameras. Loki had shielded them from that kind of surveillance on the way in, just in case. They must be hidden somewhere out in the trees. Could Iris detect such things? Would it be worthwhile to disable any, if suspicion was already on them? Or would that merely draw even more suspicion?

Perhaps while Iris remained incapacitated, actions that might bring more enemies out should be avoided. She did not have his durable skin, after all, nor his speed or strength. But with her unusual and largely unexplained powers, he hesitated in thinking of her as weak. More like...a specialist.

He felt her stir, just as the sun was lifted into the sky, and he fed her her morning cubes. She settled into her work trance almost immediately. Perhaps she was put off by the previous nights conversation, and didn't want more of the same. Perhaps she simply wanted to finish this mission quickly. Surely she too found it boring to lay in the same spot for days.

He watched the people come and go about their work restoring the schoolhouse. How many of them were just regular workers, and how many were enemy agents? Impossible to tell by looking, especially if even the youth were involved.

The sun had not risen particularly high when he noticed a difference. The roots that wrapped Iris' body were thinning; as he watched, more and more broke away from the tangle to bury themselves in the dirt at her sides. It was like watching worms escaping danger.

Finally, Iris pulled her hands from the soil, and pushed free of the roots.

“Alright.” She said. “Bugs are in. Now it's time for us to bug out.”

In retrospect, Loki could admit that he had been too eager to leave. He simply didn't do well with long periods of inactivity. So when he walked into the trees surrounding the meadow, and found himself face to face with a shotgun-wielding hunter, he wasn't too embarrassed. No, what really made him kick himself was when the one behind them held Iris at gunpoint. How could he have let one of these yokels get behind him?

“Who the hell are you freaks?” The one in front demanded. Loki recognized him as the youth with the loud grass cutting device who had ruined his hair.

“Gaw, this one stinks!” The other one exclaimed. “Well what do ya expect? She looks like mud, of course she smells like it.”

“We were just out looking for a...private place, if you catch my drift.” Loki said smoothly, getting ready. “Nothing to get worried about. It's just such a nice day, and we couldn't help ourselves.”

“Gross.” The one behind Iris said.

“We don't want you degenerate types around here.” The one in front of Loki said. “Now hands up, freak. You're way too close.”

“To what, pray tell?” Loki said. Almost ready.

“Don't talk about it, dumbass!” The other one hissed.

“Look, let's just kill them, to be sure.” The one in front of Loki said. “World ain't gonna miss a few freaks. And then nobody knows, and we don't get in trouble.”

Loki lifted his hand in a gesture he knew humans considered to be rude. Both men fired their guns.

Neither of them saw the illusions of Loki and Iris fade away, sprawled as they were one the forest floor, bleeding from the bullet wounds they'd inflicted upon one another.

Several yards away, Loki took his hands from over Iris' ears, and approached the HYDRA recruits. One of them was still alive. Loki carefully wrapped his hand in a cloth he manifested from seemingly nowhere, and casually suffocated him.

He then led the horrified Iris back to their rented car, and got back onto the highway as quickly as he could.

The silence stretched on for several hours, Loki watching the road, Iris gazing out the window at the scenery.

“Why didn't we sneak off as soon as you put up those illusions?” She finally asked. “We were invisible. We could have just left.”

“They had seen us.” Loki said. “They could not be allowed to go and inform their superiors. If there was suspicion that we had been snooping around the school, the entire point of the mission would be moot. Besides, they were extremely rude.”

“Don't joke.” Iris said sharply. “You killed that man in cold blood.”

“I killed him on cold practicality.” Loki corrected. “He could not be allowed to live, and let others know that he and the other one hadn't actually accidentally shot one another. Once anyone had seen us, that had to be the end for them. It is understandable that you might not like that, which is why I would not ask you to participate. But if I am sent on a mission as a protector, then that is what I will do. These were men who wanted to kill you just for being born, remember?”

“They were radicalized. They could have been deradicalized.”

“And how do you propose we were to do that?”

Iris huffed. “Damnit.”

“Sometimes we aren't afforded the choices we would prefer. But don't fret. I will take full responsibility in the report. I know the Director isn't keen on too many work-related killings.” It was part of why Loki took such delight in reporting work-related killings. Just to remind them of who he was, and what he was capable of.

Once they had reached their destination and returned the rental car, Iris called their contact agent for extraction. She wasn't exactly distant, but with other things to focus on, and other people demanding their times, the closeness of the last two days was fading fast.

Oh well, Loki thought. It had been nice while it lasted. But nothing was forever, and all affection was fleeting; he knew that well enough.

But it was a little odd to see her so preoccupied with her phone.

“Have you a Tweety account, or some such?” He asked, trying to strike up a conversation once again.

“Since that doesn't exist: no.” She answered, distracted. “No, there's just...I'm seeing someone, and he wants to meet up as soon as I get back.”

Loki frowned. For some reason, he didn't like that sound of that. “You need rest, don't you?” He suggested.

“Yeah, and it's a little last minute, I admit. But he's an agent too, and our schedules don't match up very often, so we've got to meet when we can, or not at all.”

“That sounds like a difficult arrangement.”

Iris shrugged. “I'll take what I can get. At least he doesn't seem to mind the whole mutant thing. That's kinda important when you're in my shoes.”

“You do not sound entirely enamored of this man.” Loki probed.

“Well...I'd like to get to know him better, but he's very private. Mostly, I just don't want to be alone. It's hard for people like me, you know? I can't just throw a relationship away because it's not some perfect storybook romance. Gotta be more realistic than that. But I sure hope I get a few days rest before I get sent out again.”

It sounded...practical. She had to take her opportunities where she found them. It wasn't as if Loki had never been there. It was perhaps a little sad, since it sounded like she really did want that storybook romance.

Perhaps it was none of his business. It was absolutely none of his business. He followed her anyway, curious about what kind of man made this little flower bloom.

The man in question was not impressive, in Loki's opinion. Not much more than average. Maybe that didn't matter to Iris.

“Bet you're glad to be done with all that, huh?” He asked. “Dealing with that creep couldn't be easy.”

“It wasn't really all that bad, honestly. He-”

“I don't really want to hear about him. C'mon, we have the whole evening! Let's not waste it!”

Loki decided then and there that he did not like this man. Not in small part because he wanted to know what Iris had to say about him.

She took him to what must have been her apartment, and there Loki left. There were a few things he didn't want to know after all.

[moldisgoodforyou]

the freshman year blackout

warnings: underage drinking, cursing

wordcount: 1.7k

set in freshman year of college with charlie, grace (her best friend) and jj!

_

She had been tipsy before, but that was about it. Drunk once, but recovered pretty quickly and it was just with Grace, so she didn’t have to worry about hiding it.

This was different.

Charlie and Grace were at one of their first parties in freshman year, and had planned the night out extensively in advance. Grace was a little more skilled in her drinking habits than Charlie was, but the two felt so adult going to a real college party. Once they got older, they would realize it was just the haze of Juul smoke and cheap boxed wine that clouded their judgment. But at 18? It felt cool, and it was fun getting the attention of boys they had never met before just by shooting them a quick flirty smile from across the sticky dance floor.

The plan was smart, in theory: go to Sigma Chi for a pregame to meet up with the boy from Grace’s math class, head to Beta for a couple drinks, then fish their fake IDs out of their bras and try their best to lie their way into the college bar down the street. Then they’d be home by 1am, in bed by 1:30, and be ready for their required sorority new member meetings at Kappa by 9am.

Instead, the pregame had turned into a full-blown party, and they hung around longer than planned, then were both well on their way to drunk by the time they stumbled through the front doors of Beta. Giggling, the pair followed the noise downstairs, greeting a few sorority sisters along the way.

“We gotta stick together, okay?” Charlie reminded Grace, holding her hand as they made their way through the crowd of sweaty humans.

“Just don’t drink too much and we’ll be fine!” Grace called back, already locking eyes with a boy across the room and grinning as she dragged Charlie in his direction.

Three shots, two cups of jungle juice and one round of slapping the bag later, Charlie was both completely drunk and completely incoherent. Luckily, Grace was just sober enough to know her friend needed to get home. “Come on, Charlie, we gotta go home.” Grace tugged Charlie’s arm, practically dragging her out of the crowd to the outside deck at Beta. “I got it, I can walk!” Charlie protested, pulling her arm out of Grace’s grip.

She took about two steps before smacking straight into someone’s chest, stumbling backward. JJ leaned forward quickly, grabbing her arm to keep her upright. “Whoa there, you good?”

Charlie leaned into his touch, swaying - then glanced up and recognized him. “JJ Maybank? What are you doing here?”

He laughed as he set both hands on her shoulders, keeping her steady. “I go to school here? And this is my fraternity. What are you doing here?”

Grace stepped forward, nudging JJ’s hands off of Charlie and wrapping an arm around her waist. “We go here too. Hi, JJ.” She took notice of his empty hands and no slurring, and grinned. “Wait, are you a DD tonight? Or whatever they’re called here?”

He nodded, sticking his hands in his back pockets and rocking back on the heels of his feet. “Sober brother, yeah. Lucky me.”

“Great! I mean, not great, that sucks but -”

“Do you need help?” He offered.

“Yes!” Can you help us get back to the dorm? Um, Charlie here isn’t really used to drinking.” Grace smiled, stumbling for a second as Charlie leaned on her more.

“Hey! I’m total - totally used to this.” Charlie argued, knocking Grace’s hand away and trying to stand up straight again.

JJ grinned. “Yeah? You normally make out with three different guys at one party?” He teased, leading the two out to the parking lot.

Charlie shook her head, insistent. “No, that was one guy. In the black polo. Um...Mark?”

He snorted. “Guy in a black polo isn’t a good description at a South Carolina frat party, Charlotte Walker. I’m pretty sure it was three.”

“People call me Charlie. I think. I dunno what I’m gonna go by in college yet.” She countered, crawling into the backseat and laying down as Grace took the front seat.

“Well what do you prefer?” He started the car, then paused, glancing back at her. “You’re gonna need a seatbelt. This isn’t my car, I’m still not great at driving stick.”

“I dunno.” Charlie groaned but obliged, dragging herself upright - then just sat there. “Go ahead.” Grace laughed as JJ reached into the backseat dutifully, careful of his hands as he buckled her into the seat.

“Alright, where do you live?” He asked as he drove out of the parking lot. “Columbia Hall. We’re roommates.” Grace replied, rolling down the windows for Charlie.

“Yeah, anyone that knew you in high school could have guessed that.” JJ deadpanned, only offering a smirk when he realized Grace was too drunk to pick up on his sarcasm.

“You have pretty hair.” Charlie announced from the backseat. “I like it.” JJ smiled at her in the rearview mirror, amused. “Thanks. You have pretty hair too.”

Grace turned around, shooting her a pointed glance, then tried her best to make conversation. “So...college! What do you think so far?”

“I like it. It’s hard, sometimes, but I like meeting new people.” JJ replied. He grinned. “Didn’t think I’d be driving home the only two people I knew from high school tonight though.”

Grace gave him an apologetic smile. “Yeah, well, you’re like the only person I know, and I’m not exactly strong enough to get Charlie back on my own...”

He waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. It’s nice to know people too.” He pulled into a (definitely illegal) parking space outside of the front of the dorm. The car had only jolted forward a couple times on the drive, thanks to the stick shift. He turned it off, then got out to help Charlie out of the backseat.

“I got it, I got it!” Charlie exclaimed, knocking his hands away. JJ raised his eyebrows and watched as she tried - and failed - to locate the seatbelt lock on her own. Two minutes later, he reached in and undid it for her. “C’mon, Charlotte. Let’s go to bed.”

“I like it when you call me Charlie.” She decided, crawling out and immediately leaning on him again.

“Charlie it is.” He paused before settling his arm around her. “Can I help you upstairs?”

“Please.” Grace interjected, pulling out her student ID and swiping them into the dorm. JJ kept his arm tight around Charlie’s shoulders to keep her steady. “Straighten up, Charlie, we gotta get past your RA.” He told her with a grin.

