#i wish i had even once watched her actually cook that meal though. she would have happily walked me through every step if i'd asked

[returntotheground]

pulled out several of my gamecube games and it's amazing how much of my childhood was wrapped up in like. 5 games that i only got to play for a few hours once a week

[etherealising]

one | christmas (baby please come home)

pairing(s): carmen 'carmy' berzatto x fem!reader | fem!reader x original male character | the bear x fem!reader

synopsis: you reunite with carmy at the berzatto family christmas, five years after your falling out.

warning(s): angst | fluff | pining | semi-unrequited love | minimally edited

wc: 7.8k

READER HAS A NICKNAME BUT OTHERWISE AMBIGUOUS

A quiet Christmas playlist drifted through the confines of the house as three friends sat gathered around the kitchen table spending much-needed time together catching up while building gingerbread houses, the various glasses of wine shared between the three of them lowering their inhibitions. 

“Baby! You’re not even looking at the camera.” Natalie’s slurred words caused a fit of giggles to spill out of you as you held up your dilapidated gingerbread house whatever artistic skills you possessed washed away with all the wine swishing through your bloodstream. 

You positioned yourself once more smiling at Nat’s phone as you held the slowly crumbling house, Pete instinctively leaned over to join you for the photo only for his reindeer antler headband to poke you in the eye. Both of you fell into a fit of hysterics as Nat giggled behind her phone most likely snapping blurry photos. 

None of you could be sure how you’d gotten to the point of being wine-drunk on Christmas Eve. The celebrations began when Nat and Pete picked you up from the airport earlier that morning, the three of you deciding on a quiet night in with a home-cooked meal, followed by a night of Christmas festivities courtesy of Pete which you could never turn down especially when seeing how excited he always got. You remembered Natalie listing off her worries for tomorrow’s dinner as she poured the three of you wine, that first glass somehow turned into two empty wine bottles in no time as the three of you enjoyed each other’s company. 

“Wait, wait we’ve got to get a picture in our matching pjs!” Pete was by far the most sober of the three of you and that was probably how he won the game of rock, paper, scissors that forced you into wearing the set of Christmas pajamas he bought you that were a replica of the ones he and Nat currently had on.

You shook your head immediately, not wanting any more photo evidence of this night, especially knowing Nat was probably sending these pictures to Mikey who would most definitely never let you live down matching with the married couple. “I think we have more than enough pictures.” The words felt heavy as they rolled around on your tongue and you couldn't help but giggle at how slow you felt like you were speaking.

Nat moved around the table to your side wrapping her arms around your neck as she leaned her chin against your shoulder and her cheek pressed into yours. “Pretty please Baby, we only get to do fun things like this a couple times a year when you visit.” She moved her face away to give what you assumed were supposed to be puppy dog eyes but was really just her concentrating extremely hard. “If you love me you’ll do it.” 

You rolled your eyes pretending to be put out by the married couple, not wanting them to know just how much fun you were actually having. While you were thankful for your success and the career you built up for yourself, that meant that you spent the majority of your time traveling and working, and while it was nice to see the world, sometimes you wished you could take more than a quick beat for visits like these. You hadn’t visited Chicago as much as you would’ve liked since moving to the West Coast, which meant you saw less and less of the family that made you one of their own all those years ago. You watched as Nat and Pete struggled to set up the phone in the living room for the group photo, giggling at how they seemed to feed off of each other as though they shared a single brain cell between the two of them.

Nat waved you over once they got the phone set up, “Oh! We should do like one of those awkward photo shoots.” 

You groaned, shaking your head back and forth while Pete stood next to you aggressively nodding his head in approval, the two of them were so goofy together you’re unsure why you ever thought you’d have an actual choice in how this unprofessional impromptu photo shoot was going to go. While you may’ve been inebriated that didn’t mean you were on board with every decision the two were making, but you also loved them too much to tell them no, and as you watched them excitedly try to figure out what pose to go with you figured you could feed into their inherent goofiness just this once in the spirit of Christmas.

Carmy stood in the kitchen of his childhood home watching as his mom prepared for Christmas dinner the following day, vehemently refusing any help when he offered it up but forcing him to keep her company and recount all of his culinary adventures as she worked.

He watched his mom move around the kitchen in an organized frenzy, talking to herself at points when she listed off what needed to be done next. Carmy could already see the weight of the looming festivities hanging heavy over her head, stressing her out before the day even began. While he understood and appreciated her love for food and cooking probably more than anyone considering she fostered that same love and appreciation within him when it came to the culinary arts, he always wondered why she insisted on cooking family dinner every year if it always ended in a mess.

“Oh fuck me!” The loud expletive forced Carmy from the recesses of his mind as he stared in his mother’s direction. “Carm honey, do me a favor and finish decorating the fireplace, the box of decorations is already out there.” 

Carmy stood there a minute longer trying to compute the fact that his culinary excellence was being disregarded and he was being put on decorating duty, “Carmen. Can you do it or do I have to do every fucking thing myself?” 

“No, uh yeah I got it.” He met his mother’s eyes nodding his head up and down in acquiesce, to let her know he had it under control.

She shooed him out of the kitchen returning to her food prep before he even made to move to the living room. Carmy quickly found the box of decorations exactly where his mom said it would be, the house was abnormally quiet he assumed Mikey was at The Beef but he couldn’t be sure he had no need to be near the sandwich shop at the moment and Sug moved out ages ago so here he was stuck in his childhood home with nothing better to do than decorate the fireplace mantle.

Carmy knew however he decorated the mantle his mom would just come behind him and fix it to her liking, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. Maybe if he got it close enough to how she liked she would have to do less fixing. He was surprised to find how calming decorating the mantle was, but maybe that was only because he didn’t care to impress anyone with his subpar decorating skills.

Reaching into the box Carmy pulled out the stockings each one designated to one of the Berzatto siblings. He easily hung the stockings onto the hooks on the mantle before reaching in for the last one, embroidered with a name he was sure he hadn’t seen in far too long a time. Carmy was foolish to think that because he ruined the friendship between the two of you that his family would disregard your whole existence over his mistakes. 

Carmy remembered how hard he tried for the first couple of months after he’d left to get into contact with you, to try and let you know just how sorry he was and how much he missed your friendship…missed you. If you ever gave him the chance, he was sure he’d spend his whole life apologizing for that moment. 

That night would haunt him forever, and his mind made sure of it, the worst moment of his life was on a constant loop anytime he got a moment of calm and quiet. Which wasn’t often but they happened enough for the hurt and pain on your face from that night to be permanently seared into his mind. And when it wasn’t memories of the way the moonlight illuminated the tears running down your face from that night, it was the overwhelming guilt that weighed on him for ever speaking to you that way.

Carmy’s hand traced across the embroidered thread of your name as though passing over it enough times would permanently thread the letters into his skin. He hesitated, unsure if they still hung the stocking long after you moved, a moment passed before he decided he would hang it if only just to catch a glimpse of something that reminded him of you. Carmy maneuvered the other stockings around in order to make space for yours trying to ignore the warmth that filled his chest at the sight of your name hanging directly next to his. 

He was pulled from his daze as his phone vibrated multiple times in rapid succession, he pulled the device out of his back pocket unsurprised to find Nat blowing up the sibling's group chat, plus Richie courtesy of Mikey. He was ready to shove the phone back in his pocket when a message coming through from Richie caught his eye, his heart sped up a bit as he read it before it disappeared off of his screen. 

Carmy was positive he had never opened the sibling's group chat as fast as he did at that moment. Opening the text chain he frowned at the assortment of pictures above Richie’s message doing his best to figure out what the hell he was looking at. The first few pictures were of Pete and Nat and as much as he loved his sister he wasn’t interested in seeing either of them. His thumb began swiping through the photos rapidly unsure why anyone would take so many photos of the same things over and over again. Carmy found himself stopping on one picture in particular, a picture that was neither Sug nor Pete, but presumably, the person who took the previous pictures of the couple. 

There you were. 

Smiling so wide it almost looked painful, a glow to your skin that made Carmy unsure if it was from the phone camera or if you were actually glowing. The picture was blurry but for the most part, he could make out your features, he would recognize you anywhere even after all the time spent apart he would be able to pick you out of a crowd with no trouble at all. That’s how deeply you were ingrained into his brain even if the last time he saw you was when you were a fresh high school graduate.

He scrolled once more the side of his lips ticking up at the same photo this time just a lot clearer, he absentmindedly saved the photo to his phone before resuming his viewing. Carmy’s eyes were always drawn to you when you were in any of the photos, at some point he began disregarding Sug and Pete entirely, giving you his full attention. He couldn’t help the quiet chuckle as he scrolled through all the shenanigans the three of you got up to saving another individual shot of you in front of the Christmas tree in Christmas-themed pajamas with matching socks and a headband with two candy canes in the shape of a heart. The sight of you smiling directly at the camera made it seem as though you were looking directly at him, a blush rose to Carmy’s cheeks at how pathetic it was for him to get so worked up over a few photos of you. He looked at the last photo a moment longer before realization dawned on him, his eyes quickly shot from his phone screen to the stocking he hung up. 

Carmy scrolled through the recently sent messages he missed after staring at the pictures of you so long gathering enough information to confirm his suspicions. He quickly turned on his heel before heading back into the kitchen.

“Yo ma,” she gave a distracted hum which was enough for him to begin his line of questioning. “Is uh…does Baby still come to family Christmas?” 

The older woman stopped what she was doing turning to face her youngest son with the most egregious ‘are you fucking stupid’ look Carmy received in a while. “Do I bust my ass every year preparing seven fishes that nobody ever fucking appreciates or eats?” 

Carmy was unsure if it was a trick question but as his mom raised her eyebrows awaiting an answer he realized there in fact was a right answer, “Yes?”

She shook her head looking him up and down as if he were a stranger “I don’t know what’s gotten into you Carmen, it’s like you're from a whole different fucking planet. Of course, the girl comes to Christmas, we're the only family she’s got left.” She stopped speaking to pull out the pack of cigarettes she kept on her slipping one between her lips before speaking around it. “And you would fuckin’ know that if you came home once in a while Bear.” 

Carmy nodded his head ignoring the last sentence as he let the information settle in, he would be seeing you face to face for the first time since high school, and the two of you would be in the same for hourse. He took his chance to slip out of the kitchen as his mother turned back to finish her prepping. He needed some time to himself to try not to work himself into a frenzy as he thought about what tomorrow would bring.

The Berzatto family home looked exactly as you left it all those years ago, the only noticeable difference was the Christmas decorations but other than that it was still your bonus home, the home you spent as much if not more time in than your own home. 

The home you grew up in sat just right across the street, a family of three began renting it a year after you left for college and although it was weird to think that another family was living in the home that would always hold a piece of you, you were just happy to rent it out to a loving family. You’d try to find the time and bring them a goodie basket or something, you always sent holiday cards, but now that you were in town you could meet them properly. 

You stood at the trunk of your rental car staring at the array of wrapped presents trying to decide if you should bring them all in now or just wait. Your eyes fell on the matte black sleek box, the last-minute gift cost more than it would’ve if you bought it ahead of time, you bit your lip the longer you stared at it only now feeling uncertain about the unwarranted gift.

“You sure you’re up for this?” The voice came from your side, Hayden leaned against the car as he watched you stare at the box as though it personally wronged you.

A small sigh escaped you as you turned to face him, arms crossing over your chest “Not really, no but I come home every Christmas and I can’t stop just because he happens to be in town.” Hayden looked at you like he knew you were lying but decided against mentioning it. “Thanks for coming with me by the way, I know it was last minute…how you holding up?”

Hayden shrugged before looking straight ahead, “Well my best friend has been sleeping with my wife for the better part of a year, and said wife served me divorce papers two days before Christmas so.” His voice trailed off as he gave you a sarcastic smile. “But I would say you’re having a worse day than me so it makes me feel a bit better.”

You frowned, not entirely understanding what he was getting at, causing him to roll his eyes, “Oh c’mon Baby, the kid you’ve been in love with our whole lives is home for Christmas, the two of you never even dated mind you. He broke your heart years ago and for some reason, you’re still in love with the idiot but won’t pick up the phone to tell him, and all of your relationships have failed because you’re too stuck living in the past.”

“I should’ve left your ass at home wallowing in self-pity.” 

Hayden’s lips pulled into a sardonic smile as he tipped his head to you. “Well now we can wallow in self-pity together, you can stay out here in the cold looking at that stupid box, but I’ll be in that warm house drinking all of Miss Berzatto’s good liquor.” 

The front door opening drew both of your attention, your heads swiveled to watch Mikey exit the house and begin making his way to you, a frown lined his face as his eyes landed on Hayden by your side confused at the extra guest you brought with you.

“Why the fuck are the two of you standing out here in the cold.” Mikey’s gruff voice felt like a balm for the doubt that was beginning to eat away at you from Hayden’s unwelcome reality check.

Hayden moved quicker than you anticipated, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and pulling you into his side. “Oh you know just reminding our girl here that love sucks and it's all a fucking illusion because no matter how much you love someone they’ll always end up fucking your pseudo brother.” 

Mikey’s confusion was evident as his eyebrows pinched together even more, his eyes darted between the two of you mouth opening to speak only to quickly close as you shook your head back and forth as subtly as possible.

“Hey, is your mom drinking yet?” Hayden’s question earned a hesitant nod from Mikey who was unsure if providing her a drinking partner was the best thing to do. “Great…great, well merry fucking Christmas!” Hayden pressed a gentle kiss into your temple before moving to head into the house, clapping Mikey on the shoulder as he went by. 

Mikey moved to stand next to you, the both of you watching the train wreck of a man head into the Berzatto household. “What the fuck is up with that kid?” Mikey turned to look at you trying to figure out exactly what kind of mess you brought to family Christmas.

“Sasha’s leaving him.” You watched as understanding washed over Mikey’s face a small nod following as he put two and two together at Hayden’s weirder-than-usual behavior. Mikey opened his mouth to give you shit about bringing the insufferable kid with you only stopping as you spoke over him. “He’s good people, Mikey, I just didn’t want him alone on Christmas.”

Mikey didn’t have an argument for that. As irritating as Hayden could be he found himself indifferent towards the kid you called friend. Mikey was loathed to admit it and he would deny it if anyone ever asked him, but he had a secret appreciation for the kid, Hayden was there for you during a tough time in your life, he was there for you when you needed a friend or someone in your corner who wasn’t directly connected to the youngest Berzatto and for that, Mikey respected the kid, but it's not like he’d ever tell you or him that. 

“Let me look at you,” Mikey’s voice broke through the quiet that had settled over the two of you, your eyes flashed to his face taking in the facial hair he'd decided to grow out. “All fucking grown up ain’t you. Can we still call you Baby or you too grown for that shit now?” 

You rolled your eyes at the joke Mikey made every time you came home before turning and grabbing your bag from where you sat it in the trunk, leaving the gifts behind and moving to walk towards the house with Mikey, “As much as I regret the nickname I’m not sure if I could get used to hearing you all call me by my first name again.” 

Mikey chuckled at your words, hand moving out to grab your elbow and stop you from continuing ahead. “Relax out here with me for a bit yeah?”

A frown lined your face as Mikey stopped in front of you, you could tell he had ulterior motives for stopping you, his hand moving to take the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket before lifting it to his mouth and lighting it. 

“You uh, you know your little boyfriends in that house right?” 

Your nose scrunched up at Mikey’s words, you could hear the teasing tone in his voice as he spoke but that didn’t mean his words didn’t make your chest ache. Of course, you knew he was here, but not until a week after you booked your flight and Nat gave you some bullshit excuse about how she just didn’t know he was coming home for Christmas. You were upset with her and rightfully so but Pete somehow still talked you into coming and so here you were pretending like seeing Carmy after so long didn’t matter, pretending like you hadn’t teared up on the drive over with your face turned to the window as Hayden drove, quietly reliving every vile word Carmy spewed at you that night in your head. Pretending as though you didn’t carry his words along with the hurt they caused within you for years like they didn’t change the way you viewed yourself and took up space in other people’s lives, maybe Hayden’s observation about you carrying the past around was more factual than you once thought. 

And it didn’t matter that he tried getting back in contact with you his first year in California or that he sent flowers and a card when your mom passed saying he’d come home if you needed him to. None of it mattered because it would never make up for the underlying truth in his cold, cruel words from all those years ago.  

Mikey’s eyes darted around your face watching the small changes in your expression knowing you were thinking about the past, his cigarette halfway gone as he lost you to the inner workings of your mind. He took another puff before letting it fall from his fingertips and stomping it out, the tears lining your eyes forced him to move faster as he tucked you into his chest listening to you struggle to breathe as you fought to keep the sobs from wracking through your body.

“Shh, shh, you’re okay. You can leave right now if you need to and no one has to know you were here.” His hand raised to stroke your head as he gently rocked the two of you back and forth. “Hayden will understand.” 

You pressed your forehead into his chest as you willed yourself to calm down not wanting to make it obvious you’d been crying once the two of you made your way inside although it was probably already too late for that. 

“Why does it still hurt Mikey?”

A deep sigh raised the older man's chest at your words, his hands fell to your biceps gently pulling you away from him. The look Mikey gave you said it all, a look that forced you to face a truth you’d been running from for the past five years. Creating a new life and pretending as though whatever misguided feelings you held towards Carmy were just that of a childhood crush. 

It still hurt because you never stopped loving him.

You were thankful Mikey didn’t speak the words aloud unlike Hayden, you’d already been lectured by him countless times on this subject, Richie even jumped in from time to time to express his discontent. No one could understand why you held onto your feelings for Carmy so strongly knowing firsthand how much pain and anguish they caused you. You were scolded plenty of times about holding onto all that hurt, being told to either let it all go or talk to Carmy. You couldn’t bring yourself to do either of those things. 

But you couldn’t keep living in your head and feeding into the fairytale of you and Carmy forever. You had to move on with your life at some point, and even though Hayden was correct that one moment from your past kept ruining your future, at this point, you were doing it to yourself. Although it was painful and it took some time, the broken record of Carmy’s words from that night five years ago made it just a bit easier. 

“Baby,” Mikey paused on his words trying to find the right thing to say he felt torn every time this topic came up. You were a little sister to him, he viewed you in the same way he viewed Nat. He wanted the best for you, but this wasn’t it and the both of you knew it. 

“Why are you doing this to yourself? I’m not saying you should forgive Carm m’ just sayin’ holdin’ on to all this hurt isn’t doing you any good.” He watched as you looked away from him, the realization clear on your face, Mikey could read you so well he knew you were tired of carrying the grief of that dead friendship around with you. His hands reached out to cup your face the rough pads of his thumb tenderly caressing your squished cheeks. “You’re finally in the same place after all this time, figure this shit out for both of your sakes.” 

An exhausted sigh escaped your lips as you fought the urge to come up with some lame excuse as to why now wasn’t the right time, but there’d never be a right time for the two of you. 

You wrapped your arms around Mikey’s waist once more needing the warm strong bear hugs he always provided to help calm yourself down enough to be prepared to face everyone, but also to signal you were done with this conversation entirely. You pulled out of Mikey’s grip as he gave you a look seemingly asking if you were okay, you nodded in answer, relaxing into him as he pressed a gentle kiss onto the skin of your forehead.

“Alright, let's get you inside before mom comes out here and cusses me out for keeping you in the cold.” Mikey’s hands rubbed up and down your arms to provide you with the much-needed body heat.

A genuine laugh left your lips knowing Mikey’s words were closer to the truth than one might think. Mikey moved to turn around and begin walking to the door but was forced to stop as you reached out to grab his hand. “I uh, I got you something.” 

His eyebrows raised in question, “Awe you didn’t have to get me nothin’.” You rolled your eyes rummaging through your bag for the two presents and holding them out to him once you found them, chuckling as you watched him place his hands over his heart mockingly. You knew Mikey didn’t do well when it came to sentimental moments and the best you would get out of him was a joke as opposed to anything else. 

You smiled holding the heavier of the gifts out to him first, “I wanted to Mikey, don’t think of this as a gift, think of it uhh…as a show of appreciation yeah?” You nodded, feeling your face warm as you let your eyes dart around so you didn’t have to watch his reaction.

Mikey smiled, finding your shyness endearing before tearing into the neatly wrapped paper and revealing a frame, his hands engulfed it from end to end. He smiled at it before you saw confusion etch across his face, “This is great Baby, yeah but uh what the fuck am I looking at?”

You shoved his shoulder before laughing at him and grabbing the frame out of his hands holding it in front of your chest, the glass facing him so he could still see its contents, “It's a trademark certification you dumbass, can’t you fucking read Mikey.” You joked to try and underestimate how big of a gift this was.

Mikey’s brows furrowed before he snatched the frame out of your hands to get a better look at the certificate sitting behind the glass, eyes snapping back up to your face with a look you couldn’t read. You shuffled your feet feeling like you overstepped a boundary you didn’t even know was between you and Mikey, “Don’t worry though I-I, put it in your name, I didn’t trademark it for myself or anything. I just remember how much you all used to talk about this, and I'm not sure if it's something you still want but I…I just wanted you to know I still believe in you. And I…I know how tough shit is lately and I promise I didn’t mean to step on your toes but…Mikey, you deserve good things too okay?” 

You could hear your long-winded explanation become more emotional by the minute but you needed Mikey to know how loved and appreciated he was. He was a big brother to you, always by your side whenever you needed him, he saw you through all the bullshit with Carmy and helped you to get through your mom's death. And when you were hellbent on throwing whatever little future you didn’t think you had left away he was right there with you pushing you to see just how much you deserved to get out of this godforsaken city and make something of yourself. 

“You deserve so much in this world Mikey, and I wish I could give it to you. But you need to know how much I believe in you and how much I love you, I’m always in your corner,” you paused trying to choke back another round of tears. “And Mikey I…I don’t think I would be here right now if it wasn’t for y-.” 

Before you could get another word out you were once again trapped in his comforting embrace, the both of you taking every bit of love and comfort the other offered in that moment. Mikey’s head tucked into your neck as you felt his uneasy breathing through your hands clutched around him. He wasn’t the type to get emotional in front of other people, and feeling a tear of his smear against your cheek as he raised his head from your neck and settled his bearded cheek against yours, you weren’t sure if you had done the right thing by giving him the gift or not.

The two of you stood in silence as you allowed Mikey to have this moment, not wanting to make him feel insecure about you being present while his emotions ran high. When he finally pulled away you could see the leftover sheen in his eyes. He tucked the framed certificate under his arm as both his hands reached up to grab your face, his eyes found yours, 

“Thank you, Baby,” the words were spoken so quietly you were surprised you caught onto them a small imperceptible nod of your head directed at him as you gave him a tearful smile. Mikey placed a kiss on your forehead before he grabbed the frame again and wrapped you in another hug. 

You decided it best to leave the biography you finally wrote, printed, and compiled about him after all these years in his room, wanting him to be able to experience it in private so he could indulge in whatever feelings it brought forth. 

Mikey’s head sat atop yours as your face rested against his chest, ear listening to the rhythm of his beating heart. The hug you shared with Mikey in that moment felt heavier than any other time you had the pleasure of being held in his arms. You’d be remiss not to notice but chose instead not to bring it up to him and enjoy the moment for what it was.

A moment of peace.

30 minutes passed since Michael escaped the house to do whatever the fuck it was he was doing outside. Carmy didn’t know and in all honesty, he didn’t actually give a shit either, too busy helping their mom out in the kitchen to try to give any thoughts to whatever grabbed Mikey’s attention. 

He was focused in the corner of the kitchen making Tiff Sprite to help alleviate her nausea symptoms. Anyone else would have done their best to block out the rambunctious noises going on throughout the house, but not Carmy though, the chaos fueled him, it grounded him. If the house was quiet it would have been too much for him, to be alone with his own thoughts ping-ponging around in his head, waiting for a chance to drown him. So if he had to listen to his mom list off a plethora of things he needed to make sure happened for Christmas dinner to go off without a hitch while he was making Sprite from scratch, he welcomed it. 

He finished his concoction just in time for Richie to walk through the kitchen, the older man trying to figure out how the fuck it was even possible to make Sprite from scratch. Gratefully taking the glass Carmy offered to him marveling at the carbonated drink in his hand.

