#halfway thru she groans [other friend] was right

[kireimarkeu]

To You; l.dh

+another repost! did not make any changes to this work :) p.s this is one of my fav fics i have written :)

summary; bored in quarantine, your boyfriend decides to film himself telling you how much he loves you.

3k words

this was like… ½ edited LMFAO so there might,,, be mistakes…??? this was so tiring to make omfg, enjoy!! lol 

also i mixed the name donghyuck and haechan bc i couldn’t choose one lmfao ok!!! bye gn enjoy!! :)))))))

warnings: there’s a word f*t in it

+Day 1 3:34PM

Haechan adjusted the camera, making sure he could be seen. Once he was sure the camera was reflecting him properly, he leaned back against his gaming chair. 

“Um,” your boyfriend started, looking everywhere but the camera. “This is awkward,” he says, looking back at the camera.

“I started this, since we won’t be able to see each other for a month- because of quarantine,” he explains, “I honestly have no idea what I’m doing right now,” he laughs. 

After a few minutes of pure silence, your boyfriend opened his mouth to continue speaking, “I just feel like— I never really show much love to you?” 

There were times where your boyfriend would purposely avoid saying ‘I love you’ or avoid holding your hands whenever the both of you were outside. Honestly, you didn’t really mind, knowing Donghyuck was never the type to show affection. 

“It’s hard,” he says truthfully, “The boys knows how much I love you, and it sucks that I don’t know how to show you— or tell you, that I love you.”

Haechan bit his lips nervously, “and, I think this video is- or will prove that I love you?”

He wasn’t sure if he was even making sense at this point. 

Your boyfriend groaned, throwing his head back, covering his face with his hands. After a while, he looked back at the camera, “you know what, babe? Just watch the whole thing, okay?”

+Day 4 11:47PM

“Hi,” he smiles, letting out a huff, “this is kinda late, I spent the whole night playing games,” he says guiltily, playing with his fingers, looking away from the camera.

He knows that you didn’t like it when he would stay up until ungodly hours just to play games with his friends. You hated how he would put his health aside just to play games. 

He brings his hands up to brush his wet hair. 

“Uh,” he sighs out loud, pouting. “I feel bad for staying up late last night, so I’m going to spend the whole night with you today,” he laughs. 

Another moment of silence pass. 

“I don’t know what to say,” he whines. 

He sat there in silence, staring at the ground, figuring out on what to say. Should he tell you about his day?

“Well, I woke up at 5PM today,” he tells you, “I ate dinner with my family— mom cooked chicken today!” he says happily, “Then, I went to call you for a bit because I missed you a little too much,” he pouts. 

He scratched his head, “then I showered and now this-“ he says, pointing to the camera. 

“Um, it has been 4 days and I miss you too much,” he says truthfully, “facetiming isn’t working, I think I’m going crazy,” he laughs. 

+Day 5 7:38PM

He was talking halfway, talking about how much he admires you when his phone started ringing. 

“Oh?” he turns around to grab his phone from his bed. A smile formed on his face when he saw you facetiming him. 

He turned to the camera to show his screen, “Baby, you’re calling me,” he giggles before quickly answering to your facetime. 

“Channie~” you whine cutely when your boyfriend answered your facetime, “what are you doing, hyuckie?”

Usually, your boyfriend would complain whenever you would speak in a cute voice, but he secretly likes it. He secretly likes being babied. 

He looks at the camera that was recording the both of you. 

“Nothing,” he lies, “why did you call me, loser?”

You huff, raising your arms so he could see you laying on the bed. “I’m bored, hyuckie~ entertain me~”

He leans back on his chair, “wanna play games with me?”

Your face beam at his words, “Okay! I’ll get my X-Box ready now.”

Your boyfriend was the one who bought for you the X-Box. Well, it was an old version, but you loved it, nonetheless. It wasn’t like you played daily— you only played with boyfriend. 

“I’ll call you in 5, baby,” he tells you, already walking over to turn on the tv. 

“Kay, bye-bye, love you, Hyuckie,” you say in a baby voice, bringing your phone closer to press your lips on the camera. 

Donghyuck scrunched his nose in disgust, “yeah, yeah,” he says before ending the call. 

He quickly grab the camera that was still recording, he moved the camera closer to press a kiss, “I love you too, y/n.”

+Day 7 3:01PM

“Do you remember when you gave me the teddy bear— Oh my gosh, I feel like a youtuber,” he cackles. He shook his head, focusing back to what he was saying. 

“So, do you remember when you gave me the teddy bear?” he asks, “wait,” he says, standing up to grab the tiny teddy bear that was sitting on his bed. 

You had bought him the bear during your 200th day with him. Donghyuck didn’t really give the reaction you wanted. 

“Do you not like it?” you had asked him, disappointment laced in your voice. You didn’t dare look at him, upset with yourself that you had bought something that he didn’t like. 

“No, no!” he quickly replied, wrapping an arm around your shoulder to pull you into his chest, the other holding the tiny bear. “I love it,” he says. 

You knew it was a lie. He didn’t seem to like it. 

“I love it,” he says, “I know I didn’t show like I did at that time, but I need it with me every time I go to bed.” 

He scratches his head, regretting his actions that has had happened months ago. 

“No one has ever bought me a bear before,” he explains, “and when you bought it for me, it just felt— I felt, I felt happy? I felt fulfilled? Do you know what I mean?” 

“I really wanted to tell you that I loved your present, especially when you had bought me another present a few days later,”

‘it was to make up for the previous present’ was your reason. 

It broke his heart when you said that while handing him a couple bracelet. He wanted to tell you how much he loved your gift, but it was so hard for him. 

“I hated myself for not being able to tell you the truth, it’s hard—and it still is,” he sighs, “I hope by doing this, I can assure you that I love you..?” 

+Day 10 9:34PM

He was in the middle of filming himself when his mother comes in. 

“Donghyuck-ah, what are you doing? Do you want some fruits?” his mother asks, looking at his son, not noticing the camera perched on the dressing table. 

Instead of answering his mother’s question, he grabs the camera to film his mother. 

“Eomma, say hello to y/n,” Donghyuck says. 

His mother raised her eyebrows in surprised, “hello my dear y/n~ how are you?”

Your boyfriend giggle from behind the camera, “tell her how much you miss her,”

“I think I miss you more than Donghyuck does,” she jokes. “What is this for, Donghyuck-ah?”

Haechan placed the camera back on the dressing table, turning to look at his mum.

“I’m making a video for y/n until quarantine is over,” he explains as his mother walks in, wrapping her arm around her son’s shoulder. 

His mother’s heart warmed at his son’s words. 

“You’re growing up way too fast, our Donghyuck~” she cooed, pulling your boyfriend’s cheeks as he whined in pain. 

You would also pinch his cheeks almost every time the both of you are together. Whenever you had Donghyuck’s cheeks between your fingers, he would whine, pulling away from your grip.

“Eomma! I want strawberries!” he shouts after his mother left his room. 

He turns his attention back to the camera, “Anyways—”

+Day 17 2:35AM

“I really like your eyes,” Haechan confesses dreamily, “your eyes are the colour of shit,” he jokes, “but they’re so shiny, baby,”

The first time he realizes he’s in love with your glimmering eyes was when he brought you out on a date to star gaze. You were staring at the sky, a smile plastered on your face, amazed at how beautiful the sky was. 

When you noticed your boyfriend staring at you, you turned to face him. Your eyes captured his heart. How could someone have such bright eyes?

“Oh! And when you smile, you make my heart beat like crazy!” he chuckles. 

The first thing that caught Hyuck’s eyes when he had a crush on you was your bright smile. He believes that was the main reason that he fell for you. How you would always have a beaming smile plastered on your face everywhere you go. 

He thinks it’s adorable. 

The small dimples that was on the side of your lips whenever you smile. 

And your adorable little laugh he adores so much. 

Or the little birthmark you had on the corner of your mouth. 

After talking about you for a while, he let out a satisfied sigh, “I’m so whip for you, you know?”

After 17 days of making videos for you, it started becoming easier for him to show his love for you. 

“Everything you do makes me go crazy, do you realise that?” he asks you, “do you realize that everything you do makes me happy? No, you don’t have to do anything, your presence makes me melt.”

He laughs at how he was flirting, “you’re probably laughing too,”

His laughter died down, letting out a tired sigh, “well, it’s late and I’m going to go to bed before you nag at me some more,”

He let out a yawn, “goodnight y/n, I love you so much, you don’t know how happy you make me,”

+Day 20 2:56PM

This time, it was different. 

He was filming himself at McDonalds drive-thru. 

“Guess who’s this for?” he asks the camera, his gaze on the road. “Yes, you.”

He turns to look at the camera for a second before paying attention on the road, “you didn’t ask me to get you anything but I wanted to get something for you,” he explains. 

He was lying, this was just an excuse to see you, even for a second. Even if it’s 6 feet apart. Even if there was a glass between the both of you. 

“I think you know the reason why I’m buying this for you,” he says, referring to the food. “To make you fat! You’re right, y/n,” he jokes. 

That was also a lie. You tend to eat less whenever you’re stressed. 

After he found out that you had a project, he knew how stress you would be, and decided to get food, making sure you eat healthily. 

Your boyfriend would never fail to remind you how much he loves your body. No matter shape or size. He has always made sure you feel loved with who you are. 

“I think you know the real reason why I’m coming over,” he adds. When he reaches a red light, he turns to look at the camera with a pout, “I can’t help it, I miss you too much, y/n,” he says in a baby voice. 

He grimaces at his actions, shaking his head disapprovingly, “I am never doing that ever again.”

A few minutes later, he reached your house. He had texted you to that he was waiting for you outside. 

It took you a while to come out, but when you did, you had one of his hoodies over your body. 

He loves it when you wear his clothes, it makes him feel all giddy. 

‘One day, I’m going to wear all of your clothes’ he would say whenever you steal his clothes. 

You walked over to his car, “what the hell are you doing here, dummy,” you ask him, maintaining the distance. 

He grabbed the bag of food from the passenger’s seat and passed it to you from the window of his car. 

“Brought you food, you unappreciative bitch,” he tells you while you walk up to grab the food from him. 

You open the bag to see your favourite food, “my favourite food, too?!” you squeal, “Haechan best boyfie~”

He rolls his eyes, “yeah, yeah, go and finish your project,”

You nodded, the smile not leaving your face. 

“I’ll facetime you later?” he asks. 

“At 11,” you confirmed. 

He nods, signalling for you to go back in. You blow a kiss to your boyfriend before turning around to go back in. 

He quickly fishes out his camera, filming you walking back in your house. 

“Look at my baby all happy because I brought her food,” he says, “enjoy your food, pretty,”

+Day23 6:07PM

“Day 23,” he breathes out. “I didn’t expect it to go by so fast,” he blurts out. 

He puffs his cheeks out, “I don’t want to stop making videos for you, but you would just make fun of me for being soft,”

He had started growing content on making videos for you every day. 

“But at the same time, I can finally see you after a month, babe!” he says happily. “I can finally hold you in my arms, we can kiss until the world ends, we can also do it,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows. 

Well, he can’t lie he did miss doing it with you. 

He sighs, “anyway, when we can finally get together, we can watch movies, then come back to my place and we can cuddle!”

He missed that. 

Personally, Donghyuck preferred going over to your place but you preferred going to his place because he had games and a huge bed, and it was just comfortable. 

“Ahh,” he groan, “I miss you like crazy! I think I have to end this video early because I wanna facetime you right now,”

He grabs his phone on the table to call you. 

“Okay, bye babe, I love you, I’m going to talk to you now!”

+Day 25 4:03AM

“Hi,” donghyuck greet the camera. 

Anyone could realise he wasn’t in the best mood. 

It took Donghyuck a while to start talking, “we had a fight earlier today,” he says, his voice lace with disappointment and… hurt?

You had texted him just an hour ago, ranting about your homework. When Donghyuck replied to you a minute later, you got angry at him because he was staying up again at ungodly hours. 

He didn’t understand why you were so angry because you were awake at the same timing as he is. 

“I’m going to give you space, because it’s what you need right now,” he says. “I hope you know I still love you no matter what,”

He bit his lip hesitantly, “I know you don’t like it when I stay up with the boys, but I don’t like you staying up to finish your work either, baby”

He closes his eyes shut for a moment, taking a deep breath. “I hope you don’t get too stressed over school, eat healthily, and make sure you rest from time to time, babygirl,”

He lets out another sigh before reaching for the camera, “I love you,”

+Day 28 7:36PM

 Haechan purses his lips, staring at the camera, “today is a bad day,” he starts. 

Today he had woke up a little earlier than normal after talking it out with you a few days ago. He decided to get up early and help his mom with cooking, which only resulted him in getting scolded by his mother for making a mess. 

After that, he decided to play games with his friends, however despite playing for 5 hours straight, he didn’t get a single win. 

Now, he has tried to contact you, but you have not replied to him. Probably busy with school. 

He let out a huff, “take a break y/n,” he whines, “focus on me too~”

Letting out a pout he shakes his head, “kidding babe, get those A’s!”

“Well, now I don’t really have anything to do so I’m going to facetime you again, bye babe!”

+Day 30 10:18AM

“Hyuckie!” you call out, running to your boyfriend. When you reached him, you threw your arms around your boyfriend’s neck, making him stumble back a few steps as he grabs on your waist. 

You hid your face in his neck, breathing in his scent. He smells so good.

“You’re not going to let go of me until I say so,” you mumble, tightening your grip around his neck.

He chuckles at you, “I won’t let go of you until you say so,” 

Donghyuck was satisfied with having his arms wrapped around your waist, his face covered in your hair. 

After a few moments of the both of you just holding each other, you finally pull away from your boyfriend. 

“Y/n,” he says, making you hum.

“Wait,” you stop him, making him stare at you with wide eyes as he froze on the spot. 

“Can you kiss me first?” you ask. His eyes soften at your request. Your fingers trace his bottom lips, “I miss your pretty lips.”

He smiles at your words and nodded. Pulling you closer by your waist, he pressed his lips against yours. Your hands rest on his chest while you both share a needy kiss. 

After a few minutes, you pull away, breathless with crimson red cheeks.

Haechan raised his eyebrows as he resumed, “I made something for you,”

You gasped, “what is it?”

He fishes out a CD player. The CD held videos of him explaining how much he loves and appreciates you throughout the whole month. 

He passes you the gift. 

“Watch this at home?” he tells you. 

You grab the CD from his grip, “okay? What is this all about?”

“Just promise me you’ll watch it at home?” he asks again, staring down at you. 

“I will! I will!” 

After making videos of himself for 29 days straight, Donghyuck have concluded that he was so utterly in love with you. He was so in love with you that he didn’t know how to express how much he adores you.

[willowandfog]

TAKING FLIGHT

Complete

Summary: Kagome has been struggling with her disability most of her life but she's never felt anything but normal with Inuyasha always steadily by her side. But when her neurologist approaches her with the chance to recover full use of her leg, she takes it.

A childhood friends to lovers, soulmates AU

Read on AO3 or Below the Cut

Inuyasha was already awake and drinking a cup of strong black coffee when his father arrived. Touga chuckled at the sight of Kouga sleeping on the floor, curled into a ball with his tail wrapped around his waist. Miroku was still obviously unconscious on the couch, lying face down, with mouth open and drool slowly pooling below. 

“You boys had a nice evening then I take it?” Touga asked him as he poured himself some coffee into a mug.

Inuyasha laughed slightly. “Sure. You could say that. We all got drunk, well Miroku got absolutely pissed, and then Kouga tried to fight me.”

Touga raised a brow at that. “For the fun of it or for a specific reason?”

“Cause he still wants Kagome. Told me that if he could beat me that he would be the one to marry Kagome today.”

“I take it that went...well? The furniture all seems to be intact.”

“Oh I was all for the fight, then I just said no and went to bed.” Inuyasha set his now empty mug in the sink before heading back to the living room. “I’m sober and my hangover is almost gone so I imagine Kouga is fine and just sleeping in, lazy bastard. Miroku will be feeling like crap if he’s even sober by now.”

Inuyasha knelt by the couch and gave Miroku a shake. “Miroku, buddy.” Inuyasha shook him again when there was no response. “Miroku, time to wake up.”

Miroku groaned, rolling onto his back “Go way.” He muttered.

“Well you can wake up now and have some coffee and we can hit a drive thru for some greasy food for you and you can still stand by me today as my best man or I’ll ask my dad to stand in your stead. Which would you prefer?”

Miroku’s eyes fluttered open. “There was no option in there for you to kill me so I’m on the fence.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, rising. “Kouga. Wake up, either come with us or go home. You’re not staying here.”

Kouga flipped Inuyasha the bird from his place on the floor, but still opened his eyes and ran a hand over his face. Groaning, he sat up. With a heavy sigh he stood before making his way towards the bathroom. “I’m coming, wouldn’t want to disappoint Kagome by not having her favorite youkai in attendance.”

Inuyasha let out a warning growl just before Kouga slammed the door closed. 

“You guys aren’t friends right?” Touga questioned as he handed a fresh mug of coffee over to the now sitting Miroku.

“Nope, I put up with his existence because Kagome has a soft spot for sad lonely wolves.”

“I heard that!” Kouga yelled through the door just before the sound of the toilet flushing came through. 

“Good.” Inuyasha called to him. “I’m gonna go grab some socks and mine and Kagome’s luggage. We can head out after Miroku finishes his coffee.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Inuyasha sat in the passenger seat, munching on a hashbrown as his father drove and Miroku and Kouga sat in the back, both chowing down on breakfast sandwiches from the drive thru. 

“Did you have to go home first?” Inuyasha asked his father as he sipped coffee from his paper cup. 

“No, we are stopping by the Higurashi’s; Kagome left her overnight bag there and your mother texted me and asked me to grab something she left there as well.”

Inuyasha nodded, looking out the window and watching the scenery pass by. He thought that he would be feeling nervous by now but found that he was more antsy and anticipatory for the whole event to begin. 

When the car pulled into the short drive and came to a stop, both Inuyasha and Touga climbed out and made their way to the house. Inuyasha used his key to let them inside, he proceeded towards Kagome’s old room while his father went towards the kitchen. He immediately noticed Kagome’s bag, resting on the computer chair in front of the desk. He glanced around the room and peeked into the bathroom to make sure she hadn’t left anything else lying about. After snagging her hairbrush off the bathroom counter and tossing it into her bag, he noticed that one of his shirts was tucked underneath her favorite pajama bottoms. 

Inuyasha pulled the shirt free, bringing it to his nose he inhaled deeply, the sweet scent of Kagome was strong on the fabric but there was a hint of his own as well. The combination of the two scents had Inuyasha’s youkai ‘purring’ as Kagome liked to put it. Upon the realization that she must have worn it to bed during their night apart, he clutched the shirt to his chest and bowed his head over it. While he wished that she didn’t have to deal with having such a hard time being apart, Inuyasha was slightly ashamed to admit that he was also glad that he wasn’t alone in the feelings. Bringing the shirt back to his nose he took one final whiff before tucking the shirt back into the bag and zipping it closed. 

Bag slung over his shoulder, he met his father by the front door.

“Dad, can I ask you something?”

“You know you can.”

“How did you and mom do this? Stay a night apart, I mean. I feel it shouldn’t be this...difficult to sleep away from Kagome for one night. I mean, we are apart for a majority of the day during work.”

“Well, mainly, your mother and I were already bonded before we got married, so that helped. It still wasn’t easy, trying to sleep when your mate isn’t there is extremely challenging. Being full youkai, I don’t think I could’ve handled sleeping apart at your mother’s request if we hadn’t been bonded already. But you made it through and it should get easier here soon, just knowing your mate is in the same vicinity as you, surrounded by family. And just keep in mind that by this time tomorrow you will be a husband, mate, and soul bonded, and your mother and I couldn’t be more proud.” Touga clasped Inuyasha tightly on the shoulder, squeezing lightly in affection. 

Inuyasha gave an almost shy smile. “Thanks dad.”

The pair shared a brief tight hug before heading out. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Inuyasha finished buttoning up his dress shirt before reaching for the cufflinks that his father had worn on his wedding day. He turned as he slipped the first one into place, taking in the sight of Miroku sitting on the sofa in the ‘man cave’ as the venue called it. He was nursing another bottle of water, head resting on his open palm.

“So, care to tell me what all the excessive drinking was about last night?”

Miroku rotated his head slightly in the semblance of a head shake. “I… had a date with Sango last week and I fucked it up.”

“How did you manage to fuck it up, haven’t you two been going on dates for months? Haven’t you already had sex?”

“Yes. I did something really stupid, panicked and ran out of there; leaving her with the bill and all alone in the middle of the restaurant. And I haven’t responded to any of her calls or texts and I just don’t want to face her today.”

“What did you do?” Inuyasha chuckled, straightening his sleeves after pinning the second cufflink into place.

“Don’t want to talk about it.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “I’m sure it’ll be ok, you guys have been doing this dance since junior year. Off and on, someone always says something to screw things up, you guys fight or don’t speak. Then one of you apologizes to the other, or you guys get drunk and make up.”

As Miroku opened his mouth to reply, the door to the room creaked open, and Izayoi’s bright smiling face appeared. 

“How’s it coming in here, boys?”

“We’re great, mom. You can come in.”

She slipped into the room, letting the door snik shut behind her. Her eyes quickly took in the room, scanning everything before settling on Miroku. 

Inuyasha looked over his mother as she studied Miroku for a moment. She wore a floor length midnight blue sheath dress that Inuyasha knew perfectly matched the markings that graced his father’s cheeks. The bodice had a layer of flowery lace in the same shade, cinched at the waist before flowing to the floor in a shimmer of satin. 

“Miroku, dear. Would you mind helping Touga outside for a few minutes, please?”

Miroku’s brows met his hairline for a moment as he looked back and forth between Inuyasha and Izayoi. 

“Ummm, yeah, sure.”

“Thank you, dear.” Izayoi gave him a sweet smile as she watched him go. 

Inuyasha turned back to the floor length mirror, picking up his pale golden tie from the side table. Looping it around his neck, he watched his movements in the mirror as he began tying the Windsor knot. He was halfway finished when his large hands were cupped by smaller delicate ones. 

Izayoi took the tie into her hands and resumed Inuyasha’s work as his hands dropped to his sides. 

“Kagome looks lovely.”

Inuyasha gave her one of his rare genuine smiles. “She’s always lovely.”

“Transcendent then.” Izayoi stuck her tongue out at him before giggling and folding down his collar, adjusting his tie into place. 

Izayoi stretched up to her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. Dropping back onto her heels she made her way over and sat on the sofa Miroku had vacated. Waving him over she pointed to the floor in front of her. 

“Sit.”

Inuyasha stopped in front of her. “Sit on the floor? But I’ll wrinkle my pants.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “They’ll be fine for a few minutes, sit please.”

He sat on the floor between her legs, crossing his legs and instantly relaxing. He had always found sitting on the ground, comforting.

Izayoi picked up the hairbrush that was resting on the side table and began to brush Inuyasha’s hair in gentle, slow strokes. 

“I remember,” she said softly, “doing this when you were a little boy. You were always so excited for it. You’d come running to me with the brush and you would instantly climb into my lap when I would sit down. Oh, how it used to lull you to sleep, you would slowly start to slump over more and more until you fell asleep right there in my arms. I would just rock you in your sleep until your father came and scooped you up and carried you to bed.”

Inuyasha smiled fondly at the memory, eyes drifting closed as the sense of peace came over him. “You used to hum too.” He murmured.

She hummed her acknowledgement before beginning to hum a soft lullaby under her breath. When the song was finished she leaned forward and planted a kiss to the back of his head, setting the brush down on the cushion beside her. 

“I love you, mom.”

She ran her fingers through his hair. “I love you too. You know, you have been and always will be my little boy; but you’ve belonged to Kagome just as long. Your father and I are so happy that this day is here and we are so proud of the man you’ve become. You’ve always done whatever you can to take care of and provide for Kagome, and those are amazing things to receive from a mate.” She kissed him again before rising.

Inuyasha stood and turned towards her, quickly moving to wipe her cheeks when he spotted the dampness there. 

Izayoi smiled tenderly at him. “Today is a joyous day. One of the happiest days of my life was marrying your father, tied with the actual mating, and having you of course.” She lovingly stroked his cheek. “Now. Let’s get you in your jacket and outside.”

Inuyasha nodded slightly as he pulled her into his arms, tucking her under his chin and holding her tightly. He held her for several long moments before he released her.

“Ok. I’m ready, let’s do this.”

