#i'd say if you squint but you don't gotta squint at all

[beanghostprincess]

Guess who made an edit of their favorite DR protagonist because he's everything to me, actually

[dawneternal]

now my head's splitting at the seams

✴︎ in the labyrinth of my pain, would you find me?

✴︎ Azriel x Valkyrie reader, platonic Cassian x reader

✴︎ Summary: you miss a few days of training, down with a bad migraine. It turns out Cassian has a few misconceptions about your condition and, possibly, about pain itself.

✴︎ Warnings: mentions of nausea and vomiting (no descriptions), pain, toxic positivity and ableism, internalized ableism, Cassian's a jerk in the first half. Also I'm so sorry for the tense changing back and forth 💀 I would definitely not call this one a masterpiece

✴︎ Word Count: 3.4k

AO3 Link / Writing Masterlist

✴︎ Notes: somehow writing out my feelings about having a migraine turned into something pretentious about pain and ableism. I think a lot about John Green's "pain is the opposite of language" and how much that's changed my perception of pain

Also listen I love Cassian and I have no problems with him but I had to pick someone to take my feelings out on I'm sorry 💛 also just want to acknowledge that everyone experiences migraines differently and it's not a topic I'm an expert on so I'm sorry if you don't feel well represented by this.

Tbh I could write several essays about the way pain and disability are handled in the acotar books but that's for another time.

Letting out a frustrated groan, you squeeze your eyes shut tighter and twist your knuckle into the pressure point at the base of your palm, chasing the momentary relief it'll give you from your nausea. It works for a minute, and you're considering making your way to the bathroom before another wave hits you when your bedroom door flies open.

"You're late," Cassian's voice bellows through the room and he doesn't see you wince. He strides into the room, footsteps booming across the floorboards, and he's left the door open behind him, letting a traitorous amount of light into your dark room. What good were black out curtains if your darkness was going to be invaded like this anyways?

"Oh my gods you've got to talk quieter," You curl tighter around yourself, head clutched in your hands.

"So you're hungover?" He stops near your bed, arms crossed as he towers over you.

"No, I have a migraine."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

You squint up at him, scowling, swallowing every bad word threatening to spill off your tongue. Though maybe he deserves it for coming into your room without asking.

"Please leave," You say quietly, all the venom you could usually imbue into your voice completely swallowed by your current condition.

"You've missed three days of training." He says by way of answering, definitely not following your request to lower his volume. "You can't coddle yourself like this."

His words punch the air from your lungs. Coddle? Something terrible is rising in your gut, along with the desperate thought that you can't deal with this right now.

"I'm not - this isn't - I don't think you understand how much it hurts." You scramble for words, cheeks heated from pain and anger.

"You've gotta push through it," He says, no hint of sympathy.

"Cassian please."

"I'm not leaving until you agree to come with me."

You don't have time to respond before you're running to the bathroom and throwing up whatever you'd managed to keep down last night, head throbbing with every movement.

Breathing hard, you lean back from the toilet and clutch your head in your hands. The silence rings in your ears and you aren't sure if Cassian is still there or if he finally took mercy on you and left, until his voice makes it's way to you, with just a hint of remorse in it -

"I'd better see you up there."

⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

Cassian did not see you at training that morning, and you're assuming you've bruised his ego because the next day he doubles down.

The thing is, Rhysand knew of your condition. The other priestesses knew. It's only Cassian being out of the loop and if he understood what a migraine felt like, you're certain he wouldn't be dragging you up there. You were used to dealing with people who didn't understand, had worked hard to learn how to give yourself kindness no matter what other people said. But it's like he knew exactly what things to say, what buttons to press to undo all of that progress.

It was like he'd pulled off your armor, piece by piece, leaving you cold and exposed. Going back to that world where weakness was your given name and it hurt worse than stepping into the ring and fighting the pain. If you could prove him wrong, just make it through a couple of hours, you could return to your sanctuary of darkness. And at least then, you wouldn't hate yourself on top of everything else.

So you followed him up to the training ring, struggling to open your eyes all the way in the morning light, hunched over to make the pain down your shoulders and neck just a bit more bearable. You sway on your feet, but Cassian either doesn't notice or doesn't care.

When he moves aside, revealing your small, huddled frame trailing beside him, Gwyn gasps.

"Cassian!" She cries, her tone scathing, and the hint of smug triumph slips from his face. It disappears completely as Gwyn rushes to your side, folding you into her arms to block your eyes from the light. You groan into her shoulder and go limp in her arms, grateful for the support.

Azriel stands to the side, watching with narrowed eyes. His arms are crossed over his chest like Cassian's, but there is no determination or judgment in his posture or expression. There's angry, crackling flames as he watches the redheaded Valkyrie thread her fingers through your hair and murmur soft comfort.

"She missed training all this week," Cassian says, but he's not barking any more. He's feeling a little bit small underneath the glares that pin him where he stands.

"Yeah, we know," Gwyn says, and it's the closest she's gotten to snapping at him in the whole time they've known each other. She turns to you and her eyes soften. "Let's get you back to bed, love."

"No," You murmur, guilt and shame bringing your resolve to the surface once more. You gently push her away to stand on your own, raising your squinted eyes to meet Cassian's. "I can do it. I'll be fine."

She watches you take shaky steps to the nearest mat and begin stretching, body obviously stiff from a few days in bed. You're conscious of all the eyes on you, far too sympathetic for your liking. This is exactly what you hated.

"Are we starting or not?" You let out a stiff laugh, too aware that your words are lightly slurred. That is absolutely not helping the hangover accusations.

The other priestesses shuffle to get into place, bumping into each other as they move to find their positions. There was still a horrible silence, crackling with fierce anger, all rippling in Cassian's direction. He halfheartedly called a few orders, visibly uncomfortable with the energy in the ring.

And you tried. You tried hard. To move your body through the stretches like normal. But your muscles protested every move, threatening to lock back up, sending stabs of pain through your skull. It didn't take long for the nausea to take over, forcing you to the edge of the ring, doubled over and dry heaving.

"This is ridiculous," Gwyn scoffs before she's at your side again. "You're going to back to bed."

"I will not be weak," You growl at her, panting as you wipe your mouth with the back of your hand, "I am not lazy."

Gwyn's head snaps around to find Cassian, mouth dropped open in fury as she silently dares him to confirm that he may have suggested weakness to you.

"You're not and you know it," She says softly, hauling you up and leading you away from the training ring. “Don't do that to yourself.”

Cassian is feeling like he's surrounded by wolves, all the glares that are being sent his way. He understands by now that he's messed up, and in front of a group that may not be easily inclined to forgive him. He's sure every single one of them has experienced the disbelief that he foolishly shoved your way. For their pain, or for anything else.

He thought you would snap back to your normal self after a bit of warming up, shake off your symptoms with a bit of movement and sunshine. You were strong enough to, if you wanted to. He'd seen it before. He thought you just didn't want to.

A small, firm hand lands on his arm and he finds himself looking down at Nesta. There's sympathy in her expression, but her eyes twinkle with the threat of a nasty bite if he dares to say anything stupid.

"She gets them after particularly bad flashbacks," Nesta says, "Or sometimes they're just random. Madja says there's no fix for the pain but darkness and sleep."

Cassian's stomach twists so terribly he thinks he might puke, too. In the midst of attempting to instill resilience, he's understanding that he knows nothing of this kind of pain. This is something different, something that cannot be conquered in the same way as emotional pain, as every day aches and injuries. You are a soldier in a battle he has no strategy for.

He may understand the concept of emotional resilience, of getting back up and into the training ring when you don't want to. But this is different.

The final blow, the thing that makes him want to cower and hide, is meeting his brother's eyes. Seeing the fire there transports him back in time, sending flashes of a smaller Azriel pushing himself too hard, determined to show the world that he'd never be less because of the damage to his hands. Fighting against words far too similar to the ones his own brother had spouted to you this morning, desperate to become strong enough that no one would ever doubt his pain and live.

⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

It was not a surprise that Cassian found himself in Rhysand's office later, confessing how thoroughly he'd fucked up, desperate for a little direction in how to fix this mess.

"It has to be their choice," Rhysand is saying, eyes meeting Cassian's over his glass.

Cassian's mouth opens and closes as he tries to conjure a response. He knows that. Of course he knows that. But apparently, his brain had not wrapped around how far that concept might go.

Cassian let out a grunt as he sat back in his chair, arms crossed. Rhysand knew he didn't have to push any further, he recognized the conflict in his brother's eyes. So he sat with him, quiet, while he processed.

"Do you want to know what it feels like?" He broke the since after a while, as the idea came to him.

"What?" Cassian blinked, startled from his thoughts.

"A migraine," Rhys explained, "Do you want to know what it feels like?"

Cassian frowned, studying his brother's expression for anything resembling amusement, but there was none. So he nods.

Not even a full second later, his skull is attacked with throbbing pain, deep in the base of his neck. He hadn't even noticed the fae lights before, but now they overwhelm him, causing a dull pain to surface behind his eyes. Nausea curled up his throat, threatening ruthlessly.

"Oh gods," He leaned forward and clutched his head in his hands, finding that his limbs trembled under his own weight.

"Do you push yourself when you feel like this?" Rhysand asked softly, not taunting. Prompting.

"I don't really ever feel like this," Cassian grumbled out.

"Hm," Rhysand mused, his brows drawing together. He'd experienced episodes like these often, under the mountain. He knew that Azriel struggled with them through his teenage years, like his brain still struggled to process his senses outside of a dark cell.

Deep in thought, he only remembered to ease up on Cassian's mind when his brother whimpered.

"Some say pain cannot truly be described with language," Rhys says, gaze somewhere else as Cassian gulps down air. "And that your pain is one of the few things that is truly yours, that you can never share. Even if you manage to describe it, it will never be felt by anyone else."

"I thought she was just hungover," Cassian says, but he's not defending himself. Rhysand knows.

"What if she was, though?" He tilts his head to the side, watching his brother carefully.

And that is the thing that had begun to unfurl within Cassian as he stood surrounded by the priestesses he'd wronged. He understood that having true control of your body meant that dictating how pain is handled had to be yours, too. He understood that pushing someone to deal with pain in his own way was a violation in and of itself. He had stepped into the world that you had carefully balanced and re-built around your condition and dared to tell you that you may have done it wrong.

"Will she get better?" He asks, thinking of the agony he'd just experienced for a few short minutes. The same one that you'd been experiencing for three days, now.

"It's hard to say," Rhysand shrugs, "Madja says she will likely experience these off and on for the rest of her life, but she may have some periods of remission."

He tilts his head at his brother again, "You know that a majority of the priestesses have an invisible disability of similar kinds, right? They won't get better. They will be in pain every day until they die."

Rhysand sighs, thinking of the hundreds - possibly thousands - of tins of salve that Azriel has gone through, numbing the pain of his nerve damage. Trembling hands hidden in black gloves, tucked into his body and away from the world. And that is the reason he's bothering telling Cassian of any of this. Otherwise, he might let him figure it out on his own.

"But the healers-" Cassian begins.

"Are there to help them cope with their emotional pain and trauma," Rhysand nods, "But some of them, a lot of them, were disabled as a result of what they went through and will never get better. Like Clotho.”

Oh.

It clicks in Cassian's mind, then. Who else Rhys meant. Who else Cassian had insulted. He had never barged into Azriel's room, insisting that he still train even when he could not flex his fingers without wincing, without trembling too hard to hold a glass of water. But he'd done it to you, in front of him. And that pinned his disbelief on Azriel all the same.

Azriel's pain, your pain, were enemies that neither of you could defeat. And here he was, shoving a sword into your hands, and insisting that you try.

⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

A soft knock sounds against your door, so quiet you almost don't hear it. You stare at it, wondering if you should pretend that you didn't. But then the knob turns slowly and it opens just a crack, and a soft voice is saying into the darkness,

"Hey, it's Azriel. Can I come in?"

Your breath catches in your throat, and you watch his shadows dancing back and forth through the thin wedge of light he's letting in.

"Sure," You say, moving quickly to smooth your rumpled clothes and tangled hair before he steps in. You're not exactly sure what he thinks of you after this morning.

He steps inside and closes the door behind him. His eyes seem to glow in the darkness, an amber-honey color, and somehow you can still see his shadows, like they're even darker than your room with no light.

"I just wanted to check on you," He says, crouching down beside your bed so you don't have to sit up.

"I'm okay," You say, still getting over the surprise of the Shadowsinger in your space. It's true, though, you suppose. You're used to all of your other symptoms by now, and your heart hurts worse than your head.

"He's an idiot sometimes," Azriel says, basically spits. A smile begins to spread on your face so he continues, “Like, sometimes he's just an asshole, straight up. But this time, believe it or not, I think he actually meant well and was just an idiot.”

“I know,” You give him a sad smile and all of the anger melts from his face.

“I think he went to buy flowers if that makes you feel any better,” He sighs. You know he's just as mad at Cassian as you are, maybe even more mad. But he still can't help vouching for him. It's definitely going to take more than flowers to forgive him, but it's a good start. You also appreciate that Azriel has bothered to warn you ahead of time, in case you wanted to avoid Cassian's apology.

“How are you feeling?” He asks, so quietly. And you wonder who else has earned this tenderness from him.

“It's not too bad right now,” you say truthfully, though you know that sitting up or going outside might be pushing your luck.

“Still hurts?”

“Yeah. Still hurts.”

He nods. “I can try something that helps me, sometimes.”

You search his eyes for a moment, then nod.

“Can I touch your face?” He asks, almost a whisper.

Your heart leaps into your throat and you fight to keep your face neutral as you nod again, no idea what he's planning to do with you.

Slowly, leaving enough time for you to stop him, he reaches out. He's not wearing gloves, like usual, and in the dark you can just barely make out the uneven silhouette of his dimpled, scarred hands.

His fingers land gently on your forehead, and he presses his thumb between your brows. Gently at first, and then harder, circling a tender point under your skin. It makes the pain in your head sharper, and you let out a hiss.

“I know,” He says, “Bear with me a minute.”

You close your eyes, biting back a whimper, but after a moment the pain begins to ease. He keeps going for a few minutes and you feel your whole body relax, pain free for the first time in days.

You don't realize how much you've leaned into his touch until he gently pulls away and you find your head falling forward with him.

“What is that?” You open your eyes and blink at him.

“A pressure point,” He grins, and it almost looks like he's blushing.

“That's magical,” you say. You hesitate for a moment, and then, “you can sit on the bed if you want.”

Azriel smiles and straightens, and you move your pillow to the side to make space for him. He slides off his boots and sits on the bed next to you, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. You place your pillow next to his lap and settle back into it.

“Thank you,” You say, your body feeling lighter than it has in days.

“Of course,” he says.

A silence settles, but it's not uncomfortable. There's something in it that you understand. He's just keeping you company. Here to sit with you in your pain.

It's easy to relax in his presence, between his calm aura and the pain relief he's offered you. And you find yourself spilling the question that's been circling though your mind since this morning.

“What if I can't fight, someday? What if I can't be a Valkyrie anymore?”

Azriel stills beside you. It's a long moment before he says anything. You're tense beside him, and it makes you flinch when he brings his hand so gently to rest on your head. Not moving, just resting.

“First,” He says, in the same soft voice, “You'll always be a Valkyrie. Because you cut the ribbon. Because you sisters will never let you go. And because I know for a fact that the Valkyries did not strip their warriors of their title if they became disabled by an illness or an injury.”

“Really?” You breathe.

“Mhm,” He hums in affirmation. You forget sometimes that he knows the Valkyries from more than history books.

“And second,” His voice drops lower, like he's sharing a secret with you. His hand moves, fingers slipping gingerly through your hair. And it makes you realize that he came here with his hands uncovered as an offer of solidarity. Combing his scarred fingers through your hair, he is offering you vulnerability, like recompense for what you bared this morning. A trade. A truce.

“If you cannot fight,” He continues, “Then you will show the world that a formidable woman can be made from more than fighting skills. You will still be - will always be - something incredible.”

Tears prickle at your eyes, form a lump in your throat. You reach up to grasp his hand, the only thank you that you can manage in the moment, and he lets you.

There's another silence, as he holds your hand in the dark.

“Who helps you?” You ask, turning to look up at him. He watches your eyebrows knit together, so serious, and he swallows a smile.

“What do you mean?” He says.

You bring one finger up to tap the space between his own eyebrows.

“With your pain? Who helps you like you helped me?”

“Um,” He shrugs, “Sometimes Rhys if he has time. Otherwise, no one.”

That's what you thought, but it still makes your heart twist in your chest. It takes a deep breath before you have the courage to say the next words out loud.

