#here we have one long ass one absolutely tiny ass and one GINORMOUS ass

[deadwooddross]

I was taking a little stroll through @dimespin's cool cool saratoan worldbuilding a bit a go and was possessed with the need to draw some of my pookies as her big ol marsupial dragons! Definitely a fun little exercise in translating designs

[sacredsorceress]

Finders Keepers || Bucky Barnes

pairing: bucky barnes x avenger!reader

summary: you and bucky have been dating for years and just as he finally finds the courage to pop the question, he loses your engagement ring.

a/n: happy weekend! reblogs and replies are super appreciated!!

word count: 1.9k

warnings: none, pure fluff

masterlist || request || taglist

“Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe I should just wait.” Bucky said, pacing back and forth across the bridge.

Watching his friend nervously fiddle with the tiny velvet box in his hand, Sam chuckled pushing himself off of the railing.

“Buck, stop stressing out, man.” Sam laughed. “She’s going to say yes.”

Making his way over to Sam, leaning over the railing, Bucky sighed staring at the reflection of the streetlamps glowing in the water of the river beneath him.

“You don’t know that.” He said. “She could say no. She deserves better than some bridge, maybe-”

“Buck, if I know Y/n she’s going to think this is ten times better than anything else you could throw together.” Sam assured his friend. “You guys met on this bridge fighting one of the big three... that’s pretty romantic if you ask me.”

“There’s no such thing as the ‘big three’.”

“Of course there is, but because I’m such a good wingman- I’m gonna let it slide for the night.” He said, leaning over the railing beside his friend. “Do you remember the size of that android? If she didn’t find out about her mutation right then and there your ass would be dead right now.”

Bucky couldn’t help but laugh because he knew that he was absolutely right.

The two of you had met two years ago to that exact day in the place where he and Sam were standing right now. Bucky and some of the other Avengers, including Sam, had been fighting a ginormous Android. Just as the fight was heading increasingly south and Bucky had come to terms with the fact that his overextended life would be ending sooner than he thought, he watched as the fist that was about to pound his body into the ground halted in midair.

He was shocked. He was sure he was going to die. He was even ready to welcome it, but when he looked around, trying to find out why the android would stop so suddenly, he glanced to the side only to meet your wide eyes, arms extended outwards toward the android. Despite the fact that he could tell that the android was struggling to move, he watched as you lifted your arms, the android rising into the air until you swung your arms, throwing the it into the river beside the bridge.

Once the initial splash of water had washed over the bridge, Bucky immediately pushed himself off of the ground, running to find you. When he did, he discovered you, soaking wet on the ground, staring back up at him.

“I... I don’t-”

You scrambled to find words to say to him- to explain what had just happened even though you didn’t even understand it yourself- but Bucky didn’t even care. He was in awe.

“You- you saved my life.” Bucky said before realizing that you were still on the ground and he reached his hand out to you. “What’s your name?”

Glancing at his hand for split moment, you grabbed it, pulling yourself to your feet.

“Y/n.”

“Y/n.” He said testing the sound of your name in his mouth before smiling. “I’m Bucky.”

From that day, you and him had been inseparable, beginning to date not long after. On the day he asked you to be his, he knew that that was the last time he was ever going to be asking anyone that question because you were it for him. He was completely and utterly yours and he didn’t want anyone- or anything- else.

“Yeah, I guess you're right.” Bucky smiled, snapping himself back into the moment.

Watching the smile on his friend’s face, Sam couldn’t help but smile in return, patting his friend on the back.

“She should be coming by soon, right?” He asked. “Sure you’ve got the ring in there and everything?”

Flipping open the lid of the tiny box, Bucky picked up the ring that was sitting inside, turning it around to watch as it shined under the streetlight.

“You’re the one who helped me pick it out.” Bucky said, glancing over his shoulder at Sam. “If you change your mind now I think I’ll throw you over this bridge.”

“It’s great, Buck-”

“Hey! Buck!” They heard your familiar voice shout.

You were here early.

Shit.

Afraid you would catch him with the ring in his hand, Bucky scrambled to place it back in the box, but as he did the ring slipped from his fingers. Juggling to catch it, he leaned further over the railing. Just when he was sure that he caught the ring however, it slid off of his vibranium hand and into the water with a tiny pop.

“Shit!” He swore to himself.

“Holy shit!” Sam exclaimed in a hushed voice. “Did you just drop the ring?”

“Yes I just dropped the ring, Sam!” Bucky whisper shouted. “You’re not helping! Shit. Shit. Shit! What do I do?”

Glancing over his shoulder, watching your figure quickly approaching the both of them, Sam grabbed the box from his hands, shoving it in Bucky’s jacket pocket.

“Listen! It’s gonna be fine.” Sam assured him, patting his friend on the chest. “Just ask her, okay?”

Glaring at his friend as Sam began to back up in the opposite direction, Bucky yelled once again in a hushed voice.

“How the fuck am I supposed to do that without a ring?”

But before Sam could answer, you came up behind Bucky, resting your hand on his shoulder. When Bucky glanced back at where Sam had been, he had already taken off into the darkness.

Taking a deep breath, telling himself that everything would be okay, Bucky turned around to face you.

He didn’t have to fake the smile that immediately met his face as soon as he looked at you. 

You always managed to take his breath away.

“Hi doll.” He smiled, resting his hands on your waist.

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss against his cheek.

“Hi baby.” You smiled. “So, what’s the occasion? Why did you ask me to meet you here?”

Admiring the way you looked standing underneath the glow of the streetlamp above him, he tried to relax, remembering the speech he had been practicing in front of mirrors and Sam for weeks.

“Do you remember the last time we were here?” He asked.

Of course you did. How could you forget?

“Of course I do, Buck.” You laughed. “How could I forget saving the love of my life’s life?’

It was crazy how still after everything he had gone through and two years together with you, he could still feel his heart skip a beat when you called him the love of your life.

“Well I- I asked you to come here because I wanted to ask you something.” He said removing his hands from your your waist, instead taking your hands from around his neck and holding them in his.

As soon as he said that he had wanted to ask you something, your heart began to race in your chest. Was he doing it? Was he finally going to propose to you? The two of you had discussed marriage before, so it wouldn’t be a shock, but you never knew when he was going to ask. Or how.

When he backed away from you, your hands still in his, you watched as he kneeled in front of you, his eyes meeting yours.

He was doing it. He was really going to do it.

“Y/n.” He said.

“Yes?” You asked, not being able to help the smile on your face.

“Um,” Bucky began, able to hear the shakiness in his voice before he cleared his throat. “I uh... I know you’re already guessing what I’m doing right now, but I have this whole speech and everything so just bare with me okay?”

You nodded. 

“Of course, Buck.”

“When I had my mind cleared back in Wakanda and came back from the blip, I didn't think I would ever have a normal life again, you know? I thought all this dating stuff was behind me and I was just going to be that guy who fights people with a metal arm.” He chuckled. “When you saved me right here two years ago, I thought I was going to die this miserable 100 year-old guy and I just accepted it, but then you threw that dumb hunk of metal in that water and- this sounds really cheesy but Sam said I should say it anyway- you saved my life, but you also saved me. You gave me another chance at life and I don’t ever want to live it without you, so...”

You felt as his hands dropped yours and watched as he pat his jacket pockets before slipping his hands inside of one of them, pulling out a small velvet box.

“Will you marry me?”

He didn’t even have time to open the box before you nodded, a bright smile gracing your face.

