#i might reblog with a nice list of my favorite moments later

[ponderingmoonlight]

Sanemi losing what is left of his patience when you get injured by a demon

Pairing: Sanemi x wife!reader

Word Count: 3k

Synopsis: Despite the fact that your husband is the opposite of your quiet and kind self, you love him dearly while Sanemi treasures you in a purely unique way. But even though you learned to love his rough side the way it is, you can't stop tears from falling when your husband loses it after you get injured by a demon

Warning: this is THE angst to fluff y'all, Sanemi is a rough but soft boi I'm so weak for him in this fic omgomgomg, been listeing to again by noah cyrus and lana del rey while writing this, injury + angst + near death experience

this might be my favorite sanemi fic coming from my own hands so PLEASE if you feel the same, I'm super thankful for a lil like, comment or even reblog. THANK YOU SO MUCH 🤍

Oh, it was never easy, being the wife to none other than the wind hashira. When you’re quiet he’s noisy, when you’re put together he’s all over the place, while you act loving and kind Sanemi shows his devilish side.

But there was not once a day that made you second-guess your decision, not a single moment that made you feel something apart from deep affection for that man. It doesn’t matter that you are the opposite of him in each and every sense. He’s yours. And you’ll forever be his.

“Sanemi!”

Your oh so sweet voice echoes like a well-composed melody through his ears, makes him forget the wave of anger that washed over him earlier. Just seeing you standing there in the yukata he gifted you years ago while holding a dish with ohagi in your hands allows him to forget all the shit that happened for a brief second.

“Didn’t I tell you that you aren’t allowed to overwork yourself?”, he grumbles before sitting down opposite of you.

You look as good as always with your hair well-brushed and kind eyes lit by the down-going sun. What would his life look like if it didn’t contain of coming home to you? You, his only ray of sunshine. You, the only one who’s able to calm his temper down. Just you, his beloved wife. Who would have thought that out of all hashira, he’d be the one who treasures his wife the most?

“It’s not me who is overworked, but you. Did you get bruised again?”, you question with your melodic voice.

“Nah, I’m fine.”

“Will you stay home tonight?”

“I definitely hope so. If that crow disturbs my sleep again…”

“You have an important roll to fulfil, as a hashira-“

“’It’s my honor to bring peace to those who aren’t able to look out for themselves.’ Yeah, I already know.”

In contrary to his harsh tone, his fingertips caress your cheek gently while his eyes soften in an instant. It was hard, learning how to read him. When you first met, it was not uncommon that you broke out in tears after he talked to you like that. But now, after 4 years of getting to know him, you never lose your kind smile.

“How was your day?”, he continues.

With a swift motion, he pulls you between his legs and presses your head against his bare chest while his strong arms keep you in place. This are the moments that make your life worth living. Just you and your husband, arm in arm, watching the sunset in nothing but peace and silence.

“I enjoyed the nice weather while taking care of the garden. The tulips look exceptionally beautiful this season.”

“They’ll never be as beautiful as you, though”, he replies with low voice.

If life could stay like that. Oh, what you’d give to never let go of him again…

-later that night-

“Wind pillar, wind pillar! An emergency occurred! Countless demons were spotted nearby! The demon slayer corps need your assistance-“

“Can you just shut the fuck up”, Sanemi mumbles while pulling you closer sleep-drunken.

Immediately, you are wide awake. Nearby demons?

“Sanemi, you need to get up. What if someone gets injured?”, you whisper into the dark night.

“So what?”

You stare at him through the veil of darkness, not daring to say another word. He will get up eventually. He always does.

“Urgh, fine…Time to kill some demons, then”, he finally grumbles and drags himself away from you in order to put on his uniform.

“You stay here until I get back. Even if our estate is build pretty safe and I’ll rip off the heads of the demons around first, I don’t want you to be out there on your own. Got it?”, he instructs you before placing a gentle kiss on your forehead like he always does.

“I will. Please be careful and watch out for yourself”, you whimper.

It’s a challenge to let go of him each and every night he is forced to leave. He might be a hashira, but what if he doesn’t return by sunrise some day? What if he meets an upper-ranked demon unexpectedly? Just when he’s about to leave, you grab his hand one last time.

“And don’t act reckless”, you add.

No matter how much it hurts to let go of his hand, you know you have no other choice. This is the life you chose, the price you have to pay in order to call that wonderful man your beloved husband.

“I can never promise you that”, he replies before leaving you alone in the now cold and awkwardly dark room.

Everything will turn out alright. It just has to…

You don’t know how long you’ve been awake already. Minutes? Hours? All you’re able to do is stare at the ceiling above, ears perking up with every minor movement of the trees outside. Surely, Sanemi will return soon. Being the skilled fighter he is, it normally takes him at most two hours until he returns with his sheets still a little warm. But aren’t those two hours over already?

Another noise outside catches your attention. Is it a tree again? You furrow your eyebrows, immediately sitting up straight while staring outside the window. No, this almost sounds like the whimpers of a child. A child outside at this hour?

You swallow hard. A child outside when there are demons reported around this area?

“P-please, someone help me! I-I’m so s-scared!”

Your heart drops to the floor. There is no doubt in the fact that this has to be a child. Your mind starts racing back and forth. It would be absolutely unacceptable to leave that poor soul out on its own, especially when you can’t know if the area is really free of demons. But on the other hand…You bite your lip when your husband’s words replay themselves in your head.

“No matter what happens when I’m gone. Don’t. Go. Out. On. Your. Own. At. Night. Need me to spell it, (y/n)? Never ever, not in a million years. Got it?”

Not under any circumstances. Your husband made that very clear countless times. But does that include a helpless child outside your estate in the middle of the night? You aren’t a fighter like Sanemi is, even refused to keep an emergency katana in the house just in case. There is no way you could harm a single soul, not even a demon. Leaving a child outside in the middle of the night…isn’t that just as unforgivable?

Sanemi said that he’ll take care of the demons around first. That means you’re safe, right? But even if that poor child doesn’t face danger in the form of a demon, it will certainly freeze with that cold breeze rushing over the land these days.

“P-please, is someone there? I’m s-so tired and s-so cold…I…I can’t walk anymore…”

Your heart aches with every word. No matter how much value the promise you made towards your husband holds in your heart, you simply can’t stand the thought of ignoring an innocent little child that needs your help.

“Why are you out there all on your own, where are your parents?”, you shout into the darkness of your home while making your way to the door.

Is it really okay, breaking the promise you’ve made like that? You grab the handle of the door tightly. This might be the only time you’re actually useful. Without any skills apart from cooking, you can only watch from the side-lines how the demon slayer corps save the world. Maybe this is your chance to do a little something as well, your chance to actually be helpful.

You swing your door open while holding your breath.

“Where are you? Let’s get you inside and grab a warm tea, okay? You must be freezing”, you speak out gently, eyes scanning the garden for the little figure.

“I’m right here!”, the innocent voice cries out to your right.

Instantly, you pick up your pace and sprint towards the tiny figure lying in the grass. Oh no, you can’t imagine what this little child has been through, how it even got here. Did it get lost in the woods and failed to return before the night came? You’ll have to prepare a guestroom right away, just after inviting this little one in-

“Foolish woman.”

Time stands still, your glossy orbs starts to tremble when the tiny figure in front of you starts to build itself up, grows taller and taller until it surpasses your own height by multiple inches. This…this isn’t a child.

Your eyes widen in sheer horror, blood rushing through your ears so violently that you feel like fainting any given minute after it strucks you like lighting.

You were tricked by a demon. After Sanemi warned you over and over, you fell for the lousy trick of a demon. Out of instinct you start stumbling backwards, glossy eyes darted towards the horrific creature with bright red eyes and fangs bigger than your own head.

“I waited patiently until that demon slayer was gone. A young and beautiful woman like you sure tastes nice. Now that I’m seeing you fully, you were definitely worth the wait. I’m sure your flesh tastes excellent.”

Your blood freezes in your veins. Is this really how your life will come to an end? Because you didn’t listen to your husband, because you wanted to be somehow useful? How will Sanemi react, finding out that you were killed? Suddenly your legs threaten to give in and force you to come to a stand. It’s not like you’d be able to defend yourself in any kind of way when all you ever did was taking care of Sanemi and your imaginary perfect life.

A perfect life, ruined by one night of carelessness.

His face flashes in front of your inner eyes, the kind smile he always wore when he didn’t know you were watching. Despite the flaws others see in him, his hot temper and the way he treats his little brother, you are head over heels for him. Your husband, your everything, your Sanemi. A perfect little marriage, ruined by you.

“Don’t”, you hush into the night like the fool you’re are.

“How much I love hearing you little women beg not to get killed. Music in my ears!”

He dashes towards, ready to slice your throat open single-handed. Out of instinct, you let yourself fall backwards into the wet grass, watching how his claws brush over your forehead with enough force to discolour your vision red.

“Nice moves. You seem really healthy. That’s actually even better”, the demon purrs.

This is it. Your final moment on this earth, killed through the hands of a demon in your own well-groomed garden. You never imagined it all to go down like this, not when you’re still so young and full of love.

You didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye, to tell Sanemi one final time how much you adore him and that you’ll love him through everything. Will he be okay? The man who lost almost everything, who has to live with a burden heavier than earth itself balanced on his strong shoulders. This…this will break him even more.

“Any last words?”, the demon jeers at you.

Your breath gets stuck in your throat. No, there is nothing this creature deserves to hear from you, not even a single scream will escape your lips. You rest your lids, picture his oh so gorgeous face in front of your inner eye. If you only had more time, if you only listened. Your beloved marriage, vanishing in thin air.

“I’m sorry Sanemi. I’m so so sorry…”

When will it be over?

“Touch her and you’ll die.”

What...No, this is impossible, you have to be dreaming-

“Or nah, you’ll die anyway.”

 The urge to open your eyes again becomes unbearable.

Your heart skips a beat. Instead of getting greeted by the claws of the demon, you’re able to read it very clearly.

“Destroy.”

This back, so familiar broad…

“Sanemi?”

“Didn’t I tell you to stay inside the house?”, he barks over his shoulder.

It happens faster than your eyes are able to follow. One high jump, one slash of his sword and the demon’s head falls onto the soft grass in front of you. Immediately, you are surrounded by dust rising towards the moon.

“What were you even thinking?”

Before you’re even able to feel relieved your husband storms towards you, not a single spark of affection gleaming in his furious eyes.

“You promised over and over”, he screams on top of his lungs.

“I’m-“

“And you fucking lied into my face!”

Roughly, he grabs your Yukata with both hands and yanks your throbbing figure towards him.

“I’m so-“

“Is all of this a joke to you? Don’t you trust your husband enough to do as you’re told!? You’ve had this one job, that one fucking job to stay inside the house!”

“Sanemi, I-“

“Are you out of your goddamn mind? Did you really want to die right here?”

“Sanemi…”

You breathe his name into the night with strangled voice, tears now streaming down your face like a waterfall. You made a reckless mistake, but none of this happened because you wanted to hurt him. His words, his furious gaze, his hardened eyes so venomous that you have to look away dig themselves like knives into your already fragile heart and simply take your breath away. Out of all feelings, your husband is livid at you.

“I…I’m sorry”, you finally press out.

“You could have died, (y/n). You know that?”

He pulls you towards himself even harder, his hands fisting the fabric of your yukata so tightly that you fear he might rip it.

“You could have died and I couldn’t have done a single fucking thing. Losing you…Fuck!”

He yanks your chin upwards with one hand, forces you to look at him through your wet lashes. But you aren’t greeted by his stone-cold glare. No, are those…tears shimmering in his orbs? What’s left of your heart breaks in an instant.

“I can’t lose you. Not you, not the love of my life. Not another loved one. I couldn’t fucking stand this shitty world without you by my side. How many times did I tell you to stay inside the house when I’m gone at night?”, he screams at you.

“I-I’m sorry”, you hush through shaky lips.

“You’re my everything. Fuck, I love you so much…Losing you like that…”

The next second you find yourself devoured in his strong arms, holding you pressed against his chest so tightly that you can feel his heart pounding.

“Don’t you ever do that to me again, (y/n). Never”, he mutters into your hair while caressing your bloody hair.

“I’m sorry”, you mumble again.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Are you hurt? You’re bleeding, goddamn. Let’s get you inside, this needs to get stitched up.”

You don’t dare to contradict, allowing him to carry you back into safety with your arms cramped around his neck.

You’re safe. Sanemi is absolutely furious with you, but the worry in his eyes, the gleam…You bury your head inside his uniform, desperately trying to escape your own foolishness. None of this would have happened if you just stayed inside like he told you. If you were smart enough…

“How did he get you outside?”, Sanemi finally breaks the silence while cleaning your wound.

“He played a scared and lost child”, you mumble.

“Huh, what I thought. You’d never break a promise over nothing”, Sanemi replies, his voice a little softer than before.

“I know you tried to help, but never to shit like that again. When I saw you lying there and your blood on the grass, I almost died. You’re my everything, my wife. I can’t lose you because of a demon, you hear me? I was so damn worried about you…”

“I just wanted to do something…useful…”

“Useful? Are you too dumb to see how useful you are?”, he bites back.

Sanemi stops barking at you immediately after seeing how glossy your eyes turn all over again. No matter how fucking mad he is right now, he can’t hurt you any further. It’s clear you acted out of the right motives, he shouldn’t scream at you like that. Especially since you almost died tonight. Not his wife, not when you’re everything he has.

“I treasure you more than everything else in this world. You’re the reason I’m still believing there’s something good left here. Don’t you dare to risk your important life like that again, got it?”, he gently continues before caressing your cheek the way you love so much.

“I never wanted to cause you this much trouble. I…I was acting dumb…”, you mutter, intertwining your fingers with his.

“We’re all a little dumb from time to time, yeah? Let’s go back to sleep, that was more than enough for one night.”

You don’t hesitate when he pulls you along into the oh so inviting sheets. With him by your side, they definitely feel way more inviting. With him by your side, you don’t have to fear a single nightmare haunting you down this frightful night.

“At least I’m having an excuse now for a day off tomorrow. I love you, (y/n). So so much”, Sanemi mumbles into your hair, holding you so comforting against his chest that sleep washes over you almost immediately.

“I love you too, Sanemi…”

There is no doubt in the fact that Sanemi held you even closer each and every night after almost losing you through the hands of a demon.

Tags: @chilichopsticks @hellkaiserinphoenix  @ynackerman9499 @keepghostly @beatrexworld

@froufrousnowman @hidazinie @tomiokathedepresso  @poketrainer2270 @chaoticwinnercupcake

@lees-chaotic-brain @wordskeeper @polarbvnny @sugu-love @ryva @baku2345

@komelrebi-san @kentocalls (your fic will be next) @barbuse @sunshine7queen @lavenderdrxp

@yaninnaacu @hopefulbelievertimemachine @skeleton-the-gangser (reader isn't pregnant in that one, but the vibe is the same as with the Yoriichi fic you enjoyed)

[epersonae]

Tagged by my bestie, sometimes beta, always cheerleader @emi--rose. Rules: Share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. (I'm going to follow her lead and tag one with each fic.)

There’s a flash in Ed’s eyes, jaw working with unexpressed tension. (end up several worlds away) (the missing scenes sequel to for the benefit of all the broken hearts, this chapter is about Ed and Mary.) tagging @knotwerk for the comment today that was TOO LONG FOR AO3, god bless.

It’s one of those rare weeks when they’re not just in the same time zone, not just under the same roof, but under their roof. (for the benefit of all the broken hearts) (my surprisingly long fix-it sequel to the weird and wonderful meta-fiction sort-of-but-not-RPF Water Flowing Underground) tagging @veeagainsttheday for excellent betaing and critical reassurance early on in the project.

Stede loves camping. (BIGFOOT STOLE MY HUSBAND) (idk it's modern AU monsterfucking I GUESS) gotta tag @mxmollusca for this one.

It all started when Stede took Ed to be his plus one at his ex-wife's wedding. (Commit to the Bit) (modern AU where Ed and Stede talk themselves into getting married as a bit; reader I lived this one) tagging @nekosd43 who is not a pirates person, but who was a very good friend to me and Ryn and honestly part of how we originally got to be friends, what with all their excellent taagnus writing.

Thing is, once he gets a break from the routine (wait around, raid, drink, cry, repeat) he doesn't really want to go back. (can't cross the same river twice) (part 3 of "the devil's threeway", a very weird way to get to a reunion fic but I think it works) tagging @chuplayswithfire who kept giving me good ideas for this series.

Later, much later, Stede realizes he can divide his life into two parts, split by that exact moment: when by all rights he should have been dead, gut-stabbed and strung up, and instead the most beautiful man he’d ever seen strolled up to him through fire and smoke and men screaming. (Hungry for love, ready to drown) (me @ me: jfc that's a longass sentence) (Stede POV canon retelling, my very slow love letter to canon. YES the next chapter is on its way, I just finished an editing pass that it very much needed before actual betaing) tagging @red-sky-in-mourning because things they have written or reblogged are DEFINITELY in my project notes.

He has to cut him off. (A secret third thing) (oh look more Stede POV retelling! this time of Water Flowing Underground: I woke up at 3am less than a week after reading WFU with the beginning of this fic.) tagging @gaypiratebrainrot for writing the thing that melted and reformed my brain, and because this fic ended up being the start of a very good friendship.

It turns out there is a second fucking pirate ship trying to board this stupid little Dutch freighter. (Cannonball) (part 2 of devil's threeway, this is the one where Ed gets together with Anne Bonny and Mark Read and also cries a lot) tagging @adreamingofguns, who hasn't written any gay pirates fic, but who has a Special Interests in pirates and contributed to my thoughts about Mark.

It’s not that he prefers the beard, exactly. (nice either way) (the tiny Beard Discourse fic) tagging @blakbonnet for beard discourse reasons.

For Frenchie, that afternoon has the unreal quality of a dream as he sits cross-legged on the deck of The Revenge sewing an addition to Blackbeard’s flag. (what makes me kind) (rest in pieces, this fic) (listen. I had an idea. I had a LOT of ideas. but I kept getting sidetracked. see: everything else on this list. someday? weirder things have happened but idk. if nothing else someday I might just post all the fragments I have written, because some of them I do like very much.) tagging one of my favorite post-S1 longfic writers, @not-nervous-jester. (who has actually finished theirs! two of them!)

[subkit-doodles]

Welcome, welcome!

This is - as you could probably already tell - a Subkit blog. It’s mainly meant as an art dump for subkit drawings I made (since I can’t keep my art in me, especially of my favorite ship. And I’m too afraid that my friends would hate me over this)

There aren’t many rules I think, but mainly and most importantly:

No NSWF/suggestive things - I’m a minor and uncomfortable talking about it (in the open).

Be respectful and friendly - I don’t want anyone to hate on me for this or even dare to send death threats to me. It’s not nice and doesn’t help at all.

No stealing, tracing and etc. - I put a lot of effort in these doodles, even if they’re just doodles. You can only use them with my permission (unless it’s specified that it’s free to use)

Basic DNI list

That’s about most of them. Now, onto things that are allowed (to an extent):

Reblogging is fine and appreciated (as long as it doesn’t draw any hate or anything related to that).

