#i’m very impatiently awaiting their arrival

[lady-harrowhark]

December 31st 2021 vs December 31st 2022

Alternate title: Favorite reads of 2021 vs Being Completely Normal About Characters in 2022

[desperate-gay]

Manicure

Alessia Russo x fem!reader

summary: you love your girlfriends hands just how they are, so what happens when she surprises you with new acrylics

a/n: she’s so bf in this photo and sorry for not doing a request, this idea popped into my head

“Love, I’m home!” Your girlfriend’s voice echoes its way through the house from downstairs, waiting for your regular greeting which usually includes you jumping into her arms or pecking her lips.

Alessia had her monthly manicure appointment earlier today along with a couple of other errands to run. You had to stay home due to all the homework you have to grade by the end of the week for your grade 4 class.

Hearing the voice of the girl’s arrival, you slam your computer shut, place the papers on the bed, and run down the steps, surprising the blonde with your speed when you’re one second down the hall and the next jumping into her arms while wrapping her legs around her waist. She hoists you up with her hands on the underpart of your thighs and laughs at your eagerness.

“I missed you.” You mumble into her neck, placing a lazy kiss on her warm skin.

“I missed you too, darling.”

She gently places you back on the ground and grips onto your hips, pulling you into a long-awaited kiss. It’s only been a couple of hours, but that is long enough for the two of you. While leaning further into the kiss, you notice the feeling of things poking at your sides, making you place your hands on her biceps and pull away with a puzzled look.

“What?” She asks impatiently, clearly wanting to get back to the kiss, leaning back in but you stop her with your finger pushing against her lips.

“What is poking me?”

“Oh! Ya like ‘em? Thought I’d try something new.” She holds up her new acrylic light blue nails, wiggling her fingers while showing you. She usually keeps her nails short, but with her obviously doing something new, she changed it up a little. They’re long. Not very long, but longer than you would like.

You grab her hand and pull it closer to your face to examine the new nails. The blonde keeps an eye on your very concentrated face, your teeth biting your lip as you twist and turn her hand.

“You like 'em?” She repeats herself.

“Uh, y-yeah they’re beautiful, Less.” She takes in your slightly red cheeks and opens her mouth to say something, but you clear your throat before she has the chance. “I better get back to grading for a little bit, love you.”

You peck her cheek and rush back to your bedroom while Alessia stands in the same spot, wondering what the hell just happened.

—

She’s been honest for a few hours and you’ve been acting, well, different. When she finds her regular spot on her side of the bed, she leans over and starts peppering kisses down the side of your neck as her hand rubs up and down your leg. At first, you ease into it, but soon you quickly pull away and stand up, mumbling something about having to use the bathroom.

Whenever she tries to be even slightly affectionate with you, you pull away from her touch, leaving her confused about what she did wrong. So when you agree to have a movie marathon in the living room, she takes the opportunity to ask you what’s going on, wanting to fix it right away.

In the middle of the movie, she tries one more time, setting her hand on your thigh, but you shift your leg to the side making her hand fall on the cushions of the couch.

“Okay, that’s it! What is going on with you?” You jump slightly at the girl’s outburst and lower your head, feeling a little flustered. “Did I do something to upset you?” The older girl asks with a sad tone, causing your head to snap back up and shake it quickly.

You feel bad for constantly avoiding the girl’s touch all day, most likely upsetting her, but you don’t have any other choice. It’s an embarrassing reason as to why you’re doing it, so you try and keep it as subtle as possible which clearly didn’t work out as planned.

The blonde reaches out and grabs your hand cautiously, allowing you to pull back if you want which luckily you don’t. “Love, please just talk to me. Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“It’s so humiliating.” You groan, covering your face in an attempt to hide from your girlfriend. She gently grabs your wrists and pulls them away from your head while looking at you with a bit of a concerned expression.

“You’re worrying me here, darling.”

You take a deep breath before beginning to explain, “When I saw you got your nails done, I didn’t know how to react. They’re absolutely amazing, Less, don’t get me wrong, but there’s something I’m not exactly used to.”

“Go on.” She nods her head in encouragement.

“I’ve been pulling away from your touches because lately, I’ve been more aroused than usual, and with your new nails it’s very difficult for you to…y’know.” You trail off all flustered from your admission.

Little do you know Alessia loves your confession. Her ego going up from learning that even the slightest touch from her makes you want to jump her bones immediately, but you have to control yourself from doing so. She was wondering why you reacted the way you did when she came home and now she has her answer.

When you look up you see a grin plastered on her face, making you flush in embarrassment before her hand grabs your face and tugs you into a sloppy kiss. Her tongue slides its way into your mouth and swirls around, causing you to let out a little whine which makes the taller girl smirk into the kiss. Once you part from each other, her thumb grazes against your swollen lips as she takes in your hazed state.

“How about tomorrow morning I’ll go back to the salon and ask them to cut them shorter. I didn’t exactly think about what we’d be missing out because of these.” She wiggles her nails once again like she did this morning with a goofy smile spread across her face, making you do the same.

You pull her in for another kiss, this one being shorter and sweeter before pulling back to look at her with nothing but love in your eyes. “I love you, Lessi.”

“I love you, darling. Since we have to wait for tomorrow for my nails, there are plenty of other things I can use on you. Let’s get your cheeky self taken care of, yeah?” She gathers you up in her arms and stands up, carrying you bridal style which makes you squeak, and wrap your arms around her shoulders, holding on for dear life.

She may have not used her fingers, but she sure as hell used everything else and left you unbelievably satisfied. Maybe the nails aren’t a bother.

[tired-biscuit]

stepdad!kirishima who’s so cuddly and sweet <33

fat breeding kink too ofc :p

18+ fem!reader // cw: stepcest, infidelity

oh, goodness; now i’m just imagining him taking you on little ‘daddy-daughter’ dates even if you’re over twenty and he’s nowhere near at being your real dad.

he wakes you up early in the morning, only mere minutes after your mom leaves for work, and tells you to get dressed so that you can start your day together by what he calls the ‘right’ way. breakfast awaits you when you finally sort yourself out and go trudging down the stairs, still so sleepy and with your mind terribly hazy from said slumber.

the second you enter the kitchen, kirishima works hard to impress you, the vast variety of exceptionally-prepared breakfast foods that sits on the kitchen counter makes that evidently clear for you. unlike yourself, he’s chatty and bubbly even if the hour is early; he’s just so nice. he talks to you with a subtle, albeit genuine, smile plastered on his handsome face as you indulge in the perfect little stack of pancakes he’s whipped up for you, and keeps grinning even as you finish drinking the homemade orange juice that he’s also prepared all by himself.

he’s definitely a morning person.

amongst other things.

wiping your mouth with the back of your hand, you realize you’re not all that used to being alone in the house with another person, let alone him. back in the day, every morning used to be just you and your mom or just you whilst she was away at work, so this entire thing is just so new; the terrain is left untrekked. so it’s no wonder why your eyelids, despite the fact that they still feel so very heavy, blink profusely each time he establishes eye contact with you and keeps it there. why your pulse sort of speeds up when he leans in to take away your plate and utensils and you can smell just the faintest hint of his bodywash.

inhaling the slightly piney smell, you try not to pay any mind to either of those things because the thoughts to riddle you at the whiff of the scent are stupid anyway, they’re as silly as the girl he probably sees you as. but goddammit; as he turns away from you to face the sink so that he can quickly wash the dishes and leave them out to dry, his back muscles turn prominent underneath the thin white t-shirt he wears, and you can’t help but feel just the tiniest amount of jealousy for your own mother start to plague your mind.

after all, her new husband — your new stepdad, remember that — is just so dreamy. his shoulders are broad, his smile is big and kind. you already know how strong he is, you’ve seen him work out in the basement and come home all sweaty and buzzing with energy after the longest run you’d personally never be able to finish. the life that burns in his eyes makes him look so young, and when he leaves his hair down like this… good lord.

you try to push away the filth that continues to swirl in your head even as you finish up with breakfast and he leads you to his car. the drive is nice, he lets you pick the music and even compliments your taste. you try not to stare at him too much but you simply can’t resist a couple of glances here and there.

he’s a good driver, he knows his road manners well. the third time you look at him from the corner of your eye, he catches you but says nothing. instead, all he does is tap his fingers against the steering wheel in a way you’d almost call impatient. the corner of his mouth keeps kicking upwards. who knows what he’s thinking about.

when you arrive to your first destination, he takes you shopping and lets you buy whatever you want just so that he can make a good, hopefully lasting, impression on you that will make you like him even more than you secretly already do. he’s your new stepdad — your attractive, buff, so big that he could probably toss you over his shoulder with absolutely no trouble — stepdad. you’re still a bit wary around him; eyeing him from the side and acting so adorably bashful as you ask him if it’s all right to buy a new skirt you particularly like.

and oddly enough, he tells you that he likes it as well.

you spend the entire day together by going out and about in the city, not just the mall. he buys you both ice cream and doesn’t mind at all when you ask if you can try the flavour he picked, too. with each hour that you pass in each other’s company, you grow closer. you realize that you get along super well, but it doesn’t come as a surprise because he truly is a people kind of person. so charming.

by the time it gets dark out, he drags you to a diner that’s situated close to the highway that will otherwise take you to your new home. it’s almost along the way, he reassures you. the food is so good apparently — him and his best friend bakugou always grab a bite there. you believe him, of course.

the place is nearly deserted, it’s a monday evening and he’s only off work because he made arrangements specifically to spend it with you, but the food indeed is insanely good; just like he’d promised. you keep chatting as you eat in your secluded booth, still having so many subjects to cover; you never seem to run out of them when you’re with him. he listens intently to whatever you have to say, about how it feels somewhat bitter-sweet that you’ll be finishing your last year of college soon, how you’ll miss your roommates, how you need to start job hunting soon.

his foot keeps bumping against your own underneath the table as you talk, talk, talk, and you try to pretend that the — probably accidental — touch doesn’t faze you, but the icy coke you drink certainly becomes extremely helpful when it comes to cooling down the heat that kindles within you all of a sudden. the ice melts on the flat of your tongue so fast.

what it doesn’t help you with, however, is when it comes to enduring the burn of the stretch that his cock provokes inside your pussy the moment he persuades you to join him in the backseat of his car as soon as you exit the diner. but it’s not like it took much persuading to begin with.

the parking lot is abandoned, dark, sketchy. there are no people nearby besides you and him, but there are shadows that twist and dance all over the concrete. it’s nothing like the radiant, sweet man, who you now clumsily exchange kisses with as a means to quiet down the moan that bubbles up your throat as soon as you start to rock your hips against his own whilst sitting on his lap.

his hands are rough to the touch, calloused from years of hard work, as he grabs handfuls of your ass and pushes you further down so that you can at least try and take him entirely. his cock is as big as the rest of him is and once more you’re not surprised by it, even if you are baffled by the fact that he actually enabled you to learn that particular piece of information in the first place.

so yes, you’re fucking your new stepfather. he’s all deep groans and softly-whispered praises as he fills your belly with not just food, but the girth of his dick as well. you try and ride him just like you rode all your previous boyfriends, but it proves to be unsatisfactory because he’s not your boyfriend, is he? he’s your daddy.

and your daddy reminds you of his role when your mother calls, asking him where you’re at, that it’s getting late. biting back a grunt, he has to pretend that he’s driving you both home instead of watching his stepdaughter ride his cock in the backseat of his SUV. that he’s not listening to the quiet little gasps that you keep letting out as he smears your slick and circles your clit with his thumb. that he’s not making you cum just by bucking his hips upward every so often and kissing you so deep that you’re pretty sure you’ll taste him inside your mouth for ages to come.

and he seems to be a nasty motherfucker just like you are, because the moment he hangs up, he makes you quicken your pace and ride him even harder. you need to get home, both of you do, so he tells you he’ll breed you real quick, that he’ll fill you up just because it’ll make you feel so good. that you’ll feel so complete when a part of him reaches so deep into you that you’ll be branded by him forever.

and he’s right, he makes you gush and tighten around him one last time with that promise before he grabs you by the hips and fills you up to the fucking brim. the ropes of white that paint your velvety walls after a couple more of deep, satisfying thrusts feel so warm; they make his cock twitch and his lips quiver before they spill all the praise you’re hastily growing addicted to hearing again and again and again.

“good lil’ girl… fuck, you’re such a good girl for daddy.”

and that’s that and it’s more than enough. by the time you finally arrive home, most of his cum is leaking from your abused hole; dribbling right down the inner side of your thigh. he can see the droplet of milky white glimmering on your skin when he bends down to take his shoes off in the hallway. it makes him smile so sweetly up at you that it causes you to start thinking that you might have just imagined the entire thing.

nonetheless, you can barely wait for your next daddy-daughter date.

who knows what he’ll come up with next time?

[whoisneo404]

Omg can you write about nick getting his wisdom teeth out, like his bf is there comforting him while he’s scared and when he’s done it’s really funny.

Hold my hand

Summary: you go with Nick to take out his wisdom teeth and comfort him.

I walk impatiently from one extreme of my living room to the other, Nick is on his way to pick me up so I can be there for the surgery. Chris texted me that he was crying, Nick couldn’t sleep most of the night, I am a bit anxious if I’m being honest, I know how sensitive he can be. I hear a car horn outside my house so I take a deep breath and grab my backpack, I go outside and close the door behind me.

"Hiiii." Chris smiles throw the half-lowered window and waves at me, I smile and wave back. When I open the car door, I see Nick covering his eyes and tearing up.

"I can’t, I hate this." He murmurs and I coo at him. I sit next to him and kiss his forehead.

"Hi baby." I whisper to him. "Hi Matt." I say louder. Matt greets me back and starts driving slowly. Nick hides his face on my chest.

"You know what they told me?" Nick looks up at me with his wet eyes, I shake my head. "The tooth fairy won’t come to see me again!" He starts crying again, I gulp and look to Chris who is laughing and to Matt who is trying not to laugh.

The whole ride there was chaos, Nick sobbing and his brothers laughing and trying to comfort him, my supporting hand on his and my arm wrapped around his shoulders.

When we arrived, I grabbed his hand while they put the IV on him. I tried to hold my laughter back when the anesthesia kicked in because even when our relationship wasn’t a secret it wasn’t something public either. I sat with Chris and Matt and waited, I drank some coffee, I checked some e-mail, and when he was done, we all jolted from our seats and entered the room. Nick was… groggy, to say a word. His eyes moved around the room, and when he saw all of us, he smiled widely.

“Hii.” He said to us, I grabbed the camera as his brothers walked up to him.

“How are you?” Chris asks, Nick puts his thumbs up. We share a laugh.

“You feeling well?” Matt asks.

“Hm. I hate this.” Nick mutters while waving the tiny square attached to his finger.

“No, don’t take that off.��� I speak. Nick turns around to look at me and smiles.

“Hi handsome.” He winks at me, but his eye closed to hard and for too long, making it look goofy. I smile at him.

“Wanna say hi to your boyfriend?” Chris laughs walking to me and taking the camera off my hands. He gives me a little push on the arm and I walk towards Nick.

“Wow, you are hot.” Nick babbles and I chuckle.

“Nick, we are in public.” Matt scolds him.

“Thanks. I think you are hot too.” I pat his shoulders gently.

“Come on, don’t indulge him.” Chris talks behind the camera.

“WHAT!? I can’t speak my mind now?” Nick frowns and tries to cross his arms but I hold them still.

“Careful, your IV could move.” He rolls his eyes and groans. “Come on, stay still. I’ll cuddle you when we are home.” I see him smile quickly.

“Okay, I like that.” he tries to stay still but I see him play with the gray square on his finger a bit.

After talking with the doctor, waiting for all the medicine to go into his blood, getting the care package and all the instructions from the dentist we made our way downstair with Nick in the wheelchair.

“Nick, look at me.” I laugh behind the camera of my phone; he looks at me and playfully raises his arms and smiles. “Great picture, love it.”

“Wanna see.”

“I’ll show you when we get to the car.”

The car wasn’t very far, we put Nick into his seat and with a bit of a fight we buckled his seatbelt. I sat next to him, holding his hand telling him how brave he was and how proud I am of him. His little smile and blush were the best reward. I smiled at myself knowing the surprise that awaited home. (Ice-cream and his teeth he thought he lost).

---

Tiny extra:

“Nick sit down, you are not a drag queen, you are still a bit weak from the medicine.” I say while looking at him dance in front of the tv.

“If I was drugged, could I do this?”

“NICK!” I grab him and we land on the couch, he laughs manically and I sigh loudly. “Jesus, this is like babysitting.” I feel him pout against my cheek. “What? You feel sorry?”

He shakes his head. “They eliminated my favorite queen.” His eyes water and I rub his back up and down, trying to console him for that lost, even when we have seen this season more than 5 times.

Taglist: @freshloveforthefit @shywolfapricotfan @sturnphilia @matty-bear @thenickgirl @stvrniolvsp @paige05 @soursturniolo @miloisdone1 @teenagetrash00 @lovely-calypso @h3arts4harry @malirosee

[onthelowrise]

Matchless

pairing: xavier thorpe x f!reader

quick a/n: this is the first thing i’ve written in a while, so keep that in mind. im open for feedback and requests! any kind of interaction is appreciated! also the lowercase is intentional.

summary: reader is jealous of xavier thorpe’s newfound interest in nevermore’s new edition, wednesday adams.