“Hi Samantha! I’m sober tonight.” Charlie told the RA with a dopey grin as they passed the check-in desk. Luckily, the RA didn’t care, noting Grace’s presence. “Checking in a guest?” She asked.

Grace shook her head. “No, just, um, showing him our dorm! He’ll leave soon. Just wanted to see my...uh...”

“Posters.” JJ supplied, unhelpfully. “She was telling me about her cool posters.” He slid his arm to Charlie’s waist as she began swaying, trying to keep her up.

The RA gave them a skeptical glance and waved them through. “Okay. Good night.”

The second they made it through to the elevator, Charlie let out a cheer. “We did it!”

“Yeah, no thanks to you.” JJ teased, returning his arm to her shoulders. She frowned a little at the loss of contact. “I’m sober right now. Completely.” Grace smirked. “Yeah, completely.”

“Have you ever drank before, Charlie?” JJ laughed. “Oh, all the time.” She shot back, then reached up and traced her fingers over his cheekbones. “How the hell are your cheekbones so defined, that’s so not fair.”

“Hands off the boy, Charlie.” Grace admonished, though it was with a smile. “But he’s so pretty.” Charlie whined. “Look at him.”

The tips of JJ’s ears turned red and he was grateful for the ding of the elevator interrupting their conversation. “Uh, what room are you guys?”

“211!” Grace told him, leading him down the hallway. “I don’t feel good.” Charlie complained, following Grace into their dorm with JJ’s assistance. JJ frowned. “Oh shit, are you gonna -”

He was cut off by Charlie tripping into the bathroom, dropping to her knees, and promptly emptying her stomach into the toilet. “Yep.” He nodded, following her in and standing awkwardly in the doorway. He glanced behind him to find Grace in the corner of the room, hands over her ears.

“Are you going to...?” He asked, afraid of the answer. “No, no, I just. I can’t deal with the sound. You can leave, you’ve done more than enough tonight.” She gave him an out, shooting him a grateful smile. He glanced back and forth between the door and Charlie, leaning against the wall. “Um..”

He crouched down and pulled Charlie’s hair back in one hand as she went to throw up a little again. He didn’t know what it was about this girl that he hardly knew from high school, but something weighing on his conscience told him to stay. “You’re so nice.” Charlie told him, shutting the lid of the toilet seat and flushing it. He shrugged. “Hardly. Are you okay?” He asked, concerned.

“JJ...I maybe lied.”  

He held back a smirk. “Yeah? About?”

“I haven’t really gotten drunk before.” Charlie admitted, putting her hands over her face. He let out a small laugh, then put on a serious face. “Yeah? I can hardly tell.”

“Really? That means a lot.”

He smiled. “Of course. Well...I’m gonna head out, if you’re okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. I’m totally good. Thank you for the driving. And the helping.” She patted his cheek with a smile.

“Alright.” He stood, giving her a small nod before he left. “Take care of yourself, Charlie.”  

_

The next morning, terribly hungover at the Kappa mandatory meeting, she was embarrassed as hell hearing about her events that night - from Grace’s retelling and other sisters that had seen her out. 

“Who was that blond guy you guys left with, he was super cute!” One of her sisters asked, nudging her. Charlie looked to Grace for help. “Blond guy?” 

“JJ Maybank?” Grace reminded her with raised eyebrows. 

“Oh.” Charlie shrugged. “Just this guy from high school. There’s nothing there.”

[ajoy3fanfics]

Prompt 17: teasing

Smut Prompt 17: Stop teasing me so much

Written for @lavendertwilight89. Hopefully, you like it- this was written while quite drunk ;) 

A mutal masturbation story for those in quarantine. Enjoy!

If there was one thing Inuyasha was sure of, it was that he was never going to survive this quarantine.

It wasn’t the social distancing, the restrictions about on crowd sizes, or even the competitive nature toilet paper had brought out in people.

It was that staying with Kagome was going to be the death of him.

Miroku and Sango had gone overseas on a trip, planned long in advance and scheduled for the beautiful weather, only to return home and find their city in lockdown. A minimum 14 day quarantine was required for anyone re-entering the country, and with Sango living with Kagome, and Miroku with him, they risked exposing their roommates to a virus the could potentially have.

So Kagome, the problem solver that she was, had come up with the brilliant solution that he could crash at her place, and Sango could stay at his. The pair could hunker down and ride out their 2 week isolation, without the chances of getting anyone sick, and Kagome and Inuyasha could just learn to live with each other.

Perfect plan, right? Less risk of infection and they could keep each other company.

In theory, it all sounded good- it made sense and yeah, he had agreed to it; but what she had actually arranged was for the slow torture of the hanyou.

Inuyasha had been in love with Kagome for well over a year. Once Miroku started dating Sango, Kagome inexplicably came with the package. He would come home to find the pair of girls sitting on his couch, waiting for Miroku to get ready for whatever plans they had that night. It was annoying, at first, to find strangers in his living room, but the more he got to know them, the more he enjoyed their company.

Especially Kagome’s.

She was bright and happy, always smiling whenever she looked at him. And to be honest, he didn’t mind. He was never much of a people person, but he found himself easily caught up in her. They had become friends in their own right, meeting up without their roommates. It was easy to be around her, even easy to fall in love.

There were times he suspected that she felt the same; he thought she was flirting from time to time, but he couldn’t be sure. She was friendly with everyone, so what if it was just his wishful thinking? If he had made a move on her, and she rejected him, could their friendship recover?

Those were all things that used to occupy his thoughts before.

Now all he could concentrate on was how not to cum in his pants every time she walked by. Did she always own shorts that short? Did she know that he could see the curve of her ass every time she bent over- and Gods did anyone need to bend over this much?

Never mind her shorts, he was certain that she had stopped wearing a bra the last two days. And sure, it was her own house and she should feel comfortable, but Kagome kept it rather chilly and her nipples always seemed hard, pressing against her shirt, driving him to distraction and making him feel like a creep.

And because they were friends, and because of Kagome’s nature, she was friendly. She was touchy- light gestures, but frequent enough that it felt flirty. When they sat on the couch- now his new bed- she was close- so close that when she leaned over to get the bowl of popcorn she was practically on top of him, her full breasts grazing his side. When she wasn’t practically sitting on top of him, she had her long, slender legs draped over his thighs, completely relaxed, as if this was a normal thing people did with him.

None of it was normal; people didn’t playfully shove him when he was being an ass, or fall asleep on his shoulder during a T.V. show; once it happened the first time, it was like a door had been opened, and she frequently leaned into him- almost a cuddle- and each night he tried to work up the courage to wrap his arm around her.

The problem was, he didn’t want to come off as a creep; he wasn’t sure if she was sending him signals or he had experienced so much blood loss from it all rushing to his dick that that’s what it seemed like. He wondered if he should try out some of the COVID-19 pick-up lines Miroku sent him daily; Since all the public libraries are closed, how about I check you out instead?

Kagome didn’t seem the type.

She was in the shower, one room away and just the thought of the hot water running down her body had him hard. He had been walking around this week in a state of permanent arousal and his balls were so blue he wasn’t sure if he’d recover. He needed to do something, needed a distraction. Everything smelted like Kagome, and being stuck inside with her for so long, he couldn’t help but imagine fucking her on every surface of her apartment. He had never really wanted to screw someone on an end table, but the image of her bending over, holding onto the corners for support as he slammed into her cunt from behind.

A distraction. That’s what he needed.

Dishes weren’t sexy. He could do a mindless chore and focus on something other than the way Kagome’s tits bounced when she did yoga in the morning, bending and moving her body in ways that he didn’t know a human could.

Dishes. He needed to turn on the cold water and get his hands wet. This was going to be the longest 2 weeks of his life.

~.~

The door opened, the slight creak making him turn his head instinctively; She emerged, a cloud of steam surrounding her, a green towel wrapped around her and thick, creamy thighs exposed and dripping wet. Her black hair usually had a wave to it, but now that it was damp it was curling, framing her face in a seductive way.

“Damn!” He quickly turned his head and muttered an apology apologized. He had expected her to scream, or to throw something at him for catching her in such a state, but instead, she stood still, as if considering her options. Casually, as if was the most normal thing in the world, she walked over to the sink where Inuyasha stood, hands deep in the suds.

She smiled and it totally caught him off guard. “You didn’t have to do that.” She said.

Inuyasha did his best to focus on the pan; it really should have been soaked and required his attention. Not Kagome, or the way her breasts looked amazing, pressed together in the towel that was barely tied together. “I-I don’t mind.” He sputtered.

Kagome liked that; from the outside, he was a stoic half demon, his claws intimidating and muscles threatening enough to keep people away.  Yet here he was, nervous like a teenager, blushing, because of her. Kagome knew that he was more of a puppy than a demon, and deep down she loved it.

She loved him.

It had been a hard week for her; at first, she was thrilled and nervous and a million other emotions when he agreed to spend this time in her. Sango had been encouraging her for months to ask him out, but she never seemed to find the nerve. When he had come to her apartment, bag of clothes in hand, she took it as a sign that maybe, just maybe, he was into her just as much as she was into him.

She had thrown him hint after hint, had practically sat in his lap the other night, and he still kept his hands to himself. He looked so damn good all the time and she was beginning to lose her mind. Even now, washing the damn dishes she wanted to push him against the sink and strip him of that red shirt that hugged his muscles so deliciously.  

She would never have dreamed of being this bold if it wasn’t for Sango and Miroku tirelessly reassuring her all week that Inuyasha was definitely into her. Normally, she would have never been so daring as to approach someone this way, but over the past week, she came to understand that Inuyasha was the nervous type. He had been trying- badly- to hide the fact that he was turned on by her, his sweat pants doing little to hide his rather large boner. While her plan was to put him out of his misery (and hers), a part of her liked teasing him, seeing him pushed to the brink and strained. At night she imagined himself finally losing control, taking her roughly and leaving marks on her body. She wanted to get him there, to get him so frustrated he has to make the first move.

“Do you want to watch a movie?”  She asked, the same smile plastered on her face. Her fingers played with the bottom piece of the towel .

“Sure.” He answered, cheeks slightly pink from blushing. She smiled and he wondered how someone could look so dazzling.

“Great!” She jumped a little in her excitement and his eyes were glued to her heaving chest. “I’m going to get changed and I’ll be right out.

Inuyasha nodded dumbly, willing himself to calm down before he needed another cold shower.

~.~

She was wearing a white cotton shirt, and her body was still wet from the shower, sticking to her curves, making them more prominent. Inuyasha mentally cursed, both thrilled to see that she wasn’t wearing a bra again and also in agony. She was trying to kill him, he knew it.

“Your place, or mine?” She asked, trying to suppress a smile; Inuyasha was obviously flustered, taken off guard by her comment, by the way her pert nipples were showing again.

“What?” He asked, brows knitted together in confusion.

“I’m asking,” She drawled out, “Do you want a change of scenery? We can watch it in my room. You’ve been trapped in the same space for a week now. I thought you might like to mix it up.”

Great. Now she was inviting him into her room. It felt like it was a signal, but he couldn’t be sure. Kagome was friendly by nature and maybe this was her way of being kind since he couldn’t really leave the apartment. And to be honest the idea of seeing anything other than the living room, kitchen and bathroom  sounded downright exciting; but that also meant that he would be even more confined, surrounded by her scent.

Not like the entire place wasn’t doused in it anyway. It should make no difference where they watched the movie.

“You-You wouldn’t mind?” He stammered. Since when did he fucking stammer?

“Don’t be silly. I asked, didn’t I?” She answered brightly. How much more obvious could she be?

“But, wont it be…I dunno, awkward?” He was 12. He was sure he had regressed to a pubescent boy. That had to be only reason he was acting like this.

Or maybe it was the fact that all week Kagome had been bringing him to the brink of insanity. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, tugging him along towards her door.

“You really surprise me sometimes.” She said with a laugh. If he didnt make a move tonight, she would give up.

