#i wanted to make a valentines thing but then i was late ofc

[cloudcountry]

Hi, I was wondering if you could do a Malleus, Jamil, Leona, Vil, and Idia x Fem Reader, where A mix-up with Valentine's Day gifts leads to Reader receiving a gift meant for the character in question, and the confusion might lead to an unexpected confession?

SUMMARY: you get a gift that was meant for the student you like, and the contents spur you to action.

COMMENTS: so usually its them getting jealous of you being courted but i decided hey its YOUR turn to be jealous. good luck!!

im a firm believer that anyone who says getting jealous when youre not dating is weird is the weird one. like obviously you'd be upset, you wanted to be with them and you're not. of course you feel bad. it's okay to feel bad??? like thats literally so normal. you dont have to be like "oh ofc im happy for them!!" like you can BE SAD. its okay.

You stare blankly at the box of chocolate in your hands, the gift crammed into your desk haphazardly. At first, you thought it was for you—that’s what anyone would assume, right? Except...the note on top of it is not addressed to you, but rather, the guy you like. It makes you wonder if this is some joke, or if one of his friends wanted you to deliver it for him. You pick at the heart sticker sealing the note shut and peel it open, taking a peak of the contents.

Your eyes wide and your heart lurches in your chest, panic and annoyance roaring like red hot flames as you read what sounds like a genuine confession of love. Someone had their eyes on him? How did you never notice?

Was it weird to get jealous? I mean, he’s not even dating you yet...you don’t even know if he feels the same way. You can’t deny it doesn’t feel good that there’s another student trying to woo him, though. You’ve been so scared up until this point, so nervous about what he might think, but the clock is ticking. You’ve got to tell him before it’s too late.

Leona cracks open a single eye when you softly knock on his door and enter, shutting the door behind you. With the look on your face, you’ve got something very serious to tell him.

“Woah there, herbivore. You look like someone died.” he yawns, flopping on his side as his tail flicks lazily behind him, “What’s got your face all twisted up?”

His eyes dart to the heart shaped box in your hand and his ears twitch. You look apprehensive—his smirk only grows when he realizes you’ve brought him an offering. How sweet.

“I like you. Romantically.” you blurt.

The second you say it you think about how many other ways you could have said that exact thing and sounded way smoother.

“Yeah, I figured as much. So you came to confess? I feel the same.” Leona yawns again, feeling a bit mischievous as he turns him back on you and yanks the covers over his head, “Well, goodnight then.”

“What...What the fuck, Leona?” you sputter, and he starts laughing harder than he’s ever laughed before.

Jamil wasn’t expecting to receive anything today. You can tell he wasn’t, because the second you walk into Scarabia his eyes go wide when he sees the chocolates and note. You don’t hand it to him though, and that makes him pause.

“Did something happen?” he asks softly, searching your face for an answer as you stare him down.

“I like you.” you blurt, and Jamil’s ears start to ring.

I like you...?

“What?” he clears his throat, shifting on his feet, “Sorry, did I hear you right?”

“Yeah. Yeah you did.” you reply immediately, as if there’s no room for doubt whatsoever.

“Oh.” he says, thinking a million thoughts at once and simultaneously nothing at all.

“Well? How do you feel about me?” you ask, and your voice shakes like you’re scared.

Jamil doesn’t know why you believe there’s room for doubt.

“I feel the same.”

And he smiles.

It's obvious that his words are awkward and reserved, but you know he doesn’t mean it in a bad way.

Vil’s pretty brow furrows in concern when he sees how upset you look, your whole body wound tight like you’ve never been so tormented in your life. You poor thing...you look so stressed out. He whisks you into his arms and into his room, where he sits you in front of his vanity and insists you tell him what’s wrong.

“These were on my desk.” you tell him, handing him the gift, “I can’t stand the thought of someone else confessing to you first. I wanted to tell you before it was too late.”

Vil reads the note in silence. He admits it's sweet, but it reads more like fanmail than an actual confession. He places it on the vanity and looks back at you, a tender look in his eyes.

“My dove...I love how bold you are.” he takes your hands in his, and goosebumps shoot up your arms at his gentle, perfect touch, “But you had nothing to worry about. I am yours.”

“I’m sorry, what!? Some extroverted rando wanted to confess their feelings to me!?” Idia shrieks, face twisting into a confused scowl, “Is that some kind of joke?”

You furrow your brow, a scowl of your own on your face as he jumps to the conclusion that it’s a joke.

“You’re really attractive Idia, you know that right? You’re handsome and smart and kind too!” you snap, feeling personally insulted by his assumption, “Don’t assume it’s a joke! I’m taking this very seriously!”

You toss the chocolates on his bed and hand him the note, crossing your arms over your chest. Idia reads through it but he doesn’t seem happy, his scowl planted firmly on his face.

“I don’t believe it.” he huffs, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, the note crushed in his fist, “Someone’s planning a prank on me.”

“Idia Shroud!” you kneel in front of him, placing your hands on his.

You don’t miss the way his hair flares pink.

“I’ll let you know that I like you very much! And I’m not joking with you one bit! I have never been more serious in my life!” you huff, squeezing his hands as you stare straight into his eyes, “So stop acting like anyone who loves you is foolish!”

Idia opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water, the pink flames creeping up into the roots of his hair.

That’s enough of an answer for today.

“Child of Man...you mean another confessed their affections for me?” Malleus grumbles.

He’d looked so excited when you walked in with a gift in your arms, but the second he learned it wasn’t from you his eyes narrowed and his lips pulled into a pout. Was it raining outside now...?

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I mean. But...if I’m being honest, I don’t like it.” you huff, placing the gift on his desk, “I want you to be mine, and I want to be yours in return. Someone else having you doesn’t sit right with me.”

Oh, suddenly it’s sunny out. Huh. Wonder why that happened.

You slowly turn to look at Malleus.

 Sure enough, his lips are pulled into a bright smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he reaches for you.

“I’d be your everything if you’d let me” he croons, tucking you into his chest.

TAGLISTS -> leona's napping buddies . . . @loser-jpg @vivigoesinsane @dove-da-birb

-> jamil's jewels . . . @vivigoesinsane @identity-theft-101 @dove-da-birb

-> vil's spudlings . . . @cookiesandbiscuits @vivigoesinsane @dove-da-birb

-> idia's player twos . . . @vivigoesinsane @identity-theft-101 @dove-da-birb

-> malleus's most trusted . . . @vivigoesinsane @identity-theft-101 @rosalianel @dove-da-birb

[chastiefoul]

valentines gone wrong ft. childe, scara, and neuvilette

a/n: yes. you read that right valentines work on september!! this is just something random i wanna write one day when i'm lying down and ofc i can't wait until february next year (also how is it alr almost 2 months since i posted something???) tags: just fluff, light-read, and everything in-between, modern au (?) just don't think too much abt it hehe - summary: it's valentines and of course you have plans to give sweets to your lover. however because one thing and another, you had to entrust it to someone else in hope it will be handed safely to them. what happened when it didn't?

childe

you went home excited, anticipating his reaction to your handmade sweets, however what greets you at the door was a sulky childe, who avoided eye contact as if his life depended on it as he limits himself to a a sentence everytime you ask him something.

“something happened today, babe?” you asked him worriedly, the chocolate was the back of your mind seeing the state of your boyfriend in. “oh something definitely should have happened,” he quipped, his lower mouth sticking out slightly. “that sounds like a dig at me, did i forgot something?” you asked as you follow his gaze to what he thought must be the most interesting flower vase ever. he shrugged, refusing to give you more.

frustrated by his rejection to tell you what’s wrong, you held his face with both of your palm, turning his face to yours. although the move met no resistance, childe still refused to look at you in the eyes and only now his childish grumbles turned into such a sad expression.

“baby? please tell me what i did,” you were gentle with it, rubbing your thumb below his eyes. “...late.”

“what?”

“chocolate. where’s mine? i saw you gave your friends one so i don’t think im crazy to expect one too, especially as your boyfriend.” he pouted and you swore it looked so adorable and so out-of-character of him that you wanted to kiss him—wait.

“huh? but i did give you one!” you claimed, confusion rose inside you. “huh? but i didn’t get it...” childe’s face matched your expression. “well technically i gave it to scara to give it to you.. did he not... give it to you?”

“i wouldn’t be this insufferable if i got one, you know that, but no he didn’t say anything—and also really babe? scara? the guy who hates and made fun of me every chance he got?” he crossed his arm, raising an eyebrow, as he questioned your questionable decision-making. “hey give me a break, i was in a rush there thinking i couldn’t give you the chocolate in time. and he made me say please three times before he said he would consider doing it-oh i see how i was wrong there.” your line of ramble humbled you, the silence was loud.

“maybe he just put it in your bag or something?” you offered. “you really think he’s someone who’d do that?” he asked. “in desperate times i’d give even scara the benefit of the doubt,” you stated, opening childe’s bag. and there it was, put nicely at the very top, your chocolate for your lover.

you smiled, for all the shit-talk scara gave everyone on a daily basis you knew you could count on him. “see? i knew he’s actually a big softie for stuff like this.”

childe practically runs to your side. “my chocolate? aw babe so you really didn’t forget me!” he peppered kisses all over your face, then clasping the sweet to his chest like it’s a new-born baby. “of course i’d never. but maybe next year i’ll just give it directly to you.”

“yeah? please do, today’s event just wasn’t great for my heart.”

neuvilette

“welcome home, dear.” you greeted him cheerily as he just arrived home. it was quite late, and you had entrust the chocolate you were supposed to give to him at a reasonable hour so he could enjoy it instead of giving it to him at home.

he kissed your temple in return, a smile you’re still head over heels for on his lips. but it doesnt quite reach his eyes. 

“what’s wrong?” you asked carefully. “nothing is wrong,” he replied, somehow looking nervous. “yet it’s strange for you to be looking so fidgety. tell me?”

“well,” he paused a little, stroking your hair as he pondered the best way to approach the sentence he’s about to say. “i saw you today giving chocolates to navia and wriothesley.. i couldn’t talk to you because i was in a rush to deal with an urgent case,” he said, not looking at you on the eyes. “oh, did that bother you? it’s just they’re such good friends of mine and it’s only friendship cookies-“

“no, dear of course not. i know you’re a loving person who always appreciate those around you, it’s just..”

“just?”

neuvilette looked like he didn’t hear the rest of the words after that you did make some for the white-haired male. a smile bloomed on his face as he shook his head. “no problem i will ask them about it tomorrow. i’m just delighted you kept me in your thoughts.” a gentle expression was loyal on his features. “well of course neuvillete, you hardly ever leave my thoughts, don’t you know?” he chuckled. “i’m familiar with that you see, considering you never leave mine as well.”

the next sentence was almost audible as he spoke. “do i not get one..?” he asked ever so softly sounding a little sad, his calloused hand ran across your arm, tracing along your vein as it touched your fingers and you're sure there's something wrong in your head because all you could think about that second was how adorable the usual charismatic man was being. yet you held your smile.

“of course you do! did it not reach you? i asked the guard in front of your door because i afraid i’d bother you at work hours. sorry neuvilette, i promised i made some for you, and i was so proud of it too...”

scara

“no i’m not.” he said, with the worst frown you’ve seen on him for a while and that’s saying a lot.

“you’re definitely sulking,” you said. “shut up,” he grumbled. “hey i was supposed to be one who’s doing the sulking. we’re nearing the end of the day and you haven’t even mentioned about the chocolate i gave you today!” you retorted out of frustration but most of all confusion because you had no idea what made your lover fall into such a bad mood.

“what.”

“what?”

“say that again,” scara said, “that i gave you chocolate?” you asked. “no you didn’t, you liar!” he complained, his frown deepened if that’s even possible. “wait what? i swear i asked childe to give it to you earlier today! i was ambushed by customers today at the shop so i was scared i couldn’t give it to you on time so i asked him. did it not get to you?” you explained.

“i came home empty-handed didn’t i? also really, that dense fool?” his displeasure was obvious upon the new information you couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “don’t look so disgusted, he’s not that bad.”

“sure, although you know what’s bad? that i don’t have my chocolates right now.” he crossed his arm, fuming almost looking like a child who got their toys taken. “alright enough of your pouting. we’ll interogate him later. for now, i seem to have leftover ingredients, i’ll make you a new one.” you approached him, combing through the back of his hair as you planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. he replied by pulling you closer as he nuzzled into your neck. “it better be good,” he mumbled.

at the end you didn’t even make it to 5 minutes before scara followed you to the kitchen, insisting that he made it together too because he was ‘watching over you so you don’t mess up’ but personally i think he just felt bad because you need to make a new one and wanted to help you any way he can. that’s something he’d never admit even if there’s a gun pointing at his head, though.

[mncxbe]

𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: bsd, csm, headcanons fluff n smut♡

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: since Vday will be here soon I wanted to do a little something♡ hope you like it babes

ღೀ๋࣭ ⭑ ღೀ๋࣭ ⭑ ღೀ๋࣭ ⭑

𝐃𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐢

sneaky bastard. he pretends to forget about Valentine's day just to see your cute pout– "aww bella didn't know you cared so much about this silly little day. fine, fine, you got me. I did get you a gift"

totally gets you a very thoughtful gift and writes you a letter. he's really not good at expressing his feelings through words, so letters have to do

he wakes up early so he can pick fresh flowers for you from the park. I really think Dazai isn't the type to buy you tacky bouquets. and of course he makes you breakfast in bed– "rise and shine, beautiful. I made you your favourite." he'd purr, placing a plate of hot blueberry pancakes in front of you "dig in, we have plans today"

definitely skips work so he can spend time with you, but he eventually has to go to the Ada office after Kunikida threatens to fire him. don't worry tho, he'll make up for the lost time when he comes back home in the evening

that night he's more gentle than usual, making sure that you enjoy yourself. after all the day is all about you and he's going to do his best to please you– "Ah fuck 'donna you're doing so well. you like it? s-sure hope you do angel 'm gonna make you cum f'me alright? atta girl..."

𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐮𝐲𝐚

he's such a gentleman omg

because of his job, he can't be there with you when you wake up, but you can be sure he's going to leave you a romantic note on the nightstand

he sends you flowers and expensive praline boxes at work just to make sure that your female colleagues envy you–"everyone needs to know how well i treat my pretty girl, right baby?"

in the evening he finally gets the chance to give you the rest of his gifts: lingerie, expensive perfumes and of course, his affections and undivided attention♡

a candle lit, bubble bath with a glass of wine is mandatory. you lay in his arms, your back flush against his chest while he plays with your hair, whispering the sweetest things in your ear "i love you, pretty girl. i'm glad that you're mine never forget that"

𝐀𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐚

sweet boy, he's so confused and overwhelmed

he doesn't really understand the whole point of Valentine's day but he wantes to make the day special for you

he plans it weeks ahead, asking Chuuya for advice. i see him talking to Gin about what gifts he could give you; she's his sister after all, she must know what a girl wants

Akutagawa buys you books for Valentine's day. a book-bouquet to be more specific and makes you dinner at home

please show him that you care and appreciate his efforts. he's super anxious about it– "You mean it was nice? you enjoyed yourself with me, right? oh thank god"

after dinner, he wouldn't mind getting down to some more intimate activities♡ if you want that ofc. once he's back in your arms with his face buried in the crook of your neck as he fucks you slowly, he finally manages to relax, all worries seeping out of him "My angel... I-I love you so much ah fuck- please never leave me" yea, he gets very emotional

𝐅𝐮𝐤𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢

he straight up forgets about Valentine's day, it's just not a priority for him and no matter how many times you try to hint at it he doesn't get it

he's confused when he sees you pouting and doesn't really understand what's wrong? but once he gets to work Teruko tells him that it's Valentine's day he's so mad at himself.

ofc he tries to make up for it in the evening when he gets home from work

he brings you a bouquet of roses (one of the pre-made ones y'all know what i'm talking about💀) but it's the thought that counts and apologises for forgetting– "i'm sorry sweetheart, didn't mean to upset you, ya know? i had a lot on my plate lately and it just slipped my mind. c'mon baby don't be mad"

he doesn't drop it until you accept his apology. if you're up for it he takes you out to dinner at the most expensive place in town♡

𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐞

man... where do i even start

he doesn't get the point of it either, just sees the day as an opportunity to spend time with his beloved♡

despite his cold demeanour, Kishibe's a real thoughtful person. he doesn't buy you any overly expensive gifts but he picks flowers for you probably sneaks some from the cemetery too

if you wanna do something special he's totally down for it– "Hm? You wanna go have dinner at that new place in town? Sure, dear, I'll book us a table don't worry about it."

he's not very affectionate either but once you two are back home, in the comfort of your apartment, his tongue loosens a bit–"Ya know, princess, you're one of the best things that happened to me. thank you, really. why're you laughing, i'm serious. you know i don't joke about matters of the heart"

𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥

you probably have to explain the concept of Valentine's day to him

Angel's too lazy to plan anything for the two of you so you have to settle for ordering takeout and watching a movie

lets you cuddle him if you insist enough and make sure that every inch of your skin is covered so he doesn't accidentally drain your lifespan

hear me out now. stargazing with him >>

he's the happiest man on earth if you gift him a pack of ice cream cones or some flowers. he's definitely the type to press them just because they're a gift from you and he treasures every little thing you do for him, even if he doesn't always show it

[dzvelinaskebiyars]

Tokyo Revengers Headcanons

・❥・Mistuya Takashi・❥・

✶ He is literal dream boyfriend for sure. He's handsome, cute, kind, stylish and whatnot. Who wouldn't want him? I mean, there already are many girls in his school simping for him.

