#i still plan to make a sketch. god bless. we will see.

[vldlance]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEEEEEIIIITTTHHH!!!!!!!!!

[p-receh]

Need to rant feel free to ignore :D

Have you seen the new windara poster? I'm very excited for june now, i am SHOCKED at how well the bug aliens look. Also kokotiam's armor design looks so fun and fits so well with the overall bug theme (Gopal and fang are hilarious i cackled when i saw them)

Boi's an ant and theres probably an essay someone already wrote about the meaning behind that, yaya's a lady bug and gosh she looks pretty, ying is a bee and i love the sporty look since bees are very fast bugs so it fits very well (also thank God she finally has a helmet my girl you are basically at a war protect your head dear God) it also fits better than the previously more "mage" look which.. did not make sense to me WHY she was designated that class

Fang and Gopal are Hercules beetle and rhinoceros beetle, which looks absolutely hilarious but makes sense. Again theres probably already an essay out there about the significance of each bug that has been designated for each kokotaim member so i won't bother you on that (though the research is fascinating and i highly recommend!)

Now.. بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ...

Consumers. Kindly. SHUT UPPP

Kritics are getting WAY too comfortable, we get it its not based on the comics designs. Infact i'd argue its better since the comics are literally just them with armor. In a bug planet. They have armor. For. Humans. That LOOK human, with the exception of Fang's but do you realize how nonsensical that sounds?

Also we were already told there were going to be changes in the story and design. The creators were very open on that, you don't like the 3d animation design? Great! You have a preference, sure; fantastic happy for you, we have our opinions so kindly. Shut up :D

Look kritics are normal i am not dissing on that, i'm more on people being mad that kokotiam doesn't look as "pretty" or "cool" or whatever and all i can say is. ARMOR IS FOR PRACTICALITY NOT LOOK POINTS WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE ONNNNNNNN

Also adapting a 2d design from a comic to a 3d design is HARD (trust me, blender i both love and hate you) thats not even counting ANIMATING it, you hate the 3d version? Well boi do i have good news for you that theres a 2d version :D its in the comics thats FREE for you to read on webtoon.

There wasn't even supposed to BE a galaxy season 2, there was no preparation for it ehich is why the comics are so different than the status quo. They took risks because there was never a plan for an animated version. So the fact we're getting anything at all for FREE mind you is a BLESSING

You can kritic sure yeah thats fine but use at least polite wording. These are people thats working on these things not your slave.

DON'T JUST SPEW NEGATIVITY AROUND LIKE ITS NOTHING. YOUR RUINING THE FUN FOR EVERYONE; THOSE WHO DIDN'T MIND THE DESIGN CHOICE, THOSE WHO JUST WANNA HAVE FUN, THOSE WHO ARE ENJOYING BBB JUST AS IS.

You have a specific design or writing that cater to you or you enjoy more? Do it yourself :D

Grab a pencil and start writing/sketching. HAVE FUN, you may not like it but not everyone is like that. There are those who like it, there are those who don't mind, there are those who understand that its not easy to create an adaptation.

Moreover the comics and show have very different audiences. Look at the difference between movie 2 and its comic, you can see that some scenes were either soften up or cut entirely because what audience it caters too more

If you want a more serious and emotionally mature view you can go read the comics (they are fantastic btw! Highly recommend movie 2 and the compilations)

Take a deep breath and think for a second. Is this kritic important? Is there an ACTUAL issue with this design choice? Will there be people who feel hurt by your words?

Anyway how was your ramadan and eid? Did you have fun :D ?

ALLAHUAKBAR ANON 🤣🤣

I can feel your emotions went turmoil in your long essay and yet still managed to end it with a smile. Of course I could not ignore yours anon😅

Have you seen the new windara poster?

Definitely~~ :3

The poster fire af!!!!!!!! It packed from top to bottom!

(oooooh I'm scared yet excited for the fully animated version of Beliung omgggg >_<)

I'm very excited for june now, i am SHOCKED at how well the bug aliens look. Also kokotiam's armor design looks so fun and fits so well with the overall bug theme (Gopal and fang are hilarious i cackled when i saw them)

Boi's an ant and theres probably an essay someone already wrote about the meaning behind that, yaya's a lady bug and gosh she looks pretty, ying is a bee and i love the sporty look since bees are very fast bugs so it fits very well (also thank God she finally has a helmet my girl you are basically at a war protect your head dear God) it also fits better than the previously more "mage" look which.. did not make sense to me WHY she was designated that class

Fang and Gopal are Hercules beetle and rhinoceros beetle, which looks absolutely hilarious but makes sense. Again theres probably already an essay out there about the significance of each bug that has been designated for each kokotaim member so I won't bother you on that (though the research is fascinating and I highly recommend)

My biggest spotlight of all for me was how they reimagine the adult characters since well to be fair it has been uhh.... six years ago we had more than a few we had since movie 2? (Sori only had Gaharum and....uuuhh the trio lobster guys that I forgot what their names were in the tv ver :/)

And yes anon. The lady bug, Maripos, General Reramos and Princess Kuputeri. That number alone is a big step up from Sori. We also need to mention the army below in the poster. I highly appreciate they risking themselves by involving more characters like in Galaxy season 1.

To my suprise, I really looove Maripos in this ver. 😘🤌

Wait there's an essay behind Kokotaim's suit? Can I see???👀👀

Now.. بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ... Consumers. Kindly. SHUT UPPP Kritics are getting WAY too comfortable, we get it its not based on the comics designs. Infact i'd argue its better since the comics are literally just them with armor. In a bug planet. They have armor. For. Humans. That LOOK human, with the exception of Fang's but do you realize how nonsensical that sounds? Also we were already told there were going to be changes in the story and design. The creators were very open on that, you don't like the 3d animation design? Great! You have a preference, sure; fantastic happy for you, we have our opinions so kindly. Shut up :D Look kritics are normal i am not dissing on that, i'm more on people being mad that kokotiam doesn't look as "pretty" or "cool" or whatever and all i can say is. ARMOR IS FOR PRACTICALITY NOT LOOK POINTS WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE ONNNNNNNN Also adapting a 2d design from a comic to a 3d design is HARD (trust me, blender i both love and hate you) thats not even counting ANIMATING it, you hate the 3d version? Well boi do i have good news for you that theres a 2d version :D its in the comics thats FREE for you to read on webtoon. There wasn't even supposed to BE a galaxy season 2, there was no preparation for it ehich is why the comics are so different than the status quo. They took risks because there was never a plan for an animated version. So the fact we're getting anything at all for FREE mind you is a BLESSING You can kritic sure yeah thats fine but use at least polite wording. These are people thats working on these things not your slave. DON'T JUST SPEW NEGATIVITY AROUND LIKE ITS NOTHING. YOUR RUINING THE FUN FOR EVERYONE; THOSE WHO DIDN'T MIND THE DESIGN CHOICE, THOSE WHO JUST WANNA HAVE FUN, THOSE WHO ARE ENJOYING BBB JUST AS IS. You have a specific design or writing that cater to you or you enjoy more? Do it yourself :D Grab a pencil and start writing/sketching. HAVE FUN, you may not like it but not everyone is like that. There are those who like it, there are those who don't mind, there are those who understand that its not easy to create an adaptation. Moreover the comics and show have very different audiences. Look at the difference between movie 2 and its comic, you can see that some scenes were either soften up or cut entirely because what audience it caters too more If you want a more serious and emotionally mature view you can go read the comics (they are fantastic btw! Highly recommend movie 2 and the compilations) Take a deep breath and think for a second. Is this kritic important? Is there an ACTUAL issue with this design choice? Will there be people who feel hurt by your words?

ANON CALM DOWN

I absolutely understand your feeling, sister/brother. 😅

I think I already written an essay, twice. Either if it's your ask box or not I'm just gonna put it here

and here.

My version gonna be a bit different from yours, so bear with me anon. Every perspective from each individual is still counted as subjective, no matter how objective they are, including myself.

Ehem.

Me personally... I'm on both sides of the group. I can understand why some people are angry about the suit design because I'm gonna be honest, even tho there were two different media between the comic and the tv/movie, staying in the source material without changing anything is essential to any adaptation series.

So the way people are furious with it. I can see where are they come from.

'The Kokotiam armor suit is heavily different than the comic ver?' Valid; 'Still use the chubbier render ver from Sori when this arc starts to get darker?' Valid.

And other takes that I obviously ignore since that were just beyond logic. I kid you not, anon. When they posted it the first time, my instinct was muting all words related to Boboiboy or spending my timeline with another topic. Because your frustration was my biggest worry that came true.

But at the same time, not many franchise could do the same strategy. Sometimes, refurbishing them without losing the source material could also work WITH extra proper care and permission from many parties. Because this tactic is such a gamble to please anyone. I also highly recommend studying the story behind the redesign of Sonic Movie 2020, Pre-Launch-Post Launch, and the impact on its linked franchises.

(Well to be fair the MCU franchise starting from Spiderman 1 was also a good topic to study)

So my bet is...maybe Monsta doing the latter strategy. It is risky for sure, I can guarantee that when they published it on YouTube since og era. But I can see the reason for their decision. Designing a proper armor for their planet's theme is genius tho. Big bonus to differentiate each bug for Kokotiam's gang that has meaning to them.

(Were they attempted to make Bug's Life in Boboiboy series? Lol😅)

Critics aside, people need to know, that even tho the comic looks dope as heck, Boboiboy's first release was on the screen, not on the paper. The screen audience within SEA is waaaay higher than the comic enthusiast. Therefore comics, in this case, is a fan service. You don't need to know the details, but you might get curious to search behind the scenes further.

(That's what I do after I finished Sori btw.)

There are advantages & disadvantages of Monsta releasing the second season comic first before the animated ver. The launch of the Mechamato series and Galaxy 2nd season may or may not help Monsta during the pandemic. Monsta's mini-series about covid awareness also helped them to survive.

Yet, people treat the Boboiboy franchise now are kinda similar to how people demanded things from an animated series that adapted from the manga. Which... Uuuh a bit unhealthy to be honest.

But again as I said before, at the end of the day, criticism especially from the internet always wants what they ask, not what the creators want.

This is also the reason for my decision to not meddle my interest further on the internet. The damaged left me a scar from my previous fandom that I'm at this point I'm toooo lazy to engage more in the community.

(But that doesn't mean I don't like the franchise anymore tho. I still love it af)

Anyway how was your ramadan and eid? Did you have fun :D ?

Alhamdulillah anon! My schedule really packed pre-during-and post Ramadhan!

I went to two towns for "mudik" tradition before and after ramadhan for the first time after the pandemic! (for outdonesian or maybe outside of malaysian as well, it's like a Christmas gathering at grandparent's house... I guess(?)).

It was such a wholesome trip for sure! but boy I did need some time to adjust too(It was a challenging ride if you have a place at the mountains🤢)

My ramadhan month was also busy with working as a part-time job at my family stand. It is tough to sell things that were really not on the most target wanted.

But Allhamdulillah most of them were sold! I'm soo relieved! 😆😆

And because it was a holy month, I really need to take a rest from any social media. I still use them honestly, but not as many as before.

Now I'm struggling to get my drawing and writing enthusiasm back.

Hope you also had a wonderful ramadhan too, Anon!😆👍

[consumeconstantly]

The Only Antidote is a Kiss

Summary: Scarecrow always did come up with the most whacky chemical formulas to test on people. Red Hood gets dosed with his latest toxin, and the only way to cure it is with a kiss. The only candidate? Long time rival and almost enemy, Ladybird.

____________________________________________________

“No,” Red Hood said, resolutely. “No way in hell.”

Red Robin’s exasperated voice crackled over the comm. “Hood, if you don’t, you’re going to die.”

“Do you think I care? Death is better.” 

“I would say that’s insulting if I didn’t feel the exact same way.” Ladybird nonchalantly twirled a yoyo at her side. “Besides, ten minutes is plenty of time to get him someone else.”

“You two are in the middle of nowhere. It’s thirty minutes to the nearest city.”

“Yeah, but the suburbs are always an option. You Bats always seem to miss the obvious solution.”

“I’m not kissing her,” Red Hood repeated.

“I know that you two are…” Red Robin tried to find a more delicate way to word their relationship, “Not always on the best of terms, but you are on the same side right now. Ladybird, you don’t want Red Hood to die, do you?”

Plying Ladybird was always easier than trying to convince Red Hood. The woman had a heart of gold. Today? No such luck. 

“He’s not going to die,” Ladybird scoffed. “If he dies over this instead of the many, many, many assassination attempts that I saved him from, I’ll feel insulted. But I’m also not going to help. I’m not going to kiss an unwilling party, and certainly not one with a mug as ugly as Red Hood.”

“You’ve never even seen my face!” Red Hood argued from safely inside his beauteous red bucket.

“Yeah, well you’ve never seen mine either, and yet somehow, you have no issue with calling me disfigured every time our paths cross.”

“You’re wearing a mask. Only people who are horribly scarred wear full face masks.”

“Oh, so you’re admitting you’re ugly then?”

“No, I’m wearing a helmet, not a mask. Big difference.”

Ladybird barely stopped herself from bashing her head against the cement and steel wall. If the action didn’t break her mask, she would have considered going through with it. “God, this is why I’m not going to kiss him, Red Robin. Can’t you use one of those zeta things and drop in a girl for him to make out with?”

“You know they don’t work like that.”

“I wouldn’t know, it’s not like I’m in the Justice League.”

“Not for a lack of trying! We’ve offered you the position at least ten different times.”

“Yeah, on the condition that I get Red Hood to join up too. That certainly doesn’t sound like you guys actually want my help.”

“Nine minutes on the clock,” an automated voice reminded them.

“I say we blow this popsicle stand,” Red Hood pointed a finger up at the cement ceiling.

“Wow, what a stupendously original idea, Red Hood. It’s almost like the next thing out of your mouth might be something vaguely resembling intelligence. Oh wait, that’s right. We can’t get out of this hell hole because there’s three feet of cement on every side of us and we have no weapons that can help.”

“I haven’t had a crack at it, yet.”

“Be my guest. I’ll sit back and laugh at your failed attempts.” Ladybird reclined on a wall. “We both know that between the two of us, I’m the one who’s better at escape and solutions that don't require firearms. You don’t think with either one of your heads, you think with your AK-47.”

“My babies are all I need to get the job done. Your plans are always so unnecessarily convoluted.”

“They’re convoluted so I can cover my tracks instead of leaving evidence, debris, and dead bodies behind.”

“Uh, guys? Can you have your spat after Hood’s life is out of immediate danger?”

“No,” both of them chorused, immediately glaring at each other for speaking in sync.

“I doubt Scarecrow actually came up with a formula that will make you die if you don’t kiss someone of the opposite gender within ten minutes. That seems like the kind of chemical compound that’s featured in all of those really trashy romance novels, except instead of being unable to control your instincts, you die.” Ladybird considered the empty vial on the floor. “I’m confident that Red Hood can ride this out with minimal damage. Even if he does get horny, it’s not like he’s going to go for me-- drug induced state or not, he can’t stand my guts.”

“Can I just say that I don’t want to bank his life on that assumption?”

“It’s not like your life is the one at stake. Just try to get someone out here that can break down this welded door for us sooner, rather than later.” Ladybird gives Red Hood a once over. “Besides, if he does try anything, we all know that I’m more than capable of tying him up.”

#

“Hey, why don’t you use that Lucky Charm of yours?”

“Do you think I didn’t think of that already? That was one of the first things I considered.”

“So why didn’t you use it?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that after I do, I detransform within five minutes? Not a big fan of exposing my identity, plus it’s not like anybody’s in any real danger because we’re locked up here. Scarecrow’s tied up, the goons that welded the door shut on us aren’t capable of using their brains, and a team is going to bust us out in thirty minutes anyways.”

For the millionth time, Red Hood pounded his shoulder against the steel weld, hoping that something would give. Nothing happened.

A beep sounded. 

“Ten minutes have passed.”

“See?” Ladybird crowed triumphantly. “I was right. Nothing’s--”

Red Hood fell to the floor, clawing at his chest.

“... happening. I jinxed it, didn’t I? I guess I’ll use it, then.”

Ladybird called for a lucky charm. No antidote fell into her hand. Just a sheet of paper, saying Kiss him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Tikki, don’t do me dirty like this!”

“Tikki? Who’s Tikki? What did the Lucky Charm give you?”

A wet cough sounded from underneath Red Hood’s helmet. He started to gasp for air.

Ladybird didn’t like Hood, but Red Robin was right. She had grown fond of him after saving his ass so many times. She wasn’t just going to let him die, especially not when she could help him. With a bone weary sigh, she knelt next to Red Hood. 

“I guess we’re doing this, aren’t we? Red Robin, comms off.”

“Off? But Hood sounds like--”

“Off,” she repeated, firmly. “Or I’ll break them.”

The telltale sign of static ceased in her ears.

Ladybird held Red Hood by his shoulders, maneuvering his mask off. 

“I hope you’re ugly,” she whispered.

He was not.

#

Even with blood on his lips, Jason Todd was unfortunately attractive. 

“Gonna--” he coughed again, the spray of blood accompanied by a wheeze. “Bless me with your face before I die?”

“I can’t believe that you’re still snarky while you’re on death’s door.” Ladybird touched the full face mask that she added during her years as a vigilante in Gotham. She still has the usual Ladybug eye cover, so her identity is safe. But the noh mask provides a sense of safety to her. She’s loathe to take it off, but in order for a kiss to work, it needs to be put aside. With a sigh, she places it on the ground and places a hand over Red Hood’s startlingly blue eyes.

“Kinky,” he spat. Ladybird grimaced. Why she ended up on this mission alone with Red Hood was beyond her, but they always ended up in the worst situations together somehow, anyways.

Her lips descended on his. 

Iron and sweat.

“Okay,” she said, wiping her lips with the hand that wasn’t preoccupied with shielding Red Hood’s eyes. “You feeling any better?”

He coughed again.

“Great, so Scarecrow was lying and I didn’t have to kiss you. You were just going to die anyways.” 

She placed her noh mask back on, then pressed a button on her comm. “You’re going to want to speed up the whole backup team. Looks like Scarecrow was lying.”

“You’re kidding me. Scarecrow never lies--”

Red Hood sat up shakily. 

“I’m fine, Replacement. Throat’s a little sore, but I’m fine.” 

“Good to know his MO hasn’t changed,” Ladybird remarked. “I’d suggest that you wipe your face with something. It’s covered in blood.”

“And Ladybird cooties.” Red Hood used his forearm to wipe the blood off. Ladybird had to admit that the man was objectively good looking. The artist in her wanted to take a picture or sketch him. The shock of white hair, symmetrical features, and prominent nose. His eyes had a certain darkness in them, like he had seen the worst of the world, but there was still a clarity to them that said he was fighting against those injustices. “C’mon, you’ve seen my face, don’t you think it’s time to exchange the favor?”

“Backup’s arriving in three,” interjected Red Robin.

“There’s nothing in it for me.” Ladybird tugged the hood of her cloak down lower. 

“Isn’t it weird that we kissed and I don’t know your face?”

“No.”

“You really are into some kinky shit.”

“Also no on that.”

“Then why not show me your face?”

“Stop being such a brat.”

“I know I’m older than you.”

“Bratiness isn’t measured in age, but in mental maturity. Which you have none of.”

“Please?”

“I’m almost tempted to take off my noh mask if only because that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say the word please.”