“Yes.” You laughed. “Of course I’ll marry you, Buck. Is that even a question?”

Glancing between the box in his hands and you he chuckled nervously.

“Yeah?”

“What do you mean?” You asked, laughing.

Pushing himself back onto his feet once again, Bucky pulled you close to him, only the box separating the two of you.

“Save my ass one more time?” He asked.

As he did, he opened the lid of the box to reveal... nothing.

There was no ring in sight, only the empty cushion where you would have expected one to be.

Furrowing your eyebrows you looked up at your fiancé.

“Did you....” You tried to piece the situation together, taking the box in your own hands. “Did you lose it?”

“I dropped it in the water when I heard you coming.” He admitted.

Not being able to help yourself, you laughed thinking about your fiancé being so nervous he dropped your ring into the water moments before proposing to you.

“Where?” You asked.

Rather than answering, he guided you over to the bridge’s railing, pointing at the water below.

“It slipped somewhere over here.”

Rather than teasing him once again for dropping your engagement ring in the river minutes before proposing, you leaned over the ledge of the bridge, stretching your arms out. As you did so, you felt Bucky come up behind you, resting his hands on your waist while he tucked his chin into the crook of your neck, peeking over your shoulder at the water below.

Sensing the piece of metal, you pulled your arms forward, bringing the ring to the surface. When it landed in your hand, you leaned back into your fiancé’s chest, slowly opening your hand to reveal the gorgeous ring resting in your palm.

“Oh Buck.” You cooed. “It’s perfect.”

Taking the ring between your fingers, you slipped it onto your ring finger, stretching your hand out to admire the ring he had chosen for you to symbolize your commitment to one another for the rest of your lives.

“Finders keepers.” You teased him, laughing as you showed off your ring.

Wrapping his arms around your torso, you felt as he pressed a kiss to your cheek from behind.

“That’s fine by me, doll.” He hummed. “As long as I get to keep you.”

[solastia]

Day 19

Break My Stride, Yoongi x Jungkook, ABO, 4/4 Chapters, 14k words

YOU KNOW MY DRAMATIC ASS SAVED THIS FOR A FRIDAY! If y'all thought my screeching was annoying before, be prepared for about 10x more screeching and indecipherable noises. As the very wise Deadpool once said, “MAXIMUM EFFORT!”

First off, congratulations because this was your first fic to reach 10k hits (and it’s now at 34K hits, whaaaa??!! A few hundred of those may possibly be from me...possibly...probably...most definitely! lmao)

You know my fave ship is Yoonmin (I don’t take shipping irl seriously, don’t come for me plz) but I absolutely LOVE the dynamics between Kookie and Yoongi in this fic. Your writing, the plot, the dialogue, the whole thing is just top tier deliciousness every step of the way. It is scrumptious, mouth watering, exquisite, uuugh *chef’s kiss* bellissimo!

Ok, LOTS OF SPOILERS BECAUSE THIS FIC IS MY EMOTIONAL SUPPORT FICTIONAL STORY AND Y’ALL CAN’T STOP ME, MUAHAHAHA!

In the beginning of the story, you create a sense of home for the audience. We feel like we know these characters, we get a sense that they’ve been a group of friends for a very long time, and they each hold a special part of each other’s lives, and it’s freaking beautiful.

“Yoongi shook his head and started picking the olives off his slice of pizza. When he turns to his right to give the olives away, he realizes why he’d felt something was wrong.”

You see! He hadn’t even realized that Kookie was missing, but he felt like something was off.

Oh! And I wanted to ask you about the idea for a mating run! I’ve never read anything like this before, it was an interesting concept to think about. And this would be Yoongi’s 8th run! Oh babey, he was just waiting for the right mate…

“He wasn’t sure what it was, but the image of Jungkook finding someone during the run made him feel…itchy.”

Our boi is already jealous at just the idea of Kookie finding a mate (other than him ofc, but he doesn’t know that yet, bwahahahaha!!)

“Good idea, you’re going to need all the rest you can get,” Seokjin says with an ominous smirk.”

I SHOULD GIVE YOU THE SAME WARNING SEOKJINNIE!!!

“There were even booth setups for merchandise and food.”

OMG, I could see Hobi or Jin buying some cheesy “I survived the 20__ Run and All I Got Was This Shirt”. Or maybe a beer cozy!

“No, he said that would be pointless because his mate’s a cheating cheater that plays dirty. He said the chances of them covering their scent were high. He’s making sure his den is ready,” Seokjin scoffed.

Yoongi accepted the drink Jimin handed him and chuckled. “Sounds like I might actually like them.”

“You have no idea,” Jin said with a snort”

Yoongi, are you so jaded, so blind by your general saltiness that you are not understanding the very obvious clues being thrown your way?!?!?! Kookie, where are you? Put this man in his place please!!

And then when he was told that Kook bought that house he’d had his eyes on for years, uughhh, I was hurting for our Yoonie!

“Yoongi suddenly felt like crying, but he settled for collapsing onto the bench and clenching his fist.”

AAAHHH! But wait a little while Yoongi, I promise all this hurt will be over soon!

“Suddenly, Namjoon growled menacingly, startling everyone. Hoseok looked over to the spot where Namjoon was steadily staring, curiosity in his gaze before it too hardened and he started glaring with bared teeth. A random city Alpha that had been approaching them instantly halted, hands out in surrender.”

HOW COULD I FORGET THIS SUB-PLOT!!! Jin was over there laughing at how oblivious Yoongi was, and he isn’t any better, is he?!? Imagine having Joon and Hobi scaring the competition away like that??!! I would take them home immediately!

“There’s a huge plush rug and plenty of blankets, big fluffy pillows, a little stash of food and entertainment. I even put scent blockers around so no one would smell anything coming from inside,” Yoongi preened as he thought of his perfect hideaway.

Yoongi would def be one to make his little den as comfortable as possible! But I just thought of something. In your earlier description of Yoongi’s apartment, he said it was a bit stark and lacked any real decor. BUT he went out of his way to make this den as comfortable as possible. He bought a string of fairy lights, and he had to go to the big city to get them! It’s almost like it was fate, or maybe deep down he knew that something was going to happen, and he was inadvertently nesting! (please insert “I’ve connected the dots” meme here)

“He was sure there were plenty of Alphas running around with those piercings and Kook’s ginormous honker of a nose.”

:|

Was it really Kook? Or is our boy so in love that he sees Kookie wherever he goes? Lmao!

“Yoongi was about to show this guy that he wasn’t someone to be messed with and he wouldn’t be dragged off to be someone’s good little Omega bitch. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the taser he’d packed just in case.”

OMG, Yoongi is not messing around, absolutely zero chill!

“It seemed presenting had changed him physically as well, shooting him up a couple inches so he towered over Yoongi even more than usual. His arms and legs were rippling with muscle that even the black tracksuit he was wearing couldn’t hide. His face was still the same though; the innocent grin an interesting contrast with the buff build.”

SIR!! My heart cannot take this punishment! And OFC he’s a Prime Alpha, Kookie doesn’t know how to half-ass anything!

“And just like he had a million times before, Yoongi gave in like the soft ass bitch he was.”

He really is soft for all of them!!! Yoongi will let them do whatever they want with him, he’ll complain the entire way but we all know he secretly loves it!

“Yoongi dared a quick look behind him, audibly gulping at the sight of the Alpha staring at his ass like he was a starving man at an all you can eat buffet. Jungkook was grinding his jaw and had his nails dug into the dirt like he was trying to control himself.”

