#idek what that thing on the wall is supposed to be like is it meant to hold towels??

[shabby-alonso]

haven't posted selfies in a million years so have these previously arthur @vangoggles exclusives

[aeaean--bliss]

Flick, flick, flick

summary: eddie’s been avoiding you for a while, and you’re sick of it.

pairing: eddie munson x reader

word count: 2.4k

warnings/tags: STRANGER THINGS SEASON FOUR SPOILERS. kinda. better safe than sorry. read at own risk. angst w happy ending. 

a/n: idek what this is. might delete in the morning. not proofread.

masterlist  

The sigh you let out feels like it pulls the rest of your energy out with it. Embers flicker quietly as you inhale, glowing warmly in the dusk. Sunlight’s gone; the deep, dark shade of blue painting the walls of the trailers across the tattered, grassy field. The same blue coats your skin as you brush the pad of your thumb against the ridges on your lighter.

Outside feels completely silent, despite the odd clatter and the low buzz of the Mayfields’ television set that hums through the small crack in the window. The lingering echoes of shouts and jabbed fingers hang heavy in the air, smothered somewhat by the vast expanse. They ring in your ears, mocking you. 

You flick your cigarette against the ashtray, the brown glass almost black in the night. You take another deep drag, hoping it will stem the erratic thuds in your chest, but it only makes your fingertips twitch with that very special mix of agitation and anxiety. 

You stare into the surface of the plastic table as the door behind you opens and shuts loudly. You don’t even look at him as he takes a seat in one of the chairs situated along the side of the trailer, huffing quietly. The familiar flick, flick, flick of his lighter. A deep inhale. A deep exhale. Your eyes slip back down to the lighter in your hands. The lacquer is almost completely gone now, worn at the edges and pale in the moonlight. You can barely make out the letters that wrap around the small box. It was worn when he gave it to you, nine months ago. He’d had it for a while, picked it up in some gig a few towns over. Said he thought it’d suit you. 

You’d taken him for a dickhead back then, convinced he was chatting out of his hole to string you along. Wasn’t until you saw the look in his eyes after you rejected his offer for the third time that you realised he’d meant it. He’d tried to laugh it off,

“Nah, man, it’s whatever.”

He didn’t look you in the eye for the rest of the night. Didn’t come bother you at school for the next three days, like he normally would. Couldn’t see him anywhere, either. Not even with his Hellfire boys at lunch. On day four, you faked cramps to the nurse and snuck out behind the bleachers. 

“Don’t suppose you’ve got a light, do ya?”

He’d lent you his, then. A dark black thing with silver edges. 

“Shame,” you’d said, bringing the lighter to the butt and inhaling. “Was hoping you’d have that other one on ya.”

The next day, he’d come up to your locker while you were rummaging for books for your first class, setting the faded lighter down on the metal shelf in your locker with a soft clang. 

“So you don’t keep bothering me.”

Your grip on the small, metal box has tightened significantly by the time his gentle cough brings you back to reality. 

“Thought you were going home.”

It’s bold of him, making the first move. Takes more guts than you’ve got. You would have been content to just sit there in agonising silence until the sun started peeking over the trees.

“Haven’t got a ride. Said I was gonna stay, anyway.”

Another sigh, then the sound of him groaning as he gets to his feet. You ignore him as best you can as he walks past you and situates himself on the opposite side of the table.

“I know. Just figured you were stubborn enough to walk.”

He clears his throat nonchalantly and leans back in his chair. The plastic creaks dangerously. 

“I mean, not that I’d let you, but-”

“‘Let’ me?” you question, quietly. 

“You know what I mean.”

The edge of your nail slips under the hood of the lighter, flipping it open. You fidget with it for a bit, snapping it shut and flicking it back open again to fill the silence. 

“So, uh…”

It’s foreign, how he's almost pursuing you. It reminds you of how things started out, him hanging onto your every word, making up excuses to bump into you, or talk to you, or touch you… It feels nostalgic, like some half-forgotten reality you used to know. Lately, you’ve been feeling stale. Everything’s been feeling stale. 

You take a restrained breath on your inhale. 

“Yeah, we really don’t need to talk about it.”

“I kinda think we should.”

You sigh, turning your attention to the ashtray. 

“I just- I don’t want us to get into it when I’ve gotta stay here tonight.”

He hums. He doesn’t say anything, just looks you up and down with an unreadable expression on his face. An owl hoots, somewhere in the woods. It’s almost comical. You pick restlessly at your hands. 

A warm hand slips over your fingers, pulling them away from where they pick and scratch. He doesn’t let go, gripping your hand firmly, thumb stroking mindless circles into your skin. It’s oddly tender. You feel that pit in your stomach glowing with a soft, pained burn. If you’re not careful, tears are going to start forming in your waterline. 

Uh oh. Too late. 

“Jesus,” he mutters, pulling your hand close to his lips. The warmth of his soft, gentle kiss makes your skin hum and your eyes burn. “It’s not that serious, is it?”

His eyes are dark and heavily lidded when you look at him; it’s the first time you’ve spared him a glance since he told you to go fuck yourself. That was about twenty minutes ago, judging by how the chill of sundown has worked its ways up the exposed skin of your arms.

“It is to me.”

He sighs, heavily. 

“I just don’t understand why you care, it’s just some party with loads of stiff, old guys in suits and their-”

“But it’s not about them,” you say, for what feels like the millionth time. “It’s about me. I really want you there, man, this is a big deal for me. I don’t get why you don’t get that.”

“Why me? Why can’t you just ask Robin, or Steve, or that other guy from-”

“Because I-”

Your voice dies in your throat. This is where it gets tricky. Officially, technically, formally, you’ve never declared yourselves exclusive. So, you don’t have any claim to him. You don’t even know why you haven’t talked about it yet, it just never came up. If he’s your guy, he’s your guy. And if he’s not…

“I’m just- I’m sick of this shit, man. If you wanna just sit here and crack jokes and pretend you don’t know that you’ve barely been able to look at me for weeks then we can just call time of death right now. And that’d really suck, but I just… I just don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t even know what this is.” 

His hold on your hand seems to stiffen a bit. The two of you have been skirting around the issue for weeks. It’s what kicked you off in the first place; first time he’s reached out to you in six days, and he barely spares you a glance as you step in the door. First, you thought it might have been because his uncle was sitting right there on the couch watching ‘The Price is Right’, and that shit is always awkward anyway, even though you’ve been up at the trailer a hundred times. You figured maybe he’d defrost when his uncle left for the night shift, maybe reach the two feet over to wrap his arm around your shoulders or something, but no. Apparently the expression on your face was enough to spark a reaction. 

“What the fuck’s up with you?”

Combined with the way he’d snorted with laughter when you asked him if he’d go to your boss’ Fourth of July dinner earlier over the phone… You’ve reached breaking point. Maybe you’re also just in a particularly bad mood because your boss is a piece of shit and you don’t even wanna go to the stupid thing, but none of the other interns got invited and other than your measly paycheck, it’s the first thing to indicate that the hard work you’ve been putting in has actually paid off.

The silence stretches on a bit too long for your liking, his dark, wide eyes blinking back at you, an unreadable expression on his face. 

“I’m not joking. Either we make the effort to try to fix whatever the fuck is wrong here, or we call it a day. It's up to you. I'm not going to force you to do anything. If you don't care, you don't care. And if you do, you do. But I’ve got enough shit on my plate without having to worry about when you’re gonna dump me, or whatever.”

Still he says nothing, grasp on your hand loosening feebly. The dark is over you, now, the dim light of the overhead lamp coating the plastic in an unimpressive green. You take that as your cue.

“Got it.”

The cigarette hisses as you stamp it out in the ashtray and stand up. The chair’s so light it almost falls over.

“Wait, where’re you going?”

The door groans as you clamp the handle down and yank it open. 

“Getting my bag.”

“Alright, alright,” he says hurriedly, lurching out of his chair to follow you into the trailer. “Let’s, fucking… Let’s talk about it.”

“Nah, forget it,” you say, swinging the bag over your shoulder and shoulder-checking him as you walk past. 

“Hey, hey!”

His arm loops around your waist, pulling you into his chest firmly as he wraps his other arm around you, staggering backwards. 

“Don’t go,” he says, breath hot and foreign against your ear. He’s holding onto you so tight you can barely breathe. 

“Eddie, I can’t-”

“Just, please, promise me you won’t go.”

“Okay,” you say, finally. “Okay, I won’t go.”

He lets out a shuddered exhale. His forehead dips down to rest heavy against your shoulder, his hair tickling your skin. 

“Eddie, I can’t breathe.”

His grip loosens the smallest bit.

“Sorry, sweetheart.”

His voice is dark and quiet. You repress a groan as he presses his lips to your neck, working his way up to just below your jaw. Your head tilts compliantly to the side, eyes stinging. The way his fingertips dig into the flesh of your hips soothes the dull, sour pang in your chest that tells you he doesn’t want you. 

Still, your hands slip down to his and pry his grip away. You’re dangerously close to falling into that same pattern that ends with you on your back on top of his sweat-stained mattress, chest heaving for breath. His fingers move quickly to resume their grasp, digging deeper, this time, as he buries his face in the junction between your neck and your shoulders. He inhales deeply, breathing in the faint trace of your perfume that still lingers. 

“Hey,” you murmur, in what you hope is a soothing tone. You reach up behind you to slip your fingers into his hair, stroking gently. He shifts, pressing a chaste kiss to the back of your shoulder before resting his cheek against your flushed skin. “Hey.”

When he doesn’t answer, you turn in his hold, hand slipping down to cup his cheek.

“What’s got into you?”

“Just… don’t go, okay? ‘Cause if you go, then you’re gone, and-”

“I won’t go, but you gotta talk to me, alright?”

“Alright,” he sighs, “No fucking around. I like you. There, that’s… out there, that’s…”

 He gestures lamely. 

“I mean, of course I like you. You’re… mine,” he says, cringing. “And I guess… I guess I thought we already had this down, I mean… I didn’t think I’d have to tell you, like, straight out. Not gonna lie, this is kinda weird.”

For some reason, his words don’t spark the excitement you’d presumed they would have.

“If I’m yours,” you begin, matter-of-factly, but he cuts you off. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Okay, uh…”

He runs his hands through his hair. The springs in the couch creak loudly as he takes a seat, elbows propped up on his knees as he rests his forehead on his folded hands. Then, he clears his throat and lifts his head to look at you. 

“I, uh, I’m not passing.”

You grimace. 

“What do you mean you’re not passing?”

“I’m not…”

He doesn’t finish his sentence, huffing loudly instead. 

“Look, I don’t really want to get into it.”

“I thought you-”

“Yeah, well so did I.”

The silence that follows is awkward and tense. He’s a year older than you as is. You don’t really know what to say. You love him-

God. 

You do. 

But you never know what to say whenever his lack of a high school diploma comes up. He says he just doesn’t care, but he gets that look in his eyes, the one that lingers on you whenever you argue. The one that’s currently staring daggers into the carpet.

“I’m sorry about what I said,” he says quietly, lifting his gaze back to yours. “I didn’t mean it.”

“I know.”

“I just don’t want you to think that I don’t wanna go because of you,” he says lamely. “You know?”

“Yeah, I know.”

You do know. It’s why he hasn’t looked at you since you got your internship. 

You sigh, heavily. 

“It’s fine,” you say. “Don’t worry about it.”

“No, I feel bad.”

“S’alright.”

He frowns. 

“You’re gonna let me off the hook that easily? I mean, I’m not gonna complain, but I thought you were better than that.”

You shake your head in exasperation.

“I’m tired.”

He’s already under the covers by the time you get undressed, fidgeting quietly as he stares at your figure in the moonlight. But his eyes don’t drop below your collarbone, instead admiring the way the sliver of light through the crack in the curtains highlights the curves and dips of your features in silver. 

You rest your head on his chest, hand skimming over his skin to interlace your fingers with his. His rhythmic exhales lull you into relaxation, legs heavy and head still. The last thing you remember before you fall into a slumber is the warm press of his lips on the back of your hand.

© @aeaean--bliss​; please do not copy, repost or translate any of my works.

[ritualmichael]

house hunting with duncan (female reader)

hgtv but make it nsfw. honestly i got this idea and wrote it in like 30 minutes so idek what it is.

warnings: fingering, language, public sexual acts

-

“And here we have the newly renovated kitchen,” the realtor said as she led the two of you through another doorway. “Brand new stainless steel appliances and flooring.”

Honestly, your feet were starting to hurt and the realtor's high pitched voice was getting on your nerves. This was the third condo you and Duncan had toured today and they were all starting to blend into one boring, white-granite-countertop, open-floor-plan mess in your head.

Duncan could tell you were getting tired when you didn’t have anything to say. The kitchen was the one place in your future home that you weren’t going to settle on. It had to be perfect, but you were starting not to care anymore.

“Can we have a moment?” Duncan asked the realtor, his hand going to your back.

“Yes, of course! I’ll be right outside,” she said with a big, fake smile before walking out, leaving the front door slightly open.

“What’s wrong? Do you not like it?” He asked, turning to you.

You reached out, pulling yourself to him and resting your forehead on his chest. “I’m just over these tours. I’m tired of looking for places. I want to have a place of our own already.”

Duncan raked his fingers through your hair, his other arm wrapping around you. “I know, baby. We just have to find the right place.”

“This place is fine,” you said, lifting your head and looking around.

“You deserve more than fine.” He reached out, hooking a finger under your chin and lifting your head to look at him. “Right?”

“Right,” you sighed, leaning in and pressing your lips to his. You meant for it to be brief, just a quick peck, but his arm tightened around you and you couldn’t stop yourself from leaning into him and his warmth. Kissing Duncan was comforting. It never got old, no matter how many times you did it.

You felt his fingers run through your hair again, his thumb brushing over the sensitive skin below your ear. He knew that spot always made you shiver.

“Mm,” you said between kisses, your hands moving to his chest but not applying any pressure. “We should probably stop.”

“Probably,” he breathed out, kissing you even harder. You could feel him smirking against your lips when you groaned, both out of annoyance and satisfaction.

Then his hands were on your hips as he slowly walked you backwards until you hit the counter, one of his legs slotting between yours.

“Duncan,” you warned against his lips. “Seriously.”

“What?” He asked, pulling away just enough to look down at you. “I’m just checking that the kitchen is up to my standards.”

“What standards do you have?” You laughed.

One of his hands went to your neck, his thumb running over your jaw. “The counters have to be good enough for me to fuck you on them,” his words being punctuated by his thigh pressing between your legs.

Your eyes fluttered at the pressure and his words, an unsteady breath leaving your lips. “Well?” You said, leaning in closer to his lips. “Are they?”

“Let’s see,” Duncan said as he roughly pressed his lips to yours, one hand still on your neck and the other reaching between your bodies, popping open the button of your jeans.

You knew this was a stupid idea. It was reckless and immature and you didn’t care. The last thing you were worried about was the annoying realtor or the mind-numbing tour you were supposed to be on.

All you could really think about was Duncan, especially when you felt his fingers press against your clit through the thin fabric of your underwear.

“As much as I’d love to bend you over these countertops, we don’t have time,” he mumbled against your lips as his fingers worked in circles. You let out a small gasp as you nodded, pressing further into his touch.

“This is just a trial run,” you breathed out, making Duncan laugh quietly.

“That’s my girl,” he said as he pulled your underwear aside and nudged your legs further apart with his knee before pressing two fingers into you.

You groaned at the sudden stretch, his mouth swallowing it as he kissed you. One of your hands went to his hair, giving it a tug when you felt his fingers curl and hit that spot that he never missed. He had you familiarized head to toe and his hands always knew the right places to touch.

“Shhh,” he whispered as you let out a whimper when his fingers started to quickly curl, pressing on that spot roughly and repeatedly. Your knees felt weak and you probably would’ve dropped if it wasn’t for his hand on your hip, pressing you into the counter.

His fingers kept a steady, quick pace as he kissed you. You tried to keep up with the kisses but you couldn’t catch your breath, the warmth and tension between your legs creeping up to your chest and making it harder to breathe. Instead, Duncan pressed kisses to the corner of your mouth and over your jaw, reaching the place below your ear that he had caressed earlier, starting this whole thing.

The combination of his warm mouth against your skin, his rugged breathing in your ear, and his fingers that were getting quicker was starting to become overwhelming. Then his thumb started rubbing circles against your clit and you knew you were done for.

“Fuck,” you moaned, causing Duncan’s free hand to come up to cover your mouth.

“Save those pretty little sounds just for me,” Duncan mumbled against your skin, nipping at your ear.

You nodded, breathing heavily through your nose and rocking your hips as you felt that familiar tension starting to build and build until it felt like it was going to snap.

And when it did you had to use what little energy you had left to fight back to sounds that wanted to spill from your chest, Duncan’s hand still over your mouth.

“There we go,” he cooed in your ear. “Good girl.”

Your head was spinning as Duncan worked you through the rest of your orgasm, your head eventually dropping to his shoulder and his fingers slowly easing out of you when he felt the way your walls tiredly pulsed against them, signaling that you we’re finished.

He pulled his hand away from your mouth as soon as it was safe to, allowing you to catch your breath.

“Jesus christ,” you breathed out, your body heavy and weak against his.

“I’d give the kitchen an 8 out of 10,” he said, reaching for the hand towel that hung from the oven handle. It was meant for display but Duncan didn’t care as he wiped his messy hand off on it.

You let out a tired laugh, shaking your head. “Just an 8?”

“I could do much better than an 8,” he confirmed, pressing a kiss to the side of your head.

Reaching between your bodies, you adjusted your jeans around your hips and buttoned them back up, earning a groan when your hands knocked against the bulge in Duncan’s pants. You lifted your head from his shoulder, giving him a devious look.

“Want to show me what a 10 is like at your place?”

“Fuck yes,” he groaned, leaning and giving you a quick but rough kiss before grabbing your hand and leading you out of the kitchen, your legs still a little weak and causing you to stumble on your first few steps.

When you both walked out of the apartment in a hurry, the realtor quickly looked up from her phone and gave you a big, somewhat annoyed, smile.

“So? Thoughts?”

You and Duncan paused, but only for a moment.

“We’ll call you!” he said before you both took off down the hallway, laughing and practically running to the car.

You were probably going to be too busy to call her.

[shattersstar]

pairing: jason todd x reader

summary: you and jason are f*ck buddies and you decide to get wine drunk while in the bath (inspired by this post)

warnings: semi nsfw (aka no actual smut but y’all do be talking about it..like a lot), drinking, fluff, brief injury mention, friends to lovers vibes

a/n: this is just over 4k and idek how that happened. anyways check out my resources tag before or after reading this and feedback is always appreciated.

—

You appeared in the doorway, hipshot and a bottle of wine hung in one of your hands, fingers clutching the neck. The air was humid even from the entrance to the bathroom, the mirror fogged up and air thick. “Want me to turn on the fan?” You questioned from across the space, socked feet shifting through the threshold ever so slightly. You didn’t give a shit about the fan, not really, not when Jason was sitting in the bathtub a few feet away, naked and warm and he sent you a lazy smile. He shook his head no, chin jutting out in question, nodding towards the wine. “I was gonna get drunk on the couch and pass out here.”

“You aren’t going back to your place?”

“You want me to?” Another shuffle closer, bottle nudging your thigh as you moved.

“Do what you want.” He shrugged, water sloshing around him. You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, as if debating your options. Of which there were three:

One, go back to your apartment, drink there if you wanted—you would—and deal with the arguing of your roommates who used to date.

Two, crash on his couch like you said and make him make you breakfast tomorrow. It was tempting.

And three, get in the tub with him and see where that takes you.

You knew where you wanted it to go, the same place most of your moments alone (or semi alone) lead too. It had become a steady occurrence for you two to casual fuck, even more so lately as you had been hiding out in Jason’s apartment. Your arguing roommates/exes had no problem dragging you into their fights, no matter what you were doing and often made you sleep on the couch so they could sleep in separate bedrooms. Jason had callously suggested telling them no, as if it was that easy. “It’s their place, and I’m sorta the reason they were sharing a bedroom in the first place.” You’d mutter, excuses falling from your lips until you’d crawl into his lap and apologize for staying over so often. He normally would just sigh and tell you it was fine. Part of him wanted to say more, to tell you he liked having you around, liked sharing his bed with you, liked everything about the crappy situation you found yourself in. But it was selfish and sentiment was always slow to rise through Jason’s chest, and slower to fall from his lips.

You hadn’t realized that a long moment had passed and the moisture in the air was starting to make your clothes stick to you. Your eyes fell back on him, his were closed, arms resting on either side of the tub. You traced his side profile with your gaze, skin shining with water, and the hair around the nape of his neck stuck to his skin as the bubble coated surface crept up his body with even the smallest shift of weight. You looked back to the rosé in your hand, shrugging small before crossing the space, kicking the door closed. It wasn’t for privacy—it wasn’t for anything you supposed. Jason lived alone, how he could afford it, you didn’t ask, and his neighbours were likely far accustomed to the private sounds you two shared that often leaked out from under doors and passed through walls. You blamed the hot body of water now a step away from you for the heat rising to your face.

You set the bottle down next to the tub, his eyes finally opening. The slam of the door didn’t disturb him, but the clink of glass against tile had him watching you. You didn’t say much as you straightened up, pulling off your socks, the shorts you found yourself in falling next. You yanked your t-shirt off, underwear the last thing to join the pile of clothes now dwelling on his bathroom floor. Jason’s eyes roamed over your body with a certain amount of casualness, it wasn’t hungry or flirtatious, it was just him taking you in like he had so many times before.

He still didn’t speak as you carefully dipped your foot into the hot water, finding the bottom of the tub and bringing your other leg over the side. He only bent his legs minimally, knees just poking out from under the water and caging each side of the tub. You didn’t object to the lack of space, you were invading his bath anyways. The water was almost painfully hot, shocking your system as you lowered yourself to sit across from him. The faucet prodded your back as you settled into the space, knees almost pulled to your chest. You let your hands sink next to you for a moment, before you were reaching over the side of the tub, soapy water rolling off your fingers as you plucked the bottle from where it sat. You had drank some of it earlier, sitting on the balcony and chatting idly with Jason. It was before the sun had set and you two had been sitting out there, before watching a documentary for one of your classes. You couldn’t remember how you ended up watching it with him, or why you were drinking beforehand, but all of that seemed far off now.

Far off as condensation rolled down the bottle, sweating in the humidity. You took a long, slow sip, the sweet, somewhat tart liquid slipping out the bottle and down your throat with ease. He was still watching you, head cocked slightly and gears in his brain turning. You could tell when he was reading you, thinking about aspects of you that you may never understand. His gaze was always a little intense, it sometimes made you squirm, and this was one of those moments. You pushed your shoulders back a little and held the bottle out between your two bodies. It was a little heavy, the rosé sagging into the bubbles. Jason breathed out a chuckle and took a sip of his own. He scowled ever so slightly, turning the label to face him and it was your turn to laugh.

“Stop buying cheap wine—it’s shit.” He huffed, although he did take another drink.

“I’ll stop buying cheap wine when I stop being broke.”

“Or I can give you money to buy something that doesn’t taste like depressed grapes.” You laughed again, although it was almost a scoff.

“First of all stop being a baby, this isn’t that bad and second of all I’m not gonna call you up every time I wanna buy liquor.” You explained, making grabby hands towards him. He handed you the wine with an eye roll.

