#first fic I've written in a while

[natsu-kage]

Um, wow. This is really striking a cord with you all. Guess I can expand on this more. Hope you all like it just as much.

@samgirl98, @my-perfect-storybook-love, @fox-sama97, @amercurio, @satanicrutialspecialist, @defertbogwitch, @justwannabecat, @apointlessbox, @britcision, @grisicat, @shorterthanadverage, @princessdaisysolosyourfaves, @lazy-bouqet, @thefearfullone, @mimilikey, @thegatorsgoose, @kyrianclawraith 

Danny sat up straighter in the chair provided to him. He smiled nervously at the three other people who sat across from him over the table currently laden with several gadgets. Each of the gadgets were reverse engineered versions of the local heroes’ weapons. He had already clarified he had used only whole or particle weapons left around the town, not attached to active or possible crime scenes.

“So Mr. Nightingale, this is quite impressive. Especially for someone of your young age. How did you figure out how to not only replicate but modify some of them as well?” the lead interviewer, an older black gentleman and Co-Ceo by the name of Mr Lucius Fox, asked as he held up one of the anti-gas bombs. 

With a blush and rubbing the back of his head, Danny started with a laugh. “Ha, well you see, my parents are really inventive. I grew up in a home with all types of inventions laying around. My dad was always tinkering with something. Our house was probably the most well protected house on the block. The issue was that sometimes they didn’t work like expected. I’ve torn apart more energy guns than just about anyone else in my Masters classes at Gotham University.”

The young man to Mr. Fox’s left sat up from where he had sunk into his seat during Danny’s presentation. Mr. Tim Drake, Co-CEO of the company, leaned forward on to the table. “Energy weapons? Do you mean to say you also have knowledge of ray-guns as well?”

“Yes, I didn’t submit anything to show off my experience with ray-weapons. I wanted to stick with my theme of the local heroes. I did utilize some of the things I learned from my parents' ray-weapons in the construction of the tracker bugs.” holding up a at best 10 mm diameter domed tracker, Danny winked at Tim. “But, I’m not sharing anything about that until I’ve signed papers.”

The third interviewer, a stout woman from HR by the name of Ms. Heather Robinson, huffed a small laugh, “Reasonable, it sounds like you got started really young. Did you get to see how your parents troubleshoot those issues you mentioned they ran into with their inventions? That would be quite an education to be walked through that.”

“Yes, but sometimes they would get hyper focused on how they thought things should work. That’s when I would step in and take a look over things. The most common thing I ran into was wiring issues. My dad didn’t wire in any common sense way. So I guess you could say I learned some of the bad habits to avoid. The home security system was a nightmare though, I had to fiddle with it some much since it would go off on a hair trigger. I did get really great reflexes out of it. Lots of burns too.”

The eyes of the interviewer widen at that comment before sharing a quick series of looks. Mr. Robinson finally set her mouth in a tight line and nodded to the other.

She turned back to Danny and lifted her tablet to look up something. “It says here you come from Amity Park, IL. Do you know why your parents were building such things? We are interested due to the possibility of the alternative energy source you’ve mentioned. Patent concerns you understand.”

“As I remember it, it was for personal sale. They hold many patents, but not on the energy source.” Danny lifted his hands in a placating gesture.

Mr. Drake put his phone down on the table and raised his hands to steep his hands in front of himself. “Mr. Nightingale, I want you to understand that we are very interested in you for this position. I am a bit concerned though. Given some of what you’ve told us about your parents, I have questions. It will not affect you getting hired, but we will want to make sure that the security to keep you and your possible fellow co-workers safe. Please answer as honestly as you can, and no judgment. Are your parents villains? Or work for villains?”

Taken a bit back Danny began, “N-”as he went to answer he paused and really thought about it. Everything they wanted to do to ghost since as long as he could remember, the fact he’d moved out to live with Jazz when she left for college, or the fact that they didn’t even try to turn off the portal after he’d had his accident turning it on.

In a small voice Danny replied, “maybe?”

Short DPXDC Prompts #631

Danny Fenton has a Mechanical Engineering degree. Usually Wayne Enterprises prefers some form of résumé or Portfolio of their potential employees skills.

They didn’t expect Danny to pull out perfect replicas of Bat equipment and explain how he reverse engineered them step by step like it was nothing.

[fireladybuckley]

let the words fall out

coda/speculation for 7x05

T || 6.04k || canon compliant

Buck didn't think he'd ever felt quite so nervous to get out of his car and head into the station as he did after what had happened on Saturday night.  Not on his very first day at the 118.  Not on the day he’d returned to work after the lightning strike.  Not even on his first day back after the lawsuit.

The date with Tommy - it had been going great, until suddenly it hadn't. Eddie's arrival had sent Buck's nerves into overdrive and he'd already been feeling jittery and nervous, it being his first ever date with another man. Tommy had told him to relax, it was okay, it was just Eddie. No big deal. No big deal that his best friend, who had no idea what had transpired between him and Tommy yet, was sitting just far enough away to be out of earshot, but plenty close enough that Buck knew if he turned his head even slightly to the left, he'd see Eddie and Marisol sitting there, clear as day. He could feel Eddie's eyes boring into the side of his head. He could imagine the expression on Eddie's face... trying to figure out exactly what was happening, what he and Tommy were talking about, wondering why Buck hadn't mentioned he was suddenly hanging out with Tommy.

No big deal.

Sure.

or: the one where Buck and Eddie have a huge misunderstanding about the whole Buck/Tommy thing and angstiness goes down

read on Ao3 Thank you to @firemedicdiaz for being my beta reader, as always (love you bb) All line dividers by @firefly-graphics

Tommy had been sweet, doing his best to distract Buck and keep him from spiraling. He’d asked questions about Buck's life and interests and Buck did his best to engage and make conversation, but he felt stiff and anxious the entire time. He doubted Eddie was actually staring at him 100% of the time, but it certainly felt like it, and try as he might, Buck just couldn't force himself to relax. He picked at his food and as soon as Tommy was done eating, Buck had seized the opportunity and suggested they go elsewhere.

Tommy had agreed and they'd left; Tommy waved a friendly goodbye to Eddie as Buck reluctantly turned to glance over at him. He raised a hand in an awkward wave and Eddie's eyes briefly met his. Eddie's expression, which had been a polite smile when returning Tommy's wave, turned more serious and almost cold as he gave Buck a small nod and then looked back down at his food. Feeling a sudden, anxious tightness in his chest, Buck swallowed hard and turned away, following Tommy out of the restaurant. Was Eddie mad at him?

It was a good thing he had been the one driving them because he had a hard time spiraling in his head while paying attention to the road in addition to keeping up a conversation. They went to a nearby pub for a couple of drinks and Tommy was engaging enough that Buck managed to mostly put the matter aside in his mind. After a few hours of talking and laughing, Buck felt at ease again. When he brought Tommy home and was invited in, he agreed, thinking he'd spend a little while there and then head home. He ended up spending the night, and between the making out, the heavy petting, and the early morning murmurings, he was more than distracted enough to completely forget about how Eddie had looked at him.

That was, until he went home the next morning and sat in his empty loft for a while. The euphoria from connecting so deeply with Tommy, the excitement of the rushing feelings of a potential new love, the exhilaration of exploring this side of himself that he'd never realized was there carried him through showering, putting his things away, and making himself some food.