I mean, we’ve all seen the Yoonbooty. It does look very biteable. Relatable AF Kook!

“Jungkook continued poking around in things; picking up a candle to sniff, trying to sneak a peek into the duffle bag, ruffling around in the bag of snacks - all while stealing glances at the bed in the middle of the room. “

WAY TO NOT BE OBVIOUS KOOK!!!

“What are you doing, Kook? You’re wasting time here when you should be out there chasing down your mate. They are probably wondering where you are.”

“They know where I am.”

“You told them you were going to hang out with me and they were fine with it?”

“Hyung, you’re usually so smart. Think about it.”

Every time I read this, I die a little bit inside (in a good way, I promise). Yoongi’s whole world is about to be turned upside down, and he has no idea!!!

“The house…”

Jungkook’s eyes softened, smiling fondly at him. “I bought it for you, hyung. Whether you choose me today or not, it’s yours.”

I cry.

What a courting gift!!! Kook doesn’t understand subtlety, does he??!! And how selfless is this? This is a no-strings attached gift, given to Yoongi out of love.

I cry.

“I love the way we are now, equals with a little bit of babying me on the side,” Jungkook grins when Yoongi snorts, shaking his head fondly at the other.”

I would like to see that please.

AND THEN THIS LINE:

“Omega,” Jungkook says softly, so rife with emotion that Yoongi can hear everything he’s trying to say in just that one word. “May I enter your nest?”

This is it, this is as far as I go fam. I have been destroyed with six whole words. How can such a simple statement hold so much emotion, so much hopeful pleading?

And then the whole interaction on the bed! Yoongi asking if he wants to play cards (bwahahaha, sure Jan), Kookie being prepared to wipe away all the descenting salve, Kook getting scent high, YOONGI’S GRANDPA RUN, those first initial uses of pet names, everything was so intimate and playful. It was beautiful!

“I bet I could easily pick you up and fuck you against a wall sometime if you wanted. Maybe even have you straddle my shoulders and I could suck you off that way,” Jungkook muses so matter of factly despite the subject matter, and Yoongi can feel himself get wetter by the second.”

Aaaaaaand there’s the emotional whiplash I’ve come to love from you!

“Whatever you want. You’re in charge.”

Kookie being selfless again! I cannot! It’s about these little things that are done between partners that really matter. Kook is a newly presented virgin Prime Alpha in the midst of a claiming, and his first priority is still making sure Yoongi feels good. He’s giving him all the power here.

“Good,” Yoongi yawns loudly and throws a couple of blankets over them, tangling their legs together. “Later we can try the thing with the nipples.”

Again, I would like to see that please.

“Suddenly, Yoongi’s eyes shoot open and he gasps.

“Oh shit! Your brother is going to kill me!”

Jungkook merely laughs”

😂😂😂

“I’ll give you some meat,” Yoongi grumbles playfully as he climbs off the bed, stretching his aching limbs.

“I mean, I’m down for anything,” Jungkook giggles.”

Not to sound like a broken record, but...I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT PLEASE

“Jungkook walked straight towards the first woman he saw with a clipboard, blindsiding the stunned woman with one of his lethal smiles while he wrapped an arm around Yoongi’s waist to pull him close.

“Hi! We both need mating packets.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes because he could tell that Jungkook was practically bragging instead of just asking like a normal person.”

He’s practically bragging about Yoongi being his mate! I have a feeling Kookie is going to be unbearable to be around in the upcoming weeks.

And then we get a teeny tiny peek at the Nam-Jin-Hobi subplot and ooomg I hope you’re able to explore this particular pairing in the future. There is so much potential there for steamy/fluffy scenes!

“I just mean, like, soulmates. You know? Maybe we were supposed to meet to help each other find our mates. Or maybe we are all soulmates in various forms.”

DON’T! DON’T HURT ME THIS WAY, I CANNOT AND WILL NOT SURVIVE!

AAAAH this fic was wonderful! It feels complete the way you ended it, but I am definitely still craving more! Good job, dayumm!

It still amazes me how many people have read this one lol. But yeah, this is one of my favorites too. I do have other side stories that I’m working on for this one, including one from Jk’s birthday and another for Namjinseok.

I just really really love writing people that are so unapologetically whipped. Like, it’s such a major thing for me because in real life there are a ridiculous amount of people that are embarrassed to show how much they care about their SO, and like, why? Why are you even with them if you’re so embarrassed to show them any affection? Show the world that you are proud they choose to be with you, show your person that they are precious. I’m not even saying buy them shit all the time (because for some reason het males seem to think that’s what everyone means). I mean hold their damn hand, write them a note, tell them they are pretty. There’s a reason that a person who technically still identifies as gay man is in a steady relationship with me, a pan woman. And it’s because I fucking treat him like he’s the reason my heart beats and I’m not ashamed to show the world. Ok, I’m ranting now lol. I’ll stop. But you get the picture.

[pearlescent-divination]

So There I Was, Barbecue Sauce (giant bug) on My Titties (actually it was on my shoulder)

2:45-3:45ish in the morning. I wake up because I'm hot and my cat's taking over the bed. I've been sleeping on my mattress in the living room due to my room being renovated. I'm almost completely unable to see in the dark without my glasses, but there's a bit of a light from nightlights, so I can see some highlights of things. I move the cat over, I try to go back to sleep. Something big and leggy crawls over my shoulder. Like big enough that I can feel a weight. I assume it's just a giant spider, and I love spiders, but when you can't see and there's something large on you, it can be pretty unnerving. I jump up, shaking around like a madman, throw my shirt off and dance around like an idiot, but without glasses, I cannot see a thing, so I'm doing these giant, comical leaps trying to get to the side table to get my glasses. I get them, turn the overhead light on, and I put shoes on so my bare feet don't have to be on the floor lmao. I then get worried that something might be bothering my cat in bed so I pick him up and move him. I shake my blankets out, and nothing. I find a tiny daddy long leg but that obviously was not it. At this point, I still think and hope it was a spider. 

I lie back down, and my cat starts pouncing on something behind me. I turn my phone's flashlight on and look with him. He's pouncing on something behind the couch cover. I run my hand over the cover and feel like a vein in the couch. I'm like "was there always a weird vein here?" I take my hand away. The cat pounces. I put my hand back. The vein is gone. So with a very unnerving tip toe, I walk to the back of the couch, lift the couch cover, and a gIANT FUCKING CENTIPEDE COMES RUNNING AT ME. I am not ashamed to say that I screamed like a banshee. That sucker was at LEAST six inches??? Needless to say, my parents came running out of their room (my dad thought someone broke in lmao) and eventually my cats and mom helped me corrall this very leggy, VERY fast creature in a glass and we threw it outside. But DEAR FUCK MY MOST FEARED BUG WAS FUCKING ON ME WHILE I WAS SLEEPING. FUCK. Now I don't want to go back to sleep 😭😂

Like listen. We get some frightening creatures in the desert. Y'all ever seen a Child of the Earth? Freaky. Arizona Centipedes? Nightmare fuel. Sun Spiders? No thanks. Tarantula Hawks? Ginormous. The desert don't fuck around 😰

Plus the centipede bites are supposed to cause intense pain. Coyote Peterson did a video on Arizona Centipedes and for one of the first times ever, he had to make the cameras turn off because the bite was so painful. Thank the GODS that leggy bastard didn't bite me 🙏😭

And I have no idea what the fuck this is about, but I like somehow know days in advance if I'm going to encounter a centipede??? Like I was in my room the other day getting clothes from my drawer and it was some clothing I'd never worn before and I thought, "oh man, I wonder if there's a centipede in this" with absolutely nothing prompting this thought. Of course, the clothes were clean. And then I was like "well fuck, that means that I'm going to see a centipede soon". It happens EVERY TIME I HAVE THAT THOUGHT. What kind of six sense nonsense is this??? I can't divine the winning lottery numbers, but you can bet your ass I'll know when a centipede is gonna show up 🙃

[theonewiththefanfics]

Reciprocated (one-shot)

Summary: College!AU

After being bothered by Brock Rumlow’s incessant pestering of asking the Reader out, she agrees but obviously regrets it. She has a ginormous crush on the star quarterback Bucky Barnes, who unbeknownst to her is absolutely head over heels for the girl and when she needs help getting rid of Brock, he turns into her knight in shining armour.

