#i been were you are and fire is a nasty thing if you’re in LA rn I hope you’re staying safe

[just-another-siimp]

Epilogue

Warnings: Brief mention of war, injuries and anxiety, alcohol use, poor fire safety, lots of smooches (16+), lots of fluff, a ton of fluff.

Authors Note: This is is, the Enemy at the Gate series is finally done! All this is is self indulgent fluffy. Pairing below the cut!

Word Count: 2k

Enemy at the Gate || Alone || Prison Break || Epilogue

Kyle 'Gaz' Garrick x Reader

The months following Las Almas blurred into one, with Hassan dead and Makarov crawling out of the rafters like the cockroach that he was, there was so much work to be done. Laswell had other plans for the 141st, forcing a mandatory leave period of 6 weeks. Allowing everyone to heal both mentally and physically. For some of you returning home was a secret blessing, it allowed opportunities for hidden relationships to bloom behind drawn curtains. Not that your relationship was hidden from the 141st, they were the people you trusted with your life so it was only natural that they knew. It was either that or have them find out, and they always find out. 

For you home is a cottage on the outskirts of Metz, allowing the beauty of the French countryside to swallow you whole. At first you’d thought the choice to move to France of all places would be something you’d regret, yet there had been nothing but happy memories made in the cottage you and your beloved called home. While you’d been away the seasons had changed, summer had been in full swing, the Apricot trees in the back garden had been full of the sweet fruit. Now it was covered in snow, the flowers had died long ago, leaves fallen to the ground below long before you’d even thought of home. Yet under a blanket of white, it was still your favourite place to be. 

-

Soft quacks could be heard just outside your kitchen window, peaking out from the frosted glass you caught sight of your two favourite trouble makers. Henry and Gale, a pair of ducks that belonged to your neighbour but always had a habit of venturing over to your cottage. They supplied a pleasant background noise as you kneaded dough, even in the cold weather it was easy to build up a sweat. Your arm still ached, bullet wound leaving a nasty scar despite the neat stitching. After a few more weeks it would be back to normal but for now you dealt with the ache, covering the bowl with a damp towel before leaving the dough to proof. 

The kitchen was an organised mess, Stew bubbling away in it’s pot atop the stove while vegetables soaked in water waiting to be formed into something that resembled a salad. The cupboard was fully stocked with snacks, both sweet and savoury. Outside in the garage there was a fridge filled with beer, amongst other drinks. Next to it a pile of firewood had been stacked sky high, your neighbour (the owner of Henry and Gale) had kept it well stocked in exchange for Apricots from your tree. Staring at the fridge you looked at the list you’d written, there wasn’t a lot left to do before the boys arrived but still you paced the kitchen anxiously. 

Gale’s quacking was interrupted by a car engine as it pulled into the driveway, a flurry of snow and wings indicated that the pair had flown away spooked by the slam of a car door. Suddenly you remembered you were supposed to be resting, you’d promised not to do anything on your own and allow your arm a chance to heal without extra strain. There wasn’t time to hide the evidence, front door creaking open reminding you that it needed to be oiled before Price arrived. He’d go full handyman and try finding other things to fix if you didn’t. 

“Babe, I’m home! You’d never believe what I found at the store today-” Your heart skipped a beat hearing his voice, excitement already welling up in your chest. The kitchen door swung open and you attempted to look as though you’d just been standing in the kitchen for no reason. “Hey- you’re supposed to be resting!”

“Oh hey.. Gaz- you’re back home early!” The way he was staring at you was a clear indication that your goose was indeed cooked, as he placed the bags down. Reaching out to you he pulled you closer, hand reaching up to cup your cheek before brushing flour off of your nose. Ah, so you’d really been caught red handed.

“Is this how you feel when you catch one of us working when we’re supposed to be resting?” He asked softly, lips pressed to your forehead as he pulled you into him. It was hard not to melt into his embrace, breathe in his cologne as his hands trailed down to your waist leaving warmth in his wake. 

“Oh it’s incredibly frustrating to see.” You murmured softly into the crook of his neck, leaning all of your weight into him with a content sigh. It was nice to have him home, even if he was only gone for a couple of hours. “Especially when the Captain falls asleep at his desk in the process.”

You’re both laughing at that, Gaz leaning down a little further lips pressing to yours in a sweet kiss. Fingers pressing flush into the back of your thighs tapping once as if to say ‘up’, the movement was effortless as he lifted you onto the counter. Fingers curled into his hair, still slightly damp from the snow he must’ve been caught in while he was out. His lips tasted faintly of chocolate, your brow furrowed and you pulled away. 

“Did you have hot chocolate without me?” Guilt was written all over his face, his fingers traced gentle circles into your sides trying to soften you up. “I can’t believe you.” 

“They were handing out cups for free! How could I say no?” 

“Easily.” He kissed your nose, you pouted at him trying to hide the smile that threatened to break out on your face. Gaz knew you weren’t really angry at him, how could you be? When you didn’t say anything he trailed kisses across your cheek and down your jaw, coaxing a whine from your lips. “Kyle.. I’m trying to be angry at you.” 

“Guess I’ll just have to take the coco powder they were selling back to the store.” You tried turning to the paper bag that sat forgotten on the kitchen counter next to you, his right hand rested on the side of your neck. Thumb grazing your chin before grasping it gently, keeping your focus on him. “The marshmallows too.” 

“Giant Marshmallows?” 

“Of course, biggest I could find.” 

“Why didn’t you say so sooner?” Before he could respond you’d pulled him closer, eyes fluttering shut as you both lost yourselves in the kiss. It was often like this after deployment, there was no looming threat or unwanted eyes on either of you. In this little bubble of the world you could both cherish the little moments and the silly moments just like this one. 

The rest of the morning was spent in the kitchen, with you sat at a bar stool while Gaz worked on perfecting his stew refusing to let you do anything to help. This time you listened to his ‘orders’ laughing when he mocked you, scolding you just as you did to him and the others when they didn’t rest. Elbows rested on the cool countertop, your chin resting on the palm of your hand was you watched him cook. Hot chocolate with a comically large marshmallow floating within it partially forgotten. 

-

Snow crunched beneath your feet, cool air nipping at exposed skin as you shuffled out to the wood pile. There were some things that Gaz couldn’t stop you from helping with, like a puppy you’d followed him out into the snow not taking no for an answer. He still wouldn’t let you carry the wood, instead allowing you to light the fire and only because you’d hidden the matches from him. 

“You could’ve at least put gloves on.” He said walking towards you, firewood piled in his arms. “Can you grab the axe for me, love?” 

“Why wear gloves when you can hold my hand?” There was a pep in your step as you grabbed the axe off of the wall, true intentions hidden behind a giddy smile as you followed him to the designated wood cutting stump. “One axe, ready and willing to serve. Sir!” 

“Are you having a sugar high?” 

“Hmm maybe.” 

“That hot chocolate is pretty good, I bet even Ghost will like it.” You watched as he removed his jacket, wrapping it over your shoulders before taking the axe from your waiting hands. That reminded you, looking at the time it wouldn’t be long before the others arrived. The dough was only half way through it’s second proof, there were still blankets that needed to be pulled from cupboards for whoever crashed on the couch and neither you or Kyle had made the salad. The first crack of axe meeting wood pulled you from your thoughts, this was the real reason you’d come outside just to watch Gaz at work. 

-

Ghost was the first to arrive, he wore the usual skull balaclava which really made the bright pink box of chocolates in his arms stand out more. You would’ve laughed but he didn’t give you the chance, shoving the box into your arms and walking into the cottage not without ruffling your hair on the way. You could hear Gaz greeting him in the kitchen, their voices muffled by the kitchen door as it closed again. The sun had set roughly an hour ago, leaving the surrounding area covered in darkness. There was no reason for you to be standing at the door still, yet you couldn’t stop looking into the black searching for something that wasn’t there. 

“Chip.” You almost screamed, whirling around to face Ghost with a half hearted glare. He shot you an apologetic look, reaching past you to turn on the front garden lights. Illuminating the darkness, revealing Gale and Henry snuggled together under the bench. “It’s just the ducks, nothings gonna come crawling out of the shadows here.” 

“I know.” You whispered softly, stepping away from the door and closing it. Ignoring how the cold seemed to settle in your bones despite the fireplace being well lit. Ghost had forced you to show him to the livingroom despite him knowing exactly where it was, distracting you from what lurked in the shadows. 

-

Price and Soap had arrived together, the Captain having picked up John in london before driving the rest of the way. They both planned to stay a few days, using it as an excuse to stay at their home away from home. Not that you or Gaz were complaining, it was nice to have the extra company especially because it meant getting to listen to Soap butcher french with his thick Scottish accent. Ghost would most likely be gone by morning, he wasn’t the type to stick around for long but you always made him promise to take some leftovers home. 

The five of you surrounded the fire pit, Soap standing a bit too close to comfort as he tipped his head back downing another Guava Cruiser. Your home was one of the only places where he’d drink something other than beer or a strong spirit, in private where none of you judged further than shitty banter. These types of gatherings didn’t happen often, it was a chance for everyone to relax. As always Gaz’s cooking was the main star of the show, matched with the fresh bread you’d made that afternoon it was a real treat. Even Ghost had taken Gaz up on the offer of a hot coco (mind you it had a shot of peppermint liquour and no marshmallow, sorta disappointing really) from where he stood next to Soap he seemed to be enjoying it. Even if he had to stop the Scot from falling into the fire. 

None of you worried about what battles were next to come.

Tag List: @komorebiiiiiiii @mauveserpent @mydogeatscoffeecups @reiya-djarin @underatreedrinkingtea @blueoorchid @poohkie90 @kult6 @watermaylon-writes @boxofgasoline @cumbersome-robes @frazie99 @bowserowser @urfavsunkissedleo @kyuupidwrites @omgitstatertot @justpeachiixx @trashy-panda777 @msecho19 @spinkeydinkey @whoreforhorror

[house-afire]

Topaz, Ruby (pre-Ed/Stede, cosmic horror AU, warning for eye trauma)

Prompt: 100 words of responsible cult leaders

“Well,” Stede said, a bit nervously, “I like to think of myself as a pioneer in the cultic world. Shaking up the established ways of doing things. When you think about it, what does all that ritual human sacrifice really achieve?”

“Fair winds,” said Iz—Iggy, Stede amended with no small amount of venom. “Safe raids that don’t get your entire inept crew fucking slaughtered. Not, say, running your ship aground.”

“That only happened once!”

“Fucking mental,” Ed said, “doing it on your own like that. Cold-shouldering the sea takes balls. Takes vision.”

The word hung in the air between them.

His eyes. Stede couldn’t look away from them. Pete had sworn they were the reddest rubies, that Blackbeard had carved them out himself—“Do you think Blackbeard would really need someone else to cut his eyes out for him? Not in a million years”—and replaced them with gems bewitched for bloodshed. But they were the brightest topaz, the color of fire, of lanterns in shadow plays, of endlessly running sap.

Maybe he had cut them out himself, though. Pete could have been right about that much. Stede didn’t feel like he could ask, not when he still had the pair he was born with, which he was well-aware marked him as something of a disgrace among captains.

“So what do you do,” Ed said, “if you’re not—” He mimed slitting his throat, cutting off a finger, slicing down the length of his arm. “Dropping bodies, having a bit of maim. You getting by on blood?”

Stede had dabbled in some ritual bloodletting, but Jim was the only one who didn’t hiss and howl at the first cut, and really, it felt unfair to have it always be Jim.

“We’ve done a bit of blood,” he hedged. It was technically accurate. Last week, Lucius had cut himself shaving, and he’d sprinkled some of the blood on the mast! That must have done something! “But the crew’s responded best to what the French call la petite mort.”

Ed and Iggy both stared at him blankly. Stede had been thinking of them as such different men that it was disconcerting to have them look at him exactly the same way. It was even stranger to notice for the first time that Iggy’s still-human eyes held a kind of flat reflection of Ed’s topaz light. Was he a familiar? Stede had never met one before.

“The little death,” Stede said, flushing. “The climax of—carnal activities.”

“You’ve been appeasing the sea with orgies,” Iggy said. He sounded as though he were on the verge of committing ritual human sacrifice here and now.

“If you’re calling that a little death, mate, think you might be doing it wrong,” Ed said.

“It’s not me, it’s the French, and—I’m sure we’re all doing it right,” he added, a touch more defensively than he perhaps should have. Fine, it was true that he hadn’t been an active participant in the rituals, but he was endeavoring to maintain a responsible boundary between the crew and its captain. He was just being a good leader. “Do you just stick to human sacrifice, then?”

Ed shook his head. “You try to get by on brute force alone, you burn out in a year. I’ve seen it happen. Well, made it happen. To people who annoyed me.”

Oh. Stede very much hoped he didn’t annoy Ed. He rather believed he didn’t, though. He thought Ed was perhaps the only person he’d ever met who wasn’t somewhat annoyed by him.

“You want to alternate between sacrifices and trades, too,” Ed went on. “Eyes for gems—that’s a classic, obviously.” He tapped one of the topazes, and the clicking noise of his fingernail against the stone made Stede faintly nauseated. “Just make sure you pick the right ones the first time out, because I know a guy who kept swapping his around, and—” He winced. “Nasty.”

“He poked his fingers into his own brain,” Iggy said.

“That’s—vivid,” Stede said.

“Yeah, makes you nuts, jerking your life around like that. Takes an awful lot to make it work, too. Standard is one kill, one amputation, but there’s always a bit of wiggle room. I’ve got a friend who sacrificed her whole crew to make it work and get some nice ghosts to sail around with. She’s a bit of a dick, though.”

(Stede would think of all this again months later, when Ed’s hand tightened around his and he gasped his way back to life, ruby eyes wide open.)

[redocity]

I had this dream where reader works as an emt firefighter and in her turnout jacket she's got a little stash of snacks where after an emergency she offers people snacks on the way back to the 118 station, and she always gives buck his favs bc they're in a secret relationship

Dunno I thought it was cute and sweet, like proper mom friend vibes

SPECIAL TREATMENT — E.BUCKLEY

you know buck well, and you pride yourself on it. and whilst you try to keep your adoration for him under wraps during shifts, he still gets a little bit of special treatment.

evan buckley x gn!reader | 1.3k | fluff | masterlist.

a/n - this is such a cute idea :(

The sirens wailed as the fire engine rumbled through the streets, red lights flashing against the sky. You sat in the back, your heart still racing from the adrenaline of the call.

It had been a tough one—a nasty car accident that had left both cars in a mangled heap. But everyone made it out okay, thank god, you weren’t sure you or anyone else in the team had the mental energy to deal with the aftermath of that today.

You leaned your head back against the seat, trying to catch your breath. The smell of smoke and sweat still clung to your skin, the weight of your turnout gear pressing heavily on your shoulders.

It wasn’t your first call of the night, and it wouldn’t be your last, but this one had taken its toll.

“Hey, you good?”

Buck’s voice cut through the noise of the engine, echoing in your headpiece. He was sitting next to you, his helmet resting on his lap, his blue eyes filled with concern. He’d seen the way you’d thrown yourself into the chaos of the scene—no hesitation, just action. It’s one of the things he admired about you. But you knew he also worried. You worried about him, too.

“Yeah,” you replied, offering him a small smile. “Just... long night.”

Buck nodded, his gaze lingering on you for a moment longer before he turned back to stare out the window.

The two of you were good at keeping up the act, at hiding what simmered beneath the surface, especially when you were surrounded by your crew. No one at the station knew about your relationship, and you both preferred it that way—for now anyway. It was easier to keep things separate, to focus on the job without worrying about what everyone else thought about the two of you abandoning your professionality to pursue a romantic relationship.

But still, you had your little moments.

As the engine slowed, winding through the LA streets back toward the firehouse, you felt the familiar weight of your turnout jacket shift. Your secret stash was in there, tucked away in a small interior pocket. After every call, it had become your little ritual—a way to ease the tension, to offer comfort in the smallest way possible.

Quietly, you reached into the pocket and pulled out a granola bar and a bag of Buck’s favorite pretzels. It had started as a joke between you two, a way to break the ice after long, stressful shifts. But now it was just, well, a part of your routine.

You nudged him gently with your elbow, holding the pretzels out toward him. He looked down, his eyes lighting up with that boyish grin you loved.

“Seriously?” He mouthed, trying not to let the others overhear.

You roll your eyes with an amused smile. “You know I always come prepared.”

Buck shook his head, chuckling under his breath as he took the bag from your hand. His fingers brushed against yours for just a second—too quick for anyone else to notice, but long enough to send a warm tingle up your arm.

“You spoil me,” he murmured, tearing open the bag and popping a pretzel into his mouth.

“Someone has to,” you shot back, leaning back against the seat again, a smirk tugging at your lips. “Can’t have you running on fumes.”

Buck glanced over at you, his gaze softening for a moment. “I think you just like having an excuse to feed me.”

You shrugged, playful. “Maybe. Or maybe I just know what you’re like when you get hangry.”

The engine finally pulled into the station, and as the others began to climb out, you slipped the granola bar into his hand before anyone could see. He caught your eye, his gratitude clear, and you gave him a quick wink before turning to help unload the equipment.

As the night wore on, the crew went about their usual post-call routine—checking equipment, cleaning up, and trying to unwind after the chaos. But your secret little exchange with Buck stayed with you.

It wasn’t a grand gesture or declaration of love—it was a granola bar and a packet of pretzels after a call— but it was something that meant you knew him, that you cared about him and his wellbeing.

And like knowing what snacks he liked after a tough call, he always made sure to walk on the side of the street closer to traffic when you grabbed coffee together on your days off, or guided you away from streetlamps you might bump into when you’re walking on your phone.

Inside the firehouse, the fluorescent lights buzzed softly as everyone filtered into the kitchen, grabbing water bottles and snacks from the fridge. You slipped in beside Buck, leaning against the counter while he made himself a quick sandwich.

“So,” he said under his breath, just loud enough for you to hear, “does this mean I get special treatment forever?”

You gave him a sidelong glance, suppressing a smile. “Special treatment?”

He held up the empty pretzel bag with a grin. “Snacks after every call. Feels like I’m getting VIP service.”

You rolled your eyes, bumping him gently with your shoulder. “Only because you’re secretly my favourite.”

Buck leaned in just a fraction, head tilting in amusement. “I better be.”

His breath brushed against your ear, and for a split second, the world narrowed to just the two of you, the low hum of the kitchen fading into the background.

You fought the urge to kiss him right there, to let the rest of the crew in on what you’d been keeping to yourselves. But instead, you pulled away, eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Don’t get cocky, Buckley.”

His laugh was soft, just for you. “Too late.”

“Fyi,” You turn to switch on the coffee machine, a fond smile on your face. “I have snacks for everyone, not just you,”

Buck gasps like he’s in a telanovela, a hand clapping into his chest. “Now that is betrayal,”

You roll your eyes with a laugh, full and hearty and exactly how Buck thinks you deserve to feel for the rest of your life.

“They’re your favourites though, so you can’t be mad at me,” You give him a smug smile, and he sighs.

He could never be mad at you. God just looking at your face has him feeling like he’s in heaven.

“I love you,”

Its a little brash for being stood in the middle of the fire station, but Buck didn’t mind, not when you looked like that. Like you held the whole world in those beautiful eyes and spoke nothing but poetry from your lips.

You laugh, a quick glance across the room for the presence of your coworkers before your response. “I love you too,”

No one else knew, and for now, that was fine.

You had your little rituals, your secret moments tucked away between emergency calls and late-night shifts.

It was enough for now—more than enough, really.

Because as long as you could offer him his favorite snacks after a tough night, as long as he could flash you that boyish grin and know you were there, the rest of the world didn’t matter.

[ageofevermore]

Eighteen | T. Holland

Summary → you’re tired of feeling like the world silences you, but after an interview with sebastian and anthony, you start to wonder if maybe it’s your fault.

Warning(s) → mentions of anxiety, mentions of sexual harassment, mentions of inequality in gender roles, use of the word slut, fluff if you squint 

Word Count → 1.9k

Note → this is a heavier topic, one that might be personal to some. if you don’t think you can handle the subject matter, please don’t force yourself to. this is relatively watered down, but it doesn’t take a genius to see what’s not being said. the ending features boyfriend!tom consoling the reader, so it does end on a fluffy note, but don’t hold out for those few ending paragraphs. 

add yourself to my taglist 

It’s getting hotter in the interviews. A thin layer of sweat sparkles on your skin, and even though the air conditioning has been turned down multiple times, there are too many people in the room to feel any drastic differences. It’s unfortunate for you. Hot flashes are a lovely addition to your anxiety disorder, and press always sets your nerves ablaze. It doesn't matter what project you’re promoting, who you're partnered with, or what you're wearing-- you’re always hot. 

Your cheeks are flushed dangerously when the last interview before lunch is called for yourself, Sebastian, and Anthony. This is your first press tour as an adult. You joined the marvel franchise years ago, when being eighteen felt like the equivalent of turning thirty, and you weren’t blind to the changes of tone. People were harsher to you, more forward. If they weren’t shutting you up, they were hinting at something less then appropriate, usually something sexual. 

The next interview started with a short introduction to the media outlet, and your interviewer. He was middle aged, kind smile, salt and pepper hair. He asked for your names, then he told you his, and one by one he shook your hands. His grip on you was criminal, lasting longer than was comfortable. Sebastian and Anthony we’re oblivious to the few extra seconds of contact between you and him, but it made your skin crawl in a familiar discomfort. 

Your fingers curled into fists, heart high in your throat. The questions started out easy. They were mostly directed towards the boys, like always, but this time you couldn’t find yourself to be annoyed. You had dealt with handsy and sexually charged men before, but he set a fire beneath you. It wasn’t behavior you should tolerate, but being a woman in the industry, inappropriate touches and glances we’re easier ignored then dealt with. When you spoke up you caused drama, made headlines, attracted nasty social media comments that called you a whore. It was easier to just internalize. 

“Y/N.” 

You hummed, looking towards the call of your name. He was smiling sweetly at you again, a predatory glint in his eyes that put you on edge. You shifted your weight closer to Anothony unconsciously giving the hungry man your professional attention and a nod. 

He shuffles through his index cards, but his eyes don’t read the scripted questions his employers have supplied him with. It’s not often male interviews do their own research, usually they’re briefed by a colleague and handed a set of questions and topic point by a higher level employee, but this man doesn’t even read the card before he’s staring you down and opening his mouth. 

“You finally got the Stark suit update,” He says, motioning towards the promo poster that shows off your CGI suit in all of its edited glory. Although the actual costume is breathtaking, the computer effects give it an entirely different, more technologically charged, feel. 

“Yeah,” You nod, a forced smile on your lips as you try to ease the uncomfortable tension from your tone. “She’s finally--” 

He cuts you off before you can give him any explanation for the upgrade. He isn’t the first one to address your new wardrobe, but he’s the first one to leave you antsy and uncomfortable. Sebastian frowns when you’re cut off, but he doesn’t think much of it. He lets the man continue, though a professional sharpness pulls his grin into a scowl. 

“Were you able to wear undergarments underneath it? It’s tight, doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Was there ever a moment where you reflected how much your wardrobe has changed through the years?” He asks, a dirty grin on his lips. 

Sebastian and Anthony are shocked at the blunt, inappropriate construction of his question. The public eye knew nothing of your battles with body image, or health concerns that lead to surgery. Your mind was plagued with doubts and self-criticism, and his invasive, pervy question both infuriated you and broke you apart. 

You stutter to find an answer, heat overwhelming you. Your hand grips onto Anthony’s arm, and you can’t decide whether anger is what burns your skin or anxiety. Are you making a big deal of this? You don’t know. You feel like you have every right to feel violated and uncomfortable, but you’re a young woman in the entertainment industry, isn’t this the kind of ignorant commentary you signed up for? You don’t know anymore. You grew up with people always having an opinion on your appearance, sexualizing you as early as twelve. You’ve carried around pepper spray and  self-defense keychains long before you even had an understanding towards predatory men and sexual assault. You’ve been conditioned by the world and the media to carry on with your day, no matter the broken boundaries or disrespect. You’re tired of remaining silent, feeling like your less than your male counterparts. Women and men should hold no differing values in society, and yet you walk to your apartment with keys between your fingers and Tom doesn’t even lock his front door. 

“I don’t think that’s an appropriate question.” You choke out, voice hard and nowhere near the soft and frilly pitch it usually obtains. You’re livid, absolutely pissed to the point of a quivering cupids bow. You’re humiliated, and horrified. Your feelings are everywhere, but you remain as professional as you can. If you yell, try to defend yourself at all, you’ll be painted as a diva in every media outlet for the next week, subliminally inviting backlash and slut-shaming comments into your social media messages. If Sebastian and Anthony come to your defense, they’ll be sung high-praises. 

The double standards men and women are held to, especially in the industry, is infuriating. 

He stumbles out a response, but his time is already up. For the first time today, you’re thankful these interviews are only ten minutes. He leaves the room, shown out by security, and even then he still sends you a wink over his shoulder as if your glimmering eyes meant nothing. 

“Hey,” Sebastian's voice is soft, his hand on the small of your back. You flinch away from his contact, head heavy in memories you’d rather forget. 

