#haven’t read new music in forever but lord knows my fingers still have all my scales memorized

[leemarkies]

omw to play in a flute ensemble for the first time in years and i’m just frantically looking up which way to pull my head piece to adjust the pitch

[diavolosthots]

I don't know if I'm too late if so ignore this. Mc trying to take care of Lucifer. Like bringing him food and drinks, trying to make sure stuff is done in the house, stopping the brothers from bothering him.,thanks for reading my request and remember if you don't want to do it or I'm to late delete it.

You weren't too late at that time and I'm in a lucifer mood tonight so this is being done!

Also who else would like to try spicy hellburned chili now that i made it up? Because I do.

Helpful Hands (LUCIFER X GN!READER)

People always underestimate how much he does for this family, or at least he thinks so. They see mean old Lucifer who only ever bullies and is way too strict. They see the guy who has a patch of gray hair but should be way too young to have it. They see the Avatar of Pride who can’t bear to be defeated for the life of him. Sometimes they see a stuck up asshole who thinks of nothing but himself and occasional torture because he’s viewed as Mr. Sadist. The last part might be mildly true, but only on bad days and only to those who really deserve it. He’s heard it all, from both friends and foes alike, and of course his family. Even Diavolo scolds him at times, which that’s when he’s truly about to snap it because if it weren’t for the Demon Lord he probably wouldn’t be on edge all the time, but more on that later. The point is, though, that most, if not all, of those claims are fault. 

People see the surface level. They see what they want to see and they don’t dare to dig deeper. Maybe they fear him, maybe they’re just too warped in the idea that he absolutely hates everyone that they also turn to hating him. A “I do you like you do me” type of deal, but if they would just take the time… if they would listen and really take a good look at him… maybe they’d realize he’s just suffering. Everytime he gets mad at Mammon or gives a stern, “not now,” that’s him being overwhelmed. Or if his agitation shines through, it’s not because he’s truly annoyed, but because he knows they can do better. He pushes his brothers, absolutely, but only because he knows their true potential. He holds all this weight on his shoulders, for everyone, and instead of giving a small thanks, they ruin his day. It’s hard being the unwanted parent of six, but if he wasn’t, Hell would burn. Or, well, more so than it usually does. Diavolo adds to his work on the daily, and maybe that wouldn’t be such a problem, if he weren’t also the one distracting him from such work and then getting onto him for not having it done. 

It’s hard being him. It’s hard to be the responsible one because you feel like you have to; because you feel like you owe it to them. He blames himself, heavily, for everything that has happened, even though it was their choice to join him. He lays there at night, more often than he likes to admit, and asks himself the big “what if” questions. “What if I didn’t go against them.” “what if I let loose.” “What if I’m being too strict.” Never, ever will you hear him say these things. Pride, ya know? But you don’t need to hear those things because you do know. You see it in his tired eyes and slumped posture once no one is looking. You see it in the way he eats and his coffee outweighs his nutrients. You can tell every time his anger rises too quickly, although he deems himself the rational one. You know Lucifer, even if he thinks you don’t, and you feel bad for him. You feel bad that you’re the only one who seems to see how truly tired he is. How much of a shoulder to lean on he actually needs, and although you’d never dare just go up and offer it, because once again his pride still wouldn’t let him admit that, you try to acknowledge his needs in little ways. 

Coffee was ready this morning, Lucifer noted, but he brushed it off because maybe it was just Beel’s late night or early morning snack; maybe he wanted some? “The pot is full…” and he took advantage of that. Whoever made the coffee, and someone must have because it was still hot and tasted fresh, he thanks them. You smiled to yourself when you saw him with a cup, heading back to his office, “morning, Lucifer. Enjoy your coffee.” He had looked at you, blinking a few times and probably wondering why you’re so cheery this early in the morning, “Good morning, (Y/N).” but that was it. Well, not really. Next thing he knew was that lunch was already done when he arrived in the kitchen to start it. “(Y/N)? What are you doing? It’s my turn.” but you only shrugged, wiping your hands before grabbing the plates and heading out to the dining room to place them, “yeah but I was already down here and didn’t have anything to do. Don’t mind me, just come sit and eat.” He didn’t say it, and he didn’t need to, but he was really appreciative and he even managed a small smile when you passed. 

Those were isolated incidences, though, or so he thought. But now, little by little, he realized more and more things that he had never noticed before. The rooms were clean, or at least the ones he was in, the fridge and pantry was always stocked, even with Beel around, and he rarely ever got interrupted. Of course, he still heard the occasional arguments between his brothers; Mammon stealing the remote right as Belphegor was about to put sleepy time music on… seriously, why can’t the guy do that on his D.D.D.? Or Satan screaming at Leviathan who accidently tripped over Satan’s books in his room while lending him his headphones. Shocker on that one, right? Or maybe it was a disagreement between you and Beelzebub about which spices should be used in the Spicy Hellburned Chili for this wednesday night’s dinner. But all of these were minor and nothing compared to what he usually deals with. At first he was super suspicious though and would constantly check on everyone, but by day three he thought that maybe, just maybe, he had gotten lucky and he finally does have some peace. Spoiler alert: he did. He got way more done than he ever did. 

That, however, does bother him. He doesn’t know who or why they would do it and as much as he enjoys it, he would also like to have a discussion with them. His birthday isn’t for another couple of months so he knows that that wouldn’t be the reason he’s being treated so nicely, so what else could it be? Mammon would only do this for money and even then he’s pretty upfront about it and begs for it Lucifer immediately after he had done the task, so he’s off the table. Satan and Belphegor would rather die than help him, Asmodeus is too obsessed with himself and Leviathan is holed up more than he shows any signs of life. So, the only other two people are you and Beelzebub, both of which are very nice people and debatably the only ones who truly care about him. The last part is a joke, but you two show it more than others. “Was it you that has been helping me?” But Beelzebub just looked confused, half a bag of chips down his throat as Lucifer asked and something told Lucifer that he wasn’t it. “No, but did you need help?” With a shake of his head and a sigh, Lucifer turned on his heel to go and find you, but not before doing something else. 

“Come to my room, (Y/N).” he had said and for a moment you thought your whole plan backfired and his brothers annoyed him again, or maybe you had forgotten something in it? Were you not careful enough in your attempts to make his life easier? You haven’t even gotten to the best part! “I’m here…” you practically sprinted down the hall while trying to find an excuse for anything he could potentially say, but when he opened the door to let you in, all of those left your mind, “what’s up?” He didn’t look… mean, per se, but he looked stern like always and it kind of freaked you out. Did you do something wrong? Was the coffee not strong enough? You used the wrong spices for the chili, didn’t you? “Do you see this?” Lucifer’s finger pointed out and you followed it, noting it was pointing at his desk, “uhm…. Yes? Am I not supposed to see it? Wasn’t it always here?” “Yes, it has always been there. However, something is different.” You turned to look at him and then back at his desk. Was it new? Did he paint it? Is there a trophy on there you should be aware of? “Lucifer I can’t see--”

When you turned back around, he was holding out two glasses of champagne and a smile was, for once in what felt like forever, gracing his lips. “Exactly. It’s empty. You can actually see it.” he hands you one of the glasses, his smile never faltering, “I had an unusual amount of time this week thanks to a few… coincidences that just so happen to align with my schedule and make my life easier. I know it was you. You made my coffee that morning, and were kind enough to leave the pot. You took up my lunch shift on purpose, not because you were down there. You also took my dinner shift this week, and cleaned the house. I’m assuming you’re also responsible for keeping my brothers in line which is a miracle within itself.” He chuckled softly, shaking his head before reaching out his other hand and tilting your chin up, “I don’t know how or why… and frankly, I don’t want to know. It would ruin the fun of it, but I do want to thank you for it and seeing as I have nothing else to do tonight, or tomorrow, you’ll be staying with me.” You blinked a few times. You could feel your heartbeat speed up and for a moment you wondered what you had actually done, but also, how bad could this go? You had one more thing to give him, anyway. “Works for me. I have one more thing to give you, anyway.” You clink your glass with his before taking a sip, watching him raise an eyebrow while your own eyebrows rose up and your lips turned into a smirk. “Undress for me, Lucifer.” 

You hope he will agree to a massage. Lord knows he needs his shoulders loosened up. 

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Notting Hill AU Snippet #6

When they finally leave her brother's house, Lena is simultaneously exhausted and wired. Exhausted, because even a good time takes it out of her, and yet wired because the world's most famous woman is right next to her on the sidewalk, nudging shoulders as they walk down the block. It makes for a heady combination, which is the only reason at all that Lena finds herself rising to Kara's challenge of climbing over a wrought iron gate to the garden beyond.

"For the record," she huffs, struggling to find purchase with her bare hands, "I am not dressed for this-- whoopsie daisy!"

What the FUCK did she just say?

"What did you just say?" Kara echoes, her smile audible in the dark.

"Nothing," Lena brushes off as she resets. "Just, trying to get a decent foothold-- whoops!"

She slips again, and this time Kara laughs, the sound loud and musical. "You said whoopsy daisy. Like some mid-century housewife--"

"You keep distracting me!"

"From what? Another whoopsy daisy?" Kara nudges her aside, dusting off her hands. "Step aside, miss priss. Watch the professional work."

Lena obeys, turning her head aside to avoid her nose brushing a very toned, very firm ass as Kara shimmied her way up and over the fence in one try. Lena's mouth goes dry at the smoothness of the motion, and the way Kara's arms strain against the slim cut of her blouse.

Kara may be an actress, but she's clearly no waif.

The woman in question grins at her from the other side of the fence. "You know, you say you're not intimidated by a silly rule, but I think there may be some subliminal hangups..."

Lena scowls. "Oh, like hell."

Boots scrabbling against the fenceposts, Lena hauls herself up through sheer willpower alone. By the time she lands on her feet on the far side, Kara has disappeared further into the garden. With a quiet curse, Lena brushes herself off and straightens her hair before trotting after her.

"Wow..." Kara breathes when Lena catches up. "It's like it's own little world in here."

Lena watches her observe the garden, noting the way her eyes sparkle in the faint light trickling in around them. The field they stand in is lush beneath their feet, and even in the dark the scent of fragrant flowers fills the air.

Kara makes her way over to a bench, and reads the inscription on. "To June, who sat on this bench every day. From John, who always sat beside her."

Lena smiles at the sentiment, and the way Kara's voice softens as she reads it. It's beautiful, and she says so.

"I guess some love does last forever," Kara remarks, half to herself. She sits on the bench, smoothing her hands across the wood as if to ask its owners for the privilege. After a moment, she notices Lena watching. "Come sit with me."

Lena does, and they spend the night with Kara's head on Lena's shoulders, looking at the stars.

---

The next night, they go on a proper date. Or at least they try to, except Lena can't find her glasses and Querl is absolutely no help in finding them, so she watches the entire movie through the prescription lenses of her snorkel mask.

Luckily, it only makes Kara laugh, even if it earns Lena a couple handfuls of popcorn in her hair from being pelted. Afterwards, Lena takes them to her favorite sushi restaurant, and makes a show of ordering in Japanese.

"Arigato gozaimasu," she finishes, handing over her menu. When she looks across the table at Kara, she's pleased to see she's impressed.

"Now how did you learn Japanese if you've never traveled?"

Lena shrugs. "I may have dated a few travelers in my day."

"Uh huh," Kara deadpans. "What else did they show you?"

Looking up, Lena lets a lascivious grin curl her lips. "Maybe I'll get to show you."

Lena revels in the fluster that marks Kara's acceptance of the sake that comes a moment later, and marks the red blush that heats under tan skin. The conversation shifts away, but continues, and Lena lets it, content with the impact she's made.

As the meal winds down, they linger a little bit, trading information they haven't shared yet.

"What's the one place you want to go, above all others?" Kara asks.

Lena sighs. "I don't know." Kara looks at her suspiciously, and Lena lifts her hands. "I could give you the same tripe I give any customer in my shop, but the truth is, the idea of travel has never really been the destination for me."

Kara looks surprised at that. "Oh?"

With a hum, Lena nods. "For me, it's always been more about who you're traveling with. And for a while there, I thought I had someone, but she never wanted to go anywhere. In the end, it turned out she just never wanted to go anywhere with me."

It still aches. Her split with Veronica had been so sudden, it split Lena's entire entire world apart. It had been bad enough to learn that Veronica had well and truly checked out of their relationship long before she ended it. To hear that Veronica had never really been in it in the first place had--

"Then she's an idiot," Kara says, bringing Lena out of her thoughts back to the present day. She reaches across the table, and links their fingers together. "And it's her loss."

Lena forces a grin. "Funnily, that's exactly what my therapist said..."

A round of raucous table from the table behind them drowns out whatever else she might have said. Glancing over, Lena registers a group of young to middle aged men in suits-- likely stock brokers, in this part of town. They were rowdy even when they came in, but now--a round of sake later-- they're downright obnoxious.

The next one who speaks doesn't bother to mind his words or his volume.

"Give me Kara Danvers any day."

Kara meets Lena's eye across the table, rolling her eyes as his buddy chimed in.

"Didn't like her last film. Fell asleep as soon as the lights went down."

"Don't care what the films like-- if it's got Kara Danvers, it's fine by me. I mean, have you seen that ass."

Lena's jaw clenches. Kara's hand slips away, as does her gaze.

"Oh hell yeah," another one continues. "And you know she's just begging for it. Never wonder how she got that gig in Dirty Dancing, did you?"

"It sure as hell wasn't because she could dance!" They all laughed. Lena shifts in her seat, blood boiling, but Kara catches her eye, shaking her head no. Too late.

Lena rises to her feet and marches to the offending table. "Excuse me, boys, but every single person in this restaurant can hear you. And while I'm perfectly happy to watch you reveal yourselves to be the absolute cunts you are, I take exception to the fact that you're talking about a very real person in the process."

The table stares at her, shocked.

"You." Lena glares at the worst offender. "Does your mother know you debase women with the same mouth you use to kiss her on the cheek? How about your girlfriend, though I find it incredibly doubtful you've managed to shag anyone with that kind of charm."

Kara tugs on Lena's arm, trying to pull her away. Lena almost goes, but turns back at the last minute, nearly colliding with the server hurrying in with the table's paid check.

"Actually, I'm not finished. Until each and every one of you learns a woman's favorite song, color and five year goal, you sure as hell don't get to wonder what flavor condom she prefers, you got it?" Her gaze lands on the platinum credit card in the ticket tray, and smirks in triumph when she sees it's a corporate card.

"And I'm sure that Lord Holdings will be thrilled to hear all about how their employees behave while they're out eating on the company's dime."

At that, the man she'd skewered a moment ago finally recovers enough to scoff. "Hah, and what do you care? What are you, her sister?"

"Actually," Kara speaks up, coming to stand beside Lena. "She's my date."

Dead silence follows as every single one of them registers who exactly is speaking. Finally, one of them tries to sputter an apology, but Kara waves it off.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it. I'm sure it was just joking between friends, just as I'm sure your dicks are the size of peanuts. Enjoy your dinner!"

With that, Kara turns away, snagging Lena's hand as she does. Allowing herself to be towed away, Lena flips them the vee and grins, then joins Kara in trotting out of the restaurant.

As soon as they hit the street they both start to cackle, drawing stares as they laugh maniacally. Lena's heart is pounding, as is Kara's, judging from the way she holds a hand against her chest.

"Oh, my god... I-- I've never done that before!" Kara laughs. "I don't know what came over me!"

"What, standing up for yourself? You're a natural!"

"No, you were amazing! I dunno, I just heard you and I saw you facing off against them all alone, and I just-- did that! I just did that!"

Kara laughs again, and Lena tugs her closer by the hips. Pressing a kiss to her lips, Lena smiles at her. "It looks good on you," she purrs. "You should do it more often."

Kara smiles back at her, rubbing her thumbs on the ridges of Lena's hips. "Maybe I will."

Lena could kiss her again, but Kara steps back, tugging them back in the direction of the hotel. "Walk me home?"

The walk back is spent in comfortable silence, but as they near the marquee of the Ritz, Lena's heart starts to pound for a whole new reason when Kara turns to her. "Wanna come up?"

Lena nods. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Kara gives a small of relief, and smiles. "Good. Give me five minutes."

The next five minutes are the longest of Lena's life. But she waits them, hands jammed into her pockets, and counts every second before finally allowing herself to head up to the room.

When she knocks, she isn't entirely sure what to expect. A robe, maybe, left open to reveal tantalzyingly firm abs. Matching lingerie, even, to match Kara's eyes.

What she doesn't expect is Kara fully clothed with panic in her eyes.

"You've got to go," Kara whispers.

Lena freezes, but keeps her smile in place. "Why?" she whispers back.

"Because my boyfriend, who was in America, is in fact here in the next room."

previous / next

[weepinglevi]

whos your favorite fic writer/moots and why? Got any recommendations?

first off: pls know that if you're not listed here it doesn't mean i don't like you or your work, it simply means that i have a pea sized brain. love all of u. keep on writing. i really don't want anyone to feel bad (ask nia, i've been crying to her about it).

secondly: i'm not referring to them as my "favourite" cos i can't pick favourites, never really could. maybe that's why i'm simping for so many aot men at once ahaha.

and last but not least: this is going to be a long post so i'mma do all of us the favour and put it under the cut. i feel very soft today and have been listening to the titanic soundtrack for the better half of my day. bear with me, i'mma shower you with love. go check them out!

CHECK THE DNI TAGS ON THESE BLOGS BEFORE READING OR FOLLOWING, PLEASE!

this is in no particular order.

@kojinnie: my queen of angst. the other half of the princess-duo (i came to the conclusion that we're both princesses, we deserve to hang around in pretty dresses and have the time of our lives). especially dream me home still haunts my dreams. i love how you captured the pain and fear both of them feel. and i kind of view it as the start of our friendship, what with both of us writing about the mission to retake wall maria and you jumping into my dms after the fact. love you, kojin, and i only wish you the best.

@starrynightlys: shield-maiden claire. beautiful, talented, funny claire. i love you and i am so happy to have found you here, i really am. i know i've told you this multiple times but whenever i see you on my dash - either fighting off the floch anon or you posting memes, there's a big fat grin on my face. apart from your absolutely mesmerising presence, there's also one work in particular i always come back to: the beginning of forever. you are my source of happy levi content. when the world turns dark and i want him to be happy, i turn to this fic and to your blog in general. love you and i am dreaming of us listening to some good music in a park sometime soon!

