#if it wasn't for the snow storm ugh

[james-is-here]

Some fluff for ya-

Snowed in day with seonghwa and hongjoong. Reader has long hair like seonghwa and the three of them are doing a braid train. Seonghwa is on the floor playing games while reader is sitting on the couch on hongjoongs lap braiding seonghwa hair and hongjoong is braiding readers hair and it’s just fluffy and cute and Yas :3

(I’ve been needing some fluff too so I gotchu bestie)

heheh I'm writing this with a headache and agitated nose. I totally passed out after this. (This has been sitting in my drafts days after I was dying of allergies but I'm better now :)..)

Thanks for the fluff 😘 Can be read as platonic or romantic. Either works ☺️

Blogs: Um...I have a Stray Kids taglist but not an Ateez taglist and I've also forgotten who was on my All Posts taglist so um leave a comment if you don't mind so that I can get my taglists and what not figured out 😅

This hair style is what I described Hongjoong doing. I was picturing Mn with white hair with blue tips

"Thanks again, eomma." "It's no problem, really. That cabin has been handed to your father for ages and it had yet to be used." "I just feel bad." "Mn, don't fret, okay? You were told everything was okay. Think of it as an extended vacation." "But they had plans with their families and-"

You were cut off when Wooyoung jumped on your back, wrapping his limbs around you, his laugh right next to your ear as San stole your phone. "Hey! What-" "You need to stop worrying, Mn." You sigh as your hands move under Wooyoung's knees to hoist him further up your back before he slipped. You opened your mouth to complain about them missing their plans with their families but Seonghwa just covered your mouth. "I don't want to hear it...again." You glare at him as he just smiles.

"We've told you like a million times that everything is fine, everything was sorted out and our families understand. Okay?" You nod and he removed his hand and a second later, a grimace forms on your face. "Are you absolutely-" "Mn!" Wooyoung covered your mouth this time from on your back. "Shush, okay?" You sigh, walking out of the entry foyer and into the living room to find the other boys sitting around the fireplace and tv.

Standing in front of the couch, you lean back, falling onto the couch on top of Wooyoung who yelps in protest but you ignore him with a smile and reach out to San who's smiling at you with a teasing grin. "Choi, I swear, stop pestering my mom." "I'm not doing anything!" "Uh huh, yeah, sure, your smile is completely innocent. Give me my phone."

He hands you the phone and your mother's voice reaches your ear. "Mn, that wasn't nice. I was telling him a story from your childhood." "Eommaaa!" "Relax, she was just telling me about your elementary girlfriends." "Ugh, okay, bye mom." "Bye, Mn."

"You suck." "Hey, that's not nice." "How many did you have?" Yeosang asked from the floor, tilting his head back to look at you. "Are they really girlfriends? It was puppy love and it doesn't matter." "His mom said six." "Choi San!" If it wasn't for Wooyoung holding you back, you would've been chasing the male outside and locking him out in the snow.

Well, and the fact that you can't lock a fellow member and idol out in a snow storm. Guess that's an option too. (😒😂)

"Okay, Okay, let's not push him to the point of locking you outside. Mn, didn't you find Monopoly earlier?" "How much you wanna bet Wooyoung gets put in jail?" You remark and go to stand up to get the game and blankets and snacks when Wooyoung pulled you back. "Hey, I'm not that bad." "Woo, be serious." "I am!" You laugh, pulling his limbs off of you before going to collect the stuff.

When you return and plop the game on the table, the boys who are wanting to play surround the table and set it up. You notice Hongjoong on the couch, you sit next to him. "Not playing?" "Nah, Watching them play is better than playing." "Okay, well then I'm gonna sit here and watch with you."

Hongjoong laughs when you get up and sit on his lap, leaning back as he wraps his arms around you. "Was that your plan the whole time?" "No but it worked." He tightened his hold, hugging you tightly as you pulled a blanket over you two.

You watch them play the silly game for a while and at some point Seonghwa switched spots with San, saying the spot he was in was bad luck as he kept losing money, making you pout when San agreed cause you were enjoying him leaning against your legs and playing with his hair. "Don't pout, Mnie. The benefit of me being here is I get money and you can actually braid my hair." "Ooh!"

That made you happier as you pat Hongjoong's knee so that you can still sit in front of him but his crossed legs wouldn't possibly fall asleep as you lean forward and brush your hand through his hair. You decided to do french braids, you were half way through the first one when you felt a hand brushing through your own hair.

You turned around but he turned your head back with a light shove at your temple. "Hey, I'm doing your hair." "Oh dear." "Hey, it'll look good." "It better."

You finished Seonghwa's hair, smiling while giving him a head pat as you wait for your hyung to finish your hair. "Joon, are you done yet?" "Almost."

You could feel that he was doing french braids from the top of your part, braiding in a half semi circle before coming to the back of your head. You had a random ponytail holder on your wrist for Seonghwa's hair but Hongjoong now realizes he's stuck. "I didn't think this through..." "What? Oh! Hey, Sangie, in the bathroom under the sink, can you get the bag of rubber bands?" "Yeah." Yeosang left and came back just as quick. "Thank you, Sangie!"

You pass it back to Hongjoong and he ties it up, the braids, then gathers the rest of your hair and ties it to the tail of the braid, fluffing it up and making sure it looked just right.

Hongjoong took out his phone and took a picture to show you and you gasp. "Hyung, this looks so pretty! Thank you!" You turn around wrapping your arms around his neck to give him a hug. "You're welcome, Mnie."

You give his phone back and move to sit sideways, curling up in Hongjoong's lap and pulling the blanket over you. "Am I your bed now?" "Mmm, yes, you're comfy." You wrap your arm around his middle and lay your head on his shoulder, getting comfy. He wraps his arms around you, one around your back and the other thrown over your thighs, holding your legs on his lap.

You had began to doze off when Wooyoung exclaimed in annoyance. "These dice are unfair! How can I roll enough to get in jail twice in one game?!" He fusses and you giggle sleepily before huffing and sitting up. "What?" "Lay down, Hyung." He laughs at you before doing as you said, letting you lay on top of him so now you can see Wooyoung's agony better.

His arms wrap around your back and shoulders, drawing random shapes on your back and lulling you back into a sleepy state. "Hyung, I'm still sorry..." "What for?" "I can't say it, you'll get mad at me." "Is this about being snowed in which is completely out of your control and you feel bad we can't go home?" "...Maybe." "Well, we all said that it's fine. Our families understand and this just means we can all be together for longer. Just relaxing and having fun." "Okay."

