#he joins dinner a half hour later smirking to the damn moon

[bloomingdarkgarden]

but what if Elain shows up to dinner at the river manor one night with fully tattooed sleeves up both arms of delicate botanical designs and everyone just gapes at her in disbelief so she's like "oh yes, Azriel did these the other night, he's rather talented, anyway might someone pass the potatoes?"

[soft-boi-eli]

Hello Hello!

I just wanted to say I love your fics!

ALSO!

Could I request a CC!SBI X Gn! Insomniac Reader! Where the reader is an insomniac (Obviously-) but is somehow a pro at MC!

Like they are basically god at the game! They also REALLY enjoy horror games! They don’t get scared easily and LOVE horror movies! They basically love anything horror/creepy-

ANYWAYS!!

The reader lives off of ramen and Monster energy drinks (For fun-)! They have a Twitch (Which has about 18 mil followers and 14 mil subs!) and a YouTube channel (Which has 20 mil followers!)

They mainly play horror games (Obviously-) and MC!

You can do headcanons or scenarios/images with the SBI! Maybe like playing a horror game together or MC? OR! Maybe some things they do together? Or when they meet up? Or-to many ideas Nightmare-

ANYWAYS!

I don’t really care! And don’t worry about taking too long on it!

ALSO!

Maybe we could be friends? Only if you want too!

Remember to eat, drink, and get enough sleep!

<3

Yes. I lovesthese ideas and I'm gonna choose headcannons due to they are a bit easierfor me to write.

And yes I'm perfectly fine with being your friend! I'm actually happy to make friends on this app so yeah!

Pronouns:nonbinary

Tw: cussing. Insomia, mentions of horror movies. Mention of horror games. Fluff.

SBI with a horror streamer friend head cannons.

*Ahem* tommy wanted to paly a game with you so you choose a game that didn't look like horror until the middle. He screamed at the jump scare and it made both of your chats so happy.

When phil decides to play with you there is literally a silence after a jump scare. Everyone thought he had a heart attack and honestly so did you until he spoke up about accidently hitting his mute button when he jumped.

Wilbur. He's a bit better then tommy but more scared then phil would be. Any little noise won't get him but when it starts to get noticeable the noiseless to him. The jump scare, he'd fall out of his seat and stay on the ground for a bit. You ask if he's good and he literally doesn't answer. He's dead. You killed him. Congrats.

Techno. He'd handle them a bit better then everyone else. Not as good as you but heisnt very paranoid. He literally runs at the noises trying to get jumpscared. While you run after him telling him to stop because if he doesn't then you'd lose and die. And technoblade never dies.

If you all play together both tommy and wilbur pussy out. Techno last the longest and phil the second longest. While you remain the ruler of horror games.

Now how you all met was dream invited you to the dream smp to add to the chaos. Needless to say it got extremely chaotic due to you being on almost 24 hours. You first ran into techno. He seemed confused and skeptical.

You both found eachothers love for potatoes. You set up camp quote close to techno but not too close.

Phil popped in when he needed something for a build and noticed a new name. Talked to you in chat and asked to join your VC. You both found each other talking for a bit.

Wilbur was next. Wilbur got curious over the new person and just hoppedinto the same VC as you techno and phil. He was quick to realize that you were a famous youtuber. Mainly for your horror videos and your extreme Parkcore skills.

In minecraft that is.

Tommy noticing that all of you were in the same VC joined in with shouting. He was low key jealous that everyone was obsessed with you. Then he saw why.

You literally cracked jokes at his shouting.

"Is that an angry pomeranian? Nah nah. It's an angry child. Even better an angry blonde!" - you.

He was shocked and immediately started joking and laughing with you. He wasn't fully angry for long.

Now about your diet. When they heard that you had only eaten ramen and drank angry drinks they were concerned. You lived quite close to techno so when you guys met up he was shocked that you looked as healthy as you did.

He hated the fact that you literally didn't eat anything else.

You told him occasionally you have something other then ramen but you were just too lazy to really cook anything and that you didn't feel like burning the house down.

One month phil, tommy, wilbur, and techno decided to organize a month long sleep over so that they could celebrate your birthday. Phil being quote the father figure cooked different, but easy dinners every night just so you didn't eat only ramen that day.

When they actually arrived though you got a text from Phil asking about your address in your dms. Not think much of it you just sent him your location.

You were going to take a small nap. Just to bost your energy before you went and streamed later that night.

As you were sleeping there was a car heading to your house.

Phil, wilbur, tommy, and techno were all just existing in the car. And when they arrived to your house they didn't expect to actually see a clean house.

You woke to a loud knock.

When you opened the door in your half dazed state you expected a package. But to see four people standing on your porch.

You nearly jumped out of your skin.

You were stuck there blinking at them.

Finally snapping out of it you let them in. Confused on why in the ever loving fuck they were here.

Phil explained they were here to celebrate your 21st birthday and they were here for a month.

You stared at them for a while. Confused on what to do since you haven't had people over in almost 2 years.

But you got use to it.

So when you got done streaming and smelled something other then ramen you were thrown off guard. Like what was that. I haven't smelled that in years.

But after the second day you got use to it too.

For your birthday phil literally made a feast.

Like he found your favorite food other then ramen and cooked it. With that he prepared everything you could dream of.

Your sleeping habits. Let's dig into those.

I'm in no place to talk as right now it's 3:05 in the morning. And here I am.

But when they are over they don't let you stay up till no 3-4 in the morning. They all know the importance of sleep.

But there are those nights where no once can sleep and it results in a late night stream. And streaming for hours none the less.

The amount of accidental all nighters everyone has pulled was immense. But that's what happens with jet lag, adhd, and insomnia.

Literally you get tired randomly. Sleep for only 3 hours. Wake up. Drink coffee, energy drinks, highly caffeinated tea. And don't sleep till late at night.

Pillow forts.

It's a must and it happens. Horror movies, pillow forts, and snacks. Like you all are in this massive fort, watching horror movies, one by one you all are falling asleep. You and techno were the last up due to technos active mind and your body not letting you sleep.

You two literally just vide there, changing the movies from horror to some silly animated movies, like how to train your dragon, frozen, Luca, and many others.

You two pull an all nighter and it's actually a bet to see how long anyone else takes to notice.

You bet an hour. Techno says all day.

You won. Philza notices the worse eye bags under both you and technos eyes and immediately starts scolding.

He is papa bird and he won't let anyone of his children neglect their needs.

"Did you even drink water at all? You guys should of been sleeping not binge watching horror movies all night!" -philza

You could only offer a smirk, along with a laugh.

"I think we did I just can't fully remember. Also we were watching animated films. Not horror. Surprised you didn't wake up to let it go." - you.

You turn to techno.

"You owe me 15 bucks pig boy!"-you again.

Handing you the money he rolls his eyes. "Yeha yeah. Rub it in." -techno.

Ah yeah they found a horror game that you were scared of surprisingly. It was actually surprisingly you hadn't played it yet.

Outlast.

You had been holding off that game until you finished your other one but here you were. Bored out of your mind.

So you decided fuck it.

That game teriffed the shit out of you. It was so good though.

When you screamed they all came rushing up due to the fact that you never scream.

They say you out of your chair, on the floor, blinking. They thought you were hurt.

But you sat up and looked at your computer.

"Damn. That was actually really good." When you looked behind you and found the boys all staring you smiled and waved.

"You need something?"-you

"You screamed. We heard a thud. We thought you fuckin died!" -tommy.

"No I'm alive. My soul almost divorced my body but it's still quite here."-you

That day made highlights.

The popular y/n actually got jump scared. The one person who never screamed at horror games screamed.

When they left you were sad yes but they were still your best friends. Ready to talk when ever you want.

Sometimes I think that you guys talk all through out the night. Them forgetting that you were actually in a different time zone.

Sometimes they pop into your streams, be it MC, horror, you just talking to your fans, or even the once in the blue moon, cheerful games.

They just pop in and start talking to you. And you talk back like they were there since the beginning.

Phil is now one of your moderators too. Along with tommy, wilbur, and techno. When they pop in they make sure no one picks on you.

And since you are now close to the SBI. You are now part of it.

You didn't choose the fans did. But they are your new family. No matter what.

Even if they disagree with your eating habit.

Or energy drink addiction.

Or insomnia.

Or you mainly playing horror games.

Or you basically living in your streaming room.

Or even the nearly 24 hour streams.

I could go on but I'm not gonna.

I'm tired. But I can sleep. 2 days and I get to have a tour of my new school.

And it took so long to finally get into it.

We have been going through a huge hassle even before school started to get me enrolled.

And then we had to get me into this program.

But now on Monday I get to go in. Get a tour. Then start either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Anyway hope you liked. It's now 3:50 and it's no proof read I'm sorry

[mycrofts-gunbrella]

Remus Lupin x Reader Smut- Uncontrollable

According to your calendar, it was less than a week away until the next full moon which meant two things. One, you had to work out about a week's worth of DADA lessons as you'd be upgraded from assistant to teacher until Remus was back to his normal strength and could come back. And two, your husband was at max level of horniness and will try to grab you at any given point. You weren't complaining when it came to early morning quickies and nights of sheer pleasure but when it comes to during the day, your usual shy, private husband seems to no longer care where he is when he makes his moves. Which leads you to situations like the one you're currently in..

It had been a rushed morning with both you and Lupin waking up a lot later than usual and having to quickly get ready before you were late to class- meaning, of course, you didn't have anywhere near enough time for your morning 'routine' and naturally left your other half in a rather 'teasing' mood all day. Whether it was subtle gropes of your ass as he'd slide himself behind you or whispering his plans for later in your ear as you sat beside him at his desk, Remus Lupin really wasn't messing around. This continued throughout both of the periods before dinner in the Great Hall, with added curses that "of all days it had to be a bloody Friday" since you had no free periods all day to relieve both of your now pent up sexual frustration. With your arm hooked around his, you both began to walk to dinner.

"Do we really have to go? Can't we just use this hour for something more worthwhile darling?" Remus lightly whined. You laughed at him and rolled your eyes.

"We have to make an appearance Remus, it'll look awful if we don't show our faces. Besides, you need to eat something. I didn't even see you eat a sandwich at lunch!"

"I'm planning to eat something.. but you won't let me." Remus smirked, pulling the exact same cheeky expression that would get you both in trouble as teenagers.

"Remus!" You exclaimed, slapping his arm and looking around to make sure nobody heard him.

"Fine, fine. How about we compromise? We go, we eat and then I'll say we have a few more tests to mark before next period? Please?" He begged, pouting and moving his arm to hold your hand as you rounded the corner near the hall. You leaned up and softly kissed his protruding bottom lip and smiled.

"Sounds like a plan Moony." And with that you took your seats at the end of the table and applauded softly as Dumbledore made his little speech to the students. You'd barely been sat for 5 minutes before Remus placed his hand on your thigh in attempt to get your attention. "Not yet. 10 more minutes, I'm sure you can wait, you're a big boy." You teased in his ear before smiling and going back to eat some more of your meal.

What you didn't expect as your husband's reaction was a smirk but you tried to ignore it. At least until his hand moved towards the inside of your thigh under your skirt with his thumbs rubbing deep circles into your skin. You shot him a warning glare but he ignored you and carried on eating his food with his other hand. It wasn't long until his hand travelled higher and he started to rub your clit through your tights and underwear, causing you to moan quietly and then cough so no one would pay attention. Your hand gripped your fork til your knuckles turned white as he surprisingly hooked his fingers through the waistline of your underwear and slowly pushed two fingers in your entrance, bending and thrusting his fingers into you while you could only focus on not causing a scene at the dinner table. Damn this man and his capabilities to make you feel so good so quickly.

"Something the matter darling? You don't seem to be touching your food." Remus spoke, smirking knowingly at you as McGonagall turned to see what the commotion was.

"Are you okay Y/N?" Minerva asked from beside you, giving your softly panting form a once over. You glared again at your husband and turned to smile at the woman to your side, with Remus making no efforts to cease his movements and instead speeding up while he pretended to look concerned. You took a deep breathe as you felt yourself being pushed to the edge.

"I'm o-okay. Bit of a cold coming I think, I'm starting to get a headache." You managed to stutter out. At your final word Remus moved his hand so his thumb could rub circles on your clit and you came undone, placing your head in your hands and biting your knuckle as you came over your husband's fingers.

"You've barely touched your food and your face is burning dear. Perhaps you should go and have a rest before next period?" She suggested. You were about to try and convince her you were fine before Remus interjected.

"Must be something wrong for you not to want your dinner, my love. It tastes delicious." You turned and went wide-eyed as you watched Remus slowly lick his fingers clean of you. That's it. You couldn't wait any longer.

"On second thought, perhaps you're right professor. Maybe I should get some rest. Care to join me Remus?" You stood, taking his arm and leading him out of the hall before he could answer. "Remus John Lupin you are going to be the absolute death of me." He only laughed in response as he took control and pulled you round the corner and shoved you against the wall, pressing his lips hungrily against yours as he gripped your hips so tight you're sure it would bruise. You slid your fingers into the belt loops of his trousers and pulled his body closer to yours, feeling the tent begin to form and press against your lower stomach. His hands lifted to undo the buttons of your blouse and begin to squeeze your breasts while his lips travelled down your neck leaving little bites and kisses on their way. "What if someone sees us?" You panicked slightly, pulling away from him and trying not to moan at the sight of his dilated pupils and dishevelled hair.

"No one will be coming out for another 20 minutes and by the time we get back to our room we won't have a lot of time, it's fine." Remus tried to reassure you but the look on your face still displayed worry. He sighed and stepped back. "I'm sorry, you're right we should wait. I shouldn't have-" You cut him off kissing him again and softly tugging his bottom lip between your teeth.

"I never said we need to wait THAT long.. we'll just have to be quick.." You winked, grabbing a fist full of his shirt and turning the both of you around so his back was firmly against the wall. He almost growled in a sense of relief and went back to wrapping his arms around you and smashing his lips onto yours once more. You quickly pulled away and he gave you a look of confusion before his eyes rolled into the back of his head as you began palming him through his trousers and sinking to your knees. Unzipping his trousers, you pulled him free from his boxers and began to teasingly lick the tip of his erect cock, moving your tongue to lick the vein going down the side of his shaft until he let out a deep moan.

"Y/N.. Please.." You didn't need to be told twice and took his entire length in your mouth, moaning softly around him as you began to bob your head up and down. You reached around to grab his hands and place them on the back of your head before giving him a look of encouragement as you could feel him trying to hold back moving his hips. He slowly began to guide your head and thrust his hips in time with his movements while moaning your name softly. "M-Merlin. I don't- ffuck- deserve you." You moaned again at his words of encouragement, the vibration encouraging him to pick up speed while you reached around and squeezed his ass as you let him use you as he needed. Suddenly his movements became erratic and sloppy as you felt him twitch in your mouth and shoot his load down the back of your throat. Remus couldn't help but hold your head in place as you swallowed around him. His grip loosened and he pulled you to stand, kissing you once again but this time slower with more passion behind it.

"Better?" You smirked, brushing your hair back in place with your fingers and then fixing your husband's messy locks. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps getting closer. Panicking, you hastily went to trying to button your shirt while Lupin tried to tuck his shirt back into his trousers. It was too late. McGonagall was already in front of you.

"Good to see your headache has improved very quickly." She glared at you as you averted your gaze to the ground. "Over 20 years since the pair of you studied here and I STILL catch you fooling around in the school corridors?" She lectured the pair of you and the memories of you and Lupin getting caught together in broom cupboards and corridors during your school years came flooding back. Suddenly her glare softened and she shook her head and smiled. "Never did think the two of you would ever become adults on the inside. Now please, don't let me catch you again or one of these days I'll have to report you.. 20 points from Gryffi-.." She stopped, realising that two of her favourite students now worked as staff at the school and she smiled again. "Just go away and sort yourselves out. And may I suggest cancelling your lessons to fix whatever is going on between you two at the moment because if any of the students catch on to the kind of foolery that occurred here or in the Dinner Hall there will be consequences do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Professor." You both spoke in unison as you walked back to your shared quarters and sent an owl to leave a note on by your classroom to say there would be no more lessons today. As soon as you got in and sat down you both started to laugh.

"Bless her, the amount of things that woman has seen over the years must be haunting." Remus laughed, laying back on the bed and pulling you to lay beside him.

"And that's just from us." You giggled, rolling to your side to face your husband. 

"One day we probably should grow up and stop sneaking around the school like hormonal teenagers and control our urges until safe to do so."

"Well it seems pretty safe to do so now.. I doubt Minnie's going to pop her head in here." You suggested, moving to straddle your husband's waist. He smirked and began to rub circles into your hips.

"I'm starting to think you may be worse than me when it comes to controlling yourself. It might be a problem.." He smirked, sitting up to place a quick peck on your lips. You grinded your hips against his and grinned as he moaned.

"You love me really." You pouted, unbuttoning his shirt and throwing it to the side.

"That I do, darling. That I do."

[inanotherheadspace]

The Adventures of Team Lune - Chapter Three: The Tale of Two Kitties

Summary: A dragon slayer, a demon slayer, and a god slayer walk into a Guild Hall… and all goes to hell

Pairings: Natsu x Fem OC, Gajeel x Fem OC, Gray x Fem OC, Sting x Fem OC, Laxus x Fem OC, Loke x Fem OC

Word Count: 2,817

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

“How long are we talking about?” Gajeel quipped as Calypso poured the Jasmine tea into two matching mugs.  

“Well, I should probably start with how Team Lune was formed-”

“I just wanna know about Astria’s damn cat.”

“That’s the thing, she’s not just Ria’s cat. Opal just likes Ria the best.” Calypso smiled softly to the gruff dragon slayer as she placed his mug in front of him before taking her seat.

“Thank you.” He mumbled before picking up the pale pink mug and blowing on its hot contents. “How’d you join the guild and meet them then?”

“Oh, the wolves set me free after mastering my magic and I just kinda stumbled into the guild hall.” Gajeel almost choked on his tea at her statement.

“Wolves?”

“Yeah, the only way you can learn Moon magic is from this one eternal wolf pack. Like how you, Ria, and Natsu were trained by dragons. Funny enough, because of my training, I also have a good sense of smell and hearing. My nose isn’t as strong as my ears are though.”

“Just like we do,” Gajeel mumbled, more so to himself than to anyone else. The plumette across from him simply nodded before taking a sip of her tea. “How’d you end up with the wolves?” Calypso’s eyes dropped to her hands as she began to play with her fingers.  

“I don’t know much more than what Leto told me. Apparently, my mother was killed, there was a battle, maybe even a war – all I know is that our home was destroyed. My mother was a student of the wolves when she was a kid, so she left me with them while she fought.”

“Leto, is that your wolf?”

“Hmm, in a sense yes. She’s the pack leader. I have the same loyalty to her and my pack as you dragon slayers have to your respective dragons.” After a momentary pause to drink more tea, the mage continued. “Ria came to the guild with Natsu, and May was found outside the Guild’s doors as a newborn. For the longest time, Ria stuck to Natsu and May was oddly drawn to Mystogan. Both were very shy – all of us were as kids. I became friends with Cana, the two of us would go on the jobs Master approved of. The three of us never really became close until Mystogan left on an S-Class quest. Master demanded that May stay back, that was a dark day. This strong kid that I always looked up to just, broke.” Gajeel kept his eyes on Calypso as her eyebrows drawn together as she focused on the cup in her hands.  

“Master eventually got tired of May’s attitude and moodiness. He decided to take Ria away from Natsu and me away from Cana. Without telling any of us, he sent us out individually to the same job. We all left mere hours apart no less, none of us caught on until we all showed up at the same door for the requested meeting time. It was a simple job – just to find a lost item. Gramps figured we could find it easy. Between mine and Ria’s tracking skills and May’s all-around bossiness – it was done by nightfall. We’ve been together ever since.”