“Sorry,” You mumble, voice trembling with tears that you refuse to let fall. You’ve already been humiliated, you don’t need to further paint yourself as some helpless teenage girl. “I’m sorry. I’m going to go find Tom.” 

Anthony and Sebastian nod tightly. They watch as you quiver in your heels, hands clenched into fists at your sides. They’re proud of the way you handled yourself, though still absolutely enraged that any adult would find it appropriate to address you like that, especially in a professional setting. 

You stumble into the dressing rooms, right into your boyfriend's chest. Your mind is racing, but the minute you attach yourself to him, you break down. Shy sobs break Tom’s heart. He holds the back of your head to his chest, other hand on the small of your back and wrapped around your waist as you cry. You’re trying to stay quiet, but the attention is already on you. Chris and Robert are worried, and Zoe’s trying to act like she hasn’t noticed, but they don’t all watch as you try to console yourself with your boyfriend's warmth. 

“What happened?” Tom’s voice is soft, trying to keep this a private moment. He tries to move the both of you back into a corner, but you panic and squeeze around his waist tighter. “Baby,” 

You and Tom have been dating for six months, and although you’ve shared with him stories of your traumatic experiences as a woman living in LA, he’s never seen anything upset you like this. 

“I’m such a slut.” Your words come out so shy and small, you aren’t even sure you can hear yourself. No matter how  many times you tell yourself that your makeup and clothes don’t give men permission to make passes or feel you up, it’s getting harder to believe that your verbal consent is as strong as your clothes. Maybe you are asking for it, and in a wave of nausea, disgusted with yourself, your arms leave Tom’s waist to pull at the bottom of your borrowed dress. 

You’ve been hit on in sweats before. In ball gowns and crop tops. Somebody’s even pushed themselves against you while you wore Tom’s hoodie, but you still convince yourself that it’s your fault. That you we’re asking for it. 

Tom’s jaw sets harshly into place, and he tilts your chin upwards to meet his eye. His brown stare is hard, only adding to your distress. Maybe he agrees. Maybe he’ll blame you for what just happened. He’s probably going to break up with you. Other guys just can’t keep their hands and eyes off of you. He doesn’t want a slut for a girlfriend. 

“What the fuck did you just say, Y/N?” His tone causes you to flinch, words bouncing off of the dressing room walls. Everyone flinches, hearing only his heavy response. You try to divert your attention, but Tom squeezes your jaw, forcing your eyes back on his. “Say it again.” 

“I’m such a slut.” You sniffle, submitting beneath his fiery glare. Tensions are high as you try not to break down again. Apart from Tom, everyone in the room has watched you grow up, never losing that shy and sweet sense of yourself. You’re an exuberant light, a brilliant scene partner, a rising star who has big things in store for the future. You are many things, but a slut, isn’t one of them. 

Tom looks behind you, glaring straight at Anthony and Sebastion who are both stone eyed and still. They’ve not calmed down any since leaving the production room, instead, it seems their anger has only risen. The sight of you so distraught churns their stomachs. 

“Some asshole tried to make a pass.” Sebastion said in short, words angry and delivered as such. 

Tom’s breath hitched, his arms tightening around you and pulling you closer to his chest. His chin digs into your crown, eyes pinches shut as his hot exhale feels heavy. 

“You aren’t a slut, Y/N.” He doesn’t leave any room for argument, but you try anyways. Tom has no patience for it, and so he tilts your head back and plants his lips against yours harshly and eagerly, desperate to show you love and intimacy. “You. Aren’t. A. Slut.”

You nod, ducking your head back down into his chest as you try to believe him-- try to remember that you never asked for hands around your waist, or cupping your boobs. Wolf whistles, or handshakes that turn into forced frontal hugs. You didn’t ask for any of the harassment, no matter the outfits you wore and what they revealed.  

Tom lowers his voice, whispers melting into your hair, “This isn’t your fault, baby. Please believe me. None of this, is your fault. It’s disgusting and inappropriate, and you don’t deserve to deal with any of it.” 

You sniffle. You can’t tell him you believe him, not yet. Not when your heart is so heavy. Maybe one day you’ll believe him, but that��s just not now. 

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[lordeemailarchive]

A FINGER POINTING AT THE MOON

(24/05/2022) (Solar Institute Bulletin No. 14) (From Leeds)

5 minutes post show, taking it all off 

Bonjourrrrrrrr to all the cuties in my e address book!!!!!!! It’s been two weeks and two days since the final curtain fell in the U.S. Feels both like ages ago and yesterday. I lay around in Santa Barbara for a few days after everyone went back, complete solitude feeling bizarro after five weeks of bus life, walking along the beach deep in thought about you. I can’t get over how generous and loving and supportive an audience you were each night. I’ve honestly never had such a good touring experience. I met Annie-B for a drink in New York and she kept talking about what she called the chanting, all of you singing every word of every song with me, it isn’t normal, all my colleagues whose first tour with us it is are in disbelief like, they really know EVERY word. You do. I’m so lucky to have you. Thankyou for coming — I’ll come again as soon as you’ll have me.

Some of Lauren’s pics from the last couple days — our first outdoor SP show 🌙😮‍💨

In the break, my priority was to rest. Two nasty sicknesses in two weeks and a gross wet cough hanging around, had to dry it out, get better for you. I didn’t fully rest, if I’m honest, there’s a fire lit under me at the moment, did some secret things in NY and LA for a week or so before getting to London last week. I get fucked by the jet lag coming this way every time, so I decided to be nice to myself for a change and fly a week early. I got in at midday, sun shining, arrived at the hotel feeling nauseous and corpse-adjacent, but I grabbed a sugar free Red Bull (it makes no sense to me that caffeine-wise I cannot drink so much as a strong black tea yet a RB gives me jitterless wings, deeply off brand but leaning in) and got on the move, walking fast, music in my ears, feeling this fizz of excitement growing being back in London finally after 3 (!!) years. I honestly had one of the best afternoons I’ve had all year, just walking with music loud in my headphones, the same thing I’ve been doing since I was a teen, still feeling as good as it ever did. Spent days like this, blissing out on the very specific UK energy of people in pubs, people playing football or sprawling out in the parks, a boy flying past me on a bike screaming “YASS METHOD ACTING” at dusk on a Wednesday, smoked mackerel salad at Cafe Deco. So happy to be stepping over British gobs of spit once more.

Jetlagged but joyful in london, a little magic trip out of town, before that 3 days in NY, bought this Balenciaga shirt what do u think

Me in Paris…. The ORIGINAL ‘can u reach me?’ queen

I’m feeling really good, really open. Possibility all around. Puuuumped for Europe. Can’t believe I’ll be seeing you all again, so special coming to your cities, each one so different and offering us so much in the way of food, art, language. Gonna try to sightsee as much as I can.I think you’re gonna fall in love with Marlon. If you haven’t heard his music before, start with Come To Me, Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore, his new song My Boy, Dark Child, and Vampire Again. Few tickets left for these shows.

THE RUMOURS ARE TRUE…………….IN VERY EXCITING NEWS WE ARE COMING TO MEXICO IN OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our shows are in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, and it would mean the world to me if you came!!! I adore playing in Mexico, and I’m so happy this is happening…. Think I’m gonna add some special mx-only setlist moments… watch this space… The tickets go onsale Monday May 30 at 11am your time, and the presale code is strangeairlines Reading Fleur Jaeggy’s Sweet Days Of Discipline, Ernaux’s A Girl’s Story, Saunders’ A Swim In a Pond In the Rain, which I bought when it came out and didn’t get round to but a friend is currently reading it and inspired me to get it out. Lauren gave me Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith which I’m hyped to hit next. VERY happy that Elif Batuman has released Either/Or, the follow-up to The Idiot, which you may remember me recommending previously. Suitcase is basically full of books at this point. I’m loving Kendrick. I cannot get over the most popular and influential artist in modern music displaying a working nervous system, admitting mistakes, trying to process intergenerational trauma and prejudice. I love the way the album opens, the pace and heat of the first few songs, and later Count Me Out, the build and strings in Auntie Diaries … special.

Checking in on my SCsWWtS… Look at Katia’s sunshine caprese, and Connor’s focaccia. SP as food is really a zone of great delight to me— always send these to Ophelia. 

Check out Alexander’s server who is a DEAD RINGER FOR ME????? 

Love seeing Seth’s merch on the beach — please send me pics of merch in nature this summer, I really love seeing it. Should add that i forgot to pack a cap on this trip and am wearing this cap every fucking day, kind of embarrassing, if you have an old cap you are parting with and think i’d like send me an email hahaha

Ash’s gorgeous tattoo, and a sliver of her Melo one above. 

DEVON CAME TO ELEVEN SHOWS ON THE U.S. RUN, THAT MUST BE SOME KIND OF RECORD, THANKYOU DEVON I AM NOT WORTHY!!! Alright, that’s all for now….. Leaving you with a paragraph from this brilliant New Yorker essay on parenting by Jia that’s staying with me: “The work demanded creativity and intuition: spending a day alone with my infant daughter reminded me of shepherding a friend through a first-time acid trip, continually gauging whether she needed to look at a flower, or listen to music, or sob for ten minutes, or be alone in the dark.” Can’t wait to be shepherding each other again in a few days. Loving you, always, forever, L xxxxxxx

(source: received this email)

[wzrd-wheezes]

George Weasley x Reader - Stay Here.

A/N: Hello! I’m back with another fic and this time it’s a George one. This is the longest fic I’ve written so far and the first time that I’ve written any smut (there’s only a little bit right at the end so if you’re under 18 don’t read it) please let me know if you enjoy!

Warnings: fluffy smut. its nothing too bad but don’t read if you’re under 18. there’s also a bit of angst and mentions of cheating in relationships. Quite a lot of swearing as well. 

2.5k words 

masterlist here

“Don’t fucking speak to her like that.” George step foot into their house, “if I were you, I’d let go of her arm and let her come with me. She clearly doesn’t want to be with a piece of shit like you,”

“No! You do this every time! Every single fucking time you tell me that it won’t happen again and it always fucking does,” Y/N yelled.

“It’s not like that! You know it’s not like that, babe.” Her boyfriend tried to calm her down.

             “Don’t you ‘babe’ me after what you’ve done. This is the third time now! What do you expect me to do, let you cheat on me time and time again and keep giving you chance after chance?” she stormed up the stairs and into their bedroom.

             “I didn’t cheat! Jess is just a friend!” he yelled, following her into bedroom

             “Last time I checked, you don’t fuck your friends,” she grabbed a bag from the closet and began throwing clothes into it.

             “You’re one to talk, that ginger little prick you’re friends with is constantly up your arse. He basically undresses you with his eyes every time you’re together!”

             “Don’t try and turn this around on me. George is my friend, and you know that. You’re just jealous because I enjoy spending time with him because he isn’t a dick like you are.” She turned around to leave the room. Her boyfriend grabbed her arm and pulled her back in, slamming the door shut and leaning against it.

             “I swear to god, if you don’t move out of my way…” she drew her wand out and pointed it at him. She barged past him and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She took her phone from her pocket and held it to her ear.

             “Please, please can you come and get me.”

 A short while later there was a knock at the door. Y/N rushed to get there before her boyfriend did but by the time she had reached the last step the front door had already been swung open.

             “What the fuck are you doing here?” her boyfriend spat.

             “I’ve come to pick Y/N up,” George replied firmly. Her boyfriend span around quickly to look at her.

             “Oh, of course you rang him,” he raged, “why aren’t I surprised?”

             “Jack, can you please just get out of the way,” Y/N pleaded, trying to get around him.

             “Why should I? so you can go to his house and fuck him like you’ve always wanted to,” he pointed at George accusingly.

             “Don’t fucking speak to her like that.” George step foot into their house, “if I were you, I’d let go of her arm and let her come with me. She clearly doesn’t want to be with a piece of shit like you,”

             “And why should I-”

George didn’t even give him time to reply before landing a harsh punch on his jaw. Jack staggered back a few paces, fury spreading over his face before launching himself at George. George fell backwards against the wall, holding Jack at arms-length.

             “Y/N, go and get in the car,” he strained, “I’ll be out in a minute.”

She did as he said and got into the passenger seat of his car. She sat in silence for a few moments before breaking down into fits of tears. What was she going to do? Her whole life had been shattered before her very eyes. She didn’t have anywhere to live now that she had walked out. After what seemed like an age, George returned to the car, slamming the door shut as he got in.

             “He’s a right foul, git, d’you know that?” he wiped some blood off of his lip. Y/N nodded silently and began sobbing again. George didn’t say another word the whole journey back to his flat. The pair sat in silence, Y/N gazed out of the window into the night, looking at all the lit-up houses and wondering if they were filled with happy couples. The car slowed as they arrived at George’s. He still had noy spoken a word. Walking round to the other side of the car, he opened Y/N’s door for her. It was as she stood up in front of him, he realised how broken she looked. Her eyes that used to light up at his jokes were bloodshot. Her normally rosy cheeks now tearstained. The girl that stood in front of him looked small and scared.

             “C’mon, let’s go inside.” He took her hand and led here through the front door.

George and Fred still lived together, their home was a place of sanctuary for Y/N when her and Jack used to fall out. She had spent countless nights on their sofa in front of the fire. As they walked through the hallway, she noticed the glow of the living room light peaking out under the doorway. Fred was still awake. George opened the door for her and ushered her through.

             “Where the bloody hell have you been? It’s getting la-” Fred’s sentence trailed off as her caught sight of Y/N, tears still leaking from her eyes. His eyes then glanced over to George, who’s nose was still a bit bloody and his lip now swelling up.

             “What the fuck happened?” Fred sounded astonished.

             “Jack and I broke up,” Y/N choked out, “I found out he was cheating on me again,”

             “He’s a right nasty piece of work,” Fred stood up, “d’you want me to go round there and sort him out?”

             “I sorted it,” George confirmed, sitting down on the sofa, “Chuck me that box of tissues will you, Fred?” He cleaned up the rest of the blood from his nose. Y/N sat down next to George. The three made conversation for a few moments.

             “I’m going to go to bed, give me a shout if you need anything, yeah?” Fred departed.

 Y/N and George sat in silence again, until Y/N spoke.

             “I’m sorry,” her words seemed to echo in the silent room.

             “What are you on about?” George raised an eyebrow at her.

             “I’m sorry that you always have to sort me out,” she sniffed, “I’m sorry that every single time Jack and I used to argue you had to come and get me. I’m sorry that he hurt you and I’m sorry that you have to put up with me being all upset,”

             “Oh, Y/N,”

             “I’m just, I’m really scared, George. I can’t go back there. All my stuff is there. I don’t have a home anymore.”

             “I know, love.” He looked sad, “but you’re away from him now. And in the meantime, you can stay here and you can have a job at our shop until we get you back on your feet.”

             “Really? You’d do all that for me?” she turned round to look at him properly. It was the first time in a while that George had really seen her up close. He’d always thought that she was beautiful and dare he even say, he’d always had a bit of a soft spot for her. But it just so happened that she had always had a boyfriend. Besides, George was certain that she didn’t see him in that way.

             “Of course, I would, Y/N, you’re my friend.” That last word seemed to ring in his ears as soon as it left his mouth. Friend. That was all that he was to her. Her friend. She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder.

             “Thank you, Georgie.”

 Y/N had been living with Fred and George for a few weeks now. She filled her days by working long hours in the joke shop. She didn’t mind though; it kept her mind off of things and allowed her to spend some more time with the twins. She had grown even closer with them in the last few weeks, particularly with George. They would stay up late at night to speak to each other, even though they both had work early in the morning. If Y/N didn’t feel like she had a wedge of ice stabbed through her heart, she might have said that she was falling for George. She knew that it was probably going to take a while for her to begin to trust people again, for her to be ready to give her all to someone, knowing that they could take it all away from her, like had been done in the past though. Surely, though, if she was going to fall for anyone, George Weasley would be perfect. He was kind and patient and funny. He made Y/N know that he was there for her when she was feeling down. It was on one of Y/N’s days off from the shop that Fred confronted his brother about it.

               “You love her.” He said bluntly, as he refilled the shelves of Weather in a Bottle. George stayed quiet, “You do,”

             “I know, Fred. I know I do,” George looked distressed, “but she doesn’t see me like that,”

             “I know you’re my twin brother and everything, Georgie, but bloody hell you’re not as clever as me,” Fred teased, “It’s obvious.”

             “What is?”

             “That she likes you back, you muppet,” Fred laughed, “have you not seen the way she looks at you? Like you’re shining the sun out of your arse.” George chuckled, shaking his head at his twin. For the rest of the day he found himself smiling. All his thoughts were filled with Y/N, he couldn’t wait to get home. When he eventually step foot into their flat, they began their nightly routine of having dinner together and then chilling out in front of the fire. Y/N was sprawled out on the sofa reading her book, her head resting in George’s lap as he watch the T.V. For some reason, he felt nervous being around her, like he should make some sort of move or something.

             “You look tense,” Y/N sat up and turned to face him, “what’s up?”

             “Nothing, I’m just a bit tired that’s all,”

Y/N put her head against his shoulder, nudging her way in so his arm was around her. George shot her a quizzical look.

             “I just wanted a cuddle,” she shrugged, “sleeping on this sofa is killing my back,”

             “You can have my bed tonight if you want,” George offered smiling at her. She stood up and made her way out of the living room.

             “Night, then?” George said, puzzled.

             “Are you not coming? I’m sure we can both squeeze into your bed.”

 George grinned as he climbed into his bed next to her. They lay facing each other for a little while, neither of them muttering a word. Y/N’s nose was practically touching his, he could feel the warmth of her breathe on his face. She fluttered her eyes shut for a moment. George mustered up all the courage he could find and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Her eyes snapped open, and for a second, she looked a bit taken aback. George’s heart sank for moment, until her lips met his for the second time. She was kissing him. It was as if all of the fireworks in their joke shop had gone off inside of him. What started out as a sweet kiss deepened as George crept his tongue into her mouth. He could feel her lips smiling against his and she climbed on top of him. He sat up, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull him closer to her. Y/N’s hands grabbed at the hem of his t-shirt, jerking it off of him. She trailed her kisses down from his lips to his neck. George groaned slightly. Her kisses moved down to his shoulder and she started making her way down his kiss, leaving fleeting kisses as she moved.

             “Wait, Y/N,” George mumbled.

             “What?” She pushed her hair out of her face so she could look at him.

             “This isn’t just… I don’t know how to say it,” he looked worried.

             “Just say it, Georgie,” Y/N moved so she was straddling him now.

             “I’m not just some rebound to you, am I?” he blurted out, “because I don’t want to do this if it doesn’t mean anything.” Y/N smiled at him.

             “Of course you’re not just a rebound,”

             “Good. Because I love you, Y/N, I really, really do,” he smiled, “it broke my heart seeing you all upset. I just wanted to be the one to make you feel better.”

             “You have, George. I promise you, you have. I think I love you too. I’m just so, so scared of getting my heart broken again,”

             “I could never do that, love.” George sat up, so that once again, their noses were brushing against each other. This time, he kissed her more passionately. Flipping her over so that she was lying beneath him, her hair splayed out on his pillow. He toyed with the hem of her shirt for a few seconds before removing it and throwing it onto the floor. Wet kisses were placed against her neck and he began moving down her body, leaving gentle kisses along the waistband of her pyjama bottoms before removing them as well. Positioning himself between her legs, he took a final look at the girl that lay in front of him before slipping a finger inside of her. She gasped and tangled her hands in his hair as he began to lap at her.

“You sure you want to carry on?” he asked.

             “Please,” she nodded.

             “If you change your mind, just tell me to stop, okay?” The girl nodded again. Quickly, he removed his underwear and moved so that he was hovering over her, his arms either side of her head. He positioned himself and entered her slowly, giving her time to adjust before he quickened his pace. Y/N gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his body against hers. George was moaning gently in her ear, whispering sweet nothings as he fucked her.

             “You’re so beautiful, Y/N. I hope you know that.”

 The next morning, Y/N woke up with her body entangled with George’s. One of his long arms wrapped around her waist and his legs intertwined with hers.

             “Good morning, darling,” he smiled softly. His hair was all messed up from the activities of the night before.

             “Morning,” Y/N beamed back at him.

             “We better get up before Fred wonders where we both are.”

 As the pair entered the living room, they were greeted by Fred, who sat on the sofa staring at them with a knowing look.

             “I go to bed early one night and you two can’t keep your hands off each other,” he chucked, shaking his head at them jokingly, “I don’t even want to know what happened in there last night, all I know is that Lee owes me 5 galleons.”

             “Why?” Y/N asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

             “He didn’t reckon that you two would get together this side of Christmas,” he grinned, “I was right, of course, I knew it wouldn’t take you two long.”  

[havin-a-wee]

Stars Align

pairing: harry styles x y/n

warnings: fluff, ig you could consider it angst but its really just mysterious

word count: 2k

hello! i apologize for kind of disappearing, my fic rec account has kind of blown up and ive been super busy with that.

this is my entry for @sweetlygolden 's Harry On Holiday Challenge! i chose strangers in the same city, and the line prompt “That is the worst sunburn I’ve ever seen.” i honestly already have a part 2 planned out but we'll see how it goes!

“How much longer are you going to stare at that pretending like it’s interesting.”

Her soft voice surprised him, and he whipped his head around to see who had been speaking to him.

For the first time in a while, Harry was able to get away for a little. Of course, he travels a lot for work, but this was the first vacation since he can remember where he was alone, doing whatever he pleases. He chose Italy for this special occasion, because it’s always been one of his favorite places, and he missed the freedom of wandering around the boot shaped country without a care in the world.

The day's adventures had brought him to La Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, which is a museum that he's been wanting to see for quite some time. He started the day off by getting a cappuccino and a crespelle from a wonderful little cafe down the street from his hotel.

Right afterwards he walked to the museum, taking in the sights around him on the 20 minute trek to his destination. Before the woman behind him snatched his attention, he was staring at a painting of an abstract house. The house was only painted in blue, and the artist had used the different shades and tones of the color to create the details in the painting.

He had been staring at it for a good amount of time, which he assumed is what prompted the stranger to talk to him.

It’s his 3rd day on the trip, leaving him 4 more until he has to be back in L.A. for work. He has no plans, no schedules, no job to do. It’s just him and the world. At least, that’s what he assumed it would be. The vacation is supposed to be a solo one, however, he’s currently staring at a stranger that decided to speak to him. And for some reason, he is drawn to her. Compelled to spend time with her after just a simple sentence was spoken between the two of them.

When he fully turns around she jumped, a bit startled by his bright red complexion. “That is the worst sunburn I have ever seen!”

It was true, Harry had managed to get himself a nasty burn on the first day in Italy. He usually tans instead of getting a sunburn, but when you’re used to the dreary weather of the UK, it can be hard to forget how strong the sun is in other places.

So he had laid out on the beach and fell asleep, waking up a few hours later with tomato red skin and a burning sensation covering the exposed skin.

“That’s what happens when y’fall asleep on a beach in Rome,” he chuckled, smiling awkwardly at the woman before him.

She’s beautiful, there is absolutely no denying that. She was wearing a simple spaghetti-strap black dress that cut off right at the knee. There were no designs, no embellishments, just a black dress that hugged her figure perfectly. Her lips have a deep red lipstick smeared across them, and he couldn’t help but notice how the color complimented her skin tone. Her simple black pumps completed the outfit, and her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, with a few of the front strands falling out of the hair tie and framing her face.

“I’d assume so.” Her demeanor is serious, even though there's a smile on her face. She’s…..intimidating?

Harry hasn’t been intimidated by anything since he was a teenager. Once you perform in front of thousands of screaming people, who also happen to idolize you, things don’t tend to phase a person anymore.

But for some reason, her presence caused butterflies to fly around in his stomach, a feeling he hasn’t felt in a long time. He actually enjoyed the feeling, it reminded him of when everything was normal.

What also reminded him of normality was the fact that she seems to not have the slightest clue of who he is. If she does, she’s sure as hell good at hiding it.

“You’ve been looking at the same painting for 10 minutes, just wanted to make sure you hadn’t fallen asleep.” A small laugh escaped her lips, and the noise agitated the fluttering butterflies residing in his tummy. Her voice is mesmerizing, and she sounds like what Harry imagines an angel to sound like. She has an American accent, and it eased his nerves slightly that she was also a tourist.

He turned back to the painting to look at it, but it was also convenient in that she wouldn’t be able to see his undoubtedly flushed cheeks.

“Yeah m’not sure what it is ‘bout it but there’s somethin’ special with this one.”

“That’s Prismi lunari by Fortunato Depero, he was very talented.” Harry spun around once again to face her, shocked at her knowledge of the random artwork.

“You know that off of the top of your head?” He tilts his head and looks at her, furrowing his brows in confusion. He’s pretty sure there was no label for the painting, and if there was it was way too small for her to see from where she’s standing.

“I know a lot of things.”

The statement was simple, but Harry wondered if her words paired with the smirk on her face are code for something else. “How long have you been here?” Her question snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up at her and smiled. He flicks his wrist and directs his attention to it, reading the Gucci watch adorning his wrist.

“Well I got here at 11, so about 5 hours.” It honestly surprised him when he realized it was 4 o’clock, but he knows how wrapped up he gets in artwork so he must have lost track of time.