“You should tell me next time you're in pain. And I'll help.”

Azriel stares back at you, something bewildered in his eyes. Because he sees your suggestion for what it is. The same thing he offered you. A trade. A truce.

A beginning.

“Yes,” He whispers into the dark, and his hand closes around yours. “I will.”

[avonne-writes]

oh my god now that the show and the war is over I NEED domestic buck and bucky fics bonus points if buck is sick and they cuddle all day😅😅

I can’t wait to write this AU, but I have to finish Reverie first, so I hope you’d still like to read to it after 🩷 But until then, here's a snippet I've just written:

It's cold. So cold, that Gale thinks he’s back in Germany for a few seconds, locked in the filthy hopelessness of the stalag, with no end in sight. He’s swimming in sweat but his body trembles nevertheless. Icy pain rolls down his neck in waves. He can’t get any air through his nose so he tries to sleep with his mouth open, but that just makes his throat ache that much more. He wishes he could stop breathing long enough to fall asleep, but no such luck. The duvet doesn’t wrap around him tight enough. Curled up miserably on his side of the bed, he can’t do anything but convalesce. Even his bones hurt.

The front door opens downstairs, but it's too early for John to be home. Robbers? But there’s no sound of clinking china or cabinets being opened, only the jiggle of keys and then familiar, heavy footsteps up the creaking stairs. The bedroom door opens softly, then the world's most annoying voice whispers into the stale air of the room.

"Is our pretty little patient still with us?" When Gale ignores him, Bucky's socked feet thread across the carpet to the bed. His fingers drum on the wooden footboard. If Gale had the strength, he'd kick him. "Or did he become a butterfly?"

"What the goddamn hell are you talking about?" Gale gripes, his voice hoarse as though he was dying. He doesn’t open his eyes. He has no interest in seeing Bucky's mug when he’s getting on Gale's nerves like that.

"Well, you look like a giant caterpillar all cocooned up."

Gale doesn’t deign that worthy of a reply. He pulls the duvet the rest of the way over his head. There’s nothing he wants to see in the room anyway. He just wants to be left alone. Glass thuds on the bedside table.

"Got you some cold syrup."

The cover is pulled back from Gale's face and a pleasantly cool, dry palm presses to his forehead. Bucky sighs. When he speaks again, the joking tone drops from his voice. "That’s gotta be a fever."

He wipes the sweat from Gale's temple with his hand, then the bed dips by Gale's side. He hears clinking and banging, then a large palm slides under his head and pulls to prop it up. He cracks his eyes open to slits only to see Bucky bent over him with a spoonful of vile medicine in his free hand. Gale tries to push it away.

"Don't be a child, Buck, open up."

"Says the one yapping about caterpillars." Gale mumbles, so slow that he thinks Bucky won't let him finish the sentence, but he does. He looks amused, despite the tinges of worry around his eyes.

"Someone ought'a have a sense of humor."

"Wouldn’t bet on us." Gale squints at Bucky again, satisfied to see the flash of his grin.

But still, Bucky doesn’t let up - he holds the spoon in front of Gale's mouth until Gale sighs and swallows the syrup in it. "There."

Gale sinks back into the cushions and turns away from him, rolling closer to Bucky's side of the bed. It’s tempting to steal his pillow but with the clogged nose, Gale wouldn’t be able to smell him anyway. A hand rests on his shoulder, Bucky's thumb stroking.

"Care for some company?" Bucky asks. When Gale remains silent again, he continues filling the quiet. "I phoned my boss, told him I was sick."

"What, we share a body now?" Gale grumbles. "What if you do get sick?"

"Then I didn't lie, did I? If I get sick, I'd have caught it anyway, what with this narrow thing you picked." He pats the bed.

"You gave me the wrong measurements."

"Just admit that you wanna sleep in my arms."

"Did you get something for your head?"

Bucky laughs to himself in low chuckles, then Gale hears the rustle of clothes, the clink of a belt. The duvet pulls away from his back, leaving him freezing where the sweat-soaked pyjama shirt sticks to his skin. But he doesn’t have to suffer for long. The bed dips further, then a warm, naked chest presses to his back. Bucky tucks in the covers around them, them slips his arms around Gale to hold him close. It feels like heaven.

Gale sniffles. "I'm disgusting."

Bucky sighs as though he’s happy. He kisses Gale's overheated neck. "Course you are, you little caterpillar."

Gale grits his teeth. "Go away."

"No can do." He holds Gale tighter to his chest, and the shivers subside. "I'm sick, after all."

Gale decides not to say anything else. He remains irritated for two more minutes, then Bucky's warmth starts seeping into him through his clothes. He breathes out and falls asleep.

[luveline]

can I request more bodyguard James? he’s just the cutest and I’m happy to read anything about it!!

thank you for your request! you and James go shopping and get mistaken for a couple ♥︎ fem!reader 1k

James looks like your boyfriend, sometimes. There are moments that he deems low risk in your life where he won't wear his radio or his utility belt, opting instead for plain black civilian clothing. In those moments, you aren't proud of yourself for doing so, but you like to pretend he is your boyfriend. 

He's looking through broccoli's for you. You hadn't asked him to. His hands sift through huge trees until he's found the most vibrant, holding it up for your inspection. 

"Perfect," you praise, opening your small paper bag so he can drop it inside with the rest of your hand-picked veggies.

The only thing left on your list is extra virgin olive oil, but you don't want to go home yet. You like the way people look at you and James when you're together,  awed and a little jealous. They might wonder how you nabbed a man like him, and of course you haven't nabbed him at all. That's your secret to keep. 

You meander down the vegetable aisle, your eyes skipping over snap peas and cabbages, bags of wonky carrots and parsnips. James grabs a bag of rooster potatoes before you can stretch over the crates for them. 

"Gotta wake up earlier in the morning to beat me, angel," he says. 

"I don't think I could." 

James wakes up at 3AM every morning, if he's to be believed. It makes sense. He wakes up, does bits around the flat, works out, has breakfast, and is waiting smiley and bright-eyed when you emerge from your room at 6:30. You're never as put together as he is, usually in your nightgown or one of those matching pyjama sets that make him look you up and down (though you both pretend he doesn't). 

No matter how bleary your vision is, it's impossible to miss the way he smiles at you every single day, like you're the sun coming up over the horizon. His pretty brown eyes squint, his thick crop of eyelashes threading together at their corners, and he says some warm variation of, "Morning, princess. Is it me or did you get prettier while I was gone?" 

"We could try it out. Of course, if you wake up at three, I'll have to start waking up at midnight," he says now. 

"I don't know how you do it," you say. Your voice is softened by genuine admiration. 

"I get to see you. Makes it easy." 

He's flirting, but with James you can never make out where the line is. Does he want you to flirt back? Does he want you to want him? You'd say without hesitation that James is your best friend in the whole world. He'd say without hesitation that his best friend is actually a duo, Sirius and Remus. That makes it hard. 

But it's okay. You don't need anything more than this: his hand on your shoulder guiding you across the aisle to the fresh fruit punnets, the smell of his cologne a familiar treat. 

You pick up a couple of things you like, mostly stuff you know you can convince James to share. He likes oranges best, so you grab a bag of huge ones and drop them in your basket with the veggies. It's getting heavy. You can practically see James' holding in an offer to carry it for you.

You're somewhere in the spreads and grains aisle when an older lady approaches you, or rather James, tapping him on the elbow gently.

"Hey, hun, you couldn't help me reach something?" 

"I'd be happy to!" he says cheerily. 

"Thanks so much. I've never been very tall, and every year I seem to shrink. It's just over here." 

James legally isn't supposed to stray from your side, so he threads his hand under your upper arm and pulls you with him. 

The elderly woman points to a box bragging organic, dehydrated strips of applesauce. "It's those right there if it's no trouble for you, hun." 

"No, of course not." 

James grabs her box with little to no effort expended. He doesn't even need to go on toes. 

"God, he's so tall," the elderly lady says to you. 

"He's super tall," you echo, your sunny talking-to-strangers voice in play. 

"And very handsome. You're a lovely couple." 

You fall into silence with your lips parted, not sure what to say. It isn't worth correcting and potentially embarrassing her for a harmless assumption, especially when you like that she thinks it, but you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of James by looking to eager. 

"She's the lovely one," James says, offering the applesauce with a huge beaming smile. 

She presses her hand to her collar, basket proffered until James places the applesauce carefully on top of a punnet of plums and a TV magazine. 

"Thank you," she says. "Getting old's no fun when you're short. And my husband was even shorter than I am! You hold on to this one, love, you never know when you'll need something from a tall shelf."

You and James laugh in a mirrored delight at her easy-going joking, his hand falling against the top of your shoulder, fingers spread and clasping. You swear, heat radiates like the sun from his touch alone. 

"I'm holding on about as tightly as I can," James says, "she couldn't get rid of me if she wanted to." 

You look at him, startled, and meet his earnest gaze. "I don't want to. I don't think I'll ever want to." 

James smiles. 

The elderly woman nods like this is something she'd suspected. 

"Good. You're a perfect pair," she says.

James rubs the space between your shoulders affectionately while he finally steals the heavy shopping basket from over your arm. You're too flustered from his touch to kick up a fuss. 

"I've been thinking the same thing," he says. 

[overthestars-and-offtoneverland]

Some People Will Not Believe Me

If it's any consolation, this story slightly embarrasses me because it feels like some fake shit I'd tell younger me to hype myself up in an attempt to convince them it might be worth making it to adulthood.

So, I work in childcare. I interact with kids all the time and being a person who enjoys children's media tends to help me bond with my kids from time to time.

There is a little girl at my job named Violet.

Now, me being me, I asked if she liked A Series of Unfortunate Events because she's in the target age group for the series.

She says yes and that she is a big fan of Violet Baudelaire, though her parents don't really like her watching the Netflix series because they think it has scary subject matter (literally the point, but go off). I suggest the books to her and inform her that I myself have been a fan of the series since I was a little younger than her.

We bond a little over the series and then I physically watch her eyes drift down.

To my left ankle.

And, in spite of my tattoo being the book version rather than the Netflix version, she immediately recognizes it.

She proceeds with a suspicious squint in my direction.

And let me tell you the amount of dopamine and serotonin that rushed into my brain! I have been waiting forever to have a moment like this!

Truth be told, other children have recognized my tattoo and given me this look in passing. Usually in bookstores, once in a Pizza Hut, don't asked questions.

But none of them actually said anything or confronted me and I would never just walk up to some random child that doesn't have some form of relation to me.

But this child was one of my students. And she was certainly going to confront me about it.

And her name is Violet???

Hence begun the world's weirdest coincidence and playful rivalry I now have with a child as she has decided I must be her personal Firestarter Nemesis (all a game, all in good fun).

She has accused me of being Count Olaf to other students. (I even got to pull a "What eye tattoo?" once)

She taunts me that I'll never get away with my schemes.

She loves the Count Olaf impression I occasionally do with my students (I'm an art and drama teacher lol. Fun fact: Kids love when you commit to a bit and are slightly and jokingly mean i.e. "It's time to go home, hun" vs *looks at them bluntly* "Go home." Gotta be able to read your audience though)

Tell me why this child has walked into the facility with fake, giant hundred dollar bills two days in a row giving me a physical "fortune" to steal?

Gotta say I'm doing way better than Olaf because I've succeeded twice (again, all in good fun. She got it back after I got my gloating out of the way).

Point being, adulthood is fucking weird, but occasionally life lets your inner child have some fun.

[melanieph321]

Erling Haaland x Reader - The Confession Part 1/2

I never thought that I'd find myself in this predicament. 😭 I'm actually quite embarrassed. But it's the gif that inspired me to write this fic so thank you @ruben-dias, for posting it.

Part 2

Summary - Erling has had a crush on Reader for a long time, but Reader is clueless about it since she never thought a guy like him could like a girl like her. Nevertheless, the truth unfolds when Erling gives Reader a ride home after a lake party with their friends.

Enjoy!

Summer in Norway was cold. Sure the temperature in the air was warmer than in the winter. But there was no way that your friends could convince you to get in the water with them.

"Come on Y/N. It's not that bad. You just gotta get through the first chock. Your body will get used to the temperature once you're in the water."

"Yeah, no thank you." You said.

There was no such thing as a first chock where you came from. Where you came from the water was swimable right away. You were fine where you were, sitting on the bank of the lake, watching your friends splashing away.

At one point you had gone to lay down, basking in the warmth of the sun. When suddenly, a large shadow was casted over you, blocking the light.

"Hot dog?"

You removed you sunglasses and was forced to tilt your head all the way back to meet the height of, "Erling?"

His eyes squinted in the sun, hair dripping wet with lake water. In his hands he carried two hot dogs coated with ketchup and mustered. "This one's for you." He said, offering you a hot dog.

You eyed the ketchup coated piece of meat, trying not to grimarce at the stench of it. "Oh, that's very sweet of you Erling, really. But I don't eat meat."

"No?"

You shook your head. "No, sorry. It was very kind of you though."

You watch Erling pull back his offering, a slight dent between his brows. "Well, can I get you something else then?"

"Huh?" You had put your shades back on, preparing to lay down again. However, Erling still stood by your side, blocking the sun.

"Can I get you something else?" He shrugged. "Maybe something to drink?"

"I don't drink."

"Not even water?" He frowned.

"What, no. I do."

"You do. Great! Water it is."

"Erling, no." You stopped him from retrieving a bottle of water from the cooler. You didn't mean to come off as rude as you did. However, water dripping from Erling's hair was dampening your towel.

"Not water? How about a soda?"

"No, Erling." You sighed. "What I was meant to say is that I'm not thristy or hungry at all. So please keep your hot dogs and leave me alone."

Erling's expression faded, like a puppy dog denied of a treat. "Right, sure." He nodded. "I'll leave you alone."

"Thank you."

You fell back onto your towel, hearing how Erling's footsteps made their way back to the lake, to the others. You wouldn't have made much of your encounter if it hadn't been for your friend, Nicole, pulling you aside at the end of the day, while everyone else helped carry things back to the cars.

"What have you done to Erling?" She asked.

"Pardon?"

"Don't act dumb Y/N. I saw the two of you talking on the beach earlier. What did you say to him?"

"What do you mean?" You thought back to your brief and quite pointless conversation. What had been so sagnificant about it?

"Look at him." Nicole said, and nudge you in the direction were Erling was helping the others load things onto the cars. But unlike the others,  Erling wasn't loading things onto the cars, he was throwing them. It was impressive. How he carried an entire BBQ over his shoulders just to throw it onto the flat bed of your friend's car.

"Careful with that." You friend hissed, displeased with Erling who muttered to himself as he stomped away.

"Do you see now?" Nicole said.

"What, that Erling almost damaged Tim's dad's BBQ grill? Yeah, that was pretty foul of him."

"No, Y/N." Nicole groand. She put her hands on your shoulders, attempting to shake some sense into you. "Can't you see what mood Erling's has been in ever since the two of you talked?"

"So? What does that have to do with..."

"Because he likes you, Y/N. He really likes you and apparently you told him to leave you alone."

"I....what?" It was a little bit hard to comprehend, Erling Haaland, into you? Since when?"

"He's had a crush on you forever." Nicole explained. "But apparently everyone knows accept for you."

"Accept for me..." You mumbled, glancing towards Erling's. You saw the damage you had caused, how his usually contagious smile was totally wiped away, replaced by a deep frown that didn't really suit him.

"You should talk to him. Maybe apologize."

"Apologize?" You frowned. "But I didn't...."

"At least set things straight." Nicole nodded. "If you don't like him back at least be honest about it, maybe then he can move on."

"Right. Move on." But how the hell would you do that?

Part 2

[howlingday]

The Rusted Knight: Trust me, the best thing you can do is avoid any and all types of danger.

Weiss: ARC!

The Rusted Knight: I spoke too soon.

Jaune: Uh, h-hey, Weiss. Is something wrong?

Weiss: Yes! Professor Port made us partners in Grimm Studies!

Jaune: Is that so bad?

Weiss: Yes! You got a C+ on your last exam, so I can't afford a partner who can't pull his weight! How will I get in as an Atlas Specialist now?

Jaune: Uh, your dad or your sister could let you in?

Weiss: Exactly! It'll look like nepotism! So help me, Jaune Arc, if you get less than A+ on the rest of your assignments, I will toss your frozen carcass to the Beowolves! (Huffs, Storms off)

Jaune: ...Any chance we figure out Weiss in the future?

The Rusted Knight: None.

---------------------------------------------------

The Rusted Knight: Odd... I don't remember the Relic of Memory having a time limit... Or having this rug right in front of it...

The Rusted Knight: (Reading decoration) "Bless This Mess"? What the fu- AGH!