But as he sat there and ate his breakfast, he suddenly remembered the cool look Eddie had given him and felt his giddiness ebb. Had he just been imagining it? Or had Eddie looked almost... angry? He'd been so excited when he'd spotted the two of them, clearly happy that they were getting along, but what if the change in demeanor had happened because he'd realized it was a date? Was he angry that Buck had moved in on his new friend? Or was he angry that Buck, whom he'd thought was straight until that moment, was actually not straight at all?

It had all happened so fast that Buck hadn't had a chance to come out to Eddie - hell, he'd barely had time to absorb the idea himself, let alone tell anyone else. Looking back, his being bi made an incredible amount of sense, but looking forward, it still felt different and new. He wasn't even sure what he would say when he told people.  Wasn't it unusual for people to come out this late?  Hen had told him once that she'd known she was gay since she was a young teen. Other queer friends he'd had had said similar; they'd known since childhood or at least their teen years.

Buck knew it wasn't exactly unheard of for people in their thirties or older to come out, but it felt unexpectedly awkward when he thought about announcing it to everyone, so he had shelved the idea for the time being. He'd thought that maybe going on a few dates with Tommy would make it feel more real, give him something to build on before he said anything; he hadn't counted on anyone - especially not Eddie - immediately finding out on his very first date.

Gnawing on his lower lip, Buck pulled out his phone and opened up the text screen for Eddie, noting that there were no new messages. Not necessarily an odd thing given that he and Marisol had also been out on a date the night before, but still - after seeing him and Tommy together, Buck had kind of expected texts asking how it had happened. Swallowing another small ripple of anxiety, Buck shot Eddie a text.

Hey Eddie, so... how did your date go last night? Great pizza there, right?

Buck winced as he hit send, realizing how terrible the message sounded, but he wasn't sure what else to say. Was he supposed to just be like "Hey Eddie, so you saw me on my very first gay date, surprise! Btw your new friend is super hot"?

No. 

Definitely not.

So he waited. And waited. When he realized Eddie was in no hurry to respond, Buck sighed and finished his breakfast, glancing at his phone every minute or two. Eventually, it finally buzzed. Buck grabbed it so fast he nearly dropped it and fumbled to read the message, which was indeed from Eddie.

It was fine. Yeah, the pizza there is good. Brought some home for Chris and he loved it.

Buck stared at the message, chewing on his lip again. No mention of seeing him or Tommy. No acknowledgement whatsoever of meeting them there, no questions about the situation, nothing. Buck swallowed hard, trying to decide if he should bring it up. Perhaps Eddie was giving him space, letting him decide if he wanted to say anything about it?

Buck spent a good ten minutes typing, then deleting, then typing, then deleting. In the end, he decided he didn't want to have this talk in text, and sent a different message entirely.

Hey, are you busy today? Maybe we could hang out. I could come over or you could come here, either way. If Christopher's not busy he could come too.

Buck expected to wait a while for his reply like he had the first time, and had just set his phone down to take his dishes to the sink when it buzzed again. Heart leaping, he set his plate back down and looked at it.

No, we're busy today. See you at work tomorrow.

Buck's heart sank into his stomach. Eddie usually wasn't so short with him, would usually tell him what they were up to if he couldn't hang out. The immediate shutdown of any chance at a conversation had Buck's blood running cold and he felt anxiety flood through him again. Eventually, he texted back.

Oh, okay. That's okay. See you tomorrow.

Buck set his phone down and covered his face with his hands, rubbed his eyes, ran a hand through his hair. Was he overthinking things? Maybe Eddie really was just busy, maybe he was about to drive somewhere and didn't have time for a proper text. But Buck didn't think so, somehow. Between the look the night before and the bluntness of the texts, the complete absence of acknowledgment of the date... Buck knew something was wrong. But he also didn't want to press Eddie; he knew that could make the situation worse and he was scared that if he said the wrong thing, Eddie would be even more pissed at him.

Clearly, Eddie was not impressed that Buck was moving in on his new friend. Buck knew that Eddie had wanted Tommy and himself to get along, but Buck supposed that going out with Tommy without Eddie had been stepping over a line. Remembering the jealousy he had felt only a few days prior, he wondered if it was a similar situation, that Eddie was hurt that Buck didn't invite him along. Or was it something more?

Buck twisted himself into knots all day long as he went about his daily chores, went to the gym, sat down to watch a TV show. Eddie didn't message him again. Tommy did and Buck spent some time texting with him, but the whole time he just felt this nagging sense of unease.

At least they had a shift the next day. Once they were face to face, Buck could tell Eddie he was sorry he hadn't told him they were going out without him, and resolved to invite him along next time. He still wasn't sure whether Eddie knew it had been a date date or just an outing, but he wasn't sure if it mattered - in his mind, Eddie was mad because Buck went behind his back and invited Tommy out without him, nothing more.

So, that morning, Buck pulled up to the station and sat in his car for a minute, glancing around the lot. Eddie's truck was already there and Buck took a few deep breaths before he jumped out and headed inside. His only goal that day was to smooth things over with Eddie, unable to stand the idea that his best friend was mad at him, filled with the need to make it right.

Buck walked into the station with his bag slung over his back, searching for Eddie as he headed towards the lockers. People greeted him and he nodded, returning the greetings distractedly as he passed them, eyes peeled. He made it to his locker without seeing Eddie so he quickly ditched his stuff and changed into his uniform, then headed upstairs to the kitchen. Eddie was seated at the counter, drinking coffee and talking to Bobby. Buck's heart skipped a beat when he saw him and he started forward, but before he could even get close, the tones went off.

"We're starting early today, I guess," Bobby sighed, setting down the baking tray he'd been about to put in the oven. Everyone got up and hurried downstairs and Buck was just about to greet Eddie as he moved to jump up into the back when Bobby called over to him.

"Buck, you're driving today!"

"Oh," Buck said, stopping short as Eddie darted past him without a word. "Okay, Cap."

Buck hopped up into the driver's seat, making a plan in his head for when they returned, how he'd corner Eddie and talk to him. But the entire day went like that - every time they came back to the station and Buck approached Eddie, the tones went off and they had to run again. All day and evening, Buck was unable to start a conversation with Eddie, and even during mealtimes, Eddie was seated too far from him to have any kind of private conversation.

At first, Buck thought it was all just a coincidence, but after lunch, supper, and a late night meal came and went without Eddie being closer than three seats away, he was starting to suspect it was on purpose. All night, whenever they didn't have a call, Eddie made sure he was near other people and while Buck could join them, it was impossible to have any kind of private chat. Every time he tried to talk to him, Eddie would answer politely enough but he refused to meet Buck's eyes and quickly changed the subject or engaged someone else in conversation.

Twenty hours into the twenty four, Buck noticed Eddie moving away from the group to head towards the washroom and, desperate to connect with him, Buck followed, lurking nearby the door as he waited for him to finish. Maybe he was standing a little too close because the door swung open and nailed the back of his boot, not hurting him but causing a loud thunk noise that startled both of them.

"Whoa, sorry - oh." Eddie's tone was light and apologetic at first, not knowing who he'd hit with the door, but his tone dropped and he frowned as he saw who it was.

"Buck, what are you doing? Did you really follow me to the bathroom?"

Buck swallowed, suddenly unable to speak, his mouth dry. Eddie was clearly unhappy to see him there and it was so different from his usual reception that it made Buck feel like he wanted to cry.

"I, well- you- you didn't really give me a choice," Buck said nervously, stumbling over his words. "I've been trying to talk to you all day."

"I know," Eddie replied dryly, looking everywhere but into Buck's gaze.