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: legit none

Genre: tiny bit angst; fluuuuufffff

Word count: 2894

   Y/N Y/L/N was the typical college nerd. Her head always stuck in a book, parties never being her scene, but the difference between high-school where she was teased for things like that was that here no one cared. Everyone was too engrossed in their own struggles with keeping up with assignments, having a social life and extra activities. Y/N was even great friends with the captain of their football team ‘The Howling Commandos" Steve Rogers.    They had bonded over their mutual hatred for their non-fiction teacher. Y/N was studying Creative Writing in hopes of becoming a full-fledged novelist one day while Steve wanted to be a sports reporter/ journalist.    “God, her voice is just so annoying,” he’d muttered underneath his breath one time while the teacher had droned on about something. Y/N couldn’t even remember what the lesson had consisted of.    “You should see her in publishing. She doesn’t even know how half the websites we’re supposed to use works.” The girl had muttered back, not really expecting an answer, but Steve immediately whipped his head towards her, a pained expression on his face.    “You have her for publishing!? Oh, you poor thing! I’m so sorry!”    A snort escaped Y/N, while she extended a hand towards the guy. “Y/N Y/L/N.”    “I know. You’re in the top three of every class,” Y/N’s cheeks heated up at the statement, but she wasn’t embarrassed by her accomplishments more so that others noticed it. “Steve Rogers,” he replied shaking her hand.    Y/N smirked, jotting down a few useless notes, knowing that she’ll have to go to the library to find the information herself to actually understand what the teacher had said. “I know. Your face is plastered all over campus. Running for Student President’s seat.”    Now Steve was the one blushing. “Uh, yeah,” he stammered, “thought it might look good on my CV. And I do think that I could improve things,” he quickly added, “at least I hope so. Don’t wanna idly sit around these four years, well now three and not do anything.”

   “Well,” Y/N smiled at him seeing his face flushed from the corner of her eye, “you’ve got a vote from me them.”    And that is how their friendship started. Steve introduced her to his friends and to her surprise all of them were really nice. The football team was completely opposite of what one would imagine, given the movie stereotypes that are seen in movies, especially when communicating with such a hermit like Y/N.    Being in their second year of studying was a lot of fun, except for certain lectures, of course. But what was even worse than a nasal teacher droning on and on about proofreading and editing was Y/N’s social life more specifically- her love life.    It’s not that she hadn’t had boyfriends before, but right now her main concern was her career and her studies. That’s why she found herself slamming Steve’s door open and rushing in, the eyes of his girlfriend Natasha- the head cheerleader and an incredibly nice, let alone attractive girl-, Sam- the vice president of the student union- and Bucky- quarterback of the football team and Y/N’s longtime secret crush- all staring at her with wide eyes.    “Sorry guys,” she heaved out, looking through the peeping hole, “sorry.” She crouched down as if the person or people the girl was hiding from could see her through the wooden door.    “You okay there, doll?” it was Bucky who took away her attention. The guy had started calling Y/N the little nickname the second they’d met. She thought that it’s how he referred to every girl, but little did Y/N know that it was only her.    “Fine,” she slowly slid up to look through the tiny glass hole and seeing that the coast was clear, she let out a breath the girl didn’t even know she was holding. Y/N gently placed down her laptop on the mantelpiece, while sliding her backpack off. Bucky had stood up from the couch and approached the girl taking her jacket off and hanging it.    “Such a gentleman,” she teased while ruffling through her Y/H/C. They were good friends, quickly hitting it off with their mutual love for everything space and science, yet she always kept her distance, afraid to let her true feelings slip. And even though Steve had told the girl many times Bucky couldn’t stop talking about her and that the man was head over heels for the girl, she didn’t believe him.    “Well not helping out such a pretty dame would be a sin.” There it was- that cocky smile, yet at the same time oddly affectionate as he looked down at Y/N. Her heart skipped a beat, but before anything could happen, Steve, pulled her out of the daydream.    “So you wanna tell us what happened or do we have to go beat someone up?”    “What, no! God, Steve stop!” Y/N flopped down onto the couch between Nat and Sam, where Bucky’s place had been. “Remember that guy Brock?”    “Rumlow?” Bucky was leaning on the back of the sofa right behind Y/N his palms clasped on her shoulders.    “Yeah. He’s been pestering me for a while to go out on a date and I just got so fed up with it, and his inability to take a hint, I just…. gave in.”    “And?” Nat was nudging Y/N, while rubbing soothing circles on her thigh, clearly seeing in how much distress the girl was in.    “And he was an asshole! A boring one at that. And now,” she emphasised the word feeling Bucky’s grip on her shoulders tighten, “he wants to go on another date.”    Sam’s eyes almost popped out of his head “You can’t be seriously thinking about going?”    “I may joke about wanting to die and not having a soul, but I’m not a masochist,” she deadpanned while keeping a completely straight face. “I just don’t know what to do! I keep telling him that I’m busy and I can’t but he just won’t stop.”    The room fell silent for a second. Everyone was pondering over what Y/N had said and what she should do before Bucky broke the tension. “Was he the one you were running away from?    “Mhm,” she nodded, feeling the man’s fingers scrape her skull as he massaged her head. Y/N almost moaned in pleasure but kept it to a deep sight. And let’s just not mention the butterflies in a hurricane rolling around her stomach. “I pretended to have my headphones in and to not to hear him, but I can’t do it every time and I just…. wanna die!” Y/N whined pressing her scalp in Bucky’s hands who cradled her head and put a little bit of pressure on her temples, rubbing them in a soothing motion.    He kept on doing his movements more so because the quarterback had fallen for the shy girl way too hard and this could be the only time he got to console her like this, let alone hold her. Then an idea popped into his head. It involved some pretty selfish things as he didn’t think Y/N reciprocated his feelings, but it would definitely get Rumlow off of her back and just the simple thought of Y/N on a date with that ass made bile rise up to his throat.    “I have a plan, but we can do this only,” he looked deep into Y/N’s eyes, getting lost for a second with how the evening sun made them sparkle, “only if you trust me.”    “Buck, you know I do. We've been friends for more than a year now and besides, you're Steve's best friend.”    There came a sound of protest from Sam, but neither took it to heart.    “Tomorrow morning, when you see Brock at any point in time, just come and find me. We’ll probably be by the main campus door; an early practice.”    Y/N squinted not really sure what cogs had started to turn under those long brown locks she just wanted to rake her hands through. “What’s your play here, Barnes?”    “Trust me,” he lent down whispering in a conspiratory tone, sending a shiver down Y/N’s spine, while his own heart threatened to hammer out of his chest, “it’ll get Rumlow off of your back forever.”