“Why not?”

“What?”

“Half the time you drink it's here and I’m tired of having to drink whatever crappy stuff you buy.”

“I’m sorry my socioeconomic status offends you.” You teased, letting out a yelp when one of his hands wrapped around you shin and tugged your leg. He didn’t pull you under, only shifting you onto your tailbone before dragging your leg along the tile, draping it over his thigh.

“I just meant if you’re gonna get drunk here, drink whatever I have here instead of buying this dollar store shit.” He sighed, watching you grin from around the rim.

“I mean, I’m not one to deny free booze.”

“Of course you aren’t.”

“Hey,” You yanked the outstretched bottle back, pouting at him. “Still don’t appreciate you saying this stuff is shit though.”

“I’ll make it up to you later,” You raised a brow, it worked another eye roll out of him. “You get mouthy when you drink.” He sounded as exasperated as before, although there was a tinge of amusement in his voice. You only snorted, passing the wine to him. You spent some time just passing the bottle back and forth, sometimes talking or sometimes letting the soft sound of the water drift around your bodies. At some point you hadn’t taken the bottle back from him, shifting till your back pressed into the corner of the tub, faucet now jabbing your arm. You tilted your head back, bare chest rising and falling in slower breaths. Jason set the rosé onto the bathroom floor at some point, one of his hands searching under the water for the leg rested against his. Water rolled over his hands as his fingers wrapped around your ankle, giving it a gentle squeeze. Your eyes blinked open, your head looked heavy as you lifted it from against the slick walls.

“Just seeing if you’re awake.” He hummed, noting the way your other leg stretched out over him. You shifted forward slightly, feet planting on otherside of his body as you sank under the surface, back sliding against the tiles and knees bending. Your dunked your body under until your head bumped the bottom, a few seconds passed before you were sitting back up, now in the centre of the tub.

“I am now.” You smiled as water rolled down your face.

“You’re something else.” He declared, strong hands coming to rest on your knees and giving them a gentle pinch. Your eyes dropped to his left hand, a scar trailed from in between his thumb and index finger, curling down towards his wrist. It was long and sinewy, like a vine that staggered across his hand. There were small bruises and other scars one wouldn’t notice at first glance, but you had become accustomed to them. Used to watching his hands as they moved with a catlike sneakiness, always searching, always ready to tease. There had been more than one occasion when your own hand darted out to grasp his wrist without even looking at him. You could be eating at the mall or sitting in his car at a red light and his curious hands were always trailing towards you.

Sometimes you’d swat them away, with an indurated glare. And he’d reply with that stupid smirk, eyes glinting as if to say, do you really want me to stop? Most of the time the answer was no, but you couldn’t always give so easily into him, not when it was so fun not too.

Now though, his hands weren’t wandering, they stayed rested on you, warm and heavy. You liked something about this Jason, the tipsy, relaxed version of him you rarely saw. It was either sex or friends just hanging out, and this felt like something blurring both those lines. It was intimate and naked, but it was friendly and sweet. It made your mind swirl, but that also could be the alcohol slowly burning through your system. Something about all of the thoughts running and tripping over themselves in your head made a giggle bubble pass your lips, earning another squeeze.

“What?” He wondered as your shoulders shook.

“Just thinking about you doing this with other people—couldn’t imagine it.” You laughed, head shaking as he furrowed his brows at you.

“This? As in you inviting yourself—“

“Hey, hey, don’t get mean I meant it nicely.” You leaned forward, pressing a finger to his lips. He finally moved his hands from where they grounded you, slapping it away from his face playfully. “It’s nice that we get to do this—not many people can just sit around in baths with friends.” You explained better.

“But,” He licked his lips, straightened up slightly, as if the words would pull from his throat easier, “Why would you think I’d do it with other people?”

Oh.

You shrugged, “I dunno, guess I didn’t think I was the only person you were…” Suddenly any word to describe what you and Jason were left a bad taste in your mouth, fucking felt too vulgar, sex sounded too direct and making love was definitely not an option. “Doing whatever we're doing with?”

“Fantastic english.”

“Shut up, y’get what I mean.”

He only hummed in response, a look too thoughtful for the daze expression you wore fell over his face.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why’re you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing.” You splashed a handful of water at him, letting out a head thrown back, almost shrieking sort of laugh at the unamused expression on his face. “Seriously?”

“C’mon tell me.” You whined, laughter dying down.

“Fine. C’mere,” His voice was all low and caramel—warm and sweet—as he beckoned you to him. You didn’t even hesitate, moving closer and letting him pull you into his lap, knees pressing to the floor of the bath and upper half rising out of the water before he sat you on his thighs. Goosebumps rippled your skin as the air—cooler now—rolled over your skin before you sank back into the water. Your bare chest brushed his, the water flowing between your two bodies and rising as he pulled you close. One of his hands stayed on the side of your thigh, the other trailed up your arm, setting on the side of your neck, thumb coming up to rest on your jaw. Your arms were wrapped around the broad expanse of his shoulders, one of your hands rested on the nape of his neck, fingers toying with the wet hairs there.

“I was thinking that why would I wanna fuck anyone else when I have you?” He admitted, a confessional spoken so casually, that you knew the wine had affected him at least somewhat. Sometimes it was hard to tell, but from the soft touches to tender confessions, it was easy to pinpoint where your rugged and reserved Jason tapered off into a muted version of himself. Like all the parts he kept hidden, too kind for the world he lived in, for the person he had become suddenly seeped out and it made you feel boneless and a little lovesick around him.

“That’s probably because your fucking me every waking minute.” You teased despite the dopey smile you wore, forehead resting on his.

“I’m not right now.”

A beat.

“You could.” Your voice was distant, like you were indifferent about the suggestion, because you were.

“Is that why you didn’t wanna leave?” He was so full of questions you realized as well. It seemed most days he knew what you were going to do before you did it, that he could read you like a book—not that you made it particularly hard anyways. And yet, a little drunk and sleepy underneath you, Jason didn’t seem interested in higher thinking, letting the questions and whatever else fall from his mouth with little care where they landed.

You pulled back a little, watching him, “I mean that’s always a benefit about being here,” You explained, feeling the laugh he let out more than hearing it, “But I dunno, you said it earlier I’m here a lot and there’s like no stressors here.”

“Ah—forgot about your roommates.”

“Yeah, plus I was gonna ask you to make my breakfast if I did get drunk and pass out on the couch like planned.” Your admission was lighthearted, but you felt his hand on your thigh tighten, just slightly.

“I wouldn’t have let you sleep on the couch.” He muttered, the hand on your neck sliding to cradle your jaw, your stomach twisting in the way only he could manage, “Not when you look so good in my bed.”

A chill ran up your spine, leave it to Jason to leave you breathless no matter what state he was in. You let your gaze fall to the space between your bodies, that was until he tilted your chin up and brought your lips to his. He was grinning into the kiss, the hand on your thigh now on the curve of your spine, pressing over so gentle into the wet skin. You let your eyes fall closed as he continued to kiss you, arms wrapping further around him as he brought you closer, the slightest pressure on your back and you shifted against him with ease. Soon your chests were flush, rising and falling in tandem. Jason mumbled something you did quite catch, his arms hugging around your frame, keeping you against him as he sank deeper into the bath, his head coming to rest on the edge and stretching out as best he could in the small space. You rested your head in the crook of his neck, water just at your chin now. His hands splayed on your back, fingers traced idly shapes as you let the tiredness that he pulled you from tug at the corners of your mind again.

You weren’t sure if you had fallen asleep, or just focused on the sound of his breathing and the soft patterns he drew against your skin, but you do remember coming back to reality as he carefully sat back up after some time. He made sure to pull you up with him, maneuvering you with ease. Soon your back was to his chest, his chin resting atop your head and his encircled you once again, hands clasping over yours against your middle. You adjusted yourself against his chest, relaxing your weight into him and detangling the mess of hands that rested in front of you so you could hold one of Jason’s. He obliged easily, his left hand intertwining with yours, his right forearm residing just under your chest and keeping you close, and likely upright. You didn’t mind the contact, the pressure of him against you in the slightest. It was different from what you were used to, and yet you welcomed it all the rest.

Once again you let the edges of your consciousness taper off, fading into something distant and calming. You definitely fell asleep that time, as you rouse when a hand lightly lightly squeezed your chest, his palm sliding from the soft skin to your neck, tilting your head out of the way as his lips moved from the nape of your neck to your shoulder. His tongue slid over the damp skin, biting into it when you nearly dozed back off. “We fell asleep.” He breathed against the side of your neck, kisses peppered there were followed by another softer, lazier bite.

“We?” You groaned, tone groggy.

“Is there anyone else here?” You only shook your head, not aware enough to pick up on the sarcasm. The lips moving against your skin didn’t help either, not when he moved your head to rest on his collarbone, lips finding yours. He wasted no time licking his way past your lips, tongue dragging across yours, exploring the inside of your mouth. He pulled away to twist you in his lap, kissing you hard once again. If you weren’t delirious from sleep, it definitely was because of him now. His tongue swiped the roof of your mouth and ran along the blunt edge of your teeth. The hand he used to adjust you so pilantly to his liking now rested against the column of your throat, flexing when you sighed against his lips. It was breathy and needy and you were too tired and still a little drunk to care.

“Water’s cold.” You found yourself saying as his lips pressed into the corner of your mouth.

“It is.” He agreed, biting into your bottom lip you barely noticed was pouting. “You’re such a tired little thing.”

“Kinda drunk too.”

“I can tell.”

“Ouch.” You were beaming despite your words, blinking up at him, nose judging his jaw. He was warmer than the water which made your bones feel heavy, all the airy suds now vanished. “What time is it?”

“How would I know?” You picked up on his tone then, pulling your brows together until he exhaled a chuckle against the juncture where your neck met your shoulder. He buried his face in there, seeking out warmth as well. “Can you get up?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, c’mon I wanna go to bed.” Despite his words the hand that crossed your body, now fallen to you solar plexus stayed unmoved and he kept breathing you in. You had no objections to staying here, despite the goosebumps riddling your skin and the shiver building in the base of your spine. After a loud inhale, your body rising with the expansion of his broad chest he pulled away from you, ushering you forward slightly. You scrubbed a hand over your face, trying to focus on the task at hand: getting up. You went to gather your legs underneath you, one hand resting on the outer edge of the tub when Jason rose from behind you. Water dripped off his body and fell onto you as you dumbly sat in the bath water. “Why’d you say you could get up?” He asked, wrapping a towel around his waist before moving back to you.

You frowned up at him, “I can.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“It’s been like four seconds!” You exclaimed, only earning a click of his tongue before he bent over to haul you out of the water. You stepped over the side with ease, his strong hands gripping the sides of your arm, one coming to wrap around the curve of your elbow as you stood up straight. Once you were steady enough he passed you a towel, which you quickly pulled around your body. You let a shudder wrack your body, and without much of a word he was pulling you against him. You greedily obliged, hands wrapped around his frame, fingers spread on his naked back. “What did you say earlier?”

“I said a lot of things, whic—“

“Something about me drinking.”

“That you get mouthy?”

“Yeah, yeah that. Y’know what you get?” You looked up at him, chin resting on his chest.

“What?”

“Touchy.”

“Touchy?” He echoed.

“Yeah, I mean you kinda always are, but s’not like this.” He didn’t respond, eyes drifting from your face. Maybe you got intuitive when you were drunk too. “I like this though.”

“You do?”

“Mmhm, s’nice.” Your words blended together as you let Jason lean over and press a kiss to your forehead. You let yours eyes fall closed, resting most of your weight against him.

“Hey you better not fall asleep, I’m not carrying you to bed.”

“Ever the romantic.” You pulled yourself from him, about to turn around and gather your clothes from the floor, but Jason’s hand wrapped around yours and was tugging you out of the bathroom. “Wait—m’clothes—“

“Leave them.” He called over his shoulder, leading you towards his bedroom and softly pushing you to sit on his bed. He left you for a moment, heading to drain the bath you supposed. After a moment he passed by the bedroom door, wine bottle in hand. You could hear the sound of it hitting the recycling bin before he reappeared. Jason looked a little unimpressed when he found you still sitting there. “You can get in bed y’know.”

“And sleep in a wet towel?”

“Or in nothing.” He shrugged, your ears suddenly hot as he stood between your legs, both hands cupping your face. “Don’t wanna have to work to fuck you in the morning.”

You opened and closed your mouth twice before nodding at his words, “Should’ve led with that.”

“Duly noted, now go to sleep.” He kissed you again, lips pressing firm to yours. You and Jason weren’t really the kissing type, sure you’d make out with him on occasion, but it felt too intimate for what you two had become. It was more of an unspoken rule, and it sometimes happened, but never outside the confines of sex. And he was promising to fuck you come morning, but now wasn’t morning and he was kissing you—another side effect from the rosé, you distantly assumed—and it felt right.

He pulled away when your head started to lull back, as if it was too heavy for your neck to support. You let him untuck the towel and slip it from your body. Parts of you were still damp from the bath, but you didn’t care as you slipped under his duvet, hauling it to your ears and sinking into one of his pillows. You were sure you were asleep before you finished rolling onto your side, the heavy fog of exhaustion, liquor and a calm night lulling you to sleep. You didn’t even rouse as Jason joined you, thumb brushing away a stray droplet that drifted from your hairline down your cheek bone. He kissed your forehead once again, letting the rarity of an easy sleep wash over him as well.

[youtiaoshutiao]

传闻中的陈芊芊 thoughts

i haven’t been very active lately but i just came on to say, i binged on the romance of tiger and rose / 传闻中的陈芊芊 and have 2 eps left and i love it SO SO MUCH. i was expecting some pure crack but beyond that, i really ended up catching much feels for it?

and i think beyond the outlandish hilarity of some of the scenes and the cheeky meta, it’s actually a pretty decent drama with its plot and character motivations largely dictated by logic. i have to commend the scriptwriter nan zhen 南镇 for the entire set up of the drama (and it’s her original script!!! which is so rare in the industry nowadays run over by book adaptations - i mean i love those too but i still think it’s an easy way out for production companies when they adapt books with established fan bases). it’s actually really clever of her because all plot holes/flaws in world building can easily be attributed to xiaoqian’s lousy scriptwriting abilities?

i really did become quite impressed with the plot as the episodes progressed haha. the conflict and plot thickens as xiaoqian, now as qianqian, with the mindset that she’s not part of this story at all and that she’s interacting with a bunch of characters on paper, continues to engineer plot machinations trying to steer the plot in the right direction to get to the end so she can return back to the real world. and you slowly see how that just devolves into complete chaos and plot twists when surprise! she IS part of the story, she IS interacting with these characters and they are influenced by what she says and does! so you have her original male lead hanshuo, destined for the female lead chuchu, falling in love instead with her and changing his entire plan because of that. you have chuchu, the original female lead, slowly growing more unhinged as she perceives qianqian’s actions and words as callous and uncaring and outrightly antagonistic towards herself and as her resentment builds when everyone seems to shower affection and attention on qianqian still.

adding on to that is, how xiaoqian as a scriptwriter views and perceives her characters? some characters like hanshuo, she clearly constructed with much care and love, as seen by how she knows exactly how to make hanshuo happy and doesn’t want to upset him in the initial episodes (which caused him to fall for her like a devoted puppy). yet it seems like she either didn’t grasp fully their character motivations/personality/how their character is moulded by their backgrounds? which is why she probably didn’t see how the inherent difference with which her mother treats qianqian vs chuchu would lead to jealousy and resentment seeping in and poisoning chuchu’s heart. and her visualising han shuo as a murderous calculating career-driven male lead aka the male lead of eastern palace clearly runs contrary to how he is total putty and has barely hurt a fly ever since he fell in love with qianqian.

and there are characters too like her mother that she originally clearly just wrote in as characters to steer the plot forward, and in-world, she is clearly stricken when she realises how they have emotions and hidden depths beyond what she fathomed - like when her and her mother had that semi HTHT after she stole the dragon bone and her mum stayed by her bedchamber to watch over her all night. and another example would be su ziying - she’s so happy to see him when he appears as in that moment she’s viewing him from the lens of the scriptwriter of this story and she knows he’s going to push the plot forward. but seeing him and his actions actually playing out - she gets irritated by what he does and also his actions actually do end up affecting her, because she is in the story too!!!

and moving on from that, as the plot further progresses, another spanner is thrown into the mix when she realises that male lead is really really in love with her! and would give up everything for her! and... she too is in love with him!! and this changes things too because while initially all her actions were to push the plot to move forward the way she originally wrote it so that she can head back, now she’s actively trying to push back against the flow of events, as she’s now emotionally invested in this and doesn’t want the male lead to die as per her original script.

the play out of all these was really really entertaining and gripping to watch?? i was legitimately bowled over by how affected i was when all the angst came in, because it really felt like it made sense amidst all the crack and was well set up? and throughout it all, the actions of all the main players in the plot made sense and were logical, even the secondary leads chuchu and peiheng. haha idek if i’m ascribing too much credit to this whole plot, maybe it’s really just meant to be a cracky fun time and i’m too into it HAHA.

there’s also the set up of huayuan city being a matriarchal society where basically the roles of women and men are reversed. it is really v trippy!!! and An Experience to see scenes like men being harrassed by women, people tittering at other men for not being covered up enough in public, wares that can increase your chances of birthing a female heir being peddled on the streets. initially i was kind of apprehensive as to how it was going to play out. now at ep 22 where they’ve gone to xuanhu city which is patriarchal the conversation regarding gender roles and gender equality is continuing!! but i shall reserve my thoughts and comments till the entire arc plays out.

but beyond all that, the drama is just so much fun fun funnnnn!!!! i loveddddd seeing how this drama about a scriptwriter getting stuck in her own script had scenes interspersed with storytellers on the street retelling qianqian’s exploits and qianqian’s regular meetups with the storytellers/opera writers to discuss how the plot of the drama was going or even the scene where hanshuo and peiheng went to the opera house for their male lead showdown and the opera characters were there saying all the rude things they wanted to say to each other. such fun meta?? breaking the fourth wall?? satire?? idek LOL i just know i enjoyed it thoroughly

and lastly, apart from all the thinky thinky stuff, i’m thoroughly charmed by the otp HAHA. i loveeeee qianqian so much and zhao lusi is soo effortlessly adorable and natural and charming in this role that i can totally see why everyone from han shuo to her mother is enamoured by her. i actually am really curious also to see how qianqian before xiaoqian transmigrated into her body was like - seeing how her servant didn’t seem to have any whiplash from an extreme change in personality suggest that maybe qianqian wasn’t all that different from xiaoqian?? and probably might not have been that spoilt/callous/havoc-wreaking as everyone perceives her to be?

and han shuo too is SO entertaining and funny and darling - when he first came to huayuan city he’s all “i’m cunning and smart and i’m going to MANIPULATE EVERYBODY for my/xuan hu city’s benefit” and “i want chen qianqian to die with ten thousand arrows through her heart!! i want her to be stabbed by knives three thousand times!! not a single time less!!!” and “do you think i don’t dare to kill you?!”. then he falls in love with her and instantly he’s all puppy eyes and utter devotion. IT’S DELICIOUS. ding yuxi really makes staring at your FL like she’s the only one in the world an art form. and as one comment on a bilibili mv said regarding han shuo’s supposed bloodlust, “han shuo, up to this point you’ve only killed one horse” HAHA

(keep in mind that it’s not even that han shuo ordered the killing of this horse, it was his subordinate that killed it on his behalf, and han shuo was Not Happy about it after that!)

together the otp are even more adorable!!! it’s teeth rotting fluff but yet it comes off very earnest and adorable without being cloying. i was literally clutching my heart and grinning at the screen dopily at some scenes. and even though the otp dynamic and character setups are not really the same, the way the two of them bicker and act like children around each other kind of remind me of yongqi and xiaoyanzi from hzgg for some reason lol.

and apart from the otp, there are a whole host of supporting characters that are really very funny and adorable and entertaining to watch haha. special shoutout to both han shuo and qianqian’s subordinates who are HILARIOUS and plain Done with their masters’ nonsense (especially bai ji who really just wants to get shit done okay!! but his master just keeps on wanting to fall in love and date!!) there’s also qianqian’s older sister yuanyuan who is disabled and on a wheelchair, and with a sad yet somehow hilarious penchant for writing multiple drafts of her will. and her otp, su mu, a courtesan (yes the courtesans in this city are all male).

honestly i’m not sure where i’m going with this, i just briefly scanned through what i’ve written so far and lol seems like paragraphs of illogical incoherent rambling. I’m sorry it’s 5am over here i’m not really thinking straight T_T i just have a lot of feels for this drama okay ;_____;

[cno-inbminor]

adsentio

a/n: for some reason, i got the idea of prince!akaashi stuck in my head. mildly inspired by the swan princess. 

wc: ~2.1k 

genre: arranged marriage!au, royalty!au, emerging feelings. fluff mainly? idek, it’s word vomit

royalty!au: adsentio (pt. 1) | bonus letters (pt. 1.5) | the masque (pt. 2)

-

Prince Akaashi likes to believe he’s a smart cookie, even if he’s only seven. Then again, his parents aren’t exactly the most subtle people on the planet, and he believes it’s quite obvious as to what they’re planning. In fact, not only is he aware, but the whole castle is as well. Hell, even 90% of the citizens in the kingdom are fully aware of what’s to be expected. He strongly dislikes it, and he wishes it didn’t loom over him every summer.

Ever since the summer of the year he turned five, Princess (y/n) of the West Kingdom would show up for two months to make his life miserable. To be fair, it wasn’t exactly your fault, as you were very much forced into this arrangement as he was, but it was easier to blame you. He’d rather just play fight with Bokuto all summer rather than try to include a girl. It’s not because you’re capable of kicking his butt.

That is absolutely not the case here.

His mother, the queen, is scrambling to get all the preparations done in time for (y/n)’s arrival. Akaashi almost rolls his eyes when he spots her rearranging a bouquet of roses in the dining hall. Unfortunately, she spots him from the corner of her eye and beckons him over with a frantic hand. Never one to deny a parent, he quickly jogs over to her.

“Oh darling, would you be a doll and check in on your father? He needs to be dressed properly for the West Kingdom’s arrival. Tell him to wear that cyan blue shirt of his, it’s much more flattering.”

“Do we need to be so overboard like this again? They’ve already been here twice, it’s not like they don’t know us.”

“For reasons you don’t know, they’re extra special to us. Aren’t you excited to see (y/n) again? You two got along so well last summer!”

Akaashi wrinkles his nose in distaste. “It feels like I just saw her yesterday. Bokuto and I just wanna play by ourselves.”

“Nonsense, dear. Now go check on your father, please,” His mother implores before scurrying off to another bouquet of flowers.

It’s so obvious, he thinks to himself as he jogs towards his parents’ chambers. Did they really need this alliance with the West Kingdom? Would they be that much more powerful together? “In due time, you’ll understand,” his parents always said. Akaashi was starting to become tired of hearing those words.

Why is it so hard to just tell him now as to why they want him to marry Princess (y/n)?

