#i’m having a tough week thank you all for your consideration

[carefulfears]

thinking about scully sitting on the floor of mulder’s apartment just holding him as he wept after his mother’s death and after she told him through tears that it’s time to stop. it’s time to stop looking for his sister.

and how she had already told him that once, seven years earlier, a month into their partnership, when she chased him out of a police station and told him to stop running after his sister because it won’t bring her back.

she called after him to just stop, because she’s the scientist, and that’s the logical conclusion that she had reached.

except later that night, he told her why he does it. that he’s been closing his eyes and walking into that room, thinking maybe, when he opens them, his sister will be there, since he was 12 years old. “every day” of his life.

and she never told him to stop again.

until seven years later, when she rocked him on the floor, and then the next day was asked “why do you want to bring all this back up now?” and answered, “someone owes it to mulder.”

so she started looking. she reopened files, she tracked down records, she went to his mother’s house to dig through the trash. she confronted CSM about what he knew, she flew to california, she held hands and prayed.

she looked at mulder and said “it hurts me to tell you this” and stayed steady in the truth anyway. she listened to him read to her about a 14-year-old girl’s pain, held his hand and told him to get some sleep. she stayed up, kept looking, and found it. “i got it, mulder. i couldn’t believe it when i saw it. it was like it was looking for me.”

the police report from when samantha ran away.

she read the hospital records, went to the home of the nurse who signed the intake report, asked him if he wanted her to go herself.

she left him by the car and walked up and knocked, asked about a patient in 1979. she listened as the nurse described how “you couldn’t forget her or how frightened she was. scared for her sweet life.” and the man who came for her, who wouldn’t put out his cigarette.

earlier the day before, she had been told to just stop. “word of advice, me to you: let it be. you know, there’s some wounds that are just too painful ever to be reopened.”

and she had responded, “this particular wound has never healed. and mulder deserves closure.”

after seven years, she knows now, that you can’t just stop chasing. she knows how heavy grief is, and she‘s seen the effects of carrying it alone. of walking into the worst night of your life every day, eyes closed, hopeful.

you can’t just stop, and you can’t really have closure, but you can help someone carry it.

and ultimately, that’s what made this the end of the road. sometimes the heaviest burden of grief is feeling that pain is all there is left of someone, and that alleviating it would be to abandon them.

scully’s right, this wound has never closed, but there’s freedom in shared remembrance and shared dedication. she doesn’t ask him to stop until he’s ready to know the truth, and she’s willing to find it. she doesn’t ask him to rest until it’s safe for him to, because it’s not forgetting samantha. she knows and she remembers.

[janeyseymour]

I Hate You, I Love You- part 3

Summary: you spend the early hours of Christmas Eve preparing dinner with your family and Melissa.

WC: ~2.8k

“Come in, come in!” your mother greets you. She pulls you in for a tight hug.

“You saw me at the beginning of this month, Mom,” you roll your eyes.

Then she moves onto Melissa, who has rolled both of your suitcases in. You see the redhead stiffen just slightly before relaxing and patting your mom’s back.

“You must be Melissa!”

Where you expect your tough coworker to reply with sass, she smiles warmly- that smile that she reserves for Barbara and, on the rare occasion, Janine. “It’s so great to finally meet you, Nora.” Then she turns to your aunt. “You must be Aunt Jo.”

Jo’s face brightens considerably, and you didn’t think that was possible. You can practically feel the excitement radiating off of her.

Then your father is standing from his chair and outstretching a hand. “Al,” is all he says, but the smile on his face tells you that he’s just as excited as the other two. He’s just better at concealing it.

“Melissa,” your ‘girlfriend’ shakes your father’s hand firmly. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.” At least that isn’t a lie- the two of you had gone over family history on the car ride over.

“Wish I could say the same about you,” your dad huffs as he looks to you. “Our girl didn’t even tell us you existed until a few weeks ago when she came over for dinner.”

“It just never came up!” you protest as you interlace your fingers with the redhead again. “Come on, we don’t have time to interrogate my girlfriend. We have to put our stuff away upstairs.”

The three adults relent, but your mother tells you, “Be quick! We have a lot of things to make!”

You go to grab your bag from next to Melissa, but her hand is on your suitcase handle before you can stop her. “I got it, hun.” She winks at you before gesturing for you to lead the way.

“Thanks, babe,” you reply, and you hope it sounds convincing. “Come on, my room is the attic, so…”

The redhead follows you up the steps, lugging your bags behind her. As soon as the door is closed behind the two of you, you scowl.

“Way to lay it on thick,” you hiss.

“I’m trying to be convincing! Do you want me to blow it for you before we even get through Christmas Eve?”

You huff. “No.”

“Then let me do my thing. You told me how you act in a relationship, and I took acting classes when I was younger. I can do this if you can.”

“Fine. I sleep on the left side of the bed.”

“Of course you do,” the redhead laughs. “I sleep on the right. It’s almost like we were made for this.”

“Shut up.”

“Just remember you love me,” Melissa teases you as she sets your things on your side of the room.

“I absolutely do not,” you roll your eyes. “C’mon. We have to go downstairs before my mom comes up here and yells at us for not coming to help her. And I need a glass of wine.”

“It’s eleven in the morning,” your colleague says, and there’s only a hint of judgement in her voice.

“And when you see the amount of work she’s going to give us, on top of having to pretend I love you, I’m going to need all the booze I can get.”

Melissa takes your hand gently in her own before leading you down the steps. You take a seat at the counter, and the redhead immediately makes her way over to the cabinets. She gives you a questioning look, and you point to the one that has the wine glasses in it. She grabs two before walking over to the refrigerator and pouring out a glass of your favorite wine and one for herself- one that your parents always keep for you when you’re here. She saunters over to you with a smile and offers the poured glass to you. You take it from her with a kiss to the cheek, and then she’s standing behind you with an arm draped around your shoulder.

“So, Y/N told me it’s always a cooking extravaganza, and I hate to brag, but I’m a great cook,” Melissa chuckles as she takes a small sip from her own glass.

Your mother immediately gives the two of you direction in terms of what you’re in charge of, and the redhead is all grins. “That sounds easy enough.”

“Mom, that’s way more than you usually give me.”

“Well, there’s two of you now,” your mother shrugs.

You roll your eyes. “This is a ridiculous amount of-”

“I can do it, babe,” Melissa cuts in. “You know how I usually cook anyway, and this ain’t nothin. Just sit there and look pretty for me, yeah?”

You look to her, and damn is she a good actress. For as rough and as tough as she is, she can really be warm- or at least fake warmth.

“I can help,” you sigh.

Making portions of the meal starts out incredibly stilted and awkward, but as time goes on and the alcohol is flowing through your blood, you actually find yourself enjoying being in Melissa’s presence. She’s a great cook. She’s a great teacher when there are a few things that you’re a little confused about in terms of preparing the food.

As you’re mashing the potatoes, her arms find their way around your waist, and her chin rests gently on your shoulder. She kisses your cheek softly, and you can’t help the blush that tints your cheeks. It’s all for appearances, at least in front of your parents and aunt- that’s what you tell yourself. You have no idea that this is how Melissa has wanted to be with you for a while now.

Unbeknownst to you, Aunt Jo takes your picture, the two of you looking incredibly in love despite the fact that you hate the redhead with you. It almost makes you hate her more now that you know she isn’t the hard ass she always plays- she can be incredibly soft and warm. 

When you’ve finished mashing the potatoes, you excuse yourself to go to the restroom- you need a bit of space. Having the redhead pressed up against you and kissing your cheek and the nape of your neck has you more bothered than you had expecting. You splash a few droplets of water on your face. 

Melissa moves onto begin making the last batch of cookies needed for tonight’s meal. But when she goes to reach for the nutmeg, she can’t find any. She grabs her purse and lets your father know she’s heading to the store, asking if they need anything else while she’s out. Your father shakes his head no.

“Hun?” your colleague calls up the steps. “I’m heading to the store for a few last minute items. Are you coming with me, or am I going by myself?”

You sigh. You like this warm side of Melissa, but you know as soon as the two of you are out of the house, it won’t be like that anymore. “I’ll stay here and help Mom.”

“Sounds good,” she yells back. “I’ll be back soon. I love you!”

You return the sentiment, but only because you know Aunt Jo had come upstairs to change from her sweatshirt to a tee. And then Melissa is off.

When you return back down the steps, Melissa has taken your car- you hope she doesn’t crash it just to spite you. Your father groans.

“What, Dad?”

“I’m an idiot. I told Melissa we didn’t need nothin’, but it turns out we need stuff to make the Christmas sangria.”

“I’ll text her.” 

You do, and she just gives the message a thumbs up in return. You go back to your station in the kitchen and continue on preparing. Unfortunately for you, Melissa calls as you’re in the middle of glazing the ham, and you can’t answer.

“Would you mind getting that, Aunt Jo?”

Your aunt does, but her brows furrow as she looks at the contact name that pops up. It only reads ‘Schemmenti’.

“It’s your girlfriend.” She answers the phone and places the cell between your cheek and shoulder. You’re able to hold it there. "Although I’m confused why you only have her in your phone with just her last name… no silly nickname, no heart? There isn’t even a picture of the two of you together?”

“Just haven’t had time,” you sigh. Damn. You should’ve thought about that. “I’m in her phone as Y/N, and that’s it.” You hope your fake girlfriend can hear the bite in your voice to tell her that you may have just been caught.

“Babe, you haven’t changed my name in your phone yet?” Melissa chuckles out. “I’m wounded.”

“You’re ridiculous,” you roll your eyes. “I’ll change it when we get off the phone. What’s up; what do you need?”

“There’s a shit ton of cranberries,” the redhead tells you. “Is there a particular brand you and your family prefer?”

You walk her through the preferred brands of everything on the list your dad gave you, and then she’s checking out.

She’s very aware that your entire family is still in the room with you, and if they can hear her, she wants to stay convincing. “Okay, thank you for your help hun. I’ll be back home in a few minutes.”

“Sounds good,” you mutter. “Don’t crash my car.”

“I wouldn’t,” the redhead chuckles, although she knows you’re being quite serious. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

“Bye,” you sigh, and then you let your aunt take the phone back. She’s frowning at you though. “What?”

“No ‘I love you’?”

You look to your aunt, somewhat annoyed. “She’s literally five minutes away, and we said it when she left earlier.”

Jo just gives you a look before returning back to her own place in the kitchen.

Melissa enters about ten minutes later, and she comes in with a few bags in her hands. “Hey babe.”

“Thank you for going out,” you kiss her cheek. “You’re the best.”

Melissa just smirks. “I know.” She turns your head gently and plants a short, sweet kiss on your lips. “Make the cookies with me?”

You’re in a daze for a second. Your colleague is a… really good kisser. 

“Honey?” she prompts.

Your cheeks tint red. “Uh, yeah. I’m gonna grab another glass of wine. You want one?”

“I would love that,” Melissa smiles.

You grab her empty glass of wine and fill it with a blush. When you make your way over, you have to resist the urge to kiss her again. “Here you go, Lis.”

Your ‘girlfriend’ lifts a brow at the spur of the moment nickname, but she smiles at you regardless. “Lis,” she mumbles as she pulls you in so close you can feel her breath on your neck.

You pick up your phone with a smile and pull up her contact. Her name in your phone goes from ‘Schemmenti’ to ‘Lis’, adorned with a red heart.

Her hand goes to her back pocket with a smile before pulling out her own phone and changing your contact name from just your last name, to a nickname for your first. You just give her a smile before turning your attention to the cookies that need baking.

Before you know it, your parents’ house smells delicious, and you’re just a little tipsy. Your cheeks have a glow that just won’t quit, and Melissa’s hands are all over you. She makes sure to throw in a few ‘I love you’s here and there, along with quite a few kisses dotted along your temple and hairline, cheek, lips, and she dares to press on to the nape of your neck as you roll out the dough for the sugar cookies. You can’t help the delightfully tipsy giggle that you let out.

The cookies end up in the oven, the two of you begin to toss in the ingredients for your family’s sangria, and then you’re asking Aunt Jo for a time check.

She taps your phone that’s sitting out on the counter, and she purses her lips.

“Is it getting too late?” you ask, a pout on your face.

She shakes her head. “It’s only about three, and you know the family doesn’t start trickling their way in until five, but where’s the cute picture of the two of you as your lock screen?”

Melissa just chuckles that easy laugh that you find yourself beginning to enjoy more and more. It’s the laugh that you only hear her elicit when she’s in the presence of Barbara Howard. “Because our coworkers don’t know,” she reminds Jo.

“Well, are you around them right now?” Aunt Jo challenges. Then her eyes light up. “I took an adorable photo of the two of you while you were making the potatoes. Give me a second.”

About a minute later, an image appears on your phone, and at one glance, you can see how anybody would genuinely think that the two of you are in love. It’s… it’s a really sweet picture. Melissa’s arms are around you, and while your hands are working on the food in front of you, the look in your eyes is one of pure happiness- at least that’s what it looks like. And the way that your coworker is looking at you? You haven’t seen that look from somebody in a long time.

With a roll of your eyes, you change your background to that picture, as does your grade partner.

“That’s better, huh?” Melissa pecks your lips again.

You give her a smirk. “Sure, hun. C’mon. We should go upstairs to start getting ready for dinner.”

“I’ll be up in a minute,” she promises. “You want another glass of wine?”

“Maybe some sangria,” you shrug as you . “Have to make sure it tastes good.”

She gives you a nod, and her eyes linger on your body as you head out of the kitchen and up the steps to your room.

Melissa enters a few minutes later as you’re in the midst of changing. She sets your drink on your nightstand before looking to you.

Immediately, you blush. You’re standing there without pants on. “Jesus, Melissa. Don’t you knock?”

She shrugs, and her eyes rake up and down your body.

“Oh, quit it,” you roll your eyes. “We aren’t in front of them anymore, so you don’t have to keep pretending you’re in love with me. I do have to say though, you’re quite the actress. You’re good at this.”

“Wait ’til you see what else I’m good at.” She winks at you before making her way over to her own suitcase.

“I still hate you.”

“I know,” is all the redhead sighs. She won’t say she hates you back, because she doesn’t. She never has.

“I can’t wait for this weekend to be over,” you tell her outwardly as you pull your slacks on.

Internally though, there’s something about this weekend that feels easy; it feels almost natural. Melissa has this warm, soft side to her that you don’t hate. You actually quite like it. You can almost see why Barbara has taken quite a shining to- no. Melissa Schemmenti is still the same stuck-up bitch you work with, and she’s doing this for the money.

You spend a bit of time on your makeup before turning to her. She’s sitting on the bed scrolling through her phone, glasses on the tip of her nose. When you clear your throat she looks up to you, and her jaw opens just slightly.

“What?”

She’s at a loss for words. It takes a few seconds for her mind to catch up to her body. “You look nice. Clean up well.”

“Save it for when we’re downstairs,” you sneer out. You gesture for her to go in front of you, and when she does, you can’t help but notice the way this sweater that she’s chosen hugs her in all the right places, and her pants only make her curves stand out more.

Before the two of you make your way down the steps fully, she laces your fingers together with ease. You can’t deny the way that her hand fits into your own almost perfectly. She smiles at you, one of those real, genuine smiles that almost has you melting.

“You ready?”

“Are you?”

“Of course I am,” Melissa smirks at you, and then she licks her lips subconsciously as she gets a good look at your face.

“Let’s get this over with.”

TAGS (and lmk if you wanna be added): @schemmentis @thesapphictimelady @marvel210 @itisdoctortoyousir @morgana-larkin @doesthatsuggestanythingtoyou @marvels--slut @sweetcheeksschemmenti @megamultifandomtrashposts @lemz378 @http-sam @melissaschemmentisbranzino @imaginesmultifandoms @sexysapphicshopowner @lilfartbox1 @maybe-a-humanbean @imlike-so-gaydude @a-queen-and-her-throne @notinmyvocab @melanielaufeyson @dvrkhcld @cosmichymns @sasheemo @m1lflov3rrr @ricejucie @temilyrights @emilynissangtr @squinnchy @dopenightmaretyphoon @emeraldoceansstuff @shinyfaerielights  @blkmxrvel @marvelwomenrule @sarahjohannson @casualfoxwitch

[mightystumpmachine]

Patrick x female reader where she is sad and wants cuddles and he has to find out why she is sad

Heyyy, wassup? Thanks for your idea! Tbh, I didn't know what to come up with to specify the reason for the sadness and make it a bit personal, but I hope you like it! You can always leave me a message with more requests. Love you anonymous user :3

☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★☆゜・。。・゜・。。・゜★

Dial My Number When Your Heart Feels Heavy.

(Patrick Stump x Fem!Reader)

Summary: You're feeling sad and overwhelmed, and Patrick comes over to your house to comfort you.

Warnings: None really.

Type of fanfic: Fluff; slice of life; slight angst; comfort fic; one-shot.

Notes: Nothing important, just that I imagined all this with Patrick in the AB/AP era.

☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★☆゜・。。・゜・。。・゜★

“I’ll be right there” was the last thing you heard before Patrick hung up the call.

You tossed your phone aside, certain you wouldn’t look at it again for a while. You curled up in the corner of the couch, hugging yourself.

You feelt too stressed and sad, being with anyone but Patrick was the last thing you wanted. So, you decided to call him, knowing he would find a way to make you feel better.

You couldn’t even explain what was going on because as soon as he heard you were feeling down, he interrupted to say he was coming over.

In a way, you were grateful because you didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe it was best to forget everything, at least for a while.

About an hour later, which felt almost eternal to you, Patrick entered your apartment (with the key you had entrusted to him months ago).

You locked eyes for a second, and he didn’t need you to say anything. He just approached and hugged you warmly and protectively.

You didn’t cry because you had cried enough already. You just stayed there, immersed in Patrick’s scent and warmth.

He made room for you to snuggle into his chest, and although you didn’t notice, he checked your face from time to time to make sure you weren’t crying.

“Are you okay?” he asked after a considerable time without speaking.

You shook your head, burying your face even deeper into his chest.

He started stroking your hair in an attempt to calm you. He didn’t want to pressure you into talking about what was bothering you. However, for him, just hugging you wasn’t enough.

And all Patrick wanted was to see you doing well.

“Has it been a tough week at work?” he murmured, pressing his lips to the crown of your head.

You nodded slightly, adding nothing more.Patrick stopped stroking your hair and instead, moved his hand to your back, drawing slow circles.

He took a deep breath before continuing:

“Did something happen at university?” he continued, trying to get you to talk with utmost calm.

“It’s completely suffocating me,” you managed to say, still snuggled in Patrick’s arms. “I’m failing at everything. I’m a complete failure.”

Patrick took your shoulders and gently pulled you away, searching your eyes.

Once your gazes met, you could see his furrowed brow, and the concern in his clear eyes that now looked at you with a hint of irritation.

“Don’t say that,” he told you firmly, almost scolding you. “Everyone has a rough patch, that doesn’t make you a failure.”

Your eyes welled up again, but Patrick didn’t stop his lecture.

“Don’t ever say something like that about yourself again,” he continued firmly. “For God’s sake, why?” His words began to tangle.

“I-I’m sorry, okay? I’m just... just very overwhelmed,” you interrupted him.

Patrick would have continued scolding you about how you should value yourself and talked about improving your self-esteem and self-love. But he simply fell silent, knowing well that this wasn’t the moment.

Instead, he decided to let you snuggle back into his chest, letting you calm down and clear your mind, no matter how long it took.

“Tell me about your day,” you said after a few seconds of silence.

He was surprised to hear your request, not understanding why you wanted to hear about his day at a moment like this.

He had no idea that you just wanted to hear his voice because no matter what he was talking about, listening to him made you feel better.

Besides, you always wanted to know how his day had gone; anything related to him interested you.

“Um... well... today wasn’t exactly a productive day,” he sighed. “I woke up at eleven in the morning and was practicing some songs.”You listened attentively to every word.

“Did you see the guys today?”

“Just Pete. Actually, I was with him before coming here,” you felt Patrick laugh very softly. “He said to let him know if you didn’t feel better after this, so he can kick my ass in person.”

You chuckled lightly.

“I hope you have a bit of mercy on me and don’t let Pete kick my ass,” he joked.

You kept talking for a while longer, and when Patrick noticed he had managed to make you smile timidly more than once, he suggested cooking something to distract you.

You agreed, so he carried you the short distance from the living room to the kitchen, carrying you like a princess.

When you arrived at your destination, he placed you on the counter and stood in front of you, looking at you with a warm smile.

“What do you have in mind?” he asked with a spark of happiness and relief in his eyes seeing you a bit more cheerful.

“I don’t know,” you smiled hesitantly. “Maybe pasta?”

“Pasta will be.”

Patrick took care of gathering the ingredients from the pantry, and you helped with a few things, basically whatever he allowed you to do.

You sat back on the counter, and the two of you continued talking for a while as the kitchen filled with the aroma of spaghetti with Bolognese sauce.

Having Patrick by your side was the breath of fresh air you needed in those moments when you felt so suffocated.

At that moment, it was just you and him, and nothing else mattered.

A couple of hours ago, you were crying, but now you were with the man you considered the kindest and noblest on earth, giving you a taste of the Bolognese sauce he had prepared just for you with a wooden spoon.

