#hopefully the bus is not full and i can sit and take a nap

[celticwoman]

girlies (gn) im ngl, i dont want to go to school today im sooo sleepy

[maokomi]

ᥫ᭡ Reblogs are greatly appreciated !!

.ೃ࿔*:･ 「𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬.」 gn reader, sweetheart boyfriend Childe, modern AU, gooey lovey-dovey feelings, established relationship

Inspired by, of all things, a hypothetical situation presented by my Philosophy professor. So thanks, sir Louise. 

You step out of the airport terminal, gaze fixed on your phone. Around you, people bustle past you and your luggage like a river around a stone. Some grumble and give you stink eyes for being too slow, but you pay them no mind, one string away from snapping.

“Damn it,” you grumble, fiddling with your phone and the taxi-booking app you’ve got open. There’s urgency and annoyance behind the force in which you jam your fingers against the screen, scowling down at the ‘Fully Booked! Please wait a moment’ that’s been flashing across your screen in garish red letters for the past five minutes. 

It’s too fucking early for this— the sun is barely over the horizon, and you can practically hear the entire community waking up with a groggy yawn. You’re tired from the flight, hungry, jet lagged and frankly you just want to meet your boyfriend at home and take a long, long nap and waste the morning away. But apparently the rest of these sleep-deprived travelers also have a similar goal— and they’ve even beaten you to the commute, too.

You don’t give up for another few minutes, frantically refreshing the app in hopes that your luck will turn around, but no dice. With a defeated sigh, you jam the phone back into your pocket, a hand reaching to your temple to soothe the incoming headache. All it takes is a few seconds for you to resign yourself to your fate of having to take the overcrowded bus back home. Hopefully the archons smile down on you and you get to sit beside someone decent. Not someone overly interested in getting your number. Or a person who spends the entire ride back on their phone, obnoxiously yelling into their device. You shudder. With the way your morning is going, it’d be just your luck that that’s exactly who you end up beside.

Not for the first time, you let yourself think about calling Childe to pick you up, but you quickly chase the thought away. 

It’s tempting. So, so tempting. 

He’s probably in bed right now, warm under the covers. He’d probably recognize your specific ringtone, would pick up in a heartbeat even if he’s half asleep. And you already know that he’d half-heartedly whine about it being so early in the morning, even if you both know that he’s already pulling on some going-out clothes and looking for his car keys.

Childe would drop everything and anything if you ask, which is exactly why you don’t want him picking you up. Because, if your past calls are anything to go by, he’s been having a rather rough week himself, and you’d rather brave a packed bus and motion sickness than willingly pull him away from some well deserved rest.

Thoughts of your boyfriend, happily enjoying his day off steel your resolve, and with a resolute nod to your head, you begin to turn to the airport bus stop.

Then a whistle cuts through the air and —like some fucking drama— it’s as if the crowd parts and Childe, all bed-headed and grinning, is leisurely jogging up to you.

All you can do at first is stare at him in surprise because what the fuck you must be more tired than you thought,  you’re actually full-on hallucinating now. 

But Childe easily comes over, one hand immediately going for the handle of your luggage, the other wrapping around your middle. He pulls you into a one-armed hug, pressing a soft, fond kiss to your forehead and wow there is no way this is a hallucination.

“Hey sweetheart.” Childe grins at you when you pull away to look at him, almost looking amused at how bewildered you are.

And you, ever so jet lagged and exhausted, can only managed to say: “You… you’re here. Uh. Hi.”

“Hey.” You can practically hear the grin in his voice. For good measure, he plants a kiss on your nose. “What, you really thought I wouldn’t be able to come pick you up? Didn’t know you think so little of me, babe.”

You splutter, not even able to form proper words aside from the occasional ‘Wh—‘ that you manage to get out.

“Your google account is still logged in on my phone,” Childe says to your unverbalized question. He shrugs apologetically as begins gently leading you in the direction he came, a hand guiding you at the small of your back. “Didn’t mean to snoop, I swear, but when the email with your flight details came in I saw the time and had a feeling you were planning to hoof it without telling anyone. Which, by the way—“

He pinches your side. Not enough to hurt, but you yelp at the surprise of it.  

“—not super smart when you have a very willing boyfriend with a car ready to pick you up at the drop of a hat.”

You sigh, jabbing him back with an elbow, but all he does is grin wider. “You said you were tired! I didn’t wanna drag you out of bed or anything.”

“Well then consider me very willingly leaving the bed of my own volition, then.”

You roll your eyes, about to voice another argument that is more just for petty, affectionate bickering than actual argument, when Childe pauses and pulls you close, silencing you with a kiss to the crown of your head. You can feel the fond grin he wears.

“Missed you, sweetheart. Let’s get you home, then we can both go back to bed, okay?”

[msbarrows]

Another day I'm counting as a walk - #72 - despite most of it being sitting or standing around waiting.

Another doctor's appointment, this time to see a rheumatoid arthritis specialist at Sunnybrook about my fallen right foot (and the possibly related slight tingling in outer edge of left hand and loss of grip strength in same).

Well, the doctor and their student are fairly sure that whatever is causing it is not, in fact, in their area of specialty, but ordered a pile of blood tests and a full set of hand-wrist-foot-ankle x-rays to confirm and to give them additional leads. They're including the hands and wrists because they felt I was missing muscle mass in both hands compared to what they expected to see there, plus the loss of grip strength and tingling. They also referred me for an MRI later this fall, since whatever might be causing the problem may be a soft tissue issue.

I didn't even have to mention that the MRI would need to be back up north, they'd figured that out from my address, and are forwarding it directly to Health Sciences North in Sudbury. Hopefully from all of that they'll be able to narrow down what kind of specialist to get me a subsequent referral for; apparently the doctor also is intrigued enough by whatever odd thing is going on in the foot to ask me to give the two of them a call after the MRI is eventually done, presumably so they can take a look at it too. Their best guess at the moment is that it might be a "neuropathic joint" related to a combination of the peripheral neuropathy I had from severe foot infection 20 years back, plus a decade+ of untreated Type II diabetes worsening the neuropathy. They've also set up a referral to an endocrinologist up north to take a closer look into whatever my diabetes has been up to.

One nice thing, since they were getting blood work done, and I had the blood work order from the walk-in clinic doctor on hand, who I think they said has privileges at the same hospital, they just added what he wanted done onto what they wanted done so I could get all of it handled in one go. Yay for one less stop I had to make today, and being able to get it all done at the hospital rather than having to travel to a separate blood lab for separate draws. Many x-rays of my extremities were taken, many tubes of my blood were drawn, after which I treated myself to a giant cookie and a coffee at the hospital cafeteria before heading out.

...and then did some shopping before I went back to the nephew's place, since the hospital bus left me off at a subway station one stop away from a Kitchen Stuff+ store. Sadly they didn't carry the main thing I was after (pasta drying rack and ravioli mould to go with the pasta roller attachment I bought for my KitchenAid) but I did grab a small pile of assorted kitchen implements I wanted, like a proper offset spatula, dough scraper, small tongs, a water bottle cleaning set, and so forth.

And then once I finally got back to the house I napped, because all of that was tiring.

[trixxiephantomhive]

I posted 99 times in 2022

That's 99 more posts than 2021!

55 posts created (56%)

44 posts reblogged (44%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@airi-p4

@nerdypanda3126

@verfound

@ris-reblogs

@heartwithavacancy

I tagged 51 of my posts in 2022

Only 48% of my posts had no tags

#lukanette - 13 posts

#luka couffaine - 13 posts

#miraculous ladybug - 10 posts

#art - 7 posts

#airip4 - 6 posts

#pro lukamari - 5 posts

#miraclous fanfic - 5 posts

#lukanette endgame - 4 posts

#wip - 4 posts

#this is so cute i love it - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 40 characters

#ver you’re an evil mastermind in writing

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

August Minific Challenge day 04!!

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers

Today’s prompt is “How don’t you know the difference between your left and right?”

(Prompt list: )

WC is 693

Fugitive!Luka and Mari are making their way to London this time.

It’s the dead of night, and Luka and Marinette are running down the silent streets of Paris, trying to catch a ride on any bus that hopefully won’t call the cops on them.

They stop by a bus and Marinette and Luka go to board it. After getting on, the driver immediately yells for them to leave or he will call the cops, and in the heat of the moment Luka draws the gun Anarka had forced him to take with him when he started packing up to run. “Drive us to the Gare du Nord and don’t call the cops.” Luka sits in the frontmost seat facing the driver as Marinette takes the spot next to him.

The driver spits at them and curses. “Always knew you Vigilantes were freakazoids. I bet you’ve always been working with Hawkmoth.” Luka feels an almost predatory hiss climbing his throat but holds a straight face and just gestures to the gun.

The driver shuts up and takes them to where they wanted to go and Luka quickly pulls Marinette off the bus. “He’s gonna tell the cops where we’re going. We should transform to be safe then throw clothes over top.”

“Okay… and Luka… you wouldn’t actually shoot anyone… Right?”

The boy stares at her and almost drops his gun. “Of course not! It's just… we’re already criminals… It… seemed scary… I’m sorry Mar.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She smiles and quickly transforms and throws clothes on as they board the train, Luka having done the same. “I haven’t ever seen that side of you.”

“It’s the part of me I never want to be.”

“Mysterious.” The couple starts to giggle, some of the adrenaline fading away, as they’re already another step to safety.

After a bit of a trip, they carry their few things to the small residence in a quiet part of town and knock on the door. A slim woman seeming to be almost an exact copy of Sabine appears, quickly pulls the two weary travelers inside and gives them some tea.

See the full post

16 notes - Posted August 4, 2022

#4

August Minific Challenge Day 16

Prompt: “Can I hold your hand?”

Word Count: 283

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers

A rainy night where Marinette can’t help but wonder why Luka is standing outside in the cold weather. 

Marinette looks out her window into the pouring rain, and sees a figure standing in the street. This person, something just seems off about them. Sad, or Lonely. 

She goes down and out the bakery door. She walks up and sees it’s Luka, one of her friend’s older brother. A boy she’s grown a bit of a crush on. 

“Luka?” She calls out, and he turns his head to look at her. 

“Hey, what are you doing in the rain?” He asks. 

“I came out because I saw you, why are you out here?” She looks him up and down and her eyes are drawn to his simple grey t-shirt soaked from the rain, and his tired eyes looking to be long past ready for a nap. “Do you want to come inside?” She asks, gesturing over to her house, the bakery door still open, caught in the wind. 

“Okay” He calls out as she starts to run back towards the building. He follows her and they head up to her bedroom. 

“Luka, What are you doing in the rain?  and please let me get you something else to wear.” 

“I just felt like it?.. And I guess.”

Marinette leaves him alone and gets a pair of pyjamas from her older and quite absent older brother’s left over things, assuming they’ll fit, since he would’ve been a bit bigger than Luka is when he left. 

He gets up and changes, throwing his stuff into the dryer as well. 

“Hey Luka, are you okay?’

“I think so, I guess everything has just been too much lately…” Luka sighs and sits on the floor. Marinette kneels down and then sits next to him, glancing over. 

“Luka, Can I hold your hand?”

“Yeah..” Luka whispers back at her, his mind already shutting down for sleep, she takes his hand in her own and just smiles at the moment, hoping this can mean something for them in the future. 

17 notes - Posted August 16, 2022

#3

LBSC sprint Challenge for Prompt 5!

I put the original text prompt in the upper corner!

20 notes - Posted July 8, 2022

#2

W.I.P Wednesday 11/16/2022

Bartender!Luka

Luka was just zoning out and serving customers the night Marinette returned. She entered with no fanfare, just quickly over to the bar seat she found the night a week or so back. Luka didn’t even remember her at first, until after she ordered and he caught the sound of her heart. The Music that made her seem so kind at first glance.

“You know, People usually… Come to bars for alcohol. Not glasses of water and fries. That seems more of a diner thing.”

Luka chuckles at this small girl while he serves her what seems to possibly become a new usual.

“Technically you’re labeled as a Bar and Grill. That just seems to cater more to the bar side, You don’t have a bouncer. And I got a lot of work done last time.” Marinette looks up at him, plainly stating her fact of why it makes perfect sense for her to sit there with a glass of water and especially good cheesy fries.

Luka smirks and nods as he wanders off to help others. During the night the acquaintances catch each other's eye a multitude of times. Luka quickly darting away from the attention each time. The night gets later and later, and Marinette begins to sketch more and more, Losing herself in the work. After what feels like no time at all she feels a tap on her shoulder. So suddenly in fact, she screams and goes to attack with a pencil “AHH!!” “Woah, woah. It’s just, your friendly bartender here. We’re closing up and I wanted to give you some time to get out of here”

31 notes - Posted November 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

This Again?

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers sprint fic!! 

Prompt I chose:  I'd follow him/her to hell and back but I wish s/he'd just stop going there

“Luka I love you- but please stop almost dying.” Marinette adjusts her pigtails as she gets to work pulling stitches into her boyfriend's newest of many smallish injuries.

“I’m not currently almost dying. Just- Practising sword fighting while seeing who can go the longest without sleep isn’t a good idea.” Luka smiles and looks at her, ignoring the pain in favour of watching his beautiful girlfriend doing something with such precision and focus. A small blush creeping up his cheeks. 

“It really isn’t. Are you alright though? I can’t imagine this is comfortable.”

“Eh- not the worst thing ever. I’m a Couffaine. We’re made for taking hits and dealing them back harder.”

Marinette laughs, his stubborn yet charming demeanour always managing to make her smile. Then she thinks for a second and looks at him 

“You didn’t kill your best friend did you?” 

“Nope! Just tossed him off the Liberty.”

“Luka!!”

“Don’t worry- he’s fine”

“Good. dummy.”

“I love you too Marinette”

“Oh hush..”  after letting out a tired sigh she stands and gives him a quick kiss.

After getting sewn up, and not waiting around to let it settle, Luka gets up and starts making himself a cup of coffee. Also grabbing himself a fresh donut, swearing to Tom he’ll pay when he can (He has a tab of at least 96 Euros by this point). The large man doesn’t really care, noting that Luka is a nervous wreck around the love of his life’s father. Which has the girl’s parents chuckling to themselves. 

Once the coffee is finished, Luka returns to Marinette��s room, and sits back on her chaise. The slightly exhausted boy trying to sip on the hot drink.  

“Luka, seeing how long you can stay awake isn’t healthy.” Marinette looks at him, the concern written across her face. 

“Don’t worry, I’ve stayed up longer from insomnia, and I doubt Dingo is gonna last any longer, he could barely hold a sword.”

“I can barely hold a sword on a full night's sleep. They’re heavy Luka”

“you’re just extraordinarily small. In a hot way.”

Marinette blushes and throws a halfway finished pillow at him. He gets hit and laughs looking at the black and green pillow 

“Who’s this for?” He asks, wondering if she normally makes things other than clothes

“Just trying out something new” 

“Cool.”  Luka smiles, always impressed by the sheer awesomeness that is Marinette’s talent. 

Marinette, slightly freezes, trying not to blush at Luka’s ever adorable smile. 

The young couple just watch each other for a moment. Then slowly make their way closer to each other, arms extend, a hug turns into kissing, kissing turns into cuddling, cuddling turns into Luka staying the night, and that becomes use for the condoms Luka is forced to carry around by word of his mom. 

“I’m still not sleeping. “

“Well then at least shush”

He gently hums, and moves his hand to stroke Marinette’s bare side. “Got it, quiet”.

38 notes - Posted June 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[onionsoop]

Late at Night /// Nanami x f!Reader /// (+18)

Summary: During a class trip to Hokkaido, you find yourself stuck in the same bed with Nanami which leads to some late night events unexpected events :0

Length: 4.5k

Tags & Warnings: Teacher x Student (Reader is 18), exhibitionism (kind of), voyeurism (kind of), fingering, unprotected sex, creampie, stupid “same bed” cliché, praise (kind of)

Authors Note: Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that this the first fic that I’ve ever written and I hope you enjoy! I’m hoping to keep writing and posting more fics to this blog in the future for Jujutsu Kaisen, Haikyuu, and maybe some other fandoms. Anyways, thanks for reading and sorry for any spelling mistakes :) Oh, also there might be a part 2 for this??? idk, ill decide later on, not sure what direction I wanna take it in

The sound of the bus coming to a halt was what woke you up from your long and uncomfortable nap. You opened your bleary eyes to find the rest of the students in your class beginning to stand up and climb out into the cold and snowy outside. It had been a long trip, about eight hours and during that time almost everyone had fallen asleep. You had all left at eleven in Tokyo and due to being so far North, the sun had already set outside despite it only being seven. You picked up your backpack from where it was shoved underneath the seat in front of you and let out a sigh about having to get up and stretch your stiff legs. 

As you filed into the line, you were greeted by a large slap on your back, “Hey Y/N, how’d ya sleep?” Nobara asked, giving you one of her signature grins. 

“Fine,” you said rubbing your eyes, “though I can’t say that the bus window made a very comfortable pillow.”

“Well good thing we’ll be able to sleep soon. Hopefully, Gojou will put us together and won’t ruin our fun,” She said with a wink, receiving a small chuckle from you. Two weeks prior to the trip, Nobara had spent most of her time devising a plan to prank Itadori and Megumi while they were asleep. You knew she was counting on you to help her out with it, but you were a little unsure if you wanted to risk getting caught and excluded from the rest of the trip in order to fulfill one of her silly ideas.

Once everyone finally piled out of the bus, you were all led into the Dining Hall for a nice hot meal, a welcomed contrast to the freezing temperatures outside. You had never been to Hokkaido before and both the piles of white fluffy snow and the different array of hot soups and curries were new and exciting to experience. Dinner was overall jovial and chaotic, you sat with Itadori, Nobara, Todo, and Maki and you had all had a good time arguing about what activities you wanted to do in the next few days and which dish was the best. By the time dinner was over, you felt completely stuffed. During the course of the mea, you had eaten almost everything you could get your hands on and now felt more ready than ever to go to bed despite already sleeping on the bus. 

Everyone was piled into the main lounge area of the dorm building to be sorted into rooms. You could see students shifting around trying to get closer together and counting the number of people between them to try and be spaced together. From the edge of the room, Nobara was making aggressive eye contact with you and beckoning you to come over, which you quickly did in hopes that you wouldn’t be stuck in a room with people you didn’t know. 

At the front of the room, Gojou stood up and clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Now everyone, as you probably know, there are going to be four people per dorm, no more, no less during the duration of our trip. In every room, there is going to be one chaperone and three students. There are only two beds per room, so you will have to share with somebody else or choose to sleep on the floor, it’s up to you. And finally, to your displeasure, we have already assigned who is going to be in what rooms.” 

That final sentence caused a groan to come from the student body along with sounds of protest and arguing. Gojou ignored this though and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper and began to read names off of them. Students all began to pick up their stuff and head to their dorms as they were called out, and as you all listened Nobara let out a groan as she was sent to a room with Inumaki, Panda, and Mei Mei. You waited on the floor still surveying who else you might be put with. The number of students in the room was dwindling and most of your friends had already been taken which sent a pang of worry into your gut. 

“... and in room 6 there will be Itadori, Megumi, Y/N, and Nanami,” Gojou said. A momentary wave of relief washed over you after hearing that, you knew Megumi and Idatori semi-well, so it wouldn’t be too awkward of a time, but that feeling quickly dissipated as you remembered you were with Nanami. It was a well-known fact that about ninety percent of the female population found him attractive, and you couldn’t be excluded from that group. The pieces of the puzzle quickly snapped into place as you thought more about the room situation. You were the only girl in the group, which meant that there was no way in hell that they would be letting Itadori or Megumi share a bed with you. 

You would be sleeping right next to Nanami. For the next four nights. 

The walk to the room was only a chance for you to get more and more anxious as you thought about the upcoming events. Megumi and Itadori were cheerfully chatting in front of you, occasionally turning back to include you in the conversation or make a joke, but it didn’t help with the looming feeling of Nanami behind you. 

You all arrived in the room and Itadori immediately jumped on the bed, messing up the sheets and knocking off one of the pillows, earning a sigh and displeased look from Megumi. Despite your nerves, you plastered a neutral expression on your face and tentatively walked over to the second bed in the room, setting your bag down and sitting down on the squishy mattress. 

At this point, Itadori and Megumi were starting to argue, Megumi saying that he wouldn’t be able to sleep next to him if he was going to take up that much room while Itadori was doing his best to stretch all his limbs out across the full length of the bed. You pulled out your phone and tried your best to look busy. It wasn’t quite time for lights-out, but you still felt a bit nervous starting to unpack in a room full of guys, especially with one that made your heart race. 

Nanami, in his typical fashion, had not said anything since being assigned to the rooms. You felt him sit down on the other side of the bed and saw that he was beginning to unpack out of the corner of your eye. You shouldn’t be so nervous, nobody else is, after all, Nanami was just going to be sleeping next to you, you had stood that close to him before on other occasions. It still felt different though… You quickly shut those thoughts out of your head as soon as they came in. He was your teacher, you shouldn’t be thinking that way. 