The Ice Empress: Hey, sweetie~!

The Rusted Knight: Weiss?! How did you find me here?!

Weiss: I used my keys, sweetheart. Duh~! Everything go okay on patrol?

The Rusted Knight: ...Key? Sweetheart? (Follows her, Finds wedding and graduation photos) Holy... By altering my past, I've altered my future! (Squints) Huh... Really thought I'd go for a black tux instead of blue.

The Ice Empress: (Distant) Can you set the table, dear~? I really wanna try this new all-green diet with you~!

The Rusted Knight: All green?! I gotta get outta here!

The Ice Empress: (Grabs him) Oh no you don't! You promised to read to me~!

The Rusted Knight: (Reads title) "Fruit of the Beast of Blood"?! Is that some kinda romance novel?! What kind of a world have I come into?!

The Ice Empress I want to say it's Pre-Color War Vale, but the leading woman is a vampire.

The Rusted Knight: ...Vampires? Really? Didn't see that coming.

The Ice Empress: C'mon~! Ren taught me a recipe for all-green smoothies~!

The Rusted Knight: All-green-?! Damn you, Lie Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!

[yesbutmakeitgay]

No One Breaks My Heart Like You

GIF by dailyflicks

Carol Danvers x Reader

We’ve Loved A Thousand Lives

Same beginning, different story every time.

Part 7.5 | (Part 7)

Angst, Injuries, Divorce.

A/N: Best of luck to all of us...

Beta'd by @cordeliasdarling 💜

Word count: 6.7k

Masterlist | This collection | AO3

It’s been weeks since your disastrous break up with Carol, and she has spent every moment of that time trying to reach you unsuccessfully. She can’t track your devices, and you won’t answer any of her calls on your phone or at work.

In a deep moment of defeat, she decides to contact Fury, "Are you missing any agents?" she asks him suspiciously.

Fury doesn’t show any emotion, "Are you asking me if I've misplaced a whole person lately?"

Carol is unsure how to phrase her question without admitting to breaking the rules, "Have you?"

"There is an agent who hasn't come in for a while, is that what you're referring to?"

"Perhaps," The Captain gestures with her arms, "she's about this tall, great at her job, gorgeous."

"Carol, did you lose your wife?" he deadpans.

"My—what?" She tries to play it cool as nerves take over her entire body.

"Oh, come on, I’m not a fool, and you're not that sneaky."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Fury still seems completely unbothered, "She’s always with you when she's off work, you take your vacation at the exact same time, and there's a picture of her in your house."

"It's not a picture of her, it's a picture of us," Carol mumbles, avoiding eye contact.

"Whatever, I already know."

"So, you're not gonna tell me off?"

"She doesn't work for you, it's okay."

Carol shoots him an angry look, "Why didn’t you ever say anything?"

"I figured I'd let you keep it up for as long as possible."

"You could have saved me a divorce!" That certainly catches Fury’s attention.

"Wait, what?"

She shows him two wedding bands, "I have both of these, I’m only supposed to have one!"

"That bad? What did you do?"

"Why do you assume it was my fault?"

"You're the one holding the rings."

Carol puts the bands on the table and responds in an aggressive tone, "She said I don't have enough time for her, which, did she not know she was marrying the single Avenger in charge of protecting the entire universe?"

He squints his eye, "What did she say exactly?"

"Something about my availability to everyone else."

"Did she give you a whole explanation and that's all you got from it?"

Carol remains silent, trying to remember your last conversation, "That's not the point, help me!"

"What do you want me to do?" he responds bluntly.

"I don’t know, page her? Say it's an emergency."

Fury sighs and looks at her with sympathy, "For you, I will try, but you should know that once she's off the grid, she's impossible to track down."

"That's gotta be an exaggeration."

"Like you just said, she's great at her job," he pauses, "my best spy doing desk work, that must have been a tough choice for her, I wonder why she did that," his tone is taunting, making Carol’s features turn to guilt, "I would hope that whoever pushed her to make that decision made up for it by spending lots of quality time with her," he suggests not so subtly.

"That's bullshit, if I had known we didn't need to hide from you—" Carol is interrupted by an alarm going off in Fury’s office.

"Hold that thought, I have to go. I will page her, but I'll stop at five attempts, if you don't hear from me, that's because I didn't hear from her."

He hangs up, and Carol is left alone once again.

A few days later, Carol arrives unannounced to New Asgard, she confidently makes her way to The King’s office and demands, "Take a walk with me."

Valkyrie’s eyes reluctantly travel away from her work to look at Carol, "You think you can just show up and ask for whatever you want? I am a King, I have responsibilities." It is clear in Valkyrie’s voice that she is still not on the best terms with her.

Carol completely disregards Val’s displeasure in favor of getting what she wants, "Like what?" she challenges.

Valkyrie looks around trying to produce a response and coming up empty, "…A walk then."

They take a stroll around the palace, mostly in silence, Val knows Carol just wanted an excuse to look for you in every corner of her Kingdom. After rounding the entire building, they return to The King's office.

"You're missing a ship," Carol points out as they enter.

"I know exactly where all my belongings are, do you?"

"She doesn't belong to me," The Captain murmurs.

Valkyrie swiftly sits on her chair and crosses her legs, "But you learned that the hard way."

"Can you just tell me where she is?"

"Why? So you can piss her off again?" Val bites.

"You have no idea what happened." Carol’s eyes bore into Valkyrie’s, but The King isn’t fazed by the action.

"I have no idea where she is," Valkyrie asserts smugly, "as your friend, let me just tell you, sometimes you can be really stupid. I say it with love," The Captain huffs at the hypocrisy, "and she's not here, at least not anymore."

Carol feels her heartbeat race, "But she was?"

"She stayed for a few days after I picked her up, didn't tell me where she went." The king's assistant knocks on the open door to announce their presence, Valkyrie nods to them and directs herself to Carol, "You should go."

Carol leaves the palace, but decides to stay in New Asgard for a bit, having nowhere else to go.

After a few hours of mindlessly roaming the town, Carol gets a call, "Fury, did you find her?" she answers hurriedly.

"There's been a strange object hovering Earth, can you check it out, please?"

"On it," she accepts, thinking it’ll be a good distraction. She flies to the coordinates and finds a spaceship.

Captain Marvel enters the familiar ship carefully, she points her lit up fist in a general forward direction as she scans every inch of the vessel with her eyes.

She feels someone jump down and land behind her, "What took you so long?" she immediately turns around startled, her mouth slightly agape with surprise, "Did anyone see you come in?" you mock, making her features flatten.

"Very funny," she deadpans, "how long have you been here?"

"Since I left New Asgard."

Her brows furl, "You’ve been here for four weeks?" you simply shrug in response, looking anywhere but at her, "Does Val know you have her ship?"

"Obviously, I wasn't about to steal from The King."

"How come nobody knows where you are?"

"I’m a trained spy, remember? And a damn good one," She walks in, putting her fist and guard down as she relaxes into her surroundings. "Fury called you." It's not a question.   "He thought you were a threat."

"I had to unveil the ship, I was getting bored up here."

"How was I supposed to know you were hiding somewhere outside the Earth's atmosphere?"

You eye her daringly, "You don't recognize the coordinates?" she stares at you in confusion, "Look down, Captain."

She peeks out a window and realizes what you mean, "It’s our home," she barely whispers.

You nod, "When was the last time you went home?"

Your words strike a nerve within her, "Don’t try to guilt trip me, what I do is important," she says between gritted teeth.

You didn't even mean it like that, but her aggressiveness has always been contagious, "Shut the fuck up, Danvers!"

"Hey!" she warns, "I get that you're angry, I get that I hurt you, but you cannot speak to me like that." She takes an offensive stance.

You cross your arms and give her a challenging look, "Why not?"

"Because we have a relationship based on respect."

Her response makes you loudly scoff in disbelief, "Respect? Since when? Since you visit your convenience husband more than you visit me? Since you spend 99% of your time buried in your work somewhere in the middle of space? Since you don't even have the decency to tell me you're coming to Earth to see some coworker's family?"

"They are my friends!" she objects.

"And I am your wife," you retaliate.

Carol drops the power trip, "You are?" she hesitates.   You feel all your confidence disappear, "I hardly think what I did counts as a real divorce."

"But, you want one?" Her voice only grows smaller.

"I don't know, it's not like I wanted to leave you."

She can’t believe she used this reunion to start a fight with you again, "I’m sorry, I don't know what's been happening to me." She gently hugs herself.

"You bit off more than you could chew." You follow her example and compose yourself, your gaze fixated on a wall.

"I promise to be better, what if we don't have to sneak around anymore, what if we could just be together in public? Would that make a difference?"

You respond by giving her a silent look, pleading with her to not toy with your heart anymore.

She approaches you and tries to hold your hand, "Angel."

"What are you doing?" You immediately back away from her touch.

She stops her movements, "I thought that's where this was going."

"It certainly is not."

She hides her face in her palms in shame, "I’m sorry, I’m just gonna go, it's fine, we're fine—"

"We're not fine," you interrupt.

"Right, whatever, bye." She exits with no destination in mind and simply remains floating in space at the mercy of the stars.

Carol has never felt like such a failure before, not when she harshly yelled at Kamala prior to being properly introduced, nor when she couldn't reach Monica, resulting in her being stuck in another universe. Even when she fails, she always knows exactly what she needs to do to fix everything, except for this, except for you.

You decide to turn your brain off and get some sleep, you think you might have to return Valkyrie's ship after this fiasco, but that's a problem for tomorrow.

A while later, Carol’s comms ring, and she picks up out of habit, still zoned out.

"Carol—" a small, quivering voice calls out through the device, followed by heavy pants, it sounds completely terrified.

Carol's eyes shoot open, "Kamala?"

A loud knock on the door wakes you, "Please, open up!"

"Carol?" You murmur under your breath as you get up. Her knocks only get louder and more desperate as you make your way to let her in, "It's four in the morning," you croak, rubbing your eyes.

She quickly enters, "If you choose to live in space you don't get to work in a time zone." It is only once you close the door that you realize she is carrying an unconscious body.

"Tell me you sang her to sleep," you hope, already dreading the scene that’s about to unfold, Carol only stares at you impatiently.   "There's a medical room in the back." You guide her to the room, and she lays Kamala on the bed. You immediately take charge of the situation.

You were always the one patching Carol up after rough missions, and she felt some guilt every time she was unable to return the favor, "What the hell happened to her?" you ask.

"I don't know." Her tone is somewhat apologetic.

You get to work on the girl to the best of your ability. Her injuries, although nonlethal, are enough to give you goosebumps, they seem to have been caused by a weapon, but not any human weapon that you know of. You doubt Ms Marvel was just hanging out in the streets past midnight when an emergency alien attack took place, which leaves you with a single theory, this was a planned mission that went horribly wrong.

"I think she should wake up on her own, I just have to clean her up," you tell Carol, gesturing towards the numerous bruises and cuts on Kamala's body. She chooses to wait outside to not obstruct your work with her pacing.

"Why didn't you go to the Avengers?" you question Carol once you come out of the room, wiping some blood off your hands with a rag.

She halts her movement, but doesn’t make eye contact, "It seemed easier—faster to just keep going up," she couldn't think of anyone else who could help her in the moment, "her mother is going to kill me."

"No more dinner with the Khans for you," you fake a pout, when you see she's genuinely distressed, you clear your throat and straighten your tone, "is this your fault?"

She shakes her head, "It was already too late when I arrived."

"If they didn't call you, then it's not on you," you reassure her. It is only now that you actually take a good look at Carol, her eyes are red, her skin pale, and her back is hunching, "Have you slept? Or eaten? Or sat down in the past month?" There is genuine worry in your words.

She silently stares at you for a moment and mutters, "What does it matter."

"I'll take that as a 'no.'"

"I’m invulnerable." She tries to stand up tall with the little energy she has.

"Which means you can't die, not that you can go on living like…that."

"I’m doing fine," she argues, but you know better than to believe her.

"You're on the verge of tears, this close to collapsing," you gesture with your fingers, "but you are much too stubborn to do anything about it." Your voice remains velvety soft, you can read her like an open book, and she doesn't like that.

"You were always so good at reminding me to take care of my human side."

"You're all human, down to the fuck ups," the small smile that formed on her face flattens, "sit down," Carol looks toward the medical room tentatively, "she's gonna take her time, sit down," you repeat gently.

She obliges, "Are we gonna pretend you didn't just tell me off earlier?"

"We don't have to, but you can't leave now, so there's no point in being hostile." She nods gratefully.

You offer her a cup of tea and a snack, and invite her to take a warm shower, "If you wanna go through the closet, Val has a good selection of sweaters."

You didn’t even realize you fell asleep again, until a beeping sound wakes you up. You open your eyes to see it's Carol's comms, which prompts you to search for her from your spot on the couch. As you focus further, you hear her voice coming from the med room talking with Kamala, and a subtle smile tugs at your lips.

You're about to ignore the sound and go back to sleep, when a thought occurs to you, nobody calls Captain Marvel just to chat, your sense of duty insists you pick up, "Hello?"

The Avengers director recognizes your voice immediately, "Where’s Danvers?"

"Fury?" You panic, he can't know Carol and you are together.

"Is she with you?" he presses, making your palms sweat.

"I, uh, um—"

"I know about you two, you can calm down."

His words make you freeze in place, "You do?"

"Yes, she's not your boss, it's fine." He glosses over it like it’s nothing as he doesn’t have time for this right now. You find such information difficult to process, but you try to leave the implications for later.

"Okay, why are you calling?"

"Do you know where Kamala is?"

You had momentarily forgotten about your impromptu visitor, "Yes."

"Where?" he demands.

"What’s it to you?" you sass him, deciding to be uncooperative given the circumstances that brought the girl to you in the first place.

"She works for me."

"That’s what I thought, but then, it makes no sense how you assigned her a middle of the night mission without any intention to send backup."

"She wasn't alone, she had Bishop!" he argues.

You feel your body’s temperature rise, "Oh, she had Bishop? Another rookie? And where is your archer now?"

Fury remains calm in the face of your anger, "Right here, too shaken up to actually tell me anything that happened."

"Good news for you, if Kamala's mom doesn't have your head on a stick by morning, Belova definitely will," you warn him, "better sleep with your eye open. Kamala is in good hands, I'll send her your way once I decide she's ready." You aggressively end the call.

Carol comes out of the medical room right as you're setting her comms down, "Who was that?" she asks.

"Fury, he wanted to know where Kamala is, but I’m not telling him." Your jaw is stiff with residual rage.

"Why?"

"He put her in danger, I don't trust him with her." You pull both of your legs up on the couch and cross them.

"But he’s your boss," Carol objects, making sure to maintain a gentle tone so as to not anger you further.

"Yeah, and apparently you aren’t, he knows about us." She meets your gaze and gives you a subtle nod.

Your response comes out louder than you expected, "You knew?"

She breaks eye contact, "It’s recent, I asked him about you."

"So what? We never needed to keep it a secret?"

She kneels on the floor in front of you, "That’s what I've been trying to tell you, we don't need to hide anymore."

"You had many opportunities to hide with me, but you always chose to hide from me." Your voice cracks as you feel your skin cool down.

"You should have said no, you should have pushed back," you search for the meaning of her words in her eyes, "when I asked you to quit your job," she clarifies, "I had no right to do that."

You sigh deeply before responding, "The moment you brought it up I decided I would, because I worry the exact same way every time you go on a mission, I figured it would be better if only one of us had to go through that."

Carol’s eyes travel to the ground, "So, are you gonna get back now that we…?"

"I haven't really thought about it," you confess, "about not being with you anymore."

A few hours later, Kamala calls for Carol, and you go check on her. She looks at you as you enter the room with what you can only describe as disappointment.

"I forced Carol to take a nap, so I’m gonna be looking after you for now," you feel the need to explain, she gives you a light nod and a smile, "how are you feeling?"

"Like an alien used my body to mop the floor." Her smile doesn’t go away.

You chuckle at her words, walking fully into the room and closing the door behind you, "I know what that's like, you're doing great, though."

"I didn't know you were a doctor."

"I’m not," you shrug.

"Carol said you're really good at patching people up."

"With Captain Marvel as your partner, you kinda have to get good at it." You inspect Kamala's bandages, they're sloppy, barely hanging on.

"Did she do these?" you ask rhetorically,

"She means well."

"I really should have checked on you sooner, I'm sorry." You get to work changing them all out for fresh ones.

"Are you guys done for good?" she blurts out as you wrap up her arm, making you shoot her a stern look, "Sorry, it's the painkillers," she quickly apologizes.