Lost in your thoughts, you suddenly realized Patrick was looking at you, waiting for a response.

“How is it?” he asked again, totally enthusiastic.

“Never leave my side, Stump,” you said after being deep in thought.

Immediately, a smile spread across Patrick’s face.

“Wow! Is the sauce that good?” he exclaimed exaggeratedly. “Don’t tell me I’ve found the secret recipe to keep you close to me.”

You laughed and gave him a playful punch on the arm. “You idiot, you know I’m not talking about the sauce.”

“Oh, I don’t know, because you said it right after tasting it,” he acted surprised. “Now I know I have to make tons of this sauce if you ever get mad at me.”

You shook your head, “I don’t think it works that way,” you laughed.

“Then I’ll learn to make desserts too,” he replied, winking.

Before Patrick could move away from you to continue cooking, you grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him close to hug him.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, and he instinctively hugged you around your waist.

You stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying the closeness. Patrick started to stroke your back, filling you with calm and security.

You wished that moment could last forever.

“You know I really appreciate you, right?” you whispered against his neck.

Patrick felt his skin tingle as your breath brushed against it.

“I appreciate you too,” he replied softly. “I’ll never leave you alone ______.”

Eventually, you both pulled back just a little, resting your foreheads together and looking into each other’s eyes. He gave a crooked smile and, without letting go, said: “The pasta is ready. Do you want to eat on the couch? We can watch something on TV, listen to music… or just keep talking.”

You nodded, running your fingers through his short hair. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Patrick served the plates, and together you returned to the couch, where you sat facing each other, legs intertwined under a blanket.

While you ate, Patrick didn’t bring up your troubles. He preferred to lighten the mood with trivial chats and small debates about which artist was better and why.

After dinner, both of you got comfortable on the couch. Patrick pulled you close, and you snuggled into his chest, feeling calm wash over you.

He cleared his throat a bit to get your attention: “So… now that you’re calmer… maybe you’d like to talk about what happened?” he asked, his tone more of a question.

You sighed, as if that exhalation released all the weight and sadness from your shoulders.

You nodded, after everything he had done for you, you felt well enough to finally tell him everything you were feeling.

You knew that no matter the gravity of the issue, Patrick would be there to listen and support you.

And above all, he would give you his love and warmth to make you feel better.

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Sky Full of Stars - Chapter Twenty One.

Thank you so much to everyone for your commitment to the story, as usual! Happy Friday, guys. Enjoy! :)

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty

Tag list - In the comments

Words - 3,946

Warnings - 18+ content throughout. Minors DNI!

“I’m so bored.”  

As was Adrien of hearing his wife chime those three words over and over. He could hardly blame her for it, though, and so thus took it with good nature, knowing that it had to be tough for somebody who kept herself so busy to be rendered incapacitated. After being allowed to go home, they’d spent a week at the apartment in Manhattan before Jade felt well enough to fly. Now she’d been returned upstate for the last week and four days, she was rapidly tiring of being confined to a bed for the most part. 

Her healing was estimated to take twelve weeks from the point of the incident, and they were currently at week eight, with her not allowed to do anything physically demanding, given the instruction to rest as much as possible.  

“What are you even doing out of bed, Moo?” He pointed in the direction of the kitchen door, circling his finger. “Back upstairs, go.” 

“No. I want cheese and I want to sit in the sun while I eat it. I physically can’t lie in a bed for that long unless I have you on top of me, and I can’t even do that for another two weeks. Even though I feel fine, my breathing is normal, my wounds are all healed, but no! I’m being treated like heirloom glass when really, I want to be shagged into the tail end of next week!”  

She’d specifically asked her godmother that, Lucy dying laughing, calling her a horny reprobate. ‘Ten weeks, and then light exertion will be fine. No sexual gymnastics!’  

Walking over to him, she pulled his head down to her level, kissing him, his lips, his nose, and the crinkles that dented his forehead as he frowned. “Sitting, that's all. My eyes hurt from reading, and I’ve binged all ten seasons of Friends in the last two weeks. I need a change of scenery.” 

He made a soft growl. “Fine.” 

“Yes, it is, because you’re not going to boss you around, or I’ll bite you, you bugger.” His pec was chomped upon softly, Adrien shaking his head. 

“That isn’t much of a threat, baby.” Kissing his chest, she hugged him tightly before moving to the fridge, ready to raid the order she’d had delivered from the small deli in the nearest village. It held a surprisingly good selection, little slices of each taken, Jade adding crackers and grapes to the plate she carried outside to enjoy under the summer sun with a glass of wine.  

“That little area over there is entirely too empty,” she spoke, crunching through a cracker while pointing at the little patch of land beneath the trees where the chickens were meant to be.  

It was, he had to agree. “How about once you’ve finished your snacks, we take a drive down to the farm shop and bring a few home?” Perhaps he was being a little too precious with her, he had to concede. Their local farm shop and feed store was only a twenty-minute drive away, Adrien knowing they were running low on horse food, so having to organise that anyway, they might as well.  

It was necessary too, now Mia had finally arrived from Austria five days before. Jade had been annoyed beyond words that he’d told her a firm no over doing a ten hour round trip to JFK in order to bring her back upstate, but he’d had help in the form of Rachel, who had offered to come along, knowing considerably more about horse care than him. He’d needed somebody who knew how to load a steed onto a horse truck properly, how to put the travel boots on, bandage her tail, tie her up properly, all of which his sister-in-law could probably do in her sleep, she was so adept. 

Her head shot up like a meerkat, eyes rounding a little. “Really? You’re allowing me to leave the house?” 

“You make me sound like your captor, Burtie,” he scoffed, receiving a cheeky eyebrow raise. 

“Kinda missing being tied up and defiled.”  

He groaned softly, closing his eyes for a moment. “Don’t. Now I’m not so scared to remember I have a high libido, believe me, my hand ain’t cutting it.”  

Oh, the flicker she felt between her thighs. “You should let me watch that.”  

“Never quite works though, does it? Not with either of us trying to play the captive audience. We get to about a thirty seconds and dive on the other.” That was true enough. The only time they’d ever been able to successfully watch one another masturbate was when they’d done it over Skype while apart. 

“I’ve got in it my head now. Fucks sake,” she groaned, taking a large gulp of wine, crossing her legs tightly with a huff that had him shaking with soft laughter. 

“Two weeks, my baby. Two weeks and I will fucking ruin you.” Pausing, his smile began to widen, chuckling. “For about a minute and half, but damn, it’ll be the best minute and a half of your life!”  

Laughing, she leaned against him, stroking his thigh as he kissed the top of her head. Laughter was medicinal in the wake of what had happened to her, so close to losing her life right there on her own driveway. It had hit her in waves after waking to be filled in on the gaps in her memory, the magnitude of being so close to death. What had affected her most was when her darling Katie had told her it had taken her an hour to bleach off the blood stain from the front drive, she’d been crying so hard, but wanting it gone before either she or Adrien had arrived back to see it there.  

It hadn’t just impacted her, the knock-on effect of her attack leaving her loved ones terrified and her husband with the kind of blood pressure level that had taken days to come back to a normal reading, so her dad had confided. Her poor mother hadn’t slept for longer than a few hours every night immediately after.  

Adrien had thought she wouldn’t want to sue the care facility, but she’d very much proven otherwise. Their legal team had hit them with a suit for gross negligence, Jade stating that if that was how lax they were that a patient with murderous intentions could so easily escape, then truly, they needed to face the consequences of such. After all, what if anyone had gotten in her way prior to her arriving in Cleveland? Would they likely have met the same fate, but perhaps not quite been so lucky? What the hell were the people looking after her thinking, too, allowing a woman who had likely shown such dangerous intentions to remain in such a low security facility?  

As Adrien pulled his truck from the drive out onto the road, she thought about it again, a little shiver running through her. Of course, he noticed, seeing her close into herself a little. “You okay, baby love?” 

“Yeah, ish,” she confessed. “It’s a hard thing to reconcile, my home being the place I always feel so safe, but now the location of where I was the farthest from that. Don’t panic, I’m not about to say I want to move or anything. That mental cunt won’t drive me from my home. It’s just a bit weird right now.” 

Reaching for her, he squeezed her thigh, feeling her hand cover his, her little finger stroking over his knuckles. “Give it time, I think that’s all you need. Also, look at it differently, perhaps? I’m not trying to minimise what happened to you, but if you look at it as the place you survived rather than the alternative, that might be a better perspective going forward.”  

She loved that about him, how she could see a situation strictly from one viewpoint, but he would usually find a way to see it completely opposite, with credible validity. “I never thought of it like that before, baby. You’re right, though. Thank you. Love you.” 

“Love you, too, Moo.”  

As soon as they arrived at the farm shop, Lyn, the woman who had run it for almost twenty years with her husband Ray came out from behind the counter, the dear old lady opening her arms wide with a huge smile. “Hello, sweetheart. Oh, it’s great to see you looking so well! How you feeling, hmm?” 

“Pretty good, actually. Mr. B over there isn’t letting me do much at all, so I’ve had plenty of rest. I can breathe properly again without having to rely on oxygen, which is a bonus. You’re very kind to ask,” she replied, gently clasping her forearms as they parted.  

Shaking her head, she touched a gentle hand to her cheek. “How anybody would want to hurt such a dear soul as you, my love. We’ve had it all up here, you know! Journalists, photographers coming up to grab something to eat. Ray and I pass by you guy’s place every morning on our way in, and we saw them all waiting in their cars for pictures! Damned parasites. I told them I had nothing to say when they asked for comment, other than how sad I was that something so awful happened to such a nice girl.” 

Oh yes, they’d been sitting in wait to get photographs of her upon her arrival at home. “I appreciate that, Lyn. Anyway, I’m here to fill my chicken coop and spend an obscene amount in the shop. As a first-time chicken owner, I’d appreciate your advice on the former.” 

She nodded, walking her round to the area the birds were housed in. “Plymouth Rock hens are good first chicken. Friendly, unfussy and they lay well. Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds are great choices, too, all of which we have. How big is your space, hon?” 

After a few more details were exchanged, three of each chicken breed were chosen, Lyn providing travel cages to be run back up the day after, leaving Adrien and Ray to load the chickens onto the truck and Jade to go and fill a couple of baskets of produce within the shop. Once that had been bought, the required horse and chicken feed, too, they headed home, ready to introduce the birds to their brand-new habitat.  

“That red over there? I’m naming her Marge,” Jade spoke, pointing at one of the three Rhode Island’s. “Listen to her! That’s the same noise Marge Simpson makes when she’s annoyed.”  

He coughed softly. “You do that, too.” 

“Don't you dare let this be another nickname that enters your little repertoire,” she warned, watching him shake with laughter as he wrapped his arm around her. 

“Of course not, Marge.”  

Her side eye was delivered with lethal intent. “I will cock punch you.”  

His laughter boomed so loudly, the chickens spooked, all running for the safety of the hen house with a little flurry and some disgruntled noises. “Now look what you did, making me scare the chickens because of your empty threats.” 

“It wasn’t empty,” she warned, balling her fist. 

“Sounds like somebody doesn’t want to get laid sooner rather than later.”  

“Oh, and you’re really going to give it to me sooner, hmm? Mr only let me out of the damned house for the first time today, when I’m still two weeks away from being able to heavy breathe?”  

He raised his eyebrows rapidly, looking smug. “Might have given you a gentle banging, but now, with this little display of funky assed attitude? Nah. You can wait.”  

Her husband. God, he was insufferably contrary when he put his mind to it. “Fine. Just know I’ll be upstairs with my favourite vibrator. Let that information marinade.” Slapping him on the bum, she walked back to the house. She wasn’t even halfway through the door before she found him draped around her, lifting her into his arms and carrying her upstairs. “So, best minute and a half of my life, huh?” 

“Stop it,” he laughed, reaching the top of the stairs and turning right, walking down to their bedroom. “Don’t jinx me.” 

“So, what’s different? You’ve been treating me like I’m subject to breakages up until a few hours ago, and now all that’s changed?” she teased, knowing she was being a menace, but not able to fight giving a little back. 

Laying her on the bed, he grumbled at her mildly infuriating riposte, pulling his t shirt off before joining her, hands grasping the straps of her dress and pulling them down. “The fact that I’m only human. And... well... you’ve seen yourself. How the hell am I supposed to keep my hands off someone so gorgeous for twelve weeks? Ten is fine, but just tell me if it isn’t, alright?” 

Her lung could have burned with all the heat of a thousand suns, and she would have kept that to herself, feeling her need for her husband smoulder with the same ferocious heat. He discarded her dress and underwear rapidly, mouth anchoring to hers with a soft grunt, hands softly kneading her bare breasts. How he loved it when she didn’t bother with underwear, his touch skimming down her sides.  

The feel of two, then three little ridged scars beneath his touch prickled him emotionally, his lips following the glide of his hands, pressing kisses, sucking her nipples in turn, his mouth veering right to kiss upon the healed wounds that had almost taken her from him. She knew what he was doing, and how she loved him for it, showing her it didn’t matter to him that her body now came with flaws; he still desired her just the same as he always had.  

Where she craved to feel those kisses, to her delight he did not hesitate in arrival, pushing her thighs apart and burying his mouth between them, ten weeks of longing for her unravelling as his tongue slithered through her slit. He brought those licks against her clit, hungrily tasting her, his mouth eager in its repeated rolling over her bud as she sighed in gratification of him returned so intimately to her.  

Sliding over the little swell of her clit once more, he sent fire roaring through her, a blade of pleasure slicing to her very bones as she shook, the tip of his tongue skimming dewy pink nerve endings, his thumb pulling back the soft skin covering her bundle, making way for his lips to suck gently. Sparks fizzed right down to her marrow, the flush of ecstasy evoked by his mouth ever escalating, her body host to spasmodic judders as he caressed her dewy slit with all the fervour of a man half parched.  

“Fuck, oh god, baby. You’re gonna make me come so hard!” she wailed, hands fisting the grey linen below as she trembled, crested and burned hard against the fire of his mouth. While those divine licks gentled against her, he reached to unfasten his jeans, pushing and kicking himself out of them, kissing his way back to her mouth, hard cock parting her walls with a soft grunt.  

He stilled, thumbs moving to stroke her cheeks, feeling a little overcome. It was a moment that might not have ever happened for them again, but there she was beneath him in their bed, pretty lips parted as she panted softly, looking up at him adoringly. Life; it was truly so precious. As was she.  

As for Jade, the desire and tenderness of the moment pulled her in, guiding his mouth to hers as their bodies began to rock together, feeling a little more restored to her usual self at finally having sexual intimacy resumed. Her nails gently dragged his back, delighting in the feel of his body pressing tight against hers, a sudden hard shunt of his hips against her sending him deep into the flutter of her cunt. 

“Missed me right here, huh?” he chuckled, watching the sated desire glitter her eyes.  

“Mmm.” she purred, stroking his face, their kisses connecting hot, “I always do when I have to go without the best cock in the world.” Every inch of him slipped into her with ease, every ridge scraping tingles over her soaking walls, hands gently kneading her breasts as his kisses moved to her neck.  

“I mean, I’ll take that,” he began, resting his forehead to hers, “but your number isn’t really high enough to know mine’s the best. Forty-two isn’t that high.” 

“Just take the bloody compliment, Brody,” she spoke, kissing him. 

“Yeah... yeah I think I will. Even though it might be vastly inaccurate.” 

“Adrien?” she questioned, an entertained smile playing her lips. “Are you being all chatty because you’re trying not to come?” 

A smidgen of embarrassment flickered across his face. Oh, he was so cute. “Yeah, maybe.” A few seconds passed. “Okay, I am. I grossly overestimated myself at a minute and a half.” Her laugh filled the bedroom, her husband rooting himself deeper in her to prevent slipping out. “Stop, that feels too good!” 

“Baby?” 

“Yep?” 

“Just come.” Holding his face in her hands, she kissed him, nuzzling away his shame. “I came already against your tongue, didn’t I? You’re fine. Just let go.” It was as he shared kisses of fiery honey with his beloved that his body shuddered hard, staccato thrusts sending him headlong into the enjoyment of lightning forking up his spine.  

“Oh god, I’ve turned into a forty seconds guy,” he panted, laughing softly as he kissed her. “Sorry.” Stroking her face, he kissed her some more, Jade laughing as she shook her head, fingers weaving into his hair.  

“Well, don’t be. I’m flattered it bothers you, though. Most guys are so selfish like that, but you never are. It’s just one of the many reasons I love you.”  

“And because I make you laugh by being an embarrassingly rapid quick draw?”  

Of course, that comment had her in soft fits. “Stop being daft, my love. Besides, there’s always later.” The grin she was met with told her loud and clear he definitely planned to redeem himself a little. Until then, they went back downstairs, taking a gentle walk around their land with the dogs while waiting for the barbecue to heat up, Jade leaving two large steaks marinading in the fridge for dinner. 

“You look thoughtful,” he spoke, turning his focus away from Brando heaving a large stick from the long grass.  

Turning to him, she smiled, but he still picked up on a trace of sadness there. “I was just thinking about the projects I’ve missed out on, because of what happened. It feels selfish, too. Really selfish. I was so lucky to survive and here I am lamenting the loss of work!”  

Tightening his arm around her, he dropped a kiss upon her head. “It isn’t selfish, it’s just you. You hate to feel like you’ve missed out on an opportunity to further yourself, naturally ambitious as you are. Okay, so you missed a couple of exciting projects, but plenty more will come your way. I don’t have to tell you that.”  

“It’s nice to hear all the same, though.” she smiled, yet still the little flicker of something not quite right remained.  

“What else is bugging you?” 

Of course, he wouldn’t let it slide. She didn’t want him to either. “Today when we went out, I felt fine, safe. You were there, but I can’t hide at my husband’s side forever, yet the thought of going out alone scares me. I know it’s ridiculous, too! She can’t get to me again. I mean blimey, watching back the CCTV from the front gate at what happened, I gave almost as good as I got, so I know I can defend myself, but still. It makes me feel nervous.” 

It was something they’d lightly argued about, a day after arriving home, Jade wanting to see the footage of her attack in an effort to remember what had happened, and Adrien not seeing it as a conducive move at all. He’d conceded in the end, though, Jade watching the feed from the office computer, wincing, but finding it helpful. It helped in so much that she witnessed how she’d fought her attacker hard, even if she didn’t remember much. 

“I think that’s natural,” he began, turning to see Atlas running from the trees whilst dragging along a large branch. Always branches with that dog. “Put it down! Atlas, no. That’s too big.” The dog gave it a shake with a playful grown before releasing it, the four canines hurtling off again together. “Anyway, as I was saying before meathead distracted me. You feeling like that probably isn’t uncommon in people who’ve been attacked, so don’t be hard on yourself, or expect to feel perfectly back to normal in the wake of this. Give yourself time, don’t start reverting to old habits.” 

He had worried that she might, but her reassurance was swift. “No, no I won’t. I know if I rush myself to feel back to my old self, I won’t get there. I am still being a bit tough on myself, just so you know, but that’s mostly out of frustration. I can’t really hate her for what she did, because she isn’t in her right mind. I’m struggling with it, reconciling it, that I really shouldn’t be scared because she was just one lone nutter with a grudge borne of what her mental illness had made her believe. At the same time, though, it was a fucking traumatic experience. I need to give myself time, no matter how much it bugs me.” 

“Three years ago, and you would have shut it down, likely thrown yourself into a heap of work and then had to deal with the fallout from all of that,” he noted, hand idly stroking her arm.  

“Three years ago, and I was still two and a half months away from meeting you,” she noted, leaning into him a little, whistling for the dogs. Up popped Groucho’s head, gleaming dark copper in the summer sunshine. “Come on, knob head!” she chuckled, watching him dive over the long grass as they turned at the top of their land, heading back towards the house.  

“How the hell has it been three years? Shit,” he exclaimed softly, his hand reaching for Bear when the big dog licked his fingers, he and the others trotting along much slower after their frenzied exertion. “And I want you to know how proud I am of you, the way you deal with things so much more healthily than you did. Okay, so some stuff lingers, but you at least tell me about it. That’s all I ever wanted.”  

Leaning closer, his kissed the side of his neck with a happy hum. “It’s because I trust you, I feel safe to. I’ll never not feel safe, as long as I have you.”  

“I love hearing that.” Stopping, he took both of her hands in his, resting his forehead to hers. “Can you do something for me?” 

Jade knew where this was going. “Anything.” 

“Love me forever?” 

She smiled, kissing the tip of his nose. “Always.” 

If one thing remained consistent over the years that followed, it was that she truly would love the man who made her feel safe forever. Another consistency was that true to form, once she’d recovered from her ordeal, her attacker locked away in a high security psychiatric facility for the foreseeable, too, was that she returned to work with her usual gusto.  

And boy, did she eventually reap the rewards of that.  

[ghostradiodylan]

Which Hacketteers do you think are pro Christmas music and who do you think is totally against it?