✶ Of course, despite that, he only has his eyes for you.

✶ He proves that he loves you through actions and words. He's always sincere when telling you how much you mean to him.

✶ His sisters love you so much! They always ask him to take them at your place, or if he bring you with him.

✶ He loves kissing your forehead.

✶ He's not bold enough to flirt with you in public or anything. He just holds your hand, talking or listening to you.

✶ He loves riding his bike with you! Tho he can't often ride with you when it's late, considering the fact that he has sisters to take care of.

✶ He makes sure everyone in his school, especially in his fashion club, knows that you two are dating.

✶ He takes you to home, to school and to literally anywhere you want.

✶ He loves choosing outfits for you and you also ask him for help when you don't know what to wear and my god, he never disappoints.

✶ He takes you on dates literally every time he can.

✶ He never involves you in Toman business and rarely takes you with him when there's a meeting. He HATES involving you in type of gang stuff. That's because he doesn't want you to get hurt.

✶ Of course he introduces you to his friends. Mikey, Draken, Baji, Hakkai, Yuzuha, Takemichi, Nahoya and Souya, Pah and Peh..You're especially close to Yuzuha and Hakkai tho.

✶ He loves going on shoppings with you.

✶ He's the most supportive boyfriend someone could have.

・❥・Chifuyu Matsuno・❥・

✶ Let's get the priorities straight, you love Peke-J and Peke-J loves you so much.

✶He often sends you cats memes/videos. Like he's such a cat lover.

✶We all know that he's not very good at date ideas. He always surprises you with his silly things he thought about but it's actually so cute to see him so determined to surprise you and make sure you enjoy the date.

✶He's so interested in fighting and all, so he often talks about it and Toman. Ofc his entire personality isn't based on that tho.

✶When I say that he has most silly yet best ways to cheer you up, I mean it. This guy will immediately make you smile, no matter how bad your day will be.

✶He loves seeing you in his clothes. Like he LOVES it when you wear his jacket or hoodie.

✶Since Takemichi has a girlfriend, Chifuyu sometimes finds himself asking him for advice. Other times, he's taking ideas from mangas.

✶Oh and you two literally just cuddle, blanket over you two, popcorn in hand and watching animes with so much interest.

✶He's not really jealous type but I can see him getting jealous sometimes. He'd be all pouty at that time, trying to brush his jealousy off.

✶He was shy at first but he became bolder as time passed by.

✶He confessed first. (Dare I say that he had to practice for 36354th times with Baji, Takemichi and probably even asked Draken/Kawata Twins for help.)

✶He loves when you fall asleep on him.

✶When you two finally gathered courage to kiss each other, that's exactly when Peke-J crawled on both of you.

✶He NEVER forgets important days such as your birthday, white day, valentine and etc. And he has very...Interesting ideas for gifts<3

[goosewriting]

Hellooo goose! it’s my first time interacting here and i just wanted to say how muuuuch i love your writing 🤍 its sooo… GOOOOOD you have no idea, i literally DEVOUR every single rottmnt masterpiece of yours 🫶🏼

with that in mind, i have a request (only take it if you feel like it ofc <3) and i can’t get this out of my head omfg and because its about to be valentine’sss…

The prompt is; you and leo being veeery close friends for a long time.

A friends to lovers situation. his brothers notice and leo asks them (one by one separately because of the teasing even tho they already know lol) to help him out for valentine’s and mikey decides to help with some red velvet choc brownies and (insert fav food), donnie and raph help keeping it a surprise and setting everything up…. (IM SOBBING THIS IS SO CUTE STWAP)

it ends up leo and reader kissing tenderly, very cute, it rises up a bit. they’re so in love. stOP.

pretty please 🫶🏼

i love your writing

-🐨

Be my Valentine 💝

summary: the turtles set a plan in motion so Leo can ask out reader on valentine’s day.

relationship: Rise!Leo x gn!reader

warnings: none! fluff, smooches, second hand embarrassment maybe lol 

word count: 3.1k

A/N: welcome koala anon! tysm for your kind words and the super cute request, this thing practically wrote itself lol i missed writing for Leo 😭💙 as it wasn't specified, i set this some time after the movie. hope that works!

(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)

— — —

The turtle brothers and you have been friends for quite some time now, around two years in fact. And you love them all dearly and equally, except for one maybe… 

Leo has always been the touchy type and isn’t shy when it comes to physical contact. You don’t mind; he’s like that with everyone, after all. Just another layer of his complex personality. 

However, lately you can’t help but feel that something has changed. The passing glances, the casual touches… they feel different. You catch yourself feeling self-conscious when he’s around. And the other turtles are no help either; it’s like when Leo comes into the room, the whole atmosphere changes. Like there’s a sudden tension in the air. You’ll be hanging out with the turtles like normal, but when Leo joins you, his brothers suddenly make excuses to leave the room. 

Deep inside, you suspect what they’re trying to do. You think they’ve noticed your own shift towards the blue-clad turtle, and now they probably think you have a crush on him (which in all fairness, you do), so they’re trying to get you alone with him to confess or something. While you appreciate their attempt to help or support you, it really isn’t comfortable for you, being left like that. It has already led to the occasional awkward moment between you two. You just wish it would go back to how it was; your crush is for you alone and not to be shared, as you cherish the friendship with the turtles too much to risk it over asking out Leo. 

What you don’t know, however, is that Leo is inwardly freaking out every time he steps anywhere near you. For you see, he is down bad just as you are. He’s just better at putting on a façade to hide underneath.

He didn’t fall for you first, though. Your crush developed somewhat gradually over the last months; for him it was a realisation hitting him in the face all at once, like a wall of bricks. And not even that long ago. But that doesn’t make it any less brain wracking for him. 

Unsure of what to do, he went to his brothers to ask for advice. No matter how much he plays the face man of the group, thinking he’s suave and all, he actually has no real experience in this. (In truth neither do his brothers, but who else is he supposed to ask, Splinter? Right.) Besides, you’re not just a passing crush or a random interesting person. No, you mean a lot to him. And he doesn’t want to ruin what you have. 

At first, Leo intended to not say anything and just cherish your friendship, but no matter how much he tries convincing himself that you just see him as a friend and that you’re out of his league anyway, he still has a tiny spark of hope in him that maybe, just maybe, you feel the same.

So of course the first person he asks is Doctor Delicate Touch himself. 

Mikey is delighted that his brother finally admitted to himself how he’s feeling. Truth is, the brothers noticed a looong time ago that Leo and you are into each other, but you’re both too dense for your own good. They have been itching to help out and already started scheming. Hence why they tried to give you some alone time every now and then.

But now that Leo approaches him first, Mikey essentially calls an emergency family meeting. He pulls out a full flowchart showing plans A through G to ask you out, Donnie starts his fully animated PowerPoint  presentation to go with it, and Raph rolls in a whiteboard to brainstorm ideas. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it would be the perfect occasion for Leo to confess.

After sitting down a whole evening and planning everything out with his brothers, they come up with the following plan: Mikey will help Leo bake some delicious velvet chocolate brownies (because you deserve not only good, but the best!), Donnie says he will scope out some empty buildings that could be quickly remodelled into an undisturbed, cosy movie night corner, and Raph will be in charge of getting it all set up. For being the biggest and spikiest, he actually has a great eye when it comes to interior decorating.

It’s also good that the few days before Valentine’s you have several exams for your classes and some other errands to run. So you already excused yourself from not being able to see the guys as often as you’d like in that period of time, and they plan to use the time to get all preparations going.

To make sure that you won’t plan anything else that day, Mikey messages the group chat, casually asking if you’re “free next Wednesday” to watch a movie, which is something you do rather often with the guys.

Since your last test is on Tuesday, you say yes, eager to have a welcome reward for yourself for doing all your classwork. Mikey suggests a movie night, and one after the other, the different turtles’ responses pop up in the chat, all of them saying they’re free and that movie night sounds good.

It’s a date then 😉 — you reply jokingly, without thinking much of it. Unbeknownst to you, Leo almost faints when he sees your reply. Raph’s laugh at his brother’s face reverberated pretty far through the sewers, too. 

— — —

After several last minute study sessions, wishing for information to travel into your brain by osmosis while smushing your face against a book, and a lot of caffeine, all your exams are done, and you’re officially on break.

That night you sleep well and long, sneaking in an extra pampering self-care bath before meeting the boys. Earlier that week you went to get some snacks, and as you look at the bag on your kitchen counter after you’re done changing, heat prickles at your cheeks.

On the sweets aisle you kept mainly gravitating towards Leo’s favourites, and only after you were done paying did you realise not only how many snacks and sweets you bought, but also that, on purpose or not, you picked most just because they were blue or had blue packaging, which reminded you of him. 

With a sigh you take one last look in the mirror at yourself; the bath got you in a really good mood, and you’re honestly rocking your outfit. If the confidence continues throughout the night, maybe you’d even find it in you to tell Leo how you feel… Is Valentine’s Day too cheesy for that? And on movie night with his brothers, no less? Maybe you should have invited him somewhere else, or maybe it’s just not meant to be…

With a slight seed of doubt in your heart, you grab your things and make your way out the door, about to start the familiar trek to the turtle lair. Except that you get a message, and the sound alone makes your heart skip a bit; it’s from Leo. You know it’s him because you’ve set a special ringtone for him, a sound effect from his favourite Jupiter Jim movie. But you’d rather fall into a ditch than have him know that. He would never let you live it down. Especially if he saw how quickly you scramble to get your phone out of your pocket at the sound.

Turns out, movie night isn’t in the lair at all, it’s in a place you’ve never been, not alone nor with them. It strikes you as a little odd, but you know the area isn’t dangerous or anything, plus you’ll be accompanied by literal ninja mutants, so, if anything, your curiosity is peaked. You did notice that the last few days, there was a strange silence from the turtles. You assumed it was because they didn’t want to disturb your studies, but something was… off. There was more secrecy than usual. And now they’re meeting somewhere new? It takes every ounce of self-control not to immediately message Mikey and ask what’s up. You’d find out yourself soon enough anyway. 

After taking a bus and a short walk, you arrive at the meeting point. Your eyes travel from the pin on your maps app on your phone to the run-down building in front of you several times, making sure you’re at the right location. And you are. Except that there’s nothing here. You try looking in through the windows, but they’re blocked with old wooden boards from the inside. 

Just as you’re about to walk around the building to find an entrance, a door partially hidden by a pile of rubbish and debris opens with a creak, and Mikey’s head pops out.

“There you are!” he greets you with a chipper tone.

”What in the world is this place,” you rhetorically ask with a chuckle. “I thought we were watching a movie?”

“We are, we are. Don’t let looks deceive you. Come in~”

You step in, and Mikey closes the door behind you. You follow him up some dusty stairs, using your phones’ flashlights to navigate through the darkness, as whatever little daylight remains outside can’t come in through the barricaded windows, and there seems to be no electricity. The air is stale and you can see dust particles floating in the beam of your light.

“Is this safe?” You sound less amused now, starting to get actually concerned. 

“Totally,” Mikey answers, completely calm.

”This was Donnie’s doing, I suppose?”

”Yup.”

”Just what are you guys up to,” you ask under your breath with a playful smile, more towards yourself than at him.

Once on the upper floor, you see light coming from under a door. Mikey opens it, letting you step in first. You enter the room, and as the turtle brothers say “Surprise!” in unison, you can’t help the gasp that escapes you. Never would you have guessed this was inside, given the state of the building from the outside. 

Several low hanging lights emit a warm inviting glow, complemented by some fairy lights. The space has been cleaned thoroughly, and you spot a pile of blankets, pillows and bean bags on the floor by the projector, which is already turned on and the movie on the wall is paused at the studio intro. A little makeshift table, consisting of a plank of wood held up by some bricks, holds a variety of delicious treats, going from pizza to finger food to desserts, as well as beverages.

You let your gaze slowly pan over the place to take it all in, nodding to yourself with a low whistle.

“Not bad,” you say. “Not bad indeed.” 

“Are you surprised?”, Donnie asks with a smug grin. 

“I most definitely am,” you respond. “I love what you’ve done with the place. Not that I know what the place even is.” 

“It’s an old office space, set to be renovated by the end of the year. I just pulled some strings to use it for tonight,” Donnie explains with a swiping motion of his hand, as if saying no big deal. “Raph here is the one who brought out the real shine. Quite literally, too, he waxed the floor.”

You look down and sure enough, the wooden boards are shiny, slightly squeaky against your shoes even. 

“You really went all out, huh,” you say, and Raph sheepishly chuckles.

Smiling, your eyes jump from one turtle to the next until they finally land on Leo, and you slightly clench your jaw at the heat you know is spreading on your face, unable to stop it.

“Well, you deserve it,” Leo says with a grin. 

“Especially after being done with classes,” Mikey adds.

”True, but you guys deserve this too! You’re literally helping people and protecting the city all the time.”

They look at each other and nod in agreement. 

For a second, you think Leo is going to say something, as he gives you what must be the third once-over since you’ve arrived. But he remains silent. You hope your outfit choice isn’t weird…

“Alright,” you exclaim, both to distract from your current thoughts and to fill the silence. “Now that we know how proud we are of each other, how about we start? I’m actually starving.”

— — —

You take the last bite from your brownie just as the credits start rolling.

”Ah, what a classic,” Donnie says with a content sigh, and he and Raph get into an argument about what fight scene from the movie was the best.

You sigh at the delicious treat melting on your tongue, savouring it.

”You like them?” Leo asks from his spot next to you with an amused smile.

”I love them! They’re so good,” you reply, turning to look at Mikey. “Compliments to the chef.”

Since Mikey is the one to usually cook and bake out of the group, you assumed it was him who made the brownies. 

“Actually,” he says as he stands up to stretch, “The chef is right there.”

You look to where he’s pointing: next to you, to Leo. 

“You made them?” you ask genuinely. 

“I mean, Mikey helped,” Leo says with a slight shrug.” But, yeah.”

”He made them for you,” you hear Mikey say, and your head whips around back to Mikey.

”What?” you ask. 

You look back to Leo, who’s giving his youngest brother a panicked glare, while Mikey sticks his tongue out at him. 

Suddenly, the room is silent. Raph and Donnie stopped their discussion and once again, the atmosphere has abruptly shifted. You open your mouth to say something, but nothing comes out, as your brain is reeling. Did Mikey just mean what you think he meant? What you… hope he meant? And what was with Leo’s reaction and lack of sassy comeback?