“Thats nice and all, but I only want to know about the cat.” Gajeel grumbled before finishing his tea.  

“A good story is informative and well rounded. It’s a form of art and in this house, you’ll respect it.” She quipped back; her eyes flicked up to meet his in a demanding stare down.  

“What are you going to do if I don’t?” He matched her intense glare as the words left his lips. A sinister smirk spread across Calypso's face, sending a slight shiver down the Iron Dragon Slayer’s spine.  

“Well, for starters, you wouldn’t ever make it out of this house. What happens after that – probably a few broken ribs, lots of chains, and maybe a whip.” She broke eye contact with him as an almost undetectable trace of blush speckled her face. Gajeel’s trained eyes picked up on it quickly, before a faint blush appeared on his own face after her words sunk in. The slight silence became unbearable for Calypso, her hands began to fidget with her mug once more.

“We got Opal as a reward from a quest. It was weird – they gave us this light pink egg with silver and black sparkles and swirls on it. None of us had any clue what to do with it. When we got back to the guild, we found out Natsu and Lisanna had found one in the forest as well. Ria, May and I joined them in the woods to hatch the eggs. Well, whenever May was actually around the five of us kept the two eggs warm – that was really Natsu’s specialty.” As Calypso spoke and reminisced, a smile stayed on her lips. A small laugh escaped her as she thought more on the story before continuing.  

“I was no help at all, and the others realized that pretty quickly. They put me in charge of gathering firewood and food. I mostly just avoided the place; they were holed up in the same woods my wolves are usually in too. So, I just hung around them more than anything. After about two weeks, Happy and Opal’s eggs hatched. They’ve been with us and a part of the guild since.”  

Before either of them could get another word in, the front door opened, and three voices could be heard. Calypso’s face lit up as her friends had arrived home, her tea and Gajeel completely forgotten. Gajeel looked past the plumette and out the kitchen window, the sky was pitch black.  

“I didn’t realize it was this late, I'll head out.” His gruff voice brought Calypso’s attention back to him.  

“Huh?” She asked before whipping around and looking out the window. Pieces of plum-colored locks fell from her bun, framing her face as she turned back to face him. “Sorry about that, I rambled on for too long. I’ll probably have to cook for the others, do you want to stay for dinner?”

“Depends on what you’re cooking,” Gajeel said as he got up from the table, Calypso followed suit and walked behind him towards the front door. Opal was resting in Astria’s arms as the three of them chatted in the living room.

“Hey Gajeel!” Astria called out with a wave.  

“Thanks for holding down the fort, Gajeel.” Natsu offered a small grin, as he turned to Calypso. “So, what’s for dinner?”

“Noodles and chicken thighs.” Calypso offered a shrug in response.  

“I’ll see you four at the guild.” He turned to Calypso and gave he a gentle pat on the head. “See you later brat.” Gajeel headed out the door as Calypso’s face turned bright red.  

“Wait, so you aren’t staying?” The plumette looked offended for a swift second, before her composure regained.

“Nah, I forgot I was going to train tonight since the weathers gonna be alright, since it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.” Gajeel grinned before slipping out the door and past Natsu.     “Did you two have a date? Are we interrupting?” Astria pouted momentarily, before the mocking tone dripped through her second question.   “He likes herrr!” Happy’s snarky comment broke the short pause. “It was nothing like that!” Calypso paused before biting back at her friend, “Did you and Natsu go on a date?” This caused the light blue haired dragon slayer to blush just as heavily as Calypso was. Astria waved her hands in the air as a way to dismiss Calypso’s question.   “Hey! We were training!” The pink haired dragon slayer crossed his arms over his chest before huffing.   “Aye Sir! We were training really hard Calypso!” Happy shouted along. “No yelling in the house! Indoor voices!” Opal folded her arms, before snuggling against Astria’s leg. “Lucy stopped us from training anymore for the night.” “I see, did you guys do that much damage?” “No... Not really...” Astria mumbled, patting Opal on the head softly. Opal offered a small smile in return before simply nodded, “It was some hefty damage, but it was a remote forest.” “Yeah, that sounds like you two. Dinner will be ready in half an hour, go wash up, you all smell disgusting.” Calypso offered a small grin, suppressing the disappointment that she wouldn’t have her company tonight.

◊◊◊◊

The guild hall was filled with noise, booze and the heavenly scent of food – even at 8 in the morning. Astria, and Calypso sat at a table closer to the bar, all still with sleep in their eyes.  

“Do you think I can grab a drink with breakfast?” Calypso asked her teammate.  

“Calypso Lunar. No!” Astria scolded the oldest member as Gray and Loke took up seats at their table.  

“May still hasn’t come back and I’m worried. I need something to take the edge off. What about a splash of something in my coffee? That should be fine right?”

“Okay Cana.” Gray teased the plumette, causing Astria to choke on her water.  

“Hey man, leave my Caly alone.” Loke said as he threw his arm around her shoulder. “Both her and Cana are hot and have huge boobs, if they wanna drink this early in the morning we shouldn’t stop them. Why you ask? Because us hot blooded men benefit from it in the long run. Especially since they both tend to strip when they drink a lot.”

“If you’re so worried about May, why don’t you just go look for her?” Gray asked the two mages. The two women in question just shared a look and nodded once before turning back to him.

“She’s seemed stressed since she’s come back from her mission. We want to give her some breathing room and not harass her about it. She’ll tell us when she’s ready too” Astria sighed before turning away from the guys and letting her eyes wonder around the guild hall.  

“That makes sense at least. How long has she been gone?” The slight worry in the ice mages voice caught Calypso and Loke’s attention. Both had a devious smile cross their lips and a dark look tinted their features.  

“Awwww is ice boy worried about my May?”  

“I think he is Caly. He’s worried about a hot young woman who’s kicked his ass time and time again. What’s the score now Gray? 132 to 0?” Loke added on, poking fun at his tsundere of a friend. Gray scoffed at the two before leaning back and crossing his arms. Before he could give his own witty remark back, the guild hall doors opened. A cross-breeze of wind carried the familiar scent to the Dragon Slayer’s nose.  

“Hey Caly, May’s back.” Astria pointed out as she kept her eyes on their short blonde friend. Caly’s head whipped around and saw her make her way over to them. “She looks unharmed which is good.”

“Her stomach just rumbled; I'll flag Mira down.” Calypso added as she waved over to the white-haired barmaid.  

“Hey guys, what can I get you?” Mira asked in her usual joy-filled tone.  

“Two breakfast specials, a thing of smoked salmon, and three extra strong coffees. Can you put something in one of them for me?” Calypso ordered easily, with her being the oldest of the three she always took care of the others.  

“Of course! I’ll be back with the drinks soon.” She walked back to her spot behind the bar as May finally arrived at the table.

“Hey...” The blonde spoke softly before taking the empty seat next to Calypso and across from Opal. Before the other two could speak, May pulled out two flyers from her pocket and showed them to her teammates. “The two of you should join the Miss Fairy Tail pageant. You guys have a better chance of taking home the gold if there's more than one of youse.”

“Jason’s a judge so I’m guaranteed top three.” Calypso said as she looked over the paper she snatched from May.  

“Didn’t he judge last year too, and Mira still won?” Gray snipped to get back at her from earlier. Loke and Calypso stared daggers at the ice mage.  

“Don’t listen to him. He’s ugly and unlovable, while you’re sexy and powerful. Which to be fair, is the best combo in a woman.” Loke complimented Calypso as her face continued to darken.

“I’ll skin you both alive if either of you continue to speak.”

“And on that note, I’ll be leaving.” Loke took his leave from the table, leaving Calypso’s death glare to Gray.  

“All I have to do is whistle, and I can have a pack of wolves maul you to death.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah I know. You need a new threat Calypso; you’ve used that one too many times already.” As Gray spoke, Mira silently placed the drinks on the table for the three women and scurried away. She valued her life too much to get between the bickering mages.  

“Probably as much as you take your clothes off.” Astria added as she shoved the ice mage away from her in a playful manner.

“As the leader of Team Lune, I need you all to behave while we’re at the guild.” Opal said sarcastically.   “Yes, I’m so sorry, oh great master Opal.” May said as the three mages bowed to the light pink feline.  

“What the actual fuck is your team?” Gray asked with scrunched eyebrows. In a split second, May was behind Gray as her palms were placed on both of his ears, applying a light pressure as she looked to her friends.   “Speak like that again and I’ll blow you up so badly they’ll be piecing you back together for weeks.” Gray hunched back a bit at her words, before sighing.   “Yeah yeah, whatever,” he let out with a huff.

“And we’ll feed your body parts to my wolves.” Calypso added with a smug smile.  

“Do you not feed them? Isn’t that animal cruelty?”

“I do feed them, they just like people meat. And they like it fresh too.”  

“You need psychological help.”

“Everyone in this guild does.” Astria added to as she was looking over Mays shoulder at her pink haired best friend.  

“Open your mouth again and see what happens ice stripper.” May threatened once more.  

“I’ll be taking my leave now too.” Gray sighed as he pushed the chair back and left the table. Mira made her way back to the table with breakfast as May took Gray’s seat.

“Enjoy Ladies!” Mira called as she turned and headed back.  

“So, to confirm – you two are joining the pageant and we’re going on this job.” May stated as she cut into her food.

“Job?” Calypso and Astria asked in unison.

“Oh yeah I forgot to explain that since ice box interrupted us. It’s a simple one for 100,000 jewels. We just need to capture a bandit, so it’ll take us what, an hour at most? Easy money.” May explained as Calypso downed her alcoholic coffee.  

“Yeah, we’ll be fine. When do we leave?”

“Give me two hours to drink a bit more and nap.” Calypso stated as she let out a yawn.

“You can nap on the train.” Opal spoke softly as she snacked on her salmon.  

“This is why you’re in charge!” The three mages said in unison to the cat.  

“Does it have to be a train though? Can’t we fly?” Astria asked with sadness in her voice.  

“Opal can’t carry all three of us Ria.” May stated softly as she picked at her breakfast. The four sat in silence for a few seconds before Calypso spoke up.

“I’m gonna go threaten Gajeel. Do we think I can convince him to let me braid his hair?” Calypso asked as she stood up from the table.

“Maybe if you challenge him to something and use it as your prize.” Astria pitched to the plum haired mage.  

“Say less.” Calypso sauntered over to where Cana, Gajeel and Juvia were seated and sat next to her best friend.  

“So, uhhh. May I'm not going on a train so you’re on your own. I love you!” Astria said as she skipped out off with Opal following behind.  

“Well then, I see how it is.” May spoke to no one before letting out a sigh. She silently continued to eat her meal before heading out on her now solo job. As she continued to pick at her food, she looked over to her friends – Caly was shoving a beer in Gajeel’s hand with a smile on her face. While Ria was happily sitting across from Natsu and Happy with Opal in her lap. The four of them were laughing happily as May sat by herself. They really would be okay without me, May thought to herself with another silent sigh.

[succubusphan]

Rain

Summary: When their dinner date gets ruined, the boys need to find a way to make it work.

Rating: G

Tags/warnings: Slice of Life, Introspection, Domestic Fluff, very mild angst.

Word Count: 2.9k

A/n: This was written in collaboration with my friend @schnaf!!! Thank you joining me in this crazy project and making it so much fun to write! may the next time not take us as long (lmao).

Read on ao3

‘Oh no. This can’t be true.’

Dan walks towards the window and pushes the curtain aside gently, looking up to the grey sky with a frown. A light drizzle starts to fall and he can’t contain a disappointed sigh. He runs his fingers through his hair, leaving it more wild than it had been. This was not supposed to happen. After being hauled up inside for so long due to quarantine they had decided to have a beautiful romantic dinner under the stars - in the comfort of their own balcony - but it seems like the weather forecast had been wrong again. ‘Awesome.’

All of a sudden, there are hands on his waist. Arms around him. A body behind Dan’s. Phil’s voice right next to his ear. “You look like a grumpy old farmer. What’s the matter?”

Dan leans back. For one moment, he closes his eyes, just enjoying being close to Phil, just taking in his warmth. Hey, he could just focus on that, that’s pretty nice too. But… It’s not what they planned. He sighs. “Look.” No more words needed - Phil just needs to look outside. The trees are rustling in the wind, moving forward, moving backward. Little dots are turning the grey wood dark, drop by drop by drop. Not the best setting for a dinner outdoors.

Phil sighs just as he did. “We can still make it work,” he says, pressing a kiss to Dan’s cheek and tightening his embrace for a moment. “If you still want to.”

He always does that. He tries to find the positive in every situation, not letting Dan sink into the darkness that his mind can be sometimes, but he doesn’t push - at least not more than he knows Dan can handle. He likes to remind Dan that he has a choice. That he can be sad sometimes, that he can give up on a day without being judged by his partner. “Of course, I was looking forward to your amazing cooking skills.” He snickers as Phil tickles his tummy, trying to move away from him, but damn, Phil forced him into a corner, blocking the way out with his body. Dan squirms, but Phil is relentless. Only when Dan begs for mercy, Phil lets go of him.

Dan catches his breath, then he turns around to face him and -

Ah, shit. He really did pick an attractive boyfriend, he can’t help but notice over and over again and looking at Phil right now… his hair is a mess, it probably already was even before his attack, but Dan’s struggles to break free didn’t exactly help. His cheeks have turned red, he’s still out of breath, but he’s smiling and he’s so giddy and happy and -

Oh, how lovely it would be to take this man out on a date. Even if “out” only meant their balcony. But no, the weather gods had other things in mind. Other things, like putting some dark clouds over London and some in Dan’s head.

And still, Phil managed to make him laugh.

“Thank you,” Dan mumbles, pressing his forehead into Phil’s shoulder with a small smile on his lips.

Phil presses a kiss to the top of his head with a sigh. “Thank you.” Phil grabs Dan’s hand and brings it to his lips.

Dan feels breathless. Phil is not a man of many words, but they don’t need them to communicate. Dan knows exactly what he is saying because it’s what he keeps repeating to him: ‘Thank you for being you, thank you for being with me, thank you for all these years.’ Sometimes it’s hard to accept those words, so Phil tends to leave them unsaid, but they know. “Love you,” he whispers without looking up.

“Love you too,” Phil says softly, but before Dan can even kiss him, Phil smirks and slaps  Dan’s ass, breaking all sort of romantic energy in an instant. “Go get fancy while I take care of dinner.” 

Dan rolls his eyes at Phil, but he decides to spare him the scolding. Instead, he nods and leaves in the direction of the bedroom.

An hour later finds Dan fully dressed, hair still wet from the shower and Phil attempting to whistle as he cuts a good amount of veggies to put onto the pan. 

Dan leans on the kitchen island, watching him try to arrange everything neatly over the stove when a lightning makes them both look in the direction of the balcony. “Shit,” he says but before he can add anything else, the thunder finally lands, making the entire building shake. And then, just like that they are standing in a dark kitchen.

“Phil?”

It’s not like he’d gone completely blind. Their lights may have gone out, but it’s not fully dark outside yet. There’s a faint glow coming from outside that is only obscured by the clouds as they rush past the moon. Dan still can see silhouettes, he still can see Phil a few feet away from him. Yet, it’s his first instinct to reach out for him.

No objection from Phil’s side. “Yep. Over here.”

“Well, then - move your ass this way.” Dan orders him, a grin on his face. Of course, he doesn’t wait for Phil to rescue him, of course he moves towards him at the same time. They meet in the middle of the kitchen island, Dan takes Phil’s hand immediately.

“Is the power out?” Dan asks. Now that they’re so close he can even make out Phil nodding.

“Seems like it. Wait -” Phil reaches behind him, trying out the light switch. Dan can hear the little click, but - nothing happens.

He thinks back to the Manchester flat, their first home together. They had learned many things about being grown ups there. One of the first lessons had been: ‘always check if your neighbors have power during a black out.’

With a tentative hand running on the counter as he walks, Dan silently guides Phil towards the window. The light drizzle they had seen before has evolved into pouring rain. The London sky is pitch black save for the moonlight. “Fuck,” he says, pressing his forehead to the glass. “What now? We can’t cook without power.”

“Well,” Phil looks out the window towards the grill. “I have an idea.”

Dan follows his line of sight and frowns. “You are not cooking outside in the rain, Lester.” 

“It will be fine!” Phil says, already turning his phone light on and marching in the direction of the bedroom. 

Dan follows him with a huff. “Phil,” he stomps his foot like a toddler. He knows he looks ridiculous but he doesn’t care - besides, Phil can’t actually see him. 

“Aha!” Phil says holding up his shoes. “Get some candles that don’t smell absolutely horrendous together. We are having a candlelit dinner.” 

“Fine, but I don’t want you cooking in the fucking rain! What if you get struck by a thunder?” 

“I’m not cooking outside, so I won’t. Don’t worry about it.” Phil says, pointing his phone light towards his own face to show an evil little smirk.

Dan huffs and flashes his own light into each of the dresser drawers and finds two autumn themed candles. ‘It will have to do.’ He turns around when he hears Phil rush past him. ‘I’ll kill him. I’ll divorce him, and then I’ll kill him.’

As he returns to the lounge, he finds the balcony door open and Phil pulling the grill towards him, leaving it right on the limit with their living room. “What are you doing?”

“I’m setting the fire, putting everything in with the lid and staying inside.” Phil smiles, clearly proud of himself for having such a good idea. 

“You are … mental.” Dan shakes his head fondly.

Phil crosses his arms with a laugh and wiggles his eyebrows. “Or am I a genius?”

Dan shoves him gently. “Definitely mental.”

Phil tries to wink but fails miserably. “Let’s get this show on the road. You set the candles and the table while I cook.” He slaps Dan’s ass again.

“Keep the smoke outside - if you can get it going that is.”

Phil rolls his eyes at him. “Anything for you, babe.”

Thus, they both set off. Dan takes care of the table as Phil told him, shooting a glance at his cook every now and then. He’s doing surprisingly well - sure, the maniac laugh when he manages to light the fire is a bit concerning but well, that’s Dan signed up for when he doubted Phil’s glorious idea, apparently. Not half an hour later he can smell the vegetables and damn, his mouth is watering. Now if Phil could hurry up… He’s hungry.

It doesn’t take that much longer until Phil is ready to serve his creation. There’s a tiny little curse when he tries to put the grilled vegetables on a plate; another, this time more audible curse when he almost stumbles over a cable on the floor, but then he reaches the candlelit table. Dan inspects the plate’s content while Phil sits down opposite of him.

“Wow. Looks amazing,” Dan admits without shame. Sure, he was poking fun at Phil before, he also was actually worried about him messing up, but… He’s really happy with the final result and not ashamed to let Phil know.

Phil grins at him, the proud smile of - a cook? No, it’s more than that. It’s the proud smile of a cook who just saved his starving boyfriend. “Yeah, right?” But then, his expression softens and he reaches out to take Dan’s hand.

“I know. It isn’t a romantic dinner under the stars. And a candlelight dinner would be more romantic if we weren’t forced to do it. But still… Better than nothing, isn’t it?” Phil asks and Dan looks at him, at his caring smile and -

He sighs. “I was quite the drama queen, hm?”

Complaining about the circumstances whereas Phil took matters into his own hands… Damn, he feels actually bad about it. Phil looked forward to this evening just as much as he did but he had to deal with Dan’s mood on top of the weather problems.

Phil just shrugs. “You were upset. But rightfully so. As long as you’re happy now…”

Dan lifts his head. Phil’s smile is so sincere… It’s okay. Everything is okay. Things didn’t go according to plan but hey, they’re here, they’ve got some food and most of all, they’ve got each other.

Could be worse.