"Oh..." Buck swallowed. "You knew I wanted to? Then why—"

"Because I don't want to talk to you right now," Eddie said flatly, staring at a spot over Buck's left shoulder.

The colour drained from Buck's face as he stared at Eddie, feeling dizzy, feeling like the world was spinning, feeling like he was about to explode into a million miserable pieces.

"W-what? Why? W-why don't you—" Buck asked, his voice wavering as he struggled to keep it together.

"Do you really not have any clue why I might be irritated with you right now?" Eddie asked sharply, glancing directly at him for a split second before avoiding his eyes again.

"I..." Buck faltered, hesitating. "Is it because I didn't tell you that Tommy and I were going out together? I swear we weren't trying to exclude you or anything, it just kind of happened, and-"

"Buck, I don't care if you have other friends. Hell, I really wanted you and Tommy to get along." Eddie said in a tone that Buck was having a hard time identifying.  Was it anger? Resentment? Annoyance? Buck couldn't tell and he was getting frustrated. Why wouldn't Eddie just look at him?

"Wanted... like past tense?" Buck asked cautiously. "Do you not still want us to?"

"Well, I think you're probably getting along better than I ever would have suspected," Eddie said, in that same unidentifiable tone. He paused for a moment and then added - still without making eye contact - in a biting tone that stung Buck with every word.  "That was a date, right? Not just dinner between friends? Are you two actually dating?"

Buck felt like the ground was shaking, like a hole was about to open up and swallow him. Or he kind of wished it would, anyway. He felt dizzy; so Eddie knew it was more than friendship, that he and Tommy had been on a date... and he was not happy about it? That tone was sharp, bitter, even angry... and Buck didn't know how to react. Was this really about Tommy? Or something deeper?

A thought that hadn't occurred to Buck suddenly hit him like a freight train; what if Eddie was actually angry that Buck wasn't straight? They had never talked about it before, and though Buck knew Eddie generally had no problem whatsoever with queer people, was it somehow different now that he knew Buck wasn't straight? Could Eddie actually be homophobic? Buck had never even entertained that thought, but as he looked at the anger that Eddie was barely holding back, he felt like he'd just been punched in the face. Hurt coursing through him, he finally found his voice.

"Is that a problem?" Buck asked, his voice smaller than he would've liked. Eddie sniffed in an annoyed way and shook his head like he couldn't believe him, and Buck felt a flicker of anger suddenly well up inside of him.

"Do you have a problem with me? Are you actually pissed that I'm not straight?" Buck asked fiercely, his heart pounding painfully in his chest.

Dead silence.

After another silent moment, Eddie finally looked him full in the face, and Buck was struck dumb by the intensity of the anger and hurt in Eddie's expression. They stared at each other for several long moments, Buck's emotions in turmoil in his gut. Confusion, anger, hurt, fear, all swirling through his insides, threatening to send him toppling to the floor if the silence stretched on any longer. Just as he was about to explode from the tension, Eddie spoke.

"Do you really think so little of me?" Eddie asked, his voice tight with tension, anger, and disbelief. "Do you really think I would have a problem with you being gay?"

Buck stared at him, completely unsure, worried that he'd really fucked up with that question, because he had never seen such an expression on Eddie's face before. And if he was being honest, no, he'd never actually thought that Eddie would have a problem with it, but he was still so angry about something and Buck just didn't understand what it was.

"B-but you've been acting like you hate me since you saw us together," Buck said quickly, his voice shaking, "if it's not that it's Tommy, and it's not that we didn't invite you, then what else could it be if not because I'm--"

"We're done here," Eddie snapped, cutting him off and shaking his head in disgust. Before Buck could say anything, Eddie had stalked quickly down the hallway and disappeared into the kitchen area. Trembling from the adrenaline and anxiety of the confrontation, Buck went into the washroom and sat on a toilet for a long time, his head in his hands, his mind reeling.

There was only one more call before the shift ended and Buck quietly asked Bobby if he could be the man behind. Bobby could clearly see that something was wrong, but Buck shook his head to indicate that he didn't want to get into it and Bobby shrugged.

"Sure, kid. You can stay. But let me know if you need to talk about anything, okay?" Bobby said, looking him directly in the eyes and gripping his shoulder.

Buck nodded, patting Bobby's arm in an attempt to indicate his thanks but not trusting himself to speak. He was exhausted after the shift and with all the emotional turmoil, he was afraid he'd start crying at Bobby's kindness.

The team left and Buck hid in the bunkrooms for most of the rest of the shift. The engine came back just minutes before the shift ended, and Buck watched them stream into the locker rooms from up in the loft, watched Eddie studiously not looking up at him as he headed off to change and then left.

Only once Eddie was gone did Buck himself leave, driving home in a daze without even turning the radio on, thinking of everything and nothing all at the same time. He eventually found his way into his apartment and started his usual after-shift rituals - undressing, showering, making breakfast. He had poured himself some orange juice and sat down before he even realized what he was doing, so distracted that he wondered vaguely who had made the eggs on his plate, because he certainly did not remember making them.

Halfway through eating, he gave up. He couldn't focus. He kept checking his phone every minute or two. He had a feeling that if he texted or called Eddie, he wouldn't get an answer. Buck knew he wasn't going to be able to get any sleep. There was only one thing he could do.

Abandoning his half-eaten breakfast, Buck grabbed his keys and went back out to his Jeep, determined to fix their issues. It was after eight in the morning, he knew Chris would be gone for school and Eddie would probably be alone.

Buck drove to Eddie's house, squirming and anxious the whole time, wishing it wasn't rush hour as it took nearly twice as long as it should have to get there. Finally he reached the house and sat for a while just looking at it. Part of him didn't even want to go in - the idea of more confrontation made him feel sick. But he also knew he would never get any kind of meaningful rest or even feel normal until they worked out whatever was happening. Eddie was far too important to him to let this slide.

Buck finally steeled himself, took a deep breath, and got out of his Jeep. At the door, he knocked and waited.

Knocked and waited.

Knocked a third time. Waited.

Nothing.

Buck knew Eddie was home; his truck was in the driveway. He supposed that maybe Eddie was sleeping but he doubted it. The anger and hurt Buck had seen in Eddie's eyes had been potent enough that Buck was sure that he wouldn't be able to sleep either. Buck knocked a fourth time; still nothing.

"Come on, Eddie," Buck called through the door. "I know you're home. Let me in."

Still nothing. Frustrated, angry, and now a little worried, Buck decided to take matters into his own hands. Finding Eddie's key on his keyring, he unlocked the front door and slipped inside, locking it again behind him. The house was quiet, the living room empty. Buck stuck his keys back into his pocket and cautiously moved down the hallway into the kitchen.

Eddie was seated at the kitchen table, reading, and Buck saw that he had ear buds in his ears. Feeling slightly relieved because at least he now assumed Eddie hadn't heard him knocking, he started to lift his hand and open his mouth to say hello when Eddie's eyes shifted upwards and found him. He started slightly, then his mildly surprised expression turned into a scowl. He reached up and took the earbuds out, almost glaring at him.

"Seriously, Buck? You just let yourself in? Can't you take a hint?" Eddie asked, irritated, setting down his e-reader and frowning at him. He didn't seem overly surprised that Buck had let himself in, but he didn't sound pleased.

"Well, I— I don't know, I-I wanted to talk to you... plus I thought maybe you didn't hear me knocking?" Buck said, a little hopefully, gesturing to the earbuds on the table.

"Why do you think I was wearing them?" Eddie asked flatly, taking a sip of his coffee. "I thought you'd get the hint after I didn't answer the door, but apparently not."

