#he drew pat a bit ago and i jumped for joy

[gorillaxyz]

im actually so obsessed with that guy on deviantart. he draws ship art of himself and celebrities like taylor swift BUT ALSO? katie britt... i fuck with it so much and i love him hes one of my favouriye people on the internet and well. on deviantart. who is rhe only person he watches? ME. the only comment hes ever made..? replying to ME. im his number 1 fan. we are basically for lifers

[strawberrylemonz]

Moths and Cubs

Part 7

Part 8 [CURRENT]

Part 9

DT: @petrichormeraki @applepie1000 @jump-in-the-cadillac

Theo belongs to @petrichormeraki !!!!! Give em some love!!!!!

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

“Heeeeeey, Tommy. What’s up? It’s been a long time, thought you were dead. Um, you been doing good?”

Xisuma watched as Tommy crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. He watched with confusion as the fox, Fundy, began to shrink under the gaze of Tommy. Finally, Tommy spoke up. 

“I was told that you were looking for me. What do you want?”

Fundy’s nervous smile morphed into a grim one. Running a hand across his face, he let out a shaky sigh. 

“I know we have had our ups and downs, Tommy. I know we didn’t really leave on a good note, but please, I need your help.”

As Tommy sighed and looked over at Xisuma, who was watching in confusion. Fundy seemed to panic at this, taking it as a negative sign, and began to ramble.

“Please! I know that I’ve done things to annoy you over the years, especially when I was younger, but I need your help! And you don’t have to help me as a friend, or as an acquaintance, I don’t expect you too. But, please, I really need you. I’m not asking as a friend, Tommy, I’m asking as family. I’m asking as your nephew.”

Xisuma, much to Tommy’s amusement, seemed to be having a difficult time processing the fact that this boy at the portal was Tommy’s nephew. This was the Fundy they’ve heard of? Tommy, on the other hand, ran a hand through his hair, sighing. Fundy always knew what to say to get him thinking, especially when it came to playing the family card. Before Tommy could say anything, however, Fundy spoke up once more. 

“And if being your nephew isn’t enough, not anymore, what about your great nephew?”

Tommy quickly turned his head to face his nephew, who smiled sheepishly. Carefully nudging someone behind him, Tommy felt his breathing stop as he saw a small, blond fox peek from behind Fundy. After receiving a nod from the older fox, the small cub stepped out from behind him. Seeming to hype himself up, he slowly walked up to Tommy, who kneeled down to reach his height. After giving his nephew a look, causing the older fox to flinch, he turned back towards to small child, who was playing with his own shirt. 

“H-Hi”

“Hey, big man. My name’s Tommy.”

“T-Theo...”

“Hm, Theo? Awesome name for an awesome dude.”

He smiled as the child smiled up at him. Nodding, Tommy stood up, facing Xisuma. Already getting into a pleading position, Tommy asked the question the two of them knew he was going to ask.

“I’m sorry to ask this, but-”

“Already done, Tommy. You know you don’t have to ask. Now, let’s get them safely in”

--------

Mumbo had informed Tommy that the girls went back to Tommy’s place, Grian assisting them. This, obviously, caused Fundy to ask questions. As the three of the walked down to Tommy’s place, Tommy explained what had happened to him up to that point. 

“I have a grandma? And another uncle? And a cousin? Who’s a moth? We’re royalty? And you can actually build? And you-”

“Okay, Fundy, calm down. Yes, you have a grandma. Kristin is great and understanding, so she won't push you to like her off the bat, though, that would be hard to do. Yes, you have another uncle. Grian is the missing triplet brother of Techno and Wilbur. Yes, I took in Clementine about a week ago. She’s a bit younger than Theo, very sweet, unpredictable, and a shapeshifter. Give her a small while and she’ll warm up to you. Yes, we’re royalty. Didn’t Wilbur tell you? Damn, didn’t know that. And finally, yes I can build, you prick! Fuck you!”

After telling Theo not to repeat those words that he said, Tommy approached his door. Preparing himself for the explanations he would have to give, he opened the door. He laughed as a squeal was heard, getting louder as tiny feet pattered across the floor. Kneeling down, Tommy nearly toppled over as Clementine rammed into his chest with as much power as her tiny body could hold. 

“Sorry I’m late, Clem, I had to pick up some special additions.”

Confused noises came from the girl as she peered behind Tommy. Squeaking at the sight of unfamiliar faces, she ran and hid behind Kristin’s chair. Kristin and Grian, on the other hand, laughed in their seats as Tommy stood up. Grian was the first to speak up.

“So, who is this? Oh, and this little fellow as well, hello.”

Dusting his clothes off, Tommy widened the door. After seeing the hesitation coming from his nephew, he guided the two foxes into the house, closing the door behind them. 

“You know how I told you that we had a nephew? From Wilbur”

“Yeah?” “Turns out, we also have a great nephew! Grian, meet Fundy, your nephew! And this little man, right here, is Theo! Your great nephew!”

“Wha-”

“Which means, Kristin! Good ol’ Mumza! Meet your other grandchild, as well as your great grandson!”

“What?!”

Tommy guided Fundy to the table, where Kristin and Grian were sitting. As he sat him down, he sat beside him as they began the conversation. 

“It’s very nice to meet you! Oh, and Theo looks like such a sweetheart!”

“It’s nice to meet you too, grandma. Sorry, um, Kristin-”

“You can call me grandma, Fundy!”

Fundy gave Tommy a look, obviously confused as to how this woman was married to Philza. Tommy, in turn, shrugged before speaking up. 

“Okay, Fundy, I waited until we got back for your explanation as to why you need help.”

“Right, sorry. You see, I’ve been in hiding ever since Theo came into the world. For about two and a half years, a little after you disappeared, presumed dead, I’ve been shielding him from his father, scared of what would happen if he was discovered. About a week ago, I saw a flier for your amusement park, and I gained hope. I couldn’t wait months to seek out out, and I knew that you could turn me away, that possibility frightened me, but I needed to get Theo away from there. Please, please don’t send us back. Even if I have to leave Theo here, to be safe, I will! I just need him to be safe and sound, away from that server. And I’ll even give yo-”

“Fundy! Breathe! Take deep breaths, my dude. Here, take a carrot. Calm yourself. I’m not going to abandon you two, that’s not what family does. You can stay here with me, no catch included.”

Fundy physically relaxed, deflating in his seat. As he covered his face with his hands, he did his best not to start crying there on the spot. As Tommy rubbed circles on his nephew’s back, he allowed his nephew’s low ramblings to fill the silence. Reaching over the table, Kristin took Fundy’s hand in hers and began rubbing circles onto the back of his hand. Grian just set a hand on Fundy’s arm, giving him small pats. 

“Thank you, uncle. Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me. I was so scared for Theo, scared that he’d be found out. After seeing what happened to you, as my uncle, it scared me. After seeing what you had go through, since your first day on the server, I just knew he couldn’t be exposed to that. I, just, thank you.”

“Quick question, who is Theo’s father? Since you left in such a hurry, I figured he must be dangerous.”

“Grian, maybe it’s too early to ask him that-”

“No, I should tell you guys who it is. Theo's father is, well, Dream.”

Fundy physically retracted, waiting for his uncle’s high pitched yell to question him. However, Tommy’s yell never came. Instead, a crash interrupted the adults, followed by giggling. Standing up without hesitation, Tommy walked over to the living area. 

“Clem? Theo? What are you two up to?”

Fundy scrambled after his uncle, concerned for his son. He, along with the other adults, stopped in the doorway as they watched the scene before them. Theo was giggling and laughing as he scrambled around the room. Clem, on the other hand, had shapeshifter into a small, arctic fox. As she hopped between furniture, she chased Theo around, happy squeals coming from her small body. With a final jump, she pounced on Theo, who squeaked in joy as he fell onto the carpet. With a poof, Clem shifted into a similar fox form as Theo, matching him best she could with her abilities. Together, the two giggled and squealed as the rolled around the carpet. Before Fundy could utter a single word, Tommy turned to face him with a smile. Nodding over to the two kids, he spoke up. 

“Think Theo would mind sharing a room with Clementine?”

--------

The single black wall of the room, recently painted with chalk paint, finally dried by the time evening rolled around. Tommy had crafted a bed for Theo, and pushed it against the wall opposite to Clem’s side of the room. As the kids drew with chalk giggling, Fundy helped Tommy decorate Theo’s side of the room with books and toys. Kristin and Grian had left, off to get things to help Fundy and Theo settle in, as well as get groceries for dinner. Once Tommy and Fundy had finished setting up Theo’s side, they scooped up the children and hauled them off to the bathroom, ready to give the filthy children an early bath. 

“Clem! Please, sit still!”

Tommy and Fundy struggled to keep the children still whilst they bathed them. Clem and Theo, on the other hand, were focused on splashing each other with the water. By the time they finally washed the children clean, the surrounding area was covered in water. Fundy hauled off the kids as Tommy dried up the mess. Once he finished up, Tommy walked over to the children’s room. Confused at the sound of struggling, followed by giggling, Tommy opened the door. Fundy was trapped, sheets binding him as Theo and Clem ran literal circles around him. Sighing, Tommy walked over and scooped Clem off the group. As she squealed, he spun are around in the air. Setting her down, he kneeled down to her level as Theo ran to her side, a smile on his face. 

“Are you pulling pranks on your cousin?”

Curls bounced as she nodded.

“Do you think that that’s funny?”

Curls bounced once more without any hesitation. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty funny.”

“Tommy!”

“What? It is!”

Fundy groaned as Tommy helped him out, Theo and Clem giggling in the background. Stretching out his arms, Fundy gave it about two seconds before he dashed, snatching Theo into the air. As the young fox squealed in delight, Clem jumped up and down in joy. As the four quieted down, they heard the front door open, Kristin and Grian’s voices calling out to them. Without skipping a beat, Clem pulled open the door and ran to greet them with hugs. Theo, not wanting to be left behind, whined and squirmed until Fundy put him down. As soon as his feet touched the floor, he took off, the sound of slightly heavier tiny steps pattering after the other tiny steps. 

--------

“Papa! Look!”

Fundy watched with a smile as Theo spun around, his brand new, custom crown sitting on top of his head. Clementine whined until Tommy brought her tiara to her. Once her’s was placed upon her head, she joined Theo in spinning around until they fell dizzy. Laughing at the sight, Fundy nearly forgot about his own custom crown, sitting in his hands. Turning to Kristin and Grian, he thanked them for the crowns, already bringing out the diamonds he had brought in case he had to bribe Tommy to let them stay. He was, however, stopped instantly.

“No, no diamonds. These are gifts, from your family.”

“You two deserve to match the rest of us! All that needs to happen now is for the two of you to get your custom suits made by Tommy for royal events.”

“I’m sorry, what now.”

“Don’t worry about it. Tommy! Come help me with the soup!”

“Coming, Mumza!”

Fundy watched as his uncles join his grandma, everyone smiling. Sitting on the couch, he watched as his son and his cousin play around. And as he watch his son finally get the freedom he deserved, as well as a friend his age to grow up with, he knew that things would be okay. Even if Dream himself came marching into the server, Fundy knew that he and Theo would be okay. And for the first time in a while, he allowed himself to breath.

He was okay

[heynikkiyousofine]

Part 1 l Part 2 l Part 3
The saga continues for my dear friend @enchantedink-ag, enjoy lovelies!
Part 2
Bounding from tree to tree in the scattered daylight as it filtered through the canopy, Inuyasha barely had time to catch his breath before taking off once more towards Meiji Shrine, a sacred temple located in a meadow with not much else around it. Miroku explained this temple was sacred, much like Mount Hakurei was. The temple had been built over the grave of the deceased demon, Koyanagi. It was where the twins had taken her, Miroku was sure of it. With it being a sacred place, it was the perfect location to harness spiritual power to bring him back from the dead.
He had been running all day, only stopping to take a quick drink in a stream he passed by earlier. Sweat covered his brow and Inuyasha knew he would have to move even quicker before sundown to make it there, that the full moon would be at its highest just hours after the sun sets over the horizon. Feeling his youki pulse, he pushed forward, leaping from a tree branch as his strength rose and his inner demon roared in anger. Kagome, I’m coming.
——————————————————————————————-
Kagome focused on the dirt on her bare feet, while Kimoto wrapped the sisal rope around the worn wooden pole that protruded from the ground. She needed to keep her strength up, even though she was bone tired and her whole body ached. The blood and dirt caked on her head had dried hours ago, while she sported a nice looking welt on her tear stains cheek where Kimoto had thrown her in the rough dirt. Whimpering, she felt a slight shiver and a wave of nausea roll over her as he continued tying, his hands brushing her backside. Inuyasha. I’m scared. Where are you?
As he finished securing her, Kirigaya spread out her scroll on a near by large stone few feet away, then pulled a dagger from her inner cloak. The smooth steel glistened in the bright moonlight, catching Kagome’s attention from her post. The soft breeze swished across the grass and Kagome knew she would have loved the lay here in the meadow and stargaze with her husband had they come across it in different circumstances. Swallowing quickly, she kept quiet and continued to observe the twin demons. Wiggling her fingers, she pulled against the worn rope, noticing that the rope wasn’t as tight as she had initially thought and felt a familiar aura approach the far tree line. Not wanting to give anything away, Kagome shifted and continued to stare ahead into the dark forest.
——————————————————————————————-
Inuyasha stood in a tall oak tree, glaring at the scene before him. He growled quietly to himself when he noticed Kagome was currently tied to a post in a dirt patch in the middle of a field. Farther back sat a small red painted building he assumed was the shrine. I’m going to kill those fuckers for kidnapping Kagome. He continued watching the duo move around Kagome, setting up the ritual. Glancing at the clear sky, he noticed the moon was almost at its highest point, shining brightly on the scene before him. It was time as he felt an evil aura spread over the forest.
He patted his kosode, feeling the rough outline of the pouch Kaede gave him, the stack of sutras from Miroku, wiggling his ears once, before grabbing Kagome’s bow and arrow and jumping quietly from his spot. He wasn’t sure what his plan was, he just knew he needed to stop the ritual from happening. He needed to save his wife and unborn child.
He simply strode forward silently, keeping one claw gripped tightly on his fang, the other still holding Kagome’s weapons, his eyes darting swiftly around. The two demons didn’t seem to notice him, or to care to even look up at him, which was he thought was odd. He was sure they would have felt his aura by now, unless they were ignoring him. Feeling a bit unnerved, he was suddenly throw back by some invisible force, yelping as he landed on his back. Fucking hell that hurt. Three heads shot up at the sound, the demons staring and smirking at his pain while Kagome’s eyes filled with worry.
——————————————————————————————-
“Ah, the half-breed showed up brother, I had wondered if he would find us. It seems he isn’t as dense as I assumed.” Kirigaya snickered as Inuyasha groaned and slowly stood, staying rooted in his spot. “If you couldn’t tell, we set up a barrier around the ritual site so no one can bother us.”
“That’s right sister, we don’t need anyone interrupting us.” Kimoto added, stepping away from Kagome. Inuyasha! Kagome struggled against the ropes once more, feeling them give away more this time. A plan was beginning to form in her thoughts. Her stomach lurched as she heard Inuyasha’s yelp once more, staring ahead as he was thrown back to the ground again. Her bow and arrows lay on the ground beside him and her determination grew. Once she was free of these ropes….
Kirigaya turned towards her scroll once more before lifting her head to look at the moon’s position and smiling broadly.
“It’s time. Brother, come here.” She reached for his hand, intertwining their slender fingers. “In just a short time, our brother will be returned to us and we will once again be all powerful.”
“You bastards! Let Kagome go!” Inuyasha yelled from outside the invisible barrier, staring at his wife with fear filled golden eyes. Kagome could tell by his wide stance, clenched fists and angry glare that he was becoming desperate. His demon wouldn’t stay away much longer. Hang in there for me Koi, I’ve got a plan. 
Kimoto turned towards her, pure joy in his gray eyes, and lifted his hands. The grass suddenly still and the air around her coming to a halt. If she stopped struggling, she was sure she could hear her own heartbeat with how silent the area was. Glancing at the love of her life, she saw him draw Tetsusaiga and the blade turn a crimson red. He’s going to break the barrier. I need to get out of these ropes and fast.
Kirigaya swiftly turned her head and glared at the half-demon with his sword raised high. She smiled and took a deep breath. Kagome knew what was coming. Kagome didn’t know it was her that was screaming, until Kimoto shoved a small piece of cloth in her mouth, as more tears fell down her cheeks. The pain wouldn’t stop, piercing her skull and making her incredibly nauseous. Focused on not passing out from the pain, she barely felt the blade slice her collarbone. After what felt like an eternity, the sound stopped and Kagome locked eyes with Inuyasha as he blasted through the barrier, shattering it into a million pieces before it disappeared into the air.
“You filthy half-breed.” Kirigaya was seething, gripping the scroll in her hands so tight, her knuckles turning white. Inuyasha stood at the edge of the dirt circle, a smirk spreading across his face. Whipping her head back, she urged Kimoto to continue. Kagome realized his hands had been roaming her body, touching her in places only Inuyasha had ever. Her stomach lurching, she pulled against the ropes once more, her right hand coming free. As Kimoto drew blood from her cheek with the small dagger, she quickly untied the rest of the rope, freeing her left. Pulling the dirtied cloth from her mouth, she shoved at Kimoto. I have to get to my weapon. Inuaysha!
“Inuyasha!” She screamed, her heart bursting at the seams as she watched him race forward.
——————————————————————————————-
Furious didn’t even begin to describe Inuyasha’s feelings. His blood boiled beneath his skin as he swung, breaking the barrier with his red Tetsusaiga. When Kagome’s blood curdling scream filled the air, his heart shattered and his demon roared. He was clawing to get out, determined to kill the very beings who harmed his beloved. He knew purple streaks had appeared along his cheekbones and his fangs were long enough to pierce his bottom lip. When the barrier disappeared, the ringing stopped. Smirking at the female, he was thankful he had decided to wear the ear plugs before arriving. Thank you Sango.
The scent of iron and blood filled this nose and if he could be any angrier, he would be. That fucker was hurting Kagome. He couldn’t use the Wind Scar in his position, he would hurt her too. Deciding his lengthened claws were a good enough weapon, he leaped at Kirigaya just as she stepped forward, drawing her own sword hidden beneath her cloak. Eyes wide, Inuyasha collided with sharp metal, his hands gripping the sword’s length.
taglist: @kalcia @smh1821 @stillunderyourbed @mandirox89 @littlepumkinseed @knittingknots @mamabearcat @bitch8901 @rikareena @swaggingtomboy @nonbinarypeeta @writemydaydreams @ruddcatha @mlb-stuffs @adorabubblesblog @sailorlolo @chaoticisapphic @zelink-inukag @meadashaw @inukagger @zanda-rl @born-for-eachother @wheremydreamsliethereyoullfindme @anisaanisa @mylindylady @aceverett15

[ericsonclan]

Inseparable

Summary: Clementine heads out to hunt with AJ looking forward to spend some time with the one she loves most.

Word Count: 3138

Read on AO3:

Clementine glanced down at the worn-out map of Ericson and gave a long sigh. Things were really starting to come together around here. It had taken a lot of work and time to process all that had happened but after what felt like countless months they had finally reached it. A new normal.

Clementine’s eyes studied the map once more, her fingers tracing the different markers until they paused on the marker for the traps. Today was the day. She’d finally go out and get to help with hunting again instead of being stuck with indoor chores. She knew exactly which partner she wanted to take with her. Clementine smiled softly to herself then folded up the map and tucked it away in the headmaster's desk.

With a deep breath Clementine turned sharply on her heel and opened the door. Her fingertips brushed against the hallway wall as she moved forward. For some reason she was swept up in a feeling of nostalgia; maybe it was because things were finally truly looking up. She had been cleared to help out on all chores now. She had gone hunting a handful of times already. Louis had always jumped to volunteer to go with her and each time they went out he’d been extra protective of her, making sure that the coast was clear each step of the way.

But today she wanted to give Louis a break, let him focus on other things and go with the person who was the nearest and dearest to her heart. All she had to do was find AJ. He wouldn’t be hard to spot with his afro and never-ending energy and determination to help protect the school.

Clementine moved down the stairway carefully since she was still getting used to the newest prosthetic that Willy had made her and headed toward the door. With a strong push she opened it and was greeted immediately by Rosie. The pitbull happily wagged her tail and moseyed over to Clementine, giving her hand plentiful licks.

“Hey, girl,” Clementine laughed and wiped the dog's saliva off her left hand before giving Rosie some much needed head scratches. The pitbull soaked up the love and happily panted, her tongue drooped out of the right side of her mouth as she enjoyed this simple bliss. Clementine chuckled once more then looked up. Her eyes scanned the courtyard and noticed that Aasim was helping carry some fertilizer over with Ruby, their joined hands lazily swaying back and forth as he whispered sweet words into Ruby’s ear. The redhead’s rosy cheeks turned rosier as she stopped for a moment and got up on her tiptoes to surprise Aasim with a tender kiss. Aasim was shocked for a moment but immediately deepened the kiss before leading the way towards the greenhouse to store away the fertilizer. Omar waved towards the pair from the watchtower and exchanged a few words then resumed his lookout duty.

“That's bullshit!” Violet’s voice made Clementine glance over to see her friend crossing her arms as Louis gave a shrug.

“The game is the game,” Louis offered his best friend a playful smile as he shuffled the cards with a bit of a flamboyant flair.

“The only reason you're winning is because I’m fucking blind,” Violet grumbled and leaned her arms on the table. Her eyes tried to follow Louis’ movement as he started to deal the cards.

“Partially blind, and no, I’m winning because I’m the best at card games,” Louis’ statement made Violet roll her eyes. “In fact you might say I am the greatest card player to ever live! I-”

“Just deal the damn cards,” Violet groaned and waited until all the cards had been dealt before picking them up. She was acting like this game wasn’t fair and that she was just doing this for Louis’ sake but the small smile on her lips showed her real feelings. Based on the grin on Louis’ face, he had picked up on that too.

Clementine’s eyes moved away from the pair and over towards the loud laughter nearby. Willy was happily chasing AJ who kept bobbing and weaving through the courtyard to avoid his friend. Stretching his arm out, AJ grabbed the flagpole and spun around to dodge Willy as he tried to tag him.

“Gotta be faster, dummy!” AJ smiled back at Willy who frowned for a second before a confident smile appeared on his face.

“You’re gonna be the dummy when I finally tag you!” Willy sprinted forward and began to close the distance between the two of them. AJ’s eyes grew large and he quickly sidestepped to avoid Willy, laughing smugly when he was successful.

AJ was about to run off again but he stopped when he noticed Clementine. His eyes immediately shone with joy and he scampered forward. “Time out!” AJ yelled as he ran up the steps of the admin building, jumping over steps to reach Clementine faster. His arms stretched foward and he tackled Clementine in a loving hug. He had put so much force into it that it caused Clementine to stumble back a bit.

“Whoa there, kiddo! You gotta give me some warning next time,” Clementine teased as she ruffled AJ’s afro fondly. AJ looked up with a big smile, only a flicker of apology in his eyes.

“Sorry. Oh! You wanna play tag with me and Willy?” AJ asked, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet.

“Not now, goofball. I was going to go out hunting and I was hoping I’d find you because I needed to ask you something,”

That statement made AJ’s nose scrunch up. “What?”

Clementine knelt down in front of AJ to be more at his level, a warm smile on her lips. “Want to be my hunting buddy today?”

AJ’s eyes grew large and he nodded excitedly. “Yes! Are we going now?”

“Yep, just gonna grab my bow and I’ll be all set,” Clementine smiled when she saw AJ’s little happy dance. She loved whenever he got excited enough to do that.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to keep you safe,” AJ’s expression turned serious and he met Clementine’s eyes. “I’ve been working hard.” He patted his hip which had a sheath with his knife in it, a gift that Clementine and Louis had bartered for with a caravan not long ago. Clementine had wanted to make sure that AJ had a weapon all his own so he wouldn’t have to rely on shivs anymore.