So instead of assuring Phil he’s alright, Dan decides to prove it. He leans over, picking up a bottle he placed under the table before. The dark liquid sloshes backwards and forwards, clearly visible behind the green glass. “Got us some wine. Should be a good match.”

Phil’s face lights up - it turns into a giggle when Dan tries to hold the bottle like a beauty YouTuber trying to present an oversized eyeliner. The giggle is still in his voice when he comments on Dan’s surprise. “Awesome. That’s just what I need right now. See? Told you we’re going to be alright.”

“Of course we will, Bub. We always are.”  Dan pours them both a glass and raises his for a toast. “To us, to our story and our future.”

Phil clinks Dan’s glass with a smile. “To your talent, your heart…” he pauses for effect, “and that perfect ass.”

Dan snorts and dips his fingers in the wine, flicking some directly onto Phil’s face. “I hate you.”

“Ah! Bitch!” Phil wipes his face with one of their white napkins in retaliation; he knows Dan will have a fit about later. “I hate you more,” he says sweetly.

Dinner is over in a flash. The power is still out, but their hearts are happy and their tummies are full of Rosé, so when Phil proposes to relocate to the piano, Dan doesn’t object. They bring the candles along with them and after placing them around the piano, Dan takes a seat and presses the button to turn it on.

“Any song requests?” He asks Phil, placing his fingers on the keys. Ah, he really doesn’t want to get sappy, but… He likes that feeling. The moment when you’re about to start making music…

“I’ll take whatever you pick.” Phil appears right behind him, apparently kneeling because he wraps his arms around Dan’s waist, resting his head on Dan’s shoulders.

Dan turns his head to look at him. “I don’t know if I can play if you’re clinging to me.”

There’s no expression of guilt on Phil’s face. Quite the opposite - he tries to make it seem like Dan annoys him. His little giggle gives him away, though.

Still, he’s quite demanding. “Make it work.”

Well, if Phil insists… His fingers run along the keys without a thought. Then he starts playing  ‘Pyramid song’.

It just takes the first few notes for Dan to drift away. His fingers seem to move on their own, finding the correct keys right away because they’re so familiar with them, his head is silent - it’s as if the music swept away every single thought in his brain. It’s just him, the piano, the music - and Phil. Phil’s arms around him, Phil’s body pressed against his back, the steady lifting and lowering of his chest.

Then, Dan stops. Damn, he doesn’t know how to finish the song. He could go on for a bit, but he’d reach the point soon when he didn’t continue learning it 

And thus, the moment of peace is over.

It’s always been like that. Every other song he can think of, he never finished learning. That seems to be a constant in his life; the only constant besides Phil. 

Speaking of Phil: He gets up to sit beside him and places his hand on Dan’s, giving it a little squeeze. “Teach me.”

“Sure. I’m the best teacher in the world.”  he mumbles, his eyes still fixating on the keys. “I never finished learning any of the songs I play.”

“That’s not true,” Phil says matter-of-factly. “You learned the song for the tour.” 

Dan smiles - Phil’s right, he did. He just needs to remember that it’s ok to not finish every single project. Damn, he could never doubt his boyfriend, especially when he is looking at him like he is the most talented man on this planet. Dan knows that’s not the case but…

He doesn’t need to be; he is good enough. He can do this. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Ok, put your fingers here. No, wait.” He demonstrates the fingers placement for Phil. “Like this.” Phil adjusts his hands and Dan runs his fingers on his boyfriend’s softly. “That’s it, good.” Dan turns his head to look at his student, but Phil doesn’t return the gaze. He’s focused on his fingers, on the fingers placement Dan just taught him. Damn, he really wants to learn this - and moreover, Dan is actually able to teach him. Just like Phil let him know - he can do it.

Dan feels a pull in his stomach; he - he just can’t resist the urge. He leans over to kiss Phil on the cheek.

Now, Phil lifts his gaze. Just for a brief moment, just for a short smile, then he returns his attention back to the keys. And Dan does so too.

They play the song together quietly, Dan adjusting Phil’s fingers with a smile when he misses. 

Then, it gets bright all of a sudden. The lights turn back on, the fridge starts humming.

The power has returned, making them blink as they try to adjust their eyes. Phil removes his hands from the piano to reach for his long forgotten glass. “Well. That was nice.” he takes a sip of wine.

“Yeah.” Dan smiles, pouring himself a new glass and silently offering Phil a refill.

Phil hands him his glass. “Do you think we can get a piano for the house?”

“What’s wrong with this one?” Dan’s eyebrows disappear into his hair as he returns the glass.

Phil shakes his head. “Nothing, I just thought you would prefer a more traditional one. Like the one in the old apartment.”

Dan sips on his wine and hums. “It’s not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all, along with a gas stove.”

“Ah, probably.” Phil smiles. “But I did make the grill work.”

“I never doubted you.”

Phil pokes Dan’s stomach. “You did, you’re just saying that because you were wrong.”

“Of course not, I was only joking, Bub,” Dan says with fake innocence.

Phil squints his eyes but finally lets it go. “As long as we continue the piano lessons in the new place…”

‘Okay, okay, game over.’ How could he insist on keeping up the bant when he feels so giddy all of a sudden? If he can’t keep himself from smiling like a fool? “Of course.”

It doesn’t matter if their date nights get rained on. It doesn’t matter that he’s not the best pianist in the world, or if he can’t always keep the darkness at bay.

In the end, it will always be just the two of them. Phil will always be his companion through life; even if he ends up burning the house at one point or another.

[stellar-alley]

Everfalls

•Chapter 7•

This is based off of the artwork by oceanteeeth on Instagram! Also shout out to my Beta super.rose.cosplays!

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

(Summary: Richie shows Eddie what nachos are and helps him study for a test.)

~

By the end of the week, Friday, Richie and Eddie fell into a rhythm. Eddie would meet Richie and Bev out at the front of the school and hang out with them until home room started. They'd all eat together for lunch. Most days after school they'd either go to Eddie's house or go to Richie's, Eddie usually stayed for dinner. The Tozier's grew particularly fond of Eddie even within a short time of knowing him. He's a well mannered boy who also seems to be the only person in town who shares their secret, so they've all grown close with time.

Now it was Sunday, Eddie was sat on his kitchen counter watching Richie with a curious eye as he scavenged the kitchen cabinets. He mindlessly played with his dad’s compass to keep his hands busy. Eddie has done some grocery shopping for himself so he had a good amount of food. Richie had searched the fridge and most of the cabinets, “Rich? What the crap are you looking for?” Eddie's voice was something of a giggle, his gaze followed Richie who went from cabinet to cabinet.

“What I am looking for, my dearest spaghetti. Is-” his voice cut short “AHA! I knew you'd had them”.

Eddie hopped down from his perch, “and what is them?” he quirked a brow and smiled a devilish smirk.

“Oh just you wait Eduardo” Richie held the item behind his back, his lips mirrored Eddie's.

Eddie held his hands up in defeat, “Alright, alright”.

Richie busied himself with making whatever concoction he was creating, but that didn’t stop him from talking. “So, SpaghEds, with the whole complete shift thing, where’s the weirdest place you’ve shifted?” Richie does this, he asks questions. With the full moon approaching he has grown more curious about Eddie’s powers and his transformations.

One specific memory came to mind, and it hit close to home. “Oh” Eddie sucked in a breath. He trusted Richie, of course he did, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to get into this. “Well… I-um, I get anxious sometimes, and when I get anxious, really anxious, sometimes I fully shift. It’s only happened twice though-” He was cut off by Richie, who finally turned to face him.

“So instead of most people who curl into the fetal position, you shift into a fucking white rabbit?” Eddie didn’t appreciate the amused grin that played over his lips.

“Yeah, so what dickwad?” He spat back. Suddenly he’d become defensive. His anxiety was something he didn’t tell a lot of people about so he certainly didn’t appreciate when he finally decides to confide in someone and what does he get in response? A laugh.

Richie could physically sense the mood shift in the room. Eddie crossed his arms over his chest, hung his head low and kept his eyes off of him. Quickly, Richie slid his concoction into the oven, set the timer then took a step towards Eddie.

“Hey…” He carefully moved his hand under Eddie’s chin and slowly tilted his head upwards, their eyes meeting. His voice was slow, serious, with a little happiness sprinkled on top to keep the mood light, “I’m kidding” he offered with soft eyes.

Finally, Eddie let his arms drop to his side, “I know Rich, I-Just don’t joke about that stuff okay? I’ve struggled with that shit since I was a kid. It’s hard…” his voice drifted off .He wanted to look away but Richie’s hand moved to cup his check.

“I’m sorry-” Richie’s apology was interrupted by the beeps of the oven timer. Richie’s eyes lit up as he remembered what he’d made. Without a further thought, he planted a quick kiss on Eddie’s nose and grabbed the oven mits before he went to go take the tray out of the oven.

Eddie leaned against the counter for support, his legs felt like they were going to give out from underneath him. What’s happening? What just happened? He- Holy shit Richie kissed me. Well he kissed my nose- STILL! The realization made Eddie’s heart swell and his hands sweat. The area where Richie’s hand had once cupped his check felt cold with the sudden absence of warmth. What does this mean? This feeling… No way, it can’t be. And why with him? Why don’t I feel this with Alley? Or Bev? Or literally anyone else aside from my fucking best friend. The bunny simply watched Richie, his wide, toothy smile and his shiny eyes, even if they hid behind massive coke bottle glasses. His stare always seemed to brighten his mood. The thought dawned on Eddie like a sack of potatoes, It’s because none of them are Richie.

Richie’s voice pulled Eddie out of his thoughts. “Apology nachos?” Richie’s lips were curved in a half smile.

Eddie’s eyes were wide with his new realization, unsure how to act, he opted to ask “What are nachos?” he scrunched up his face.

“What? They don't have nachos in The All Lands?” He cocked an eyebrow at the shorter boy.

“Seems like it” Eddie joined Richie at the table, claiming the seat beside him.

“Well, they’re literally the best thing since slice fucking bread. Tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, cheese!”.

“Tort-il-y chips?” Now it was Eddie’s turn to cock an eyebrow.

Richie held a bag, “It’s what I was looking for before! Now come on, eat before they get cold”, he instructed before he grabbed a chip for himself.

Eddie examined the way Richie grabbed a chip and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. Richie noticed and gave Eddie his iconic grin. Even with cheese and chips in his teeth, it still made Eddie’s heart skip a beat. He covered up his blush by giving Richie a shove, “Close your trashmouth! That’s gross” He couldn’t hide the laughter in his voice. Richie simply responded by closing his mouth and pointed at the tray, gesturing for him to eat. So that’s what he did, and let’s just say, for a heap of cheese on a chip, it was pretty damn good.

After the two had finished, Richie offered to help Eddie clean up. “Ready for the English test tomorrow?” He asked as Eddie handed him a plate to be dried.

“Shit- Is that tomorrow?” Eddie almost dropped the plate in his hands. His eyes went wide as his thoughts began to race “I thought that was next wednesday. Oh my god Richie I haven’t even started studying for that. My mark is low enough in that class, I’m so gonna fail”.

“I-I can help you study” Richie offered shyly, eager to spend more time with him. Yes, they’d been spending a lot of time together already, but when Richie was with Eddie, he felt at ease. For once in his life he had someone who shared his secret who wasn't his parents. There was an aspect of freedom to it, he was able to walk around without a hat and with his tail in the open. He also couldn’t help to acknowledge the way his stomach twisted whenever Eddie laughed at his jokes, or how his heart always seemed to speed up whenever their fingers brushed against each other. Richie lived for the moments where it was appropriate for him to hug Eddie, or take his hands in his. Even the once in a lifetime opportunity he just had, when he kissed Eddie’s little nose. Sure it was a spur of the moment thing and Eddie probably didn’t think much of it anyways… Plus Richie only did it to cheer Eddie up, right?

“Seriously? No, you can’t. Y-You’ve gotta be back home in an hour cause your mom is making your favourite” Eddie had remembered that small detail from when Richie told it to him early that day, of course he had. He always remembered the little things, the way Richie always tugged at his beanie when he was nervous, how his eyes always found Eddie’s in his time of need, even down to the little details like what the Toziers were gonna make for dinner.

Richie reached a hand out and planted a reassuring hand on Eddie’s shoulder, “And if I tell my mom I’m helping you, she’ll gladly save me some for later. I can’t have my little Eds failing, now can I?”.

My Eds

Those words stuck out to Eddie. As if Richie had taken a highlighter to their story and outlined it with a colour almost as bright as his eyes. His. Eddie liked the sound of that. But he shoved the feeling down. He had more important things to deal with.

“Only if you’re sure” Eddie returned to doing the dishes. Tilting his head down to hide his rosy cheeks.

“I’m as sure as I’ll ever be! I’ll stay until you know this shit like the back of your own hand!” Richie exclaimed which only made Eddie blush harder.

“Thanks Chee” The nickname slipped out which caused Eddie’s eyes to go wide as he realized what he’d just called him.

Richie froze and stared at the rabbit, “W-Wait sorry, what was that?” He asked with an amused smirk.

Eddie couldn’t hold back the smile that spread across his face, “What? You have all these stupid nicknames for me, so I thought it was only fair if I gave you one!” Eddie nodded as if he had to confirm his statement. “Chee!” He declared.

Richie chuckled and let his gaze fall to the ground so that way Eddie wouldn’t be able to see his red cheeks.

After a beat he glanced back up at him who had the same red face, “Chee?” Richie asked with a small, embarrassed smile. “Chee?” He repeated, his smile grew to match Eddie’s grin as he walked up to the smaller boy and wrapped his arms around him.

“Yes, Chee!” Eddie exclaimed in Richie’s arms.

The wolf’s heart practically beat right out of his chest as adrenaline ran through his veins.

“Woah” Eddie let out a small gasp.

Richie hadn't even noticed he lifted Eddie up and off his feet. With his enhanced wolf strength, little things like this weren’t that hard for him to do. So with the adrenaline in his veins and the spur of the moment vibes in the air. He lifted Eddie higher and spun him around in the air.

Eddie couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his mouth as the air whipped through his hair. He wrapped his arms around Richie’s neck and let his legs fly through the air as Richie spun them.

Richie laughed and laughed. He had somehow made his way to the couch and with Eddie still in his arms flopped down onto the couch. The two of them let go and rolled around in a fit of laughter. At that moment, they were both happy.

Richie ended up staying until Eddie had a firm grasp on the content, which ended up being around 8:pm. They’d studied in Eddie’s room, on the bed of his bay window. The two sat with their backs up against the window, shoulders touching and books sprawled all out around them.

The sun had just gone under the horizon, the sky coloured a deep purple, slowly it faded to black. Eddie held out Richie’s jacket, which he gratefully grabbed after he slid his converses on.

“Thank you,” Eddie said for the thousandth time.

“Stop it. You apologize too much, Spaghetti” Richie smirked at the nickname.

Eddie rolled his eyes, not in the mood to fight over that right now. His gaze landed on the small stars that began to fill the nights sky above them.

“Ah, I almost forgot” His voice caught Eddie’s attention. He watched as Richie riffled through his pockets and produced a small block like object, with a blue cover.

Eddie’s eyebrows scrunched together in curiosity, “Is that-?”

“A phone! For you. I know you don’t have one” Richie held it out to Eddie.

“And I don’t need one. Plus, Richie I can’t accept that” Eddie held his hands up and away from the phone.

“Oh come on Eds. It’s my old one. It was literally just collecting dust on my dresser. It’ll only be for emergencies. If I need to contact you. Or if you get into trouble. Plus the full moon is literally 12 days away and I’m more prone to outbreaks. If something happens, I’m gonna need your help” Richie’s puppy dog eyes shone through. Sure, maybe Richie was just using that as an excuse to give Eddie the phone, then he’d be able to talk to him even when they weren’t together.

“Fucking fine, but only for emergencies” Eddie snatched the phone from the Richie’s hand. He wanted to scowl, but Eddie couldn’t help the excitement that eased into his system at the thought of having a phone.

It only took a couple minutes for Richie to show him the basics of using a phone. How to enter his passcode and find his contacts, which only consisted of Richie, Maggie and Went. Richie claimed Eddie could ask for other numbers at school, but Eddie insisted it was only for emergencies and these were the only ones he needed.

Richie left with a wave and a smile. Eddie couldn’t help but notice the little bit of sadness that he felt once he realized Richie had left without giving him a final hug goodbye. That’s fine. No Worries. Friends don’t always need to hug each other. Right? But he had every other time… So what makes this time different? Those were the thoughts that occupied Eddie’s head as his body went on autopilot. He got finished cleaning up and ready for bed. His body, along with the mood in the house felt a little bit cooler than it had when he was in Richie’s presence.

The new cobalt blue phone sat on the nightstand beside Eddie’s bed. It emitted a soft vibration sound right when Eddie closed his eyes. He ignored it, instead he turned to face the other side of the room, away from the phone. The second time it vibrated Eddie couldn’t hold back his curiosity any further. He flipped back over and snatched it off his nightstand.

He fumbled with it only for a second until he clicked the on button. The bright light of the plain white screensaver caused him to squint at the sudden brightness. He looked at the plain white background, Gotta ask Rich to change that, he took the mental note. He carefully punched in his passcode and found the icon with the little red number 2. He reminded himself that it meant he had 2 notifications. He sucked in a breath when he realized who it was from, Richie.

Richie: Goodnight Spagheds 🌙 Richie: *1 Photo/ Click to Download*

Eddie smiled at the electronic box in his hands. His legs curled a little tighter into his chest with the new warmth he craved. It took him a second to figure it out but soon enough he had opened up the photo that Richie had sent. It was a selfie of Richie with his plate of homemade poutine in front of him while he had two french fries sticking out of his toothy smile.

He stared at it until his eyes fluttered shut, sleep took him away. He was ripped from his slumber when he dropped his phone on his face. “Fuck” He groaned as he fumbled with his phone. Desperately trying to turn it off, he pressed random buttons and swiped something. He clicked okay and within the blink of his eye his plain background had changed to the silly selfie of Richie. “Oh” He said with minimal shock. At first he was determined to change it. What would Richie think if he saw this? But sleep was pulling him back under and he decided to figure it out in the morning. He dropped his phone on the bed beside him and flopped back onto the pillow. His final thought was that, maybe seeing Richie every time I turn my phone on wouldn’t be such a bad thing…

Word Count: 2666

Hey guys wassssup

Kinda a shorter chapter but it's all fluff and cute Reddie stuff so I hope you enjoyed! The plot only evolves from here so get ready.

That's all for me guys, don't forget to like, comment and share!

I will see y'all next friday with a new chapter, but until then.

So Long and Goodnight

[Taglist]

@richietoaster @s-onora @that-weird-girl-blog @beproudtozier @ghostnebula @bellarosewrites @s-s-georgie @lermanslogan @iamcupcakefrosting @madidraw @gazebobullshit @thoughtfullyyoungduck @aangzukos @ambitiousskychild @reddieonwheels @breadheadscorpius @opinions-you-didnt-ask-for

Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list!

[pkg4mumtown]

New Man (pt. 2)

A/N: Another silly addition to this fic just because I felt like it. The song fragments are from For Island Fires and Family by Dermot Kennedy. Thanks again to @abigailredgrave for the original request and the hilarious plot we’ve thought up for future parts. Hope you enjoy!

A/N 2: I made a Masterlist page!

Summary: Go read Part 1. You’ve shut down Kyle’s accusations in his new song, but what happens when you see him in person again? Nothing good, of course. 

Warnings: Fluff, strong language, violence, mild adult situations (not quite sex, but not innocent either).