Buck felt the words hit him like a slap and anger flickered in his gut again - why was Eddie being such a jerk? Okay, Buck understood that clearly Eddie didn't want to talk, but why was he being so rude? It was so unnecessary and the anger made Buck feel stronger, more confident to speak.

"Why are you acting like this?" Buck asked indignantly. "I didn't do anything to you, all I did was go on a date with a guy and now you're— you're acting like— like I mortally offended you because I'm not straight, or-"

Eddie let out a derisive snort and stood, taking his empty coffee cup to the counter, his back turned to Buck. Buck glared at the back of Eddie's head, the anger fueling him into opening his mouth again.

"You claim you don't care that I went out with Tommy," Buck said, the volume of his voice rising, "and you claimed you'd never be angry that I wasn't straight--"

"And I meant it," Eddie snapped, cutting in with a glance over his shoulder, though not turning around. Buck took a breath, trying to reel in his emotions, but kept going on, his voice still rising with emotion.

"Then what is it? What have I done to offend you so much that you won't even look at me? Why are you being such a- a-" Buck sputtered himself into stopping, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. Eddie turned slowly, scowling, his arms crossed over his chest.

"A what?" he demanded, one eyebrow crooked. "What exactly am I being?" His tone was still irritated, taunting even, and Buck, feeling egged on, didn't hesitate.

"A bitch. You're being a total bitch about this and I don't get it, Eddie." Buck's voice cracked, but he forced himself to stay on track. Eddie was glaring at him, still angry - though Buck suspected he saw the slightest hint of amusement at being called a bitch - and it spurred him on.

"If you're not mad that it's Tommy, if you're not mad that I'm... um, not straight..." Buck swallowed, still struggling to feel normal about saying that when it had only been a few days and he still wasn't used to it. He continued, his voice filled with anger, hurt. "Then what is it? What could I possibly have done to offend you so badly?"

Arms still crossed, Eddie stared down at the floor near Buck's feet as Buck waited, breathing fast, nearly shaking with the adrenaline once again. He expected Eddie to react angrily, to feed off the energy that Buck was putting out, but as he watched, Eddie seemed to deflate.

Eddie let out a deep, ragged sigh and leaned back against the counter, uncrossed his arms, and ran a single hand through his hair. When he finally looked up and met Buck's eyes, Buck could still see anger there, but now he also saw sadness and felt the confusion rising in him again.

"You really don't understand?" Eddie asked, and his voice was much calmer, his tone more resigned than angry. Buck responded to this reduction in intensity and lowered his own voice, though it still shook a little with emotion.

"I don't, Eddie," Buck agreed with some relief, a little bit of desperation colouring his voice now. "Would I be here begging you to tell me what it is if I actually did understand?"

Eddie bobbed his head to the side as though Buck had a point. Buck waited again, on tenterhooks, as Eddie let out another small sigh and looked at him again.

"How long have you known?" Eddie asked quietly, meeting his eyes for a moment but then dropping his gaze to the floor again.

"Known..." Buck repeated, blank. "Known what?"

Eddie gave him a look that said come on, and shook his head a little.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Eddie asked and Buck frowned as he watched the rest of Eddie's anger dissolve, replaced by sadness and a little indignance of his own.

"Tell you--" Buck started, but Eddie kept going.

"I mean, I’d understand if I wasn't the first person you told," Eddie went on, "someone like Hen would make sense, or your sister, or..."

Eddie trailed off and looked up just as it hit Buck what Eddie was talking about.

"Oh! You mean, how long have I known... why didn't I tell you I was... is that what you meant?" Buck asked, realization finally dawning on him as Eddie nodded, a slightly exasperated look on his face.

"Yeah, I mean... when I saw you guys, when I realized it was an actual date... I was like "oh that's cool, I didn't know"... but then I started wondering why I didn't know," Eddie said, standing up straight and starting to pace around the kitchen. Buck wanted to interrupt but found that he couldn't, his eyes glued to Eddie, following his path around the table as he spoke.

"I wondered if you didn't trust me, or you thought I would treat you differently, or..." Eddie seemed to hesitate, but then plowed on. "Or worse, I wondered if you thought I would judge you. That I wouldn't want to be around you because of it."

Buck stared at him, startled by the worry in his voice, feeling a rush of relief and affection for Eddie flooding him as the other man spoke.

"Eddie, no, that's not-- no! I never thought that," Buck tried to assure him, but Eddie's gaze was still worried and a little hard as he met Buck's.

"Are you sure about that? Last night you seemed pretty convinced that I was angry that you were gay."

"Yeah, but that's only because I couldn't figure out why you were mad," Buck said quickly, an earnest edge to his voice. "I'm not entirely sure I understand now, but--"

"I was afraid that you don't know me at all, despite being friends for so long," Eddie admitted.  

"I would never judge you... but I was pissed because suddenly I see you out on a date with a guy that you seemed to despise, and I started wondering if you'd been putting on an act to hide from me that you actually liked him, that you didn't trust me enough to tell me. You seemed so awkward and freaked out that I'd seen you that I started thinking you intentionally hadn't said anything... And yeah I guess I got angry, I was hurt that you hadn't told me, and the idea that you thought I'd judge you for not being straight upset me so much that it turned into-- well, it turned into me being a bitch about it," Eddie finished, a tiny smirk curling the corner of his lips.

Buck let out a small, relieved - but still nervous - laugh and felt himself relax just a little, relieved that now at least he knew what was wrong.

"Eddie, I swear, it was nothing like that. I swear. I don't think you would ever judge me like that. I trust you." Buck told him, and the sincerity in his voice seemed to reassure Eddie, who looked up at him again and held his gaze.

"I believe you. But still, why didn't you tell me? If you didn't think I would judge you, then... why?" Eddie asked, getting a second coffee cup out of the cupboard and filling it and his own with more coffee from the pot. He sat down at the table, and gestured for Buck to do the same, setting the coffee mug in front of him.

"Honestly?" Buck replied as he sat across from Eddie and sighed, curling his fingers around the cup. "I genuinely didn't realize until Tommy kissed me a few days ago."

Eddie had just taken a sip of his coffee and choked a little at those words, coughing and setting down his cup as he looked over at Buck.

"He kissed you, what-- just out of nowhere, or?" Eddie asked, surprised. "I mean, I knew he wasn't straight but I didn't know he was going to ask you out."

"Neither did he," Buck said with a bit of a nervous chuckle, taking a sip of his coffee. He began to tell Eddie what happened, feeling awkward at first but relaxing a little as he spoke. Tommy had been right - it was just Eddie. His best friend. He could tell him anything.

Buck told him about how Tommy had come over to apologize for getting in the way of his and Eddie's friendship, how Buck had realized that while he'd been jealous at first, he'd actually been trying to get Tommy's attention, and then how the kiss had just... happened, and how the date had been made right after, and how Buck had been just as surprised as anyone else would be that he was seriously attracted to Tommy.  To guys in general.

"And you really didn't know?" Eddie asked after a few moments of silence, as Buck drummed his fingers on placemat under his cup, tracing the outline of a dinosaur - a set of prehistoric placemats that Chris had begged for one time when they'd gone to Target together.

"I mean, I think I had suspected, a little," Buck said thoughtfully. "It's definitely never bothered me when someone thought I was gay or anything, and I always felt like there was something... off, you know? Something missing, I guess, when I thought about relationships and who I was attracted to."

Eddie nodded slowly, clearly thinking, and Buck drained his coffee and continued.