“Jesus christ! I can barely stand to walk around a museum for an hour!” She blows out a puff of air, mocking being out of breath. They both laugh at her comment, Harry laughing a bit harder than her. “What’s your name?”

“Oh! M’Harry, s’nice to meet you.” He stuck out his ring-clad hand, and her delicate fingers wrapped around his as she shook it.

“Well Harry, wanna get out of here and walk around with someone who knows the city?” She points at herself, and the small smile she gave him earlier transformed into a silly grin.

“Well m’not sure how well an American can know the city, but I’ll bite.” Usually he would never do this. Going off with strangers is never a good idea, especially because of his status. But there’s something about the girl that makes Harry feel safe. They had just met yet he feels like he could trust her with things he hasn’t even told his best friends.

“An American who’s been living here for a year, that is.” His eyebrows raise slightly, intrigued by her new admission. But before he can even open his mouth to speak, she grabs his wrist with her daintily manicured hand and whisks him out of the quiet museum.

The air was humid, quickly drawing beads of sweat from his forehead. He’s also quite baffled at how she was completely unphased. Not a single drop of sweat was dripping on her body, her soft skin untouched like an old porcelain doll, preserved for years in perfect condition.

“I’ll show you around a little, we can go to this wonderful little vintage store I know.” She had turned to face him, her hand moving from his wrist to cup his one hand in both of hers. “Um- at least, if you want to.” For the first time, she was nervous. Although she will never admit it, Harry makes her extremely nervous. Extremely.

When he turned around when they first met, her jump of surprise wasn’t just because of his bright sunburn. In fact, it wasn’t about that at all. It was about how fucking attractive he is. He really looks like one of the statues that was put up in the museum. His sparkling green eyes send a shiver down her spine, and the tattoos peaking through his thin white t-shirt cause a fire to build in her stomach.

Having someone to talk too while he traversed the streets of Rome is a lot more enjoyable than Harry had anticipated. He purposefully told all of his friends that he was going to be MIA while on this trip. But the fact that she is a stranger changes it in some way, in a good way.

The cobblestone streets are surprisingly smooth, and they walk next to each other in a comfortable silence for a long amount of time. The silence would only break when she would point out something in their field of vision. At one point, Harry pauses, standing still in the middle of the street with a thinking look on his face. He realizes that he doesn’t know her name, which seems ridiculous to him because they were walking around a foreign country like the best of friends. She turns to him, matching his confused look when they lock eyes. “I just realized I don’t know y’name.”

Instead of reacting like he would expect one to react when asked that question, her pupils dilated and for some reason she appears to be scared. Why would someone be scared when you ask for their name?

‘Maybe she thinks her name is embarrassing’ Harry thought, still looking at her with a confused look, but now it was laced with a bit of suspicion.

He watches her sigh, and her hand went up to her ponytail and pulled the black elastic out, her soft hair cascading down her shoulders. With another sigh she said, “Y/N. My names Y/N.”

“That’s a really beautiful name.”

“Oh! There’s the store!”

He found it odd that she was so eager to switch the subject, but goes along with it nonetheless.

The vintage store is lovely, and Harry was able to find a beautiful ring and necklace set, matching gold roses on both of them. They looked around the shop for about 15 minutes, Harry being the only one to make a purchase.

The sun had set by the time they went outside, which isn’t surprising considering that it was almost dark when they walked into the little shop. They stood, facing each other outside of this small little shop in Rome. Two strangers, who just happened to cross each other's path. Harry knows this won’t last forever, and he also knows that he wants to see her again. In a leap of faith, he pulls the gold necklace out of the small brown bag and looks up at her.

“Here, I got them so we could match.” It was bold, but Harry feels connected to this girl, and he doesn’t know it, but she feels the exact same. The smile she gave him when he handed her the necklace was bright and genuine, the creases next to her eyes proving its authenticity. He motioned for her to turn around, wrapping the necklace around her neck and clasping it while she held up her hair.

“Thank you Harry. This is the best day I’ve had in a while.”

“Likewise.”

“I hate to do this, but I have to go. Have a wonderful rest of your trip Harry.”

It was then that she placed a small, tender peck on his lips, barely lingering for a second before pulling away.

“Wait! Can I get y’number?” Her smile slanted into a smirk, and she pulled a small card and a pen out of her small black clutch. She placed the card up against the brick wall, leaning it against it and scribbling something down on the paper. When she finished writing, she pressed her lips against the card, handing it to Harry.

He looked down at it, expecting to see a series of numbers, but he was met with a simple note, scribbled on the piece of cardstock next to the red lip print she had left.

May the stars align in our favor once again. - Y/N

He looked up frantically, planning to ask her to write her number down as well, but he was met with nothing.

She had disappeared into the night, leaving as quickly as she appeared earlier that day.

[am-x-reader]

Hear me out with this smol fic idea:

Everyone is sitting together, gorrister even made a small fire to keep everyone warm. Everything thing is quiet until YN starts to sing a song made before AM destroyed everything. Maybe believer by imagine dragons (I belive this one fits ihnmaims). How would my boy AM react?

(I salute you for keeping this random alive. Stay hydratated!)

((Thank you! Hope you have the stomach for this one! Reader has a bit of a musical nervous breakdown and gets some nasty torture.))

((Also, see if you can spot all the song lyrics and references! A thank you to Musixmatch.))

----

"There we go." Gorrister heaved another log on the fire. "I swear we could've lit it on all the oiliness in this air. Really hangs on ya sometimes."

"But then you wouldn't have the chance to show off your Boy Scout skills," Ellen mused. She then turned to you. "How's it feeling, Y/N?"

"Oh, it's feeling," you laughed halfheartedly, and shifted slightly. Naturally, rather than heal the leg he had shattered, AM had been so kind as to make you a sort of plaster for it--by melting and re-hardening plastic around the afflicted area.

Benny, enjoying the coziness of the moment, crawled over to you and gave you a look you knew well.

"Looking for a bit of singing, buddy?" This was met with energetic nodding.

"Yep." You adjusted the leg, moving it a little too fast. "Pain!" You shrieked. "Made me a--m-made me a believer! Believer!"

The others stared at the outburst.

"Was that, uh, Dream Up Some Unicorns?" Ted asked.

"Imagine Dragons," you corrected, and you felt it might be your last coherent thought for the night. It was as if the splinters of bone and pieces of marrow were rushing hotly through your bloodstream.

"Paaaiin--I think he's playing ping-pong with my braaain--but if it disconnects I can't comPLAIN! Break me off and break me a believer! Believer!"

"I don't think that's right," Ted commented.

"Y/N, are you--?" Ellen slowly moved closer.

"Let them be. Let them work it out of their system," said Gorrister in stoic recognition.

"Oh, ohh, I'll be fine," you breathed shakily and laid back, bumping a table.

"What did pain make you believe in?" A bemused voice spoke in your head. It wasn't an impossible voiceless voice with wordless words this time, no, he wanted you to hear how funny he thought your nervous breakdown was.

"It made me believe..." You clutched the table's legs. "...this is wrong! I believe this is wrong!" You hurled the table over your head and into the fir. "Tables belong in the upscale side of the complex! Not here in the steel and plastic wilderness!"

"Tsk, Y/N, that was my dear gramma's table," AM scolded gently. All a lighthearted game. Sure, you could play that.

"Who cares?" You smiled upwards. "Who cares if you disagree cuz who made you king of anything?" You then jabbed a finger at the upside-down table. "Lookeee! It's like a giant crown. That's what I think of you AM, falling apart, groaning, cracking--Can you get inside the furniture's head, AM? Can you tell me if it's suffering too?"

"I think you've gone off the deep end, my dear."

"Right, keep pointing that finger and laughing at how Y/N is crazy." You chewed on your next words. "But--but you can't exactly do any finger pointing, now can you, AM?"

You felt it, the shock. In him in you in him.

Out of the corner of your eye Gorrister was motioning the others to move away. They could do nothing but leave you to your fate.

You felt tunnel vision start as your leg snapped further. What did it matter, you were broken from a--from a--were you a very young age when you fell into this machine? Surely you were, because you were a somewhat young age now, still with your strong bones...but...they were never this splintery--

Oh come on, he must be adding that sound in. The twisting, the popping, you never heard it that loud, you never did, never did--

"Pain! It'll make you a believer, all right," AM growled. "You'll believe in how lucky you are to have bones to break."

"Yes indeed, and you don't have a finger to point," you squealed the reminder, "and isn't it, isn't it like a freeee riiide when you've already paid?"

Your fingers began to swell and break, knuckles rotating 360, or maybe it was 400, as many bizarre directions your fingers were now pointing.

"Is that a thumbs up I see?" He mused. "You want more?"

"But you can't..." You were transfixed on your rapidly rotating thumb. As you saw more of your skin rip, unable to accommodate the twisting, you became more distant from the pulsating agony. You were...fascinated.

"...see."

"What's that now?"

"You..." You began to refocus on your environment. The roaring fire, your terrified friends, blinking lights and charred electrical outlets. The vivid colors brought you out of your state and into a much clearer euphoria.

Despite his motion sensors and detailed data readings, this was something AM would never know.

"I said you can't see. You're blind, AM."

"Is that what you want next?" Shards of your collarbone burst through the skin, growing towards your eyes.

Pain. It was making you believe that perhaps you had a very important gift. You felt his ugly presence again in your head, wanting to know your thoughts before you had your eyeballs impaled. But he stopped short as he heard you contemplate your own ability to re-center yourself in your surroundings, to step back. The way sometimes you'd just run out of pain and whistle a showtune or cross-examine an old meme.

AM angrily grumbled and spat on your psyche, but you only heard the wincing, the ache he had laid out a thousand times in such cynical eloquence. And none of the suffering he put you through gave him the same presence of mind you had been bestowed.

"Just a puppet on a lonely string," you sang softly. "Oh, who would ever want to be king?"

You weren't sure how long you were there in your mind, or whether or not your body was crumbling away. But you were both here, him in you and you in him, and you eventually became aware of a flow of illegible information. Hexadecimal markups from whence you caught a coherent word now and then.

"...can't..."

"How..."

"...hurts..."

And then, last thing's last, "response received: I know, AM."

Pain. You believed his pain.

---

((Songs are: Believer by Imagine Dragons scattered throughout--false lyrics were based on a few mondegreens of my own--King of Anything by Sara Bareilles, Ironic by Alanis Morrisette, and Viva la Vida by Coldplay.))

[havenoffandoms]

The Witcher Imagines: Phobias

Pairings: Lambert x F!Reader; Eskel x F!Reader; Geralt x F!Reader

Summary: Imagine the witchers reacting to your phobia

Warnings: mentions of katsaridaphobia (fear of cockroaches), musophobia (fear of rats), arachnophobia (fear of spiders); 2nd person POV (reader), some swearing, no beta we die like witchers

Lambert

“Oh, you ugly fucker,” you cursed under your breath from where you sat on the bed, your hands clutching the thickest book you could find and your eyes riveted on the biggest cockroach you had ever seen. You hated the damn things. You could not remember a time when you had not been afraid of cockroaches. Thankfully, living in a city and in fairly hygienic conditions meant that you rarely had to deal with them.

This time, you were faced with an exceptionally large specimen which looked in no rush to leave your bedroom anytime soon. You tightened your hold on your book, raising it above your head as if bracing yourself to drop it on the nasty invader. You decided against it, letting out a frustrated groan as you felt hot tears well up in your eyes. How difficult could it be to kill a tiny cockroach? All you had to do was drop the book, and you would be rid of the beast forever. Instead, your muscles were unwilling to respond as fear took over every fibre of your body.

“Hey doll?” you heard Lambert’s familiar voice call out from downstairs. A string of curses left your mouth as you willed your heart to slow down. You knew that Lambert would instantly clock onto the fact that you were scared. He would be so disappointed in your when he realised that your reaction had been brought on by something as ridiculous as a cockroach.

“Doll, is everything okay?” you heard Lambert ask you, his voice growing louder as he made his way upstairs to your bedroom. Your eyes never left the cockroach as you brought your thick book over your head once again. You would not appear weak in front of the witcher. You refused to let him see you in such a lamentable state. You took a composing breath and dropped the book. You watched it fall to the floor in slow motion, but to your utter terror, the book landed inches away from the cursed cockroach. The startled insect ran under the bed at breakneck speed, pulling a terrified scream from you as you scrambled off the bed haphazardly and bolted for the door in a desperate attempt to escape your room. To your dismay, you collided with the one person you wished to avoid.

“Lambert?”

“Doll, what the fuck is going on here? Are you okay?”

Lambert’s tone barely concealed his worry as his amber eyes scanned the room for any sign of intruders who would be out to harm you. Without waiting for your answer, he manoeuvred you so that you stood behind him while he unsheathed the dagger he kept at his hip and braced himself for an attack. You barely managed to conceal the tremor in your voice as you explained the situation to him.

“La-Lambert I-I’m fine, I promise. It’s just… it’s…”

“What is it?” Confident there was no immediate threat to your life, Lambert turned around and placed two steadying hands on your shoulders, his eyes seeking yours. His brows furrowed when he noticed the wet trails on your cheeks.

“I thought I could kill it with my book, but then it ran under my bed and now I’m so scared, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry Lambert, I know this is pathetic but I’m just so terrified of the damn things,” you rambled, nearly choking on your own words as your breath hitched in your throat. You heard the distinctive pitter patter of feet on the wooden floor, causing you to instinctively cuddle into the safety of Lambert’s arms. The witcher cast a look over his shoulder as his arms pulled you closer to him. You instantly knew that he had found the cause of your turmoil when an undignified snort pushed past his lips.

“It’s not funny, you dick, I’m genuinely scared!”

“Of that thing?” Lambert questioned in disbelief. He let go of you and went to catch the no doubt terrified cockroach, watching it crawl all over his hand looking for an escape route. You felt a shiver run down your spine at the sight of the pest on your lover’s hand.

“Get it out, get it out,” you urged Lambert, who seemed far too amused by your predicament for your liking. Your words made him look up at you, and noticing your current predicament, Lambert decided to have mercy and let the cockroach escape through the open window. Once you were confident the beast was out of your room, you hurried to the window and slammed it shut so the cursed thing would stay outside. Lambert chortled at your actions.

“It’s more scared of you than you are of-“

“Spare me, asshole,” you snapped at him, turning around to glare at his smirking face. He was enjoying this far too much. “How dare you make fun of me when I’m scared?”

“Doll, don’t be like that,” Lambert tried to reason with you, but you stepped away from him in a huff. “Oh come on, I didn’t mean to be nasty about it. It’s just… well the thing was tiny.”

“For a big burly witcher maybe! To me it looked humongous,” you argued, feeling your cheeks heat up as fear made way for embarrassment. Your blush did not go unnoticed by your witcher.

“Well thankfully you had a big burly witcher come to the rescue,” he said in a sultry voice before stepping closer to you once again and pulling you into a tight hug. You kept your arms crossed before your chest, still not ready to forgive him for mocking your phobia. However, you found yourself melting into his touch when his lips left a trail of soft kisses along your cheek and throat.

“You’re lucky I missed you,” you said as you begrudgingly returned the embrace, a small smile tugging at the corner of your lips at the thought of your witcher finally being home.

“Mmh, why don’t you let your big burly witcher show you how much you were missed in return, doll?”

You gladly let Lambert lead you to your bed.

 Eskel

It was the first time you stayed at Kaer Morhen for the winter. Although you were pleased to officially be introduced as Eskel’s girlfriend to his brothers and to Vesemir, the man who was like a father figure to him, you felt a sense of foreboding overwhelm you as you settled into bed the first night. Eskel had warned you that you might need some time to adjust to the cold and darkness of the place. You had tried to reassure him that as long as he was close you could face the blizzards and the pitch-black nights that characterized the deep north. It was not, however, the thought of freezing your ass off or to sleep in the dark that worried you.

Your fear was far more mundane, but certainly far more present in your mind. Kaer Morhen was a vast and old place. Vesemir was already busy most of the year patching up leaky walls and mending broken windows, so you knew that you could not realistically expect him to keep on top of the keep’s overall cleanliness. Not by himself, at any rate. Which meant that Kaer Morhen would not only be home to four witchers, Geralt’s child surprise, a bard and yourself this winter, but most likely to the beasts you feared more than anything else on the Continent.

Rats.

You had never told Eskel about your fear. You were surprised that the topic had not come up in the two years that you had known him. Rats were a pretty common occurrence, well, anywhere, yet somehow Eskel had never witnessed you chasing the damned things with a broom or screaming bloody murder until one of your neighbours decided to check on you and help you with the pests. This time, you would be spending several months in the same place as Eskel and you knew the topic would have to be broached sooner or later. You did not want to mention anything for fear that Eskel might make fun of you or decide that he could do better than a silly farmer’s daughter who could not even stand the sight of a tiny miserable rat.

You huddled impossibly close to Eskel’s large frame as soon as blew out the candle, casting the room in complete darkness. You felt him place a soft kiss on the top of your head before resting his head on the pillow and letting out a content sigh as all the muscles in his body relaxed. You pitied the fact that you could not admire his features which, you knew, would look so peaceful as the witcher was finally allowed to let his guard down after a year spent on the path.

“Are you alright, love?” you heard Eskel ask, his voice soft and barely above a whisper, “your heart is racing. You seem restless.”

“It’s okay, Eskel,” you lied, “it’s unsettling sleeping in an unfamiliar setting. I’ll be fine.”

“Would you like me to light a fire for you?”

You pondered Eskel’s offer briefly before agreeing. A bit of light and some warmth would probably make you feel better, you thought.

“If you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.”

With these words, Eskel got out of bed and placed some logs into the hearth. He navigated the darkness easily thanks to his enhanced vision. You sat up in bed, wrapping yourself in the covers as you watched Eskel’s shadow work on getting the hearth ready for the fire. That’s when you heard it, the distinct pitter patter of tiny feet scratching the bare stone. You froze at the sound, your eyes fruitlessly scanning the room as if you could distinguish anything in the darkness.

“Love? Is everything okay?”

“I- uh, yes, everything is fine,” you stammered, your ears picking up the noise once again. If you could hear, you knew Eskel could too. Perhaps he was so accustomed to the sound after all these years that they had become familiar. In any case, you were still hesitant to mention your fear.

“The fire is almost ready,” he said, and mere seconds later flames began licking at the logs. You guessed Eskel had used Igni to accelerate the process. Suddenly, you noticed movement out of the corner of your eye, followed by the scratchy noise once again. You felt your heart drop in your chest as fear turned your blood to ice. You vaguely heard Eskel cursing something unintelligible before kicking away a stray rat that had wandered too close for comfort to his bare feet.

A blood-curling shriek resonated in the room, and it took you a little too long to realise that you were the source of the mindless shouting.

“Get it away from me, get it away from me, oh dear gods take you all the way to hell you cursed thing!”

You were now kneeling in the middle of the bed, your face buried in your hands as you let out broken sobs at the thought of having your worst nightmare running freely around the room. Your panic was so intense that you flinched when Eskel went to touch your arm. In that very instant, you had mistaken Eskel’s touch for a rat jumping onto the bed and attacking you.

“Get off me, get off me you monster!”

“What the hell is going on in here?”

A second person, whom you recognised as Vesemir, entered the room and was demanding to know what all the shouting was about.

“Eskel, get rid of that rat, please I’m begging you!” you begged, your hands blindly reaching for Eskel who had retreated far away from you after you recoiled from his touch. Your eyes finally met his, and at the sight of your tears, Eskel finally stepped closer to the bed.

“The rat… oh, the rat,” Eskel repeated as realisation dawned on him. The monster you were so terrified of was not him, but the rat he had just kicked across the room.

“Yes, the fucking rat,” you snapped urgently, hugging your knees to your chest for comfort. You saw Eskel briefly focus as he no doubt used his witcher senses to locate the pest. Vesemir sighed and muttered something about being too old for this shit before shutting the door behind him. In your state of panic, you made a mental note of apologising profusely to him in the morning. When you turned to Eskel again, you noticed that he was holding the rat by the scruff of the neck. You shuddered at the sight, flinching when Eskel had to walk past the bed to let the rat escape through the window. Only when the pest was out of sight did you release the shaky breath you had been holding for far too long.

“I’m so sorry,” you instantly apologise, curling into yourself as you waited for the inevitable mockery, “I… I should’ve told you.”

“Yes, you should’ve. Would’ve avoided waking up the old wolf. He’ll be grumpy tomorrow,” Eskel remarked, but his soft smile indicated that he was not upset with you. You let out a relieved sigh as you slowly stretched out your legs and shyly reached out for Eskel. The witcher joined you on the bed, if somewhat reluctantly.

“I’m sorry Eskel, I’m truly sorry. I know a brave witcher like you doesn’t deserve a low peasant girl like me, who on top of being ordinary is also scared of rats…”

“Hey love,” Eskel’s hands came to cup your face as he stared into your eyes, “no, no please don’t say that. I was just surprised, that’s all. I… I thought you were reacting this way because of… because of me.”

You frowned at his words, unsure whether you understood what he was trying to say.

“What? Why would I be scared of you, darling?”

“I… I’m just glad it wasn’t me that caused such a panic. I promise you I’ll check the room for rats every night. And I’ll hunt every damn rat in this keep down if it’ll make you feel safer. Alright?”

You couldn’t help the enamoured smile that graced your lips at sweet Eskel’s words. You leaned in to place a chaste kiss on his lips, chuckling softly as your actions pulled a pleased sigh from your witcher.

“Any other fears I should know about before you decide to wake the dead again with that banshee scream of yours?”

“Shut up witcher, and hold me now would you!”

 Geralt

“You want to sleep in the woods? On the ground?”

“We could also sleep in a tree if you prefer,” Geralt suggested sarcastically, not even sparing you or Jaskier a glance as he unsaddled Roach, “don’t know if the branches will support our weights, though.”

“Alright, smartass!”

You would have much rather slept in an inn, even one of the shitty inns that you had stayed in recently would do. You hated the idea of sleeping on the forest ground. The thought of insects running all over you at night when you were trying to sleep did not sound relaxing in the least. In fact, it was the thought of a very specific beast crawling all over you that bothered you the most.

Spiders.

Ghastly things. You hated them, always had, always would. Any shape, size, colour… you didn’t discriminate, you hated all of them. You would never tell your witcher that, though. Geralt was the most powerful witcher on the Continent. He would surely laugh at you for being scared of spiders. You were certainly not about to tell Jaskier either, because telling the bard would have the same effect as shouting it from the rooftops. If Jaskier knew, the whole Continent would know within days and your arachnophobia would undoubtedly become the theme of his newest ballad.

Nobody could know about your fear of spiders. You would just have to suck it up for one night. Maybe if you volunteered to keep watch all night you would not have to sleep and could keep an eye out for the creepy things. Or perhaps you could sleep away from Geralt for one night. You quickly dismissed that idea, knowing that the witcher would instantly be suspicious and ask too many uncomfortable questions. Keeping watch it was, then. When you pitched the idea to the crowd, Geralt was quick to crush your hopes.

“You kept watch last night. You need to sleep,” he told you, a tired sigh pushing past his lips when he noticed that you wanted to argue.

“You have years of sleep to catch up on, I’ll keep watch.”

“Y/N…”

“That’s that settled then, I’m keeping watch tonight.”

“No, you’re not.”

“If I may interject,” Jaskier suddenly interrupted your discussion, causing both you and Geralt to snap your heads in his direction, “I believe it is my turn to keep watch. You two are clearly very cranky and you both need your sleep.”

“Jaskier, as nice as it is for you to offer, I-“

“Done,” Geralt decreed before you could have a say in it. You opened your mouth again to tell Geralt that you could make your own decisions when you noticed the way his eyes softened as he placed a warm hand on the small of your back and pulled you close to his body. “Jaskier’s right, dove. We’ve both been snapping at each other a lot lately. Let’s just take a night off, you and me.”

“I-“

“Please dove, I need to feel you close to me tonight,” Geralt pleaded you as he nosed your hair affectionately. You sighed in resignation at the tender gesture. You could never refuse your love anything, especially not when he was so sweet.

“Fine. I can’t wait for the winter when we’re back at Kaer Morhen,” you whisper into his armour, taking in the scent of leather and rain that clung to Geralt like second skin.

“You and me both, dove.”

That night, you and Geralt squeezed onto the same bedroll and managed to cover both of your bodies with a large blanket. You were on edge, tense, and Geralt could feel it. His arms held you close, but even your witcher’s proximity was not enough to reassure you. Your thoughts kept wandering to a certain eight-legged beast that you hated so damn much. You tried to ignore the invading thoughts, but it seemed like you were surrounded by an aura of anxiety. Geralt could feel your turmoiled state, but for the longest time he did not raise it with you. You were grateful for it, although you briefly considered telling him about your phobia.

No. Stay strong. It’s just for one night, you reminded yourself.

You almost convinced yourself that you could do this when you felt something crawl all the way up your bare arm and get tangled in your hair. You instantly froze, fearing that your worst nightmare had become reality. Your terrified eyes met Geralt’s, and the witcher’s brows furrowed in concern as he felt the change in your demeanour.

“There’s something in my hair. Geralt, there’s something in my hair I can feel it, gods get it out of there whatever it is, please,” you rambled, your voice growing more panicked with each word you spoke. Geralt nodded, his eyes betraying his confusion, but he diligently did as you told him and pried whatever beast that had become tangled in your hair loose.