"I really don't know." You don't know the answer and you don't know if you wanna talk to a kid about it. You continue to patch her up as an awkward silence takes over.

When you’re almost done, she speaks again, "Can I tell you something?"

Her timid tone makes you worry, "Sure."

"After my first unintentional mission with Carol, Fury asked her to take me in for a few months to train me," her eyes fixate on her lap, "I lived on her ship, and we went on lots of missions together. Once a month, she would make a point to bring me back to Earth, so I could be home and see my family, I thought maybe she became exhausted of having a teenager in her home all the time, so she would use that break to rest, but I think she actually used that time to spend with you."

You nod while listening to her, you knew about this already.

"Eventually, I joined the Young Avengers and moved into the compound, I would constantly ask Fury to let me visit Carol, and I guess he found it cute, so he would help me show up unannounced in her ship, I thought I was doing a good thing, I thought she must get lonely…"

You did not know about that, your mind starts racing.

"What I’m trying to say is, I think Carol stopped spending time with you for fear I might show up at an inconvenient time," your features change abruptly into something she can't quite recognize, she starts to ramble, unable to stop herself, "I’m really sorry, I didn't know, I was just trying to be a good friend. On mother's day, I had to practically beg her so she would accept my invitation, please don't be angry." Her eyes meet yours again and she looks so scared for her life.

You cover your mouth with both hands to avoid saying anything impulsive and take a few deep breaths as you collect your thoughts, your delay only making Kamala grow more nervous.

"Thank you for telling me," you hesitate, carefully measuring your every word, "you couldn't have known, of course I’m not mad at you," your heavy breathing and your nails digging into your palms exposing your real feelings, "I’m gonna bring you lunch."

She mouths, "Okay," trying to calm herself down, and you exit the scene as fast as your feet allow you. When you come back, she's dozed off again.

Carol comes out of the bedroom after her much needed nap, you’re sitting on the couch and don’t bother greeting her before demanding, "I spoke to Kamala, is it true?" Carol becomes instantly alert, "You stopped letting me come visit you for fear of her showing up?"

"Yes," she simply concedes.

"You never said anything."

"I didn't want to seem ungrateful, and she hangs onto my every word, I felt like I had a responsibility towards her."

"And, when I confronted you?"

"She was right there, I couldn’t." To both of your surprise, this conversation plays out a lot more civilized than you expected, given the topic.

"What about earlier?"

Carol exhales heavily, "She's just a kid, she wanted to spend time with me, I don't think she should be blamed for that."

"Hold on," you stand up, the gears in your brain turning, she's confused but decides to let you go through your process, "Fury was the one helping Kamala in and out of your ship, right?" you continue.

"Uh, yeah."

"And he knew about us all along?" Carol nods, trying to catch up with your train of thought, "He also knew when I was with you because I wasn't at work."

She takes a few steps closer to you, "What’s your point?"

"There is no way Kamala and I would have run into each other unless he wanted us to, and we never did." The puzzle pieces finally fall into place.

Carol flares up, "That son of a bitch!"

"Calm down, Captain Marvel."

"He was messing with me, on purpose." Her voice goes up an octave.

You have inadvertently unleashed a monster with your plausible deductions, "You don't know that, I’m sure he has better things to do."

"Like sending his teenagers on a midnight run to get their asses kicked?"

"Okay, that wasn't his brightest moment, but still."

"Who’s side are you on?" Carol’s powers only become more aggressive.

"I’m on the side of 'this is Valkyrie's ship,' and if you throw a fire tantrum I’m gonna be the one paying for it." You set your foot down on the very real implications of her behavior.

In an instant, you both snap your neck in the direction of Carol’s comms that still rest on the couch, you reach for the device, and she slaps your wrist out of the way, you grab her arm with your other hand, and she lights it up so you immediately let go, "That's cheating!" you yell, making her laugh. Taking advantage of her distraction, you kick her arm sending the device flying into the air and catching it behind you, stuffing it in your back pocket.   Carol follows your movement with her eyes and stares at your ass for a bit afterwards. A month ago she would have reached for the device without a second thought, but today, she wouldn't dare, still, that doesn't stop her from being a tease and biting her lip at the sight.

"Perv," you snark, knowing exactly what she’s doing.

She cocks a grin, "When you have something for so long and then lose it all of a sudden, you're bound to miss it, I’m all human, after all," she uses your own words to taunt you, "come one, give me a little spin."

You give her a death stare instead, "Are you sure you want those to be your last words?"

"Sorry." She feigns remorse, her grin still plastered on.

You turn around and walk to the kitchen with a huff, knowing you’re giving her what she wants. In times like these, it's nice to be appreciated. Her smirk turns into genuine delight, underneath her depraved ruse, she's happy to know you're still willing to play along with her.

You start slicing some veggies, much to her confusion, "I thought Kamala already ate?"

"It's for us, you dumbass."

"Oh," she's pleased, 'us,' sounds so sweet coming from your lips, "let me help you," she offers, and it’s now your turn to smile as you observe her every move.

You fall into a good rhythm cooking together until the ship’s door opens, triggering you both into combat mode, Carol's fists light up, and you grab the biggest knife you can find in a vice grip.

King Valkyrie waltzes into her ship, making you exhale in relief and put your weapon down.

"Val?" Carol calls to get her attention, Valkyrie turns in your direction, and you can immediately tell she’s pissed.

"I need my ship back," she orders.

"You promised you weren't gonna track me," you protest in return.

"And I didn't for a whole month," Val interjects, "that’s how good a friend I am, but your boss is on my ass about getting you back home, something about a double assassination attempt," she explains as she closes the door.

"A what?" Carol utters.

"Don’t worry about it," you mumble, knowing what Val is referring to.

"And I could really live with not having to deal with your shit for once," The King continues with a weak snark.

Carol can’t help but tease her, "Since when do you let Fury push you around?"

"You see my face?" Val asks rhetorically, "Do I look amused?" She is not in the mood to be messed with.

You bite the inside of your cheek, watching their exchange, "Do you wanna—?" you gesture for Carol to continue working in the kitchen and guide Val to walk further into the vessel, "Double assassination? That's a bit much."

"He may have been exaggerating," Val shrugs.   "If it were up to me, we would be out of here in no time, but we have an extra passenger." You open the door to the medical room to reveal a sleeping Kamala.

"Shit! What did you do to her?" Valkyrie exclaims.

"I saved her life," you hush with pride.

Val lowers her voice to match yours, "She looks awful."

"You should have seen her when she arrived."

"Poor thing," Valkyrie slowly closes the door so her shock doesn't wake Kamala up, "so, are you two working together for little Marv's sake?"

"Yeah, Carol seems convinced that everything is Fury's fault."

"This?" Val points to Kamala’s door alarmed.

"Well, yes, but also with us," you hesitate.

"How so?"

_____

Carol, Valkyrie, and you are sitting at the table eating together, Val agreed to have a taste after you reassured her you did most of the cooking.

"Explain it to me again," The King asks, still unable to grasp Carol’s reasoning.

"Fury has been letting Kamala into my ship at random times so I grow paranoid of sneaking around with my wife."

"That makes no sense, did you talk to him about it?" Valkyrie responds, prompting Carol to shoot you an angry look.

"I took her comms," you tell Valkyrie, "she’s so livid, there is no way for that conversation to end well, regardless of his answer." Val hadn't noticed Carol's temper, she's good at concealing it, but she can't keep anything hidden from you, you know her much too well.

Your meal is interrupted by a beeping sound coming from Valkyrie’s pocket, "Speak of the devil." She silently excuses herself as she gets up to answer, walking towards the bedroom for some privacy, "What do you want, Nicholas?" despite your efforts, you can only hear half of the conversation, "Yes I am here."

Carol and you follow Val with your eyes until she's out of sight and you can no longer hear her voice.

"We can't leave until Kamala gets better," Carol almost commands you.

"I know that."

"We’re gonna need to stall." Her tone turns suggestive.

A devilish smirk forms on your face, "You got it, Captain." A rush of excitement takes over your body, it almost feels like old times, plotting and sneaking around.

With a loud swing of the door, Val comes back out and announces, "Alright, that's settled, I’m bringing you all home and then taking my ship with me."

Carol leans in to whisper in your ear without taking her eyes off Valkyrie, "Distract her, I have an idea."

You stand and get really close to Valkyrie to take her undivided attention, "But, what about Kamala?" As soon as you speak, Carol stealthily makes her way to the ship's engine.

"I am awfully sorry, but I really don't have time for this, her parents will have to forgive me," Val responds with no real remorse.

"What would Thor think about your decision?" You try to provoke her.

Val scoffs, "Do not bring the beefcake into this."

"So, you're really just gonna let Fury tell you what to do?"

"Whatever allows me to be back home and out of this mess the fastest."

"You’re growing soft, King," you mock.

"You’ll get old one day, too."

"I bet, how old are you this year? Five thousand and three?" Valkyrie begins to make her way to the control panel when Carol comes back up, panting.

"Oh, hey, you're still here?" Carol loudly asks, Val eyes her with suspicion as she keeps walking, "I was just making sure that your ship was all set to return home, turns out we're really low on gas, won't even make it halfway." She fights to catch her breath.

Valkyrie stops with a huff and turns to stare at you both, she's not stupid, "Look at you two conspiring assholes, almost made me forget you're in the middle of filing for divorce." Carol and you look at each other and smile.

"I’m sorry, Val, but we can't go back yet," you state in the firmest tone you can manage.

Valkyrie crosses her arms and sucks on her teeth as she realizes you’ve outplayed her, "Fine, do whatever you want, but I’m not dealing with this anymore," she takes her comms and gives them to you to add to your now growing collection of other people's devices, "I need a drink and a long bubble bath, do not even think about disturbing me." She takes a brand new bottle of Scotch from the kitchen and enters the bathroom.

Carol hadn't felt this good in a long time, the rush of pulling a half thought out plan followed by the satisfaction of it working out just right, with the added bonus that she got to do it by your side, "Good job," she congratulates you.

"Likewise." You have that smile on your face, the one that made Carol fall for you all those years ago, the one she has missed so dearly, not just in the past month, but long before that.

You go back to finishing your lunch in a somewhat comfortable silence. After a moment, Carol speaks, "It wasn't all about Kamala visiting at random," you look at her with a frown, "every time I saw you, I couldn't shake the fear that it might be the last."

"And not seeing me at all was a better choice?" you retort.

"Everyone else could come and go, but I could never deal with losing you, I don't know what I was thinking, I made you a vow and I couldn't keep it, I feel like such a failure." There is something in her eyes that you can’t fully identify, woe, perhaps.

"Why were you so adamant about blaming Fury for this?" You find some respite in knowing that, deep down, she didn’t actually believe it to be true.

"It was easier that way, I didn't have to admit that I’m scared that way," you give her a flat hum in response, "I’m really sorry, I don't expect you to forgive me, but please know that I am very, truly sorry, it's all my fault and I’m owning up to it, as soon as Kamala is better we can go home, and you don't have to see me ever again, if that's what you want."

It would break her heart if you said you didn’t want to see her anymore, fortunately, or not, you refrain from responding and finish the rest of your meal quietly contemplating her every word.

There is so much you wanna say, so many questions you want to ask her, but, would it even change anything?

As much as you want to lift her chin up and reassure her that you can work things out and everything is going to be okay, as much as wish, and hope, this isn’t something you can do on your own, you learned that the hard way, and it hit you like an alien mopping the floor with your body.

Despite your aching chest, you can’t just give her what she wants, it would come at too high a price from you, and you know you deserve better than that.

A few days later, you check on Kamala and conclude that she is stable enough to sustain the trip back. You come out of the room to an awaiting Carol, "I think she's ready to go home," she nods in response, "what did you do with the fuel? Because we're gonna need it about now." With Valkyrie having politely locked herself up in the bedroom since the night she arrived, it’s been on you to take charge once again.

Carol begins to think of all her options, "I’ll figure something out, don't worry about it."

"I worry about a lot of things when it comes to you." You tentatively walk closer to her on the couch.

She looks up at you with curiosity, "Like what?"

"Like if you're eating the right amount, or working too hard, or whether I'll ever be able to trust you again," you mumble the last part.

"I said I’m sorry, what more can I do?" she sighs.

"'Sorry' is not enough, Carol," you no longer have the energy to yell at each other, "what if Dar-Benn had said sorry, would that have made it all okay?"

Her features turn stern as she objects, "She tried to destroy every place I call home."

You look at her with sadness in your eyes, "Sometimes, I feel like that's exactly what you're doing to me." You slump on the other end of the couch and rub your temples.

"What if I took some time off?" she blurts out, making you snap your neck in her direction and you heartbeat race.

"What about your job?"

"I could ask Monica and Kamala to take over for a bit," she suggests nonchalantly.

"That doesn't sound right."

"I can talk to Val."

"She’s a King, she won't just take over because you asked." She seems too comfortable delegating the duties of the strongest Avenger.

"What about The Guardians?"

"The Guardians?" you repeat, "yeah, right."

She runs out of people she’s willing to sacrifice for you, so she gets a better idea, "Then, move into my ship with me!" Your brain stops working and you're unable to respond for an instant, "I don't hear a 'no,'" she insists.

"I didn't say 'yes'"

"What would it take?" you remain silent with a piercing gaze, "I’ll do anything, please." She turns her whole body to face you.

You feel very privileged to be seeing Captain Marvel begging, it makes you feel special knowing she's doing it just for you, so you give her a chance, "Soundproof your room."

"Done," she responds immediately.

"I wanna meet Yan," you continue.

Carol is taken aback with surprise, "Really?"

"He’s the most beautiful man in the universe."

That’s all it takes to convince her, "Okay, yeah, sure."

You worry your lip between your teeth and take much longer to speak this time, "I still want a divorce," you whisper, almost able to hear her heart breaking all over again, she nods sadly and her eyes travel to the ground.

Without any fuel left, Carol’s solution to get you back on Earth is to push the vessel from the outside herself.

You arrive safely to the Avengers compound and help Kamala into the med bay to let an actual doctor treat her for the rest of her recovery. Once you make sure Kamala is taken care of, and Carol has refueled Valkyrie’s ship, you get back in to make your way to New Asgard. All too quick for Fury to intercept.

As soon as you arrive to the Kingdom, Valkyrie exits her ship and all but kicks you out along with her, "I would love to say it was a pleasure, but it really wasn’t," she deadpans, retrieving her comms from you, much too exhausted to make her annoyance noticeable.

Carol and you both know she’s exaggerating, but you also know that you exhausted her trust, you’d better not need anything from her for the next three to five years.

It is only now that Carol realizes a flaw in your trajectory, as you take in her frown, you begin to work things out yourself,  "We’re stuck here," you say her thoughts out loud.

She hesitates slightly before responding, "There is one option…" It’s almost like a pre apology.

"Seriously?" You squint your eyes in dread, succumbing to your faith.

Carol picks you up bridal style and flies off. It only takes a few minutes for you to land on the front lawn of your shared home. She gently puts you down on the ground, and you step away from her, taking a moment to recompose yourself from the intimacy of being carried by your ex.

"Thanks," you say awkwardly, stretching your neck.

She gives you a tight lipped smile, "No problem," you both stand there in silence, unsure of how to act, "so, is this goodbye then?" she crosses her arms, bracing herself for your departure.

"No, I’m moving in with you," you state matter of factly, the confusion in her face is evident.

"What about the divorce?"

"Oh, yeah, we gotta do that." You had forgotten for a second, flying at Captain Marvel speeds always renders your mind hazy.

She retreats further into herself, lowering her gaze, "We can go first thing tomorrow."

You cradle her face with both hands, gently caressing her cheeks until her eyes meet yours, "I am giving you another chance to offer me that ring in the future, to help me trust you again."

Her eyes glimmer like the brightest stars, she turns her face to kiss one of your palms and leans into your touch, "I won't let you down this time, I promise."

@wolf79

[the-lean-buddha]

My thoughts on the news about The Long Walk's film adaption

I have very little faith that The Long Walk will be a good adaption but maybe I'll be wrong! I can dream, and I've been wrong before. Here are my thoughts on the casting announcements and set pictures.

Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson are the leads, according to Deadline, which means they're presumably Garraty and McVries. Jonsson seems like a good actor but an awful fit for either character, and with Hoffman (presumably Garraty) it comes down to how good an actor he is, I guess, because I can see it working if I squint but I haven't seen anything from Hoffman to suggest he can do Garraty. And I reaaaaally doubt he could do McVries. McVries has a bite to him.