-

“You know why I’m here, right?” (Y/n) asks him one evening. They’re sixteen now – Akaashi counts that this is your twelfth time at the castle. You call the castle your second home, as he once heard you tell your assigned handmaiden, the same lady who attends to you every summer. Somehow, the statement strikes a chord within him – his initial childish annoyance at your presence had long disappeared and been replaced with something akin to defeat. There was very little chance that they could run from this, but in the late nights, Akaashi found himself believing that if there were someone to be betrothed to, (y/n) wasn’t so bad.

“What do you mean?” He replies, slowly turning a page in his book. You both found that one way to quickly pass the time was to raid the royal library. At first, it was custom to read your respective books at opposite ends of the castle. Yet as time passed, you found yourselves meeting closer and closer towards the middle. If desired, the servants could find you two either together in the library, in an empty ballroom by the massive windows, or on the balcony in the summer sun. Most times, Bokuto, Akaashi’s most loyal friend, was with you as well. Reading wasn’t necessarily one of his top hobbies, but he’d rather be with friends than alone wondering around the castle.

This time, the two of you have taken refuge by a fireplace, a terrible thunderstorm casting a chill over the building. Bokuto is conveniently off doing his own thing.

“The reason why I’m here every summer.”

Akaashi casts his best exasperated look towards you, but it goes unnoticed as you refuse to look away from your book. “I’ve known since I was six.”

You sigh and gently shut your novel closed, one finger stuck between the pages to keep your place. With the grace of an angel (Akaashi thinks), you pick yourself up from the lounge chair and drift over to the couch he’s sitting on. Because he’s sitting upright towards the end closest to the fire, there’s more than enough space for you to sit and stretch your legs across the cushions. In fact, you do just that, settling for leaning your back against Akaashi’s strong side profile, his arm supporting most of your weight. Without meaning to, Akaashi finds himself adjusting his sitting position for your comfort. He feels your body tremble slightly and a small wave of concern washes over him.

“Should I ask one of the servants to bring a blanket for you?”

“That won’t be necessary. But thank you for your concern, your highness.”

“You don’t have to address me as so.”

“My apologies, it’s a force of habit.”

“Hmm.”

Akaashi has long given up on reading the words before him. Your question repeats in his head like a broken record.

“Doesn’t it frustrate you?” You whisper, interrupting his thoughts. “Doesn’t it anger you that since my birth, you’ve been forced into a game that you have no choice but to play?”

Akaashi hesitates. This topic has never been broached before, and he’s not sure how to address it.

“I’ll admit it was more frustrating in the beginning. Nobody enjoys being told what to do, especially when you’re little. But I learned to just accept it. In fact, to call it a game would assume that there is a losing side. From what I’ve studied, both of our kingdoms would benefit from this merger. What’s the loss?”

“Our freedom and choice,” you bite out, yet refusing to look at him. You’ve also given up on reading, yet you don’t want to arouse suspicion that this conversation is happening. If a servant were to hear, rumors would fly around the castle like a plague. “I think it’s only human that I want to experience love the way ordinary people do. We don’t even get a say.”

“What about both of our parents? They were arranged yet they love each other.”

“Simple, they got lucky.”

“Then would you rather run away and find another man to fall in love with?”

“More than that, I just want to experience life beyond the castle walls. My position is different from yours.”

“How so?”

You purse your lips, pausing. “Your Highness, what do you think would happen to you if I were to disappear, or god forbid, die?”

Akaashi’s eyes widen in bewilderment. “Why would you ask that?”

“You just need to answer my question.”

“Well,” he ponders. “I…believe I’d be somewhat sad. We would mourn the loss, surely.”

For the first time this summer, he hears a genuine chuckle from you. “I’m honored by your sentiment, your highness. I’m asking more of what you think would politically happen to you.”

Akaashi’s cheeks flush with embarrassment. “I guess…politically I’d be okay. Mother would be devastated, but I guess they’d find me another match. The merger with your kingdom would’ve been our strongest move, but it could still happen since we’re already on such good speaking terms. Supposedly there are other princesses waiting for a chance, and a merger could result from that as well.”

“What a humble braggart you are, your highness,” you tease.

“That’s not what I meant—”

“I know. But in all seriousness,” you switch to a more solemn tone. “The point is, you’d be okay. As you so nicely put it, you have women lining up to be with you.”

“Aren’t men lining up to be with you as well?”

“It’s not the same, Your Highness. As a princess, I’m brought up to constantly prove my worth to others. More importantly, I’m raised to prove my worth as a wife and a queen. We’re left to care for the children we must bear, we must keep our noses a reasonable distance away from kingdom business. If this engagement were to break, many outsiders would automatically assume that I was deemed unworthy of you, that I must’ve wrapped myself in some horrible scandal.”

Akaashi hums and stares into the fire. “I suppose that it’s rather unfortunate. I wish I had realized that sooner.”

“Your self-awareness speaks volumes. I usually wouldn’t admit this to you, but I know you’ll be a great king when it’s your time. Your people already love you, and they will only continue to love you more.”

“That’s very kind of you, Princess.”

“I only speak honestly. There’s no need to sugarcoat my words around you.”

Somehow, Akaashi finds that very comforting. Perhaps as someone in his position, he would consider honesty and wisdom to be valuable. Just because he’s destined to be king someday, doesn’t mean he would always make the right decisions. He would appreciate having you by his side in his decision-making.

“If this happens,” Akaashi finds himself speaking, also not one for beating around the bush. “I can promise now that I’ll try to change that. Even if we end up never loving each other, I’ll do my best to ensure that you never feel confined to such a role. As my w-wife,” he stumbles over the word. “I would want your input. You have a good head on you, and I’m sure you have valuable wisdom that I will need in due time.”

“Somehow, that’s the most romantic thing a man has ever said to me,” you say. He can hear the smile in your voice, his own small one forming on his face. When you move off the couch, his body immediately misses the warmth of your body pressed against his. After you’re done dusting yourself off, you begin to curtsy. He knows that this means you’re retiring for the night, but he’d rather you not leave right now.

“Wait,” he calls out, reaching for the hand not holding your book. You stay silent as Akaashi delicately holds your hand, then breaking out into a slight blush when he lays a soft kiss on the back of your hand, eyes never breaking contact with yours. He’s never been more princely to you than this moment – though his mother had made him do this on every first day you arrive at the castle, it never held so much meaning. This was of his own doing, his own volition, and that spoke volumes to you. He was trying to make this work in his own special way.

You don’t miss the way his thumb ghosts over your knuckles before releasing your hand, although the movement seems hesitant and troubled. “Good night, Princess,” he bids quietly, eyes looking back at the ignored book in his lap. Your heart beats with adrenaline, the chemical fueling you to step closer to him and bend down to place a kiss on his cheek. Akaashi does his best to not look surprised, but he knows that he has failed when he hears the sound of your gentle laugh.

“Good night, Keiji.”

The prince concludes right then and there that he has never heard anything more beautiful.

-

When you return to your chambers the next night, it’s hard to miss the most beautiful glass vase you’ve seen that’s sitting on your dresser. Inside stands a half-bloomed peony, a flower you recognize from the castle gardens. The petals have a tender shade of a light blush pink – if the flower-arranging lessons taught you anything, they stood for romance, compassion, and bashfulness. A neatly folded cardstock with your name stands demurely by the vase. The handwriting is strikingly familiar, and you can’t help but smile at the words neatly written inside.

To my future queen.

As you bring the flower to your nose and inhale the sweet scent, you begin to think that perhaps, you and Akaashi might just be lucky enough for love.

 -

feel free to send requests for this au! 

[eirenical]

[In response to this post.]

(And anyone else who would like to ask about a WiP, please do! ^_^)

@enechelon asked me about all the Being Human WiPs (...not unexpectedly at ALL XD), and I JUST realized that I think several of them are actually “complete” over on my DW/LJ.  OOPS.  That being said, several of them were actually supposed to all fit into the same continuity, and I think that’s why I counted them as WiPs.

BH_N2N: is... actually a Being Human x Next to Normal crossover.  XD  It started life as a N2N fic where Gabe was a BH style ghost.  I plotted out an entire arch later on that would have it set within the Apocalyptic future from BH with Hal playing a major part, but I didn’t get that far.  I do have a decent chunk of the original story written, though, and it’s not... half bad?

HalFergus_mouthylittledicksplash: For those of you not in the know, that’s what Fergus calls Cutler.  This was an LJ comment fic about the scene in the alley when Hal first meets Fergus again, and OMG, I still ship them like BURNING apparently, because I just reread this one and I want to watch that episode again now.  XD

HalFergus_cutler: I am honestly shocked that I can’t find this one anywhere on my LJ.  O_o;;;  It’s definitely “complete” in the sense that it has closure?  It’s a Cutler POV set during the time just before Hal takes off with Leo; Cutler and Fergus are out at a bar to uh... pick up dinner.  And Fergus keeps needling at Cutler, hinting that he knows why Hal keeps him around, taunting him that his kind are a dime a dozen.  Cutler ends up doing a lot of thinking about the differences between he and Fergus and their relationships with Hal and despairing that they’ll ever be equals.  I may have to toss this one up on AO3, because it can certainly stand alone.  So can the one before it actually.  I MAY DO THAT.  ^_^

HalxHal: This one was mostly focusing on Hal’s thoughts as Dark Hal came closer to taking over.  There’s a snippet on my tumblr.  ^_^

And the rest of this is going under a cut, because this is getting long...

halmitchell: I honest to goodness have NO idea where I was going with this and how Mitchell was supposed to be involved.  Unless Hal mentioned him and ended up in awkward reminiscing territory?  IDEK.  XD  Here’s everything I have so far?

Tom: I've always wanted to work in a hotel, ever since me and dad snuck into the Bristol Hilton when I was 14.  We were hunting a vampire called Radley. Hal: Radley?  I know Radley.  Big ginger fellow? Tom: Yeah Hal: How is he? Tom: Yeah, good, until we killed him obviously.

In 500 years, Hal had been many things, done many things.  Yes, in 500 years, Hal had learned much... but it was amazing how quickly one could fall out of the habit in 55 years.  So, after 55 years, in some things -- in many things -- Hal was out of practice.  Small talk with strangers was but one of those things.  He had known Leo and Pearl long enough that their small talk was less small talk and was more ritual call and answer and he hardly ever conversed with those outside of the insular world of their apartment in Southend.  But when meeting Annie and Tom, Hal quickly found himself caught in that trap of small talk once again... and was appalled at how quickly such small talk turned to verbal quicksand.

*"Oh, I knew Radley!  How is he?"* *"Yeah, good, until we killed him obviously."*

Fortunately for Hal, though, even with 500 years at his disposal, he was a quick learner.  He would not make the same mistake, again.  Tom and Annie were not Leo and Pearl -- G-d, they weren't -- and so no talk was small.  Hal would remember that and tread lightly, not ask casual questions which could turn out to be anything but.  And thank _G-d_ for that.

halsnow: I honestly don’t entirely know where this was going either.  I mean, I have a fair idea of where I would have taken it if I’d written more, but I don’t know EXACTLY where, so here’s all of it: ^_^

One look.  One word.  The soft slide of one, single finger… and it was as though 55 years had meant nothing -- "an afternoon off" …nothing more.

Absolute control.  Absolute power.  An ability to alter the world, to alter the past, and make it his.  He tainted everything he touched.  The very air he breathed out carried the reek of his evil -- greasy, oily, slick, clinging to everything it touched, even words… even the names of the dead.  Leo and Pearl's names belonged to him, now.  He'd held them in his mouth, rolled them over his tongue to crash against his fangs.  When they emerged from behind the prison of his lips, they were changed… soiled.  Hal would never hear them the same way again, without the silibant sound of his voice.  He'd taken them away from him, made all their years together meaningless.

An afternoon off.

Hal could feel it already, the walls of the cage closing around him.  It was a cage of words, nothing more than sounds released into the air, but they bound him more securely than rope or chain ever could.  Because, even after 55 years, Hal still belonged to this man… body, heart and soul.  And no matter how sick it made him feel, no matter how he wished to rage and howl and fight against it… his soul still craved that captivity.

AND A BONUS, because I didn’t list it as a WiP even though it’s just as much a “WiP” as those first few:

steam: This is kind of a snapshot of Hal and Fergus’s relationship right before a shift for Hal from bad to good.  Also a look back on Hal’s recruitment of Fergus, and a REALLY twisted look at Hal’s relationship with Mr. Snow.  ^_^

[ellemcu]

Chapter 7

Words: 1584

Warnings: swearing

***********

You quietly groaned as your eyes fluttered open. There was a hard pounding in your head and your whole body was aching and burning. You slowly lifted your wrist only to be stopped by some chains. You quickly raised your head from the bed you were lying in, trying desperately to get off it. Your arms and legs had been strapped onto the floor and you were dressed in your black sports bra and your matching black shorts.

You started panicking, not remembering how you’d gotten here and what was going to happen. Flashbacks of old memories as a kid in HYDRA flooded your mind, drowning your every other thought. As a kid, you would often wake up in a room just like this. Handlers coming in the room and torturing you in all sorts of ways.

You whimpered quietly while you tried to get up from the bed, your whole body aching. You slowly stood up, the chains on your wrists starting to dig deep into your skin. You felt slightly lightheaded but you kept blinking it off, not trusting your surroundings. Your knees buckled and you crashed on the ground with a thud.

You were panting on the floor, slowly moving into a sitting position against the metal leg of your bed. You breathed heavily, trying not to fall unconscious.

After a while, your body started shaking violently. It had already happened at HYDRA after your body had gone through too much for it to handle which meant days of training non-stop.

It was very inconvenient because this was the most vulnerable position you had ever found yourself in and you couldn’t bring yourself to stop. You lied down on the floor rocking yourself at a slow pace to stop yourself from shaking even more. Your breaths became uneven and you didn’t know how to stop.

After what seemed like hours of shaking the bolted door flew open and three men with white lab coats walked in, each carrying silver cases in their hands. You had horrible memories with scientists. Doctors had always taken their anger out on you, torturing you after you fell unconscious several times in a row, pushing your body over the edge after a brainwash, just because I couldn’t fight back.

You eyed them very closely, still shaking violently, while they came closer to you. Without saying a word they started taking out their shiny suitcases, long needles. You shook your head, trying desperately to back away from them. One of them grabbed your ankles, trying to stop you from shaking and another one grabbed the chain that was tied to your wrist, tugging at it harshly. You winced in pain “No” you whimpered, while another man had wrapped his hand around your throat. “ Please.” you whispered desperately, fighting against the man’s pull. “No…… no……. please…… no…… please…...stop” you begged, a tear falling from your eye. “Stop.” you whimper, not having enough energy to fight back.

The scientist was about to take a blood sample from you when a loud voice spoke. You were too busy being choked by one of the doctors to actually hear it but the doctor froze in his spot. “Hey dumb ass you heard her. Back off.” the male voice shouted. Two of the doctors immediately got up but the one choking you still kept his tight grip on your neck. “ You really sure you wanna do that? Huh?”: The man swallowed slowly and stood up, they grabbed their things and left the room in a hurry.

You breathed in quickly, your lungs finally getting fresh air. You coughed loudly and rubbed your hands on your wrists, trying to ease the pain. A tall man walked into the room after they were all gone. A tall man that you immediately recognized: James. You crawled as far away as your body and chains let you, trying to gain control over your body again.

He slowly walked towards you with his hands raised, showing that he wasn’t armed although you weren’t gonna fall for that trap again.

You closed your eyes, concentrating on your uneven breaths. After a few seconds you opened your eyes again, only to find yourself in a small room, surrounded by tall, black walls. You finally felt at peace, your body no longer aching, no more shaking. You felt your body completely freeze (idk it's like a coma but you’re in a different place its like your inside your mind. Idek if it makes sense. Stranger things for reference.) You calmed your panted breaths and regained your brain’s control.

You woke up with a jolt. James' face was covered with a confused look. “What have you done?” you snarled. “Listen, I know what you’ve been through but-” he answered calmly, but you quickly interrupted him, scoffing at his words. “ Boy, you have no fucking clue.” you mumbled. “Listen Y/n you may not know who I am because they never made us meet. They were too afraid. We would have been unstoppable together” he replied, closing his eyes as if he was trying to forget something. “ Uh uh. Sure. I’ll take that.” you answered back, not wanting to piss him off because this was the longest conversation you had ever held with someone and you were dying to see where it was going to end. “If you’re going to hurt me, could you please use one of the first 12 methods, I’m really tired of counting new ways to torture me after 1682.” you whispered knowing that HYDRA handlers couldn’t care less but what you didn’t know was that with Bucky’s super-hearing he had heard every single word and his heart broke.

As the Winter Soldier he had heard so much about you. They constantly compared her to him which amazed him greatly, he had heard that she was unbeatable, unpredictable and impossibly well trained. No one survived your missions. Ever. He had also found out that HYDRA’s men took pleasure from touting her, brain washing her and training her for hours non stop until she would faint 6 / 7 times. They forced her to go unconscious to take advantage of her. He was absolutely disgusted.

He had been through a lot and getting out of that infinite hole had been extremely hard but you had been through way more and for a longer period of time, getting out of it alive was going to be a hard challenge.

“What do you mean?” he questioned gruffly, determined to not show too many emotions, knowing you were able to manipulate any living thing. You didn’t say anything back, scared for your own safety, knowing too well a harsh beating would be coming soon. “You are going to stay here,” he announces. “And I’m going to help you.” You looked at him with wide eyes. Sometimes the moment in which after 20 years you were finally going to be free. Finally eat a full meal, walk outside, drink water without having to worry if its poisoned or not. That thought had ran across your mind a few times, briefly though before being cut off and silenced by brainwashing.

You scoffed silently “Yeah sure why would you wanna do that huh? Why would you wanna help a fucked up, high-skilled assassin like me?"You looked straight into his steel blue eyes. “ Because why not? I mean we’re all messed up here. What difference will one more fucked up person make?” He answered back, offering his hand out to you to help you stand.

You quickly stood up but lost your balance so you ended up putting your whole weight on the nearest wall. “What did you put in me?” you whispered, more to yourself rather than him. “It's to help you with all the drugs they fed you. It's supposed to bring back your strength.” He shrugged. “This burns like hell.” you whimpered, stretching your numb legs. You wiggled your wrists, showing him the chains you were still tied to. He nodded and the chains crumbled to the ground. You both made your way out of the room and found yourself walking across an empty corridor. “What's up with everything?” you questioned, not understanding why the corridor was so homey-looking. “Oh, don’t worry we just thought you’d wanna be with someone you trust at first and… um I guess as I’ve been in a similar situation, I wanted to help you too”. He answered calmly. You looked at him deeply “I guess they’re all fucking terrified of me aren't they?” He didn’t answer you. “Well I wouldn’t blame them” you mumble under your breath. “And um what makes you think I trust you?” You question with a cold stare. “Why aren’t you scared of me?” you questioned quietly.

The man walking beside you was different. His way of thinking amazed you. It was different. He didn’t see you as a poor captured girl, a very mentally unstable woman with a very insane mind. Not a girl with severe PTSD and anxiety nor a highly trained assassin with no backstory except HYDRA.

“Nothing scares me anymore. Besides I don’t see why I should be afraid of you:” He answered slowly, a small smirk making its way on your face.

"We'll see about the trust thing dude"

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

I am truly so sorry that I've kept you waiting for so long. A lot has happened and I really couldn't keep on writing. I've missed it tho lol. I hope this makes up for it. This wasn't exactly what I was going for but I don't really hate it so I'll just go with the flow and idk we'll see. Oh and if you have any suggestion for what could happen please don't hesitate to text me!!!

Elle

[lilixloveswriting]

Shell

Whumptober 2020 Day 19 (Prompt: Grief | Mourning Loved One | Survivor’s Guilt)

Fandom: BNHA (This is an AU for my Next Gen...AU...😬)

Characters: Hitoshi Midoriya (OC), Mitsuko Midoriya kinda, she’s dead (OC), Izuku Midoriya, Ochaco Uraraka, Katsuki Bakugo, Saisho Kirishima (OC), Eijiro Kirishima mentioned, also dead, Kayda Todoroki (OC), Hisao Todoroki (OC), Akio Todoroki haha...you guessed it (OC)

Word Count: 4582

A/N: This may be a mistake since y’all don’t know these characters yet but it just fits all the criteria for today’s prompt and I just couldn’t pass it up. Umm so I wrote this in the car when I couldn’t sleep on a road trip from 2 am to 9 am. I never acctually planned on posting it anywhere, so...idek what I’m trying to say. It’s the darkest thing I had written at that point (and imo, still is my darkest piece) so...yeah. Buckle up, it’s a sad one also please note canon Hitoshi is not this mean

TW: swearing, dissociation, suicidal ideation, child whump (Hitoshi is 13/14), survivor’s guilt (obvi), grief (obvi), family member death, past death of minor (Mitsuko - age 17), emotional detatchment, blood, ptsd flashback (nightmare), panic attack mention, vomiting mention, eventually Hitoshi has a well deserved emotional breakdown

The pencil spun around Hitoshi's knuckles in sync with the second hand of the clock. He stared at it, waiting for it to hypnotize him so that he didn't have to be there for the rest of his session. It wasn't anything personal, his therapist was fine. Today was just a bad day. Not that his days were ever good, but today was a particularly bad one. One where he felt like running out into traffic, just to see what would happen.

"Hitoshi?"

His voice seemed so far away in his dissociative state. It was nice, kind of comforting actually. More so than the unbearable ringing that would occur sometimes when someone spoke to him. The accident fucked his hearing, that's what the doctors said. The accident fucked a lot of things.

56, 57, 58, 59, 4:00

Hitoshi snapped into action, catching his pencil in his hand and slipping it into his bag as he lobbed it over his shoulder.

"Who's coming to get you today, Hitoshi?"

"My dad." He responded with a grumble, not that it was any of his business.

"Okay. Is he here, or would you like me to wait with you?"

Hitoshi shrugged his shoulders, biting back a sarcastic remark as he turned the door handle to exit his therapist's office and enter the hallway. He knew the way back to the waiting room all too well by now: a left, then two rights, down the elevator, and straight down the hall. Hitoshi heard muffled sobbing as he passed one of the doors, sparing it a glance before continuing. He wondered what her problem was. He was a little bit envious, for whatever it was, at least she could express how she was feeling. Hitoshi never felt anything but anger. Sometimes he never felt anything at all.

He made a beeline for the stairway, not too keen on sitting in another silent room with his therapist.

"Getting your steps in today?"

Hitoshi rolled his eyes as he swung himself around the flat bit of the stairwell. Their session was over, couldn't this guy shut up?

He arrived at the waiting room soon enough, tucking his thumbs into his backpack straps as he scanned the room for his dad. Not here yet.

"Not here yet?"

"No, dingbat. Do you see him?"

"Hm. I've got some time before my next appointment. I can stick around for a while."

"Fuuuck me."

"Hey! Sorry, I went to the bathroom." Hitoshi turned towards the cheery voice he knew so well, a small sigh of relief escaping his lungs. "Hey, kiddo-" Izuku placed his hands on Hitoshi's shoulders, faltering as he moved and shoved the front door open. "Hey, hold on!" He called after his son, and Hitoshi did slow down, but he didn't stop. He left the building, then walked a few steps down the sidewalk, perching himself on the ledge of the window sill, his back to the building.

"Uhh…" Izuku sighed, "bad day?"

The therapist gave a vague shrug and Izuku frowned.

"What did he say? Did something happen at school? Did I do something? His mom?"

