#forgot to bring my waste cup so I had to wash and dip my brush from a Pringle’s can

[tothepointofinsanity]

Diseased portraits.

[brockadoodles]

surprises - n. mackinnon

AN: I completely forgot about this fic until @sportmodepetey asked me about writing for Nate and I remembered that I had!! So here is this, I promise it’s all fluff and softness and not my usual angst. I’m gonna tag @hockeyboysiguess​ too because she might yell at me for waking her up again with another fic. Also I think I promised an anon I would repost this forever ago and then I forgot sooo.. If you come back anon, here ya go! 

Word Count: 5148

Warnings: Babies!!! 

Your hands shook as you delicately picked up the test in your hands. Holding one end between your fingers, you glanced at your reflection in the bathroom mirror. Your eyes looked heavy, filled with worry and your hair was disheveled from how anxiously you had been running your hands through it the last three minutes.  

If you had to guess, you would assume that most people your age would be scared of a positive pregnancy test, but you were feeling the opposite. Your heart was racing and you had an uneasy feeling in your stomach, trying to work up the courage to see the result. 

Lately, Nathan would look at the results for you. He said it was his way of protecting you from the feeling of disappointment, a sentiment you appreciated, even if every result was still negative. They all had been negative for the last year and a half, why would the next one be any different? 

No one prepared you for what it would be like to have trouble getting pregnant, it was never a thought that crossed your mind. When you and Nate got married, the idea of children wasn’t even on the radar. You were both young, he was in the prime of his career, it just didn’t make any sense to start trying at 25. Now that you both were 30, and it was becoming clear just how difficult it was, you were starting to regret not trying sooner. 

It was hard not to feel like you were failing your husband, but your body just wasn’t cooperating. It wasn’t for the lack of trying, the two of you had sex all the time. You tracked your ovulation schedule, tried every superstitious trick, and yet each time that familiar wave of disappointment hit you as you’d see Nate’s face falter when looking at the pregnancy test. It was especially frustrating because doctors told you that everything was normal, and sometimes it just takes time to conceive naturally. 

Nate never did anything to make you feel inadequate, he was always supportive of you. Holding you while you cried, reassuring you that you were always good enough, no matter what happened. But most importantly, he never lost faith in you, he constantly reminded you that growing a human is hard work, and maybe your body is just taking extra time to prepare. He was always so calm, genuinely believing that it would happen for the two of you when it was meant to happen. That’s why he tried as often as he could to bear the burden of looking at the test for you. If he could take away any sadness you were feeling, he would. 

But today, Nate wasn’t here. The Avalanche were on a week-long road trip in New York and he wasn’t due back for a couple of more days. You bit your lip, diverting your eyes away from the mirror and back down towards the white plastic stick resting in your right hand. You didn’t tell Nate, feeling like it wasn’t worth getting his hopes up only to let him down once again. 

Your own hopes were high this time, something in your body just felt different. You had symptoms that you hadn’t experienced yet the other times you thought you were pregnant. You took a deep breath and finally shifted your gaze down to the test, eyeing it carefully.

Your stomach dropped seeing the word “pregnant” in the little results window of the test. You rubbed your eyes quickly and looked again, thinking maybe you were projecting your hopes and that your eyes were deceiving you. When you saw the same result, you quickly ripped open another test and went over to the toilet. 

Those second three minutes were probably the most nerve wracking of your entire life. You had never had a positive pregnancy result, and after how long you had been trying it was hard to believe that it wasn’t some sort of fluke or false positive. 

When the three minutes were up, you hastily grabbed the test, wasting no time to look at the result. When you read the word pregnant again, you looked back up at your reflection in the mirror. Your eyes were glassy with fresh tears, but you looked happier than you had been a few minutes prior. You took a slight step back from the sink, placing the test onto the marble countertop and placed a hand gently on your lower stomach, slowly rubbing your fingers across your skin.

It took every bit of willpower that you had to not spill the secret to Nate when he came home that week, but you knew that with how long you had both been waiting, that you wanted to confirm with the doctor before giving him the news. The many months of disappointment had caused you to guard your heart, and you couldn’t fathom sharing the news with Nate only to have it ripped apart from the both of you if it ended up not being true. 

------------ 

A few nights later, you were tossing and turning, finding yourself unable to sleep. You looked over at Nate, unable to sleep. His back was facing you and his breaths were deep. His flight had gotten in late, him not getting back home until around 2:30am. When he leaned in to kiss your forehead softly before slipping into bed, you had been asleep. But when he wrapped his arm around you and rested his large hand on your stomach you woke up, suddenly worried that maybe he knew you were pregnant. 

This was a ridiculous thought to have, Nate didn’t even know you had taken tests while he was gone, and he always pulled you close at night, but you couldn’t help but feel your anxiety levels rise. 

“I know something’s bothering you.” You jumped at the sound of his voice, groggy and full of sleep. Before you spoke back, Nate turned himself to face you before running his hand over his face and up through his hair to wake himself up a bit. It was 5:47am but because it was still winter, the sky was pitch black outside. 