You turn back to the turtle in question and meet his eyes, the slightest rise of your eyebrows indicating you’re expectant of an explanation. All five stages of grief seem to pass over Leo’s face in the matter of a split second, and he looks at such a loss for words that you almost burst out laughing. The fact that he isn't teasing you or dropping some corny one-liner at his brother’s comment to play along, is proof that there’s something else there. Your confidence from earlier that day resurfaces, and as you decide to tease him a little (because those chances are rare), you lean back slightly onto your hands. One quick glance to the side and you realise the other turtles are long gone.

”For me, huh?” you say in a teasing tone. “You wanted to impress me that much?” 

He wants to play along so badly, tease you back. If only he knew that just with a grin and a touch he would disarm you entirely. Instead, he goes the rare honest route, and gives you a short nod.

”I did, actually.”

That’s not the response you were expecting. You slightly lean forward to sit upright again, taking a second or two to word your response properly, unable to tear away your eyes from his.

”Well, you did. But you do know that you don’t need some grand gesture to impress me or make me like you, right?”

He chuckles, visibly relaxing his shoulders, leaning in ever so slightly. 

“I’m just that extra and you know it.”

You hum, bringing your hands into your lap, and you look down at them. You really hope he can’t hear your heart pounding against your ribs.

“And is there a reason in particular you wanted to impress me?” you ask him, voice significantly smaller. 

“As a matter of fact, there is,” he replies just as gently.

Leo’s hand inches closer to yours until his fingertips brush over your knuckles, and it sends a tingly shiver up your arm and down your spine. You involuntarily take in a sharp breath through your teeth and look up at him. You were not ready to be met with the sweetest, most vulnerable expression on his face. All words leave your brain. 

“And?” is all you manage after a moment.

Equally unable to put his feelings into words, Leo chooses the next best thing. By now, you’re both so close to each other that you can feel his breath fanning over your cheek. He quickly closes the gap, and his lips meet yours. The kiss is soft and warm and sweet and for the amount of pining you’ve both endured, it’s not enough.

Your hands travel up to cup Leo’s face, but he suddenly goes “hm!” like he just remembered something and pulls back, holding you by your shoulders. You give him a confused pout; it was just about to get good.

”I forgot to ask: will you be my Valentine?”

That is so massively out of the blue (pun unintended), that you can’t help the hearty laugh coming out of you. 

“A little late to ask that now, isn’t it?” you ask with a chuckle, running your fingers over his jawline.

”You know what they say, better late than never,” he replies with a shrug, leaning into your touch.

You lift your chin ever so slightly to look at him through half-lidded eyes.

”I bet that whoever said that wasn’t in this particular predicament.”

With that, you pull him back to you, kissing him more intensely this time, and he understands. Your tongue meets his, and his kisses taste like chocolate. You only pull back ever so slightly for a moment to take a breather, both of you panting. 

“And for the record,” you say between breaths, essentially whispering the words into his skin. “The answer is yes. I will be your Valentine, if you’ll be mine.”

Finally, he sports his signature smirk. 

“As if you even need to ask,” is all he remarks before capturing your lips again.

One of his hands snakes around your back, pressing you to him, while he balances the weight on the other, leaning you back onto the pillows so he can climb on top of you. 

However long you have the room for, wherever his brothers are… Leo is set on using this chance with you to the fullest while uninterrupted.

— — —

Bonus:

The other turtle brothers have been spying through the crack of the door until you started making out. After carefully closing it, they move a little further down the empty hallway. 

Raph pumps his fist in the air as a sign of victory, Mikey holds Donnie by the shoulders, shaking him back and forth with a silent squeal. But now that the plan worked, and you and Leo are busy… what are they supposed to do?

The three silently look at each other in the dark hallway for a moment, until Mikey looks at Donnie.