@snkslush: luv! my first tumblr wife! this alone has gotten you a very special place in my heart ahah. i love the energy you have - whenever i see you on my dash i feel happy and it's because of how you interact with others. it's like i've known you since forever because of how easily i can talk to you. and reading your filthy thoughts about connie has set off my connie brainrot more than once ahaha.

your headcanons on how the aot boys react when their s/o tells them they want to be railed and also the follow-up still has me drooling. fucking love them. so accurate as well and i'm a slut for everyone ahha

@aotwrites: my lil sunflower. lil sis, you have no idea how happy you truly make me. i love the lil talks we have and i still remember the message you sent me when you were half-asleep, i always giggle when reading it ahah. just know that if you ever want, you can come up to me and ask me weird stuff lil sisters normally ask their bigger sisters. not that i have any good advice to give, but i have a lot of reaction pics to send!

it's very hard for me to pick out one of your fics to recommend - like i said, i have a problem with choosing favourites. but if i absolutely had to, it'd be all of the stars. cried my way through it. will cry again when i reread it. i cry a lot in general.

@arumiee: mars, i know we haven't talked much but our conversation about nurse!armin yesterday is still running around in my head. i can't wait to read about either armin or eren in scrubs, istg. you're so kind and happy-go-lucky, i usually feel nervous when tagging someone on a post but with you yesterday? no problem at all. you give me a sense of safety ahaha (pls don't think i'm weird, i'm actually not. or, yes, i am but in a good way). your purify me had me wanting to take a bath in holy water after reading it. preferably a bath with eren. i guess we're both headed to hell ahaha

@odmlevis: rizrizrizrizriz. i'm laughing right now because all i think of is our last conversation and it's hard to gather my thoughts whenever my mind goes to eren and reiner. or eren and jean - or jean and connie ahaha. i'll have all of them with me in the middle, pretty please.

but back to topic: your the most hurtful things they'd say to you still has my heart breaking. absolutely broken into pieces. because somehow you managed to put all of my worst fears into it. i don't know why i reread it on the regular (i do know, i'm a sucker for pain). other than that, i'm always so happy when i read your messages and when i see you out and about, making others happy with your lil "someone told me to tell you something"-thing you do so often. you're so precious, lemme smooch you.

@onyxoverride: onyx istg your blog is the place i go to if i am down bad. down bad bad. i know we rarely talk and me saying your blog is the place i take my horniness to might come off as weird but it's the truth. i even have problems with picking a favourite because goddamn they're all so good?? what is your secret? if there's a reason for me to go to hell (other than mars' purify me) it's gonna be because of ocean spit. do i have to elaborate further? eren's titan form is fucking hot and thank you for this delicious meal ahha. i am getting all flustered rn just by looking at the lil pic on top of your fic. i will see myself out now. love u onyx you are cool as hell (and i'm nervous as fuck - you're sitting at the cool kids' table in my head ahah - that's why i am so silent around u)

@1252291: and now to you. connie 2 my sasha. erwin smiths ball whore. twIN FLAME, LIGHT OF MY LIFE. buckle up cos we're in for a wild ride. i was debating whether or not to post every of your fics here, because i love all of them so much. i came up with a better idea tho: here's your masterlist. i will talk about two of your works in particular later on, but first you're gonna have to endure me violently showering you with kisses and love.

i haven't told you this before (shocking, i know) but ever since we started talking, i feel like i have a real-life friend again. i haven't had friends in a while and i am so fucking thankful to have you. i really am. i even told my therapist about you because he asked why i am so happy all of a sudden? newsflash: it's because of you.

usually, it was insomnia keeping me up at night but now it's because i am talking to you. and you have no idea how fucking great it feels to wake up in the morning and feel tired; not because some shitty thoughts kept me awake but because i was talking to a friend. i will forever love you for this. you've been there when i was at one of the darkest and loneliest stages of my life and lit up the fucking room with your personality and humour. thank you for being my light. for giving me the same feeling i have when rewatching lord of the rings. for being you. i will stop now but you know i will keep on loving you on main until i take my last breath.

now to your works. falling in love and stay forever. i think you already knew that these are the ones i hold dearest. i still think about felix and rue. i love felix and rue and my heart hurts when thinking of them. your way with words has characters coming to life and touching your heart in a way i've never experienced before. like i said, it felt like those are my friend who died. my fingers running through levi's hair, trying to make his endless pain go away. i am crying again. thank you for creating this. if you ever find the books you've written (or write a new one) i will buy a copy. or ten. have to have some to give away so i can promote your work.

i love u connie 2 my sasha. i really do.

[3pirouette]

Fic: Say You’ll Remember Me (1/1)

Title: Say You’ll Remember Me By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette Disclaimer: They're not mine. Word Count: 3599 Distribution: AO3

Story Summary: The first time he heard it, it triggered a flash back just as bad as any he’d ever had before. Later, Natasha told him he stood stock still, a sweat broke out on his forehead and his left hand shook just enough that she was concerned there was something medically wrong with him.

Chapter A/N: I’m… sorry? I have ALWAYS thought this was a Steggy song, and this just seems… angsty. But… I needed it. About/inspired by Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams. Wildest Dreams came out in 2014, so this is set just before the events of Winter Soldier, in 1945 just prior to the train incident, and post End Game.

If you know of any other Wildest Dreams inspired fics, please tell me where I can find them. I NEED THEM.

I know that I am VERY vague in how I reference this song in the story. I don’t want the story to be about the song, but rather Steve’s reaction to it. Also, I wrote some HORRENDOUS song-fic back in the day- lyrics before sections, italicized in sections… crazy references throughout the story text. And not that there’s ANYTHING wrong with that- but I’ve been there, I’ve done that, and I ain’t going back. So… this isn’t song fic- it’s just inspired by. However, if you haven’t ever heard Wildest Dreams, 1. How did you manage that? And 2. PLEASE go listen to it before/while reading because it will change this for you.

~*~

The first time he heard it, it triggered a flash back just as bad as any he’d ever had before. Later, Natasha told him he stood stock still, a sweat broke out on his forehead and his left hand shook just enough that she was concerned there was something medically wrong with him. He stood there with his eyes boring a hole into nothing for so long that she worried other people were going to start noticing.

He remembered Natasha’s voice pulling him out of it, the way she drifted into his consciousness, the way the vision faded from his reality to the world around him, the way her face stayed calm but her eyes were concerned.

“Where did you go?” she asked gently, just as acquainted as any of them with the traumatic effects of the lives they lived.

Steve had to clear his throat before he could speak, the memory left him choked up and just a little heartbroken. “A long time ago,” he managed to get out, low and hoarse.

“Want to talk about it?” Natasha asked, the mask of the ever-adaptable spy slipping, revealing the friend beneath.

He shook his head, squared his shoulders, and started moving forward on the street again, the sound of music coming from the store next to them fading away, the song now different and far less triggering. “No.”

“Offer stands,” she tossed out flippantly, the mask sliding back into place as she kept pace beside him.

He managed to make it through the day, and their mission, without opening the pandora’s box of emotion that one silly song had caused, but that night he dreamed, vividly.

~*~

It was rare, to get leave. Even more rare to get leave at the same time.

Bucky stole a jeep, and the Commandos piled in, heading to the only pub in driving distance that was remotely open after a bombing raid a few weeks ago.

He didn’t know she had leave, she hadn’t mentioned it, but Peggy knew he had leave, and it wasn’t a mistake that she just managed to be at the pub, waiting at the bar, manicured nails tapping the wood nervously as he walked through the door.

He knew it wasn’t a mistake when Bucky pushed him towards her, the guys laughing and raising their eyebrows good naturedly, Peggy smiling at them like she was in on it all along.

They had been, and she had been, and Steve thought it was the best surprise he could have asked for. “You look beautiful,” he started, still a little off balance. “Nice to get out of the uniform.”

Her smile lit up the room. “Well, it was the nicest dress I had for the occasion.” She reached out, letting her hand fall over his shirt. “You clean up nice, as well.”

Steve laughed nervously. “Best I could manage. Most of the clothes I have are uniforms or from before…”

“Probably a tight fit,” she joked, letting her hand ghost over the arm of his shirt. “Though this fits well.”

“Bucky’s.” He looked past her shoulder at the guys who were looking back at them. Dum Dum raised his glass and his eyebrows suggestively, and he shook his head at them, looking back at Peggy. “Why didn’t you tell me you had leave?”

She shrugged, her curls bouncing over her shoulder. “Quite frankly, I thought Phillips would pull it any minute, right up until I left.” She turned and took a long sip of her wine. “I’m surprised he let any of us go, really.”

He was entranced by her, seeing her away from the base, seeing her seem so much more relaxed, so much happier, gave him a sense of purpose. They’d stolen kisses behind tents and held hands when they thought no one could see them in the dark, but they were still dancing around one another in a way that was both frustrating and enticing. This seemed like the first real chance they had to be themselves, to be more than Captain and Agent, and solidify the stolen moments as something much more meaningful. It was, very nearly, a real date. “Maybe… maybe we should get out of here.”

She didn’t need convincing. “Alright.”

Steve knew he’d made the right choice as the sounds of catcalls and whistles came from the Commando’s table in the back. Outside, where the air was just a little fresher and a little cooler, and he felt safe twining his hand in hers away from prying eyes that would gossip the next day.

They walked slowly up the little road, not knowing exactly where they were or where they were going, they managed to come across a small bridge on the edge of a park, just the barest hint of water trickling over the rocks beneath it as the sun started to sink in the sky, bathing them in a bright golden light.

She pulled him to a stop, looking out over the edge of the bridge. “Seems untouched, don’t you think?”

He stopped, watching her come alive in the lushness of the space. She seemed so happy to be away from mud and ranks and tents, that it almost physically hurt to know he’d have to bring her back. He took in the little park, the first hints of spring starting to bloom in the grass and trees surrounding what he was sure would be a lovely little creek once the spring rain started. “Beautiful.” He smirked, “But not quite as lovely as you are.”

Peggy rolled her eyes, unable to take the compliment. “Cheeky.”

He didn’t let her spoil it, though. “I wish I could draw you, just like this.” He looked her over, surrounded by the bright greens of the new spring, her dress and hair bouncing in the light breeze, her red lips standing out and begging to be kissed, the light in her eyes seemingly untouched by the war. His heart thudded in his chest with how beautiful she looked, how bright and vibrant. “I want to remember you like this forever.”

His words surprised her, and her smile softened. “You’ll remember me. That photographic mind of yours won’t let you forget, I’m sure, and then one day you can paint me, just like this, and they’ll hang it in the Louvre.”

He chuckled, taking a moment to look over every inch of her, hoping it would really commit to his memory like she seemed to think. “If they ever hang anything of mine in the Louvre, it’ll be because I was Captain America, not because it’s any great work of art.” He leaned on his elbows on the rail next to her, changing the topic quickly before she could form a rebuttal. “Rare to find anyplace out here that looks like this,” he mused quietly.

She wound her arm around his, leaning her head on his shoulder as she gazed out at the slow sunset. “It will take years for some places to recover… decades, even.”

Steve nodded, the feeling of her warmth against him comforting. “People are resilient. We’ve seen that already.” He reached over, letting his hand cover hers, gently moving the pads of his fingers over her bright red nails for long, quiet moments. “After the war—”

“After the war,” she sighed, cutting him off. Peggy leaned away, turning and taking his hand in hers. “There will be an ‘after the war,’ Steve.”

“I know,” he nodded, a soft smile on his lips, though her change in demeanor from soft and happy to serious and concerned did catch him off guard.

She almost laughed, huffing a bit then squaring her shoulders just like she did when she had to tell Phillips something he didn’t want to hear. “No one’s ever accused me of being overly sentimental,” she started, fighting to keep her eyes on him.

Steve just smiled, giving her hand a soft squeeze. “I think I’ve come to appreciate your… Britishness.”

She did laugh at that, and he watched just a little of the anxiety fall from her shoulders. “What I’m trying to say, what I want to say…” Peggy laughed again, a bright burst of nervousness. She turned away, mumbling to herself, “Good lord, why is this so difficult?”

Steve gave just the barest tug to her hand, bringing her back to him, eyebrows knit in confusion. “Just say it, Peg.”

She took a deep breath, and it all tumbled out. “I haven’t seen futures with people before. I haven’t wanted to… or, or needed to. Even… even with Fred it was just… I just expected it was what I was supposed to do. And then with this war, it was harder and harder to see past what tomorrow might bring. But Steve…” Peggy smiled, like she finally knew exactly what she needed to say. “Steve, I see a future with you. I see tomorrow, and the day after, and next month, and next year. I want…” She took a deep, steadying breath. “I want there to be an ‘after the war’ with you, even though I know I don’t show it much. Even though I know I can be hard to read sometimes. Even though I don’t write you long love letters when you’re away and I don’t spritz my perfume on your pillow for when you get back. I know I don’t always show it, but I want that. I want an ‘after the war’ with you.”

He knew he was grinning ear to ear. He couldn’t help it. “I want that, too, Peg.”

Peggy took a deep breath, smiling. “Good. Good. Yes.” Though she fought to keep it inside, her relief showed in how her eyes sparkled. “Glad we’re on the same page.”

Steve looked down at their hands, then back up to her. “I want to grow old with you, Peg, if you’ll have me.”

The sun was setting, shading her pink and purple, more like a dream now than anything. She squeezed his hand tight. “Yes, I think that’s quite a good idea.”

He kissed her, soft and gentle at first, but they quickly found themselves carried away and breathless, with her pressed up against the rough rock of the bridge.

Steve pulled away, her red lipstick staining his mouth, branding him as he tried to catch his breath. “Sorry, I…”

“No,” she whispered, equally as breathless. Stolen moments always seemed to end like this, and she was having none of it tonight. “No, don’t be. In fact, I’ve rented a room not far from the bar.”

“Peg…” He still hadn’t caught his breath, one hand still caressing over her ass as the other untangled itself from her skirt. He wasn’t sure if he was declining her offer, or simply asking her to rethink it. So much of their restraint had been to keep her reputation safe, to protect what little credibility she had with some generals who felt she shouldn’t be where she was in the SSR. It was a reaction to say they needed to stop, to pause, to protect her.  

“I’m not waiting until after the war to love you,” she retorted, taking his chin in her hands. “Not when I have you right here, right now.”

He kissed her again as the sun set behind them. “You’re right,” he whispered against her lips, taking her hand tight and pulling his handkerchief out to wipe the lipstick from his face. “Which way?”

~*~

When he woke up that next morning with the feeling of her lips still on his and her skin beneath his fingers, Steve hoped to never hear that song again.

It was popular, though, and it felt like everywhere he went he heard the lilting soprano: in grocery stores and walking on the street and on the radio. Most of the time when he heard it he was in public, and had no choice but to grit his teeth as the lyrics cut him to the quick, his mind supplying an image like a movie that looped over in slow motion, that distracted him and slowed his body down and made his heart beat quicker.

By somewhere around the twentieth time he heard it, he sat down and found the lyrics online and read them word by word, ignoring how his eyes welled up and how he felt an emptiness deep in his gut.

At least he knew the enemy now, knew the words that had snuck past his conscious mind and triggered what should have been a happy memory but was now only a signal of lost opportunities… lost time…

Lost love.

~*~

“I do wish you’d stop coming, Steve.”

Her words seemed at odds with the way she cradled his hand in both of hers. He lifted his other hand, setting it on top of hers gently, gripping her hands so, so softly. Sometimes, he was afraid she’d break under his touch she seemed so frail. “What do you mean?”

She laughed, and he saw the spirit that, no matter how her body failed her, was tough as nails. “I’m barely lucid these days.” The laughter was less frivolity and more self-pity, though, and he felt her fingers grasp at his as she kept their gazes locked, serious. “I don’t want you to remember me like this.

“Peggy,” he whispered, his words failing him.

There was no reassuring smile left for him. “I don’t want anyone to remember me like this.”

He looked away, hiding tears that had formed in his eyes. “I can’t just leave you here alone.”

Her whisper was soft and resigned. “I won’t know the difference.”

He left her, hours later, unsure if he should heed her request or hope she forgot it by the next time she showed up. He sat on his bike, trying to force himself to re-center, when a car stopped on the street a few feet away at a red light, windows down, the only song he didn’t want to hear at the moment blaring from its speakers.

He shoved his helmet on, knowing that at the very least, people wouldn’t be able to see his tears through the face shield.

~*~

Weeks later, the song had been replaced by some innocuous pop hit on replay on radio stations, and he started to breathe easier in public when there was ambient music playing. He thought maybe, just maybe, he could hear it and not think of her, of that day in 1945, of her lying in the bed at the nursing home, and be hit like a freight train with pain and loss.

Which is why, when the familiar heartbeat started to play one morning as he was cracking an egg into a frying pan for his breakfast, he was surprised to find the radio in pieces in his hands, the smoke of the burning egg breaking him out of the trance that had taken time, and the radio, from him.

He supposed it was safer if he stuck to his records. At least with those, he knew what kind of memories and melancholy he was in for with each mournful trumpet. He’d never imagined a song could cause physical pain before, but as he cleaned up the burnt egg and pulled the sparking end of the radio’s cord out of the wall socket, he couldn’t doubt that there was something about that song, something about the way this woman sang those words, that broke him just a little bit more each time he heard them.

~*~

He let his hand run over the cloth, just as soft as he remembered, though he didn’t remember the line of neat stitches at the hemline. He hadn’t known, until right this moment, she still had it.

“Steve?” Her voice floated through the hallway and back to him in the bedroom. He looked up just in time to find Peggy peeking around the door frame, smile on her bright red lips. “Find me something suitable to wear for this mystery date?”

A different him, a younger him, would have been embarrassed at being caught going through her dresses even though she’d asked, despite all that they shared now, but he was neither embarrassed nor bashful about it. “Sorry, got caught up.”

Peggy never seemed anxious about his little moments here and there, when a memory or loss hit him and he needed a minute to shake it. She was just as well acquainted with those moments, and those kinds of losses, herself.

Just like so many friends he’d lost, so many people he’d left both by circumstance and by choice too many times over now, everyone he seemed to know had lost something to the ravages of war.