“M’fine, baby, go back to sleep.” You tried to reason, reaching your hand up to rub his cheek, fingers gliding softly over the stubble that had grown in on his face. Nate relaxed into your touch and leaned down to press a slow kiss to your forehead before resting his head in the crook of your neck. 

He peppered light kisses on your neck, humming out,

“Did something happen this week?” 

“No.” You lied, using your hand to tilt his head back up, bringing your lips to his. 

“Just missed you.” You added, deepening the kiss. It wasn’t a complete lie, you did miss him and now that he was home kissing you, you couldn’t help but press yourself closer into him, needing to feel his touch. 

Soft moans filled the room as lazily dipped in and out of you. You felt your anxieties slipping away as each moment passed. What started as a means to distract Nate also became a release for you, and you fell back asleep feeling safe and content in his arms.

You woke up a few hours later to the smell of freshly brewed coffee filling the bedroom. You sat up and pulled your hair into a messy low bun before you leaned over the edge of the bed, slowly pulling yourself out of the covers and getting up. You stood up and  pulled Nate’s shirt down over your body from where it had risen up earlier that morning. You subconsciously ran a hand over your abdomen, smiling to yourself before heading out the bedroom door and into the kitchen where Nate was sitting at the island, coffee cup in hand. 

“Morning.” You said, coming up behind him and pressing a kiss to the back of his shoulder. You leaned around him to grab an apple from the fruit basket and took a bite into it. Nate turned his body slightly toward you, pulling you slightly so that you were facing him, standing between his legs. 

“How was the trip?” You asked, smiling softly at him. His fingers pressed into your sides, pulling up the shirt that was draped over your body as he rubbed small, comforting circles into your hips. 

“You watched all of the games.” He smirked up at you before pressing his lips to yours in a kiss. 

“Mhm, yeah but I still like to know how your trip was.” You hummed out in between soft kisses. Nate tried to pull you closer and deepen the kiss but you felt your stomach lurch. The taste of coffee on his lips made you feel nauseous all of a sudden. You felt bile rising in your throat, threatening to come out and ruin the tender moment between you and your husband. 

You pulled away quickly and Nate furrowed his brow at your sudden need to separate yourself from his touch. 

“You alright?” He spoke. 

“I, uh, I think my period just came.” You stumbled out, averting your eyes from his as you ran into your shared bathroom. You quickly turned on the shower to drown out the sounds of emptying your stomach. Once you felt a bit better, you stood up, flushing the toilet and washing your hands. You brushed your teeth and made a mental note to make a doctor’s appointment for as quickly as possible to 100% confirm your pregnancy. You still felt a bit nauseous, but a part of you was relieved to be feeling sick, as it was another sign that the home tests had been right. You didn’t want to keep the news from Nate for too long, just long enough to plan a special way to let him know he was going to be a dad. 

----------- 

You sat in the driver’s seat of your car, holding the small ultrasound photo in your hands. The doctor had confirmed what you felt to be true, you were 13 weeks pregnant. Your doctor gave you a list of prenatal vitamins to pick up on your way home. The Avalanche had a big home game that night and you were eager to be there, not only to cheer on Nate but because you knew just how you wanted to tell him.

You stood next to Aleks, glancing down at her and Nikita’s daughter Sophie. She was wearing a small Avalanche jersey, Zadorav printed in white on the back. Your heart swelled at the sight, knowing that someday soon, your own child will be wearing their own little MacKinnon jersey. 

“Do you think you can get Z to help me with something? He has to keep it a secret though.” You asked Aleks, taking a sip out of your water bottle. She eyed you suspiciously, looking from you to your drink. You felt nervous under her stare, knowing that she was technically going to be the first person you told the good news to.

“You’re pregnant.” She smirked, saying it bluntly. You choked a bit on your water before looking up at her in surprise. You quickly looked down to your stomach, which was covered with a loose fitting top. Your “wag” jacket that matched the other girls around you came out to cover the sides of your hips. There was no way she could have known based on your appearance, you weren’t far enough along for there to be signs.

“You’re drinking water, you never drink that here.” She smiled. You bit your lip, cursing yourself for having a strict pregame ritual of drinking a beer during warmups. You nodded at her, not wanting to say it outloud as Nate came skating up to where the two of you were standing. Your eyes focused on your husband, who was now balancing a puck on the end of his stick. He tossed it over the glass to you, winking at you as you caught it, a tradition he started after the first game he invited you back when you had just started dating.

You looked around, spotting a young boy who looked to be around 7 or 8, dressed head to toe in Avs gear standing just a few seats over from you. You leaned over and tapped his shoulder, smiling at him and offering the puck. Nate’s tradition was to give you a puck and yours was to pay it forward and give it to a fan in the crowd. More often than not you chose to give it to a kid, knowing just how much it probably meant to them to receive something from a player that they looked up to.

The little boy eagerly nodded at you and took the puck from your hands before turning toward who you assumed to be his dad. 

“Wow, what do you say to the nice woman, bud?” The man said, smiling at you in thanks.

“Thank you!” the boy exclaimed, wrapping his small arms around your leg in a quick hug before looking up at you. 