Carmy nodded in his direction, “Yo Cousin, where the fuck is Mikey. He just fucking disappeared.” Carmy’s head swiveled around the kitchen checking whether his brother was there or not, coming up empty in his search. Richie glanced up before settling his eyes back on the drink in his hand still doing the mental math to wrap his head around what the fuck Carmy just made.

Richie jutted his head in the direction of the front door, “Outside talking to Baby.” His eyes finally focused on Carmy’s in time to see the color drain from his face at the older man’s words, the younger of the two looking as nauseous as the pregnant woman upstairs. Although he knew you were in town he’d gotten so sucked into the chaotic energy of everything that his mind hadn’t given him any time to overthink seeing you all these years later and if he knew Mikey was outside with you he would’ve made sure he was nowhere in the vicinity of your entrance, not because he didn’t want to see you or be around you but because after all these years he still had no idea how to admit every feeling he kept bottled up and tucked away from you. 

“Did you not know she was coming? Your moms invites her to every holiday, Cousin, and she comes every time.” Richie knew the last bit wasn’t necessary but felt Carmy rightfully deserved it, all anyone wanted from the youngest Berzatto was a visit.

“Dudes been out there for fucking ever though, those two idiots probably just standing outside like a bunch of fucking jagoffs.” Richie left the kitchen not waiting for Carmy to follow him before heading to the front door. He stopped moving the curtain on one of the side windows to spot two of the people he considered family and a surprise plus one. He let out a low whistle nudging Carmy’s shoulder who finally joined his side nodding his head to the window. 

“Awe and she brought her little boyfriend with her.” Richie’s words bounced through Carmy’s head like a game of pinball. You were seeing somebody? Carmy unceremoniously shoved Richie out of the way to get a glimpse of his own out the window, the older man did his best to hold in his laughter. 

Carmy looked out the window just in time to see you snuggly pressed into another man’s side, his brain working overtime to figure out who it was before he watched the man lean in and press a soft kiss into the side of your head causing Carmy’s stomach to sink. 

“When did they start dating?” Before Carmy could stop himself the question was out in the open, his voice sounded less curious and more annoyed than it should have. 

Richie knew what he was about to do next would probably get him into a load of shit but he couldn’t help but want to fuck with Carmy, would you beat his ass for it later, probably but that wasn’t gonna stop him from having his fun. 

“Ohh shit, nobody told you, Cousin?” Richie did his best to sound sad as he spoke, fighting to keep his face neutral as Carmy turned to look at him. “Listen, I don't think it's my place to tell you.” Richie raised his free hand and the cup up in defense.

Carmy could feel his heart speed up the longer he looked at Richie, “Told me what?” An apologetic look washed over Richie’s face twisting the feeling of despair deeper into Carmy’s chest. “Told me fucking what Richie?” He did his best not to scream in the man’s face but the longer Richie stayed silent the more Carmy was sure he was going to have a breakdown. 

“Carm…she’s,” Richie paused suddenly realizing that maybe this joke wasn’t as funny as he first thought it once was but he was in too deep now. “Baby’s married.” 

The tightness in Carmy’s chest intensified tenfold as his eyes traced Richie’s face for any inkling that he was lying. He could feel his palms becoming clammy as he tried to comprehend the truth bomb Richie just dropped on him. When did you get married? Why didn’t he know? 

Even if he didn’t want to admit it, he already knew the answer to that last question. You didn’t want him to know, the two of you weren’t those same kids from five years ago. There was no more sharing everything that happened in your lives with one another and Carmy only had himself to thank for that. 

“Don't fսck with me right now Richie.” Carmy was doing his best to hold onto whatever was left of his resolve not knowing if he could realistically spend his first Christmas home in years watching you be happy with some other man. 

Before the older man could admit to his fallacy the door swung open, the man in question walking through the door. 

“Yo, Richie how you been man? Tiff trynna kill you yet?” His voice drifted through the foyer as he shrugged out of his jacket while Carmy forced himself to turn around making eye contact with the man only receiving an indifferent look in return. “Carmen, good to see you home dude.” 

It took Carmy a moment to realize he knew the man standing in front of him, Hayden Ivanovski was always more your friend than he was Carmy’s but the two of them got along decently enough for your sake. Carmy’s eyes flitted down to the hand stretched out in his direction, quickly latching onto the gold band wrapped around his ring finger, the truth of the situation settled heavily inside of him as he shook Hayden’s hand.

“Yeah uh, good to be back.” Carmy restrained himself from physically massaging out the ache in his chest as he stood in front of the man who succeeded where he couldn’t. He let Hayden’s hand go, tuning out the conversation between Richie and Hayden as he lost himself to the overwhelming thoughts swimming through his head moving to stand just outside of the kitchen as he leaned against the wall. There was no doubt about it, you were married, and those hateful words Carmy spewed at you in the backyard of his family home five years ago probably only helped to push you into Hayden’s embrace. 

Carmy heard you before he saw you. He’d been so lost in his self-deprecating thoughts that he hadn’t heard the door open again. 

All of these years, all the skipped holidays, and Carmy was missing out on you. The sight of you standing in his family home helped to calm his racing heart but then he watched as Hayden pulled you into his side, the two of you looking like a picture of love as the man leaned in placing one more kiss to your temple, conveniently staring Carmy down from across the foyer. 

Carmy dropped his gaze from Hayden before focusing on you once more, the tension seemed to just bleed right out of him as he watched you glow in happiness even if caused by someone else. He was so caught up in his staring that he hadn’t realized the way Mikey glanced at him, eyebrows raised like he was waiting for Carmy to make a move he hadn’t prepared for and didn’t even know he could still make. 

He’d be lying if he said the years apart made him forget what you looked like. You were still the same girl he left in Chicago all those years ago except the wand of maturity worked its magic on you, and in his opinion he thought you looked more beautiful than you had in high school. 

Carmy was never one to pay too much attention to a woman’s features, and not because he didn’t care, it's just that he didn’t think it mattered, he wasn’t drawn to you because of your appearance it was just you as a person that always kept his attention. The comfort you brought him, the way he used to feel safe just being in your presence, the softness you taught him it was okay to bask in, and the way you allowed him to be vulnerable and unapologetically himself were what really kept him hooked. But as he drank in your form he learned in that exact moment why a woman might want people to notice the small things, and he made sure to do so as he stared at you from his vantage point staring around Mikey’s body. Carmy was sure he could look at you all day and deep down inside, he knew he would spend most of Christmas doing just that now that a future with you wasn’t attainable. 

He was pulled from his study of you as your voice rang through his ears, the way his name sounded coming out of your mouth warmed his body. 

“Merry Christmas Carmy,” he could tell your smile was forced, but even the fact that he was worthy of your attention at this moment was enough for him. “It’s nice to see you home.” 

Carmy tried not to read into your words knowing you were just being friendly but the way Mikey cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows at his younger brother, he knew he needed to say something. 

The moment was lost though as another voice interrupted the silence that fell over the group in the foyer. 

“Baby, is that you? My goodness, you look fucking gorgeous and you brought Hayden!” Half of Donna’s body popped out of the kitchen finally gaining a spare moment to greet the newcomers. Her words mumbled through the cigarette between her lips, while she held a ladle in her right hand and the left was occupied by tongs. Her apron was covered in all sorts of sauces and whatever the hell else she was in the kitchen making.

Carmy watched as you laughed half in amusement, you and Hayden both waved in his mother’s direction. Hayden gestured for you to walk in front of him as you both made your way to the kitchen. Donna waved the tongs in Carmy’s direction, “Jesus fucking Christ Carmen, take the girl's bag and coat. Don’t just fuckin stand there.” She huffed eyes glaring the longer Carmen stayed glued to the spot. “C’mon Hayden, I need someone to drink and gossip with.”

The man wasted no time tossing his jacket atop the rest of the pile before maneuvering around Carmy and you. Richie and Mikey had dispersed at some point leaving the foyer empty aside from the two old friends. Carmy gestured for your tote, taking it out of your hand before awkwardly helping you to slip off your jacket doing his best not to touch you unnecessarily. 

Carmy tried to match the small smile you gave him as you made to move around him but was sure he just looked miserable. He was surprised as you gripped his bicep before walking past him, “I uh, I actually bought you a Christmas present. So um, find me later yeah?” He watched as you genuinely smiled at him for the first time in years, unsure if the rhythm his heart was beating in was healthy or not.

A concerned look washed over your face at Carmy’s silence forcing the man to hesitantly nod his head surprised you would’ve gotten him anything after all this time. He opened his mouth to speak but settled against doing so, sure he would make a fool of himself, instead giving you a small shy smile in return. Carmy watched you a moment longer, your own mouth opening and closing like his once had before you settled on a simple nod and dropped your hand back to your side, before walking into the kitchen.

Whatever little hope that interaction had given Carmy was dashed as soon as he heard Hayden’s voice call out to you. You were happy and that’s all he ever wanted, Carmy knew he should’ve been happy for you, but he couldn’t bring himself to come to terms with the fact that all of this could’ve been avoided if he had just been honest with you five years ago.

Maybe then he wouldn’t have to watch as another man brought forth the happiness that once used to be reserved for him. 

a/n: well, well, well what do we have here? gonna be honest idk how the bear fandom is doing so this series rewrite may not get as much love as the original, but that doesn't bother me as much as it used to.

some quick housekeeping as we begin this journey once more; ya girl is working full time so updates will be sporadic, genuinely have no upload schedule so please if you read this rewrite be gracious and understand i have a real life outside of fic writing. other than that please enjoy like/comment/reblog it means a lot.

i've missed you all so much please fangirl with me over these two once more! 🫶🏼🤍

[prentissvest]

through the window

Kate bishop x reader

reader x wandanat(mums)

yn is used

1.4k words (not proof read)

warnings: swearing?

Kate bishop x reader 

Wanda and nat are readers mums 

Yn is used 

I sit on my bed, reading a book that has been on my reading list for AGES but i have finally gotten to reading it and omg was it worth the wait. I sit engrossed in my book when I hear light tapping on my window. I look over and my face lights up with happiness as I see my favourite person in the world at my window. I come out of my haze when I realise that I need to open the window for her to actually be able to come into the room. 

I open my window to see kate, my girlfriend of the past 5 months, my smile quickly turns to a look of worry as i see she winces as she pulls herself through the window cill, “kate what happened” she lifts her arm for me to see a gash on her ribs, i gasp as she timidly pulls her shirt back down. “We thought we had gotten all of the hydra agents but there was one that we must have missed and his bullet grazed me” Kate says nervously. “Ok lay down on the bed” i say with worry in my voice, “ i mean ok but i might not be able to do a whole lot at the minuet babe” i swat her arm lightly “not that you idiot im going to fix you up” “well thats not as fun” i hear as im walking into the bathroom to get the first aid kit. 

I straddle kates hips while i put antiseptic and gause on her ribs, “i thought i told you to be careful” i say with sadness in my voice “i know, im sorry yn” see im not an avenger like kate, my mums wont let me apply until im ‘at least 18’ even though mama has been teaching me combat since i was 6 so that i would know how to defend myself. 

Once ive made sure that kate is fully bandaged up i get comfy on my bed and let her cuddle into my side “wanna watch something” i ask “sure, you choose tho” so i pop on gilmore girls and rap my arms around kate still being wary of her injuries. About haalfway thought the episode i look down at kate to see that she had fallen asleep, i pull the blanket further over her and i let myself drift into a pieceful sleep.

Natashas pov

Wanda and i are preparing tea for our small family, wanda decided on making her and yns favourite dish, paprikash, i walk over and hug her from behind, since the battle with thanos wanda and i decided to move away from the compound, we will occasionally go on missions but we usually just go in for meetings and pich ideas, we wanted to make sure that yn has as much of a normal life as possible which we know will never be one hundred percent possible but she is everything wanda and i could have wished for, yelena is staying with us at the minuet as she recently got injured on a mission so she is staying in the guestroom (an often occurrence)

. “Baby please can you get yn so she can come and make the table, tea wil be ready soon” wanda asks with a smile on her face, i nod into wandas shoulder and make my way up the stairs to yns room, i hear the tv playing in the background so i slowly open the door but nothing could have prepared me for what i had seen, the new avenger cuddled up to my daughter, millions of options go through my mind but i decided to slowly back out of the room and get wanda to help me.

Yelena's pov

I sit on my bed scrolling on my phone when i smell wanda's paprikash waft through the air, i hum at the smell and think to myself ‘thank god wanda cooked tonight, i don't think i can handle another burned meal by my dear sister’

i begin to make my way down to the kitchen when i see yns door open so i decide to let her know that tea is almost ready but when i go through the door i see another person which i was not expecting “KATE BISHOP” i say maybe a little to loud, the pair begin to stir so i attempt to make it down the hallway as fast as i can. I get into the kitchen and I'm met by my sister and her wife. “Yn- bed- kate- asleep- door- open-” i attempt to say panting. 

“See i wasn't seeing things wands'' natasha says to wanda, “ok we need to be adults about this, maybe yn didnt feel ready to tell us about the relationship at the minuet, i hope we didn't make her feel that way” wanda says beginning to overthink the situation. “ what do we do?'' Nat says. “Should we wake them up, the food is going to go cold and maybe if we all sit at the table together yn will feel better to talk about it” we begin to head up to yns room. 

Yns pov

 I begin to stir awake when i hear my girlfriends voice being shouted throughout my room, as my eyes adjust i see yelenas figure rush out of my doorway and dart down the hall, i begin to shake kate awake “kate, kate” “whattt” she grumbles, “yelena saw us, she's ran into the kitchen, you need to hide” “oh shit” kate says running into the bathroom, i don't know why i haven't told my parents, the are naturally accepting people, i think that hey will just be anxious of me dating an avenger, so i never told them but now i wish i have before.

I lay back down in bed and pretend to be asleep, i can hear them get closer to my room when i hear mum say “see it's just her, i'm not sure what you two are talking about” yelena walks over to the bathroom door after seeing that its locked and bangs loudly on the door, kate yelps loud enough for everyone to hear so i sit up in bed as kate walks out of the bathroom with her head hanging low. I see mum's mouth drop and I slowly step out of bed and walk over to Kate and look over to my family. “Mamas, this is Kate,” Kate waves nervously. “Right let's have tea '' Mama says while quickly escaping the room, I give a confused look to mum but she just shrugs and follows Mama out. “Kate bishop, so you're dating my niece-” “YELENA” mum shouts from the other room, Yelena puts her fingers to her eyes then to kate. 

When we get to the kitchen it's awfully silent, I pull out a chair for Kate then I sit next to her, “so-” mama starts but I quickly interrupt her. “Im sorry, i know i should have told you but i was scared, i know that you and mama would accept me no matter what but, kate being an avenger we know that you both would probably not like the relationship but i really like her mamas, she would never hurt me or put me in danger” i say beginning to get out of breath. “Slow down tiger, we are happy that we found out and that you are happy dont get me wrong but we only want to make sure that you are safe, both of you” mum says “so your not angry” i say wearily “that you kept your relationship from us? No but sneaking someone into the house is another story” mama says with a slight smirk on her face. “Oh come on it's not like you and wanda didn't sneak around for ages' 'Yelena says which gets her a slap from mama. “But we would like to know more about you and kate's relationship, as well as getting to know kate better so, how did you both meet'' kate puts her hand in mine as she begins to tell the story, and sitting here, with my family and girlfriend it feels, right, complete, as kate talks i look at her nothing but love that i can feel. “And then i turned around the corner and spilt coffee all down her shirt so i took her to the nearest clothing shop and bought her a new shirt” kate says smiling at me “and i bought you a new coffee”

[static-arz]

What are the relationship of Li with Mk and others and Shen too if its alright?(Sorry I'm just really invested in your oc's🥺✨)

DON'T BEE I LOVE TALKING ABT THEM 🥹❤

Also phew this one is gonna long answer so prepare! :'D,

1. Note: Li makes his first appearance in mid season 2 while Shen makes his first appearance in mid season 4!

Li Xin:

Mei dragon:

Just like I wrote on his sheet, she's Li's childhood bestie and are super close, for Li she's seen as a possible love interest too! Problem is that he's too scared to say anything and doesn't wanna ruin the long friendship they share so he loves her in silence :')

MK:

Just like the rest, Li only knows him through Mei. At first, Li was doubting him and judging him in all ways, didn't really like him at first because he thought he was the only best friend Mei had lmao he was kind of jealous tbh.

But around season 3 Li sees MK as an close friend too! The moment MK had to start figuring things on his own, that is when Li was able to relate to him a lot. He would often try to mentally support him and just be there for him as much as he needed. He adores the way he is and also apologizes to him for his behavior and now he's extra caring for him. uvu

Monkey King/Sun Wukong:

Nope. Not even a bit. For Li monkey King is a burden. He gets to learn about him throughout the season 2, 3 and 4 and he is not very convinced by him. He often try to avoid talking to him and be annoyed with his presence alone. He only sees the bad traits instead of the good ones. In the end of season 4 he does get to learn more about him, but stays natural towards him. So he doesn't really see him as friend.

Tang:

For Li he's sorta a mutual than a close friend. He doesn't bond with him much but they had their moments too. Li gets to see his troubles too and notices his lack of confidence. He often try to tell him the opposite though. By now you'd know that Li is sort of the therapy friend of the bunch.

Pigsy:

Just like Tang a mutual. he would often take advice from him when it comes to cooking because Li had to microwave his food most of the time because he is a student. He'd love to learn how to cook proper meals for his health and regrets never learning it from his parents. Pigsy gladly teaches him as well. Li also learns quickly and he's thankful he's here too.

Sandy:

Li sees him as a close mutual. At first he was quite suspicious of him because he never saw so much kindness before. Almost made him believe that guy is not what he seems to be. He actually had a lot of doubts in everyone but slowly he warmed up to him too and saw a genuine kind individual. Since he received pain and suffering most of the time he often got fooled by people who pretended to be kind. He's glad Sandy is not that person and never will be. He appreciates his presence too.

Red son:

He doesn't wanna admit it but pretty sure he's part of them too! When first met in S3 Li gets super suspicious of him too. Especially after hearing about what he did in the past with the others he quickly becomes protective and alert of his friends safety. Soldier instinct he has. He didn't really like him at first and was neutral about him until in the special episode: embrace your destiny, he sees him as ally once seeing how much he helped. Especially Mei since Li gets super anxious and even more protective once he saw Mei struggling with the fire of Samadhi.

2. Note: As for everyone else he was able to meet throughout the adventures with MK and the others, he'd stay natural and takes time to warm up to anyone that is seen as ally, and he will be protective and shielding against the enemies.

Shen Xiaotian:

Let's say that his relationship with MK and the others is a mix of hatred and adoration. He pities MK but at the same time he can't help but feel pleasure when watching him suffer because he thinks he deserves it. Shen sees him as a corny hero but at the same time Shen wishes he was that type. For the rest he isn't very impressed by them but more annoyed. Especially with Li because for some reason Li caught his attention shortly. There is not much to say about Shen and his relationship with Mk and the others since he freshly appears in season 4.

As for Monkey King, he's a different case. Shen first met him when he caught him stealing peaches of immortality. Back then Shen was a passionate celestial warrior so he'd definitely try to catch that monkey. For sure he failed. He was a nuisance to him and still is. Yet he does adores the way of his rebellious acts. But Shen is even more unhinged than Monkey King so when he finds out how "weak" be became he instantly gets disgusted by him.

Phew! That was a lot to write! Took me almost an hour! Excuse my spelling mistakes, I am quite fast in typing and english is not my first language! :'D. But yeah, let me know if something is unclear I try to explain it more!

[choccy-zefirka]

15 Dialogue Lines!

Tagged by @druckkugelschreiber ! Thank youuuu, I love being tagged in things, even though I am always so slow with filling out the memes, and am too awkward to tag people back!

The prompt was: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

I chose my forever gal Yvie! She's a half-dwarf, half-elf, so I tag her as Lavellan for convenience. The lines are mostly sourced from just a couple of fics bc I have not actually posted a lot of written content about her! (I had some now-deleted fics about Yvie-like OCs I've since scrapped, but they need to be reworked!).

Imagine all of this spoken with a French accent, because Yvie is, in fact, Orlesian (but from a rural area rather than Val Royeaux; there may be some communication issues when she uses her village's dialect around Vivienne, who is a very studious non-native speaker with impeccable knowledge of the standard Orlesian, as prescribed by the Fantasy Académie Française).

"I heard some Chantry sermons from the humans in my hometown, but I don’t remember the part where Andraste cooked meals for the Maker"

"You see someone half the human height, with ears to match, and your mind instantly jumps back and forth between 'servant' and 'smuggler'… And yet humans are not so quick to let either of my kin learn a trade, no?"

"It is never gratifying to kill people — not for me! I am a gardener, not a warrior"

"My eldest sister joined the Grey Wardens many years ago... After the Fifth Blight ended and the Hero of Ferelden vanished, Empress Celene sent her to Amaranthine, to rebuild. And I ran away from home, all the way from Orlais, to visit her. I was still so young back then, and I thought it was going to be some grand adventure, but — but instead, I saw the darkspawn come back."

"Créateur! Of course I won’t punish you!"

"There is nothing wrong about loving a monster... And trust me, nobody wishes Corypheus was worthy of love more than me."

"I looked into his eyes when he tried to pry the Mark from my hand. I saw how much he had suffered. I saw the pain of wanting to find his gods, to discover, perhaps, what he truly meant to them, to the world; what meaning his life could have… Only to find a cold, indifferent silence."

"[The Architect] is a friend of my sister’s... I met him once, a year after the Fifth Blight."

"I could not fathom what all the fuss was back then. Why would silly Julie fall for [Loghain] a man twenty years her senior, who'd been the archnemesis of her predecessor? But it seems like a weakness for villains runs in the Kader family."

"Experimental nug breeding facilitator. Formulated at the request of Lady Nightingale. Handle with care. Effects on humanoids may be adverse"

"I shared my family’s fruit preserve recipe with [Flissa], though there’s not much fruit to choose from, with snow everywhere!"

"The dwarf side of my family was lucky to start a fruit orchard on the surface instead of getting sucked into the Carta."

"Do you know how flimsy the locks are in here? Before the cells started filling up, I would watch Sera — who is a friend, by the way; do not be hard on her — pick them for sport!"

"I am sorry. In the future... When the Elder One had taken over the world... I — I had to kill you."

"I cannot stop thinking about why every highway robber I 'take care of' chose to do what they did."

[spaceorphan18]

Scenes from December (23/24)

Klaine Advent Day Twenty-Three : Mistake

****

December, 2082

Lily Anvery was having a day.  The snow had made her late to a job she’d only had for a week, she tripped over the cord connected to the Christmas tree lights, nearly toppling the Christmas tree in the lobby over, and now as she tried to help the senior citizens with their lunches, she had to deal with the one ornery man who seemed to make her life difficult every time she came in. 

“What do you mean there isn’t any cheesecake left?” Mr. Hummel may have been thin and frail looking but oh god did he have a bite when he spoke.  Those icy blue eyes bored holes into her.  

“I’m sorry, Mr. Hummel,” Lily responded - offering as much sympathy as she could muster.  “It’s not on the menu today.” 

“Well, it’s been on the menu for five years,” he shot back.  “And now you’re telling me I can’t have it.” 

Lily shrugged helplessly, not sure what to say.  “It figures that in a place that does not know how to properly make roast chicken - even though I have countlessly tried to tell you people the correct way, would take away the one thing that was actually worth eating here,” Mr. Hummel continued to rant.  “Don’t you think I wish I could cook for myself? I can barely see a foot in front of me anymore, so god forbid I turn on the stove and accidentally blow this whole god forsaken place up.  At least it would be warm for once.  Why is it that this whole place is cold all the time? You take enough money from me that you can pay the damn heating bill.” 

Lily breathed heavily.  “Mr. Hummel, if there’s a problem with your heating - we’d be happy to take a look--” 

“Don’t bother - and give me my mashed potatoes.  I’m sure you guys can at least get the potatoes correct.” 

Conjuring all her training in how to be civilized and helpful, Lily assisted Mr. Hummel to his table.  He fussed a bit more about napkins and cheap silverware and after another five minutes of enduring his complaining, she was able to slip away into the back. 

“Maybe it was a mistake for me to work here,” she told her supervisor, Marissa.  “ I just wanted to help people.  And all they seem to do is yell in my face.” 