As you lay there, barely able to keep your eyes open, Hongjoong noticed your struggle and smiled softly. He lifted a hand from under the blanket and began to gently rub your neck with his thumb, moving it slowly under your ear and the other one moved up and down your back, soothing you. You whispered, "I know what you're doing," as you brought your hand up to rest on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart. He replied, "Then don't fight it. Just sleep." You hum as a reply, feeling the warmth and comfort of his touch and voice lulling you into a peaceful slumber.

You allow your eyelids to droop and snuggle closer to your hyung, surrendering to his tender caresses as the sounds of the board game gradually fade away. Seonghwa's knuckles glide over your cheek gently, eliciting a soft sigh from your lips. "Aw, sleepy Mnie~" he coos, followed by a gentle pat on your head. You feel yourself melting further into Hongjoong’s embrace, savoring the warmth and comfort he provides. "So cute~" Seonghwa whispers before turning his attention back to the group, who have collectively decided to abandon the game and settle down to watch TV.

As you gradually slip into a state of serene slumber, enveloped by the soothing embrace of Hongjoong and the reassuring presence of your friends, you are struck by how truly magnificent life can be in moments like these. A sense of utter contentment spreads across your face, as you allow yourself to be swept away by the tranquility of the night, secure in the knowledge that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

[naamahdarling]

I remember this one serialized fantasy-setting erotica story from the mid-'00s to early '10s or so in only the vaguest terms and cannot even remember enough detail to describe it in a way unique enough to use in a search string, and I have no idea what the author's name was, and I'm genuinely exasperated because I never finished reading it, but it popped into my head randomly and now I can't stop thinking about it.

UGH.

It was a vaguely Western-flavored thing in a fantasy world, with two characters on the run through a very cool and dangerous desert landscape, fleeing a group of bad guys. One knew what they were doing in the wilderness and the other was pretty clueless, they didn't like each other, very slow burn. There was hurt/comfort I think? They were both sick or injured at some point. A huge weird storm. Some kind of !!!DESTINY!!! thing going on? Lots of peril. Magic powers?

It wasn't P L Nunn, I don't think, though if you have any of THEIR work I want to talk to you, but I think it was someone adjacent to them? In that same circle of LJ yaoi kink authors that I discovered about the same time. I THINK the same author had a multi-chapter snowed-in Wolverine/Sabretooth fic that was fairly brutal? But that might also have been P L Nunn, who is now a ghost.

The website had a yellow/cream/ivory background, I don't know if it was hosted on LJ?

I'm so frustrated. I can't remember anything more concrete but I would absolutely recognize a description of it if I saw one.

[ali-anne-undertale-stoof]

Chapter 4 is up!!! This one is divided into three mini-stories, but they all come into the same plot. It's a very long chapter, so this will take more than two parts to get it up on Tumblr. Thank you for your patience.

Next

Chapter 4: Around Town

"AHH... PERFECTION!"

Papyrus stood proudly, admiring his handiwork. The wall was looking rather spiffy! Sans was right, this muted, warm, cinnamon-like red really did make the place look ten times cozier! The cool dude wiped off sweat from his skull, smearing red paint on himself in the process.

"SANS, YOU WERE RIGHT! THIS RED DOES MAKE THE PLACE MORE..." He turned around, only to find that Sans wasn't standing where he was before. Wasn't he just rearranging the furniture with blue magic just a second ago? "SANS!!! DON'T SLACK OFF NOW! COME ON, WE HAVE A HOUSE TO REDECORATE!!!"

The sound of the fridge opening... Of course Sans was in the kitchen, why wouldn't he be? If Papyrus had eyelights like Sans, they would be rolling right now. After carefully placing his paintbrush in the tub of crimson paint, Papyrus stormed to the kitchen to find that, yep, Sans was raiding the fridge again. Un. Believable.

"SANS, DIDN'T YOU ALREADY HAVE BREAKFAST JUST TEN MINUTES AGO?! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

Sans just staring attentively at the fridge. "bro, we've got a problem."

Papyrus doesn't have time for this! "WHAT IS IT?"

"the fridge is empty."

That gave Papyrus pause. Empty? He was sure he bought enough food to last two weeks. Have they really ran out already?

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THE FRIDGE IS EMPTY?"

"exactly what i said. it's completely empty."

Okay, great. Now he has to check the fridge for himself.

Huh, Sans was right. The fridge was COMPLETELY empty!

"HEY!!! I THOUGHT WE BOUGHT ENOUGH!! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!"

Sans shrugged. "beats me."

Sans could see that Papyrus was suspecting him. His incredulous look was a DEAD give away. Or maybe even an UNDEAD give away. Heh.

"what?"

"...YOU'VE BEEN EATING AT NIGHT AGAIN, HAVEN'T YOU?"

Oh, crap.

"pfft, no... no!"

Papyrus could tell Sans was lying. The sweating, the sinking into his sweater... Yup, he was lying. Well, no use dwelling on that now. Looks like it's up to The Great Papyrus to go and get groceries... again.

The paint-covered brother facepalmed. "FINE. LOOKS LIKE I'LL HAVE TO GET GROCERIES. NO WORRIES!! I'LL TAP INTO OUR SAVINGS!!!"

"wait, but-" Before Sans could even finish his sentence, Papyrus was already digging through their sofa. They really needed a safer place to put their cash, honestly. Eh, he'll think of one later. As for now, Papyrus just needed to dig 26G out of the sofa-

Wait. 26G? That's it?!

"...SANS???!!???!?"

"uh, yeah?"

"WE ONLY HAVE 26G!!!"

"...ooh, boy."

"I KNOW!"

"we're screwed."

"I KNOW!!! HOW DID WE BLOW ALL OUR SAVINGS IN A WEEK?!?!"

"well, there was the paint... and the bills..."

"AND THE TAKEAWAYS..."

"and the fairy lights."

"AND THE NEW FURNITURE!"

"and don't forget your race car bed frame."

"WHY, YES! THAT TOO! ...SHOOT, DID WE REALLY SPEND THAT MUCH?"

"guess so."

It was then that Papyrus got an idea. A terrible, awful idea. He grinned mischievously. "YOU DO REALISE WHAT THIS MEANS, RIGHT?"

Oh, no... Sans already knows what's coming. He took a breath in anticipation. "we need to get a job..."

"DING DING DING DING!!!"

"nooooooooo..."

Ugh, seriously? Papyrus crossed his arms and stamped his foot, clearly annoyed with Sans' lazy attitude. "SANS, WE'VE BEEN PUTTING THIS OFF FOR A WEEK NOW!!"

"i know... well, we could go around to see if we can do odd jobs in town, i suppose. it's the least we could do after the snow boulder incident."

Papyrus blanched at the memory. Oh, yeah... The snowman competition slash war that almost went devastatingly wrong. How could he forget? But no matter! They can get back in the town's good graces! The Great Papyrus would never let almost burying the town in fresh snow stop him from making friends!!!