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Kagome had been pampered, massaged, prodded and poked all morning and she was ready to be done. While the beginnings of the day had felt great, she was ready for the hair pulling, fidgeting, pins poking her head, and the fussing to be over with. All she wanted was to walk down the aisle and tell Inuyasha how much he meant to her and then be whisked away as husband and wife and spend the night in his arms. 

She missed him something fierce, and she felt like she was starting to itch under her skin. She couldn’t quite figure out if that was the bond making her extra antsy and on edge being away from him or if it was just in her head. She could only imagine how Inuyasha was feeling about the separation since he had always felt the effects of the bond much more strongly than she had.

“Your hair turned out so beautifully.” Her mother stood directly behind her, stroking a gentle hand across her shoulder.

Kagome noticed Sango, her friend since freshman year of college, and Ayame, her good friend she was a new start with at work, standing behind her mother in the mirror she was sitting in front of, both nodding their agreement. She hoped to introduce Ayame and Kouga later at the reception, she had a feeling that they would get along and she hoped that they would hit it off pretty well. She had always felt a little guilty that Kouga still carried a torch for her even after finding out that she was Inuyasha’s mate. 

Turning her attention back to the mirror, she turned her head back and forth, taking in her seemingly simpler hairstyle that had cost more than she had been willing to pay. A relaxed french braid started at either temple, forming a crown of sorts around her head and met together in the back to form a low messy bun. Loose tendrils fell from her bun and more were deliberately left out framing her face with slightly wavy strands. A simple gold leaf and pearl hair vine comb was pinned up against the side of her bun. She really did love it but still felt that the style could’ve been achieved without paying the amount that they had but her mothers had insisted that a wedding day was a day to splurge for the finer things, like having someone else to do your hair and makeup. Kagome was happy to have talked them out of insisting that she hire a makeup artist as well, pleading with them that her friends had asked and wanted to participate by being the ones to do her makeup. They had done a great job, her skin looked smooth, and she was shining in all the right places, her eye makeup was noticeable with the winged eyeliner and the shimmering gold shadow but it was all light enough to still look closer to a natural style. 

“Alright, let’s get you into your dress.” Izayoi came over carrying a shoe box that she set on the vanity.

Twenty minutes and eight overly helpful hands later, Kagome was finally tucked into her dress. Izayoi and Sango guided her over to her chair and helped her sit, rucking up her dress as her mother and Ayame knelt on the floor, each bearing a shoe. 

“Guys.” Kagome protested. “I can put my own shoes on.”

“Don’t be silly, darling.” Izayoi spoke by her side. “It’s hard to reach your own feet in a wedding dress, besides we enjoy helping.”

Kagome held back any further comments as each of her feet were worked into her crochet lace pointy toed flats with a sheer organza lace up ribbon. Although she was able to walk without her crutch now and almost always had a smooth gait when she walked, she wasn’t able to get much practice in with heels and had decided that it would be safer to wear flat shoes. But that hadn’t stopped her from taking Sango and trying to find the prettiest flats she could, and she thought the ballerina lace up shoes were to die for. After they finished criss-crossing and wrapping the ribbon around her leg and tying it into a neat little bow at the back of her calf, both Ayame and her mother stood. 

“There.” Her mother beamed. “Now, let me grab my phone before you get your first look in the mirror.”

All four of her helpers reached for their phones at once. There were no blinding flashes throughout the day so far, no intruding presence, the photographer they had hired had been snapping photos throughout the process, occasionally disappearing to where Kagome could only guess was the ‘man cave’ where the boys were getting ready. Even though the photographer, Lacy, Kagome thought her name was, had been amazingly silent and unobtrusive, everyone else was still insistent on taking photos on their phones. 

Kagome had been avoiding her own phone for most of the day, fighting the urge to text Inuyasha. But she came to the conclusion that having some hand taken photos and selfies of her wedding day would be a nice addition as well. Rising, she made her way to the vanity, careful not to look into the mirror. Pulling her phone out of her bag, she opened up the camera and turned to snap a few photos of everyone else digging their phones out of their bags, except Sango who was explaining some app she had to Kagome’s mother. 

“Ready? Will someone take some photos with my phone too?” Kagome unlocked her screen, her lip quivering slightly at the sight of Inuyasha’s grinning face gracing her wallpaper. 

“Yeah I got it, Kagome.” Ayame said as she came up beside her and gently took the phone from her hands, patting her softly on the shoulder. “You’ll see him soon, he’s fine and you’re doing great.”

“Thanks.” Kagome murmured as she sniffled before turning away. 

Shaking herself out of her momentary lapse she slowly made her way over to the floor length mirror in the corner. She gasped when she saw herself. She had loved the dress when she saw it in the catalog but she was amazed that it looked as great as it had before. Knowing she was being ridiculous since she had seen herself during her fitting, this felt different, more final. 

The intricately embellished bold lace bust delicately embroidered with sequins had a deep v-shaped neckline showing off just the right amount of cleavage. The bust flowed into a voluminous silk chiffon circle skirt, ending as it graced the floor. Turning slightly she caught sight of the low open back that ended with a small silken bow. Smiling, she turned to face the mirror again, reaching up to finger the delicate hand-beaded shoulder detailing with strings of thin spider-silk-like beaded strands dangling off her shoulder in drooping half circles. 

Kagome was vaguely aware of exclaimed praises and comments about capturing good photos but it was all background noise. She shook herself from her daze and turned back to face the group, the sooner she was done fawning over herself the sooner she could walk down the aisle. They snapped a few more photos before taking turns taking selfies with her then gathering for group photos. They asked the photographer to also take photos with all their phones of the small group of women. 

Kagome’s mother pulled her aside and hugged her, stroking a tender hand across her shoulder.

“I wish your father was here to see how beautiful and happy you are. I know he’d be so proud of the woman you’ve become.”

Tears filled Kagome’s eyes, her gut clenching as it always did when she remembered the accident that took her father from her. 

“Thanks mom, I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.” She pulled her into another brief tight hug as Izayoi stepped up beside them.

“I’m going to go check on the boys and make sure Inuyasha is ready and get him out there. Take a few minutes to yourself, your mother and Sango will wait for you outside the door.”

Kagome nodded, giving her soon to be mother in law a hug. As the door closed behind the group Kagome let out a sigh of relief at finally being alone for the first time that day. She gathered up the couple items of hers that were strewn about the room and piled them into her bag; sneaking at glance at Inuyasha’s photo on her phone before tucking that too away and zipping the bag closed. Her mother had mentioned coming back to the room after the ceremony to grab her bag for her so Kagome wanted to make it as easy as possible on her.

Walking over to the vanity she sat, taking a few calming breaths. When she stood again she felt her weak leg give a little tremble. Sighing, she went back to her bag and extracted her brace. Sitting down she hastily pulled her skirt up and with difficulty managed to get her shoed foot through the brace and pulled up into place. After a stern glare at the brace, she stood, smoothing her skirt back into place. She gave one last glance into the floor length mirror before making her way to the door. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Inuyasha escorted his mother down the aisle, a symbol to their guests that it was time to find their seats as the ceremony would be beginning shortly. Kagome and Inuyasha had opted to not have a long drawn out intro to the ceremony, not wanting to wait what would feel like forever as bridesmaids and groomsmen walked down the aisle. So Sango and Miroku were already in place at the end of the aisle, standing to either side, ready to support and be witness to the union of their friends. In truth, Inuyasha hadn’t wanted anything to draw attention away from Kagome being presented and walking down the aisle.

Inuyasha studied the trees that they had picked to get married under. They were beautiful, far reaching weeping willows, standing slightly apart. Leaving the perfect amount of space for the couple to stand together in front of everyone and declare their love for each other. Kagome and both of their mothers had come out the day before and helped the venue string up fairy lights all along the tree branches. Allowing some to hang down from the branches towards the ground. The effect was almost magical as the sun began to set and the light a little lower, drawing more attention to the lit tree. 

As Inuyasha reached the end of the aisle with his mother he stopped. Izayoi withdrew her arm from his before stretching up and placing a kiss on his cheek. She gave him a tender smile before moving to take the empty seat beside his father.

Moving to take his place beside Miroku, Inuyasha clasped his hands tightly together in front of him. His nerves spiked as his senses were suddenly overwhelmed, finally feeling Kagome’s presence nearby again.

Oh, how he had missed it, the feel of her gentle, loving presence brushing up against his. Her smiling face, her love filled eyes as she looked at him with adoration. He was hard pressed to believe that they had only spent a night apart, it felt like it had been days, weeks, years even. His yearning for her had grown so strong that when she stepped out from the tent flap beside her mother all breath and coherent thought left him. 

She was the most divine creature he had ever laid eyes on. He glanced over her. Yes, the dress was beautiful and her hair was nice but he was more interested in her face. The brightness in her face and the smile that showed her absolute happiness of the moment. It spread to him, her joy, and he felt it reach him deep down into his soul, soothing his youkai.

He noticed the tightening of her hand wrapped around her bouquet, the catch in her breath and the speed of her already rapidly beating heart kick up a notch when she glanced up and met his eye. Hers a warm chocolate from a distance but he knew them intimately. Knew that they held many shades, shades of whiskey and a crystallized honey. Eyes focus solely on him, the bright gleam in her eyes only for him. Eyes that saw everything of him, that pierced through any gruffiness he might have had at the world and saw straight through to him. 

When Kagome and her mother reached him, he stepped forward, placing a kiss on her mother’s cheek before taking Kagome’s hand and leading her the rest of the way to the front. As they stopped in front of Totosai, his father’s long time friend, they turned to face each other. Kagome, still smiling and Inuyasha suspected that he had a goofy grin planted on his face. 

Totosai spoke a few words of welcome to their guests, speaking the meaning of marriage and how happy he was that Kagome and Inuyasha were coming together; but Inuyasha didn’t hear the words, all his attention on Kagome. Inuyasha’s mind finally registered the words that were being spoken when Totosai spoke again.

“Kagome and Inuyasha have asked to incorporate a handfasting into their ceremony. And have asked that Inuyasha’s father, Touga, step forward and honor them in officiating the ritual.”

Inuyasha’s attention was drawn away from Kagome for the first time since she had appeared from underneath the tent to walk down the aisle. He glanced over at his father, who was rising from his seat amongst the front row, surprise clearly written on his face as he straightened his coat. Kagome and himself had decided not to mention including the handfasting into their ceremony to anyone other than Totosai, wanting it to be a surprise and a gift for his father. 

Handfasting was an old tradition, something developed not from their heritage but was adopted early on in youkai society as an additional symbol of a soul bonded match. It was considered a great honor among youkai to be chosen by a bonded couple to perform the ritual. 

As Touga walked around the couple, Totosai pulled him aside. They talked in hushed murmurs for a few moments before separating and Totosai stepped off to the side, standing near Miroku, with a smile on his face. Touga took his place behind the couple, facing them and the gathering, holding three satin cords in one clawed hand. 

Though he had to clear his throat before beginning, Touga spoke loudly and clearly. “Though not originating from the youkai, handfasting was quickly developed into mating and marriage ceremonies as a perfect outward display of a soul bond. It is considered extremely fortuitous and rare to find your soulmate as well as a blessing to witness the joining. I am beyond honored to stand before you all as I guide my son and my new daughter into their union.”

Turning his attention back to the couple, Touga spoke to them. “If you would join right hands, please.”

Kagome turned, handing off her bouquet to Sango before turning back to Inuyasha and offering up her right hand. Inuyasha gently clasped it with his own, his eyes roving her face, taking in every detail.

“With full awareness, know that before this gathering of witnesses you are not only declaring your intent to be bound before your friends and family, but also by joining hands you are representing your willingness in the union, if one of you is unwilling to be bound to the other, please now lower your hand.”

Inuyasha and Kagome both held on tighter, staring into each other’s eyes as they spoke together. “We are both aware and willing.”

Inuyasha turned his attention to their clasped hands as Touga laid one of the satin cords, in a vibrant shade of forest green, across Inuyasha’s wrist. “This cord represents Kagome’s commitment and acceptance of Inuyasha in the union. Kagome, would you like to say a few words to Inuyasha?” 

Kagome glanced at Touga, nodding slightly before turning and looking into the pools of melted honey that were Inuyasha’s eyes. “Inuyasha, we’ve been best friends for twenty-one years and you’ve been the love of my life for a dozen of those. That night when we were eight and you convinced me to sneak out of my house to watch the meteor storm with you, we both made a wish. And I think it’s finally time to share my wish with you; I wished for us to be able to stay together forever. My wish is coming true and that makes me the happiest-” The emotions clogged her throat and she covered her mouth with her free hand for a moment as she took a ragged breath. When Inuyasha squeezed her hand in support and encouragement she cleared her throat and looked back up to him with tear filled eyes. “The happiest person in the world. Inuyasha, I promise to always love and respect you. To support you and cherish you. And I promise to try to be everything to you that you have always been to me.”

Kagome looked to the side as Sango stepped up beside her, offering up Inuyasha’s ring on the palm of her hand. It hadn’t been hard to figure out a way to mix the traditional handfasting with the modern wedding ceremony. Taking the ring in her left hand, she turned back to Inuyasha as he offered his left to her underneath their clasped hands. As she slid the cool platinum band onto his finger he kept his gaze on her face, and when her watery eyes flicked back up and meet his, he mouthed ‘I love you,’ and she beamed, the motion spilling her tears out of the corners of her eyes to track down her cheeks. 

Touga laid the crimson satin cord across Kagome’s wrist. “This cord represents Inuyasha’s commitment and acceptance of Kagome in the union. Inuyasha, a few words?”

Inuyasha took in a deep breath, he had written vows but they seemed a cheap imitation to what he knew his heart wanted to say. The breath he had been holding came out shakily as he slowly released it. He had so much he wanted to say and he was afraid he’d say it wrong. She had said such wonderful things that caused a warmth to bloom in his chest and he was the one that always fumbled for the right thing to say when it mattered most. 

But he knew. He knew. 

That no matter what he said in this moment, Kagome would know. She would know what he was trying to say, what he wanted to convey, what was in his heart. She always knew, she always understood, she knew him better than he knew himself.

“Kagome, you have been my entire focus and ever present constant since I looked out the window twenty years ago and saw a little girl fierce in her determination to make it from the car to the house on her own. I think even then I knew, I sensed something within me reaching out to you, urging me to befriend you, protect you, love you. I’m happy with the man I’ve become and that’s all because of you; because of your gentle hand and your guiding words. The strength and kindness of your heart never ceases to amaze me. I strive to be as good to you as you have always been to me. I promise to be your guiding light in the darkness, a warming comfort in the cold, and a shoulder to lean on when life is too much to bare on your own.” 

Inuyasha looked down as a hand appeared at his side, Kagome’s delicate rose gold band lay on Miroku’s open hand. Inuyasha plucked the ring off his friend’s palm, mindful of his claws. When he turned back to Kagome she had more tears on her cheeks but her smile was dazzling, warm, accepting, and happy. Her offered left hand was already waiting for him, as he slid the ring onto her finger, he felt the youkai within him sturing. The need to throw her over his shoulder and carry her away from prying eyes and finally claim her as his mate washed through him with such force that he had a hard time resisting. But when his father began speaking again, he tried to tamp down even harder on the urge, knowing that later that night, Kagome would be his in every way possible. 

“This cord represents their union, the joining of not only Inuyasha and Kagome but of each side’s family coming together.” Touga draped the gold cord across the top of their joined hands before moving both the other cords up to rest alongside it. “Today on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other forever, you are holding the hand of your best friend. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you built your future.”

 He spoke as he held one side of the strands steady in one hand and began to wrap the other side around it. “These are the hands that will love you and cherish you through the years. These are the hands that will celebrate with you when you feel happy and comfort you when you feel sad.” He tucked one side under the other, pulling to form the knot on top of their clasped hands. One end of the cords dangling down on each side of their hands. “These are the hands that will give you strength and support whenever you need it. As your hands are joined together now, so your hearts will always be.”

Inuyasha and Kagome each took hold of one of the ends of cords, making sure to maintain eye contact. Slowly, they slid their clasped hands along each other’s as they separated them, pulling on the cord ends at the same time. When their hands fell free, the cords came together, forming a tight infinity knot. 

Totosai stepped up beside Touga. “By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Using the cord as leverage, Inuyasha wasted no time in yanking it, pulling Kagome towards him, wrapping his free arm around her waist and crushing her to him. Still maintaining his hold on their cord he pressed his lips to hers. He’d kissed her countless times before, but the tingle of blissful tranquility that flowed through him felt new in a way he could not describe. He moaned slightly at the feeling, deepening the kiss. Stroking his tongue across her lower lip before dipping it inside her parted lips. 

Only when he let out a low possessive growl did he remember the crowd; pulling away just enough so their lips were still touching.

“I love you.” He whispered against her lips.

“I love you, too.”

It was only then that he heard the crowd, they were all cheering and clapping, some rising from their seats. Inuyasha took Kagome’s end of the cords from her, turning and handing the knot over to his father. 

“Guard this for us till later?”

Touga nodded, accepting the duty.

With a large grin Inuyasha tucked Kagome’s arm in the crook of his elbow, beginning to lead her away from their position at the front and down the aisle. His eyes were fixed on his luminous mate even as she watched the crowd, a shy but ecstatic smile on her face. There were a few clicks and flashes of cameras going off but Inuyasha’s attention never wavered. Flower petals rained down upon them, creating a lovely effect but other than causing Inuyasha to blink more often as sone petals hit his face, he never looked away. 

When they reached the end of the aisle, he scooped Kagome up into his arms and quickly dashed off, looking for a place where they could extract a couple of quiet moments to themselves and bask in the joy they were feeling. 

@ruddcatha @superpixie42 @lavendertwilight89 @clearwillow @dawnrider @mamabearcat @fawn-eyed-girl @smmahamazing @bluejay785 @i-dream-of-soup @liz8080 @zelink-inukag @malditamigs @shinidamachu 

[scxrsgxrd]

*pulls up at the drive-thru window* yeah can I get an order of Eric having a sassy mouth while his human girlfriend is trying to domme him with a side of 'oh shit' when she threatens him with silver okay thanks i love you

Ma’am, please proceed to the next window to collect your order alongside an extra helping of all my love for you.

WARNINGS: sexy Eric stuff, brief mentions of blood.

Eric’s penchant for teasing didn’t come without its issues. It was often easy to forget that this man had been alive for a millennium, so what felt like an hour to him was a whole evening - dusk until dawn - for you. As the first few rays of morning sunlight flooded your bedroom you audibly groaned, the aching between your legs was like nothing you had ever experienced before, but that was the unfortunate consequence of hours upon hours of edging. Of course Eric hadn’t actually let you have your release. You felt foolish for believing that, before he was due for a week away at some vampire conference he had to keep shtum about, he would allow for your immediate gratification. After all, your neediness was Eric’s biggest kink. He wanted you to ache for him while he was gone, to pine for a release at his hands. A frown began to take its form on your lips as you considered the fact that you had to deal with no company for a week, with no Eric for a week. So how was it fair that he got to dictate your bedroom activities on his last evening in Shreveport?

What Eric didn’t know is that you had become wise to his tactics, to his desire to be in control when it came to sex, which is why you had paid a visit to Fangtasia, and more specifically Pam, when Eric had left.

“You’re asking me for sex advice?” The look of amusement on Pam’s face caused a blush to spread across your cheeks.

“Forget it.” You shook your head and silently cursed yourself, wishing that you’d listened to your gut when it told you to stay home that evening.

“No, now I’m intrigued. Pray tell, little fox.” The blush immediately returned when Pam flashed her million dollar smile while delivering the pet name she had become accustomed to using for you.

“Eric likes control, right? Well what if... I don’t know, what if-”

“I don’t have all fuckin’ night.” Pam growled, her smile swiftly disappearing as she reminded you that her patience for humans was infinitely less than that of Eric’s.

“What if I took that control?”

For a few moments Pam stood silent, and that was the first time you had ever seen her lost for words. She cocked her head to the side, studying you as she considered your question, her amused and slightly mocking expression never leaving for a second as she processed your options. Then, she took a step closer to you, her eyes bearing down on yours as her smile appeared once again. You gulped. In the presence of Pam you always strived to appear defiant, remembering Eric’s comment that “Pam can smell your fear, and it’s her favourite flavour of human”.

“Well, aren’t you just an adorable little fox.” You felt your breath hitch in your throat as Pam’s icy fingers brushed against your cheek, shifting a loose strand of hair off your face as her eyes bore into yours. You felt frozen, unable to respond to the intimidatingly beautiful vampire whose face was now mere inches away from yours.

Pam laughed, clearly satisfied with her effect on you, and opened the door that led down to the basement, gesturing for you to follow her. You stayed still, wary of the implications that could arise from you following Pam into Fangtasia’s specially sound-proofed basement.

“Oh honey, if I wanted to fuck you I wouldn’t do in the basement.” Her response to your caution provided you with some relief.

“I’d do it in Eric’s torture chamber.”

You expected her to laugh again, but this time she didn’t, she just cocked her eyebrow and once again gestured for you to accompany her down to the basement. Still somewhat suspicious, you began to descend down the stony steps below the bar, wincing as a musty smell -  one you couldn’t quite pin down - immediately filled your nostrils. You figured it best to hutch up your sweater over your nose, not willing to ask Pam what the smell had originated from.

Despite wearing heeled boots, Pam made her way down the stairs with ease, sighing impatiently when she saw you were more than halfway behind her, carefully trying not to slip on the suspicious pools of liquid that were dripping down each step.

When you had eventually caught up with her, Pam led you over the corner of the basement, where a few cardboard boxes had been stacked up with ‘Pamela’ scrawled across the front of them in black marker.

Pam flicked open one of the boxes, a smirk appearing on her lips when she delved inside and produced a pair of industrial looking handcuffs. She flung them into your hands along with a small key, and you dangled them in front of your face. Although the handcuffs looked pretty substantial, you were still sceptical that they’d manage to restrain Eric.

“They’re silver lined. If he struggles while wearing them he sets off a trigger where the casing releases the silver on the inside.” Pam was looking at the cuffs intently, clearly feeling nostalgic as she relayed the instructions to you. You opted not to question where she had gotten them from.

“Thanks, Pam.” You flashed her a smile, about to walk back up to the bar when she pressed a small piece of silk material into the palm of your hand. You were slightly confused when you saw that she had handed you what looked, and felt like, an extremely expensive blindfold.

“Why would I need a blindfol- oh.” You nodded, suddenly remembering the hypnotic charm of your boyfriend that could enable him to compel you into submission.

“Have fun, but if you need someone to test out on the cuffs well, you know where I am.”

-

You had spent a good portion of the week shirking your responsibilities while you daydreamed about Eric’s return, about how you were going to finally give him a taste of his own medicine. At multiple intervals during each day you had dug out the cuffs, your belly fluttering with excitement as you eagerly awaited Eric’s return. The days passing by felt like months, until one night you felt a coldness enter your bedroom. It was like a breeze, except there was no whistling or rustling outside your window, there was an eerie silence. You pulled your blanket up to your chin, eyes wide as you listened into the darkness.

After a few minutes of nothingness you felt a body press against yours, a hand gripping at your hair as you were pulled into a kiss. Eric was back. He wasted no time in re-acquainting himself with you, his hands wandering over every inch of your skin as you whined, pushing your hips toward the bulge that had formed in his jeans.

“I... missed... you.” Eric murmured between kisses, keen to keep his lips pressed against yours as he gave your hair a slight tug, earning another whine from you as you started to push his jacket off his shoulders.

“Is this what you want?” He paused for a moment, his forehead resting against yours as you began to pant, nodding your head quickly in response.

You were so wrapped up in Eric being back in your bed that you had almost forgotten about your plans for that evening. Eric groaned in protest when you pulled away from him, reaching over to turn on your lamp and then leaning over the side of your bed to where you had concealed the handcuffs and blindfold.

“Mmmm, I like this view.” Eric slapped your ass before starting to snake his hand between your thighs, leaving you powerless to move as his fingers started to graze across the slick of arousal already dripping from you.

“Eric.” Your protest came out as a squeak, relishing in the feeling of his touch after seven days of his absence. Thankfully Eric sensed that you had other plans in mind, and removed his hand while you turned around to face him, nervously toying with the handcuffs as you watched his eyes snap down to them.

“Lie down with your arms above your head.” You were surprised at the amount of conviction in your voice, and it seemed that Eric was too. He obliged, shuffling his legs down he bed as he lay down, stretching his arms above his head and keeping his wrists together.

You clambered on top of him, positioning yourself on his stomach as you attached the cuffs to his wrists, ensuring that they were secured and locked before moving back onto the mattress.