GIF by: sleepingpillsworld

word count: 700+ words

warnings: language, very suggestive but not nsfw

masterlist: coming soon

wednesday addams. she was interesting for more than just one thing. perhaps that’s why you’d grown so envious of her relations to xavier thorpe. y/n only heard as much as he told her, which ,surprisingly, wasn’t much. regardless, the big painting of her was the only reminder of being the second option you needed. the way he talked about her made you more unreasonably hostile than usual.

you thought about bringing up his unjustified — and just plain thirsty — infatuation. you didn’t know whether to feel pity for him or yourself when he spoke of their vague relationship. it was almost as sad as you waiting in your dorm room every night for a single message.

xavier: tonight?

almost. there wasn’t a question of what he meant or whether or not you were going. he wanted something and ,needless to say, you didn’t have a problem giving him what he wanted.

“when are we gonna get to why your really here?” he twirled the end of a paintbrush in his fingers, growing impatient from staring at you.

you rolled your eyes from being interrupted while clearly being in deep thought. y/n knew deep down knowing there was some validity to that question. you two were far from friends. just two single people with sex as a common interest.

“you act like we’re both not here for the same exact reason. you’re lonely and horny. maybe that’s why you’ve been chasing after something who clearly isn’t interested in you all week.” y/n half-mumbled, the usual attitude present in your tone.

y/n had been wanting to say that since wednesday came to nevermore. the consistent pining and rejection was enough alone to make you despise seeing them together. y/n had a little bit of a grudge built up against her, reasons more than apparent. to be truthful, you didn’t pay her much attention when she wasn’t with xavier.

“someone?” he noticed the way you didn’t use her name. knowing you, he was sure that was on purpose.

your eyes finally met his, trying to replicate your usual confident gaze. he stood in front of you with his palms and finger tips planted on your thighs. he towered over you with his beanstalk height. you sat stubbornly with your arms folded, awaiting his response.

“first of all, i’m horny and you’re lonely.” he corrected you, half-joking, half-serious. “you came all the way here to talk about wednesday?” he added flatly.

“no.” you replied quickly, not wanting to go back to your dorm without having your way with him first.

“so you’re jealous that I’ve been spending time with a girl other than you?” he made direct eye contact with you, lips perking up into an arrogant smile. you swore you could feel the humidity of steam coming out of your ears.

“that’s what you call following behind someone like a lost puppy? ‘spending time’ with them? ” y/n questioned his logic. you began to feel silly, fighting for a spot that was never yours in the first place.

it felt unnatural for the both of you to spend this much time talking. you didn’t jump straight into it, but it was way past five minute grace period. as soon as he sent a text giving you the green-light, you were ready to jump his bones once again. and who was he to deny his most loyal, talented hook up? upon your arrival, you especially didn’t waste time.

the last real conversation they had was a distant memory. and, well , the curtesy pillow talk didn’t really count.

“never pegged you for the relationship type of girl.” he said failing to imagine that. he couldn’t imagine another girl doing anything to him in your place either. he cursed the day that you finally came to your senses and replaced him with someone willing to show you off.

you’d grown accustomed to holding in the way you really felt. that way, your spot in his life — and his bed —was always secure. the mask never slipped and your relationship stayed the same. y/n was starting to think that wasn’t such a good thing after all.

y/n stayed quiet, assuming he was just thinking about loud.

“I know you want me to say I won’t forget about you. as long as you keep giving me something to remember, I won’t. it’s gonna be hard to top last time though.” he laughed, referencing y/n’s matchless performance lately. xavier admired how talented you’d become in the field of pleasure.

he wasn’t the romantic, relationship type either so wednesday was likely just a temporary infatuation. he barely knew her. he would realize that and you would be the somewhat main priority again.

he could tell you felt like you had to compete for a spot in his life. you didn’t , but it was cute, nonetheless. y/n became less effortless and more skilled. your eagerness showed, everything you did becoming intentional. you left a perfect image of yourself in his head every time. it was clear to him you felt like you had something you didn’t want to lose. he didn’t see fit to make y/n think otherwise.

[bradshawsbaby]

Merry Christmas, Darling

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Natasha “Phoenix” Trace

Author’s Note: This is one of my contributions to @notroosterbradshaw​’s #hello december playlist challenge! It’s inspired by the song Merry Christmas Darling by The Carpenters!

Warnings: Angst related to an unexpected deployment, brief language, brief and subtle innuendos, lots of fluff.

Greeting cards have all been sent The Christmas rush is through But I still have one wish to make A special one for you Merry Christmas, darling We're apart, that's true

But I can dream and in my dreams I'm Christmasing with you

Phoenix had been impatiently watching the minutes tick by all day, willing time itself to move faster as she attempted to keep herself busy around the house, cleaning the kitchen for the third or fourth time that morning, throwing some ready-to-bake Pillsbury cookies in the oven, rearranging the ornaments on the Christmas tree—anything to make the hours slip by.

When 4:15pm finally rolled around, she scrambled into the living room, where she’d left her laptop sitting on the end of the coffee table nearest the tree, fully charged and ready for her scheduled video call. Setting her wine glass down on a coaster and nibbling anxiously on one of the snowman sugar cookies she’d made earlier in the afternoon, Phoenix sat down cross-legged on the floor and logged in, staring at her own reflection on camera as she awaited his virtual arrival.

It was only 4:18pm. She was early. They were supposed to be meeting at 4:30pm her time, 11:30pm his time. She would just wait. He’d be on soon.

She ate another six cookies in the meantime.

She was just lifting cookie number seven to her lips when her laptop suddenly started beeping, indicating that someone else was joining the video call. Throwing down the cookie at once, she tried not to look too eager as she leaned in closer, desperate to see that face that was far too handsome for its own good, but which she loved more than life itself.

“There’s my Minx,” Jake grinned, his bright smile suddenly filling the screen. He looked exhausted—the lines on his forehead and around his eyes were a dead giveaway to her—but his enthusiasm was obvious nonetheless.

“Well if it isn’t Bagman,” Phoenix smirked in return, swallowing a couple times to hold the explosion of emotion she was feeling at bay. “Right on time, too, I might add. Very impressive,” she grinned.

“I had to fight like hell to grab a free computer,” he told her, shaking his head with a chuckle. “I’m pretty sure there’s a few ensigns who aren’t too happy with me right now, but I’ll smooth things over with them tomorrow. Nothing was going to keep me from seeing my girl,” he added with a wink.

Phoenix laughed at that, easily able to imagine her husband pulling rank to grab himself an available carrel. This was one situation where she wouldn’t scold him for being a cocky son of a bitch. “I’m glad for that,” she said, brushing a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, Minx,” Jake murmured, sobering slightly. “So, so much. I wish you were here. You’d put most of these guys they’ve got us flying with to shame.”

“Hmmm, I’d rather you were here,” Phoenix replied, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. The living room was cozy with the lights twinkling on the tree and soft Christmas music playing in the background, but the house felt cold without him in it.

“I know. Me, too,” he nodded, lifting a hand and resting it on the computer screen, as if reaching out to touch her.

She mimicked his movement, lifting her hand as if she could press her palm against his and feel his touch, despite the thousands of miles that separated them.

Being in the Navy for as long as she had been, especially since becoming part of the special detachment at North Island, unexpected missions and deployments shouldn’t have surprised her anymore. In fact, they often seemed to crop up at the most inconvenient times, if she was being honest. So it shouldn’t have shocked her when Jake was called upon at the last minute for a month-long mission in the Middle East.

But even though it shouldn’t have surprised her, it still hurt like hell when she learned that they’d be spending their first Christmas as husband and wife apart from one another.

She wasn’t normally one for tears, especially when it came to matters of duty and obligation, but she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t shed many of them when that bomb had been dropped on her.

“It isn’t fucking fair!” she’d sobbed angrily, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. She pulled away from Jake as he tried to reach out to hold her, simultaneously craving his touch and needing to put as much distance between them as possible before she completely fell apart. “Why do they have to send you? It’s Christmas!”

“I know, Minx, I know,” Jake whispered calmly, pulling her into his arms despite her protests and holding her close, rubbing soothing circles into her back. “I hate it,” he admitted, his jaw clenching as he gazed stoically above her head, trying to hold it together for the both of them. “But…I don’t have a choice. I’ll be home as soon as possible.”

But it wouldn’t be soon enough. He was missing Christmas and New Year.

When they learned that Jake would be deployed on a mission for the holidays, Phoenix’s family had tried to convince her to fly out to New York to spend Christmas with them.

“Please, Tasha,” her mom had begged on the phone. “I hate the thought of you being cooped up all alone at Christmas.”

“I won’t be alone, Mom. A bunch of my friends will still be here,” Phoenix demurred, knowing the Dagger Squad wouldn’t let her spend the holidays alone even if she had wanted to. “Maybe next year we’ll fly over for Christmas.”

“Minx, I think your Mom is right,” Jake said as soon as she hung up the phone. He lifted one hand, stroking her cheek gently. “Spend Christmas with your parents and your brothers. I can’t stand the thought of you being here alone, baby.”

“I don’t want to,” Phoenix insisted stubbornly, shaking her head. “I want to be here. I want to be in our house. It’s our first Christmas here and I just—”

She hadn’t even been able to finish her sentence, the damn tears spilling over once more as her throat closed up with emotion.

“Hey, hey, shh,” Jake whispered tenderly, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her softly. “It’s okay,” he went on reassuringly, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. “If that’s what you want, Minx, then it’s what I want, too.”

That matter settled, they’d then set about trying to cram as many holiday activities into the time they had left before Jake had to leave. Christmas markets, ice skating, the cookie decorating party at Penny and Mav’s place, game night at the Bradshaws’—they did it all.

But it still wasn’t nearly enough.

When Phoenix drove Jake to base the week before Christmas, she felt like her heart was being pummeled inside her chest. It was the hardest goodbye she’d ever had to say, clinging to him and kissing him for a long time before he finally had to let go.

“I’m going to do everything I can to see you on Christmas, Minx. We’ll talk. I promise,” Jake had whispered in her ear, kissing her one last time before being pulled off towards the carrier.

And so here they were, spending Christmas Eve half a world apart, Phoenix sitting on the floor of their living room in her Christmas pajamas, while Jake sat on board an aircraft carrier, still in his flight suit.

“How has your Christmas Eve been? Tell me everything,” Jake urged, his hand still resting against the screen, almost absent-mindedly, as if he really did think he could keep himself anchored to her that way.

“Oh, you know. A little boring,” Phoenix admitted with a laugh, reaching for her glass of wine and taking a sip. “Honestly, I was so anxious about watching the time for our call that I just ended up cleaning the kitchen and rearranging the decorations,” she chuckled. “Oh, but I did also make some cookies,” she added quickly, holding up one of her Pillsbury sugar cookies.

Jake groaned. “Don’t make me jealous, Minx. The food on board is crap, as usual. What I wouldn’t give for the taste of a Christmas cookie right now,” he sighed. “Actually,” he added, glancing over his shoulder and then raising a mischievous eyebrow. “What I wouldn’t give for the taste of a lot of things right now,” he said, winking suggestively.

“Bagman, I will literally end this call right now,” Phoenix told him, though she couldn’t help the grin that tugged at the corners of her lips at her husband’s innuendo.

“Aww, no, don’t do that. Let me look at that beautiful face for a little while longer,” he smirked, resting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair. “Those pajamas are looking pretty sexy, babe.”

“Oh, shut up,” Phoenix laughed, rolling her eyes. “They’re the most comfortable pajamas I’ve ever worn, even if they do make me look like a five-year-old,” she joked.

“The dancing reindeer really bring out your eyes,” Jake snorted. She could tell his own eyes were sparkling with amusement, even through the computer screen.

“You know, that’s what I’m really most disappointed about—that I don’t get to see you in your dancing reindeer pajamas,” Phoenix smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ever since she was a little girl, the Trace family had had a tradition of getting a new pair of matching Christmas pajamas each year. Even as an adult, it was a tradition Phoenix had always looked forward to, and one she eagerly roped Jake into once they got engaged. Once again, she had to swallow her disappointment that he wasn’t home to take ridiculous selfies with her in front of the Christmas tree in their matching ensembles.

“Well, you know I would never want to disappoint you, Minx,” Jake replied, leaning forward in his seat as he began unzipping his flight suit. “And so…just for you…” He pulled open the suit to reveal what he’d donned underneath—his dancing reindeer Christmas pajamas.

Gasping excitedly, Phoenix nearly toppled her glass of wine as she scrambled to her knees, leaning in closer to her laptop screen to get a better view. “Oh, babe! You really brought them with you?” she asked, resting her hand over her heart. It honestly touched her more than words could say.

“Of course I did,” Jake smiled. “Wouldn’t be Christmas if I wasn’t wearing matching pajamas with my sexy wife,” he winked teasingly.

Phoenix laughed, beaming despite herself. “I love you so much,” she murmured, reaching out to press her hand against the screen once more.

“I love you, too. More than words can say,” Jake told her. He leaned in closer, resting his elbows on the desk of his carrel and gazing at her. “God, I wish I was holding you right now.”

“Me, too,” she whispered, her heart aching with missing him. “But you’ll be home soon.”

“Really soon,” Jake nodded, the quality of his video connection starting to lag slightly. They were lucky it had lasted for as long as it had. “We’ll celebrate when I get back, baby. I promise. I know it won’t be the same, but—”

“Doesn’t matter,” Phoenix cut him off, shaking her head. “I’ll celebrate Christmas with you any time you want.”

Jake smiled at that, glancing down for a moment and then lifting his gaze back to her. “Speaking of which, it actually is Christmas here right now,” he smiled.

Phoenix glanced at the clock—5pm, which meant that it was midnight where Jake was currently stationed.

An unintelligible voice suddenly sounded in the background behind Jake, snagging his attention for a couple minutes. His expression deflated slightly, and Phoenix knew that it was time to say goodbye once again.

“I’m sorry, Minx. Apparently I’ve spent too much time with you, even though I say there’s never enough time,” Jake tried to joke, though his smile was tinged with sadness. “I love you. I’ll be home soon.”

“I love you, too,” Phoenix said softly, blowing him a kiss through the screen. “Merry Christmas, Bagman.”

Jake’s expression softened, his eyes filled with so much love that Phoenix thought her heart might just burst inside her chest at that moment.

“Merry Christmas, darling.”

I've just one wish on this Christmas Eve I wish I were with you

[jaeellec]

Damn the Stars Snippet

Oh hey I just realized since I've made Carmen's crew and relationship known, I can post these two scenes I wrote a long time ago! Really hope they still read well~ Still trying to decide how mature I want to go with this spin-off.

But anyway, read below the cut!

“What’s taking so long?” Carmen was clearly limited on her patience as she sat between Heat and Wire in an open-style tent. For pirates, this was luxurious: comfortable individual seating, wine, an abundance of bizarre fruit native to the island. Their rainforest hideout lacked the castle though, and some of the enemy crew stood in front of the tent while they, too, awaited the arrival of their captain.

Heat leaned in, “I was wondering the same. The Titan Pirates have an impressive reputation. Not impressive enough to be worth this wait though.”

"They're keeping me from my captain..."

“Budgie,” Wire got the attention of the two to gesture his head towards the approaching host; a surprisingly handsome and well-built man with smooth tan skin, a close-cut beard, and medium length wavy, dark hair that was appeared wetted and slicked back. He was accompanied by the rest of his crew.

An arrogant smile on his face, the enemy captain took his time in sauntering to his guests, “Ah, the Wandering Star, Carmen Amsel,” the captain had stopped several feet away. “You seem more party favor than pirate.”

Some of the enemy snickered at their captain’s little quip - an allusion to the first article about her after she took up the life of a pirate.

Heat and Wire’s faces instantly showed scorn, but Carmen seemed neutral. Almost amused, even, as she rose to give her own greeting.

“The Giant’s Bastard, Guillermo Greave,” Heat and Wire stood as she spoke. “You seem more bastard than giant.”

Greave lit up with laughter. “You know how to handle yourself out here! You’re earning quite the reputation and the bounty to go along with it. Taking out Rush Black and his Salty Dogs entirely. And it was you who claimed the head of the second-hand of the Leviathan Pirates, was it not? He had a mythical Zoan – a nasty one.” He raised an eyebrow. “I am very curious about the Devil Fruit powers you possess. I wonder how true some of the stories are.”

All the while he was speaking, Carmen and her crewmates had been making their way closer to him, closing the gap he had left.

“I could give you a demonstration, or we could conduct business as intended,” the hint of arrogance and impatience was beginning to come through. “You’ve kept me and my men waiting long enough.”

“My apologies. I was simply making sure everything was in order and giving you and your men time to relax and enjoy some wine. I think you will be very pleased with what I have to offer.”

She raised an eyebrow, “I’m still waiting.”

Finally cutting any of the flattery, Greave turned to give a nod to his crew, and three men disappeared while he began his proposal. “Pirate alliances have been breaking in the papers often recently. Straw Hat Luffy and the Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law. Your own captain’s alliance with Scratchmen Apoo and Basil Hawkins. Straw Hat and the Surgeon have outed the purpose of their alliance with events unfolding in Dressrosa – one of the Four Emperors of the Sea. So, tell me, Wandering Star…”

There was a certain sureness to her as she listened.