"EXCELLENT IDEA, SANS!!! WE CAN GO AROUND AND DO LITTLE JOBS AROUND TOWN FOR MONEY!!! I'M SURE SOMEONE OUT THERE'S WILLING TO HIRE US!! AFTER ALL, WHO COULD RESIST SUCH A HANDSOME, CLEVER, CHARISMATIC, GOOD-LOOKING, GENEROUS, COOL, STYLISH, BEAUTIFUL, BRILLIANT GUY LIKE ME?" Light was practically radiating off of Papyrus as he posed. Sans couldn't help but agree with Papyrus on that front. Then Papyrus remembered something. "OH, AND YOU, OF COURSE!"

Sans rolled his eyes and chuckled. He really didn't need Papyrus to include him like that, but it was the thought that counts. "yup. who could resist you and your ginormous head?"

"HEY!! I DON'T HAVE A GINORMOUS HEAD!!!"

Who was Sans to just strut past Papyrus after saying that?! He seriously wanted to rip that smug little grin off his face too.

"you have the biggest head i've ever seen." Sans grabbed the front door keys and turned to give Papyrus yet another Cheshire Cat-like grin.

The big-headed brother began to whine. "STOP IT, SANS!!!"

[the-story-of-snow]

The Story of Snow: Chapter 9

~First~ ~Next~ ~Previous~

Snowpaw yawned as she got to her feet. She looked around the apprentice den from her lone nest in the corner. The other nests, as always, were all circled together. Snowpaw looked for her sister's white pelt. She spotted Purepaw, now an apprentice, sleeping near the edge of the rest of the nests. But Whitepaw was nowhere to be seen. Snowpaw grew suspicious. Whitepaw was never up this early. Snowpaw glanced towards the weak dawn light coming in through the entrance. She was surprised she had gotten up before Brightspot had come to wake her up. All the other apprentices were still asleep. Snowpaw shrugged it off and walked out of the den. Immediately she saw Brightspot storming towards the apprentice den, looking ticked off. Brightspot saw Snowpaw, stopped and said

"Come on. We're doing your assessment today." Snowpaw blinked, surprised. What. She wasn't expecting her assessment for at least another half a moon. Unless… Well, Brightspot did seem upset and Whitepaw was missing. Snowpaw asked

"Now? I wasn't expecting it for at least another half moon. Unless Whitepaw-" Brightspot nodded and said

"Yep. Ashstar is doing hers early so yours is happening too. Let's go." She turned and Snowpaw followed. As they walked out of camp, Snowpaw caught Ashstar and Whitepaw's recent scents. They had only left a few minutes ago. They kept walking until they came to a spot in the forest where the trees were close together and easy to climb. Brightspot closed her eyes for a moment and let out a small breath. Then she smiled and opened her eyes. Snowpaw recognized the look in her bright green eyes after a few moments. Pride. It was still weird to see that from a warrior, not including Stormcloud. Stormcloud was always proud of her, even for things she didn't see as a big deal. He was amazing. He was kind to everyone, even if they were awful to him. Snowpaw didn't know how he did it, she usually just yelled at people. Snowpaw pulled herself out of her head when Brightspot spoke. She said

"So! You're doing your assessment today. You'll be hunting of course." Snowpaw tensed, she wasn't good at hunting. Whitepaw was so much better at it. Brightspot must have noticed because she said

"Hey, don't go into your head. You are good at hunting. You can do this. Don't worry about Whitepaw." Snowpaw took a breath and nodded. Brightspot smiled. Then as she walked away she said

"Don't forget the strategies I taught you. Put your prey here after you catch it. You got this." Snowpaw smiled as Brightspot walked away, but it fell. Whitepaw was probably doing her assessment right now as well. She was probably catching some giant rabbit or something, like she always did. Snowpaw let out a big breath, calming herself. Whitepaw didn't matter. Snowpaw climbed up a tree, she caught things a lot up there. After a bit, she had caught a bird and squirrel and had put them in the spot Brightspot told her. She was leaping through the trees when she heard voices. She stopped and listened. It was Whitepaw and Ashstar. Snowpaw creeped through the trees until she could see them, but they couldn't see her. Whitepaw was wining,

"Ugh! We've been out here for forever, my fur is all dirty, I keep getting leaves stuck in it, and it's cold! Can we go back to camp yet?" Snowpaw rolled her eyes, based on her winning, a cat could easily mistake her for a kittypet. Ashstar waited for a moment, then he said

"Not yet. Wait here, I'll be back in a moment." Then he walked away. Whitepaw huffed and sat down, Snowpaw sat on her branch. What was Ashstar doing? Why didn't Snowpaw see any prey Whitepaw had caught? She should have caught something by now. A thought drifted into Snowpaw's mind. What if Whitepaw hadn't caught something? What if she wouldn't pass her assessment? Snowpaw smiled at the thought, Whitepaw would be humiliated if Snowpaw became a warrior before she did. Snowpaw banished the thought. Ashstar wouldn't let that happen. If she didn't pass, he would lie and she would follow. Snowpaw stopped. Was that what he was doing? Catching something to pass off as Whitepaw's? Was Whitepaw even good at hunting? Snowpaw thought back. There wasn't a single time Snowpaw could remember seeing Whitepaw catch something. Shadow spoke

'She's a fake' Shadow was right, as always. Whitepaw was a fake. Snowpaw waited in the tree until Ashstar came back with a huge squirrel and a big bird. He put them down on the ground and said, 

"You caught these, if any cat asks." Whitepaw smirked. Snowpaw's face contorted in fury, Whitepaw was a fake and she knew it. Whitepaw started talking in her annoying voice,

"Oh good! I can't wait to be a warrior! What will my name be?" Snowpaw felt her flaming anger turn into a dangerous calm as she watched the fakers talk so casually. Ashstar had a slightly blank look for a moment, and then he started listing a few names,

"Um, Whitepelt? White…uh..fur? Whitefoot?" Whitepaw narrowed her eyes at him and said

"Ew, no. Those are all super basic. I want something cool! Something unique!" His face went blank again. 