“Someone’s got their big girl panties on tonight.” Eric turned his head to face you and you could tell he was trying not to laugh, unaware that any annoyance would only worsen and prolong the payback you had planned.

Eric’s gaze remained on you as you yanked down his jeans and boxer shorts, watching intently as his cock slapped against his stomach, resulting in a small sigh from Eric as the constraints of his clothes were finally removed.

What you hadn’t anticipated was Eric’s deviousness coming into play so early, and when you pulled your nightshirt over your head he snapped his wrists apart, expecting the handcuffs to bust open and allow him to take back his control. A loud hiss filled your bedroom, and you threw your shirt on the floor to see Eric’s fangs were out, and that was writhing around on your bed, his toes starting to curl as he frantically tried to free himself.

“Stop wriggling, it’ll only stop if you’re still.”

Eric stilled immediately, his eyes blazing as you positioned yourself between his legs.

“Pam.” He growled, the penny dropping as he remembered a tale she had told him many moons ago about a custom pair of handcuffs she had specially made for her and an ‘old friend’.

At that moment, you knew it was time to introduce the blindfold. Eric was clearly unamused, and you didn’t trust him not to use his supernatural abilities to his advantage. Another, more feral growl erupted from somewhere deep in his throat as you fixed the silk blindfold across his eyes, obscuring his view and ensuring that he couldn’t charm his way out of the cuffs.

“Is this what you want?” You placed a kiss on his knee.

There was a brief moment of silence before Eric nodded. Despite his initial rage, your attempt at dominance was beginning to intrigue him, and he knew that not making your job easy for you would likely cause you to relinquish your control over him.

“Then we’re doing it on my terms. I want you to keep your smart mouth shut, or there’ll be hell to pay.”

Slowly, you wrapped your hand around his cock, twisting your hand in a clockwise motion as Eric’s lips parted, the small beam of light from your lamp reflecting off his fangs as his tongue swiped across them.

“Yeah, that’s it.” Eric’s hips bucked off the bed, encouraging your movements as you pumped your hand up and down his cock, waiting for the tell-tale moment when his whole body went stiff. Sure enough, after a few strokes of your hand a long, loud string of moans left Eric, and you ceased your movements.

“What are you-”

Your hand connected with his cheek, but he didn’t flinch.

“Ooo, that tickled.”

“I thought I told you to shut the fuck up.” You swiftly delivered another smack, but it didn’t deter Eric, instead it only seemed to encourage him.

“Is this the hell I’m paying?”

The anger began to bubble inside you and you opened your mouth, ready to raise your voice when you managed to stop yourself. This is what he wanted. He wanted to rile you up so that you’d let him take over once again.

When you didn’t respond and he could no longer feel your touch Eric’s brows began to furrow, he lifted his head off the pillows as if attempting to strain his eyes to find your whereabouts. That was when a soft moan left you, and the sweet scent of your arousal hit Eric, causing him to struggle against he restraints once more as he no longer needed to see you to figure out what you were up to.

Once again he hissed, this time adding in a few colourful cuss words as he triggered the punishing response of the cuffs.

You moaned once more, and Eric could hear the sound of your finger dipping in and out of your entrance, his heightened senses making your actions all the more painful as for the first time he felt powerless, something he hadn’t experienced in centuries.

“Please.” Admittedly you would’ve liked for him to sound a little more pleading, but decided to relent.

“Are you going to be quiet? Be good for me?” There was an edge to your voice that Eric had never heard before, and the aching of his cock was beginning to become unbearable. His time away from you had been excruciating, so he nodded, willing to subvert his authority if it meant he could have your touch once more.

So Eric complied, clamping his jaw shut and fighting against all of his natural instincts as you exercised your newfound control, continually edging him closer and closer to his release before stopping your actions completely. You knew how much Eric was itching to snap as you watched his thighs begin to quiver, more and more liquid leaking out of him as his fangs sunk into his tongue, causing his lips to become stained with his crimson blood as you gently traced your fingers along his stomach. A quiet mewl escaped from Eric’s lips as you gently moved your middle finger up the length of his cock, he was so sensitive that he was sure he could come just from that minor touch. But you knew that too, so you withdrew your finger and pressed a kiss against his thigh, letting him have a minute or so before you began your ministrations all over again.

-

When the digital clock at your bedside relayed the time to you, you retrieved the key for the handcuffs. It was 5:30am, just enough time for Eric to return home before sunrise, but not enough time for him to release his frustrations out onto you. No, he would have to wait a whole fourteen hours before he could his exact his own payback.

You carefully removed the cuffs, discarding them onto your bedside table. You were about to free Eric from the blindfold when you heard a tearing sound, and then felt two hands clamp onto your waist, the remains of the blindfold sitting on your pillow as Eric pulled you down onto the bed, his lips engulfing yours. As much as he was deeply irritated at the nights events, he was also proud of you. Proud that you had managed him and his attempts to vex you.

Knowing that he couldn’t afford even another minute of chancing, he gathered up his clothes and dressed himself, watching as the sun had just started to peak over the horizon. His bulge was still extremely prominent in his jeans, and he winced a little as he fixed up his belt.

“I will deal with you tonight.”

And then he was gone.

[fanfic-me-up]

Birthday Boy || Kaminari Denki

Synopsis: You plan Denki the most epic party, but save the best gift for last 😉

Pairing: Kaminari Denki x fem!Reader

Warnings: M/E+, 18+, explicit sexual content, heavy drinking (but being safe about it)

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N: This is for the @bnhabookclub​ bingo event! Huge thanks to @shoutogepi​ for betaing, u always come thru for my denki content, like where would i be without u 😭 This is for Denki’s b-day (that passed lol) but ima just post anyway so hope you enjoy! 💖

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Denki’s in the corner overlooking the scene in front of him with a drunken smirk on his face. This party is going down as the most epic rager in the history of ragers.  The spacious backyard allowed you to hire a DJ to come in and pump beats through a bad ass stereo system that even Jirou approved of. And she has unbelievably high standards considering her quirk. The bass is turned up all the way that Denki can feel it thumping against his chest.

You took the time to decorate the rest of the yard with canopies and fairy lights, providing a pretty backdrop over the starry sky. Denki’s birthday is in summer so the breeze tickling his skin was just right. People are still splashing in the pool despite it being ten at night.

Denki sees you across the yard, waving goodbye to the taco man you hired. You actually planned the whole party on your own. Denki had no idea how you balanced party planning with late-night work shifts, all the while keeping it a secret so Denki wouldn’t find out.

Then again, it wasn’t that hard to keep it from him, Denki literally heard you on the phone, hiring the taco man for his birthday, and he still didn’t think anything of it. You made sure to invite all of his pro-hero friends. It was relatively tame for the first hour until Sero challenged Denki to a keg stand, and Denki has no shame so there he stood in the middle of his backyard at two in the afternoon, hanging upside down with Sero and Kirishima holding him up, and guzzling as much beer as he could before he toppled over. The Bakusquad all yelling “CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!” and of course, Bakugou had to chime in, saying he could do it for longer. 

And that’s how all the pro-heroes of the future generation that are deemed “noble saviors” by society end up challenging each other to various drinking games. You got the cheap booze, but no one could tell the difference by the third cup. 

“You say… boobs? where...” Mineta slurs, wrenching his guts out into a flower pot. Poor flower.

Oh. Denki just narrated that whole beginning scene out loud. In the third person. Whoops.

Nobody wanted to invite Mineta, but it was Denki’s party so they all stuck it out for one night. After a few rounds of the typical high school party games in which Bakugou took every opportunity to shit all over - 

“Why the fuck… we’re pro… pro-heroes... playin’ this… this... kiddy… sippy cup shit…”

Don’t worry, Kirishima shuts Bakugou up real fast. With his mouth.

“No one shuts me up! You hear… I- I will fuuuck…” Kirishima pulls Bakugou in for another kiss, and Denki peeps some tongue. Go Kiribaku! Mina, of course, came up with the ship name, she comes up with all of them, but Denki loves the ship name you two share the most. It’s what Mina calls… fuck… what’s it stand for? T-O-P? P-O-T? O-T-P? Denki shrugs, thinking it’s one of ‘em, and that he definitely ships you with him all day every day.

Where are you by the way? Denki needs his fill of you, a kiss every twenty minutes dammit! He hangs onto the wall when he walks, the room spinning way too much, but he’s still able to discern you from the chaos. A halo of light surrounds your figure, giving you an angelic appearance, though that can just be Denki’s vision going in and out of focus.

Denki lifts his hands up to his face, as if he were a photographer trying to get the best angle for a shot. You’re collecting empty cups from people and refilling them with water. At least that’s what Denki surmises since everyone groans when you hand them back their cup.

“Oh no, Y/N, Denki’s doing that thing again with his hands where he’s pretending to be a cameraman! Help!”

Denki giggles at the talking broccoli in his living room. Broccoli is such a nice guy, always looking after everyone, he's the number one broccoli for a reason ya know. 

Denki couldn’t have asked for a better girlfriend, I mean, have you seen yourself? You strut over like a model that could end Tyra Bank’s whole damn career, hips swaying in a seductive rhythm to the marching drum of Denki’s soundtrack in his head. Denki really wants to run his hands all over you, dammit, he’s been hoping to get you alone since this afternoon for some birthday sex, but with all the last-minute planning you were doing, it was never the right time.

“Now’s a good a time as any, birthday boy.” You whisper in his ear, making Denki jump when he realizes you caught him narrating out loud. This is why Denki loves you. You put up with all his weird shit.

Denki lurches forward, wobbling slightly, and proceeds to drag you upstairs. You giggle at his impatience, looking around to find the Bakusquad passed out on the couch and definitely staying the night. No way in hell are you letting anyone go home in their inebriated state. Sero is wrapped from head to toe in his own tape after Denki dared him to mummify himself. Mina is curled up on one side of the couch with her makeup miraculously still in place after all the swimming, dancing, and streaking (yes, you heard that correctly, it was a dare) Kirishima and Bakugou are cuddling on another couch, with Bakugou’s head tucked into Kirishima’s arm. Halfway through the night, Kirishima lost his shirt and he’s just been chilling shirtless the entire night. 

“Hold up, this is too good,” you giggle, motioning for Denki to pose in the middle. Denki looks about ready to pass out next to them, with his eyes half-closed and smile so dopey, you’d think he just came back from overusing his quirk. You take a picture of the chaos that is your boyfriend and friends, and decide it will definitely make it into the scrapbook. 

Denki drags you down the hall, like this is his first time exploring the place you’ve shared for the past two years, and leads you into every room.

“Denki, this is the bathroom!” 

“Then why is there a bed?” He looks genuinely confused trying to pull you into the bathtub. 

“Okay, you are way too drunk. Sure you can get it up?” You wonder if he’ll even remember your sexcapades in the morning. 

“I’ll let you be the judge,” Denki pulls your hand to his crotch, which is already rock-solid through his jeans. You bite your lip, teasing the outline with your fingertips, and relishing in every twitch of his hardness. Denki huffs, clearly wanting to get this show on the road, because he throws your hand off and drags you into the next room so fast you trip over your feet.

Denki pumps his arms and shouts “huzzah!” in victory when he finally finds the bedroom, and you giggle at the loveable doof. But, any sign of light-hearted energy vanishes the moment Denki’s lips are on you. Before you know it, you’re pushed against the door, with your thighs spread apart. Anticipation swirls in the pit of your stomach, bubbling at the newfound friction of Denki’s thigh rubbing against your delicate center. He takes it upon himself to rub his cock against the inside of your thigh with absolutely no shame. 

“Eager now, are we?” 

Hell yeah, Denki’s eager, birthday sex is best sex… well, any sex is best sex as long as he’s getting sex. Heh. Denki should take a shot every time he says sex.

“I think you’ve had enough shots to last you till next year, birthday boy.” 

Fuuuuck Denki didn’t know birthday boy was a thing for him, but now he needs every day to be his birthday, just so you call him that. And oh my god who the hell decided criss-cross straps were a good idea? It’s like a fucking maze trying to figure out how to unclasp your bra. You reach around to unclasp it yourself when Denki whines in frustration. He cuts his whine mid-way, when he sees your naked chest, nipples taut and ready to be played with. Just when he’s about to pinch your nipple, you send him for a loop and flip positions, trapping him against the door. And Denki is 100% okay with that too.

“Tell me what you want. I’ll make it the best gift you’ve gotten tonight, birthday boy, ”

You whisper directly into his ear, nibbling and licking at the lobe. You’re awarded with a slurred giggle that brings a smile to your own face. Denki throws his shirt over his head, but instead of it looking sexy like a Taylor Lautner scene in Twilight, Denki ends up getting his head stuck. You torture him for a few seconds by just standing there watching him get his arms tangled in the mix before finally helping him.

He’s still wearing that ridiculous Pikachu party hat Kirishima gave him, and when you try to slip it off, he swats your hand away. You pull his shirt over his head, and come to the conclusion that it’s not true birthday sex if said birthday boy isn’t wearing a 99 cent store party hat. Nothing can stop the delicious tingling making your pussy flutter. 

He pins you with his sudden change of demeanor, even though you’re the one pinning him against the door. It amazes you how he can change from this doof wearing a party hat to 'yeah, fuck me, daddy' in three seconds straight. The electricity sizzling the room is squeezing your heart threatening to burst, as you take in Denki’s unrelenting gaze.

“I want you naked, on your knees, and worshipping my cock, unwrapping it with your tongue.”

You gulp at the unexpected switch, heat pulsing between your thighs as newfound wetness seeps through. A dark tone colors the usual tenor timbre of his voice. You slide out of your jeans and Denki takes his time ravishing every inch of your naked body with his honey-glazed eyes. He weaves his fingers, massaging the roots of your hair, and pulls you down so your eye level with his crotch. 

“And then you’ll thank me for the gift by swallowing every last drop of my cum.” 

Your mouth waters at his bulge on display, and you can’t stop yourself from mouthing him through his jeans. You nose at the rough fabric, biting the zipper and pulling it down with your teeth. You make sure to look up at Denki when you press a teasing kiss to the tip where there’s a wet spot, pre-cum leaking through his boxer briefs. His lips are kiss-bitten red partnered with a cute flush spread across the apples of his cheeks like he’s been out in the sun a little too long. 

You love every part of Denki, you really do, but he’s giving you the sign to hurry up with how he’s literally grinding against your face. His cock bobs, hitting his stomach, when you pull his briefs down; it’s pinker than usual, he’s been horny for a while you think, and it’s leaking so much pre-cum that it’s running down the shaft. You nuzzle your face in, taking in his scent at the most concentrated part of him. You might burst if you don’t touch yourself, but it’s Denki’s night, and you want to focus all your attention on pleasing him. You’re busy having this internal debate when you hear a gruff voice from above you.

“It’s okay, baby girl, go ahead n touch yourself.”

He doesn’t have to tell you twice. You spread your legs enough to trace the outline of your folds and gather enough of your juices to start rubbing your clit in a fierce rhythm. At the same time, you lick the underside of Denki’s cock, following the path of the vein leading up to the head, where you swirl your tongue in circles. You pull off the tip with a pop.

“Birthday boy’s gone quiet,” you whisper, looking up at Denki. It’s true. He hasn’t made a sound which makes you a little concerned he’s not enjoying it. You voice this concern openly.

“Am I doing it wrong?”

He shakes his head, “No, baby, I love it… just… enjoying the view,” his breath hitches at the end. 

Fuck, Denki thinks, how could that even cross your mind? Not when you’re naked on your knees, chest blossomed with different colored hickeys Denki’s left on you from the week before. You’re giving him that doe-eyed look that completely contradicts your naughty actions of suckling his balls. Denki bites his lip when your tongue peeps from your lips to get his cock warm and wet, but what he doesn’t expect is for you to pull away. Denki groans at the loss of heat surrounding his cock. You wipe the spit dribbling from your lips with the back of your hand.

“Babe, I love you and all your weirdness, but I will stop going down on you if I have to hear you refer to yourself in the third person one more time.” 

“But it’s my birthday,” Denki moans, banging his head against the door.

You roll your eyes, tempted to retort with “it’s my mouth,” but pleasuring Denki is top priority, and apparently Denki very much agrees with this sentiment as he forces your head towards his cock. You don’t have time to catch your breath before you’re diving face-first into a mouth full of Denki. Tears spring from your eyes at the shock of his cock hitting the back of your throat, but once you relax your throat and neck, you return to rubbing circles against your dripping clit to the same rhythm of Denki fucking into your mouth. You moan, causing vibrations to thrum around his cock and travel through every synapse of his body. 

“Fuck yeah mmmmm…  just like that, knew you could do it, fuck baby you take me in so good like my cock was made for your tight little pussy and mouth,” Denki groans, unable to filter what’s coming out of his mouth. The sight of his cock going all the way in and out of your mouth, sucking him in almost as good as your pussy, makes his balls tighten and he knows he’s getting close. 

“You like that, huh? You like being stuffed full of my cock? You don’t care which hole as long as I’m fuckin’ into one, isn’t that right, baby girl?” 

You moan in response, eyes rolling in the back of your head, as you chase the high you’re so desperately looking for. The end is in sight, just around the corner. You press your fingers harder against your clit, rubbing intense figure eights, as you choke on Denki’s cock. Your jaw is starting to ache, but you’re at the home stretch now. When you try to pull off to gasp for air, Denki grips your hair tighter, and thrusts his hips forward. All you can do is sit there and take his thick cock, saliva dripping down your chin, mixing with the sweat glistening your chest. Your nose is pressed against his pelvis, so each time you breathe in, the scent of Denki hits you hard, his happy trail tickling the inside of your nose.

“Fuck, baby, you have no idea how hot you look right now touching yourself. Like swallowing my cock turns you on that fuckin’ much.”

The raw power of having Denki above you, saying these filthy things, even with that fucking party hat on, is making your pussy flutter, almost like your body is begging for him to slide into you this instant. As a compromise, you insert two fingers into your pussy and start to rock your hips, riding your fingers in time to Denki fucking your mouth. 

“Ah shit ah… mmmmm you wish it was my cock inside you, huh? Bet you’re so fuckin’ soaked that I’d slide right in.”

You moan in affirmation, your pussy quaking at the suggestion, begging to be filled. The coil tightening your core is about to snap, and your thighs shake in sheer anticipation of the wave of pleasure about to spill. Just when you’re about to come, Denki pulls you out from under him. You only have a moment to gasp for much-needed air before you’re slammed up against the door. Denki slams into you so deep that his cock hits your g-spot on the first thrust. He’s ramming into you so hard that your thigh starts to slip down. Denki picks you up, patting your bum as a signal for you to wrap your legs around his waist.

“Tell me…mmmm fuuuck…how much you love my cock,” he finally grits out, his words getting lost between the sounds of your love-making. 

You didn’t expect to be pleasured tonight by Denki, and honestly, you were completely okay with finishing yourself off, but knowing that he’s taking the time to make sure you’re taken care of when it’s his night turns you on even more. A filthy, squelching sound can be heard every time Denki pushes in, coating his cock with your juices.

“Ah… mmmm… I love your cock, baby - love…  how... mmmm… it fits in my mouth... and fills me up. I love when you’re inside me, and... you fill me up with your cum and there’s so much it drips out… Your cock is the best I’ve ever had… God baby, I feel like it’s my birthday tonight.” You babble in between kisses and moans. 

“I want you to feel good too, baby, now come on lemme hear you scream. I want everyone downstairs to know you’re taking my cock and loving it.”

Both of you are a damn mess at this point. Your hair sticking to your face, and drool dribbling down your chin, but all you can think about is the wave of pleasure about to seize your entire being. Denki feels it too since he starts thrusting at an uneven pace, but still able to hit your g-spot with unapologetic precision, like the sharpshooter he is.

It takes one more deep thrust to topple you headfirst into the abyss of your long-awaited orgasm, and oh does it feel good. 

“Denki! I- oh god- right there! Right fucking there, oh god I-I’m- mmmm...” 

A scream is ripped from your throat, as your back is slammed against the door, your boobs bouncing up and down from the sheer force of Denki’s thrusts. He found his way down to your pussy, making sure to rub your clit with his thumb, so you get the dual sensation. Liquid heat rushes through every inch of you, releasing any and all tension from your body. Denki continues to fuck into you, making sure you come more than once. He groans when your pussy clenches around his dick, but he doesn’t stop riding your orgasm out with you until you’re completely spent. Your body buzzes in the blissful after-effects, but you come back to reality when Denki grunts.

“Fuck, babe, lemme come all over that pretty face.” 

You whine at the dull throb of your pussy, the thought of being covered in Denki’s seed is exciting you despite just getting off. You unwrap your legs from his waist, and make your way down on your knees once again. Denki takes himself in his hand and works himself in overtime with coordination you had no idea he still possessed while being this tipsy. Seeing the outline of his flexing bicep reminds you of how much power he wields over you. You eagerly await for him to finish on you. You lick your lips, hoping to catch any drops of come that land in your mouth.

“Say ah,” Denki pries your jaw open with his other hand. 

“Ahhhh,” you obey, looking up at him expectantly. You run your fingers wherever you can; his arms, down his stomach, his thighs like you don’t know where to hold on to for purchase. He speeds his hand up a little more, his jaw clicks and you see his jawbone protrude, giving a masculine, angular look to his face. Everything about Denki right now screams dominance that you’re wondering if this is even your Denki. You’re taken out of your thoughts when he groans, spilling his seed all over your face and in your mouth. 

“Just like that… fuck yeah… now swallow like the good girl I know you are.”

There’s so much come that it drips down your chest and between your cleavage. He groans at the sight of you covered in his seed, and he makes sure to milk every last drop. You make sure to look up at him when you swivel his cum around like your finger painting, before bringing it up to your mouth and sucking it. You make sure to lick yourself clean, not wanting any to go to waste, and Denki watches with his mouth slightly open and chest heaving, trying to catch his breath, but it’s impossible with the image in front of him. 

Once you finish putting on a show, you get up and take Denki by the hand to lead him to the bed you share. There’s a moment of stillness, electricity still buzzing through the room, but you’re both way too exhausted from the long day to have any energy to really bask in the afterglow. You’re caught up in your own thoughts, but you’re interrupted when you hear a “honk” and catch Denki blowing a kazoo with his party hat barely hanging onto the side of his face. You still can’t believe you came with him wearing that hat; you must really love him. He looks thoroughly fucked out and like he’s just had the best birthday ever. 

Denki’s had the best birthday ever. Period. He turns to snuggle into you, despite both of you being sweaty and sticky. He wants to feel you against him.

“Thank you, Y/N, for today, and for all the birthdays before, and the many others to come. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world being able to spend them all with you.” He trails off as a yawn takes over. You lean forward to kiss him lovingly on the lips. Your noses rub together in that sickly sweet way that everyone secretly loves, but pretends to hate if they see another couple doing it.

And as his eyes threaten to shut, Denki thinks it’s a perfect finish to a perfect night. The end. He faintly hears you giggle, and the last thing Denki hears before he drifts to sleep is-

“It’s only the beginning, birthday boy, only the beginning. Happy birthday, Denki.”

[everybodyscupoftea]

this is the life

ole miss rafe x reader

you and your boyfriend deal with your ~futures~

literally no one asked for this lol, i’m sorry

(warnings: cursing)

Your animal and dairy sciences seminar had a report due that you’d stayed up very late making last minute edits to because you were stressed it was really bad. The next morning was brutal. Not only was in an 8 a.m. lecture, but your coffee machine was out and you overslept, barely giving yourself enough time to get to class before the professor checked attendance.

You slid into your seat, out of breath, just as started scanning the seating chart for attendance. The boy who sits next to you turned to ask, “Library was backed up this morning?”

“What?” you asked, halfway paying attention, still scrambling to get your notebook out.

“Since you’re running late, I’m assuming it’s because the library was busy when you went to print your report.”

Your stomach dropped and you swore, “Fuck. I forgot to print it. Fucking fuck. I submitted it online but I forgot we needed to hand him a physical copy too. Oh god I can’t afford to fail this class.” You were getting worked up and the boy was starting to look more and more like he regretted talking to you in the first place.

“I mean he’s pretty chill, so I’m sure if you explain he’ll let you bring it by his office later.”

The boy had a point, but you were already too far gone. For the rest of the class, you were unfocused, and if someone asked you what he lectured on, you’d have no clue, so preoccupied with rehearsing how you were going to beg him for an extension. You only had one other class, and you’d definitely be able to print it out and run it to him between them, but that was depending on if he let you.

Just as class was ending, your phone vibrated in your hoodie pocket, and you checked it, immediately calmed at seeing a text from your boyfriend. Rafe sent Can’t wait to see you this weekend and whatever had a grip on your chest loosened enough for you to take a full breath for the first time since waking up.