Marissa, who had an eternal sunny outlook on life, one that Lily wished she could muster to the same extent, smiled friendly as she dispensed advice.  “You’re doing great.  Just stick with it a little while longer.  They’re not all bad, and I like to think most of them appreciate us.” 

“Well, I doubt Mr. Hummel appreciates anything.” She peered out the doorway into the dining room, watching Mr. Hummel in the distance as he sat at his table alone, slowly eating the potatoes with a frown on his face.   

“You’ll have to give Mr. Hummel a break,” Marissa said as she looked over Lily’s shoulder.  “His spouse of, like, seventy years recently passed away.”  

“How did his wife tolerate him for seventy years, my god?” 

“Husband,” Marissa corrected.  “And, oh, Mr. Anderson was the sweetest thing.  Always used to wear bowties to dinner and had a smile for everyone.  No one used to calm Mr. Hummel down like he did.” 

“Do you know any magic spells that can bring him back to life?” Lily huffed.  “Because I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” 

Marissa waved it off as if it was no big deal.  “Oh, he’s not so bad.  You just have to have the right touch.  Why don’t you try talking to him -- let him know I’m calling his daughter to bring some cheesecake on her next visit.” 

Lily nodded, and despite her hesitation, returned back to the dining room.  She made her way around the room, chatting politely with some of the other residents before heading towards Mr. Hummel’s table.  By the time she arrived, he had finished his meal and remained pensively staring out the window.  

“Mr. Hummel?” She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.  He only let out a grunt in reply.  “I went and checked -- unfortunately, we’re out of cheesecake for the next week, but Marissa said she’d ask your daughter to bring some on her next visit.” 

“Yes, let your inadequacy become my family’s burden,” he snapped at her.  

Lily felt her anger rise, but shoved it back down.  She would not let him get the best of her.  Taking her lead from Marissa, she instead sat down at the table next to him, and looked out into the snowy woods with him.  

“Marissa said you were married for nearly seventy years?”

“Yes.” His voice was sharp and pointed. 

“That’s kind of amazing,” she pushed through.  “What was he like?” 

A shift came over Mr. Hummel’s face.  The anger that had been there seemed to dissipate and his whole demeanor softened.  “Blaine was…” he trailed off, and for a moment, Lily wondered if she had pushed too far.  But Mr. Hummel was not irritated by the request, just lost in thought for a moment. His voice changed into something gentler as he spoke.  “He was the sweetest person you could know.  His eyebrows were ridiculous.  And he used to steal my clothes - even though they were too big on him.  But he was the best partner anyone could have ever asked for.” 

“He sounds lovely,” Lily said - amazed at Mr. Hummel’s transformation.  “Would you like to tell me more?” 

He nodded slowly.  “Sometimes, in the winter, when we went back to Ohio, we’d ice skate on the river near his house.  We’d ice skate here, too, from time to time, but there was a sense of adventure then - it was a real river out in the woods.  We’d stay out there for hours.  I wasn’t that great at skating - he wasn’t that much better, but we’d help each other along.  I used to get so cold, and always ended up falling in the snow.  He was like a furnace -- always radiating heat.  Winter wasn’t so bad when he was around.  Always made me feel warm.” 

Oh! Oh. Something in Lily clicked - and she got it.  

“You know, my grandmother knits - and is always looking for a new project,” she offered.  “Maybe she could knit you a nice throw.” 

Mr. Hummel tilted his head away, taking a long moment to consider.  “Could she incorporate a few old bow ties into it?” 

“Of course she could.” 

“Well, then.  I would like that.  And tell my daughter I want the raspberry cheesecake - not the cheap kind.”

Lily let out a laugh.  “No problem, Mr. Hummel.”  

[whatthisfemsheplikes]

Number 7: "Don't look. I will bandage it for you."

I think this one would be cool with Tori and Wesley. like, Wes gets injured and has PTSD from when he got injured from the thorn bush. Tori tries to help by bandaging etc etc fearplay and angst ensues

Thank you for the prompt! I had fun writing this one, especially since I'm a sucker for any kind of hurt/comfort scene in g/t.

This one is set about a month after See Me ends, so slight spoilers for that for anyone who hasn't read/finished it yet.

CW: blood, PTSD, panic attack

“Are you sure you don’t need any help, Wes?” Tori asked as she bent down to get a closer look over Wesley’s shoulder. He was currently cutting a tiny piece of lettuce into even smaller pieces with a borrower-sized knife on his own small table. During his time learning to read, he’d also been learning to cook with Tori, and the lessons had gotten a lot easier for him ever since they bought more furniture and kitchen tools that were his size. 

He’d only just started to work on cooking by himself, especially so he can make more meals of his own size. Usually, he’d help Tori with measuring, getting ingredients, or even just reading the recipe while she did the actual “cooking” of the food since all of the appliances were human-sized. If Wesley could have his own stove to bake food in the oven or cook something on the stovetop, he’d be excited to try that. At the moment though, no working appliances were available for borrowers. Tori had found some articles on the internet claiming that these appliances were in development, but Wesley didn’t hold out much hope. That wouldn’t stop him from making his own food right now though. 

Luckily, there were still plenty of meals he could make without needing to heat anything up. He did still need a bit of help from Tori since all the ingredients he would need were so much bigger than him, but she’d gone through and cut lots of comment ingredients she had so they were a more manageable size for Wesley. 

At the moment, he was trying to make a salad for his lunch with pieces of lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers that Tori had already cut down to size for him. He was still going back and forth about whether he should add cheese or not, but he figured he’d have a better idea once the salad was done. 

“No, I’m okay,” Wesley replied while keeping his eyes locked on the chef’s knife in his hand. While he was getting more comfortable with cooking overall, he was still a bit nervous about using a knife. Tori had taught him several times how to cut safely and efficiently so he could be as safe as possible, but even just the look of how sharp the knife was still made him uneasy. 

If he stared too long, he’d start to fall down a rabbit hole of fear, usually with thoughts that either started or ended his spiral with the image of Tori in the hospital after she’d been stabbed. He wasn’t there when the stabbing happened, so he didn’t know if Tori’s attacker used a knife that looked like this one or not, but it didn’t really matter to him what kind it was. He’d inevitably start thinking of the scar that still showed on Tori’s abdomen, though it was much more faded than the fresh stitches he imagined when he thought of her in that hospital bed. 

Wesley shook his head to bring himself back to reality. He tried to calm himself by focusing on the comforting warmth of Tori’s gentle breath against his back as she watched him work. 

“I think I can do this myself,” he nodded, trying to be confident. “But I’ll let you know if I need help.” 

“Okay,” Tori sighed behind him. “If you’re sure.” In the back of his mind, Wesley wished that she’d give him some kind of comforting touch, like rubbing his back or even just brushing her fingers against him. Anything to help him feel more grounded and calm. But, he knew she wouldn’t do that while he was still trying to focus and while he had a knife in his hand. 

“I’ll just make my own lunch over on the island then,” Tori said with a smile in her voice, clearly as an attempt to hide her own nerves about letting Wesley do this alone. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Okay,” Wesley nodded, keeping his eyes on the knife as he cut through the lettuce. He could feel his eyes growing wider as he heard Tori take a few steps away. He knew she was still nearby, but the fact that he was in his own space now made him feel a pit in his stomach. He felt alone now, and he couldn’t deny that his nerves were at an all-time high now.

After putting down the knife, Wesley carefully gathered the lettuce he’d cut and dropped it into a borrower-sized bowl. Then, he picked up a small piece of tomato that Tori had left for him on the table and he stared down at it while he bit his lip hard. 

“You can do this,” he said with a deep breath. “It’s just another piece of food to cut through. You were taught how to be safe. You can do it.”

Wesley tried to calm his nerves and stop the slight shaking in his hands as he slowly picked up the knife again. With slight hesitation, he carefully sliced into the tomato and felt a small amount of tension leave his shoulders. He was doing this on his own. Sure, Tori was only a few feet away, but he was really doing it all by himself! 

He’d hoped that, as he kept going, things would get easier, but that wasn’t the case with this tomato. Instead, he felt like he was getting a worse and worse hold on both the tomato itself and the knife as his hands kept getting covered in tomato juice. Still, he kept a firm grip on the knife’s handle and felt his eyebrows furrow in concentration. He didn’t want to ask Tori for help. Not when he knew he could believe in himself and make a meal that was completely done by his own hand. 

He couldn’t deny that he was getting frustrated though as he had to slow down his pace from the slippery tomato juice. He knew he could still do this safely if he just took things one step at a time and didn’t rush anything. Eventually, an idea struck him as to how he could potentially help this situation. Maybe he could just ask for some paper towels to clean things up a little bit. Sure, that would still be asking for help, but it mean that Tori would take over cooking for him. He could still make his own food by himself if he just asked Tori for something to clean up the mess with. 

Never taking his eyes off the knife, Wesley turned to his left to look over his shoulder. What he didn’t think about though was that his intense stare on the knife meant that he was turning with the blade still held in front of him. He hardly seemed to notice though as his eyes stayed glued to the cool metal. 

“Hey, Tori. Could you-”

Just then, a loud knock boomed through the kitchen from the front door. By human standards, the knock was probably casual-sounding, but to Wesley, it almost sounded like thunder. The noise startled him so badly that his arms flailed, causing him to drop the knife. The blade slid across his forearm, not deep enough to do too much damage but enough to draw blood, then it fell to the floor with a clatter. 

Immediately, the sight of a long, thin line of blood forming across his forearm made Wesley stare at it with tunnel vision. He could hear a voice reverberate around him, but he wasn’t able to discern anything that it said. It was like he was trapped in a fishbowl, but he hardly cared about that. He was too busy trying to find air to breathe as the cut started to drip fresh blood onto the countertop under his feet. 

This was enough to make him feel all the blood drain from his face as his head felt dizzy. He’d never cared about the sight of blood before, but this was different. As he collapsed on his side to the cold countertop floor, Wesley knew why the sight and the sting of the cut horrified him so much. 

It looked and felt just like the cuts he’d gotten from the rose bushes when he’d tried to escape the pet store. 

The day he met Tori.

The day he almost died. 

As the room around him rumbled with movement and that voice kept speaking incoherently to him, Wesley felt like the stinging sensation was traveling all over his body, just like when he’d been covered in cuts from those thorns. He was convinced that, if he looked anywhere else, he’d see more slices in his skin everywhere. The pain became overwhelming until it seemed to congregate at the spot where he still had his largest scar on his abdomen. The one that almost made him bleed out right before he’d reached his freedom.

Looking at the countertop where his arm lay showed that a small pool of blood had formed from the cut. Surely, he was losing too much blood. Surely, he was going to die. 

His whole body trembled in agony and fear until he suddenly felt something heavy and warm against his side. It was a comforting presence. One he could’ve sworn that he’d felt before. It didn’t move against him, but the sensation made his focus turn to the voice that had been speaking all along. 

“Wes! It’s okay! I can help! Just look at me!” Tori’s panicked voice cut through his thoughts as he finally looked up to see what was weighing down on his side. The familiar sight of pink, soft skin told him that Tori had rested her hand on him, and his eyes traveled from her fingers up her arm until he finally reached her face. 

She looked scared. That was all he could think. Maybe she knew he was dying too. What would she do when he was gone? Would she find someone else? Would she forget about him? Wesley could feel hot tears rolling down his face at the thought, only to realize that he’d clearly already been crying before Tori’s hand shocked him to attention. 

“T-Tori,” he stammered as his body continued to shake. “M-my cuts… from those thorns… t-they’re back. A-am I g-going to d-die?”

The question made Tori’s expression morph from one of fear to one of deadly seriousness. 

“You’re not going to die, Wes,” she said sternly, but not in an angry way. More like she wanted to make sure that they both believed what she was saying. “I grabbed the first aid kit to help. I can help you, but I need to see your arm and I need you to sit up for me.” 

In a daze, Wesley moved to try and sit up, but he started to feel too dizzy. He thought he might collapse back down to the countertop, but Tori’s hand was instantly underneath him to help him up. She moved slowly, raising his head and shoulders centimeter by centimeter until he was completely sitting up with only a little dizziness. All the while, Wesley’s eyes didn’t leave the cut on his arm. The stinging in his abdomen didn’t subside either as Tori’s free hand pushed the borrower-sized table over to him so he could lean against it when her palm that supported him moved away. 

“You’re gonna be okay, Wes,” Tori said in a calmer voice. As quickly as possible, she grabbed the first aid kit from where she’d dropped it at her feet and she carefully set it on the counter a slight distance away from Wesley. When she opened it, she snatched up a cleansing wipe, some ointment, gauze, and a bandage. She thought that would be enough until she set the supplies next to Wesley and realized that the bandages and gauze would have to be much smaller for his size. In a flash, she’d raced over to one of the kitchen drawers, yanked it open, and grabbed the best pair of scissors she could find before approaching the borrower again. 

In an effort to be quicker, Tori haphazardly cut a small square out of the gauze and told herself she’d come back to the bandages later. She held the tiny gauze square out to Wesley on her pointer finger. 

“Can you hold this for me?” she asked with concern in her eyes. “Don’t put it on yet. Just hold it, please.” Without a word, Wesley reached out and took the gauze with his hand from his good arm and held it in his lap. 

“Good,” Tori nodded as she started to rip open the package that held the cleansing wipe. “Now, can you hold out your arm that’s cut?”

“I-I can’t,” Wesley stammered. “The cuts are e-everywhere!” When she saw that his eyes wouldn’t leave the wound, Tori let out a sigh, slowly brought her hand towards him, and tucked her pointer finger under his chin. The movement made Wesley’s eyes instantly lock with hers when she brought his chin up a little. The sight of his shocked and tear-stained face made Tori start to gently stroke his hair with her thumb in an effort to comfort him and calm him down. 

“Wes, listen to me,” she said softly. “Those cuts from the thorns are gone. You’re still safe. We just have to patch up this injury and then you’ll be fine.” While it appeared that Wesley was allowing his body to relax just a little, his eyes started to wander back to the bleeding mark on his arm. Tori gave him a small nudge with the finger that she still had under his chin, and immediately his gaze was locked with hers again. 

“Don't look. I will bandage it for you.” After a moment of hesitation, Wesley finally nodded before he let his eyes close to avoid staring at the cut any longer. Tori felt his body relax a bit more, so she took that as a cue to continue now that Wesley was calmer. 

Still trying to be quick, Tori finished opening the cleansing wipe and took it out of the package, causing a harsh chemical smell to fill the air. The scent made her wrinkle her nose a little, but her face steeled again as she got closer to Wesley. 

“This will probably sting,” she told him as she brought the wipe toward his injured arm. “But only for a second. Just keep your eyes closed, okay?” 

“O-Okay,” Wesley murmured with a small nod. With that, Tori carefully held his arm on the tip of her finger with her left hand and held the wipe in her right. She gave a wince of her own as she just barely pressed the wipe to his skin, causing Wesley to let out a hiss of pain. 

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Tori rambled before rapidly taking the wipe away. At least his skin looked clean now. He wasn’t bleeding as much anymore, especially since the cut looked like it was only slightly worse than a paper cut, so Tori felt a bit of relief. As gently as possible, she then applied a small amount of antibiotic ointment to the cut before turning her eyes to the gauze in Wesley’s lap. 

“Okay, Wes,” she said as she reached for the roll of bandages and the scissors. “I need to cut a bandage that’s your size. In the meantime, can you hold that piece of gauze on your cut? Keep looking away from it. Just put the gauze on it for a second.”

As Tori slid the scissors through the bandage to make a thin strip, Wesley carefully brought the gauze to his cut and slightly pressed down, all while keeping his eyes closed. The pain around the rest of his body was subsiding as he focused on taking deep breaths. He still felt a bit of sharpness in his abdomen, but it seemed to go away more and more each time Tori was touching him. 

“I’ll take that,” Tori said as she slowly put her own finger over the gauze on Wesley’s arm. “Thanks, Wes. I’m just going to wrap this bandage around your arm and then we’re all done.”

“Alright,” Wesley nodded, trying to keep calm. With a strip of bandage that looked like a thick piece of pasta, Tori carefully pressed one end of it under her finger that held the gauze. She did her best to both hold the gauze and wrap the bandage around Wesley’s arm, but it was proving to be difficult with her large fingers moving around his tiny appendage. 

With a huff to signal a change of plans, Tori let go of the supplies before grabbing onto the counter with both hands. She started to jump towards the countertop and before her feet could land, she had shrunk to less than three inches tall. 

“Much better,” she smirked as she approached Wesley and picked up the bandages to resume. 

Once she started to wrap his cut with more speed and ease, Wesley noticed how the sensations he was experiencing were no longer coming from fingers that were as long as he was tall. They were from hands that were just slightly smaller than his own. 

With hesitation, he allowed his eyes to flutter open before they widened in shock at the sight of Tori sitting next to him on the counter. It had only been a month since he’d learned that Tori was a shifter, and she didn’t change her size often enough for him to be used to the sight of her next to him like this. 

Tori didn’t seem to notice Wesley’s stare though. Instead, she remained focused on wrapping his arm snuggly with the bandage until she was able to tuck the end into the rest of the bandage to secure it. When she looked up, she had a gentle smile on her face that made Wesley’s cheeks feel hot. 

“Are you feeling any better?” she asked as she held his hand. The question and the warmth of her hand brought Wesley back down to earth even more. Somehow, Tori always knew what to do to pull him out of a panic attack, even a particularly scary one like that. Right now, she didn’t seem to realize just how much she’d saved him from falling completely into a pit of despair. She’d helped him so much that even the pain in his abdomen was gone. 

Instead of using his voice to reply, Wesley let out a relieved sigh, straightened his legs out in front of him, and motioned for Tori to come closer with his free hand. He didn’t let go of her hold as she scooted over to him and followed his lead to sit on his lap. When she was settled with her back against his chest, Wesley finally let go of her hand so he could wrap both his arms around her stomach to hold her close. He nuzzled his face into the hair on top of her head and held her just a bit tighter when he felt her hands start to rub up and down his arms. 

“Thank you, Tori,” he sighed into her hair. “Thank you so much.” 

“You don’t have to thank me, love,” she nestled into him even more. “I would do anything for you.” 

“I love you, Tori.” 

“And I love you too. Forever and always.”

[ofstarsandskies]

OutOfCanonShips;; Huzzah, the Modern AU drabble I put off for actually 8 years is finished! Feelsgoodman. Now to catch up on drafts now that I'm free of this beast I set out to finish. Didn't help I lost progress about 5 separate times, including an hour ago. Cross-posted onto AO3 as usual. Enjoy!

Content Warning (cw): Victor/Ludger centric (though in the AU, they're not related), also maybe Victor/Julius if you're feeling spicy.

"Ludger, I'm home!" Elle's sunny cheer lasted just that sentence once she had a look at him. "You're wearing that shirt again? You had it on yesterday!"

"D-Did I? Um, white's just my favorite color is all!" Ludger side-stepped the issue, something his audience didn't appreciate. But telling her 'your dad will kill me if I try to leave the house' would be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

His master (awful as it is to remind himself…) told him Day 1: 'Your entire life now depends on pleasing me', after all…

"…Whatever," Elle brushed past him, taking her usual seat at the kitchen table and dumping her book bag.

He understood her critique, really. He wished more than her he could do something about it, too. But until Victor sent orders to deliver him a fresh batch of clothes, he had to make due with the table scraps his master fed him.

It still beat the first few days of swapping between pajamas Victor lent him and his street clothes from when Victor’s men kidnapped him. Every morning, he'd do a small load of laundry every night before bed, throw his normal clothes in, and wake up a bit before both Victor and Elle to start their day in proper attire.

Only sometime later on a random afternoon did a bodyguard drop off enough dress shirts, dress pants, and neckties to last about a week. While not as nice as a full closet, having some variety let him pretend he reclaimed a tiny piece of a normal life. So, with a little mix-and-matching, he at least looked a bit different every day for his going-on two months of captivity.

A couple weeks using this system though, Elle made it clear she found this ‘habit’ weird. She’d ask every now and then if he liked wearing the same seven outfits, which Ludger’d segue into any other topic to avoid answering any questions which could hint at his… situation. It worked for a while, but Elle was bright for her age; his diversion tactics wouldn’t fool her forever.

Fast forward to today's instance of complaining at his lacking wardrobe. She didn't buy the 'its a favorite' line given her low grumble and dirty look, but least she dropped it to focus on her homework: a reading passage with a vocabulary list which felt way more advanced than what he remembered learning in class. The woes (or perks?) of attending a fancy private school maybe?

Halfway into her vocabulary work, Elle set down her pencil. He readied some encouragement, though not before she hit him with a difficult question, “Why don’t you buy new clothes, Ludger? Daddy and I have a whole closet, but you wear the same stuff every week!”

“Well, I…” Ludger fiddled with his tie, trying to whisk up a decent excuse. “I-I don’t have the time! Between cleaning the house, watching you, cooking meals, and taking care of what your father asks me to do, my only free time’s when I’m sleeping. Why, I wouldn’t even have spare clothes if your father’s men hadn’t dropped some off for me during work!”

Sadly, that answer wasn’t enough, “You should ask Daddy to let you take a day off to go shopping!”

“I-I can’t do that. If I’m gone, who’s going to take care of you?”

“Then I’ll go too! I’ll make sure to pick out something less lame and dorky for you!”

“I-I…” Ludger’s grave kept digging with no lifeline to save him. Unless Victor came home early, there was still another hour before the man got off work. He couldn’t be honest--Victor’s orders always ended with a ‘or you will die’--and he’d exhausted every excuse in the book. So…

“Um… ask your father about it when he comes home! If he says yes, then I’m sure it’s fine. But if he says you can’t go, there’s nothing I can do.” He’d probably get yelled at for pushing this predicament on Victor’s shoulders, but better yelled at then dead.

Elle pouted for a moment, waiting for him to change answers. A silent stare down followed for minutes, though eventually she picked her pencil back up and continued where they left off.

“Fiiiiiiine. But if Daddy says yes, you better not make more excuses not to go!”

That garnered a light chuckle, “I’m already looking forward to it. Maybe you’ll find my fashion sense better than your father’s.”

“Anything’s better than what Daddy gets. He always picks boring work stuff.”

Elle had a point, the most dressed down Ludger had even seen his boss still left him in business casual. That dress philosophy carried to Ludger’s current line-up: nothing but dress shirts, dress pants, and a proper suit for when Victor brought over special guests. It wasn’t too dissimilar to his usual look, but what Ludger wouldn’t give to wear a plain old t-shirt again…

“I’ll be sure not to pick anything boring. Blade Union’s got some cool shirts that look ‘worky’ enough to make your father happy.”

“Eh, who cares if it makes Daddy happy,” Elle said, flicking away the thought. “This is your shopping trip. We’re picking what WE think looks good on you, and he’s gotta deal with it.”

“Heh, okay, we’ll make him just watch the whole time.”

“As he should!”

With the two in agreement, Ludger left the table to check the fridge. There was just enough rose petal jam to make crepes; he’d use tonight’s dessert as his way to show his appreciation beyond a simple ‘thank you’. Ludger could already imagine the bright smile on her face once she took a bite.

If I start them now, they should be done by the time Victor’s home… Ludger thought as he reached over for the large mixing bowl.

--- --- ---

Right as Ludger handed Elle her plate, the front lock clicked open. Ludger followed his usual procedure and waited near the door. Once Victor stepped in, he bowed. “Welcome home, sir!” He greeted, reaching to remove his boss’ coat and hang it on the coat rack. “I made rose jam crepes for Elle just a moment ago. I set aside a few if you’d like some.”

“Maybe later,” Victor dismissed the offer, heading straight to the kitchen table to check on Elle. “How was school today, Elle?”

“It was fine,” Elle replied. “Daddy, can I ask you something?” Once her father nodded, she didn’t mince words, “Can you take me and Ludger clothes shopping tomorrow? Ludger needs new ones!”

Victor's perfect composure briefly cracked at the question, “What’s wrong with the clothes he has now?”

“He wears the same dorky stuff every day! And when I said he should buy new clothes, Ludger said no cuz he’s too busy watching me! So I promised I’d take him shopping and find him something good to wear!”

Victor didn't answer Elle right away, his face unreadable as he stared through his daughter. When he finally responded, he stood up from his chair, “Let me talk to Ludger about it.”

