#i swear the answers get longer for each and each boy because *suddenly*

[luimagines]

it didn't answer my question but it was delightful to read nonetheless!!!!!

i meant like.. yk how you mentioned that the chain would doubt human reader more bcs theyre human?? then you said a situation when reader would save sky and sky would be like "nope readers got this fym they dont??" like what situations would happen with the others to make them also be like "nvm readers got this"?

(hopefully this makes sense HELP)

-person who asked about the human reader scenario thing

I've had to think about this for a while so I'm that this took me so long to answer. ^.^*

Twilight: Given that he has no problems with humans, Reader's problem would just winning him over as a person. He finds that he adore them just as much when he first introduces Wolfie to them. They gasped and instantly started complimenting and petting him, much to the horror of everyone else. They couldn't resist giving him kisses and telling what a good boy he was- not recognizing him a wolf. Twilight figures that if Reader likes animals, they're not all that bad.

Sky: His opinion was already mentioned when they got separated from the group and he hurt his ankle, unable to move on. Reader picked him up and carried him on his back until they were able to meet up with the group again. Their stamina and determination impressed him. From there he disregarded the other comments and assumptions about Reader, coming to their aid when they needed him to.

Wind: Being in the middle, Wind didn't really have much of an opinion. Not to mention that his age leaves him more vulnerable to going with the crowd and what the majority says. But there's a moment where his age also leaves him vulnerable as any small boy would. Reader finds him rubbing away the tears when the adventure become too much and lets him cry on their shoulder. They don't make a big deal out of it and help to hide the fact that he broke down from the other heroes. Wind's ego was bruised at being caught, but he's glad that Reader took his pride into account, knowing how much he wanted the other boys to view him as a equal. He'll remember that.

Wild: Reader was willing to eat anything Wild threw their way. they weren't picky and even willing to help make new recipes for Wild to make. They cooked together, sharing stories around the cauldron and laughing about how similar they were, even if they were still so different. Wild doesn't know/remember he's part human, but he knows he's different. Reader was always different so Wild doesn't think they'll see him as anything other than himself- and when they manage to choke down the dubious food he playfully tossed their way. He realized that was an invitation for the biggest prank war of the century. This'll be fun.

Legend: This boy near the end is just petty. At first Reader would meet his sass tit for tat. But after a particularly difficult day, Legend tries to get into the verbal sparring before Reader frustratedly tears up, hands clenched into fists and shaking from the restraint they hold over themselves. They yell at Legend, calling him out on his crap and saying that they're sick of his attitude and they don't understand what they did for him to fight them so much. It occurs to Legend that they were not on the same page after all and the verbal sparring was actually Reader attempting to defend themselves against his barrage of attitude. Reader takes off and Legend gives them time to cool down. He feels bad. He's self conscious enough to realize that he's the one at fault here.

Four: I think he's the simplest to be won over. Obviously, Reader has questions about the weapons he'd make in the forge. Even is Reader doesn't necessarily have the knowledge to meet him toe to toe in blacksmithing, they'd no doubt knowing someone who does. They mention techniques and Four was able to go on and on about his love and his passion with someone who actually listened. It doesn't seem like much to Reader but that sort of connection rewired something in Four's brain. Four may have grown up surrounded by bias but he's the fastest to simplify that Reader, at least, isn't defined but what others have told him.

Warrior: Is always watching them like a hawk. If they're up to something he's going to be the first to know. Because of this long time observation sting operation thing he sees all the little things that Reader does when they think no one is looking. Little by little his bias and hate his chipped away and before he knows it, when Reader is threatened, he's sprinting to come to their aid- worry gnawing at his bones on the off chance he doesn't get there in time. It's only after Reader is tended to and no long in any danger that he realizes the implications of his actions. He wants to hold on to what he thought he knew... but he finds that the more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that Reader had already proven a lot of the rumors wrong. He owes them an apology.

Hyrule: As one the least trusting of the group, he would have spent a lot of time avoiding Reader just on principle. But then he gets a bad hit. Sliced right across his abdomen. He's bleeding out. There's a lot of blood loss. He's worried about the curse. The monsters. Hyrule. Reader is suddenly above him, pinning him down, refusing the very concept of him losing more blood. They're covered in the crimson liquid quickly. Despite not able to feel or use magic, they patch him up. They stich him together again. Through sheer force of will they refuse to let him die. They don't take advantage of his weakness. They don't use his blood for anything he would have thought they would. He passes out with his life in their hands and a debt to pay.

Time: Is skeptical of new people as a rule. But he never really believed the rumors of humans anyway. He just never had a personal experience with them and he knew better after everything he's gone through to make that call without have first hand information. There was a moment where they were about to check in to an inn but Reader was denied access. To avoid a fight, they stayed with Epona in the stables for the night. Time was furious with the concept. The next day, after herding them away from the others he asks why they didn't fight back. Why didn't they stand up for themselves? Reader explains that's just how it is between Hylians and humans. They don't expect anything glamorous when dealing with them. They say that being the bigger person comes at a price but they're not willing to sacrifice their head for the sake of someone who doesn't know them and will never see them again. Time isn't happy with this answer. It's not right. And isn't it a hero's job to fix what's wrong?

[sugrhigh]

BOY NEXT DOOR 10 - ( c.s )

part nine

summary- you and your roommates live beside a bunch of senior hockey players, one of them being the infamous team captain chris sturniolo. he’s effortlessly flirty and undeniably attractive, but he’s also a pain in your ass. you find that you have to fight between lust and hatred as you finally get to know the boy next door, whether you want to or not.

warnings- a little angsty, swearing, comfort as well i guess, idk??? nothing crazy

a/n: i liedddd i lied i’m splitting the last part in two bc this became a little longer than anticipated. i hope u are all doing fantastic and i stg i will get the rest of this story out if its the last thing i do LMFAO (next part will give u goblins what you’ve been waiting for hehehehe)

the knocks on your front door start at around six pm the following friday. it’s surprising, because it’s rare that anyone shows up unannounced, especially right before the weekend festivities.

in fact, the last time someone did that was when chris arrived on your front porch with a bouquet of flowers to ask you on a date. you try not to think about it too much as you descend the stairs, focusing on not tripping over your feet instead.

the knocking grows louder, making it clear that whoever is waiting is rather restless.

“i’m fucking coming!” you shout as you make it to the landing, closing the final distance and yanking the door open with a huff.

when you see who it is, you’re even more out of breath. ben and connor stand before you, concern written all over both of their faces. neither of them say anything; they just exchange sheepish glances with one another like they’re unsure where to begin.

“oh—uh…hey guys. what’s up?” you try not to sound too disoriented, even though you are.

“hey…sorry to barge over here like this, i’m sure we’re not really the people you want to be seeing right now.” connor starts, shoving his hands in his pockets as he speaks.

you stay silent, because he’s not really wrong. you know that they have nothing to do with the situation, and you refuse to take it out on them, but seeing chris’s friends is a painful reminder that he still exists.

even though each week becomes a tiny bit more bearable, that doesn’t mean you’re suddenly fine and back to normal.

ben clears his throat, taking over for his friend and cutting to the chase. “look, we really need your help. i swear we wouldn’t be bothering you if it wasn’t serious.”

your eyebrows furrow further, and you’re somehow even more confused than you were when you opened the door. an anxious feeling settles in your stomach, like it’s only going to get worse from here.

“what is it?” you ask hesitantly, because you’re not sure you actually want the answer.

“it’s chris,” connor starts, eyes darting over to their house as he says it, “he’s…i don’t know, he’s just messed up. ever since things ended between the two of you he’s been completely out of it, and now he’s throwing hockey away too.”

you tilt your head to the side. “wait, what do you mean throwing it away?”

”the team confronted him after we lost on sunday and he didn’t want to hear it, so he walked away. we thought he was fronting, that he’d realize he was being an idiot, but he didn’t show up to any of our practices this week and coach is fuckin’ pissed. he won’t talk to us, or listen to anything we’re saying.” ben explains further, waving his hands around in aggravation as he speaks.

horror washes over you when you realize that they probably spoke to him about you, and that the whole team was in on it. you can feel your cheeks heating up in shame just thinking about how that conversation went, which makes you angry.

your voice comes out a lot sharper than intended when you respond. “no offense guys, but i’m not really sure what this has to do with me.”

“kind of, like, everything.” ben shoots back, though he immediately slaps a hand over his mouth once he realizes how he sounds.

connor rolls his eyes and elbows him in the hip, earning a muffled grunt. “what he means to say is that the only person that kid listens to is you. if he doesn’t snap out of it soon and go to the game tomorrow, he's gonna be kicked off the team for good. and as much as you’re on shitty terms, i don’t think you want to see him do that either.”

he’s spot on once again. you’re still hurt, but you can’t bring yourself to truly hate him. hearing that chris is taking this just as hard and is actively fucking up the rest of his career at the most critical time makes your heart feel like it’s suffocating.

you rub your eyes, letting out a long sigh as you begin to mentally prepare yourself for what you’re about to do.

“fine, i hear you, and i’ll talk to him. but i'm not making any promises beyond that.”

they both look so relieved that you actually feel kind of bad. you’re not sure if this is actually going to work, but they’ve clearly been stressing out over their friend for a while now.

you wonder if your own roommates feel the same way about you. they’re out together for happy hour after you insisted on staying home, still not in the mood to socialize. you’ve been trying not to burden them with the massive pressure you‘re feeling all of the time, but they’ve also known you for over three years now.

it’s hard to hide from the people that really know you, which chris clearly understands.

“thank you, seriously. we both owe you major, anything you want for real.” ben praises, hands pressed together as if he’s worshiping.

“yeah, we really appreciate you doing this. i’ve always known you were the best, but you somehow only get better.” connor smiles, a small glimmer of sadness in his eyes.

he straightens up after a moment, nodding over at their place as they begin to retreat. “ben and i are headed out to the bars, so if you’re not up to anything tonight, he’ll be in his room. front door’s open.”

you already feel like you’re floundering, but you nod at the two of them as if you’re just great anyways. what else can you do when you just made a vow to throw your healing out the window?

ben lingers for a moment, staying just close enough so that he can whisper under his breath. “for what it’s worth, you're the best thing that ever happened to chris. and i hope one day he can prove that he knows that too.”

you feel yourself tense up immediately. you have no idea how the hell you’re supposed to respond to that, so you don’t. he gives you a small wave as he finally turns, joining his friend so that they can make their way up the street.

you watch them until they’re gone, still frozen in place. the shock has finally kicked in, and you can’t move.

all you can think about is chris; having to look him in the face again, and listen to him say things to you that you know are going to twist the knife even deeper. it’ll probably undo all of what little progress you’ve made.

but you can’t let him mess everything else up too, not when you still love him so much. there are some things that are worth throwing yourself on the blade for, and this is one of them.

unfortunately or not, you’re going over there, and you’re going to shake some fucking sense into him like you always do.

even if it kills you in the process.

when chris hears the soft tapping on his door, he assumes it’s one of his roommates trying to persuade him off of his war path once again. he’s sprawled out in bed as if there’s not a care in the world, playing endless rounds of fortnite like he has been for the past week.

“i’m not interested in chatting.” he snaps, narrowing his irritated eyes at the tv screen in front of him.

it’s locked anyways, so they can’t get in regardless. and yet, despite this fact, the door swings open a moment later. chris is about to spiral into a complete rage until he actually looks over to see who it is.

you’re standing there with a bent paperclip in hand, a self-satisfied expression plastered on your face.

“so it actually does work, huh?”

for a second he thinks he’s hallucinating. there’s no way that you’re actually here, in his room, cracking a joke about the time that he broke in to talk to you. but he can smell your signature perfume in the air, which convinces him that this is in fact real life.

chris shoots up in bed, messing with his hair self-consciously. a furious blush is creeping up his face, because his room is a fucking disaster zone of clutter and it’s embarrassing. he wasn’t expecting anyone, especially not you.

“um—hi?” it’s more of a question than an actual greeting, even though he didn’t mean for it to come out that way.

“hi.” you reply awkwardly, eyes shifting around his room as you continue to stand in the doorway.

“you can, uh, sit. if you want.” chris stutters, moving his legs so that they’re hanging off his bed.

he straightens his comforter to make room for you, still red with shame about the mess. he has no idea why you’re here, he’s just praying that he doesn’t say anything that’ll scare you away. he wants this moment to last as long as it possibly can.

luckily enough, you actually do end up making your way over, settling on the very edge of his bed. you’re practically falling off it, trying to make sure that you keep as much distance between the two of you as possible. it breaks his heart, but he can’t say he doesn’t understand.

“i’m sure you’re confused, so i’ll just get right to it.” you start, picking at your fingernails so you don’t have to look at him.

the lump in his throat is growing by the second, but instead of showing that, he nods and attempts to choke it back down.

“your friends came over. they’re really worried about you, you know.” you continue carefully.

he barely contains an eye roll, opting to close them for a moment instead as he lets out a small breath. but he understands, seeing as he’s gone completely off the rails.

“i don’t know what to say to that.” chris replies honestly, since he’s apparently lost the ability to talk to you too.

“well, i guess you could start by telling me what the hell is going on, because you pretty much live and breathe for your team.” you’re putting it bluntly now, because you know it won’t get through to him if you don’t.

he rubs a hand over his face, trying to think of the right words. they’re not really there, but it’s been too long of a pause, and he needs to fucking speak like a normal person.

“i…my heart just isn’t in it. i’m playing like shit and it’s better if i don’t bring them down with me.”

you shake your head, completely astounded by the attitude that you’re hearing. “so you’re just going to turn your back now? when you’re weeks away from selection show and so close to a contract?”

he’s defeated; chris doesn’t know what else to do besides throw in the towel, and he also has no idea how to get you to understand that. his shoulders slump slightly as he stares at the floor.

“yeah, i guess i am.”

it’s silent for a moment, which makes him incredibly insecure. then you nudge him with your foot a little, forcing him to look over at you.

“listen, if you don’t want to play hockey anymore, that’s your decision at the end of the day. but i have to be honest with you before you do that.” you start off strong, facing him fully so that you can meet his eyes.

“the first time i ever came to your game, as someone that you actually invited, i saw you. i’d been to games before, but that night i was solely focused on you, as stupid and fucking embarrassing as that is to admit. you were electric out there, chris, and you’ve got so much talent it’s actually a bit ridiculous. i mean, you literally made me fall in love with hockey all over again,” your voice wobbles slightly—barely enough for him to notice—but it’s there.

your eyes are full of an emotion he can’t comprehend. maybe it’s because you’re feeling every single one of them, just like he is right now. he’s beginning to cry, and there’s nothing he can do to stop it.

“you’ve been putting in the work, and i know that you’d get an AHL contract from one team or another. you want it so bad it kills you, and you’re so damn close. i can’t let you give that away because of us.”

the words hit him hard, and even though his first instinct is to get defensive, there’s no point. you can read him like a book, and you know just as well as he does that his terrible performance has everything to do with your relationship.

slowly, he reaches for your hand. he can’t help it; being this close to you makes it feel like every single one of his nerves is on fire, and he has to actually feel you.

your fingers tangle together, resting on your leg. you’re stiff at first, but you relax into it as his thumb grazes your lower thigh in a calming pattern. it feels so natural, almost domestic, even after being apart for so long.

his other hand goes to your neck, pulling you forward so that your foreheads press together gently. you can smell him, feel his slightly callused palms, hear his soft breaths. it’s so overwhelming that the tears you’ve been shoving away spring to your eyes.

he knows he only gets one chance to say it, so he does.

“i love you. i love you so much that i can't focus on anything else, not with the way things are between us. and i am so, so sorry that i ever did that to you, or that i put myself in that situation in the first place. it was my own insecurity taking over, as much as that sucks to say, and it was pathetic. but i want to be with you, only you, and i always have. i mean, fuck, i’ve loved you since the moment you moved in next door, when you yelled at me out your window to put on a shirt that night.” chris chuckles slightly, sniffling a bit as he continues to brush his thumbs along your skin.

you can’t help but huff out a small laugh as well, thinking about that day. you were already frustrated after it took hours to build your dresser, and him teasing you was just the final nail in the coffin.

“the point is that i love you, and i’m sorry. i just needed you to hear me say it.” he breathes.

everything in him wants to lean in and close the rest of the space, because he misses his mouth on yours so much. teardrops roll down your cheeks slowly, and he can feel you shaking just a little bit in his grasp.

“i fucking love you too, chris, but i just…i just don’t know.” you sigh, biting down on your bottom lip hard to keep them from colliding with his.

you place a hand on his chest, pushing him away just a little bit to try and set a boundary. it’s almost worse, because now you can really see him, his face inches apart from yours.

his eyes dart down to your lips for too long, puffy from you gnawing on them, and he can feel himself slipping into that same trance he’s always in whenever he’s around you. especially after hearing those three words, whether you were cursing at him or not.

but he nods and lets his fingers fall from your neck, because he refuses to force this on you if you’re not ready. he still keeps a hold of your hand, though, for at least a little longer.

“i get it. i’ll fucking wait, i don’t care. if there’s any chance, i’d wait forever, do you understand that?”

you can’t meet his eyes as you push some of your hair over your shoulder. “i’m not sure that i do.”

“i can’t do this without you, and i don’t want to.” chris feels like he’s repeating himself, but he doesn’t care.

he squeezes your hand just a bit, and you use your free one to brush the tears from your cheeks. you finally meet his gaze again a moment later, eyes shining slightly. he can see the hesitation in them from a mile away.

“please, just come to the game tomorrow. i’ll swallow my pride and beg for forgiveness until coach lets me back on the team if you can do that for me.” he pleads, the faintest of ideas forming in the back of his mind.

you blow out another breath, but your body betrays you and you’re nodding your head before you can actually respond. he’s surprised by this, naturally.

but you knew the second the words came out of his mouth that you would say yes, so you verbalize that fact. “i’ll go. if you show up and play like you mean it, i’ll go.”

he feels himself laugh again instinctively, just because of how wrong he was. you’ll always have that fiery personality; it’s just you. he figured you’d eventually move on and find some really great guy, but he was pretty sure that he would always stay right here, dreaming of you.

“i’ll play like it’s the last game of my life, i promise.” he places his hand over his heart, knowing full well now that he’s going to put on a real show.

you pull your own from his so that you can stick your pinky out, forcing him to swear on it. you’re well aware that it’s silly, but you’ve always believed it was a little deeper than just saying it.

“pinky?” you challenge.

he smiles, linking his finger with yours without batting an eye. “pinky.”

@fawnchives @55sturn @luverboychris @teapartyprincess4two @pinksturniolo @mattinside @stonermattsgf @impureals @chrisactualwife @fikefries @riasturns @mattybsbitch @mattsmunch @sturnifyed @julessspoetry @beijhe @gnxosblog @braindead4l @orangeypepsi @ponyosturniolo @cupidsword @rainydayenthusiast @sturnvvz @wurlibydominicfike @poopydroopt @bernardsleftbootycheek @trilliwarner @rubyjanexxx @reallykaz @neatcarrot767 @kirby0strombolli @bunnysturns @junnniiieee07 @hrt-attack @sturnssmuts @stunza @beccaluvschris @asturniolos @slutz4sturniolos @mattslolita @alorsxsturn @sturnrc @chrissystur @kellsbells-18 @realqueenofpepsi @snowysosturn @secretfangirly @scarlettbitches @satvisfavetoodles @x0x0bunny

[anyarose011]

Emotional Motion Sickness {Angus Tully x Reader}

Summary: When it's only you, your father, Mary, and Angus left behind at Barton for Christmas, you and the boy (who you were an asshole to, but in all fairness, he was one to you too) decide to get to know each other; whilst sneaking around the school.

Part 3 of ?? (Masterlist)

Warnings: Teddy Kountze (but not for long), swearing, underage drinking, mentions of past harassment, mention of pornography, and extremely long monologues that I think would be great audition material because I'm delusional :) .

Come get y'all juice (this shit was so much longer than I expected). This may be part 3 in the series, but this is part 1 of songs that are Agnus Tully/Reader coded. And also part 2 of you guys not being able to escape being an awkward teenager just because this is fanfiction. Enjoy!

Word Count: 7.1k

You didn’t talk to anyone the day after you told Angus Tully he didn’t have any friends (well…of course you talked to your father and Mary, but the boys? No; not even the freshmen).

It was warranted; you punched Teddy in the face, you ignored Jason, and Ye-Joon and Alex were probably afraid of you at that point. Angus had the biggest excuse of them all of course, and while you actually felt bad (to your own surprise), you couldn’t bring yourself to actually approach and apologize at the time. Call it pride, call it cowardice, but you suddenly felt so ashamed you couldn’t even speak to him.

So, save for the talks you had with Mary in preparing meals, the nighttime check-ins with your father, you kept your nose stuck in a book. You ignored Teddy’s glare (while also checking over your shoulder every time you passed by him), only gave slight nods to the younger boys, and Jason didn’t even bother talking to you about what he said the day before. Angus, apparently despite not talking to each other, had perhaps the most civilized of silent discussions with you. You would only make eye contact with each other…but somehow, just somehow, there was a bit of understanding between the two of you.

You also had given him your spare toothpaste along with his payment of chocolates and cigarettes for waking you up because you noticed that he was running low. He gave you this…look. Not one of disgust, but he was confused beyond belief, and you swore he was in his own little world as you talked about your reasoning and all he did was stare at you.

Weirdo.

The day after that, making it the sixth day of being stuck at the school, you were sitting on a stool in the kitchen, reading to Mary as she prepped for lunch. “‘Reader, I married him. A quiet wedding we had: he and I, the parson and clerk, were alone present. When we got back from church, I went into the kitchen of the manor-house, where Mary was cooking the dinner and John cleaning the knives, and I said— ‘Mary, have you ever been in love before?’”

You paused, looking up from your book and watching as the Mary in front of you was doing what the Mary in the book was doing; cleaning the knives. She glanced back at you upon your quietness, giving you the eye.

“And? What did she say?”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged. “I’m waiting for her to answer.”

Scoffing, she turned away. “You’re not that funny you know.”

“Yet you’re hiding your smile.”

“Am not.”

“Well have you?”

“Have what?”

“Been in love?”

She huffed. “I’m too sober for that conversation.”

“There’s some wine in the chapel-.”

Mary turned, pointing a knife at you. “-Don’t you dare.”

“What?! It’s not consecrated!”

“Still, you’re a baby, you can’t drink that stuff.”

“I’m going to technically graduate in a few months.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Sighing overdramatically, you leaned against the wall. “Can you just give me a yes or no?”

She turned and headed back to the counter she was at, looking at you. “Yes, I’ve been in love before.”

“When you were young?”

“Am I not young now?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yes.” She began to chop vegetables.

“Was it scary?”

“Kind of.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “It happened later for me than most of my friends, so that’s probably why.”

Before you could ask another complex question, a humming noise caught your ear. You thought you were going insane at first until it had also apparently got Mary’s. After taking one glance at each other, you both followed the sound, and it led you to the nearest window.

Outside, in the sky, a yellow helicopter flew above you.

The next thing you knew, as you and Mary were rushing to the library to ask your father ‘What in God’s name is going on?’, you ran into everyone in the middle of the main hall, including a man you had never seen before.

Apparently, Jason’s father cracked and decided to come pick his son up for Christmas at the ski lodge. He also offered to take the rest of The Boys Left Behind. So, there you were after Mary left, deciding to stand outside with the rest of them as Jason, his dad, and your father sat in the administrative office, calling up everyone and their mother (quite literally).

“So, Hunham,” Teddy asked, his voice so grating you would rather claw your brain out with a fork than have to listen to him. “what’re you gonna do when all of us go skiing? Take some pictures?”

You shook your head, not letting it get under your skin. “No, I’ll probably spend time with Elise.”

“Elise?” The boys questioned.

“Yeah, we met in middle school.”

“Is she anything like you or is she pretty?” Teddy prodded.

Angus rolled his eyes. “I don’t think she’d really want to hang around a cesspool like you.”

Holy shit…he was actually standing up for you? Even after you told him he didn’t have any friends? Perhaps men hadn’t failed you completely (your most famous last words of this entire winter break…maybe not for the most part, but still).

You snorted, crossing your arms while still holding Jane Eyre. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let you meet her, Kountze.”

Before he could even attempt a comeback, your father came out through the door, and turned to the boys. “Well, good news gentlemen. I was able to reach Dr. Woodrup and your parents;” He glanced at Angus for a second. “Most of them, anyway. I recommend all of you go pack, have a merry Christmas.”

The rest of the boys, including Jason who exited with his dad, raced past one another; all except Angus. You could see how he tried to hide his growing disappointment and went to the first stage of grief; denial.

“Could you try them again?” He asked your father.

Paul Hunham took a deep breath. “Alright.” He turned to Jason’s father, both men uttering a ‘Merry Christmas’, before yours went back into the office. Leaving you outside with Angus.

He leaned against the wall, folding his arms. Well…this was your chance to try and be nice to him again.

“If they don’t pick up, just tell him to keep calling.” You suggested.

Angus looked at you, shrugging. “Yeah, that was my plan already.”

“I always annoy him until I get what I want. Usually works for me.”

“So why aren’t you in Copenhagen?”

“…You.” There was a silence between the both of you, and to your surprise, you had to bite your tongue not because of anger, but to stop yourself from laughing. You gave him a nod. “I hope you get to go skiing; even if Kountze will be there.”

