#i would love to think that inigo took over

[sophsun1]

The Princess Bride (1987)

[tossawary]

In "The Princess Bride", Westley is (forgive this phrasing, I mean it relatively fondly) "a petty bitch of a man", but I can kind of see where he's coming from giving Buttercup a hard time at the beginning. It's a very human thing to have a temper.

He went off to seek his fortune and was attacked by pirates, which I assume was a bloody and unpleasant experience. He had to beg for his life and spent a long time as their captive, threatened with death every single day, even if it later turned into a less serious morbid joke. Life on the crew of the most famous pirate in the world was presumably pretty harsh at times and he worked his ass off training himself up to be worth feeding and keeping alive, then to be able to hold his own in this new life. Piracy is hardly a very safe profession.

For all we know, Westley did attempt to send letters home, but he probably had to work hard to scrounge up the money for it and find someone semi-legitimate willing to carry it, and this is hardly an era of reliable mail. He probably had to just hope that Buttercup 1) wouldn't hear the news of his first ship's destruction and/or 2) would trust in his love for her enough to know that he was alive and fighting to come back.

When Westley finally becomes the Dread Pirate Roberts, he's still stuck with the former Dread Pirate Roberts for a little while, and then he has a pirate crew who have expectations of him. He cannot sail the damn ship himself. It probably took a lot of work, threats and persuasion and the slow building of trust, in order to get a ship full of men to eventually take him back to Florin. Like, would he even have told them about Buttercup? (It would be funny if there's a crew of pirates out there cheering Westley on in True Love.) Would he have had to promise them some reward?

He also went out in the world to make his fortune and he already knows that he's dreadfully late, so maybe his position is, "Okay, I will build up trust with my crew by building up our fortunes, WHILE slowly but surely moving back across the world in the direction of Florin so that I can see the love of my life again. This hellish experience traveling all over the damn world will all have been worth it for her."

It's possible that Westley was mostly having silly pirate adventures worthy of a comedic operetta, but based on the tragedies of Inigo and Fezzik's own backstories, this world is not actually that nice. Westley is being flippant and lighthearted when he later summarizes things for Buttercup, but he does seem to be one to make light of / ignore his personal suffering. I do think that he did probably make some friendships through this hardship and had some good experiences along the way, especially near the end, but I also think that the beginning of his journey must have been really shit.

So, Westley fights hard to get back home, then lands somewhere in Florin and is on his way back to the farm, but then finds out from some random villagers (or Buttercup's parents) that his shitty former prince is marrying an incomparably beautiful milkmaid named Buttercup. Like...? The love of his life didn't wait for him (she thought he was dead and is also being forced into this, so that Humperdink can murder her to start a war, Buttercup did nothing wrong) and traded up for some SHITHEAD PRINCE??? That has to HURT. (And Westley does not like admitting to feeling pain!)

Even if he loves mischief and drama, Westley is being an unnecessarily huge jerk when he kidnaps Buttercup away from her kidnapping, but also yeah, I see how his temper might be running hot. He's struggling with the fact that his True Love might have moved on after he's probably been using her memory as a thin rope of sanity for years.

[ask-obt]

Dielle, do you view the day Mateo left as the worst day, or do you view the day you got parents who love you as the best day?

Dielle: I... guess it vastly improved the direction my life took in retrospect, but in the moment, I was terrified. I didn't know what would happen when I followed Moxie home, and even though I was happy for her help, to have a roof over my head and a full belly when I went to bed... once I settled in and the lights were off, I burst into tears.

Dielle: I finally had time to sit down and process what had happened, and I realized that if my dad, someone I spent my entire life with, could just get up and leave me behind, why would strangers bother sticking around either?

I actually snuck out that first night. I think it was a defensive response to those thoughts. Gramps caught me before I went too far, and he talked to me until I calmed down. Even still, the nightly tears didn't stop for a long time. Trying to run away was less frequent, but it still happened up until Inigo was born. And... I think that was the best day of my life.

[never-shouldve-come-here]

how do u think the custom followers would react to the ldb being a kid who was just kinda picked up by the gods and thrown into the middle of a shitstorm?

hope ur having a very nice day and that both sides of your pillow are cold tonight <3

Xelzaz: Took one look at the kid and said hell no. Adopted them and yeeted tf out of there. Skyrim can figure things out for itself. Probably.

Nebarra: Same thing, but more reluctant. Also fucks off somewhere else, flipping the gods off as he does so. He's not the best influence, but he's a single father okay, he's doing his best.

Inigo: So angry that this poor kid had such a horrible destiny thrust on them at such a young age. He definitely considered taking them from Skyrim too, but I think he's the kinda guy that knows trouble is going to follow them no matter where they go. He teaches the kid literally everything he knows to prepare them and protects them as best he can. Proud dad. Cried the first time they hit a bullseye.

Khash: They are thick as thieves, man. They can relate to each other on a level nobody else can. I love the idea of two teenagers saving Skyrim singlehandedly.

Lucien: Horrified that this child is all alone with this burden and absolutely overcome with anxiety over what to do. He was not prepared to take care of a kid but he's also too responsible to leave them on their own. There's a bit of a learning curve for him but he starts figuring it out. He spends a lot of time educating the ldb while they travel and after discovering Dumzbthar they come across the cult trying to kill them. Lucien takes one look at those masks and is like "all right, time to go," and hops on a carriage back to Cyrodiil. Lyra and Davidicus jump absolutely headfirst into being the best grandparents ever.

[depressedhatakekakashi]

I was watching youtube shorts and in this one it had a random anime about a mad king, and a prince murdering him. And it dropped the coldest exchange ever. And I'd love if it was used during Rogue Gai's time, when the Mad King is finally defeated. (Will reveal in a secon XD!)

That King does not go down quietly. He's shivering in fear, anger and outrage. He is the king. Kakazu's chosen to rule. The gods gave him this title because he was born perfect! Extraordinary! Better than any other mortal soul that ever existed. He is Lord Katashi (the second!)!!!!

Imagine if it's Lee he's facing. He sees the dark eyes, the heavy brows just like his own. He learned this is Leona's child! His Mistress! The one who was "bearing his child" that was lost after birth almost 18 years ago. Now it was revealed that the boy was taken by the God of Storms as an infant, and raised by his most hated enemy. The Rogue Gai, whom he killed just 2 years ago. That means this boy must be his!!!! He yells one last time to make this man- see reason.

"Don't you know what that makes me?!"

"History."

And just like that, Lee cuts the Mad King down in cold blood, not listening to his pleas/ orders to see his "parentage." Lee had a father... and he lost him 2 years ago.

Now, the Mad King Katashi has finally been defeated. There were no siblings, cousins, aunts or uncles, as the king had them executed years ago. Seeing them as a threat to his reign and only wanting his own heirs to succeed him... but never having any. Now his tyranny and family line has come to an end, the madness is over once and for all.

After his death, the rain starts to fall on Tonika for the first time in two years. And Leona declares her son and his new order King. By right of conquest.

A new age has begun... An age of peace. And freedom for the people.

I like to imagine that is the last time Lee will ever have to weild his sword... and he never has to take a life again after avenging his true father. Maybe instead "Inigo Montoya" moment... OH maybe it can be both:

*epic swordfight where King Katashi (the 2nd) is trying to make Lee see reason. That Lee is fighting his "father!"*

Kig: *disarmed!* Don't you know what that makes me?!

Lee: History. *stab* Now offer me money.

King: Yes.

Lee: *stab again!* Power me to. Promise me that.

King: All that I have and more. Please. My son...

Lee: Offer me anything I ask for. *slight change in stance.*

King: Anything you want- *SNEAK ATTACK.*

Lee: *Block. Stabs the King's Heart. Makes sure to grab the man's head so they're eye to eye. He wants to see the light leave this "man's" eyes* I want my father back you son of a bitch.

And scene... what do you think?

I don’t think Lee is vengeful or hateful enough to do an Inigo, which is sad because it IS funny, but also not something gai would choose to teach

Even if he believes the king should suffer, he would always promote one quick hit. A kill on stick, no torture or playing around

He will not fall to the kinds statue and he does not want that for his son either

But also, Lee knowing exaftly what the king might try to say because Kakashi did visit him again after Fai’s death, and he made sure Lee knew that others could mistake him for being the kings son

Lee of course insists it doesn’t matter because Gai raised him, but Kakashi clarified that Gai is both his parental figure AND his biological son

Kakashi did not steal the kings son. He took Lee and gave him to his rightful father

And that’s something Lee will always thank him for because he shivers at the thought of being raised to be cruel and hateful like the king. To adore money instead of people.

[kagedbird]

TESSDE AU (+ Taliesin) Continuation from this

The trio eventually ended their water fun and changed back into their nightly clothing. It took some convincing, but Allora managed to get Kaidan to let both her and Taliesin take first watch for the evening. The two wait until they hear his snores to talk around the campfire.

Allora: *carefully adding some wood to the fire to prevent it from becoming smothered* So, what's up? Taliesin: ...I'm afraid I've thought of no better ways to phrase this, so please don't take this offensively in any manner. It does go somewhere, I assure you. Allora: It's about me? Taliesin: Not entirely. More so myself. Allora: But in order to ask, you're using me as a reference point? Or just asking my opinion and or advice? Taliesin: The latter. Most assuredly. Allora: Okay. Ask away. Taliesin: Do you... have you ever felt inadequate in your own body? Looks? Personage? Allora: *blinks in surprise* ...All the time. Why? Taliesin: Really? Allora: *frowns, shifting on their log* Well, yeah. There's far prettier women than myself. Surely you've heard me talking down on myself a lot. I see myself in you a lot of the time, when you do that too. Taliesin: What about you do you mostly dislike? Allora: *gives him a flat look* Wasn't this about you? Taliesin: As I said, it goes somewhere. Allora: ...My nose. My face entirely, aside from my eyes, really. I've never felt it fits my body. A few men have said they'd prefer putting something over my face so they don't have to see it while they... you know. Taliesin: *fuming* Barbarians. Allora: My stomach as well. My mother and father often called me too fat, and that I was purposefully pushing it out. I can't go anywhere without instinctively sucking it in now. It's bigger than you normally see, and I often feel the need to cover it up. Taliesin: For what it's worth, I'm sorry about that. I think you look lovely. Allora: *gives him a short, toothless smile* Thanks. My knees, I also don't like. I've always been told I have chicken legs. I try not to look at them if I can help it. Taliesin: ...I find myself very similar. My father often looked down upon me for my own looks. He made it difficult to look in the mirror. Allora: Was being in the water difficult? I didn't unintentionally make you feel upset, did I? Taliesin: No, dear Cherub. I'm afraid I do often feel these things in general whenever I see someone built like Kaidan is, but I found myself wondering why you would wear that outfit- scantily clad as you were- if you felt that way. Allora: You two make me feel comfortable. Lucien and Inigo too. Honestly, Inigo is the most vocal about his appreciation of my looks. *she laughs into her hand to avoid getting too loud* But I knew neither of you would judge me, or make any particular commentary about it. I trust you. Taliesin: ...There was quite a lot the both of us were not saying, if I may be so candid. I will reserve them if it would make you uncomfortable. Allora: *surprised and tilts her head* What did you want to say? Taliesin: Things that might get me in trouble with not only Kaidan, but Dibella herself. Allora: *slaps a hand over her mouth as she laughs* The sex goddess?! Taliesin: Goddess of lovers, dear Cherub. *boldly leans in close to tease her with a smile* Comparing your looks being better than her's might just upset her. But I am a mer of great tastes, perhaps she might agree. Allora: *flushing brightly, brain slowly computing* ...I thought that was going to go another direction. Um... thanks. I don't really agree, but... Taliesin: Shh, darling, I know. Just enjoy the compliment. Have my confidence if it helps you. Allora: *laughs into her hand again* No one can have your confidence. You're too cool... Piper. Taliesin: *equally flustered, letting out a quiet sigh as he sits back up* You have no idea how that effects me, do you? Allora: *bites her lip before laying her head onto his bicep- unable to reach his shoulder despite them both sitting* Not really... but maybe one day you'll tell me. Taliesin: *holds her hand and threads their fingers together; enjoying the feeling of her curling up against him* ...Perhaps. One day.

[Next one here]

[quietsun5268]

Who's the Most Likely, Least Likely, or Maybe Fathers for Owain based on Classes, looks, supports, and/or mannerisms?

Most Child units inherit the hair color from their fathers (with the exception of Female Morgan, who inherited her mother's hair color, and Lucina). But some parents are more fitting for some child units then others based on Classes, looks, supports, mannerisms, etc. I'm not looking for who would make the kid stronger. Just a parent who would make sense for the Child Units.

Recap: Brady Severa Cynthia Laurent Noire Yarne Gerome Nah Kjelle Lucina

Inigo

Morgan

Here's what I've gathered about Owain.

1.) In Awakening Owain's class is Myrmidon, which he could've gotten from Stahl, Lon'qu, Robin, Gaius or Gregor. In Fates Owain (or Odin) is a Dark Mage which he could've gotten from Libra, Henry, or Robin.

2.) He probably got the theatrics from Virion. Although the bizarreness probably came from Henry as well. The bragging probably came from Vaike.

3.) In his supports with Cynthia, Owain gets into an argument with her over what kind of hero is better. Owain prefers dark and edgy heroes, while Cynthia prefers more conventional heroes. I wonder if his preference is inspired by a possible father. Maybe either Lon'qu or Henry.

4.) Lon'qu's A Support with Lissa (where he took an arrow for her) could mirror his B Support with Owain. But there's a possible error, in when Lon'qu took an arrow for Lissa he still managed to kill the all assassins while injured, while when Lon'qu took an arrow for Owain in their B Support, they both retreated.

(?) Henry's father support with Owain has some unique dialogue. In their C Support Henry doesn't think Owain is cursed because he didn't detect a curse. At the beginning of their B Support Henry wasn't upset with him, not only that when Henry got shot by that arrow protecting Owain, it's implied Henry killed every single archer there single handedly.

(?) It's revealed in his A supports with his father that he died protecting him from an arrow but in Robin's case, he became gravely injured and is never seen by Owain again

(?) Ricken and Donnel are the youngest males of the Shepherds. In case you guys feel weird pairing up Lissa with anyone else.

(?) In Fire Emblem Fates, giving a Dragon Feather to Severa, Inigo, and Owain (Selena, Laslow, and Odin) produces some unique dialogue. Inigo and Severa show distaste for it while Owain has a straight up pissed reaction towards it. That particular reaction out what the other two feel could be from being impacted from either the Robin-Grima connection if he's his father or (this is only a theory) because it might remind him of the prejudice he might've faced in his childhood due to being half-Plegian if Henry is his father.

(?) One of Owain's barrack conversations with his father reveals that his father took him to the armory and that his father usually inscribes 'I Love Lissa' on his purchases. Who do you think would do that?

(?) Owain knows the Ylissean Royal family's fencing style, though he has added his own spin to it. So even if one of his possible father doesn't use swords, Owain still learns it.