Ludger instantly regretted ever suggesting Elle should ask Victor once he meets his boss’ gaze. He knew he messed up whenever he saw that look-- this wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation. Alas, Ludger could no nothing but follow Victor into his bedroom and watch him lock the door behind them.

“Were you the one to suggest Elle take you out shopping?”

“N-No, I--!” Ludger’s desperate response almost cut Victor off. “Elle asked me why I don’t buy more clothes, and I told her I’m just too busy. But when she insisted, I said to ask you when you came home.” With that, he took a breath to calm down and bowed, “I apologize for not handling the matter myself, sir.”

The angry look Ludger feared was gone, but his nerves couldn’t settle with the silence replacing it. Did he do the right this? Was Victor satisfied or is his boss deciding how to punish him? Should he lament losing his one chance to experience normalcy after so long?

“Ludger,” Victor’s hand touching his cheek made his whole body flinch. His boss paid it no mind and continued, “Can I trust you won’t use this as an opportunity to run away?”

“You can, sir. I won’t leave yours or Elle’s sides for one second.”

Victor withdrew his hand. “Alright. I have one condition,” Off his boss went into his walk-in closet. A baseball cap that's collected a fair bit of dust and a pair of thick sunglasses were in his hands upon his return. “Be sure to wear these while we’re out. I’d hate for my pretty manservant to catch the wrong set of eyes.”

“Um… I’ll be sure to remember them, sir.” Ludger couldn’t tell if Victor meant his remark entirely in jest; he loved his empty innuendos. Nonetheless, he'd revel in the opportunity to feel the sun on his skin from beyond an open window. A few conditions wouldn't dampen his future good time.

Talk over, Victor opened the door and let Ludger out first to break the news to Elle. As expected, she tore through half her crepes already. The second she spotted him, she spun around in her chair.

"Did Daddy say yes?"

“He did, so don’t stay up late tonight. We’ll want to head out in the morning to avoid the afternoon crowds.”

“I won’t! But you gotta go to bed early too, Ludger! We’re not leaving till you got a closet as big as mine!”

While a heartwarming sentiment, it brought up an excellent point… where would he put his new clothes? Ludger didn’t have his own space-- his things sat on a single shelf in the corner of Victor’s closet. It’d fit another two outfits at best, but any more… he'd need way more space.

Checking Victor's expression, he didn’t object, so… maybe he graduated from ‘tiny clothes pile’ to hangers! Or at least a second shelf. Whatever saved him from restacking the same tiny pile every few days.

“I promise I won’t stay up any later than work asks me to,” Ludger wished he could offer a less half-baked promise, but those decisions weren’t up to him anymore.

Elle got the hint and assaults Victor with her best puppy-dog eyes, “Daddy, can Ludger have a break tonight, pleaaase? He can finish his chores tomorrow, can't he?”

Not even a stone cold criminal could resist Elle’s cuteness, “Alright, I’ll let him take tonight off after dinner.”

"Yay, thanks Daddy!"

With that, Elle's eyes fell on him as she held her hand up. Ludger nodded to show he's listening, assuming she forgot they weren't in class. When she cleared her throat without taking it down though, the gears clicked and he gave her a proper high five.

I'm really not used to having friends anymore, am I?

"What's on the menu tonight, Ludger?" Victor asked the important question.

"I'm thinking an old favorite of mine, mabo curry. My caretaker loved theirs with extra tomatoes, but I can cook a tomato-free version too."

Elle stuck out in disgust, "Ew, who'd ever want extra tomatoes?! Tomatoes are grosser than broccoli, celery, and spinach combined!"

"Tomatoes aren't that bad," Ludger'd argue the former three were tasty too, but all kids had their 'vegetables suck' phase. "Though I'll admit, the extra tomato version's something only my b--caretaker could love."

Hopefully Victor didn't read into that brief slip. Keeping Julius nondescript as possible might already be in vain, but if this ritual had the slightest chance of protecting his brother? He'd do anything.

"Sounds good," Good, no further question. "Cook three tomato-free mabo curries."

"Yes, sir!"

Despite the command, Ludger's hand subconsciously drifted to the beautiful organic tomatoes his brother'd kill to eat raw. Old habits die hard no matter how long, huh?

I hope you're still eating your favorites with a smile, Brother. Ludger prays somehow, his thoughts reach Julius as he grabs the pork instead. I miss you.

--- --- ---

"You're retiring to bed already?"

Sorting through documents since dinner, Victor didn't notice Ludger already changed into pajamas. A shame, really-- Ludger's slimmer build caused the collar to drift far down enough to bare a flawless pale shoulder. He'd willingly change that if Ludger grew more receptive to his advances.

"I promised Elle I wouldn't stay up past work, remember?" Ludger's bold almost caught him off-guard. His pet always spoke to him in his proper place. What changed? "But if you need something, I'm at your service, sir!"

"I should be content for the evening," An unknown entity within him guided his hand to gently stroke Ludger's soft hair. "Goodnight, Ludger."

"Goodnight, sir!"

Ludger snuggled into his spot on Victor's bed and fell asleep in minutes. A stark contrast to his first weeks here of pretending he wasn't awake and waiting until Victor fall asleep first, then waking up long before him to start his morning ritual. Assurances his orders weren't a ploy to murder him or steal his virtue while he slept went ignored.

Though Victor saw through the ruse, he found no need to stop it; observing if Ludger's acting skills improved from the previous night amused him enough. His act never reached anywhere near convincing, not helped by Victor's teasing him on occasion.

Rolling closer or reaching over to smooth a few locks of Ludger's hair back always made him flinch or suck in an extra breath. And when that got boring, Victor pushed Ludger's limits by asking his pet to huddle real close so he could hold him.

Ludger couldn't look him in the eye for longer than a second that whole night. Honestly, how someone Ludger's age could be so innocent and satisfying to tease is a marvel. The caretaker Ludger loved mentioning must've worked a full-time job warding off the disgusting realities of this world.

Whatever devilry they worked, watching his pretty manservant blissfully snore away stirred an odd feeling in him. Something close to how he once felt looking at his late wife, yet not as strong.

…Hmph. Best he not think that through. Once Victor "trusted" Ludger enough to keep this mess a secret, he'd be out the door.

Unless... For whatever reason, Ludger chose to stay. Elle would like that. She ignored the maids Victor fired in the past, but Ludger? Today proved how much she adored his company.

Come to think of it, Elle's never been this happy since Lara passed away. What am I lacking compared to Ludger?

Though he phrased it like a question, Victor knew the answer: he lost his humanity.

Bisley's molding reduced the people around him into pawns in his grand designs, be it in official Spirius business or his orders as the Kresnik Syndicate's boss. Dead bodies were also an inconvenience to clean up, not a precious life lost.

He and everyone who worked for his syndicate knew and accepted their world ruined lives. Hell, some reveled in the destruction and despair their work caused. Victor certainly did, though whether those feelings were by his own volition or Bisley's grooming, he couldn't say.

Though there were times he wished his humanity came back. Caring for Elle without Lara's guidance was more an actor following the script of a loving parent than the genuine gestures from a normal, loving father. He knew he loved her--he'd burn the world down in her name--yet what he called love would never be the same as Elle's or Ludger's.

Alas, regaining humanity after staining your hands time and again is a feat nobody in this rotten world achieved.

--except, perhaps, one individual. His company's former right hand.

Why can't I escape you, Julius?

Julius Will Kresnik, the man his father once called his greatest asset and deadliest weapon. Spirius employees and Kresnik members alike would've sacrificed everything in his name back in his prime. Rivals also feared his wrath should they step on the Kresnik's toes.

And yet, when the power to control Elympios itself as Bakur's successor lay in his hands? He threw it away.

"I'm humbled by your offer. However, I have more important matters to attend to right now. I wish you good luck, Mr. Kresnik," were the last words Julius ever said to him. That 'important matter' he'd attended to? Vanishing from Spirius and the Kresniks without a trace.

The sole lead (assuming it's even related) in Julius' disappearance was members of the Cyber Attack Unit reported "the kid" stopped showing up days after. Records of his or her existence were purged by the time anyone noticed; perhaps "the kid" worked with Julius to plug any physical and digital holes their mutual desertion attempt left behind. It mattered not-- fodder like him or her die off every so often.

What did matter is in the end? Julius' plan worked. By the time Victor cemented himself as Spirius' CEO and the Kresnik Syndicate's Boss, tracking Julius down meant dedicating time and manpower towards a wild goose chase that could last years.

Crown's best work, all in service of running away.

Eight years later, Victor still never pieced together what possessed Julius to so thoroughly bury his past. Bakur wouldn't have called Julius his most loyal if doubt ever clouded him; what could've broken such a resilient tool? So many questions left rotting for eternity.

If Julius wanted to pretend those thirteen years never happened? As long as he didn't snitch, fine. Not what Victor wanted, but fine.

Perhaps after his fantasy lost its luster, he might come to his senses. Victor's men made that wish no secret; those in higher positions couldn't escape Crown comparisons. Complaints under breaths about how there wouldn't be any issues if Crown were in charge persisted as well.

Julius' departure lay far behind them, and yet his influence hadn't faded one bit.

How shameful. A boss of my esteem, reduced to wishes I'd see a spineless deserter again…

Should Victor ever uncover the rock Julius crawled under, he wanted a thousand and one things from him. His undying loyalty, his extensive skills, his limitless connections, his prestigious history… everything he could want in a tool, Julius could provide. Yet what he wanted most, after seeing the warmth and joy he couldn't emulate from his beloved daughter and pet, was to ask him two questions.

Julius, how did you rekindle your humanity? Victor mused as he pet the boy who almost shared his name. Or did you never lose it?

Ludger continued sleeping soundly, his faint snores somehow soothing Victor's thoughts as he drifted off into slumber.

[castle-dominion]

c2x17 tick tick tick...

RC: ask me why I’m here KB: I ask myself that every day

Ryan’s jacket again looks like one Dirk Gently (or my gay uncle who lives in australia) would wear

She’s so right, it is not her, but since it was Heavily based on her she Should get a say in who plays her. My family has discussed this many times. 

This was one of the first episodes I had seen. Actually, it was the last one I’d seen before never watching castle again because we only had four episodes on our TV. Then we got the DVD set & FINALLY I got to see the second part. Yay for two-part episodes...

MR: “you are not another man, besides, I trained you!” (so true bestie) (also, another point for the “rick castle is trans” AUs)

RC: they spell something,, they spell... Kinki :}

I love music sm. I know a fiddle song called calliope house that I can play in four keys & on any string.

Second intro ^-^ I am going to keep this post I think.

Oh right the fbi. I mean cooperation & acab & gizmos & all that good stuff.

He’s like a kid. Excited. Playing with this stuff.  Girl it is BETTER to have a machine to do the work, it is faster, it doesn’t matter.  Rick, ew, you have Nikki Heat & someone called “Rook” (which will get you killed in a chess club if you call it a “castle”) & it’s literally just RPF & you make em have sex. Come on bro, you know the BS she already deals with as a female cop in the early 00s? (& IG 2010s)

Yeah bud the animation sure works like that & it’s just that easy

Agent Shaw & Castle really are a lot like beckett & castle.

She could have said “I will come with one person as backup, I cannot come alone, but I will somewhat respect your wishes” maybe?

I like shaw. We have more people than you do, our goal is to catch the killer. You need to get some rest, I’m a mom, I know that.

“Aha, one of your old wedding videos” he says, about martha rodgers the actress fighting with a guy in a monster costume

OH NO I FORGOT ABOUT THAT PART, DOES HE DROP THE BODY OUTSIDE THE DOOR? no wait I think it’s castle. She keeps her gun in a drawer? In Canada you need to have guns locked up, on the farm we would actually keep the gun but lock up the bullets. She doesn’t have it on her, she doesn’t have it locked up, she has it halfway in between?

Yeah data & gadgets are so cool & like... Granted, she does envy that he listens to shaw.

“I will have you know that I sleep with a gun” IS SHE OK? how do you even do that? Is it like bed knife from markiplier?

I like how he just made himself at home & went through her cupboards & all that. Though I’m sad she mostly orders in. It is not /so/ hard to meal prep on sundays,, at least for lunches & then you could order dinner... or maybe you make supper every night (that you are free) & take leftovers to lunch daily. It surprises me how much people don’t cook...

“there’s a body out there I need to find” comedic timing

Ryan how is that relevant??? XD XD ryan chill “what time did you & mr castle go to bed last night?”

Lanie (& literally everyone): So cute the way you do that

It’s neat seeing castle wearing normal clothing instead of his usual style

JS: Ok sweetie, Mommy has got to go arrest somebody now, I’ll be home for dinner. I love you, bye. So cute ^u^

Spoilers for the next episode: Ok but even after watching this I don’t understand. He shot the gun, where did the bullet go? The gunshot is what told the fbi to go in, & he definitely did shoot the gun, but how would it work? Ben conrad had to have been dead on the ground & set up before Scott shot. Once scott fired, he ran & hid in the hidey hole & let the pigs find the body. Where did he shoot?

two-floor apartments are so weird to me. I once stayed in a penthouse mansion in japan four times as big as the floors below, but... it was the entire floor, not double-leveled. 

Ok but this trigenerational household is so great!

No but listen. When you shoot a gun or loose an arrow, you usually use the hand that correlates to your dominant eye. I’m left-eye dominant (ish) but right-handed, I learned to shoot with my right hand, & I Really Really Suck. Ben Conrad might have been mixed handed in that way, writing with his left, shooting with his right. Except for them seeing him in the window that is.

Ooh I love a landline -u-

Sure bestie cuz that’s how it worked.

I actually just remembered, I DID see another episode after this on network TV, but it was way in the future & beckett said “I still don’t have a house” & I’m like ‘so she did survive & her home did get blown up, huh’

[everythingheard]

Chris had never expected Claire to take on the care of a child so young — then again, he had never expected it for himself, either. Amid the grief of losing their parents five years ago had come the realization that he was the only family his younger sister had left, and she needed him. Actually moving her onto the Air Force base with him had been the simple part ( at least, once they had finished boxing up everything inside their family home to move into storage, both of them somber with the knowledge that they were packing away the lives they had once known at the same time ). What followed, discerning how to handle the fact that Chris was no longer just Claire's big brother but also her guardian, had been more difficult.

Although he's never spoken with her about it, taking her in changed his existence as a twenty-two year old drastically. His position as a pilot had never been a standard nine to five situation, yet that hadn't mattered before — and then, suddenly, it did. There was no more drinking with his friends late into the evening after work or, conversely, falling asleep on the couch at only eight p.m. on a surge week, because he didn't want her to be alone for so long. Chris had forced himself to cook more at home, which included adding to his then limited ( to put it generously ) recipe rotation; hell, he had even learned how to meal prep for both of them so she would have something for dinner during night weeks when he wouldn't arrive home until close to one in the morning.

Barry's wife, Kathy, had always been happy to have Claire over, and she made friends with other teenagers on the base eventually, but the transition combined with the grief was hard on her, too. He hadn't wanted her to feel, even for a second, that she was by herself in the aftermath. If she needed help with homework, a ride somewhere, or to feel safe, he had been there. In spite of it all, they found time to act like they were just siblings, too; Chris had taught Claire how to shoot and defend herself ( never imagining then that she would need to, and especially not like now ), they had watched movies together in the living room, and spent Christmases at the Burtons where they treated like family. They had made it through those years together.

If he's honest, perhaps he had needed her as much as she had needed him. Just as she hadn't been alone in her sadness, neither had he been alone in his. And when Chris had begun having disagreements with his superiors ( which became more and more common as time went on ), coming home to his little sister waiting for him so they could watch the new episode of NYPD Blue while they ate dinner on the couch instead of an empty place reminded him of why he had wanted this job to begin with. There had been moments he felt so inadequate and that Claire should be with someone who knew how to be everything she needed, but he had pushed through it — and now, he wouldn't go back and change anything about how they spent those years, even if he could.

As the door to she and Sherry's new house swings open to reveal the petite blonde's smiling face, he hopes that Claire will feel that way someday about this, too.

When she appears behind Sherry, Chris isn't surprised by the rush of emotions that flash across her countenance; he knows what it's like, though it still prompts a melancholy twisting in his chest as he thinks, I wish that was one thing we didn't have to share. However, his own expression doesn't betray that notion as he answers her greeting. "Hey, Claire — " Anything further is cut off by the clattering of a sheet tray onto the floor from where it had been precariously perched atop a box, the cookies it had been holding scattering across the floor. Before he realizes it, his own chuckle is intermingling with Sherry's amused giggles. "It does help if the cookies are edible," Chris agrees, only sending a teasing wink in Claire's direction. However, Sherry's offer to share a previous remaining cookie ( he'll need to ask further on the state of its potential staleness ) takes a sharp turn when she calls him ' Uncle Chris. ' He's taken aback and his eyes widen with the surprise of it as she dashes to an unseen part of the house. Chris collects himself just enough to call after her, "Don't take too long, I brought something for you."

Turning back to Claire, he considers her assessment of this new development. "It's not weird-weird. Anyway, I did always imagine I'd be an uncle — you just made it happen sooner than I expected." And in the strangest way, yet strange doesn't always have to mean bad. Nevertheless, he had hoped for her to complete college and end up with the career she envisioned for herself, a possibility that no longer seems to be in the cards. Chris is so proud of her, yet he knows she must carry a sense of disappointment, too. Nothing's ever gonna be the same again, is it? It's a question he's posed internally more than once, a question he's been aware of the answer to for a while now.

As he steps across the threshold, closes the door, and pulls Claire into his arms, he hugs her tightly before he lets her go. "A lot feels mundane now." Chris had been laying low since shortly after the Spencer Mansion incident, when he had feigned ' distress manifesting as aggression ' in order to be suspended so that he could go to Europe with Barry; it's strange to find himself looking over his shoulder, only to realize that he doesn't need to. "But maybe it's good to enjoy the mundane where we can." Then, he continues, "Tell me what kind of jobs you've been looking at. And about all of these cookies you're apparently ruining." He grins. "It sounds like they at least start out edible, so you get a five out of ten for that."

february 3rd 1999 dc suburbs powdery snow covering the ground but mostly clear skies @everythingheard (chris)

the gentle hum of a television on low echoes through the home, a vhs tape in the player with a further stack of three scooby-doo movies to accompany the one playing on the screen. there's still a few boxes that claire had gotten out of storage in new york from their old house (things from the home they'd lived in with their parents) littering the living room that was finally being put to use. it helped that the house had come furnished, the sellers having apparently chosen not to take everything. she figured that made the whole awkwardness of the situation she'd underwent the last few weeks a little more bearable. it wasn't as if she was a college graduate with a high paying job that could afford to set up a house anymore than she was thrilled that this was how she'd come to own one.

they'd said there wasn't any strings attached other than the fact that they needed to conduct some tests on sherry. they'd pushed her to accept it, that it was the rational thing to do. they needed to make sure the child was healthy and not a carrier of infection. at least they weren't keeping her in a lab. she had to be willing to meet them half-way if she wanted things to go smoothly. if she wanted them to maintain their agreement to let her keep her with her.

claire didn't like the idea of having any government oversight to her life or sherry's yet she was keenly aware that there was no getting out of it.

not if she had wanted to be able to return to the states at all and not if she didn't want to keep a child on the run in some foreign country when they both had enemies out there that'd like to hurt or experiment on the both of them. this way was the safest choice for her but more importantly, sherry. it was logical and it wasn't like the government was doing some huge thing, providing them with this place to live. they had programs for people that needed new lives, to set them up in homes and place them under protection. it was already something in place. and she and sherry didn't require all the things those people did. there was no changing identities. it was just living agreements and some extra security. they didn't have to do it at all, she's keenly aware of that too. they could have taken sherry from her. and even if claire had no fucking idea what she was doing half the time when it came to the reality of her current situation, the day to day of living with a kid, she knew that had to be better than what could have happened.)

still, claire wasn't going to see it as being indebted to the government. she wasn't affiliated with them, didn't want to be. she'd take what they gave her because it made life better for sherry. it only got complicated when she thought about simmons. she didn't overly like the man, even though he'd been fairly kind to her outwardly. it was hard to get a read on him (maybe that was what made her wary, or part of it at least). but he'd been the one to push this whole thing through hadn't he? and that had to stand for something? (how could she know the whole thing was really part of another deal when she hadn't been told that by the person who should have told her?) further it seemed, or at least he implied that he was part of the driving force for the anti-umbrella task force that'd finally cleared the names of the stars fugitives a few weeks ago. they didn't have to run anymore, didn't have to be beholden to trent for information when there was an actual agency investigating and working against the corporation.

somehow, claire didn't think trent would be happy about how things were playing out, the lack of control in it, but she did think, as long as umbrella did go down, he'd ultimately be happy. she knew next to nothing about him but she did know, from the way he spoke and the look on his face in that plane that he was invested in that. umbrella's destruction.

regardless, the claire of a few months ago should be sitting in class right now, maybe doing an analysis of the apology in that philosophy-literature fusion course she'd been taking not juggling a hot pan of almost burnt cookies that needed to cool, placing the pan on top of a box instead of a counter because she didn't have pot holders yet and mentally glaring over the back of the couch and mentally trying to deduce which box might contain the ones her mom knit. as if the boxes could talk and tell her. none of them had been labeled; half of them would end up in another storage unit once gone through. even so, it's still a functional living space and it's certainly better than the crappy motels and random safe houses that had been claire, leon, and the other's lives since the end of october. it was also nice that there hadn't been any car chases with gun fire or kidnappings to secret zombie infected islands lately either. this is all knew territory. god, she was still basically a teenager herself even if she was of legal age.

what the fuck was she doing?

but she'd made her choice. chris had taught her that there was always a choice and claire had agreed to this. to raising a kid. to protecting the kid who she'd gotten so close to in the months since raccoon. sherry trusted her, trusted leon too but leon wasn't there with them. not any more. (she wasn't going to do there, not right now. he'd made choices too. ones she didn't quite understand. but ones she had to accept. he wasn't with them but he wasn't out of their lives either.) and claire could admit she was willing to do whatever she had to do to protect the girl. she cared about her. that had to be enough. it certainly seemed to be for sherry who'd already accidently called her mom a few days ago. now if they were on the subject of weird, that about nailed it. but claire also figured, maybe that's what sherry needed to be able to begin to deal with everything she'd endured and everything she was trying to sort in her young mind.

the birkin's had rarely spent real time with their daughter. sherry's father had turned into a monster before her eyes. her mother had seemed more concerned at times with tracking william in those tunnels than making sure her daughter was safe and cured of the virus. sure, annette had provided the cure in the end, thus saving sherry, but that didn't change the weight of how things had appeared to sherry. then claire (and leon) had come along and spent almost every day with her except for that week they'd had to smuggle her to europe and utah had gone down. they'd hugged her and held her hand after nightmares and come up with little stories to put her to bed with. they'd functioned as parents to her for months. in a real way. in a committed kind of way. it hadn't been anything of what claire had thought her nineteen going on twenty year-old life would be but it was what the universe had decided to deal her. it was the choice she made.

there could only be forward momentum now.

speaking of, the pan of cookies nearly spills forward off the box, claire focusing on preventing disaster as the door bell rings and sherry goes sprinting from the couch toward the front door, the anxiety that rises in claire upon seeing it leaving the cookies teetering on the edge of the box she'd attempted to bump to set right on her way after the girl. yes, they were expecting chris. that, however, did not mean it was chris at the door and every fiber of claire's being was still on hyper-alert, unable to shake the last few months from her cells yet. watch for people following you. always check corners. always be around of your surroundings. don't open the door unless you know exactly who's out there. simmons had assured her they'd be safe. that this community had security-- people couldn't just come up to the houses, it was a gated community--, that they had a state of the art alarm system. it's doesn't stop sherry's name from leaving her lips with a slight edge, her unable to get to the door before sherry's opened it wide.

it takes a moment for everything to register. there's no threat even though as blue-gray eyes meet those of her brother's she knows he can see all the emotions playing across her face. the worry, the fear and then the relief as she lets out a deep breath. "sherry, you know what we talked about. we don't open the door unless we know who's outside. and you don't open the door for anyone. i do." claire's words emit gently as she kneels down on one knee to get level with sherry. it comes out more calm than she feels too and careful not to be scolding, just informative. then she turns her attention to the man standing in the doorway. it was nice to see him out in the open, not traveling in shadows to keep hidden with the rest of their little resistance.