Not giving him time to respond, you walked right past him to your room in the infirmary. In your mind, best case scenario, everyone would go skiing and you and your dad would somehow make it to Copenhagen; middle case scenario, everyone would go skiing but you’d be left in Barton with Mary and your dad; worst case scenario, you were stuck with Angus…at Barton, over Christmas break.

While he was the one that irked you the least out of the boys your age, you weren’t really in the mood to be with him until the middle of January.

It was as you were sitting on the edge of your bed, reading the rest of Jane Eyre, when someone knocked on your door. Glancing up, you saw Alex. Smiling, you asked.

“You ready to go?”

He nodded, then walked into the room, holding out your mittens. “Sorry I forgot to give them back.”

You took them, standing and smiling. “No, you’re alright. If I’m honest, I would’ve let you keep them while you were here.”

“Are you and Angus going to be okay?”

Giving him a look, you chuckled. “Well, if there’s a god, then hopefully that means he’ll go with you guys.”

At that moment, both of your eyes were drawn to the doorway when you heard heavy footsteps and watched as Angus Tully stormed past.

“Okay, guess there isn’t.” You grumbled, then went back to sweet. “Don’t worry though, we’ll be civil with each other.”

“I think you should be friends.”

Well…that was unexpected. Still, you snickered. “Alex, are you saying neither of us have friends already? And I thought you were nice.”

“No just,” he sighed. “I heard Ye-Joon crying a few nights go, Angus told him friends are overrated, and Ye-Joon told me that Angus had been kicked out of a lot of schools…I don’t know.”

You nodded, completely understanding. “I’ll be nicer to him; I promise you that. Now go have a great Christmas.”

He grinned from ear to ear, unexpectedly hugging you. After freezing for just a moment, you hugged him back before pulling away. You bid each other goodbye, and he went running back to his room to pack. A few seconds later, it was Jason who was in your room.

“Hey.” He greeted.

“Hello.”

He stood there stiffly, almost as if he was nervous for the first time in his life. “Um…I just wanted to say sorry.”

This intrigued you. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Jason fiddled with the bag in his hand. “I didn’t mean to upset you; Teddy was an asshole, end of story.”

You gave him a smile. “Thank you.”

The silence between you was different; not one of comfort, but not exactly discomforting either. Though, it was becoming that the more time dragged on.

“You know,” he grinned, and you couldn’t tell if it was genuine or a joke. “if we hurry, I could probably sneak you on?”

You merely kept your face the same; a pitiful, upturned mouth. “Merry Christmas, Jason.”

He nodded, taking the hint, wishing you a ‘Merry Christmas’ back, and left. Not exactly the best apology to receive, but you were more than happy you got one. Also happy that he didn’t call you names for refusing his advances; bare minimum, but welcome to the early 1970s.

Teddy followed soon after him, and he stopped in your doorway, turning his head to you. He only managed to take a breath to speak before you beat him to it.

“I hope you fall off the fucking ski lift, snap your fucking neck, and never recover.”

He only smiled. “I hope your business goes well. Tell Daniel I said ‘hi’.”

And that was the last time you saw him that Christmas break. He did indeed fall off a ski lift and snap his neck.

He didn’t actually, but you wished he did. When he walked past you, Ye-Joon was next, and you both just uttered a quick ‘Merry Christmas’, before he left. Knowing that Tully was still in the room, you decided it was best to avoid him, and went back to your father.

“No luck?” You asked him.

He shook his head. “No luck.”

Sighing, you glanced down at the floor. Great…it was official; you were still stuck with at least one boy who would for sure not have his brain developed until he was thirty at the youngest (or so you thought).

“Do you want to see the helicopter take off?” Your father asked.

You nodded, not knowing what else to do. So, that was how you found yourself, your father, and Angus (who surprisingly crawled out of the room to also watch it take off), in the snowy quad, watching as the ‘Boys Left Behind’ became the ‘Boys Who Are Now in a Damn Helicopter Going Skiing’. You thought the last title had a better sound to it.

Your father sighs from beside you, turning to look at you in the middle, and Angus to your right. “Well, let’s make the best of it.”

He went in soon after that, leaving you and Angus alone together. You wanted to say something, you probably should’ve. Yet, in all honesty, you had nothing to say, and you knew that if you forced yourself to come up with something, it would’ve been bad.

So that’s why you didn’t even look at him when you left. That’s why you avoided him for the rest of the day, luckily being able to spend most of it with Elise and doing nothing but making Christmas cookies with her and miss Crane (even though she’d already made more than enough to give to the teachers. They were…fine when your dad gave you one), and muting channels from the TV and voicing over them.

You and Elise had done that since you were kids…which actually wasn’t that long ago when you were still doing it.

When you got back, you helped Mary with dinner, than all ate in silence; save for your father trying to make conversation about your day since you were truly the only one out of all of you to have an interesting day.

That’s when the four of you found yourself in the teacher’s lounge; you reading Little Women, your father and Mary watching The Newlywed Game, and Angus reading Popular Mechanics in a chair far away from you.

As you were disappearing into your second read of the book, it was Mary who brought you out of it.

“Your daughter asked me an invasive question today.”

You looked up in alarm at the accusation. Paul Hunham sighed, taking his pipe out of his mouth. “And what, pray tell, was it this time?”

“Asked if I’d ever been in love.”

Your father said your name warningly. Of course, you defended with. “We were reading Jane Eyre! If I was reading this,” you held up your book. “I would’ve asked if she ever rejected a man before. I already know the answer, but still.”

“You know the answer?” Mary laughed.

“You probably had to beat them off of you back in the day, you were so pretty.”

“Were?”

“Fine wine, miss Lamb.” You hung upside down, tossing your feet over the back of the couch. “You age like fine wine.”

 “Stop that.” She scoffed lovingly, then asked your father, almost as if it was a joke. “What about you?”

You looked at him. “Oh, I sure hope he’s been in love.”

“Well,” he said your name. “you know, it was purely for economic reasons at first, but then-.” The pillow you threw at him caused him to chuckle before continuing. “Yes, Josephine March, I was greatly enamored by your mother.”

“What was your favorite thing about her?”

“Everything.”

“Oh, come off it.” You rolled your eyes.

“Well then, if you’re going to be like that, then it’s her laugh.”

You sat up. “That’s such a basic fucking-!”

“-Hey!” Both him and Mary started.

In the corner of your eye, you swore you saw Angus smile for just a second. Your father continued. “I’ll tell you why her laugh was my favorite; it’s because she barely did.”

When you thought of it…she really only laughed around you. Were you that funny or did she just love you that much? Either way, you were more than happy about it. Your father continued.

“She announced in front of an entire class that she would more than likely laugh while being stuck in a brazen bull, then listening to my jokes. That was the first thing she said to me, and it’s still one of my favorite memories.”

Mary chimed in. “Not your wedding day?”

You and her shared a knowing look, trying not to burst out in laughter as your father just smoked his pipe, nodding. No time to unpack that.

“But you know, there’s more to falling in love than just with people.” He started soon to clear the air. “Imagine it, like a monk: forgoing sensual pleasures for the achievement of spiritual goals.”

“Spiritual goals, you?” Mary questioned. “What spiritual goals are we talking about? You go to church?”

“Only when required.”

“Exactly.” She mumbled. “Me having to save your daughter’s soul every Sunday since she was a kid.”

You only went because she’d take you and Curtis out to lunch every Sunday.

“When’s the last time you even left campus?” Mary asked him.

He almost looked offended. “I go into town all the time.”

“Oh!”

“For groceries, and errands, and various appointments.”

“Jane Bennett over here can’t drive and she gets out more than you.”

“Okay yes,” he sighed. “I don’t leave campus often. I don’t really feel the need.”

Mary nodded. “Let me ask you something. If you could go anywhere on earth, where would you go?”

“Well, we were supposed to go to Copenhagen…” nearly left your lips, but then your eyes caught Angus again, and looked away soon when his sight met yours.

“Oh,” your father grinned. “Greece, Italy, Egypt, Peru, Carthage, Tunisia now, of course. In college I started a monograph on Carthage. I’d like to finish that someday. A monograph is like a book only shorter.”

“I know what a monograph is.” Mary answered tiredly.

“Why not just write a book?”

That was the first thing you heard Angus say after hours of silence.

Your father shook his head. “I’m not sure I have an entire book in me.”

“You can’t even dream a whole dream, can you?” Mary asked.

If it were any other day, you would’ve laughed. But for some reason (that reason being you staring at Angus Tully), you didn’t. Still, once the two of you made eye-contact, you shot your gaze back to the TV, and then down to your book for the rest of the night.

What a strange person (he probably thought the same as you).

Your father agreed to let you sleep in the free room of the infirmary on account of the fact Teddy and Jason were gone. He made the joke too that you could “Finally sleep” as if you already hadn’t been sneaking out to get sleep. Still, even though you could no longer hear his snores, you found yourself more awake than ever that night.

When you were a child, you used to go on nightly excursions. Those being where you’d walk down the stairs of your old house and see everything in the dark; a familiar place becoming the unfamiliar and realizing just how taller everything was compared to you.

You cried the first time that you did it, and your mother rushed down to comfort you; your father, of course, slept like a rock. You still went on the little adventures though.

So…why not do it at Barton? Surely you were old enough you wouldn’t cry this time?

Tiptoeing through the halls and into your father’s room after throwing on your boots and jacket, you somehow managed to grab the keys and flashlight without him hearing you. Then you saw the bottle of whiskey by his bed; checks out.

As you were exiting through the hall, you passed by Angus’ room. You stopped in the doorway, contemplating. Would he be more pissed at you for waking him up, or for leaving him out? Well…only one way to find you.

In the same way you did on the first night, you shook him awake. He flinched a little when he saw you but wasn’t completely frazzled. “What?” He groaned, more so out of exhaustion than annoyance.

All you did was hold up the ring of keys to him.

That got him to sit up, and you managed to smile, tilting your head back to the door. It still astounds you to this day just how quickly you both could communicate without having to say a single word. He got on his coat and shoes, and the pair of you were soon off, traversing down the halls. Your first stop was the teacher’s lounge.

“I just want to check on Mary.” You explained.

“Why?”

“Because she checks up on us.”

And he didn’t argue; poor, tall child was just happy to have some freedom for the first time in almost a week. So, you both just quickly peered into the teacher’s lounge, and sure enough, she was sleeping on the couch with the TV on. You both tiptoed out of there and into the darkened hallway.

“Turn on the light.” He whispered to you.

“I’m trying.” You felt around for the switch, and then heard a ‘bump!’ in front of you followed by cursing.

“Shit!” Your heart jumped. “What did you do?!”

“Just turn on the light!”

You did, and you saw him hunched over, cradling his left elbow. You made a face. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just maybe turn the flashlight on before going into a dark place?”

Oh, hell no, you weren’t taking that amount of sass. “Well maybe you should stop being so tall and stupid. Jesus wept, you make the ground shake every time you walk.”

He scoffed, though an etching of a smile played on his lips when he knocked on the wall beside you.

“What’re you doing?” You asked.

“She’s not going to wake up. It’s fine.”

“Still, I don’t wanna risk it.”

“Okay,” he shrugged his shoulders. “then could I have the light? Seeing that you can’t handle it?”

Oh, what a little shit. Rolling your eyes, you handed it to him, to which he immediately turned over his shoulder and started skipping down the hallway, making quite a lot of noise.

“Angus Tully, I swear to God!” You rushed after him.

He led you into the kitchen, but you led him to the freezer and the large tub of vanilla ice cream the cooks only used for ‘Special Occasions’. You grabbed spoons off the counter and ate from the tub for a few good minutes without saying a word to each other.

When you were finished, he asked. “Where else were you thinking of going?”

 “I’m not sure.” You then glanced over to one of the ‘Staff Only’ doors. “I got an idea.”

After using the keys to unlock it, the door led down into a dimly lit tunnel. You went down first, the cold hitting your skin and you zipped your jacket up. Looking over your shoulder, you saw Angus still up at the top.

“Well come on, you’re the one with the light.”

That seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in, and he walked down the steps.

“How’d you know this was here?”

“That’s for me to know.”

And you just walked ahead of him.

He scoffed. “So, I don’t get to find out?”

“Nope.”

The tunnel was much longer than you initially thought it would be, but when you both got to the first door you’d seen, you were led into the sacristy of the chapel. Instantly, Agnus set down the flashlight and opened up the cabinet, taking out the chalice and jug of wine.

You snorted. “What a faithful altar boy you are.”

“Of course I am.” He responded, pouring the wine into the chalice and taking a huge gulp of it. “Want some?”

You tensed at first but responded quick enough. “Sure.”

He poured the wine into the chalice and took a small sip. It wasn’t as bad as when you first tried it; in fact, it was pretty good. You finished most of it after bringing it to your lips again.

“You’ve never had it before, haven’t you?” He grinned like the little shit he was (still is).

Shaking your head, you handed it back to him. “Just not in a while.”

You both got quickly bored in the sacristy after Angus had another drink of wine and went back through the door into the tunnel.

“Do you think someone died down here?” You questioned.

“If you’re trying to scare me, you’re doing a shitty job at it.” He answered.

“That sounds like something someone who’s terrified of ghosts would say.”

Sooner than you thought you would, and after a solid minute of you two going back and forth about the existence of ghosts, you found another door, which led you up into the auditorium. You’d only been there once for Curtis’ graduation the year prior, and you hadn’t step foot in there since then. Angus immediately went to the piano, sitting down at it and looking out to the sea of seats. You approached him leaning against the grand piano. He brought out a pack of the cigarettes you’d gotten him and a lighter.

“Mind if I have one?” You asked.

He nodded, placing a cigarette between his lips and then handing you one. He lit it for you, and you brought it up to your mouth. Somehow, you hadn’t coughed, and you were proud of yourself; you let your curiosity get the best of you, but it hadn’t killed you yet. Angus pressed a few keys on the piano, and you chuckled.

“You play?” You questioned.

“Not since I was ten. You know how?”

“Nope; all I know is Roman history and how to annoy men, apparently.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Can I ask you a question after you do?”

“Sure.”

“Go ahead.”

He takes a puff from his cigarette before asking. “Why the book names?”

Chuckling, you shook your head. “It’s just always been a thing my mom did; they all mean different things. Countess Natalya when I’m being overdramatic, Jo March for my dad, Jane Bennett for Mary, Emma Woodhouse when I’m being stubborn, things like that.”

“Should I call you something then?” He teased.

“I’d prefer just my name from you, thank you very much.” You played along back, walking around the piano and plopping yourself down on the wooden floor. He soon sank down to be at your level, finding it awkward to sit above you. “Okay, my question.”

He nodded. “Shoot.”

“Why did you and Teddy get into a fight at the beginning of break?”

Sighing, he rolled his eyes. “Asshole stole my family picture and I knew it but he kept denying it; might’ve said some shitty things to him, but it’s not like they weren’t true.”

“What’d you say?”

“That he was a sociopath, and his family didn’t want him around.”

You almost choked on your cigarette but laughed. “Damn, that’s brutal.”

“Smith had to pull us apart, it was apparently that bad.”

Scoffing, you said. “You and him had to hold Teddy back after I punched him.”

“Asshole.” He muttered.

“Asshole.” You repeated.

Silence passed by the both of you for the hundredth time that day, and that was when you spoke up.

“I’m sorry I’ve been a bit of a jerk these last few days.” He arched his brow, and you just went on. “To be honest, you have been too, but I’ve been a bigger one; especially today. I wanted to say something before but…I didn’t want to be more of a bitch than I already was.”

He shook his head. “You’re not; I was kind of a dick when I first met you.”

“Kind of?”

“Okay, a lot.” He admitted. “It was honestly stupid luck I got that question when you first showed up at Barton, and I got carried away with bragging.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.” You repeated his words from a few days ago. “You’re actually the smartest out of all of them.”

“Really?”

“Not even close to me, but still.” You held out your hand. “Friends of some sort?”

He shook it. “Friends of some sort.”

You both pulled away, and after taking another drag of your cigarette you said. “I actually don’t know jack shit about you.”

“That a fact?”

“Yeah, and since we’re going to be stuck here for a while, I think that should change. How about this?” you scooted closer to him. “We ask each other questions. Simple at first, but more and more, we go a little deeper. How does that sound?”

He huffed. “Sounds like a regular conversation.”

“We get to refuse to answer one question.” You added. “Everything else after is free game. Sound more exciting?”

Angus nodded. “Alright, what’s your favorite color?”

“Pass.”

“Are you serious?”

“Fuck no.” You laughed, giving him your favorite color then asking him. “Favorite book?”

He responded much faster than you thought he would. “Catch-22.”

“Ah, a man of culture. Thank God, I thought I’d have to stop talking to you.”

Angus shook his head, chuckling. “If you could be an animal, what would you be?”

Ah…a bit of a stranger one, but you like that. You thought more on it, then gave him your answer. He nodded.

“Yeah, seems like you’d be one.”

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?” You answered in a dead pan, and broke character the second you saw his face fall. “Just messing with you. Favorite childhood memory?”

He paused at that but didn’t show any sign of discomfort. Hesitance, yes, but he was taking more time thinking about your (frankly bizarre) question. Then, he answered.

“My dad took me on a fishing trip when I was twelve. Just for the weekend out in the woods with a small cabin. Talked to me about what it meant to be a man, telling me what he was like as a kid…I don’t even like fishing.”

The short story, even though it wasn’t yours, brought a nostalgic smile to your face for a moment. “I tried fishing once; not really my thing either.”

“Mr. Hunham took you fishing?” The look on his face made you laugh.

“Oh god no.” You shook your head. “Curtis did.”

Angus blinked upon the name. “Mary’s kid?”

“You’ve already asked a question.”

“What?”

“I just asked you what your favorite memory was as a kid, you asked me if my dad took me fishing. It’s my question now. Technically, I can ask two in a row because you just asked me what I meant.” It was your turn to have the shit-eating grin.

“I…” He tried not to laugh, unable to believe it. “So, our friendship is basically transactional?”

“Huh?”

“You’re having us say that if one of us asks two questions in a row, even if one isn’t really about getting to know the other-.”

“-It was about getting to know me; you asked if my dad took me fishing.”

“That’s a transactional relationship, not really a conversation.”

“Are you trying to explain to me what a conversation is, Tully?” You furrowed your brow, stomping out your cigarette. “Do you really believe women are that stupid?”

He shrugged. “Maybe, considering how you just asked three questions in a row.”

Never in your life (at least recently) had something thrown you off balance so drastically. You counted on your fingers, jogging your memory, and yes, you indeed answered three questions: freeing him from yours. You both made eye contact, and with the same, unspoken language, you both laughed. It took you a bit longer to recover, to which you then asked.

“Okay, and you can ask me two questions, do you genuinely think women are stupid?”

Angus shook his head, his cigarette on its last leg. “Everyone’s stupid in their own special way.”

“How poetic of you.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.”

“Shut up and ask me a stupid question because you’re so stupid.”

He threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out before turning to you. “Craziest thing that happened to you?”

Your face dropped for a moment at the question, before it soon morphed into a nervous smile. “It’s what made my dad start homeschooling me.”

Angus raised his brows. “If it’s not a fun memory than-.”

“-No it’s alright.”

“If anything,” you thought to yourself. “it’ll make me see who you really are.”

You set the scene. “You’ve been in eighth grade, right?”

“I though you said I could ask two questions-?”

“-For fuck’s sake, Tully.”

“Yes,” he grinned. “I’ve been in eighth grade, surprisingly.”

“Well, you probably remember how much we thought we were hot shit at that age, right?” You didn’t give him time to respond. “My friend Elise is Miss Crane’s niece, Miss Crane the secretary.”

“Yeah, I know who she is.”

“Elise only comes to live with her during winter and summer breaks. I met her when we were like twelve, and we were immediately inseparable. Summer of eighth grade going into high school, she takes this theatre summer camp hosted by some kids at Ridgeway.”

Angus scoffed. “That fucking shithole? My roommate had some of his friends over who went there; assholes.”

“Oh, that’s not the half of it.” You rolled your eyes. “So, one of the counsellors, I don’t know I think her name was like…Gloria, or something, really liked her, and invited her to a party she and the other theatre kids were having. She told Elise that she could bring anyone that she wanted. Elise thought that other campers were being invited, so she asked me because…okay shoot me, I liked theater growing up. Now Elise wasn’t going to Ridgeway for high school, but I was, so she thought it’d be great for me to meet the people. That’s what she told my dad and her aunt; that it was a part of the camp. God, we spent hours getting ready, I look at pictures that Miss Crane took of us, and we didn’t even look that good,”

You and Angus paused to relish your chuckling before continuing. “but what mattered was that we were excited. Miss Crane drove us to the house at seven, said she’d pick us up by ten, and then left. The only people there were us, Gloria, and two of the other counselors; one being her boyfriend, Bobby fucking Nolan. So, it was awkward for the first hour because, of course Gloria wasn’t supposed to invite two eighth graders, but it’s fine because she said ‘Elise is cool, so her friend’s probably cool’. I wanted us to call someone to take us home because there was a misunderstanding, hell, the counsellor that wasn’t Gloria’s boyfriend even offered to, but Elise said she wanted to stay. I wasn’t leaving her behind, so I stayed too. It actually got fun after that. It was more than obvious I was uncomfortable, so they asked me to pick a board game for us to play when waiting for other people, and I picked Clue. It went on for a while, and people started showing up, so it was really just me, Bobby fucking Nolan, and another random kid playing with us because the others, including Elise, left. Bobby said that I was purposefully hiding my cards because he assumed some things weren’t adding up. He did this the whole game, and he’d try to be teasing, but he always sounded like he was accusing me of murder. Which, okay, a part of the game but you know what I mean. I got fed up with it, so I told him a bit more aggressively that I wasn’t lying. This asshole reaches over and squeezes me here.”

Scooting closer to Angus where your face was just a foot away from his, you pointed to the base of your neck where your clavicle is. “So I freak out of course, and he just started laughing, saying he found out that’s a ticklish spot for everyone. My stomach started feeling weird, and I…a year before that, my dad told me that if I ever started feeling sick out of nowhere, whether it was because of a person or situation, than I’d leave. Doesn’t matter what, I’d just go. So, I say I have to go to the bathroom, get Elise, she sees that I’m starting to freak out, and we try to find Gloria, her friend, or just anyone who’d want to take us home. Bobby finds us instead, he’s lit, and he won’t let us out of his sight. He was joking at first, and I’m fucking terrified at this point, so Elise has to tell him we’re going home. He’s getting pushy now, and it takes him calling her a ‘bitch’ for people to notice. So, thank God, some of the others pull him away to calm him down because he looked like he’d start swinging, and one of the girls took pity on us and drove us to Elise’s house because we were supposed to have a sleepover. I was crying at this point, so I begged Miss Crane to call Mary, not my dad, she picked me up, I told her everything, she brought me home, told my dad, and the next day I told him everything I told Mary. He said I did the right thing in leaving and was pissed at the school. So, he called them, got most of the kids there in trouble; all except Bobby fucking Nolan. Because Bobby Nolan’s mom was screwing the principal, and technically besides underage drinking and minor harassment, he didn’t do anything wrong in the school’s eyes; so, he just got a few days’ worth of detention, but even then, that was probably wiped from his records…He was a freshman going into sophomore year, so if I went to Ridgeway, I’d be stuck with him for three years…everything else checks out.”

The silence was deafening. Angus had a face you had never seen on him before. “I…shit, that’s fucked up.”

Just like with everything else you did when things became too serious (because it was only then you realized that you just told him something that was somewhat traumatic and not funny), you made it funny.

“Oh fuck, you asked me about the craziest thing that happened to me. Sorry, I forgot to say that I was like a little tipsy throughout all of that.”

“What?!”

No one ever said you landed the punchline all the time. Still, you tried.

“Now I know that sounds bad-.”

“-It is bad. You were like what, fourteen?”

“…Thirteen.”

“Oh my god.” He groaned.

“How old were you when you first drank?”

“Sixteen.”

“That’s like three years.”

“It’s about maturity.”

“Oh,” you snickered. “and you have a lot of that?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, maybe I do."

Rolling your eyes, you said. “Go ahead.”

“What?”

“Ask your other question. No, that one doesn’t count, I’m actually tired of the rules I set up.”

He was still, understandably, thrown off about all that you told him. Still, he went. “How’d you know about the tunnels?”

“Curtis Lamb. We were friends for a while, and he told me he and some other kids would explore them. Mary never found out somehow.”

“Why’d you stop being friends?”

You shrugged. “We didn’t, he just died. Did your mom and dad get a divorce or…?”

You were always a hardball when it came to being blunt.

Angus tensed. “Pass.”

“Okay.”

“Can I ask about the letter?”

Oh…oh…

Well…what a spot you put yourself in…

“Pass.” You said without hesitation. Had he said that to get back at you for asking a stupid question or did he actually want to know?

Still, he respected it. “Your turn.”

And you decided to be slightly less bold, but not back down completely. “Have you been kicked out of school before?”

To your surprise, he wasn’t angry when you asked. A bit smug even. “Oh, who told you?”

“Alex.”

“Figures. Yeah, three.”

“Why?”

“‘Unruly behavior, instigating fights, stealing school property.’” He rolled his eyes. “If I get kicked out of this one, it’s off to military school.”

You nodded. “So maybe don’t then.”

“Seems like a plan.”

“When did your mom marry your stepfather?”

“Just last summer; that’s why they’re taking their honeymoon now. She’d only been with him for six months.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.” He shook his head. “Just lonely I guess.”