”So… you got games on your phone?”

~~~~~

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[stellar-solar-flare]

A Fairytale Of A Disaster | S.R.

Chapter 1: So Much For Prince Charming?

Explicit - 18+ only - Steve Rogers/Doctor!Reader

Your friend set you up with a perfect guy. Unfortunately, when it's time for you to meet 'Grant' for the first time, he has stood you up. On Valentine's Day of all days.

Was it too good to be true? Or does he instead have a very, very good reason why he's late, and a desire to make it all up to you?

FIC MASTERLIST | AUTHOR MASTERLIST | AO3

Fluff, hurt/comfort, meet-cute, misunderstandings, eventual smut, healthy communication. | Background Sam Wilson/OFC.

Chapter Word Count: 3364 words.

Reader Specifics: She/her, late twenties (a few years younger than Steve in this fic). Training to be a trauma surgeon (has completed med school, in residency stage). Likes books and houseplants. No description of appearance (other than clothes and such), no use of Y/N.

A/N: I wanted to write a Valentine's Day oneshot, and then it turned out it has parts. Oh no. Well, here we are. I hope you enjoy this fluffy little trope collection! As always, thank you for reading, and hearing what you think means a lot to me.

Alternate Universe: The Avengers Initiative continued SHIELD's work after its collapse to corruption. The Avengers are living together in the Compound - Bucky has healed, and Civil War never happened because Tony and Steve worked through their differences like adults.

I do not own anything Marvel related. This is an unofficial fan work. No copyright infringement intended. This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.

Chapter 1: So Much For Prince Charming?

Of course Grant — if that was his name — had been too good to be true. Of course he had.

You were never agreeing to a blind date again, no matter the persistence of the person suggesting it. True, Nurse Brooke was a force of nature when she had her mind set on something, but you still weren’t sure what had gotten into you. She’d struck at just the right moment, as you’d been sitting in the dressing room exhausted and elated after long hours in the OR, operating on a patient under the watchful eye of your attending surgeon. You’d been feeling great about your success, feeling like you’d actually be a real doctor one of these days, and that was when Brooke had begun to talk about the friend of the guy she was seeing.

True, it had been the beginning of February, with everyone talking about their Valentine’s Day plans; perhaps all that gooey pink syrup in the air had somehow made its way through your ear drums and into your brain. Even as you very well knew it didn’t work that way, the idea seemed comforting. At least more comforting than the reality that due to your own actions, you were now sitting here, in a fancy restaurant, in a pretty red dress, alone. Subject to looks that had been turning more and more sickeningly sympathetic as ten minutes had turned into twenty, then half an hour, and then finally an hour.

You weren’t even certain why you’d waited so long. Perhaps you’d wanted to believe that somehow this would take a turn for the better. That you hadn’t really gotten stood up. On Valentine’s Day of all days.

“Miss, I am very sorry,” your waitress came up to your table. “But as it unfortunately seems that the people the reservation was made for won’t be arriving; I’m going to have to ask you to give up the table.”

You nodded. Of course; some happy couple was waiting by the hostess’ stand. As angry and humiliated as you were feeling, the last people to blame were the wait staff — gods knew they dealt with enough on a day like this, without you lashing out at them for things that were not their fault at all. Your time here had already included bearing witness to no less than three proposals, some of which had certainly involved the wait staff slipping rings into desserts or glasses of champagne.

“Of course,” you said, digging out cash to pay for the two drinks and the appetizer you’d had while waiting for ‘Grant’, and leaving a nice tip on top of that.

You eyed the bar side of the restaurant as you did. You’d gone through the trouble of getting dolled up and coming here; you’d arranged this night and tomorrow to be free of work, which wasn’t an easy feat to do in the ER. You might as well enjoy some more substantial food at the bar, and maybe a drink or two, before going home and eating a nice tub of ice cream and envisioning dying alone surrounded by houseplants.

Well. Look on the bright side. You were never dating again after this disaster — you might as well get married to your job. And once you were done with your residency and fellowship, you’d at least have a nice pile of money to leave for your plant babies. That was something.

You took a quick trip to the ladies’ room to ensure you weren’t looking as miserable as you felt, and then hoisted yourself onto a bar chair, asking for the menu from the bartender even before you finished sitting down. She slid it across the glossy wooden surface for you, and you dug in your purse for your phone for the millionth time since you’d arrived.

Not one message from Grant. Of course. Why would there have been, after all this time had already passed? Brooke hadn’t messaged either; you hadn’t really expected that she would have, but still. As much as you didn’t wish that her own plans had been wrecked, it would’ve made sense if Samuel, the guy she was seeing, had had to take Grant to the hospital, or something. You thought about texting her, but rejected the idea so as to not bother her. If it had been anyone but the always cheerful, kind Brooke, you would’ve suspected you were being played for some joke; she’d been the one to suggest it. Oh, you know, Samuel has this friend who’s a great guy, a few years older than you. I think you two would hit it off. A great guy. For sure. You needed to ask Brooke if she was sure about her life choices, if her Samuel spent a lot of time around a guy who thought that standing you up like this was all fine and dandy.

The top message chain on your phone was still you and Mr. No-Show, and to add insult to injury, the last message there was you sending a mirror selfie of your outfit for the night, so that he could recognize you at the restaurant. You’d been talking for a few days, and you’d really thought you had been hitting off just like Brooke had predicted, but you didn’t know what Grant looked like. And he hadn’t asked for a picture of you, either — any sort of picture, which at the time, you’d thought of as a relief considering some of your experiences with online dating. In hindsight, that might have been a red flag, but the pink goo that had overtaken your brain had probably made you look at it through rose-colored glasses: this is a guy who wants to get to know me, who isn’t just after looks.

But apparently you’d been wrong. Or even worse, he hadn’t been just a skirt-chaser, but the sight of you in a red swing dress, with your makeup and hair done, had somehow turned him off from meeting you. That he’d changed his mind, even after the texts had been constantly flying back and forth between you, as you’d found every moment in your hectic schedule to reply to him. He’d asked you about your favorite books and you’d rattled off a long list of them; you’d asked him about his hobbies — art, reading, and exercising; he’d told you that he liked dogs and would like to have one one day when he had the time, and you’d responded with pictures of your plants. He hadn’t minded that residency was a wild, sometimes exhausting ride that took long hours of your time — in fact, he’d seemed quite interested in the fact that you’d chosen a career where you could help people, and gone after something so challenging.

He’d been straightforward but polite about the fact that he wasn’t just looking for a casual thing, that he considered himself pretty old-fashioned in that sense. He’d said he was somewhat new to dating but he didn’t want to date — he wanted to find the one for a committed relationship, to eventually get married. He’d told you about volunteering at a nursing home; he’d sent you pictures of the meals he’d cooked, placed on some pretty fancy stone countertop.

And he had actually asked you out to a real dinner once you’d been constantly talking for two days, not texted you at 2 AM asking if he could come over. After you had said that you would be delighted, he’d found the restaurant and booked a table, taking the initiative and the mental labor. He had offered to pick you up — very old-fashioned of him, indeed — and hadn’t made any sort of fuss when you’d politely declined his offer, telling him you weren’t comfortable with that before you’d met him face to face. His last message had arrived over six hours ago, five hours before the time you had been supposed to meet at the restaurant.

I'm really looking forward to meeting you tonight. What’s your favorite flower?

Roses are a classic, you’d told him. In your silliness, you had believed that he would not only show up but show up with flowers, that this guy who had talked about making some of his favorite recipes to you, who had argued with you for over twenty minutes of constant texting on the topic of the best horror movie ever made, who liked to wake up early so he could run in the sunrise and hear the birdsong, was actually real. Of course he hadn’t been, at least not to you. He’d asked all the things about you just to kill time — if he was real to begin with, someone like him was probably drowning in ladies, especially in a place like NYC. He’d just come across a better opportunity.

It stung. It really, really stung, after you’d gotten your hopes up so high. So much for Prince Charming. He’d been a frog like all the rest of them. No, there was nothing wrong with frogs; it was silly to compare a bad person to them. So much for a fairytale — instead you’d gotten a disaster.

In the dining room, another round of applause broke out — the fourth proposal of the night. You clapped along out of politeness, keeping your stinging eyes on your phone. Just because you were miserable, didn’t mean others needed to be.

Half an hour later, you had a nice plate of fish & chips and a nice glass of crisp white wine in front of you; both were doing wonders for your downtrodden spirits. Still, you didn’t dare to look at the dining room, where all the happy couples were gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes and sharing desserts. No point in twisting the knife.

You had exited the messaging app and were browsing around news sites to take your mind off everything. The stock market had gone up and down and sideways and wherever the stock market went; the Avengers Initiative had stopped a potential alien invasion in Antarctica; one of your favorite authors had announced a new book which you pre-ordered immediately; a man was convinced that the alien invasion had been foretold to him on a piece of toast he’d eaten last week; the court proceedings for a high-profile case had begun and were garnering quite the attention from the media; famous people had been doing all sorts of things that someone had deemed significant enough to be news.

Another day in the world. If you hadn’t already had those two drinks, you might have considered going back to the hospital and offering to let some poor soul out of their shift, but now you would have to find something else to do with your evening. You’d spent so much time this week telling Grant about all your favorite things and hobbies that right now, all of them seemed to leave a sour taste in your mouth when you thought about them.

You were just contemplating checking out what movies were running in the theater that was nearest to your home, when you heard a low male voice from behind you, calling your name in deep relief.

Grant. A sardonic part of you remarked that he at least existed. Even before you turned around, he continued speaking:

“Oh thank god, you’re still here, I am so sorry —“

He had arrived; not one message in almost two hours, and he had the audacity to just roll in like that. A part of you knew very well that all sorts of emergencies could happen — hell, the results of those emergencies were what you spent all day every day sorting out. Another part of you, the one that had been sitting here alone waiting, considered dumping your drink on his head and leaving without a word.

You curbed the drink-dumping instinct and spun around in your chair, speaking even before you’d completely turned around:

“You better have one hell of an explanation because you are almost two hours late without as much as a message to let —“

Then you got a look at him: a real look that killed the small voice in your head that asked if he was here now because his Plan A had not been successful. As you took him in, you realized that he might very well actually have the hell of an explanation that it would take for you to let him off the hook after this.

The tall, blond man standing in front of you was still wearing a dark blue, padded superhero suit that had all sorts of grime on it and a tear that looked an awful lot like claw marks on the left side of his chest. The shield that everyone recognized was strapped to his back.

“How’s being stuck closing a portal to another dimension so that nothing invades the planet through it?” he said, smiling just slightly, but you could see the uncertainty in his eyes.

Distantly, you realized that the sweet murmur of muted conversation had quieted down from around you, and even the sound of cutlery had ceased. It was eerily silent. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see that a guy who had been about to get on one knee had stopped half-way and was now swaying in an awkward position. The presence of any of the Avengers in the city wasn’t that unheard of, but the fact that one of them had just barged in like this, clearly coming straight from battling whatever fresh hell this day had thrown at him, was making people gawk.

At him. And by extension, at you, who had been observed enough over the time you’d been here, whispered compassionately about. That poor lady, getting stood up on Valentine’s Day. It turned out you hadn’t gotten stood up after all, and a tiny, tiny part of you was glad that the people who hadn’t been compassionate but had looked at you with that Oh thank god that’s not me, at least I’ve got someone obvious on their faces, were witnessing this now. Such vindictiveness was poison, so you let go of the idea after only a little gloating.

“Grant, huh?” you finally said, a smile tugging your mouth up.

“Among other things,” he smirked.

Grant. As in Steven Grant Rogers. As in Captain Steve Rogers, the Head Strategist of the Avengers Initiative that had kept up the good fight when SHIELD had fallen to corruption.

As in Captain America.

The way people were staring right now, you understood why he hadn’t disclosed his identity before this. Brooke had made some sly comment about how he had a public job so he was quite a private person.

“So, Nurse Brooke’s Samuel…” you said, wanting to thwap yourself on the forehead for not realizing.

“Sergeant Sam Wilson aka the Falcon,” Steve grinned, shaking his head. “Unfortunately, their plans went awry too. I would’ve messaged you but we had to leave really quickly, and I hadn’t saved your number to the cloud, only on my private phone. Which is back at the AI Campus on my kitchen countertop. So forgive me for letting you think I just blew you off.”

Strictly speaking, he probably could’ve asked Sam to text Brooke for your number, but on the other hand, with a literal alien invasion about to happen unless they stopped it, they had had other priorities. You understood. Steve had probably dropped straight out of the Quinjet onto the street to be here looking like that. You wondered what he’d told Sam and the others.

“It’s alright,” you murmured. “I know how it is sometimes.”

You didn’t, not for certain, but you had an inkling that trauma surgery was probably pretty close when it came to all kinds of things suddenly being thrown at you, pushing aside everything else and rearranging your priorities. No matter how much you had wanted to do the previous things you’d thought of.

“You would, wouldn’t you?” he said softly, looking at you. “So let me make it up to you?”

“I had to give up the table,” you said just as softly. “It's a busy night.”

His forehead creased in thought, and you could tell that he was devising a new strategy. His entrance had lacked any subtlety — here, people would just stare at the two of you like you were zoo animals, and even as you suspected that he would’ve stayed if you had asked him, you didn’t want that to be your first date.

Your first date with Captain America, a panicked voice piped up in the back of your head, and you squashed it down. He was just Steve. Steve had been the guy with whom you’d been constantly texting, not the superhero in a very, very impressive stealth mission suit in front of you. He was both, but to his date, he would want to be first and foremost Steve. Getting to know you, and letting you get to know him, before letting you in on his star-spangled secret had told you that much.

“The night is young, Steve,” you smiled at him, making a point to use his name and not the Captain that some different voice in your head wanted to softly roll off your tongue at the sight of him. “Let me just get my food packed to go and we’ll figure out what to do?”

The way the smile overtook his face at that made your heart do a flip in your chest.

“That sounds like a plan to me.”

You barely managed to muster the brain function required to turn around in your chair and ask the bar staff to get your food sorted out.

As you did, Steve stepped closer, stopping to stand next to your chair. If he hadn’t been covered in gods-knew-what, and if you hadn’t had quite an audience, he probably would’ve hugged you for a hello. Now, he instead just very, very gently brushed your bare upper arm with his thumb, sending electric shock down your arm. His hair was a mess, falling onto his forehead, but he was smiling like the sun itself.

“Thank you. For giving me another chance,” he murmured, low enough for only you to hear. “You look beautiful. I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to grab the flowers. I’ll make that up to you too.”

“All the flower shops in Antarctica were probably closed at this hour, yeah,” you smiled at him over your wine glass, and he chuckled at your joke. “I appreciate the thought. It’s alright.”

He grinned. He was standing very close, and he smelled good. There was a hint of cedar-like aftershave and something like fresh air, as if the cold climate of Antarctica had gotten stuck on him, but underneath that there was a musky smell of him, one that made heat pool on the bottom of your stomach.

“How’d you feel if I took you to the compound and cooked something nice for us?” he asked. “If you are comfortable with that, of course. I’d take you out but I don’t think we can find a table tonight and I’m not exactly in a state to utilize one of the VIP rooms we might be able to get to. I’ll drive you back home at night, of course.”

He added the final sentence a little sheepishly, clearly not wanting you to think that he was inviting you over just so you could spend the night with him. You appreciated his thoughtfulness; it might be something he himself wasn’t comfortable with. But on the other hand, if he was comfortable, and if that was where this night would eventually lead… Then you had no objections.

And you certainly, certainly had no objection to enjoying a delicious meal with him that he had cooked himself. You took a long, centering gulp of your wine before you were able to answer.

“That sounds really nice, Steve.”

He met your gaze with a gentle, happy warmth in his eyes. And maybe, just maybe, this night might yet turn into the fairytale you’d been hoping for.

“Then let me call us a car.”

Next chapter >>

[labyrinthhofmymind]

some jily 7th year stuff cause we need more of them and i’m obsessed:

the marauders officially initiate lily into their nerdy group (this involves them ominously inviting her into their dorm like they’re some sort of cult) and showing her the marauders map and the invisibility cloak (she proceeds to have a full on existential crisis because she cannot believe the four idiots in front of her have such powerful objects in their possession) they also try and give her a nickname but she refuses (they ignore her)

lily practically lives in the boys dorm room. she sleeps in james’ bed most nights, and has become so accustomed to them all walking around half naked. she always wakes up when james goes to early quidditch practice, but she’s never annoyed about it, only giving him a kiss and telling him to kick butt on the field (she obviously then goes back to sleep afterwards) during the times james is up late or up early, lily will literally just sleep in his bed alone, something the marauders also get accustomed to quite quickly (one night sirius jumped into james’ bed cause he wanted some cuddles but was horrified to find lily there instead, it only took a couple of minutes before sirius wound up sleeping beside lily, an activity they would end up doing quite often, both of them just wanting a sibling that loves them)

lily is the biggest cheerleader for james at all of his quidditch games, painting cute little gryffindor coloured flags on her face and making banners. it gets to the big quidditch game at the end of the year and james is so nervous, but lily makes it her personal mission to get him a good breakfast, an early night in bed, and as calm as possible (it works cause it’s lily evans obviously) and every single time james wins (or loses) a game he will fly over to lily and give her a kiss

for james’ 17th birthday, lily decided she wants to throw the biggest party in hogwarts history for him. using her connections from all the houses, as well as her good graces with the teachers and excellent leadership (and bribery) skills, she creates a whole committee dedicated to throwing james the best party ever. the party has everything james loves, even his parents (lily got them to appear in the fireplace via the floo network so he could talk to them on his birthday) and nearly the whole school rocks up (because everyone loves james potter) at some point during the night james takes lily and hides out in the astronomy tower so they can have a moment alone. lily’s worried that it’s because james doesn’t like his party but james assures her that that’s not it, and even starts getting emotional, saying that no one’s ever cared for him like she does, and that even after everything, he feels like he doesn’t deserve her. lily ofc also gets emotional, and they both just sit there stargazing for the rest of the night, gushing about how much they love each other (and talk about all the embarrassing moments of the night)