“Which Emperor is your captain after?”

“Our goals are of no concern to you. News of pirate alliances does not make you a part of ours.”

“Ah, not yet at least,” Greave smirked as the three men returned. Each carried a treasure chest and placed them directly and individually in front of the three Kid Pirates, the one in front of Carmen being opened to present its glittering gold contents. “Whichever Emperor it may be, I am highly interested in having a hand in their fall.”

Carmen’s inquisitive eyes lifted from the treasure at her feet to look back to Greave as he continued.

“Consider this my demonstration. This is only a small taste of what I have to offer for my part in the alliance. My men and I have been doing well for ourselves in the New World even before your Captain and his second hand were Supernovas on the other side of the Red Line. We are well-established, and our abundance of gathered treasure would surely be of use when it comes to preparing for a fight against one of the Four Emperors. In fact, Carmen Amsel, there is more treasure waiting aboard your readied ship.”

“My ship?” that caught Carmen’s attention, and even won over a keener tone with a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Oh, yes. It’s said that you have become the helmsman of the Kid Pirates - that above all, you love to sail. You will even take the ship out for fun, do you not? With your feats and talents, I say you have very well earned your own vessel. It’s the black ship at bay, fully prepared and ready to take to the seas! As I said, my men and I have done well for ourselves.”

Carmen lightly looked over her shoulder to playfully  address Heat, “This must be that impressive little reputation you mentioned,” she turned back to Greave, her eyes hard to read. “A nice island base, luxurious tents instead of a crumbling castle with plenty of gold and even a ship to spare…”

The Titan’s Bastard grinned at the recounting of his accomplishments, though his smile would soon fade with the turning of her tone.

“But what else have you done? What big names have you bested? So far, it seems you’ve left them all to us.”

“Like I said,” Heat spoke up – he wanted to make sure the entire crew could hear. “Not worth the wait.”

Greaves began to crack, his suave façade giving into frustration, “Not worth the wait?!”

“Trying to buy your way into an alliance?” Carmen maintained control. “Our first mate told me to expect this – that this might be the reason for you wanting an audience with us.”

“The first mate is who Eustass “Captain” Kid should have been wise enough to send to deal with such matters if he wasn’t man enough to face me himself. Instead, he sends his bitch!” he turned to his men to make a demand. “Take the gold!”

Two of the men reached for the chests in front of Heat and Wire while the captain himself outreached his hand to the open chest in front of Carmen. In unison, Wire stabbed his trident in front of his chest while Heat slammed his foot on top of his, leaning forward and in the position to breath fire. All this while Carmen dropped into a crouch, slamming the lid shut on her way down and nearly catching the Bastard’s fingers. She rested her cheek on her folded arms atop the chest.

“My gold,” she reminded him. “A gift given to me that I very much intend to keep.”

Angered and in shock, Greave took a step back and glanced left and right at her crewmates. “What are you doing?! We had a deal before you even stepped foot on this island. I promised no snipers and you promised me safe conduct! I’ve upheld my end of the deal and I expect you to do the same!”

“I promised not to use my powers,” she narrowed her eyes and darkened her tone. “No more. No less.”

"I've had my fill of you!” The Bastard’s demeanor was slipping even more into dissolve. “You are going to call your captain! I demand to speak with him!!”

She was growing evermore impatient – now flat and cold. “Tough shit, you’re talkin’ to me. I was sent because you were not worth my captain's time, and you were not worth the first mate’s time. If you were, the Massacre Soldier would have contacted you along with Scratchmen and Hawkins. But you were right…” she quickly opened the chest just enough to reach in and snatch a handful of the treasure inside. “This will very much help us. We’ll be sure to put it to good use.”

The enemy captain sneered at her, “You rancid little whore,” his words were dripping in disdain, and his men behind him readied their weapons.

“Careful, now,” she rose. “You make the first move and you’ll find your luxurious little hideout underwater.”

The tales of what could happen gave the enemy a pause.

“I’d rather not go back on my word today,” she continued and began walking away, her violet eyes on the fine jewelry hanging from her fingers. “Heat, Wire...do as you see fit. I think I’ll have a look at my ship.”

As Carmen set off towards the docks, flames spewed forth from Heat’s mouth.

_            _            _

Back at the Kid Pirate’s base, the three captains and Killer were finishing up lunch, their plates mostly clear save for Kid whose mind seemed to be elsewhere.

After enough bottled up agitation, Kid let out a growl, “They should be back by now. How long does it take to steal from a guy who has ‘bastard’ as a part of his title?!”

“Bastard?” Scratchmen questioned as he shoved half a slice of pizza into his wide-open mouth, an amused grin spreading across his face as he thought and chewed. “You sent her to deal with the Titan Pirates?”

“He said to steal from them,” Hawkins corrected his ally while gently dabbing the corners of his own mouth with a napkin. “Do you think that was perhaps not very wise?”

This delighted Scratchmen even more, “It’ll piss ‘em off, no doubt. You could have at least given the girl a little more backup! Would’ve let ya borrow some of my men if you had asked, Kid! Wouldn’t want our little Budgie getting hurt now, would we?”

The redhead’s short fuse was already reaching its limit, and he glared at the captain of the On Air pirates, a low growl escaping his lips as he stared the grinning DJ down.

Just then, the door opened and a group of Kid Pirates, including Haikei, Oscar, and Noe entered the dining room.

“Sorry to interrupt lunch, boss,” Oscar spoke first, but it was Haikei who gave the concerning news.

“We just thought you’d want to know there’s a strange ship docked outside next to the Victoria Punk…”

“What?!” Kid shot up from his seat to look out the blasted part of the dining room wall, Killer doing just the same.

“What the hell…?”

“Dammit, Budgie, I told you I didn’t want them to join!” Kid quietly hissed to himself.

“Surely, she wouldn’t…”

That prompted Scratchmen’s signature laugh. “I’m not surprised! I heard the Giant’s Bastard is quite the looker! Seems like he charmed his way into our little alliance!”

“Shut up!”

From the doorway, the group of pirates seemed unsure. “Umm…your orders, boss…?” Haikei was hesitant with his inquiry while the Hawkins read a floating card spread, and the Sea Roar continued to roar with laughter in the background. But he himself shut up once Carmen used her powers to descend into the open room, a smile plastered on her face and her body decorated with gems and jewels and layered gold jewelry hanging from her neck and wrists.

The moment she landed, her captain stormed up to her, jabbed his finger to the ship and demanded, “What the hell?!”

“I can’t wait to tell you!” she beamed, her eyes bright and full of cheer. But her expression and tone dried up when she looked to the two allied captains. “Get out.”

“This is an alliance, sweetheart,” the Sea Roar suddenly wasn’t so happy. “Whatever you have to say, we have a right to know.”

“And I thought we already addressed the matter of how you are to speak to us,” Hawkins added, snapping his deck from the air into his hands. “You do not give orders. You are not a captain.”

That rendered Kid irate, “I am a captain. Get out.”

With tensions rising, Killer, ever the level-headed one, spoke up. “Just give us the chance to get everything sorted out and settled. If there’s anything worth mentioning, we’ll discuss it at the next meeting so no one is left in the dark here.”

“Out,” Kid sternly reiterated.

The captains’ cooperation was reluctant and contemptuous, and once left with only those on his crew, Kid turned to the grinning girl with a look that demanded to know everything.

“The men you sent with me took care of the Titan Pirates,” Carmen was quick to oblige. “Every single last one of them. During negotiations, they offered up the ship with all the gold you were expecting and more,” her excited tone turned sweet. “It’s perfect, and I really want it to be my ship. Can I have it? Please?” she gently bit her bottom lip and pressed her hands together in a plea, all but bouncing in anticipation. “Can I, can I?”

A light groan told he was just relieved she followed orders...and that she had come back to him. “If it’s what you want, Budgie…The ship is yours.”

With a cry of excitement, Carmen jumped and threw her arms around his neck, “It’s the Black Star!” She released and took his hand, a smile still lighting up her face. “That’s what I’m calling it! There’s another perfectly good ship back at their island, but I only had enough men to get the Punk and the Black Star back here. If you want it, I can take some men and go get it another day.”

Those gathered in the doorway exchanges excited glances, and the Massacre Soldier spoke up. “It may not be a bad idea, but it will still take some time to gather crews for both ships and beyond if we want to start expanding that much.”

“That’s a given,” Carmen looked to the Massacre Soldier. “Maybe someday you’ll be the captain of that one,” then she turned back to her captain. “Or maybe give it to Heat as the captain and Wire as the first mate? That is, if it is your order to retrieve the ship, Captain.”

“Of course we’re getting the ship!” once again that menacing grin appeared on his face just at the thought of how the future was shaping up for him and his crew. “Good job handling the ‘Bastard’, Budgie. You’ve outdone yourself this time.”

Carmen was pleased with the fact that her captain was pleased. “And this is just the beginning. We started today with one ship, and now we have three. The possibilities are endless and the seas be ours, Captain,” she looked up at him with sultry eyes as she moved one of the gold chains from around her neck to his, hanging onto it from either side of the link. “From Captain to Commodore…” she pulled on the chain, bringing his face mere inches from hers, her honeyed voice confident. “And then King.”

[nightghoul381]

Congratulations on the milestone! 🥳👏 May it be the first of many more!

I will request Star Crossed Lovers with (ofc) Keith. His POV. I'll let you choose if Main or Alter or both, and if SFW, NSFW or suggestive. I just love this prompt very much and I believe it's SO THEM (Main a bit more than Alter but anyways, THEM).

Thank you so much! 🥰

OOOHHHH this was a fun one ^w^ I kept it SFW (but can always make an epilogue 😉) I hope you enjoy it and thank you so much for following me 🥰🥰

Whatever It Takes

Keith Howell (POV) x Reader Prompt: Star-crossed lovers Genre: Fluffy angst WC: ~1.5k

It’s so difficult to see you across the room and know that I wasn’t able to be your escort. The gala was supposed to be a way for our two countries to further develop their relationship, and to say that I hadn’t been eagerly looking forward to this would be a complete lie.

You look immaculate, hair pinned elegantly and dress perfectly fitted to your curves. My heart flutters as your eyes meet mine. I doubt I’ll ever truly be able to get over the way you make me feel, the way you’ve decided that I am worthy of your love.

I long to make my way over to you; to sweep you into my arms and lead you around the room in a delicate dance. I wish I could demonstrate to all the world how strong my love for you is, yet at this time, it is impossible.

If only our countries were not on the verge of war, then surely we would have the blessings of our respective kingdoms to pursue our love. Alas, the way things stand I fear that we may never get the chance to openly express our feelings toward each other.

I hadn’t realized how long I had been staring until a nobleman in the group I was gathered with mentioned it.

“Prince Keith, you’ve been eyeing that young lady for quite some time. Would it be wrong of me to presume she strikes your fancy? You know full well you can’t be seen cavorting with the enemy,” He warns, shooting a distasteful glare your way.

The instant rage bubbling inside me at the brazen comments is not something I’m used to. I try very hard to keep my emotions in check, especially during social functions such as this. If I let myself get too overwhelmed, He will take control, and I can’t trust him not to make a scene and jeopardize everything.

He loves you too, and you him. It’s so strange to know that you are somehow so full of love that you can make both of us feel completely loved without one being neglected. I admit that I don’t know if I would have the same ability to love two women equally at the same time, my mind is only ever devoted to you, and yet I feel that your mind is always filled with both of us in equal measure.

I glance down at the noble and quietly deny his assertions, brushing them aside with a mention of how you had looked familiar but that I must have been mistaking you for another noblewoman.

I still can’t seem to curb the anger I’m feeling at his blatant disrespect toward you, so I politely excuse myself, making my way to the edge of the room. And my breathing quickens as I see you do the same, moving closer to me. I feel like this may be the only opportunity for us to speak tonight, so making eye contact with you, I step out into the hall and move to one of the offices nearby.

Impatience fills me as I await your arrival. Surely, you understood what I was trying to convey when we exchanged that look. I need to see you. My head is spinning and I can feel my agitation growing.

A very soft, almost inaudible knocking on the office door stops my frantic thinking, it’s you. I ease open the door and you slip inside as I close and lock the door behind you.

You’re even more breathtaking up close. The shimmer of the fabric of your dress makes it look as though the sky had descended and wrapped you in a gown of stars, the heavens themselves jealous of your beauty.

Your fragrant perfume wafts over me as you approach and I take in a deep lungful, savoring how the scent toys with my mind, sending washes of joy, comfort, safety, pleasure, and desire rushing through my body in tandem.

I allow my long legs to bridge the last bit of distance between us, drawing you in for an urgent and needy kiss. You are all too happy to oblige, working your plush pout against me in such an intoxicating rhythm. The taste of your lips fills the aching hole that has haunted my heart since last we parted. I can feel the aching loneliness fading, replaced with the heavenly feeling of your love.

When at last we separate to get some air, I take in the heady look in your lidded gaze and feel my blood rush faster. You certainly must not be thinking what it seems you’re thinking, could you?

“Darling, we can’t do this, not here and not yet. I’m expected to speak in a few moments.”

My words cause such a disparaging look of disappointment to mar your beautiful face, guilt threatens to overwhelm me. He wouldn’t mind giving into you in such an exposed place with so many pressing matters that need to be attended to.

The negative thoughts spiral, and I feel the all too familiar sensation of self-hatred leading to him taking over. I’m so torn, reluctant to give up control out of responsibility, yet at the same time, willing to let Him take control to ensure your needs are met.

In the end, I resolve that I need to ensure this engagement goes as planned and manage to battle Him back, vowing that we will find a way to make sure you don’t leave here dissatisfied. You deserve the world and I hope I convey that in the kiss I drop on your forehead.

“I’ll make sure we have time together at the end of the night,” I promise, running a hand over your shoulder, so small and delicate beneath my long fingers.

You nod briefly, shaking off the dejected look and replacing it with a warm smile.

“You promise?” you ask, blinking your gorgeous eyes up at me. If only I were a different man, I would hold you close right now. I’d make sure that such a sad look never again crossed your features. I would keep that beautiful smile on your face to the best of my abilities. You deserve to be happy and that is all I want you to ever feel.

“Of course. I don’t think I’d be able to go another night without holding you.”

Heaving a heavy sigh, I let go of you, allowing you to re-enter the ballroom before I eventually makes my way back in myself.

As the event finally begins to wind down and draw to a close, I find myself anxiously scanning the few remaining people for your lovely face. My heart sinks as I realize you’re no longer in the room.

Please don’t tell me she’s already left…

I rush out of the room, heading toward the front of the castle. Perhaps if I’m fast enough I’ll be able to catch a glimpse of you before you disappear. Who knows when the next time will come that I’ll be able to see you.

As I sprint down one of the halls, I hear my name hissed in a hushed whisper from one of the rooms. I skid to a halt, jogging back toward where I thought I heard the voice.

There you are. The relief flowing through me is overwhelming and as soon as I enter the room, I capture you in a desperate hungry kiss. My heart is still racing from the fear that I could have missed you. That I would have had to go at minimum another month without seeing you as you would head back to your country and remain under constant supervision. The only reason you’re not under lock and key now is because your handmaiden took pity on us, covering for you with the other servants, and granting us this time to be alone together.

The eager passion you fill each kiss with is drowning my mind in such a pleasurable haze, and soon the only thing I can do is focus on the way you taste and the heavenly feel of your arms around my neck. I lift you, holding you in my arms and allowing me better access to your mouth.

This blissful reunion is all I’ve been craving for so long, filling me with such immense joy I almost ruin the kiss with the dopey smile that I can’t seem to control.

My love for you is boundless and I swear on my life I will do whatever it takes for us to be together. Whatever it takes.

Taglist: @candied-boys @aquagirl1978 @ominousjangling @violettduchess

[tennfan2]

Nice to Meet You (Again)

(Oh hey - it’s my first scene log in… a long damn time! Also, Daisy? Put the card for this away while you read.)

First, a confession: my thing with memory play is that it kind of pisses me off that people are able to do it. I mean, I’m happy for them, but it’s always been kind of elusive for me. As a result, I’ve always had kind of mixed success with it as a hypnotist.

So when my friend Daisy, who I’d been talking with since last summer and doing online trancy things with since the fall, mentioned being sort of curious about it, I was happy to play around. She’s a really good subject - someone who just inherently “gets it” - so I felt pretty good about the possibilities.

So, over a few weeks, we played with some simple things and over time we built a metaphor I really love. The idea is this: our brains are reference libraries, our memories are books, and there sure are a ton of books there, right? Too many to keep up with. So we all have a card catalog we can flip through to find the right one. The books never leave (it’s a reference library, obviously) but if you lose the card that tells you where it is? Then it’s essentially impossible to find.

I learned that Daisy would be arriving to Charmed a day before I’d be able to get there, but since I live nearby, I had an idea. What if I picked her up on Wednesday evening and had her forget I’d done so, giving us two chances to meet for the first time?

I threw out the idea during one of our conversations and it was quite well received. I believe the response was just “HOT. Hot.”

A couple of weeks before Charmed, I had her in trance and walked through the particulars of the plan, and let her know that there was no need to remember that we’d even talked about it. Her (very excellent) brain did the rest and over the ensuing days she knew that we’d discussed… something, but there was no clue as to what.