The therapist smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mr. Midoriya. You should talk to your son."

Izuku bit down on his lip. "Please, just…tell me something. Anything." The words begged to escape his throat, but he swallowed them down and nodded. He understood doctor-patient confidentiality, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

He bid Hitoshi's therapist goodbye, then joined his son on the sidewalk.

"Hey, kiddo." Izuku's voice sounded far away too, and Hitoshi wasn't sure if he wanted it to this time. He continued to stare at the curb of the sidewalk, the whizzing of tires lulling him off into another dissociative state. His father's voice was muffled and he didn't remember the walk from the sidewalk to the car.

"What's wrong, Hito?" Izuku turned to him, and he couldn't will himself to look away from the dashboard. 

He didn't know what was wrong. Nothing, nothing was really wrong, but everything was wrong at the same time. He felt so fucking numb but ached all over at the same time. It was exhausting, he just wanted everything to stop. He wanted everyone to stop trying to fix him; he couldn't be fixed.

Hitoshi took a deep breath, willing all of his effort to move his tongue. "Nothing, I'm just tired." it was silent in the car, nobody moved and a wave of guilt washed over Hitoshi, though he wasn't sure what for.

"Survivor's guilt is a common occurrence. It won't be unusual for Hitoshi to feel as though he did something wrong for surviving the crash. Getting him into therapy sessions now is probably the best course of action."

"Can we go home now?" Hitoshi inhaled again as he reached for his seatbelt, jerking it over his body and clicking it into the buckle.

His dad put the car into drive and Hitoshi rested his head on the window.

"You wanna get some ice cream?" Izuku asked. Hitoshi shrugged and ten minutes later he had a chocolate ice cream cone in his hand. He had grown to hate the taste, but he ate it anyway because it made Izuku feel better. 

It still felt wrong not to pass any napkins to Mitsuko to get it out of her hair.

Izuku flipped on the lights to his apartment; the "bachelor pad" as he called it. He had turned Hitoshi on to the idea of a man den when he was ten. They both knew this wasn't what he meant.

"Do you wanna-"

"I've got homework," Hitoshi said, heading straight to his room and shutting the door behind him. He kicked off his shoes and told himself that he didn't care enough to put them away, but the way they were scattered across the floor was a little too much like her, so he picked them up and lined them up against the wall.

He fell back onto his bed, exhaling deeply as he stared up at the popcorn ceiling. His room here wasn't too bad, it was a decent size and his dad even bought him a desk and helped him decorate it with figurines and pictures. He put the pictures away though, they made him feel uneasy. 

"Hey," There was a short knock at the door and it slowly creaked open. Izuku stuck his head inside. "I know you want to be alone right now, but keep the door open, yeah? Just a crack, okay?"

Hitoshi sat up a bit and nodded at his dad, who gave him a weak smile in return.

"Okay. Thank you." He said, and Hitoshi appreciated that he didn't pry, even though he knew his father was worried. "Uh, is there anything you want for dinner?"

Hitoshi shrugged and Izuku sighed.

"Okay. Think about it and let me know, okay?"

Hitoshi nodded a little, knowing he wasn't going to decide on anything. He really didn't care.

"Okay. I'll leave you alone now. I love you," Izuku said and Hitoshi gave him a small smile, then he left, pulling the door closed with about an inch to spare.

Hitoshi let his head fall back onto the bed, exhaling in a puff as another wave of guilt crashed over him. He always saw the look in his father's eyes. 

"Please give me something. Anything."

But he couldn't, no matter how badly he wanted to. He didn't even know what to say. His dad had always been emotional, he wondered how many nights he spent crying because Hitoshi couldn't even manage an "I love you."

He wanted to cry. He couldn't really remember what crying felt like, but he knew he used to feel better after he did. Now, he just felt bad all the time. He was tired of it.

Hitoshi flipped over onto his stomach, trapping his pillow between his arms and his face as his eyes fell on his bag. He had homework, but he couldn't convince himself to do it. The mere thought of it was exhausting and Hitoshi turned his head the other way, towards the wall. 

The blood coated his fingers like syrup, making an awful squelching sound as it mixed with his tears. He applied pressure, he heard that somewhere, a tv show, he thinks. It was supposed to make the bleeding better or something, but it kept leaking and it soaked into his jeans and shirt and skin. He must not have been doing it right, maybe he was pressing too hard because Mitsuko kept gasping for air. Maybe he was choking her. 

She turned to him and took in a shaky breath, eyes wide and bloodshot and she whispered in a spine chilling voice, "Help me, Hito."

Hitoshi gasped and in the moment of fear, loosened his grip on Mitsuko's neck. She screamed as the ground caved in, swallowing her whole, and Hitoshi couldn't do anything but scream her name as he reached in after her.

Hitoshi opened his eyes and lifted his head from his pillow, blinking a few times before looking around the room. He sighed, realizing it had been a dream. He wasn't sure which reality he would rather be in.

The faint smell of food caused him to sit up fully, and he looked at his nightstand to see a plate of pizza waiting for him. His dad had to eat alone again. Dick move, Hitoshi.

He rubbed his eyes as they fell on the window, the sun had already set. How long had he slept for? Hitoshi yawned and swung his legs over the side of his bed, taking a second before standing up and opening his door. He went to the living room, a short walk in the small apartment. His dad turned his head from the tv as Hitoshi stepped into the room, greeting him with a small smile. 

"Hey. I don't know if you saw, but I left you some pizza. But if you don't want that then I can see what else I can make you."

Hitoshi shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "It's fine." He whispered, and if you weren't listening for it you wouldn't have heard it. 

"Okay. Mom called. I told her you were sleeping. You want me to call her back?"

Hitoshi shook his head and Izuku tilted his head to the side.

"Sweetie, you should call your mom." He said, prompting a sigh and a bit of an eye-roll from his son. He nodded in the end, though, so Izuku counted that as a victory.

"Later."

"Not too late. She probably has a shift in the morning, she'll be going to bed soon."

Hitoshi didn't respond to that. Instead, he walked around the couch and sat down next to his father. "What are you watching?" He asked, and Izuku was thrilled to be getting this many words out of him.

"I don't know. The news. Nothing special."

"Pro Heroes Ground Zero and Chargebolt work together in EPIC villain take down!" Izuku cleared his throat, switching the tv off before standing abruptly.

"Alright, it's late. Call your mom and get ready for bed, okay?" Izuku ruffled his hair and planted a kiss on his head. "Goodnight, I love you." He said, then went to his room.

Hitoshi stared straight ahead at the switched-off tv. He should get to bed soon so his dad's sleep didn't suffer. Izuku always waited until Hitoshi had gone to bed before actually sleeping himself. He sighed, staring at the phone on the coffee table. He didn't want to call his mom; calling his mother actually involved talking, and she was much more thorough than his father was. He didn't want to deal with that today. Still, if he didn't call her then it'd be his father who suffered and Hitoshi didn't want that.

She picked up on the third ring.

"What, Izuku?"

"Mom." Hitoshi said, leaning into the phone as it rested on his palm.

"Oh, hi honey. What are you doing on Dad's phone?"

Hitoshi shrugged, sighing in frustration as he realized she couldn't see him. "It was closer than mine."

His mother laughed. "Lazy butt. How was your day?"

"Fine."

"How was your meeting with your therapist?"

"Fine."

"Okay…how's Daddy?"

Hitoshi sighed as he looked over the top of the couch to his dad's room, door open and light on. "I'm slowly killing him."

"Fine."

"Okay, can you give me more than that, please? I miss you. Pretty please?"

Again, Hitoshi sighed. "He's okay. We got ice cream."

"Oooh what's the occasion?"

"He's sad that I won't speak to him." "Just…guys being dudes."

Ochako laughed, which provided some type of relief, even if it was only temporary. "Alright, did you guys get your homework done?"

"Yeah," He lied. He didn't want his dad to get reprimanded for his own destructive tendencies.

"Did you have a lot?"

"Not really."

"Any you struggled with?"

Hitoshi cursed silently, looking for a bullshit answer. "Algebra." Mitsuko was good at algebra.

"Oh, ummm, well did you two get it? If not you could snap a pic and send it to me and I can help. Or you could ask Kayda, I'm sure she'd love to help you."

"We figured it out."

"Of course you did, you're so smart." There was a pause when Hitoshi didn't respond. "Your dad is pretty good at algebra, huh?"

Hitoshi sighed. "Yeah." That's where Mitsuko got it. 

"Okay, well it's getting late. As much I know you love talking to me, you need to get your rest."

"Okay."

"Okay. I love you, bubba. Goodnight."

"Night." He said and hung up the phone, letting it sit idly in his lap before he moved. He went to his father's room and peeked inside to see the bathroom door closed. He must have been showering. Hitoshi left his phone on his bed, then went back to his own bedroom. He laid down on his bed, not bothering to get under the covers, figuring he'd just get up and shower when he'd inevitably wake up again in two hours. Everything felt heavy, especially his eyelids, and he let them fall closed as he drifted off into the night.

✱✱✱

Hitoshi kicked at the ground as his hands gripped the sides of the chair. His cousin sat in the one next to him, resting her chin on her hand.

"He doesn't need whatever the hell this is, Katsuki-"

"I don't have anything to do with this, don't start with me."

Hitoshi sighed and bent down to pick up his backpack just as Katsuki and his mom burst through the door to the principal's office. His mom rushed over to him, cupping his face in her hands and repeatedly asking if he was injured. Hitoshi pushed her off and started towards the door, scoffing when Ochako blocked his path.

"Hitoshi, what happened?"

The brunette glanced at his cousin who rolled her eyes as she picked up her bag. "Nothing."

"Obviously, it's not nothing if you're both here-"

"Okay, would you shut up and let me parent my own kid?" Katsuki spat, and Ochako scoffed.

"You're not doing a very good job-"

"Mom," Hitoshi whined. Nothing good was going to come from this.

"Saisho, what the hell happened?" Katsuki asked and the girl rolled her eyes. "Don't you dare roll your eyes at me, do you know how many strings I had to pull to come get you?"

"Oh, yeah. 'Cause it's my fault, right? It's always my fault." She pushed past her dad, ignoring his angry shouts and walked out of the door. Hitoshi slipped around his mother, following Saisho's lead. He just wanted to go home.

"This is the third call I've gotten this month. Saisho, whatever the hell this is, you need to get it together because I'm sick of it."

"What do you think, I like you coming to my school and screaming at me in the halls?!" Saisho whipped around and shouted right back at her father, a few spikes growing on her arms. "Yeah, it's the highlight of my freaking week!"

"Watch your mouth!" Katsuki scolded her but she was ready to fire back with more sarcasm.

"It wasn't her fault, she had a panic attack!" Hitoshi shouted over them, grabbing both of their attention as well as his mother's. Quieter, he continued, "They pick on her, they wouldn't leave her alone. So I stepped in and then her quirk was all…you know and then…"

"What…is this true?" Katsuki turned to Saisho, who's breathing had picked up as she stared at Hitoshi. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you don't listen! It doesn't matter."

"Of course, it matters. How could you even think that? You're supposed to tell me stuff like this-"

"She was just scared-" Hitoshi started, but was quickly stopped by a wry cry.

"Oh my GOD!" Saisho wrung her fingers through her hair, pulling at her scalp in frustration. She turned to Hitoshi, "Would you FUCK OFF?! Stop fighting my battles for me!"

"Hey!" Ochako stepped up next to Hitoshi, offended for her son who simply sighed and cast his gaze to the floor.

"Hey! Not okay!" Katsuki grabbed onto her wrist and she growled, yanking it away with all her might but still not able to get free.

"LET GO! Don't touch me! Stop!" She cried, clawing at Katsuki's hand. "Ugh! None of this would be happening if Dad was here!" She yelled, and that was enough for Katsuki to loosen his grip in shock. Saisho immediately ripped her hand away, stumbling backward in a fit of tears.

"I'm here! I'm here, sorry I'm late!" Izuku threw open the double doors, slowing down at the sight in front of him. "What…what's going on?"

Saisho let out one more frustrated sob and stomped forward, shoving past Izuku to the parking lot. 

Izuku gave Katsuki a look, which he ignored and started after his daughter. Izuku grabbed him by the arm before he could get passed. "Hey-"

"Don't touch me!" Katsuki yanked his arm away, whipping around to face Izuku. "You're not the only one who lost someone in that accident, you know?! And that's what it was, an accident! It was an ACCIDENT! I'm sorry! You know I'm sorry! And you can punish me all you want, but don't you fucking drag her into it because she lost a parent!" He pointed out at the parking lot, tears welling up in his eyes and Hitoshi realized this was the first time he'd actually seen his uncle cry.

Izuku didn't stop him from leaving after that, and the broken family watched the blond storm out of the school.

"Okay…what the heck did I miss?" Izuku held his arms out to his sides as he approached his son and ex wife. 

"More like why the hell did you miss? Izuku, where were you? I know they called you after they called me." Ochako stepped towards him, arms crossed over her chest. 

"I was working-"

"So was I."

"I was all the way across town!"

"What happened to your super speed, Mr. Full Cowling?" 

"Okay, I'm not doing this with you right now. Hitoshi-"

"No, you don't get to do that. You don't get to dodge my questions like they aren't important."

"I am trying to check on our son!"

"He's fine! I already checked, because I was here."

"Well I am here now and I would still like to know what happened."

"He was in a fight!"

"You were in a fight?!" Izuku echoed, turning to Hitoshi with a shocked look on his face.

Hitoshi raised his eyebrows and his mouth dropped open in surprise. "What?! No, it wasn't a fight-" He started, but was interrupted by his mother before he could finish. 

"Maybe you could have done something to prevent it if you actually talked to him."

Izuku recoiled, his eyebrows furrowing and his mouth morphing into a scowl. "I do talk to him."

"Oh yeah? What do you talk about?"

"We…Ochako, this isn't fair-"

"You want to know what isn't fair? What isn't fair is that I'm stuck being his mom after you decided to be his friend! Let me guess what you had for dinner last night: whatever he wanted?"

Izuku frowned. "Actually, we had pizza."

"Oh, pizza! Even better!"

Hitoshi shut his eyes, scrunching his nose up as they continued to bicker. He was sure the classrooms down the hall could hear, and he didn't need to add anything else to his souring reputation. "You guys, can we please go home-"

"Shush!"

"Not now!"

This was how they'd been since the funeral. They argued constantly; over why the dishes weren't done (Mitsuko always did them), about who's turn it was to buy groceries (Mitsuko did most of the shopping), about whether they were going to keep Mitsuko's door open or closed.

The last one didn't last long because Izuku moved out a few months after. He wanted her door closed, but now Ochako could keep it open. 

They argued over Hitoshi a lot too, and he remembered when he first saw the headlines: "Pro Heroes Deku and Uravity Messy Divorce After Loss of Child!"

He threw up after reading it.

Things were better after they separated. Well, not better, but at least they weren't fighting all the time. They had gotten better at communicating, but he still hated being in the same room with both of them at a time. It was times like these where he wished his sister was still here, or at least that Saisho didn't hate him. 

He guessed this was the type of stuff he was supposed to tell his therapist. But how was he supposed to say it when it felt like talking about her was forbidden? Her name was like a lit match, waiting to be dropped on a stick of dynamite embedded deep inside of the Earth's core, ready to blow his world to pieces. He lost himself in these thoughts, spiraling down and down and down until he'd forgotten what reality he was in.

His dissociation was dangerous because he would sometimes wander without realizing it until someone woke him up. This time, it was Hisao.

Hitoshi blinked as Hisao shook his shoulder, staring at him with a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay? Here, come in." He ushered and Hitoshi listened realizing his clothes were damp. He must have walked there in the rain.

"KAYDAAA!" Hisao shouted, and from the annoyed look on his face it didn't seem like it was the first time. "I don't know where she is. Damn, I've got a thing to go to, I just stopped by to pick up some tools. Here, uh-" He flipped the switch to the fireplace and it lit up. "I'll go get you some dry clothes."

"What do you want?" Kayda came down the stairs, her irritated expression faltering as she laid eyes on Hitoshi. "Hito-chan…what…?" She started and looked to Hisao who shrugged, bounding up the stairs to get clothes for Hitoshi.

Kayda finished down the stairs and jogged over to Hitoshi, who was shivering now. "What are you doing here?"

Hitoshi shrugged. "I don't know." He truly didn't.

She frowned and grabbed a blanket from the couch, wrapping it around his shoulders.

"Mom and dad were fighting." He mumbled and her shoulders slumped. He felt bad for unloading onto her like this. Mitsuko was her best friend after all. 

"Okay! They're gonna be pretty big, but it's better than what you're wearing, so," Hisao appeared next to them, handing Kayda the dry clothes. "I'm late to meet with Jisoo, so are you guys okay? Should I…?"

Kayda shook her head. "Go on, we'll be fine."

Hisao muttered a quiet "kay" and quickly left the house, leaving Kayda and Hitoshi alone. 

"Here, why don't we get you changed?" Kayda helped him stand and led him to the bathroom, handing him the clothes before he closed the door.

About fifteen minutes later, he was curled up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate. 

"You know," Kayda sighed, picking at the blankets they were curled up with, "When Akio died…I wanted to die too. Well, not literally. I just couldn't…grasp the concept of living in a world where he didn't exist. I was so mad at him for…leaving me behind."

Hitoshi stared down into his cup. "It's not the same."

Kayda looked at him, then swallowed and nodded, sniffling. "I know."

Now he made her cry. When was this ever going to get any easier?

"I guess what I mean is," She sighed once more, allowing her hands to fall into her lap, "I've lost two important people within the last couple of years. So if you ever need someone to talk to…"

Hitoshi nodded. Kayda was nice, she had always been nice to him. But if he couldn't talk to his therapist, someone who his parents were paying to listen, how was he supposed to talk to his dead sister's best friend?

"Why didn't I wake up sooner?" Well,he's done it. Kayda raised an eyebrow and he, somehow, continued, "If I had…" He stopped, an involuntary sob bobbing in his throat, "She was just…lying there. She was all alone." He whimpered and his vision went blurry before he felt a warm wetness on his cheeks. "If I had…if I had woken up…s-sooner-" He coughed in his own tears, bringing a hand up to cover his face.

It had been a long time since he cried, and now that it was finally happening he didn't like it. His face was hot, and his head felt like it was going to explode from the sheer effort he was putting in to keep his tears from falling. Effort that didn't matter, because they were falling anyway, like a dam that had been patched up with gum, water spurting out of every crack, every crevice it could find. And to top it all off there was this sharp pain in his chest and he couldn't stop his lungs from seizing as he gasped for air, choking on his sobs and coughing when he couldn't get enough of it.

Warm arms restricted his shaking and he pressed his head into Kayda's chest, her hug providing some sense of security as he cried until his eyes swelled. Mitsuko would have made fun of him for this, and the thought only made him cry harder, pleading to some sentient being for the past year to have been a nightmare. Unfortunately for Hitoshi, said sentient being must not exist, because his desperate prayers went unheard. 

She whispered little reassurances, and though he didn't believe them, they made him feel a little bit better. His breathing slowed and his cheeks dried, though his head still pounded like a drum. He would have fallen asleep if he hadn't pulled away, hiccuping as he wiped at his eye.

"I should tell my parents where I am." He mumbled, taking out his phone and struggling to type in the pass code with his shaky hand.

"They don't know?" Kayda inquired, to which Hitoshi shook his head. He hadn't told him he was leaving, and they had been too caught up in their argument to notice. 

He shot them a text, nothing fancy or anything more than an address. He didn't want to talk to them. He was tired. 

But he did feel better. Even if it was just a little bit.

[v-hope]

Painting Idyll

Pairing: Single Dad!Taehyung x Preschool Teacher!Reader

Genre: Fluff, slight angst if you squint your eyes

Word Count: 3.1k

Summary: When life gets in between Taehyung and picking his little girl up from school on time, there's nothing like having her favourite teacher show him his daughter's drawings to reassure him about both the good parenting he has been doing and just how much the infant loves him.

A/N: So here is it! I've been so soft for Taehyung with kids lately, idek ;-; I hope you guys enjoy it and let me know what you think!

“Appa!” the little girl shouted from the swing; the way she excitedly started moving her little feet made you feel relieved you were using the one special for children and not a normal one; otherwise she would have probably fallen down by now.

Looking up, your eyes focused on the man coming closer to both of you; Kim Taehyung, her father and also one of your students’ youngest parents. He was always well composed, always in time for parent-teacher conferences, and always involved in his daughter's activities. That day, however, as you watched him practically run in your direction, with his light blue shirt flowing up and down, along with his messy dark hair falling slightly over his eyes with each stride he took, you could tell that was not the case.

Nevertheless, the second he saw his daughter calling out for him, his previous preoccupied semblance was overshadowed by the way his lips parted into a huge smile.

“Hey, sweetheart” he spoke in a soft, breathy voice, clearly trying to catch his breath. Kneeling down in front of her, he gently caressed her cheek before he picked her up, only then his apologetical eyes fixing on yours. “I'm sorry” he let out first thing, “I am so, so sorry. One of my friends was supposed to pick her up today but he had a family emergency and I–”

“It's okay” you smiled understandingly.

He shook his head. “No, it's not. You have a life of your own and you have no obligation to keep looking after her when it's past school hours…”

A small laugh escaped your lips. “Really, it's okay” you walked around the swings so you could come closer. “I had to stay late today anyway to finish a few projects, so having Minjung-ie with me honestly made my day”.

Taehyung nodded his head reluctantly. No matter what you said, he would still feel ashamed as ever. “I promise I'm a better father than this” he tried to laugh it off anyway, but you knew deep down he was seriously beating himself up and believing he was nowhere near being the best of parents.

“Oh, I know” at your confident statement, he couldn't help but raise one of his eyebrows. “This is the first time something like this has happened ever since the year started” you reminded him. “Besides, with the amount of paintings this little one has done of the two of you together, I can only believe you're a great dad”.

“Paintings?” he wondered – his eyes sparkling at the mention of that.

“Yes, she loves drawing, so I always give her pencils and paper to keep her entertained” you took her small hand in yours, “we were just drawing before we came to the swings, right love?” your gentle way to approach her received a shy nod from Minjung and an adoring smile from Taehyung. “She’s actually very talented for a four year old” you gazed up to lock eyes with him; a smile adorning both your faces, “I guess you already knew that, but… she never ceases to amaze me” he nodded; being already familiar with that feeling. “Would you like to see them?”

His eyebrows raised in surprise, adjusting his hands under Minjung’s body so she wouldn’t slip down. “I’d love to” he grinned happily, “if… you're not in a hurry, of course”.

“Well, I'm done for the day and my life's not that exciting to have other plans, so...” he chuckled at both your words and the ‘whatever’ shrug you had just given him.

Not saying anything else as you had made your point clear, you smiled, tilting your head towards the classroom at the other side of the playground, motioning for him to follow you.

Once inside, his eyes travelled around the colourful room that just radiated children energy – multiple cups filled with pencils being placed on top of the round tables, chaotic yet cute paintings covering the walls, and endless toys being kept inside numerous boxes by the corners of the room. It amazed him how warm this place felt yet you somehow still managed to make it seem so tidy.

“I wish I had an actual chair to offer you” you apologised, drawing his attention to you for a quick second before they followed yours to the little chairs around the tables. “You can take mine”.