She stopped, slipping into the room quiet as a mouse in her bare feet and robe, her voice calm and gentle. “No matter. I just need to get dressed. A preference?” She moved to him, the violet scent of her powder still hanging around her from just finishing her hair and make up for their dinner out. She took the dress from his hands and smiled fondly. “Oh, I remember this one. And our little… walk… that night.”

She held it up against her and shifted side to side, a vague model of it, as she smiled brightly.

The memory still punched him in the gut, even with her right there in front of him. He knew the singer wouldn’t be born for decades yet, and still he could have sworn he heard that damn song ringing in his ears.

She let the dress fall to her side, reaching out to take his hand. “Something wrong?”

He’d been back for months, and yet he still worried that she didn’t understand. “I remember,” he whispered, looking away. “I remember you on that bridge, smiling at me like we had our whole lives ahead of us.”

She held his hand tight, her voice low and serious, “We do.”

“But we didn’t,” he whispered fiercely, turning back to her. “Not when I was there- in that future or that timeline or whatever it was.” He shook his head and lifted the fabric of the skirt in his free hand, looking at the cloth as if it held the mysteries of the universe. “All I had left was this memory of you, standing on that bridge, with your hair waving in the wind and your bright red lips smiling at me like you didn’t have a care in the world. I had that memory so clear it felt like I could touch it, and it was everything I’d lost.”

She dropped the dress and it fell from his fingers between them as she moved closer, cradling his face in her hands. “I’m right here, right now, Steve.”

He couldn’t stop the heavy weight of his voice. “I’d lost you, and I’d lost my future when I woke up there.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “I lost my ‘after the war,’ because when I woke up there was just one fight after another and the war was never over.”

“It’s over now.” Her voice was thick with her own emotion as her thumb traced his cheek. “And you found your way back to me.”

“Peg,” he didn’t like the way his voice cracked when he said her name, but there was little he could do to stop it.

She pulled him close, kissing him fervently. “You’ll never have to remember me again, Steve.” She nuzzled her cheek close to his, pulling him even closer. “I’m right here. And God himself couldn’t tear me away from you again, do you understand?”

He clutched at her, holding her tight, as he nodded against her neck.

“We’ll stay in tonight, yeah?” She pressed her lips against his neck, and not or the first time he was struck with how thankful he was for this second chance.

~*~

He thought it was fitting that the first time he heard it again was right after her funeral, right after he was done shaking hands and consoling grandchildren and was still half dressed in his suit with no tears left to cry.

He hadn’t been avoiding it, truthfully hadn’t thought about it in years. But as soon as he heard that lilting soprano again, he stopped in his tracks.

This time, he sat and turned the radio louder.

This time, he could remember not only that moment of her on the bridge, telling him she wanted a future with him, but that night in her house, only months after he’d shown up on her doorstep.

He remembered the way she looked when they got married by the Justice of the peace.

The way cuddled next to him on the couch, scowling as soon as the Captain America Adventure Hour came on the radio.

The way she smiled at him when she told him she wasn’t deathly ill, but rather pregnant.

The way she looked with their daughter at her feet and their son on her hip, playing dolls as she talked with Phillips about national security over the phone.

He remembered all of these things and more: ever blinding smile, every tear, every laugh in their time “after the war” together.

He didn’t shake, didn’t freeze up, but rather felt a small, warm feeling in his chest: happiness tinged with just enough loss that the song still felt like an old, unwelcome friend.

He waited until the last, breathless notes were sung and snapped off the radio, done with music for the night.

If her were lucky, he’d see her in his dreams tonight, and that would be no bad thing.

[btsslowburnfic]

Chthonic Love Chapter 5

A Greek Mythology AU featuring Yoongi/Suga as Hades and reader as Persephone

Previous Chapter: Chapter 4

Olympian ruler Namjoon has delivered you, Persephone, as a gift for his brother, lord of Death, Yoongi. You wake up from your first night in the Obsidian Palace ready to explore and maybe get to know more about how you ended up here

_______________________

You slept much later than you had intended, judging by how well-rested you felt. You cursed, wishing there was a way to distinguish time. The sky was always the same. You dressed yourself in the most basic dress that had been placed in your closet, a deep purple dress, but it was still beautiful.

You gently pushed open the door and headed out into the castle. There was no one in the great hall, and no one in the throne room. You didn’t want to bother Yoongi straight away, you decided you would try to catch him as he went out to the Sea.

You turned and went down a passage you hadn’t been down yet. You were surprised to see that there was a door in the middle of this hallway that appeared to lead to the outside. You turned the handle, walked down a few steps, and found yourself in a circle, about 15 meters in diameter. The Underworld sky shone above you, the walls of the castle surrounded you on all sides. It was an empty space full with black gravel covering the ground.

This could use some improvement you thought as you stretched your fingers out, allowing green energy to flow freely. You began by creating lush grass beneath your feet. You waved your hands, creating hedges in a circle configuration with space for a path. You next added some lilies and an archway above the space. You continued to add more bushes and lilies throughout. When you arrived at the middle you created a large purple Chrysanthemum bush.

You smiled, satisfied with the garden so far. You next added some ivy running up the Palace walls.

“Oh my word. That’s stunning!” you heard a voice call out. You turned toward the door and saw Lethe standing there.

“Thank you. I do love creating a new garden from scratch,” you replied, brushing your hands together.

“I can’t remember the last time I saw something green.” Lethe responds, her mouth slightly open in awe. She walked down the steps and into the garden. “This is amazing.”

You smiled proudly.

“I was out looking for you. Is there anything I can get for you today?”

“Is there any way to tell time around here? The sky never changes,” you asked as you look up.

Lethe thinks for a moment. “I can never tell time here, but I know Lord Yoongi uses a special hourglass. Maybe he could teach you how to read it.” she shrugged. “I just do the same thing every day and count the times he leaves. He’s left once. So it’s after morning but not very late in the afternoon.”

“I suppose it really doesn’t matter all that much,” you sighed, sitting down on the ground and hugging your knees to your chest.

“M’lady surely we can bring you a bench or something to sit on out here.”

You looked up at Lethe and gave her a lopsided grin,“I’m not quite the Goddess you expected am I?”

“Oh no, you’re much nicer than any of the Goddesses from the Athenian Palace.” She immediately threw her hands up to her mouth, “Forgive me. Please forget I said that.”

“No, you’re fine. I’m a nature Goddess, not an Olypian. You are all treating me too well here. I don’t live in a palace in the mortal realm so this,“ you gestured to your dress and to the walls around you, “would definitely be seen as an upgrade.”

“I thought all Gods and Goddesses had courts and palaces?” Lethe responded as she ran a hand along one of the hedges.

“My brother keeps a palace and a court. I visit from time to time and have a room there. But, I mostly wander around nature. I sleep in caves. I find quiet coves near the ocean. Hollowed out trees. I think I might have one pair of shoes that I keep in my room at the Spring Court. Really. I am not some fancy lady,” you stood up. “What’s your favorite flower Lethe?”

“Gladiolus.” she said quietly.

You spread out your fingers and then a small bush appeared, it’s pinkish-purple blooms appearing within seconds.

“You might not be a fancy lady, but you are a great one,” Lethe said, her eyes growing wet with tears.

You decided it would be best to give her a moment, “I’m heading to the Library. Can you please let me know the next time Lord Yoongi is leaving for the Sea?”

“Of course,” you heard her say as you began your walk back to the Southern part of the castle.

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

Yoongi walked back from his first reaping of the day. Charon had delivered the letter to Apollo and now all you two could do is wait. He shook his hair out of his face as he entered his office. He was surprised to see the flowers from the previous night were still blooming on his desk. He smiled and moved them over to one side, next to the glass orb you had arrived in.

He found himself feeling lighter than he had in centuries and wondered what he had done last night to feel so well-rested today. He walked over to the bookshelves and scanned them for a moment. Settling on one of his many notebooks he took it out and began writing. Writing music was something he had started to do as a way to break up the monotony of the Underworld. He began playing on the harpsichord, testing the notes he had envisioned during his walk earlier.

Satisfied, he moved on to lyrics. This part was more difficult. He could write music. He could write lyrics. Matching the two up for an actual song was always a series of trial and error. He poked his tongue out and found himself wondering what you were doing today. He scribbled a few lines down and decided to go and see.

He wandered through the Great Hall and saw Penthos. “Penthos, have you seen Lady Persephone today?” he asked, running his fingers through his black hair.

“I haven’t. Lethe left a while ago to see if she needed anything and hasn’t returned yet. Is there anything you need from me today m’Lord?”

“Holly’s food is getting low, please take care of that.” Yoongi put his hands on his hips as he looked around the great hall, appraising it for the first time in years.

“Yes m’lord. Anything else?”

“No,” he responded and went back into the main hallway.

He walked down the hallway and up to the quicksilver door and knocked. He suddenly felt very nervous and wondered what exactly he was going to say to you. To his slight relief and also disappointment there was no response. He continued down the Eastern corridor and was surprised to see the door to the small courtyard open. He practiced in his head Good afternoon Persephone did you sleep well? Did you like the dresses. No. Too weird. Ugh He walked over and was shocked to see a fully in bloom garden there. Well you had definitely been here. He carefully walked down, afraid he would harm even the grass that was freshly created. He hadn’t visited the mortal realm in centuries and other than the flowers last night, he hadn’t seen anything like this in forever. He gently touched one of the white flowers, afraid his touch might cause it to wither and die like the mortals said. To his pleasant surprise, the flower remained. He let out a breath, he wasn’t a monster. He wandered through the rest of the small area admiring the blooms and the pleasant fragrance in the air.

He walked back over to the hallway and closed the door behind him. He heard footsteps approaching as Lethe rounded the corner.

“Lord Yoongi.”

“Good day Lethe. Have you seen Lady Persephone?”

“Yes, I just left her in the library. Shall I go fetch her?” Lethe asked, beginning to turn around.

“No, no. Thank you.” he started walking over that way.

He pushed open the black glass doors to the library, his footsteps echoed off the stone walls. Much like the Quicksilver room and the Throne room, the shelves and benches in here were carved into the very Obsidian with which they were made.

Yoongi walked over and saw you gently levitating some books on the second floor, dusting them off with a breeze, and sending dust out the window. The dress Arachne had made fit you perfectly, he admired from the library entrance.

You turned and looked down at him, “Just doing some Spring cleaning.” you grinned. “Get it? Because I’m Spring,” you laughed at your own terrible pun.

For a minute he just stood there looking confused, and then a small gummy smile crept across his face. And then he started to laugh as well

.

“I know, I know, I am hilarious.” you put that stack of books back and summoned another one. Satisfied with that finished row you turned towards Yoongi. “How are you today?”

“Surprisingly refreshed.” he responded and walked up a few steps so he was on the same level as you. He walked over to the open window. “Did you sleep well?” he asks, fidgeting with his black shirt sleeve.

“I did. Thank you for the clothes. I’d love to give the seamstress my compliments. The material is so soft and well made.”

“I’ll let her know,” Yoogi smirked as he turned back towards the window. Making eye contact was always difficult for him.

“I wouldn’t mind doing so myself.” you responded, walking closer.

Yoongi clicked his tongue, “Maybe another time. She’s uh...not quite human and very much a creature of the Underworld. But I’ll let her know.”

You walked over and sat in the window seat next to where he was standing.

He looked over at your face, and even though he’d only known you for around twenty-four hours, he could detect something was wrong; the air of cheerfulness gone from you. And he couldn’t explain why he cared so much that you seemed unhappy. “Is something bothering you Persephone?”

You let out a sigh. “Not really bothering me per say but there are a few things I would like to ask you.”

Yoongi felt his heart rate beginning to pick up. He had lied to himself thinking you were happy here. You were going to demand that he return you immediately. His breathing became more shallow.

You looked over and noticed his eyes were suddenly pinched shut and he wasn't breathing. You reached out and took his hand, shaking it slightly “Hey. Are you ok?”

He looked down at where the two of you were connected and he was suddenly pulled out of his own self-destructive thoughts. He pulled his hand away gently, “Of course. What did you want to ask me?”

“Ok, first: how do you tell time down here?” you ask exasperated.

Yoongi laughed, suddenly feeling like an idiot for his almost meltdown a few seconds ago,

“That’s what you wanted to ask me? The most important thing?” he turned and smiled at you.

“Yes. It’s the most important thing ever. Ever. I can deal with being kidnapped but I really just need to know the time of day,” you say dramatically. “Seriously though. It’s very disorienting.

You probably don’t even notice it because you’ve lived here for so long, but not having morning, midday, and night is really confusing.”

He ran a hand along his jaw, “I suppose that’s true. I just go down to the shore three times a day. If there are even 24 hours in a day here,” he seemed to think this over thoughtfully.

“So you don’t really know either?” you smirked.

Yoongi pressed his lips together in a way that looked almost like a duck making you giggle.

“Alright. So time doesn’t matter here in the Underworld. Got it.” you throw up your hand, holding up two fingers, “Next question: Why did Namjoon bring me here specifically?”

“Ah, a real concern.” Yoongi stated quietly.

“More of a question than a concern really. I’d much rather be with you than anywhere with Namjoon,” you stated as though it was the most obvious thing ever.

You’d be the first Yoongi thought but he was so surprised and happy at what you said, a blush started to form on his face and he forgot what you had asked him exactly.

“Yoongi, you don’t have to tell me, but if you know I’d really appreciate it,” you said quietly, looking out the window.

“Aish, sorry. It’s um. Embarrassing it all. He uhh….thought I could use some company.” he looked down at his feet. “He thinks I must be lonely down here.” he added quietly.

“Were you?” you asked looking over your shoulder.

His gaze remained at the floor and he shrugged his shoulders. Yes. Gods yes. “I hadn’t really thought about it.” Liar

The two of you stay there for an indeterminate amount of time before you ask, “What are those called?”

“Pardon?” he walked over to the window, leaning over behind you to see what you were gesturing to. “Those are called, those mountains over there, North of the Castle.” he laughed, you could feel his breath on your neck.

You scrunched up your nose and turned to face him, “That is a truly unimaginative name.”

“Add it to the list. You’ve got a cave and a mountain range to name.”

“So much responsibility.” you pretended to whine.

Yoongi smiled at you and made the mistake of looking into your eyes because he suddenly became very aware of how close the two of you were and took a few steps back. He rubbed his hands together. “Well it’s about time to go collect some more dead people.”

“Wow, when you put it like that it sounds much less interesting.” you mused.

“Will you be joining me?” he asked, trying to not sound too eager.

You looked around the library. Your cleaning could wait until later even though you felt slightly compelled to finish what you had started. “I’d love to.” NEXT CHAPTER

[ericsonclan]

Practically Brothers

Summary: Marlon and Louis spend some time helping each other out before having a joke off later that night.

Word Count: 2602

Read on AO3:

“Careful, Lou! Don’t move so much!” Marlon warned as a bit of the vegetable oil spilled onto his pants leg.

“Shit, sorry!” Louis flashed an apologetic grin over at his best friend. “I just got excited I guess. We haven’t done a hairdo day in forever.”

Marlon smiled warmly at Louis’ words. It had been a while since they had done this. For the last couple years Louis and Marlon would get together in Louis’ room and surround themselves in the secret stash of pillows that Louis had (although everyone at Ericson knew about it so his stash wasn’t very secretive at all).

Once they got hidden away in the stash of pillows on his bed they would begin the process of helping each other with their hair. Life had been so hectic lately though that neither of them had had the time or energy for this special time together. With struggling to get enough food for everyone, making sure that the school was safe and dealing with more deadheads than they can count, everyone at the school was exhausted.

Marlon dipped his finger into the vegetable oil once more and began to moisturize Louis’ dreadlocks. Louis sat there quietly for a few moments before he began to whistle. Marlon bopped his head around here and there to the tune. The two of them enjoyed the peaceful moment as Marlon continued to work on Louis’ dreads. After a few seconds Louis stopped humming and his eyes wandered over to the small amount of vegetable oil that stood in an old soda bottle.

“I hope Omar never finds out how much of his vegetable oil we’ve stolen,” Louis’ words made Marlon pause for a moment before resuming. Louis didn’t have to look at his best friend’s face to know that he was smiling.

“Yeah, this will be a secret that we take to the grave,” Marlon held out his hand that wasn’t coated in the oil and Louis shook it firmly.

“We shook on it so now we gotta keep it a secret,” Louis smiled as he sat still.

“I was going to keep it a secret either way. Omar is scary when it comes to food,” Marlon’s words made Louis laugh softly.

“Isn’t that the truth,” Louis looked outside the window and noticed that some of the leaves were beginning to fall. Soon this season would be over and the cold harshness of winter would be upon them. Louis wondered how much stress would weigh on Marlon’s shoulders throughout that season. Marlon never seemed to take on more than he could bear. At least that was the impression that Louis had gotten over the years. Louis snuck a glance back at his friend. He was really thankful to have Marlon as a leader. He won hands down over all the shitty adults that had left them the moment the world went to hell.

“All done,” Marlon spoke up and wiped off the oil on his hands before he took off his letterman jacket. The blond tossed it beside him on his right and shifted his weight. Louis scooted over on his knees and grabbed the knife.

“Alright, dude, stay extremely still or I might accidentally shave off part of your mullet.” Louis smirked.

Marlon frowned over at his friend for a moment before a subtle smirk appeared on his lips. “That would be way too high a price to pay.”

“It would be a travesty,” Louis began to shave the right side of Marlon’s head where some new hair was growing in. He only needed to shave a small portion of it. “Have no fear, I won’t harm this majestic mane,” Louis grinned and continued his task. Once the right side was done he picked up his friend’s jacket and shook the loose hairs off onto the floor before tossing the jacket over on Marlon’s other side. Shuffling over, Louis began the process once again on the left side. The room was quiet except for some quips from Louis here and there. After a few minutes he was done. Louis scooted back and nodded proudly. “Yep, you are still rocking that eighties look!”

“Someone has to,” Marlon smiled and worked to get his jacket back on. He glanced out the window and saw the slant of the sun. “Shit, I need to go talk to Brody about the fishing shack. Could you find Aasim and go over the traps again? It will be easier if you’re there seeing as you’re the one who made them and all,”

“I’ll see if I can. My piano may be calling to me,” Louis got off of his bed and stretched.