“I know you will,” Clementine pulled AJ in for another hug then started to walk towards the targets where the bows were kept while AJ went to explain to Willy that their game of tag would have to wait.

Clementine’s eyes searched the pile of bows and landed upon Marlon’s old bow. Her hand grasped it and she examined it closely, her mind being drawn back to the day it had been fished up from the stream by the fishing shack. Even though Clementine had mixed feelings about Marlon and what had transpired she still found it fitting that his bow would continue to protect the school.

“I heard you’re heading out,” Louis’ voice shook Clementine from her inner thoughts and she looked over at her boyfriend whose eyes held love and concern for her.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Clementine took one of Louis’ hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. “AJ and I will be safe. I promise.”

Louis still seemed worried but he nodded. “Okay, you better be because if anything happened to you or that little dude-” Louis’ throat became tight and he took a deep breath. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with? Because I totally can.” “No, it's okay. I think it's good for you to have some down time. You’ve been pushing yourself so hard lately and besides I think some one on one time with AJ will be good for me too,”

Louis nodded and gave Clementine a quick, warm kiss that soon turned into many before he wrapped her up in a hug.

“Be safe,” he whispered into Clementine’s ear and she immediately returned the hug.

“Always,” Clementine held on tight then slipped her hands free and gave Louis one final goodbye kiss.

“Clem! I’m ready!” AJ declared proudly as he barreled forward with Rosie in tow. “Rosie wanted to come too. Is that okay?”

“Sure, I think that's a great idea.” Clementine ruffled AJ’s afro once more then started to head over towards the gate. Giving their final goodbye waves, the trio set out towards the traps.

“So, you gonna be my eyes and ears to make sure no walkers get near me?” Clementine smiled over at AJ who nodded determinedly.

“Yeah, those monsters won’t get near you,” AJ’s grip on his knife tightened and Rosie gave a small bark in agreement.

Clementine smiled at that; she really was lucky to have AJ beside her. He had kept her going throughout all those hellish years on the road, had always been by her side and had kept her safe just like she did for him. Now they’d continue to be the inseparable duo they always were excect now they had a forever home to come back to. After all those years of searching they had finally found their home. The thought made Clementine’s heart swell with pure happiness as she notched an arrow to prepare to snag any rabbits that came their way.

The two walked side by side down the trail, the leaves and twigs crunching and snapping underfoot as they were on the lookout for both walkers and rabbits. An unnerving groan to Clementine’s left drew her attention and she pulled back the drawstring, releasing the arrow and hitting a walker right in between the eyes. Walking over, she pulled out the used arrow and brushed the blood off on the side of her pant leg.

“I get the next one,” AJ commented as he jogged over to Clementine, Rosie right on his tail.

“Alright,” Clementine nodded, then led the way forward. It wasn’t long before another walker was spotted. “Okay, AJ, now remember-”

“Kick out the leg then aim for the head,” AJ finished Clementine’s instruction then moved forward to take down the walker.

“Hey, stupidhead!” AJ yelled, getting the walker’s attention. The walker roamed forward, its milky eyes staring blankly at AJ as it extended its arms to grab its next meal. AJ easily dodged its attempt to grab him though and kicked out its leg. The walker fell with a groan and AJ lifted up his knife and plunged it into the walker’s skull. His blade became slick with blood and brain matter as he yanked it out, causing the walker to fall over dead. AJ took a deep breath then looked back at Clementine with a smile.

Clementine returned the smile, her eyes shining with pride as AJ ran back towards her. “That was great, AJ. You’ve really gotten better with the knife,” Clementine knelt down. “You’ve definitely grown.” “I’ve always been this tough, Clem,” AJ corrected and Clementine gave a small laugh.

“Yeah, you have. Have I ever told you how proud I am of you?” Clementine asked as she led the way once more.

“Yeah, all the time,” AJ jogged forward along with Rosie, his eyes peeled for any signs of threats.

“Well, I’m gonna tell you again. I’m super proud of you, AJ.” Clementine smiled over at AJ who beamed at her praise. After a moment of them sharing a smile both focused back on the trail, making sure the path was clear. Soon the two got into a rhythm along with Rosie, clearing out walkers. There weren’t that many today which was nice and with how capable all three of them were it was easy to clear the way.

“Do you need a break, Clem? Is your leg hurting?” AJ stopped and looked at Clementine, his hands on his hips. “You gotta make sure you don’t push it.”

“I’m not. My leg is okay for now. I promise that as soon as it's too much I’ll tell you,”

AJ thought about Clementine’s words for a moment then gave a nod. “Okay, promise?” He held out his pinky.

“Promise,” Clementine intertwined her pinky with his. The two shared a smile then continued forward.

After a minute they had reached the traps and then began to undo the ones that had been triggered, taking the game and then resetting them once more. It seemed like a fairly good haul today. They didn’t need to gather as much as before now that they had the rabbit pen but still it was good not to abuse that and grow cocky in thinking it was unlimited.

Clementine handed over some more of the rabbits to AJ who had offered to carry some more then began to walk towards the next trap, careful to avoid setting off another. Suddenly though her balance shifted due to her still getting used to this newest prototype and her foot gave out, leading it to get snagged in the trap. A small, startled yell left her lips as she immediately flipped upside down as the trap pulled her up into the air.

“Clem!” AJ’s voice was frantic as he ran forward with Rosie who gave a worried bark.

“I’m fine, kiddo. Just lost my footing for a second there. Mind helping me get down? I-” Clementine froze when she saw a group of four walkers roam forward. Low, gurling moans left their hollow throats as they approached. “AJ! Behind you!”

AJ spun around, his knife drawn as his eyes grew big. Rosie growled protectively and got ready to take down the walkers before her.

“Don’t worry, Clem, I’ve got this,” AJ took a deep breath and tossed the rabbits to the ground then shuffled over to the right to take down the walker that was furthest away from the others. Picking up a rock, AJ tossed it against a tree to draw over the walker.

The walker’s head tilted as its jaw flapped due to it being loose and decayed. Stumbling forward, the walker went for its new target. AJ used that to his advantage and harshly kicked out its leg before embedding his knife into its head. He grunted as he struggled to pull out the knife. His sounds of struggle drew one of the other walker’s attention who wandered towards the child.

Clementine felt her fear rising and she tried to lift herself up to cut the rope and get free. Unsheathing her knife, she leaned up and was nearly at the rope when her knife dropped. “Shit! Fuck!” Clementine whacked against the tree due to the force of her swaying. Her eyes immediately went back to AJ who had successfully gotten the knife out of the first walker’s skull but the other walker was nearly upon him now.

Suddenly Rosie dashed forward and jumped onto the walker, pushing it down. The walker groaned, its arms flailing about until Rosie’s maw pierced into its skull and crushed it into a bloody pulp. Brain matter and blood coated the pitbull’s mouth as she moved to attack another walker, her teeth ending its existence in mere seconds.

AJ took a deep breath and picked up the rock. Using the same tactic again, he guided the last walker over to a secluded spot and kicked out its knee. With a sharp jab AJ’s knife ended the walker’s hollow life and soon the monster was on the ground, limpless and lifeless. AJ let out a shaky sigh and gave Rosie some head pats then ran over towards Clementine. “I did it!” He smiled proudly and Clementine returned it, her heart relieved that he was okay.

“You did. Good job, AJ!”

AJ’s smile grew at that praise before he turned his attention towards helping get Clementine down. Studying the tree for a moment, AJ proceeded to climb it carefully while holding the handle of the knife in his mouth. He’d have to cut the trap, destroying it in the process, but he’d make up for it by helping Willy whenever he came out with Louis to replace the trap. Holding onto the tree with one hand, AJ spat out his knife into his other hand and worked to cut down Clementine. The edge of his blade slid back and forth on the rope, slowly cutting through each thread until finally it snapped and Clementine came crashing down. Clementine gave a pained groan as she landed, causing AJ’s eyes to widen with worry.

“Clem!” AJ hastily climbed down the tree and placed away his knife before running over to check on her. “Are you okay? I was trying to help and- Did I do a bad?” AJ had a guilty pout as his sight turned to Clementine.

Clementine took a shaky breath and got up then kneeled in front of AJ. Without a word she wrapped him in a hug. “No, you did good. You helped make sure I was okay. You and Rosie both,”

The pitbull barked happily at the mention of her name, her stub tail wagging back and forth.

AJ held tightly onto the hug. “Told ya I’d keep you safe,”

“You did,” Clementine pulled back and gave AJ a smile. “Now how about we take what we caught for the day and head back home.”

“Okay,” AJ ran over to pick up the game and separated it evenly while Clementine retrieved her knife and bow, glad that both weapons were still in good condition. She paused for a moment and looked at AJ.

AJ felt her staring and his sight turned towards her. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m just glad I have you, that's all.”

Clementine’s words made AJ’s heart warm with happiness. “Me too!” He smiled as Clementine wrapped her arm around him and planted a kiss on the top of his head. “Bleh, a kiss!” “Hey now! That was to show that I love you,” Clementine defended her gesture as AJ walked forward.

“I already know you love me,” AJ looked back at Clementine, waiting for her to catch up. Clementine sighed and ran forward to catch up with AJ before the two wandered back down the path with Rosie in tow.

“Well, even if you know it, I’m gonna keep showing you that I do and keep saying it. I love you, AJ.” Clementine’s eyes locked with his.

“I love you too,” AJ smiled brightly up at Clementine and he led the way forward. His heart was warm with those words and his pulse had settled now that Clementine was safe. As AJ walked forward through the woods towards his home he knew that no matter what they’d always look out for each other and would always be together. They were inseparable.

[nerdypanda3126]

Playing with Fire – Ch. 8

So two things: first, I did write a little interlude between last chapter and this one, and you can find it here.

And second, in the part with Luka's journal, he's in a dark place at that point in his life and there's some suicidal ideation in there. If you'd prefer to skip over it, you can jump over the italicized parts, and as far as I know that's the only time it'll pop up in this story 💖

Read on Ao3 

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“You want to find my family?” Luka asked incredulously as he held a branch aside for her to walk past. 

He was tired, and so was she; they’d been walking all night, but Luka had insisted they needed to put as much distance as they could between them and the tower while they still had the cover of darkness. By the time the sunlight was able to filter down to them through the canopy, she suspected it was closer to mid-afternoon and they’d been up for a full twenty-four hours. He’d been stuck in his mostly-human form for the longest he’d ever had to endure it. Maybe not an ideal time to bring up her plan, but…  

“We’re already running for our lives, we don’t have a home to go back to, at least not for a while, so… While we’re out wandering anyways, I thought…” 

“We’d lead an angry mob straight to my mother and sister?” 

She rolled her eyes at him. Definitely not the best time to bring up her plan. “You’re cranky when you’re tired,” she noted, letting her own irritation slip into her tone. He grunted back, but it was more of a challenge than an assent. 

“Besides,” she pushed on, ignoring the way he bristled, “it might take a while to find them. How long do you think the townspeople will follow us, anyways? My guess is they get to the tower, see it’s empty, and turn around and go home.” 

“I’m not worried about them,” he grumbled. “There’s a certain friend of yours who didn’t seem ready to give up anytime soon.” 

If he had venom, he’d injected it into the word “friend.” She winced at his bitter tone. 

“Okay, so what’s your plan? We wander the wilds aimlessly chasing our tails for the rest of our lives?” 

He faltered and glanced over at her. The way he seemed so unsure made her realize he’d never had a plan. At least not past “stay alive and wait.” This was all new to him; he didn’t know what he was doing or where he was going. They’d traveled in as much of a straight line as was possible away from the tower, but other than that… he was lost. 

She drew closer to him and threaded her arm through his as an apology. He laid a hand over hers as he took her meaning and sighed. 

“Where would we even start?” he asked, his voice small in the quiet of the forest around them. 

“There have to be other towns nearby, and I’m sure someone would remember seeing dragons flying around 18 years ago.” 

“More townspeople…” he grumbled again. “Great.” 

She squeezed his arm in sympathy and they walked in silence for a while. She could feel the weight of the plan starting to fall on his shoulders, the idea of asking around, relying on humans, how long it might take. In truth, she hadn’t realized the enormity of the undertaking until she’d proposed it to him and now she could agree that it sounded impossible. 

“Maybe they’ve been waiting for you, too,” she dared to say. 

He let out a quiet laugh. “Ma wouldn’t, her treasure is the open skies and she wouldn’t wait for anyone.” He paused to think, then sighed. “Juleka might, though.” 

“Your sister?” 

“Mhmm. We were close when we were young. Before…” His eyes slid over to her and he let it drop. “She might’ve followed Ma at first, but I’m sure she wasn’t happy with the decision to leave me behind.” 

“What’s she look like?” Marinette asked, her curiosity overtaking her. He’d never talked about it before, but for once he seemed open to the topic. He smiled wistfully as he tried to remember. 

“A lot like me, I guess. Except, you know…not...” He gestured to himself, to his human form. “Unless she made the same mistake, but I doubt Ma would’ve let that happen again. And she’s taller than me, or at least she was when we were little. Maybe it’s changed a bit, but she was always kind of a lanky thing. Ma’s pride and joy, though, if I’m honest. It’s her fire. Most dragons have some variant of red; it’s rare enough to get blue fire, but Jules…” He shook his head, that wistful smile growing as he remembered. “Jules had violet fire. Unheard of, really. You’ll see when you meet her, she’s—” He caught himself then as he realized what he’d said. “If, I guess,” he amended quietly. 

She squeezed his arm again and smiled over at him. “When,” she agreed. “When I meet her.” 

He half-shrugged, but his smile warmed when he looked over at her. Before she could stop it, she yawned loudly and he laughed as one took him over, too. 

“First things first,” he said when it subsided, looking around at their surroundings. “We need to find a place to camp.” 

***

Later that evening they found a cave. 

Marinette had laughed a little at the prospect. Dragons, caves, towers, curses. Her life was sounding more and more like a fairytale turned inside out. Wasn’t there supposed to be a shining knight that rescued the damsel in distress from the terrible, fire-breathing dragon? 

But she didn’t feel very “in distress” as Luka joined hands with her to remove his stone and sighed with relief when his transformation took hold. She didn’t feel very in distress as he blew a small ring of fire into the floor of the cave, patting it down as he went to create a smooth, warm, bowl-shaped indent for them to curl up in together. And the only distress she felt as she tucked herself into his coils was her racing heart and trembling hands as the kiss they'd shared came back to her. He blinked up at her, sensing her hesitation, and uncurled a bit as if he intended to stand. 

She shook her head and laid her hand on his back, reassuring him, then took a moment to run her fingers over his scales, admiring them in their full splendor. Even though they were pitch black, they caught the bare light of the cave and glinted back at her like he was wearing a solid coat of jewels. They turned softer towards his belly, finer, more like the scales of a snake that she was used to as opposed to the armor he wore on top. 

As she continued to touch him, he let out that noise again, a small satisfied hum, and laid his head over his claws as he closed his eyes. 

His wings fascinated her. There was a solid joint of muscle on each side where they met his shoulders, as thick as both her fists put together, but the wings themselves seemed so fragile—she could see her hand through the delicate skin stretched thin between the bones. And yet they were able to hold not only his weight but hers, too. 

She felt it when she hit that sensitive spot that had made him ticklish before. Something like a chuckle rumbled through him and his wing flinched away from her reflexively, but he didn’t pull it out of her hands. That spot was along the side of the bone she’d been tracing, the longer one that nestled into his side when they were furled. She did it again out of curiosity and a shiver ran through him. 

She tried to remember what she’d read about dragon anatomy. But instead she was imagining how it must feel to him. Maybe something like if she were tracing the ridge of his shoulder blade when he was human. 

When she looked back at him, his eyes were still closed, like he was pretending to be asleep. She knew better, though; his breathing was uneven. As much as he was trying to hide it, he was hyper focused on her every move. 

She let her hand trail down his arm until she found one of his huge, rough hands. She picked it up despite his small grumble as his head shifted, and marveled at the largeness of it. The pad of what would be his palm was as big as her face, and the curved ebony claws reminded her so much of the hawks she’d seen in her life that she knew they were deadly. But his were each as long as her entire hand. 

As she set his hand back down, he opened an eye to look at her. She watched the slit of his pupil as it dilated to capture as much light as it could in the gloom of the cave. And the fiery blue that surrounded it was the same as the tuft of hair along his neck and at the tip of his tail. 

She should be frightened. Luka in this form was danger personified. Everything about him should have made her adrenaline spike. Should have made her want to run away or try to fight for her life. 

But as he blinked at her again, probably trying to understand what she was thinking, all she saw was… Luka. The same soul who had promised her mother he would take care of her, who had offered his life to her, who had saved her when she was too small to even know to be afraid. 

No wonder she’d still had dreams of sleeping curled up next to him. When she looked at him, at all of him, all she saw was safety and home. And as he tucked his wing around her like a blanket, she couldn’t imagine a safer place than right next to him. 

***

She grumbled awake when the light hit her eyes the next morning. She’d have to talk to him about getting curtains or something to cover that damn opening while they slept. She curled away from it, trying to press her face into Luka’s scales, but her nose was hitting something warm, and breathing, and...smoother than she expected. 

Her eyes flew open as she realized her lips had touched skin. 

It was later than normal and they’d already switched. Luka was human beside her. His arm was draped around her waist, she was curled up against his chest, and she had just nuzzled into his neck and brushed her lips against the hollow of his throat. She froze, but he was still solidly out, snoring lightly every so often, his arm a heavy weight around her. 

The night before rushed back to her. Fleeing the tower, their long walk, the cave they’d settled into for the night… and Luka. His dark hair was falling over his eyes, and those dark circles had returned after only one night of missed sleep. His lips were parted slightly as he breathed and he looked so peaceful she almost wanted to reach out and touch him if only to make sure he was real.

But she didn’t want to wake him. So as carefully as she could she extracted herself from his embrace and stood to stretch, realizing that all their walking from the past few days had caught up to her. Before she did anything else, she retrieved his stone from where he’d left it and slipped it around his neck so her flames didn’t attract any attention. Or worse, set anything in their temporary shelter aflame. 

They’d need to find food and water, but exploring their new area would have to wait until Luka woke up. For now she settled on taking inventory of what they’d brought with them, munching on a piece of bread from her parents’ bakery as she did. She froze when his lyre fell out, making an awful twang against the cave floor, but Luka only muttered in his sleep and rolled over. 

When she continued searching through the bags, her fingers caught on the leather of his journal. Another glance at Luka proved that he wouldn’t be awake for a while yet; losing sleep as they traveled had hit him harder than her. She walked as close to the entrance of their cave as she dared and sat in the light to read. 

The first few pages were mostly unintelligible. Scribbles and squiggles as Luka struggled with the quill and ink. Then came pages of the alphabet, unsteady at first, and traced over what must’ve been Jagged’s handwriting. The letters got stronger, more confident, and then on the next page, his first written word. Just his name, but she could almost see the pride he must’ve felt in accomplishing that one word. It stood alone on the page. She imagined a young Luka running out to show Jagged his hard work, beaming with the joy of learning a new skill. 

Then other words started to fill the pages. Jagged Stone, fire, bond, wings, rabbit, trap, tower. Naming things around him, sometimes with little drawings that accompanied the word. 

But then she saw the word “bakery.” Her breath caught. That wasn’t a word that Luka would be familiar with unless… 

Underneath that was a sentence. “My bonded lives in a bakery.” 

And as the pages went, she found more little tidbits about her life interspersed between Luka’s practicing. “My bonded has blue eyes.” “My bonded has black hair.” “My bonded likes the color pink.” “My bonded likes flowers.” 

It seemed he’d tried to learn as much about her as he could, but either Jagged never told him her name or Luka never asked because every one of them started with “my bonded.” She wondered if he did it on purpose. It seemed like something he would do. Waiting not only to meet her but to hear her name. 

He’d filled the next page, and it looked like a letter. Addressed to her. She glanced back at him, but he was turned away from her and she couldn’t see his face. She remembered how he’d stiffened when she asked if she could read it before he’d brushed it off as nothing. But he did say she could read it… 

So she did. 

***

To My Bonded,

You probably won’t ever get the chance to read this. I’m not sure why I’m even writing it other than I guess if the worst happens maybe there will be a small piece left of me that I can hope you would come to know.

From what I know of you, I think you might be someone who would listen.

Firstly, I don’t blame you if you’re angry with me. It probably hasn’t been easy on your end and I don’t know how much you’ve been told about our situation. Which is the worse curse, I wonder, knowing everything and waiting to see how it unfolds or knowing nothing and having to make a decision. Either way, I guess it’s really my fault anyways.

As for the second thing. I don’t know that I’ll have the chance to show you so I want you to know. I do care for you. Deeply. Sometimes that scares me because I don’t even know your name. The only thing I remember is seeing your eyes that day I rescued you. When they opened, when I knew you were okay, I was so relieved that I hardly even noticed your eyes were blue until Jagged reminded me years later. But they are, aren’t they? I wonder if they were like that before, or if maybe that’s another part of me that stayed with you.

I’m both dreading and hoping for the day I get to see those eyes again. Maybe when that day comes I can explain myself and apologize and tell you all this in person. Until then.

Yours, Luka

---

Bonded,

I didn’t think I’d write to you again. But Jagged told me today you had a ‘crush’ on someone in your village. A taylers boy, although I don’t know what that means. He told me about the fire too. He didn’t really have to. I felt it. I felt how your heart hurt and I wanted to go to you. Maybe I should have. I was afraid. 

Jagged said you were fine, that you would be fine. But next time I feel that, I’m coming to you. Scared or not.

Yours, Luka

---

Bonded,

I am sick of this place. I’m sick of this tower and sick of the waiting and sick of feeling like I’ll be stuck like this forever. I thought you’d come for me. Aren’t you curious about me? Don’t you know by now what’s happening, why I’m still here, that I’m waiting for you? Or maybe you’re staying away because you know. Maybe you want it to be this way, maybe this is your choice.

I don’t mean that. If you knew I’m sure you’d be here already. I guess I wish I knew how much longer it’s going to be like this. How much longer I’ll be waiting for you.

Yours, Luka

---

Dear Bonded,

I keep writing to you for some strange reason. It’s a sort of comfort, knowing that you’ll probably kill me before you get to read any of this. I’m sure that’s your answer now because your village has started sending men to kill me instead. They come up from your village anyway.

It’s okay. I get it. You’re probably scared of me. The rest of them have been so I can only assume you think the same. I haven’t let them win yet. For now there’s still a small part of me that hopes you don’t know anything about this. That it has nothing to do with you. For now anyways.

Yours, Luka

---

Bonded,

I hate the taste of blood.

Yours, Luka

---

Dearest Bonded,

This is my last letter to you. I can’t keep doing this. The men keep coming. I’ve tried everything to get them to leave me alone, but nothing seems to work. And I’m tired. I know you’re probably not coming. You won’t come. Even if you did, you’d be here to kill me. And I had every intention of giving you that choice, but I’ve made my decision. The next time those men come I’m not fighting anymore.

If you do find this. If you do come for me. I’m sorry. I’ve loved you with every breath.

Yours, Luka 

---

Dearest Bonded,

I’m a coward. Or a fool in love. Either way, I’m still here. I have to have faith in you.

Yours, Luka

***

She jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder. Luka laughed as he sat down behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist to press his chest against her back and lay his head on top of hers.

“Dramatic, wasn’t I?” he asked, still chuckling. As much as she could she swatted at his hand with the journal. 

“You scared me! You shouldn’t come up behind someone like that!” 

“We’re the only ones here, who else did you think it was?” 

Damn him, she could hear his satisfied smirk in his voice. She swatted him again for good measure, even as he pressed a kiss to her hair, but his last two letters were still sharp in her mind. 

“Why’d you stop writing?” she asked, flipping through the many blank pages that were left. She felt him shrug behind her. 

“I didn’t see much point to it, really. Either you’d come and we’d live happily ever after and I could tell you everything myself or… not. And it wasn’t like I ever expected you to want to read it if things went badly.” 