Okay this is a great question and such a hard one for me because I’m kind of ambivalent about Christmas music myself! I like it fine for a couple of days beforehand but when it starts playing in stores right after Halloween? I’m still in spooky mode, stop trying to make me be merry for the sake of capitalism! 😂

Also given the setting of New York state, I wonder if any of them come from Jewish or otherwise non-Christian families. Idk who’s most likely to fit into that category but it’s a consideration. Christmas culture infects everyone though lol.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

I feel like Jacob is a literal child so he probably gets super excited about everything Christmas and is like helping his parents put up elaborate light displays and buying Christmas themed snacks and stuff, so he’s probably listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween and I feel like Emma might be similar. Emma might come Christmas caroling at your house because she loves performing so much! Emma doesn’t mind a pop cover or a bit of Mariah Carey at all.

Kaitlyn might be a total Grinch if left to her own devices but she can’t help indulging Jacob a little. She doesn’t mind Christmas music in the context of Christmas movies but she probably wouldn’t listen to it on purpose just for fun. She has a secret soft spot for the soundtrack to The Muppet Christmas Carol.

I feel like the holidays might be complicated for Ryan. We don’t know why his mom isn’t around, though I obviously have my headcanons for fiction, but that might make it a little bit of a tough time for him. At the same time, he seems really invested in his sister so he probably wants to make Christmas special for her. He lives with his grandparents, so maybe they’re listening to the more classic, old school Christmas music and jazz covers and he’s probably fine with that.

Dylan I think could go either way, either he’s rolling his eyes about it altogether or he’s making massive playlists of indie and alt rock covers and then throwing in annoying goofy songs like “Dominick the Donkey” and “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.” I think he probably does not want to hear Christmas music prior to Thanksgiving. But maybe I’m just projecting as I often do.

Abi’s watching The Nightmare Before Christmas on repeat to match her Hot Topic aesthetic. 😂 She likes that original soundtrack and the various artist cover versions and “Yule Shoot Your Eye Out” by Fall Out Boy. But when it’s actually the week of Christmas she gives in and gets into the regular cheery stuff.

I wonder how long Nick has been in the US because I always think it has to be so weird for Australians to have all this wintery themed Christmas music when it’s summer in their hemisphere at Christmas time! Maybe he gets really into it because it’s so different from what he’s used to. Or maybe he gets cranky and misses the summer and listens to Tim Minchin’s “White Wine in the Sun” to remember warmer holidays. Could go either way.

Maybe it’s his 50’s fit talking, but I imagine Max being into the old crooner type Christmas music, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and more recently stuff like Michael Bublé that’s copying that style. I feel like he starts terribly serenading Laura with that music in early November.

I feel like Laura might not get super into Christmas until school is out because she’s so driven, so maybe she pushes all that out of her mind until then, except when Max is badly crooning “White Christmas” in the shower. But then again, I also headcanoned her as a choir kid in high school so she probably had concerts to practice for too that made her get into the spirit earlier than she really wanted.

Thanks for the asks today y’all! I think my brain is tapped out but I will be meditating on some I can send back! 💜💜💜

[klebald]

hello hello, goodmorning…or good-whatever it is for you, right now it’s morning for me… anyways!

it’s good to know that you remember me—and i appreciate you calling my emoji choice cool! i grew such a liking to that emoji before and after using it (and i still do…) it’s also good to hear that you have many backups, i do have to say once you disappeared i was disappointed since i enjoyed having these little anonymous talks with you, but now i know i won’t have to worry about that!

good luck/job on your midterms! i’m sure you did well, and i read that you’re going out with a B+ to a B? i think that’s still good, what matters is you doing your best… no worries about talking about school, it can be tough and stressful so i definitely understand!! it’s good to hear you had a good halloween, what you did sounds very awesome and it’s nice to know you get to relax now… (even if it’s for a little while).

i’m sorry to hear about the scarring, unless you like it? well, i’m doubtful since you referred to it as disgustingly, and i hope your ankle heals fast so you can get back to walking normally!! make sure to rest well and take care of it + yourself. :)

i’ve been…alright, definitely better, it was my birthday 4? days ago now, that was fun… i didn’t do much except chill (as usual) and hangout with my family.

— 🫀

Hello! Late good morning, that is closer to afternoon-stepping-into-evening. It is dark out. It was morning for me when you sent this, as well. It both saddens and relieves me to know that you were disappointed to see me go. No further worries, though. I will be around as long as you are, fascinating emoji choice and all. You are more than welcome, by the way. I will continue to offer anonymous talks about our day for quite some time, I have little better to do, especially on a weekend. I am also somebody who happens to enjoy the indulgence that is writing about myself and drooooning on. Apparently, others read through it, meaning that this works out well. Thank you for your kind words on my schoolwork, consider me charmed. Heheheh. Hard work is what I focus myself on when I'm not scorching my retinas with my laptop screen scrolling through Tumblr, and it seems difficult to be anything BUT good at that. Managing a B+ is still better than the grades I was pulling say three years ago, so I suppose I'll take it. Next quarter I am really going to try and keep my grade steady as an A for that class, fuck youuuuu, Computer Science. With the way my Halloween went, I really do hope yours went fairly, as well. I would only wish to be even. If not, I will give you a bit of my candy, as I really don't need it all.

Maybe if the scar were in a better place, I would like it. Unfortunately, my knee just happens to look red like I banged it, so there are less pros to it than I would have assumed falling that hard. If only you didn't explode it, or opted for a little bit higher, I could look badass. I hope that my ankle heals quickly, as well, and I thank you for your well wishes. You are very considerate, anon. I just got off of it after being on it for a short amount of time, meaning that I am back to resting indeed, but it hurts enough I cannot manage keeping a shoe all the way on that foot, so I am under the assumption I messed it up pretty badly. There was also me looking like a moron, limping with my foot halfway in a sneaker and the entire thing not even touching the ground that came with it, so I am a little embarrassed to have to had left the house just now. Oh well, I'm the most worried about playing DDR this week with it. Pray that it heals quickly, as you have been, for Dance Dance Revolution (StepManiaX) 's sake! I am also glad to know that you have been alright. The nice thing to do was to check up on you, of course, seeing how long it'd been. Happy belated Birthday! I'm relieved that that went well for you. Sometimes chilling really is what is best for the soul. Take this, a late present of sorts. :-)

[twilightmalachite]

Timbres of Heaven - Two For One 1

Characters: Hinata

Translator: Mika Enstars

JP Proofreader: ksts

"—Huh? Father’s calling me…"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Spring

Location: Stairwell

Halfway through the next week, noontime. Inside the ES building’s emergency stairwell…

Hinata: —Huh? Father’s calling me…

Hello, what is it? …I’m doing well~. ‘Cause I’m all done with work today! ♪

And you? …I see, on lunch break, huh?

Ooh. So have you seen Yuuta-kun’s sunscreen ad?

…I see. The reason you called me was because you had a message for Yuuta-kun, huh?

Yuuta-kun doesn’t reply to you, right? Though if it’s marked as read, he probably has read it~.

So, what do you need me to tell him?

…Ahaha, it impressed you so much you bought the sunscreen? You must’ve visited a bunch of stores to collect all the novelty items that came with the products.

But you’re holed up in an office all day, aren’t you, Father? What use do you even have buying so much sunscreen if you can’t even get a tan~?

I know. That’s just how happy it made you, huh? ♪

Hinata: …

Umm… Father. Um, this is just between you and me, but…

The person there in the ad actually isn’t Yuuta-kun.

…Yeah, it was me pretending to be Yuuta-kun.

Ah, you don’t have to apologize! “I apologize for still not being able to tell you two apart”… Come on, don’t beat yourself up over it.

I mean, it would be bad if you could tell us two apart. The advertisement here is supposed to promote Yuuta-kun, after all! ♪

…Yep. Both the agency and the client agreed to it. And Yuuta-kun too, of course.

It’s risky to talk about it like this, since nobody but those involved know of it, but…

Even so, I wanted to tell you the truth, Father.

Since if Yuuta-kun heard your praise, he’d probably just sulk and go, “See? He can’t tell us apart~.”

…And, I wanted you to know that I’m doing my best, too, in my own way.

Ah, please don’t post anything on social media or mention it anywhere, got it!! It’s a promise between men!

Hm, what about me? …”Thanks for taking care of Yuuta for me”?

Hinata: “You both are doing so well”… You move me to tears, sniffle, sob!

Just kidding, that’s a fake cry, but ♪ …Thanks, Father.

…Ah, yeah! Thanks for going out of your way to reach out to me!

I’ll see ya, byebye~!

Hinata: (…Aaa~h, I told him.)

(Even though I knew I would just put a damper on Father’s happy feelings.)

(But, I’m glad I told him the truth. I want Father to know who we are now.)

(Aaalright! I’m gonna practice for Timbres of Heaven so I can have good results!)

(Today… Should I go over this page? A scene where Amane monologues his feelings for the heroine—)

“…You’ve been following us around, ever since you were little.”

“You back then were so cute and adorable. I wanted to protect that smile of yours.”

“But, it’s different now. It pains me… to see you smile at others.”

“I’m greedy. I can’t bear seeing the smile I had wanted to protect being shown to someone else.”

"Because, to me, you are someone special.”

…Hmm, something like that? I tried adding in some melancholy like Yuuta-kun suggested. These types of dramas are tough…

Oh, it’s Anzu-san. Hello~!

I did well? Thanks~! ♪

Wait, Anzu-san?! H-How long have you been standing there?

…You were going down the emergency staircase as exercise when you heard my voice? So you were quiet so you wouldn’t interrupt my performance?

You’re over considerate as usual… But, thank you for being thoughtful.

…Why am I practicing here? Well, it’s quiet here, so I’m able to concentrate~!

I have the dialogue with Yuuta-kun part down pat, but… I’m not confident yet in my monologue, or the conversation scene I have with the heroine.

So I practice here whenever I’ve got the time. I don’t wanna hold him back at the audition after all!

But, since I don’t have an actual partner to practice with, it’s hard to get the timing down right. It’s like shadow boxing~.

…Hm? You’ll help me practice?

I see! You have the script data, huh? Thank you, it’s a great help~! ♪

Which scene should we have a go at… Here, how about this one! The scene where Amane draws close to the heroine!

Are you ready? 3, 2, 1… Action! ☆

“…What do you think about Neiro?”

“An ill-tempered cute little brother you just can’t hate? Fufu, that’s how I feel as well.”

Hinata: “Well then, let me ask you… Between me and Neiro, who do you like?”

“…You can’t say “both”. I’m begging you, be honest with me… Don’t dodge my question.”

“Him or me. Who do you choose? —Tell me, Anzu.”

Hehe, Did your heart skip a beat hearing me use your name? Well it’s boring to just call you "heroine" as scripted, isn’t it? ���

Come on, come on, focus~. You’re gonna help me out ‘til the end of this scene, right?

[ ☆ ]

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[paradigm-shift208]

Mission Update #2!

Hi Space Cadets!

Mission Control here with an update about GENESIS.

After a lot of thought and careful consideration, I’ve decided to officially cancel the release of GENESIS. This is... a tough message to write, but I can explain. There have been ongoing issues behind the scenes that, after some time and reflection, have made it impossible for me to continue the project in its original form. Without going too deep into the details, I want to be clear that this decision wasn’t made lightly. Over the last few weeks, I’ve faced a series of challenges with production, collaboration dynamics, and ethical concerns that made it clear to me that GENESIS just wasn’t going to reflect the vision I had for it.

So, taking a page out of my own book, I'm going to chart my own course. Sadly, many of my ex-collaborators have been unethical in their vocal practices. Because of this, I’ve been toying with the idea of developing my own vocal bots or experimenting with AI (obviously in ways that don't involve theft). With that being said, this does NOT mean I'll never collaborate again. I love doing what I do, and I won't let a few bad experiences change that.

I understand that this is undependable of me and to those of you who were looking forward to GENESIS, I'm so sorry. Thank you all for sticking with me through this, even when things weren't certain. I’m incredibly grateful for your patience, understanding, and support. It’s because of you that I’m able to pursue my passion as far as I have, and I don’t take that for granted for even a second. Thank you all.

Keep reaching for the stars,

-Paradigm Shift 𝄞

[mainstoryarchive]

Revolution - 51: Harmony

Translator: Creampuffs

Mao: ~♪

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Location: Soundproof Lesson Room

Mao: ~♪

…Oh, Transfer Student. You didn’t head home yet? It’s already midnight, you know?

I want to practise a little longer since I want to make up for the time I lost last week.

We can’t win the “S1” if we’re not in sync with each other.

If I’m gonna do this, then I’m gonna do it with the intention of winning. Even if…

It means I’m facing off against the Student Council, I don’t think the Vice-President will complain as long as we respect the rules and give a fair fight.

In fact, he even told me to do my best when I said I was going off to practise with my unit.

I guess he doesn’t even see us as enemies right now~

We have a chance at winning, but there’s not a lot of time until the “S1” and our skills aren’t up to scratch, either.

This week, I’ve got to work hard like my life depends on it. Well, I bet I’ll just be destroying my body if I pull all-nighters and push myself too far, though.

I don’t really know how to stop when it comes to things like that.

I always thought I could handle myself pretty well, but I guess that’s not actually the case.

Subaru and Hokuto have already left to rest for tomorrow’s practice session. They made the right choice. There’s no point in working too hard.

But it’s only those with confidence who can leave their hopes and dreams to tomorrow.

A coward like me would only grow more anxious if I didn’t do everything I could today while I’m awake.

I don’t really know how to make use of the twenty-four hours everyone’s been equally given, but it looks like you’re the in same boat, huh, Transfer Student.

Ordinary people have it tough, huh~ Especially when there are people with natural talent around.

Well, I’m good at keepings things consistent, so… I’m sure things will work itself out.

The problem is Makoto. He can try too hard sometimes.

We’ve decided on a tracklist for our “S1” performance after taking your opinion into account.

There’s a total of six songs. Each of us will be the centre of one song.

The first song we’ll be performing is one of “Trickstar’s” existing songs. Each of us will get a turn in the spotlight for that one.

After that, there’ll be another of our existing songs, then the three new tracks from the Light Music Club… Those songs will focus on us individually.

The order goes Subaru, Hokuto, me, then Makoto. Makoto’s skills aren’t up to par yet, so he’ll be using one of our existing songs.

And if he ends up making a blunder, then… we should be able to turn things around by performing our new song together.

It sounds like we’re pampering or being extra nice to Makoto, huh. But he understands and also knows his skills are lacking.

And that’s also why he’s probably thinking he can’t afford to mess up.

He thinks that he’ll just be a burden if he ends up messing up even after we were so considerate to him. He thinks he’s not needed in “Trickstar”, and that he’ll just hold everyone back…

He’s felt that way before, so he’s got low self-esteem.

Makoto’s got a weapon and the qualities needed to be an idol. He’s needed in “Trickstar”, but he himself doesn’t believe that at all.

Mao: He’s a complicated guy. But that’s also precisely why we have to win the “S1”.

Winning will give him confidence. That’s what Makoto needs right now.

The road to victory will be hell, I’m sure – it’ll be one you can’t bear to watch. But we need to support him.

He’s insecure and inexperienced but he’s got talent. He shouldn’t cower away and stay in the shadows. He should be shining brightly on stage – or at least, that’s what I think.

It’d be great if you also felt the same way, Transfer Student.

…Oh, were you working on something? Sorry for making you chat with me. I just end up rambling~

What’s that you’re doing? Sewing?

Ohh. You’re making our outfits. You’re doing so many things for us, huh~

Thanks, but are you gonna make it in time for next week?

You’re working hard late at night to ensure you do, right? Sorry and thanks. I can stop the music if it’s distracting.

I’ve got the songs downloaded onto my device, so I can listen to them with my earphones. Well, it kinda gets in the way when I’m dancing, though.

…You sure? Watching me gives you design ideas?

Mao: Yeah? Then, I’ll keep dancing. Sorry if it’s annoying.

Also, give me a heads up if you’re going home. I’ll walk you. It’s pitch-black outside, so it’d be dangerous for a girl to walk home by herself, right?

We need to take good care of you. After all…

Subaru and Hokuto have been calling you “Trickstar’s” Goddess of Victory, you know?

[ ☆ ]

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[ariyacl]

Ari nodded, eyeing the spot he'd picked. It was pretty perfect—tucked away from prying eyes but still offering a great view of the waves. "A massage sounds heavenly. You might have to wake me up if I doze off though." The week had been long, and whenever she was being pampered, she tended to fall asleep.

As they sat down on the sand, she helped him lay out the blanket and unpack their food. "This is nice," she mumbled, leaning back and soaking up the sun. "I can't remember the last time I just sat on the beach and relaxed." She peered over at him, a little smile tugging at her lips. "Thank you for doing this. I didn't realize how much I needed it." She grabbed a grape and popped it in her mouth, watching some seagull do its thing overhead. Even though she'd been messing with him earlier, she was pretty grateful for his company.

Pearce Callahan.

there was something about treating his girlfriend the way that he thought she deserved that gave him a sense of satisfaction. “Then, I’ll do just that that when we get back to my place. There’s nothing wrong with dozing off anyways. You have to give yourself some time to relax every now and again.”

After they laid everything out, he joined the woman on the blanket. “We should do this more.” In general, more with her meant being in her company and that’s all she really wanted at the end of the day. He kicked his shoes off, his toes going into the sand which was easily his favorite part. “Of course, baby. I’m all for doing anything with you.” He reassured and leaned over to press a soft kiss against her cheek before he shifting to open the wine. “Do you want some?” He asked as he set the glasses beside him.

Ariya Chakri-Langley

Just the thought of getting a massage later had her feeling relaxed already. "Look at you being considerate," Ariya teased, giving his cheek a quick kiss. She let her lips hang linger for a moment and when she pulled back, she nodded. "We definitely should do this more often. It's nice to just…be." She dug her toes into the sand, loving how it felt. The waves crashing and having him next to her made her feel chill in a way she hadn't in forever. Work had been crazy lately, and she'd forgotten how to kick back and relax.

"Mmm, yes please," she said, reaching out for a glass. "You really thought of everything, didn't you?" She took a sip and let out a contented sigh. Setting the glass down, she scooted closer to him and put her head on his shoulder. "This is perfect. Now, you need to tell me about your week. I hope it’s more relaxing than mine was.”

Pearce Callahan.

“I’m always considerate.” Pearce pointed out in a soft tone, “especially when my girl is involved.” He added with a light smile. Truth be told, this day out to relax was exactly what he needed too. It felt like forever since the last time he gave himself a chance to relax and who better to do it with than his girlfriend?

He poured the girl a glass and nodded, “I try to.” He added and poured himself a glass before taking a sip. As she shifted closer to him, he put his arm around her and laid a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m certainly not as busy as you are in regards to running around the hospital but it does wear me down sometimes to listen to problems all day. It’s nice to just relax with my girlfriend instead of being back at the office.”

Ariya Chakri-Langley

She snuggled up closer, a smile etched on her lips when he kissed her head. "I know that. That's what I adore about you," Ari told him, giving his lips a quick peck. The wine on his lips made her want to go back for seconds. She pulled back a bit, her eyes full of mischief. "Well, aren't we a pair? Both overworked and in desperate need of relaxation."

Her fingers drew lazy circles on his arm as she thought about what he'd said. "Must be rough listening to people's problems all day. At least I can hide behind lab results when things get tough. You're just… there, soaking it all in." She took another swig of wine and looked out at the ocean. "You know, we should do this more often. Not every week, but enough to keep us from turning into total stress cases." She glanced back at him, a playful grin on her face. "Plus, I'm kinda digging this laid-back beach look on you."

Pearce Callahan.

there was something about being this close with her that really made him feel at ease. If he laid down and got a little more comfortable with her on his chest, he would definitely be asleep. He smiled over at her as she pecked his lips, his hand rubbing over her arm. “I know. Maybe, you know, we could take a spa day together. I’m all for self care and I’d love to have you by my side. It’ll be my treat.”

He inhaled a deep breath. He didn’t hate what he did. In fact, he loved being there for people and helping them work through the traumas they had. It could be exhausting though. “We should do this more. I’m definitely not going to complain when it comes to hanging out with my girlfriend on the beach.” He paused and let out a chuckle, “yeah? You don’t like seeing my shirt all buttoned and proper?” He teased.

Ariya Chakri-Langley

She perked up when he mentioned a spa day. If there was some way for anyone to make her smile, it was through a spa day. "That sounds heavenly, but only if you let me treat you next time. It's only fair." She gave his arm a little squeeze, silently thanking him for being so thoughtful. "Don't get me wrong. You look fine as hell all buttoned up," she teased, "But there's something about seeing you like this—relaxed, a little messy, sand between your toes. It's…sexier."

The sound of the waves crashing and his steady breathing next to her was enough to make her want to curl up and take a nap right there on the beach. "You know," she said, thinking out loud, "Before this, I’ve always only ever relaxed in the water." She turned to look at him, her face softening. "I surf to relax, but now, I have you and you’re teaching me to enjoy picnics on the beach."

Pearce Callahan.

that was the thing about pearce - he always cared about the person he was with and wanted to take care of them in any way. if that meant buying her a trip to the spa, he'd do that. now that the two of them were together, too, he was sure that he'd drop meals off for her too and it wasn't for any reason than the fact that he cared for her. "you've got yourelf a deal, my love." he looked down at her and chuckled, "noted. i'll be sure to relax a bit more."

he grabbed a couple of grapes and popped one in his mouth before offering one to his girlfriend. "i didn't know you surfed. i bet you look incredible out on the water. you'll have to show me sometime." he would always been there to cheer her on wherever he could. "how long have you been doing it? i'd say i'd like to learn but i think i'd end up hurting myself." he confessed with a laugh.