Who do you think is the child's units mostly likely, maybe, and least likely parents based on Classes, looks, supports, mannerisms, etc?

I'm not sure if I got everything. There's always a chance I'm missing something but I'm willing to listen to any input and reasons why you think whatever Father is suitable for Owain.

Who's the Most Likely Father for Owain based on Classes, looks, supports, and/or mannerisms?: https://strawpoll.com/polls/e7ZJO1l4My3

Who's the Least Likely Father for Owain based on Classes, looks, supports, and/or mannerisms?: https://strawpoll.com/polls/wby5l7PDkZA

Reddit (you can click here if you want to see what other people think in the comments. But know that the polls aren't in Reddit)

[unsettlingcreature]

The dremora lay dead at their feet. Kaidan stood, simply staring at it with his blade still drawn as tension dripped off his frame. Nilus glanced at Lucien and Inigo to see they already had started to tend their wounds on the museum steps, leaving the two of them stood alone by the door. Lucien flashed a quick thumbs up at the dragonborn, quickly returned before he turned to Kaidan.

“It knew my name,” he choked out. "It came for me. I thought I had left this all behind... I thought..." His voice trailed off and Nilus watched as his hand tightened on his nodachi. The shorter man stepped forward until he was in Kaidan's line of sight and then slowly reached out to wrap his hands around his tight-knuckled grip.

"It's dead now," he reminded him. "It can't hurt us now it's dead."

"Maybe it can't but you heard what it said. Revenge. Because I crossed a daedric prince." He shook his head, finally his hold loosening on the hilt of his sword as he slipped it back into its sheath. "I should have known his followers weren't going to let it go."

"Do you think it was... you know. Them?" Nilus almost didn't want to bring up those Kaidan had found himself bound to in the past, the topic obviously a sore one. But with the dremora's sudden appearance, he had to ask. "You said that Rosalind had a... talent for conjuration."

"That..." Kaidan blinked, his face awash with horror at the realisation. "She did. If she had actually survived that night, I would not put it past her."

"Okay," Nilus said, voice quiet and weak before strengthening. "Alright. So what's our plan?"

"I think it's clear I can't turn my back on this," Kaidan said, his voice turning cold and brittle. "Not this time. If I don't face these cultists, they won't ever stop coming after me. I need to find where they are... strike them down first."

Nilus could read between the lines. Heard the "I" and not "we" as he spoke. "You're not going to face this alone, Kaidan."

"I will if it means keeping you out of the clutches of a daedric prince."

"Kai," Nilus started, the word as much to get his attention as it was a reminder, as he pressed his palms to the taller man's cheeks. "Did you forget who I am or something? I've partied with Sanguine, parlayed with Sheogorath and gotten my hands all over Meridia's beacon. And every single one of them has had their dumb little artefacts locked away in the museum. I can handle at least one or two more daedric princes."

"I know but... it's different." Even saying this, it was clear from Kaidan's expression that he knew he was fighting a losing battle.

"Sweetheart, you're being very silly right now," he told him, pinching his cheeks playfully. Despite his words, Nilus' tone was soft and loving. "I know you want to protect me but I can handle myself."

With a sigh, Kaidan closed his eyes and leaned into the dragonborn's touch. "I should know by now not to fight you on these things."

"You'll learn one day. Eventually."

“Then it’s a good thing we have time for that, ay?” Kaidan took Nilus’ hand, pressing a kiss into his palm before finally meeting his eyes again. “Does mean we’ll have to postpone the wedding though.”

"I should have known this would happen," Nilus joked as he let out a long-suffering sigh. "All it takes is a single dremora and suddenly you get cold feet. You better not think I'll let you go that easy!"

With a soft chuckle, Kaidan pressed another kiss into the other man's palm. "Wouldn't dream of it, love."

[dystopiandramaqueen]

Spiral from the Book of Saw- Max Minghella as Will Schenk

Look I've been trying to put this feeling into words for over a week and it's hard because my brain can't accept what I feel.

I think that's the true twist of Spiral.

Max Minghella made me love a serial killer. In a fucking SAW movie.

If that isn't good acting, I don't know what the fuck is.

I shouldn't be surprised! Max took a background character in Margaret Atwood's iconic novel- who barely fucking talks- and made him into a CAPTIVATING, unforgettable character.

Will Schenk is a complex character. A haunted man with dark secrets and dubious motives. Max plays him with the same nuance and depth he gives Nick.

The difference?

Will Schenk is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

A bad guy masquerading as a good guy (a reverse Nick Blaine).

But at the end we find out- his motivations are good? Admirable even? *mind blown* Think of Boondock Saints and other vigilante movies. That's the vibe here, but even more so.

Why do I love this character?

Authenticity and Honesty

The movie follows Will's first day on the police force and he's awkward and unprepared, gagging at the crime scenes and excited to ride in a real cop car- just like any of us would be.

We identify with him and his reactions. He feels like one of us.

Every word Will says is true. All of his lines feel innocent, and all of his lines are dark foreshadowing. Everything he says works two ways.

I've wanted to do this since I was 12 years old.

Your dad's the reason for all of this.

Will Schenk is a Zeke Banks Fanboy

I think Max drew on real life here. He's idolized Chris Rock forever, and been obsessed with "buddy cop" movies from a young age. I think he just let his own star struck wide eyed energy shine through here.

I've been loyal to you from the day we met.

I wanna be partners.

Just like Max, and so many of us, Will Schenk was raised by heroes on TV. Sitting alone in his apartment, watching cops and superheroes beat up bad guys.

When a dirty cop shot his dad so he couldn't testify against other dirty cops- it broke his brain.

So we're left with a disillusioned, idealistic, lonely, vengeful child.

Who made himself into the hero he needed when he was younger.

Trauma stunted him at age 12. That's what trauma does. When you see the horror humanity is capable of, you're never the same.

He had 12 years to dream up perfect vengeance, like Inigo Montoya repeating his death poem over and over while hunting his father's killers.

You get the feeling he was itching to be found out, excited to reveal his alter-ego and show off his work for the first time. He prompts Zeke, pointing out clues. Watching his reactions as they listen to the killer's recorded voice. Smiling when they react exactly as he predicted. Watching with delight as the game unfolds.

A Childish Conception of Justice

Kids believe in absolute good and evil. You can see that idealism in Will's traps.

He presents each victim with evidence against them, then presents their options.

If you admit your guilt and accept your punishment, you can live.

If you fight it or even hesitate, you die.

Most of the victims tried to live. But they hesitated. And Will did not allow time for hesitation. Their hesitation was their final answer and made them fail their test.

Because his game isn't a trial. The killer has already declared them guilty.

The game is sentencing and they control if they live or die. And to live they must repent.

The traps are meta

One trap is simply the police. The police are as deadly a weapon as any of the other devices. That's a relatable fact in 2021.

He chose punishments that would render the victims incapable of doing harm in the future. Like a thief losing a hand, or a liar losing his tongue.

He made Chris Rock experience his trauma. He literally recreated the scenario that fucked him up, and made another person FEEL his pain.

He's testing Chris the whole time to see if he is consistently against crooked cops up to and including his own father.

Lets go see your dad. Time for your final test.

You watched my father die. I’m trying to save yours.

Who you gonna kill? The one who corrupted the force? Or the one trying to save it?

As he leads Zeke down this path, he leads him deeper into his own mind. The killer is leading him away from society's rules, toward freedom. Toward power.

He's grooming a partner. Empowering Zeke in ways the force couldn't.

I wanna be your partner.

You feed me dirty cops, I'll handle the rest.

The real twist is that he isn't punishing Zeke. He's liberating him. supporting him. Hurting the men who hurt him. Bc he's an emotionally stunted traumatized 12 year old fanboy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In conclusion:

Max is the new John Kramer.

Not a copycat. A disciple.

Only his goal is more noble. Instead of changing lives one by one, he wants to clean up the police.

By becoming a vigilante who punishes the wicked, striking fear into the hearts of corrupt cops. Doing the work that police departments won't.

Can't wait for the sequel.

[doodleimprovement]

CSAU :: Moonie Jericho and the Mysterious Case of the Moon-Jumper Mask

At long last, It is finished! Happy Halloween! 

Below the line is a lighthearted fic taking place in the “Coffee Shop” AU (( @doodledrawsthings​ ))with Magic! Family fun! Low stakes! And a gratuitous cameo by my OC because of course Nell is here 

Seriously though this fic is about as lighthearted as it gets. At the end of the fic are a few sketches I drew but didn’t end up coloring. 

((There’s going to be an alternate ending posted separately at a later date, but its not relevant to the fic)) 

Enjoy! 

--

Fall in Subcon Forest came in gently as always, and by the time Halloween rolled around, everyone was firmly in their sweaters and beanies and thick leggings and hiking boots that were only occasionally used for hiking. The leaves of the trees and the shining sun framed the town in such lovely muted colors that it looked like a picture right out of a magazine.

Not that anyone in the Horizon was looking out the window to see it - the curtains were closed in an attempt to not blind the employees and clientele.

It was that time between the end of school but before trick or treating, which meant that all of the teachers and parents were coming into the Horizon with their kids to get the new specialty drinks - well decorated and tasty, and more importantly, not hilariously overpriced. The kids in particular seemed to love the “Ghoulishly White Hot Chocolate”, and the teens flocked to the “Jack-O-Spices Frozen Pumpkin Latte”

Luka was almost certain that the pumpkin spice smell would burn itself so deep into his nose he’d never be able to un-smell it. A small price to pay for the rise in business, he supposed.

“Luka, Two Snatcher-ccinos!” Clover called from the cash register.

“I still hate that!” He responded with a light tone

“Too bad, make ‘em!��� She teased back with a light laugh.

“Don’t get all testy, you two! We’re only open for another hour!” MJ called, grinning before turning back to the coffee machine, where they were effortlessly making yet another latte.

“Too long!” Clover argued, grabbing a muffin for a customer from the bakery display

“You’re telling me, and I still have to take Bow and Hattie trick or treating” Luka huffed, finishing up one of the “Snatcher-ccinos” and moving onto the next one.

“WE are!” MJ corrected. Luka just playfully rolled his eyes.

The conversation ended up dying rather quickly as the business went through its last rush, and, at long last, 4 o’clock came, and the store shut down. The three employees did a rather quickly clean up this night around - they were all eager to be anywhere but work that spooky night.

Once in the back of the store, Luka seemed to almost melt in relief, leaning further and further into the wall.

“Ugh, my limbs feel like Jelly” he commented as his voice gained its echo

“For all we know, they are,” Clover teased. “We’re meeting at MJs in an hour, right?” She stretched.

“Yeah.” Luka nodded “Have they already run off?”

“Yup. They’re excited” She chuckled “You gonna get home alright?”

“Yeah, thanks. See you later”

“Later!”

0o0o0o0o0

That stupid, cursed thing of a mask had not moved in weeks since he’d found it, and its stupid grin had started haunting the corner of his vision when ever he was in his studio.

It seems like it's decided that sitting on the desk in his art studio was its happy place. At least it was out of the way, and in a place he didn’t frequent often.

Though its eyes definitely still moved, which gave MJ hives like you would not believe. Why he kept it in his studio he wasn’t sure.

Tim had told him that the thing was mostly harmless, that it just seemed a bit… off, which wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Timmy even said that he got “good vibes” off of it, which was a strange phrase to use on something that felt at the very least mildly cursed.

Finishing with the caplet for his costume, gently clasping it, he looked in the mirror and gave himself a smile.

It was obscure, sure, but he’d put a lot of work into it! The legend of the “Lonely Man” was well known in these parts, maybe someone would get it. Someone had to.

Whether or not anyone got it, he was still happy with the tattered thing. That faux old age took forever to get right.

As he straightened out his clothes, his eyes caught the mask once more.

His hand picked it up off his desk, and his thumb rubbed on the odd surface. He couldn’t really tell what it was made of, but it was… oddly smooth, he thought. His brow furrowed as he looked at its eyes, a single pupil in its left eye, and a cascade of diamonds in the other. It was certainly an interesting and eye-catching design. He also liked the blue and reds, and that weirdly off-putting grin.

Such an odd thing.

He held it up with one hand over his face - not putting it on, but getting a look in the mirror at how it would look with the outfit.

He found it utterly bizarre that he could see clearly through the eyes despite what seemed like thick paint over it.

The mask itself wasn’t actually that scary when taken all at once. Oddly enough, it seemed to match with his outfit - at least, color wise. It didn’t even seem evil or anything. It seemed… kind.

That was an odd word to use. MJ tended to flip flop on how he feels about the damned thing

Before he could think any more about it, his doorbell rang, and the mask was left on his desk, forgotten the moment company arrived.

“Who is it?” He asked as he approached the door

“The Dread Pirate Roberts!” A little voice announced as the oak opened up.

To his absolute delight, Harriet was dressed indeed the Dread Pirate Roberts, missing nothing but the mask (The town doesn’t allow masks on minors, for some reason. A weird little policy). Next to her stood an excited Bow, grinning from ear to ear. He knew exactly who she was, but still asked-

“And who are you?”

“My name is Inigo Montoya” She said with all the faux-seriousness she could muster, holding up a foam sword “You killed my father, prepare to die!”

“Oh, goodness, the finest swordsperson in the world and The Dread Pirate Roberts have come to my home, I don’t stand a chance!” He moved out of his way as the kids ran into the apartment, and their father walked up behind him.

When his eyes went to Luka, he let out a snort. The man was dressed in a slightly silly looking prince outfit dyed almost completely purple, and his form was mostly purple as well - an energy-saving tactic if ever there was one.

“And you are?”

“He’s the ghost of prince Humperdink” Bow grinned. “This was the best costume we could find for it”

“I honestly think he shoulda died at the end of the movie so I'm cool with it.” Harriet commented as MJ moved to the side and let the group in “Is Clover here yet?”

“Not yet, I’m sure she’ll be here any minute and we can get right along with trick or treating!” MJ announced

“Yay!” the girls responded in unison, taking their place on MJs couch and turning on his old television for a brief moment of entertainment

Mj looked at Luka and grinned “Well, you’re lookin’ spooky, Luka”

“You kind of do too… what do you look like?”

MJ snorted “I’m the ‘Lonely Man of Subcon forest’. Heard of it?”

“Nope, don’t think I’ve been here long enough” Luka shrugged “Does look nice though. Very zombie-ish.”

The two chatted for a bit before there was another ring barely 10 minutes later.

“That must be Clo” MJ pushed himself off of the wall. “Can you get that? I want to grab my wallet so we can get the kids some ice cream before they go running around”

Luka nodded, giving him a grateful smile before turning to the door to greet the final member of the trio

MJ popped back into his studio, grabbing his wallet… and looking again at the mask.

He pocketed his wallet, and picked the mask up again. His thumbs rubbing against the strange texture of the mask’s sides.

He couldn’t help but admit that he was tempted.  Maybe, he could just see what it’d look like, just for a moment. Who knows? Maybe this has all been anxiety for nothing and the mask is just… weird.