God, she hoped Inuyasha would just kiss her already.

~.~

Kagome’s room was very much her. It was simple, but cozy, the bed flush against the corner of the wall, a decent-sized tv placed in front, standing on the tall dresser. Her desk was against the other wall, a bookcase pushed by its side. There were small touches- a few nicely framed photos and knickknacks that were proudly displayed, but overall, the room had a warm and welcoming feeling. The space was neat and tidy, but her bed was unmade, the green comforter in disarray, showing that Kagome was, perhaps, not the world’s most graceful sleeper.

“Sorry.” She murmured, walking to the bed to set it right. Inuyasha told her to leave it, and she nodded, making a comment that they were just going to mess it up anyway. She had the good grace to blush, just a little, however she did not correct herself.

Inuyasha waited for Kagome to climb onto the bed first, and he stood awkwardly, trying to figure out his next move. When was the last time he was in a girls room like this, just as a friend? Normally when he and a woman were near a bed, there was only one logical course of action. What the hell would a friend do?

Choosing to sit at the end of the bed, he sat up perfectly straight, too afraid to get comfortable,  and waited for her to turn on the movie.

Once the screen lit up, Inuyasha felt content that he could relax- they were on her bed for crying out loud, but they were farther apart than when they sat on the couch, so the likelihood of him having to touch her was minimized.

The room, however, was filled with her scent.

It was faint, but he could detect traces of her desire, faded aroma of her release clung to her sheets. He would bet his life that she had a toy hidden in her nightside draw, just from the strong scent alone. Damn, the image of her pleasuring herself, alone in the bed-  this bed- was enough to make his cock twitch.

Kagome leaned back against the headboard, eyes closed, as she massaged the back of her neck and letting out a soft moan as the tension released. She opened her eyes, only to find that he was smoldering, burning.

“What?” She asked, the hint of a smirk curling the corner of her lips.

Inuyasha swallowed hard, breathing in through his nose, trying to calm his nerves- a huge mistake- all it served to do was give him a better taste of her delicious scent. He had to do something- had to say something or he was never going to survive.

“L-look.” He started, words shakier than he meant, “I-  I don’t know if you’re doing it on purpose, and fuck, I could be interpreting this wrong, but-“

Kagome stared at him wide-eyed, hand still resting on the column of her neck. ”But?”

“B-but it seems like your putting out signals, and fuck, I know this is awkward, and I’m not trying to make it that way, but for the love of God, please stop teasing me so much. I cant take it.”

Kagome blinked innocently, hand moving to the collar of her shirt, toying with the fabric as it exposed small glimpses of her neck.  “But what if I like teasing you?”

“So you admit it? You’ve been teasing me on purpose?”

She smiled at that, beautiful and mischievous, a side he had not expected to see. He was even more shocked to watch as her hand drifted over the curve of her breast, his eyes drawn as she circled her nipple with her delicate fingers. Kagome arched into her own touch, biting down on her bottom lip to keep in a low moan. When she looked his way, she did not see the reaction she had hoped; he was stationary, taking in the scene before him, a blank expression on his face. Worried that she had crossed the line and made a huge mistake she stilled, praying that she had not misinterpreted things and make her house guest uncomfortable.

“Should I stop?” She asked, searching his eyes for an answer. As if hearing her voice had snapped him out of a trance, his eyes darted up to hers, heavy lidded and hungry. He took a deep breath, the scent of her making him dizzy. Quickly, he shook his head no, as if to say please don’t fucking stop.

Kagome bit her bottom lip as she ran her fingers down, gripping the hem of her shirt,  small hand disappearing inside.  With better access, she pushed her bra up so that she could squeeze her full breast, the cotton shirt bunching from the movement, exposing her flat stomach. Inuyasha’s brain was scrambling to catch up, trying to process the fact that he was watching Kagome touch herself, in front of him, for him. His hands seemed to move on their own accord, reaching into the band of his sweat pants to grip his throbbing erection and pull it free. Had he ever gotten so hard, so quickly? He felt a twinge of embarrassment- he had never done something like this before- and this was a really sudden development, but the way her scent spiked as she watched him stroke his cock left him little room to feel anything but utterly turned on.

If Kagome had felt nervous about touching herself in front of Inuyasha, the sentiment was long gone. Seeing the effect she had on him was hard to deny; his dick was hard, beads of precum leaking out, coating his head in his excitement, made her feel powerful and bold. She reached down, her hand easily slipping underneath her pajama shorts and quickly delving into the slick heat. Her lips pasted as she gasped, the pleasure so much more intense being watched than when she touched herself alone. Half-lidded, hungry with desire, she wanted to drink in the sight of him, all of him, but it was hard to tear her gaze from the sinful way he was moving his hand. A low growl caught her off guard, forcing her to meet his stare. The way he looked at her set a fire in her belly, causing her to buck her hips, grinding the palm of her hand against her sensitive bundle of nerves. Inuyasha breathed in, intoxicated and dizzy from the scent she was giving off.

“Fuck,” Inuyasha hissed through clenched teeth, pumping his hand up and down his shaft, trying to match his rhythm to hers. No longer able to handle himself, he rose his hips to push his pants down, revealing the full length of his member, much larger than Kagome had thought. Now that he was fully revealed, Kagome saw that his hand couldn’t close completely, his cock much too thick; she wondered how it would feel inside of her, stretching her core to its limit.

He wanted to leap forward, to push her back against the mattress and bury his cock inside her sweet pussy; he was reluctant to break the spell, almost scared to speak, lest she change her mind and stop the best show he had ever seen in his life.  He couldn’t see much, her body still covered by her clothes, but he was able to see and smell each movement she made. She whimpered at his curse, his eyes glued to the way her hand moved beneath her shorts, the other pulling and tweaking her right nipple.

“Let me see,” He begged, “Please.”

Slowly, she withdrew her hand, her fingers slick and coated, only to wiggle out of her pajama shorts, revealing a pair of white underwear, trimmed with lace at the top. How could she wear something so pure looking and be so damn seductive? Her fingers dove down again, but this time, she pushed the fabric of her panties to the side, allowing Inuyasha to watch as she placed first one, then two fingers inside her dripping cunt. He couldnt believe he was this close to her, to the woman he had craved so long, watching as  she pumped and curled her fingers, reaching a spot only she knew best, mewing each time her thumb circled her clit. He was hungry to touch her, to taste her, but starving to watch as she made herself cum.

Inuyasha felt like he was in heaven; even in his wildest dreams he could not come up with this scenario; She was calling his name now, broken pieces of it, as his other hand lowered to cup his balls, tight and heavy, ready to jizz. The pressure felt so good, so he gave them a slight tug, his other hand giving the head of his cock a slight squeeze when it reached.

“Can I come closer?” He asked, voice husky. Kagome nodded, and in a flash he was near her, pushing her back and spreading her thighs to make room for him. Kagomes breath hitched, excited and nervous, and completely focused on the way his hand returned to his cock. They were close, his dick mere inches above her pussy, wet and waiting; so close that she was sure he was going to line himself up and push into her, finally, but that never came. Instead, he continued to stroke himself, up and down, the pace much faster now, his breathing ragged.

Kagome, not one to be left behind, continued her to pump her cunt, fingers brushing against his as she worked herself to the brink.

“I’m close,” She panted, biting down on her lower lip as she rocked against her hand. Her thighs were wrapped around his waist, and his hips were jerking forward, each motion making him grunt in an almost feral way. His sack was brushing against her enterance, the sensation alone enough to bring him over the edge. He was close too, but he’d be damned if he came before her.

“Come for me, baby.” He commanded, loving the way she whimpered, the way she bucked harder against her hand, grinding her clit into her palm.

“Come baby.” He said through gritted teeth, his own hands rubbing and tugging his balls, swirling his thumb over the head of his cock, so wet and ready for release.

Kagome came with a muffled cry, body writhing, and Inuyasha drank it in greedily. Each movement, each time she thrust, brought his dick a little closer to her pussy, and with a strangled call of her name, he nut, hot white cum shooting out, onto her stomach. She moaned at his release, turned on at the sight of him utterly undone.

For a moment, he was unsure of what to do; it had always been his dream to be between Kagomes legs, but what the heck did he do now?

She reached between them, her fingers still coated with her desire and lightly traced the length of his cock. He had just cum, but he was already ready for round 2, her touches feather-light, barely there.

Gods, she was such a tease.

But fuck, Inuyasha didn’t mind it at all.

[poetryinmotion-author]

Refresh: A Mandomera One-Shot

Hi, all! As promised, here’s the beach day one-shot inspired by the flashback in Chapter Seven of Sanctuary. It takes place after “Bonds” in The Journey On, if you’re wondering about timeline stuff. (This got way longer than I thought it would, lol)

If you’d prefer to read it on AO3, here’s the link! https://archiveofourown.org/works/25754674

Warnings: None!

Tags: Fluff, so much fluff, flirty mandomera, day at the beach

As Din guided the Crest to a landing, he looked over the planet below with satisfaction. So he wasn't remembering with rose-tinted glasses; the sea really was that blue, that sort of blue that hardly seemed real—the kind of blue that looked like it had been painted on a canvas with freshly-mixed pigments, a fresh, vibrant cerulean, not yet dry. It hadn't changed a shade in the years since he saw it for the first time as a child. Finally—something that stayed untouched by the wars.

From where he sat on Din's lap, the child practically vibrated with excitement, and from behind him in the passenger's seat, Winta gasped.

"That's where we're going?"

"Sure is. Unless, of course, you want to turn around and find somewhere else."

"No!" she giggled as she slid out of her seat and leaned on the control panel to get a better look at the ocean below.

This little excursion had been her idea—or, at least, she had inspired it. A day or so 0ago, she'd been struck with an episode of homesickness. The thing she fixated on, the thing she said she missed the most about Sorgan, was going swimming with her friends at a nearby lake. Din had seen it, and could hardly have even called it a lake. It was a small pond, hardly bigger than a puddle. Idyllic, quiet, save for the croaking of some frogs. Small. With a sly grin, Din asked if she had ever been swimming on a proper beach by a real sea.

And now, the sea was so close they could practically smell the salt air through the transparisteel of the window.

The view became partly obscured with sand kicked up by the Razor Crests's engines as Din set them down. The second the ship was stable, Winta whipped around and scrambled down to the hold, gone before Din even had a chance to stand. The baby only fed off of his older sister's energy, and it was all Din could do to keep him from wriggling out of his arms and tumbling down the hatchway.

Winta’s outer dress flew across the hull as she bolted toward the door in her underdress, nearly bowling over her mother in the process.

“Hey!” Omera called after her, pointing to the discarded clothes. “Where do your clothes go, young lady?”

From his vantage point, Din could have sworn he saw Winta roll her eyes, but he decided not to bring it up as she trudged back over to where her dress had landed and flung it into the designated bin. 

“That’s better. Now, how about you come help me carry some of this?” 

Dutifully, Winta picked up the blanket that Omera had laid out on the bed and ran back to the door. Omera, for her part, looked frazzled, balancing a basket on her hip and a bag with toys in her other hand. She cast her eyes to and fro around the hull, making sure nothing was forgotten, and listed off everything they needed under her breath: 

“Food, towels, extra clothes, drinking water, toys, do I have the toys—?”

“Winta,” Din said, “take your toys from your mother.”

Din was now absolutely certain that Winta rolled her eyes—and this time, it was accompanied with a frustrated sigh. But as Omera opened her mouth to correct her, Din stepped in.

“Excuse me?”

Immediately, Winta’s face fell, and her eyes grew wide. He didn’t do it often (and he thanked the ka’ra that Winta was so well-behaved), but when he pulled That Tone—the lower, firmer tone of voice that felt far different than the one he usually reserved for his family—she always knew, without having to have it explained, that she had crossed a line.

“Come here. Now.”

Lowering her eyes, Winta put her arms behind her back and crossed to Din, who knelt to her level and set the child on the floor.