“Louis, please. For me,”

Marlon’s tone made Louis pause before nodding. “Okay, I will be with Mr. Stick in the Mud in two shakes of a lamb’s tail!”

Marlon chuckled at Louis’ words then waved goodbye. Soon both of them were off to their respective tasks.

The day went by fairly smoothly. Marlon had been able to figure out a solution with Brody regarding the efficiency of the current fishing spot while Louis had fixed the traps. All it had cost was a headache that Aasim claimed he had gotten from Louis’ talking. Louis insisted this was a false accusation and that Aasim simply didn’t drink enough water that day.

Evening was quickly upon them. After Ruby and Sophie had worked to prep the ingredients with Omar for dinner and once the perfectionist chef himself signed off on the meal, dinner was served. Louis immediately took a spot next to Marlon who was sitting at a table with Ruby, Brody and Rosie. The pitbull casually sat beside Marlon who snuck little treats to her here and there when Ruby wasn’t looking.

The four of them ate the food happily, enjoying the warm, comforting stew that they had eaten for years and would continue to until the walkers got them or - as Sophie had proudly declared - old age did. She always believed that all of them could live until they were old and withered. Dinner continued to be peaceful as people at the different tables chatted and conversed until Marlon let out a huge burp.

“Good Lord,” Ruby waved a hand in front of her face and frowned at Marlon.

“Sorry,” Marlon smiled sheepishly and began to sip his stew when Louis spoke up.

“Yeah, you should be. This is a real burp!” Louis belched loudly, causing Marlon to nearly choke on his stew. The pair laughed loudly while Ruby got up and stormed off with a huff.

“Honestly, you two,” Brody got up and jogged after Ruby. The pair talked quietly for a minute before Brody offered that they could have some tea which brightened up Ruby’s mood immensely.

“Alright, Marlon, it's a joke-off time,” Louis grinned and saw the sparkle of joy in Marlon’s eyes.

“Okay, but you better get ready to lose. You’re the one that's going to get stuck with dish duty,” Marlon smirked over at Louis.

“That’s funny because I could’ve sworn I saw your name on the list for dish duty.” Louis returned the look back at his best friend.

Soon Mitch and Aasim moved to a table nearby Marlon and Louis’ table along with Willy who jumped down onto the spot next to Mitch. All of them were interested in seeing this joke-off. It had become a fairly regular routine with this pair. Marlon and Louis would throw back jokes back and forth and whoever ran out of jokes first or felt that the other one had done better would lose. The loser would then be stuck with an annoying chore.

Louis cleared his throat and decided to start the joke off. “I saw you picking flowers the other day for a girl,” Louis leaned forward and looked at his friend. “I bet Rosie liked them.”

Marlon smiled at that joke before adding in his own. “Hey Lou, the spiders called. They want their baby back,” Marlon smirked when he saw that Louis had understood he was referring to his hair.

“Oh ho ho, well played,” Louis grinned. No one else seemed impressed by these jokes. They were usually bad, corny or downright dumb jokes about Marlon or Louis. Occasionally Rosie or one of the other kids got thrown into the jokes but that was less frequent. Louis pondered his next joke for a while before delivering it with a smirk. “Marlon is so white that sunscreen puts him on,”

Marlon chuckled at that which made Louis laugh as well. “Oh yeah? Well, Louis, I hate to break it to you but the tooth fairy doesn’t take teeth that are lost on account of being a dumbass,”

Louis’ eyes widened at those words and he held his heart in mock sadness. Marlon began to laugh some more at that which in turn made Louis’ laughter grow. “Hey, Marlon, y’know why Rosie has a mattress in the headmaster’s office? It's because you smell so bad even she won’t sleep next to you,”

Marlon felt the zing of that one and immediately had a comeback. “Well the only reason your piano doesn't run away from your stank is because its legs don’t work!”

Louis paused at Marlon’s words, impressed by the reply. The pair was quiet for a second before they burst out laughing. The two of them continued to shoot jokes and zingers back and forth until Marlon held up his hands.

“Alright, alright, I’ll forfeit this round but you’d better watch out for next time,” He smiled competitively at his best friend. Louis returned the look and leaned his elbows on the table.

“We’ll see about that. After all, both of us are-”

“Idiots,” Violet butted into the conversation as she walked by with the twins and Tenn.

“Actually it's pronounced geniuses. We are joke masters.” Louis smiled at the blonde who rolled her eyes as Marlon and Louis high fived.

“Well, you’ll face the daunting task of being under the watchful eye of Omar as you clean dishes tomorrow,” Louis stood up from his spot.

“Oh boy, I can't wait,” Marlon quipped and rose as well.

“You still have one more night of freedom. So how about you join me in the music room?” Louis offered and Marlon nodded warmly.

“Sounds good to me, Lou. I just need to grab something from the headmaster’s office.” Marlon began to walk alongside Louis.

“Alright, then I shall see you soon. If you get lost, just follow the sound of my mesmerizing music,” Louis pulled on the sides of his coat as he strolled forward.

“Will do, but I think Rosie and I will be able to navigate the winding halls of the admin building just fine,” Marlon waved a quick goodbye to Louis before jogging up the stairs. Rosie followed close behind.

Minutes later Marlon had entered the office. He strolled forward and reached out for the map that lay on the table. His eyes wandered over it for a second before he felt Rosie pawing at his leg. “Sorry, girl,” Marlon gave the pitbull some loving pats and headscratches. “We can go hang out with Louis now,” Marlon tucked away the map in his pocket and grabbed the red pencil.

Rosie led the way down the stairs and happily trotted towards the music room where Louis had begun to play his music. Based on the strained notes and the slightly off-centered music, Marlon guessed that the piano was due for a tuning. Louis turned when he heard the door creak open thanks to Rosie’s paws whacking against it.

“Seems you were able to find the music room after all,” Louis smiled playfully at his friend who returned the smile.

“Yeah, it was a good thing I had Rosie with me.” Marlon sat down on one of the chairs and a pile of dust shot up and swarmed his face. He coughed loudly and Louis stopped his playing for a moment.

“You okay? Getting choked up because you lost the joke off?”

Louis’s words made Marlon look over with a competitive expression. “Ha, you wish,” Marlon coughed loudly for another moment before he took a deep breath.

Louis studied his best friend for a moment to make sure he was really okay before he began to play the piano again. His fingers danced around on the keys, creating a beautiful, playful melody that was only partially lost due to the untuned piano.

Marlon listened and smiled softly as he looked at the map. His mind quickly wandered back onto the safety of the school. He wondered if it was wise to start enforcing a tighter safe zone. After a few minutes Marlon decided against it. He wouldn’t make any major changes, at least not tonight. He doubted he’d be able to properly assess such a weighty decision at the end of the day when his energy was low. So instead he enjoyed his friend’s music.

After a little while Louis stopped his playing. “Y’know, maybe you should learn to play the piano,”

Louis’ words made Marlon glance up. “Yeah, well I bet I’d sound pretty shitty compared to you,”

“That's what practice is for. Surprising as it may be, I wasn’t always a piano master. Shocking, I know,”

Louis’ words made Marlon crack a smile. “I think I’ll stick to the guitar, thanks.”

“Well, I’m sure the day you track one down will come soon. With all the wild stuff we’ve found on some of these deadheads, I wouldn’t be surprised if we found one with a guitar,” Louis spun around on his piano bench to look at Marlon.

“That would be the dream. I miss playing guitar,” Marlon tilted his head back with a tired smile. “Well, it's getting late so I should head to bed.”

“Alright,” Louis rose up from his spot to sneak in some final pets for Rosie. He knelt down and whispered conspiratorially to the pitbull. “Make sure he actually gets some sleep, Rosie.”

“Hey, I can hear you,” Marlon looked down at his friends as he placed his hands on his hips.

“Damn, looks like we got caught, Rosie,” Louis’ gaze focused on the pitbull who was panting happily. “Alright, but seriously dude. Don’t push yourself,” Louis’ eyes locked with Marlon’s.

“I won’t,” Marlon smiled reassuringly and was relieved to see that his friend relaxed at those words before standing back up. Marlon continued to look at Louis for a moment before he walked forward and gave him a hug. Louis immediately returned it. The two of them held onto that hug for a moment before Marlon let go. He gave a final smile and wave, wishing Louis goodnight before heading off towards the headmaster’s office.

Marlon slowly walked down the hall, his eyes glancing around at all the graffiti that covered the walls as he walked up the stairs. Today had been a good day. He had been able to give his mind a few moments to get away from all the stress that being the leader brought, but now it was time to focus again.

Marlon glanced back at the music room as the sound of the piano filled the halls once more. He was really glad to have a friend like Louis. No, friend wasn’t the right word. Brother felt more fitting. Even though the world had gone to shit and life could be hell he knew he would always have Louis on his side. With that comforting thought putting Marlon’s heart at ease, he began to climb the stairs again, ready to continue his role as protector of the school.

[dearest-kibble]

Can I get a headcanon of Yandere Bakugou and Mirio?

Ok!! Gosh it has taken me far to long to get this done, General headcanons lets seeeeee I assume you mean separate but oh.,,, they'd be an interesting duo now that i think about it hmmmm,,

Likes to hear how great he is this goes for everyone but, 

He gets a special kick hearing it from you. 

Now Bakugou is the sort of person to jump the gun on may things. He’s capable of strategizing on the spot, leading to him not caring about making what most deem to be “Impulsive decisions.”

This is more unfortunate for you than most other people.

It’s as if when he even gets wind that someone even remotely dangerous really, what was Shouto going to do, beat you to death? He just has to make sure you’re alright. 

It started with looking over you an unnerving amount as red eyes looked you up and down. Looking for a scuff mark or worse, a bruise.

He’d always yell at you for it.

Blame it on the fact that you were always so, so weak.

really, you should just let him take care of you. It’d be easier for everyone involved.

You always refused his offers of “protection” You were in class 1-A of the hero course for a reason thank you very much.

His hands would pop and spark as he growled a little under his breath.

Eventually it would escalate, far to quickly for your taste.

You might could deal with him yelling at you, (he yells at everyone, even Kirishima) you could deal with him staring at you, that just happens sometimes, people stare. And who’s to say he wasn’t just zoning out? Bakugou doesn’t zone out.

So,

You continue to learn and grow at your own rate, paying little attention to Bakugou’s behavior, (really he’s a little strange to everyone) and laughing it off with your friends.

Of course, they notice. 

They notice that Bakugou seems a little extra angry when you refuse his protection. How he cusses just a little more when it’s you who gets hurt in a training exercise.

They start to laugh a little less when you talk about how “Bakugou was staring at my arm again. I mean, I know i had a gash there a while back, but it’s healed now!” and start to wonder just why a hormonal, teenage boy, was staring at your arm rather than anything else.

Eventually he starts to stay near you during training exercises, even when you told him you were fine.

“Like hell you are, are you such a shitty hero that you don’t even notice when you’d need to call for backup?”

“Nah, I can handle myself you know, i’m able to take a few hits!”

“You fucking can’t, if that gash you had in your arm was anything to go by.”

You choose to just ignore him. 

This is the wrong call apparently. 

If him taking you home and locking you in a room was anything to go by.

It seems that he’s made a pretty difficult situation for you, even if he wasn’t prepared for it at all.

You’re stuck in his dorm room, which clearly was not made or decorated to host two people.

It occurs to you that, you didn’t really know how you got here?

He must’ve caught you sleeping. It probably wasn’t that hard, an unfortunate drawback of your quirk. 

Still, you were a hero, and you could get out of this. 

If it wasn’t for your goddamn quirk. 

Incredible power, at the expense of feeling just a tad drained. 

So, here you are sitting in Bakugou’s room.

It’s an odd place, full of cushions and much softer things than you would've expected the guy who wanted to name himself “Lord Explosion Murder” would’ve had.

(And oh shit these were supposed to be general headcanons im so sorry)

He’s standing in his room, preparing some microwave food when you realize that you can’t even move your mouth.

That wasn’t a by product of your quirk. 

Your mouth felt numb, you are unable to do much but wiggle your tongue in a mouth that cannot feel.

You try humming.

“Yeah yeah.” He huffs. “I hear ya. Foods’ done in a bit.” He sounds so nonchalant. So indifferent to the fact that you are sitting on his bed.

“It’s a shit meal tonight, no fire in the dorm. That shit’s dangerous for you.” and not to you? 

It’s stifling the way he spoon feeds you a cup of water that is almost to cold to be any good. You suppose the spoon is necessary given that your mouth won’t move on its own. Still, you glare at him, giving him a good ol’ hero-stares-down-the-villain looks.

He laughs, it’s the big raucous kind that you hear when he’s around Kirishima.

“You’re fuckin adorable when you glare like that.” He wipes at his eyes, “Oh yeah, I’m just shitting my pants over here. If I were a villain, I’d be fucking terrified.” He has to take a few breaths of air before he can speak again. “S’why I gotta protect you.” And it hits you that it wasn’t just Bakugou being weird like with the rest of his classmates. He meant what he said. every word.

It doesn’t matter, you’re a hero. 

You would escape.

You can’t stay numb forever.

(So onto actual headcannons)

Bakugou is a very protective boy, a bit of a bully and will absolutely drug you into submission if he thinks it’s the best way to keep you safe. 

He has control issues (Like so many yanderes i seem to write for.) and wants to feel like he’s control of the entire “you” situation.

He loves and lives to keep you locked up with him, any bruise that you get and little paper cut? You bet your ass thats getting kissed and bandaged by him. 

The kiss only comes after he’s yelled at you for being dumb and that you should’ve known that you would get hurt.

But the kiss after?

It’s soft and sweet in a way Katsuki Bakugou should never have been able to manage.

He also doesn’t cook around you, doesn’t allow you near almost any electrical appliance and he feels like he has to either baby proof his dorm/apartment or regulate you to one room unless you’re with him. You are only safe with him and no one else should really be near you. 

You want to go outside again?

It’ll never happen.

Mirio isn’t completely delusional.

He doesn’t think you two are dating before you takes you to his apartment, by which point,

You two are actually married.

It doesn’t matter if no one was there for the wedding and if he didn’t get you a ring.

He knows.

And there’s no chance in at least a million that you don’t know it too.

The way he calls you “Wifey” and “Doll” and “Honey” all while your wearing the most recent apron? Oh yeah you two are married.

He just doesn’t get why you’re so against the idea of cooking for him or sleeping in the same bed. Sure it’s a little nerve wracking and it’s probably just newly-wed jitters. But it hurts a little when you insist that you take the couch and he takes the bed.

He’d bring up the topic of children multiple times. Adopting or sex? Both work. But you two haven’t been on your honeymoon yet and he can’t wait, cannot fucking wait, to see you out of that akimpy little apron that he bought you.

Not that he doesn’t just love watching you cook in it.

But marriage is about more than just looking.

And he was plenty of tired of just looking.

He likes to try and dance with you, to put his hands on your hips as you cook and clean and do all your spously duties.

He always put on reccords too.

Something about reccords makes everything feel more romantic and he can’t help, but to see you sway to music and think how he’d love to relive your first dance all over again.

“What first dance?”

Well now he has too.

You were vacuuming at the time, you have to turn it off before you even here him talk about your first dance. (It never happened)

You can only nod dumbly and he laughs at your forgetfulness.

“It’s adorable sweetie, here, let me just,” He tugs at your hips, pulling you into your chest as you squeal. You forget how strong he is sometimes.

He turns you around and places one large hand on your shoulder, the other is gentlely clasped in your other.

“It was a waltz, remeber?” It’s the Blue Danube. You’d never heard a classical record before. It must be new.

“Oh, yes.” You sound a little numb. “I remember!” It sounds almost like your protesting when he gives a quizzical look with his bright blue eyes.

He taps the counts on your shoulder, each finger a different beat.

He’s an excellent dancer, you are much less coordinated.

He presses a kiss to your forehead.

“We haven’t taken out honeymoon yet, where would you like to go?” You suppose a honeymoon was never arranged. (Maybe it’s because you were never married.)

“I don’t know, where do you think would be nice?” You smile up at Mirio. His eyes haven’t left your face since you started cleaning.

“I think that Paris would be nice, don’t you? Plenty for us to do!”

“Paris would be lovely Mirio.” And you press a kiss to his jaw.

You can hear his breath hitch as you lean into his chest.

“Honey,” he sounded so happy. “Honey I love you.”

It’s a one in a million chance that Mirio Togata found you amoungst a crowd of civilians. You could stand to make the most of it.

“I love you too Mirio.” You take your hands away from his for only a moment before wrapping them around his broad chest.

“I can’t wait to go to Paris with you.”

You think you mean it.

- -

A/n (oh yeah there's a (very dumb) pun in each of these hcs. what do you take me for, a simpleton? These also got away from me and i legit forgot what i was writing. I don’t know the difference between general has and just “when the yandere kidnaps their darling im so sorry if it’s not what you wanted i try to fix it in Mirio’s section though. Katsuki is just my weakness i am such a simp.) thank you @popsicledrop for putting up with how long it took to get these out! I am so happy i got to write for these bois and maybe one day i will make a poly scenario because now that i have that idea 👀👀 thank you for reading! Have a nice day!

[swiss-cheeze]

Baby I Will Love You Forever || Colson Baker x reader

Hello my lovelies!! Long time no writing! I apologise for that but I’ve been in a slump due to general depression as well as the coronavirus and my school shutting down in a few weeks.

Please remember that requests are open however they will be slow!!

Requested by: @kellysimagines

‘Hahaha i understand sweety really. Basically its just where the reader and mgk have been together for 7 years and she is also famous and when he is live (the video i sended you) i am in in too and when baby ashton is in it comments roll in like why we havent got a baby yet and almost at the end i let him know i am pregnant with a cute suprise you can decide what it is haha’

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T77nbO53r48&t=883s

—————————————————————————

“CASIE?! COLSON IM-” the words to Too Young To Fall In Love floated through the house from the backdoor studio, a smile graced your lips as you heard the faint voices of both Colson and Casie as well as a laugh that wasn't from either of the two, some of Colson's friends must have come over while you were out. With a small huff you brought up the plastic bags from your hands and placed them carefully onto the kitchen counter so as to not break anything before starting to unpack what you had bought; normal groceries along with a little surprise for Colson, you smiled as you held it in your hand but put it to the side and kept unpacking. The sound of pounding footsteps and loud laughter made you smile as you quickly grabbed the surprise and shoved it into an almost empty bag so whoever was coming wouldn’t see it before you continued unpacking the other bag.