He looked back into the mirror, and placed the mask on his face.

There was a moment where he stared amusedly at his reflection - it added a certain air to his outfit. Maybe wearing it out wouldn't be so b-

And then his body seized

He couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe. He trembled and a pain started from his head and traveled down his spine. It was like the worst shiver from the cold he’d ever experienced. Like ice was pressed directly against his skin. It dispersed like a fog, freezing freezing, and, suddenly-

It stopped.

Panting heavily, MJ pulled themselves back up to a standing position - when had they bent over like that? - and lifted their head, making eye contact with themselves in the mirror.

“GAH?!”

They were - blue! And - and the mask was very much not a mask!!!

When they blinked, it blinked. When they moved, it moved. When they grimaced, the mouth moved along to create the expression. their eyes scanned over the crescent shape, past their neck and then landed on their-

“H-hands!” They stared - they were missing a finger and - had claws?? They clenched their fists in disbelief, eyes catching on a glinting just under their sleeve.

.. Where had the chains come from?

“MJ? MJ are you okay?”

Clover

“D-don’t come in, its fine!!” They panicked, “I’m uh, just, finishing up and stuff with my costume!”

“It looked finished to me” Luka commented “Did something rip?”

“Y-yes?? yes! Something totally ripped“

“They’re lying!” Hattie pointed out

“Sounds like their lying voice” Bow added.

Curse these adorable, smart little girls!

“I-I’m fine!” They yelled out “Totally fine, just fine”

“... MJ I’m opening the door, be decent”

“No, Clover, I - “

But the door opened anyway

And Clover - dressed up as “Generic princess” - looked in, and … stared.

“.... MJ?”

“.... H-hi, Clover.”

“Clover, what are-” Luka cut himself off “Uh….”

“It’s me! Its MJ, I uh - “ They tried to come up with a succinct explanation for the situation, despite not having any real idea.

“The mask” Luka quickly concluded, recognizing the face after MJs unfortunately previous run-ins.

“I … yes” MJ’s shoulders slumped a bit.

“Hey, at least you still have feet” Luka commented, causing MJ to look down and see that he did in fact still have his shoes on. Thank heaven for small mercies.

“What happened, what is it?!” Harriet pushed her way through, her eyes wide as saucers once they landed on the recently transformed adult “... Whoa”

“I … I put on the mask. I was curious and - and it..” They looked back down at the pale, blue hands, nervously moving the fingers and claws. “I felt like I was freezing, my whole body and then…” They trailed off.

“Whoa..” Harriet approached him slowly “It's like, Majora’s Mask!”

Lukas put his hand on her shoulder to stop her from jumping - now really was not the time “... I suppose that's one way to describe it.” He gave a deliberate, thoughtful face towards his transformed friend.

Bow was very firmly behind the adults, staring rather intently and slightly bewildered. Sure, she had been getting used to Mr. Princeton as a parent but.. This was somehow very different.

“... We need to talk to Tim.” Clover concluded

“Tim’s out of town” Luka reminded the group with a grimace “He and Timmy had some kind of meeting thing with other magical people. We don’t…” Luka huffed, his hair fluffing up a bit “We don’t know anyone else whose adept at magic like they are”

Harriet furrowed her brow a bit, looking at the discomfort that MJ was experiencing, rubbing their hands together. Could they be stuck like that? She wanted to think that maybe this really was like the Zelda game, but who could tell? It's not like they knew anyone….

“Yes we do!” She snapped her fingers“I kinda hate that Mu was right, but there is a witch in town!”

“What?” Lukas’ brow furrowed “Who?”

0o0o0o0o0

Getting to the edge of town was… novel, to put it simply. The group was rather lucky that Luka was used to doing this sort of thing. And he was about 4 times larger than the group, so that helped in flying them around.

With the sun kissing the earth, red rays crawling into the darker sky, they didn’t have too much time, but followed Harriet and Bow as they got past the town center, and led them down to-

“Wait, why are we at Nell’s place?” Clover stared ahead at the Mint-green home, succulents hanging from pots and a radio sitting on the edge of the porch.

“Because Nurse Nell is a witch!” Harriet announced walking up the two steps of the porch.

“What- Harriet!” Luka startled.

“Its true!” Bow defended as Hattie knocked on the door.

“Kids, we’ve known Nell for a long time, she’s not-”

“She is!” Hattie argued “We saw it!”

“She made us promise to keep it a secret!” Bow added.

Said nurse opened the door as MJ tried to speak up

“I wasn’t expecting trick-or treaters,” She greeted before looking out the door, “But I do-” She paused as her eyes landed on the strange group at her front porch.

There was a rather awkward, extended silence as her eyes scanned MJ through her thick lenses with a gaze that conveyed a strange kind of surprise.

“.... Inside, now” She pulled the door open further, leaving no room for argument.

The adults shared a glance, but did as she said, entering her small living room. She greeted them with a nod as they entered, and shut the door behind them, motioning for MJ to approach her.

She didn’t say a word as they did so, and very slowly lifted her hands to their face, holding it steady as she scrutinized. “What happened? Less than 3 sentences” She half asked/half demanded. Her tone wasn’t harsh, but it was serious.

“Uh, I put on a cursed mask and it uh… did this” They tried to sum up.

“Where did you get the mask?”

“I found it in the forest. I thought it was abandoned from the spirit festival”

“And why did you pick up an abandoned mask in the forest?”

They awkwardly didn’t respond. She sighed

“I get it, hun” She responded, resigned. “Stay still”

“I am”

“Stiller”

Clover and Luka watched her with some skepticism, seeing the woman take a deep breath, and as she exhaled, her hands suddenly glowed dimly, tapping at the side of MJs head.

“Hah! See! Told you!” Hattie pointed, jumping slightly

“Shhhhhhhh!” Bow shook her “She’s doin’ magic stuff!”

“Hm…” She masterfully ignored the yelling children “Well, good news is that the magic isn’t very strong, Just… aggressive.” Nell announced. “And it's not malevolent” She let go of their face.

“... I… How can you tell?” MJ asked, their own hand tapping their blue cheek.

“.. Let's say it's a feeling” She summed up. “You can sit down. I need to grab something from my library”

And she left the room

“.... I don’t think I’ve ever seen Nell that serious” Clover spoke out “Also the uh, glowing hands? Didn’t know she could do that”

“How did you not know she had magic?” Luka asked with a rather incredulous tone

“It never came up!” Clover retorted

“How did it never come up?”

“Its cool!” Harriet jumped into the conversation

“It think its cool too” Bow agreed “I always wondered how my paper cuts at school always healed so fast…”

MJ had sat themselves down, hand staying on their head, feeling the strange curve of their forehead with a certain fascination. Nell’s words - said with so much affirmation- did make them feel better about the situation.

The nurse returned, her expression still relatively serious, but calmer as she carried an old, thick book with a rather overly ornate cover in a faded blue.

“You’re lucky I collect these old things” She commented for a moment, sitting down next to MJ. She flipped through the pages, finding a two-page spread with a plain mask listed on it, and text printed so small that MJ just could not read it. “Here we are.”

Harriet climbed up next to her “What's it say? That’s a lot of words!”

Nell chuckled a bit at her eagerness “It is, but... “ she hand rested on the book for a moment, and then she lifted it, and the text glowed, lifting and circling around her hand like a ring.

“Whoa…. It's like the unknown from the Pokémon movie!” Bow jumped, causing Nell to laugh more.

“A little, I suppose” Nell responded, and she looked over at the other two adults, mostly at Clover, whose bewildered stare caused her to laugh again “You okay there?”

“... How did I not know this about you?”

“Never came up, dear. Don’t think too hard about it. You too, “Snatcher”” The woman gave a smirk. Luka cleared his throat. “Now…”

A simple flick of her hand, and the letters were floating around MJ’s head, and some of them glowed just a little bit brighter “Hm….. Alrightie, that's a good sign” She snapped, and the letters, very suddenly disappeared as if popping a bubble. “Well, Give until dawn, and then you should be able to take off the mask. If you can’t, come to me. I don’t work tomorrow”

“Oh… Well, that uh, wasn’t so bad. I’ll be okay?”

“Of course” Nell nodded, shutting the book “I’d’ve called the Kagai’s the moment I let go of your face if I thought otherwise”

“The who?” Hat questioned.

“Another time, Hattie, another time” Nell placated. “Now….” she exhaled, putting the book on her coffee table and clasping her hands together “I just realized I haven’t even said hello to any of you”

Something about that sentence finally broke the tension, getting a laugh out of Clover and Luka, and a snicker out of MJ.

The next ten minutes consisted of Nell reassuring the group that MJ would be fine, and reiterating that they needed to come to her if the mask did not come off by sunrise.

“There’s a lot of magic in this that I can sense. So uh, just be careful.” She warned. “I don’t know a lot about that, so you’ll have to ask Tim”

MJ nodded “Uh, thank you, Nell”

She gave them a kind smile “Don’t mention it. Next time you need me though, have Clover send me a message or just call me, alright?” She looked passed them to Harriet, who gave her a sheepish smile.

“Got it” The transformed barista nodded.

“Oh and, don’t be too worried about people seeing you. Just say it's a costume” She recommended as they walked out with their family waiting just beyond the porch. “Happy Halloween!” She called before abruptly shutting the door

“So……” Bow started

“Can we go trick or treating now??” Hattie finished.

Luka looked up to MJ, who seemed much calmer than before, despite continuing to lift their hand to their weirdly shaped head.

“.. Yeah, yeah i think we can” they gave Luka a grin “And thanks for getting us the help, Hattie” MJ reached down and picked her up “Who knew the Dread Pirate Roberts could be such a help!”

The girl giggled before being put back down “Then let’s go!!”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

MJ was initially a bit tittered when they entered the town, but the moment anyone noticed them, the compliments rolled in.

“Wow! You look like a spooky zombie!”

“What game is that cosplay from?”

“How did you get the prosthetic to look like that, damn!”

“Wow, that is a really cool idea for the Lonely Man!”

MJ was beaming at the semi-undeserved praised as they took the kids from neighborhood to neighborhood, filling their pillow cases close to brimming with so much candy that Luka kept making a face and seemed to be mentally preparing to hide all of it, whispering to Clover and MJ about taking some of the candy so that it wasn’t all in his apartment.

“Seriously, all that candy?? They’re going to get cavities and I cannot pay for dental work like that.” The father aggressed. MJ just laughed a bit, looking ahead at the two girls who were trying to run ahead to the next house.

And then Bow’s foot caught a crack.

“Ah, Bow!” MJ startled, hand reaching out - but there was no way they’d reach her before she fell-

And then, she just stopped falling, stuck in midair as if floating.. But she wasn’t.

Upon closer examination, she was held up by a variety of red strings, connected to MJ’s clawed fingers

“... Uh”

“Whoaaaa” Hattie gaped “Magic! Cool!”

Bow pulled himself up to a standing position, and MJ put their hand down, the strings disappeared

“.. Thanks” Bow cleared her throat “That was really cool”

“It kind of was... “ They commented, looking down at their hands “I’m gonna be having a heck of a long talk with Tim when he gets back from wherever he is”

“Yeah, definitely” Luka nodded in agreement.

Lucky for the group the rest of the night went without incident, with MJ joining Luka at home and the two of them staying up until the sun started showing through the windows.

“Ready?” Luka asked him, the being no longer human shaped, as he’d finally reached his limit

“Yeah.. I think so” MJ took in a breath “She said it can just… come off like how I put it on…”

“Alright….” Luka’s voice trailed off as MJ reached their hands up to their face, thumbs by their cheeks, but then - wait! The edge, the mask! They felt it.

Barely bothering to breath, they mentally counted… 1… 2… 3!

they pulled it off and gasped as that icy feeling went through them even faster than last time, trembling and nearly falling over as Luka kept them up with their tail.

“Hey, hey! You okay MJ?”

MJ looked up, nodding “Yeah, uh, how do I..?”

“You’re back to a nerd, if that's what you’re asking” Luka lightly teased

Their hands went back up to their face, and gasped when they felt their regular skin, and their glasses (Where had they gone? Didn’t matter)

“Oh, thank god” The tired barista flopped onto their partner, “That was exhausting. Thank goodness the Horizon is closed today…”

“Hah, ready to sleep?”

“Oh, definitely” MJ commented, looking down at the mask still in their hand, its smile seeming not nearly as spooky than before.. “Hm..”

“What?”

“.. Why’d it choose me, I wonder” They muttered, sitting up and placing the mask by the window sill “But… we’ll see about finding out more, hm?”

“.. Yeah, we will” Luka confirmed.

MJ gave him a smile, hugging his partner with a slight nuzzle “Come on, we need to sleep. Hattie and Bow-”

“Oh, don’t remind me. We’re in for a hell of an afternoon” Luka groaned, but he was still smiling.

Saying that things were “back to normal” was never correct with this group, but things were still pretty okay. Maybe better, even.

Moonie figured they’d just have to wait and see.

--

BONUS:: 

Costumes! I wasn’t able to finish these in time, but I hope they suffice! 

[if-music-be-the-food-of-love]

Your headcanons are so cute!!! Now i need to know: which movies do you think they watch together? Kusjes 🥰🥰

Thank you, anon, you’re so sweet 🥰🥰, and I am so so so so sorry that it took me this long to answer this ask. Honestly, I didn't know what to say. I'm at a complete loss. I could make a stab at tv shows because there are some that just everybody has seen or at least heard of (and I was limited to Netflix), and we had Elite as a starting point. With movies...there are just so many choices. That, and I was talking to my nephew who's 19 a few months ago (yes, nephew, sometimes life is like that), and he and I had not seen ANY of the same movies. We couldn't find a single movie in common that wasn't like an old everybody in the family watches it together kind of film. Since he's their age and a guy, it makes me feel so unqualified to answer this. (Granted, he's super into sports, which is not something I hc for either Sander or Robbe, so maybe...)

With that in mind, I AM going to give this a try, but basically we're looking at movies that I'd expect anyone to have seen or heard of...kind of like the family classics concept.

Okay, of course one of the first things Robbe insists on is showing Sander Romeo+Juliet because it’s his favorite. Sander teases him about Leonardo DiCaprio relentlessly, especially the fact that he spends the whole movie soaking wet. He elbows him and winks, saying, “Now I know why this is your favorite movie.” “Shut up,” Robbe answers, blushing and shoving him back. “He’s also a really good actor.” Reluctantly, Sander agrees, and he pulls Robbe into his chest and nibbles on his earring as they keep watching the movie. Overall, he likes it, especially Mercutio, who’s “fucking amazing.”