To distract yourself, you unzipped your bag to go and look for your pajamas and toothbrush. You had packed a mix of cold and warm clothing for your trip considering you would be traveling all over the place, but you soon realized you had made a mistake with your pajamas. You pulled out the green shorts and tank top you had packed without much thought, despite never feeling this way about them before, you now felt that they might be a little too revealing for sleeping in a room full of guys. 

You shoved the top back into your bag and opted for a t-shirt instead, which helped you feel a little less nervous about your situation. In order to get out of the room, and to hopefully talk to Nobara, you rushed into the girl’s bathrooms and let out a relieved sigh. This trip was going to be a difficult one to get through. 

You quickly got changed in a stall and spent a large portion of time afterward talking with the other girls in the room. Many of them were complaining about who they got put in a room with while others were whining about not getting to stay with Gojou. Apparently, Momo was the lucky girl of the night who got to room with Gogou, Todo, and Mechamaru, but she didn’t seem to have much interest in her good fortune. Finally, Nobara slammed open the door to the girl’s bathroom and made her way over to you. 

“I can’t believe this stroke of luck, you got a room with both Itadori and Megumi, that’ll be perfect,”  She said with a devious grin on her face. 

“I’m not really sure, do we really wanna risk the rest of the trip?” You said, trying your best to calm Nobara’s excitement. 

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry. Plus, we can wait until the last day too, then they’ll have their guard down too,” she stated, nudging you in the arm after. You continued to happily chat with the rest of the girls and avoid going back to your room for a good half an hour, but, as expected, you heard Gojou come down the hall announcing that it was five minutes until lights-out. Most of the girls quickly began packing up their stuff and rushing out of the bathroom to not get in trouble and you figured you should do the same. 

When you walked back to your room and pushed open the cracked door you were quickly confronted with your nerves coming back and a hyper Itadori. Megumi was in bed doing his best to read a book while Itadori was bugging him through multiple various and loud methods. You went back to your side of the bed and put your toothbrush and skincare away, laser focusing your eyes on anything that wasn’t Nanami. 

The five minutes that you had before bedtime seemed to be over before you could even process it. For the first time that night, at least to your knowledge, Nanami finally said something, “Alright boys and Y/N, lights out.” Which earned a complaint from Itadori and caused Megumi to quickly jump up and shut off the lights, eager to have a chance to get away from him. You could see Itadori and Megumi start to bicker about the blankets and “staying on your side of the bed” as you pulled back the covers and crawled in between the blanket and the sheets. The bed was warm from the thick layered blankets on top and the fuzzy fabric it was made out of and as soon as you sank into it, your tiredness from the long day hit you like a brick. Despite that though, you still went stiff when you felt the bed shift from Nanami laying down next to you. 

“If I steal all the blankets during the night feel free to take them back.” He said, making you jump and answer with a quick “Okay.”

Even after Itadori and Megumi had finally settled down you still couldn’t completely calm down. You were making sure to stay on the very edge of the bed to not accidentally make contact with Nanami, but it wasn’t a comfortable position. You thought he might be asleep already but you weren’t entirely sure, he hadn’t moved much from his original position either.  You could hear Itadori’s snores from across the room and the constant shifting of Megumi who was currently covering his head to try and drown it out. After a while though, you finally felt yourself begin to drift into sleep, and you welcomed it. 

It was the middle of the night. You don’t know what woke you up but you found yourself disturbed and rubbing your eyes in the pitch-black room. As your eyes were beginning to adjust though, you immediately froze. You found yourself facing the chest of Nanami with his arm under your head, you must have rolled over at some point in the night putting you right next to him. 

The slight smell of aftershave filled your nose and you could hear him gently breathing with the rise and fall of his chest, he must be fast asleep. The loud snores of Itadori still echoed through the room but all you could concentrate on was the man in front of you. You had never been this close to him before, or anyone before, and your heart felt like it was about the burst out of your chest. You wouldn’t dare move in fear of waking him up and making the situation awkward, so you stayed frozen in your spot trying not to shake. 

You couldn’t deny that you had thought about things like this before, the thought of being so close to him, having him touch you, and being able to feel him under your hands, but the prospect of having it actually happen was just too anxiety-inducing. You could feel your face going red as you thought about all the dirty things you had done before, and you felt a slight twinge between your legs. 

You couldn’t. Could you? You hated the thought as soon as it entered your head, but that didn’t stop your hand from creeping between your legs and resting on your stomach. It was so wrong, he was your teacher, he was nine years older than you, but you didn’t want to stop. You would probably never get a chance like this ever again. You could even promise yourself to sleep on the floor the next three nights, but just this once, you wanted to risk it. 

Your fingers crept down under the waistband of your shorts and panties and dipped into the slick folds between your legs. You tentatively put two fingers inside, never taking your eyes off of Nanami’s face, and began to pump them in and out. Your thumb found its place on your clit which you began to rub circles on. The sudden feeling of having your clit touched was enough to make you clamp your other hand over your mouth to try and quiet your breathing. Your first priority had to be staying silent.

You could feel your eyes beginning to half close as you gave into the pleasure, and they drifted down to look at Nanami’s chest and the sculpted muscles under his shirt. You began to move your fingers faster feeling your release on its way and you held your hand tighter to your mouth as your head became fuzzy. Small whimpers were beginning to slip out of your throat and you could feel your movements getting sloppier as you continued to speed up. 

A hand wrapped around your wrist, stilling your hand. 

You froze, eyes shooting open to find Nanami looking down at you with a weary expression. You opened your mouth to say something but nothing came out. Your brain was in a frenzy, you wanted to just evaporate into thin air or die on the spot, but you couldn’t do anything. 

“What are you doing?” He asked with no hint of emotion in his voice. 

“I-I’m sorry-- I--,” you couldn’t spit the words out, truthfully you couldn’t even think of what to say. You were caught red-handed and you didn’t think you would ever be able to make yourself forget the embarrassment you felt at this exact moment. 

“Do you normally do this when you’re put next to your teachers?” 

“No, I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’ll leave--” you stuttered out, trying your best to make the situation end as quickly as possible.

“So this is a special occasion then?” He asked, holding your gaze and not releasing your arm. 

“N-No--”

“Which is it then? Do you normally do this or is this a one-time thing?” He said, interrupting you before you could spit out another pitiful apology. You tried your best to slow your breathing to get out a coherent answer, but it wasn’t working with the way that Nanami’s eyes were drilling into yours.

“I-Its a one-time thing, I-I’m sorry, I’ll go sleep on the floor,” you said trying to pull your hand out of his grasp but he didn’t let go. You felt sick, you shouldn’t have taken the risk, you knew that the mortification you felt would outweigh the pleasure you got from masturbating if you got caught.

“You’ll be left frustrated then.” He said. Everything he was saying wasn’t registering, all you felt was the panic in your gut and the need to get away as quickly as possible. 

“T-That’s fine, I-I don’t care,” you quickly spit out, feeling tears pricking at the corner of your eyes.

“Are you sure...? ...I’d be willing to help,” he said, keeping his voice low as to not wake Itadori and Megumi.

“I--.., w-wait, what?” You said, the meaning of his words finally hitting you. 

“I would be willing to help, I don’t want one of my students feeling pent up and unsatisfied.”

“I…” you didn’t know what to say, you were so shocked by the whole situation that the thought of answering was even too much. He pulled your hand up from under your shorts and out into the open where evidence of your actions was clearly visible on your fingers. His gaze dropped back down to your face expecting a response. You opened your mouth to answer before diverting your eyes and opting to give a small nod.

Nanami’s hand landed on your hip and slowly made its way down under the waistband of your shorts while the arm that was under you came down to reach around your back and pull you closer. You could feel his fingers brushing past your stomach as they trailed closer to your dripping wet cunt. Your breath was caught in your throat as you felt everything that was happening, you had to be dreaming, there was no way. 

Nanami’s fingers finally reached your entrance and he slipped one inside of you, causing you to let out a small gasp and cling onto his shirt. His fingers were much larger than yours and could reach places that you couldn’t yourself, making you tighten up around him. It was truly torturous as he began to move his finger inside of you, the friction on your tight walls and the adrenaline from the whole situation was enough to make your head fuzzy and cause a small whimper to come out from your sealed lips. 

 You could feel him pulling you closer as you held onto his shirt and arched your back from the pleasure. He was already going at a gentle and agonizing pace inside of you, but when he added a second finger it was what threw you over the edge into a shaking mess. You were no longer able to control your breathing and keep quiet so you threw a hand over your mouth in order to stifle your moans and whimpers. 

“Getting close?” he asked, whispering into your ear making you shiver from the feeling of his breath on your skin.

Without thinking, you whined out, “Y-Yes, b-but I want more, I-I need you inside of me...” 

As soon as you said it you knew you had gone too far. Here Nanami was, fingering you and holding you close to help you cum, and you had the audacity to ask for more. His fingers stilled inside of you and you tightened up at the feeling of them sliding out, leaving you empty. Nanami put his hand under your chin and tilted your head up to look him in the eyes.

“Then climb on,” he said, making your eyes widen.

You took your hands away from their place on his shirt and began to unsteadily move yourself on top of him. At that same time, he had his fingers hooked around the waistband of your shorts and thoroughly soaked panties and was pulling them down your legs. You positioned yourself on top of his lap, your thighs on either side of his hips. You had your hands braced firmly on his chest, trying to hold yourself up, but you couldn’t manage sitting up more than a few inches. Under your bare pussy you could feel his hard-on through his pants and you were trying your best to keep your hips still and not grind on him. 

His large hands began to pull his pants and boxers down and you lifted your hips to make it easier, but when he had finally removed them you couldn't hide your surprise about his size. Apparently, the look was written all over your face because a hint of a smile was on Nanami’s face and he grabbed your hips to keep you steady.

“You were the one who said you wanted more, sweetheart. You haven’t changed your mind right?”

You dryly swallowed and quickly shook your head no. Even if you were worried about being able to take him, it didn’t mean that you weren’t going to try, especially when one of your wet dreams was playing itself out in real life.

Nanami slid his hands around your hips and under your thighs to help position you above his cock. You could feel yourself beginning to shiver with anticipation just by looking down at what you were going to take in your tight, dripping pussy. The need to be filled up by him was becoming overwhelming and he was taking his sweet time with looking at you and lowering you onto him. When the tip finally touched your entrance you let out a whimper followed up by a pathetic “please.”

“Please what? I wanna hear you say it.” Nanami said, bringing a hand up to stroke your cheek.

“P-Please fuck me, I-I wanna be filled up so badly,” you said, your voice barely more than a whisper. Finally, you felt him start to enter you, your walls painfully stretching to accommodate his size, and you weren’t able to stifle the high-pitched moan that escaped your lips when it happened. Your vision was getting blurry and your arms lost the strength to hold you up anymore, causing your head to smack into his chest. You heard Nanami curse at the loud noise you made and you felt his fingers force their way into your mouth and down your throat, forcing you to keep quiet. He continued to push your hips down onto him, earning a few whimpers and causing you to grip onto his arm. Despite your heavy breathing, he didn’t give you much time to adjust to his size, you could feel the painful sensation of him pressing up against your cervix as he held you down along with the feeling of your slick beginning to coat both of your thighs. 

His grip tightened on your ass as he began to lift you up and down, you tried your best to help by moving your hips but you didn’t have much strength left in your legs after being so close to cumming earlier. The feeling of him stretching you out and rubbing against your slick insides would have ordinarily caused you to make moans that could be heard through the walls, but the combined force of using all your willpower and having two fingers shoved down your throat was enough to reduce your noises to just quick and heavy breathing. The wet sound of you bouncing on his dick was the only noise that could be heard throughout the room and it was enough to make you tighten up around him, causing Nanami to shut his eyes and get a concentrated look on his face. 

In a hushed and deep voice, Nanami asked, “Can you keep quiet sweetheart?” which you quickly nodded to. As soon as he had removed his fingers from your mouth, leaving a trail of saliva behind, your hand was back over your mouth and you were biting your lip hard enough to draw blood. His free hand brushed a piece of your hair behind your ear before making its way under your shirt. You felt him grab your chest and begin to pinch your nipple between his middle and index finger, making your job of staying quiet much harder than before. The feeling of having your chest played with sent waves of pleasure down to your crotch, only causing you to feel yourself get wetter and closer to orgasm. The pace he was fucking you at wasn’t ruthless, but it was slow and powerful enough to make you feel your release building up inside of you, every thrust made it a challenge for you to hold on and not completely give in. You could feel that he was close too, his movements were getting more erratic and you could see the sheen of sweat on his face in the dim light of the window. 

You took your free hand and moved it up to his face, brushing your fingers past his cheek and sliding them into his hair. You didn't feel like you would be able to hold on much longer and your eyes began to cross as you let yourself fully give in.

“Cum with me sweetheart, okay?” He said, looking up at you through lowered eyelids. You nodded with what little energy you could and prepared yourself for what was next. His hand moved from its spot on your chest and went down to help fuck you faster on his dick. The pace quickly picked up and you could feel that your pussy was going to be bruised in the morning from how hard he was going. He reached his thumb down to your clit and began to move it in circles like you were doing before, causing you to gasp and grip onto the hair that was in your hand. 

It took all your effort to keep in your moans and whimpers as you reached your climax, feeling your cunt spasm around him and the words “good girl” falling from his lips. Your vision went blurry as he continued to fuck you through your orgasm and cum inside you, filling you up with his hot sticky liquid. 

When you regained your focus, you were both a gasping and sweaty mess under the covers. His hands had moved to rest around your back and hold you against him and his cock was still sheathed inside of you. You didn’t have any energy to move and simply let your arms fall limp on the bed, savoring the afterglow and the feeling of his cum starting to drip out of you. 

You felt immensely tired and could feel your eyelids wanting to close. You felt Nanami place a kiss on top of you head which caused a faint smile to form on your lips and you wrapped your arms around him, ready to fall asleep exactly where you were resting on top of him.

As you gave one last look around the room though, the last thing you saw before you drifted to sleep was Itadori staring at you wide eyed from the other bed. 

[musings-from-mars]

@pollinationweek 2021: Day 1 - Band AU

They had been stranded here on the side of the road for a while now, and Ruby was not handling the fact that their van was seemingly broken down well, all while they were still hours away from their gig. “What do we do?” She asked for perhaps the twentieth time as she paced, her boots thump-thumping against the asphalt.

“We buy a new van,” Weiss grumbled, content with just staring at her girlfriend’s butt as Yang draped herself over the front of the van to check under the hood.

“About a week too late with that idea,” Blake said, also content with staring at Yang’s butt.

“Hey now,” Yang’s voice echoed from inside the van’s inner workings, her feet kicking up behind her. Her jeans were getting caught on the metal, revealing the top few inches of her plaid boxer shorts. So attractive… “I can fix this, don’t worry. I know Big Berty inside and out.”

Big Berty was an early-2000s era transit van with two hundred thousand miles on the odometer and a chipping coat of black paint. It was practically held together by Yang’s very hopes and dreams, and a liberal amount of duct tape.

“Yang, we’re in the middle of nowhere,” Weiss said as she stepped closer, glanced down into the van skeptically, diligently avoiding getting any van dirt on her white runners jacket. “Unless you can do magic, we’re not getting anywhere. We should just call a tow truck.”

“How much will that cost,” Blake asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Weiss assured her, alluding to her ability to still access her rich family’s fortune despite being disinherited. It would require a couple calls to a sympathetic butler and a particularly tech-savvy groundskeeper at her family’s manor, but she could acquire funds in an emergency.

“Okay, but how long is it going to take?” Blake added, pulling out her phone. “Because wherever we are, it’s nowhere close to a cell tower, so I don’t think a tow trunk is nearby either.”

“Ye of such little faith,” Yang said, then she tried to shift her position, yelped with pain, fell backwards and bumped the top of her head on the hood of the van. “Fuck!”

Weiss was the one closest by and caught Yang in her arms. “Careful, you dunce!”

Yang gritted her teeth as she rubbed her head with her hand. Then she sighed as she looked at Weiss, their faces close. “Heheh…okay, I’ll admit it. I think Big Berty is taking an impromptu sabbatical.”

“You mean it finally clunked out and we can get a new van?” Blake asked hopefully.

“I didn’t say that!” Yang said defensively, then stared at Weiss a little more. She sniffed and started to feign tears. “Don’t make me give up my Big Berty Baby, Weiss.”

“Someone catch her, I’m about to drop her,” Weiss deadpanned.

Blake volunteered to assume Yang cradling duties as Weiss sighed dramatically and turned to Ruby. “Hey, we’ll be fine. This is why we leave for long trips a day early, remember?”

“But it’s almost nightfall,” Ruby said, looking up at the orange dusk. “Even if we make it in time, we’ll have so little sleep. Gods, this is gonna suck, we’re gonna suck, I’m gonna suck…”

Weiss stepped closer, taking Ruby by the shoulders. “We’ll be fine, don’t worry so much.”

Ruby’s cheeks turned a faint pink, but she shook her head. “I just don’t want a repeat of last time.”

Weiss looked to the side and pressed her lips together. She remembered the last time they’d had a mishap. It wasn’t a big performance, just a local set at a club back home. But a combination of equipment mishaps, some rowdy club goers, and Ruby being on two hours of sleep at best made for a rough night. “This will be different, Ruby,” Weiss assured her. “We’re far better prepared now. We’ve got this.” She punctuated her point by leaning forward and giving her a light kiss. “Now come sit down while Blake calls the tow truck.”

“I just said I don’t have service,” Blake called while slowly lowering Yang to the ground since their drummer seemed to refuse to stand up.

Weiss pulled her phone from her pocket and threw it to Blake with a tremendous amount of trust that she would catch it. “I have service.”

Blake caught the phone with one hand and looked at her phone. “Full bars? How?”

Weiss didn’t answer, instead turning back to Ruby, who was calmer and more flushed-faced now. “Come sit on the tailgate with me. Maybe if you play something for fun that might help you settle a little more?”

Ruby’s shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath, but she smiled and nodded. “Yeah, good idea.”

While Blake called a towing company, Yang stayed on the asphalt for a little floor time, and Weiss and Ruby sat on the back of the van. Ruby had her acoustic guitar in her lap, strumming random tunes and chords as Weiss sat with her, her head on her shoulder. She chuckled as she listened to Ruby play. “You know what would be funny?”

“Hmm?” Ruby turned her head toward Weiss, pausing her playing to listen.

“What if we recorded a song right here? Like, on our future album or something, just out in the middle of nowhere?”

Ruby blinked and looked where she was looking. Besides the road, there was nothing but grass and trees as far as the eye could see. “It is pretty quiet,” Ruby agreed.

“Once we hit it big time, you know?” Weiss continued. “It would be a cool way to remember moments like this, just us in Yang’s shitty van. But hopefully by that time, we’ll have a bus or something.”

“Aww, but then we wouldn’t have to sleep in a pile like we do in the back of the van,” Ruby said with a giggle.

“Says who?” Weiss joked, smiling and kissing Ruby’s cheek. Ruby smiled and leaned against her, then returned to strumming on her guitar, playing a few chords from one of their songs that sounded a bit odd on acoustic, but was nice to listen to either way. Weiss even joined in and sang softly, though it was nowhere near her performance level register, like a soft lullaby. By now, Ruby’s worries about arriving on time had faded. Sitting here while Weiss sang was just fine with her.

Soon, Blake rounded the back of the van and sighed. “Tow truck is coming, should be about an hour-and-a-half.”

“That long?” Ruby asked as she stopped playing abruptly. Weiss sat upright as she looked up at Blake.

“We really are in the middle of nowhere,” Blake said, taking Weiss’ phone from her button-up flannel’s breast pocket and handing it back to her. “I also called the hotel and told them we’d be in late.”

“Should we…cancel the hotel to pay for the tow truck?” Ruby asked like it pained her to say. She set her guitar aside and hopped to the gravel ground, straightening her plaid skirt.

“I told you, I’ve got it handled,” Weiss assured her.

“Sorry, I’m just…” Ruby took a deep breath. “I’m anxious about us missing our gig, or running out of money…”

“Yang,” Blake called out, cupping her mouth with her hand. “Stop taking a road nap and come comfort your sister.”

A few seconds later came the thump thump thump of Yang’s boots, followed by her capturing Ruby in a hug. “Don’t worry sis, it’ll be alright!”

“Egh…loosen up…” Ruby grunted as Yang proceeded to lift her up and crush her rib cage.

“Whoop, my bad.” She gently placed Ruby down and patted her head. “But seriously, though, we’re going to be okay. This isn’t the only gig we have lined up, we have savings, we have, erm, a rich girl.” She gestured at Weiss, who rolled her eyes at her. “We’re good, okay?”

Ruby sighed and looked down, shuffling her feet on the gravel shoulder of the road. “I guess you’re right. I just worry too much…”

Blake stepped up and hugged her from behind. “Hey, while we wait, what do you say we put on some music, raid our snack stash and have a chill sesh until the tow truck arrives?”

Ruby smiled and leaned back into Blake’s arms. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

Yang grinned and pulled Weiss into a rough side hug. “Yeah, let’s have a chill sesh!”

Weiss grunted and tried shove herself away from Yang. “No sesh is chill if you’re involved, and you smell like the inside of Berty.”

“Aww come on, you love me,” Yang said as her strength overcame Weiss and pulled her into a proper hug.