You furrowed your brow. “She had you.”

He didn’t say anything, he stopped looking at you too. Well, new tactic now.

“What you did was nice a few nights ago.” Like Pavlov’s dog, he looked up at you. “Helping Ye-Joon out.”

His eyes drifted. “It was nothing.”

“It was everything to him and it meant something to me. It meant that you’re not a complete asshole you try to be, and I don’t know why you try to be one, but you’re not.” You saw right through him, and you both knew it. Still, to save face a little while longer, you added. “I’m sorry too about saying you didn’t have friends.”

“It’s fine-.”

“-No, it’s not, because I felt like shit as soon as I said it, and it’s a shitty thing to say to anyone.”

He stared at you the same way he did when you gave him toothpaste, and it unnerved you even more. Had anyone ever apologized to him?

“Thanks.” Was his reply, and the two of you stopped asking questions. You both sat in the auditorium for perhaps a small moment’s silence when he said. “I uh…we should probably get back.”

You nodded, getting up. “Yeah, sounds good.”

The two of you tried to make it seem like you’d never been there and made your way back down into the tunnel. The walk seemed much longer than it had previously, the two of you not seeming to have anything to say until Angus went-.

“I threw out the skin mag.”

Well…the actual last thing you thought you would hear from him that night.

You stopped in your tracks. “Huh?”

He didn’t look at you as he confessed. “I stole Kountze’s cigarettes to trade for it and practically waved it in his face the first few days. I know it’s none of my business, but after he read the letter…I just felt bad about it.”

What on God’s green earth were you supposed to say? Apparently, after a few moments of stunned silence, you knew.

“…Thanks? On behalf of all women, I guess?” He nodded, still not looking at you, which only added to your anxiety. “We’re good, right? Still friends of some sort?”

“Yeah.” He finally met your eyes.

You nodded. “Nice.”

And you walked ahead of him as if trying to outrun the light. You both tiptoed through the halls, setting the keys and flashlight back in your father’s room in the infirmary, and went into your own separate rooms.

As you laid down to sleep, the strangeness of the whole evening played in your mind. You had been so vulnerable with him, and he hadn’t thrown it back and spat it in your face; he let you talk about it for so long.

He didn’t blame you for what happened.

You never told anyone about that besides the people involved…

But he didn’t do the same. Yes, your friendship (of some sort) didn’t have to be where each of you dumped a lot of baggage on each other…but you still felt odd doing so.

You felt something in your stomach the more you thought about the whole night; being alone together and exploring the school as if you were both main characters in a novel, telling secrets in the dark…

You didn’t feel sick though; at least, not like when a boy touched you for the first time.

[canirove]

My neighbour Rúben | Chapter 3

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"Aww, sweetheart. I'm so glad you were able to come" grandma said, giving me a hug.

"I would not miss grandad's birthday for anything in the world."

"Not like your father" he said, also hugging me. The moment my dad knew I was coming back to London, he suddenly had an important meeting to attend and he couldn't join us all to celebrate. "He is a coward. Not being able to face his own daughter..."

"Let's leave that conversation for another day, shall we?" grandma said. "Today is a day to celebrate that she has a new job. C'mon, tell us everything about this Spanish girl. Is she posh? Where is the kid's dad?"

"Yes, share all the gossip with your grandma" grandad laughed, sitting down on his big chair.

"She isn't posh. Everything Lucy has is because she's worked her ass off to get it. Language, sorry."

"Don't worry, darling. Living in the North does that to you" grandma said, making grandad snort.

"We also swear on this part of the country, you know?" he said.

"Whatever" grandma replied, rolling her eyes. "What about the dad? You didn't mention anything."

"She divorced from her husband last year. Well, they actually are still divorcing, there is nothing official. But they went their separate ways a year ago."

"A divorce lawyer getting divorced. Funny" grandad said.

"Getting a divorce is never funny. Especially when there is a child involved. How is she dealing with it?"

"Julia is ok. Her dad also is a lawyer, so she is used to only seeing him from time to time."

"That is so sad... But what happened? Why did they get a divorce?"

"You are so noisy" grandad chuckled.

"I just want to know who is the woman my granddaughter is working for!"

"And knowing the reason why she got a divorce is important because..."

"Because!" she said. 

"I don't know why she is divorcing from her husband. We don't know each other that well just yet" I shrugged. Which was a lie. Lucy and I had instantly connected and shared all our dramas with each other.

"Anyway, let's talk about more important things" grandad said before grandma could ask anything else. "You are coming to the game tomorrow, aren't you?"

"It is your birthday present, grandad. Of course I am." He's been an Arsenal fan since he was a little kid, and every time my father allowed it, he would take me to one of their games. Tomorrow they are playing against one of the big ones, Manchester City, and he wants me to go with him. I don't follow football that much, but I always enjoy going to the games and spending some time just the two of us.

"Oh, yes. And Robert is taking his grandson with him too. When was the last time you saw Harry?" grandma asked.

Harry... The grandson of my grandad's best friend, the one they've wanted me to marry since we both were kids, and also the one who tried to kiss me the last time we saw each other, getting a punch on the nose as an answer. 

"I can't remember when I last saw him" I lied.

"Well, I'm sure he is looking forward to seeing you" grandma said. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"This can't be your granddaughter!" Robert said when we met outside the Emirates Stadium. "Where did the girl with the pigtails go?"

"Hi" I said. I think I haven't worn pigtails since I was three, but oh well. "Harry."

"Hello" he replied, not meeting my eyes. It looked like what had happened during our last encounter definitely still was in his head. Good. Now he probably knew what happens when someone tells you no and you insist.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" grandad said. "Today is a big day, we'll probably have to wait longer than usual at the queue."

Once inside the stadium, we were seated next to the benches, getting to see the players very close, especially when walking in and out of the tunnel.

"Ah, look at this atmosphere" grandad said. "Those City boys aren't used to something like this back home, are they, Robert?"

"They definitely aren't" he replied, both men starting to laugh.

"But at least they win something" Harry said under his breath. Since he was sitting next to me, I was the only one who heard him. 

"Who do you truly support?" I whispered.

"Chelsea. But don't tell my grandad, it'll break his heart."

"Your secret is safe with me. You know I'm really good at that."

"Yeah..." he replied, his ears turning bright red. 

The first half of the game was just City attacking and Arsenal trying to defend themselves, somehow making it to the half-time with no goals on any side. As the players started walking towards the tunnel, there was one that caught my attention, one that was arguing with another teammate. Before he disappeared, he looked up, our eyes meeting just for a brief moment, and I could swear I had seen him before. But where? On tv? Online? There was something too familiar about him to be just a complete stranger.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Harry said.

"What?"

"You are completely gone, definitely thinking about something."

"It's just that a City player looked familiar. I guess I've seen him somewhere before."

"Maybe out in Manchester? You live in the same city."

"I don't think these guys and I visit the same places" I chuckled.

"You never know."

"Anyway, I'm going to the bathroom. Grandad, do you want a drink or something?"

"I'm fine. Thank you, darling."

When I made it back, the second half had already started.

"Which player looked familiar?" Harry asked me when I sat down.

"I don't know. A tall one, brown hair. He was arguing with another one that looked tiny next to him.”

"Dias?"

"Uh? Why are you speaking in Spanish?"

"That's his name. Well, his last name. When City came out, he turned around and looked to where we are sitting with a confused look. Maybe he also recognized you."

"Nah, that's impossible. Someone probably insulted him and that's why he looked like that."

I had never met a City player, had I? Someone would have told me, they supposedly are superstars.  

The game obviously ended with City winning but just by one goal, and grandad and Robert seemed to be very proud about it. We were still on our seats, waiting until most people had left the stadium, when I found myself looking again at the player from the first half. He was giving some interviews, and the way he was standing while talking, made him look even more familiar. Who was this stupidly handsome man? Because he was handsome. And hot. Very hot. His t-shirt was sticking to his body, letting you see his very defined abs and pectorals. And his arms... His arms were the size of my head. 

When he finished talking, he smiled at the reporter before saying goodbye, and it clicked. 

"No way" I gasped.

"What?" Harry said next to me. 

"Who is he?" I asked, nodding towards the City player.

"Oh, that's the one I told you was looking this way. Dias."

"But you said that's his last name, right? What's his name?"

"Rúben. Rúben Dias."

Rúben. My Chris Evans. The hot neighbour. It was him. He was a fucking football player. And not any player, no. A Manchester City one. And now he was looking at us, at me, trying to figure out why I also looked familiar. 

"He's looking at us again" Harry said. "Are you sure you don't know each other?"

"We..." But before I was able to say that we didn't, Rúben was smiling and waving at me. And I was waving back, also smiling. But while he gave me a cute smile, I probably was smiling like an idiot or with the ugliest grin.

"You were saying..." 

"I don't know him. I just waved back because..."

"He's hot" Harry said.

"Yes. That's exactly why. Wouldn't you have done the same with a hot girl?"

"Maybe... But are you really sure you don't know each other?"

"I'm really sure, Harry. Stop asking."

"Ok" he said, definitely not believing me.

"Alright kids, ready to leave? I'm starving" grandad said.

"Ready" I replied. Anything to stop Harry from asking more questions, and to stop me from thinking about the fact that Rúben, the neighbour, actually was Rúben Dias, Manchester City player and football star.

[noxsoulmate]

Ohh

Chef/Firefighter AU &

Driving home for Christmas sequel!

Hi my friend 🥰 sure thing!

Chef/Firefighter AU

Ah, yes, the fic I've had in my drafts forever now 😅 I think I've shared so many snippets of it by now, I'm not even sure what to share anymore that will be new... but here's what it's about: In this fic, Carlos is a chef who thinks he's too busy for a real relationship - which fits TK just fine because he's the normal season 1 TK we know and love. So the two idiots start a friends-with-benefits-thing, thinking neither of them will catch any feelings... silly boys 😂 the fic itself is set around the time of the wildfires in early season 2, I'm just putting them closer to Austin and making them last far, far longer. Which leads to the fact that the Austin firefighters are advised to drive back home to rest every other day... only that TK ends up at Carlos' place and this is the next morning...

They enjoy the first few sips of coffee in silence, shoulders brushing and feet knocking against each other, easily, like a little game of footsies.

“I’m really sorry for last night.”

Carlos frowns and looks over at TK, who’s staring into his mug now.

“What?”

“Showing up at your building like that… unannounced and for no other reason than crashing here, I’m really sorry.”

“TK, no. What are you talking about? Why would you be sorry?”

TK gazes up at him, looking a bit sheepish. “You’re not mad?”

“Mad?! What– no. Would someone who’s mad make you this kind of breakfast?” he asks, pointing at the tray.

TK follows the direction and it’s as if his brain suddenly stops, at least Carlos is sure that’s what he’s seeing. He also imagines the guy starting to salivate and as if on command, his stomach rumbles. Laughing a little, Carlos puts his coffee aside and then pulls the tray into his lap. He doesn’t even have to tell TK to eat, the guy reaching for the first pancake before Carlos even lets go of the tray, quite literally stuffing it into his mouth.

“I swear, I will so start preparing lunch packets for you,” he murmurs, loud enough for TK to hear, then takes one of the waffles and adds Nutella and strawberries to it. “Care to tell me why you thought I would be mad?”

I swear, it took so long to answer this because I couldn't decide on which part to share 😅 I really have to make sure to finish this soon so I can start posting...

Driving Home for Christmas sequel!

Well, yeah, it's exactly what it says 😅 some lovely people asked if I would consider writing a sequel for Driving Home for Christmas and I might've started working on something... it's not much yet, I don't have more than a loose concept, but I'm somewhat hoping for a prompt list for Valentine's to maybe write this fic the same way the other happened... but yeah, I do hope it will be ready for Valentine's 🥰 and here's a snippet from the beginning (again under the cut for NSFW reasons)

“What’s going on? Did you forget something at my place?”

“No, but guess what I’m holding in my hand.”

“TK,” Carlos warns. “If you’re about to tell me it’s your dick and this is your idea of goading me into phone sex while I’m on my way to work…”

Chuckling, TK drops the invitation back on the stack of mail as he moves over to the fridge. “Then what?” he asks innocently as he gets out a bottle of mineral water. “What would you do about it, Officer?”

“You’re the worst.”

“I’m the worst? Hey, your mind went straight to my dick and phone sex,” TK laughs, putting the phone on speaker so he can unscrew the bottle. “I’m still sated from our round this morning – sorry if it wasn’t as satisfying for you.”

“Oh, it definitely was,” Carlos replies lewdly.

If anyone knows of any Valentine's prompt list, please send it my way 😉 or, you know... how about if you read this and if you want to, send me an ask called "Valentine's prompt" and then add a random (but fitting) word or two to it? We'll see, maybe I get inspired 😁

Join the WIP game 🥰

[fukuokadivision1]

MIHANASA Drama Track 1 - Contrast Isn't a Sin

Pt. 5

— Kawanoe Apartment —

Hatanaka: I'll cut right to the chase. *Takes a puff from his cigar, blowing out the smoke* ...I want you all to forfeit that match.

[At the casino owner's offer, it seemed like time had stopped as all three members of the Fukuoka team's minds had to properly digest and analyze exactly what had come out of the man's mouth. Almost a minute passed before the expression on each one of their faces changed. They all exchanged a look with each other, their disbelief evident.]

Tasuku: *Blinks, before chuckling to himself* Okay... I think I must have just blanked out there for a second. Because I swear it sounds like you just asked us to forfeit our next match.

Hatanaka: *Frowns* I know listening isn't exactly your strong point kid, but at least try to pretend that it is. Yes, I want you three to throw your match against the High Rollers.

[Tasuku, already pissed off at the man's words, opened his mouth to speak, but was beaten by Sanyu, who had been the quietest throughout this entire exchange.]

Sanyu: *A mix of anger and defiance in her voice* And why on Earth would we ever do something like that?

Hatanaka: *Smirks* The High Rollers are destined to be the team that's going to represent Fukuoka in the Division Rap Battle. *Points proudly to himself* And with me backing them, they're a shoe-in to win the entire tournament.

Ming: Wait... you're sponsoring the High Rollers?

Tasuku: *Talking to himself* That explains the lame-ass name.

Sanyu: *Frowns at Hatanaka with her arms crossed* So this is your plan then? Bribe every team that yours comes across so that they make it to end?

Hatanaka: You know what they say, 'the ends justify the means'. If me and my boys can find an easy way to get ahead, why not take it? ...And I'm not asking you to forfeit for nothing. I'm willing to make it pay you all handsomely for your cooperation.

Hatanaka: *Waves at their house* Besides, given the piece of crap you all are living in, I'm sure me coming here and offering this to you is like...

[The casino owner unfortunately didn't get to finish his sentence as he was suddenly grabbed and pulled forward by Tasuku, who was glaring down at him with his one eye. The casino owner, after comprehending the state he was in, suddenly looked and grew fearful.]

Tasuku: You know... *Clenches his right fist* ...there have been so many times I've wanted to punch your fucking teeth down your throat, but never got the chance too cause I was concerned with keeping my job in that casino of yours. ...But seeing as how I no longer work for you, and the fact that you insulted not only me and my friends, but also the home that we worked our asses off to obtain...

[Everyone in attendance looked as the one-eyed man raised his right fist, knowing full well what his next action was going to be.]

Tasuku: ...I think that's more than enough of a reason for me to do what I've dreamt of doing to you so many, many times before.

[Screaming and recoiling in fear, the fat casino owner prepared himself for the pain he was about to receive. However, after a couple of seconds passed, he fearfully opened his eyes and looked as his former employee's hand was being held back by the other females present.]

Ming: *Holding tightly onto her brother's arm* Don't do it, Tasu.

Sanyu: *Also holding onto his arm* He's not worth it. Trust me.

[Tasuku still glaring at the casino owner soon scoffed and tossed the older man, as he landed on his bottom.]

Tasuku: *Scowls at Hatanaka* You can take that offer of yours and shove it up your ass. The answer is 'no'.

[Hatanaka stood up, shakily, before scowling at the three individuals; mainly, Tasuku.]

Hatanaka: *Points at Tasuku* You just made a big mistake, kid. I came here out of the goodness of my heart, and you threw my offer back in my face. You'll pay for this at the match.

[With a final disdainful look, Hatanaka left as abruptly as he had arrived, the MIHANASA team watching him as he ran off with his tail between his legs. With that, the trio walked back into their house, to the living room.]

Ming: What a truly despicable man. *Looks at Tasuku* And to think you had to work for him.

Tasuku: *Sighs, shaking his head* Please don't remind me.

Sanyu: *Upset, but also motivated* He's just made this personal. We're going to win this, not just for us, but for everyone he's ever looked down on.

Tasuku: *Punches his right fist into his open palm* Damn straight! I'd like nothing better than to put that arrogant prick in his place.

Ming: Then we'd better get practicing. *Holds up her Hypnosis Microphone* And there's no time like the present!

Sanyu & Tasuku: Right!

[With that, the three teammates gathered their respective HypMics and ran out the house, determined to put their hard work and effort to good use. The semi-finals were only a few days away after all...]

A few days later...

— Maizuru Park, Fukuoka Division —

[The sight of Maizuru Park was jammed pack full of people, young and old. This wasn't such a surprise; this park, though known as Maizuru, was also widely known as the "Fukuoka Castle Ruins", due in no small part to the abandoned castle, which now served as a historical mark. Despite being over a hundred years old, this national treasure still hosted more 1,000 tourists a day. However, that number was nothing compared to the hundreds of people that were here now. And that was for one reason and one reason only: to see which of the two teams would advance to the final round and be the ones to represent the division of Fukuoka.]

[A huge stage was placed in the center of the park, people crowding all throughout the front of it. On the left side of the stage stood High Rollers, a group of young adults, dressed in thuggish clothing with gaudy, gold jewelry on every inch of their person. And on the right side, the team of MIHANASA stood dressed in their usual attire. Both teams looked as a Chuohku spokesperson stepped onto the stage.]

Spokesperson: Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the semi-final round to determine which team will move onto the final round to represent the division of Fukuoka!

[Pointing upward, the spotlights in the park shined down on the team of the High Rollers, with Hatanaka by their side, smirks and cocky smiles on their faces. Moderate cheers and applause erupted from the crowd.]

Spokesperson: Will it be the team of the High Rollers? Or...

[Pointing upwards again, the spotlights in the park now shined down on the team of MIHANASA. While Tasuku reveled in the spotlight and Ming gave polite waves and nods, Sanyu had her head down, covering her face. It was obvious to all that she was not used to being in the spotlight. At least not without her circus make-up.]

Spokesperson: ...Will it be the team of MIHANASA?

[At her announcement, cheers were made for the MIHANASA team. The spotlight soon vanished off them (much to Sanyu's delight), and were placed back on the spokesperson.]

Spokesperson: Since the High Rollers won the coin toss, they will be the first to perform. So, let's give it up for the Rollers!

[The crowd's energy was a palpable force, a living entity of its own as the High Rollers took the stage. Their performance was slick, their lyrics sharp, but something in their delivery failed to connect with the heart of the audience.]

Spokesperson: The High Rollers have set the bar! Now, let's see what MIHANASA has in store for us!

[At her announcement, Tasuku leaned in close to Sanyu and Ming, a mischievous glint in his eye.]

Tasuku: I've got just the track in mind. It's bold, it's brash, and it'll knock Hatanaka off his high horse. *Whispers something to them*

Ming: *Hesitant* Are you sure? It's risky…

Sanyu: *Determined* But it could work.

Tasuku: *Smirks* It will work. Trust me.

[As the High Rollers finished, Hatanaka stood smugly, his cigar smoke curling into the night air, a symbol of his arrogance. As they exited, the team of MIHANASA took the stage, their HypMics at the ready. As the beat started, the group then looked directly at Hatanaka, as their lyrics came out.]

Bring the Beat!

[Sanyu:]

Hey, hey, hey, we will never sell ourselves out!

[Ming:]

You really think you could afford to buy us?

[Tasuku:]

Time to pay, you fat pig!

[Sanyu:]

When the curtains rise, we're already in the zone

MIHANASA's on the stage, our power's fully grown

Licking the wounds of the past, we stand tall

With a flow so fierce, we'll make the titan's fall

MC Rogue, I'll make the crowd scream (Yeah)

The dealer's got nothing on us (Yeah)

We'll captivate, dominate, no fuss (Yeah)

Snatch victory with ease (Yeah)

Are you in or out, Hatanaka, please (Yeah)

Entrust your fate to us

Watch closely, and don't give us no fuss!

[Ming:]

Cease your lies, Hatanaka, respect is earned, not bought

Only we speak the truth here, in this battle fought

Your excitement's counterfeit, unsatisfying

Our story, every soul will turn the page, electrifying

Today, you're out of luck

'Cause you came across MIHANASA, now you're stuck

Pray for luck all you want, good luck

We're just kidding, you're out of pluck, so say goodbye!

[Chorus:]

JACKPOT! JACKPOT!

We're the aces of Fukuoka's lot

No business with anyone corrupt, so holla

We'll finish this, game over!

JACKPOT! JACKPOT!

We're the aces of Fukuoka's lot

No business with anyone corrupt, so holla

We'll finish this, game over!

[Tasuku:]

No pain, no gain!

This is the real risky game

That's what fires us up

A game that's rigged from the start isn't enough

The roulette's spinning, our fate's on the line

Our mic will be an Ace, we bet our life's design

Those odds you fixed are way too low

Your answer's final, come on, let's double the show!

Your skills aren't enough, these thrills aren't enough

[Ming:]

Step down, fake, what we said is the deal

[Sanyu:]

We'll kiss the goddess of victory, make it real

[Tasuku:]

The rhythm

[Ming:]

Ticks away

[Sanyu:]

Rhymes will be the chips

[Tasuku:]

We were on fire before we even started

[Ming:]

We'll double the luck of these die rolls

[Sanyu:]

Obviously, we'll be hitting the jackpot rolls

[MIHANASA:]

MIHANASA, all OK, win this game!

[Chorus:]

JACKPOT! JACKPOT!

We're the aces of Fukuoka's lot

No business with anyone corrupt, so holla

We'll finish this, game over!

JACKPOT! JACKPOT!

We're the aces of Fukuoka's lot

No business with anyone corrupt, so holla

We'll finish this, game over!

[Tasuku:]

We are Fukuoka's royalty!

[Ming:]

Instead of one wise head, we have three

[Sanyu:]

When the three of us are together, can't nobody stop us!

[MIHANASA:]

Then let's end this with one more shot!

[Tasuku:]

I’ve collected my hand, give up already

[Ming:]

Shall we end this, soon the time is up

[Sanyu:]

Alright, complete, bullseye

[MIHANASA:]

Fukuoka Division, it's now or never!

[Chorus:]

JACKPOT! JACKPOT!

We're the aces of Fukuoka's lot

No business with anyone corrupt, so holla

We'll finish this, game over!

JACKPOT! JACKPOT!

We're the aces of Fukuoka's lot

No business with anyone corrupt, so holla

We'll finish this, game over!

[As the last beat of the song finished, the park was completely silent, save for the wind as everyone stared at the stage in shock and surprise. After a couple of seconds passed, the park was filled applause and cheers for MIHANASA. All three members of the team, though out of breath, managed to give each other a look of success.]

Spokesperson: *Stepping back on stage* Well, I think it's plain to see who the true winning team is here! *Looks to MIHANASA before looking back at the audience* But as we all know, that's for the fans to decide, so who do you think won this battle? The team of...

[The spotlights suddenly shined down on the High Rollers, who had lost all of their cockiness from earlier.]

Spokesperson: ...the High Rollers?

[Unlike their first intro, the team had lost most of their support, with only a few cheering out of politeness.]

Spokesperson: ...Or, will it be the team of MIHANASA?

[The spotlights once again shined down on the trio, much to delight of all those in attendance as they cheered and shouted more for the group.]

Spokesperson: Well, I guess that sums it up! Please give a big round of applause to the team moving onto the final round, MIHANASA!

[At her announcement, the group made it back on stage. Giving a quick glance to Hatanaka, they found him lying on his knees, shock written all on his face. Like before, Sanyu kept her face hidden, but occasionally gave nod to the crowd. She never thought she would be on stage performing in front of everyone like this. She still wasn't comfortable with it, but... it wasn't all that bad.

Sanyu: This is... nice. Yeah, this is very nice.

The end

[weebswrites]

Hey! I recently came across your blog and I love your Obey me! HC so much☺️☺️ if its okay could I request the Obey me! Brothers + dateables reacting to MC hugging them, nuzzling closer and then saying “you smell like home”🥺🥺 thank you!!💕

The Demon Bros & Undatables: Reacting to MC calling them home :’)

Lucifer

• You’ve had a long day, and Lucifer is the only one who you know can cheer you up

• So you go to his office, walking in without knocking first, something you only did when you really needed him (which he knew)

• When he hears his door open he looks up with irritation, but then seeing it’s you he gets up and walks over to you with his arms open

• “MC, what’s wrong” his voice is soft and reaffirming, and you let yourself be wrapped in his arms

• You don’t answer at first, just listening to his heartbeat in his chest and enjoying the smell of his cologne

• “You smell like home” you whisper against his chest, and at that moment he swears he’s never felt love stronger than what he feels for you

• He does Not tear up. No sir not him!