“CASIE NO!” Colsons voice floated through the hallways as he dashed out into the kitchen and dining area with a laughing Casie behind him holding out what seemed to be a dirty sock, one of which you could smell from your standing point. You let out a laugh at the sight which made the pair realise you were back.

“(Y/N)!” Casie yelled, the small girl abandoned the smelly sock to dash towards you in her own blue and white socks, sliding along the floor before engulfing your bottom half with a large bear hug. Letting out a laugh you hugged the girl back as you saw Colson pick up the discarded sock in a cartoon way and threw it into an already overflowing hamper, you made a mental note to put that clothing in the wash later. Colson turned around and smiled as he walked over to you and Casie before wrapping his arms around you in a bear hug, Casie moving out of his way so he could hug you properly, Colson brought your head into his collarbone as his nose rested on the top of your head.

“Missed you” Colson whispered softly into your hair, you smiled into the rappers chest as your arms tightened around him and balled his shirt in your hands as Colson did the same to you as he smelled your hair, “you used my shampoo didn't you?” the rapper asked.

Busted.

You laughed.

“Maybe?” you said more as a question as you looked up to Colson from your point in his chest, Colson looked down at you before he snorted softly and unwrapped you from his confindes.

“Of course you did,” Colson said in a joking way.

“Hey! It smells better than mine AND makes my hair softer!” you defended yourself as you crossed your arms over your chest and pouted with the curve of a smile, Casie mirrored you as Colson looked between the two of you before giving an exaggerated sigh, bending his back backwards weirdly with rolled eyes.

“FIIIIIINNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEE,” Colson groaned loudly before standing up normally, “just this once”. The rapper pointed a finger at you with slight eyes as you smiled brightly and nodded.

“This once as in this past seven times then yes!” you giggled as did Colson and Casie, you kissed Colsons cheek before going back to unpacking the groceries, a loud gasp coming from Casie behind you.

“WHAT’D YOU GET” the girl asked excitedly, you smiled and shook your head as you gave the girl a bag of cheetos, Casie grabbed it quickly before giving you a side hug and dashing off again to the studio room. Colson laughed as he shook his own head and wrapped his arms around your waist from behind you.

“You spoil her too much,” the rapper said as he rested his chin on your shoulder.

“Mmhm, says the one whos a multimillionaire and owns a mansion” you retorted, Colson blew out air as if he was in pain with crossed eyebrows as he stood up properly.

“Low blow babe, low blow” Colson said, you laughed softly as you kept filtering around the kitchen as Colson hopped onto the kitchen counter.

“You can go back to your friends you know” you said as you put in the 24 carton of eggs into the fridge; one wouldnt think about it but this family and friends ate a lot of eggs.

“I know, but I haven't paid enough attention to you today so I'm staying,” Colson replied, the rapper kicking his feet like a child with a giddy grin as you looked at him before smiling, shaking your head again and continuing your work. Colson watched you happily as you emptied the bag and then went to the half unpacked bag; the one with the surprise in it, you paused as you looked into the bag, “you alright sweetheart?” Colson asked, he saw your pause and got concerned as he slid off the counter and came up behind you. You wrapped the bag in on itself without squishing the contents inside and turned around to face the tall rapper with the bag wrapped in your hands behind your back.

“Nothing!” you said quickly with a fake smile, “okay well yeah it is something, but it's something you don't need to look at!” you said quickly, “pads, tampons, all that glorious feminine shit” you shrugged as Colson backed away with his hands up in surrender.

“Alright alright, i won't ask then, i know when you're lying and you know when i know you're lying” Colson smiled as he stepped forward and kissed the top of your head, “but it's fine because i trust you” the rapper said before walking away.

“Alright you got me!” you said jokingly as you turned around to face the bag, Colson immediately got interested and dashed back to stand in front of the counter in front of you as you pulled out a pack of condoms with a shy smile, “its condoms” a blush covered your cheeks as Colson took the box and kissed your hand, the rapper laughed as he winked at you before walking up the stairs to your shared room, coming back down a few seconds later, blowing you a kiss and walking back to the backroom studio. You let out a breath thanking the lord that Colson took the bait before continuing with the other things in the bag to put away before stuffing the bags under the sink to be used again and taking your little surprise into the bathroom to be used.

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

Sitting on the toilet lid you bounce your leg impatiently and anxiously, it all comes down to these two lines, or one, or none! Maybe you had to go and buy another one because this one turned out to be faulty, maybe it just wasn't the right time, maybe you missed the window? What if you have to go back? Going back for a pregnancy test twice is a bad sign right? All these thoughts floated through your mind as the shrill of the timer brought you back to reality. You took a deep breath, grabbed the little stick from the proper end and brought it to your face.

Two lines.

A blue word.

Pregnant.

A smile spread over your lips as your eyes watered, now the new questions started coming in, should you go to the doctors and have them do a test too to make sure? Should you tell Colson now or wait a little? You bit your lip anxiously as your leg started bouncing again, you sighed, shook your head and grabbed the second test. The exact same test but it was the second box, you bought two just in case, opening the test, taking off the cap and willing yourself to pee before placing the test on the sink next to you, starting the timer again and waiting.

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

You could hear music coming from the back studio as you walked closer to the room, tests in a small bag and a large smile on your face you entered the room to see Colson and Casie jumping around, dancing and singing to the song that was playing over the speakers as Colson held his phone up in a weird angle but you dismissed it quickly as you sat down on the couch next to Rook who was laughing at Ashton, the small boy prancing about with a large smile.

“A present for me? How lovely” Rook joked as he saw the bag you were carrying, the drummer made a move to grab the bag in a playful way, you laughed as you snatched the bag away and held up a finger making a ‘no no’ gesture as well as shaking your head.

“Not for you this time drummer boy, this one is for blondie” you said with a laugh, Rook laughed softly and held his hands up in a surrender before turning back to watch Colson, Casie and Ashton who had joined the others in dancing, the small child had grabbed a pair of drumsticks while you and Rook had your two second joking and was making beats to the song playing, at this point Colson finally looked up and realised you were here.

“Y/N!” the rapper shouted, his face beamed with excitement as he turned his phone to you to reveal why he had been holding it at such a weird angle; he was on an instagram live.

“Oh god Colson, please dont i look so bad i've been shopping all day without your help-” you brought a hand up to try and cover your face before Colson cut you off.

“Babe stop it! You’re beautiful! You always look amazing!” Colson said happily, you sighed as you rolled your eyes and shook your head but still smiling. Colson turned the phone back to him as Ashton started hitting the floor with the drumsticks as I Think I’m Okay came on and comments rolled in causing Colson to read some out as he stared down at the phone, “uhh, (Y/n), everyones asking when we’re gonna have a baby” Colson said softly as he squinted.

“Really? What’re they saying?” you asked, you shifted forward a little in your seat but not enough to see the screen, you hid the bag behind your back inconspicuously.

“Uhhh, ‘oh my god baby fever’, ‘whats (Y/n) hiding?’, ‘omg please have a Colson and (Y/n) baby he or she will be so cute!!’, and way way more. Jesus fucking christ we are not having sex on an instagram live to see the baby making ‘Amber underscore seventeen twenty’” Colson recited comments as well as calling out a girl from her comment, it made you laugh as you knew exactly what you had planned.

“Uh babe? I've got a thing for you, give me the camera, i wanna get your reaction on live” you said as you held out your hand for the phone, Colson cocked an eyebrow curiously before handing the phone over to you.

“Wait wait!” Casie intervened, “let me hold it and get the reaction of both of you together!” the girl stood up excitedly, grabbed her father's phone and prompted you to move next to the rapper, you smiled and thanked the girl as you took a seat next to Colson, facing the other members of the band and friends that were in the room as Casie pointed the camera to the pair of you.

“Please start screen recording people who are watching! I’ll give you a few seconds to do that before i give Colson his little present~” you had a tune to your words that Colson couldn't place.

“They’re all saying they’re screen recording!” Casie exclaimed as she watched the comments pile up, you nodded as you brought out the small bag from behind your back and handing it to Colson, Ashton heard the little noise the bag made as it was handed to Colson and walked over, you smiled at the child before grabbing him under his arms and plopping him into your lap comfortably as you looked at Colson who was waiting for you to watch him open his little present.

“Okay, you ready babe?” Colson asked as he looked to you, you smiled and gave a firm nod as Colon opened the bag and stared down at the pink and blue tissue paper, his eyebrow cocked as a small gasp came from Baze who somehow knew exactly what was happening, you gave the bassist a side eye as to say ‘don't you dare’ to which the man held up his hands and kept quiet. You looked back to Colson and gave the man a nod as he started taking out the tissue paper, scattering the discarded pieces beside himself as he looked down into the bag.

“Babe...is…” the rapper paused as a smile started to crease at your lips, “is that a pregnancy test?” Colson asked his question quietly as he looked to you with a shocked expression, eyes wide and almost pale as the rest of his band and friends gasped softly, including Casie who started to smile and bounce with excitement.

“Go on, take them out” you said as you motioned to the bag.

“THEM?!” Colson was quick to grab the sticks out (you had capped the bad parts of the tests so neither of you touched them) of the bag and held them in front of his face to read what was on them. Both included:

Two lines.

A blue word.

Pregnant.

Colson almost stopped breathing as the room fell silent, the rapper's eyes started to water and his hands started shaking.

“Y-You’re actually pregnant?” Colson asked softly as he turned to you, you sniffled softly and nodded as you pat your stomach.

“They’re in here sweetheart” you said softly in a watery tone.

“OH MY GOD” Colson yelled, the rapper dropped everything and wrapped you in a large bear hug, resulting in toppeling you both a short distance to the ground (Ashton quickly got out of your grasp before he could get hurt), “OH MY GOD WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY!” it took Colson a second to realise but quickly grabbed the tests and swiped his phone from Casie (who was now bouncing) as Colson held the tests in front of the phone screen to show the live, “WE’RE PREGNANT GUYS!!! NEW MEMBER TO THE EST FAM!!!” Colson screamed as Rook, Baze, Slim and his other friends swarmed around him, hugging him close and screaming. You laughed loudly as you quickly grabbed Colsons phone and held it out in front of you.

“I STILL HAVE TO GO TO THE DOCTORS GUYS JUST A REMINDER!” you yelled aloud for all to hear, the group quietened down a bit as you moved so the group was behind you and the instagram live could see everyone, “i have to go to the doctors because i want to make sure i am pregnant as well as the baby being healthy, i want to have my hopes up but there is always that slight chance of a miscarrige and complications during the pregnancy or the birth but i promise myself and Colson will try our hardest to bring our little Kelly into the world” you said into the camera with a large smile, comments started rolling through the screen all saying how happy each person was for you, talking about baby names and where the babies would sleep and be and play as well as saying how loving Colson is looking at you. You noticed those comments and looked at Colson through the phone, the rapper had all the love and admiration one person could in their eyes, you smiled softly as you handed the phone to Rook who was closest to you, grabbed Colson by the collar of his shirt and smashed your lips together, Colsons friends hollered and whooped as you gripped onto Colson as if he was about to vanish into thin air, this had definitely been the most passionate, love and emotion filled kiss you and Colson had ever shared together, tears leaked from Colsons eyes and dropped to your cheeks as you giggled softly, you brought Colson to your neck but the rapper had other ideas and dropped to his knees to come face to face with your stomach as he started talking to the growing child in you.

“H-Hey little fella, or chick” Colson chuckled and sniffled as he wiped his nose, “whatever you are, whoever you become, i will always be by your side, have your back and always love you, no matter what” Colson kissed your stomach and pressed his forehead against it before coming back up and kissing you again, the kiss telling you everything was going to be okay, that Colson would look after you and love you for eternity.

——————————————————————————

I hope you enjoyed reading! Please leave a comment or something idk!

[apsaraqueen]

For the ask: Love & Sleep. I started listing questions and then realised there were only 5 I missed out, so... ALL OF THE QUESTIONS PLEASE. I WANT TO KNOW ALL YOUR BRAIN THOUGHTS ABOUT LS.

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

There’s a lot of ways to interpret this question! In terms of substance, I wanted to write the kind of classic “the Shitennou come back” fic for Jadeite and Rei (my OTP, of course) that I’ve always wanted to read - something long and layered that deals with what happens after the initial shock, distrust, etc. of the return and delves into what the process of forgiveness and rediscovery might really look like. And to be clear, I’ve definitely read a lot of wonderful takes on this concept, it’s not new and so many other authors have done it better, but I haven’t found any that focused on my favorite couple (if there’s one I’ve missed, PLEASE SEND IT TO ME). And then stylistically, I just kind of wanted to write something...indulgent. For myself, really. Slow-paced, dreamy, gentle. I hope it hits the mark.

2: What scene did you first put down?

Boringly enough - the first scene! Where Jadeite, now called Junin, comes back, taking place on the grounds of the shrine. I had the image in my head for a long time before I started the fic.

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

I...have no idea. It honestly changes all the time. I’ll just pick a random one I like. It’s of Rei watching Junin (the reincarnated Jadeite) sleep. Not creepy at all, right? I like the level of comfort between the two it implies, and it’s just a tender, quiet moment with her thinking of him, and of what draws her to him.

Junin slept on his back, one arm tucked under his nape, the other tossed across his front; the length of his legs extended several centimeters past the rumpled sheets’ edge. A book propped on his chest bore an English title that made little sense to her. She knelt by his head, suddenly concerned he might be feverish, or taken ill. He wasn’t sweating, nor ashen. The priestess touched his forehead and found the temperature not dissimilar to her own.

Under her palm his eyebrows bristled, permanently arched where hers ran like the ties of train tracks. She felt fine sun-lines there that she couldn’t see. Against her fingers his hair was dense, grown now slightly off the scalp, lightened more from working outdoors. She took back her hand, put it in her lap. From time to time it still startled her, to be able to look at him like this, unrationed. Even here at rest, she thought there was control in his features, a kind of ruthless calm she’d never been able to help responding to.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

This is really hard because I wouldn’t call this a dialogue-driven fic. Why, you ask? Because I can’t write dialogue to save my life. A lot of this fic - maybe even the majority - exists between the spaces of what’s said, so the dialogue is pretty.........formless. If I had to pick, I’d probably go with this.

“I killed you,” she said, and couldn’t help but add, “twice.”

“You were right,” he told her.

“And I didn't want to,” she went on dully. “When you came I – thought you were a ghost.”

“You wish I were?”

“I wish I didn’t remember. What we did.”

“Them,” said Junin. “Not us.”

She said, low: “I wish we’d done – anything else.”

I liked writing this because while I definitely think there’s a part of Rei struggling to forgive Junin for what his past self did, I also think there’s maybe even a larger part that wishes none of it happened at all, that their history could be erased and they could start fresh, that recognizes culpability is often complex and not as one-sided as you maybe want it to be (this of course depends on how you headcanon the Silver Millennium going down - I like to imagine it wasn’t necessarily all Shitennou=bad, Senshi=good).

5: What part was hardest to write?

Urg. Writing the first Silver Millennium flashback was pretty hard. It took me forever to figure out the right tone that didn’t sound horribly stilted and Lord of the Rings-esque. Also hard trying to convey the differences between Mars/Jadeite and Rei/Junin along with the similarities. Rei, for example, is a lot more wounded and careful with her emotions, for obvious reasons, than Mars ever was. And while Junin is still capable of being somewhat morally ambiguous, he’s also genuinely a nicer guy than the more politically-minded Jadeite could be. I wanted to get that across without getting mired in irrelevant details about the past……….which I maybe need to save for another longwinded fic altogether. *bangs head on wall*

After the first flashback things fell into line, more or less, but I must have rewritten that first one, like, ten times.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

It’s longer than 12,000 words! AND took me more than double that to get to any smut! In seriousness, I think this is the first multichaptered fic I’ve written since, like.............high school.

7: Where did the title come from?

From the poem of the same name by A.C. Swinburne. It’s quite sexy, and the woman described in it sounds very much like Rei to my mind.

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

Normally, with most of my fics, I’d say yes...but in this case, not really. Other than the food. I most definitely drew on real-life inspiration - delicious things I’ve eaten, particularly while in Tokyo - for the food. You’ll never find me writing a fic without some gratuitous food pr0n in there for good measure. The wagashi shop the girls meet at is based on one I visited while there, actually.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

Not really. You could say this is in some ways an alternate version of another fic I wrote a while back, Tragedia? When I wrote that one I had in the back of my mind that someday I should write the same concept with a very different ending...and here we are.

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

Because I love them! And I feel like I rarely see them happy in fic (to be clear, I do love my RxJ angst, so that’s not a bad thing!). I wanted to write a story for them that felt realistic and for lack of a better word, adult - that progressed in a natural way. I wanted to challenge myself to do it in a way that was slow-burning and relatively low-drama but not boring. And I wanted to see if I could sustain the tension and intimacy that makes their relationship so interesting to write, without resorting to my usual go-tos of smut (at least not immediately!) and angst.

11: What do you like best about this fic?

I’m happy with the atmosphere it conveys - sometimes moody, mostly serene. I worked really hard on that aspect and I feel like it maybe, kind of, sort of paid off!

12: What do you like least about this fic?

I wish it was wittier, more humorous in some places - I feel like it would add a sense of balance. That’s my biggest failing as a writer, I think; I really have no clue how to do comedy. I am not funny in the slightest.

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

I had just seen Call Me By Your Name when I started writing it, so a lot of the soundtrack for that. Mystery of Love in particular. Also a lot of Rhye.

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

Learn? No, I don’t think so. Just trying to put more of my OTP out in the world in hopes of inspiring more of it!

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

So much. Like I’ve noted above, this is the longest thing I’ve written in a long time and honestly I’m kind of amazed I’ve been able to stay motivated! Writing something longer requires, obviously, patience - you can’t just fire all your guns at once, you think of things you want to write RIGHT AWAY but then have to save them for later, you have to actually, ugh, have a structure………….this is all patently clear to a competent writer, but these are things I was pretty sure I’d forgotten how to do, so it’s been nice stretching myself this way.

Thank you for the ask, @coppercrane2 - this was so fun!

[hangfiretales]

I found one of my short stories from a few years ago and was trying to figure out what needed to be polished up. And after spending the last few months complaining about the difficulty I have with using present tense, I discovered (with unfailing irony) that this story needed to be written in the present tense, of course.