“Winta,” he said, “I know you’re excited to get out there, but you do not disrespect your mother and I like that. Ever. Understood?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Good,” Din continued, putting a hand on Winta’s shoulder and clearing the cloud from his voice. “We’re going to have a good day, aren’t we?”

The clouds cleared from Winta’s face too as she nodded and met his eyes behind his visor.

“Now take the toys from your mother and wait. We’ll get out there in a minute.”

“Okay!” she chirped as she took the bag from her mother’s hand and bounded back to the door—albeit with a much less impatient attitude.

Omera, meanwhile, turned to Din with a mix of gratefulness and surprise.

“Nicely handled,” she said.

“Thanks. I figured—” Din eased the basket from Omera’s begrudgingly relenting grasp, “You had enough going on. Do we need anything else?”

“I don’t think so,” she said as she hoisted a bag onto her shoulder. “I’ve got the clothes here, and…”

Finally having a clear moment to think, Omera gave Din a once-over.

“Are you going to keep the armor on?”

Din sighed as he considered. Wouldn’t it be nice to sit in the sand, let the sun hit your skin, feel the breeze across your face...sneak in a kiss every now and then? And, more practically, won’t it be hot? You’ll roast in here.

But in the end, prudence won out.

“Can’t be too careful,” Din replied. “This place isn’t exactly remote. There might be other people around.”

To Din’s relief, not even a shadow of disappointment crossed Omera’s face. No matter how many times she expressed it, her acceptance still had the power to take him by surprise.

“All right, then,” she said. “Shall we?”

The little squeal that both kids let out was too good to resist.

“Hmm…” Din teased, “I think maybe we should wait for a few more minutes.”

“Nooo!”

A laugh rumbled out of Din’s chest.

“You don’t think they’re excited, do you, cya’re?”

Omera’s hand smacked genially against his chest plate as she joined in.

“Din, I think if we wait any longer, they’ll break down the door themselves.”

As if to confirm that theory, Winta pounded her feet against the floor and jumped in the air, letting out a high giggle.

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?”

The minute the hatch was flat against the sand, Winta flung herself out of the Crest as if she hadn’t seen sunlight in weeks.That enthusiasm was immediately tempered as her bare feet met the sun-heated sand. She high-stepped back to the ship, a constant stream of "hot hot hot hot hot" spilling out of her mouth. Bashful, she looked up at Din.

"Daddy? Could you maybe…"

Without even letting her finish, Din bent and scooped Winta up, flipping her upside-down over his shoulder and hooking her knees around his forearm as she shrieked with laughter.

"Like this?"

"No!"

"How about…" Din maneuvered Winta to his front, then hefted her onto his shoulders with a grunt. "This? You good?

He felt pressure on the top of his helmet and knew Winta was leaning on his head.

"Yup! Let's go!"

With that, the clan of four stepped out into the sunlight. The ground sank under Din's boots, and he was instantly reminded of how hard it was to move with any urgency in the sand. Sand drills had always been his least favorite during his training, where not only did he have to wear full gear, but he also had to carry a 200-pound weighted bag on his back. But the awed gasp that came from the girl on his shoulders pulled him back to the much-preferable present.

After a minute, they found a suitable spot to set up for the day—a tree a little further out from the line of the sparse forest bordering the beach. After setting Winta down, Din directed her to lay out the blanket, which, when the wind kicked up, required all three of the humans to do. Even the baby put his little hands on an edge, trying to help. Thinking quickly, Omera pulled a few supplies from the basket Din had placed before them and set them in the corners, weighing it down. After laying down a few ground rules, Winta was finally set loose. Din's heart lifted in his chest as he watched her dance across the sand and make her first contact with the ocean, gasping with delight and surprise at the coldness.

The baby, too, started to move toward the water, but Omera caught him in her arms—much to his adorable chagrin.

"No, no, sweetheart," she said to the baby. "Not 'til I can be with you."

Din waved her off.

"Go on. I'll sit here."

Omera fixed him with a raised eyebrow.

"Din, this was your idea. And I want you to enjoy it as much as we do."

"Cyar'ika," Din replied as he grasped one of her hands in his, "just watching you and the kids is more than enough for me."

"Well, it's not for me. I want you to take off those boots and your shin guards and come to the water with us. Surely," she added, "if someone were to attack us, they're not going to go for your knees."

As if hearing the conversation from where she stood, Winta looked back and beckoned to Din.

"Come on, Daddy!"

A knowing smirk spread across Omera's lips.

"Are you really going to say no to her?"

Din let out a sigh—a long, conceding sigh. Then he knelt and started on his bootlaces.

He imagined he looked absurd. The torso of a fully-armored Mandalorian warrior, perched on top of two legs, bare from the knee down—he was certain anyone who might come across them would do a double take. But, to be honest with himself, he really didn't care. The beaming grin from his daughter, the delicate fingers laced with his, the baby boy trying to launch himself from his mother's arms and into the sand—that was all that mattered.

Din sucked a breath through his teeth as his feet hit the water. Despite the heat streaming from the sun, the water was somehow still freezing. But Winta had already gotten used to it, and was wading even further into the increasing waves.

"Not too far, sweetheart!" Omera called after her.

Winta turned back and waved at them.

"Daddy! Come play with me!"

"Coming, ad'ika."

The crystal-blue water surged around his ankles, then around his knees, then up to his thighs. Winta stood practically waist-deep, her underdress becoming absolutely soaked. Din was hit with another memory, one from the last time he was here as a child with his father—one which he decided, with a mischievous chuckle, to recreate.

"Hey, Winta," he said, "hold your breath."

Obediently, Winta sucked in an enormous gulp of air and held it. Din watched the waves as they approached, waiting…waiting...just the right moment—

Din thrust his hands under her elbows, bodily lifted her from the water, and tossed her into the oncoming wave as it rolled by.

For a second, Winta disappeared in the surf. Then, she sprang back up, gasping and shaking the water out of her now-soaked curls.

"What was that for?"

"Was it fun?"

"Yeah!"

"That's what it was for. Want to do it again?"

Instead of waiting for Din to pick her back up again, she watched the next wave as it approached and jumped into it, letting it carry her back to her dad as she resurfaced.

"Careful, love!" Omera had appeared next to Din, a line of worry appearing between her brows. Din's hand slipped into the small of her back and rubbed small circles there.

"She'll be fine, Omera," he comforted, "We're right here, and if something happens, we can get to her."

The almost hysterical, breathless laughter as Winta surfaced once again relaxed Omera's shoulders, and released the breath she'd been holding.

A complaint from the baby on her hip—he clearly felt left out, with his face fixed in a pout. Din reached out to take the baby and held him aloft, just above the water.

"Ready, kid?"

To the baby's delight, Din lowered him, splashing his little legs in the water. He squealed like Din had never heard before, and if his ears could go any higher, Din was sure that they'd be on the top of his head. 

Din glanced beside him to gauge Omera's reaction. But Omera seemed to have drifted into her own mind. Her face had slid into a blissful idyll, and her hands skimmed across the water, rising and falling as the waves did, as her breath did. And it occurred to Din that he hadn't seen Omera truly unwound in weeks. A pang of guilt struck in his gut. How long had they been traveling? How long would she have to wait before he gave her a place to not just live, but to thrive—to finally be at ease again? And for the first time, Din almost considered that it may have been better to have left her and the kids on Sorgan. At least there, they'd be safer, they'd be with friends, and they—

A hand found the gap beneath his back plate. Her hand. With knowing tenderness, she worked at a knot that had formed there, the process aided by the coolness that came from the sea around them.

"We needed this."

They would find it. Din watched as a moment of light unfolded around him, all laughter, joy, ease of mind. Wherever they went, Din vowed, he would always find his family a glint of light.

"Yes," he replied. "Yes, we did."

/////

Din groaned in relief as his helmet fell into his hands and the aircon in the Razor Crest made contact with his face. He shivered as a drop of sweat, suddenly freezing cold, trickled down his neck.

“I don't know how you do it.” Omera shook her head and took the helmet from his unresisting hands, setting it on a nearby crate.

Din peeled off his gloves and tossed them next to the helmet. The abrasive cotton of his cape scraped against his hands as he dried them off.

“Sometimes, I don't know, either.”

Omera slipped her fingers under the edge of the base plate of one of Din's pauldrons and lifted. The more surface area that emerged from under the armor, the more he realized just how thoroughly he loved the cold as it breathed against his soaked underclothes. In this moment, if he never saw another desert, or even a particularly sunny day on an otherwise temperate planet, he would be perfectly satisfied.

He reached up to remove his chestplate, but Omera had already unfastened it. In almost an instant, it fell into her hands, and she set it carefully next to the rest of his armor.

“You're getting good at this,” he quipped as he fought the urge to wink. But from the way Omera's lips tilted, he knew she detected the affection under his tone.

“Well,” she replied as she pulled Din's cape over his head, “I would prefer if you didn't get heat stroke. And the best way to prevent that is to get all these layers off—as quickly as possible.”

The flush that spread across the bridge of Din's nose was no longer just from the heat.

“Right,” she continued, “to the fresher with you.”

“No. Take care of the kids first.”

“They'll have their baths later. In case you haven't noticed, they're a bit worn out.”

A long day out in the sun had proven to be as effective as a tranquilizer for getting the baby, and even Winta, to go down for a nap without even having to be tucked in. With a chuckle, Din noticed that Winta hadn't even bothered to take off her shoes before crawling into the berth, cuddling the child in next to her.

“Maybe we should get the baby into his crib.”

“Or,” Omera insisted, gently poking a finger into his chest, “I'll get the baby to his bed while you get cleaned up.”

Din feigned offense.

“Am I really that bad?”

A sly grin tugged at Omera's mouth.

“Din, my love, I would never lie to you. So believe me when I say...yes. Yes, you are that bad.”

The giggle lying beneath her teasing intensified as Din took her hips in his hands, leaned in, and burrowed his face into her neck, kissing her  just to try and earn more of that laughter.

"Stop it! Stop it!" she giggled even as she pulled at his flak vest.

Obliging and faking innocence, he pulled back and met her eyes.

"Why ever would I do that, cyar'ika?"

"Because," Omera laughed as she patted his shoulders for emphasis, "you're smelly and sweaty and—"

She couldn't continue. Din was kissing her face too much for that. Her fingers curled into his hair as she encouraged him and retaliated with a few choice kisses of her own.

His fingers hit a spot on her bare shoulder and she drew a sharp breath. For a second, Din pulled away.

"A little sunburnt, my love?" he said as he brushed a feather-light kiss against it.

"Worth it."

"You should get some bacta on it," he said, turning toward the crate with the medical supplies. But Omera stopped his arm.

"Maybe...you could help me with that."

Din felt the flush in his face, and felt sure he was glowing like the lights on the Crest in the darkness of space. And again, just as he turned toward the medical crate, Omera pulled his attention back to her.

"On one condition."

Din slipped into his negotiation voice.

"Name it."

"You." Omera planted her hands on his shoulders. "Go." She turned him toward the refresher. "Bathe."

Din had never been so fast in the refresher in his life.

[brownstonearmy]

2020-04-24: A Party You Can’t Refuse

July 21 (Tuesday morning)

The rainy weather of the past few days has given way to a fair summer morning with light cloud cover. Our band of intrepid adventurers has once again converged at SHART HQ for their newest assignments. Dave has been training Bob (the slightly damaged monodrone modron from Mechanus) to do some work as a receptionist and document service requests from the citizens. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Bob doesn't quite grasp the concept of what is an appropriate request that requires SHART's attention. Dave informs the party that someone has requested their presence at a birthday party in a few hours.

Normally Dave would disregard cases that don't require sanitation expertise, but Dave isn't about to let some poor kid get disappointed. But the rest of the service request isn't very helpful. Aside from identifying the birthday boy as Alston Cormellis and giving his address, there's no information about his age or even what the party is supposed to do at the party.