Ariya Chakri-Langley

The thought of showing Pearce her surfing skills had her heart racing in her chest. She took the grape he offered, popped it into her mouth before saying. "Oh, you have no idea what you're in for. I've been surfing since I was 14.” Once she started healing from the heart surgery, she threw herself into surfing. “I’ve never felt more alive, you know?"

She shifted slightly, turning to face him fully. "I'd love to show you sometime. Maybe we could make a day of it?" The idea of spending a whole day at the beach with him, teaching him to surf, that was what she called perfect. "And don't worry about hurting yourself. I'll be right there to catch you if you fall," she added with a wink. “I think you'd look pretty hot on a surfboard. You might fall every few seconds, but it’s the aesthetics that matters." She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Plus, I get to show off a little. Win-win, right?"

Pearce Callahan.

he wanted to see what she liked to do outside of work and before he came along. Pearce was genuinely interested in getting to know her and doing whatever else he could do to get to know her further. “Oh yeah?” He was surprised but impressed. “Well now you’re going to have to show me your skills.” He was all for cheering his girlfriend on. He had no shame in that ever.

“Alright. You’ve got yourself a deal. We can make a day of it and I’ll let you watch me embarrass myself. If it helps, I’m decent at paddle boarding but I don’t know how well that might transfer to surfing.” He admitted with a light chuckle. “Catch me when I fall? Does that mean you’ll give me mouth to mouth too? I might need it.0 ur joked, a smile playing over his face.

Ariya Chakri-Langley

The idea of showing off her surfing skills had her practically buzzing with excitement. "You're about to see it," she said, wiggling her brows. Only her surf buddies knew about her talent, and she was itching to teach him a trick or two. Leaning back on her elbows, she let the warm sand cradle her. "Paddle boarding? Well, aren't you full of surprises? I wouldn’t have thought that about you." she teased. "I'd say that gives you a slight advantage. At least you know how to balance on water."

Her heart raced at the mention of mouth-to-mouth. "You bet I'll give you mouth-to-mouth," she said, inching closer. "In fact, I might just have to practice right now. You know, just in case." She ran her fingers along his arm, her touch light and teasing. "But seriously, I can't wait to get you out on the water. It’ll be great. And who knows? Maybe you'll be a natural." She paused, grinning wickedly. "Or maybe you'll wipe out spectacularly. Either way, I'll be there to cheer you on… or fish you out of the water."

Pearce Callahan.

he could tell how excited she was to show off and he was all for allowing her to do so. pearce was thankful for his slight advantage but he wasn't sure that was going to help him as far as riding waves went. "is now a good time to tell you that i'm also pretty decent at ball room dancing and ax throwing." they were on two opposite sides of the spectrum as far as hobbies went but he'd acquired a few skills throughout the years whenever he was attempting to figure out what hobby to take on next.

grinning as she spoke, his shifting between her eyes and her lips. "you know, i don't think that's a bad idea. you know, just so we're prepared for the future." he teased. regardless of what happened out on the water, he was up for spending time with her no matter what and so, her words only made him chuckle. "i don't know. maybe i'll have to wipe out and play damsel in distress. there's something particularly attractive about my girlfriend saving me."

Ariya Chakri-Langley

Ariya's eyes widened in surprise at Pearce's revelation. "Wait. How did I not know this about you? You can dance?" she asked, sitting up and leaned closer to him—her curiosity piqued. The image of Pearce gracefully moving across a dance floor suddenly filled her mind, making her heart flutter. "You keep surprising me. What next? You're a pilot?" she teased. "Color me impressed. And here I thought I had you all figured out." She poked his chest, liking this new side of him she was discovering.

A bubble of laughter escaped at his damsel in distress comment. The idea of her boyfriend pretending to need rescuing was both amusing and oddly endearing. "So that's your game plan… Play the helpless surfer just to get me to save you? I'll have you know, I take my lifeguard duties very seriously. I might just have to give you a thorough… examination after I pull you out of the water. You know, for safety reasons." They already knew where that would head. "I think I'd like to see these dance moves of yours sometime."

Pearce Callahan.

he let out a chuckle at her surprise and nodded his head in surprise. “I can. I’ve picked up a lot of random things over the years. I’m always up for trying something new, even if I end up being bloody awful at it. That including, surfing.” Another laugh left his lips, “unfortunately, I am not a pilot. I’m not much of an airplane fan.” And that was probably another reason he had yet to go home and visit his family. “I’m not good at everything though. I can’t roller skate. I fell one too many times and gave up on it.” He confessed.

He nodded confidently at her question as thought he saw nothing wrong with playing his role. “That’s my plan. There’s something sweet and kind of sexy about my girlfriend playing hero. Plus, I’m curious about that examination and the potential mouth to mouth.” He teased, a grin playing on his lips and leaned toward her and place a kiss on the side of her head. “Of course. I would love to dance for you and hopefully with you. These moves could come in handy as some point.” In their future, he hoped. Marriage wasn’t something he thought would happen for him again but he’d do it with ariya if they got that far, which he assumed they would.

Ariya Chakri-Langley

She was in awe as she listened to Pearcetalk about his various skills. It was cute how he was willing to try anything though. That was pretty hot. "Well, Mr. Jack-of-all-trades, I'm glad you're not a pilot. I quite like having you here on solid ground with me," Ariteased, her eyes twinkling as they. "Roller skating could be fun. We can try together if you want to try. We can hold hands and stumble around together."

The thought of him playing damsel in distress had her laughing. "Oh, so you want to see me in action? I'll have you know, I take my lifeguard duties very seriously." She leaned in close, her voice dropping low. "And that examination? It'll be very… thorough." Feeling cheeky, she pressed her lips to his for some "mouth-to-mouth practice." The kiss left her breathless. Pulling back, she murmured, "How's that for lifesaving techniques?" A brow rose at his remark. "I'd love to dance with you," she said, picturing them moving together. “For the future? Are you trying to tell me something?”

Pearce Callahan.

“I’ve had a lot of spare time to learn new things, especially after my divorce. I didn’t do a lot of dating and I didn’t want to completely bury myself in work because if anyone knows what’s bad for your mental health, it’s me.” He chuckled, “yeah? You want to give it a go? I’d like that. I feel like we should try some new things together. We should take some painting classes together or something.”

“I do. I need to see if my girl can save me in my time of need.” He teased. Pearce had no doubt in his mind that she could. He grinned into her lips and kissed her back, finger moving under her chin. “Mm, I don’t know. You took my breath away instead. You might just be the death of me instead.” He breathed out and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. At her question, he was a little nervous to admit that he had in mind but he was hoping that she was the one for him. Things just felt nice around her, “I just mean that if we were to ever get married, we may have to use those moves.” He hoped that wasn’t too forward.

Ariya Chakri-Langley

"I'd love to try new things with you. Painting classes sound perfect. Maybe we can create some masterpieces to hang in our places." This was exciting. Only because she’d never done anything with a romantic partner—not that she had any in the past. So it might be why she was excited for it. His playful comments about her lifeguarding skills had her chuckling. "Oh, I'll save you alright. Just like I know you’ll save me if I’m in distress.”

When he mentioned taking her breath away, she melted a little. Leaning in, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Well, Dr. Callahan, I think we might need to practice our resuscitation techniques more often then," she murmured, stealing another kiss. The mention of marriage caught her off guard. Yes, she knew she should be happy that he wanted forever with her, but their relationship was new and she wasn’t sure he would feel the same in a few weeks, let alone in the long run. "You want to marry me?" she asked, shock and hope mingling in her voice.

Pearce Callahan.

“I’d like that. We could switch paintings or something.” Pearce would love to have something she made hanging up so that it could remind him of her every time the two of them couldn’t be together. “Of course I would. All jokes aside, I would certainly step in if my girlfriend needed saving.” He wanted her to feel like she could always rely on him in any scenario.

He grinned, “I think that’s a fantastic idea. actually, that’s what I was hoping we’d do once we got to my place. You know, for safety reasons.” He joked. It felt good to be so light hearted and well, flirty with someone. Ariya was exactly what he was looking for in a partner. He was a little nervous after mentioning marriage because he knew how fresh things still were. “Of course I do. I mean, one day. I don’t mean like tomorrow but I’d like to think we’d get there one day.” He rambled. He hoped this wouldn’t end up scaring her away. He just thought that being up front with her was the best way to go. “Don’t feel like I’m gonna like ask you tomorrow or something. I mean, unless you wanted me to.” God, could he shut up?

Ariya Chakri-Langley

She could already picture his masterpiece hanging on her wall, while her disaster hung on his. "I'd love that. And I know you'd save me. My hero in a white coat," Ari teased, throwing him a wink. When he brought up practicing their resuscitation skills at his place, she had to bite her lip to keep from actually pouncing on him. It was unfair how easily he could turn her on. "For safety reasons, of course," she purred. "We should definitely brush up on our skills. Can't have the doctor getting rusty, now can we?"

Pearce's mention of marriage still blew her mind. Most people would wait for these things, right? Yet he was already there. She wished she could be that confident, but knowing herself, she would probably end up screwing things up. His rambling melted her heart, though. He was cute when he stumbled over his words, and even though a part of her was still worried this was too good to be true, she decided to go for it. She leaned in and shut him up with a kiss that had her toes curling. When their lips parted, she whispered against his lips, "You're cute when you're nervous." Then she kissed him again, conveying what she couldn’t tell him with words.

Pearce Callahan.

he grinned at her. There wasn’t a moment he couldn’t imagine stepping in to be there for her and he was glad that she knew that. He wanted her to know that he was always going to be there for her to rely on in any way. “That’s me.” He watched as she bit her lip and nodded in response to her words. “Right. I mean, as doctors, we should definitely make sure we remember how to perform mouth to mouth.”

He didn’t mean to make things so serious or awkward. That is, if that’s what he did. Her silence was almost making him more nervous and he was momentarily convinced that he ruined everything between the two of them. That was until she kissed him. He kissed her back, his hand landing on the back of her neck as he held her close to him. The kiss made his heart race and he couldn’t help but melt against her. He let out a soft chuckle before kissing her once more, “I’m really glad that didn’t scare you away.” He mumbled against her lips.

Ariya Chakri-Langley

She leaned back slightly, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Now, about that mouth-to-mouth practice… I think we should definitely make sure our skills are up to par. Can't have anyone questioning our abilities, right?" Ariya's voice was low and sultry, her fingers now playing with the collar of his shirt. Her heart thundered in her chest as she felt his hand on the back of her neck, pulling her closer. The kiss left her breathless, and she found herself smiling against his lips.

"I have to admit, I'm freaking out a little bit. Not because I don't trust you, I do. I'm just… I'm worried I'm going to screw things up somehow. If you haven't noticed, you're perfect. Me on the other hand, I'm crass and I don't mince my words well. I worry you'll get tired of me. You’re not scaring me away, though. Not a chance, handsome," she murmured, her fingers tracing along his jawline. "You're stuck with me now." She had never felt more vulnerable as she confessed her fears. Ari wasn't used to opening up like this, but if anyone could understand her, it would be Pearce.

Pearce Callahan.

“right. I completely agree. We should definitely make sure that we’re where we need to be.” Pearce agreed, a small chuckle slipping past his lips. As the two kissed, he couldn’t bring himself to care who saw them or where they were. He just wanted ariya to know how he felt about her without her worrying. He knew there would always be worries but he just hoped he would lighten some of them.

His brows furrowed as she went on, “I’m not perfect, ariya. You’re going to see that I have flaws too and who’s to say you’re the one that won’t get tired of me?” He asked. Pearce’s hand shifted to cup her cheek, his eyes meeting hers. “I think as long as we’re open and we communicate, this is all going to work out the way we want it to.” He leaned forward to peck her lips, “and there’s no one else i would rather be stuck with. You mean a lot to me, ariya and you make me happy.”

Ariya Chakri-Langley

His reassurance meant more to her than she could express. She leaned into his touch as he cupped her cheek, liking the tenderness of the moment. "You're right," Ari murmured, her eyes locked with his. "Communication is key. I promise to always be honest with you. You just gotta get used to my blunt comments." She chuckled softly, as she ‘fix’ his shirt collar. "And for the record, I don't think I could ever get tired of you. You're like… a really good book. The kind you can read over and over and still find something new to love each time."

Her gaze softened as she continued, "You make me happy too, Pearce. Happier than I've been in a long time. And I'm not just saying that because you're an amazing kisser." She winked playfully, then leaned in to brush her lips against his once more. Her expression turned more serious as she considered his words about not being perfect. "To you maybe, but to me, you're perfect," she said, her thumb gently caressing his jawline. "Flaws and all. That's what makes you… you. And I wouldn't change a thing."

Pearce Callahan.

“and I promise to always be honest with you too, baby.” Pearce reassured. He wanted her to know that she had nothing to worry about as far as communication and honesty went. “I really don’t think your blunt comments are ever going to bother me. In fact, I find them pretty refreshing if I’m being honest with you.” Ariya was a breath of fresh air as far as he was concerned. Grinning at her analogy. “And to you, I’ll always be an open book and let you know anything that you need to know.” He reassured. “And for the record, I don’t have an analogy but I do find something new to love about you the more time we spend together.”

As she spoke and then leaned in, he closed the gap between them once more, smiling against her lips as he did so. “You’re not so bad yourself.” He teased. She really knew what to say to make his heart skip a beat. “That means a lot to me. I try not to show it, especially since I’m a grown man but I do have a lot of insecurities and that’s due to how my last serious relationship ended.”

Ariya Chakri-Langley

For once in her life, she felt like someone actually got her. His promise of honesty and appreciation for her bluntness touched her. "You must be a glutton for punishment," Ari teased, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "But seriously, I'm glad you appreciate it. Not everyone does." When he talked about finding new things to love about her, she felt warm and fuzzy inside. This whole open affection thing was new, but it definitely felt right. "I like the sound of an open book," she murmured, leaning in to brush her lips against his jaw—goosebumps rising on her skin as his stubbles grazed her lips. "And for the record, I'm pretty fond of discovering new things about you too."

His mention of insecurities from his last relationship hit her hard. She could only imagine how hard it would be to move forward after a failed marriage. She paused, her thumbs gently caressing his cheeks. "I understand. I would probably never look at anyone romantically again, let alone date if I were in your shoes." Wanting to lighten things up, she reached for a sandwich. "Now, it’s time to eat. Open up, handsome," she said, holding a sandwich up to his mouth. "I made these myself, so you better appreciate them. And if you don't like them, lie. I'm new to this whole domestic goddess thing."

Pearce Callahan.

"i find that you being blunt means that you're being honest, and honesty is important to me." he'd been through too much in his past relationship and he happened to enjoy everything being laid out on the table. pearce couldn't help but lean into her touch. his body relaxed under the soft ministrations and he loved moments like this with her. he smiled at the feeling of her lips brushing against his jaw and he cupped her cheek, bringing her lips back toward his and kissing her lovingly.

he didn't mean to bring the mood down but while they were getting to know each other, he figured that he might as well be honest with the woman he was falling in love with. "it's been years and i think that you're going to be worth it." he announced with a smile on his face as he leaned in and nudged his nose against hers. that was until she offered a sandwich in his direction. he opened his mouth and took a bite, his eyes on hers the entire time. "i won't lie to you. they're genuinely good." he reassured after swallowing the bite he took.

Ariya Chakri-Langley

"I'm starting to think you might actually like me or something." Ari teased. When Pearce cupped her cheek and kissed her again, she melted and returned it. The tenderness of the moment wasn't lost on her, and she found herself craving more of it. His words about her being worth it after years of healing struck a chord within her. A cocktail of emotions filled her—happiness, nervousness, and a touch of fear. She wasn't used to being vulnerable, but with him, she found herself wanting to try.

"I hope you're right," she murmured. She wanted to say that she was exactly what he needed, but she wasn't that vain. For all she knew, she might end up hurting him. But she swore she would try not to be, though. Watching him take a bite of her sandwich, she held her breath—suddenly nervous. When he complimented her, she beamed with pride. "Guess I’m a master chef in the making," she joked, nudging him playfully. "Next thing you know, I'll be hosting dinner parties and baking soufflés." She leaned in, her lips brushing against his ear. "I still prefer takeout most days, though."

Pearce Callahan.

he chuckled, "i might, you know, just a little." he teased softly. pearce definitely like her more than just a little but he knew he'd already said so much that he was afraid he'd push her away despite her reassurances that he wouldn't. the more she spoke, the fuller his heart felt. this was the most serious relationship that he'd allowed himself to have in years and he truly believed that she was worth the risk.

pearce wanted to believe that she was everything he was looking for but only time would tell. he watched the way her face lit up as he complimented the sandwiches she'd made for the two of them. "try it." he encouraged, his hand gently taking her wrist and offered the food in her direction. his eyes were glued to hers, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "i certainly hope so. throwing dinner parties with my girl sounds like a hell of a time and you'd be the most beautiful host." he cooed, a chuckling following. "nothing wrong with being a take out kind of girl. i like that about you."

Ariya Chakri-Langley

"Just a little? How disappointing." Ari teased, her eyes dancing with mischief as she watched his reaction. She took a bite, actually surprised to find that he wasn’t lying. The sandwich was pretty good. "Mmm, not bad," she admitted with a grin. The idea of hosting dinner parties with Pearce by her side suddenly didn't seem so daunting. She found herself imagining them in the kitchen together, laughing and stealing kisses between courses. "I've never done that before," she admitted, referring to throwing a dinner party. "But maybe it could be fun doing it with you." The thought of embarking on new experiences with Pearce filled her with excitement and a touch of nervousness.

His compliment about her being a beautiful host made her cheeks flush. She wasn't used to such open admiration, but coming from him, it felt genuine and warm. "You're quite the charmer, Dr. Callahan," she murmured, leaning in close. "Flattery will get you everywhere with me. Lucky you.” She took another bite of the sandwich before offering him another bite. “I’m off in two days, and I’m thinking about going to Ikea. Would you like to go with me?”

Pearce Callahan.

he was sure that she knew that he cared about her way more than just a little bit. after all, he wouldn't have spent half of the amount of time he'd already had if he didn't care about the woman next to him. he shifted further onto his side, one hand propping his head up while the other ran over her side in an affectionate manner. "i think it would be fun if we hosted a part of just our friends. i don't know if i've told you but my best friend is the mayor. irza's been there for me since we met and i know he'd love to meet you too."

he couldn't help but grin, "i'm only being honest. you know that, don't you?" she was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever laid eyes on. his attention was fully on her as she offered him a bite of the sandwich. he leaned in slightly and took another bite, "mm, i'd love to. that's where i got my couch. you know, the one we spent our first night together on." he teased, "but i'm thinking of getting a bigger desk for my at home office."

Ariya Chakri-Langley

"A party with our friends sounds nice. And your best friend is the mayor? Wow, I'm dating someone with connections," Ari teased, nudging him playfully. The thought of meeting more people important to him made her nervous, but since he was important to her, she would do it. She wanted to be part of his world, to know the people he cared about. "I'd love to meet Irza, too."

When his hand ran along her side, shivers ran through her body. She moved closer, almost instinctively. "Is that so? Your honesty is very flattering, so please continue being honest with me," she teased as she fed him another bite of sandwich. She chuckled, her cheeks reddening as she thought about their night together. "I hope you're not letting your clients sit on that sofa," she laughed, leaning in to steal a kiss. "Okay, it's set then, we're going to Ikea this weekend. We’ll make sure you get a bigger desk and then break it in together." She winked.

Pearce Callahan.

“I hope I’m not unloading too much on you tonight. I genuinely just want you to meet everyone that’s important to me because you’re important to me.” Pearce was definitely falling for her and the people in his life knew how serious that was for him. “I know he’ll love you. You really don’t have to worry about anything.” He reassured, his eyes scanning over her face.

“Well, in that case,” he started and leaned toward her to peck her lips, “you’re awfully sexy,” he paused to kiss her cheek, “and intelligent,” he added and shifted to kiss her other cheek, “and let’s not forget amazing in bed.” He teased her softly. Pearce wanted to make sure she felt as special as she was. Laughing as she did, he shook his head. “I’m trying not to even let my friends sit on it. I don’t want to have to explain to them as to why.” He returned the sweet kiss and let out a him, his forehead leaning against hers. “I like the sound of that. There’s something quite exciting about christening the surfaces of both of our houses.”

Ariya Chakri-Langley

"You're not. It is a little sudden, but you're my boyfriend. I would be more worried if you don't want anyone knowing about me." She ran her fingers through his hair, loving how he seemed to melt just for her. She snuggled closer, breathing in his scent. "I'm excited to meet your friends, especially Irza, since he’s special to you. It means a lot that you want to include me in your life like this." She hummed.

His sweet kisses and compliments made her blush deepen. She felt cherished and desired in a way she hadn't experienced before. "You certainly know how to make a girl feel special," she murmured, returning his kisses with equal fervor. "And just so we’re clear, you're not so bad yourself in all those departments." Sex was a given for them now. It was only natural that they would want to christen all of the surfaces of their home. "That's what I think too. Although we would have to sanitize all the surfaces after the christening." She chuckled. “While we’re at it, I’d like to do it in a bathtub. Never done that before. Could be fun.”