*************************************

Anatomy of the Heart

‘That you, pet?’

‘Yes, Nan.’ Who else has a key? I add, but only in my head. She's pretty old. I can afford to be indulgent. 

I shut the front door, and the dusty quiet of home and cats and autumn collapses onto me. 

The lounge room curtains are closed against the afternoon sun but I can see her, sunk in her chair and dressed in something purple and polyester. Reading, of course, eyeball-deep in a comfortable romantic cliché of unbuttoned shirts and thrusting. There’s always thrusting. 

‘Library day, Nan?' I bend and kiss her hair, close enough to smell talcum powder and spearmint. 

‘Narelle had a stack ordered in for me.’ She half-closes the book to glance at the front cover. ‘I think I've had this one before, with the duke. He’s got a limp. That's alright, mind, I don't remember all of it so it's like new.’ 

It might have something to do with a certain sameness of plot amongst her chosen genre, but I say nothing. 

‘Long day, pet?’ 

And it has been, actually, so I tell her; enough to get a bit of sympathy, not enough to bore her. 

I’m rewarded with a pat on the arm and a clucking sound.  

‘Fancy him saying all that when you've spent so much time on it. Bloody professor should give you marks for effort, is what I think. Tea?’ 

And at my nod she straightens in slow motion and patters to the kitchen. 

I follow her to the bench. ‘Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. I wish it did. I put in more effort looking busy than anyone I know.’  

Nan acknowledges my attempt at humour with a nod but I know she doesn’t think of me as the funny one. That's always been my brother's gig.  

I open the fridge and get the milk out while Nan conveys sugar from jar to mug. One spoon. Two spoons. Pause. Another little bit of a spoon. 

‘I still don't know why you have to get a degree just to read books,’ she says. ‘Why can't you just read them on your own?’ She sniffs twice; once at the education system and once at the milk carton in her hand. She pours it. 

‘There's reading and then there's- like a deep critical understanding.’

But Nan shakes her head. ‘If you're not enjoying it, what's the point.’ A statement, not a question. ‘I've read hundreds of books. Thousands, probably, and nobody ever asked me to get a degree first. Waste of time with your degrees for reading, and degrees for making video games, and music and what-not. Here you go, pet, carry those out. I'll get biscuits.’ 

I take the brimming mugs back out to the lounge room and set them down on the coffee table. My usual seat’s piled up with The Last Cowboy and his horny friends so I sit down on the orange couch. At least one cushion stirs and becomes a cat.  

‘Don't sit on Valerie, she doesn't want your bum on her head.’ Nan puts a tray down next to our mugs: biscuits from a home-brand cream assortment; a jam-jar lid, for discarded teabags; two tea spoons. One’s a sundae spoon, actually, longer and handier for stirring a tall mug. I reach. 

Nan bagses it smoothly. 

‘Sit here. Sit in your spot, love. Move those things-’ 

I put the stack of books at my feet. 

‘And how is Alex going?’ 

Which is the real question, isn't it, even when she leaves it unasked. The endless questions, filling in her days with thrusting dukes and shirtless cowboys and endless curiosity over other people's boyfriends.  

‘Yeah, well, he's- yeah. No, he's good.’  

She gives me a look. And harrumphs. ‘What you need is a real man. One who treats you properly and makes a bit of an effort with himself.’  

‘Like Jack the Excessively Groomed Cowboy?’ I pick him up and read the back cover. ‘Sorry, Chuck the cowboy. The brooding rancher next door is about to change Gillian's quiet life forever. Can she tame his wild bachelor's heart? Blah de blah.’

‘Don't you be a snob. There's nothing like a good romance to pick you up.’

I put it down. ‘It's a bit different from the novel I'm reading for this assignment.’ I say it more breezily than I should.

‘Oh? Go on then. What’s your one about?’ 

‘Well.’ I sit back. ‘There's this girl who's in rehab for her broken back and her father is being blackmailed. He's a drug dealer. It's Danish. It’s-’

‘Any romance?’ 

‘She falls in love with her boyfriend's brother, who's a detective, and she-’

‘Ah, torn between two men. Any sexy bits?’ 

‘Uh, kind of.’ Thinking quickly, because it's tricky to explain the Scandinavian Noir context of the nude ice-fishing scene. ‘Just, you know, frustrated but not going anywhere.’

‘Hmm. Mine sounds better.’

‘Chuck the Impossibly Tanned? Or this one, the Duke of--’ I check-- ‘Really? Notchester?’

I flip it open. ‘Sheba arched her back luxuriously as the Duke ran lascivious fingers down her flushed throat towards the boundless promise of her bountiful breasts.’ She's going all out, this-- Mirabelle Thorne? That's a terrible pen-name.’

‘I've had a few of hers. She does nice historical ones with lords and that.’

‘Aha, look at this bit. Thrusting with gasping impatience between her yada yada. Thrusting, I told you.’ 

Nan looks at me, waiting. I haven’t told her. 

So I tell her. 

She raises a sparsely pencilled eyebrow. ‘You judge the whole lot on one bleeding word? Snob.’

‘I'm not a snob.’

‘Snob.’

‘Don't say that, romances just aren't my thing.’

‘Well, what does that say about you? Can't appreciate the budding love of two young people.’

‘Two or possibly more young people. This one has a heart-wrenching choice between the man who adores her and the man who desires her. One of them's a doctor. Oh. Anatomy of the Heart. I see. And the other one's-- really? An alpaca breeder. What kind of a choice is that?’

‘The doctor's job is to be the rich bastard and the other one's her true love.’ Nan glares over her mug. 

‘No, actually, I think the doctor’s poor. The alpaca breeder's fairly well-off.’ I’m skimming through it. 

‘Well, that's probably true. You seen what they're charging for an alpaca cardigan? Bleeding rip-off merchants.’

‘She shivered at the memory of his efficient fingers. Efficient--' 

‘What you need to do is, you need to sit your Alex down with a couple of nice romances and give him an idea of what you want. Give him a role model. Young lads these days don't have any role models, all these single mums and feefo workers.’ 

She might have meant FIFO. Which may or may not have been a snipe at both my brother and my mother in one handy package. 

‘Who says I want this?’ I look down at the cover artwork, which shows both the devilishly rumpled doctor and the rosy-cheeked alpaca man. Which one has the efficient fingers? 

I put the book down. ‘Thanks for the tea, Nan. I'd better get a move on with this assignment. Do you want me to cook dinner tonight?’

Nan finds her place in The Duke of Notchester, picking up the story mid-kiss. ‘No thanks, pet. We've got some spaghetti bol left from last night. If leftovers aren't beneath you.’

‘Sounds fine.’

I take the last chocolate cream biscuit when I leave. 

When I come out of my room later to get my reheated spaghetti, I’m not that much further along with my work. I’m still replaying Dr Chase's critique of my draft: unfocused and derivative, showing only a surface understanding of the criteria required. 

Yeah, well. 

Nan’s watching some cooking show on TV; a wok full of hot prawns and a posh summery voice. 

I contemplate the gap between the dinners we all tell each other we're eating and the actual dinner, the one in my hands.  

And take the plate back to my desk to eat. 

It isn't a desk, it's a card table in the corner, below the clock and the Johnny Cash calendar. I've wasted plenty of time on this assignment already. It’s time to get serious. 

I contemplate the gap between the romances that we read and the actual boyfriend, who’s totally committed babe but just super busy right now. 

Does the novel's idiosyncratic narrative style add interest to the text, or is it a distracting literary conceit? 1200 words. Use examples. 

I go back to the kitchen for a biscuit. All the chocolate creams are gone.

Nan’s watching something about celebrities eating cockroaches.

When I get back to my desk I discover that the assignment still hasn't written itself. 

Twenty-four and a half minutes or so later, I find myself chewing on my pen and I’m swearing because it's an expensive one-- I bought it for myself in the hope that it will inspire me to write better. Or more. Or more better. I can't tell if it's worked yet, but the pen’s starting to look ratty. 

She shivered at the memory of his efficient fingers. Was his mind elsewhere, as he performed with admirable though robotic fervour? 

I go back out to the lounge, which is empty of either cats or Nans. I find Anatomy of the Heart sitting on top of Holiday in Heaven and open it somewhere in the middle. 

He watched her through narrowed eyes. Does he find her as one-dimensional as we do? She raised her face, lips parted in surprise, closer to him than-- 

‘Pet?’

‘What?

Nan’s calling from the kitchen. 

‘Tea?’

‘No, thanks.’

I go back to my room. The book is still in my hands. 

This one wasn't written by Mirabelle Thorne, I don't have to check the cover to know that. 

I check the cover.  

April Winter. There’s a definite touch of dryness to her humour; the pseudonym, the title. Or is it a him? It could be. It could be anyone. I've heard a few tales of prestigious authors who churn out romances to stay busy while they wait to get famous. Or to pay bills, between critically acclaimed works that nobody wants. 

I sit down again and open it. It’s a romance, yes. The strong-willed city girl who thinks she’s in love with the wealthy country-boy alpaca farmer until she meets the handsome, serious, magnetic, penniless local doctor. Small town. Impossible choice. Whatever. The plot’s predictable and the woman isn't worth the Chapter Eight punch-up over her. 

But there’s something about it. Something sly, indefinable. The alpaca man is so smug, and the woman so exhaustingly feisty- when the doctor finally wins her, the town rejoices but I am left uneasy. The doctor has a coolness, a detachment. Even as he's declaring his love to her in the moonlit garden behind the old pub he's keeping something back. He's playing a game. 

I wonder if a sequel would unravel this, but of course: romance novels don't have sequels. She gets her man and there's no more to say. 

I get out my phone and do an internet search for April Winter, author. Anatomy of the Heart is her only book. Maybe she has other pseudonyms. Other names, under which she slips strange and unsettling love stories into the world. Or is it a he? 

The clock says eighteen past two in the morning. 

I pick up my pen and begin to write 1200 words on the gap between the type of text that makes a writer look intellectual and the actual books that keep you sitting up reading at your card table, far into the night. 

I use examples. 

*************************************************

[bangtansnoozingdragon]

12 AM

Summary : Each night, when the clock strikes midnight, he would take the only moment to talk to you again.

Pairing : Yoongi x Reader

Genre : Angst / Fluff / A tad bit of humor

Word Count : 1.6k 

 Yoongi took a quick glance at his watch, the numbers ‘11:57’ bore straight into his eyes.

3 minutes left till midnight.

He continued to fiddle with his fingers, obviously anxious even though he had done this countless times for the past 2 years. Every night, he would leave everything behind, his family, friends, work and even his beloved music, just to get that one chance to see you again.

He didn’t know when it started, but all he knew was that he was glad that whatever higher power existed out there was granting him a dream like no other - a chance to see you.

Just 2 years ago, Yoongi lost you. It wasn’t his fault, heck, he was the best husband you could ever asked for. ‘Sarcastic, humorous and very cuddly’, the three terms you would describe him whenever someone questioned you, and he absolutely loved it, not that he would ever admit it.

Your relationship with Yoongi was perfect, he would give whatever he could for you, and likewise, you would do so as well. He never placed his job as his priority but instead, it was you. You were his everything, his wife, best friend, cuddle buddy and the ‘swag couple’ he always joked around. However, nature was cruel. It took you away from him, no, rather it had snatched you away in front of him. One day you were laughing at a corny joke he made, and the next you were gone. It broke his heart, completely shattering it into pieces, in which you weren’t there to stitch it back up.

It had happened so fast. No one expected it, not you, him or even your doctor. You had told him you suffered from a chronic disease from the very first date. It really wasn’t anything too serious, and as long you were careful, there’s little to no chances that you could collapse, yet that bit of chance was the exact reason he came home finding your lifeless body spreaded on the cold tiles.

He came home early that night, wanted to surprise you and take you out for dinner at the new restaurant around the block, but what greeted him would forever haunt him. Apparently, you had suffered a sudden cardiac attack, and collapsed right onto the concrete below,dying soon after. It wasn’t even remotely Yoongi’s fault, but he had beaten himself up, blaming himself that he was too late and careless, and questioned if he had arrived sooner, would you still be by his side, breathing and smiling?

There were no last words exchanged, nor was there a kiss goodbye. You left too soon, too young, having so little time to see the world or to achieve your dreams. Yoongi absolutely resented nature for stealing you from his arms, and shockingly it seemed like nature wanted to make up to him, by giving him the chance to talk and see you every midnight for a whole single minute.

It was when he was sobbing while sloppily munching down his pizza, mourning about your sudden death that you suddenly appeared right in front of him. Yoongi thought he had finally gone mad, mixing up reality with his deepest desire.

‘Yoongi?’ you spoke.

His breath was completely knocked out from his lungs, even your voice sounded so surreal. Tears started to stream down, damping his cheeks.

‘Yoongi? Why are you crying?’

‘I have finally gone mad, haven’t I? I can see you and even fucking hear you. I-I wish you were here.’ Yoongi whispered softly for himself but you heard it.

‘I don’t understand how am I here, but I can assure you love, that I am indeed here.’ you smiled at him, a sad grin planted on your face. Your instinct yelled at you to approach him, to help him because seeing the state he currently is in wrecked your heart, you wanted to so badly caress his face and whisper sweet nothings to him, calming him down, yet you fear he would react badly towards it.

‘Dear lord, stop playing games with me’ Yoongi spoke softly, looking at you,’please’.

‘I suffered enough, haven’t I?’ his jaw clenched tightly, and his eyes shut tight.

‘WHAT DID I DO TO FUCKING DESERVE THIS’ he cried loudly, pouring out all his emotions that he has been coping for so long, he couldn’t handle it no more. His knuckles were becoming white for clutching so hard and he screamed with whatever strength he had left, till he felt sore. Loud sobs soon echoed the room, he had his knees latched onto his chest and trembling slightly. You were devastated seeing your husband mourning for your death, and what sadden you more was the fact you couldn’t help him. Soon enough, you were gone and Yoongi was left sobbing in an incoherent mess.

The next day Yoongi woke up with a jolt and it took him a moment to adjust to his surrounding. His hair was a mess, eyes were puffy, lips were dry and throat was sore. He pushed himself up and knead his face, murmuring something about having to go to pee.

Suddenly, memories of the past day started to flood his mind and soon he was reminded of the peculiar event last night, but thought of it as weird hallucinations, there was no way you were there, right?

He saw you again that night, and the next, and the next, and the next.…..

Soon enough, both of you converse and came out with an understanding that each night he had one single minute to be able to speak to you and see you, but weren’t able to have physical contact with each other, you simply just phase through him.

Yoongi didn’t tell anyone about this, wanting to keep you all to himself. One whole minute, that was all he had and he planned to make use of every single second.

He made songs for you to listen, showed you pictures of your family and friends, updating you about his life and sometimes not even speaking a single word, just drowning in each other presence while staring out into the sky. It was enough for Yoongi, he couldn’t possibly ask for more. He is much happier now and always looked forward for your meetings each day, not missing one, even when he was sick, he would crawl out of bed and plant himself in his living room to wait for you to appear, he was determine to make use of every moment to cherish you.

  The alarm from his watch startled him, indicating that it was finally midnight. You appeared as usual, sitting on your favourite chair cross legged while staring at Yoongi with such intensity, while he just smiled at you.

 ‘Hey’, you started, ‘how was your day?’

‘The same old, writing songs, eating and sleeping’

‘Did you took breaks?’ you questioned him.

‘I did’

 ‘Now, care to explain why you look so dull today, and why is your eye bags worst than last night? You didn’t sleep a wink yesterday, did you?’ words poured out of your mouth while you stared right into his soul, trying to coax the truth out.

Yoongi swore he felt his spine tingled and sighed, ‘Honestly, you know me too well.’

‘Exactly, so why did you even bother to hide from me you little shit. I am worried for you and who knows how long I could speak to you like this. I can’t be babying you till you become a grumpy old man, you old man. I swear, if your ass keeps on ignoring my advice, I won’t ever visit you like this again.’

‘Stop sprouting nonsense, we both know you love me too much to even leave my side. Besides, who else can you talk to rather that me.’

‘The other day, I came across this handsome ghost, I think his name is Dan, or was it-’

‘Don’t you dare have a ghost affair, I would legit kill myself so that I can slap you.’

There was silence for a moment, and then laughter filled the room. You were wheezing for air while clutching your stomach, Yoongi on the other hand was hacking his lungs out from laughing too much. Being able to see a genuine smile spread across your face melted Yoongi’s heart, these are the moments he love most and strive for - just you being by his side and having a conversation on virtually any topic.

‘Sorry to break it to you, but it’s almost time.’

‘I know, same time tomorrow?’ Yoongi said with a cheeky smile.

‘Same time tomorrow’ You returned back his smile with a wider grin while also doing finger guns directed at him.

Slowly, you started to fade away and Yoongi swore he heard a faint ‘Pew! Pew!’ moments before your entire being disappeared from his room, leaving behind Yoongi all alone in his empty apartment once again.

 Authors Note :

Hey there y’all, do give feedbacks, I would appreciate it :]

Honestly, I think I could had done better and there are loads of room for improvement.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed reading this 

[sehunsmuabrows]

Forever flame// Park chanyeol (Oneshot)

Prompt:  “I mean, I’m his girlfriend but shoot your shot I guess”

Pairing: Chanyeol x reader

Genre: fluff 

You started dating Chanyeol in sophomore year of highschool after his friends started cheering every time he talked to you, being the ultimate sign that he liked you, and he had told them about it. You had developed a crush on him the year before so you were swift in asking him out when you knew he liked you back. You were the couple that everyone rooted for in high school. When you both were accepted and admitted into the same college, all of your friends were ecstatic, yelling about how you would probably grow old together because you already acted like an old married couple.

Now you were in your Junior year of college, all grown up, and you were still together. You acted the same as you always had, you never acted cheesy or romantic in public or engaged in any PDA whatsoever, even though Chanyeol often hinted that he wished you did. You and Chanyeol had been together since high school, but people could hardly tell that you were a couple unless you were shitfaced. To people who didn’t know you well, the relationship seemed completely platonic. Therefore making Chanyeol an open target for people to hit on him right in front of you, repeatedly. Usually you take it in stride, he always rejects them politely saying that he’s taken while you smugly turn back to whatever you were doing as Chanyeol shuffles awkwardly next to you.