“You’re welcome.” You smiled, looking toward his father to get permission to hug the child back. He nodded at you, and you wrapped your arms quickly around the young boy. Nate watched the exchange from the blue line, passing a puck back and forth with Gabe. He couldn’t help but sigh in sadness. He wanted a baby so badly, and while he understood that it would happen when it was meant to, he always felt a touch of worry when he thought too hard about the what ifs. The moment passed as quickly as it came and he focussed his thoughts solely on the game ahead of him. 

“So what do you need Z to do?” Your attention turned back to Aleks. 

“Well I haven’t told Nate yet, I was hoping Z and the boys could help me.” You said, leaning in a bit closer to her so that the people around you couldn’t hear you. The last thing you needed was for the news to end up all over Twitter. Granted, Nate didn’t use Twitter but still. 

Just as you mentioned him, Nikita came skating up to where the three of you were standing. He tapped the glass quickly in front of his daughter, before waving quickly at all of you and skating away. If there was anyone that would help, it would be him. He was so in love with his children, but also wild enough to want to participate in what you had planned. 

A few days later you found yourself on a group FaceTime call with some of Nate’s teammates, laughing as they loudly spoke over each other about the plan you had come up with. You knew that you had to incorporate his teammates and hockey into the reveal, being as his team was one of the most important aspects of his life. You knew that he couldn’t wait to someday share that with his kids, bringing them to games and teaching them how to skate. 

After JT and Tyson argued over whether Nate was going to cry or not, Gabe cut them off and grabbed your attention.

“Do you know what you’re having yet?” You looked at Gabe curiously, almost instantly thinking of a new task that the boys could all help you with.

“Actually I want you guys to tell us.” You spoke into the screen. This grabbed everyone’s attention. 

“What can we do?” Tyson beamed at you. 

“Well I have this envelope the doctor gave me, I was going to just open it with Nate but maybe you guys could come up with something to share the news with us.” 

“Like a party?” Nikita jumped in. You would have felt nervous about it, but Z had done this before and you knew he wouldn’t do anything too crazy. 

“Yes, you can throw a party if you want.” You smiled back at him. 

--------

Nate turned his car on, blasting the heat. It was early, he was tired, and the last thing he wanted to be doing was heading to the rink for an obscenely early morning skate. Gabe had mentioned that everyone needed to be at the rink by 7 that morning, some sort of last minute meeting before practice. He was annoyed but he knew better than to question his captain. He reached down to shift the car into gear when he noticed a note taped to the gear shift. He recognized your handwriting immediately, smiling to himself as he picked the small piece of paper up. 

Good morning my love, Snow is still falling, but warm things are coming.  If you’re wondering what the next note consists of,  When you get to the rink, check your right glove. 

Nate reread the note a few times, unsure of what it meant. He quickly set it onto the passenger seat, reminding himself to look inside his gloves when he got to the arena like it said. 

When Nate pulled into the parking garage he immediately felt confused. So far, his car was the only one he could see. He glanced at the clock on his phone before double checking that Gabe’s message actually said 7am. It was 6:45am and no one else was there. He was normally a bit early, but never the first one to practice. He shook his head, getting out of the car and grabbing the remainder of his gear from the trunk. Maybe everyone was as tired as he was and just was running a bit behind, he thought as he walked into the practice facility. 

Nate took his time changing and putting on his padding, figuring that there was no reason to rush if he was the only one there so far. The note from the car completely slipped his mind. It wasn’t until he grabbed his gloves that he remembered to check inside for something. He felt around the inside of the glove before pulling out another small piece of paper with your handwriting on it. 

Congrats, you found clue number two. Although it’s probably not clear what you have to do.  You’re probably wondering why everyone is late,  Forget about them and head to the place where we sat on our first date.

Nate read the note once more before setting it in his stall and heading out toward the rink. He smiled at the memory of your first date. By all standards, it should have been a disaster. Looking back he isn’t quite sure how he managed to get a second date out of it. He had planned brunch for the two of you, wanting to take you to a little whole in the wall cafe in downtown Denver. Instead, the coaches decided that after their last three losses, they needed an extra conditioning practice. Rather than cancel on you, he asked if you wanted to come watch practice and have lunch afterwards. Much to his surprise you said yes.

He had a terrible practice that day, and he thought for sure that his negative attitude toward his teammates would prevent you from ever wanting to see him again. Instead, after practice, the two of you sat in the stands for two hours just talking about anything and everything while some junior hockey team practiced in the background. You didn’t even express annoyance when some of the players came up to him to say hello after their practice, instead you smiled and listened as he interacted with the younger players.

He left the locker room and headed over to the bench where the two of you sat all of those years ago, he knew exactly where it was that you were sitting. Remembering the dark green sweater you had worn that day, and the scarf you had around your neck to keep warm while he practiced. 

When he walked up toward the bench he saw another small note taped to it. He picked it up and opened it.

Welcome to clue number three, This one marks you being halfway done, but I’m just starting the fun.  If you search through the practice pucks, you just might find the next one.