• He tightens his arms around you a bit and kisses the top of your head, truly speechless at what to say

• “Then stay with me forever” he whispers, and you nod into his chest

Mammon

• He’s walking you back to your room in the HoL after the two of you got dinner together, and you’re chatting about the meal and how the waitress you had was really pretty

•  You arrive at your door, and you turn towards Mammon and hug him tightly, your head resting against his shoulder

• “Mmm, you smell like home” you comment to yourself, realizing after a second that he definitely heard you

• Big blush boy wraps his arms around you tighter than he ever had before

• “Sheesh MC, you’re gonna make me blush” he jokes, but his heart felt like it could explode he was so happy

• You hug for longer than the two of you usually did and you both fell asleep thinking about each other :)

Leviathan

• You were laying in his bed, his arm around your shoulders as you leaned into him, watching the newest episode of an anime

• You zoned out during the commercial break, resting your head against his chest

• “You smell like home, Levi”

• If you think Mammon blushed, you have no idea how hard Levi blushed

• He didn’t know what to say, and you thought you could feel the heat from the blush on his face

• You looked up at him and sure enough, his face was redder than you’d ever seen it

• You kissed his cheek, figuring you might as well really make him blush ✨

• He honestly blacked out a little lol

Satan

• You were reading in the library with him, you head on his lap as the two of you read your respective books

• It was getting late, so you closed your book and turned towards him, snuggling in his lap and closing your eyes

• His hand fell against your head, and he played with your hair as he continued to read

• “Home..” you whispered, a small smile crossing your face

• “Hm?” he hinted for you to repeat yourself

• “You smell like home” you repeated, opening your eyes and looking up at him

• He tried not to blush, but you knew him well enough you could see though his facade

• He held your gaze for a moment before moving his hand down to cup your face, eyes saying more than his words ever could

Asmodeus

• You’re spending the night in his room after a self care night, currently choosing which movie to fall asleep to (or talk through the night to)

• You decide on a meodicre movie from the human world, so it wouldn’t keep your attention too seriously

• He opens his arms for you, and you snuggle against him

• “Asmodeus...” you start

• “Yes?” he looked to you smiled

• “You smell like home” you pressed a light kiss to his chest and laid your head back down

• He was silent for a moment, then speaking “I’m glad you feel safe here, in my arms, MC”

• You end up talking about your lives throughout the night (yk one of the chats you have with someone until like four am about anything and everything)

Beelzebub

• You’re leaning against his arm in the kitchen as he snakcs, rambling to him about how frustrating classes had been

• “Mmm, but you smell like home, so I feel way better now that I’m with you” you end your rant and wrap an arm around his, holding onto him tightly

• He’s so touched :’)

• He isn’t great with words, though, so he leans over and kisses the top of your head and offers to make you your favorite food from the human world (or have it delivered)

• You smile into him, “That’d be great, Beel. Thank you”

Belphegor

• You whisper it as you’re falling asleep with him after a long day of classes and errands for Lucifer

• “You smell like home...”

• Not much wakes him up when he’s about to fall asleep, but a confession like this does the trick

• He wraps his arms around you and pulls you against him, pressing a gentle kiss to your shoulder (or the back of your neck if you’re comfortable with that)

• “Thank you, MC” he whispers to you as you drift into a nap

Diavolo

• He’s working late into the night again, but he finished all his paperwork early so he can sit in bed with you as you sleep

• You scoot over and rest your head against the side of his thigh, not wanting to disturb his laptop but wanting to smell the comforting smell of your favorite demon

• “Dia...you smell like home” you whisper against him, and he almost thought he didn’t hear you right

• A human ?? Making his heart feel like this ??

• He hides his face in his hand for a moment before coming back to his senses

• “I’ll always be your home, MC. I promise” he said gently, moving a hand from his work to stroke your hair

Barbatos

• He’d had a longer day than usual with Diavolo, and you were practically asleep when he got into bed well past midnight

• “Mmm, welcome” you tease lightly, voice groggy

• “Go to sleep” he whispered, not wanting you to lose any more sleep than you already had

• You snuggled against his chest, appreciating his warmth, “You smell like home” you half consciously whispered

• ERROR: BARBATOS HAS STOPPED WORKING

• He holds you closer than he thought was demonly possible, whispering little words of affirmation to you as you fell asleep in his arms

Simeon

• You were walking around the park, holding hands and talking about your day

• The two of you passed a nice fountain, and decided to take a picture to remember your day together

• You moved closer to him, and suddenly your nose was filled with his scent

• “Simeon, you smell so good. Like, home” you commented, not expecting a blush to cross his face almost instantly

• “MC...” he was speechless, but just pulled you into a hug (and took a selfie of the two of you hugging, because he never wanted to forget this moment)

• “Thank you” he smiled the most genuine smile you’d ever seen, and you knew you wanted Simeon in your life forever

Solomon

• You’ve enlisted his help for cooking duty, and the two of you are working on your favorite dish from the human world

• He leans across you to grab a measuring cup, and you can’t help but notice how comforting and familiar he smells

• “Solomon, you smell like home” you turn and wrap your arms around him, inhaling deeply against him

• He !!

• “Awh, MC” he laughed lightly, “You should have told me sooner”, then setting down the measuring cup and wrapping his arms back around you

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

A/N: I didn’t feel comfortable doing Luke w/this one just bc ,, he is a child and I would feel weird telling a child they smell like home yk ?? Anyways I ~loved~ this prompt hehe I hope you guys enjoy

[daenqyu]

— they accidentally confess to their crush

includes: shinsou, bakugou, midoriya, todoroki and hawks

warnings: swearing

a/n: thank you for requesting <3 i love this idea! it’s so cute🥺 also, hawks’ may be a little longer than the others because it’s my first time writing for him and i got a bit excited👉🏼👈🏼 

ps: i don’t mind writing for hawks if it’s a headcannon and/or texts! so feel free to request him :D and yes, this is a repoost because the algorithm hates me.

( gif isn’t mine !! credits go to @tetsuruo )

shinsou hitoshi:

it would happen so randomly and out of the blue

as i said before, i think shinsou is a really reserved and quiet type of guy

but that seems to vanish whenever he’s around you

he’s more talkative and constantly goes out with you so you guys can have some quality time together

you also make him really nervous 

he’s pretty chill with everyone and seems to not give a fuck about most things

but with you?

that’s a whole different story 

whenever you keep your gaze stuck on him when he’s talking and his eyes meet yours, his heart never fails to do backflips because fuck you’re so cute

(oh to have shinsou think i’m cute D:)

ok back to the actual hc,,, 

you two were hanging out in your room, listening to music and just talking 

even tho your best friends, shinsou never really tells you much about his personal life

of course you know the basics like his hobbies and all his favorite things

but he never talks to you about...crushes or anything 

and you don’t like that because :( friends are supposed to tell each other this stuff, right? 

it’s fun and makes the bond even stronger

so you decide to ask him because why not?

“hey shinsou?” 

he’s sitting down next to you on your bed, your legs draped over his

which makes him feel all warm inside

it’s stupid and definitely not a big deal, 

but it’s little things like this that make him fall more and more for you

“yes?” 

“do you have a crush?” you wiggle your eyebrows at him in a teasing way, although he’s not even looking your way

a part of you is nervous to hear his response 

because unbeknownst to shinsou, you reallyyy like him

and have been crushing on him for quite some time now, but since you’re so sure the feelings are one sided, you don’t tell him

he’s too invested on the game he’s playing on your switch, eyebrows slightly furrowed as he concentrates

so he almost misses your question

and when he does answer, he’s not even paying attention to the words that leave his mouth

“apart from you? no”

it takes him a good minute to process what he said

meanwhile you’re sitting there like :o

you certainly weren’t expecting THAT

like it’s a good thing!!!! but you’re kinda flustered 

especially when shinsou finally looks up at you, eyes widened in surprise at his own bluntness as he opens and closes his mouth a few times, not knowing what to say now

“wait! i didn’t mean it like that!”

“you didn’t?”

he notices the slight pain in your voice and the way you move away from him slowly and he’s quick to apologize 

“shit, okay...yes i like you but i didn’t say anything because i don’t want to make things weird between us or ruin what we have right now”

he’s looking everywhere but you

because he doesn’t exactly want to face you when you reject him

but you don’t ???

instead you giggle and before he can ask you what’s so funny, you climb on his lap to hug him, causing him to blush furiously 

“i like you too, toshi”

the nickname makes him hug you even tighter while he hides his face on your neck 

it was such a cute confession and even when you two start going out, you never stop bringing it up

which makes shinsou extremely embarrassed 

“hey remember when you confessed and-”

“y/n, we’ve talked about this”

“oh come on! you were so adorable”

he pouts at you 

“were?”

people think he looks so scary but he’s actually a whole ass baby

you roll your eyes before leaning down to give him a sweet kiss, 

“you’re such a baby”

“hm, your baby”

“oh my god you did not”

yeah no, he’s in love with you👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

( gif isn’t mine !! credits go to @bakugousmyboy )

bakugou katsuki:

i feel like it would be pretty difficult to have bakugou accidentally confess directly to you

he knows how to control himself and his emotions so i doubt he’d actually ever do something like this

however,

he’s not that good at hiding his crush on you and mostly everyone on class 1A knows the boy is an absolute sucker for you

except you because apparently you think he’s just being nice

and everyone else is like wtf???? 

like he’s ALWAYS screaming at everyone 

but when it’s you he doesn’t 

in fact, sometimes he even lowers his voice so it won’t bother you 

so that behavior is the one that caused him to be stuck in the situation he is right now

he sat in the common room with kirishima and kaminari, trying to eat his food in peace but the two idiots, as he likes to call them, wouldn’t shut up

he had completely blocked out both of their voices, focusing on finishing his meal and getting the hell away from them

until he heard your name being mentioned 

“dude when are you gonna ask y/n out? everyone knows how much you like her  so might as well you know,” kirishima bumps his shoulder against the blonde, only to receive a glare. “get some action”

“yeah bakubro, she’s super cute too” kaminari buts in and bakugou is about to punch them both in the face

“shut the fuck up. i don’t like her” bakugou scoffs

“but you’re such a softie for her”

“huh?! i treat her the same as i treat all of you extras!” oh but he knows he’s lying, you can’t even compare to any of your annoying classmates 

kirishima smirks, “i’m pretty sure you’ve never once, raised your voice at her”

“so? that doesn’t mean shit”

kaminari looks at kirishima and the redhead nods at him, giving him the green light

“well since you don’t like her, you wouldn’t mind if i ask her out? because i’ve been wanting to-” kaminari can’t even finish his sentence before bakugou grabs him by the collar of his shirt

kaminari yelps, looking over at his other friend for help but he moves his head quickly, knowing better than to get involved 

“you try and make a move on her and i swear to God i’ll blast you all the way across japan, dunce face”

bakugou’s voice is threatening and low, and kaminari knows he means every word so he quickly raises his arms in defeat and nods his head

“okay, okay! i swear i won’t”

little do they know that you’ve been standing behind them for a while now

you’re happy to know your feelings are reciprocated 

but of course you want to tease bakugou about it

“hm did my ears deceive me or does boom boom boy have a crush on me?” 

kirishima and kaminari take that as their cue to run away to their rooms, leaving you two alone

“tch, how long have you been standing there?” even as he glares you down, he can’t hide the blush on his cheeks 

he didn’t want you to find out this way

or at all tbh

you walk over to him, a wide smile on your lips

“long enough”

afterwards you ask him if he wants to go watch a movie with you the next day and he’s lowkey mad because he wanted to ask you on a date first, but he doesn’t say no

you end up having way more fun than expected and you actually confirmed that bakugou was a softie for you 

(turns out you were the last one to find out because literally everyone else knew)

( gif isn’t mine !! credits go to its rightful owner )

midoriya izuku:

OKAY HE’D BE THE MOST FLUSTERED OUT OF ALL OF THEM

he can barely function around girls in general so like, what does that tell you?

he likes you so much but he’s so scared 

but he’s also so sweet to you even before you start dating oml

midoriya is a sweetheart, we all know this

and he pays so much attention to you

like if you are the mall one day and you see something you really like but can’t buy it for whatever reason well…

a few days later he gets it for you

he would say something along the lines of, “you seemed to really like it so i got it for you”

“you didn’t have to, izuku!”

“but i wanted to”

you’ll try to pay him back in some sort of way but he absolutely refuses

he loves pampering you

yet whenever you try to do the same he doesn’t let you and it’s: ✨annoying✨

anyways,

you were supposed to go to the movies

but midoriya had forgotten he had some homework to do, which was due the next day

“i’m so sorry y/n! i completely forgot, but i promise i’ll finish quickly” he tried to reassure you and you chuckle at the boy, so cute

“it’s okay, izuku. i don’t mind waiting”

you lay down on his bed, trying your best to keep your eyes open 

but as much as you tried, you eventually fell asleep against the soft sheets, your best friend’s bed being just too comfortable 

midoriya sat on his desk chair, writing down the answers as fast as he could so you guys could go watch the movie you were so excited about

he let out a sigh of relief when he finished, before taking his phone out to check the time

6:37PM, the movie starts at 7PM so we still have time

he stood up to tell you he had finished, but was met with your sleeping figure

your eyes were closed and soft snores left your slightly parted lips, hands gripping his sheets to your chest

the curly haired boy almost combusted at the sight

you looked so peaceful, so pretty

a smile grazed his lips as he made his way over to the bed

he sat down beside you, quietly admiring your features 

feeling the mattress dip thanks to his weight, you began to wake up, but quickly shut your eyes when you noticed midoriya was looking at you

truth be told, you just wanted to scare him by suddenly jumping

but his next words made your breath hitch

one of his hands moved up to your face, resting it gently against your cheek as his thumb massaged the skin

your heartbeat was out of control and you forced yourself to calm your breathing so he wouldn’t notice you were awake 

his touch was so gentle and sweet, you couldn’t bring yourself to push him away

“i wish i could tell you how beautiful you are” he whispered and if you hadn’t been so close to him, you probably wouldn’t have heard him

after hearing him say that you couldn’t stay still

you opened your eyes, a smile quickly spreading across your features as you turned around to face the green haired boy

midoriya almost had a heart attack when you moved, hoping you hadn’t heard him

but based on the mischievous grin you wore, he knew you had

“well you just did”

“y-you were awake?!”

“yup, i’m glad i was tho”

hE’S INTERNALLY SCREAMING

your gaze is flirtatious and you’re still grinning and he’s just >_<

“now let’s go or we’ll be late!” 

midoriya can only nod before following you outside

once you’re on your way to the movie theater, you notice midoriya fidgeting with his fingers, his eyes glued to his shoes

you smile as you suddenly take his hand in yours, interlacing your fingers together 

midoriya looks at you with a nervous expression, what is she doing?

“you know, you’re beautiful too”

you were looking at him with nothing but love in your eyes and he felt so embarrassed yet excited at the same time

because holy fuck you just called him beautiful AND held his hand???

he thinks it can’t get any better than this

and then it does when you kiss him a few weeks later😳🤚🏼

( gif isn’t mine !! credits go to @ambershaydeoffical )

todoroki shouto:

like bakugou, i don’t really think he’d be clumsy enough to accidentally confess

however, he does like to speak his mind and isn’t afraid to do so

he’s just really honest and blunt

way too honest 

which gets him in trouble sometimes but oh well, that’s just the way he is and everyone is pretty used to his personality by now

though, after figuring out he liked you as more than a friend, he started to think more before talking

sometimes you liked to get his opinion on your outfits and/or hairstyles

so you’d drag him to you room and force him to be honest and tell you which one he liked most

it doesn’t matter what you wear, you always look beautiful 

he wants to say that, but instead he goes:

“they all look good, i think the purple shirt really fits you tho”

“i was thinking the same thing!”

he doesn’t want to scare you off or make things weird

so he forces himself to hold back on his bluntness 

at least when he’s with you

but one day he just can’t help himself 

you were on your way back to the dorms after a tiring day at school

todoroki walked next to you, eyes glancing over to you from time to time so you knew he was listening\

you were currently rambling about how shitty your love life was

claiming that there must be something wrong with you since no one seemed to pay attention to you- at least romantically 

“i mean seriously, am i doing something wrong or is everyone i’ve met just not for me??” 

you had your cheeks puffed out, a pout on your lips as you kicked the small rocks on the floor

todoroki smiled softly at your complaints, thinking irony could be quite funny sometimes 

until you spoke up again,

“maybe i’m just too ugly or boring, that’d make more sense”

todoroki almost stops dead in his tracks to see if you have a fever 

how could you say that????

you’re so gorgeous to todoroki, and interesting 

you’re probably the first girl he’s ever liked this much in his life

and you have the audacity to doubt your worth just because other people can’t seem to appreciate you??

uh uh, he’s not having it

and so, the words come out before he can even register them properly

“if you were as ugly as you say are then, i don’t think i’d like you as much as i do”

your eyes widened and you stopped walking, wondering if you had heard him right

todoroki stops walking too, and once he realizes what happened, he’s looking away, trying to come up with a valid excuse as to why he said that

you, however, can’t stop staring at him

finding the way he glares at the ground adorable

a sense of happiness takes over your whole body when he doesn’t say anything to deny his sudden confession 

because he cannot lie to you

you walk towards todoroki until you’re standing right in front of him and before he can even question what you’re doing, you plant a sweet kiss against his cheek

“good thing the feeling is mutual”

your words make him smile and he looks so happy

probably the happiest he’s ever been

and you feel proud of being the one responsible for that pretty smile of his

neither of you really rush into making things official 

but the way todoroki lets you cuddle on his left side whenever you’re cold or how he waits for you every morning so you can walk together to class makes it more than clear that he really likes you

( gif isn’t mine !! credits go to its rightful owner )

takami keigo (hawks)

he’d be the type to not give a fuck about it

like he already confessed so what can he do?

nothing. exactly

he’s so cocky and flirty the whole time oml

he’d be shocked for a few seconds, but after seeing you were way more flustered than him, he’d just start teasing you

in a loving way of course

he’s also surprised you hadn’t noticed earlier on, considered how much he flirts with you, but then again, that’s part of his personality so

kinda makes sense you didn’t suspect anything

but he’s so cute and soft for you 🥺

okok so it happened the same day you got your results for your midterms

(you’re a college student here lol)

you had studied your ass off for this tests

staying up until 4AM and having to ditch your friends when they invited you to go out

so you were really positive

you squealed when your teacher hands you back the papers and you see the grade on the right corner

you felt happy to know that all your hard work wasn't in vain

the nerves you had been feeling since the day you took the midterms quickly vanished and were replaced with the feeling of pride

as you walked out of the building, you dialed the person who you wanted to share the news most with

he picked up after the second ring

“what’s up?” his voice was raspy and you ignored the butterflies that appeared in your stomach at the sound

“hey, i have great news!”

“care to elaborate?”

“you’ll find out when i get to your house”

“oh? and who said you could come over?” his tone is teasing and you can practically hear the smirk on his face, which makes you roll your eyes

“i did, now bye. i’ll be there in five minutes and order some pizza to celebrate” you don’t even get hear his complaints because you’ve already hung up

anyone who saw the way you two acted with each other would automatically think you guys were a couple

you were rather affectionate with each other; occasionally holding hands while you walked down the streets and even calling each other by your first names

that was just the bond you two had, and you loved it

he brought you so much comfort

it was almost ridiculous the way he was able to make you smile by simply calling or texting you

you had grown quite attached to the number 2 hero, but you constantly told yourself you needed to snap out of it

because you were friends

nothing more and nothing less

oh but how you wished there was more to your relationship than just that

you shook your head, as if that could help you get rid of the thoughts

true to your word, you soon found yourself outside of keigo’s house

the college you went to wasn’t that far away from there so

you pushed the doorbell and waited around two minutes before a sleepy looking keigo opened the door

his hair was messy and the way he rubbed his eyes and kept yawning let you know he probably had been taking a nap

you scoff, “were you sleeping?” you ask him as you walk into his home, smiling at the familiar scent

he chuckles from behind you, following you into his living room, “maybe, but you woke me up”

“can’t believe your lazy ass earned the number two spot”

“what can i say? it’s a talent,” he shrugs before sitting down next to you on the couch, resting his face on his hand. “so, what’s the good news?”

“so you know i took my midterms last friday, right?” keigo nods. “well, i got my results today” he raises his eyebrows in surprise and waits as you look for the papers inside your bag

once you get them out, you place them in front of your face so he can see for himself

keigo smiles proudly and it only widens when you look up at him expectantly, biting your lower lip

“holy fuck, that’s amazing! you did so good dove”

the nickname makes you weak on the knees but you’re quick to brush it off

you should be used to it, since keigo has been calling you that for quite some time now, yet it never fails to make your heart beat insanely fast

you nod excitedly and put the papers down before you start talking about your experience

keigo can’t help but admire you

you look so happy and cute

it makes him want to kiss you

he wants to shut you up by kissing you, and it sound mean and disrespectful but you just look so gorgeous 😡

and instead of randomly kissing you, he blurts out a confession

“math was probably the hardest but i managed to pass it too, surprisingly, so i-”

he doesn’t even know what you’re talking about anymore, too focused on your smile

“God i like you so much”

you shut up instantly

did you hear that right?

or was your mind playing tricks on you?

keigo looks away momentarily, before locking eyes with you and tilting his head to the side, waiting for a reaction

which he gets soon after because you can’t handle the way he’s looking at you

you look away, hiding your face the best you can

“w-what did you say?”

he smirks after hearing the stutter in your voice

he gets closer to you, until he’s right in front of your face, before saying:

“i like you, y/n”

you don’t know what to say

what are you even supposed to do???

keigo just confessed

your best friend and crush just confessed to you

that’s not something that happens everyday

“i um, like you too” you don’t look at him and he almost chuckles at your shy expression, but decides not to embarrass you any further

“happy to hear that”

he doesn’t say anything for a while and you wonder what the hell is going through his head right

he’s probably just messing with me. oh my God he probably is and i just said i liked him too so what-

your train of thought is cut off when you feel the blonde ruffle your hair while looking at you lovingly

you slowly look up to him

“i’m proud of you, dove”

fuck

“t-thanks”

“now, i think this is something worth celebrating and i’m not talking about pizza. so let me take you out”

“it’s fine, keigo. you don’t need to-”

“can’t hear you, give me about fifteen minutes and then we’ll get going”

you try to tell him no, that it’s fine and you can just eat pizza but he ignores you and still takes you out to eat

i’ll say it again: he’s so sweet :(((

he pays for the food and gives you his jacket when you get cold

he even treats you to some dessert !!

he also kisses you good night when he drops you off at your house <3

[whiskyanndboots]

Not A Fool- Part 2

Part 1

Summary-It was an awkward kind of tension Ellen knew well, that awkward tension of the morning after the night before. Pairing- Implied ReaderXDean ~ Platonic JoXReaderWarnings- Swearing,Angst,Canon Divergence

A/N- Still sick and bored and apparently still writing. not edited. @cevans-winchester​