***

   It was 8:20 in the morning and Y/N was already on campus. She hadn’t really slept throughout the night, too excited for what was about to happen. Her first lecture started at nine, so the girl still had plenty of time to kill. She’d gone on a coffee run, given the fact that Steve and Bucky would be almost dead, after having to get up at 5 AM for their practice. Barnes’s black coffee still sent tendrils of steam through the plastic lid, while Steve’s latte and Natasha’s mocha had already gone down from scalding hot to ‘just-the-way-I-like-it’.    Ten minutes later and she could hear the roaring laughter of the Commandoes as they made their way across campus, coincidentally enough coming from the other side of the field was Brock, having spotted Y/N.    But it would seem that Bucky truly was a knight in shining armour.    “Doll!” he exclaimed opening up his arms as if awaiting a hug. “If this ain’t the prettiest sight on an early morning, then cut out my eyes and leave me blind. And you brought coffee! Truly you are amazing!” He whisked up Y/N eliciting a genuine squeal more from surprise rather than happiness.    Her Y/E/C eyes saw the two top lawyer students Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson walk by and her jaw dropped open when Matt laughed out loud at the blind joke. “So true, Buck. You’re one lucky guy.”    “What is going on?” Y/N hissed into Bucky’s ear.    “Relax, doll. Just roll with it.”    Y/N almost wanted to ask ‘roll with what’ when her brain caught up to his shtick. He was pretending they were together. It sent a mix of emotions through the girl- happiness, sadness, bitterness, that this was all a ploy to get Rumlow off of her back and not real, relief that she had such amazing friends and even a wave of jealousy as she realised after this, he’d probably go back to pining after other girls.    Brock’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion yet he still made his way towards the pair, or rather their group as Steve, Nat, Sam and their friends Tony and Bruce- literal geniuses- had also joined. Y/N handed out the respective coffees trying not to acknowledge Brock’s appearance, but his voice didn’t give her much chance of that.    “Y/L/N. You look lovely this morning. Though what would be lovelier is if you would ditch the loser bunch and come hang out with me.”    Bucky’s grip around her shoulders tightened, the metal plates whirring as they positioned themselves. He’d lost his left arm in a car accident, but Tony’s father- owner of Stark Industries- had specifically designed a new one for him, the two families of Barnes and Stark being close friends. Still, even without an arm, he was the hottest guy in the school. At least in Y/N’s opinion.    “Sorry, we have to head to class,” he shot back giving Brock a mocking smile that was still nothing short of dazzling.    “Hey, hey wait! I think the lady can speak for herself and if you could take your arrogant head out of your ass, Barnes, you’d realise we have a thing going on here and she’d most definitely want to spend her time with me.”    Y/N couldn’t contain the sigh that escaped her as she rolled her eyes and head simultaneously. “There is nothing going on between us Rumlow. I went out with you just because you couldn’t take a hint. And as you might see,” she pointed with one finger, the rest still holding her coffee cup, “I am with someone.”    God, did Bucky love the way it sounded when she said she was with him.    God, how right did it feel for Y/N to say she was with Bucky.    They turned to leave but Brock was relentless. “Come on Y/L/N. I know what you’re doing.”    Y/N quirked up an eyebrow also noting that they were causing quite the scene as more and more students started to pile in for their 9AMs and decided to stop to see how the situation would get resolved.    “You’re playing hard to get. Trust me, I know tons of girls like you, but you don’t have to do that with me sweet-cheeks. Just drop the act and let’s go.”    “The fact that you have the audacity to think Y/N would even give you the time of day to play such games, after so many times she has told you ‘no’, really baffles my mind,” being a surprise to everyone it was Bruce who spoke up. The usually very quiet and scientific boy really looked at Brock as if he had suddenly sprouted an elephant’s trunk.    Bucky knew he had to act fast or this could turn ugly because he could see Brock’s friends from “Hydra”, the local motorcycle gang, approaching real fast.    “Do you trust me?” he mumbled into Y/N’s hair getting a whiff of her shampoo and almost just staying there like that- engrossed in her smell.    The girl’s only reply was a tiny nod of her head. She felt Bucky’s fingers underneath her chin as he lifted it up and for second there existed no one but the two of them. His ice-blue eyes bore into her Y/E/C and she could see, she could swear on everything that she held dear, there was true love in them. And before she could do anything they were closed and his lips were on hers.    A pleasant shiver ran down her spine as Bucky’s hand snaked around to hold the small of her back. And even though the kiss lasted barely a few seconds it felt like an eternity. His lips were softer than she could’ve ever imagined, barely pressing against hers, but as she didn’t pull away a small smirk appeared on Bucky’s face that Y/N couldn’t help but mirror.    When the two separated bashful smiles graced the lips of both the girl and the man. Suddenly a thunderous noise of applause invaded their ears, popping the bubble. Everyone was clapping, some of Bucky’s teammates were hollering ‘finally Barnes’ and ‘took you long enough’ and ‘we thought we might have to go and tell her ourselves’.    “Tell me what?” she looked up at Bucky, once again in that safe bubble, she always felt when around him.    He replied without any hesitation, still holding on to Y/N’s waist as if to reassure him, she was there, they had just kissed and hopefully, she won’t run away. “That I’m absolutely, irrevocably and utterly head over heels for you, doll. Have been since the second Steve introduced me to you and, good grief, have I been dying to kiss you.”    Time slowed down for them. There was no Brock, no “Hydra” or “Howling Commandoes”, no Steve, with a grin stretched across his face so tightly Nat was afraid it would actually split his cheeks open. Nor did they see quite a few people exchange money as pretty much the whole school had bets going on when Barnes would muster up the courage and ask Y/N out or how long it would take the quiet girl to realise that everyone could see her longing gazes that she threw at Bucky, but could not open her eyes to see the same coming from Bucky.    “Well then,” she cleared her throat dropping Bucky’s gaze just to tease him a bit as her lips pulled into a thin line. The man’s face turned into a horrified grimace that he’d overstepped a line and more so than anything, he felt his heart shatter with the fact that Y/N didn't feel the same. “It’s a good thing I’m in love with you too, otherwise all of this would be really awkward.”    “You- what?” he was so confused.    “I said,” she leaned in closer, Bucky’s nostrils filling with her scent as a hopeful look appeared in his eyes, “that I love you too. And that means you’ll be able to get to do this more often.”    “Do what more often?” he was now teasing the girl the same way she was him.    “This,” and Y/N pressed their lips together. Only this time, neither let go.

A/N: I’m a literal mess.. but thank you so much for showing such love to my Bucky one-shot Perfect. It blows my mind how many of you liked it, really from the bottom of my heart, a giant thank you!  ;****

P.S. have any requests or wanna be tagged? drop a message

P.S.S. please tell me what you think

P.S.S.S. please don’t repost without credit :)

[emeraldwaves]

Title:  #pinkwall Chapter 9 Pairing:  Promptis Rating: T Word Count:  2,197 Read on Ao3 Summary: As a last hurrah before graduating college, Prompto suggests he and Noctis take a road trip to L.A during their 2 week spring break. Prompto is desperate to snap pics in front of the infamous Pink Wall of Instagram and Noctis is hoping to finally confess his feelings for his best friend. Will either of them find what they’re looking for on their impromptu cross-country road trip?