After speaking to your professor and his reassurance that you didn’t really need to worry much about the written report, that it was just to ensure everyone had it turned in prior to class, you left, much happier, but the exhaustion hitting you straight in the gut.

Thankfully, all you had left that day was a communication elective and then to drive to Rafe’s apartment in Oxford. He’d convinced you to make the trip because he wanted to show you around the place he’d called home for four years after leaving behind his “hometown trauma.” His words.

Your class flew by, people were giving speeches and you’d given yours Wednesday, so you sat there mindlessly, half asleep, until she dismissed the class for the weekend. Stopping back by your apartment to pick up your overnight bag, you decided to last minute check your PO Box, it had been a while. To your shock, you actually had mail, and when you saw the return address, the sick feeling returned to your stomach.

There was about a two-hour drive to Rafe’s apartment from Starkville, and you had the option of opening the letter containing either the best news or the worst news of your life before the drive or at Rafe’s apartment. Part of you wanted to know then, but a stronger part of you wanted to be with Rafe so he could comfort you if necessary.

Instead of making a decision, you felt your tired brain could not, you called Rafe. He answered before the second ring and you couldn’t help yourself.

“I see that receptionist job taught you some useful skills.”

“What?” he asked, sounding confused.

“Answering my calls fast, that’s good because my time is money.”

Rafe sighed, “Can I help you?”

“Someone’s mad. But, yes, should I open the letter from the vet school now or wait until I get to Oxford.”

You heard some shuffling around before he answered, “You think you can wait? I actually have something to tell you too.”

“Yeah, um, sure,” you were a little worried, “Is everything okay?”

“I think so. We just need to talk.”

“Right, talk, are you sure everything’s good?”

“Yeah, stop worrying. Just drive on over.”

You had been excited to go visit, but after that phone call you wanted to go back to bed. With a deep sigh, you rubbed your eyes with the heels of your hands and slumped backward. Blinking away the spots, you buckled up, pit in your stomach, and drove to your favorite coffee shop in Starkville. If shit was going to go down in Oxford you were going to have your comfort drink.

StrangeBrew’s drive-thru was packed and you tapped your fingers anxiously on the steering wheel as you waited to order your blueberry cobbler cold brew with soy milk. Right as the barista handed you the to-go cup, your phone vibrated and Rafe had sent drive safe!! <3. The fuck did that mean in the context of your earlier phone conversation?!

The drive to Oxford was boring as hell. You’d made it before, a band you liked had played there one night, and you and some friends had made the reluctant trip to see them. Turning on your podcast, you focused on nothing but the drive, pushing aside relationship doubts and the growing anxiety about the letter sitting in your passenger seat.

You called Rafe when you got close, and he was waiting outside his building when you finally found a visitor’s spot. He jogged over to grab your overnight bag and bent down to give you a quick kiss, before greeting you with, “Hey, baby, how was the drive?”

“Boring as fuck, nothing new.”

“Went smoothly?”

“About as smooth as possible. I’ve had to pee for the last like 40 minutes though, so it’d be great if I could do that now.”

He laughed and turned to walk to his building, motioning for you to follow him. You did, scampering a little to keep up with his long strides, and he unlocked a door on the first floor, holding it open for you, “Bathroom’s down the hall to the left.”

Rafe was sitting on the couch when you made it back out to the living room, and you finally took a good look at him. His laptop was on the coffee table and he was wearing a pair of Ole Miss sweats, a worn-out t-shirt, and a pair of glasses you were unaware he needed.

“Take a picture,” he interrupted your train of thought and you rolled your eyes.

“Shut up, Cameron. Now, tell me what you want to talk about so I can open my letter.”

“No, open your letter first and then we’ll talk.”

You weren’t sure why he was so insistent or why your heart rate tripled, but you were pretty sure it wasn’t the coffee. With shaking hands, you held up the letter from the MSU Vet School. All of your undergrad work came down to that letter, whether you’d have to take a gap year and try to find work to apply again or whether you could move forward in your career path.

Rafe watched on eagerly as you carefully tore it open and started reading. Eyes jumping across the page, unable to focus, you barely made out, Congratulations and We welcome you and We look forward to seeing you next fall.

With a gasp, you launched yourself at an unprepared Rafe and latched on, arms wrapped around his neck. He ran his hand up and down your back soothingly and asked, gently, “Good news?”

“I’m going to Vet School,” you whispered, voice cracking in the middle of your sentence.

“Fucking right you are, my little Rockstar.”

Your face heated up and you buried it in the crook of his neck, feeling a weight lift off your shoulders. Only to come crashing back down a few seconds later as you remembered Rafe wanted to talk. Pulling back slowly, you asked, “So, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

His face lit up and he leaned forward, hanging on to you so he didn’t accidentally dump you onto the floor, and grabbed his laptop. Clicking to his email, he showed you the message he had pulled up from Mississippi State University Department of History Admissions.

“So, you know I’ve been interested in teaching,” he started, “and I’m debating whether I’d like to teach college or not.”

“Yeah, last we talked, you were leaning toward college professor, right?”

“Right. Well, I applied to a few schools that had a PhD program I was interested in, and I heard back from my top choice.”

Your mind was racing, still not connecting the dots, until he motioned at his laptop. Looking back down, you skimmed the email, telling him that he’d been accepted into MSU’s PhD in European History program and gasped, turning back to him in excitement, “No way?!”

“Way,” he told you, wide grin on his face.

Jaw dropped, your mind raced to put together a coherent thought, “How long have you been planning this?”

“The program is good, this isn’t a new thought, but MSU obviously jumped up my preference list to the top after we got together.”

“Fuckin whipped,” you teased and he tilted your chin down to kiss you.

Pulling away he brushed some of your hair back, “Only for you.”

As he leaned in again, you were the one to pull back, “Wait, we have to celebrate!”

Rafe groaned, “No, let me kiss you.”

“No! I want food, I spent the entire ride thinking I was going to get dumped when I got here.”

He furrowed his eyebrows, “What?”

“We need to talk,” you quoted, “that’s one scary fucking sentence, Cameron.”

He smiled sheepishly, “Sorry, sweetheart, I just wanted to keep it a surprise.”

“Well you did.”

Rafe leaned in to kiss you again and pulled back to add, “You really think I’d make you drive all the way here, just to break up with you. I’m wounded you think that lowly of me.”

“You are an asshole.”

Rolling his eyes, he pinched your cheek gently, “Be nice to me, I’m sacrificing my dignity and lowering myself to Mississippi State’s standards.”

Blinking a few times in surprise at his sudden switch, you told him back, “Fuck off, I’m sure you were last choice as soon as they saw where you got your undergrad degree.”

Without saying anything else, he kissed you again, gripping behind your knees and shifting so your back was on the couch. As he lowered himself down on top of you, you decided that food could wait. You had your future to celebrate.

[deadmomjokes]

First time Stormlight Archives Read-thru: The Way of Kings Part One

Since I actually somehow made it through the library’s waitlist to get my Icarusian hands on a copy of this thing, and because I am a completionist who cannot leave character arcs unfinished, I’m dragging y’all with me on this adventure that I guarantee you doesn’t need to be this long.

Yes I’m salty about it and it’s gonna take some serious literary magic to make me NOT salty about it because trying to hold this book at a decent angle activated my carpal tunnel issues and now I can’t feel my pinky finger and my thumb is tingling. So yeah. It better be worth it.

Anyway, we just finished Part One. Wait, “we” you ask? Oh yeah, my husband loves worldbuilding and hard magic systems, so we’re taking turns reading chapters aloud so that we don’t have to hold onto the book twice as long so we can both read it, and we can keep reminding each other of what’s what.

ANYWAY, we just finished Part One, so have my thoughts, positives, negatives, and overall impressions. Then get your road trip snacks because like I said, I don’t do things halfway and I already started this journey so here we mcfreakin go I guess.

The Good Stuff

There’s some pretty good lines so far.

B. Sandy actually appears to know what he’s talking about with drawing and sewing? Wild.

I’m digging how the currency system is, like, also functional. The pieces of currency act as lights and power sources and stuff. Neat.

The two main characters from this section are: depressed mom friend and his Conscience, and a snarky nerd with delusions of criminal grandeur, and between them they have exactly 0.84 brain cells. These all belong to Jiminy Cricket the literal airhead the Conscience.

Depressed softboy who just wants to be a good big brother? Well darn it, you found my weakness. I’ll pull up my “adoption papers” folder.

Each chapter from a new POV has a unique voice. Rather hard to pull off in writing, but very clearly and expertly done here.

I have some questions moving forward, which is always a plus. However...

The Bad Stuff

I really, REALLY don’t like feeling like I’m the dumbest person in the room. While he did manage to avoid infodumping, Mr. Sanderson also managed to make me feel like I’m missing vital information at basically every turn. And not in the “ooh, what a mystery” kind of way-- in the “what the freak am looking at, I have zero idea what you’re describing because you’re using in-universe jargon.” This piecemeal revelation thing works for the characters’ stories and plots; I’m all for that! I’m intrigued at what’s up with Ms. Davar, and exactly how Kal ended up where he is, what’s up with the war, etc. The problem is with handling the worldbuilding this way when you’re trying to situate these mystery plots in said world. It is not immersive for me; it is distracting, frustrating, and makes it hard for me to focus on the story. A few points handled this way would have been fine, but I lost track of how many times I had to stop and groan because yet another new term was getting lobbed at me and my comprehension of the situation depended on having an understanding of the world which he just hadn’t given us yet. I’m really over it.

I get that we were trying to establish her character, but I could have done without these lead-up chapters with Shallan. I wasn’t at all as interested in her as I was with Kaladin. We could have learned all that we needed-- her family situation, her big plan, her big mouth, her skills, her mysterious past and the weird stuff about her father that we still haven’t learned fully yet-- in media res when she’s already Jasnah’s ward. It felt kind of tire-spinny, though I admit it was fun at times.

The sentences and wording get sticky at times. Especially with reading it out loud, there are quite a few places that make my brain stumble because the words sound wrong next to each other, or the same word appears in the sentence too many times, and so on.

There’s a lot going on that just isn’t important. This ties back in to the first point, but we’re getting so much information about this world that it becomes tiring and tiresome to keep track of all the different things we’re learning about-- cultural rules around slaves, ‘safehands’, eye color, and so on; ‘fabrials’; the currency denominations; a whole religious system, some of which appears to be important but also has a bunch of tiddly little details that don’t; a caste system; a military structure; however the freak the ecosystem works and all the different animals and plants; the weather systems; etc ad nauseum. How much of this is important to know? I don’t know! That’s what’s frustrating about it! So much of it seems like by-the-way kind of stuff, but some of it could end up being important, so here I am wondering what’s gonna be on the quiz and what’s just for fun.

Impressions and Thoughts

Why must carcinization haunt me even in escapist fantasy?

Am not a fan of the phrase “skyeels” and “poisonous skyeels.” Don’t like that one bit.

Dudes are religiously required to be himbos, and girls are religiously expected to be scholars and nerds. Am love.

I’m getting increasingly concerned by the death-blood-collection ominous mystery quotes at the beginning of each chapter.

I’ve only known Sylphrena for a day and a half but if anything happens to her I would.... Not.... Not harm anyone or myself because she would be sad. 😭

I was warned about “suicidal ideation” being a thing, but I���m going to put a little brighter of a warning label on that and say that if anyone is about to read this and gets upset or triggered by suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts, be very careful and know that’s kind of all a thing. Not sure how much a thing it’ll be moving forward, I’m hoping “not”, but, yeah. That was an attempt, not just ideation, tho I’m grateful for the person who warned me because if it had come out of nowhere instead of just being a step further than what I expected, I’d be really, really not okay.

Yalb is the real MVP.

Verdict Thus Far

On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is “I will actually find strength to abandon this book because I’m so done” and 10 is “I’m willing to give up sleep to read more,” I’m sitting at a 6.5 right now. Good, and I’m looking forward to continuing, but I have a little ways to go before I’m hooked. But thumbs up, thanks for convincing me! (from everyone except my tingling numb fingers, I should have tried the ebook instead -_-)

[pitaparka]

lock, stock, and barrel

summary: your dog locks you out of your car. the locksmith who shows up to let her out? is kinda hot 

pairings: scott lang x reader

word count: 1.7k

warnings: you have a big dumbass dog (but a cute dumbass) and your dad is your wingman (and if you dont have a dad im ur dad now have you taken your meds today? wanna go fishing?)

a/n: this is based off of a tiktok i found, which you can watch here (x) nobody requested this but i love scott so much. big love. 

A van pulls up to the house, and parks in front of the driveway. It’s repurposed, definitely, with the words “X-Con Security Consultants” lovingly (read: clumsily) painted (read: scrawled) onto the side. 

“That’s Hank Pym’s kid,” your father says to your mother, and she scoffs.

“No he’s not, he's the intern boy,” she argues, but you don’t care who’s son he is or if he’s interning. He’s beautiful. He has a wide smile on his face as he makes his way from his sketchy van with a bag of tools in hand.

“Scott!” Your father greets, leaving your mother to grumble amongst herself about the man’s origins.

“Hey! Morning, sir!” Scott calls back, and your father gives him a firm handshake. Your father doesn’t notice the pain in Scott’s eyes when he does this, but you do, and you like him immediately for it.

Your father leads the conversation as he guides him over to your car, you shamefully stand by the passenger side, treats and toys in hand. You come around to greet them both.

“—it’s good for extra cash since our expertise is locks and security,” Scott finishes, and your dad listens with intense curiosity.

“Tell Pym I said hi,” he says, before noticing you.

“Ah, Scott, here’s the culprit,” he says, leading him over to you.

“Technically, Delilah is the culprit, dad,” you complain, and he scoffs a little.

“Who locked her in there?” he says playfully, and you gasp.

“She did!” you say, laughing, and there are smiles all around.

“Hi,” you say, introducing yourself, and Scott holds out a hand for you.

“I’m Scott,” he says, and you notice his hands are firm and soft, “I’m here to save your dog. And also your car.”

You smirk, “Thank you.”

You notice he smiles a lot, which is not something you mind. He places a small work bag down on the ground near your driver’s side. He bends his neck at awkward angles to try and make out where your buttons are through your tinted windows.

“Tell him what happened,” your dad encourages, crossing his arms with an ‘I told you so’ look on his face, though it doesn’t apply to this situation.

“I put her in my car to take her on a ride, and I was walking around the other side to get in, and she hit the lock button,” you say sheepishly, staring at Delilah.

Your father laughs and shakes his head, telling you to call him if you needed anything, returning inside to catch the rest of the baseball game for a team he couldn’t care less about.

“It happens to the best of us. She’s really cute,” he says encouragingly, and you smile, because she’s not the only cute one in your general vicinity.

“Hi Delilah!” He coos, and she barks at him.

“Delilah, no,” your mother scolds, and she stares at you from the passenger seat with her tongue out.

“Well, I see how it is,” he mutters, and you laugh. He looks back at you when you do and you notice the light on his hair and how he squints just a little bit when he smiles. He turns back to your car, and works a car door wedge into the window of the driver’s side door. His focus is intense. 

“Where you guys headed?” He asks, budging the wedge in and turning a crank on the side.

“We were just going on a ride. I kinda wanted to take her to get Starbucks, but now I’m not sure she deserves it,” you say, crossing your arms, knowing full well Delilah would get her puppuccino anyway.

“Aw, of course she does,” he says, looking at her panting at him through the glass.

“Isn’t that right, Delilah?” He says. She pays no attention to him. But it’s okay. You’re paying enough attention for the both of you.

“She has beautiful eyes,” he muses, and you hum in agreement.

“You have really nice eyes too,” you compliment accidentally, and you can feel the heat on your face as you try to play it off.

“Thank you,” he says, and you note his smile in the reflection of your car window as he falters with the wedge and the crank.

“Can I get you something to drink?” you say, and he stops. 

“Uh, sure,” he says. He kneels down in your driveway to look for something in the small bag of tools he brought with him.

“I think we have coke? And orange juice probably, unless you want like, a water or something,” you say, and he accepts the water offer.

You turn to leave, but your mom is already halfway in the house.

“I can go get it,” your mom says, throwing you a smile over her shoulder. 

You’re stuck in an awkward silence for a few minutes as he wiggles and pushes and tinkers with wires through your window. He pulls out a malleable wire and shoves it through the window wedge. You watch him work, with precise hands and concentration plastered on his face. But soon enough, with persistence and skill, Scott unlocks your car from the inside, carefully removes the car door wedge, and subsequently frees your poor pooch from her automated prison. 

He opens the door, and Delilah moves to the driver’s side to smell Scott. She jumps out of the car and starts sniffing around him, her leash hanging limply on the ground.

You retrieve it and let Delilah do her thing.

“Thank you so much,” you say, as he crouches down to say hello to your pup.

“Ah, it’s no problem,” he says, and begins speaking to Delilah in a baby voice, “especially when I meet cute puppies like you, yes I do, yes I do!”

Delilah is loving the attention, and she smiles as he pets her behind the ears. You give her butt a few taps and go to speak to Scott again, but your mom returns from the kitchen.

“I cut up some fruit for you guys,” she informs, like you two were best friends having a sleepover. She balances two cold bottles of water, and, sure enough, a plate of fruit she stole from a platter sitting in your fridge.

“Mom,” you whine a little, and your dad follows soon after, in pursuit of the fruit.

“I’m alright, ma’am. Thank you though.”

Your mom yells your dad’s name in the direction of the front door, clearly not seeing him behind her. He steals a chunk of fruit off the platter and complains, “I’m right here, woman,”

“Oh,” she says, laughing in your direction, before she informs him Scott had gotten Delilah out.

“Someone had to,” he grumbles, and he runs back inside to grab his wallet. 

You watch as Scott stands and grabs his bag, smiling at Delilah and turning to return the stuff to his van. Delilah decides to follow him.

“Delilah, please,” you beg, and she stops pulling on her leash, sitting like a good girl. You watch as he puts some things in his truck, fiddling with something in there, before you realize you’re staring. 

You open your driver’s side door, letting Delilah hop in that way instead, and climb in after her, bumping her off your seat. You stare at her intently. She smiles back, none the wiser. 

“You, are going to be the death of me,” you assure her, and you're startled by a knock at your window. 

You expect Scott, but it’s your dad. You roll down your window. 

“I asked specifically for Scott,” he assures, and smiles at you.

“Dad,” you groan, head thumping your headrest. You sigh.

“Don’t be weird,” you plead, and he scoffs.

“When have I ever been weird?” He asks, followed by, “Don’t answer that.”

You absentmindedly pet Delilah.

“You want his number?” he asks, credit card in hand. You turn in your seat to look at Scott. He’s walking around to the other side of his van for something. 

“Not from you!” you muse, and that’s all your dad has to hear, grinning in triumph. 

“Dad!” you whisper harshly, “Don’t be weird!”

“I won’t!” he says, mocking your raspy whisper. 

You watch in your rear-view mirror as your dad goes up to Scott and hands him his credit card. Some words are exchanged, and then your mother goes up to him too. You decide you can’t watch anymore, and you hide your face in Delilah’s fur. 

“Delilah, what are we gonna do?” you say, and her ears perk up, because in her mind, you two are going to Starbucks for puppuccinos. 

“Not that, Delilah. Scott is so cute,” you inform her. She already knows, her eyes tell you, and you look back over at them. 

Scott is smiling at your car. He sees your face, and he waves, causing your parents to look over at you. You blush, and wave back at him. Your dad sends you a signal, but you don’t know what it means, and your mom’s exaggerated wink is overkill. 

You sigh and check your phone. No alerts, alarms, or notifications to take your mind off of the situation. 

You hear Scott’s truck start up, and he pulls away as easily as he pulled in, and that’s that. Just another candle in the wind, a cute guy you’d never see again. But apparently, your parents had other plans.

Pulling out of the Starbucks drive-thru, you pull into a parking spot to let Delilah enjoy her cup of whipped cream. You take a sip of your icy beverage, and you hear your phone ding. Checking your notifications, you realize it’s from an unknown number, and your heart jumps thinking who it could be.

Opening your phone, Delilah whines in anticipation for the whipped cream in the Starbucks cup in the holder. 

“Hang on, ‘Lilah,” you say and you open your phone to read the message.

did delilah get her puppuccino?

You smile at the text, and move to take a picture while you let Delilah go to town on her treat. Your phone chimes again and you hold the cup with one hand, skillfully checking your messages with the other. 

it’s scott by the way. didn’t know if you could tell.

You text back Delilah’s picture. You could tell it was Scott. 

“Delilah,” you say, “thank you so much for locking my door. You’re such a good girl,”

She knows. She decides to accept her payment in puppuccinos from now on.

[goldenhemmings]

When You Love Someone | Streetfighter!Shawn (Part Two)

Hi, friends! First of all, thank you SO much for all the love on the previous part of this (which you can read in my masterlist). I was not expecting such kind and supportive feedback, and I love and appreciate all of it! Secondly, thanks for sticking with me through how long it took to get this part posted. I had finals and a two-day drive home from college, so I had a lot of other stuff on my plate. But, with that being said, I did finally manage to finish this part. So, without further ado, please enjoy 6.7k more words of Streetfighter!Shawn. I’d love to hear your feedback, and I hope you enjoy!!

“Y/N, is that you? Come in here!”

She sighed as she followed her roommates’ voices to Jade’s bathroom, where Jade was hunched over the toilet and Brooklyn was sitting on the edge of the bathtub rubbing her back. “Hey,” Y/N muttered, trying to focus on anything but the stench of vomit that filled the small room. She stepped over Jade’s floor-ridden body to the small window at the top of the shower, pulling it open in the hopes that it would help to air out the room.

“Who’s the guy Brooklyn said you were with?” Jade hiccupped the second she registered Y/N’s presence in the room.

Y/N let out an exhale of breath as she stared down at her roommate who had her head halfway inside the toilet. “Glad to see you’ve sobered up.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Brooklyn pressed, a smile playing on the corners of her lips. “Who was that?” Y/N, however, was not in the mood for her roommates’ antics. They had convinced her to go out when they knew how tired she was, and while Y/N understood that it was her own fault for going, she definitely blamed her friends for leaving her at the bar to fend for herself. She wasn’t very happy with them, to say the least.

Y/N simply scoffed, reaching up to pull her hair into a ponytail at the base of her neck. “What, were you spying on me or something?”

“No, I just heard voices in the driveway and I went to the window to see who it was,” Brooklyn defended. Y/N could see in her eyes that she was definitely still tipsy. “Then I saw you standing with some hot-ass guy and I obviously freaked out a little.”

“No need to freak out,” Y/N answered dryly. “He just felt bad that my friends left me alone at a bar at one in the morning and offered to walk me home.”

Brooklyn sighed, and the quiet in the air was soon interrupted by Jade once again beginning to heave into the toilet. “I’m sorry, Y/N, I know that was shitty. Jade was just really sick, and--”

“Don’t worry about it, okay? It’s over with.” A pause. “And the guy is no one, so don’t keep asking.”

“Doesn’t sound like no one,” Jade finally spoke from the floor, slurring her words and wiggling her eyebrows much to Y/N’s chagrin. “Did you get his number?”

Y/N didn’t have the energy to argue. “No, I didn’t, and I’m going to bed.” She reached to grab the phone charger someone had left plugged in at the sink and took a step back towards the door.

“Already?” Jade asked, leaning forward with an exaggerated pout.

“I’m exhausted,” Y/N snapped as she desperately tried not to lose her patience. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.” She turned to walk out the door, making a note to find a sweatshirt as she felt the house’s air conditioning kick in. She stopped into the kitchen and reached into the cabinet where she and her roommates kept their medicine, retrieving two ibuprofen pills and a bottle of water from the fridge before going to set them by Jade’s bed; she knew Brooklyn would forget to think of it.

She trudged into her bedroom, which was thankfully isolated enough from the rest of the house that she could attain some semblance of a tranquil environment. She shrugged out of her clothes and into an oversized hoodie before crawling into bed, missing the chance to reflect on the events of the night as she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Y/N woke to sunlight filtering through her shuttered eyelids, and she stretched her stiff limbs before rolling over to check the time displayed on the clock on her nightstand. She blinked a few times, convinced the sleep in her eyes had made her read the clock wrong, but the red numbers glared back at her just the same; she’d slept past one in the afternoon. She noticed a McDonald’s bag keeping her alarm clock company on the nightstand, with a note attached to the bag written in such messy handwriting it could only be Brooklyn’s. I got you your favorite! I also took your dirty clothes to the laundromat, they’re all clean and in a basket by your closet. I love you and I’m sorry that I was a crap friend last night.