“If I say it again, will you?”

“I’ll consider it.”

“Pretty please, Ladybird?”

“... Fine.” She’d get a laugh out of this anyways, and the team was minutes away from picking them up.

She took off her noh mask to reveal the red and black domino.

Red Hood cursed.

@jasonette-july-2k20

it’s wild that yall are liking my fics when i basically vomit these things up im honestly scared to look back at some of the ones that have been posted because i do not proof read or edit 

[btsqualityy]

Assuage: Chapter 4

Yoongi x Reader

Genre: ABO (Alpha/Beta/Omega) dynamics, angst, fluff, smut, enemies to lovers

Warnings: None to note.

Author’s Note: This chapter is the last of the introductory things to the universe and this is where the story will start to pick up more! I hope you guys enjoy it!

A few days later, Yoongi was sitting at the front counter in the hardware shop, sketching out a design for an armoire that an Omega in the pack had put in a order for. Kibum was quickly giving Yoongi more and more responsibilities within the shop, and that included designing some things. He had to admit, it sort of scared him but he also enjoyed it. 

Yoongi had never really been particularly good at anything (except for hunting but that was expected for him being a Prime Alpha), so discovering this hidden talent for woodworking and carpentry was doing wonders for his psyche. 

Just as he added some small designs onto the sketchpad, he heard the telltale ringing of the bell above the front door and when he looked up, he saw you and Hyorin stepping inside. 

“Hi Yoongi!” Hyorin greeted him happily, her hands on her large baby bump as she waddled over to stand in front of the counter.

“Hey Hyorin, Y/N,” he replied stiffly, his eyes narrowing at you when you only nodded at him. “What can I help you with?”

“I just came to put in my formal request for a crib,” Hyorin smiled brightly. “Since Namjoon and I only have a little less than two months until this pup comes, I figured now would be a good time.”

“Yeah, it should be,” Yoongi nodded, reaching over and grabbing the order book and flipping it open to a clean page. “Anything specific that you’d like, such as colors or wood preference?”

“I’d like oak, for the whole thing,” Hyorin began. “And maybe a white or cream canopy.”

“White or cream?” You repeated. “You sure you don’t want something different?”

“Since we don’t know what we’re having, I want it to be gender neutral,” Hyorin shrugged. “And you know how Joon and I feel about the whole “blue for boys and Alphas and pink for girls and Omegas” thing.”

“Hey, I was just making sure,” you held your hands up in surrender. 

“Anything else that you’d want?” Yoongi wondered after writing down what Hyorin had said. 

“Maybe a rattle,” Hyorin added. “Joon was telling me that you guys got a shipment of plastic in from Seoul the other day.”

“We did,” Yoongi nodded. “Anything specific in regards to the design?”

“Whatever you come up with is fine,” Hyorin shrugged. “I’m not picky.”

“Alright, I’ll tell Kibum when he comes back and I’m sure he’ll want to get to work on it right away.”

“Oh no, tell him not to forget about any of your other orders just because of mines,” Hyorin chuckled. “Me and this little one can wait.”

“I’ll make sure to let him know,” Yoongi smiled lightly.

“Well, I have to go because I told Namjoon that I’d sit in on his meeting with Jin,” Hyorin sighed as she looked at the clock on the wall that showcased the time. “I’ll see you later Y/N-ah?” 

“Yeah,” you nodded.

“Ok. Thank you Yoongi, and tell Kibum that I said thank you too,” Hyorin smiled as she turned to walk out of the store. 

“No problem,” Yoongi called out after her, watching as the door to the shop shut behind her before turning to look back at you. “Why is she sitting in on Namjoon’s meeting with Jin?”

“What do you mean, why?” You wondered. “She’s Pack Omega.”

“Exactly, she’s an Omega,” Yoongi nodded. 

“Is this more of your sexist bullshit coming out?” You scoffed. “In our pack, the Pack Alpha and Pack Omega have an equal amount of power. And to answer your question, she’s sitting in on the meeting because Jin is the Head Omega of the pack, which means that he looks out for all of the unmated Omegas and the newly presented Omegas. He wanted to talk to Namjoon about some things and Hyorin is going to be there because she used to be Head Omega before her and Namjoon mated.”

“Oh,” Yoongi uttered.

“Running a pack is a big job, even for two people and Namjoon is smart enough to realize that as good as his intentions might be, he can’t understand what Omegas go through because he’s not one,” you continued. “That’s why he leans on Hyorin sometimes.”

“And the pack still respects him?” Yoongi wondered.

“Of course. Traditionally, the only person that an Alpha will back down for is their mate so he’s not doing anything completely unheard of,” you shrugged.

“It is to me,” Yoongi replied. 

“You know, maybe you should have Tae teach you our pack history and laws if you’re going to stay here,” you suggested.

“I don’t plan on staying,” Yoongi shot back, his eyes widening when you just snorted in reply.

“Please,” you rolled your eyes. “You’re working in the hardware shop with Kibum, which no one has done in years, mind you, because the man is off his rocker half the time. If you think he’s gonna let you leave, then you got another thing coming. You’re definitely staying.”

“Regardless,” Yoongi continued, ignoring your words. “Who said that I wanted to learn more about your pack anyways?”

“It was just a suggestion. I mean, I figured that you were tried of looking like a complete dumbass anytime you talk to someone around here,” you smirked. “But hey, if you wanna stay in the dark, that’s on you.” You then turned around, swiftly walking out of the hardware shop. As the door shut behind you, Yoongi realized that maybe you had a point. He had been staying with your pack for almost a month now and his previous blissful ignorance was quickly turning into just plain ignorance. As he thought about it, he figured that having just a little bit of extra information could help him out.

............................

“God, I never thought you’d ask!” Taehyung squealed as he led Yoongi into a large room, where the walls were covered with floor to ceiling bookshelves. They were in the Head Hall, where all of the records of the pack’s history, laws, and every event and birth within the pack were kept. 

“I only want to know the basics Taehyung,” Yoongi tried to say, jumping out of his seat slightly when Taehyung dropped a large book down onto the table in front of him. 

“Our pack is almost 100 years old,” Taehyung smiled as he sat down next to Yoongi. “There’s more than just ‘the basics’ to be learned hyung.”

“Well, where should I start?” Yoongi wondered.

“Start here, with our family,” Taehyung told him as he opened the book and flipped the pages until he was almost to the end. “You don’t have to learn about the beginning of the pack right now, but starting with our parents would be a good point.”

“Ok,” Yoongi nodded, looking down at the page and beginning to read.

Alpha Kim Chan-woo rose to the coveted position of Pack Alpha in our year of 1990 after winning in ritual combat against his Omegean sister, Kim Dohee. In 1993, he was mated to Omega Park Mi-hee who then gave birth to two pups; a son named Namjoon in our year of 1994 and a daughter named Y/N who followed swiftly behind in our year of 1995.

Nothing of significance is to be noted of the family of our Pack Alpha and Pack Omega, until our year of 1998. While on a treaty trip to visit a pack in Daegu, Pack Alpha Chan-woo and Pack Omega Mi-hee came across an orphaned pup. Not being able to bring themselves to leave him alone, they allowed him to come back to pack territory with them, intent on welcoming him into their family.

The council of pack elders were staunchly opposed, citing the issues of lineage that could be encountered once their pups were of age. However, the two of them (especially Pack Alpha Chan-woo) were insistent on giving the abandoned pup a loving home and family. The councils of elders relented and since the little pup could not remember his name, he was dubbed ‘Kim Taehyung’ by Pack Omega Mi-hee, and he served as the last addition to their family.

“Wow,” Yoongi muttered before looking over at Taehyung. “Your parents sound like amazing people.”

“They were,” Taehyung nodded with a soft smile. “Here, we can skip forward a little bit.” Taehyung reached out and flipped forward a few pages, skimming over one before motioning to Yoongi for him to continue reading.

In our year of 2009, Pack Alpha Chan-woo and Pack Omega Mi-hee’s first born son, Namjoon, presented as an Alpha at the age of 15. There was a glorious celebration, as it’s known to be a blessing from the Gods to have a first born son become an Alpha. Their last born son, Taehyung, presented as well two years later as a Beta at the age of 16. This caused a great commotion, as there was only one other living Beta in the pack at the time, and he was an Elder. 

After the presentation of Taehyung, there were many rumors abound as their daughter, Y/N, had not presented yet. Finally, in the autumn of our year 2012, Kim Y/N finally presented and surprised the entire pack. The celebration was unlike any the pack had seen in years, rivalling and even surpassing that of her elder Alpha brother. 

“Why was Y/N’s presentation so important?” Yoongi asked Taehyung. 

“That’s not important,” Taehyung said quickly, making Yoongi’s eye narrow. Taehyung moved forward and shut the book closed, pulling over another one and opening it up. “That’s enough about the history. Why don’t you read some of our laws and beliefs?”

“Alright,” Yoongi replied slowly, looking back down at the book. 

This pack prides itself on being a place where Alphas, Betas, and Omegas are treated fairly and equally. In order to have a harmonious pack, the talents of all three subgenders are needed and without any of them, a pack cannot be fruitful. 

An Alpha’s job, of course, is to be the breadwinner of their respective family. They are also the first line of defense when it comes to the safety of the pack, and are expected to protect it as such. However, Alphas are also expected to respect Betas and Omegas, especially the latter. While a pack wouldn’t be able to survive without it’s Alphas, too many prideful Alphas can lead to the eminent downfall of a pack. It is important for Alphas to be able to take a step back, realize that they don’t have all of the answers, and be able to turn to those who do; all for the good of the pack. 

A Beta’s job is to be the supporter of Alphas and the confidants of Omegas. Betas have a hard job, because they are the closest to our non subgendered humans while still having the feelings, senses and thoughts of subgendered humans. Betas have the ability to not be as clouded by hormones and pheromones' as their Alpha and Omega packmates, which gives them the invaluable role of peacekeeper within a pack. Without Betas, a pack would dissolve into turmoil. However, it can be hard for Betas to remember this so reminding them of their importance is of the utmost priority; all for the good of the pack.

An Omega has what’s arguably the most important job within the pack; they are the main ones who give birth to and teach our pups. Within this pack, Omegas are always to be treated with the utmost respect, as our pack would have no future without them and their guidance. While Omegas are free to do what they please within this pack, many of them chose to stay home with their pups or devote their talents to teaching our pups, which are all extremely selfless decisions. Without them, Alphas would not have people to lean on, Betas would not have anyone to confide in, and the pack would die out. Treating them with the love and respect that they deserve only leads to happy Omegas who are content with their lives; which is all for the good of the pack.

“You know,” Yoongi spoke up suddenly. “I never thought about Omegas this way.”

“How did your old pack view Omegas, hyung?” Taehyung wondered. “I mean, you have to admit that your views are a little...sexist.”

“Basically, Omegas were objects and not people,” Yoongi shrugged. “They were there for Alphas to fuck and that’s it.”

“Ugh, one of those packs,” Taehyung rolled his eyes. “Well, does it make sense? The way that we view and treat Omegas?”

“Actually, yeah it does,” Yoongi admitted. “Like I said, I just never thought about it like this.”

“That’s understandable hyung, and it’s not completely your fault,” Taehyung replied. “We can’t help the way that we’re raised. The only thing that we can do is try to change our mindset, if you want to.”

“I guess that’s true,” Yoongi sighed. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“What’s with the tattoos that you, Y/N, and Namjoon all have?” He wondered.

“Oh, you mean this,” Taehyung smiled, reaching over and lifting up the sleeve of his t-shirt on his left arm, showcasing the small, circular tattoo that was there. “It’s a crest.”

“Your family’s?” Yoongi guessed.

“Yep. After our parents died and Namjoon became Pack Alpha, we all got them since we’re the children of the former Pack Alpha and Omega,” Taehyung explained. “Namjoon has his right on the center of his chest because he’s the center and head of the pack. Y/N has hers on the right side and I have mines of the left because we’re Namjoon’s main supporters and we’re always going to have his back, through anything.”

“That’s amazing,” Yoongi found himself smiling lightly. “I kind of wish I had a family like you guys.”

“You can hyung,” Taehyung said, reaching over and setting his hand on Yoongi’s shoulder. “I know that you keep saying that you don’t plan on staying, but I really don’t want you to go back out there on your own. We can give you a nice life here and you won’t ever have to risk what happened to you before happening again. So, will you stay?” 

Yoongi couldn’t help but to chuckle because despite the façade that he had been putting on in front of Taehyung and everyone else that he talked to, he realized that he had already made his decision a while ago and he had a sneaking feeling that he wouldn’t regret the words that tumbled out of his mouth. 

“Yeah, I’ll stay.”

[liquid-luck-00]

Siblings

Bio!Dad Bruce

Day 3: Siblings

@biodad-bruce-month

First ~~~ Previous ~~~ Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Mari had agreed to go to Gotham after Gina, Tom, and Sabine's funeral. And now I am sweating bullets, not for how she will react, oh no I am far more worried about how the boys will. Maybe having a civilian in the manor will curb some of their unsavory habits.

When I asked Mari and she agreed I could tell this was going to be eventful. She asked if she had any siblings.

"Biologically, legally, or emotionally?" I responded completely serious, "There is a difference."

She thought for a moment before saying "Legally because I already know I have a biological brother" she stated with a smile.

"How did you know that?" he asked her.

"DNA testing project for an ethnicity and ancestor report." Marinette said casually, "So how many siblings legally?" she pushed.

He sighed "Seven but it might as well be eleven with how often Barbara, Stephanie, Jon, and Roy are at the mansion."

"Can you tell me a bit about them. Maybe even the measurements!"

After he had given enough information to spur her creativity, Mari could only be described as a tempest of creative energy.

By the time we were to board the jet to Gotham there was a suitcase filled with only gifts, he had lost count after the sixth gift, but she still added some more. By the time they landed she had a rough idea of what she was getting herself into.

To his shock the boys hadn't tried to figure out where he was and that in itself was a blessing. The boys knew that she existed but were never interested in finding her and to quote Jason 'Save her from the insanity that surrounds this family.' Yet he was about to change that.

He had told Alfred that someone would be staying in the manor but to only leave a car at the airport and he would drive them in. Thank god at least one person listens to him.

The ride to the manor was silent conversation wise. But the constant scratching of a pencil as Mari designed inspired by Gotham's architecture filled the quiet.

---

Before leaving Paris, Mari found out she has seven siblings, 1 biological and 6 adoptive and 4 practically siblings, she will have to figure that part out. Bruce told her all about them and got her their measurements and that includes the one of Bruce's butler/father figure and his fiancée Selina. So in one suitcase there were 13 individually wrapped gifts that even Bruce didn't know what they were. The Miracle box, disguised as a sewing caddy, was among her things, but the horse miraculous and Kaalki were in her purse along with Tikki.

Oh kwamii how am I going to keep this secret if I’m going to be in another country along with being in a house with more than a dozen other people.

Once touching down in Gotham she began sketching, one because she was nervous and two Gotham's architecture was gorgeous. She didn't even realize that they had arrived at the manor until the engine cut.

"Let's introduce you to everyone" Bruce stated with a sigh and a small smile. They left the bags in the car and walked up the steps. As they neared the door they heard it.

"Get back here Todd" one extremely angry voice sounded.

"Dick HELP ME" another voice yelled.

They opened the door and there was quite the scene. Who she believes is Damian is chasing, who she is mostly sure is Jason, with a... is that a katana? And who she is certain must be Dick is trying and failing to stop Damian. In fact he is now also being chased. She looks over and Bruce is sighing looking completely done and with someone next to him.

"Hello and welcome to Wayne Manor." the man states, Alfred if she had to guess.

"Hello Alfred I presume” Mari greets him.

“That would be correct Miss…” Alfred responds.

“Marinette. Um this normal?" Mari asks.

"Unfortunately” Bruce states in a resigned tone.

"Huh" is all she says as she formulates a plan. The boys haven't noticed them yet so that is a plus, but what to do. Then she got an idea so she sprang into action. She watched for any pattern in the chase and when she found one she hid. She was next to the stairs in the perfect position to pounce. By this time Bruce and Alfred were watching her curious to what she was planning. She never left her hiding spot, but when Damian paused to look for Dick and Jason near her she moved. She took the katana and replaced it with a bouquet of flowers and went back to standing between Bruce and Alfred still holding the blade.

"How did you?" Bruce questioned her but she just gave him a smirk and spoke loud enough to get not only Damian’s attention but Dick and Jason’s who were hiding behind the couch.

"I thought you didn't tell them I was coming and here is Damian with flowers. Or wait who is the lucky person?" This got everyone's attention in the manor, if it wasn’t already.

“What the?" Damian stared at the flowers in his hand, while Dick and Jason came out of hiding.

The three boys were looking between her, holding the katana Damian was previously chasing them with, and the flowers in Damians hand. Then they began to stare between her and Bruce before finally someone spoke, "Seriously Bruce another one" Jason, yup definitely Jason, was the first to respond.

"Nice to meet you too" Mari replied. When she looked at Bruce he was still in shock but was now sporting a smirk. "Jason right"

She was holding the katana in her left hand while pointing at Jason with her right hand, he was tall and his build was most like Bruce he had blue eyes and black hair but had a white streak in the front, he nodded acknowledging she was right.

She then continued "I'm going with Dick, right?" she moved on and the oldest, who again only nodded his head, he looked the most like Bruce with his black hair and blue eyes but he was leaner.

"And your Damian" she finished with those in the room, he had tanned skin and green eyes that were complemented by his black hair.

"Is that my katana?" Damian asked, his voice seemed to be a mixture of disbelief, anger, and dare she even say awe, and all eyes seemed to focus on the blade in her hand.

"Yes" She responds with a smile.

"Honestly Mari how did you do that?" Bruce asked her once again.

"You learn to take objects off of an Akuma if you get caught up in too many attacks." she shrugged. She moved towards Damian and handed back his sword. "I'm Marinette by the way."

"Seriously B your missing for two weeks with no notice and come back with your Daughter. Who I might add was able to take Demon spawns sword without him noticing. Why wouldn't you warn us you were coming back with her! Or I don’t know going to find her at all!” Another person walked out into the hallway. Honestly he seemed ready to fall asleep and was holding a huge cup of coffee, he then turned towards me. He also had blue eyes and black hair but it was the longest of the boys. "I'm Tim, nice to finally meet you" he stated with a smile before turning back to Bruce with a slight frown.

At Tim's appearance and statement Jason and Dick burst into confused screams and wild gestures in Dick’s case, while Damian stood there analyzing her before giving a nod of his head. Bruce looked done but it was Alfred who spoke. "Perhaps it would be best to discuss this over lunch along with everyone else?"

"That would be best. Thank you Alfred." Bruce responded. "In the meantime why don't we you get settled."

With that Bruce and her walked back to the car to get her bags. Jason and Dick followed them out, and helped to get her things. Alfred led the five to a room where she began to put things away, only Jason stayed to help her finish her task.

---

The day had started as normally as any other in Wayne Manor, but no one, and I mean no one was ready for this tiny little french teen with the biggest blue eyes to get the drop on any of them. Let alone be able to take Demon Spawns sword without him noticing.

To say Jason was intrigued was an understatement. Seriously how did she do that, because he sure as hell isn't believing that excuse, like what the hell is an akuma attack. Bruce, Dick, and I helped her bring her bags into the room Alfred prepared. He was the only one who stayed to help her. One because if she could get the drop on the Demon then he had to win her over as a pranking ally. Two she was his sister now and he isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be.