Do they need to bring a gift? Nobody's sure, but Lucky has an idea for a surprise gift. When asked as to what the gift is, she declines to specify, probably because the party would try to talk her out of this particular surprise. Spleenifer suggests making a doll, or perhaps bringing some goats along to make an impromptu petting zoo. The party's appearance is requested just before noon, giving everyone about an hour and a half to get prepared. Lucky and Spleenifer use this time to change in to appropriate clothes, with Lucky putting on actual clothes underneath her magical ones, and Spleenifer going on the Minor-Goat-Retrieval-Quest-of-Tuesday-Morning.

Meanwhile, Q (who goes by Sparkle today) and Norm set off to the address to do some recon for the situation. Sparkle is wearing their finest sparkly purple tunic and fuzzy pants, though the warm July day causes Sparkle a small degree of regret for choosing the fuzzy pants part of the outfit. The walk to the party's location is only a few blocks to the southwest, just past the Brownstone Park Memorial Grotto. As the pair walk past the park, they notice several shadowy figures congregating around central statue in the small park. The shadowy figures scatter as soon as they are seen.

A moment later, Norm and Sparkle arrive at address where the party will soon be taking place. It's in a poorer part of town, outside a tiny house next to a run-down stable where horses are shoed. A woman who looks like she hasn't slept in a few days is flitting around an improvised table made from stacked crates while Alston the birthday boy wanders around. But before Norm and Sparkle can approach, a halfling dad and his daughter pass nearby. The halfling dad is low-to-middling level crime boss in the City Runners gang named Average-Size Tony. Norm recognizes Tony as a potential source of intel for the next steps in Norm's secret investigation of the drug trade after the incarceration of former Devil Boys distributor, Magic. Average-Size Tony walks up to Alston's mother and gruffly reminds her that under no circumstances is anyone allowed to enter the house until he's done, then gives his daughter a kiss on the cheek and sends her to play with Alston.

Once the coast is clear, Sparkle and Norm introduce themselves to Leah Cormellis, Alston's mother. She's grateful for everyone appearing on such... SHART notice (no, I will not apologize for that pun). Norm and Sparkle start discussing business with Leah, and asking some questions about Alston's preferences. Sparkle mentions possibly getting King Chonk to attend as an honored guest and also that they were the performer behind the famous song about King Chonk. Leah is interested, and Sparkle wonders if this might turn into a "flirty single mom" situation. Before excusing herself, Leah mentions that she was able to scrounge together some cake but she would like there to be some more food for the kids if it's not too much trouble.

The time of the party draws nearer and the (adventuring) party reconvenes again. Spleenifer's got her goats, and Lucky knows some folks who might be interested in catering the event. Yep, it's the Folks From The Yolks, Kosja and Turalisoth! It's not too difficult to find a wandering house on the outskirts of town, and Kosja is more than happy to have the opportunity to test her experimental cooking on soft-skins. The lizardfolk in disguise have recently discovered the soft-skin food called "cheese" and wish to expand their menu offerings before opening up a proper restaurant. Lucky hops in the house and directs Kosja where to park for the party.

As the house lumbers over to the party site, Lucky sees an unusual covered wagon parked outside the farrier's stable with a sign on it that says "JUICED! Energy Drinks". Lucky helps Kosja get set up and start cooking, but the resulting food doesn't smell too appealing to non-reptilian sensibilities. With some tactful suggestions for possible improvements, Lucky gets the culinary ship sailing in the right direction.

Spleenifer shows up to house with her goats and tethers them to the chicken legs of the lizardfolk's mobile home. Norm appears in clown garb and starts up a juggling act. As Sparkle is setting up, they notice more shadowy figures congregating on the perimeter of the party site. Children start arriving, but the lurkers on the periphery keep on lurking. Sparkle recognizes the street urchin nicknamed Nosebleed hanging out with the lurkers, intensely watching Alston's house. Sparkle walks up to Nosebleed and questions him about what's going on.

Nosebleed informs them that his friend, Pokey, is in the house. Pokey is an older kid in the Devil Boys gang who started running drugs when Magic got busted. But Nosebleed saw Pokey get beat up and kidnapped by some goons from the City Runners gang. Sparkle tells Nosebleed to enjoy the party and go back to working at Robin's ranch when it's over. Sparkle promises Nosebleed that Pokey will get rescued one way or another.

While this discussion is happening, Spleenifer's goats are getting a lot of attention in the makeshift petting zoo. One kid gets a big chunk of their shirt eaten by a hungry goat, but the kid didn't seem to mind. Norm's act gets more interesting when he incorporates knife juggling. And once the lizardfolk start prepping their next dish, Cool Cheese Soup, Lucky wades into the party entertainment gig with an impressive display of blindfolded knife-throwing.

Lucky conjures up a floating target and starts slinging knifes. She gets two bullseyes, one right after the other. And for the finale, Lucky asks Alston what his favorite animal is. It's an Owlbear! Lucky throws another knife, which ricochets off of multiple surfaces and still manages to hit the target. Alston claps with excitement, but wants to know if he can ride in the walking house with Lucky's friends. If the lizardfolk say it's okay, it's okay with her. Alston races over to the house to get permission, and Tony's daughter, Meri, chases after Alston.

As the two children are clambering up the ladder into the house, a bloodcurdling scream erupts from inside of Alston's house. The scream startles some nearby horses and Spleenifer's goats, which in turn startles the lizardfolks's home. The walking house lurches off as fast as it can, and Spleenifer's goats are still attached to the legs. The cauldron of cool cheese soup spills all over the children, and the partygoers on the ground start a food fight with the globs of partially-melted cheese.

Average-Size Tony emerges from the house to ask just what the heck is going on, only to get rushed by the Devil Boys under the cover of the food fight. Sparkle grabs Nosebleed before he can enter the house and convinces him to stay out of the fight. Meanwhile, Spleenifer is trying to untie the goats, but the rope refuses to budge. So she tries her backup plan, which is to attempt to ride one of the goats and untie their collars.

Except that doesn't work as planned, either. Her long legs trip up one of the goats and the both fall prone to the ground, but the rope breaks for that goat and thus both are safe... For now. Lucky casts Misty Step and teleports into the rampaging house, but it triggers a wild surge and she ends up covered in flakes of rust upon her arrival. She looks for a way to convince the house to stop running, and finds a perfect little pressure point that stops the house from fleeing. Lucky cleans up Alston and Meri with some trusty prestidigitation and sends the pair back to the ground.

Back in Alston's house, Norm sneaks inside and hears the sound of a scuffle coming from behind a cracked door. Average-Size Tony is giving out free samples of halfling Kung-Fu to three other Devil Boys while another kid whom Norm recognizes as Pokey is tied to a chair and bleeding. Norm uses some of his flash paper to temporarily blind Tony while Sparkle sneaks in to untie Pokey. As Sparkle is working on this task, she sees that there isn't any men's clothing in the house. Maybe Leah is single and available?

Alston runs into the house with Lucky following closely behind. It's finale time! Lucky polymorphs Alston into an owlbear and directs him to sit on Tony, which he does. While Tony is pinned, Norm takes out a knife and makes a deal with Tony: give up knowledge about the Devil Boys leadership in exchange for Tony being able to keep on living. He readily accepts the offer and spills the beans on everything he knows.

Spleenifer, having finally gotten the goats under control and joins the rest of the party inside the now-trashed home. She has many questions, such as whether it's socially acceptable to the collect a poop sample from an owlbear at a birthday party. Lucky politely discourages that plan since that owlbear is actually the birthday boy in disguise. She conjures up a little birthday hat and places it on the owlbear's head to emphasize her point. Lucky and Sparkle clean up and repair the house to better-than-new condition.

Pokey tries to sneak away, but Sparkle flags him down and tries to get some more information out of him. He reports that he was attacked by the City Runners and they offered him a lot of money to flip from working as a distributor with the Devil Boys to helping launder money for the City Runners. He refused, and that's why Tony started beating him up even more. The City Runners were using a terrible energy drink called JUICED! as their front for laundering money. Sparkle and Pokey loot the JUICED! wagon behind the house, and Sparkle uses some of the coins to help out Robin's ranch and also to give a monetary gift to the birthday boy. Sparkle also grabs a few energy drinks for fun and research purposes but doesn't consume them.

Once the house is cleaned up, Pokey takes the empty JUICED! wagon and lights it on fire in the middle of the street. Spleenifer offers one of her goats named Marge Thatcher as a gift to Alston. You would be forgiven for thinking that "Marge" is short for "Margaret," but it is actually short for "Margarine" and the "Thatcher" part of the name comes from the goat's propensity to munch on thatched roofs. Norm relieves Tony of all his ostentatious jewelry before letting him go.

The adventure concludes for the evening and everyone advances to the next level. Stay tuned next time for more!

[sinnhelmingrmoved]

@destinysthralls said: 📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜 ravioli ravioli give me the formuoli

:)))

Hel and Fang are both polearm fighters. Why not have some sparring with a bet riding on it? A lil fun a lil flirty mostly getting a good sweat going. Get up close and personal trying to take your opponent down and get your way.

One more day until Vanille has to go out and find her new purpose. Time to spend it doing everything they can together until she has to go. Hel not wanting tears, but a happy memory to bookend Vanille’s time with her.

Hel doesn’t know shit about men and here comes Snow crashing in on the squad and giving her a crash course on the human male. Odd friendship ensues once they learn to get along with each other.

The chocobros gain something of a guardian angel, a false friend and ally who merely ensures parts are played and that Noctis is poised to do what her lover requires of him. During all of the subterfuge, two devoted servants to a royal start to bond.

‘I’m being held hostage by this small child and I don’t even mind please introduce me to Chocolina because I hear she is the best thing in the world next to you’ ; or, how Dajh is really good at this friend making thing.

Gladio got his ass beat by the divine once and is not over it, why won’t you face me in battle again you coward? And quoth the Messenger, boy, you would literally die if I came at you again.

Hel has been a part of Aerith’s life, never constant but coming and going as she can. She knew a daughter imprisoned, a girl in a church, and only at the end does Aerith come to realize what was truly hanging over her head -- and how it pains higher powers.

Everyone is on high alert that someone broke into a base and stole Ardyn’s car because it cannot be located. Hel rolls up two hours later in custody with smoothies and a lot of explaining to do because she just wanted to drive the car you monsters.

Cloud and Hel are both traveling worlds looking for people who are important to them in some ways. Hel could use his strength if he could use her connections as they move between KH worlds seeking the lost.

Axel and Saix are itching for a throne to throw as Hel struggles to run her own games behind the scenes. They soon become players in a cat and mouse scenario to obscure their exact motivations while forced to play along with Xehanort’s own ideas.

Hel becomes very intrigued by Barrett’s goals and ultimate success. What do you even do with weird goth chicks that know too much and are a little too happy to see you? What does she mean by she has a message from a friend?

She promises Zack will live on, but he’s not too pleased with the reality of that statement back on Earth. If Aerith is bad about bartering to go back I just imagine Zack is that but on crack. And now Hel is Suffering.

Hel becomes a north star to Xemnas across whatever time he finds himself in, always ready to welcome him back, always ready to listen. So what happens in a time when she cannot be found?

Even gets ‘adopted’ because Hel is just in love with him and his brain. Featuring Even actually having to answer to someone older than him and them talking lore and science for hours as their schedules allow.

Get your contract buddy ATW doesn’t deserve you and I’m taking all of you back to my realm where y’all will get some RESPECT. Yes, Aeleus, you are included in this staff breakout. No she won’t explain herself.

What better way to protect the future than gaining some divine backup? Hel would be happy to help Hope with his goals if she can stop asking who let a child run an organization on his own. No ma’am he is in fact an adult--

‘I don’t know if I kidnapped your moogle or if your moogle kidnapped me but apparently you needed something and I’m sorry for distracting the creature, how can I possibly make it up to you Serah?’

Rude is supposed to be keeping tabs on some kind of creature sighted in certain regions. Hel is less than thrilled with the surveillance, and starts playing games with Rude that leave him questioning if he has been compromised or not.