“That’s irrelevant!” She claimed feebly, failing to hide the smile that was overtaking her face.

Blake hummed with amusement, then kissed the top of Ruby’s head. “How bout you pick that guitar back up. Maybe that’ll calm them down.”

“You think so?” Ruby asked with a giggle, watching as Weiss still flailed in Yang’s embrace.

“Worth a shot.”

~~~

An hour later, Weiss had fallen asleep in Yang’s arms. The two had laid down in the back of the van on the mattress, and after Weiss got through with her complaining and Yang had pared back her teasing, they’d settled into a close cuddling position and were asleep soon after. Ruby’s soft playing probably helped, as did the gentle breeze that had begun to blow through. The sun was almost set by now, bathing the sky in a deep graying blue.

Blake sat behind Ruby, holding her around the waist she she played with her legs to the sides. She was playing a slow, light tune, low in pitch and a careful rhythm that came and went like a tree swaying in the wind. Blake had said it many times to her before and Ruby never believed her, but Ruby really was the best guitar player Blake had ever met. Even while casually playing while stranded on the side of a road, her music was masterful. Blake felt so lucky to just get to hear it. “I love you,” she whispered.

Ruby hummed and smiled, continuing to play as she spoke, “I love you, too.”

“Thank you,” Blake said, kissing Ruby just above the temple.

Ruby chuckled quietly. “For what?”

“I mean,” Blake said as she began to reminisce. “You’re kinda the reason this is all real. If you hadn’t been crazy enough to convince us all to abandon our sensible career choices and form a rock band, I never would have gotten the chance to fall in love with you three.”

“I did kinda ruin all of your lives, huh?” Ruby said with a giggle. Her playing was slowing and getting quieter.

“Hardly,” Blake said, tightening her embrace around Ruby a little. “Because of you, Weiss got away from her dickhole father, Yang escaped the fate of becoming some bored shop mechanic, and I, well…I’d be in a shitty apartment doing nothing.”

“You’d still be writing,” Ruby pointed out.

“Maybe. ADHD doesn’t do well without motivating factors,” Blake said and Ruby nodded knowingly. “This band, though? My girls? That’s all the motivation I need. I’ve never been this happy.”

Ruby smiled, now no longer playing, her hands frozen in playing position. She didn’t realize she had stopped. “We wouldn’t even get to be stranded here in who-knows-where if not for me, huh?”

Blake giggled and kissed her head again. “Exactly.”

They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the wind blow. It was properly nighttime now, stars dotting the sky.

Ruby yawned, finally setting her guitar aside. “Honestly…I’d be okay just sleeping here tonight.”

Blake hummed, turning her girlfriend so she could cradle her sideways in her lap. “Sounds inviting. But a hotel room with a bathroom sounds even more inviting.”

Ruby shuddered. “Don’t say that, I’m trying not to think about needing to use one of those bushes for cover.”

Blake snorted, looking down at Ruby’s face. “You’re such a dork.” She leaned down and kissed her softly, cupping the back of Ruby’s head with her hand. Ruby hummed into the kiss, then placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder and pushed. Blake slowly leaned back until she was lying on the mattress as well, with Ruby parting from the kiss and adjusting to lie on her chest.

“So you’re really happy?” Ruby whispered, her hand resting in the center of Blake’s chest with Blake covering it with her own, she stared up at the Edison bulbs they had strung along the upper trim of the van’s interior, bathing them in warm light.

“Ruby, being in this band is a dream come true. Being in this polycule is a dream come true. Hell, being here right now is like a dream,” she smiled and tugged Ruby a little closer. “I’m more than happy.”

Ruby snickered. “Sappy.”

“I know.” She turned her head to look towards her other two girlfriends, Yang on her side and facing towards them, face partially obstructed by blonde hair, with Weiss held close to her chest, the girl’s back to Blake and Ruby and her face tucked against Yang’s shirt. For a pair who loved to bicker, they sure knew how to cuddle.

Ruby noticed Blake staring and smiled. “I’m happy, too. To get to do something like this with my sister and our girlfriends, I just…” She took a deep breath and sighed. “Dream come true, like you said.”

“Sappy,” Blake teased.

“You started it,” Ruby joked, tucking her nose closer to Blake.

They faded into a natural silence, and soon, Ruby was asleep on Blake’s chest. Blake figured she’d try to stay awake so she’d notice the tow truck arrive, but no way was she moving from this spot until then. The music, the performances, the travel was all fulfilling and exciting, but these moments with her girlfriends were what made it all truly worth it.

Even if Yang was kind of a snorer. And Ruby was kind of a drooler. And Weiss was…Weiss. They were her girls. She loved them with every inch of her sappy heart.

[because-of-a-friend]

Boyfriend!DK Fluff

Thanks for the requests anons! I hope you guys like it! Jun and Jeonghan have been requested so the rest of the series will hopefully be out soon! (Sorry requests are taking so long, I’m transitioning between jobs right now so I’m technically working two and I’m a little stressed, so idk if this one is even that good... sorry guys!)

MASTERLIST

Coups | Jeonghan | Joshua | Jun | Hoshi | Wonwoo | Woozi | DK | Mingyu | Minghao | Seungkwan | Vernon | Dino

DK feels unbelievably ridiculous and stupid

He cannot believe he’s actually about to do what he’s going to do

He turns around several times to make sure no one is around

He even came out there in the middle of the night to avoid anyone watching him

But there he is, standing in front of a water fountain, holding a coin, getting ready to make a wish

He feels so childish

But also at this point, he feels as if making a wish is the only choice he has left

After one last look to make sure no one is watching him, he holds the coin up, whispers his wish, presses a kiss to the coin and throws it in

He sighs at the insignificant “plop” sound, hangs his head for a moment, then turns to leave

Right as he moves, he hears someone yell

“HEY LOOK OUT”

And then a bicycle hits him

Well it doesn’t actually hit him

Just kind of brushes his side and knocks him off balance

But later he tells the boys that it full on hits him when he’s recounting the story and wants to be dramatic

But the encounter also throws the cyclist, aka you, off your balance so now both of you are on the ground

It’s honestly not that bad

He just scraped up his hands and you have one big scrape on your leg

But there’s no serious injuries on either of you

You get up immediately

“Shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you at first. Are you ok?”

You rush over to where he is on the ground and help him sit up

He doesn’t really say anything at first, just sits there in kind of a daze

So you start to panic

“Do you need me to call you an ambulance?”

There’s one more beat of silence

Then he starts laughing 

And you’re like ????

“I didn’t think I hit you that hard, did you hit your head?”

He shakes his head as he keeps laughing

“No, no, I’m fine, I think I was just shocked for a moment”

You start laughing too but mostly out of relief

He finally composes himself and looks up at you

“Are you ok?”

You’re not sure why this random stranger asking you if you’re ok makes your heart skip a beat when it’s a totally normal thing for someone to ask in that situation

“Hey, I’m the one who hit you, you shouldn’t be worried about me”

DK stands up before he responds

“Yeah but that scrape looks pretty bad, you should definitely get some disinfectant on that asap”

You look down at your leg and realize he’s right

His phone buzzes and he looks down at it

“Oh, I’ve got to go. You’re really ok, right?”

You nod, “Yeah, I’m fine, what about you? You’re ok too?”

He nods and smiles brightly at you, “Yeah, I’m good! Get home safely!”

And then he runs off

You honestly think about him nonstop for the next week

The handsome stranger you accidentally hit with your bike

You kick yourself for not getting his name at least

But once the week is up, you just kind of sigh and tell yourself that you’ll probably never see him again so you should just get over it

Then the next day

You’re on a street corner waiting for the crosswalk light to turn green

You look down at your phone for literally two seconds

You hear someone yell

“C’mon DK, hurry up!”

Then suddenly

WOOM

Something hits you and you fall to the ground and your breath is knocked out of you

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!”

You look up to see who ran into you

“Fountain boy?”

When he sees that it’s you, he breaks out into a grin

“It’s you, the cyclist!”

“DK seriously, we need to go!”

You look over to see another boy waving him towards a van

DK leans over and pulls you up off the ground

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I think so, is this revenge for what happened at the fountain?”

He lets out a laugh

“No, I promise I’m not the type to get revenge”

“Alright, I believe you... DK”

His eyes widen

“How’d you know my name?”

“That other boy over there that looks like he’s about to lose it keeps calling it out”

DK turns around to see Woozi stomping over towards him

“Oh right, I guess I’ve got to go”

Woozi grabs DK, apologizes to you for interrupting and starts to drag him towards the van

Before Woozi can drag him away fully, DK turns back towards you 

“Hey before I go, what’s your name?”

He can barely hear you call it over the crowds of people around talking and Woozi scolding him but he thinks it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever heard 

“[Y/N]!”

DK grins through the whole van ride

After that, you two run into each other all the time

You bump into him on an elevator

He gives up his seat for you on a bus

You accidentally spill your coffee on his shoes

He sends your report papers flying into the wind

You trip over his feet when he’s sitting around waiting for Mingyu and Minghao to be done shopping at the mall

You two learn a little bit more about each other with the opportunities presented every time you see each other

He finally asks for your number when the two of you end up volunteering at the same charity event

“It’s about time, Fountain Boy, I was thinking you were never gonna make a move”

“[Y/N], my name is DK and you know it”

“I like Fountain Boy better”

He just grins at you

Your first date is nice

Everything feels easy with DK

Mostly because it feels like you’ve already known each other for years somehow

He always makes you laugh 

The more time you spend with him

The more you realize he’s truly the kindest, most genuine person you’ve ever met

He’s always so considerate of you and your feelings

Always making little sacrifices to make you more comfortable or more happy

Honestly every little action of his touches your heart

The idea of ever hurting or upsetting or disappointing the other seems unacceptable to both of you

So your whole relationship is that way

Just the two of you always being so completely selfless for the sake of the other

DK is honestly the softest boyfriend ever

He’s just so grateful for every moment he gets to spend with you so he tries his best to show it in every way possible

He’s always smiling around you

Because even when he’s had a bad day, he knows you’re going to be supportive, listen to him, and offer help and advice

You become his safe place so he always feels comfortable and content when he’s with you

The other boys love you

They didn’t think there was anyone as kind and selfless as DK, but here you are

They love how much you do for DK

And you also do nice things for them all the time too, so they have no complaints

Sometimes DK gets jealous of how well you get along with the boys

But not in the way you expect

“I thought you guys would say something like ‘make sure they treat you right’ or ‘only the best can date our Dokyeom’ or ‘if you hurt DK, you’re in for it’”

“Seriously DK? They just made us all cookies for no reason and brought them up to the dorm themselves, if you two break up we might keep them instead of you”

DK is grumpy™️ for the rest of the day lol

But DK seriously adores you

I feel like this is obvious, but he’s super cuddly

He’s kind of like a cat

You’ll be working on something on your laptop

And he’ll just push himself into your arms and giggle as you roll your eyes and run your hands through his hair

You’re showered in kisses every single day

The type of boyfriend where whenever you say you’re cold, he’s suddenly pushing one of his sweatshirts over your head and piling blankets on you

If you get sick, he does. not. leave. your. side.

A super doting boyfriend

He gets nervous all the time still 

When you meet up for dates or when you take new steps in your relationship

He does that thing where he bounces his legs up and down and gets all jittery

But it’s honestly super sweet

Even when you’re dating and well into your relationship

You find yourself unable to get away from each other

He wishes you luck one morning when you have a job interview but then you run into him there bc SVT is having a meeting with someone in the same office building

He says he doesn’t have time one day to come see you bc his schedule is super busy but then you end up on the same bus as him and some of the other members on their way to one of their chores for the day

It’s like the universe is making sure you two are weaved into every part of each other’s lives

And you love being a part of each other’s lives

You live for when he opens up more about what it means to be an artist and what writing music and performing is like for him

DK just kind of casually sings all the time so you get to hear his voice whenever you want

Your all time favorite is when you’re laying in bed next to him, playing with his hands and he’s just singing softly

It makes you feel so safe tbh

But then sometimes he has to go on vocal rest and you have to do all sorts of ridiculous things to make sure he lets his vocal chords get the rest they need

I’m talking

The quiet game

Tape over the mouth

Making up funny little penalties every time he starts singing or talking too loud

Make out sessions where every time he puts strain on his vocal chords you just push him down and kiss him until he remembers that he needs to be quiet lol

Sometimes you’ll just guide him to the bed and soothe him to sleep bc you know that he as a whole needs tons of rest, not just his throat

And you catch yourself just lovingly staring at him as you run your fingers through his hair methodically to coax him into a nap

When he’s half asleep he gets sort of talkative and he says the cutest things

You don’t try to trick him into saying anything that he wouldn’t be comfortable saying to you fully awake

But sometimes you ask him questions about random things to get his honest answer just for fun

“Seokminnie”

“Yeah?”

“What were you doing that night?”

“What night?”

“At the water fountain when we first met, what were you doing out there?”

“Making a wish”

You can tell by his voice that he’s about to fall asleep

You can’t help but smile at his sweet face as his eyes flutter closed when you run your thumb over his cheek

“A wish for what?”

You wait for a moment, thinking maybe he fell asleep before he heard your question

But he’s just awake enough to give out one more answer

“To meet my soulmate”

[themoonlovemuses]

On The Road (Nathan Sharp X Reader)

@captainrose35​ - Oh no! I hope it gets better soon! This was really fun to write so I hope that this was the kind of thing you wanted! Hopefully this can cheer you up a bit from the week that you’re having. :)

Summary: Travelling was one of your favourite things to do as a child, going on road trips with your family and exploring. And everyone knows that travelling is only as good as the company that you keep...

☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆

Watching the hills roll by the window as you travelled had been one of your favourite activities when you were a child, travelling from place to place with your family. But watching the hills with the pink and yellow lights of dawn behind them was a sight to behold. Always being one for the journey and not the destination, this had to be one of the most relaxing moments you’ve had all week. And everyone knows that the journey is only as good as the company that you keep.

Looking away from the window, you couldn’t help but smile down at the mop of black hair leaning against your shoulder, glistening in the light of a new day. It’s no surprise that he had fallen asleep again on the road, whereas you were a ball of excitement, unable to sleep at all. With all the shows he had already performed and the parties with friends afterwards, the only time the poor man could sleep was during these small bits of travel time, not being one to miss out on setting up and practicing. And boy what a week it had been! First Seattle, then Portland, Berkeley and only yesterday Los Angeles. And now, you, Nate, Andrew and the rest of the crew were heading down to San Diego. It may have only been a week since you all headed out for the tour, but the road ahead was going to be a long one. And one you and Nate wish wouldn’t end.

Thankfully though, you had saved up all of your leave from your job so you could join your boyfriend this time around. Knowing what a passionate workaholic he was, who knows what kind of state he would’ve wound up in by the time he came home.

“Probably would sleep for a week straight afterwards if he had his way. Just like last time.” You quietly chuckled to yourself, not wanting to disturb the rest of the bus, snoring away peacefully in their bunks. Unfortunately, the shaking of your shoulders as you remembered the last tour, where he literally stumbled through the front door with all of his suitcases into your arms and almost fell asleep there and then, woke him up from his slumber.

“Mmmm… Hey babe.” Nate murmured, just waking up and adjusting to the idea of being awake.

“Morning love. Nice nap?” You asked, giving him a kiss to the forehead as he slowly began sitting up properly. Stretching, he turned to face you properly.

“Oh yeah. Was having the best dream too. You want some coffee?” He asked, giving you a peck before getting up and tiptoeing to the tour bus’s kitchen unit, taking care not to wake the rest of the team up.

“Yes please. What was the dream about?”

“Oh, you know. Just the day we met.”

“You mean at Wreck’em Records?”

“Yeah, god I’m glad we actually managed to meet. You know Oldburg used to always talk about you b fire I’d ever met you, gushing about ‘the only customer in town who knows how to treat his beauties with care!’” Nate said, mimicking the voice of your friend and owner.

“Did he now? Well, I’ll have to thank him for putting in a good word for me.”

“I’ll say! I don’t think he could say a bad thing about you even if he tried. Not that I can either.”

“Well, to be fair, he always talked about how confident and kind you were too after we met. Just egging me on to ask you out every time I visited the shop.”

“And a good thing you did. We have a full year of memories to thank him for.” He chuckled, returning to the sofa, placing the coffees down on the table and kissing you, soft and slow like you were kissing the clouds in the dawn sky behind you.

“Mmmm… praise be to Oldburg and his meddling.” You chuckled when you were both finished, clinking your mugs together and drinking as you watched the hills turn to plains in silence. The kind of silence that didn’t require words but still oozed with love and affection for one another.

“How long until we get to San Diego?”

“About half an hour I’d say. Depends on what San Diego traffic is like.” You answered, looking up at the bus clock while tracing patterns on Nate’s arm as you leaned into him.

“Hoo boy! Last show of the week and half an hour before we gotta unload the gear again. Better wake up properly to mentally prepare myself for that again.” He laughed, downing the rest of his coffee.

“You know you shouldn’t push yourself too hard. Let me carry the amps in with the crew this time.”

“And let you push yourself after all the help packing up so far? Not a chance, not for my girl.”

“Hey! I’m strong too! Probably stronger than all of you guys combined!” You boasted, flexing your arms like the strong men you’ve seen on adverts, causing Nate to snort, holding his hand to his mouth to stop bursting out laughing and waking the whole bus up.

“I know, I know. The truest and bravest warrior on this bus! Doing the work no willing person wants to do. We are too blessed to have you.” He joined in, bowing as best as he could considering the cramped sofa and fold out table set up you both had going on at the moment.

“But luckily for us, we’ve got a free day after this show so we can de-stress from all of this. And I might just have some plans for us.”

“Oooo like what?” You asked, snuggling into his side as he draped an arm around you.

“Well… First thing on the agenda; a lie in breakfast in bed. The whole show! Pancakes, bacon, eggs. You name it, we’ll get it.”

“A lie in on a proper bed! God that sounds like heaven!” You gushed, remembering the flat, paper thin mattresses provided on the bus and shivering, earning a laugh from Nate and a kiss to your temple.

“Trust me, I feel you on that! Then, after leaving the hotel, we can go down to Balboa Park. Andrew’s been raving about how great and beautiful the place is, so I think you’ll really like it. Then, we can take a trip to Seaport Village. Last time I was down there, they had the best fish tacos I’ve ever had! You have to try them (Y/N)! When I tell you I almost cried at how how good they were...” He said, making an exaggerated chef’s kiss motion, making you crack up in a giggling fit, relaxing more into his side.

“Aaaaanyway, after that, we can chill at the beach. Catch some sun, swim in the ocean. Might even persuade a lucky someone to jam out and dance on the beach with me.”

“My, what a lucky person they’ll be.” You giggled, shifting yourself up a bit so you could hug him fully, carding your hands through his raven locks as he lazily stroked a hand up and down your back.

“After that, a quick change and we can meet the others in the evening to eat and shop and then, I was thinking we could walk along the Sunset Cliffs. We can look down on the town as the sun sets together. A beautiful view for my beautiful (Y/N).” He finished, pulling away slightly so he could steal a kiss from you as you daydreamed at what a great day was ahead of you tomorrow.

“Mmmmm… that sounds like such a great day! You’re so good at planning this stuff out!” You complimented, shifting to sit more onto his lap and  stealing a kiss back from him.

“Well… Andrew helped me with some of the planning and time management. But thanks (Y/N).

“Doesn’t matter. It’ll be great as long as you’re there.” You finished, pulling him into a longer kiss, tasting the coffee in his lips from the cup on the table. Wanting nothing more than to sit there and be like this forever. 

“Alright love birds, we’re five minutes away from the venue! Better wake up them buds of yours before we get there.” The bus driver shouted, entering the main square of San Diego, the plains turning into high rise buildings and shops.”

“Alright alright. Hey, get up you guys! We’re almost there.” Nate shouted back, rapping his knuckles against the door next to him until he heard his friend and tour guest groan in defeat.

“Well, here’s to a great show!” You cheered, clinking your mugs together one last time before you took them to clean up.

“Oh and Nate?”

“Yeah?”

“...”

“...”

“I’m unloading those goddamn amps today.”

“Over my dead- come back here you!” He shouted laughing as you leapt down the stairs of the bus before he could catch you and tickle you into submission.

And what a time you’ll have on tour with him. But hey, it’s like your mother always said; “It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey.”

[vgirl-10123]

Friendships Were Made to Change: Chapter One

A/N: this is going to be something new for me. I've never really done a multichapter fic that I've actually planned out so I'm going to see how this goes. Any feedback would be appreciated! Thank you for reading!

Chapter Two

          One of the worst things in the world are when you lose a best friend. Whether it was a mutual drifting, a fight between you, or something entirely different, it always seems to hurt. When you finally realize that relationship is gone, your heart breaks a little. That was exactly how Marinette felt when she realized that Lila’s promise was coming to life. That some people do keep their promises.

           She was jostled from her thoughts from the pilot announcing over the PA system. “On your left, you will see Gotham, USA. We will be arriving at the gate momentarily. Please remain in your seats with your seat belt fastened until the aircraft has come to a complete stop. Thank you for choosing our airline.” Marinette took a deep breath. Calm down Marinette. This is a new start. No one here knows you and you can make some… new… friends. Piece of cake, right? Looking down at her purse, she peeked inside and saw Tikki waking up from her nap. She clipped her purse shut. Glancing at her side, she saw her parents getting ready for the landing.

           Gotham. Her new home. She had earned a scholarship after what happened back at her old school. Huh. She never thought that she would ever move. She thought she would graduate from there. Guess plans change. So do friendships, she thought bitterly. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to look at her Maman. “Are you excited Marinette? You get to start at a new school and me and your Papa get to finally start our new bakery! Isn’t that exciting?”

           “Of course, Maman! I’m sure Gotham has to have at least one fabric store. I can even make some new oven mitts for you both!”

           “I would love that Sweetie.”