“No, it's okay” he stopped you from going to get it for him, “I'll just stand” the corners of his lips curved up, going up to your table as you made your way over to a few drawers by its side.

He put his little girl down on her feet after she started swaying them to let him know she wanted to be let go of; having her immediately take off to where you were searching for her paintings.

“Oh, you want to show him?” you gazed down to her.

“Yes” she spoke in a small voice; not being the most extroverted of kids – quite the opposite, actually.

“Okay” you nodded, biting your lip when you finally found what you were looking for. “There you go” you handed her a few papers.

Minjung's face lit up, excitedly going back to her dad as you calmly followed after her. Taehyung picked her up immediately, sitting her on the edge of the table, where she later placed her drawings.

“This is you” she pointed to the first of them, her finger hovering over a man who was feeding a dog, “this is me” she moved it down to a little girl that was playing with it, earning giggle from Tae that had your heart melting in an instant, “and this is Mickey!” she finally pointed to the white animal with a few brown touches.

“Wow, baby, this is really good” he complimented her work with wide eyes, “you even got his little moustache right” he traced one of his long fingers over it, making his little girl overflow with excitement because of her dad's approval. “Mickey is one of my friends’ dog” he explained to you a few moments later, focusing his attention on you, “we look after him sometimes and Min-ie loves him” you smiled wholeheartedly – that being the first time you had ever heard said nickname being used on her.

“He's the cutest!” the girl gushed with her eyes still glued to the painting, later picking it up and placing it elsewhere so she could show her dad the next one.

“Is that the zoo?” Taehyung wondered, leaning over the table to take a closer look at it – the colour green being the predominant one as a bunch of animals were all over the grass, and, once again, a girl and a man being part of the painting; their hands holding tightly together as they watched the animals.

Minjung nodded, looking up to you with a bright boxy smile that you had just now noticed was an exact replica of her father's. “We're going to see the animals!”

“Oh, you are?” you giggled at her enthusiasm.

“Yes” Taehyung confirmed after his daughter had nodded effusively, “this Saturday”.

“Are you excited to see the tigers, Minjung-ie?” you leaned over the table as well to be closer to her; watching her eyes light up even more at the mention of what you knew was her favourite animal.

Another effusive nod was her answer, allowing you to hear a chuckle leaving Taehyung's lips. “They're my favourite!”

Her sudden outburst of joy had both of you staring at her in complete awe.

Truth be told, both you and Taehyung were absolutely awestruck in that very moment. You, for you had never heard her talk so loudly and passionately before; yes, she was comfortable enough around you, since you had earned her trust only a few weeks into her first school year, but she still spoke quietly, almost afraid of disturbing her classmates with her voice if she did otherwise. Taehyung, on the other hand, felt happy as ever, for he had never seen his little girl being so comfortable around anyone that was neither him nor any of his closest friends, all of them whom she had known ever since she had memory. In the end, neither of you knew what was the cause of her being like this, but you wouldn't question it, instead just enjoying her bubbly behavior for as much as it lasted.

It was heartwarming overall, to see her that happy.

“What's your favourite animal?” she slurred her words, fixing her chocolate eyes on yours.

“Oh, I like too many of them to have a favourite” you admitted, “but giraffes are pretty cool” you smirked.

“I'll draw one for you!” her excited words had your heart becoming a puddle right there.

“Why thank you” your hand went to tuck a long strand of black hair behind her ear, out of sheer affection, “you're the sweetest”.

She smiled shyly, lowering her head before her eyes focused on her dad.

“You have something else, baby?” Taehyung wondered, gazing over to the other papers left.

“Mhm” she affirmed.

She did have quite a few, actually. You always kept your kids’ works, as insignificant as they might have seemed at the moment, precisely because you never knew if their parents would like to either see them or keep them by the end of the year; and, by the look in Taehyung's eyes as he stared at the different paintings whilst his daughter so proudly explained them to him, you knew more than ever that keeping them had been the right thing to do.

As she started to run out of drawings, you came across one of her with a woman. You remembered that one very clearly, because you had been by her side while she worked on it, and you had thought at first it was her mother, only to find out later, because of the flower in the woman's hair that so perfectly resembled the one Minjung had picked up for you that day, that it was you.

You had meant to keep that one apart from the rest, just in case it would turn out to be a touchy topic; because you couldn't simply overlook the fact that her mother had never gone to pick her up, she had never attended any of the conferences you had arranged with the parents to let them know about their children's progress. It was always Taehyung. In addition to that, there was also the fact of Minjung not once having mentioned her mother, much less had she drawn her, ever… meanwhile there she was drawing you. All of those facts put together, could only leave you with many ideas as to why she was never present, and why you should never bring out the subject.

None of your thoughtful intentions mattered anyway, you had then realised, for you had forgotten to keep that particular drawing apart from the rest.

Just like you feared, Taehyung frowned visibly. Minjung didn’t really have a female role model in her life; she had no one to look up to, much less to the point of taking her time in drawing them so beautifully. So his heart sped up. That couldn't be it, right? That woman right there couldn’t possibly be her m–

“This is you!” Minjung informed both of you before he could overthink about it any further – her eyes fixed on you as she handed you the piece of paper.

“Yes, I remember” you smiled, taking the painting in your hands and examining it with pure adoration in your eyes.

It was only a few seconds later when your eyes met Taehyung's, acknowledging the genuine yet melancholic smile on his lips.

“I'm sorry” you couldn't help but blurt out in more of a whisper.

You didn't need to say more for him to understand what you were sorry for. He shrugged, trying to take importance away from it. After all, it was not your fault at all that Minjung looked up to you. If anything, he was glad it was you out of everyone else; someone who he thought was kind, hard-working, respectable... All in all, someone who was just a good role model for his daughter.

“She would never draw her anyway”.

You felt your heart drop, not completely understanding what that meant, but neither wanting to question any further and overstep some kind of boundary. He was just one of your students’ parent anyway, you weren't supposed to dig so deep into their personal lives.

Minjung remained indifferent to the topic going on right before her presence, for she was still looking at the last one of her paintings; her fingers itching to show Taehyung already.

“Wow, that's really beautiful, Min-ie” he hyped her up after she practically shoved her drawing in his face; this time being one of the two of them in their pyjamas, being cuddled up on a sofa as they watched cartoons. “What a talented girl I have”.

You beamed at the warm image in front of you; Taehyung tenderly cupping her face and planting a kiss to her forehead. Watching the eyes full of pure love and admiration his daughter looked at him with right then, you wondered how could he ever believe for a second he was not doing a good job at parenting.

Walking over to the other side of the table, where your bag was, you started to collect some of your belongings that were lying around on the table. “You want to keep them?” you offered him, making his eyes snap in your direction.

Taehyung didn't even have to think twice before his head was effusively moving up and down. “Thank you” he said truthfully, his eyes focusing on the painting you had left on the table moments before, “you can keep that one if you'd like” he offered, “I guess it's your right since you're the muse” he laughed lightly, being followed by you.

“Thank you” you sheepishly said before reaching out to take it and carefully put it in your bag.

Seeing as you were getting your things ready to leave, he held Minjung up in his arms, having her clinging to his body as they waited for you. His eyes followed your every move, watching you go somewhere else, and later thanking you when you handed him Min-ie's backpack, a fluffy one shaped like a teddy bear he had completely forgotten about. After he put it on one of his shoulders, the three of you walked towards the exit in what felt like a rather comfortable silence.

It was when you were on the street, ready to part ways, that he turned around to look at you.

“Thank you so much again for looking after Min-ie today” he let out breathily, letting you know he was far from being over it.

“It was my pleasure” you smiled sweetly, one last time trying to reassure him about it being okay.

Before you could say your goodbyes and turn around, he digged his hand inside one of the pockets of his black trousers, as if he had remembered something extremely important right then. “Let me pay you”.

You didn't know if that had been a question or more of a statement. Either way, just as you caught a glimpse of his wallet, you shook your head no.

“There's no need to, really” you reassured him. “I love spending time with Minjung-ie, it wasn't trouble at all”.

“But–”

“I don't want money, Mr. Kim” you cut him off.

This time he let out a brittle laugh, being caught completely off guard by that name. “Mr. Kim” he repeated, not being able to hide how amused he was – even Minjung smiling at the funny name you had called her dad, “that makes me feel so old” his hand clutched to his chest. “I must be like… one… maybe two years older than you?” his eyebrows knitted together as he analyzed your already flustered face, like he would find the answer on it. “So, please… just Taehyung”.

You felt the heat go up to your face, doing your best not to show how bad his dark eyes staring at you right then were affecting you. Nevertheless, you nodded, letting him know you'd comply to his request.

“Is there anything else I can do for you then?” he wondered. “I really don't feel comfortable with not repaying you somehow” he confessed, scratching the back of his head with the hand he was not holding Min-ie with. “Do you need a ride home?”

You shook your head slowly. “I don't live that far, I can just walk… but thank you, honestly”.

He glared at both you and the smile your lips were currently displaying, tilting his head to the side as he huffed. “You're not making this any easier for me, Y/N”.

Your head snapped up at the sound of your name being said just like that, kind of loving the way it sounded under his deep voice.

“Appa!” Minjung moved her hands excitedly, catching his attention.

“Yes?” he asked her, gently removing a strand of hair that had fallen on her face.

She gazed at you for a brief second before her eyes were back on her dad, motioning for him to come closer to her. When he did, she cupped her little hands around her mouth and brought them to Tae's ear, like she was about to tell him the most sacred of secrets.

His eyes fixed on you, allowing you to see the growing smirk curving up his lips as he listened to his baby.

“You're sure?” he asked for her confirmation once she was done. After she had nodded confidently, his attention went back to you – clearing his throat before he spoke: “How about going with us to the zoo this Saturday?”

Your eyes lit up instantly, receiving a boxy smile from both of them before you could even answer.

“You would see the giraffes!” the little girl threw her hands up in the air, making you tilt your head slightly back as a blissful laugh escaped your throat.

“I would, wouldn't I?” you cocked one of your eyebrows. “After we go see the tigers, of course” your comment had her celebrating in a heartbeat.

“Is that a yes then?” Taehyung drew your attention to him, his smile becoming brighter at the mere sight of yours.

You let out a breathy laugh, shaking your head amusingly.

Was that even a question? How could you ever say no to spending a day at the zoo with the sweetest of girls and her new-found lovely dad?

“I would love to go, yes”.

[captaingondolin]

Baze liked a challenge, and he liked Chirrut. So it seemed only sensible to keep challenging him in the training arena. Chirrut smirked at him and met him blow by blow, until Baze was backed against a wall, Chirrut's foot mere millimetres from his neck, a high kick cut short with terrifying precision. Chirrut slowly folded down his leg, then set it down. He was sweating, breathing hard. "Good match." "Good for you, maybe," Baze grumped, undoing the string that was holding his locs back and shaking his head. Chirrut stepped closer again and stood on tiptoes to kiss him on the nose. He might have meant for the kiss to fall on his lips, but somehow Baze doubted that. "Shush." Baze - he tried really hard not to blush. This thing between them was still new. Not days-old, but a handful of weeks. They'd been friends a long time before - they were still friends, Baze would say. It was part of what they were to each other, the foundation of what they were to each other.

[idek where this was going, it was supposed to be for kinktober, but I’m out of energy for kink-writing, only fluff]

[whump-my-dear-watson]

Whumptober day no.14, 16, 17 +20

Pinned down, tear-stained, stay with me, Trembling

Character: Clark Kent

Fandom: Smallville

Word Count: 1,880

Summary: Clark is pinned by a boulder that is infused with Kryptonite, unable to move it off of him and being continually weakened, Clark faces the longest day of his life. 

A/N: this takes place around the earlier seasons of Smallville, idek, and boy howdy I sure did combine a lot of prompts for this one lol, also there’s a ton of perspective switches because I love so many dynamics of caretakers with Clark, and I couldn’t choose...

Pete’s truck sputtered and spit with black smoke, giving out with one last spurt. Pete sighed as he did his best to steer off the road as to not block any other cars, with a shudder the truck halted. Peter looked around. What could he do now? 

Before Pete was even able to make a decision on what he should do, the ever familiar blur of Clark came streaking towards him.

“Need a hand?” Clark asked with his typical face-wide grin. 

“Yeah, she gave out again. Think you can push it down the hill, or should I call a truck?”

Clark’s hands were already on the bumper of the truck, “I got this.”

Pete took a step back as Clark started to push the truck over the little hill before the road started to plateau. 

Good thing Clark came when he did, it was starting to get dark and the rock side of the road towered high, hiding them from view. 

They had gotten over twenty feet before Clark stopped.

“You okay?” Pete asked.

Clark twisted his head towards the side of the road. “Do you hear that?”

“What? No.”

“It's like a rumbling, it doesn't sound good…” Clark studied the wall of rock beside them, with the squint that Pete could recognize as using his x-ray vision. 

“Everything okay?” Pete could barely get out before Clark let go of the truck and turned to him.

“Watch out!” Clark screamed, tackling into him, throwing Pete out of the way just as a giant boulder broke out and landed with a heavy thud.  

“Clark? Are you okay?” Pete asked, standing up.

Clark's voice came from under the newly made to pile. “I'm good. Maybe,” he added much softer.

“Can't you lift it?" Pete asked, observing the large Boulder pinning Clark down.

Clark groaned with effort, "I- I don't know, it's not," Clark pushed against the rock again. "It's not working!" his voice broke, "my powers, they're not working!" 

Pete's head spun, how were Clark's powers suddenly not working? 

"It's okay, I'll help." 

Pete looked at his phone, no signal. He wouldn't be able to call for help. Pocketing his phone Pete went to stand by Clark, what was visible of him at least. His head, shoulders, and his right arm could move freely, everything else trapped. 

"Okay, let's get you out of this."

Pete braced his hands against the rock, pushing with all of his might he attempted to free him, but all the time he spent working out and at football, it didn't matter. The boulder didn't move an inch.

Clark started to be visibly distressed, Pete sat next to him, at his eye level. He wasn't looking good. That's when Pete noticed, "Clark, Clark, you're bleeding!" 

He did his best not to freak out or to freak Clark out, but in all their years of friendship, never once has he seen him bleed. He was supposed to be indestructible, right?

Clark's worried eyes found Pete's. "What's happening to me?" He asked, but Pete had no real answer.

After a while Pete started to notice Clark’s skin, it was a weird green tint, Pete had seen that before.

"Clark, doesn't the meteor rock make you lose your powers and become weak and all that?"

Clark got out a nod. "You think?"

"Yeah," Pete nodded. "This boulder is meteor rock."

They sat like that for a while, every so often Pete would get an idea, leveraging a big branch against the boulder, or digging Clark out, nothing would work. 

Pete didn’t leave Clark’s side, his worry growing more tense every second. Clark’s breathing became more erratic and his pain more audible. 

The evening sun was setting on them, the trees covering them from night. 

Pete wondered if anyone would ever find them if his truck was working he could drive for help, but he couldn’t do that, and he didn’t dare leave Clark alone anyway. 

It must have been an hour before they heard anything, a low rumble of an engine, the headlights of an oncoming car shown on the accident. 

Pete ran to get their help but froze in his tracks when he saw who the driver was. 

“Lex?” 

Lex Luthor stepped out of his car, rushing towards Pete. 

“What happened? Are you alright?” he asked, concern etched on his face as he observed the abandoned truck and pile of rocks scattered on the road.

“Uh, not exactly. My truck broke down and then...there must have been an earthquake or something because the rocks got loose,” Pete walked Lex over to the side where Clark lay, a heavy layer of sweat mixed with blood covering him.

“Oh my god, Clark?” Are you okay?” he asked squatting down to his eye level.

Clark’s distant gaze drifted over him, “Hmmm,”

“We can’t lift it. I tried everything and I can’t get a hold of anybody, no service.”

Lex nodded and tossed his own personal cell to Pete, “This should work, you should call the Kent’s.” 

Pete dialed Johnathan, no answer. He left a quick voicemail just out of Clark and Lex’s earshot, “Clark’s in trouble, his powers aren’t working, I think we need help.” Pete spared another worried glance at his friend before filling him in on their location. 

“Went to voicemail.” Pete informed Lex approaching the two of them.

“Well, let’s hope he checks that soon. In the meantime let’s get an ambulance up here, and, I don’t know the procedure, but a really big truck too? We have to get Clark out from there.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know, it’s just- it wasn’t supposed to be him… It was supposed to be me, Clark saw the rocks starting to fall and pushed me out of the way, it was supposed to be me,” he repeated. 

Lex came up to Pete and looked him straight in the eyes, “You can’t control what Clark does, it wasn’t your fault. You know Clark, he’s always the first to jump to save somebody.”

Pete nodded, but still feeling the overwhelming sense of guilt mixed with regrets. 

Clark’s face was drained of all life, the meteor rock not helping the tint. Lex returned to Clark’s side, trying to think of something to say to encourage the kid. “You’re doing good Clark, help’s coming shortly. You’re getting out of this.”

Clark swallowed and nodded, hardly able to hear Lex over his rapid heartbeat. He never knew so much pain existed, without his skin like steel- he was open quite literally to a world of pain. Lex was unable to hide his concern, it was obvious Clark’s mental state was deteriorating, and he looked sick, like really sick. Then again the boulder was bigger than a truck, part of Lex wondered how Clark was even still alive, but he knew that as with everything surrounding Clark, there was a mystery, but quite frankly the mystery of Clark Kent was the furthest thing from Lex’s mind, only worry for his friend remained. 

It wasn’t long before Pete emerged with Johnathan at his heels. He rushed to his son, unable to form any words. 

“Dad?” Clark asked in between deep breaths, a calming trick Lex had shown him, it wasn’t helping much at the moment. 

Johnathan smiled through his own pain of seeing his kid trapped, “I’m here.” 

Clark began to break down, it had been hours since he’d been powerless against the meteor rock laced boulder that was crushing him. With his loose arm, Clark tried to cover his tear-stained face, it was all too much. “It hurts, worse than anything I’ve ever felt,” he choked out a sob.

“I know son. I’m sorry.” Johnathan squeezed his eyes shut and took Clark’s hand in his, Clark leaned into the warm pressure. 

“You’re gonna be okay.” 

“I can’t move- Dad, I- I can’t move,” Clark’s shoulders trembled with fear, his mind racing, he would die here. Killed by a rock. Was that all that was meant for him?

“Hey, hey, I’m here.” Johnathan repeated until Clark’s breathing started to stabilize. 

Johnathan did his best to comfort Clark as they awaited the emergency responders, everyone at the accident had tried to lift the boulder, but they were no match. They would just have to wait for a truck. As Johnathan lay holding his son he thought back to when he first found Clark, he was all alone. He wasn’t now. He would never be alone again, not if Johnathan had anything to say about it. He’s so young- he had so much life left to live. 

“Hey! I think help’s here!” Pete shouted overlooking the hill.

Johnathan smiled down at his son, “Do you hear that? We’re gonna get you out, Clark. You’re gonna be just fine.”

Clark didn’t respond which made Lex and Johnathan’s stomach drop. “Come on Clark, stay with me,” Johnathan said trying to control his own breathing. 

Lex took a step back, he couldn’t watch his friend die. He had seen so much in his life, so much pain, his own mother, he couldn’t are to witness another person he loved die in front of him. 

It didn’t take long for the equipment to be set up to get Clark out, with all the people working and now the trucks, the boulder was moved. 

Clark hissed in pain from the movement, now fully aware of what was happening. Relieved from the pressure and contact with the rock Clark’s mindfully focused on the toll that such long exposure to the meteor rock had taken on him, normally it didn’t even take minutes after separating with it for him to start to heal, but Clark continued to feel worse than ever before. 

His head lolled in place as they loaded him onto a stretcher, Johnathan staying by his side. Pete and Lex stood dazed in place before Lex offered to take Pete to the hospital to see Clark later.  Lex flagged down Johnathan before the ambulance took off, “Mr. Kent! I want you to know that you don’t have to worry about medical bills, Clark will get the best care that is offered. “

“You really don’t have to do that,”

“I insist.”

Johnathan nodded, appreciative of Lex’s offer, but now terrified about what the Doctor could find out about Clark, but he was still human now, so Johnathan hoped that he would stay that way until they would leave the hospital. 

Pete apologized to Clark for the millionth time, but Clark just continued to tell him that it wasn’t needed. 

“We need to get you to the hospital now Mr. Kent,” one of the paramedics told Clark, Pete took a step back to make room for Clark’s father to join his son. Johnathan nodded a thanks to him before loading in.

Clark was already starting to look marginally better, no longer on death’s door at least. “Thanks, Dad.” he smiled. “For being there,” 

“Always son,” Johnathan kept his hand comforting on Clark’s shoulder, never would he have thought that he would have to witness his son so close to death, that was one of the perks of having an indestructible alien son, no danger. But that was never Clark’s style, and Johnathan had to accept that. 

“Next time you need a ride, call me.”

[creative-frequency]

Cayde-6 x Reader: The Trigger Ch. 1

Word count: 2719 Pairing: Cayde-6 (Destiny) x Female Reader Contains: Rating eventually up to mature/explicit, Cayde being Cayde, sass, shooting, chickens, idek yet. Notes: You might be wondering how tf did this happen and I have no excuse, but I can point a finger at @glistoi.

My Writing Masterlist

The refugees, people who had lost their homes, and Guardians, who had lost their Light, had been arriving for weeks. Weeks of tending the wounded, burying the dead, sharing the supplies and scraping by with whatever you could find. Who knew how many more such weeks there was to come?

There had been hard times, it was easy enough to admit, but this was different. They were already calling it “The Red War”. It was a difficult concept to grasp for someone like you. So far, your life had been a rather solitary one, only banding together for convenience or the occasional need to talk to another human being. It was a good, simple way of living.

Life in The Last City had never been for you. You weren’t a Guardian, but the burn of the wanderlust was too tempting, its flame too bright to resist. There were others like you and a handful of them you were proud to call your friends.

Just like you, Suraya Hawthorne had lived half of her life outside the City walls. To neither of you there was no other way of life. The untamed, Fallen-filled wilds of the European Dead Zone were your home and the life of a wanderer was yours.

So, when Suraya came up with the grand idea of transforming your beloved Farm into the cradle of civilization, you couldn’t find the excuse to refuse her your help. Since then she had taken charge of the camp, much to your relief, and handled the daily tasks of running the safe haven.

Your job was much easier. Aim. Shoot. Kill. Provide. Repeat as needed.

The only problem was that the need was getting way too high to handle. The flood of people had peaked already, but there were still more arriving each day, and everyone needed to eat. For someone from the City, the lands of the EDZ were unfamiliar and unquestionably dangerous. To you the terrain was familiar, and most importantly, you knew where to go when one wanted to find something to fill their belly with.

After a particularly rushed, but lucky hunting trip, you were back at the Farm, resting your mind and body by enjoying the warm, sunny day sitting on the grass. Things had started to gradually calm down since the attack on the City as everyone found their daily tasks and the rhythm of the life at the Farm.

People kept coming and going around you, most of them ignoring you, until a pair of boots appeared to your field of vision.

“Oh, hey, they told me to find you.”

“Who’s asking?” You looked up from your rucksack. An Exo. That explained the metallic voice. “And who’s ‘they’?”