The hunt didn’t go well. It was a salt and burn, but it wasn’t a simple one. Ellen, Bobby, Sam and Jo were sitting silently around the table, Sam had called Dean after no one had heard from them for a couple of hours longer than they should of, Ellen thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest when she saw Sam’s expression. “Dean’s going to call back when they get to the hotel, they’re alright” Sam announced after hanging up the phone. “What happened?” Bobby barked. “There were three ghosts working together. They got the jump on them, but they’re ok” Sam cleared his throat not looking anyone in the eye. How did they miss that? Ellen knew you had to expect the unexpected, but three ghosts ? Ellen appreciated no one said out loud what they all were thinking, that (Y/N) would most likely be dead if Dean hadn’t insisted on going with her. The house settled into small talk and whisky, Sam was researching on his laptop while periodically checking his phone, Bobby was reading an old book, but Ellen hadn't seen him flip a page in awhile. It had been two hours since Dean called and Ellen, as she imagined the others were, didn’t want to be overbearing. “Mom” Jo called quietly from the door way beckoning Ellen to follow her onto the back deck. “What’s going on honey?” Ellen asked as she closed the door to the house. “I tried to call (Y/N) earlier and she hasn’t answered and I just tried her again and I called Dean too and he isn't answering either” Jo spoke quickly clearly panicked. “Joanna-Beth you know you shouldn’t call people while they’re hunting” Ellen put a hand to her hip sighing. “I know, but they should be at the hotel by now and-" “Why don't you go inside and get dinner started I’m sure the boys are hungry and i know i am” Ellen interrupted patting Jo on the shoulder. “What if somethings wrong, we should go there-“ “Jo" Jo opened her mouth to argue before quickly deciding to give up when Ellen gave her an admonishing look. Ellen crossed her arms as she watched Jo disappear into the house. Three times with no answer? Because Jo was right they should be well and truly back at their motel safe and sound licking their wounds. Ellen pulled her phone from her back pocket shaking her head at herself for giving into her own worries. The phone started ringing and the longer it rung the more Ellen’s heart rate quickened she was about to hang up the phone when the line suddenly connected. “Ellen” Dean’s gruff hard voice answered. “Dean, well thanks for checking in” “We’re fine” his voice was hard, he was breathing heavily and seemed very annoyed. “Ok, no need to be an ass” “sorry Ellen just… long day” Dean’s voice softened slightly “She's fine, i'm fine, we're fine” “I know that, I told you what would happen if you weren’t" “We’ll be back tomorrow” Dean laughed a little strained. “Ok boy, you get some sleep” Ellen hung up the phone without further investigation. Ellen had been so worried she hadn't stopped to think of the massive blow up those two surely had once they were safely back in that hotel room, if they even made it that far before the yelling started. Ellen tucked her phone back in her pocket and went to relay the news. ~ (Y/N) and Dean’s return was nothing spectacular. They were both bruised, cut and sore, though Ellen was having a hard time ignoring the deep purple bruise ringing around (Y/N’s) neck. She had asked but (Y/N) answered very vaguely, she was embarrassed about the hunt not being successful. Jo had hugged her tightly as she got in the door, they traded a look between each other in silent communication that even Ellen didn’t understand. (Y/N) looped her arm through Jo’s and cheerily announced she was starving as she shot Sam a smile and squeezed Bobby’s arm as the two passed towards the kitchen. Ellen turned her attention to Dean who was making his way over to Sam at the dining table, he looked like he hadn't slept a wink and there was a bruise on the left side of his face stretching from his temple to his chin, but he was grinning and making jokes to Bobby like his usual dumbass self. “Did ya miss me Sammy?” Dean asked as he took a seat at the table and swung his boots onto it. “You better get those boots off my table, boy” Ellen barked from the door way and tried her best to keep the smile off her face as he nearly fell off his chair in his haste to do so. It wasn’t until they were sitting down for lunch discussing the departure of Bobby and (Y/N)  then Sam and Dean in opposite directions that Ellen realised in her worry for their safety she’d missed a change in dynamic. Dean and (Y/N) were pointedly not looking at each other and when they accidentally did they looked away as soon as their eyes met. It was an awkward kind of tension Ellen knew well, that awkward tension of the morning after the night before and having crossed a line into a new territory you didn't know how to navigate with someone you probably shouldn’t have. As the afternoon unfolded into the evening and despite (Y/N) stubbornly trying to pretend Dean didn’t exist it didn’t seem so easy for Dean. He was sneaking glances at (Y/N) and still Ellen was finding it hard to get a read on him. Sometimes he looked regretful, others he looked thoughtful like he was trying to figure out his next move. A rejection was the easiest deduction from that, but the few times their eyes met each others it was pure heat, enough that it made Ellen uncomfortable to have intruded on it. Ellen took a deep breath, she wished she wasn’t so observant, that she didn't care so much about her daughters friendships and potential romances, but she couldn’t help it. Ever since she became a hunter she watched everything, It was hard for her not to read people. Ellen wondered how long Jo would take to catch onto the tense air between them, Ellen glanced over to her daughter, apparently not long judging by the strained barely hidden fury on her face. God Damn Dean Winchester. ~ It was 5am the next morning, sun just starting to peek over the horizon and still bitterly cold. Ellen was out in the old barn on the back of the farm, still close enough from the house to walk. She’d planned on chopping the last of the wood and bringing it to the house, the real reason was she couldn’t sleep. Ellen would lose (Y/N) today, she hoped (Y/N) wouldn’t be a stranger though the mother part of her hoped she would. Everyone had retired early last night and Ellen had seen Jo and (Y/N) talking, (Y/N) looked too content for it to have been about Dean. It made her angry, that this girl would hurt her baby like this, but when she was thinking more rationally she knew it wasn’t that black and white when Dean had already made his choice. Ellen startled at approaching footsteps, who the hell would be up this early?  “So if you’re on the road that means you can come visit me, yeah?” Ellen heard (Y/N’s) voice coming closer, Ellen frowned. Jo and (Y/N) used to go for early morning jogs, but Ellen didn't think Jo would be up for that. Ah. An ambush. “I dunno” Jo answered, Ellen knew that tone of voice very well, (Y/N) was about to get torn to shreds. “You dunno?” (Y/N) parroted back with a huffed laugh “What’s that supposed to mean?” “I mean i don’t know if I wanna visit my ‘friend’ who fucks the guy I’m into the second she gets him alone” That’s her girl, right for the throat. The footsteps stopped abruptly and an uneasy silence followed until (Y/N) cleared her throat. “What are you talkin’ about?” (Y/N) didn’t sound convincing in the least. Ellen knew (Y/N) and she knew she was a terrible liar when she wasn’t talking her way into crime scenes and morgues. Her heart just wasn't in it when she cared about you. “Are we really going to do that bullshit back and forth?” Jo spat, Ellen tried to catch sight of them through the gaps in the walls of the barn but couldn’t make them out. “Jo, you’ve got it all wrong” (Y/N) sounded resigned. “Oh, i’ve got it all wrong” Jo drawled sarcastically “What part have I missed, because i certainly didn't miss the puppy dog eyes he was throwing you all night, must have buttered his biscuit real good if- " “God, Jo we didn't sleep together” “I’m not an idiot” Jo’s temper was firing up more with every denial. “I swear Jo, i would never do that to you” (Y/N's) voice broke, she was begging Jo to believe her. “You expect me to believe nothing happened?” “No, i don’t" (Y/N’s) voice was full of shame she took a moment before continuing to speak “Look, the hunt was bad and we almost died, Dean was so angry and we- we started fighting and things just got…. things just got out of hand. it was just adrenaline, it didn’t mean anything” “Out of hand how?” Jo replied bluntly. “He” (Y/N) hesitated “He kissed me, ok. But like i said it meant nothing" Ellen heard shuffling. “Don’t touch me, you're supposed to be my friend, we were going to hunt together! how can i ever trust you again?” “You have to believe me, it wasn’t because it was me, it was just because I was there” That was a lie, it was definitely because it was her. “But it was you!” Jo yelled back, Ellen worried someone from the house would hear. “How is this my fault? he kissed me and i stopped it that has to mean something Jo!” (Y/N) was sounding more and more distressed the angrier Jo was getting. Jo didn't respond. “Jo, please” (Y/N) sounded near tears “I’m leaving today and I don’t wanna go like this, you're my best friend” “I can't" Jo responded quietly “I just can’t not right now” Ellen heard departing footsteps. Life was unfair, Ellen knew that. But it had to be some kind of joke for the universe to bring Jo and (Y/N) together and make them so compatible as friends and hunting partners only to have it all go to pieces when Dean Winchester showed up. Because Ellen knew Jo had feelings for Dean long before (Y/N) set foot in their front door, just as much as she knew Dean had feelings for (Y/N) long before Jo even knew she existed. It was especially unfair because this was no ones fault, but it didn’t stop how much pain her girl was in. Ellen wanted to be angry with (Y/N) for Jo's sake, but she couldn’t. Ellen heard footsteps moving closer rather than moving away this time and realised she didn’t have anywhere to hide quick enough. (Y/N) walked into the barn and stopped obviously surprised at Ellen's presence. “Ellen” (Y/N) blurted out before running a hand through her hair squeezing her eyes closed “Great" she muttered. “Didn’t sound like a great conversation” Ellen replied. “Didn’t take you for an eavesdropper” “Don’t get snarky with me" Ellen’s voice was firm, but she smiled kindly. (Y/N) took a deep breath before lifting her chin to look Ellen in the eye, hers were shining with unshed tears. “I-“ “Don’t have to explain anything to me” Ellen interrupted walking forward to rest a hand on her shoulder. “What should I do?” (Y/N) whispered. “Well, I don’t know if there is anything you can do, she’s hurtin’ right now and you’ve got to let her” Ellen wished she had better advice. “Come on, I think we need bacon” Ellen dropped her hand from (Y/N’s) shoulder and motioned towards the house. “I’ll miss you guys” (Y/N) admitted as they walked slowly down the path to the house, there was a light breeze and the impending sunrise really showed how beautiful it was out here in the country. “We’ll miss you too, you promise me whatever happens you give em’ hell” Ellen suddenly became serious, turning her head to stare at (Y/N) her (H/C) hair was blowing around her face she was too young for this and it broke Ellen’s heart. “I won’t make it easy” Her mouth quirked up slightly. “Good girl” Ellen shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. She hoped Jo would come to say goodbye, in this life you never know when it’ll be your last one. (a/n)- thank you so much if you read this, thought it would be fun to get down as I was rewatching supernatural while I've been sick. I sorta want to know what went down in that hotel room, so who knows there might be more. 

[mazuwii]

Currently unedited

Summary: Just you Reiner and his mini doppelgänger

Word count: 1.2k

The laundry was placed in the washing machine, the clothes will be ready in the morning. After all there was no rush, it was the weekend tomorrow so you didn't need to iron any of your sons clothes or prepare any of his school items, slips or any letters.

Despite it being close to the weekend, you weren't keen on him staying up. It'd only ruin his sleeping schedule and besides, he gets emotional when he hasn't had enough sleep. Just like his father.

You reached up the stairs and into his room finding Reiner trying to convince him to drink the milk on the table. It was still warm and you told them to finish it before you come back upstairs.

However, just as you were about to intervene, the two frantically inhaled the milk in the cups, as if it were the last in the world. You suspected it was because they heard your feet crease the floorboard, alerted by your presence and the wrath you'd cause if they didn't drink their milk before it got cold.

"Hey sweetheart." You strolled towards the blonde boy sat on his bed, already tucked in and his head hung low. At the sound of your voice, he sprung up, grinning at you from ear to ear. "Ma!" He waved enthusiastically.

You bit back a laugh at the milk moustache he was sporting. He was adorable but right now he was squish worthy, he had an appearance of a seal, blonde bangs reaching just above his eyebrows and big hazel eyes just like-

"Hey hon." The man sat at the edge of your sons bed turned to face you. Except, he also had a milk moustache. The resemblance the two had with each other was uncanny. A tiny bit unsettling but you wouldn't go as far as to say that Ernest was Reiner with no beard. No. Not at all, perhaps maybe he looked a bit like Reiners toddler photos.

You tutted at the two, fetching a tissue from his neat table, confusing them when you suddenly grabbed their faces and gently swiped underneath their noses. "Twenty eight years old and you still can't properly drink." You chuckled at him. He shot you a mischievous grin, matching with Ernest.

"Anyways, it's bed time"-

"Nooo!" The small boy whined, looking at his dad for some defence. Your pupils shot towards Reiner. He sunk under the pressure, huffing out a nervous laugh. "I mean... It is a Friday night"-

"Yeah ma, papa was supposed to read me this." He took out a cursed children's book. You winced at the ugly drawing on the front. These kids are angels to accept such shit fiction.

"We finished it last night buddy." He said, leaning against his outstretched hand and looking at your son with a kind of expression that you knew would encourage something you didn't want.

"So just read a new book." You interrupted. Your debate was nothing in the case of Reiner and Ernest, you could swear those two had some sort of mind telepathy with one another.

"But ma! We finished all the books, we have nothing left." He pouted. From the corner of your eyes you could see Reiner giving you a shit eating grin. "Okay so how will we deal with that?" You asked even though you already knew the answer to this.

"Papa bought me the new spider man movie on disk..."

You sighed, knowing you'd not be able to say no to him. Not when he puts on his sad voice. "And I really really... worked hard this week."

"It's true you know," your husband turned to you, smirking as he spoke yet managed a dramatic pout in his tone "He even got the highest in his class for science." You exhaled in defeat. They were both right. I guess Ernest did deserve to stay up just a little... even if it's two hours longer than you'd like.

At last, you gave in to their puppy eyes. "Fine." The little boy clapped his hands in excitement and didn't waste time in snatching his blanket off and pouncing onto Reiners lap, whom giggled at the sudden embrace. "But don't stay up too late and don't eat candy before bed. Got that?"

He nodded frantically. You noticed his cheeks burnt a bright pink anytime he was happy. How could you ever say no to such a cutie?

With a joking growl, you pinched his cheek, making him giggle. "Well I'm off to bed then"-

"Wait, aren't you going to stay with us?" Reiner abruptly caught your wrist. Ernest too, was blinking up at you. His golden eyes twinkled, almost convincing you to cancel everything tomorrow.

"No, I can't, I have an errand to run tomorrow." You noticed him sulk in his fathers lap, his cheeks seemed softer the more he did.

"Next time, I promise." You ruffled his hair and tilted his chin to look up at you. He nodded without a word, his smile twitching back onto his rosy lips "Goodnight." With a kiss on each of their heads, you left to go to the bedroom.

You didn't know the time it was when the door whined, footsteps gentle but heavy as they made their way to the bed. The mattress dipped, alerting you that Reiner was back and Ernest was probably fast asleep in his bed.

"Hey..." you yawned when his arms encased your body to his chest. "Did I wake you?" He whispered sorrowfully. "No."

He kissed the crown of your head, soothingly rubbing your waist with his bigger and warm hands. "Ernest asleep?"

"In the first half hour of the film, yes." Reiner lightly chuckled. "I didn't even realise until he slumped against me." He recalled every detail. Switching off the film since there was no use in watching it without his sons funny remarks.

Instead he carried him back to his room and tucked him in, looking back at him once more with an affectionate smile.

"That's good. I didn't want him being a drama queen in the morning. Lord knows you do when you wake up."

"I do?" He let out a breathy laugh, careful with his volume. "Yeah, he gets it from you- not to mention your manipulation tactics. I never had to wonder where he learnt to do those puppy eyes."

You felt him hug you tighter, softly mumbling against your skin. "He may got all those things from me, but he definitely got your intelligence. You science freak." He pinched your cheek from behind, pushing you to laugh and quickly cup your mouth in fear you may have been too loud.

You nudged him abruptly, "Quit that!" You shouted in a form of a whisper.

"What if I don't? What if I tickle you?"

"Then I'll bong your head so hard that you shrink to Ernest's height." You threatened jokingly, "Maybe even lower."

"Alright alright, I won't." He chuckled, finally melting against the pillow. His leg rose up to possessively pull you right against him. You sighed and found your way back to sleep.

[festive]

punishing his bimbo!girlfriend 18+ // streamer!chifuyu x bimbo!reader

cw: nudity, sex, swearing, bimbofication!

summary: bimbo girlfriend accidentally ruins poor boyfriends stream.

a/n: reuploaded because I didn’t see my errors. T-T

It was one of those nights where Chifuyu was playing overwatch with his two friends, Baji and Kazutora. Turning on his stream so that his viewers could watch him playing in high 4400 elo lobbies and see him carry each game on dps.

With how the games were going he couldn’t afford to focus on anything else, I mean how could he? He had Baji screaming in his ear about a flanking hog and how “nobody ever pays attention to the that fucking hog in the background.” and Kazutora screaming at the poor little Mercy main in chat saying to heal him, calling her all types of names like “boosted whore” and “shitty one trick.”

Poor Chifuyu, he couldn’t even check his chat to see what they were saying because he was so stressed trying to win. It was the last round on Nepal, both teams fighting for the point in overtime. All it took was one team wipe and Chifuyu’s team would win.

The enemy team only had a Mei and Ana contesting the point meanwhile it was him on Mccree, Kazutora on Reinhardt, and the Mercy on point. “Easy win.” he mused. Pushing his mic closer to his face he tells Kazutora to ult them after he stuns them, which he does winning them the game.

With that Chifuyu’s chat goes crazy, spamming the chat with praises on his great plays, “poggers”, “pogchamps” and what ever other annoying twitch emotes you could think of. “Damn that game was stressful, I knew we weren’t gonna lose but damn, that took longer than it needed to just to kill a Mei.” Chifuyu says to the boys. “Yea, tell me about it, that mercy fucking sucked. She was so far up yours and Baji’s asses, she didn’t heal me at all! I don’t know who boosted her to masters but i’m avoiding the fuck out of her.” Kazutora complained to which Baji laughed and replied “You can’t be mad at her for pocketing the carries, you think if I carry her to grandmaster she’ll send me nudes?” He joked.

Chifuyu coughed a bit clearing his throat, “Ok, ok guys, lets keep it pg here, i’m streaming. Queue up again.” he interrupted hoping Baji would get the hint and not go into details further.

Hoping out the shower, you dry your body off, doing your night routine soon after. Before leaving the bathroom you call out for Chifuyu to see what he was up to. “Chifuyu, baaaaaby~” you call out loud enough for him to hear you.

No response.

You call out for him again and still, no response.

Instead of putting clothes on you decided just to wrap your towel around you, and exit. Making your way to your boyfriend’s room to see why he’s not answering. Before you could open his door, yelling could be heard and the sounds of him banging his finger against the keyboard could be heard. Along with two other voices you easily recognized and Kazutora and Baji.

Quietly, you open his door and to your dismay. There he was, sitting in his black and blue gaming chair, staring into the large monitor in front of him. “Fuyuuuuu~” you say once more hoping to get a reply. “Not right now, babe. I’m in the middle of a comp match.” you roll your eyes in annoyance now that you know where all the attention you should be getting went to, but then suddenly and idea popped up inside your head.

Smirking to yourself you drop the poorly wrapped towel from off your body, and make your way towards your boyfriend. Unbeknownst to you, you were in line of sight of his camera. The view his chat had was amazing, your round perky breasts, and pretty pussy in full display for his stream. Before poor Chifuyu could notice what was going on, the chat was going wild. Spamming all different types of praises about your sexy body.

The moderators did the best they could to control the chat, timing out and banning whoever they had to. However it wasn’t enough, too many people, too little mods. It wasn’t until Baji yelled into the mic, “HOLY SHIT, CHIFUYU YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS SO FUCKING HOT!” To which even Kazutora had to agree, “Just one chance, y/n” he begged. Chifuyu was so confused until he turned around and there you were, completely nude and on full display for everyone to see. Shrieking he throws himself over the camera in panic.“HOLY FUCK, WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!” Still shrieking while trying to disconnect the camera. “I-I’m so sorry guys, but I have to end the stream.” He apologizes and says his goodbyes before turning off the stream.

Throwing off his headset, he turns and glares at you. Oh boy he was mad, you can feel the angry radiating off him making you feel small in the process. “What do you think you’re doing?” He snaps, getting up from his spot on his gaming chair and making his way towards you. “M’ sorry, I just wanted your attention.” you mumble out avoiding his gaze.

Letting out an annoyed sigh Chifuyu wraps his arms around your smaller body holding you close against his chest. “Get on the bed, and spread your legs.” He ordered, to which you happily obliged finally getting the attention you were seeking. You bounced your way over to the bed, but not before wiggling your ass a little with each step. Laying yourself upon the soft bed, you eagerly await your boyfriends next command.

“Pleasure yourself.” he says, “huh?” You look at him with a confused look upon your face, lips pushed up in a pout. Chifuyu rolled his eyes at your expression before saying “After what you pulled earlier embarrassing me on stream, do you really think you deserve my touch right now?” You let out a huff of annoyance, before you reluctantly do what you’re told.

Spreading your long legs, you move one of your hands slowly down towards your cunt while the you use the other one to prop yourself up a little. You slowly spread your lips for him ,giving him a clear view of your cunt and how needy it is for his touch. Without a further doubt, you slowly work two fingers into your drooling cunt, teasing and massaging your velvety walls. You manage to sneak a third finger inside, however it wasn’t enough.

Your fingers aren’t as thick and long as his, they don’t reach that special spot. Even with you occasionally curving them up. You let out a frustrated groan, moving your thumb up to your clit and circling it around in a fast motion. Tears start to swell in your eyes, facing become red with annoyance. It still wasn’t enough for you to cum. You turn your head towards Chifuyu to look up at him and beg for his touch, batting your eyelashes the best you could.

Chifuyu lets out a sigh, before letting his eyes soften at your gaze and making his way in between your thighs. In no time, Chifuyu’s thick, long fingers end up filling your desperate cunt. Sending you into the orgasm you’ve been so desperately trying to seek.

“Feel better, baby?” You nod your head, sniffling a bit. Chifuyu’s lets out a small chuckle, god he was so weak to you. “Good because we’re not done yet. Turn around, face down ass up on the bed.” You eagerly nod your head, and do as he says. Not wasting any time you flip yourself around so that your on your hands and knees, back arched so that your plump ass is up in the air and your pretty face is pressed against a pillow.

After discarding his clothes, Chifuyu gives his thick, girthy cock and few pumps before getting on top of you and aligning it with your drooling pussy. Pushing himself in at a slow and agonizing pace. “Fuyu, please!!” You squeal, getting the message, he grabs onto your hips with enough force thats sure to leave a few bruises. Then proceeds to slam himself into you at an inhumane pace.

You feel so hot and full. Your boyfriend might be a nerd but he sure does know how to use his fat cock. It shows, especially now with how hes hitting that sweetest spot inside you.

Moving your hand towards your clit, you rub furious circles into it and you let out loud shameless moans. “Fuyu, i’m so close!!” You sob out, Chifuyu picks up his pace balls slapping against your ass in the process. He can feel your velvety walls start to flutter and squeeze around him. All it takes is one final slam that has you spasming around his cock.

Chifuyu pulls out after you finish. Jerking his cock above your plump ass, spurting thick ribbons of white semen all over it, and smearing it with his hands.

Rolling off you and onto the side next to you, Chifuyu glances at your collasped and exhausted form. Watching as you try to catch your breath, he whispers out a soft “I love you.” Before wrapping his arms around your form and pulling you into his chest.

[androidcharles]

So Rupert, Calvin, and Konrad have been captured and have to save Charles in a video game! Meanwhile, Ellie and Henry are still sick. Are they going to be able to save them? Will it be game over for them?

Also gonna mention here that the next chapter after this one will be posted on Monday! The epic finale is almost here!

Chapter Directory: First | <- Previous | Next ->

Dave was sitting reading a book in the living room as Henry and Ellie played cards with each other. They figured it would be better to play a game rather than disturb Dave, who was concentrating on his book.

“Alright Henry, do you have any fives?” Ellie asked.

I THOUGHT WERE PLAYING KING’S CORNERS, Henry said.

“What? No? What?” Ellie said, glancing at her cards, “Uh, I think you need more than two players for King’s Corners.” Henry shook his head as he started to rearrange his cards.

“I swear, if you’re trying to confuse me to cheat it’s not gonna work. It only works on Charles,” Ellie said, “Do you have any fives or not?”

NO, GO FISH, Henry signed, groaning as Ellie picked up a card.

“I can see you guys are feeling better,” Dave said nervously as Henry asked Ellie for a three.

“I feel like I can finally breathe again! Which is good because I’m a fan of that,” Ellie said, “Just a little cold, nothing more. We still should have gone to a doctor.”

“NO!” Henry shouted, his cards suddenly flying everywhere, “NO NO NO!”

“No?” Dave said.

“Henry is scared of doctors for some reason. And needles… and medicine…” Ellie said, “I wonder why.”

Me too, Henry thought as he suddenly got a splitting headache. Dave looked at him sympathetically.

“I guess taking your medicine has been a hassle, huh?” Dave said, “I’m sorry. I understand how you feel though. I used to be scared of the doctor too, but I started to slowly get over my fears.”

“Aw, when you were a little kid?” Ellie said.

“Two years ago.” The two of them stared at him quizzically as he sheepishly chuckled.

“I was uh… going through a phase…” Dave said as they heard a knock at the door.

“Who could that be? Did you order pizza? Please tell me you ordered pizza,” Ellie said, stretching as Henry started to sort the cards.

“I’ll get it!” Dave rushed towards the door as he peered through the door viewer, before letting out a small gasp.

“Guys… it’s General Galeforce,” Dave said softly as he opened the door.

“General sir, it’s good to see you!” Dave said, saluting him. Henry and Ellie stood up as straight as they could as General Galeforce sighed.

“At ease you three. I was just going to ask if Charlie was home yet. He hasn’t buzzed in with any word about his mission and he, along with the Bukowski twins and Price haven’t answered any calls,” General Galeforce said.

“Get in the car, General, they’re in trouble,” Ellie said, pushing him out the door.

“Rose, I hate to say this, but maybe we should assess the situation before-”

“Get in the car, General, they’re in trouble, did you not hear me? I know you’re getting old, but I would think your hearing would last a little longer,” Ellie said bluntly.

“I beg your pardon?” General Galeforce muttered before Dave intervened.

“Ah, ah, General Galeforce, I think what Ellie is trying to say is that there’s really no need to speculate, because it’s obvious they’re in trouble. How long have they been gone?” Dave asked.

“Almost two hours now. Geez, those tech geeks probably downloaded something dangerous onto Charlie. Or worse, they did something awful to the other boys… Panpa, you’re gonna have to drive!” General Galeforce said, suddenly jumping in the passenger seat, “And what do you two think you’re doing?” General Galeforce gazed at Ellie and Henry as they climbed into the backseat.

“Um, what’s it look lik- ACHOOO! Uh anyway, we’re going to save our friend,” Ellie said.

“You two are still sick. You need to head back upstairs and get some rest!” General Galeforce said.

“Aw come on, General! We’re slowly getting better-” Ellie sniffled “-And plus we’re not that bad right now!”

“Ugh… alright, you two can come along, but nothing big, alright? You guys will play support,” General Galeforce said, “Dave, I need you to head to 2453 Grave Road.”

“All the way out there… alright…” Dave put the car into gear and headed out onto the road, trying as hard as he could to get there as fast as he could.

Meanwhile, back in the virtual reality world, Rupert, Konrad, and Calvin were trying to make the most of their situation as they ran through obstacles, solved puzzles, and defeated enemies of all shapes and sizes in their attempt to get to the end of the game. At first things were simple, as they jumped over small chasms and defeated small enemies. But after the third boss, things started to ramp up very unfairly.

Jumps were becoming more difficult and time consuming, puzzles were starting to become too out there, and enemies were more difficult to defeat. They had just managed to beat the fourth boss and they had one more world to slog through. They looked at how much time they had, they saw that they barely had an hour left.

“We can’t work in this condition! We’re gonna have to start grinding for XP!” Calvin said.