"hey bro." claire states with a smile, her heart finally finding a steady rhythm again. that's when the pan of cookies clatters to the floor behind them and claire lets her head drop down for a moment with a heavy sigh. "and there goes all that hard work."

stance is brought back to normal as claire reaches her full height, sherry letting out a small giggle as if this isn't the first time this has happened in the last few days. "she's good at making the cookies. not so good at keeping them edible."

really sherry? really? claire shakes her head at sherry's comment.

"i still have one i saved from the last batch though. it didn't touch the ground, i promise! i'll get it for you uncle chris! you can have it as a present since i haven't seen you in.. a month?" sherry's not entirely sure how long has passed but she doesn't give anyone time to answer her before she's darting away from them. apparently she's saved the cookie somewhere not immediately seen and claire considers unless the kid got a hold of a baggie, the cookie isn't going to actually be safely edible at this point. then claire pauses, realizing what sherry had said.

uncle chris. that was.. new.

that's not what she called him back in paris when they'd met, though, like sherry's slip with her, she thinks it makes sense with the new dynamics between them.

"i guess. that's kind of what you are now. to her at least. or how she sees it. it's still weird but not weird weird right?" she's not entirely sure she's making sense. she doesn't dwell on it. "get in here and give me a hug. we're letting all the cold air in and the government isn't going to pay the bills forever. i've been job searching even if it still feels.. like such a mundane thing after.. well, everything." the implication is clear though it shouldn't really be a surprise after everything's that happened in the last few months. claire wasn't planning to go back to college and part of her felt sad about that but she was okay with the choices she'd made and she was confident she could be successful without it.

she was a redfield after all.

[takecareluv]

home || vinnie hacker x reader

you and vinnie, along with a couple of his closest friends, decided to take a trip to vinnie’s hometown for a much needed break from each of your bustling lives in la.

after packing your bags, bidding farewell to your housemates, and most importantly some last minute cuddles with hera, you were all set to go.

the flight to seattle wasn’t too long. sharing a pair of headphones with vinnie, you managed to watch spiderman: no way home, well at least vinnie did. with your head resting comfortably upon his shoulder, you nodded off for a quite a bit, missing half of the movie.

however in three short hours you were awaken by the pilot’s muffled announcement notifying all passengers to prepare for landing. You officially arrived in what was popularly known as the emerald city.

you were so excited to finally be here again, knowing seattle brought out a certain type of glow in your boyfriend that you wished would last forever.

swiftly picking up all the luggage at baggage claim, the four of you hopped into an uber making your way to vinnie’s childhood home.

without even knocking, vinnie barged into the house yelling, “i’m back motherfuckers,” making his presence immediately known. giggling to yourself, you followed behind as he led you all to the kitchen at the back of the house, where he assumed his family resided.

and he was correct.

as the spacious kitchen and living room came into view, you could see his younger brother and mom lounging on the coach engrossed with some show on the television, while his dad was cooking up something that smelled absolutely delicious.

“vinnie! y/n!” his mom shouted once she noticed your arrival, quickly getting up from her spot on the couch to give you each a hug.

his dad soon followed behind, “you got here just in time, food’s almost ready!” he remarked, bringing his eldest son into a hug.

after greeting his parents, vinnie ran over to tackle his brother who was still laying on the couch. the two began wrestling. “some things never change,” his mom laughed, rolling her eyes, now coming over to you for a big hug.

“oh it is so good to see you, y/n,” she said squeezing you tight, “we’ve missed you both very much. how is everything? vinnie still treating you right?”

you laughed at that. “yes of course. he truly is amazing, i’ve never felt so loved in my life.”

this left a huge smile on maria’s face, so proud of the young man her son had grown to be. she loved y/n like a daughter, hoping in time she would actually become that. maria saw how much happiness y/n brought vinnie and she was thrilled he found someone like her, especially living in a city like la where not everyone’s intentions were pure. his whole family thought they were perfect for each other, and sometimes vinnie even thought they liked her better than him.

from across the room, vinnie was completely captivated by his beloved girlfriend engaged in a conversation with his mom. the pair were catching up on anything and everything that had happened since their last visit. seeing this left him grinning from ear to ear. vinnie always adored how well his girl got along with his family.

his dad noticed him staring in a trance, “alright lover boy, come eat.”

all eyes were suddenly on him as he turned red, embarrassed for being caught. y/n didn’t seem to mind though, she just held her hand out for him to come sit with her.

they gathered at the large kitchen table, passing around plates of fettuccine alfredo and some garlic bread. whilst everyone else began digging into the homemade meal, vinnie just sat back for a second, taking in the simple moment.

he was so content, eating his favorite food surrounded by his favorite people.

“it’s good to be home”, he thought.

a.n. i started writing this with another idea in mind but it slowly turned into this story so i think i’m going to write a part two but it’s not really a continuation of this, it’s a diff story, just takes place during seattle trip if that makes sense. idk maybe i’ll make a seattle series of one shots that don’t have to be read together, what do u guys think ?

[thewildwaffle]

Humans are Weird: Antibiotics

A story prompt from a user on a03. Apparently, this is my 50th short story, or at least the 50th installment of m humans are weird short stories. Hurray!

****

Ni Andu watched a dried sickle leaf roll across the empty courtyard from her window. A deep sigh made her breath fog up the glass. The courtyard wasn't supposed to be empty. Especially not this time of year. The Gauru Ni Moon Festival usually brought visitors from around the world and across multiple star systems right about now. But the disease meant no bright banners were hung. No music echoed cheerily through around the corners and down the streets. There were no wafting scents of fresh fruits and fried breads.

It was amazing and terrifying that something so small that it couldn’t be seen had done all this. The Ni were a proud race, rich in culture, and until now, seemingly sturdy in constitution. Diseases had come and gone in the past, but in such small and freak cases that they were hardly given much attention. It was assumed that Ni immune systems were the best in the galaxy and many other races had even requested to study how they were so effective.

Those prideful memories felt hollow now as Ni Andu sighed and pulled herself away from the dreary sight outside. As a new and reluctant head of the house, she had more pressing things to deal with than moping in the past. Several members of her own family were still sick, two of her hatch mates had been very touch-and-go as of late. She slowly made her way to the cushions where they were sleeping to check on them. To her relief, she saw the soft blankets they were wrapped in rose and fell slowly. She stood there, watching them for a bit in the gathering darkness of their shared humble abode. Matki’s breathing sounded like gravel stuck in a child’s rolling skiffer.

“What are we going to do?” Andu’s wide nose scrunched up as she begged the silent house. “What am I supposed to do next?”

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there trying to think of everything and nothing all at once. It was a good while though and was only interrupted when a small light turned on in the meal room. Andu looked up at the light streaming out of the door’s archway. With a sigh, she gathered her strength to move again to see who was up. As she approached, she heard small claws scrabbling on the stonework floor and storage pods opening and closing.

Sure enough, when she peeked in, Andu could see little Piri shuffling through food storage pods that looked even less stocked than she thought they’d been. There were a few bottled foods, a few containers of ingredient-prepped soup containers, but certainly nothing immediately ready for consumption. Most easy and ready-to-eat foods had been eaten long ago or destroyed when they began to decay and grow dangerous molds. And to a small three-year-old Ni, that basically meant there was no food at all.

“Hey Piri, are you hungry?” Even though Andu had kept her voice quiet, little Piri still jumped and tucked his small thin tail like he was ashamed he’d been caught. Andu smiled comfortingly and stepped into the room to pick up one of the soup packs.

“It’s okay, you’re fine,” she patted him on the head softly, “I think it’s time for a meal too. I’m sure everyone else would agree once they wake up and smell the food.”

“There’s not much left,” Piri’s small voice was so sad and only made the words themselves feel sharper to Andu’s hearts. She tried to think of something she could say to make their situation seem less dire, but nothing came to mind. Instead, she scooped up Piri’s small form and waited until his thin arms latched securely around her scruff before she walked over to get a pot to cook in. She was going to have to add quite a bit of water to this if it was going to make enough to sustain everyone for a meal.

Cooking, even making something simple, helped ease Andu’s mind. There was a sense of normalcy in standing in front of a firebox and stirring a bubbling pot of soup. She tried to ignore how thin it was. Still, the smell made her feel warm and it must have wafted across the house as she could soon hear the tell-tale signs of her hatch mates waking up. She gathered bowls and filled each one. Lowering Piri back down, she handed the young Ni a bowl and carried the rest to the cushions where the rest of the family was slowly waking up.

They ate together slowly, trying to make the contents of their bowl last and talking quietly about anything they could to distract themselves from their situation. Matki was recalling a story from four lunar years ago when Andu had entered a fried bread pastry into a competition. Between Matki’s coughing and Andu interjecting to defend herself, the story kept getting interrupted! She’d worked on the recipe for her pastry for so long and was so proud of it, but the night before, something went wrong when she was making her entry. Whether it was nerves, exhaustion, oversight, or Jentala above forbid, sabotage, it went very wrong. From the way Matki described the judges’ reaction, one might have thought Andu had purposefully tried poisoning them! As everyone chuckled, Matki claimed he still had the video recording from the competition and pulled it out, much to Andu’s chagrin.

Andu pretended to be exasperated by the teasing, but really she was just glad everyone felt good enough to laugh again.

It took a while before she and the others noticed that Matki hadn’t pulled up the video. Instead, his eyes locked on the comm tablet screen.

“Matki?”

“Hey, did you find it?”

“Matki are you okay?”

Matki finally looked up, eyes still wide from whatever he’d been looking at. “They’re coming to help.”

Everyone shared a worried look. What?

“Who are you talking about? Who’s coming?” Andu broke the confused silence.

Matki tapped something on-screen with the pad of a finger and a holographic projection display rose up.

Everyone watched enraptured by the newscast. It was about humans. From halfway across the galaxy, they’d heard about the Ni’s plight and had come claiming they had a cure. They were offering aid and resources to run tests to make sure their medicine was safe and effective for Ni use and make alterations if needed. They were even claiming they’d help distribute the finalized cure the moment it was given the go-ahead. In the meantime, they were also sending ships of food and supplies.

Andu could feel the back of her throat tighten. Was this real? Did she dare hope? There’d been so many reports before about help being promised, well, not help to this extent, but help nonetheless. They’d ended up being just for show and were proven empty once those who offered realized how impossible the situation really was.

But humans? She’d heard they were tough. And stubborn. Maybe they were stubborn enough to see their promises through?

The embarrassing video of Andu’s failed pastry was long forgotten, the conversation instead jumped between wild rumors her family had overheard about humans and speculation about how long it would take for the humans to actually lend aid if they were really coming at all. Andu could see a shimmer in the eyes of her hatch mates as they spoke that she hadn’t seen in a while. Although she wished she could feel the same optimism, she could also see how quickly they were all tiring out. Although they’d slept most of the day, the disease was still taking its toll on them all.

Once the meager meal was finished, she stood to gather the now empty bowls. She noticed Piri quickly scrape a finger along the side of his bowl to snag any last morsel before she came along to collect it. ‘Jentala above,’ she prayed mentally, ‘if help truly is coming, send it along soon.”

With bellies no longer completely empty, everyone settled in, and soon the room was full of sleeping or near sleeping Ni.

Andu slept fitfully. She dreamed, but it was fractured and confusing. Even before the disease came, she had a hard time remembering her dreams once she woke up. It was near impossible now. She did remember a loud humming noise though. As she blinked her eyes and lifted her head, she realized the humming was still there. She rose and searched for the source. It almost sounded like… engines? But that, that had to be impossible - the quarantine…

She looked out the window. Dried sickle leaves were flying around wildly as a large shuttle slowly came in for a landing in the courtyard. Andu opened her mouth to call out to the rest of her family, but nothing would come. How were they still asleep with this racket? Apparently, it managed to wake up Piri, who nearly made Andu jump when he bumped into her side while trying to climb up for a better view out the window.

“What’s going on? Who’s outside?” Piri waited to ask until Andu had resettled herself after being startled.

“I’m not sure yet,” she answered as they both watched the shuttle’s doors slowly work through the unsealing process. Across the courtyard, she could see other Ni’s faces peeking out their windows. As far as she could tell, expressions seemed to range anywhere from fear to curiosity to… was that hope? Wait, had they seen the newscast last night? Did they think this was… there’s no way the humans could be here already, right?

They both watched intently as the doors finally opened and a ramp extended. Soon a line of creatures she’d only seen on screens filed down wearing yellow vests and hauling huge boxes in their arms or on carts they pulled behind them.

“It is the humans!” Piri yelled and jumped down from his perch. He ran to where everyone was stirring on the cushions, “Wake up! Wake up! The humans are here!”

Andu wasn’t sure if she should reprimand Piri for disturbing them, or if she should join in. Instead, she watched as the humans in the courtyard started setting up stations and continued hauling load after load filled with what must have been hexaheebs of food, clean water, and various supplies.

She turned to look back at her family who were trying to rise as fast as their weakened bodies would allow. Matki began coughing violently and had to rest against the wall. Andu went to help support him when a knock at the front door startled everyone. They all stared at the old chirrowood door, then around at each other. It had been so long since quarantine had started, they’d almost forgotten what a knock on the door sounded like.

After a pause, the knock came again, this time followed by a worried and drawn-out, “Hello?”

Once she was sure Matki was standing stable, Andu, being the least sick among everyone, walked to and slowly opened the door.

A human from the shuttle stood in the doorway. They were wearing a mask over their mouth and nose, but it was definitely a human! Their eyes closed slightly and creased in the corners as they nodded a greeting. “Hi, my name is Ali, I’m part of the relief team that’s been assigned to this district. We’ve got food and essentials to distribute and I just need to know how many are in this household and if anyone here is in critical condition.”

Andu blinked at the human for a moment as she took in what they’d said.

“We, uh, we have four adults and one child. There, there were more, but…” she couldn’t finish that sentence. From the look the human gave her, she didn’t need to finish it. Her sinuses stung as she fought to not cry. The first visitor in how long and here she was almost crying in the doorway?

“I'm so sorry for your loss,” the human’s head bowed and their shoulders dropped. “I wish we’d known and could have helped earlier. Is anyone here in need of immediate emergency care?”

At that point, Matki started coughing again. Andu and Ali looked back to see him sit back down until his coughing died down.

Andu sighed and turned back to the human. “None of us are great right now. Matki’s probably the worst out of all of us. He sounds bad, but he actually has started to stabilize in the past few days.”

Human Ali gave a short nod and started writing something on a tablet in his hands.

“Do you,” Andu’s voice trembled, “we heard a report last night about you. That you were coming. That you… do you…” she swallowed and fought back desperate tears, “do you really have a cure?”

The human’s eyes creased again. “We do.”

Andu didn’t need to turn around to know the effect this had on her family. She heard it. She felt it. This time, she didn’t fight back the tears.

“Right now,” Human Ali continued, “it’s in the final stages of approval for Ni use, we’re just waiting for the ‘go-ahead’ and we’ll help distribute it as soon as it arrives. Until then, I’ve got some food and supplies for you. I can help unload and unpack if you need?”

“That… that would be... thank you,” she wiped at her tears. “Thank you so much.”

Over the next few days, more shuttles came and went, bringing more supplies, food, tools, and just in general, a brighter outlook and mood to the entire neighborhood. The humans really were here to help, and they seemed happy to do so. Not only were they good with their promises of aid, but they also delivered on the cure they said they had. Ni were instructed on the drug’s use and administration directions thoroughly for both the tablet and liquid forms of the cure. The effects were quick, and from the reports on the newscast, overwhelmingly positive. The Ni were cured! The plague that had once threatened to wipe out their entire population was gone! Celebrations larger than even the Gauru Ni Moon Festival were planned, songs were written, stories shared and spread. It was wholly agreed by all that this was a historic time in Ni history that they all survived through, and all thanked Jentala above for sending the humans to help.

It went without saying that everyone wanted to know more about the cure itself. And that meant everyone, not just the Ni, but the rest of the galactic community who before, had written the Ni off as a lost cause because of the horrific disease. What was this miracle cure? What other things could it do? Where, by all that is bright and shining, did the humans get it, and could it be easily replicated?

The humans, for their part, were again as open and gracious with their information as they had been with their aid. It was an old medicine they’d discovered long ago on their planet. Considered to be the first “antibiotic,” it was widely used on Earth and had saved millions of lives since its discovery. It worked by interfering with bacteria cell walls and destroyed them by causing them to burst.

It was called

Penicillin.

“Amazing!” “Spectacular!” “So simple, yet so ingenious!” many in the galactic community praised. “How ever did you discover this amazing drug?”

The initial answer wasn’t too surprising, for humans at least: it was an accident.

Andu almost snorted as she read the report to the rest of her family. Granted, the end of the plague was the first time any of them had come in direct contact with humans, but they all had heard many of the stories about human escapades. Wild experiments that on paper seemed more like a drunken brainstorm party that ended up advancing rocket fuel technology by at least 8 lunar years. Crash-landings on category 3 death worlds and they ended up liking them so much they decided to set up colonies. Half of what they did seemed to be mistakes that just went right for them. Apparently, the miracle drug penicillin was included in those stories.

She looked up its history and manufacturing.

Andu felt claws dance down her back as she read more. It came… from mold? Mold?! She looked up from the tablet to the faces of her equally horrified hatch mates. It took them a moment to remember how to close their mouths.

"You mean like mold on old bread?" Piri broke the shocked silence.

Andu blinked and looked back at the report. Old bread? How many times had they not eaten bread fast enough in the warm humid seasons only to pick up a bul of bread and find mold growing on it. It was dangerous, it had to be carefully disposed of, it was… able to save lives?

She returned to the report. The more she read, the more comforted she became in the safety of the miracle antibiotic. That, and she couldn't argue with the results. Her family was around her, now loudly being altogether boisterous together as they "discussed" the humans and all the ways they played with death in order to save life.

Matki snatched the tablet from her claws, wanting to read the report for himself. As Andu was jostled by her now healthy, energetic family, she was just happy and eternally thankful that the humans were crazy enough to play with something as dangerous as fungus, and then kind enough to share what they discovered.

[lyranova]

Children of the Future:

Final Chapter: It’s See You Later

Hi guys! So here’s the final chapter of “Children of the Future”, yes there will be an epilogue either on the 31st or 1st but I just want to thank you all soooo much for reading and enjoying this series 🥺💕! It means a lot to me that you’ve all enjoyed it as much as I have, I have a couple of “announcments”.

I’ll be doing a small spinoff that’ll have scenes for all the other ships since I wasn’t able to develop them as much as I wanted. It’ll probably have “Children of the Future” in the title so people can find it and I’m not sure when it’ll be written, but hopefully soon! And because a lot of people liked Zera (Alistar’s mom) I decided to do a series called “Dandelion Wishes” which focuses on how she and William met and there’s already 6 chapters in case you’d like to read it (No pressure ofc 🥰!) Afterwards I may try to do a series that focuses on William and Alistar, but that’s up in the air at the moment! Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy~!

Taglist: @eme-eleff @thoughtfullyrainynightmare @crazyclownthanos @loosesodamarble @flow3rbudz @elysianluv @bowandcurtsey @vwdxwnsk @luminouslion @simpingforthisonedeer

Word Count: 3,874

Warnings: None

———

After everyone got over their surprise at Alistar being alive and well, they all went inside and informed him of everything he missed. When asked if he remembered anything after he ‘died’ all he did was shake his head, it was as though he had taken a long long nap and had a dream that he couldn’t remember.

As the kids decided to cook one final meal for their parents, the adults decided to split off into their own small groups to talk amongst themselves as they waited for the kids to finish cooking.

Walking a few feet away from the house, Grey and Gauche decided they had a lot to talk about, but at the moment they wanted to focus on their ‘children’ and what they meant for their future.

The two sat awkwardly beside each other, both not sure where to begin. Even before all of this happened the two were trying to navigate their feelings for each other, and this kind of put a wrench in it.

“ S-So,” Grey started nervously. “ Do you t-think we survived the future now?” She asked, and Gauche nodded.

“ Since we changed everything here in the past, I think so.” He told her simply, and she nodded in agreement.

“ D-Do you think your and Aloys’s relationship will be better now?” She asked softly, she heard him sigh and watched him shrug.

“ I dunno, but I hope so.” He told her softly, Aloys was a good kid once you got to know him, so Gauche really hoped their relationship in the future will be better.

“ What…” Grey started after a few minutes of awkward silence between them. “ W-What do you think this means for us? A-Aloys and Maelie I mean?”

Gauche sat there and quietly pondered for a few minutes, having Aloys and Maelie obviously meant that the two would eventually get together, but the real question was did they want to get together just to ensure that Aloys and Maelie would exist, or because they actually liked each other?

As Gauche watched Grey move around nervously he tried to suppress a smile, he had liked her for a while now, but didn’t really have courage before everything happened to act on his feelings. So maybe, just maybe, this would give him the excuse to act on his feelings?

“ W-What if,” Gauche started awkwardly as his face turned a shade of red. “ What if we…go on a date?”

“ A d-d-date?!” Grey squeaked nervously, her face just as red as his.

“ Yeah, that way we can see if we actually like each other or not.” Gauche muttered as he rubbed the back of his head nervously, Grey had never seen him act so shy before. It was actually pretty adorable.

As the blue haired woman thought about it, going on a date with Gauche sounded scary, but it also sounded exciting. She loved the thought of the two of them spending time together.

“ O-Okay!” She said firmly and with a determined look on her face. “ Let’s go on a date!” Gauche looked over at her with wide and surprised eyes, but he smiled a bit more and nodded.

When the kids went back home, and everything settled down, the two would go out on a proper date.

——

A bit of a distance away stood Asta and Noelle, Asta decided to exercise a bit and Noelle decided to watch him. Just to make sure he didn’t overdo it.

“ Y’know,” Asta started as he finished his last push up and stood. “ I’m gonna miss them when they’re gone, I think I’ll even miss Herz.” He added with a laugh, and Noelle nodded in agreement.

“ Yeah, I think I’ll miss them just a bit too.” Noelle said in agreement.

“ S-So,” She began before clearing her throat. “ What do you think they mean for us?” She added as her cheeks turned a faint pink.

“ What’d you mean?” Asta asked with a tilt of his head as he sat down next to the silver haired woman. “ It means that someday we’ll start dating.” He added simply as though it were obvious, and Noelle’s face turned a bright red.

“ I-I know that! I mean, what happens now between us!” Noelle asked, and she watched Asta tilt his head.

“ Hm, maybe it doesn’t mean anything between us now.” He said curiously. “ Just because we found out we’ll have kids together in the future doesn’t mean we have to start dating now, it just means that someday we will.” He added with a cheerful smile, and Noelle blinked in surprise, he had a point.

“ We don’t know what’ll happen in the future, anything could happen, and we could potentially dates lots of other people before we find our way to each other. So I guess all the girls really mean is that someday we’ll fall in love with each other.”

‘You idiot what if I’m already in love with you huh?!’ She mentally shouted, but the words didn’t dare cross her lips. Instead she heard him chuckle beside her.

“ Although while saying all of that, I really want to meet our daughters again soon!” He finished with his bright and cheerful smile, and Noelle couldn’t help but smile right beside him.

“ I do too, although unlike you I don’t want to meet them again too soon y’know.” She added with a slightly raised brow, which caused Asta to frown.

“ Why not? The stork just comes and drops them off once two people who love each other meet.” Asta said with a serious look on his face, and Noelle just stared at him for a bit.

“ You…you do realize that’s not actually how people have babies right?” Noelle asked hesitantly, when she saw the ash haired boy nod she blinked.

“ Seriously?! You think that’s how people have babies?!” She nearly screamed before letting out a defeated sigh. “ I guess I’ll have to tell you the truth about that someday.”

———

On the roof of the Temporary House sat Yuno and Neva. The two were used to sitting together in comfortable silence, but this time there was a small hint of awkwardness between the two. It wasn’t detectable to others, but the two Golden Dawn members could certainly feel it.

Neva glanced over at the dark haired man, she knew where her feelings for him stood, but she had no idea where his feelings were. Suddenly, she watched as Yuno’s face grew a tad pink.

“ What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?” Neva asked in concern as she reached out to touch his forehead, when he pulled away from her she froze for a second and pulled her hand back.

“ I-It’s not that,” Yuno started quickly before rubbing the back of his neck. “ It’s just, I got to thinking about everything we’ve gone through the past few weeks.” He muttered.