Sending asks is allowed as long as you respect the rules mentioned earlier.

Requesting is also fine, just don’t expect me to draw it right away as I may get artist’s block and have to go to school.

And more might be added later. Other ships won’t really appear here, and I prefer to not argue about the ship. Whether you see it as proship or not. (Personally, for me a comship, but let me be a little delusional and see them happy together.)

I might also roleplay a bit here and there, but mainly as my Subkit AU. It’s not really a whole lore thing, just a few moments of these two idiots being happy together.

That’s about it then. Enjoy my art, I guess.

!Disclaimer!: The characters do not belong to me, nor am I affiliated with boggio. They rightfully belong to Soda / boggio. This is just a simple (side) blog about a ship I like between two specific characters.

Note: To anyone from Gaza/Palestine(?) wanting to send their go-fund-me here, please send it to @callmeclara235. I know your messages are important, if not live saving for some of you, but I feel heavily uncomfortable answering them in this space, because it feels out of place. On the different blog, you can send as many as you need.

[shadeswift99]

hello, sorry if this is a silly question but what is hch?

Oh I'm so glad you asked

HCH - Hardcore Hermits - was a three-season-long spinoff series done by the Hermits in 2018 (?) in teams of three. Each season began with the teams in their own seperate but identical worlds, in the most recent snapshot, with a challenge to complete in hardcore mode within a given number of 20 minute episodes... assuming they could stay alive that long. There were several teams, but I've only watched Team ZIT so far. I highly recommend their perspective if you like a healthy dose of teamwork, chaos, close calls, and of course, humour. Each season is fairly short and all of them stand alone, so it's not a huge time commitment either! Very easily bingeable.

As for other teams...I think GFX (False, Xisuma, and...I want to say Scar?) were a team in all three seasons, and I know there was an nHo team in season 1 (I don't think they had a particularly good go of it), and I think there was a team involving Wels and Jevin? But aside from that you'd have to look it up. Which I encourage you to do!

Hardcore Hermits is a really underrated and weirdly unknown bit of content, but it's so fun. Really good for, say, a quick thing to get into between seasons of Hermitcraft or after 3rd Life ended and people just want something comparatively chill but still with that special hardcore flavour...this has been your regularly scheduled HCH propaganda. Let me know if you end up watching! :)

[sunarinluvr]

|| haikyuu boys finding you asleep on the couch after an argument ||

includes: kuroo tetsurou, miya osamu, & oikawa tooru

a/n- hello! sorry for posting so late, but this has been sitting in my drafts for a while and i was actually in the mood to finish it so i hope yall enjoy! oh and im not really sure about how i feel about it,,, might take it down later we shall see.

warnings: none ( lmk if there’s anything! )

KUROO -

last night you saw a post kuroo’s “work wife” had made on instagram with her kissing him on the cheek, and it didn’t make you feel the best, so you decided to bring it up to him the next morning. and you did, just as he was getting ready for work you talked to him about it.

you were standing in front of him filled with anger arguing about how it made you uncomfortable, “can you please listen?! i dont feel comfortable with your “work wife” kissing you?” you yelled. “Y/N it was on the cheek its not a big deal!” and to be honest you just wanted to cry. 

finally, he walked past you and opened the door. “i don’t have time for this y/n, stop being so insecure! at least she wouldn’t argue over something so small!” and with that, he slammed the door and you stood there stunned. kuroo knew that he shouldn’t have said that, instant regret and guilt filled his gut.

 but he already said it, he can’t do anything about it now. with a frustrated sigh, he went to work. hoping to fix everything when he gets home. you stood there speechless, as you realized you still had work so slowly you made your way to the bathroom. 

after getting ready and grabbing a quick snack you were out the door with a heavy chest. once you get home, tired and feeling worse than before. you trudged to the couch and plopped down letting out a shaky sigh remembering the argument and the words he said repeating in your head. 

you broke down crying, and before you knew it, the exhaustion from today took over and you were sound asleep on the couch. kuroo got home an hour later, he felt guilty and was already practicing how he’d apologize to you as he walked in.“y/n? kitten?” no answer. 

he called out again, and was met with silence, he made his way over to the living room where he found you sleeping on the couch. gently walking towards you he knelt down, and saw your tear-stained face which made his heart sink. “i fucked up” he said to himself.

giving you a gentle kiss on your forehead he softly apologized and carried you to the bedroom. you ended up waking up when you felt his body weight dent the bed. “tetsu?” you said softly squinting at him. relief rushes through his body at the sound of his nickname. looking at you with guilt in his eyes

“im so sorry kitten, i shouldn’t have said that. i didn’t mean to hurt you” he said gently. at that tears started flowing again and he was quick to hug you and wipe your tears with his other hand. “it’s ok, i shouldn’t have been so insecure anyways” 

he shook his head with a frown “no it’s not your fault ok? i didn’t mean anything i said. i love you so so much and i’m so lucky that you’re mine” you look up at him and gave him a small smile “okay” before cuddling closer to him. giving you a soft kiss on the lips he hugged you tighter as you both fell asleep.

OSAMU -

osamu was just having a horrible day, his head was pounding and the customers he had to deal with today were just plain rude. then he had to do most of the work since one of his employees called in sick, and for some reason, everything just annoyed him.

you on the other hand did not know about his day at all and thought it would be nice of you to make a surprise visit. walking in with a huge smile on your face stopping midway when you realize he wasn’t at the counter. “where’s samu?” you asked sweetly to the employee

“he’s in the back, i think he has a headache,” she says giving you a small smile. you can tell something was off by the way she spoke but decided to just brush it off and make your way to the back. “hi samu! surprise!” you exclaimed cheerfully as you make your way towards him

he just kind of looks at you, which you thought was weird, but you decided to hug him anyways. when he doesn’t hug you back and groan, you pull away and look at him “baby i heard you had a headache. i didn’t bring any medicine, but we could eat first and i-” 

you couldn’t even finish your sentence since osamu just stood up. he was infuriated and had no clue why, usually loved listening to you but today he was just annoyed. “look y/n a don’t mean ta be rude, but a don't have the energy for this right now. please just go home.” he said coldly staring right at you.

“excuse me? i came here to surprise you and this is what i get??” you said in shock, voice a little louder this time. rolling his eyes “Oh wow am so surprised! now will ya please go home? a don’t wanna argue right now!” he yelled. with tears forming in your eyes you quickly wiped them and left. osamu knew he shouldn’t have said all that, but he was too mad to run after you in front of all the customers. 

you rushed home and sluggishly made your way to your room to change into something comfier, making your way to the couch, curling up into a ball allowing your tears to fall, and somehow falling asleep, after getting tired of crying. he gets home a few hours later, guilt building up in his stomach as he mentally slaps himself for the things he said. 

walking into the living room he opened the lights and you were the first thing he noticed. seeing you curled up into a ball on the couch made his heart drop to his stomach. you on the other hand woke up because of the sudden change of lighting. 

gradually adjusting your sight you see him and switch your gaze onto the floor when you saw him look at you too. seeing your puffy eyes he walks towards you slowly and sits beside you giving you enough space. “am sorry, a shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on ya.”

you look at him with watery eyes and his heart sinks “yea i was just trying to be nice, sorry i didn’t warn you before coming” he opened his arms and you instinctively scooted closer to him, he sighs “no a love it when you surprise me a was jus having a bad day a love ya so much ok?” finally hugging him “okay i love you too” giving you a quick kiss he offered to make you food and of course you said yes.

OIKAWA -

you love oikawa, and you’re very supportive and understanding especially when it comes to his career. but he has an awful habit of overworking himself and as much as you love him you can't bear the fact that you couldn’t even see him anymore.

he goes home late at night -as in you’re already sound asleep late- and when you do stay up to see him, he’s too tired to even keep a conversation. then the next morning he’s gone before you could even wake up. you’ve spoken to him about this many times, but alas nothing changed.

you woke up to an empty bed as usual, but today was different though, you’ve planned a dinner for about 2 weeks now. you were very excited because it’s been so long since you both spent some quality time together and he promised to come home early. 

getting up you send him a little text reminding him of your dinner tonight, with a smile you head on over to the bathroom to get ready for work. once work was over you made a quick visit to the grocery store to buy the ingredients you’ll need to make tonight’s dinner. 

quietly humming to yourself while going through each aisle, and double-checking your list to make sure you’re not missing anything while checking your phone here and there. oikawa still hasn’t replied “he must be busy,” you say to yourself as you send him another text about the dinner just in case. after about 30 minutes you get home rushing since it was already late, and immediately getting started on dinner. 

once you're done you sat down and waited, and waited, and waited. it's been 4 hours. dinners cold and still no sign of your boyfriend. you decided to call him pissed off that he couldn’t even show up to one dinner, “hello? y/n i can't talk right now i still need to practice” 

he said as soon as he picked up. “tooru? did you get my texts? what about dinner, we’ve made plans for this 2 weeks prior! i even-” you were cut off “look just eat without me ok? we can eat again somet-” now it was your turn to cut him off. 

“oikawa tooru, you leave the house while i’m asleep and come back when i'm asleep. i just wanted to spend time with you..whatever good luck at practice,” you replied as you hang up. his heart sank when he heard the crack in your voice rushing to his car on his way home to you because he knows he fucked up. 

buying your favorite flowers for you on the way home cursing himself and the world for making it traffic at that exact moment. when he got home the first thing he saw was the food and you fast asleep on the couch. he felt a pang of guilt about being late. 

“y/n chan?” he said while gently waking you up. you stare at him with red puffy eyes and he hugged you giving you the flowers “im sorry baby, i should’ve prioritized you and our dinner. i promise ill do better” you saw how genuine he was being so you accepted the flowers and hugged him tighter as he offered to reheat the food you made.

reblogs are highly appreciated!

[qinghe-s]

Hi,.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from MDZS? And why do you love them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks....

oh my gosh of course i don't mind!! the opposite! ♥

i could be cheeky and just list huaisang, but different adaptations (in order it'd be novel, donghua, cql, audio drama, manhua, just ftr) (donghua comes high on the list bc his scenes are more canon compliant than cql) but i'll take you more seriously than that:

nie huaisang still comes first, he's my sun and moon and the reason i got into mxtx at all. i've told this story before but in 2020 a friend of mine played a character based on him in a d&d oneshot and i was instantly charmed, saw her reblog a gifset a while later and then i started watching cql Just For Him. i started reading the novel around episode... 13? whenever they're in the xuanwu's cave, and he just kept ticking all my boxes. some boxes i didn't even knew i had! he might genuinely be my favourite character ever. he's a spoiled, adorable boy and a horribly bitter and devastatingly lonely adult who does awful things for someone he loves? the most character. no one beats him.

nie mingjue, lan xichen, and lan wangji get to share second place because i couldn't choose if i got paid to. they're so good. all three of them are so deeply loyal but show it in very different ways. i adore how nmj has such an incredibly big heart even though he's not presented as especially kind or nice, but his actions speak volumes if you take the time to look beneath the surface. lxc is kindness personified in contrast, serenity in the shape of a man, and the fact that that's both his strength and weakness in context of the main plot is *chef kiss* — plus, you know, he's the perfect man. who doesn't love him! lwj is an angry, petty, jealous, horny bitch and righteous and brave and so unbelievably good. kind without being nice. incredibly stubborn. objectively kind of terrible in bed (i mean HONESTLY) but it genuinely just endears me more. what a guy.

wei wuxian isn't someone i talk about a lot but oh my god. darling boy. i'm constantly overwhelmed by how kind he is to the dead, how gently caring. when he, lwj, and wen ning go back to the burial mounds before the second siege and he holds a skeleton hand to his mouth, holding it so gently? the way he cares? i'm tearing up just thinking about it. he isn't even the type of character i'm usually drawn to because he has such a severe case of main characteritis but i LOVE how his arrogance is his downfall and how, at the end of the day, what he really wants is a place to come home to. i could write way too much about about him & homes but that's for some other day.

my top favourite moments is honestly kind of hard! both because there are SO many but also, like... i can't decide if my favourite moments are the ones that make me happiest or the ones that make me have the most feelings. i'll try, though!

obviously i want to say "at least 70% of everything in the Guile chapters" but if i have to pick just one scene it's the one where nhs' things are burned. which seems horrible!! but it just says so much about him! the way he switches so quickly to fury and how easy it is to read fear into that reaction, like he's been holding things back for a long time and it just boils over. oh my god. baby. but also for real just. Guile. it's got the juice! and by juice i mean nmj/nielan/nie brothers

wwx coming back from the burial mounds the first time. it's so haunting! wwx, jc, and lwj all have so many things going on for them! jesus christ!!!

when the nie brothers arrive at baifeng mountain. they're both displaying such typical traits of masculinity, just on opposite sides of the scale (i've compared them to a lumberjack and a guy in a suit commercial before; the masculinity is equal but wildly different) and it Delights me. bonus: when jgy complains about how much prey nmj has captured and lxc LAUGHS OUT LOUD because he also finds nmj delightful (':

huaisang during the second siege ♥♥♥ i'm Obsessed with how he pushes his own agenda and the desperation you only see when you already know what he's doing. he's so precious to me, my perfect little guy, my most beloved.

i love almost everything about the extras. yes the bichen thing and the library pavillion too. my favourite extra is the lotus pod one, specifically lwj's chapter and absolutely everything about it. the way the lan brothers interact, the way lwj helps the common people, his insistence on picking lotus pods, the little glimpses of what lxc is like when no one's watching him... tearing up just thinking about how he loves the blooming magnolia so much he needs to paint it and how he goes to their mother's cottage to practice playing liebing. and how lwj put lotus pods in a vase there :((( they're such wonderful boys

[youarejesting]

Sly like a… ? Part 8

[Master list] [Sly Master List] Beta: n/a (at the moment) Rating: All Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x FailedHybrid!Reader Genre: Hybrid au, fluff, action, adventure, angst, drama, slice of life. Some marked chapters will contain mature/smut scenes, BUT they will not have plot in those scenes and are 100% skippable without losing your place in the story. Words: 2.2k

Summary: Human’s strive to be better, faster and stronger looking to animal DNA. Thus Hybrids are born. As the rise for designer and Pedigree Hybrids increase, so do the failed attempts. There is one species scientists are unsuccessful in creating, but, folklore says they have been here all along, hiding and blending in with the humans for many millennia. How clever they are.

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With Yoongi hauled up in his room, you began speaking with each of the boys and discussing where their learning levels were, you started with Jungkook, Taehyung, and Hoseok, you sat them at the table and started to teach them the basics of the Korean language and Maths they were quick to learn as they weren’t children and by the end of the week, you had them at a mid highschool level.

You taught all of the Hybrids about internet and phone safety, not giving out their number to random people they didn’t know. They all agreed and after a long discussion on scammers and voice phishing, they all seemed to understand.

Learning how to use computer documents and the internet and more, you explained virus’ and online shopping and you explained that you wanted them to have free reign. So, if they had something they wanted to buy to go to you.

“Unless it is something you are not comfortable asking from Y/n then please feel free to ask me instead.” Jimin said, “I can also get you things you might want or need?”

“Okay, now onto the final topic of today is finding a degree, you don’t have to choose exactly what you want to do with your life right now,” You stressed, hoping they knew they had plenty of time to explore their options. “but, maybe think about jobs you might have seen in movies or read about or heard about and I will help you achieve that dream”

You placed down a few booklets of jobs and they looked at you, “Yoongi you are already halfway through your degree and you said you wished to continue it, so you start next week, please let me know if there is anything you need.”

“And afterward if you ever need a job, if this program gets approved, I will need someone like you in my team.” You smiled, ever since the outing to the shop, Yoongi has been quite cold towards you and it hurt but you knew he would understand soon.

Namjoon told you he wanted to be a businessman, you signed him up for a bachelor of commerce and he was speeding through the classes like they were a children's book. But though he knew everything he didn’t exactly understand the point of the essays and assignments.

You talked him through it and explained that they wanted him to show off what he learned so they knew he was smart enough to pass, he still had three more weeks before school started and you were worried he would have already finished all the essays and assignments.

You heard Taehyung saying he wanted to be an actor or maybe a photographer and you wanted his dreams to come true. “if you finish an acting course, maybe Jimin and I can put in good words in some agencies?”

That got you thinking where was the calico, he hadn’t left the house, maybe he was in his room listening to music or something. Your focus was taken up by the two young men in front of you both flicking through the booklets of perspective courses and careers.

“Ooh directing would be fun?” Jungkook pretended to film Taehyung who immediately started acting out a rather elaborate scene worthy of any K-drama, the two laughing at the silly monologue, “or maybe gaming?”

The cheeky grin on Jungkook's face made your heart flutter. He was almost twenty-four, his birthday nearing and if you remembered correctly so was Namjoon’s. They were all classified as adults but were they ever given the chance to just be giggly, playful boys?

It was almost dinner, you stood up and as you walked past the two hybrids you ran your fingers through their hair. Leaning between them, you held their shoulders.

“I will be back, keep thinking and mark any pages with these sticky notes, purple for Kookie and green for TaeTae,” it was strange but both young men turned their head into your neck and nuzzled you for a second a low purr from the feline and a rhythmic wag of the tail from the canine. You went to leave, your heart stuttering at their affection before anything awkward happened.

“Y/n smells nice, doesn’t she?” Taehyung’s voice was low and Jungkook’s answering purr left you feeling a little warm under the collar. The ghosts of their tiny breaths against your neck would not leave you, the skiing tingling under your touch.

Shaking your head trying to clear it of anything that could be deemed impure and strolling the hall until you reached Yoongi’s door. Knocking softly the door opened to reveal Jimin smiling.

“Hello love,” Jimin flashed the dangerous eye smile and you wondered if the boys were nearing their ruts, that would be a conversation after dinner. Yoongi was sitting on the bed looking at the unopened box of headphones, phone, and laptop.

“Am I interrupting something, I can come back later?” you rambled, gesturing down the hall, “I was just wanting to see where everyone was as I was thinking about starting dinner.”

“Yoongi and I were just talking, but I think we have both come to a comfortable conclusion of topics.” He smiled patting the older feline's shoulder, “Thanks for the talk, it's nice to finally have some brothers.”

“Yoongi, I-”

“I’m sorry,” Yoongi interrupted you and his cheeks were dusted pink, he didn’t look up from the bed where all the devices sat. His tail curled around onto his lap and his ears twitched listening intently for your reaction. “Jimin said you weren’t like that and you really just wanted to get us nice things,”

He opened the special hybrid headphones and grinned as they sat on his head like a headband and cupped his ears gently, you opened his phone and found his favorite song hoping to test the headphones.

“Tell me if they work okay, or if they need charge,” standing in front of him you turned the headphones on and attempted to Bluetooth them to the phone. Making sure to turn the volume down before playing the song. His eyes lit up and his tail gave a long elegant swish, he looked so cute and you had to suppress a laugh at how his hair was all bunched up in the headband.