“We can’t do that! Who knows how long it’ll take to get to a much bigger level! Charles is counting on us, remember?” Konrad said, “We’re just gonna have to keep brute forcing it.”

“Hate to break it to you guys, but I have two lives left. And you guys only have one…” Rupert said.

“Um, how did we get only one life left? What happened?” Konrad asked.

“You don’t remember that you two fought over the lava pit?” Rupert asked, grinding his teeth.

“It was your fault!” Konrad shouted, pushing Calvin.

“Shut up, you,” Calvin said, pushing him back, “Look, we’re just going to have to hope we make it. After all, no one is coming to help us…”

“Than…” The three of them glanced at each other worriedly as they drew their weapons, tapping them to each other.

“If we don’t make it… it’s been an honor, gentlemen,” Rupert said.

“Ditto,” Calvin said.

“Yeah,” Konrad replied as they sheathed their weapons and headed into the last world.

Outside of the hideout, however, the car pulled up, right beside a military jeep as the four of them felt a pit in their stomach.

“They’re not out here, which means they’re in there…” General Galeforce muttered as he stepped out of the car.

Ellie coughed before clearing her throat. “Ha! No problem. Let’s just head in there and see what we can do.”

“I think it would be best if me and Panpa headed in there,” General Galeforce said, sorting through the jeeps contents and grabbing a gun.

“I don’t know if I wanna go in there…” Dave muttered, “I’ve got a bad feeling.”

WE CAN STAND ON OUR OWN TWO FEET, YOU KNOW. WE’RE GOING IN THERE BECAUSE CHARLES IS IN THERE. Henry signed at the general aggressively.

“Yeah, we’re not leaving our friend behind!” Ellie said, “Doesn’t matter how sick we are, we’re going in!”

“I’d feel more confident if they came with us, general, sir…” Dave said.

“Ugh… fine. You can go in with us. But stay behind and don’t do anything rash,” General Galeforce said, “Here, take this club Stickmin. You’re not very good at aiming from what I know.”

“Shut up,” Henry coughed as he took the weapon. The four of them started to head towards the entrance of the building, very carefully positioning themselves as General Galeforce looked to Ellie, ready to give the signal. Ellie gave a thumbs up and gave a signal for Henry and Dave to move out. The two of them headed towards the side entrance, hoping they could find something there while General Galeforce and Ellie took the main entrance.

Ellie and General Galeforce positioned themselves on either side of the door, General Galeforce nodding his head to signal to Ellie that he was going to kick down the door. Before Ellie could protest, with all his strength he kicked the door down, almost breaking it off of his hinges, stunning Ellie as he ran inside.

“C’mon Rose! Make tracks already!” he shouted, “GAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? GET AWAY FROM ME!”

“GENERAL!?” Ellie shouted, running inside before coming face to face with three nerds, their eyes filled with glee as they pushed her down.

“H-hey!” Ellie shouted, while coughing, “You’d better stop and tell me what you did the general before-” Before Ellie could so much as respond or even fight back, a helmet was placed over her head, an electrical shock causing her to shriek before she was lifted up to the ceiling next to the unconscious general.

“Oh no… they’re in trouble. Henry, what do we do?” Dave asked.

The universe isn’t giving me anything for some reason… I wonder why… Henry thought as he looked up at the ceiling, seeing three other figures above where Charles was being held captive. His eyes suddenly fell on something.

A red helmet. It didn’t look like the other helmets. The helmet had a big D over the glass that surrounded it, making it seem like it was important. He grabbed it and suddenly saw a vision.

DAVE YOU’LL NEED TO GET CAPTURED, Henry signed.

“Nooooo nononono! I don’t wanna get captured!” Dave shouted.

YOU HAVE NO CHOICE. I HAVE A FEELING THIS HELMET IS RELATED TO THE OTHERS PREDICAMENT RIGHT NOW. JUST DO THIS AND I CAN PROMISE YOU YOU’LL GET OUT OF HERE ALIVE. Dave clenched his jaw before nodding his head, running out into the open as Henry took the D helmet.

“HEY YOU JERKS, COME ON OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME! I’M RARIN’ TO GO AND- AH I WAS JUST KIDDING I WAS JUST KIDDING DON’T HURT ME DON’T HURT ME PLEASE-!” The helmet was suddenly shoved onto Dave as the nerds snickered, an electrical shock sent through him as he was hoisted up by the helmet’s wire.

Henry knew what he was getting into. He had to put on this helmet if he wanted to survive this. He thrust the helmet on his head, screaming from the shock before passing out, the last sensation his body being pulled up by the helmet’s thick wire.

He felt like he was falling, falling forever and ever. It kind of felt like what happened when he reset after dying, only much less floaty as he suddenly saw a screen in front of him.

PLEASE ENTER THE FOUR DIGIT CODE.

A password? Did the others need a password? That didn’t matter. Henry decided to take a shot in the dark, putting in the exact numerical code that spelled out NERD.

6373… PASSWORD EXCEPTED. WELCOME BACK TO DEVELOPER MODE. NOW TRANSPORTING TO DEVELOPER CONSOLE. Henry was suddenly thrust into an empty room filled with a bunch of doors, looking around fearfully as he tried to make sense of where he was.

He used his sight to peek into every door he could, trying to find something when he found something interesting. He found Charles. He continued along this path only to find out that the others had been killed… He felt a sick feeling in his stomach as he ducked away from that route.

At least you were able to save him… this time…

Shut up shut up shut up… Henry didn’t need to be reminded of his failure to save his friends. He didn’t need to be reminded of anything like that at all. Happy endings… that’s all I want. That’s all I’ll ever need.

He finally peered into one of the doors and saw the others. Maybe if he followed them, he would be able to save them and actually save Charles as well. He thrust himself through the door, ready for whatever challenges lay ahead and fell flat on his face in front of Ellie, Dave, and General Galeforce.

“Stickmin. It’s about time you showed up. You’re gonna have to help us with these enemies! I’m not sure where they came from, but this simulation or whatever it is is providing us with weapons!” General Galeforce shouted.

“Oh, not good, not good!” Dave whimpered as he held a club in his hand, slime enemies approaching him.

“C’mon Henry help us! We’re not sick here so we can do whatever we want!” Ellie shouted.

Henry’s eyes darted across his UI, looking at his options before he saw something. He could summon whatever weapon he wanted. Just like real life. He noticed, though, that the dialogue box was saying that he was an insufficient level to wield the weapon. He tapped his level icon and noticed something. There was slider on the XP bar.

“Hmmm,” Henry hummed to himself as he slid the bar to the right, leveling himself up about thirty times over.

“Henry, what are you doing?” General Galeforce asked as he defeated another slime enemy.

“OH, ME NEXT, ME NEXT, HELP ME CHEAT HENRY! I was never a fan of these grindy games!” Ellie shouted as she ran at him, slashing at a few more slime enemies.

“How are you doing that Stickmin?” General Galeforce asked as Henry equipped the overpowered weapon. Henry just shrugged as he pulled back the string on his new bow, shooting a powerful arrow through the slime enemies, causing Dave to jump a bit as Ellie’s eyes widened in amazement.

“C’mon, Henry, help me cheat next!” Ellie shouted, “C’mon!”

“Alright, alright,” Henry said, suddenly realizing he could access Ellie’s UI… and the others as well.

Where are they? Henry thought. He brought up a map and saw that they were in the last world, but they were having a difficult time. Rupert, Calvin, and Konrad were on their last lives and their HP was already significantly drained.

Let’s fix that, Henry thought as he slid Calvin’s HP back up to max.

Meanwhile in world five, the three were already pretty much on the ropes, Rupert feeling faint as he saw static at the edges of his vision. What’s going to happen to them? What about Charles? What about his friends? He had to fight back tears as he tried to get back up and fell back down again, looking to Calvin and Konrad, who were… wait a minute, Calvin was fine.

In fact, he was standing up straight, a confused look on his face as he stared the monster down, trying to understand what was happening.

“Calvin…” Rupert whispered, “Help…”

“I don’t know how!” Calvin shouted, “One minute, I’m on ten HP and the next I’m feeling fine. Heck, my status ailments are gone!”

“Hey… mine too!” Konrad suddenly stood up as Rupert suddenly regained his vision, looking to his HP bar. His HP, along with his status was completely fine. What the heck was going on?

“Henry, they could probably use some help,” Ellie said, as Dave took an overpowered weapon and sliced at the slimes, General Galeforce congratulating him as he hoisted his own overpowered weapon.

“Henry, can you use your program or whatever to teleport us to the boys?” General Galeforce said, “Geez… holding this thing makes me feel like a young sergeant again…” Henry saluted him as he went through his UI before finding the teleport button. Feeling a bit uneasy, he pushed it and saw a doorway open before them. Through the opening, they could see Calvin, Konrad, and Rupert fighting once again, but they were losing HP fast.

“LET’S MOVE!” General Galeforce shouted, running straight through the doorway and loading his weapon, blasting the monster as Calvin took another hit.

“GENERAL!? You’re here too!?” Rupert shouted. The monster screeched as it dissipated into smoke, causing the boys to glow, indicating a level up.

“Calvin, Konrad, Rupert, are you alright?!” Ellie shouted as Henry and Dave followed her through the door.

“Price, I need a full report: Where’s Charlie?” General Galeforce said.

“He’s been captured! If I’m correct, he’s in the castle right now, but we’re never gonna make it in time,” Rupert said.

“We need to max them out on their levels so they can equip the better weapons and take down enemies easier,” Ellie said, “We’ve got less than thirty minutes to rescue Charles before whatever… happens to him.”

“They’re going to delete him!” Calvin said.

“That’s what the spooky screen said anyway… huh… where’s the general going?” Konrad said.

“Well, if I’m correct, what Calvin said must have set him off…” Rupert muttered, “We’d better hustle after him guys!”

“Roger. Let’s go Rupert!” Dave shouted. Rupert looked a bit shocked that Dave was here of all people, but he decided to let it slide as he followed the general, Henry messing with the UI a bit to max out the previous three’s levels and give them the best equipment.

“How are you doing that?” Ellie asked. Henry smiled as shrugged, wondering if maybe the helmet he was wearing was a bit more special.

“C’mon, let’s chase after them. We’re not gonna be left in the dust!” Ellie shouted as Henry tailed behind her, ready to fight beside her.

The monsters, however, were a bit thin as they raced through the last world, jumping over chasms and chopping down leftover monsters as the party rushed towards the huge castle entrance. They panted, looking at the timer.

“We have fifteen minutes to beat the final boss…” Ellie said, “Henry can’t you do something about that timer?”

“I’ve tried. Nothing…” Henry muttered, “We’re just gonna have to beat it.”

“We’re more than strong enough to beat this boss together. We just have to come with a plan,” Rupert said.

“Alright, how about this; I’ll go in and confront the boss and you guys can get into position to beat it,” General Galeforce said, “Henry, Rupert, since your rangers, use your bows to create a net to trap the monster. Konrad, you’re the bomber, so make sure that you lay bombs down to do damage. And Ellie, Dave, and Calvin can slash at whatever HP remains. I’ll make sure to deal the final blow with this baby…”

“You’re in your element general… I kind of like it!” Dave said.

“Me too, Panpa. I feel like I’m a young cadet again in this world. Let’s move out!” The seven of them got into position as General Galeforce opened the doors.

“Where’s Charlie!?” General Galeforce shouted. The red line screen appeared once again, static jumping to reveal Charles, who gasped as soon as he saw General Galeforce.

“G-general! It’s all my fault! You shouldn’t be wasting your time like this, just get out of here while you still can!” Charles said, “Henry has the developers helmet, he can get you out of here!”

“We’re not leaving without you Charlie!” General Galeforce said, “Now why don’t you set him free before I blast you into next week?”

“How funny��� I thought that we had that helmet in a more secure location… no matter. This final boss will surely keep you guys on the ropes. Even with that paltry device…” The screen disappeared as General Galeforce stepped back, practically face to face with a huge dragon.

“Kids, now!” General Galeforce said, charging his attack. Henry and Rupert fired their bows, casting a net over the dragon as it thrashed through it. Henry decided to be sneaky and make the net fireproof, to prevent the beast from burning it. Meanwhile, Konrad had laid a dozen bombs under the beast as it started to screech, the explosions causing mass damage to its HP.

Meanwhile, Ellie, Dave, and Calvin had managed to slash as much damage as they could as Henry and Rupert fired shots into the dragon from a safe distance.

“Steady now…” General Galeforce aimed his blaster at the dragon as he pulled the trigger, firing a huge blast into it, causing it to melt away.

“NO! NO!” the screen’s voice echoed through the chamber. With only five minutes to spare, they had managed to beat the N.E.R.Ds game.

“THIS WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT!”

“Adding more zeros to a bosses health doesn’t make it harder to beat… wah… what’s happening!?” Calvin and Konrad looked at their hands as they suddenly vanished into static.

“I think we’re being put back in our bodies! Let’s get out of here!” Dave said as he disappeared as well.

“If Charlie isn’t awake when we wake up you’re going to be sorry you-” General Galeforce disappeared before he could even finish the sentence.

“Well, that was fun. See you on the outside, Henry,” Ellie said, disappearing as well. Henry nodded his head, feeling himself falling once again as the world melted around him in a mix of static. Pretty soon, he felt his own fingers curling as the wire lowered him down onto the ground again. He pulled the helmet off, breathing a sigh of relief before suddenly coughing again, forgetting about his cold.

“Henry, are you alright?” General Galeforce said. He looked up to see the others pulling their helmets off, Calvin and Konrad high fiving each other as Dave squeezed Rupert in a big hug. Ellie rushed towards Henry to do the same, grinning from ear to ear.

“Geez, that was so stressful. I can’t believe we almost lost Charles again,” Ellie said. Henry sheepishly chuckled as he looked up and saw Charles curling his fingers. Suddenly, his soothing green eyes were back as he looked around, trying to take in his surroundings.

“Huh? What’s going on? What happened?” Charles said as the metal restraints on his arms and legs were released. He breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up and gasped, seeing all his friends together again.

“GUYS! I WAS SO WORRIED!” Charles screamed, stomping over to Henry and Ellie and bowling them over with the force of his hug.

“Charles… good to see you too…” Ellie said, coughing, “Guh, I forgot I was sick… gross…”

“We should probably get back home. You guys shouldn’t have gone out like that…” Charles said softly as he picked them both up.

“We should all head back. This has been quite the adventure but… hm?” General Galeforce suddenly picked up one of the discarded files, scanning his eyes over it as he gasped.

“Project SAI files? What the heck are the N.E.R.Ds doing with these?” General Galeforce asked. Before the others could start speculating, they suddenly heard Dave calling from the entrance.

“Hey, uh, guys… you might wanna come out here! Someone is calling on the radio!” The group rushed out of the building, already hearing the radio going haywire as a panicked voice spoke over the static.

“THE TOPPATS! THEY’RE INFILTRATING THE BASE RIGHT NOW! THEY’RE HEADED TOWARDS THE MAXIMUM SECURITY LEVEL!” the voice shouted, “WE CAN’T HOLD THEM OFF, THEY’VE GOT SOME KIND OF SUPER HUMAN WITH THEM. GAAAA-” As the voice cut off they got a pit in their stomachs as Charles suddenly felt static at the edges of his vision.

Oh Amelia, you didn’t… Charles thought as General Galeforce jumped into his vehicle.

“GET IN KIDS, WE DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME!” General Galeforce shouted. The group followed suit, getting into the vehicles and driving off, hoping and praying that the worst didn’t come.

- - - - -

Broken walls. Electric wires exposed. The security system tampered with. Injured soldiers and two empty cells. This was what the group had come back to by the time they had managed to get into the facility. The alarm blared overhead as the Triple Threat team stood at attention in front of General Galeforce, who was pacing frantically.

“It’s official sir…” They looked up to see Paul Ascott, one of the soldiers who lived on the base, a somber look on his face. If it was Paul delivering the news, it must not be good.

“Ascott… please tell me you have some good news for once…” General Galeforce said.

“Um… there were no deaths, if you’re wondering… but unfortunately… the Toppats were able to breach security and blow their way through the defenses. I’m sorry sir, but… the Toppat leaders have officially been broken out.” Paul shrunk away as General Galeforce gritted his teeth.

“After all that hard work. After all that TIME AND MONEY WE SPENT!” He slammed his fist against the table, causing the Triple Threat team to jump a little as he suddenly relaxed, shaking his head.

“This was just a horrible coincidence… I don’t understand why they waited until now to do this…” General Galeforce said.

“Hm…” Charles thought, “Maybe the letters had something to do with it. I’ll try to access them- aaah AAAH!” Charles suddenly cringed, clutching his forehead as Henry and Ellie stepped forward.

“Are you OK?” Ellie asked.

“J-just a bit dizzy. That’s funny…” Charles said, “Huh… must have been a coincidence…”

“Hang on… do you still have the physical copies of those letters? I just thought of something!” Ellie said. General Galeforce was confused, but instructed Paul to bring the letters to the team. As soon as they were delivered, Ellie got to work, looking over the letters and folding them in certain areas.

“I know this… There was a biker gang I used to run with back when I was nineteen years old. They used this same method to break out one of the big guys within the group back in the day,” Ellie said, “I think it’s like a code or something they use, where a certain word is mentioned, you fold.” Ellie finally put it all together and they gasped.

REGINALD AND RIGHT HAND MAN

IN THE SPRING WE WILL FIND A WAY TO BUST YOU OUT. WE WILL ARRIVE AS SOON AS WE HAVE SECURED OUR PEOPLE ONCE AGAIN. BE READY SOON AS WE WILL ARRIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF SPRING TO BUST YOU OUT. PREPARE FOR OPERATION COTTAGE BREAK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

“The letters were a code… general how come I didn’t know about this!?” Charles asked.

“This is such an obscure code, Charlie. Not even a person like you could memorize all the connotations of it,” General Galeforce muttered, “Right under our noses… I can’t believe it.”

I’M MORE IMPRESSED THEY MANAGED TO UNDERSTAND THE CODE WITHOUT FOLDING THE LETTERS, Henry said, tipping his head to the side.

“Maybe they did a… mental folding trick,” Charles said, playing with his hands a little, “Plus folding the letters would have given away that there was some form of code.”

“Well, it’s official. Let’s go kick some Toppat butt again!” Ellie said, “Are you with me Henry? Charles?”

“Uh huh!” Henry said, nodding his head.

“With you one hundred percent Ellie!” Charles said, “Don’t worry general, those Toppats will be back behind bars before you know it!”

“Charles, you do remember how many hoops we had to jump through to even gain the trust to put Stickmin on the airship to infiltrate it… It could take us months to gain the trust of the public to pull them down,” General Galeforce said.

“Don’t worry, we’ll still find a way to take them down. And those N.E.R.Ds too! We haven’t forgotten about them!” Ellie said.

“I appreciate your optimism kids, I really do. Thanks… Now if you excuse me, I have to sleep this entire day off. I suggest you kids get back home and rest too. You’re going to need it, because after your recovery, you might be busy,” General Galeforce said. The three of them nodded their head as Paul escorted them out of the base to take them home.

- - - - -

Amelia stood front and center in front of her father, who was readjusting his cape, pulling his stacked top hats over his head as he twirled his mustache.

“It’s good to be back…” Reginald said softly.

“Good to see you back, sirs. We’re sorry that things aren’t looking particularly presentable, but…”

“Sven, everything is fine, I promise,” Reginald said, patting Sven’s shoulder, “And as for you…” Reginald tackled Amelia with a hug as she laughed, hugging him back gently.

“It’s good to see you again, my princess! Oh, did you miss me?”

“More than you think!” Amelia said, her voice wobbling as Reginald beamed at her.

“Well, now that you’ve addressed the clan and hugged your daughter… what are you going to do now?” Sven asked.

“Well, first things first we should probably-”

“Find Stickmin and his friends and capture them!” The Right Hand Man shouted, pounding his fist into the palm of his hand.

“Now now, Right Hand Man, we don’t need to be hasty…”

“Are you kidding?! After they imprisoned us and the entire clan!? I highly doubt it’s hasty to try to get rid of them once and for all!” The Right Hand Man shouted.

“Andrew Bukowski, listen to me!” The three of them stood in shock, as it was very rare to hear Reginald call the Right Hand Man by his actual name. Only a few higher ups, Amelia, and Reginald knew his name and that was it.

“We are not in the state right now to actually do anything like that. Sure it would be nice to get rid of those pesky pests once and for all, but need I remind you that we have just returned? And doing such a thing while the clan is still undergoing repairs both internally and externally would just put everything in disarray? Surely you know that?” Reginald lectured, causing the Right Hand Man to shrink back. He smiled gently as he put a hand to the Right Hand Man’s cheek, caressing it as he sighed, placing his hand over Reginald’s.

“I want revenge as much as the next guy. But for now, let us get our assets in order before we start plunging into who knows what. Our PR is down the drain, our bank accounts are barely full, and our manor is massive need of repair and care. Let’s get those things out of the way first and than… we can get revenge…”

“That’ll take forever…” The Right Hand Man sighed as he looked into Reginald’s eyes, feeling a bit reassured, “But you’re right… we have to put the clan first. We can worry about degenerates like them later, I suppose.” Something in Amelia breathed a sigh of relief as she smiled at her father’s, who were now nuzzling each other.

“Let’s get out of here before they start making out,” Sven muttered, leading Amelia out of the room as they heard a sharp “I HEARD THAT!” from the room they were exiting.

“Boy, that was rough. Those government dogs put up a fight, but I have to admit, if it wasn’t for Burt and his team, we probably wouldn’t have been able to actually break through,” Sven said, stretching, “Aaaah, it feels good to not be leader. But you were an excellent right hand, all things considered. I guess in case anything like this happens again, you’ll be my right hand again, huh?”

“Sure,” Amelia said, “I have a feeling we have the night off.”

“Yep! It’s party time! This is probably the most excited I’ve been since I was promoted. Let’s get going!” Sven started to run down the hall as Amelia waved.

“I’ll catch up with you!” Amelia said, “I just need to take care of something!”

“Well, don’t take too long!” Sven shouted as he headed downstairs. Amelia smiled as she headed back into the higher ups shared room, sitting down on a cot and opening her messaging program.

GlitterToppatGirl: Hey.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: You guys sure do like to cause trouble don’t you?

GlitterToppatGirl: Yeah. I would say I’m sorry… but I’m not really. LOL.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: Geez, you guysusug are jerks, you know that?

GlitterToppatGirl: Whoa, what was that?

xXBold_Action_ManXx: What was what?

GlitterToppatGirl: Your text just kinda glitched there for a sec.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: Probably nothing. Don’t worry about it. You’re not gonna get the upper hand on us just yet! We’re gonna get you guys, you know that riGHthrhgHT?!

GlitterToppatGirl: Are you sure you’re OK?

xXBold_Action_ManXx: I’m finenenENIEN, trust me.

Amelia felt a little bit of doubt as she sighed.

GlitterToppatGirl: Whatever. Have fun tracking us down. Like I’m gonna tell you where we are. I might have a little more free time after tonight though, so maybe we can meet up later.

Charles felt a bit uneasy at this sentiment, between all the static that seemed to jump at the edges of his vision and his balancing loyalties, he didn’t know what to do. It would be nice to see Amelia again, but would he really be willing to do so with everything that’s happening so far? Would he be willing to throw everything away if meant keeping his newfound friend?

Fine… I will. I will keep in contact with her. I want to believe that what I’m doing is wrong, but not about to let black and white morals get in the way of this. Amelia knows something about me… and maybe if I continue to gain her trust, she’ll start considering the side of justice more anyway, Charles thought. He smiled, feeling a bit strange (and not in the way he was feeling before) as he typed his final message to Amelia.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: Sounds GREeatestateT. Let’s meet up later, OK? Sometime this WeeeekeekeeEKEK?

GlitterToppatGirl: Alright. Good night, goody two shoes.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: Good night, trouBEBBELEBmaker.

Amelia still felt a bit unsure about Charles’ state of affairs as she closed the messenger app. Still, she couldn’t let herself be dragged down by someone who was technically her enemy. She opened the door of the bedroom and ran downstairs. She had a party to attend.

- - - - -

“Well, Wendell… we lost…” Theodore picked up the helmets, sighing as a screen loomed over his shoulder.

“You do realize that this has just begun right?” Theodore looked up, seeing Wendell’s projection on the screen, a sneer on his face as Theodore chuckled.

“I know that you’re feeling confident, but like I said, we lost… The game is over. They managed to beat it by cheating. If we hadn’t left that developers helmet out, we would have deleted those losers and managed to get them out of the way for the Toppats,” Theodore said.

“The Toppats no longer concern us. Now that I’ve planted a seed within that government dog… it’s time to find a way to get the girl,” Wendell said.

“Wendell, I think we’ve done enough damage as it is. Besides, I highly doubt we’ll be able to catch the girl!” Suddenly a bunch of mechanical arms sprung forward, grabbing Theodore as he started to struggle, the screen getting close as Wendell wickedly grinned.

“I’m just getting started with phase one of my master plan. For phase two… you won’t need that useless body anymore…”

“Wait, Wendell, what are you talking about? What are you-” One of the mechanical arms placed a helmet over Theodore’s head before he let out a loud shriek, suddenly passing out as Wendell started to laugh.

“Soon, phase two will go into motion… Don’t worry Theo… I can assure you that this next part of the plan is perfectly sound. For you see, once I’m done… we won’t need to worry about our humanity anymore...”