“Some guy at the landing. ‘Find the woman with a rifle and a permanent scowl’, so here I am,” he said sounding suspiciously excited. His blue eyes were bright and aimed at you like a pair of flashlights. A light glowed in the back of his throat as he spoke, altering between cold yellow and warm orange shades.

As it happened, you had been cleaning your sniper rifle and the parts were scattered on the grass around you. Half of the Exo’s description certainly fit but taking care of new refugees had never been your job.

“Well, sorry but that’s not me. You’re looking for Suraya Hawthorne – she’s up there,” you said, already focused back on the weapon and nodded to the general direction of the large garage building.

The Exo hummed in thought, nodded and planted his hands on his hips, waiting.

“Did you need something else?” There was a scowl on your face you could swear wasn’t there before his arrival. If someone had asked you to describe Suraya, you would have told them to look for a woman in a poncho with a falcon. Half of the people at the Farm were carrying a rifle and there wasn’t much to smile about these days.

The Exo tilted his head, a somewhat apologetic look on his face. “Could you show me the way? I’m not sure I can find her on my own.”

You looked up to stare at him, trying to figure out was he serious. The pair of blue lights blinked innocently.

“It’s that building over there. She’s probably on the second floor, straight ahead from the stairs at the left,” you explained patiently, now more carefully pointing at the right direction. Even from that distance you could distinguish the woman in a blue poncho, hunched over a table you knew was filled with maps and plans.

“Yeah, okay,” the Exo agreed, but made no motion to any direction.

You waited a few seconds, hoping he would get the hint.

“Fine,” you groaned and placed the barrel you had been cleaning to the ground. No one would dare to touch your stuff anyways, or you would see to that they would never touch anything that belonged to you again.

You ignored the hand reached out in aid, got up and started walking at a brisk pace, silently irritated at being pulled away from your solitude.

“I’m Cayde-6, by the way,” the Exo said and hurried after you.

Out of the shreds of courtesy you managed to dig from inside you, you turned to nod to him over your shoulder.

“Pleasure,” you said curtly but didn’t bother introducing yourself. You wouldn’t have to stand his company ever again anyway.

“So, you live around here?” Cayde questioned to make small talk.

“I do.”

“Uh-huh.”

There was a beat of silence, but he didn’t let it last for long.

“And what do you do?” he asked.

“I’m a hunter.”

Cayde let out a delighted noise. “Oh, what a coincidence! I’m a Hunter too.” He sounded way too excited about the revelation.

“Great,” you muttered and continued stomping up the stairs, not listening to what the Exo was gushing about behind you.

Being a hunter like you, and being a Hunter like him were worlds apart. With each step you were gladder you would get rid of him soon.

“Hawthorne, there’s someone looking for you,” you announced as soon as you stepped onto the second-floor platform.

Suraya was leaning heavily over the map that had been spread on the table. She looked up and her brows raised. “What is it?”

You simply pointed a thumb over your shoulder towards the Exo sauntering after you. You imagined he was throwing finger guns at everyone and everything along with the greetings that kept spilling out of his mouth. Seemed like you had found the noisiest person on the planet.

“Heyy, you must be Hawthorne.”

“And you must be Cayde-6. Welcome to the European Dead Zone.” Suraya straightened up and folded her arms on her chest. Her judgmental gaze scanned over the newcomer.

“Oh. Thanks.” Cayde glanced at you, eyes bright with clear as day mischief. “…For the warm welcome.”

Suraya laughed. “Don’t mind her. She’s our best tracker and that compensates to her people skills.”

You rolled your eyes to the heights, still not feeling like warming up to Cayde the Hunter. You had seen enough Guardians for one life time and had a long time ago deemed it best to avoid them.

“Oh, so that’s what you meant when you said you were a hunter. That’s amazing, though! I let my Ghost handle the tracking stuff.” Cayde was looking at you with completely new interest and it made your insides tingle nervously.

The small, red device appeared in the air as if on cue: “Nice to meet you. My name is Sundance.”

The Ghost made a circle around Cayde’s head before settling to hover above his left shoulder.

“You came from Nessus, didn’t you?” Suraya asked, her brows creasing in thought.

“Yeah. Had a little stuck-in-endless-portal-loop-scenario. The Guardian helped me out,” Cayde explained and chuckled.

Everyone knew which Guardian he was talking about: The only one who had gotten their Light back. News of her heroics around the system had spread like a wildfire.

“You know where she is now?” Suraya continued.

“We left Nessus at the same time. I sent her to Io, she was looking for Ikora, our Warlock vanguard.”

“Ah.”

When the conversation deceased, you started slowly retreating towards the exit, hoping Suraya would handle Cayde and you could go back to being left alone.

“Are you busy now?” she asked sharply, stopping you on your tracks.

“Always,” you turned to say with a blank face.

Suraya looked back to Cayde and her posture relaxed. “You should get some rest before you guys start planning on how to save the world again.” A hint of a smile tugged at her lips. For every Guardian who arrived at the Farm, she seemed happier. The Farm needed people who knew which end of the gun went where. Though you weren’t sure did the Hunter deserve so much credit.

Cayde swatted the air as if saving the world was nothing. “It’s just another Tuesday.”

“Hmh. Have you had time to explore the place?” Suraya’s tone was pondering and the feeling that you were not going to get back to being left alone grew tenfold.

“Nah, just got here,” Cayde said.

“Why don’t you show him around?” Suraya asked you in a tone that didn’t leave any room for argument.

You threw a murderous look at her, but after so many years of friendship, she was immune by now. Cayde, on the other hand, was not so immune to the power of your scornful glare.

“Y’know what? I’m good, really, there’s no–”

“Cayde? Are you there?” a booming shout carried from nearby.

The voice belonged to the Titan Vanguard Commander. You had seen him from afar, never made any contact with and didn’t even want to. He was an Awoken, always armored from neck to toe and seemed to have a stick up his ass but that was probably caused by the recent events. Losing the City you’re supposed to protect will do that.

“On second thought, I could really use a tour.” Cayde grabbed your shoulders and before you could utter a word of protest, he turned you towards the stairs and walked you down.

Suraya just chuckled and went back to her maps.

It was an easy way out of the situation, but as soon as you were down on the ground level, you shook the Exo off your back.

“Hey, I didn’t catch your name back there,” he said.

“That’s cause I didn’t say it,” you muttered loud enough to be heard.

“Yeah, I noticed. Just didn’t want to be rude.”

“You can call me whatever you like. I don’t care.”

“Uuh, I like that…”Cayde rubbed his hands together eagerly. “So, how about–”

You stopped abruptly, interrupting him by almost causing him to bump into you. You didn’t budge when you turned, and instead fixated the scariest, most serious look you could form straight into his bright blue eyes.

Cayde blinked, obviously surprised.

“I have no interest in being your friend, so there’s really no need to try so hard,” you said as you eyed him up and down, for the first time actually looking at him, “…Guardian.”

“Ah, the cold shoulder again!” Cayde waved one finger in the air, as if saying that he knew the answer to this one. “Sorry, I wasn’t supposed to say that out loud, was I? I’m not so good at this whole ‘making friends’ thing–”

A frustrated groan rumbled from your throat as you spun on your heels and continued to try and go on about your business. The rifle needed cleaning, the bow string needed to be changed, there was tons to pack before heading out and your dog was god knows where, so you’d have find him…

But Cayde skittered after you like a puppy wanting to play.

“Don’t you have something to do, Guardian?” you asked angrily, not sparing a look at him. You headed towards the spot where you had left most of your stuff behind the survey unit house.

“First of all, it’s Cayde, C-A-Y-D-E. But I forgive you since we only just became friends.”

Okay now you were sure he was trying to get on your nerves on purpose. You took a sharp inhale before opening your mouth:

“Why don’t you run along–”

The delighted gasp that left Cayde and the reason for it silenced you mid-sentence.

“What is that?” Cayde asked, skittering forward in tiny, dancing steps.

You patted your thigh and made a short whistle.

“A dog?” you said.

“Duh. I know it’s a dog. Of course, it’s a dog. What I mean is what is that doing here?” The pitch of Cayde’s voice heightened as he crouched with open arms, ready to try and hug the animal.

One of your concerns had solved itself as your occasional hunting companion sat on the grass, tail wagging and dark golden eyes peeled at you. You felt a weird sense of satisfaction as he ignored the Exo trying to call out to him.

“Good boy,” you murmured and invited the dog closer for a scratching behind the ear.

Cayde let out a dismayed huff and crossed his arms on his chest. “Now I know what it means that pets and their owners are alike...”

You hummed, decided to overlook the stupid comment and patted the dog’s head. He had noticed you were planning to leave and had come to check could he go with you. The short, orange-brown fur was clean and flowy, a telltale signal of love, care and a bath. Mark and the kids had probably looked after him again. You would have to go thank them before heading out. The thought brought an almost imperceptible smile to your lips.

“What’s his name?” Cayde asked after a few seconds of looking at you and the dog.

You hesitated. “Uh, he doesn’t have one…” At least to your knowledge. It was highly probable that the kids had given him a name. You just called him “the dog”.

You peeked at the horrification on the Exo’s face from under your brows.

“…What?” you asked.

“He doesn’t have a name?! How’s that possible?” Cayde all but screamed.

You shrugged, uncomfortable about the amount of emotion he put into his words.

“Well, he might have one. I just don’t have one for him.” You didn’t want to start explaining how he had been a stray in the wildlands and just tagged along when you had given him some food. Apparently, that had been an unintentional invite to be a part of your pack, but the dog had made himself useful, for sure.

“Then who does?” Cayde questioned with a frown. He was itching to lean down to pet the dog.

“Maybe the kids who live at the camp nearby. I– I don’t know. What does it even matter?” Your gaze shifted from the Exo to the dog.  “The tour will have to wait until I get back. Come on, boy.”

As fast as you could, you started throwing the stuff from the ground into the rucksack, all the while trying to act like Cayde’s presence wasn’t bothering you at all.

“You’re ditching me already? I thought we were starting to bond here.” He gestured between himself and you, a mock hurt look on his face.

“I work alone,” you said when you were done and slung the bag over your shoulder. You didn’t mean to look, but Cayde had his hands on his hips again and a stern pout on his face.

“I’m gonna make sure you hold on to that promise, hunter,” he said and a look of dismay passed his features, “Good luck out there.”

A weird sensation fell into the pit of your stomach. You couldn’t snap back at him like you wanted to, nor did you say thanks or even glance at him. The dog waited eagerly by your side, ready to head out into the wilds and the feeling was gradually taking you over too.

“Come back with a story!” Cayde quipped at your retreating back.

As a reaction, only a light huff escaped you. It almost curled the corners of your mouth up.

“Man, I want a pet too,” Cayde said to himself, longingly staring at the dog that was happily trailing after you.

Next Chapter

Tagging: @bleucommelhiver @lucianhuntress @singlebecauseofthechocobros @sherniwrites @owlwrites @toastyfiction @sevansheart

[kyulkyungs]

soulmate!jeno

Request: can i request a lil soulmate!au in a non-idolverse for jeno, please? i've been feeling super soft for him lately hehe ☺️💐💝💝(Hihihihihi!!! I can rlly feel u, partner, so this is a definite yes!!)

others: jaemin | haechan | jisung

you’ve met him in your dreams

you know that he’s there and he talks with you sometimes

but his face is always kind of blurry and you can’t remember much of it when you wake up

one thing for sure is that you know he’s a really handsome boy and your heart thumps just thinking about him even if you forget his face

you can remember meeting him way back when you were kids

and he was such a sweet puff all the way back then to you too

even now he’s so amazingly sweet and soft and kind of shy to you now that you’re older and the chances of you actually meeting in person has skyrocketed

you’re not really sure where your dreams take place most of the time

more often than not they’re in a place you or he recognizes

you used to play tag when running around your house or he’d show you all the neat stuff in his room and tell you a different story about every single thing each time

even once the two of you got older that small childish love and innocence never went away once the teenage awkwardness was supposed to set in

the both of you just refused to become that way and instead stay loving and supportive of each other 

even if you could never remember each other’s faces or each other’s names and it was just a fuzzy picture of each other when trying to remember

even his voice which you loved since he liked to talk to you softly as opposed to how loud he would screech when running away from you on this hill in a certain dream

both of you actually weren’t sure where it was because it wasn’t like a park or a place nearby your houses or schools

and the two of you were constantly on the lookout for it and it kind of felt like a childish adventure sometimes and was really fun but he always complained it’d be better to do it with you

as you got older the adventures to seek out the mysterious fun hill stopped and instead you both went on with other things

especially since you moved to a different neighborhood with your family and had to get settled there

you remember being in the dreamscape first because you were so tired, when normally it was your soulmate who was there first

you usually greeted him with a surprise hug and jumping onto his back or grabbing his hand and feeling his warmness or even just tapping his shoulder and getting picked up and spun around because he was so happy to see you

this time you were the one greeted when you felt two arms wrap around you and start swaying you back and forth with the person holding you

honestly the moment was so soft that there were no words needed to be spoken because you knew who this was obviously and you found his embrace so comforting

“it’s early, you usually don’t go to bed this early... good thing i took a nap, huh?” and his voice was still that soft soothing sound to your ears

and you can smell something faint that smells like something sweet and you ask him if he ate some sweets and then went into a food coma

and he just laughs and hugs you tighter saying ‘no, i just wanted to see you that badly’

it’s times like these where you really wish that you could find your soulmate in the real world instead of when you’re far apart and the universe makes it harder to know anything farther than their personalities

you can tell that he feels somewhat the same because he just rests his head on your shoulder and sighs

‘oh did you wash your sheets? they smell really good’ 

and you laugh when he breathes in again but in a dorkier and funnier way to make you laugh and plus his nose tickles !

but you nod anyways while he’s tickling you with his nose ‘yeah, we just moved so everything is fresh right now’

and he hums and is about to ask you where but then he pauses because he knows that he’ll either wake up or it’ll come out like a blurbled mess anyways

and you know he’s kind of sad so you’ve turned around in his hug and are now hugging him tightly while he enjoys your embrace

he loves being able to hug you, this is a fact and you know it and so does the universe

‘i hope you get settled and enjoy your new home’ this is the perfect opportunity for a cheesy line so you use it

‘i already am, because you’re my home’

and he just laughs and buries his head back into your shoulder and you can barely hear it

but he softly says that he really loves you

and it warms up your heart so much

eventually the two of you continue talking and just spending time with each other

and you’re both on the hill again and it brings you back to adventures around your neighborhood as a kid and being determined to find this boy who you wanted to play with all the time

and the sneaking out as a teenager sometimes to scout out a new area and explore further

usually it was these times where your soulmate worried the most about you because you would come in really late in the dreams and he was scared you’d never show up

he would always rush over whenever you appeared and check you for any marks to see if anything happened even if it was kind of blurry

he just wanted to make sure you were okay :( this poor baby

eventually you stopped sneaking out and just hanging out with him in your dreams because yeah it’s not worth it if you did get hurt trying to find this mystery hill and get him a heart attack

little did you know that two or three times he skipped school to look for the hill too and pretended he was sick and everyone had to cover for him and nobody could get the story straight

eventually you got more comfortable and used to your home and your neighbors

one of your neighbors was a nice old lady who had like four little dogs and they were all very good dogs

sometimes they’d somehow get out of the house and over to yours and you’re not even sure how they get in but sometimes they do but it’s okay they’re really cute

one day, however, you find one of the dogs running around in the front yard

you went outside to go catch it and return it to the lady next door but when it saw you it started dashing off in a completely opposite direction

and you panicked because uH?? NO? home that way!!!!

so you had to chase the doggo and it just keeps going like wow it’s a small dog but woosh what is she feeding these dogs if they’re like little ninjas y’know

you expect this dog to turn around and start wagging it’s tail because it knows you’re running after it and it thinks you’re playing with it

but it’s not..... doing that?

it’s just running and running without looking back at you

somehow you make it to a busier street area and that’s when you get more nervous because there’s more people to block you and cars and you really want to save this dog now

but miraculously all the people see you in time and move to the side or the dog runs across crosswalks a couple seconds after the light turns red and someone had hit the button to cross

it’s all sunshine and flowers now but this dog ain’t stopping to appreciate them

as you keep running, you lose more and more energy but you don’t want to lose this dog but wow the distance gap is getting bigger and bigger

it’s not too concerning until you see that the dog is headed for a crosswalk and the sign just turned red and you’re not supposed to cross

but it just keeps going

so you’re shouting at it to stop and for it to wait and it gets closer to the edge and the cars look like they’re about to start moving and don’t see the dog

you’re so frightened that the dog will really run across when you see a pair of legs run in front of the dog’s path and it skids to a stop

when you look up you see a boy and you’re like.............. omg............ that’s my boy

and he picks up the rascal dog and starts walking towards you and as he comes closer and closer he realizes that..........

you look like a mess

but also that.............. wow................ you’re............... you’re his soulmate

you’re still catching your breath and holding your side because it’s so cramped but when he gets closer you just reach your arms out

and he thinks you’re going for a hug so he walks even closer but you just scoop the dog out of his arms and are like

‘thank......... you........... this dog........ idek’

and he just looks at you and just starts smiling because wow it’s really you and he doesn’t care if this is the first time seeing you in person and you’re not showing that much excitement at least he’s getting to see you

eventually you catch your breath and there’s a silence between you and your soulmate is still watching you, arms ready to case you fall over and you just might because your legs are so tired

‘we can go inside here,’ he says and points to this building

and it’s actually a cafe of some sort and you could really use a drink rn and a place to sit down

so you just nod because the reality of meeting your soulmate just hit you and gAH IT’S REALLY HIM!!!!!

when you step inside the ac is on and the people greet you and you just go take a random booth with him

after sitting for a minute or so the both of you make eye contact and that’s really it right there

where everything fits into place and it all seems super right

all of a sudden you’re laughing really hard because it doesn’t seem that real right now

first you were calm in your own home and thinking you’d return the neighbor’s dog like normal

next you were running for your life and also for a dog’s and it was a full blown panic and you probably ran a long distance while sprinting

and now....... now you’ve just met the literal man of your dreams

and he doesn’t even seem fazed by your lack of reaction to meeting him, he just looks like he’s having the time of his life

and that’s when he finally understands

he makes an ‘ahh’ sound and you’re confused and he just smiles at you and points behind you

and painted along the wall of the cafe is a mural of a hill........ your hill

there’s a little phrase that says ‘where dreams come true’ and it’s so cheesy and funny and you’re like...... so that’s what it meant

eventually you turn back around and find that he’s looking at you, just watching you and taking in all your features

you don’t shy away from his gaze at all and instead welcome it because it’s so endearing, so loving, so fond

at the same time you’re mapping out his own features and realizing that he truly is really handsome it’s no joke

he moves his hand across the table and opens it palm up so that he can hold yours for the first time in real life

you’re shuffling the dog so that you can properly hold it and slowly glide your fingertips across his palm before moving your hand to fit into his

and it’s like two puzzle pieces, the rights ones...

a perfect fit

‘jeno,’ he says and you’re testing his name out on your tongue and the whole time he’s just smiling and then he tests your name out on his and it’s so smooth coming out of his mouth

this is the guy you’ve been seeing in your dreams

this is the guy you dreamt of seeing in real life

this is your soulmate........ jeno

never before have you seen a small dog look so smug

[too-much-jonerys]

“A Rash Decision”- Jonerys Fic

A/N: This is one of the fics I’ve been working on for a while. Don’t have too much to say about it. Just another little diddy on what I think could have conspired the night of #boatsex that led to the visit to Dany’s cabin.

The sea air was brisk as Dany walked across the ship's deck. Few others were awake at that hour let alone on the topside of the ship save for a few crew hands. And another.

Jon stood at the bow, gazing out over the water. She'd seen him in that same spot the two previous nights. She’d even quietly watched him for a bit but never made her presence known. He said nothing and neither would she, eventually retiring to her cabin. That night, though, Dany approached him silently. He only took a quick glance at her as she stood beside him.

“You do not sleep, Jon Snow.”

“Neither do you.”

“Perhaps we both have too much to think about.”

He nodded in agreement, his face riddled with concern. Dany waited for whatever question appeared to be on the tip of his tongue.

“Do you believe that Cersei really intends on helping us? Were we right to trust her?”

“I don’t know.” Dany answered. A cold wind blew over her as if it were an omen. “I want believe that she does, but I am not so naive as to put any trust in her. But, I trust Tyrion. I will be prepared for her either way.”

“We can’t fight two wars at the same time. If she plans on attacking us while we defend the North…”

“Then everyone loses. Everyone but the Night King, of course. We can only hope that she isn’t that stupid.” Dany looked at him after a long pause and unexpectedly smirked. “I see now.”

“What?”

“You can’t possibly ever sleep if this is all you think about. How can your mind ever rest?”

“We’re going to war.”

“I know. I spend much time thinking of Cersei’s plans, too. And other concerns. It all troubles my mind often. But, a troubled mind helps no one, does it?”

Jon opened his mouth to give a retort but had none. He only sighed.

“I’ve seen you come out here every night, lost in thought,” Dany pried further.

“You’ve taken to studying my habits now?”

“Seeing as this is my ship, my lord, I must keep close track of all those on it,” she quipped, feigning seriousness.

“Still have so little trust in me,” Jon smiled. “I could ask you why you’ve taken to the sitting alone in the council room every morning, too.”

“Well, I see that I’m not the only one studying habits.”

“Maybe we’re just paying too close attention to each other.”

Jon only meant it in jest as an off-hand comment, but they both paused at the statement. Realizing the implication, they nervously chuckled. He was not wrong, however. The keen attention they paid to each other was hard to ignore.

In the days since they took sail, even before that, the two of them had developed an underlying and undeniable closeness. They found themselves exchanging laughs and glances with each other as if they'd been acquainted for years at that point. Even the others around them took notice, as well, but said nothing.

As she thought on his words, however, Dany’s smile faded back into seriousness.

“Why I sit alone. Would you believe it that I'm frightened?” Dany stared down at her hands. “There is so much that I have endured for the throne. So much that my people, whom I care for, have endured for it. I worry that it was all for nothing. None of it will matter if we can't defeat the Army of the Dead. And if we do, and Cersei still overtakes us… I've lost Viserion to a battle. I don't want to think of how many more I'll lose to two wars. Those of you who fight and care for me. And those of you whom I've grown to lo-”

Dany cut herself off.

“To care deeply about,” she finished.

A silence fell between them, and, so subtly, Jon took a step closer to Dany as he started to speak.

“We would both be fools to not be frightened. Not after the dangers we've seen. I'm frightened for my family. For my home. The dead could be right outside its gates before I even reach them. Perhaps that's what keeps me coming on this deck at night. I'm worried about losing my family. And my friends.” He paused, training his eyes on her. “And those whom I've grown to care deeply about, as well.”

She first hesitantly then softly placed her hand on top of Jon’s.

“I suppose this is when we must be strongest. We cannot avoid the wars. We cannot avoid the losses. But we can only hope to win if we set our fears and worries aside. Trust that we can overcome these odds... together.”

He nodded, and clasped her hands gently in his. As they looked into each other's eyes, no further words were needed to convey what they were feeling. It was there again. The same rush that they'd felt before. The same urge and sense of longing that Dany tried to fight. But, she wasn't willing to hold back this time. Neither was Jon.

She stared at his lips as he inched slowly closer to her, and she took a deep breath in anticipation. His heart beating wildly, Jon leaned in towards her, closing his eyes.