OK NOW FOR SOME RAPID FIRE CAUSE I’M RAMBLING TOO MUCH:

- james is determined to get into marlene and mary’s good graces, so he takes them out for a day at hogesmade (it the most chaotic and hilarious thing ever, mary and marlene tease him mercilessly and make the whole experience torturous for james)

- when lily meets effie and monty for the first time, she is terrified out of her mind that they won’t like her and therefore james won’t like her anymore (effie and monty ofc love her, and turns out lily is shell shocked about how good looking monty is, teasing james about it and saying how she might’ve picked the wrong potter)

- in the later half of 7th year when the war takes a turn, james takes it upon himself to do as much research on muggles as possible, wanting to be informed and not accidentally be prejudiced or arrogant in any way (lily has no idea he does this)

- james serenades lily on valentine’s day by singing ‘I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do’ by ABBA (sirius, remus, and peter are his backup dancers and mary and marlene are his backup singers)

- lily is the only one who knows about the marauders being animagus (she already knows about remus being a werewolf) and at first was really angry they did something so reckless but eventually came around and took it upon herself to cover their tracks as much as possible (because they’re way too obvious about their secret)

- james is lily’s date to petunia’s wedding (lily was dreading the entire night and james was determined to make it fun) and so they ended up extremely drunk, leaving early and crashing a muggle club where they danced right in the middle of together

THERE’S SO MANY MORE I COULD DO BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME GAHHHHH

[darksigns-exe]

and suddenly, i had a valentine - nicholas ruffilo x laurie (ofc)

warnings: none, pure fluff

word count: 2.2k

note: for @deathblacksmoke who wanted to our boy Nicholas Ryan to be taken out on a cute date <3

set immediately before remember where we started out

dividers: @saradika-graphics

masterlist | series masterlist | taglist sign-up

The call of his name makes Noah perk up. Laurie calls for him again, and this time his body actually kicks into action. He closes the lids of his and Laurie’s water bottles before taking hers with him. 

“Where?” He calls through the mostly silent house. 

“Bedroom.” The reply comes seconds later. 

He climbs the stairs two at a time, maybe a little too eager. 

Noah finds her in front of the mirror, bending to try and reach the zip of her dress. 

“Oh.” He can’t stop the sound from leaving his lips. 

“Like it?”

He places her bottle on the little dresser next to the door before he steps up behind her. 

It’s a tight little number, soft fabric that clings to her body perfectly. 

“You’re gorgeous. This is— I like it a lot.” He stumbles around the words, as if he hadn’t buried his face between her thighs just hours earlier. 

“I’m taking Nicky out on a little date. Thought I’d dress up a little.”

There’s a pang of disappointment in his chest. It dissipates before it gets to form fully, though. 

“Oh, he’ll love it.”

“You think? It’s not too much?”

Noah shakes his head, “I bet he’s gonna do that thing where he gets all flustered and looks like a fish out of water for a moment. You know what I mean.” 

He mimics the expression perfectly. Wide eyes and stilted breathing included. 

Noah wraps his arms around her middle, so that he can rest his chin on her shoulder. 

“He’s gonna love it. Where are you going?”

“That new place that does the Neapolitan pizza. We can all go together sometime if you want?” Laurie fixes him in the mirror. 

“I’d love that.” He presses a soft little kiss to the side of her jaw, “But tonight is not about me. So you go and treat our boy right. I think he’s starting to run tracks into the carpet. Jerry’s getting annoyed with him pacing around like that.”

“Gotta zip me up first.” She says then, “Can’t reach it.”

Noah does as she asks, one gentle hand placed on her waist while he drags the zip up the length of her side. 

“Thank you, dear.” Laurie says with the softest little smile.

He stays and watches while she puts on her perfume and what he assumes to be lipstick. It’s not as colourful as her usual one is, but it makes her look so very kissable. He’s almost tempted to steal a kiss from her before she goes down to wrap her arm around Nicks. But Noah knows that she’ll scold him for messing up the colour, and so he settles for a chaste kiss against her cheek. 

He stays up on the landing, quietly watching Laurie descend the stairs and calling for Nick. He does exactly what Noah had prophesied a few minutes earlier. Noah forces the bitter sting of jealousy back down his throat as he watches Nick gaze at her so lovingly. Nick gives him the same attention, looks at him with that same soft look on his face, but at that moment Noah wants to worm his way between them so desperately. They deserve the night out, though. Nick’s been working a lot and hasn’t had nearly as much time with her as Noah had. They deserve this. 

The two are out of the door a moment later. Nick calls a Bye Noah over his shoulder as they leave. He waves when Laurie turns back to blow a little kiss his way. 

It’s not like they never go out. 

Even when it’s already been a few years since they became a couple, Nick had always made sure that they went out regularly. Sure, Laurie had initiated date nights too. But something about her asking him out like this – flowers included – had made his heart leap with that feeling of falling in love with her again. She’d come by the shop while he’d been locking up. That itself hadn’t been unusual. Laurie would usually come around when they were both working late so that they could head home together. Especially after they’d moved out of her little apartment. 

That day she’d come with flowers and a pair of jam filled donuts somewhat reflecting one of their first dates. 

To see her now all dressed up, wrapped into a pretty satin dress, fills his head with even more fuzz. Sometimes, he can’t quite believe that he gets to call his woman his girlfriend. He does feel a little bad for Noah, although the younger has made it very clear that he’ll be fine. Nick, above all else, wants both of his loves to be happy. 

Tonight is all about them, though. 

Laurie has been surprisingly secretive about her plans for the evening. He knows that it’s usually so very hard for her to keep secrets from either of them. She’s a horrible liar, and watching her trying to dodge questions about presents is an absolute delight. 

He feels horribly underdressed next to her. Somehow this woman manages to look incredible in everything she wears, but when she gets all dressed up like this she’s entirely out of his league. 

“Take a left here.” 

She still hasn’t told him where they’re going, which is a little impractical when he’s the one driving. 

“Park where you can, we can walk the rest of the way. It’s not far.”

“You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going?”

“You’ll see when we get there. I can’t drive you there, so I’ll have to be secretive about it.” She says with a little giggle, “Won’t have to wait long.”

Laurie drops her hand to his thigh, giving it a gentle, comforting squeeze. 

She holds his hand while they walk to wherever she is taking him. Laurie was right, it’s only a short walk until the red and white striped canopy comes into view. They’d talked about this place before, made plans to go some time, but never really got around to it. 

“You got a table?” he asks, trying to hide the excited edge in his voice. 

Laurie squeezes his hand, “Of course. Thought I’d give some of what you do for me – us – back. Treat you as nice as you always treat me.” 

And she does. Nick feels flustered and on edge with nerves from the moment she holds the door open for him. He’s done it for her so very often, and to suddenly be at the centre of her attention is very new. Laurie’s always been so very sweet and caring with him, but this is new. Her hand presses against the small of his back, mirroring the way he would guide her when they enter a location. And it makes him feel so fuzzy and warm inside. 

They’re seated in a comfy little corner, shielded from most of the commotion. The waiter lights the candles set between them on the table, casting Laurie in gorgeous, warm light. It reflects of her hair, the soft skin of her cheeks. 

Miles out of my league, he thinks. 

Sometimes, he can hardly believe that he gets to call Laurie his – let alone her and Noah. 

Her hand curls around his, manicured nails tracing across his skin just barely. 

“Nicky?” she asks softly, squeezing his hand just so gently.

Nick shakes himself back into focus. 

“What’s on your mind, dear? You look lost in thought.” 

He turns their joined hands over, allowing him to see the little sweetheart tattoo with his initials in the centre of it. They’d been together for a little over a year when it had come up as a joke. A week later, when Laurie had come to pick him up from the studio, he’d shown her sketches he’d made. 

“I think I could fit a second one next to it.” he says idly, not quite looking at her, “There’s space for him there.” 

What he really wants to say is that there’s space for Noah between them, that he fits between them so perfectly. 

“Would be nice. I’d have both of you with me, even when you’re off doing your thing.”

She’s smiling at him when he looks up at her, that gentle little smile that makes his heart race a little. 

Nick feels a little like he did when they had just started going out. He’d taken her out on a date to a little pizza shop. The place had been so small that they’d been seated so close that their knees kept knocking into each other. It feels nice to know that they could afford a little more than that now. That place hadn’t been bad – they still stop by sometimes – but he likes knowing that all of their hard work has paid off. And it’s not as if they’re swimming in it now, but things are going well and this is a well deserved treat. 

Laurie had been adamant that he should let her pay tonight. They’re not very strict about this normally, but he can’t argue with her when she looks at him with that little stern edge. Laurie always says that he takes care of them, but deep down they all know that she is the one who keeps them in order. Laurie’s the one who reminds Nick to drink water, who tells Noah to be a little easier on himself. She’s the one who kisses him so sweetly when she tells him how proud she is of him. 

He tries to give as much of it back as he can, but somehow it always feels more profound when she says it. 

Her attention is entirely on him throughout the evening, and for a brief moment he forgets that Noah is waiting for them at home. 

“Didn’t you say that the other one looked good when we looked at the menu online?” Laurie asks when they discuss what they want to get. 

“Didn’t see how expensive it was.” Nick replies meekly. 

Just because she’s paying doesn’t mean that he wants to empty her pockets entirely. 

“Nicky.”

“This is just as fine. I’m —”

“Do you want the other one?” She reaches out for him again, places her hand atop his so carefully. 

“It does look good.”

“Get it. We got a little bump in our wages and there’s no one I’d rather spend it on.” 

Nick can’t shake this feeling. There’s no denying that Laurie is his person, but so is the boy waiting for them back home. Perhaps they were always meant to be a trio. He can’t imagine himself without either of them, and he hopes that he’ll never have to think about that. 

He stares a little love struck when the waiter wants to hand the check to him, and Laurie tells him very sternly that she asked for the check and that she intends to pay. The wink and smile she shoots his way afterwards sends a shock of warmth through Nick’s body. 

She holds his hand when they walk back to the car, and Nick still has that first date buzz in his belly, even though it’s been years already. 

“They were awfully stuck up.” Laurie comments as they walk, “It’s not that unheard of that the woman pays, right? I mean, come on. I should be able to treat my boyfriend to a good dinner without having to justify it. I don’t know if we should take Noah to that place. If they can’t take me paying for one of you, what’s that waiter going to do if I pay for both of you?”

His heart flutters a little a that. 

“I think Noah’d be fine if we go to that little place we usually go to.” he finally replies, giving a gentle squeeze to her hand that says don’t get too riled up about these idiots. 

“I know.” She says firmly, “But I want to give both of you the treatment you deserve. And I love that little pizza parlour, but I want nothing but the best for my boys.”

The house is quiet when they get home. Nick closes the door behind him as gently as he can, but even then it still gives its horrid squeak. Laurie steadies herself on his shoulder when she moves to take off her shoes. Without the heels, she reaches up to his shoulder. Laurie reaches up, placing her hand against his cheek. Nick feels himself melt into her touch. He meets her in the middle when she guides him down for a kiss. Nick feels the residue of her lipstick linger on his lips when they part. 

“Bed or –” Laurie trails off.

He’s tempted to drape himself over her on the sofa, but he can see the exhaustion on her face, even if she tries to hide it. 

“Bed sounds good?” he offers instead. 

The relief on her face is evident, “I love you, but I was hoping you’d say that.” 

When Nick cracks open the door to their bedroom, he finds Noah curled up in the middle of their bed. The sight makes him feel all soft and gooey inside. Noah has been slowly warming up to his touch, and he’s found his way between them like this more and more often. 

With the way Noah has positioned himself right in the middle of the bed, they’ll have to fit themselves around him somehow. Nick slots himself behind Noah, wraps an arm around his middle. The young moves in his sleeps, presses himself against Nick’s bare chest. Laurie joins them a moment later. She curls herself against Noah’s front and Nick knows that at some point during the night they’ll untangle their limbs from each other, but right now he feels so very comfortable and safe.

taglist: @deathblacksmoke @circle-with-me @sitkowski @ladyveronikawrites @baddestomens

@malice-ov-mercy @chels3a-smile @ferduttini @somebodyels3 @itsafullmoon

@shilohrosechicken

[callofdudes]

Could you do a female reader breaking the norms and proposing to the guys? I think that would be adorable and silly :D

Bro that's cute. Ofc, and apologies for it taking forever to write.

Female Reader proposing to the boys.

You expected to be a little nervous, but the amount of sheer terror that was filling your body was making you feel numb. Getting into a relationship with Simon Riley in the first place was a hard task, and you knew Simon wasn't going to pop the question himself.

You were currently sat around the dinner table with the 141. Johnny was eyeing you occasionally across the table and trying to give you reassuring looks. Simon as per usual was off in his head, chewing with his mask up over his top lip.

It was quiet. Only Price and Soap knew about what you were planning and they had supported you the whole time. They even went the extra mile to make sure Simon was in the right headspace for your proposal.

And Simon looked very content where he sat, drifting off in the rare treat of silence.

You shifted and smiled when you finished the last of the food on your plate. "Well, I'm full. Does anyone want more?"

"we're good. Ghost?" Simon hummed and looked up at Price. "Would you like anymore food, son?"

"No," he breathed out heavily. "Thank you darling, I might head to bed early."

You felt your gut wrench. "Is something wrong?" Your pulse quickened when Simon stood and you stumbled on your head to find your words. To get him to stay.

"No, just tired."

You opened your mouth to speak when there was a loud cough at the end of the table.

You all turned as Johnny coughed and slammed his hand down on the table. He mimed at his throat and flung himself out of his chair. For a moment you were concerned until you saw the thumbs up he gave you under the table.

He continued to spasm and cough, quite dramatically actually.

"Johnny!" Ghost rushed over to check on the man who miraculously stopped coughing when Simon reached him. "You alright sergeant?"

Johnny smiled and gripped Simon's arms. You stumbled on your feet and before you had the words thought out on your head you just started talking.

"Simon-"

The large man looked back at you and sat Johnny up. You saw the concern in his eyes but you pushed through it. "I- you know I love you?"

Ghost hesitated. "Yes? Why are we talking about this now?" Ghost attempted to move but Johnny grabbed his arm and forced him to stay. "I think I need a minute Lt. Winded."

"You sure you're alright Sergeant?"

"Peachy, but you might want to get comfortable."

What in the world would you do without Johnny. Poor Simon looked confused.

"Simon. I know you're not really the romantic type. Nor are you good with this relationship thing."

He scoffed. "I warned you."

"You did. You warned me eight times before finally accepting my love for you. And I've loved every second I get to spend with you. Every hour of every day. I laugh because I was a bit disappointed I didn't receive anything for Valentine's day. Truth was you'd completely thrown out the idea, but I still loved what I got a day late."

"it was just a box of chocolate."

"Yeah but you got it for me. And even if you say you're not the romantic type you show your love for me in every way that is just you."

"Y/N, I feel like this is a more private conversation."

You sighed. "Simon when I came here I met Ghost. I knew Ghost, this big tough man with the world in his hands. And I fell in love with Simon Riley. So..." You dug into your pocket and fished out the metal engraved band you'd kept safe for weeks.

"I know he won't do it himself, but will Simon Riley marry me?"

Simon froze. His stance stiffened and he straightened up. You bent down on one knee and giggled as his eyes followed you. There was a hot minute of tension where Simon said nothing and did nothing.

He slowly let go of Johnny's arm and lowered himself to your level. He stayed silent and just looked at you. Tears rolled down your cheeks and you couldn't believe you were the one being so emotional. Though that should have been expected. He wiped away the tears in your eyes and pulled you into his arms. You sobbed against him and smiled into his shirt. Simon's hands were shaking. You could feel it.

You felt something wet on your shoulder and realized he was crying too.

"I love you so much Simon. I don't want to let you go." You brought the ring to your chest and allowed him to scoop it from your hands. When you pulled away Simon was attempting to wipe his tears but you saw. He tugged off his glove and slid the ring onto his finger. The band fit perfectly against his hand, glowing with the engraving of your initials.

He wanted to say something. Anything, but nothing came out. All he could do was smile. For the first time in a long time all he wanted to do was smile and hold you close.

Johnny was the first to start clapping, followed by Price and Gaz.

Simon scoffed and wiped his tears again before tearing off his mask and pulling you into him. Your lips met and Simon didn't care who saw. He didn't care Johnny's hand rubbed his back comfortingly when he kissed you.

"You were in on this?" He looked back at Johnny who winked. "I don't know what you're talking about. That last bit of chicken really got to me."

Ghost slapped the sergeants knee and went back to hugging you.

And a year later it was Simon's turn to slip a ring on your finger. Seconds before you were named his wife.

It was your second day of leave. Technically the first but both you and Johnny had slept the whole plane ride and crashed in your couch once you were home. So however you both saw it.

But once the jet lag wore off and the two of you built back some energy you'd decided to go for a morning walk out in the parks of Scotland.

Johnny loved it out there. If felt like a place really just let everything go. All his worries and pain he could let the wind take it all for just a little while.

It had been a couple days since you'd seen Johnny's smile. Mostly because after your last bone shaking mission you two hadn't been ready to go back out again. So Price released you on leave.

Johnny breathed in and sighed in relief. "Just breathe that Glasgow air." It was good to be home. You'd always wanted to come to Scotland with Johnny. Although the weather wasn't the warmest this time of year, the two of you had bundled up and went on a quiet stroll around the park.

"Happy to be home?"

"Beyond happy." Johnny smiled. "But I already miss the others. I haven't been away from them for so long."

"That's understandable."

"But I've got you here ey love?"

You smiled and pushed him in the chest playfully. "You're a joke."

"What took you so long love?"

You scoffed and pulling him into a kiss. He hummed and you sank into the comfort of his warm lips against the chilling air.

His hands relaxed on your hips and caressed your cloaked waist. The exhaustion in his body was still there even after you two had landed yesterday.

You pulled away and looked back through the park. You smiled. "You know, I can't think of a more beautiful place right now."

"It's just Glasgow love." Johnny chuckled.

"Yeah, I know. But you like it. So I like it." You looked at him and brought him into another kiss. "Oh Johnny what would I do without you?"

"I don't know. Die? Drown? Cry?"

"All of the above, in the opposite order." You took a deep breath and decided this was right. This felt right. "You remember when we met in that dugout? Captain Price knew we would work well from the start."

"Yeah." Johnny replied.

"Or how you shielded me from enemy fire and got locked up in recovery for nearly three months because you miraculously took six bullet wounds and didn't die?"

"I'm superman, haven't you heard?"

"No. You're Johnny. And Johnny has always been there for me. To love me, to hold me and care for me."

"I do it for you. Once a teammate now the love of my life. There isn't a better thing that could have happened to me."

"What about that gift Ghost got you on your birthday?"