Thank you to @youaremynewdream  for betaing!

Even though he gets to sleep in, Noctis feels like absolute shit the next morning for a whole slew of reasons he really does not want to admit. He almost wishes he was one of those people who could just blackout and forget everything that happened the night before.

Instead, he trudges to the car, wallowing in his embarrassment over getting way too drunk.

"You, uh, sure you're okay to drive Noct?" Prompto says, keeping his voice down. Noctis has already yelled at him twice about keeping his voice quieter.

"Ugh... I'll be fine," he mutters. "Never let me drink alcohol again."

"Never?" Prompto asks. "Not even one or two drinks here or there?"

"Never," Noctis repeats, and flops down into the car. "In a few hours, we're going to be in California, and then we can check in to the hotel and I can die."

"Please don't die Noct, I can't drive the car back to New York without you!" Prompto gasps, climbing into the seat next to him.

"Ha-ha," Noctis mumbles.

As much as his head hurts, he realizes his heart hurts more. It feels heavy in his chest, pounding in his ears as he thinks on how stupid he was the night before. Prompto doesn't even know about it, but Noctis can't get over the fact he almost kissed him.

"Noct? You sure you're okay?" Prompto asks, looking at him with such concern.

"Yeah, Prom, I'm fine I swear. Just trying to get over this hangover."

He doesn't want to talk about it. He doesn't know what to say without straight out confessing. But maybe he should... they've only got a few more days on this road trip, and maybe it's time to consider getting things off his chest. Prompto's his best friend, there's no way he'll be weird about it... not to Noctis.

Right?

The car ride is quiet. Noctis can't imagine listening to music or really even talking right now, his head is throbbing, even after taking medicine. Guilt floods over him, knowing Prompto is probably so thrilled to almost be to California. Their destination is practically in sight, and Noctis swallows. They've come so far and the last thing he wants to do is ruin this for Prompto in any way.

"Oh man, Noct!" Prompto gasps, looking down at his phone.

"What’s wrong?" Noctis says, trying his best to keep his eyes on the road.

"Did…" he pauses, taking a deep breath. "Did you know the giant sequoia trees are in California?!"

"What?" he blinks. "That's what's wrong?"

"No... I mean... nothing is wrong, but we gotta go!" Prompto says.

"But... we're supposed to make it to L.A today!? How far away are these trees?" he asks, keeping his eyes fixated on the road. According to the GPS they've got almost three and a half hours left in the car.

"Okay... it would add an extra... I dunno... 2 hours to our drive, but it Noctis, I'm telling you... it will be so worth it! They're huge! You won't even be able to hug one."

"Prom, I know what kind of trees you're talking about," he sighs. He knows he's going to say yes. They planned on going to the walls tomorrow, so it's not as if getting to the hotel a little later will matter.

"I know you're totally hungover, and this is probably the worst time to ask you for a spontaneous change, but... I really think we gotta Noct! This whole trip is about discovering new things, taking risks, exploring the world!"

Noctis raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, the U.S isn't the world, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah..." Noctis sighs. L.A is going to be crowded and Noctis thinks his head could use some fresh air. "Alright," he says.

"I'm sorry, Noct... you're probably exhausted."

"Eh," Noctis shrugs. "I'm going to be tired either way, might as well go see some big ass trees," he smirks.

It takes a little extra time to get there, but the look on Prompto's face is so worth it when they pull into the parking lot of the large park. The trees are far up the path, but Prompto is looking at the forest with such awe, like he's never seen such grandeur in nature before.

"You're really excited about these trees," Noctis teases, stepping out of the car.

"Dude, they're gonna be so huge! We can get pictures of us in front of them, looking like tiny little ant people!" he laughs. "Gonna be fun to play with perspective."

"I guess I didn't think of that," Noctis says. "I don't have that artist brain like you do."

"Aw c'mon, Noct! Don't sell yourself so short!" Prompto laughs. "You've taken plenty of nice pictures when I've been around."

"I think I'll leave photography up to you."

The two of them head up the path, following the winding dirt and other happy families and friends visiting the site together. It's lively, and decently hot for a spring day, but Noctis supposes southern California stays warm this time of year... nothing like New York, which can stay cold until May sometimes. Noctis snorts at the thought; the cold is something he certainly does not miss.

"NOCT, LOOK!" Prompto says so loud, gesturing to the giant tree in front of them. It's toppled over, the roots sticking up high in the air. "These roots are ginormous!" He snaps a few pictures from afar, but immediately runs over.

There's a small sign next to it, explaining how it fell, due to natural causes thankfully. As cool as the roots are, Noctis thinks it's a little tragic, seeing this large, majestic tree, toppled to the ground. It's beautiful actually; the way the roots dance up towards the sky, dirt coating the bottom. It's been this way for years apparently...

"Get a picture!" Prompto says, handing his camera to Noctis. "I wanna make it look like I'm ensnared in the roots."

He poses, putting his hand in front of one gnarly looking root. He twists his leg around and makes a terrified face. Noctis can't help but laugh. He's never met someone so full of energy. In a way, this forest is perfect for Prompto, surrounded by trees that feel larger than life.

Prompto's presence can often feel that way.

Prompto really does look tiny compared to the trees though, but Noctis thinks he looks cute, posing all scared.

"Maybe we should take one together?" Prompto says.

This time, they take a selfie together, posing in front of the roots, pointing up towards them as if they're about to attack their heads.

"Scary," Noctis says. "If only it was night, it would be perfect for Halloween next year."

"Man, I know," Prompto sighs. "I guess we'll have to settle for this."

"Guess so," Noctis replies, nudging his side.

"Are you feeling any better?" Prompto asks.

"Yeah," Noctis sighs, stretching up as they continue along the path. "I think I needed some fresh air."

"Hey, Noct," Prompto mutters, his fingers tracing over the edge of his camera. "Thanks for doing this. I mean... for coming to the sequoia trees, but also for the whole trip. I know this probably isn't how you wanted to be spending your spring break, but I really appreciate you coming with me and driving us..."

Noctis flushes as he watches Prompto awkwardly fumble with his words. He's so cute when he gets so shy and genuine like this. Noctis loves seeing more vulnerable sides to Prompto.

He wonders if the blond feels guilty for making his hungover ass drive out of the way an extra two hours. Honestly, seeing Prompto like this makes it all worth it.

"Don't sweat it," Noctis says. "I wanted to come. If we hadn't done this, I probably would've spent spring break asleep on your couch while you played video games."

Prompto cackles, tossing his head back with a loud laugh. "You're not wrong."

"Yeah, this way we're getting to see the world," Noctis teases.

Snorting, Prompto is about to retort, but he jumps back the moment he sees it. A giant tree that covers the pathway. They're able to walk right under it, the roots hovering over the path. Prompto looks like he's just about to explode with excitement.

There have been a lot of big trees on the way up to this one, but this path covering tree is enormous...

Apparently they haven't even made it to the largest one.

Prompto runs immediately under the tree and starts snapping pictures of the underbelly. "Man... this tree must be ancient to be this huge. Imagine if you got to see all these years!" Prompto says.

"I dunno..." Noctis shrugs. "It might be kind of tiring to live that long."

"If you were with me, I think I'd be fine," Prompto giggles, continuing onward up the path.

Noctis stands under the tree, wondering if the roots will snap and crush his entire being. He simultaneously hates and loves when Prompto says stuff like that. He hates wondering if Prompto feels the same, but he loves hearing the words.