Joshua Odjick is Native American so he's presumably Joe or Mike (not to say that a different character couldn't theoretically be Native American in the adaption, but it's key to Joe and Mike that none of the other Walkers understand their culture at all, and only Baker defends their parents). It's odd that either of those two would have a prominent enough role to be cast already, so I wonder if either one of their roles is beefed up, or if Mike and Scramm will be a composite character and Joe won't feature at all. Alternatively, Odjick isn't playing a Native American character (or he is but Mike and Joe are adapted out), in which case I'd guess Parker.

Roman Griffin Davis is someone I've only ever seen in Jojo Rabbit so I don't know how much range he has. I think he'd fit best as Barkovitch but I wouldn't be surprised if he's been cast as Baker or Olson.

Charlie Plummer is Stebbins. I say this almost entirely because he's a long-haired blonde. If McVries is black then book descriptions (and characterizations, let's be honest, you can't make McVries a black kid in the 70s and keep his character the same) are thrown out the door already, but google Charlie Plummer and tell me he's not been cast as Stebbins. Also, take a look at this.

Ben Wang is Asian American and there are no explicitly Asian American characters, so we've gotta guess this one purely on Vibes (Olson and Barkovitch could both be canonically Asian American, but Barkovitch is openly racist, so). From Wang's YouTube channel and some clips of Chinese Born American I found, he's a nice and playful guy (hmu Ben let's get a lemonade, also tell me who you're playing), so I'd assume Baker or Olson or Abraham because they fit that the closest, I guess? But this is unfortunately a flawed way of guessing because actors playing lunatics are sometimes normal people in real life, walking among us, going almost undetected.

Tut Nyuot's a young, sweet-looking kid. I'd assume Percy? Again, weird to cast Percy already because he doesn't even have any lines in the book, but I can't imagine Nyuout playing a character who's supposed to be the same age as Charlie Plummer's character. Maybe he's unexpectedly good at playing deranged assholes like Barkovitch? We'll see.

For Garrett Wareing I'd say Olson, looking through clips and interviews.

Jordan Gonzalez gives me no strong impression. Sorry, Jordan. Feel free to give me a stronger one over lemonade (and tell me who you're playing). If I'm held at gunpoint then I'll say Abraham.

Mark Hamill is presumably playing the Major. He's absolutely not who I would have picked because he overflows with character and I always pictured the Major as a stoic, empty Big Brother type figure, whose moments of charisma and friendliness were obviously just an act. And I guess Hamill could play that, but I think the Major will more likely have a lot more personality and vim and vigor in the movie, if Hamill was cast - he's easily the biggest draw in the cast. Not necessarily a bad way to portray the Major, but easier to mess up. We'll wait and see.

Judy Greer as presumably Mrs. Garraty will presumably be fine.

Set photos look promising, aesthetically. No half-track, though. And there's a tank. Why is there a tank?

There's a Deadline article suggesting that there are only 50 kids and the pace limit is 3mph. But there's also an article suggesting it's still 100 kids so it might be a mistake? If it's 50 kids then that's presumably done for practicality but it's a bad change, the number will either get too low too fast or it'll drop too slowly (and also no 47 and 61 which would be weird but that's not significant). 3mph isn't necessarily bad, it's more feasible, but it does mean the "first into Massachusetts in seventeen years" can't happen. Maybe they'll make New Hampshire the record instead.

i want lemonade

Reblog with your thoughts! We've got news, people, and I'm sure someone somewhere is more excited about that than I am. Let's get some discussion going on in here.

[obese4haechan]

The After Party.

pairings: fratboy!haechan x shy!reader

genre: smut a bit of fluff <3

warnings: reader smokes weed and drinks alcohol with haechan, protected sex! haechan and the reader are basically both switches.

wc: 2800-2700 ish

note: THE NEW AYO TEASER PHOTOS literally sparked an idea in my brain. FRAT LMFAO. some songs i'd recommend while reading are Her way by PartyNextDoor, Wine Pon You Doja Cat, and Slow Down Bobby V. i hope u enjoy it! 🫶🏽

~

You were so damn sick of studying, college genuinely was not what you were expecting growing up but you learned to adjust to the environment. Constant all nighters, having no money, horrible teachers, and the drug deals around campus. Not to mention the cliques, you thought cliques would be left alone in high school but god it's almost as if it had gotten worse. One of the worst being the frats, you couldn't put into words how much you hated all 9 of those boys. They were just so icky and annoying though you've never gotten to know them, you figured distance was best. Half of the girls around campus had already been knocked up or at least in some sort of relationship with one of them, you'd often hear gossip about the boys in the bathroom from girls who couldn't notice your presence. And of course even your roommate's (which were your best friends) were so damn obsessed with them, "Cmon y/n, you gotta find at least one of em cute?" your best friend Imani groaned. Imani was on the cheer team not necessarily apart of any clique's just very known, so obviously she'd spoken to the boys before. "Shit if she doesn't I do." the other girl laughed, "Well I mean.. HOW I COULD I NOT.. it's just they're so corny.." you stuttered as the girls smirked at you. "What?" you said confused. "You definitely are feeling one of them." Imani snickered, "So who?" You couldn't think of his name off the top of your head, "You know... the one with the moles and babyface." you asked. "OH MY GOD Y/N." Imani snorted, "What?" you yelled smiling. both girls fell over on the loveseat stomachs hurting from laughter, Imani gained her strength and sat up "You like Donghyuck."

Donghyuck. his name was Donghyuck, during class you honestly couldn't get your mind off of him. "I mean i've never heard any girls talking about how good his sex was" you thought to yourself. He really was cute, every time you saw him he was either smiling, cracking jokes, or keeping to himself. "Y/n? answer for number seven?" you had snapped out of your daydream, "W-w Huh?" your professor glared at you, you could've sworn this man hated you or could just tell when you were most vulnerable. You had a high C in his class but he honestly sucked at teaching and you'd never blame yourself over a shitty teacher. "I said could you give me the answer to number seven." you immediately sat up staring at the projector screen "Uhm.." you knitted your eyebrows and squinted your eyes "x/4 sir." you heard a voice behind you speak "Thank you young man looks like y/n's mind is a bit scrambled." your professor joked, you didn't laugh at all in fact it was humiliating.

The bell rung and you nearly sprinted out of class "Hey!" someone screamed, the school was so damn loud you didn't even think about anyone calling for you. There were definitely FAST footsteps behind you so you instinctively turned around and you were met with the Donghyuck that was in your head all period. "How didn't I know he was in my class? I mean there are at least over one hundred students but." you thought, "Oh uhm.. I just wanna say thank you for that back there." He was thanking you? "Why?" you asked. "I mean number seven was the only one I had even tried to do and he's been on my case this entire unit, you saved my ass more than you know to be honest." he smiled keeping the strongest eye contact, you were trying so hard to keep calm, not get flustered, don't smile. "Oh it's okay really thank yo-" a group of eight boys came marching up behind the boy, he turned around was and then back to you "You can call me Hyuck." he smiled. "Haechan's finally getting game it looks like?" one of the tall boys said, "Haechan? who's Haechan?" you asked. "Well Haechan is the one you were just talking to pretty, and i'm Yuta." you flinched at the nickname, "Well yeah that's so awesome i'll get going!" you said ironically, trying to get away any moment you could before Imani caught you talking to the men you despised. "W-wait." Haechan stuttered following you, you turned around "Do you think you could come to our house party tonight?" he asked. You honestly thought about it, drinks, fun music and maybe weed. You honestly needed a distraction and a house party sounded good. "Before you give me an excuse there's no homework until next week even if there is lemme do it for you, cmon love." Haechan stuck his hands into his pockets tilting his head to the side. God he was doing things to you, "Well I guess so i'd have to ask my friend.. if you don't mind her coming." you held eye contact with him as long as you could, "Deal." he smirked, "Don't worry about the address I promise you'll know where it is." Haechan said walking backwards with his hands still in those stupid pockets, he still was just so corny.

"So you're telling me he invited you to a party?" Imani shouted outside of the dorm, "God yes shout a little louder.." you groaned "Sorry... but ARE YOU GOING?" she screamed once inside the dorm. "Yes... I am, I asked if i could bring you as well and he said yeah." you said slipping out of your Ugg boots "Girl we literally have to get ready right now." Imani ran to her side of the room, "Whyyyyy.. I'm so tired." you said as you jumped onto the bed. "Get your tired ass up y/n I literally need to be intoxicated." Imani grabbed something skimpy out of her closet. "So you're gonna go looking like that and all you wanna do is drink or smoke?" you laughed as you got up. Imani always knew how to dress and do her makeup well for the occasion, she was kinda god sent. "I meannnnn that one named Johnny really is cute, i've spoken to him a couple times i'd say we're associates he's a sweetheart." Imani blushed, "Oh please don't break a sweat we have to get dressed." you rolled your eyes. "Y/n bitch DONT."

You and imani had took an Uber to the house it wasn't very packed just yet, a few cars and music already jumping. You two walked inside arm to arm, there they were. All of the boys were on the couch "Imaniii!" Johny yelled at as he got up to hug her. "Associates my ass." you thought, and then you saw him sat on the couch legs spread hand placed on his thigh which was covered by his white jeans he was deep into his phone until more guests came and he looked up to catch you staring at him. "Heyyy!! it's the pretty girl from my chem class, c'mere." Haechan said patting against the spot beside him, you walked over and sat down you were both so close as you sat next to the arm of the couch. "Hi." you spoke a bit quietly intimidated with how close you two were, "You comfortable?" Haechan asked putting his phone down and giving you undivided attention. "Mhm.. my name's Y/n by the way." you smiled to him, "Oh I know." Haechan smirked. "How? I never even told you." you questioned, "I have my ways." he cockily said. "Mhm sure." you laughed, "Do you want something to drink?" Haechan asked as he sat up "Yeah yeah anything with alcohol please." you smiled looking up into his eyes "You're so cute." he said before walking away. You will admit that you had butterflies definitely he looked so damn good nevertheless he smells amazing as well. You looked around for Imani when you saw she was already touching all over Johnny, "Shes about to have sex within the first hour.. shes not even drunk yet." you thought to yourself giggling out loud. Haechan came back with your drinks before he sipped his you asked to take his instead, naturally he didn't hesitate. "Already wanting to drink my things we aren't even together yet." he teased "Yours just looks better." you teased back. Maybe this was flirting I mean anything he did had an effect on you, when he looked deep into your eyes it made you feel so good you wanted to always feel like that.

The alcohol had begun to kick in you asked Haechan if any of the boys had weed and if he smoked, he answered yes to both. Imani had completely disappeared with Johnny you assumed she was probably fucking him by now or took off somewhere, but you knew to text her. After Haechan got some you asked if you two could smoke upstairs away from the noise, he agreed. You both walked into a bedroom as Haechan closed the door behind you two, He began to roll up. "You ready y/n?" he sat beside you taking out a lighter, you nodded your head as Haechan took the first drag. He coughed and cursed after inhaling the drug he was so adorable, he gave you the joint as you began to smoke it as well. "Hm, no coughing you must be a pro?" Haechan teased "No no no.. not at all, just really needed this thank you." you giggled as you hiccuped "You know when you couldn't answer that question in class.. I was so relieved." he said taking a long slow hit. "Hmm why?" you asked in confusion, he scooted so close the both of your legs were touching "I'd been wanting you for the longest time." he calmly said handing you the blunt "What?" you coughed, the first time you coughed ever since you two had been in this room Haechan laughed at that. "What do you mean what? I said what I said." You were so close you could see the pores in his skin, "I- i just wasn't expecting that out of you, you seem like the innocent one out of all your friends.." you teased "Innocent? I haven't even done anything to you yet." he inched a bit closer to you. "Yet, you think im that easy Donghyuck?" you whispered taking another hit, "Easy? no. Attracted to me? yes." he whispered back. Haechan took the blunt out of your hand staring at you, the tension was enough to make you go absolutely insane.

"If you're not so easy let me shotgun you." He said with knitted brows, you honestly started to blush you've never been shotgunned before whenever you smoked it was with your best friends. "Are you too scared?" he asked, "Of course not.." you quickly said. "Alright love." he said as he took a long hit, then flicking the blunt out of his hand he grabbed your face and put his lips onto yours. He was holding his breath for so long he began to moan into your mouth. Smoke going down your throat and out of your nose, Your hands began to travel lower down his body. You didn't even stop kissing him until he pulled his shirt off, his skin was so warm and soft. He moaned and whined into your mouth as you moved against his crotch. "Something told me you'd be a tease." he whined, you put your mouth against his neck kissing and sucking onto the skin the way he jerked up you assumed it was a sensitive spot of his. You sucked on his neck leaving marks as you dry humped his crotch, once you sucked his neck leaving wet spot's you'd blow cold air onto it. "Fuck Y/n.. I really can't take this" Haechan said, "What do you mea-" he cut you off as you were about to tease him more. Haechan took you in his mouth, tongues meeting each other the distinct taste of alcohol and weed made you go ballistic. He made sure to keep your tongue in one spot with his teeth leaving you confused as he began to suck your tongue hard and sloppy, that earned a whimper out of you. Haechan let go of your tongue with a loud pop noise, lifting your skirt as you sat straddling him. "I really want you to sit on my face right now Y/n." he said staring into your eyes, you couldn't hold eye contact when he was speaking like that "O-oh okay.." you stuttered. Face sitting something else you've never done you thought it's pretty self explanatory, "Can I take your panties off?" Haechan asked. "Yes.. of course." you sat on his bare chest as he reassured you about all of your worries. "You ready now, love?" he said rubbing circles into your thighs, "Mhm." you began to pull yourself up to his face. "Baby I said sit on it not sit over it." Haechan said causing you to look down, "I'm sorry!.. but are you sure I won't like suffocate you?" you asked. "Yes! now sit down." he laughed, you sat down like he asked and immediately began to moan.

Haechan was licking over your clit before just sucking it, then dragging his tongue across your cunt. You grabbed his black hair starting to guide yourself, Haechan smirked at this hoping you felt more comfortable. "Mm- god! Donghyuck it feels too good." you weren't getting that much of a response so you began to lift yourself a bit more, until Haechan slammed you back down "So pretty and warm." he moaned muffled against your pussy. The amount things you were feeling at once was pure ecstasy, the butterflies, the alcohol, marijuana and the boy between your legs. You slowly rode his face constantly whining and shaking, strangely still holding eye contact with Haechan. God he was so hard he felt like he would just bust out of his pants any moment, you were getter closer you could feel it so could Haechan. "Come on, baby" he moaned as your pace quickened, "F-fuck donghyuck I'm really close." you whined it felt too good. "Then let go for me pretty." you couldn't hold anything in after that cumming on his face with a slight scream then moving to lay on the side of him, "I love how you sound when you cum." he said rubbing circles into your back. "It's your turn Donghyuck." you said jumping on top of him "Do you have a condom?" you asked him, "In my back pocket yeah." Haechan pulls it out and pulls his pants down. The tip was a quite red and there was precum dripping out of it his dick had somewhat of a curve in it, you had gotten ten times hornier. You grabbed his cock and began to sink on to it making his nails dig into your sides, "Fuck baby, so tight." he whined. Your head was thrown into the crook on his neck, the curve of his cock hit every angle just right. You began to slowly move "Mm.. so full Donghyuck." you said kissing at his neck, you were going at a torturing pace for him. "Babygirl I can't do this slow." Haechan said grabbing your hips as he started to ram into you. "F-..Fuck!" you yelped, completely unable to speak it felt way too good Haechan was so big the stretch was burning. "Oh just take it I know you can take this dick." he moaned shoving a finger into your mouth. You kept clenching, he knew you were close. "Just look at you, fuck." he groaned slapping your ass making you squeal. "Y/n, show me your face." he demanded, "W-Why?" you questioned he was talking to you while he was still fucking into you. "I wanna see that pretty face when you make me cum." That honestly did it, you squeezed so tight around Haechan whimpering his name as he came inside the condom moaning your name. You both sat there panting the silence was comfortable Haechan's heart was beating extremely fast, his little breaths were as cute as ever. "Y'know you're the only one that calls me Donghyuck and it doesn't piss me off." he says looking into your eyes and giving you a gentle kiss, "Are you thirsty? hungry? bathroom? cuddle? or.. we can forget this never happened whatever makes you most comfortable Y/n your benefit matters most to me because we....." you had honesty zoned out, Haechan was adorable. You pulled him in with a kiss "Oh shut up I'd love to keep our relationship going After The Party."