“How long after this…” she started, but she lost her voice halfway through. She had to swallow hard past the lump that was forming to find it again. “How much longer did you have to wait for me?”

He was quiet for a moment and he rubbed his hands up and down her arms, probably trying to soften the blow. 

“It doesn’t matter,” he said softly. 

“It does to me. Luka, if I’d known any of this—why didn’t you let Jagged tell me?” 

He let out another of those soft laughs behind her and his breath ghosted across her neck. “He wanted to. We fought about it a lot. But I figured that would only make you feel… obligated.” 

She thought about that while she stared at his last entry. Of course it was impossible to think what she might’ve done, or how she might’ve felt because she only knew what had happened. The series of events that led her to him. The nightmares and the flames and thinking she was a curse to her family and her village. And up at the tower Luka was dealing with his own nightmare. He’d almost given up hope and when she did come to the tower she’d almost proved him right. 

His arms tightened around her as if he could sense where her thoughts had gone. As if to prove he was okay and it turned out alright. She pressed back against him and could feel his heartbeat thudding steadily through her own chest. Maybe he was right. Maybe it didn’t matter. They were together now. That’s what she’d told him. To stop blaming himself for what happened. She didn't blame him for anything and at the very least he'd already forgiven her, too. 

She turned in his arms and slid her hand behind his neck to pull his face down to hers. As she pressed her lips to his, it felt like a promise. A promise that he’d never have to be apart from her like that again, bond or not. 

He melted against her and for a moment they were both lost in each other, in the knowledge that in this moment they were safe and together and that was all that mattered. 

[zhowongli]

coming home (right into your arms)

notes: hi friends. sorry i have the vocab of a child. slightly suggestively end. mentions of two younger sisters with names, but feel free to ignore/replace the names! song accompaniment recommendation: folklore album by taylor swift!

summary: because you drew stars around my scars. AU in which the phase that made you fall in love with your soulmate is tattooed on your wrist. it starts as exceptionally light and grows darker as you fall in love until it is completely black. – kuroo/oc

wc: 6.5k

You were vaguely aware of the concept of soulmates at six years old. The words appeared on your wrist just as you were done with your latest drawing – a picture of your parents, you, and your younger sisters. It freaked you out to no end, and you cried a little when you realized you couldn't scrub the marks away. When your mom found you, you could barely blubber out why you were crying so you ended up just showing her your wrist. She stared at you with wide eyes before she let out a soft laugh, which made you temporarily stop crying to stare at her with tears still threatening to spill from your eyes. Seeing your distress, she kissed your wrist and hugged you.

"It's okay, baby. It's nothing to worry about," she whispered softly. "Those are the words that your soulmate will say to you when you fall in love with them," she paused. "It's still faint now, but one day, when you really fall in love with them, it will turn black, just like mama's."

As she said that, she showed you her wrist, onyx black words inked onto her wrist. You stared at her wrist first and traced over the words on there before you stared at her with confusion in your childish eyes. You didn't get it, but you sucked up the snot that was about to drip and wiped the unshed tears leftover in your eyes before you nodded at her since she told you it was okay. She laughed lightly again before patting your head lovingly. She continued to explain that it was something like a permanent best friend, someone who knew you and loved you.

"So, like you and daddy and Maika and Haruna?" You listed off the members of your family on your small hands and tilted your head, not understanding it.

"Something like that," your mom nodded, "But it's a little different. It's a bond that only you and your soulmate will have. You will always feel at home with them."

Your mom could tell you still didn't understand it, so she just added that it might be too complicated to understand now, but that was okay since you were still young. One day though, you will meet someone just for you. You nodded again because although you didn't know what she meant, you were excited to have another best friend in your life one day.

That night, as you laid in bed, you traced the words tattooed on your wrist as you dreamed of laughter in sunlit rooms with your parents, playful teasing between your sisters and you, and dirty socks and skinned knees on playgrounds with your friends.

~✩~✩~✩~

You were eighteen when you first met Kuroo Tetsurou. Your little sister invited you to her school's volleyball game, which you thought was rather strange since she usually didn't go out to these events, but you accepted nonetheless because you thought she looked rather nervous. She was usually bold and confident and rather independent, so you were always happy that she could lean on you if she ever needed support.

Even though your university was a few stations over, you arrived a little earlier than planned. You have never been to Nekoma before since you chose to attend a high school that was further away from your house. Since it was a good half hour earlier than planned, your little sister wasn't here yet, and you were honestly a little lost. Although you just graduated a few months ago, you felt a little out of place, wearing what you wore to class – casual clothes and thick bracelets to cover your tattoo – looking for a gym. You took a glance at your phone to see if she texted you where she was, but she hadn't sent anything else since her last update.

You huffed silently as you circled back into the same spot you were in earlier. You cursed the gods for giving you a bad sense of direction – you couldn't help it, okay? – because this always happened. Luckily, as if someone heard your silent prayers, a high schooler in a red Nekoma uniform called out to you. His bright red jersey with the number 1 on it should have been easily the first thing that drew your eye, but his messy, untamed black hair and his half-grin half-smirk smile caught your eye and somehow eased all your tensions and worries.

He asked you if you were lost, and you told him hopelessly. At that, you heard his unique sounding laugh – it almost sounds like a hyena you thought to yourself- and you couldn’t help but laugh too. When you told him you were here for the volleyball game, his eyes lit up, and you found that you rather liked his animated gray eyes despite how scheming he looked at first.

"Thank you for finding me," you mumbled and bowed gracefully as he led you to the gym.

He paused as you said those words, stopping in place. When you looked back at him, you saw that he was twisting his black wristband with shock and the slightest dust of pink on his face.

"Sorry about that. I'm happy to help," he finally flashed his unique smile again. "Hope you're here to cheer for us?"

He made you laugh effortlessly. "Of course."

Only when he disappeared in the gym lockers did you realize you didn't catch his name.

~✩~✩~✩~

Your sister arrived shortly after; her dyed hair caught your eye rather quickly. She hastily made her way next to you, mumbling quick excuse me’s and sorry’s along the way, and as she reached you, you realized that she looked absolutely starstruck by the players arriving on the court.

"Hey." You tapped her shoulder, which caused her to jump a little. You laughed as she mumbled a quick hi, filled you in on the basics of volleyball, and went back to focusing on the game, eyes trailing after a certain player. You giggled a little at the sight and thought that she was incredibly cute. Following her example, you also began focusing on the game below, taking note that the game was starting.

You were always more of an indoor person, so you never went to a volleyball game. You remembered mandatory games for physical education classes, but even then, you only did what you had to do to pass the class. Despite not knowing much about volleyball, seeing these boys try so hard to keep the ball in the air, to keep the game going, to have the tenacity and drive to win, leaving you in awe. After Nekoma scored another point, the other team called a time out. During this time, you noticed that the same boy in jersey number 1 said something to his team and it immediately lifted the tired team's spirits. You briefly wondered if he was the captain. When you heard his hyena laugh, it left an impression on you as you began to laugh – it was so contagious.

"Nee-chan," your sister began as she looked at you, "Why are you laughing like a weirdo?"

"Shh," you shushed her with your finger, "Don't worry about it. Go back to watching the game."

She didn't need to be told twice as the time out ended and the game started back in action. After the time out, the other team was steadier, but it was still too late for them to catch up to Nekoma. The player with the 1 jersey blocked a ball, and as the ball bounced back to the other side of the court, the judge shouted out the match point. At that, the gym went wild with cheers – the audience rose and clapped as the team looked to each other and bowed to the audience before lining up for handshakes. Your eyes mindless trail over all the players, and to your surprise, you ended up staring into familiar gray eyes. For a moment, it felt like the world stilled and you couldn’t breathe. Only when your sister called for you, you awoke from your trance and flashed him a smile. You saw his smile and a small wave from the corner of your eye before you directed your attention to your little sister. You still didn't really get volleyball, but you can understand why your little sister looked so starstruck after seeing these players' resilience and skill and the joy on their faces.

You were about to leave when your little sister grabbed onto the sleeve of your top with one hand. She held her phone on one hand, screen still on a conversation with someone, and blurted, "Nee-chan, wait! I'll introduce you! Stay with me!" She looked at you with almost pleading eyes.

You were a little cautious because you didn't want to be in the middle of yet another set up by your little sister. You raised an eyebrow at her before she pouted, looking a lot more nervous than the usual playful teasing she had in her eye when she tried to set you up. "Please?"

"Okay, lover girl," you laughed, "Only because you asked so nicely."

She introduced you to the team shortly afterward. To be honest, you didn’t really even know your sister was interested in volleyball or were on such friendly terms with the volleyball team. However, when you saw their interactions, it warmed your heart to know that your sister was surrounded by people who loved her. She reckoned that they should call you two by your first names because it would just get too confusing if they addressed both of you by your last name here. That gave various reactions amongst the team members: some stuttered and stumbled saying your names, some had no trouble at all. When you caught your sister’s face heating up after the one whom she introduced as Kozume Kenma mumbled her name hesitantly, you began to understand why she wanted you here. As the players began leaving one by one, it ended up with the four of you: your sister, you, Kozume Kenma, and your savior in red, Kuroo Tetsurou.

Picking up on the fact that your sister liked Kenma, you were trying to figure out ways to let them have a little bit more time to themselves. It seemed like Kuroo had the same idea as you because as you excused yourself from the group, he mentioned that he will walk you to the station as it was late. You swore you saw your little sister's fingers fumbling the edge of her top, and you laughed lightly at how flustered and cute she was being. You gave a small wave with a smile on your face before made your way out with Kuroo by your side.

You guys didn't get to talk much since it was a group conversation contributed by everyone. However, based on your observations and few interactions, it was unsurprising that conversation with Kuroo was easy. He was charming and observant, easily filling in conversation when you didn't, and even the quiet in between conversations felt comfortable, like you've known each other for years.

Within your short conversations, you found out that he was a year younger and unexpectedly wanted to study chemistry in university. He was indeed the captain of his team and he loved his teammates as much as he loved the sport. You learned that despite his cat-like eyes, he loved dogs, and his hair was like that because it was his natural bedhead. You learned that all the walls you thought you built up felt absolutely paper-thin as your heart began to flutter in a way it hadn't for years, and your wrist pulsed so intensely in ways that it had never before. You quickly pushed that thought down as you reach the train station. When you thanked him and bid him goodbye, he casually waved and let out a half-grin half-smirk smile, and you thought that was unquestionably adorable. He waited until you were out of sight before he left to make sure you got on the train safely, and as you sat down on the train, you began tracing the words on your wrist.

For the first time in a long time, you noticed that the words were darker, and suddenly, your heart stopped, and you bit your lips as your heart started to ache.

~✩~✩~✩~

Black hair and gray eyes never really left your mind, but you tried not to think of Kuroo Tetsurou too much after that night because you didn't think you would meet him again. It was all in vain though because you found that you thought of him a lot whenever you saw red, and somehow, that happened to be your new favorite color. As you wrapped your red scarf around your neck during the end of winter, you bumped into someone in the chemistry building on campus when you were rushing to your next class.

"Whoah, easy there," he grabbed onto your arm before you fell, "Are you alright?"

It took you a few seconds to stabilize yourself before you nodded. "Thank you."

Just as you looked up, your eyes met his gray ones, and your surprise mirrored his as your mouth dropped a little. You didn't know if your face felt hot because of the chilling wind or the man in front of you.

"Kuroo-san," you said airily, "What are you doing here?"

"Hey," he nodded and smiled. "I'm checking out this campus. I got accepted into the chemistry program here. I didn't think I would run into you."

"Congratulations!" You exclaimed, "I didn't think I'd run into you either. I'm sorry, by the way, for literally running into you."

He laughed before brushing it off, and you laughed alongside him because his laughter was so contagious, and it was just so simple being with him. It was like you two fell into a comfortable pattern even though you've only had one conversation months ago.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have class in a few minutes," you began as the laughter died down. "How long will you be on campus? I'll treat you to lunch! As a congratulation."

"There's no need for that," he declined gently, "But I will be here for another hour or so, I think. I have a meeting and a tour with the chemistry professor scheduled soon. Let's meet for lunch?"

"Sure," you agreed happily.

"Here, put your number in, and I'll text you?" he handed you his phone.

"Kuroo-san," you began as you typed in your number. "You're so smooth." You laughed as you handed his phone back to him and left for class.

You didn't see the smile on his face nor the longing look in his eyes as they followed your retreating figure.

~✩~✩~✩~

With that, Kuroo and you began texting quite often. Often, you found yourself with your phone nearby at any moment, awaiting responses from him. He was an absolute dork and loved lame chemistry puns and silly memes, and he made you laugh like no others. He was sassy in a way, and sometimes he was just so easy to sass back. When you were talking with him, it felt like your heart was a little lighter from the endless cycle of failed experiments, lab reports, and vicious exams.

Once he started classes, you two began studying together quite often. Since you two had the same major and he was taking classes you already took, you gave him pointers on the key points and what the professors like the test on. While he hadn't taken your classes yet, sometimes he could reinterpret the concepts and notes you struggled with although he didn't quite understand the topic itself. It was so helpful that studying together quite often became more often than not, and late-night coffee runs and post-exam meals became a tradition. At one point during midterms week, you were quite sure you were at his apartment more than you were at yours, and Kuroo became Tetsurou before he became just Tetsu.

With all this time you spent with each other, you learned more and more about Kuroo. He was undoubtedly charismatic, and he loved to tease you and your poor sense of direction and inability to function before 10 am despite you signing up for 8 am classes. He was perceptive and keen on your emotions: he knew to suggest for a walk around campus to clear your mind when you were too stressed, he knew to send you lame chemistry memes and bring you food when you felt down about doing poorly on an exam, he knew to just hold you and let you cry when you felt hopeless about your future. Likewise, you cooked him meals for when his exam schedule was chaotic and he forgot to eat, you waited for him after exams to celebrate regardless of how he did, you lent him your lap when he was too tired to make it to bed. You were sure that you had one – or two, or three, who was keeping count anyway – of his hoodies from nights when you forgot to bring a jacket or were too cold after partying together.

Sometimes you do realize the two of you might be blurring boundaries a little during late nights when you talk to each other about your childhoods and fears, your dreams and aspirations, your favorite people and close friends. The lines were blurred when your hands brush and you would catch his eyes staring at your lips, and sometimes he'd hold your hand when your hands were cold, and you would wear his hoodies because they were comfortable and smelled like him. The lines blurred when he unknowingly leaving parts of him – pens, chemistry books, a volleyball, clothes – at your apartment, and you had a set of accumulated mismatched utensils and a toothbrush at his and even his roommate became a sort of friend of yours. Everything with Kuroo was just so straightforward and fun because he just understood you, and it terrified you to no end because of how simple it was, and you could just be you.

You tried to not think of this too much because you were scared that it was all in your head. You knew you were falling in love with Kuroo, and a part of you knew he felt the same. But you were hurt by love before, and you didn't want to be burned twice. You knew he wasn't your ex, but you didn't know yourself. It was like your head knew Kuroo was bad, bad news, but your heart just kept going forward, craving to be his presence, to be with him. With each night, you realized that your tattoo grew darker and darker.

You asked Kuroo if he believed in soulmates one day while you two were watching a movie at your apartment during a chill night in between exams. It was some sappy rom-com your roommate suggested before she left for the night, and you two decided it would be a good laugh since it looked so cheesy.

He looked straight into your eyes, his gray ones blazing and passionate, like he was looking through your pretenses and directly into your soul, before he whispered, "I do."

You felt so bare and vulnerable under his fierce eyes, and you couldn't face his intensity, so you pulled your knees up into your chest before you buried your face in them. You hesitated before you shared your next thought, "I fell in love once, you know."

Your heart felt so heavy as you said that. It happened so long ago, and you would think five years was a long time to get over someone. While you do think you were over your ex, the wounds he left scarred and carved an everlasting dent on you. Kuroo tensed a little from your statement but didn't say anything otherwise, but you caught his eyes never leaving your form from the corner of your eyes as he reached out to pat your head gently. He was waiting for you to continue.

"I was fourteen, and we had a total meet cute moment where I bumped into him around the corner and he caught me on my first day of school."

At that, he let out a small laugh, "Yeah, you do tend to bump into people."

"Shut up! I'm trying to tell my tragic backstory here!" You untucked your head from your knees to look at him and pouted, but you felt a little less smothered by your memories now.

"He was everything I could have ever asked for. He was cute and smart, and he had big dreams, and I wanted to be right there, next to him, when he made his dreams come true. Maybe I was just young and insecure, but I changed my whole lifestyle to cater to his. He was older than me and he was popular, so I did everything I could to impress him. I changed my hairstyle, learned how to wear makeup, got my cartilage pierced – twice! – to stand out. I would drop everything if he asked me to hang out. It felt like I was on top of the world."

You fell silent because you wanted to cry but nothing came out. You were a lot older now, and the pain dulled with time. However, the heartache never completely went away, and you wanted to fall apart. Seeing your distress, Kuroo pulled you from your ball form and into his lap, one hand on the small of your back to hold you, the other stroking your hair gently.

"You don't have to tell me, you know?" he whispered in your hair. "It's okay."

You only shook your head against his chest. "I became so captivated with him that I only knew me when I was with him, and I didn't know who I was before or without him. I built myself around him. I changed into his ideals, I fitted myself into his life without him trying to fit in mine, I became who he thought I was. But the tattoo never changed colors, and I waited and waited and waited for him to say those words, but he never did. When those illusions shattered, it was all over."

Kuroo only continued to stroke your hair gently, and you found the sound of his heartbeat rather reassuring. It kept you grounded as you trekked through your memories.

"I think I lost a part of me trying to love him," you finally managed to breathe out after collecting your thoughts.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to show the best parts of yourself to the person you love," Kuroo said as he shifted to rest his chin on top of your head and held you with both of arms.

"I don't know who I am," you whispered, sounding as broken and helpless as you felt. You were always open with Kuroo because he was someone you had absolute trust in. Being with him came so serene and warm, but you never felt as defenseless and raw when you told him your feelings. While you shared with Kuroo your childhood fears, it was never as deep as your number one insecurity. You hadn't opened up about how lost you felt without your ex in a long time, and honestly, you felt like you had no personality other than what you want the recipient to perceive. Your heart was aching, but something was soothing about Kuroo's embrace that kept you here, at this moment, instead of inside your head.

"But I know you," he declared confidently like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I know you hate mornings and can't get through the day without espresso even though you would much prefer tea. I know you grind your teeth when you're about to fall asleep even though you have no recollection of this every morning. I know you are super picky about your ramen portions because you get upset when your meat-to-noodle ratio gets off. I know you love the stars even though you hate going outside because you hate bugs, and you'd much rather be lounging around in my hoodies because they’re comfortable. I know you sometimes stutter and skip your words when you get excited about chemistry, but your eyes shine so bright and your dimples show when you laugh. These are just some things about you. I can tell you more if you're interested," he teased as he moved to look into your eyes.

Your eyes widened. The words you never thought you would hear ignited a fire in your heart and set ablaze on your wrist like you never felt before as you listened to him talk about you with so much love in his voice. Your heart, dejected and fearful, began to beat apace, pulsing quickly as your wrist continued to burn. You felt like your whole being was on fire, and you looked up from his chest to his eyes, searching and searching. You only found that there was nothing but the truth in his eyes, and your body felt electrified – time had stopped, and you could hear, feel your heartbeat pounding rapidly. Then, you tore your eyes away from his, slowly took off your bracelet, only to find the words tattooed on your wrist completely blacked.

His eyes followed your movement, and when he saw your wrist, he let out a shaky, "Oh!" Once he seemed to collect himself more, he reached for your wrist and kissed it.

"Looks like it's a match," he breathed out faintly as he took off his wristband, 'thank you for finding me' tattooed on his wrist, bold and black.

You stared at his tattoo, at him, and then averted your eyes as a feeble attempt to run away from the conversation. The tears you didn't know you were holding fell freely because you were so scared, so confused, so happy. You were a complete mess of emotions because he was everything you never thought you wanted. He was your rock, your best friend, your support in the past year, and you were not supposed to fall in love.

He recognized your change in emotions and gently slid his hands into yours. "Please don't run from me."

You stared around your apartment, hyper-focused on the long-forgotten movie in the background, scared to look at him because you felt so exposed. You didn't want him to know how you felt about him because when you were on a high, you can only fall from here. Being with him was your high, and while you were sure you could live without him, it was going to be a new low. Love was scary because it can break so easily. You were so scared.

"Look at me."

You looked up at him. He was always goofy and dorky, constantly teasing, and he always made you feel better about your worries because he always listened and fought your demons with you. But here he was, looking so seriously into your eyes, baring his soul and looking as vulnerable as you felt.

"I'm sorry," you began, not really knowing why you were apologizing in the first place. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" he questioned, hands never leaving yours and eyes never straying away.

"I just – " you paused, "I don't know."

"Do you love me?" he asked quietly. His voice soft, genuine, and almost inaudible, as if he was also scared to hear the answer. You felt afraid again.

"I'm sorry," you apologized again between sobs.

"Please answer the question," he pressed on softly before he took one hand off yours to wipe your tears.

"I do," you admitted after seconds of silence, "I do, Tetsu. I love you so much that it scares me because love breaks so easily."

You hiccuped and paused, trying to think of the words.

"It's okay to not think about it too hard, you dummy. Just tell me what you're thinking," he prompted, words kind and gentle, as he gently brushed his thumb over the space between your thumb and pointer finger.

"Okay," you promised, "I can try."

You breathed in and looked away from him, "I'm sorry because I love you. I know I can be overbearing. Love is scary because look, I'm like baring all my soul out to you right now. What if I lost you? What if you don't want to be around me anymore? What if you only think you knew me but the real me is just a disappointment? I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared. I just – "

"I love you," he stopped you in the middle of your ramble.

You gaped at him because you can't believe your ears. You were unsure if you imagined that in your head as part of your ramble, and what if he was just saying that. Your brain was going into overdrive because you cannot think of why he would love you. Your eyes trailed away from his again because his stare was so intense and vivid, and you started to ramble again.

"Wait did you understand what I said? What if you started to lose interest in me? I'm just me and – "

"I love you," he repeated, more firm this time, gently tugging your hand to get you to look at him.

"But I – "

"I love you," he said for the third time, unyielding in his voice. You were so startled that when he nudged you to look at him again, you did. His eyes showed no hesitation, and you were an absolute mess.

"But what if I'm not enough?" you managed to choke out. "What if I'm not the one you're looking for? Wait, am I even making sense?"

"You are," he countered your worries, "Because I know you."

Your eyes widened as he said the words tattooed on your wrist again, and your world stopped. It felt like all the years of soul searching and heartache were disappearing. It felt like you found the part of you that you lost before. It felt like you can breathe again. You gasped as the tattoo on your wrist pulse rapidly once again alongside your thumping heart.

You couldn't believe this was happening to you. You spent so long being lost and now it felt like someone was calling you back home. You felt like you remembered what it was like to feel starstruck and soft, to feel okay to see the stars in his eyes. Your eyes trailed from your tattoo to his and finally to his eyes, and when you saw his dorky half-grin half-smirk smile, you smiled despite looking like a teary mess.

"Thank you for finding me," you whispered weakly and shyly, almost scared that this dream would shatter if you broke it.

"That's the second time you said it," he laughed loudly, his tattoo out opened for you to see.

You nodded slowly and a smile broke out before your laughter joined his. As you calm down from your laugh, you felt him staring at you.

"Can I kiss you?" he blurted, cheeks dusted with a slight pink, looking absolutely in love.

At that moment, you didn’t know why or how you doubted yourself – your worth, who you were, as a woman – when he looked at you like this, like you were the only one he saw in this world. "Okay," you whispered lightly before you leaned in.

He closed the distance between, and your mundane days of black and white burst into color and turned the grayed-out skies into a world of stars. It was like your soul finally found another who gave you comfort and peace while simultaneously setting your heart on fire and giving you starry night skies. He was your end and your beginning, and it felt like you were finally home.