So there I was, pulling up to the airport on the Wednesday before Charmed, and there she was, waiting on the curb. It had been a long time since I’d had that kind of moment–the one that comes from months of conversation and phone calls and Skype trances and that joy of finally meeting someone who felt like an old friend in the flesh. All joy, all around.

We got into the car and started driving and chatting, but I looked at my GPS and realized I’d totally overestimated the drive from the airport to the hotel. I quickly asked her if I could do a thing, and she agreed; I put her into trance as we drove and reminded her about the plan:

I’d take her to the hotel and get her settled, but as soon as I left, she’d forget how she got there, remembering only a lovely rideshare ride with a very nice driver. She’d know she’d gotten there safely and it would all make good sense in her mind. I also planted some other Easter eggs for the weekend, and helped reinforce some safety suggestions we’d built over the time we’d be playing.

We got to the hotel and she checked in, I went up to her room with her and got her settled, and then headed for home. Friends, it was *audaciously* hard to pry myself away. But I knew the payoff would be worth it.

She actually texted the next afternoon to see when I’d be arriving with my merry band of carmates, who I’d told about my plan, but when we arrived, she was engaged as a demo bottom and eager learner in Wiseguy’s first-day class! It was hilarious because I’d rounded up most of my covid pod for the weekend to watch the big reveal, and they were… slightly impatient as we awaited her getting out of class.

But when she arrived from class? It was pure, unmitigated joy, again. I knew it would be fun to meet her twice for the first time, but I can’t overstate how cool it was.

The look on her face to “finally” meet was so real, so joyful. It was as close as one could get to perfect. I introduced her to my friends, and then leaned in to ask… “is there anything you need to remember?”

Y’all. Y’ALL. It could not have been better. Her eyes rolled up and fluttered for what seemed like a minute, but was probably just a few seconds. Seeing the memories return to her mind in real time was unlike anything I’d ever really experienced. She turned to me, said “... you little shit.” (a term of endearment - take my word for it) and then just collapsed into a squat for… a while.

It was so fun, so exciting, and so incredibly cool to do this, and I’m so grateful to Daisy for letting poke around in her brain (which is a truly excellent co-conspirator in all of this). What a great way to start a great weekend.

[fictioninmyblood]

Chapter 2

Soothe the Beast

Summary: A hidden Omega, even to herself, is revealed at the arrival of the Asgardians; unsure of how to navigate through this drastic change, she stumbles her way into the arms of the Alpha that lit her soul ablaze. Heimdall finds that upon touching the soil of Midgard, the Alpha he long thought was buried and mummified within, takes the reigns; unable to fight the gathered strength of his beast that has forcefully slept for well over a millennium, Heimdall will now know what it’s like to be at the mercy of his Alpha, and his Alpha will learn what it’s to be like at the mercy of an omega, his omega.

WARNING: 18+ themes, Minors DNI, cussin, slight smut, a/b/o theme

A/N: The Asgardians from the ship that were killed after Ragnorok wasn’t murdered and made it to safety on Earth with Heimdall and Thor aboard. I’m not going to follow the plot from Marvel other than to maintain my own.

A/N: Y/N is Sam and Sarah’s first cousin, but there is about a 10-15 year age gap.

Since Heimdall was accustomed to short naps and long stations at the bifrost, he didn’t sleep for very long. Rousing well over an hour before the birds awoke with their morning song. He took the time he had to really look at his omega in all of her glory. He peered into flashes of her past that the allfathers allowed him to view and spent the rest of his time cataloging her every perfect imperfection highlighted in the moonlight that made up the most perfect being he’d ever laid eyes on. By the time her eyes started to flutter he was purring at the glimpse he had of growing old with her. It seemed this was one occurrence the allfathers wanted him to experience rather than predict the journey of, but he was grateful for the mere glimpse they did grant him.

Y/N started stirring when she felt a vibration rippling through her body. Not wanting to endure any of the pain that awaited her in the wakeful hours of her unmarked heat she did her best to stay buried in her dreams. These last few cycles had forced her to find solace in her sleep, the pain just bad enough for her body to render her unconscious for as long as possible, into a hibernation of sorts just to be able to survive it. It took a while for her to fully come to, having had the most beautiful dream of having her alpha come scoop her in his arms as she had begun to succumb to the worst of what a heat can become. Imagine her surprise when the eyes she had dreamed of were the ones to greet her.

“Why do you look so confused little omega?

“You’re real.”

“Indeed I am. I could say the same of you.”

Y/N broke his intense gaze suddenly awash with a rapid fire of emotions.

“This was not how I dreamed to meet you, but I, lady Y/N of midgard, am Heimdall of Asgard, former warrior of the land and the throne that protected it. With you now in my arms and my home no more, my eternal pledge is to you as your one and only Alpha for all time. Do you accept my pledge love?”

“I-,” Y/N stuttered, shaken to her core by the conviction in his voice.

“How about it little one?” Heimdall asked, palming her face in his hand as she nuzzled it, his voice gruff with his alpha’s rumble. “We’ve waited so so long, be ours, please.” He couldn’t help but softly stroke her face, savoring the softness he’d gone so long without.

With a gulp she said, “I accept Alpha Heimdall.”

He shared a small smile as she semi-nervously giggled at him sliding her body up by palming her ass to be face-to-face without either of them having to reach. Heimdall breathed against her lips, teasing her, testing her, and watching how she and her omega responded to him and his alpha.

Y/N became increasingly frustrated as he played with them. She felt like a whiny kitten, experiencing their first heat, desperate for affection and attention, and too impatient to wait any longer. Her omega was practically clawing at the fringes of her mind to escape her mental cage, Y/N felt like her omega was going to tear her apart from the inside out. It took everything in her to quell her wiggling and whimpering, though she couldn’t all the way. Her omega was upset she wasn’t moving more and Y/N was mad she couldn’t stop all the way.

Heimdall leaned all the way back from her face, a knowing smirk gracing his lips. “What’s got you so nervous little one?”

Y/N chuckled nervously again, unsuccessfully trying to squirm off of Heimdall’s chest and out of the palms of his hands that had a firm grasp on where her thighs met her ass, occasionally coming up to palm her cheeks, both sets. How could someone so noticeably chiseled and toned feel like he could be twice her size if not more? He was huge!

“I have the unfortunate pleasure of not having much access to your mind my love, please tell me what thoughts plague you?”

His voice was light with amusement and still held the authoritative tone that was his baseline, the perfect balance of unyielding playfulness. He was not necessarily asking her, but he gave her just enough leeway to imagine he was.

“I just feel a little uncomfortable being on top of you, especially for such a long time.” Y/N said as she ducked her head timidly.

Heimdall raised an eyebrow assessing every emotion he could gain from this vulnerable moment.

“Is that so? I would say that is an unfounded emotion seeing as how I watched over your peaceful slumber for the entirety of the evening.”

His face held his piercing gaze as an uncomfortable silence formed in the space of her trying to find her words.

“Well- I- Aren’t you uncomfortable with my weight literally on you? Dead weight most of the night at that!” Y/N’s voice increasingly rose as her anxiety did.

“I am quite comfortable omega, I weigh at least twice your heaviest midgardian man and have many a foot over most. You are but a feathered pillow for me to carry around so I may rest comfortably through the rest of the days the allfathers choose to grant me.”

Y/N looked shocked, which she had to cover quickly at his next sentence, as well as the change of his eyes and voice. His beast was bleeding into them both and she did not want to provoke the danger lurking there any more than she already had.

With a lasered focus and menacing tone, daring her to answer incorrectly, Heimdall asked, “You wouldn’t be trying to insinuate that I am incapable of carrying and caring for my omega?”

Y/N fervently shook her head no, too afraid to provoke the beast that was clearly making himself known.

If she thought his demeanor couldn’t get more intense, she learned differently. “Nor would you be insinuating MY omega is undesirable because of faulty midgardian standards?”

Y/N gulped, struggling yet again to form words. Heimdall flipped them over easily, gingerly slotting himself between her soft thighs, forearms creating a cage on either side of her head, careful not to crush her. All she could do was keep her hands flat on his chest and look up at him.

He bit her earlobe and whispered into her ear, “are you?”

She let out a little squeak at his nips and shook her head no, diverting her eyes.

It would seem his little omega was demure all of a sudden. That just wouldn’t do. “Speak up little one.”

“No, Alpha, I’m not saying either of those things. I was just- I just…wanted to make sure you were comfortable.” Y/N stuttered out. “That’s all,” she trailed off, looking away bashfully.

“See?” he said, flipping them back over so that she was again laying on top of him.

“That wasn’t so hard to get out, now was it?” 

She shook her head, as it seemed to now be her default answer, scared her mouth could only produce awkward unfinished attempts at coherent sentences and squeaks of stunned silence.

Heimdall leaned in to suck her bottom lip into his mouth, releasing it with a quick bite that left her wide eyed and sopping wet. 

With the swift change of her pheremones, he leaned into the crook of her neck, taking a deep inhale of every scent she exuded.

“My little queen.” Inhale. “My hidden omega,” Inhale. “You smell of all the wonders of nature.” Inhale. “Most notably at this present moment,” inhale, “a thousand erupting volcanos in the depths of every ocean across the realms.” Inhale. “A most addictive scent of your heat.” Inhale. “Had I been one of these little pups running amock on your midguardian lands, surely my beast would have no choice but to get out of hand. Thank the allfathers for the fortified discipline that only comes with surviving the tests of time.”

“Lucky me?” Y/N said looking into Heimdall’s eyes with nothing but questions.

“No milady, lucky me,” Heimdall responded with a soft growl and starved look in his eyes. “I will enjoy the deepest depths of you before I allow my animalistic desires to cloud my ability to enjoy those moments in their entirety. By the time I do allow my beast the pleasure he so desperately wants, I will have already learned you down to your core.”

He gave her a quick peck and sat up in the bed, bringing her to sit on his lap facing him with her thighs caging his legs.

“That is a conversation for later though and I know you have many a question little one. Ask.”

“I don’t think I can process any of them right now, let alone ask,” Y/N stuttered, looking down at her twiddling thumbs, struggling to focus on the million and one thoughts surrounding the fact that her alpha was unlike any other and thus their love would reflect that. He seemed to be everything she’d hoped, wished, and prayed for, but it was difficult to grasp that he was her reality now.

Taking a lone finger to lift her eyes to his. “That is alright omega, we have the rest of eternity for you to learn all the answers you seek. For now, let us seek out some breakfast. It is especially imperative that today, you maintain your strength, if we are to discover the nature of your beast this coming eve.”

“Discover my- How did you know I haven’t had my first shift yet?”

Heimdall gripped her by the ass and pulled her impossibly closer into him, resting a hand on her back and leaving the other on her bottom. With a growl, he said, “You are mine.”

Y/N gulped.

“Although we have yet to become one, you are part of my beast and I. You are the reason we have been awoken from the slumber of selfless servitude.”

He grasped her face in his hands searching for the depths of her soul through her windows. “Your path is forever converged with mine. I know you as I know myself. Though I still have much to learn about us both in this physical realm, there are many things that will always be inherently clear to me.”

“I-” Y/N squeaked out, yet again breathless at the depth of his conviction towards their fresh union, though unconsecrated.

“One of the things the allfathers allowed me to see as I have wandered this last midguardian year, was the night of your full awakening,” he kissed her passionately, struggling to hold back the greediness with which his beast longed to devour her, “and that is today so we must prepare. Okay?”

“Mmhmm.” Y/N nodded along.

—————--

By the time the couple made their way down the steps, Thor and Samuel were in the yard with his nephews while Sarah was showing Natasha her process for frying chicken in the kitchen. Heimdall had hated to take his shirt back from Y/N, but since he hadn’t thought to bring extra clothes he had no choice in the matter. He did still make her take his jacket, wanting her to be drenched in his scent regardless of whether or not they had consummated their bond. She had to beg him still to wear at least a dress since trying to put on a hoodie and shorts did not go over well with him nor his beast.

Sarah popped out a pan of bacon from the oven when Heimdall sat down at the table, pulling Y/N into his lap, legs dangling from the side. She and Natasha greeted the couple, but only Y/N had answered. He was so caught up in her that he was almost too rude to respond when the women started talking to them. After an awkward beat he finally said his good mornings but was right back to appreciating the feel and smell of having Y/N in his arms. Remembering how her own Alpha behaved after their first meeting made Sarah understanding of his behavior. She was surprised he’d let Nora leave her room at all, let alone was aware enough to acknowledge anyone else in the room.

Y/N was just as surprised as Sarah at Heimdall’s willingness to have her around anybody, let alone the other alphas currently in and around the house. She has a sneaking suspicion that her outfit paired with the seat she was on were the only things keeping the alpha calm and appeasing. Growing up, she’d always been warned about an alpha’s behaviour when it came to his omega and then when Sarah mated she’d seen it firsthand. Despite expecting much of the same treatment she’d prepared herself for, he did tell her that he was from another planet and by proxy of his admittance to serving some throne, his age. Those two truths alone made her think she should start expecting the unexpected. When she got a chance, they were going to have to have a real conversation about that. She knew it wasn’t going to make her break their bond but at the very least, she was going to use what he told her to navigate her way through this relationship differently, hopefully better. This alpha was like no other and that also meant any preparations she’d thought to take were of no use. 

Having little experiences with romantic partnerships in general, let alone with someone from another planet, Y/N was nervous. Most humans only played games when it came to love, whether they knew their partner was their soulmate or not, but she’d ended up with a humanoid man that showed no indication that games would be tolerated in his presence. In fact, due to his age, she wouldn’t be surprised to find out that his people had come long before the Earthly ones, possibly even being the fathers and mothers of their little planet. Nor would she be surprised to find out that her hypotheses made from her observations of him were indeed facts. Heimdall hadn’t given any impression that he was here to just knot her and run, he gave the impression that if she somehow became immortal as well, they would be spending eternity together and if not, his life would end with hers. Hell, he’d already lived an eternity without her, that was a daunting history to try and create a future with as it was.

By the time Sarah and Natasha finished making the main course of breakfast, Y/N had tucked herself deep into Heimdall’s side, having long since trailed off from responding to the conversations the women tried to make with her. While Natasha cut up some fresh fruits and Sarah went outside to gather her sons, brother, and Thor, she had her face hidden underneath Heimdall’s hair that was acting like a veil, cocooning her in the bubble of his presence. As she played with his longest locs, savoring the peaceful moment of contentment, Sarah came back into the house with the boys filing in behind her. By the time Y/N looked up again she was surprised to see that Natasha had already set the table and everyone was seated and eating. Not really caring too much she quickly found herself back in her Heimdal bubble.

While his omega was enjoying being in his embrace, Heimdall piled a plate with one hand, refusing to let go of Y/N with the other, his arm snaked around her back to keep his hand firmly on her thigh. The two remained in their little bubble, Heimdall feeding Y/N as the table around them ate and talked with each other. The only ones paying less attention to the what was happening at the table was Thor and Sam. They were the most intrigued by the couple, taking in what was a jolting scene for anyone that knew either of them. In all the many millennia Thor had grown up in the presence of the mighty warrior, he’d never had an opportunity to see Heimdall so love-struck and the same could be said for Sam. He had never seen Y/N be so willingly vulnerable and soft, always choosing to put up a tough girl front than be seen as a damsel. Sarah had to snap her fingers in front of the Alpha pair to get them to keep their eyes to themselves.

“Stop staring,” she whisper-yelled, “it’s rude!”

“I can’t help it, I’ve never seen her so, so, so-” Sam started.

“-so soft?” Thor finished for him. “Me neither, Heimdal has been the pillar of unyielding strength in Asgard since long before I was born!”

Sarah popped both man and god upside the back of their heads.

“Ow!” They exclaimed in unison, rubbing at the sore spots.

“I don’t care how much of a surprise their behavior is. You both are going to act like adult alphas who can control your impulses and stop staring!”

“It is quite alright Lady Sarah,” Heimdall said after feeding Y/N some cut up strawberry and looking up at Sarah and the alphas, “they have a right to their surprise, there will be many more to come by my calculations so it’s best they get it out as each one happens rather than overloading them all at once.”

All of the adults looked at Heimdall like he’d grown a few more heads just as Cass and AJ finished their breakfast and asked to be excused.

“Yeah babies, go outside and play while the adults talk.” Sarah said.

As soon as the resounding thump of the door followed by the screaming laughter of the boys rung in the ears of every adult, Sam was ready to get the details of whatever Heimdall was talking about.

“So, what did you mean by there will be many more?” he asked, staring down the warrior god.

Despite hearing the conversation going on, Y/N couldn’t focus on the words. She had made her way from Heimdall’s neck to the top of his chest which allowed her the ultimate experience of hearing him. Feeling the vibrations of each word was far more soothing than listening in to the actual words and since she was still mid heat with a promise of not being knotted anytime soon, she needed all of the remedying sensations she could get from him. 

Feeling the restless energy that was trying to grip his omega, Heimdall started rubbing her back while he spoke. He didn’t start to answer until he could feel her relax in his arms. “The all fathers are refusing to show me clear pictures of what is to come, but from what I gathered there is a lot more surprises as to Y/N’s lineage and destiny.”