Nate was beginning to wonder what this whole scavenger hunt was leading to. You were not the type of person to be able to keep secrets when it came to surprises. If anyone was going to spill about a surprise, it would be you. You always said that you just got too excited to share whatever it was with whoever the person was that you couldn’t be trusted to keep any exciting secrets. He was curious as to how you managed to pull off some sort of prize for him. 

Nate set his sticks and gloves down on the players bench and walked into the equipment area to grab the bag of practice pucks. He dumped the bag out and the pucks started sliding haphazardly across the ice. He knew it would be faster than trying to dig through the bag. 

His eyes scanned the pucks, looking for a few moments before spotting one with paper sticking out underneath it. He stepped out onto the ice and skated over to where the puck was. He leaned down to pick it up, carefully taking the note off of the puck before skating back over to the boards to lean against them while reading the new clue.

Sorry you had to make that mess, but I promise it’ll be for the best.  Don't forget to put the pucks away and then head back to where you always begin game day.

Nate slowly gathered his mess on the ice, stacking the pucks up then sliding them into the bags, before stepping off the ice and heading back toward the dressing room.  

When Nate got back to his stall he was confused to see a small gift bag sitting on top of the bench. He looked quickly around the locker room to see if any of the other guys had shown up. It was definitely past time that Gabe said everyone had to be here, yet even Gabe himself hadn’t yet arrived for practice. He picked up the small grey bag and sat down on the bench. 

 He slowly pulled out the white and gold tissue paper that was stuffed in the top of the bag, setting it down next to him. He reached his hand down into the bag, instantly feeling something extremely soft on his fingers. He lifted the item out and furrowed his brows in confusion at it. He was holding a small stuffed animal version of Bernie, the Avalanche team mascot. He figured maybe the bag was meant for another teammate who had kids. 

As Nate was putting the mini Bernie back in the bag, he noticed the back of Bernie’s jersey was different. Instead of “Bernie” printed in white, it said “MacKinnon” and just underneath the name was 29. He knew there must be another clue somewhere and he began to look around his stall for any piece of paper that might have come from you. 

He spotted something next to his name plaque, and sure enough it was another folded up note from you. 

Now that you’ve revealed all I had to hide, pack up your gear and head where you park your ride.

Nate shook his head, but obliged by what the note said, packing his gear back up quickly so that he could head back to what he hoped was the reveal of whatever grand scheme you were planning.

About 20 minutes later, he walked out to the parking garage and saw you leaning up against his car. You beamed up at him, pulling yourself away from the car and walking toward him. 

There were butterflies in your stomach, not only were you about to share with your husband the news, you also were able to share that you knew the sex of the baby. 

“Not that I didn’t love this little adventure, but what’s going on?” 

“Well, Nate, I think you have to read your last clue.” You smiled, reaching into your back pocket and handing him the envelope. This was it, you thought. Nate was going to know in a matter of seconds, and you could barely contain the smile on your face. 

Nate set his equipment bag down next to the car and then gently took the envelope out of your hand. You watched in suspense as he carefully opened it, pulling out the note and sonogram inside.

“Read it outloud.” You encouraged, giving him another wide smile.

“Congratulations the riddles are coming to an end, just know that you’ll have a lot of messages to send. Enjoy the next few months of us on standby, because baby MacKinnon will be making their debut this July.” Nate’s voice cracked at the end of the clue, he slid the small paper over and looked at the ultrasound now in his hand. His eyes welled up with tears and he quickly looked back up at you.

“You’re pregnant?” He spoke quietly, unsure of if this was all real or some horrible joke you were in on with the team. He didn’t think you would mess around with something this serious, but he also couldn’t believe what he was looking at. 

Your eyes were also glossing over with tears, feeling an unprecedented amount of joy. You nodded quickly at your husband, taking another step towards him. 

“You’re really pregnant?” He asked again, this time with more conviction.

“Yes, Nate. We’re having a baby.” You cried happily, wiping a couple of tears that had begun to cascade down your own cheeks. Nate wasted no time grabbing you and pulling you into a hug.

“I can’t believe this, we’re really having a baby?” He asked one more time, pulling the two of you apart just enough to press one hand flush against your stomach. You nodded in response and leaned up to kiss him. 

“Wait there’s another surprise.” You smiled, pecking him on the lips one more time before gesturing to his car. 

“I’m not sure anything can top this one.” He replied, quickly looking around for your car before adding,

“Wait how did you get here?” 

“Aleks dropped me off, I wanted to be able to drive home with you.” You answered nonchalantly, making a move to open up the passenger side of the car. 

The ride home was quiet, Nate drove carefully, with one hand rubbing softly against your thigh. You watched the snow covered buildings pass by you as he continued down the route back to your home.  

You were nervous as he pulled onto the street that you lived on, immediately recognizing some of the cars parked sporadically near the house. Nate looked around as he slowly pulled into the driveway.

“Why does it look like the team decided to have practice at the house?” He smirked at you, knowing there obviously was something going on.

“I don’t know, let’s go find out.” You teased, knowing fully why they were all there. You didn’t know what their plan was, but you did hand over your keys that morning to Aleks after she dropped you off, heading back to help the boys with the surprise. 