Taglist: @anita-e-taylor @futuristic-imbecile @samanthagraceg @beyond-antares @cuttlefishcatfish @gwenebear @derangedcupcake @cumberbatchbaps @celestiaelisia @lunaticgurly

I splashed my face with water, groaning in displeasure as I shocked myself awake. I knew John wouldn’t let me go back to sleep after seeing me awake, as he preferred to utilize the day as much as he could. I made my way back to his bedroom, where he waited patiently in nothing but boxers with the sheet low on his hips. I had picked up his discarded t-shirt from the night before and threw it over my head on my way to the bathroom. It fell to just around my mid thigh, barely covering my ass but I knew John loved it. His arms were crossed behind his head, propping it up slightly. His eyes raked over my body as I stood at the foot of the bed. He removed his hands, spreading his arms out in front of him in a silent invitation.

I crawled over him, straddling his torso and kissing him eagerly. His hands slipped under the shirt, running up my back and pulling me closer to his chest. I pulled my lips away from his, teasing him by keeping my mouth just out of reach as he tried to chase my lips. My lips made contact with his jaw, sliding down to his neck. He turned his head away from me, causing the long muscle in his neck to contract and bare itself to me under his skin. I pressed my lips against where the muscle connected to the top of his sternum, trailing my lips up and biting the muscle gently until I reached the end behind his ear.

“Do you work today?” he asked me through a soft moan.

“Nope,” I responded by teasing his neck with the tip of my tongue.

“I want to take you to dinner tonight,” he sighed, grasping the tops of my thighs.

“I thought you had a job tonight,” I wandered my hands down to his chest and brought my lips back to his.

“It was small, not worth my time. You’re more important,” he confessed, staring at me as if I was the most important thing in his life.

I blushed, hiding my face in his neck as I was overcome with emotion. It never ceased to amaze me how sincere and thoughtful John was. I brought my head back up, pressing my lips to his scruffy cheek.

“So, dinner and dancing?” I asked hopefully. He made a displeased grumble in his throat at the mention of dancing. “Actual dancing, not club dancing,” I rolled my eyes.

He thought for a moment and nodded, “I can get behind that.”

“Oh, Jonathan, that’s club dancing,” I teased.

He furrowed his brows in confusion before the terrible joke caught up to him, causing him to sigh and press his lips together in a tight line. I laughed at his expressionless face, which broke as soon as a smile spread over my lips. His eyes crinkled as he chuckled, causing his chest to jump under me.

“I know a restaurant we can go to downtown,” he murmured, pressing his lips to my chin.

“Just you and me, no weapons?” I asked, smoothing his hair back.

He grimaced, holding up a finger to his nose sheepishly, “One pistol?”

“Do you really need a gun at dinner?” I squinted my eyes at him playfully.

“Hey, you can never be too careful, sweetheart. I brought one on our first date,” he smirked, letting out a soft laugh.

“No extra magazines or knives,” I compromised, shaking my head at his comment.

“Deal,” he shrugged, knowing full well he could handle a situation with whatever he had available.

I stretched my body out over him, letting my toes run along his sheet covered legs and resting my head on his chest. His hands made their way under the shirt once more, allowing his rough fingers to press into my skin. His fingers rubbed soothing circles, occasionally digging into the tense muscles he discovered in my back from standing at work for hours.

“Is the restaurant nice?” I mumbled into the warm skin of his chest.

“Mhmm. Why?”

“Just want to see you in a suit,” I murmured. While I did see him in a suit frequently, it was almost always strictly for work and I never got to truly feel the material under my hands. It was insanely attractive, especially knowing what he did in the suit and how efficiently he did it.

“Do you need a dress?” he asked, trailing his hands down until they rested teasingly on the top of my ass.

“I don’t even get to enjoy the ones you’ve bought because you buy me so many, John,” I huffed, peppering kisses against his chin, just out of reach of his mouth.

“Okay, okay,” he chuckled.

The day was mostly spent outside playing with the dog, since we would be gone in the evening. When we finally separated ourselves from the outdoors, we were sweaty, itchy, and out of breath. A handsy shower was in order but I refused to give into his touch until later tonight, slipping away from him and out of the shower. John squinted his eyes and gave me a small pout in response, before following me out of the bathroom.  I stood in front of the closet, staring at the dresses I kept here when I felt him step behind me and wrap his arms around my waist. He bent slightly, resting his chin on my shoulder and staring at the contents of the closet with me.

“You looked stunning in this one,” he murmured, running his hand over the silky material of a dark blue dress. It had a moderately deep v-neck and ended at my knees, making it one of John’s favorites.

I pulled it off the hanger and pulled myself from John’s grasp to go change. Once I dressed, I turned to see him half dressed in a suit. His black trousers were open while his fingers worked on the navy-blue button down adorning his torso.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you wear anything but black or white with your suits,” I observed as I walked over to him. “Did you pick this specifically to match?”

He dropped his head as if I caught him doing something bad, a smile creeping onto his face. I took his tie from him, sliding it around his neck after he finished tucking his shirt in and buttoning his trousers. He watched me intently as I tied the knot, using it as leverage to bring his head toward me to plant a kiss to his lips. I secured the knot against his neck and stepped back from him slowly. He ran his hand through his hair, making his way to the bathroom and grabbing his bottle of hair gel, which was like second nature when he wore his suits. I stopped him before he could open the bottle, sliding in between him and the bathroom counter.

“Leave it soft,” I requested, letting my fingers brush through the hair framing his face.

“Ready, then?” he murmured, bringing his forehead to mine. I nodded and pressed a light kiss to his lips.

“So, what’s this place called?” I asked John as we got in the car. He didn’t answer me, instead turning the car on.

I had forgotten to shut the radio off the last time we were in the car, so the radio blared as the amenities in the car woke up.

I don’t wanna know about your new man

“Nope,” I said to myself, slapping the “off” button. John chuckled next to me as he drove off, planting his hand on my thigh for the ride.

John was right, the place was fairly nice but not overly so. We were seated almost immediately considering the place was packed, leading me to believe that John had some kind of connection here. We passed rows of tables, before being sat in the first row of tables from the open area set aside as a dancefloor. Beyond that area was a small stage where a singer stood with a guitar and pianist next to him. The table we were sat at was circular in shape, which allowed John to scoot closer to me, so we were both facing the stage. He threw his arm over my shoulders possessively as we waited for our food, tickling my exposed shoulder with his rough fingertips. My own fingers danced on his thigh, which was skimming my knee every so often as his legs were spread open under the table.

I barely gave him any time to recover from the meal before I was tugging him to his feet and dragging him to the dancefloor, where a few couples were dancing to the end of a song. As we stopped among the other couples, a soft guitar filled the room joined by the singer’s powerful voice. John pulled me into his arms, swaying us around the space as we let the lyrics wash over us.

I rested one of my arms over his shoulder and letting my hand glide into the hair at the back of his head, happy that I had caught him before he put anything in it. I pressed my cheek against his jaw, closing my eyes briefly as I inhaled his scent. When I opened my eyes again, I caught a glimpse of a figure I hoped I’d never have to see in person again. Kyle. He had sat next to some young woman, unsuspecting that he was probably using this dinner as a way to get in a quick lay. He even had the audacity to show up in a colorful snapback and flashy hoodie, neither of which were appropriate for the restaurant. As if my luck couldn’t get any worse, his eyes met mine and I watched them widen in recognition before John was taking us in a different direction.

And I couldn’t tell you enough that I’m sorry

And no, you couldn’t tell me enough that you loved me

She’s bringing the moon and stars to me

Damn permanent reverie

And even though this life, this love is brief

I’ve got some people who carry me

“Everything okay?” John’s voice rumbled in my ear, feeling my body tense at the sight of Kyle.

“Our least favorite person just walked in. Just our luck, right?” I sighed sarcastically.

“Ignore him,” John replied comfortingly, “He’s not worth any of your emotions.”

I pulled my head back and grinned at him, so grateful to have him with me. He pulled me impossibly closer, kissing my forehead and reciprocating my smile.

Wasn’t it love as soon as we knew each other properly?

Living ‘bout half right, until a certain person got to me

Nothing is secret, everything’s sacred, how it ought to be

Under the moonlight on a clear night, on rooftops is where I want to be

Just like that, the room melted away as I was lost in John’s eyes and embrace. The only thing I was sure of was him and the music surrounding us. Kyle didn’t matter, he hadn’t in a long time and moments like this reminded me of that. Despite whatever John got himself into, he always came back to me and made sure I knew that I was important to him.

Sometimes I’m like a child, it’s something I can’t release

Dreams of her coming home, sweet home

I’m telling you home’s so sweet

Said you reminded me of the summer times, and I still mean that

In a full room I’m the only one she’s smiling at

As the song faded out, John kept his arms firmly around me and holding my attention so well that we didn’t notice the commotion near the stage. Kyle was arguing the singer, who shoved his guitar into Kyle’s hands and stormed off. I was surprised that Kyle was even allowed on the stage but as I saw—who John told me was the owner—next to the stage, I realized that Kyle had bribed him.

You know that feeling when you think your heart is gonna come right out through your shirt?

I get it a couple times a year, but I’ve been getting it more often with her

Now when I’m face to face with death I’ll grab his throat

And ask him, “How does it hurt?”

Up in those golden moments growing old too quickly

Was he thinking of her?

But she’s bringing the moon and the stars to me

Damn permanent reverie

And even though this life, this love is brief

I’ve got some people who carry me

“Um, hi, the name’s Kyle Eagan and I’m gonna sing you one of my songs. It’s actually top five in the charts right now, so I’m dedicating it to a gorgeous woman here, tonight,” he spoke while adjusting the microphone and glanced my way. I felt for the girl he was with, probably thinking this was all for her.

“Let’s go,” John murmured as Kyle started singing.

He led me back to the table, dropping probably more than the dinner was worth just so we could leave now. As we approached the front door of the restaurant the song ended abruptly, causing John to look behind us as Kyle bounded off the stage in our direction. He growled in annoyance, shoving the door open and letting me go through first.

“He’s following us,” John grumbled as the brisk, night air enveloped us.

I caught a glimpse of his arm disappearing into his jacket, presumably to grab his pistol to scare Kyle. Kyle’s hurried footsteps grew closer to us, so I took action to avoid John killing Kyle on the streets of New York.

“John,” I warned, “Don’t.” I grabbed his hand and tugged him into the alley we almost passed. I held his hand, stepping back slowly as his body shadowed mine, “Take me right here, John.”

John was pissed about the interrupted evening, the emotion darkening his eyes and mixing with lust at my words. I bit my lip as his eyes hovered down the neckline of the dress. He backed me up against the rough wall, running his hands up my thighs and dragging the bottom of the dress up until it was bunched around my waist. He lifted me and pressed me against the wall, fusing his mouth to mine with pent up frustration. His hands gripped my ass while he ground himself against me. I moaned in his mouth at the friction caused by his actions, clutching his shoulders as he repeated his movement.

“Hey!” a hazy shout came from a few feet next to us.

“John, please,” I whimpered, playing up the theatrics more than necessary. His mouth left mine, leaving a trail of burning sucks and bites down my neck until he reached the top of my trapezius. His head turned away from me, looking outwards at Kyle’s shadowed form as he sank his teeth into the muscle. The corners of his mouth curled up in a satisfied smirk as he found Kyle’s infuriated gaze. John’s lips sucked the skin he just bit, leaving behind a large red mark that would definitely bruise later, as if he was claiming me.

“This fuckhead won’t leave,” he snarled, grinding against me to make a point. I gasped, digging my fingers into his back.

“Excuse me!? Do you know who I am!” Kyle shouted louder. “Hey!”

John clenched his teeth, seething and growling in his throat. I felt his grip on me slack, telling me to drop my legs until I could stand. He brushed my mussed hair out of my face, combing his fingers through and back until my face was clear.

His lips pressed against my forehead before mumbling against the skin, “Give me a minute.”

John straightened his suit jacket, turning to face Kyle and taking large strides toward him. He stared intently into Kyle’s eyes, conveying all of the anger he had toward the smaller man.

“You really want to do this, Kyle?” John spat, uttering Kyle’s name with a mocking tone.

“Yea, you know what? I think I do,” Kyle replied with a cocky attitude, reaching into his waistband and pulling out a small revolver.

John didn’t even flinch as the revolver was aimed at the material of his suit. He had half a mind to reach for his own gun but knew I wouldn’t be happy about that.

“Kyle, put the gun down,” I warned him, hoping he wouldn’t be dumb enough to fire it.

“I’m doing this for you!” he shouted, the revolver shaking in his hand.

“Do it,” John murmured. “Grow a pair and do it, Kyle. Think she’ll be head over heels when you shoot me?” Kyle’s hand shook partially out of anger and partially out of fear as he pondered what to do. “You gave her up. You had your chance. She won’t fall for your bullshit ever again.”

A shot echoed in the alley, causing my heart to stop. John’s torso shifted sideways from the bullet hitting the tactical lining of the suit, his foot stepping back to brace himself so he didn’t fall backwards. His teeth clenched in a grimace as he grabbed the lapel and shook the bullet off the material. The mauled bullet fell to the floor while John smoothed the material out. He stared back at Kyle’s terrified eyes, moving quickly before Kyle could fire another panicked shot. John disarmed Kyle too easily, packing his fist with the gun and delivering a swift punch to Kyle’s face. Kyle stumbled and fell back but was soon picked up as John twisted the material of Kyle’s sweatshirt in his fist and hauled him to his feet. Kyle was shoved against the alley wall, John’s fist poised in the air and ready to deliver another punch.

“Is this how you keep her around, huh?” Kyle sneered at John with blood dripping down his cheek.

John shoved him harder at the accusation, about to land another punch until I stopped him, “John!”

John paused, turning his head toward me with his chest heaving with rage before turning his attention back to Kyle, “Come near us again and I won’t be as nice.”

“This was you being nice? You’re fucking crazy!” Kyle shouted in his face.

“You’re still alive, aren’t you?” John questioned with a wicked tone.

John glanced back at me once more, sighing heavily and stepping back from Kyle. John released the revolver’s cylinder and tilted the gun back so that the remaining bullets fell to the floor. He chucked the revolver down the alley, listening to it clatter along the gravel. I walked toward them cautiously, sliding my arm through John’s and grabbing his hand.

“I warned you, Kyle,” I shrugged as he touched his bleeding cheek.

“Does he hurt you like this, Y/N, huh?”

I sighed, really just wanting to go back to John’s and sleep, “Not that I have to explain myself to you, but the only marks he leaves on me are with his mouth.”

Kyle scrunched his nose in disgust, letting his body fall against the wall, “I can’t believe you’d rather be with this old asshole.”

“John treats me better than you ever could and he’s a far better man, so you can fuck off and leave us alone!” I raised my voice, pointing at his chest with my finger.

I dragged John out of the alley and toward his car, letting out a dramatic groan as we sat inside.

“Sorry about that,” John apologized guiltily.

“I’m not mad at you, you didn’t do anything wrong. He’s getting on my last nerve and tonight was going so well until he showed up,” I sighed.

“How about we head home, I’ll run you a bath, and we can continue our night?” he proposed, turning his head to look at me in the seat. He leaned over the center console, kissing me breathless.

I pulled my head back, meeting his eyes and smiling, “I’d love that.”

Part 3

[grandmalavi]

Moondance, a Marquillo/Serquel fanfiction. My first time writting about these two, so I hope it it isn't too cringy nor extremely OOC. Enjoy! :)

“MOONDANCE”

Raquel found Sergio outside, seating by the beach, bare chested and barefoot underneath the moonlight. Staring at the crashing of the waves, it seemed as if the ocean held all answers to the overthinking going on inside that brilliant mind of his.

He'd sneaked out little after dinner, when she'd been too enthralled in a conversation with Ailyn, the kind Filipina woman he'd hired to help with them with house chores, to properly notice his escape. Once she'd noticed his absence, though, Raquel immediately knew where he'd go— in this pacific island of theirs, there weren't many places to run off to, after all.

She'd left her mother to continue chatting with Ailyn from where she knit by the kitchen table, calm and chatty as the woman rarely was these days. They discovered the sound of one of Sergio's old classic records would have a surprisingly soothing effect over Marivi, and it now played softly at the background as Raquel left the room, travelling upstairs to found Paula already tucked in bed. The little girl flipped curiously through the pages of one of the books Sergio had purchased for her birthday, a month ago, and once her mother sat by her side, Paula filled her ears with excited babble over Harry Potter's newest adventures until finally being convinced into turning the lights off and going to sleep. Smiling at her small form underneath the sheets, Raquel had left a crack of her daughter's door open, so that she'd have that little bit of light coming inside the room the way experience taught her it'd make her feel safer, although the talk around bedtime these days was that nine was too grown up to be afraid of silly monsters anymore.

Then, and only then, Raquel went out in search of the complex, annoyingly withdrawn man she turned out to love— supposing she'd given him the time alone he seemed to need to think, by then.

Their living room double doors opened to a breathtaking view of the ocean, and in specially hot days they'd taken a habit off setting in the comfortable net outside and watching as Paula ran around in the sand with her new Palawan friends. She and Sergio would talk about nothing and everything, swinging pleasantly in the arms of one another while exchanging the silliest smiles, between caresses and kisses that'd leave them both needing and turned on, although much too comfortable with just snuggling innocently in the breeze to move inside and do something about it, at the same time. Their touching would be torturing, but of the best, slow-burning and arousing sort of kind— leaving both flustered and breathless afterwards, often clinging onto one another like high schoolers until the time they'd be alone again would come.

This night, Raquel stood by the doorway while bracing herself against the chilling ocean breeze coming in, her eyes wandering briefly until she found Sergio's familiar form, his slean shoulders bared outside in the cold, although he remained unflinching in face of the waves constantly licking his legs. Feeling a wave of sadness wash over her at how lonely he seemed, she sighed, and without further hesitation started making her way toward him.

Her feet dug into the cool sand, goosebumps lifting all over her arms once she reached the spot where he sat, pushing her wavering hair out of her eyes to stare down at him. Cross-legged, Sergio had his elbows over his knees, not only his jeans soaked by the come and go of the ocean but all the rest of himself, as well. With water drops still glimmering in his skin and his hair damp, glued to his neck, it was clear he went for a night time swim in the freezing cold waters ahead— and, judging by his t-shirt thrown soaked in the sand by his side, not so long ago.

He was clearly freezing, the muscles of his back coiled and tensed, making something ferocious inside Raquel rise, wanting nothing but to wrap herself around him and handle him all the warmth she had. Even so, she held back, finding a fragility in his posture that told her he might recoil, in case she'd do so. And even though her approach hadn't been silent, at all, Sergio didn't seem to notice her presence there until she came to sit by his side, crossed legs underneath her summer dress to mimic his own, her knee coming to brush slightly at his.

At her touch, Sergio straightened suddenly as if struck by electricity, his eyes raising to her face as hers lowered, to find the whiskey glass half filled with wine he cradled between his hands.

He'd rarely drink, unless if to make her company, and something about the fact he found more comfort at the bottom of a glass tonight made her feel all sorts of angry and sad. But looking inside his eyes, stripped off his glasses for the obvious risk of losing them underwater, Raquel found how unsurprisingly sober he was, for despite knowing how this meticulous man she came to know could oddly turn unpredictable sometimes, she also knew he'd never be reckless to the point of entering the ocean drunk off his ass.

No, this… this sounded more like something she'd do, being definitely the impulsive one out of both. The thought made Raquel smile at him, soft and a little bittersweet, wishing deep down she'd muster just enough reasoning to help him cope with whatever bothered him today, exactly the way she knew he'd do for her anytime her feelings made her go a little nuts.