~✩~✩~✩~

“How long have you been in love with me?” you questioned one day, laying on the ground with your hands folded on top of your stomach, eyes averted from your laptop. Your microbiology lab report final was due in a few days, and you were tired of looking at the data you’ve collected and the research books after the 25 pages you’ve already typed. So here you were, questioning your existence on this earth because school really sucked.

The sound of Kuroo's pen stopped, and your eyes trailed from looking at the wall of fairy lights and Polaroid pictures to him. He pursed his lips a little, balancing his pen on top, and leaned back into the couch. You stared at him as he sat in silence, lost in his thoughts, and your heart fluttered because he was just so stupidly handsome. If he wasn’t so absorbed in his thoughts, you had no doubt he would tease you for staring.

“I don’t know,” he answered finally, “My tattoo darkened when you came to our volleyball game in my third year of high school, and before I knew it, it just became pitch black.”

“Huh,” you thought out loud, “That far back?”

He grinned, “Yeah. I thought you looked like a mess when you kept walking around in circles. If you weren’t so cute, I would have reported you to the police.”

You gasped loudly and dramatically, “You watched me suffer for that long?! You suck!”

“Hey, I came to help in the end, didn’t I?” he countered without any bite in his voice, pouting a little.

“Yeah,” you smiled at the memory, “My hero in red. Thank you for finding me.”

At that, he got up from the couch and pulled you into his lap before nuzzling in your hair, “I’ll always find you, princess. Always.”

~✩~✩~✩~

You were already half asleep in bed when you felt the sheets rustle. You both had class early tomorrow morning, but you figured you can try to stay up as Kuroo finished his shower after coming home late from intramural volleyball practice.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" he whispered, not wanting to wake you from your sleep.

"No," you mumbled half-lies, "Was waiting for you." You lifted the large blanket with one hand, signaling for him to get in.

He settled into the empty spot, and you threw the blanket over him as an attempt to tuck him in. "Don't lie to me, you dummy," he laughed, "I know you."

That phrase set your heart on fire every time because it felt so powerful, and it made you feel so whole.

You smiled lazily and looked for his hand under the sheets. He grabbed your searching hand and laced your fingers together. Your sleepy smile brightened, turning into a cheesing grin, and you tugged him closer to give him a quick kiss. "Welcome home."

"I'm home."

And those words never felt so right.

~✩~✩~✩~ 

You rubbed your groggy eyes as the sunlight shone through the blinds. You automatically reached beside you, patting the empty space where Kuroo normally laid. You puffed your cheeks in a pout before you saw it was almost noon on your phone.

On cue, the sound of sizzles and the scent of breakfast drifted through the door. Begrudgingly, you got up, wore Kuroo's discarded shirt by the bed, and headed into the kitchen to find him with only his stupidly sexy gray sweatpants and your cat apron on, grilling some salted mackerel pike.

You heard him softly hum the opening of the science anime you two were watching, and as you do every other day, felt so lucky that he was here, and he was yours. He was so beautiful, and in normal everyday moments like this, you felt so at peace, at home with him. Before you knew it, you walked up and wrapped your arms around him.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he greeted lovingly. “I started on brunch.”

“Good morning,” you mumbled in response before planting soft kisses on his bare back. “It smells great. But we’re going to turn into mackerel pike with all the mackerel pikes we’ve been eating lately.”

He laughed before he teased, "If you don't stop kissing me, mackerel pike won't be the only thing I'm eating.”

Even though you've been together for years now, he still made your heart flutter like he did the very first day. You smiled before grinning deviously and tiptoed to plant another kiss on his neck. “Maybe that's the point.” You paused before you pulled him down a little and spoke quietly in his ear as if to let him in on a secret, "I'm not wearing underwear."

You ran toward your shared bedroom laughing as you heard the clinking of the thrown spatula and discarded apron, the clicking of the now-off stovetop, and his footsteps as he ran after you. His long strides caught up to you in no time, and he easily scooped you up and carried you bridal style the rest of the way to the bedroom.

"That was naughty, princess," he whispered seductively in your ear. You felt his hot breath on your skin, and you were glad he was carrying you because he always could make you weak.

"Sorry baby," you wrapped your arms around his neck, eyes big and pleading, pretending to look innocent because you know it turned him on without fail to ruin that feign innocence.

"You don't even have to ask twice," he said as he slipped his hand under the oversized shirt you were wearing.

You kissed him fiercely while you repositioned yourself to wrap your legs around his waist, your hands in his hair. With your shirt now discarded somewhere in the bedroom and your back against the walls, preparation for brunch was long forgotten.

As he continued to tease you relentlessly between heated kisses, your stomach rumbled.

He stared at you, you stared at him, and you both blinked before bursting into laughter.

"Babe, was that your stomach?" he asked through his laughter.

"Yeah, pancakes and hash browns sound really good right now, to be honest," you answered truthfully, a little embarrassed but not ashamed. You were never ashamed of who you were around him.

"That does sound good," he agreed, "Well, I guess it's time to make some pancakes and hash browns then." He pulled his hands away and set you down with a teasing glint in his eyes.

You whined in frustration as his warmth left you, and not willing to stop, you pulled back him to you and nibbled on his ear before purring, "Daddy, you can fill me up first."

After, you found yourselves making pancakes and hash browns - with grilled salted mackerel pike that Kuroo was cooking before your interruption – for brunch. As you watched him eat, you caught a glimpse of his onyx black tattoo. Your eyes flickered to your wrist, tattoo matching in color with his, and you smiled fondly. He seemed to notice your smile, and although you were fairly sure he had no idea what you were smiling at, he smiled too.

Honestly, if this wasn't happiness, you don't know what is.

~✩~✩~✩~

you taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else.

~✩~✩~✩~

tags: @hoekaashi

[bella-caecilia]

Love your work 💕😘😘❤️please nr. 1 Modern Cobert 💕❤️🥳

Thank you, dear! <3 That’s so sweet! Here comes some modern Cobert cuteness 😊 This also answers the other anon request for this prompt.

1 – pats on the head

She came out of the bathroom and her expression was still a bit unsettled. Cora had been in that uneasy state for days now, and he couldn’t blame her. He felt quite similar. She had decided that it was her task to tell it to his parents, so it was even harder on her. On top, she wasn’t this immune to his parents’ side blows yet. He knew she worried a lot. But he couldn’t have her worrying now. 

“Come here,” he spoke in a hushed tone, holding out his arm. He was already propped up in the large bed. She smiled weakly and shuffled to the bed. Her long but sheer nightgown grazed her lower thigh. Wordlessly, she slipped underneath the covers, and nestled against his side. Her dark tresses fell down on her shoulders. Robert laid his arm around her and rested his hand on her waist. She put her head on his shoulder and intertwined her legs with his under the blankets. Her hands grasped the edge of her blanket and she pulled to her chin. Robert caressed her slim but curved figure. There wasn’t anything visible yet, not even to him.

The news they had to break to his family today were very joyful ones actually. But there was a catch to it. Cora was pregnant. They found out a few weeks ago. The problem, not to them but to his parents, was that they weren’t married. Yet; they weren’t married yet, Robert thought. But that was another problem.

Cora and he were dating for a little over a year. This pregnancy wasn’t planned. But everything with Cora felt so natural and familiar; it wasn’t hard for him to warm to the idea of a baby, a child with Cora. Oh, how his face twisted into a smile every time he thought about it. He was so jubilant, felt so elated. It was just wonderful news!

However, they were visiting his parents at the moment, and this evening Cora had broken the news. It didn’t go too badly, considering they were still residing under the same roof. Robert enjoyed staying in “their” room at Downton. He knew how much Cora liked the light blue bedroom. But it hadn’t been all smooth sailing either. Cora had told them in her soft and relaxed manner that she and Robert were going to be parents, and his mother had waited for them to continue telling further news. She acted as if it wouldn’t come to her mind that there could be a baby without marriage. At some point his mother had managed to utter a congratulation, but Cora so wanted her parents-in-law to be genuinely delighted about their grandchild. Robert knew that it had already been a victory. His mother wouldn’t jump with happiness on the evening itself, but he couldn’t imagine that she would not fall for the baby as soon as it was born. They just had to give her some time.

“You did absolutely great,” he assured Cora. His right hand pressed warmly onto her waist, while his left hand reached out to pat her head gently.

“Do you really think so? Your mother wouldn’t agree on that,” she mumbled as she snuggled closer to him. She rested her hand on the silk fabric that covered his chest and drew small circles there.

“Don’t brood over that. You have been most courageous and competent at managing my parents,” the pats on her head developed into gentle strokes on her soft hair. He couldn’t get enough of touching her chocolate tresses and even if she never explicitly said, Robert knew she enjoyed it when he stroked her hair or brushed it slowly with careful gestures. The first he had brushed her hair he was mesmerised and a bit timid as he learned that it hurt her when he didn’t bother with the knots at all. He had quickly learned how to do it properly, and he didn’t do it often now, but relished the times he could take care of her that way. His affectionate strokes over her head had to do as substitute now. He sensed a low humming from her cuddled form in his arms, and he knew it was at least as good as brushing her hair.

“And in fact, it shouldn’t matter that much what mama and papa think about it,” Robert added after a moment. “We are happy about our little one, and that’s all that matters.”

She looked up at him without lifting her head from his shoulder. Her light blue eyes were wide and vulnerable as all her love poured through her gaze. “I love you, Robert,” she whispered, but he saw it even more in her eyes than he heard it in her words. Robert kissed her forehead, “I hope you know how much I love you too.”

“Yes, I know,” she spoke softly, and returned her head into her favourite resting position. She rubbed her temple slightly over his collarbone to get comfortable. His warm and musky scent evaporated through his silken pyjama shirt. She inhaled it with closed eyes.

Cora wanted one thing to be clear, “And I hope you know how happy and excited I am. I may have had rather high hopes for this evening, but my joy doesn’t change a tiny bit because of how it went today.”

“I know, Cora,” he intoned softly, his voice buzzed through his chest and she felt a wave of ease roll through her body at this pleasant feeling of his reassuring words vibrating through both their bodies. His hand on her waist snuck further around her form and cradled her non-existent belly. Cora tried to melt into his embrace even more, never wanting to come out of it again. He was her port of comfort, her nest of safety. Her eyelids drooped, but she didn’t want to fall asleep. She wanted to consciously enjoy being in his arms. Her hold onto him grew firmer and he shushed reassuring hums into her hair. That finally made her resolve crumble, and slumber claimed her.

[osakaprince]

𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐚 - 𝐳.𝐜𝐥 & 𝐩.𝐣𝐬

the eerie, forlorn atmosphere of a place that is usually bustling with people but is now abandoned and quiet

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 — after a tragic accident that left you without your two best friends, the duo decides to pay you a visit on their one year anniversary

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄 — sad, a little fluff

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 — mentions of death

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 — 1000+

you’d be lying, to not only yourself but everyone else, if you said you didn’t think about them everyday. they were your best friends, how could you not? having the lights of your life ripped away so suddenly could only result in such reaction.

today was their one year since passing and the entire atmosphere was off. the sky showed no hope of sun, clouds masking across in shades of gray. the air inside your room — where you lay, unable to get up —seemed to slowly be suffocating you.

“y/n?” jaemin sauntered into your room, eyes already red from crying in his own. “taeyong brought everyone breakfast. he wanted me to ask if you were hungry.”

you turned to look at the sad boy, “no.. thank you, though.”

he didn’t push it further. jaemin knew how hard you took the boys’s loss. though, everyone did. it was apparent when it became apart of your routine to alternate between chenle and jisung’s bed every night, soaking in the last bit of them that you had.

the morning slowly turned into mid afternoon and you had yet to move from the mattress. you couldn’t shake the feeling that there was an energy circling around you, trying to grab your attention with every brisk waft of air that nipped at your nose. pulling the covers up over your head, you closed your eyes and tried to fall back asleep.

“wow, napping when your favorite people are here?” a voice tsked and you swore you nearly jumped out of your own skin.

yanking the blanket down, you were convinced your eyes were deceiving you. maybe this is what sleep deprivation does to you because there in front of you stood chenle and jisung. they looked exactly as they did the day of the accident, before all of the trauma wounds and shredded clothes.

chenle plopped down on his bed beside you with the biggest grin, “miss us?”

“wh-how-you-” you couldn’t seem to formulate any sort of proper sentence.

jisung joined the other boy on the bed so they were now both sitting in front of you. you couldn’t take your eyes off of them, trying to process what in the hell was happening. how did they get here? were you just dreaming?

jolting up, you leaned in closer to analyze, “how did you get here?”

“well, we’re obviously dead,” chenle deadpans then returns to his bubbly self. “but we’ve been watching over you for the past year and felt like it was only right to visit on a day you might need us the most.”

jisung leaned back on his hands, “think of us as your guardian angels.”

you stared blankly, “i’m losing my mind.”

chenle and jisung had been following you around the dorm for the past two hours, being as loud and chaotic as possible because nobody else could hear them. they informed you that only one person could see them per visit; strict rules from the higher figure, they said.

“oh, y/n!” jisung jumped down from the couch he and chenle were bouncing on. “let’s go to sm town! i wonder if we’ll see anyone we know?”

he was going to be surprised.

you watched at they raced each other down the sidewalk towards the building, giggling at how their hair flew up against the wind. there was no doubt bypassers thought you were deranged for laughing at nothing. by the time you caught up to them, they were standing across from the shop, shock spread across their face.

jisung glanced down at you, “there’s no one here.. it’s usually crazy busy?”

stuffing your hands in your jacket pockets, you exhaled deeply, “that’s the reality of it, sungie. ever since you two passed, business has been down. nobody wants to be reminded that you’re gone.”

chenle gaped at the empty window. due to low levels of sales and staffs inability to see their faces plastered across the walls without crying, the company agreed to close down shop for a while. unfortunately, it had yet to reopen even a year later.

“i never thought we had such an affect.” he drew his eyes away. “we were the youngest, little noobs. figured it wouldn’t haven been that big of a deal.”

you furrowed your eyebrows in surprise, “what do you mean? the company lost its pride and joy. you two brought energy to everyone you came in contact with. there wasn’t one person that wasn’t hit heavily by your deaths. you were so loved, boys. you still are.”

you hadn’t even noticed the tears pouring down your cheeks until chenle wiped them away with his thumb. jisung hugged you tightly and patted your head, keeping you close. your heart sank and reality set in when you couldn’t hear his heartbeat. he really was gone; and so was chenle.

“we have to get going soon,” chenle whispered whilst joining you both in the hug. “don’t wanna upset the boss man.”

pulling away, you looked up and for the first time in what felt like forever, you genuinely smiled. these were your other half. the people you trusted with every ounce of your being. despite not physically having them around anymore, you knew they’d always be by your side til the end.

“what are you trying to say, y/n?” the chairman sat at the head of the table.

you had gathered all of the members and board directors to discuss a matter very important to you. though, the boys didn’t speak much, wanting to hear what chairman had to say before giving an opinion, you knew they were entrusting in your idea.

“i’m saying we should reopen sm town, sir.” you managed to speak so clearly yet your hands were trembling. “i think it’s time to continue on with our lives. not to forget our boys, but to accept and begin a new chapter with broadened eyes.”

chairman slowly tapped his foot several times on the floor, “and what makes you think this is a good idea?”

a subtle smile appeared, reminiscing back to a month ago. the pain you had previously felt when thinking of your best friends was no longer as prevalent. now you knew they were safe and sound together, watching over you and the team.

“i know it’s what chenle and jisung would want.”

[apparentlynotreallyfinnish]

Moonlit Lovers - Part 1/2

I would like to gift this silly, little tale to @secondhand-watermelon. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Link said about a shadow falling in love with a person and when Melon threw in the idea of the shadow morphing into Rhett, I was compelled to write this. 

---

If you step out the side gate of the Capitol, face the highest peak of the mountains encircling the kingdom and travel as far east as you can, you might happen upon a small village. It might be hard to find, since it’s tucked between a river as wide as seven horses nose to tail and cliff side so steep one would need special equipment to climb it. The village is there, though, to be found should you want to visit. And if you do, you will be welcomed with open arms. 

You’ll be told they barely ever get travelers. They have no riches, nor do they possess any knowledge to share that an average person would deem valuable. They don’t know more about fishing than the folk from the villages along the shore. They grow their crops the same way as every other farmer across the kingdom. Despite the proximity of the mountains, they don’t even have access to valuable ore or ingenious ways to mold it. But what they do have, is stories.

If you find this village, Brittlebell, as it’s called by its dwellers, named after the white, puffy flower that grows on the side of the mountain, you’ll be escorted to a house bigger than the rest. You’ll be seated into a dining room, large enough to fit most of the villagers, and served a delicious meal. After the meal, a man will sit by your side and ask whether you’re there by chance or for the legends. If your answer is the latter, he’ll give you a crooked, pleased smile and pour you a big mug of honey mead. And then he’ll tell you a story. And if you are fortunate enough, he’ll tell you my favorite story. The story of the Moonlit Lovers.

—

Many years ago, in a village called Brittlebell, a boy was born to a couple that had wished for a child for years and years. His mother was the school teacher and his father was the village carpenter. They named the baby Lincoln, but his name soon shortened into Link. Link’s father couldn’t wait for Link to grow up and follow in his footsteps, working at the wood shop. Link’s mother couldn’t wait for Link to grow up and marry a nice girl and give his Mama a bunch of grandchildren to fuss over. They loved their boy dearly and he loved them just as much.

Link was like any other child. He spent his days playing in the small patch of woods behind the village or swimming in the river with the other kids. His childhood was happy and full of laughter. But as he grew past the early years, something changed. The other children started to avoid him. It was subtle at first, but by the time he was in his late teens, Link knew that there was something wrong with him. He had no friends, no one to spend his time with or to share his woes. His peers moved around him hesitantly, whispering and pointing when they thought he didn’t see. Link tried to ask them what he’d done wrong to deserve the poor treatment, but all he got was widened eyes and hushed apologies. He even asked his Mama, hoping she could explain the unexplainable, but all his mother did was smile sadly and pet his hair.

When Link turned eighteen, his father took him on as an apprentice. The day had been long-awaited and Link was excited to please his father. Beyond that, his heart’s deepest hope was that if he learned a trade his peers would accept him back into their midst. But it was easier said than done. There was no better man to teach the secrets of woodcarving than Link’s father. He showed Link all of his tips and tricks, told him how to choose the right piece of wood and how to mold it from the inside out rather than from the outside in. He showed his son the most beautiful pieces he’d made and encouraged him to try out all the different techniques in search of the one that suited him the best. 

Link could see the beauty of his father’s work and he wanted nothing more than to make him proud. So, he tried. He tried hard. He used the tools, used his hands, did everything he could, but to his disappointment, the wood wouldn’t cooperate like it did with his father. It wouldn’t reveal itself like it did to his father. Link’s creations were far from beautiful and barely usable. His father patted him on the shoulder after each one and told him that he would learn. Each time, he sounded less and less confident and it became increasingly hard for Link to see the disappointment on his father’s face.

After one particularly disastrous workday—Link had managed to chisel his foot instead of the piece of acacia he had been working on—instead of going home for supper, Link ran to the river. He sat at the riverbank, watching the sun set and the moon rise. The moon was full that night—a silver orb so luminous it almost rivaled the light of day. Teary-eyed, Link stared at the shimmering reflection it cast over the slowly moving water.

At first, he thought it was the wind that brushed a lock of hair from his face. He shivered and tucked his hair behind his ear. But when he felt the touch again, he realized it was too warm for the season. Link turned, expecting to see his Mama or maybe even his father, but all he saw was his own shadow cast onto the sand by the bright moonlight. 

As soon as Link turned back towards the river, confused and frightened, he felt the touch again. This time it was a soft caress across his cheek, wiping away the drying tears of frustration. Startled, Link jumped up and around, his hands tightening into trembling fists.

“Who goes there? What are you playing at?” he croaked, words as shaky as his legs. No one answered. But something wasn’t quite right; something about the empty riverbank made his stomach twist and turn. It took a while for him to realize what it was. 

His shadow was still sitting.

Link stared at it for a beat, blinking a few times, making sure he wasn’t mistaken. He was standing, but the shadow still sat on the riverbank. Link swirled around, eyes on the ground, hoping to see his actual shadow, hoping, for once, that he was being teased, that this was a strange prank concocted by the unkindest of his peers. Unable to find anything, he had to accept that what he was seeing was real. He turned back to look at his disobedient shadow.

“H-hello?” Link stammered, nudging the edge of shadow with his boot. The shadow shivered, its edges blurring and sharpening, but it didn’t get up. Slowly, Link sank back down onto the sand, facing his shadow—or the creature that had taken its place. Because surely this couldn’t be his shadow, surely it was a creature of the night, something from folktales, something sinister and old that had taken the place of his shadow.

“What are you?” Link asked, trying to keep his voice level and brave. The shadow moved, making Link jerk back and yelp. After he regained his composure, he saw that the shadow was now sitting like him, legs crossed, head tilted to the side. Since there was no clear attempt at hurting him, Link settled.

He sat like that for a long time, staring at the apparition before him. It didn’t talk, not with words at least, but Link felt like he could sense its thoughts somehow. Not words exactly, more like its mood, its feelings. And what he felt was undeniably good. With every passing moment, Link became more and more certain that the creature was a friend. As the knowledge solidified in his mind, the shadow seemed to grow darker.  

“Who are you?” Link whispered, his voice filled with curiosity. The shadow lifted its arm and instead of moving across the ground as a normal shadow would, it rose into the air, looking almost like it was made of swirling black smoke. Link’s eyes widened and he sat frozen in place, waiting for another touch—craving it, in fact. 

But just when the shadowy fingers were about to brush over Link’s lips, he heard his Mama calling for him. There was a sudden feeling of air being forcibly pulled from Link’s lungs and he gasped and coughed, trying to catch his breath. When he was able to gather himself, his Mama was walking down the riverbank and his shadow… was just a normal shadow—if not a bit too big for him.

After that night, Link returned to the riverbank every night after work. He sat right where he had, peeking over his shoulder, hoping to see his shadow move on its own, hoping to feel the soft touch on his cheek. But nothing happened. 

Not until Link had almost given up. A month later, he was walking towards the river, weaving between small houses, crossing the narrow main street, bathing in the moonlight when something—someone?—tugged at his shirt sleeve. 

Link stopped and with his heart beating wildly, slowly turned to look behind him. His shadow was painted onto the cobbles of the road, its shoulders broad and its chest wide and hair on its head a mane of wild curls. Link glanced at his own slim waist, lean,and much shorter hair and then looked back at the shadow.

The shadow waved.

Link let out a surprised laugh and immediately slapped a palm over his mouth not to attract attention. He felt the shadow’s soundless laughter fill his chest and tickle at his throat. 

“Hi,” he whispered, glancing around them to make sure they were alone. “I was afraid I’d imagined you.”

The shadow shook its head and pointed. Link frowned, trying to figure out what it was pointing at. The shadow wiggled his finger determinedly and finally, drew a circle with it. Link’s head snapped towards the sky and at the full moon lighting the village below.

“Oh,” he said as the realization hit him. “The full moon? You can only do this when it’s a full moon?”

The shadow nodded and did a small, happy dance, the edges of its long legs undulating against the uneven stones. Link smiled and bit his lip as not to laugh again. He felt elated and somehow, he knew that part of the feeling of pure joy he felt wasn’t his—it was the shadow’s.

“Can you do that thing again? With your hand?” Link asked, thrilled with the possibility.

The shadow nodded and ever so slowly, its arm rose from the road, its faded form made from plumes of black smoke. Awed, Link reached for it. Their fingers intertwined, one hand made of flesh and blood and bone, the other of something otherworldly. Link’s skin buzzed and tingled and his heart darted into an ear-ringing beat. 

A door opened a few houses down and a group of voices started closing in on them. Panicked, Link pulled the shadow up and dragged it along with him, rushing off from the road, hiding behind the closest building. The voices grew louder and eventually passed, but Link’s heart refused to slow down. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, willing himself to calm down.