When you walked into your house, you couldn’t believe all of the work the team had managed to pull off in the short amount of time that you’d been gone. There were pastel streamers and balloons draped carefully around the living and dining room. The dining table had an arrangement of fruits and breakfast type pastries for everyone. And out back you could see a set up of a goal covered in white balloons. You jokingly wondered which one of them logged onto Pinterest to get all of these ideas. 

Nate looked around in awe. He felt like he was in a dream, one that he was desperate to not wake up from. The two of you had been trying for so long that he hadn’t really allowed himself to think of what it would feel like to have it happen. Having his team there to take part in the celebrations was an added bonus. 

“Nate dogg, come outside you need to shoot some pucks.” Gabe slapped a hand on your husband’s back, nodding toward the net that was set up out back.

“Wait, do you know what we’re having?” He quickly turned to you, setting his cup of coffee down on the table near where you were standing. You shook your head slightly, motioning toward the rest of his teammates that were all starting to head out to the backyard. 

“No, this is all them.” You smiled, grabbing his hand and leading him outside. 

Nate stepped up toward the goal, grabbing his stick from EJ, who was dressed up in the most embarrassing outfit anyone could have imagined. He stood tall, wearing a bonnet over his head and what appeared to be a giant diaper costume that you’d probably find in the clearance section at a Halloween store because it was so ugly. 

“Oh my god, what are you wearing?” Nate shook his head at his teammate.

“I lost a bet to Graves.” He rolled his eyes, glancing over at Ryan and shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter, shoot the damn puck.” He added, pushing Nate slightly toward the goal. 

Nate fired back a shot, instantly breaking a couple of balloons, silver confetti flying everywhere. He realized quickly that he needed to start shooting to pop all of the balloons, shaking his head at his teammates' knock off best shooter competition idea. 

When the puck went flying into the last balloon, pink and purple confetti started flying everywhere. Nate felt like he was moving in slow motion, dropping the stick and running to grab you. He could hear the cheers from everyone around him but all that mattered was you.

He picked you up, twirling you around quickly before gently setting you down. You reached your hand up to wipe the tears from under his eyes, smiling widely knowing that you were having a baby girl. You always knew Nate wanted a girl, believing he would be the best “girl dad” so you knew this moment was extra special for him. 

The two of you stood close for a few moments, ignoring the commotion happening around you and savouring the moment.

“You owe me $50, I told you he would cry.” Tyson argued with JT

“I single tear doesn’t count, idiot.” JT shot back.

You laughed at the two boys, leaning your head into Nate’s chest and looking at the scene around you. It may have taken a long time to get here, but you couldn’t be more excited for the family you were creating, knowing that your baby girl was going to be loved by so many. 

[mssjynx]

8, 1, 1 krii7y?

krii7y drabble | 

8. college!au | 1. friends to lovers | 1. “are you sure this is legal?” 

-

“I wanna do something crazy.” 

John tapped away at his keyboard, the yellow light of his desk lamp filling the room with a warm glow as he finally reached the conclusion of the essay that he had due the following morning. 

“I’m almost done,” he told Jaren who was spinning around on John’s wheelie chair (the blonde was sitting on his washing basket). He threw in a bunch of smart sounding words, basically repeating what he’d said in the body of the text as Jaren groaned loudly.  

“I wanna get my blood pumping,” he declared, head hanging back. John snickered but the college student wasn’t done. “Get my adrenaline going.” 

“Police chase?” John offered, humming in thought before finishing his sentence with words he probably had never used in discussion before. 

“Nah, something less illegal and more fun,” Jaren said, swinging his legs and spinning around again. John snickered but didn’t offer any more ideas as he finalised his report, saved it and sent it off to his professor. At the clap of his laptop screen closing, Jaren jumped to his feet. 

“We should hijack a cruise ship!” 

“Where the fuck are we going to find a cruise ship?” 

That idea didn’t last. 

“C’mon, I have an idea. Get some shoes on and bring a jacket,” John instructed, throwing his bedsheets to the side of his unmade bed and digging a hoodie out. When he turned around to Jaren’s sheepish smile, he huffed a sigh and rolled his eyes before chucking the hoodie into Jaren’s chest and finding another one to wear himself. “I better get that back, asshole.”

“Can’t make any promises!” Jaren declared, grinning as he dropped to the carpeted floor and started tugging on his shoes. John ignored him. 

When the younger boy was ready, John tugged him to his feet, wasting no time at all as he flicked off the light and led Jaren out into the dorm hallway. He locked his door and the two snuck quietly down the hall, Jaren bouncing on the balls of his feet as they went. When they got to the front entrance, Jaren started asking questions. 

“What are we doing?” John didn’t answer. “Joooohn, where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to the woods so I can kill you and burn your body,” John said, and snickered as Jaren looped an arm with his. 

“You bring a knife or a gun?” he asked and John paused for a second.

“Shit, I forgot. Guess I’ll have to use a brick.” Jaren snickered, attempting to skip and drag John along with him. The other boy didn’t allow it, laughing at Jaren’s pout. “I can’t believe you’re nineteen.” 