This sets them off on a Leo movie fest, and they watch a whole slew of his movies in a row. When they get to Titanic, neither of them can keep a straight face when Leo shouts, “I’m king of the world,” and Sander grabs Robbe, pulls him off the bed, and drags him to the living room, laughing hysterically, where he proceeds to stand him up on the couch and imitate the whole scene. He steps up behind him and spreads Robbe’s arms wide, giggling while humming My Heart Will Go On in his ear and rocking them side to side. Robbe’s so shocked he lets it go on for much longer than he normally would, at least fifteen seconds. So of course Robbe’s mom peeks in from the kitchen and catches his eye, and he crumples in embarrassment. They land in a heap on the couch with Robbe poking him and tickling him, growling, “Oh my God, you’re such a dork, and my mom saw that. Ahhhhhh!”  And Sander just laughs bc he’s so proud of himself for embarrassing Robbe this spectacularly. After a minute he sits on Sander’s chest and pretends to pout, telling him he’s in “time out.”  They eventually finish the movie...but not that day.

They end up watching The Princess Bride because Sander can’t believe he’s never seen it. “How Robbe? How can you not know about this movie? It’s a classic!” So Sander invites him over and makes him a big bowl of popcorn and forces him to watch it on the bigger screen in the family room. “Trust me, it’s an experience.” He then spends the whole movie mouthing along with the lines while staring at Robbe and enjoying his reactions to everything. At first Robbe’s like the little kid in the movie, “Are you kidding me? What is this?” Then the princess gets kidnapped and his eyebrows wrinkle thoughtfully. By the time Inigo is fighting the man in black, he turns to Sander and says, “This isn’t serious. I’m not supposed to take this seriously, right? Is this a fucking comedy?”  Sander just gives him an indulgent smile, kisses his temple, and tells him to keep watching. He spends the rest of the movie with his mouth hanging slightly open in shock, occasionally giggling, and Sander just can’t stop staring at him. When it’s over, he turns to Sander and says, “That was---It was--” “Epic,” Sander supplies. “Ridiculous,” Robbe finishes. “That’s the point, cutie, but did you like it?” With the widest grin on his face, Robbe says, “Yes, can we watch it again, so I can laugh this time? Oh, and Westley is hot.”  “Welcome to my gay awakening, baby.” 

Because they are alive, they are not immune to Marvel, so, though they watch most of them out of order, they end up seeing all the movies together at some point, including the new series. They both think Tony Stark is an asshole, and they immediately fall in love with Captain America (because honestly who wouldn’t, and they have eyes...that is America’s ass and all, who are they to disagree). Sander is an immediate Loki fan. “C’mon, Robbe, he’s smart, lanky, and has long, flowing hair. He was basically made for me,” he says, brushing Robbe’s hair off of his face, as Robbe blushes. “And honestly, his whole trickster thing. I love that we never know what he’s thinking.” Robbe, on the other hand, can’t decide. He’s thinks Hawkeye is hilarious, and he’s kind of in love with Ant Man (bc Paul Rudd is cute and funny), though if he’s honest with himself it’s probably Black Widow because she’s a total badass. It’s not their favorite thing to watch, but what else were they supposed to do during the pandemic? 

Then Robbe introduces Sander to Pulp Fiction, and they get on a whole Tarantino kick, which leads them to watch a whole bunch of Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson movies, which leads them to watch Jurassic Park, which leads them down a whole Spielberg rabbit hole. They can’t help loving and laughing at Jaws, and while neither of them wants to admit it, they love the Indiana Jones movies.  The last movie they watched was Hook, and Sander can’t believe he’d never seen it before.  Robbe agrees, saying, “Ru-fi-ooooooo.”

---

I hope that was fun. I ran out of steam at the end, but I gave it my best try. Thank you, anon, for sending me this ask, and again I’m sorry I sat on it for so long. I love these two with my whole heart, so if anyone else wants to send fun headcanon asks, please do! Sorry if this sucks. I tried.

[miraclekittyandbug]

Ten Questions With A Twist  Chapter 7 (Final Chapter)

Here ya go!  Final chapter! So exciting! Please don’t hesitate to comment and tell me what you think of it and what you would like to see in the next fic!

~ Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ Chapter 6 ~ This Chapter ~

Patrol that night couldn’t have come fast enough. Adrien got there about fifteen minutes early, only to be surprised that Ladybug was already at their meeting place. When he saw her the realization hit him all over again. There, on the ledge of the Eiffel Tower, was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, in a magical suit and a magical mask. She glanced up and him and beamed. His heart melted. There was only one more step to the plan.

“Evening, my lady! How are you fairing on this lovely parisian night?”

Ladybug sighed and smiled, staring at the city before her. “I’m doing… really well. I’ve got all those answers, if you’re ready for them.” She turned so she was sitting cross legged next to Chat, who had sat down to her right.

“I actually have one more question for you to ask him.” Chat focused on his dangling legs, not brave enough to make eye contact with what he was about to say.

“You’re never going to guess all these answers, kitty.”

He responded, glancing her direction, “I have my ways.”

“Alright what’s this question?”

Still not daring to make eye contact, he mustered up enough courage and told her the addition to the list. Her reaction was immediate.

“No. No way, Chat, I absolutely cannot ask him that question! I barely got through the ten you already gave me and that question is a million times worse than any of them! I’m simply not capable!”

Chat shrugged, having expected something along these lines. “You’re capable of anything, Bugaboo. But you don’t have to ask it if you don’t want to. I’ll have the answer either way.”

“He could be anybody, Chat. How can you be so sure? Really, tell me.”

“I’ll tell you what, Bug. Ask the question or don’t. Either way, I’ll explain everything tomorrow night, if you’re willing to listen.”

The next day at school, Adrien couldn’t contain his excitement. Knowing Marinette, he didn’t bother getting to school early. He did, however, wait outside until he saw her run up the sidewalk. Not as late as she had been the day before, but still in a hurry nonetheless. He stood there, frozen for a minute. He watched as she met up with Alya and chatted a bit as they walked up to the steps. He stared in horror as she glanced in his direction to find him gazing at her. 

Suddenly, Adrien realized he wasn’t excited. He was nervous. Like, REALLY nervous. Because if she worked up the courage to ask that question then he would have to work up the courage to answer it. He would have to answer that question that he gave her. THE question. Holy shit, he couldn’t do this. He was sweating. And she was walking towards him. She was blushing, but grew more concerned as she grew near. Adrien felt the sweat trickle down his neck and his face grow flush. He could only imagine what horrifying monstrosity his face had mangled itself into.

But Marinette was in front of him. She waved her hand in front of his face and he snapped out of it.

“Are you okay, Adrien? You don’t look too good.”

Adrien cleared his throat before he dared to answer, “Oh, me? Yeah I think I just need some fresh air.”

Marinette looked around her. “Well you’re already outside, so hopefully that will help. Did you need me to take you to the nurse’s office?”

“No,” he waved his hands in front of him, “I’m just gonna run to the bathroom and splash some water on my face.”

“Okay. And I want you to know,” she lowered her voice so nobody else could hear them, “If you think this might be a panic attack, I know all sorts of techniques to help with that. Breathing exercises and pressure points in your hands, the whole deal. They’re nothing to be ashamed of.”

Oh god, he fell in love with her all over again. He suddenly felt like crying, just because her gaze was so comforting. She stared into his eyes and smiled the most genuine smile. He found himself being drawn to her. Faster than he had control over, he glanced down to her lips and found that she did the same. Microscopically, they grew closer. This, Adrien thought, was not part of the plan. But who am I to resist?

“Adrien! Bro!” Nino called, snapping the two out of their shared reverie. Nino ran up to them, completely oblivious to the fact that he was interrupting something. “Hey, are you alright, dude? I’ve been calling your name for like two full minutes.”

“Yeah,” Adrien shrugged his way out of the awkward air that surrounded them, daring to look at Marinette, he found she was doing much the same. She wasn’t making eye contact and instead she was studying the hem of her sleeve.

And so the day went on.

And on.

And on. 

Adrien got in close proximity to Marinette as often as he could, but once she saw him, Marinette would only blush and walk away. A handful of times she was the one that approached him, but they both lost their nerve before the question was asked or answered.

All too soon, and yet not soon enough, that evening’s patrol was about to start. Chat found himself circling the block a few times, trying to run off his adrenaline. He thought he had purged himself clean of it, but when he landed at their meeting place, his heart started racing again. 

This was it. This was the moment.

“Did you ask that question?” Chat asked, settling down on her left side this time.

Ladybug sighed, “I tried, Chat, I honestly did. But I just couldn’t. Everytime I attempted, my heart started beating so fast and I got in my own head and then I pictured his response and was wondering if it was going to be the response that I wanted or if it was if he would even be able to say that to me or even-”

“Hey! It’s okay! Calm down, you’ll hyperventilate. A friend told me today about breathing exercises and pressure points. Do you know any?”

Ladybug paled, but after a moment took a deep breath and dug her thumb into her opposite hand.

“It’s alright that you didn’t ask. I know the answer anyway.”

“Alright, Chat,” Ladybug relaxed and looked her partner in the eyes, “I’ve waited a day. Now tell me how you know these answers. Because, unless you have proof, I’ll never believe you know the answer to that question.”

Chat was leaning back on the palms of hands, and glanced at Ladybug. “You want proof?” he asked, trying to be casual.

Ladybug looked at him, concern and something unnamed in her eyes, “Desperately.”

“Alright. I’ll tell you. But I need you to promise me something.”

Ladybug sat up straighter when she saw Chat do the same, “Whatever you need.”

“Promise me you won’t interrupt me. I honestly don’t think I’ll be able to finish saying what I have to say if you stop me at any point.”

Her eyes grazed the skyline, something in her knowing that things were about to change. “I promise. I’m ready.”

Chat faced his partner and crossed his legs.

“This boy you like has blonde hair and green eyes. He’s really good at fencing and loves his friends,” somewhere in his mind, Chat was aware that these weren’t the answers, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed to describe himself fully. “But you already knew that.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Man, this is harder than I thought it would be.” Ladybug put a hand on his knee. Not interrupting, because she promised she wouldn’t, but just making enough contact to let him know she was listening. 

Chat continued, “This boy you like wants to visit Italy. He’s been before but never got to sightsee because of his father’s business. His favorite animals are cats, and if he could have any pet in the world he would have a black cat named the Plague. His worst fear is that he’s going to work for his father his whole life when he actually wants to be a stay at home dad one day. His favorite movie is The Princess Bride and he even referenced it when he was asked what his name was by responding ‘Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.’ If he were stuck on an island he would bring his three best friends to keep him company. He said he goes to Hogwarts and you were really frustrated that he wasn’t giving you straight answers. His favorite dessert is the macarons from your parents bakery. And, my lady, if you had asked him that question, the one I begged you to ask him.” Chat looked her in the eyes for the first time since he started talking, “If you had worked up the nerve to ask and he had worked up the nerve to answer, I would have told you that I am in love with Ladybug, but I’m really starting to fall for you too, Marinette.” 

Her eyes were red-rimmed and watery. The two just stared at each other for a moment. There was only silence between them, heavy and filled with something neither of them could name. Chat was forcing himself not to think about what he just did, if only because she hadn’t responded yet. Ladybug’s lips were wavering, but not in a frown or a smile, only twitching as if they were eager to say something but hadn’t been given a script. Chat was about to run away- go around Paris and chase rooftops while he tried not to consider the damage he had just done to the most important relationship in his life. 

But then he heard a chuckle, short and sweet. Tears were streaming down her face, but the chuckle built itself up into a giggle and then into the sounds of laughter. If that sound, still, he thought, the most beautiful sound in the world, was any indication, those were tears of joy falling between them.

Ladybug clutched her stomach in laughter and her heart in joy. Chat heard her talk through her laughter, “You’re such an asshole! You made me reconsider my sexuality!” She was leaning towards him with tears still in her eyes, staring at him incredulously, “You actually had me thinking I might have been poly!”

It was impossible for Chat to stifle his own laugh, “Hey, you had me thinking the same thing before I figured it out!” 

Something magnetic within her drew her closer to Chat, “I can’t believe it, she spoke, mostly to herself, “I fell in love with the same boy twice.” Chat could barely hear her over the sounds of the city, “Chat, I think you should ask out this girl.”

At full volume, he leans his head down so he could catch her eye, “Would you go out with me, Ladybug?”

Another laugh erupted from her, this time loud enough for the whole world to hear, “Silly kitty. Superheroes can’t date! I think you’d be much happier if your civilian self asked out that Marinette girl. I have a feeling she’ll say yes.”

~ Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ Chapter 6 ~ This Chapter ~

And that’s all she wrote! I so hope you guys liked this. Please don’t hesitate to send me asks, as I would really love to write more for you! I’m working on another fic in the meantime, but it will probably be a while until it’s out. 

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all your like and comments and reblogs!

[imaginesandinserts]

Irreverent Pt. 39 - Dinner Party

Title: Irreverent Pt. 39 - Dinner Party Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader Rating: M Words: 5812

Irreverent Series Masterlist

Clyde was handling another assignment so you were working out of Quantico for the time being. You'd learned really quickly that not everyone had a Penelope Garcia at their disposal and you needed to skill up fast. You'd bribed her with concert tickets and a very handsome Elliot Greenberg as her escort in exchange for teaching you the basics.

Elliot worked for the white collar crime unit in New York after the BAU rejection and had recently made the transition to Quantico for sex crimes. The two of you had kept in touch over the years and he'd hit you up when he'd moved back. He'd broken up with his girlfriend back in New York for the job - which really just told you the girlfriend hadn't mattered all that much. Elliot was smart, good looking, and doing well at work but you knew he also had a nerdy streak that Garcia would appreciate.

It was kind of fun being on the other side of a case and watching Penelope in action. You figured it would be easiest to learn on the job so you'd stayed holed up in her office and the two of you worked together with the team on a case. She taught you how to do some of the less complex stuff and you got to flirt with Hotch anytime he called for an update - it was a win-win really.

When they got back, he'd decided to have everyone be home for a week and do reports and consults to coincide with your schedule. No one was really complaining about a week of no travel.

Aaron had gotten home before you as you'd had a late afternoon meeting with McKinney to update him on your progress. When you walk in, you can smell roasted spices wafting from the kitchen. Aaron had always enjoyed foods from other cuisines but with you he'd really embraced cooking it as well, since you'd lived all over and had curated your own recipes over the years. If your nose wasn't mistaken, he was trying his hand at your Chicken Vindaloo recipe.

You walk into the kitchen to see him wearing an apron and manning the stove while Jack sits at the island doing his homework.

"Hi baby." You greet Jack and place a quick kiss to his head before going over to observe Aaron's handiwork - it smelled pretty good and he already had the rice cooker going as well. Jack mumbled a hello and you could tell something was off. You raise an eyebrow at Aaron who mouths "Soccer" to you, peaking a glance backwards at Jack's head bent over his worksheets.

Aaron and you had decided to sign him up for soccer lessons, figuring it was a good age to get him into team sports and be a little more active in a structured setting. Apparently he wasn't taking it too well, though you couldn't fathom why.

You take a quick taste from the spatula that Aaron had been using to stir and add a little pinch of salt to the pan. He throws you a mock glare. "I was getting to it," he mutters, shooing you away.

You leave him to the cooking and go sit at the island by Jack. Grabbing a tangerine from the fruitbowl, you peel it and break off a piece. "Orange for your thoughts?" you ask Jack.