“ And I’m glad you were there beside me through it all,” Yuno continued somewhat awkwardly. “ You…made it easier to go through everything with Miku, Kya, and watching how I die…it was tough going through that, but you helped me, so…thank you Neva.” He told her softly, and with a small smile on his face that made the platinum blonde haired woman's heart skip a beat.

“ I…I-I didn’t do anything though.” She said dismissively as her cheeks turned a faint pink as well, but Yuno shook his head in disagreement.

“ No, you did do something. You stayed by my side and supported me, you helped Miku when she was trying to deal with everything she had seen in the future. You actually did a lot more than you know.” He told her, and she felt her face heat up even more.

“ When all of this is over and the girls go back to their time,” Yuno started again after they fell into silence. “ I think I’m going to go back to Hage for a few days and see Father Orsi, Sister Lily, and the kids at the church. You’re…you’re more than welcome to join me, if you want.” Neva couldn’t help the small, and slightly shy smile from appearing on her face.

She had been to the church a couple of times before, and had enjoyed it a great deal, so the thought of going back there with Yuno and the two of them spending some time together that wasn’t training or going on missions, made her heart beat nervously, yet excitedly at the same time, in her chest.

“ Sure, after all of this I could use a small vacation.”

——

On the other side of the Temporary Houses roof stood Zora, who was watching as the sun slowly set. He was sad yet relieved that Josslyn and Ace would be going back to their time, he was sad because he had grown close to the kids, but was somewhat relieved because they would be going home to a brighter future, and he wouldn’t have to be around Nebra much longer.

“ What’re you thinking about?” Nebra asked as she came up to stand beside the red haired man, who snorted in response.

“ Probably the same thing you’re thinking about: The kids leaving and how relieved I am that I won’t have to see you everyday.” He said with a small smirk, and the silver haired woman let out a small chuckle.

“ You’re right, we are thinking about the same thing.” She told him as she crossed her arms. “ I’m sad Ace is leaving, and I think a small part of me will miss Josslyn as well. But you? I don’t think I’ll miss you at all.”

“ Same here.” Zora agreed with a chuckle before he heard Nebra let out a sigh.

“ Y’know, I may not like you,” she started before she turned to face the red haired man. “ But I’ve grown to respect you.”

“ I feel the same way,” He told her with a nod. “ And maybe someday we can pair up on a mission or something.”

“ Maybe we could.” She agreed with a nod, and the two gave each other a small grin.

Whether their newfound respect and appreciation for one another would turn into something in the future they didn’t know, but all relationships had to start somewhere. So why not one of mutual respect?

———

Inside the house sat Vanessa and Finral, they sat next to each other on the couch with the former drinking a small glass of wine while the latter had a small glass of water.

“ Ezio did really well, didn't he?” Vanessa asked as she took a sip of her wine and Finral nodded in agreement.

“ Yeah he did, I was kind of surprised he was able to do it.” Finral said with a small laugh, and Vanessa’s eyes narrowed curiously at him.

“ You really didn’t think he could do it?”

“ No, it’s not that, I was just worried that he inherited my lack of talent.” Finral said as he rubbed the back of his neck, and Vanessa glared at him.

“ You don’t lack talent Finral, you never have, it’s just you didn’t know how to use that talent. Just like how I didn’t.” Vanessa told him seriously. “ But with our encouragement and a bit of nurturing, Ezio won’t ever have to go through that low self esteem like we did when we were learning how to use our abilities.”

“ You have a point.” Finral told her with a nod, if the two hadn’t encouraged him back then, it probably would have taken him a lot longer to figure out how to use his new magic.

The brown haired mage looked over at the pink haired woman, if he were to be honest he probably didn’t do very much to encourage Ezio, it was all Vanessa and her words. He just stood by and agreed with her. But what amused him most about her was that she didn’t realize how much she encouraged him and the others daily, and how much they relied on her and her words at times.

“ So, when do you want to start dating?” Vanessa asked with a small flirty look in her eyes, and Finral’s face instantly turned red as his heart beat rapidly in his chest.

“ W-What?! What’d you mean?!” He asked as his voice grew higher in pitch, and Vanessa just chuckled.

“ I’m just teasing you, we’ll either start dating each other when we’re ready, or we’ll have Ezio by accident, or because we both want a child.” She told him with a small shrug before resting her head gently on his shoulder. “ But either way, I’m glad it was you that I have a kid with in the future.”

Finral took a deep breath to try and calm his heart, and all he could do was smile and nod in agreement as his tongue just wouldn’t work at this moment. But if it did, he would tell Vanessa that he felt the exact same way.

——

Charlotte took a deep breath as she stood outside Yami’s bedroom door, the two had a lot to talk about, and Yami promised they would once the battle with Noir was over. Now that it was over meant that there was no longer a reason not to discuss their feelings anymore.

She quickly knocked on the door and opened it when she heard Yami mumble a ‘come in’, she looked around and saw he was standing outside on the balcony again.

“ You’re late.” Yami joked as he put his cigarette out, and Charlotte shook her head.

“ No, I think you’re just early.” Charlotte joked as she walked outside on the balcony and stood beside him.

The two stood awkwardly next to each other, they had so much to say but didn’t know where to start. Charlotte’s heart was beating rapidly in her chest as her brain was going 90 miles a minute, she took another deep breath before she decided to open her mouth.

“ I like you.”

Charlotte froze, that…that wasn’t her who said it this time! She quickly turned and saw a faint pink color on Yami’s cheeks.

“ W-What?”

“ I said I like you, and I’m sure you already knew that considering you were eavesdropping on mine and Hikari’s conversation a while back.” He told with a small smirk, and now Charlotte’s cheeks were a faint pink. She had thought he didn’t notice her standing outside the room when he and Hikari were talking.

“ I-I, I wasn’t eavesdropping! I was just worried about you and Hikari is all!” Charlotte stammered and Yami chuckled, they both knew that was only a partial lie.

“ And since you were listening, I’m sure you know why I haven’t told you that I like you until now.”

“ Because you didn’t feel good enough for me,” Charlotte started softly. “ But that’s not true, you are good enough for me! If I wanted some noble from Clover then I would be married to or dating one right now, but as you can see I’m not. I want you Yami Sukehiro, and I want you as you are right now. Why? Because how you are right now is perfect to me!

Suddenly Charlotte felt Yami’s lips press up against her in a gentle, yet very passionate, kiss. She felt her face grow warmer and warmer the longer the kiss went one, but she slowly moved her arms up to wrap around his neck to pull him closer and deepen the kiss.

She had imagined this kiss for so long, and now that it was actually happening, she realized her daydreams didn’t do it justice. It was sweet, but passionate, gentle yet with this slight roughness to it. The kiss was exactly like Yami.

Soon the two pulled away as they tried to catch their breaths, but they stayed in each other's arms. Yami pressed his forehead against hers.

The words she had told him, how he was perfect just as he was, and that he was already good enough for her, he had longed to hear those for so long that he just couldn’t stop himself from kissing her at that moment.

“ Mom! Dad! Dinner’s ready!” Hikari shouted from downstairs just before the two could say anything.

Yami and Charlotte both just smiled at each other before reluctantly moving out of each other's grasp so they could go downstairs and eat with everyone.

As everyone gathered around the long dining table the air was bittersweet. While they were all happy and joyful that they had just saved the future, they were also sad because that meant the kids would be leaving, and in a way they didn’t want the kids to leave. They enjoyed spending time with and getting to know them, so they all felt pangs in their chests at the thought of never seeing them again.

“ Thank you everyone,” Alistar said suddenly as he looked around the table. “ for taking us in, for helping us get stronger, and for helping us fix our future and making it brighter.”

The adults around the table nodded and everyone raised their glasses to toast to the bright new future that was awaiting their children.

——

The next morning, the bittersweet air in the Temporary house remained and was thicker than ever.

The adults and children alike were dragging their feet, they knew they had to leave, and the sooner the better since they didn’t know if remaining in the past for a few extra days would change it or not.

But one by one the children and their ‘parents’ walked out of the House for the last time, each one giving it one last look as though to ingrain it in their memories.

Instead of using Finral and Ezio to get to the castle, they all took brooms and took the long way, just so they could spend just a little more time together.

But eventually they made it to the castle, and once again took the long way to the basement. The day before Julius had said they would go through the time gate in the castle, since the tree circles in the woods were ‘exit only’ doors as he put it.

They all walked slowly down the stairs, and when they reached the bottom they saw Julius standing there with a somewhat sad smile on his face.

“ You’re all here,” Julius said as he looked over the parents and children. “ I wish you all didn’t have to go, but I think we all know the longer you stay the more the past will be affected.”

“ But I want to thank you all for your hard work defending Clover, Spade, and even Lumi from Noir and Botis. You are all amazing Magic Knights and Mages, and I can’t wait to meet you all again in the future.” Julius said, his smile going from sad to hopeful as all the kids nodded in agreement.

“ Um, Mr. Wizard King sir, how are we supposed to get back when it’s my magic that controls the time gate?” Ezio asked as he slowly raised his hand, and Julius looked at Grey.

“ Grey can transform into you and use your magic that way, it’ll take a lot more of her mana then it would yours, but either way you’ll all end up back home. Just tell her the day, year, and month you left and she should be able to open it.” Julius said, and the others nodd. Ezio quickly walked over to the blue haired mage and told her everything she needed to know.

After he did so all the kids and parents looked at each other, tears were shed between them, and hugs were shared. Choruses of ‘I don’t want to go’ and ‘I’ll miss you’ echoed around the room as they all said their goodbyes.

“ I’ll miss you father,” Alistar said as he hugged William, who returned it and nodded.

“ I’ll miss you too, but we’ll see each other again soon won’t we?” William told him, and Alistar nodded before he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a business card. “ What’s that?” He asked with a confused frown as Alistar handed it to him.

“ It’s…well,” Alistar said with a small smile. “ If you go there, your life will change.” He added, and William looked back down at the card.

“ How is ‘Cinnamon’s Flower Shop’ going to change my life?” He asked curiously but Alistar shook his head.

“ That’s a spoiler, father.”

Hikari walked up to her parents and quickly wrapped her arms around them in a tight hug.

“ I’m going to miss you both!” Hikari said with a small sniffle, and Yami pulled away slightly so he could ruffle his daughter's hair.

“ Hey brat, this isn’t goodbye,” Yami told her with a sad smirk. “ It’s see ya later.” He finished and Hikari nodded in agreement, he was right, once she walked through that portal she would be greeted by her parents and siblings again.

“ We’ll miss you too Hikari, I’m so glad to call you my daughter.” Charlotte told Hikari as she gently put a piece of her dark hair behind her ear, and Hikari nodded with a bright smile.

“ And I’m glad to call you my mom.”

Once everyone had finished their goodbye’s Grey transformed into Ezio and walked over to the panel on the side of the gate. She quickly placed her hand on it and everyone watched as the panel lit up just like it did in Miku’s memories.

“ This is it,” Alistar said. “ We can all go home now.”

“ Do you think anything’s changed?” Hikari asked as she stared into the portal.

“ I think it has, if not, we can always come back.” Alistar lightly joked with a small smile, and Hikari chuckled but nodded in agreement.

The kids all turned and waved goodbye at their parents before one by one they each walked through the portal, the siblings all held hands with each other, and Ezio quickly grabbed Josslyn’s hand saying that he didn’t want to get lost again. While Hikari and Alistar shyly, and awkwardly, held each other's hands.

“ Goodbye! We’ll see you all again soon!” Hikari shouted as she used her other hand to wave at her parents before following the others through the portal.

And just like that, all the kids were gone.

For a while the parents just stood there and stared at the now closed gate, but one by one they slowly made their way back up the stairs and out of the basement. Until only Charlotte and Yami were left.

“ We’ll see her again right? And her siblings as well?” Charlotte asked softly as she felt tears stinging her eyes, and Yami nodded as he reached down to grab her hand.

“ I do. I’m sure of it. ” He told her softly as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze before he began to lead her out of the basement.

“ How sure are you?” Charlotte asked curiously as she slowly followed behind him.

“ I’m pretty sure.” He answered with a small smirk, and the two slowly walked up the stairs and out of the basement.

While they all held a sadness in their hearts at their children leaving, they were also full of hope. Hope that they would one day see their kids again, and it would feel as though no time had passed at all.

———

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

[delicrieux]

☆ﾐ 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚢 “𝚘𝚑”

PART 10: BIG DICK IS BACK IN TOWN

y/n is back in brooklyn for the holidays. thinking that a stream will make her feel less homesick for cali, she starts working on her famously titled hentai.free.srv. what was supposed to be a relaxing stream turns into a special delivery about two hours in.

─── corpse husband x reader ─── soc. media + written fiction! ─── word count: 2.2k ─── ❥ req: Here's one... You know those apps for delivery like Domino's or whatnot... What if reader is streaming Among Us with Corpse, and reader mentions they're hungry and Corpse offers to order them food, and readers like no no it's fine... Then there's delivery at the door (Corpse ordered beforehand) 

author’s note: fucky format is also back in town baby!!! also if you find any mistakes - no u didnt <3 thank u everyone for enjoying this story sm i literally cant believe how feral yall going strawberry cow was a nuclear explosion im still recovering tbh. got an ask a while ago and decided to incorporate it into myso. happy holidays everyone! myso will continue on monday!

ultimate masterlist.  ҉  myso masterlist   ҉   previous.  ҉   next.

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Indeed, being soft on any social media platform was the biggest disgrace and needed to be eliminated post haste. Moreover, it was a slippery slope - once you start flooding your timeline with cute imagery and heart emojis, what will stop you from posting inspirational Facebook quotes? Disgusting. If Rae were here, she would chide you (not you thinking about her as if she’s dead or something). For once in your life, you feel like you deserve it. 

Alas, you hope this little chaos you’ve caused is enough to throw everyone off. The stans, especially. You know the hashtags, you’ve seen ARMY scourging for info online with the same fervor and ruthlessness 1 Direction fans hacked airport security cameras just to spy on the boys. If you had any dirty secrets online, they are out to the public now - thankfully, besides the Harry Styles stan account (with edits and all), you have nothing. Though, now that you think about it, exposed nudes would have been better than your Punk!Harry edit receiving almost a million views. God, your life’s a fucking mess.

Your fans aren’t the only ones out for info - you, too, are trying to decipher Rae’s message. Code: Barbecue Sauce. The two of you had come up with it roughly two years ago, around the same time when you promised that if you didn’t find significant others by the time you’re 40, you’ll just marry each other. It was one of the many rules found in your friendship codex. Barbecue Sauce signifies information - an exchange of information. And depending on how it ends or begins (”So I’m sitting there” alludes to Rae, “On my titties” alludes to you), secret data on that person is given away, usually free of charge. 

But why? And to whom did Rae give away what? You had pestered her mercilessly and even sent some voice messages where you were crying. You were only crying because of a video of a grandpa smiling you saw on TikTok, but you are a snake, and so you put those tears to good use. If streaming doesn’t work out, you’ll just become an actress. Hollywood would love you. Your PR firm sure as fuck wouldn’t, though.

Rae was having none of it. She said you’ll figure it out eventually. Told you to channel your superior puzzle skills. You were quick to remind her that you can barely count to ten without having an aneurysm. Oddly serious, she admitted that she worries for you sometimes. Why only sometimes?! you demanded. She merely sighed. uttering under her breath something that sounded closely to “Boke.”

You leave her for barely a week and she’s already neck deep in the gay volleyball anime, hoodie and cardboard cutout and everything. Your life is falling apart.

But Brooklyn is nice. It had snowed when you stepped off of the plane. Thousands of snowflakes sprinkling into your hair, dotting your cheeks and nose. You missed this sight back in Cali. You missed your parents, too. 

Home cooked meals, old sweaters, your old room and about 40GB worth of old high school pictures on your computer. You went through them all one night. Some were stomach churning, cringe inducing nightmares. You were especially fond of those. Texted some of your friends that were still in Brooklyn, met up, decided to bake. Bad idea, Rae was the resident chef back in Cali. Besides laughing till your stomach hurt, and almost burning down your kitchen, nothing all that significant happened. Somewhere down the line, at about 3 am, half-way through a cheesy rom-com you had the overwhelming urge to text Corpse.

That’s where the problems really started. God, you missed California, missed being in the same timezone with a guy you hadn’t even met yet, how embarrassing is that?! You missed skating around and taking pictures of the beach in the setting sun, sending it to him, silently wishing he was with you to admire the view. 

You really want to call him. And to hang out with him. But for some reason, the thought of that springs up immediate anxiety and you shy away from asking. Him sending you cute good morning texts doesn’t help, either. Maybe it’s better he doesn’t know that you’re a blushing, stuttering mess each time you read “baby”. 

Late evening. Your stream is already set up, people are slowly trickling in and you greet them with a grin and a soft “Hello! Hi hi!”. You did your best to make your room a perfectly chaotic backdrop - led lights, an embarrassing amount of anime merch and plushies. You always try to balance out your weeb side by dressing hot as fuck for your streams - today’s inspiration just so happens to be egirls. Mostly because you watched one too many egirl make-up tutorials on TikTok, and also because you’ve been listening to Corpse’s song all day.

Yeah, no, who are you kidding, you dressed up this way because you were hoping Corpse was watching your stream. You didn’t forget your cat headphones, either. You know he likes them. You want to make him suffer. Perhaps then, finally, he will ask you out, so you wouldn’t have to.

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“I feel like,” You start when you put away your phone, staring idly at the chat, “I feel like I need a new name for you guys. Calling you guys after two years of streaming is just... weird, no? I also don’t respect men so I don’t want to call you guys. Like, so many creator’s have, like, a name for their fans. Uhm, Cody Ko has the chodesters, Kurtis Conner has, uh, folks? Kurtis Town? Citizens! Markiplier has mommy issues--” You can’t help snorting, “So, I’ve been, like, thinking - I know, shocking! - so I was thinking I’m gonna name you cockroaches. Because you’re grimy little shits impossible to kill. And also then I can use the legendary Minaj meme ROACHES!”

Your stream enthusiastically echoes ROACHES, making the chat swim. Yes, if anyone would enjoy such a name, it would be your audience. You’re as equally proud as you are disturbed.

“Well, anyway.” Leaning back into your chair, you throw your arms out with a bright grin, “Big dick is back in town, baby! If you noticed the backdrops different, it’s cuz I’m in Brooklyn now. Don’t ask me when I will return to Always Sunny, I don’t plan that far ahead.”

While Minecraft boots up, you decide to answer a few questions.

r u dating sykkuno?

You want to smack your head into the keyboard, but as it is, you can’t exactly afford a new one, so you refrain, “No, Sykkuno and I are not dating, we are just good friends. Uhm, I’m not sure how much I’ll have to repeat this, but, we really aren’t, so if the roaches could chill - Oh my God, that sounds so stupid, I love it - uh, yeah, if the roaches could chill that’d be great.”

the roaches lmao sounds like we’re a sports team

“Oh shit, yeah it does, uh-- maybe I can make like, jerseys or something. That’d be cool, I think.”

how disappointed are your parents with the way your life turned out?

“My parents are actually not disappointed at all!” You say with a cute little smile, “Uhm, they’re both really proud, actually. They’re glad I found something I love doing and made a job outta it. Dad finds my Youtube videos endearing. Yes, they watch pretty much all of my videos, unless I explicitly tell them not to. And yeah, with all the fucks and thirsting for anime characters. Uhm, it was very embarrassing at first, but I mean, after a while, shame just...doesn’t exist anymore, I guess? Funny thing about my parents, actually, when they watch my videos-” You eye catches a comment, “Oh! No, they only watch my Youtube videos. They don’t know how to use Twitter, thank God. Uhm, anyway-- when they hear a name they don’t know, like, I dunno, Dabi, or something, they google--” You’re grinning by now, eyes crinkling, giggling softly, “--who that is, and buy me like, merch and stuff. It’s really cute. 

can i be adopted by ur parents plz

will you and corpse ever collab?!

You were about to answer, though the man of the hour himself decides to do it for you.

Corpse_Husband: yes.

Okay, not to say your heart skipped a beat, but it totally did. With a pleased smile, you nod, like one of those bobble head toys sold at the dollar store. The motion is oddly reminiscent of Sykkuno’s own nod. Perhaps you had picked it up from him. The chat seems to notice.

pack it up, sykkuno

More questions pile about this mysterious collab you and Corpse are planning. Yeah, you’d like to hear more about it, too, since he single highhandedly decided one was happening right now. Corpse remains silent. Fine, keep your secrets. 

“Okay, guys, oh, I mean, roaches, Oh my God--” You’re covering your mouth, giggling, “-calling all roaches, calling all roaches, calm down. Everyone grab a snack and a blanket I’m turning up the music volume so we can all chill. Entering chill zone. Entering chill zone. Roaches, prepare.”

we are prepared

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An hour or so passes and you grow hungry. It shows with the amount of cakes you had baked in your server. Currently, you find yourself throwing eggs at the wall of one of the renovated houses, your face scrunched in concentration and slight frustration. 24 of the 50 eggs have been wasted. “What’s a girl gotta do to get some chicks around here?” you had uttered under your breath, until, finally, a screech - the egg finally spawns a mob. Your mouth falls open, “Aww, look!” You approach it, so small, walking in zigzags beside you, “It’s a baby chicken! Die, bitch.” The baby chicken is no more as you swing your bedazzled (you have mods) diamond sword. You’re cackling by the time the dust settles.

y/n is a child murderer

“Roaches,” You address your fan-base, spurring another fit of laughter - you can’t get over the name, “I think I’m like, forgetting that eating in Minecraft won’t actually make less hungry in real life.”

take a break and go eat queen <3

“Fuck no, we starve and die like men. Now I actually really need another chicken.”

Another twenty minutes trickle by and you’re trying to lure back a panda from the jungle when there’s a knock on your bedroom’s door. Whipping your head to the side, you slide down your headphones. At the same time, your mom pokes her head through the ajar door, “MOM!” You scream, “Get OUT of my room I’m playing Minecraft!” But your yell has no actual bite to it, as you don’t manage to hide your smile. Your mom laughs, doing some sort of sign language and motioning for you to follow her with her head. That or it’s some sort of performative dance. 

“I’m live right now,” You tell her, pointing at your screen. She knows this already, though, “do you want to say hi?” 

The roaches spam the chat with friendly hellos. You mom, quite impatient now, waves you over. 

“Sorry, roaches, mom needs something. Be back in a bit!”

Stopping the stream, you rush out of your seat and pleased she slinks into the hallway. “What’s this about?”

“Your pizza came.”

“My what now?” You echo, confused.

“Domino’s. You ordered pizza?”

“What? No? I was busy with the stream, I never--”

Thankfully, you had managed to grab your phone from your room before you exited. You almost choke on spit once you read the messages.

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You decide that it’ll be impossible to stream after experiencing what you had just experienced. You tweet out a quick apology to the roaches (God, that fucking name) and say that you had a breakdown but you’re okay. That is as a close to the truth as you managed to muster. It’s a sad sight, chewing and crying; your mom winced when she saw your state - disheveled hair and rundown eyeliner and everything. “D’aww,” She had muttered, caressing the top of your head, “don’t cry my little raccoon.”

If anyone was ever to ask you where did your chaotic nature come from, you’d answer with my mom. To make yourself feel better, you took a selfie - duck face and peace sign and the horrible 2000′s angle. Sent it to Rae. 

looking hot, her message read. 

thanks, was all you replied with.

You couldn’t just leave things as they were. Once you calmed down, you wanted to text Corpse, but how would you follow up the ungodly caps lock and screeching? Impossible. An idea sprung to mind, one that was brave. Taking the first step.

Instead of sending a text, you sent a voice memo.

“Thank you for the pizza, it was delicious.”

You voice still sounded a bit raspy. His reply was instant. Your heart skipped a beat. He sent a voice memo back.

“Glad you liked it, baby.”

He was going to be the death of you.