“I can’t believe you’re twenty-one,” Jaren fired back, eyes wandering around them as they reached a construction block. A three story building was being constructed down the road from their college; a hospital, as far as John knew. It was relatively far along, two large cranes situated on either side. For a moment, they stood at the road, Jaren silent as John seemed to assess the construction building. 

It was just before one in the morning, the stars were weak due to the light pollution of the city. Jaren gazed up at the sky, deep in thought as John’s thoughts worked around in his head. 

He came to a decision and began pulling Jaren forward. 

“Woahhh there, bud. What are we doing?” Jaren asked, not even bothering to dig his heels in as John dragged him down into the dirt, leading him around the side of the building. 

John threw a grin back. “Getting your blood pumping,” he said and Jaren’s face showed both fear and concern. Exactly what John loved to see. “You did a lot of rock climbing when you were younger, right?” They reached the base of the taller crane and Jaren’s face paled. 

“John, are you crazy?” he asked, scanning around them. There was no other soul in sight; the night silent and dark. It was just them to themselves. 

“You said you wanted to do something crazy!” the older student said, stepping up and getting a grip on the yellow metal ladder. “Let’s go, you big baby. No one’s around to care.” And with that, he started climbing. 

He didn’t race, going up for a few seconds before glancing down to where Jaren stood, nibbling on his bottom lip with worry in his eyes. 

“Jaren. Stop thinking.” He met Jaren’s eyes. “Get up here.” Turning his attention back to the ladder, he resumed climbing. A smile lifted his lips when he heard Jaren begin to climb up beneath him. 

It took them about five minutes in total to reach the top of the crane, Jaren murmuring a steady: “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” as he went. There was a small platform up the top, thin rails guarding them from falling. By the time Jaren got up there, he was noticeably shaking and John caught him by the arm with a proud smile.

“Is now a good time to mention that- that I’m terrified of heights?” Jaren said, gripping his own forearms and shuddering. He kept his eyes closed and head tipped back, not wanting to even look around. 

“Is your heart racing?” he asked, his voice soft. It was even quieter up there. There were no sounds of cars, or the quiet mumbling of old homes. No squirrels chittering, no birds chirping- It was just them and the stars. 

Jaren swallowed thickly, nodding. His fear was palpable and John didn’t think twice about drawing him into a hug. 

“Feeling the adrenaline?” he asked, ignoring how Jaren’s hair smelled like strawberries. 

“Yeah,” Jaren mumbled, gripping John’s hoodie like he was already falling. 

“Look at the stars. They seem brighter up here,” John suggested and it took the younger boy a second to work himself up to it. When he did open his eyes, his pupils were wide and full of wonder. John couldn’t look away from them. 

Jaren stared up at the sky for a few minutes, letting out slow steady breaths as he tried to keep himself calm. John squeezed his hand. 

“Look at the city,” he urged gently and Jaren did. His eyes fell to the horizon, and his fingernails dug into John’s arm as they then dropped down to the town beneath them. 

“Jesus fuck, this is high,” he hissed and a nervous laugh bursted out of his lips. John grinned. His grip loosened on John’s arm by the minute as he gazed around beneath them. He visibly adjusted to the height, letting out big, calm breaths as his smile became less nervous and more comfortable. “Are you sure this is legal?” he asked after a minute and John snickered. 

The look of alarm Jaren gave him only made him laugh more. “Fuck no. But you asked for crazy, not legal,” he supplied and Jaren punched him in the shoulder. “If we get arrested, I will kill you.” 

“Fair deal,” John said with a grin, letting Jaren go to step up to the rails. He looked down to the construction building and grinned, his own knees shaking slightly. His subconscious was not loving the heights as much as he was, all his natural instincts screaming at him to get away from the edge. But he knew he was safe. 

When Jaren timidly stepped up beside him, John didn’t react to the fearful muttering. He allowed the younger man to adjust to his fear, offering only his presence to reassure him and be there for him. He gripped the railing with shaking hands and John smiled with his pride for his friend, knowing that this was not an easy feat for Jaren. 

“This is fucking nuts,” Jaren whispered, looking up to John with awe-filled eyes. “Fuckin’ insane,” he said and John met his look with a grin. 

“Isn’t it?” he said and felt his stomach twist and turn within him as Jaren gazed up at him. The moment spared between them. 

As much as the view was incredible, as much as the heights made him quiver; there was something so captivating about Jaren’s face beneath the moonlight. His features were soft, a few freckles standing out that Jaren didn’t notice beneath the sun. The awe didn’t fade and when Jaren’s eyes dipped, John’s heart skipped a beat.

“I wanna do something even crazier,” Jaren declared, voice softening towards the end of his claim. He met John’s eyes again and John felt his heart racing. It wasn’t the height that was making him feel dizzy anymore, feeling Jaren’s fingers trail up John’s forearm. 

“Something crazier than climbing a crane?” John asked, his smile weak as he crooked his head to the side. 

“Something fucking nuts,” Jaren whispered, and John didn’t need to ask what. 

Jaren took a small step forward, knuckles white where he held onto the railing, but fingertips featherlight where they danced along John’s shoulder. Only the stars and the moon were there to watch as John’s hand came up to cup Jaren’s cheek with a brush of encouragement. 