           An hour later, after they got to their new bakery, Marinette was upstairs, setting up her new room. A portal opened up and out came the Miracle Box, carried by Kaalki and Tikki. She quickly thanked them and hid the box in her closet. I’ll find a better place later. Hopefully, there are no akuma attacks tonight. I need the sleep if I’m going to be starting at Gotham Academy tomorrow! She finished setting up her room and went to sit on her new balcony. It’s a lot smaller than my old one, but I do have a good view of the stars from here. Wait, what’s that?

            She squinted and, from what she could see, it was a man dressed as a bat? And was that a traffic light colored boy? What is with Gotham? She brought out her phone and did a quick google search. Apparently, Gotham is full of heroes, or vigilantes as they liked to be called. The one dressed as a bat is the main one, Batman. His sidekick seems to be the newest Robin. Wonder why he chose those colors though. They are hideous. Anyone with some talent could see that.

           She suddenly got hit with a wave of inspiration. So, sitting on her balcony looking into the night, she started designing a new suit design for a certain bird. She did have a good view of them from her balcony. And so, away into the night she went, wrapped up in her own little world.

             The next thing she knew, it was morning and she was wrapped up in a blanket. Must have been Tikki. I’ll have to leave her an extra cookie out. She grabbed her sketchbook from the small table and headed inside. She dressed up into her uniform and headed downstairs. “Hi Maman. Hi Papa. I’m going to head to school now. Love you, bye!” She was already out the door when they said their goodbyes. She made it to the bus stop and sat down. She opened up her purse and gave Tikki and Kaalki the sugar cubes and cookies she managed to grab on her way out the door. “You’re going to do great in there Marinette! Just remember to take deep breaths. I’m sure you will find some great friends here!” offered Tikki. “Thanks, Tikki. I really needed that.”

           “And I’m sure not everyone is like your old class, Guardian. If they are, they aren’t worth your time.”

           “Thanks, Kaalki.” In no time, she was at her stop. Looking up at the big doors, she took a deep breath and steeled herself for the oncoming storm she was sure was going to happen.

[starrswife]

What Goes On - Ringo x Reader

Friends from childhood, an unlikely pair of Liverpudlians face the challenges of growing up.

-

Thank you @moodysunflowergirl for beta-reading this chapter and being so kind to me.  

I hope you all enjoy this series!     

-

Word Count - 2.1k

Warnings - none

Chapter Summary - November, 1957, Y/n decides to concentrate on schoolwork, but a bored and restless Richard has other plans. 

-

“Doncha half to get back to work soon?” Y/n attempted to ask, mouth full.

Everyday since Richard had dropped out of school, he bought her a pastry from the local bakery and walked her home during his lunch break. At first, the baked good had served as reparations for what Y/n said was, quote, “Abandoning me all alone in hell,” but the tradition continued to stick.

“Nah, my boss let me off early,” he walked backwards to face her, “What do ya’ wanna do? My whole day’s cleared.”

Chewing her last bite, she brushed off her hands of any crumbs. Rich gestured for her to take back the schoolbag she forced him to carry, despite knowing she would just shake her head and make him hold it for the entire walk.

“I’ve got to study, I’m sorry.”

“Again? But you’ve been at it the entire week,” he complained.

“College is a lot more difficult than our old school, Rich. But I’ll go over to yours, if you’d like. Maybe… say, tutor you a bit?”

He rolled his eyes and turned back to face the right way.

“Don’t waste your energy trying.”

She huffed, “Fine, be illiterate your entire life.”

“I’m not illiterate.”

“You can hardly spell.”

“Well, I can read.”

“Oh, lovely, at seventeen years old, you’ve got at least half of it down.”

“Lay off you prick.”

Richard made a move to shove Y/n, but she dodged it, taking off down the sidewalk.

Accepting the stupidly immature challenge, he wasted no time chasing after her.

They maneuvered through pram-pushers who gave them a friendly nod, and business men who scowled at the very sight of their smiling faces.

The icy air felt like blades against her skin as she ran, but with Richie gaining on her, she only sped up the pace. Like usual Liverpool weather, the sky kept at a gloomy grey, and the cobble walkways were darker in color, dampened by the previous night’s rain.

Y/n hopped over the puddles, not wanting to get her oxfords dirty, but Richie couldn’t bring himself to care, charging straight through them.

Reaching their turn and not wanting to give up, Y/n sprinted across the road, Rich following close behind. They screamed out of both fear and amusement when cars honked at them, or shouted, expressing their vexation.

“No!” Y/n yelled, glancing backwards. She tried to speed up, but it was too late. Richard grabbed her arm and pulled her back, wrapping his arms around her shoulders to keep her from escaping. They struggled to catch their breath, each puff coming out as white clouds, that faded into the air. It proved difficult to do so, while simultaneously in a fit of laughter.

“Let me go!”

“Surrender!”

“Never!” Y/n wriggled around in his grip, but to no avail.

“I won’t until you admit what a loser you are.”

Rich laughed, a high pitched and boyish sound that always evoked a smile from Y/n, even while she was mumbling about how much of an arse he was.

Eventually tiring out, she went limp, fully defeated.

“You give up? Say it.”

“I give up.”

“And what?”

“You win, and I’m a loser! Now get off of me.”

He obliged with a grin of triumph then stepped away, and immediately, the winter air chilled her spine as if a blanket had been ripped off of her.

Was it odd to want the warmth back? To want him to pull her closer?

She walked a bit farther away from him, deciding it was odd.

They fell into comfortable silence, enjoying their peaceful stroll as they usually did when not bantering. As the town led further into Richie’s neighborhood, the houses became more and more decrepit, tiny lots with peeling paint and splintered door frames. Abundant rubble, sad reminders of the war, had become playgrounds for imaginative schoolboys. They had grown used to these surroundings, and now, reaching 10 Admiral Grove, the dirt coated bricks and rusty letterbox had become a warm, familiar welcome.

They hung up their coats and headed up the creaky, narrow stairs to his room.

Rich slung her bag onto the bed and sighed in relief. The amount of textbooks she had to haul around made him glad he’d dropped out.

Y/n sat at the foot of the bed, grabbing her bag and pulling out a few of them.

“Mind if I practice a bit?” Richie asked, already walking towards his drums. His stepdad, Harry, had recently bought him his very own set, and he had become a menace, constantly playing, even into late hours of the night.

She groaned. She loved his drumming, really, but it wasn’t the best background noise for calculus homework. Still, she nodded for him to go ahead.

An hour passed, and Richie was now lying on the floor, twirling his drumsticks. One slipped and smacked him on the face, and he glanced up at Y/n to make sure she didn’t see that. Luckily, she was laying on his bed, fully absorbed in her history notes.

Another hour gone. Richie put on a record and cranked up the volume. Y/n made him turn it down. He resorted to making tea.

Sixty minutes later. His half-drunk tea had gotten cold and now sat solitary on his table. He was laying beside Y/n, flipping through her books and giggling about the human anatomy photos.

By six in the evening, Richard had grown fidgety and impatient.

“Y/n.”

No reply.

“Y/n.”

Nothing.

“Fine. I’ll just take a nap.”

He laid back and sprawled his limbs about the bed, making a point to bother her. With his leg over her back and an arm balanced on her head, she finally snapped at him in irritation.

“What do you want?”

He stared directly at her for a moment, then shut his eyes and pretended to snore.

Y/n pushed him off of her and grabbed a pillow to try to suffocate him.

“Someone help!”

He dramatically writhed around before going limp like a corpse.

Slowly, she lifted the pillow up, peering behind it to see his face, eyes shut with his tongue hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

He snatched the pillow from her and pushed her over with it.

She screamed, stifling her laughs and curling into a ball as Rich whacked her with it, her schoolwork spilling off the bed.

“I hate you,” she stated as he flopped backwards, both out of breath.

“Aww,” he cooed mockingly. She threw the pillow at him and got up to retrieve the things from the floor. “Seriously?”

“Seriously, what?”

“It’s been hours, Y/n. It’s Friday night. Let’s go do something.”

“I look horrible, I don’t want to go out.”

“No you don’t, you always look nice. Can we go, please, please, please, plea-“

“Ok, fine! Let me get ready, will you?”

Like a puppy, Richie sat on the edge of the bed, watching Y/n intently as she stood in front of the mirror, trying her best to brush her wind-tousled hair with his comb. She readjusted her black headband, making sure her bangs were out to frame her face. Once finished, she grabbed a tube of rosy lipstick from her bag, and dotted just a bit on before rubbing her lips together to blend it.

It had to look natural.

Her mother had once told her she looked like a hooker for wearing full coverage makeup, and for some strange reason, she felt uncomfortable doing anything remotely feminine around her father. Even when they weren’t near, the need to appease them stuck.

She turned around, “How do I look?”

“Like a square,” he teased.

Y/n glared, and he was quick to reword his statement.

“A pretty square!”

/

The gusty, evening air was as cold as ever, and the two of them stuffed their hands in their pockets, trying to somehow shrink themselves into the warmth of their coats.

“What did you do at work today?” Y/n asked, shivering.

“Uhm, we really just fooled around. Roy, Eddie, and me.”

“Ah, I gotta see the Eddie Miles band in action one day.” “Actually, we renamed ourselves Eddie Clayton and the Clayton Squares. We might pick up some gigs soon, I don’t know, hopefully.”

“Oh, that’d be fab. I’ll be there for every one of your shows,” she looked up to meet his eye, “I promise.”

Richie smiled. It was small, but sincere and warm. He held her gaze just a bit longer, admiring how she looked under the yellow glow of the lampposts. The tip of her nose was pink from the cold, and the way she looked all bundled up was so... so... adorable.

He cleared his throat and turned away from her. “Thanks.”

They got on the bus to Garston, and as it was Y/n’s turn to pay the driver, she caught up to Rich when she was finished.

Even if the bus was completely vacant, the two ran up to sit on the second floor, racing to get there before it started driving again. It was just another one of their antics.

Finally arriving at Wilson Hall, the two took off their coats and followed the crowd to the dance floor. On stage was a group of rough-looking boys, playing as loud as they could with their makeshift instruments. The audience nearly matched the volume, laughing and hollering as they spun about.

“Well, c’mon then,” Richie grinned, reaching out to grab her hands.

She giggled bashfully as he twirled her, and after a bit, loosened up until the both of them were twisting wildly as if their life depended on it. Richard’s slicked back curls bobbed as he stepped, and Y/n’s circle skirt swayed proudly with her hips.

It was crowded, hot, and stuffy, but while dancing, no one seemed to care. It was electrifying, freeing, and for once they were able to forget about their hardships and stresses.

The song came to an end and the crowd gave an applause, eagerly awaiting for the next band to come on.

“I’m going for a coke, d’you want anything?”

Y/n shook her head, “I’m okay, I’ll wait here.”

Rich nodded and squeezed his way through to the bar.

She stood alone, fiddling with her fingers as the next band started and the couples began to dance.

The music now was more jazz than rock or skiffle, and everyone was paired up, swinging each other around and leaving Y/n to stick out like a sore thumb.

Looking over the room, she thought about how much better the other girls looked than her. Their dresses were sleeveless, their faces glowing with expertly done makeup, and their hair somehow curled perfectly at the ends.

She tugged off her cardigan. Would that help? It didn’t show any skin -her button down blouse preventing it- but at least it took a layer off. She glanced down at herself. Were her boobs not big enough? Nah, they were an all-right size for her age, but maybe just a little bigger would be-

“You alright, miss?”

She gasped, snapping her eyes up from her chest.

There, towering over her, was a man with Elvis-esque hair, a fitted leather jacket, and a smirk tugging at his lips. He looked older, perhaps in his early twenties, and he… just wow.

Y/n was taken aback.

“I-I’m alright.”

“How come a pretty girl like you doesn’t have a partner?”

“Oh, uh, thank you. I’m actually waiting for someone to get back, he just,” Y/n awkwardly gestured behind her, lost for words.

“Mind if I keep you company until then?”

He offered his hand to dance, and with a hesitant nod, she accepted.

/

The trip home was almost silent.

Y/n vaguely addressed why she was gone the whole night, and Richard said it was okay.

After a bit of a search, he’d realized she was with another guy and went off to dance with the other birds too. However, he didn’t know how things had… escalated with her and the man.

He asked if she would step out with him. He was mysterious and suave, and it was exhilarating. How could she say no? But when the nameless man pressed her against the brick alley, hands caressing her hips and waist, a sudden tsunami of uncertainty and panic crashed against her. He was nearing her lips, but the once sensual closeness had become suffocating- she couldn’t do this!

“Y/n, love?”

She blinked out of it.

“What’s wrong? You’ve been staring at the wall.”

Spewing the words before she could think them through, Y/n deadpanned, “Teach me how to kiss.”

[bonniebird]

Peter Rumancek x Reader

Requested by @monstrumpologe

As you walked through the aisle of the store you glanced at the meat section. It made you think of the wolf that kept lurking around. It happens once a month. The black wolf would trot it’s way into your garden. You weren’t all that sure it wasn’t just a big dog.

It seemed hungry so you tossed some meat out for it. Now it kept coming back.

Grabbing at one of the packets you tossed it in your basket and continued your way around the store. There was a large pillow that was on sale. Looking it over you nodded and decided to get it too.

It was a hassle to lug it home, squeezing onto a small bus seat with it and your shopping was a hassle. But when you got to settle it in the corner of your porch you smiled. There was a cold wind nipping around and you certainly weren’t letting the animal inside just yet, dog or not.

Heading inside you started to pack the food away, glancing out of the window every now and then to see it it had turned up yet. It always seemed to appear around a full moon. A coincidence you assumed.

As the sun started setting you went out and left the meat out for the wolf. Positioning it so you could look out of your living room window and see it had turned up. Just as you were going inside it used its way through the undergrowth.

When you’d first moved in, the forest backing your house, creeped you out. It was never quiet and there wasn’t a fence up to seperate your garden from the woods. Which was nice when all you had traipsing through was a curious deer or two.

“You’re late.” You joked. The wolf always arrived before it was fully dark. Now you were glad that you had turned the outdoor lights on. It growled at you, as if your joke hadn’t amused it. “Well eat up.” You said to it. The wolf tucked into the raw meat, making a mess of it. You watched it for a moment until it’s unsettling eyes looked at you. Deciding not to push your luck you headed inside. Checking on the wolf was a habit by now. You’d peek out the window to see if it was still there. When you thought it was gone you realised, it had settled down on the bed you’d brought.

“Maybe now I'll stick around during the day and I can call a vet to see if it’s alright.” You muttered as you turned off the lights downstairs, planning to head to bed. You hesitated at the last switch, it was one for the smaller of the outside lights. Deciding to leave that one on, you went to bed.

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

Leaving for work was often a rush, which was why when you rushed past you almost, almost, hadn't seen it. Freezing and turning back you saw a sleeping man curled up on the large dog bed. Looking around for the wolf you took a shaky breath.

On the one hand the temptation to find a shovel or a large branch and give the intruder a large whack was overwhelming. On the other, there was something uncomfortably familiar.

“What are you doing!” You yelped. Once the noise was out of your mouth you covered it was a quick swipe of your hand. You hadn’t meant to shout at him. That had the advantage until you did that.

“I...I’m sorry!” A confused voice blundered out as the man scrambled to his feet, using teh dog bed to cover himself. “I… must have taken a nap and not… woken up in time. The change is pretty tiring.” He muttered the last part to himself.

“Why would you take a nap on a dog bed! What did you do to the wolf?” “Wolf?”

“Yes, my wolf that visits me. Where is he! You better not have scared him off that poor thing is always hungry!” You shouted.

The man looked less nervous now, more amused. Which irritated you. “I didn’t scare him off. He’s fine.”

“How do you know that?” You snapped and glared at him.

“I just… do. I’m Peter by the way.” He introduced, he stuck out a hand for you to shake. You stayed at the foot of the porch steps, not daring to get any closer than you had to.

“I don’t care who you are!” You said quickly. Glancing at your watch you realised that you would be late. “You better get out of here!”

The house was locked up tight and in a small town like Hemlock Grove you were sure if you left him on your porch and he broke in, a description of the man and his tattoos,paired with his name, would definitely flag him up. Though you got the idea that he didn’t want to intrude.

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

When you returned from work Peter was still on the porch. He had a pair of boxers on this time which was a lot better than that morning. But you’d hoped he would be long gone. “What do you want?” You asked wearily and fixed him with a hard stare. At least, as hard a stare as you could muster, it must have been very intimidating as he smiled at you and leant on the railing of your porch as if he owned the place.

“I wanted to know more about your wolf.”

“Why?”

“Well. If I did scare him off maybe I can point him the way home.”

“Well he’s not really mine. He’s been coming here to my garden for a few months.” You started to explain. He walked down the porch steps, watching you eye him wearily, and passed you leaning against one of the forest trees that bordered your garden. Taking the advantage you moved up to your porch and fiddled in your pocket for the key to the front door.

“You let him in the house?”

“No. It might be sick. I didn’t think wolves normally come up close to people in the wild… at least not homes.”

“You’d be surprised. You got a bed for it?” “I did. It’s cold and like I said he’s been coming by for a few months and he isn’t half ravenous when he does crop up. He mustn't be any good at hunting.”

“Why would you say that?” Peter replied. He turned to look at you, offence dancing gently across his face for a moment.

“Well I give him food sometimes. Just some table scraps at first, but now he’ll each big packs of meat. I’ve gone and looked for him before but I couldn’t find him. He must live nearby.”

“I’m sure he does. You should probably stop feeding him though. Might forget how to hunt all together. The bed was a bad idea, you’ll domesticate it, never get rid of the creature.”

“That poor thing would sit right outside my door and whine all night! I could open the door and it would be sat like it was waiting for something. Excuse me if I want to make it’s life a little easier and besides, the vet said they can only catch it in the day and asked if I minded making it more comfortable.”

“Vet.” He said darkly, turning away from you now.

“Yes. They said they can deal with wildlife and what I described was unusual. They wanted to see if it was alright.” You snapped.

Instead of an answer there was a sharp crack. It echoed around your garden making you jump. What happened next was close to horrifying. You watched as the man doubled over, skin tearing and bones cracking. You wanted to rush inside, slam the door and call for help but you were glued to the spot, unable to look away.

Once it was over your wolf stood where Peter had. Heart pounding, eyes wide, you stared at the wolf who looked at you. It started eating the flesh around it and then you had to double over and puke.

As you gather your bearings the wolf trotted over, sniffed around you for food and seemed to huff when you didn’t offer any. You backed away from it as quickly as you could and rushed inside. That night you kept all the lights on, waiting up all night for it to get light. Early in the morning you hear a groan. A very human groan that was different from all the familiar noises of the forest.

“Wolf girl. We should talk!” Came a gentle call as Peter knocked on the door. You felt like you couldn’t breath, couldn’t move. There was no way what you’d seen could be real, and yet. There he was, when you glanced out of the bedroom window, there was Peter knocking at the door, pleading to explain. Deciding to stay home, inside and safe from Peter you fumbled for your phone and rang in sick to work. Hopefully he’d be deterred and go away.

[pascalls]

Gazebo of Horrors

Charlie enjoys a Halloween night with the regulars from the bar, solidifying the holiday as his favorite for a number of reasons.

Feat. Lisa, Lenny, Carl, Moe, Barney, Sam, and Larry

Author’s Note: This one’s gay.

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

Charlie couldn’t remember the last time he had a decent night’s sleep. Twisting and turning in his sleeping spot, he was uncomfortably warm. Trapped in the middle of a nightmare, Charlie felt sweat bead at his forehead and the sound of someone giving chase. He ran, unable to outpace whatever it was that was at his heels, sharp, pointed ends of something metallic scraping the concrete as it jabbed at his tail. Only when he turned did he realize that whatever it was looked a lot like Ned Flanders…

He awoke with a start as a clang on the metal outside of his impromptu napping place broke him from his fitful slumber. He sat up, only just pausing before hitting his head on the plastic ‘roof’. Reaching up, he pushed it up and away, peering out and ready to shoot a glare at whoever happened to interrupt his rest when he noticed that it was already evening. Blinking away the remainder of his sleep, he weighed his options. Go back to sleep until morning? Slink out and back to Lovejoy’s before his absence was noticed? 

“Nurse Walker?”

The voice startled him slightly as he turned, spying the familiar face of Lisa Simpson who seemed to be staring at him quizzically. As if he’d grown another head. 

“Were you… sleeping in there?” She asked, pointing at the metal dumpster that Charlie had  emerged from. Astute as ever, he thought. 

“...I might’ve been,” he replied, about to come up with some sort of excuse for why he’d chosen such a place to hide away and nap, but she provided a fantastic distraction as he took in what she was wearing. Definitely not her usual outfit. “...What are you wearing?” 

“Oh!” Lisa grinned with enthusiasm, spreading her arms out and doing a little twirl to show off her clothes; a purple dress with yellow flowers in her hair and a small veil-like addition trailing behind her. “I’m Ada Lovelace! The first ever computer programmer. She was an English mathematician who totally blew Charles Babbage away by utilizing his Analytical Engine in ways he never even thought of.” 

The information sailed right over Charlie’s head, but as he leaned out of his dumpster bed, he watched her with a little smile. Ah, she would go places. Hopefully not into a dumpster like him. But as she spoke, his brain began to putter back to life. Wait. Costume? He glanced down to her hands which held a bag that had to have been half full by then. Full of candy?

His attention drifted to the nearby street as he noted that Lisa was not the only one in unusual garb. Nearby, he heard the telltale voices of Bart, Milhouse, and yes, even Nelson as they presumably trailed along ahead of Lisa. And it was about then that he realized - Oh. 

“...It’s Halloween,” he said, interrupting Lisa’s drawn out explanation of said ‘analytical engine’ and how tragic it was that Lovelace had died at such a young age. Though she was a little frustrated at having been cut off, she responded with a nod. 

“Yeah. Are you gonna dress up as anything?”

Charlie blinked down at her once or twice. Thinking that over. Well. No. Because he hadn’t even remembered that Halloween was a thing. Until just now. But thinking that through even further, Charlie recognized that he dressed up like it was Halloween every damn day. Which meant that… Maybe… Just maybe…

“...No!” He proclaimed, taking a moment to get his legs under him to spring himself out of the dumpster, landing with a rather pleased expression on his face next to Lisa. “For once, I am not dressing up as a damn thing!” 

“Huh. I guess you don’t have to!” Lisa said as she looked him over with a little smile. “It’s like you have a built in costume.” 