“Well why can’t you tell us everything at once?” Sam asked.

“Because the allfathers won’t even show it all to me.” Heimdall answered.

“That’s new.” Thor said.

“Only to you. Before you were born there was another and from my experience it is a great sign of protection from the allfathers. We should trust that everything is working itself out for the best possible outcome.”

“I already trust you with our sister, why not this?” Sarah said as she elbowed Sam, “right Sam?”

Sam was eyeing the asgardian, but conceded to his sister’s unsubtle cue, “I guess, but just cause I trust that you are her true mate doesn’t mean I’m taking my eyes off of you for one second. God or not.”

“I would expect no less Sir Falcon,” Heimdall closed his eyes, inhaled her scent deeply, and gripped Y/N impossibly closer as he said, “she is the most precious of gems created from the purest atoms of this universe.” When he opened his eyes to look into Sam’s, his eyes were glowing their vibrant gold, almost as blinding as the sun, “It will take only the purest forms of love and respect for her life to keep it safe from the very evil’s that wish to steal it.”

Next Chapter...

[munsonsreputation]

Hi Kay! Again, congrats on reaching 200 followers! How about a request #5?

So, this is kinda based on something that happened to me last week, feel free to adapt it. Some details: reader went out for a walk with her dog and she always stops by Family Video to talk with Steve and Robin. That morning, even though Steve knew she was coming, she didn't show up. Steve is about to call her when the phone rings and it’s this lady saying reader is there and is not ok because she ran away from a stray dog that almost attacked her. So Steve goes there to rescue her and he’s like “Ok, you’re not walking alone ever again, tomorrow I’m picking you up because no one's gonna hurt you or your dog” and she is still very scared. You can decide if Steve brings her to stay with him while he works or if he takes her home… Idk if this is a good request, I’m kinda bad at this, and after what happened to me (I got someone to call my parents, no Stevie for me hahaha), I just wanted some comfort you know

my dear, effie...i'm so sorry that this happened to you and noah, but i hope this could be a little pick me up!!! thank you again for the overwhelming support, it means the world to me 🌎💘💫

Steve tapped the counter impatiently, watching the hands of the clock on his wrist go by minute by minute, waiting for the bell to chime as you wandered through the doors with your dog leading the way. He always looked forward to your mid-morning visits, keeping dog treats under the counter to give to your pup while you and him talked about what was to come of the day before being joined by Robin who couldn’t help but to give the pupper a bunch of pets and kisses. 

But it was already 9:47 a.m. and you and your shih-tzu Noah had yet to arrive at Family Video. You two were never a minute late or even a minute early. He knew that you had the same walk every day and took the same route, which regularly led you to be here by 9:45. 

Something was wrong and he could feel it in his bones. 

“Jesus, why are you staring at the door like that?” Robin sought, knitting her brows as she passed by him with a stack of tapes in her arms. 

Steve sighed, wrenching his eyes away from the door and watching his friend begin restocking the shelves. “She’s not here, yet. She’s always here on time.” 

Robin just laughed lightly, glancing over at him swiftly, then getting back to work, “I’m sure she’s just running behind…maybe she woke up late or something?” 

He shook his head, walking away from the counter and standing beside Robin, trying to formulate the best possible explanation for your absence. 

“No, she rarely wakes up late. Remember, she told us she got that new alarm clock that’s super duper loud and it always wakes her up on time.” 

“I vaguely remember that conversation,” She responded, shaking her head to herself before turning her head to him with an apparent look of bewilderment, “Wait, she told us that like a month ago…how can you remember that but not by sandwich order from last week?”

Steve squinted, crossing his arms across his chest.

“W-what does that have anything to do with—never mind, I’m just going to call her to make sure.” 

She snorted, pushing his shoulder as he walked away, heading for the telephone. “Her number is on file, by the way.” 

“I don’t need her file, I already have it memorized—“ 

The phone rung just as Steve was about to pick it up and dial the combination of numbers he somehow was able to remember. He and Robin promptly shared a look. Rarely did they ever get calls this early in the day, but Steve just shrugged, picking it up so he could make his very improtant phone call to you. 

“Family Video. How can I help you?” He answered with his customer service voice, making his friend crack a scoff and to that Steve flipped her the bird, awaiting the response from the other side.

He could hear faint voices in the background but thought nothing of it at first, “Is this Steve?” 

“Y-yeah? Who’s this?” 

There was a relived sigh before they spoke again, “Okay, sweetheart, I’ve got him on the phone. Just hold on…” The voice on the other line said to what he was guessing another person before Steve asked again. 

“Who is this?” 

“Listen, your lady friend and her dog were chased by a stray…she came running and screaming into the apartment complex about a few minutes from your store.” 

His heart raced, finally comprehending the cries in the background to be yours. All the horrible thoughts of what could have gone wrong, racing in his mind a million miles over the speed limit.

“Is she ok? Is Noah ok?” He ordered, ushering Robin with a quick slap on the counter that got her rounding the corner pressing her ear on the other side of the phone so she could hear. 

“They’re both a bit shaken up. I was about to leave when she came running with the dog in her hands. Calling from a payphone right now, she asked me to call you.” 

Robin smirked, pinching Steve’s side as he flinched away, mouthing for her to “fuck off.” Everyone knew that you and Steve were close…very close, yet neither of you had made a move. But it was clear that you were each others’ person.

“I’ll be there in five minutes.” 

“Sounds good.” 

Steve slammed the phone back onto the base, reaching into his pockets to grab his keys as he was already halfway to the door by the time he spoke, “I’ll be back in 10!” 

“Give them a hug for me, lover-boy!” Robin hollered back uselessly, as Steve had already made it to his car, getting in and hightailing it out of the parking lot and down the road. 

What should’ve been a five-minute drive to the apartment complex it was only two minutes for him. Speeding through the streets and running yellow lights, something be wouldn’t usually do since his title was now a responsible teenage babysitter.

Yet he did it for you.

When he saw you and Noah cradled in your arms, he quickly put the car in park, hopping out. 

“Steve…” Your voice cracked with tears streaming down your cheeks, meeting him halfway and digging your face in his chest. 

He placed one of his hands on your back pulling you closer, “Hey…it’s ok,” the other hand reaching down to stroke behind your puppy’s ear, calming him down. 

“S’ok, bud…kept mom safe huh?” Steve spoke gently as Noah’s shaking faltered and the dog lapped at Steve’s wrist, making him smile. 

“I scared the stray away. Will they be alright?” 

Steve didn’t even notice the stranger standing off to the side, who gave him a small smile after seeing how quickly you and the pup warmed up. He gave the kind individual a curt nod and thanks, watching as they walked over to their car and drove off. 

Feeling your nerves settle down, you drew away slightly from Steve’s chest, peering up at him through your wet lashes, “I’m sorry for making you come here—“ 

Steve shook his head rapidly, “No, you didn’t make me do anything…matter a fact, I’m glad you called me. I was worried sick when you didn’t come in on time.” 

You sniffled, swallowing thickly as you recounted what had happened only moments ago. 

“I was terrified. One second, me and Noah are on our jolly way.” You ceased, tears brimming your eyes again and so you lifted Noah closer to your face to press a kiss to his head before continuing. 

“Then this stray just comes out of nowhere and starts chasing us…I’ve never run so fast in my life, Steve. The whole time I was just screaming, crying, trying to get someone to help.” 

By now you had buried your face into Noah’s fur, perhaps puzzling your little fluff ball, but he was smart, letting you crying into him as Steve had let you. People always said that pets were the closest thing to a child, and it was most definitely true, at least for you. Noah was your little baby, and you’d rather that stray hurt you than any hair on his body. But yet, the situation had made you feel so hopeless even after the stranger had helped you. 

“I know, I know, but you’re safe now.” Steve murmured, kissing the top of your head and pulling you back into his arms.

The three of you stood there for a while in the middle of this empty apartment complex. Soft and encouraging words spoken to you and Noah…but mainly for you, as your little doggie was, for the most part, cool, enjoying the presence of his mom and his favorite friend of hers, Steve. 

“From now on, you’re not walking alone.” Steve informed you, rocking his head as he looked around. Reminding himself that the loose dog could still be out here somewhere waiting for you two again. 

He couldn’t let anything happen to you guys. 

“S-steve, really, it’s going to be fine—“ 

He folded his lips into a tight line, shaking his head once again, and taking Noah from your arms to cradle him in his chest. The small action making your frown turn upside down in an instant seeing how your dog quickly accustomed in his grasp and appeared so at peace, like he did with you. 

“Robin can handle the store by herself for a few minutes…your place isn’t too far, anyway, so I can just pick you two up and we can walk around the area together.” 

You took a deep breath, biting your lip as you reached out to pet Noah’s head, watching his eyes slowly begin to close with every second that ticked by. 

“Are you sure?” You proposed, as Steve jokingly rolled his eyes and tilted his head. 

“Positive…now do you still want to swing by the store?” He paused, but just for a second, before you could even nod your head yes, that there was nowhere else you wanted to be right now besides with him. 

Steve spoke, a blush covering his cheeks out of nowhere, letting the words rip from his mouth before he could even stop.

“I’ve got Noah’s favorite treats and I’m sure we’ve got something we could use as a bowl for water. Annnnnd I take my lunch break in thirty minutes, so I was thinking we could all get something to eat. A little lunch date, if you will?” 

Obviously there was a reason why Noah liked Steve so much, and it wasn’t just because of the daily treats, but because his owner, you, liked Steve too. 

“Sounds like a plan.” You grinned, stepping close to plant a kiss on Steve’s cheek as the blush turned even brighter.

Steve somehow had this ability to make everything better. There was an ease to him that you adored, especially in times like these where the tears stopped pouring and his safety net caught you and your pup.

It felt natural as he slung his arm across your shoulder, leading you and Noah to his car like his favorite part of his day. That was the first and definitely not the last lunch date the three of you want on.

Turns out that you and Steve make the perfect parents for little ole’ Noah.

[takeyourcyanide]

Time

(-manga spoilers- this is set during the murder of Joe. It is not entirely manga accurate.)

Summary: Marie is seemingly stood up by Joe. She returns back to the laboratory, only to find Stein hallucinating. She has a terrible feeling about the night as a whole.

- - - - - -

Marie had officially been sitting in this fancy, high-end restaurant for over an hour, waiting for Joe to arrive.

A part of her felt like crying, another part of her felt like punching Joe square in the face, and another part of her felt deeply worried. She had a terrible feeling ruminating within her body.

Joe was not the type of person to ever stand anyone up. Something had to have happened.

Marie began to nervously fidget and glance around the restaurant. A part of her felt humiliated to be seen clearly waiting for someone and clearly being stood up.

She hurried out of the restaurant and back to Stein’s laboratory, fully prepared to rant to Stein about the whole experience. He enjoyed hearing about her romantic escapades anyway. He found them fascinating and entertaining.

She, of course, on the way home, repeatedly messaged and even called Joe numerous times, only to receive no reply.

This worried and horrible feeling left her nearly nauseated.

Once she had made it inside of the laboratory, she noticed that most - if not every - light had been turned off by Stein.

She would’ve rolled her eyes at this, but she was too caught up in her concern to have any sort of incentive to do as such.

She flipped some switches on, searching for her meister.

She decided to walk into his office, having a feeling she’d find him in there.

The stench of cigarette smoke radiated outwards from the office, and not just the typical stale cigarette smoke scent either.

Clearly the man had been smoking religiously in here.

Marie found it in herself to furrow her eyebrows curiously at this, knowing that he had been trying to quit as a way to “fight against his vices,” so to speak, and display strength and motivation.

The pit in her abdomen grew a whole new pit.

There was no way Stein was in good shape.

She finally found him at the very end of the office, tucked away in a corner, just smoking.

His eyes were blown out manically and impossibly wide, seemingly staring at nothing, as he giggled every once in a while to himself.

He wore a rather emotionless expression, sometimes sporting a large and unsettling grin.

He didn’t even look at Marie in acknowledgment.

This night was not good. Something was terribly off about everything. Marie could feel it.

“Stein? Are you all right?” Marie asked quickly, extremely anxious and worried.

Stein nearly jumped up, immediately staring at Marie, cigarette resting in his twitching mouth.

Stein couldn’t decide on a proper and appropriate facial expression. His mind was too… occupied, to say the least. He could not think properly.

“I’m perfectly fine,” Stein rushed out a response. He had this slight tremble to him, Marie noted. Not one of anxiety or fear, but rather… one of some kind of over-excitement. Stein currently resembled both a manic corpse and an incredibly energetic child, impatiently awaiting some kind of treat.

They stood there, awkwardly staring at one another. Marie didn’t know what to do. She didn’t even know what was wrong or what had happened whilst she was gone.

“Stein, please tell me what’s wrong. It’s okay to need some help, dear,”Marie said sweetly, and extremely worriedly, practically trembling herself.

Stein could barely hold back his laughter. There wasn’t a particular reason for his laughter. His body simply began to shake with mirth.

A grin made its way to his face, as he said, “Wrong? But nothing is wrong, Marie. Of course, I recognize that you have no incentive to believe me. I also have no incentive to believe that you were truly on a date just now and not simply relaying every last detail about me to Lord Death and everyone else to use against me.”

Marie was struck simultaneously with confusion and even more concern.

“Stein, that’s just a paranoid thought, I’d never purposefully hurt you. And I was just stood up. I really don’t have a good feeling about it,” Marie attempted to reassure the man.

Stein’s wide eyes narrowed slightly, seemingly observing the anxious woman standing before him.

“I don’t think you’re okay, Stein. And I don’t think Joe’s okay. He’d never do that, something must’ve happened,” Marie continued.

Stein observed the tear-eyed expression he was being given intently. When Marie cried, it was as though he was eyeing a beautiful work of art in an art gallery.

And while he’d typically have half a mind to recognize he probably shouldn’t say that, but right now, all calculated thoughts were thrown entirely out the window.

“Are you going to cry, Marie?” Stein asked with a grin on his face.

“No, no.. I’m just a little scared.”

Stein moved towards her, pulling her in close with one arm around her waist, and the other holding her head to his chest. He began to play with her hair the way she often played with his.

He typically felt very awkward when people cried, not knowing exactly what to do. Sometimes it annoyed him, sometimes he enjoyed it. Most often, he was entirely Indifferent.

But he learned what comforted Marie after the first time she cried in front of him - when they were teenagers.

He simply sat there at first, but Marie began to look at him with the look of a sad puppy, clearly wanting some form of comfort. And since Stein had already been repeatedly screamed at by people for being too emotionally unavailable (since he didn’t want to deal with that), he simply proceeded to do what he was doing currently - and it helped.

Stein began to lightly chuckle, his grin now a sadistic smile.

“You wanna know something, Marie?” Stein began.

“What is it?”

“You’re so beautiful when you cry. It’s simply adorable. Like a work of art.”

Marie felt particularly disturbed by this point. It was clear all of Stein’s reserves were gone, as though he was inebriated.

She felt simultaneously soothed and incredibly anxious - even scared - in his touch.

Marie’s train of thought was interrupted as Stein said, “Makes me want to dissect you, experiment on you. I love the scared little look in your eyes. I wish I could be as cute as all of you sometimes.”

Marie lifted her head from his chest and stared at him with a worried and nervous expression.

“Marie?”

“Yes, Stein?”

“What’s wrong with me?”

Stein couldn’t decide on a facial expression, so he decided to stick with his usual emotionless one, as opposed to his previous expression of malice.

“Why can’t I be as cute as all of you?”

“Stein, what do you mean?”

“You are all so emotional and expressive. I don’t get it. Basic human concepts elude me,” Stein responded, releasing Marie from his grip.

Marie tried her hardest to give him a smile, even if it was being interrupted continuously by her own anxiety.

“That’s okay, Stein. You don’t have to be like everyone else.”

“It’s been made clear to me that most do not view me as being one of them. Clearly they don’t think it’s okay.”

“One of them?”

“One of them. I’m not even a member of the genus Homo.”

“Stein, I’m going to ask you this again. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Don’t know. I’m fine. I got to smoke, so I’m great. It was terribly refreshing. I wish I could indulge in another one of my refreshments,” Stein cryptically continued.

Marie was left utterly baffled by this. Stein was speaking awfully vaguely, as though he expected that everyone could read his mind.

“Marie.”

“Hm?”

“It feels like something’s crawling on me. I don’t like it.”

Stein spoke with a childlike lilt to his voice, even pouting a little. He began to scratch at his skin, clearly disturbed.

“Nothing is crawling on you, Stein, it’s okay.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can see that nothing is on you, Stein, just trust me,” Marie reassured Stein once more.

“Marie, nothing feels real. Make it feel real please. You look and sound so far away. This is not my body.”

Stein slumped over, leaning his head into her shoulder, eyes narrowing. Stein almost sounded as though he was going to weep. It greatly worried Marie. How did he go from a seemingly manic state to a seemingly depressive and childish state so quickly?

Marie placed her head in his hair and scratched at his scalp, gently shushing him.

She herself was ready to cry, she was incredibly stressed out and overwhelmed by the odd concoction of fear, anxiety, nervousness, and worry sitting at the pit of her stomach.