Jaren kissed him, his shy lips meeting John’s with an impulsive kind of awe. He gripped John’s shoulder like he would fall if he didn’t hold onto him and John didn’t have to think about curling one around around his friend’s back. He leaned into the contact, tilting his head and kissing Jaren like he was the only thing keeping him upright. 

Crazier than a midnight adventure, crazier than climbing a crane, crazier than anything John had ever done before; John held Jaren close by his hips, his other fingers coming up to thread through his hair. The younger boy had let go of the railing to pull John closer and nothing filled John’s bloodstream with adrenaline. The risk, the bravery, the trust. 

If climbing a two hundred and fifty foot crane to kiss Jaren was crazy, then John was downright insane. And fuck, did he love feeling Jaren’s heart pounding against his own chest. 

[greyias]

Do any of the fictional kiss prompts for theron because I need the fluff but I also crave the angst ahhhh going to drown in feels on the 22nd

You and me both, Nonny. So much angst and feels incoming I’m not sure if I can take it! In the meantime, I agree, fluff is probably the best cure! I started this with #19 in mind, but I think a few more worked their way in. Mostly fluff as the doctor ordered, but a hint of some future angst may have slipped in. Whoops!

(I blame Theron. As per usual. Thank you for the prompt!)

It was a two fingers of whiskey kind of night. Theron had spent nearly ten hours bent over a data terminal without a break, trying to backtrace a signal he’d picked up from the latest uprising that the Alliance had gotten tangled up in. The new command center for the Fleet wasn’t even complete, and the bottom feeders were already starting to come out of the woodwork. It made sense, there was bound to be skirmishes in a power vacuum, but there was a small portion of him that had wanted more than just a day or two of rest. After everything the Alliance had just gone through, after everything that it’s Commander had been through, a small break from the constant, never-ending battle would have been nice. She of all people deserved a vacation from the unending grind, and he could have tagged along. Maybe.

But the work never stopped, which was good for his boredom — less so for his stress levels. He’d never really been one to take a break, and he’d always used his vacation time at the SIS for other things (usually keeping a certain disreputable Twi’lek alive when she got in too deep, despite her best efforts to make him mind his own business). He frowned and took another sip. It had been a while since he had looked in on Teff’ith. Over eight years had passed since they had struck up their, well, friendship seemed to be a little generous of a term but he had nothing else – and she hadn’t changed much. Maybe she threatened to stick a vibroblade between his ribs a bit less these days, but that was probably because he hadn’t been able to keep as close tabs on her since the start of the Alliance. Who knew what mess she was involved in these days. Not much of a big brother figure, was he?

He’d have to try and make more of an effort to check in. People that he still considered family were in short supply, and it was bad form to not keep in touch. Yeah, he’d do that. Just as soon as he caught a break.

The stream of intelligence on his datapad scrolled on endlessly. A pocket of unrest near Tatooine. The White Maw were getting bolder, spreading from Hoth to more sectors in the Outer Rim. Disturbed murmurings from Port Nowhere about a new criminal organization he’d never heard of. Pockets of violence spread across the Galaxy at random. And yet something about it all didn’t seem completely random. Maybe he’d been staring at a screen too long today, but he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that he was missing something. Something much larger.

The cushions of the couch dipped as someone sat next to him, and the scent of Velanie flowers and juna berries tickled his nose. Hylo had recently swapped out the shampoo they were bringing in, complaining that she was tired of the Trillium soap stinking up her cargo bay. He didn’t mind the change for one. Out of a reflex built on routine, Theron wrapped an arm around the Jedi as she rested her cheek against his shoulder. His eyes never left the screen of the datapad, even as her still-slightly dampened hair soaked into his shirt. Absently he took another sip of whiskey, balancing the datapad at an odd angle as his eyes continued to take in the never ending stream of text. He felt her hand briefly brush against the fingers he had wrapped around his glass.

“Long day?” she asked quietly.

He nodded absently, pulling up a separate intelligence briefing on Tatooine. They had personnel in that area. They probably could handle it — but it wouldn’t hurt to check in. Get a report from someone with eyes on the situation directly. It was late there, though. Probably could wait until morning.

“When was the last time you took a break?”

“This is a break. I don’t drink on the chrono.”

“You’re a horrible liar.”

“I’m a good liar,” he corrected absently. “It’s part of the job description.”

“Not with me.”

“Which is why I’m not lying. If I were working I’d still be at a data terminal.”

She let out a small noise of frustration, but fell quiet again. Most nights she’d have a data pad of her own, them both juggling for a comfortable reading position while still keeping physical contact. Neither of them were very demonstrative by nature, but they’d fallen into a comfortable routine since the formation of the Alliance. Share a cup of caf after meditation most mornings and settle into intelligence reports into the long hours of the night. Her lack of one right now was the closest he could give her to an actual break. Which was starting to seem like a mistake as she squirmed on the couch, unable to get comfortable. He did his best to ignore it, pulling up a different report. 