“For once, being a terrible, horrible abomination to society is going to pay off, my intelligent little friend.” Reaching down, he gave her a gentle pat on the head and then nudged her in the direction of her brother’s fading voice. “Go on! I’m gonna find some trouble to get up to while I have the damn chance, for once.” 

Lisa didn’t argue. And she made a mental note to herself to not tell anyone that she’d found the normally downtrodden nurse holed up in the trash. He… probably didn’t need that floating around about him. So she gave him a little wave before running after the others, calling for them to wait for her.

Charlie, meanwhile, was rooted to the spot as his mind raced with possibilities. He could do… SO MUCH now. He could go to the store. He could see a movie. He could just WALK AROUND. And nobody would give a second thought about it! For the briefest of moments, he felt… powerful. He could do anything he wanted-

A nearby screech of tires nearly made him jump back and away from the street as the ugly pink sedan that Charlie instantly recognized as Homer’s came to a stop in front of him. The man himself leaned out from the driver’s seat, grinning widely at Charlie as he called out. 

“Hey NURSE! Nice rabbit costume!” Homer yelled. It was clear he’d already had a drink or two, but so had the other six men that were crammed both inside and on the roof of the car. The bar must have been closed, as Charlie noted that the regulars were accompanying Homer on his Halloween joy ride. Lenny, Carl, and Moe sat on the car’s roof, hastily hanging on - presumably, for dear life whenever Homer started driving again - while Barney, Sam, and Larry were crammed inside. Each of them had their own drink in hand and Charlie could hear the clatter of more cans along the car’s floor. They had gotten an early start on the drinking, apparently. 

“Hey Charlie! We’re drivin’ down to Flanders’ to egg his house and knock over his mailbox,” Moe called down to the hybrid. 

“Remind me why we’re doin’ that?” Carl asked, shaking the can in its hand to check its content level. He would need another one soon.

“Be-CAUSE, it’s FLANDERS,” Homer grunted from the front seat. “What more reason do you need???”

“Can’t argue with that!” Lenny had no objections, apparently. And neither did anyone else. Least of all, Charlie.

“Hell yes, I do. Open one of those things for me, will you?” Charlie said with delight as he hopped over, pleased that none of the men seemed to give two shits as to what he looked like as he clambered up and onto the roof of the sedan. In fact, he wasn’t the only one in the festive mood. Homer had made an attempt at being some kind of vampire, but had apparently given up halfway, tying a black shirt around his neck as a cape and smearing what looked like red jelly around his mouth. Lenny and Carl had swapped outfits, Moe would later on describe his usual attire as being ‘the scariest thing you could see in 2020’, and Barney had simply taken a shower and put on a different shirt. A frightening prospect. Larry did not seem to get the costume memo and Sam had mostly his usual attire, except his overshirt shirt was a red checkered plaid pattern instead in a relatively lazy impromptu lumberjack look. 

Charlie felt as though he fit right in, tipping back his head as he downed his first beer and digging his claws into the roof of the car as Homer drove off towards Ned’s. 

As the night went on and Homer’s merry gang of troublemakers stirred up more than enough chaos to fill several Halloween nights with, Charlie found himself laughing, yelling, and being raucous right along with them. There was no shortage of eggs thrown, toilet paper left in the branches of overhanging trees, nor did he turn down the candy they’d nabbed from some of the neighborhood bullies. Charlie considered it teaching them a lesson. They’d live. And while he didn’t normally imagine that he’d pal around with Moe’s regulars to this extent, he had a hard time convincing himself that he wasn’t having more fun than he’d had in ages. At one point, he could have sworn that they passed both the reverend and his wife. What he wouldn’t give to see if Tim had noticed that he was not interested in coming home on time that night...

By the time they’d finished their route around Springfield - and Homer was too drunk to keep driving and not smash into something along the way - the men abandoned the pink carriage in favor of staggering into the nearest park gazebo to lounge around, finish as many of their remaining cans of beer as they could, and generally be a public nuisance. Luckily, they weren’t the only ones out and about, which meant that Chief Wiggum was not likely to break up their after party. Which was just as well. Charlie didn’t need any reason for him to have to return to Lovejoy’s tonight. Nah. He was having way too much fun, even in the sleepy drunken haze that threatened to overtake him as the clock neared midnight. 

“I didn’t expect you to actually loosen up like that.” 

Charlie glanced up from his tenth - or eleventh? - beer, locking eyes with Sam who had staggered over to sit on the steps of the gazebo next to Charlie. Inhibitions gone, Charlie didn’t mind the company. Lenny and Carl were not far away, but seemed to be discussing whether or not a uranium rod would float if placed delicately in a vat of beer. Homer had passed out about ten minutes prior, and Moe, Barney, and Larry were arguing over who had rights to the last few beers in the cooler. 

“I’d forgotten about Halloween,” Charlie replied with a little smile. “The one night where I don’t have to dress up like some kinda… freak.” He sipped at his beer, not bothered by the terminology at the moment. Might be if he were at all sober. But with his head floating pleasantly, he didn’t mind being a little brazen and honest.

“I bet if you just decided t’say screw it one day, nobody would even notice,” Sam continued, pointing at Charlie with the hand that still held his own beer which was nearing empty. 

“Uh-huh. Then I get thrown into the zoo with the crocodiles and you gotta visit me and bring me booze before I go fuckin’ crazy, right?” Charlie shook his head, but he was amused at the thought. 

“I got plenty to spare.” Sam smirked, shaking his can a little and listening to the liquid slosh back and forth. 

“Aw. You’re sweet.” Charlie brought a hand up to his chest in a fake swoon. “Didn’t know you liked me that much.”

Sam laughed, a low, somewhat gravely sound that made Charlie’s ears twitch with interest. They were one step ahead of his brain which was only just registering that… they might have been flirting. And, now that he recalled… it probably wasn’t the first time. The hybrid had been coming to Moe’s on several nights of the week now, staying out late and risking the reverend’s ire while keeping company with the regulars. And more often than not, Sam was included. While he was moderately amused by Homer, Lenny, and Carl’s general conversations that they had, the three jokers hardly caught his attention. Larry still didn’t speak much, and he wasn’t even going to pretend that Barney was ever good for more than a belch or two before he was sufficiently out for the count. 

But on more than one occasion, Charlie lingered behind with Sam. Sometimes not saying much. Just staring absently at the television above the bar. Maybe swapping stories here and there about Sam’s time on the road or Charlie’s general complaints about both Skinner and Chalmers or the Wiggum boy’s predisposition to sticking sharp objects where he shouldn’t. 

On any other night, Charlie might not have given it much thought. It was dangerous to get too wrapped up in a person. Like he had with Lovejoy. Like he’d stumbled into with Chalmers. Neither of which seemed to give him the feedback he was looking for. And on any other night, that fear might have kept him from going down that same path. But as he listened to Sam’s laugh which made his own mouth tilt upwards into a smile… Well… he couldn’t help it. They were already sitting so close and… Charlie’s head was already spinning and he swore he probably smelled like beer, cigarettes, and maybe eggs, but…

The liquid courage was not one to be ignored. He held his breath and leaned forward, catching Sam’s lips with his own in a soft, but purposeful kiss. He willed himself to not pay attention to anything - except maybe the faint sound of blaring music somewhere off in the distance - hoping against hope that he was not going to be pushed away. 

And he wasn’t.

But he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing either. 

He broke the kiss after a moment or two, pulling back as his ears pinned themselves against his hair and he let out a little nervous laugh. Sam’s expression was unreadable. Clearly, he’d been caught off guard, staring at Charlie in surprise and… the hybrid didn’t know what else. But even in his drunken state, his heart pounded with fear and he glanced away.

“Sorry. Uh. Forget that happened. I have had… woof. One too many… hah…” 

His feet wanted him to run, but with so much alcohol in his system, he doubted he would get very far before tripping over his own tail. So there he sat, pointedly looking away and off into the distance, rubbing at his face in exasperation at his own stupid, desperate antics. His chest felt like it was about to burst with anxiety and embarrassment. Christ. He could only hope that Sam was drunk enough to write it off as a figment of his imagination in the morning when they both woke up in their respective beds and pretended that nothing ever happened.

“WELL! I should… go,” Charlie began, finishing off his beer and crushing the can in his claws before tossing it aside. About to get to his feet when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Freezing, he felt the color drain from his face. Oh no. This was the part, wasn’t it. Where his other secret was going to be touted in front of the other men like some kind of hard-won prize. Where he realized that Sam was just another moron in Springfield deadset on making him feel like an absolute freak. Where he was reminded that his decision-making was so incredibly poor that only he could have made the wrong choice three times in a row.

Anger bubbled up somewhere in the back of his throat, but before he could bristle and snap in defense, he was spun back to face Sam, caught by surprise as the man’s mouth met his own once again, this time of his own volition. Confusion replaced the anger that threatened to rise, a little sound of alarm only just being squelched by his steady realization that… He had been wrong.

They were both drunk, but Charlie shoved the thought to the side as he closed his eyes, suddenly drifting along a sea of contentment as he allowed himself to be pulled into that second kiss. He forgot that Lenny and Carl were sitting just on the other side of the gazebo. He forgot that Moe and the others were not far either. He forgot that he was kissing another man. He forgot… everything. Everything but the feeling of Sam’s lips on his own. They were warm and tasted like Duff, but so did his own. Charlie almost laughed as their glasses clacked gently against each other, but he didn’t care about that either. It was Halloween night and he felt like a giddy teenager, his claws brushing along the steps of the gazebo until they found Sam’s fingers, intertwining their pinkies together as they’d done to seal their promise to not dampen Moe’s spirits. 

Sam didn’t seem to mind, too wrapped up in the kiss just the same. Until they parted and Charlie let himself breath. He was red in the face, he was sure. But he would try to play it off like it was just the beer. Yeah. That’s all it was.

“...You don’t gotta go if you don’t want to,” Sam finally said, his own beer all but forgotten to the side. He was a bit flushed himself, but he seemed to manage it a lot better than Charlie did.

“...You don’t think we’ve gotten up to enough troublemaking tonight, huh?” The hybrid replied in kind, unable to disguise the little grin on his face. 

“Nah. It ain’t even that late yet.”

Sam got to his feet, offering his hand to pull Charlie up along with him. His tail helped him maintain his balance, even as the world tilted and shifted beneath his feet. Wow. He really was drunk. Or… maybe it had just been the kiss. Either way, he was feeling ridiculously topsy turvy just then. And the welcoming smile on Sam’s face certainly didn’t help. Wow. 

Maybe he hadn’t really been fake swooning after all.

“Lead the way,” Charlie prompted, keep himself at the other man’s side with a delighted little rumble of a purr that he did his best to keep to himself. It was difficult. And as they drifted away from the park and back into the street, he absently wished that Halloween was not a once-a-year deal.

When they’d left, Lenny and Carl found themselves staring after the two, still nursing their own beers and watching in a bit of a drunken stupor.

“Did we really just see that?” Carl asked, glancing up at his companion, baffled.

“I think so. Why don’t you ever do that with me?” Lenny replied as he sat atop the railing of the gazebo, his words slurred in his mild outrage.

“Aw shut up,” Carl said, focusing back on his beer. 

He made a mental note to shove Lenny off of the railing before the night was over with.

[yayeetsonny]

"I really have 3 moms huh?" Baby R/Christen, Kelly, and Becky

Prompt: "Can you do one with Kelley, Becky, Christen being protective of the reader (since she’s the youngest and also in both teams with them) and acting like her team mom’s?"

This is for @super-market-sun-flowers

I'm so sorry that I've taken forever to get this out I just wanted it to be good haha. hopefully you like it!

-Minor swearing

Y/N PRO//

I finally was able to head back to the locker room after a grueling game against the Portland Thorns. We won the game 2- 1. I was so proud of the team and I was proud of how I played but I was in some serious pain because Midge Purce had fouled me in the 85th minute and when she did she clipped my ankle. I got up and walked it off and was able to play the remainder of the game. I did my best to hide the pain I was in because my "moms" Becky, Kelly, and Christen would totally flip if they knew. See I'm the youngest player on the Utah Royals FC and USWNT, at age 17 and being 4'11 doesn't help much either. Those three in particular baby me a lot. It's very sweet but sometimes it's a little much. 

As I was taking off my cleats I noticed my ankle was a little purple and swollen. Uh oh, Midge got me good.

"Shit." I mumbled, wincing when I went to move it.

"Oh my god. You need ice on that little one." Christen said startling me by her sudden appearance.

"H-hey Christen, it's really not a big deal. I'm okay."

"Then why are you grimacing and looking close to tears?"

"My allergies."

"You don't have any."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Yes I do."

"No you don't.- okay since we're going in circles I'll just call Becky and Kelly over and see what they want to do."

"Woah wait that's not necessary. Shouldn't I be able to decide what to do about my injury?."

"No. You never take care of yourself when you're hurt or sick and you're the most stubborn person I know."

"I'll make sure I don't exert myself I promise!"

"I don't believe you even a little bit." She said crossing her arms and giving me a look.

"Okay, okay whatever get the other two involved I don't care anymore." I said exasperated

"Kelly, Becky come over here for a sec please."

"Hey what's up?"

"What's up CP?"

"Our kid is hurt and she doesn't want to ice her ankle and thinks that she can take a care of herself."

"I'm 17 years old! I turn 18 in like 4 months!" I said indignantly

"Sush. Let us help you babe. You're hurt."

"I'm fine guys seriously. it's nothing. Look we have camp in a week and I really don't want to jeopardize my chances by making this a bigger deal that it is."

"It'll be an even bigger deal if you don't take care of it properly and over do it at camp. Please just cooperate and ice your ankle." Christen said softly yet sternly. She's always been softer and gentler with me than the others but she has her moments too. Kelly and Becky nodded their heads in agreement.

"Ugh okayyy." I said. They all laughed at my dramatics as Kelly ruffled my hair. Kelly and Christen then proceeded to help me to the bus while Becky carried our things. Once there they insisted on having me sit in the back with my feet on Becky's lap elevating my foot. All of them fussing over me and arguing over what was the right way to ice an ankle.

"Kelly I swear if you hurt her more jostling her foot like that I'll make you hurt." Christen threatened

"Chill Chris I got it." She said

"No you don't you're hurting her."

"Stop being so uptight."

"She's my kid."

"She's my kid too. She's our kid." Kelly said looking a little hurt.

"You're right, I'm sorry Kel."

"They finally were able to agree on the way my foot was wrapped with the ice and let me be. Given it was only after Becky threatened to not let either of them take care of me if they didn't get it together. The look she gave then would have made a grown ass man afraid.

3 hours later//

The girls definitely were pushing it with the whole babying thing, they insisted on carrying me everywhere after we got back to the apartment we shared.

"Chris you can put me down! I can walk." I said, and I know what you're thinking but she's definitely stronger than she looks. She was carrying me to the couch after I woke up from a nap that she insisted on me taking because according to her I was "grumpy"

"No bubs you could hurt yourself more just let me help you. I just want you to be safe."

"I know Chris and I am, with you I always will be." I said laying my head in the crook of her neck.

I know I said them babying me and acting like over protective moms 24/7 was a little much but sometimes it really does make me feel all warm inside. Kelly and Becky had gone out to get food for all of us and would be back any minute.

Suddenly the door burst open and Kelly came barreling in "we're home losers!!"

"Kelly chill, Chris could've dropped our kid." Becky said having noticed that we jumped when they entered.

"Oh, oops my bad."

"Sometimes I feel like Christen and I have 2 kids instead of 1." Becky said rolling her eyes in amusement.

"Hey! I resent that!" Kelly said

"Oh come on Kel, she's only joking."

"I still resent it." She mumbled.

"Okay well let's eat before the food gets cold." Becky said patting Kelly on the back as she continued to pout.

"What's for dinner?" I asked

"Sandwiches from the deli around the corner."

"Oh yes, Antonio's! That place has the best hot sandwiches!" I said eagerly as I attempted to wiggle free from Christen's grip.

"Okay Christen seriously let me down please."

"We just talked about this baby, I'll put you on the couch that's it."

"I'm not a baby!"

"You're acting like it."

"Am not!" I whined

"Point proven." She said giving me a knowing look.

"Listen we love you and you're our kid whether you love it or not. We all know you at least like it 9/10 when we baby you. We're always gonna want what's best for you. Please let us take care of you until we know for sure your ankle is better." Becky said

"Okay, I'm sorry guys I just still have trouble getting used to having people who care about me so much. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed by all the love you guys give me 24/7. I really do appreciate it and love you guys so much." I said getting all sappy.

"Awww you love us!" Kelly said running over and crushing Christen and I in a hug.

"Yeah, yeah. Can we eat now please?" I said

"Oh right, almost forgot." Becky chuckled

1 week later//

Becky, Christen, Kelly and I arrived at camp and met the rest of the team in the meeting room. After going over the plan for the day we were released to do some team bonding.

"Hey Y/N I missed you!" I heard someone say before I was startled by Emily Sonnett jumping on my back. I was able to catch her legs at the last second so she didn't fall but I rolled my already sensitive ankle as I tried to regain my footing.

"Shit, shit, shit." I said as Emily realized something was wrong as she climbed off of me.

"Oh man I'm sorry Y/N. I didn't hurt you did I?" She said looking slightly scared. All of the players on the USWNT, even some of the newest ones knew who my "moms" were and knew that they'd do anything to protect me, even going as far as getting in people's faces sometimes.

"I just lost my footing and rolled my ankle a little no big." I said trying to shake it off.

"You sure? Do you want me to get Christen?" She asked knowing I was closest with her.

"No, no it's all good. Just try not to surprise me anymore." I said smiling at her softly as I walked away.

"Hey kid, you good?" Ashyln said as I walked passed her

"Yeah, yeah all good." I said as I tried to rush away. My ankle was doing much better but still sensitive and was just getting back to 100% I argued with myself on what to do because it really hurt and I was beginning to panic. I knew my moms would be upset if they knew I had hurt it again after we just got here and I- wait, I called them my moms. Huh I didn't even notice. Do I say it out loud too? Does it weird them out? Oh my god wait what if they think it's weird I mean I know they think I'm their "kid" but I've never called them moms out loud before. I began to get lost in thought and was really starting to panic about everything, so much so I didn't even realize I ran right into Christen.

"Ouch" I landed on my butt after running right into her back. She turned around from talking to Tobin and Julie.

"Woah, hey there bubs. You okay?"

"Y/N?"

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm good. Sorry I just wasn't paying attention to where I was going." I said refusing to make eye contact, my ankle was killing me

She crouched down so she could look at me and softly grabbed my chin tilting my head up so I'd look at her. "Hey, What's wrong."

"Nothing."

"I know you too well to know when you're lying."

"I'm not lying it's nothing, just drop it." I said frustrated

"Woah drop the attitude please."

"I'm sorry, just forget it please."

"Y/N..." she said in a warning tone along with giving me the look

"Okay fine, I may have twisted my ankle when Sonnett jumped on me when she came to say hi." I said hesitantly as I scooted away.

"Well there it is, gotta go bye!" I said attempting to get up and get away before she went into full mama Press mode.

"Uh uh. Don't move, Kelly! Becky!" Christen yelled across the room.

"Oh man." I said laying back and face palming

"Uh oh short stack you gotta help sonnett before Chris, Kelly and Becky kill her." Tobin said in amusement.

Julie just rolled her eyes and said "why am I friends with you guys?"

"Oh shut up, we work together and you love us." Tobin said

"She's right dude you can't get enough of us." I said smugly.

"Woah CP, what's going on?" Kelly said rushing over to us as she saw the look on Chris's face.

"Where's Becky?"

"She's coming over right now what's going on? Is everything okay?"

"No."

"Chris will you please relax I'm okay." I said trying to get her to settle down before she went off.

"No stay out of this." She said not looking at me.

"This is literally about me! Come on don't make this a big thing."

"Hush before I-" she didn't get to finish because Becky came rushing over much in the same way as Kelly.

"Woah hey everyone take a breath, let's calm down. Will someone please tell me what this is about?"

"Sonnett hurt our kid!"

"No she didn't! I rolled my ankle when she tried to jump on my back! It's not a big deal I'm fine!" I said aggravated.

"She shouldn't have done that!" Christen said angrily. Becky, Kelly, Julie and Tobin were just looking back and forth as we argued.

"I can take care of myself! Just please don't hurt sonnett it was an accident and she didn't mean to. She even apologized even though it wasn't necessary."

"What she did was reckless and she could have seriously hurt you and herself!"

"Oh my god will you stop being so dramatic?! It's. Not. A. Big. Deal." I was getting increasingly frustrated as the argument went on.

"Oh I'm sorry, I guess you don't care about your safety or anyone else's then?" Chris said raising her eyebrow daring me to say something else.

"I do I just... Chris will you please talk to me about this, without yelling?" I said softly, finally relenting.

"I just want to protect my baby." Chris mumbled helping me up and pulling me against her chest. She ran her hands through my hair and kissed me on the forehead.

"I know Christen, I'll always feel safe and be safe with you protecting me. I already told you that. It won't ever change."

"Get ice on your ankle please. Elevate it and make sure that if you need anything at all you tell Becky or Kel okay baby? I'll tell dawn about your ankle so she can decide what to do."

"Yes mama." I said taking myself and everyone around us by surprise.

"I- I mean, yes Chris. I'll get on that. Where are you going?"

"Well, Sonnett and I need to have a chat so I'll see you later okay?" She said trying to mask the surprised look on her face.

"Don't kill my best friend please."

"Don't worry I just want to make sure she knows not to be so reckless next time."

"Okay..."

"Julie Tobin watch out for Em please." I whispered as Kelly carried me away.

"You got it kid." They said in sync

"Come on babe let's get you that ice."

30 minutes later//

"How you feelin kid?" Alex said as she sat next to me on the couch after finishing a game of monopoly deal with Tobs.

"I'm fine I guess it just blows my ankle is back at square one."

"Aw yeah that sucks, but it's not too severe right? So you'll be able to play with us and everything in a few days."

"You're right I'm just glad this camp is a pretty long one. I'll have a real chance to still show what I can do to the coaching staff."

"You're so talented. You have nothing to prove babe."

"Thanks Al that means a lot."

"Of course love. I love you."

"I love you too."

"You wanna play a game of speed?"

"You're on, just know I'm really good."

"Okay whatever you say Alex." I said chuckling

"What you don't believe me?"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

"Oh it's on."

"Let's do it."

In the end Alex absolutely creamed me. But the plus side was that it wasn't just me she creamed, Crystal, Mal, Rose, and Sam had all joined in and it was amazing watching them lose just as badly as I did.