"White…. Flower? White… Leaf?" Whitepaw rolled her eyes and said

"Ugh! Those suck. How about… Whiteblaze?" Now it was Snowpaw's turn to roll her eyes, that name didn't even make much sense. But Ashstar seemed to disagree as he nodded his head and agreed with Whitepaw. Whitepaw started talking again 

"I'll only be Whiteblaze for a little bit. I'll be Whitestar soon enough! Then I won’t have to hunt, some other cat will do that for me!” Snowpaw froze. Did she really think that? Was she that dumb? Ashstar then shook his head side to side, not denying it. Shadow spoke

'The Foxes. You can whistle and call them.' Snowpaw thought for a moment and then let out a high whistle. She kept whistling until she could hear faint but fast and heavy footsteps coming their way, and Ashstar looked up suspiciously. She stopped and waited in anticipation. She saw the moment Ashstar smelled the foxes and started to tell Whitepaw to run, but it was too late. The foxes came upon them. Whitepaw screamed and ran to hide under the roots of a nearby tree, leaving Ashstar to face the foxes alone. 3 vs 1. The foxes immediately attacked Ashstar, him being the only cat they could see. Snowpaw watched him struggle with a tinted joy. She almost felt guilty. Shadow reassured her,

'He deserves this, besides, he has more lives' Snowpaw let out a quiet breath. Shadow was right. Suddenly a fox hit something vital and Ashstar collapsed. A thought hit Snowpaw like a monster. What would Stormcloud think? He would hate this. Snowpaw whistled high again, calling off the foxes, and she ignored Shadow's voice. The foxes walked away, Whitepaw dashed out to Ashstar's body. After a few tense moments Ashstar took a breath and got up, looking shaken. His wounds were healed. He had lost a life and was on his next one. Snowpaw stood up on the tree branch and walked away. On her way back she caught a big bird. That should be good for her assessment. Took a deep breath before jumping down into the clearing. She had to act natural. She jumped down, put her prey down and waited. Soon, Brightspot came back and smiled at Snowpaw's catch, she then said

"You did amazing! Let's take those back to camp. I'm gonna count yesterday's battle training as the battle part of the assessment" Snowpaw picked up the birds and Brightspot picked up the squirrel. Snowpaw was trying not to smile and drop her prey. She was going to be a warrior! Today! Unless her attack made Ashstar not want to. Snowpaw's mind went in between excitement and anxiety as they walked back to camp. It would probably be fine. Probably.

~First~ ~Next~ ~Previous~

Hope you enjoyed!

[femmmie]

First and last lines!

rules: post the first and last lines of the last 10 fics you posted.

I was tagged by de wonderful @lumiereandcogsworth 💖 thank you, deary

1. Pretty boy (Ian/ Anthony, Chanse/ Tommy, rated T)

The city lights were dimmed by a heavy fog. There weren't many street lights here anyway, in the empty parking lot. The palm trees cast long, ominous shadows, even though Anthony couldn't see their leaves. He passed a garbage bin that hadn't been emptied in a while. 

"If you say so."

2. The eye of the storm (Noah/Shayne, rated T)

"Look Noah! It's snowing!" Shayne exclaimed while looking out of the window. A little cloud appeared on the glass where he'd yelled.

Noah made some hot coco for them both, all thoughts about the illuminati long forgotten.

3. That's so us (Ian/ Amanda, rated T)

Listen, I am going to carry you over the doorstep.

"That's so us."

4. Eye contact (Ian/ Anthony, rated T)

The crinkles around Anthony's eyes when he smiles and laughs. His proud little smirk when he talks about what they have accomplished together.

They go back inside.

5. Next to me (Amanda/ Angela, not rated oops, I guess G)

"Hey Amanda," Courtney sang in a character voice.

It was time to film their first video of the day. They walked into the studio together, hand in hand.

6. Strong for you (Amanda / Angela, rated G)

"No... I really messed this video up."

"Yeah."

7. A little bit of madness (Shayne/ Ian, Ian/ Anthony, rated G)

Shayne got a notification. He sat in the lunch room at the Defy building after filming a Smosh sketch. He looked at the e-mail he just received on his phone. His colleagues were all gasping, yelling and some were even crying. Everyone had gotten the same message:

"Yeah, they sure are," Shayne said, a bit loud.

8. I'm yours (Damien/ Anthony, rated M)

"Antonio! I'm so stoked you're coming with to Quadcon! Do you wanna travel alone or shall I pick u up? My jeep is already packed w all my gear haha! Please lmk?"

Damien looked at Anthony with a new found love. When he wasn't acting, and was totally himself, he was such a sweet soul. Ugh. Hot AND kind. But Damien didn't feel self-conscious anymore. "That hottie over there? Mine!" Damien smiled.

9. Three's a party (Ian/ Anthony/ OG, rated M)

Anthony kept close to Ian. But the thumping bass and beats in his ears made it hard to concentrate. The people in their group were talking but he could barely make out what they were saying. He looked around. Flashing party lights, people dancing, chatting, drinking. 

“Same time, next month? <3”

10. The planet with two faces (Janeway/ Seven, rated G)

"Chakotay!" Janeway calls out for her number one.

"It is nice to understand each other for once, though."

I tag @wiggog-y-hecox @lilac-hecox @notthatalex @dapg-otmebytheballs @husbants and everyone who wants to!

[hopeful-hugz]

@wickedlittlepuppy || Plotted Starter || Plotting Call

"Ugh, of all the times for it to get knocked out, it had to be while I'm on my way to you." The complaint is grumbled out as Hope fiddles with the bio-mechanical eyeball in her telekinetic grip, voice muffled by the filter mask on her face. "Guess I should consider myself lucky I ended up being able to make a stop in a safer universe... Well, safer for me."

"You're talking like you know the world." Teal's voice sounds out in her earpiece, monotone as ever. "According to the tracker logs you've never been to that particular one before."

There's a nod in response, despite knowing that her brother couldn't actually see her. It's quickly followed by the click of her popping the prosthetic in place once again. "Yeah, if I navigated right I should have a fri-"

"I took a wrong turn, didn't I?" A small pause as her brother confirms and she looks out over the snowy landscape. Sure, this wasn't the Copper 9 she was used to, but it was still an iteration of it. "Well, I should still be fine, just gotta keep to myself til the snow clears up a bit."

"That bad?"

"Yyyyyyyup. Then again, it usually is. I'll be by when I'm able to get a better sense of where I'm jumping to." With another confirmation, the call is ended. The aetherling can't help a small chuff a small shift in the shadows of the streets below getting a small shrug. Guess one of the disassembly drones was out hunting; not anything she needed to worry about.

A glance down from her little rooftop perch later and she's swinging down into a shattered window. It wasn't a whole bunch of cover from the storm, but it was something to keep her cold blood a little warmer. Enough that she could at least bring her tail out for a dim light source and safe place to sit. "I swear, the snow here's even worse than the nuclear winters in the wastelands. Least here's safer... Practically a home-free wait compared to there, hah."

That's how it should be at least, right?