“Are you real, Marie? Am I alive? I think I’m dead, Marie. I’m lost. You look dead, too,” Stein actually began to whimper nearing the end of his sentence. The walls looked to be warping around him, the floor gently breathing. He could see a dog version of Spirit in the corner of his office, just barring his teeth and growling at him. Marie simply continued to comfort him the best she could.

- - - - - -

“Stein? Stein!” Marie exclaimed, running over to Stein, of whom was just standing in the middle of his office, silent tears rolling down his cheeks, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He looked to be soothing himself by playing with his own hair.

“Marie?” Stein was shocked. All of a sudden the woman who was stroking his scalp simply disappeared, being replaced with an even more worried (if that was even possible) Marie, standing in his doorway.

Stein looked down at his hands, eyes impossibly wide, as he began to laugh. What the hell just happened?

“You were just here! Why are you there now? Weren’t you home already? Joe stood you up, didn’t he?” Stein frantically rambled out, years continuing to fall despite his laughter.

Marie gave him an expression of pity - the most pity he’d ever seen.

“Stein, that was just a hallucination. Also, how’d you know I was stood up?”

“You just came back from the date, stood up. You’re coming back again. Are you real?”

Stein’s eyes were continuously narrowing and widening, seemingly in hysterics. He was looking frantically around his office, at his hands, then back at Marie, confused and startled.

“I’m worried about Joe.. But… what’s wrong, Stein? What happened? I’m worried about you, too,” Marie spoke gently.

“Have you been hallucinating this whole time?”

“Am I still hallucinating, Marie?”

“No, you’re not,” Marie reassured Stein.

“But that’s what you said before!” Exclaimed Stein, still frantic and confused.

Stein grabbed into his head, sitting on the floor, beginning to rock himself back and forth.

Marie crawled down on the floor with him, going to sit beside him.

She gently rubbed his back, sighing to herself.

“You even have the same teary look. Where am I?” Stein said, he himself wearing a teary expression.

“What made you cry, Stein? You never cry,” Marie worriedly asked.

“Everything and nothing at all,” Stein cryptically replied.

What Stein felt he could not put a label on. It was not fear or anxiety. It was something more akin to paranoia and confusion. He felt incredibly disoriented.

“Come here, lay on my lap,” Marie said. Stein rested his head on her thighs, eyes still manically wide.

Marie began to play with his hair.

“Why don’t I tell you about the date I just didn’t have?” Marie offered. Stein nodded his head, eyes narrowing with exhaustion.

“Let’s take that cigarette out of your mouth first,” Marie said, grabbing the cigarette that had already been out and tossing it in the nearby trashcan.

“Weren’t trying to quit, Stein?” Marie asked curiously.

“I quit quitting,” Stein tiredly replied, voice hoarse.

“So. As you can see, I was excited to meet up with Joe, and even put on my best dress,” Marie began.

“I went into the super bougie restaurant, sat at one of the many tables, and waited there. Do you want to guess for how long?”

“An hour,” Stein proceeded to guess.

“Bingo. I sat, embarrassed, in that place for about an hour before I decided to leave. Then, while I was walking home, I sent numerous messages and called a lot, only to receive no reply.”

Stein gave a hum of acknowledgment.

“I’m really worried. I have a horrible feeling about it all. Joe is not the type to stand someone up. And he always notified me when he was late that he would be late beforehand,” Marie ranted, sighing.

Marie was trying not to cry by this point, which may seem dramatic to some, but Joe meant a lot to her and she just knew something was wrong.

Stein heard her breathing pick up, as she wiped her eyes.

He lifted his limp hand to stroke the hand that sat on top of his head.

He didn’t know what else to do.

He wasn’t going to tell her that it would be okay when it might not end up being okay.

“You’re right. He’s not the type,” Stein spoke, sounding extremely tired. Marie wondered if he was about to fall asleep on her lap.

“I’m scared, Stein. Something’s wrong, I just know it.” Marie said in between small, quiet sobs.

He continued to soothingly hold and stroke her hand, not truly present.

“I’m worried about you, too. You’re not okay,” Marie looked down at the man.

“When was I ever?” Stein said as he chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood.

He was mildly successful as Marie herself laughed a little, a small smile on her teary face.

“You’re not wrong, Stein. But you know what I mean.”

“Don’t worry about me. There’s no need.”

“Don’t give me that shit. I know you’re not okay. I walked in on you hallucinating for God’s sake. You were smoking again, too!”

“I’m not strong enough, Marie,” Stein said in reply, sounding winded and mildly upset.

“Of course you are. You’ve managed this long,” Marie encouraged Stein.

“I have, indeed. But I think it’s my time now.”

Marie leaned over, only to be met with Stein’s sorrowful face.

“Don’t say stuff like that. Makes you sound suicidal or something,” Marie said, gently slapping his head.

“I liked it better when you were playing with my hair,” Stein teased.

“For someone who’s not cuddly at all, you sure are enjoying this,” Marie teased right back.

“I am, indeed,” Stein teasingly grinned.

“All right, jerk, why don’t we go to bed now? I’ll take you myself to make sure you don’t sneak back into your office,” Marie offered, smiling as she lifted him out of her lap.

Stein lifted himself up, making it easier on Marie. The woman was incredibly strong, but he was sure that it wasn’t exactly easy to pick him up.

Marie walked him to his bedroom, Stein crawling into bed as Marie went to the other side of the bed. Stein shot her a confused look as Marie snuggled up next to him, wrapping her arms around him and shoving her face in his chest.

“I don’t care if you don’t like this, I need it right now, so shut up,” Marie said, half-joking.

Stein laughed at her as Marie lightly slapped his arm in response, head still hidden.

“If you snore, I’m kicking you out. Or dissecting you. Most likely the latter,” Stein teased. Marie whipped her head out of his chest, punching his arm this time with a small pout on her face.

“Fuck you, Stein,” Marie said, pout now a smile as she laughed, curling back into the much larger man.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’d like to, baby,” Stein spoke with a huge, sadistic grin on his face, to which Marie responded with kicking him.

“Why do you enjoy abusing me so damn much? One minute you’re all sweet, and the next minute I’m in the ER, Ms. Marie the Pulverizer.”

“I’m always sweet, thank you very much,” Marie responded.

“Yeah, sure, whatever helps you sleep at night. I’d also like to mention the fact that you didn’t deny wanting to fuck me. You definitely wanted to when we were teenagers. Does the title ‘Pulverizer’ extend to the bedroom as well?”

That got Stein kneed in the nuts.

Stein curled in on himself, groaning in pain.

“I will kick you out right now,” Marie said.

“This is my bedroom and you’re the one who wanted to snuggle up to me.”

Marie groaned and hugged him tighter.

“I successfully lightened the mood,” Stein victoriously stated.

If she wanted him to shut up and go to sleep, she’d need to do what she did best:

Play with his hair.

And that she did.

She even rubbed up and down his back every once in a while.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” Stein would say, but that didn’t stop his eyelids from getting too heavy to hold open.

“What’s it like being typical?” Stein sleepily slurred.

“Why do you ask?”

“Curiosity.”

“Well, it’s hard to describe since I’ve never been anything but.”

“What does empathy feel like?”

“Go to sleep, Stein.”

“No.”

“Do it right now or else I’ll knee you in the balls again.”

“Fine. But you have to tell me tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

[just-absolutely-super]

A Special Gift

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST BOYS!

Summary: It's Lan's birthday and he eagerly awaits for his father to come home early from work. What he doesn't know is he'll be getting a special gift from his father...

Timeline: MMBN gameverse pre-canon

Rating: G

Read it on FF.net /// AO3

“Happy birthday, Hub!”

MegaMan smiles almost sadly at the words. For the last few years since he gained consciousness, he’s only heard that phrase coming from his father. Considering his father and a select few SciLab employees are the only individuals who interact with him, he doesn’t see a reason to expect anything more on this day.

But his feelings on the matter aren’t important because this birthday is meant to be a very special one. And not just for him…but for his brother too.

“Ready for your present?” Yuichiro asks in a slightly giddy way most fathers do on their child’s day of birth.

MegaMan raises an eyebrow, his smile wry, “Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to ask if I’m ready to be a present?”

His father chuckles in response, “True, but I feel this is as much of a present to you as it is to Lan. After all, you two are finally going to be reunited for good.”

The blue Navi feels something inside his being warm up at the words. While Lan comes to visit SciLab and watches Yuichiro work with programs, MegaMan is not always conscious to truly get to know him—having to be put in sleep mode as his father works on him. He’s also been in a base form too, the details of what he will end up looking like still a mystery to many. To his brother, he’s just a special “custom” Navi that his father is working on, and maybe one day he would be operated by Lan.

One day is now today, June 10th, or the day Hub and Lan Hikari were born. And currently, Lan is at home with their mother, probably impatiently waiting for his father to come home. What he doesn’t know is that Papa would be giving him a very special birthday present—a brand new NetNavi.

“So, are you ready?” Yuichiro asks MegaMan again, as if he’s afraid the answer would be a no.

MegaMan smiles to reassure any doubts his father has. “Yes, I’m ready!”

Papa smiles in satisfaction but then it lowers considerably as he looks off to something on his desk, “I’m going to warn you, I’ll have to put you in a box. It’ll be dark and may feel cramped… Maybe I should put you in sleep mode until Lan opens it?”

MegaMan shrugs, no preference in his mind. “I don’t mind, Papa. It’ll be nice to wake up to Lan’s excited face.”

That seems to bring a sparkle into his Papa's eyes, “Oh yes, I think that would be a nice sentiment! Alright, we’ll do it. Have a good nap, Hub!”

“I’ll see you when I wake up, Papa.” And with that, the PET goes into sleep mode, the screen darkening, giving no indication if the Navi is truly there or not.

Despite the anticipation he feels, there’s a small sense of sadness in Yuichiro’s heart. How he wishes things to be different… Instead of putting his first born in a box to be opened up by the second born, he should be celebrating the day with both of them alive and together.

But fate had other plans, and there is nothing more he can do about it. With a sigh, he puts together the package, carefully placing MegaMan’s PET inside the box before lovingly wrapping it up in dark blue paper; a large red ribbon tied into a neat bow as the final touch. If his wife were here, she would laugh at how careful and precise he had performed the task, and he would have protested in response. This isn’t something you could throw together haphazardly, after all!

Once he’s finished, Yuichiro clocks out and says his goodbyes to his colleagues, making excited steps toward his car to make the drive back to ACDC Town. As he gently places the giftwrapped PET in the passenger seat, he starts the car, thinking of Lan and hoping his son isn’t driving his mother too mad with the impatience of his father’s arrival.

-----------

A little boy, now the age of 8 as of today, crawls onto the couch in his living room to get a better look out of the window. He cranes his head left and right, biting his lip in worry when he doesn’t see a familiar car.

“Lan Hikari, get down from there!” his mother chides him from her place in the kitchen. Her hands are on her hip and there’s a displeased frown on her beautiful face.

“But Mama, Papa’s still not here! Where is he?” little Lan asks as he continues to stare out the window.

“Even though he made arrangements to leave work early, he still has to work regardless. Give him some time. He’ll be here,” Haruka soothed. She won’t let it show, but she has been antsy all morning. She and Yuichiro had discussed this day many times and her husband had told her earlier in the week that all his preparations are finished—Hub, or rather MegaMan, would be coming home today.

She hopes his words still remain true. She wants this “reunion” as much as him. She makes a silent prayer that the upcoming meeting between her boys does indeed happen and it goes smoothly…

“Besides,” she continues, keeping her tone light, “your party guests will be here any second. I’ll need you to entertain them while I finish preparing the snacks and your cake. You can’t be a good host if you’re constantly looking out that window.”

As soon as she says this, the doorbell rings and Haruka gasps. “That’s them! Lan, be a dear and greet them, I’ve still got much to do!”

“Okay…” Lan says and jumps off the couch to make his way to the front door. Opening it, he’s greeted by a handful of his classmates, Mayl Sakurai at the forefront as she beams at him and holds out a present wrapped in light blue paper.

“Happy birthday, Lan!” Mayl and the rest of the guests yell in unison. Lan gives them all a toothy grin as he waves them in. One by one they pass him, each giving him their own form of greeting.

Little Yai Ayanokoji struts pass him, the gift in her hands larger than her body as she politely acknowledges that he has a very nice home. Behind her comes Dex Oyama, who sticks his tongue out at his fellow 8-year-old. Lan reciprocates the action. He and Dex have known each other for forever, and while Lan considers him a friend, there are moments when Dex acts like a jerk. His ego only got worse when his father gave him a custom NetNavi named GustMan a few months ago. Since then, Dex has been insufferable and Lan has been waiting for the day he could finally show him who’s boss!

Speaking of NetNavis…

Once all the children are through the door, Lan steps out to look each way down the street. Nope… No Papa yet…

“Lan! Come back inside and entertain your guests!”

The child jumps, rushing back inside his house, “Coming Mama!”

-----------

Lan fidgets in his seat at the head of the table his mother set up during the time he and the rest of the children had been preoccupied with games in his backyard. At the time, he had hope that all the running around would take away all his anxious energy but, sadly, it hasn’t done any good. His father still hasn’t come home yet and he’s becoming increasingly restless. And while the snacks his mother made for the special occasion did help to distract him—his mother’s cooking always being excellent—now that his plate is empty, he’s aware of the pit that rests in his stomach.

Where is Papa?

He promised…

To his left is Mayl, who catches his eyes and gives him a concerned look. He responds to her with a half-smile, trying to give the impression he’s fine. It doesn’t really work, much to the boy’s dismay.

“What’s the matter?” she whispers, trying to be discreet. Thankfully, none of the other children notice them as they’re too consumed with the snacks and their own conversations.

“Nothing…” Lan initially lies, but then thinks better of it and confesses, “It’s just…Papa was supposed to be here by now.”

Mayl frowns. Trying to encourage her best friend, she says, “He’ll be here! He’s probably just late. Like you are when you come to school.”

Lan rolls his eyes at her minor jab at his punctuality (or lack thereof), but then reconsiders the possibility. His father always works a lot, even admitting at some points that he gets so sidetracked with one task, he forgets about another and needs to stay later than he initially planned. It wouldn’t be too farfetched to think something came up at work and it has caused him to be tardy…

It makes sense, but he wishes his Papa would just be here right now! It’s his birthday! He wants to spend it with everyone he loves…

Everyone…

Subconsciously, Lan raises a hand and rubs his chest. Mayl sees the action. “Are you alright?”

“Huh?” he asks, not realizing what he had done. Once he sees where his hand is placed, he lowers it, “Yeah…I do that sometimes. Mama calls it a nervous habit.”

He’s not sure why he does it, it just happens whenever he feels upset or lonely. There were even times that the action happens when he wasn’t feeling anything in particular. It’s almost like his heart is crying out for somebody…but for who he can’t say. His Papa he assumes, but he feels like there’s someone else… Like maybe there should be someone else who is supposed to—

“What are you two whispering about?” a voice interrupts his thoughts.

Lan and Mayl jump and turn their heads to see Dex eyeing them in suspicion on the other side of Lan at the table. Lan grimaces and takes his hand away from his chest. “Nothing, Dex!”

“Hey, that’s no way to talk to your party guest!”

“Lan was just saying he hopes his Papa comes home before it’s time for cake,” Mayl smoothly fibs, not just to keep Lan from embarrassment, but so a fight doesn’t break out between the two young rivals. Lan shoots her an appreciative glance before he decides to turn his head and view said cake.

“Oh yeah, that cake sure does look delicious!” Dex says, also turning his attention away from everyone to eye the sweet treat. “Lan’s Mama makes the best cakes!”

Lan nods, his mouth watering at the sight of the strawberry sponge cake. If there’s one thing he and Dex could agree on, it’s that nothing is better than Mama’s sponge cake! “She does!”

Suddenly, everyone hears the sound of the front door opening and footsteps walking through the threshold.

“I’m home!”

“Papa!” Lan screams, jumping from his chair and running to his father, his party guests forgotten in the midst of his excitement. “Papa’s home!”

Yuichiro laughs as his 8-year-old son practically slams into him. With a giftbox in one hand, he uses the other to carefully scoop the boy up. Lan giggles at the action and happily wraps his little arms around his father’s neck. Yuichiro happily returns the embrace.

As this happens, Haruka smiles, “Welcome home, Honey.”

“Hi, Dear!” the scientist greets his wife. To Lan he says, “And hello, Lan! Happy birthday, son!”

“Thanks, Papa!” Lan says. It’s then he spots the present in his father’s hand and starts to practically vibrate in excitement. “A present! You got me a present? Can I open it now? Please, please, please?”

Yuichiro laughs harder at the show of boundless energy, “Well aren’t you excited? I don’t see why not. Do you, Mama?”

Haruka sighs and puts her hands on her hips, “You know the rules, Lan. Cake first, then presents.”

Lan juts his bottom lip out, his demeanor deflating considerably, “Aww, but Mama!”

Her face goes stern for a quick second, ready to chastise her son, but then her eyes lock with her husband’s. For a very brief moment, they share what appears to be a silent conversation. Lan doesn’t quite pick up on it, though, as he’s surprised when he hears what his father says next.

“I think we can make an exception this one time, Haruka,” he says patiently. He then indicates the present to her, “After all, this gift is very special, wouldn’t you say?”