The situation on Hoth looked like a powder keg ready to blow. He’d need to talk to Aygo, see if they could spare some troops from the relief efforts. As he pored over the details, that nagging feeling cropped up again. He stopped, went back and re-read it again, but nothing jumped off the screen at him. Just a vague sense of unease. He washed it away with another swig of whiskey.

“What are you worried about?”

“What?” he asked absently. “I’m not worried about anything. Just reading.”

The huff she let out this time was much louder and the weight resting against his shoulder disappeared as she sat up. He backed out of the report, pulling up the HoloNet so he could make a quick cross-reference to see if there was anything about this Crimson Fang organization. He was in the midst of typing out his search when he felt a soft kiss press to his cheek. He blinked, pausing as he forgot the next word in his query. The lips pressing against his cheek quirked up into a ghost of a smile, and he felt another soft peck.

His fingers hovered over the keys, trying to regain his train of thought. The cursor blinked up at him, waiting far more patiently than the blonde woman who planted a series of feather soft kisses that traced his jawline. He let the datapad drop to the table and carefully set his glass of whiskey down next to it before turning to face her as gracefully and poised as he could.

“Fine, datapad down. Happy now?”

“I’d be happier if you’d tell me what was bothering you.”

“Nothing is bothering me.” He heaved a sigh that was most definitely not on the dramatic side. “I just got a little sidetracked today and let the reports pile up.”

Her eyes crinkled as she gave him a sad smile, her thumb absently brushing across the deep crease in his brow. “You have twice as much whiskey in that glass as you normally do and are on the way to making this frown permanent.”

“I thought you said wrinkles looked distinguished.”

“You said that. I said I didn’t care if you looked like a shriveled Dressellian prune.”

“You know just what to say to a guy to make him feel sexy.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Her cheeks flushed pink, lips briefly pressing together in consternation. “Theron, you’ve fallen asleep on this couch for the last two nights surrounded by a pile of datapads.”

“So I’m more than just a little behind on reports.”

“Is that all it is?”

He frowned, eyes briefly straying to the discarded datapad on the table, the search field still empty and waiting. The ghost of a notion that he was missing something still lingered in the back of his mind. “I don’t know. It’s probably nothing.”

“What is?”

“I just can’t help but feel I’m not seeing something,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. He stopped mid-motion, seeing that she’d adopted his perturbed expression from earlier. “Forget about it, I’m probably jumping at shadows. Gotten too used to chasing after the next mission.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Isn’t there? I’m sitting here lost in the HoloNet instead of taking advantage of us being alone, truly alone, for the first time since before we ever even heard the name Zakuul.”

A flicker of a shadow crossed her face at the memory of the unwanted interloper in her head, who had been trying to hollow her out from the inside. Without even thinking about it he reached out, laying a hand on hers and giving it a small squeeze. A small smile chased the shadow away as she dropped her gaze, absently running the fingers of her other hand over his knuckles. He’d forgotten how nice that felt.

“After so long, the quiet in my mind is a little odd. Not unwelcome, but I sometimes don’t know what to do with it.”

“We both kind of got used to working around him,” he admitted quietly. “Do something long enough, you get accustomed to it. Can get too comfortable in a routine, even if it’s not the best one for you.”

“And if you do?”

“Hm?”

“Get too comfortable. Get stuck. What do you do then?”

“Something unexpected.”

“Like what—”

He gave a quick tug to their clasped hands, yanking her off balance so that she was sprawled across his lap and captured her mouth in a breathless kiss. She was still for a brief moment, before she responded in kind, surging forward and pressing her body into him. He wasted no time, scooping her up as he stood, shuffling them both in the direction of the bed.

“Stairs,” she murmured against his lips, moments before they would trip.

“Sorry,” he replied, slowing just enough so they didn’t wind up a tangled mess of limbs on the floor. “Hard to see.”

“You could always stop,” she let out a small gasp as he began to nibble on her ear, “and watch where you’re going.”

“Not a chance,” he muttered. “You use the Force. That’s what it’s for.”

“That’s not an appropriate use of—”

“Live a little,” he said, “we’re being unexpected. Remember?”

“I am not using the Force as a homing beacon for the bed.”

“Fine,” he sighed melodramatically, “you give me no choice then.”

Without warning he scooped her off her feet, eliciting a tiny gasp before she let out a quiet giggle. He flashed her a smirk, quickly crossing the rest of the expanse before unceremoniously tossing her smaller form on the bed. The sound she let out then was far less delighted, and bordered on indignant.

“Oh no, what a tragedy.” He shook his head gravely as she flashed him a look. “If only I had had a map to know where I was going—”

“Oh, shut up,” she said with a roll of her eyes, grabbing him by the belt and pulling him down next to her.

Theron happily complied with her request, as there was far more creative ways to tease her and bring a blush to those cheeks than with sarcasm alone. He nibbled at her throat gently, deciding he liked her tiny gasps to the indignant huff anyway. As he got lost in her arms, whatever had been bothering him was completely forgotten. Along with the datapad, the reports, and the half-drunk glass of whiskey.

[kaiinari002]

@mahou-demi-senshi

Diseased portraits.