"But I guess I didn't realize it in reality until it was right there in front of me," he mused, and Eddie smiled slightly. "What?"

"You didn't realize until what was in front of you - Tommy, or the gay awakening?" Buck laughed and shook his head, lifting his hands slightly as though in surrender.

"I guess they're one and the same in this case," Buck admitted and Eddie laughed. "But I think I'm bi. Bi makes sense, because I do still like women... I just like men too."

Eddie nodded and Buck took it as a gesture of acceptance and love. A much more amicable silence fell over them as Buck, feeling generally at ease but still a tiny bit nervous, fiddled with his cup while Eddie finished his. After a while, Buck looked up and Eddie smiled at him, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"So, is Tommy a good kisser?" Eddie asked, feigning innocence as Buck threw a napkin at him.

"Oh shut up," Buck said, laughing. He paused, thinking about it. "Although... yeah, yeah he is."

Eddie snorted and rose, grabbing their cups and moving back towards the coffee maker.

"The man could charm the birds from the trees, of course he's a good kisser," Eddie commented, pouring them both more coffee and turning around to hand one to Buck. "Do you like him?"

Buck paused, turning the mug slowly in his hands and staring at the swirling milk Eddie had added for him. He wondered if maybe Eddie was hiding something from him too, the way he talked about Tommy, but Buck decided not to bark up that tree just yet.

"Yeah," he answered, slowly at first, but then with more confidence and a smile. "Yeah, I think I really do."

Eddie smiled, and nodded.

"Then I'm cool with it. As long as you're happy, Buck, that's all I care about."

Buck struggled to find words to say, touched by Eddie's acceptance and care for him, but nothing came to him. Eddie seemed to understand and smiled again, reaching out to squeeze Buck's shoulder tightly before moving over to the fridge and looking inside.

"You hungry? I can whip us up some eggs and bacon," Eddie suggested, glancing over his shoulder at him.

Buck felt his stomach growl at the mention of bacon and nodded with a grin.

"That sounds great," he agreed and watched as Eddie pulled everything they needed out of the fridge. 

As he helped cook, Buck couldn't help but feel grateful for how normal everything felt again. Eddie understood now and everything was fine. Buck had been so worried about coming out and it hadn't been a big deal at all. He knew it wouldn't always be that easy, but as he stood in Eddie's kitchen like he'd done a million times before, making food with him and talking and laughing, Buck felt like he was already on the right track to living his life the way he was truly meant to.

Thanks for reading! Please reblog to share if you enjoyed it <3

It's been so long since I posted a fic I'm not sure anyone on my tag list is still interested, but here we go:

@firemedicdiaz​ @diekatimitdemhutohnehut @inuhimesblog​ @godlightbuckley​​​ @bicepsie ​ @floralbuckleys @morganayenneferburnham @fleurdebeton @tulipfromtheinternet@princessbb

If you're on my tag list and don't want to be, or if you aren't on it and you'd like to be, please send me a message or an ask! <3 (Apologies to a few on my tag list - your usernames have changed and I don't know what your new URLs are, I'm so sorry)

[lunarharp]

into the deep end - 30k T orufrey fic, focusing on memory trauma, disability, and romance.

the sweet oblivion of the victim, the poisoned freedom of the other.

for one moment - it had felt like two parts returned - the needed reunion of two disparate halves. no more secrets, no more pain.

the moment you get to give back what you never wanted to take. that moment, under the night-blooming flowers, when they had both let out the same single broken sigh of relief.

but they were never whole to begin with, were they?

qifrey swore he wouldn't say 'sorry' to this man any more if he could help it - sorry is cheap now. he didn't want to be in a position ever again where you only have 'sorry' left. so he just looks down into the threads of his blanket, strains his eye until it hurts, feeling his insides - his throat, heart and head - burn with pain. he expects more, but olly says nothing.

olly says nothing.

[varpusvaras]

Something was going on.

Fox could see it from the moment Breha walked into his room. She was trying too hard to look like nothing was wrong, but the expression on her face looked forced, like her skin had been painted over with hardened wax.

She walked over to his bed and sat down. Fox watched her every movement carefully, just waiting for her to open her mouth and say what it was. He watched as she breathed, laced her fingers together, and then decided otherwise and instead reached for Fox's hand, taking it into her own. Fox watched as she stroked her fingers over the back of his hand, slowly, gently, like she was trying to calm down both herself and him.

Fox couldn't take it anymore.

"What is it?" He asked. "Did something happen?"

He was suddenly very aware of the fact that it was only Breha in the room with him. Bail was still supposed to be on Alderaan. He had said that he didn't need to leave for another week. Why was he not here? Had something happened and-

"Bail is alright", Breha said, like she had just read all of his thoughts. "He is just outside the door, actually. We just thought that it was for the best if I came in first and explained this all a little bit first."

"Explained what?" Fox asked. Breha breathed in deeply again, and squeezed Fox's hand.

"I'm afraid we haven't been entirely truthful with you", she started, "please believe me when I say it wasn't because we didn't trust you, the situation was just very delicate, with your health and what is going on in the Galaxy now."

There were too many questions in Fox's mind now, none of which he knew how to ask out loud.

"But everybody is alright?" He asked. Breha smiled at him a little.

"Of course. We just want you to meet someone", she said. "Someone we haven't yet told you about."

She turned around, to look at the door.

"Bail, love", she called. "Come in."

Fox watched as Bail walked in, his eyes immeadiately finding the little body resting in his arms, and his heart jumped up to his throat.

"Fox", Breha said, as Bail stopped next to the bed. "This is Leia. Our daughter."

Fox stared. Stared at the baby in Bail's arms, tinier than even the smallest of Cadets Fox had ever seen, dark brown hair covering its head and its tiny hands grasping onto the front of Bail's shirt.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you right away", Bail said, apologetic tone in his voice that Fox barely heard over the rushing of the blood in his ears. "The situation was...difficult. You needed to heal, even a little bit, and we didn't want to lie to you about her."

Fox finally managed to lift his eyes from the baby back to Bail and Breha, who were both looking at him with guarded eyes.

"Lie to me about what?" He asked. "This isn't...you didn't have to tell me anything, I'm just-"

"Fox", Breha interrupted him, before his spiralling thoughts could come rushing out of his mouth. "You are part of our family, just as she is. You deserve to know just as much, but we didn't want to stress you out with all of this, before we knew that you were stable enough. We trust you with this knowledge, just as much as we trust each other with it."

"I don't understand", Fox said. He really didn't. Bail and Breha had always talked about wanting a child, so much so that Fox had started to sometimes give himself a permission to want one too, to imagine what it would be like, with all three of them and a little one who would look up to him and call him buir. What more was there to know about that?

Breha squeezed his hands again.

"She is the daughter of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker", she said, leaving no room for any more questions in Fox's mind.

Fox looked at her. He looked at Bail and his somber eyes, and he looked back down at the baby, still fast asleep in Bail's arms.

There was still one question left, after all.

"Why did you tell me?" He asked. "I'm a breach in security, now. If they find me, they can make me talk."

"They can make me talk, just as easily", Bail said. "They can make Breha talk as well. You are part of our family. You deserve to know just as much as both of us do."

Fox looked at the baby. Leia. Her name was Leia.

It was-

He swallowed hard. There were still things he wanted to say, but he had lost the trust in his own voice.

There was a moment of silence between them, before Bail moved.

"Do you want to hold her?" He asked softly.

Fox looked up at him, and back to Leia.