Still with his son in one arm, Yuichiro hands Haruka the present with the other. A small but soft smile forms on her face as she gazes at it. To Lan’s confusion, his Mama runs her fingers over it, almost lovingly. That’s weird… Why would she—?

Haruka sighs again, but this time in a wistful way, and then hands the gift to her son. Lan receives the package, not quite understanding what just happened. Has his Mama changed her mind? And why does it suddenly look like she might cry…?

“Your Papa is right,” she declares, any unshed tears she had now gone. “You should open this one first since it’s special. We can have the cake afterwards, and then you can open the rest of the gifts. Does that sound fair?”

The strange moment forgotten, Lan absolutely beams at his mother and goes to reach over to hug her, practically falling from his father’s arms in his haste. The parents laugh at his antics and work together to keep their son upright with a group embrace. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Haha, you’re welcome,” Mama says. “But you should open it at the table. You’ve kept your friends waiting long enough.”

Lan nods, “Okay!”

He rushes back to his chair, ignoring his classmates’ curious stares. They, too, are also excited to see what this “special” present could be. Lan’s so giddy to open a present his Papa got him, he doesn’t take the time to appreciate the wrapping. He instantly rips the bow and paper apart to get to the box. Setting it on the table, he places his hands on the lid and lifts it up; Mayl, Dex, Yai, and the rest of the children present watching in anticipation on what the contents of the box will be…

The birthday boy stares in awe at what he sees. A shiny new PET gleams back at him. With gentle hands he picks it up by the handle, taking all the details in as he runs his fingers over the covered screen, which he decides to open up. Gazing at the contents, he presses the button he knows will turn the PET on. He holds his breath as he waits, watching the screen come to life as the homepage features begin to set up.

It’s then that a small light appears, and after it dims, Lan is met by a figure in blue. His appearance seems to be older than Lan, but still childlike (maybe 11 or 12?). His jumpsuit is dark blue with cyan lines down the sides and yellow shoulder pads; the emblem in the middle of his chest adorning the Hikari family crest on it. On his hands and feet are gloves and boots in a lighter blue than the jumpsuit. On his head is a blue helmet with cyan ridges and yellow squares in the middle; the sides of the helmet being the same emblem as what’s on his chest.

His eyes open up and a bright green meets Lan’s brown ones. If he pays attention, the boy can see some kind of emotion swirling through them…but what emotion it is, he can’t say for sure. The Navi gives the child a soft smile before he speaks in a calm but confidant voice.

“Hello, my name is A.I. Navigation Program MegaMan.EXE. I’ll be your NetNavi. It’s nice to finally meet you, Lan! Happy birthday!”

There’s a small beat of silence as Lan takes it all in before he lets out an ecstatic squeal. His classmates and parents watch in amusement as the boy once again takes himself out of his chair and begins jumping around, holding the PET close to his chest. He feels an abundance of happiness right now, so much so, that the strange feeling in his chest he felt beforehand seems to have disappeared now that he has his new friend MegaMan!

“I knew it! I knew it!” he repeats, “I just knew Papa would get me a Navi. And look at you! You’re so cool!”

A blush appears on MegaMan’s face as he puts a hand behind his head in embarrassment. “Oh please, you flatter me…”

It’s then that the other children in the house get out of their chairs to gather around the birthday boy. They marvel at the PET, trying to get a glimpse at the Navi inside, all the while making their own comments:

“Oh, wow, he looks so cool!”

“He’s kind of small though, don’t you think?”

“But he’s cute!”

“Can I hold your PET, Lan?”

“If Lan’s Papa made him, maybe he’s super strong!”

MegaMan’s blush intensifies at the extra attention, suddenly feeling awkward. He had honestly expected to wake up just to his twin, not what seems to be the entire neighborhood—he isn’t prepared for such compliments and comments.

“What’s the big deal?” comes the sour remark from Dex. “He’s just a scrawny thing. There’s no way he could stand up to my GutsMan!”

Lan bristles, an intense feeling of offense taking over. No one talks about his new friend that way!

“You’re wrong!” he challenges, “MegaMan is going to be the strongest Navi ever! He’s gonna be way better than GutsMan!”

MegaMan, in shock by the boy’s action, holds up his arms in a form of placation, “W-Wait a minute now—”

“Oh yeah?” Dex retaliates, “We’ll see about that! You and me, Lan, we’re gonna NetBattle just to see who’s number one!”

“Bring it!” Lan says, his cocky attitude showing out.

“Lan, hold on, we don’t even have BattleChips!” MegaMan protests in vain. Of all the things to expect today, his new operator challenging the first person he saw isn’t on his list…

“Boys, calm down!” Haruka calls out, much to the blue Navi’s relief. “I don’t want any fighting in my house, especially not today. Now, everyone, get back into your seats! It’s time for cake!”

At the mention of cake, all the children cheer and rush back to their seats. Lan and Dex nod in understanding, their rivalry momentarily put on hold in favor of their appetites. “Yes ma’am!”

Once Lan is comfortable at his spot again, he carefully places MegaMan next to him where everyone could get a good look at his newly acquired NetNavi. He giggles as he watches MegaMan stare at all the faces before him in awe. “What do you think?”

The blue Navi jumps slightly and turns back to his operator, “W-Well, it’s kind of strange. All this is…different.” He’s not lying by saying that. He’s spent the last 7 years of his life confined in a lab with hardly anyone but his father for company (and before this life, it was confined to a hospital…). Seeing all the friendly faces around…it’s overwhelming, but not unwelcome at all.

He likes it.

Lan nods his head, “I think I get it. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it! After all, we’re gonna be together for a long time, right?”

MegaMan blinks and his body relaxes, a genuine smile gracing his features. Yes, this is what he’s wanted for so long, to finally be able to be by his brother’s side. He’ll cherish it for as long as he’s able to.

This gift is just as much his as it is Lan's...

Almost on instinct, he presses a palm to the PET’s screen. “Of course, Lan. Together forever.”

Lan returns his smile and places his own hand on the screen, his boyish mirth practically palpable.

Their attention is suddenly brought to Mama, who comes back to the table with the anticipated birthday cake.

“Alright everyone!” Yuichiro says, his voice showing his delight at the events of the day, “Let’s sing to the birthday boy!”

Everyone around the table begins to sing as Haruka places the strawberry cake in front of her son. Lan grins toothily at the attention as MegaMan watches almost nostalgically. He turns his gaze over to the many faces once more, taking in their voices as they sing. Engrossed by the moment, he thinks that if he concentrates hard enough, he could pretend that everyone is singing happy birthday to the both of them…

But sadly, no one except his parents know that today is his birthday too…

Lan can’t even know… Not yet at least…

But maybe someday…

Not wanting to dwell on these feelings anymore, he schools his face into one of content and happiness. Meeting his twin’s gaze, MegaMan gives Lan a brilliant smile. “Happy birthday, Lan!”

Lan’s smile is just as bright as he replies, “Thanks, MegaMan! This is the best birthday ever!”

MegaMan can't help but agree.

“Happy birthday to you!”

[marschel]

GAY KILLER CLOWNS: THE FIC, Chapter 1

Calamaro and Muschel are the newest addition to La Squadra di Esecuzioni, almost personally appointed by the Boss. They are a couple of inseparable murderous clowns, both enjoying their work far more than a normal person should. Unbeknownst to them, they are an insult to the injury of the execution of the team's former members. Naturally, none of their new colleagues like or trust them, preferring to treat them with caution and various degrees of hostility. The clowns take it upon themselves to change that through rather unconventional means.

Characters: La Squadra, Muschel, Calamaro Pairing: MarSchel (mild) Warning: homophobic language from Illuso, innuendos, Italian language Words: 4186 The clowns arrive, and so do the problems.

Calamaro’s Bio Muschel’s Bio

Link to AO3

The newly employed killers were standing right outside the very secret HQ-turned-frat house of the Hitman team. Both dressed up in clown bodysuits and covered with heavy makeup, they were hardly covert, but neither were any of the Passione members they’ve met. After all, who needs stealth when your very affiliation with the organization is supposed to inspire fear?

The test mission was a breeze, whether intentionally or not. After all, Muschel and Calamaro were killers long before even knowing about stands. Now, with these deadly abilities up their sleeve, they could be playing for real-real. The victims died quickly, and yet their final moments were so agonizing… Muschel was head over heels. If they had known this was awaiting them, they would have turned Pomodoro in months ago. 

“So? Are we coming in?” Muschel asked impatiently.

“Uh-huh…” hummed Calamaro. He was too busy fixing his hair to actually acknowledge the partner. “Hold it, I’m almost finished.”

“They’re mafiosos, not beauty pageant judges, Maro. Are you planning to kill people with your hair now?”

“First impressions matter, Schel!” exclaimed Maro. “We need to impress them! Fix your nose, you smudged- Hey!”

Muschel snatched the mirror from his partner’s hands and fixed the dot on the nose with lipstick.

“We look like clowns, Maro, we’re bound to impress. Now stop fussing over your frills. The sooner I can leave Risotto’s gaze, the better.”

“Now, we look like presentable clowns.” Maro took the mirror back. “Smile a little when you meet them.”

“No way.”

Da-dong.

Calamaro rang the doorbell. Just a few moments later, a small window just below their eye level opened, and a pair of black eyes stared back at them.

“Uhm… The password. Please.”

“Ravanello Malvagio.” offered Schel. “Your leader knows we are to arrive.”

“Yes! Right!” The man on the other side exclaimed, opening the door, and the clowns barely managed to keep a straight face. The man looked like a ravanello alright, a bald head with a long tuft of green hair sticking from the top. The outfit was composed a little better, although it left no doubts that the new colleague was something of a clown himself.

“Hello! I’m Calamaro. That’s Muschel.” Maro said cheerfully. Schel was just trying not to stare at the hair. 

“Pesci. Piacere.” The host answered, clearly embarrassed. The pair felt kind of guilty for making the guy feel self-conscious, but honestly, his whole look was beyond their understanding. Not that they disliked it, though. “Risotto is waiting.” He added, letting them in. “Leave the bags here, you’ll come back for them later. Uhh… Tea?”

The clowns shook their heads in sync. Pesci gulped and simply led them through the dark corridor. It was a sight both dreadful and comfortingly familiar, the littered space with walls dirty just enough to be called dirty, but not to the point of causing disgust. There was a gigantic garbage bag filled with beer cans and frozen food packages in the corner and a long list of domestic duties to fulfill with coloured highlights for, the clowns figured, different members of the group. The green ones were particularly common. The purple and pink ones were barely there. The gray one was only on the “paperwork” task.

Pesci led them to a heavy black door with a half-scratched-off sticker of a cat near the handle. The door opened, and the clowns met… the other clowns.

Muschel looked at the colleagues from beside his partner. Half of them looked like they dressed up in the dark with a gun to their head, and the other half – like they were starring in a burlesque show. Regular people might have found the outfits very eccentric. Muschel just found them to be a little boring. Other than that, Risotto was about as easy to read as a rock, like always, and the others’ facial expressions varied from disinterest to scornful evaluation.

“The clown school is on the next street.” said the handsome long-haired brunette.

“You a proud graduate?” Muschel answered in tow. A blonde man in a suit glared at them both then sharply nodded for Pesci to sit down. The ravanello-man did as he was told, nervous as ever. “Or were you expelled? We can tutor you, y’know. Start with fixing the sourpuss mug.”

“Schel.” Maro patted his arm. He just said how they should be making a good first impression, and this was decidedly not it.

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Healing Hands- Eomer x OC

Eomer x Kitra

Description: Kitra is one of the many healers sent to Helm’s Deep to aid Rohan in their battle against Isengard and meets a certain Rohirrim Prince.

Word Count: 2.3k

The Battle of Helm’s Deep had been a long and gruesome fight. Of course, Kitra didn’t know the full extent of it until it was over. While both of her older sisters were more acclimated to battle, she preferred to clean up afterwards. Her talent lied in healing, not a sword.

That’s why while her sisters fought alongside Men and Elves alike, she was helping the other healers prepare beds for the eventual high number of injured soldiers. It was a real hit or miss as they all waited because, from what they heard, there was a high chance that they would not see the light of tomorrow. The room was filled with tension as they (impatiently) awaited to hear word of what was going on.

It was very overwhelming when tomorrow finally arrived and the healers were bombarded by what felt like thousands of injured soldiers. Kitra was immediately put to work by Lady Mirabella of Lothlorien, doing as much as she could to ease the pain of the soldiers. She worked for hours upon hours on soldiers of various races, even sitting with a few who got to her just a little too late. There were a few times where she had to step out of the room to make sure she didn’t cry in front of anyone. She took the deaths of those who she attempted to help very personally. At most she was gone for a few minutes at a time before remembering that there were some who still needed her, so she walked back in and got back to work.

Eventually she was allowed a break from healing to just go around and ensure the comfort of those who weren’t a top priority. That included cleaning and redressing a wound, getting some water, an extra pillow, more blankets, etc. Many soldiers had been assigned a single room with a few others as they didn’t need immediate attention with eyes on them at all times, so that’s where Kitra had been making her rounds. Most patients, despite not needing eyes on them, were still bedridden. So, Kitra would just knock then enter as she didn’t want them to have to get up.

That’s what she’d done with one room, and she immediately regretted it. Upon knocking twice then opening the door, she wasn’t met with a room full of two or three patients. Instead she was met with a singular man who looked like he was taking off his armor. The man, obviously surprised by the abrupt entrance, whipped around to face her with wide eyes.

It only took a split second for Kitra to recognize him. She’d talked with a healer of Rohan and discovered who their King was and if he had any kin. It was there that she learned of King Theoden, and his niece and nephew Eowyn and Eomer (as well as his son Theodred, who’d recently passed away as a result of an Uruk-hai attack). Now, Kitra had already seen Theoden at least once, so the healer only had to describe the Prince and Princess.

Based on her description, Kitra could conclude that she was standing in the presence of the Prince of Rohan. Once the realization hit her, the girl found herself curtsying with wide eyes, an embarrassed blush on her face.

“Forgive me, Your Highness,” she said quickly. “I thought this was the room of another injured soldier.” She spared a quick glance at him, and noticed him shake his head.

“Please, it is okay. No harm done,” he answered with a patient smile, gesturing for her to stand normally, which she did. “I’m not in need of any healing, so you may go if you please.”

“Very well,” the girl answered, curtsying one last time. As she turned to walk out, she caught sight of the Prince’s arm. There was a large gash on the side of it that started as his elbow and ended just past the middle of his forearm. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but he likely hadn’t noticed it as his adrenaline was still pumping from battle.

“Uh, Your Majesty…” she trailed off, eyes still on his arm. Eomer’s eyes met hers, a curious glint in them.

“Yes?”

“Your arm,” she gestured to it. The Prince’s gaze fell to his arm and he turned it to get a better look. His eyebrows shot up at the sight, and Kitra continued.

“It doesn’t look too bad, but it will get infected if it doesn’t get cleaned and dressed soon,” she explained gently. “May I?” The man was silent for a moment, but he eventually nodded and allowed her further inside. Kitra closed the door behind her then dug into the satchel slung over her shoulder for the right supplies.

“Sit down, please,” she instructed gently. Eomer did so, and she kneeled beside him after grabbing the bowl of water that sat on the bedside table. She had an extra cloth in her bag, so she dipped it into the water before carefully grabbing the Prince’s wrist. As she began dabbing at the wound, she glanced up at him.

“I can bring you another bowl of water when I’m done, but it’s just quicker to use this one,” she muttered.

“It’s no worry,” Eomer answered simply. “From what I hear, we will be returning to Rohan soon so there is no need.” The girl nodded in response as she dipped the now bloody cloth into the bowl once again. While she continued to work, she could feel the Prince’s eyes on her, examining her.

“Pardon me if I sound rude, but I’ve prided myself on getting to know as many people in my Kingdom as possible. I have no memory of you, though, nor do I recognize the symbol in your cuff,” he gestured to the cuff of her sleeve, which held the Wanita Hutan’s crest. “And based on your ears and dark hair I don’t believe you’re an Elf,” he commented. A small smile graced the girl’s face while she began dressing the wound.

“Wonderful observation, Your Majesty, I am not an Elf. And no, your memory does not fail you. We have never met until today because I do not belong to Rohan. My name is Kitra Underlake, I am a healer of the Wanita Hutan.”

“Wanita Hutan?” Eomer repeated curiously, earning a nod from the girl.

“Of the MapleElm realm,” she clarified. “It was the men and women of our Kingdom that aided your victory just this morning.” An embarrassed blush appeared on Eomer’s face and he averted his eyes.

“I’m afraid I was more focused on winning the battle than who I was beside,” he admitted apologetically. “I hadn’t thought about it until you said that.”

“I doubt you would have known who they were even if you were paying attention,” Kitra brushed off. “We are not a very well known Kingdom as we don’t like a lot of outsiders. My Queen Indah only allowed us to aid Rohan because we are allies of the Fellowship and promised help if/when they needed. Now, I’m no fighter, but I believe that my healing abilities are a good enough reason for me to be here.” As she finished her explanation she finished wrapping the bandage around his arm. Once she finished, she packed all her supplies then grabbed the bowl of (now bloody) water and stood.

“All done.” The Prince took a moment to examine his now bandaged forearm, then looked at her with a grin.