While helping her set up her room he found it, it was a suitcase filled with wrapped boxes. Now if she is my sister then let the blackmail material begin, but not without some teasing thrown into the mix.

"What's with the presents in the case Bluebell," Jason asked, throwing in a nickname to see if Marinette would have any type of a reaction. Because who packs presents unless it was a distraction or trying to hide something.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she said with a smirk and heat tilt. Well not the reaction he had hoped for.

"So what was that thing you said archery attack was it?" this got a reaction, but not one he was expecting.

"You don't know about the akuma attacks?" she was a mix of fear and surprise and he was unsure how he was supposed to react to that. Lucky for him as he was about to speak Tim and Dick came in and told them lunch was ready.

---

Jason not knowing about akuma attacks was odd and she didn't know how to react to his question. He was about to respond but Dick and Tim came in, and told them lunch was ready. They walked into the dinning room and inside were too many faces. She recognized Bruce and Damian. Tim, Dick, and Jason walked in with her.

"We're here" Dick dramatically announced, and all of a sudden all eyes were on her.

"OMG she is so cute!" a blonde yelled "Are we sure she is yours Bruce."

"Yes Stephanie. I am sure" Bruce answered almost amused. "Why don't you introduce yourself before you suffocate her."

"Ya, Ya," she waved him off "I'm Stephanie Brown" she stated as she continued to hug her.

The introductions included Stephanie, Cassandra or she said Cass, Duke, Roy, Barbara, Selina, and Jon. During lunch they asked her about herself she stayed in the realm of civilian, but Jason again brought up the akuma attacks so she explained a bit about the Paris situation and referred to them to Aurore's blog 'BugOut'.

She figured out the meaning of her practically siblings

Jon was Damian's best friend as Roy was Jason's because of this they spent large amounts of time with the family . The blonde who tackled her, Stephanie, was dating Tim and Barbara was a close family friend to everyone.

Afterwards she ended up giving everyone their gifts and Damian challenged her to a spar. The fact that no one, except Bruce having a partial reason, had any idea why she could hold her own was priceless. Seriously everyone's jaw was on the floor and Bruce looked like he was plotting something but it seemed to quickly leave his thoughts. All in all it was a good first day with her new family.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Tag list:

@mochinek0 @justafanwarrior @abrx2002 @ranger-gothamite @fantasiame @moonystars14 @mochegato @bigbeautifulandfullofsugar @maribat-is-lifeblood @iglowinggemma28 @miraculous-ninja @talutah0 @vixen-uchiha @danielslilangel @witchsblackfox @pawsitivelymiraculous @lizziejay @marinettepotterandplagg @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @dast218 @sassakitty @miyla-lokidottir @lilkymilky

[link4eva]

Kiro’s S2 Growing Troubles Company Project Translation [CN]

Hey! This is a continuation of Kiro’s Season 2 Campus Youth Company project which you can read here!

This translation was done through the power of Google Translate.

This translation contains spoilers for content that has not yet been released to the ENG. If you wish to not be spoiled then please don’t look below the cut.

Enjoy~

*Spoilers below for future content!*

[Stage 1]

Kiro: MC, did you see the notice that Teacher Huang posted in Moments? 

MC: What notice?

Kiro: Summer camp, the whole class together…. I really want to go. 

MC: I also want to go…. Sketching in the village at the foot of the mountain to escape the summer heat sounds very pleasant.

The director who came to participate in the pre-launch preparations of the film just stepped into the conference room and undoubtedly overheard our conversation.

Director: Do you mean the class that you re-lived high school with before?

MC: Well, Teacher Huang was the headteacher at the time, and we were just discussing their summer camp.

Director: Summer camp? It sounds too student-like.

Director: Anyway, there is still a while before that happens, so go if you want and take advantage of the time off to rest as soon as possible. And….

She thought about it for a moment and then gave us a smile.

Director: If this summer camp experience can be filmed, it will be good promotional material after the movie airs.

I met Kiro’s eyes and have already made a decision.

Kiro: Let me ask Teacher Huang first if we can participate. 

Kiro fiddled with his phone, typing and sending messages. I didn’t know how long he was going to be typing for so I leaned in to take a look….

It takes up more than a dozen lines of the text box.

After a while, Teacher Huang sent a voice message.

Teacher Huang: Of course, you’re very welcome to join us. Although you and MC spent only a short amount of time with us, you are still members of the class.

Teacher Huang: I will send you a registration form in a moment, you just have to fill it out and give it to me. The students would be very happy if they heard the news.

Kiro looked at me with a “yeah”, sent a thank-you reply, and when he raised his head again, he had a bright smile on his face.

On the day of departure, Kiro and I arrived at the designated place early to wait for the bus to arrive. *Changed some wording*

The departure time was set at 7 o’clock in the morning, but even still with it being midsummer, the sun was so fierce that people couldn’t open their eyes.

As I looked at the road, I put my hand on my forehead to block the sun. Kiro opened up his suitcase and put his fisherman’s hat on top of my head.

I turned my head and was about to talk to him when a blue and white bus had approached us and was slowing down.

Kiro greeted him as soon as he saw the bus number!

Kiro: 8516, it’s this one! 

When the bus stopped, he immediately took my suitcase and walked to the outside of the bus, put both suitcases into the storage, and stepped onto the bus.

Kiro: S-urprise! 

The students inside saw us getting on the bus, and at first, there was no reaction, and then burst into applause and cheers-- *Changed some wording*

Classmates: Kiro!

Classmates: Oh my God, are you coming?!

Kiro: Hey, long time no see~ Happy summer everyone~

Kiro: Teacher Huang said that this summer camp is a group activity that the whole class must participate in, and I can’t be absent of course.

Mr. Huang, who was sitting at the front, stood up and dragged Kiro and me onto the bus.

Teacher Huang: Kiro and MC, find a place to sit down and fasten your seatbelts.

Teacher Huang: Okay students,  now the whole class is here. I announce the official opening of the 3rd summer camp. *I think it was supposed to be “3rd” but I’m not entirely sure*

[Stage 2]

The itinerary of the summer camp is quite packed.

Occasionally, we would go up the mountain to sketch and take pictures with our classmates. We would also occasionally go to town to shoot some material for the film advertisements. 

By the third day, Kiro and I had collected a whole 5G’s worth of vlog material. Kiro was very satisfied with the results of this trip.

Kiro: After the fifteen-day summer camp is over, maybe I can go back to sort out the material and edit. *Changed some wording*

Kiro: By the way, are there any arrangements for the afternoon, or are we going up the mountain with them? 

Kiro and I were talking and walking to the door of the homestay. We ran into a few classmates, who we were closer to, sitting in the corner and whispering amongst each other. *Changed some wording*

Kiro glanced at me and leaned forward curiously.

Kiro: What cake? Are you talking about who has a birthday?

Classmate A: Hush! I’m staying in the same room with Shu Shu, and I happened to see her birthday when I checked it, which is today.

Classmate A: And it’s her eighteenth birthday this year, which is very important. We just want to give her a simple celebration.

Classmate B: We just took a look and there isn’t a store that delivers. So, we want to take a taxi into town and order the cake there.

MC: ….But if you leave now, you will definitely be late. Teacher Huang also arranged for the seniors in the village to tell you about folk tales.

Kiro took on this task, almost without thinking.

Kiro: It’s okay, the two of us can go buy cakes. 

Kiro: We visited the town a couple of days ago so we’re familiar with the route. Just leave it to us, you can go to class with peace of mind.

I also nodded and quickly agreed.

MC: We can also buy some decorative ribbons and balloons so that it will have a somewhat celebratory atmosphere.

Before they could say anything, we waved to them.

MC: Leave it to us~ Let’s keep in touch and call me if you need anything! 

(At the Cake Shop)

Shopkeeper: Our cake bases are all freshly made so you two will have to wait a while.

Shopkeeper: The cake you order is relatively big. In addition to writing ��Happy Birthday” on it, you can also write 1-2 blessings.

As the shopkeeper said this, he took out a pen and paper and gave it to us.

Shopkeeper: Write the blessing on the paper and then I’ll take it to the pastry chef.

Kiro: Okay~ Let’s think about it first.

Kiro took the pen and paper and sat down with me in the corner of the cake shop by the window.

Kiro: What would be the best blessing to write to an eighteen-year-old birthday star….

MC: It’s a bit difficult, so let’s change our mindset. What did you want most when you were eighteen?

Kiro put the pen cap on his forehead and thought about it for a while.

Kiro: I didn’t think too much about what I wanted “most”. There were already a lot of things going on at the time, and there was no time to stop and think about it. 

Kiro: What about you, what did you want when you were eighteen?

MC: I didn’t really have anything specific either, it’s just that there is a feeling that it’s important to get through each day one by one.

MC: Hope that from this day on, life will change something. I hope that from this day on, nothing will change in my life. *Changed some wording*

Kiro: That’s it.

Kiro looked at the crowd coming and going outside the window. After a while, he took off the pen cap and seemed to have an idea. 

[Stage 3]

That night, when they came back from the mountain, Kiro and I had already decorated the living room with balloons and flowers.

The owner of the hotel kindly gave us several large boxes of Coke. The red cans filled the long table and made up the words “Happy Birthday”.

Shu Shu’s eyes were covered by someone from behind as she was led step by step.

When everyone arrived, the student who was covering her eyes, released his hand. She opened her eyes bit by bit and saw the lively surprise in front of her.

She was at a loss for a while as she covered her eyes in surprise and laughed twice, her eyes welled up as if she was holding back tears.

Shu Shu: Haha I knew it!

Shu Shu: Damn, you secretly planned a surprise birthday party…. Originally, I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to cause you trouble.

Kiro took out the cake from the refrigerator and put it on the table carefully.

Kiro: The eighteenth birthday is very important, so it should be celebrated! 

I drew two tissues from the tissue box on the table and wiped her tears.

MC: The birthday star can’t shed tears today, wipe them quickly and prepare to blow out the candles to make a wish.

When Shu Shu took the tissue, she smiled at me with tears in her eyes and took my hand. *Changed some wording*

Shu Shu: I’m overwhelmed with emotions right now. *Changed some wording*

Shu Shu: I actually didn’t plan to celebrate my eighteenth birthday. Growing up is a very important thing. Am I not ready yet?....

Shu Shu: Say it out, don’t laugh at me. *Changed some wording*

I couldn’t help touching her head and using the remaining tissue in my hand to wipe off the two teardrops on her face.

MC: You don’t have to think so seriously….

I winked at Kiro, and he quickly leaned over, putting on a brilliant smile to comfort Shu Shu.

Kiro: It doesn’t matter, it’s normal to have such thoughts.

Kiro: I have had similar thoughts before. I think it must be very hard to grow up. It is necessary to face all kinds of challenges in this world alone…. 

Kiro: No longer can I be carefree like a child.

Shu Shu was obviously touched by Kiro’s words. She nodded to Kiro with affirmation in her eyes, waiting for him to continue.

Kiro: But actually, did you know that growing up is more fun than being a child?

The dozen or so pairs of eyes in the living room were all looking at Kiro. It seemed that they were all confused, but they didn’t say the same as Shu Shu. 

They all seemed to want to hear the answer to the question from Kiro’s mouth.

Kiro: No matter how carefree life was when I was young, I always lived within the limits of freedom given by adults. 

Kiro: Only when we take that step into adulthood, the door to exploring the world is officially opened to us. The most intuitive is the freedom to control time and money. 

Kiro: You can book plane tickets at any time for an impromptu trip, and you can lie down on a comfortable bed for a whole day.

Kiro: You can earn money to buy things you like, and fill the refrigerator with your favourite drinks and snacks.

While talking, Kiro and I looked at each other.

Kiro: You can also confess openly to the person you like, and walk openly while holding hands on the street. 

I nodded my head, knowingly. Instead, he patted Shu Shu on the shoulder and continued to encourage her with a smile. 

Kiro: So don’t worry, if you blow out the eighteenth birthday candle, you won’t become a boring adult in an instant.

Kiro: Look at me, I have liked playing music and games since I was a child. Even now, I still play music and games in the same way.

Kiro: Believe me, you can freely choose your lifestyle and like it too.

[Stage 4]

Seeing the thoughtful expressions of my classmates, I couldn’t help but blend into the atmosphere.

MC: Do you have plans for what you want to do in adulthood?

MC: When I was a child, I always thought that I must go to an idol concert after work and buy tickets for the first row.

There was a burst of laughter from all around, and the students chimed in one by one.

Classmate A: I just want to have the freedom to drink milk tea. My mother said that milk tea is junk food and never allows me to drink it. I want to drink milk tea in my dreams. *This kid’s a big mood lol*

Classmate B: I want to own a cat. My parents don’t like pets, especially my mother, who dislikes cats that shed hair. I said I would clean up after them myself, but she still refuses.

Classmate B: Once I start working, I will move out and adopt a stray cat.

Classmate C: My parents are very supportive of me. They agree on whatever I want, so I want to be independent early on, find a better job, and earn money to be filial to them.

They talked enthusiastically, drawing up a blueprint to be fulfilled in the future.

In the middle of the conversations, the stars in the mountains are all bright, vying to flash the most dazzling light in the Milky Way.

I quietly approached Kiro and sighed softly.

MC: Eighteen is a very beautiful age.

MC: It’s great to have hopes and dreams in my heart.

Kiro smiled at me with his arms folded and his head tilted happily.

Kiro: What are you talking about, MC? Every age is like this, and the age with hopes and dreams is not only eighteen. 

I accepted his smile knowingly, opened the cake box with him, and put Shu Shu’s birthday candles on top.

Kiro: Come on, let’s get back to the task at hand. Turn off the lights--

As I lighted the candles, the classmates also stopped talking and sang a happy birthday song in unison.

Classmates: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you….

MC: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you~

Kiro: Come and make a wish.

Shu Shu was pushed to the front by everyone, there were tears in her eyes and an uncontrollable smile, her hands were folded to her chest.

Shu Shu: Shall we make a wish together?

This proposal was approved by everyone, Kiro and I were also pushed towards the cake.

The light of the candles flickered in the darkness, reflected in everyone’s eyes, and then slowly, they closed their eyes one after another.

I secretly looked at Kiro, and under the dim light, he opened his eyes and stared seriously at every face present.

Perhaps the subject of “youth” and “growth” has a new meaning in his mind.

After some exploration, it will become his superb performance in the movie.

Kiro: Shu Shu, can you blow the candles? 

Kiro asked softly, his eyes fell on a line of blessings on the cake-- Listen to the inner voice and move forward freely.

[Stage 5]

The night before we left the town, Kiro took me to take a walk outside as a final farewell to this summer camp.

Involuntarily, we talked about the confusion of the students about “growth”.

Kiro: In fact, growing up is not terrible, but the journey of facing the unknown is terrifying. 

Kiro: When I first made a movie, I was also very nervous. Everyone on the set seemed to be very experienced and skilled. Only I was a novice.

Kiro: I often couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night, and I kept thinking about what to do the next day in my head-- not deliberately, but uncontrollable.

Kiro: Every time that I feel I can’t do it, I just bite the bullet and move forward.

He raised his head, letting the evening breeze in the mountains ruffle his bangs, his eyes looking towards the night were clearer than the blue in the sky.

Kiro: Haha, if you tell the kids this kind of thing, they might feel more scared. 

Kiro: But the process is not scary at all.

Kiro: When I look back, I will only find it difficult, but it’s nothing.

He said, turning his head to see the road we have travelled.

Kiro: As it is now, I walked a long way without knowing it.

My heart was filled with the tranquillity of the night, I breathed in the fresh air and stretched out my arms.

MC: And-- There are always beautiful scenes along the road, which makes people forget the tediousness of going forward.

I lowered my eyes and looked at him with a chuckle.

MC: Maybe there will be a very interesting person who can walk with him.

I stopped and stretched out my hand to hold Kiro’s sleeve.

MC: I’ve been thinking these two days, there really isn’t a single moment when we will suddenly change from children to adults….

MC: Like me, I often forget that I am already an adult, and people around me often complain about me, just like a small child. 

MC: Maybe it’s because someone has been tolerating me….

MC: No matter what wild ideas I have, he will agree with me, understand me, and support me unconditionally.

MC: Surrounded by this kind of love, I may never be able to become an adult.

Kiro was taken aback and then curled the corners of his mouth, smiling gently at me in the quiet summer night.

Kiro: Who said so? *This line came out kinda wonky so I hope this is right*

Kiro: I have the people who support me the most, understand me the best, and tolerate me in every possible way, making me feel that I can do whatever I want. 

Kiro: Often more capricious than children, and often makes me feel lucky.

Kiro: --The world of an adult is wonderful, and the world of a child is very happy.

He stepped forward and I saw the stars, the moon, and the mountains reflected in his eyes as well as myself in between.

Kiro: And I can have two worlds at the same time. 

End

[secondhand-trash]

Work of Art

A/N: Oh boy, here we go again with my tries at getting out of my comfort zone. The only reason why this is happening is because @lady-bakuhoe​ got me thirsting on main feeling things for Hawks after sending out something she wrote a while back and I was suddenly reminded of this idea that lurked behind my head.

Pairing: Takami Keigo x reader

Description: Your boyfriend had a beautiful body hiding beneath those layers, you could not be blamed that you wanted to trascript that sight into actual art.

Warning: nsfw below cut 

Word count: 2932

-

“Can I tie you up?”

“What?” Keigo tensed up from where he was standing, couldn’t quite believe his own ears.

“Can I tie you up?” You repeated with such a casual tone that sounded more like you were asking him what he wanted for dinner than you were with your actual request.

Seeing the stunned look on his face, you realised that perhaps you had worded it too vaguely and not given enough details as to what you actually wanted him to do. “It’s for my sketching class, I need to practice my anatomies. I want to tie you up for...” you thought of what ways you could possibly rephrased it to get your point across, “...aesthetic purpose.”

“A sketch, huh?” He smirked as he walked closer to you, his wings leaning forward to circle around your frame, “You know, normally people have to pay me to model for them.”

You lifted an eyebrow at him, twirling the pencil in your hand. “So you’re saying?”

“Are you planning to pay me back in some sort of way for my contribution to your aesthetic research?” The suggestive look on his face did not falter at all even as you snickered at his teasing.

“That’d depend on how you behave in the process.” You lifted your hand and traced a finger along the sharp line of his jaw, “So what do you say, pretty bird? Are you gonna help me or what?”

You knew you had the answer you wanted when the corner of his lips lifted up.

With the white shirt he was wearing discarded on the floor, he kneeled down in front of the chair as you instructed him to. As you gently twisted his arms to his back and held his wrist together, he chuckled and earned him a playful glare from you. “I’m starting to think that the whole ‘do it for the arts’ thing was an excuse.”

“If I want to have you half naked and kneeled down, all I have to do is ask, isn’t it?.” You retaliated with an amused twinkle in your eye, “Now shush and let me do my thing.”

Pulling out the velvet rope that he didn’t know you own, you carefully wrapped it around his wrist and tied it with a knot. With one hand smoothing the restraint, you tugged at it to make sure that it sat snuggly around his skin as you pulled it to the front of his torso. You were no expert at this but you had done enough reearch to know just where each knot should be in order to get the image you wanted. With the rope travelling around the side of his arms and down his upper body, you tightened each trail and knot with attention, carefully setting the loops right above and below the base of his wings.