Pearce Callahan.

"exactly. if i were trying to hide you then that's something you should worry about but," pearce's fingers tucked some of her dark hair behind her ear, "i'm proud to have you as my girlfriend." he added. it was true. she was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time and he was genuinely happy. he had almost forgot what it felt like to be happy. "you're special to me too. i want all the special people in my life to meet each other." he added, lips pressing into her forehead.

"'course i do. i use my charm when i can, which was hardly ever up until you came along." he didn't have a reason to use it but once he knew that he felt something for her, it was all over, and he knew he'd do what he can to make things happen between them. he chuckled, "you're probably right. maybe we should stock up on clorox wipes." he joked and then his eyebrows raised in response, "oh yeah? and what other places would you like to do it in? i'll keep a mental note and make them all come true."

Ariya Chakri-Langley

Never in her life has a man made her feel this way. Pearce cherished and valued her, while most would have ran far away. His patience with her urged her to be kinder—not just to him, but everyone she encountered. "I'm proud to be your girlfriend, too," she murmured, leaning into his touch. "And it means so much that you want to include me." She placed a soft kiss on his jaw, feeling her heart thundering behind her ribcage. Ari already knew she was a goner with this one. "You know, your charm is pretty irresistible, I'm glad I get to be on the receiving end of it now."

His joke about Clorox wipes made her chuckle. Leave it to him to make make a joke. Ariya laughed out loud and gently shoved Pearce's chest. "You're a goofball, but I like that about you. You're not wrong though, we should stock up on Clorox wipes.—Well, since you asked…" she purred, leaning in close to his ear. "I've always wanted to try the beach at night. And maybe on a flight?" She pulled back, watching his reaction with a grin.

Pearce Callahan.

he beamed at her words. Pearce knew that she was happy. That was something she made very clear but to hear that she was proud to be his girlfriend was something else. In fact, he was definitely aware of the fact that she made him feel like a teenager all over again. As she leaned in to kiss his jaw, his hand slid from her hip to the small of her back to hold her body closer to his. It was an innocent gesture. He really just wanted her to be closer to him.

He chuckled along with her. “Ay, I’m serious. If we need to sanitize things after we start christening surfaces then that’s the easiest way to do it and the most effective.” He allowed her to lean close to him, his curiosity peaking as she spoke. “Yeah? Maybe we’ll have to make our way back out here after the sun goes down.” He breathed out, a smirk playing on his lips. “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t imagined taking you on my desk at work.” He breathed out, dark eyes on hers. If they were being honest about fantasies, he assumed he may as well tell her.

Ariya Chakri-Langley

Given the chance, she would love nothing more than to stay like this for a while—in Pearce's arms as they enjoyed the summer afternoon. Her heart was already telling her what she knew all along, it was only her brain that worried about this being too good to be true. Logic told her Pearce wouldn't hint about someday marrying her, if he didn't see a future for them. Yet the hesitation was still there.

His words about taking her on his desk made her breath catch. Ariya leaned in, her lips brushing against his ear. "I’m not at all surprised by the way your mind works. This is why you’re a Doctor," she whispered, chuckling a little. She pulled back slightly, meeting his gaze. Her eyes sparkled with mischief and affection. "You know, I'm starting to think our picnic might have to wait," she teased, running her fingers through his hair. "We seem to have some… urgent matters to attend to first." She smiled like the Cheshire cat and said, "Or we could just stay here until it gets dark."

Pearce Callahan.

he was convinced that he could stay like this forever. As far as he was concerned, they were the only two people to exist on the beach right now. She had his complete attention and he couldn’t help but enjoy how close she was to him. Her scent filled his nose and his hand rubbed small circles on her back. God, he couldn’t be happier than he was when he was with her.

He chuckled softly as she spoke, “and since you’re a doctor too, does that mean you’re interested in doing that?” Pearce spoke lowly, a grin making its way onto his face as she leaned back to meet his eyes. “I think you might be right,” he paused, nodding at what she said next, “we could do that and then follow up with a shower together. I’m going to say it now, there’s no way I’m keeping my hands to myself.” He teased.

Ariya Chakri-Langley

Her heart thundered in her chest as she gazed into his eyes—-the heat of his hand on her back sending shivers down her spine. She bit her lip, trying to contain her smile. She leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his jaw. "Well, since my boyfriend is doing it, it's only fair for me to join in as well. Can't have you doing things on your own, can I? I'm very interested in exploring that particular scenario. For scientific purposes, of course."

She pulled back slightly, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Staying here until dark sounds perfect. And a shower after? You're speaking my language." She continued to idly run her fingers through his hair. "I wouldn't want you to keep your hands to yourself anyway. Where's the fun in that?" Shifting in his arms, she felt content in his arms. Wild considering most men annoyed her. They were either too detached, or something about them would annoy her. This one was perfect for her, though. More importantly, she was equally invested in the relationship as he was.

Pearce Callahan.

he couldn't help but smile. god, she was exactly what the was looking for and he couldn't believe that he managed to find a partner as perfect as she was. it was almost as if she was a figment of his imagination, but he was sure he wasn't crazy. he was just lucky. "mm, that's what i was hoping you'd say, my love. i think we should definitely work on making some of our dreams come true, don't you?"

chuckling in response to her words, "there wouldn't be any fun. i'm glad we agree on that much because there's no way in hell i'm going to behave myself as long as you're around me with no clothes on." unless she genuinely asked him to and then he would respect her wishes. he played with the ends of her hair, eyes on hers. he took a deep breath, "have i ever told you how beautiful you are? i'm so lucky that you're mine and i'm very aware of that."

Ariya Chakri-Langley

She had never been one to fall easily for anyone, always keeping her guard up and her emotions in check. But this man, with his charming smile and gentle touch, had somehow managed to break through her defenses. His suggestion of making their dreams come true left her smiling from cheek to cheek. "That's an excellent idea," she murmured, her voice low and teasing. "We should definitely explore those dreams thoroughly.”

His comment about not behaving himself around her forced laughter from her lips. "Good. I wouldn't want you to behave anyway. Where's the fun in that?" She shifted slightly in his lap, enjoying the closeness between them. Her eyes closed as he played with her hair, the gentle motion soothing her usually racing thoughts. "You have, but it's good to hear it again," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. Her lips grazed his before she added, "I'm lucky to be with you too. You're too good to me."

Pearce Callahan.

to open his heart to someone the way he had with ariya was something he never thought he would do against after his divorce but god, she made it worth it. pearce had been so afraid to get hurt again but he trusted that his girlfriend wouldn't do that to him. "i think you're absolutely right. you should start making a list, baby girl so that we make sure we get all of them done." not that he was in a rush by any means but he was looking forward to seeing what else she had in mind.

smiling as she spoke again, he took in a deep breath. god, she was amazing. his hands moving over her curves in an affectionate manner. there was something about being this close to her that made him feel at ease. "well, get used to it because this is something i'll definitely be reminding you regularly." he assured and leaned forward to kiss her once more. this girl really had his heart and he wouldn't have it any other way.

COMPLETED

he knew that wasn't all their relationship was about and he enjoyed any time he got with her. at the end of the day, as long as he had her by his side then he was perfectly content. it was weird how attached he managed to get to her already but he knew that's what made her special. he knew the moment the shift in their relationship happened that she was going to be an important part of his life and well, she was. "well, how's a massage instead? i could rub your shoulders and help you relax."

he shook his head at her next comment, "that's okay. you don't have to be embarrassed about that. you're allowed to be tired. i just want you next to me." maybe that sounded a little clingy or maybe he was being too forward but even if that were true, at least he was being honest. "you're good at what you do and i know how much you love it. i'm glad that you have a job that you enjoy." as long as she was happy with what she was doing, he was happy for her. as they arrived, he climbed out and got the basket before going to open the door for her. his hand immediately grabbed hers and he nodded ahead to an empty patch. "that looks like a good spot. it's away from the bustle of the beach."

[quicksilverownsmysoul]

Imagine painting Marc's nails. It's been a rough week for both of you and you just wanna unwind so you stick on Titanic or a similar romance movie and paint his nails. Marc insists on black but you paint little gold crescents extra carefully on each nail and his heart just swells.

Yes!! Y’all would watch all these cheesy rom coms and he would make fun of the plot but he’d secretly adore them!! ( I chose miss congeniality because Marc is literally Erick Matthews from that movie)

After Hours With You

Summary: You paint Marc’s nails while you unwind with a Sandra Bullock rom com

Warnings: none, pure fluff

“Please not that one again.” Marc sighed as you held up the dvd for Miss Congeniality.

“Come on.” You smiled, waving the disc as bent down to pop the disc into the player. “I know that you love Sandra Bullock rom coms.”

Marc scoffed as the movie started up, the trailers beginning for movies that aired more than 20 years ago. “I do not.”

You smiled as you sat down, throwing your legs over his lap, he set one arm over your legs, pulling you closer while the other was slung behind the couch in a hap hazard manner. ��You do, I saw how invested you were in the proposal when we saw it a couple weeks ago.” He rolled his eyes at your some what true statement.

You leaned over him to get to the coffee table on the side of the couch. He batted your hand away and handed you what you were reaching for, two bottles of nail polish and a small file. “Thank you.”

He pointed to his cheek, tapping it with two fingers, a slight smirk on his lips, knowing that you knew what he wanted. You rolled your eyes as you pressed a kiss there, his eyes closed in content. He smirked, peeking one eye open at you. “You’re welcome.”

He turned back to the screen as you shook the bottles slightly to freshen the polish. He let out a groan as the movie began, having seen this one three times prior at your insistence. “Remind me why out of all her movies this is the one we always watch the most.”

“Cause he reminds me of you.” You responded.

“What? Who?” He asked, one of his eyebrows raising.

You didn’t answer right away, you just held out your hand expectantly. He let out an amused huff and gave you his hand, you smiled and opened the small bottle of black polish. “Eric Matthews.”

“Remind me who that is again.” He pressed, eyes shifting between you and the starting movie.

“Benjamin Bratt. You know the grumpy FBI guy who pretends to be all tough but is a real softy for Sandra Bullocks character.”

“I am nothing like him.” Marc sneered and you stifled a laugh as it resembled the exact expression Eric Matthews was giving Gracie, Sandra Bullock’s character.

“Okay.” You yielded with a smile. “Just shut up and watch the movie so I can do your nails in peace.” He opened his mouth but you cut him off. “I know only black polish nothing more.” He nodded and turned back to the screen.

You recited the movie lines from memory as you did his nails, which earned you a shush from Marc who was more invested than he cared to admit. But he spared a glance at you to see how you were coming along. His heart nearly burst at the sight he was greeted with. You had finished the black coat and were now delicately painting small golden crescents on each nail.

You felt his gaze on you and looked up. “I know you said just black but I thought this would look nice.” He smiled at your consideration, his free hand coming up to cup your face. He moved close till his lips were on your. You melted into his touch, careful not to spill the nail polish as he pressed closer into you. You knew he was trying to tell you how much that small gesture meant to him in the only way he knew how. He always said he wasn’t good with words but he made up with it in other ways

He pulled away reluctantly, warm breath ticking your face. You smirked at him and his face scrunched up. “What?”

“You think I’m gorgeous, you wanna kiss meee. You wanna hug me, you want to loooove me...” You overacted as you spoke, hands coming to roam his chest and pull him closer by the collar of his shirt. He laughed at your imitation of Gracie Hart from the movie. You pulled him till he was hovering over you. “You wanna smooch me.”

“Shut up.” He laughed, moving to kiss down your neck, you could feel his smile on your skin. You felt him relax fully into you, head coming to rest on your chest as he finished with one final kiss on your lips. You let your free hand come up to play with his hair, untangling the knots in his hair and softly scratching at his scalp. You pressed a soft kiss to his head and sat up much to his protest.

“I still need to finish your nails.” He moved to where he was laying with his head on your lap, movie long forgotten as he starred up at you while you worked. You started on his other hand with the same delicate hand as before. He never felt so loved as he did in this moment.

Marc liked to pretend that he hated these late Saturday nights. When you put on some romantic movie and held out your hand expectantly so you could paint his nails. But he loved them more than he could ever let you know. You always knew how to bring him back down to earth and out of his own head after a rough week, he smiled as you caught his gaze, returning it. He really didn’t deserve you.

[bucky-bucket-barnes]

Hiya! I saw that your requests are open so I thought I'd send one over! Could you possibly write a Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader set during tfatws where the reader (who also an Avenger/SHEILD agent) is helping Bucky and Sam on the mission but gets attacked by John Walker [around when Episode 5 occurs,] and he seriously injures her [and then Bucky loses it on him]? Just like, A LOT OF ANGST PLEASE! Thanks so much for taking my request into consideration! Take care :)

Control

Summary: John Walker makes the dire mistake of messing with Bucky’s girl. This misstep causes a major fight to break out between the two, ending in nothing but blood and rage.

Pairing: bucky barnes x avenger!reader

Warnings: tfatws spoilers, brief mention of vomit in the beginning, depictions of violence, swearing, hurt!reader, hurt comfort, major angst

Word Count: 3.4k

masterlist | 2k writing challenge | library

It wasn’t often that you felt like the world was spiraling. The last time you could recall the world descending into such a sight was when you had had too much to drink at a friend’s birthday party, Bucky’s hands wrapped around your hair as you emptied the contents of your stomach over a toilet bowl the next day.

As clear as the day, you remembered looking over at him, head throbbing, seeing a slight grin cemented on his face. Fatigue still rimmed his eyes in faint shades of purple, having endured a late night and now an eventful morning.

“What the hell is so funny, Barnes?” you grumbled, half teasing, too hungover to bite your tongue.

“I just like your company, that’s all,” he answered quietly.

“Dork,” you snorted, a small laugh leaving your lips. You were curled over on the bathroom floor, mascara running, outfit messied from the night before and he was staring at you like you’d peppered the stars in the sky yourself. With his hands still affectionately holding your hair back, you felt safe upon the linoleum floors.

Another time the world spun this fast was when you ran a dangerously high fever, Bucky cradled up by your bedside waiting on your needs for the whole week. Not a complaint or huff escaped his lips as he slowly nursed your shivering body back to health. Under his tough exterior, he had an internal need to care for something, someone. It’s the kind of habit one earns from being the eldest child or perhaps one that was picked up from aiding his sickly friend back in Brooklyn to health during his younger years.

Even as you slept through the day, he remained as a quiet presence, staying in the room to read a book when you didn’t occupy his immediate attention. Although you weren’t much for conversation due to your condition, he enjoyed your company. He studied the tired yawn that’d escape your lips as you awoke with a grimace and the soft goodnight you’d mumble before drifting off. Although the early autumn sun beamed into the room, inviting him out for a lovely day, he knew next to you was where he wanted to be.

Each one of those times, Bucky was always there. One flesh, one bionic hand swooping you up into a comforting embrace. He was a man of few words, so instead his actions took their place. A light kiss on the forehead whispered a gentle I love you, a reassuring squeeze while your hands were intertwined assured I’m here to stay.

The world was spinning once again and, this time, Bucky wasn’t there.

The scene unfolded too rapidly. Your trio was too late to stop Walker in his pursuit, the edge of the iconic vibranium shield plummeting down into a man’s throat. The sight was awful, but the worst part were the sounds. The separation of flesh, the cracking of bone. If you even dared to strain your ears enough, you could make out the slap of blood against the asphalt road.

Walker was swift to leave the scene after that, everyone too busy marinating in their shock to respond in an instant. It was something out of a movie, a scene you’d never conjure in your most twisted dreams.

You shook yourself off, Sam, Bucky, and you splitting up in order to find Walker more efficiently.

“Call when you find him, okay?” Sam breathed out, talking at a fast pace to make up for time lost you spent standing in horror.

“You’re coming with me,” Bucky instructed, taking your hand in his.

“No, I’m not,” you responded, pulling your arm back, “We’ll cover more ground splitting up.”

“This isn’t up for debate,” he barked back, eyes wide with conviction.

Your head reeled back in surprise. He had never yelled at you before, barely raising his voice in the most heated arguments you two got into. His face, usually a chiseled statue of stoicism, couldn’t disguise the fear running through him in that moment.

“Please,” he beckoned, voice softening ever so slightly. Perhaps, if he said it with enough conviction, you’d stay with him.

His pupils were nervous, pleading. This wasn’t a familiar look Bucky wore, reserving most of his suffering for more private moments; late into the night, the steady sound of your breathing and the moonlight to keep him company.

“I’ll be alright,” you reassured, squeezing his hand, “but we have to go. Now.”

With that, your trio split up in search of Walker, pursuing all possible paths you could have taken.

The cold rain pattered down onto your face as you searched around the area. Upon following a trail of muddied footprints, you were led to what appeared to be a row of emptied warehouse buildings. Boots sinking into the mud, you took a careful step forward, half anticipating Walker to be just around any corner you turned.

Just as the world became quiet, a bellow of agony sounded to your right, your head immediately snapping in the direction of such a pained cry. You’d heard wails parallel to that one, a certain torment only emerging from an untimely death. Lemar.

You afforded John Walker the largest sum of patience and understanding you could, but try as you might, you could never bring yourself to enjoy his company all too much. Even still, your heart ached not for Walker, but for a man who had just lost his best friend.

Hand gently moving to your ear piece, you spoke quietly into the chip. “I found him, I’ll send you guys my location now.”

“Just stay low until we get there,” Bucky responded. The small sense of relief he felt hearing from you quickly was eclipsed by the fear he felt in that moment; you were alone with Walker.

“I’m just going to try to stall him. He’s stopped to catch his breath, I think, but he’ll move again. I’ll try to keep him here.”

“Be careful,” Sam warned, already knowing there was no talking you out of your plan.

Before Bucky could protest, you muted your ear piece and slowly went to approach the building, heart beat catching in your throat.

They’ll be here any moment, we didn’t separate that far. I just need to give them some time, that’s all.

As you crept further into the empty building, you spotted Walker, kneeling on the hard concrete. Sunlight streamed through the broken windows, the bright patches illuminating the metallic accents of his Captain America suit.

“He killed Lemar.” He didn’t stand up, he didn’t even turn his head towards your direction. He wasn’t offering an apology for his actions, he was only giving you what he found to be justification.

You halted, sure you had crept in quiet as a mouse. Stealth was out of the question now.

You took a slow step forward. “I’m sorry about-”

“No,” he groaned, voice in a low tone. “You don’t get to be sorry. You didn’t know him.”

“You’re hurting,” you whispered like a mother hoping to soothe her aching child with a few words.

Another step forward.

“You don’t know what I am!” He now shot up from his position close to the ground. Your attempt at comfort was met with a hostile reaction, a vexed pair of eyes shooting daggers where you stood. He stood a mere five feet in front of you.

You stopped, only slightly nodding. No matter what you said, he’d only grow more agitated with each advance towards him. All there was left to do was to stall. You nervously swallowed, waiting for his next movement in this odd sequence you two were entangled in.

He took slow steps towards you, like an animal stalking its prey. Each movement was sedated, deliberate with intentions of startling you. So, there you remained, feet nailed to the ground, not giving into his intimidation tactics. Despite your collected façade, you could feel your pulse pounding throughout your whole body.

They’ll be here any minute. He’ll be here any minute.

“You think you’re better than me? You think you’re so fucking tough, huh? Yet here you are, paralyzed without your little boyfriend and his babysitter.” He was becoming alarmingly close to your face. In spite of your better judgment, you momentarily feared if he bared his teeth enough, he might muster the gall to bite your head off.

Your eyes remained carefully trained on him. Words were pointless, they would only provoke him further, but the silence was so strange to simmer in.

“You’re not taking my shield from me.” He snarled one last remark before pouncing for your throat.

His movements were like clockwork as he reached for your neck in fit of rage. Thick fingers now closed around your airways, using his strength to lift your feet off the ground. Your nails went to claw at his hands, but he wasn’t budging, eyes glazed over with some nasty spell of grief.

In a last ditch effort to not get choked out by Walker, your dangling feet reeled back to kick him as hard as you could. Landing a swift kick on his groin, he dropped you abruptly with a groan. Reaching for your gun on instinct, you aimed it right at Walker’s stomach as he regained himself.

“Don’t think I won’t shoot.” Your breath was still ragged from your shortened air supply, eyes watery from the tears pooling in them. Your finger rested comfortably on the trigger, ready to fire in a moment's notice.

All he did was laugh. He cackled at your threat like you were a mere child he was dismissing for empty claims.

“Ooh, looks like princess does have a spine,” he teased, regaining his stance. Your aim never faltered, eyes narrowing in challenge.

Like a wild bull, he charged for you without another thought causing you to send bullets flying towards his direction. They ricocheted off his shield, each hit sending an eerie song throughout the empty warehouse.

As he made his approach, only a few inches away from you once again, you decided to aim for his foot, sending bullets down onto his shoes in hopes of slowly in pursuit. This did not only fail to stop him, but only seemed to fuel his irritation even more as he attacked.

The steady footing that was giving you some form of reassurance was lost as he jumped atop of you, forcing you down onto the ground. Before you could fire at his chest, he took your gun and sent it flying across the warehouse, your last defense now a distant echo lost among the old machinery.