"Hey where's Chris?" I said suddenly realizing I hadn't seen her or Emily in over half an hour.

"Don't you mean mama?" Sam said teasing me as everyone else laughed

I blushed as I mumbled "that was an accident. Just forget it."

"Aw come on it was cute!"

"Yeah how come you don't call me and Becky mom or mama?" Kelly said appearing out of nowhere.

"Ahh! Geez you guys gotta stop doing that to me!"

"Aw I'm sorry kid. My bad."

"Seriously where's Chris? She didn't kill Emily did she? I told Julie and Tobin to watch out for her. What if-"

"Woah kid chill out, she's coming over right now."

"Hi bubs. You okay?"

"Yeah ma-Chris, I'm good. You and Em good?" I said catching my slip up. Everyone smirked at me knowingly while Chris gave me a curious look.

"Yeah we're good, you sure you're good?"

"Yeah." I said my voice cracking as I said it... dammit.

"Okay... uh hey guys can you give Y/N and I a minute I wanna talk to her about something." Everyone nodded and got up and went elsewhere, Sam patted me on the shoulder as she left.

"What's up Chris?"

"Are you sure you're okay? You're acting a little weird."

"Well, it's just that I know I slipped up twice now calling you mama and the girls were teasing me earlier and I'm sorry it probably weirds you out. I didn't mean to i swear, I'm so sorry please don't be mad, please don't hurt me I-"

"Woah hey, hey. Shhh calm down you're okay bubs. No ones going to hurt you, we would never. What's that all about? Look at me." Chris said holding my face so I'll look at her.

"I'm sorry I just don't want to weird you guys out. And uh, it's nothing forget I said that." Shit I really let that slip out, well that's a backstory for another time.

"You know I'm not going to do that baby, we'll talk about that later okay? You're okay I promise, there's nothing weird about it. We already see you as our kid. We love you more than you'll ever know and I'd be honored if you decided to keep calling me mama. I'm sure Kel and Beck would ecstatic to be called mom too." She said while rubbing my cheeks soothingly

"Can we finish this conversation with Becky and Kelly?" I asked timidly

"Of course Y/N. They won't mind."

"Kel, Becky can you come sit with us for a minute?"

"Yeah coming!"

"Absolutely!" They both came to sit with us, Becky on the other side of me and Kelly sat across from me.

"What's up kid?"

"Uhhh..."

"Y/N is worried that calling us her moms in a not joking manner will weird us out."

"Wait you really want to call us moms, like for real?"

"Well yeah i see you all as my mommies and I love you so much and wouldn't be anywhere without your love and support."

"I'd be honored."

"Me too."

"Wow really?"

"Of course, we really do love you kid."

"I love you too." I said almost beginning to cry.

"I really have 3 moms huh?"

"Yeah, you do."

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

-THE END

[gryffindorcls]

When Words Fail

When Adrien was six years old, he asked his mother a question.  “How do you tell someone that you love them?”

“My sweet boy,” she said, pulling him close, “It isn't easy, but it's important to be honest about your feelings.”

Her response confused him.  “But father doesn't always say ’I love you’.  Does that mean he’s lying?”

She laughed and shook her head. “Your father has trouble with his words sometimes, but he shows his love through the things that he does for me.  When your words fail, let your actions talk for you instead.”

He never forgot his mother’s advice, and they became his personal mantra after he met the love of his life.  However, when Adrien accidentally saw Ladybug detransform in an alleyway behind the school three weeks ago, everything changed.  Emilie’s words suddenly began to take on a new meaning.

At the time, shock consumed him to the point where he almost forgot how to breathe.  Marinette had collapsed into a heap on the ground as his own transformation dropped.  Three years of anonymity were stripped away in a matter of seconds.

Things were tense between them during the first week, but then Ladybug showed up at his house one night with a box full of pastries.  They spent the evening talking, laughing, and getting to know each other.  It was then that Adrien was finally able to fuse the two incredible girls together in his mind; however, it was also the night that he fell even more in love with her...and he didn’t know what to do about it.

Nino noticed the change immediately, and strongly encouraged him to ask her out. As Chat Noir, he’d never had a problem telling Ladybug how much he loved her, but now that he knew that the heroine was Marinette...it was a different story.  He’d been turned down so many times as Chat that it became second nature to feel disappointed, but the thought of being rejected by Marinette terrified him.  As a result, every time he attempted to ask her out on a date, he would freeze, but today was going to be different.  This time, he had a plan.  After a pep-talk from Nino last night, he was ready to finally tell Marinette that he was in love with her.

Adrien walked into the classroom with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.  He was early, but he was too excited to care.  Today, he would be getting on a bus and going on an overnight trip to Normandy with his class.  He knew that this would be the perfect opportunity to talk to Marinette.

The plan was simple.  He’d already convinced Nino and Alya to sit together on the bus.  All Adrien needed to do now was make sure that Marinette sat next to him so he could have three uninterrupted hours to confess his feelings.  He had even written down what he wanted to say on a notecard.  He stashed this in the pocket of his sweatshirt for safekeeping.  Nothing was going to stop him this time.

As the clock ticked closer to the beginning of the school day, the rest of the students began to file into the classroom.  Five minutes before the bell, Marinette stumbled into the room with a pink duffle bag and a large travel mug.  He watched as she crashed into the teacher’s desk and cursed silently under her breath.  She then stomped over to her seat and huffed.

Alya laughed.  “Well, aren’t you just a little ball of sunshine ready to take on the day!”

Marinette put her head on the desk and groaned.  “Who me?  Not at all.  I wouldn’t dream of taking that title away from Adrien.”

“Seriously, girl.  You look like something the cat dragged in.”

“No.  It wasn’t a cat this time.”

Alya knitted her brows in confusion.  “Wait...what?”  

Marinette shot up in her seat and looked at the Ladyblogger with panicked eyes.  “I mean...I was up late designing something.  Inspiration struck late last night, and I didn’t want it to disappear.”

“Hopefully you can catch some shut-eye on the bus ride...and speaking of bus rides, I told Nino I would sit with him.  Please don’t be mad.”

“I could never be mad at you for wanting to spend time with your boyfriend.  Besides, we’ll have plenty of time to talk in the hotel room later tonight.”

Alya gave her best friend a quick hug.  “I knew you would understand!  Also, Adrien is pretty excited to sit next to you...right Adrien?”

He looked up at Marinette.  “Looks like we’re going to be seat buddies today!”

She gave him a smile that made his heart skip a beat.  “Sounds fun, but don’t be surprised if I fall asleep on you.  I can barely keep my eyes open right now.”

He felt his cheeks grow warm.  “That’s okay.  I don’t mind!  You’re welcome to fall asleep on me anytime.”

Alya raised her brows upon hearing his statement, but before she could respond, the final bell sounded and their teacher walked into the room.  Miss Bustier gave the class several last-minute directions before having the students exit the classroom.  Fifteen minutes later the class was on the bus, Marinette was staring out the window, and he was doing his best not to pass out.

Once the bus started moving, Marinette turned to look at him with glassy eyes.  “Can I tell you the real reason I couldn’t sleep last night?”

He placed a hand on her arm.  “Of course, my lady.  You can tell me anything.”

“I had a dream last night that we fought Hawkmoth and failed.  It’s not the first time I’ve had a dream like that.  Do you ever wonder if we’ll actually defeat him?  I can’t imagine fighting Akumas for the rest of my life.”

“I’ve had lots of bad dreams, but they’re never about Hawkmoth.  My nightmares usually consist of losing someone I love or being trapped.”

“Oh, kitty…”

“It’s fine.  I haven’t had one in a while.  But I do think about defeating Hawkmoth while I’m awake.  I’m confident that as long as we’re together we’ll be able to take him down one day.”

“Well, if you want us to work as a team, you’ll have to be less reckless during fights.  No sacrificing yourself for me, Chaton.”

He sighed.  “We’ve talked about this, Bugaboo.  You’re the only one who can cleanse the Akumas and fix everything.  It’s my job to protect you and make sure that you don’t fail.  If it’s between saving me or you, it’s always going to be you.”

She leaned back against the window.  “Yeah, I know.  I just care about you.  The thought of something happening to you makes me feel sick.”

Adrien swallowed his nervousness and shot her his best “Chat Noir” grin.  “It’s going to take more than an Akuma to take me away from you, my lady.”

Marinette gently pressed her finger on his nose.  “I’ll hold you to that, kitty.”

“So, there’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Alright.  I’m all ears.  What’s up?”

“Well, I was wondering if maybe you...umm...you see.”  Adrien reached for the notecard in his pocket and stopped as an explosion of frantic butterflies coursed through his body.  “You know what...never mind.  It’s stupid.”

Marinette cocked her head to the side.  “Are you sure?  You know you can talk to me about anything.  That’s what partners for, right?”

“Yeah...partners.  Ummm...it’s fine.  I’m okay.  You’re probably too tired to talk anyway.  Didn’t you say that you wanted to take a nap?”

She cast him a sympathetic look.  “I guess I did.”

A silence fell between them as Marinette returned to looking out the window.  He did his best to stay calm, but his nervousness made him feel unusually warm.  He surreptitiously wiped his hands on his pants.  The last thing he needed was for Marinette to think that something was seriously wrong with him.

“You can do this, Agreste,” he thought to himself, “She’s right there.  All you have to do is say something.”

As he opened his mouth to speak, he saw Marinette shiver and wrap her arms around her body.  Seeing her discomfort caused his mother’s words to crash into the front of his brain.

He could hear her voice echoing in his mind.“When your words fail, let your actions talk for you instead.”  

He knew what to do.  Adrien took off his sweatshirt and tapped Marinette on the shoulder.

“Are you feeling cold?  If you are, you’re welcome to use my hoodie.”  He held out the garment for her to take.

She reached out and took the sweatshirt from his hands.  “Are you sure?”

He nodded. ”Yup!”

“Thank you, kitty!  I forgot to take my jacket out of my duffel bag before it got stowed under the bus.  You’re a lifesaver!”  She pulled the sweatshirt on and put up the hood.  “How do I look?”

He leaned in.  “Wonderful as always, Bugaboo.”

In one swift movement, Marinette flipped up the armrest between them, pulled his arm around her, and snuggled into his side.  While this was not the first time she’d done something like this in the past two weeks, it still surprised him every time it happened.

After the initial shock wore off, he chuckled.  “Comfy?”

She scootched even closer.  “I am now.”

It amazed him how moments like this had become commonplace between them, yet he still couldn’t tell her how he felt.  He vividly remembered how Marinette used to freak out around him.  As they grew closer as friends in their civilian lives, her stammer around him subsided, but she would still become flustered regularly.  Adrien could never figure out the cause of Marinette’s apprehension, but none of that mattered anymore.  The reveal changed the dynamic of their relationship, and he was now constantly in the presence of a confident and playful Marinette.  Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Adrien.  He’d spent the past three weeks vacillating between heart-melting bliss and sheer panic.

Adrien’s heart swelled with affection as she placed a hand on his chest and released a happy hum.  He spent a few minutes enjoying her closeness before gathering the courage to try confessing his feelings one last time.

“Hey, Bug,” he whispered in her ear.

Marinette didn’t respond.  When he looked down, he saw that she had fallen asleep.

“She must have been really tired,” he thought, “It would be rude to wake her up now.”

He spent the next two hours holding Marinette in his arms while she slept.  Adrien could feel her slow, steady breaths against his chest.  He pulled her closer and rested his chin on the top of her head.  As much as he wanted to wake her up and declare his love, there was a part of him that never wanted this moment to end.  He was holding his entire world in his arms, and she trusted him enough to keep her safe while she slept.

When the bus pulled up to the hotel, Adrien gently shook Marinette until her eyes flicked open.  “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.  It’s time to get off the bus.”

“Ugh, no!” she protested, “I don’t want to move.  You’re warm and you smell good.”

He laughed and gave her a gentle squeeze.  “As much as I would love to stay here all day, we will get in trouble if we don’t follow the class.  I’ll let you keep wearing my hoodie if you let go.”

She crossed her arms and pouted.  “Fine!”

Marinette latched onto his arm as they exited the bus.  He grabbed their duffel bags, and they walked into the hotel together.

“You two look cozy,” Alya teased while running towards them, “Did something happen on the bus that I should know about?”

Marinette rolled her eyes.  “Come on, Alya.  Let’s go put our stuff in the room.  We only have a few minutes before we’re expected to meet back here in the lobby.”

Adrien handed the pink duffel bag to Marinette and slumped as she walked away with her best friend.  Because this was a class trip, there were non-stop activities on the itinerary.  He knew that there wouldn’t be another opportunity to talk to Marinette for the rest of the day.  

Nino clapped a hand on his shoulder.  “I’m guessing things didn’t go according to plan?”

“No,” Adrien grumbled, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  Every single time I try to tell her how I feel, nothing comes out of my mouth.  It’s like someone hit the mute button on my vocal cords.”

“Bro, I have no idea what happened between you two, but you and Marinette have been acting so weird these past few weeks.  It’s like you switched personalities or something.”

“I’m hopeless, Nino!  Help me.”

“I don’t know if I can, my dude.  I think you just need to stop overthinking it and go with the flow.  Stop looking for the perfect moment to talk to her.  It’ll come when you least expect it.  Take Alya and I...we got locked in a cage together.  I definitely didn’t plan that, but it gave us time to talk.”

“Too bad there won’t be any time to talk to Marinette in the near future.”

“You never know.  Like I said...just go with the flow.”

Adrien trudged up to the hotel room and dumped his belongings onto his bed.  Nino ignored his dramatics and calmly led his distraught best friend back to the lobby to join the rest of the class.  

During the day, Adrien managed to perk up around Marinette, but he was still lamenting over his lost opportunity.  By the time the group returned to the hotel that evening, Adrien was mentally and physically drained.  All he could do was flop onto his bed and sigh.

“Bro, you do not look like someone who’s going with the flow,” Nino laughed.

“How am I supposed to follow your advice when I know that Marinette is two rooms down from me right now?” Adrien rolled onto his face and groaned into his pillow.

“You know that we don’t have to stay in our rooms until our eleven o’clock curfew, right?  It’s only eight.  Most of the class is hanging out in the lounge right now.”

“Marinette isn’t.  I watched her go straight to her room when we got back.  She was so tired this morning, and I want her to get enough rest tonight.  She really needs it.”

Nino shrugged.  “Well, Alya just texted me, and she wants me to join her down in the lounge.  Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

Adrien shook his head.  “No, I’m pretty wiped out, too.  I think I’m just going to turn in early.”

“Sounds good, dude.  I’ll do my best to not wake you up when I come back in later.”

“Thanks.  Have fun!”

Once he was alone, Adrien grabbed his toiletries out of his duffel bag and began to get ready for bed.  Plagg zipped into the bathroom and plopped down on the counter.

“What happened?” the tiny being said, crossing his arms.

Adrien frowned.  “My words stopped working again.  I don’t know what happened, Plagg.  I used to be able to tell Ladybug how I felt without a problem, and now I can barely hold myself together during a normal conversation with her.”

“Kid, you just need to do it.  Rip it off like a bandaid.  Watching you pine over her is absolute torture.  Things are supposed to get better after the reveal, not worse.”

“I thought I could do it, Plagg, but even when I have it all planned, I still can’t ask her out.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you didn’t think all of this through.  You missed something big today.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Plagg flew away chuckling.  “Oh, trust me...you’ll find out soon!”

Adrien huffed and started to aggressively brush his teeth.  He was not in the mood for a cryptic Kwami tonight.  He seriously doubted that Marinette had to deal with the same kind of nonsense from Tikki.

Once he finished his nightly routine, Adrien changed into his pajamas and turned on the television.  He flipped through the channels in an attempt to find something that would take his mind off of his misery.  After a few minutes, he settled on a movie and got comfortable under the covers on his bed.

Just as his brain began to settle, a series of rapid-fire texts came through on his phone.  With tired eyes, he tapped the screen and scrolled through the messages.  His heart thumped in his chest when he saw who sent them.

Marinette:  Are you still awake?

Marinette:  I need to talk to you.

Marinette:  It’s really important.

Adrien’s mind jumped to a thousand different conclusions at the same time.  As he racked his brain for the reasoning behind her frantic text messages, he recalled their conversation from earlier in the day.

“She probably had another bad dream,” he thought.

He took a deep breath before responding.

Adrien:  I’m awake.  Are you okay?

Marinette:  I don’t know.  Can I come over?

Adrien:  Sure.

Two minutes later, Adrien jumped out of bed as he heard three quick knocks at his door.  Even though he knew Marinette was on the other side, he was not prepared for what he saw.  Standing before him was timid looking Marinette with tears shimmering in her eyes.  Still wearing his hoodie, she played with the fabric at the lining of the front pocket.

She looked at him and bit her lip.  “I...I...there...I...can I some din?  I MEAN...can I come in and sit down?”

Adrien’s brows knitted together upon hearing her stammer come back.  His nervousness was quickly being replaced with concern.  He placed a gentle hand on her back, and guided her towards his bed.

“Bug, you’re scaring me.  What’s wrong?” he asked with worry lacing his voice.

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  Marinette then shook her head, reached into the hoodie’s front pocket, and pulled out the notecard that contained his declaration of love.

His mouth went dry as everything inside of his body froze.  “I can explain.”

Marinette held up a hand and shook her head.  She then proceeded to read the notecard out loud.

“My dearest, Marinette...I fell in love with you the day I met you.  I truly believed that my heart only had room for Ladybug.  Then, I became friends with my sweet, caring classmate who sat behind me, and slowly I found myself loving her, as well.  Falling for Ladybug was like being swept away by a crashing wave.  However, falling for Marinette was like following a stream in the woods, only to find out that it leads to a mighty river.  Both sensations are different, but they are equally as powerful.  Imagine my surprise when I learned that the two girls who took up all the space in my heart turned out to be the same person.  I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you this sooner, but my words have failed me over the past few weeks.  I love every part of you, Marinette.  You have my whole heart, and you always will.”

When she finished reading, the room grew quiet.  Adrien became very aware of how loud his breathing had become.

“D-did you mean it?” she asked, breaking the silence.

He nodded.  “Every word.”

“Is this what you were trying to tell me on the bus?”

“Yes.”

Marinette lunged towards him and pulled him into a tight hug.  She squeezed him and buried her face in his shirt.  Adrien soon found himself returning her embrace with equal vigor.

“I love you, too, kitty.  I’ve loved you since the day you gave me your umbrella,” she whispered into his chest.

He pulled back.  “But...that’s the same day I fell in love with you.”

“I could barely function around you for years.  Didn’t you ever wonder why?”

“You always denied liking me.  I thought you just wanted to be my friend.”

“No.  I’m just a spaz who couldn’t tell the boy she liked how she felt.”

“Well, I can’t really judge.  Over the past few weeks, I’ve barely been able to talk to you.  Every time I try to ask you out, my brain stops working.”

She covered her mouth with her hands.  “You want to ask me out?”

Realizing what he had just admitted, a fiery blush made its way up Adrien’s neck and onto his face.  “Umm...yes?”

“Oh, kitty…” she said breathlessly.

“Well, I guess there’s no going back now...Marinette, would you go on a date with me?”

She leaned in. ”Only if you’ll kiss me.”

Adrien felt his lips curl into a smirk. ”That can definitely be arranged, my lady.”

He closed the space between them and softly placed his lips on hers.  Their gentleness was soon washed away by desire.  Marinette eagerly deepened the kiss as her hands made their way to the back of Adrien’s head.  He could feel himself smiling under her lips, and this caused her to giggle and pull away. 

”Do you think we could do that again?” she asked playfully. 

Adrien rested his forehead on hers. ”Will you go out with me?”

”Yes, Chaton.”

”Then yes, we can do it again.  It's nice to know that I'll actually remember the kiss this time.”

”Shut up and kiss me.”

Eventually, the two found themselves curled up in each other’s arms.  No words were spoken as they reveled in each other's closeness.

It was at this moment that Adrien finally understood the deeper meaning behind his mother’s advice. Words were unnecessary when two hearts beat as one because all they truly needed was each other.

BONUS SCENE:

Alya worried about her best friend...constantly.  However, a few weeks ago when she watched Marinette ruffle Adrien’s hair, tap him on the nose, and talk to him in full sentences, Alya nearly combusted.

For nearly fourteen days, she grilled Marinette for answers and demanded to know if she was secretly dating Adrien.  In her mind, it was the only possibility that made logical sense...because no one could be Akumatized for two straight weeks...right?

Every single time Alya asked for details, Marinette would simply say, “Right now I’m just focusing on being a better friend to Adrien.”

It was like the girl had a total personality shift overnight.  It was incredibly frustrating to watch.

“Are you still thinking about Marinette?” Nino whispered into her ear as they sat alone on a couch in the hotel lounge.

“Yes,” she admitted, “I can’t help it.”

“If it makes you feel any better, Adrien has been acting like a total weirdo, as well.  He’s in love with her, and he won’t tell her.  Nothing I say to him helps him get any closer to confessing his feelings.”

“Woah...wait...hold on.  Adrien has a crush on Marinette?  Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“I thought it was obvious?”

“No, Nino...it was not obvious.  Are you telling me that our best friends are now in love with each other, and both of them are doing nothing about it?  I’ve come to expect this from Marinette, but Adrien...wow.”

Nino shrugged.  “I don’t know what to tell you, babe.  There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Alya grabbed his arm.  “Yes, there is.  We still have a whole hour before curfew.  We are going to shove them in the same room together and make them talk.  It worked for us, and it will work for them!”

Before Nino could respond, Alya dragged him out of the lounge and up the stairs.  She huffed when she opened the door and was greeted by an empty room.

“Where is that girl?” She was starting to get annoyed.

“Babe,” Nino called from down the hall, “you might want to come and check this out.”

Alya rushed down the hall and nearly screamed at the sight of their best friends fast asleep in each other's arms.

“I guess they didn’t need our help after all,” Nino chuckled.

“Finally,” Alya sighed, feeling the relief wash over her.

“You’re totally going to wake them up aren’t you?”

“Yup, and I’m going to film it too.”

Nino laughed.  “I’ll help as long as you send me the video when we’re done.”

Alya looked up at him and grinned mischievously.  “Deal.”

AO3

FanFiction

UPDATE- Part 2: When Words Succeed

---

Hello, lovely readers! Thank you for choosing to read "When Words Fail". This fluffy little one-shot has been rattling around my brain for the past few days, and I had to get it down.

I will update “More Than Just a Friend” soon...don’t worry!

My username on AO3 and FanFiction is clslovegood47.

---

[creampuffqueen]

The Most Magical Place - Chapter Two

a/n: Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring! It’s mostly just the crew getting to Disney. The next chapter they’ll actually go to the parks, promise!