"Ok that was cool. But I said better, that gift is almost better."

"Same damn thing."

"No it's not love, you know it's not." He kissed you again. "Almost better."

"You're stupid."

"I have been informed multiple times of this fact."

"But you're my dumb. All my dumb. I couldn't love anyone else if they were this dumb. But I love you, and your dumb."

"Gee, thanks babe..."

"Which is why..." You dug into your jacket pocket, and right there on the park you slowly kneeled onto the cold concrete. "John MacTavish I love you with every fibre of my being. You've brought me more joy then I thought possible."

Johnny looked at you, shocked. Utterly baffled. He wasn't sure what to say. "Will you-" His eyes swelled with tears and before you knew it he'd thrown himself onto his hands and knees and was full on sobbing. Gut wrenching sobs slurred with incognitive chants that sounded like "yes."

"You didn't even let me finish-"

"Yes babe! Baby yes! Aye, ah will mairie ye loue! Si! HOW MANY OTHER WAYS CAN I SAY IT!?"

You pulled him into your arm and he wrapped himself around you. His face buried in your neck he stole the engagement band from your hand and held it tightly. You felt tears in your own eyes when he cupped your neck firmly and whispered how much he loved you. And you must have cried In that park for ten minutes before he settled down.

He slipped it onto his finger and nearly broke down again. "I love you so much. I love you so much." He choked.

"I know you do."

He hugged you tightly and sighed. "It should have been me. Too bad I'm a chicken when it comes to you."

"Again. You're only my dumbass."

You had been coordinating proposing to Alejandro for a long time. Alejandro had yet to propose, which was a bit odd, but you weren't going to be a snob and pressure him by blatantly asking when I was going to get a move on with it.

You figured Alejandro might feel more comfortable if you proposed. And you were excited. Rodolfo had been helping you with it, and had even managed to get Alejandro to confess he was ready for marriage. Just wasn't sure when to do it. Rodolfo is so good at getting Intel for you.

But you finally came up with a good time to do it.

Alejandro's birthday.

Gosh it was a daunting idea. Extended family once hidden around the globe came to life in a secret party house for one day to spend over seven hours celebrating their beloved Alejandro. And you were part of it.

You had met his close family before. But the cousins and aunts and uncles. Second cousins, mother's in law and father's in law. It was a lot to handle and right now, sadly, the alcohol was your friend.

Alejandro was being crowded by guests. They were all talking to him lovingly and at this point he had at least three flower necklaces over his neck.

He was cracking jokes left and right, it made you smile how happy he looked.

You watched from over by the small bar table and he unsurprisingly caught your eye. He waved at you and got up from his seat. Coming over he smiled and grabbed you by the waist. "Well, hello pretty lady~"

"Cut your bullshit Alejandro."

His laugh was silenced in a kiss. He melted into you and your lips did all the talking. Well, they typically did out of this scenario but who are you trying to ruin the moment with him? He was having fun.

When you pulled away Alejandro had a coy smirk as usual. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"A lot?"

"A lot is a good amount mi amor."

"I can't believe I met you." You whispered. "The Alejandro Vargas I knew in assignment, now a colonel." You massaged his shoulders. "Another year at your side. Two years of dating under our belts."

"That is true mi amor."

"And I've loved every second with you Alejandro." His half lidded irises sparkled and seemed to ignite with fire. Sparking up like a lighter does candle.

You kissed him again, allowing your chest to rise quickly and fall deep into your chest nervously. "I love you Alejandro, but I just wanted to ask..." You were about to grab the ring from your pocket when someone tapped Alejandro on the shoulder. He pulled away from you and turned to talk to the guest.

Your heart leapt in your chest. You were on the edge of turning back. Your hand froze around that little box and you tried to find you words.

Alejandro smiled at the guest and joked with them for what felt like forever before they started to walk away. Oh they are walking away. Do it now! You scolded yourself.

You slipped down on one knee and heard a large portion of the guests gasp. Your heart was pounding faster than it ever had. Looking up at his strong back straighten and his body react to the shock around him. Alejandro whipped around to see if something had happened and his eyes widened when he saw you.

You looked up into his eyes and smiled.

"M-Mi amor!"

His mouth went dry. He was utterly silenced. He looked from you to the box. Then up to you. The silence was growing uncomfortable as your knee hurt, your hands were shaking and Alejandro had yet to say anything.

And then he chuckled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He tossed it in his hand. "Looks like you beat me too it."

"I- you-"

"Just because it's my party doesn't mean I can't propose. But alas, my sweet angel has beaten me too it." He caressed your wrists and tugged you forward.

You stood up and wrapped your arms around him. He kissed your temple and shuddered. "I love you so much. So, so much." Tears swelled in his eyes. The smell of his cologne was intoxicating.

You hugged him back and squeezed him as tightly as you could. "I love you Alejandro."

"Alright, let's see it." You handed him the black wedding band and smiled. "It's sturdy, shouldn't break on duty."

"What would I do without you?" He kissed you, and you were content to stay that way for the whole night.

(Shortly followed by you and Rodolfo screaming and dancing to celebrate this successful mission)

You were so nervous to see Kyle again. It had been six months without him and the very thought of him coming home sent your heart racing. Your insides flipped and tossed. You stood in the mirror rushing to fix your attire for the ceremony you were going to.

It was one of those events where they were commending the soldiers and family got to visit. You were so proud of Kyle and seeing his face again!? You were smiling like an idiot in the mirror.

It wasn't very long before you were sat in that ceremony where dozens of soldiers lined up while their Captain's spoke.

You felt tears in your eyes when among the ceremony the members of 141 were called to attention. There in the crowd was Kyle. Your Kyle, stood firm with his hands behind his back. The two others beside him also part of the 141. Their captain took the podium and spoke. Captain John Price recounted time on the base and what it was like out on the field.

He recounted what "Soap" MacTavish and "Gaz" Garrick did on the field. How brave they were and their contributions everyday.

Kyle's eyes were straight ahead so you couldn't tell if he'd noticed you or not, but you hoped he could sense you. At least know his love was looking at him.

His firm stance continued even as the shorter man to his right leaned over briefly and whispered something. Kyle's shoulders dropped briefly before slapping his friend gently and getting him to straight up again.

A few more words were passed and some awards were even handed out. Mostly to the Captain's. Kyle looked extremely proud of Captain Price received a medal for his continued service.

When the ceremony was brought to a close, the soldiers stood at ready. Family was released to call to their loved ones and you felt your heart leap. Family members all around got up and searched for their soldiers. You found yourself up and running before you could process any of it.

Kyle remained in place when you ran through people and tripped over yourself to get to him.

He looked at you with a soft gaze and it wasn't until you touched him that he relaxed and wrapped his arms around you. He hugged you tightly against his shoulder. "I missed you so much." He cooed.

You ran your hands along his uniform and quickly reacquainted yourself with him. He'd gotten slightly bulkier, he'd recently had a shower because the smell of ash and cedar weren't pungent on his skin.

When the two of you managed to pull away from each other you finally kissed him. Something you'd missed so dearly. how warm he was. The comfort he brought you. His soft eyes, rough skin. How his hands cupped and held you with such a gentleness.

"Kyle-" you choked on your words and found your fingers twitching and fumbling. You dug into your pocket quickly. You'd had months to think this through and your body was quaking when you'd made the decision.

This was right. Right here. Right now.

Kyle was in the military, buying a ring was probably last on his list next to surviving.

Kyle noticed and still on adrenaline, watched you pull out the box and fall on both knees. You grabbed the pant leg of his uniform and held up the unopened box, sobbing.

You didn't have to say anything for him to understand. His eyes swelled with tears and he kneeled. "Yes love. Yes." His finger hooked under your jaw and drew your eyes back to him.

He hugged you tightly and let his tears slip down his cheeks. Your arms wrapped around him and everything melted around you as you curled into his chest.

There was a rough pat on his back and Johnny smiled. "Guess you're taking her name then eh?"

"Well-"

"No! Absolutely not! I didn't contemplate this for five months only to not be a Garrick." You spat.

Kyle chuckled and kissed your nose. "Alright then. Y/n Garrick." His heart fluttered. He'd often thought of you with his last name. But it really was happening. Y/n Garrick.

He opened the box and slid the ring onto his finger. "Of course I'll marry you, Thank you for waiting."

"Thanks for coming back."

"Always, love."

It wasn't really fancy honestly. You were desperate when it happened. Covered in dirt and soaked in blood.

Gasping for air as you dragged each other back up the embankment. His hand clasped around your, tugging and pulling desperately. Your feet fought to get up underneath you but the earth kept crumbling away.

"Come on love!" John pulled you up. His body ached but he managed to get you up into his arms. His breath was heavy. His eyes were tired, focused on the trail ahead to the cabin. You felt like you were dying. And being in the work you were it happened more often then you would have liked.

John finally came upon the cabin and rushed inside.

You dropped to the floor and leaned your head back, fighting for air. "Price-" you gulped.

"They shouldn't find us in here." Price kneeled down and cupped your cheek. "You're ok, we'll be ok." Tears started to build in your eyes and you pulled John in for a kiss. A desperate and utterly relieved kiss to have him against you again.

John clasped the back of your neck and kissed the tear running down your stained cheek. "Let's get you in the bath."

John picked you up in his arms and brought you through the small cabin and into the bathroom. It wasn't spacious but it would do.

He turned on the water and while waiting for it to warm he started to undress you. The cool air prickled your skin, and John was uncovering new lacerations and wounds.

You shuddered when he placed you on the floor and allowed you to inch out of your underwear and step into the bath. The water was immediately stained red by the blood. But it was warm.

Your body relaxed into it and John sat by your side. You both looked at each other. You reached out for his hand and rubbed the dirt off his knuckles with your thumb. "Are you coming in?"

"No, not while we're still here."

"Putting me up for grabs then?"

"Hardly, of someone comes through that door I'll put a bullet in their head."

You smiled. You clasped his hand and closed your eyes. Your body soaking in the warmth you'd missed. "You think the lieutenant is waiting for us?"

"Riley? Of course, I gave him strict orders. We'll be ok."

You opened one eye and smiled. "John, what will we do when we get home?"

"Go home? Well I'm going to bed love."

You chuckled. You pulled his hand into the water and started to wash it. "No, I meant long term. When we get back we're going on leave and I'm tired of this... Mess..."

John raised an eyebrow. "Something you're trying to say in particular?"

Tears pooled in your eyes again. "John I want to get married."

John's eyes widened. "Where is this coming from?"

"John we've been talking about it for months, and I know it's stressful and you don't want to move forward on account of losing me but I cannot go another day like this." The tears started to fall. "So will you or will you not marry me when we get home!?"

John bowed his head and took off his hat. "Love. You know I'd marry you anywhere, any time."

He lifted his head and leaned in, pressing a kiss to your forehead. "Of course I'll marry you. Just stick out until we get to Ghost, and I'm all yours."

You rubbed his knuckles and nodded softly. Price wiped your tears and urged you back into the bath. "Be quiet for now love. I'll keep watch over you."

[nickeverdeen]

Hi!!

Can u do a romantic match-up for TUA, TMR, and/or PJO (show) for fem!reader (she/her). Female & male matches pls <3

I'm kinda short and not too athletic, but I'm in shape. I'm decently witty and sassy, I always find a way to make a sparky comeback to most things. I'm also decently smart, I'd like to think. I skipped a grade and have straight A's with little to no struggle. I enjoy doing math, and I like reading books. I have anxiety and have trouble sleeping sometimes. I also have trauma (won't get into it) from my mom, and it makes me super jumpy and defensive at times. I love music so much, I play drums and violin, and I listen to almost everything.

In a relationship, I tend to overthink a lot and need a lot of reassuring, and don't like sappy or big shows of love. I always disliked valentines day, but especially when my s/o does some sort of celebration. I like physical touch (sometimes), but mostly acts of service.

You don't have to if u don't want to, ofc. And if you want you can cut out pjo if it's too much.

Ty!!

Your male TUA match is…

Five Hargreeves

Five enjoys your witty and sassy comebacks, often engaging in playful banter that sharpens both your wits

He appreciates your intelligence and often involves you in solving complex problems, respecting your insights

Five is very protective due to his traumatic past, ensuring you feel safe and secure

Knowing your need for reassurance, he offers quiet, consistent affirmations rather than grand gestures

He shows love through acts of service, like making you tea to help with your anxiety or fixing things around the house

Five understands your trouble sleeping, often staying up with you and finding ways to help you relax

He enjoys listening to you play the drums and violin, often sitting nearby with a book

Instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day extravagantly, he prefers small, meaningful gestures that show he cares

His presence has a calming effect on you, helping ease your jumpiness and defensiveness

He supports your academic pursuits and enjoys discussing various topics with you

Despite his serious demeanor, he appreciates your adventurous spirit and willingness to explore new ideas

Five often understands your needs without you having to say anything, offering comfort and support intuitively

You both enjoy reading, often discussing books and sharing recommendations

Five respects your boundaries with physical touch, offering it when you need it but never overwhelming you

He talks about future plans in a practical way, ensuring you feel included and valued in those decisions

Your female TUA match is…

Allison Hargreeves

Allison values your intelligence and wit, creating a strong intellectual bond between you

She encourages your academic and musical pursuits, attending your performances and celebrating your achievements

Allison is understanding of your anxiety, providing constant reassurance and comfort

She often shows love through acts of service, like cooking your favorite meals or organizing your space

Her calm and nurturing nature helps soothe your defensiveness and jumpiness

Allison enjoys your music, sometimes joining you in singing while you play the violin or drums

She respects your dislike for grand romantic gestures, opting for quiet, meaningful celebrations instead

Understanding your sleep troubles, she stays up with you for late-night talks or reading sessions

Allison is always there to support you emotionally, providing a shoulder to lean on

She is an empathetic listener, understanding your trauma and helping you navigate your feelings

Allison offers physical affection in a gentle, comforting manner, respecting your boundaries

She doesn’t share your reading passion, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t like to hear you talking about your books

Allison is fiercely protective, ensuring you feel safe and cared for in all situations

She surprises you with thoughtful, small gestures that show her love and appreciation

Allison includes you in her dreams and plans for the future, ensuring you feel valued and important

Your male TMR match is…

Newt

Newt provides gentle support and reassurance, understanding your need for consistency

He loves your wit and often engages in playful banter, finding it refreshing and entertaining

Newt’s calm demeanor helps soothe your anxiety and overthinking

He shows love through acts of service, like helping you with chores or surprising you with small, thoughtful gestures

He enjoys listening to you play music, often asking you to play his favorite tunes

Newt shares your love for books, often reading together and discussing different stories and theories

Understanding your sleeping troubles, he stays up with you, offering comfort and distraction

His dry humor complements your sassiness, creating a fun and light-hearted dynamic

Newt is very protective, ensuring you feel safe and secure in his presence

He prefers showing affection in quiet, meaningful ways rather than grand romantic gestures

Newt understands your trauma and provides a safe space for you to express your feelings

He is a supportive listener, always ready to hear you out and offer advice or comfort

Newt offers physical touch in a gentle, comforting manner, respecting your boundaries

He appreciates your adventurous spirit and willingness to explore new ideas and experiences

When he found out that you skipped a grade he was amazed

Your TMR female match is…

Teresa Agnes

Teresa values your intelligence and wit, creating a strong intellectual bond between you

She encourages your academic and musical pursuits, celebrating your achievements

Teresa provides constant reassurance and comfort, understanding your anxiety and overthinking

She shows love through acts of service, like helping you with tasks or surprising you with thoughtful gestures

She hates math and really isn’t the best at it so from time to time she just asks you for an answer when she needs help

Teresa enjoys listening to you play music, often joining you in appreciating different genres

She respects your dislike for grand romantic gestures, opting for quiet, meaningful celebrations instead

She also has sleepinh troubles so she’s glad she doesn’t have to be up alone

Teresa is always there to support you emotionally, providing a shoulder to lean on

She is an empathetic listener, understanding your trauma and helping you navigate your feelings

Teresa offers physical affection in a gentle, comforting way like hand on shoulder or placing her hand on your back

She’s a book lover too and 100% wants to talk to you about them

She surprises you with thoughtful, small gestures that show her love and appreciation

Dislikes your mom

Your male PJO show match is…

Percy Jackson

Percy enjoys your witty and sassy comebacks, often engaging in playful banter

You two make the most sassy duo

Percy encourages your academic and musical pursuits

Absolutely shows off about you skipping a grade to his friends and others

His laid-back and humorous nature helps soothe your anxiety and overthinking

Percy enjoys listening to you play music

He loves going on adventures with you, exploring new places and experiences

He understands your trauma and provides a safe space for you

Percy doesn’t share your passion for books, but likes to hear you tell him the story

His humor complements your sassiness, creating a fun and light-hearted dynamic

He provides constant reassurance and comfort, understanding your need for consistency, but expects you to do the same when he needs it

Your female PJO match is…

Annabeth Chase

Loves your intelligence

Absolutely proud and a bit suprised when she finds out that you skipped a grade and sees your grades on exams

She gets your anxiety and overthinking so she knows how to help you

Feels bad whenever she makes you jumpy

She respects your dislike for grand romantic gestures, opting for quiet, meaningful celebrations instead

Understanding your sleep troubles, she stays up with you for late-night talks or reading sessions

Annabeth is always there to support you emotionally, providing a shoulder to lean on

She shares your love for books, often reading alongside you

Annabeth is fiercely protective, so you don’t gotta worry about getting hurt a lot

[idk-man-to-me-its-still-2019]

Headcannons for Simon Seville ships because I did one for Alvin and am working on one for Theodore :)

Simonette my beloved

- Hate the paparazzi and always try to avoid them at all costs

- Both are very private people but will post together for each other's birthdays

- Hate PDA, the most they'll do in public is hold hands and sometimes hug

- Temple & hand kisses mean more to them than kisses on the lips

- Turn into house nurses when the other is sick (even if it's a slight cough)

- Whenever Jeanette makes tea she makes two cups, one for her and one for Simon

- Simon prefers tea but will drink coffee to stay up and finish projects, Jeanete knowing this will sometimes give him decaf so he doesn't stay up fot too long

- Simon buys her crystals since she's into astrology

- Jeanette will buy books she knows Simon would like

- Every so often they'll both read the same book to talk about it, like a private book club

- Valentines Day means pretty much a regular day with some small meaningful gifts and homemade candlelit dinner (because restaurants are so expensive on that day, they often make dinner together)

- Share clothes (mostly jackets) and always return them

- Both are very careful defensive drivers, Simon won't go a single mhp over the speed limit, Jeanette will stop to let animals and worms cross the road