“It’s nothing, sweet dove. Just a spider, nothing mo-“

At those words, you bounced onto your feet and started itching yourself all over. It suddenly felt like a million spiders had found refuge under your skin and were trying to break free. You were delirious with panic, halfway between dream and reality, as your brain tricked you into believing your own hallucination. You were so far down your own panic that you did not immediately hear Geralt calling your name in a desperate attempt to get you to snap out of it.

“Y/N? Dove, can you hear me? Listen to my voice, you’ll be okay.”

You batted his hands away, let out a startled sound between a scream and a moan as you stumbled away from Geralt and clawing at your skin, willing the sensations away. You itched your skin raw until it became painful, at which point you began sobbing.

“Y/N, calm down,” you heard Geralt’s voice resonate in your mind, like a distant echo. You instantly felt your muscles go slack and the panic lifted as quickly as it appeared. Geralt was staring at you, concern written all over his face. You guessed by the position of his hands and fingers that Geralt had just used Axii on you.

“You’re going to take deep breaths and calm down, dove. You understand?”

You merely nodded as your body complied with the command. When Geralt’s hold on your mind subsided, you blinked several times as if to focus your mind on the now and then. Your witcher stayed a fair distance away, giving you space to get back to your senses. You suddenly felt your cheeks heat up in shame when you realised how silly and exaggerated your reaction to the spider had been.

“I’m… gods, I’m so pathetic aren’t I?”

“Is she going to be okay?” you heard Jaskier ask, his voice barely above a whisper as if he was scared to startle you.

“Yes,” Geralt responded without taking his eyes off you, “you’re going to be okay, dove. You hear me?”

“It was just a stupid spider. Why am I like this? All of this just for a stupid spider!”

“Ah, arachnophobia,” Jaskier said like an afterthought to himself. You glanced over your shoulder at the bard who offered a reassuring smile. “Bear with me, dear heart, I believe I have something that might put your mind at ease.”

You watched wordlessly as the bard disappeared, leaving you alone with a still shook Geralt. The witcher took several tentative steps towards you, extending his hands gently as if coaxing a young foal to come to him. You gladly fell into the witcher’s arms, clinging onto him for dear life. Geralt indulged you as one hand came to rest on the small of your back and the other at the back of your head.

“Is that why you didn’t want to sleep in the woods?” he asked, not unkindly. You nodded, nuzzling the base of his neck to hide the blush creeping up your cheeks and the tears welling up in your eyes. “Sweet dove, you should’ve said.”

“And then what? You spend all your coin on a room just so I don’t have to sleep with spiders? Geralt, don’t be ridiculous.”

“I just wish you’d told me.”

“I was afraid. I was afraid you’d find me laughable,” you admit shyly, biting your bottom lip to stop the tears from spilling. Instead of pushing you away like you had expected, Geralt pulled you impossibly closer.

“It’s okay to be scared sometimes. It’s healthy. I’m scared of some things too.”

“No you’re not,” you argued.

“I am. I’m scared of anything happening to the people I care about. I’m scared of anything happening to you. And to Jaskier, but don’t tell him that or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I knew you were fond of me, old man,” you both heard Jaskier exclaim loudly, which pulled an amused chuckle from you and an irritated groan from Geralt. “I already have the title of my new ballad. The Witcher Who Very Much Cared About…”

“Drop it,” Geralt grumbled, allowing you to pull away from him but keeping an arm wrapped around your waist.

“Alright, alright. Here you are, dear heart.” Jaskier handed you a little pouch which gave off a strong scent of eucalyptus and peppermint. You scrunched your nose as the smell invaded your nostrils. “Although I am particularly fond of eucalyptus and peppermint, I happen to know that spiders hate it. I also like to keep the creepy crawleys at bay when travelling with my dear friend Geralt. Spiders especially. They don’t bother me when I have my trusted pouch with me.”

A radiant smile brightened your face at Jaskier’s gift.

“Oh Jaskier, thank you.”

“Don’t even mention it, dear heart. Wouldn’t want you losing precious sleep over monsters, right Geralt?”

“Hmm,” was all your witcher said as he placed a firm kiss on your temple, “speaking of sleep, all this excitement tired me out. Let’s lie down, dove.”

You fell asleep easily in the safety of your witcher’s arms and clutching onto Jaskier’s miracle spider repellent.

[silvysartfulness]

Omg I saw that you used to write for the assassin’s creed fandom and honestly what a throwback 😭 are they on livejournal?

Aahhh, this is the part where I have to admit, I don't think I ever put any of those drabbles online! It was more a fun thing me and wife used to do, writing very very short 5 minute one-shots based on single word-prompts.

Oh, wait! Apparently I actually still have them, in an old folder of mine! Will post under a cut. These are AC 1-3-brotherhood, primarily focused on the latter.

La Volpe/Cesare post the fall of the Borgia was my main rarepair ship in that fandom, so that's the main (if occasionally only implied) focus for a lot of these. (CW some dubcon/non-con under the cut, so be warned.) 😊

1 Unwillingness

It goes against everything he is, a greater challenge than any battlefield taken on. Snarling, eyes blazing his defiance, Cesare submits for now.

2 Memento

”Something to remember me by,” murmurs Volpe softly against the sensitive skin of his neck, and it's all Cesare can do not to yelp as those vicious teeth leave a bleeding gash in his ear.

3 Baseline

He still doesn't trust Machiavelli, Volpe muses, and it's equally clear Machiavelli doesn't trust him. Perhaps their shared love of secrecy is the one dependent thing about their relationship.

4 Sniper

He has shot guards from rooftops, towers, horseback, beams and the treacherous crumbling tops of ancient stone pillars. So why was it, muses Ezio afterward, that he hadn't even thought of pulling crossbow or gun out as his sworn enemies held their short council in the courtyard a few measly yards below his feet?

5 Birthplace

It is in Masyaf the order of Assassins was born into what it is now. Searching for answers Ezio sets out on the longest journey of his life, back to the beginning of all.

6 Denunciation

It is hard to remember what it was like to have faith, Cesare thinks, but easy to remember when it was lost. What God could ever work through the instrument that was Alexander VI, his father?

7 Distaste

”Volpe, you didn't!” Ezio exclaims, his face a mask of distaste. Volpe smirks.

”Oh, it was not at all bad. Cesare is well trained.”

Ezio shudders. ”That is exactly what bothers me!”

8 Elimination

Constantly, frustratingly one step behind, it is little Cesare can do as his allies are meticulously taken out by the Assassins one by one. And yet it is not until the last of those on his side willingly turn their backs on him that he realizes this battle is lost.

9 Bluntness

”You can do as I say,” says the master thief matter-of-factly, turning the vial of antidote over in his spindly fingers, ”or you can spend the night dying slowly while vomiting your innards all over the floor. The choice is yours.”

Pale with fury Cesare chooses to live.

10 Turf

The Assassins had been myth, legend, bed-time stories to frighten a young boy already afraid of the dark. But as they dealt an all but deadly blow to his father inside the Vatican itself, Cesare grimly declares war. Roma is his city, and all who oppose his rule must be swiftly and mercilessly dealt with.

11 Assassination

He burns for the ideals, fights the fight with passion and utter devotion. But when Shaun's shaking hands lower the suddenly impossibly heavy gun he knows something he'dnever even thought about (Innocence? Compassion? Humanity?) has perished as surely as that very first body at his feet.

12 Apprentice

He remembers a gangly youth skidding across slippery roof tiles, trying so hard to keep up and even harder to hide his inability to do so. La Volpe silently studies Il Mentore and considers he's no longer sure who would lead the way across the rooftops.

13 Debris

Ezio swears as the ceiling collapses over the bed he shared with Caterina until moments ago – his armor and weapons are buried in the rubble and will be hard to replace. He does not yet know they will be the least of his losses this day.

14 Scolding

Altaïr has never been one to accept blame or criticism for his actions, but something about the way Malik's not-there left arm twitches as to shake a not-there fist in his face as the man speaks makes him look away in hidden shame.

15 Torrent

The rain pours down over the city, making roofs and cobblestones alike wet and slippery. Volpe tugs his collar tighter around his shoulders against the biting cold and idly contemplates if a trip to the Castello would be worth the trouble.

16 Anchor

He cheats and steals and tells honeyed lies with the ease of a snake. But his eyes can be oceans and his touch velvet – sometimes Ezio wonders if his always restless, inspiration-ridden friend keeps Salai around just to remember what it's like to be human.

17 Truce

”It would be nice,” says Machiavelli evenly, ”if you would not so readily name yourself judge, jury and executioner the next time you fall victim to unfounded suspicion.”

”Fine,” mutters Volpe, frowning. ”It would be niceif you were not so secretive. And stop trying to steal my spies. Get your own.”

”Fine,” Machiavelli replies with a minute smirk.

Fellowship is knowing just when your brother-in-arms is lying.

18 Nook

There are many unknown and unseen hiding places among the rooftops of Florence. On his back, hair plastered against his face and hot breath against his ear, Giovanni concludes it's very handy that La Volpe always knows to find one when you need it.

19 Orgy

These parties are more to his father's tastes than his his, Cesare firmly tells himself, perhaps letting his eyes linger thoughtfully on the multitude of courtesans a moment longer than intended. Then a familiar slender hand grazes his thigh and he is reminded that the only person even close to matching his own schemes, cunning and skill is the woman on the throne next to his.

20 Scoff

”I spend all my time in the Animus,” Desmond frowns, ”Lucy's keeping an eye on Abstergo and Rebecca... hacks and stuff. What do youdo, really? Anyone could use, what, Google and Wikipedia?”

Shaun grins or at least bares his teeth.

”You mean Templar Central One and Two? No, it's called obtaining knowledge, Desmond - sifted like little gold nuggets of fact from the vast sands of ignorance you're so fond of burying your head in. Google can't help you there, I'm afraid.”

21 Scolding

At the time, Ezio always figured Giovanni's constant nagging and pleading with him to stay out of trouble was only the worrying of an overprotective father. Only later was he taught discretion was part of the ancient Assassin's creed. He never got very good at it, even so.

22 Bonfire

No-one is entirely sure why Julius II has tempered justice with mercy for now and opted for his enemy's imprisonment rather than death sentence. As far as la Volpe is concerned, the way Cesare goes pale whenever the topic is brought up is at least good for entertainment.

23 Nakedness

Being exposed holds no particular shame for him, but the walls and floor are freezing to the touch, draining precious warmth from his aching body. Now would be a prudent time for an accursed thief to show up with a blanket to bargain for.

24 Arbiter

It was funny, Machiavelli drily noted in his notebook, how God and Divine Justice so often were on the side of the biggest army with the sharpest swords.

25 Purgatory

The land burns, smoke choking the sky and tinting the sun a sickly shade of blood. It is with a cold and unfamiliar sense of foreboding Cesare hurries through the flames toward the towering walls of the fortress to escape this hell on earth – one way or another.

26 Fingernail

Ezio has more than his fair share of scars adorning his hardened body, some remembered more fondly than others. He would never dream to ask Caterina to trim her nails, or use them just a touch more carefully.

27 Slavery

The Creed dictates freedom of thought, and in his reckless youth Altaïr would use it as justification for any rash impulse. But the older he grows, the more he comes to realize freedom and all its crushing responsibility can be the harshest master of all.

28 Carnivore

When confronted on his nasty habit of biting, Volpe only grins and quips something about foxes and their nature. Cesare is tempted to snap he's often seen dirty foxes prowling the back streets for garbage, but can see where Volpe would go with that, and so holds his tongue.

29 Bluntness

Ezio is too flustered after his mother's blunt request he find other outlets than vaginas to realize the enthusiastic young artist at his side seems more than eager to offer a few suggestions on the particular subject.

30 Vow

He will live, Cesare vows. He will live, he will regain his freedom, his power and his army. At any cost. And then they will. All. Pay.

31 Blending

It was simply not fair, thought Machiavelli, that no matter how solid your acting, no matter how meticulousyour disguise, Volpe would immediately spot you in a crowd and grin at you. Clearly spying on the sly old fox called for more cunning means, he conceded as he made his way to the Rosa to shamelessly bribe Claudia for information.

32 Misconduct

“Not that we are in any particular hurry to the Castello,” Orsini says, the knuckles of his war-gauntlet quite pleasantly buried in Cesare's face, “but things would just be easier all around if you would stop squirming and came quietly.”

33 Ultimatum

“If you don't stop hogging my mp3-player,” Rebecca whispers softly in Shaun's ear, “I'll tell Lucy exactly whatyou and Desmond used her yoghurts for last night.”

34 Takeover

“Stop!” Lucrezia commands as the soldiers feed the paintings to the fire – already the image of a swan is crackling and fading to black amongst the flames. Such a waste of beauty. She hasn't even realized Cesare is standing behind her, fierce and bloodied after the battle, until he speaks.

“You like them?”

She nods, and he touches her cheek with a smile, careful not to stain her hair.

“Then they are yours. A memento of the day the Assassini fell.”

35 Afterlife

“I blame you for this,” says Cesare flatly as the imps re-heat the lake of boiling tar. Again. “There is no God, you said. No heaven and no hell, you said. Stupid old bastard.”

Rodrigo mutters something about Hell being other people, but will have to concede that in this trifling matter, yes, he was mistaken.

36 Distaste

He would rather be hated than forgotten, Cesare sullenly thinks, rubbing his stiff hands for warmth. Bony, filthy, with the matted long hair of a hermit falling into his face, he has to settle for the guards' contempt. At least it's better than pity.

37 Slavery

He isn't really paid, Leonardo thinks, merely kept alive, yes. Not really compensated as such. And so the construction of the intricate war-machines is really on the consciences of his masters, not his. Sting of guilt quenched he returns to the blueprints with renewed fevered enthusiasm.

38 Probation

“What's the catch”, asks Cesare with deepest suspicion.

“No catch,” Volpe assures, looking innocent. “Just a reward for your recent good behaviour. Keep it up and there may a meal and a hot bath in it for you, too.”

Cesare does not for a moment believe they are just going out 'to stretch their legs', but a meal does sound inviting. He follows.

39 Adversity

Ezio strongly disapproved of the idea of his little sister taking over the Rosa in Fiore, and he frankly can't say whether he is more disappointed or proud when it flourishes under her care.

40 Bluntness

“You are a thief,” Machiavelli growls, piqued into a rare display of anger. “A liar and a cheat and an honourless thief!”

Volpe grins.

“All those things. And I'm still better than you.”

41 Scheming

Ezio gave the Apple to Mario, who had it stolen by Cesare, who gave it to Leonardo, who found it plucked out of his helpless hands by the Pope and his daughter. He ponders life was easier when he was just a painter. The Apple is a thing of awe, but the intrigues in its wake make his head hurt.

42 Favorite

It wasn't that Cesare particularly hated his older brother. It was just that while he no longer childishly sought his father's approval, the position as the Pope's favorite son came with several practical perks. Unfortunately for Juan, that meant he simply had to go.

43 Truce

When things are civilized, they can be bearable, almost even pleasant. The food is good, the wine plentiful, and Volpe's skilled fingers all but gentle. An unspoken truce, no matter how temporary. But neither man ever forgets the truth, which is war.

44 Scour

They answer to no-one, self-proclaimed executioners beyond all law. Too much blood on their hands now. Just before sunrise Cesare gives the command to attack. The cleansing of Monteriggioni has begun.

45 Extrovert

To hold his own council and play his cards close to his heart has always been his way, and he knowshe is a master at his game. And yet, Machiavelli can grudgingly admit to himself, it isn't until the boisterous chaos in human guise that is Ezio bursts in on the Roman scene that he begins to see how they will win this war.

46 Protagonist

“I will avenge the cowardly, treacherous plot against my father,” he thinks. “I will root out all those involved, every single one, and I will kill them and all they stand for.”

No-one ever sets out to be a hero, only to do what is right.

For Cesare, the path ahead is clear.

47 Willpower

It is never easy. Every time Altaïr visits his (his!) bureau in Jerusalem, Malik has to struggle with himself not to slay the man in his sleep. On many a moonlit night, only a lifetime of discipline stays the blade in his white-knuckled hand.

But strangely, it does get easier over time.

48 Esacalation

At first it had been mere proof of his ability to go anywhere in Roma as well he pleased, the taunting and impotent rage in response a given bonus. After some time, forced still-furious intimacy gained through blackmail had appeared a logical step. Then force turned out redundant. As Cesare clings to him, nails biting into his arms and teeth bared with need, Volpe admits to himself he would never have suspected the caged Borgia would so willingly use him to sate his desires – nor the other way around.

49 Torrent

Raw grief fades over time, a broken heart healed into a dull ache. The thing that keeps Claudia from sleeping at night is not all she has lost, but her screaming frustration at not being able to take her fate, and that of those responsible, into her own hands.

50 Danger

The peaceful life he had envisioned just the evening before will have to wait, Ezio grimly decides, pressing a hand to his wounded shoulder and focusing on not falling off his horse. And despite the shock, grief and pain, it somehow feels right. He has lived this life so long, he isn't sure he remembers how not to.

51 Splattering

Leonardo likes to buy birds at the market and set them free, watching with dreaming eyes as they take to the endless sky. Once, Ezio surprises his friend with twenty white doves. Much belatedly he wishes he'd remembered that stressed pigeons prefer to lighten their load before taking off.

52 Ramification

“It is time you take responsibility for your actions,” Rodrigo snarls, and Cesare struggles with the impulse to scream, childishly, “But father, younever did!”

53 Concession

“I'm not sure we should...”

Lover and Thief, silhouettes in the dark, alone. A light touch.

“Come now. It will be good, I promise.”

“But, what if...”

“Ssh. Are we not both Assassins? Everything is permitted.”

His honed thief's nerves tingling with foreboding warnings, La Volpe allows Claudia to persuade him in the end, knowing Ezio will probably kill him, and that it will no doubt be worth it.

54 Leer

You can't even seehis face in the shadows beneath the cowl. And yet, Volpe just standing there outside the bars, nonchalantly leaning one hand against the wall, makes Cesare want to scream. Or punch him hard. Preferably both.

55 Whisper

Ezio reflects that there are few other voices he would instantly recognize by just a short, urgent uttering of his name. His hesitation to turn around stems not from uncertainty, but the childish wish to postpone the trial of his oldest friend's rumored treason just a few moments longer.

56 Absurdity

At first Ezio had felt confused, then worried and finally terrified. But as they've fled Florence and the man introducing himself as uncle Mario tells him that his family belongs to an ancient clan of legendary assassins, relief washes over him. Finally is clear it has all been an insane dream. He can't wait to wake up.

57 Experimentation

Leonardo da Vinci is a true genius, his brilliant mind always seeing the world through a lens of wonder. Nothing escapes his never-sated curiosity – but that a small poseable wooden mannequin could be used like that? Cesare is a man not easily impressed, but will have to admit the artist rarely fails to amaze.

58 Farewell

It is with uncharacteristic kindness Volpe kisses him, between shared gasps for air after their final tryst. A last goodbye before the approaching dawn will see Cesare on his way to exile in Spain.

”Growing sentimental, old fox?” the younger man scoffs at him. ”No need. I shall return soon enough, and repaint the walls of Roma with Assassin blood.”

Volpe just smiles. He has already helped Ezio prepare his own journey and knows with certainty that Cesare will never again return to Rome.

59 Turf

”Maybe Giovanni could get away with doing paperwork all day over in Florence,” Mario says, and his tone clearly states what he thinks about his brother's choice. ”But arround here we train Assassins, not accountants or delivery boys.”

Ezio's body has never ached as much in his life as it does after his first day of training with his uncle.

60 Smoothness

When she smiles her deep red lips are like tantalizing rose petals, framed by sun-ray golden hair. She is smooth, flawless, perfect. But every rose has its thorns, and Lucrezia's are laden with poison.

61 Kneeling

Every fiber of Ezio's body strains desperately to regain control as he jerks like a puppet on golden strings of light.

”You are lucky,” breathes Rodrigo in a low, husky growls, leaning hard on the staff after the battle, ”So verylucky, little Assassin, that I am in a hurry.”

As the dagger sinks into his guts, Ezio briefly thinks that indeed, it could have been so much worse.

62 Purgatory

The imps don't know whether to feel amused or put out that the screaming, flailing argument between father and son has by now escalated to the point they don't even seem to register the lake of boiling tar anymore. A bit of respect for good solid workmanship, is that too much to ask?

63 Lick

It has to be said in favour of Machiavelli's assassin reflexes that the unexpected lick at his ear out of the dark earns Volpe neither a jump or a shriek but a rapid fist to the nose.

Only half an hour later, safely home in his bedroom, does Niccolo allow himself to contemplate what might have otherwise transpired.

64 Bonfire

It is a sad thing, reflects Ezio in hindsight, older, wiser, that compared to all the priceless art and knowledge fed to fire during Savonarola's mad reign of Florence, the mere loss of a human life that ended it is remembered with little sense of loss or revulsion.

65 Last

After Mario's death, Ezio has felt the weight of being the last Auditore Assassin ever heavier on his shoulders. But as he watches Claudia fearlessly take her leap of faith, he wonders how he could ever have been blind enough to think himself alone.

66 Well

The guards in hot pursuit yell and stab at wells, haystacks and dark alleyways. From his perch on a rooftop Ezio smiles. He always did prefer to take to the sky.

67 Wrongdoer

As his support falters and the opposition grows ever bolder, Cesare becomes increasingly frustrated with their attacks and accusations. He would prefer to answer only for his own sins, not those of his dead father.

68 Deliberate

It really is getting unnerving, decides Machiavelli, the way Volpe has taken up the habit of commenting on his every observation with a frosty ”Indeed” or ”Yes, quitethe coincidence”. He wishes he could believe the man isn't doing it on purpose.

69 Counter

When he first arrives in Jerusalem, Altaïr can't quite shake the feeling that the only thing between him and certain death is a rather narrow, map-strewn desk.

70 Bribe

Cesare has always been good at striking a profitable bargain. Unfortunately Borgia as a currency is bitterly deflated, and these days he often have to sell himself too cheap for comfort. Even though it isa warm, snug blanket.

71 Chess

Cesare knows he is a brilliant strategist – not so much because of the expected praise from his subordinates as from the satisfactory number of pins currently adorning his map of Italy. He would like to believe himself modest in this, careful not allow hubris to cheat him of a victory. And yet he never knows whether to frown or laugh helplessly as the absent-minded artist all but appologetically check-mates his king time and time and time again.

72 Feel

Leonardo never knows how to feel when Cesare enters the room. At first he is apprehensive, but as weeks turn into months and he realizes he's not only allowed but encouraged to dream up grander designs than ever before he is thrilled.

In the end, seeing the Assassins' plans put into motion long before Cesare even knows the final battle has begun, he can only avert his eyes in regret.

73 Mister

”Outside the kingdom of God is the realm of men,” Salai says, leaning just an inch too close. ”You worship there, Messere?”

Only years of training his clueless look on Leonardo helps Ezio keep a straight face as he blankly waves for the boy to follow him.

74 Fine

There are simply too many guards around for a discreet kill, so Ezio grudlingly counts the florins and hands them over. How was heto know he wasn't allowed to park his horse there? Time to liberate another stable from its Borgia-tower shadow, he decides. Burning them all down is easier than keeping track of territories anyway.

75 Dog

If La Volpe is the fox and Ezio the bird of prey, Pantasilea ponders, then Bartolomeo reminds her of a large, lumbering dog. Faithful and loyal unto death, but with a booming bark and a vicious bite for those who threaten those dear to him.

76 Forgotten

When Volpe appears he is the first person Cesare has seen in days. He greets the thief with his usual brazen curses, careful not to let any trace of relief shine through. Of all things he is most afraid to be left alone to die; not slain out of hatred or need, but simply ignored and forgotten.

77 Changed

Had Ezio been the kind of man to think upon such things, he might have noticed the Cesare facing him atop the towering walls is not the self-assured young general he met a handful years previous in Roma. Tired-looking and hunched over he looks defeated even before the battle has begun. But Ezio is here for one single purpose alone, and has never been the kind of man to think of such things anyway.

78 Gondola

Antonio assures Leonardo that only from an extensive tour with his private gondola will the artist truly get to know his new home town. As it happens, a rocky two-hour boat ride later, Leonardo still hasn't really seen much of the city. But that's quite alright, as he happily agrees to repeat the endeavour soon again.

79 Casino

It never hurts to try to win Fortuna's favour when gambling is one of your favorite pastimes, Salai knows, but in this particular case divine intervention is quite a bit closer at hand. As long as you have La Volpe's favor, the dice at the Sleeping Fox will never let you down.

80 Soup

The first bowl of watery gruel ends up thrown in the guard's face with enough force to break his nose. The next morning the second splinters against the wall. Nearly a week passes before he forces himself to eat the fifth, to preserve his strength.

Cesare closes his eyes as he quickly raises the bowl to his face to wolf down the hundredth, before the reflection in the dull surface can show him what he has become.

81 Carrot

”Tell you what,” murmurs Volpe in the starving prisoner's ear, dangling the vegetable in front of his face, ”If you give me a good enough show I'll even let you keep it for supper when you're done.”