[fandom-imagination-ss]

Request Imagine: Being Jeskier's half-sister and a Half-Elf, being thick as thieves, and joining him and Geralt on adventures till Geralt yells at Jeskier so you follow him to try and make him Apologize. On the way you arrive at Cintra When it's being taken, you find Ciri so you both end up on Adventures together to Find Geralt. Eventually go to To Kaer Morhen where you meet Geralt's Brother, Eskel, and fall in love.

You Loved your brother, even those being Only half Siblings. the moment you were born your mother Dropped you off at your fathers and wished him luck. So Jeskier was by your side from the start you use to follow him everywhere growing up and when he started to travel to sing his Songs you joined until your father would Pull you back home to be a proper young lady until He got distracted by a pretty new lady he was courting So you sneaked off to see your brother and ended up on an Adventures with Him and Geralt the Lone Wolf. a witcher. It was Going Great Until- the two idiots one being your brother and the other Geralt started Bickering. you saw the Fight Coming they were both on edge all week. making One-handed remarks. then Jeskier Bregged that he was traveling with the witcher. causing unwanted attention which cause A Drunk fool to stroll over to your table.. at first he went to boost how he could take down the Great "lone Wolf" but then he saw you. and saw your pointed ears and the man lunged at you. before you coudl grab your blade to defend yourself Geralt slammed the man onto the table and a huge Brawl started. it ended with the three of you being kicked out of the Pub/ your hotel. you were suppose to spend the first night in weeks in a proper bed. and have a bath. but that was ruined.

the Two Fought and bickered.. truthfully you were on Geralt's side of the fight, If Jeskier kept his mouth shut, and didn't bring attention to you Nor Geralt you woudl be in a nice warm bed right now. Instead of walking down a dark road in the pitch black chassing after your brother. who was as brave as a mouse. you found him begging him to just apoglize and that a nice warm meal and good sleep will solve everyone's problems but Jaskier decided he would rather keep traveling and singing away from Geralt and you. he wanted "Me time' which you laughed Saying that was non sense but he left either way.. you searched for Geralt but in his fit of rage he stormed off Leaving you alone.

you ended up traveling by yourself exploring the world you decided to Go to Cintra mainly because you never been and the other resort was to return home, and finally do what your father wished and that was to Marry, settle downa nd give him grandbabies.. Not many choices for a lady. but you arrived at Cinetra Right during battle as you fought protecting a Old man who had One leg. and was on the ground crying. when you noticed. Ciri. escaping Cinetra you both went on a long search to Find Geralt.

Ending up in the Witcher's birthplace was Not what you expected but you entered the castle with Geralt, and Ciri as you were in amazement. the castle was Cold and drafty when Geralt said to pick any room.. you weren't sure what to expect but having rooms with holes in them gave little protection to the elements Vs rooms that were warm. being filled with Rats.. it wasn't a great option.. espicalyl since Rats terrified you.

Fighting monsters, Climbing up high mountains, Or blood scared you. little scared you. you coudl rationalize anything. But Rats! UGH! with those Eyes, and those Tails and the Feet! Oh! you weren't entirely sure Why Rodents scared you but. you have thrown Jaskier, and Literally Children infront of you using them as shields. Ciri had No problem with the Rats which stunned you. she was a princess. you found a Room that had Only One Hole in the wall.. looking at the room it had a corner where Snow wasc coming in but it was cold.. and the Rodents would choose the warmer rooms. you had worst.- well you told yourself you had the worst.. to make yourself feel better.

I used a blanket to plug up the hole as you went to anoher room stealing more blankets. it was late that night while all the witchers were Roasting and celebrating Geralt's return and bringing two beauitful ladies did you meet his brother. Eskel walked in and dritectly to Geralt giving him a Hug as they talked to themselves. he was handsome you thought as he completely ingored the two strangers in he's family home.

"where's your room?"

Ciri asked as you looked over at her. you like Ciri, she was thirsty for knowledge and wanted revenge. but at heart.. she was still a girl. scared but forcing herself to be brave. you saw a weird amount of Geralt in her. had to be the "child by surprise" thing. you spoke, "you know when you go up the stairs. to the corridors to the left?"

She nodded her head, "the second room on the right."

Ciri was stunned, 'there's no heat there.. theres holes in all of them. "Aye. but Not one Rat... I'll rather Freeze to death."

"they are harmless."

"Mark my words Ciri! one day those Suckers are going to whipe out a Entire Civiliation!" she rolled her eyes as Geralt walked over as he spoke, "Ciri, Y/N this is my brother Eskel'

he bowed looking at you btoh as he caught your eye. for a second before he moved them away as he said, "It's been a long Journey I think i'll retire for the evening."

he walked off as Geralt sat down as you spoke, "he semes.. tall."

"rough Hunt- Did you find a room?"

you nodded your head, "you all needs alot of Cats." he chuckled as he spoke, 'you could just simply kill them if they bother you that much."

you shook your head Geralt knew how terrified ou were of the rodents. you have shoved him in front of you more then Jaskier has Sang "toss a coin to your witcher"

"god- and touch them? Fuckno!"

the next day you were watching the witchers train as you joined in. you were always pretty good at fighting. probably because of your mother. you were always just a bit faster than everyone, stronger, and flexible. so you got the hang of fighting pretty easily. then that night arrived as they invited the local Whores from the village to come up to the party. you escorted Ciri to her room. she May have had to grow up faster then most. but you could still shield her innocent eyes from that! you opened the door to her room to see Rats scurry across the floor as you screamed loudly jumping away from the door and backwards as you paced away as Ciri chuckled just to hear a sword being uncovered and hurried boots. you turned to see Eskel as he was holding his sword out ready to Fight to protect yuo both as you spoke, "it's fine- it's Nothing im sorry.."

"What a great protector you are Y/N"

"Oh stuff it Ciri! they are-" Ciri dissapeared into the room as you knew excatly what she was doign as you Ran down the hall towards Eskel getting behind him as Ciri came out holding a rat. as you screamed, "DROP IT! MY GOD CIRI YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW DISGUSTING THAT IS! MY GOD YOUR SUPPOSE TO BE A PRINCESS!" Ciri laughed as she spoke, 'how the hell you get that far so fast?"

you were not only behind Eskel but down the hall far away as Eskel turned seeing you as you held your hips, tightly, "Ciri your Lucky Geralt would Kill me ffor killing you!"

Ciri just laughed loudly saying goodnight. she closed her door leaving you alone with the quiet Witcher. you held your arms fast as he turned to you" scared of Rats?"

"I"m scared of monsters- Im terrified of Rats.."

he grinned weakly, "Bad place to be. This place is full of them."

You nodded your head, "I fully agree- why aren't you downstairs- with the guests."

He chuckled softly as he spoke, "Well I was heading down till I heard a Lady in distress."