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tags (in italics is those i couldn’t tag! make sure all’s ok w your settings!) : @littlebabysandboxburritos - @fairywriter-oracle - @tsukishimawh0re - @ofstarsanddreams - @bbecc-a - @annshit - @leahh19 - @letsloveimagines - @bellomi-clarke - @wineandionysus - @guiltydols - @onephootinfrontoftheother - @liamakorn - @thirstyfangirl - @lilysdaydreams - @pan-ini - @mxqicshxp - @tanchosanke - @yoshinorecommends - @flightsandfantasy - @liljennyx3 - @slashersdream - @unknown-and-invisible - @sinister-sleep - @fivedicksinatrenchcoat - @mercury–moon - @peterparkerspjsuit - @unstableye - @simonsbluee - @shinyshimaagain - @ppopty - @siriuslystupid - @crapimahuman - @ofthedewthesunlight - @mythicalamphitrite - @artsyally - @corpsesimpp - @corpsewhitetee - @corpse-husbandsimp - @hyp-oh-critical - @roses-and-grasses - @rhyrhy462 - @sparklylandflaplawyer - @charbkgo - @airwaveee - @creativedogs - @kaitlyn2907 - @loxbbg - @afuckingunicornn - @fleurmoon - @yeolliedokai - @truly-dionysus - @multi-fandom-central707

more tags are in the comments bcs tumblr only allows me to tag 50 people max 💙

[chosonore]

cynosure

cynosure [noun. one that serves to direct or guide; a center of attraction or attention]

pairing: sukuna/f!reader

summary: in which sukuna re-discovers being human one aspect at a time, through many lifetimes, at the price of losing you over and over.

wordcount: 8.7k

content/warnings: reincarnation au, slow burn but also not really because there's only hints of romance? language, it's not canon at all, just pretend sukuna was never sealed away, lowercase is intended

a/n: this is more self-indulgent tbh sukuna is probably uncharacteristically soft? sometimes i'm reminded of the fact that he used to be human and while we don't exactly know how he became a curse just yet, i kinda felt sad about it lol i'm too sympathetic with everything, it's gonna kill me one day fhuierhfa a lot of these moments are based on my own experiences, where i had to remind myself that even the small things in life are really good and important, especially during the pandemic. that being said, i hope you enjoy and stay safe everyone :) (and please don’t judge me too hard on this lol i haven’t written in like what. six years?)

001.

“oh,” you stared at the tall, pink-haired man in front of you. “i didn’t think anyone would be here around this time…” he stared back at you, not replying nor making any move to scoot over so that you could sit on your bench. it was only then that you noticed the black markings framing his face and adorning his wrists. you were a little dumbfounded - your mother had always said that you had a poor survival instinct. though you supposed that his pink hair eased your nerves a little; surely someone with pink hair couldn’t be as evil. but you couldn’t recall ever seeing someone like this around the proximity of your village. maybe he was a vagrant. 

“i don’t mean to be rude but… that’s my bench and i would appreciate if you could maybe… scooch over?” you asked gingerly, not wanting to upset the stranger. you approached him slowly, grasping your basket tightly. if he got a little rowdy, maybe you could just wack him with the basket, right? although it probably won’t hurt but it surely would stun him long enough for you to run.

“i don’t see why i should move just because it’s your bench,” the stranger answered gruffly, crossing his arms. were you naive or just stupid? “do you not know who you’re talking to, woman?” 

you cocked your head to the side, not sure what he meant. maybe he was one of those famous poets or musicians that your parents liked to talk about. you weren’t entirely sure. even though he sounded annoyed, the look in his eyes didn’t quite match the hostility - he looked rather bored, unamused even, but not hostile. maybe you could humour him a little. “am- am i supposed to know you? i’ve never been outside of the village so i don’t know much. only what the merchants tell me. i apologize if i’ve offended you,” you explained hastily, then pointing at your basket. “i just came here to enjoy the sunrise. um, today is my birthday, so i treated myself to some dessert!”

“if- if you scooch over a litte, i could share some with you…” you tried to bargain with him. now you were truly starting to sound desperate but this was your favourite spot and it was the first time in a while that you had a free day to relax. out of all days, just why did he have to be here now? you’d be damned if you let your day get ruined by this unfriendly stranger. 

“are you trying to bribe me?” the stranger narrowed his eyes at you and you thought this was it. he was going to kill you and bury your body in the forest and your parents would come look for you, only to find your empty basket and then start a huge search party to find you and- the pink haired man moved to the side, refusing to look you in the eyes. “sit.”

you let out a squeak in glee, quickly taking a seat beside him. he watched in silence as you unwrap your desserts, glancing at the objects in question. even though you’d offered to share with him, he didn’t actually expect you to give him some of your food. sukuna was surprised when you handed him a… round squishy thing? 

“what is that? how is that going to satiate me?” he asked, almost offended, which made you giggle. you didn’t reply, instead thrusting the mochi towards him until he begrudgingly took it, closely inspecting it in suspicion. 

“that’s a daifuku mochi. it’s made out of rice flour and filled with red bean paste. but come to think of it… do you even like sweets? i’m sorry if you don’t particularly enjoy it,” you explained and grabbed one as well. you were about to bite into your mochi when you saw the stranger opening his mouth, ready to devour the entire mochi in one go. in horror, you quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him, only to have him suddenly pin you down and tower over you.

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry!” you hastily said, now suddenly aware of the dark, threatening aura that he was emitting. maybe he was a killer after all. “i just didn’t want you to eat it in one go! they’re kind of difficult to eat in one go… plus you’re supposed to savour and enjoy it, take your time eating it!” 

sukuna stared at the girl in disbelief, you’d grabbed him out of nowhere just to stop him from eating too fast? not only were you not aware of who he was, you apparently did not know how to be cautious around strangers. it irked him that you were acting like he was a harmless human being. so much so that he briefly contemplated killing you. “who are you to tell me how to eat?” he growled at you, not softening his grip. he saw the panic and fear in your eyes but for some reason, he couldn’t quite put a finger on it, it didn’t fill him with joy as it usually did.

“i’m just telling you how we usually eat mochi!” you harrumphed, now annoyed that he was acting like you just committed murder. “you didn’t know what these were, so i was just trying to explain! food is supposed to be enjoyed, not ravished all at once. you have to appreciate your food because there might be days where you won’t have any. and besides, enjoying and properly tasting your meal is the least you can do to show gratitude to the person who cooked it for you.” sukuna let up and sat back on his previous spot, seemingly accepting your answer. you sat up, adjusting your yukata and pouted at him. what a rude stranger! you at least expected an apology from him but seeing that he was already taking a bite from his mochi, you guessed you should just let it go. it wasn’t worth getting angry over anyways, not on this day.

“why are you looking at me like that, little girl?” sukuna questioned, taking another bite from his mochi. he did actually enjoy it and it took every bone in his body not to hastily eat more and to savour it like you’d told him to. maybe this wasn’t so bad after all, it made him think about his meals a little more. not eating for the sake of eating, but for enjoyment, he mused. sort of like living for enjoyment, not for the sake of living. 

“you never told me your name,” the girl replied innocently. sukuna sighed. so you really weren’t aware of who he was. “my name is y/n! now it’s only fair if you tell me, especially because i shared my food with you. please?”

before sukuna could reply, he sensed someone quickly approaching. they were hiding somewhere in the forest; it likely was a jujutsu sorcerer, trying to exorcise him. he could deal with them later, but not here, not with you around. the girl looked at him in disappointment when he abruptly stood up, turning towards the forest behind them. unfortunately, he had the inkling that you wouldn’t let it go until he answered: “my name is sukuna, king of curses.” your eyes widened in recognition but you didn’t immediately react or scramble away from him, most likely frozen in fear. 

“now go. someone is coming and you do not want to be in the crossfire.”

002.

as a seamstress, you’ve encountered all kinds of customers. ranging from rude and bratty to eternally grateful, you’ve seen it all. your supervisor had always told you to remain calm and polite, to just adhere to their wishes to not cause any ruckus. after all, people of status often assumed that they were untouchable and could treat others poorly. it wasn’t worth the hassle to start a fight with them, you could lose your job after all. there was moments you’d have to stand up for yourself but this wasn’t it. fortunately, your employer paid you well, enough for you to provide for your family. the customers were high-profile after all.

you looked at the clock on the wall, your next customer was supposed to come soon. it was a nobleman that apparently travelled here from far away, having heard that the store offered beautiful, one of a kind fabrics. you just hope that he wasn’t rude and that you could leave in time. you’d been working overtime for weeks now, taking every appointment and customer that you could get. your mother’s birthday was approaching and you’d been saving up to buy some of the soft and silky fabrics to sew her a new yukata. your mother had always sacrificed her own comfort to buy the best items she could afford for your siblings and you and now that you were older, you could finally treat her to something nice as well. your employer was even willing to give you a small discount and you gratefully took up on her offer.

the chime of the doorbell made you look up, the good feeling in your stomach slowly fading when you saw who entered. you were familiar with the customer after all; he was well known in the area, being a rather volatile and sometimes scary aristocrat who had the reputation to be particularly difficult and having outrageous demands. you hastily stood up, brushing the wrinkles out of your clothing and walking over to greet him. you bowed politely, taking the outerwear that he took off and placing it on a nearby armchair. “sir, i’ll bring you a few samples shortly. do you have any colour or pattern preferences?” you asked him, placing a pot of tea and a cup on the small side table for him to enjoy. you made note of his wishes and disappeared in the storage room to pick up the samples. the customer had made himself at home, eyeing you scrutinizingly. he made you queasy, looking so incredibly unfriendly and you could tell that you were not going home early tonight.

you showed each of the fabrics to him, explaining what materials they were made of and what occasions they were good for but with each explanation, he just looks more and more uninterested. not to mention the snarky remarks he made, seemingly not happy of the choices you presented him. you were running out of options and you didn’t know what else to do to please him when suddenly you heard someone enter the shop. both the customer and you looked over confused - you weren’t expecting any more customers today, it was already late after all. a tall, pink-haired man entered the shop, scowling at your customer. you jumped slightly; he looked scary and you were terrified, not sure what to do in this situation. not only were the black markings on his face and body terrifying, there was also a threatening aura surrounding him, dark and slowly spreading out, all your instincts were screaming at you to run. should you politely ask him to leave? he looked like he wouldn’t take it too well. before you could ask him whether he was looking for something, the stranger spoke up: “you know who i am, leave.”

your eyes widened, slowly inching back towards the back of the store. you were not aware of who this man was but by the looks of your pale-faced customer, he surely did. “this is outrageous!” he exclaimed indignantly, jumping out of his seat. “you can’t just burst in here and demand that i leave! i have an appointment! are you aware of how long the waiting list is? this is the finest shop in the entire prefecture and i would rather die than to give up my spot for a scoundrel like you.” the stranger raised his eyebrows at the shorter man, clicking his tongue in annoyance. you slowly reached out to grab your pair of scissors. they probably weren’t of much use but it made you feel more safe, knowing you could at least somehow defend yourself.

“oh? you would rather die? i’m sure that can be arranged,” the stranger threatened and it was with horror that you watched his fingernails, sharp and pointy, grow in size. he wasn’t human, you’d just encountered a monster. he would kill you and it wouldn’t take him much effort to do so, you were sure he could just stab you with those fingernails. your customer squeaked and left the store in panic, slamming the door in the process, while you quickly hid behind the counter. you hoped he would leave you alone, you didn’t want to get involved. this wasn’t your problem, you were innocent and it was an unfortunate coincidence for you to be here. 

“stop hiding,” the stranger commanded, slowly approaching the counter. you peeked from below the counter, holding your breath. what else could he possibly want from you? demons surely didn’t need money. oh god, was he going to kidnap you?

he swiftly rounded the corner and knelt down to take a closer look at you - you couldn’t react fast enough, he’d already grabbed your chin and made you look at him, turning your head from side to side as he examined you. his fingernails were slightly digging into your skin, making your face scrunch up in discomfort. “so it is you,” he exclaimed in a low voice, then abruptly standing back up. you were confused - what did he mean by that? at least he didn’t kill you, at least not yet. but what else could he possibly want from you? “i need a new kimono. that scumbag just left anyways, make one for me instead.”

a kimono? a simple kimono? you couldn’t believe what you just heard. this demon just came in here, threw a fit but all he wanted was a simple kimono? you couldn’t help but scoff at the situation though it probably was difficult to enter a store without people fleeing or refusing to serve him. while he did look human, the markings on his face made it difficult not to feel threatened. but why did he know you? you had never seen this man in your life before. not in passing, not on drawings, nowhere. no matter how hard you wracked your brain, you just couldn’t recall. “d- do you have any- any colour preference?” you questioned him, watching how he took a seat and grabbed himself the cup of tea. 

“white,” he answered curtly, taking a sip from the tea. “i’ll leave everything else up to you.”

you felt uncomfortable but there was nothing else you could do than follow his orders. you grabbed a few plain white fabric samples and slowly inched over to him, holding them out with your trembling hands. “what?” he deadpanned. you huffed in frustration. 

“sir, you should… you should choose the fabric. it’s your kimono after all, you might not like the feeling of the fabric or it might not be a good fit for your everyday life,” you explained.

“i don’t care, just choose whatever. i’m above the comfort you stupid mortals choose.”

“that’s stupid,” the words left your mouth quicker than you could stop yourself and you slapped your hands over your mouth. the stranger looked at you as equally shocked. “i mean- i mean there’s nothing wrong with indulging in comfortable clothes!” you explained quickly, pressing the samples into his hands. “see you wouldn’t like scratchy clothes, right? or fabric that quickly makes you sweat or feel too warm! i always talk to my customers about what kinds of fabrics they would prefer… i believe life is too short to wear ill-fitting clothes or ones that don’t feel comfortable! good clothing should make you feel like… like a warm hug.”

the stranger didn’t look like he understood what you meant, making you scoff again. some people really didn’t care about what they wore and how they looked like and it just bothered you. good quality fabrics and well tailored clothing could make you feel confident and safe, even in the worst situations. how could you possibly relax if your clothing was maybe scratchy or ill-fitting? “i’ll prove it to you!” you exclaimed and left the room to gather your supplies, then coming back to instruct him where and how to stand so you could take his measurements. now that he was towering over you, you were suddenly very aware of how tall and broad he was. you felt like a dwarf next to him. up close, you noticed more details about him. he was attractive, you couldn’t deny that - the long wispy eyelashes, the watchful ruby eyes and his soft-looking pink hair. if he picked up on your staring, he didn’t comment on it.

once you were done taking notes and choosing fabrics, you gave him a slip of paper, noting down time and date for him to come back to pick the kimono up. “as for payment-” you started but the stranger dropped a huge bag of coins on the counter. you gasped, pushing the bag back into his arms. “sir, that’s too much! i’ll calculate the exact price for you but-” 

“take it,” he insisted and pushed it back towards you. “i have enough. you need the money right? see it as a generous tip.” your face flushed, you didn’t even know what to say and instead only profusely thanked him. it was so much money, the tip was enough to cover your family’s expenses for a year.

when sukuna picked up his kimono weeks later, he still didn’t understand what a hassle you made about the choice of fabrics and why you were so diligent in taking the measurements. he was fine with everything as long as he had something to wear in the first place. he didn’t care, he wasn’t a measly human that whined about the mildest inconvenience. in the private of his abode, he tried the kimono on, abruptly halting his movements as soon as the fabric touched his skin. so the girl was right, the fabric did feel incredibly good on his skin. it was very smooth and silky, a little cool on his skin. very lightweight but not flimsy. the kimono wasn’t too short and fit his tall statue well, you really did a good job he supposed. he glanced at himself in the mirror. it did look good on him, even the matching colours and patterns were chosen well. you really were a good seamstress, no wonder everyone was flocking to the store.

now that sukuna wore the kimono, he suddenly didn’t want to take it off. it was comfortable and soft, reminding him of you.

003.

your favourite spot was one below a tree, on top of a hill where you could see everything. the small city below, the horizon, the stars in the sky. you often came here when you felt like your life came crashing down your shoulders. it didn’t feel like your own anymore, not with your future already laid out for you without you being able to control it. complaining had always felt redundant and ungrateful to you - you had everything you needed, a loving family, food on the table and your family was wealthy enough to not have to worry about money. but in return, they expected everything from you, their eldest daughter. sometimes, the pressure was too much for you but they expected you to do as they say. everything was well until they announced that you were to get married and they’d found a suitor for you. you couldn’t even protest, the decision had already been made behind your back and you couldn’t refuse. you sniffled quietly, wrapping the blanket tighter around you. you didn’t know this man; he might be a complete asshole and not treat you well at all.

the wind was biting at your skin, cold and unrelenting, and yet you felt safe here, away from all your worries. the starry sky made you feel like your worries were miniscule, reminding you that there was so much more out there for you to discover. you’d always liked the sight of stars, they always made you happy. on lucky days, you’d even get to see a few shooting stars. you’d close your eyes and clasp your hands, hopeful that whatever wish you made would come true. the crunch of leaves and twigs made you look up in alarm, scared that your parents had found out you left the estate and now found your secret hiding spot. you couldn’t quite make out the figure in the darkness, only being able to tell that a tall person was approaching you.

you were wary, inching towards the tree behind you to hide but froze when a voice rang out: “i know you’re there. i was looking for you all over the city, little one.” a man clad in a kimono was coming closer, stopping right in front of you and looking at you in disdain. your eyes lit up as you recognized him; you’d met sukuna a couple of times in the city before, mostly when you went to pick up some books to read. he’d been there one time when you were choosing your books and scoffed at your choice. you’d ask him about it, wondering why he thought that your choice was a bad one. he went on and on about how historically inaccurate the book was and that the information about curses was wrong and how an author like that should be ashamed to even publish it. you appreciated the dialogue, you liked having someone to discuss with you. your parents didn’t like that you read fantasy books and books that talked about supernatural events and beings, dubbing them as nonsense and that you should focus on your studies instead.

after your third meeting, sukuna had finally opened up and told you his name. your meetings became more frequent then but you’d never met anywhere other than the bookstore. you were surprised that he even found you here; you decided not to question him though, sukuna always seemed to know where you were, always sensing where you were headed. truthfully, you looked forward to spending time with him. he was attentive and always listened to you, barely ever talking. oddly enough, it made you feel like finally, someone was paying attention to your thoughts and needs. lately, a heavy feeling in your chest was always accompanying you when you met up with him. it was a dull ache, some kind of yearning that you couldn’t quite put a finger on. it didn’t help that you felt like you’d met him before, but you really couldn’t recall where you had met him before. “what are you doing here?” you questioned him, scooting to the side to offer him some space on the picnic blanket.

unceremoniously, he sat down and glanced over to you. he didn’t reply, simply shrugging. “why didn’t you bring a coat?” you asked another question instead, frowning at his choice of clothing. aside from his kimono, he wasn’t wearing anything else. “you’ll catch a cold!” you scolded him, swatting his arm before tugging on his sleeve and signalling him to move closer to you so you could wrap the blanket around his shoulders. you struggled a little to reach him, almost stumbling - sukuna’s arm immediately shot out to hold you so you wouldn’t fall. your cheeks flushed red and you were thankful that it was dark. you cleared your throat and sat back down, snuggling into the blanket and his side. 

“by the way, i read that book you disliked the other day,” you told him, rambling about the contents of the book and what you thought of it, all while sukuna simply listened to you. he only spoke up when he challenged your way of thinking or to agree, otherwise staying silent and just watching you.

suddenly you grasped his hand in excitement, pointing at the sky. “oh, oh! look!!” sukuna’s gaze followed the direction you pointed to, spotting some shooting stars flitting across the sky. “you have to wish for something!” you squeezed his hand and nudged him, then squeezing your eyes shut to prepare yourself to wish. 

“what would i even wish for?” sukuna frowned and pinched your cheek. “what do you wish for?”

“you’re not supposed to share wishes! if you do, they won’t come true,” you argued back and stuck your tongue out at him. sometimes, he really was too skeptical, never indulging in harmless fun. it might be childish to believe in these things but sometimes that little spark of hope was all you need to wait for better things. you sighed when the shooting stars disappeared and let go of his hand, screaming internally. did you really grab his hand like that? you sure hoped you didn’t unsettle him. 

“i don’t think i told you, but my parents have found a suitor for me,” you confided in him quietly, staring at the grass near your feet. “i’m supposed to marry him next year but… i don’t want to, i don’t know this person and i just want to live my life with no one controlling it.”

“i see. there’s still time to get to know him, isn’t there?” you knew sukuna was trying to console you but it wasn’t exactly working. your words frustrated you a little; subconsciously, you’d hoped that he shared the same opinion and maybe, just maybe, help you do something reckless. 

“i don’t want to get to know him,” you huffed and crossed your arms (sukuna thought you looked like a petulant child). “i… i already like someone.”

“you do?” sukuna looked at you surprised and that was the first time that he’d shown any other emotion than indifference. you nodded shyly, hoping that maybe he’d get the hint. you weren’t confident just yet to confess to him but maybe he’d get it from your description alone? 

“i recently met him and i really like that he makes me feel like, you know, important and always pays attention to me. he doesn’t talk a lot but i think that that’s okay, we still have a silent mutual understanding, i guess. and i also think he looks really handsome! although i-”

sukuna had enough of your rambling, he felt annoyed that you were telling him about your stupid crush. whatever boy you had a crush on, they would never amount to the likes of him. why would you look at someone else when he was right there? right here, with you. sukuna reached over and grabbed your cheeks to make you look at him before pressing his lips on yours. you froze for a short moment before returning the kiss, holding onto his kimono when he wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you closer. why would you pay attention to someone else when he could be with you? for the first time in his existence as a curse, he briefly felt human again. maybe shooting stars were the key to wishes coming true after all; in this moment he wouldn’t mind being human again, being alone with her with only the stars as your witnesses.

004.

gradually you were really starting to dislike your night shifts. usually, you’d ask to cover them because it was quiet, there were no nosy customers and the only people that ever came in so late were sleep deprived students that pulled all nighters to write papers or study. well it used to be that way until a group of, presumably, freshmen started coming more and more frequently - they wouldn’t have been so annoying if it wasn’t for them talking and laughing obnoxiously loud. they would stay until late in the night and kept ordering drinks. the audacity to have oddly specific orders, to watch you like a hawk while you were preparing their drinks, it made your blood boil. to top it all off, one of the guys kept flirting with you, even when you’d already made it obvious that you were not interested at all. no matter how uninterested and abrasive you acted, the guy would not leave you alone and his friends would try to act as wingmen. clueless and horrible wingmen.

you were glad that you were never alone during your night shifts, depending on the weekday you’d work in a team of two or threes. whenever they could, they’d cover for you and you were thankful but also felt bad, which usually resulted in you taking over anyways. you placed the basket on the counter, grabbing a towel to dry the cups you’d just washed. the chime of the doorbell made you look up, your heartbeat speeding up at the sight of sukuna coming in. like the group of freshmen, sukuna had recently started to visit the café more and more. he usually only came late at night and he probably was your favourite regular. scratch that, he was your favourite, no one was as calm as him and he never caused trouble. yeah, maybe those night shifts weren’t all that bad, you thought to yourself. you looked forward to him visiting every time you had a night shift.

“hi sukuna,” you greeted him softly and gave him a smile, placing the cup on a shelf. “the usual?” he took a seat near the bar, placing his wallet on the counter and taking off his coat. sukuna was peculiar, not particularly in a bad way. you always thought that he was a little mysterious. he always wore the same kimono - who wears kimonos everyday in this day and age anyways - the same white kimono but maybe he just owned mulitple of them. you could never tell what he was thinking and he had never shown any emotions other than brief moments of bliss when he was having his usual order. his order had always and would probably always be a simple black coffee and some daifuku mochi. it was a weird combo, you mused, but somehow fit him. it was a sharp contrast, just like his tattoos and the soft pink hair. you finished up the order, pushing the cup of coffee and the plated mochi towards him - you’d sneaked another one in just for him, knowing how much he seemed to like them. sukuna looked up at you, ready to protest but you just brushed it off, telling him that it was okay.

out of the corner of your eye you saw your not so secret admirer approaching with an empty cup and you instantly knew you were bound to be annoyed again. you sighed, returning to the cash register to take his order. “so, when am i finally going to get to take you out?” the guy asked, leaning on the counter to get closer to you. you gritted your teeth, ignoring his question and instead took the empty cup, placing it in the kitchen sink behind you. 

“oh come on, don’t ignore me, baby,” he whined, not letting up until you answered. you were annoyed, so so annoyed. your co-workers were currently organizing the inventory so you were all by yourself - usually that would be fine but you’d had enough. this week has already been awful and you just wanted to be left alone. you glanced around, spotting sukuna on the side. suddenly a lightbulb went on in your head and you faced your admirer confidently. 