Facing him as you leaned back, you admired your handiwork. No matter how many times you had seen that body of his, you would never fail to be amazed at how much beauty there could be to the human body and the position he was in only heightened your admiration. 

You were not lying when you said that this was intended for your venture into the arts, only now you were starting to have doubts on whether your skills could do justice to the view in front of you. 

The red rope was a huge contrast to his skin, the colour an odd resemblance to the feathers behind his back. The way his arms were folded to his back gave his toned arms even more definition, pulling at the muscles of his forearm with a barely visible vein adorning it all the way up. Each breath he took, everything pulsation made him flex unintentionally, only adding to the defined curves of each muscle. It was a shame that his torso was usually hidden from the rest of the world, if only they knew what they were missing out on. You had carefully positioned the rope to hug every dip and dent of his chest, the way it pulled against his skin with each exhale of breath could only be described as utterly tempting. You had to resist the urge to run your hand down his toned pecs and traced the v that dipped all the way down to a much more sensitive parts of his body.

What a sight to witness, really. It was like he was carved out of marble but only there was life to each, his flushed skin under the chilly air together with his beautiful form making every piece of artwork pale in comparison. If art could come to life, you were sure what you were blessed to see in front you right now would be it.

“Is the rope too tight?” You asked, reaching out to touch the edge of the red restraint and fixed the places that were moved.

“No, just alright.” Keigo tried to maintain his usual chirpy tone, ignoring the itch he had started to feel ever since you put one hand on his lower waist to arch his back just a little just when you were about to finish with tying him up. Even with his greatest effort, he could not stop the goose bumps from forming on his skin as your fingertips nearly brushed against his skin when you went to slide it across the rope, every hair on him standing up at the mere contact that only made him sense more alerted. He was pretty sure that he would only get more sensitive as time passed by. 

“How long do you think it’ll take you?” He asked tentatively as you got up to fetch your sketchbook from another room.

You tilted your head. “Not more than an hour, I assume.” You did not catch onto the faint groan your boyfriend let out when you turned around.

Staying still and pushing the discomfort he was feeling to the back of his head appeared to be more difficult than he had expected it to be. With each second passing by, Keigo was only feeling more and more tensed. The rope that was tied around him so snuggly did not help with his shiver as the cold air hit his skin, only tightening with even the slightest of movements. The rough material brushing against his already hardened nipples only made them more sensitive and feeling the friction of the rope to the fullest effect. It did not help that there was pleasure mixed into the pain he felt as nothing came in contact with him but each breeze of the ventilation of the room. 

The rubbing of the velvet against his skin he could stand. The ridiculously low temperature of the air conditioning he could try to ignore. But what truly got to him was the way you studied his figure with such intensity. Keigo had always been aware of the appeal of his own physique and he would never shy away from the appreciative stares you sent his way whenever he undress, but it was nothing compared to how you were looking at him right now. It was like no corner of his body could escape your gaze as you took into each and every feature of him. He felt exposed, like he was completely under your control and one look was enough to put him in his place.

Dear god, was that look doing things to him.

He had to physically restraint the feathers at his back from standing up as he recognized a familiar twitch at his crotch. The desperate attempt at self-control only made the rope rubbed against him even more, sending yet another rush of blood down south.

“Don’t move.” You pursed your brows in disapproval at his movements and bent down to fix his posture. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry when the warmth of your palms came in contact will his skin that almost went numb from the chilliness and sensitivity.

“Are you near finish?” He managed to hide the choked whine at the back of his throat and forced the words out of his mouth in the most decent voice he could pull off in his current state.

“Kinda?” You said. If you had bothered to look up, you would be able to see the clear discomfort that was showing on his face. The redness at the tip of his ears was starting to spread to the rest of his face, his jaw clenched as he tried to hold onto the remaining calmness that was there in his mind. “Only the shading left, so just stay still.”

Forcing out a hum in response, his knuckles already turned white from how hard he had been fisting his hands to get more grasp on his own sanity, the pain he felt from his nails digging in wasn’t even that much of a bother to him anymore. Right now, his main focus was to ignore that dull ache in his pants and the shiver on his skin.

“You have been oddly quiet today.” You asked as you glided the lead across the paper one last time, being utterly content with what you had managed to create as you put the finished drawing up to your face. 

It was when you put down your pen and was about to undo the tie on Keigo that you noticed just why your usually talkative lover had been in silence the whole time you were sketching him. You immediately picked up on how his breaths were heavier than usual with his lips pursed tightly together like he was trying to hold back whatever sounds were threatening to escape if he didn’t. His knees were trembling from kneeling for too long and as your eyes travelled upwards, there was no way you could pretend that you didn’t saw the bulge in between his legs.

So that’s what it was.

Keigo knew he was gone for the moment you sank down onto your knees to be eye-levelled with him and smirked. “I was going to untie you but now I’m having second thoughts.” You said, mockingly tilt your head as you pretended to ponder as you ran a finger along the rope, very barely touching the skin underneath.

He did not say anything but you could feel his breath getting more rigid at the contact. You leaned in closer and watched as his body shook once he could feel your warmth against his chest. He was holding back and you were determined to make him break.

“If I knew that you like being tied up so much I would have offered much sooner.” You whispered into his ear, your finger roaming dangerously close to his nipple and the spare hand holding onto his shoulder. The closer you traced to the sensitive, the more his was trying to squirm under your touch.

His back arched the moment you placed the first touch on his nipple and you immediately forced him back onto his previous position with your firm hold on his shoulder blade. Your lips lingered on his ear as you rolled the tip between your fingers, giving it a soft pinch. It only added to your amusement when you heard the heavy swallowing at his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as you did not slow down the movement at your hand for even the slightest.

Just your fingers, you were too cruel to even spare him the touch of your palm.

“You look so pretty all tied up like this, so pretty for me.” You cooed in his ear, sliding your palm down his chest to give some attention to the rest of his body that you had been aching to touch. Feeling each mound under your hand, you could feel your own arousal building up at just how his entire body was begging for you to give him more. But the tensing of his muscles were not enough, the quickening breath was not enough, the bite back whimpers you were only hearing because you had your face pressed to the side of his neck was not enough. 

You would like to think that as an artist, you were naturally attracted to beautiful things. There was nothing more appealing to you than the lovely reactions he was capable of giving and you could never be ashamed of being greedy towards such beautiful things.

Keigo hissed when your hand stopped at the top of the fabric that was covering his bulge, his entire body heated up as you traced circles just above where he craved your touch the most. Peppering kisses up his neck, you grinned as he very eager closed the gap you had painfully left between your lips and his as your face hovered above him. Nothing could compare to the stir at the pit of your stomach as you heard him moan into the kiss when you had slowly undid the fly of his pants. Only pulling the band of his boxers low enough to release his hardened cock from the strain of fabric, his length slapped against his lower stomach and the sensitive skin around the area rubbing against the material of his pants only added to his desire for a relieve.

Running a finger along the vein at the underside of his shaft, you gently yanked at his hair to expose his neck and placed many wet kisses along his chin down to the valley where his neck met his collar bone. While your other hand slowly ghosted over the slit at his tip, the one that just gripped onto his blonde locks now travelled down the back of his neck to where his wings grew out.

Keeping up with the teasing at his length, what you would only consider as whimpers grew louder when your hand smoothed over the red feathers but you were yet to be satisfied. Feeling his uneven breath at your neck, you searched for the one spot that you knew would had him crumbling in an instant.

Where was it, where was it?

Ah, found it.

Your hand found its way to the much softer feathers at the base of his wings and the moment you scratched down, the last but of self-restraint in him snapped as he let out a loud, delicious moan.

Beautiful, exactly what you were looking for.

No longer holding back, you were satisfied with the loud noises that escaped from his flushed lips. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as your thumb toyed at his tip, collecting the pre-cum that was oozing out. You collected the droplet at the tip of your tongue when it slide down his jaw, the saltiness that spread in your mouth only elicited your own desire even more.

Slowly pumping his cock with the help of the sticky liquid on your hand, you pressed yourself against his chest as you sped up the movement of your hand. His hip bucked against your hand and you clicked your tongue in disapproval as his cock twitched. A loud whine slipped past his mouth when you suddenly paused whatever you were doing all while pushing him down from moving against you himself.

“I should really just leave you here like this,” you said as you pulled back, you chuckled as you were now looking right at his very flushed face, “my pretty bird that is tied up for me and under my mercy. Perhaps I can even make you sing for me.”

The skin underneath the rope was now much paler comparing to the rest of his body, lines of redness starting to show from how much he was tensed up. The corner of his eyes were tearing up from the stimulation and your denial of his release, the feathers at his back pulsating and the tip of his length in nearly the same shade of red.

Again, what a sight. But no matter how much you liked when you were seeing, you could never be so cruel as to keep your birdie in pain.

“As much as that thought tempts me,” you said as you leaned in close to him once again, "I guess you deserve a reward for being so well-behaved.”

He yelped when your hand circled around his shaft and started jerking him off. The loud sound of skin slapping echoed off the walls and the whiny sounds he was making was erotic to hear. 

You knew he couldn’t last much longer when you felt the twitching in your hand. “Such a good little bird. Are you going to make a mess for me?” The way you licked the piercing at his ear lobe as you said such profanities was what gave him the final push as he reached his high. 

Strings of warmth spurted out, covering your hand and stomach as you pulled away. He was still trying to catch his breath as you looked down at your shirt that was now covered with cum and scrunched your eyebrows together.

“When I said ‘making a mess for me’, I definitely didn’t mean it as ‘on me’.”

“Yeah, yeah, my apologies.” To think that mere seconds ago he was like putty in your hands. As he came down from his high, Keigo’s composure was quick to return as a slight smirk now graced his features.

“Now get me out of this.” He said as your hands went to tug at the knots against his torso, “I feel like you still haven’t fully repay me for all that posing I did for you.”

[master-sass-blast]

The Color of Our Love.

I LIVEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Summary: You and Piotr take the next step in making your house a home: painting the walls.

Pairing(s): Piotr Rasputin x Reader.

Rating: G.

Word Count: 1.5k.

Set after “It’s Truly Magical.”

Taglist:  @marvel-is-perfection, @chromecutie, @girl-obsessed-with-things, @super-darkcloudstudent, @dandyqueen, @leo-writer

It’s the smell that gets to you the most. You’re used to soaring through the skies, drawing in gulps of fresh, pure air into your lungs. You’re used to smelling sun-warmed grass and fresh flowers and the dampness of rain in the air once a storm’s passed and—

“How do you deal with this?” You grimace, rubbing the bridge of your nose as your husband opens cans of paints and pours them into the trays meant for roller brushes. “I’m gonna get a headache.”

“You get used to it,” Piotr says as he unwraps the detachable brush head for his roller brush. He smiles sympathetically when you start massaging your temples and pats your shoulder reassuringly. “We can open windows. And take breaks.”

The two of you are starting the next leg of your journey to making your house a home: painting. Neither of you like looking at bland white walls.

It’s been a long process, though, of quibbling over color options, making sure those options match with the other choices for other rooms (as needed), and planning out which rooms to do when so you don’t inadvertently spend a whole paycheck on cans of paint.

You two decided to start in the master bedroom, for the sake of simplicity down the line.

Impatient, you pick up one of the paintbrushes Piotr had purchased for edging around window and door frames and smear a thick stripe of paint over an empty stretch of wall. “Chop chop, baby! We’re wasting daylight!”

Piotr laughs, loading up a roller brush with paint and letting the excess drip back into the tray. “After you, myshka.”

The two of you work for a while, chatting aimlessly while you transform the room from a sterile sea of white to something much homier –and less likely to cause eyestrain. Piotr handles outlining the window and door frames so there’s guidelines for the rollers and takes care of the high spots, while you flit around the room, alternating between the regular brusher and a roller brush as you fill in the places your husband’s prepped for you.

Eventually, though, your self-control starts to wane –and then your opportunity presents itself on a silver platter.

Piotr’s got his back to you. He’s working on painting the parts of the wall near the ceiling.

And, on prime display in a pair of old gym shorts, is his butt.

(God, he has a fantastic butt. Perfectly sculpted by innumerable squats and obscene amounts of protein bars. You can bounce a quarter off his ass –and, yes, you’re speaking from experience.

Not that you’d warned Piotr what you were planning on doing when you’d tried it.)

You bite on your lower lip, trying to stifle your excited giggles as you coat your hand with paint from your brush. Then, before Piotr can turn around, you dash across the room and smack your hand against his rear.

Piotr yelps. Jumps. Whirls around, twists to look at his backside, then faces you. His eyes are wide, mouth hanging open in a smile, as if to say, “did you really just do that?” Then, his grin broadens as he paints his own hand with his roller brush. “It is on.”

“No!” You squeal and sprint away, darting around your bedroom as you try to evade your husband’s pursuit of vengeance.

There’s only so much space, though, and your husband’s a large man. He catches you eventually, snagging you with his clean hand and locking you against him with his arm before pressing his paint-covered hand against your chest.

You bust out laughing, leaning back against his solid, warm chest; there’s not much point in trying to run away, now that you’ve been caught. “Not on my boob!”

“Serves you right,” Piotr teases, nuzzling against your cheek. “Naughty myshka.”

You tip your head back and grin up at him. “Yours.”

He grins back, then dips his head and presses his lips against yours.

 ***

 Fumes aside, there’s not a single other thing you dislike about the painting process. It’s incredible to watch the bedroom slowly transform before your eyes.

“It’s like the feeling off the room has changed,” you comment as Piotr works on the delicate edging work near the crown molding; the two of you had opted for a soft, pastel color for the bedroom to promote rest and relaxation. “It feels cozier now. More relaxing.”

“Da.” He lays down a careful line along the crown molding –miraculously not getting so much as a speck of paint on the pure white border, which is why he’s doing this job and you are not—then dips his brush back into the pint can in his hand. “Is color psychology. Impacts our mood, perception of room.”

“I like it.” You stretch your arms, smiling as you admire the freshly painted walls. “It feels like it’s ours now.”

Piotr nods. He smiles as he finishes the last of the edgework, then sets his paint can down next to the roller tray. “Shall we rinse brushes, then take break for lunch before starting work downstairs?”

“I like the sound of the lunch part,” you say, offering up an impish grin.

“How about this,” Piotr chuckles. “I will rinse brushes, and you can make us lunch.”

“Okay, yes. Sounds great!” You shove your paintbrush into Piotr’s hand, then quickly skip out of the room and float down the stairs. “Love you!”

Piotr’s laughter echoes down the hall after you.

 ***

 “Oh, yeah. This is it. This is how I want to work from now on.”

Piotr glances over his shoulder at you. A smirk tugs at his lips. “You are sitting on couch while I paint.”

“Correction!” You hold up your index finger. “I am sitting on the couch while you paint and staring at your butt. It’s a very integral part of the process.”

Piotr snorts and shakes his head. His cheeks flush –and, even though he’s trying to hide it, you can see the bashful smile playing on his lips. “My apologies, myshka. How could I forget?”

“I get it. I doubt you spend much time staring at your own butt –which, really is such a shame; you’ve got an amazing ass, babe.”

He laughs and shakes his head once more.

The reason he’s working and you’re not –aside from the obvious superiority of sitting down and staring at your husband’s ass—is because the family room and kitchen require a lot of edge work. You’d offered to help… and then gotten paint all over the baseboards, light switches, window frames, and crown molding within fifty seconds of starting.

You just don’t have the patience –or Piotr’s well-practiced, steady hand.

“Are you still going to do the zhostovo mural in the kitchen?” you ask as you watch Piotr work.

“Da. I have sketches in art studio, if you want look.”

You’re never one to pass up on seeing Piotr’s art, so you hop of the couch and scamper down the hall to his art studio.

Since Piotr’s art studio is fastidiously organized, it’s no trouble at all to find the sketchbook with the mural sketches in them. You flip through it until you find the various drawings of the bright, richly colored flowers, then lean against his desk as you gaze down at the page.

The bulk of the mural –which, based on Piotr’s sketches, looks like it’s going to be in the center of the wall between the fridge and the coffee counter—is comprised of large, delicately curved flowers. Roses, daisies, poppies, cornflowers… all of them weave together, bowing outward in dramatic flourishes of color. Vibrant green blades of grass form the base of the main mural, moving with the arcs of the flowers and leaves. You can see a few different designs for some edgework –to be placed on the edges and corners of the wall, so as to frame the main part of the mural—made of varying bits of filigree, Russian lettering, and tiny, white and purple tinged blooms.

You grin. Your fingers trace over the various filigree designs Piotr had been testing out. Wow. You amble back into the main room, gaze still focused on your husband’s designs. “These are amazing, sweetheart.”

“Spasibo, myshka.” Piotr looks up from his lining work, watching you –almost apprehensively—as you study his artwork. “Do you like design?”

“Piotr… I love it.” You let out a small, stunned laugh; as if there was ever a chance you wouldn’t like his art. “It’s so beautiful. It’s going to look perfect in the kitchen.”

Piotr ducks his head, cheeks flushing. His lips curve into a pleased smile. “Thank you, dorogoy.”

“Do you know which border you’re going to pick?”

“Not yet.” He shrugs. “Cannot find right ‘feel.’”

“You’ll get there,” you reassure him. “I kind of like the one you paired the Cyrillic. What does it say?”

“Is blessing,” Piotr explains. “Moya babushka made for family home, in Siberia. Illyana would have to do magic for it, but I liked idea of including words in design.”

“I like it, too.” You close the sketchbook and set it carefully on the coffee table (where it’ll be safe from potential paint splatters), then walk up behind Piotr and wrap your arms around his waist. “We have a home,” you murmur as you nuzzle your face against his back.

Piotr lets out a delighted giggle. His free hand clasps both of yours. “That we do, lyublyu.”

“I love you, Piotr. So much.”

“And I love you, Y/N, so very much, too.”

[preciouslittletoonette]

“Your Daddy”

A self-indulgent Mickey Mouse fic that I just wrote on a whim. Based on a headcanon I made several months ago

//

1928

“ LES CLARK! GET IN HERE, NOW”

It has been a.... bizarre three years working for Walt Disney.

Back in 1925, when Les first joined Walt, he was truly expecting a temporary job, possibly washing cels and doing a couple drawings here and there. But what once was thought to be a temporary job turned into three years honing his craft under the careful mentorship and friendship of the great Ub Iwerks, someone Les heavily admired.

But that was not the bizarre part.

The bizarre part came in the form... of Julius the Cat.

When Les entered the studio on his very first day, the toon barreled straight into his gut in excitement at the prospect of meeting someone new. Les, not expecting the greeting, barely caught the doorframe in time to stop himself from falling from the sheer force that was Julius.

Rather than amusement from his new coworkers, he was met with sympathy. Making him realise that this was, indeed, a normal occurrence.

The only one who had looked mildly amused was Walt, who sent Les a sheepish smile as he (rather gently) pried Julius off of him and settled the toon against his hip.

“ Heh, sorry about that Les. Julius here gets rather excited at the prospect of newcomers”, he said motioning to the cat, who was cuddling up to Walt’s side.

Les had accepted the apology and was soon introduced to Ub, who after the introduction immediately moved to scold Julius, who looked sheepish and nervous under Ub’s gaze. The entire interaction between Julius and the two men confused Les until two words came out of the cat toon’s mouth.

“ Sorry Papa”

While he looked nonchalant on the outside, the words had hit Les like a freight train on the inside. 