A Queen of Darkness and a Princess of Light come together in a sort of mentor-student arrangement where Hel can help Kairi grow stronger if Kairi will help get her up to speed on what the fuck the plot outside of the Organization even is to her.

Two immortals spot each other from across the castle despite the bodies they wear, recognize each other’s hearts, and start to roast the shit out of each other: A Hel and Xigbar story.

Local Guado Wants To Crack The Code Of How Lulu ‘Does That’ With Her Puppets, Starts Staying Almost Up Her Ass, Romance Ensues as They Discuss The Journey, Craft, and General Gayness.

A young Guado smells something Hinky on a not so local Guardian. No, Jecht, she will not be so easily put aside. She has the good booze and she will get answers, even if they are all fake.

Hel reunites with a Guardian she met in passing some years ago, and He Reeks of the Farplane. Not that it’s her place to judge. She’s just as curious as ever and willing to listen if he ever wants to talk about what he is.

Two outsiders to the Human majority of Spira band together and will not be separated. Hel is willing to share her spiritualism with Rikku if she will repay in kind with talk of Machina and her native tongue.

Hel actually hearing Dona out and seeing past her antagonism to the fact she’s still willing to undertake a Pilgrimage to try and save the world. Someone actually treats Dona politely. That means the world to me.

SHIPPING! (not necessarily our muses shipping together just shipping as a component of our muses interacting)

Hel discovers that Fang’s breaking point is softness and non-sexual PDA in public. So she continues to press this killswitch for her own amusement on a date night, letting Fang be both loved and mortified the entire evening.

Hel and Vanille get a pet, and then run through conversations they can have to convince Fang this is clearly the best idea ever and not trouble waiting to happen. Just a small domestic fluff about adding to their little family.

When your wives are very important and busy so you get to stay in all night and brag about how much you love them to another work widow(er), or how Snow and Hel don’t worry and just accept they are bonded to actual goddesses.

Hel tries to discern the exact relationship dynamics of the Chocobros and is chided for having ‘shipping goggles’ on. So she goes to Ignis to clear up any confusion. Shenanigans ensue as she either holds the crew dead to rights or is hilariously off the mark.

‘What does ‘If I Had To Pick a Dude’ even mean?’ ‘That you are overthinking a party game and making it weirder than it has to be.’ Or, did she actually mean anything by that or was Sazh just the most tolerable man present?

‘STOP LOOKING AT MY BONER WHEN WE FIGHT’ Or, does Gladio actually mean anything by that or is getting the blood pumping simply messing with his body in ways he cannot control?

Hel calls it Aerith’s Girlhood, a place set aside, a bed in a field of flowers, a sky sheltering and painted with false stars. She makes it soft for her. This is the way of courtship, isn’t it? I read a lot of Gluck and I need a ‘Myth of Devotion’ plot for them.

For ten years, she is the Night’s Queen, though he will not call her that. She is a consort, wearing the crown of an ancient queen, wandering broken hallways, watching him slowly come undone. And she loves him still. Ten years is nothing next to two thousand.

‘So what does Aerith mean to you?’ ‘A lot.’ ‘Oh. What does Zack mean to you?’ And she understands perfectly what his exhaustion with questions means. Road trips and the inevitable embarrassing romantic questions.

Axel and Hel both understanding what it is to watch the one you love battle with themselves, to become a stranger at their cruelest. Share a smoke. Waste the night playing ‘Yes, But’ with someone that understands.

Barrett’s very handsome, and she is very lonely, and she thinks he is a wonderful person. Does he have any plans, now that the Apocalypse is over? Or, she keeps getting weirder and keeps haunting his door.

‘So, you and Aerith, is that going to make things awkward?’ Hel thought she was tired before she started a relationship with both her Persephone and her Knight. Hel is, of course, entitled to be wrong. And exhausted. So very exhausted.

Hel presents Xemnas with an offering that must mean something to him, in what he knows of the old man’s life. She will have him always, if permitted. The question is, will he agree to sharing the Paopu to seal the deal?

‘Isn’t it slightly unethical to date your boss?’ Even is a grown man but Hel cannot help but tease his long term ‘thing’ with aforementioned Boss. But it’s also nice to hear of another side of the Sage King.

‘I will give you many munnies if you will escort me to this fancy dinner because your partner in crime is already spoken for. No, Aeleus, I did not say as my body guard. I said as my escort.’

‘You know, people really like that vulnerable, sensitive thing you have going on.’ ‘This is the last conversation I ever want to be having.’ Or words to that effect. Hel ribs The Baby for being a bit of A Babe when grown.

Please explain to Hel how your relationship works because she is fascinated by the fact someone looks at Snow and said yes, this is where I have chosen to lay my affections for life.

Surveillance Creeper happens to crash an anniversary dinner Rude arranged by sitting a few tables away, observing but never interfering, apparently minding her own business but she’s just THERE SHE’S RIGHT THERE.

Mombie talks to baby about relationships and girls and boys and just has a nice heart to heart about it all. Based on that one Kairi-As-Ansem’s-Daughter idea that I’m still so pumped about.

.Hel and Xigbar make a bet about the relationship status of two of the Foretellers. Both try to doctor the narrative to suit their own take on the pair, obscuring fact, fiction, history, and near fanfiction.

The morning after a ‘There Is Only One Bed’ trope, and how both actually feel comfortable and at ease after so long alone. Can be before relationship or their first night alone together in the same bed, but consider it, won’t you?

Hel has a discussion with someone that Summoners getting involved with their Guardians is completely natural. She talks like she has experience. Well, yeah, not personal experience but -- and someone’s brain breaks at what she is implying.

Hel feels sad about Auron being the only one left, having lost two people he loved. Two people who have lost a lot in different contexts just have a comforting moment together to not be alone. Not romo but more based on lost romo.

‘So tell me about this Paine I’ve heard so much about :))))’ or, Rikku comes to realize she has been adopted and her Guado Mom wants to meet the GF. Chaos can completely ensue coming off of this.

Dona’s pretty and Hel is gay, that’s all I got. Literally anything could happen up to and including Hel making a complete ass of herself trying to either avoid Dona or interact with her without throwing off pheromones.

AUS!

Hel is some kind of figure in the spotlight -- a socialite, a performer, someone of note. Fang is her bodyguard here to keep her safe. No one would ever guess at what happens behind closed doors, the tension that runs between the two of them in spite of contracts and official relationships.

Breakfast club college AU. Just a couple of girls trying to get their shit together and honest to God looking like a modern take on the eponymous movie. They love each other and are here to do kegstands.

Hel is snow’s weirdo neighbor in their apartment complex but damn if he doesn’t know ho to bring the community together. Sometimes in the worst ways, but hey, anything to kick goth chick out of her shell.

Ignis and Hel are rival spies. They play long games and pursue the same leads, each trying to end the stalemate between their respective countries. Both are also far closer to the ruling class than they allow the other to believe.

Hel is just a simple pediatrician. Dajh is a very adventurous boy with a very invested father. At this point Sazh is on her Yule card list, and the two strike up a sort of friendship after hours.

Gym bro/personal trainer Gladio gets a knew client that is too tiny too delicate for this world. That is exactly what she is here to work on. Time to get swole little chronically ill stick woman.

Local witch swears that Aerith’s is the best place to get ritual plants and flowers despite ribbing claiming that she has a crush on the owner, but that crush theory really starts to hold water when the plant Hel really really really needs once is a... succulent.

Ardyn’s the beautiful but chronically ill next best thing in art, fashion, or film. Hel is his nurse and constant companion, the only one that gets to see the man behind the glamour when he is at his worst. Romance ensues.

There’s only one thing above an Angel, and she has come to offer herself to Cloud in his world-saving pursuits. If a covenant can be forged, then who knows what he will become, but at least this ghost will be real.

Yeah it’s awkward for our partners that we moved in next door to each other, but that’s really Isa and Xemnas’ baggage. I, on the other hand, like you and want to be friends. Or, Lea and Hel are goblins.

Hel as the relative to one of ShinRa’s high rollers, selling out her uncle’s secrets and business dealings to AVALANCHE without a second’s hesitation. She’s the inside woman, and one of Barrett’s biggest supporters, even if only in silence.

The feather that fell on the Colosseum did not belong to a certain Angel. What happens when Hel interferes in the life of one mortal who wants only to be a hero, one willing to work hard to get there?

Xemnas is the new literary hotness trying his hand at a play. Hel is the actress that fought tooth and nail for the lead roll. Problem: She has more chemistry with the creator than her fellow lead.

Hel is what was dragged into the lab twelve years ago. For freedom from this castle, she can whisper eldritch knowledge in Even’s ear, slippery as poison. What, precisely, have they pulled from the Darkness, and what threat does she present?

Similar to the above, but Hel knows not how to reason with this guard. He is meant to protect, to defend. All she can do is study him with those cold, sad eyes, try to stir his heart while he still has it.

We Are All Just God’s Abandoned Children. That’s one way to welcome a young foster kid to the house, but Hel is going to look out for this younger kid Hope anyway. Found family ensues.

Mog the Dog is in love with Garmr the Dog. We have to stop meeting like this. People will talk. They’re on texting terms just to say ‘Your dog’s here, he’s fine. Either he’ll find his way home or you can come get him whenever.’

Why would ShinRa have her trailed by the TURKS if they didn’t suspect her of her involvement with AVALANCHE? Tiem for Hel to pull out all the stops to try and throw Rude off her scent.

Reuniting with your family is hard. Harder when you have no memory of said family and Dad has a new love interest. Despite all of that, Hel comes to dote on Kairi, giving them a chance to bond and Kairi get a mom.

A Hel and Xigbar idea: Politician’s daughter and Assassin. MB he’s assigned to keep an eye on her when shit gets real in some of her father’s business dealings. Whether he’s for or against her family would be fun to plot.

Local Goth Summons The Goddess of the Dead, Intentionally or Otherwise ; Death Thinks She’s Kind of Cute. Lulu gains a patron and Hel gains a crush.  Everyone goes home happy.

Hel’s the nerdy shy kid in gym class and Jecht is the zealous coach that she despises. Except then she needs an athletic extracurricular to round out her college application. Teeth clenched teamwork for personal and team success.

High fantasy AU where Auron is the black knight who presses on, with a rider all in black hounding his every step. She appears every night to share his company, a little wine, and remind him of their bargain. She’s not reaped him yet, but once his business on earth is settled... He will return to her embrace.

Hel finds a new community once kicked out of Guado society. Or, in which Hel follows after the Al-Bhed and becomes a part of Rikku’s life from a young age, thus securing Momability.

Hel becomes one of Dona’s guardians along the way, and the two fight viciously over who gets to use the brain cell while being harmonious in most other aspects of traveling together. Romance may or may not ensue.

Other muses!

Eraqus: Please stop wrecking shit this is getting out of hand-- Fang: FcuK YUO-- And then they gotta fight and cause further property damage.

I don’t know whose verse we base it in but I need Vanille and Gwynevere to team up, maximize slay, and generally be absolute icons with soft spots for their legendary badass partners.

Kokoro and Snow interacting would be amazing and you know it. I don’t know who would crack first. Kokoro’s realism or Snow’s optimism.

Aqua, Ignis, and discussing how you have to be the strong one holding up the ones you love, no matter the cost. I feel like we could really break our hearts with this one.

Eraqus and Sazh could get frustrated at the kids for having gone a little nuts while they were out on a date, but y’know what? They’re in a good mood. Just cuddle and let the kids sleep and deal with it in the morning.

Eraqus, formerly of the Kingsguard before he got too old to serve, and the esteem of one young Amacitia mb. That or Gladio befriends Eraqus just to piss Kokoro off if we wanna play it that way.

Kokoro being uselessly gay for Aerith FOR TEN YEARS in Traverse Town and having no brain cells to actually convey that to her, then they meet again in Radiant Garden and well fuck she’s still crushing hard.