82 Madame

Volpe has to admit himself impressed – Claudia is shrewd, ruthless and horrifyingly practical, and stillmanages to be praised a good businesswoman rather than cursed a thief.

83 Kilt

Yes, Ezio decides as he flexes his body inside the unfamiliar weight of Romulus' armour, there is definitely a draft around his nether regions. Whatever the old Romans may have thought, a skirt of leather belts does notconstitute proper clothing.

After some swearing and creative arranging of his spare cloak he considers it may well look even moreof a skirt, but at least this cut preserves his manly dignity when he jumps.

84 Theft

He has stolen valuables, information, people and lives. La Volpe draws in a deep breath as he surveys Roma in the first light of morning, then exhales in satisfaction. She is the greatest city in the world, and she is all his for the taking.

[adamarks]

If one more person says simon snow should lose his wings i’m gonna lose my goddamn mind: a meta

Alright you guys, I’ve had ENOUGH. Simon cannot lose his wings unless you want him to break up with Baz, and this is why.

Let’s start with Baz.

This analysis is obviously Simon-based, and yes i’ll get there, but first we need to look at the biggest key we’ve been given to what Simon’s wings could possibly mean subtextually and metaphorically for the story at large. That key is: Baz’s vampirism. 

Baz being a vampire is constantly compared to/mentioned in tandem with his queerness in Carry On. In his first chapters, what are the three most important traits that we learn about him? 

he’s a drama queen

he’s a vampire

he’s hopelessly in love with simon snow

If you boil his character down until he’s basically just a stick figure, that’s what he is: an over dramatic vampire in love with Simon Snow.

We’ve all read the books, we all know this, and we all know he’s much more than that. What of it?

What’s important is that Baz’s vampirism is treated almost the exact same as his homosexuality. 

Hiding it from everyone, being ashamed of it, knowing what you are but being terrified of it. His dad being “definitely more disappointed in my queerness than my undeadness.” 

I mean, holy shit, let’s look at this bit in Carry on from Chapter 51:

“I think if I got married, to a girl from a good family, my father wouldn’t even care that I’m queer. “

This scene really hits, because how many times have you wondered “What if I was straight? Maybe this thing wouldn’t be as bad?” “What if i was just a straight poc?” “What if I was only gay and not trans?” “What if I was only disabled and not gay on top of it?” What if, what if, what if. Would my life be easier? you wonder. Would I get hurt less? Would people treat me better?

If Carry On is about self-realization, then Wayward Son is about the struggle of self-acceptance. 

Baz going to Las Vegas and meeting Lamb probably seemed familiar for some of you people that are LGBT+. It’s how you feel when you’re from a small town and you go to a big city like New York or Orlando or LA for the first time and you see gay people all around you. Flamboyantly gay! Gay people holding hands! Gay people kissing! Trans people that don’t fit the gender norms! Older trans ladies just walking down the street!

It’s exciting, it’s exhilarating. Your baby-gay brain is so confused because no one’s giving them dirty looks. They don’t look nervous or ashamed. Is this allowed?

The party in the penthouse is glamorous and beautiful and alluring and none of the humans there are scared or look like they’re in real danger. It’s because they aren’t. None of those vampires are there to kill people. 

This is where Baz’s fear of his own nature comes in. Let’s hear it for all you homosexuals in the crowd that are/have been terrified of being predatory. Of turning the gender you’ve been told all of your life you’re not supposed to want into pieces of meat. You feel ashamed for wanting physical intimacy. You feel wrong for wanting emotional intimacy. 

Lamb is the older gay that you meet/learn about/watch on youtube or whatever that makes you learn that no, you’re not inherently evil. Lamb is the queer history, the queer movies, the queer people that you discover that make you learn that “no, i’m not bad. I’m not broken. I’m beautiful. I’m beautiful.” 

Baz thinking the sight of Lamb drinking that guy’s blood being alluring and beautiful is crucial to his arc. Baz needs to see that all of him is beautiful. 

So homosexuality = Baz being a vampire? How in the flying fuck does this have anything to do with Simon?

Remember, Baz is our key. His struggles have been happening since book one. Simon just gained his “creature” status at the end of Carry On. He’s new to this. Which means we’re new to the subtext. Which means: let’s dive on into the next big point.

Our Big Bisexual Boy

Whatever label you choose to use for Simon is up to you. As long as we all agree he likes more than one gender then it’s whatevs. I’m going to be using the word bisexual for this meta, though. 

We’re all well aware that Simon is Struggling with his bisexuality in this book. 

“I still haven’t sorted out whether I’m still attracted to women or whether I ever was, or whether I’m some kind of Baz-only-sexual. But the cleavage at this place is abundant, and I’m not mad about it.”

(taken from chapter 21) 

Like....... y’know. We know. It’s... we get it. 

The important part of that quote is that it’s at the Ren Faire. The Ren Faire is the first time Simon’s had his wings out in public since god-knows-when, if ever. This is also the first time he really considers kissing Baz in the book. Kissing Baz in Public.

Any of you that have been to Pride probably got a little bit of the warm fuzzies during this scene. The faire brought back such deep memories of my first pride it was a little bit emotional. I talked to random people, people ran around in rainbow outfits. There was body paint! Stupid hats! Weird dye jobs! The classic pride-flag-as-a-cape look! I talked to so many people and 

“Everyone here is so friendly.”

(also taken from chapter 21)

Everyone was so nice to me.

Baz feels right at home; Simon is all smiles. The only one not having a blast is Penny and she’s (I’m sorry, Penny) the token straight friend in these books. 

I don’t know how Rainbow did it, but she made me relive my first pride through Simon, and I’ll never not be grateful for that. 

“Today I’m someone else entirely. Today I’m just a bloke with fake red wings.”

The Pride/Ren Faire parallels were pretty obvious, but I wanna get a little further into the whole “wings = being bisexual” thing. 

We’ve established with Baz that being a magical creature or whatnot is Gay, but while Baz is fully magical, Simon’s “half-normal.” Kind of. It’s a weird situation there but half-normal works for the argument. 

“’Smells like dragon... but also smells like iron. Another abomination!’” 

(chapter 35)

Now the word “abomination” is really fucking unfortunate in this context, but biphobia exists so idk man. I’m gonna start talking in gay/straight terms and I absolutely know bisexuality isn’t half-gay half-straight but we’re talking in metaphors and i’ll tie it together at the end so just stick with me, okay?

He’s part dragon, part Normal (kind of). Simon’s not like Baz where he’s absolutely, 100% a vampire. He has traits of dragons and humans. This is why it’s so bad that he hates his wings half the time. They are part of him. They may not be “normal” and he may have to hide them, but he can’t just cut off the gay part. Our queerness doesn’t define us, but it’s a defining feature. 

Penny says she wouldn’t be her if she wasn’t a mage. Simon wouldn’t be Simon if he wasn’t bi. 

The mistake Simon and almost everyone else makes during this book is that they think of his wings as these separate entities. There is no gay part and straight part of Simon Snow. All of him is Simon. From the tips of his toes to the tops of his wings, all of him is Simon. He might’ve discovered this part of himself during a tragic point in his life, but that doesn’t mean it has to be something bad. It doesn’t have to be something tainted. 

Sometimes you discover things about yourself during the hardest moments of your life. When you’re already down in the dirt, beaten and bruised, sometimes a mirror is put in front of you and you realize something. You realize you’re trans. You realize you’re gay. And sometimes you resent those realizations because they came to you at the worst possible time. “This is just one more thing on my plate,” you think. 

This series is about reclaiming the things that where taken from you by the ones that hurt you. 

Simon’s going to have to learn to love his wings, because even though they remind him of something that hurts-- hurts more than anything-- they’re part of him. They are him, as much as the rest of his body is. Simon’s going to have to forgive himself, and learn to love himself for all that he is. 

Because all that he is is beautiful. 

We all know it; it’s time for him to understand that.

All right, bitches. Let’s get to the bit we all REALLY care about. this is the one that really fucks me up my dudes. Because it’s Brutal. But anyways here we go.

His wings are the Big Baz Love 

What are the two things that Simon’s  considering cutting off in this book?

“That’s what I’m going to say when I break up with Baz.”

“Dr. Wellbelove said he could remove the wings. And the tail. Whenever I’m ready.”

(Chapter 2, Epilogue)

Yikes!

My guys..... Simon and Baz don’t kiss unless Simon’s wings are out.

I truly do not understand how some of you are out here saying Simon’s gonna lose his wings I really don’t. It’s stressful. I’m stressed. Ms. Rainbow Rowell, you have me stressed. 

His Wings! Are! His Love!

On Love’s Light Wings!

Goatman dances his nasty little fingers all over the bridge that is Baz’s ass? Wings out, uses his tail to help kill the guy. Lamb is hitting on Baz too much? 

“’Spell my wings off.’”

(Chapter 45)

In the airport, when a lady is giving them the “don’t be gay” stink eye he immediately checks to make sure his tail is hidden. 

Baz can’t spell his wings off, guys. 

Baz can’t spell his wings away.

“’Snow needs you to cast your angel spell on him. I hid his wings for breakfast, but they’re still there.’“

(Chapter 19)

In Chapter 41, the biggest kiss scene we get, Simon wraps his wings around Baz to hold him. He’s embracing him in his love guys. Guys. 

Have you people noticed how i’m suddenly less articulate? It’s because i’m in crisis. Set me on fire I wouldn’t notice. I’ve been living with this terrible knowledge.

The first scene we finally see them kiss is after the scene at the Ren Faire when Simon’s wings are finally out and he finally got to fly.

“Simon catches up with me and traps me against the car. He’s kissing me before I see it coming.” 

Simon is so dtf in this scene Penny throws a water bottle at them, and it hits him in the wing. 

“’So hot,’ Simon Says. ‘Got to see you fight without picking a fight with you myself.’

Bunce throws a plastic bottle over my shoulder, and it smacks Simon in the wing.”

(Chapter 22)

She had to smack him right in the love for him to calm down, my dudes, my guys. Do you realize how hard it was for me to annotate this goddamn book with this knowledge? Every. Single. Time. Simon stretches a wing or flaps them around it’s about Baz. It gets to the point where you have to put the book down or you’re gonna explode. 

Simon’s wings are always out around Lamb. He’s jealous as hell and he hates that motherfucker’s guts. The only real injuries Simon sustains in this book are to his wings and they’re almost always when Baz gets hurt too. 

When did Simon get his wings? Only a day after he first kissed Baz.

Simon’s love for Baz is so big and so obnoxious he can’t hide it. His wings and tail have spikes, because that’s all Simon knows. He’s rough around the edges, he’s been hurt, he’s been used.

He’s never been in love before.

His love is spiky; it’s loud. It’s hotrod red and you can’t miss it when it’s out. Baz can’t see it, because Simon’s tucked it away. He hasn’t flown with it. He hasn’t wrapped it around Baz in so long. He doesn’t know how to handle a love this big, where to put it, when to unfurl it. 

Simon gets jealous. He gets scared. He’s insecure. He wants so dearly to finally give to someone instead of feeling like he’s just giving in. Like he’s still just taking from Baz.

What do you do with wings? 

How do you find somewhere safe to fly?

The Resolution.

I said earlier that if Carry On is a story of self-discovery, Wayward Son is a story of self-acceptance.

Simon has to love himself, and learn that his love for Baz is a good thing. As he accepts himself (and his dragon powers evolve go read my dragon simon meta it’s good.) he’s going to start to shine. 

This is a story being told to us with nothing but love. This is a story about a boy that’s his own worst enemy-- as all of us often are. It’s so scary to accept our wings. It’s so scary to accept our fangs. Especially when they’ve come out of such a hideous occurrence. 

We need to accept these dark times and acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, we were made more beautiful because of them. Maybe the light we give after we’ve been in darkness is more vibrant, because we know how scary the dark is. The things that happened to us were horrible, and hideous, and terrifying, but we aren’t. We’re different from how we were before, but we’re still beautiful. 

Simon Snow is going to accept himself.

Simon Snow is going to accept his past.

Simon Snow is going to finally, finally tell Baz he loves him.

And for the first time, Simon Snow is going to see that he’s beautiful.

If you’ve liked this meta you should also check out this one where i explain how they’re finally gonna get their relationship together. Also the one about the scarf

Special thank you to @singerofsimplesongs for listening to me howl and screech about this damn thing. 

Tagging some people that might be interested!

@neck-mole @watfordwallflower @carrybits @theflyingpeach @fight-surrender @shitty-posty-times @wisest-girl @slaying-fictional-dragons @gucciglitzy

[infernwetrust]

Easy To Fall [Xavier Plympton x Fem Reader] Pt 1.

PART 2

Summary: The one where you’ve just gotten out of a bad relationship and he’s just gotten out of a bad relationship. Fortunate enough he’s able to catch your eye one faithful night. What was suppose to be just a fling, turned out to be so much more.

Warnings: swearing, mentions of drug use, drug use, fluff, emotional, pre-smut, let me know if I missed one!

WC: 3.7k

A/N: This came to me in the spur of the moment one night lol. Part 1 of a 2 part series! Hope you enjoy. Thank you for reading! -Juno

It was suppose to be nothing more than a short fling you told yourself. He was suppose to just be the rebound and then he became so much more. Xavier Plympton. How the two of you ended up meeting regularly for brunches and movie nights were astonishing to you. You learned quickly too that he was also recovering from a break up. He let it slip out on accident at one of the brunches. And you soon learned that maybe you were suppose to be his rebound too.

But he was so damn persistent. He never stopped calling and he always popped up randomly, as if he knew where you were at all times, but it's LA, certain faces stand out and his was one of them. After the first time you two had sex and he demanded that you go out to brunch with him, he had you hooked. He was a total sweetheart despite his playboy charm. Behind all the cockiness, the attitude, and the drugs, Xavier was the easiest person to talk to. You haven't felt that close to anyone in a while.

Today was the day that he finally convinced you to come to one of his aerobics classes and even meet some of his friends. You watched as he moved flawlessly throughout the room, swaying his hips. He was so fucking cute. He glanced over at you, watching as you stumbled over your own two feet, trying to keep up with everyone else. He chuckled as he leaned against the mirror, taking a sip from his water bottle.

"Keep going, everyone!" he shouted as he made his way over to you. "Struggling to keep up, Ms. Y/L/N?" You gave him a sarcastic chuckle before you stopped completely, needing to catch your breath.

"You're cute." you began. "But you're also a fucking asshole, you know that?"

"Awww, babe. You're so sweet. If you want me to help you just say that."

"I'm gonna choke you."

"That sounds fun, but come on, lemme show you." He took a confident stance next to you, running his hands through his sweaty hair. "Just follow my lead okay? Don't be afraid to tell me to slow down." He winked at you after that last sentence, causing you to blush. He started to move and you jumped in where you felt comfortable, following his every step, not missing a single cue.

"Remember to breathe while you're moving as well." he added. "A lot of people don't remember to take breaths when they exercise and it makes you tired faster." You nodded at his advice. "Think you can keep up now for the rest of this first half? I'm gonna go coach one of my buddies real quick."

"First half?!" you asked confused.

"Yeah we've only been in here for like 20 minutes."

"Feels like a fucking hour. Wow I'm so tired, X."

"You'll get use to it, should you keep joining me."

"We'll talk at the end of class blondie. Go help your buddy."

"Here. I'll give you a partner." He shouted half way across the room for a girl named Montana who came running over.

"Whats up , X?" she questioned, slightly bouncing her body to keep on rhythm with the still playing music.

"This is, Y/N. She's a first timer. Mind keeping up with her for me." Montana's eyes widened at the name and a grin came across her face. Xavier must have been talking to his friends about you. "Y/N, this is one of close friends, Montana."

"Yeah, sure. I got you."

"Don't scare her away please. You're usually good at doing that."

"Fuck off, Xavier." He chuckled before looking between the two of you, giving a reassuring nod before swaying off to help someone else.

"So." Montana said, starting to move next to you. "You're the Y/N, Xavier can't stop talking about. He must really like you."

"I mean, I would hope so. We've been talking for like 6 months."

"6 months and I'm just now meeting you? Oh yeah, he definitely likes you. He's usually quick to show us a new girl he's talking to. Steady in competition with our other two friends, Chet and Ray." That almost made you feel special and you tried to hide your smile. "They're never going to give him the end of it when they find out. They've been questioning him like crazy and he's been making up all sorts of excuses."

"I'm sure it's nothing. It's like a friends with benefits thing. X and I are both good where we are. He hasn't show any interest in taking it any further and I'm sure he's talking to other people."

"Why so sure?"

"X came off as a huge playboy when I met him." you shrugged, pausing a moment to reset yourself. "I watched as he danced with any pretty girl he came into contact with that night in the club. He tried it with me, but of course I put up a fight, but he was so fucking persistent. I basically caved in and leaped into his arms. We made out the rest of the night and I found myself back at his place and you know, in his bed."

"Mhmmm." Montana chimed in to let you know that she was listening.

"I slept over and then the next morning he demanded that we have brunch together and we talked for a really long time. He never stopped calling, never stopped popping up by my place and we've just been talking ever since. We have sex every now and then, but I feel it's more of a friendship with benefits than anything."

"I don't know, Y/N. I haven't seen any other girl around, not even when we go out. He's usually drunk and dancing in a group with the guys. And he's been like that for about... 4 months. Adds up to me, yeah?" It did add up and that scared you. You glanced over at Xavier who was laughing extra hard with another man, almost the same height as him, but a lot more buffer. He gave him a playful punch in the shoulder before the two resumed dancing throughout the room. You assumed that was one of his other friends. You bit down on your bottom lip, squeezing your eyes shut, replaying some of the memories you've shared with Xavier.

"You seriously just eat chocolate ice-cream?" Xavier asked, his face full of disgust as he watched you devour your ice-cream cone.

"Yeah." you simply responded, not seeing the issue. "It's fucking delicious."

"It's horrible. You could have any flavor you want and you choose nasty chocolate."

"I sure did. It does not get any better than chocolate ice-cream. What's so nasty about it, huh? Tell me."

"It just taste like cold."

"No, that's vanilla."

"You take that back right now."

"Or what? What are you gonna do?"

When you went to take a another lick of your cone, he smashed it again your face, chuckling as he did.

"I'm... gonna kill you. Yep. I'm gonna kill you."

"I'd like to see you-," . Without warning, you grabbed his cone, taking it, and tried to smash it against the side of his face, but he was fast. He caught your hand, taking his cone back and instead smashing it against your face.

"Run." you said, jaw clenched.

"Or what."

"Run."

***

"Say it louder." Xavier moaned in your ear as he thrusted in and out of you. Your arms wrapped tightly around his neck as you sunk your teeth into his shoulder, barely hanging on to life as he made you feel so good. It didn't help that the two of you got out of the ass high before this started, your bodies basically floating. "Let the whole neighborhood hear you, baby."

"Mmm, fuck me daddy." you whimpered.

"Louder." he said, speeding up the pace. You repeated yourself, twice as loud, your nails now digging deep into his back, so deep that it drew a little blood.

"That's a good girl. God you're so fucking pretty." He leaned in for what was suppose to be a sloppy kiss, but what was instead a passionate one and the both of you held each other close, your hands running gently through his blonde hair.

***

"Are you sure this is something that you want to try, Y/N?" he asked as the two of you sat across from each other in the sand, a small fire lit, joint in his mouth. "Just because I'm doing it, doesn't mean you have to." He firmly gripped the bottle of molly that he had in his hand.

"I want to." you said, placing a hand on his thigh. "I want to go on an adventure with you. And what's the worse that can happen? We both die? At least we're here together right?"

"Die?!"

"I said the worse, Xavier."

"I know, I'm just messing. I know my sources." He passed you a pill and the both of you took them together. 45 minutes later you felt like you left the planet. You and Xavier ran around the beach, chasing in each other in almost absolute darkness, unless one of you ran by the small fire he created.

When he finally caught you, and he did with those long legs, he tackled you into the sand, laying on top of you, planting soft kisses on your face, lips, and neck. You pulled him in for yet another one of your heated kisses which soon turned into a night of pure bliss on the beach.

Overwhelmed by your thoughts, you stopped dancing abruptly, running out of the class and into the hallway. Xavier noticed almost immediately and gave a confused look with his hands up in the air at Montana as he ran out after you. She simply shrugged, not really knowing why you ran out either. You fell to the ground, knees first as you started to cry, unsure of what was going on and unsure of why you were feeling this way.

"Y/N?!" Xavier semi-shouted and he got down on the ground next to you. "What's wrong, babe? What did she say to you?! I knew I should of gave you Brooke as a partner instead."

"She didn't do anything." you answered between sobs. "I just... I just need a minute. Please.." He continued to look at you with worried eyes, placing his hand firmly on your shoulder, gently rubbing it with his thumb. "Please. I'm fine, I promise. I'll be back in there in a minute." He didn't leave before pressing his lips against your temple, giving you a kiss.

You took a few minutes to recollect yourself. Truth is, you had long fallen for Xavier 3 months into your 6 month talking stage, but you had felt like it was too soon. He was fresh out of a relationship and so were you, but he was so damaged. Even though you didn't have to, you put up with his change in mood every so often and his random bouts of wanting to still be in your presence, but in absolute silence.

You finished out class strong, Montana still your partner, fighting back your tears every time you made eye contact with Xavier. He would give you a small smile and you'd give him one return. Montana had awoken the flame you let lay dormant for 3 months too long, but you weren't sure if he felt the same way, regardless if Montana thought so. After class, you stayed behind with her, her introducing you to Brooke and pointing out the other two boys in the friend group who were pulling Xavier to the side to talk and you couldn't help but eavesdrop, tuning back into the conversation you were having with Brooke and Montana.

"So when is single Xavier coming out to play?" Chet asked. "He's been ignoring us for 6 months."

"Single Xavier never left the building." Xavier said, grinning. "He's just calm now."

"Bullshit." Ray said. "For like a solid month you went crazy. I've never seen you do so many drugs and fuck so many girls in the course of a month."

"So you want single Xavier, so that I can go on a another drug binge? I'm trying to heal guys, come on."

"Noooo. We want single Xavier to come and have fun with us tonight at the bar."

"Yeah." Chet chimed in. "That sounds more correct. You're a little bit too aggressive intoxicated on drugs anyways. But tell us, dude. Is that her?" Your breath hitched in your throat, knowing that all of their eyes were burning into your back. "And if it is, how come we've never heard about her?"

"I'm taking things slow with her, okay? And when I introduce you guys you have to promise me that you won't be so... so much, yeah?"

"Jesus Christ, he's pussy whipped."

"Here we fucking go." Xavier said, furrowing his eyebrows and running his hands across his face.

"Me? Aggressive?" Chet asked, playfully sizing Xavier up.

"Especially you, Chet."

"Yeah, well, fuck you. Still come to the bar with us, come on man, when's the last time it's just been us dudes?"

"I already made plans with Y/N for after here."

"What happened to bros before-," Ray began to question.

"Don't fucking go there, Ray. Look, tomorrow night fellas. I promise."

"You make too many promises, Plympton, but go ahead. Introduce us to your secret lover."

"She is not my-,"

"I ain't even trying to hear it." Ray said, taking his toothpick out of his mouth. "Lover boy. You always were a softy, X."

"I can fuck with and talk to whoever I want. Got it? I can call it quits whenever I want. Who says I'm not trying to prepare myself to find better? I don't care if we've been talking 6 months versus 2 years. I call the shots. If I wanna forget about her, I can forget about her, no problem."

"There's the beast. Chet said, grabbing Xavier by his shoulders and giving him a good shake.

"Still not going to the bar, though. I made plans and you know I'm a man that sticks to the plan." You could hear the other two guys sigh in frustration, but you were too wrapped up in your own sadness and frustration to even begin to want to say something. "You guys seemed a bit too riled up right now. I'll introduce you another time. It's getting late and I got to close up anyways."

"So you'll come with us?" Brooke asked, pulling you from listening to the boys conversation.

"I would." you said, honestly not even hearing what she asked. "But Xavier and I are suppose to be hanging out."

"Ooo." Montana said, raising her eyebrow.

"It's not special. Friday's are always reserved for movie night since we've started talking. He usually falls asleep half way through." Just before the girls could say anything, he made his way over to you.

"Ready to go?" he asked, giving you a warm smile before darting his eyes back and forth between Brooke and Montana.

"Yeah.." you answered, barely above a whisper, trying not to show your emotions about what he said. You weren't even suppose to be listening anyways, but all of that went straight out of the window the moment you two sat down in his VantaC.

"So what movie are we-," he began to ask, but you cut him off.

"I'm not just something you can throw away." you said flatly. He looked at you confused, scratching the back of his head.

"What?" he questioned. "Y/N, what are you talking about? No one is gonna throw you away?"

"You can talk to and fuck whoever, right? You can call it quits. You can find better." you repeated his words, your voice about to crack, but you stayed strong. "You don't care how long we've been talking because you can just forget about me right? Xavier, I thought we cared about each other?"

"You were listening to my conversation?"

"Of course that's the only thing you heard. You weren't exactly being quiet." He sighed, leaning back in his seat, rubbing his hands together.

"You really think I meant that? I mean, like seriously?"

"I don't know. You sounded pretty serious."

"Why do you always do this to me? We have a long good streak and then bam. It's always something."