She was so small. So very small and soft and delicate and important, and Fox wanted nothing more than to make sure that no one or no thing was ever going to hurt her, including himself.

"I-" He tried to say so, but there was something in his throat. "I, I can't, I-"

Have done some many horrible things. Have hurt so many innocent beings already. Have no idea how you can even ask me that.

"You can", Bail said. "I'm going to just lay her on your lap. You don't need much strength in your arms for that. It's alright."

His body had been the last thing Fox had been thinking about right then. The range of motion of his upper body had gotten a lot better recently, even if he still couldn't hold even his own weight up yet. The realisation of that made him feel better, actually. He was too broken to hurt anybody, even a little baby.

He looked at Leia, then up at Bail, and nodded.

Bail smiled, and carefully leaned over and carefully laid Leia's little body on Fox's lap and arms. She was so light Fox barely even felt her, but weighted more than all the stars in the universe.

Even though Bail had tried to be careful, as soon as he let go of Leia, her face scrunched up and her eyes, already darkened to brown, blinked up at Fox.

Fox expected her to cry. To scream. To want back to the warm safety of Bail's arms.

She didn't. She stayed quiet, staring up at Fox, and Fox could almost swear that he felt something tugging at his mind and heart.

Then her face shifted again, and she smiled at him, reaching her little hands towards Fox, and Fox-

Fox cried.

He didn't try to stop it. He just let the tears fall down his face and to his neck, and he let Breha wipe them away without a word.

"You know we don't expect anything from you", Breha said then. "It's entirely your choice to stay with us. But, if you want...she can be yours as well. She can be ours. If you want."

There was still something in Fox's throat, there were still tears running down his face, but he pushed past them to answer.

"Yes", he said. "Yes."

[pencilofawesomeness]

Guys I'm having such a bizarre moment. I didn't expect to win like this, or to have my personal headcanons be confirmed so directly, but I also feel simultaneously robbed because Akutami is reaching into my head /jk

We received so little about Sukuna, but those brief brief brieeef moments of existentialism really caught me and I've thought about him for so long because of it. He was a fantastically terrifying villain, but there was always that dissonance there, between some of his words and actions, that portrayed that aimless longing and hurt and what that meant as a characterization point, and I'm honestly so hyped we turn around and get this in 271:

(scanlation for this panel because I think it gets the sentiment across better)

Followed by

I'm—

Y'all I started my draft for my Sukuna Reincarnation AU months ago and I never expected canon to validate me. They leave it easier and more open-ended, of course, but I'm coming on the record to say I wasn't crazy for my stretch of a character exploration and also I called it.

I won't go into the specifics of my "study Sukuna like a cockroach" notes now I just wanted to come grab the mic and announce that I beat Akutami to it >:D /lh

I'm being a good noodle and not stretching myself thin by starting a new multichap now, but I've had With the Storm in the works since January, and in light of the end of JJK and this lovely little tidbit, I'm tossing a sneak-peak from Chapter 7 because why not:

But maybe it could be. Maybe, just maybe, Uraume could accept this proffered hand and continue to hope.

---

Yet… things were different now. Things changed. Uraume changed, Sukuna changed, and even though they were still themselves, there was a myriad of shifts that piled on their shoulders until something gave way. Maybe a subconscious part of Uraume had braced for that to be a crash, but instead, Sukuna had been nothing but accepting and open. It only made them more nervous about losing him, just as they feared losing Pops. Uraume was not used to wanting, or hoping, but there was a powerful need in their chest that childishly demanded that they should get to keep both their kinder father and this happier Sukuna close, even if that may not be possible.

They nodded, not trusting their words at the moment, and Sukuna relaxed slightly.

“Good. Though that reminds me… You never really answered my first question. What do you want to do? With this life, I mean.”

There was that want again. Uraume felt the pull at their lungs until it was unbearable. They knew what he was asking; the question didn’t hinge on his involvement anymore, just them. Sukuna said he wanted to live peacefully, so what, then, was Uraume’s answer?

As much as they felt like a coward saying this, maybe that was okay. Sukuna felt the same way, after all. “I like this life too…” Uraume answered, and it was very different saying those words aloud. “Pops isn’t a shaman at all, and he’s good company and a good father. If I wasn’t able to find you, or you were not of this world, then… I would stay as his family.”

“That’s good,” Sukuna agreed, lifting yet another anxious weight from their chest. “I get that. Nobody else in my family are shamans either—at least, not really—and they’re all good people. It’s a good life, and even though I would have never expected it… I don’t want to lose it.”

It was amazing how similar they were, then and now. Uraume…really shouldn’t have worried about a lack of understanding. Sukuna didn’t have to say it, but it was clear that their thoughts had wandered down a similar road yet again. Their families, full of normal people living normal lives, were an unexpected treasure; to willingly become a monster, to become a scourge upon the world for whatever reason, would forfeit that. More than that, having people to care about made the desire to spread destruction lessen, rather significantly. Maybe that hurt and rage and bitterness was still there, in between their ribs, but in the ones that were dead and buried—a part of them, but also not quite there anymore, like when a scar ceases to constantly itch and ache and becomes only a mark on functioning skin.

They didn’t have to be monsters anymore. There were calmer, kinder things available to want—available to receive, even.

“This is so weird,” Uraume blurted, staring at their small hands and thinking of the strange miracle their lives turned into.

Sukuna barked a quick laugh before it was muffled into something like a snicker. “I know, right?” He leaned back in a stretch, his face catching the sun and lighting him in something that wasn’t a fire, but equally bright. “It’s not bad though.”

It was weird, to be a child, to be without some far-off goal, to be loved and happy, in the sense that it was absurd and foreign and absolutely unexpected. It was a breath of fresh air after years and years of having frozen lungs. Weird, surprising, but unmistakably good after so long of believing that no such term, deceptively simple, could have ever been applicable.

“Not bad at all,” Uraume agreed, a bright and blooming thing in their chest as their life began to slot into a new place. Still open-ended and perhaps a little terrifying for it, but Pops accepted them, and Sukuna accepted them, so maybe they could truly accept themself now, and whatever that will look like.

[immunetoneurotoxin]

ENTANGLEMENT | Part I, Chapter I

A Portal/Half Life Universe Fic from Chell's Perspective Rating: Explicit Overall Word Count: 10,730 Chapters: 1/20 Where to Read: AO3 | Google Drive | // ?UN?/KN@?#WN

SYNOPSIS

Location Unknown, Michigan, USA.  Aperture released her, set her free. That ought to have been the end of it. But cast out into a world rendered unrecognizable after a mass extinction level event, Chell is forced to fend for herself, navigating a war-torn world in the aftermath of the seven hour war that devastated the states in a bygone era.  Mere days into her newfound experience on the surface, Chell finds bizarre technology inside a Michigan radio tower, discovering that the same interdimensional forces that started the war were still around, scouring the area in search of technology from the facility she hoped to never see again — Aperture Science.  With no choice but to go back to the facility to deliver a dire warning, Chell tightropes on the cusp of two worlds, unaware of the consequences of pursuing the past and surviving an uncertain future alongside an unlikely ally.