Your face burned red as you laughed it off. trying to have a clear thought as he spoke, "Have a good night Y/n"

"Night." he walked passed you as you went into your room. in the morning you got out of your room to see a Cat sleeping in a basket You smiled bent down and rubbed its head as he leaped out of the basket and it rubbed itself over you as it walked inside jumped onto the bed and went to sleep.

While Geralt was busy, Ciri was put under the wings of the other witchers to learn to fight. you were always paired up with Eksel. you were always with him he was kind and sweet. and quiet but the quiet wasn't awkward or cruel it was nice and comforting just being in his company. It wasn't Crash. it wasn't a Sudden Zing that made you realize you were in love with him. it crept up on you, it was a subtle he would always wait to eat until you arrive downstairs,a nd would always have a compliment and would help you wrap up your injuries from training.

then one day Geralt announced you all were leaving to go help Ciri to find a teacher ot teach her how to control her magic. which the idea of leaving Made your stomach turn as you sat outside in the garden you were supposed to leave tomorrow.

"y/N."

you were staring at a dead tree- till you heard the deep voice of Eskel Lifting your head he stepped over to you and sat down beside you, "I hear you leaving tomorrow."

Nodding your head weakly, you rubbed your arms softly. it was chilly out, and Eskel sat holding his arms over himself. as he stared at the tree.

"You have to leave with them?"

You felt your heart squeeze as you stole a look at him. he looked pail and nervous as you rolled your shoulders "I doubt you witchers want me to stick around-."

"Well- I'm leaving tomorrow also."

"Oh, where to?"

"Been called off to the north- Would you consider coming with me?"

It wasn't a Fast burning Romance. it was Slow- which only made sense. they were trained to suppress all emotion. so it wasn't abnormal. it happened months after traveling together you were sitting in a pub unamused as a bar wrench was trying to Sit on Eskel Lap. he had to shove her away and say he was taken as he grabbed your hand tightly as he pulled you up onto his lap. the lady disappeared as eskel held you tightly to him as he nestled his head on your shoulder as he spoke low, "this is nice."

he wrapped his arms around you as you held his arms as you leaned into him, 'it is.. we should do this more often." he chuckled as he spoke, "how about the rest of our lives?' you chuckled softly.

"Rest of our lives? sounding dangerously close to a marriage posposal." he chuckled as he pressed his forehead to your shoulder, "so what if it was?"

you turned to him stunned as you spoke, "No I love you first? just Straight to marriage? that is fast."

"well- why waste time."

"oh your the romantic one."

he chuckled softly as he held you tightly, 'I know im not excatly romantic... but I do love you."

you smiled at that as you turned your head giving him a quick kiss on the forehead, "I love you too."

@rachelcarroll1819

[pbandjesse]

I wish it felt like winter. Like yeah the last couple winters having broken heat sucked. But our heat is fixed this year and looking at the weather for the next month it's just going to be in the 40s. Sucks. I really thought we would get a big snow storm at least once but I don't think it's going to happen. Makes me very sad.

Today was a little hard. I wanted to be productive and go out and enjoy the weather even if it isn't the winter I wanted. But instead I just felt very bad.

I slept alright last night. It has been easier to fall asleep lately. I woke up and things felt alright. James made me an omelette for breakfast to celebrate Omelette the frog being alive. I got to work on my crochet.

Mr Will came over to replace the back door. This is where I got very upset. And it only go worse over the next hour. He got a different kind of door but it's just. A hollow door?? And it doesn't even fit so he nailed it in and it can't be opened. You know. Our fire escape door. He says it could be opened in an emergency but there's no handle. You would have to take a hammer to the nails. And I literally had to hold back tears. I was like hey I'm not okay with this. It's not safe. I use that outside space. I keep that door open. And he said he's on the look out for a different better door. But like. He should have just left the original one then! This one isn't going to keep the cold out. It's not safe at all!! I couldn't say anything else or I would absolutely have started crying. James sent Tina an email to explain and sent a listing to order a new door. But I just felt super defeated.

And then we couldn't find Sweetp. For almost 15 minutes. I had heard him go in the hall and didn't think anything of it because he follows Will. But we couldn't find him in our apartment. In the hall. In the construction upstairs. I was getting super worried he somehow go outside outside. Or was on the fire escape that was now nailed shut.

But I would find him under the bed in the bedroom in Will's office. Ugh. I did not need the stress. I have Sweetp a bunch of treats but I told him I was upset with him for hiding.

I tried to keep crocheting. I would get to 69 squares done today. I wanted to go out but I was so upset and honestly I felt super tired and bad inside. I wanted to do work. Art. Make my poster and examples for this weekend. But I couldn't do anything. I felt broken inside.

James would go for a bike ride and I would lay in bed to crochet more. But eventually I just laid down and watched videos.

Once James got home and I knew they were safe I would fall asleep. I thought I would sleep for an hour but I woke up at 4 and felt very bad still. At least I wasn't as tired.

I did have a bunch of missed called. I have been getting weird ones a lot lately. Someone must have used my number for something or its just regular we are trying to contact you about your extended warranty/electric bill/medical debt scammy calls you get. Gave me a little fright though and waking up to your heart racing is no good.

I got up when James said they were going to walk to the grocery store. I needed to shake it off and I thought that would be nice.

So we walked over there. And got 50 cent green onions and a $2 candy bar. And came home.

We got back here and James made us green onion pancakes and dumplings. I didn't like the ginger soy sauce but I loved everything else. I appreciated James trying the new things we've added to our menu.

I still felt really uspset and couldn't get myself to do anything. Me and James would just hang out in the couch and read our books and eventually just watched things in our phones. A lazy night.

I took a bath and tried to calm my allergies now. And now we are in bed. I am trying to shake off how bad I feel. But I just hope work tomorrow helps me feel more myself.

I hope you all sleep good tonight. And feel more secure. Be careful out there! Goodnight.

[27helena-solaris]

The Blizzard: Chapter 7

(Author's Note: All warnings are mentioned in Chapter 6. That's all.)

"Hey, sis?" Poketiggy called. "Grandma sent us another chapter!"

"Then read it!" Charlotte called back.

"Alright..."

December 5

"Holy Soulless, this is a huge snowstorm to get through." Scylla muttered, climbing over heaps of snow and ice that used to be buildings, animals, even PEOPLE. After climbing over another body, Scylla said, "Wooow, going through this makes me feel like I'm in the apocalypse again, and that's not a good feeling."

Eventually, Scylla reached the castle, which was the heart of the storm. Literally.

Staring down the sparkling, ice-covered castle, Scylla sighed. "This generation s going to give me a headache one of these days." She muttered, using her frostbitten hands to shove the door open.