And thus began Les’ journey into the bizarre absurdity that was the Animation Industry.

Working under Disney led to Les learning a plethora of things, and some of them had less to do with actual animation and more to do with the toons. Sometimes while Ub was teaching him, the man would throw in advice on caring for toons. Any question Les had, Ub would answer and the man was incredibly blunt with his explanations.

“ So you’re Julius’ father?”

“ Yes”

“....But he calls Walt ‘Dad’”

“ It’s co-parenting”

And some answers were... weirder than others.

“ What do toons eat?”

“ Everything we eat and a little more”

“ What?”

“ Julius once ate an entire an entire paint can, filled with paint. Nearly sent me and Walt to an early grave, the little bugger. He didn’t get sick or anything, oddly enough he looked a lil’ healthier after that...”

“... So you let him eat paint now or-”

“ God lord no! We’re not taking chances in case he actually gets poisoned someday”

“ Oh”

“ Another tip, don’t ever let your toon eat erasers. That stuff will make them sick”

“....Noted”

Though it suffices to say, the years leading up to 1928 was an experience Les would never forget.

It was currently well past 11PM when Les entered Walt’s home, Lillian letting him in and calling for Walt, who was in his office, who then called Les to get to his office.

Les peeked inside to see Walt pacing from one side of the room to another. Sitting on a chair in the corner was Ub, holding something close to his chest as he tried to not doze off.

Both Ub and Walt looked like they haven’t slept in days.

Les lightly knocked on the door, announcing his presence.

Walt ceased his pacing,” Ah there you are, Les. Thanks for coming over”.

“ Well it sounded urgent. Couldn’t leave you two hangin’. What happened?”, Les asked concerned

“ We did it”, Walt sighed as he ran a hand down his tired face before looking to what Ub was holding.

Les’ eyes widened when the realisation of what had happened, finally noticing that what Ub was holding was definitely moving and shifting in the sleep-deprived man’s arms. Ub, noticing the attention from the standing men, shifted the being in his arms until Les could properly see him. In his mentor’s arms...

... was a sleepy small toon mouse.

“ When did you-?”

“ An hour ago”, Walt answered,” We made him an hour ago- but that’s not the point of you being here. Wait right here, I’ll be back”, with that said, Walt left the room to go further into the darkness of the house.

Les made his way over to his mentor’s side, dragging another chair closer to him and sat close by.

“ You okay, Ub?”, Les asked concerned.

“ I’m good”, Ub replied looking down on the toon in his arms,” Walt called me out of work to do this”, he moaned tiredly.

“ You were working?”, Les questioned.

“ I had extra work to do for Mintz because of planning with Walt”, Ub explained.

Les was well aware his mentor was working on things for Walt even while he continued to work for Universal. Ub was providing the money they needed to get the studio running while Walt and Roy went out, looking for new distributers after Winkler Pictures and Universal betrayed them.... and took Oswald away from them.

It was tragic watching everything unfold after Walt and Roy returned from their meeting with Mintz. After everyone just upped and left, leaving the four of them behind. Ub was in a fit of rage when he found out and what happened after that was the loudest, most rage-filled argument Les had ever heard between Walt and Ub. It had gone on for nearly a hour before things quieted down. But they didn’t leave the room they were in immediately, they were in there for a few minutes before finally coming out, eyes bloodshot and puffy despite vehement denies that they were crying. But it was clear as day that they were deeply hurt.

Les hoped to never ever have to go through what they went through.

“ What’s his name?”, Les inquired.

“ Michael Theodore Mouse. Mickey Mouse”, Ub stated with a nod,” It was Lillian’s suggestion after hearing Walt’s original name for him”.

“ And that was...?”

“ Mortimer”, Ub gagged.

Les snorted when he heard the name,” Bless Miss Lillian for stepping up where Walt failed in the naming department”, he joked humorously.

“ Amen to that”, Ub said with a short laugh as he looked down on the toon,” Hear that, Mickey. Your dad was going to name you Mortimer. What an unusual unneeded punishment, eh buddy”, he continued as Mickey smiled at Ub with sleepy eyes.

“ He’s very cute”, Les commented with a smile.

“ Of course he’s cute. I designed him after all”, Ub quipped with a smirk.

Les chuckled,” Of course”.

Ub smiled before looking down to Mickey again, this time his eyes filled with sadness. Les noticed this.

“ Thinking about Oswald again?”, Les asked.

“ Yeah. It’s just..... it’s been weeks since Mintz took him away and I haven’t seen him around the studio even while I was working. I’m worried about him and Julius”, Ub admitted,”.... I initially really didn’t want to do this”.

Les raised a brow,” What changed your mind?”.

“ Walt”, Ub said plainly,” We’ve been runnin’ around this for weeks now- well I was. You probably overheard me and Walt talking about this one night at the studio”.

Les nodded. He had overheard the conversation between Walt and Ub one evening when they were doing checks on the Hyperion studio. A mere two weeks before the current moment, Les recalled. It was far from an argument but there was definitely a disagreement. Ub wanted to wait a bit longer before creating another toon but Walt wanted it done sooner rather than later. The man even had a rough idea sketched out after seeing a mouse on the train  heading back to Burbank, Ub just had to create a proper design and then bring it to life. But to Ub it was moe complicated than that.

The man was exhausted, not just from overworking but from the very fact he had not JUST lost Oswald, but also Julius as well. And the guilt and sadness was eating him up from the inside. He was still wounded by the loss and Walt was not letting it heal like it was supposed to.

Not to say Walt wasn’t also facing his own major problems. He was also NOT coping well with losing Julius and Oswald (the latter especially) and his temper was much more explosive than usual from Les’ perspective. He threw himself into his work, dragging Roy everywhere to every film distribution company in the Los Angeles county. Heck, Les wagered Walt’s desperation might even have him go look for distributors in New York. And the man was constantly stressed out and judging by what Walt looked like earlier, even sleep deprived from working this much to avoid his own thoughts to grieve. You could say his desperation and grief was blinding him to his friend’s own grief.

 Les winced at the thought, silently pitying his seniors.

Ub continued on speaking,” Distributors want to see the stars nowadays and not just concept art. They want to see and meet the toon and as charismatic as Walt is, he can’t convince them to wait any longer. So I bit the bullet tonight”, he explained, shifting Mickey as the toon squirmed a little in his arms,” But I’m don’t regret this. I feel a lil’ better after making lil Michael here. He’s just too darn active for me to ignore, isn’t that right buddy”, he said addressing Mickey, who was about ready to fall asleep again.

Les smiled at the sight of the toon,” Well I’m sure this one right here’s gonna be the one to boost us to success”, he said.

“ You think so?”, Ub inquired with a grin.

“ O ‘Course! After all, who could resist this cute little face?”, Les cooed at Mickey before turning to Ub,” AND you and Walt have already raised some pretty big stars. No doubt this little one will follow suit with his brothers”, he proclaimed confidently,” You two are gonna great dads.... again”, he joked lightly.

Ub chuckled,” And I’m sure you’ll be a fantastic dad too, Les”, he stated light-heartedly.

Les frowned, about to ask Ub what he meant before Walt peeked in, having returned from where he went off to.

“ Hey, sorry for the delay, she crawled out of the basket and I had to find her”, Walt explained nervously with a chuckle.

Les raised a brow at the mention of a her but Ub spoke up before he could ask

“ It’s fine. We were distracted with talking anyway. Bring her in already so Les can meet her”

Les was highly confused for a second before registering another toon mouse in Walt’s arms that was quickly transferred to his lap in seconds.

“ Les, meet Minnie, Minnie, this is Les Clark-”, and the next words will forever imprint itself in Les’ mind-

“ -Your Daddy”

“ Wait what?!��

[bluesky-thewebcomic]

Final thoughts from Elvenwhovian

So here we are at the end. The last panel. There were a lot of times that I thought I wouldn’t make it to this point. It’s been an incredible and long journey, and finishing a project like this is satisfying beyond words. I know that many of you were not here from the start, so I just wanted to share the story of how this 930 panel monster of a project came to be and thank a few people who helped along the way.

Really it all started in March of 2014. My roommate had taken a trip to New Zealand to visit family and I was having a pity party at home alone (It’s always been a dream of mine to go to New Zealand). I was window shopping online on Thinkgeek (RIP Thinkgeek) and I was seeing all this merch for a game called Portal. This led me to Steam, which led to finishing the first Portal in about a day, then Portal2 in about 2 weeks. 

Of course this led me to begin looking up fan art which led me to discover the fanfiction “Blue Sky”. I read the whole thing in about 4 days. I was so engrossed in the story, I ate, slept, went to work, and read Blue Sky and nothing else. I vividly remember sitting at my kitchen table, ipad in hand, as I read the last lines of the story. I sat back, let out a long breath and said, “Wow. That was one of the best stories I’ve ever read.” 

The fan art came next. Being relatively new to tumblr, I was used to getting 3-6 notes on a post. Suddenly, people were coming out of the woodwork liking and reblogging. My mind was blown and it made me want to make more fan art. Then I met @starry-nightengale who became one of my best friends on this site. We fangirled over “Blue Sky” and Portal over the next year which led to us co-writing “The Trial of the Bow” trilogy, a medieval/fairytale retelling of Portal, Portal 2, Blue Sky, and Portal Stories: Mel. 

It was on Labor day weekend of 2015 when my internet went down inexplicably. My roommate who had the internet in her name was out of town yet again and I conceded that I would have to wait until she got back to get the issue resolved. The Trial of the Bow Trilogy was finished and I had just co-written with @the-royal-sketchbook a Half-life Medival/fairytale fanfic “The Legend of the Freeman.” However, my passion for Half-life was not as strong as it was for Blue Sky and I longed to do something else involving Wheatley, Chell, and the citizens of Eaden. 

Most of the people that I encouraged to read Blue Sky did not have the time to invest into a novel length book. I longed to create something more accessible. A comic book/graphic novel of the story had been in the back of my mind for a long time, but when the desire rose up in me, the thought of “but you would have to do backgrounds and you suck at backgrounds” reared its ugly head. 

But on that Labor day weekend, a thought occurred to me. “What if I did it as a comic? Very loose and simple. Something that I could do for fun without any heavy commitment.” So that weekend, I did a quick pencil drawing of the scene when Wheatley and Chell argue from Chapter 5. I threw some color on it and put it on tumblr and it got a great response. Then I did the scene when Chell transfers Wheatley into the hardlight avatar from Chapter 3. Another great response. It was simple and loose but people seemed to like it. I asked Starry what she thought about doing the whole story in such a way. If memory serves, she was for it but warned me not to get too far ahead of myself. If I did this, it would be a huge project and would take a lot of planning and forethought. BTW, good advice Starry ;)

After completing all of Chapter 1, I made the announcement, created the page, and the Blue Sky Web comic was born.

One of the things that helps me to recharge each week is drawing/working on art on Sunday afternoons. In the past, I had struggled to find things to work on, but no more. Sunday was now Blue Sky Comic day. I would post 2 panels and create 4 more. If I had extra time on holidays or days off I would get extra done. This system allowed me to consistently add to the project without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. I was able to get ahead so that I could take breaks for holidays, trips, computer problems, and eventually planning my wedding and getting married. The Blue Sky Web Comic became a constant in my life. Whenever I needed to decompress and just draw or color in panels, it was there. 

In late summer of 2019, my Father was diagnosed with cancer. If any of you have walked through cancer with someone, you know how difficult and painful it can be. My husband and I took a trip to see my parents about once a month for the next 8 months. The drive was fairly long and was the perfect opportunity to work on what I called “pencil work” for the comic (sketching out the layout of each panel, a process that took the most concentration and time). Working on the comic helped to keep my mind off of things. Each time we visited my Dad his condition declined and being able to focus on something like the “pencil work” helped to make the trips better.

In spring of 2020, right before the COVID-19 lockdown, my Father passed away. It was right before that final trip that I finished the “Pencil work”. By then I had also made a lot of headway on the comic itself, with only a few chapters left to ink and color. I remember reading stories and blogs about how people made it through difficult times by focusing on a hobby, tv show, book, or music; not living in denial of the bad things, but just having something to help them take a break from it all. That was what the Blue Sky Comic was for me in those final days and I will always cherish how it was one of the things that helped me to make it through that difficult period in my life.

With the COVID-19 lockdown, I had some extra time to work on the comic and by late spring of 2020, I finished the last panel. It still kind of blows my mind. From 2015 to 2020 was how long it took to complete.

____________

To the 2000+ followers and those who replied, liked, reblogged, and sent messages, your words helped me to keep going when I wondered if it was worth it. Your kind thoughts helped me to know that this story is still enjoyed by people and Portal fans alike.

To @starry-nightengale, thank you for your advice at the beginning and your support and friendship along the way. Here’s to many more ^w^

And to @wafflebloggies, thank you for writing Blue Sky. It may seem overdramatic, but when I found this fic back in 2014, I was in a dark place and your story helped me hold onto the light. Even years later when faced with new trials, it helped me to focus on what was ahead. I truly believe that this story resonates with so many people because it taps into the most simple and profound truth: the most powerful love is selfless. And selfless love can conquer any difficulty. Also your support of the comic over the years made me smile with delight. I’m so glad you liked it :)

So that’s the story. I plan to do more audiobooks of the rest of the Trial of the Bow trilogy, but after that I’m going to be taking a nice long break from Blue Sky and Portal.  I have a personal passion project that I am in the initial stages on. It's another web comic that I actually couldn’t have even considered doing if not for the experience I gained over the past 5 years. I’ll have updates on my personal tumblr for that project and the audiobooks, but for this page, The Blue Sky Web comic, this will be one of my final posts (aside from responding to any messages from you guys). Thank you all again for following. What an incredible journey this has been! This fandom is so amazing and I love you all. Take care and God bless. - Elvy

[dumbasscorn]

Exothermic : chapter eight

Amalthea vs the End of the First Day 

"Bold of you to assume I would kill my new bestie, Mal! I'm gonna force you to live forever just cause you said that." Previous Chapter 

967 words 

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═

A shrill school bell ringing brought Amalthea out of the trance that sketching the cars outside put her in.

Not even raising her eyes, she could tell Trevor was on his way over to annoy her yet again. He had been passing her notes in every class, trying his best to make the girl smile.

"Mal, 'Son's got practice in 20, wanna watch sweaty dudes kick balls and yell each others last names with me?"

"That sounds amazing and I'd really love to go, but I'd also really rather die." Standing up, Amalthea elbowed a set of ribs as she walked around the tall boy.

Trevor winced and curled into himself, holding his right rib as he pursed his lips. "Fine! You're not getting any of my special cookies when I talk my brothers girlfriend into making more," he dramatically waved his arms around to exaggerate his point, pushing Amalthea out of the classroom door.

"Brother? Damn, I pity the poor soul who had to deal with you as a kid. If you're annoying now I can't imagine what you'd do to get attention then."

Trevor guffawed at the teen and bumped their shoulders as they walked down the hallway, "Dude, can't even try to deny that-- I was annoying as fuck as a kid. My mom called me a gremlin, cause I'd eat sugar and go fuckin' insane."

Thea felt a tug at the left side of her lip, immediately hiding the smirk from Trevor.

"But on a more serious note, I don't really even know my brother. We didn't grow up together at all. We've got different moms and grew up in different towns - I'm here and he grew up on the reservation. You see, I only found out we had the same dad literally a couple months back, and when I went back to pretending he didn't exist, he resorted to bothering the shit out of me."

Thea could not hold back the snort of laughter that passed her lips, "Bothering you?"

"Dude, yes. He shows up at random times and like... watches me. It's weird as fuck. You might've heard people talk about him. They think he's some cult leader who sells steroids or something."

The two teens giggled at the thought of Trevor's estranged brother being a steroid dealer who finds big dudes and decides to think, hm! I want them in my cult that nobody knows about!

Trevor shouldered a short, talkative sophomore out of their way, watching as the boy gawked at the girl next to him. Amalthea heaved a sigh, shoulders drooping in a sluggish manner, "Damn, I forgot I still got to give this paper to that lady in the office. Kill me and I'll forgive you for being a nuisance."

"Bold of you to assume I would kill my new bestie, Mal! I'm gonna force you to live forever just cause you said that." He bopped her on the nose.

"And you plan on doing that how, may I ask?"

"Don't know yet, I'll look into finding a witch or something so she can curse you into being immortal! Or shall I say blessing, since I'd obviously get the curse too. Can't have you being lonely, Mal!" He grinned heavily, eyes shutting as he did so.

Trevor stumbled over a backpack in the middle of the hall, grasping the shoulder of his new friend for support, and spoke again before fully regaining his balance. "Honestly, thank god Mr. Huber made us project partners,. Now I can text you when I know all the deets."

"Well good luck with that. Text me to say dumb shit and I will brutally murder you, Uley."

"Yes, I absolutely one hundred percent believe you'd kill your bestie." Trevor rolled his eyes in a sarcastic manner,

"See you later Mal. I'll tell Jackson you miss him dearly and have your fingers crossed that he'll make the team run laps and suffer!" Trevor smushed Thea's cheeks together with his thumb and pointer finger as he spoke, the teen girl responded by slapping his hand away and rolling her dark eyes at his antics.

"Thank you, dear!" Amalthea waved him away from her, swinging the office door open. Only looking back at Trevor once more to give him the middle finger and turning away when she saw him giggling into his hands, pretending to get flustered.

The young girl handed in the paper that the teachers signed in each class, only after she was forced to introduce herself to the room, to the secretary.

Nodding at the elder woman, Amalthea left out the door and into the drizzling weather.

'Where the fuck is Bella, she better not have ditched me again,' Thea thought angrily, after searching for the awkward brunette and not finding her.

Spotting the ugly truck that Bella sported, Thea made the decision that taking a seat in the vehicle would make sure her cousin didn't strand her.

She thanked herself when she found that the door was still unlocked from this morning.

Bella Swan fumbled her way to the rusty truck, discovering the cousin she found herself ignoring seated on the passengers side.

The girl gave Thea a close lipped smile, uncomfortable at the glare the girl was giving back.

Setting her bag down and starting up the truck, Bella pulled away from the school that reminded her so excruciatingly much of Edward Cullen.

Tearing her venomous eyes away from the pale brunette, Amalthea faced the parking lot and watched as a broad shouldered, tan man scowled as he observed the girls driving off. The ebonette watched amusedly as Trevor walked toward the older man in an agitated state.

'Must be Uley's brother. No wonder people think he's a cult leader on steroids-- could he look any more scary, jesus christ.'

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═

Hi, sorry its been over 2 weeks since I've updated. Yikes! Sorry bout that. My mental health has been not doing good. Hopefully things get better soon and I update more. Spring break is coming up so I'll have a few days to do whatever I want. Gonna try to write a few chapters in that time!

Also, full moon tonight y'all. Love that.

Also (again), I changed the cast list thing. u should check it out 

Tag List: @ivettt @jjpogueprincess @demigodslut​

If you would like to be added to the tag list, please send me an ask or message me! Do the same if you’d like to be removed. :)

master list 

[damedamedame]

akane aoi + reader | say what ?

| description ! | your current relationship with akane gets a little out of hand (which may or may not be good?) (yes, there’s a question mark).

prev | next

You flip to a page, one to a theory about a mysterious creature who could control the time around the halls of Kamome Gakuen by their own hands and by their own choice. There’s even a sketch of what it could be... and it looked nothing like the boy standing in front of you now. Your finger points to a space, wordlessly wanting him to sign it if your pleading face was anything to go by.