You moved a little closer still and began running your fingers through his hair until it fell over the headband, Yoongi tensed and surprised you by clutching the hem of your overall shorts and nuzzled his face into your stomach, his neck bright red. You froze and gently finished with his hair and stepped back and smiled pausing the song.

“I fixed your hair, cause it was all caught in your headphones,” you explained and he looked down growing almost impossibly red. You reached out and carded your fingers through his hair affectionately. In a gesture that had often calmed Jimin as a child, you rubbed your bare wrist against his neck.

A purr almost ripped through Yoongi as his tail swished dangerously. You stepped away heading for the door, “I just wanted to ask if you wanted to help me make dinner?”

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Tags:  @simplymemyself​ @lolsiiike​ @min2jeon​ @notruercolors​​ @luvaffaire​​ @grazysf​​  @ella-mella​​ @lustremyg​ @sonnymii​ @moments-of-melancholy​ @calling-dips-on-j-hope​ @jiminiessipabo​ @staerryminimini​​​​ (please make sure you have tagging setting on so you get notified when the story updates)

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[ackerfics]

Hiiii is it okay to request something? I just really love your fics 🥺 I saw that you did song fics, so I was thinking Still Into You by Paramore mixed with Thinking of You by Katy Perry since I legit couldn’t get those out of my head. Also I’m having Mikasa brainrot rn, so maybe a fic about exes getting back together? Where reader is like already in a new relationship with Historia, but they still love Mikasa, and the pining is mutual. Thank you so much 🥺

we sang along to the start of forever  — mikasa ackerman

— mikasa ackerman x female reader (modern au)

— warnings: angst but it transitioned into fluff in the end so we’re fine :)))

— summary: you still love each other and like puzzle pieces, the two of you thought about trying out the relationship thing again.

— word count: 4.8k

— author’s notes: i’m so sorry this took so long, we have so many backlogs  but i thought that writing would be a great thing to unwind so here it is !! i also made the reader a girl because as soon i started writing, mikasa with a girlfriend just keeps popping in my brain and i can’t help it sjjkjksjs and thank you so much for requesting !!

reblogs are greatly appreciated !!

< you said move on, where do i go

“Hey, there you are.”

A melodic whisper got you out of your daze from looking at your laptop screen. Exams are around the corner and your professors thought that it was the perfect time to dump more work for you. Tomorrow, you have a deadline coming up for a 2k-word essay about a topic that you could care less about, it wasn’t even under your major. Yet here you are, in one of the study areas of your university, trying to squeeze your brain just so you could reach the word count without caring for the outcome of your essay. But it seems like the gods graced your prayers because a small figure with golden blonde hair appeared in front of you, her blue eyes shining under the lights of the study area.

You started dating Historia Reiss not too long ago, it was probably ranging for three months at most. It was quite rocky at first, with you being out of a long-term relationship and Historia balancing out her time between extracurriculars and academics. The long-term relationship that got you all wound up was with a close friend back in high school and it sucked because you were such a good pair together — maybe fate wasn’t by your side that time. The two of you were immature and young but your time together was golden, having known each other way before asking one another out. You promised each other you’d move on and clearly, you did, your eyes finding your current girlfriend sitting in the neighboring study desk, taking out her stationery and color-coordinated notes.

Historia was a sweet person, always patient and caring when it comes to you. You met during a lecture that you two happened to share. She forgot her Apple pencil and luckily, you still had yours in your bag, lending the gadget to the blonde since you already have your laptop perched in front of you. With small smiles, the two of you gradually became friends, sitting next to each other during that lecture. Those small moments grew and later became study meet-ups in cafés or hanging out in one of the university’s libraries. The best thing that connected you two was your personalities, it matched so well that people sometimes thought you knew each other way longer before college. When you noticed Historia showing some signs that she likes you more than a friend, you couldn’t quite believe it at first. It was Historia being so understanding of you that made you say yes to her dates.

And now, here you are.

“Yup, you found me,” you told her, stretching your arms above your head before smiling at your girlfriend.

“Is that essay for Mr. Smith’s class?” Historia asked, leaning over to your side to get a glimpse of your screen. She patted your shoulder at the number of words you wrote. “Wow, you already got past the 1k mark. That’s amazing! Don’t forget to take breaks, though.”

“Of course, Tori,” you smiled. “You, too. I know your exams start four days from now. How is that holding up?”

Historia opened her readings, sighing at the thought of the dreaded season of the student body. “I don’t know if I can answer anything that well. I mean, we’ve been having study dates every day but I get so nervous just thinking about the exams. I know I’m going to be prepared but my anxiety said ‘no’.” She buried her hands through her hair, eyes softening when your face started showing how worried you are for her. “I’ll just think that this will be over a week from now.” Historia reached a hand out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind your ear. “Hey, why don’t we go to that restaurant just outside of uni for dinner?”

You took her hand in yours, squeezing it affectionately. “I think that’s perfect.”

The two of you proceeded to work on your separate tasks until you both agreed that it’s time for a good dinner. Historia helped you tidy your things up, occasionally smiling softly at you when you yawn. You bid goodbye to some of the students in the study area you know and the two of you went out of the room with joined hands. It was a nice walk around the university, the golden glow of the Sun bathing everything in orange, and making you relax despite the many backlogs still on your to-do list. That was until you saw a familiar figure going out of one of the many buildings of the Business Department. The blonde beside you even recognized the young woman hiding her face behind her scarf, blue eyes darting to you with a worried air.

It also happened that Mikasa Ackerman looked up from adjusting her scarf, her stormy gray eyes meeting with yours by chance.

Her eyes slightly widened at the sight of you, her gaze then dropping to your hands still joined with Historia’s before pursing her lips. Looking up to tangle your eyes again, she rose her hand in a little wave. You reciprocated the gesture weakly, never leaving your stare off her retreating form. You noticed that her shoulders became tense after that little encounter, fists enclosing the straps of her backpack and steps hurrying to get to her apartment that was just a walking distance from the university.

You felt a light squeeze coming from the girl beside you, knocking you out of your reverie.

“Let’s go?” Historia asked, eyes knowingly roaming your face.

“Mm-hmm,” you only hummed, following your girlfriend out of the campus.

You thought there wasn’t anything left but why were you still stuck in a limbo that you couldn’t get out of when you stared into those gray hues haunting your dreams?

< recount the night that i first met your mother

Mikasa had her life figured out. 

Everything was perfect. She has the most amazing people she can call her friends. She has the most supportive parents (and brother, but he can be a little shit sometimes but that’s beside the point). She has the perfect grades that can maintain her standing in the university, earning her great credits from various professors on the campus. She has scored a good apartment with her best friend, Sasha, all equipped with the best rooms and views that she can pay for a reasonable price. She is still a member of the university’s track and field long-distance running team, a regular and a manager at the same time. She also had the most beautiful girl as her lover and confidante, someone she could be herself with (not that her closest friends and brother didn’t see her real personality but being with her lover was a different kind of bliss compared to hanging out with her friends).

Well, had a girlfriend.

Ever since meeting you again earlier that night, suddenly Mikasa’s schedule for the night seems to blur.

It was her turn to cook for dinner but she couldn’t do anything properly. First, she managed to burn her sauteed vegetables, something that she had never done before knowing that this is her favorite go-to dish. Second, she boiled the pasta too long and now they’re too soggy. She nearly threw the pot down the sink but she didn’t want their neighbors to call the cops to their place, she just didn’t want to have a repeat of the first time that happened. (The first time their neighbors called the cops because of them was all Sasha’s fault, it appeared to the brown-haired girl that Mikasa’s cooking is one of the best in the world that she screamed bloody murder in the middle of the night.) Now, the gray-eyed girl had no choice but to start from scratch with the pasta, it was a good thing it was only the pasta though. 

The front door of their apartment opened with a bang while Mikasa tried to concentrate this time. Without looking up, she can see a brown-headed blur dashing towards the kitchen. “Stop right there, Sasha,” she said while stirring the alfredo sauce in the pan. “If you reach for the chicken one more time, I’m going to skin you alive. I don’t have the energy to hold your hungry ass back right now.”

Sasha backed away at the look of her roommate who was ready to commit violence if she steps out of line. “Whoa, who pissed at your day?”

Mikasa blinked, realizing that she might have been unreasonable with her remark. Of course, she wasn’t the only tired one in their apartment right now. Sasha was also struggling with academics and extracurriculars, not to mention, her love life is perfectly stable despite being in a relationship for a year. Not that Mikasa felt slightly jealous but she did everything she could to save their relationship but it still ended on a consensual note. The black-haired girl relaxed her tense posture, sighing deeply to expel the negativity accumulating her mind at the moment (Sasha called them dark forces after Mikasa told her about it, it took everything not to leave the room when the words came out of her friend’s mouth). Turning back on her sauce, Mikasa stated, “I’m sorry, I’m just stressed. You know, with the exams coming up and my track team entering this meet at the end of the month for official records. It’s just,” she sighed, “too much right now.”

“Aw, Mikasa,” Sasha empathized, going around the countertop to wrap her arms around Mikasa. She placed her head against her friend’s, petting the latter’s hair until they became a mess on her head. “I know just the thing to make us feel better. Let’s watch some of those anime movies that Armin recommended while eating dinner. Or anything that you want to watch if you don’t feel like watching anime right now.”

Mikasa smiled a little, resting her head on top of Sasha’s and relishing the comfort her friend gave her. “Thanks, I appreciate it, Sash.”

The moment she shared with Sasha reminded her of when you two were in high school. At that time, Mikasa was one of the star athletes that belonged to the track team. After the rigorous training their coach gave them, Mikasa’s knee started to hurt. This was dismissed by the head coach, saying that this wasn’t serious at all. You witnessed it when she ran more laps than what was written in her training regime to the point that her knee gave out. It was a good thing that her knee only acquired a sprain and a good rest from physical activities for some time will heal it gradually. Mikasa never had anything against it because getting some time off from her club meant that she could spend her free time with you. It was spent staying on her family’s couch, watching movies to pass the time while making small talk about her friends. The reminiscing continued until Sasha helped her prepare the living room for their movie night. She just couldn’t help but associate every little thing with you. You were a great part of her life since middle school.

She missed everything about you.

While the movie played out, her mind went to a time when it was time to introduce Mikasa as your girlfriend to your mother.

It was in the first months of being first-years in university. There was an issued academic break set by the faculties, taking the time to invite Mikasa to your home. You were so excited that that’s all you can talk about while the gray-eyed girl drove you two to your hometown. That was the only thing enjoyable in the entire trip. Everything went into shit when you blurted out that Mikasa has been more than a friend to you ever since high school. The look on your mother’s face was enough for the two of you to tell that this shouldn’t go on as planned.

“So, you’re telling me that Mikasa has been in our home, doing God knows what to you since high school?” Your mother flatly questioned.

The coldness of her tone made you stiffen in your seat. You can see Mikasa from the corner of your eyes trying to calm herself down by rubbing your hand under the table. It couldn’t be helped that your father, the only understanding person in the family, was absent because of his job. This is why your father chose to live separately from your mom, seeing as she was the kind of authoritative parent and wife, always hovering around each of her family members to keep them in line. You now understand why your father left her because God forbid, it was tempting to cut off ties with the person who gave birth to you as she threw degrading words at Mikasa left and right. You furrowed your eyebrows, tightening your hold on your girlfriend’s hand, which was trembling on your lap. The first time you saw her this shaken was when her knee got injured during her track training. Her skin was so pale like that time that you wanted to pull her out of the house and stay at a nearby hotel to get away from your mother’s wrath.

“Mom, please,” you pleaded, tears prickling your eyes.

“No, [Name], don’t you say another word,” she pointedly snapped at you. “I feel like I have become a failure of a mother. I don’t understand why you have a woman as your lover. It’s just not right. I support it but not if it’s with my daughter.”

You abruptly stood up with half-lidded eyes that never strayed from your mother’s similar shaded ones. Your hand still gripped Mikasa’s, your thumb stroking the back of it in a soothing circle that contrasted the indifferent gaze you gave your mother. When you were a child, you understood her sentiments because you’re her only child, the only person left in her life. But when she started badmouthing the little things observed from other people, you started questioning her parenting. You were told that people who love others of the same sex were sinning the word of a divine being but if that’s the case, you’d gladly be condemned to the pits of Hell if it meant protecting Mikasa from your mother’s harsh words. “We’re leaving.”

“What—?” It was Mikasa.

“Come on, Mika. Let’s find some restaurant downtown. This place is becoming stuffy and I don’t want you to suffocate any further.”

“Hey, Mikasa? Are you alright?”

Mikasa jumped, looking around at their apartment’s living room as if she was confused as to why she was there. She slightly shook her head before turning to the concerned brown irises of her roommate. Trying for a convincing smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, Mikasa forced a laugh as she mindlessly twirled the pasta on her plate with a wistful air surrounding her. “Yeah, I think I’m alright. Just saw my ex earlier when I got out of my last lecture for the day. I feel like that’s the reason why I don’t feel like myself today.”

The movie was then forgotten when Sasha positioned her body so that she could give Mikasa her undivided attention. With a serious expression that the gray-eyed young woman didn’t see in a long time, Sasha asked, “That gorgeous beauty?”

A nod was all Mikasa could answer. Gorgeous was an understatement when it comes to imagining you. You’re practically the most beautiful girl Mikasa saw in her lifetime. 

“Damn, it’s been what? Half a year since you guys broke up?”

A nod from Mikasa. She wrapped her arms around her knees, pushing them further into her chest, feeling so small at the moment. “It would have been fine if she’s alone but…”

Sasha’s mouth parted with realization; eyes wide as she stared at her roommate. “Oh,” she breathed. 

Scooting closer to the gray-eyed girl, Sasha wrapped an arm around her shoulder to let the former lean against her side. She always viewed the two of you to be endgame, seeing as you were dating since you were in high school. It sucks that no matter how much the two of you proved that you belong to one another, it just ends inevitably. Sasha even liked you when Mikasa introduced you to her new roommate when you were first-years. You were shining in the brown-eyed girl’s eyes; smile so bright that she couldn’t help but think you’re pretty, hair perfectly mussed by the wind during the ride to the apartment, casual clothing fitting you in the most pleasing way possible, and personality that one could describe as amazing. You even gave her some of your food when the three of you ate out together. (Mikasa always scolded you for giving away your food when you’re barely even eating regularly.) And when you guys broke up, Sasha saw how Mikasa ended up at the lowest point of her life, locking up inside her room and only going out when Sasha’s asleep. It was only recently that Mikasa slowly became herself again.

Now, Mikasa became that closed-off version of herself after the break-up, and Sasha instantly pulled her in for a hug.

The television kept playing the movie they chose to watch, Mikasa’s silent sobs blending with the movie’s dialogue and seeping through the night.

< she kissed my lips, i taste your mouth

You nearly pulled away when you tasted lemon instead of strawberry.

You nearly looked away when you saw azure instead of metallic gray after the kiss.

You felt so bad for thinking of midnight tresses instead of spun gold every time you lay in bed after hours of studying. Guilt bloomed in your whole torso like a giant wad of roses prickling your insides with their thorns, images of Mikasa plaguing your mind a week after you saw her again after six months. And every time you close your eyes to let sleep pull you in their embrace, arms so secure would wrap around your middle in your dreams, the smell of a rose-scented soap enveloping you in a warm cocoon. It was so contrasting to the minty scent you tried so hard to get used to in those three months you were together with Historia. You promised yourself you’d never date someone else after Mikasa but you tried because she told you to find someone who will treat you better than her. As much as you pleaded with your rationality to not follow her advice, Historia was a breath of fresh air.

It was a rainy night the time you and Mikasa broke up. Funny how you always love the rain and yet the one moment tormenting your daydreams occurred in a thunderstorm.

“Mikasa, what are you talking about?”

Your favorite-colored irises couldn’t meet your stare. “I said you deserve to be with someone who can make you glow with happiness.��

“Where is this coming from?”

She only shook her head, short black hair moving along with the movement. “I feel like I’m not giving enough in this relationship. I noticed how happier you look when you hang out with your friends from your department but when you’re with me, you’re mellowed down and so drained that I’m starting to feel like I’ve done something wrong.” Mikasa buried her hands in her hair, elbows placed on her knees, making herself feel smaller in front of you. You stood up from your bed to kneel in front of her, covering her cheeks tenderly with the palms of your hands. Yet she continued, “My mind is telling me these thoughts that I denied a long time ago since we started university.”

“What thoughts, Mika?”

“That our spark had died down for good.”

You searched her face for any sign of a joke but you could only stare at her downturned eyes.

“That I think we should break up for you to be happier with other people.”

“No,” you murmured, tears starting to blur your vision. “Mikasa.”

“I love you so much to see you unhappy with me.”

“I’m never unhappy when I’m with you. Where did you get that idea?”

Mikasa smiled despite her wobbly lips, gingerly placing her lips on your forehead. “I love you, [Name], I hope you’ll find someone bright enough to let you shine even more.”

It hurts just thinking about that but something pinched it even more when you stared at Historia in front of you, Facetiming someone on her phone. You two were celebrating the end of your exams in a café, treats covering the expanse of your table. It was a breather from all the stressful weeks draining your energy and now you feel refreshed. The book you recently bought was snug in your hands, eyes skimming over the words as Historia animatedly talked to her friend, Ymir. Hearing her laugh at something the freckled girl said, you couldn’t help but look up from a paragraph you were engrossed in. Historia looks so happy, cheeks flushed and giggles so clear that she couldn’t even contain them with her small hand. She never looked like this with you and as much as you anticipated the pain brought by the sight, it didn’t come.

Now, you understood what Mikasa felt, only this time you had to let Historia go because she already belonged to someone else.

Historia just said goodbye to her friend and you knew you had to hold on to this chance.

“Hey, Historia, I have a question.”

She sipped her iced tea. “Shoot.”

“You like Ymir, don’t you?”

The silence and flustered reaction that followed was all it took for you to smile.

< no more mistakes ‘cause in your eyes i'd like to stay

Getting out of a four-hour lecture was bliss to Mikasa. She stretched her arms over her head, letting out a deep breath of relief at the thought of spending her weekend without any backlogs. Finally, she can relax without feeling guilty. After all that hell her department professors gave her, she deserved this break.

Mikasa walked down the hallways with a slight spring in her steps, feeling her phone vibrate with a text message in her bag. Stopping by a little bit at the side of the hallway, Mikasa opened the outer compartment of her bag and turned on her phone. A smile instantly overtook her confused expression.

armin

hey, wanna watch a movie tonite?

eren suggested we could unwind after the exams

figured you needed it

you can stay the night here too !!

Her fingers typed out a reply almost giddily.

Sure.

Let me just text Sasha that I won’t be sleeping in the apartment tonight.

Another message from Armin appeared.

armin

yey !! see you later, Mikasa

At this point, her smile couldn’t be erased on her face.

See you later, Armin.