“You two are out late,” an approaching voice called out, startling them. They immediately split apart when they saw that the voice belonged to Tyrion.

“It's hard to sleep with all that's happening, is it not?” Dany replied, saving face. Her voice was still unsettled, however. “We were simply discussing preparations and…”

“Alliances,” Tyrion interrupted. Dany pursed her lips at his implication.

“It is getting late, though. I should retire to my cabin. ” She paused for a moment, glancing at Jon. “Good night, Jon.”

Something in her eyes and her voice was pointed as she spoke to Jon. Telling him something else, something more. Her message wasn't lost on him, and it wasn't lost on Tyrion as he stood next to Jon.

“Twice,” Tyrion spoke plainly once Dany was out of earshot. “That’s how many times I loved a woman. Truly loved. I would have loved either of them forever. Would have given up anything for them. Risked all. Thrown it all away. But, do you know what happened to those women?”

“No,” Jon answered.

“I let my love for them cloud my better judgement, lose focus on what was important and was left broken for it. Twice.” Tyrion looked up to Jon with a stern expression. “Love must never be allowed to cloud your judgement or focus. Cause you to make rash decisions.”

“And what does this have to do with me, Lord Tyrion?” Tyrion gave Jon a look that saw clear through him.

“It's to remind you that, while love can be a good thing at the right time, it can make you reckless at the wrong time. This is the wrong time.”

Jon shifted his stance, steadily becoming annoyed by the conversation.

“This is about what I said to Cersei.”

“Well, yes,” Tyrion said, “But, it's not only you. You know, I tried to stop her from flying north of The Wall. I admit it. It was too great of a risk. She could have been killed. It could have all been over right then, and she didn't care. All reasoning was lost. She was only concerned with saving you. She didn’t care that...”

“She does care,” Jon retorted defensively.

“I know she does. I know. And you do, too,” Tyrion sighed, calming himself, “All I mean is that no one can afford to act against their better judgement now, not for any reason.”

“You don't think I know that?”

It was then that Tyrion realized that he would not get through to Jon any more than he’d gotten through to Dany; not that night. Maybe not at all.

“I can only advise so far, but let me give you this piece. It's not pleasant, but you need to hear it. Love has no happy ending here. Not now. You understand that, too. Sometimes, it's best to leave things as is.” Jon glanced down at Tyrion then back out to sea. Tyrion only sighed again and walked back towards the interior. Not before making one last statement, laced in sarcasm, though. “But, who truly knows, Jon Snow? Maybe you're just lucky.”

Jon looked back after Tyrion had gone. He tried to put Tyrion's words out of his head, but the Hand was not completely wrong. The thought was ever-present in Jon’s head. The idea that he and Daenerys were complicating an already complicated situation. They had too much at stake to afford any emotion-based missteps.

But then he thought of Dany. Of her smile. Of the unstoppable pull he felt to her. Of the look she gave him before she returned to her cabin.

His thoughts mulled around in his mind for a bit. He tried to decipher what Tyrion's warning meant. What Dany's look meant. What his own feelings meant. With one more long gaze over the ocean, a decision was made. Jon took a deep gulp, silencing his conflicting thoughts, and walked back into the interior.

He was done overthinking for the night.

[insert “*knock knock* Boat sex?” here]

Honestly, I don’t really know why Tyrion was creeping on Jon and Dany like that in the show. So, this is just my interpretation of why until further notice. He knew they were up to something and tried to warn against it. So, he staked out waiting for Jon to ignore his advice. Idek, dude. Anyway, here are the events that lead to boatsex as told by me.

*dabs in swag like the youth are into doing these days*

[i-write-shakespeare-not-disney]

Beloved

idek man i had writers block then i just really needed laith to be parents and this happened i didn’t proofread and im dead inside so fuck it here. 

The smell of food filled the air, and Keith was absolutely ravenous. He sat down and piled food onto his plate, ignoring Lance’s amused expression. “What? It’s a celebration, right?” Lance pretended to zip his lips and followed behind him with his own plate of food.

The party went on around them. The Arusian king was dancing with a very confused Allura. Pidge and Hunk were chowing down on snacks and going on about some of the protection tech the put up. Shiro was with Coran and the lions were set up around the area, providing the comfort of protection. Lance sat beside Keith, fixing him with that dorky doe-eyed look.

“What?” Keith asked, suppressing a smile.

“Just really like looking at you,” he answered, leaning into him. Keith felt butterflies burst in his stomach, but there were too many people around for him to kiss Lance. “It’s surreal that you like me back.”

“Lance, it’s been months,” Keith laughed, poking his side. Lance chuckled and moved away.

“I know…. But ever since we…. You know. It’s just. Wow.” Keith felt himself blush further and he intertwined their fingers. They had gone the next step after 7 months of dating and learning each other’s nuances, and ever since it felt like they were both on cloud nine. The giggling, blushing honeymoon phase had resurfaced, something Pidge enjoyed teasing them about. “I really like being with you, Keith.”

“I like being with you too,” he murmured. “Now eat. Try this it tastes like chicken.” He pressed a piece of food to Lance’s lips and chuckled when Lance’s teeth lightly grazed his fingers. He hummed appreciatively and Keith continued to eat.

As he ate, he felt a sudden wave of dizziness, and his stomach churned. The food which had been so appetizing a few seconds ago suddenly smelled too strong, too greasy. Keith stood and scrambled away from alien eyes, finding some place dark before he leaned over and hurled.

“Keith?” he heard. Keith continued to throw up, everything he’d eaten coming back up in a disgusting swirl. “Corazon, what happened?”

Keith wiped his mouth and coughed. “I’m fine,” he groaned. “I think I ate too fast.”

“Are you okay to go back, or you want me to take you to the castle?” Keith shook his head and spit at the ground one more time. “Maybe you should rest. I’ll tell Allura-”

“No, I’m fine now. It’s okay. Come on let’s get back.” Lance frowned but didn’t argue, knowing how stubborn Keith was. For the rest of the party, Lance hovered around Keith enough to make sure he was okay, but far enough so Keith wouldn’t get annoyed.

No matter how much Keith assured him he’d just eaten too quickly, Lance refused to leave his side even when they were back in the castle. Keith wasn’t complaining, though. He loved sleeping beside him.

The next morning, Lance woke Keith up so he’d have a chance to eat breakfast. Keith was half asleep as Lance dragged him to the table and sat him down.

“Everything okay?” Shiro asked in confusion.

“Yeah. Keith got sick yesterday, and I’m trying to make sure he eats something,” Lance said, placing a bowl of food in front of him.

“You’re babying me. I’m fine, I told you,” Keith muttered. He ate slowly, and Lance took his hand under the table.

Halfway through his food, Keith felt that familiar lurch again. In a flash, he was up from the table and racing to the bathrooms. He hated throwing up. He hated how shaky and out of breath it made him feel.

When he was finally done, he leaned against the wall and took a breath, trying to ignore the disgusting aftertaste in his mouth. He heard footsteps and saw Lance lean down beside him, pushing his hair out of his face.

“I think you should go into the cryopod. Just to be sure you’re really okay.”

Keith shook his head and leaned into Lance’s hand. “It’s probably just a stomach bug.”

Lance took his chin and fixed him with a nervous, uncertain look. “Please? Just to ease my worry.” Keith groaned and nodded, too exhausted to protest. His stomach felt weak and sore after repetitive vomiting. “Can you stand?” Keith nodded again and, with Lance’s help, stood up.

He walked, leaning on Lance, suddenly wanting his bed.

When they got back to the table, the others were looking at them worriedly. “Can you get him into a cryopod? He got sick last night too.”

“Of course,” Allura said. She walked out, waving them along. “Is there anything else bothering you?” she asked, setting up the cryopod.

Keith shook his head. “No I just can’t keep food down. I’m sure it’ll go away in a few days, but you know Lance.” She smiled and shook her head, gesturing for him to get in.

He stood there for a few minutes, eyes closed as the pod whirred around him. Another indeterminable amount of time later, he was able to get out, feeling a little better and a little hungry.

Allura was staring at the screen with wide eyes, while Lance was messing with his jacket on the other side. As soon as Keith stepped out, Lance reached his side and checked his forehead. “Allura, can you calm him down and tell him I’m fine?” he said looking over at the princess.

She looked at him and then back at the screen. “Allura?” Lance asked.

“One moment,” she squeaked. She left and came back with Coran, both of them staring and analyzing the images on the screen. “I’m reading it right, aren’t I?” she asked.

“Y-yes. I didn’t know…. Oh dear.”

“What?” Lance asked, evidently getting more concerned.

Allura looked at Coran then over at Keith. “Well… it would seem…. You’re with child.”

Keith stared at her for a few seconds before laughing. “That’s funny. What’s really wrong? A virus?”

She frowned and turned the screen to him. He saw the heat image of himself and then, in a zoomed in image what looked like a round bag around a small bean shaped thing. Keith stared at the image in confusion, his breaths coming quicker. “Your body has morphed to be able to hold a child. I assume this isn’t something all humans can do,” she said softly.

Keith shook his head. “No. No, there’s no way. I’m a guy, I can’t…. Bodies don’t just morph, that thing has to be broken!”

“Perhaps we can run a few tests? I’m not sure if being part Galra has affected you, but even so it could help to do some studies,” Coran suggested.

“I can’t be….” Keith couldn’t even spit the word out. He was a male. He was nineteen. He was a soldier in a galactic war. He’d had sex one time. Keith looked over at Lance who was staring wide-eyed at the monitor. “Lance. Was there anything different about my body that night?” he asked in what he hoped was a calm voice.

Lance gulped and bit his lip. “I mean… yeah, but I didn’t want to freak you out and…. I didn’t think it would….” Keith felt his legs give way and he fell to the floor in a heap, hands yanking at his hair. “Keith!” His body wasn’t his body anymore.

His body was growing another body inside of it. Keith couldn’t breathe. He never wanted kids. He never thought he could have kids. And now, after one fucking time, he was….

“Nobody else needs to know about this,” he growled. “This stays between the four of us until we figure out what to do.” He stood, unable to look at any of them. “I’m going to sleep.”

He walked away and went to his room, luckily not running into any of the other paladins. God, how was he supposed to explain any of it? He didn’t understand himself.

Before he could crawl into his bed, his door slid open and Lance was inside. Keith had to reign in his anger. “Keith, look I know this is crazy and you’re freaked out and everything, but….” He looked terrified. “What did you mean when you said we had to figure out what to do?” Keith stared at him silently. “What, like get rid of the baby?”

“It’s not a baby. Not yet.”

Lance’s expression was heartbreaking. “No. No, you can’t do that, Keith.” He scowled and turned away, biting back insults and angry retorts. “Keith, I know this isn’t something anyone expected, but… that’s my baby too, you know?”

Keith turned on him, and shoved him against the wall. “That’s not supposed to be possible! You didn’t tell me that I’d changed when we had sex and maybe if you had we wouldn’t be in this situation. You don’t get to make this decision.”

Lance cupped his face and shut his eyes. “I’m sorry. I really am, but I didn’t think it mattered. I just wanted to make you feel good, I didn’t know it meant you could get pregnant.” Keith grimaced at the word. “But think about it, Keith. Just a little, for me. Don’t just get rid of it because you’re scared or angry. Because I’m here. I’m in this with you, and everyone else would be too. Just think about it, okay?”

“There’s nothing to think about, Lance. I’m nineteen.”

“My mom had me when she was seventeen.”

“We’re in space! We’re in the middle of a war!”

“Lots of babies are born during war. We’ll keep it safe.” Keith crossed his arms and glared at him. Lance sighed and kissed his forehead. “Sleep it off. I’ll see what I can make you that won’t trigger morning sickness.” Keith remained where he was as Lance left.

He didn’t understand how Lance was handling this so easily. How was this not freaking him out? Of course it wasn’t his body that was going to change. He wasn’t the one throwing up anything he ate, he wasn’t the one who would be dealing with the added weight of a mini parasite in his stomach.

Keith crawled into bed and shut his eyes, trying to sleep. But his mind was racing and his panic was only growing. Then all of a sudden the castle alarms were blaring and Keith was up before he could process it. He yanked on his armor, finding it hard to believe there was anything wrong with him when he looked the same as he had a few weeks ago. He clambered into the black lion and was greeted by the rest of the paladins as they flew out, prepared to defend the castle.

Galran ships were getting close but there weren’t that many. They might not even need to form Voltron. As the paladins prepared, a hit landed on the black lion, jostling Keith.

“Keith!” he heard Lance and Allura cry out. He scowled and ignored it, turning the lion to fire at a rogue ship.

“I’m fine,” he snapped. “Focus!”

“Ships at four o clock!” Pidge alerted.

“Um, guys? What’s that thing behind them?” Hunk asked.

“Another robeast?” Allura questioned. So maybe they would need Voltron.

“Keith, I don’t think this is safe-”

“Lance. Shut up. Let’s form Voltron and take down that robeast. Coran and Shiro can keep the particle barrier up long enough to protect the castle against the ships. Let’s go!” he commanded. Without any more protests, the lions came together to form Voltron and Keith called for the sword and shield.

As they hit the robeast and received a few firing shots from the ships, Keith felt his stomach lurch and he groaned. “Not now,” he hissed. He swallowed the nausea and continued to lead his team. The hits didn’t help, but at least Lance hadn’t tried to talk him into backing down.

When they were finally able to take down the robeast, the Galra ships backed down and Voltron returned to the castle ship. As soon as he was out of his lion, Keith was racing to the bathroom, but there was nothing in him left to throw up. “Damn parasite,” he muttered. He returned to the common room, and although the others were giving him worried glances, they didn’t say anything else.

He was grateful when Coran pulled him aside and took him into the lab to run some tests. As he extracted blood, Coran raised an eyebrow and asked, “Have you thought of keeping it?”

Keith felt a blush spread on his cheeks. “Lance wants me to. But there’s so much wrong about all of this. I never wanted kids.”

“Children are a big responsibility. I never had my own, but Allura has always been like my own daughter.” Keith nodded and winced as the needle was taken out.

“How do I even explain any of this to anyone? If we get back to earth and I find my father, or even Lance’s family? How do I explain to Shiro?”

Coran frowned and pressed a few buttons before looking at Keith. “Is that the only reason you don’t want this child? You’re afraid of what the others would say?”

“Of course not!” he snapped. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “There’s a million other things! My age, the war, the fact that there’s nothing here to take care of a kid, the fact that it’d be in danger all the time, and what if something happens to me or Lance, I don’t know how to-”

He buried his face in his hands, feeling short of breath and panicked. Coran put a hand on his shoulder and sighed. “You’d be a good parent. You’re already so worried. And that’s the thing about being a parent. Worrying never ends, and then you have to learn to let them grow into their own person.” Keith felt tears sting his eyes, but he wasn’t sure why he wanted to cry. “But you should know you would never be in it alone. Now, it’ll take a while before the results come in, so I suggest you find something to eat. Don’t stress too much. You have time to decide.” Keith looked up and nodded, standing and making his way to the kitchen.

He scavenged for something to eat before he found some sort of snack that looked like oatmeal and tasted like beef jerky. He ate them out of the box, taking a walk around the castle to try and clear his mind. Thankfully, it seemed to stay down.

He found himself back in the kitchen, and then he was eating some leftovers Hunk had saved. He had no idea how Hunk managed to make food taste so good with what he had to work with here. But he wasn’t complaining. That seemed to stay down too, so Keith felt a little better by the time he went to take a shower and hopefully a decent nap.

As he was falling asleep, he heard a knock at his door. “Come in,” he called. The door slid open and Lance walked in. He sat beside Keith and smiled timidly at him. “Hey,” he whispered.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Keith shrugged. “Good. I ate, took a shower. No more throwing up.” Lance chuckled and ran his hand through Keith’s hair. Keith hummed and shut his eyes. “That feels nice,” he breathed. He felt warm, tingly. He wanted more of Lance.

“Are you still mad at me?” Keith opened his eyes and looked at Lance. “About not telling you. About… knocking you up. Wanting you to keep it?” Keith sighed and shook his head, pulling him down to lay beside him.

Before Lance could talk again, Keith kissed him, wanting nothing more than to feel him. He wanted to forget everything else and just be with Lance. He was aching for him, and every light touch felt like fireworks on his skin. Suddenly he was over him, grinding his hips down, and Lance’s moans only made his need greater. He sat up, straddling him, and took his shirt off. Lance pulled himself up onto his elbows, and before he could talk, Keith had his lips at his smooth, tanned neck.

“Wait, you want to…? Now?” Keith nodded, fingers reaching for Lance’s shirt to pull it off. “But… we don’t have any protection or-”

“Lance, I’m already knocked up, what’s the worst that can happen?” he muttered, kissing him again, tangling his hands in his hair. “Please,” he whispered. Lance’s grip tightened and he kissed back with fervor, unbuttoning Keith’s jeans, kissing down his chest in adoration.

It wasn’t long before Keith was a moaning, mewling mess beneath him. Somehow every feeling was magnified, making him feel so elated he could hardly stand it. And Lance was giving him everything he had in the sweetest, softest manner, kissing him wherever he could. Keith held onto him with all his might, trying to stifle his sounds until he’d reached his high and his body felt sticky and Lance was still going and my God it felt wonderful. Finally, Lance finished, thrusting into him a few more times, bodies slick with sweat and shaky breaths filling the room.

“Stay with me,” he whispered, running his hands through Lance’s hair. Lance nodded, kissing his neck lazily.

“I’m gonna clean you up, okay?” Keith nodded, barely aware of Lance moving before he slipped into a much needed slumber.

He wasn’t sure what time it was when he opened his eyes. He could hear Lance speaking in a soft voice, barely a whisper. He felt his hand caressing his stomach, but before Keith could snap at him for it, he processed the words.

“We’re all going to protect you and love you. You’re going to have two daddies, and we’re gonna love you so much. You’ll be the luckiest baby in the entire universe, trust me I would know. And if we get to go back home, I’ll take you and Daddy to Veradero beach, and I’ll teach you Spanish so we can talk about Daddy behind his back.” Keith furrowed his eyebrows, and rolled his eyes. “Your papito is gonna love you so much and I’m gonna be there for everything whenever you need me. I wonder if you’re a boy or a girl. Maybe we can choose a unisex name. It doesn’t matter though. We’ll teach you how to ride a bike, and your Aunt Pidge can teach you to mess with tech, and your uncle Hunk can teach you to cook, and Allura and Coran can teach you to speak Altean. I’ll teach you to pilot the lion too. And Daddy can teach you to fight.” Lance’s hand rested over Keith’s stomach. “Can you hear me?”

“I don’t think it has ears yet, Lance.” Lance jerked up and looked at Keith sheepishly. “How are you so okay with this?” he whispered.

Lance shrugged and repositioned himself to be beside Keith. “I don’t know. I’ve always wanted a family of my own. And yeah it’s kind of weird, but… we’ve been piloting giant robot lions and fighting aliens and eating green space goo. I’m kind of used to weird.” He pressed a kiss to Keith’s jaw. “I want you to be okay with it too.”

“That’s not something I can promise,” he sighed.

“Why?” It wasn’t an accusatory question. He seemed legitimately curious.

Keith kept his eyes on the ceiling and furrowed his eyebrows. “It took me a long time to learn how to be a friend. Longer to figure out how to be a boyfriend. What if I’m a horrible dad? What if I ruin the kid and… I don’t know. What if something happens to us and we leave it alone and it grows up like me?” Lance took his hand and kissed it gingerly. “This isn’t normal, Lance.”

“I don’t think anything about our lives is normal anymore, Corazon. But I have no doubt that you’d be a great dad. And if anything happens to us, I have family. The other paladins. I know that none of them would let anything happen to our baby.” Something about the way he said that broke Keith.

The tears he’d been fighting all day spilled over and Lance wrapped his arms around him, holding him tightly. Our baby.

***

It’d been about three months since Keith found out he was pregnant. Apparently some survival trait in Galran blood allows for males to be able to carry children when the population is dwindling. With Voltron getting rid of so many Galra, it must have been triggered in Keith as well.

He’d resorted to wearing hoodies and Lance’s jacket to cover the bump that grew on his stomach. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hide it for much longer, and the fact was making him more and more anxious. It was very disturbing to look down and see his own distended stomach, but Lance loved it. He spent every night in Keith’s room talking to his stomach until they were fast asleep. Coran and Allura had provided vitamins and check-ups to be sure the pregnancy wasn’t affecting Keith’s body in any other abnormal ways.

The morning sickness had stopped after two months, which Keith was grateful for. Still, his armor was beginning to feel uncomfortable, and even he was starting to worry about getting hit and hurting the baby growing inside of him. Lance kept trying to convince him to stay behind, but Keith knew he couldn’t without explaining why. And he wasn’t sure he could handle seeing Shiro’s expression.

Lance was cuddled up beside Keith, rubbing his stomach unconsciously. “You think the baby has ears yet?”

“I’m not sure,” he yawned. “I can ask Coran the next time I’m in the lab.”

Lance hummed and leaned down singing a Spanish lullaby. Keith smiled and shook his head, settling for running his fingers through Lance’s hair. Lance pulled himself up onto his elbows and looked at Keith. “When are you going to tell the others? I don’t want you fighting out there anymore. I could lose you both.” Keith groaned and covered his face with his arms. “Keith.”

“I know. I know, okay? I don’t know when, but I’ll… figure it out.” He took his hand and squeezed it. “Just go to sleep.”

The next morning, Keith was mumbling under his breath, annoyed that his jeans didn’t fit him anymore. Lance sat up in bed and smiled at him, but Keith only scowled. “Why are you mad at me?” he chuckled.

“Because this is your fault!” Keith tossed his jeans aside and sat on the floor. “This sucks.” Lance rolled his eyes and grabbed a pair of sweats that were his and handed them to Keith. “They’re going to be too long.”

“So I’ll roll them up for you. Unless you want to walk around the castle in your boxers.” Keith groaned and snatched the sweats from him, tugging them up. He pulled Lance’s sweater on over his shirt and zipped it halfway. “Here, sit.” Keith did and Lance leaned down to roll up the sweats. He smiled at Keith and then placed his hands on Keith’s stomach. “Your daddy’s a grouch, isn’t he? Hopefully you’ll be more like Papi and smile more.”

“I’m gonna kick you,” Keith muttered. Lance laughed and kissed his stomach before standing up and leaning in to kiss Keith. “At least I just look a little chubby. Alright, come on, I’m starving.” Lance followed him out of the room and to the table where the others were coming in to eat breakfast.

Without realizing it, Keith had scarfed down his food quicker than the others and was already reaching for seconds before the others had gotten halfway through their food.

“Well, someone’s growing,” Allura noted with a smile. Keith looked up from his plate and cleared his throat.

“Yeah, well, I’m done.” He stood up and walked to the kitchen to dump his bowl in the sink before walking back. As he returned he felt a hard, sudden thump in his stomach and he froze. Keith looked down at his stomach and waited before he felt another thump in the same spot. “Oh my God,” he whispered.

“Uh buddy, you okay?” Hunk asked.

“It kicked,” he breathed.

“What?” Lance asked, standing up, moving toward him. “You serious? Where?”

“Wait, what?” Pidge asked.

But Keith was grabbing Lance’s hands putting them on his stomach. “I swear, I felt it,” he insisted.