Y/N smiled to herself as she slowly sat up and moved to rest her back against the headboard of her bed. If there was one thing Brooklyn had never been able to handle, it was having someone be upset with her. Y/N reached for the drive-thru bag and pulled out her fast-food breakfast of choice, unwrapping it with a fervor as the smell hit her nose and she immediately realized how hungry she was.

As she finished off the meal and reached for the ice water Brooklyn had also left her, Y/N heard her phone vibrate from the surface of the nightstand where it was plugged in to charge. She rolled to retrieve it, an undeniable flip in her stomach as she saw the unsaved number and message that simply read Hey, It’s Shawn.

Y/N rolled her eyes; typical boy. How was she supposed to respond to a message that gave her virtually nothing to work with? Her immediate instinct told her to consult Brooklyn and Jade, but then she remembered how insistent she had been last night that the guy who’d walked her home was just that: a guy. She’d left out the part where she’d witnessed a fully-fledged fight in the women’s bathroom of a bar, the (brief) part where he’d held her hand, and especially the part where he had asked her out. She laughed out loud imagining how a conversation like that with her roommates would go: a How’d you two meet? followed by He beat the shit out of a guy right in front of me. Sweet, I know.

After several minutes of back-and-forth in her head, Y/N finally settled on a simple response: Still up for coffee?

She tossed her phone down next to her and leaned her head against her bed’s headboard, letting out a heavy exhale of breath as she stared up at the ceiling. It had been almost a year since she’d broken up with her ex-boyfriend, and even longer since she’d been on a real date. Would this even be a date? Should it be? What if he doesn’t even want to go anymore? Y/N ran her hands over her face with a deep sigh. She hadn’t been nervous until she started overthinking things; something she had a habit of doing.

On the other side of town, Shawn was sitting on his couch feeling like an idiot for how absorbed he was in waiting for his phone to light up. He tried to focus on some MMA fight he’d found on TV, but was too wrapped up in his thoughts about Y/N. When his phone finally did buzz he almost jumped out of his skin, then scolded himself for his lame dependency on hearing the familiar text tone. He clicked the button to illuminate the screen, revealing a message from the woman of the hour.

Still up for coffee?

Was he ever. He still scrunched his nose at the thought of actual coffee, as it was a taste he’d yet to acquire, but it was what Y/N had agreed to and Shawn was still more excited than he would ever admit. Of course, he typed back, thinking of a plan in his head. Does three work?

Y/N looked over at her clock again as though she’d expected it to display a more dramatic time change than there actually had been. It was 1:30; she could easily get ready in an hour and a half. Sure :)

I’ll pick you up, came Shawn’s almost instant reply. See you soon.

That was enough to have Y/N scrambling out of bed and into the shower to start getting ready. When she was done she slipped on a pair of jeans and her favorite sweater, opting to let her hair air-dry. When she was done applying the makeup that she wanted, she pulled the front half of her hair back with a white ribbon and gave herself a once-over in the mirror. Satisfied, she reached for her phone and her purse, heading into the living room to wait for Shawn’s arrival.

The second Y/N emerged from her room, Brooklyn’s head turned back to look at her from her spot on the couch. “You look nice,” she remarked, grabbing Y/N’s attention. “Going out?”

“Just, uh, meeting a friend to study,” Y/N lied. “I have a Political Theory exam in a week.”

Brooklyn laughed, eliciting an amused yet questioning expression from Y/N. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Brooklyn stated, and she waved Y/N off with her hand. Y/N didn’t buy it.

“Brook,” she pressed, leaning back and folding her arms over her chest.

“Well, first of all, I find it adorable that you start studying for exams a week in advance,” she explained, and Y/N giggled.

“Guess I’m not as brave as some people who like to wait until the night before,” she shrugged, teasing. Brooklyn smiled, but Y/N could tell she had more to say. She stared at her friend expectantly.

“I dunno,” Brooklyn started, and her eyes raked over Y/N. “You spend half your life studying, and I’ve never seen you look like this to do it.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “What are you getting at?”

“Don’t know,” Brooklyn repeated. “I guess you’re either meeting someone special to study, or you’re not actually studying. Just a prediction.”

Before Y/N had the chance to defend herself (though Brooklyn was one-hundred-percent correct), the doorbell rang. Brooklyn raised her eyebrows suggestively, which Y/N pretended not to see as she made her way to the door. Before she could even get her hand on the knob, Brooklyn’s voice came from behind her.

“You gonna bring your backpack?”

“Why would I--” Y/N started, but then caught herself. Brooklyn laughed.

“Have fun studying. I expect details when you’re home.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” Y/N groaned, but she couldn’t fight the tiny smile that was threatening to take over. “Check on Jade while I’m gone. No more ibuprofen until she eats something substantial.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

With that Y/N turned to once again face the door, taking a deep, stabilizing breath as she pulled it open to reveal Shawn standing in black jeans and a worn band t-shirt, his curly hair falling in his face and making him look much softer than she knew he was.

“I texted you, but you didn’t answer. Figured I should probably have come to the door anyway.”

Y/N smiled, suddenly more nervous than she had been all day. “That’s okay,” she answered, staring down at her shoes. Shawn backed up to allow her space to get through the doorway, the giddy smile remaining plastered on her face as she stepped outside after him.

“Bye kids, have fun!” Brooklyn teasingly called out before Y/N could tug the door closed. Y/N rolled her eyes, shaking her head at her friend’s antics.

Shawn let out a little laugh. “Who was that?”

“Just one of my roommates,” Y/N shrugged, walking alongside him as he led her to the sleek black Jeep parked on the street. “She can be a lot sometimes, but she means well.”

Shawn took two long strides to get in front of Y/N so that he could open the passenger side door for her. “Thank you,” she said softly, stepping on the little ledge to hoist herself onto the car’s leather seats. She watched him make his way around the front of the car to the driver’s side, and for the first time, she admitted to herself how attractive she found him. He smiled at her as he climbed into the car, and Y/N immediately felt the butterflies in her stomach kick in.  

“Okay,” he began, reaching to shut the door before turning to look at her. “Where to? It’s your pick.��

She raised her eyebrows playfully. “That’s so much pressure.”

“I trust you,” Shawn replied, still smiling in a way that made it hard for her to focus.

Y/N hummed as she stared out the windshield, thinking, and all-too-aware of Shawn’s eyes resting on the side of her face. “There’s a little cafe on the corner of Shea and 19th that I really like. I go there to study sometimes.”

“Works for me,” Shawn answered, his tattooed hand shifting the car into drive before reaching up to lazily rest on top of the steering wheel.

When they arrived, Shawn ordered for both himself and Y/N while she claimed a booth in the corner by a window. She laughed when he winked at her from where he stood at the counter awaiting their drinks, and she didn’t miss the grin that crossed his face as well. He carried the mugs with their steaming coffee in it over to the table, handing Y/N her cup before sliding into the booth across from her.

“So, your fighting,” Y/N started with a curious smile, wasting no time. “You promised to tell me about it.”

“I did, didn’t I? That was fast,” Shawn smiled, but he was immediately nervous. She probably expected him to say that he was a boxer, or that he wrestled; any other sport that was less brutal than what he actually did. Her bright eyes stared at him, awaiting his answer. “It’s called streetfighting,” he finally explained, carefully watching her face for any expression that could help him gauge how she was feeling. “It’s exactly what it sounds like. We preschedule matches, a bunch of people come to bet on us and watch, and then we just, uh, fight until the rules say we have to stop.”

“How do you fight?”

“Our fists, mostly,” Shawn answered, reaching up to scrub at the back of his neck with a sheepish laugh.

So it was that kind of fighting. Y/N inhaled, making sure to choose her next words carefully. “Isn’t that...illegal?”

“No, actually,” Shawn replied, not failing to notice how comically wide Y/N’s eyes had instantly gone. “As long as we’re not hurting bystanders or causing property damage, there’s technically no law here against mutual combat.”

Y/N looked down, letting out a little puff of air as she absentmindedly traced the rim of her coffee mug with her pointer finger. “What?” Shawn asked, unable to read her reaction. He was nervous about how Y/N would receive everything that he was saying, and the fact that he cared so much scared him.

She flicked her eyes up to find his staring right back at her. “I don’t know, you just sound like a lawyer, or something. Mutual combat makes it seem so formal. So...not scary.”

Shawn held his breath, his eyes still carefully fixated on her. “Does it? Scare you, I mean.”

“Um,” she started with a nervous laugh. “I’m not really sure how I feel about it. Didn’t realize it was something that existed beyond movies until today.”

“Fair.” He paused, hesitating before asking the question he wanted to. “Does it scare you that I’m a part of it?” he pushed, suddenly painfully aware of how his heart had begun to race with anticipation. He was past the stage of trying to deny that he cared what Y/N thought of him; he’d simply just accepted the fact that he did.

“No,” she answered softly, but with conviction. “I mean, you definitely intimidated me at first,” she continued, eliciting a bashful smile from Shawn. “But you’re not scary.”

He exhaled heavily, shaking his head. The frown Y/N wore silently asked what he was thinking. “Really thought you’d say yes,” Shawn admitted. “It’s more violent than most people are willing to deal with.”

“I don’t think it makes you a violent person, though,” she replied, without even having to think about it. “Football players don’t go around tackling people in their everyday lives just like you don’t go around picking fights outside of Dynamite.”

“What makes you think I don’t do that?”

She shrugged, looking down at her coffee. “I just don’t.”

Shawn simply hummed in acknowledgment, drawing Y/N’s focus back up to his face. She met his honey-brown eyes and her gaze flicked down to the small scar on his cheek that she hadn’t noticed until then, illuminated by the natural light streaming through the window next to them. “Your scar,” she mused, eyes still locked on it as Shawn’s inked hand came up instinctively to touch it. “How’d you get that?”

He sighed, turning his head to the side to stare out the window. “Fight. Some guy didn’t take his rings off.”

She nodded slightly. “So they made him stop and get rid of them?”

“Oh, no,” Shawn answered nonchalantly, and Y/N’s brow furrowed.

“He kept fighting you with rings on?”

Shawn laughed, but Y/N didn’t understand why. “He only got one punch in, sweetheart. Fight didn’t last very long.”

Her stomach swirled. Okay then. “But you still got the scar.”

He shrugged his shoulders, watching as Y/N leaned her chin to rest in her hand. “Yeah, but I kind of like it. Think it’s cool.”

Y/N grinned, causing the corners of Shawn’s mouth to turn up as well. “Of course you do.”

“What, you don’t think it’s badass?” he teased, pretending not to feel his chest do a stupid little flutter as Y/N tilted her chin back and laughed.

“I didn’t say that,” she giggled, and he joined in until their laughter naturally died out. Y/N studied his face, unsure of whether or not she really dared to ask the question she most wanted to. But as he looked back at her with a warm expression, the words came before she could think about it any longer.

“If streetfighting were illegal, would you stop?”

“Probably not,” he answered, straightforward and immediate.

She nodded, leaning her back against the seat. At least he was honest. She had a million more questions, but she didn't know if they were ones she should be asking. But her silence was telling, and Shawn seemed to read her mind.

“Whatever you want to ask me, you can. You don’t have to hold back.”

That was good enough for her. “Okay,” she conceded, leaning forward over the table. His eyes never left her. “So, you told me why you were hiding last night...said it was because of those guys chasing you. But why were they after you in the first place?”

“Fair question,” he mumbled, staring down at his hands as he formulated an answer. “They’re all streetfighters. The guy from last night, Damon, hangs around with another guy named Rocco, and they follow this third guy like he’s their alpha wolf, or some shit. I beat him in a fight a few weeks ago, and none of them liked that very much because he wasn’t expecting to lose. Now he’s all hot and bothered about revenge.” He couldn’t contain the smug smile that had spread its way onto his face; he still felt pretty damn good about having beat Axel.

Y/N, on the other hand, couldn’t help but pick up on how little Shawn seemed to be affected by the fact that he apparently had three men out for his head. “That would scare me half to death,” she whispered, taking a sip of her coffee so that she had a little bit of time to think of something to say. She placed the cup down, feeling the table shaking slightly from Shawn’s knee, which had started bouncing nervously.

“How often do you fight?”

“About once every month or two. Just until I’m healed enough from the last fight well enough to take on a new one.”

She felt her chest tighten. “It takes you two months to heal?”

“Depends,” he answered, and he could immediately see in her eyes that all of it was beginning to register in her mind. She almost asked what it depended on in the hopes that it would prove her assumption wrong, but she knew she was right; that the time between fights was determined by how severe of a condition he was left in from the previous one. She hadn’t realized until that moment how serious of a style of fighting this really was.

Shawn’s leg kept bouncing as he waited for her to say something. Y/N could feel his eyes on her, but she remained silent as she tried to process. It wasn’t long before Shawn couldn’t handle the quiet. “What are you thinking?”

Y/N looked up to find his face laced with an unreadable emotion; somewhere between concern and discomfort. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “It’s a lot to take in. This all just seems so…The Outsiders, or something.”

He laughed in relief; it was an answer milder than he had expected. “You think so?”

“Don’t you?”

“I’ve never actually read that book,” he admitted. “Just seen bits and pieces of the movie.”

Y/N’s eyes went wide and a smile came over her mouth; a sight for which Shawn was both grateful and relieved. A smile was a good sign. A smile meant that, even after everything he had told her, Y/N was still comfortable. “I can’t believe you’ve never read that book!” she pressed, bright-eyed. “It’s a classic.”

Shawn playfully rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, I had a rough childhood, I wasn’t reading the fucking Outsiders.”

Y/N’s light expression wavered, and her shoulders fell as though she were deflating. Shawn immediately wished he could take his words back. He wasn’t used to people that weren’t accustomed to his brash sense of humor, and the longer he sat in silence staring at Y/N’s face as she obviously struggled to come up with something to say, the stupider he felt for his lack of a filter.

“Sorry,” he muttered, reaching a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. “That was...yeah. Probably too soon to be making jokes like that.”

“It’s okay,” Y/N reassured with a smile, swallowing hard as she pushed past it. “Guess you’ll just have to take my word for it, then.”

“Guess so,” he replied with a strained smile, still mentally kicking himself for being so careless.

He took a sip from his cup of coffee, immediately trying--but failing--to conceal how his face contorted as the bitter taste reached his tongue. Y/N giggled, watching him curiously.

“Still too hot?”

“No,” he grunted, setting the cup down on the table. “I just don’t actually like coffee.”

“Then why’d you suggest we get coffee?” she laughed, and Shawn swore he’d drink all the bitter, black coffee in the world if it was what it took to hear that sound.

“Yeah, well,” he mumbled, unsuccessfully fighting a smile, “it wasn’t my brightest idea.”

“Try putting cream and sugar in it,” she suggested as she reached to the edge of the table to grab a sugar packet. “Should make it more bearable.”

“Why didn’t you put this stuff in yours?” Shawn questioned, watching Y/N’s face as she focused on stirring sugar into his coffee.

“Sugar, you mean?” Y/N questioned, her eyes flicking up to meet his. Shawn nodded. “I’m a full-time college student,” she explained with a shrug. “I’m immune to the taste. I’m surprised I haven’t resorted to just eating actual coffee beans by now.”

“College sounds fun,” he teased, grinning. “I’m obviously missing out.”

It was Y/N’s turn to smile. “It’s not so bad.” She slid the cup of coffee across the table to him; a tacit request for him to try it.

He looked at her challengingly, raising his eyebrows. “I trust that this is gonna be better and not worse.”

She laughed breathily, leaning back to fold her arms over her chest. “No promises.”

He took a sip from the mug, quirking his head to the side thoughtfully. “Not bad,” he approved.

“Told you!”

Shawn shook his head teasingly. “Actually, I believe what you said was ‘no promises.’” Y/N laughed, taking a drink from her own cup.

“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” she asked as she placed her coffee back on the table, phrasing it like she was simply making conversation but secretly hoping he’d say he wasn’t busy so that she could extend their day together.

“I’m going to Dynamite tonight,” he answered, and Y/N pretended not to be disappointed. “Not to fight, but there’s a match so I’m kind of expected to be there.”

“What about those guys that were after you?”

Shawn cocked his head to the side. “What about them?”

“Well, I don’t know,” Y/N stumbled, trying to find the right words. “What if they...show up? Find you?”

But Shawn just shrugged, unbothered. “Not sure. I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it.”

“You’re not worried about it?”

“Not really,” Shawn admitted, and as disconcerting as his nonchalance was, Y/N managed to push past it.

“What’s it like where you fight?”

“Well,” Shawn started, taking a deep breath. Where to even begin? “It’s called Dynamite, because it’s through an alleyway off Dynamite Road in midtown. There’s really not much to it other than a square slab of concrete surrounded by a chain-link fence. If you maybe, uh, want to come tonight, I can show it to you.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Y/N dismissed, staring down at her empty coffee mug. “Thank you, though. I just think I need a little more time to process before I see everything in action.” Shawn nodded. He’d expected her to say no, but it still disappointed him. “What time do you have to be there?”

“Fights usually start around seven, so I get there a little earlier,” he answered, and Y/N checked her phone. 5:30.

“Damn,” she mumbled, unaware that she was saying it out loud.

“What?”

She looked up at Shawn, showing him her phone screen. “We’ve been here for a long time.”

He grinned. “Time flies.”

“I don’t want to make you late to the fight,” Y/N continued, tucking her phone into her purse. “We can leave, if you want.”

“I don’t,” he sighed, and Y/N’s stomach flipped. “But you’re probably right that we should.”

He stood up, Y/N following suit, and led the way out of the small coffee shop. From behind him he heard Y/N thank the barista standing at the counter, and he smiled to himself as they walked to his car in the parking lot. A part of him was convinced that she was too good for him, that he would never deserve her time or her kindness, but a bigger part of him didn’t care. His cheeks got hot from just thinking about her, and the effect her presence had on him was even greater. The way he felt about her was terrifying because it was something he’d never experienced with anyone else, and how quickly it had happened only scared him even further; he couldn’t think of any other way to describe it.

He opened the passenger door for her again once they reached the car, and she thanked him quietly when he extended his hand to help her up. They spent the entire drive home talking and laughing as though part of their conversation hadn’t been so heavy, and Shawn even pretended to accidentally make a few wrong turns so that he could extend their time together. It was obvious that he was getting lost on purpose, but Y/N didn’t care. She’d probably be doing the same thing.

When he pulled up in front of her house he dashed around the side of the car to help her out, and Y/N smiled; she’d not gotten a door for herself the entire day. She slid out of the car, adjusting the strap of her purse so that it sat where she wanted it on her shoulder. She looked up at Shawn, who was leaning against the side of his Jeep studying everything from the way she looked to the way she moved. She killed him.

“Thank you for today,” Y/N started, suddenly shy. “I had fun.”

“Yeah, me too,” Shawn answered, trailing off like he had more to say. Y/N picked up on it.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he dismissed, attempting to reassure her with a smile.

She watched him, amused eyes trained on his face. “No, you were gonna say something.”

Shawn sighed; she was right. “Can I be honest with you?”

“Of course,” Y/N replied, confused as to why his demeanor had suddenly shifted.

“Okay.” He tugged a hand through his hair and let out a heavy breath. What are you doing, what are you doing? “I don’t really, um, date.”

Y/N felt a weight hit her chest. Of fucking course he’s too good to be true. “Oh.”

“No, wait, hang on. Just let me explain where I’m going with this,” he pushed, and Y/N’s eyes fixated on him, rightfully perplexed. “I hate talking about how I feel so, bear with me.” He paused to take another breath, looking off to the side as he continued. “I don’t date, ever, so I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t usually say or do the right thing and that’s probably not gonna change. I can’t make any promises to you about anything other than the fact that I like you a lot, and that scares the shit out of me.”

“Okay,” Y/N acknowledged, her heart in her throat as she tried to follow him. She couldn’t tell if this was taking a good or a bad turn. “So what are you trying to say?”

“I want to try,” he admitted, finally looking at her. “This. With you.”

“‘This?’” she quipped. “Like dating, or…?”

“Yeah, I guess. Even though I don’t really know what that entails.”

Y/N laughed softly, tentatively taking a step closer to him. “You don’t have to know what you’re doing. You just go at your own pace.”

“It’s because I don’t get attached to people,” he continued, his jaw clenched in a way that made it seem like he was being forced to talk against his will. “I close myself off, I guess, because it only ever ends up badly for me. But I’m attached to you already and I don’t know why. I just am.”

She nodded, trying to put the pieces together. “So what do you want from me?”

“Be patient with me. Assuming that you even want this,” he laughed, looking up at the sky like it held the words he wanted to say. “Sort of forgot to verify that before I said all this embarrassing shit.”

“Hey,” Y/N cut in, reaching for his hand before either of them knew what was happening. “It’s not embarrassing. If you want to try then I do, too.”

Shawn wrapped his fingers around hers, feeling himself calm down. Having her hand in his anchored him, somehow. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. And there’s no rush. We can just see what happens.”

Without even thinking about it, he brought her hand up to place a chaste kiss to her knuckles. “Okay.”

Y/N couldn’t stop smiling. “Be safe tonight, alright?”

“I will,” he nodded, grinning even though her words weighed on him. No one ever cared whether or not he was safe. “I’ll call you later.”

“Okay,” she replied, a teasing look making its way into her eyes. “Are you gonna let go of my hand so I can go inside or am I just stuck here?”

Shawn laughed, a looseness that came with getting his feelings off of his chest taking over. “If you insist,” he teased, dropping her hand but not dropping his eyes from her face. She looked up at him, and for a split second she swore he was going to kiss her. Her heart leapt into her throat as she watched the soft smile on his face, his brown eyes equally as tender.

Shawn stared back at Y/N, simply taking in everything about her. He never wanted to forget the way she looked in that moment, with her lips parted and her hair slightly messy but still perfect, or the way the golden light from the setting sun seemed to outline her figure in an ethereal glow. He so badly wanted to kiss her, but he was determined to be careful with her; to take things slowly and to not force anything. He finally let out the air from his chest, effectively severing the tension that had been in the air between them.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” he simply said, reaching into his pocket for his car keys.

“Okay,” Y/N affirmed, biting the inside of her cheek. “Bye, Shawn.”

“Bye.” He sent her one last dizzying smile before climbing into his Jeep, and Y/N stepped back onto her driveway as she watched him start the car and pull away. As soon as he was out of sight, a heavy breath left her lungs and an unrestrained, childish smile took over her face. She half-walked, half-skipped up to her front door, pushing it open and immediately running to find her roommates. She hadn’t been excited about a guy in over a year, and she was no longer able to keep it from them.

Her roommates must have heard the door shut, as they both emerged from Jade’s bedroom with intrigued looks on their faces. “How was it?” Brooklyn burst out, pulling Y/N over to the couch in the small living room. “I already filled Jade in.”

Y/N laughed. “Of course you did.”

“Spill,” Jade commanded, plopping herself at Y/N’s right side as an elated smile took over her features.

Y/N hid her grin with her shoulder, her roommates squealing with excitement in response to Y/N’s infectious giddiness. “I don’t even know where to start.”

--------------------

Shawn had just parked his car on the side-street outside Dynamite when he felt his phone vibrate from where it sat in the console. His heart started to pound in the hopes of it being from Y/N, but his face fell upon actually reading the message.

Hi Sugar. Coming to the fight tonight?

Shawn’s eyes rolled as he contemplated even responding. What’s it to you? he finally fired back. He’d had too good of a day with Y/N to ruin it by dealing with Raven’s overbearing devotion to him, so he slid his phone back into his pocket, hopping out of the car and locking it behind him. Raven would not ruin his high or sour his mood; he refused to allow it.

He walked through the alleyway to Dynamite like he’d done so many times before, but this time he had a certain lightness in his step that hadn’t previously been there. He tucked his hands into the front pocket of the black sweatshirt he’d slid on after finding it in the backseat of his car, nodding in greeting to the people he recognized, ready to inquire about their thoughts on that night’s matchup. Before he had the chance, however, he felt a light punch in his shoulder and turned around to be met with Mateo; the person he’d been scheduled to fight the previous night before Axel came and made a scene.

“Who ya got tonight, Mendes?” Mateo asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“Who’s fighting?”

“Adam and Maverick.”

Shawn exhaled, smiling smugly as he reached into his pocket for cash as though the choice was obvious. “I’ll put a hundred on Mav, easy.”

Mateo raised his brows. “Bold,” he remarked. “They’re about as evenly matched as it comes.”

This elicited a scoff from Shawn. “You’ve never fought Mav. That son of a bitch is strong.”

“I’ve never fought you, though,” Mateo retorted. “Maybe you’re just weak.”