“Sssssh.”

Link’s eyes flew open. Was that the evening wind, swishing against the shell of his ear? He had to blink a few times, confused about his vision suddenly being blurry. 

“Ssssafe,” a voice whispered into his ear, lodging Link’s heart into his throat. He realized that the blurriness was not a problem with his eyes, it was the shadow, standing in front of him, standing against him, with its mouth hovering right next to Link’s ear.

“You can talk?!” Link cried out and the shadow shushed him again. Link mumbled an apology. 

It was like he was fully enveloped by the shadow, engulfed inside it, in its warmth. Safe. He did feel safe and sound. Link sighed as relief flood through him. He let himself slump against the wall. 

The shadow seemed to be pleased with that. Link felt its approval as a soft hum inside his chest. 

The shadow made a sound, a purr almost, and lifted their hands, still intertwined and pressed its ghostly mouth against Link’s bare wrist. The tender touch sent shivers up Link’s arm that made their way into his belly and settled there, growing warm and squirmy.

Link lifted his free hand and gently touched the shadow’s face. It felt strange—almost solid in some parts but barely corporeal in others. 

“Can you—” Link paused and swallowed hard before continuing. “Can you kiss me?”

He wasn’t sure what had prompted him to ask that. Maybe it was the way the shadow made him feel. Happy and tingly and… not alone.

The shadow ducked down—it’s taller than me, Link noted absentmindedly—and brushed its lips against Link’s. As far as kisses go, it wasn’t much, but to Link, it was everything. His mouth opened into a soft exhale and his knees buckled. Silently, Link thanked the wall behind him, keeping him from falling.  

People never came near enough to touch Link, even in passing. He knew that his mother’s wishes of a nice girl and a litter of grandkids had been buried many years ago. He’d hidden his wishes away too. A wish to be kissed was something he only thought about in the dark of the night, alone in his bed when he imagined that he lived elsewhere. Somewhere where people didn’t balk when they saw him. Somewhere where he was a person someone would want to touch and kiss and love. It all felt like a fool’s dream.

But this thing… This apparition. This whatever-it-was had kissed him just like that. Like it was the easiest thing in the world. Like it was meant to be.

“Bad?” Sadness trickled down Link’s spine and made him feel heavy and murky. His eyes flew wide open and he shook his head vigorously.

“No! Not bad. Good! So good. Very good. The goodest. I mean— I—” The words tumbled out of him in a rush and he had to pause to take a breath. He blushed when he asked quietly: “Again?”

In a flash, the sadness was replaced with bubbling joy and Link laughed and kissed and giggled and kissed and nuzzled and was pressed against the wall and kissed and kissed and kissed. 

And with each kiss, the shadow grew more real, grew more solid in Link’s embrace. It gasped for air like Link did. It moaned when Link’s mouth found its firm neck. Its fingers slipped under Link’s tunic and ghosted over his tented pants. Link could barely function by the time they sank onto the rough ground, tangled with each other. 

The next morning, Link woke up to a light tap on his leg. He jerked up from the ground, looking wildly around himself. The owner of the shop he’d fallen asleep behind was standing a few feet away, poking him with a broom, scowling at him.

Link’s hands reached for his shadow. The pain began even before he realized that he was alone again, that the being was gone, that his shadow had returned back to its normal, lifeless form. 

[lov3nerdstuff]

could you please make a loki x reader where he finds out how good she is at drawing/ art and it’s all just fluff?

Imagine: You just wanted to draw a beautiful stranger in a coffeeshop when suddenly everything goes pearshaped.

A.N.: Thank you @marvel-ous-buckyy for being the first one to request something! I did my best to put this prompt into action and I really hope you like it! It kinda turned into a coffeeshop AU but only a little bit :) let me know what you think!

Beautiful stranger

You were sitting in a small coffee shop downtown, shortly after 10pm, with a nice hot cup of steaming brew in front of you. It was your favorite spot in the whole city, all kinds of people came in for their daily caffeine fix. Some even came into the shop more than once a day. Especially this late at night, people came here more frequently than one might expect. As usual, you were sat on a small table in the middle of the room, your sketchbook in front of you along with a couple pencils and watercolors. No eraser, as you didn't believe in erasing when sketching. Whatever came out of your hand and onto the paper was worth to be kept or worked around. Other than that, there were hardly any huge mistakes in your drawing anyway. You had practiced your art all your life and nothing filled you with greater joy than sitting in public, drawing strangers or nature. 

Today was no different. You sat in your usual spot and after a few warm-up sketches you decided it was time for a larger and more detailed piece. So you looked around yourself, taking in the surroundings while taking a sip of your coffee. It was too hot still and burned your tongue, but the smell it emitted was just too delicious to resist.

Your eyes wandered from the seemingly daily-changing staff to the customers. Most just ordered to go and were out and about again at this time of night, but then your eyes fell upon a tall man with raven hair who was sitting on the opposite side of the shop. You blinked a couple times, trying to get your eyes to fully focus after having stared at your sketchpad for an hour. 

He was astonishingly gorgeous, almost surreal in his appearance. You coughed, awkwardly trying to swallow your own breath. Had you seen him here before? You were sure you'd had remembered seeing him.

You could see a little more than his profile from where you were sat. He looked down onto a journal he held in his hands. Blinking a few more times, you noticed how graceful and elegant his hands were, his whole physique. He looked out of this world, even if he wore a casual dark grey suit and a green dress shirt like most business people working late. His raven hair hung loosely around his beautiful face, framing it perfectly. 

What was a person like him doing at such an ungodly hour in a coffee shop? Well, you were also sitting here, touche, but for the sole reason that you wouldn't be able to sleep at home anyway. If the heavy insomnia you suffered from kept you up all night, at least you could use the time to draw in peace and be happy for once. 

Back to the beautiful stranger. The energy he radiated seemed to draw you in like he had his own gravity, only working on you. He was so focused on his journal, he didn't seem to notice your staring. His high cheekbones and sharp jawline were just screaming at you to draw them. 

So you started with delicate but certain lines, making sure to capture every detail of his being. Drawing the hair, you suppressed the urge to just walk over and run your hands through the black locks. It looked so soft… you tried to do it justice in your work.

Exactly there lay the problem you saw in your drawings. You wanted to capture the most magnificent and the most beautiful the world had to offer, but in your eyes you often failed to truly reflect their outer beauty. Instead, it turned into both, a structural and aesthetic representation of the emotions they conveyed. This time… there was so much sadness radiating off this man, but also so much passion and the pure intensity of it made your skin crawl with excitement. This drawing would turn out a masterpiece, you just knew it!

For a little more than an hour you drew and sketched, only then wondering why on earth he hadn't finished his coffee yet and left. Maybe he was here for something different after all? You didn't know and as long as he remained sitting in this same position for you to draw, you also didn't care why he was here. 

Once you finished the rough sketch, you went on to inking your work. Why hadn't he left yet? Usually the people you drew only remained sitting still for no more than the time it took them to finish their coffee or maybe the news feed on their phones. He was so different…

You finished inking a while later and he still hadn't moved. Not believing your luck, you went on to color the drawing, keeping everything in cool tones and rough textures. Except for his face. That, you drew with the utmost care and delicacy. Just as you were about to finish the piece, time seemed to stop for you, as a bulky and seemingly drunk man stumbled against your table and poured the contents of his to go cup all over your sketchbook. Immediately the ink and the colors started running together and off the page, replaced by black hot liquid. You let out a yelp, jumping up from your chair and knocking it over in the process. No, this couldn't be happening… It had taken you months to fill this sketchbook and now the whole thing was ruined. After a second of utter shock, you jumped into action and grabbed the first thing available to try to save what you could from the mess. 

"S-ssorry…" The man slurred, bumping into you on his way to the door, fleeing from the situation without another word. 

Using the hem of your shirt, you gently patted the book dry, but it was by far too late. A young barista came rushing to your side with a bunch of napkins, cleaning the table and offering some to you. Only now did you notice that your jeans were drenched as well as your shirt. But you simply stared at the heavily smudged, crinkling book in your hands. All these memories kept in there, all the emotions you could never have explained outside of their colorful visual representations. Gone. You felt tears stinging in your eyes and your vision became blurry as you suppressed a sob. The barista finished cleaning your tabe and apologized for the hundredth time to you, but you were lost in your own mind, tears running down your face even though you willed them not to. You hated crying, hated emotions and most definitely hated people in this very moment. Without any more care for your surroundings you slumped down on your damp chair again, starting to slowly gather your drenched supplies. You just wanted to leave, go back to your tiny apartment and cry in the shower until there wouldn't be any more tears left. 

Grabbing your bag, you pushed the chair back under the table and bid the staff goodbye. Outside, the cold but fresh air hit your face and you felt a little calmer. The night just happened to have this effect on you. 

Just as you were about to saunter down the street, a smooth voice addressed you from behind.

"Excuse me, Miss, but I believe you forgot your book." 

The voice made you shiver slightly, it was deep and calming, yet very in control. 

"It's a sketchbook, but it's of no use anymore. Some douche emptied his…" You stopped mid-sentence once you turned around and saw who the voice belonged to. The beautiful stranger stood so close to you that your breath hitched and you took a step backwards out of instinct. 

He was even more intriguing from up close. Your gaze shot to his face. He had green eyes that could've swallowed your soul if you kept looking at them. To your surprise, he seemed just as taken aback when he looked into your own orbs. 

A blush crept up to you cheeks in no time and you quickly looked down to the book he held out to you. It looked nothing like the drenched and wrinkled thing you had just thrown into the trash. Instead, it looked almost like new. 

Frowning, you took it from him. "This can't be mine, mine is all damaged…" 

You flipped it open in the middle, staring at one of your drawings from a few weeks back. Completely and utterly intact and beautiful as ever. Incredulous, you flipped back and forth, but every drawing in the large book seemed to be completely fine as it had been a few hours ago. 

"What…?" You breathed, your gaze shooting up to meet his once more. "How did you do that?" 

A slow smirk played on his lips as he watched your irritation with great amusement. 

"I noticed that you were drawing me." He simply said in this incredibly soothing and yet dangerous voice.

You blushed an even deeper shade of red. "When did you notice?"

"Oh, just about right when you ogled me for the first time." He grinned, clearly enjoying the effect he had on you. "When that guy dropped his coffee on your book, I was quite furious."

"And why is that?" You asked, gaining control of your body once more. Something told you to stay away from this man and something else, something much stronger, told you to learn everything you could about him.

"Well, I wanted to see how your drawing turned out. If you got the best angle, you know…" He winked at you, making you chuckle slightly. 

You took another look at the book and twisted it in every direction in your hands. "But how did you restore it completely, I mean, all the ink had started running and…"

You were cut off once more when, with a slight wave of his hand, the moisture and stains in your clothing started to simply float out of the fabric, before vanishing into thin air. Your eyes widened and you stared at him open mouthed. "Who are you?" You finally managed to ask.

"My name is Loki. Of Asgard. Or of Jotunheim. Depends on my mood, really. It's a pleasure to meet you, my dearest." He grinned at you, his hands in the pockets of his pants.

You snapped out of your awe rather quickly. He was the infamous Loki, a literal god?! That explains the magic. You hadn't heard all that much about him other than that he was the brother of one of the Avengers and capable of magic

You smiled at him. "I'm Y/N. Thank you so much for saving my book! It means a lot to me, really. Can I buy you a coffee or something as a thank you?"

He let out a small laugh. "Oh dear, I had so much coffee while waiting for you to finish your drawing, I don't think I can take another cup." His smile turned into a grin once more. "But you could let me take a look at your drawings. If they are only half as intriguing as you, then they'd be very much worth saving."

You let out a shy laugh. "You don't need to flatter me to take a look." But then, when you were about to hand the book over to him once more, you felt insecure. It contained so many memories and emotions you hadn't ever shared with anyone. And now you'd show them to a beautiful stranger? YES, part of your mind screamed. So you let him take it out of your hand and simply hoped for the best. 

He noticed the shift in your mood immediately and kept the book closed in his hands. There was something in your eyes that reminded him of his own and he felt the sudden urge to comfort you. That was new… he never really cared about the people he met and so he would always put on the charming facade everyone seemed to expect of him. With you however, he suddenly felt like he could try something new, something… true.

"If you are not comfortable showing these drawings to me, you don't have to, you know..." He said quietly.

"It's silly, I just… feel so vulnerable showing this real life imprint of my soul to a stranger." You laughed nervously and looked into his eyes once more. There was no trace of his previously cocky expression left and all you could see was sincere worry and… hope? Hope for what?

"Maybe… would you…" He seemed rather introverted now, as if someone had switched his personality for a different one. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

You smiled, a real and happy smile this time. This man right in front of you, this version of Loki, you liked much better than the previous one. It just felt more real fo you. 

"I would love to." You answered gently and the two of you took off down the street. 

For what felt like hours the two of you wandered the streets of your city, talking about everything and nothing. You warmed up to him quicker than you could believe for yourself and you felt like he opened up to you too, if only just a little for now. 

It was already about sunrise when you yawned. That hadn't happened in a long time.

"I'm sorry I kept you up all night." Loki apologized with a small laugh.

"Nah, it's fine. I suffer from insomnia almost every night, it's a surprise to me that I'm still able to function." You brushed it off with a shrug, realizing only now how much you had told him about yourself in the past hours. And how much he had told you. It felt like you'd known him for such a long time, it was ridiculous. But something had just clicked with you and Loki and you could feel a serious crush developing. You were not sure if you minded it though, as he seemed to be quite enamored as well.

The two of you were still a block away from your apartment and yet you already felt sad. You didn't want to leave him just yet, but it was getting rather difficult to keep your eyes open.

"Do you want to come in? I… I could make you coffee or…" You turned to him once you stood in front of your building, hope all over your face.

Loki shot you his amazing smile in return. "I would love to, but I think that wouldn't be very appropriate." 

You looked down to your feet. He was standing so close to you, you could feel his warmth on your skin and even smell his cologne and it all made you want to just lean against him and let yourself dwell in his sweet embrace. But you didn't dare to just hug him, so you slowly reached out and first touched his hand with a single finger, gently brushing against his thumb. He got the sign and took your hand in his, interlacing your fingers and gently brushing over your knuckles.

"Do you… do you still want to?" You asked in a breath.

"Pardon?"

"Do you still want to see the… the drawings?" 

He nodded in return and you let go of his hand to find the book in your bag and place it in his hands. 

He looked into your eyes once more and you nodded, so he flipped the book open on page one. 

Slowly, one by one, he looked at every single page and all the while remained standing mere inches away from you. You didn't dare to look at his face, fearing to see a reaction you weren't ready to cope with. Time seemed to stand still for you; you heard nothing but his breathing and the flipping of pages. 

When he reached the last page there was utter silence. The electricity and tension in the air finally made you look back up again.

He was watching you with huge eyes, with an intensity you had yet to comprehend. 

Gently, you took the book out of his hands and placed it back inside your bag without breaking eye contact. 

"So…" You breathed. "What do you think of the…"

You were cut off by his chilled lips crashing against your own, passionate and capturing. 

There was nothing you could think, nothing you could do but kiss him back and let him push you against the wall behind you. 

This was right. So so right and you didn't doubt it for a second. The kiss was gentle, yet passionate and oh so sweet. His soul was reaching out to yours and worshipping it in every way possible.

"Y/N…" He growled when you broke apart, not daring to open your eyes for you feared this dream would come to an end. "How… how did you do it?"

You frowned against his forehead, which rested against yours. "How did I do what?" 

"You… you captured their soul. Every living thing you drew, it was just… as if you had taken their very essence and poured it onto the pages. The drawing you did of me, it's… I have never seen something like it. It's not mere beauty, it's the soul that…" 

You cut him off with another gentle kiss. "I dearly promise: your soul is safe with me."

___________

Tags:

@its-remy-not-ratatouille

(fyi this is my other account besides @nightrose64 )

[reyjustrey]

Stories - A moment; Interrupted 

A/N: A tiny-smol note before we begin; this piece takes place in a wonderful AU (that I found here) where Ben is sent back to the beginning of the conflict in TFA by the Force after his sacrifice on Exegol - as a kind of second chance, do-over sort of thing. Many things will come to change as a result of this - the most obvious here being Han’s continued (wonderful) existence and his witty repartee with his princess <3 

Inspired by many chats with @sithroyal

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

Not for the first time since their son had returned to them, Han Solo found his Princess pensively watching Ben with an uneasiness he well recognised; Hells, he’d seen it in the mirror many a time while the boy was growing up. It drew Leia’s brows low, that feeling; that unease -- made her lips pinch and drew her posture tense; brought her arms across her chest defensively...and made her jump just a little when he sidled up beside her to see what all the fuss was about. 

‘Whatcha seein’, Leia?’

The General didn’t answer by voice; just nodded at the scene playing out before them. In a courtyard, stone floored and circular, their son, bedecked in shades of brown and blue, was conversing with the girl he’d arrived with -- with Rey from Jakku as she’d called herself. He was sat in a kind of loose lotus position while she crouched at his side, the pair having an animated talk about something Han couldn’t make out. Most likely the Force, he reasoned; that being something they held in commonality between them. The girl could move things with her brain, just like Ben could, and that worried Leia to no end, Han knew, because she worried that she, Rey, would be just like Ben had been before they’d sent him off to train with Luke -- a whirling dervish of seesawing emotions, uncontrolled bursts of temper and with those, uncontrolled bursts of Force-born-destruction.

Now, Han and Leia both understood better what’d caused those things in retrospect. On Ben’s return he’d confided all he could, explained all he could, and they knew. The name Snoke would live in infamy between them; Leia couldn’t hear it without stalking off in a rage and Han? He’d taken a potshot at Darth Vader. This new guy? Piece of cake. 

Back in the courtyard though, Leia’s worries weren’t making manifest - just as Han had a hunch they wouldn’t. He’d be the first to admit to not knowing his son as well as any real father should, but he was working hard on that and could see...certain things coming through between their Ben and Ben’s Rey that Leia’s worries were clouding her to. He saw, for example, the crooked smile Ben could hardly wipe off his face as he talked with the girl. He saw how relaxed his shoulders were, and his hands as well, as he gestured. He saw him gently push her shoulder - very gently; it barely swayed her - and put his hand on Leia’s when the same sight made her tense and suck in a breath.

‘It’s alright-’ Han ventured quietly, watching on as Leia shook her head.

It was Rey’s turn now, he saw. Her dukes were up -- loose fists giving slow, light taps to Ben’s arms which he’d alternately block or bat away; just as slowly; just as gently. It was a bit like watching a Loth-cat tap at a Fathier’s ankles, and oh how that comparison made Han chuckle. 

‘She’s playing with him’ he murmured, taking the be quiet pat Leia gave him in his stride. 

And the play, as he’d rightly called it, went on. Ben was showing off now, Han wagered; blocking the taps Rey was aiming at him while keeping his eyes closed. The reflexes on him were something else entirely; something well beyond Han’s ken and he admired them - and by extension Ben - from not only the point of view of a really proud dad, but with a hoodlum’s eye as well. Give that boy a blaster and he’d be clearing rooms blindfolded - Han knew it in his damn bones. And Leia did too. Try as she might, the stoic General’s expression had softened as she looked on and the proceedings remained easeful. 

‘...Playing, huh?’ she said, looking up at her scoundrel with a tentative grin. 

Han’s agreement was more a rumble in his chest than words; his response an embrace that brought Leia’s back to his belly and brought his arms round her shoulders. A bit of a stoop later and his chin rested upon her crown--just in time to see Rey make a very well warned of lunge at Ben who...caught her...with his brain. The moment sent poor Leia rigid, almost lost Han a lower tooth for his trouble, and brought Rey - held aloft by Ben’s will as he laid back and drew her over him at a height of four feet - such immense joy and exhilaration she couldn’t help but laugh with it.

‘--I’m flying!’ she giggled, arms out to the sides  as she slowly turned and tumbled, Ben’s command of so simple a manipulation of the Force such that he could allow her to move of her own accord while holding her safely aloft. 

‘You are’ he beamed, his eyes open since she’d pounced at him and just drinking in the sight of her; how she smiled and laughed; how she moved with something that could easily pass as grace as they each revelled in the joy of the moment and most especially..most wondrously..how she reached towards his hands the moment she could. They were palm up, the pair of them, his fingers flexed as he worked to keep her where she was, and when she found them with hers at the fingertips first---

Ben would be lying if he said his focus didn’t waver at the contact.

Rey felt it too - a minute change; a little wobble - and  caught Ben’s eye as that soft little touch was allowed, for he brought her closer to him, to become the careful press of palm to palm.

Beyond the pair’s notice - for their world had become suddenly very, very small, very focused - Han rubbed his bumped chin and grinned like he’d just won the Falcon. Still embracing Leia, he bent carefully this time so he could muse by her ear--

‘He’s hooked.’

Uncertain eyes found Han’s. ‘What?’

The smuggler chuffed. ‘C’mon Princess.’ Han gestured towards the moment unfolding before them. ‘...Look at them and tell me you don’t see us thirty years ago.’

Leia’s face was a picture; her words wry. ‘I don’t see it.’

Han puffed up beside her, more than ready to respond when--

‘Rey!’

-- a new voice came on the scene; the ex-Trooper, Finn, had come calling. And it was then that Han learned yet more about this son of his who he didn’t know as well as he’d like. Ben Solo did not, shock, well. 

No sooner had Finn spoken than Rey was beneath Ben, tugged there sharply as he rolled up onto one knee and froze their visitor where he stood with a gesture. His arm outstretched, fist slowly clenching, Ben was deaf to how his mother called out his name in shock and fear; blind to how his father held her tightly; held her back from running towards him. Dimly though, on the edges of his perception, he felt a presence. He heard her too.

‘Ben-’

Rey. He could hear Rey.

‘Ben, that’s Finn- Let him go...It’s ok...He’s-’ Her attention shifted then, onto her frozen friend; awake and aware and shocked beyond description but unharmed; unhurt. Explain. She needed to explain-- 

‘I’m sorry, Finn!’ Rey called out, her mind pressing gently, comfortingly to Ben’s as she spoke. She could feel the impression of what he felt in real-time; moment for moment. And in a stilted, unsteady way, gave the moment meaning as best she could through it. ‘---Frightened’ she said, her hands gentle upon Ben’s ribs and his chest as she spoke. ‘Frightened- Tense and frightened; you made him jump- That’s why he grabbed you. Not to hurt; just frightened-- Sudden sights, sounds, unexpected things startle...Startled comes out scared; and scared is defensive and that’s—‘ She gestured towards Finn, indicating his current predicament as best she could. ‘That’s what that was. Defensive. You scared me--- I’m very sorry.’ 

Slowly then, and with great effort, the hold Ben had on Finn began to ease...and ease...until it wisped away completely and both parties - Ben on one end, Finn the other - sagged in place with relief. 

Han watched all this. He heard every word. And in the midst of keeping Leia back, not only saw little Rey, half Ben’s size, press herself against him as his gut reaction to being startled let him loose, but saw her reaching out in peace to Finn as well. 

‘Come here’ she was saying to him, a hand outstretched. ‘Please...Please--- Just...’

‘---Frightened?’ Finn replied, edging over uneasily.

Rey nodded, her arms around Ben who, for his part, seemed more of a want to hide in her shoulder than spend much more time around the once-Trooper. But he managed a gruff apology of his own when Finn neared him; bumped knuckles with him by way of a tentative handshake and then sagged again into Rey’s embrace when the moment passed; when Finn went on his way.

Han saw all this. And even as his Princess marched off in a concerned snit, he felt his heart swell with pride.