As they climb up the path, Prompto taking more pictures of larger trees here and there, Noctis can't stop thinking about what Cindy said, about what Ravus assumed. Did he and Prompto look like a couple? Maybe when they did silly touristy stuff like this they did?

He hates thinking he has a chance... he wants to get over this more than anything. And maybe the best way to do that is to tell him.

"Noct! Hurry! I can see the base of the large tree!" Prompto says, gesturing excitedly.

Noctis can't help but think a giant burden would be lifted if he could just come out and say it.

"W-Wow!" Prompto breathes, lowering his camera as he looks up at the large tree. "I can't believe this is it. It looks... like a monster... like I could fit 20 regular trees in there!"

They eagerly wait their turn for a chance to stand in front of the tree.

"Okay Noct!" Prompto calls out. "Back up as far as you can so it looks like I'm super tiny against this huge tree.

"No matter where I stand you're gonna look tiny," Noctis mutters, but he does as Prompto says, snapping a few pictures. Prompto adjusts, standing directly in front of it, as if he's doing a direct comparison of how tall he is compared to the tree which doesn't even fit in the whole shot.

"You look good!" Noctis calls out. He always looks good, but his face is filled with such joy over this simple tree, Noctis can't even begin to describe the feelings wishing to burst out of his mouth.

"Noct, you come here!" Prompto calls out. He takes his camera back, grabbing a stranger to get a picture of them. First, they take a normal one, standing in front of the tree. But then, Prompto hugs one side of the tree and Noctis hugs the other, as if they're trying to reach for each other.

Noctis can't see Prompto from this side, the tree is far too huge, and he hates it. He hates the idea of hugging Prompto with something so large blocking them in between. He wants to reach for Prompto and grab him, and hold him as tight as he can. He never wants to let him go. He hates trying to do the impossible, hoping eventually he'll reach him.

He doesn't like being blocked... especially when it's himself doing said blocking.

He can't keep doing this to himself. Tree or no tree, Noctis has to try.

Prompto pulls away and takes his camera back, flipping through the photos. "Man, these look great... though you look a little grouchy in this one Noct," he teases.

Noctis shrugs because he knows he probably was... kind of still is. He's ready to get to L.A.

"Should we... head back to the car?" Noctis suggest.

Dramatically, Prompto leans against the tree. "I'll miss this old timer!" he says.

Noctis shakes his head and gently pats the tree. "Thanks bud," he mutters. This damn tree helped him make up his mind.

"Did you just thank it?" Prompto asks, tilting his head.

"Yeah... you know... for giving us good pictures," Noctis shrugs trying to play it casual as they had back to the car.

"Yeah I really got some great ones!"

They admire the trees back down on the way car, and Noctis feels a wave of exhaustion run over him. He's got a lot to think about... a lot to plan. He can't wait to be in their L.A hotel, comfortable on his bed.

At the car, Prompto stands next to it, waiting for Noctis to unlock it. "So..." Prompto says, hovering his hand over the door handle of the car. "Should we finally get to L.A?"

Noctis nods, unlocking the door to get into the car for their last stretch of drive. "Yeah."

Noctis has finally decided; when they get to the Pink Wall... he's going to tell Prompto.

[theawkwardconfusedturtle96]

:D :D

New chapter of my fic is up! Hope y’all like it :) :)

July 4th, 2009 Las Vegas, Nevada

Kent’s first week in Vegas was a blur of company, clubbing and rough, but satisfying hockey. Pre-season training and conditioning had started on his very second day as an Ace, and even years of junior hockey couldn’t prepare him from the new, extremely high standard of NHL hockey.

And while Kent hadn’t had contact with Jack himself yet, a couple of days ago, Bob had texted him to tell him that Jack was now awake and responsive. Kent called immediately, asking whether Jack would be able to talk to him, but Bob said, his voice taking on a sad tone, “Son, I don’t think Jack’s ready for that. I’m sure he’ll call you soon. Until then, wait and let him take his time, okay?”.

After that, the conversation tended more towards Kent’s settling in and other such matters, but once he got off the phone, Kent collapsed into his new, fluffy couch, unsure whether to be relieved or upset. Right now, it seemed like a mix of both.

It took him everything he had just to keep up with everything and everyone at first, but by the end of the week he reckoned that he’d shown exactly why he deserved to be here as the first draft pick. He was wickedly fast, as someone of his height had to be to avoid being squashed into the boards by the behemoths that dominated most hockey teams, had superior puck-handling skills and by now had acquired an almost freakish awareness of exactly where his teammates needed him to be. It had certainly endeared him to the rest of the team. After the end of his first day of practice, Kent found himself befriended by the literal entirety of the team and both coaches, and his new phone was now filled with their numbers. This also translated to his social life, where the audience at his mini house parties had now grown from the initial heart of the team to least three quarters of the Aces roster, if not more. He went clubbing every alternate day, and while lots of places looked the other way, there was no shortage of people passing him drinks at any given time. And in the mornings, even if had drunk a little more than strictly advisable, his hangover was usually cured by being dragged to the nearby gym by a gaggle of teammates, mostly Lion, Dubs, Kuzzy, Swoops and Tay, who had now appointed themselves Kent’s BFF’s. Seriously, they now even had a group text and everything. It was a Thing™. But the reward for these exertions…the breakfasts. Kent thought he’d have to give up pretty much every single nice food he liked once he entered the NHL. But instead, almost every day after gym sessions, the gang tried out a different café or breakfast place, all with the most beautiful food, and Kent was living. He could almost feel like he wasn’t dead inside anymore, in fact.

It was during a breakfast like this on a seemingly ordinary Wednesday at what they’d now decided was their favourite place, a little nook called ‘The Egg and I’, which had absolute killer eggs benedict and a wide variety of overly sweet coffee and tea to keep Kent and Swoops happy when the conversation turned from gossip and shenanigans to something a bit more personal.

“So, Parse, we know it’s a special day for you today”, said Dubs, trading smirks with the other members of the little group sitting at the largest table.

Kent started a bit. He knew exactly what Dubs meant, but he didn’t exactly expect to do anything for it. He didn’t think that he’d have the time or the energy, even.

“Um………the fourth of July?”, said Kent nervously, playing nervously with the St Michael’s medal around his neck.

“No, you idiot, it’s your birthday”, said Taylor annoyedly, whacking Kent in the head with a long arm.

“Ouch, bro!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it to be so hard”, Taylor said apologetically, petting him on the head.

“How do you even know?”, asked Kent.

“We asked Coach when it was”, said Lion sagely. “We figured it was soon, but we didn’t realise it was this soon”.

“You got anything planned, bro? Any babes you got a hot date with?”, drawled Swoops, shoving past both Taylor and Lion and elbowing Kent in the ribs.

“Haha nah, man, no babes for me. And my only plans for today involve watching some trashy TV show and getting some takeout, nothing special”, said Kent, shrugging.

“Oh come on, man, don’t be a bore!”, said Lion emphatically, slapping him on the back. “You’ve got to do something!”

“Oh alright! What do you idiots suggest?”

“Clubbing?”

“Nah, we already do that a lot.”

“House party?”

“We already do that a lot too.”

“Laser tag?”

“Ooh, maybe !”

“Bowling?”

“YES!”, said everyone at once. The whole café swivelled around super fast to look at them, but after an apologetic smile from Kent to the cute manager, who had befriended the group, the café once again dissolved into companionable chatter.