“You’re fucking full of it,” Shawn grinned, and Mateo laughed. Mateo was an arrogant little shit, but Shawn had never actually possessed any reason to dislike him or harbor any animosity towards him.

“Let’s rematch then.”

Shawn sucked in a breath of air through his teeth, feigning concern. “You sure, buddy? You got lucky the other night when I had to leave before our fight. You know I’d have beat your punk ass up.”

“You seem to forget that I’ve got a few years’ experience on you. Let’s settle it.”

Shawn laughed, ready to agree to a rematch when he heard a sharp, feminine voice cut through the air behind him. “What the hell, Mendes?”

Shawn’s stomach dropped. He didn’t have to turn around to know that Raven was stalking towards him, ready to interrogate him within an inch of his sanity. Mateo shot Shawn an apologetic expression before backing away quickly; he knew when he wasn’t wanted. Raven stepped around Shawn so that she was face to face with him, and she popped her hip out as she folded her arms over her chest.

Shawn scowled, rolling his eyes at her display. “What?” he demanded, but it came out flat.

Raven scoffed. “What do you mean ‘what?’ You’ve been dodgy lately, and it’s pissing me off.”

It was Shawn’s turn to scoff, taking a step back as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I don’t exist to keep you happy, Raven.”

He knew she would never admit it, but that had hurt her; Shawn could see it in her eyes. Unfortunately for him, she was able to push through it and keep the argument going. “No, you obviously only exist to come over late at night, get laid, and then sneak out of my apartment while I’m sleeping, because you’re an asshole.”

“Well if it pisses you off so much, then maybe stop begging for me all the time,” Shawn responded, his tone laced with bitter sarcasm. “Or, no, I’ll do you one better—I’ll just cut this off completely. It’s a win-win.”

Raven’s tough expression faltered, and her folded arms fell to her sides. “T-That’s not what I meant, Shawn.”

“No? Well it’s what I meant,” he bit back, relishing in the way he could visibly see Raven coming undone. “Look, I’m not trying to be an asshole, alright? But this—whatever it was—needed to end a long time ago.”

She laughed dryly, shaking her head in incredulity as she turned to the side to hide the hurt on her face. “Sugar, you can’t stay away from me and we both know it. You’re gonna regret this.”

“I only regret that I didn’t do it sooner,” he replied, less harshly, and he meant it. He knew he should have ended things with Raven a long time ago, but he just never could seem to get himself to do it. It was obvious that meeting Y/N had been the push he needed; he suddenly couldn’t think about anyone or anything other than her, even if he wanted to.

Raven stared back at him, her name suddenly fitting as her dark eyes narrowed, beady and bird-like as they held his gaze. Shawn kept standing there because he was sure she was about to say something, but all she did was stare with a look that could definitely kill.

“Raven!” Adam called, snapping her from her infuriated reverie and cutting the tension between her and Shawn. She turned to the side in search of the source of the voice. “We starting or not?”

She glared back at Shawn one last time, and it took all the strength he had to just stand there and keep quiet. He wanted so badly to shut her down, to insist that there was not a single reason why she should be this affected, but he didn’t. He just stood there and let her stab him with the piercing stare of her eyes. Maybe he owed her that much. Maybe she at least deserved his restraint.

“Yeah,” Raven finally shouted back, turning to the crowd. Shawn didn’t miss the waver in her voice. “Last chance to place your bets. Fight starts on my count.”

“Fuck you,” she spat to Shawn over her shoulder, turning around with a dramatic flip of her hair. “You’re nothing but a waste of time.”

“Actually, Raven, wait,” he called, feigning reluctance, and she whipped around so quickly it was as though she were being pulled by a string. She stared up at him, doe-eyed and hopeful even though she laughably tried to maintain her hard expression. Shawn smirked, extending a fistful of cash towards her.

“Do me a favor. Put me down for a hundred on Maverick.”

Feedback is so appreciated, and let me know if you want me to add another part!

Taglist: @joyfullyswimmingface @fourtristattoos @goldiean @justmesadgirl @shawns-curls @iam-a-painted-whore 

[kaffeinic]

You Belong with Me | Bang Chan

“you belong with me” au with bang chan? like the music video itself is a story ehhehe ((you belong with me by taylor swift 😭😭 ik its cheesy but like hear me out lol)) thanks!💗

- Anon

~

1

Pairing: High Schooler!Reader x High Schooler!Bang Chan

Genre: Neutral // Angst If you squint // Romance

Warnings: None

Preamble: You’ve been best friends with Chan since middle school. You’ve watched him blossom into a talented, handsome young man. Throughout the years, you’ve developed somewhat of a crush on him. The only problem is that he has a girlfriend whom he can’t seem to break it off with.

You watched as three of your classmates wrestled each other on the grass of the high school’s soccer field. They had been doing so for a whopping fifteen minutes, and you saw them laughing gleefully while playing every time you passed by. You had been walking in circles with your best friend, Chan, chatting. He had been complaining about his girlfriend for the umpteenth time.

“You know what really bothers me?” He asked. You stayed silent, knowing the question was rhetorical. “She doesn’t ever ask me about my day. I always call her or text her ‘good morning,’ ‘good night,’ ‘how was your day,’ and all of the usual things, and she never does the same for me.” He said. You glanced at him, then at the girlfriend in question, who was practicing her cheer routine for a pep rally the school would be hosting. It took every ounce of self control in you to not march over there and give her a piece of your mind.

The rest of the school day passed agonizingly slowly, leaving you at a near-crawl when you left the building. You heard a familiar voice call your name.

“Y/n! Wait up!” Chan said, rushing toward you. He had a tired smile on his face. He caught up to you quickly. “How was band practice?” He asked. You shrugged.

“It was okay. How was soccer practice?” You asked. He smiled, and you knew that he was truly happy you asked.

“It was good. We had a lot of fun.” He replied. “Do you want me to drive you home?” He asked. You nodded.

“That would be great, thanks.”

You both piled yourselves and your belongings into his car. You let out a sigh of relief when your bottom hit the seat.

“Long day?” He asked, turning the key. You nodded.

“Long day, indeed.” You said. He giggled.

“You should get some sleep, Y/n.” It was at that moment that his phone began to ring. He glanced at the caller and sighed. “It’s Aaliyah.” That was his girlfriend’s name. You watched as he leisurely accepted the call and put the phone to his ear. Even while the phone wasn’t on speaker, you could hear Aaliyah’s shrill voice as she yelled at Chan, though you couldn’t make out the words. He threw his head back and groaned.

“It was a joke! I would never have just said something like that! You walked away before I was done!” He seemed to be defending his humour, yet again. Within moments, you heard Aaliyah scream, ‘Shut up!’ before the call ended. Chan’s head hung low.

“What was it this time?” You asked. He glanced at you.

“I called her a one.” He said. You waited for the punch line. “Meaning that she was number one.” He explained. You nodded.

“She’s so rash. She never waits for someone to finish what they’re saying.” You said. He nodded.

“Yeah, I know.” He said. You contemplated the words you would say next.

“Not to overstep my bounds, but why haven’t you just broken up with her if you’re this unhappy?” You asked. His gaze found yours quickly.

“I-” He began. “I don’t know.”

You hummed. “Alright. Just do what’s best for you, Channie.” You said. He smiled at you weakly.

“Thanks, Y/n.” Your heart fluttered every time he said your name, which he had a habit of doing often.

“No problem.” You smiled happily at him, at which he poked one of your cheeks. You flinched and whined. “Chan!” He laughed at you, shaking his head.

“You’re so adorable, I swear.” He mumbled to himself. You felt heat rushing to your cheeks at his words. Silently, you reached behind yourself to the backseat where your backpack and textbooks were. Waving goodbye, you exited the car and walked up to your front door, watching as he waited for you to enter. You never fully understood why he felt the need to see you walk inside, but you didn’t complain, nonetheless.

You had been at home for a little over six hours before you received a phone call. You had been studying for a mathematics exam, growling in frustration when you answered a problem incorrectly. The classical music you had been playing nearly drowned out your phone’s ringtone. You noted that Aaliyah thought classical music was a waste of time, igniting a spark of anger within you. You glanced at the caller ID. It was Chan.

“What’s up?” You asked.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” He asked. You stuttered.

“Uh- Yeah, sure. How long will you be?” You heard the familiar double honk outside of your house. You looked out of the window to see his car, Chan leaning against the exterior. He grinned. You hung up the phone and rushed down the stairs, telling your mother that you were going for a walk with Chan. She smiled and said it was alright.

Chan met you halfway between his car and the front door.

“It didn’t take long for you to get here.” You laughed. “What’s wrong?” He put his arm around you.

“Nothing. I just wanted to hang out. I haven’t done anything with you recently.” He said.

“Because of Aaliyah.” You finished his sentence. He laughed tiredly.

“You’re not wrong.” He said. You both walked for a few minutes before reaching the local park. The entire area was empty except for you two. He sat down on one of the benches, and you followed suit. He smiled.

“This is nice.” You said, stretching in a cat-like manner before getting comfortable.

“Yeah. It’s my favourite place.” Chan said. You smiled contently. You noted just how easy it feels to be around him, and how much you wished he would just be with you. You giggled quietly at the thought. Your smile dimmed when you thought about how he hasn’t been as happy since Aaliyah got a hold of him. He’s always saying he’s fine when you know he’s not.

You turned to face Chan. “It’s been a while since we came here.” You said. He stared blankly ahead.

“Yeah.” You saw tears brimming his eyes, feeling the overwhelming urge to wipe them away and give him a hug.

“Chan, I know you’re not okay. You don’t have to pretend to be.” You said. “You’re safe to be who you want to be around me.” He glanced at you before the tears started pouring. He sniffled twice before even attempting to wipe them away.

“I know.” He said, bringing you in for a one-armed hug. He rested his cheek on your head, sniffling again. “I know.” You glanced up at him, debating whether or not to tell him how you feel. The atmosphere is right. You two are alone. Will you ever even get another chance with Aaliyah always on your case?

~

I tried to come up with a better title, but failed lol. I sifted through a lot of gifs to find one with Channie in that specific vlive because it screams high schooler/boyfriend material. You all are going to hate me for this, but I noticed that the song lyrics themselves never said anything about whether or not she gets the boy. If you want me to extend this oneshot and give you an ending, let’s get this post to 150-200 notes!

~

* DISCLAIMER: I do not own any gifs/photos used in this post. I do own the written content. Do NOT repost/edit. *

~

🏷 @punk-pan-bih-yeets-thru-life • @hoshithehamster • @woo-for-woojin • @deceased-pumpkin-babe • @ethereal-chanracha • @midnatwlp • @royalhvangs • @joohowdy

[theyrealllegends]

Careful

Chapter summary: Roger is your new roommate and while you like to bury your pretty in nose in the books for your law studies, he finds other ways to pass his time. 

Author’s note: I’m freaking excited people, I never thought I’d like an idea enough to really post it and then it just came! I’d like you to know that english isn’t my first language but I’m trying like crazy. Also, I didn’t put in y/N because I felt like I should call reader Tiffany. If you want to, feel free to insert yourself, though!

Words: ~1,4k for a start

Warning: mentions of sex and drinking but I wouldn’t put an age rating or anything, idk, sorry! (Okay, I’m trying my best to do this slow burn thing and if i’m failing miserably than I’m sorry!)

Chapter 1:

You didn’t really admit it but your new roommate was cool. At first, you thought it was just because he was the one moving in after your terrible ex-roommate who finally finished their degree. But within a few days you noticed it was also his hair, that was a bit longer and a bit messier than the guys that sat in your law lectures wore theirs. Also, you kinda liked his colourful clothing and his vintage furniture that was really giving you the hippie vibes you’d never channel. It was even funny to you that this guy was becoming a dentist but couldn’t boil eggs for the love of god. 

“You’re the best!”, he’d tell you every morning he came into the kitchen only to see a prepared breakfast because you had a few spare moments before you had to go to your class. 

“You’re welcome, Rog”, you’d just reply smiling into your mug. 

“Should I take you to uni?”

“I can take the underground, but thanks.”

“How can you refuse me as a driver everyday?”

“Because you always leave after me and I’ve seen the traffic, I don’t even want to think about your driving!”, you told him and laughed. 

“I’d be careful with you”, he said sheepishly and winked at you before he finished his breakfast and you left the kitchen so he wouldn’t see you blush. You didn’t really talk to a lot of guys, the ones in your classes were either too focused on getting good grades of spoiled pricks, really and you weren’t used to flirting from your ex-roommate either. 

When you came home from your classes around five hours later, Roger was in his room, door open and -

“No, please, I really can’t!”

“Oh, hey, Tiffy”, he answered grinning. “I finally brought my drum kit!”

“No, you’re not! I need to memorise a billion laws this year, please you can’t drum in here!” He softly patted one of the freaking drums you wished never touched ground in this apartment and your stomach twisted with anxiety and hungriness. 

“Don’t worry, sweetie, I just wanted to scare you”, he explained softly and moved closer to the doorframe, where you still stood in shock. “I got in a band and we’ll be practicing in some old room in the uni, I’ll move my drums there as soon as we start.”

“Thank god”, you mumbled and he grinned. 

“I’m quite good with them, though.”

“I don’t deny that but you didn’t see the neighbours’ glares yet, if you think you could play them here."

“You should come to our first gig, would you? We’re playing right before Pink Floyd, have you heard of them?”

“Uhm, I’m more the classical music kind of girl, I guess”, you admitted, feeling your cheeks tingle again, hoping you wouldn’t blush. 

*-*-*-*-*

You weren’t sure if Roger was okay with that but since you thought you wouldn’t like “Smile” and the huge crowd they’d probably gather, anyway, you told him you were too busy to come to his gig, even though the year was still fresh and this was nothing compared to the stress you got into weeks later. You didn’t really know how Roger didn’t drop out of his dentist classes right away because that first gig had seemingly made his band a thing, requiring them to perform every weekend ever since. It wasn’t that you weren’t happy for him - that you didn’t like the way his face lit up when he told you about the band, about his friend Freddie who he started a stall in Kensington Market with and everything else he told you, really - but sometimes it could be annoying. Sometimes he’d wake you up in the middle of the night, stumbling into the flat, looking piss drunk when you peeked out of your room to check what the hell was going on. 

At first, you felt sorry for him and covered yourself in a robe to stay warm while softly guiding him into his room and onto his bed and then going to the kitchen to get him water and pain killers for the next morning. He’d either be fighting to get off his clothes or already be asleep on his bed when you returned. You’d make extra much bacon the next morning, hoping that’d soak up the left over alcohol in his system and you wouldn’t talk until he signalled that he was ready for more noise than the coffee machine’s. However, as time passed you stopped getting up to help him because Roger would still wake you up but in a worse way than coming home wasted - it could have variations but they all annoyed you just the same: sometimes it would be loud giggles in the hallway, other nights it would be his bed frame banging on the wall his room was sharing with yours. It didn’t make any difference that your bed wasn’t on that side of your room at all, it made your bookshelf unstable and wake you up without fail. Another time it would be the groaning and whatever noises he was getting the girl to let out and vice versa, it never failed to make you sick. Not that you’d ever bother to mention it. He’d probably just give you earplugs, something you tried multiple times but found too uncomfortable to even fall asleep in. 

It was an early Sunday and you had already gone on your morning run to clear your thoughts, finished your shower, had breakfast and were halfway through your first round of law repetition for that day. You just left your room to get another cup of coffee when Roger caught you in the hallway. 

“Please, you have to help me”, he mumbled into your ear. “I swear I didn’t plan to, I need to study, too and now I can’t get rid of this damn girl!”

“I’d suggest you put on a shirt to make it easier for her”, you couldn’t help but reply and he’d smile weakly before nodding his head in the direction of the kitchen. “Fine, I got this”, you tried to reassure yourself more than him before walking into the room, finding a girl in Roger’s shirt, trying to make pancakes or whatever. “How many times do I have to tell you?”, you asked Roger, letting your true annoyance come thru. “You can’t have guests in the kitchen on Sundays, my learning group needs the space!”

“I’ll be gone in a second!”, the girl replied and smiled at Roger in a way that made you snort. 

“Obviously not, you’re leaving. I’m not trying to make a fool out of myself in front of the other law students, we need a quiet atmosphere!”

“We should go to my place then”, she’d tell Roger, ignoring you but also sounding annoyed. 

“You know what, I’ll take a shower and come over later, okay?”

“Sure, sweet”, she whispered to him, glaring at you before leaving the kitchen as if the pancakes weren’t turning black. 

“Thank you”, Roger mouthed into your direction, before following the girl. He only returned after she left a few minutes later and smiled as you set a plate of pancakes in front of him. “You’re the best, Tiff.”

“I’m surprised that worked to be honest but you’re welcome anyway”, you replied, unable to tell him that this was the first and last time you had done something like this. 

“You’re kidding, I totally bought the learning group and I really wish I had something like that.”

“When are your exams?”

“Way too soon”, he tried to get around the question. “And yours?”

“Starting the Tuesday after this one”, you explained and moved your shoulders because they started cramping and hurting only at the thought. 

“‘M sorry about that”, Roger told you and got up to step behind the chair you were sitting on. You wanted to turn around to see what he’d do but then he put his big, warm hands on your shoulders and started massaging them softly. It made you forget where you were for a moment and you closed your eyes to let yourself fall into his grip, humming as the sharp, stress-infused pain finally went away. 

“Thank you so much”, you whispered softly as he finished and could hear him chuckle behind you. 

“Anytime, love.”

-

I’d like to tag @blondecarfucker because your support is literally why you’re looking at this right now and I truly hope you like it! If anyone has any thoughts or comments, don’t hesitate to let me know. 

xoxo

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #397

"Nether Rescue, Plucked Phoenix, Pineapple Curl”

[Winston] Dispatches of a couple of wither skeletons that had charged them at the top of the fortress-

[Helm] - forcably guides Legion into the fortress halls, which other than Winston, is eerily quiet - There should no one in here, the battle wiped everyone out. Why are they here?

[Winston] - Just because they were wiped out in the past doesn't mean a few wouldn't come back. For awhile this would be the safest place if there were very few here

[Helm] - frowns, remembering their not to distant past - There are far more than any of us liked, the meanest biggest one commands the rest. They control... Or rather attempt to, the other mob's... And not obeying isn't an option. That's why I left when I had a chance.

[Winston] - Don't worry, I will not allow you to be dragged back into all of this

[Helm] I'm more worried they found Sammn.

[Doc] if there's Someone making trouble here I'm happy to take them out. I don't need the headache of organized hostile mobs.

[Winston] - If it comes down to it, the Matter can take command here

[Helm] The only thing preventing that is most of my kin... aren't the brightest. The Skells spent more time coraling them & getting them to listen than working on more elaborate plans.

[Sammn] - drags herself up & starts trying to figure out a way out. It doesn't take long to figure out she's in a small 3x3 sealed space. Putting her head against the warm wall, she struggles to listen for any sounds.

[Doc] Is following her signal and hir boots ring sharply on the nether brick floor. - I don't think involving Cp is necessary.

[Winston] - For now

[Doc] Rounds on him- no, not ever. If i have to rage around here myself to put things in order I will. I'm not having Cp organize an army under my nose and then bitch about how stressed out he is. I hate to pull this card, but I pay the rent here. He doesn't.

[Sammn] - thinks she hears faint voices, but can't be sure. Not knowing what was surrounding her, she doesn't want to risk teleporting. Drawing her knife, she starts striking the wall, giving off a dull ringing -

[Winston] - I am not arguing with you Doctor, just stating what I know works

[Legion] - has lagged behind, stopping in an intersection. Giving a look toward the others, it hops down a different hall -

[Doc] Glances back- unless you want to be lost you better get your cubic butt back here.

[Legion] - grumbles but slowly hops back -

[Winston] - How much farther Doctor?

[Doc] She's very close... Sammn?

[Winston] Keeps an eye on their surroundings-

[Sammn] - hears something and starts hitting the wall harder -

[Winston] Turns his head towards one of the walls, hearing the thuds- Doctor...

[Helm] - goes over to the wall, listening - What is that?

[Doc] I'm gonna find out- They start breaking the wall away with gusto. - Hang on, we're coming!

[Sammn] - hears louder voices and backs up -

[Doc] Breaks through the wall- Sammn! Are you hurt???

[Sammn] - blinks in surprise - Doc? What are you doing here?

[Helm] - peaks into the hole and sighs in relief - We have been looking for you.

[Doc] Looking for you! You've been missing for days. Your pigman friend and pet bird were beating the fuck out of Legion because they thought it did something to you.

[Sammn] Days? - stumbles out - And why where you beating Legion, Helm? [Helm] Cause since it did this - looks annoyed as they point out her arm with the blackened area on her wrist - you have been acting strange. Then you suddenly disappear and it ran off.

[Doc] Do you remember anything?

[Sammn] I remember thinking I needed to get somewhere I could think without it hurting. - looks confused - But, now... It's started again.

[Legion] Our mark should not be causing pain.

[Doc] Either way, I think we should get out of here.

[Winston] - Agreed, I can hear others farther down

[Doc] Shall we take the fast way now that we're not worried about wrecking or being noisy?

[Helm] Yes, the faster the better.

[Doc] Goes back down the hall a little. And shapeshifts, breaking the ceiling away and then headbutting a wall so the blocks make a crude slope back down to the shore of the lava lake-

[Helm] - climbs out, stopping to help Sammn -

[Legion] - growls and starts hopping it's way down, slipping halfway and tumbling the rest of the way down -

[Doc] Oooch. I'd help you but you said it's not safe to touch you. - they scuttle down the slope and protect the others as they run back to the portal.

[Winston] Traverses the terrain easily-

[Legion] - more grumbling as it rights itself -

[Doc] Picks up a block and uses it to push Legion fully upright.

[Legion] - flails at the block - Cease, we are fine.

[Sammn] - watches them, then turns to look around the area. When she does, it becomes clear there is a large red stain on her side, with several small holes burned into her dress.

[Doc] Sniffs at her. - You are very injured... -They hurry her to the gate- Go inside. I'll go last-

[Helm] - shuffles her ahead and through -

[Winston] Steps through as well-

[Legion] - follows -

[Doc] Shrinks down and changes hir mode to survival again briefly before crossing through.

[Mb] Is loafing on the other side. - Have fun chuckleheads?

[Sammn] - once thru, groans in pain - [Legion] - stares at Sammn's side - The Mark has been triggered again.

[Doc] Do you know what it's responding too?

[Legion] - it's orange eye looks at Doc - She was our Host. What triggers it, we do not know, but it prevented us from taking full control.

[Doc] Geeze... And you said I can't heal it for you...? What if I tried to numb it by cutting your connection to that part of your skin?

[Sammn] I don't know, you can try.

[Mb] How bout you get the fuck out of my place first?

[Doc] Yes, yes. Come on, let's go to my house.

[Winston] - If you do not mind, I will return to my Master's place

[Doc] If you wish, thank you for your help Winston.

[Winston] Nods respectfully before heading off-

[Doc] Offers Sammn an arm and helps her walk the short distance to the side door.

[Sammn] - each step makes her flinch more and more. At the door, she pulls away from Doc. - Stop, stop.

[Doc] What? What's the matter?

[Sammn] When you touched my arm, it got worse. Considerably.

[Doc] Pulls away uncertainly - Am I the one setting it off???

[Sammn] I don't know, it has been hurting on and off as I've been traveling around. Out by my place, it hurts less. Over here, it's constant.

[Doc] Is it proximity to Herobrines in general?

[Sammn] - looks worried - That would make sense, but why?

[Legion] -garble-laughs as it's orange eye glows - It is his Mark, His summoner.

[Doc] So... it's trying to keep you out of the influence of other brines? Maybe?

[Sammn] - looks angry - I am rapidly getting tired of this.... I can't think straight, I can't sleep. I can't remember why? I'm beginning to think it would have been better to just have left me wherever you found me.

[Doc] Looks rather hurt - I'm just trying to help... I think we need to find your friend. And if you're that desperate.... I know a place with no brines and you won't be expected to do anything.

[Sammn] - tries to calm down - I'm not ungrateful Doc, I know you are not the cause of my issues. No one here is. My apologies... I just feel broken.

[Doc] Wilts- I know that feeling all too well.... But my offer stands. No brines.

[Sammn] - shakes head - No. Trying to avoid it hasn't helped, so maybe it's time to confront it head on.

[Doc] I wonder what would happen if you got close to the big summoner?

[Sammn] Big summoner?

[Doc] Points to the high skinny tower behind the shrine. There's a black beacon at the top of it ringed by flaming netherrack- It's mostly full of slime blocks but there's a basic summoner tower at the top and a special reversed summoner TLOT built for Steve.