An ear turned at Dasher and Glimmer's call for staff from upstairs. Assuming that is where Demetria could be, Scylla teleported in front of the two rulers.

The pyrokinetic instinctively wrapped her arms around Demetria protectively, picking her up and leaving, but not before she heard:

"Hey! That's our -"

"Let them go."

"But -"

"We'll find them again. She'll be a powerful asset to our army."

Scylla teleported home.

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

"-Scylla? Hey, Scylla?" Kiui bugged.

"Yes, small one?" Scylla asked, despite knowing the answer.

"What was it like out there?" Kiui asked.

That knocked Scylla off guard. She...wasn't expecting that. Considering her options... Yeah, she might as well come clean.

"It was...devastating." Scylla starts. "It was like the apocalypse all over again." She hugs herself tightly. "To think that I saw all those frozen -"

Kiui said, "You don't have to talk about it. I was curious. That was all."

"No."  Scylla insisted. "I have to." Inhale. Exhale. "There was a lot of snow, I'll admit that. But... I smelled blood and decay as well. There was the palace; it was covered in ice as well, it was in the heart of the blizzard. The buildings and such that made up the capital city were heavily covered in snow and ice. Demetria... I'd never look at her the same way ever again."

Kiui stood there, processing as she looked at the comatose form of Demetria. From her expression, Kiui would never look at her big cousin the same way again, either.

"When do you think Demetria will wake up?" Kiui whispered.

"HOPEFULLY when Sylvia comes over, because she's going to be over for ten days." Mango said, stepping into view.

"MANGO!" Kiui shrieked. Scylla didn't have the heart to tell the Mercat to lower her voice.

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

When Demetria woke up, she was faced with Sylvia - in a lab coat. That means Dr. Sylveon is in the house. Ugh, feelings.

Demetria groaned and slowly got up, pain flashing across her body. And then a kitten with banana-yellow scales and kiwi-green eyes stared at Demetria, the cat's grey, fluffy fur on end as its tail swiftly moved back and forth nervously.

"Kiui?" Demetria croaked. "What happened?" The cat literally lunged towards the Froster, transforming back into the form of Kiui as she shouted:

"DEMETRIA! YOU'RE OKAY!! I THOUGHT WE LOST YOU!"

Demetria hugged the the sobbing girl tightly, while giving her aunt a quizzical look.

Sylvia sighed. "You froze the kingdom. Congratulations, you're a Froster now."

"And that's bad because...?" Demetria inquired.

Mango stepped into the room. "First of all, you COMPLETELY missed the part where Aunt Sylvia said that you froze the kingdom."

"I'm sorry, I DID WHAT?!"

"Second, you created a blizzard."

"WHAT?!"

"MANGO!"

"Third," Mango winked at Sylvia. "You nearly killed your friend and the crown princess."

"HOLY -"

"MANGO DRAGONFRUIT MOCHISOLAR!!" Sylvia barked.

Mango let out a fake sigh. "You never let me have my fun." She sarcastically said.

Demetria looked like she was processing everything. "Wow, I did some very bad things."

"Well, we're telling everyone we meet about how you froze an entire castle." Kiui said mischievously, sniffling quietly. Demetria groaned.

"Please don't."

"You traumatized Scylla too." Mango said.

"I WASN'T TRAUMATIZED!" Scylla shouted from the other room. "THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRAUMATIZED AND TERRIFIED!"

Mango rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, well Merlina said that she's grounding you for the next month for the stunt you pulled."

"Figures." Demetria muttered. Kiui let out a throaty chuckle.

"Can I burn it this time?" Elsa the Dragon asked. Charlotte handed her the paper.

"Nothing's worth it." Sissy the Dog mumbled sadly.

"Aaaaand this is why I'm not giving you anymore stories." Creator drawled out.

"Rude." Conrad grumbled.

[alternateanonymous]

5:16 am

Hey yall, nothing new. Me and stefan had a little dispute but it wasn't crazy. It was just something out of nothing so lol, nothing new. I played valorant and ow on pc which was crazy. Stefan said he was gonna call me but went to sleep and didn't even say goodnight. Kinda sad about that not gonna lie. Had a good night regarless, decided to not go bnack to amherst yet because I have an appointment for my skin on wednesday and it wouldn't really make sense for me to go all the way to amherst then come back the next day so well see. just had a big snow storm too, so that's cool. also, im getting alot better at typing on this thing, honestly it took a minute but we are here and making it all fluid and shit, I love it lol. Also, praise petar he is a real g because he helped me figure out my shit which was nice. also, ugh being president is hard lolll. Ugh. also, idk discord is cool it just sucks that it has such a bad reputation lol. i went to get pizza with my mom today it was good. i talked to here about a lot of things so that was nice. I also called syka last night to check in and everything seems to be going well, she is going to be seeing her boyfriend rin soon so that's cool. stilll haven't played overwatch with them yet but that will come with time. i feel like sykaa still has a lot to learn and grow and develope in terms of realtionships but isn't that just life lol. I do wish stefan would at least text me or whatever. He did this the other day. Yea he's already asleep but i at least text him if i am going to sleep or whatever, idk. i am just scared or overthinking lol. Idk, not even. lately i've just been finding a lot of inner peace with myself and that's really rejuvenating. Like idk, honeslty once i joined the server i feel that apart of me has been restored in a way and i don't fully know how to describe it. it's like the good girl feminine energy that i have always wanted throughout my life has been finally restored in a way that i have never really had or never knew i needed. Call it cringy but lol whatever. like i said, i don't get as caught up with shit i would normally get caught up with. Idk. I mean partially some of that is due to weed because it helps distract and calm me. Like the night with stefan where shit was supposed to go bad, like yea it was bad in the moment and yea i cried, but then i just said fuck you imma do what i want if you wanna be impossible just be impossible i don['t care imma do what i wanna do. And i did and it was nice because the weed helped me. turned my thoughts back onto me and it was nice because i felt relaxed lol. yea am i still annoyed at stefan, yes but the chances of that happening again= maybe, so maybe I'll bring it up to him bext time i see him and just be like "yea, i am ok now and i ave had some time to sit and process it, and im not mad at you or annoyed at you and i recovered pretty quickly after our disput but it still doesn't make me feel ok that you resorted to not wanting the video regardless of the effort i decide to put in or not, because even though i was confused it stil doesn't make it right for you to revoke your intentions and say you don't want the video,. At that point it just made me feel worse. proved that you got to your breaking point of carelessness, and made me confused and sad that you didn't want what i was trying to give to youy regarless of if i complained or not. Idk, just didn't sit right with me. So what i ask of you for the future if we get in a situation like that again, please just let me deal with my own self and complaints and just don't revoke your inital intentions because that makes me feel worse and sad. So yes a. don't revoke your intentions and b. just let me complain when i want to complain. and understand that i am just complaining about it. Besides, you know me well enough to know that i can complain a lot about things but it doesn't mean that i am going to quit what i am doing. Just be patient with me ok? regarless of if i complain or not. because as my boiyfriend you know me better than most people.