Bloodied knuckles punches rained down like an angry thunderstorm upon your face, blurring your vision and disorienting your hearing. Realistically speaking, he wasn’t angry with you on a personal level, but you were the only avenue to take out his grief on. So, there you laid, hands flailing in a fruitless attempt to stop him.

Pools of warm metallic liquid formed in your mouth, clogging your throat and causing a nasty cough to emerge from your lungs. This seemed to satiate his lust for blood, but it only further fueled his need to cause more suffering.

From the corner of his eyes, his lazily discarded shield glinted with rain water and drying blood. You noticed his shift in eye contact. You couldn’t move. There was no use in screaming. You were left to the mercy of his better judgment at that moment.

He’ll be here.

Just a few more moments.

He’ll be here.

“Walker, whatever you’re thinking of,” you gargled, pressing your cheek to the concrete in an attempt to avoid choking on the blood in your mouth, “You can’t come back from that.”

He deliberated for a few seconds, maybe even a few hours. The ringing in your ears made it harder and harder to distinguish the time as it grew and grew with each new bruise. If your vision hadn’t become so clouded, you could have sworn a flash of guilt went over his face for a quick second.

He peered down at your bloodied face, the nasty cuts and bruises that were bound to leave an ugly mark for weeks to come. Wet, labored breaths left your mouth, lips coated in a bright red, the velvet hue dripping down the sides of your face.

Only for a second did he appear to be contemplating mercy. But you knew better. His hand groped for the shield, eyes dilated with adrenaline, but anger seeming to fade from his movements. All that was left to swim in his eyes was the sting of survivor’s guilt before he raised the shield above his head once more.

Bang.

Maybe it was an act of sympathy.

Bang.

Perhaps he was so far gone, he thought finishing the job would be easier.

Bang.

He’d be here soon.

Bang

He had to be here soon.

-

Bucky hadn’t prayed since before the war. You see enough things, you watch enough people suffer, and the existence of a God seems excessively cruel, unlikely.

Panic clouded his thoughts as he bolted towards your location. Along the whole trip, Sam assured him that you had a good head on your shoulders, that you'd be okay.

There he stood at the open entrance of the warehouse, one body sprawled on the ground, another huddled in the corner, rocking back and forth. Sam stood next to Bucky, glancing over at his friend as they approached closer and closer to the two bodies.

“John, what happened?” Sam decided to take the mantle of speaker up, this time.

The world froze for Bucky as he approached you, blistered feet carrying him swiftly towards your body. Blood leaked from the mouth he had just kissed this morning, it was spilling from the nose he just pecked last night, and it was oozing from the temples he just held this afternoon.

A gash. It left a dent in your forehead, never ceasing in its seemingly endless supply of blood. He knew Walker and Sam were talking, maybe even getting somewhere, but it didn’t matter. Their conversation was mere white noise in the background of his horror.

“Y/N?” His voice quivered as he spoke out.

You remained in silence, eyes still closed, one almost swollen shut from a nasty bruise gifted from Walker just minutes before.

Shaking, his flesh hand went to take one of yours, fingers lightly pressing to your pulse, praying the familiar beat of your heart would ring throughout his body once more.

A faint pulse tapped against his fingers, a wave of relief washing over him. He was scared to hold you, a porcelain figurine one more touch away from shattering into millions of pieces. His hand went to cup the side of your face free of any major injuries as he burned.

He needed to feel you, to make sure you wouldn’t fade into ash the moment he’d look away. Ripping off a piece of his sleeve, he placed a makeshift bandage around your forehead, hoping to slow down the bleeding.

“My sweet girl, what did he do to you?” he whispered through a pained expression, trying best as he could to wipe the blood rimming your mouth.

The world turned red. Help was on its way. Bucky did all he could for you in that moment, physically. He pressed a soft kiss to the back of your hand before standing up, face a bloodcurdling level of calm in that moment.

“Did you do this?” His eyes were still trained on the girl in front of him, still registering what happened.

“She-”

“Answer the fucking question.” Bucky snapped his head in the direction of Walker. Even Sam took a step back from the sudden shift in his friend. He was upset as well to see you in pain, but he was trying his best to remain composed; he didn’t want to risk matters becoming worse.

“We don’t want a fight,” Sam interjected.

“I do,” Bucky snapped, walking up to Walker, challenging him to make the first move.

He stood there in silence for a moment. You didn’t intimidate him much, smaller in stature and presumably less experienced than him. Bucky, though? He’d never say it aloud, but he terrified him. His lack of speech, the way he knew how to stare in the soul of anyone he encountered, it was downright unsettling.

Part of Walker briefly regretted not killing you and taking off. It wouldn’t have mattered, anyways. Nothing felt like it mattered anymore. He’d be gone, and you wouldn’t be left to tell what happened.

Bucky swung for Walker’s jaw, the anger of a wild animal taking over his instincts. He didn’t think of the consequences to come for enacting such a fight, but he couldn’t care. The only thing that hung upon his already heavy shoulders was vengeance in its purest form.

The two sparred for only a few moments before Sam joined in, some anger sizzling within his chest cavity. They ganged up on the blonde, ripping the shield from him and slowly stripping him of his armor.

The tables had turned. Walker was now pinned on the ground, at the mercy of a very pissed Bucky, Sam watching in the background. He recognized Bucky needed to finish this alone for his own sake.

“She provoked me!” Walker rationed through gritted teeth, trying to conceal the pain he was in.

“Liar,” Bucky growled back.

With that, he let loose on the man beneath him. Walker put up a valiant fight, but he remained no match for Bucky’s vengeance. One moment he was throwing a punch, the next Bucky was catching it, twisting his arm until a rippling of cracking noises was hard.

Though his arm was now shattered and he yelped in pain, this did not quench the wrath pulsing through Bucky. One punch came down. Then another. Then a dozen more to follow, each hit marking his face with a new hue of blue and purple.

“Bucky, I think that’s enough,” Sam called out.

Bucky couldn’t tell what he was saying. Honestly, he could barely hear over his own thoughts.

I was supposed to be there.

Bam.

She needed me.

Bam.

She needed me, and I wasn’t there.

Bam.

This is my fault.

Bam.

But this is your price to pay.

A pair of arms wrapped around from behind the super soldier, pulling him off of Walker. He had been unconscious since the second hit, body going limp, broken arm laying mangled by his side.

Bucky's chest rose and fell with a sporadic rhythm, his anger boiling over into guilt. He looked up at Sam, shield by his side, covered in the blood of two different people now.

“I wasn’t done,” he breathed, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“I know. The medics will be here in a few seconds, though.”

As the sirens sounded in the distance, he inched towards your body, still unconscious. If he tried hard enough, he could imagine that you were just sleeping, that you’d wake up any moment and assure him he’s fussing over nothing.

Following you like a second shadow, he stayed by you in the ambulance. He waited like an abandoned dog in the waiting room, hoping for any update on your condition. Restless nights were spent in a nearby hotel.

Bucky yearned for your touch once more. His body never found comfort in the many pillows he hoarded, he never found true warmth despite the dozens of blankets he had piled on. It was like his other half was missing, leaving him to roam this world without ever really living in it.

When they allowed visitors, he remained perched by your bedside. Often he sat there, never letting you leave from his sight until his eyes succumbed to fatigue. Sometimes he just sat there silently, staring out the window and admiring the other couples that strolled by.

I’m sorry we can’t have that, he’d whispered, the only response he ever received being your heart monitor providing a steady beep.

When your eyes finally peeled open, it was at the crack of dawn about a week later. The new sunlight was bathing Bucky in a soft hue of rose and sherbet orange. He laid asleep, head resting at the edge of your bed, the rest of his body slumped forward in the uncomfy hospital chair he was provided.

Though in a deep slumber, his hands remained in a confident grip around your own, the rough curve of palms being the first thing you felt.

“Bucky?” you crooned softly, testing if he was awake.

Half asleep, his eyes peered open and a saddened smile formed on his face when he saw you grinning down at him.

“Hey, love. Good to see you awake.”

“I knew you’d find me.”

Guilt. It’s all he knew how to respond with. “I’m sorry. I should have-”

“Shh. You’re here now. That’s all I need.”

“And I’m always going to be here,” he promised, gently taking your hand to kiss it once more.

[radiant-reid]

Comfortable

A/n: this could unintentionally be a part 2 to Tough day

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Genre: a whole lot of fluff

WC: 1.2k

CW: Nothing (??)

"Hi," Spencer murmured, raspy-voiced from the night of sleep he'd just had. Possibly the first adequate amount he'd had in at least a week.

He looked the epitome of soft. Long curls messily tumbling over his forehead. His barely-there facial hair had grown as much as it could in the week she hadn't seen him, which wasn't a lot. High cheekbones, sharp jawline like something holy created by Michelangelo. He didn't leave a chance for any other man to be as beautiful. And, if his pretty face wasn't enough, his personality made it a completely uneven playing field.

Y/n could unquestionably admire him for the rest of her life. And it still wouldn't be long enough.

"Hi, baby boy," Y/n returned, a smile spreading over her face. It was the smile reserved for him. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked, tracing his finger over his pointed features.

Spencer had been considerably upset after his last case. Tears starting the moment he walked in the door and not stopping for an hour afterward.

Spencer nodded slightly. How could he not feel better? His girl was wrapped up in his arms. She would have assumed he wanted it the other way, but Spencer needed to feel her in his arms. It was irrational, but he liked knowing she was safe. He needed to feel her body on top of his, her body weight acting like an anchor to keep him grounded.

"Yeah, thank you," Spencer spoke gently. Y/n was mesmerized by the rising and falling of his chest when he spoke. She still wasn't able to take her glance away from his deep-seated brown eyes.

Y/n held his face in her hands, moving higher, so she was lying fully on top of him. "You never have to thank me, Spence. I'm always here for you." She reassured him, knowing the comfort was something he needed so he could stop thinking about what he'd had to see in the prior days.

She delicately traced down his perfect nose. Giggling when he scrunched it, which made the side of his lips twitch upwards. Pure happiness.

Still, Spencer felt guilty. Y/n was always there for him, no matter what was going on in his life. He couldn't even imagine how terrified he'd feel if their roles were reversed. Seeing Y/n come back from cases heartbroken would feel like a nightmare. Spencer didn't understand how she did it.

"Y/n." He started, his new serious tone drawing Y/n's features into a frown. "I worried I don't tell you how much I love you." Despite being able to memorize them, Spencer was never good with his own words. He could recite hundreds of love poems off by heart, but none of them expressed how he felt. "And I do love you. So much. I'm just not good at showing it." He claimed.

Y/n could see the guilty look on his face. She could tell he felt like he didn't deserve any of the good things in his life, despite all the terrible things he'd gone through.

On top of that, he always felt inexperienced. He'd never seen a happy relationship growing up, and it was something he couldn't learn out of a textbook, so he had no clue if he was doing it right.

"Spencer, honey, you tell me more than enough." She assured him, holding his face in her palms. "And you show me just as much. Seriously, I've never felt more loved in my life. I can tell you're worried you're not doing it right, but you've never done anything wrong." She comforted him, stroking his cheeks. It was unbelievable to her that Spencer ever felt he didn't show her enough love. "I see and hear how much you love me all the time. I can physically feel it." She told him, reaching down to place her hand on his heart.

Spencer nodded at her sadly. "Okay, because I do love you." He continued.

"I love you too, baby. I'm going to make us breakfast, my love," Y/n announced, not particularly wanting to leave Spencer for a second but hungry.

Spencer shook his head. "Wait, kiss, please." He adorably whined out his request.

Y/n couldn't say no to someone looking as cute as he did, leaning forwards to gently place their lips together. It was sweet, sensitive and full of nothing but love. Everything Spencer needed. Everything Y/n needed.

"Shower and then come to the living room." She gently instructed as she rolled off him.

Spencer nodded, moving so he could get out of their warm bed. "What are you making?" He turned back to ask her.

"Your favorite, of course. French toast." She answered.

Spencer had one last request. "Can you do the thing?" He asked shyly.

Y/n smiled at how adorably childish he was. "Of course." She agreed.

He insisted it made him feel better when she cut the french toast with Halloween cookie cutters so he could eat the little pumpkins, ghosts, witch hats, and bats.

Once breakfast had been eaten, it was Spencer's choice of activity. Naturally, that meant reading.

"Can you read it to me?" Spencer asked, holding his book out to her.

Y/n nodded, smiling at how cute he always looked. "Of course." She agreed, taking the book and sitting on the couch, holding open her arms so they could hug.

Spencer shook his head. "Can I braid your hair?" He shyly asked, wanting to be as close to her as possible.

"Yeah." Y/n was more than happy to let him. His soft, gentle fingers did it better than she did anyway. She moved so Spencer could sit behind her on the couch, his height making it easy.

Spencer glided his thin fingers through her strands of hair, carefully braiding it, making sure it wasn't too tight. Y/n read aloud his book, trying not to fumble over any of the big words.

"You know, you could read this so much faster than me?" Y/n commented after finishing a chapter.

She couldn't see, but Spencer shrugged. "I like this, though." He simply told her. Y/n figured the answer was good enough and kept reading. "Alright, all done." He stated, placing a kiss on her hairline.

Y/n ran her finger over the braid. "Wow, it's amazing, Spence. Thank you." She complimented, tilting her head up to look at him.

Spencer smiled at her. "Can it be my turn now?" He timidly requested.

Y/n was happy to oblige. She loved all the hairstyles he had, but the benefit of his long hair was that she could braid it. "Yeah, you are going to have to sit on the floor, though." She told him. "And you have to read."

Spencer quickly scrambled to sit on the floor, taking the book from Y/n. "But I like listening to your voice." He commented with a pout.

Y/n let out a giggle as she parted his hair. "Ah, so there's the real reason." She accused.

Spencer looked up at her like a dear caught in the headlights before smirking. "Maybe." He spoke.

"Okay, stop being cute and read." She instructed, spinning his head back around so start braiding his long brown locks.

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[pregnant-piggy]

The most wonderful time of the year (I)

Remus Lupin x reader, Hogwarts professor AU

this is part of A Very Fictional Christmas

words: 3.7k

warnings: mentions of food and alcohol

A/N: i love this plot and i will be forever dreaming of professor remus. let me know what you think!

“And that is all for today! Now I know tomorrow is the final day of classes before the holidays, but I would really appreciate it if you read chapter seven for tomorrow’s lesson. Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

The students in your class cleaned out their desks and while discussing their plans for the holidays or whining about the homework you had given them they left the classroom one by one. As the last student exited the room, you sighed and sunk into your chair, throwing your wand on the desk in front of you. You rubbed your hands over you face and took a deep breath.

Teaching in the week before the Christmas break was always more difficult than during the rest of the year. However, you couldn’t blame your students; just like them, you couldn’t wait for two weeks off. The holidays at Hogwarts were always the highlight of your year, no matter how sad that sounded.

You had been teaching Advanced Charms for three years at Hogwarts now. Although you were considerably younger than most of the other professors in the staff—some had even taught you when you had been a student—they had been very welcoming and you had found your place along them easily. As a student you had spared little thought to your professors’ private lives, beyond the numerous rumours of course, and it had delighted you to be part of the work-gossip and to learn about McGonagall’s summer house at the beach side and Flitwick’s passion for French pastry.

As professor of Advanced Charms you mostly taught to fourth-years and higher, but it was more than often that Flitwick called you in to help him with his own classes, so your face was familiar to almost all the students at Hogwarts.

With a soft groan you lifted yourself from the chair and cleared the desk. With a flick of your wand the text on the chalkboard disappeared. You collected the papers and books and tucked them under your arm, before you left the classroom.

The decorations in the corridors were as joyful as ever. The suits of armour were decorated with hats and scarves and were singing Christmas songs at the top of their lungs, much to the dislike of professors who had one standing close to their classroom. Mistletoe had been hung from the ceiling and arches, and was avoided by students at all costs. Fir branches decorated the railing of the stairs, filled with ornaments or garlands in the colours of the four houses.

“Look alive, professor,” someone said to you and you whirled around.

Remus was standing with a big smile behind you and you sighed while trying to conjure a smile on your face. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

“Don’t worry,” Remus laughed and he walked up to you. “I’m sure no one else would’ve noticed.”

You gave Remus a thankful smile and walked with him to your room, where you dropped off your books before you’d go to dinner.

Remus had joined the staff this year, as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, after the last one had retired. You knew him from your student years at Hogwarts, but he had been two years ahead of you so you had never really interacted with him. On his first day, however, he had stepped at you and told you that he recognised you. As the two youngest professors you had quickly found a friend in the other and the other professors had laughed as they had said that it was just like having two teenagers in the staff when you were together.

“Tough day?” Remus asked as you walked towards the Great Hall.

“You know how those kids get when the holidays approach,” you said and Remus hummed in agreement. “I almost got into an argument with a fourteen year old over whether or not we should close the window.”

Remus laughed warmly and you glanced at him from the corner of your eye. The golden curls bounced on his head as he moved and you had to resist the sudden urge to reach out and touch them.

You entered the Great Hall as dinner was in full swing and walked with Remus past the tables of students. This year, too, the space had been decorated abundantly. The twelve huge trees stood along the walls of the hall, full to the brim with ornaments and garlands. From the ceiling little snowflakes whirled down, disappearing into nothing just above the students’ heads. Around the window edges glittering garlands hung that reflected the sun when it was out. Now, however, it was dark and they glistened in the shimmering light from the floating candles above the tables.

During your dinner you talked with Flitwick about the exams for after the holidays and listened as Remus talked with Sprout about her Christmas plans. Finally you relaxed a little after a long day and by the time dinner was over you had let go of the frustration and were laughing at Remus’ animated story on one of his students.

After dinner you were walking back with Remus to your rooms, that were not far apart. A few students lingered in the corridors after dinner, but most had probably gone to their common rooms, enjoying one of the last nights before their friends would head home for the holidays.

“So are you coming to the Christmas drink tomorrow?” Remus asked when you arrived at your room.

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it!” you said and Remus smiled widely. “That and the first day of the summer are the only two days you’ll see Minerva drunk and believe me, you don’t want to miss out on that!”

Remus laughed and shook his head, while you opened your door. “Good night, Remus.”

}(){ }(){ }(){

You were sitting on the edge of a student’s desk as you talked with Marianne and Quincy, two sixth-years. Behind you a group of students was playing hangman on the chalkboard and in the corner of the room the others were talking loudly about everything but Advanced Charms.

After half an hour of serious class, you had stopped and given your students the freedom to do whatever they liked. Thus, you were talking with two of your students while the group behind you cheered as someone had guessed a right letter.

“And professor Lupin was at Hogwarts with you, wasn’t he?” Marianne asked, as you were talking about some of the professors.

“He was two years ahead of me, but yes,” you said. “We never talked actually, but he said he recognised me when he first got here.”

Quincy and Marianne smirked at each other and you laughed. “What does that mean?”

“Well, come on, professor,” Quincy said, raising his eyebrows.

“What?”

“It’s kind of obvious he likes you,” Marianne chuckled.

You started laughing and shook your head. “Don’t be absurd, Remus doesn’t like me.”

“Everyone sees it, you know?” Marianne said. “He is always around you—”

“—and when he mentions you he smiles,” Quincy added, leaning over his desk a little. “During dinner he is always looking at you.”

“And we always see him waiting for you at the end of the day.”

“Yeah! After McGonagall and Hooch, you’re our favourite couple!”

You huffed smilingly and shook your head. From outside the classroom the bell rung, indicating that the class was over. You got up from the desk and said, before turning back to the front of the class, “Well, I am sorry to disappoint you, but professor Lupin and I are not a couple.”

Marianne and Quincy shot each other a smile before they nodded at you and you rolled your eyes with a laugh.

“Everyone, happy holidays! I will see you all in two weeks! Enjoy your break, but please don’t forget the exams!”

The students left the classroom quickly to go to their next class and within a minute you were surrounded by silence. The sixth-years had been your last class of the day, but you had some papers left to grade and you wanted to do that now, rather than during the holidays.

You walked through the corridors to your room and passed Remus’ classroom when the sweet scent of chocolate filled your nose. You stopped and turned around, following the scent back to the door of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Silently you pushed open the door.

Inside everyone was sitting with a mug on their desk, while watching Remus give a lecture on vampires. Instead of heading back to your own room, you stepped inside and closed the door behind you. You sat on one of the empty desks against the wall and listened to Remus.

You loved the way Remus told stories. It didn’t matter if he was talking about his own childhood or giving a lecture like now, he always made sure his stories stayed interesting. He had a calm voice and often you found yourself listening to him even if he wasn’t at all talking to you.

Remus was telling his class the story of Tarillo, the supposed vampire minister, when he noticed you sitting in the back of the room. He stopped talking and a small smile appeared on his face.

“It seems like we have gathered an extra listener,” he said to the class and the students all turned around to look at you.

“You cannot expect me to not enter when I smell hot chocolate,” you laughed and put your hands up in surrender.

Remus shook his head with a laugh and continued with his story, but the entire time his eyes kept flashing back to you. You listened with great interest to his lecture, answering his looks with a smile of encouragement. From the corner of your eye you could see a few heads turning to you every once in a while.