You can see him hesitate but he still reaches out for the small slice, putting his pencil down. "I don't want to do Soccer," he confesses, reaching for another piece. Aaron's back is turned and he appears to be bustling around the kitchen.

"What part of it do you not want to do?" You pop a piece of tangerine into your own mouth as well.

He seems to consider your question as he chews on another piece. "It seems messy and the other kids seem mean."

You and Aaron had taken Jack by the soccer field a couple of weeks ago and you realize he's referring to the mud covered kids all pushing one another. Jack was a sweet and sensitive kid and you could understand how that was maybe a stressful situation for him. But you also wanted him to give it a shot because it would be good to do some team activities - help him make some more friends and be more active.

"It does seem kind of messy," you agree. "But I don't think the other kids will be mean. You're good at making friends and as long as you're nice to them they'll be nice to you."

He thinks over your response and you know you can seal the deal. "If you don't like it after you give it a fair shot, then we can discuss. Is that okay?" Jack was a reasonable kid and you and Aaron tried to give him choices as much as possible.

"Okay, Y/N." Jack nods, grabbing the last piece of tangerine from your palm.

"You know," you lean in a bit to Jack, lowering your voice, "your family has a special history with soccer fields."

"We do?" He quirks an eyebrow at you and he looks so much like Aaron in that moment. The cheeks are all Haley but the expression is completely Aaron.

"Well, you know how your parents met, of course," you confirm with mock seriousness.

Jack smiles and nods. "Pirate #4"

You laugh, ruffling Jack's hair. Aaron had kept his word to Haley and he did his best to make her a part of Jack's life as much as you could. But you had a feeling this wasn't a story Jack knew yet. Jack had been obsessed with all of the Disney movies lately so you know he'd appreciate a good romance story.

"Yes, your parents met during the play. But your dad was quite the young soccer star when he was in high school." You look and see that Aaron is adding the finishing touches to dinner and undoubtedly listening in. Jack has turned fully to face you, bringing his chair a little bit closer to yours.

"Well, your mom started to go watch him practice and go to his games. After a game where your dad scored the winning goal," you pause as Jack hangs on every word, "they were hanging out on the field and your dad finally plucked up the courage and asked your mom to be his girlfriend."

"That's pretty cool, I guess." He smiles, turning to look at his dad. "But not as cool as Buttercup and Wesley. Can we watch The Princess Bride again after dinner?"

You and Aaron laugh as he nods and tells Jack to go get washed up for dinner. The three of you had already watched The Princess Bride a couple of times and Aaron insisted that Inigo Montoya looked exactly like his old boss, Gideon. He'd pulled up pictures to show you, but you just didn't see it. It was probably the longest argument the two of you had had in recent memory.

As Jack leaves, Aaron turns to look at you, his face identical to Jack's from earlier, eyebrow quirked just the same. You know he's wondering how you knew that story about him and Haley because it sure hadn't been from him.

"Jess and I bonded while you were gone," you explained with a small smile. "He should know your love story."

Aaron nods as you get up to get changed for dinner yourself. He adores that you go above and beyond to make sure that Jack feels connected to Haley. Sometimes, though, he worries that you end up minimizing your role in his and Jack's life in the process.

As far as Aaron was concerned, Jack got to be witness to his favorite love story.

*------------*

With the whole team at home base for the coming week, you and Aaron decided to host the long postponed dinner party that you had initially aimed to have as your relationship reveal party. Between the team jumping the gun on you and then all of the work and cases, it had gotten pushed back indefinitely. However, now seemed like the right time to do it. You'd planned it for the end of the week when both Henry and Jack were invited to a birthday sleepover and all of the adults had the next day off.

Emily, Derek, and Penelope were all bringing dates. Rossi was seeing Strauss but knew better than to invite her to a team thing. You still remembered worming that particular secret out of Aaron. You had known something was up when you'd happened to catch his face when Rossi told him. You'd been too far to actually hear what caused that face, so you'd brought it up later. In his defense, he'd valiantly tried to protect Rossi's secret, but you had your ways. When he'd finally given in and told you, you regretted having tried so hard to get it out of him. Rossi and Strauss. Just the thought of it made you shudder.

However, with that large of a group, you decided to get some outside help, though you'd still make dessert. You'd left for lunch to go meet with the caterer, taking Rossi along with you since he'd actually be helpful. Aaron was in some budget meetings through lunch anyways and you'd grabbed him a salad on the way back. You thanked Rossi for joining you and he took Aaron's food up with him as you turned to see Derek and Emily hanging out by her desk.

"Hey, so what'd Hotch mess up?" Derek asks as he sees you.

You're confused for a second as to what he means but then you catch sight of the large bouquet of flowers on your desk. Your heart stops. You recognize that arrangement - the ostentatious roses arranged artfully. You'd forgotten what day it was. After he missed last year, you'd thought he'd forgotten - that he'd moved past it finally. This was the first time they'd arrived at the office. Usually it was sent to your home so you could deal with it in private.

You approach your desk not bothering to look for a note. Quickly, you pick them up and place the bouquet in your trash can, in the hope that no one else would see them. Both Derek and Emily eye you curiously.

You have to make sure your voice will come out steadily before you speak. "They're not from Aaron."

You hope they'll just go back to their conversation as you sit down in your chair, your mind whirling. You'd have to deal with this situation. Him sending them to work was an obvious escalation and to what end, you couldn't be sure.

From the corner of your eye, you see Derek stand from his spot on Emily's desk. He walks towards you with purpose and before you can stop him, he's reached into the trash can and fished out the note.

"Matthew? He's sending you flowers?" His voice is low and he looks troubled, holding the note in his hands and taking a seat on your desk instead. Seemed like him and Emily had decided he'd deal with it, as she was conspicuously missing, leaving just you and Derek in the bullpen.

You sigh internally. It had been too much to hope that they would've just ignored it. "It's our anniversary," you explain, looking around and making sure there wasn't anyone else around. "He didn't take the break up well. Now he sends flowers every year to torture me - though usually he's tactful enough to send them to the house."

Your revelation does nothing to ease Derek's mind. If anything he looks even more worried now than before. "So he's escalating. Trying to get your attention."

"He's not going to actually do anything," you say, trying to sound reassuring. "I can handle it, Derek." You place a hand on his knee closest to you and look firmly up at him. The last thing you needed was for Derek to be all worried and nosey about the situation. Or worse, for him to tell… "Do not tell Aaron."

He looks at you as though you're stupid and you can tell he's going to argue with you, but you really don't want to bother Aaron with this. Not in the one week you guys have at home together. "I mean it, Derek. He has a thousand other things to worry about. My sociopath ex does not need to be one of them."

Derek frowns and you know he's racing through the thousand cases you guys have done on stalker exes and escalation. Luckily for you, Matthew was too lazy to actually stalk anyone. Unluckily, he still found the time to order you flowers to remind you that he'd once been a very large part of your life. You didn't even like roses. With a glance up to Hotch's office, Derek nods, knowing he won't be able to convince you otherwise right now. He drops the note back into the trash can as Emily returns and you all go back to pretending to work.

It's late afternoon when you hear Hotch calling your name from the upstairs landing. "Y/N, can you come up here please?"

You'd gotten very little done, your mind whirling with what to do about the Matthew situation. You just wanted it to be over. You briefly wonder if Aaron wants to talk about the meeting with the caterers or Jack's schedule for the following week when the two of you will both be away. You enter his office, closing the door behind you.

"Hey, what's going on?" You walk in and take a seat on his couch. The blinds facing the bullpen are closed, but the ones facing outside are open, casting a warm glow around the room. Curiously, he hasn't moved back to his desk and is standing in front of you, with a concerned look on his face.

"When were you going to tell me about the Matthew situation?" he asks, placing his left hand on his hip and looking every bit the part of SSA Aaron Hotchner instead of your boyfriend.

You let out a breath. You couldn't believe Derek had told him, after you'd specifically asked him not to. And now he had that furrowed brow and the concerned face and he has a deadline from Strauss on the new budget. This wasn't what he needed right now and you knew it would distract from everything else.

You grit your teeth and stand up, ignoring his voice, and open the door to his office to scan the bullpen until you catch sight of who you're looking for. "Agent Morgan," you call out, "could you please join us up here?"

Derek looks up at you before he quickly walks upstairs and enters Hotch's office. He goes and stands by Hotch while you close the door once again, undoubtedly knowing what this was about. The two of them made quite the image - frowns marring both of their faces though Aaron's was less pronounced. I knew moisturizing was a good call.

Squaring your shoulders, you cross your arms across your chest, facing the two of them. "Figured it was more efficient to just talk to you both together. Save you the trouble of finding each other afterwards," you say, your tone hinting at how annoyed you were. Not that either one of them had the decency to look ashamed. If anything they looked defiant.

Aaron started to speak but you cut him off.

"You two need to realize that I can handle my own problems. If I say Matthew isn't an issue, trust me. If I say I have it handled, believe me that I do."

"No." You expected that, but not from Derek. Maybe from Aaron, but not from Derek.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, no. Not with our jobs. Not knowing what we do. I'll tell Hotch, I'll tell the whole team. The more people on the lookout the better."

"I -"

"Morgan's right. So, let's figure out what to do."

"There's nothing to do. He sent flowers, not a bomb. Leave it alone. If the worst thing he does is send me flowers once a year - well people have dealt with worse. You're both overreacting."

"You expect us to do nothing? What about when he escalates?"

"He won't!"

"You can't possibly know that." His entire demeanor is stiff and tense and he's aggravated with you for not taking this as seriously as he is.

"I was with him for four years, Aaron. Trust me. I know him. He has nothing to gain from an escalation and everything to lose. He's married, he doesn't exactly want me back. He just hates that I dumped him and once a year he remembers that and gets pissed off and drunk and in his own passive aggressive way, chooses to do this. It's not worth any of us wasting a second more of our time on!"

Derek looks like he'd rather be anywhere but standing in the middle of the two of you at that moment.

Aaron breathes out slowly before he speaks, as though if he takes a moment it'll prevent him from shaking you into seeing it his way. "I still would like for the team to be on alert. Just in case." It would appear he'd decided on the reasonable approach.

You groan, but know that's the best you're about to get. At your nod, Aaron and Derek exchange a look before Derek moves to leave the room.

"Hey," you stop him as his hand touches the doorknob. "Next time I ask you to not tell my crazy, overprotective boyfriend something. Just don't."

He grimly shakes his head at you. "No promises."

You narrow your eyes at him. The two of you will be discussing this later.

Turning away from you, he nods at Hotch before opening the door and closing it behind him.

Aaron sighs before sitting down on the couch next to you. "Why wouldn't you just tell me?" he asks, as though he's afraid of the answer.

You know he's genuinely worried about you and grasping at the implication of you not telling him about this. You reach across the couch cushion and grab his hand, squeezing it. His fingers intertwine with yours instantly.  

"Aaron, if I thought - for even a second- that this was some sort of actual threat, you'd be the first person I'd tell."

Which was the truth. If there was any chance that Matthew was a threat to Aaron or Jack, you'd have told him immediately. As it stood, however, your ex boyfriend was nothing more than a coward who got off on his little annual psychological warfare.

He nods, his mouth a straight line.

You spend a few more minutes in his office reassuring him properly (How convenient that the blinds were already shut), before leaving him to finish up the rest of his work.

*------------*

Derek watches from the bullpen as you exit Hotch's office, not a hair out of place, though he could imagine that hadn't been the case a minute earlier. He sees your eyes dart around furtively before making a quick phone call. You say barely two words before hanging up.

*------------*

Ricky Costello had the self-assured charm of a boy who had never questioned his place in life. He'd grown up scrawny and had to learn how to fight and stand up for himself. As he'd grown older and filled out some, people knew better than to pick on him or anyone he was friends with. He was loyal, headstrong, and the smartest of the family - which is why his father had pulled some strings and gotten him into a good school where he could learn something and be of some use to the family.

You'd met Ricky in your accounting class when he'd tried to partner with you for a project, thinking you'd do all the work for him. He'd had to rethink that strategy when you'd shown up at his dorm room, pretended to be his girlfriend to get rid of his flavor of the week, and then promised to continue ruining his chances with every gullible freshman unless he did his share of the work. Needless to say, the two of you had the best project in the class.

You arrived at the bar he'd texted you the address to. It was in a quiet street just off central downtown and at six in the evening, there were only commuters headed back home. No one paid much attention to you as you quickly looked around before entering.

The place was mostly empty save for an older couple seated at a table in the corner. You see Ricky seated at the bar and you make your way towards him. Feeling someone approach, he turns around, a grin breaking out on his face when he sees you.

"Hi Doll," he stands and wraps you in a hug that lifts you off the ground and elicits a small squeal of surprise.

"Hi Ricky." Your face lights up at the sight of him. It had been a while.

He indicates to the bartender for another round, before guiding you to a small table at the other corner of the bar. He pulls out a chair for you as the bartender sets down two glasses of scotch.

"Cheers," he says, lifting his glass and clinking it with yours. "To seeing old friends."

"Cheers," you smile, taking a sip, your eyes studying him. He looked older, the beginnings of grey could be seen near his temples. His leather jacket hugged him just right and he'd grown out his usual stubble into a full, well-kept beard. His smile was still very much him - a little cocky and every bit as affectionate as you remembered it.

The two of you drink for a while as he catches you up on all the drama your old group had gone through recently - the weddings, the breakups, the kids. It was odd to have missed out on all of it.

"So, tell me, why'd you really call?" he asks, leaning back in his chair, his hand playing with the rim of his glass.

You take a breath, mimicking his posture. "Matthew is planning on running for Congress."

He takes in your pursed lips and the tenseness of your shoulders. "I heard," he says slowly, deliberately. "Been meaning to pay him a visit. Congratulate him."

"Congratulate him for me too."

The quirk of his lips tells you he knows why you're telling him this. There was no love lost between Matthew and Ricky. If they were in the same room they were bound to get into it. You'd done your best to keep them sequestered in different parts of your life - however some events were inevitably meant for larger groups.

He nods with a soft laugh, before indicating to the bartender for a second round, which is delivered promptly.

"You should come back, Y/N. Give up the straight laced thing. The crew, we miss you, doll." His voice is earnest and for a moment you see the hint of the boy who'd confided all his secrets to you during study sessions that had bled into the early morning hours.

You smile, and your voice catches ever so slightly. "I've met someone - and well, he's pretty much as straight laced as they come."

Ricky laughs at that and you know he's just a little surprised. "What's his name?"

"Aaron." His name feels right at home in your mouth.

"Nice Catholic boy?" His face is one of boyish teasing.

"I always did have a thing for those," you joke. And you know, you know Ricky will take that in the friendly manner that it was meant.

The two of you wrap up and Ricky closes out the tab before walking you back to your car. As you're about to pull out of the parking spot, he leans into your window, placing the lightest of kisses to your cheek.

"Tell your boy Aaron, he's the luckiest guy in the world."