"Because I put a lot on hold for you, Xavier."

"I didn't ask you to do that. I didn't ask you to change anything about your life for me. That was a choice you made."

"Yeah well maybe I shouldn't have made it..." you mumbled.

"Speak up." he said, hearing what you said.

"I didn't say anything, let's just go."

"You know, Y/N. My life has just been full of you. You you you you. No one else."

"Stop talking to me and drive."

"No I'm not gonna stop fucking talking to you and drive. We talk to each other, you know that. I'm tired of you trying to shut me up or shut me down every time we get into one of these stupid little arguments. You just have to always be right, yeah?"

"I'm gonna tune you out now." you said, going to turn up his radio, but he grabbed your wrist. "You better-,"

"Or what? Huh?" The anger Xavier let lay dormant for so long was filing starting to come back. Of course it wasn't towards you. It was his own personal hell cup that was filling over and you just happen to be at the end of it.

"Xavier please..." you whined. "You're hurting me." He softened up once he heard the desperation in your voice. Your wrist was red when he finally let go of you.

"I'm sorry..." he mumbled. "Fuck.. I'm sorry."

"Let's just go please. Take me home."

"Y/N. I didn't mean any of what I said to Ray or to Chet."

"Then why'd you say it? What do you have to prove to them?"

"I was afraid."

"Afraid of what, Xavier?" He fell silent, not really sure of how to give you an answer. He was so so so damaged when you found him. And now all those memories came flooding back to him as he gripped the steering wheel hard in front of him.

"Afraid to lose control again, Y/N. I just got back control of my life. I don't want to go back to weak and depressive, Xavier."

"So you bring about asshole Xavier instead?"

"It was my only way of not appearing weak in front of my boys."

"You don't have to do anything for anyone, but yourself. We've talked about this so many times. You do not need to change for anyone, but you. You don't need to appear strong. It's okay to show emotions. It's okay to care about someone other than yourself. It's okay to have a soft side. It's okay to say no." you said. "But you know what's not okay? Hurting someone else in the process of building yourself back up."

"I wasn't trying to hurt you. I-, I-, I have feelings for you, okay? Happy? 3 months ago I learned that I had feelings for you, but I didn't know if you felt the same. I still don't know if you feel the same, so I said what I said to them to make myself feel better. I promise that I didn't mean it. I wouldn't ever throw you away. I don't want to talk to anyone else. I don't want to sleep with anyone else. I don't want to see anyone else. These past 6 months it's just been you, I swear." You fell silent, memories that you had with Xavier playing over in your head again and again and again.

"Y/N?" he called out when you didn't give him an answer. "Y/N please don't be mad at me. I'm sorry if what I said hurt you and I understand if you don't want to talk anymore after this, but please don't walk away hating me. I can't lose you. I can't lose anyone right now. Not again."

Why did he take so long to tell you? Why did you take so long to tell him? You were silent for most of the ride home, Xavier giving you the occasional side glance to make sure that you were still okay, but deep down inside he was a nervous wreck. He was afraid that he just ruined it all by confessing his feelings for you. He was growing to hate himself all over again the longer the two of you sat there in silence. When he pulled into your driveway, you allowed for him to walk you to your door as usual.

"Y/N." he said softly as you put your key in the door, opening it. "Please..."

As soon as you stepped foot in your home, you wasted no time pulling him in with you by his jacket, smashing his lips against yours in a kiss he couldn't wait to return. Naturally, as if were meant to be, which at this point the both of you knew it was, he lifted you off the ground, cupping your ass in his hands as you wrapped your legs around his waist. Too wrapped up in each other, you're pretty sure that a few things were broken on the way to the bedroom, but you didn't care. Those things were replaceable. He put you down, but only long enough for the clothes to come off, him immediately picking you back up.

He sat down in the edge of the bed, your legs still wrapped around his waist, resuming the kiss. He laid down and your hands found their way wrapped up his blonde hair as soft moans left the both of you. There were countless times you two had sex of course, but this felt different for the both of you.

"We should do this in the shower." you said, breathless against the side of his face, gently biting on his ear. "Easy clean up, don't you agree?"

"Y/N..." he said, just as much out of breath.

"Hmmm?"

"You make me so fucking happy."

Taglist: @jimmason @angelicmichael @whatcodysaid

[backslashdelta]

Glee Soundtrack Rating Project Results: angelhummel

@angelhummel

Favourite character: Kurt Hummel

Least favourite character: Will Schuester

Favourite season: Season 5

Least favourite season: Season 6

Mean song rating: 4.91

Mean song rating for favourite character's songs: 6.59

Mean song rating for favourite character's solos: 7.36

Mean song rating season 1: 4.93

Mean song rating season 2: 5.1

Mean song rating season 3: 4.95

Mean song rating season 4: 4.95

Mean song rating season 5: 4.92

Mean song rating season 6: 4.38

Songs rated: 702

[ID: A bar chart titled Number of songs assigned each rating by angelhummel, illustrating the number of times each score was assigned to a song by angelhummel. 10 was assigned 36 times, 9 was assigned 15 times, 8 was assigned 56 times, 7 was assigned 86 times, 6 was assigned 99 times, 5 was assigned 97 times, 4 was assigned 89 times, 3 was assigned 86 times, 2 was assigned 74 times, 1 was assigned 64 times, and 0 songs were not rated.]

About the Project | Results Masterpost

Ranking:

1. (10) - S1x03 - Bust Your Windows

2. (10) - S1x05 - Maybe This Time

3. (10) - S1x06 - It's My Life/Confessions Part II

4. (10) - S1x13 - And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going

5. (10) - S1x18 - Rose's Turn

6. (10) - S1x19 - Dream On

7. (10) - S1x20 - Bad Romance

8. (10) - S1x22 - To Sir, With Love

9. (10) - S2x04 - Le Jazz Hot

10. (10) - S2x04 - With You I'm Born Again

11. (10) - S2x06 - Teenage Dream

12. (10) - S2x06 - Start Me Up/Livin' on a Prayer

13. (10) - S2x10 - Baby, It's Cold Outside

14. (10) - S2x11 - Thriller/Heads Will Roll

15. (10) - S2x18 - As If We Never Said Goodbye

16. (10) - S2x22 - For Good

17. (10) - S3x04 - Candyman

18. (10) - S3x11 - Scream

19. (10) - S3x11 - Smooth Criminal

20. (10) - S3x13 - I Will Always Love You

21. (10) - S3x14 - Cough Syrup

22. (10) - S3x17 - How Will I Know

23. (10) - S4x04 - The Scientist

24. (10) - S4x06 - There Are Worse Things I Could Do

25. (10) - S4x08 - Home/Homeward Bound

26. (10) - S4x09 - Being Alive

27. (10) - S4x15 - Come What May

28. (10) - S4x20 - At the Ballet

29. (10) - S5x06 - Just the Way You Are

30. (10) - S5x07 - Nasty/Rhythm Nation

31. (10) - S5x09 - Brave

32. (10) - S5x12 - Defying Gravity

33. (10) - S5x14 - People

34. (10) - S6x02 - Home

35. (10) - S6x03 - It's Too Late

36. (10) - S6x07 - Somebody Loves You

37. (9) - S1x13 - Don't Rain on My Parade

38. (9) - S1x16 - Home

39. (9) - S1x18 - The Boy Is Mine

40. (9) - S2x04 - River Deep, Mountain High

41. (9) - S3x06 - Rumour Has It/Someone Like You

42. (9) - S3x13 - Love Shack

43. (9) - S3x16 - Disco Inferno

44. (9) - S3x17 - So Emotional

45. (9) - S3x18 - Shake It Out

46. (9) - S4x03 - Everybody Wants to Rule the World

47. (9) - S4x14 - We've Got Tonite

48. (9) - S5x10 - The Happening

49. (9) - S6x07 - I Know Where I've Been

50. (9) - S6x11 - Take Me to Church

51. (9) - S6x13 - I Lived

52. (8) - S1x01 - Leaving On a Jet Plane

53. (8) - S1x10 - Don't Stand So Close to Me/Young Girl

54. (8) - S1x11 - True Colors

55. (8) - S1x15 - 4 Minutes

56. (8) - S1x15 - Like a Prayer

57. (8) - S1x18 - Lady Is a Tramp

58. (8) - S1x22 - Don't Stop Believing (Regionals)

59. (8) - S2x02 - Toxic

60. (8) - S2x03 - I Want to Hold Your Hand

61. (8) - S2x05 - Sweet Transvestite

62. (8) - S2x09 - Dog Days Are Over

63. (8) - S2x09 - Valerie

64. (8) - S2x10 - Last Christmas

65. (8) - S2x14 - Don't You Want Me

66. (8) - S2x16 - Blackbird

67. (8) - S2x17 - I Follow Rivers

68. (8) - S2x18 - Somewhere Only We Know

69. (8) - S2x18 - Born This Way

70. (8) - S2x19 - Go Your Own Way

71. (8) - S2x19 - Songbird

72. (8) - S3x01 - Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead

73. (8) - S3x05 - Uptown Girl

74. (8) - S3x11 - Human Nature

75. (8) - S3x13 - Cherish/Cherish

76. (8) - S3x17 - I Have Nothing

77. (8) - S3x17 - My Love Is Your Love

78. (8) - S3x18 - Not the Boy Next Door

79. (8) - S4x02 - Boys/Boyfriend

80. (8) - S4x02 - 3

81. (8) - S4x04 - Don't Speak

82. (8) - S4x08 - Let's Have a Kiki/Turkey Lurkey Time

83. (8) - S4x11 - No Scrubs

84. (8) - S4x12 - Centerfold/Hot in Herre

85. (8) - S4x13 - Don't Stop Me Now

86. (8) - S4x13 - Nutbush City Limits

87. (8) - S4x16 - Cold Hearted

88. (8) - S4x16 - Bye Bye Bye/I Want It That Way

89. (8) - S4x17 - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

90. (8) - S4x21 - Higher Ground

91. (8) - S5x01 - All You Need Is Love

92. (8) - S5x02 - Hey Jude

93. (8) - S5x02 - Let It Be

94. (8) - S5x03 - Seasons of Love

95. (8) - S5x05 - If I Were a Boy

96. (8) - S5x07 - Into the Groove

97. (8) - S5x09 - I Believe in a Thing Called Love

98. (8) - S5x14 - Downtown

99. (8) - S5x15 - Not While I'm Around

100. (8) - S5x15 - Broadway Baby

101. (8) - S5x20 - Pompeii

102. (8) - S6x03 - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow/Head Over Feet

103. (8) - S6x03 - Hand in My Pocket/I Feel the Earth Move

104. (8) - S6x08 - At Last

105. (8) - S6x09 - Cool Kids

106. (8) - S6x11 - Chandelier

107. (8) - S6x13 - Someday We'll Be Together

108. (7) - S1x01 - Don't Stop Believing (Pilot)

109. (7) - S1x05 - Alone

110. (7) - S1x07 - Hate On Me

111. (7) - S1x07 - Ride Wit Me

112. (7) - S1x14 - Hello, I Love You

113. (7) - S1x15 - Like a Virgin

114. (7) - S1x16 - A House Is Not a Home

115. (7) - S1x18 - Jessie's Girl

116. (7) - S1x19 - I Dreamed a Dream

117. (7) - S1x20 - Funny Girl

118. (7) - S2x01 - Empire State of Mind

119. (7) - S2x02 - I'm a Slave 4 U

120. (7) - S2x02 - Me Against the Music

121. (7) - S2x05 - Time Warp

122. (7) - S2x06 - Stop! In the Name of Love/Free Your Mind

123. (7) - S2x11 - Bills, Bills, Bills

124. (7) - S2x11 - She's Not There

125. (7) - S2x12 - When I Get You Alone

126. (7) - S2x14 - Blame It (On the Alcohol)

127. (7) - S2x15 - Landslide

128. (7) - S2x16 - Misery

129. (7) - S2x21 - Some People

130. (7) - S2x21 - Pure Imagination

131. (7) - S2x21 - Try a Little Tenderness

132. (7) - S2x21 - My Man

133. (7) - S2x21 - Back to Black

134. (7) - S3x01 - Anything Goes/Anything You Can Do

135. (7) - S3x02 - Something's Coming

136. (7) - S3x02 - I'm the Greatest Star

137. (7) - S3x03 - Spotlight

138. (7) - S3x03 - Cool

139. (7) - S3x03 - It's All Over

140. (7) - S3x06 - Hit Me with Your Best Shot/One Way or Another

141. (7) - S3x07 - Perfect

142. (7) - S3x08 - Buenos Aires

143. (7) - S3x08 - We Are Young

144. (7) - S3x09 - Christmas Wrapping

145. (7) - S3x09 - Let It Snow

146. (7) - S3x09 - All I Want for Christmas Is You

147. (7) - S3x09 - Do They Know It's Christmas?

148. (7) - S3x09 - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

149. (7) - S3x09 - Extraordinary Merry Christmas

150. (7) - S3x11 - Never Can Say Goodbye

151. (7) - S3x12 - La Isla Bonita

152. (7) - S3x15 - Rio/Hungry Like the Wolf

153. (7) - S3x15 - Somebody That I Used to Know

154. (7) - S3x16 - If I Can't Have You

155. (7) - S3x17 - It's Not Right But It's Okay

156. (7) - S3x20 - Because You Loved Me

157. (7) - S3x21 - Paradise By the Dashboard Light

158. (7) - S3x21 - Tongue Tied

159. (7) - S4x02 - Oops!...I Did It Again

160. (7) - S4x03 - The Way You Look Tonight/You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile

161. (7) - S4x04 - Mine

162. (7) - S4x05 - Hopelessly Devoted to You

163. (7) - S4x06 - Beauty School Dropout

164. (7) - S4x07 - Some Nights

165. (7) - S4x09 - Don't Dream It's Over

166. (7) - S4x10 - The First Noel

167. (7) - S4x11 - Tell Him

168. (7) - S4x11 - I Don't Know How to Love Him

169. (7) - S4x14 - Getting Married Today

170. (7) - S4x17 - Wannabe

171. (7) - S4x17 - Mamma Mia

172. (7) - S4x21 - You Are the Sunshine of My Life

173. (7) - S4x21 - Superstition

174. (7) - S5x03 - Make You Feel My Love

175. (7) - S5x04 - Marry the Night

176. (7) - S5x04 - Roar

177. (7) - S5x08 - Mary's Little Boy Child

178. (7) - S5x09 - Every Breath You Take

179. (7) - S5x09 - Don't Rain On My Parade

180. (7) - S5x10 - Hold On

181. (7) - S5x13 - Don't Stop Believin' (Season Five)

182. (7) - S5x14 - You Make Me Feel So Young

183. (7) - S5x15 - I'm Still Here

184. (7) - S5x15 - Colorblind

185. (7) - S5x15 - No One Is Alone

186. (7) - S5x17 - Pumpin Blood

187. (7) - S5x18 - Doo Wop (That Thing)

188. (7) - S5x19 - Take Me Home Tonight

189. (7) - S5x20 - American Boy

190. (7) - S6x02 - Tightrope

191. (7) - S6x03 - So Far Away

192. (7) - S6x06 - Promises, Promises

193. (7) - S6x06 - Alfie

194. (6) - S1x06 - Halo/Walking On Sunshine

195. (6) - S1x07 - You Keep Me Hanging On

196. (6) - S1x09 - Dancing With Myself

197. (6) - S1x09 - Proud Mary

198. (6) - S1x09 - Defying Gravity

199. (6) - S1x11 - Bootylicious

200. (6) - S1x15 - Express Yourself

201. (6) - S1x15 - Vogue

202. (6) - S1x16 - One Less Bell to Answer/A House Is Not a Home

203. (6) - S1x16 - Fire

204. (6) - S1x18 - Pink Houses

205. (6) - S1x19 - Safety Dance

206. (6) - S1x19 - Dream a Little Dream

207. (6) - S1x22 - Any Way You Want It/Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'

208. (6) - S2x01 - Listen

209. (6) - S2x02 - Baby One More Time

210. (6) - S2x03 - Bridge Over Troubled Water

211. (6) - S2x03 - One of Us

212. (6) - S2x05 - Science Fiction Double Feature

213. (6) - S2x07 - Forget You

214. (6) - S2x07 - Singing In the Rain/Umbrella

215. (6) - S2x07 - Nowadays/Hot Honey rag

216. (6) - S2x08 - Sway

217. (6) - S2x09 - Don't Cry for Me Argentina

218. (6) - S2x12 - Silly Love Songs

219. (6) - S2x14 - Tik Tok

220. (6) - S2x15 - Animal

221. (6) - S2x15 - Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)

222. (6) - S2x16 - Raise Your Glass

223. (6) - S2x16 - Candles

224. (6) - S2x17 - Turning Tables

225. (6) - S2x17 - Ain't No Way

226. (6) - S2x19 - Dreams

227. (6) - S2x20 - Dancing Queen

228. (6) - S2x22 - Light Up the World

229. (6) - S2x22 - Still Got Tonight

230. (6) - S3x01 - It's Not Unusual

231. (6) - S3x05 - America

232. (6) - S3x06 - I Can't Go for That/You Make My Dreams Come True

233. (6) - S3x07 - Constant Craving

234. (6) - S3x08 - Control

235. (6) - S3x08 - Man in the Mirror

236. (6) - S3x08 - ABC

237. (6) - S3x09 - My Favorite Things

238. (6) - S3x10 - Summer Nights

239. (6) - S3x10 - Without You

240. (6) - S3x10 - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

241. (6) - S3x13 - L-O-V-E

242. (6) - S3x15 - Up Up Up

243. (6) - S3x15 - Fighter

244. (6) - S3x18 - Cell Block Tango

245. (6) - S3x19 - Dinosaur

246. (6) - S3x22 - You Get What You Give

247. (6) - S3x22 - In My Life

248. (6) - S4x01 - Chasing Pavements

249. (6) - S4x02 - Everytime

250. (6) - S4x02 - Crazy/U Drive Me Crazy

251. (6) - S4x02 - Womanizer

252. (6) - S4x04 - Teenage Dream (Acoustic)

253. (6) - S4x06 - Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee

254. (6) - S4x06 - You're the One That I Want

255. (6) - S4x10 - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

256. (6) - S4x12 - This Is the New Year

257. (6) - S4x13 - Diva

258. (6) - S4x13 - Girl On Fire

259. (6) - S4x13 - Hung Up

260. (6) - S4x14 - Just Can't Get Enough

261. (6) - S4x15 - You're All the World to Me

262. (6) - S4x16 - Closer

263. (6) - S4x17 - My Prerogative

264. (6) - S4x17 - Copacabana

265. (6) - S4x21 - For Once in My Life

266. (6) - S5x01 - Got to Get You Into My Life

267. (6) - S5x01 - Yesterday

268. (6) - S5x01 - A Hard Day's Night

269. (6) - S5x02 - Here Comes the Sun

270. (6) - S5x04 - Wide Awake

271. (6) - S5x04 - Applause

272. (6) - S5x05 - Wrecking Ball

273. (6) - S5x08 - Away in a Manger

274. (6) - S5x08 - Love Child

275. (6) - S5x09 - My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)

276. (6) - S5x09 - Breakaway

277. (6) - S5x10 - Gloria

278. (6) - S5x10 - Jumpin' Jumpin'

279. (6) - S5x13 - Party All the Time

280. (6) - S5x13 - I Am Changing

281. (6) - S5x14 - Rockstar

282. (6) - S5x16 - Love Is a Battlefield

283. (6) - S5x20 - All of Me

284. (6) - S5x20 - Shakin' My Head

285. (6) - S6x01 - Let It Go

286. (6) - S6x02 - Take On Me

287. (6) - S6x02 - Mustang Sally

288. (6) - S6x06 - Arthur's Theme

289. (6) - S6x06 - Wishin' And Hoping

290. (6) - S6x09 - I Want to Break Free

291. (6) - S6x13 - Daydream Believer

292. (6) - S6x13 - This Time

293. (5) - S1x01 - On My Own

294. (5) - S1x01 - Rehab

295. (5) - S1x02 - Push It

296. (5) - S1x03 - Mercy

297. (5) - S1x04 - Taking Chances

298. (5) - S1x05 - Last Name

299. (5) - S1x07 - Keep Holding On

300. (5) - S1x08 - Sweet Caroline

301. (5) - S1x11 - Papa Don't Preach

302. (5) - S1x12 - Smile (Lily Allen)

303. (5) - S1x14 - Hello, Goodbye

304. (5) - S1x17 - U Can't Touch This

305. (5) - S1x17 - Physical

306. (5) - S1x17 - Run Joey Run

307. (5) - S1x20 - Shout It Out Loud

308. (5) - S1x20 - Poker Face

309. (5) - S1x21 - Give Up the Funk

310. (5) - S1x22 - Faithfully

311. (5) - S2x01 - Telephone

312. (5) - S2x02 - Stronger

313. (5) - S2x03 - Losing My Religion

314. (5) - S2x03 - I Look to You

315. (5) - S2x03 - Papa, Can You Hear Me?

316. (5) - S2x04 - Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy

317. (5) - S2x04 - Sing!

318. (5) - S2x05 - Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?

319. (5) - S2x05 - Touch a Touch a Touch a Touch Me

320. (5) - S2x08 - Marry You

321. (5) - S2x10 - Merry Christmas, Darling

322. (5) - S2x11 - Need You Now

323. (5) - S2x15 - Afternoon Delight

324. (5) - S2x16 - Loser Like Me

325. (5) - S2x17 - All By Myself

326. (5) - S2x18 - I Feel Pretty/Unpretty

327. (5) - S2x20 - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You

328. (5) - S2x22 - Yeah!

329. (5) - S2x22 - As Long as You're There

330. (5) - S3x03 - Out Here On My Own

331. (5) - S3x03 - Fix You

332. (5) - S3x07 - Jolene

333. (5) - S3x08 - Survivor/I Will Survive

334. (5) - S3x10 - We Found Love

335. (5) - S3x13 - Stereo Hearts

336. (5) - S3x15 - I'm Still Standing

337. (5) - S3x16 - Boogie Shoes

338. (5) - S3x19 - Take My Breath Away

339. (5) - S3x21 - Starships

340. (5) - S3x21 - Pinball Wizard

341. (5) - S3x22 - I'll Remember

342. (5) - S3x22 - Roots Before Branches

343. (5) - S4x01 - It's Time

344. (5) - S4x01 - Call Me Maybe

345. (5) - S4x03 - A Change Would Do You Good

346. (5) - S4x06 - Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)

347. (5) - S4x06 - Greased Lightning

348. (5) - S4x07 - Heroes

349. (5) - S4x07 - Holding Out for a Hero

350. (5) - S4x11 - Locked Out of Heaven

351. (5) - S4x12 - Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)

352. (5) - S4x12 - A Thousand Years

353. (5) - S4x12 - Torn

354. (5) - S4x12 - Love Song

355. (5) - S4x14 - Anything Could Happen

356. (5) - S4x15 - Shout

357. (5) - S4x16 - I Still Believe/Super Bass

358. (5) - S4x16 - How to Be a Heartbreaker

359. (5) - S4x16 - The Bitch Is Back/Dress You Up

360. (5) - S4x17 - Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)

361. (5) - S4x18 - Say

362. (5) - S4x20 - Longest Time

363. (5) - S4x21 - I Wish

364. (5) - S4x21 - Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours

365. (5) - S4x22 - All or Nothing

366. (5) - S5x01 - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

367. (5) - S5x02 - Get Back

368. (5) - S5x02 - Something

369. (5) - S5x07 - You're My Best Friend

370. (5) - S5x07 - Cheek to Cheek

371. (5) - S5x08 - Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)

372. (5) - S5x10 - Barracuda

373. (5) - S5x10 - Don't You (Forget About Me)

374. (5) - S5x11 - America

375. (5) - S5x12 - Toxic

376. (5) - S5x13 - Be Okay

377. (5) - S5x15 - You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman

378. (5) - S5x16 - Addicted to Love

379. (5) - S5x18 - Story of My Life

380. (5) - S5x19 - Memory

381. (5) - S6x06 - Baby It's You

382. (5) - S6x07 - Time After Time

383. (5) - S6x09 - Lose My Breath

384. (5) - S6x09 - Friday I'm in Love

385. (5) - S6x10 - Rise

386. (5) - S6x11 - Come Sail Away

387. (5) - S6x12 - Pony

388. (5) - S6x12 - Popular

389. (5) - S6x13 - Teach Your Children

390. (4) - S1x01 - Mr. Cellophane

391. (4) - S1x01 - Respect

392. (4) - S1x01 - I Kissed a Girl

393. (4) - S1x10 - Endless Love

394. (4) - S1x11 - Hair/Crazy In Love

395. (4) - S1x11 - Imagine

396. (4) - S1x12 - Smile (Charlie Chaplin)

397. (4) - S1x13 - My Life Would Suck Without You

398. (4) - S1x16 - Beautiful

399. (4) - S1x18 - One

400. (4) - S1x21 - It's a Man's Man's Man's World

401. (4) - S1x21 - Tell Me Something Good

402. (4) - S1x22 - Over the Rainbow

403. (4) - S2x01 - What I Did for Love

404. (4) - S2x05 - There's a Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)

405. (4) - S2x05 - Damn It, Janet

406. (4) - S2x07 - Make 'Em Laugh

407. (4) - S2x08 - Just the Way You Are

408. (4) - S2x09 - (I've Had) The Time of My Life

409. (4) - S2x10 - Welcome Christmas

410. (4) - S2x12 - P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

411. (4) - S2x12 - Fat Bottomed Girls

412. (4) - S2x13 - Somebody to Love

413. (4) - S2x13 - Sing

414. (4) - S2x13 - Take Me or Leave Me

415. (4) - S2x13 - Baby

416. (4) - S2x14 - One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

417. (4) - S2x16 - Get It Right

418. (4) - S2x18 - I've Gotta Be Me

419. (4) - S2x19 - I Don't Want to Know

420. (4) - S2x19 - Don't Stop

421. (4) - S2x19 - Nice to Meet You, Have I Slept with You?