After the class, you walked up to Remus’ desk, watching as he collected the mugs. Moving aside some papers you sat on the desk, your fingers curling around the edge.

“Hot chocolate, really?” you asked with a grin.

“At least I actually taught my students something,” Remus said, his tone indicating that he knew that you hadn’t even tried to teach today, and then he turned around to you. “There is some left. Would you like some?”

You nodded and Remus filled two mugs with the warm drink, handing one to you. He leaned next to you against the desk and closed his eyes in delight as he took a sip from his drink. When he lowered his mug he had a smudge of chocolate above his lip and you giggled.

“You have some… yeah,’ you said as Remus tried to lick the chocolate away. “Here, let me.”

You reached out and wiped the chocolate away with your thumb, resting the palm of your hand shortly on Remus’ cheek. Remus’ golden eyes stared into yours and you lingered before you withdrew you hand. The warm feeling that filled your body you feared had nothing to do with the hot drink in your hands. Remus smiled thankfully at you and then turned to look ahead of him, but you didn’t fail to see the blush that crept on his face.

Cursing yourself for letting your mind go there, you finished the rest of your drink in silence and hopped off the desk after.

“I have some work to do before tonight,” you said, giving Remus a smile. “Thank you for the drink, Remus.”

“Of course,” Remus smiled and nodded at you. “Any time.”

}(){ }(){ }(){

The corridors were busy with students who were running late for dinner, as you squeezed yourself through the crowd to reach the teachers’ lounge. Twice you nearly collided with a student, but you didn’t blame them. The last dinner before the Christmas break was always the busiest one, for most of the students would be going home the next day.

The teachers’ lounge wasn’t decorated like the rest of the castle yet. Usually it was left to the professors themselves and that meant that until the holidays the room was just as plain as the rest of the year. However, when you entered the room, professor Vector and Flitwick were desperately trying to set up a tree while arguing about what to put where.

“No, no, it definitely has to go on the right!” Vector said, using her wand to summon the decoration from Flitwick’s hand.

“And what do you suggest we put here then?” Flitwick asked, as he took the ornament back.

As Vector came up with a sarcastic answer to his question, you walked to the other side of the room, where you sat down next to Sprout on one of the couches near the fireplace.

“They have been going at it for half an hour now,” she sighed, shaking her head.

You chuckled and looked back at the two professors. “Shouldn’t someone go help them?”

“Oh dear, no!” Sprout cried out. “Rolanda tried to interfere and she nearly got knocked over by a flying Christmas angel!”

You looked over to the corner of the room where Hooch was standing with Pince, casting wary glances at the fighting people near the tree.

“A drink, darling?” Trelawney asked as she sat down on the sofa opposite of you and gave you a bottle of Butterbeer.

Quickly you comforted and talked with your colleagues about the students, their holiday plans, and whether or not the classroom on the third floor should get some sort of heating system for it was always freezing there. Slowly the other professors and the rest of the staff trickled in, and soon the room was filled with people and the arguing from Flitwick and Vector wasn’t audible anymore.

You had seen Remus enter, but you had been talking with Hagrid and after that with Slughorn so you hadn’t had the chance to go up to him. At the thought of doing so, a few jittery nerves appeared in your stomach and you wondered if you had maybe drunk too much already.

When you met eyes with Remus from across the room, it was too late to think of the nerves and you crossed the space to him.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

There was a short silence before Remus asked, “Are Filius and Septima alright?”

Flitwick and Vector had resolved to silence and were now decorating the rest of the tree with grumpy faces.

You chuckled. “Don’t worry, they’re like this every year. They’ll come around soon enough.”

Remus raised his eyebrows as he looked back at the professors and then shook his head before he turned to you with a smile. Your mind flickered back to what Marianne and Quincy had said that afternoon, but you refused to give in to the thoughts. Instead you blinked twice and then stepped closer to Remus.

“So, what’s the gossip?” you whispered.

It was a thing he and you did whenever you had a meeting with most of the professors. With such a big group as this it was impossible not to have quarrels and when everyone was together it was the perfect time to find them. The first time you had done it, it was because you had found out that Flitwick and McGonagall had an ongoing competition to see who would get the most students in their house at the beginning of the year. The time after that it was Remus who had told you that Sinistra had a secret stash of whiskey in her office. From then whenever there was a meeting, you or Remus would as what the gossip was.

Remus lowered his head to you. “Binns is no longer allowed to enter the library because he scares everyone by floating through the bookcases. Pince was furious.”

You laughed softly and turned your head so you could look at the teachers. Remus’ mouth was close to your ear as he continued and you tried not to show the shivers it gave you.

“Hagrid lost one of his creatures and it was found in the quidditch broom closet, so Rolanda filed a complaint with Dumbledore.”

“And?”

Remus sighed and you felt the hot air along your skin. “Nothing, she hasn’t heard anything of it.”

“Okay, my turn,” you said and lifted your head closer to Remus so you wouldn’t have to talk so loud. “Sybill and Aurora got into an argument over the accuracy of astrology and Sybill supposedly has thrown one of her glass balls at her.”

“No!” Remus gasped and he turned his head to you. Suddenly he was so close that your noses were almost touching and a surge of blood rushed to your cheeks. You sucked in your breath and quickly turned your head away.

“Yeah, Aurora was so angry she covered Sybill’s windows so she couldn’t look outside at the stars anymore.”

Remus chuckled. Then he brought his face nearby, so his lips were almost against your ear, and whispered, “Filch as asked Pince on a date.”

Your eyes widened at the news, but your elevated heart rate had nothing to do with Filch nor Pince. The feeling of Remus’ breath against your skin made your heart almost jump out of your chest, and the thought of how his lips would feel crossed your mind momentarily before you shook your head and forced yourself to return to the room.

“No! He did?” you asked and then you hit Remus’ playfully on his chest. “Why would you save that for the last?”

“Save the best for last, not?”

“I want to hear all about that over tea tomorrow,” you said to Remus and then nodded with your head to the rest of the room. “But I fear people have caught on us.”

“Who—” Remus started but he was cut off as Slughorn appeared in front of you.

“What are you two whispering about?” he asked, gesturing wildly with the glass in his hand, nearly throwing all the wine over you and Remus.

“Secret Santa,” you quickly lied, carefully taking the glass from Slughorn. “Remus has trouble finding the right gift, so I offered my help.”

Slughorn squeezed his eyes at you but then he shrugged, clearly believing your lie. He turned around, but not before loudly saying, “Don’t bother if you have Rolanda. She throws everything away anyway.”

From across the room Hooch’s face appeared. “That was one year, Horace! And you got me an autographed photo of yourself!”

Remus raised his eyebrow at you and you shrugged.

“That was before my time,” you mumbled.

}(){ }(){ }(){

As the night drew close to an end, you were sitting with McGonagall on the couches near the fireplace, watching as Flitwick and Pomfrey played a game of chess. Flitwick was losing miserably but he refused to give up, while Pomfrey just dragged more and more pieces off the board.

“Knight to F3,” Flitwick said, and you and McGonagall hissed simultaneously at his mistake.

Pomfrey’s queen graciously knocked the horse over, leaving Flitwick with only three pieces left.

Most of the professors had gone back to their rooms already and the teachers’ lounge now had the same cosy atmosphere it usually had. Someone had put on music and softly Christmas songs were playing through the room, as someone occasionally hummed along.

A figure crossed the room towards you and sat down on the armrest next to you. Without looking up you recognised Remus and carefully rested against his side. He placed his hand on your shoulder and rubbed your arm.

“I’m going to sleep so much tomorrow,” you muttered and you felt Remus chuckle.

“We’re still on for tea, right?” he asked.

“Of course, I need to hear the entire story!”

Across from you McGonagall laughed as Flitwick’s king got dragged off the board. This one leaned back into the couch and let out a loud sigh. McGonagall patted his knee and yawned.

“You’re right, Filius,” she said. “I think it’s time to call it a successful night and go to our rooms, before we start making irresponsible choices.”

Pomfrey snorted. “You mean like Horace claiming he could drink an entire bottle of Firewhiskey at once?”

McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose as she sighed. “I’m going to need the holidays to recover from just that.”

Remus got up from the armrest and extended his hand to you, pulling you from the couch. He looked around the room and shrugged.

“We’ll clean up tomorrow,” he said and then cast a glance at the others. “I think it’s better we all get some rest.”

You followed Remus out of the room, saying goodbye to those who were left. When you stepped through the door, the cold December air of the castle hit you like a wall and you shivered. The lights had been turned down already and you squeezed your eyes to see around you, taking a while to let them get used to the darkness after the light from the teachers’ lounge.

“When you said it would get wild, I didn’t expect this,” Remus said as you walked back to your rooms.

“Wait till you see us at the graduation party,” you chuckled. “Last year Filius danced on top of the table.”

Remus laughed and shook his head. He was walking right beside you and you wanted to take his hand in yours, longing for that same feeling when he had been so close to you earlier that evening. However, before you could even think of it more clearly, you had reached your room.

“I had fun tonight,” Remus said, as you opened your door.

You turned around. “Me, too.”

There was a silence filled with tension as you stood there, just one step away from him. You looked into his eyes and it took all your strength not to close the space between the two of you. Your hand was holding onto the doorframe and your nails buried into the wood as you took a deep breath.

Somewhere in the hallway a door closed and you and Remus were pulled from the stare. Remus cleared his throat and you scratched your neck.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” he said, flashing you a smile.

“Yes. Goodnight Remus.”

- - - - - - -

taglist:

general HP: @harry-pottery-barn @potters-heart @kingalrdy @missswriter @figlia--della--luna @sexysirius @awritingtree @bi-andready-tocry @lilulo-12fanfiction @ananad1 @treestarrrrrrrr @your-hispanichufflepuff @thefandomplace @theeicedamericano @girllety @swearingsolemnly @weasleydream @secretsthathauntus @amixedwitch @izzyyy-1 @gryffindorgirl @kitkatkl @catching-the-train-to-hogwarts @nyotamalfoy @dandyylions @d22malfoys​ @xxinvisiblexx​

marauders: @tomshollandz​​​​​ @with-love-anu​​​​​ @fific7​​​​​ @cheoco​​​​​ @classicrocketqueen​​​​​ @natashxromanovfreads​​​​​ @lonegryffindor2005​​​​

MASTERLIST

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Hermes

Hey guys, still doing what I can to stay healthy (and entertained) in quarantine. Staying still, keeping calm, and trying not to exert myself too much because of the shortness of breath thing going on. My lungs just can't get enough air it seems… 😅 Anyway, I've gotten a lot of suggestions on this series and I'm excited to keep it going. Just going to be a tad slow until I'm feeling better. Thank you for the support, y'all!

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes

Lucifer

Oh no… it’s everyone’s worst nightmare… Another Mammon, but competent. Devil help us all…

Had he known who their father was, he'd have never assigned Mammon to watch over them. Hell, he would have made sure those two never even met. They became a new handful for him to manage from the day they first arrived…

When even more things started going missing around the House than normal, he knew he had made a grave mistake… They were clever, quick, and skilled. About the best WORST combination for a burglar to be…

Worse still, they were fast on their feet. He would pretty much have no way to nab them on foot and always had to resort to his wings or magic to have any hope of catching up to them… At least Mammon usually gets himself cornered!

But, paradoxically, he also came to notice that the mortal had an odd honesty streak to them... Like, they’d steal but they’d always admit to it, unlike Mammon who would try to deflect till he was blue in the face.

Were they proud of their work, maybe? Or just didn’t see the point in trying to get away with it...?

There would be several occasions where they’d take something, sell it with Mammon, and then steal the thing back later just to put it back where it belonged, seemingly never with Mammon’s permission to do so either… 

Is it better that they returned the stolen item or worse because their actions went from just robbery to a full-on scam? Either way, it gives him headaches trying to deal with it…

He pretty much gives up getting the mortal to stop after 6 months, they are legitimately that good, but makes them swear to always put back whatever they take at some point. It seems to work out and he lets more things slide, but please someone get them out of here soon… 

Mammon

Soulmatesoulmatesoulmatesoulmate, or maybe more accurately “Partner-in-Crime” but that means pretty much the same thing to him anyway. 🤷‍♀️

He’s never met a person better at thievery than they were. The day they met, they managed to pick his pockets without breaking a sweat (or a finger) and that was it. He was in love.

They could teleport! Actually teleport!! Suddenly, NOTHING was off limits to him any more! Lucifer’s rare records? Easy. Levi’s secret safe? Cakewalk. The Castle vault?? Child’s play!! It was like they could steal anything they put their mind to!!

He didn't even have to worry about them when they made getaways because they were fast too, the two actually have parkour races through the streets for the hell of it!

On top of all that, they were wicked creative. He’d come up with a money-making scheme then they’d offer him all sorts of little tricks to help get away with it...

HE’D have never realized that they could turn themselves into rats in order to frighten and sneak past Barbatos, but they thought of it the instant they heard of his fear of things. They're a mad genius!!

The only real downside was they seemed to like stealing for the sport of it instead of for the money… so they always steal back whatever they took.

That kind of defeats the purpose of all that work in the first place, right? Ah well, at least that's more money for him.

These two pretty much became a walking menace to Devildom society- Sorry, not sorry.

Leviathan

Not another Mammon!!! WHY?! What did he do to deserve this?!?

When he started noticing that EVEN MORE of his stuff was going missing than usual, he straight-up flipped! Like, had the mortal not been pretty tough in their own right they would have been Lotan-chow. End of discussion.

… And then they started using their powers for good? Kind of?

Like, first off they would always give back what they stole, which was a nice change from Mammon. Annoying, but at least he didn't have to go buy replacement games or anything…

And then they started stealing him limited edition merch or tickets and stuff because they… liked him?? He guessed???

Why else would they go to all the trouble of swiping one of the five ultra-rare Kitsune Ruri-chan figurines from its original collector? He would have had to pay Mammon half his tail for something like that but the MC just brought it to him one morning because they could!

Is… is this love? Has he grown to love that which he hates?! What is even happening anymore!?! Who is he?!? 😫

Eventually he has to reconcile his conflicted feelings by dubbing them the real life Peony Phantom Thief, Jane and even making them a cosplay. Yes, they have to wear it when they bring him things. No, it's not weird, shut up.

Satan

He wants to be irritated, no - furious, that they keep taking his stuff… But he’ll be damned if they aren’t making Lucifer’s life a living hell right now. 😏

He's honestly not even sure how they managed to swipe half of the priceless portraits in the Castle (a considerable feat since there's one for Every. Room.) but they pulled it off in under a week. Barbs didn't even notice the replicas…

If that's not mildly terrifying, he doesn't know what is. Who knows what things he could be missing at any given moment...?

At least the mortal had the good sense to return his things, unlike Mammon, which gets them off his shit list for the most part. 🤷‍♀️

It helps that they’re also impressively well-traveled. They claim to have been across every human continent and sailed every ocean. Though he was skeptical at first, just hearing their stories eventually convinced him.

What sort of person has sailed the Amazon River, hiked through Arctic tundra, seen every major capital city, and still had time to explore the sights of the French Riviera?

One that has magical teleportation powers apparently.

Frankly, he could listen to their stories of the human world all day and still ask for another. He's told them that they may as well just write a book of their own for him at some point, it'd be beneficial to their poor vocal chords.

Asmodeus

Ugh! Really? Another thief in the House?? Wasn’t one hard enough to deal with?!

Honestly, stolen beauty products aren't exactly something you can just sell or give back, so unfortunately a lot of Asmo's clothes/accessories get targeted and he is NOT happy about it...

Around the time his favorite scarf was stolen for the third time, he was about to gut the mortal himself, but they struck a deal with him. They could nab his clothes SO LONG as they returned them with an extra little "gift."

Jewelry, perfume, creams, nail polish, etc. Asmo kept a running list and pretty much treated his thieving friend like a less moral version of Akuzon. Whatever he asked for, no matter how rare or expensive, they always got their hands on so who was he to complain?

He once decided to test them by asking for the Hope Diamond - which they got for him - but he made them return it after a week after the curse on it made him ruin a particularly intricate manicure so…

Like Satan, he's also pretty impressed with all the places they've seen. He's pretty traveled in the human world himself so they exchange travel stories all the time!

He may bother them to him out traveling from time to time. There are so many gorgeous and romantic places to visit in the human world after all, it's not like anybody could stop them from just… popping in to have a look. Right? 😏

Beelzebub

They learned very quickly that his food is absolutely off limits and after that, they were good.

Seriously. Beel caught them once trying to swipe a piece of pizza from his dinner and he nearly ripped their arm off for it…

But on the flipside, he also knows that he can go to them if he REALLY needs a snack and is short on cash. 

It's pretty comical watching the fleet-foot mortal running from angry demon vendors with a basket of stolen apples for their buddy… But he appreciates their enthusiasm! 🙂

Beel actually likes to hear about their travels too, but mostly what they've eaten. They can keep him enraptured for hours by describing all the food they've come across in the human world…

Watch out for the drool, though.

Since they can teleport, they'll sometimes pop up with a human world treat for him and the man internally swears his undying love for them every time...

Outwardly, though, he just smiles. 'Cause he's a sweetie.

Belphegor

They… they opened the attic door on, like, the first day they met… They didn’t even make it look that hard, they had some kind of knack for breaking and entering…

Seriously, imagine the look on his face when they just walk into the attic to say hello… He had this whole, “Lure and Trick the Human” plan all thought out then they pulled out a magic lockpick or something and BOOM! Freedom!

He laughed, perhaps a little closer to the edge of sanity than he was intending, and he tried to attack them but they were so damn fast he couldn't land a single hit!

Damn was it embarrassing when the others came in…

MC: "LUCIFER! LUCIFER!! There's a monster in your attic!!!"

Lucifer: "That's not a monster that's my brother!!"

MC: *stops midway through kneeing Belphie in the stomach* …. Ooooooooh!

MC: Whoops. 

It was a… rocky start.

After they settled their differences quelled Belphie's bloodlust he found that they kind of grew on him rather quickly… Something about that mischievous energy and how much they gave his brothers (minus Beel) grief with it.

He absolutely helps them with their plans if it will annoy Lucifer in any way. Occasionally, they'll even take Belphie out on raids instead of Mammon.

Turns out he's surprisingly good at distractions because all he has to do is pretend to fall then take a nap. People around him will legitimately believe that he needs medical attention so the MC can sneak through crowds undetected...

Of course, Mammon gets PISSED when they do this, though. How dare his baby brother try to steal away his perfect partner!! Get your own damn mortal, Belphie!!! 🤬

[thetaleoflevi]

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Distance

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Pairing: Levi x Fem!Reader

Content Type: SFW

TW: Season 3 spoiler, Blood, Profanity, Suicide (For a split second), Suggestive

Description: Reader distances herself from Levi, strongly believing her feelings are not reciprocated by him, causing Levi to miss her.

Word Count: 5.3k+

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Please go away, Captain. Or at least end me. I don’t like the way you make me feel when you’re around. I can’t breathe. Please stop walking my way. Stop looking at me with those eyes.

“Y/N, I need that paperwork on my desk by five o’clock today. Not a minute late, understood?” What are you even saying? Stop looking at me like that. His brows creased with impatience at your nonexistent response. “Hey, focus, brat.” He snapped his fingers at you, making you flinch out of your daze. “Yes, Captain! Right away.” You saluted messily and paced toward the door, returning when you figured out that you didn’t know what you were ordered to do.

“What are you agreeing to, brat?” God…that delicious word was cracking your last bits of sanity. “Repeat what I ordered you to do.” Levi demanded, not having moved an inch from where he was standing. He crossed his arms in annoyance. “Um, y-you… You said to-” “I told you to jump off of Wall Maria without any gear on.” Your eyes widened, and you felt as if all the air in your lungs got punched out of you. So this was your end. This is how you die? Your Captain found your expression to be almost as funny as a shit joke. He didn’t show it on the surface, though.

“Relax, idiot. I was kidding. I want you to finish the paperwork I gave you earlier and hand it in to me by five. Pay attention, or next time it won’t be a joke.” He walked toward the door of the meeting room and turned to face you you when he heard you yelling your affirmation like an annoying parrot. “Yes, Captain! It won’t happen again!” You gave him your best salute only to have eyes rolled at you.

Levi left the room not having a clue that you almost threw up in front of him. You felt that stupid after the situation. Usually, you always felt like the rest of the world went pitch black, with only a spotlight shining on you and him, whenever he talked to you. Even when he scolded you for not doing something to his liking, you couldn’t help but focus on his devastatingly gorgeous silver eyes and how they squinted occasionally in fury, or his lips that never seemed to curve upwards and spat the ugliest words at you sometimes. It was tough love. At least that’s what you made of it.

“What happened in here? Did somebody spike the Captain’s tea? I’m very concerned.” Armin had walked into the meeting room where you stayed, replaying the conversation you just had with your handsome superior. “What are you talking about, Armin?” You ask curiously, having just seen the man acting as unfazed as always. “He smiled, Y/N. He genuinely smiled.”

You were in just as much shock as Armin was. He smiled? And I missed it?! “What were you guys talking about?” Armin sat in one of the chairs next to you. His crystal blue eyes gleamed with curiosity, wondering what was so great that it could cause the most solemn man in the scouts to crack a smile. “I zoned out while he was giving me an order, and then he told me to kill myself—not in those exact words, but, he told me to jump off of Wall Maria without any gear on. I think I made a stupid face or something, but I really thought he was ordering me to die. Then he told me the actual order.”