- Simon: So sorry to bother but huh, we actually asked for no pickles.

Jeanette: We're so sorry to bother, really.

- Simon calls Jeanette "darling", "dear", "sweetheart", "dear heart" & "mon coeur"

- Jeanette calls Simon "honey", "sweetie", "dear" & "Simo" (pronounced See-moh)

Brimon yes ofc

- Simon "introverted gentle giant nerd" & Brittany "prom queen social butterfly" are always stalked by the paps and the couple always try to loose them

- Once Brittany threw her shoe at a camara for zooming in on them

- Simon is very gentle and patient with drunk Brittany

- Brittany lives to make Simon blush and fluster

- Brittany can't drive for the life of her but is very impatient when Simon is driving because he's so slow (Simon: Brittany it's the law!

Brittany: Simon we are late!

Simon, under his breath: And who's fault is that...)

- Spend Valentines Day pampering each other

- Brittany sometimes takes Simon's glasses and tries them on, then jokes about how blind he is

- Simon loves to see Brittany with her hair down, literally can't say no to her when she lets her strawberry blonde loose

- Brittany never returns Simon's shirts/hoodies but he doesn't mind

- Brittany will sometimes call Simon and ask him if he wants another book because she's at the store near the book isle

- Simon buys jewelry and shoes for Brittany

- Brittany has forced him into wearing matching outfits and has made him wear pink during a concert once (the tabloids went crazy after that one)

- One time during a concert she got cold and Simon lended her his jacket (the tabloids loved that one)

- Brittany: Hey! You imbecile! He asked for NO pickles!

Simon: Brittany it's fine -

Brittany: Does this look like no pickles to you?!

Simon, under his breath: Britt nooooo...

- Simon calls Brittany "darling", "dear", "ma chérie" & "Bri"

- Brittany calls Simon "babe", "handsome", "cherry" & "Simba" (Simba began as a joke)(cherry is her way of matching his ma chérie)

Simonor (does anyone actually ship them?)

- Eleanor isn't too fond of the paparazzi and as such always tries to loose them and confuse them

- Eleanor likes physical touch but will avoid it in public since she knows Simon doesn't like PDA

- Simon will search everything about Ellie's favorite sports to talk to her about it and understand the games She makes him watch with her

- Once went as beauty and the beast for Halloween

- Eleanor likes mending clothes, and when she mends Simon's she usually leaves a heart on that spot

- She will either bake things just for him or make a slighty bigger batch so there's some left for him to take

- Valentines Day is spent alone with one another and Eleanor always bakes a cake for it

- Simon sends carefully crafted, well written, grammatically correct texts and Eleanor always text in lowercase (even names) with the most random abreviations and most god awful mistakes because she refuses to enable the autocorret much to Simon's annoyance

- Both of them find the height difference hilarious

- Eleanor will sometimes make the "how's the weather up there?" joke or say something like "sorry, can't hear you from down here"

- Simon has to forcibly stop Eleanor from flipping people off

- He's been teaching Eleanor to speak other languages

- Simon has forbidden Eleanor from driving because of her terrible road rage (it legitimately scares him)

- Eleanor: Do you even understand, do you even know what 'no pickles' means?!

Simon: It's an honest mistake and-

Eleanor, ignoring: Because he clearly asked for no pickles, and you gave him extra!!!

Simon, hiding under his hoodie's hood: *exaspherated sigh*

- Simon calls Eleanor "sweetheart", "darling", "mon amour" & "Nore"

- Eleanor calls Simon "hightower", "charming" & "Sissy"

Next and final one will be posted in a few days (I hope) when I finish drawing it. Also this is a fun exercice to train drawing clothes and specifically each of the Chipmunks & Chipettes styles.

[foralternateuniverses]

More at midnight au

did y'all see that official picture of Ace and Luffy for the radio show? yeah

Whitebeard (&co) worked at a radio station till Akainu (&Teach) fucked them over and Whitebeard decided to go -let´s see what are the youngsters into these days- and it's gonna end up growing from podcast to vtubers or sth

Whitebeard's crew becomes so popular people are begging for them to do those podcast videos but ofc Whitebeard won't make them reveal their faces so those who aren't comfortable doing so end up getting vsonas lmao Ace, to whoever is making the characters: make them look super cool

Ichiji has insomnia and Ace's narcolepsy also fucks up his schedule so his talk shows tend to be quite late at night and Ichiji always listens to his shows .... He's just a big fan of Ace's voice and the wide variety of topics present on his shows....

Deuce is Ace's writer At some point Ace and his team get in trouble for no reason (and by no reason I mean Akainu is being difficult cuz he doesn't like them) so they stop working at the radio station and Ichiji is distraught until he finds Whitebeard now has a podcast channel...

Ichiji doesn't know it but he's closer to Ace than he thinks

He and Deuce grew up in the same social circles so they've been friends since forever (went through an edgy phase together lmao) and Deuce has been besties with Ace since they became roomies at college (after Deuce was disowned for dropping med school in favour of creative writing)

And on top of that Yonji is dating Sabo (they attend the same mixed martial arts club/class)

And Sanji is also besties with Luffy

It's nothing less than divine intervention that he hasn't met Ace because they have a lot of people in common

Ps, Ace is studying veterinary while Ichiji is studying anthropology (Robin is his tutor) Sabo is in law school and Yonji is in robotics with Niji (Franky is their fav teacher)

Ichiji ends up meeting Ace through his internship at the closest vet, Ace might be specializing in working with big animals but he also has to learn to deal with the small ones Nyasha gets sick and Ichiji takes her to the vet, where Ace assists them Ichiji is internally panicking because he knows that voice...

Ace is happy to know that Ichiji enjoys listening to him and that he helps with his insomnia, so ofc he asks him about his favourite shows Ichiji will never admit that it´s the Valentine´s events so he says sth random

Ichiji stick his foot all the way in his mouth like “have you ever considered doing ASMR I hear it’s trendy” and then the next episode he regrets it so much because Ace is just whispering in his ear -> worst thing is that Ace thanks "Red"'s suggestion and Ichiji wants to throw himself off the balcony

Now let me add the lemon:

has Ichiji jacked off to Ace´s voice? Hint: the answer isn´t no

what better use of Judge's money than paying for access to "spicy" audios that Ace has in the Patreon

some involve Ace saying dumb pic-up lines and Ichiji "hates" that Ace makes those bad pick-up lines work

and it's lines someone else has already tried on him and it very much did not work then but now... from Ace...

Ace trying to see if can make Ichiji come with just his voice Spoiler: he probably can

Ichiji cockwarming Ace while he's doing a live...

[oh-saints]

Hi. I loved your last Ruben one, could you do a Ruben one of him suprising you on Valentines Day?

thank you, nonny, and have a blessed valentine's day to you! here's my lil vday choco for you

surprise

rúben remembers you never bother valentine’s day because you’re always busy with work, so he decides to do something out of your character for your first valentine’s day together. it’s always good for a change, no?

rúben dias x you

word count: 1.1k

note: happy valentine’s day, lovelies! <3 this is actually inspired by real-life happenings between me and my bf, whom accidentally had requested something to be inspired by him for my mini vday gift for him. so ofc, only fitting to fit the scenario with the only one he’d approved me cheating on him with. but as usual, i happen to write at dawn so this is yet to be proof-read.

“gatinha,”

rúben hears your whisper from above, just like an angel calling for him from the sky. he smiles involuntarily as he felt your hand grazing his broad shoulder, down to the scapula and lower to the spine. he always loves when you trace the silhouette of his back, something you’re unable to do when standing because he towers you like the giant to the goliath, and there’s also something in your touch that comforts him like no other.

“wake up,”

and he swears can hear your whisper above everything else, no matter how loud and obnoxious the world they’re living in might be. the clarity hidden behind your voice is unmistakable, so pure and rare, and he feels so privileged to be able to hear them. because you use an entirely different set of tone and voice to everyone you consider as colleague, as if you tuck away your wholesome personality under the sleek shirts and pristine suit jackets you always don to work.

“baby,”

the moment rúben feels you’ve placed a featherlight peck on the back of his neck, he’s a goner. he can no longer pretend to be asleep anymore. if there’s one thing that can fight the 1st place that belongs to your touch, it’s your pecks that you like to place all over his skin.

he groans at the sensation of your mouth. he has to, because he has to think of a way to make his blood rush back to his head and not down south. it’s too early in the morning and too early for what he has in mind for the rest of the day.

“good morning, my love,”

but of course, you don’t know what he’s planning so you kiss him breathless anyway. as much as he wants to complain you for taking the carpet off his feet, he’s not going to refuse the way your hands move up gently to cup his face and feel his stubbles underneath your palm. interesting how the soft skin and dainty, french nails contrast his unshaved facial hair.

“bom dia, meu anjo,” unlike rúben who’s into physical touch, you’re a puddle of water whenever you hear rúben’s morning voice. it’s rugged, rough and everything you imagine his voice is like from how he looks like. and that includes sexy in the list. “leaving me so soon?”

“you know i have to.”

you have to shut rúben up before he lets out another word from his beak. you can’t take it, not until you stand up and make distance between the two of you, so you kiss him again before he can speak again. slow and deep this time, your lips are goading him good, knowing you won’t get another dose of this until the day ends, and he growls inwardly at you nipping the bottom of his lips.

wrong move.

you pull away rather harshly and rúben’s momentarily shocked at your sudden movement. only when he notices the growing rose pink tint on your cheek does he realise you have to stop yourself before you have to explain to your boss why you’re late into a client meeting this morning.

“alright, sweetheart. you have a good day at work, yeah?”

but good is understatement to what you have, so far.

as soon as you arrive at work, a huge bouquet of colourful flowers has sat prettily on your desk. too pretty that you don’t want to move it anywhere else, but have to because you don’t have any space left to open your laptop. everyone openly throws playful jealous comments towards you, saying “sorry we don’t have a specific centre back to receive flowers from.”

and you wish they never do because goddamn, that specific centre back surely has a way with words.

Meu anjo, my angel,

I surely have lived thousand lives before this, one that have asked for you, but I thank God everyday that He only gives me you now. Happy Valentine’s Day, minha vida <3

the note succeeds to make you giddy from head to toe, like you’re celebrating this cliché day as if it’s your first.

well, technically, it is. it once slipped from your tongue, the fact that you never think of celebrating valentine’s day. somehow, life cruelly doesn’t give you a chance to celebrate it. it’s either your relationship doesn’t last till february the 14th or there’d always something that came up on that day that makes you have to cancel all your other plans. so you just gave up one day and think of it as any other day. if it’s weekend you sleep it off; if it’s weekday you go to work.

rúben vowed to make your first valentine’s day memorable, once he heard about your behind-the-story, and you know he keeps his words—he always does, like a perfect gentleman he is. but you never expect anything of this grandiose scale because it turns out, the flowers aren’t the only thing on his mind.

as soon as lunchtime grazes its presence to the world, your boss calls you into his office, only to let you know that you’re dismissed for the day. for whatever reason, you don’t know and he doesn’t want to blow the whistle. you have to ask him if he’s firing you.

thank god he’s not. he says, “enjoy the rest of the day,” though, which makes everything more peculiar than it is that you have to pray for the world not to end any moment, despite knowing that you have yet to apply for annual leave for the past year. but that is so you can hop on the jet and fly to spain on the summer, like what you plan with rúben.

but you have the answer as to why your boss is super nice to you on this special day when you’ve descended the building. your humongous boyfriend is already waiting by his car, sunglasses perched on his nose like it’s a sunny february in australia. his smile when he sees you might as well be considered the sun, at this point, and you can only take pity to your boss because rúben must’ve flocked him with his overwhelming persona so you can have a half-day off.

he basks you in his warmth that he radiates from his big, muscular body and you always like it when he bear-hugs you like that. it makes you feel small and short, yes, but it also makes you feel loved and secure—something you truthfully have been missing a lot in life, due to the hardworking life you lead to provide for your family.

“ready to go?”

“where to?”

“do you trust me, my love?”

“always, rúben.”

[paulmcf4rtney]

Oh hello! Could you write some things maybe about what the bugs would do for valentines day if you were dating… all of them ☺️. Thank you!

OFC!!!! Thank you for the request darling!

Anon asked for Valentine’s Day hcs! <3

I apologize if it’s short at some parts!! I started working on this as soon as I woke up

———

John

-John likes Valentines for one or two reasons, that being he can flaunt you to everyone else, and that it’s an excuse to give you PDA.

-He wouldn’t go all out, but he’d take you lingerie shopping first.

-He *loves* lingerie on you, you’re sexy with it on and sexier when he can strip it away.

-“Is this one good?..” You ask, looking down, rubbing your thumb over the fabric. You never went lingerie shopping WITH your boyfriend here at the same time.

-So you were a little worried.

-John spoke up however. “Aye, that one’s good. But how about this?” He held up a very skimpy black laced lingerie set. “Now go try it on.”

-You didn’t protest to what John wanted, you only giggled and took the set, going into the changing room.

-“You can come in now!” You spoke.

-God if only you could see the way this man fucking sprinted into that room.

-Immediate boner after he closed that door. He could barely keep his eyes off you, or for a matter of fact, his hands.

-“It’s takin a lot of me to not fuck you right here.” He whispered, almost breathlessly.

-“Johnnn quit it!” You whined, your face was red while you playfully hit him.

-Let’s just say you walked out of there with shaking knees and a new pair of lingerie. 😏

Paul

-Ngl Paul would go a little overboard, he’d surprise you with a vacation he’s paid in full. (Probably to Paris) But that would only be the tip of the iceberg.

-You’re of course ecstatic, packing your bags with everything you need.

-You love him so much and going on a romantic trip with him? Somebody definitely should pinch you.

-On the flight to Paris, he’d definitely sneak little kisses on your cheek or lips when he could.

-Once you actually got there, you let Paul open the hotel door. You set your bags down.

-You never questioned what room he booked, and you’re glad you didn’t.

-It was the Valentines suite. Filled with heart shaped balloons, roses, candles and petals that lead to the bedroom.

-Your face gleamed with happiness. You were very turned on by his gestures.

-“Do you like it birdie?” Paul said to you, proud of himself.

-“Of course I do!” Who wouldn’t love the man of their life bringing them to the most romantic place on earth?

-“I wrote a song for yo-“

-Before you let Paul even finish his sentence you dragged him by the hem of his shirt into the bedroom. You weren’t about to waste any more time. ;) (You let him sing his song afterwards though don’t worry)

George

-The lady killer and probs CEO of VD.

-This is your first Valentines with George, Needless to say you were nervous.

-Not because of George himself, but because you never felt like you were good enough for him.

-He’s a kind hearted and gorgeous soul, what girl wouldn’t fall for that?

-He also definitely understood what kind of stress you were in lately. He had planned out a spa/bath day with just the two of you alone.

-His Valentines gift definitely lifted your spirits about your relationship. You felt secure.

-He had everything set up, the bath was running with your favorite scents filling the air. Robes folded neatly for when you got out.

-He purchased your favorite Lotions, scrubs, perfumes ect as well.

-“Geo-!..” You couldn’t even finish your sentence before he was kissing and nipping at your skin.

-His kisses are addictive, by the way. You could never get enough no matter how many he placed.

-“Happy Valentine’s day baby.” George cooed. “I ain’t ever leaving.”

-You didn’t waste time undressing yourself (Neither did he) And making your way into the bath.

-Sexy time definitely ensued with many hickey marks later.

Ringo

-Poor baby would not know what to do on Valentines, he’s got so many ideas but he wants it to be extra special just for you.

-He’d try to get advice from his band mates but it didn’t work out so well. John and George implied he should do something more sexual while Paul thinks he should just be himself.

-They’re never any help when he actually needs it.

-He’d definitely just stick to the classics, leaving roses and chocolates on the table of your apartment. (He has a spare key don’t worry he didn’t just break in)

-But that isn’t the only thing he left, he left a note telling you to get dressed and meet him at the nearby restaurant he knows you adore.

-And beside the note was a dress he picked out for you to wear to your dinner reservation.

-Lemme tell you he’s very *very* nervous that you just wouldn’t show up, or that you didn’t see the note.

-Ringo overthinks way too much for his own good.

-You showed up in the dress, realizing why he picked it out, to match the suit he was wearing.

-The dress in question being red and silky, matching his red tie with pink hearts.

-“You made it!” He said with a smile plastered on his face.

-“Of course I did Richie, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

-He held your hand and kissed you sweetly as you both went to sit down together. <3

———

If the boys all had a crush on you on Valentine’s Day they’d try to win your love with tons of trinkets and gifts. Fighting over who “saw” you first. :) “Finders keepers”

[romanarose]

Happy Valentine’s Day! 💖

How are the couples in the Leather and Lace universe celebrating? (or are they celebrating at all???)

Sorry this is so late! I hope you had a great day! Forgive my typing my laptop took a shit on me on v day so Im typing on an unfamiliar one lol

Warms my heart people still care about this universe!!!!

I have Leather and Lace Valentine’s Day special from last year!

As for the whole gang, let’s see….

This will be a brief sneak peek into the future, as canonically the universe is at abouuuttt June/julyish? There’s some creative liberty there😂

Previous day there was no Lore, and I think everyone wants lore ♥️ and by the time next v day comes, there will be no Alice and Ben will be happy with Cam so, welcome to the LaL universe Cameron!!

Mentions of addiction bulimia abuse smut

Santi and Laci

All the cutesy. Santi knows Lacina is a lover of cheesy romance so last year it was dinner. However now they have a baby. Doesn’t mean romance is dead however! After their strain over the summer Santi refuses to let Laci feel less than, esp after giving birth to Leto.

Leto is a few months old, I think approaching 6 months, and Laci has just started back at work. When she comes home, Santi has the whole dinner set up with candles and lights. Laci feels bad when she has to pause dinner to feed Leto but Santi thinks there’s nothing more beautiful than his wife breastfeeding his son. His heart is so full and happy, he couldn’t imagine a better day, even as he burps the tiny baby.

Of course, Laci isn't going to forget him either. Laci buys him the first bouquet of flowers he's gotten outside of his mom and Fatima's deaths. And, ofc, bc it's them, they make love that night. Laci is tired but they do their fav none intercourse activity and do hand stuff while making out. It always feels intimate and close.

Frankie and Jana

Just because they've been together more or less 15 years, doesn't mean Jana isn't slacking on making sure Frankie, and year and a half clear despite the stress of two children, feels loved. He's so good to her, going above and beyond during her pregnancy, finishing her doctorate, and handling both a newborn and a 3 year old. Jana was not the type of woman to congratulate a man on doing basic parenting, but christ he was amazing. Both were still on maternity leave, little Max being maybe 2 months old? Ish? Frankie would be going back to work part time soon just to keep a schedule, but would largely be a stay at home dad. She knew it wasn't easy and wanted to make sure he was so, so loved. So, under the guise of feeding Max, Jana sneaks out of the room and gets working on breakfast.

"Hi mommy, are you making me pancakes?" A sleepy Rosie toddled out in her doc McStuffins PJ's"

"Lo siento mija, did I wake you?"

"No." Rosie shook her head. Quería saludar a Max pero estaba durmiendo."

"Ah, I see. Would you like to help me cook for daddy?"

Rosie excitedly said yes, and after little bit they brought Frankie breakfast in bed. His eyes woke with a start, still protective of Jana even though she was past the 6 weeks of a c-section recovery.