[timehealsfanfictionbka]

Time Heals.....Chapter Thirty- Seven Pt. 1

Robyn felt different. She couldn’t really pinpoint why but she just knew something was different. She still hadn’t given Chris a clear answer on whether she was willing to try this relationship thing but he had been on his best behavior regardless. She had never taken the time to realize how much Chris’s life dominated their conversations. How much time she spent counseling and reassuring him. Hell, the first time he decided to call her when he moved back to Texas was for reassurance about his new job. She wasn’t going to pretend that she didn’t know why; when it came to Chris, that was the only time she felt like he needed or wanted her. The feeling of love never really transferred well beyond being his sounding board. Now things were a bit different, when he asked about her day, he didn’t speed past her saying it was ok to start talking about himself, he actually asked follow up questions, was a bit more persistent in actually caring what her day was about. It had only been a few weeks so she wasn’t jumping for joy just yet but the fact he’s even trying she’d give him a bit of credit for. Now she was waiting for it to be consistent; the first time he feels impatient with her would really tell the true story. He could just be waiting her out, hoping that she’d back down and just be the way he wants. She thought about it but the feeling never sat right with her, putting her trust him had never been easy and considering their most recent history with Tiana and such, it was becoming even harder. She told him about how his lack of effort with Tiana came off to Tiana but she never went deeper into the impression of him that it gave to her. She felt like she was back in high school again, watching him run through Shelly, Mercedes, Carmen etc.; a bunch of girls giving their all for him to give them nothing but a Coke and a smile, just to up and leave when he got ready. He was a girl-magnet and they all seemed ready to fall at his feet; unfortunately, she was one of them. Chris did whatever and she forgave him. His overprotectiveness stalled her teenage love life meanwhile he had girlfriend after girlfriend and yet she never said a word. He just had this undeniable aura that drew you in and held you hostage but it felt so good you never felt like it was a hostage situation until you actually wanted to be free. Trying to free yourself of Chris’s charm was more of you fighting yourself than him, which is more difficult than people could imagine. It took him breaking her heart to break his hold on her and a part of her wasn’t sure she was strong enough to get back into the ring with him. She wanted to trust him but she saw what happened once you do trust him and it just doesn’t seem worth it yet.

“Liz, can you hold my calls for the next hour? I need some peace after those meeting this morning,” Robyn said through the intercom to her secretary.

“Yes Robyn. Are you ordering lunch soon?”

“Yes, I’ll take care of it though. Are you going out for lunch?”

“Just to the cafeteria.”

“Take an extra hour when you go.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“No problem.”

Robyn pulled her hair back into a ponytail then pressed the button that dropped the motorized curtain over her office door. She went to her closet and pulled out a blanket and a travel pillow before moving over to her couch. She had been in meetings since she got to her office and it was going on 12:30 in the afternoon. Nothing she hated more than the day before budget deadlines.

Chris frowned as her phone rang repeatedly before sending him to voicemail.

“She might be in a meeting,” he murmured to himself as he walked into her office building. He stopped at the service desk to sign in. The security guard reviewed his ID as he signed in before directing him to the elevators. Chris nodded his head in thanks as he pressed the up button on the elevator. It stopped on the tenth floor and Chris walked over to Liz’s desk, “Hi Liz, is she in?”

“She’s in but taking a long lunch. Do you want me to check if she’s available for you.”

“If you can. I don’t want to disturb her.”

“No problem.”

Chris waited as Liz knocked on the office door. A few moments passed before it opened and Robyn stood in the doorway, “Hey you. Something wrong?”

“No, I had something for you but if you’re busy it can wait.”

“No, it’s fine.I was just taking a break. Come in.”

Robyn stepped back as Chris walked into her office. She looked at the clock then at Liz, “you can go to lunch now if you want. No rush if you want to wait until 1 like usual.”

“I gotta finish up the memo from your meeting earlier so I’ll leave at one.”

“Ok.”

Robyn went inside and closed her office door.

Chris was leaning against her desk as Robyn went back to her couch, “you ok, Babe?”

“I’m ok. Tired. Been in meetings since 7:30 this morning up until about 15 minutes ago.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve came at another-”

Robyn waved him off as she interjected, “it’s fine. I like seeing you. What’d you need to talk to me about?”

“I actually wanted to give you these,” Chris replied as he held an envelope in his hand, “I didn’t want to assume you’d want to go together but I figured I’d ask.”

Robyn leaned forward to take the envelope, “What is it?”

“Just something I thought you might like to go to.”

“Have a seat. You standing is making me feel awkward.”

Chris chuckled and sat down in the chair next to her couch as Robyn opened the envelope, “So what you think?”

“I think you’re more multifaceted than I assumed.  A museum?”

“It’s a grand opening and my boss is apart of the committee and gave me tickets to the opening gala.”

“I think your boss likes you.”

“She’s a beautiful woman but God no.”

Robyn laughed, “at least you didn’t try and play it off like she wasn’t attractive.”

“We’ve been getting along so well, no need to ruin that over something so trivial. So what you think?”

“You really wanna bring me around your big wig supervisors?”

“There’s nobody else that I’d want by my side than you.”

Robyn smiled, “flirting with me already.”

“I’m always flirting with you.”

“Ok, Mr. Charming. What’s the attire?”

“Black tie. Formal. Along those lines.”

“It's next weekend.”

“Yea.”

‘Chris, how long have you had these tickets?”

“Honestly? A few weeks.  So much happened so fast and I didn’t want you to feel like I was trying to rush you or anything then I was trying to find the right time to ask and  now here we are.”

“Come here,” Robyn patted a spot next to her on the couch and Chris moved to sit beside her, “you seem so nervous.”

“This is a big step considering our uncertain status.”

“Uncertain status?”

“We haven’t exactly established that we’re in a relationship, just dating.”

“Dating is a clear status, it indicated exclusivity. I’m not seeing anybody else.”

“Neither am I, it’s just- I don’t know, dating doesn’t sound that permanent.”

“What it sounds like doesn’t matter as what it exactly is. It feels permanent to me, what would make it feel more permanent to you?”

“Not sure. I think I’m just scared about you changing your mind.”

“You haven’t given me a reason to change my mind so why would I?”

“I don’t know. This is new to me.”

“Sadly enough, I know. I watched you run through girl after girl with no problems as a teenager; ain’t never had to work this hard before.”

“I can take hard work, I just never felt this unsure about anything.”

“That happens when there are real consequences to your actions, it just means you’ve become more self-aware of what you say and do.”

“I definitely have.”

“You’re growing, Chris and once you get to be the complete man that you wish to be, you won’t even remember how uncomfortable it was getting there.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. So you got a color in mind?”

“I’m partial to Black.”

“Black I can do. So what you doing after this?”

“Nothing. I had a half day and decided to take advantage of it.”

“You wanna spend my lunch time with me? I ain't gonna do anything but take a long nap but-”

“I could use a nap.”

“Think this couch can hold both of us.”

“We might have to squeeze together a little bit but it should work.”

Robyn giggled, “you lay down first because you’re bigger than me.”

Chris tugged off his jacket and tossed onto the nearby chair before lying down on the couch. Robyn put the envelope with the tickets on her desk before returning to lay down next to Chris on the couch. She shifted a few times before Chris tugged her on top of him and pulled the blanket over them, “baring too much movement from you, we should be good and keep this PG13.”

Robyn laughed, “you don’t get hard that easy.”

“With you, nothing is a guarantee.”

“Oh. Ok.”

Robyn sighed as she wrapped her arms around him as far as they would go and Chris did the same to her, “I didn’t realize how much I needed this but I’m glad you’re here.”

“Whenever you want me. I’m just a phone call away, you know?”

“I know.”

Chris kissed her temple as he smoothed his hands along her back, “I love you, Robyn.”

“I love you too, VA.”

                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wait Mommy, if you’re going on a date with Daddy, where are we going?” Erica asked as they sat with Robyn at the kitchen table. They had just finished dinner and Robyn wanted to let the girls know that she wouldn’t be home this weekend.”

“Well, Mama Joyce said she would watch you until me and your dad gets home from the gala. Chris is gonna pick you up and bring you to his house Sunday morning since it’ll be late by the time we get back.”

“You’re spending the night at Daddy’s house again?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Ooooooo,” Erin said with an arch of her brow, “we’re not getting any more siblings, are we?”

“No, that’s a big jump from a simple date, Ms. Erin.”

“I mean it can happen right?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You want us to have another baby?”

“Yea. Daddy needs a son.”

“Well what about me?”

“Well it’d be your son too.”

Robyn chuckled, “I knew I should’ve left that part out.”

“It’s ok. Seriously, we’re really happy you and Daddy are working things out,” Erica interjected, “you both seem a lot happier.”

“I don’t want you to get your hopes up for anything, we’re just seeing how things play out for right now.”

“That’s better than nothing so we’ll take it.”

Robyn smiled as Erica leaned into her arm, “y’all have been really waiting for this to happen, huh?”

“Well once Daddy got divorced, we figured it wouldn’t be a horrible idea if you and him decided to go out.”

“Would you have said anything if we had never told you?”

“Not to you and Daddy but yea.”

“Wait a minute, who else are y’all spoken to about me and your Daddy dating?”

“Mama Joyce and Mama Fenty mainly.”

“You told your Mama Fenty?”

“Yea, she said she was gonna wait until you called and told her before she said anything since she didn’t want us to get in trouble for telling.”

“So if those two know that means the entire family knows.”

“Pretty much.”

Robyn shook her head, “so much for taking it slow and private.”

“Mommy, if you and Daddy get married, are you gonna actually change your last name this time?”

“I don’t know. We’d have to talk about that if it happens.”

“Why didn’t you change your name to Daddy Michael’s last name?”

“Because of you, y’all had my last name so I figured it’d be easier for legal purposes to just keep my maiden name.”

“Oh.”

“Besides it seemed weird for you both to have the last name Fenty while me and Michael had a different last name.”

“Well are you gonna change our names now?”

“Speaking of that, your Dad was wondering if you were opposed to taking his last name. He’s in the process of getting your birth certificates updated and figured he’d kill two birds with one stone so to speak.”

“So our last names would be Brown?”

“Yup.”

“That’s fine with me. Erin?”

“I’m fine with it.”

“Good. I’ll let him know that. As for this whole date night thing, I know y’all will be fine at Mama Joyce’s house but just in case you need either of us.”

“Mommy, we can handle this. I know you haven’t been on a lot of dates in a long time before it’s no different than when we visit Mama Joyce any other time.”

“That is true.”

“Are you excited?”

“I am. A little nervous too.”

“Why?”

“As you said I haven’t done this a lot.”

“Did you date a lot when you were younger?”

“Not really.”

“Was Daddy your first boyfriend?”

“No but I didn’t have many.”

“Did Daddy date a lot?”

Robyn chuckled, “A lot might not be descriptive enough. Let’s just say your Daddy had a lot of girls falling all over themselves for him.”

“Well he is cute.”

“Your Dad is very cute.”

“Glad you think so.”

Robyn turned around at the sound of Chris’s voice, “what are you doing here?”

Erin and Erica ran over to hug him and Chris grabbed them tight.

“That’s quite a hello.”

Robyn tilted her head and Chris laughed, “Hi Christopher. What are you doing here?”

“Hi Robyn. I came to see my girls. Hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Nope, just after dinner conversation.”

“Nice, can I join?”

“Sure, if you have something relevant to contribute.”

“I think I can manage that.”

“Daddy, are you staying the night?” Erin asked.

“No, I just wanted to see you guys. I missed you this week.”

“We missed you too, Daddy.” Erica replied, “we were talking about your date tomorrow. Are you ready?”

“As ready as I can be but this isn’t something totally new to me and your mom.”

“It’s not. This isn’t your first date?”

“No. Why would you-” Chris looked over at Robyn and she was shaking her head, “your mom never told you about our other dates?”

“Other dates? How many?”

“Like two or three. You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t tell them. We were still in the building stages technically,” Robyn interjected

“Wow Mommy and I thought we talked about everything,” Erica replied.

Robyn shook her head as she grabbed Erica’s hand, “when I felt it was necessary then we would’ve talked about it. Things weren’t serious yet. No need to take it personal.”

“So are they serious now?”

“I told you about this date, didn’t I?”

“Do you love each other?”

“Erica, maybe-” Chris started to talk but Robyn interrupted, “yes, we love each other but relationships are to be built on a lot more than that. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, ok?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“You girls go get ready for bed, we’ll be up in a minute to say goodnight.”

“Ok.”

They each hugged their parents before leaving out of the kitchen. Robyn turned to Chris and leaned into one of her hands, “I thought you weren’t gonna make it over here tonight.”

“I told you that I would try.”

“That you did. How are you?”

“I’m great. How are you?”

“I’m ok.”

“Something wrong?”

“The girls asked if we were gonna have another baby.”

“Oh.”

“Yea and they asked if we get married if I was changing my last name.”

“Oh. They were getting kind of deep once you told them about our date.”

“Uh yea. Oh they are ok with changing their last names.”

“That’s great. I can send the paperwork into my attorney tomorrow then.”

“You mad at me?”

“About what?”

“Me not telling them about our previous dates.”

“Not mad. A little hurt but I understand.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you, I just didn’t want to say something and things go left, that’s all.”

“I understand besides I’ve been known to jump the gun a little bit anyway so it was probably best they didn’t know until we were both ready.”

“That was my logic, it really wasn’t personal.”

“I know. It’s fine.”

“You really drove over here to see them for five minutes?”

“Them and you. Five minutes is better than no minutes.”

“True but you could’ve Facetimed us or something.”

“Not the same.”

“Close enough.”

“Close but no cigar.”

“And what exactly do you get out of a face to face that you don’t get from a Facetime call?”

Chris arched his brow, “You really wanna know because I can show you better than I can tell you?”

“I’m asking you, aren’t I?”

“Come here.”

Robyn got up and walked over to Chris, who pulled her into his lap. She wrapped her arm around his neck as he settled his hand over her waist.

“For starters, I definitely can’t hold you through Facetime.”

“True.”

“And I definitely can’t kiss you either.”

“True but you haven’t done that yet.”

“I’m getting there.”

Robyn traced her fingertip along one of his earlobes, “you smell good.”

“Thank you. You using my lines on me?”

“It’s not a line when it's the truth.”

“Are you flirting with me?”

“Are you my man?”

“Yes.”

“Then there’s your answer.”

“Oh, so that’s how we feeling this evening.”

“Something like that. Can I have my kiss now?”

“You can take it whenever you want.”

“Don’t tempt me, I might surprise you.”

Chris’s brow went up and Robyn laughed. She leaned and pecked his lips three separate times before pulling back and running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, “you spending the night?”

���Do you want me to?”

“I would like you to but it’s up to you.”

“Considering I have my clothes for tomorrow already in my car, I will take you up on that offer. Couch or your room?”

“We can sleep in the same bed. We can’t really get into too much trouble especially with the girls here.”

“You really don’t want to find out how much trouble we can get into, I have my ways.”

“We’re not there yet.”

“I know, just saying I can get us there whenever you’re ready.”

“Maybe we should change the subject. This is supposed to stay PG13 and we have a date tomorrow.”

“Does the date have to be PG13?”

“Might change it to NG17 depending on the night.”

“I like my odds then.”

Robyn chuckled, “you plan this?”

“Nope. I really did just come to see you guys then go home. My clothes are only in the car because I picked them up from the dry cleaners earlier.”

“Oh ok.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I believe you. I’d tell you if I didn’t.”

“Ok. Ready to say goodnight?”

“Yea. You wanna tell them you’re staying or no?”

“We can tell them, they’ll find out in the morning anyway.”

Robyn got up and took Chris’s hand before they upstairs to the Twins bedroom. Erin and Erica were each sitting on their respective beds as Chris and Robyn walked into the room.

“Everybody brush their teeth and everything?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Erica and Erin replied simultaneously.

“Y’all are holding hands, is Daddy staying the night?” Erica asked.

“Yes, he is so he’ll be here in the morning.”

“Can we sleep with you guys then?” Erin asked.

Robyn looked at Chris, “what you think?”

“It’s fine with me.”

“Then come on you two.”

“Yes!” Erica exclaimed.

Robyn and Chris laughed as they left the room with both girls following behind them. Erin and Erica climbed into Robyn’s bed as Robyn went to her closet. She dug around for a few minutes before handing Chris some basketball shorts and a t-shirt, “clearly you’ve been here a lot if I got your clothes in my closet.”

“More like you’ve been in my closet a lot and keep forgetting to return what you borrow.”

“Whatever.”

Chris left into the bathroom as Robyn moved to climb in the side of the bed beside Erica, “y’all were waiting up just to see if he was staying, weren’t you?”

“Yea. We like when we’re all together, right Erin?”

“Yup. It’s always better when Daddy’s here too.”

“I’m glad you love having him around. Ok, Erica scoot over a little bit more.”

Erica moved closer to her sister just as Chris came out of the bathroom. He looked at the three women in the bed, “Robyn, we gotta get you a bigger bed.”

Robyn laughed, “nah, we just have giant kids.”

“That too. Alright girls move over so Daddy can have some room.”

Erin and Erica both moved to the right side of the bed and shock covered Robyn’s face as Chris climbed in the bed behind her, “What are you doing?”

“Getting comfortable.”

Chris turned off the light as he spooned Robyn’s body, “Goodnight Ladies.”

                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robyn tossed her duffle bag onto Chris’s bed before plopping down the loveseat across from it, “you ever plan on back into your master bedroom?”

“I have to redecorate it since I finally gutted the room.”

“Gutted? You got rid of everything?”

“Yea. All the walls have been primed in white and there’s no furniture left.”

“Wow. I thought you were just gonna a get new bed or something.”

“That was the plan but by the time I finished cleaning everything up, I just decided to start over from scratch.”

“Oh. You got anybody coming to look over it, I can recommend an interior designer?”

“Nah, not yet. I was thinking about doing it myself but I’m not the best at picking colors and stuff.”

“Oh, it’s easy.”

“You wanna help me?”

Robyn shrugged her shoulders, “I’ll think about it.”

“That’s better than a no. We got some time we have to get dressed, what you want to do?”

“Nap.”

“You’ve been sleeping a lot lately.”

“I’ve been working late a lot lately.”

“At the office or-“

“At home. I only work late at the office if I have someone to watch the girls.”

“What’s going on?”

“Two big construction project bids were won, now we gotta work like hell to meet the requirements. I advised against taking on two big projects at once but no one wanted to listen to me so now I have to juggle the budget to make it feasible and considering we can’t back out because it’ll be a major loss, I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to find money.”

“Wow.”

“Yea, so it’s been stressful.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I could’ve helped you out.”

“There wasn’t really much for you to do but I appreciate the offer.”

“Now you know I could’ve brought the girls to my house so you wouldn’t have to keep bringing work home. I know how much you don’t like having to do that.”

“I know but its part of what I signed up for unfortunately, besides it’s not that big of a deal. I’ll figure it out, I always do.”

“You don’t have to do it by yourself, you know?”

“I know and I’m not doing it by myself. This is everyday shit. It is what it is.”

Chris sighed, “well then you definitely need to take a nap. I’ll set an alarm to wake you up. What time?”

“What time we leaving?”

“Seven.”

“You can set it for five then. That’ll give me enough time to shower and do my hair.”

“Alright.”

Chris moved Robyn’s bag onto the floor beside the bed and pulled back the covers, “you go ahead and rest, I’ll give you some peace and quiet.”

“You’re welcome to stay with me, if you want.”

“I’ll come back later. I need to do something first.”

“Ok.”

Robyn walked over and kissed him, “see you in a few hours.” 

She climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up to her neck. Chris winked at her before closing the curtains and turning off the lights, “have a good nap, Babe.”

“Thank you.”

Chris left out the room, cracking the door behind him.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Robyn reached around in the dark without opening her eyes to turn off the alarm. She groaned as her hand couldn’t find it to turn it off. She sat up and stared right into Chris’s face. He smiled as he turned off the alarm using his phone, “Hey you.”

“How long you’ve been sitting there?”

“Like two minutes. Ready to get up?”

“I guess,” she said with a yawn.

“The shower is on. Towels and stuff are sitting on top of the toilet cover. Your garment bag and stuff is hanging up on the outside of the closet. You need anything else?”

“Nope, that should be all.”

“Alright. See you in a little bit.”

“Thanks VA.”

“No problem, Baby.”

Chris hummed lowly to the music coming from his phone as he lined up the nape of his neck. He pulled one of his curls and frowned as it bounced back, “might be time to cut my hair.”

“I hope not. I love your hair.”

Chris turned around and smiled at Robyn as she stood in the doorway of the hall bathroom, “that’s the only reason why I haven’t cut it but it’s getting a bit long.”

Robyn shrugged as she reached up to twirl a curl around her finger, “you look cute with curls though.”

“I probably won’t cut it off completely, just shorter.”

“Eh, that’s ok, I guess.”

Chris chuckled, “you ready?”

“I’m not even dressed. I’m definitely not wearing a robe.”

“Oh, I thought maybe you had your dress on under the robe, that’s all.”

“No. I need your help putting it on.”

“Oh, just give me a few minutes.”

“Don’t rush on my account, we got some time.”

“I was finished anyway.”

Chris turned off his clippers and washed his hands, “let’s get you into this dress.”

Robyn turned and Chris followed her down the hall to his bedroom. She sat down on the bed as Chris opened the garment bag and carefully removed it from around her dress.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” Chris murmured.

“Thank you. I gotta be around your people, guess I should pull out all the stops.”

“You can pull them out at anytime if they look like this.”

Robyn giggled, “alright let's get this done.”

Robyn stood up and dropped the robe onto the bed. Chris’s eyebrow raised at her undergarments or lack thereof, “you should really warn me before you stand topless in my bedroom.”

Robyn scoffed, “I’ve been naked in front of you already, don’t be so dramatic.”

“I’m not. I just wasn’t expecting you to be wearing so little.”

“I have on nipple covers and underwear, definitely more than so little.”

“Whatever you say.”

Chris took the velvet hanger out the dress and moved to place it over Robyn’s hair. It slid over her easily, the hem stopping right at her calves. Robyn shifted her leg, opening the slit that went from calf to mid-thigh. The fabric conformed to her body as if she was sewn into it as Chris zipped up the back of the dress. The sharp v in the bodice accentuated her medium breasts as the corset-like boning accentuated her smaller waist. Chris stepped back as she bent down to slide on her pumps. Robyn ran her hands over her straightened hair before turning to Chris, “what do you think?”

“You look incredible.”

“Thank you.”

“A part of me wants to show you off but another part of me wants to keep you in the house to myself.”

Robyn chuckled, “now that’s a compliment I like to hear. How about we do both? We shut the party down then have our own private party when we get back.”

“You wanna make this a short night?”

“Yea, I think I have an idea for something a bit more fun than hobnobbing with the rich.”

“Hmm…you’ve already made plans?”

“I’ve made some calls to some friends. I think it’s something you might like if I remember your old hobbies correctly.”

“Now you have me intrigued.”

Robyn smiled, “good. First, let’s get to this party. Did I leave my coat in your car?”

“Yea, it’s on the back of the passenger seat.”

“Ok cool. You ready to go?”

“After you.”

Chris held open the door and Robyn walked out of the bedroom with Chris right behind her.

[argylemikewheeler]

102 Peach Street

|| started by this ask. will and mike are married and very happy ||

On Sunday mornings, Mike always liked to spend the early sunlight hours pulling weeds out of the garden. He’d stand in the warm sunshine, feeling the morning breeze on his arms and through his hair– he refused to cut it above his shoulders in the early nineties. Will would often stand at the kitchen window, washing the dishes, and smile down at him and their full green country yard.

It was part of Will’s therapy to tend to something that would grow and thrive if loved and taken care of– just like he would. The summer they moved out of Hawkins and into a place of their own, Mike helped Will plant greenery all along the front of the house and by the porch steps. Will watered and fixed the soil frequently, but Mike always offered to do the weeding; Will’s knees had gotten bad in his early college years from a childhood of incorrectly running (for his life) and couldn’t spend the hours hunched over like he used to.