[talesofstyles]

Drs Styles

paediatric heart surgeon harry, husband harry and dad harry. honestly the holy trinity.

warning: they did it in the car. bloody animals.

Harry

“Move your car, please!”

“What are you going to do? Write me a ticket?”

“This is in the interests of safety for the children!”

I look at the time in the car. I’ve still got about twenty to twenty-five minutes to watch this drama unfold at the school gate. I just wish we had popcorn because drop-off and parking situations at the school gates are always more entertaining than Good Morning Britain. 

The school gate is a strange social scene, and honestly, I don’t blame my wife for trying to avoid it like a plague. Sometimes, you don’t even have to talk to these people to know everything about their lives and more. I swear there are more gossips in the class WhatsApp group and daily playground chattering than in the copies of The Sun and Daily Mail combined. You know who’s married, who’s getting a divorce, whose husband shagged the au pair again, whose party you haven’t been invited to, even who’s looking for a builder. 

I see the school caretaker chuckling to himself as he sweeps the autumn leaves off the pathway, no doubt also enjoying our morning entertainment. 

“Why is Mrs Chambers screaming like that?” Alma, our eldest daughter, asks from the back of the car. 

“Because that man parks his car in a drop-off zone,” I reply, still watching him as he removes a child from his car seat. “Do you know who that is?”

“I think the boy is your classmate,” Alma turns to her sister.

Fiona, our youngest, peers over to inspect. “Oh yeah, that’s Rufus and his dad.”

“Do we like Rufus?”

“Not unless we like boys who pee down the slides,” Fiona scrunches her nose up. “He stood at the top and peed down like a waterfall. I haven’t gone down the slide ever since.”

I shake my head and let out a chuckle. “M���sure they’ve cleaned it up since, button.” 

Did you know that choosing a school for your child after nursery can be a head-throbbing, stomach-twisting, heart-pounding experience? Well, it can. How is one supposed to choose a school anyway? According to the proximity? Leavers Results? Adorable uniforms? Parents’ agendas?

After many, many discussions and visits through more schools than I can count, we ended up with Thomas’s Kensington. It’s a great school, and only ten minutes away from our home, making school runs easier. The downside of this school is the fact that it costs us an arm and a leg and that they’re always trying to rip us off any chance they get. Also, they only take the kids until 11, so after that, we’ll have to look for other schools again. But since our girls are only seven and five, we can worry about that later. 

There’s a strange mix of parents at this place. I went to school up in the North and the school gate scene is nothing like this. Here there are more au pairs, fancy cars, nicer clothes and people coming with impressive tans from their last weekend break in Antibes. The kids here are suited up too: the PE kit is the size of a small weekender bag, and we put them in uniforms that make them look smart, hoping that will increase the size of their brains. A child walks past our car with a cello case, another with a hockey stick. It’s a different land here. One that my socialist in-laws constantly tease us about and one which my mum was hysterical about because she was scared her grandbabies would be little Tories. I promised her I’d keep them grounded by only giving them plain hobnobs. None of those luxury chocolate covered ones.

Jokes aside, my girls are happy here. They’re thriving. They learn French and Spanish and Mandarin, even if they share a class with kids who have ridiculous names like Kitty and Archibald. 

A knock at my window calls me to attention. I wind it down.

“Are you Fiona’s dad?” A mum asks me.

“I am.”

“It’s about Ophelia’s riding party this Saturday at the riding stables.” 

Like I said, it’s a different land here.

“I thought we RSVPed to that?” I look at her in confusion.

“Yes, you did, but we have to change the food options as one of the partygoers is allergic to nuts. I’m making everyone aware and we need to let the guests know that they can’t bring any nuts on the day.”

A dirty joke is right there on the tip of my tongue and I’m trying my hardest to keep it in. My wife would definitely find it funny though, I’ve got to remember this and tell her later. 

“Noted,” I mean, I wasn’t going to send my daughter to a party with a packet of cashews anyway but I nod politely.

“And just gift vouchers for gifts please. Smiggle, if you can.”

Again, I nod, biting my tongue at the presumptuousness. But then I suddenly panic, because we haven’t entered the realms of pony riding just yet. Do I have to buy jods and boots? If I don’t, will my daughter be the odd one out? But Ophelia’s mum saunters off before I’ve got the chance to ask.

“Do I have to go to that party, daddy?” Fiona asks. 

“Well, we’ve already replied, poppet,” I tell her. “Did you not want to go?”

“I’ll go if I have to.”

I don’t answer because I get distracted by a vacant space. I edge the car forward so my girls can hop off. 

“I love you both. Have a good day, make good choices.” 

“Bye daddy! We’ll see you after work!”

***

Evelina London Children’s Hospital is our second home. Of course, as a children’s hospital, we try to make the place as fun as possible as not to freak those little patients out at being ill. It is bright and primary coloured, and each ward is decorated according to its own theme with different colours and lovely artworks. There are televisions and toys almost in every corner. We have a giant slide on the ground floor, and even the bins are shaped like red London buses. The aim was to help the children to forget that they’re in a hospital and take their minds off their sickness.

Since my wife and I are in the same department, our offices are next to each other, both overlooking the Thames. It’s nice up here. Would’ve been nicer if we could sneak in a quickie, but that’s practically impossible with our shared secretary’s desk sitting literally in front of our doors. 

Speak of the devil.

“Good morning. Here’s your tea,” my secretary follows me into my office with a cup of tea and a tiny plate with a couple of rich tea fingers. “Clinic until 3 pm, scheduled PDA ligation in the laboratory for 4 pm and then evening rounds on the wards.”

“Mornin’ Rhonda, you look lovely today,” I greet her cheerily. She’s a stern-looking woman who definitely likes her tea as strong as tits and who has probably never cried in her life. With such severity, she runs a tight ship, but she secretly has this affectionate side in her too. Not only is she a great secretary, but she also takes care of us in a way as a grandma does. She makes us tea, feeds us in between surgeries with biscuits or nice baby cheeses and crackers just so we wouldn’t starve. 

See that sofa over there in the corner of my office? Rhonda got me that. It was around the time when I had just become a new father with the sweetest, most gorgeous little baby who did not sleep. Alma wasn’t a fussy baby though. For some reason, she just wouldn’t go back to sleep after her midnight feed for months. Believe me, I tried everything. I changed her nappy, I swayed and jiggled and rocked and sung her to sleep. Odd nonsensical songs like, ‘Alma darling go to sleeep. Sleepy sleep sleep. Pleeeeease. I’m so tirrrred. My eyeballs may actually exploooode. I don’t want you to see thaaat.’ And she would just look at me all wide-eyed like I’d lost the plot. Those were song lyrics? That was rubbish. Please don’t give up your day job. Also, it’s not sleeping time. I’m awake. I’m ready for life. Come on, entertain me, old man. Isn’t this nice, just you and me? Tell me everything you know. EVERYTHING. 

Except of course she didn’t say all that. She would just stare at me and I had no idea what was going on in her little head. 

I took over my wife’s patients at the hospital during her maternity leave, so I had longer hours at the hospital. One day Rhonda found me napping on the floor between surgeries, so she sweet-talked some porters into looking for any old sofas on the go and paid to have this one reupholstered. She even bought me a fleece throw for it too. We really don’t deserve her.

“You hittin’ on me?” She deadpans. “Yer wife not doing it for you these days?”

“It’s the blazer. I’m a sucker for a blazer.”

“If I’d known, I would’ve worn it more often,” she replies. “Did my nice dress yesterday not give you the fanny flutters?”

“It’s schlong shiver for me,” I roar with laughter. “And it’s the tartan, makes you look well old.”

“YN, yer husband’s a bloody git, did I ever tell you that?” Rhonda says loud enough for my wife to hear, and I can hear my wife’s laughter from her office next door. “Drink your tea. Your first clinic appointment is in twenty.”

“Yes ma’am,” I salute her. 

***

The Arctic ward in the Evelina is home to many of our imaging, heart and kidney services. The name is probably giving it away, but everything is decorated in blue and white to go with the theme. We have several zones, and since paediatric cardiology clinics are held in the Walrus zone, I spend a great deal of time each day looking at walrus and snowflake decals. 

“Doctor Styles!” I hear a little voice shouts in excitement as I walk towards the waiting room in the outpatient ward. I smile, because I recognise that voice even before I see the little person.

The waiting room is very open here compared to other hospitals. There’s a sea of noise, snacks, tiny juice boxes and colouring pages. There’s also always a look of expectation, judgement on the faces of parents and guardians every time I walk in. They want to see if their doctor is old or qualified enough to see their children. There’s always one child who has the whole gang with them; parents, two sets of grandparents and even several aunts and uncles, and there’s also at least one child running around in circles out of boredom. 

This little lad bounces off his chair and hurls himself at me in a way like a little puppy would when its owner comes home from work. I put an arm out, hoping that he’ll apply the brakes but no such luck and he bundles himself into my arms. “Nice to see you, mate.”

His parents smile as they watch their son’s antics, who then runs off as I shake their hands. I turn around to see what caught his attention, and I can’t help but chuckle when I realise it’s my wife. 

“Doctor pretty Styles!” He exclaims excitedly as he bundles himself into her arms. She gets a mouthful of curls in the process. 

“Hi Rory,” she greets him as she runs her fingers through his curly mop. 

“Oi,” I pout as I walk towards them. “You don’t think I’m pretty?”

“Your wife is prettier,” he says with a shrug, his tone matter-of-fact.

She laughs and gives him a high-five. “Rory, you are officially my favourite patient.”

She is right. Rory is one of our special patients for sure. We’ve both known him for about six years now, ever since Rory’s mum gave birth to this tiny human next door at St Thomas and his heart was literally broken. I remember watching proudly from the theatre when my wife replaced two of his valves when he was born. It was in our early years of training. Long time patients like Rory almost always feel like family. We’ve seen all their parents’ tears and watched over their children throughout the years. They send us cards and wine every Christmas and despite all attempts to keep a professional distance, their kids do feel like our own.

Rory shrugs off his dinosaur rucksack and unzips it, pulling out a drawing of a blue whale and an opened packet of KitKat. I like that the whale wears a top hat and appears to also don a moustache. 

“I drew you both a picture. Only one though, because I figure you can share,” he says with a big toothy grin and hands the packet of KitKat to my wife. “And I’ve got half a KitKat here. Do you want it?”

“I’m good for now. Keep that KitKat for later on the tube,” she smiles and waves at Rory as she begins to walk away towards the fetal cardiology ward just down the hall. “Bye Rory, thanks for the picture.”

“Bye doctor pretty Styles,” Rory replies, making my wife laugh as she walks away. I give her a wave and a wink. 

“Hey Rory, did you know a blue whale has a heart the size of a small car?” I ask him and his eyes widen.

“No way! That’s mega!” He exclaims. “Do you think you could operate on a whale heart?”

“I would need a very big ladder,” I tell him. “And a wetsuit. I’d give it a go though.”

A senior nurse from the outpatient ward, Florence approaches us with a junior nurse trailing behind her. “Dr Styles, always a pleasure.”

I smile at her. “Florence. How are we today?”

“Busy as usual,” she replies. “We’re about twenty minutes behind I’m afraid. We had Dr Goodridge in this morning and you know he likes to talk.”

“He always runs over,” I chuckle. “Well, don’t worry. I’ll skip lunch and get us back up to speed.”

“I’ll make sure to send some snacks for you. Here’s your chart, your files are already in your office. And this is Alice, your nurse today. She’s newly qualified so might need some instructions.”

The new nurse looks terrified so I smile at her to try and calm her fears. I totally get that. When you work in medicine, unfortunately, you’ll realise that there are a lot of rude self-important wankers. 

I look down at my chart and find Rory’s name on the top of the list. “Well, look who’s coming with me to the exam room.”

Rory reaches out to hold my hand and we walk towards the examination room. His parents follow us closely, carrying the usual coats and devices that people do when they know they’re bound for a hospital waiting room. I see them inside and sit behind the desk.

“So, young man, I hear we’ve had a touch of drama with you. Can you tell me what happened?”

I’ve actually already got the information in the file, but I like the way this kid tells a story. He reminds me of my youngest. 

“So… I was at school and we were doing PE and I wasn’t really feeling it because it was cold and really we should have been inside but Mr Witter makes us go outside because he used to be in the Army apparently and he says we should get used to the cold but that’s what they do in prisons.”

I smile. “Go on.”

“And then my heart started running.”

“You mean racing?”

He nods firmly. Racing isn’t even the word. It sprinted to the finish like Bolt at 252 beats per minute, three times the speed it should.

“It felt like bubbles in my chest and then the school went crazy panicky and they called the ambulance and they brought me to the hospital but not this one, it was another one and it wasn’t as good because you weren’t there and they had really bad biscuit.”

His mum adds. “And they gave him some drugs to bring it back to a steady rhythm; they were close to shocking him.” Her voice trails off and both parents’ faces look drawn and pale remembering the incident.

Rory looks absolutely unbothered by this. To be fair, we have put this little man through everything. We’ve cut his chest open more times than is necessary for someone so small, we hook him up to machines and put him on treadmills. His resilience and character amaze me, and I really can’t imagine what it feels like to see your child so vulnerable and helpless, to be paralysed and weighed down with such worry.

“Alright then, little man, we need to make sure that your heart is working as it should. This is Alice, and she is going to take you over for an ECG and we just need to make sure your tick-tock is in good shape.”

Rory nods and jumps off the chair. His dad offers him a piggyback, and his mum smiles at them. I can hear Rory offering that half KitKat to Alice as they leave the room. 

His mother turns to me as the door is closed, her shoulders relaxing, allowing herself to breathe. “And how are you?” I ask her.

“You just think it’s done and then something like that comes along to scare you,” she says with a sigh.

“Let’s have these tests and then see if it’s anything major to worry about,” I try to calm her. “Episodes of rapid heartbeat is quite common in Rory’s case, and we can look into drugs to remedy that if necessary.”

She smiles, nodding.

“Did you have any other questions for me?”

She studies my face for a moment too long. “I… well, it will show up in Rory’s records soon, but my husband I are… I mean we’re getting a divorce.”

I pause for a moment. Of course, I know these things happen in life, but I’ve known this couple for years. I’ve seen them at their lowest ebb, bound by friendship and their love for that boy. I really do feel sorry for them.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I mumble.

“We just… we’re terrified about telling Rory.”

“He doesn’t know?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “We’re scared of breaking him. I mean, look at him. All of this stuff he’s been through and he carries on like nothing has happened. We don’t want to upset him.”

“It took a team of us the best part of six years to build Rory’s heart. There's a warranty on that workmanship,” I reassure her. “Have that chat with him. He’ll be fine.”

***

“Have we got time for dinner first?” I turn to my wife as we walk out of the hospital. We don’t normally have the luxury of ending our shift at the same time, but today is exceptional. We have parents’ evening at the girls’ school so Rhonda made sure to clear up our schedule after our evening rounds at the ward. 

“No, but we can raid M&S and eat in the car?”

I’m starving and I almost cry with relief at the suggestion. “Always knew I married the right woman.”

She chuckles. “Damn right you did.”

We leave the car at the hospital and she drags me along the walkways to Waterloo, the breeze biting at our cheeks. I pull her into M&S, dodging the marching commuters and grab a basket. 

“I’ll look for some wine,” she says before she saunters off. “Oh and I want sushi. None of that crap with the mayonnaise please.”

“Alright.”

I skipped lunch today so the whole place calls to me. I start taking very random things off the shelves: a packet of raspberry iced buns. That’ll do. I also take some hummus for my wife because she bloody loves hummus. I’m not even joking, I’ve seen her down a whole pot of it. Then I take some sushi as requested, some coleslaw, a family bag of mature cheddar and red onion crisps and a trifle. I hope I don’t bump into Rhonda. Next are cheese twists, noodle salad and cocktail sausages. 

It takes me a while to notice that there is a man right next to me with a roll of yellow stickers in their back pocket. Hello there, you are one of my favourite people tonight. Have I managed to find that sacred hour when all the food is being marked down? He labels some prawns with dip and even though I get a little squeamish about eating fish near its expiry date, I put it in my basket. I then follow him around the corner. Now, this is dinner. I put all sorts of random food in my basket and smile at the thought.

Ooh, knockdown pizzas. I should get a pizza. That’s tomorrow’s tea sorted, the girls will love it. Although I can’t help but wonder, what’s the limit for us to feed our daughters frozen pizza in a week before they get taken away from us? But eh, we might be able to get away with it if we give them frozen peas on the side. 

“Look at you,” says my wife, depositing two bottles of red in the basket. 

“Yes, it’s me. I’m the yellow sticker bitch.”

She snickers as we turn to head for the tills. “Excellent work.”

***

“Mr and Mrs Styles, welcome.”

“Mrs Ebner, always a pleasure,” I shake the headmistress’ hand who’s standing at the door. 

“Busy evening?” My wife asks her as she shakes her hand next.

“Always,” the headmistress replies with a smile, then proceeds to speak like she’s reading out of brochures. “But such a wonderful opportunity to connect with our parents and build on the special relationships we have with our school community.” 

Two uniformed minions appear.

“Lewis, Maggie, could you please show Mr and Mrs Styles through to the drinks reception?”

They both nod in unison. The boy holds his arms out like a waiter showing us to our table. We follow them through the school’s grand corridors to the main hall. It’s the one thing I like about this place. It’s very Hogwarts-like with hefty engraved name boards and sepia photos of successful sports teams. In the hall, a throng of parents mill around waiting to see respective teachers. It’s the same every year. We all dodge the people from the PTA trying to sell us quiz tickets, and the bowls of crisps out of hygiene concerns.

“Red or white?” Asks a lady in an apron.

This right here is the very reason we get through parents’ evening. From the look of the bottle, it’s decent wine too. I think that’s where a good proportion of our fees is going. 

“Red, please.”

We both take our glasses and walk to the corner of the hall. It’s essentially a holding area without the background music. The idea is that all the parents will get on and create a party vibe but it just becomes a strange family gathering. As terrible as it sounds, it’s sorted into cliques: parents who know each other via NCT groups, the international expat brigades who keep to themselves, the parents who’ve ostracised themselves by gossip, the ones who you know regularly brunch and ski together.

The boy from earlier suddenly appears in front of us. “Mrs Hughes is ready for you.”

I put my hand on the small of my wife’s back as we walk towards the classroom. Fiona’s teacher first and then Alma’s straight after. Right, we can do this.

“Mrs Hughes, we meet again,” I shake her hand. I’ve got no qualms about Mrs Hughes. She’s a seasoned teacher who likes a slack and sensible moccasin and we’re familiar with her since she taught Alma two years previously. When we enter the classroom, Lewis bows in reverence, taking his leave and I wonder whether to tip him. 

“It’s always lovely to have another Styles girl in my classroom. Fiona is a particular delight.”

My wife and I smile proudly. I’m sure Mrs Hughes says this to every parent here about their child, but that’s always nice to hear. 

“She talks a lot about you,” my wife says. “She seems to have settled in well.”

Mrs Hughes opens up a couple of books and it’s classic Fiona. Alma is ordered and neat—if she makes a mistake then she erases it completely and she underlines things with a ruler and listens to instruction carefully. She gets that from her mum. Fiona though, on the other hand, she’s all me. She has more wild abandon about her; no rulers, no rubbers. She puts giant crosses through things that don’t work and likes her bubble writing decorated with doodles of many, many cats.

I glance around the classroom as Mrs Hughes talks to us about standardised scores. The theme of the school is to show you how smart and educated these children are. Look at the copperplate handwriting, their reproductions of Van Gogh and our languages corner where they’ve all had a go at telling us what they like in French. I spy a contribution from my girl. J’adore les chats et le gâteau au chocolat. 

I’ve lost track of the conversation so I try to catch up.

“So to push Fiona into those top scores, perhaps we can look into tutoring? For maths, in particular, so she can grasp some of the concepts a little more tightly,” says Mrs Hughes. 

My wife and I look at each other confused. “Uh, I don’t think there’s a need, right? She’s only five.”

“It’s never too early,” replies Mrs Hughes. “We run an after-school tutoring club on Tuesdays that would help.”

Back when I was a youngster, clubs were fun endeavours that involved matching baseballs caps or were a chocolate biscuit that you had in your lunchbox. Maths tutoring session was not a club.

I ask her. “Is it free?”

“It’s fifteen pounds per session.”

See? My point being this should be a parents’ evening, not a sales session.

“Well, then it’s something to think about,” says my wife. “It could be that Fiona catches up with people throughout the year.”

“Possibly,” Mrs Hughes nods. Still, though, she proceeds to go into her folder and passes me a form. Sneaky. “Fiona has also shown great interest in languages and art. Her pictures have been a joy.”

Mrs Hughes goes to a file and pulls one of Fiona’s drawings. I glance down at it. It’s a standard child piece of art. The grass and sky are strips of colour to the top and bottom. It’s a family portrait, and we are as tall as the broccoli style trees. Wait, hang on a second. I count the number of people in the picture again. Is that-

“And Mrs Styles, I gather congratulations are in order,” she says with a smile. “Such lovely news.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Fiona told me it’s a boy,” she adds, and the sheer terror on my wife’s face at the realisation is priceless. “You must be very thrilled.”

I study the picture. There’s a house in the middle, and standing in a line in front of the house is our family. The one slightly taller than the broccoli tree is me. I’ve got my white lab coat, and I look like a serial killer because I’m holding a scalpel with the size of a butcher’s knife. Next to me is my wife, also with a white lab coat, but instead of a scalpel, she’s holding a very chunky baby who rather looks like a basketball with a head.

“Oh dear,” I chuckle. “Guess now we know what she’ll ask for Christmas.”

“Yeah,” my wife shakes her head. “We’re not expecting.”

“Oh, I apologise,” Mrs Hughes says with a sheepish smile.

“No worries, Mrs Hughes,” I tell her. “So, what else has our girl been up to here? Besides gossiping of course.”

Mrs Hughes laughs under her breath. “Well, in class, Fiona is attentive, bright and very helpful. She is a credit to you both.”

***

“I swear your daughter, Styles.”

We’re sitting in the car now. Finally done with parents’ evening, still laughing at the slightly creepy, chunky basketball baby in Fiona’s picture and the fact that three people, including Mrs Hughes, have congratulated us for the ‘baby’.

“You haven’t called me Styles in years,“ I turn to her with a grin. “Not since medical school.”

I can’t help but flashback to the good ol’ days when we had matching university hoodies and we’d test each other on the parts of a kidney whilst walking into lectures, sitting next to each other, sharing pens and cans of Lilt. 

“Well, after that I became a Styles too,” she chuckles. “Would be confusing then, wouldn’t it?”

“True,” I laugh under my breath, then I grab her hand and pull it to my mouth so I can kiss her knuckles. “Thank you.”

“What for?”

“For being a Styles.”

“Aw, aren’t we soppy tonight?” She smirks. “Alright, stop the car.”

“What?”

“There,” she points to a dark empty spot and I oblige. 

Then, before I can even ask her why, she reaches over and grabs me by the collar. Pulling me close to her and gives me a kiss. I kiss her back, and I smile when she bites gently on my bottom lip.

“Oi, oi. Something’s got you randy.”

The next thing I know, she undoes her seatbelt and then rolls her trousers down her legs along with her knickers, fumbling and giggling at the awkward movement. I push my seat back and pull my trousers down. 

“Don’t fall on gearstick now,” I joke as she climbs over to straddle me. “Well, unless you want to, of course…”

She laughs as she lowers herself over my lap. I really can’t believe what’s happening here.

“Mrs Styles, we’re about to have sex in a car. Around the corner from our daughters’ school.” 

“I know,” she says with a smile before she runs her tongue along my neck. “Not our first rodeo though.”

“Oh right, we did it in our Volvo years ago, didn’t we? Thought the suspension couldn’t take it.”

“And it turned out fine. Told you that you needed to have more faith in the Swedes, they’re a reliable breed.”

“I love it when you talk about Sweden.”

“Ikea.”

“Fuck.”

“Meatballs.”

“Billy Bookcase.”

She throws her head back in laughter and I take this as an opportunity to run my tongue along her collar bone. She gasps. I reach down to lift her before I slowly lower her over my cock. We both sigh as I enter her, a long exhalation with our lips barely touching. 

“Viggo Mortensen.”

“Isn’t he Danish?”

“Tomato, Tomahto.”

I smile at my wife and push my hips up, silently telling her that we don’t need to talk about Swedish people anymore. She grabs onto the car seat and levers herself up and down. I look at her in the eye, a goofy smile still plastered across my face.

But then I squint. Light. Bollocks, what’s that? Where’s that light coming from? Crap, that’s bright. Shit. I see the flash of a hi-vis jacket, a knock at the window and someone shaking their head.

Oh sodding fucking bollocking shit wank.

[occassionalfanficwriter]

Heyhey! May I request childe x reader where the reader has been badly abused in the past? As a result she doesn’t mind when childe kidnaps her because childe has never hurt her, and treats her nicely? So since childe has work lmao he leaves a fatui agent to watch his s/o. But since his s/o has such a small appetite she doesn’t eat much. And since the fatui agent has a bad temper, what if he slaps her across the jaw so hard it breaks? So since then she can’t handle leaving childe’s side?Thank you

anon who hurt you? (•ω•`)this childe has yandere undertones but anyways you're welcome and enjoy.