"Baby, what are you-" he started to stand but as instructed Rosie ran up and pinned him down. Rosie explained the food they made while Jana got a crying Max. When all four were settled into bed, they eat together, Frankie feeding Jana as she breastfed Max. And don't you worry, once Max and Rose were down for a nap, Frankie gave Jana her Valentines Day gift. about 6 or 7 of them.

Will and Lorelei

Lore and Will had no issues giving Chloe away for a few hours.

Make no mistake, they adored their daughter, Lore loving to watch Chloe learn knew things about the world around her and Will was so wonderful when he played with her. Chloe would never have to wonder her worth the way Lorelei and Will did, they'd protect her the best they could from what they and their friends had endured.

No they loved Chloe Sen. However, they were comfortable taking time off. Lorelei had given birth in late July, and had a speedy recovery, making a mile run two weeks postpartum. This was not because of her eating issues (okay maybe baby weight was a small factor but she was working on it, okay?) more importantly, she needed to be ready to help run the farm for harvest season. Mrs. Miller would be watching Chloe Sen tonight for a few hours while Will took Lore out to dinner just as she had over harvest.

Lorelei had never been somewhere so fancy. She was dressed up in a dress Will said was "fit to attend the Oscar's with James Dean" never mind Dean's Oscar win was posthumous, but the compliment felt nice. Lorelei loved the traditional schtick, even if she told him she didn't need anything, that having a family was enough. Will, of course, would never let that slide. He also bought her jewelry, and he was the first man who didn't fumble that bag, getting her a classy tennis bracelet that matched her silvery dress. Lorelei's red dress was not fitting right with her breastfeeding boobs, and once thing about Lorelei Yen Giang, she did not where pink.

Lorelei's gift surprised Will. Not that Lorelei couldn't be sweet or tender; Lorelei always showed Will her love in her own love language, but gift giving was not one. She gives him a framed picture, something Laci had snapped at the beach day last summer. Lorelei wasn't showing in her swimsuit yet, Will had his shirt on. Despite the tension of those early months, Lorelei had forgotten how much she and Will still had fun. They were sitting on beach towels, Lorelei's head thrown back laughing, black hair cascading down. Will was grinning ear to ear.

"I love it, Lore..." Will says, smiling brightly.

If Lorelei didn't have make up on, she'd be blushing.

"I love you, William. I know there were so many reservations from my side early on but all these months later, you prove me wrong every single day. You are exactly the kind of man I saw you as, no tricks, no games."

Will kissed her tenderly. "And you, princess, blow me away every single day."

There was no sex that night, Chloe not having fallen asleep for her grandma nor a few hours after, keeping them both up. But Lorelei feel asleep with her loving boyfriends arms around her, and that was enough.

Benny and Cameron.

It was all so new. Being the off season, Ben and Cam were somewhere in Arizona, fucking the entire day away in Cam's van. Ben was still worried about the other ball dropping, for something in Cam to switch. For him to leave again or for him to hurt him like Alice. Things weren't easy peasy; Ben was still relapsing on bulimia and drinking, but the recovery periods were getting longer and Cam was always quick to assure him relapse is a normal part of recovery. Frankie quit coke cold turkey, but that's because he had a scare. it'd take Ben some time, but Cam would be there every step.

As soon as Cam woke after a long nap to Ben in the kitchenette, listening to him clanging around trying to cook he knew Ben was having a bad day. When he opened the curtain to find the living space/kitchen a massive mess, with food everywhere in Ben's attempt at cooking and a table set up of half-made crafts, he knew it was Ben's ADHD. He was trying to get Ben to warm up to the idea of trying meds again, but once step at a time.

"Baby?" Cam called, and Ben wiped around, eyes wide as he began sputtering.

"I'm sorry! Im sorry I was trying to make breakfast and also this craft I saw on printers and also this other one then the bacon was burning and-"

"Baby, can I hold you?"

Ben blinked at him, looking nervous. He wasn't used to people asking if they could touch him. "Oh. Um... no I don't think so."

Cam smiled, happy Ben felt comfortable enough, trusted him enough to communicate. "Thank you for telling me. Benny, does this have something to do with Valentine's Day?"

He hesitated but admitted yes. "I love you so goddamn much Cam and we've been on the road so I haven't hardly been aware the month let alone the year... Then all of a sudden I wake up and its the 14th and you've been just... just the fucking best. I don't want you to feel like I don't appreciate you..."

Cameron listened until he was sure Ben was done. "Would it help if we just... pretended today was another day? I swear, just you being here..."

"No! Cam let me do something nice for you."

"Something nice for me," He started slowly. "Is you being nice to yourself. Listen, my birthday is coming up, if you really want to, not saying you have to, but if you really want to you can go all out that day. But what I really, really want..." He reached out his hands, which Ben took. "Is to eat this burnt bacon, tape this half-made craft to my wall, and then get back into bed with the love of me life that I thought I'd never get to hold again. What do you think."

Ben paused, allowing himself to absorb Cam's words. Cam din't want anything from him outside of his love, fidelity, and company. He didn't want ben's money, didn't want him to change or hide self, and although they certainly had fantastic sex, if Ben wasn't feeling it he could say no, but Cam usually picked up on it before hand.

"Okay, yeah, that sounds good..."

"Good." Cam smiled and reached behind Ben. "I like my bacon extra crispy."

*******

Happy v day!!!!

tagging a few peeps who still interact with the all universe

@my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @missdictatorme @ivystoryweaver @pimosworld @miraclesabound @poeedameronn@itspdameronthings @whatthefishh

[stellar-solar-flare]

A Fairytale Of A Disaster | S.R.

Chapter 2: Looking For The Happy Ending

Explicit - 18+ only! | Steve Rogers/Doctor!Reader

Your friend set you up with a perfect guy. Unfortunately, when it's time for you to meet 'Grant' for the first time, he has stood you up. On Valentine's Day of all days.

Was it too good to be true? Or does he instead have a very, very good reason why he's late, and a desire to make it all up to you?

FIC MASTERLIST | AUTHOR MASTERLIST | AUTHOR AO3

<< Previous chapter

Fluff, hurt/comfort, meet-cute, misunderstandings, eventual smut, healthy communication. | Background Sam Wilson/OFC.

Chapter Word Count: 2696 words.

Reader Specifics: She/her, late twenties (a few years younger than Steve in this fic). Training to be a trauma surgeon (has completed med school, in residency stage). Likes books and houseplants. No description of appearance (other than clothes and such), no use of Y/N.

A/N: I wanted to write a Valentine's Day oneshot, and then it turned out it has parts. Oh no. Well, here we are. I hope you enjoy this fluffy little trope collection! As always, thank you for reading, and hearing what you think means a lot to me.

Alternate Universe: The Avengers Initiative continued SHIELD's work after its collapse to corruption. The Avengers are living together in the Compound - Bucky has healed, and Civil War never happened because Tony and Steve worked through their differences like adults.

Chapter Warnings: Discussion of Steve's canonical trauma; mentions of Steve/Peggy.

I do not own anything Marvel related. This is an unofficial fan work. No copyright infringement intended. This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.

Chapter 2: Looking For The Happy Ending

A part of you was really, really glad that you had decided to order the wine; you could feel your nerves flaring up, now that the initial surprise at the evening’s direction had passed. It was less so that he was Captain America, the literal superhero, the most eligible bachelor in the entire country according to many, and more so that his musky scent and his warm presence were going straight to your head. It felt like on some level, after all the conversations, you already knew who he was, but messages couldn’t have prepared you for everything. Like how the sheer presence this man had, how he could simply stand next to you and send off a signal that he was completely aware of you, was making your head spin. Feeling some initial curiosity and a little crush over messages was one thing; being hit in the face with the raw, sparkling physical attraction you were feeling was quite another. And even as you didn’t exchange words — too much attention here, too many ears listening — you could see Steve stealing looks at you over the brief minutes you waited.

You weren’t quite so sure any more that you didn’t believe in fairy tales.

The car arrived so fast that you were at least half-certain that Steve had carried it with him, tucked into his back pocket with the assistance of some Tony Stark’s bordering-on-magic technology. You barely had time to get your food back in a cardboard takeout container and finish the glass of wine before Steve glanced at his smartwatch and told you that the car was waiting.

You reached for your purse to pay the bill, and he stopped you with a gentle hand placed on your forearm. He’d slipped into the bathroom earlier to wash the worst of the dirt off his hands and face, and now, when he wasn’t afraid of making a mess out of you — oh, your subconscious needed to get things together or you weren’t going to survive this night — you could feel the entirety of his palm pressed on your bare skin.

“Please. Let me. That’s the least I can do for having kept you waiting,” he murmured, his eyes in yours.

He was already going to cook for you; you thought about arguing about the fact, but looking into his eyes, it was clear that this was very important to him. You could have afforded it, certainly, and it did feel a little unfair to let him pay when he hadn’t been enjoying the food at all. But since he was on Tony Stark’s payroll, you doubted the few drinks, the appetizer, and the fish and chips you now held under your right hand were going to make much of a dent in his cash. If it made him feel better…

“Only if you insist,” you replied after a beat, smile on your face.

“Oh, I do,” he smiled. “A lady never pays on the first date. That’s the rule. Especially when I asked her out.”

Apparently, Steve’s rules for a first date also included helping you into your coat and paying for the tip of the person working in the cloakroom. His hands were warm when they brushed against your shoulders as you slipped into the coat he was holding up, even as he didn’t linger. It seemed that he ran hot, or that the suit had some sort of temperature regulation built into it, because he didn’t seem to mind stepping from the warm restaurant into the cold February evening. The biting wind made you huddle deeper into your coat for the few steps from the door to the car waiting at the curbside.

“Ladies first,” Steve smiled, reaching to open the front passenger door of the decidedly nondescript black SUV.

Before you could ask, you realized that the driver’s seat was empty.

When he’d mentioned calling the car, you had obviously assumed that he’d be calling someone to drive you over to the Avengers Initiative Campus upstate; instead, he had literally called the car.

“It’s not on the public market yet,” Steve said, answering your wordless question. “Something Tony’s been tinkering with. It’s easier if we have vehicles stashed here and there in fully automated garages.”

“For date-related emergencies?” you grinned as you slipped into the seat, guiding your skirts with a hand as you did.

“Among other things. Although I don’t find myself in this situation very often,” he said as he closed the door after a quick glance to check that your skirt wasn’t going to get caught in the door. “It isn’t the kind of guy I want to be.”

He was smiling, but there was something underneath his tone. For the few seconds it took for him to go around the car and settle in to the driver’s seat after tossing the shield in the backseat — heedless of the white leather of the car and the grime on his suit — you thought about it.

It couldn’t be easy for him to date; not with the reputation and the fame attached to his title. And not with the demands of his job causing all sorts of delays and rain checks; all the emotions coming through his voice had already told you as much. He would’ve accepted it if you hadn’t been willing to give him a second chance after almost standing you up. He would’ve left it there and never bothered you again. And yes, perhaps that would’ve been fair — there was nothing wrong with not wanting to deal with your significant other having a job like that. But the same could also be said about your job.

Instead of replying immediately, you let him focus on merging into the traffic, even as you realized that compared to the things he usually did, driving — even in New York — was probably as easy as breathing. You shifted in your seat to recline more comfortably.

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re that guy,” you replied. “Not the one to keep someone waiting without a very good reason, and not someone who dates just for the thrill.”

He gave you a chuckle in reply, but something about the way he glanced at you was so warm that it tingled in your veins.

“Thank you. And it does mean a lot. I can’t say I…” he murmured, his eyes back on the road again and you were certain it wasn’t just about the traffic. “I didn’t exactly have the easiest time concentrating today. I kept thinking that I’d blown the chance to have something great once again, that the world had again decided that I wasn’t making it to a date.”

His words lingered in the air for a few seconds, during which you very clearly understood what he was talking about. Of course, it was ancient history in more ways than one, but everyone knew the story of Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter and the dance that had needed one hell of a rain check because he had sacrificed himself to save the world from the alien weapon. After the seconds ticked by, he glanced at you again, redness on his cheeks and something panicked in his eyes.

“Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that, I don’t… I’m not comparing, I don’t want to compare, I’m not looking for any sort of replacement for a road not traveled, it’s just…”

He sighed, trailing off again. His eyes stared forward, and his hands squeezed the wheel of the car hard enough that they might leave finger-shaped dents behind. Finally, he spoke again, something resigned in his voice:

“I’m sorry. Look, if you don’t want to do this, if you don’t feel like you’re up for this after that, just say the word and I’ll drop you off where you want,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to make you feel like you’re a second choice or anything like that. I’m obviously not great at this and if you don’t want to deal with that… ”

“Hey,” you said very softly. “No need to go looking for a grenade to throw yourself on, Captain. This isn’t an army camp.”

You reached over, letting your fingertips brush the top of his hand right there on the edge of where the wrist turned into the back of his palm. He glanced over at you again as you sank back to your seat, and even with the brief contact, you didn’t miss the fragile hope in his gaze.

“I’d rather hear how you feel than leave this car,” you continued. “I don’t think there’s anything very surprising about those things crossing your mind, and it doesn’t have to be about comparison. Obviously being faced with rather similar circumstances to the ones that were present when something very traumatic happened to you would bring up memories. Of events, and of people.”

Some of the tension drained away from Steve’s shoulders, but the chuckle that left his mouth was a little joyless.

“You’re pretty good at that,” he said.

“I’ve trained,” you raised your brows. “Comes with the skillset. But seriously, I’d understand if you need a rain check after what has obviously been a pretty intense day for you. We could plan something else.”

Your eyes flickered back to that cut on his chest, visible through the tear in the suit. The wound was already closing, and probably in a few hours it would be completely gone. You wondered if people thought that the same also happened to everything he experienced. If the public accounts about the eidetic memory were true, then he remembered everything, and even as his brain was probably better at processing things and arriving at the place where he could look at experiences logically, that didn’t mean the experience wasn’t intense.

You pulled yourself back to reality, reeling in the doctor and the researcher in your head and looking up at him again. He was staring at you — as much as he could, with his head halfway turned towards the road, but nothing about the way he was driving indicated that he wasn’t focusing on that, too.

“Is everything alright?” you said.

He breathed out, scrambling for words again as he returned his complete attention to the road.

“No, yes, it is, I mean…” he breathed back in, gathering his composure. “I am not used to anyone… getting that. Or even asking that.”

Something twisted in your chest, and had he not been driving, you would’ve wanted to take both his hands into yours. It hadn’t taken you more than a few texts with him to realize that this was a thoughtful man with a big heart and so much to give, and now, it didn’t surprise you that he wasn’t used to people understanding what it was like to be him.

“I don’t think anyone can ever understand another’s experience, not really,” you said. “And I wouldn’t dream of thinking that I know what it’s like to be you, what it was like to go through everything you have gone through. But I know how it is to have to be the one who has everything under control in the operating room. I know how it feels to feel like your job takes over all other aspects of your life. How it is to wonder if you’ll be lonely for the rest of your life and… And thinking that the best chance of finding something great you had had in a long time had just slipped through your fingers.”

You could feel the heat on your cheeks as you said the last words. They had halfway escaped your lips, brought forth by the way he’d accidentally served you his heart on a platter. Even as you hadn’t been fighting gods-knew-what in Antarctica, it had still been quite an emotionally intense night, and that was obviously bringing everything out in the open. You lowered your gaze to your hands in your lap, not really daring to look at him. You might’ve just made everything beyond awkward.

But when Steve spoke, it didn’t feel like that. His voice was genuinely warm, so warm it made the atmosphere change too. As if some sort of miniature sun had suddenly been trapped in the car and its rays were now transforming whatever floated in the air into something you could just let be there, existing in between the two of you.

Forming a bond of trust.

“Thank you,” he said. “For trying to understand. And for telling me all that.”

“I don’t think that’s something you should need to thank me for,” you murmured back. “But I do want to hear, if you want to talk about it. And I want to hear as someone who wants to get to know you, not as someone who is a medical professional.”

The cautious smile on his face had spread a little, and upon your disclaimer, it briefly lit up his whole face. Then, his expression returned to a more somber state, but it wasn’t quite heavy anymore. Just serious, as he looked back to what had once been, and a tiny hint of nostalgia had crept into his voice.

“I think it took me a couple of years to get back out here not because of any burning love for Peggy but because I needed to let go of the life I would’ve had, could’ve had, back in the forties. So that everything wouldn’t be tainted by comparison, not to something that was necessarily better but to something that was familiar. I’d built all these hopes about my life, if I got healthy, if I got into the army, if I met someone with whom we’d hit off… Realistically, it wouldn’t necessarily have been Peggy. It might’ve been, but it might not have worked out at all with her if things had ever progressed beyond some chemistry and one kiss in the middle of a war zone. But I had these images in my head about a happy ending and everything it meant in that era, and I think that if I’d tried to find one here earlier, before I went through all the therapy, I would’ve not been able to appreciate the good things — not because they wouldn’t have been as good or better than what I’d thought I’d have but simply because it wouldn’t have been the exact image I had conjured in my mind. And now, when I finally felt like I was ready to try to find that happy ending again, I was pretty scared that something great was going to slip through my fingers again, as you put it,” he said, and smiled a little sheepishly as he stopped. “I don’t know if that makes any sense. But I don’t want a rain check, if you don’t, despite everything.”

You smiled, not just at his honesty but the admission in between the lines, that he truly thought this might become that happy ending and that it had already felt like something great to him. It wasn’t really a surprise, after what he’d said about being marriage-minded when it came to dating — realistically, things wouldn’t have progressed this far if he hadn’t been thinking that — but it was still different to hear it like this, sitting right next to him and feeling the words, rather than as an explanation of his general mindset over messages.

“I think it makes a lot of sense. And I appreciate your honesty, and the fact that you worked on yourself and made sure you are doing things for the right reasons,” you said. “And for what it’s worth…”

You smiled to yourself, peeling open the cardboard container that held your food and extending it to him.

“…I don’t see a reason why this night can’t be absolutely great despite everything. Want some fish and chips?”

He chuckled, reaching over to grab a fry. As he did, he brushed his little finger briefly over the knuckles of your hand holding the box, sending a tingling feeling of electricity up your arm, and you knew that he heard what you’d said between the lines, too.

I don’t see a reason why this can’t be our happy ending.

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