“I really made you a rebel with this swimming in your clothes thing, huh?” she murmurs, tilting her head to the ocean with her smile widening, teasingly “I mean, it's a little late to be freezing my butt out there, but you could've called me to join, no? I can be a little rebel too…”

“Just a little, yes, Inspectora?” Sergio's eyes crinkled as he smiled, shortly and awkwardly, his head ducking at his lap to avoid eye contact “I, well, I wasn't exactly planning on doing it, until… until I-I sort of… Was already there, water on my waist.” he gestured nervously, his hand making as if to push the glasses that weren't there back to the top of his nose “I, you see, I-I had a couple more of these before,” he lifts his glass, swirling the wine “and then I suppose the alcohol must've made me think I wanted to get rid of something very badly, for I threw it at the waves. But as soon as I saw it floating away I regretted it, and let's just say I had to dive in and fish it back on myself…” he shook his head, shyly, looking at her through his lashes with a shrug and a self-deprecating smirk “Not my finest moment, so I'm glad you weren't here to see me destroying the beauty of fully-clothed swimming so pathetically, indeed.”

Raquel's smile faded as he spoke. Frowning, not liking the look in his eyes, she forgot the space she intended on giving him and reached to grab hold of one of his hands in hers, bringing it to her lap. Immediately she realized her instinct to be right, for Sergio's cold fingers squeezed hers quite frantically, his throat bobbing as he swallowed, sort of leaning forward towards her, his eyes sparkling in the reflection the moon provided on the waves.

Oh, my love.

“Sergio, did you get rid of Andrés' watch?”

His features twitched, a grimace of shame, and he nodded “Tried.” his voice was a whisper, that he drowned inside his glass in a nervous gulp of wine. Then, he shook his head, wiping clumsily a drop of water that slid from somewhere around the bridge of his nose, then down his cheek “I-I, I don't know what the fuck I was thinking, Raquel. What damn good would've come out of getting rid of the only thing my brother has left me…” he sighed, tremulously, scoffing at himself “My father's watch, Raquel. This old contraption he had restored for me because I'd refuse putting it aside in twenty years, all of it so that I'd have it in time before the heist… so that I'd have 'a second to remind our reasons' on me, he said.” Sergio's whole face scrunched, as if some sort of physical pain cut him from the inside “Same damn thing Dad told me the day he left to die, leaving me this watch so I'd have a piece of him, and since then it's become… It's become this piece of Andrés and that bastard smile of his as well, Raquel, and now it won't probably even work anymore…” he closes his eyes shut, trembling “I-I'm such an idiot-”

“Hey.” Raquel scooted closer to him, passing her arms through his, her chin propped on his shoulder as she tilted her head backwards to meet his eyes “Only I can call my boyfriend that, you hear me?” sighing, she asked softly “Where is it?”

“Over my shirt.” Sergio nodded towards it, and Raquel turned to reach for it. Turning the simple, delicate watch she'd only seen him take off to sleep over in her hands, Raquel saw how he'd attempt to dried it, although droplets of water had inevitably leaked inside it as she tapped its glass, its hands remaining frozen, still marking the same time from about an hour ago. The engraved quote “a second to remind your reasons” shone as she ran her thumb softly over the back of it.

“We'll ask Aylin if she knows any watchmaker in the village to take a look at it later.” she tells him, turning his hand over to set the watch firmly around his wrist, back where it belonged, planting a soft kiss to his palm before resting their joined hands back over her thigh again “But even if it can't be fixed, it doesn't matter.” she entwined their fingers, squeezed his hand “I'm sure your brother wouldn't care, for he gave it to you so that you'd keep on you as a reminder of himself and your father, not as just one more gift. What matters, carinõ, is that it's become important enough for you to make you dive into the ocean at night just to retrieve it back.”

Leaning her cheek to his arm while watching him mull over her words, she felt how cold and damp his skin felt, how he'd punished himself by seating there and letting shivers consume his exposed chest until now.

“Berlim was…” Sergio shook his head, his voice cracking “Sometimes reminding him is… difficult, complicated. I kept… looking at it, today, over and over, and, I-I don't know, Raquel…” he gulped, turning the watch anxiously around his wrist “ It was hard not to replay his death over and over, I suppose, just at the sight of this. It felt simply so… revolting, unfair. Then next thing I new, I'd already launched it at the waves. And at first… at first it made me feel so damn relieved you wouldn't believe it, Raquel. So, so much.” his tone was raspy, strangled, and he squeezed her hand so firmly it hurt “Until I realised, realised… I couldn't. Shouldn't. Immediately, it was as if this stone-shaped weight settled inside me, heavying me all over, a hundred pounds over my shoulders. It made me regret, then go after after it like the moron I am, so fucking ashamed and hoping I could somehow grasp his memory back-”

“Shhhh.” Her heart ached as she attempted a smile at him, rubbing his arm up and down in attempts of lending him a little of her warmth, at least. Feeling her own eyes filling at the sight of Sergio's shining ones, Raquel cradled his face in her hands, blinking her own tears away “You don't have to feel ashamed, you hear me? It's okay for you not to want to suffer nor carry willingly reminders of your losses around, Sergio. Means you're human. Means it's normal for you to want to run away from bad, painful memories, sometimes. It's perfectly okay…”

Sergio rested his forehead to hers, eyes closed, pulling Raquel to his chest as a tremulous gasp escaped his lips. She tried to keep her eyes open and watching him, but it was proven impossible as Sergio nuzzled his nose to hers, lips brushing softly against her cheek before he buried his face into the space between her neck and shoulder, releasing what it seemed to be a lifetime held breath, warm and heartfelt, against her skin.

Her eyes drifting closed, Raquel hugged him back and let him drown his sorrow inside her arms.

Very soon this morning, soon as the sun peeked at the horizon, she'd woken up suddenly and for no apparent reason to find herself alone in their bed. Missing the usual feel of Sergio's arms wrapped around herself, she'd sat and turned around to see where he'd went, finding his familiar form observing the sunrise by himself at the beach outside. Knowing the occurrence of his nightmares and troubled sleep the past few days very well by then, for she was the one to comfort him and witness him toss and turn, calling out his brother's name in the night, Raquel assumed he needed to clear his head off but didn't want to wake her up.

Nevertheless, she went after him. And wrapped her arms around him from behind as soon as she was close enough, hands sliding to his chest as she glued herself against his back, being able to feel the deep intake of air he took as soon he felt her touch. She'd earned herself a weak smile, Sergio's larger hands finding and grasping hers thankfully as she hugged him tighter, wishing to able to send all his troubles away with something as simple as her presence, alone. Together they stood, until sun rays colored the sand by their bare feet, orange glowing and outlining their joined bodies in soft warmth.

And then Raquel pulled him back towards the house, Sergio following willingly, wrapping himself all around her in return. Soon they no longer walked, but stumbled upon their unmade bed, falling over the mattress together amidst Sergio's pouring ticklish kisses all over her neck and shoulders and Raquel's breathless, relieved laughing out loud.

Their lovemaking was rushed and intense, a frantic ripping of clothes and ablazing hands exploring exposed skin, until Sergio's hips furiously met hers, coaxing shared gasps of relief out of both. Raquel's pent up desire for his touch made her dig scratches with her nails into his back, such was her pleasure, coaxing him into moving, harder, faster, deepest as possible within every thrust inside her until they both reached a sudden, toe-curling climax almost at the same time. Collapsing above her, Sergio's arms enclosured Raquel in a warm cage in which she immediately melted, his lips pressed against the pulsing hollow of her throat as they both struggled to catch their breath. She smiled in contentment, although briefly, once she noticed how tense and still he rested inside her embrace, silent even as she drew lazy shapes over his back with her fingertips, trying to get some actual words out of his mouth to express what had tormented him so much during the night.

Then, finally, as she felt moisture where his cheek had come to rest right above her heart, Sergio breathed his confession in a harsh whisper “He'd been forty-six today.”

And without further words needed, with her heart sinking, Raquel understood. It torn her how little there was she could actually do for him, but to hug him and feel his pain and let him hold onto her, caressing his hair as his silent tears slid between her breasts.

She'd never got to meet Andrés, besides for that brief and mostly unpleasant encounter with him as Berlim back at the heist, but that morning she and Sergio both fell asleep feeling deeply for his loss at heart.

When she'd woken up again, was to the strong smell of Sergio's cologne filling her senses, once during their sleep he apparently had turned on his side and crushed her to himself at some point, entangling his limbs around her in a death grip. Raquel's face glued to his neck, for she honestly felt hotter within the second against his warm body, but soon she found out she didn't bother much, when it was clear by his slow heartbeats Sergio felt deeply comforted and at peace in their sweaty embrace. She was, in fact, just starting to doze off again, lulled by the sound of his regular breathing, when he released her a bit, clearly awake, to cradle her face in his hands and place a lingering kiss on her lips.

“Good morning.” he'd said, smiling, and with that Raquel thought— wanted to believe— his troubled thoughts had ceased tormenting him, at least for today.

And true to his best abilities of putting up a facade, Sergio managed to convince her pretty well with another kiss and the promise of having breakfast ready for her downstairs, before he'd retrieve his glasses by the nightstand and left her hugging a pillow in lieu of his body, to disappear inside their bathroom displaying a relaxed smile on his face. Through the rest of the day, he never mentioned his brother nor the sorrow he'd expressed freely in her arms that morning again.

Raquel never approached the subject either, knowing that Sergio was bound to shyness and embarrassment if pushed into expressing himself prematurely, especially when the control freak inside him reacted so poorly upon having his emotions on check. And so she went along with his good humor and set about watching him closely, instead.

She laughed along Aylin and her mother's silly conversation topics at the breakfast table while accepting the coffee mug he handled her with a quick peck on the lips, watching him with the same moved gratitude of every day as he walked around her chair to deliver Paula's plate first, a smile opening on his face as the little girl approved soundly of her chocolate chips and bunny-shaped pancakes made out of scratch. Raquel even sneaked by the old piano Sergio had pushed against a corner in their living room, later, leaning onto the instrument in silent awe to observe him coaxing her daughter's enthusiasm into actually sitting and learning a few clumsy notes under his patient guidance. Unsurprisingly, she'd almost embarrassed herself by actually tearing up once Paula eagerly started playing the song they've been practicing for about two months now, Sergio's encouraging murmurs making her little girl smile proudly, seemingly suddenly so attentively and mature Raquel wanted nothing but to hug her tightly and never let her grow up.

But, above all, Raquel felt as if she could actually weep if any of them lifted their eyes from the keys long enough to acknowledge her presence there. Because family was the only word she could think of to describe Sergio's hand on Paula's shoulder and the little girl's clear admirance upon him every time he'd smile approvingly when she'd hit the right notes— the two halves of her heart, merging together into actually loving and caring for each other right there before her eyes.

Not for the first time since she'd brought her family to live in Palawan, Raquel felt deeply thankful for Sergio's willingness into making them a part of his life as well. He was such a different man here amongst them, and little by little she saw how he'd started to reveal new sides of his personality just by interacting with them. He no longer was the Professor nor Salva to her, but Sergio instead, a junction of both personalities into this man worth so much more Raquel could see both her daughter and mother starting to discover— and falling in love— for his true self as well.

Right now, being hugged and hugging him equally fiercely back, Raquel wished their newfound love could be enough balsam to relieve the lost of his loved ones somehow. Almost as if sensing her worry, she felt Sergio's chest expand against hers as he sighed very deeply, cupping the back of her head with both hands before finally releasing her, pulling back. She found pain still there in his face, but his eyes were clear once again, albeit intense, his attention solely focused on her in a way that made Raquel's stomach flutter in unexpected butterflies.

“We should get back inside.” he whispered, his features softer, tender, his hands moving to rub her upper arms “You're starting to freeze.”

"You are the only one freezing here, Professor.” deciding they've loathed over sadness enough for today already, Raquel opened a mischievous smirk at him. Smitten, she stole his glass of wine for herself and tossed her head back, emptying it in two gulps. Licking her lips, she left it behind on the sand, very much enjoying the way Sergio's pupils dilated as he watched her, amused.

“I've learned a long time ago that the best way to warm up is being creative.” she said, then leaned in for a kiss Sergio returned so hungrily she moaned against his mouth, coaxing a frustrated groan out of him as soon as she pulled back, smiling, and giggling got to her feet “You can get your old man's ass back inside later, 'cause right now you owe me a dance, Marquina.” she offered him her hands “Moondance is still my top ten Van Morrison favorite, so if you could, you know, get yourself moving while the moon is still out, that'd be great.”

“They'll have to get this engraved on my tombstone.” Sergio shook his head, smiling “Dead by Raquel Murillo's hands. Poor man couldn't say no, they'll say.”

And he grabbed her hands, stood up, resting his own hands around her waist to nuzzle her neck, feeling finally brought out of his own head there against her, happy and alive.

“Funny. Last night it seemed I was handling you just fine, no?” Raquel whispered by his ear, putting her arms around his neck.

Sergio laughed into her hair “Oh, you've got low tactics, Inspectora. Very low.”

“Anything's fair in love and negotiation, Professor. I didn't invent that.”

“Wrong quote. Great point, though.” he whispered, then nibbled her ear, chuckling when she gasped and pushed her hips automatically against his.

“W-Why aren't we moving?” Raquel stuttered, actually a bit flushed “Dancing and standing aren't the same thing, you know.”

“Oh, I do.” Sergio took one of her hands in his, pulled her closer and pushed back to beam a smug smirk at her “I told you before I never enjoyed dancing, but I did grow up with Andrés by my side, you know. He'd coax me into waltzing him more times than I'd like to admit, and I'll let you know I happened to get very good at it, Murillo.”

He winked at her and started swaying on his feet, gently guiding her along. Unable to stop herself, Raquel smiled wide, gasping and laughing in delight as Sergio unexpectedly spun her around, bringing her breathlessly back to his chest with a laugh of his own.

“You're not so bad, I admit it.” she breathed against his ear, heartbeats happily pounding, her chin over his shoulder as she tried to catch her breath. Closing her eyes, she wished they could spend the whole night like this, blissful and lost in their own world.

“Well, I was taught well.” Sergio spun them in lazy circles, putting her messy hair behind her ear “My brother would come back from the dead just to wack me on the head if I'd embarrass myself in front of a pretty girl like you, Inspectora.”

“Pretty girl, huh?”

“Yes, very pretty. Hot, too. Naughty. And oh, so horny sometimes…”

She slapped him playfully on the chest.

“That's a good comment to reflect about on the couch, you know.”

“You think? 'Cause I think some punishing sex would teach me a better lesson-”

She silenced him with a kiss, one that escalated very quickly, up until they stopped swaying to devour each other's mouths, breathing loudly and eating one another's moans, the freezing ocean breeze ignored around them once hands caressed and burned every bit of exposed skin there was to be touched. Sergio was almost lifting off her feet when Raquel pulled back, breathlessly, resisting the need to wrap her legs around his waist.

“Let's get back inside.”

“But I thought you wanted a dance first.” Sergio murmured, showering her jaw line in languid kisses “I was starting to feel rather fond of this new dancing style, to be honest…”

“Sergio.” Raquel protested, faintly and barely audible as her eyes tended to roll every time his mouth touched her skin “Carinõ, I'd love to, but if we keep dancing with your hands wandering in this pace, soon enough both Ailyn and my mother will be able to spot my bare ass from all the way inside the house.” she wrinkled her nose, reminding a few near-misses in her teenage days “And trust me, she wouldn't let us hear the end of it anytime soon…”

“Alright, alright. Back inside.” Sergio sighed, releasing her to gather his shirt from where he'd left it in the sand and hurry back to her side so fast Raquel giggled, before he grabbed her hand and pulled them to the house “Let's go. Don't stop or make eye contact, or else they'll make questions!”

His seriousness made her laugh harder as they entered the house, Sergio pulling her behind himself like a man on a mission. They crossed the living room and went for the stairs like teenagers on a secret relationship, sneaking into the bedroom instead of out of it, while hoping the women inside the kitchen wouldn't catch them on sight. Her mother's sharp instincts, however, were not to be underestimated, and soon they heard her shout:

“Don't forget to dry yourselves, otherwise you'll catch a cold!”

Laughing at Sergio's deer on the highlights looks, Raquel called back “Don't worry, Mamá!”

As she heard Marivi's and Aylin's amused laughter downstairs, Raquel guided a flustered Sergio towards their room, thinking a cold wouldn't be a price so high to pay for all she could've expected from a dance under the moonlight with the man she loved, and more.

[sabine-leo]

A smile to remember

Chapter 17

Author: @sabine-leo

Chapter: 17 /?  

Genre: Fluff, Humor, Romance

Special Guests: Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, RDJ

Note: I really do hope you have a good read with this one!! Can´t wait to see and read what you think!!

Back at the hotel you dropped of Dylan at Sarah´s room and after talking to her for a little while you went back into your room. Tom couldn´t stay with you at Sarah´s, he had to be at a farewell dinner with the producers and his co-stars. After relaxing a little on the bed, you took a look outside from your balcony. The sun was setting and the sky was painted in the most beautiful colours you had seen in a while. The pool lights illuminated and you decided to go take a swim in that beautiful scenery.

 Dressed in your bathing suit and a loose dress you went downstairs and took a dip after discarding of your clothes and towel on a sun lounger. The water was nice. A little on the cooler side. Perfect to refresh yourself. You swam some laps before leaning back at the edge of the pool and looked into the sky as the sun set completely. Stars soon appeared and sprinkled the black firmament.

 After his dinner Tom went to his room, but soon found himself unable to stay away from you.

He was seconds away from knocking on your door as Evans opened his.

“She´s not home!” He grinned. Toms eyes narrowed.

“Well, how would you know?”

“Cause I took a look outside after getting here!”

Evans opened his door and motioned for Tom to follow him. On his balcony he pointed down.

“Wasn´t hard to spot her, she´s a beauty!”

 Tom smiled a little while watching you. “Yes, she is. And she has a beautiful soul!”

“Geez, Hiddleston. Stop that prince charming attitude with me, I´ve seen the way you looked at her. You clearly want to be a hell of a lot less gentlemanly then you let us all believe!” Tom rolled his eyes but laughed. “Maybe Chris, but I´m not like you…sometimes I can´t help myself.” Chris grinned.

“Well, if you wanna watch from the side-line, be my guest…I think I´d like to take a dip in the pool now!”

 That jolted Tom awake. He new Chris was yanking his chain, but it worked…again.

“You will not leave this room to go to the pool!”

Evans came nose to nose with Tom… at least he tried.

“Who´s gonna stop me?” 

The glint in Toms eyes was very like his alter-egos.

“I would, but I have places to be!” And with that he left. 

Evans grinned and gave himself a high five.

 Tom didn´t bother to change out of his suit yet and he sure as hell wouldn´t take that detour now. Who knows what Evans would do otherwise? He just beelined it to the pool area. Taking of his light blue suit-jacket, his shoes and socks and throwing it next to your stuff. He rolled up the hem of his trousers and sat down at the edge of the pool with his feet inside the water. You were just about to finish your lap as you saw to legs dip into the water. Your head surfaced and a gorgeous smile nearly drowned you again.

 “Hello darling.” Tom looked at you.

God he was handsome. His light blue trousers, the white dress-shirt a little unbuttoned and the water lights reflecting in his eyes made you almost sigh in bliss.

“Hey, dinner all over already?” you asked as nonchalant as possible.

“Yes, plus I could think of better places to be!” He smirked. You swam the rest of the way and took a hold on the ledge next to him. 

“Like where?” you asked teasing.

Tom splashed water your way and laughed. “Like here silly!”

“I would be very cautious with your next words…you could be wet in just a second Mister!”

Tom threw his head back laughing. “I couldn´t care less, but we have an audience it seems.”

You looked at him but then you saw them in the corner of your eye. On Evans balcony you saw three men. Evans, Hemsworth and Cumberbatch were eating Popcorn and watching you. “Go for it Hiddleston! Dip in!!” Came a catcall. You laughed and shook your head.

“I can´t imagine the work the directors do have with you lot!”

 Tom grinned and was about to shout something back as RDJ joined the 3 on the balcony, but instead of cheering them on he seemed to have a heart to heart with them, shooing them inside.