Of course, though, Mike didn’t mind. He lovingly got his favorite pair of worn and tearing jeans and knelt in the dirt, reminding himself what it was like to actually do something with his hands– he really had something going as a kid with all those Lego projects. Those days, he really only spent time at his desk shuffling papers. Mike would willingly trade paper cuts for all that dirt under his fingernails. He didn’t dislike his job though, let that be known. Copy editing was a joy and writing in his free time reminded him of planning campaigns, but Hawkins just never had sunshine like this.

Will and Mike didn’t runaway from Hawkins necessarily, but they did give their (unwanted) family a very short notice before packing their car up and driving east. They unpacked their boxes in their small cottage, faint sounds of the ocean reminding them they were far from their childhood, but had finally come home. They eloped– in the way that they could– in ‘95. Neither spoke a word, but quietly changed the single, default name on the mailbox to both. Will painted it on with his best attempt at a flower that seemed to have a face of some kind– but maybe that was Mike’s interpretation.

Will’s middle school art students seemed to like the plant’s “face” when he drew it on their work too, understandably so: Demogorgons looked cute when they had googly eyes and smiley faces.

“Good morning, Mr. Byers.” Mike stood up and turned at the sound of a young voice behind him. A girl was standing at the end of their front walkway, holding up her bike. Her hair was in two pigtails on the top of her head, wrapped in pink fuzzy hair ties.

“Hi. What can I do for you?” He couldn’t remember her name, but he knew she lived just down the road. Her parents made them a pie when they first moved in. He was allergic to it– but he didn’t hold that against them.

“Do you know where Mr. Wheeler is?” She asked. They’d traded names so technically they weren’t noticeably married, but could still enjoy answering to the last name of the other. Mike really liked being a Byers.

“He’s just inside, I can get him if you want. What’s wrong?”

“I messed up my bike.” She sighed, holding it out to him.

“Oh! I can help with that.” Mike wiped his hands on his jeans and used his shoulder to nudge some of his curls out of his way.

“It’s not just the chain– I fixed that myself. When I fell I scratched the paint up pretty bad… and I know Mr. Wheeler has good paints in his garage.” She looked down at her accident’s handiwork– a long scrape going along the entire length of the frame.

“Oh! You need an artist’s help. I understand– I’ll be right back.” Mike grabbed the banister and swung up the front steps. He made sure not to leave any smudged fingerprints on the door as he opened it and stepped inside. He kept his dirty shoes on the doormat. “Oh, Mr. Wheeler, the girl from down the street is here to see you. She has an art emergency.”

Will ducked and emerged under the hanging cabinets in the kitchen. He’d cut his hair above his ears, almost to balance out Mike’s, and finally started letting his hair swoop back and show his forehead. He was the most handsome man Mike had ever seen, and Mike thought it every time he laid eyes on Will. He knew he was lucky just getting out of Hawkins alive, but he considered his greatest luck finding Will all those years ago.

“Sara?” Will placed his dish towel down on the counter and walked around, coming toward the door. “What happened?”

“She crashed and needs some new paint.” Mike held the door open for Will, letting him onto the porch. “Here he is, Sara.” Mike was glad someone remembered people’s names.

“Hey, sweetheart! What happened!” Will gripped Mike’s arm and braced himself as he took the stairs. Mike could practically hear Will’s joints squeaking as loudly as the wood steps.

“A car blew a stop sign and I skidded to stop so fast it went sideways and slid right out from under me!” She groaned, rolling it toward him and exposing the scrape.

“Oh, God. Are you alright?” Will asked, squeezing Mike’s arm in response.

“Yeah, I had my elbow pads and helmet on. I’m fine.” She said. “But Sandra here really got it.”

“You named her Sandra?” Will smiled and braced his knees to crouch and admire the flaking paint. His knees popped as he sank down. “I don’t think I ever named mine when I was growing up– did you, Michael?”

“Nope. Me neither.” Mike shook his head. “If I did, I completely forget by now.”

“That’s fair.” Will muttered. He adjusted his weight on his feet and ran his hand over the exposed frame. “I don’t know if I have the same color as your bike, so how about a stripe? I can give you a racing stripe right down the side!”

“Can you?”

“Of course I can.” Will laughed, nodding. “I can even do a little design for you– Michael, you know where my really nice white paint is, right? On the–”

“Top shelf of your metal cabinet, just by the garage door? Yeah. I know where.” Mike touched the top of Will’s head as he stepped past them. “I’ll get your good brushes too.”

“Thank you, Mike.” Will grinned, somewhat shyly due to their audience, and watched Mike cross the lawn.

The garage was disconnected from the house and held all of Will’s art supplies as well as Mike’s old typewriter. Will’s easel was leaned up against the model bench and Mike’s old manuscripts were still in a bit of a mess on the lid of one of Will’s toolboxes. He’d clean that later, after he found that one passage he’d written ages ago and suddenly found a way to repurpose.

It was a short paragraph, maybe three sentences, about a brief memory Mike remembered having as a kid, but knowing he’d never lived it. It was a image of this figure– this boy– passing in front of his vision and drawing him farther and farther in to him. It had been a dream Mike had, knocked out and lying on his local mall’s floor. He’d thought he was being drawn to death then, but it turned out he was brought back to consciousness by the faint tug of his heartstrings.

He wanted to find it and rework it for an upcoming anniversary. The manuscript had never seen the light or day or the desk of any publishing house, but it had stuck with Mike since he’d buried it under boxes of old bike parts and vinyl records.

Mike grabbed the paint and Will’s brushes by the door before backpedaling and going to Will and their neighbor. Will was sitting on the grass by then, legs stretched out and hands gently patting his left knee as he spoke.

“– it’s supposed to rain soon too, so my knees aren’t any better. I’m okay though, Sara. Mr. Byers and I are just old.”

“You aren’t even thirty.” Mike quipped, placing the paint beside Will and gently nudging his leg.

“I’ve got old man knees though.” Will said, rubbing them slowly. “Sara was just asking my why bones sound like popcorn.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No! No!” Will laughed, reaching over for her arm gently. “It’s alright! It’s funny. They do, they really do sound like popcorn. I got it from an old childhood accident.” He used the back of a paintbrush to pop the lid to the paint. Mike held the can still, letting his already dirty hands get covered in the flakes of dried white paint.

“Did you play a sport, Mr. Wheeler? My dad said he hurt his knee back in high school playing football.” Sara asked, gripping Sandra tightly by the handlebars.

“No, nothing like that. I just fell when I was a kid. I was running inside– which I shouldn’t have been doing, that’s never safe– and I tripped over something and took this big spill. Rolled myself up into knots and really bumped up both my knees.” Mike didn’t remember Will getting so good at telling that lie.

In reality, Will was running toward Hopper’s cabin, deep in the woods, completely barefoot. The ground was uneven and Will’s legs were flailing out in unhealthy and painful directions as he forced himself to go ahead another inch. It was pitch black and the rest of the Party was standing on the porch, waving him forward and screaming to go just a little farther. In the last stretch, and last jump over a fallen tree, Will’s ankle caught on a branch and brought him tumbling down to the ground. The growling behind him grew louder as he tumbled through the fallen leaves and into rocks and sticker bushes. Mike didn’t remember leaving the safety of the porch, but he remembered pulling Will out of the foliage and dragging him the rest of the way to the house. He remembered crying too. That’s all.

“I’m fine, Sara. Don’t worry, I’ve got Mr. Byers here to help.” Will looked over his shoulder and winked at Mike before leaning back to the bike with his dipped paintbrush.

“Is he your helper?” Sara looked at Mike with such innocence and kindness. There was an instinct to feel guilty– like it would all go away if she only knew the truth. But Mike knew it was a false sense of guilt. Their marriage was the best thing in Mike’s life. He wasn’t ashamed.

“No, actually Michael’s my husband.” Will said, his hand moving steadily and making a clean stripe on Sara’s bike. “I’ve known him since we were kids.”

“Oh. T-That’s cool, I guess.” Sara said, obviously taken aback. She didn’t seem bothered, just wildly surprised. She’d lived next door to them for most of her life, and apparently it never occurred to her that young, happy men could be married too.

Part of Mike was pleased to be a surprise. Typically, that meant the person had never met a gay couple before. Mike was glad he and Will could be her starting example.

“I’m going to leave you two to your work, alright?” Mike said, wiping his hands on his jeans again. Sara had stopped staring at him, but had now moved on to Will. Mike was sure she had more questions. “I want to clean up the garage, Plum. I’ll be back.”

—

Mike sat down on the garage floor and started separating the loose pages and clipped manuscripts. Mike avoided reading any of his very old writing– it was still embarrassing to think he was published in his college lit mag forever with such sappy love poetry. At least he still had the work’s muse living with him. Helped him improve and write the same message again, far better: later, said embarrassing poem became Mike’s wedding vows so it wasn’t all a loss.

Before Mike could reach the bottom of his stack, the garage side door opened. Will placed his paint and brushes down on the floor and slowly approached Mike’s sporadic piles.

“What are you looking for?” He stood tall but squinted to try and read the pages below him.

“Something I wrote in college. I remembered it the other morning– remember when I stumbled out of bed for my notebook?” Mike laughed, turning to look up at his husband.

“When you tripped three times just getting across the room? Yeah. I remember. I thought we were being robbed. But it was just you having a stroke of genius?”

“If you want to call it that.” Mike held his arms out to the scattered organization with a sigh. “Did you fix Sandra up?”

“Sara’s already on her way home! Gave her a stripe and even wrote ‘Sandra’ on the side. Gave her flowers and swords, the whole nine.”

“Swords?”

“She told me she’s learning about Joan of Arc.” Will shrugged. “I thought it was pretty cool.”

“It is. And so are you.” Mike placed his unsorted pages down, frankly not needing their words anymore. His world was right there. Being absolutely adorable. Will placed his hand over Mike’s face and shoved him playfully.

“Help me inside, Mr. Byers?”

“That bad?” Mike’s tone changed in a snap, pushing off the ground and getting to his feet. “We should change out those stairs, Plum.”

“No, it’s just the barometric pressure. They’re fine.” Will took Mike’s hand. “A convenient excuse to keep you around though, have to say.”

“Don’t make me carry you again.” Mike jokingly went to sweep Will off his feet. Will yelped and jumped back with a giggle. “I’ll only hit your head on the doorway a little bit this time.”

“I love having to tell the story of ‘no the bruise I got on my wedding night was because my husband walked me into the doorway’. My mom thought we were idiots.” Will sighed, following Mike out of the garage.

“Babe, we are idiots.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t need to know that this late in the relationship. We’ve kept it a secret for quite a while, I like to think.”

"Will, for every monster we fought on a school night is another ten reasons we’re both idiots.” Mike reasoned. He stepped up onto the stairs first, letting Will pull up on his tensed arm for leverage. “You taught me that.”

Will grunted quietly as he pushed himself up the rest of the stairs. At the landing, he broke into a smile. “I know. I’m just testing you, Michael. Just testing you.”

“Shut up and get inside.” Mike laughed, swinging the front door open. “Make sure all the windows are closed before it rains, I’m going to make you some tea.”

“What? That’s not how that works.” Will laughed, shaking his head as he kicked off his shoes. “You know we didn’t open any windows last night.”

“Welp, looks like you have to sit down and let me make you tea.” Mike said, dramatically sighing and starting off toward the kitchen. Will shuffled after him, trying not to slip in his socks.

Their house was about the size of Will’s childhood home, maybe a bit smaller. They didn’t need much room, if Mike was being honest. All their childhood they’d practically lived right on top of each other, being able to do so as adults was a bonus. Between the foyer and the kitchen was only a small alcove with their round wooden dining table. It only held the two of them; they rarely had guests anyway.

Every time he passed by the table, he remembered that first month, sitting in the morning silence and staring out the window at the long stretches of trees. Will was sipping tea, careful not to slurp too loudly and get under Mike’s skin at seven in the morning. Under the table, Mike could hear Will gently rubbing his feet together: a habit of comfort Mike had learned to observe. Mike had been drinking coffee and eating a bagel, definitely getting crumbs everywhere. He’d placed his breakfast down and cleared his throat– twice– and placed his hand on Will’s. Will still made him nervous sometimes.

“Hey, Will?” Mike had said, careful to break his peaceful look.

“Yeah, Mike?”

The words were so easy to say. Mike couldn’t remember a time when they seemed so far off: “Will you marry me?”

“So, what stroke of genius did you have?” Will asked, easing himself down into his chair. Mike placed the kettle onto the stove with a furrowed look. “You said your old writing– a new idea came to you?”

“Oh! Right. I got confused when you said genius.” Mike teased.

He got out Will’s favorite mug and placed it on the counter beside his teabag. Originally, it had just been a random floral mug his mother had found at a thrift store, just trying to get enough mugs for when the entire Party– and monster hunting congregation– found its way into the Byers house. Will had been drinking out of it when they solved their last mystery; was steeping tea when he got accepted to college, and nearly spilled it diving for the phone to call Mike; and brought it to his dorm for his four years at MICA. And, obviously, it was the one he was drinking out of when Mike proposed– if you want to call it that. Mike considered it a waking up of sorts, of finally getting his shit together and asking Will the most obvious question.

“So, what’s the idea?” Will asked, placing his feet up on Mike’s seat. “You know I like hearing about them.”

“Yeah, I know. But this one’s boring.”

“Your ideas are never boring, Michael. I love them.” Will said sternly, although his smile ruined the effect. “I’m listening.”

The kettle began to whistle and Mike tried to use it as a distraction, but he could feel Will’s eyes patiently watching him.

“It’s an old something I wanted to fix up… it’s from college, but it’s about back from before we started high school.” He waved it off before pouring their water.

“You say that like it’s not any good.”

"It’s just about… this dream I had once.” Mike sighed. He rolled his eyes at his own preface. “It was when– okay, so do you remember that time in Starcourt when I was hit? I fell down and smacked my head really hard?”

“Do I rememb– yes, of course I do.” Will exclaimed. “I thought you’d shattered your skull right open in the goddamn food court while we were running for our lives.”

“Well, it’s just about that. The dream I had while I was completely knocked out for five minutes.” Mike tried to nudge it away with another shrug. He returned to the table quickly, still trying to maintain a feeling of nonchalance. Will took the mug slowly, narrowing his eyes but still thanking him. “What!”

“You’ve never told me about this before.” Will said, moving his feet up off Mike’s seat so he could slide under them. Mike always let Will rest his feet on his lap. “How is this new to me?”

Mike set his jaw, trying to defeat his growing smile. “It’s supposed to be a surprise! Don’t ask too many questions. It’s your anniversary gift, so don’t go poking around.”

“Michael, you don’t have to do anything for me!” Will reached over and grabbed both of Mike’s hands. “I don’t want you to.”

“You married me and let me buy you a house.” Mike said, like it was the simplest rebuttal. “I have to thank you every year. Afraid my luck will run out.”

“How many times have I told you,” Will said, pulling Mike’s hand up to his lips, kissing it quickly. “It’s not luck. That’s not why we’re together. It’s–”

“I know, I know.” Mike sighed, smiling. “It’s fate.”

Will grinned, his face lighting up; it was what Will had said in his own wedding vows. The moment Mike heard it, unprepared and already wonderfully weak at the altar, he started weeping. Before then, he’d never thought that everything in his life had all been for something. All of his past suffering could stop hurting, even for a moment. It wasn’t going to come back and haunt him; he had finally reached his own, permanent happiness. The one his family never said he’d have, the one he started to believe he was never meant to experience– only write about, growing envious of his characters.

But Mike’s happiness was there, sitting across from him and all around. It was 102 Peach Street, house of Mr. Michael Byers and Mr. William Wheeler. It was waking up to the same faint sound of even and slow breathing– the reassurance he’d still get to live his best dream another day. On the hardest days, it was the paint-smudged young man that would come through the front door, smiling from ear to ear, already somehow knowing that Mike needed extra love– and an overly dramatic mwah of a hello kiss. On Mike’s best days, it was just Will.

No matter what, it was always Will. Mike had found his happiness, run headstrong into his fated future, and nothing was ever going to take it away.

Mike blinked, tears suddenly welling in his eyes, and thought of his dream. The floating figure was one he had always assumed as an angel– a sign that death was closer than it had ever been– and it was an angel. It was just that this one looked a whole lot like his childhood friend. Looked like his husband.

“Why are you crying?” Will moved his legs off Mike’s lap in order to pull his chair in closer. Will cradled Mike’s face, his thumbs moving over his cheeks slowly, waiting for a tear to fall. “Michael, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” Mike laughed, sniffling. “I just forget how kind fate was to me… I got the perfect house, the most beautiful husband with the most extraordinary heart, neighbors that bake us pies for fuck’s sake… Did you ever think we’d get all this?”

“No.” Will said, shaking his head. “But I always knew I’d have you. And that was always enough.”

Mike hiccuped a short but loud sob, laughing wetly. “God, you’re making me cry more. I love you. So so much.”

Will didn’t speak– he often never did when Mike was in his moods of disbelief. He just pushed Mike’s hair back from his eyes, looking at him with a sense of wonder, before leaning forward to kiss him.

When Mike closed his eyes, he knew the vision was no longer a memory and it definitely wasn’t a dream. No, it was a feeling. It was this feeling. One of comfort and relief, of letting Mike’s whole body relax into the warm touch of another person– another man. Laying on the floor of the mall, in danger and unconscious, Mike had been given a glimpse into his own future– and it was gloriously simple, safe, and sweet. It was Will.

ao3

[munofsilver]

Putting Everything in Place 3

Day three first date/fight of @chlonathweek You can read it on Ao3 here.  

“I’m home,” Chloe called as she enters her house.

“Mommy!” Cheered Nicole as she runs to hug her mother.

“How was he?” Adrien asked putting his jacket on.

“I’m sure Marinette will tell you all about it. Did Nicole have lunch?” Chloe ignores the question.

She doesn’t like talking about Nathaniel in front of Nicole. Chloe told her daughter that Nathaniel got hurt, but she doesn’t know that her father has no memory of his family. Chloe decided that things are going to change.

“Yes, Nicole did have lunch. She's been good all day,” Adrien pats Nicole's head and exits.

From that day on Chloe visited Nathaniel every day. Surprising everyone, but Marinette. She had a feeling Chloe would visit more. After a few weeks, Nathaniel started to see Chloe in a new light. One day Chloe comes with a gift for Nathaniel. Holding a red bag with a white bow Chloe is full of smiles until. “What’s with the bag?” Asked Dr. Tumblr.

“Even with his memory the way it is, I’m sure Nathaniel still knows today is his birthday,” she holds the gift tight to her body.

She’s worried the doctor would try taking it from her. “May I asked what you got him?” Dr. Tumble asked.

He is starting to anger Chloe. “Does it matter. It’s a gift. Nothing’s going to jump out at him. I just bought him something I think he would like,” Chloe defends herself.

Dr.Tumble always seem to get on Chloe’s nerves with his rules. He says it’s for the best, but Chloe was having none of that today. It’s hard having to be careful of what she says. It took a week for Dr.Tumble to stop listening in when she visits Nathaniel. Dr.Tumble was about a speak again when Chloe cuts him off.

“It’s nothing from home or anything. Just something I saw at a store, and it made me think of Nathaniel. I am still able to give him a gift. It’s bad enough I had to tell Nicole she’s can’t….”

Chloe would have continued if Nathaniel didn’t open the door. “I thought I hear voices,” he laughs.

Chloe hides the bag behind her back. She pushes Dr. Tumble away and walks in the room. With a smile of victory, Chloe closes the door behind Nathaniel. He sits by the table in his room, and Chloe sits across from him. With a kind smile, she hands him her gift. “Happy birthday, Nathaniel!” She says a bit too loud, not that she cares.

Nathaniel laughs and takes the gift, “Thank you, Chloe. You didn’t have to get me anything.”

He removes the taped on the white bow from the bag and opens his gift. Inside was a little black box. Nathaniel opens it to find two silver stud earring. Since he has pierced ears, this isn’t an odd gift for him. Chloe hopes something will happen. She first gave him those earrings after on their first date shortly after their first fight.

Nathaniel stares at the earrings for a minute, “Chloe these are lovely. Thank you.”

Chloe smiles fade a bit. It seems to have not jogging any memories. “You’re welcome,” she said with a sad smile.

There was also a small folded piece of paper in the box as well as an envelope in the bag. Nathaniel unfolds the small piece of paper. It looks like a little drawing. It shows the Bee and Peacock miraculous with words I know written under the picture. It was in Nathaniel’s handwriting, and this is his art style. When did he draw this? He doesn’t seem to remember this.

Nathaniel drew this a long time ago. When he found out who Queen Bee was he left this drawing in Chloe’s locker. On the back, it has a place and time to meet. That was the day Chloe and Nathaniel went from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend.

Nathaniel can’t seem to take his eyes off this drawing. “Did I drew this?” Nathaniel finally looks up at Chloe.

“Yes. I found this in my locker,” Chloe says taking and drawing.

She turns it over and hands it back to Nathaniel. He takes it a reads the message on the back. After reading this, he closes his eyes and tries to remember. Instead, it only caused his head to hurt a bit. Nathaniel just shakes his head and then opens the envelope.

It’s a beautiful birthday card from his mother. “I’m surprised my mother didn’t come to visit me on my birthday,” Nathaniel said to himself more than anything.

“You know how busy she is,” Chloe sighs.

She still doesn’t understand why they can’t tell Nathaniel that his mother broke her leg. It’s not like she was in a car accident. She just couldn’t ski properly. “It’s okay. I’m sure she would visit if she could. I did get a call from my mom this morning,” Nathaniel smiles.

Chloe reads the card. “My sister did drop off a gift for my mom as well as her gift,” Nathaniel looks over at his new sketchbook and a picture with a homemade frame.

Chloe slides the card back to Nathaniel. “You have the sweetest mother I know,” Chloe smiles.

“Your sister on the other hand,” Chloe starts.

Nathaniel laughs and finishes, “Can be a handful at times. More so as an adult.”

The tones of the room as change when Nathaniel’s smiles turn into a frown. “Will I ever be Royal Blu again?”

Chloe doesn’t know. She wished she did. There is one thing Chloe does know. “I think you should be more focused about getting out of here.”

An idea came to Chloe. Why not leave? Just for one night. It can’t hurt him. Maybe just maybe it could help his memory.

Ever since that night, Nicole has slept in the same room as her parents. On their request. There wasn’t any more akumas since that night. That’s even worse than if there was more. Chloe is even thinking about moving. Nathaniel doesn’t want to. Not only did they just buy this house, as soon as new Hawkmoth is defeated they’ll be safe again.

They only leave the house when they need to. No more trips to the park. The patrols have doubled. Adrien even hired a bodyguard for Marinette and their son. Not that a one-year-old needs one since Hugo always with either parent.

That’s not all changed people have stopped disappearing. The ones that were taken have returned. As you would expect none of them remembers a thing. Now the team not sure of what to make of this. The akuma still has to be out there. So far no one is missing. “We must be missing something,” Chloe whispers as she passes around the room.

Nathaniel is getting Nicole ready for lunch. Right now Nicole is starting to hate being inside all day. “Daddy, park?” She asks.

Nathaniel sighs and looks up at Chloe. Still mumbling to herself, while passing back and forth. “Sorry sweetie not today,” he looks back to Nicole.

She looks sad, and Nathaniel felt guilty. Surely one day won’t hurt, right.

Queen Bee is on the roof of the hospital with Royal Blu. “I’m not so sure about this. If Dr. Tumble finds out,” Royal Blu is looking down at the parking lot.

He’s looking for Dr.Tumble’s car. Queen Bee moves to stand next to him. “You’re more worried about Dr.Tumble than Ladybug,” she laughs.

Royal Blu stands straight up. “I think Rena Rouge is the worst. Sometimes she can be hard to handle. Don’t tell her I said that.”

Queen Bee only laughs. Soon joined by Royal Blu. Queen Bee moves closer to the edge. She turns around to face Royal Blu holding out her hand. “Are you ready?” She asked.

Royal Blu answer by placing his hand on hers. They both close their hands and hold on. Queen Bee helps him onto the edge. Her silver wings spread from her back and she gently takes hold of Royal Blu’s arms lifting him up when she flies into the sky.