“Maybe it was just gas? I don’t feel any- oh my God. Oh my God, I felt that.” Keith laughed and winced as the kicking continued. “Hey, baby! Can you hear me? I love you, yes I do! Wow, you’re so strong!”

“It likes your voice,” Keith chuckled, feeling his eyes water. “He’s going nuts just with you talking.” Lance looked up at him and laughed, his blue eyes filled with their own tears. He cupped Keith’s face and kissed him deeply.

Suddenly it was real. It was tangible and physical and real. There was an actual baby in him, a baby that was his and Lance’s and it was crazy but it was real and Keith had no idea a person could feel so happy.

Then suddenly he was snapped into the real world. “Um, sorry, baby? What baby?” Pidge snapped. “What is going on?”

Keith gulped and looked at Lance worriedly. “Take the jacket off,” he whispered. Keith furrowed his eyebrows, freezing. Lance gingerly unzipped the jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. “It’s okay.” He looked at the others and cleared his throat. “So, we recently found out that Galra males can carry babies. Like seahorses, you know?”

Realization dawned on the other paladins and their eyes drifted to Keith and his slightly swollen belly.

“You’re pregnant?” Shiro yelped.

“With Lance’s baby?” Pidge added.

“It’s a boy?” Hunk gasped.

“Okay, Pidge, I’m taking that tone of voice as an insult,” Lance answered. “And yes, he is. Although… I don’t know what gender.”

Keith was looking down, fumbling with the jacket to put it back on and zip it up. “I don’t either. I just… it feels like it’s a boy, I don’t know.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It came as a surprise to us too, okay?”

Shiro put a hand to his mouth and sighed. “And… you want this? Both of you?”

Keith shrugged. “I mean, I didn’t at first. I was freaking out. But…. I can’t explain it.” He placed his hands around his stomach, feeling protective and ashamed at once. “Look, if we knew this was possible we would’ve… been safe. But it happened, and that’s that.”

“But… how?” Pidge asked, leaning in and inspecting the slight bulge under his jacket. “In order to hold a child, you need a uterus, protective lining, a place for the baby to come out of. Preferably a very flexible place with good elasticity.” Keith paled and gulped. “I just… how?”

“We’re not really sure, but it’s part of his blood for his body to morph into one suitable for child bearing,” Allura said. “The protective layering is all there according to the scans.”

“And who’s going to be the midwife?” she pointed out. Everyone fell silent, and Keith felt himself beginning to withdraw into himself.

“Let’s take this one thing a time,” Hunk said. “Right now, we need a replacement for the head of Voltron because there’s no way you’re going to keep fighting, Keith.”

“Agreed,” Lance said. “Shiro can take that. He’s piloted the black lion before. Keith can stay behind and work with Coran.”

“Have you been getting vitamins? What about all the things babies need? A crib, bottles, diapers? We need to stop at the space mall,” Pidge mused. She stepped forward and held out her hand. “Can I?” Keith nodded, unzipped the jacket, and Pidge prodded gently at his hard stomach. Suddenly there was a slight kick and Pidge gasped. “Well hello there,” she giggled. “Was I intruding?”

“How far along are you, Keith?” Shiro asked.

Keith looked at him and shrugged. “Almost four months?”

“You hid this for four months?” Hunk cried. “What the heck, man?” Keith groaned, but Hunk was already moving on. “Have you guys thought of names? Oh I am going to be this kid’s favorite uncle.” Keith managed a smile.

Pidge and Hunk seemed completely fine with all of it, Allura and Coran had long since known and understood. Of course, Lance was ecstatic and already making birthday plans with Hunk. Shiro seemed to be the only one still holding reserves. And somehow, that one disapproval made the others’ excitement seem insignificant. He walked over to him and crossed his arms. “I’m sorry. I messed up-”

“You didn’t know,” he sighed.

“You’re still upset. You’re disappointed with me, I know that.”

“I’m scared for you. And Lance,” he corrected. “You’re just kids. And we already have so much happening with Voltron. What happens when you go into labor? What if we’re out on a mission? We have no provisions here for a baby. I just don’t want this to ruin your life.”

Keith felt his throat constrict, and he clenched his teeth. “What like I did for my parents? Being left to fend for myself? I can promise that much, Shiro, I’m not going to be like them. I’m going to be there for this kid, and so is Lance. I can tell just with how he talks to him, how excited he is.”

“He’s excited for the fun things. Teaching the kid to curse in Spanish, to make silly faces at it and make it laugh. What about when the baby gets a fever and doesn’t stop crying all night? Or when it starts teething and hits its terrible twos stage?” Keith scowled and shook his head. Shiro reached forward to place his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Look, I’m just worried-”

“Yeah, okay,” he muttered, pulling away. He returned to the others, trying to let their excitement override the hurt he was feeling. He wished he could still train. It was always a good way to let go of his stress and worries. Now, he was stuck in this half-fragile state left to stew with emotions.

“We should plan a baby shower!” Pidge cried. “We can make it neutral colors, you know, like yellow and green. Or we can make it Voltron colors!”

“With tiny little lion cookies!” Hunk added.

Lance wrapped his arm around Keith and nuzzled into him. “See? Nothing to worry about.” Keith hummed and tried not to look at Shiro.

Three more months went by and Keith’s stomach continued to grow. Lance spent the nights singing or telling the baby stories until he’d talked himself to sleep. And every morning, the second Lance pressed a kiss to Keith’s swollen belly, the kicking would start. And it continued until Keith was able to sit and eat breakfast.

And after dinner, Pidge and Hunk would take turns talking to the belly, insisting that the baby understood. Keith simply fell asleep on the couch while they talked and made up songs. Shiro was still apprehensive, but he’d stopped being so obvious about. He’d even asked to feel the baby’s kicks once. Of course, it took some coaxing from Lance before it moved.

Each time the team had to go on a mission, Keith felt nervous and afraid and it seemed harder and harder to let Lance go each time. It seemed his stress reached the baby too because it would stop moving and wouldn’t kick again until Lance had returned and cooed, “Where’s Papi’s baby? Where is my little sharpshooter?” Keith had to bite back yelps of pain when that happened because the baby seemed so excited at the sound of Lance’s voice that its kicks were stronger than any other time. And they wouldn’t stop until Lance’s hands were on his stomach and he’d kissed his stomach before kissing Keith.

“I fucking hate you,” he groaned once when the team had come back and Lance had finally gotten the kid to calm down. “He always does that when you get back.”

“Don’t say things like that, I don’t want the baby learning your foul language.”

Keith hummed and looked at him accusingly. “Oh and I assume you haven’t been saying any Spanish curse words to my stomach?” Lance scoffed, but his cheeks reddened and he turned his attention back to Keith’s swollen stomach.

“How are your feet?”

“They’re fine. I’m not letting you massage my feet, I told you. I don’t like people touching my feet.” Lance rolled his eyes and kissed his cheek before leaving to change out of his armor. Keith looked at his stomach and hummed as he rubbed it. “I know most people name their sons after their dads, but I don’t think you’d want either of our names. I wonder what name you would like.”

“Keith!” he turned and saw Hunk walking towards him. “I’m experimenting in the kitchen, want to join?” Keith nodded and followed him. “Have you decided what you want to eat for the baby shower?”

“I’ve been craving a pizza, if I’m honest. Besides it’s just us, so it doesn’t have to be too big.”

“Well, this might be the only baby shower we get while we’re here, so…. It’s exciting.” Keith hummed and took a sample that Hunk handed him of some type of batter. “You scared?”

“Yep,” he answered, popping the p. “I’m a guy, dude. And I’m supposed to… give birth?”

“If it helps, we’re all here for you, buddy. Here, try this.” He handed something fried over to Keith and he didn’t even wait for it to cool down before he was scarfing it down. “Eating for two must be fun.” Keith rolled his eyes.

He felt an arm wrap around him before Lance sat beside him and kissed his cheek. “You’re glowing, you know that?”

Keith looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. “What do you want?” Lance stuck his tongue out and nudged him with his nose.

“Actually, Allura and Coran needed you to figure out how… the going into labor is going to go.” Keith shuddered and groaned. “Come on, it’s better to figure it out now. You’re going to be due in like two months, maybe a little less.”

“Please don’t remind me,” he muttered. He stood and walked away, taking one more piece of fried food before going to the lab. “I was told I was needed,” he announced, tugging the jacket over his stomach.

Allura waved him over and showed him the screen she was working on. Keith grimaced and looked away, but eventually found his way back. “Now, I’m not sure who you trust most to help you through this, but this is how we modeled the process for helping you. We have some sedatives and morphine to help with any pain.” Keith grimaced and nodded. “You don’t seem excited.”

“I’m not. This is terrifying.” Allura placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a smile. “I can barely sleep. He’s heavy.”

“He’s growing quickly,” she agreed. “But I’m sure it’ll be worth it. Have you thought of names?” Keith shook his head. “Why don’t we go to the Space Mall to shop a bit for the baby?” Keith hesitated and tried to figure out a way to keep from going to such a public place. “You’re embarrassed.”

“Um, yeah,” he admitted.

She smiled and shook her head. “I’ll see if Pidge wants to go with me. I think if I bring Lance we’ll bring back the entire mall.”

“You’re not wrong,” he agreed. “Um, and thank you for all of this…. It’s awkward, but I really appreciate it all.” She smiled and nodded. “I think I’m going to take a nap. Thank you, again.” He turned away and started for his room with a yawn.

As he settled into bed, he groaned at the weight and the small kick that he felt. “What? Look, kiddo, you gotta let me sleep. You already make me pee every ten minutes.” Another slight kick. “Alright, what’s that song your dad likes to sing to you. I don’t speak Spanish, so it probably won’t be great, but I’ll try.” Another kick. Keith chuckled and closed his eyes, softly singing what he remembered of that song Lance always sang. The kicking stopped, and before he knew it, Keith was asleep.

The next thing he knew, Lance was shaking him awake. “Babe. Come on, you’re gonna miss dinner. You’ve been asleep for a while.” Keith yawned and sat up, rubbing his stomach. “Hunk made some really good food.”

“I’m coming,” he grumbled. “I’m still waking up. Your kid finally let me sleep.”

Lance smiled and helped him up. “Our kid. Isn’t that right, baby boy? Or girl. Your dad swears you’re a boy.”

“I’m thinking he’s a Leo. It means lion, so it fits.” Lance raised an eyebrow and hummed.

“I like it.” Keith smiled and followed Lance out of the room.

He sniffed the air when the familiar scent of marinara reached him. He reached the table with Lance and gasped when he saw the food on the table. Pizza and cakes and French fries and fried other things. There were streamers and balloons and boxes of gifts. The Alteans and the paladins were all waiting with large smiles.

“It’s your baby shower!” Pidge shouted. “Come on, sit down!”

“You actually made pizza?” Keith marveled. “Wow.” He sat down and grabbed as much food as would fit onto his plate. His friends sat around him and started eating, talking excitedly. “This is great you guys. I like the Voltron theme.” Pidge and Hunk high-fived.

“Just wait till you open the gifts,” Hunk said.

“How did you guys even find time for all of this?”

“Well, you’re a heavy sleeper,” Allura said with a smile.

Lance stayed beside him, holding one hand as he ate. Eventually, they were able to move on to cake and presents. Keith opened his presents and couldn’t help but laugh at the alien themed baby clothes and toys the paladins had gotten him.

By the end of the night, he was full and happy and even a little excited. As he slipped into his PJs and settled in beside Lance, he smiled and sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. “You know little guy,” he whispered, “You’ve got the most loving family in the universe.” Lance chuckled and threw his arm around Keith’s middle before humming.

“Yeah. He does.”

***

“Be careful,” Keith growled, cupping Lance’s face. He pulled him into a kiss, feeling anxious and wishing he could lock him in his room to keep him safe. Lance’s hands rested on his stomach and he smiled into the kiss.

“It’s getting harder to kiss you every day. I feel like I’m hurting him if I come too close.”

Keith shook his head. “He loves having you close. Just like me. Which is why you need to come back.”

“I will,” he promised. “And then I’ll pamper you until all that stress goes away. You know stress isn’t good for the baby.”

“Guys, we need to go,” Shiro said, putting a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine, Keith.”

Keith grunted and nodded, taking a deep breath. It would all be fine. He nodded and nudged Lance toward the lions, hoping Red knew to keep him safe. He watched the paladins get into their lions and watched them dart into space.

He returned to the control room where Coran was managing the navigation. “Don’t worry, they’ll be back before you know it. They’ve got the upper hand.”

“I know,” he sighed. “Do you really think a surprise attack will work though?”

“Pidge’s lion has the cloaking device. She’ll be able to hack the alarm system and they’ll get in without a hitch. I’ll make sure of it.” Keith nodded and started pacing, trying to keep his back straight. “Is he heavy?”

“There’s a weight of a separate human hanging off my stomach. Yeah, he’s heavy.” Keith sighed and plopped down on a chair. “I hate when they leave. I can’t help but panic.”

“Why don’t you go to bed?”

Keith groaned. “I don’t know, I feel like I need to be productive. I think I’m going to clean up a bit.” He pulled himself up and left, hoping to busy himself.

He’d rearranged the common room about five times before he felt exhausted and decided to take Coran’s advice and going to bed. He got into bed and rubbed his stomach. He wasn’t moving, but at moments like this, he wished he would. Just to reassure him Lance was okay.

“It’s okay, buddy. Your dad will be home soon.” Keith tried to ignore his worries. If he fell asleep, then maybe Lance would be back in time to wake him up. After eight months of growing a human inside him, Keith felt a little less insecure about his swollen stomach and… well really the whole idea in general.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep when he woke up with pain in his stomach. He groaned and held his stomach wondering if something was wrong. Was something wrong with Lance? Could a baby feel that?

The pain ebbed and Keith sighed, leaning his head further into the pillow. He tried to hold back the bile that was rising in his throat and hold on to the hope that everything was fine. Before he could calm down, he felt another cramping pain in his stomach, this time a little stronger. Keith grimaced and curled into himself, breathing heavily.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.  He scrambled out of bed and tried to ignore the pain until it disappeared again as he walked. “Coran?” he called. “Coran I need an update!” He felt sore and tired, but panicked all at once.

Before he made it into the control room, he felt another wave of pain, this time spreading to his back. He gasped and let himself slide slowly to the ground. “Coran!” he shouted, through gritted teeth.

“What in the-?” He saw Coran rush out of the control room, eyes widening at the sight of Keith on the ground. “What happened? Are you alright?”

“What’s happening with Voltron? Something’s wrong, he can feel it.”

“No, no everything’s fine. The team had to fall back, but they’re fine. They’re on the way back.” He leaned down to grab Keith who was trying to enjoy the few minutes of peace he had before another cramping pain debilitated him. “What is it, what are you feeling?”

“Right now? Nothing,” he breathed. “I woke up with pain, I thought something had happened to- oh! Ow!” He gripped Coran’s hand and grit his teeth, screwing his eyes shut.

“Well, my boy, it seems that you’re going into labor,” Coran said.

“What? No, it’s not time yet. Lance isn’t here, Allura’s not- Oh my God, this hurts!”

“Breathe,” Coran instructed. “I’ll alert the others and get you to the lab.” Keith barely managed a nod before he returned to the control room.

Keith held his stomach and grimaced. “Guess you’re like me, huh? Impatient.” He received another burst of pain as a reply. Keith tried to steady his breathing. He’d felt pain before. He lived with it. Through Voltron, through the Blade, through the Galra. He could handle this.

Coran returned and helped him up, patiently taking him to the lab. “It’s alright. They’ll be here as soon as possible.” He laid him down on a table and connected a few wires to him before leaving to check his screens. He returned with a needle and Keith flinched. “This should help with the pain. I need you to sit up.” Keith pulled himself up, ignoring the uncomfortable pain spreading to his legs. “Stay still.” Keith bit back a yelp when he felt a needle dig into his back. “Lay back. It’ll be okay, just breathe.” Keith nodded and leaned back, feeling the pillows Coran must have put.

Keith was too frantic, too afraid to feel embarrassed when Coran had to strip him of his jeans and check him. Keith never knew what the hell was down there, he didn’t want to. He just hoped this would be easier than he expected because he was terrified. He felt a strange sort of prickling spreading around his middle as though his body was falling asleep. But instead of going completely numb, he just felt a slight decrease of pain. Like he was disconnected.

“You are going to have to start pushing now, if you don’t want complications,” Coran urged.

“But Lance isn’t here,” he gasped.

“This baby isn’t waiting,” he answered. “It’ll be alright, I promise. But your water just broke, and that can hurt the baby if we wait too long.”

Keith groaned and nodded, letting his head hit the pillows as he took a deep breath. He sat up and tried to focus on Coran’s guidance to help him stay grounded. He could feel the sweat tricking down his neck, the hair sticking to his face. He could feel his heart pounding all over his body.

“I can see the head. Just get the head and shoulders out and you’re fine.” Keith only grunted in response. “Keep a rhythm, it’s alright. Just breathe.”

“I’m trying!” he growled. Suddenly he heard more footsteps and he was vaguely aware of Allura with her pink armor, and Lance beside him still wearing his. “You did this to me, you jackass,” he scowled barely managing to hit Lance in the chest.

But Lance only smiled and took his hand, kissing it. “It’s okay, you’re doing great, Corazon. Keep going.” Keith grumbled and kept pushing, now with Allura’s help as she wiped his forehead and helped him sit up.

“I hate you,” he muttered through gasps, glaring at Lance.

Lance chuckled and pressed his forehead against Keith’s. “I love you.” He kissed him and pushed his hair away. Suddenly, they heard a sharp cry and Keith looked up, panicking.

“It’s okay!” Coran assured. “Head’s out. Keep going, we need the shoulders.” Keith gripped onto Lance hand, squeezing so hard he must have been hurting him. But Lance was smart enough not to complain. “A little more,” Coran prodded. Keith nodded and continued, driven more by the cries of the baby he couldn’t see. “One more final push.”

“Lance,” Allura said, handing him scissors. Keith heard a snip. “It’s a girl, boys.” Keith furrowed his eyebrows and leaned back onto the pillows, too exhausted to stay up. Allura managed to wrap her in a thin cloth and quickly handed her over to Keith. “Congratulations.”

Keith held her, afraid to hurt her. She was so small. “She has ears,” he noted with a strike of fear. As he looked at the baby, he couldn’t help but notice the angled, pointed ears covered in tufts of wet, purple fur. Galra ears.

“She must have inherited more Galra traits since it was your Galra side that helped her develop,” Allura suggested. “But it’s the only Galra trait she has.”

“She’s so pretty,” Lance cooed. “Hi, princess. Do you know who I am?” The baby squirmed and placed her tiny wrinkled hand against her cheek. “I’m your daddy. Well, one of them.”

“What should we name her?” Keith asked. “I was so sure it was a boy. I never thought of girl names.”

Lance reached out and touched her tiny ears. “What about Violet?”

“Violet,” Keith repeated. She cooed and stretched her hand. “I love you so much, Violet.”

Allura smiled and stepped forward. “Do you mind if I clean Violet up for you? I’ll bring her right back.” Keith nodded and Allura took the baby gently. She didn’t go far, but Keith still couldn’t look away.

Beside him, Lance was kissing his forehead and his cheek. “You did so good, baby.” Keith smiled and leaned against him. Coran helped him lay down after cleaning up and draped him in blankets. “Here she comes.”

Keith looked over and took Violet in his arms. “Oh, look at her,” Keith mused. “She has your hair, Lance.”

“Thank God for that,” he joked. Keith glared at him, but Lance just smiled. “She’s so small. Here, she might be hungry,” Lance whispered, handing Keith a bottle with a mix that Pidge and Hunk had managed to create to give the vitamins milk on Earth gave babies. Keith hesitantly place the bottle to her lips and chuckled when her tiny mouth searched for the source. Her eyes opened briefly and Lance gasped. “She has your eyes.”

Keith held her and marveled at her as she fed. Her delicate, rosy skin, her dark, curled lashes, the curly locks of brown hair in tufts on her head. She was so fragile. So small. And it was up to him to protect her. Keith felt new wave of strength overcome him. This tiny thing, this tiny human had actually been in him. She had kicked him and made him sick and made him sleepy and now she was here. He was holding her.

After she had been fed, Lance offered to burp her. “You look like you need a nap. Don’t worry, I’ll be right here. When you wake up, everyone else can meet her.” Keith nodded and shut his eyes, slowly succumbing to sleep.

He woke up when his hunger was too much to ignore. Lance was sitting in a chair beside him, singing to Violet as he rocked her back and forth in his arms. “Lance?”

He looked up and smiled, standing carefully. “Look who’s awake, Violet. It’s Daddy. Want to hold her?” Keith nodded and Lance passed her over. “God, I never get tired of looking at her.” Keith smiled and kissed her forehead gently. Her hand wrapped around one of his fingers and Keith wondered how this level of love was possible. Suddenly his stomach growled and Lance chuckled. “Hungry?” He nodded. “I’ll be right back. I’ll bring everyone else too, okay?”

Keith nodded and watched Lance leave. He returned his gaze to Violet who was fast asleep. Her nails were smaller than grains of rice. Her face so round and chubby. Her ears were so adorably furry. Suddenly the door opened and the rest of the paladins came in. Everyone gathered around Keith, anxious to see the new addition to their space family.

“Oh my God,” Pidge cooed. “She’s adorable!”

“I can’t believe you two made that,” Hunk whispered. “She’s so small. I could fit her in one hand.”

Keith chuckled. “Can we hold her?” Shiro asked. Keith nodded a bit hesitantly and handed her to him. “What’s her name?”

“Violet,” Lance answered. “Here. Eat up.” He set a bowl of soup in front of Keith and sat beside him. “Coran said you could be up by tomorrow. He said you’re healing quickly.”

“Thank God,” he sighed, eating his soup. The others were still fussing over Violet and Keith leaned into Lance. “I feel weird with a small stomach again.” Lance chuckled and kissed him. “I love you,” he breathed.

***

It had been one week since Violet was born. Keith was better, and was already returning to the training room for an hour a day. Everyone loved Violet and she was hardly ever put down for longer than five minutes. She spent most of the time sleeping, but when she was awake, her eyes were wide and purple and bright.

Lance and Keith were in the lab while Violet got a checkup. Coran was singing an old Altean song to her while he checked her. Lance nudged Keith and gestured. “Tell him.”

Keith smirked and stepped forward. “So how is she?”

“She’s perfectly healthy,” he answered. “I gave her medicine so she won’t get sick anytime soon. She’s strong too.”

“That’s good,” he nodded. “Well, Coran, Lance and I were wondering if… you’d like to be her godfather?”

“What’s that?” Coran asked.

Lance jumped in, barely containing his excitement. “It’s like a second parent. If anything were to happen to us, you’d be the one that takes her in. Someone who’ll help raise her.”

“It’s just, Lance has gotten so close with you, and you’re the only parental figure any of us have here. And you did help me deliver her.” Keith looked at Coran who seemed frozen and in shock.

“Coran?” Lance questioned nervously. A sudden sob escaped Coran and he smiled at them, his moustache trembling with his lip. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am!” he cried. “I just… I had no idea…. I would be honored.” They smiled and Coran lifted Violet from her bin and hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her. “Thank you boys,” he whispered.

There was no doubt in Keith’s mind that his daughter truly was the most loved baby in the entire universe.

Click Here for Part 2