“Come with me darling!” he said softly and got up. Tom grabbed your towel and held it out.

You hoisted yourself out of the water to a little gasp of Tom and soon he wrapped you in the towel.

 “Let´s take a walk…or do you want to dry yourself up completely first?”

You shook your head and after rubbing yourself down a bit you put on the dress.

“It´s still so warm, that is more then enough to wear.”

Tom took your hand in his, lifted it to his mouth and kissed it softly.

“Then come with me love!”

 This new endearment made your heart sing.

Tom led you away from the pool area, away from the hotel and those prying ears and eyes with entwined hands. A little sandy path took you down to the private beach of the hotel. The stars and the moon sending more than enough light to find your way. You walked in silence for a while before you started talking about the day. How much fun it was to see Dylan so happy and how cute he had been falling asleep after tackling you.

 Somewhere along the way you stopped and sat down in the warm sand. Tom came down behind you. Tucking you close between his legs and wrapping you in his arms. “That ok for you?” He asked softly near your ear. You smiled and nodded “Yes, Thomas I like being near you..you don´t have to ask!”  That seemed to give Tom the confidence he needed. The sparkles between you had been obvious. At least his co-stars had let him know in their teasing way at dinner as Evans later had done too.

 For a while you sat there in silence. Cuddled up to each other just watching the sea and the stars. Listening to the waves crash at shore and the faint sound of some party going on some miles down. The wind carrying the laughter your way now and then. Tom started to stroke your arms with his fingers, before he put your hair to one side and kissed your neck. 

“I´m so glad you came here.”

He murmured. The vibrations of his voice and his soft lips on your skin made you shiver.

 Slowly you craned your neck and closed your eyes. Trying to enjoy every fleeting second of this contact. You didn´t have it in you anymore to be responsible and stay on the safe side of this friendship. The chemistry, the energy between you was too good to ignore any longer.

“Darling…” he whispered, shifting a little and placing a big hand on your cheek, pushing it into your hair and turning your head oh so slowly. You opened your eyes to look directly into his beautiful orbs. His nose softly nudging yours. The smile he beamed at you took your breath away for a second, but then his gaze became so intense that you really had trouble breathing. His hand stroked down to your neck, his nose nudged yours again before he tilted his head just a little. “Let me.” He almost growled.

 Your eyes fluttered shut and the suspense was killing you. Every damn nerve cell was about to fire up and explode into a thousand pieces. His breath kissed your skin first…and then his lips descended on yours. Closing the final gap. 

His hand held you near and his lips were so soft and sweet that a sigh escaped your mouth. Tom smiled and looked into your eyes for a second. You smiled too, but then you both lost yourself in another kiss. Slowly getting to know each other like that.

 His tongue teased your lips softly and your lips started to part on their own accord. A little moan from Tom let the kiss get deeper. His hand grabbed your hip and you instantly knew what he wanted. Without breaking the kiss you turned to kneel between his legs. Tom wrapped you in his arms. One hand holding your head softly before he brought you down on the sand again.  

 Crawling along your body he just stopped the kiss to look into your eyes and verify you were comfortable. Your hands pulled him down stroking his muscled back caressing his neck. One of his legs came down between yours pressing against your core. “Tom!” you gasped. He laughed a deep and very sexy laugh. “I´m so not sorry sweetheart! I love the noises I can coax out of you!”

You laughingly pinched his firm butt. Tom groaned and pinned both your hands above your head into the sand with one of his. “Behave darling…otherwise I´ll have trouble getting up in a minute. Actually...I might have already...”

 You grinned and lifted your head to initiate another kiss. He tasted so good. So purely Tom, so intoxicating. Your pupils were clearly dilated. You kissed each other into a state of pure bliss before you needed to breathe again. The kinda drugged look you gave each other made you both laugh. Slowly Tom lifted himself up whit another kiss and held out his hands for you. You let him pull you up and steel another kiss from your lips. 

“Your hair is full of sand…I´m so sorry!” He said sweetly.

“I´m not!” you grinned. “So worth it!” That made him laugh and stroke your cheek.

“Let’s get back before they send out a search party, or worse search us themselves!”

Hand in hand you walked back to the hotel and picked up the items you left behind on the sun lounger. In the elevator Tom leaned in and said 

“Meet me in my room in half an hour? I want you to stay the night..” He tucked you close and kissed you. “I don´t want to rush this, us…and I promise you that we will go slow…but I don´t want to spend the night without you.” His honesty was so disarmingly sweet. You too didn´t know where this would lead but you knew for sure that you wanted to be with him.

Nodding you smiled and got of the elevator. Tom threw you a kiss and smirked as the door closed. You needed to lean on the wall for a moment, your legs weak and your heart jumping out of your chest. Back in your room you took a quick shower to get rid of the sand and dressed in short shorts and t-shirt. You packed some things for the night and the next morning and quietly closed your door again.

Softly knocking on Toms door 2 minutes later you waited just a second before he opened bare-chested and in a low sitting sports pants.  Oh, this was so unfair. How could he look so hot in a suit AND like that? Your gaze appreciatively travelled up and down which made Tom laugh slowly before grabbing you and pulling you against him.

“I had a shower too, I wanted to dress properly but you were faster than me…”

You grinned a little wicked and repeated his words from the beach.

“I´m so not sorry!”  The look he gave you was hot and longing, his blue eyes sparkling with flames as his lips descended down to your ear. He began to kiss the spot right under your earlobe which made you shiver and moan a little. “Tom!” You whispered softly. He inhaled deeply and his chest rumbled in appreciation while he fumbled blindly and nudged the door close.

@theoneanna @shegatsby @wabisabigrl @everything-is-awesomesauce @drakesfiance @spoopyfoxxtropical @yokaimoon @kjjazzy23@confessionsofastrugglingteen @shinebrightlikeafanbase

[video-killed-the-radio-host]

Heartbeats on the Airwaves chapter 9

Well this ended up being longer than I planned. Oops.

@acealex-blueiguana

@mrtacothethird

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After Kevin was stitched up and checked over, he was sent home to rest. Cecil sits in the waiting room waiting for Carlos to come out so they can leave. He wraps his arms around himself, Kevin’s words running through his head. He started down at his returned ring. He didn’t look up when he heard footsteps. He doesn’t look up when he felt someone sit down beside him.

“Hey.” Carlos says softly. “You okay?”

“No. Cecil answers honestly. “I feel dirty.”

“Cecil, he did it to protect you.”

“He shouldn’t have had to!”

“If he hadn’t, you might be dead right now.” Carlos whispers.

Cecil looks away. “I know.” He looks back. “I’m scared. What if he comes after me? Or worse. Goes after you?”

“I’ll kick his ass before I ever let him touch you again. I don’t care if I lose my license.”

“Carlos no. Its not worth it. You’ve worked so hard to be where you are today, and I don’t want to ruin that….”

“Cecil, you are worth loosing everything. I don’t care what it takes to keep you safe. Because I love you.”

“But- “

Carlos leans over and presses a kiss to Cecil’s lips. “You are.”

Cecil sighs a little, knowing that arguing with the other was pointless on this subject. “I love you too.”

“Come on. Let’s get you home. It’s been a long night.”

Cecil just gives a quiet nod and stands, holding out his hand. Carlos takes it and stands, pulling Cecil close and kissing him gently. “We will get through this. Me and you.”

“I hope you’re right.” Cecil nuzzles into the crook of Carlos’ neck. He closes his eyes and exhales softly.

“I am right. You’ll see.”

“Could you maybe stop being cocky and just take me home?”

Carlos laughs softly and nods. “Let’s go.” He steps back and takes Cecil’s hand, leading him out the door.

The drive home was spent in a comfortable silence. Carlos’ hand rested on Cecil’s knee, rubbing back and forth with his thumb. The warmth and motion were comforting. Cecil let the tension fall from his body and leans back, closing his eyes.

“Carlos?”

“Hm?”

“I don’t tell you enough how much I love you.” Cecil opens his eyes and looks over at his fiancé. “I love you more than anything.”

Carlos glances over. “I love you too. You are the light of my life. My moon. My sun.” He squeezes his hand a little, making Cecil blush. “What brought this on, may I ask?”

“Listening to Kevin earlier……It made me realize that we have no idea what could happen. We can lose everything in a split second. I want you to know how much I love you. In case something happens to me.” Cecil rubs the back of his neck with one hand. “I want you to know that I love you more than anything. You are amazing. Never forget that.”

Carlos pulls into the driveway and turns off the car before answering. He unbuckles and turns in his seat, facing the other man. “Look at me.” He says gently.

Cecil keeps his eyes glued to his hands, folded in his lap. His eyes dart up in surprise when Carlos hooks two fingers under his chin and tilt his face up.

“Look at me.” He says once again.

Cecil licks his lips and nods a little.

“Cecil, you are more important than anyone on this planet to me. I will go to hell and back to protect you. I would swim a million miles for a glance of your face. I would climb the highest mountain just to hear your voice. Hell, I’d spend ten years in a desert otherworld if it meant I could come home to you.”

Cecil opens his mouth to protest but Carlos put a finger to his lips.

“I’m not done.”

Cecil closes his mouth and Carlos smiles. “I would lay down my life, give up my medical license, walk across broken glass and hot nails barefoot for you. Your safety and happiness are the most important thing to me. You are my whole world. I love you, Mi Alma, Mi Vida, Mi Corazon.”

Carlos moves his finger and presses a kiss to Cecil’s lips. “You are the center of my universe. Never forget that.”

Cecil leans back over for one last kiss. “I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll take it.” Carlos smiles softly. He pulls opens his door. “Let’s get you inside. I know you haven’t eaten yet.”

Cecil follows in suit with a snort. “You’re one to talk, doctor man.”

“Hey. Do as I say and not as I do. That’s our motto at work.”

“If I have to take care of myself, so do you.”

Carlos huffs a little. “Fine. But only cause it’s you.”

“Damn straight.” Cecil nods, taking Carlos’ hand and starting up the walk. Carlos trailed behind him and pulls away long enough to unlock the door.

“Come on. I’ll make you dinner.”

“Nothing big. I don’t really have an appetite.” Cecil says, slipping his shoes off near the door.

“It’s been a long day. You need a good meal.”

“I’m tired.”

“I need you to eat Ceec. Please?”

Cecil quietly follows Carlos to the kitchen. He sits on a bar stool and watches Carlos move around the kitchen, humming to himself. “Tell me about your day?” He asks.

“Well, some interns got in a fist fight. An attending got caught sleeping with a patient. Drama, drama, drama. But I was about to cut out a huge tumor.” Carlos waves his knife a little as he talked, making Cecil chuckle. “It was the size of my fist! But The guy is fine. Really nice guy. Teaches music at the college.”

Cecil slips off the stool and rounds the counter, wrapping his arms around Carlos’ waist and resting his chin on the shorter man’s shoulder. “Mm.”

“It took almost seven hours.”

“It baffles me that you and keep yourself concentrated for that long.”

“Not all of us get distracted by shiny objects.” Carlos teases.

Cecil nips at him. “Not all of us can stab people to life either.”

Carlos turns his head a little. “You are not allowed near knives any more if you keep talking like that.”

“It is essentially what you do, is it not?”

Carlos sighs, then holds up a fork. “Open.”

Cecil obeys, closing his eyes. His lips close around the fork and he hums in satisfaction. “Chicken…garlic…. lemon grass?” He guesses, opening his eyes.

“You forgot thyme.” Carlos says. “But three out of four is pretty good.”

“Oh no! Look at the thyme!” Cecil cackles loudly.

Carlos just rolls his eyes and hands him a plate of chicken and carrots. “Eat.”

Cecil takes the plate and sits back down on the bar stool. “You have to eat too.”

“I am, I am.” Carlos joined him, leaning against the counter across from where Cecil sat. “See?”

Cecil kept his eyes clued to Carlos’ face until he started to eat, before smiling and starting to eat himself. The meal is shared in the same comfortable silence from the car. It was a moment of understanding. Of love and healing. Cecil finishes first. He was hungrier than he originally thought. He pushes the plate aside and watches Carlos eat, not even annoyed at how loud his chewing was. It didn’t matter. Not in this moment. Possibly not at all.

+

Two weeks later

+

Cecil blinks awake when Carlos presses a kiss to his forehead.

“Mm... What time is it?” He asked, sitting up and reaching for his glasses.

“It’s eight thirty. You need to get up or you’ll be late. You don’t want to deal with Lauren lecturing you again, do you?” Carlos teases.

Cecil makes a face. “Don’t even joke about that.”

“Well, sooner you get there, sooner you can get home. We have a date tonight.”

Cecil’s face lights up. “Happy Anniversary.”

“And to you. Now get dressed. I’ll drop you off.”

Cecil half rolls off the bed, falling into the floor before heading to the closet. He pulls down the purple dress shirt that Carlos called the purple shirt of sex. He digs out a cream-colored tie and carries them plus a pair of slacks to the bed. He shrugs out of his sleep clothes and gets dressed, forgoing the vest today. The door opens as he drapes the tie around his neck. Carlos crosses the room and comes to a stop in front of him.

“Let me.” He says.

Cecil drops his hands and tilts his head back. Carlos works quickly, tying the tie perfectly. Cecil looks back down at Carlos, his lips slightly parted. Taking the silent cue, Carlos pulls him close by the tie and kisses him deeply.

“We have to go.” Cecil murmurs.

Carlos gives a soft whine but nods, pulling away. “If we must.”

Carlos nods and heads for the door, stopping only to grab his bag. The coffee shop wasn’t far, so Carlos drops him there, apologizing that he couldn’t come in. Cecil just gives him a kiss and tells him it’s alright.

“I’ll see you tonight.” He says, climbing out.

“I love you.”

“Love you too. Go help some people today.”

Cecil strolls into the station with an easy smile. He looks around but sees no Lauren, which is always a plus. He does however, spot Dana near the coffee machine and makes his way over.

“Oh, someone looks dapper.” She teases.

“I have a date tonight.” Cecil blushes a little.

“Like a date date or a date?” She asked with a mischievous smirk.

“Dana!” He smacks her arm.

“Oh!” She laughs. “I knew it!”

Before Cecil could answer, the happy atmosphere was sucked from the room with the sharp click of heels. Cecil groans into his coffee and downs it before turning around. He now stood face to face with the person everyone in the station hoped to avoid. Well, not quite face to face, due to Cecil being half a foot taller.

“Ms. Mallard. How may I help you?”

“Bank robbery on fifth. Go cover it.”

Cecil bites back a retort and just nods.

“Oh, and Cecil? Try not to get shot this time. The paperwork is dreadful.”

Cecil could feel Dana boiling behind him and reaches back to put a hand on her arm. This woman isn’t worth it. Cecil held eye contact as he fights back the urge to smack this woman. Lauren just gives a dark smile and walks away. “Take a crew with you!” She calls over her shoulder.

Cecil lets Dana go and takes a deep breath. Dana is still fuming beside him.

“God, I hate that woman.”

“I know Dana.”

“I wish she’d die in a ditch.”

“I know Dana.”

“I am going to do something about it!”

“Dana no.” Cecil looks at her. “Because you don’t know what she’ll do to you. And you’re the only one here that I feel safe around. Plus, you can’t be my best man if you’re in jail.”

“You are lucky I love you Palmer.”

“I know Dana.” Cecil chuckles and hugs her. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Hey Mendez!” Rochelle calls from across the attendings lounge. Carlos looks up from the chart he was reading.

“What’s up?”

“Your boyfriend’s on TV!”

Carlos joins her, looking up at the mounted TV.

“There appear to be three hostages inside, but no children. The robbers are armed and very dangerous-”

“God damnit Lauren!” Carlos yells at the screen as Cecil keeps reporting. The news cuts to a woman that Carlos recognized as Dana, Cecil’s best friend.

“That is the report given an hour ago. Cecil Palmer has now been taken hostage, in exchange for the other hostages. He will only be realized when the demands are met. There is a bomb planted inside. The bomb squad is on its way. We will keep you updated as the situation unfolds.”

Carlos’ blood ran cold. Then he saw red. This was her fault.

“Carlos, where are you going?”

Carlos faces her. “Think about it. Cecil was in danger of dying exactly a year apart because of his idiot boss. I’m going to confront her.”

“Carlos, don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t. I’m just going to have a talk. Page me if I’m needed.”

And with that, he was out the door.

Carlos finds Lauren sitting in the main room of the station, watching the newscast.

“Lauren.” He says coldly. “We need to talk.”

She turns. “Ah! Mr. Mendez! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Dr. Mendez.” Carlos corrects. “And you need to stop sending Cecil to risk his life.”

“He’s a reporter. He’s doing his job.” She says, with an eerie grin.

“You’re trying to get him killed!”

“If he gets killed in the line of duty, oh well.” She shrugs.

Carlos fought the urge to strangle her right then. She wasn’t worth losing his license over. A loud noise draws Carlos’ attention to the TV. His stomach dropped and his heart nearly stopped. The bank had exploded. Lauren’s face was blank, unreadable. Carlos growls and runs down, pulling his phone to call Rochelle.

Cecil wakes yet again, in the hospital. He had a weird sense of deja vu, but at least this time he didn't get shot. He was cold and hot at the same time. His arms were tingly.

“Carlos? “He asked, his voice rough, his throat burning. It was likely damaged due to the explosion.

“I’m here.” Carlos stands and takes his hand.

“I hope this isn’t a yearly thing.” Cecil muses, closing his eyes. A dark bruise was prominent against the tall man’s pale face. “Please don’t smack me this time. I’m not dying.” He smiles a little.

Carlos huffs a laugh. “I’m glad. I couldn’t live without you.” He presses a gently kiss to Cecil’s lips.

+

Lauren crosses her legs as she answered her phone, a scowl on her face.

“You failed. Again. How hard is it to kill one man?” She scoffs. She listens to the excuses starting to come but cuts them off. “Fine. I’ll do it myself.”

She hangs up and leaves the building, hailing a cab.

“Where to, ma’am?”

“Mercy Eastern Hospital, please.” Lauren answers, her jaw clenched, yet determined.

+

Carlos hadn’t left Cecil’s bedside since he woke up. Cecil wasn’t complaining but the man looked exhausted. He carefully slid over and pats the bed.

“Lay with me?”

He knew there was no way he could convince Carlos to go sleep so maybe this would help.

Carlos quirked a smile. “Is this you trying to trick me into sleeping?”

“Maybe. But I want to be close to you. I almost died today and that means I deserve cuddles.”

Carlos gives a huff of mock annoyance but smiles and climbs into the bed next to him. Cecil immediately folds around him, best he could. He lays his head on Carlos’ chest and looks up.

“I can feel you thinking. What's on your mind?” He asks softly.

Carlos reaches down and entwines their fingers. “Ever since you got shot, I'm always worrying about you.” He pauses and kisses Cecil's knuckle. “And I know that in your line of work, you get sent all kinds of places, but it kills me that I can't protect you.”

Cecil opens his mouth to protest but Carlos goes on.

“But when I see you reporting, I see how happy you are. You have a……. glow about you. It's truly beautiful. Because this is what you're meant to do. I'm not asking you to give up what you love, I'd never, ever, do that. But….” He sighs a little. “The most important thing to me is your safety. And Lauren-”

“I don't trust her Carlos.” Cecil whispers. Cecil's expression broke Carlos’ heart. He was terrified of this woman. Carlos couldn't even begin to imagine what happened inside the bank.

“I think she's trying to kill me, and I think the guys at the bank worked for her.”

“Did they do something to you?” Carlos asked, his brain going through terrible situations.