You were cuddling with Chanyeol on the coach of your shared apartment when you got a text from your old roommate that your sorority was having a rager and it was already in full swing. You shot up off of Chanyeol’s lap with a sudden shock, since you had forgotten you were supposed to be there tonight, making sure that nobody goes home with a creep or drives drunk. Chanyeol hopped up soon after you, “Babe, what’s going on?” he said tilting his head to look at the message you were staring at and typing furiously. He groaned loudly seeing the words across the screen.

Since you were one of the only members of your friend group that was in a serious relationship, you were on babysitter duty. You sped off into the bedroom, raiding the closet for an acceptable outfit to wear, since all you were wearing was a pair of old exercise shorts that haven’t fit you properly since you were 16, and a sports bra. You loudly shouted for Chanyeol to come help you pick something out, but the grumble from behind you let you know that he followed you into the room. He reached around you and grabbed a pair of your jeans and one of his big t shirts for you to slip into. “You’ll probably want to stay comfortable, since Laura just got dumped and you’re her mom apparently” you groaned, realizing that your friend Laura was probably going to be a mess.  

“She’s gonna get trashed, leave with some frat boy, and get arrested if I don’t go” you said, causing Chanyeol to nod in recognition, remembering the last time you left her alone at a party.  You got dressed quickly, pulling your hair into a high ponytail as if you were getting ready for war.  

 “Were you like that when we broke up last year? Did you have a babysitter or were you your own?” his question caused you to raise your eyebrow as you slid on his shirt.

“Not really, i’m more of the ‘sit at home, eat junk food and watch rom coms type, plus we were broken up for like a week, I didn’t have that much time to get too unhinged” You said, hustling over to your shoes, cramming your feet into some blue running shoes without untying them.  

“You know we could do that instead, every time I show up at one of these things, Luke tries to set me up with someone as soon as you walk away. Do you know what it’s like having a girlfriend around those guys? They actively encourage me to cheat on you” Chanyeol rants, following you to your car and hoping in the passenger's side.

“I would tell you to stay home, but I need someone to help me haul Laura into the car later. But give them a break, they’re usually faded out of their minds so I doubt their even thinking about your relationship status.” you mentally prepared yourself for the loud music and gross smells that you were surely about to walk into. You could see the usual festivities as you approached the large sorority house. You parked by the curb and rushed passed a beer chugging contest to get into the house. Before you entered, you turned back to look at Chanyeol, who had been following closely behind.  

“You have your phone right? I might lose you in there” you scanned to see if his phone was in his pocket, knowing that he had the tendency to get lost and you didn’t want to have to hunt him down. He rolled his eyes and shook his phone in your face, passing you to walk into the party. Chanyeol’s energy skyrocketed when he saw Minseok, a senior that had mentored him the years before. You weren’t expecting him to be there, considering he didn’t usually show up to these sorts of things and was mostly invested in the academic parts of college. Chanyeol turned to you, seemingly much more upbeat than 10 seconds prior.

“Call me when you’re ready to leave, no rush though” he quickly gave you a kiss on the forehead and turned to join Minseok and his other friends that you didn’t recognize. With that, you left to find Laura, weaving through the crowd, asking people if they had seen her or knew where she was. Eventually you were pointed to a corner of the dance room, where she was making out with one of the RAs. She wasn’t actually doing anything disruptive or damaging yet, and it wasn’t any of your business who she chose to make out with so long as she wasn’t being taken advantage of, so you decided to leave her alone but keep her within eyesight. You saw one of the new freshman sitting alone near the bathroom just a few feet away, so you decided to give her some company.  

“Hey there! I gave you a tour of the engineering department earlier this month right? My name is Y/N if you don’t remember” you smiled brightly at her, holding out your hand to the clearly tipsy freshman. She smiled back at you sincerely, taking your hand with a strong grip.  

“I remember you, the tour was really helpful. My names Tess…” She trailed off and you could barely hear her over the music, causing you to be concerned for her health, before you felt a large hand on your shoulder, commanding your attention. You knew it was Chanyeol immediately when he massaged your shoulder with his thumb before letting go. “Oh hey, where’d Minseok go? I thought you’d be following him around for the rest of the night” you asked, as you turned around to look at him questioningly.  

“I was, but he had to go work on his thesis or something” He sighed, clearly pouting about not being able to hang out with his favorite person for the night. You laughed loudly at his expression, causing a few heads to turn your way, since the music had been turned off for the moment, not that too many people cared. You heard Tess clear her throat, you realized that she was still there listening to your conversation.  

“So Y/N… do you want to introduce me to your friend” She said, stepping towards Chanyeol seductively, anything but good intentions written on her face. You weren’t angry, mainly because you hadn’t made your relationship very clear, and she wasn’t exactly sober. The sight of her coming onto him caused you to chuckle. Chanyeol’s awkwardness was multiplied tenfold when she traced her finger down his chest, his eyes shifted to you in panic, as if asking what he should do in this situation.  

“I mean, I’m his girlfriend but shoot your shot I guess” you said, amused as you stared at the situation that was unfolding in front of you. Tess paused immediately, embarrassment showing on her face. She stepped away from Chanyeol quickly, looking at you apologetically, but you waved her off.  “It happens all the time, don’t even stress” You reassured her.

You started to rub Chanyeol’s back, since he was easily traumatized by things like this. Tess proceeded to ask you all about your relationship, and you answered happily, lovingly looking back on the things that made your relationship special. She may have just been gauging how serious you two were, but you didn’t really care.

After reconnecting with a few people and guarding Laura from dangerous situations, eventually you and Chanyeol hauled Laura into your car and dropped her off at her apartment and handing her over to her roommate. Once you arrived back to your place you were exhausted, you were eternally thankful for Chanyeol giving you his t shirt, since it made for a wonderful night gown. You peeled off your jeans, groaning loudly as you hit the bed, not caring to brush your teeth since you didn’t have any drinks and you ate about a thousand mints in the car. You wanted to cuddle with your boyfriend and fall asleep, but Chanyeol had other plans.  

He huffed loudly as he plopped next to you on your bed after changing into his pajamas, sitting while you lay on your back. The lord really wasn’t with you today.

“You know, when guys hit on you, I make sure to make them go away” he shifted to face you accusingly, you snorted in response.  

“Guys don’t hit on m-”

“That’s because I scare them away” You laughed as the words left his mouth, annoying him either further.

“You’re not very scary, Park Chanyeol” You smiled teasingly, sitting up to face him, since this might turn out to be a long conversation.

He sighed loudly, “Can’t you just act a little protective sometimes, I think it’d be cute, or hot, i’m not sure ‘cause you’ve never done it but I know it would be something” He rambled on about his frustration, you smiled at him again but you recognized how he felt. Since he had always been the touchy and sensitive type, you knew that he probably wished your relationship was more expressive and cliche, and you understood that. Ever since Chanyeol had changed his major to psychology, he had been reading into your actions toward him much more, and you needed to show that you cared for him, even if you had been together for a long time.  

You hugged him close, taking him by surprise, before he melted into your touch, “I’ll do that, i’ll be jealous and snippy when people hit on you, but not so much that it’s unreasonable, just enough to get your rocks off” He choked as you said the last part, but stayed still in your arms. “I’ll call you nicknames and hug you in front of your friends, i’ll be really lovey dovey” You begun to stroke his hair, something that you only tend to do when you’re drunk. “However, relationships are all about compromise,” you felt Chanyeol freeze, worried about what your side of the deal would be, “I get to drive your car to my family reunion next week, not you driving with me to it, it makes me look like your sugar baby. I want you to be the sugar baby this time” You smiled mischievously, thinking about his Audi with stars in your eyes. You felt Chanyeol relax after you said your piece.  

“That’s all? God, I thought you were going to make me do that weird sex ed for adults class your mom is always sharing with me on Facebook” He shuddered, laying down the bed as you let him go.  

“I’m not that cruel, Chan, but that is a hell of a lot better than the ‘future mothers seminar’ she actually made me attend” You laid back down next to him, draping your leg over his torso as you cuddled closer. Chanyeol looked at you horrified at the idea of going to such a seminar.

Your eyelids started to get heavy, and you heaved the large comforter over your body, situating into a more comfortable long term position. You stared at the back of Chanyeol’s head before saying words that you had told him before, but somehow had taken new meaning. You sat up slightly over his body, tapping him on the nose, causing him to open his eyes curiously.  “I love you”  

“I love you too, go to sleep” He grumbled roughly, though his smile was visible through his eyes. In that moment you realized how hopelessly in love you were, and how lucky you were to have loved him this long. No matter how long or how often you saw each other, he never got boring, never disappointed you or doubted you. He was a flame that never burned out or dulled even in the harshest winter.

[gh0stlyfixation]

Three years

Plot: Reader has battled cancer for three years and is in a coffee shop and meets Elijah Mikaelosn and grows a friendship with him.

“Today marks three years. Are you okay?” Asked Oliver, Y/N best friend, and worker at the corner cafe.

“Of course, I’m better now. I’m happy, healthy.” Said Y/N.

“I’m glad to hear. Does that mean you’re coming back to work?” He asked her as a man came in.

“Sadly, no. I still have the effects of chemo. It won’t be for another year.” Y/N stated. “Oops, sorry sir.” Said Y/N getting out of his way.

“It’s quite alright miss.” He said in a deep English accent.

“I’ll be over here if you need me, Oliver.” Said Y/N with a smile and walked over to the nook.

“Sorry about that sir, I’ve just haven’t seen her in a long while.” Said Oliver. “What can I get for you?” He asked the man

“A small black coffee and it’s quite alright. I overheard something about chemo. Did she go through that?” Asked the man.

“Yes, about 3 years ago she was diagnosed, but just recently went through her last treatment.” Said Oliver

“She’s so full of energy and looks like she never underwent such a struggle.” Said the man

“She knows how to hide it. I’ve been her best friend for years and even I have to pry out how she feels. And that all be $3.50.”

“Here you go.” He said handing him the money

Oliver handed him his coffee and the man proceeded to sit down in the nook as Y/N read her book and the long chair.

She rubbed her stomach as she read, soothing the pain of her newly scar. “Ow,” she said quietly as she stops rubbing it.

“Are you okay miss?” He asked

“I’m alright. Rubbing my stomach too hard I guess.” She said looking up at the man.

“I’m sorry to intrude, but your friend, Oliver I think you mentioned, told me you went through chemotherapy. What happened?” He asked.

“It’s alright, and I was turning 20 and found out I had cancer. I had immediate surgery and treatment during. Finally beat it a month ago.” She told him

“You don’t look so ill though. How?” He asked.

“Makeup, wig, baggy clothes. I’m as thin as a stick.” Y/N told him with a small smile getting up to look at the books, back facing him.

“It just amazes me how strong you are. What hospital did you go to?”

“New Orleans hospital.” She said

“I live right by it.” Said the man.

“You must be loaded if you live by that, but then again, I’m not surprised, you’re wearing a $4,000 suit. Meanwhile, I’m in a baggy sweater and sweatpants that cost me $3.00 at Walmart.” She said giggling.

“I just have centuries of family money. What do you do for a living?” Ask Y/N.

“I’m a businessman,” He said hesitantly but continued. “I travel a lot as well.”

"Interesting, I’ve majored in music and received my degree to become a music composer but only ever worked at this small cafe then had to quit all of it for treatments. I assume you have 5 homes, one of which is here in this town and four in different amazing countries?” She asked him

“Well, one in this town, one in Virginia and 3 in different countries.” He said with a smile.

“Well, I’m not some dumb blonde, who is actually a brown hair girl just has a wig on, who will fall for your money if that’s what you’re getting from me.”

“Not at all, just having a nice talk with a nice girl.” He said with her grin

“Well, thank you. Your pretty nice yourself,” she stated looking deep into his eyes with a smile as he looked back returning a smile.

“Hey Y/N.” Oliver said shaking her pill bottle.

“I’ll be right back.” She said to the man, standing up slowly and carefully.

“He’s cute.” Said Oliver in a whisper tone.

“Agreed, on top of that, he’s a billionaire, I think.” She said making a big gesture causing the man to look up at them.

“Making a scene Y/N/N!” He said urgently. “Don’t let this sucker slip!” He added, pointing a finger at her

“What if he’s gay?” She asked Oliver

“Hell, I’ll take him.” He said laughing

“Lord.” Said Y/N walking away back to her seat.

She sat down and looked at her phone, “Oh shoot.” She said getting back up.

“What is it?” The man asked.

“I’m late for an appointment.” She said grabbing her purse.

“I do need to leave as well, I’ll walk out with you.” He said. The two walked pass Oliver as Y/N secretly pointed to the man so only Oliver could see.

“Hope you have a nice day!” Oliver said to them both.

“You too sir.” Said the man. They both walked out the door to the parking lot.

“This is my car.” She said walking to it, tapping on the roof of her Ford Mustang.

“I hope your appointment is good and I hope you get better.” Said the man leaning against it.

“Thank you.” She said with a smile.

“I gotta go now, see you soon hopefully.” He said Turing around, but before he got too far she stopped him, “wait!” Y/N exclaimed.

“Yes, miss?” He asked Turing his head to look at Y/N

“I never got your name.” She said

“Elijah Mikaelson.” He said.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Y/N.” she told him.

-

Y/N stood in front of the full mirror at the cafe. It wasn’t busy, in fact, no one was there, but Oliver.

“Y/N/N, it’s not going to go away.” He said as she looked at her scar. Just then a man walked into the cafe, but Y/N was completely oblivious to the noise. She still held her shirt up just high enough to see her belly button.

“That’ll be $3.50.” Said Oliver. He looked over at Y/N and stated, “Still there Y/N. It’ll smooth out soon, you know that.” Said Oliver again. It caught Y/N attention and she placed her shirt back as the man she recognized came to her.

“Hey, Elijah.” She said with a smile, turning around.

“Y/N.” He said with a smile.

“It’s infected.” Said Oliver. “That’s why it’s red, but you don’t listen to me.” He told her

“I’ll be fine.” Y/N said stubbornly

“I think it should be checked out. You can’t be getting sick.” Said Elijah.

“Agreed,” Oliver said.

“Guys, I just saw my doctor. I just have to keep it clean.” She said lifting it back up.

“That’s a pretty big scar,” Elijah said

Y/N scar went from the middle of her breast to the bottom of her stomach. She was insecure about her body so she put her shirt down not exposing how big it really was.

“I’m gonna go home. I am tired.” She said grabbing her purse.

“Alrighty. By girl.” Said Oliver waving. Elijah nodded. “Bye guys.” Said Y/N

-

Y/N arrived home and placed her purse on the table. “Thankful for the rich parents.” She said to herself. She turned on the hot water for a bath and got in. After an hour she put on her long rob and ran to the door. She unlocked it only to reveal the familiar man, Elijah. “Elijah!” Y/N said in surprise.

“Y/N.” He said

“Come in, please.” She told him. “How exactly did you find my house?” She asked confused.

“Your friend Oliver, wants us, as he said to "hang out” and gave me your address.“ He told her.

"That’s really creepy but nice. Well, if I knew, I’d have company I would’ve looked more presentable and cleaned around here.” She told him looking around her living room that was filled with papers, books were stacked on the table and paint splattered on the wall and floor.

“It’s alright.” He said with a small smile looking around only to smile at her little mess she has created but never cleaned.

“Do you want anything to drink? Eat? I have tea, coffee, water. Not a lot here.” She told him honestly.

“Coffee.” He said looking around at the painting on the wall.

“You drink a lot of coffee, assuming you just want it black?” She asked him.

“As always.” He said.

They sat on the couch as Elijah held a mug with his coffee and Y/N held a teacup. “So tell me about yourself,” Elijah said grinning.

“Well, I grew up in a rich home. My mom was a surgeon and my dad was a CEO of some company. I have a brother, Payton, and a sister, Mia. I grew up as a horse lover. I have two of them at my parents. Been looking for a home so I can have them. I love to read. I love music. Photography.” She told him. “Tell me about you.” She said with a smile.

“I actually grew up in Europe. I have three brothers and two sisters. Our family was/is sort of a mess. We traveled a lot. I love music, to read. I love family. We have a little saying "Always and forever.” Oh, and I cook.” He told her with a smile.

“Well, good to know you cook, because I for one, can’t.” Said Y/N with a little giggle. Elijah smiled at her giggle finding it cute.

“I can most definitely help with that.” He stated, fiddling with his coffee mug.

“You know you look rather muscular, you have to do some kind of workout thing.” Y/N told him

“I-” he started but paused a moment, “I just work out a lot.” He told her.

“Uh huh.” She said nodding, a little suspicious. Elijah took his phone out after it rung more than three times. “Busy man I see.” Said Y/N, taking a sip out of her teacup.

“I’m sorry,” he said, Taking his phone out and answering. “Okay- Why so late?- I’m coming now.” He says in a serious tone. “I’m sorry, business is calling.” He said to her with sorrow.

“It’s alright. I’m tired anyway, I need to sleep.” She said with a yawn

“Here is my number.” He said giving her a card.

“Wow, a business card.” Said Y/N with a smile

“I’ll see you later.” He said kissing her hand.

“You too Mister.” She said closing the door and locking it.

“Holy hell he’s hot.” Y/N thought to herself.

“She’s gorgeous.” He thought to himself.