[ladykissingfish]

*Naruto at his desk at home, squinting over some papers* Naruto, muttering: Gotta remember to make sure the shopkeepers sign these, and then I need to -- Sasuke, in the kitchen: Naruto. You've been at that for hours, now. Isn't it time you took a break? Naruto: Shikamaru only agreed to let me work from home if I promised I'd get everything done on time. And I've still got at least twenty papers to go over. Sasuke, coming behind Naruto and leaning over him, putting his arms around his shoulders: The entire reason you decided to start working from home once a week was so that we could spend some time together, right? So spend some time with me. Naruto, sighing: I know, I know. I'm sorry; I just have such a headache that I'd be shitty company tonight. Sometimes I feel like I'm failing both at being the Hokage and being your husband. I wish I -- Sasuke: *plops himself down in Naruto's lap and hugs him, hard* Sasuke: You're not failing anybody, usurotonkachi. You work as hard as you can to keep this village happy and safe, and you work as hard as you can to make ME happy and safe. *kisses his cheek* And I appreciate you, and all that you do, so, so much. Naruto: *tries to hide that he's tearing up* T-that's such a sappy old man thing to say, dattebayo. You sound like someone in one of Kakashi-sensei's mushy books. Sasuke: Be that as it may, I think I was right the first time; you need a break. Sasuke: *goes to sit on the couch and pats his leg* Sasuke: Come put your head in my lap. I'll give you a massage, it'll help your headache, and then you can tackle your papers with a clear head. Okay? Naruto, smiling: Well when you put it that way ... *goes to lay his head in Sasuke's lap, smiling happily* Just DO NOT let me fall asleep. You know once I fall asleep I stay asleep, and I've got too much to do tonight. Okay? Sasuke: Don't worry. This'll just be half an hour, tops. *the next morning* Shikamaru, letting himself in with his spare key: Naruto? You didn't respond to any of my messages; did you get that work done last night? Because -- Shikamaru: *stops; sees Sasuke and Naruto both sound asleep on the couch, Naruto's head still in Sasuke's lap, Sasuke's hand still sleep-stroking Naruto's hair* Shikamaru, sighing: These damn idiots ...

[jellieland]

This is the way it all ends.

"It's a bit different to how we did it, isn't it?" Says Oli, squinting at Grian, who is hastily constructing a staircase up to the tiny portal.

"What do you mean?" Asks Jimmy.

"There's been lot less drama, right?" He spins around and glares suspiciously at the mustachioed robot behind them, before spinning back and almost, but not quite, falling over. "No-one's even blown anything up. It's a bit boring, really."

"Well." Jimmy shrugs, nonplussed. "I guess so." He frowns. "That is a bit odd, though, actually. Grian's here. Why hasn't anything blown up?"

("Hey!" Shouts Grian from across the room. Jimmy ignores him.)

"Maybe they felt like switching things up a bit?" Says Pix, appearing beside them.

"Jesus, Pix!" Oli claps his hand to his heart. "You can't just do that to me, I have a very delicate constitution!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Oli, I'll be more careful next time."

"See that you are!"

"Wait." Jimmy cuts in. "What do you mean switching things up a bit?"

"Well-" And here, Pix hesitates. He glances between the various hermits gathered around the room, and back to Jimmy. "Well. I know Grian's felt like he's getting a bit predictable lately. And for some reason it's important to him that he's not."

"Right, right." Says Oli, nodding sagely. "You've gotta keep 'em guessing."

Pix half-grins, half-shrugs. "I guess?"

"Huh." Jimmy looks over at Grian, eyes narrowed. "Do you think that means-"

"No, Jimmy, I don't think that means he's going to stop tormenting you, sorry." Pix looks as though he is trying very hard not to laugh.

Jimmy makes an indecipherable noise of annoyance.

"So that's the only reason they're being all boring, then?" Asks Oli.

And suddenly Pix looks serious again. Almost torn. "I- maybe." He says. "I think-" And he sighs, and turns, and looks at Grumbot with something that is almost, but not quite, guilt.

"I think," He says, "That maybe they wanted to try for a quiet ending, this time."

Jimmy opens his mouth, realizes he isn't quite sure what to say, and closes it.

Oli has no such problem. "And what in the world is that supposed to mean, Mr Lore Man?"

At that, Pix chuckles. "Here I'm just Pix, Oli." And before either of them can inquire about what that means, he continues, hesitantly. "It's not... really my story to tell. Or, well. I say that." He laughs at some kind of private joke. "It's not really my place to tell you, here."

He glances over at Sausage, whose crown is fitted perfectly to his head, then follows his gaze to what remains of the portal.

"I get it, I think." He says, still looking at the rift. "Once you've gone out with a bang once, I'd imagine taking a step back next time sounds quite appealing."

The staircase is finished. There is a birch trapdoor at the top, so they will be able to get through. If they had waited much longer, it seems, it would have been too late for them to get back at all.

Pix shrugs. "Not everything has to be the end of the world. Sometimes it's just the end of your part in it."

"Well yes, but it would be funny if it was though wouldn't it?" Says Oli. "Then they'd have to come back through with us again and they'd probably build another death robot who doesn't have any appreciation for the arts, and then we'd try and keep them there again but oh no! now they want to-"

"I think it's time to go home." Says Jimmy.

Pix nods.

"Yeah." He says. "I think it is."

[delopsia]

Hello and welcome to "Del wants to ramble about the Outer Range season 2 trailer." I hope you're ready for a whole lot of nothing...

The CGI continues to remind us that it is, in fact, CGI. What the hell is this?

Flash scene of Wayne burning his damn house down. I'd know that bald spot anywhere.

Y'all already heard me ramble about this, but there's something wrong with this dinner scene. Aside from us knowing that the family is not together, there's one major oddity in the background.

Rhett's truck is an entirely different color.

That's his lightbar with the iconic four lights. Still a single-cab GMC Sierra. But Rhett's truck is blue. Not tan.

Wilder, we see Rhett's truck a few scenes later! You can even see how the hood is bent from hitting the billboard.

We finally confirm that Amy is 8. Even though the writer said she was 9...😑Brian Watkins, I had faith in you being correct. If you squint, you'll notice that Rhett's right hand is wounded. I doubt this stems from the rodeo because he always uses his left hand to hang on to the bull. The only injury we saw was to his left shoulder.

I'm taking the guess that up until now, Rhett likely didn't know that Amy went missing during the rodeo. Which may cause him to realize that Cecelia never abandoned him; she was just looking for Amy.

In the official Season 2 press notes, the following is mentioned: "After Amy's disappearance, Rhett is torn between his dreams of starting over somewhere new with Maria and being a dutiful son to Royal and Cecelia." So, I can assume that this might be what sets that into motion?

Offhanded, but this is SUCH a good look on her

MY TOUCH THEORY IS DOING THINGS. Look at Autumn's hand. Royal's touching the back of it, and as soon as he pulls away, the cute cosmic lights stop.

I'm so happy to see this random side character make a return. I was so nervous that she was one of those characters that appear for two minutes and that's it.

...this is a wild way for Joy to get in touch with her roots. But unfortunately for her, talking about it will more than likely get her a one-way trip to a psychiatrist.

Clyde is alive and well; bless him.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. How the hell did Billy survive being shot through the neck??

and also

WAYNE? All it took was Billy feeding him a little bit of time powder and he's back to his old menacing ways. Meanwhile Luke looks like he lost part of his soul when that herd of buffalo ran him over.

Luke, what does this gesture mean. Strangle? Punch? My jaw hurts? And I assume this is Autumn we're seeing on the corner? Patricia maybe? I dunno.

Edit: I'm 99% sure that's Patricia.

PERRY YOU DAMN IDIOT. HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING FROM YOUR LAST BAR FIGHT?? I don't know who this other dude is but I hope he gets Perry square in the mouth <3 please I need to see Perry get his ass handed to him

This gives me so many thoughts. Rhett's shorter hair. He's a hand holder, your honor! Sentence him to a lifetime of snuggles and interlaced fingers!

So we know that for sure, Joy will somehow return to the present timeline. I don't know who could be driving this vehicle, but it looks a lot like the one that was sitting in the Tillerson's driveway in S1. We know Billy drives the older red vehicle, so this can either belong to Luke or Trevor.

Hear me out, hear me out. We can assume that the blonde woman is Autumn, considering the whole...cult thing. We've seen a handful of scenes of her with Luke in this trailer, so what if that's him holding her hand? That hat silhouette looks an awful lot like the one we saw in S1.

Alternatively, It can also be Rebecca and Perry, but I have no evidence to back this other than the blonde hair.

*in my best patrick star voice* WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?

I cannot be convinced that this is a real scene. It's gotta be some kind of dream that Royal is having, especially when you take note of the little white things floating around. It gives a sort of dreamy effect.

THIS IS SHERRIF JOY! Not only is the outfit the same in the following scene (not the one of her running lmao, that's just to show you what the gun looks like), but you can see the gun on her hip.

The hand on Rhett's throat is smaller than his is. Look how thick his fingers are compared to the mystery ones. I'm betting my left foot that this is a female character doing this to him. Autumn and Rebecca are on my list of suspects.

But also, what the hell is he looking at? Never once is he looking at the person doing this to him; he's looking at something behind the camera. Baby, what did they do to you this season?? 😭

I hit my picture limit, but Wayne (I think) diving into the hole made me giggle. He picked such an iconic pose.

Someone says quote "Time reveals all." But I don't think we've heard this voice before?? Who the hell is speaking?

This final shot is insane. Don't know who is coming out, presumably Perry or Wayne, but you could ABSOLUTELY spin Outer Range as a horror if you really wanted to. The elements are all there; they just need a little reworking!

[scarlet4rose]

the ex-boyfriend, pt.2

Jess Mariano x reader

story: you’re dating Jess. when you two happen to meet your ex-boyfriend, Jess gets jealous (requested)

note: make sure to read part 1 first

(pt.1 => https://at.tumblr.com/scarlet4rose/the-ex-boyfriend/8kfcu3d4rj0t )

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Jess stares at him in shock, "We?" he repeats. "We gotta go watch the movie??!" "Yeah, that's what I said" Tyler replies harshly, "Do you have some kind of hearing problem?" Jess frowns, "Do you have some kind of consciousness problem?"

Tyler shifts back a bit "no clue what you' re talking about" he says with a snide smile. 

Jess draws you a little closer, "Y/N and I were going to watch a movie today, just the two of us, all romantic and sappy and stuff. This wasn't supposed to be one of those double date affairs. What exactly don't you understand about that?”

 "Oh, I understand just fine," Tyler blurts out, "but you don't seem to understand that my girlfriend and I were gonna do the exact same thing. That's not against the law, is it? Are you trying to tell me what I can and can’t do or what? You would never have been at the movies just the two of you anyway, unless you rented out the whole place for yourselves, have you? No? Did you, Jesse?” 

"It' s Jess," Jess says between clenched teeth. 

"Whatever," Tyler comments, "Either way, I'm right and everyone knows it." 

"Oh yeah?" Jess counters again, his gaze unwavering "And what about Miss Girlfriend over here? Why doesn't she say anything anymore? and wasn't the only thing she said that she didn't even want to go to the movies?"

you snap out of your trance "Jess," you say in a slightly admonishing tone and look at your boyfriend reprovingly. Immediately his expression softens and he lowers his head the moment you address him, "Leave Chelsea out of this. She hasn't done anything wrong." 

"What?" Tyler shoots out, "But I didn't do anything wrong either, Y/N" Tyler looks at you intensely and you can' t think of anything to say, as startled as Tyler seems to be. His gaze makes you feel uneasy. What on earth does he want from you anyway? You lean against Jess' side and his arm tightens around you. "Hey, don't look at her like that," Jess demands as he gives him a scowl again. 

Tyler groans and turns to Jess "Oh great, you really are trying to tell me what I can and can't do, I see". 

"Only if you act like a real ass, Tyler. After all, someone has to stop that if apparently you are unable to do so yourself..."

You can see that Tyler is on the verge of losing his temper. But he seems to catch himself and squints his eyes instead "Well, I'd rather be an ass than the goddamn wisenheimer you are."

"You would?" Jess seems a bit amused, not believing a word of what your former boyfriend is saying. The hint of a triumphant smile plays on his lips. Then Chelsea suddenly speaks up again 

"So... are we gonna go to the movie theater or not? I guess I didn't really understand the whole thing...”

"No, you got it all right. We should really get going," Tyler throws a provocative look at Jess, "to the movie theater” 

You feel Jess tense up again. So, you quickly interject "Alright, we're running a little late anyway" 

"By now" Jess adds, looking down snidely. "Come on now, let's go" you mutter, pulling Jess along with you "We were perfectly on time till we got held up, you know that don't you?" Jess whispers in your ear as you walk down the street. Tyler and Chelsea follow close behind, embracing.

"Yeah...I know. But don't harp on it" you whisper back. Jess sighs "Well, if it makes you feel better… " 

You smile to yourself "It does. Thanks, Jess " 

You tilt your head and kiss him on the cheek. Jess can barely hide his grin and glances at you out of the corner of his eye as he smirks. Everything could have been so great, but...

"Wow, I'm so excited to see this movie!" Tyler announces, walking a little faster and appearing right by your side, "I've heard so many cool things about it. They say it's crazy awesome, right? And... uh, so touching and emotional". 

Jess can't hold on to himself and lets out a short, contemptuous laugh. 

"Oh, who would have thought! You got a problem again? Ya don't like the fact that Y/N and I have the same taste in movies?" Tyler raises his eyebrow. 

"Oh, no, it’s not like that at all," Jess says in a gushing, sarcastic tone, "I just think it's kind of funny that you'd describe a movie about a future where people aren't allowed to feel emotions as particularly emotional. And by the way: I chose the movie". 

Tyler gives you a puzzled look "you guys watch a movie like that on a date?"

you smile apologetically "Well, a movie where no one shows their feelings, that's just the right thing for Jess." 

"That's not true" Jess mumbles a little hurt "I'm not like that anymore" He pulls you towards him and gives you a quick kiss on the lips.

You feel the butterflies in your stomach going crazy, but you try to stay collected. "I guess you're right" you agree before you then bust out laughing "But you can't deny you really wanted to go see the movie with me" 

"Yeah maybe, but the important part is I wouldn’t wanna go see it with anyone else" he replies gooey as he can't take his eyes off you. 

"A movie about numb and emotionless pseudo human mutants, very sweet of you Jess," you reply jokingly, still grinning. 

"Well, that’s just the way I am," he agrees with sarcastic pride and a smile that makes your heart beat faster.

"Real sweet" Tyler mimics you and shakes his head "I for one would have picked an actually sweet movie" 

"oh yeah?" Jess' expression darkens "And what movie are you headed to right now? Same one we are, aren't you? And who are you taking there? Your girlfriend, right. Kind of like I am taking mine. So, do me a favor and shut the hell up."

"not gonna argue with you again" Tyler claims  

"not gonna argue with you either" Jess shrugs "man.... I'm just telling it like it is. Sorry if you can’t take that" 

“The truth I can take! But I won’t take your bullshit, Jesse!” 

You roll your eyes. Tyler being right beside you grows more and more annoying as he obviously doesn’t know what he’s talking about and can’t respect a thing of what anyone is saying. You still don't understand what exactly he intends to achieve with all this. Then, all of a sudden, you finally see the lights of the movie theater in the distance.

"Oh, there’s the movie theater already," you call out to change the subject. Immediately you double your steps and pull Jess along with you. 

At the box office, you ask for two tickets to Equilibrium. You thought you were going to pay for your ticket yourself, but then Jess takes out his wallet in a hurry.

 "Jess, you don't have to do that" you mumble, but Jess gives you a determined look 

"Well, I want to, Y/N. After all, what else did I work my way up to employee of the month at Walmart for??" 

You can't help but laugh brightly and lean your head against Jess' side. He tugs you closer and gives you a heartfelt kiss before he has to pull away from you again in order to hand the money to the girl at the register. After the two of you, it's Tyler and Chelsea's turn at the box office.

"Two tickets to the same movie," Tyler says, rummaging in the pockets of his jacket. The girl at the cash register frowns, "which movie?"

Tyler looks at her with wide eyes "Well, …the same movie that the two who were just here bought tickets to.” 

Jess leans over and whispers in your ear "we might have some luck coming our way after all" You giggle and Jess looks at you, he seems entirely enamored.

At the box office, the girl is still looking at Tyler in confusion "which movie?" she repeats. Tyler stammers something until Chelsea appears to blow her stack. "That damn Equi something movie I never heard of before!" 

"Equilibrium?" asks the girl at the box office. 

Tyler's face brightens, "Yeah, that's the one!" 

"Damn it," Jess curses under his breath right next to you, “I got no luck whatsoever. Who would have guessed…”

"Hey, but you've got me," you remark, tilting your head. 

Jess sighs, "Who knows for how long..." he mumbles and looks to the ground. "What did you say?" you ask, caught off guard. You aren't too sure if you heard Jess correctly. And in case you did... he can't be serious, can he? 