[Sammn] At this point, I'm willing to try. It's either that or get someone to look at my dreams.

[Doc] Let's try this first and then bug Cp. I wonder if... - Xe calls for Deerheart over the chat.

[Deer] Responds and starts making her way towards them-

[Doc] Waits for hir mate-

[Deer] - Comes out- Yes love?  What do you need?

[Doc] For some reason me touching Sammn is paining her. Sammn? Can you just graze Deerheart and see if it's the same with her?

[Sammn] - reaches out and touches her, then shakes her head - Nothing. Who's the next closest Brine?

[Doc] Well I was thinking... Deerheart? Can you fly Sammn over near the summoner?

[Deer] - Sure, I can do that- She steps away and shifts her shape- Climb on Sammn

This message has been removed.

[Sammn] - climbs on -

[Deer] Flies her up to the summoner- Here we go

[Sammn] - braces herself, expecting the worse -

-At the top of the tower the golden summoner burns merrily and it's diamond echo glitters in the sunlight above the room-

[Sammn] - can feel some weird pull - How close can you get?

[Deer] - I can knock out some of the glass and you can go right in if you want?

[Sammn] Please.

[Deer] Carefully knocks out a couple blocks and gets close enough for Sammn to jump in-

[Sammn] - jumps in and stumbles as the pull gets stronger. Walks toward the golden summoner, each step increasing the pull. Reaching out, the symbol on her side flares bright red and burns her dress over it. Forcing herself to touch the summoner, she screams but keeps her grip. For one brief second, anyone sensative to the summoner feels its pull and it's gone. Sammn releases her grip and plops down, dazed.

[CP] In chat- Who's fucking doing what now!?

[Mb] chat- Stop playing with that fucking thing!!!

[TLOT] chat-  Is someone in trouble?

[Sammn] - blinks a few times then slowly manages to access chat - I think u were right doc that hurt

[Doc] Is fretting. - You called out at least. The summoner does reach beyond the server when it's used intentionally. The only way to increase the range is to.. throw a live animal on the fire....

[Helm] - is freaking out - What!

[CP] In chat- You'd just call me if you did that Doc

[Doc] chat- You're not the only Herobrine that likes a sacrifice Cp.

[Mb] Chat- Yeah, I like a good BBQ.

[Sammn] - closes eyes and hears something, not with her ears. It's a faint voice, fimilar but she can't make out any words. Opening her eyes, she types in chat - Doc I can hear someone

[Doc] chat- That's a good start. Can you get a sense of a direction? Or understand what they're saying?

[Sammn] direction sorta words no

[Deer] Quietly- Sammn?  Do you need help getting out?

[Sammn] - looks up and tries to get up, fails and plops back down - Probably. Don't feel like I have the energy to do much but sit. Sorry.

[Deer] Shifts back and slips inside- It's okay, I'll take you to one of the recovery rooms if you want

[Buff] Peeks up from the stairwell- Is everyone okay up here?

[Deer] - Ah, perfect timing Buff, do you think you can help me move Sammn?

[Sammn] - looks dazedly at Buff -

[Buff] Sure! I'd love to help. - He notices the big bloodstain- You look hurt! I'll be gentle. - He scoops her up as easily as a kitten and cradles her to his huge chest. - Where are we going too?

[Deer] - The recovery rooms downstairs

[Buff] Absolutley! -Starts walking downstairs.

[Doc] in chat- Is everything okay over there?

[Deer] In chat- For the most part yes, I'm having Buff help me move Sammn to a recovery room

[Doc] Good- They glance over- Legion, Helm, you two should still come inside.

[Helm] - darts toward the door in a panic -

[Legion] As you wish.

[Doc] And if you want food ASK. I have pets, leave them alone.

[Buff] Takes Sammn all the way across the house and down to a warm room near the lava pools in the lab.

[Sammn] - is mumbling - The lieutenants needs to move the others .. (mumble) Only the knights... (mumble)

[TLOT] Hears them coming and comes up the stairs with Steve to check on them- Oh dear.

[Steve] Sammn?

[Buff] Poor thing.

[Deer] - I wouldn't get too close TLOT

[TLOT] Okay.... - he stays outside the door to the room.

[Sammn] - mumbles - Take the king out first...

[Steve] Is she dreaming about chess?

[TLOT] I can find out? - He brushes her mind to see what's going on.

- Sees a castle under seige, a flash of people fighting next to mobs, attacking armored people. Normal people are running away. A cowering old man, dressed in red and royal blue, begging. Then what looks like a Steve attacking. Halls rushing by, then a room with 2 figures: a Brine, on the ground with a Notch moving toward them with a glowing hammer. Running, a shield rising and the hammer shattering it while someone screams "no", then nothing -

[TLOT] Uses his abilities to relay the image to Doc and Cp. Steve, Buff and Deerheart also get the gist of it since they're nearby.

[CP] Responds with a sharp mental jab- AM I SERIOUSLY NOT ALLOWED FIVE MINUTES OF PEACE!?

[TLOT] Winces- OOOWWW! Don't fucking do that!

[CP] - THEN STOP INTERUPTING ME!

[Doc] Is at the top of the stairs and unsure how to get Legion down them.

[Legion] - leers at the steps, then sighs - Move, Doctor. - with its tentacles, it tips itself and flop falls down to land surprisingly, upright. Another annoyed sigh and it hops out of the way.

[Doc] Sorry. I feel bad not helping... - They follow it down and then stand with TLOT in the doorway.

[Helm] - comes racing behind, looking for Sammn -

[Doc] She's right here Helm, it's okay.

[Steve] Yikes!

[Helm] - comes to sudden halt seeing her, then turns to sign - Are you sure?

[Steve] OH! - He signs to the pigman- She's just passed out.

[Helm] - frets - I don't like this, but as long as she's ok.

[Doc] We'll look after her.

[Violet] Comes up behind them with a bit of a bony rattle-

[Buff] Tucks the blanket over Sammn a bit.

[Deer] - Just let her rest for now

[Buff] I'll sit with her for a bit. I wasn't doing anything much.

[Helm] - darts over and sits on the floor next to the bed. Then signs to Legion - Don't make me go looking for you demon! I will have Wright rip your eyes off! [Legion] - grumbles, but tucks its tentacles into itself and leers at Helm with its blue eye - As you demand, beast.

[TLOT] No need for fighting or insults. I'm more concerned about Sammn right now.

[Deer] - Come on, we should leave them be for now

[Doc] Stands back so the others can leave the room.

[Buff] Stays with Sammn-

[Steve] Gestures vaguely at Legion- Um????

[Doc] Just don't touch them.

-NK has reached out mentally for TLOT, and upon finding him places a single query that translates to "Where are you?" -

-After a moment it's appended to "I'm ready to take your offer on looking through my memories, if you're still offering."-

[TLOT] Stops placing blocks and responds mentally. - I'm in the desert working on the dinosaur pen. If you want to come over.

[Yaunfen] Is playing with Fru, trying to keep them occupied.

[Waffles] Tries busking on Steve and almost knocks him over.

[Steve] Hey!

[NK] -I'll be over in a minute. Thank you.-

[Yaunfen] What's going on?

[TLOT] Nk needs a hand with something.

[Steve] It's okay Yaunfen, I'll keep working.

-Nk comes trudging over a hill toward the group, A lightfoot is scuttling along after him-

[TLOT] hops up on the wall and points at a small sandhill a little ways away that will let him climb up on the edge of the partially built wall.

[Yaunfen] Peeks over- Hi Nk! [dragon form]

[Nk] -Is quick to make it over, the lightfoot huffs since they can't before taking off- Hey... Yaunfen, was it?

[Yaunfen] Yep!

[Fru] Also wanders close, snuffling around.

[TLOT] You haven't met Doc's kiddo Nk?

[NK] Oh I have, I just wasn't sure if I remembered the name right. -Sheepish look- -Completely calm as Fru sniff snoffs his hair very close up.-

[Yaunfen] Giggles- This is Fru.

[TLOT] A result of my seed bleeding into theirs apparently. Doc says they're a type of redeye?

[NK] Oh yes, I'd say that for sure. Hello Fru. -Calmly pats Fru as Fru sniff snoffs his hair one more time-

[Fru] Gives Nk's hair a lick and makes a face.

[Yaunfen] BAD.

[TLOT] You're fine as long as you don't have candy on your person.

[NK] Oh you're usually fine with Redeyes as is, as long as you have a scarab. -Pushes his now slimy hair back into place.- Now I was here... about your offer to help me with my memories?

[TLOT] Of course. Let's get down on the ground.

[Yaunfen] I can help! - They grab Nk in their paws and put him on the ground gently-

[TLOT] Just hops down and lets his boots take the brunt of the impact.

-The ground of the pen is already the cake dirt blocks form Yaunfen's seed.-

[Fru] Wanders over to menace Steve a bit-

[Steve] Arrgh!

[Waffles] Is having a noisy drink in the little pond of fizzy soda/water

[NK] Well that's an interesting dirt block. Thank you Yaunfen.

[Yaunfen] You're welcome, and they're tasty too! excuse me! - They pad over quickly to herd Fru away from Steve.

[TLOT] Wait, you know about the scarabs too right? We think we found the equivalent on the candy seed. - He takes out the lollipop with the bug in it and shows it to Nk.

[NK] Of course.. Let me see.... Yes, that looks like it'd definitely be one.

[TLOT] Good. They tend to get a bit out of hand, especially as big as they are. Shall we find a spot in the shade to sit down?

[NK] Sure, after you. I'd also invest in making a copy of it, you'll need it if you accidentally hatch any others like that.

[TLOT] Good call. - He motions for Nk to follow and they go to a far corner of the pen where there are a few scattered chocolate wood blocks by the trap door out. He dusts a bit of loose sugar off one and sits on it.

[Yaunfen] Running Fru in circles with a toy like one would a cat-

-NK sits down himself by TLOT-

[NK] So how does it work?

[TLOT] Shrugs- I'm naturally psychic. And being the native here enhances my abilities. -He focuses on Nk and cocks his head slightly, thinking. His eyes seem to get brighter and brighter until they're all Nk can really focus on. He makes a small gesture like opening a door and digs a little deeper, gently poking around in Nk's thoughts.

-There's a thump as Fru bumps into the the wall.

[Yaunfen] Whoops! Be careful!

[NK] I... see.... -His voice trails off and TLOT finds that once he gets to NK's memories he... can't go any further?-

[TLOT] Hmmmm, you have a sort of..blockage...? Like your memories are knotted up. But it doesn't feel alien. More like you've repressed some memories....

[NK] I... had a feeling that was the issue. I could get to a certain point and just... nothing. People with one of these, -He taps a claw against the diamond in his chest- recall their memories differently... Hmm... Can... Can you fix it? Or give me a hand?

[TLOT] Can you be more specific about how you mean 'differently'? I don't want to damage your brain if it's set up in some strange way.

[Waffles] Wanders over hoping for pets-

[NK] I... It's hard to explain to people who don't have their minds set up this way.... Uhh… Here. -He presses at TLOT's mind and a vague impression crosses over, it's NK standing in an empty room, with a single door infront of him. He's confused, as beyond the door is.. nothing?- That's why I.. finally decided to ask for help. I've never just had... nothing, in my memories. It's... disconcerting.

[TLOT] That's helpful for visualization at least... - He tries again, this time seeing himself next to Nk. He guides the other brine closer to the door in his mind. - Perhaps we just need to look at it from a different angle. - He presses on the wall around the door, moving it inexorably backwards until the door is just free standing in the room. He leads Nk around to the opposite side of the door- Now try opening it from this side.

-Now, they can see something blurry through it, It's nowhere near clear or concise, but it seems to make sense to NK as he takes a tentative step through. He looks back at TLOT as though to invite him through that mental door, if he'd like to join him.-

[NK] It's... Hm.... I don't understand why I would have blocked this out...

[TLOT] Gets the feeling strongly - I'll walk with you. They're just memories. - He follows Nk

-They're fuzzy to TLOT, but the longer he stays with NK, the clearer they seem. Memory NK is pacing back and forth in what looks to be a throne room. TLOT might remember it from a picture Prince showed of a younger Mix. So far it seems.. Bland, almost.-

[Tlot] Adds some power to Nk's recollections, trying to bring them into a sharper relief.

[NK] What are... you doing? -He doesn't seem to notice it get clearer, which implies perhaps he was seeing it fine, and TLOT, outsider to NK's mind, was seeing it differently.-

-Memory NK seems downright livid as he paces, glancing at the throne every turn with a scowl.-

[TLOT] Someone seems very agitated...

[NK] Yes... But I don't know why. I can't tell when this was... -He makes a sliding motion with one hand and the memory seems to jut forward, and Memory NK turns to leave.- Well if it wasn't later on.....  -Memory NK walks straight through them both, and NK turns to watch him leave.- Maybe... before?....

[TLOT] Shrugs- It's your mind....

[NK] Or maybe... It was over a large amount of memories... Here, follow. I'm going to skim through... Something had to happen for me to block it out... I don't just go removing access willy nilly… -He starts walking and the memories pass by. There's even one of child Mix being carried over memory NK's shoulder. Still not awful...-

[TLOT] Is just sightseeing, trying not to disturb any infrastructure, he does smile at child Mix though.

-There's... more memories of Mix as a child, just simple things, really. And then the memories start getting.. Odd, structure wise. It's like looking at them through a kaleidoscope...-

[NK] We must be getting close...

[CN] After sending Winston towards Doc has heads inside and goes to his room. He opens the door and peaks in- Firebird?

-Firebird looks up at CN, Hands pausing in picking the blue feathers from his body -

[Firebird] Yes CN?

[CN] Notes the blood welling up where the feathers have been pulled and the feathers scattered about the room- What are you doing?

[Firebird] Removing the feathers, why? - He looks... Bare, with so few feathers. The crest on his head is almost absent, with only a handful of feathers remaining, and his tail is no better.. -

[CN] - You're hurting yourself...

[Firebird] It's fine, CN. Don't worry. What did you come up here for?

[CN] Everyone else is out... And it is my room!- He's trying to discretely type in chat for either Mix or Flowey to come over

[TLOT] This all looks pretty ordinary, I wonder why you blocked it out?

[NK] I... Don't know. But the unstable nature of these memories is... It's odd. Its like I sustained damage to my spell stone. But it's still whole in all these memories.... Maybe if we go straight to the end? - Soon the memories are going by faster than you can make anything clearer out. A flash of Prince, Kraz reclining on a Thorntails back and talking with Memory NK, and then there's nothing. - Oh, that's too far...

[TLOT] You seem to be pretty good at navigating. Are you sure there's something mising?

[NK] I mean... I don't know why else my memory would be messed up... -The memory isn't actually nothing, at a closer inspection it's him out in the void between games. Memory NK lays face down on the "ground"-

[TLOT] Did you just cut it out since you were basically in a sensory deprivation space? That might have saved your sanity being out there so long.

[NK] I... Maybe? But my spell stone is.. Hm. - He bends down to check- oh, it is broken now. Odd. How far....

[TLOT] Yes, I understand it was broken when you were found. Wasn't there some kind of explosion that lodged Prince's bits in other people too?

[NK] That's he thing. I don't know why Prince's were like that. I know I had one but.. Oh, that's already in my hand... -he's poking his own memory hand thoughtfully -

[TLOT] Decides to dig a little deeper and puts a hand on Nk's shoulder to help him remember- It's there... I think you just have to want to know badly enough... - He feeds some of his energy into his brother brine.

-There's a knock on Litch's door-

[Licht] Groans but goes to the door and opens it- Yes?  May I help you?

[Postman] Package miss. Can you sign for this please? - Holds out the little machine and stylus.

[Licht] - Uh, sure- She takes the items and signs her name, but she doesn't remember ordering anything

[Postman] Gives her a rather heavy box and smiles politely before going back to her little truck.

[Licht] Brings the package inside and looks at who it's from-

[EAlex] Waits for Licth to come back in before creeping up. - What is it?

-It's addressed to her from 'Collin Street' -

[Licht] - A  package I don't remember ordering from...- She puts the box down and grabs a small knife before slicing away the tape

[EAlex] Just watching curiously-

-Inside are two red tins with weird designs on the front.-

[Licht] - The hell?- She pulls out her phone to look up what she's gotten and she see's a message which she opens stating that she'll be getting a package- Well that's helpful...

[EAlex] Reads the phone- Oh, this should have been recieved days ago. Doc ordered cakes?

[Licht] - Oh right, they didn't know what a fruitcake was, that's right

[EAlex] Well it looks like one of them is for us. I guess because they couldn't sign for it themselves?

[Licht] - Because they don't have an address

[EAlex] Gives us another reason to visit I suppose. This tin is super heavy. - She levers it open- Oh! It's so colorful!

[Licht] - Yeah, fruitcake can be.  But visiting them will have to wait, I have to be getting to work

[EAlex] Do you mind if I...?

[Licht] - Go ahead, I've had it before

[Firebird] -Picks another feather out-

[CN] Waits nervously, he wants to help, but he has no idea how to make potions, and he doesn't feel comfortable leaving Firebird to go grab some healing flowers-

-It starts to rain outside and there's a lot of pattering as someone rushes into the house and shuts the door-

[CN] Perks up a little and pokes his head out onto the bridge yo see into the main room- Hello?

[Chester] Is soaked and shivering. He's running his shirt through his inventory to dry it.

[CN] - Are you okay?

[Chester] Skitters up towards him a bit and comes onto the bridge- Just got wet. My spider part is fuzzy and it's hard to dry off.

[CN] - Then why not use the lava pool?

[Chester] I was going to. I was just closer to the front door. It's really quiet... where is everyone?

[CN] - Um...  Notch has the baby, and I don't know where Lie and CP are...

-There's a crack of thunder outside-

[Chester] I hope they're okay.

[CN] Shrugs-

[Chester] Looks down and his eyes go a bit wide and frightened- There's... Cn... you didn't hurt them... did you?

[CN] - What do you mean?

[Chester] Is a teeny bit poofy- You have blood on your shoes...

[CN] Looks down- Oh, well, Firebird is hurt!  But...  I don't know how to make potions...

[Chester] Are you sure Lie doesn't have some?

[CN] - I don't know...

[Chester] She's got stuff to do it right? And lots of books?

[CN] - Well, yeah...  It's all downstairs in the workroom

[Chester] Do you want to... Like go and see?

[CN] - I don't know...  What if Firebird does something while I'm gone?  And hurts himself worse?

[Chester] Okay. I'll go. You stay here. - He turns to go into the workroom. He creeps into the shadowed space and the lightning throws his half spider shape in frightening shadows on the wall. He doesn't notice the sleeping figure in the bed, and his teeny claws tap lightly on the stone floor.

[Stevie] Stirs a little-

[Firebird] -Just continuing to absent mindedly pick blue feathers out. Almost all of the back of his head is bare, and his tail is so short. So, so short.-

[Chester] Bumps into the bed accidently with one spindly leg-

[CN] Steps back into the room- Firebird?

[Stevie] Jerks awake- Nether!- He then falls off the bed

[Firebird] -Head turns to look at CN- Hmm?

[CN] - Umm...  One of CP's mobs...  He's gonna try to get a potion for you...

[Chester] Whoops, sorry! I didn't see you there!

[Stevie] - What are you doing?

[Firebird] Alright CN.

[Chester] Looking for some kind of healing potion or a book on how to make them?

[Stevie] - Why?

[CN] - Please stop Firebird...

[Chester] Because the bird NOTCH is hurt- Thumbs back toward's Cn's room.

[Firebird] But....

[Stevie] - Ugh, okay, hang on a minute.  I'll see if there is anything- He gets up and starts digging through the chests near the brewing stand-

[CN] - Your hurting yourself...

[Chester] Taps around a bit nervously. - You're the master's little brother right?

[Stevie] - Er…  Yeah, I am- He looks through a few bottles before pulling too healing potions out, ones a regular potion, and the other is a splash potion

[Chester] Was going to shake his hand but it's occupied with bottles now- Chester.

[Stevie] - Right, anyways here are the potions you wanted

[Firebird] But..

[CN] - Please?  Can't you just wait for molt?

[Chester] Thank you! Oh, sorry to inturrupt your nap too- He takes the bottles and hurries back up to the bridge-

[CN] Hears Chester approaching- Ah!  The potions!

[Chester] Hands them over and catches sight of Firebird- Sir! Do you need a calming draught too? I read someplace birds pluck themselves when they're in distress...

[CN] Looks between the two potions with uncertainty, not sure which to give Firebird-

[Firebird] I'm fine,  the regular potion will do.

[CN] Hands it over-

[Chester] Should I... call for someone? You don't look well at all.

[Firebird] -Takes the potion and grimaces at the taste-

-More rain outside, it's really coming down hard, There'a a bit of clattering as two of the skeletal riders go by on their bony horses. -

[CN] Watches nervously-

[Stevie] Comes up- Everything okay?

[Chester] Gestures nervously to the mostly plucked birdman and mouths at Stevie- What do we do???

[Stevie] - I have no idea...  Probably just leave him be for now so he can heal

-NK's memories flash by, scenes of NK and Prince working together to evacuate the seed, glitchy broken code everywhere, Panic. Darkness. And NK yelps. Their joined memory exploration is cut, and NK covers his face with a soft "Oh."-

[TLOT] Backs away as well. - I think you need a little time to think about this...

[Steve] Rushes over- Are you guys okay? That seemed a bit abrupt.

[Fru] wiggles away from Yaunfen and hops over a low part of the half-built wall-

[Yaunfen] Nuuuu! - Chasing after them-

[TLOT] Pats Nk supportively- you think on this-

[Steve] Is already running after the dragon and the dinosaur- I'll help!

-Not long after-

[TLOT] Opens the door for Steve and the pair of them enter the bar.

[Sam] Immediatly starts fixing them something warm to drink.

[Steve] Cold sniffle-

[Lie] She and CP are curled up in a booth.  Lie has a warm glass of tea and they are warming up after having run in out of the rain- Oh, hey TLOT, hey Steve

[Steve] Takes some coffee from Sam and settles down as well. - Hello you two.

[TLOT] Sorry to inturrupt your non-Aether time.

[Lie] - Believe me, the rain did that already

[CP] - We just can't catch a break...

[TLOT] There's always the beds downstairs...?

[Steve] Parenting is just hard. -toasts her-

[Lie] - No, I'm mostly just cold now

[CP] - So what are you two doing way out here?

[TLOT] A well deserved drink after a harrowing afternoon helping Yaunfen with Fru.

[Lie] - Oh dear, what did Fru do now?

[TLOT] Just went for an unauthorized scamper across the landscape.

[Steve] We think they caught sight of some Lightfoots and wanted to chase and or play with them.

[Lie] - I see

[CP] Pulls Lie a bit closer to himself-

[TLOT] It's always something with wild pets though, isn't it?

[Lie] - Did you see the video I sent to Dawn of Blake?

[Steve] Yeah I did! That was so cute!

[Lie] - How he got in without knocking the crib over I'm not sure, but he keeps repeating the feat

[TLOT] It's love. Dawn said he was a clingy guy. And Aether will probably benefit from his protection later. You know how much trouble little ones can get into.

[Lie] - Especially since she's close to crawling.  She's almost got herself pushed up

[CP] - Yeah, that'll be fun...

[TLOT] Smiles- You know you're excited.

[Steve] Has she said anything else?

[Lie] Laughs a little- I'm not sure, Farfar has her now

[TLOT] Ah, someone else who's settled into his role like a silverfish in a block. - sips his drink thoughtfully.

[Lie] - That he has

[CP] Begrudgingly- It has been useful having him next door...

[TLOT] He loves you guys.

[Steve] Pokes his mate- You should show her the thingie!

[TLOT] Not sure she has the energy right now to finish it my lamb.

[Lie] - What thing?

[Steve] He made a plant.

[TLOT] It's just a sculpture for now, I was going to let you do the honors. If you want.

[Lie] - Uh, sure

[TLOT] I redid that weird fruit you gave me. - He reaches into his inventory. - It was a real pain to get to the edible part. So I made it easier. - He takes out a very strange plant in a large pot. It's got a sunburst of green leaves at the base and a skinny stem like an orchid. From the top three branches hang heavy with pineapple fruit. Just the edible part, cut in spirals that hang down in yellow swirls like minature tornados.

[Steve] We're calling it a pineapple curl bush!

[Lie] - Okay then...  I mean, the vanilla vines curl sooo, it's not that far fetched?

[TLOT] What does vanilla have to do with it?

[Lie] - It's part of the same family?