Then, another message from Armin popped out that made Mikasa laugh a little.

armin

this is eren

mikasa, can u bring dinner PLS

armin and i are too lazy to cook 

plus, you love us 🥺🥺🥺

The gray-eyed girl rolled her eyes, typing out a ‘fine’ before closing her phone. Her brother was sometimes too hard to handle but he can be sweet as well and saying that he needs dinner is just a way for him to say that he misses Mikasa’s cooking. When she looked up, a very familiar blonde and one of Mikasa’s classmates in a general subject came into view in one of the gazebos. Confusion was an understatement while she continued staring at Historia and Ymir laughing as if they were the only ones in the world. It was only a few weeks ago that she saw the blonde girl holding hands with you after a whole day of lectures. Maybe it was because she was staring too long at the couple that Ymir turned in her direction. As the freckled girl recognized the black-haired, stoic girl in one of their general classes, Ymir rose a hand in the air as a greeting. It also didn’t help that Historia looked at where Ymir was waving, with Mikasa tensing at the attention. She hastily waved back before turning in the direction of her car in the parking lot.

Several theories flickered through Mikasa’s head as she pulled out of the parking lot, the department store in their part of the city as her destination. Her mind was still a questioning mess the whole time she roamed the vegetable aisle until she bumped into another shopping cart, the clang of the metal breaking her trance.

“I’m sorry,” she told the person holding the other cart without looking up from her groceries.

“It’s fine.”

Mikasa quickly lifted her head at your voice. She probably looked like an idiot gawking at you in the middle of an aisle. You were dressed in an aquamarine shirt tucked in a pair of black slacks; your hair slung over one of your shoulders but for her, you looked so pretty. She concluded that you also got back from one of your lectures since your bag was placed inside the shopping cart, leaning beside a carton of strawberry milk. At the sight of the beverage, Mikasa’s chest pounded with her loud heartbeat, all the memories of you saying you like the taste of strawberries because of her entering her mind. Even after a full minute of you staring at each other, Mikasa couldn’t bear to look away. You’re so beautiful and she misses you so much.

“I miss you, too, Mikasa,” you murmured with flushed cheeks. “And you look good as usual.”

Mikasa’s face burned with embarrassment, reaching her ears, as she realized that she said her thoughts out loud. She was acting like she was in high school when she came to terms with her feelings for you. “U-Uhm, how are y-you?” Fucking hell, what is she stuttering for? It’s not like she got a below-passing score on one of her majors.

You softly smiled, tucking a stray lock of her behind your ear. “I’m doing fine. I was just thinking of making some homemade dinner tonight.” 

Mikasa nodded, recalling that you got a single apartment. “Me, too, but Eren asked me to make dinner for our movie night with Armin.”

At the mention of the two men, your face brightened. “How are they?”

The gray-eyed young woman reciprocated your smile. “Armin is still reeling Eren from doing anything stupid. You know how that dingbat is.” Your laugh made her day better. She faintly noticed that the two of you started walking side by side, pushing your carts to who knows what section of the department store. “The last time I saw them was before the exam week and we were studying so we didn’t do any catching up. Speaking of exams, how are yours?”

You hummed. “I think I got a passing grade on Parasitology and Microbiology. Those were the only subjects keeping me up for how many nights in a row.” You chuckled at your caffeinated state the previous weeks. “But the others were all papers so I guess I’m fine as of now.”

“Don’t tell me you got yourself palpitations from all the coffee.”

“You know me so well, Mika,” you laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to order coffee every time I go out this time. I don’t want a repeat of that night when I studied for Para. It was worse because I don’t have a roommate. How is Sasha doing, by the way? Still a ball of sunshine, I hope.” You spotted a cereal box you wanted to try so you mindlessly reached out for it but it was on the top shelf. Mikasa noticed your struggles, stopping behind you after chuckling to herself at how adorable you looked to reach the cereal box. You visibly tensed when you felt her front brush against your back, the box of cereal greeting your vision with Mikasa’s hand brushing on yours. “Thank you,” you whispered.

“You’re welcome,” she answered, patting your head before taking her cart and pushing it in the direction of the dairy section. “Yeah, Sasha is still as rowdy as the day you last visited. I threatened her again when she tried eating what I was plating for dinner. It was not a lovely night.” Mikasa paused, looking behind her when you’re not following close. She slightly panicked when she saw you looking down and gripping on the handle of the shopping cart. “[Name]? Are you okay?”

“Mikasa, I’m still into you.” You faced her with a smile. “Will you let me love you with all my heart again?”

Mikasa was speechless, her throat clogging up with overflowing emotions. She let out a delighted light, looking at you with eyes full of love.

“Yes. Will you let me in your heart again, [Name]?”

“Always, Mika.”

Their song of forever played once again and it felt so right that they wondered why they stopped it in the first place.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

NSFW (whole alphabet) for Captain Rex? 🥺🥺

A/N: Hell yes! Sorry this took so long for me to get to. I love Rex so much, words cannot describe. I hope to do my favorite Captain justice. And as a reminder, REBLOG AND COMMENT IF YOU LIKE THIS!!! These take just as much time as drabbles and the tags hate me.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Can you say, soft? Because Rex is soft. He’ll do whatever you ask; run a bath, rub your sore muscles, hold you close, whatever you want.  He is the sweetest man after sex.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Rex honestly has a hard time picking his favorite part about you.  His first instinct is to say your legs, but then he thinks about it and say the part where your legs meet your back.  Actually, that whole area.  That, and above it...

For himself, Rex is actually really proud of his back.  You’ve playfully giving him a few wolf whistles when you’ve seen him doing pull ups without a shirt on.  He knows he’s strong and if the way your nails dig into his back when he takes you against a wall is any indication; you appreciate his strength too.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He always ends up leaving a mess whenever he cums.  From lack of experience, he hasn’t quite got the timing down on pulling out and so it often spills half inside you, some on your skin and some on the mattress.  There are times you wonder if he does it on purpose. There have been a few times he openly moaned at the sight of his cum dripping down your inner thigh.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He does cum in a mess on purpose. He apologizes every time and helps clean you up.  However, that doesn’t stop him from getting hard all over again at the sight of you blissed out of your mind and stained with his cum.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

We’re going to say none before you.  Like seriously.  I don’t know where is Dom-Captain Rex came from in the fandom, but that is not this man’s M.O.  His devotion is 110% to the GAR and we see how awkward he gets in social situations outside anything having to do with the army or his brothers.

So, yeah, Captain Rex is a virgin the first time you have sex.  You cannot convince me otherwise.  Luckily for you, he’s also a man who learns and adapts quickly. ;)

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

You on your back with your legs draped over his arms as he pounds into you.  He gets a perfect view of everything; your bouncing tits, your eyes, the way his cock slides in and out of you, plus the option to grab hold of the headboards and really go to down.

A close second is pinning your back against the wall with your legs wrapped around his waist. He loves the feeling of your nails down his back as he fucks up into you.  And gravity does the work for him when he pulls out and sees his cum going down your leg.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

It takes him a while to loosen up in bed.  When you guys first start having sex it’s like he’s on a recon mission; what works, what doesn’t, testing his own endurance as well as yours, that kind of thing.  It’s only when he gets a full inventory on how to make you feel good as well as himself does he start cracking jokes. It’s not the norm, but it reaches about 30%.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

He doesn’t really do much down there until he meets you, besides keeping it clean.  After you guys start sleeping together, he starts to trim it down and experiment a bit.  He even shaved all the hair off at one point, but you assured him he didn’t need to.

Also, he had dark hair down there.  No, he is not bleaching his pubic hair.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Rex is focused on you the entire time.  He wants you to know he’s paying attention to you and listening to your wants and needs.  It’s more a sliding scale of how emotional it can get, often depending on how much of his own emotion and tension he’s keeping bottled up.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He’s done it plenty of times before he met you and continues to do it after you get together; his fantasies now just focus on you and you exclusively. Privacy is an issue in the GAR so often he has to wait late at night to get the showers to himself.  However, he prefers it when he gets a chance to take the time alone in his own bed. It’s really the best way he knows to fully relax without you there beside him.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Rex is still exploring his kinks, but he’s finding he gets a certain thrill out of cum play.  Eating you out with his cum still in your pussy is not something he’d ever thought he’d enjoy until one night he couldn’t help himself and ended up cumming on the mattress while you came again on his tongue.

And, I’m just going to put this headcanon to bed. CAPTAIN REX IS NOT A DOM, HE IS A SWITCH!!!

Yes, he likes it when you call him Captain or Sir in bed.  Yes, he likes giving you orders and having you obey them to the letter.  But if you’re telling me he doesn’t get off to the idea of you riding his face and using his body in any way you choose to find your own pleasure; then you and I are not talking abut the same character.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Your apartment  Like I said, privacy is an issue on more GAR ships. The Clones have quarters on Coruscant, but it lacks the personality of your place, not to mention you have thicker walls.  It also means he’s off duty and doesn’t have to be worried of being call to the bridge at any given moment.  He can fully relax and focus on you and himself.

Now when it comes to where in your apartment, literally anywhere to a flat surface. He’s not picky.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

You calling him “sir” or “captian” in public.  To give him some credit, it’s not only the words, so much as how you say them.  If you say, “yes, sir” like you’re out of breath or worse, if you look up at him through heavy eyelids, he’s going to need a minute to straighten himself out.

There’s also this spot just on the edge of his hairline on his neck that melts him.  All you have to do is brush that spot with your finger or your lips and he’s going to groan.

And cliche, but I have to say it; any time he sees you kick droid ass or even just verbally destroy somebody in a debate.  Your his cyar’ika and he’s going to let you do whatever you want to him that night.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Water play.  He found it by accident when researching different stuff to try.  He thought it would be like shower sex and it’s...not.  The moment he realized what it was he was disgusted and told you immediately that was going on the “no” list.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Split 50/50 between preferring to give or receive. God knows how many times he’s gotten himself off to the image of your lips wrapped around his cock.  He loves how your fingers dig into his thighs as you take him all the way into your mouth.  And seeing cum drip down your lip is enough to get him hard again in seconds.

On the other hand having your perfect thighs wrapped around his head as you fuck is face is as close to heaven as he can imagine. He can stay inbetween your legs for hours reveling in your taste and the way your tremble around him every time he makes you cum. His current record is making you cum three times in the row with just his tongue and fingers before you pushed him away just so you could breath.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

He can do either or, but he leans more on the rough side. No matter how slow he might start, by the end he’s gripping your thighs like a vice and pounding into your cunt as he loses all sense of control.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Only if he knows he’ll get to have you all to himself later that night.  He thinks of quickies as just a preview of what’s the come, rather than a done deal. 

That all being said, he’s not keen on them.  For one, he doesn’t want to risk getting caught. Two, he would never, ever, have a quickie while on duty.  Which leads to three, if he’s already off duty he might as well take you to bed right now.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Like I’ve said, Rex lacks a lot of experience, but he’s adaptable and a fast learner. You guys have a list of different things you want to try and are slowly working your way down, checking what you like and crossing out ones you don’t.

The only thing he won’t risk is getting caught in the act.  For one, he would never hear the end of it from the rest of the 501st.  And second, he thinks it would reflex negatively, not only on himself as a solider but on the rest of the GAR.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

As a genetically enhanced soldier, his stamina is insane. Granted, it takes him a while to hold off his own orgasm the first few times you have sex.  But, his recovery time is amazing.

He’s good for about three rounds on an average night and once he gets the hang of things, he can make those three rounds last hours.

Your current record is him cumming five times in one night while you lost count once you reached the double digits.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Captain Rex would not be caught dead having any toys with him.  Not in his bunk, not in his apartment on Coruscant, not anywhere.  He cannot imagine how he’d explain that to anyone if they found out.

However, you have a perfectly nice little collection at your apartment.  You guys have been experimenting.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He tries, but he’s not good at it. When he gets into his, “Captain” mode, he does like the idea of keeping you on the edge, but it never lasts.  As soon as you buck your lips and the first little, “please” leaves your lips, he’s done. He has to give you everything.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

He’s not quiet, but he’s not going to scare the neighbors.  He’s a talker, surprisingly.  It’s like whatever filter he has as a commander just slips away the moment he buries himself inside you. He praises how you feel.  He mumbles curses and promises until they turn into delirious grunts and groans just before he cums.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Everyone in the 501st knows you guys are fucking the moment you start, even if Rex never tells anyone anything.  He is terrible at hiding his feelings toward you.  Add that to the fact both Fives and Jesse noticed the not so subtle hickies all over his body, and it’s not hard to guess where he got them from.

Rex denies it whenever it’s brought up, but everyone knows the truth.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again; EVERY SINGLE CLONE IS HUNG WITH A THICK EIGHT INCH DICK! And since all of them don’t really have a frame of reference as to what’s “big” or not, they all assume they’re average size (at least until they get someone in bed).

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Not crazy high, but after he meets you it’s like his sex drive just triggered into over drive. It could also be because you guys are apart so often.  But, either way you’re having sex almost every night you’re together.  Maybe after the war things will calm down, but not before then.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Almost as soon as you guys finally decide to call it a night.  He’s fallen asleep a few times while in the bathtub with you, is all I’m saying.

[shadeswift99]

I've been seeing a lot of new people around Hermitblr lately (and on this blog specifically), and it just occurred to me that some of you might not know just how many brilliant and talented Hermitcraft fans there are to follow! So, I've created this not-at-all-exhaustive list of blogs run by people who I respect and admire SO much for their creations and their good vibes. If you haven't already, go follow them! They are amazing, you won't regret it. (Also, feel free to reblog and add on to the list!)

@mleemwyvern - Fantastic AUs, fics, and art, especially centered around Team ZIT and special powers/weird game mechanics

@sleepyrinas - Creator of the False and Grian detective AU!! Amazing art and writing for that, go check it out you won't regret it

@betweenlands - Legendary. Co-author of the expansive and multiple-year-long 77-2 project, among other great fics and AUs. Occasional art, constant vaguely unsettling chaos! (In the BEST way possible)

@slimetek - Hermitcraft stimboards, all-around fun, and a writing production quality and sheer volume of words that will blow your mind. Check out any one of their fics, they are AMAZING.

@theres-an-impulstor-among-us - Perfectly selected clips, and more than enough expertly-crafted minifics to have you reading all the way into the morning

@impulstor - Amazing art for Hermitcraft and 3rd Life, and high-quality hilarious Hermit Among Us night liveblogging!

@hermette-historian - An absolute must-follow for any new Hermitcraft fan, especially ones who are interested in learning about the server's journey to the place where it is now. Witty and extremely dedicated commentary on Hermitcraft history, written so there's not a boring moment to be found!

@bat-connoisseur - Art that pops with colour in the best ways, and fics that do exactly the same!

@fluffy-papaya - A steady stream of expressive and fun sketches and comics, especially of Team ZIT!

@eexer-watches-hermitcraft - Really interesting and observant comments, quotes, and ideas about Hermitcraft in general, plus a good amount of Etho (no such thing as too much Etho!)

@12u3ie - The #1 place to experience the Joe Hills Difference is a Joe Hills stream. The #2 place to experience the Joe Hills Difference is Twelve's blog! Resident Joe expert, owner of some excellent and extensive OC lore, and overall certified nice person to be around.

@/joehills - Joe Hills

@netherite-sword - Hermitblr royalty as far as I'm concerned! The nicest tags and answers to asks this side of just about anywhere, and art and writing that are way way better than she'd ever admit. (Ooooo you want to follow Dawn Netheritesword so bad go go go -)

@plcklesontheseafloor - AMAZING Hermitcraft art, and also creates MC content of his own on YouTube! The style of both is just so soothing and amazing, you won't regret checking it out

@chaggle - THE ART. THE ART. I have no way of accurately describing just how good this Hermitcraft art is, you'll just have to go see for yourself, but I promise you it is GLORIOUS

@thatreallyminecraftsmygender - Zaph, another Hermitblr must-follow! Activity varies, but extremely cool analysis and general chill vibes can always been found here.

@stormjay0 - Very good and often hilarious Hermitcraft art, as well as a thriving MC YouTube channel! A very cool creator and person overall! (And also someone who still draws for season 6 and 7, if you're like me and not done thinking about that yet At All)

@redwinterrises - Amazing fic and regular (very good!!) text posts! A steady stream of 3rd Life and Hermitcraft content. I know almost everyone on this list is a must-follow in my books but...really, must-follow!

@ambered-glazed-sheep - Author of some of my favorite Hermitcraft fics, and owner of an art style I continue to be VERY jealous of. Plenty of Xisuma content! (Edit: HOW COULD I FORGET AMBER'S YOUTUBE she's an amazing Minecraft content creator too please go check her out!)

(I am certainly going to think of more that I've forgotten later, so I am 100% going to reblog at some point to add on to this!)

Yes, I just realized that almost all of these entries has at least one exclamation point...but hey, they really deserve it! Please go check them out, you won't regret it.

[nova-is-a-writer-now]

FOOLS pt.5: finale

[[Zuko x reader]]

<- previous

Summary: Zuko and Y/N had liked eachother for a while even though neither of them knew it. Y/N tries to get over her crush for him, failing miserably. So just when she decides to let go and embrace her feelings, the new Fire lord finds himself feeling jealous and decides to take matters into his own hands.

A/N: This took so incredibly long to write I am SO sorry, but I think it ended up pretty good. You’re finally getting some fluff in the middle of all this angst, and seeing as this is the finale I wanted to thank everybody for your support with this series. Everyone who has been sending asks, replying to the other parts, liking and rebloging, thank you so much, it really does mean the world to me. Also thanks to my favorite reader ever @eternally-infinitely love u lots <3

Ps: now that I’m done with this i have no idea what else to write so please send your requests, I might have a promt list up soon.

-IF YOU HAVE ANY REQUESTS DONE HESITATE TO ASK-

Zuko saw you hug the water tribe guy once again and walk away quickly. He thought that after an entire night of seeing you two together laughing along with his friends, you being picked up and hugged by him and overall just being happy, the burning sensation in his chest would lessen, but he was wrong. If anything everytime he saw you around him it seemed to make the flame that resided inside of him grow bigger and angrier.

He was standing at the main entrance of the palace, saying goodbye to all the guests that made their way to their homes. There were only a few people left when the water tribe guy approached him. He had gotten so much better at controlling his anger, but he was not too far away from letting his old self back out.

“Hey, you’re Zuko, right?” He said while extending his hand towards Zuko.

He took it into his own had and shook it politely. “I am... and you are?” His voice gave him away, even to him it sounded dark and calculated.

“Doko, very nice to meet you. Your friends told me a lot about you, it’s a shame we didn’t get to talk much tonight.” His own correctness and warmth made Zuko’s blood boil, of course he was perfectly controlled and civilized, and of course Y/N wanted Doko over him.

“Yes, a shame. I trust that Y/N kept you busy the entire night, she tends to be a great host.”

“She did, it was truly great seeing her after such a long time. Reconnecting with old friends is always a treat.”

Doko’s words confused Zuko, he tried to stop himself but his mouth acted faster than his head. “Friends? Aren’t you two...dating?” He asked, regretting it seconds after.

Doko’s face contorted in shock. “Dating? What gave you that idea? No, no. She and I saw eachother for the first time in many years the other day at the market. If I’m not wrong you were around too, right?” Zuko nodded lightly letting Doko’s words sink in. “Well, she and I know eachother from the Northern Water tribe, we both grew up there, but I had to move away with my family and we didn’t really stay in touch since.”