"Oh, nothing," Jess replies, kissing you softly before putting his arm around you again and taking you towards the auditorium. You glance up at him with concern, "Are you all right, Jess?"

He avoids your gaze: "Yeah, everything's fine" But you don't believe him. 

You suspect he's worried about Tyler, even though you know that's complete nonsense. You couldn't care less about Tyler, you know you never loved him anyway. You had only been with him out of convenience and had broken up with him as soon as you realized it. Tyler hadn't seemed hurt at the time, in fact, it used to feel like he could barely remember your name. But now that someone else was taking you out, he deluded himself into thinking he had the right to be jealous. You were actually pretty good at tuning Tyler out, but Jess didn't seem to be as good at it.

Jess and you find your seats and then sit down next to each other. You notice that Jess has become rather quiet, probably out of worry and insecurity, so you put your head on his shoulder to ease his mind a bit. 

And indeed, it takes mere seconds and you hear him breathe a sigh of relief, "Y/N," Jess begins, turning his head to you, "I know I was foolish enough to choose a movie about people who don't feel anything and so on.... but I do have feelings, feelings for you, you know?"

"I know," you whisper, lifting your head to look at Jess' face. Hesitantly, Jess leans in and begins to kiss you. You close your eyes and return the kiss, more and more, for longer and longer. Jess deepens his kiss feeling like he never wants to have to be without you, there's something longing about it. You start to lose yourself in your emotions, only thinking about how much you love Jess beyond measure. And then-

"Hey, Y/N," Tyler's voice comes from behind you. It sounds like a shrill alarm bell to you. Hastily albeit reluctantly, you end the kiss and face your ex-boyfriend, increasingly annoyed. 

"I brought you some of your favorite popcorn. I know just how much you love it" Tyler shoves a large bucket of popcorn into your arms. You look up at him in surprise. 

"Well," Tyler flashes a satisfied grin before adding in a provocative tone, "it’s really no problem, ya know? I'm sure if your current boyfriend knew you as well as I do, he would have done the same." 

Suddenly Jess jumps up from his seat, visibly upset. "All right, that's it!" he shoots out. Jess scowls at Tyler, but Tyler glares back sternly, "Huh? What's the matter, pal?"

You try to reach for Jess' hand to pull him back down to you, but his hands are clenched into fists and he firmly shakes off your touch. He’s infuriated.

"Let's settle this outside the door," Jess then announces, gesturing toward the exit with a barely perceptible nod, never taking his eyes off Tyler.

"Yes, please do it already!" some male voice shouts a few rows behind you, "The movie's about to start and I paid way too much for the tickets!" God, the entire situation is more than embarrassing to you, but neither Tyler nor Jess seem to notice how ridiculous they are acting. 

"Gladly" Tyler eventually says addressing Jess, his death stare still lingering "I know how to handle those kinds of things like a real man".

"That would be news to me!" Jess claims and tenses his shoulder muscles. He's about to take a step forward but you quickly and out of reflex jump up out of your seat, "Stop it! Now! Your behavior does not resemble that of two ‘real men’, but rather that of two real toddlers!"

"Oh, you shut up, Y/N! You've never understood a thing about stuff like this," Tyler throws at you. 

You look at him aghast: "Excuse me?!" 

"Hey, leave my girlfriend out of this!" Jess sternly demands.

"But she’s what this is all about, isn't she? Am I right? And by the way; that used to be my girlfriend!" Tyler states through clenched teeth 

"Yeah, I guess she was," Jess replies, angrier than ever. "But the emphasis is on used to be. This also used to be a nice evening! And this used to be a free country too, where you could invite your girlfriend to the movies on a Friday night without being terrorized and stalked by her fucking insignificant ex-boyfriend!"

You suck in your breath and tense up. Tyler tilts his head. But then he solely chuckles and teases,

"Do I scare you, Jesse?"

“Jess, don’t” you manage to bring out, but before you know it, Jess shoots out and lunges at Tyler. Then all the lights in the auditorium go out and the film begins to flicker across the screen.

"What the-" you utter as your eyes adjust to the darkness while you hear Jess and Tyler's suppressed curses coming from the floor. 

You listen as Jess - or maybe Tyler - throws a punch and the other one of the boys groans with pain. 

"Guys, stop it," you scream out hysterically. You don’t want Jess to get hurt, he’s been through enough. God, if only he would have contained himself for just a little longer, everything would have been fine and you could have averted your attention away from Tyler’s mean remarks to instead focus on the movie on screen. 

"Guys, please," you beg, but all you can make out are their wrestling outlines on the ground, "Jess, please listen to me," but he doesn't respond to you. 

"I thought you were going to settle this outside the door!" the man's voice a few rows behind you chimes in again, " Seemed like a smart idea to me! So why don't you put it into practice, huh!?"

Then other voices in the theater start to barge in "Hey, what's going on over there?" shouts one. "Are those two idiots fighting?" another. And "don't those jerks realize the movie's already started?" Yeah, that' s what you're wondering, too, you think to yourself.

"You scumbag, if you look at Y/N one more time..." Jess threatens, still on the ground.

"... then she for sure will run into my arms, yeah I know that!" retorts Tyler short of breath, lashing out at Jess, "And you know it, too! And that’s what drives you crazy!" 

More punches and fists are thrown. 

"Jess, don't listen to him," you yell into the fray. You feel completely powerless and utterly miserable, what could you possibly do to stop all this? The entire evening has been ruined long ago anyway, but the fight between Jess and Tyler makes things even worse. 

A sudden ray of light illuminates the dark movie theater, as the door to the auditorium is promptly pushed open. A muscle-bound man followed by a woman, who must have left the auditorium earlier to bring the aforementioned man, appear in the doorway, their silhouettes standing out starkly against the glistening background. 

"All right boys, break it up!" shouts the man in black uniform " security service here! I want both of you to stand up! Did you hear me?!" 

And indeed- Tyler and Jess stop punching each other and get up off the ground. In the dim light of the movie screen, you recognize Jess’ hunched over body, his face filled with shame. 

"Both of you out of here, now!" the security guard demands, as he points to the door. Staring down at their feet, Tyler and Jess leave the theater. You can't help feeling saddened by the sight of your boyfriend walking away. He doesn't even turn around to meet your gaze. 

Then the security guard’s eyes and attention land on Chelsea and you, "That also goes for the two of you! I suppose it's your fault, anyway..." 

"I didn't do anything," Chelsea quickly interjects, looking innocently up at the man in uniform standing right in front of you. 

Indignantly you take a sharp breath, "I actually didn't do anything either!” 

"I couldn't care less about who didn't do anything ever or today or not or maybe or who will never do it again. I’ve heard it all before!" the broad-built man declares, gesturing once again at the still-open door, "Now both of you get out!"

"Alright, alright..." mumbles Chelsea, walking past the guard. 

You step as carefully as you can over the large amount of spilled popcorn to your feet and follow her meekly, not daring to lift your gaze and look the angered guard in the eye. 

Once you too have left your row of seats, the security guard joins you and closes the door to the movie theater behind you. Inside the hall, you begin to look around for Jess, but you can't find him anywhere. 

The security guard catches your glimpse. "My co-worker took the boys outside the building." You nod nervously and bite your lower lip. After all, you do feel a little guilty. 

The guard clears his throat, "And just so we're clear, not only the boys, but also you two have been banned from the movie theater for the time being." 

"What?!" Chelsea and you simultaneously shout out in bewilderment. You can hardly believe it. Yes, maybe you said you felt a little guilty, not that guilty. 

"But we weren’t the ones to get into a fight" Chelsea clarifies, tossing her hair over her shoulder. 

"Right, we would never engage in such violent activity," you agree, but the security guard remains merciless. 

"I've had it with you kids," he says in a stern voice, "just leave the theater right now," the security guy then sighs, "arguing with me won't change the head of the theater's decision anyway." 

you tilt your head pensively. yeah, he's probably right, you figure. Besides, bickering around in here while wasting your time won't get you any closer to Jess.

You look over at Chelsea and she returns your expression. She nods at you, and you turn back to the broad-shouldered man. "All right, we understand. Have a good evening, sir”. 

"We won't cause you any more trouble," Chelsea adds, and the two of you force a polite smile. 

The security guard doesn't bat an eye. Instead, he blurts out, "I sure hope so!"

"Jeez, let's go," you whisper into Chelsea's ear, and the two of you turn on your heels and run for the exit. 

Just before you leave the entrance hall, you once again look over at Chelsea. "Hey, Chelsea..." you begin hesitantly, "I'm really sorry about how the evening went. Especially for you. I mean, Tyler couldn't have been more of a bad boyfriend to you..." 

Chelsea sighs heavily "Well, I guess I should have known. He had only asked me out yesterday, you know? and I was dumb enough to say yes," she smiles slightly, but it appears to be one of sadness, "I've had a crush on Tyler for a while, I guess he knew that. He must have also known you guys were going out tonight. I'm sure he heard you talking about it yesterday at school" 

"Yeah, that figures" you agree looking down a little embarrassed. 

"Well, there's nothing to be done about it," Chelsea says, sounding less than optimistic, "I should have walked right off when Tyler was running around the streets like a maniac. When he was dragging me along and not wanting to tell me what he was looking for. Or who. Cause he, of course, was looking for you guys. And yeah, unfortunately he ended up finding you" 

"Oh Chelsea, I'm so sorry" is all you can think of to say, but at least it's the truth.

"Don't be. Be happy that you have such a great boyfriend" she says and you feel yourself blushing "Yeah, I guess I am a very lucky girl..."

Chelsea sighs once again, "I think he's really in love with you. I can tell by the look in his eyes. He looks at you all gentle and soft, which is really not like him at all. But apparently, he allows himself to be that way when he's with you"

Suddenly you feel your throat tightening, and you are unable to utter a single word. You desperately want to see Jess, you really need to talk to him. 

"All right," Chelsea smiles mildly and raises her hand as a goodbye gesture as soon as you've reached the exit. "I guess this is where we part ways" 

"Yeah, take care" you mutter and give her a genuine smile "See you at school on Monday" you call after her before she turns and walks away, disappearing into the darkness of the evening.

You hastily avert your gaze and look around for Jess. "Jess?" you call out into obscurity. A shadow stirs on the outside wall of the movie theater. "Jess?" you repeat.

And there he is. 

Out of the darkness and into the light of the movie billboards steps your boyfriend, Jess. He looks bleakly into your face, "Y/N, I'm sorry about what happened today and that I-" you rush into his arms and kiss him passionately on the lips. 

As you end the kiss, you look into Jess' eyes, showing off your widest grin. Jess however seems to remain unsettled and furrows his brow, as he looks down at you lying in his arms, "So you're not mad at me?" 

you can’t help but laugh “Well, yes I am a little mad” Jess tenses up and you can feel his heart skip a beat. “Oh, Jess, calm down” you rush to tell him, smiling in assurance, “I’m mad at Tyler, Jess. I’m not mad at you” 

Jess can’t believe his ears and hugs you to him “God, I’m so relieved! I thought you were thinking about breaking up with me or something…” Jess mumbles into your hair while he has you pulled close. Gently you break away from his embrace. “You didn’t let me finish”, you add. 

Jess’ smile dies down in a heartbeat. Quickly you put your hand to his cheek reassuringly “Oh God, Jess, you really don’t need to worry, I’m not gonna leave you, I never could”

“Well, I guess then you’ll have to deal with me for the rest of your life, cause I’m not letting go of you either, Y/N” Jess blurts out and looks at you, almost as in a trance. 

With an impish grin, you tilt your head "The whole thing sure has scared you quite a bit, hm? You don't usually say things like that to me” 

Jess swallows hard "Maybe I need to tell you more often. So that you don't run away from me. Or so you don't think I don't want you and would give you away to someone like Tyler" His gaze hardens, "Because I would never … I could never do that, you know?" 

You sigh and see the flicker in his dark eyes "What makes you think I would want to be with Tyler anyway?" 

Jess turns his eyes to the ground "Well, you used to be with him," he grits his teeth and clenches his jaw, "Even though it's pretty tough for me to admit that, I gotta say."

"Jess, I only dated him for such a short amount of time," you try to catch his gaze, "I don't even remember what made me do it. And besides... I always knew I never loved him" 

Jess immediately lifts his head and looks into your eyes "Does that mean you..?" he begins but then breaks off and bites his lip instead. "Yeah, Jess," you get out, "I've been thinking about it all evening. On the way to the movies. At the movies..."

"Even during that fight?" Jess inquires cautiously. 

You can't help smiling, "Nah, probably not then" You chuckle briefly, before your voice turns serious again. "But aside from that, always. I always thought about it. And I don't just think about it, I actually know that I…" you take a deep breath, "I love you, Jess."

Jess blinks twice before your words reach his ears, his head, his heart. He pulls you to him as hard as he can, wraps his arms around your waist and kisses you with all the love he otherwise tries to hide from you. He thinks it would make him seem weak, but he knows your love makes him feel incredibly strong. He kisses you as if he had never done it before but waited a lifetime for the chance. 

You carefully break away from him and look him in the eyes, happily yet a little shyly. "So you believe me?" you ask in a low voice. 

"I want to so much" Jess is almost whispering and nods. 

"And don't you want to tell me something too?" you ask, a wry smile on your face. 

Finally, Jess's expression begins to loosen a bit. "Not necessarily, no. I think you already know that I..." Jess pauses for a moment and briskly looks down, before turning his eyes back to yours, "that I love you a lot, Y/N. Maybe even too much"

You laugh and have a big smile on your face "Jess, I can't believe you're saying this to me! I'm so incredibly happy" You lean against him and rest your head on his chest. 

He smirks a little confused. "Don't you think it’s a little embarrassing? Am I not kind of … well, embarrassing myself?" 

You frown "What would you need to be embarrassed about?" 

"Hm" Jess takes a deep breath and exhales "I mean the whole love declaration thing. Don't I sort of embarrass myself with that? I kinda feel like I do, you know"

 You raise your head and look at him with serious eyes "Jess, how does it feel to hear that I love you?" 

He leans in and kisses you on the cheek "I wanna hear it again and again. And I wish I could tell everyone" 

"See?" You smile at him "I feel the same way. The last thing I'm thinking about is you embarrassing yourself" You start to grin "And besides, shouldn't you be more concerned about having embarrassed yourself in your fight with Tyler. Because that I did find embarrassing" 

"Come on, now don't remind of that," Jess rolls his eyes and pulls away from you. He then raises his eyebrows provocatively and smirks, "Although I technically won the fight" 

"Oh yeah?" you look up at him amused. 

"Absolutely" he pulls you back towards him, "After all, I'm the one who' s with you" 

You wrap your arms around his neck and lean in for another kiss. Time stands still once again, and you feel Jess' touch make you forget everything. the movie theater behind you, the events of the evening, everything, except that you love Jess and he loves you. 

You move away from him a little, "let's go home," you say softly

Jess nods "All right. We can go see the movie some other time anyway.”

You begin to laugh inevitably, "But not in this theater." 

Jess looks at you a bit questioningly. Wide-eyed, you look back at him "Jess, we're banned from this place for the time being. You "won" that too with your stupid fight."

"Oh, that's right," Jess scratches the back of his head sheepishly, "I guess I kind of forgot about that."

"well, it’s fine" you lean against his side, "I wasn't that keen on the movie anyway" 

"you're not keen on watching a movie about callous human mutants who kill each other with no remorse whatsoever with your boyfriend on your Friday night date?" Jess voice drips with irony and you chuckle softly "well, when you put it that way..."

You both laugh slightly before Jess puts his arm around you and eventually says "I think it's really time to go now. Loitering outside a movie theater we are banned from is probably not the best idea."

Slowly, the two of you begin to walk off in the direction of Luke's Diner, pondering your thoughts. The evening may not have gone as planned, but at least this way you got to hear Jess say those three words. Who would have thought that an evening full of arguments, ex-boyfriends, bickering, accusations and movie theater bans would somehow still come to such a happy ending?

_____the end______

note 2: I’m sorry for the wait, I hope you guys were still able to enjoy the story 

*:·. ༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

.

.

[misc-obeyme]

SLEEPOVER SLEEPOVER SLEEPOVER

On the way up to Mammon's apartment, he's definitely complaining he won't be able to sleep. "N-Not because I'm scared or anything from the movie! It's just ... T-The plot twist was so crazy, I-I'm gonna think about it all night!" Poor Mammon.

okay Mammon's apartment is above the coffee shop. I'm thinking it's a maybe two rooms and one bathroom. But one is his bedroom and the other he uses as his office/storage, so Solomon and I will have to sleep on the pullout couch. Solomon does offer to take a sleeping bag if I'm not okay with sharing, and I stubbornly reject his proposal. That wouldn't be fair.