[nanyoky]

I missed wednesday cuz I was at work until 1am and then yesterday i was tired and needed a bath BUT IT’S TIME FOR SOME HOKEY GREASER NONSENSE BITCHES

oh thanks god Juggie’s narration is back. i didn’t realize it at the time but the more i thought about it last episode the more anxious it made me

holy shit did toni sleep over?! i mean- WITH him??? i should wait to get all the answers before i clutch my pearls shouldn’t i

awwww man- she switched her ringtone

walking by a graveyard in the fog during this conversation because this show is a GIFT

penelope is a fucking monster but she’s being a very stupid monster right now does she not remember “QUIETLY and with my BLESSING”

also nice to see third degree burns heal in like a week and leave zero scarring that’s chill i guess

cheryl’s “EVERYTHING’S FINE” and smile is the exact thing i’ve been doing at work lately so you know she plannin shit ((disclaimer: i’m just looking for a new job because i hate mine nothing this dramatic i promise i’m not going to beat someone up with a girlband or send a serial killer after them))

of course toni just couch crashed i mean i knew it but also i was pearl clutching a bit cuz the kiss was one thing but we all know jug and betty haven’t boned down yet and so i’d be wagging my finger at him if he rebounded THAT hard before cooling off and getting all the facts

okay so they fooled around a bit but toni is bein hella mature about this good girl

“more into girls anyways” WOOP THERE SHE IS

“people at the farm are going to help polly disappear for awhile” UM UM UM I DON’T LIKE THIS. I DON’T LIKE THIS AT ALL. I WANT TO GET OFF NOW PLEASE

of course they see jughead and toni talking at pops but SURPRISE the literal lines they are seeing but not hearing are “so girls in fuzzy sweaters and lipgloss right?” “RIGHT. yes. agreed. what about pastel converse? cutest thing in the world right?” “totally. right up there with cheerleader outfits.” “damn i love girls.” “same.”

omg the three different conversations happening at this neighborhood watch meeting i love this

“bughead is no more?” kevin once again the audience’s solid gold pov character but what about joaqvin i really want someone to say that just so i can see kevin’s eyes lift exasperatedly to the heavens

there’s a whole STORY that people KNOW about the mugshot everyone shut up hiram bout to DRAG

“some gangmember on the southside...” goddammit reggie why are you like this

**side note: i’ve been worried about my professional prospects recently but this week i had a dream that reggie (unclear in the dream if it was the character or the actor?) was rubbing my shoulders and assuring me that i would find a great job soon and everything would fall into place, so i’ve been rather fond of him lately, even if he is a trashbag hot mess

“what does it matter not all serpents are drug dealers” archie bringing his classic “too little too late” damage control in god love’m but he’s so ineffective at least you’re pretty hun

JOOOSSSSSIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE god her big beautiful eyes have so many FEELINGS and EMOTIONS i can’t even look at her

told you this “jughead writes for the school paper” plot was going to last all of two seconds

oh lord mayormackers, papa keller. why you two this way.

*delicate cough* nice how they make sure a black cop arrests toni so we know this isn’t at all racially motivated profiling *sips tea skeptically*

okay i kinda thought veronica was reading that something was up with betty’s outburst but maybe i was wrong. or she’s just got too much going on right now so she’s taking it at face value at the moment and sussing things out later

“The Sugarman” is both cringy-hilarious and TERRIFYING as a drug supplier name

archie has got to give jughead some more hints than “you should maybe talk to betty” because yes it’s not his place to explain everything but also we are BARRELING towards a shakespearean misunderstanding at about 800million miles per hour

cheryl serving LOOKS once again i love this. love her hat. her glasses. the fact that she’s clearly supposed to be sunbathing but she’s in FULL SHADE. LOVE this. LOVE her.

i can’t see the title of her book i’m just assuming it’s wuthering heights or flowers in the attic- only options

they make sure there’s a guitar in the andrews’ living room to remind us that archie does music sometimes still

“i’m upset with you for doing drugs but i know that was probably an isolated incident for you. what about jughead are you checking in with him to make sure he’s not making a habit of that kind of thing? how are your friends son i’m asking for their sake because i care about them as not to assess what kind of influence they are on you” fred is just so incredibly DECENT it’s overwhelming

their having a PARLAY with a RIVAL GANG and jughead being the king’s son CARRIES WEIGHT i am OVERWHELMED MY FRIENDS

So Tall Boy is the king regent now, with the true king in jail and the crown prince too green to take real responsibilities. i don’t ahve any speculations or comments i’m just translating gang culture into a language i have more experience with carry on-wait no i do have thoughts- so joaquin was like- the king’s own squire right? is that a coveted position or sort of an accidental “you have nowhere else to go and your young an impressionable and unlikely to stand up to me here help me shove this body of a kid your age into a freezer” kinda thing i have QUESTIONS about how the serpents operate and the slices of relationships we have seen so far

okay i am getting a STRONG byron vibe from this ghouly fellow

there is just- SO MUCH happening in this scene. first off- tall boy uses words like “parlay” and wears two earrings and now he’s lit with soft orange candlelight he is a literal pirate right now i’m having so much fun

then mr. nell’s-hair-texture-but-somehow-better-also-wearing-an-open-kimono-because-i-am-lord-george-byron and his.... whole deal. is he wearing GAUNTLETS with his OPEN KIMONO and SKINNY JEANS?! GOD I LOVE THIS SHOW

ALSO. tall boy just stood up to say some bogus “this is war” nonsense and there’s a ram’s skull hovering just over his shoulder in the shot HAHAHAHA SUBTLETY.

i was just going to say we haven’t seen cheryl PROSTRATING HERSELF IN GRIEF over jason in awhile but here she is looking at old photos surrounded by red carpeting and iron candelabras bless

oh man. i dunno but the more time passes the more solid the “sheriff keller is crooked” theory is. just they way they cut from cheryl looking at the drawing of the sugarman to the sheriff at the diner i just oh dear. oh honey. i want to believe you’re just spineless and ineffective. for kevin’s sake. don’t hurt kevin any more by having his dad be either a drug smuggler or a serial killer. OH GOD HE JUST SAID “ONE QUESTION” I AM UPSET. could be a red herring almost seems too easy but STILL. 

“there isn’t a sane excuse. so tell me the insane one” knew veronica was too smart for this deception she reads people well and knows betty atta girl way to be the anti- version of a character put in this trope

“Girl i would have given nick’s name and then happily treated myself to a facial” veronica poppin in as the audience’s mouthpiece while kevin is off duty

yasssssss beronica is BACK my friends i missed this are they going to break into someone’s car and definitely make out after the scene cuts like last time please say yes

yes 911 send help it’s the year of our lord 2017 and part of me is still a lil bit into skeet ulrich and i can’t tell how much of it is 90s nostalgia and how much is fp’s hot but deadbeat dad vibe

also fp’s prison number is 24601 because these lit references CAN’T BE STOPPED SON

also i’m sorry i’m going to say SO MUCH ABOUT THIS SCENE because this is my JAM you guys. the tired king helpless to stop the uprising of his people who he once thought loyal but now is seeing just how quickly he can be forgotten GOD there is so much henriad in here i can’t handle it season one was act I without the politics and solely focused on the familial tension with the warrior king favoring the company of the rough upstart over his own intellectual son ((obviously very different characters, but from jughead’s pov, it had to have hurt that fp basically abandoned his real family for the serpents and had little sidebars with joaquin every other second), but now this season is fully into the politics the rebels are merging with the scots and it’s all hal i mean jughead can do to offer himself, the combat-green prodigal son, as a prize fighter compromise GOD I LOVE THIS SHOW

also he called the ghoulies “fops” that byron vibe is def deliberate

he has to say “crazy retro” to excuse the fact that the rest of this episode is (presumably) just going to get stylized as hell for zero in-world reason and 100% because these creators know we all love greaser aus and a show that brings our time period aus to life will have our hearts pretty much forever

speaking of i only went looking for fic for this show once and it was to check to see if there was a kevin/joaquin grease au and i want you all to know i’m disappointed in all of you

cheryl’s outfits are KILLING this episode dead

“i never told you those stories” oh my god. oh my god. i’ve said it so many times before but when this show does subtlety right it REALLY does it. because there is barely direct discussion of cheryl and jason being abused as kids but holy shit do we all know clifford and penelope were abusive as fuck or what

reggie is constantly ducklipping i honestly can’t even tell if his mouth is naturally like that or if the actor is HILARIOUS oh reggie. oh darling. rub my shoulders again that was a nice dream.

these two are over the top but in a delightful way they’ve solved the “flirty asshole persists after disinterested hottie” trope by making all reggie’s flirtations about HIS OWN BODY rather than josie’s which eliminates what makes that trope so skeezy and now instead we’re all just having fun right we’re into this i’m into this they pretend it’s all drunk hookups and eye rolling in public but behind closed doors they have a lot of cute giggly fooling around and even some sweet snuggles

god even this rando drug dealer is beautiful why is everyone so pretty

Oh god core four not in a good place in byron’s sexpot cave right now

yes juggie offering up people’s (including your own) LITERAL HOME is a great plan i mean i say including your own because we’re clearly supposed to see this as self sacrificing because the trailer is all jughead has but HE’S NOT THE ONLY FUCKER IN THE TRAILER PARK IS HE JESUS CHRIST

“Sharon” hahahahahaha i hope the black hood swaps his testes and eyeballs

also i think his face has healed too? what is in the WATER in riverdale?????

also too lets get real again a sec i’m really glad we’ve finally dropped the rape bomb because it’s a word that’s been absent from the dialogue so far and it needed to be said

I hope pop pissed on his fries

YASS GREASE MONKEY BETTY WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR IT AND WE FINALLY MADE IT WE DID IT GUYS

overalls. i’m kinda mad that no one was on board when i tried to make them cool in highschool and now apparently according to riverdale costumers they are A Thing

yass cheryl claws out i dont actually have anything worthwhile to say i just love my trash gothic eris daughter

this is possibly my fave veronica outfit holy shit it is so..... me.

also typical fucking parent reaction to sexual assault: “these things happen.... unless it’s to my own daughter then it’s inexcusable”

hermione and hiram be like “babe i’mma interrupt you real quick before you admit you’re a psychopath to our daughter” “thanks babe”

kevin fully acknowledges the hotness of byron which reminds me that the creators are clearly trying to get us all to forget about joaquin by throwing all these ethnically ambiguous pretty boys who dress like they’re in a band at us and it’s not working i tell you it’s NOT but i’m a little offended by how easily they keep pegging My Type like goddammit why am i so fucking predictable

byron’s hair every day is like my hair on like my best hair day of the year god i hate him

again i’m not much for cole sprouse face-wise but the all black is a DAMN good look on him everyone should just be in all black ft. leather jacket all the time it ups your hotness by at least three points

god i love how there is zero explanation for everyone’s adorably retro outfits to fit with the cars GOD i love this show

omg cheryl clearly channeling miss lana with another KILLER outfit god the girls are just KNOCKING IT OUT OF THE PARK in the wardrobe department this ep actually no you know what? the whole production design crew was having the time of their fucking lives all episode and i want to take a moment to thank each and every person on that crew for the tremendous job on such a fun episode theme

if cheryl and toni don’t bone down i’mma be cross

is byron’s second zayn malick? ((that’s the one i’m thinking of right? i don’t go there))

cheryl renders all sexualities meaningless with dem shorts

oh god jughead barely containing his glee while archie shrinks in terror in the passenger’s seat is such a Big Mood

that was... such an archie solution. poor boy. good boy. dumb boy.

hmm betty seems like she doesn’t recognize the name she doesn’t sound shocked or scared i was sort of suspecting someone we know

this is the BEST way dark!betty could possibly go holy shit man i was not about that plot line in season one but now i’m HERE for the good girl owning her darkness with agency not in a sexy goodgirl gone bad for our viewing pleasure kinda way but in a genuine way in which she has full ownership and control over herself fuck me this is some GOOD SHIT PREMIUM STUFF

OH DANG did not suspect that one. makes sense tho right.

oh no.... fred.... we know where this leads... nooo....

LODGES GOD. LODGES. FRICK.

dammit black hood.

Episode scorecard (i keep forgetting to do this):

# of sick beat drop rhythmic editing moments: One that i counted- the drop/reveal of the sugarman’s identity

do I still miss joaquin: yes

episode hair mvp: Cheryl all around, but particularly her lana del ray headband and swoop

episode outfit mvp: four way tie between cheryl’s sunbathing outfit, cheryl’s black dress with the embroidery and choker, cheryl’s lana del rey outfit all together, and veronica’s plaid pencil skirt/lace up back top number that is like a better version of one of my most iconic outfits and i’m real jealous. honorable mentions to toni, betty and jughead at the race, as well as bryon’s ghouly den kimono ensamble, betty’s overalls, hermione’s “oh no so tragic to hear about this car accident” outfit, penelope’s extra af lace collars, cheryl’s patterned pants and many more this was a good episode for clothes.

cast and crew mvp: production design was having the time of their fucking lives in this one and it paid the fuck off. the costumes as mentioned above, but also environments like thistle house interior and the ghouly hangout really stood out with their detailing and strong genre motifs. standing ovation team. beautiful work.

[mel-loves-all]

A Olicity Historical AU: Touch can be so much more than just, touch.

A/N:  Thank you to the wonderful @quiveringbunny for making this amazing cover art for my story.  It’s so beautiful.

You can read all previous chapters HERE or AO3.

~~~~~~~

Chapter 4

Felicity watched from her window as the two men, one fair-haired and the other dark, both with military bearing and impeccable ease with their horses, rode away from the manor house.  It was early and the world was just waking up.  The servants were stirring and the birds chirped their greeting to the new day.  

“My Lady, did you sleep well?”  Emma asked as she set Felicity’s day dress and undergarments on the bed.

“I was able to get some rest, Emma,” Felicity took one more sip of chocolate then placed the china cup back on its tray and turned from the window.  After an hour of tossing and turning as the day’s events replayed in her mind Felicity had finally settled down.  Her heart hurt knowing that Lord Archer was...struggling.  

Bouts of insomnia were not new to Felicity and Emma, as well as others close to their mistress, still worried for her.   For Felicity had struggled, too.    

~~~~~~~

Coaxing the stride of the animal and harnessing its power was as second nature to Oliver as breathing.  The feeling of freedom that came with riding was one of the few comforts he enjoyed from his life before the war.

Life before the war.   Would he ever look at his life as one, again?  It was split into before and after.  Would the two ever merge?  

William slowed his horse to a walk and they ambled along a cliff side trail.  The miles of milky white sheared off rock face was a boundary that reflected generations of Mother Nature’s cycle of time.

The vast wildness of the seascape reminded Oliver that he was only a second, within minutes, that ticked pass.

“All this...it reminds me of how small we truly are,” Oliver said.

William met his gaze, with one that mirrored the same understanding, before nodding in agreement and turning to look back across the land.  It was an understanding that only one who shared the experiences of war could feel.  That the horrors that happened to them and that continued to plague them, long after coming home, could devour and destroy.  They could and would consume, till you felt that was all that you were.  That you were this...torment.

“Dark storms that roll in from the sea are the hardest for me,” William spoke into the wind and to the man beside him.  “Their violence and volatility brings chaos and the unknown to my doorstep...and I no longer feel I have, control...you understand, do you not.”

Oliver swallowed back the emotion that sprang from William’s words.  He was not alone in his fear and his decimation.  He was not the only one who felt, broken.  He was not...the only one.  

Once he found his voice again Oliver said, “I understand.”

William turned then and looked directly into Oliver’s eyes, “But then the sun, returns....it always returns,”

At Oliver’s silence William continued, “Sometimes it returns in the warm touch of its rays and sometimes...it returns in the light of another person’s heart.”

A gentleness came over William’s face and Oliver knew he now spoke of his wife, Katherine.

Soft lips in the moonlight came to mind and Oliver understood how William could have found happiness.   He was happy for him and Katherine, but the joy he saw seemed so far out of reach.   How could he nurture love and manage to share his life with another, when he could not even keep himself steady and strong?

~~~~~~

“Morning, dearest,”  Katherine greeted Felicity as she entered the peach and cream decorated breakfast room and sat down across from her sister-in-law and the Countess Archer.

“It is a beautiful morning, Katherine.  Countess,”

“Lady Felicity,” the Countess replied as she drizzled a liberal layer of fresh honey over her muffin.  A conspiratorial smile spread across her face as she noticed Felicity’s gaze, “You can never have too much honey.”  

“Never,” Felicity heartily agreed, as she reached for the container of honey as one of the servants placed a plate of muffins in front of her.

“Quite,” Katherine chimed in as she daintily licked the remains of the decadent sweetness from the corner her own lips.   All the ladies began to giggle and new friendships were forged.

“Lady, Felicity.  This was left for you,” one of the maids said quietly as she came to stand by Felicity.  

Felicity picked up the envelope handed to her upon a silver tray and opened the missive.   Fluid strokes of ink from Lord Archer’s quill relayed to Felicity that Hanna had a peaceful night and was preparing a place for her babes with much enthusiasm.  Felicity couldn’t help smiling as he described the “borrowing” of his clothing.   He was a kind man to allow such liberties.

“Pleasant news it would seem,” the Countess gently asked, as both ladies noticed Felicity’s reaction to the note.

“Yes, very pleasant news.  Our pregnant dog, Hanna, has found a place to have her pups and it appears that Lord Archer’s dressing room is her choice.”

“I’m so relieved you found her, Felicity.  Lord Archer’s suite?  Surely he would like us to move her?” Katherine asked, as she bit down on another luscious bit of muffin.

“He’s actually been lovely about the whole thing.  He insisted she stay,”

“He would,” the Countess said softly.  “He has a good and true heart.”    

Felicity watched as pain and a light sheen of tears formed in the older woman’s’ eyes before they were blinked away and a brave smile returned.  

“Yes, yes he does,” Felicity said gently.  She knew Oliver was suffering.  Most likely in many of the same ways her brother William did and she knew the toll it took on those who loved them the most.  You could not always reach those who suffered, but you could remind them that they were loved.  

People had made sure Felicity had felt loved and she knew without a doubt that the Countess loved her son.

“Countess, you must try our fresh strawberry jam.  The plants grow wild across the cliffs.” Katherine went into deliberate detail about the harvesting and wonders of their cook and soon the Countess was drawn into conversation that took the tears completely away.

“If you would like, we could take a carriage ride to my parent’s home.  My family’s estate borders Somerset.”

“I would like that,”  the Countess replied and the ladies’ day was set.

~~~~~

Felicity took a few moments to check in on Hanna before they set out for Katherine’s family home.   The scent of verbena and leather, that Felicity had grown to associate with Lord Archer, lingered in the empty suite.  She took a deep breath and enjoyed all the sensations and memories it brought back to her.  Virility and masculine beauty would forever be connected to those distinctive scents.  

“Hanna,” she whispered soothingly as she walked into the cool and shadowed dressing room and crouched down to pet the dog.   The excited thump of Hanna’s tail greeted her touch.  

“You have made yourself a comfortable nest haven’t you?”  Felicity said as she reached out to finger the white cotton shirt and what suspiciously looked like a cravat piled under the warm body of her pet.  “Lord Archer will watch over you, sweetness.  All will be well.”

~~~~~~

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