The weight of Zuko’s actions started to fall onto him. He’d messed everything up, all the things that were going on with Y/N in that moment were his fault, his damn fault for not knowing how to control his stupid emotions.

Doko must have seen the worried look on Zuko’s face because he adopted a more cautious tone when he said “Tell me if I’m completely wrong or overstepping a line here, but I really think the two of you should talk. I don’t know what’s going on between you, Y/N hasn’t said anything to me, but I know her, and whatever is going on, I’m sure it’s a big misunderstanding. She has a really hard time expressing her emotions, so if you’re waiting for her to talk to you first, it’s probably not going to happen.”

Zuko finally let go of his formal, tough facade and looked down. “Was I that obvious?”

“I see the way you look at her, and she looks at you the exact same way, believe me. It’s like both of you want to say a world of things to eachother but can’t seem to get them out. Talk to her... I’m sure that’ll smooth things out.” Doko placed a hand on Zuko’s shoulder before walking away.

He didn’t understand how Doko knew so many things, maybe his friends had filled him in while the two of you were talking in his office, or maybe he really just knew you that well. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, Zuko knew Doko was right, he needed to talk to you, say he was sorry and explain everything, no matter how hard it was.

So, he waited around until every last guest had left the palace, then until his uncle and friends all said their goodbyes, and lastly until Mai was the only other person there.

“So, you realized already this was a terrible idea and I was right all along?” She said waking up to him, causing the sound her high shoes to echo in the empty halls.

“You can tell me how stupid I am and how you told me so later, Mai. Right now I need to figure out how to fix this mess” Zuko said crossing his arms.

“I will, I’ll torture you about it until the day you two get married and maybe even after that, but you’re right, what did that guy tell you?” Mai asked in her usual emotionless voice.

“He told me they aren’t dating, that they’re just old friends and he hadn’t seen her in a long time before two days ago.” Zuko made a pause before looking up at her. “Get that smirk off your face, Mai, this is serious, I fucked up really bad.”

“Sorry, I just can’t believe how right I am sometimes.” She was about to make another joke when she noticed how worried Zuko actually was. “Ok fine, listen here dumbass, you made a mistake, a really big one, and you ended up hurting her a lot. She’s going to need time to forgive you, don’t expect her to just forget about it and instantly go back to how things were before this, cause it’s not gonna happen. What you’re gonna do is man up, go talk to her right now and explain how much of an idiot you are, tell her that you’re sorry and respect whatever she decides after that. If she forgives you or not that’s on her, she doesn’t have to forgive you just because you apologized.” Mai cared about very few things in this world, but Zuko was one of them. Even though they’d broken up a while ago, he still grew up with her, they shared a lot of experiences together and he understood everything that happened with Azula. She couldn’t let Zuko mess things up with you, specially because she actually thought you were good for him. Not that she would ever accept it out loud.

“I’ll do that. Thanks, Mai.”

—————————

“I don’t think there’s anything for us to talk about, Zuko” you said not moving an inch from where you were laying.

He sighed heavily before saying “Does you saying you wanna move out count as nothing?”

You didn’t reply, you knew it was a little extreme and you hadn’t really thought about it fully up until that point. You didn’t want to move out, actually you wanted the exact opposite, but when you said it you felt like you couldn’t be around Zuko a second longer and it just slipped out.

“Y/N, please. You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, but just listen to me.” He used a tone you had never been able to say no to, and he knew that. Regardless of anything that could ever happen between you two, he was still your weak spot, and despite your best self preservation instincts, you turned around and sat up to face him.

Your face broke Zuko’s heart even more than it already was, you looked so hurt, so tired and heartbroken, and all of it was his fault.

“Y/N... Mai and I-”

“You don’t have to explain any of your personal life to me, Zuko. You don’t owe me explanations, you can be with and do whatever you want with whoever-”

“I’m not with Mai, Y/N” Zuko cut you off before you could finish. “That’s what I’m trying to say. She and I aren’t a thing, and we haven’t been in a very long time.”

You looked at him confused before saying “Zuko... I saw you two kissing.”

“I...I know. Y/N, it was all a dumb thing I planned to... I don’t even know what I was trying to do. The day we went to the market I saw you with Doko, your face lit up as soon as you saw him, and you two got so close... I thought you were dating, and I can’t explain how that made me feel. I’ve tried so hard all this time to be better and control my emotions, but when I saw you with him all of it came back. I wanted to make you feel the exact same way I was feeling, so I called Mai over and asked her to pretend to be with me, she told me over and over again it was a bad idea but I didn’t listen.” He looked down to his hands ashamed before continuing. “I let fear take over me. I lost my entire family, aside from my uncle you’re the only one I have, you’re the only one who cares about me enough to stick around, I was so scared of losing you too.” He reached to where you had layed your hand and covered it with his. “Y/N, I am so sorry, I’m sorry I hurt you and treated you like I did, I’m so sorry I messed things up between us.”

You took more than a few seconds to process everything that Zuko said. You didn’t know how to feel, on one hand he wasn’t dating Mai and that was a relief, but on the other he purposely did something he knew would hurt you, he went out of his way to make you feel bad and treat you poorly. You forced words out of your mouth because you knew keeping them inside wouldn’t help either one of you.

“Why didn’t you just talk to me?” You asked him softly, your voice breaking a little.

“Because I’m an idiot Y/N, I didn’t think Doko and you could be anything other than a couple and I was blinded by jealousy” Zuko was being sincere, that much you knew. His tone made him sound like a kid.

“Does that mean all this time you had feelings for me too?” You asked carefully.

Zuko moved his hands up to your face and cupped it. “Yes, Y/N, I’ve liked you so much for so long and I was too much of a coward to tell you. Everything I wrote on that stupid speech about Mai was actually about you. I wrote it thinking of you... I don’t want you to move out, I want you close to me, and I know I don’t deserve it, but please... stay with me.”

You took a few seconds before speaking again. “I need time” you said covering his hands with yours before removing them from your face.

Zuko looked hurt, his eyes were sad and you could swear there was a hint of fear in them, but he nodded at your words and tangled his fingers with yours before saying. “I understand.”

He stood up from your bed and walked to the door, giving you one last look before walking out, leaving you all alone again.

That night you rolled around in your bed for hours on end. Zuko’s confession wouldn’t leave your head, his words replayed over and over while you tried to make sense of everything. You couldn’t say you hated Zuko, but you couldn’t say you weren’t mad at him either, and the question of what to do about him and the feelings he had confessed was still pending.

—————————-

The morning of the last day your friends were going to be in the palace came around. You all decided you didn’t want to do much else than lay around and enjoy the little time you had left together, and a good spot to do this would be the palace pool, as it was big enough for everybody, and would definitely make the unforgiving heat a little more manageable.

At first, your mood was still a little heavy, specially when you found out Zuko decided to take the day off to spend with the group. It’s not like you didn’t want him to join you guys, but wounds were still fresh and you still felt like you needed time and space from him. Regarless of how you felt, you also understood he wanted to spend time with his friends, and they wanted to see him too, so you pushed your feelings down and promised yourself you wouldn’t ruin this day for anyone, not even for yourself. You could forget about the situation for a day.

So, that’s exactly what you did, you focused your attention instead on the game of water volleyball the boys were playing. You laughed hysterically when Aang hit Sokka in the face by accident and he fell over splashing onto the water dramatically (He was fine after Suki gave him a big kiss). After they were done, everybody went into the pool and started splashing eachother, even Zuko and you got into a water fight for a quick moment. It felt nice to have things be normal again, even just a little.

Around midday Zuko went off to talk to his uncle about political business before he had to leave, while you and the group stayed at the pool. Not even five minutes after Zuko left, you heard your name being called behind you.

When you turned around you saw Mai, dressed a little more casually this time. You didn’t react for a few seconds until she broke the silence once again.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” She said standing awkwardly at the sight of you and your friends.

“Yeah, sure” you said, walking towards her and guiding her back into the palace halls.

“What’s up?” You asked her, the feelings of jealously and anger that came around every time you’d seen her those past few days no where near now that you knew she and Zuko weren’t together.

“Listen, I felt like I needed to apologize. I assume Zuko already talked to you and told you everything, so you know it was his idea to begin with, but I still shouldn’t have gone along with it. I did tell him he shouldn’t do it, but you know how he is.” She said, not an ounce of emotion in her voice. You knew, though, that didn’t mean her apology was insincere, that’s just how Mai was.

“Mai... it’s fine. It’s not your fault, it’s Zuko’s for dragging you into this. You don’t need to apologize.”

“You’re still mad.” It was more a statement than a question.

“Yes, Im still mad, Mai. Wouldn’t you be? Zuko went out of his way to purposely do something he knew would hurt me. How am I supposed to feel about that?” You wished you hadn’t let out all those things to Mai seeing as you didn’t really know if you could trust her or not, but you couldn’t help it.

“Youre right, I would be. You can be mad for as long as you want to, but just know that he is trying. I’ve never seen him try to be better for anyone as much as he does for you. I’m not going to make up excuses for what he did, but you can’t expect him to react to situations like a normal person when he grew up with an absent mother, a psycho sister and a monster of a father. He’s just never had to deal with people like this before, and specially with someone he likes this much. Just... give him another chance... or don’t, it’s not my business, really.”

With those words, Mai walked away leaving you in the hall, her words lingering in your head.

——————————

The afternoon sun was already starting to set when it the time for your friends to leave came around. You hated goodbyes, specially when it came to them. With their things already in the carriage, Katara and Suki came to hug you.

“We’re gonna see eachother again soon, ok?” Katara said, her comforting skills never failing.

You hugged her and thanked the spirits she had been there for all of this. You don’t know if you would’ve been able to get through the past few days without her.

Then you hugged Suki while hearing her say “I hope you make amends with him, you make a really nice couple.” you giggled and shrugged her lightly.

“I hope so too.”

Aang and Sokka came right behind them, already having said their goodbyes to the fire lord. The water tribe boy went to you first while Aang went to Toph.

“Don’t be a stranger, ok? And keep us updated on your romantic adventures, we’re all very intrigued.” he joked while giving you a hug.

“Idiot” you said breaking up the hug. “Keep those water tribe girls away, I don’t want Suki breaking any ribs.” He laughed back and headed to the carriage.

Finally Aang came along. You loved all your friends but you had to admit he was the best hugger of the group. “Bye, Y/N. Take care of them.” He said sofltly.

“I will, you take care of them.”

“Hey... next time I see you, I want to see happy. Doing whatever you want, but happy, ok?”

Aangs words almost made you cry, he always was one to know exactly what to say. You nodded softly as saw him be the last to get in the carriage, before it got lost in the horizon. You don’t know when Toph had left, but by the time you realized you were standing alone with Zuko in front of the palace doors as they were being shut close.

Instead of saying anything for you to stay, he let you walk away freely after a few second. Both your heart and your mind were confused, and although part of you wanted to let everything go and just forgive him, you needed to heal, it wasn’t fair to either of you to just hold this grudge inside of you.

————————-

And so you did. You took all the time you needed. Days passed after your friends had left, and those became weeks eventually. You weren’t giving Zuko the silent treatment, but you were a lot more distant than you used to be. You found yourself going out with Toph a lot more, anything to not be in the palace. You took a liking to finding libraries all over town, buying hidden gems in each of them, you went on a lot more walks, ate out a lot more, but most of that time was spent alone, giving you many opportunities to ponder on your feelings.

Throughout these weeks, Zuko was impressively understanding. He seemed to have taken you needing time very seriously. The firelord didn’t avoid you exactly, but also made no efforts to be alone with you. Sometimes you thought he might break, that he’d actually come up to you and ask you how much time does ‘needing time’ take, but he never did. He always kept his composure and control, and so did you.

Slowly but surely you started to sort your feelings out. Yes, Zuko had done very hurtful things, and you were angry about it, but at the same time you realized that there were two options on the table. You either decide not to forgive him, he gets over you as people do when things don’t work out, you get over him too and the two of you grow apart. You couldn’t phantom the thought of this space between you and Zuko being permanent, even the idea of it made your heart ache. Then came the second option, for the first time since you’d met him, you give into your feelings for him, you let go of all the fears that had been restraining you and let yourself take the risk of loving Zuko. This was an uncertain option, you didn’t know what would happen if you and Zuko actually got together, but your desire to find out turned out to be greater than your fear of uncertainty. Then, right in that moment, it was clearer than ever, you loved Zuko, and wasting more time with him wasn’t something you could allow yourself to do any longer.

—————————

The night you set yourself to finally talk to him, you were informed he attended an event that would have him out of the palace until rather late. You tried to go to bed, convincing yourself maybe it was better to talk to him in the morning, but you couldn’t get yourself to sleep. After a few hours you couldn’t contain yourself anymore, you made your way out of your room and to Zuko’s, to see if he was back already. Right as you were about to get there, a tall figure brought your attention to the balcony next to Zuko’s room. He was wearing a simple robe, seeking some comfort after wearing his formal attire for so long, you thought. He didn’t seem to hear you when you approached him from behind.

“Thought you were out until late tonight.” You said, visibly startling him a little.

Seeing him turn around made it clear you were right about what you wanted to do. He looked as handsome as ever, hair down a little higher than his shoulders now, the moonlight illuminating his face in the most heavenly way. He always found a way to take your breath away like the first day, even when he wasn’t trying.

“Y/N... yeah, I wasn’t feeling like spending the entire night there.” He replied softly, clearly shocked by your presence.

“Mind if I join you?” You asked approaching him slowly.

“Not at all.” Zuko’s eyes were still on you, a different kind of glimmer making them glow.

You stayed quiet for a few seconds looking for the correct words, he didn’t push you to talk. Finally you said “Zuko... I’m tired of being so far apart from you. This weeks have helped me realize, I don’t want to be away from you. I miss us, I miss how things used to be and... I think I’m ready to forgive you.”

He stood still besides you. You didn’t dare look at him this time, you were still scared of what his response would be, but before you could get any further into your own head, he muttered softly. “I miss us too... I’m really sorry, and I know I’ve said it so many times now, but I am.” He grabbed your wrist and turned you around to face him. “I don’t want to hurt you, you mean so much to me, Y/N, and if you’re ready, I want to show you how much better I can be, I want to make it up to you, every single day. Let me be better for you.”

His piercing golden orbs met yours, and it seemed like so long ago since you had the pleasure of staring into them so up close. You smiled at him softly, covering his cheek with your hand. This was exactly what you wanted, there was no doubt about it. He was everything you’d ever wanted.

You closed the space between him and you, your lips covering his in the sweetes way they could. He didn’t return the kiss for a couple seconds but then you felt his hands go up to your neck, holding you tight while he deepened the kiss. You stopped kissing his lips to go to the corners of his mouth before pulling away to look at him.

You were about to say something when you heard a voice behind you.

“Finally! you two fools were starting to get on my last nerve. Now, keep your tongues out of your throats around me or I might just vomit”

Toph left as fast as she had appeared and left you and Zuko a giggling mess.

“She threatened you too?” Zuko asked, to which you could only hide your face in the crook of his neck and nod. “We might need to deal with her later”

Tag list: @darthsokaaa @royahllty @godoftheabyss @ilovespideyyy @literally-anythin @daddystevee @annie-are-u-ok @whalerus @galacticamidala @mangoberry43 @eridanuswave @katherinethedork @littleninjablake @taeeemin @cloudyloli @thyunnamed @itz-leaf-juice @aeciru @akiris @lammello @ivertha @someoneovertherainboww

[werewolfsquadron]

Hey! You’re my fav rdr fanfic writer. Got any recs now that I’ve worked my way through everything you’ve written! Thanks!

oh gosh, yeah do I have fic recs (and thank you for your kind words about my fics)! Fics are in the order they are in my bookmarks, so they’re pretty much in reverse chronological order. I’ve tagged those authors whom I know are on tumblr, but I’m sure there are others that are here that I just don’t know about. 

Morston:

Blackwater - gaslight (@gaslightwestern on tumblr): Noir AU, ongoing but almost finished. Arthur is a private detective, John is a bar owner during prohibition that hires Arthur to look into a murder. Does a super impressive job of capturing the noir tone in writing while not being cheesy about it. Lots of intrigue, mystery, and also Arthur and John being lovable dumbasses. John manages to be a homme fatale while also being his normal impulsive, dumbass self. 

Hard times come again no more - dilangley: Arthur survives the end of RDR2, and encounters John again while John is in Mexico during the events of RDR1. Complete. Really unique for Morston in that it takes place when both characters are older, and really well done. You get to watch Arthur and John build a life together, and survive what would normally be the end of their stories. The epilogue made me cry.  

I’m a Rover - anotherbird (@the-other-bird on tumblr): I’m a sucker for a post Blessed Are the Peacemakers fics and this is no different. After being suck in camp healing, Arthur decides to go for a ride and John refuses to let him go alone. Oneshot, so complete. Lots of feelings, and Arthur and John being unable to communicate them to each other because they have no emotional literacy. It’s wonderful. 

Hell Be Comin’ Round That Mountain - moonoverwings: There’s a frustrating lack of trans Arthur content in general, but especially with Morston, and this is one of the few, if not the only, fics I’ve found that just nails it. It’s ongoing and hasn’t been updated in a bit, so could be abandoned, but what’s there is great and still worth reading. Characters are well written with great characterization, and they really nail the “idiots in love” trope with these two. 

Golden day blues - Yuu_chi: Reincarnation AU where John tracks Arthur down after they’ve both been reincarnated into the modern day. Complete. Lots of complicated feelings and struggling with being alive, and the boys fistfight and fuck to deal with it. It’s good. 

Nothin’ - helvel: helvel’s got a bunch of great fics, but this is one of my favs. Modern AU where the boys are resting out in a shitty motel room after Blackwater, and things progress from there. Oneshot, so complete. It’s the unsaid and implied emotions, both good and bad, that really make this one for me. 

All of Them Wolves - thegoodreverend: AU where Arthur got out of the life earlier, and is living a peaceful life as a trapper up until John shows up in his house. Complete. Not only is this fic emotion heavy and full of the good feelings, but it’s got some excellent banter and John and Arthur feel in character throughout, even though they haven’t met each other before in this AU. This fic is definitely one of my favs. 

Charthur:

Lost Country - iridan: A coffee shop AU with a twist. Finished relatively recently. Characters are all so well written, and it doesn’t shy away from the darker or heavier parts of their characters. Arthur is a bartender/reluctant barista at Dutch’s bar/coffee shop, and Charles is a long haul trucker that’s started getting coffee there in the mornings. Arthur owns a small ranch and has a collection of rescue horses, and it’s wonderful. 

Come and Lay by My Side - boldlygoingnowherefast: When things start going downhill, Charles convinces Arthur to leave the gang with him just before the bank robbery. Complete. Some wonderful Charthur moments, but also looks into why leaving the gang would be so damn hard for Arthur. 