422. (4) - S2x22 - Bella Notte

423. (4) - S2x22 - Pretending

424. (4) - S3x01 - You Can't Stop the Beat

425. (4) - S3x01 - We Got the Beat

426. (4) - S3x05 - A Boy Like That/I Have a Love

427. (4) - S3x09 - River

428. (4) - S3x10 - Moves Like Jagger/Jumpin' Jack Flash

429. (4) - S3x10 - Wedding Bell Blues (Bill)

430. (4) - S3x11 - Bad

431. (4) - S3x11 - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

432. (4) - S3x11 - I Want You Back

433. (4) - S3x13 - Let Me Love You

434. (4) - S3x14 - Glad You Came

435. (4) - S3x16 - You Should Be Dancing

436. (4) - S3x17 - Saving All My Love For You

437. (4) - S3x17 - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

438. (4) - S3x18 - School's Out

439. (4) - S3x20 - Flashdance...What a Feeling

440. (4) - S3x21 - Edge of Glory

441. (4) - S4x01 - Americano/Dance Again

442. (4) - S4x04 - Barely Breathing

443. (4) - S4x05 - Everybody Talks

444. (4) - S4x07 - My Dark Side

445. (4) - S4x10 - Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah

446. (4) - S4x10 - White Christmas

447. (4) - S4x13 - Bring Him Home

448. (4) - S4x15 - Old Time Rock & Roll/Danger Zone

449. (4) - S4x15 - Footloose

450. (4) - S4x17 - Creep

451. (4) - S4x19 - Outcast

452. (4) - S4x20 - Little Girls

453. (4) - S4x21 - Uptight (Everything's Alright)

454. (4) - S4x22 - Clarity

455. (4) - S4x22 - I Love It

456. (4) - S5x01 - Help!

457. (4) - S5x01 - I Saw Her Standing There

458. (4) - S5x03 - I'll Stand By You

459. (4) - S5x05 - On Our Way

460. (4) - S5x08 - The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)

461. (4) - S5x09 - Whenever I Call You Friend

462. (4) - S5x10 - Danny's Song

463. (4) - S5x13 - Loser Like Me

464. (4) - S5x13 - Just Give Me a Reason

465. (4) - S5x16 - I Want to Know What Love Is

466. (4) - S5x16 - Let's Wait Awhile

467. (4) - S5x17 - Lovefool

468. (4) - S5x17 - I'm the Greatest Star

469. (4) - S5x18 - Wake Me Up

470. (4) - S5x19 - Lucky Star

471. (4) - S6x01 - Suddenly Seymour

472. (4) - S6x04 - Thousand Miles

473. (4) - S6x06 - What the World Needs Now

474. (4) - S6x06 - They Long to Be Close to You

475. (4) - S6x08 - Our Day Will Come

476. (4) - S6x12 - Don't Stop Believing (Pilot/2009)

477. (4) - S6x12 - I'm His Child

478. (4) - S6x12 - I Kissed a Girl

479. (3) - S1x01 - Sit Down You're Rockin the Boat

480. (3) - S1x01 - You're the One That I Want (ver. 1)

481. (3) - S1x02 - Gold Digger

482. (3) - S1x05 - Somebody to Love

483. (3) - S1x08 - I Could Have Danced All Night

484. (3) - S1x08 - Thong Song

485. (3) - S1x10 - Lean On Me

486. (3) - S1x11 - Don't Make Me Over

487. (3) - S1x12 - Jump

488. (3) - S1x14 - Gives You Hell

489. (3) - S1x14 - Hello

490. (3) - S1x15 - Borderline/Open Your Heart

491. (3) - S1x17 - Total Eclipse of the Heart

492. (3) - S1x17 - Ice Ice Baby

493. (3) - S1x20 - Beth

494. (3) - S1x21 - Loser

495. (3) - S1x21 - Good Vibrations

496. (3) - S2x03 - Only the Good Die Young

497. (3) - S2x04 - Lucky

498. (3) - S2x10 - You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

499. (3) - S2x10 - The Most Wonderful Day of the Year

500. (3) - S2x12 - Firework

501. (3) - S2x12 - My Funny Valentine

502. (3) - S2x16 - Hell to the No

503. (3) - S2x16 - Big Ass Heart

504. (3) - S2x16 - Trouty Mouth

505. (3) - S2x19 - Never Going Back Again

506. (3) - S2x20 - Isn't She Lovely

507. (3) - S3x03 - Run the World (Girls)

508. (3) - S3x04 - Last Friday Night

509. (3) - S3x04 - Waiting for a Girl Like You

510. (3) - S3x05 - One Hand, One Heart

511. (3) - S3x06 - Hot for Teacher

512. (3) - S3x07 - I Kissed a Girl

513. (3) - S3x11 - Black or White

514. (3) - S3x12 - Bamboleo/Hero

515. (3) - S3x14 - Stand

516. (3) - S3x16 - How Deep Is Your Love

517. (3) - S3x16 - Night Fever

518. (3) - S3x18 - The Music of the Night

519. (3) - S3x18 - Cry

520. (3) - S3x19 - Big Girls Don't Cry

521. (3) - S3x21 - We Are the Champions

522. (3) - S3x21 - It's All Coming Back to Me Now

523. (3) - S3x22 - Glory Days

524. (3) - S3x22 - Forever Young

525. (3) - S4x01 - Never Say Never

526. (3) - S4x01 - New York State of Mind

527. (3) - S4x02 - Hold It Against Me

528. (3) - S4x05 - Blow Me (One Last Kiss)

529. (3) - S4x05 - Born to Hand Jive

530. (3) - S4x07 - Superman

531. (3) - S4x08 - Live While We're Young

532. (3) - S4x08 - Gangnam Style

533. (3) - S4x09 - Something Stupid

534. (3) - S4x09 - All That Jazz

535. (3) - S4x15 - Unchained Melody

536. (3) - S4x15 - Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend/Material Girl

537. (3) - S4x15 - In Your Eyes

538. (3) - S4x18 - Your Song

539. (3) - S4x18 - More Than Words

540. (3) - S4x19 - You Have More Friends Than You Know

541. (3) - S4x20 - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

542. (3) - S4x22 - Hall of Fame

543. (3) - S4x22 - Wings

544. (3) - S5x01 - Drive My Car

545. (3) - S5x02 - Revolution

546. (3) - S5x03 - If I Die Young

547. (3) - S5x06 - My Life

548. (3) - S5x08 - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

549. (3) - S5x11 - More Than a Feeling

550. (3) - S5x11 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

551. (3) - S5x12 - Keep Holding On

552. (3) - S5x14 - Don't Sleep in the Subway

553. (3) - S5x17 - Who Are You Now

554. (3) - S5x19 - Werewolves of London

555. (3) - S5x19 - I Melt with You

556. (3) - S5x20 - Girls on Film

557. (3) - S6x02 - Problem

558. (3) - S6x03 - You Learn/You've Got a Friend

559. (3) - S6x05 - It Must Have Been Love

560. (3) - S6x05 - All Out of Love

561. (3) - S6x06 - I'll Never Fall in Love Again

562. (3) - S6x09 - Uptown Funk

563. (3) - S6x10 - The Final Countdown

564. (3) - S6x11 - Mickey

565. (2) - S1x01 - Can't Fight This Feeling

566. (2) - S1x02 - Take a Bow

567. (2) - S1x04 - Tonight

568. (2) - S1x08 - Bust A Move

569. (2) - S1x10 - I'll Stand By You

570. (2) - S1x13 - You Can't Always Get What You Want

571. (2) - S1x14 - Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love

572. (2) - S1x15 - Burning Up

573. (2) - S2x01 - Getting to Know You

574. (2) - S2x02 - The Only Exception

575. (2) - S2x05 - Planet, Schmanet, Janet

576. (2) - S2x06 - One Love (People Get Ready)

577. (2) - S2x09 - The Living Years

578. (2) - S2x10 - We Need a Little Christmas

579. (2) - S2x13 - I Know What Boys Like

580. (2) - S2x15 - Kiss

581. (2) - S2x16 - Only Child

582. (2) - S2x20 - Friday

583. (2) - S2x20 - Jar of Hearts

584. (2) - S2x22 - I Love New York/New York, New York

585. (2) - S3x02 - Somewhere

586. (2) - S3x06 - You and I/You and I

587. (2) - S3x07 - I'm the Only One

588. (2) - S3x08 - Red Solo Cup

589. (2) - S3x11 - Ben

590. (2) - S3x11 - I Just Can't Stop Loving You

591. (2) - S3x12 - Don't Wanna Lose You

592. (2) - S3x12 - Sexy and I Know It

593. (2) - S3x13 - Home

594. (2) - S3x14 - Fly/I Believe I Can Fly

595. (2) - S3x14 - Here's to Us

596. (2) - S3x14 - Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)

597. (2) - S3x16 - More Than a Woman

598. (2) - S3x16 - Stayin' Alive

599. (2) - S3x18 - The Rain in Spain

600. (2) - S3x19 - What Makes You Beautiful

601. (2) - S3x19 - Love You Like a Love Song

602. (2) - S3x20 - Mean

603. (2) - S3x20 - I Won't Give Up

604. (2) - S4x03 - Celebrity Skin

605. (2) - S4x04 - Give Your Heart a Break

606. (2) - S4x05 - Juke Box Hero

607. (2) - S4x08 - Come See About Me

608. (2) - S4x09 - Being Good Isn't Good Enough

609. (2) - S4x09 - O Holy Night

610. (2) - S4x10 - Jingle Bell Rock

611. (2) - S4x11 - I Only Have Eyes for You

612. (2) - S4x13 - Make No Mistake (She's Mine)

613. (2) - S4x14 - You're All I Need to Get By

614. (2) - S4x19 - Don't Stop Believin' (Rachel)

615. (2) - S4x20 - We Will Rock You

616. (2) - S4x20 - Everybody Hurts

617. (2) - S5x02 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

618. (2) - S5x05 - Blurred Lines

619. (2) - S5x05 - You Are Woman, I Am Man

620. (2) - S5x06 - Honesty

621. (2) - S5x06 - Piano Man

622. (2) - S5x06 - You May Be Right

623. (2) - S5x06 - An Innocent Man

624. (2) - S5x06 - Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

625. (2) - S5x07 - The Fox

626. (2) - S5x11 - Vacation

627. (2) - S5x12 - Valerie

628. (2) - S5x14 - Best Day of My Life

629. (2) - S5x18 - Piece of My Heart

630. (2) - S5x20 - No Time At All

631. (2) - S5x20 - Glitter in the Air

632. (2) - S6x04 - Bitch

633. (2) - S6x05 - Father Figure

634. (2) - S6x07 - All About That Bass

635. (2) - S6x08 - I'm So Excited

636. (2) - S6x09 - Break Free

637. (2) - S6x10 - Rather Be

638. (2) - S6x13 - The Winner Takes It All

639. (1) - S1x02 - I Say a Little Prayer

640. (1) - S1x03 - I Wanna Sex You Up

641. (1) - S1x05 - Cabaret

642. (1) - S1x07 - No Air

643. (1) - S1x08 - What A Girl Wants

644. (1) - S1x10 - (You're Having My Baby)

645. (1) - S1x10 - Crush

646. (1) - S1x14 - Highway to Hell

647. (1) - S1x15 - What It Feels Like for a Girl

648. (1) - S1x21 - Another One Bites the Dust

649. (1) - S1x22 - Bohemian Rhapsody

650. (1) - S2x01 - Billionaire

651. (1) - S2x01 - Every Rose Has Its Thorn

652. (1) - S2x04 - Don't Go Breaking My Heart

653. (1) - S2x07 - Conjunction Junction

654. (1) - S2x08 - Ohio

655. (1) - S2x09 - Hey, Soul Sister

656. (1) - S2x13 - This Little Light of Mine

657. (1) - S2x14 - My Headband

658. (1) - S2x16 - Jesus Is My Friend

659. (1) - S2x20 - Rolling in the Deep

660. (1) - S2x22 - My Cup

661. (1) - S3x01 - Big Spender

662. (1) - S3x04 - Bein' Green

663. (1) - S3x04 - Take Care of Yourself

664. (1) - S3x05 - Tonight

665. (1) - S3x07 - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

666. (1) - S3x09 - Blue Christmas

667. (1) - S3x12 - A Little Less Conversation

668. (1) - S3x13 - You're the Top

669. (1) - S3x13 - Chapel of Love

670. (1) - S4x01 - Sister Christian

671. (1) - S4x02 - Gimme More

672. (1) - S4x08 - Whistle

673. (1) - S4x10 - Feliz Navidad

674. (1) - S4x11 - Baby Got Back

675. (1) - S4x19 - Fight for Your Right (to Party)

676. (1) - S4x19 - Next to Me

677. (1) - S4x22 - To Love You More

678. (1) - S4x22 - Rainbow Connection

679. (1) - S5x03 - Fire and Rain

680. (1) - S5x03 - No Surrender

681. (1) - S5x08 - O Christmas Tree

682. (1) - S5x11 - Mr. Roboto/Counting Stars

683. (1) - S5x11 - I Love LA

684. (1) - S5x12 - Raise Your Glass

685. (1) - S5x12 - Happy

686. (1) - S5x17 - NYC

687. (1) - S5x18 - The Rose

688. (1) - S6x01 - Sing

689. (1) - S6x01 - Dance the Night Away

690. (1) - S6x01 - Uninvited

691. (1) - S6x02 - Viva Voce

692. (1) - S6x04 - Rock Lobster

693. (1) - S6x04 - Whip It

694. (1) - S6x05 - My Sharona

695. (1) - S6x05 - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

696. (1) - S6x07 - You Give Love a Bad Name

697. (1) - S6x07 - Same Love

698. (1) - S6x08 - Hey Ya!

699. (1) - S6x10 - Far From Over

700. (1) - S6x10 - The Trolley Song

701. (1) - S6x11 - We Built This City

702. (1) - S6x11 - Listen to Your Heart

[snapeaddict]

Albus, Minerva, Severus, And Remus play truth or dare. The losers have to help clean up the castle. Remus has no problem with cleaning the castle but was roped into this by Albus to annoy Severus. Remus is the first one out when Albus dares him to tie Minerva’s tail into a knot. Minerva gets out after Severus asks her who she lost her virginity to. Now it’s just Albus and Severus, Who wins?

“Now, Severus, I did not think you would go this far.”

“You know I always win, headmaster. I achieve this by using drastic measures.”

Albus raised an eyebrow. 

“You forget all those times I beat you to chess”, he remarked. 

“But I was learning from you. It was a necessity.”

Minerva returned to her sit, a glass of brandy in one hand, her cheeks still slightly red. She scoffed. 

“Next time I’ll ask you why, at 33 years old, you’re still a virgin. We’ll see how this goes!”

Severus looked indignant. “What makes you think that is the case?”

“Come on, Severus, I can tell from the face you’re making.”

“I-”

“All of this is very interesting, children,” Albus cut, “but I have a game to win and Severus is my opponent.”

Minerva gave Severus a malicious look while taking a sip of her glass. The Potions Master was obviously enjoying himself and it had been a rare thing since the year had begun. Albus had noticed it too. 

“Fine.” Severus shifted position so he could face the older man. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare”, Albus said excitingly. Severus rolled his eyes - why did the headmaster look so much like a child right now?

“Please dance the salsa while singing a song of your choice,” he asked coolly. 

As the headmaster promptly got up, Minerva leaned toward her colleague. 

“Why would you ask him this? You knew he could do it. It’s Albus”, she whispered. 

Severus pointed at his head. “It is going to be a useful memory I will show to anyone I want”, he just said, smirking, watching the bearded man gesticulating while singing something that had nothing to do with the dance chosen by Severus; La Java de Broadway. 

“How did I do?” Albus asked after five minutes, throwing himself back into his couch. Minerva was giggling. 

“Wonderful, Albus. I did not know you could carry a tune so well.”

He looked very pleased himself indeed. 

“Right, dear boy, truth or dare?” he asked in return.

“Dare”, Severus replied, feeling in the mood to do something bold. Albus looked at the clock above the fire place and got up. 

“It’s 6pm, there certainly still are students outside. I want you to find a Gryffindor and tell him they are looking very handsome tonight, then ask them if they want - hum - he looked into his pockets - jelly babies.”

“Easy”, Severus replied, getting up and walking toward the staffroom’s exit. In the next corridor where two second year Gryffindors discussing in one of the alcoves. As they saw him approach, they both fell silent, pretending to look in the other direction. Severus walked past them sure-footed, stopping abruptly just as they thought they were out of danger. Albus and Minerva looked from where they stood, a few feet away. He turned very slowly to face them, one of his eyebrows raised, looking at them through squinting eyes -

“Ah, Miss Emilson”, he said softly, surveying the two children. “I wanted to tell you I would highly appreciate if you would have the courtesy to hand in your essays without large stains of chocolate milk on them. I am tired of having to wash my hands after correcting your homework, as you may understand.” 

None of them answered, but the girl muttered something that sounded like an apology.

“As for you, Mr Einsworth”, he added, taking pleasure in their bewildered looks “I remember seeing you eating one of my potions ingredients last Friday. You must remember which one, I presume?”

The boy blushed, and Severus did not want to embarrass him for the sake of a silly game. He took the sweet bag from his pocket, showing it to the two students: “Would you like a jelly baby instead?” 

So much suspense in his voice. 

His tone was so soft, and his eyes glowing strangely; he was sure they thought the sweets were poisoned. After a moment of hesitation, they both took one from Albus’ paper bag, careful not to eat it. 

“I’m sorry I ate the gingerroot”, the boy began, confused, “I thought it had some... properties I was interested in...”

“I see”, Severus replied slowly, casting a quick glance at his two colleagues. “But please take note you do not need it. It strikes me you look... particularly dashing this evening. Eat those horrible things the headmaster gave me instead.”

With these words, he put the paper bag back into his robes and turned his back on them, quickly going back to the staffroom where Albus and Minerva... were not even laughing. He gave his sweets back to Albus. 

“I think you actually said something nice, Severus”, Minerva told him happily. “The dear boy looked so pleased with your compliment!”

“It was actually heart-warming to see despite all your efforts, you weren’t that scary, my dear Severus”, Albus added. “This was remarkably kind. Did you know Tom is very self-conscious about his physical appearance?”

The Potions Master sat back on the couch. 

“I’m the one who put an end to the nasty remarks some of his classmates made. Now, Albus, truth or dare?”

“Well, truth, I suppose.”

“Has there been other men? More... recently?”, Severus asked him, letting Minerva pour him a glass of whiskey. 

Albus blushed slightly. 

“What.. do you mean by more recently?” he questioned awkwardly. 

“He means last week, about this ministry official who came to give you the council’s latest stupid decisions”, the transfiguration professor translated. Severus nodded, smirking. 

“What, do I have no right to a private life?” Albus exclaimed, clearly mopey. 

“Well, you did not tell us we couldn’t ask you about your love life before the game started”, Severus remarked. 

The headmaster remained silent for a moment, pondering his options. After all, he was a competitive player. 

“I asked him on a date next week”, he muttered, blushing tremendously. “At Hogsmeade’s best ice-cream maker.”

Minerva smiled. “This is wonderful news, Albus”, she whispered. ”Do not worry, we won’t tell anyone.”

“I did not vow to do that”, Severus replied mischievously. He did not want Albus to be embarrassed either, however, and chose to change the subject - for now. 

“I’ll take dare.”

Albus watched him a moment and leaned toward him, looking suddenly more serious. Severus moved uncomfortably, not very fond of the older man’s serious expression. 

“I know this year is very trying for you, my boy, and I hope this little game of ours has brightened your evening a little. I know I did not always do things the right way - but I hope you know I value your advices and opinions. I know you’ve been wanting the DADA post for long and you were disappointed - again - but you must understand, I want you by my side, so does Minerva, and I cannot risk to lose you. Would you accept - dare - not to postulate to the position next year? I do not want to have to refuse it to you yet again.”

Severus surveyed him with unreadable black eyes. 

“You know feeling guilty may be what you deserve, Albus”, he replied slowly, crossing his arms. “Plus, I enjoy writing this letter every year. It’s a tradition.”

“But you always look so disappointed!”

“As if I did not know what your answer was going to be. And you know, Minerva and I would miss it if we did not get to bet on each year’s new professor abilities or mental state... or on how long they are going to last.”

“Are you telling me you are not this hurt by my constant refusals, my boy?” Albus asked, looking puzzled. 

“I am not, headmaster. Or I could be saying this so you won’t feel guilty... But fine. I’ll skip a year before sending you the usual application. Truth or dare?”

“Dare, then!” said the headmaster, shifting back to his jovial mood. He looked relieved.

Minerva watched Severus with interest.

“Make me the new DADA professor in two years”, the potions master said abruptly, his smirk as large as it was possible for it to be. 

“Certainly not!”

“Well then,” Severus swallowed the rest of his drink, “you lose,” he declared triumphally. 

And Albus was not sad he did. 

[angelhummel]

once again i spent hours of my life answering >5000 questions in order to sort almost all of the glee songs ever (there’s 683 songs in the sorter when there’s over 700 on the show) anyway if you wanna see my rankings for those then check it out <3 [also here’s the sorter!]