Akane stares at you blankly, then to the picture book in your hands. The expression on his face screams confusion because of your actions but you were insistent.

Being an enthusiast for all sorts of supernaturals and apparitions that had crossed your path (which may or may not have led to various dangerous incidents), you stood your ground as firmly as you possibly could.

Even if you wanted to melt at the sight of this new Akane Aoi.

Fuck it, you probably already melted when he saved you mere minutes ago.

Sucking in a deep breath, you continued to ask another question, briefly ignoring the fact that Akane didn’t bother to sign. Maybe he had no pen?? What kind of apparition has a pen in his pocket?? Wait would they--

“C-Can you help me investigate more s-supernaturals?”

‘OH NO.’ You looked at the ground as if it was the one who was making your cheeks redden to the max. ‘I STUTTERED TOO MUCH DHBFSH--’

“Interesting offer but….” Your head shot up to meet his smile, it didn’t meet his eyes but it made you look like a tomato nonetheless. A shudder goes down your spine at the way he stares right through you. “I don’t think I can handle another second seeing any one of them.”

…?

“W-WHY?? SUPERNATURALS ARE AMAZING CREATURES !!” You cry out, unable to hold back.

“Wha…? What makes you say that?”

There’s a hint of a spark happening between you two, one filled with tension and the start of a very very long argument between the justification of supernaturals.

Not that you intended to speak up and start a fight about it, you had only wanted to bring up a few points. Which he had a rebuttal for every time. Perhaps this is why you liked this smartass, but never did you think that you would be on the opposing side of the debate.

“Aoi-kun, I’m pretty sure not all of them are bad..!”

“You might want to see a certain seventh somewhere--.”

“YOU KNOW THE SEVENTH MYSTERY ???”

Secretly, your foot hurt like actual hell, having been pushed to the ground rather harshly after almost being struck by a truck. But how could you let this chance pass by? You were finally talking to the boy you simped for and you have the chance to meet more supernaturals and apparitions!

Granted, you almost died and you were both arguing about the goodness of supernaturals and apparitions, BUT STILL—!!

“I don’t think he appreciates seeing someone limp into his stall.”

Akane motions over to your foot. The foot that you were trying so desperately to hide but alas, the awkwardness stood out.

“Um… I-I’ll go to the clinic then! After that, you can take me to see Hanako-san…!”

Two steps forward and you were already wobbling. You were determined to get to the clinic without any hesitation if it meant finding out more of these supernaturals that always invaded your mind, if you weren’t already thinking about Akane.

Being the gentleman that he was forced to be by one strict Teru Minamoto, he had, as much as he didn’t want to offer because he was salty, offered you a, “Do you want me to take you to clinic?” which you may have replied with a small nod, the flush on your cheeks rising significantly so.

Significantly so may have been a slight understatement.

Your cheeks—no, your entire face raged with a pink blush once Akane put his hand on yours, telling you to lean on him if your legs hurt too much. The way he held your hand calmly without hesitation made it seem like he experienced this sort of thing before. Or maybe he spent his time eagerly researching this for Aoi’s sake. ‘Okay, yeah, it’s definitely the second one.’ You sink your head low in dismay.

Thankfully, the clinic wasn’t too far off since the incident took place right at the exit of the school. Making quick work into getting to the clinic, also avoiding the people who looked at you two quietly bickering about another something related to your slowly developing debate about supernaturals and all that. Or perhaps they looked at you two and wondered why two simps were spending time with each other. What if they thought you were dating him (finally) and Akane had given up on Aoi--

You scoff, immediately letting the fleeting thought away. Akane raised an eyebrow at your action but you simply looked away, not acknowledging the other thoughts that crowded your mind.

“Can you open the door while—”

“Yeah, I think I can just…”

After a few minutes of trying to open the door leading to the clinic, and failing miserably, your prayers have finally been answered. By a fellow Student Council Member.

“Oh! (L/N)-san!” This girl is… the ‘Secretary’ of the Student Council, if the messy black hair, the dark red ribbon hanging loosely around the back, and the round glasses framing her small face was any indication. “What happened?”

“I tripped and fell on the sidewalk.” You explain, not delving into any of details because even if the guy you just had to like out of everyone else (seriously, why couldn’t you have liked Minamoto-senpai instead? It’d probably be so much easier) had a bunch of hatred for the ones you absolutely adored (and you still didn’t get why he hated all of them instead of merely hating the ones who pushed Aoi), you still didn’t want to cause any trouble for him.

The ‘Secretary’ looks at you two for a bit, a small knowing smirk gracing her lips, which she tried to hide with her hand but failed, and walked away. She also mentioned something about the ‘President’ dropping off some paperwork on his desk. You don’t know why Akane’s expression turned into a disgusted one but you didn’t want to pry on that.

Oh nono, you wanted to pry about something else.

Right after sitting down on the bed after the nurse had told you to do so, you began swinging your legs out of nervousness. And you regretted that a second later because the pain finally settled in. Akane had thrown an ‘are-you-kidding-me?’ look at you and you replied by rolling your eyes into oblivion. Not wanting the silence between you two to thicken (or maybe you should, you were literally on the verge of kicking your crush when he mentioned how annoying your beloved Mokke were), you somehow managed strike up a conversation.

“Say… what happened to that truck a while ago?” Gold star for not stuttering over there, champ.

Akane turns to look at you, lips screwed tight and eyes wide. Had he not noticed it? How his supernatural suit and tie and honestly aesthetically pleasing outfit went away and changed back to his normal uniform? How the truck had crashed into a pole instead of you? Considering the amount of shock graced his features, it’s safe to assume that you were correct. Seriously though, how could he not have noticed?

‘Maybehewasfocusingonyou—SHUT UP’

He’s silent, not willing to admit that he did not, in fact, notice the truck nor his outfit changing. You hear him mumble a few words under his breath, definitely not missing the ‘That bastard might actually kill me this time’ or the ‘If Ao-chan ever finds about this…’ but he stops when the doctor of the school clinic came in.

“So, (L/N)-san, what do we have here this time?” The doctor, Nito-san, asks for the third time this week (or was it the fourth…?). He kind of looked frustrated with you, which you brushed off with an awkward chuckle. You could have sworn you heard Akane stifle a laugh. “Did you fall from the stairs again?”

“Not today, haha…” ‘CNDSJFNDSFOSID’ You fumed, hands clenching into fists. Now you heard Akane actually having to hide his laughter, which resulted in you having to cover your face with your hands.

Oh, why did you have to come in like this Nito-san??? WHY???

As if God Himself heard you, you were blessed when Teru Minamoto poked his head in from outside the room’s door. Funnily enough, he did not have his usual smile and ^^ on his face. He just looked lowkey pissed, which was a first for you and for people inside the clinic.

“Aoi-kun, why don’t we have a chat outside?”

You glanced at Akane in concern, and your choice was right, he should be of concern right now. He looked like a man about to be executed.

“Y-Yeah…”

At this point, you might as well plan his funeral. Yes, Aoi is going to have to give a speech about him or he would haunt the school. ‘Wait isn’t he already haunting the school—’ You thought as Akane was pretty much dragged outside by Teru. ‘Oh, I didn’t get to ask him about Hanako-san!’ You frowned, slapping yourself on the face. Although, you probably shouldn’t be focusing on that as of now, since Nito-san looks... positively furious.

| end notes ! | i’m so sorry for the long wait !! and i’m really sorry if the update wasn’t as good as you’d thought it would be,, not that it was alr good to begin with :’>

taglist: @astrxrism​ @sparkleswritings​ @closetweebsmh​ 

[weepingvoidpenguin]

The Gods’ Blessing

Summary: In your world, everyone had a soulmate. That’s just how things went. Everyone had some sort of Indicator that their other half was out there, be it telepathy or a red string that connected these two strangers. Yours was one unspoken of, in fact, you’d never heard anyone say that they had the same Indicator as you. And because of this rarity you longed to meet the person who could gift you with what you lacked, maybe not so much so to be with the person but more so to finally see what others took for granted. Yet, you held onto the hope that one of your best friends was your Meant-To-Be but he has his eyes on another girl and the little green monster slowly engulfs you at the deterioration of your hope.

Warnings: None, 

Potentially a Part 2, I finally have some free time over a mini break and my heart is yearning for some good ol’ Spider-Man.

Word Count: 5,223

Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5

  “If I have to sit through another one of her lectures I’m going to lose my mind,” you said, rubbing your temples and taking your seat at the lunch table with MJ.

  “We’re only halfway through the year,” MJ responded, twirling a piece of celery in the air as she spoke.

  You grumbled and rested your head on the Advanced Biology textbook in front of you, “Yes, thank you, MJ, for so eloquently pointing that out,”

  She smiled, “You’re welcome,”

  “Hey guys.” Ned took his seat next to you and slammed his AP Biology book on the table, “If I have to sit through another one of her lectures,”

  “Thank you!” You exasperated, throwing your hands up in agreement.

  MJ snorted with laughter and pulled her phone out, “So what’ll it be for tonight? Movie at my house? Movie at the theater?”

  “Studying,” you answered, throwing open the textbook and immediately forming a headache.

  The chatter of the lunchroom rang in your ear and you grumbled in annoyance, trying to rehash on today’s lesson as best you could when another loud thud on the table caught your attention.

  “So, have we decided what we’re doing for tonight?” Peter asked, excitement clear in his tone.

  “Apparently (Y/N) has no intentions on having a good time and has dedicated her life to passing Biology,” Ned offered up, handing Peter the notes he missed for the class.

  “Aw, come on, we can’t keep skipping out on our weekly hangouts, that’s when they disappear altogether,” Peter huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair as Liz sat in the empty chair beside him and Peter quickly straightened his posture and a twinge in your chest caused you to roll your eyes. He was constantly trying to make himself look good around her.

  “Hey guys.” She smiled and pulled out her lunch for the day, “What’s the plan for tonight?”

  “Ugh!” You groaned and Ned snatched his notes back from Peter to study over them with you.

  “Movies at my place,” MJ decided and nodded her head as if agreeing with herself, “Yeah, that’s what we’re gonna do,”

  Peter’s eyes lit up and he faced Liz, “Unless you wanted to do something else? Of course, movies at MJ’s is always fun but if you had anything else in mind then I wouldn’t be opposed to-”

  Liz held up her hand, “Movies at MJ’s sounds fun,”

  For as long as you could remember, Peter’s had a huge crush on Liz Allen and boy was it starting to really tap dance on your final nerve. Not only did you not appreciate Peter’s constant gawking over her but it was bad enough that now she had to come to the weekly meet-ups at Peter’s insistence. Now, you didn’t hold any grudges against Liz, in fact, she was pretty cool and superbly nice and that was something you could appreciate about her. It was just the fact that every time Peter looked at her with his puppy dog eyes your heart would twist in agony that was starting to get really old. Like, really old.

  “I think I’m gonna have to pass on this one,” you said, Ned skimming to the part of the notes that you were confused about.

  “No one’s flaking out this time,” MJ spoke up and lifted her pencil off her sketch pad, “Peter’s practically rainchecked every hang out this month and he’s finally willing to breathe with us for a second so we’re going to hang out whether you like it or not,”

  “MJ, I would but I have to study for the exam on Monday,” you tried to explain but she could tell by the look on your face that there was an underlying reason.

  “So then Peter can help you study while I set up for the movie but you’re not skipping out on us,” MJ turned away from you and started a conversation with Liz about their soulmates.

  See, on this earth everyone was born with a soulmate and they could find out who in a variety of ways. Some people had an invisible red string that only they could see, some could read each other’s thoughts, some couldn’t see color until touching their soulmate for the first time and the list goes on but no matter what, your soulmate always had the same indication or lack of ability.

  For the longest time, you thought you didn’t have a soulmate. You weren’t born with words on your body, no red string, no telepathic ability, nothing. It was until one night on the summer of your tenth year that you finally found out what you were missing.

~

  “(Y/N), MJ’s here!” your mother shouted from downstairs and you hopped off the bed to see your best friend standing there in her usual baggy clothes.

  “My mom’s gonna order us pizza for tonight,” she chimed cheerily and whisked you away by your hand after saying good-bye to your mom.

  “Have fun!” She shouted after you and watched to make sure you entered your neighbors house.

  “My dad says there’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight, you wanna see?” MJ asked later on that night when the pizza had arrived and you’d cuddled up in bed together.

  “What’s a meteor shower?” You asked, not convinced you wanted to waste your time looking at something you didn’t even understand.

  “It’s when the sky looks like there’s a bunch of shooting stars,”

  You shrugged your small shoulders and looked out of MJ’s window. The city had been so light polluted that anyone could hardly see the sky anyway so you shook your head and threw some popcorn in your mouth, “I don’t think so, you can’t see anything out there,”

  She nodded her head with no argument, obviously not as interested in the topic as you had assumed, and continued to watch Spy Kids with you.

  “I hope you know I’m Carmen,” she said after the movie had ended and the popcorn had long been gone.

  You shook your head and pretended to throw a gadget at her feet, “I’m Carmen!” You said, ducking under a pillow as the make-believe gadget electrocuted her.

  “Nu-uh!” She stomped around her room, her tiny fists balled up at her side when there was a sudden knock on the door.

  “MJ, (Y/N), come look at this!” MJ’s dad’s excitement could be seen on his face so you both followed his order without second guessing.

  He led you to her parent’s shared bedroom and opened their window, stepping out onto their fire escape and walking to the railing. You gulped. You’d always been afraid of the fire escape but only because it had been ingrained into your mind that the fire escape was not a toy and was very dangerous. So you cautiously followed her dad and mom out the window to the railing.

  MJ’s mouth dropped as she stared at the dark expanse above you, “Wow!” She squealed.

  You looked up to find what she was looking at once you caught up to her.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” Asked her father, amazed at the sight before him.

  MJ’s mom nodded and brought you closer to her so you could get a good look at the show.

  “What?” You asked, straining your eyes to see the night’s sky, “What do you see?”

  “You don’t see it?” Her father asked, his eyes never once prying away from above.

  “See what?” You asked, your eyes scanning back and forth, up and down and still nothing as the minutes passed. “I don’t get it,” you pouted, crossing your arms over your chest and almost stomping around to head back into the house when MJ grabbed your elbow to keep you in place.

  “Look!” She gasped, pointing out into the void.

  And you looked. You looked hard for so long until your eyes burned with the strain but that night you never became amazed in the same way that her family was. They held admiration for the sky sprawled above them but you could never meet their excitement.

  For that night and all the nights before then when you looked up at the sky, you saw nothing.

~

  MJ had found her soulmate last summer while on a school trip and although you weren’t going out into the world and looking for your soulmate, you couldn’t help the bit of envy you felt. You were happy for her of course, she’d been so happy when she met her other half and they have yet to go a day without communicating as he didn’t live anywhere near the area. You’ve met him over facetime calls and had a few meaningless conversations with him when MJ wanted you guys to get to know each other (she wants her best friend and her boyfriend to get along). But you couldn’t help the twinge of guilt whenever she would go into the other room for a phone call and you were left by yourself.

  Again, you weren’t sad or upset, more so just kind of wishing you had something similar so you didn’t have to wait in anticipation to find out who your soulmate was. But then again there was a part of you that didn’t wish to know because if it was anyone other than Peter, you would’ve been crushed.

  You’d been crushing on Peter since you met him in the early days of your High School career. You’d had a few classes with him and actually joined the Decathalon team much to MJ’s persistence and you were forever grateful when you did. Not only because you’d gotten to spend more time with her and the fact that you got to spend more time with Peter but because you actually liked it, like, a lot.

  But as time passed you’d become great friends with Peter and his friend, now your friend, Ned. And MJ and Ned both noticed how your behavior changed once Peter started growing feelings for Liz, who claimed she’d already met her soulmate mind you. It wasn’t until months later that Ned that it slip that Liz had lied about that to make everyone back off but she’d let it slip to Pete who’s hopes shot up.

  Ever since Peter found out she lied about meeting her soulmate, he’s been following her around like a lost puppy. But in good conscious, we all pretended we didn’t know Liz was lying about having met her soulmate so she didn’t feel self-conscious about it, despite her reasoning making sense.

  As far as you knew, Peter could see the night sky and you’d never shared with anyone what your soulmate indication was. All of the ones that your friends had, the first words, first touch, the lack of color, none of theirs had matched up with yours. In fact, you have yet to hear of someone who lacked the ability to look at the stars so you kept your mouth shut in fear of being ostracized.

  “Earth to (Y/N)!” Ned said, waving his hand in your face to catch your attention.

  “What? Oh, sorry, let’s get back to it,” you said, focusing back on your studies and failing to see the guy walking towards your table.

  “Hey Liz, MJ,” said the brunette boy who you’d come to know as Brad Davis. They greeted him with smiles and he turned to you, “Hey (Y/N),” he said, twisting his hands around in themselves and looking down at his shoes before managing the courage to look up.

  “Hi, Brad,” You said, not once looking up from your textbook.

  After a few seconds of silence you felt Ned elbow you and you pulled your eyes from the book to see Ned motioning to the looming figure beside you. You stared up at Brad and gave him a confused look, “What’s up?” You asked, wanting to get back to Satan’s science as soon as possible.

  “I was wondering if, maybe you’d want to come see a movie with me this weekend?” he asked with a shy smile on his face.

  You smiled politely at him and you felt the eyes of everyone at your table burning through your body, “Brad, we don’t have the same Indicator,” you simply responded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

  “I know,” he looked down at the words tattooed on his forearm that would disappear once he met his soulmate, “But that doesn’t mean I don’t like spending time with you and there’s no harm in a movie,”

  You looked away from Brad and scanned the eyes of your friends, all of them waiting for you to respond, you were too shocked at his question that you didn’t notice the slight panic in Peter’s gaze. You turned back to Brad and shrugged your shoulders, “Why not?” you agreed, “But not tonight, how about tomorrow at six?” you offered, knowing MJ would kill you if you flaked on them for someone that wasn’t even your soulmate.

  His smile broadened and he nodded, “Yeah! I’ll pick you up,”

  You smiled back at him, “I’ll text you my address,”

  Brad walked away glowing with a radiance that he didn’t have before asking you out on a date. Once he was out of sight you turned back to Ned and raised your eyebrow at his expression.

   “What?” You asked, now registering everyone else’s reactions as well.

  “Nothing,” Mj said, shrugging her shoulders and completely unbothered by what just happened while Ned and Pete exchanged quick glances before Ned called your attention back to the textbook.

~

  Later that night, you headed straight to MJ’s after school with Ned and Liz while Peter claimed he would meet up with us in a few hours. You’d walked the way to her house in excitement as the day’s events clicked in your mind. MJ wasn’t too interested in the topic but Liz wouldn’t stop talking about it with you. She seemed elated that Brad had asked you out despite clearly not being your soulmate and you felt the flattery slowly disappear as she began talking about Peter and how she was beginning to grow feelings for him.

  You nodded at all the right parts and smiled when you were supposed to but never spoke up or dug deeper than she would offer up herself. Truthfully, you didn’t want to know how the boy you’d had a crush on for the past three years might actually get the girl he’d been crushing on for the past three years.

  Once the knot began to form in your throat, MJ took hold of your hand and squeezed it tightly, reassuring you that she was there for you. You squeezed her hand back in a silent thank you and walked the rest of the way by her side with a sad smile on your face.