“I thank you, My Lady,” he muttered as he stood. Apparently both of them had miscalculated how close they’d be when they were both standing because now they were practically chest to chest. Both of their eyes widened and they froze, their brains simultaneously short circuiting as they didn’t know what to do. Kitra’s eyes met Eomer’s which entranced her for a moment. His were gorgeous, dark brown irises only showing deviation around the pupil, where a golden/hazel ring lay around the pupil. When she finally snapped out of whatever trance she was in, a deep blush coated her cheeks and she cleared her throat.

“Make sure you clean and rewrap your arm twice a day until the wound fully closes. If you require more bandages, just go to the healers,” she instructed softly before curtsying and walking out of the room to continue her duties.

Finally, the rest of the healing was left to the Elves as their capabilities far surpassed that of any Man. While they did that, the people of Rohan returned to their homes, inviting the surviving Wanita Hutan and Lothlorien soldiers for a celebration of victory. Queen Indah, who figured her people deserved to celebrate, allowed them to go.

As Kitra walked with the rest of her people, she couldn’t help but glance at the back of Prince Eomer, who rode near the front of the travelers. She had no idea what happened earlier with him, but she couldn’t get it out of her head. He was an attractive man, and she knew based on a few people she’d talked to that he cared about his Kingdom fiercely. So the fact that she’d shared such an intimate moment, even if it was only for a minute, knocked the breath out of her when she thought about it.

Once everyone had made it back to Edoras, preparations were made for the celebration of all the soldiers and healers that did their part. Kitra, who had managed to find her sisters once arriving in Rohan, changed into more appropriate attire for a party in the same room before promising to meet the others later. Citra wished to find Boromir, and all Netra cared about was finding a pint of ale and continuing a discussion she’d been having with Alphine from earlier (something about Elves or another, she couldn’t quite remember).

Kitra was the last to arrive at the Golden Hall, and apparently most of the people inside had already had several drinks by this point based on the volume alone. A small, amused smile played at her lips as she began weaving her way through the crowd to find a drink. It didn’t take her long to find a small stack of barrels behind a table. It looked like Legolas and Gimli were setting up for some sort of drinking game. Kitra was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Eomer who’d be distributing the drinks, and her smile widened as she walked over to him.

“Got a pint to spare?” She asked upon approaching him. Eomer whipped around and, just like her, he was pleasantly surprised to see her.

“I’m sure I can manage one,” he answered easily, pouring ale into a cup and setting it in front of her while she took a seat at the table. He offered her a small smile before filling up a few more pints and setting them in front of the Dwarf and Elf.

“No pauses,” Eomer stated, setting two tankards in front of the two. “No spills.”

“And no regurgitation,” Gimli added, lifting the tankard to his lips.

“So, it’s a drinking game?” Legolas clarified, glancing at Alphine, who nodded as Gimli drank his tankard all in one go.

“Last one standing wins,” Brooke, who also sat there, concluded, gauging his still slightly confused expression and giggling. “Don’t worry, Merry and Pippin did this a whole bunch of times back at the Green Dragon. You’ll be fine.” The elf finally nodded then began drinking as the others watched.

“Any bets?” Kitra heard from beside her. She glanced to the side and saw Eomer staring at her expectantly.

“Oh, Legolas all the way,” she answered without hesitation, taking a sip from her tankard afterwards. “Elves are unmatched in their drinking abilities.”

“I don’t know about that,” the Prince shot back. “If you asked me, I’d say that Dwarves are a worthy competitor. This one may even win with how many he’s downed so far.”

“Ah, but it's not about speed, Your Majesty, it’s about how many. My money is on the Elf,” she shrugged with a grin.

“I’ll take that bet,” Eomer responded, returning her grin before holding out his tankard to her, which she quickly tapped with her own before they took a drink in unison then faced the competition.

Nearly half an hour later the hall had gotten significantly louder as people got more drunk (which is saying something). Gimli giggled drunkenly before taking another gulp from his tankard. He began singing a shanty, but quickly quieted down when Legolas expressed concern about the ale affecting him based on the tingling sensation in his fingers.

“What did I say?” Gimli slurred with a chuckle. “He can’t hold his liquor.” Not even ten seconds after he said that, his eyes became crossed. Kitra watched with raised eyebrows as he sat quietly for a moment then keeled over backwards off his stool. Legolas mimicked her expression then faced Eomer.

“Game over.”

“Wonderful job meleth (love),” Alphine said, resting her hand on his arm. “I believe it’s time for a small break now.” Once they walked away to find him some water, Kitra turned to face Eomer.

“Well, I believe I win,” she said with a triumphant smirk. A small chuckle left the Prince’s lips as he nodded.

“I guess you did.”

“Do I get a reward of any kind?”

“How would you feel about a tour of the palace? No tricks or anything like that, just me showing you the beauty of Rohan. What do you say?” He asked, already holding out his elbow for her to take. Kitra stared at his elbow, then at him.

“No tricks?” She repeated cautiously, earning a nod from him.

“No tricks,” he concluded sincerely. That’s what made her smile and hook her hand around the crease of his elbow. He helped her stand and then led her out of the loud and rambunctious room. This certainly hadn’t been what she’d been expecting when she said yes to going to Helm’s Deep with the other healers, but she couldn’t say she didn’t like it. Things would certainly get interesting from there.

[totallyuseless-ugh]

Across the Campus

Chapter Four: Taking more Steps

7:12 AM

For the time that Pico was still out getting their morning coffee was Darnell already out on the balcony, his eyes either on his phone or darting around the campus in hopes of seeing CJ. He knew that it would still take a few more minutes before they were due to show up. But he was too impatient to act as rationally as he wanted to.

“So, what’re the news of the day?” Pico announced his presence. He did not want to run the risk of scaring Darnell into dropping his phone, even though it would not be a very long fall from the second floor down onto the grass below.

“Oh wouldn’t you want to know,” Darnell scoffed jokingly and pocketed his phone. “If you wanna partake in my life, how 'bout you get back in the dorm before dark?”

“It’s not my fault basketball training starts so late!” Pico pressed the full coffee mug into his friend’s hands while taking a sip from his own. “Now quit pretending to be so mysterious and tell me the good stuff.”

“Well.. mom asked how things were going for us so far. I’m pretty sure she tried to get some info out of me so she can send a ‘care package’ sometime soon.”

“I hope she sends some of her delicious rugelach then,” the redhead hummed dreamily.

“Just so you can eat them when I’m not around? Yeah, fat chance, man.”

“Was worth a shot,” Pico shrugged off his defeat. His eyes wander across the view in front of him as he awaited CJ’s arrival. And sure enough, they showed up at the exact minute as always. Darnell smiled and briefly put his mug down to wave back at them with an amount of confidence that got Pico laughing. “Since when do you have the guts for this?”

Darnell briefly bit his lower lip in an attempt to stop his grin from growing wider. “Oh y'know, since I got their number.” It felt great to say it out loud. And it got only better to see the look of utter confusion on his friend’s face.

“I’m sorry, what?!”

“You heard me,” Darnell pulled up his chat with CJ to show it to Pico. There were not a lot of messages yet, but that did not matter in this moment. “Turns out, CJ and I are in the same biochem course.”

“CJ you say?” As if the text conversation would help him continued Pico to look at the screen, trying to recall something. “I think I heard someone mention them around me recently..”

“Wouldn’t surprise me. They do football here, 'n for a couple of years too. Probably made a name for themself already.”

“Eh, not sure if sports was the topic of conversation there. But I wasn’t exactly trying to eavesdrop then, so I dunno for sure.” Pico dismissed the topic with a wave of his hand and went back to drinking his beverage. Darnell shrugged as he was none the wiser and pocketed his phone again.

The two continued to watch CJ follow their usual routine, waving one last time to Darnell before leaving to finish the rest of their run. “So,” the redhead spoke up again, vaguely gesturing to his friend with his own mug. “Now that you have made contact with the object of your attraction, how do you plan to make further advances?”

Darnell’s head hung down from his shoulders as he took a deep breath. “What the fuck just possessed you to suddenly sound like you’re crammin’ words into a 300-word essay? Jeez..” He pinched the bridge of his nose briefly before glancing over to his friend with a dry smile. “No clue. I was gonna try to focus on classes first instead of immediately ruining my first semester with some heartbreak, y’know?”

“Oh, come on!” Pico lightly jabbed at Darnell’s shoulder in an attempt to lighten his mood. “At least give things a try. You said you both have a course together, right? Then ask them if you two could meet up to study later today, easy!”

“Sure. Go ahead, plan all of my stuff for me while you’re at it. Why not call my mom and tell her what holidays I’m gonna be home for, too?”

“Man, you really are a downer today. What’s wrong?”

“Ugh.. I dunno. S’pose I don’t feel like I got a chance, so I shouldn’t entertain the idea of it too much.”

“Bullshit. Get your phone out.”

Darnell reluctantly followed his friend’s order, unlocking the screen and waiting for the next step.

“Go on, ask CJ how long they got classes for today. Schedule a study date with them!”

"I'd die before I ask them for any sort of 'date'." Darnell shot a brief glare over at Pico. He stared back down at his phone for a few moments before his thumb finally began to type something into the message bar. Although Darnell was not all too sure how to phrase his question, he tried writing at least something. “’Hey, when is your last class today? Maybe we could study together afterwards.’ That good?”

“If you think so, send it.”

“I dunno, man!”

“Ey, I’m not gonna dictate your damn texts! It’s supposed to sound like you after all!”

Darnell groaned at the lack of help from Pico. He read over his text once more before hesitantly hitting the send button. The message was soon marked as ‘sent’, so there was no going back. “Guess I gotta wait now..”

“Yep. And I’ll be on my way to class,” Pico said his goodbye before leaving the balcony again. On this particular day, Darnell had no classes before 11:30 AM. But he still chose to wake up at the same time as every other morning. Simply to talk with Pico after he came back into the dorm so late the night before. He took his time drinking up his coffee since there was nothing better for him to do. The empty mug in his hand eventually gave Darnell an idea, picking up Pico’s from the desk on his way out of the dorm room.

Down the wide hall of the building was the communal kitchen. Most students were already out for class or still sleeping in (be it by accident or on purpose), so it did not surprise Darnell to find the space empty. He set the mugs down in the sink and let somewhat-warm water slowly fill it up. While he waited placed Darnell his phone on the free kitchen counter and loosely bunched his dreadlocks together to fix them up into a simple ponytail. He was not going to spend much time here anyway, all Darnell wanted was to have his hair out of his face for a minute.

His mind began to wander as he finally started working on the mundane task of washing out the coffee residue out of the mugs.

Courses were still rather easy, so it was no problem to keep up with the material so far. But regardless, he was not feeling confident enough to visit his family for any holidays in the middle of the semester. Darnell was not looking forward to having that call with his mother, despite knowing that she would be understanding of his decision.

Just as he was thinking about the inevitable, yet important conversation was Darnell pulled from his thoughts by the sound his phone made. The screen flashed on, presenting him with a new message notification. It took Darnell a quick second to remember he was actually still waiting on a response from CJ. He dropped everything and hastily dried his hands off on a towel before picking up his phone and check the message. And sure enough, CJ had finally answered Darnell’s text.

“Great idea! I got time after 3:45pm”

*

Darnell stepped out of the elevator as he returned from his final class of the day. All he wanted to do throw his bag into a corner and drop on his bed for the rest of the day. But he knew he had other plans for today, so there was not a lot of time for him to rest. Darnell opened his door and was met with the sight of Pico walking around their shared room while talking on the phone.

“No, dad. I can’t come over to fix your computer. Just tell me what’s wrong and I’ll try to help best I can from here.”

Darnell waved while sneaking into the room, Pico giving him a small nod as acknowledgement.

“.. because I am at least three hours away from home, and it’s the middle of the week. Now, did you make sure the cables are all plugged in?”

The redhead sat on his bed as he listened to his father explaining what seemed to be the problem. But Darnell did not listen in on the conversation, instead emptying out his bag to swap out most contents for his studying materials. He assumed that by the time he would be leaving the room, CJ would probably already be waiting for him in their own dorm.

“Always the damn same..” Pico muttered as he plopped backwards onto his bed after ending the call.

“Was it the cables?”

"He must've loosened one while vacuuming," The redhead answered with a tired nod. “This is what you get when you go to uni for IT. You become the family tech hotline.”

“You sure have a tough job. I hope it pays you well at least,” Darnell joked, picking up his jacket and bag to head out.

“Ey, where are you going now, getting dinner? Whatever you order, I want the same!”

“Tough luck, today is my turn on coming back late at night.”

“You’re no fun, man. Alright, have fun being a boring, responsible adult.”

"Someone has to take on that role here after all," Darnell joked and waved to his friend on his way outside.

Finding his way to the other dormitory was very easy. The building stood between the library and art department, so it was no surprise to see the walls decorated with highly detailed murals in a diverse range of art styles. The lack of signatures however made it unclear whether these were approved projects by the university, or if the councils did not want to spend money on removing the art and simply pretended it was all intentional. At least that is what Darnell would do if he were in that situation.

On the ground floor was a large lounging area with couches, chairs, and beanbags which were all currently in use. Apparently, a larger group was having a gathering to plan a project for their class together. Darnell did not pay them any mind as he walked over to the elevator. He might have considered taking the stairs, if it were not for the fact that CJ had their room on the fourth floor.

The upper floor had a similar spacious layout as Darnell’s dorm building. It still took him a few moments to find the correct room number though. Before he reached his destination opened one of the doors, and a latina woman left the room. “I’ma head out. See ya-“ She looked over as she noticed Darnell approaching, flashing him a quick smile. “Lemme guess, you Jay’s buddy?”

“I mean- I came here to study with ‘em,” Darnell answered and shrugged his shoulders.

“Thought so. I’m Rika,” the woman offered him a fist-bump and patted him on the back as she left. “Have fun being nerds!”

Darnell’s gaze followed Rika for a few more seconds before CJ’s voice caught his attention. “Nells!” The tall blonde chimed as they came out of the same room, making their visitor smile with seemingly no effort at all. “Come on in, get comfy!”

Taking up on the invitation followed Darnell CJ back inside. The dorm was bigger compared to the one Darnell and Pico shared, clearly to fit in a third person. There were three bunk beds with desks and closets set under them, and the free corner at the end of the room contained a collection of beanbags and two small tables to create a lounging area by the window. One table was already occupied with CJ’s biochemistry book and what looked like their notes from class.

“I gotta be honest with you,” Darnell warned CJ as he settled down by the other table and began emptying his bag. “I haven’t studied together with someone since middle school, so I have no idea how we’re gonna do this.”

“Oh, no worries! I already made some notes on what I wanted to look into. Don’t take it the wrong way, but I felt like you’d be the right guy to ask about stuff I don’t understand well.” CJ gestured to a small list they had written previously.

Darnell took a moment to read over it, trying to recall roughly what he would need to look for. He then nodded to himself and quickly began flipping through one of his books. Since he had used the book before a couple of times knew Darnell pretty much off the top of his head on which page one of the topics was introduced.

“You really got this stuff memorized, huh?”

Darnell shrugged with a small grin on his lips. “I just got a thing for chemistry. Was kind of a no-brainer for me to pick it as my major.”

“Sounds like you already got plans on what you’ll do after graduating then.”

“Would it be too cliché if I’d say I wanna be a teacher?”

CJ let out a small laugh. “Cliché? Maybe. But honestly, it kinda suits you. In a good way, of course.”

“Aw, thanks!” Darnell’s lips curled up into a wide grin that was wider than he wanted CJ to possibly see. But even if he were to try, there was no chance he could hide his smile.

The mention of their majors had gotten him curious. He turned his eyes back to the book he brought, marking the page with a sticky note before searching for the next page in an attempt to come across as more unbothered than he actually was. “'Nd what are your plans with your music major? Y’know, since most people would’ve already stopped after getting their bachelor’s.”

“Honestly? I mostly study music because it’s my.. passion. I’ll try to get my DMA, so I guess I could become a private music teacher afterwards. But my hopes are that my band pops off first.”

“Oh shit, you got a band?” Darnell’s eyes grew big. He stared at CJ. Not in disbelief, but sheer amazement and interest to hear more.

The tall blonde laughed at the sight. “Nothin’ big yet though. We’re still trying to find our style and get our music out there.” CJ gestured to the unused space under the free bunk bed which housed some equipment, including an electric guitar and bass. Both were covered in worn-off and partially scratched stickers, showing how much the instruments were being handled on a regular basis.

Darnell took a few moments to properly look at the guitar. Based on the mix of colors and sticker designs, he assumed that CJ would most likely be the one to play it opposed to the bass. It generally fit more into their type of aesthetic, the clashing of dark hues and call-to-action slogans against oppression alongside bright, silly, and cute animals or texts making similar statements.

And although his interest was piqued to learn more about the music CJ made, now was not the time for it. He would ask about it some other time, learn more about them as a person. “Alright, let’s get into biochem,” he announced in a soft sigh.

“Right,” CJ sat up a bit more straight as if to show they were paying attention. “We’re studying here, no more interruptions.”

The study session was very productive, helping CJ to fully understand the material while Darnell got to further internalize it for himself. Though, their conversation occasionally drifted away from the topic at hand every once in a while.

But neither of the two seemed to ever be bothered whenever that happened.