*------------*

You hear the front door open and close as Aaron arrives, having dropped Jack off at the birthday party sleepover he was invited. You'd spent the day making sure you'd made enough tiramisu for all the guests while both Jack and Aaron snuck bites of it when your back was turned.

You've just finished dusting off the final pan with cocoa powder, when you feel Aaron's arms circle your waist from behind. You have to slap his hand away as it makes its way into the dessert. Him and Jack had polished off half a pan that morning and at this rate, you'd have none left for the actual guests.

"You can't eat all of the dessert before the guests get here. At this rate, you're pretty much cut off from it entirely. I don't think I can make it again if you and Jack are going to be like this," you scold, turning and poking at his stomach.

He doesn't have the decency to look even a little embarrassed. He just smiles and shrugs, his arms encircling your waist again. "I'll just have to find something else to eat instead, I guess."

His words send a spike of heat and desire through you. The two of you had been making the most of being home at the same time and every night had ended with him between your legs - one way or another.

Shaking your head, you escape his hold and move to clear the island for the caterers. He was relentless, however.

"You expect to wear this and have me keep my hands to myself?" His voice is a deep rumble behind you as his arms cage you against the island countertop and his mouth finds your pulse point. He's referring to the off shoulder dress you'd changed into while he'd been gone, highlighting your collarbone magnificently. It flared out from the waist, making you look like the epitome of the perfect housewife you had once been destined to become.

"I'd hoped you'd at least wait till the end of the night," you retort. His arms are warm and his chest firm behind you and you really didn't have it in you to push him away again. You were pretty helpless against him.

"I always like to get a head start." You can hear the humor in his voice as he pushes you against the counter a little more firmly, his arms coming from around you to clear the space right in front.

"Aaron." His name escapes you with a soft sigh as he plants warm kisses along your neck down to your exposed shoulders. He sweeps your hair to the front, lips traveling down your spine as his hands move underneath your dress, finding the waistband of your underwear and then slipping inside to find you wet, warm, and waiting for him.

He lets out a groan at the feel of you and can't help but grind himself against you. He knows he's working against the clock and is surprised you've let him get this far.

You let out a sharp gasp as his thumb presses against your clit and he inserts two fingers deep within you. He had the art of getting you to come, down to a near science. He quickly pumps his fingers in and out, his thumb rubbing your clit in repeated circles. With his other hand he brings your head around and captures your lips. The press of his lips against yours is a feeling you'll never tire of you.

You come embarrassingly quick, fluttering around his fingers, your back arched and your ass grinding into his hard length behind you. He turns you around, his mouth hot and needy against yours. When you pull away, his eyes are blown wide and there's a sheen of sweat on his forehead from the exertion of keeping himself from simply plowing into you.

You make quick work of his belt buckle and help him work his jeans and underwear down, eager to have him in you. With one eye on the clock behind you, he hoists you up to the countertop, placing you on the edge, and enters you swiftly, eliciting a loud groan from you.

"Fuck, sweetheart. Always so ready for me. Always tight…wet." His voice is rough and low and makes the coil in your stomach tighter and your breath come out harsher. He moves efficiently, his head tucked into the crook of your neck and his arms working to keep you balanced on the edge.

His breath is warm against your neck, and he's panting and leave wet open kisses to any skin available to him. Your fingers dig into his shoulders, holding on for dear life as he thrusts into you. You're close and you know he is too based on how irregular his movement is becoming.

You remove one hand from his shoulder, pulling on his hair to move his head enough to reach his mouth in a lazy kiss. He groans into your mouth as he comes, drawing your orgasm out right after, causing you to tremble against him.

As you come down, you're entirely slumped against his chest and he's moved you to sit more firmly on the island. You know you look nowhere near as presentable as you did fifteen minutes prior, but you're finding it hard to be too upset about it.

Still, you can't help but be a little bratty about it. "I'm going to have to redo my makeup," you whine against him.

Laughing breathlessly, he picks you up to carry you upstairs. It was a wonder he had the strength to do that right after. You could barely stand up when he deposited you outside the shower.

The two of you work quickly to get cleaned up and Aaron is the one to let the caterers in as you redo your hair and makeup. You fish out another dress - one with sleeves and a higher neckline. You couldn't afford to be pulled into the coat closet with people around.

*------------*

An hour and a half later, the party is in full swing. Emily had brought Henry Eastwood - Senator Williams's Chief of Staff. The two of you had run into him while out shopping a few weeks back and having recognized you, had come up to say hello. You had a feeling that had Emily not been with you, he would've entirely ignored some girl his boss had dated for a few weeks a year or so ago. However, you couldn't deny that they made a handsome couple.

Penelope had brought Elliot - the two of them had really hit it off and you were happy to see her smiling and laughing with someone. You'd given in and allowed Rossi to bring Strauss and you were pleasantly surprised to see her being on her best behavior around Aaron. Derek had brought Savannah and they were talking to JJ and Will.

You walked to the kitchen to open up another bottle of wine and refill everyone's glasses. It seemed Savannah had followed you, empty glass in hand. Laughing, you top off her glass with the almost empty bottle in hand, before opening the next one.

"Thanks for having everyone over," she says, taking a drink from her glass.

"Of course. Aaron and I honestly meant to do this ages ago, but work got away from us."

You have a feeling Savannah wants to talk to you about something else, however, so you don't say much more, trying to give her the chance to speak up.

She looks around a little nervously, but seems to make up her mind. "You're different for Derek, you know. Different from Emily and Penelope. He's very protective of you."

"I'm protective of him too," you respond softly. You know what she means however. You and Derek had gone through the worst thing in the world together and only came out the other end because of one other.

"Savannah, you have nothing to worry about," you reassure her, knowing that's what she really needed at the moment. Her and Derek hadn't had much time together lately and you could understand feeling insecure. "Derek loves you and you're good for him. You challenge him and you're the first girl I've seen him be so head over heels for."

She smiles and you know that helped a bit. "Thanks."

The two of you each grab a bottle and head back to the main living room. As you pour more wine into Dave's glass, you catch Aaron's eye and you feel warmth pooling in your stomach, the promise of a good night ahead of you. You walk around the room and top off everyone, making sure there's enough appetizers still out.

Derek offers to help you carry back the empty platters and follows you into the kitchen. "So, I heard something interesting today," he says, placing the platters on the counter.

You hum, as you grab more of the stuffed mushrooms from the warmer and arrange them on the empty platter.

"Cops responded to a call about a break in in New Hampshire, placed by someone's neighbor," he pauses and he knows you're listening. "When they get there, guy living in the house was obviously beat up, but his wife seemed alright. Just a little shaken up. Funny thing is - dude refused to press charges, even though cops could tell that the house had been broken into."

Your posture has gotten incredibly stiff as he spoke. He knows. You don't say anything, simply look at him apprehensively.

"Tell me," he continues, "what's the Italian mob's going rate to put the fear of God in someone?"

You take a breath, before meeting his eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh yeah, you wouldn't. Probably get the friends and family discount," he trails off, grabbing the platter and walking out of the kitchen.

Crap. He really did know. He knew about Ricky. Which meant he'd probably gotten Penelope involved as well.

Quickly composing yourself, you carry the other platter out, joining him by the appetizer table.

"Derek - "

"Don't worry. Garcia won't say anything."

You look at him, and you know he won't either.

"Thank you."

He nods, popping another mushroom in his mouth and smiling at you. He wouldn't be doubting you again when you said you had something under control.

He wouldn't tell anyone. When Hotch asks him later about the Matthew situation, all he'd say was that it was handled. Hotch would pause, look at him, but then trust Morgan to know that it was really handled.

[getetteroo]

what are durth’s adventures around skyrim like? :3 when does she meet her pals, and in what order did u play her quests in-game? sorry if this is a loaded question, i just rly love her ;-;

I decided to make a bit of a timeline under the cut. It’s not the most interesting written thing, but it’s pretty much everything. I will go more into detail about how she met Inigo and Rumarin later in a different post. 

Before Helgen-

Age 6 - Durth lost her mother to the Thalmor at 6 years old, prompting her family to move from Markarth to Riften.

As a teen she and her brother get up to a lot of trouble in Riften, but their dad made sure they know not to meddle with the guild. Uncle Urag comes over every once in a while to teach them to read and write and Durth eventually gets a small job at the Temple (mostly keeping things clean.)

Age 18 - Durth has been accepted at the college of Winterhold! She meets Onmund, Brelyna and J’zargo there. She spends four years at the college and the quest takes place in the last two of them. 

Age 23 - Instead of being made the new Archmage because really? I’d like to think she’d been offered some sort of apprenticeship Psijic Order. She went with them and spend quite a long time there. She wasn’t actually planning to ever leave but someday she suddenly got a letter stating that her father was dying.

After Helgen-

Age 27 - Durth travels home in hope to see her dad one more time before he dies. However upon arriving at the border she immediately got picked up by the imperial army and carted to Helgen. 

Durth saw the dragon, saw the chaos, followed Ralof out and then BOOKED it to Riften. She was able to meet up with her family,  she didn’t tell them what happened on her way there not wanting to bother her father on what pretty much turned out to be his last day.

After that, she decided to leave again. She thought about making her way to Winterhold to figure out what the hell was going on in skyrim these days. But on her way out of Riften she got recognized by Brynjolf who, as he tends to do, immedeatly tried to recruit her into the thievesguild. Durth being incredibly insulted and emotional started a fight. 

And that is how she met Inigo, being tossed into the same cell as him. And she pretty much immediately broke down and dumped everything that happened to her that day on him. Together they came to the conclusion that maybe, the jarl of Whiterun should be notified of this. Y’know seeing as far as Durth knows, only two people actually made it out.

From there the quest pretty much continues as normal.

On her way from High Hrothgar to the tomb of Jurgen Windcaller she meets Rumarin. She is head-over-heals within a week.

In between the main quest they get up to a lot of shenanigans, turning into a full fledged adventurers group. She picks up Lucia somewhere on the way.

Age 29 - Then as the peace treaty failed, Durth joined the stormcloaks. She got into an argument about it with Inigo and Rumarin, not talking to either of them for a while. Inigo ended up doing quite a lot of work to stay friends with her but Ru was a bit to stubborn to contact her first. 

During the war she adopts Braith after her parents die in the attack of Whiterun. Almost being branded a deserter for it by not seeing the entire fight through. Durth absolutly hates having joined the Stormcloaks after they storm Markarth.

After the rebellion and being kicked out after a fight with Ulfric she returns to her friends with her tail in-between her legs, asking them if they still want to help her end this thing. And they did. Inigo even following her to Sovengarde and back.

Age 30- she is finally done with the main quest. She stays at home in Riften for a while but grows restless pretty fast. She officially joins the College of Winterhold again and does mostly field work. And so they keep adventuring for some time, mostly on the east side of Skyrim so she can stay close to her daughters and the College. She gets married to Rumarin somewhere around this time.

Age 33- Some cultists show up to Riften and threaten her and her kids in the middle of the market square, she is not amused. She pretty much speedrunned  her way to Miraak. 

Age 40 something- The kids are moving out, her brother wants to move back into Honeyside (which is technically his.) Durth, Ru and Inigo build a house in The Pale. Durth gets even more involved with the College again now that she’s closer.

Age 50 something- Durth is getting a little bit too fragile for Adventuring, she takes up a teaching position at the college. Inigo, even more fragile comes with her and settles down in Winterhold, loving company he opens a small bar as Winterhold is slowly rebuild again. Rumarin starts adventuring again, usually solo but there is no shortage of friends they made along the way that need help sometimes.

Age 58 - Durth officially becomes Archmage. Most would have preferred an elf, not seeing the use of someone so old already to be Archmage. But with Brelyna already chosen als her successor most people just accepted it, if only to give Brelyna more time to prepare. No one really expecting Durth to do her ABSOLUTE DAMNDEST to get Winterhold back on the map.

Durth tried to make the public opinion of the College better, and it worked! She actually got involved with the politics in skyrim, unlike how the college before tried to distance itself. Winterhold grew, it wasn’t going to be what it once was but people were making a start. She actually became friends with Jarl Korir, took a lot of work though. 

Age 84 - Since Alduin Durth had been toying with the idea of time travel. The idea of going back an fixing mistakes she made, seeing what could have been or maybe just giving herself more time. Mora had been showing up every once in a while to feed these ideas, wich ended up being her downfall. One day she opened a black book and she did not come back.

Sorry for any grammar mistakes, but that’s about it. (i’m glad you love her <3)

[imnotoverlyobsessive]

Mabel’s All-in-One Guide to Being a Shooting Star: How to Avoid Being Caught and Other Tips You Should Know

Chapter Three: Not Dipper

A big ol thank you to @edward-or-ford and @pacific-ship!

He’s so tall and handsome as hell; he’s so bad but he does it so well. I can see the end as it begins.- Taylor Swift, Wildest Dreams

Warmth.

Warmth and safety.

Those were the first things Mabel noticed when she woke up for those few brief seconds, the first things she could recall feeling. She was too tired to open her eyes, and her head was freaking killing her, but there was warmth seeping into her skin like melted butter into bread, and something smelled remarkably good.

It wasn’t a familiar smell, not by any means, but she found she liked it quite a lot. She turned her face towards the warm, smooth fabric the scent was coming from, nuzzling it happily with a small smile.

It didn’t help her killer headache, of course, but her bed or whatever it was, it smelled goooooood, and she was all for it.

She felt as if nothing could touch her, there in that little bubble of delicious-smelling warmth, and she wondered idly if Dipper was around, because she only ever felt so happy and safe when she was with him.

When had she seen him last, again? Mabel couldn’t remember. She couldn’t remember anything, really.

Oh well. Whatever. She was warm. She was safe. She was comfortable. She was happy. She smiled again, just a little bit, as her thoughts faded when she lost consciousness again.

She would not be so content when she woke the second time.

———————————————————————

There was a throbbing in her skull. An intense kind, particularly in her temples and behind her eyes. It hurt worse when she opened her eyes, and it took them several rapid blinks to adjust to lights that were actually quite dim, but with her concussion headache, they seemed ridiculously bright against the blue ceiling.

“Yeesh,” she muttered, sitting up on the… was that a chaise? Yup, okay, that was definitely a chaise. She’d never even seen one in person; those things were for fancy people. Mabel had always been many things, but fancy most certainly wasn’t one of them.

Anyway, she was sitting up on the super-duper fancy chaise, her hands supporting her. “My head, what in the…” Dammit, her wrists and arms hurt, too, those were, ugh, were those rope marks? They sure looked like rope marks.

There was a sound nearby when she spoke loud enough to be heard, but Mabel’s head was throbbing so loudly in her ears that she couldn’t hear much of anything. She massaged the skin on her wrists, trying to get the soreness to dissipate. It didn’t.

And then the whole thing came rushing back.

Shit. Was she married to the gnomes now? Was that gonna be her life? No, no, it was fine, gnome marriage wasn’t legally binding, she didn’t think, and even if it was, it wasn’t legal for somebody to marry a whole bunch of people at once, and it definitely wasn’t legal for that somebody to be an unwilling participant. Therefore, any marriage contracts they may or may not have drawn up were null and void, legally speaking. Which meant she needed to escape. Which meant she needed to figure out where she was.