It's finally here!! A former roleplay thread with @sarcasticgaypotato turned novel, this story follows the events of Half Life 2: Episode 2, and is an inspired continuation of the ending of Half Life: Alyx from the perspective of everyone's favorite Aperture-dwelling characters. Chell, whose mission is to protect Aperture technology from getting in the hands of the Combine, must also act as GLaDOS's protector and keep her safe. GLaDOS, on the other hand, has to figure out the complicated ways of the world from a new perspective - literally. This story is friendly to those who don't know Half-Life lore, and a treat for those who do! This story is a close-to-canon survival novel fic with ChellDOS as a major focus. Full of survival, interactive elements, complicated feelings, and a beautiful slow burn robot/human love story. <3

[tennessoui]

Professor-can-fuck-me wedding ficlet? (◉‿◉)

so i realized after receiving this ask that i don't think i've ever actually written a obikin wedding ficlet for any of my aus or fics and i don't want my first wedding ficlet to be this au unfortunately, so no can do but here's 1.6k of wedding adjacent fic (bachelor party)

(1.6k)

“Hi Professor,” Rex greets the moment Obi-Wan opens the door.

And really, he appreciates the boy’s desire to show respect—even though he never even took Obi-Wan’s class—but this is hardly the time or place for such decorum.

“Rex,” Obi-Wan acknowledges, rubbing at his eye with the palm of his hand before blinking at him and then down to his watch. “Good god, man. It’s three in the morning, what are you doing here?”

Then another thought occurs to him. 

“Wait,” he says, “where’s Anakin?”

Rex throws a thumb over his shoulder. “My brothers are getting him out of the car right now. I decided to come up here and tell you first, to prepare you and such.”

Obi-Wan’s stomach drops; his heart rate speeds up. “Prepare me for what? What’s wrong with him?”

Are his palms sweaty? Is his voice high? His grip on the door tightens. Logically, he knows that Anakin’s friend would not bring Anakin home so casually if he were hurt. Logically, he understands that if Anakin were to be injured, Obi-Wan would receive a call from the hospital upon his check-in, or the police if he had died, or Rex in the teary moments after. His friends would not just—knock on Obi-Wan’s door at three in the morning and then dump Anakin’s corpse on his doorstep.

Logically Obi-Wan knows all of that. But he has never been a very logical man when it comes to Anakin Skywalker. If he were, they’d probably not be where they are right now anyway—living together after five months together, engaged after six, married around eight.

Hell, they wouldn’t be in a relationship at all most probably, given the fact that when they met, Anakin was Obi-Wan’s student. And when Anakin kissed him for the first time, Anakin was—well. He was still his student. And when Obi-Wan kissed him for the first time, Anakin was…perhaps ten seconds free from being his student.

So he’s never been logical about Anakin, not really. And while a part of him knows and understands that if something had seriously gone wrong on Anakin’s bachelor night, scant days before their wedding, the man would have enough tact to find a better way to break the news than whatever this is.

But he’s old and overly emotional and high-strung when it comes to his wayward fiancé. And so his pulse is hammering and his palms are sweaty. And he is waiting with baited breath for Rex Amidala to tell him what has happened to him.

Because—because if something has happened, then Obi-Wan…Obi-Wan does not know what he would do. Who he would become. How he would continue to—to continue, after, in a world after.

“He’s, well. He’s very—uh,” Rex rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “He’s—”

“Obi-Wan!” Anakin cries, much too loudly for the quiet stillness of their apartment’s hallway. “Obi-Wan, hi, baby!” 

Obi-Wan’s head snaps to look at his wayward fiancé, who is currently half dragging and half being dragged by a very reluctant looking Cody Fett and an entirely too entertained Jesse Fett. 

“Drunk,” Rex finishes. “He’s really, really drunk, Professor.”

“Ah,” Obi-Wan says, stepping over the threshold of his door to catch Anakin the moment the other man decides to rip himself away from his handlers and fall into Obi-Wan’s arms. “Perhaps lead with that next time, Mr. Amidala.” 

Anakin rubs his face over the front of Obi-Wan’s sleepshirt. “So soft,” he mumbles, repeating the action. When his lips find the skin of Obi-Wan’s neck, he makes a quiet sound of happiness and presses a kiss there. Then he bites.

“Okay,” Obi-Wan decides. “I’ll take it from here, you three. Thank you for getting him home in one piece.”

“If he throws up, you have to tell us,” Jesse says, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall opposite the door.

“Oh?” Obi-Wan’s eyebrow arches up as he tries to imply with one syllable and a single movement that he is a forty-two year old man who does not have to tell these college-faced twats anything unless he wants to.

“Ani’s been giving me shit about throwing up over his shoes during my bachelor’s party since it happened,” Rex says. “Fair’s fair.”

“But I haven’t yet!” Anakin slurs, wrapping his arms around Obi-Wan’s neck as he nuzzles farther into him. “And you put me in the car and then gave me shots and made it go really fast in circles and I haven’t yet!”

Obi-Wan gives Rex an incredulous look over Anakin’s head. The other man has the shame at least to look slightly sheepish.

“Good night, all,” Obi-Wan says, stepping as smoothly as he can back into his apartment. “We’ll see you at the wedding.”

If his fiancé survives the rest of the night and, presumably, the hangover to follow.

When the door closes, Anakin sags even more into Obi-Wan’s arms. “I missed you so much,” Anakin mumbles. His lips stay against the skin of his neck, and the feeling would be quite distracting if Obi-Wan wasn’t so reluctantly amused at the moment.

“You are very drunk,” he tells him, detaching himself enough to more easily walk and pull Anakin from the doorway through their apartment. “Bedtime for bachelors.”

“I missed you so much, so I thought maybe I could drink extra fast and then they’d let me come home early,” Anakin explains, eyes only partially held open.

“And how did that work out?” Obi-Wan asks, depositing Anakin onto their bed and kneeling on the floor to untie his boots.

“Mm,” Anakin says, flopping onto his back. He giggles for some reason unknown to those sober in the room, and wriggles his toes in an approximation of help. “Not good. They just bought me more.”

“Oh, my heart goes out for you, darling,” Obi-Wan murmurs, placing the first boot on the floor and tackling the second. “You must suffer so much because your friends are very nice and bought you drinks during your bachelor’s party.”

“Uh huh,” Anakin slurs. “Knew you’d understand. Hey–hey, did you miss me too?” Obi-Wan had had a very nice and quiet night, nursing a scotch by the fireplace and grading papers. He’d warmed up a leftover serving of a mince pie and served himself a piece of apple galette for dessert. And yet— “Yes, of course,” he says. “Though I am glad you had fun.”

“It was fun,” his fiancé agrees and then yawns. “Not as fun as the wedding’s gonna be though.” His fingers run to the buttons of his shirt and start tugging at them. Obi-Wan sighs, shifts, and stands to help him in this as well. “I can’t wait to marry you,” Anakin adds.

He looks so earnest and open, rosy cheeks and glassy eyes and shirt half-done. He’s going to be the world’s biggest pain in Obi-Wan’s ass tomorrow when the hangover really hits him. And Obi-Wan is going to take care of him through all of it. 

Practice for the rest of their lives. The wedding rehearsal he hadn’t known was on the docket. 

Still, his mouth turns up at the corner as he smiles, reaching out to brush aside Anakin’s hair. “I cannot wait to be married to you as well,” he murmurs.

Anakin closes his eyes and grins sleepily, drunkenly. “And I’ll get to be added to your insurance which is real good, cause I don’t have a job.”

“Brat,” Obi-Wan scolds, tugging at the end of his hair. “Is that the only reason you’re marrying me?”

“Yeah,” his fiancé says. “But it really helps that I’ve also been completely obsessed with you since, like, the second class of the year.”

Obi-Wan purses his lips, strangely touched. Sober, Anakin doesn’t always like to talk about the very beginnings of their relationship, as if he thinks should they discuss it enough, Obi-Wan may realize he’s made a terrible mistake in taking up with one of his undergraduate students. 