“So then it’s decided”, said Dubs. “But first, we all have to go and change clothes and all that shit at Kent’s place, we already have all our stuff with us.”

“Wait, why do we have to go to my place? You guys can’t change at your own places?”

“Bro. Parser. Just go with it”, said Kuzzy, messing Kent’s meticulously arranged cowlicks into a messy tangle, much to his chagrin.

“Just made the reservation for lunchtime to midnight, we really need to haul ass right now if we want to get there on time”, pointed out Kuzzy, putting his glasses and phone away.

“How the fuck did you get that done so quickly, man?”, said Kent, confused.

“Good time management and lots of connections”, said Kuzzy knowingly, winking at him and exchanging meaningful looks with everyone else.

“Bloody English major, always showing off your freaking vocab”, said Taylor affectionately, poking Kuzzy’s shoulder.

“Taytay, it’s really not my fault that you have the vocabulary skills of a teaspoon”, said Kuzzy wisely, poking Taylor in the eye as payback.

“Ow, man, what the fuck?”

“You deserved it, you cretin.”

“Alright alright, settle down, boys, we’re all adults here”, said Dubs authoritatively, breaking apart the brawling twenty-somethings before they started wrestling each other over the table as they were wont to do.

“Fine!”

“Oh, alright then, Dad.”

“Ok, guys”, said Kent in a tone that tried to be stern, “Let’s go now then, before we all fall asleep right here from a food coma”.

With everyone’s approval, Kent got up and paid, asking how the manager’s MBA was going while sneaking her a very generous tip, before catching up with the rest of the boys and briskly heading off to his place in a gaggle.

Luckily, Kent’s place was only about a ten to fifteen minute walk from the café. But on the way there, Kent noticed some truly odd behaviour from his teammates.

Swoops and Dubs kept texting the entire time there, and he knew for a fact it wasn’t the team group chat, because he would have gotten the notifications too. They were never this hooked to their phones.

And Kuzzy kept talking on the phone in Russian to people, really quietly, something he never did. Leo and Taylor were the only ones who seemed to be acting remotely normal, but even they kept walking a little too fast for normal purposes. This strange behaviour only intensified as the group got to Kent’s apartment block, with the rest of the gang falling back and whispering among themselves as Kent took them all up in the lift.

Despite being quite an intelligent person, Kent was still somewhat clueless, as most eighteen-almost- nineteen year old boys are.

And as Kent opened the door, he was greeted with a very large group of people all yelling different, but equally loud variations of ‘Happy birthday, Parse!’ from every single possible location in the immediate vicinity. As he closed the door, he took in the huge banner that said HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY, PARSE! in big, colourful block letters, the balloons and streamers, that seemed to inhabit almost single nook and cranny, and most of all, the fact that literally his entire team was now currently crammed into his living room, laughing, talking and beaming at him.

“You guys…how did you…when did you…oh my god!”, said Kent, shocked and surprised, but ridiculously happy all the same.

“We knew you weren’t going to do anything for it, so we decided to take the initiative”, said Dubs happily, hugging Kent to him.

“Where did the rest of those idiots go?”, asked Kent. “They just ran into the apartment and I can’t see them anywhere”.

“Oh, they’re around”, said Dubs knowingly, pointing him towards the large, glass dining table he’d bought to accommodate the influx of constant visitors he always had.

There, he saw Lion, Swoops, Kuzzy and Tay carrying an absolutely ginormous cake to the table. As he was shepherded towards it, he noticed, with much happiness and laughter, that it was a hockey rink with a number of little men, including Parse himself, in little black uniforms. He was about to ask how on earth they got this done, but before that, Lion, with a beer in hand somehow, loudly declared “It’s time for the birthday boy to cut his cake!!”

So he did, with everybody loudly (and somewhat drunkenly) singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘He’s a Jolly Good Fellow’ in the background, and finally being fed a piece by Dubs. It was tiramisu flavour, his absolute favourite and the one his stepdad had always bought him since he was little, and it was absolutely delicious.

It seemed that the excitement of the occasion went to his head, because about five minutes after that, overcome with feelings, nostalgia and the sheer stress of the last couple of weeks of his life, he burst into tears, having to cry into Dubs’ shoulder to avoid falling onto the floor in front of everyone.

“What’s wrong, tiny sunflower?”, asked Dubs in a concerned voice and using the special petname he had for Kent.

“It’s just all too much, y’know? It’s just…I never thought I would have all this. All of you guys, all these friendships, this, along with hockey…I’m just so grateful. What did I do to deserve all this?” said Kent, sobbing still, but slowly getting himself together.

“Parser, this is how this team operates”, explained Dubs soothingly. “We all have each other’s backs, no matter what. We do shit for each other. We help each other out with anything and everything. And we’ve seen what a good guy you are, don’t think we haven’t seen you befriending not only the entire team, the rink staff and the PR people and all the waitstaff and management of every single place we go to. I know that you go and volunteer at the ASPCA every Thursday. And even without all these things, with everything that’s been happening to you…you deserve this. You really, really do, little guy.”

Kent was pretty much speechless for the next ten minutes, before he was promptly installed with cake and alcohol by Lion.

After about half an hour, Kuzzy suddenly announced “Oh shit, guys, we need to get to the bowling alley in an hour. Hurry up, everyone, go home and change and shower and whatnot and we’ll all meet there. Chop chop, everyone.”

And within ten minutes, the entire apartment was cleaned up (somewhat), everybody apart from the six ‘musketeers’, as they were called were now on their way home, and within twenty minutes calls and texts started pouring onto everybody’s phones, telling them that they were at the place.

Two hours later, with everybody divided into four teams and with a lunch of nachos, chicken wings and beer in their bellies, the party was really picking up. Kent hadn’t been bowling in who knows how many years, so he was terrible at it, but he found that even when he was getting his ass handed to him by his very smug teammates, he didn’t even really mind. He was having too much fun too. Every joke was funny, every single gutter ball was laughed off and the amount of laughs and hi-fives being given gave off enough positive vibes to power a whole small city.

His team even ended up winning, by the sheer combined efforts of Swoops and Kuzzy, although the other teams came really close. As a reward, they got to choose the next activity, and Kent took advantage and suggested laser tag.

Very few people in the team had been before, only Kuzzy had, having gone occasionally with his friends back in college, so they all learnt at the same time and had even more fun. All their competitive hockey instincts came out in full force, and they all ended up being shockingly good at it. Kent’s team won, again, and although the rest of the team cried foul, nobody really minded since it was the birthday boy’s team. It was, to Kent, something he’d hardly ever seen. Healthy competition was new to him.

Exhausted, they waltzed into the kickass pizza place nearby and somehow managed to fit everyone in, and between them demolished at least twenty pizzas and forty pieces of garlic bread, along with truly criminal amounts of soft drink (drinking of alcohol had now been banned so everybody could sober up). Then, piling into cars, everybody slowly said goodbye, handed Kent presents (which he immediately placed in the boot of Dubs’ car) and left, with promises to see each other at afternoon practice tomorrow.

It was at least nine or ten when the gang finally got to crash at Kent’s place, and with presents piled up at one end of the living room, a blanket fort was constructed in the master bedroom, with the Fourth of July fireworks going off in the distance and a party playlist playing softly in the background.

Leaning softly against Kuzzy, Kent began to fall into sleep. Probably my best birthday ever, he thought.

I could definitely get used to this.

AO3 link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/9499595/chapters/23143806