Wait, what about the blood-gnome? What was up with that? Or, shit, the floating glow-dude! What the heckity hecking heckfire was going on with that shiz?

Suddenly, out of nowhere (or perhaps not truly nowhere; she just hadn’t examined where she was just yet, as she hadn’t looked up), a pair of arms wrapped around her, and her head was squished against a very masculine, yummy-smelling (the same smell as before, actually! What a lovely coincidence!) chest. Mr. Hugglebus reached up and threaded his fingers through Mabel’s hair, holding her head against him.

“Mabel,” a voice whispered, like its owner couldn’t believe he was getting to say her name. It was familiar, but also very much not, and Mabel was, like, off-the-charts levels of confuzzled. “Mabel,” the voice said again. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

It was hard to think with the pounding in her ears, but she did her best to ignore it.

She had bigger things to deal with than a headache, no matter how nasty it was.

“Wh- whoa there, friend,” Mabel said shakily, putting her hand on his chest and pushing away from him lightly. Mr. Hugglebus pulled back enough for Mabel to get a proper look at him, and…

Wait.

What?

“Dipper?” she gasped. He said nothing. “What is up with your hair, man?” she laughed. “Or- or your getup, like! What? You goin’ to a fancy party or something? No, no, wait!” she was giggling, and it hurt her head, but it was just so goddamn good to see him she didn’t care. “Okay okay, I know! You’re doing, like, a knock-off impersonation of Gideon, right?” He furrowed his brow, annoyance filling his ice blue eyes.

But… wait. Ice blue eyes? Dipper has brown eyes. They were identical to hers. She knew this. She’d stared into those stupid-beautiful eyes of his a bazillion and one times. She knew her bro bro’s eyes, aight? She knew those suckers. This guy, though. This guy was different. Like. Different different.

“Are you… are you Dipper? ‘Cause like. The Dipster I know won’t even wear color contacts for cosplay purposes, and those eyes ain’t blue naturally, so…”

It was several moments before he finally spoke. He was gazing at her with this weirdly intense look in his eyes (holy crap, those eyes, they were so pretty, nobody’s eyes should be allowed to be that freakin’ blue) she’d never seen on anyone before.

“I’m not… your Dipper,” his emphasis the ‘your’ was strange, condescending, as if he loathed saying it.

She scooted away, her back hitting the arm of the chaise.

All she could think about was a gnome drenched in blood, babbling in terror before exploding violently.

”Then who are you?” she whispered, eyes wide.

He smiled, and not unkindly, either. It was… strange. It was a kind smile from someone who didn’t look like such things came to them naturally. It was nothing like her twin’s smile.

Nothing like it at all.

It did something to her insides. Something she didn’t understand. Something she didn’t know how to interpret or name.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured, keeping his distance, his legs twitching as if he wanted to get closer to her. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Okay,” she said, not believing him in the slightest. ‘Cause. Like. The blood-gnome. Had that been him? Had he done that? She hadn’t seen it, but in retrospect, it totally made sense for him to have done that somehow. “But who are you?” she asked again.

“I’m something of an… alternate version of the Dipper you know.” The more he spoke, the more she found his voice to be different and strange. Plus, he looked so similar to Dipper, but Mabel only ever saw her bro’s birthmark once in a blue moon. This guy had it front and center, and his hair was slicked back, and she lowkey wanted to touch it, just to see what it felt like. His voice was deeper than Dipper’s. More monotone, too. It was bizarre.

It was… it was attractive, is what it was. His look and attitude, the whole shebang, it was just insanely attractive. Wait, no, no! Mabel thought to herself. It’s cool, Mabel girl, you’re all good, everything’s a-okay, it’s just that he looks like your bro, alright? No big deal. Well, okay, you shouldn’t be having those kinds of thoughts about your bro, either, but we’re well past that.

“Alternate… version…?” Wait. Shit. Maybe he was… “Are you the anti-Dipper?” She whispered frantically, trying to back away more as if her back wasn’t already firmly pressed against the armrest. “There’s tons of different versions of me, I know that, but I’ve never seen another version of Dipper, and you look just freakin’ like him except for your whole… style and general demeanor, I guess, so-“ she was trying to get up, but holy hot pockets, that was some serious dizziness right there.

Moreover, was there another Mabel in this universe? She hadn’t seen another Mabel in years. It’d be… interesting to see one again. Wait, shit, if he was the anti-Dipper, there was the anti-Mabel somewhere around there, and Mabel was not at all confident she could currently best the anti-Mabel in a fight. And something told her the anti-Mabel wasn’t exactly one for fighting fair and waiting till she was ready. She wasn’t the meme-worth Inigo Montoya, and this wasn’t The Princess Bride.

Dammit.

Wait, he’d said he’d never expected to see her again. And she’d definitely never met him before, she would’ve remembered a fancy, older version of her bro, which could only mean he was talking about the other Mabel. Had something happened to her? Had she left, maybe?

“I’m not,” he cut in quickly, moving towards her slowly, like she was a feral cat ready to book it at any moment. “I’m not the… anti-Dipper, or whatever it was you said.”

She looked around. They appeared to be in some sort of dressing room. No, wait, it was Gideon’s dressing room! Except it wasn’t, because Not-Dipper was there, lounging on the ultra-fancy chaise as if he owned it, which he might very well have done, because Not-Dipper didn’t exactly look like he was a broke college student.

He looked like he used hundred dollar bills as tissues like Woody Harrelson in Zombieland.

Still very much fighting the urge to attempt to GTFO, as the kids say, Mabel turned back to him. “What are you, then?” He blinked for a moment, as if he were surprised, and then she belted out more questions. “What’s your name? How old are you? You don’t look like you’re the same age as me, which is weird if we’re kinda-sorta-pseudo-twins. Why am I here? Where even is here? How-“

“Okay, let’s do this properly, shall we?” He tilted his head when he spoke, the corners of his lips curling upwards in another one of those strange smiles that did something to Mabel’s insides. “One question at a time,” he said, holding up a long, slender finger. “You can ask me anything you want, and I promise to answer truthfully. However,” he crossed one leg over the other, his foot dangling off his knee, the arm closest to her draping casually over the back of the chaise, “for every question I answer, I get to ask one of you in return. You don’t have to answer me, of course, but if you choose not to, that’ll be the end of our little game,” he paused for a moment. “For the time being, at least. Sound fair?”

She nodded hesitantly. She could stop at any time, right?

“Go ahead, then,” he waved the hand that dangled haphazardly over the chaise.

“What’s your name?”

“Mason William Gleeful, but I’ve always been called Dipper,” he said easily, as if he’d been fully expecting that very question.

“Because of the birthmark, I assume,” Mabel was very careful not to phrase it as a question, not to raise the pitch in her voice at the end of her sentence. She didn’t know how he’d react if she asked two questions in a row.

“A fair assumption,” he agreed with a slight nod and another one of those smiles. Ugh. Could ya not, man? Like, for real, Mabel thought. His smile was most definitely not helping her nausea. “And your name? Your full name, if you would.”

“Oh, um,” was she seriously forgetting her own name? Jeez, Mabel, get it together, he’s not Dipper, get over it! “M- Mabel Caroline Pines,” she managed to stutter out.

“Pines, hm? Interesting. Alright then. Shall I go along with your other questions from before, as well?”

She shook her head. “Actually, I was wondering about your last name,” he raised his eyebrows at her and motioned for her to continue. “There’s a sort of… psychic, I guess is what you’d call him, in my universe, and he has that last name. Is that… I mean… we are in what looks like his dressing room, so…”

“I did shows here,” he said quietly, a strange look in his eye, as if he wasn’t seeing her despite looking right at her. “Once upon a time.”

“Oh. I see,” she squeaked out.

His gaze sharpened on her again, and he was moving closer to her, and Mabel tried to back up further, her sneakers scrambling against the fabric of the chaise. Eeek way too close way too close back the fudge up, man, what are you even-

“Why were you in his dressing room?” He was right in front of her face by that point, like waaaaaaay too close, ‘cause their noses were almost brushing and she could see each individual eyelash, and god his eyes were even more startlingly beautiful up close, and she wanted to reach up and touch-

No no no no, bad, bad Mabel, he’s not your Dipper, this is a different version! she told herself firmly. No touchy!

“We gave each other makeovers,” she said, trying very hard to keep her voice even. When he raised his eyebrows at her, she got mildly defensive. “I was twelve! He was… I dunno, ten or eleven! Jeez!” He chuckled at that, then leaned away from her, satisfied with her answer, she supposed, and resumed his previous position as if he’d never moved from it at all.

As if he hadn’t just sent a chill down her spine that was… not altogether unpleasant, which was significantly more concerning than it would’ve been if she’d hated every second he’d been near her.

She pursed her lips and put it from her mind. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-five,” he said easily. “And you?”

“Nineteen,” she told him quietly, surprised at his age. She glanced at the foot he’d balanced on his knee.

His shoes were fancy, too. Everything about him seemed to be. “Not what you were expecting, I see,” he observed from her expressions. Damn her and her expressive face!

“Well, it makes sense, because you certainly look older than… than my Dipper.” Her voice shook on the word ‘my’.

His hand clenched into a fist.

She didn’t know what to think of it. Was he angry, or did it mean nothing?

“But it also doesn’t make sense, because if it’s a parallel universe, we should be the same age, I would think.”

“Well, not necessarily,” Not-Dipper reasoned. “In some universes, time moves at different rates, from what I’ve gathered. In our case, it’s the same, but it seems I was born earlier. I was born in 1993, whereas you were born in…” he thought for a moment, tilting his head to the side. “1999.”

“Oh.” She’d never noticed that when interacting with other Mabels. Perhaps it was simply because she was too preoccupied with not dying. It had seemed rather urgent at the time.

“Indeed,” he nodded. “So, your questions,” he reminded her after a few seconds of silence.

“Right.” What had they been again? He kept looking at her, she had to get him to stop doing that. It was distracting. His eyes were distracting. She couldn’t think when they were in her, dammit. Oh! That was it! “Where are we?”

“My universe. I found you with and brought you here through a portal,” he stuck a hand in his pocket. “If you meant the locale, however, as I said before, this was our-“ he cut himself off, took a breath. “My dressing room until several years ago, when I stopped performing.”

“I… see,” she said slowly. So where was the other Mabel, then? Shouldn’t there be a fancy, blue-eyed, properly Adult™ version of herself somewhere? She looked around the dressing room (holy crapinoli, she didn’t think she’d ever seen so much blue in one room), but there were no signs of a woman anywhere. There were no perfume bottles or makeup on the vanity, no dresses on the clothing rack, nothing.

How strange.

“Why were you in Gravity Falls?” He asked.

“To get away.” Helooked at her questioningly. Did it count if it was an unspoken question? She wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t risking it. “I needed an escape. College can be… stressful.”

That wasn’t the full reason, of course, but she wasn’t lying, either.

“Interesting.” He tapped his fingers on his leg. How could a person’s fingers be pleasant to look at?

“Why did you bring me here?”

“You needed help,” he said simply, shrugging a shoulder. He winced slightly when he did, but just a bit; the change in expression so minor she wasn’t sure she’d seen it at all. “However did you find yourself kidnapped by gnomes, of all things? Gnomes who wanted you for their queen, no less.”

She looked away. It’d been a long time since she had fought against anything but class schedules and exams she wasn’t prepared for.

“They… caught me off guard,” she told him quietly. “They tried something similar when I was a kid, but they lost. It never occurred to me that they might try again.”

“Gnomes are persistent little things,” he mused. “They dislike losing, and they are quite stubborn. It stands to reason that they’d try again if you’d beaten them before.”

“What… what did you do?” Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. “To the gnomes, I mean. Unless, of course, I’m misremembering, because there is every chance I am, what with the concussion I very likely have and all, so if I am just say the word, but it seemed pretty dang clear that-“

“I killed them,” he said bluntly. His face was bored, disinterested. Apathetic, even. It didn’t even seem to be bothering him. How could it not be bothering him? Unless…

Unless he’d killed before.

The human brain could get used to just about anything if given enough time.

“You- you killed them,” her voice was horrified, she knew. She could hear it in her tone. Yeah, she’d wanted to get away from them, she’d wanted them to leave her alone, and maybe she’d even wanted to give them a good whack, but she hadn’t wanted them dead.

“Of course I did,” he sounded surprised at her reaction. “They hurt you. They were going to hurt you far worse.”

“I know that,” she whispered. “I know that. But that doesn’t give you the right to just… you can’t be someone’s judge, jury, and executioner. That’s not right.”

“I only did it to save you, Mabel.” She had only heard Not-Dipper say her name once before.

It was different than when Dipper said it. Maybe it was because Not-Dipper’s voice was a little deeper, a little smoother-sounding?

“You weren’t safe. Not in your universe.” His eyes were burning, which was strange since they were the color of ice. “I can keep you safe. I will keep you safe.”

“Ummm… that’s cool and all, but that’s pretty freakin’ unsettling, to have somebody just, like. ‘Splode a bunch of gnomes for you,” she eyed him warily, still trying to figure out how to get away from the dude without crawling. Would he get angry with her for not being appreciative? She didn’t want to see him angry. Would he hurt her?

“I don’t want you to be scared of me,” he told her quietly, his voice a little sad.

She almost lied and told him she wasn’t scared of him, that everything was hunky-dorey, and that he should smile.

She didn’t.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have, I dunno, made people explode in front of me?” She was being sarcastic, she knew, and that was probably a bad idea, but sometimes she just couldn’t help herself.

“Gnomes aren’t people, technically,” he reminded her.

“Semantics,” she waved his argument away. “They’re living creatures. Or they were, anyway, before you decided to go and massacre them.”

Not-Dipper had a look on his face that suggested he wasn’t opposed to killing living creatures, whether they were human or not.

Maybe he already had.

Mabel hoped he hadn’t, but something in the way he held himself gave her a sneaking suspicion that he had.

“I’m sorry if that… bothers you, or if it scares you. I don’t want to make you feel those things,” he sighed. “That said, I think it’d be best if I were up front with you: if put in the same situation again -if you were in danger again, that is to say- I’d do the same thing.”

She crossed her arms, pursed her lips, and glared at him. “Take me home, please.”

There was panic in his eyes. “I- I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“The portal… it doesn’t work like that. I’ll have to find another way to get you back,” he explained. She was still glaring at him when he continued. “But for the time being, you can stay with me. If you want,” he turned his body to face her for the first time since he’d hugged her.

“Well. I suppose that’ll have to- WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT?” She was pointing, horrified, to his shoulder, where one arrow, perhaps about a foot long, was embedded in his shoulder. Another was in his side, the one that had been facing away from her. Blood had seeped through to pool around the entry wounds, though the bleeding seemed to have stopped. His eyes followed her shaking finger.

“Oh, right. I got shot with a couple of arrows. Just gnome ones, though, so they’re quite small,” she dropped her hand back to the soft fabric of the chaise.