Every night, the Kingsguard’s daughter storms the city, makes her way towards the Citadel, and means to slay the Dragon. He has not killed her yet. Ardyn and Kokoro have a particular dance, and they cannot say why.

Aerith and Cloud getting soft comrade moments because they have both been through so much please. Please let them catch one break and get to act their actual ages and have a moment for life before it’s all gone for one of them.

Aria and Axel would be fantastic because they’re both a very controlled flame, they both just sort of are casually dangerous. I just want to play them off of each other and see if they end up allies or rivals.

Eraqus and Barrett working together in the field in our FF7 AU. Looking out for each other. Timing their attacks perfectly for the opportunity to fuck ShinRa up as much as possible.

Eraqus has to deal with this kid that is infatuated with his student. Does that kid have a boombox. What the fuck. This shit keeps happening.

Roleswap Xemkoro. Eraqus having become too zealous and thrown off the balance of light and darkness, seeking Kingdom Hearts to wash the world in light and begin again. Xemnas as the echo of an old friend who will see this ended before it goes that far. Kokoro the dutiful daughter who runs things in her father’s absence, who is drawn to this familiar stranger even as they oppose one another at every turn.

Even’s adopting Kokoro. Your father forbid you from pursuing certain knowledge? Terrible, he doesn’t deserve to be a father. I am your father now. We’re going to the opera. You have so much to learn. Meet your brother Ienzo.

We don’t know why Mads has imprinted on this guard in particular, she just has and she will not leave him alone.

I just want Aerith and hope to interact and her to try and cheer him up please. please.

Just throw Serah at anyone via time travel and all of that I can just imagine her falling into anyone’s life tbh. Try and dance around who you are and where in the hell you came from.

Aria is a TURK in training and guess who she gets to shadow for a day? Teach Her Rude!

Aqua and Kairi need to bond! Aqua and Kairi need to have a mentor-student dynamic! They need to catch up! They need to be friends! I will not be silenced!

Eraqus as a descendant of Brain, who fought to oppose MoM and Luxu, meeting with Luxu in some body before Braig. Can you even imagine the tension and sins of the father in that room? Sweet Jesus.

Braska mb interacting with Lulu once or twice because he wants to know about the other children his daughter is so fond of, the ones who... will be there for her, when he is not. Let’s all have a cry about it.

Long Dad Talk ‘Come To Yevon’ meetings between Braska and Jecht where Braska offers no judgment, only support for Jecht to get better. BC growth is important. And so is being a good dad, Braska knows.

Auron’s Bi Awakening for this church pretty boy.

Flower girl meets machine girl. IDK how. Aerith and Rikku rights.

Kokoro and Dona are implicitly to the public confirmed behind closed doors sapphic summoners. cuteness ensues.

Other Muse AUs!

I still want the Xemkoro Penny Dreadful AU. Our haunted and hell-touched protagonist with the werefox lady lead far from home. With Kokoro still trying to figure out how the hell Satan thought appearing as ATW was going to make Xem drop his pants. And then gets baffled that it worked.

Younger Eraqus ends up in Radiant Gardens and runs into Even. Has to play it cool about not being from this world. This world he knows nothing about. Even smells a rat.

Ok hear me out AU where ATW cannot and does not return. Mads goes from heiress apparent to a girl-queen to a world she cannot remember. Kokoro stays on as her regent, arguing that though she is an outsider, she is a blue blood, a noble, the descendant of royalty in her own homeland. But both she and the young queen will need a defender. And for that, she turns to a certain guard...

The Xemrith Hades and Persephone AU. Let’s do it. Let’s go all out. I wanna see it come to fruition.

Also, Xemqua Deathless AU. A deathless king spirits away a clever young fairytale maiden, and all the tears and horror that comes with such a story.

Braska is not the one to defeat Sin. He and his party have to go home and face themselves and figure out ‘What Now?’ as we go fully AU.

Single Dad muses in a modern AU forming a friend group. They all hang out once or twice a month and do fun things together. It’s great. It’s soothing. Nobody goes it alone.

Aerith and Zack getting a happily ever after??? In an AU???

Modern AU Braska, Jecht, and Auron navigating a relationship like the Fooles they are. Braska’s a simple youth pastor with a lot of love to give and incalculable migraines from his babes.

Mads and Rikku as friends burning the whole ass world to the ground. Because come on. Come on.

Anything with my Eraqus and your Aqua please I am dying here. I need some good family interactions.

Kokoro and Fang as sparring partners in some form or fashion. I need to see my queens just battle for dominance. I am very gay please have mercy.

KH AU Gwynevere as a pinnacle of a land of light having to come face to face with Xemnas and all the darkness that follows him.

Kokoro continues to bully Gladio no matter the verse. Because we know she does. Gladio has no rights.

AU where Kairi and Mads are like roommates or neighbors or online pals and get to be sunshine girls and nobody is hurt and no one has any loss of worlds to forget.

Aria as an AVALANCHE agent who infiltrated the TURKs and all that implies for your muses. Good for any of the rebels or even for Rude as far as plotting goes.

A whole ass pantheon AU. Get all our muses in it. Go absolutely balls to the wall nuts.

Mads playing matchmaker to Kokoro and Xemnas in some modern verse. Maybe playing Cyrano and leaving them little clues and letters allegedly from each other.

Sami we are simple gays. And we need DnD AUs. And we can divide our muses into parties and just have at it in some setting. Pwease.

Braska being a supportive dad to pop star Yuna and Rikku is along for the ride and so now he has a whole other kid to be taking care of.

AUs where ships were just a moment off of canon. Where someone walked away, where they just missed each other, where love did not conquer, where love did not last, where someone died, where someone lived, just. The what if of a life without each other.

Fuck me sideways can you imagine Braska Auron and Jecht in a college AU because I don’t think Jecht’s liver will survive.

Kokoro actually embraces her adolescent feelings for a childhood friend and pursues Aqua, only for RP canon to still happen as outlined.

Kokoro mainverse where she is a high born lady of Scala and Aqua arrives to explain what has been going down in the last twelve years and ‘oh no I’m gay.’

And, of course, that one Xemkoro idea we have involving the story never truly ending ;)

And because I still owe you two, here are two generals:

A time traveler’s wife au, any ship u want bb.

Family stuff. Found families, adoption, siblings, parent and child, ship babies, the pet is basically our kid, we have each other and that makes our family, anything I just need some familial relationships to water my crops.

[rorykillmore]

ok besides the denny ships that have been canon like sara/nyssa, trish/laurel or are basically canon like dolores/laurel tell me about some other ships youve been thinkin about for your characters or just if theyre up for a relationship in general

man tony what are PLANS,

okay lucille would probably have a pretty hard time in a romantic relationship so idk if that will ever happen. it’d have to be pretty development-dependent so if i wanted it to i’d really have to buckle down and play her more, like i used to. she’s close-ish with edith but i think their history is probably way too complicated for it to ever be romantic, and maria but maria would Also require a lot of development to be in a healthy romantic relationship i feel like

glory... is a dragon and she wouldn’t date most of the dragons who live with her because they’re either her adopted siblings or a bit younger than her. she was pretty friendly with another dragon named peril once, and they went through a lot of shit together, so that’s probably the only dynamic she’s had on denny so far that i’d consider getting shippy with?

siobhan...... is siobhan. actually i’ve always been really interested in seeing how she’d navigate feelings for someone else. canonically i do like both winn/siobhan and leslie/siobhan so i’ve always been like, “if anyone apped either of them i’d definitely be open to it” (especially since leslie got such good stuff before they killed her off, i feel like it’d be especially sad,,), but other than that i don’t really have plans. maybe she should meet amaya because i feel like amaya could turn siobhan into a gay idiot in RECORD time,

caitlin is someone i’ve never reeeeally wanted to put in a ship because of how messy canon has always been with her romantic relationships. i just don’t think she’d be in much of a good place to pursue something like that again, and i’ve doubled down on that kind of thinking since the show’s explanation for killer frost got super ???. it’s just... too complicated for me to want to touch especially since i haven’t had much muse for her in a long while (i’m waiting to see if s5 of the flash gives me any back but she miiight be another drop soon)

bramblestar is technically cat-married? he has a mate, squirrelflight. she was on denny at one point and she was the mother of the (now full grown) kits he has running around! i don’t know if he’d ever consider another mate, it’s been a really long time since he’s seen squirrelflight but, he does really love her.

heather is gonna be dating veronica! i can’t remember if you knew about that, we did most of the build up for it before you joined, but she was in a relationship with ratchet for awhile while trying to deny her feelings.... and then fate left and, not wanting to leave that hanging, we hc’d that they’d had their breakup conversation off screen at some point before that? i just haven’t gotten around to doing much with her after that.

madeline is married in her canon and already had a storyline about like, struggling with fidelity, so i’ve never considered pursuing anything for her on denny. although any combination of the big little lies women is generally a Good Ship

badgerstripe might fall for tigerstar, which has a lot of disastrous potential that i’m interested to explore, with the added bonus of just getting to do more with inter-clan tigerclan dynamics in general.and another litter of kits for people to potentially adopt! we’ll see what happens with that but there are a lot of interesting directions it could go in, so i’ve always liked the idea

trish probably won’t be dating anyone for awhile after how things ended with her and laurel, but further down the road if i still have the muse for her i’m definitely open to ideas! there are specific things that she needs to work out and that do and don’t work for her in a relationship so i might be a little picky about ships for her but, it’s a nice idea as an Eventual Thing

sophie is... very unpredictable when it comes to planning ships, and generally she wouldn’t really be interested in a proper romantic relationship. she’s 500 years old, she’s over monogamous relationships! she just likes to have flings with people! it’s fun!  that being said, she definitely did have like, a particular fondness for say, hadley, so it is possible for her to form more specific attachments to people but.... it’s just really up in the air? it would depend on who it was and what they wanted from her and how much she was willing to like. bend for that. she’s gonna be turning cloud Eventually and giz and i haven’t talked about the nature of their relationship at all but maker/progeny bonds are always weird and complicated, so there’s that.

okay i might as well do my current potentials too, sly is off the market i think. i do like playing with him being a little flirty because, he’s sly, but i think what he needs on denny is like. a solid girl best friend. that’d be really cute. he kinda had that waaay back in the day with jemi’s character, oswin. but as far as romance goes, i’m honestly too attached to sly/carmelita as a ship and i don’t think he’d want to give up on that, especially given his canon point.

and camille is............... camille

she is way too much of a mess for a proper romantic relationship in the near future. it might be interesting to see someone like, Want to pursue that with her, but she’d have a very hard time ever being really open to it

[tachibubu]

Jealousy [REQUESTED]

Pairing: Jerome Valeska x Reader x Platonic! Deadpool

AU: HISHE-Villain Pub and Super Café

Prompt: [ANON] How about a female reader making Jerome jealous because he's been sweet talking other girls. You can pick how it ends :D - Anon

I’M SORRY THAT I JUST FINISHED IT NOW ANON, I WAS BUSY YESTERDAY AND TOTALLY FORGOT TO FINISH THIS REQUEST ;-; Hope you like it though, also if you guys say that Deadpool isn’t a villain you’re half right, he is an anti-hero that means he is in between. That includes the explanation to Punisher too! ^^

You rolled your eyes at how casually your boyfriend, Jerome Valeska is seducing with the waitress who just gave a giddy smile in return. You and your partner Jerome, where at the secluded hideout that one of largest company made, Villain Pub. Unoriginal the name is but believe me the pub is like heaven. The pub was made by the HISHE Company, who established the Super Café where all the heroes hang out ironically. Mostly the Bat and the Man of Steel. Unlike the café, which was publicly open, the pub opens between midnight to three am and was hidden well and requires an identification for all that wants to enter the pub.

You pouted; Jerome was clearly not giving his attention enough for you. Your phone rang as it sang ‘Purple Lamborghini’, you excused yourself but Jerome and the waitress didn’t seem to bother. You groaned and continue on walking away towards the side of the entrance, that’s where a little amount of people crowd in. If you thought the C.R. is the best choice then you might encounter some wild villains getting points with the opposite sex.