~~~~

“Whose bag is missing? We’re missing a bag!” Thorne called after the kids, trying his best to keep all three in sight. 

Cress was packing the last minute essentials with Cassiopeia in her baby carrier, while Thorne was in charge of getting the rest of the suitcases and children together. The Rampion was parked in the airport parking lot, with everything important stashed away as a precaution.

They were almost done, almost ready to board their plane to Orlando. But of course, with four kids, nothing ever went as planned.

“Are we meeting everyone else in the airport or at Disney?” Carson asked, pulling the straps of his backpack over his shoulders. Each of their kids had a small backpack to use as a carry on bag.

“They’ll all be riding the same plane as us, bud. You can sit with Evret and Holly if you want, I’m sure.” When Cress had booked their plane tickets, she’d made sure to get them all seats nearby so they could all talk.

Though Thorne planned to try and sleep. It was 7 o’clock at night, and their flight was at 8. They wouldn’t arrive in Florida until 11, and by the time they got to their hotel it was sure to be midnight or later. 

However, judging by the insane amount of energy the twins were experiencing, sleep might not be on the agenda. 

“Sage, come get your bag and let’s all get outside!” Thorne called after his youngest son. Sage, who had been blasting ‘Let it go’ from his IPad and dancing on the couch, hopped off to grab the backpack his father offered. 

Thorne opened up the door and hauled out his and Cress’s suitcases onto the hard pavement of the parking lot. Their suitcases were so large and full because they not only contained their clothes and toiletries, but Cassie’s as well. The two cases were loaded full of diapers, wipes, and onesies. 

Carson pulled his own suitcase out the door of the RV, while Astra and Sage required a bit of help to get theirs down. Thorne poked his head back inside, seeing Cress zip up the last carry on bag, one with baby supplies for Cassie. 

Inside his pocket, Thorne’s phone buzzed from the group chat. Cinder and Kai had already gotten through security, since they lived the closest to the airport and arrived first. Now they were in the food court, eating dinner at Taco Bell.

Winter and Jacin texted that they were about to go through security, Winter managing to snap a picture of Luca napping on Jacin’s shoulder. As for Scarlet and Wolf, they were still on the road, and would be at the airport in about 15 minutes.  

“Okay, is everyone ready?” Cress asked, threading her fingers with Thorne’s. “You have all the things you need and we won’t have to pay Disney prices for something like a phone charger?”

Carson patted one of the pockets of his backpack. “I put all the chargers right here.”

“Then let’s go!” Thorne chuckled, squeezing his wife’s hand. In her baby carrier, Cassie was watching them all with her wide blue eyes, a green pacifier in her mouth. 

Cress carried both her and Cassie’s carry on bags, as well as the stroller. It was made for two kids, because they’d gotten it when the twins were born, but there was no way they were going to rent a stroller every day at Disney World. 

The other kids had their backpacks on and rolled their suitcases along the bumpy pavement, talking and giggling with each other. They all reached the bus stop, and thankfully only had to wait a moment for a bus to pull up. 

“Where are you all headed?” The driver asked, kindly taking their luggage and putting it inside the bus. Cress and the kids went to sit while Thorne helped him and answered his question.

“Terminal B, thank you.”

“Mama, I’m hungry.” Astra complained, laying her head in Cress’s lap. Cassie kicked her little feet at her older sister, cooing around the pacifier.

“Hang in there, sweetheart. We’ll get dinner before we get on the plane.” Cress assured her. 

The bus bumped along, and Carson slouched in his seat while playing a game on his phone, plopping his feet in his father’s lap. Sage leaned against his older brother to watch him play. 

When they arrived at their terminal, it was 7:15. If they wanted to eat something before their flight they had to hurry.

Of course things would go wrong.

It took forever for someone to come and check their bags, and it had already taken an extra five minutes because all the machines were taken. When they went through security there were issues regarding whether or not Cassie could be in her carrier or not, and then Carson had forgotten to empty his water bottle in his carry on and had to go through again after getting his whole bag searched. 

But they finally tumbled into the main airport at 7:35. Cassie was starting to fuss, getting hungry again. Astra was on the verge of tears, holding onto Thorne’s hand and complaining of hunger. 

“Hey, Astra, let’s go get some McDonalds, okay?” Thorne asked his daughter. Sage, who was also dragging his feet, perked up at the mention of McDonalds as well.

“You go get the kids fed, I need to find somewhere to nurse Cassie. Pick me up a burger, please?” Thorne nodded, leaving Cress with a quick kiss. 

“Dad we’re gonna be the last ones on the plane.” Carson sighed dramatically. “Everyone else is already there.”

“Scarlet and Wolf aren’t here yet.” Thorne protested, pulling out his phone. He had a bunch of texts from the group again, in which he quickly discovered that somehow Scarlet and Wolf managed to get themselves and five kids through security at the same time as them, without bumping into them. And were now waiting by the gate with the others. 

“Hey, they won’t let us on until 8.” Thorne told his son. “And your siblings are hungry. We all need to eat something, bud, we won’t get there until late.”

Carson sighed again, rolling his eyes, but hefted his backpack and followed them to the McDonalds line.

Fifteen minutes later, laden with fast food and carry on bags, they finally made their way to the gate. Cress was already there, letting Cassie finish up nursing while Scarlet cooed over her. 

“Astra!” Callen yelled, jumping up from his spot by Wolf’s feet to run and crash into Astra with a hug. Astra squealed happily and dragged her friend to the floor, opening up her bag to show off the toy she’d gotten in her Happy Meal. 

“Hello, ladies.” Thorne crooned jokingly, leaning on Cinder’s shoulder.

“Damn, I kinda hoped for a second that Cress had left you here.” Cinder snorted. Peony, who was sitting with Badar in her lap and watching YouTube on her phone, lifted a hand to give him a quick wave. 

Thorne plopped down next to his best friend, grinning. “She couldn’t leave me. My face is too pretty.”

He opened up his own meal, passing Cress’s burger down to her. She sent him a grateful look, eating her food with one hand and trying her hardest to not spill anything on the baby. 

It seemed like hardly any time had passed before their flight was called, and everyone had to gather their things to get into their boarding groups. Badar, who had been about to fall asleep, started crying at the loud noise, and Kai picked up his son, desperately trying to calm him so they could get on the plane. 

“Mommy, BoBo’s so loud!” Luca complained, covering up his ears. Winter pulled the toddler close as they walked to their boarding group, Evret and Veda following. 

Thankfully, Cassie didn’t seem too bothered, and the little girl gurgled and kicked her legs happily as Cress carried her over to the rest of their family. 

“Group B, boarding now.” The robotic voice sounded over the intercom, and the line moved forward. Carson was hanging back slightly, trying to talk with Holly until the last minute. 

They walked down the long tube leading to the plane, Sage and Astra giggling and sprinting up and down while they waited for their parents to get to the plane. When they all reached it, Thorne put his hand on the metal of the plane, feeling the warm hum going through it. Then he stepped inside the plane.

They were really doing this.

Their seats were closer to the back, near the bathrooms, considering they had over a dozen children and at least one of them was going to need the bathroom for their three hour flight. As well, they had gotten seats gathered in a large cluster so they could all talk. 

Thorne got the aisle seat of one row, while Wolf and Scarlet took the middle and window. Their triplets had one full row right in front of them so their parents could keep an eye on them. 

In the row across from them, Kai, Cinder, and Cress sat, with Cress in the aisle seat holding Cassie. Cassiopeia and Badar were still small enough to share a seat with their mothers, and Thorne sat right across the aisle so the baby could be passed to him if his wife needed a break. 

Carson, Holly, and Evret shared a row, as did Shelly, Peony, and Veda. The twins sat behind Thorne with Jacin, while Winter and Luca, who was old enough to have his own seat, sat in a row nearby. 

Across the row, Cress handed Cassie her pacifier, so she had something to suck on while the plane lifted off and hopefully wouldn’t have clogged ears. For all the other kids around her, she passed out some chewing gum. 

Thorne tucked his carry on bag under his seat, Scarlet and Wolf doing the same and making sure the triplets did, as well. Since it was dark outside, the cabin lights were on, but still dim as people got settled before the plane took off. 

“Hello, this is your captain speaking,” A voice sounded over the intercom. “Thank you for choosing this flight this evening to Orlando, Florida, we welcome you aboard.”

Scarlet hushed the triplets in front of them, all of whom were chattering loudly. 

“We will be taking off within the next fifteen minutes, so our flight attendants will now come and brief everyone on the safety protocols, and then we’ll be off! I hope you enjoy this three hour flight to Orlando, Florida.”

“Mommy,” Callen hissed through the seat, turning around to glance at his mother, “We’re on the wrong plane. We’re supposed to be going to Disney World.”

“Disney World is in Orlando, buddy.” Wolf whispered back. “Don’t worry, we’re going to the right place. You three should try and get some sleep. It’s going to be very late when we get there.”

“I’m too excited to sleep!” Baylor protested, having heard them. “And Shelly and Holly aren’t sleeping!”

Sure enough, in their nearby rows, both of the older Kesley girls were not asleep, and from the looks of it, wouldn’t be any time soon. Peony had her laptop out with the distinct look of the beginning of a Star Wars movie, and was plugging in a headphones adapter so all three of them in the row could listen. 

The flight attendants came and began talking, though it went in one ear and out the other for Thorne. He’d been on enough flights to know the safety instructions nearly by heart, and he had the card in the seat in front of him just in case. 

He glanced over at his wife, finding Cress nearly asleep. She had Cassie held close to her chest, the baby snoozing herself while sucking on the pacifier still. 

Thorne couldn’t resist and snapped a quick picture on his phone. At the last second he remembered to turn it on airplane mode, and did so before putting it away at the flight attendant’s instructions. 

And just like that, the plane was moving, coasting along the runway to get to their takeoff spot. The triplets were nearly bouncing with excitement, having never been on a plane before. Across the aisle, Badar was looking out the window from Kai’s lap, absolutely fascinated. 

They coasted along for a few minutes more before the plane finally began to pick up speed. The roaring and rumbling was loud, loud enough that Thorne put in his earbuds in an attempt to drown it out. 

But even blasting music couldn’t drown out the excited gasp of the children in front of him as they lifted off the ground.

“Alix, let me look out the window!” Baylor demanded. Her brother said something back that was lost in the roar of the engine, and soon the two of them were squabbling furiously, Callen joining in a moment later. 

“You three, knock it off.” Scarlet snapped at the triplets. “I want all of you to take out your blankets and go to sleep.”

“But Mommy-” Alix started to complain, but the five-year-old didn’t even need to see his mother’s face to know she was serious. There was rustling as the three of them pulled their blankets from their carry on bags and got settled, and it was hardly ten minutes later that they were silent, 

all three completely passed out. 