“i’m sorry but please stop flirting with me and trying to ask me out,” you started and pointed to sukuna who was innocently taking a bite from his mochi. “i already have a boyfriend and i don’t think he appreciates you cornering me like this. you being this persistent is really annoying, girls don’t like that.”

upon hearing his name, sukuna looked up and as if on cue, he glared at your admirer. “yeah, i suggest you fuck off. get a hint, you creep, she’s mine,” he snarled, making a move towards the other guy who was already scrambling to get away and profusely apologizing. mine, mine, mine. his words kept repeating in your head, your heart squeezing painfully. was he interested in you? would he ever come to see you more than just a barista? you sighed in both relief and affliction, trudging over to sukuna. 

“i’m sorry i dragged you into this,” you apologized embarrassed, shoulders drooping and you stared at the floor just so he wouldn’t see your reddened cheeks. “he’s been pestering me so much and i kind of thought that that was the only way to get him to back off.”

“i don’t mind,” sukuna replied curtly, resuming his seat. he didn’t say anything else and you slightly panicked, you wanted to keep talking to him, stay in his company for a little longer. 

“ah uhm sukuna, i want to thank you! if… if you don’t mind, i would like to treat you to another drink?” you suggested, your face now beet red. this was the most straightforward you had ever been with a guy, usually too shy to make a move. in distance you could hear the chime of the doorbell and the doors slamming, indicating that the group had left. you were alone. sukuna didn’t reply at first and you were sure you’d fucked up and got ready to backtrack and laugh it off when he nodded. 

“go ahead, little one,” he nodded towards the counter. “you choose the drink.”

you didn’t know why sukuna kept calling you little one but for some reason, you didn’t mind. it did however make your heart ache in what you could only describe as melancholy. you weren’t sure why. while you started brewing some green tea for the two of you, the sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. the pitter patter of raindrops against the glass front was the only sound audible in the entire café. sukuna hadn’t uttered another word, not even making a sound of acknowledgement when you handed him the cup of tea and sat next to him. 

“you didn’t bring an umbrella,” you noted, looking out of the window. it was raining heavily, with no signs of it stopping anytime soon. “i guess you’ll have to stay here for a little longer, otherwise you’ll get sick. i hope you aren’t sick of me though.”

sukuna took a sip of his tea. “i don’t mind your company,” he replied, looking at you. you couldn’t tell what he was thinking but you sincerely hoped he wasn’t joking. hearing that gave you a little hope. 

“i like moments like this,” you confessed to him, clutching the warm cup with your sweater paws. “having a warm cup of tea and watching the rain from the comfort of your home. or in this case, a café. the sound of rain is really calming, isn’t it? makes you forget about all your worries for a while, it’s just you and your cup of tea.”

again, sukuna didn’t reply for a while. you thought you’d bored him to death with your monologue until he spoke up: “i don’t see how it’s any different from having a cup at any time of the day.” your cup was placed back on the counter. you frowned, not sure how to explain it to him. in moments like these, sukuna seemed to be something of an old being that has seen everything, feelings now dull and locked away. 

“well, see it like this. making yourself a cup of tea or coffee everyday is a normal thing to do, right? it happens almost automatically because it’s just part of your daily routine, you like how it tastes, it makes you feel more awake or helps you sleep. but… but you never really take your time to enjoy it, right?”

sukuna was contemplating, you almost giggled at the little frown on his face. but you were glad that he was willing to listen to you and discuss it with you, instead of dismissing the topic entirely. “but what does that have to do with rain?” he finally asked. 

you pointed outside. “you wouldn’t really go out in this weather, right? not if you have any emergencies or urgent matters to attend to. and same goes for everyone else; it kind of… kind of forces you to stay inside, to fully enjoy your warm beverage. the sound of rain is pretty calming, it’s some kind of whitenoise that might block out intrusive thoughts, at least it does that for me. so it’s only you, the sound of rain and your cup of tea. for a few minutes, you can just relax and have a moment for yourself.”

sukuna still didn’t quite understand how humans worked. it’s been hundreds of years since he’s ceased to be human, he’s forgotten what is what like being human. what human emotions entailed. but he agreed, it has been a while since he’s felt at ease and peaceful even. it was a moment of bliss, a moment that caused a flare-up of old, buried feelings inside of him.

004.1

you still hadn’t mustered up the courage to actually ask sukuna out after you dragged him into that fake dating-situation. he did still come late at night, being the most loyal customer of the café at this point. it was almost… almost as if he’d seeked out your company. though he did tell you that he didn’t mind your company; your ego deflated a little. sukuna still wore his kimono but paired it with a thick winter coat - it was winter after all and the weather had been very extreme. the ground was covered in inches of snow and you hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. sukuna insisted on walking you home when your shift ended. you weren’t sure why because he’d never offered to do so before. you were thankful though since it was still snowing and the streets were completely empty; even though the snow looked beautiful, it was still a little eerie to walk home in this weather. especially since a lot of busses weren’t running anymore due blocked roads.

“sukuna, aren’t you cold?” you asked as you switched off the lights and fumbled with your keys. finally finding the right one, you closed up, shoving the keys back in your back and fishing out your gloves. “you don’t even wear gloves!” you gasped when you saw his bare hands, handing him one of yours. sukuna looked at you as if you were crazy.

he wasn’t cold but he couldn’t tell you that, couldn’t let you know that he was a curse. but handing him one of you gloves? you were too nice, always thinking of others first and never being selfish. sighing, he put on the glove that was uncomfortably small but he’d endure it for your sake.

“it’s been a while since we’ve had this much snow,” you mused and took a few steps around, giggling at the sound of crunching snow beneath your feet. sukuna simply followed you, looking comical with the bright yellow and tiny glove on his hand. you smiled at him, admiring how etheral he looked underneath the streetlights with the snowflakes flurrying around him and some getting stuck in his hair. your heart suddenly ached, a far away memory emerging. it was blurry and unclear, a cold night similar as this underneath the stars and a face staring at you. you couldn’t tell who it was nor were you sure whether it was just a case of déjà vu.

“you know, this kind of calls for a snowball fight,” you grinned at sukuna mischievously and grabbed some snow, beginning to form it into a ball. he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, looking at you defiantly. 

“i’m not going to indulge in childish business like th-” he didn’t get to finish his sentence as you hurled the snowball at him and giggled like a maniac as it hit his shoulder. you quickly hid behind a bush as you quickly tried to form another, enjoying the dumbfounded look on sukuna’s face. clearly, he didn’t expect you to follow through with your plan and was caught by surprise. “oh you’re on,” he growled after a moment and grabbed himself some snow as well. you quickly threw another snowball at him, this time only being able to hit his leg. eyes widening at the sight of sukuna raising his arm to throw his snowball at you, you let out a squeak and dove behind a tree - the snowball still hit you square on your back, making you yelp at the cold feeling.

for minutes you could only hear the crunches of snow, loud laughter and snowballs hitting objects. you sat on a bench, exhausted from running and ducking away and your belly was starting to hurt from all the laughter. sukuna caught up to you, juggling a snowball in his hands. “you gonna give up?” he asked, a smirk gracing his lips. clearly he was winning, being able to aim a lot better than you. you missed him most of the time but had fun regardless. 

“never!” you replied, holding out your arms to defend yourself from the incoming snowball. it never came and instead sukuna was inching closer with an evil look in his eyes. oh no. what was he up to? you yelped when you realized that he was aiming for your neck, jumping up to get away from him. sukuna was quick to react and grabbed your arm, pulling you back into his chest and holding you close, smushing the snow against your neck. “ew sukuna, stop!” you laughed and squirmed in his arms until he threw the snowball away, rubbing your back gently. 

“that was really cold, you know,” you pouted, burying your face in his chest. 

he wrapped his arms around you, sighing quietly. “i know, i know, sorry.”

you swore that you felt his lips on the crown of your head.

005.

you were, undoubtedly, lost. your phone was about to die and you were stranded in the middle of the city, not sure where to go. to be fair, it was very, very easy to get lost here and it was your first time visiting. your grandparents lived here and while you’ve visited before, you couldn’t quite remember anything anymore. you were a child back then. and the city had drastically changed too, making it difficult for you to navigate yourself around. though your poor sense of direction was probably at fault as well. you sighed, trying to call your grandparents again. no one was picking up. you turned your phone off to save some of the battery, maybe you could call them later.

luckily, you’d brought your cameras so you could at least keep yourself busy until someone freed you from this misery. you walked towards the nearby shrine; there didn’t seem to be any people here, it was very quiet aside from the sound of cicadas. you took a few photos before continuing your journey, soon finding yourself standing on top of the hill. the view from here was breathtaking, even more so because the sun was starting to set, painting the sky in a beautiful yellow and orange hue. you fumbled with your camera again, trying to take a photo when someone suddenly moved into your shot. you paused and looked at the person in front of you who was staring at you as well. considering they were wearing a kimono, you assumed that they must work here. did you make a mistake? maybe you weren’t supposed to take photos and this person came to tell you off.

“i’m sorry!” you said quickly, quickly shoving your camera in your bag. “am i allowed to take photos here?” 

the stranger frowned at you, clearing his voice before replying: “how am i supposed to know? i don’t work here.” 

you groaned, rubbing your face in embarrassment. of course you’d say something wrong, you always did. and now you probably annoyed him too - he looked really annoyed. but since he wasn’t working here and there was no one else around, you guessed you could take photos after all. there was no one to tell you off anyways. however, the stranger was still standing there, looking at you in what seemed like interest. you felt awkward just continuing your endeavors without acknowledging him, so you asked: “do you live here? i’m just visiting, so i’m not very familiar with the city.”

“you could say that,” the stranger simply replied. when he didn’t say anything else, you decided that it probably was okay if you just continued taking photos without acknowledging him. though it did make you queasy, knowing that he was just watching you. didn’t he have anything else to do? a few minutes passed. he sighed and walked over, pointing at your camera. “what are you doing?” you were surprised at how straightforward he was, not expecting to engage in a conversation with you. maybe people in this city were just extra talkative and you’d have to get used to it. your grandparents never told you about this though. 

“ah i’m visiting my grandparents here and i thought i’d document my stay here. so i can look at these photos whenever i want and just have the memories on photo,” you explained and rummaged in your bag to show him the polaroids you took earlier. “i particularly like polaroids because you can’t edit or change them… whatever moment you capture, it’s true to what you saw. there’s no need to make photos beautiful when they hold a special place in your heart and are tied to a specific memory.”

the stranger nodded, pointing to your polaroid camera. “and you take them with this device?” his choice of words startled you a little, he didn’t seem to be familiar with this type of camera which you found odd. everyone knew what these were nowadays, almost everyone owned them. but you didn’t want to judge him or make him feel stupid though, patiently explaining to him how the cameras worked and where he could purchase them. he seemed to be really interested, closely inspecting the camera, turning it around and fumbling with the buttons. only after you finished rambling, you realize how much time had passed - it was almost dark now and your grandparents were probably worried sick. your phone was turned off the entire time and you forgot to call them. 

“excuse me, i really need to call my grandparents!” you looked at him apologetically, leaving him with your photos and camera. normally, you would be very wary; normally, you wouldn’t even show anyone your photos, rather keeping them to yourself because they were your precious memories. but something about him resonated with you, he seemed familiar and yet he didn’t.

you found a spot a few meters away from him calling your grandparents and profusely apologizing to them for not calling sooner. you promised them to wait at a popular and well known spot nearby so they could come to pick you up since it was already getting late, then hung up. to your relief, the stranger was still standing there, watching you intently. “thank you,” you smiled as he handed you your belongings. “my grandparents are picking me up soon, thank you for keeping me company. won’t you be going home soon?” 

suddenly his face expression turned rather… sad? somewhat melancholic and you feared you’d said something wrong until he shook his head. “i have to go somewhere later. let me walk you for a bit, it is dark after all.” you looked at him a little dumbfounded, not expecting him to suggest something like that.

“oh you don’t have to! i’ll totally be fine, i-” “i want to. let’s go,” he interrupted you, already beginning to move. you hastily followed him, clutching your bag in your hands. the entire walk was rather silent, none of you saying a word. it wasn’t a tense and uncomfortable silence though - you very much enjoyed his presence. it made you feel safe too, even though you’d told him earlier that you didn’t mind walking by yourself, it was comforting to know that he was by your side. you were in an unfamiliar city after all. hell you even got lost, so who were you kidding. you wondered who the stranger was, what his story was, what his personality was like. this was a one time meeting though, so you didn’t really have any hope of meeting him again. that was very unlikely.

“okay this is the spot. my grandparents are going to pick me up here, so it’s okay if you go,” you pointed at a café and gave him a reassuring smile. he didn’t look impressed. “o-oh wait, i need to thank you somehow.” you held a finger up to signal him to wait for a bit and fished out a polaroid you’d taken earlier. it was a simple shot, only the temple, bits of the trees and the sunset in the background. but you thought it was appropriate, the two of you had shared this moment after all. 

“here, this is for you. it’s not a lot but i guess… it’s a really nice photo and maybe the start of your collection, if you decide to get a polaroid camera?” he took the photo from you, inspecting it before nodding and thanking you. he looked like he was about to say something else but was interrupted by some bright car lights and the sound of honks.

“ah, i have to go! it was nice meeting you,” you bid farewell to him and waved, running towards the car. sukuna watched your figure retreat, arms dropping to his sides.

006.

it was so cold, so incredibly cold. you really hated disliked these long winters, the sky was constantly dull and grey, the days were short and you hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. it made you feel sluggish and unmotivated, you were just hoping that spring was coming earlier this year. you yearned for sunshine and warmth, to be able to go outside without freezing and just spend more time outside. regardless, you held onto your daily walks because they gave you some peace of mind in your hectic life. you were approaching the last year of your studies and the amount of exams, assignments and your looming thesis were just suffocating you. but soon, soon you were done and could finally take a breather, until then, the only moments of relaxation you’d have were your walks.

despite the cold, there were a lot of people near the park; children who were engaging in snowball fights, elderly who were walking their dogs and some joggers too. your eyes were wandering around, watching all the busy people around. too absorbed in your task, you didn’t notice the man in front of you until you bumped into him. you quickly removed your earbuds and apologized to him, about to continue walking when he suddenly grabbed your arm, holding you back. you were confused, did you maybe accidently hurt him when you bumped into him? you looked him up and down to make sure that he was okay; there really wasn’t anything wrong. he let go of your arm. “is something wrong?” you asked concerned and turned to him. 

“y/n?” 

you froze at the mention of your name. how did he know you?

“who are you? i’ve never met you before.”

in all your past lifetimes, you’d taught him how to be human again, how there was value and joy in even the littlest of things. with each iteration of your existence, sukuna thinks that he’s learned to love you more than the last. when he sees how at ease you are spending time with him, a curse that is feared by everyone, he contemplates confessing to you. but something holds him back, it’s the fear; the fear that you won’t return his feelings. he’s seen you be with someone else, see you fall in love countless of times. he yearns for it to be him, hoping that you do choose him, love him. for thousands of years, he’s spent his time finding you - your reincarnations don’t recognize him and it pains him to get to know you anew each time but nothing pains him as much as his existence. he wants to hold you, be yours, grow old with you.

for the first time in thousands of years, sukuna wishes to be human again.

ps.: i am so sorry if i hurt your heart there omg

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Routines

Tim and Marinette lived busy lives.

It was by choice, of course.

They were both prominent figures in their fields that could pick and choose the assignments they wished to take, had more money than they could ever dream of using thanks to the hefty trust fund that being even tangentially related to Bruce Wayne provided, and no one would blame them if they were to lessen or give up their vigilantism. If they wished, there was nothing stopping them from taking a smaller workload, from using up all of their sick days, from taking vacations, from quitting their jobs entirely...

That being said, they likely never would.

And the tabloids loved to speculate on their relationship because of it. How could they spend much time together if Tim was always at work, developing new technology for Wayne Enterprises? Marinette was cheating, how could she not when so much of her job as a designer involved getting up close and personal with models? Not to mention all of the business trips. Surely, the relationship had some kind of monetary motivation, or maybe it was just to more seamlessly merge their companies, or it had only happened for PR reasons.

They let them speculate. They simply didn’t know better.

The tabloids didn’t get to see how they acted behind closed doors, after all.

There would be days where neither of them went in to work. It wasn’t due to some sort of sickness that Tim had caught thanks to his lack of spleen, nor would it be because Marinette had hit some kind of artist’s block. No, it was simply because they wanted to spend time together.

~

They took breaks. Technically. If you squint.

There would be days where neither of them went into work. It wasn’t due to some sort of sickness that Tim had caught thanks to his lack of spleen, nor would it be because Marinette had hit some kind of artist’s block. No, it was simply because they wanted to spend time together.

They would turn on the coffee machine and then make their way over to the sofa. Marinette would nestle herself into his side and smile as he wrapped his arm around her. He would pull her as close as he possibly could so he could still use both arms to type.

He usually took video calls like this. It was always so much easier to maintain a pleasant smile, even when people often looked down on him for his age, because whenever he felt it start to waver he could simply look down at his girlfriend and suddenly he would find that it would be back in full force.

She would prop her sketchbook on her legs and start on some new designs. The designs she did like this were always, inexplicably, more lively than the other ones -- full of vibrant colors and swooping curves in a way that some of her other works lacked. If asked, Marinette would joke that the secret ingredient was love.

And, sure, this wasn’t technically taking a break from work. They were still productive, still did tasks...

But they counted it. They always came back to work the next day with the same euphoric feelings in their chests, the same springs in their steps. How could they not? They’d spent the entire day doing what they loved with the person that they loved. Who could ever want a break from that?

~

Every time one of them came back from a business trip, they made sure to spend the night together.

Tim would lay back in bed, Marinette on top of him. Her head would come to rest on his chest, clutching the back of his shirt tightly. His fingers would find their way to her hair and she would huff a little, knowing that her hair was about to get hopelessly tangled as he fidgeted with the silky strands, but she would nuzzle into his chest all the same.

They would watch a TV show. It didn’t matter whether it was good or bad. As long as there were people and some semblance of a plot, they would gladly stay wrapped up in each other’s arms to watch it.

Tim would rattle off whatever theories he had developed as they came to mind. Some of them were absolutely insane, he knew, and would never happen… but it was worth making a fool of himself if it got Marinette’s face to light up or if he earned one of those little giggles that escaped her when he was instantly proven wrong.

Marinette would, at least, pause the show whenever she wanted to talk, though it wasn’t out of an understanding of how time works. No, it was so she could sit up a little in his lap and point at whichever character had offended her this time. She would go on long rants about how makeup was just as important as outfits in costuming, but it was often overlooked in favor of making the actors look pretty. And, maybe she had already said all of this before, but it’s important, Tim! And he would just nod his agreement. Because it was important -- a TV night certainly wouldn’t feel like a TV night without at least one rant.

And then the screen would go black, the most recent episode done.

Tim would draw back a little and then pretend to be shocked when his hands were stuck in her hair.

“Oh noooooo,” he’d say. “I guess I can’t let go yet.”

“How unfortunate,” she would deadpan.

He’d smile cheekily at her.

“Shut up.”

“But I didn’t even say anything!” He’d argue with overexaggerated offense.

She would smile, shaking her head as much as she could with the fingers in her hair. “You didn’t have to. You have a presence about you.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” he’d say.

And, sometimes, she’d bring her hands up to cup his face. “Not sure if it was a compliment, but I definitely wouldn’t have it any other way,” she’d whisper before pulling him closer for a kiss.

… but, most of the time she would just laugh and say: “It wasn’t one.”

~

Once a month, Marinette tried to teach Tim to cook. Of course, they both knew it was a hopeless endeavor. He’d failed to make mac n’ cheese once, and Marinette -- who had lived the first eighteen years of her life in a Parisian bakery -- wasn’t good at discerning which meals were ‘easy to do’.

But that didn’t stop her from trying.

She would come up with a new recipe, would claim that this one was truly dummy proof…

And then Tim, dummy that he was, would manage to mess it up. Without fail, he would find some way to do something wrong. He would leave the milk on the stove and then be surprised when said milk on the stove decided to revolt against the system. He would raise the temperature on the thing they were baking so it would go faster and then be shocked when the cake didn’t rise at all. He would put too much in the mixer and then not understand why the contents had exploded over the two of them.

Worst thing was, she was pretty sure he was actually trying. He just… couldn’t seem to do it.

So, she would just kiss the disappointed frown off of his face and promise that they would do better next time.

And, every time without fail, he would light up.

“There will be a next time?” He would ask.

“Yeah. You’re lucky you’re cute, I can’t say I love being covered in ingredients.”

Tim would kiss her cheek, and then draw back and lick his lips. “I don’t know, I kind of like it. Something about my girlfriend being covered in tasty food really does something for me.”

“Like I said: you’re lucky you’re cute.”

And, even though she would say that, there was no mistaking the amusement dancing in her eyes.

~

They weren’t particularly religious, it was hard to be when Marinette had a god living in her earrings that obeyed her every command…

Which meant celebrations for the two of them were few and far between.

But, at least, they celebrated their anniversary.

They would sit on the rooftop, the blankets doing nothing to keep the hard tiles of the roof from digging into them and they did even less against the chilly Gotham air.

She’d stare up at the sky with him.

And, since it was Gotham, there were very few stars to be seen through the dark red and black haze of clouds that hung over the city.

But they didn’t mind.

Marinette smiled. “It’s our colors.”

He didn’t look over, watching the colors swirl above them. “Even the sky thinks we’re a good couple.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. The sky god really does have a thing for love.”

He gave a short puff of laughter and finally tore his eyes away from the sky. “Really?”

She shrugged, grinning at him. “No clue. There might not even be a sky god.”

He scoffed and untangled his hand from its blanket prison to give her a tiny shove. She could have dodged the attempt with ease, but she allowed the hand to make contact.

To her surprise, he grabbed ahold of her shoulder and pulled her into him. She gave an undignified little squeak and, if it weren’t for the fact that he was right there, she would have probably faceplanted onto the tile.

But, instead, her face came crashing into his soft, pillowy shoulder.

She looked up at the crooked grin that she had come to love over the years and huffed, pulling her own arms free so she could shove him. For real.

He flopped back, the hand he’d managed to get out coming to rest over his chest as if he were hurt.

“How could you? Roofs hurt, you know.”

“Well, yeah, if you throw yourself down on tiles it’s not going to feel too great.”

He cracked a grin, though he quickly tamped it down to keep up the act: “Victim blaming at its finest.”

She rolled her eyes and leaned over him. One of her hands cradled his cheek, her thumb tracing the tiny scar on his cheekbone.

He looked up at her. And she thought, somewhere, that maybe the reason the pollution in the city was just some kind of coverup so no one would know that they all resided in Tim’s eyes.

And then she cursed herself mentally for thinking something so cheesy.

She had to make up for it somehow:

“You’re the worst, I hope you know that.”

“I am. But you love me anyway.”

Dang it. How was she supposed to feign being annoyed when he looked at her like that? With that soft smile and thick lashes and hair that framed his face just so.

She decided it wasn’t worth trying to pretend.

Marinette let herself match his smile.

“I do.”

“Save those words for our wedding,” he joked softly.

She rolled her eyes. “You haven’t even proposed yet.”

“I could be doing that right now. Who knows, this could all be my plan.”

“It’d be a good plan,” she said. “I’d probably say yes.”

He narrowed his eyes just slightly. “Isn’t that essentially you proposing to me?”

She tipped her head to the side, considering, then she laughed a little. “I guess it kind of is. So, Tim, will you marry me?”

His eyes widened to an almost comical degree.

And then his face lit up with a smile that made her heart flutter.

“I hope you know I want a ring.”

She giggled. “Just say yes, you idiot. We can always get the ring tomorrow.”

His smile only stretched further. “Yes. I’d love to marry you.”

“I love you,” she whispered, leaning closer until her lips brushed against his.

“I love you, too,” he breathed.

Marinette didn’t hesitate any longer, tilting her head to give him a proper kiss. He freed himself of the blanket and she gasped a little against his lips as he wrapped her up in it as well, drawing her close.

She pulled away just a little, her forehead coming to rest against his. She couldn’t seem to get the dopey smile off of her face, but she wasn't completely sure she even wanted it gone.

“I proposed first, so I won,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

He smiled. “No, I did.”