You swiped to respond and greeted, “Hello?”

“Boo!” you heard a boisterous shout behind your back as you grumbled in annoyment. It was the one and only Deadpool giggling at his little josh while ending the call, beside him was The Punisher----

“Yeah, yeah Author. Try to shut up, I’m trying to make a move with Mrs. Valeska here and I cannot focus with you narrating and shit!” Okay Deadpool this is for the views all right, it’s not my fault that I just want to write some stuff with you in it. I can’t find the right Villain to make up with the reader so I chose an antihero like you! Now shut up and let me continue my business.

“I would rather not be called with that surname right now.” The man was rubbernecking at you weirdly as you pointed at the flirty Jerome and the love-struck waitress. He simpered under his mask, “I have a plan.”

You took interest at what he aforesaid and smirked, “I love how you think Wilson.” winking at him. The Punisher nictate and gazes at the male and female, shifting once in a while. “I don’t want to be part of this, now if you mind. I’ll just take a shot with El Diablo and Deadshot.”

Deadpool mewl at the answer of the male, “Awe men~ I was wishing a threesome but I respect your choice brother, go get some gay sex! I’m proud of you!”

The Punisher just snarled and took steps towards the bar. “So the plan is to make Jerome jealous I assumed,” you smirked, your device on hand. Deadpool puts his hand on his waist and took in the sights, “Why yes baby girl, and here’s the plan.”

-

Jerome was about to ask the attractive woman’s number when he took notice on how you just vanished unexpectedly. “As much as I love to talk more, gorgeous. But my date has seem to fled and I need to be a gentleman and find her.” He stood, his voice alluring the female to want more. “Alright Mr. J,” she slipped a tissue paper with her name on it and her number “Talk to me when you ditch the bitch.” Jerome took offence to this; no one can persecute his girl other than him. “I almost took that option but it seems,” he then proceeded to rip off the tissue in bits and lob it into the air “That you’re no better, just a slut.” He smiled while biting his lip and left the table behind while waitress stared at him in shock and embarrassment, his hand up waving away while he continued walking.

“Toodles~”

He paced around the pub, trying to find you. Nodding to some acquaintance and even some of the older Jokers like him. When he arrived at the pool section, he examined a lot of people, mutants, etc. playing with each other as some cursed when the ball didn’t entered the hole, and with that many people he managed to detect you. There you are, with a man in red and black suit. It seems like he was teaching you how to play the game of pool, you were bended over the table, the stick on hand while pointing towards the white ball. The man also bended, his ‘largeness’ pressed to you while he held both of your hands educating you the right moves. And to his point of view, you were taking pleasure at the gesture of the disguised man.

“Deadpool he’s here! Take position!”

You could feel Deadpool’s raging boner pressed to your ass, “Will you control your penis?!”

He snickered, “Sorry dear, the Author won’t let me and besides I like this position.”

“He’s marching over the table,” Loki serenely stated while smirking. “ He seems upset. Good luck having a rough sex tonight (Y/N).” Even though Jerome was most likely to have rough sex by his looks and his infamous status, truth to be told he was gentle in bed. Afraid to hurt you, but now it seems not. You gulped at the thought, “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“You shouldn’t speak that kind of stuff with a child nearby.” Maleficent concealed Draco’s ears and glared at the people around the pool table. She casted a spell around the boy’s eyes that was now covered with clouds, unable to see. “My father will hear about this!” he whined, wrestling the lady’s hands while waving off the cloud that seems to stay just on spot.

Tom Riddle moaned, “Children.”

“True,” Bill Cipher said, rolling his eyes while sipping on a wine glass that was poured with the blood of a certain child that was accompanied by an eye.

“(Y/N)!” Jerome marched over to you, his face evident with anger. He grabbed your arm and roughly pulled you with him towards the exit. “Whoa bro, chillax, have a kit kat!” Deadpool chortled.

“ENOUGH!” Jerome shot a bullet towards Deadpool, a perfect shot on his forehead. He groaned in pain as Jerome just pushed you to the exit, with one last sympathetic look at your best friend. He just gave pained thumbs up while slowly crouching down and was now laying in pain while the other villains peeked at the state of him being on the ground moaning while mumbling incoherent words.

“I hate being immortal,” he groaned in pain. “Why the fuck did the author even made Jerome shot me before he fucks the reader, clearly she got what she wants as I suffer through the pain.” He rolled the last words.

“Don’t worry, I’m a Doctor.” Doctor Bong snuck in.

“Last time you said that to me you made me try to kill the big man with the claws and that kitty girl.”

“At least he’s doctor.” Tate Langdon shrugged.  “How the fuck are you out with the curse shit stuff ghost boy?!”

“It’s Halloween.”

“Oh right, well I’m happy for Jeromey trying a new genre of sex this time.”

And that’s when all the villains including the anti-heroes nodded in agreement.

[kittae]

100 WAYS TO SAY “I LOVE YOU” | 64 + 89

Pairing: Mark x reader

Genre: Fluff, drabble

Word Count: 1579

100 ways to say “i love you” ➞ 64. “It’s two sugars, right?” + 89. “I noticed.”

A/N: Wow this did not go as planned lol brain wyd

It was quiet in the coffee shop at this hour of the day. Most people grabbed their early morning juice before going to work, or sat down for an espresso or a cappuccino after a long day to catch up with friends, colleagues, family…

You, on the other hand, sat yourself at the table in a corner when noon had passed for two hours already, hiding from people that weren’t even there. The only other customer in the shop was a man of old age, clearly already retired and having no other obligations than reading the newspaper while sipping on his americano in the middle of the day.

You had taken the day off to meet up with your boyfriend for a fun date day. You were supposed to go to the movies, go for ice cream after and maybe even visit a museum hosting an exhibition you really wanted to see. That didn’t go quite as expected, unsurprisingly so. Your boyfriend made it a habit to show up late. You didn’t live together yet, even though you’ve been dating for long enough. He wasn’t ready, he’d said. And so, you found yourself waiting for him at the entrance of the cinema, hoping he wouldn’t stand you up again because he couldn’t get out of bed or he ‘forgot’ he’d already promised a friend to hang out with him. Though, you could’ve forgiven him if it was just the usual lack of punctuality.

After over an hour of sitting on the stairs in front of the theater, Mr. Punctual himself decided to show up after all. You were quite annoyed, but decided to let it go so you could have a nice date, especially because they were becoming more and more rare these days. You didn’t want to ruin the mood.

What you didn’t anticipate, however, was the way he was constantly smiling at his phone while you were waiting in line to pay for your popcorn. When you asked what was so funny, he just simply answered with ‘memes’, and didn’t spare a glance your way. You weren’t an idiot. You knew what memes looked like, and they didn’t come in the form of continuous text messages. When he went to the bathroom during a short break in between the movie you were watching, you couldn’t help but fish his phone from the pocket of his jacket, your finger anxiously sliding over the pattern that was required to get access to denial or confirmation of your suspicions.

When you opened the inbox bearing the messages that made the ground disappear from underneath your feet, the flirty texts of a certain ‘Ella’ whose contact name was surrounded by a series of emojis insinuating the kind of relationship your boyfriend and this girl unknown to you shared, you could only think of how badly you wanted to get out of there, as far away from the person that broke your heart in more ways than one, before he came back from his bathroom break.

You’d always known, to be quite fair, that he wasn’t to be trusted. That he wasn’t deserving of your love and affection since returning even 10% of what you gave seemed to be a herculean task for him. But as long as you could lie to yourself that wasn’t true, you did. Though, today’s events brought an end to that. It didn’t come as a shock, and it was like you’d been expecting this, but you couldn’t keep your heart from stinging just a little bit at the realization that it was now, effectively, all over.

You watched your phone blow up with texts of the man that had no clue why you’d suddenly disappeared from the theater, the screen constantly lighting up with bars saying ‘Jinyoung’ and a series of words you didn’t bother to read. You ignored them time and time again, until you saw a picture of his handsome face replacing the text bars, your phone vibrating every other second when you were given the option to take or decline the call.

“Neither,” you thought as your heart took a leap in panic, and you decided to switch off the device altogether.

A sigh subconsciously escaped from your lips, the air leaving your lungs in a trembling breath before you noticed the tall figure approaching from the corners of your eyes.

“Can i get you anything?” a gentle voice broke through your train of thoughts and made you snap your eyes towards the sound in return.

A bit lost for words, you tried to recollect your thoughts until you felt like you could form a proper sentence again, though it took longer than expected when your eyes fell onto the source of the softly spoken question.

You drank in the sight of rolled up sleeves, exposing a pair of forearms that lead to two hands loosely gripping the edge of the table at which you were sitting. Your gaze traveled upward until two eyes met yours. Wide, black pupils and warm irises the colour of the coffee he served, framed by small crescents in thin skin when his rosy lips curled up in a shy smile.

“C-cappuccino, please,” taken aback, you stumbled over your own words in surprise, even though you knew this face pretty well.

You’ve always thought the barista of the coffee shop on the corner of the street was handsome. Quite a vision, actually. You never saw him without his crisp apron, and the sleeves of his shirt were always rolled up like this. You wondered why you’d remembered such details about someone you thought you’d never paid much attention to.

“It’s two sugars, right?” He asked, the smile on his lips only widening a little bit at the sight of your flushed cheeks and your gaze dropping down when the heat of his eyes started to become too hot.

“How did you know?” You found yourself answering his question with one of your own, despite the inexplicable embarrassment you were suddenly feeling to start creeping up on you. Was it your emotional vulnerability that made you feel this way? Did you have trouble looking him in the eyes because the wound of your recent humiliation and betrayal was still so fresh? Or was it the way you noticed how his eyes lit up when you spoke that caused you to look away before strange thoughts could get a chance to cloud your mind?

This time it was his turn to turn bashful when his eyes finally averted and one of those forearms with a rolled up sleeve came up so his hand could rub at the back of his neck when he thought of the right response, and if you thought his smile was shy before, you could consider it sheepish right now.

“Well…Let’s just say i’ve been paying attention?” he grimaced, unsure, as a short but nervous giggle tumbled off his lips before taking an experimental peek at your expression to see how his bold, yet timid answer had affected you.

“Oh,” You murmured, not sure what to make of his words, though you felt your own shyness tug at the corners of your lips, “I see.”

You didn’t know why it proved to be so easy to smile even though you just had your heart broken, but you figured it had something to do with how this handsome barista’s slightly pointy canines stuck out a little when he smiled. It reminded you a little of a puppy, and who didn’t smile when they saw puppies, right? Yes, that must be it.

There was a moment of silence where his eyes skimmed every corner of the coffee shop, only to fall right back on yours and repeat the action all over again, while you were strangely enough doing the same thing.

“Do you…need anything else?” he decided to break the tension when you could both feel the atmosphere turning slightly awkward and he didn’t turn around to get your cappuccino with two sugars while your eyes kept meeting without a reason.

Silently wondering why it was so hard to turn your eyes away from him for more than three seconds, you forgot to answer him. You were too busy tracing the curve of his upper lip with your eyes, the slight flush on his cheeks, the collarbone that stuck out of his white shirt-

“Uhm…So, do you need me to get anything else for you, or?” he repeated, the sound of that same shy giggle bringing you back to reality and making you want to crawl under a rock in embarrassment.

“Oh, i’m sorry!” you snapped out of your strange trance, “Just a cappuccino is fine…I got a bit distracted.”

“Why’s that?” he asked, a slight frown in something between curiosity and concern appearing between his brows when he saw the way your face fell at your own words.

“I…Haven’t exactly been having the best of days.”

You shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal, forcing a smile back on your face, but with how one side of his lips contracted in a compassionate curve, you knew that he knew there was more to your story than what you led on.

“I noticed,” he simply answered, knowing it wasn’t his place to investigate your personal problems any further, “That’s why it’s on the house.”

The wink he threw your way took you aback, to say the least, and you never knew a broken heart could pound so hard.