“Nothing I won't survive.” Cecil says, waving his hand a little. Carlos knew there was more to that statement but didn’t want to pry when Cecil was so vulnerable. ”I've learned to read people. For my job. And I pick up on things. Like how your smile spreads from left to right when you find something funny but right to left when you're excited or joyful.” He pauses, touching Carlos’ cheek. “She hates me. I know that much. But does she hate me enough to kill me?”

“I wish I knew the answer.” Carlos says softly. “But I really don't know.”

Before Cecil reply, Carlos’ pager went off, making Cecil jump and then whimper in pain. Carlos cursed softly and reaches for it, reading the message.

“It's 911. Dammit.” He looks at Cecil. “I can have someone else to handle it-”

“Go.” Cecil says softly with a smile. “I'll be here when you get done. I'm fine. Someone needs you to save them.”

Carlos kisses his lips gently. “I'll be back as soon as I can.”

“I'll be here.”

Cecil nods and lays his head back, closing his eyes. He listens as Carlos leaves the room, relaxing slowly.

He was almost asleep when he heard a distinct click of heels against the tile floor. His eyes snap open and his breath catches in his throat as he sees Lauren standing over him. He starts to tremble at the sight. It was like something out of a nightmare.

“Cecil, you are a very hard man to kill, despite having all the grace of a drunk cat.” She tsked.

Cecil tried to call out, but his voice was shot. The only sound that came out was a dry whisper.

“Looks like you have to shut up for once in your life.” She muses. “I wish I could enjoy it.”

She pulls a small vial from her pocket and holds it up. “Do you know what Batrachotoxin Cecil is?” She asks. She picks up a needle and fills it, holding the needle up to the light. Then she continues. “It's one of the deadliest poisons in the world.”

Reaching over, she yanks out the IV, making Cecil give a cry of pain. She then jabs the needle into his arm, despite him trying to fight her off. His limbs were still shaky from the explosion.

Batting his hand away, she pushes the stopper down.

“First you'll go numb. Then your muscles will deteriorate. Then your heart will fail. Then the rest of your organs. Last is your brain.”

Once the needle was empty, she pulls it out and gives a grin. “Isn't it amazing?”

Cecil gasped, choking.

“Well, I wish I could say it's been fun, but you've been a giant pain in my ass. Good riddance.” She smirks and leaves the room. Cecil barely managed to fumble with the nurse call button before he blacked out.

+.

Carlos paces the waiting room, his mind going through all kinds of situations before one of the other doctors comes out. He stops and gives them a hopeful look.

“Is he okay?”

“He's alive.” The unspoken 'for now’ hung in the air between them.

“What happened?”

“He was dosed with an extremely lethal poison. He is in a medically induced coma to give his body a chance to try and flush it out.”

“Will he be okay?”

“Only time will tell.”

[gold-from-straw]

Full story on AO3 - chapter 1, 2, 3, 4

Chapter 5

They walked back towards Credence’s house together, hands linked and soft words shared in the cold air. The ground was frosty beneath their trainers, and when he kissed him goodbye Credence’s nose was chilly against Harry’s cheek. He reluctantly tugged the hoodie off and bundled it into Harry’s arms, shivering until he could pull that mockery of a jacket back on. Harry bit his lip and squeezed the hoodie, wishing he could make it better.

“I’ll see you in a couple of days,” said Credence, kissing him once more. “I… um. I. Harry, I lo… um. Happy Christmas.”

He turned with a wave and almost ran down the street before Harry could remind him that they’d see each other before the twenty-fifth. “Happy Christmas,” he said instead. He hugged the hoodie close, catching the smell and warmth Credence had left behind on it - it wasn’t like anyone was around to see - and walked down the next street to the Weasleys’.

Fred opened the door when he knocked. “All right, Hazza?”

He grinned. “Hi, Fred.”

“Mum! The waif’s here, let the feeding begin!”

Harry followed Fred, got his back thumped unnecessarily hard by George, waved to Ginny and winced as she waved back and dropped the hockey stick she’d been balancing on her chin. Percy yelled at Ginny, she yelled back, Mr Weasley nodded and smiled serenely, and Bill, visiting for the holiday from London, bounced downstairs and nearly knocked Harry over.

“Oof, sorry, kid. Ron, Harry’s here!” And he was gone before Harry could stutter out a greeting to one of his earliest crushes.

“Oh, Harry dear, come in,” said Mrs Weasley, giving him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. “My goodness, you’re half staved! Dinner will be ready in half an hour, do you want a sausage roll to tide you over?”

“I’d like a sausage roll,” said George.

“Me too,” Fred added, and they peered over his shoulder, resting their bony chins on him.

“Not for you, guests only,” she scolded, flapping at them with her tea towel.

“Terrible,” said Fred, shaking his head.

“See how she treats us?”

“Like afterthoughts—“

“—less important than guests—“

“—her own beloved children!”

“Cast out like so much unwanted rubbish—“

“—like the little match girl—“

“—starving orphans—“

“—Oliver Twist—“

“Oh, do get out, will you? Stop filing the poor boy’s head with your rot!”

A hand reached between the twins and Mrs Weasley and tugged Harry away, pulling him upstairs. “All right, mate? Sorry about that.”

“Oh, no,” he laughed. “Your family’s brilliant.”

He snorted. “They’re bloody annoying, that’s what they are. How was your date?”

Harry blushed and couldn’t stop the smile creeping wider and wider across his cheeks. “Yeah, good, thanks.”

Ron smirked. “You’re so bloody soppy, mate.”

“Oi!” he said shoving Ron’s shoulder. “Speak for yourself - ‘oh, Hermione’s so smart, she’s so beautiful, the way the sun glints off her hair when it sticks up in just the right way, the’ - ooff!”

Ron tackled him onto the airbed and tickled him until he was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe. He managed to get his legs under control and kicked him off so he fell back against the drawers, giggling. Harry had to take his glasses off to wipe the tears away. “Arse.”

Ron just threw a pillow at him. “Damn. I meant to bring up the spare duvet.”

“We’ll get it later.” He hauled himself up to the skylight and leaned out, his breath curling up in white clouds.

“Aww, c’mon, mate, it’s cold,” Ron moaned. “You can gaze into your boyfriend’s back garden when the sun’s up.”

Harry hummed reluctantly. He couldn’t see much anyway, the Barebone house was dark, almost brooding. He didn’t remember paying much attention to that house before Credence moved in - surely he’d have noticed it looking that… malevolent before? He shivered as he dropped back in, pushing the skylight shut.

All through dinner he thought of the cold, silent house, the perfectly manicured lawn that reminded him of another in Surrey. As the Weasleys argued and swore at each other and laughed and broke into song, listening to cheesy Christmas music, Harry found himself imagining another dark-haired, scrawny boy, squeezed in between redheads. There was never enough space around the Weasley table, but somehow, there was always room for one more.

***

He couldn’t sleep that night, tossing and turning on the creaky air bed while Ron snored. It was almost too warm in the little attic room, and Harry had never had a regular sleep pattern. Eventually he got up and crept out, the duvet draped loosely over his shoulders.

There was a window with a wide sill on the landing below, and he piled the books and mugs and general accumulated tat of nine family members on the floor, placing it in perfect order so he could return it just as it was later. The sill was wide enough for him to crawl right onto - he and Ginny were the only ones still small enough to do so. He leaned against the cold glass and stared out of the window.

The moon had risen, a silver light saturating the town from above, and orange from the lampposts below. He could still just see into Credence’s garden, and he wondered which room was his, if he was asleep. If he was safe.

He frowned and peered through the glass. He was sure he’d seen movement over by a shrub in the corner. But he didn’t think there’d been any shrubs at all in the Barebone’s garden, just lawn.

There it was again! Harry sat up, his heart pounding and the duvet falling off his shoulders, because he was sure that wasn’t a shrub at all.

He raced upstairs and climbed onto Ron’s bed, pulling the skylight open and leaning out.

“Mate?” Ron said sleepily, shifting and rubbing his eyes. “What’re you doing? Fuck, it’s freezing!”

“Credence is in the garden.”

Ron groaned and covered his face with a pillow. “So what?”

“Ron, he’s in the garden, crouched in the corner and all curled up, he’s freezing.”

“What?” Ron frowned up at him.

“I think he’s in trouble.”

He stood next to Harry, pushing the skylight open further to take his extra height. “I don’t see him.”

“That black blob in the corner - there, he moved!”

“Bloody hell,” Ron said, rubbing his eyes hard. “What’s he doing there? He’s gonna freeze.”

“What if he’s… what if this is a punishment?” Harry turned to him, wide eyed. “What if his mum found out about us?”

“What? Nah, she wouldn’t.”

Harry didn’t wait to explain abusive families to someone who’d only ever known love. He pulled his hoodie on over his pyjamas and ran downstairs.

He was getting his trainers on when Ron joined him, and held out Credence’s Christmas hoodie. Harry took it, a smile blooming across his face.

[pinksausageduo]

our night, our memories

member: lai guanlin  genre: fluff summary: you go on a trip to taipei with your favourite group of 11 guys but of course a trip is nothing without a little romance, a confession and swimming at midnight requested: yes

you couldn’t believe it you were on a plane to taipei 

especially with your favourite group of 11 guys 

you brightly grin at one of your best friends, guanlin 

and he gives you his signature gummy smile, you could see how happy he was to return to his hometown

“we’re grinning like idiots you know?” you say jokingly

“do i care? nope. i’m on a plane with my favourite girl in the world to my favourite place in the world” he says brightly

you blush at his words feeling super gooey

you scold yourself, no y/n he means it as a friend nothing more

you look around and see the ruckus the guys were making

all the guys and you were all on a school trip to taipei

everyone taking the language courses gets to go on a trip 

guanlin basically made all his hyungs and of course you sign up to go to taipei, no one could resist his begging and puppy dog eyes

luckily no one else had signed up to go to taipei and since you were such a small group, they assigned jisung, one of the TAs and basically the mum of the group to look after you all during the trip

you were over the moon when you found out it'll only be the 12 of you

but even with all of your excitement, you were exhausted

you had 2 exams the day of your departure and you studied all night cramming all the information in

you didn’t realise but you dozed off, accidentally ending up with your head leaning on guanlin’s shoulder

guanlin slightly jumped as he felt your head on his shoulder

he smiled sweetly at the sight of you sleep, he made sure not to disrupt your sleep knowing how exhausted you were

as you slept, you snored lightly making him chuckle at how adorable you were

and of course seongwoo filmed you for blackmail material

you also drooled a little but instead of being disgusted at it, guanlin made sure to wipe it off with a tissue

he was glad he could take care of you for once since you always took care of you

seongwoo, daniel and jaehwan like the cheeky immature pricks they were

turned to face you sleeping and guanlin and basically made kissy faces at you two before singing teasingly

“guanlin and y/n sitting in the tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g”

just imagine jaehwan singing that like super nicely ugh i love his voice sm

you half woke up from their annoying antics and was pissed off since they disturbed you you know that state where you’re awake but you’re not yeah that’s the state you were in

you threw a pillow and seongwoo’s face then retorted half pissed off half amused

“we are on a plane not a tree, and does it look like i’m kissing guanlin i’m sleeping you blind immature brats”

guanlin muttered under his breath “i wish we were kissing”

you accidentally heard and blushed so red, he didn’t realise you heard

your mind was going haywire

you liked him so much you have for so long and he likes you

WHAT DO I DO?? you brain was basically screaming 

you were snapped out of your thoughts by seongwoo saying in a baby like voice “oooo y/n getting angry, us three leave” 

then the three of them slowly lower themselves into their seats still smirking at you two and of course jaehwan winked at you 

you groan and curse them under your breath 

then you suddenly realise you were on guanlin’s shoulder 

you blush again realising that your crush likes you back feeling ecstatic and so happy

you were completely over the moon

“y/n? earth to y/n?” guanlin said softly while waving his hand in front of your face did you see what i did there ;)

“oh sorry, i was just thinking but what’s up?” you say as casually as possible trying not to blurt your confession out

internally you decided just to leave it until the end of the trip and you could tell him then

“oh i was just going to say, you should sleep you’re exhausted i know how much you studied for those exams.” he said in a caring and loving tone making your heart flutter

“thanks guanlin i will” you sweetly reply 

“by the way if you want to sleep on my shoulder it’s fine, it’s actually really comfy” he says blushing make you feel all giddy 

and you nod and smile back at him and lean your head on his shoulder and before you knew it you were asleep

you woke up and went through all the security regulations

sungwoon the whole time was talking about all the places we should go 

“we should go to taipei 101!! apparently the view is amazing and plus i need more aesthetic pictures for my instagram”

“gosh sungwoon could you get any more superficial” minhyun said teasingly

“hey! i’m not the one who stares at the mirror all day and tell myself how handsome i am?!” sungwoon retorted

“no i don’t, i clean the mirrors not admire myself in them, but you always do that and so does jinyoung, eh and jihoon occasionally” minhyun replied nonchalantly

“why the hell are you bringing us into your argument?!” jinyoung and jihoon chorused

“it’s trueeee” daehwi adding cutely

“guys we’re holding up the line hurry the hell up, do the bickering later” woojin said rolling his eyes at his friends

you laugh at all their petty arguments thinking they’re adorable but knowing they all love each other so much

you guys arrive at the hotel and you’re so happy because you’re the only one who doesn’t have to share a room because you’re the only girl

you all end up showering, getting dressed and settling in and it was already dinner time

all the guys gathered in your room, everyone trying to decide what they want to eat, which just ends up as one huge argument

“i want fried chicken!!” jihoon said brightly 

“yah! are you crazy we’re in taipei and you want fried chicken??!” exclaimed jisung continued saying

“we’re supposed eat the regional food you know, like dumplings”

“ooo could we go to like some bubble tea place” daehwi said excitedly

“we need to eat dinner you know, i’d like to have some seafood, or sushi, i’m craving sushi” minhyun added 

“can’t we eat noodles?” woojin whined

“i want noodles as well!!” agreed sungwoon 

“well after dinner i want ice cream!” jinyoung said like a 5 year old

“i want to eat meat” seongwoo and jaehwan shouted adding to the bickering and to the noise level

“i just want a sandwich with ketchup and a beer” daniel said seriously

making all of us turn to him in wtf are you saying look

which resulted him into shrugging “what it tastes good??”

“EVERYONE WE’LL GO TO ONE OF THE NIGHT MARKETS OKAY??!!” 

you shouted grabbing everyone’s attention

guanlin brightened up at that idea and explained to the group

“the night market’s here are amazing!! they’ll definitely have the bubble tea and ice cream, they have this special beef which they light on fire and it tastes sooooo good. they have really good noodles and dumplings and there will be a couple places which serve some sushi, and chicken but probably not a ketchup sandwich sorry daniel hyung” he ended with a cheeky smile at daniel

to which daniel responded by pouting and crossing his arms like a child

“great idea y/n, gosh if you haven't suggested that we’d be here for hours” jisung said gratefully smiling at you

you smiled back and said “chop chop come on people!”

the night markets were super fun, all of you ate so much, bought clothes and different souvenirs and items

there was a few times when someone went missing but in the end it was one of the best nights of your life

you got matching sunglasses with guanlin

“put these on, you’ll look so swag” you said teasingly handing him the sunglasses

“oh gosh stop i said swag one time and you’re gonna tease me forever” he groaned while putting on the sunglasses

“damn you look good” you said appreciatively and he blushed cutely

he also puts it on you and you model it for him and he laughs and says

“you look gorgeous with them, you always look gorgeous though so not much difference” he said feeling brave but instantly hating himself for saying it

cursing himself why why why did i say that???? i probably made it sooo awkward

you feel extremely happy he said that but also super flustered and you stutter out a quick thank you

he quickly defuses the situation by buying the two sunglasses but the cashier makes it worse by saying

“aw such a cute couple item!!” 

you and him look at each other super embarrassed but you couldn’t help your huge smile and you look at him where you can see him smiling broadly 

and feeling a burst of courage you lightly hold his hand and say thank you to the cashier

he looks at you in shock and you give him a shy smile

you tug at his hand and you both joined the group 

woojin was the only one noticing you guys holding hands in the group of crowded people and whispered into guanlin’s ear knowing he hadn’t confessed yet

“take her to the rooftop pool, it’s heated and it’ll be a perfect place to confess to her, if you book it late at night it’ll only cost about $50” 

$50 you rich boi i'm broke af 

guanlin blushes at the thought of you in a swimsuit and confessing to you

teenage boys am i right? but he’s still a cutie

he thanks woojin gratefully and woojin just says “anytime little bro”

“i’m taller than you” guanlin says laughing softly

“details, details, details” woojin waved him off and left you two alone

you didn’t notice them talking admiring the colourful stalls and all the wonderful smells

anyways everyone went back to their rooms with a huge smile, you couldn’t sleep because of the time difference so when around 12 someone knocked on your door you opened it and saw guanlin 

you were in pyjama shorts, a loose t shirt and your hair back messily with a green face mask on 

even then guanlin thought you looked stunning 

you felt so embarrassed at your appearance and said “what are you doing here so late?”

“uhhhh i want to show you somewhere, wear a swimsuit, we’re going swimming” he says in the most confident tone he can muster

your heart races and you say to him “i’ll be right back, make yourself comfortable”

you quickly wash off the face mask put on your swimsuit and a flowy dress over it, and grab a towel

you see guanlin sprawled over your bed and you hit him lightly 

“oh that was quick let’s go” he says 

you head up to the rooftop and you gasp as you see the huge pool

it was an infinity pool, looking over all of taipei and no one was there

you took off your dress and set your towel down on one of the seat feeling a bit self conscious you wrap your arms around your waist

you head towards the pool and you dip your foot, relaxing when it was nice and warm

guanlin just stared at you the whole time, feeling super happy that you liked the pool, also admiring how gorgeous you were, promising to buy woojin a meal for the suggestion

he took off his shirt and set it down near your stuff

you look at the beautiful view and you turn your head around in shock and happiness and face guanlin

your cheeks heat up as you see him shirtless showing off his toned body, you ignore all the butterflies and you say to guanlin “this must of cost a lot, to book the pool out??!!” you exclaim

“who said i booked it?” he says cheekily 

“the sign where it says booked” you retorted snorting

not answering he cannonballs into the pool drenching you head to toe

you look at him in disbelief and he just smirks back making you scream

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU LAI GUANLIN!!”

you equally cannonball into the pool splashing him

before you could process what was happening

he grabbed your waist and as an automated reaction you wrapped your legs around his torso and your arms around his neck

and suddenly you were eye to eye, noses nearly touching and guanlin smiles your favourite gummy smile 

“if you haven’t noticed, i like you a lot, and i know i make my mistakes and i have my flaws but y/n will you be my girlfriend” he whispers intimately but nervously

you couldn’t help yourself but gently press your pink wet lips on his soft ones

feeling like fireworks were going off in your stomach as he gently kissed you again and again

until you were both breathless

you loved the kisses they were slow and sweet just like you two

you realise you didn’t actually reply to his confession so you say sweetly

“of course i’ll be your girlfriend guanlin, we’ll get through everything together like we always have.”

“thank you for making this an amazing night” he says softly while kissing your forehead

“no thank you for making these unforgettable memories with me” you say in reply still feeling amazing at the fact you were guanlin’s girlfriend

you both stare at the gorgeous city sky line with his arm wrapped around your shoulder and you leaning into his chest he whispers into your ear

“this is our night, our memories, always and forever” 

sorry this took so long to make!! my draft didn’t save so i had to retype a lot. also it was so hard to find a gif suited for this scenario cause like do i do gummy smile guanlin, or super cool guanlin. i chose gummy smile guanlin. CAUSE I LOVE HIS SMILES. like tbh guanlin is so nice to write for idek why. ANYWAYS hope you enjoyed the fluff, as always leave me a message or an anon for feedback or just to text!

[hale-of-stiles-heart]

birthday grays?