Up Strawberry Way - grantaire_dont_care: Charles and Arthur go on a hunting trip that doesn’t go as planned when they get discovered by O’Driscolls. Complete. I’m a sucker for hurt/comfort, and this has that in spades. Plus some great Charthur moments, especially in terms of having someone who actually cares about Arthur being there when he’s hurt. 

Out of the Dark - sky_daybreak (@shady-tavern on tumblr): A time travel fix-it where Arthur gets a chance to start over and try and fix the events of the game (and, y’know, get together with Charles). Complete. Not only does it have so many wonderful moments and heart-to-hearts, but also doesn’t try to pretend that everything can be fix. Some things still go wrong, but there’s happier endings for a vast number of characters, and Arthur gets to see much of his family safe on a ranch together. 

Dust and Devils (On My Conscience) - catwrites: An AU where Charles is a werewolf. Oneshot. I’m a sucker for the supernatural, of course, so this is one of my favs. Charles is keeping his werewolf status a secret, but Arthur finds out early in the fic, and that influences and colors what’s to come. 

Scars Are For the Living - alliancedogtags: AU where Arthur is shot in the final mission instead, and Charles comes back for him. Complete. Found this originally when I had just beaten the game and was looking for AUs similar to what I already had in my head for BALTWIO, just to see if someone had already done it. Arthur isn’t shot by Dutch in this one, but he does get brought to Charlotte’s place. Lots of sweet moments and that good hurt/comfort, and Charles and Arthur get to live a happy life together, which is the important thing.

gen or other ships:

Blessed Are the Hearts that Bend (They Shall Not Be Broken) - Disishistory: During Blessed Are the Peacemakers, Hosea goes after Arthur when he doesn’t show up after the meeting with Colm, and Micah tags along, which goes about as well as you might expect. Complete. Plenty of tension and hurt, but also has those comfort elements and found family feelings.

Soldier, Poet, King - nerdytf84fan: A long fic that looks at the early years of the gang, from just after Dutch picks up Arthur to, more recently, John’s introduction to the gang and Arthur’s breakup with Mary. Ongoing, but has been pretty steady in terms of updates. As with every fic on this list, the characters are well written and feel like themselves. Also full of found family feelings. 

Quest for Arcadia - nerdyft84fan: An Arthur/Albert Mason modern AU fic, where Albert visits Alaska for a photography project and ends up meeting Arthur, who has recently gotten out of prison after taking the fall for one of the gang’s crimes. Complete, and has a second fic full of (relatively) low stakes stories about the epilogue of the fic. Full of both really sweet moments and really heartbreaking moments. Albert still, even in a modern AU, finds himself getting into trouble with the Alaskan wilderness.

If Your Well is Empty - pipdepop (@pipdepop on tumblr): All of pipdepop’s fics are wonderful and definitely worth a read, but this and the second fic in the same series are some of my favorites. When Arthur’s hurting after Eliza and Isaac’s death, Hosea brings home a coonhound puppy to help ease the hurt. Complete, since it’s a oneshot. I’m a sucker for Copper fics, and this one is no different. Plenty of puppy shenanigans, but also some really heartbreaking moments that Copper helps resolve and turn towards healing. 

Nothing But A Note In A Symphony - pipdepop: A post Peacemakers fic, where we see each gang member’s thoughts throughout the worst of Arthur’s recovery. Complete. Really heartbreaking at moments, but ultimately really sweet, especially since it ends with a really nice Arthur & John moment, and has a follow up tag about Hosea and Arthur. 

Birdshot & Bone - magistrate: John and Arthur try to rob some O’Driscolls, and it does not go well. John breaks his leg, Arthur gets shot, and they get captured. Complete. I’m constantly in awe of magistrate’s characterization, and this has that plus all that wonderful hurt/comfort goodness. Plenty of John and Arthur arguing but ultimately caring about one another.

A Matter of Preservation - charlock221 (@charlock221 on tumblr): An Arthur/Albert Mason fic where Arthur agrees to be a bodyguard for Albert. Complete. Lots of wonderful Arthur and Albert moments, but also some tension as well. Includes hurt/comfort flavor later on in the fic. 

Brothers - gaslight: To borrow the fic’s summary, explores John growing up but from Arthur’s perspective. Complete. Really gets in deep with all those complicated emotions of the early years of the gang—from Dutch’s manipulation and Arthur’s feeling put to the side to the way Arthur and John absolutely would die for each other. Plus, there’s John being an absolute wild child which is always a fun ride, especially when you see how that carries into his adulthood. 

sorry about the wait! life has been ridiculous and I only now had time to go back through my bookmarks. I’m sure, too, that there are some fics out there that I’ve loved that I just forgot to bookmark, so don’t take this as an exhaustive list. and then, lastly, anyone should feel free to reblog this and add on their own recs—this list is just my taste, but I’m sure there are plenty of other wonderful fics that I either forgot to bookmark, never saw, or just didn’t check out in the first place because I wasn’t in the right headspace at the time. 

[quicksilversquared]

The Wavering Peahen: Chapter 1

When Nathalie started feeling oddly ill again, both she and Gabriel were worried that the Peacock Miraculous might somehow (impossibly) be to blame again.

So naturally, they pick someone else to be the Peacock for a bit. You know, as a test subject. Except the new Peacock... doesn't exactly know that.

links in the reblog

Ever since Miracle Queen's akumatization, Gabriel Agreste had been feeling pretty optimistic about his now-improved chances of defeating the superheroes. While he had lost the box of Miraculous because of his poorly-thought-through gamble with Miracle Queen, he had made other gains.

He knew who Ladybug's backup teammates had been, and could use that against them should they show up again. He had gotten the digital copy of the Grimoire, which was- well, maybe it was only partially translated, and some things still seemed to be in code, but it had some pretty interesting information in it, like what powers the other Miraculous- the ones that he hadn't seen in action yet- had. And best of all, because of the Grimoire, he had gotten the Peacock Miraculous fixed and now Nathalie could join him on a much more regular basis without putting her own health at risk. He had figured that that should be enough for them to secure a victory within a week, or at most a month, if things went really badly.

It had been five months and the superheroes weren't giving any ground, standing solid as they fought akumas and sentimonsters alike. It. Was. Infuriating. And for a man like Gabriel, who wasn't particularly patient to start with...

Well, some days it felt like anything could set him off. They should have won by now, darn it. They were two adults up against two kids. Getting their Miraculous should have been like taking candy from a baby... and yet it wasn't.

Across the room, Nathalie coughed, pulling his attention away from the grimoire and the hints for the potion ingredients that still seemed to be listed in some sort of ridiculous code. Gabriel glanced over at her, and Nathalie gave him an apologetic grimace before returning to her work.

She had had this dratted cold for at least two months now, and no, it wasn't just him exaggerating out of annoyance. It had started small- just a small cough here and there and the occasional sneeze, or the need for her to finish a day early because she wasn't feeling well- and gotten gradually worse. He had hoped that she might have recovered at least a bit over the weekend, but instead she had come to work looking substantially worse than before.

While he had tolerated her coughing before- after all, she was helping him out with his mission and previously getting sick because of it- coughing from a common cold was simply annoying. It was grating and disruptive and kept pulling him out of his concentration. He hadn't said anything about it yet, of course- it was not, after all, Nathalie's fault, she didn't want to be sick- but it was annoying nonetheless.

Gabriel reached across the desk for his phone and ordered a large ginger-honey tea and a bag of cough drops for Nathalie. Maybe that would help quell her coughing.

Now, back to the grimoire... what on earth could they mean by tears of joy...?

Seven minutes later, the tea and cough drops arrived and were promptly delivered to Nathalie's desk. She murmured a quiet thank you. The chef nodded, then retreated from the room at once. As soon as the office door swung shut behind him, Gabriel could feel Nathalie's gaze slide to him.

"I take it you're annoyed by my coughing, sir?"

"It is a bit disruptive, you have to admit," Gabriel told her, finally deciding to put a flag on the potion ingredients section (really, he could only puzzle out about half of them, it was ridiculous and Nooroo apparently had no idea what the infernal clues were referring to either) and move on. He was severely behind on his design work, so perhaps he would do that for a while. "So I came up with a potential solution for it. Is that a problem?"

"No." Nathalie considered her tea, then took a small sip and made a face. "Though I might have preferred to order my own tea. This one...is not a favorite of mine."

"It is what many people recommend online for a sore throat. I thought it would be best, considering how long this cough seems to be lingering."

Nathalie opened her mouth like she was going to comment on that, then clearly decided against it. A moment later, she smothered a yawn. "I suppose that makes sense."

Gabriel frowned. "Is your cold still not getting any better? It's been months."

"Not particularly. I haven't been congested, which is a relief. But-" She yawned widely again, then frowned. "And I've been sleeping fine! I don't know what the issue is."

"Well, maybe you should finish what you're doing and then take off for the day," Gabriel suggested, both because he was tired of the coughing and, well, if Nathalie was feeling poorly and coughing that much, then the smart thing for her to do would be to go home and not infect the rest of the house. If that was even possible, considering how long she had been feeling under the weather. "Get some rest, and come back when you're feeling better."

"And if there's an akuma attack?" Nathalie asked, straightening and frowning at him. "I don't want to be the reason you miss out on winning, simply because there wasn't a sentimonster there to assist."

"If you're awake and able to take a break to help from home, then that would be much appreciated," Gabriel decided after a moment's consideration. "Thank you."

"Of course, sir." Nathalie glanced back at her screen, did a few quick clicks, and then downed her entire cup of tea in one go. "I've come to a decent stopping point. Anything else can be finished at home."

"You're meant to be resting," Gabriel reminded her. "The work can wait. And the company does have plenty of secretaries, we can always assign some of your work to them. Actually- yes, if you're feeling up to it, it would be nice to get a list of what can be done by others. Then I can reassign those things right away and get them checked off before we get too far behind."

"I'll have an initial list done by the evening." Nathalie did a couple more clicks, then shut her computer and started gathering up her things. "Text me if you're going to akumatize someone, and what their powers are going to be. Then I can come up with a complimentary sentimonster. I can set up an alert on my phone so I won't miss it."

"Thank you." Gabriel watched as Nathalie packed up her computer, then rose to open the door for her. "Keep me updated on how you're feeling, okay? And don't push yourself too hard to come back early. You do better work when you're not ill."

"Of course." Nathalie nodded to him, then headed out the door. Gabriel watched her go for a moment, then turned and headed back to his work.

Maybe he really should spend the rest of the day focusing on his designing. After all, if Nathalie was sick, it was probably only a matter of time before he got ill as well. And Gabriel no longer designed when he was unwell, for- well, for a multitude of reasons.

(He had only just managed to get fully out from the shadow of the infamous Cold Medicine Dress of '02 recently. Misstepping and having a repeat of that particular incident would not reflect well on the company.)

Actually, now that he was thinking about it, it was better to be safe than sorry. Reaching for his phone again, Gabriel ordered an array of multivitamins for himself, plus a bottle of hand sanitizer for his desk. He also requested that the maid to come in early and wipe down Nathalie's work area, just in case.

Some might call it overkill. Gabriel was simply of the opinion that it was better to be proactive than reactive.

  Five days later, and Nathalie was still feeling under the weather. She had even fainted later in the week, she admitted to Gabriel when he called to check in on her. And she swore that she had been resting properly and getting plenty of sleep.

"It's been really odd," she told him two days later, after dropping into the mansion to collect a few more things to work on from home. "I've not been congested or had a runny nose at all, and that- that's a hallmark of cold and flus, right? And there's not been a fever at all." She frowned, clearly reluctant to continue, but she forged on anyway. "It almost feels like- like a slow onset of- no, that can't be it. It's impossible, I shouldn't even think about it."

Gabriel frowned for a moment, about to snap at her to just spit it out, and then it hit him like a train. Tiredness, weakness, fainting, feeling sick but not congested or snotty at all- those were all things that they had seen before.

Like a slow onset of using the Peacock when it was broken.

He wouldn't want to say that out loud, either. That sort of possibility...

But he had fixed it!

"Nathalie, do you think..." Gabriel started, then trailed off, entirely unsure of what he wanted to say. The Peacock causing the problems should have been an impossibility, but- well, how were they meant to test that? Because they had to test it, before Nathalie got any sicker. "Perhaps we should hold off on any further involvement from the Peacock for the time being, and return the brooch to the safe? Just in case."

"But Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Nathalie protested. "And this could be a cold, but there was just some damage still from using the Peacock before and it's gotten snarled up in the cold? Or maybe it's just lingering effects that are rearing their head. Because you fixed the Peacock, it should be perfectly safe to use."

"I know, but we should test it." Gabriel didn't like the idea, either, considering that it meant no sentimonsters assisting him. He would double-wield, but Nooroo had told him that it wasn't the best idea. Besides, if something had gone wrong in the fixing, he didn't exactly want to risk his own health. Particularly if he was going to be going out to assist his akumas to try to tip the scales in his favor. "I wonder if a couple weeks without using the Peacock would be enough for us to draw a conclusion about if that's at the root of the problem, or if we might need longer."

Nathalie was frowning. "But sir, if we just go back to akuma-only attacks- right now, we still have the advantage. Ladybug and Chat Noir haven't managed to fully rebuild and retrain a backup team yet because we've kept up the pressure on them. If we let up on the pressure, that could let them catch back up. We have to keep up on the attacks."

"And I'll do that, with the akumas." Gabriel's mind was made up now. He couldn't risk having Nathalie getting sicker. Besides, what if it was something more serious, like- well, perhaps like cancer? He wasn't sure what signs of cancer were, really, but those kinds of symptoms seemed like the sort of thing that cancer would maybe cause. At this point, he honestly wasn't sure what was the worse option, cancer or the Peacock somehow malfunctioning again. "And I want you to go to the doctor and get tests run. We want to come at this from all angles. Maybe it is just a cold, but we want to be sure."

"I can have the tests run without giving up the Miraculous," Nathalie protested. "Wouldn't it make sense to at least check and see if there's something else going on before we jump the gun and take the Peacock off of the battlefield? And what if it's just a cold and I coincidentally get better after I'm not wearing it? There's no real way to test anything."

That was fair enough, Gabriel supposed. He tapped his lips, considering.

They could, of course, just go off of whether or not Nathalie got sick again once she resumed using the Peacock- assuming, of course, that her health improved after she took it off. But that would be putting her at risk again, and he didn't particularly want to do that. If they had another ally, they could always have that person use the Peacock while Nathalie recovered. If it made them ill, then he would simply have to lock it away, or attempt to do another fix on it.

Except- oh. He had almost forgotten, but technically they did have another person on their side! She wouldn't be his first choice in most circumstances, but the number of people who would actually go along with Hawkmoth's plans was limited and he couldn't be too picky.

"We can have our other ally test it," Gabriel announced grandly, quite pleased with himself for coming up with the plan. "Then I'll continue to have a Peacock by my side, and if they get sick, too, we'll know what the problem is."

Nathalie frowned, puzzled. "Another ally? Who? The Gorilla?"

"No, no, of course not!" Gabriel snapped, somewhat exasperated that she hadn't immediately caught on. Adrien's bodyguard was loyal to the family, sure, but not that loyal. He'd turn them into the authorities in a second if he found out about Gabriel and Nathalie being the city's supervillains. "Are you crazy? He would never support this. Think harder- the only person besides us who has willingly been akumatized!"

Nathalie only had to think for a moment, and then her eyes went wide. "Lila Rossi? But sir, isn't she, ah..." She tilted her head to the side, considering how to word her concerns. Gabriel chuckled.

"Spiteful? Petty? Childish? Perhaps. But she's also hell-bent on revenge against Ladybug at the moment, has no moral compass, and is very easy to manipulate. She wouldn't think twice about taking on a Miraculous and using it regularly." Gabriel was liking the idea more and more, really. If Lila got sick, it was really no skin off of his nose. Her use to him in her civilian form was starting to wear thin, and she was regularly gumming up the works in the photoshoots that she took part in. Her no longer being allowed to model due to health reasons would be a bonus, not a concern. "I would know who she is, she wouldn't know who I am, and if she tries to step out of line, I know who her mom is." He had an entire file folder on Mrs. Rossi and her ex-husband, plus some information on Lila's extended family. If she tried to take the Miraculous and run... well, he knew exactly where to look. "A few well-placed threats, and she would fall right back in line. She could take over the Peacock's duties for a month or two to give us the chance to figure out if your health has anything to do with the Miraculous."

"It seems risky," Nathalie commented after a moment. "I mean, I don't doubt that you'd be able to control her, at least in the long term. But what if she goes out and joins the fight? She's ruled by her emotions, it seems, and she might not think through the possible consequences." She snorted. "Actually, never mind might- she won't think through the consequences. Add in the fact that she'll only be able to be out for five minutes after she creates a sentimonster..."

"It's not ideal," Gabriel acknowledged. "But your health is important. This will allow us to ensure that the Peacock is safe to use going forward, while still providing me with some degree of backup."

Nathalie sighed, then very quickly slid into a nearby chair before she could collapse after her legs wobbled. "I suppose. I want to say that I'm just being paranoid, but this is just a little too similar for my comfort."

"It is. It's not just you." Gabriel tapped his fingers against his leg, trying to consider everything. He would bring the Miraculous over that evening, once dark had fallen. "Anything else to consider? You've dealt with Ms. Rossi more than I have."

"Just that she thinks that she's a master manipulator and will probably think that she's capable of tricking you," Nathalie warned after a minute's consideration. "Every time I talk with her, she has this look on her face that just screams that she thinks we're dancing to her tune. Something like that could be a liability. She could think that she can get away with more, unless you're very clear with her about how she doesn't fool you one bit from the start."

"True." Her delusions had to be very thoroughly stomped out. Perhaps he should record their entire interaction when he gave her the Peacock, just for blackmail purposes. One foot out of line, and he could get her in quite a lot of trouble. Working with a supervillain would not be taken lightly. "I'll do that. And if she decides to act out and cross Hawkmoth... well, she'll regret it."

  Just like he had suspected, Lila had been all too willing to take over the Peacock duties. He hadn't told her why, other than Mayura was temporarily unavailable and unable to fight, but that wasn't information that she had to have. Perhaps she would have accepted despite the potential risks- Lila seemed hotheaded enough for that to be a very real possibility- but he wasn't willing to risk her turning him down.

Gabriel smiled to himself as he tucked away a copy of the recording of his visit to Lila away in a safe spot. He had her right where he wanted her, and if his read on her emotions was anything to go off of- which it was, his magic emotion detector was very reliable- then she wouldn't be acting out or attempting to double-cross him. Lila had promised to make it to every akuma battle that she could- she was very interested in seeing Ladybug's downfall, after all- and to exercise some common sense about what she could and couldn't handle, since Hawkmoth would be very displeased with her if she lost the Peacock... and besides, being unmasked as a supervillain in that way wouldn't go well for her, either. Being defeated and unmasked as an akuma didn't ever get anyone in trouble, but if she had had a Miraculous...

Lila had turned sheet-white at that thought. Clearly even she wasn't cocky enough to think that she would be able to get away with something like that.