“Okay, so you saved me, and you got hurt doing it,” she was saying this to herself, staring at her knees and speaking as if he couldn’t hear her when he could absolutely hear her. “Okay. Okay. This is fine, this is fine, Mabel girl.” She looked back up at him. “Okay, let’s go… wherever we need to go for you to treat those… yeah…”

“Very well,” he agreed. “I’ll take you there.”

He helped her to her feet, and she still found herself a bit dizzy, wobbling a bit.

“Would you like me to carry you?” he offered, steadying her with a hand on her arm.

“Carry m- say what now?”

“I don’t mind, particularly if you’re having difficulty walking still.” As if that explanation was adequate! Why was homeboy cool with it at all, though? She’d gotten a hella nasty gash on her leg once in PE, can ya guess how many people offered to freakin’ carry her to the nurse? Zero, is the answer. Zero.

What a weird dude. And Mabel was in love with her gay twin brother, so if she, of all people, thinks you’re weird, then you are weird.

“Nope!” she squeaked out way too quickly to sound even remotely close to being normal. “I’m good on the carrying front, thanks! Got it covered!”

“Suit yourself.” Ugh why, why was he smiling that smile again, it reminded her of Dipper and also not, and it made her nervous as all hell. “This way.” And with that, he promptly strolled out of his dressing room, clearly expecting her to follow.

[synmorite]

Behind These Eyes- Chapter 2

Summary: The boys make you feel welcome in the bunker.

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Word Count: 2955

Warnings: Mentions of suicide, mentions of depression, language, fluff

A/N: This is still a work in process, but if you have any constructive suggestions, please let me know! If there’s things that should be included in the warnings or the tags, feel free to send me a message.

*****************

After you finished cleaning yourself off, you tugged on the Led Zeppelin shirt and sweatpants that Dean left for you. Even though the pants were a bit too big, there was a drawstring that you used to tighten them so they wouldn’t fall down. You walked over to the mirror and wiped the steam off of it. You finger combed your hair and realized it was longer than when you last saw yourself in a mirror. You studied your appearance in the mirror. You looked the same, but ...not. Your skin had a healthy glow when before it was pallid with dark circles under your eyes. You looked down at your arms and while you still had scars up and down them, they didn’t bother you like they used to. You’d been surprised when you noticed them in the shower since you had gotten used to your arms being smooth again. You recognized yourself in the mirror, but realized that you looked happy and healthy. You hadn’t seen this girl in a long time before you had said yes to Arti. Smiling at your reflection, you exited the bathroom. You wandered down the hall a little bit before smelling something delicious that had your mouth watering. You followed your nose down the hall and back through the library and map room into a kitchen. Dean was humming and putting the finishing touches on a couple of burgers. He looked up and grinned brightly at you when you stepped down into the kitchen. 

“Thought you might be hungry too so I made some burgers.”

“They smell amazing, Dean. I literally just followed my nose into here. This place is a crazy maze!”

He laughed deeply and you couldn’t help but smile at him. “You have a beautiful laugh too, Dean.”

He blushed deeply again. Your grin widened.

“It is just so easy to make you blush!” 

“What? No it isn’t!” He said, defensively while continuing to blush. 

“Oh yeah? You wanna look in a mirror, handsome?” 

He looked startled at the compliment and you laughed. “Shut up and eat your burger!” He said, setting it down on the table along with a beer. You settled down at the table across from him and picked up the burger. You took a big bite and couldn’t stop the moan that escaped at the flavors that assaulted your mouth. 

“This tastes awesome! This is the best burger I’ve had in the last five years!” Dean snorted at your lame joke. “You made this?”

He nodded. “Just call me the Meat Man!” 

You choked and had to take a gulp of beer to clear your throat. Luckily, choking hid the blush that had erupted over your face at Dean’s comment.

“To quote a great man: ‘That word. I do not think it means what you think it means.’” You said once you could speak.

Dean looked slightly offended. “Don’t quote my man Inigo to me. I love meat!”

You couldn’t help the smirk and cocked eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

He caught your meaning and blushed again. “Shut up.”

You laughed and continued eating your burger in silence. 

You liked this hunter. You’d developed a crush from the stories that Arti had shared, but with meeting him you got to see this whole other side that wasn’t public knowledge. He was cute and a little nerdy. He was much more good looking that you had anticipated, and much sweeter. You could tell that he loved taking care of people by how he was taking care of you despite not really knowing you. He deserved so much better than everything that’s happened to him.

After Dean finished his burger, he watched you quietly for a few minutes. 

“What?” You asked, before taking another large bite of the burger.

“Why’d you say yes? To Arti? Cass told us that he’s a good guy, a good angel. I just don’t get why someone like you would agree to be an angel’s vessel.”

You looked up and met his green eyes before setting the last couple of bites of your burger down. Slowly, you moved your arms out in front of you so he could see the scars. His eyes widened a little at the amount and size of some of them.

“Five years ago, I was in a really bad place. Had been for a while. I’d tried everything, but nothing was helping my depression. After years of hospital visits and attempts to help, my friends and family left one by one. I’d barely been holding on and probably wasn’t far off from another suicide attempt when Arti found me. It took a month for him to convince me. I thought he was just a delusion at first. But he promised me peace. He promised that I would never be alone. He promised to help me. And he did. He gave me peace. I didn’t have any stress or expectations weighing on me. I just got to see the beauty in the world and appreciate it for what it is. Do you know what it is that Arti does?”

Dean shook his head. 

“He heals grief. He helps people move forward and on from their pain. He is a good angel.” You looked down at your empty plate. “I know that most angels are assholes. But not Arti. He only wants to help.”

Dean reached across and took your hand in his. His thumb rubbed softly over your skin, soothing you. Although, you didn’t feel that gnawing emptiness that you used to when thinking or talking about your depression, but his touch still comforted you. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He said softly. 

You smiled. “Don’t be. Really, I’m alright now.”

Just then, you heard light footsteps enter the kitchen behind you. Dean let go of your hand and you turned around to see Castiel.

“Hey Cass, what’s up?” Dean asked. Castiel’s eyes were on the spot where Dean had been holding your hand.

“May I speak to Y/N for a moment?”

“Uh, sure.” You said, puzzled. You followed Castiel from the kitchen over to the library.

“I’d like to check on Artiya’il if you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all.”

Castiel reached two fingers up and touched your forehead. You felt a gentle warmth in your center before it receded and Castiel removed his fingers.

“How is he?” You anxiously asked.

“He’s weak. They drained him almost completely of his grace. He will need time to replenish.”

“How long?”

“It is hard to say. A month or two perhaps before he can reclaim control.”

“Oh.”

“Y/N, you will need to be careful. Artiya’il does not have the power to protect you. You should stay here and under the protection of the Winchesters.” He hesitated a moment before glancing towards the kitchen. “But also, please remember that it is temporary.” He walked away with those cryptic words. Before you had a chance to try and figure out what Castiel meant, you heard Dean behind you.

“What’d he say?”

You sighed. “That Arti’s grace was depleted and it could be a couple of months before he re-emerges and takes control.”

You saw something flash across his face before he settled on an indifferent look. You swore it looked like relief or excitement.

“I’m gonna need more clothes. And underwear…” You said, cocking your head at Dean.

His eyes sparkled at you and he smirked. “You could just go naked, sweetheart.”

You burst out laughing. “You first, smartass.”

He grinned. “Not sure you could handle it. I can take you out tomorrow if you want. Need to do a supply run anyway.”

“Awesome, thanks.” You yawned then and were startled to realize that you were exhausted.

“You should head to bed. Been a long day.” Dean said. He reached forward and laid his hand lightly on your lower back as he guided you back to your room. You curled up under the blankets and sighed softly at the softness. Dean shut your light off for you and as he shut the door, you heard him whisper, “Good night, princess.” Then you let sleep overtake you.

*

You slept peacefully and woke feeling well-rested. According to the clock, it was six in the morning. Still early. Stretching, you laid in the bed trying to think of what to do next. You had a couple months before Arti could come back. Castiel suggested you stay here, but you didn’t want to be a burden. You hated being a burden. That’s what you’d been to your family. You shot up in bed. Your family. You’d vanished without a trace five years ago. What did they think happened to you?

Throwing off the covers, you climbed out of bed and cracked open the door. You leaned out and glanced at Dean’s door. It was shut. You didn’t want to wake him up to ask to borrow a computer. You looked between your room and his door, debating on just waiting for him to wake up, but then you smelled coffee. The other brother, Sam, must be up. You hadn’t spoken to him much on the car ride to the bunker, but he seemed nice enough. You quietly shut your door and padded down the hall towards the library and kitchen. 

You could hear some movement coming from the kitchen so you hesitantly entered it and spotted Sam sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. He looked up when you came down the steps and smiled brightly.

“Hey Y/N! How’d you sleep?”

“Pretty good.” 

“Want some coffee?”

You nodded eagerly. He smiled at you again and got up to pour you a cup. 

You sat down at the table, and Sam set a cup down in front of you.

“Sugar? Milk?”

“Nah, I like it black.” 

Sam chuckled. “Dean does too.”

You smiled, thinking of Dean. “When does he get up?”

“It varies. Sometimes he’s up around now, but after a hunt he catches up on missed sleep a little. I’m not sure when he crashed.”

You sipped your coffee and Sam slid the paper over to you. 

“I like going out for a run in the morning so I’ll be out for an hour. You need anything?”

“Uh, yeah. Do you have a computer I could use? I’d like to check in on my family…” You trailed off.

“Yea, no problem. I’ll go grab my laptop from my room.” Sam got up and placed his empty cup in the sink before leaving the kitchen. 

You pulled the paper in front of you and glanced at the headlines. It didn’t look like much changed in the world. Still misery, death, and corruption. You sighed, knowing that while you had been at peace, the world would never find it.

Sam returned and set his laptop in front of you.

“The password to get in is getoffmycomputerdean. All lowercase.”

You burst out laughing. Sam grinned.

“Surprisingly, he hasn’t guessed it yet. Don’t tell him.”

“Oh, don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”

“Good. Alright, I’ll be back in about an hour.”

“Kay. Thanks Sam.”

Sam turned around and you heard his heavy footsteps before the bunker door thudded shut. You finished your coffee and carried Sam’s laptop into the library. You settled into a chair and opened his laptop. Giggling, you typed the password in and pulled up a google search page. Debating with yourself, you couldn’t decide between googling yourself or googling your family. Finally, you settled on yourself. You typed your name and your home city in and then eyed the results. Top results were an obituary and a link to a newspaper from 2010.

You clicked on the obituary first. It was definitely for you. 

Y/N Y/L/N- Y/N passed away presumably around April 23rd, 2009. Y/N suffered from mental illness much of her life before disappearing last year without any warnings to her family and friends. She is survived by her parents and a younger sister. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the family’s Go Fund Me page to support them in their time of grief.

You scoffed. The date was off by two weeks. You said ‘yes’ to Arti on April 7th. You had figured that you would have been declared dead by now, but you thought they would have gotten your disappearance date more correct.

Moving on to the newspaper, you realized it was just the requirement to declare you dead legally. Just a couple of sentences about what you looked like, when you disappeared, and to contact the police with any information about your disappearance before you were legally declared dead. 

Next, you went onto Facebook. Luckily, you still remembered your password. You scrolled through your own page and saw the only recent comments on your page were random people from high school and some former jobs wishing you happy birthday. Even after your supposed death. You searched through your short friends list until you found your sister. You scrolled through her page and saw that she’d been in a relationship with a guy for the last four years. All of her pictures were of her and this guy. You kept scrolling through all of the inane content she posted until you finally reached a post that mentioned you. 

It’s finally done! The judge approved the declaration of Y/N’s death this morning.

That was two days before when the obituary was posted. You scrolled through the comments on the post and saw some people ask what happened. Your sister answered very simply. We’re pretty sure she killed herself. She had a long history of mental illness.

You kept scrolling and found another post that mentioned you a few months before that.

For those of you who know my sister, Y/N, can you let me know if you’ve seen her? Parents got a collection notice in the mail for her and we can’t get a hold of her to pass it along.

That was it. Those were the only posts about you. And from what you could tell, your family didn’t realize you were missing for nine months. 

You leaned back in the chair and frowned at the computer. You knew you’d been a burden to them, but wasn’t quite expecting so much indifference to your supposed death.

You were so stuck in your thoughts, that you didn’t hear Dean approach you from behind.

“Hey, you okay?” Dean said, touching your shoulder gently. You jumped at the contact.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He pulled the chair out next to you and glanced at the computer screen. “Looking yourself up? What’d you find?”

“My family didn’t realize I was missing for months.” You murmured.

He studied your face carefully before reaching up and wiping away a tear that managed to escape your eye. 

“Hey,” he said softly. “A wise man once told me that family don’t end in blood. Arti is your family now. I can be your family. Sam and Cass can be your family. We can be the family that you choose you have.” He grasped your hand in his and rubbed his thumb across the back of it.

Your eyes raised and met his gorgeous green ones. You could see in them the sincerity. He was offering you a place with his family. To be a part of it. And you knew in your heart that all of them would make you feel welcome. Hell, they already had. From Dean cooking you dinner last night to Sam loaning you his computer. They really wouldn’t hesitate to bring you in and make you part of their little family. This could be home. 

You nodded. A wide grin spread across Dean’s face and you leaned forward and hugged him hard. After just a second’s hesitation, Dean wrapped his arms around you too. You gave another squeeze before pulling away. Dean’s hands reluctantly pulled away from your back, but he left one on your waist. The warmth of his palm through the shirt caused goosebumps to raise across your skin.

Dean glanced at the computer again and his eyes widened. 

“Wait, that’s Sam’s computer! You know his password?!?!” He reached a hand towards it and you quickly smacked his hand away.

“Dean, no!” 

He reached for the computer again. “Dean, yes!” You tried to smack his hand away again, but he squeezed your side with the hand that was still resting there. You squeaked. He stopped and looked at you in surprise before a grin spread across his perfect pink lips.

“Oh, no. No, don’t you dare, you fucker!” He quickly reached for you instead of the computer and then started to tickle your sides. 

Tears ran down face as you giggled and snorted and tried to twist away from his hands. You heard the bunker door slam shut.

“Sam! Save me, Sam! He’s tickling me!’ Dean stopped and you gasped for breath. You looked over at Sam and saw he was grinning.

“Yea, I don’t think I want to get involved.” 

“Hey, I gave myself up in defense of your computer!” Dean looked at the computer again which was now closed. 

“Hey now! When did you shut it?” He said indignantly.

“You were too busy torturing me to notice, handsome.” You grinned. 

“Well if it was to protect my computer and password… Dean’s also very ticklish.” Sam said.

Dean gasped next to you. “Traitor!” 

You turned back around to smirk at Dean, but were met with an empty chair. You could hear his footsteps retreating down the hall.

“Hey! Get back here and take your tickling like a man!” You shouted after him.

“Nope!” He laughed and you ran after him. 

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