Alright, so in honor of Tyler Hoechlin’s birthday and my headcanon that Derek’s birthday is the same day, here’s a Derek birthday fic! (also on ao3)

Stiles had originally planned to wake Derek up with a nice, long blow job. But seeing as Derek was nowhere in sight when he woke up, he had to scramble to come up with a new plan.

Rays of pale sunlight were filtering in through the blinds of Derek’s bedroom window, warming the sheets left cold by the early autumn chill and Derek’s premature departure. The sky outside was still dark, only a slender band of pale pink rising over the horizon with the sun.

A smattering of stars still lingered overhead, twinkling in the early morning light like a herald of the dawn. Soon they would be swallowed up by the sunlight but at the moment they were shining as brightly as they would in the pitch black of midnight.

The moon, nearly full, had long since set, disappearing behind the wisps of cloud hanging in the sky. The coo of a mourning dove sounded from outside, a soothing aubade to welcome the rise of the sun.

Stiles raised a hand to block out the bright sunlight as he slowly drifted into consciousness, luxuriously stretching out with a content sigh. A smirk spread over his face as he mentally patted himself on the back for his wonderful plan.

Derek would only turn thirty once and Stiles had every intention of making his boyfriend’s birthday the best he had ever had. Of course, that meant he would wake up his sourwolf with a nice blow job to start the day.

Afterwards, following some cuddling and slow, lingering kisses, Stiles would slip out of bed while Derek continued basking in his afterglow and wander downstairs to the kitchen. There, he would whip up Derek a breakfast feast fit for a king, or rather an alpha, complete with pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, and hashbrowns.

Like the wonderful boyfriend he was, he would gather up all the food and carry it upstairs to his handsome half-asleep boyfriend along with a cup of Derek’s favorite silver needle white tea. And, like the romantic sap that he was, he would also bring Derek the bouquet of flowers he had gotten him the night before; a beautiful arrangement of red roses, dahlia, and ranunculus.

Following breakfast, he would draw Derek a warm bath filled with as many bubbles as possible. He had a pack of lightly scented vanilla tealight candles tucked away under the kitchen sink so he could set the mood for Derek’s bath.

While Derek soaked in the tub, Stiles would sit on the edge of the tub and wash his hair. For whatever reason, whether it had to do with Derek being a werewolf or Derek being Derek, the alpha absolutely adored it when Stiles ran his fingers through his hair, sometimes letting out an almost feline purr low in his chest.

He would let Derek linger in the bath tub for as long as he wanted, neither of them having any other obligations to worry about until much later that evening. When Derek finally decided to leave the tub, Stiles would wrap him up in a fluffy towel warm from the dryer and lead him back to bed where they would spend the rest of the day snuggled up together doing whatever Derek wanted whether it was watch one of his nature documentaries or read one of his books or do something a little less innocent.

Both of them were off work, Derek by chance and Stiles because he had requested off so he could celebrate with Derek properly, so they had the whole day to themselves up until eight o’clock. Because at eight, they would be heading over to Stiles’ house for dinner with the pack and a few others who had been honored with invitations.

There they would gorge themselves on a nice homemade meal courtesy of Stiles and Melissa’s joint effort to make enough food to satisfy a pack of ravenous werewolves with the metabolism of hummingbirds. And after dinner, Stiles had a decadent chocolate brownie cake drizzled with a thick chocolate ganache for dessert.

He figured that over cake and glasses of Derek’s favorite red wine, Derek could open his gifts. That would inevitably take a while, mostly because of the pack’s penchant for overindulging where gift giving was concerned.

Hell, just a month ago on his own birthday, Stiles had left his dad’s house an entirely new wardrobe, various little trinkets, movies and CDs, and a wallet full of myriad gift cards. Oddly enough, Peter was the worst offender. He had a strange affinity for showing his affection through weird, though strangely very meaningful, gifts.

After that, Stiles had plans that strayed as far from innocent and family friendly as possible. He had a bowl of fresh strawberries along with some melted chocolate and a tub of whipped cream hidden in the back of the refrigerator at the loft.

He didn’t plan on leaving their bed for days, until they had finished the chocolate and whipped cream he intended to lick off of Derek’s unfairly toned abs, until neither of them could get it up again, werewolf stamina be damned.

He had spent weeks carefully formulating his plan, debating whether or not he should try for something more adventurous like a short road trip or a sex-nic in the preserve or stick to something more domestic. He had asked Boyd and Erica and his dad for their input and wound up with more questions than answers: Boyd had suggested he do something subtly romantic, Erica had frankly urged him to break out some sex toys and try something kinkier than usual, and his dad had simply told him to follow his gut.

So, with the help of the internet and his own extensive knowledge of what Derek enjoyed on his days off, Stiles had carefully constructed his plan. Hell, he had even jotted it all down in one of his notebooks so he wouldn’t forget anything.

All in all, he thought his plan was a rather good one. But it was pretty hard to put it into action when Derek wasn’t in bed.

He rolled out of bed with a shiver, the polished concrete floor freezing cold beneath his bare feet. He wrapped his arms around himself as he padded across the room to the bathroom doorway where the light was on, bright in the darkness of the bedroom.

He found Derek there in the bathroom. He was still in his pajamas, shirtless with a pair of flannel lounge pants slung low on those enticing hips of him.

His hair was disheveled, as it always was when he first woke up, and there were a few crease marks from the sheets on the side of his torso. If it weren’t for his werewolf healing, his neck would be covered in hickeys.

He was frowning at his reflection in the mirror, his thick eyebrows drawn together as he poked and prodded at his beard that he had grown out a little bit. He was so focused on the task at hand, that he didn’t even notice when Stiles slipped into the bathroom.

Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek’s waist from behind, resting his forehead between Derek’s shoulder blades as he kissed the thick black lines of the tattoo there. Lips rasping against Derek’s warm skin, Stiles closed his eyes and murmured, “Whatcha doin’, babe?”

When Derek only grunted in response, Stiles raised his head, setting his chin on Derek’s shoulder so he could look at Derek’s reflection in the mirror. Derek was still fussing with his beard though Stiles couldn’t figure out why, briefly wondering if Derek was considering shaving.

He tried meeting Derek’s eyes in the mirror but Derek was too preoccupied frowning at his beard. Stiles pecked Derek on the side of his neck to get his attention, tightening his arms, and announced, “Never seen you look in a mirror for so long. Except that one time…”

The one time that he was referring to was the time that he and Derek had decided to get a little naughty with the wide floor length mirror that Erica had left in the loft for storage a few months back. Derek hadn’t taken his eyes off the mirror throughout the entire time they had sex, his eyes riveted to where their bodies had been joined together.

Fortunately, the mere mention of their kinky mirror sex marathon back in May got a response out of Derek. His cheeks flushed pale pink, rewarding Stiles with one of his rare blushes.

“So, I’m wondering what could be as interesting as watching me fuck you into the mattress,” Stiles stated calmly, burying a chuckle against the side of Derek’s throat when the blush on his boyfriend’s face deepened to a dark pink. Stiles went on as cool as a cucumber, “Because while you’re hotter than the fucking sun and I could probably stare at you for hours without getting bored, I have a feeling that’s not what’s caught your attention. So, c’mon, tell me what’s wrong.”

Derek let out a heavy sigh before answering. His voice was quiet as he murmured, “I have a gray hair.”

“What?” Stiles asked, sure that he had somehow misheard Derek. Derek had never been one for vanity so why a gray hair was bothering him was beyond Stiles. Confused, he inquired, “You say you have a gray hair?”

Derek just nodded, dropping his hands from his beard and pointing at a finger at a spot in the center of his chin. There was indeed a small streak of silver in the middle of a sea of black.

It was hardly noticeable, only visible if you were actively searching for it. Which Derek apparently had been.

“And…?” Stiles drawled, running the pad of his thumb over Derek’s hip, the werewolf’s skin incredibly smooth. Resting his cheek against Derek’s shoulder blade, Stiles waited for Derek’s reply.

It wasn’t anything that he would have expected. Derek’s voice was thick as he reluctantly announced, “I feel old.”

Stiles snapped his head up with an incredulous squawk. He met Derek’s eyes in the mirror, his own wide in surprise and disbelief.

“Old?” Stiles repeated in question, gaping at Derek. “You feel old? Der, you’re thirty!”

“I know,” Derek mumbled, the sound painfully close to a whine. He lowered his eyes and shrugged a little bit while he explained, “I know, it’s just… I’m thirty. And I have gray hairs already. It’s stupid but I can’t help it. I feel old.”

“Aww, babe,” Stiles cooed, pressing a line of kisses up from Derek’s shoulder, along the line of his neck, to the little divot behind his ear that Stiles knew always drove him wild. Lips pressed against Derek’s skin, he softly announced, “I think we should celebrate your gray hairs.”

“What? Why?” Derek inquired, moving one of his hands to lay it over Stiles’, squeezing his fingers tightly.

“Because it’s proof,” Stiles explained, continuing to kiss up and down the side of Derek’s throat, “That despite everything that’s gone on, despite everything that’s tried to kill you, and almost has, you’re standing here, celebrating your thirtieth birthday. With your smoking hot boyfriend, to boot.”

Derek finally smiled at that, the corners of his lips curling up. His grin stretched larger as he turned around in Stiles’ arms, as bright and radiant as the sun outside.

He dipped his head to capture Stiles’ lips with his own, guiding Stiles into a slow, indulgent good morning kiss. Stiles moved his arms to loop them around Derek’s bare shoulders, closing the space between them until their bodies were molded together.

By the time Derek pulled back, he had a content, downright dopey grin lighting up his handsome face. Beaming right back at him, Stiles grabbed Derek by the hand and started pulling Derek back towards their bedroom as he announced, “C’mon, babe, I owe you a birthday blow job.”

Derek may or may not have quickened his pace. It was his birthday after all.

[nitalemilade]

Threads of Fate

Hi all! So I ended up drinking a good amount of wine while watching the final act and I was just a blubbering mess. However, I had mixed feelings over Inuyasha and Kagome's reunion. I felt it needed some angst and redemption so here goes. 

 This fanfic was also inspired by Len Barboza's "With You." Her artwork is insanely amazing and her art conveyed heavy angst and conviction which I thought the ending deserved. Link for her artwork is down below! 

------

 Topaz eyes swept through the night sky, idly naming out the stars, or "constellations" that were within his sight. 

His favorite had been the one known as Hercules, the despised demigod who battled monster after monster to save his dead lover from the underworld. Shippo had fallen in-awe when Kagome recited the entire story by the campfire. Even though Shippo had been her only audience, he had eavesdropped on this tale. By the end of the tale, Hercules had redemption and his wench Megara, by his side. 

 He envied that ending. 

 It had been almost three years without his wench. The past two and-a-half years have dragged on far too slowly for his liking, yet it felt like eons ago since he's seen Kagome Higurashi. Since the fateful day of Naraku's demise, along with the Shikon Jewel's, the Feudal Era had fallen into disarray. There wasn't as much war and conquest per se, but the half-demon felt like he didn't belong in this world at all. By then, he hardly remembered that he had been one of the heroes that saved the village from utter destruction. He entirely forgot that he wasn't really accepted in everyday life. His mental disarray had secluded him from people, civilization, and time itself. None of these facts mattered to him when his mind was gone from this world. 

He began to crave the futuristic world that had ninja food, questionable smells, and a certain brown-eyed girl that had his heart. 

And without further ado, he managed to haggle himself a small stack of parchment, some ink, and a hut to immerse himself into the future. Whether it was educational or not, he recorded whatever he remembered about Kagome. He couldn't forget about this wonderful woman. He refused. Thankfully, Kagome's infamous yellow backpack had been left behind; it contained a few books, a change of clothes, and random knick-knacks that InuYasha has yet to figure out. The canary bag of treasures were keeping InuYasha sane at the very least; he felt closer to Kagame whenever he'd study her books and gadgets. Yet, the scent of her spare uniform was, slowly but surely, wearing down and even he had a hard time finding the citrusy warm scent that was his long-gone love. He sighed wearily as he continued studying the night sky. 

 InuYasha wondered if she was looking up at the stars too.

 -

 Half a year later, spring had sprung. 

 After an uneventful winter, InuYasha and Miroku began to make their trips to neighboring villages to exorcise and slay demons. Miroku and Sango's household had run low on rice and resources, which enforced the trips. Finally coming back into the rhythm of the trip, InuYasha marched alongside his violet-clad friend. The four bags of rice and dried meats would do them good for a while. As they neared their village, grey clouds began to clump in their horizon. The steady pitter-patter of rain had forced them to run to the monk's home, ready to get out of the stormy weather. 

 The stew simmering over the crackling fire comforted InuYasha to say the very least; it almost felt like the gang was back together again. As they ate and debriefed Sango on their recent trip, InuYasha felt a small pang in his heart as he observed the couple. Would he be like Miroku and Sango? Carefree and happy? He was sure if it was him and Kagome, there'd be a silly argument thrown in there just for the sake of it. Scowling lightly, he dug into his stew and made noncommittal grunts of agreement when Miroku nodded his way. 

 After the cheerful (yet quiet) dinner, InuYasha excused himself from the family and bid them goodnight. His small hut was out of earshot from his friends; He didn't need to hear what was going on at night.

 As soon as he entered the hut, he began to cross off the days he traveled from the cartoon calendar Kagome had left behind; The small booklet had three days crossed off now. Tomorrow morning would be three years without Kagome. Sighing quietly, he set the booklet down and sat under the porch he built himself; Kagome's multi-story hut had one to protect them from the rain and he deemed it a good feature to his hut. He built his hut on top of a small hill, just overseeing most of the village along with the Goshinboku. 

Stuffing his hands in his crimson sleeves, he studied the rainy night; not an villager nor animal in sight. And the truth hit him: he was completely alone and was terrified of it. It was fate who put Kagome in his path; it was a short role she had in his life, but he couldn't imagine living his life before her. If he lived long enough to see her in the future (he was confident he would) he'd gladly seal himself to the tree again. They had the red thread of fate, he was positive of it! However, fate was truthful and blunt. Fate was either amazing or unforgiving, and InuYasha wasn't sure what his fate was with the girl from the well at this very moment. 

All he knew was that nothing would keep him from Kagome; If he has to wait another 497 years to see her again, he will wait. He would survive this nightmare…just for her. 

 A small, dog-like whine began to bubble up from his chest, clawing its way out, slowly letting out the anguish and desperation his entire being harbored. His chest felt heavy, yet a strange sensation of emptiness prohibited him from taking normal breaths. InuYasha experienced these symptoms when the night of the new moon would near. Feeling the familiar sting behind his eyes, he growled in annoyance. Damn human emotions! They always act up when his human night was approaching. Piercing his claws into his forearms, he grunted through the pain and began to calm himself down. Closing his eyes, InuYasha slumped against the wall and listened to the cadence the rain provided him.

The soft whines continued through the night. Blearily opening his eyes, he glimpsed at the foggy village, not a soul in sight; it would be dawn in a few hours. He dozed off again. 

"InuYasha? Did you grab the orange I brought for my— of course you did." Kagome murmured flatly as she spotted the half-demon under a tree, peeling said fruit.

Face reddening, InuYasha "keh"ed and mumbled, "Doesn't have your name on it! You lose wench." 

 Sighing in annoyance, she sat next to him. If she couldn't beat him, why not join him? "Hey dogboy, cut me a slice and I'll show you a trick." Kagome murmured, noticing the spark of interest in his tawny eyes. 

 "Deal." 

 Kagome smirked and took the slice. "I'm going to have an orange smile magically, just close your eyes!" she instructed. He groaned, but complied nonetheless. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and had a wench grinning ear-to-ear with an orange slice in her mouth completely. 

 His unimpressed stare had her giggling until she choked. That's when InuYasha began to laugh.

Citrus. A familiar sweetness and citrusy zest feebly registered in his sinuses; his nose began to sniff a little harder this time, and felt his chest tightening. His dreams were always cruel; they felt so real and vivid when they involved Kagome. He rubbed his eyes as he woke up fully. Sniffing deeper, he caught the minuscule citrusy scent again. No…it couldn't be. Could it?

 Leaping out of the safety of his porch, he sped off towards the Bone Eater's Well. 

 He ran with fervor and trepidation; he knew the disappointment of not seeing her would probably bring him into an all time low. InuYasha felt his heart racing, his guts twisting, tying themselves in fear. By the time he was within eyesight of the well, he was completely soaked. Slowing down significantly, he hesitantly looked at the rim and prayed, to Buddha, fate, destiny, whoever ran this universe, that Kagome was there.

He looked down. The well was empty. 

The bottom of his stomach dropped and he lowly howled in disappointment.

How could the Gods be so cruel to him? Did they enjoy seeing the hanyou suffer? All he asked of this world was to bring back his love, his life. Growling in frustration, he fell to his knees against the rim of the well. Kagome...

 "InuYasha?" mumbled a small, familiar voice. 

 Nearly snapping his neck, he looked up. In the midst of his pained cry, he failed to notice the brown-eyed girl sitting under a dense tree, nursing a swollen ankle. In a flash, he was engulfed in the entirety of Kagome Higurashi. He buried his face in her hair and hugged the missing woman in his arms. Immediately, he felt his chest tightening as he let a whine of longing out uncontrollably. He felt her small arms gripping his torso tightly, and smelled salt in the air. The forest was silent aside the two souls who were quietly crying together, finally united. 

 "…InuYasha-I never thought that I'd- see you…again, I missed you so mm-" His lips found solace on hers; the lips he longed to feel again were finally here. Kagome's hands pulled his neck closer as the desperate kissing merged into a more loving, healing kiss. It was slowly making up for the lost years they spent apart. Separating for air, InuYasha cupped her face in his hands.

So fragile, so vital, he mused. 

Looking lovingly into those cinnamon eyes, he growled out, "Neither time nor death will keep you from me. I will wait 'till the end of time just to see you again, you wench. Who else could put up with me?" InuYasha finished with heavy conviction, shaking Kagome to the core. 

 "I'll admit…it's been hard waiting for you. I won't lie. You are the person who taught me to trust people, to actually accept who I am— hell even have friends for fucks sake! I owe you my life Kagome; without you I'm nothing, just a brooding half-demon with no purpose." InuYasha murmured as he kept wiping her tears off with his thumbs. Even though she was completely soaked and disheveled, he had never felt more in love with Kagome in his life. 

Smiling gently, wiped the last remaining tears before giving her a simple peck before whispering against her lips, "My place, my life is to be with you Kagome…you're stuck with me" Kagome laughed out as she sobbed lightly.

She was so relieved to be with him, to hear his feelings and to reunite with the man she loved more than life itself. She felt herself being engulfed by something dry; He draped his haori around her small frame as he began to pick her up, noticing the swollen ankle. 

 "Leave it to you to mess up your foot on your first day back. You're insufferable wench." InuYasha mused as he carried her to the safety of his hut. 

"You cant blame me; I kept slipping trying to get out of that damn well" Kagome stammered, giving his ear a tweak. His ear twitched back. A comfortable silence fell between them as they watched the beginning rays of sunrise hit the horizon. 

At that moment, he felt the redemption that Hercules must have felt. InuYasha felt complete and had his lost love by his side. Yeah...it feels amazing, InuYasha mused, as he studied the woman he was carrying. He felt slightly overwhelmed with the recent events, hoping that this was real, not just a dream he’d eventually wake up from. Her scent, however, calmed him easily. She was here. He felt a lump catch in his throat and swallowed thickly.

Clearing his throat Inuyasha asked, "It's been a while wench. Did you pass your so-called tests this year?" InuYasha mumbled against her hair, trying to ease the mood with some humor. A watery chuckle resonated in the air, 

"I did. Perfect score and all" Kagome murmured as she studied her beloved's face. 

They both smiled genuinely for the first time in years. 

 fin.

Link: “With You”