To be fair to him, it is a terrible mistake, and one that Obi-Wan is fully aware of already. And what Anakin probably doesn’t know is that no amount of discussion will sway Obi-Wan from the path he’s decided to walk.

“Only the second class?” he asks, settling onto the bed next to Anakin. “Should I be offended?” “I skipped the first one,” Anakin mutters, turning his face into his thigh and nudging at him until he begins to pet at Anakin’s hair. “Hooked up with a girl from my first period instead.”

Obi-Wan tugs rather rudely on his hair at this.

“But then, you were there during the second class,” Anakin says, though Obi-Wan thinks maybe the more accurate statement would be I was there during the second class, considering Obi-Wan had to be there. As he was the professor.

Obi-Wan hums and restarts his soothing petting.

“And that was it,” Anakin sighs, pressing a kiss to Obi-Wan’s covered thigh. “You were it for me. And I’m really glad I’m it for you too or I would be really, really, really sad, and I’ve been really, really, really happy for ages now.”

“I’ve been happy too,” Obi-Wan confesses, shifting himself to lie down, facing Anakin. “I—”

He wants to say I thought about losing you today, for real and forever, and it hurt me inconceivably. Or, you mean so much to me that I missed you when you were away, and even though there was a fire in the fireplace, it felt cold all through our home. Or, it took me longer to love you, but I do and I do, and I do.

But when he looks down at Anakin’s expression, it’s to find that the man has managed to fall asleep between one breath and the next.

But, well. They have time for Obi-Wan’s I do’s later. In fact, they’ve put aside a whole day for it.

[weekend-whip]

Baaaack at it again with another @ninjago-valentine-exchange Entry, surprise! And we've got—gasp—LAVA?!? Never expected that one from me, huh? ;P

But, it feels good to do something a little different for a change! And I only hope you enjoy!

Words: 4.5k (a "short" fic) Pairing: Cole/Kai (Lavashipping) Summary: Kai and Cole cope with the same problem in opposite directions during one of the team's Date Nights.

[that-disabled-princess]

Falling for you [T, 3k]

Runaan and Ethari's disabled4disabled relationship throughout the years.

Or: Three times Runaan steadies his POTSie partner and one time Ethari steadies Runaan.

I just wrote the fluffiest disabled fic I've written since I got my diagnosis and I'm super proud of it.

[koka-mi]

najdbdhdjeh I wanna be held while I sleep so badly tbh it sounds so much more relaxing :'D

[lover-of-mine]

Tease Tidbit Tuesday

I was tagged by @disasterbuckdiaz @eowon and @daffi-990 thank you 🩷

I complained I couldn't write Buck just to hit a burst of inspiration for the breakdown fic so have some of that. The concept of the fic is that both Eddie and Chris get into a really bad car crash and I'm just using that to trigger the hell out of Buck. Prev snippet.

He had never realized he might’ve been yearning for Eddie. Not some distant possible family he could build with someone. This family. With Eddie. He wanted everything with Eddie. Having that realization sink in as Eddie threw his feet up on the coffee table, unbuttoned the top few buttons on his shirt, and asked how his night went had been a problem. Because once he knew it, he couldn’t not know. And Eddie smiling at him had his throat going dry and him stumbling off the couch saying he was going to get another beer while already halfway into the kitchen hoping he could get a grip long enough for him to make it through the rest of the night. He didn't. Not really. Eddie kept watching his face trying to figure out what was wrong even though Buck kept insisting it was nothing, until he shrugged that he had a weird dream he couldn't shake off, pulling a card from his long deck of nightmares to escape having the conversation. The thought had actually made him laugh later, the idea of talking it out with Eddie, saying oh yeah, I think I'm in love with you and I'm totally panicking, any thoughts? while trying to process it. Not that the nightmare excuse had made it any better, the worry in Eddie eyes, the gentle way he had asked if there was anything he could do, the way he had squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. It all would've had Buck falling in deeper if he had anywhere else to fall. But falling didn't even feel like the right word though. Falling implied a level of danger, of helplessness. It implied the expectation to crash. They had been through too much for Buck to sit there and think Eddie would ever do anything that would hurt him even when he didn't feel the same way. Not that he was planning on saying anything to test that theory. That was one secret he was ready to take to the grave. He just had expected it would be his own.

No pressure tagging 🩷: @eddiebabygirldiaz @bucks118 @housewifebuck @honestlydarkprincess @wildlife4life @watchyourbuck @captain-hen @try-set-me-on-fire @giddyupbuck @wikiangela @cowboy-buck

[turtlespancake]

me when i write a character who is prone to dooming themself and then they run off and doom themself. core traits are stubbornness and a willingness to disregard their own humanity gET BACK HERE IM NOT DONE WITH YOU

[enhanced-operatives-division]

Points at you. 10 and/or 11 for starstruck?

Two starstruck asks,,,,,,joy of joys,,

Part of an ask game linked here.

#10. What's an au you have for them?

Since them meeting at all is technically an AU i have 3 different ways that they do meet up. There's the one where Juniper ends up with the agency/adjacent to and ends up working with Reggie (have written a fic with this). The next one is Juniper surviving but basically going stealth and living as normal of a life as he can and ending up meeting Reggie through chance (most recent fic I've written). And then there's my personal favourite where Reginald "You're lucky my tracking skills are still up to snuff" Crane keeping himself busy after Phoenix was MIA and finding Juniper still alive (fic I want to write but haven't started mainly because it may end up multi chapter).

In terms of more AU canon bending taking them and putting them in a completely unrelated situation...I have a guilty pleasure Warrior Cats AU for IEYTD in general. Both JJ and Reggie have perfect warrior cats suffixes in their names already (Juniper and Crane) so they're called Junipersong (charcoal bengal) and Craneflight (tabby Norwegian forest cat). It's very silly but the amount of scenes I have in my mind for it...good lord...

#11. How was their first kiss like?

Augh my friend Imp wrote an absolutely excellent fic about it (tragically in the realm of unfinished Google docs) and I'm shaking their hand about it so hard. Basically Juniper kissing Reggie but he like wasn't ready/fully expecting it and Juniper absolutely panicking because he thinks he's misread every interaction between them both since they got closer. The second one is much sweeter though,,

[roitaminnah]

hey have u guys read the fic bandit queens of the mont satiné shopping mall. (shaking through tears) i think u should. join me in my insanity <3

[lem-argentum]

it took me until dt to change rudy's hairstyle, but i ACTUALLY think he would've cut it back in post-stb when he became a reaper. the trope of "character cuts hair to feel more in control of their life" is cliché but REAL. and also the visual of him cutting it with his scythe is fun

[nightshadehasblorbos]

My Gift Is You

Jeremy Swayman/Linus Ullmark | Explicit | No Archive Warnings Apply | 3k

Jeremy made sure Linus was watching him. With the smallest smirk, Jeremy flexed. He threw his head back and rolled his neck from side to side, pretending it had all been part of a stretch. Jeremy ducked his head down and looked up through his lashes to see Linus still looking at him, paused in the process of getting out of his goalie pads. The corner of his mouth curved up, and his eyes were roaming over Jeremy’s body. Jeremy knew that he would get what he wanted before the night was done. — Every goalie gets a unique gift from the hockey gods. Today, Jeremy gets his.

Thank you @puckluckfest for organizing this fest <3 I recommend everyone check out the other fics in this fest, they're really good!