All in all, it had gone pretty well, Gabriel thought. Soon enough, they should know if using the Peacock was still a problem, or if Nathalie could reclaim it. If it went well, and if they ever managed to get their hands on another Miraculous- one of the ones that the superheroes always pulled out as their backups- then they would have a third team member trained and waiting in the wings.

He truly hoped that it would go well. If it went really, really poorly... well, he might just end up regretting this whole thing.

[gisachi]

i hv request! just do 1-50 already i'll gladly read it, also could you make a list for every shinran fics you've made (or you recommend maybe) bcs i wanna read all of it, i love your writing style, you're doing great!! and is 1-50 is too much, than can you do 33 or 16 or 13 please? or up to you i'll read them all. thank you so much and sorry for a long message, have a great day, nice to meet you!💓💓💓

Hii, I know it’s been almost 3 months since you sent this so I’m sorry for the long wait, Anon! First of all, thank you for your kind words and for liking the drabbles. 🥰 Second, I already made the list as you suggested so feel free to browse through my past fics and the fic recs I’ve reblogged! Third, here is your request and though it’s short, I hope you find this cute because tbh I did! Ehehe 💕 Have a great day, too! 

13. Butterfly kisses against the other’s cheeks. 33. An unexpected kiss that shocks the one receiving it. (667 words)

.

.

.

“Ne, Shinichi?”

“Hmm?”

“Since when did you learn to take care of someone sick?”

Attention diverted from his favorite novel, Shinichi scoffs, eyes thinning at the sick lady even though she can’t see him from her viewpoint.

“Barou. You think I can’t do that? I’m extremely offended.”

Ran giggles weakly as she snuggles closer, resting her left cheek atop his chest as if the warmth of her blanket isn’t satisfying enough. Shinichi rests his head on the arm of the couch, their huddled bodies occupying the whole length of the furniture, feet almost dangling on the other end.

He sighs, then smiles, fingers combing Ran’s messy ponytail with gentle strokes.

“I learned from the best you know. Back when I was still Conan.”

Ran’s eyes are closed, but Shinichi knows she’s listening with the way her lips curve upwards and her breath escaping sharply from her nostrils.

“Yeah…I bet you did.”

He smirks proudly, still stroking her hair. “But apparently the best also happened to learn from me. That forehead press you kept giving Conan is so unoriginal, by the way.”

“Heeey. It’s a life hack. The sole thing I learned from you that isn’t related to Holmes.”

“Wow. Take that back, woman.” Shinichi flicks her forehead teasingly, and Ran fakes pain by covering the spot he flicked with her hand.

“Why are you so mean to a sick me?” She tilts her head up ever so slightly, looking at him while pretending to be hurt.

His eyes narrow again, glaring but not really. “You know what? Close those puffy eyes. Rest. I won’t talk to you anymore.”

“Pfft. Okay, Doctor Watson.”

Ran’s left cheek meets his chest again, her right arm slumped over him and her blanket wrapped around her like a burrito, while Shinichi resumes stroking her hair with one hand and the other holding his A Study in Scarlet pocket book.

Alternating his attention between the novel and Ran, Shinichi watches her drift to sleep above him, or so he thinks, because a few minutes later Ran crawls a little up to position herself beside his face, and suddenly he feels something soft and delicate fluttering against his right cheek.

His eyes widen in surprise, heart skipping a beat as he takes a moment to understand what she’s doing.

Her long lashes bounce on his cheek as she blinks in rapid intervals, like butterflies flapping their soft wings over his rose petal skin. The tip of her nose touches his jawline, her warm breath tickling his neck. Though there isn’t any pressure from her lips - they cannot kiss, after all - somehow the sensation feels the same—breathtaking, intimate, and simply...nice.

“Thanks for taking care of me,” she murmurs, and he barely catches it if not for her speaking right under his ear.

She leaves him speechless even after she has stopped, unable to move as his heart bursts from the overflowing warmth and love brought about by such a small yet unexpected, innocent yet tender manifestation of her affection, the best she can do for now.

Had it not been for their proximity, he might have also missed her silent, restrained ‘I love you’ before she returns her weight on his chest and closes her eyes, cheeks dusting with a stronger shade of pink than from ten seconds ago.

Ten seconds. It lasted ten seconds but for him it felt like eternity.

He takes a slow, steady sigh, unconsciously biting his lower lip to contain a growing smile as he realizes how he’s been completely defeated by his girlfriend. His mischievous, sick, beautiful girlfriend. Even in that state, she still makes him weak.

He cranes his head down, planting a featherlight kiss on her hair, faint enough for her not to feel. No more disturbances, she needs her rest as much as his heart does, its decelerating rhythm likely lulling her to sleep as they lie together on the couch in peaceful silence.

“I love you more,” he whispers before returning to his book.

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[hopesbarnes]

Black Swan (6)

Summary: Y/N used to be a Russian spy under the code name Black Swan. But that was a lifetime ago. Now she’s a part-time avenger, dance teacher, surrogate sister to Natasha Romanoff, and trainer to new Shield Agents. She’s come a long way from the days of killing targets and being tortured. But when someone from her past comes around will she be able to ignore her history anymore? Or will she end up falling in love with the only man her sister ever loved?

A/N: There will be a double post tomorrow at 9pm and I promise you it’s good! Also! If you haven’t seen my post about taglist please check it out (I just reblogged it) If you are currently on tags and I don’t hear back I will remove you. 

((also huge shoutout to @disaffectedbarnes for helping out and catching my dumb spelling mistake))

Later on, when you’re back at the compound you run into Bucky. Literally. 

“I’m- oh hey! Sorry!” you said when you realized who you had run into. 

He blinked at you a few times then simply said, “You like movies.” It wasn’t really a question, more like a statement so you nodded and he grinned wide. 

“I started watching movies from this list online, it said that they’re movies everyone should see. I’m on this one now, wanna watch it together?” he asks bashfully holding up Titanic. Upon seeing the title you agree. 

“It’s one of my favorite movies, but we need tissues and food before we start. It’s like three hours long,” you say heading into the kitchen him following in tow.

“Tissues?” he asks. 

“Trust me.”

A little bit later you have pizza, chips, tissues, and tea and you’re setting up the movie. 

“Sinkin’ happened a few years ‘fore I was born. Ma talked about it once I think, and we learned about it in class,” he says. 

“I always forget how old you are,” you say amazed that he was only a few years younger than the ship. 

You’re at the point in the movie where Rose jumps back on the ship and Celine Dion is playing in the background. You’re full-on crying and Bucky looks over to catch your mouthing along to the “You jump, I jump right?” line. He pauses the movie to look over and ask if you’re okay. But instead of answering you just scold him for pausing and tell him to shush and watch. He just nods a small smile on his face despite the movie. 

As the band stays to continue playing the tears are falling down your face even more. Bucky reaches out to hold your hand and rub circles across your palm as he watches the movie intently. When the scene of the elderly couple in bed and mother tucking her kids plays you swear you see a single tear fall down Bucky’s face. 

When Bucky watches Rose realize Jacks’s dead you actually see Bucky crying. Not just a few tears, but completely puffy-eyed. When the movie ends you’re now completely cuddled up against him and both of you have tears free-flowing down your faces. 

“That was beautiful. And sad. But mostly beautiful. I mean they really loved each other.” he says after a few minutes. 

“Yeah, makes you wish you had someone to give everything up for.” He looks at you for a moment, and you look back holding his gaze. For some reason, you can’t look away. This man who has been through so much holds your attention and you realize it’s not that you can’t look away, it’s that you don’t want to.

After a minute of just holding each other’s eyes, he slowly leans in and you don’t pull back. You can barely see his face, the low lighting of the credits is the only thing lighting the room. But it’s enough, and as his lips meet yours you feel right. Your hand reaches up to hold his cheek, and his arms circle around your waist, almost as if making sure you are really kissing him. Your eyes are closed tight, and all you feel is his soft salty lips, still wet from the tears that fell. The kiss isn’t rushed or intense like every other kiss you’ve had before this one. No, it’s tame and affectionate and you can feel each and every one of his emotions all at once. Your mouth moves in time with his. And it feels like home. He feels like home, like safety and everything you’ve ever run from. And just as soon as it began it was over. 

“I uh- that was nice,” he says completely flushed. 

You laugh lightly, “Yeah, it really was.” 

He smiles at the sound of your laugh. “Promise you won’t tell anyone I cried, it would ruin their ideas of me.” 

You laugh even more, “I promise, but in return don’t tell anyone about that kiss. I want to figure this out with you first before anyone knows.” Mostly Natasha.

He nods, “so this is a this?” He asks timidly.

“Yeah, I think I want it to be.” he nods again and you just lay in his arms for some time, feeling perfectly content.

Later on, you leave his room. But not before a few more kisses, and promises of returning tomorrow. You head back to your room tired from the long day and fall asleep. It’s the first night in a long time you don’t wake up or have nightmares, and you have a small inkling as to why that might be.

The next morning you wake to multiple texts from Natasha. Your phone buzzing nonstop and you somehow manage to grab it, and open your eyes enough to read her texts.  

Nat: So… 

Nat: I slept over his house.

Nat: I’m in deep

Nat: Haven’t felt this way since I was young

Nat: Wake! Up! Need to talk about this!!

You reply half groggily.

Y/N: Coffee and food. Need. Talk while eat. Ok. 5 minutes.

Somehow Nat understands your choppy text and sends an okay back. You begrudgingly get up and throw on some clean clothes and meet her in your kitchen. She’s by the stove humming to herself.

“Morning sleepyhead,” she says far too cheery for 7:30 am.

“No.” you reply honestly. 

She shakes her head and sets down coffee and a plate of Blini. 

“Блины? Должно быть, он был очень хорош в постели, чтобы ты приготовила мне блины.” (Blini? He must have been really good in bed for you to make me pancakes.) you say while eating.

“Сисси, О Боже, это было хорошо,” (Sissy, oh god was it good) She says sitting next to you with a plate of her own. 

The two of you breakdown into giggles. She tells you more about her night, and how birdbrain is just as accurate and precise in bed as he is with his bow. She seems happy, happier than you’ve seen her in a long time. 

All you want is to feel just as happy as her, and maybe Bucky is your chance at that.

[jamielea81]

Conversations

Chapter 10

Description: You accompany your friends on a day trip to Animal Kingdom Theme Park where you meet Scott Evans by chance. This one afternoon leads to a year long friendship with both Chris and Scott over text messages and phone calls.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

Warning: Fluff and Angst, I’m sorry. Probably a swear or two.

Word Count: 6,157 (I know!)

A/N: I know nothing about the lives of the Evans family and mean no harm. This is purely fiction and for fun. Reblogs and comments are much appreciated! The tag list is now closed. Each chapter tends to get reblogged from me a few times, so if you’re following me, you can’t miss it. See additional note at the end.

*Italics are internal thoughts

Catch up with Chapter 9

**

A simple “I’m home” was texted to Chris when your feet hit your bedroom floor. You were slightly concerned you may have been too clingy about the “not seeing him again soon enough” comments you shared. What you really wanted to say was “I’m home and missing you already”, but you refrained. He replied with “glad you made it home safe, sweetheart”.

This was strange for you and you didn’t quite know what was going on with your emotions. With Ethan, it was all too much too soon. The spending nearly every day together was entirely too much. In the end, that relationship really made you lose sight of yourself. With Chris, your time together wasn’t nearly enough. And you couldn’t forget that fact that your relationship was undefined. It was new and not exclusive. You didn’t plan on seeing anyone else while you were seeing Chris, but did he feel the same way? You just needed to have the patience to see where it would go.

**

Before heading into work, you were stopping by Jana’s office to fill her in on your trip. She’d been busy as of late, more so than usual, so the two of you hadn’t seen much of each other. Up until today, you had successfully avoided Ethan on your two other trips to her office. Once by luck, and the second by careful planning. You hadn’t seen or talked to him since you ended it in your favorite coffee shop a couple of months back. It was still your favorite coffee shop, you just didn’t visit there on Sundays anymore. Jana had given you the heads up that she had already seen him that morning, so there was a chance of running into him as well. It was bound to happen sooner or later, might as well face the music now.

Grabbing two “I Love NY” coffee mugs from the shopping bag you picked up from the airport, you checked your reflection in the mirror once more before going to your car. In all honesty, you weren’t trying to look good for Ethan, not at all. But it didn’t hurt to look good in front of your ex. Besides, you really did have that new relationship and you just had sex glow going on.

**

“Could you be more cliché?” Jana asked, picking up one of the mugs.

“Most people would say thank you for the gift, Jana.”

“Thank you,” she says sarcastically, but offers you a smile.

You successfully made it from the lobby to her office without an Ethan sighting. Although, you kind of wanted to get the first run-in over with. You didn’t plan on ending your friendship with Jana despite her less than thrilled response to the souvenir you brought back, so you were bound to see him. Wasn’t like he was leaving the firm anytime soon now that he was partner.

“I don’t have Fifth Avenue money, woman. Besides, wasn’t like we did a lot of shopping. Figured that it was a classic New York souvenir,” you said, shrugging your shoulders.

“I really do appreciate it. It’s cute,” she said sincerely. “Besides, you know how much Brooks loves collecting coffee mugs.”

“Hence why I got you each one,” you said matter-of-factly.

“Suppose you didn’t leave the room much anyway.” Her eyebrows raising and lips forming a smug smile.

You leaned over her desk, smacking her arm lightly. Wasn’t like you were Instagramming all weekend. She apparently could read your mind.

“No comment,” you replied, leaning back in your seat, your arms crossing over your chest.

“You do know that no comment is admitting guilt?” she asked.

“Who says I feel guilty?” you replied.

“Good for you. Really, Y/N. I’m happy for you.”

You nodded and smiled slightly.

“It was a nice getaway. He makes me happy,” you said honestly. “I just feel so comfortable around him, you know? I mean of course, I was nervous. You know that. But when we’re together, it’s just nice.”

“It’s probably because you guys were friends first. You already had that existing comfortability.” She leans back in her chair with a soft smile. “That’s really great. When do you think you’ll see him again?”

That was the million dollar question.

You licked your lips and then chewed on the inside of your cheek. “Um. That’s a really good question and I’m still trying to work that out.”

“Well, hopefully soon.”

“I don’t disagree,” you replied.

**

You made it to the elevator with no Etahn sightings. Grabbing your phone out of your purse, you saw you had a text from Chris.

Chris: I like me better when I'm with you I knew from the first time, I'd stay for a long time 'cause I like me better when I like me better when I'm with you

“How does he even know that song?” you asked to yourself.

Y/N: You know that song?

Y/N: And I like me better when I’m with you too. 😘

Chris: It was on your phone. Played it a couple of times when I was at your house.

He’s got quite the memory.

Pressing the call button for the elevator, you wait patiently for it to arrive. There was one problem though, you couldn’t get out of your own head. It was going to become more difficult the more time passes without seeing Ethan. You didn’t want to be nervous every time you came to visit Jana. It was silly really; you had known Ethan over a year before you started to date. Taking a deep breath, you turned around and walked to his office.

He didn’t notice you at first. His eyes glued to his computer monitor while his pointer finger scrolls endlessly on the mouse. His door is open but you definitely feel like you’re intruding.

Just knock already! Say something!

“Knock. Knock,” you said while literally knocking on his door.

I’m such a dork.

“Y/N!” he blurts out. His face is one of surprise but he quickly straightens it and gives you a polite smile. “Please come in.”

“I’m not interrupting anything?”

“Just the usual.”

Surprisingly it isn’t as awkward as you thought it would be. Of course, Ethan is a lawyer and can keep a straight face when he needs to, so if he’s nervous, he isn’t showing it.

“I just haven’t seen you, so I wanted to say hi. Was just visiting Jana and on my way out,” you said in a rush.

Okay, so maybe this is awkward.

“What have you been up to?” he asks tentatively.

You’re still standing slightly in the doorway which is adding to your unease. Gesturing with your hand to one of the two chairs in front of his desk, he quickly nods. You sit down and you feel slightly better even though you are much closer to him now.

“I’ve been good. I’m doing more stories for the online edition of the paper lately and a few have been picked up nationally which is great.”

“That’s really great, Y/N,” he replied.

It’s sincere and you’re happy he’s lost that cocky demeanor he used give you before you were together. One fear of yours was that he’d put on the show again. Despite being together for only a couple of months, he really opened up to you during that time.

“How about you?” you asked.

“Good. Great actually. Works been busy but we’ve brought on quite a few clients. Busy is good.”

“I’m really glad,” you said. “So..”

“So, are you seeing anyone?” he asked.

Back to awkward then. You hesitated for a moment.

“Do you really want to talk about that?”

“Sorry. We don’t have to,” he replied. “Seen any good movies lately?”

You chuckled and then told him about the nature series you’d been watching on Disney+.

Were the two of you going to be best friends? No, but you never were and that was fine. At least now you felt that if you ran into Ethan, pleasantries could be given without running the other way.

**

For years, your boss has encouraged you to attend a writing conference. Every year you find an excuse not to go. Well, you went once, maybe six years ago, but you just hadn’t gone back. They were paid for by the paper except for food and spending money. That wasn’t the problem. Attending a conference took time away from your job. They were usually held in a ballroom at a hotel that had you holed up for hours, never allowing you to see the sun. And since they ran up until the time for you to fly home, it didn’t make much sense for you to travel to another city to attend one and never actually see the city. That is until you thought about seeing Chris. You could easily enough have your ticket extended to allow an additional night or two in order to spend time with Chris if you could get your schedules line up.

There were three upcoming conferences you could attend; Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and St. Paul.

You grabbed your phone and fired off a text to Chris figuring you’d bring it up to him before suggesting it to your boss.

Y/N: Any chance you’ll be in LA the week of August 2nd?

The conference was being held August fifth through the seventh which was a Friday. Staying until Sunday evening would make it a short weekend, but time together was still time together.

Chris: The short answer is yes. Taking a quick look at my calendar I have nothing scheduled, so I could be in LA then. What’s going on?

Y/N: I have to talk to my boss, but possible work conference. I’d be free the weekend though.

Chris: More time with you? I’m sold.

“I’m falling fast,” you whispered to yourself.

The truth was, you had already fallen and it scared you to death. If this were any other guy, it wouldn’t be as scary. You’d been in love once before but it ended on bad terms and you’d been afraid to give your heart away ever since. You were never in love with Ethan, but the relationship was rushed and you fell into it easily. But this was Chris. The two of you would never have a normal relationship and that’s what made you hesitant. If you were having a bad day, you couldn’t call him to come over. You couldn’t crawl into bed with him after working on a story late into the night. He couldn’t stop by to watch a movie with you. This was long distance to the extreme.

Chris: I still feel bad last weekend fell through.

Chris planned on flying into Orlando to spend a few days at your place, but something came up and he had to cancel. Sure, it was a little bit of a letdown, but his life was busy and he was in demand, you couldn’t fault him for that. You had seen him a couple of weeks prior so it hadn’t even been that long.

Y/N: Baby, it’s fine. Honestly. Hoping August works out. I should know soon.