  “So what’s on the menu for tonight?” Ned asked once the pizza showed up and Peter texted you all in the group chat letting you know he was around the corner.

  “We have action, comedy and horror. What do we start with?” MJ asked, wriggling her eyebrows.

  “Same order you announced,” you offered, taking a slice of the pizza in front of you and taking a bite out of it.

  “Same order it is,” Liz agreed and you handed her the box, “Thanks,” she said and took a slice.

  The sound of the door opening and locking behind you caught your attention and the steps coming up the stairs made your heart rate pick up. You watched in anticipation as Peter joined the rest of you and zipped his backpack shut quickly.

  “Hey,” he waved to everyone and you nodded to him as casually as you could.

  “I saved you a seat.” Liz patted the available space beside her and you cursed yourself for not noticing that she had been saving the spot.

  Pete took his spot next to Liz and you huffed, sitting back against the cushion of the upstairs living room in MJ’s huge apartment. MJ popped the DVD into the console and took her seat next to you before leaning and smiling.

  “I know I’m not Peter Parker but I hope I will do for tonight,” she teased.

  You softly shoved her and handed her the plate she had been making you hold for her while she chose the movies. “Of course, you’ll do, but only for tonight,” you responded and she rolled her eyes before outstretching her arms for you to lean in and get comfortable to watch the movie.

  The first two movies flew by and during each movie break you’d stretched and tossed away the garbage you’d created.

  “Last one for the night,” MJ said, showing everyone the disc and you agreed already yawning from the exhaustion creeping up.

  You heard snickering come from your left and you peeked over to see Liz leaning against Peter and his arm wrapped around her shoulder, their fingers intermingled and you stood up abruptly from your seat, catching everyone’s attention.

  “You ok?” Ned asked, reaching out to take your hand and seat you back down but you retracted your hand and took a step away.

  “Yeah, sorry, I just need some air,” you apologized and walked towards MJ’s room and opened the window, taking a step onto the fire escape and resting against the metallic railing.

  You looked out into the empty void above you, noticing how it looked the same as it always had. No twinkling lights, no shooting stars, no Jupiter or Mars, no belt. Nothing. Of course, it was hard missing out on the beauty that others took for granted but it was almost worse during the day. Considering the sun was also a star, that meant seeing things during the day was a little difficult for you.

  You wiped at your eyes when you heard MJ’s door open and close behind you but you didn’t bother turning around, already knowing who was there to comfort you.

  She didn’t say anything at first, she just stood there beside you and looked up at, what you were sure, was a beautiful sky. A few minutes passed of her just keeping you company when she finally spoke up.

  “You know they say those that can’t see the sky have been specifically chosen by the gods,” MJ chimed, looking out into your void. “They blessed a few rare spirits with the strongest kind of love, the kind that the celestials wished for themselves but those few spirits could not lay eyes on the gods until they met their soulmate. And since the gods are supposed to live among the stars, they couldn’t see the night’s sky. That was the price they had to pay because they were chosen,”

  You scoffed and looked away from the nothingness, “Chosen for what?”

  MJ shrugged her shoulders, her eyes still glued to the abyss, “Who knows? I just know that the myth says you can’t see the Gods because they’re waiting for you to join them once you’re ready,”

  “So, I have to die?” You asked, your tears long gone but your agony ever present.

  MJ chuckled but shook her head, “No, more like actually meet them. Only heroes meet the Gods.” She turned away from the railing and entered her bedroom through the window, “I know you want it to be Peter,” her voice dropped, trying to explain that she felt the pain I felt once, “But maybe you should just let destiny do its thing,”

  You nodded, too weak to verbally respond to her.

  “We’ll be watching the movie, take your time.” MJ opened the door to her room and halted before leaving, “Oh and uh, you’re not missing much, ya know? With the stars? There’s too much light pollution for you to really see anything anyway,”

  The door shut behind you and you sighed when you were rejoined with silence. You looked up at the darkness above and held out your arms, “The Gods, huh?” You asked, almost trying to speak to them, “What do you want with me? I’m no hero,” you whispered, your brave façade torn apart now.

  You turned around when nothing answered, not that you were expecting a response just that you were hoping for a sign or something. But nothing came so you begrudgingly turned back around and joined your group of friends after shooting Brad a text.

  Hey. I know we agreed on tomorrow but how about tonight in an hour or so?

  You watched the rest of the movie, waiting in anxiousness for a response. If you were being honest with yourself, you didn’t want to go on a date with Brad, you just wanted a distraction from Peter. Especially after how much they were cuddling right now.

  Towards the end of the movie your phone vibrated and you pulled it out of your pocket.

  Sure! I’ll be on my way soon.

  You smiled at the message and sent Brad the address.

  After the movie had ended you stood up to help MJ throw away the lingering garbage.

  “So who was the mystery person you texted during the movie?” Ned piped up, taking the garbage from your hands and tossing it into an empty bin.

  “You were texting someone during the movie?” Liz asked, too occupied with Peter to notice anything, not that you’d blamed her.

  You shrugged your shoulders and walked over to the mirror on the wall to make sure you didn’t look too tired for the date. You didn’t particularly care how you looked, you weren’t even that interested, you just didn’t want to come off as a slob.

  “Brad’s picking me up soon, I just wanted to reschedule because I have a lot of studying to do this weekend and I don’t want to waste another day when I can hit everything on the list tonight,” you admitted.

  MJ smiled at you, “Ooh, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,”

  “What wouldn’t you do?” You teased, a devilish smirk on your lips.

  “Exactly,” she responded and you all laughed at her retort. All except Peter.

  A few minutes had passed before you heard a knock at the door and you picked your head up as you finished tying your shoes.

  “Wow, he came to the door and everything,” Ned joked, watching for Peter’s reaction.

  “Such a gentleman,” MJ added and opened her front door, “She’s getting ready, you can wait inside if you want,”

  MJ stepped aside and let Brad through the door. You couldn’t help but look him up and down. Although you weren’t attracted to him and he most certainly was not your soulmate, you weren’t afraid to admit he looked good in his outfit. A simple black shirt and jeans with a black jacket thrown over his shoulder. He looked like a Greaser.

  “Nice outfit,” you complimented, throwing your arms through your own jacket and standing in front of him.

  “Oh, this? It was nothing,” he joked but you could tell by the way his eyebrows furrowed that he was nervous.

  “Alright, get out of here,” MJ shooed you both through her front door, “I want her home by eleven!” MJ said sternly and you knew she’d wait for a text from you to let her know you were perfectly safe.

  “Have fun!” Liz shouted as MJ shut the door behind the two of you.

~

  The date with Brad ended up going okay. There was nothing particularly wrong with him and he tried his hardest to impress you but you just didn’t connect with him in any way so when the date came to a close you denied a ride home and opted to walk home instead. You knew it was stupid and practically asking for danger but you just wanted some fresh air to clear your head. Much to Brad’s insistence, you couldn’t walk home without calling him first and having him on the line until you reached your destination. You appreciated his kindness and agreed to his terms, knowing that it was probably safer that was as well.

  You walked the streets of the city and barely took in your surroundings as your thoughts flooded your head and sidetracked your mind. It was only when you heard a thud that you lifted your head and looked to the now occupied space to your right.

  Your eyes widened as you recognized the blue and red suit and you took a side step before muting your phone.

  “Hi!” He chirped up quickly, the whites that were his eyes on the mask squinted slightly as he waved at you, “Uh, I know this is random but I just noticed you walking by yourself and wanted to know if you were okay,”

  You stared in shock at the masked man and took a step towards the street, “How do I know that you’re not some crazy dude in a mask?”

  “Well, I mean, I kind of am,” He responded and managed to crack a small smile from you.

  “Okay well then how do I know you’re the Spider-Man?” You asked, raising your eyebrow.

  He raised his hand and shot a web at the nearest streetlamp and flung himself around it, landing back at your side. “Proof enough?” He asked.

  “Maybe,” you said jokingly and continued walking at a steady pace.

  “Well is maybe good enough to walk you home?” He insisted.

  You looked him up and down with suspicion but slowly nodded your head and stuffed you phone into your backpack to avoid it flying out. Spider-Man held out his hand for you and brought you close to him. You could feel the warmth radiate from his chest as it pressed against yours and you melted into his arms. There was a welcoming feeling about him that you’d never experienced in anyone else’s arms, it was weird and sudden but familiar and not unwelcome.

  He stiffened for a split second before relaxing and letting you rest your head against his shoulder, “You ready?” He barely spoke above a whisper.

  “Are you sure you can carry me?” You asked last minute and was answered with being flung in the air as Spider-Man slung from building to building and you held on for dear life as the city blurred past you. A few screams managed to escape your lips but you held the rest in as the fear turned to excitement and you embraced the way the ride felt.

  You managed to let him know where your building was, although he was somehow already going in the right direction, and he placed you down on the railing that you said was outside your window.

  “Thank you,” you said, trying to fix your hair and wrapped your arms around yourself when it began to turn cold from the wind.

  “No problem,” he said, his hand going to the back of his head, “Thanks for letting me walk you home,”

  You laughed, “Yeah, well, you can walk me home anytime,” you joked and unlatched your window with the magnet you carried around.

  You stepped into your room and grabbed your blanket before stepping back outside and thanking Brad for staying on the phone with you but that you were home and safe and sound. You managed to leave out the part where Spider-Man was the one that accompanied you home and hung up.

  “So who’s this Brad?” Spider-Man asked, resting against the railing.

  You rolled your eyes, “Just this one guy. He asked me out earlier today and I was just coming back from the date when you picked me up,”

  “A date?” he asked, “And he let you walk home alone?”

  “Not necessarily, I basically had to beg him to let me walk home. I just needed some air to think for a minute,”

  “Why? What’s wrong?” He asked, sitting on the stairs beside your window.

  You shrugged your shoulders and failed to meet his gaze, or what you thought was his gaze, “I’ve just got a few things on my mind, is all,”

  Spider-Man nodded and slowly stood up, “Well I can leave you to your thoughts if that’s what you’d like,”

  “No!” You said, grabbing his hand and holding him in place but then blushing at your action and letting go despite your body telling you not to, “I would actually really like some company right now,” you admitted, feeling your knuckles turn white from the strength of your grasp.

  He stood there for a second, contemplating what you said but nodded and sat back down, “Then my company is what you’ll get,”

  You smiled up at him and the part inside of you that was screaming for his presence subsided a little. You pulled out your phone and sent MJ a text letting her know that you were okay and you were home.

  You talked to Spider-Man about your friends and family, letting him know things about you that you wouldn’t normally tell someone you just met. And he reciprocated by telling you as much as possible without giving away who he was.

  “There’s this one guy,” you started, your cheeks blushing at the thought of Peter, “I’ve had feelings for him for years now,”

  “Years!?” Spider-Man teased, “Who is it?”

  You rolled your eyes, “Like I’m gonna tell you! You probably know him,” you joked, taking a swig of your water bottle and handing him the one he asked for.

  “How would I know him?” He chuckled.

  “I don’t know but you could!” You responded, not budging on telling this kid who your heart belonged to.

  “Can I get a hint?” He asked.

  You smiled but went silent for a minute, “The only thing I’m telling you is that it’s unrequited,” you responded and your smile faded.

  The previous light-hearted ambiance dissolved to be replaced with silence, “He’d be an idiot to not like you,”

  You chuckled at that, “You don’t even know me,”

  He cocked his head slightly but then nodded as if remembering something, “Well, you’ve told me quite a bit about yourself tonight and from what I gather I like you,”

  Your heart leapt for some reason and you cursed yourself for letting simple words like that excite you, “Well he’s also not my soulmate,” you responded, “So it doesn’t even matter,”

  “What’s your indication?” He asked, scooting ever so slightly closer to you.

  You wanted to tell him, you really did, but your embarrassment kept your mouth shut, “Nothing, I’m not even sure I have one,”

  “Everyone has an Indicator,” he said, leaning closer to you.

  You shook your head and stood up slowly, ��Maybe another night,” you offered and took a step into your room, “Thank you for keeping me company tonight. I really enjoyed talking to you,”

  He lifted his arm to reach out to you but quickly decided against it, “No problem, I liked talking to you too,”

  You watched as he hopped onto the railing and just as he was about to jump off you cried out, “Wait!” He stopped his motion and turned his head to look at you, “Will I see you again?”

  You could see a smirk form through his mask and he turned back around, “Sooner than you’d think,” he said and jumped off the railing before swinging around the corner of the building and leaving you there wishing that he’d come back.

[tact-and-impulse]

Shinkane Week 2021 Day 6

A crossover with the light novel series Sugar Apple Fairytale! The first 2 volumes were already translated but I hope someday that it’ll be picked up again or licensed.

Fairytale

Initially, he thought he could take advantage of her naïveté. She was obviously a traveler, alone and with wide eyes surveying the surroundings. And in need of a warrior fairy like himself, for protection on the road. After all, that was why she bought him.

His left wing, long separated from the rest of his body, was now in her possession, and he braced himself for the inevitable squeezing, for his will to be bent to her liking. But she never did. Instead, she offered her other hand, like he was another human.

“I’m Akane. Nice to meet you.”

“…Hello.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Call me whatever you like. You’re my owner.”

She frowned. “Don’t fairies have names?”

“We do, but people don’t really care.”

“I care.” She looked terribly earnest. She really was on her first trip away from whatever small town she hailed from.

“‘Kougami’ is fine.” A part of his full name would do.

“Alright, Kougami-san.” She smiled, and he dragged his stare to the gray sheen of his wing, to remind himself that he was under her control.

***

His new owner was far too defenseless.

As their wagon headed for the capital city, she tried to ward off the silence with conversation. She had been trained in sugarcraft by her late grandmother and this was her first competition. Silver sugar was blessed by the gods, but also inherently difficult to work with. With her skills, she hoped to do well enough to be promoted.

“Not to win the grand prize?” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

“As long as I make something that only I could have, something that I’m proud of, even years from now, I’ll be happy enough. And I’ll give you your wing back, once we get there.”

“Sure, you will. Until you decide you like having someone follow all your orders and don’t want to release me.” It had happened before, multiple times.

“I’m not changing my mind, Kougami-san. And I won’t give you an order either. It doesn’t feel right.”

“Then, why don’t you hand over my wing now?” There was a flicker of hesitation, and he leaned back, his suspicions confirmed. Despite her doe eyes, she was just like the others. “As I thought.”

Unable to reply, she focused on driving the horses. It was supposed to be a scenic road. Then, in his periphery, he spotted four silhouettes on their own mounts, deliberately swerving towards them.

“We have company.” He warned her. “Probably heard crafters like you would be traveling this way.”

Akane snapped the reins, but with the sugar-laden wagon, they could only travel so fast. She glanced behind. “Are they armed?”

“Looks like it.” His elbow nudged her side. “Order me.”

“What?!”

“I can’t do anything unless you give me an order. Go ahead, twist my wing.”

“I won’t do that. I said I wouldn’t.” Stubborn, even when her life was at stake. The horses continued on, but their pursuers were catching up. Their rough, weather-worn faces slowly became visible.

“If you won’t, then we may not make it to your destination.”

The bandits rode closer. Their eyes traveled hungrily, not only upon the sugar barrels, but his owner as well.

Finally, she relented. “I’m not ordering you, I’m asking you to protect me.”

“Close enough.” Flaring out his right wing, he jumped off. He summoned his sword, black and electric blue, and went to work. Too easily, the enemies were rendered to crimson smears. It wasn’t much of a fight, but after so long, his skin was buzzing. The thrill of battle. He almost missed the wagon turning around.

“…stop…”

But her voice was too far away.

“I said, stop!”

And she must have twisted his wing because he spasmed and fell to the blood-soaked ground.

***

When he came to, he was curled on his side, and Akane was leaning over him.

“You’re awake! Thank goodness. Here, drink this.” She held a cup to his mouth, and he tentatively sipped. Coffee, but the sweetness was refined silver sugar. At the taste, it was as if a moonbeam was cast upon him, closing his wounds and rejuvenating with pure divine essence.

“…You didn’t leave me behind.”

“I wouldn’t have. I still have something that’s yours.”

In another life, he might have accused her of eating too much of her own supplies. But he looked directly at her, saying. “I feel better. You still have enough to compete?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be alright.”

They reached the capital by noon, and once they passed the main gate, she held out his wing. “Thank you so much, Kougami-san. I wouldn’t have made it here without you.”

He eyed her. “You’re really giving it back?”

“I meant what I said.”

He reached for his wing, afraid she’d pull away, but at the gossamer feel, energy surged through him. It glowed and flew to his back, fitting in its rightful place. After years of forced servitude, he was finally free. He slid off the wagon, stretching as he hadn’t in a long time. He felt like he could take a deep breath. “Thanks.”

She beamed and pressed a wrapped handkerchief into his hands. “Before I go, this is just a little gift from me. I wish you well.” Then, she bowed and headed further into the city.

After he watched her disappear, he opened the fabric. Sparkling in the midday light, there was a tiny silver sugar wolf. Its ears were bent towards a sound only it could hear; the paws were poised in mid-step, the tail in a perfect curl.

“Damn it.” Pocketing the sculpture, he followed the signs to the competition, but the area was closed to participants only. Public viewing would be at dusk, with final judging at the end of the hour. Reluctantly, he left but even before the sun went down, he was loitering outside.

His intuition told him what her handiwork was, a spiraling arrangement of delicate flowers and leaves, studded with dewdrops. It reminded him of his early days of existence in the wildwoods, oddly nostalgic. However, the adjacent sculpture was very similar. Had the crafter cheated? The promotions were announced first, and he spotted her, flushed with joy as her name was called. In her wake, there was another girl, with long black hair and cold eyes. Then, the prizes were delegated but at the first runner-up, there was a snag. Two sculptures had caught the judges’ eyes, but there could only be one winner, who would be granted permission to tour the country and learn from the other masters to hone their craft. A tiebreaker round would decide the victor.

There might have been trepidation in the other girl’s face, but Akane shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I’ve used up my supplies.” An automatic forfeit. But he didn’t want her to stop here, she deserved more. And he was partially responsible for the decrease.

He gritted his teeth and stepped forward. “Not all of it.” Ignoring the stunned looks of the crowd, he held up the sugar wolf. “You made this for me. You can break it down and recreate it. With your skills, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Her lips parted, surprised at his presence, but she determinedly took back the sculpture. “I can.”

The girls were given fifteen minutes, which seemed to drag on. The other had copied the wolf with great detail given that she’d only seen it once, but Akane had altered hers. Instead, it was leaping, balanced on one front foot and with a prouder demeanor than before. The judges’ eyes didn’t betray them, and Akane was rightfully declared this year’s master sugarcrafter, as the other girl was dragged away by officials. The extra round had been twofold, to uncover foul play too.

As the city descended into celebration, he hung in the growing shadows, but she still found him. “Kougami-san! Thank you, for helping me.”

“It would’ve been a shame if your hard work was put to waste.” He evasively replied. “Are you still planning to go home?”

“That was what I first thought, but…” She was thoughtful. “I wonder if there’s more I can learn, if I visit other sugarcrafting workshops.”

“Then, go. You can send a letter home and continue your journey.”

“What about you? I thought you would have left already. You’re free, you don’t have to follow humans’ orders anymore.”

“No, but I can do what I like. And right now, I think I’d like to see other sugarcrafting workshops.” At his answer, her smile was radiant.