Armin chuckled at your retelling of the story, knowing he would have reacted the same way as Levi. “Whatever it was that you did, keep doing it! We’ve only seen Captain Levi smile once, and it’s been forever since then. Historia was crowned queen when he last smiled in front of us.” You smirked dumbly and got off the desk you were sitting on. “I’ll try my best. I gotta go, Armin. I have some paperwork to get done before Captain Levi reigns even more hell down on earth.” Armin chuckles and waves a goodbye as you leave.

It was four forty-three, and you had barely gotten anything done. With all the time you were given, you took it upon yourself to leave your work until the last minute—the procrastinating prodigy that you are. You watched everyone do their work with no thought about your own. Four forty-eight. Four fifty. Four fifty-six. Four fifty-nine. Five o’clock.

“Have you guys seen Y/N?” Levi asked Sasha, Connie, and Jean. “No, sir. She was sitting with Eren, Armin, and Mikasa when I last saw her.” Connie replied. Fucking hell, Y/N.

It was five thirty-two when you finally knocked on Levi’s door. “How nice of you to show up on time.” You heard directly inside your ear. You gasped with fear and quickly turned around. Your Captain did not look pleased at all. “Can you tell me what time it is?” You checked the clock on the wall. “Five thirty-three, sir.” Your eyes looked at everything but him. “Okay, good. Come on in.” He unlocked his office door and waited for you to walk in before slamming it shut.

You bounced slightly at the harsh sound. “You better have a damn good excuse for why my paperwork is thirty-three minutes late.” He slowly walked over to you and the stack of papers you held tightly to your chest. “Did you even do it correctly?” He snatched the stack away from you, a few papers nicking the area between your thumb and index finger. You were quick to suck on the area that bled. He looked over the work you had done, keeping the compliments he would have rewarded you with to himself. The brat is good. If only she worked faster.

“It’ll do. It’s not extraordinary work, but i’ll take it because it’s not the most important work that needed to be done.” You stopped sucking the blood from your hand and looked at him when he went silent. “Tch, use your words. Ask for a bandage or something.” He walked over to his desk and pulled out a white roll of gauze.

“Let me see.” He unstuck the beginning of the roll and returned to his spot next to you. “I can do it, sir.” You reached your undamaged hand toward the roll he held, only for him to pull it away from you. “Let me see it.” He urged, waiting for you to show him the cuts. They were surprisingly deep. You put your hand palm-up in front of you, only for him to adjust the position so that he could wrap the material around your hand correctly. The white wrapping began to turn red when it touched the blots of blood emerging from your open skin. With every layer he wrapped, less color was seen until it was just white.

Warmth was emitted through his fingers which soothed the pain in your hand a little. He let you retract your hand, watching you as you stared at the dressed wounded area. “What? Do you want me to kiss it or something?” He looked at you with an ordinary uninterested expression. Yes, please! Kiss it better. “I-I mean-“ You managed to stutter. Your cheeks flushed with heat when you realized what you had started saying. “Stop that, brat. Just stop talking.”

He walked to his desk and continued to look over the work you had done. He silently admired your considerably neat handwriting. It was as if you had typed it—the letters being all equally sized, no streaks out of line. “Right. I’m sorry.” You whispered, walking in the direction of the door. His words hit harder than usual for some reason. It was nothing to be upset about, yet you felt an unwelcome lump start forming in your throat. Maybe it’s you finally realizing that your love for him would never be reciprocated. Just being in the same room as him in that moment had you feeling more vulnerable than ever.

You mustered up the small amount of stability you had in your voice and said,”Well, if you don’t need me to do anything else, I’ll be on my way.” “That will be all.” He mumbled, not looking at you. No thank you? You saluted and left the room.

Unlike times before, Levi didn’t make your heart soar, he made it sink to the pit of your stomach, despite him touching you more than he ever has. It made you question your reasons for loving him so much. Is he worth the confusion your heart goes through when talking to the different versions of him? You’re not sure.

—

Weeks went by with you treating Levi like he was anyone but the person you longed to be with before. You still gave him the respect he deserved as your Captain, but you only talked to him when he talked to you or when you needed to deliver something to him from another one of your superiors. When he ordered you to do something, you would simply give him an affirmation and walk away. No small talk or questions. You didn’t smile like you usually did for him, and your heart wasn’t beating erratically when you accepted the duties he assigned to you.

Levi caught on to this act of yours when he started missing the way your doe eyes lingered on his as he talked to you. Now you would barely look him in the eyes. He missed the way you would try to make him laugh with a joke that had you in pain from laughing so hard. Now you only talked to him about work-related matters. He missed the way you stuttered after saying something dumb. Your voice is so steady now, and your words are chosen more carefully. He missed the clear adoration you had for him. He missed you.

Another day passed, and Levi had no excuse to talk to you. He didn’t have orders to give you. At that moment, he would’ve done anything to go back to when he would scowl at you as you laughed to your heart’s content. He would do anything to see you for more than two minutes. He would have taken the boring job of completing a pile of paperwork if it meant you were the one giving it to him and he would be able to brush his fingers against yours.

His head rested in his hands, frustrated with his inability to stomp on his pride and just walk over to wherever you were. He missed you so, so much, but he would never let you know that you were the best part of his days.

A knock came from the other end of his door. “Name and business.” He stated with his head still in his hands. “Y/LN Y/N, sir.” He perked up at the sound of your voice and he raised his head, quickly fixing the strands of hair that had moved out of place. “Commander Erwin asked me to get your signature for an important document.” He walked over and opened the door for you. “Come in.”

You entered his office and stood in front of his desk until further instruction. He shut the door quietly and walked to where you were.

“You can set the document down on my desk. I need to get a new container of ink. I’ll be back shortly.” He went to his bedroom, which connected to his office, and went through a drawer that seemed to have different supplies in it. He returned with a clear glass cube filled with black ink. He sat in his chair and read the document quickly before scribbling a beautiful rendition of his name onto the blank line at the bottom of the page.

“Here.” He flipped the paper so that it was upright to you. “Thank you, Captain.” You took the document and saluted. As you were about to leave, Levi’s voice stopped you in your tracks. “Y/N, can you sit for a minute?” He asked, hoping you weren’t in a rush to get those documents to Erwin.

“Of course, sir.” You answer, sitting in the chair in front of his desk.

He looked slightly sad. His eyes were completely softened, eyebrows curving inward slightly. “Why haven’t you come to see me as often as you used to?” All you could think was, does it really matter whether you see me or not? “I’ve been busy. I have duties entrusted to me by others. You are not my only superior, Captain Levi.” You were okay with giving him a piece of your mind in the most respectful way possible.

“I understand that, but why are you choosing to completely avoid me unless the subject is work?” Can you be anymore needy? “I’m not.” You simply respond. That is the ugliest lie you have ever told. You are avoiding him. You are keeping yourself busy to avoid even thinking about him.

“I see. I never took you for such a shitty liar.” You suppressed the need to roll your eyes. No answer will satisfy him until he hears what he wants to hear. “Well, i’m sorry to disappoint you, sir. I’ll try not to make a habit of it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Commander Erwin said that this document needed to be returned as soon as possible.” You stood up from the wooden chair and saluted before exiting your Captain’s office.

—

The sky went dark without you realizing. You were busy all day and after the talk you had with your Captain, you were both physically and mentally tired.

As you arrived to your bedroom, not caring for the darkness that veiled your room, you let yourself fall backwards onto your bed as exhaustion creeped through your body. With your eyes closed, you lifted each of your legs and removed your boots one by one before tossing them to the ground. “Why does he suddenly care about the amount of times he’s seen me throughout the day?” You whisper to yourself as if someone would hear you.

The sound of knocking fills your ears and you pretend to have fallen asleep. “Y/N, are you in there? Are you awake?” Not now. Please. You stay silent, hoping Levi will leave you alone.

Three more knocks sound against your door. After a few seconds of complete silence, you hear the doorknob turn and the door swings open, shutting after Levi steps inside the room. “Tch, you didn’t even take your straps off.” He whispers in consideration to your ‘sleeping’ state. He sits next to you on your bed and watches your chest mimic dormant breathing. He reaches for the strap that loops around your chest and undoes the small buckle. Your chest was released and moved more freely.

By now, your act of pretending to sleep was no longer an act. You were breathing in a set rhythm through your nose.

He softly and slowly pulled your arms out of the leather that enclosed around them. You stirred a little bit before returning to the position you were in previously, on your back.

“I’m going to take care of you, my Y/N. I don’t want your skin to bruise.” He whispered while he undid your belt buckle and lowered down to work on the bands that curled tightly around your thighs. He slowly slid the rest of the leather down your calves and off completely. He got off of your bed and organized your things neatly so that you would find them easily in the morning.

“Y/N.” Levi called, shaking you softly by your arm. When you didn’t respond, he tried again. You opened your eyes slowly and squinted, furrowing your brows when you noticed someone else was there with you. “What?” You grumble, annoyed at the inability to go back to sleep. “Sorry, I need to talk to you.” That voice. You tried to spring up off the bed to salute respectfully to your Captain.

He grabbed your forearms and brought you back down to your bed. “Calm down. You don’t have to be so formal after hours.” You weren’t even asleep ten minutes, yet the drowsiness embodying you was extreme.

“Do you want me to light a candle? It’s pretty dark in here. I wasn’t expecting you or anyone else to come see me this late.” “No. I think the dark will allow courage to seep through me better.” You raised a brow in confusion. “Courage? Since when do you lack courage, Captain-“ “Levi. Just Levi between us.” “Le..vi?” He nodded with reassurance. “Since when do you lack courage in anything, Levi.”

He put his hand on your shoulder, surprised when you tensed up against the contact. He didn’t pull his hand away at the gesture, though. “I hate having to admit that I have a weakness for you, believe me, but you’re invading my thoughts every day, all the time.” This isn’t like you, Captain.

“I’m not adjusting well to this change between us. I miss the way you used to be with me. Even when I didn’t reciprocate the energy you gave off, you always managed to make feel better inside. Now that you’ve distanced yourself from me, I feel even more dead inside than usual.” His fingers stroked the fabric on your shoulder of your white button-up shirt.

“I can’t be that way with you anymore. It took me a while to realize that we’re not here to make relationships that last forever. We have the hardest job anyone could ask of us—saving humanity.” You sighed, thinking of a way to prevent yourself from hurting his feelings. “Though the thought of having you by my side is delightful, I don’t think I can go back to worshiping the ground you walk on like I did before. Our relationship should remain that of superior and subordinate.”

Levi’s head lowered. The agony he was feeling in his chest was excruciating. This last attempt to get you was sadly his final one.

“Then I have one final request.” You couldn’t help but wonder what he would want from you that he can’t get from anyone else. “Can I kiss you?” His hand that was set on your shoulder slowly made it’s way to caress your cheek. His eyes softened at the familiar look in your eyes that peered into his soul. Though you felt you should have removed his hand from the side of your face, the warmth was comforting.

“If you don’t feel anything, I promise I’ll swallow my feelings for you and leave you be. We’ll be strictly comrades, no emotional feelings involved.” He swiped your soft skin with his thumb, eyes locking with yours as he seeks a response that isn’t developed yet.

Finally. “Only once.” You whisper. He nods in acknowledgement of your instruction. His left hand attaches to your waist while his right finds your cheek again. You tremble at the foreign feeling of someone’s touch on a part of you that wasn’t an arm, a shoulder, or your back. His eyes never left yours as he slowly leaned in. God, he smelled so good. The aroma was dangerously attractive. You hoped to never come across someone that smelled the same way, that way his smell would only make you think of him.

The closer he got, the deeper his fingertips dug into your side, as if trying to pierce holes through your shirt to feel your skin.

Darkness, light—you saw both somehow. The entanglement of lips on lips was a good feeling that both of you felt mutually. He held on for as long as he could, not wanting this moment to ever end. After all, this is the first, and possibly the last time he would ever be this close to you again.

You tried to break the kiss but struggled to when you felt Levi pulling you back to connect again. It wasn’t enough for him. It was never going to be enough.

“Le..v…” You murmured indistinctly, stopping the movements from your lips completely. “No. Please…” He mumbled against your lips continuing his one-sided kiss.

It felt desperate, which was strange coming from a man like Levi who’s never begged for anything from anyone. “Come on. Kiss me.” He said with his lips pressed against yours. The feeling was undeniably good. It brought life back to the heart that stopped longing for specifically his affection.

You started moving your lips again, synchronizing quickly. His bangs tickled your forehead, causing your lips to twitch upwards.

He picked you up and placed you on his lap. Just as you were about to reach for his hair, he broke the kiss.

“I want to touch your skin, Y/N. Not in an inappropriate manner, I just need proof that this isn’t just another one of my dreams. I can’t risk going insane over another night of me just fantasizing about being your one. This shirt is the only thing standing between my hands and your soft skin—reality. I won’t touch you like that if you don’t want me to, though. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” His mouth said something, but as always, his eyes said something else. They were begging for you to allow him to feel you. His hands rested on your hips. Maybe this was going too far. What if you did let him touch your bare skin, and it progressed into something inappropriate?

With that single doubt in your mind, you responded to his request with,“Unbutton my shirt, then.” The light in his eyes was shining brighter than you had ever seen. He was visually shocked at your consent. It was clear that he was grateful to have you that night in his hold.

His hands lowered to where your shirt tucked into your pants and pulled out the fabric. Before he could move onto the buttons, he searched your expression for any signs of doubt or uncertainty. None that he could see—you were that good at keeping your thoughts to yourself.

He undid every button, not missing his chance to sneak in a brush of his fingertips here and there, on your collar bone or your sternum.

Soon enough your shirt was left wide open, revealing your black bra and newly formed goosebumps brought on by the cold wind. You turned away from Levi, flustered by his eyes on your exposed torso.

He tugged on one of the loose halves of your shirt, signaling for your attention. “Eyes on me.”Goosebumps resurfaced your skin when his knuckles brushed against your stomach. “You’re beautiful.” His soothing voice assured you as his eyes explored the unknown sight.

You were brought close once again, his lips dying to return to where he knew they belonged. Goosebumps rampaged through your body as he pulled your body closer to him by your waist. The feeling of his hands wrapped around your bare sides was absurd. You were now up against his chest. His hands traveled from your sides to your back to keep you pushed against him.

If you had to remain like this for the rest of your life, you’d do it in a heartbeat, if possible, less time.

Though it wasn’t meant to be sexual, he was leaving you breathless—quite literally. His touch made your heart pound in your chest, which he surprisingly didn’t feel, even with you pressed so tightly against him. By the sound of it, he was breathless as well.

“Mmm…Levi.” You mumbled. “Hmm?” He hummed not stopping his lips from devouring yours. “We have…to…mmm...breathe…at some point.” He snickered, smiling slightly, giving you the chance to break your lips away from his. You were able to see a slight shade of pink on his cheeks in the moonlight. Whether it was from the suffocation or the steamy moment remained a mystery.

Soft pants came from both of you, and though he let go of your lips, you weren’t fully released from his grasp. His ring and middle fingers on each hand poked at your back dimples, while his thumbs did light circular motions on the sides of your abdominal area.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, eyes glistening in the moonlight.

“I need to know what you intend to do with me, Captain. From now to…” You sigh heavily, not finding it as easy as you thought it would be to fit this conversation into the moment after what had just gone down.

Levi picks up on how tense you’ve become, seeing how stressed you suddenly look. “Hey, I’m going to listen to every word you have to say. I’m all ears, right now.” He squeezes your waist gently.

“Okay, what i’m trying to say is…I don’t want to have to mend my wounded heart every time you push me away.” You look toward the window, looking at how a cloud slowly moves in a direction that makes it collide with another cloud. To be honest, it kind of reminded you of you and Levi. The way your lives collided with each other’s, then separated, only to find each other again.

He held your chin softly between his thumb and index fingers, shifting your gaze back to him. He didn’t say anything but nodded for you to keep going. “I also don’t want to have to apologize for fulfilling my everyday duties that can lead to days of not being able to see you.” His hand released your chin and returned to the spot it was on previously, your side. It was as if he was comforting you and himself at the same time. He was hoping you wouldn’t get off, leaving him incomplete without your body weight on him.

You did exactly as he feared, almost as if you read his mind. You wanted this conversation to be as serious as possible, no distractions. You released your grasp on his shoulders and slowly began lifting yourself off of his lap. He subconsciously began letting go of your body, until he caught himself and tightened his grip, bringing you back to where you were, on his lap.

“Levi? What are you-“ “I want—no, I need you, Y/N. You know how bad it’s been on my end since you stopped talking to me like we’re the two closest people on earth? It’s been hell. Fucking hell.” His hands brushed past your sides and pushed on your back, bringing you to an embrace. Your chin landed on his shoulder and his face nuzzled into your neck. Your arms stayed by your side contrary to his which wrapped around you, brushing past the straps of your bra and settling on your upper back. You felt breaths of hot air tickle your neck as he kept talking.

“You have no clue how sad I’ve been. This is what I need from you. I don’t care if it’s something occasional. I don’t care if I only get to see you once a week, month, or year. I don’t fucking care at all. I just want you, Y/N. Please. Please, just hold me.” You could hear his calm breathing close to your ear. You lifted your arms and wrapped them around him. One hand caressed the back of his head, and the other held the mid-section of his back.

He was breathing in your scent discreetly. Black hair tickles your bare shoulder, exposed by your sagging button-up shirt. You ran your fingers through his locks of hair, smoothing down any strands that stood out.

“This feels right.” He mumbled before placing a gentle kiss to the side of your neck. “I want to feel your heartbeat and your warmth against me like this whenever I can.” His lips continued to brush against your skin slowly.

Minutes went by, not a word was spoken. When you tried to escape his caging hold to continue your conversation, he would just pull you close again nuzzling back into your neck. He was being really clingy tonight—not that you were complaining, it was just a odd.

“We can keep talking like this.” He mumbled. “Okay.” You whispered running your hand across his undercut.

“Are you sure you want a relationship where we won’t have every minute of the day together? I know it’ll be hell for me.” You could feel him smiling slightly against your neck. “Yes, Y/N. I know we won’t have much time in the day together, but we haven’t been taking nights into consideration.” Goosebumps crawled throughout your body when you felt his lips latch onto your neck again.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Shit. Shit. Shit. Relax. “I’m willing to be even more nocturnal for you. I also wouldn’t mind waking up next to you every morning.” He dragged his thumb across the damp spot on your neck where his lips rested before. “That s-sounds good.” You stutter noticeably. “What’s wrong?” He holds your face in his hands, clearly unable to fake concern. A smirk tugs at his lips. This man knows what he’s doing.

“Nothing. I’m okay.” You assure with a soft smile. “Okay, just making sure. You know…” He starts leaning in again, aiming for your neck. He knows your weak spot now, and you can’t even hide it.

“…I really like…” He kisses the sensitive skin lightly, basking in the way you shudder. “…spending time with you like this. How about you?” As you open your mouth to answer, he leans in again.

“I…fuck.” You grab onto his arm as he nibbles on the flesh that became more and more sensitive with every second that his lips spent on it. “Hmm?” He hummed against your skin. “I didn’t catch that.” He tilted your head to his left to give him more room. More room to litter you with his markings. “I do…” You inhale sharply when he bites the area under the bruising skin he just sucked on. “…too.” He soothes the imprinted skin with his index and middle fingers.

“Good. Tell me, sweet girl, what’s your favorite time of day?” The movement of his fingers slowed, as he pressed gently on the sore parts. His gaze focused intensely on your peaceful features as sighs escaped your lips with every delicate prod of his fingers. He hoped you would say nighttime, knowing he wouldn’t be able to give you all the daytime with him that you wished for. Also, nighttime would be the time he would spend with you, making sure you were feeling every good thing you could feel. Happiness, pleasure, excitement, pleasure, love, satisfaction, security, domination, care, submission. You know? The good things.

“Nighttime. That’s my favorite time of day.” He smiled, satisfied with your answer. “It’s my favorite now, too.” The movement of his fingers on your neck stopped. He looked outside at the moon, remembering the important work he left behind when he decided to look for you. “I should get going.” You frowned slightly which he quickly took notice of. “I know, I wish I didn’t have to, but I ditched a lot of my work to come find you.”

You dragged your thumb across his half-swollen lips before closing the space between you two and kissing him once more. You released him and said in a whisper,“I understand. Thank you for being here with me tonight.” You got off of his lap and transitioned to a cross-legged position on your bed. He caressed your cheek in an endearing manner, before saying,”I’m glad things are the way they are for us now.” He let you go, and began walking to your door. You fixed your shirt so that you looked presentable again.

“Levi, wait.” “Yes?” He asked, holding onto the doorknob. “Did you take the straps from my uniform off of me?” He let out a low chuckle. “Yes, I did. They would have bruised your beautiful skin if I hadn’t taken them off.” “I could have done it myself, but thank you for that.” You felt cared for. It was such a soft concept to think about. He nodded and continued his exit, a small smile on his face as he shut the door behind him.

I’m the only one who should be wrapped around you and leaving marks in those areas at night.