While you and Chris still hadn’t discussed the status of your relationship, it had kicked into high gear. He was texting you more often, usually with sweet words and telling you that he missed you. Some of the texts had reached into that R rated category which made you blush, especially if you were out with friends or at work. There were no nudes exchanged or anything like that; neither of you trusted the security of your phones completely. But there were a few occasions that you needed to call him right after receiving one of those messages.

You fired off an e-mail to your boss explaining that you wanted to go to a conference next month. You gave him the dates and asked for approval. Now you just needed to wait.

**

It was quarter to midnight and you were in bed reading Circe. Looking to expand your reading beyond the latest Disney news as well as the articles published in your employer’s paper, you joined a book club a friend from college started. You were determined to finish the thing on time for once, even if it cut into your normal viewing of the late-night talk shows.

Just as you were getting into a flow with the chapter, your phone rang. Scott had impeccable timing. You had already had your almost nightly phone call with Chris, and no one else besides Scott dared to call you so late.

“Good evening Grumpy. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“You seem to be in a fine mood. What’s got you so cheery?” he asked.

“Let me guess. You’ve talked to your brother?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Unfortunately, I know you both too well at this point. Might as well end the friendship now since there’s nothing new to learn,” you sassed.

“You’re such a brat!” Scott groaned. “Yes, I talked to my brother. It’s how we do.”

“Ahuh. I know you can’t see me, but I’m sticking my tongue out at you.” And you did.

“So, tell me about the trip,” Scott said in a cheery voice.

God, you loved Scott. You could give him shit and he could give it right back but at the end of the day, you both loved each other.

“Well, nothing’s official. I still need to wait for my boss to approve the trip and for the admin to confirm my travel. But if all goes well, I’ll be able to see Chris for a few days. So, hopefully.”

“I’m sure it will all work out,” Scott replied.

“Any chance you’ll be in town that weekend?”

“Maybe. I’ll have to check with Zach,” he said.

“Ooooh! Do I maybe get to meet the famous Zach?”

“Maybeee. If you’re good,” he replied.

“Hey! I’m always good.”

“Ahuh. Moving on,” he said dismissing you.

“You realize, if this all works out, this will be the first time the three of us will be hanging out.”

“That’s not entirely true. The day we met, Chris was there,” Scott reminded you.

“Yeah, but barely. I think he said hi to me and that’s about it,” you chuckled.

“My how the times have changed,” he laughed out.

**

Much to your delight, you had an e-mail from your boss approving the conference by the time you made it to the office. You quickly typed out an e-mail to your boss’ admin Patty, asking that she extend your flight until Sunday, but advised you wouldn’t need a hotel for those additional days.

Y/N: Guess who’s coming to LA in a couple of weeks?!

You spun around in your chair much to enjoyment of your co-workers.

“Sorry, just got some good news,” you said, smile on full display to Allie and Erin who looked on.

Your phone buzzed in your hand with a text from Chris.

Chris: Baby, that’s great!

In about two weeks, you’d be seeing Chris again. You couldn’t wipe the smile off your face even if you tried. Granted you had to attend three days of lectures and small group discussions, but you get to see Chris! You made a promise to yourself to try to enjoy the conference and learn something from it. By doing so, you would award yourself by being in the company of a man you really liked. It was well worth the reward.

Chris: We are so going to Disneyland.

You smiled at his response. The two of you really belonged together, at least you felt that way.

Y/N: Anything you want. Just excited to spend time with you.

Chris: I feel the same way. I’ll call you later.

**

Always the last-minute packer, you stood in your closet two nights before your flight to California starring at the clothes you no longer deemed good enough for such a trip. It was silly really, you wore business casual daily, even owned a couple of suits. Then your weekend with Chris, besides the trip to Disneyland, you probably wouldn’t be wearing much clothes. You smirked at that thought. It was a nice one to have and you hoped it played out that way.

Y/N: What should I pack for a writer’s conference?

Jana traveled a lot for work and her style was always impeccable. If you were going to trust anyone to help you pack, you’d trust her.

Jana: You’re not packed yet?

Y/N: Have you met me? Best friend of seven years.

Jana: I’m coming over, but we’re drinking after.

You could handle that so you quickly agreed to her deal. Who were you to argue with a high-powered attorney?

**

Jana’s idea of drinking was not from the bottle of vodka you kept in your freezer. No, she made you put on actually pants and leave the house. The sweats you were wearing were name brand, you did not see the problem. The central air in your house was set to ice cube, so you often lounged in sweat pants even in the dead of summer. Neither of you wanted to drive far for a drink, so you settled on a nearby chain restaurant with a bar. You were always down for chips and salsa with your margarita.

With chips stuffed to capacity in your mouth, Jana chooses that moment to ask your relationship status. As if she doesn’t already know.

“There’s no status, at least not yet,” you said, hand covering your mouth to avoid any crumbs from escaping.

“Do you think you guys will discuss it?” she asked, popping an overflowing salsa covered chip in her mouth.

You shrugged your shoulders. “I would like to talk about us, at least come up with a definition. Are we just having fun? Is this friend’s with benefits and I just don’t know it? Are we dating? Is he seeing other women?”

“And you have the right to ask that. What do you want it to be?”

“That’s a really good question,” you answered honestly. “I’m realistic about this whole thing, at least I’m trying to be.” Taking a sip from the frozen concoction in the oversized glass, you really thought about what you wanted. It wasn’t hard to figure out. “If we can make it work, I’d like to say that we’re together exclusively. I just don’t know if it’s too soon or if he’s not on the same page. I know he cares about me. He’s said it.”

Jana nodded along to your reasoning, stealing a few sips from her own glass. She set her glass down, placing her chilled hand over yours. “Be honest with him.”

You gave her a small smile and nodded in agreement.

**

The flight to Los Angeles was longer than you expected. Summer storms didn’t help with the time or the comfort of the flight. Patty was nice enough to get you a window seat since you hated having to let the others in your row out ever time they wanted to get up. But since it rained through the first half of the flight, you kept the window shade lowered.

Patty booked you at the Hilton Los Angeles in Glendale where the conference was being held. At least this way you didn’t have to pay for transportation to and from the conference each day, but once again it proved your point that you would never see the city. Hopefully Chris would be up for a drive this weekend so you could see some of the sights. You’d been to California twice. Once on a family vacation to San Diego when you were a kid and a trip to Disneyland with your dad shortly after your parents got divorced.

After settling into your room and doing a quick Google search for a place to grab dinner, you sent Chris a text to let him know you were in. The two of you discussed him joining you, your first night, but he wouldn’t be in town until late and the conference started bright and early the next morning. You wouldn’t have much time to see him in the evenings after each session, so you needed to deal with waiting until Friday like originally planned.

Y/N: I’m here. Lots of storms on the way out, so my nerves are pretty shot. Text me when you get settled at home.

Dinner was quick at Italian deli a few blocks away. You picked up a couple of snack sized bags of chips and freshly made rice krispie treats to bring back to the room. You almost let the guy at the counter talk you into a giant pickle, but you’d figure somehow the packaging would open and you have a mess in your room. Smelling like a pickle wasn’t the impression you wanted to make tomorrow morning.

Chris didn’t text until close to three in the morning. You’d kept the volume on your phone up when you started to fall asleep around eleven. You really wanted to make sure you received that goodnight text from him. The thought of it coming in at three in the morning and him being drunk off his ass didn’t cross your mind.

Chris: Baby!

Chris: You in my 2nd state home

Chris: 2nd home state

Chris: So drunk

Chris: Miss you

While you were glad he texted, you were a little pissed that he waited until the early hours of the morning to do so. A quick goodnight would have been great before he got drunk. Deciding that arguing with a drunk person didn’t get you anywhere, you put your phone on silent and went back to sleep.

On your lunch break, you sent Chris a text, but kept it simple. You almost called him before your eight AM welcome breakfast, but you knew he’d still be sleeping at that time.

Y/N: Hope you’ve slept off that hangover.

The morning sessions hadn’t been as bad as you imagined they would be. You met a couple of great people during your first breakout session and already agreed to drinks in the hotel bar later. Brooks had sent you a message that one of the senior writers from his new employer was there as well. He had given her your name and you promised to keep an eye out for her name tag since he hadn’t scheduled a meet up between the two of you.

You were already wrapping for the day before you were able to check your phone again. Chris had sent a text around two in the afternoon.

Chris: I’m so sorry about that. A buddy picked me up from the airport and we went out.

Chris: Hope your first day is going well.

Scott had also sent a text to check in with you. A week after the two of you discussed all being together in California, he let you know your schedules wouldn’t line up as he would be in New York that week. You were bummed but you knew you’d make it work eventually.

After a quick elevator ride to your room, you called Chris before changing into comfy clothes for drinks with your new friends.

“Hey,” Chris drawled out.

“Hey yourself. Just got done for the day.”

“How was it?” he asked.

“It was a lot better than I figured. A couple of really great journalists are presenting each afternoon, so I’m learning a thing or two. Most of it is pretty inspirational.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” he said.

“Me too. I’m actually meeting a couple of ladies I met today for drinks in the hotel bar before I crash tonight.”

“Speaking of drinks,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’m really sorry about last night.”

“You mean this morning,” you corrected.

You heard him let out a sigh. “Yeah, this morning. I apologize for texting to so late and for being a drunken idiot.”

You laughed lightly at his response. “It’s fine babe, just maybe text me before you start drinking next time.”

“Absolutely,” he chuckled. “Do I need to worry about late night drunken texts from you tonight?”

“Nope. Technically I’m working, so two and I’m done. Besides, don’t need to embarrass myself in front of people in my industry. There may be a lot of people employed in this field, but word travels fast. Before you can blink, I’ll be known as the drunko from Orlando.”

“The drunko from Orlando. I like it.”

“You would,” you chided. “But listen, I need to get ready.”

“Have fun, but not too much. I’ll be sure to keep a look out for drunko from Orlando trending on Twitter.”

“You’re such a brat. Lucky, I like you,” you replied.

“I could say the same sweetheart.”

“Two more days,” you muttered. “Two more days until I can kiss those lips to get you to be quiet.”

“That all you’re gonna do?”

“While I would love to delve into this conversation further, I need to get going,” you sighed out.

“Alright beautiful. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Chris said.

“Night handsome.”

**

You were on your second vodka sour, heavy on the lime, of course, when a woman had stopped at your table of three and smiled brightly at you.

“Are you Y/N? Y/N Y/L/N?”

You laughed nervously, might have been the drinks. “Yes,” you drawled out.

“I’m Asia Williams. I work with Brooks,” she said, offering you her hand.

“Oh my gosh, hi!” you replied, standing up to firmly shake her hand.

“Brooks had sent me a picture of you. Don’t worry, it was flattering,” she said with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you. Would you like to join us?”

She looked down at your companions and then back to you. “I won’t be imposing?”

The other two ladies shook their heads.

“No, not at all. We all just meet today so we’re just getting to know each other,” you replied.

After introductions, Asia ordered a glass of white wine and chatted with the other women.

It was about nine when the other two ladies said goodnight. You all had ordered appetizers to munch on in place of dinner and you found yourself still picking at the humus and carrots, trying your best not to speak with your mouth full.

“I looked you up. Occupational habit,” Asia said, ducking her head slightly. “I really loved your piece on education in the climate change era.”

“You read that?” you asked, slightly embarrassed. It was one of those pieces that was really outside your norm, but you felt compelled to write after watching a nature documentary that you tended to get wrapped up in. “I know it got picked up by a few outlets, but I never hear feedback on my non entertainment pieces.”

“It was great. You actually have quite a few great stories in your portfolio. Ever think about writing that fulltime?”

The truth was, you had. You loved writing entertainment, it was fun and it barely felt like work most days. You however longed to be taken seriously outside your immediate area. The challenge of writing outside your comfort zone was thrilling and you often longed for that feeling again weeks after a story was published.

“Uh, yes, actually. It is something I’ve been thinking about. But I’m also hesitant because I’ve been writing entertainment for years. Even before I started working at the Sentinel, I worked the local beat for smaller papers. It’s a little intimidating. Kind of scary to go from being kind of a big fish to a small fish,” you answered honestly.

“Listen. Brooks is a big fan of yours and after reading quite a few of your stories, I am too. I’m going to leave you with my card. When you’re ready, give me a call. I’d like to bring you on.”

You’re sure you looked like a cartoon character at that moment because your eyes couldn’t possibly be any larger than they were. She stood up and you followed suit.

“Thank you. Are you based in Orlando?” you asked.

“No, I’m in New York. We have writers all over the country. If Orlando isn’t for you, you don’t have to stay there. We don’t offer a moving budget, but do offer a large signing bonus that many have taken advantage of. No pressure. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you.”

“Likewise. I’ll be in touch. And I’m sure I’ll see you at the conference,” you said with a smile.

Lots to think about. But that would need to wait.

**

Thursday kept you busy with non-stop breakout sessions. You had to switch tables at least three times and ended up with a table full of sports writers at the end of the day. You were never one to follow sports outside of school, so you mostly just nodded and pretended to understand what they were discussing.

Rather than going back to your room to change, you decided to walk to the deli for dinner first. You picked out a small table against the window and dug out your phone while you waited for your sandwich to be finished.

Y/N: I’m so excited!

Y/N: See you soon!

Chris would be picking you up promptly at three tomorrow afternoon. The hotel would hold your luggage after you checked out that morning to attend the final day of the conference. The last session was scheduled to end at two thirty, so you’d have a half hour to grab your luggage to change and freshen up.

Rather than text back, Chris was calling you instead.

“Hey you,” you answered.

“Hey sweetheart. Are you all done for the day?”

“Yep, just grabbing dinner from a deli down the street. I’ll probably watch a movie on my iPad and pack when I get back. I’m so excited to see you tomorrow.”

You heard him let out a big sigh.

“Somethings come up. I’ve a, I’ve got a meeting with a director tomorrow night. My agent set it up. It’s for a huge movie that they’re considering me for which is why it’s important I take the meeting.”

“So, so, I’ll just hangout at your place while you’re at the meeting? Do you need me to Uber to your place?”

“Sweetheart,” he breathed out. “Listen baby, the meeting is in New York, so I actually have to fly back out East tomorrow morning. It’s not going to work out this trip.”

Your heart hit your stomach.

I will not cry in public. I will not cry in public.

“Oh,” you said, it was the best you could muster.

“Sweetheart I’m so sorry. If I could move it I would.” When you didn’t respond, he continued. “I’ll a, I’ll set you up in any hotel you’d like. Have a car bring you there until your flight on Sunday.”

Oh right, my flight’s not until Sunday.

“Um.” You had to think for a moment. “No, no,” you said softly. “I’ll just change my flight to tomorrow night or early Saturday.”

“Y/N, I don’t want you to have to scramble to change your travel plans. Do you want to go to Disneyland still? I’m sure I could get you a room at the Disneyland Hotel. You could make a story out of it, comparing the two parks.”

He was trying, you had to give him that. It sounded like a good story idea, but your head wasn’t in it. You were just so disappointed at the moment that all you wanted to do was go home and get into your bed.

“That’s really sweet, but um, I think I rather just go home. My foods here so I’m gonna eat and then head back to the room. I’ll a, I’ll call you later.”

He groaned slightly. “Please call me when you get back to the room. I want to talk about this more.”

“Okay, yeah. I’ll call you. Bye Chris.”

“Bye.”

You numbly picked at your sandwich while you checked the airlines app regarding change fees. You didn’t want to stay in Los Angeles, not alone anyway. There goes your plan about defining your relationship. The reasonable part of your brain tried to reason that this was his job and sometimes you have to make sacrifices for work, but the part of you that was falling more and more for Chris each day wanted to be selfish.

Chris had texted you at some point during your walk back to the hotel. You fished your phone out of your purse once you kicked off your shoes and laid down on the bed.

Chris: I’m so sorry

Y/N: It’s fine

Chris: Don’t do that.

You could see that he was typing something out, but you clicked out of the text and back to the airline’s application. There was a flight out at six tomorrow night, you figured you could leave the session a little early and request an Uber to the airport. Before you could change your mind, you changed the flight, accepting the one-hundred-dollar change fee.

Rather than looking at the text, you called Chris back since you promised you would.

The phone rang only once before he was answering.

“Are you mad? I feel like your mad.”

“Hi to you too,” you replied. “I’m not mad. I’m disappointed.”

“I know. I am too. Trust me,” he insisted.

“What time’s your flight tomorrow?”

“Early, around seven I think.”

You let out a frustrated sigh. “This is twice Chris. Work is important and I’m not going to be one of those girls that wants to be put as a priority, but I don’t have the capacity to just take off and come meet you whenever. I can’t go to another conference for a year. This just sucks.”

“I know. I know!” he growled. “I’m coming over.”

“You’re what?” You started to do the math in your head. With traffic, he wouldn’t make it to your hotel for at least an hour, maybe two. It was already late. Then he’d have to turn around and go back to his place to get some sleep before going to the airport before dawn. “Babe, don’t. There just isn��t time. When would you sleep?”

“You’re right. You’re right. Please let me set you up somewhere nice. We’ll book a couple of spa treatments. It could be a mini vacation for you,” he offered.

“I’ve already changed my flight. I just don’t feel like being here alone. But I appreciate it. Just promise me you’ll make time and come stay with me. I’ll have to work, but at least we’d have the mornings and the evenings.”

“We’ll do that and I’ll stay until you get tired of me. I’ll be your pool boy while you’re working.”

“God, you’re such a dork. How’d Scott put up with you all those years?”

“Ma’am, watch your lip. It was I that had to put up with him.”

“You can be my pool boy as long as that means you’re shirtless while I’m home,” you said.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

**

Walking into your house at midnight, you barely had enough energy to change into your pajamas. Settling for a t-shirt, you slipped under the covers and sent Chris a goodnight text.

Y/N: Back in Florida. Hope your meeting went well. Call me tomorrow sometime.

**

Waking up to a three text messages from your brother on a Saturday was pretty out of the norm. Granted it was almost noon.

Heath: Are you guys not together?

Heath: Call me when you wake up.

The third text was a direct link to TMZ. Clicking on the link brought you to an article titled Boozing It Up. Your phone screen was filled with pictures of Chris surrounded by bottles of beer and alcohol. He looked heavily intoxicated from what you could tell. A few pictures had who you assumed were friends holding him up. In one picture, a woman had herself draped across his lap with her arms around his neck. One of his hands was resting on her lower back, close to her butt while the other held a bottle of beer.

That talk defining your relationship was apparently not needed. Now you knew. You were just a girl he was seeing. You definitely were not exclusive. Didn’t mean it was any easier to swallow. You were in your thirties and really thought you’d left casual dating behind in your twenties.

Your phone started to ring in your hand.

Chris.

You hit the decline button. Wanting to take a chance to breathe and center yourself. You weren’t exclusive. You shouldn’t even be upset. Neither of you talked about what you were to each other. He said he cared about you and you cared about him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not allowed to care about someone else. Or more than one someone.

Chris: Please call me before you read anything today.

Chris: Some photos came out, but I want to explain myself.

**

A/N: I’m sorry! Just know I am a happy endings girl.

Chapter 11

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