But it'd be cute if we all got changed into our pajamas and got ready for bed together (Solomon in a long sleeve shirt and plaid pants gotta save the tattoos as a surprise, Mammon in a tank top and sweats, me in a comfy shirt and shorts.) I gotta admit, I am dying slightly getting to see Mammon in a tank top, but am doing my best to hold it together. Solomon on the other hand is mostly unaffected. There is the tiniest hint of a blush on his face though.

But everyone getting ready for bed in the bathroom together would be so domestic akdjd. Asmo has definitely roped Mammon and Solomon into having skincare routines, so they're squinting at each other when they notice similar products. Meanwhile I've finished brushing my teeth and take my hair out of it's ponytail, which has the two of them looking at me like I've grown a third head because they've never seen me with my hair all the way down.

Mammon gets everything set up, pillows, blankets, everything, and tells us to wake him up if we need anything before he heads to his room. Now I get to share the couch with Solomon, but I'm definitely curled up on the edge and trying to take as little space as possible to not bother him. It takes what feels like forever for me to fall asleep. But the horror movie is still fresh in my mind. It was all I could think about before sleeping, and I have trouble sleeping in new places as well.

I'm woken up by Solomon shaking me and startled as hell when they're both leaning over me, before I remember where I am. Solomon says I was tossing and turning, and sounded upset. And he had knocked over something trying to turn on the light, which in turn woke up Mammon. Though, by the looks of it, Mammon hadn't even went to sleep in the first place. I sheepishly apologize to both of them, trying to tell them they don't need to worry.

Solomon is having none of it, and he definitely picks up on how rough Mammon looks. Once again, he is the one to initiate things. He scoots over on the couch, before beckoning Mammon over. Mammon scoffs and denies that he needs any comfort and that the futon will be too small. Solomon pats the space next to him again, but with a stern smile, and Mammon is quick to comply. "I meant it when I said I'd protect you both."

Mammon is grumbling but he doesn't fight when Solomon pulls him against his chest so he can lay his head down, he's just blushing hard.

As always, I'm more hesitant to be vulnerable because I'm not used to this, even when the cuddles look so tempting. But Solomon is a sly mf. He reaches out to run his fingers through my hair, making me jump at first before relaxing. He scratches at my scalp, sneakily guiding me down to also curl up against him. And it's hard to be scared or nervous when I'm feeling so cared for. I can hear Sol's heartbeat like this, and despite him taking the initiative and appearing calm, his heart is racing as fast as mine, probably as fast as Mammon's too- Oh wait, he's snoring quietly. It didn't take long for him to pass out. We both share a glance and snicker at the adorable sight.

My own eyes feel heavy, and Sol's hands are moving slower and slower. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, draping my arm across his waist as I press my face against him. There's no more nightmares for anyone that night. Only the best sleep anyone's ever had.

So good that Mammon sleeps through his first alarm, and tries to ignore his second one. He groans and sinks deeper into the warmth, only to be startled by someone chuckling. Solomon, who is tracing patterns on Mammon's bicep, and is groggy af but had been woken by the persistent alarm (he is not a morning person). Meanwhile, I'm out like a light.

Mammon gets embarrassed when he recalls everything that happened last night, but he's never felt so well rested, even on only a couple hours of sleep. He disentangles himself reluctantly, only because he needs to get ready for work and actually get up if he wants the alarm to stop blasting. It wouldn't be fair to make the other two suffer. He quiets any half asleep protests, pulling the blanket over Solomon and I before he gets ready for the day as quietly as possible and heads downstairs to begin baking. He's definitely running behind.

'Come down when you two wake up. I'll have fresh coffees and pastries, so don't keep me waiting, yeah?' - Sticky note left on Sol's forehead, with a heart scrawled out and the smiley Mammon always uses next to it instead.

AKSJD THIS GOT LONG AGAIN WAHH. Horror devilgrams and the bed sharing that ensues lives rent free in my mind. The way both Mammon AND MC had nightmares about the other being the bad guy after watching the scissor movie. Rip them.

Solomon is always in the middle, living his best life !! I'm sure they'll take turns being in the middle once they actually get together, but they always end up a mess of limbs by morning. Y'know, whenever they get together. Omg. Is this a slow burn ?? Oops. They're gonna have a happy ending !! Yeah!!....just ...... Some obstacles to get there 😗 ahem, learning to let people in... The boys are going to be losing it with my obliviousness as well aksjd. Wish them luck.

*checks notes* Playlist drama next ?! I think I might add the concert scene before Halloween party, for a little bit of ✨ spice ✨ (the emotional kind, not the frisky one unfortunately saving that for halloween AHAHA) ... I really gotta figure out the time line! I keep thinking of scenes aaaa. We'll see. OKAY BYEEE, HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT/DAWN UHHH... MAY A SUPER GOOD SALE COME TO YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET ON YOUR FAVORITE SNACK ?? WISHING THAT BC I HAVEN'T GOTTEN BETTER WITH HYDRATION AJSD

- ✨ anon

GOOD LUCK, BOYS. I AM ROOTING FOR YOU!!!

Can I just say how much I love these updates? I look forward to every single one! When I see it, I'm always like awww yes I'm gonna get cozy and enjoy the latest scenario with these three cuties!!

AND I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. AHhhhh Solomon is the glue that brings you all together!! 'Cause without him, this would be an EVEN SLOWER burn, y'all are lucky to have him lol.

Yes yes yes I was HOPING that they'd all end up cuddling together, it's seriously so sweet!!! I love it so much! And Mammon just being like ugh I gotta get up and omg the sticky note!

I also love the domesticness of them all getting ready for bed together! Ahh domestic scenes are the best!

OH NO DRAMA. I'm ready!!

And personally, I love slow burns! It takes time to let someone in when you're guarded like that!! I like when characters take the time to really get to know each other!

Anyway, I am loving it all as always!! I hope you also have a wonderful day/night/etc!

[wexhappyxfew]

guide and guard

(a/n): the silver bullets girls before heading off on the schweinfurt-regensburg mission (and their chaotic early-morning discussions). also featuring annie x brady (if you squint... haha) as well as the general camaraderie of the silver bullets crew! :) please enjoy! this was a fun one that i've had on the brain for a while! :D

"30 more minutes of this fog and I'm gonna lose my mind." Carrie admonished through their comms system, her voice crackling over into Annie's ears, snippy and quick, with a bit of a kick behind it, "20 past six in the morning and it feels like it's midday."

"What the fuck is up with your internal clock?" Kennedy called back through comms, "Are you….God, what's it called, nocturnal, yeah, you nocturnal, Lieutenant? Oughta let the world know about that one."

"Alright, alright…." Francis called as Annie snickered in the cockpit, "nocturnal or not, the sun's barely risen, Carrie, how you think it's already midday?"

"Just feel like it, you don't feel it?"

"'fraid not." Francis called back.

"I'm still trying to work that coffee into my system, it feels like it's three am or something," Vivian said, stifling a yawn out to follow, "if it were midday, you'd be bouncing off the walls, Lieutenant."

"That's actually not entirely accurate, Ratcliff, but I appreciate your enthusiasm," Carrie called, "I'm just saying, this bombsight's ready to get her target, and drop those bombs. Sitting on a foggy tarmac ain't gonna do a thing."

"Hey, shit like this rolls in off of Lake Michigan and you thank God you're in your house and not outside. Kid brother said he saw a ghost one time." Margie called through the comms, munching on something from above - probably peanuts, she always had those things shoved in a pocket somewhere.

"A ghost?" questioned Judy, "That ain't a thing, Margie-"

"Oh yes it," Margie said quickly back, as a string of sighs echoed over the comms, "I swear to you all. Listen, listen, ghost, a deer, whatever, creepy as all get-out. He swore to it though."

"Should I even ask how old you were?" Francis said, leaning back against her co-pilot seat, eyes shut, attempting to nap, but listening to the symphony of the conversation running about.

"15, Lieutenant," Margie answered, "Jem was 6 - but hey, listen, that's not the point. The point is this fog is spooky shit and you start trying to fly in it, you'll disappear like…man, what - hey Viv, what was that pilot's name-"

"Amelia Earhart?" Viv offered, "Margie, you said 6-"

"6 I tell you!" Margie said, "But yeah, yeah, Earhart - I'm glad they grounded us here. Don't gotta risk our necks flying in a soup like this."

"With Bradshaw though, I'd trust her to fly us to hell and back if I'm being honest," Bessie called, "nothing a little fog'll do to Bradshaw, isn't that right, Annie?"

"Quite an ambitious thing to say, Bes, but I'll take the compliment." Annie called back, a few chuckles ringing over the comms at her words.

"You hear that? Lieutenant Bradshaw taking a compliment. Never thought I'd live to see the day, Lieutenant." Paulina called and the comms broke into chuckles.

"Hey, Bucky told Bradshaw she was a good pilot the other day and all she did was nod at him and pat his back, so," Marianne started, "I'd consider that the Lieutenant has bested Bucky Egan himself."

"Gotta admit, Lieutenant," Margie called over comms, "that was pretty damn funny."

"Humility never hurt a soul." Annie called back and the chuckles that broke out through comms were far more entertaining then they'd be in days.

"Neither does humbling," Carrie called, "well-"

"Hey, Margie, I think I see your ghost now!" Judy called.

"Judy! I thought you were on my side at least!" Margie said, with a chuckle, as Judy giggled again.

"Nah, that's just Brady," Kennedy called, "what the hell does he want?" Carrie snickered over the radio and Francis cracked an eye.

"He's come to see his lady." Francis said with a smirk over the radio. Annie's cheeks flamed and her eyes grew wide and she shoved Francis' shoulder, laughter echoing over the comms.

"He's just a friend." murmured Annie, trying to distract herself from her cheeks and the thought of Brady coming towards Silver Bullets, and for what reason, she didn't know.

"Howdy-do, Lieutenant Brady, what can I help you with?" Margie's voice echoed over the radio, "Or actually better yet - can you help us? Are we wheels up yet?" Whatever the response was no one heard, except for Margie's snort of laughter and a slap on the knee.

"Lieutenant Bradshaw!" Margie called, "Lieutenant Brady is in dire need of your assistance!" Annie watched as Francis snickered - to which Annie shoved her shoulder again and she slid past the top turret which Margie had swiftly removed herself from and dropped below, landing beside Margie, before crouching and seeing Brady's head just past the open latch.

"Hey," Annie said, and Brady, grinning, nodded to her.

"How's it going?" he asked her and she briefly caught Margie staring her down, Bessie and Carrie peaking out from the nose, curiously watching her.

"Good, good, what's up?" Annie said, before her mind seemed to recalculate a few things and she nodded at him, "Here, let's talk outside."

"What? And have us miss out on all this, Lieutenant?" Margie whispered to her as she sat on the edge of the latch. Annie gave her a look, to which Margie promptly laughed at, and then she disappeared, jumping down onto the tarmac. Looking up, in the incredibly dense fog that she could barely see much farther than in front of her with, she found Brady there.

"Whatever Margie said, I'm not a part of it," Annie said, with her hands up, as if in surrender, "that's just Margie for you." Brady chuckled and then nodded to her.

"She might've said something along the lines of that you were just itching to get off of the ground," Brady said, "that you needed someone to talk you off the ledge. I told her that didn't sound like the Annie Bradshaw I knew, but." Brady smirked at her expression and she shook her head with a laugh, watching Brady's eyes through the fog for a moment before nodding.

"That's not what you're really here for though, right?" Annie said, looking at him from underneath her own peak cap, before tilting her head, "Checking up on us?" She watched Brady smile, in that uncontrolled way where he didn't even seem to realize he was looking as happy as a lark, but then he seemed to come around and fess up, and nodded firmly.

"Yeah," he admitted, before chuckling, "I was trying to, I don't know…"

"Find a way around that…. in a way?" Annie said with a small chuckle and he shrugged his shoulders before crossing his arms.

"And also, just to say, it's our longest mission yet, deepest into Germany, so….if you all gotta bail out, just….try and keep your numbers. You don't know what they could do to you if you drop into Germany. As a pilot." And as a woman, Annie thought, but she didn't want to ponder that too hard. Annie watched his face change for a moment as he mulled it over and then nodded.

"But I know you'll all be fine though, Silver Bullets is always ole reliable," Brady said with a smile, looking back towards the plane, before looking to her, his voice growing serious and firm, "best of luck to you, Lieutenant." Annie smiled at him, her heart feeling warm from his tender gesture and she stuck out a gloved hand, to which he shook firmly, his touch lingering a bit longer than what any average handshake would've been.

That's not to say she's complaining though.

"You too." she said, before they dropped hands and she gripped her straps of the webbing and smirked at him, "See ya in Algeria!" And with that, she turned, glancing back over her shoulder with a wave and watched him disappear with that grin into the fog. Her heart pounded a bit, she thought she could've said something better, but she didn't ruminate. Heading back towards the B-17 standing in her foggy, silhouetted beauty, she smiled to herself before she began to hear footsteps somewhere behind her.

"Hey…Annie, wait up." she heard Brady call from behind her. Annie came to a pause near the nose of Silver Bullets, and turned to see Brady coming towards her. She caught his eyes, trying to dissect a bit of that worried haze in his eyes and found him instead, coming up directly to her, and wrapping his arms around her in a hug that engulfed her into his being and knocked her peak cap right off the top of her head, with a plonk onto the ground.

For a moment, she froze there, realizing every inch of him that touched her being, his breath in her ear, his pounding heart against her own chest.

Realization and the weight of everything seemed to kick in and she wrapped her arms around his form and found a brief moment to let herself smile into his touch and his want. The want for human touch in a moment that seemed distant.

Their friendship hadn't really gotten to this level - sure it was dancing, the crosswalk between laughing and flirting (maybe), the smiles, the buying each other drinks (he always did), even those looks that lasted longer than they should've - they had never initiated this. And it made her heart race. In an instance, Brady pulled back and held her by the shoulders, and gazed at her eyes for a moment.

"You okay?" she asked, taking her hands onto his arms and rubbing them gently, smiling slightly, "You scared me for a second there, running up behind me like that."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, smiling at her, and then rubbing her shoulders, "just….figured you needed that. You and I both, ya know." She watched him and then slowly nodded with a small smile.

"Thanks." she said softly and he smiled briefly before looking to her head.

"Shit, sorry," he said, breaking from her touch to reach down to the ground and pull the cap up, before placing it on her head, his fingertips lingering back her ears and cheeks, "sorry about that." Annie smiled and adjusted it slightly on her head before looking at him.

"Don't you worry your pretty little face about that, okay?" Annie said, before patting his shoulder, her face falling a bit as her heart shuttered a few misaligned beats, "Be careful up there, alright?" Brady nodded at her with a smile and then placed a hand on her shoulder and held it there for a moment longer.

"You too. Just….stay safe." he said and she smiled at him with a wide grin, before squeezing his shoulder and stepping away towards the latch to the belly of the B-17.

Annie couldn't force herself to watch him walk away because then a part of her would go with him and she couldn't focus on that now. She had a fort to position over Germany to drop bombs on the enemy.

Pulling herself inside, she heard Carrie yelling about something over the headset, Paulina yelling back, which made her chuckle. Pulling herself back into the cockpit, she saw Francis smugly watching her as she settled into the left side.

"What's that look for?" muttered Annie, strapping herself in and adjusting on the headset.

"-and I swear to you, Dougie was trying his best, but it was damn-near pathetic alright?-" Annie pulled one ear of the headset off as Paulina went to counter and looked to Francis who was still sitting there smug as anything.

"What'd he want, huh?" Francis asked, "C'mon, spill, or else I'll be bothering you as we head up. So, what was it?"

"He just wanted to tell us to be careful. Long mission and all, deep into enemy territory. He was just being nice." Annie offered, "It was sweet of him."

"So was that hug." Francis said with a snicker and Annie shoved her shoulder, before flipping her the bird and shaking her head, "Alright, just kidding, I think we'll be wheels up soon anyway, so, we should wrangle them all in, huh?"

"That's right," Annie said, popping on the two headset ears and adjusting properly, "hey, everyone, listen up. It'll be wheels up soon. Stop arguing about whatever Dougie was pathetically doing, we've got a fort to fly!" Francis looked over at her with a smirk, before nodding and looking ahead.

"When we're set, I'll give everyone a checklist, countdown, alright?" Francis said.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Yes, Lieutenant." Annie looked forward and slowly narrowed her eyes towards the foggy sky.

Guide and guard, she seemed to whisper to herself in her head like a mantra - over and over.