Content, the plane flying smoothly as they reached their cruising altitude, Thorne was finally able to drift off to sleep himself.

~~~~

Really, Cress supposed, it was a miracle that Cassie even slept on the plane at all. At about three months old, she didn’t sleep through the night yet, but at least she wasn’t a fussy baby, not like Carson and the twins had been. 

Still, when the infant woke up, crying pitifully and waking everyone up on the plane, Cress couldn’t hold back the sigh that left her mouth.

It was nearly an hour into the flight, and Cassie had eaten about two hours ago. She shouldn’t have needed to be fed again, but she offered nursing anyway.

Cassie just cried louder.

Her pacifier had fallen to the floor somewhere in the commotion, and Cress hated to turn on the overhead lights and wake everyone up. Kai was asleep with his head on Cinder’s shoulder, Badar curled on his lap and clinging to a blanket. 

At least the seatbelt sign was off, and Cress quickly unbuckled and stood up, bouncing the baby in her arms to try and calm her. 

“Cress?” Thorne mumbled across the aisle. “Is that Cassie?”

Even half-asleep, he was already reaching for the baby, ready to take her to let Cress get some more rest. She wondered if it was possible to love him even more. 

“I think her ears must be clogged. I can’t find her pacifier anywhere.”

He pulled out his earbuds and stood up, gently pulling his daughter from her arms. “Hey, little love. What’s got you so upset?”

Taking advantage of having free hands, Cress quickly grabbed her phone to use the flashlight and ducked to the floor, searching for the missing pacifier. 

She found it, rolled beneath Cinder’s foot, a moment later. She quickly wiped it off with a baby wipe (no way she was putting a germy airplane infected pacifier in her infant’s mouth) and gave it back to Thorne.

Instantly, Cassie quieted. The screaming stopped, replaced by a very soft suckling sound as the baby closed her eyes again, content at last.

“I’ll take her for the rest of the flight. Go get some sleep.” Thorne urged her. Cress certainly didn’t need to be told twice. 

All three of them settled down into their respective seats, Cress taking out her neck pillow and blanket to curl up with. With how tired she was, it didn’t take long before she was drifting off to sleep. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are right above the airport in Orlando, Florida, and will begin our descent momentarily. Please make sure your seats are upright and your tray tables closed, and stow away all of your devices and personal items. Thank you for flying with us this lovely evening!”

Cress groaned as the captain’s voice over the intercom dragged her awake. She had half a mind to just go back to sleep, but Cinder was moving next to her, and Badar was fussing loudly in complaint of the noise.

She sluggishly stuffed her blanket and pillow back inside her carry on, while checking the seats in front of her to be sure the kids were doing the same.

A quick glance to her left confirmed that while Thorne was awake, Cassie was not, and still had her pacifier for the descent. As soon as they got to the airport she’d have to feed her and change her diaper. 

“Carson, buddy, are you getting your stuff together?” Cress asked her son, peering around the seat. “We’re about to land.”

Carson gave a noise of complaint but started moving, packing up everything he’d taken out before he fell asleep. Holly, who sat next to him, shook Evret awake, and the trio gathered their things and fixed their seats for the landing. 

Badar was fully awake now, and the toddler clambered over his parents’ laps to Cress, tugging at her jacket. 

“Hey there, sweet boy.” Cress cooed to him. Badar giggled happily before Cinder gently pulled him back to buckle him up with her seatbelt. 

She could feel the plane as it began to drop, slowly easing down towards the earth. Thankfully, Cassie remained asleep in her father’s arms, and Cress carefully got to work at putting the baby carrier back on herself. 

They landed with a small jolt then rolled along the runway to a stop, prompting a few people to start clapping. Badar, in his mother’s lap, giggled and clapped as well, smacking his fumbling baby hands together.

Slowly, after the last announcements were made, people began to unbuckle their seatbelts and stand up to grab their bags from the overhead. Thorne passed Cassie over and Cress put her in the baby carrier so she could grab her carry on bags. 

Being in the back of the plane, they all had to wait a bit longer for more people to get off before they could disembark. 

Luca was passed out on his mother’s shoulder, thumb in his mouth. The triplets were still awake, but all three were yawning widely as they squirmed out of their seats. The only ones who were really awake were Peony and Shelly, being the two oldest kids. But even they were lagging, rubbing at their eyes.

Slowly, their large group made their way off the plane. Both Thorne and Kai gathered their strollers right outside the plane, and they loaded them with carry on bags, as both Cassie and Badar were being held by their mothers. 

Despite the fact it was 11 o’clock at night, the Orlando airport was bustling, and the baggage claim was crowded. Astra leaned against Cress, nearly asleep on her feet while her father and brothers grabbed their suitcases. 

“How long until we get to our hotel?” Sage mumbled tiredly, resting his head on top of his suitcase. 

“The bus ride is about 45 minutes.” Thorne replied. “So you all can sleep for a bit.”

When everyone had at last gathered their bags, they all made their way to the buses outside. They were held up for a few minutes, since they all needed to scan their magic bands to get on the bus for the Disney hotel they were staying at, and Shelly had managed to misplace hers. Thankfully, Wolf was able to locate it, and they all loaded their bags and made their way inside the giant bus.

They sat in a fairly similar configuration to what they’d done on the plane. This time, however, Thorne sat with Cress, and Cinder and Kai sat across from them with Badar.

Cress was amazed that Cassie hadn’t had a meltdown yet; it was far past the time she should have been fed. But the baby, while a bit fussy, wasn’t full on screaming yet, which Cress was grateful for. The long bus ride would give her the perfect opportunity to feed her. 

All around her, the littles, and even the older kids, were falling asleep rapidly. They hadn’t even left the airport yet, but the twins were both fast asleep, leaning on each other, as were the triplets. Holly was resting her head on Carson’s shoulder, while Carson leaned against the window and Evret leaned against Holly. Luca was passed out on his father’s lap, and even Winter was blinking sleepily. 

Eventually, the bus rumbled to life and rolled towards the road. It took everything Cress had to not fall asleep, and instead she subjected herself to watching the repeating video on the screens talking all about Disney Resorts. 

Cassie finished eating, and Cress gave her back the pacifier. The bus was the kind with a bathroom in the back, and she carefully made her way over to change the baby’s diaper. 

By the time she was finished and back in her seat, the bus was pulling into the first stop, which just happened to be the resort they were all staying at. 

Cress nudged her husband awake, and slowly they managed to get all their kids up and moving off the bus. Thorne was carrying Astra, despite the fact that she was six years old and perfectly capable of walking by herself. 

After their entire group was off the bus and standing in the lobby of the resort, Cress took a quick head count, just to be safe.

Four Thorne children, accounted for. The Kesley triplets, Peony and Shelly standing together, Holly and Evret right next to Winter and Jacin, who had Luca. Veda was by Cinder, who had Badar, and Kai was with Wolf and Scarlet. Fourteen kids and eight adults, all accounted for. 

Despite having fourteen children, the walk inside was nearly silent, save for the quiet chattering of the two eldest girls. Cress, having gotten barely any sleep on the plane and no sleep on the bus, was practically dead on her feet. 

“Hello!” The employee chirped brightly, despite it being nearly midnight. “Are you all looking for your rooms?”

After a bit of shuffling and sorting of children and luggage, everyone got their room numbers and were led out of the lobby and towards the actual hotel part of the resort.

The walk wasn’t too long, but in the darkness of the night it felt like ages. Cassie began to fuss, and by the time they located their room the baby was screaming loudly. 

“Mommy, make her stop.” Sage whined, covering his ears while Thorne unlocked the door. 

“I’m sorry, buddy. Let’s get inside and get settled so we can see what’s making her cry.” Cress pulled her suitcase in through the door and flipped on the light switch. 

The room was fairly small, with only two beds. There was a small couch against one wall, and it was supposed to fold out into a bed. After a bit more examination, they discovered that the bathroom was tiny as well, with just a toilet and a shower, and the sinks being on one end of the room. 

The kids all shoved their suitcases and bags against the walls, save for Astra, who was either fast asleep or very good at faking it. Thorne gently laid her down on one of the beds, and her twin flopped down next to her.

Carson took a minute to find some pajamas and his toothbrush, and got himself ready for bed while Thorne set up Cassie’s pack-n-play. Cress took the baby out of her carrier and checked her diaper, (clean, thankfully) then settled for just bouncing her until she quieted. 

“Sage, Astra. I need you two to get on some pajamas.” Cress prompted the twins. Astra gave a loud groan of protest in response.

“Listen to your mother.” Thorne told them. Sage mumbled something under his breath and slid off the bed, trudging towards his suitcase. 

About twenty minutes later, the three older kids were in pajamas with their teeth brushed, and getting tucked into bed. It had taken a few minutes to find the sheets for the pull out bed that Carson was sleeping on, but they’d eventually found them tucked away on a shelf. Cassie was already fast asleep, absolutely worn out from the day’s travels. 

“Sleep well.” Cress smiled, giving the twins each a small kiss on their head. Thorne did so as well, making sure the kids were tucked up and cozy in their hotel-style bed. 

“What time do we have to be up tomorrow?” Carson asked sleepily. The twelve-year-old boy was laying on his bed, wrapped up in the galaxy-patterned blanket he’d brought with him.

“Our first FastPass is at 9:30 for Spaceship Earth, and the park opens at 9:00.” Thorne told him. “So I think we’ll be up around 8:00 and we’ll be good.”

Carson nodded and rolled over with a yawn. “Okay. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, buddy.” Thorne said with a smile. 

With the kids all asleep, Cress and Thorne got themselves ready for bed as well. As they settled into their bed, Cress couldn’t resist and took one last look at her phone before Thorne turned the lights off.

In their group text, the other couples had sent photos of the kids they’d taken throughout the day. 

Peony sharing her chips with Badar. The triplets watching a movie together while waiting for the plane. Luca asleep in Jacin’s arms on the bus. Shelly and Holly wearing Disney themed pajamas, curled on their bed together. Peony cuddling with her baby brother in her sleep. 

Cress snapped a quick picture of all the kids fast asleep in their room and sent it to the group, then finally turned off her phone and plugged it in. 

Thorne wrapped his arms around her, and Cress relaxed into his embrace, ready to finally sleep after a long day, and even more ready to wake up in the morning to their first day at Disney World.

[ussjellyfish]

fic: Work-Life Balance pt 3 | AoS | Philinda | mature

(this chapter is still barely teen, mature things next chapter)

Melinda and Phil attend a fancy fundraiser, which has dancing, which isn't that terrible. They also get to see Mack and Yo-yo.

Many thanks to @plechka for your help with DC stuff.

read on Ao3

Espionage 218 - the Dance Elective

He makes her breakfast, which involves running out for bagels, but she sleeps in, contented and calm. She slept better in Tahiti than he's ever seen her to, so maybe it's just being free from the encroaching danger. Nothing's coming to get them. There's no giant conspiracy out there waiting to destroy the world, just classes and field reports, seminars and exams. 

Mack, Director Mack, said he can do some recruitment, when he's up for it. Phil's read the file a few times. Part-time, very flexible, based at the Hub which is right near the Academy. Very short drive, shorter still in Lola. Sounds ideal if he wants to stay involved. There are plenty of things to do at the Academy too. May has a full course load, plus extra fitness training classes, and she's mentoring the newest crop of SOs in the field. Just looking at her calendar is headache worthy. No wonder she doesn't have anything in her fridge. 

That morning Phil lets her eat her bagel in the car on the way into campus, even though usually eating in Lola is strictly forbidden. He didn't have the heart to wake her, especially when she'd shut off her own alarm three times. Must be making up for years of lost sleep, or teaching exhausts her in a way flying the Bus and saving the world did not.  

After he drops her off, he spends the morning in kitchen stores, and then buying his own clothes. He has one bag, and a handful of old stuff in storage in Wisconsin, but he keeps dying and leaving the planet and getting his suits blown up. It's frustrating because he had some nice suits, some books that had that great old book smell. 

May emails him the invite to the Congressional Security Committee fundraiser that she has to attend tonight, because she's one of the most respected professors at the Academy. Also, she's gorgeous, and Mack likes how much that distracts people.

It'll be a long night of mediocre drinks, passable hors d'oeuvres and terrible conversation. The dancing might be all right. Maybe he can sneak May off to look at some of the art because he's always liked the National Potrait Gallery, and the courtyard's really something to see. She'll fit right in at an art museum. 

He has to use SHIELD resources to get good black tie at the last minute, but he knows a guy who's pretty quick and he just has to look good enough to be with May. She probably has some absolutely stunning dress and he keeps losing his train of thought as he's buying spices, imagining how she'll look. He's far enough away that she can't feel his particular emotions right this moment, hopefully. Didn't ask what the range was, and it seems like it's different with him. 

Mack got them dinner reservations, and it's not really double date, but it's Mack, Yo-yo, Melinda and him, which is basically the double date set up. Maybe it is. Maybe it's just really good friends with a lot of history. Getting to see them again is wonderful, but he's a little nervous. 

Putting pots and pans away as he rearranges Melinda's kitchen helps him think. She has whole cabinets that just sit empty until he adds measuring cups, mixing bowls, and a coffee maker. One of the perks of never being able to be out in public is that he has years of salary just sitting in his bank account. Melinda doesn't need a stand mixer, but he does. 

Because he's moving in. Well, moved in to be fair. His new toothbrush sits right next to hers and there's plenty of closet space when he has clothes. He's just got the utensils right by the stove when Melinda texts. The day has flown by; it's already four, her last class just ended. 

She's running late, students need help. They're supposed to be at the restaurant at five thirty which doesn't give her much time to get ready. He gets dressed in his tuxedo, smirking at the cufflinks. He loves when he gets to wear them because they're such a classy, old school kind of touch. He throws his tie around his neck, but doesn't tie it yet. Melinda does it better. 

He grabs her dress, makeup, jewelry, hairpins, hairspray- collecting the arsenal it'll take to get her ready for black tie. Not that she needs it. She could go in a t-shirt, but this is a fancy politician charming thing. Carrying her dress in a garment bag and the rest of her things in a duffel, he parks Lola outside her office and heads in. 

There are still students in the hall, most of them dressed as waiters and it clicks. They're going undercover. Melinda's sending some her students undercover to the fundraiser for practice. Smart. They'll be catering a lot in the field. No one really pays attention to the hands serving the food. 

They talk between themselves, but part when he arrives. Melinda's all the way down the hall, at the heart of their group, explaining how to swap champagne flutes in order to get fingerprints and DNA. 

"Professor May, your husband's here," one of the cadets calls down the hall. 

"That's right, dear," he says, beaming. Might as well roll wih it. "I think I have everything."

"Great, I'm sorry, we got carried away, okay, I'll see you tonight, remember, when you're undercover, you're invisible, so don't impress anyone, not Director Mack, and definitely not me."

They laugh and Phil has to smile. She's pretty hard to impress. He sets her dress on the desk and pulls the blinds while the students leave them. Melinda pulls off her blazer and starts unbuttoning her shirt. 

"How much time do we have?"

"Slightly less than half an hour, which is plenty, you're already beautiful."

"Not black tie beautiful."

She sighs, dropping her bra to the desk and he has to swallow. He will never get over how beautiful she is, and it's been a terrifying constant in his life for decades. 

"Let me help you with the dress." He gently removes the black and gold dress from the garment bag. He shakes it out, opening the clasps while she changes her underwear and pulls on her stockings. 

"Okay, let me get this over your head." The complicated straps cross high on her chest and leaves her back bare. He whistles as it slips into place. "I think this is better than the sequins."

"Oh?" She starts pinning up her hair, smiling. "It's more comfortable."

"Your breasts make the dress look great."

Melinda laughs. "I thought you'd like it." 

He sits on her desk, handing her pins as she puts her hair up. He holds up a handful and looks over the pictures on her desk. "These are nice, Daisy, FitzSimmons and Alya, don't know if that's the best picture of me."

"I've always liked that one." She titls her head towards the hairspray and he hands it over. 

"I look too stern."

"You are stern."

"Me?" He takes the hairspray and hands her the eyeliner, holding it while she yawns into her hand.  "Couldn't fit a nap in, huh?"

"I slept at lunch."

"Good plan, these things always go so late." 

Melinda sighs, shaking her head. "I know." 

"Lipstick,"

"Give me that first." He looks, following her hand. A abandoned mug of coffee sits on her desk. 

"You hate coffee."

"It's vile, but it keeps me awake."

"Well, it's definitely worse cold and without anything in it."

"Just hand it to me, Phil." She shuts her eyes and swallows it, grimacing. He's seen children make that face when they've been told to eat brussel sprouts. 

"You hate it."

"I hate falling asleep at dinner more."

He touches her shoulder. "This is hard. You're carrying a lot. Don't push yourself beyond your limits."

"Tomorrow's an easy day, no lectures, just seminar, and it's in the afternoon."

"I'll make waffles."

"And no coffee."

"None, for you." 

She laughs, finishing her lipstick. "What earrings did you bring?"

"These matched the best."

"I would have gone with the gold."

"The dress is more bronze."

"Oh I see."

"These bring out your eyes more."

"Yes, that's what you've been looking at. My eyes." She toys with his hand, smiling. 

"Exactly." He rests his gaze on the exquisite display of her breasts, then looks up, 

She leans in, kissing him lightly. "You still can't tie these."

"I have you." 

The next kiss is a little deeper, hungrier, and they don't have time. Mack and Yo-yo will be at the restaurant in a few minutes ad they're already pushing it, even with Lola. Flying through DC isn't exactly subtle. The cloaking will help but--

Melinda finishes tying his bow tie and pats his chest. "Shoes."

He sets them up and she steps into her impossibly high heels, holding on his shoulder. 

"Ready?"

She takes another moment, taking a breath. "I still don't understand how you drink that every day."

"It grows on you."

"Like a tumor." 

He rests his hand on her bare back, chuckling. "Exactly, a delicious, caffeinated tumor." 

 Mack and Yo-yo are waiting for them at the table, already laughing over their drinks.

"Sorry, parking is terrible." 

"Our quinjet is on the roof," Yo-yo says, getting up to hug Melinda. "You look amazing."

"Doesn't she?" 

"You don't look too bad yourself," Mack says, getting up to shake his hand. They stare, take hands and then hug. He didn't think he'd see Mack again, or Yo-yo or...anyone, and here they are. Mack pats Melinda's shoulder and Yo-yo pulls out her chair. 

"Sit, eat, we don't have that much time before we have to talk to the boring people." 

"Thanks, sorry--"

"She had cadets swarming her office."

"All ready for tonight?"

"They're some of my best, about half of the catering team are future agents. Tell me how many before the night's over and I'll buy dinner next time." 

Mack lifts his glass, grinning. "Oh you're on."

Yo-yo leans forward, elegant in a dark blue dress, with her hair down in waves. Mack's pocket square complements her dress and they look fantastic together. The way they talk, laughing, filling in each other's stories, they're happy. It's good to see. This time has been good for them. 

The food arrives a few minutes later, concerned for time, Mack and Yo-yo ordered, and it smells incredible. Melinda yawns into her hand again and flags down the server for tea instead of wine. 

"They might have coffee."

"Oh no, one is my limit." 

"You had coffee?" Yo-yo asks over her naan bread. "The Academy's that bad, huh?" 

"It's disgusting but it keeps me awake." 

"I'm gone for a little while and look how things change." It's a poor joke but Melinda's little smile has forgiveness in it. 

"It felt a little long." She reaches across, squeezing his hand. 

"It's nice to have you back." Mack digs into the chicken. "This is incredible."

Melinda sets down her fork and reaches for her tea. "It's hard to get reservations here, but my mom likes it."

"Do they do take out?" Phil passes her one of the sauces and she gives him that look. "May's a connoisseur of take out." 

"Very funny."

"Do they? This is near the Hub, I'd love this for lunch."

"Places like this don't do take out," Yo-yo says, pointing at her napkin. "Real napkins, fancy silverware."

Mack shakes his head, wiping his mouth. "We'll have to find a way to get them to make an exception."

"Use those director perks." Phil jokes, meeting Melinda's gaze. 

"What director perks?' The server hands Mack the check and Yo-yo chuckles.

"There's a perk."

"I asked for this." Mack waves the check at them. "I know how hard it is to live on an academic's salary."

Phil titls his head towards Melinda. "You should see how empty her apartment was, couldn't afford anything in the kitchen."

"I am funny, I'm the director." He hands over a card and they reluctantly leave their seats. 

Phil offers Melinda his hand to get to her feet, touching her bare back as they head for the door. Her skin's warm and smooth under his hand and she allows it to remain there. The clouds overhead are dark and heavy, and the air smells like rain. The gallery's only a quick walk, and it almost feels like old times. Very fancy old times. 

At the door he hands over their IDs from Melinda's purse. Hers is a little worn, and his brand new. Billy did good work on it. They head through security, have their retinas scanned and fingerprints checked. Eventually they end up at another table, and two of Melinda's students bring them drinks. 

She takes a sip, then sets her glass down. "Well, lets get it over with"

"It?"

"You're going to make me dance."

He listens to the orchestra and smirks. "That's a waltz." 

Melinda holds out her hand, reaching for his and smiling. "Do you want to wait for a tango?"

"Are you just using me to avoid Senator Ellis?"

"You caught me." She leans in, brushing her lips agains his ear. "Also, my students are watching."

"So we're making your students uncomfortable?"

"If they're watching us dance, they're not watching other things."

"I'd be watching you."

She glances down at her chest and her smile brightens. "I know what you'e watching."

Dancing with her is easy, comfortable. She'll have to talk to senators and congresspeople,  be charming, talk about the Academy, but for now, and maybe the next dance, he can hold her. 

The next song is a tango and she rolls her eyes, but she remembers the steps. Her muscle memory's always been incredible. She leads him into a dip near some of her students and she's right, they're watching them, not observing the room. 

"How are you going to get them to stop watching us?"

"We'll talk about it in seminar."

"That sounds fun."

"You should come, it's my most interesting class."  Melinda wraps her leg around the back of his and executes another dip. She's so good at it. The bonus for him is that he gets to hold her, tight and close and it's too bad that can't last all night. 

Eventually he has to surrender her to Mack, and a few senators. He gets one song to dance with Yo-yo, who tells him all about her team: Piper and Davis, and her adventures. She finds time for Mack too, and they seem happy.

"She needed you back," Yo-yo says over his shoulder, smiling at Melinda. "She said she was happy, but this is happy."

"What was she before?"

"Busy." Yo-yo twirls out and then back to him. "Really busy."

"She's still busy." 

"But now at least you can cook for her." 

"Yeah."

"Which makes you happy."

"It's such a little thing."

"Not little." Yo-yo walks with him back to the table, reaching for her champagne while Phil scans the crowd for Melinda. "Mack fixes my car when I'm home, worries about my motorcycle, tunes the engine. You cook."

"Melinda's a terrible cook."

"And I never remember when my car needs an oil change. Love brings us people who look after what we can't. May did that for you, for years. Maybe now you switch." 

"Yeah?" He finishes his drink. 

"You love her."

"I do."

"And she's happier now, today, than I've seen her in years, maybe ever." 

Melinda walks towards them, smiling, free of the last lobbyist who wanted something. She walks past one of the caterers, must be a student because she walks straight up to him and kises him like the world is ending thirty seconds from now, or they're being shot at. He nearly stumbles back but it's too wonderful to be pressed against her. 

Yo-yo laughs and leaves them to it. 

"Hi," he whispers, catching his breath. 

"My students are easily distracted."

"They like you."

Melinda rolls her eyes and he loves her so much in this instant. She's supervising all of these cadets, making them better agents, saving the world one showy kiss at a time. "They like my stories."

"May, you're an incredible teacher."

She sighs, shutting her eyes. She kisses his cheek then rests against him, her head on his shoulder. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Just, thank you." 

He strokes her cheek. "It's good to be back."

"You didn't even know you were gone." Her voice is light but her eyes hold so much more. 

"I see it." He holds her face, staring at her, drinking her in. She's been through so much and she's still here, powerful, beautiful and so resilient. "I'm sorry."

"You always come back."

He laughs and she kisses him again. She pushes him back towards the table, scandalizing the students, maybe part of Congress. She's worth it. 

"I love you," he whispers into her hair, running his hand down her spine. 

 The sky's opened up while they've been in the gallery, and the rain drums on the glass roof. It's late, and the last stragglers at the party are drunk and headed home in a line of cabs. Lola's only a block away but the storm's rolled in hard. Lightning flashes overhead and the heavy humidity's erupting into drenching rain.

"Stay here, I'll bring the car," he offers.

Melinda shakes her head. She reaches down, holding his arm for balance as she takes off her shoes. She sighs, even wavers a little. 

Phil shrugs off his tuxedo jacket, passing it to her. "Here."

"I'm fine."

"So am I."

Melinda rolls her eyes again but takes it, wrapping herself in his coat. 

"There could be broken glass."  

"You want to carry me?"

"I--"

"It's fine, Phil." She offers her arm and together they walk out into the rain. 

The air's still warm and the rain crashes down cool over them. They walk quickly, arm in arm, and it's too loud to talk but thy don't need too. She remembers being a student, when they were cadets together, all the moments that got them to here. They climb into Lola, soaking wet, laughing as the rain patters on the roof. He starts the car and the windows fog as they dry. 

Melinda leans back in her seat, eyes closed. "That was better."

"See, you do like dancing."

"It's all right with you."

He heads through the nearly empty streets, making his way back to her apartment. "And mortifying your students."

"Now that was fun."

"I love your sense of humor." 

"You love a lot of things about me." 

"Your hair. Your breasts. The way you talk in your sleep."

She doesn't, and she can't remind him of that because she is asleep. He pats her knee in her soaking wet dress and drives them home. 

The garage at her apartment is out of the rain and she remains asleep as he shuts off the car. Circling to the passenger side, he bends, straightens his back and lifts her up.

She murmurs, waking a little as they move through the elevator and then the hall. 

"Are you being chivalrous?"

"I was trying to let you sleep."

Melinda slips from his arms, regaining her feet in the hall as he takes out her keys. "That was kind."

"You're doing a lot."

"I know."

"Let me help."

"I am, aren't I?" She stands on her tiptoes to kiss him. "I'll let you take the pins out of my hair."

"Okay." He guides her to a chair, pulling the hairpins out of her wet hair while she smiles at him, nearly falling asleep again at the table. He guides th =e dress off her shoulders, then takes her earrings. "Come on. Time for bed." 

He strips off his own wet clothes in the bathroom. Leaving them on the floor before crawling into bed next to her. 

"I love you," she whispers, curling into his chest. "You're warm."

Chuckling, he holds her close. "Glad to be of service."