In the morning, they bought fresh supplies and filled the sugar barrels. Settling into the wagon, he took the reins as she began sketching new ideas for sculptures. And so, they traveled on, past the horizon’s edge.

[firebrands]

I am in love with your fics!! 30 and stony for the short fic ask please :)

thank you!!! that makes me so happy hehe

also i know... i know it said short fic.......... yet here i am. thank you for sending a prompt and i hope you enjoy!!

Me voy pa'l pueblo, M, 2.7k | “tourist/knowledgeable local au” + stony bingo prompt fill “farewells” | on ao3

Steve wrinkles his nose as he looks around the intersection he’s found himself on. He tries not to be too obvious about it, and he hates when he gets sympathetic looks from the locals. So he glances at the street sign, then back at the shopfront.

He meant to go see the Casa de las Conchas—a large, Gothic building with seashells dotting along its facade. It also housed a public library.

Steve sighs in frustration then looks around the almost empty street—it’s lunchtime, and there aren’t many people milling about, having settled on a restaurant or gone home. Steve’s gaze lands on a man ostensibly doing just that. Steve walks toward the man as he pulls off his glove and punches in the code to his building.

“Uh—disculpe,” Steve says, fumbling already with the little Spanish he knows.

The man turns to look at him and Steve is almost bowled over by how gorgeous he is; he tries his best not to stare, but it’s nearly impossible. His face is framed by a well-trimmed moustache and goatee, and his gaze is somehow arresting—he’d never thought that description made sense until this moment.

The man blinks at him. “Sí?” he prompts.

“Casa de las Conchas?” Steve says it like a question. “Lo siento,” he adds. “No hablo Espanol.”

The man snorts softly and nods at Steve, considering him for a moment.

Steve stares back, taking every available second to drink in the sight of him. His shirt fits just right, enough to highlight the muscles of his tan arms, and Steve could look at him forever.

Then, the man scratches the side of his head, shaking it a little as he mumbles to himself. “Er, go straight there,” he says, using his hand to direct Steve’s gaze. “Then you turn right at the first. Then after two…” The man pauses, and bites on his lip as he thinks. It’s absolutely adorable.

Steve is infatuated. This is not how his vacation was supposed to start.

“After two corners,” the man resumes, “you turn left, and then you will see—” another pause. “Many people,” he finishes with a grin.

Steve nods. “Right at the first corner, then left after two corners.”

“Sí, exactamente,” the man says, still smiling.

“Gracias.” They smile at each other for a bit more, until the door of the man’s apartment beeps.

Steve takes it as his cue to leave.

***

Steve feels a little pathetic, daydreaming about the Anonymous Man as he settles down in a cafe across the historical landmark he set out to see. He can’t help but dream up scenarios in which the man comes to have a cup of coffee, and then they share a look of recognition, and Steve asks him to sit, and they chat and—well.

Steve pulls out his notebook and starts sketching, the activity handily keeping his mind focused on reality.

Steve wanders around the city a bit more, following crowds until he ends back at the Plaza Mayor. The Old City looks beautiful, lit up by bright lights strategically placed to highlight building facades, the crowds bustling with university students and tourists.

He’s planned this vacation for more than half a year, and he relishes the feeling of getting lost somewhere. Not that he’s ever really lost, but there’s some relief, not knowing. He buys a few postcards and stamps, and after a full afternoon of sightseeing, he sighs with contentment as he takes a seat in one of the bars that dot the interior of the plaza. A waiter comes to take his order—Steve picks out three pinxtos right off the bat, and he spends the few minutes waiting by watching the crowds milling about.

A pint of beer is placed in front of him and Steve looks up at the waiter, intent on saying thank you, and startles when he sees the man from earlier.

They look at each other and Steve huffs out a laugh.

The man smiles, runs a hand through his hair, looking a little nonplussed. “Did you find Las Conchas?” He asks.

“Yeah,” Steve nods. He almost asks the man to sit, but remembers that he works here. “Thanks for the directions.”

The man nods. “Enjoy your beer,” he says, and Steve watches as he walks back inside, only to blush when the man looks back at him and catches him staring.

Steve laughs a little to himself, embarrassed by how giddy he feels—it’s been a while, since he’s felt this, like he has a crush. He can’t help but hope that the man continues to serve his table, even if he knows it won’t go anywhere. It’s not like he knows if the man is gay or bisexual, or that he himself can communicate that without being so overt; how do people just do that, anyway? Steve takes a sip of his beer, enjoying the idea that he could be that kind of person, maybe. The kind who just jumped someone’s bones, didn’t worry what other people would think.

He is on vacation, after all. And it’s not like anyone here knows him. It’s a liberating thought, but Steve knows, too, that that’s all it will be.

Thankfully, the man comes back, easy smile on his lips as he sets down plates of food. “Did you like the beer?” He asks, and Steve nods, and doesn’t look at the man any longer. He tries to subdue the desire stirring in his gut. He doesn’t want to be so weird about it, but god, his mind is going strange places—he imagines touching the man’s wrist, asking his name, laughing and chatting with him until the attraction boils over and drives them to act. He imagines kissing him against the wall in one of the side streets leading out of the plaza. He imagines the sounds the man would make, how Steve would ruck up his shirt. He feels his cheeks heat, and feels a little like a deviant.

Steve takes out a book from his bag, tries and fails to focus on it as the man comes back to check on him periodically. Steve feels a little hysterical, doesn’t want to think it means anything, maybe they’re just trained to provide great service.

He shakes away the thought, finishes his meal, and leaves a large tip before the man can come back out again.

Later that night, after tossing and turning and thinking, still, of the man’s smile, he sits up and turns on his phone. He’s never really sincerely used this dating app, even after Bucky had helped set up his account and hovered over his shoulder as Steve swiped through.

Steve takes a deep breath, adjusts the settings to just far enough to span the Old City, and what he figures to be close enough to where the man lives. He can’t explain why he’s doing this, or what he hopes to achieve. He hopes he finds the man on the app, and if he does, by some miracle, then maybe it’ll be a blessing enough that they match. Besides, he’s leaving two days from now, has a plane ticket to Barcelona, and this feels like a last ditch effort of pleading with the universe. Please, please, please let him be gay. Let him be on the app. Come through for me, this one last time.

After spending the good part of an hour swiping and never coming across the man’s profile, Steve sighs and puts his phone away.

Message from the universe certainly received.

At least he has a nice memory to tie to this place, on top of everything else. It’s as good a souvenir as any.

***

Steve feels a little manic as he walks towards the bar. He’d spent the day exploring the outskirts of the city; sat down on the banks of the river and sketched while he ate a sandwich, then later meandered back towards the plaza at the center of it all.

He figures that he doesn’t have much to lose, at least compared to what could happen—which, honestly, is just to see the man one last time.

The bar has just opened for its afternoon shift, and Steve takes a deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside.

Like a flash of lightning, his gaze locks on the man’s. He looks just as gorgeous as Steve remembers (and he has been remembering a significant amount).

The man huffs out a laugh, a look of surprise and relief on his face. “It’s you,” he says, and Steve feels his heart soar.

“It’s me,” Steve says, laughing a little. The man gestures to the seat in front of him from behind the bar.

“I’m Tony.”

Steve grins, reaches over and shakes his hand. “I’m Steve.”

Steve’s thankful there are no other patrons that need to be attended to, and he’s about to say so, but Tony speaks first.

“I’m happy you came back,” he says. “I was worried.”

Steve shrugs, still feeling giddy with excitement. “Well, you had such great service.”

“Did we?” Tony asks, peering at Steve.

Steve fumbles. “You… kept checking on how I was doing.”

Tony laughs. “Yeah, because you’re cute.”

Steve makes a sound of protest, feeling his cheeks heat. “Oh,” he says. He bites his lip for a moment, then says, “you are too.”

Tony puffs up his chest, making Steve laugh again. Then he turns to Steve, a crooked smile on his lips. “I checked Tinder.”

“I did too!” Steve exclaims, because the additional confirmation of their mutual attraction is a welcome relief.

“Ah, well. You are here now.” Tony leans on the counter and winks.

Steve hates that he blushes even more. “I am,” he murmurs.

“Do you want to…” Tony trails off, chewing on his lip.

“I’d say grab a drink, but we’re already at a bar,” Steve says.

Tony arches his eyebrow at Steve. “Something else on your mind, then?”

Steve shrugs, feeling very coy as he smirks at Tony and says, “Only if it’s on yours.”

***

The bar had filled up and cleared out, but Steve and Tony had still managed to have bursts of conversation especially since Tony was bartending that night. Some customers had given them knowing looks, one regular even went on to jeer at Tony in spanish and wink at him, making Tony laugh and Steve flush all the way down his neck. He may not have known the words but the intent was clear.

Tony’s manager waved them off early, and Steve left a generous tip while Tony was putting on his jacket.

As soon as they’re out the door, Tony reaches over and twines their fingers together. It should be absurd, the simple gesture sends a bolt of electricity up Steve’s spine, except he’s been thinking of what it would feel like to touch Tony, and now he is.

The plaza’s not as busy anymore, most bars and restaurants closing as well. Across the square there’s a group of rowdy men, drunkenly singing as they walk.

Steve gestures at them and Tony ducks his head and laughs. Steve can’t say what comes over him, but he can’t bear the thought of not looking at Tony now that he can, so he reaches over, cups Tony’s jaw, and pulls him into a kiss.

Tony’s laugh cuts out abruptly into a soft moan, and he tugs Steve closer until they’re pressed against each other, hip to shoulder.

“My apartment,” Tony says, lips still brushing against Steve’s as he speaks.

Steve nods. “I remember.”

Tony pulls away and blinks at Steve. “You do?”

Steve blushes again and looks away. “I told you. I think you’re cute.”

Tony turns Steve to face him. “Good,” he says, and tugs on Steve’s hand, leading them out of the plaza.

It takes them longer than it should to get there, stopping every few steps to kiss. Steve feels drunk with desire, with the heady feeling of being this close to someone, with the disbelief that more than once he’d walked away from Tony yet somehow, is now walking with Tony.

At one point their kisses get heated enough that Steve acts on what he’d dreamt up, pushes Tony against a wall and slides his hands under Tony’s shirt, making Tony gasp.

“My apartment is a street away,” Tony breathes out, but tilts his head to give Steve access to his jaw, his neck.

“I can’t wait,” Steve says, right before nipping at the skin above Tony’s collarbone.

Tony lets out a string of curses in Spanish, and Steve groans against Tony’s neck, feeling himself getting hard.

Tony grunts and pushes Steve off him, muttering to himself in Spanish and half-dragging Steve the rest of the way.

When they finally get to the door of Tony’s apartment, Steve wraps his arms around Tony’s waist as Tony punches in his code. He smiles to himself as he peppers Tony’s nape with kisses, still in a mild state of disbelief that only a few days ago he’d chanced upon meeting Tony.

He’s glad that of all the people in Salamanca, he’d asked Tony for directions.

“Bruto impaciente,” Tony huffs, oblivious to Steve’s inner musings. Then they’re inside, and Tony hushes him as they stumble toward the elevator.

Tony pushes him against the doors just as the slide shut, kissing him soundly, his hands tugging up Steve’s shirt. The doors to the elevator open just as Tony undoes Steve’s belt.

Tony keeps kissing him, making him walk backwards until he bumps into a wall, then they’re laughing and shushing each other. Tony quiets as he turns and digs his keys out of his pocket. He makes an impatient sound when Steve presses up behind him, resting his hands on Tony’s hips.

“Here, here,” Tony says, throwing the door open and pulling Steve inside. He slams Steve against the door, kissing him roughly. It seems like the privacy has unleashed something in Tony, who digs his fingernails into the skin of Steve’s shoulders, kisses Steve so deeply that he has to blink when Tony pulls away.

“Until when are you here?”

Steve lets out a breath. “What?”

“In Salamanca?”

“Oh.” Steve leans back against the door and cups Tony’s cheek. “Tomorrow afternoon.”

Tony considers him. “Then we should make tonight worth it, no?”

Steve huffs out a laugh. “Yeah,” he says, pulling Tony close to press their foreheads together. “Yeah,” he says again, and kisses him.

This certainly isn’t how he thought his vacation would go. But it’s a good detour.

***

Steve is drying his hair when Tony comes back with two cups of coffee. He murmurs his thanks before taking a sip, and Tony sits down on the bed, watching Steve.

Steve tilts his head at Tony, waiting for him to speak. Instead, Tony shakes his head and laugh softly.

“What?” Steve asks, setting the towel down and sitting beside Tony. He takes Tony’s hand in his and kisses his knuckles.

Tony blushes and tries to tug his hand away, but Steve tightens his grip, kisses the inside of Tony’s wrist, then up his arm. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Tony laughs, just as Steve kisses the inside of Tony’s elbow. “I am just glad that you came to the bar.”

Steve smiles up at Tony. “Me too.”

“Are you going to miss me?” Tony teases.

“Maybe,” Steve pauses for dramatic effect. “Maybe I’ll miss you as much as you miss me.”

Tony arches his eyebrow, unimpressed. “So not at all.”

Steve squawks in protest and tackles Tony onto the bed, pinning Tony down with his hips as he kisses Tony all over while tickling him.

“Enough!” Tony screeches, laughing so hard he’s nearly in tears. “I will not miss the tickling!”

Steve laughs, stopping his attack and resting his forehead against Tony’s chest. They’re quiet for a moment, and Tony strokes the back of Steve’s hair.

“I’m happy.”

Steve looks up at Tony. “Me too.”

Tony’s lips quirk into a smile. “But you have to go.”

“I do,” Steve says, returning to resting his face against Tony’s chest.

“That’s okay,” Tony says. “You have my number.”

“I do,” Steve says, his voice muffled.

“Maybe we’ll see each other again,” Tony says. He snakes his hand under Steve’s chin and tilts his face up. “RIght?”

Steve presses closer against Tony’s palm. “Right,” he says.

“But before that,” Steve pushes himself up and offers Tony his hand. “Shower?”

send me a number and i’ll write you a short fic

[doingthingsthewriteway]

Stay Home

Request: meeting Dom’s family for the first time. 

Summary: Given everything that is going on, it’s best to stay home. 

Warnings: no ma’am 

Home is where the heart is. It’s great to be a homebody. Stay safe. Stay Home. Clichés and public service announcements aside, Y/N was getting stir crazy. She was an introvert, loved to cancel plans and escape to her home. But now, when she couldn’t go some place even if she wanted to, it was getting a little much. She couldn’t escape the news even if she wanted to. Social media? Quarantine and covid were there. TV? 24 hours a day (possible distance until 2021?). And she certainly, without question, could not call her parents. 

Add self-isolation on top of some anxiety and online classes, mix it al together and there was a self-destructive cocktail waiting to happen. Needless to say, Y/N was constantly on edge. Which would have been fine, really, she couldn’t manage if there wasn’t another albeit adorable variable: Dom. 

Dom was a new thing in her life. She wouldn’t trade their relationship for the world, not at all. He was endlessly attentive, charming, passionate. There really wasn’t any flaws in her eyes. Still, Dom was a new thing. She didn’t exactly have plans on sheltering in for quarantine with him. The whole thing was his idea. Dom just showed up one day with a suitcase and smile. 

Y/N couldn’t really say no, especially when he looked so fucking cute in his little sweater. So they were sticking it out together. He kept busy with writing songs, calling his friends, and working on segments for the YUNGBLUD show. She worked on online classes, maybe called a friend or two. They cooked every meal together, drank tea together, and frequently napped together. Not to mention the sex. Dom didn’t want to brag, but there was a week where they had to ration condoms until the next grocery store run. 

All in all, Dom was a good roommate, a good partner. Y/N couldn’t help but let her mind wander, she dared to dream about a future with him. She could get used to waking up and the first thing she sees being those his cherub face. 

Sometimes she stretch out on the couch while he made phone calls or face timed. She’d sketch or read, legs resting comfortably in his lap. If the conversation went on too long or she got too bored, she’d tease her feet along his lap until Dom could cough out a “Alright mate, I think I’m goin’ see what the Misses is up to” followed by a swat at her thigh. 

Today was one of the couch days. “Babe?” She let out a grunt, looking up from her iPad. “Can ya help me zoom?” 

“Zoom?” 

“Yeah, ya do it for class don’t ya? Help meeeeee.” Dom tossed in a pout for good measure. She was a sucker for his puppy face. 

So, she helped him get on zoom which really wasn’t hard and shouldn’t count as help. “Who are you zooming with? Your label?” She always gave him privacy during those meetings like he gave her privacy during class. 

“Me family. Me mum says we need a family dinner and this is as close as it’ll get.” 

Oh. The fam. Well, that’s a development. “Awe, that’s sweet of her.” She moved to grab her iPad and blanket, “I’ll go hunker down in bed.” 

Dom shook his head, cheeky grin on full display. “Nah. You’re joining me. All mum asks about is where I’m at and who I’m with. I reckon she’ll be please to see it’s you.” 

“Dom-”

“Nope. The only butt I want from you is in the bedroom.” His eyes twinkled up at her, plump lips pushed out in a kiss. “If it goes to shit we can just blame your internet connection and go fuck.” 

So that’s how she ended up snuggled under his arm, waiting for his family to join. The “what if’s” weren’t allowed past her lips. Dom just seemed to know every thought going through his love’s head. He’d hush her, nuzzle his nose in her neck, bite her if needed to float the worries away. His family was certainly used to his bullshit by now, a stable relationship will be a pleasant change. 

“MUMMY!” Dom giggled the moment his mom popped up on screen. “Ya miss me?” 

“Of course I do. You poor thing all alo- now who is this vision?” 

A vision? His mom thought Y/N was pretty? Well that felt good. Y/N sat a little straighter. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” 

“Mum, this is me GIRLFRIEND Y/N! Can ye believe it? This angel is putting up with a psycho like me. She’s been the BEST! Makes me tea just the way I like it.”

“Sam?” In the most dad way possible, his father entered view. “Did I just hear Dom say he has a girlfriend?” 

“God bless her, taking one for the team quarantining with him.” Two younger girls joined, lounging on a couch somewhere else in the family home. 

“I’ll have you know I am a JOY to be quarantined with.”

“Honey, is that true? Bless you I’m sending a care package what’s your address babe?” 

Y/N laughed along side his family, fitting in perfectly. “Oh that’s not necessary. It’s Dom’s turn to go to the store.” 

“Yeah I got to pick up the co-” Y/N pinched his thigh causing him to let out a yip. Dom pinched Y/N’s cheeks in turn, she glowed with embarrassment and affection in front of his family. 

It certainly wasn’t the conventional way to meet the family, but it worked. Dom watched as Y/N blossomed into his Y/N instead of the front she put up to please people. He felt, forever however brief, still in this moment. This felt right. Maybe it was too soon, fuck it probably was, but Y/N was part of his family and he liked that. He liked that a lot. 

A timer pulled Y/N away from the zoom call with a frantic, “I have to go to class! Lovely to meet you!” As she scrambled to grab her things and seclude herself for a night class. 

“She’s a doll, Dom.” 

“Seal of approval given?” Dom licked his lips, biting his tongue in anticipation. His mom nodded a little to eagerly. “Sick! Love ya, mum!” He flicked out his tongue for a shout and kissed the screen good bye. Yeah, he didn’t want to brag, but hunkering down with Y/N was going to be the best decision he ever made.