[TLOT] Crosses his eyes slightly- That's... really annoying....

[Lie] - Real life is weird, and they did mostly  develop in different parts of the world...

[TLOT] Errrgh. - He sets the plant on the table. - either way, it could use a boost.

[Lie] - Alright alright- She puts her cup down, it's mostly empty now anyways and reaches for the bush, focusing her powers of the bright foliage

-The plant seems to sigh under her touch and suddenly plumps up with even more fruit and leaves. -

[Steve] Good job Lie!

[TLOT] Plucks off a curl and slurps it up like a noodle. - Perfection. It's still weird though.

[Lie] - I just thought you'd like it.  It can also be used in a lot of alcoholic drinks

[Licht] Finally gets off work and gets back to her apartment- EAlex?  Everything okay while I was gone?

[EAlex] Is flopped on the couch - That cake is so heavy.... I only had a tiny piece. But I cleaned the kitchen for you.

[Licht] - Yeah, you eat that cake in small amounts, and thank you for cleaning

[EAlex] You're welcome.

[Licht] - I don't have to go to work until late tomorrow, is there anything you want to do?

[EAlex] Well... I was thinking we could... go visiting... I could use the support. It's kind of a big deal for me to.. you know...

[Licht] - You mean the other server?  Sure, we just have to make sure we're back in time for me to get to work

[EAlex] Gets up. - I'm ready when you are.

[Licht] - Just let me grab a few things- She heads for the kitchen and grabs a paper bag, putting some bell peppers inside and the fruitcake- Alright, we can go- She pulls out her phone and dials Doc

[happybeeme0514]

Taking Care of the Drunk

You were irritated. Understandably so. It was 1 am, you had to be up at 7 for work, and you got called out of a dead sleep to pick up a “friend” from a bar two towns over. Who was this friend? Good question. All the bartender could tell you was that he was tall and gorgeous. He also kept referring to you as “the goddess”.

So that narrowed it down to your godly friends.

You ruled out the more responsible ones such as Huedhaut and Zyglavis, but that left ten more to choose from. At the top of the list was Ichthys, Teorus, or even Dui. Partheno came after them. They were only ones who really referred to you as “the goddess”.

Rubbing your eyes tiredly, you wondered to yourself why a god would choose to get drunk at an Earthly bar as opposed to just staying in the mansion, but when the bright flashing sign of the small town tavern came into view, you pushed your questions to the side for now.

Pushing the squeaky door open, you took a quick scan around the dark and low brow bar. Two men were shooting pool, three women were sitting at the bar chatting, and one man was sitting at the far end of the bar slouched over, his head hidden in his arm. Likely passed out. The smell of cigarette smoke permeated the area from years of business, and classic rock bumped from the speakers.

But you couldn’t find any sign of a god.

Confused, you approached the bar.

“Excuse me,”

“Yeah? Oh!”

The female bartender glanced over her shoulder and perked up when she saw your disheveled state. You were still in your old holy sweats and band T-shirt that you wore to bed, and your hair was thrown into a messy bun. “Are you here to pick up The Man of Steel?”

“Um…yes,” you replied, though it sounded like a question.

“He drank almost all our entire stock. Check it out.”

She gestured behind her at the many empty bottles of hard liquor, and your eyebrows shot up. Two bottles of vodka, one bottle of whiskey, and one bottle of tequila were among the mess behind the bartender.

“You didn’t…cut him off?” You asked in disbelief. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

“Well…he has a way of persuading you.”

You glanced around again.

“Where is he?”

“At the end of the bar there.”

You followed the bartender’s pointing finger–taking notice of her well done manicure–to the man you saw when you first walked in, and you felt your mouth turn down.

His build was definitely not Ichthys. Too tall, too broad. From what you could see of his hair, it wasn’t Teorus or Dui; too dark. He was dressed in a simple white shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his arms and blue jeans.

You hesitantly approached him.

“Zyglavis?!”

“Yeah?”

Responding to his name, Zyglavis lifted his head, swaying a little from the quick movement, and looked at you.

“Oh, heyyyyy.”

He smiled a bit, a small, lopsided smile, and leaned his head on his hand.

“What…are you doing?” You asked, practically frozen to your place.

“Hm? I’m…sitting. I am sitting, right?”

Suddenly unsure of where he was, he looked around, and shifted his hips in his stool to make sure he was actually seated.

“Yes, you’re sitting, Zyglavis. I meant…what are you doing…here?”

“Oohhhh. I did not want to be at the mansion.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head as he said this, wagging his index finger.

“Bad day at work?”

“You could say that.”

You shook your head, chuckling. Well this was not something you thought you’d ever see–the usually noble and dignified Minister of Punishments completely smashed. You knew this was something you’d absolutely have to take to the grave.

Or else Zyglavis would put you in one himself…once he sobered up, of course.

“Well, let’s get you out of here, Zig.”

You said, reaching out to help him up.

“I can get up!” He exclaimed, holding his hand out and nearly smacking you in the face.

However, he leaned a little too far to the right and went toppling off the bar stool, sprawling most ungracefully to the worn tile floor below.

“Zyglavis! Are you okay?”

You hurried over to him as he pulled himself to a sitting position, looking dazed.

“Whoa. I was up there and now I’m down here.”

“Let me help you–”

“I can do it!”

Stubbornly insisting, Zyglavis turned over to his hands and knees and stuck his butt in the air, pulling himself to his feet like a toddler. Once he was upright, he staggered a bit; you hurried to wrap an arm around his waist.

“Okay. Let’s walk.”

Taking that as cue, Zyglavis lifted his left foot high into the air and took an exaggerated step, then did the same with his right, snickering all the while. You sighed in exasperation.

“If you do that you’re gonna fall again.”

“Nuh-uh.”

As you passed the bartender, she smiled.

“Have a good night.” She said.

You highly doubted it at this point.

…

Zyglavis was heavy.

He leaned all his weight onto you as you walked to your car–you found yourself thankful you parked close to the entrance–and the whole time he was vigorously rubbing his tongue in between his lips.

“What are you doing?” You asked warily. You kind of didn’t want to know.

“This feels weird,” He said as best he could through his pressed lips and tongue. “My lips are numb.”

A couple guys standing around talking and smoking chuckled.

“Here,” You grunted as you pushed Zyglavis so he was leaning up against your car. “Why didn’t you call Scorpio?”

“I said I didn’t wanna be at the mansion, didn’t I?” He replied, his words slurred together.

“Did you get in a fight with him?”

“No.”

“Was it just a stressful day?” He narrowed his crystalline eyes at you, a normally terrifying expression, but with his flushed cheeks, he just looked…cute.

“Why do you gotta know everybody’s business? I don’t come into your life wanting to know every detail about you.”

As he spoke, he leaned forward a little too close, and lost balance. He staggered, and fell into you. He smelled like clean laundry with a hint of alcohol.

“Whoops!” Zyglavis laughed. Like, genuinely laughed, as he pulled himself back. You just stared.

All of this felt…surreal.

“Here, get in before you face plant.” You sighed, opening the passenger door of your car for him.

“O-kay.”

As he spoke, he reached one hand into your car and placed it on the console, the other going to the dashboard. He settled his knee on the seat and hunched inside, shifting and twisting his body around like he didn’t quite know how to enter a car.

“Zyg-”

“No, I got this. Hold on.”

“No, Zyglavis, you need to-”

“Shh! I can figure it out!”

“Oh for Pete’s sake, Zig, put your ass on the seat!”

Zyglavis, who had one leg in the driver’s seat and one in the passenger, his butt resting on the console, looked at you.

“Language.” He whispered severely.

“Zyglavis.” You said in the same tone.

“Pffffft.”

Sighing heavily, he shimmied his way into the correct sitting position in the seat.

You shut the door.

When you came around the other side and got in your seat, you saw he was struggling with the seat belt, and sighed.

“Here,”

“No, let me–”

“I said here!” You snapped. He raised his eyebrows.

“Tooouuuchyyyy.”

Yeah, I’ll show you touchy. You thought.

You reached over him and grabbed the polyester, pulling it across him and latching it into position. He clapped. You rolled your eyes and started the car, pulling onto the road.

As the lights of passing cars and streetlamps passed, You Oughtta Know by Alanis Moriessette came on the radio, and you turned it down a little.

“Why would you do that?” Zyglavis asked, sounding deeply offended. You glanced at him.

“Do you like this song?” You asked dubiously.

“It sounds fun.”

He reached for the volume knob and twisted, jacking the volume up to nearly fifty, causing the speakers in your car to nearly shatter.

“Ack! Zyglavis, come on!” You whined, setting it to a more appropriate level as he giggled.

And then he saw something.

That big yellow M.

He smacked your arm repeatedly, startling you and actually causing pain.

“Ow! What now, Zig?!”

“MCDONALD’S! MCDONALD’S! MCDONALD’S!” He chanted excitedly, bouncing up and down in his seat. “Let’s get some McDonald’s!”

“Are you kidding? Gods don’t eat!”

“I want a cheeeeeseburger.”

Suddenly he got dead serious and looked at you, his glare made sharper by the blue light of your radio’s light.

You turned into the drive-thru.

“Welcome to McDonald’s, how can I help you?”

You were about to open your mouth when Zyglavis leaned across you and yelled,

“CHEEEEEESEBURGER AND FRIES.”

“Zyglavis, sit back right now!” You snarled.

“Can I get you anything else?” The employee asked cheerfully. How, you didn’t know.

“MEDIUM COKE.”

“Zyglavis!!”

“Okay, that’ll be 7.98, come on around.”

Smiling triumphantly, Zyglavis finally settled back in his seat. You glared at him as you pulled to the window.

When the girl opened the window and smiled at you, you mouthed, ‘I’m sorry’, and she winked like she completely understood.

“Have a good night!” She said.

“Just pray for me.” You groaned.

“Cheeeeseburger, cheeeeeseburger…”

Zyglavis mumbled when you handed the bag to him. He shoved his face with fries as he unwrapped his oh-so coveted cheeseburger.

“Wanna fry?” He asked, offering the container to you.

“You know what? Yeah, I do.”

You grabbed a couple and shoved them in your mouth. They were warm and salty.

Now quiet and eating happily, Zyglavis danced in his seat to each song on the radio. You cast a few glances at him every now and then, unable to help yourself. Even though he was really working on your nerves tonight, this new, strangely childish side of him was actually cute. You wondered if this was how he acted when he was a child.

Deciding it wasn’t worth the effort to explain this situation to the other gods, and taking into account the fact that he said he didn’t want to be at the mansion (not to mention the fact that it was also now 1:48 in the morning) you just took him back to your apartment.

When you managed to haul him out of your car, he wobbled on up to the door and just tried opening it, practically body slamming it when it stayed shut.

He almost dropped his Coke.

You watched with exasperation as he ran a finger over the doorknob, then poked it, before looking back at you.

“Door’s locked.” He said simply.

“Oh?” You replied with raised eyebrows, flashing the key at him. “They keep the outside door locked so drunken idiots don’t just waltz on in.”

You continued as you unlocked it and let him in. He screwed his face up into a playful grimace.

“I get the feeling you’re talking about me,”

“Why would you ever get that feeling?”

You rubbed your forehead as you let him into your apartment; he marched in blowing raspberries the whole time.

“Just sit on the couch!” You called when you saw him begin poking around your kitchen.

“Why though?”

“You already ate and there’s literally no reason for you to be going through my house, that’s why!” You snapped.

“You are a touchy, touchy girl tonight.”

However, Zyglavis relented and bounced into your living room, showing no signs of passing out any time soon. You ripped open the cabinet containing the aspirin and popped a couple.

He was lightly kicking his heels against the worn carpet when you walked in, sipping on his drink.

“So. Why did you call me?” You asked again. “I mean, I feel like I’m the last person you’d want to see you like this.”

Zyglavis looked up and smiled, his eyes heavy lidded.

“Nah. It’s 'cause you’re the only one I trust enough to let see me this way,”

You raised your eyebrows.

“Really?” He bobbed his head up and down.

“I trust Scorps, but…not even he has seen me this hammered before. And of course the other gods are immature…” For a moment, the normal Zyglavis seemed to shine through, his expression growing sour and that wrinkle appearing between his eyebrows, but that quickly went away when he said, “…doo-doo heads.”

You snorted, a hand flying to cover your mouth.

“Did I say something funny?”

“No, no,” You lied, smiling at him. “But you should probably try to sleep. I don’t know if gods get hungover or not, but I wouldn’t risk it.”

You didn’t want Zyglavis to be even more ill-tempered than usual tomorrow. Well, in a few hours, anyway.

However, he pouted.

“I don’t want to go back to the mansion.” He whined.

“No, I meant, sleep here. On the couch.”

“The couch?” He repeated, looking down at it. You raised your eyebrows.

“Yes? Unless you’d like the floor?”

He looked up at you.

“I want to sleep in a bed.”

Your heart leapt. With the way he was looking at you, combined with those words and the soft tone of voice he used, it was hard not to feel affected. But you shook your head.

“Well, I only have one bed. I guess if you really want it, I can take the couch–”

“No.”

Zyglavis stood, and took your hand. You blinked, teeth coming down on your bottom lip.

“I want to sleep in a bed with you.”

“U-uh…”

He didn’t leave any room for argument.

Lightly pulling on your hand, he led you to the one bedroom–swaying a few times–and collapsed into your unmade bed, sighing contentedly. You opened your mouth to say something about his clothes, but quickly shut it for fear that he would start stripping.

Stretching out like a cat, Zyglavis’ long, dark hair cascaded around his head like a halo, his angelic features relaxed, and he looked up at you.

“Come on.”

As he spoke, he reached out, curling both hands around your waist and pulling you into the bed, crushing you to his chest as if you were a stuffed animal.

“Hmmm…your bed is comfy,” He muttered, his voice already heavy with sleep.

You, on the other hand, never felt so awake wrapped in his warmth, enveloped by his clean scent. His chest rumbled a bit as he chuckled.

“I might have to get wasted more often.”

“No!” You exclaimed.

“Hmph. Buzz-kill.”

After he uttered those words, he took in a deep breath, and you knew he had fallen asleep. Laying cuddled against his chest, you let out a breathless laugh.

This side of Zyglavis was unexpected to be sure, but…was it really that bad? Surreal, odd, disorienting, but, bad was not one of the words you would use to describe it. And, you felt like you two had grown closer as a result.

Well, you supposed you could allow this…every now and again

[softboywriting]

Mated Pt 3 // Werewolf Shawn

Part 1 | Part 2 

(oops didn’t edit this sorry yall i’m too tired)

Summary: You and Shawn are mates. He’s an alpha werewolf. You’re a human. Also…you have a boyfriend already. What happens when a werewolf is rejected by his mate?

The walk home was quiet. Leaves rustled around you, blowing in the breeze that cut through your thin jacket. It was all starting to hit you. So you turned twenty and now your life has been set on a path with Shawn’s because Myra saw it in a vision. How were you going to explain it to your parents? Your friends? Your boyfriend?

You pull your jacket tighter against you, wrapping your arms around yourself to keep warm. It wasn’t fair that you didn’t get to choose who you married. It wasn’t fair that you would have to break up with your boyfriend. No. It wasn’t. So fuck it. Nobody can force you to date Shawn, to love him. Nobody can make you break up with your boyfriend. You huff, breath coming out in a little foggy cloud. The temperature is dropping and you still have several blocks to walk until you're home.

You hear someone jogging toward you. Probably just someone out for some exercise. You step to the left so they can pass you but their steps slow down to a walk. Glancing back, you see Shawn just behind you, casually walking maybe twenty steps back. His hands are in the pocket of his hoodie he must have put on after you left Myra’s house.

“What, Shawn?” you say, still walking and facing forward. You weren’t sure if he’d even heard you. You shiver and put your hands up into your armpits. It feels like it has to be about forty five degrees out.

“Didn’t want you to walk home alone,” Shawn says after a minute or two. He takes a few long strides and catches up with you easily. “It’s cold, and almost dark out.”

You look up at him, his cheeks are a little flushed. “And I’m almost home. Made it all this way by myself.” You roll your eyes and look forward as the street starts to curve toward the turn you’ll need to take to get to your house.

Shawn kicks some black walnuts in their shells that had fallen off nearby trees. He doesn’t say anything else and just keeps walking with you. The two of you get to your house and you see Liam’s car in the driveway. Part of you is excited to see your boyfriend and the other part is terrified of how Shawn will react to seeing him. “I’m sorry about today. I didn’t know that my grandma was going to do this,” Shawn sounds genuinely sorry. It wasn’t his fault though.

“It’s fine. Nothing has to change right? I mean, her vision doesn’t define us,” you say, stopping just short of your driveway. Afraid that if Shawn walked you to your door and Liam was anywhere in sight it might get ugly.

Shawn smiles weakly. It hurts you in a strange way. You can tell it isn’t a good or even genuine smile, more of a placating one, a smile to soften the blow of the words he would say but didn’t mean. “Yeah, right. Doesn’t define us.” There it was. You read him like a book.

“I know this is different for you because you’re actually a werewolf.” You weren’t sure where you wanted to go with this statement. You had no evidence to support this theory.

“Baby! Hey! I’ve been waiting for you!” Liam shouts, waving wildly from your front porch. You turn to look at him and you groan softly. This was just perfect timing.

Shawn puts his hand on your back and grips your jacket. “Shawn...what’re you doing?” you whisper heatedly. He’s tugging you back slightly as Liam starts walking toward the two of you. “Shawn stop, stop!” you hiss thru your teeth. Liam is going to notice and there will be a lot of questions if Shawn didn’t let go of your jacket.

Liam stops in front of you and smiles at Shawn. “Hey man, you her friend?” Liam puts his hand out for Shawn to shake. “Glad you got her home okay.”

Shawn smiles quick, it’s more of a warning flash of teeth than a smile really. Shawn releases your jacket and lets his hand fall to his side. “Yeah, she’s perfect. Glad I didn’t let her walk home alone.”

“I was getting worried, it’s after dinner and I thought we had plans,” Liam looks at you pointedly. You had forgotten amidst the news from Myra. You give a little pleading look and then mumble something about heading inside to get changed if you were going to go out. “I was worried something happened,” Liam says as he tucks your hair behind your ear.

Shawn covers a growl with a cough. Liam didn’t hear it for what it was, but you did.

Liam puts his arm around you and starts walking you away from Shawn with a “Thanks,” and “Have a good night man.” Liam rubs your arm and kisses your temple. “I’m glad he walked you home. I don’t know what I would do if some werewolf attacked you, they can be so unpredictable.”

You feel your stomach knot up. Did he seriously just say that? As if werewolves were out of control animals? They were people too. It wasn’t like when a werewolf shifted forms they became savage blood thirsty killers. You look back at Shawn and he’s already started walking down the street. You’re glad he hasn’t heard Liam because with the way Shawn was pulling you away as Liam just walked up, you fear what he might do if he heard that comment.

“So, wanna go to dinner? I know it’s a little late but...” Liam walks his fingers up your arm as you walk up the porch steps.

“I’m not really hungry. Can we go out tomorrow maybe? I’m tired from being so social all day with my family and stuff,” you say, lying through your teeth, praying Liam would buy it. He does and agrees, clearly annoyed, but he agrees nonetheless. You watch as Liam’s car pulls out of the driveway and you head to your room in the basement.

You lay awake listening to a playlist someone sent you a couple weeks ago. It’s after midnight and Liam keeps texting you but you’re ignoring him. The comment he made was making you reconsidering what you liked about him. Sure he was nice, he bought you nice gifts for no reason, he even helped you through the passing of your cat a few months before. But the way he said what he did about werewolves, it made you angry. Liam wasn’t from Mayfair, but that wasn’t an excuse for him to think like that.

There’s a knock on the sliding glass door that goes out to the backyard from your bedroom. You think it’s probably Liam. You get up and toss your blanket aside. You pull your makeshift curtain back and open the blinds to see who it was. It’s not Liam. Definitely too tall to be Liam. You grab your bat from the wall to your left before you flip the light on and see it’s Shawn standing there in sweats and a red hoodie with your high school’s logo on it.

“What the fuck...” you unlatch the door, pull the security bar off the track and slide it open. The cold air rushes in and gives you goosebumps all over. Your thin flannel bottoms and old shirt were not meant to withstand this temperature. “Shawn it’s the middle of the night. What could you possibly be doing at my door in your pajamas?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he says quietly.

You give him a look of disbelief. Couldn’t sleep so he just rolls up to your house in the middle of the night. Not even your boyfriend did that. Who the hell does that? Crazy people. That’s who. “Go home and take a sleep aid or something.”

“Can I come in?” Shawn asks, voice still strangely quiet. He’s shivering a bit. You don’t think you’ve ever seen him cold. He was alway so physically warm, something you noticed long before today.

You look him over and decide not to make him stand out there any longer. You step aside and he comes in so you can lock the door back up. Good lord what were you doing? Inviting him in like this was so out of character for you. You wouldn’t even let Liam stay past ten at night when he was over. “Are you okay? I mean you’re like shivering, and aren’t you usually warm?”

“I’m sorry I just showed up. I went for a jog to tire myself out and I ended up here. I saw your light was on and I-” Shawn shakes his head and drops down to sit on your bed where it was on the floor. Your bed frame broke a few weeks back and you hadn’t gotten around to getting a new one yet. He lays back, legs half sticking off the side of the bed. “I’m sorry. I should just leave you alone.”

You sit down next to him and lay back, staring at the old stick on glow in the dark stars on your ceiling. “You can’t though, right? It’s like you’re drawn to me?”

Shawn looks at you, eyes so tired. “...yeah, how did you know?”

“My friend Ashley got married last year. You remember her right? She married the guy who opened the coffee shop on Main St. She would tell me all about how she couldn’t resist him, how he drove her crazy. She said she went to Myra for advice and was told he was her mate.” You turn your head to look at Shawn. He’s got a little tiny bit of stubble on his jaw and you smile to yourself. His face was so sweet and soft looking, imagining him with a beard or even just five o’clock shadow was humorous. “I understand more than you might think. Not everything, but somethings.”

Shawn turns his head to look at you, eyes falling closed. He keeps opening them halfway and then closing them again. “Th-thanks...I’m so tired, I should go home.”

You reach over and push a curl out of his face. “I don’t know if you could make it home,” you giggle as his eyes fall closed again. He rolls onto his side and tugs you close, nosing into your neck. Oh god. You’re not sure what to do. He’s got you in a vice grip and he is now asleep. You close your eyes and enjoy his warmth that’s now radiating through you. You can’t believe you’ve just given into him like this. Not even Liam was allowed to stay the night and here Shawn was, barely an acquaintance, sharing your bed. Maybe there was something to this mate deal.

[plinys]

okay but what about an arrow au where it's the batkids play a d&d type batman game they found and purposely using it to make fun of bruce by using ollie. actual ollie finds out and approves just so he can drop things about it in the justice league meeting to mock bruce too. somehow this is all clark's fault.

oh my god okay all of arrow makes way more sense if its just a terrible d&d game and like

theyre all making fun of batman this is literally them making fun of batman but dick as the nice sibling is like “lets not call him bruce” and for some reason they decide to be ollie and set it all in /starling/

Dick is Ollie and he uses the voice and he is extra af and like “i roll to have a flashback” *meanwhile everyone groans in the distance*

Babs is Felicity, because she didn’t want to actually create a character and play but Dick convinced her to join halfway thru the first campaign because it sounded so fun

Steph is Sara because ?? Badass blondes yes hello all of this (also a character who everyone thought was dead?? but wasnt ?? and came back to kick ass?? its literally steph)

which means Cass is Nyssa

JASON IS THEA and like the reason all of her plot lines are a mess? and she just gets hardcore league training suddenly? and she ends up with roy? (because roy decided to play the game but then just played a cooler version of himself) and like then when she dies and we have to bring her back with the pit Jason just like rage quit the campaign for a week

 Kate is Diggle because (you said so) and also like voice of reason and like yes yes

Everyone thought Tim was going to be DM but hes not and instead he plays Laurel and tries to like be the law and do things right while everyone else yolo’s the fuck out of this game

Damian was not invited to family D&D nights and was super offended by this especially when he found out it was knock off batman and basically hes the entire reason season three/the third campaign ends up having the league of assassins as the big bad except he complains the whole time because this is not how the league works and who invited damian (basically he wants to be every bad guy and ends up in the 4th campaign being damien darhk and uses his own fucking first name for the character and everyone is like ffs kid “i have magic powers and want to nuke the world” is v much a damian wayne plays d&d character)

other random members of the extended batman and gotham friends and super friends and basically everyone comes it at some point becuase this game is a mess but its also the greatest

clark kent is DM