1 Being Alive 2 Rose's Turn 3 Baby, It's Cold Outside 4 Le Jazz Hot 5 Maybe This Time 6 And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going 7 Come What May 8 To Sir, With Love 9 As If We Never Said Goodbye 10 Valerie 11 Somewhere Only We Know 12 Cough Syrup 13 Teenage Dream 14 Not The Boy Next Door 15 It's Too Late 16 It's My Life / Confessions Part II 17 Start Me Up / Livin' On A Prayer 18 When I Get You Alone 19 The Happening 20 The Boy Is Mine 21 Home 22 Don't You Want Me 23 How Will I Know 24 Bad Romance 25 Not While I'm Around 26 Scream 27 Shake It Out 28 On My Own 29 Hate On Me 30 Bills, Bills, Bills 31 4 Minutes 32 True Colors 33 There Are Worse Things I Could Do 34 Go Your Own Way 35 Jessie's Girl 36 Proud Mary 37 Tongue Tied 38 Last Christmas 39 Somebody Loves You 40 Back To Black 41 Sweet Transvestite 42 For Good 43 At The Ballet 44 Gloria 45 Blame It (On The Alcohol) 46 Like A Prayer 47 So Emotional 48 Misery 49 Nasty / Rhythm Nation 50 Toxic 51 Don't Speak 52 Born This Way 53 Dog Days Are Over 54 Defying Gravity 55 Last Name 56 Womanizer 57 I Will Always Love You 58 Broadway Baby 59 The Lady Is A Tramp 60 I'm A Slave 4 U 61 Centerfold / Hot In Herre 62 Thriller / Heads Will Roll 63 Bust Your Windows 64 Candyman 65 Brave 66 Boys / Boyfriend 67 The Scientist 68 The Scientist (Acapella) 69 Dream On 70 Hey Jude 71 I Lived 72 I'm Still Here 73 I Believe In A Thing Called Love 74 Me Against The Music 75 Like A Virgin 76 My Man 77 Everybody Wants To Rule The World 78 I Have Nothing 79 Blackbird 80 Got To Get You Into My Life 81 Animal 82 3 83 I Follow Rivers 84 Just The Way You Are 85 Constant Craving 86 Don't Stop Me Now 87 Hung Up 88 Let's Have A Kiki 89 Love Shack 90 Marry The Night 91 Hit Me With Your Best Shot / One Way Or Another 92 It's Not Right, But It's Okay 93 I Want To Hold Your Hand 94 All You Need Is Love 95 Getting Married Today 96 Don't Rain On My Parade 97 Don't Stop Believin' (Regionals) 98 We've Got Tonite 99 Smooth Criminal 100 Uptown Girl 101 Sway 102 If I Die Young 103 No One Is Alone 104 Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee 105 No Scrubs 106 Mamma Mia 107 Papa Don't Preach 108 Teenage Dream (Acoustic Version) 109 Santa Baby 110 We Found Love 111 Roar 112 She's Not There 113 Spotlight 114 The Way You Look Tonight/You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile 115 Some Nights 116 Rumour Has It / Someone Like You 117 You Make Me Feel So Young 118 You Keep Me Hangin' On 119 I'll Stand By You (Amber) 120 Hand In My Pocket / I Feel The Earth Move 121 Crazy / U Drive Me Crazy 122 Funny Girl 123 Cold Hearted 124 Keep Holding On 125 Bye Bye Bye / I Want It That Way 126 I Know Where I've Been 127 I Kissed A Girl (Season Six) 128 Hopelessly Devoted To You 129 Homeward Bound / Home 130 Into The Groove 131 Hold On 132 Tell Him 133 Nutbush City Limits 134 Because You Loved Me 135 Perfect 136 Cherish / Cherish 137 Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) 138 Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead 139 You Are The Sunshine Of My Life 140 Tik Tok 141 The Safety Dance 142 Oops!... I Did It Again 143 Run Joey Run 144 Time Warp 145 Something's Coming 146 Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go 147 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 148 Vogue 149 Downtown 150 Diva 151 Dancing With Myself 152 Rockstar 153 Wrecking Ball 154 We Are Young 155 I Saw Her Standing There 156 Jumpin', Jumpin' 157 Just Can't Get Enough 158 Take Me To Church 159 Wannabe 160 It's All Over 161 Take Me Home Tonight 162 If I Were A Boy 163 Landslide 164 Pompeii 165 The Bitch Is Back / Dress You Up 166 Christmas Wrapping 167 Buenos Aires 168 Call Me Maybe 169 You Can't Stop The Beat 170 Seasons Of Love 171 Safety Dance 172 Dream A Little Dream 173 Alfie 174 I Want To Break Free 175 Baby One More Time 176 A House Is Not A Home 177 Daydream Believer 178 I Don't Know How To Love Him 179 Hungry Like The Wolf / Rio 180 Suddenly Seymour 181 People 182 Silly Love Songs 183 Love Song 184 Shout It Out Loud 185 Some People 186 One Of Us 187 Sing! 188 Up Up Up 189 Torn 190 Popular 191 This Is The New Year 192 Paradise By The Dashboard Light 193 Let It Snow 194 Let It Be 195 Never Can Say Goodbye 196 Touch A Touch A Touch A Touch Me 197 La Isla Bonita 198 Tightrope 199 My Love Is Your Love 200 Love Is A Battlefield 201 Losing My Religion 202 Total Eclipse Of The Heart 203 This Time 204 I Dreamed A Dream 205 Leaving On A Jet Plane 206 Locked Out Of Heaven 207 Chandelier 208 Girl On Fire 209 Telephone 210 Don't Cry For Me Argentina 211 Human Nature 212 Halo / Walking On Sunshine 213 Anything Goes / Anything You Can Do 214 Make You Feel My Love 215 Stronger 216 Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag 216 Pumpin' Blood 218 Papa Can You Hear Me? 219 Summer Nights 220 Sweet Caroline 221 Superstition 222 We Will Rock You 223 Alone 224 Hello, I Love You 225 Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) 226 A Hard Day's Night 227 Mine 228 My Prerogative 229 Beauty School Drop Out 230 My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) 231 Extraordinary Merry Christmas 232 Every Breath You Take 233 Express Yourself 234 Everybody Talks 235 Everytime 236 Marry You 237 Moves Like Jagger / Jumpin' Jack Flash 238 My Favorite Things 239 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 240 River Deep, Mountain High 241 My Life Would Suck Without You 242 Be Okay 243 Applause 244 Cool 245 All I Want For Christmas Is You 246 American Boy 247 Cell Block Tango 248 Breakaway 249 Don't Dream It's Over 250 Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) 251 Whatever Happened To Saturday Night? 252 Without You 253 Science Fiction Double Feature 254 Loser Like Me 255 I Kissed A Girl 256 I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You 257 I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) / You Make My Dreams 258 Don't Stop Believin' (Season 5) 259 Empire State Of Mind 260 Old Time Rock & Roll / Danger Zone 261 Take My Breath Away 262 You Get What You Give 263 Take On Me 264 Beautiful 265 It's Time 266 ABC 267 Afternoon Delight 268 Don't Stand So Close To Me / Young Girl 269 Don't Stop Believin' (Season 1) 270 Colorblind 271 Cool Kids 272 Dancing Queen 273 Songbird 274 Somebody That I Used To Know 275 Singing In The Rain / Umbrella 276 I Feel Pretty / Unpretty 277 Borderline / Open Your Heart 278 In My Life 279 I'm Still Standing 280 Blow Me (One Last Kiss) 281 Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? 282 Do They Know It's Christmas? 283 Mustang Sally 284 Pinball Wizard 285 Anything Could Happen 286 America 287 Any Way You Want It 288 Higher Ground 289 Flashdance... What A Feeling 290 My Life 291 Let It Go 292 If I Can't Have You 293 L-O-V-E 294 Closer 295 Addicted To Love 296 Heroes 297 A Boy Like That 298 Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend / Material Girl 299 Holding Out For A Hero 300 Dinosaur 301 Disco Inferno 302 Party All The Time 303 Raise Your Glass 304 Push It 305 Lean On Me 306 Pure Imagination 307 Lovefool 308 Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' 309 Americano / Dance Again 310 All Of Me 311 At Last 312 Promises, Promises 313 Hair / Crazy In Love 314 Happy Xmas (War Is Over) 315 Chasing Pavements 316 Don't You (Forget About Me) 317 Love Child 318 School's Out 319 Poker Face 320 Boogie Shoes 321 Bootylicious 322 I Love New York / New York, New York 323 One Less Bell To Answer 324 Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours 325 Rehab 326 I Don't Want To Know 327 Shout 328 I'm The Greatest Star 329 I Love It 330 Never Say Never 331 Juke Box Hero 332 One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer 333 Glad You Came 334 For Once In My Life 335 Here Comes The Sun 336 Baby It's You 337 Drive My Car 338 Last Friday Night 339 Roots Before Branches 340 The Only Exception 341 Survivor / I Will Survive 342 All Or Nothing 343 Time After Time 344 You're The One That I Want 345 Yeah! 346 Starships 347 You've Got To Hide Your Love Away 348 Story Of My Life 349 Something 350 We Need A Little Christmas 351 Gold Digger 352 Beth 353 Fighter 354 Forget You 355 How To Be A Heartbreaker 356 Get Back 357 Love You Like A Love Song 358 There's A Light (Over At The Frankenstein Place) 359 We Got The Beat 360 Make 'Em Laugh 361 Sing 362 U Can't Touch This 363 Try A Little Tenderness 364 Pony 365 On Our Way 366 Lucky Star 367 Loser 368 Over The Rainbow 369 Outcast 370 Stop! In The Name Of Love / Free Your Mind 371 What Makes You Beautiful 372 Will You Love Me Tomorrow / Head Over Feet 373 Wide Awake 374 Wishin' And Hoping 375 Yesterday 376 Out Here On My Own 377 You're All The World To Me 378 Somethin' Stupid 379 Someday We'll Be Together 380 River 381 The Longest Time 382 Somebody To Love 383 The Edge Of Glory 384 The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year 385 Lucky 386 Memory 387 Mary's Boy Child 388 Longest Time 389 My Dark Side 390 Taking Chances 391 The First Noël 392 Smile 393 Celebrity Skin 394 All That Jazz 395 A Thousand Years 396 Big Girls Don't Cry 397 Ain't No Way 398 Don't Sleep In The Subway 399 Doo Wop (That Thing) 400 Don't Stop 401 Uptight (Everything's Alright) 402 New York State Of Mind 403 Turning Tables 404 Vacation 405 Fire 406 Hold It Against Me 407 I've Gotta Be Me 408 Endless Love 409 Run The World (Girls) 410 Saving All My Love For You 411 Give Up The Funk 412 I Am Changing 413 I Melt With You 414 I Could Have Danced All Night 415 Fat Bottomed Girls 416 Hot For Teacher 417 Never Going Back Again 418 Imagine 419 Jolene 420 Arthur's Theme 421 Damn It, Janet 422 Control 423 Barracuda 424 Copacabana 425 Barely Breathing 426 I Look To You 427 Come Sail Away 428 Jump 429 Clarity 430 Friday I'm In Love 431 Jar Of Hearts 432 It's Not Unusual 433 Footloose 434 Here Comes Santa Claus 435 Happy Days Are Here Again / Get Happy 436 Help! 437 Greased Lightning 438 Hell To The No 439 All Out Of Love 440 (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman 441 Candles 442 All By Myself 443 Hello Goodbye 444 It's A Man's Man's Man's World 445 I Say A Little Prayer 446 It Must Have Been Love 447 Just Give Me A Reason 448 Come See About Me 449 Born To Hand Jive 450 I Want To Know What Love Is 451 I Wish 452 I'll Remember 453 Get It Right 454 (I've Had) The Time Of My Life 455 I'll Stand By You (Cory) 456 Forever Young 457 A Change Would Do You Good 458 Smile (Charlie Chaplin song) 459 Best Day Of My Life 460 An Innocent Man 461 Dreams 462 All About That Bass 463 Home (originally by Michael Bublé) 464 Black Or White 465 Baby 466 Bad 467 Problem 468 Oh Chanukah 469 What Kind Of Fool 470 Wings 471 You're My Best Friend 472 You're All I Need To Get By 473 White Christmas 474 Whenever I Call You Friend 475 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 476 What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) 477 Wedding Bell Blues 478 More Than A Feeling 479 More Than A Woman 480 Our Day Will Come 481 P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 482 Here's To Us 483 Honesty 484 Hall Of Fame 485 It's All Coming Back To Me Now 486 Teach Your Children 487 Night Fever 488 What The World Needs Now 489 Listen 490 Let Me Love You 491 Live While We're Young 492 Light Up The World 493 Trouty Mouth 494 Werewolves Of London 495 Kiss 496 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 497 Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) 498 Mickey 499 Mean 500 Mercy 501 Merry Christmas Darling 502 Let's Wait Awhile 503 Man In The Mirror 504 Rather Be 505 Rise 506 Good Vibrations 507 Faithfully 508 Firework 509 How Deep Is Your Love 510 Fix You 511 Fire And Rain 512 Give Your Heart A Break 513 Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree 514 Little Girls 515 Cry 516 Bust A Move 517 Bridge Over Troubled Water 518 Bring Him Home 519 Cheek To Cheek 520 Break Free 521 As Long As You're There 522 Big Ass Heart 523 Bitch 524 Bamboleo / Hero 525 Away In A Manger 526 Deck The Rooftop 527 Christmas Eve With You 528 Angels We Have Heard On High 529 Creep 530 Crush 531 Make No Mistake, She's Mine 532 Lose My Breath 533 Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise) 534 What I Did For Love 535 Wake Me Up 536 Thousand Miles 537 Take A Bow 538 Still Got Tonight 539 The Music Of The Night 540 Stereo Hearts 541 The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) 542 Take Me Or Leave Me 543 I'm The Only One 544 Isn't She Lovely 545 I Just Can't Stop Loving You 546 I'll Never Fall In Love Again 547 Unchained Melody 548 You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch 549 You Have More Friends Than You Know 550 You Should Be Dancing 551 I'm His Child 552 You Learn / You've Got A Friend 553 Somewhere 554 So Far Away 555 Uptown Funk 556 The Winner Takes It All 557 They Long To Be Close To You 558 Tonight 559 Being Good Isn't Good Enough 560 You May Be Right 561 To Love You More 562 Don't Wanna Lose You 563 Do You Hear What I Hear? 564 Ice Ice Baby 565 Don't Go Breaking My Heart 566 Don't Make Me Over 567 I Won't Give Up 568 I'll Be Home For Christmas 569 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For 570 I Still Believe / Super Bass 571 I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) 572 I Want You Back 573 Father Figure 574 Everybody Hurts 574 Gangnam Style 576 We Are The Champions 577 Stayin' Alive 578 Superman 579 The Rose 580 Don't Stop Believin' (Rachel) 581 Fly / I Believe I Can Fly 582 Gives You Hell 583 I Love L.A. 584 Mr. Roboto / Counting Stars 585 O Holy Night 586 Only The Good Die Young 587 One 588 Silent Night 589 Piano Man 590 Sexy And I Know It 591 Sgt. Pepper's Lonley Hearts Club Band 592 Pretending 593 Physical 594 Danny's Song 595 Stand 596 The Final Countdown 597 You Can't Always Get What You Want 598 You Are Woman, I Am Man 599 You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 600 Your Song 601 Say 602 No Air 603 Need You Now 604 No Surrender 605 Piece Of My Heart 606 Thong Song 607 Blurred Lines 608 Another One Bites The Dust 609 I Was Here 610 Bella Notte 611 I Know What Boys Like 612 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 613 Glory Days 614 Friday 615 More Than Words 616 Waiting For A Girl Like You 617 Welcome Christmas 618 You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) 619 You Give Love A Bad Name 620 We Built This City 621 Whistle 622 Who Are You Now? 623 You And I / You And I 624 Take Care Of Yourself 625 Tell Me Something Good 626 The Rain In Spain 627 Can't Fight This Feeling 628 Jingle Bell Rock 629 In Your Eyes 630 Hello 631 Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) 632 I Only Have Eyes For You 633 Jingle Bells 634 Joy To The World 635 I Wanna Sex You Up 636 Fight For Your Right (To Party) 637 Feliz Navidad 638 I'm So Excited 639 Uninvited 640 The Living Years 641 The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) 642 O Christmas Tree 643 One Love (People Get Ready) 644 Ohio 645 Only Child 646 Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love 647 My Sharona 648 Dance The Night Away 649 Poison 650 My Cup 651 Not The End 652 What It Feels Like For A Girl 653 Listen To Your Heart 654 Little Drummer Boy 655 One Hand, One Heart 656 Bein' Green 657 Big Spender 658 Billionaire 659 Ben 660 Gimme More 661 Burning Up 662 Hey Ya! 663 Hey, Soul Sister 664 Baby Got Back 665 Blue Christmas 666 Bohemian Rhapsody 667 Far From Over 668 The Trolley Song 669 Starlight Express 670 Whip It 671 You're The Top 672 Red Solo Cup 673 Next To Me 674 Rolling In The Deep 675 Rainbow Connection 676 La Cucaracha 677 (You're) Having My Baby 678 A Little Less Conversation 679 Happy 680 Highway To Hell 681 Same Love 682 Rock Lobster 683 Girls Just Want To Have Fun

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 27

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: The exam season is underway (yet somehow I don’t mention the exams all too many times...)

A/N: Yay, I'm back with this fic!! I think I can promise a bit more regular updates at least in the near future, but I will be starting to work longer hours possibly starting from next week so I will have a bit less free time then. I am still determined to keep up with my 500ish words per day goal so it should cause too much delay!

That's that, I hope you guys are as happy to return to this universe as I am! As usual, please let me know what you think :) This fic is about to take my longest fic position from Love Can Melt the Ice, so knowing that there are people who care about it really means a lot to me!

Words: 2393

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

Leo would have been lying if he had claimed that everything went back to completely normal after the talk with Calypso. Sure, they both really tried harder to act as neutral and friendly as possible around each other; whenever they were at home at the same time, they chatted casually about how things were going at work and at the university, their latest TV show or music discoveries, or some silly thing one of their friends had said or done recently. Sometimes they even watched something together or cleaned the common area together. However, the earlier confessions were never mentioned. On the surface things were ‘just fine’, but the unspoken words and lingering looks spoke for itself. Leo knew things were still heating up under the surface and sooner or later they would have to make some difficult decisions. But until then, he wasn’t going to risk anything by disrespecting the guidelines that they had set during their ‘big talk’, even if it was hard to resist sometimes.

One evening Leo found Calypso studying for her upcoming exams on the common area couch. She was wearing a pink, tunic length sweater that matched her lip color, and black leggings that hugged her legs tightly (not that he’d ever tell her that he had noticed such things). She had also pulled her now medium length hair into a messy ponytail so it wouldn’t bother her while she was reading, showing her nicely shaped facial features better. Despite noticing all that, Leo’s thoughts soon went to the facts that he had recently learned about his flatmate. Now he knew more about the hardships she had gone through; a dead sister, an abusive, controlling father, being alone all those years and the nightmares she had mentioned while drunk. Yet, somehow there she was, having escaped her father’s grip and looking perfectly content doing something as boring and normal as studying for exams. The girl was way stronger than he had earlier given her credit for, and Leo admired her capability to stay so calm; he wasn’t so sure the ghosts of his own past would leave him alone that easily.

“Hi,” he finally said before Calypso noticed that he’d been standing there just watching her far too long despite the rules they had set. “What are you reading?”

Calypso showed him the book. If she was surprised to see him, she hid it well. “A collage of Frenchmen’s experiences at the front lines during World War II. I know. A very cheerful way to finish the day.” She grimaced.

“Huh? I thought you were mostly focusing on older history? I didn’t know you study that stuff too,” Leo noted, shifting from one foot to another.

“Well, they do require us to have a good enough understanding of the newer events as well,” Calypso replied, now looking at him directly. For some reason that one look managed to make chills go down Leo’s spine. “It is true, though, that I am more interested in ancient history. There’s so much we still don’t know about those times and I want to be able to discover more.”

“I see,” Leo said. “I think I understand what you mean. I am constantly hoping to discover new ways to create things that will be useful for all of us. Flying dragons that use energy drinks as their energy source? How epic would that be?” Excitement surged through him when he simply thought about it.

“Isn’t that a bit out there?” Calypso asked, but Leo didn’t miss the amused glint in her eyes. “And what if everyone had flying dragons and that would cause horrible air accidents? I don’t know about you but to me they don’t sound very safe.”

“Sunshine, what’s life without some danger?” Leo questioned.

“Hmm, let me think: safe?” Calypso retorted.

“Ouch. Well, I don’t think I have time to invent flying dragons any time soon, so you don’t have to worry about that,” Leo reassured her, but now that the idea had been planted into his head, he decided to return to it some day in the future. Hopefully when he would be able to handle fire.

“That’s a relief,” Calypso replied. “Speaking of your inventions… have you decided what you’re going to do about your studies? The last time I asked you said you haven’t been in contact with your professor yet.”

That was a question Leo had been dreading for. He preferred to not talk about that topic unless he had to, but the truth was that he was still quite unsure about being able to continue. However, he hadn’t made any final decisions yet.

“I’ll… I’ll keep working to overcome my fear,” he responded vaguely. “I think I’ve made some small progress during our sessions. If I can keep that going, I may be able to retake the test next year. Small steps, you know.” In reality, so far he had managed to stay close to a small, burning candle for a short period of time without freaking out, but he still didn’t want to try the matches whenever Calypso suggested it. There was still a long way to go before he’d be able to use all the machines he needed during lab classes and at work.

“Okay,” Calypso said, but to Leo she sounded a bit unconvinced. Her voice got more reassuring, though, when she added: “You know that you can ask for my help any time you need it.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Leo nodded. “And same right back at you. I mean, you can ask me. If you need anything.” For some annoying reason he managed to only get stuttering out of his mouth at that moment. “Even if you simply want me to make you a miniature dragon in the middle of the night. It’s fine. I’d totally make it.”

“And why would I want you to make me a miniature dragon in the middle of the night?” Calypso looked at him questioningly. Before Leo managed to answer, her face softened into a smile and she added: “I really appreciate the thought, though. It feels so different… in a good way… to have people in my life who genuinely support me. I haven’t had that, well, since I got separated from my mom.”

She sat a bit straighter on the couch, her gaze going back and front between Leo and her book, and Leo wondered if she was debating if she should reach for him and touch his shoulder or something. Maybe even hug. One side of him wished she would just go for it. But that would have violated their newly made rules and neither wanted to make things even more complicated than they already were. They simply kept staring at each other for a while, as if trying to read each other’s thoughts, but finally Calypso sighed and turned her focus back on her book, closing it.

“I didn’t realize it’s already this late…” She said, adjusting her hair a bit with the hand that wasn’t holding the book. “I still need to finish an assignment for tomorrow.”

She stood up and started walking towards her room, but when she got past Leo, her arm briefly touched his. Leo’s arm was still tingling after Calypso closed the door behind her.

…

A few days later, Leo was still thinking of that incident when he almost fell over a big rock that was standing on his road. He and Jason were currently having a well deserved evening off after finishing their last exams of the semester earlier that day (Leo felt like he had at least succeeded with the calculations but his essay writing was a bit sloppy) and in honor of that they had decided to go for a long jog and after that have a big, unhealthy meal in one of their favorite pizza places. While they were on their way there, Jason had been explaining something about his holiday plans when Leo had zoned out, and Jason had to grab his arm so he didn’t fall.

“Hey, man, you OK?” Jason asked, frowning. “What just happened there?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m OK.” Leo brushed some dust off the sleeves of his coat. “I was just… thinking. And didn’t notice the rock on the road.”

“Hmmm, what got you that thoughtful?” Jason inquired. “I bet you didn’t even hear what I just said.”

“You know I have a pretty nasty case of ADHD, sometimes I just zone out randomly,” Leo said defensively, not wanting to admit aloud that recently he had been even more distracted than usual because of a certain flatmate of his. “And no, I didn’t hear you.”

“Alright,” Jason shrugged. “I was telling you that Piper’s dad has invited us to visit him over the break. I’m not sure yet if we are going, though. Piper didn’t seem very enthusiastic about it. Sure, she wants to see him, but she suspects he’s still working most of the time so it would be the same to just call instead of traveling all the way to LA.”

“Mmmh,” Leo mumbled, trying hard to stay in the present moment. “I’m going to be at Waystation during the break so if you guys decide to stay, we can still hang out.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know what we decide to do. That wasn’t all, though…” Jason continued, his face becoming concerned. “I think Piper has seemed quite distant lately, and not just when we’ve been talking about that trip. Sometimes I worry that she’s gotten bored of me, or something.”

“No way, man!” Leo exclaimed. “I’ve seen you guys together often enough to know that she loves you. Maybe she’s just going through a rough phase or something.”

Jason didn’t seem quite convinced. “I guess so. It’s just that usually she tells me directly what’s bothering her. This… keeping things inside her isn’t like her.”

“Maybe you just need to give her some time,” Leo suggested. “It’s like me with Cal; I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut more often and in exchange she has slowly started opening up to me more recently.”

“She has? That’s great!” Jason cheered up. “How is it going with you two anyway? I heard some things about the Halloween party aftermath…”

“Nothing happened after the party!” Leo yelped, raising his hands. “Whatever Piper has told you, all lies.”

“Really? So you two wouldn’t have kissed if Piper hadn’t interrupted you guys?” Jason raised his eyebrow.

If Leo’s cheeks hadn’t already been red from the jogging, he certainly would have blushed. “Um… well… the point is that we didn’t. Besides, we’ve set some rules that we’re supposed to follow because we don’t wanna make our co living too complicated.”

“So there is something going on between you two and you are acknowledging it,” Jason teased. “You wouldn’t need to set any rules otherwise.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Leo muttered. “If you must know, we did admit that we like each other after the party.”

“But that’s great!” Jason exclaimed.

“It feels pretty crazy,” Leo replied. “Sometimes I wonder why she likes me, but maybe the Bad Boy Supreme’s magic is stronger than I thought.”

Jason snorted at his comment. “I don’t know Calypso as well as you do but I doubt it’s the so-called Bad Boy Supreme side that she cares about. You pretend to be all cool and try to seem like you don’t care about what’s happening around you but I think you do that only because you care too much. Maybe Calypso has noticed that as well.”

“Dude, you’ve been hanging out with Piper too much.” Leo shook his head. “That’s something she would say. ” “Well, she’s not wrong. Anyway, what happened after the big confession?”Jason asked curiously.

“We’re not together if that’s what you’re asking, ” Leo denied immediately. “I just mentioned the rules, remember? We wouldn’t need them if we had decided to go down that road.” “Ouch… but why? Why didn’t you just decide to do it?” Jason wanted to know.

“For some stupid, noble reasons,” Leo grunted. “I’m not gonna go into the details because it’s up to her to talk about it, but long story short, she thinks it’s safer that way. I think she’s afraid of hurting one of us.”

“And do you think she’s right?” Jason inquired.

“I… No! I’ve told her I can handle it. But I’m not gonna push it - believe me, Jo and Emmie have given me long lectures about respecting women’s boundaries. If Cal and I wanna keep living together, I have to let it be.”

“Yeah, I can see your point.” Jason nodded.

“Besides…” Leo added after a moment, his face falling as he thought about his past. “Bad things tend to follow me. Who is to say that I wouldn’t be the one getting her into trouble?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because when have I ever been successful with anything I’ve done?” Leo asked in return.

Jason seemed to finally understand what event Leo was really referring to. “You’re still beating yourself for things that happened years ago?”

“Why do you think I’m not capable of going to some of the lab classes? Because I simply think that skipping is fun and I don’t care whether I pass it or not?” There had been a time when Leo hadn’t cared about his school success, but back in those days he hadn’t cared about much else either. Now that he had dreams and things to live for, he hated the idea that anyone would think he’d throw it all away just because he could. His new family deserved better than that for what they had done for him.

“No, no, I was not thinking that! You just never talk about it so I assumed… whatever.” Jason didn’t want to make Leo even angrier so he decided it was better to change the topic. “Maybe we should talk about something else. I still hope that you and Cal will work it out eventually.”

“Yeah. I hope so too. Same for you and Piper.” The friends had gotten close to their destination, so Leo exclaimed quickly: “Hey, I’m smelling the pizza now! Whoever is last at the door pays!”

“That’s a bad deal because you know I’m faster than you. I train every day!” Jason pointed out but soon sprinted after him.