She flies them around Pairs. Taking him to see all the places they had once fought an akuma or took a break during a patrol. Even their old college. Now they are sitting on top of Notre Dame. Queen Bee remembers when Royal Blu brought her here on their first hero date after an akuma attack.

They are watching the people below while they talk. “I can’t believe I did this. It feels so good to be Royal Blu again. Thank you for talking me into this, Queen Bee,” Royal Blu beams with joy.

Chloe enjoys and misses seeing Nathaniel happy like this. She wishes it could last or could go back to the way it was. Her sad face didn’t go unnoticed. “What’s wrong, Queen Bee?”

Queen Bee looks at him. She missed him calling her, my queen. “Are you upset because of me?”

Nathaniel was afraid that his memory issue is causing everyone pain and sadness. “Just remembering something,” Queen Bee sighs.

Royal Blu looks back down at the people. “You don’t need to hide things from me. I feel like maybe I can find out more about my life. Even if Dr. Tumble says, I’m not. Why haven’t I heard anything about my mom?”

“She’s fine. Has a broken leg. Your mom went on a skiing trip last month,” Queen Bee sits on the edge with her legs dangling off.

“That’s all?” Royal Blu sits down next to Queen Bee crossed legged. “Why keep that from me?”

“Dr. Tumble's idea. Same with everything about your life. I don’t like it, but what all can I do about it?” Queen Bee sighs.

“Tell me,” Royal Blu speaks calmly.

Their eyes meet for a moment before Queen Bee looks away. “I’m not sure I should. I want to tell you. I’m too scared,” she whispers. “I heard what happened last time you were told too much.”

Nathaniel, on the other hand, doesn’t know what happened. “What do you want to tell me? I want to know everything. I don’t want any more lies or secrets,” Royal Blu places his hand on Queen Bee’s hand. Queen Bee stands up and dusts herself off. “First let me take you back. Then I’ll tell you one thing. As a test.”

Royal Blu laughs and stands up. “Sounds good to me.”

Once inside Royal detransforms back to Nathaniel. He waits for Queen Bee to keep her deal. Nathaniel has a massive smile on his face. He wants to know more about himself, about what people are hiding. Before she took off into the night sky, Queen Bee said only one thing, “You’re missing something that belongs on your hand.”

Later that night hours after Queen Bee left, Nathaniel is laying on his bed staring at his hands. “What could I be missing?”He tries to think but nothing. “Did I have a tattoo or something. I always wanted one.”

Not wanting his head to hurt, Nathaniel turns off the light and goes to sleep.

Back home Queen Bee lands in the front yard. Detransforms and checks the time. Then enters the house. The babysitter, Marinette is watching TV with Nicole and Hugo sleeping next to her. “How was your late night meeting?” Marinette asked.

“Could have gone better,’ Chloe was about to pay Marinette when she stops her.

“No need. You just have to babysit Hugo next Thursday.”

Chloe looks at the sleeping kids. “Sounds good to me.”

Without waking him up, Marinette was able to take Hugo home. Chloe carried Nicole into her own bed. With her daughter all nice and cozy, Chloe starts her nightly before bed routine. Washes her face and brush her teeth, before letting her hair down. Then she brushes her hair and put the curls in on the tips. Then changes into her nightgown.

Laying in bed Chloe wonders, “Maybe I should have told him something else or more.” She looks at her ring less hand.

Chloe hates that she has to take her wedding ring off when she visits Nathaniel. Putting her hair comb miraculous away in the nightstand next to the bed.

It took a while for Chloe to fall asleep. Ever since that day, it’s been hard for Chloe to fall asleep. She's not used to sleeping alone. That’s what it’s like when you’ve been married for six years. 

[whatzaoverwatch]

Wandering Wolf

So people wanted me to write about my dream a while back, so here it is. Some Okami!Hanzo  

Contains minor graphic scenes

You could’ve swore you were hearing things. Working almost every day and night took you away from proper sleep. So you expected more than just hallucinations if you didn’t get enough rest. But that howl of pain from outside your door was something you had to investigate. Opening the front door, you peered to the darkness from outside. Just as you assumed it was your imagination, you caught a glimpse of a bundle of fur just staggering by your doorstep.

It looked like a wolf, or at least a dog with several features of a wolf. Wolves were nearly impossible around here. You first noticed its bright yellow eyes. Shining brighter than the moonlight. Widening your gaze to the glowing white fur that slumped onto the ground. Going inside was a valid option, until you noticed the dripping blood coating the ground. Quickly taking action, you went to their side.

Seeing a large gash running across its right side, the blood was still fresh, as if it was attacked a moment ago. Judging by its heavy breathing, it had been trekking for a long time. Seeking any help with the injury. For the dog to stumble upon your front door must’ve been a stroke of luck. Hearing its whines, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor creature. Stroking its head, you looked into its tired half lidded gaze that pleaded to you.

“Hey, don’t worry, I’m going to help you,” The dog nuzzled into your touch out of comfort in your words, “come on, let’s get you inside.”

It took slow praises, along with a few pets to its soft fur to get the dog inside and onto your couch. Placing a few good sets of bath towels over top of the furniture so the blood wouldn’t stain. Grabbing your medical kit and some water, you tried your hardest to comfort the creature while also tending to its wounds. It wasn’t by all means a doctor or veterinarians work, but it was good enough to stop the bleeding for now. Your parents were specialists in the field and lucky for you this injury wasn’t deep.

You had noticed the dogs eyes were fully set on you the entire time. It would wince and whine every now and again from the stitching, but it seemed to have trusted you on saving them. Some of your gentle words even caused a few tail wags every now and then. Once they were more than patched up, exhaustion took the better of them as they yawned and curled up into some sleep. You couldn’t help but smile at how adorable they looked. You were certain it was thankful for your help, so you were fine with leaving them here to rest up.

During your cleaning, you had found a collar and dog tag nestled between the fur. Taking the collar at some point to inspect later. The collar was dark leather with a shimmering tag. Its name was written in Japanese. You didn’t study the language long enough to understand it. Turning it over you found the owners contact number. Thankfully in English. The owner seemed to be named Hanzo Shimada. You knew the best thing to do was at least contacting the owner so he would know his dog was found.

You knew it was too late for him to be up, so you sent a quick voicemail along with your name and address. After setting up some food and drinks for it in case they needed it, you settled yourself on the other couch to sleep. Knowing that it was better to keep an eye on them in case they needed anything.

Sleep caught onto your quickly, having you wake up to the sudden feeling of a dog tongue on your face. Flinching away in disgust you caught a full glimpse of the very dog you had rescued the night prior. They seemed to be very lively, as if they weren’t clinging to their life the night before. Suddenly sitting up in concern, you questioned its happy gaze and wagging tail.

“Hey, whoa you shouldn’t be u-“

The sudden sound of the doorbell ringing caught your attention. The dog perked up in complete excitement only to start bounding over to the front door. Barking and jumping causing you to stand up in panic. You watched as the dog barked and scratched at your door. Staring in confusion as you saw no scars or blood on the dog at all. Did they heal overnight or were they not as hurt as you recalled? In your half asleep thoughts, the barking and door bell ringing snapped you out of it. Shaking your head as you got up and answered the door.

Standing in front of the door was a rather refined looking man. Black hair tied up in a modern style top knot (with one strand swooped down his face), a goatee trimmed near perfection. He wore fairly modern clothes as if bundled up for the cold weather. What seemed to really strike you were the gold markings just under his eyes that stood out from the dark attire. The dog seemed to be eager by the very man as they bounced around his legs seeking attention.

“Y-You must be Hanzo.” You spoke out in the midst of your staring. He seemed to me observing you in return before directing his attention to the jumping dog.

“Kenji, sit,” he was direct in his words causing the dog to cease its energy to the simple command. But you couldn’t help but admire that Kenjis tail was wagging eagerly, “I am, forgive me if he had caused you any trouble. He tends to wander off more than I desire.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. Actually, he came to my doorstep rather injured,” He turned to you with a hint of surprise through that stoic gaze before you continued, “but I brought him in to patch him up. If anything I am surprised he is moving around as much.”

You crouched down to Kenjis eye level to inspect him. He turned to you with a curious gaze when you rose your hand to pet him. Sniffing your palm and giving it a few friendly licks. The joy the dog hand in its poised position brought a smile to your face.

“He is very much reckless, not as contained as his brother.” Hanzo stated causing you to look up.

“Brother?”

Just as if on command, you spotted another white dog appearing behind Hanzo. Kenji looked eager to see its other half as they sniffed each other out. Tails wagging and tongues sticking out. The other one looked over to you and sniffed around your face.

“Tomo, he had been worried sick about Kenji,” You couldn’t help but pet Tomos thick fur as Hanzo explained, “the two were just playing out in the yard, it wasn’t until later that I noticed that he escaped. I was about to search for him myself until I had received your call. I would’ve visited you last night, but I feared that it was too late for me to intrude.”

“Well I am glad that he found me.” You admitted giving a few head pats to the two dogs before getting up. Hanzo reached behind him to pull out a wallet and he searched through the slots.

“Forgive me for the trouble, I’ll pay you however much you desire.” Seeing him rummage through his wallet, you shook your head with a smile.

“It’s perfectly alright, there was no trouble. You don’t have to pay me.”

“I insist, it was not my intention to have him scurry off like that. Let me at least repay you.” You could see he was trying to figure out some way to pay you back, but seeing the peace in Kenji and Tomo was enough.

“It’s alright Hanzo, I am just glad you came for him that’s all.”

He looked at you. Almost as if looking into your eyes. You couldn’t help that your heart was racing. You had to admit that he was fairly attractive. He seemed to be older than you, but that didn’t stop him from looking stunning. He let out a sigh almost in defeat as he placed his wallet away.

“[Name] was it?” Recalling that you said that name when you phoned him you nodded, “Thank you.”

“Not a problem,” He began to move away from the door, suddenly catching the attention of the dogs. They whined as they wanted to stay by your side. You couldn’t help but want to hang around the two pups a bit longer. So you spoke up once again, “Would you like to come in? Have some tea, or coffee?”

He turned to you, watched as Kenji and Tomo seemed like they desired to stay. Looking down almost a little guilty. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“You wouldn’t be, it’ll be the first in a long time since anyone’s visited me. I insist.” You chimed with a sweet smile. Hanzo looked as if he was thinking on the offer. It wasn’t until Kenji whined by your feet that he gave in.

“I’d be honored to join you.”

++

He couldn’t really describe it, but there was something about you that drew him in. Having observed humankind for centuries, he didn’t expect one to stick out as much as you did. His wolf spirits tended to play games with humankind before. They would wander off, fending off the evil that dreaded in the shadows. To protect the mortals that walked the earth. They were fairly capable of healing themselves, but they used their immortal forms for a test of their own. Wandering the streets until some soul assisted them. Many had ignored the cries of the spirits (either unable to hear or not the heart to care). The few that did either pitied the creature and either tried to end their misery or send them to animal care. Then there were the selected few who tended to the spirits themselves.

That call surprised him, but he still held his doubts. Hanzo expected the kindness to be rewarded. The greed of humanity was something the old wolf god expected at this point. But you showed no eagerness to be paid for your actions. For once, the god was surprised. The way Kenji and Tomo lingered around you protectively made him rather speechless. He was informed the moment he was created that only one soul that his spirits would protect would be his soulmate. The trials and pain he had overcome made him doubt those beliefs.

Now here he was, sitting with you as the both of you talked over tea. You were such an intriguing mortal. You had no real connections, nothing of interest. In fact, you were just an ordinary human. But the way you smiled, the way you laughed, stirred something within him that he had never felt in a long time. You told him how much you admired his pets, and the markings on his face. He was shocked that you could see them, he thought that he had perfected his mortal disguise. But you could see them clear as day. He wondered what you would think if you had seen the rest of his real form, or what his spirits really looked like. If you would be shocked that his hair was as white as the wolves and short. To you it seemed that Kenji and Tomo were just large wolves, but he saw two beasts with gold markings along their snow like fur.

Perhaps maybe you were his soulmate. Maybe you could invite him in like you did to Kenji, tending to the wounds he carried on his back all these years. Maybe, you could help him feel human again. But for now, he just wanted to learn all about you.

[xoxopandapanda]

Little Family Ch. 11

Chapters  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

FF.net

AO3

Departing a few hours later, Kagome and Inuyasha walked lackadaisically up towards their home in the woods. Inuyasha had attempted to put Koji in Souta’s old baby wrap before they left Sango and Miroku’s, but the boy was having none of that. He had fussed and carried on, working his hardest to make sure the strange fabric couldn’t go anywhere near him.

Sango had joked that he didn’t want to be contained, but they all silently knew that it was most likely because it was unfamiliar and smelt like different people.

They also knew better than to try to force the issue on the boy. Kagome planned to wash it with all of their clothing so that it would start to smell more acceptable to her son, and hoped that one day he would be okay with being wrapped up in it. It certainly would help her for when she had to go gather herbs. Inuyasha had stuffed the cloth into his haori to hopefully speed the process along.

Koji, who was tucked against his father’s side, halfway holding on, but also halfway ignoring all caution and tossing himself around to get a better view, pointed and squealed in glee when he saw their home just in front of him.

“Yeah, are you glad to be home?” Inuyasha tightened his grip on the boy who was now squirming as hard as he could to get home.

Inuyasha made it to the front door with the little guy in his grip, before finally relinquishing him to the ground when he wobbly wandered towards the door. Once he made it to the entrance of the home, he stopped and stood still, with Inuyasha standing himself behind the boy. Kagome had stopped to inspect the vegetables in her garden, considering what to cook for dinner, but was promptly called inside by Koji who was yelling at her and waving.

Kagome giggled at the sight of the child holding the door reed open as best as he could and summoning her inside with a failing limb, essentially blocking his father from gaining entrance to the home. Inuyasha stood with upmost patience behind Koji, something Kagome would never had dreamed him capable of years ago.

“Oh,” she said to him as she approached, “am I required inside, you little homebody?” She bent down to pick Koji up, but he twisted away and ran inside.

Now that the boy wasn’t in the door frame, Inuyasha stepped inside and told Kagome, “I think he’s playing a game.”

“Hm,” she replied, following him inside, “I think you may be right!” Koji had wedged himself between the pots and pans, small enough to take up what little room there was on the floor. “I think we may be playing a little hide and seek!”

Koji laughed, not fully understanding the game’s rules, as Kagome walked around the hut asking, “Oh Koji! Where are you?” After a few moments, she crouched in front of him and said, “I found you!”

Koji scrambled out from behind the cookery, promptly crawling up the short shelf that held their bedding above the ground, and laughing in absolute delight while laying face down on the folded bedding.

“What is he doing?” Inuyasha couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice as he watched his boy ‘hide’.

Kagome stood up and turned to look at her husband. “The girls taught him hide and seek today, although he only understands the hide part.”

Inuyasha chuckled briefly before joining Kagome in ‘seeking’ Koji out.

Repetitiveness is not something that ever seemed to bother Koji, as he only had a few viable ‘hiding’ spots in the room. Kagome and Inuyasha took turns cooking dinner, going outside to pick a vegetable or two, and playing with him, not that he minded which parent he had the attention of. His gleeful laughter filled the home until it was time for dinner.

Kagome had finished preparing and setting aside each person’s bowls of food, leaving the fish and vegetables in the center to pull out as wanted. Noticing that dinner was ready, Inuyasha tried to pick Koji up from his hiding spot in the corner of the home.

Koji squirmed in his father’s grasp, not thrilled the game was suddenly over. He didn’t understand why he was being picked up. He turned big tearful eyes up to his father, all the while pushing hard to try to get away. He whined and carried on, but Inuyasha was not budging.

“Time for dinner. You need to eat so we can wash up and get ready for bed.” Inuyasha walked towards the door. Kagome saw Koji’s disappointed face, and the hurt on Inuyasha’s own, hidden by a hard-set frown as Inuyasha took the boy to rinse off his hands in the bucket by the door.

Kagome, quickly wanting sooth their upset, told Inuyasha, “Play two more rounds with him.”

Inuyasha paused, still holding the whimpering Koji, standing by the door. He looked over his shoulder at her and gave her a hard stare. “It’s dinner time.” His hard denial of her request was apparent in his voice and comment.

Kagome remained calm and repeated herself, but added some clarification, “Play two more rounds with him. Tell him that you are going to play two more times, and then it’s dinner time. He’ll be happier and will eat better if we do that instead of forcing the game to end.”

Inuyasha continued to look at her, but the harshness in his gaze was gone. He realized Kagome wasn’t trying to question his authority in this situation, but trying to ease the tension between the pitifully crying boy and his father.

Thinking over her words, he looked down at the boy in his arms, whose ears were drooped and eyes were downcast. Realizing that Kagome was probably right, Inuyasha put Koji back onto his feet. Confused, he looked up at his father.

Lowering to his haunches, Inuyasha looked Koji in the eye, with his hands on the boy’s shoulders, and said, “Two more hides.” He lifted two fingers at Koji. “Two more hides. Then dinner.” His hand shifted to point at the food Kagome had laid out.

Koji immediately brightened and repeated the hand motion to his father with a short, “Uhn.”

Inuyasha repeated for good measure, “Two more hides,” two fingers in the air, “then dinner,” pointing at the food. Koji’s eyes were bright with joy and he nodded, his ears lifting to a pointed position. Inuyasha nodded back before saying, “Okay, go!” to which Koji raced off to find a good spot to hide.

Inuyasha was slow to rise, and slow in walking around the hut calling for Koji. Kagome thought that this particular round of hide and seek lasted a tad bit longer than the previous rounds, but chalked it up to Inuyasha needing the game as much as Koji.

Once Inuyasha had ‘found’ Koji, he drew the toddler’s attention to him and said, holding up his index finger, “One more time.” Koji repeated his father’s finger movement and nodded. Inuyasha took this as a sign he understood, and told Koji to hide.

Koji looked around the room, trying to decide where was the best place to hide for his final turn. He settled his eyes on Kagome, and ran towards her as fast as he could. Kagome, unsure of which direction he was going to go, held out her arms to prevent him from running into the fire or food in front of her. He ducked under her arms and crouched behind her, hidden by her form.

Inuyasha had watched Koji run to his mother, tensing to be ready to lurch if he would have run into the food or fire, but, once he saw what Koji’s goal was, relaxed. He started to pace around the room, looking for Koji and calling his name. Kagome could feel Koji’s body shake with held in laughter behind her, and struggled to not laugh herself.

Inuyasha might have taken a long time to ‘locate’ the boy, but Kagome didn’t notice, nor care. So what if dinner got a little cold? A happy baby was much more important than a piping hot dinner.

When Inuyasha went to walk next to Kagome, Koji stood up to jump at his father, apparently thinking his spot was far too good for his father to find him. Inuyasha cried out in feigned surprise, “Found you!” and scooped the boy up to rub noses. Koji’s small hands plastered themselves against his father’s face in joy.

“It’s time for dinner now, okay?” Inuyasha pulled the boy back enough to look into Koji’s eyes, hoping the boy understood the game was over.

Koji nodded, and kicked his feet to indicated he wanted down. As soon as his feet touched the floor, Kagome’s lap was secured and he looked expectantly at the food.

“One meal without washing won’t kill us, right?” Inuyasha looked down at Kagome who was shifting to pass the bowls of food around, hoping she wouldn’t want Koji to wash up before eating.

Kagome patted the floor next to her and said, “No, one meal won’t.”

Inuyasha sat down next to his wife as well, happy that there was no more fuss over the ending of the game and the last meal of the day was beginning. Kagome handed Inuyasha’s his bowl of rice and soup, before situating herself to feed the toddler in her lap.

Koji was appeased and transitioned easily into meal time this time, and his parents made a note to communicate the ending of play time more readily in the future. They had a steep learning curve to overcome, going from being childless to having a toddler.

Koji was just as enthusiastic with this meal time as he was with every other meal, and Inuyasha could feel himself ease at the sight of Koji shoveling food into his mouth with his hands as Kagome tried to get him to slow down.

“Still eats like he’s starving,” Kagome lightly tusked as Koji tried to shove another fistful of rice into his mouth.

Inuyasha paused before replying to her unsaid question, “Who knows how long he actually was. Could be years before he feels like he’s not.”

Kagome paused for half a second, realizing, not for the first time, just what a miracle the child in her lap was. How lucky they were to have been in that village that day, and how lucky they were now to have him in their lives.

Her pause was long enough for Koji to grab and inhale the small piece of fish that was being held by her chopsticks. Panicking for a moment that he would choke due to how much food was in his mouth, Kagome’s hands went to grab Koji.

Koji just swallowed loudly a few times before grunting loudly and reaching for the vegetables and fish just outside of his reach.

Inuyasha snorted a little before using a spoon to get some soup and offering it to his son. Koji took the liquid, slurping loudly and letting out a loud, contented sigh, before returning to point harshly at the food just outside of his reach again.

Kagome, having regained her composure, picked up a small piece of squash to off to Koji, who readily took it.

Kagome wanted to ask Inuyasha if he still felt like he was starving sometimes, or if the nightmare of his childhood still haunted him, but she held her tongue. Sometimes, Inuyasha would open up and let her see a little bit of that scared and alone boy he was, but it was rare. She wondered, again, if Inuyasha saw himself in the little red headed boy on her lap.

Inuyasha never offered up any further opinion about the matter, just ate his food quickly, so he could take over feeding the toddler for Kagome. Koji was extremely reluctant to leave his mother’s lap, so Inuyasha had to lean over her and try to feed him from where he was situated.

The meal ended, but Koji’s desire to be held by his mother had not. Kagome had tried to put him by his beloved rocks, but he promptly got up and ran to her if she did.

“I’ll clean up,” Inuyasha put his hand on his wife’s back as she tried to pick up the dishes. “He wants you to pay attention to him right now.”

Koji had a fistful of her hamaka and was tugging with all his might. Inuyasha, always the one to quip, remarked, “I think if you ignore him any longer, he might depants you.”

“You should know from experience I’m difficult to depant, Inuyasha,” Kagome laughed out as she lifted herself to look her husband in the eye. “I’m not about to get depants by my son.”

Inuyasha’s eyebrow raised into his bangs. “Is that a challenge, Kagome? Because, if so, I will teach your son how to depants you.”

Kagome turned her upper body to pick up Koji and tucked him against her side. “You wouldn’t dare, mister,” she faked a threatening voice at Inuyasha.

“Oh, but I think I would, missy.” Inuyasha’s own voice was full of a mirth.

Kagome couldn’t stop the smile the burst across her face at his response. It didn’t matter how long they hand known each other or how long they had been married, knowing that Inuyasha felt comfortable enough with her to joke always made her heart take flight.

She rose to her tip toes to plant a kiss on him, just so over taken with love for the man in front of her that she couldn’t resist.

But her lips never made contact because Koji saw, and seized, a prime opportunity to gain affection for himself. He had reared his head forward and planted himself firmly between his parents’ faces, so he got a kiss on both cheeks.

Inuyasha’s nose made slightly heavier contact than Kagome’s as he was the one who was leaning downwards, causing him to make a slight yelp.

Kagome, instantly realizing what Koji had done, stumbled down from her tip toes as she laughed wholeheartedly.

Inuyasha touched the end of his nose for any damage, before also laughing. Koji, pleased his parents were pleased, was the final chorus of laughter to fill the home.

Inuyasha rubbed the top of Koji’s head, saying, “Am I not allowed to kiss your mom anymore, kiddo? I used to do that all the time, you know.”

Koji lifted a hand to grab the one on top of his head, smiling brightly at the man above him.

Kagome lifted the hand that wasn’t attached to the arm holding Koji to her and covered her mouth. “Goodness,” she said, a little muffled from the appendage in front of her lips. “He’s a little demanding, isn’t he?”

Inuyasha let out a soft laugh in return. “Ah, maybe. But I think he’s allowed to be.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Kagome spoke as she dropped her hand to hold Koji tighter. “I couldn’t agree more.”