Content warning for everyone else: allusions to domestic violence ,and non-graphic depiction of violence against women.

No Misfortune Without Blessings

Summary: Among the many myths about Tartaglia, few were dedicated to his love life. Even fewer dared to speak of the gentle love between him and his lady but in the soft and hushed whispers of the crowd, all would admit that they painted a pretty picture.

--

There was a boy.

You weren’t quite sure what to make of him. Shy and stuttering but with bright blue eyes that reminds you of the starry sky in the village. You liked him, in the same way you liked the morbid stories and descriptions of the adventurers in the tavern. You liked him too, in the same way you liked the rare flowers that grew in Snezhnayan winter.

And maybe the boy with the starry sky in his eyes and bright red hair liked you too. But it wasn’t something you paid attention to, there were stories and adventures to be had, knowledge to be shared and you decided it was more important.

More important than understanding what everyone your age liked or what accounted for normal. You never did quite understand everyone else in the same way you immediately understood Ajax. It was precisely because of this that you simply didn’t quite fit in, you were just as much of an outcast as Ajax was with his shyness and occasional stutter. You didn’t care for it, you found comfort in the knowledge you’d never be involved in messy affairs of the romantic and platonic kind.

Your world was peaceful.

There was Ajax, the stories from adventurers, and your hidden desire for something more beyond what the small seaside town you call home had to offer.

--

There used to be a boy with bright blue eyes that takes your breath away sometimes. Who had a burning red hair and warm smile that reminded you of the warm sunshine.

You loved to follow him around, notebook in hand filled with scribbles and experiments of different shorts. And Ajax loved you, perhaps, with the way he took you along for adventures on the edges of the woods, in the frozen lake, and taking small commissions from the neighbors.

The two of you had grown taller, childhood fat turning into muscles as your bodies hit puberty. Both of you had changed in so many ways, gone were the days when no one minded the two of you staying out together for a long period of time, without any companion. Whispers followed when the two of you held each other just a bit too long for what was appropriate.

Your world could not simply consist of Ajax and the growing longing you had for what the world had to offer. You didn’t like the change, neither of you two did. But you were much better at pretending than Ajax, so you studied and observed the rest, told this to Ajax and somehow the restrictions on you two became a big game of pretend. You pretended to understand the beauty that others found, pretended to fit in the scale of accepted normalcy.

And then, without you noticing the boy you loved dearly was gone. You stared blankly as you watched his parents cry and search parties used for a boy lost in the woods.

There used to be a boy and you weren’t quite sure what to make of him when he came back to you three months later.

--

You weren’t quite sure when it started, when your world expanded and collapsed until the only things left are the ashes of things you don’t quite recognize. You weren’t quite sure when you stopped yearning for a life of adventure. When you began to settle for whatever it was that was given to you.

Maybe it was when the boy you loved came back with dull blue eyes and a sharp look that told stories only the hardened and veteran adventurers understood. Maybe it was when you could no longer keep up with him, when trouble seeks him out and your parents dragged you away from him.

Maybe it was when one night he sneaks into your room bids you goodbye and makes you realize that the stars in his eyes never left, they were just clouded by something brighter and bigger than whatever it was that Morepesok had to offer.

Maybe it was when you woke up the next day and the boy you loved was taken away into a brighter and bigger place than the small sea-side village.

But that didn’t matter now, not when your whole body hurt and you laid limp on the cold wooden floors of the place that should be home but isn’t. You weren’t quite sure when you accepted this as normal, when the man your parents swore would take care of you became the one who hurt you. You weren’t quite sure when you started to forget all of that you loved dearly.

“...it hurts” you say out loud as tears prick on the edges of your eyes and you simply lay on the floor, ignoring the pain on your ribs, the blood on your mouth and countless other bruises that littered your skin.

You don’t recognize yourself anymore.

And you hate yourself for it.

You think of the boy you loved who had stars in his eyes and the sun in his soul and you yearn for him and what could have been.

--

There was a man with a charming smile and blue eyes, and the mask of the Harbingers. You weren’t quite sure what to think of him when he held your hand gently, and spoke to you about topics you used to love.

You weren’t quite sure what it meant when his eyes grew cold at the bruises on your skin and the whispers that followed you. Maybe you loved him, in the same way you loved Ajax, and the man you lived with. Maybe you loved him in the same way you loved the preserved heart in a jar that used to be yours.

There were a lot of maybes but you were sure that Tartaglia would never hurt you. The day he takes you away felt like a fairy tale, as if the boy you loved came back for you but you knew that Ajax was gone. And Tartaglia was the one who came for you so you stupidly went along with him.

You gave him your everything.

You gave him the tattered pieces of what could have been you, and allowed him to reshape you, until you were stronger than before. You relearned how to be human, how to be yourself, and you loved him for it. You learned how to speak his own love language, stayed by his side and accepted all of him until you weren’t sure where you ended and where he began.

Somehow, you stupidly believed that all of this would remain as it was. Until he had to leave for a long while and you can’t help but feel as if your world would collapse.

“Don’t go” you whispered as you held onto his clothes like a child.

“Don’t leave me” you begged as you shrink your frame and tried to fight the fear of being hated for something like this.

“I’m sorry” Tartaglia tells you, voice soft and gentle as he hugs you tenderly.

You want to cry but you don’t because you had always understood that he was meant for bigger and brighter things. Instead you sank in his chest, you wanted to imprint yourself in him, so that no matter how bright and beautiful the world outside of this home you built was, he’d never forget about you.

“Come back quickly.”

“I’ll be back before you even miss me.”

You don’t tell him that you’ve already begun missing him.

--

You never bothered to get along with Tartaglia’s subordinates. Not when you decided to ignore anything Fatui related since it meant that Tartaglia would never have to worry about you being used against him. You refused to be a burden.

This ignorance meant that despite treating them civilly you had no deep impression on them. It meant that when none of Tartaglia’s trusted aides were available to watch you and take care of whatever your needs were, some new recruit was given to you.

You didn’t care about it much. The new recruits tend to be distant and careful upon knowing who you were to Tartaglia. You didn’t care about what they called you behind your back. What mattered was Tartaglia and his thoughts.

Your heart was too small to include irrelevant matters.

Maybe if you learned how to be human properly, you would have realized the danger you were in. An upstart recruit from a noble lineage coupled with a bad temper would never be suited to your cold and distant attitude. The snark and biting remarks you ignored only added fuel to a fire you weren’t aware of.

You were too busy counting the days until Tartaglia’s return to pay attention to someone you found insignificant.

“You didn’t finish your food again” The recruit complained.

“Feed it to the dogs or whatever” you answered dismissing him with a wave of hand as you drank your water.

No one would care if you ate less than usual. Tartaglia would only ask if anything was wrong and you’d be quick to assure him that it was nothing. You knew that he would overthink and his subordinates would pay for it.

It was best for all parties that his mood remained good. You didn’t want others interfering with your time with him and you were quite sure that after the glamour of sparring with him faded off, his men had no want of being beaten to the ground.

This thought that you believed to be true made you blind. It made you let your guard down when malice was directed at you and you found yourself suddenly on the ground.

The harsh sound of your jaw breaking echoing loudly as you stared blankly on the marble tiles of the dining room. Somehow it felt like you were back in that place, and you could hear shouting and swearing around you.

‘I’m stronger than this’ You thought as you tried to force your body to move.

‘I’m stronger than this!’ You stubbornly insisted as your body remained frozen in the ground.

‘I’M STRONGER THAN THIS!’ You screamed inside your head as you felt like you were drowning again. You couldn’t breathe and you could no longer see anything.

The next thing you saw was Tartaglia on your bedside, asleep and visibly worse for wear. You stood up, opening your mouth only to quickly stop at the dull pain you felt. You could only stare at him with longing. The room was dark and only lit by the moonlight that seeped in through the windows.

You reached out for him, three soft squeezes on his hand as you gingerly kissed his calloused hand. You could tell that he was already awake and you waited for him to open his bright blue eyes that took your breath away.

“I won’t leave you alone anymore” Tartaglia says with sadness in his voice as he cradles you in his lap. You closed your eyes and tapped his lips thrice.

‘I love you’.

--

There was a girl with bright curious eyes that seemed to see through him. Ajax couldn’t keep his stutter out as he shyly introduced himself.

He loved her at first sight.

He loved her more when she took his hand and showed him interesting stuff. Each moment spent with her was an adventure. He loved the spark in her eyes when she talked about the nations beyond Snezhnaya.

He loved her eccentricities and never wanted her to change. But Ajax knew that if he remained as he was, he would never be able to keep her by his side.

The girl he loved yearned for something bigger and brighter than Morepesok and Ajax wanted to give it to her with his own two hands.

There used to be a girl with bright eyes and rarely smiled but could take his breath away when she smiled at him. Who loved all sorts of things without any care, who loved him in the same way she loved the animals they came across.

She was bright and warm and Ajax knew that she was destined for bigger things. That she was meant to explore the world beyond the sea and Ajax wanted to take her away and give her the greatest adventure.

He wanted her world to be made up of him, their adventures, and everything she loved. But the Abyss had no place for gentle dreams and soft loves. So he fought and fought until he realized his dream and set out for something bigger and brighter than him.

‘I want to give her the world’ Ajax whispered in the silence of the night as he fought for his life and then for fun.

He thought of the girl he loved who walked among the stars and he yearned for her. The Abyss had no room for the weak so he hid away what he could and threw away what he couldn’t for the sake of growing strong and paving the way for the girl he loved.

He came back and found solace in the stupid girl that didn’t understand everything yet. He protected her innocence even as she stared at his blood stained hands. He protected her soft and loving heart even as he felt his being torn apart.

He wanted to keep her by his side but he had always been the better fighter. She was better at pretending but she could never bring herself to fight back mercilessly. So he decided to fight for the two of them.

The Fatui was like the Abyss but it could never reach the harshness and brutality of a place seeped in desperation. He hid his heart away, keeping it with the girl he loved who cried for him. He fought his way up the ranks and thought of the girl he loved.

He thought of her as he took missions upon missions, thinking of her soft lips and sweet tears that made him want to take her with him. But he wasn’t strong enough to protect her yet so he leaves her behind, promising to return to her once more.

There used to be a girl who seemed to like she could take the world by storm.

There used to be a boy who loved her secretly and openly.

Now there was a woman whose light was dying, bright eyes dulled and heart trampled upon.

Now there was a man named Tartaglia whose heart burned and raged for those that dared to hurt the woman he loved.

He takes her away, leaves no traces and keeps her far away from the burnt down house that used to be her childhood home. He keeps her by his side and gives her pieces of the world.

Tartaglia with his bloodstained hands gently and lovingly held her in his arms as he dealt with the recruit. It was brutal and inhumane but all of his humanity was meant for the girl he loved and his family.

He gives her the best doctor and waits for her to wake up.

Thrice he made the mistake of leaving her behind.

‘This time, no matter what, I’ll keep you by my side.’

--

Among the myths about Tartaglia few were dedicated to the lady he always took along with him, be it in the battlefield or anywhere else. It was rumored that she was as gentle as Liyue’s glaze lilies, and as deadly as the ruin guards that littered across Teyvat.

But one thing was constant, where Tartaglia goes the lady follows. A warrior and his lady dominating battle fields across Teyvat.

There would be no surprise if one day the entire world fell at their feet.

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Bound Blood (Cassandra Dimitrescu/Reader, Soulmate AU) Pt. 1

Fandom: Resident Evil: Village Rating: T for blood, language, brief nudity. Later chapters will be M Warnings: Nah fam Summary: Local vampire finds out she can't kill soft human (because they're soulmates, baby), human becomes insufferable bastard, oops they fuck later. Soulmate AU where if one person gets injured, their soulmate feels the same amount of pain and receives a scar in the relevant area.

1: Sharing Is (Not) Caring

It’s not that you had expected to survive this- being locked in the dungeon of Castle Dimitrescu, waiting for the day you’re picked to be someone’s meal. Oh no, you had given up on surviving long ago, it was just that… well, you had hoped that someone with a softer touch would do you in. But here you were, too exhausted to cry, hanging naked in front of none other than Cassandra Dimitrescu. Her eyes were trailing you up and down, examining every inch of your skin, every flaw, every unique trait. It was like she was making a mental map of which parts of you would taste best. Goddamn, you wanted to spit in her face, or scream, or say something, anything that might make her feel even an ounce of what you had felt for weeks.

But you know that she’s already planning to kill you, and to make it painful. Why give her any more reason? Why dare her to find a worse way to end your life? There was no good answer, so you stayed still, just watched her move. Maybe if you looked bored enough she’d make it quick, just stab a knife in you and drink you up like a capri sun. Or, maybe, if you kept a straight face, she would admire your courage. Oh, how you longed for people to think of you kindly now, in your last moments, when dying clean and pretty was no longer an option.

Pulling a blade from some hidden sheathe, Cassandra approaches you with a wicked grin. There’s still blood on her lips from her last victim. Had they not sated her? Or had she been like this for some time? When she inevitably drank from you, how long would your blood remain on her lips? You weren’t sure that you wanted to know. In your mind, you picture her cleaning up as soon as she was done with you. It does not make you feel any better. Neither does the way she traces a finger across your chest, left to right, practicing for the incision to follow. She pauses to lick her lips, making direct eye contact as she does.

What happens next passes by so quickly that you don’t process any of it until the whole ordeal is over. The blade’s tip digs into your chest, just below your collarbone, before dragging along half the width of your torso. It hurts like hell, but you manage to keep your misery to yourself. But your pain is soon replaced with confusion; Cassandra screams, loud enough to echo throughout the basement, doubling over herself. In an instant her knife has clattered to the floor, forgotten. Instinct takes over your brain, the default programing kicking in, and you say something that fills you with instant regret.

“Are you okay?” Your voice is a bit quiet, and raw, worn out from lack of hydration. But it is enough, evidently, for Cassandra to hear. She’s rising back up and glaring at you, one hand clutching her chest. Something in her expression tells you that she thinks you’re mocking her. While that wasn’t technically the case, there was a part of you that found joy in this, watching your captor get a taste of their own medicine. The question left in your mind was why she was in pain. “I’ll take that as a no,” you said, again left with regret at your choices.

Now her hand is swiping at your face, nails cutting you open. Once more she hisses in pain, now clutching her head, shaking a little as she does. When she meets your gaze, you see that she’s more confused than anything. More than that, you see the marks on her face, knowing instantly that they match your own. Oh hell no, you thought, grimacing.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Cassandra growled through clenched teeth. Bouncing back and forth on her heels, she seems tense, unsure of how to process what’s happening. You feel the same way, desperately wanting to pretend that this doesn’t mean you’re her soulmate. Maybe the universe had just messed up, crossing some wires, or decided to pull a prank on the two of you. Either way it was better than the alternative. Eager to think about something else, you start considering your options. The first that comes to mind is ridiculous. Stupid, really. But would it amuse you? Absolutely.

“Not gonna lie, I feel better about the idea of you killing me now. Feel free to make it painful, darlin’, I won’t mind,” you snarked, lips curling up into a smirk. Oh boy was it satisfying to watch Cassandra’s response. One of her hands raises to smack you, only for her to freeze before releasing a torrent of swears. Hurting you meant hurting herself. “What’s the matter? Can’t handle a little aching? Haven’t you ever imagined what it’s like to be on the other side of things? Under the blade yourself, blood soaking your skin, eyes too dry for even a single tear? Poor thing,” you purred, tone as teasing as it could get. Apparently it’s aggravating enough for Cassandra to fight through the pain, as she slams her fist into your stomach, leaving both of you gasping for breath. “This is fun-” you pause to cough out a few drops of blood- “really, really fun. Hey, if you kill me, how bad do you think you’ll feel?”

Before Cassandra can react, either to speak or hurt you worse, the sound of approaching footsteps draws her attention. From where you hang you can’t see much, too many cells and hanging bodies blocking your vision. But your “soulmate” seemed to know who was coming. Her face scrunches up a little, and she adjusts her robes, trying to cover the mark on her chest. Had you not still been coughing, you would have sarcastically asked her how she intended to hide her face.

“What the hell is going on, Cassandra?” An unfamiliar voice asked. The footsteps grew louder, and faster, until the new figure stood in the same cell as you. Not even bothering to spare you a glance, she approaches Cassandra, reaching to examine her face. “Did a prisoner manage to get you? I’ve told you a thousand times-”

“Don’t fucking touch me, sis,” Cassandra snapped, pushing away her sister’s hand. Both of them are visibly tense, and for a moment they stand still, staring each other down. Then the sister (who you assume to be Bela, from things you’ve overheard recently) shifts her focus to you. Something tells you that she has no intentions of being gentle.

“Did you do this, you rotten little thing?” Bela questioned, glaring at you hard enough to send a shiver down your spine. But that doesn’t stop you from trying to have some more fun.

“Oh, of course I did! I rattled my chains real good, scared the shit out of her, made her fall on her own knife a few times. You know, like that one musical?” You must look insane as you speak, grin wide but face dripping with blood. If it unnerves Bela, she hides it well, though you doubt it does. As soon as you’re done poking fun she’s pulling out her sickle. Still grinning, you make eye contact with Cassandra, who realizes what’s happening a second too late. Then the two of you cry out in unison, as the blade carves into your shoulder. Instantly Bela pulls back, stunned, turning to her sister with genuine concern. “I might have lied. Rest assured though, it was for comedic purposes.”

The next thing you know the two sisters are shuffling away from you, Cassandra begrudgingly being dragged along by Bela. Though the younger of the two had been adamant about not receiving help, she now had little choice in the matter, skin searing from your blood bond. Even you are starting to breathe harder than you’d like.

“Was it something I said?” You barked, barely able to manage a fit of giggles between your coughing. Bela shoots you a glare over her shoulder, but quickly returns her attention to her sister. They talk, quickly, soft enough that you can only make out a few words here and there. It’s hard to make meaning from it, especially considering their vastly different tones. Cassandra is pure anger, gestures fast and wide, while Bela is oddly solemn, even regretful. When you finally catch a couple full sentences, things start to make a little more sense, though you wish they didn’t.

“We can kill them painlessly, in their sleep. That way you won’t have to suffer,” Bela whispered. She’s doing her best to comfort her sister, despite the tension in the room, gently patting her on the back. Briefly, you make eye contact with her. In that moment she looks equal parts executor and unwilling jury. But she looks away quickly, even shifting her angle to prevent it from happening again.

“No, fuck that, fuck this, I’m… I’m not killing them. Nobody is,” Cassandra growled, daring to emphasize her point by pushing Bela away. Now it’s her turn to look at you, brows furrowed, eyes betraying something more than just anger. Somehow it’s a million times worse than when she first came in. You strain yourself trying to look away, cursing the chains keeping you in place, resorting to closing your eyes and pretending none of this was real. “I don’t care what you think, Bela. They’re already my ‘meal’, might as well get what enjoyment out of this that I can.”

Again, footsteps echo through the basement. Tension locks your muscles in place, and your eyes are still clamped shut, to the point that you don’t realize your chains are being undone until you’ve hit the ground. Cursing under your breath, you finally open your eyes again. There’s blood on the floor, only some of it yours, and you’re suddenly aching for a bath. More than that, though, you’re praying for something to cover yourself with. Certainly Cassandra didn’t need to see everything, now that you weren’t a piece of meat for her to enjoy? As if reading your mind, the middle Dimitrescu daughter flings open a nearby cabinet, messily searching for something. Eventually she gives a hum of approval, then tosses a blanket in your direction.

“Put it on, dipshit, then follow me,” she snapped, already walking away. For a moment you’re tempted to stay there, sitting still, waiting to see how long it would take for her to notice. But one look from Bela sends the thought back to whatever crevice of your mind it crawled out of. So you’re moving, hastily, awkwardly wrapped in a somewhat itchy blanket. Other prisoners eye you as you pass, some shouting curses or even spitting at you. At first Cassandra takes no notice, or simply doesn’t care, but eventually the noise seems to irritate her. Turning back, she takes her sickle in hand and slams the handle into the bars of a cell. It’s loud, making you flinch, but gets everyone’s attention. “Next one to make a peep gets the blood eagle!”

“Is that, like, a sex thing?” The words leave your mouth before you can stop yourself. Laughter rings out around you from the few prisoners capable of it. Cassandra is seething again, looking about ready to kill you. Then she’s shifting into swarm mode, spreading out wide, insects barreling through half the occupied cells. A few cries escape the prisoners, as the flies take bites out of them, cutting a perfect balance between pain and (a lack of) lethality. They’d be suffering for days to come, every movement making their wounds ache. “Not a sex thing, got it,” you muttered to yourself, just as Cassandra reforms in front of you. This time she grabs the blanket you’re wrapped in, using it to tug you forward, sending you towards the exit.

“Shut up for five minutes and I might let you put on actual clothes,” she growled, keeping one hand on your back to guide you. The offer is the closest thing to kindness you’ve seen from her, and you have half a mind to do what she says. Would you actually manage to keep quiet for that long? Well, you were certainly looking forward to finding out...

[stardustincarnate]

Dating Light Yagami Would Include :

— assuming you begin dating in high school

— one time he casually asks if you want to go on a date with him. with him being collected as usual he looks as if your answer won't even matter. but honestly he's lowkey panicking on the inside. i mean he really likes you, for years even, so if you were to reject him it would leave him crestfallen

— what does she not like about me i'm everything you wish to have for a boyfriend

— how he asks you to be his girlfriend?

— " [y/n], would you mind? "

— " mind what? "

— " being my girlfriend? "

— can't look at you in the eye. i mean, sure, but for like 2 seconds before he finds the walls suddenly interesting

— wait is that light yagami really sweating?

— boy basically almost stutters you find it amusing and almost chortle

— i mean this boy right here have always been collected so to see him lose a wee bit of his composure is straight-up entertainment

— LIGHT INVENTING THAT “BOYFRIEND VIBES” LOOK

— I MEAN HAVE YOU SEEN HIS WARDROBE

— he's not exactly the biggest fan of PDA especially when you're at school

— school is a place to study not to flirt

— though sometimes he will in the most SUBTLE ways that you don't even realize it

— protective boyfriend check ✔️

— someone catcalling you? he'll look at them in the eye and they'd be dead right on the spot

— you don't want to mess with yagami

— when you two walk together you walk side by side. occasionally holding hands but if not then at a really close proximity

— though he likes it too if he were to walk behind you real close just so he can watch over you from the back

— feeling down?

— " it's okay to let it out [y/n]. i'm here to listen, okay? "

— forehead kisses 🥺

— gives the BEST advices like oh gosh where does he get all that stuff from and how much has he actually experienced in life???

— and he's sort of like a mom friend actually

— not the biggest fan of small talks. well, sure, sometimes it helps him. but often it wears him out and he doesn't really get the point of why he and the other party should be talking about something that isn't conducive in any way

— being good at socializing doesn't mean he always enjoys it

— some peeps honestly wear him out tsk

— he's the type of person who looks deeply into stuff that has your brain turning its wheels at 3a.m. so if you're that type of person too then he'd be more than happy to discuss it with you and he'd be so in love ugh

— i mean he doesn't sleep at 3a.m. because that definitely is very much unhealthy but you get the picture

— though sometimes he has trouble sleeping because of overthinking

— he won't admit but it really helps if he can talk about it with you before the day ends

— you two often debate lightly but at some point it gets a wee bit serious

— but no one gets mad ofc it actually clears both your minds and gives you new perspectives

— if you're that person who asks someone else for homework answers then i'm sorry but light says N O

— he loves you, really

— but please learn to do it yourself

— he will help you understand the lesson if you had trouble doing so but it only goes that far

— oh AND I CAN TOTALLY SEE HIM HAVING A STUDY SESSION WITH HIS S/O <3333

— IT HAPPENS OFTEN

— AND IT'S ACTUALLY VERY RELAXING

— just there in the silence enjoying each other's company while reading

— either in his room, yours, or in a small coffee shop that's barely visited by anyone

— classrooms can work too only if the other students had already left

— also when he's really really bored he picks up the most random things he can see

— coughs the notebook coughs

— then proceeds to stare at them for like five minutes straight

— " why is he staring at a pencil like that— "

— " i think he's about to make-out with it "

— don't disturb him he's somehow managed to get lost deep in thought and if you dare interrupt it's adios for you

— when he stumbles upon the death note, he contemplates about telling you about it but thinks better and decides to keep silent at first

— but once he's sure that the notebook isn't just some kind of prank he gravely swears to himself that he'll never tell you about it

— he's not himself for the next few days because he. just. killed. a. bloody. person. and has a shinigami wandering by his side how. messed. up. is. that.

— and when you ask him what's the matter, he'll just look at you—look away—then shake his head

— because of his pride shyness he will not ask you to comfort him

— but when you do he'll just close his eyes, sigh, and indulge himself in that very moment

— then he'll whisper a barely audible " i love you "

— and he MEANS it

— once he recovers from the shock and knows just what to do with that bloody notebook a point where he has to break up with you will come

— the thought will pain him at first, but he's got to

— which is probably for the best because if you were to stick with him any longer he'd eventually kill you since he says you're not a very useful piece on his chessboard

— but that happens only if he survives

— in which case he doesn't

— well. . . moving on

— in conclusion, he's that type of bf who shows his love for you subtly. he respects your personal space because he has his own too. and he knows that although you two are in a relationship there are other things that require your attention more. being in a relationship does not mean smooching nearly every second of the day. love can come in many forms.

— please distract him so he doesn't find the notebook i just want my cinnamon roll back