Right thanks, so yea that is my shpeel ahout that, it is currently 5:30 am and i am lisening to death by dishonor by ghostmane. Shit goes hard lol. So yea, maggie just make sure you talk to stefan about this when you get a chance, preferably in person!!!!! Great thanks. Damn, that's actually crazy that this whole thing only took me 15 minutes to write lol. I literally love this fucking keyboard and pc so much, i honestly didn't think id like it this much but i love it, I love the keyboard and the mouse and the pc itself. the monitor is fine lol. and the applications that come with a pc are really cool, like bro. I can play overwatch and valorant which is cool. valorant i can finally play since it is apc exclusive game and also i finally feel valid enough to go on discord. Idk, some apps i just hate on my phone and would much rather prefer their layout on pc which is now where we are which is fire. But yea, ahhh we are making it mags. we're making it. Just keep your head up and keep striving for greatness because that's what you were made for. what were you made for= whatever you choose, you were given the ability to decide what is right wrong good and bad, and (most imporanty) answer those decisions with a why. You put the intention behind the decision, so thats your purpose. to be the voice of the world. Goodnight maggie, i love you. hahah YAAA that's weird, lol self love is weird. But legit this is the first time i have ever felt like i loved my personality and found purpose. My purpose is whatever i decide because i have that ability. So thanks!!! im just gonna keep trying to be the best person that i can be!!! yasaaaaaa,, fuck it we always positive in this bitch.

[docnefarious]

He just continued to watch as Ratchet remained silent; the other's usual chatter replaced by an unfamiliar lethargy that was becoming increasingly-unnerving. Then, when he finally did respond, his voice was shaky and strained. It became undeniable then how urgent this was getting. Namely, that Ratchet was dying of hypothermia right in front of him, and this stupid cave was doing nothing but slowing it down!

He wasn't ending up alone in this place. So his mind raced, scrambling to latch onto any potential solution he may have overlooked. Snow had insulating properties, right?? Maybe that could help. But no, no! That wasn't practical at all! His thoughts went back to fire… and their complete and total lack of fuel! They had nothing they could use!

Dread grew as one obvious, previously-unthinkable, solution came to mind. He tensed at the thought, his pride wrestling with the growing desperation of their predicament. How did they keep winding up in these situations?! This reminded him far too much of their time stuck on Magnus... something he'd spent years of 'retirement' trying to get over! But now—!!? Here Ratchet was, literally dying at his feet, and he had to—! Ugh!

For a long, tense moment, the robot just stood there glaring like a statue as Ratchet struggled through the cold. And just like Ratchet, the absolute last thing he wanted was to show weakness in front of his 'enemy'… but… with a deep, begrudging sigh, he realized there was no other way, and began to approach the freezing lombax.

It was just as well they were in an alternate dimension, because he couldn't believe he was about to do this.

"Alright… I just want to preface this by saying: one, I hate you so, so much… and two, this is purely for practical reasons. So I don't want to hear anything!" He came to a stop before Ratchet, eyes narrowing down at him. Oh the irony. He wished more than anything that he could enjoy that moment, but, well, the Universe really did have a cruel sense of humor, didn't it?

So before he could agonize over the action any longer, he quickly turned and pressed himself back against the icy wall; sliding down it and settling himself down right next to the other, and leaning over slightly so that their sides were pressed together. His temperature had long-since adapted to combat the frigid conditions, so at the very least, sharing warmth could hopefully keep Ratchet alive long enough for them to figure out a way to escape this wasteland of a planet. "... If you tell anyone about this, you're going to wish the cold actually had finished you off." The robot muttered, not daring to look at Ratchet now, and instead focusing on the storm still raging outside the cave, sealing them in. "You're not allowed to die until we get home."

   He's aware of Nefarious and the comments he makes, but he doesn't find a reason to humor him by replying. Hence, he remains silent for a moment longer. There was a lot to consider and think about-- the dimensions ripping apart, his missing best friend, being lost . . . but the cold made it hard to focus on anything else; literally. His mind tossed ideas of what he could do in preservation, but the cold distracted him enough that he couldn't make much of cohesive plan of action.

   It was the robot snapping at him that brought Ratchet back into minor focus, shown only by the slight widening of his eyes. He finally regards Nefarious. It would be so easy to put all the blame on the other right now-- after all, no one would be in this mess if Nefarious had just left things alone. But Ratchet couldn't find it in himself to be angry, as his body continued to tremble in protest of the temperature.

   A sigh, before teeth chatter lightly again. Ratchet didn't like being so vulnerable in front of the other, either. It was an uneasy feeling to show any sort of weakness in front of an enemy, but it wasn't like they fit the typical description of enemies, despite everything.

   Ratchet couldn't really tell if the robot was just being frustrating on purpose, but he wasn't really in the mood. ❝Dunno, probably--❞ he says simply back, in response to Nefarious wondering if he was 'freezing to death'. He didn't need to say it out-loud: lombaxes like him were just not made for this weather. It was obvious this blizzarding planet was below zero, meaning that-- while the cave helped --it was probably only a matter of minutes before this got serious.

   Trying to push through it, Ratchet raises his voice to snap lightly now as a hand gestures outward in exasperation ( because he was getting a tad desperate for a solution ), ❝T-This is just so.. stupid! I-I'm usually better prepared for--for things, but now--!❞ Sentence trails off as teeth chatters, body still shaking.

[y0itsbri]

gallavich week 2021 - day 3 - travel au as always inspo from @ianandmickeygallavich // @gallavichthings

Stuck with You

Words: 5.5k

Summary: A winter storm strands a desperate-to-return-to-Chicago Ian at the airport with no car. A dark-haired mysterious man in an expensive-looking leather jacket and sunglasses seems to be his only hope. Ian grows suspicious of the man's true intentions as they embark on their road trip with some funky excursions. The two men find what need they most in each other.

"Fiona, I'm literally at the gate. I'm about to board now!" Ian was lying straight out of his ass as he was running through the bustling airport, dragging his bag as fast as the bent-as-all-hell wheels on the suitcase would allow him. He had not, in fact, woken up to his first alarm... or second. Maybe he was running extremely late despite Fiona's near-constant nagging to get there early in case something happens again.

Ian mumbled a quiet "Fuck" as his suitcase's wheel locked up again. He did not have time for this. His huffed cursing was apparently heard by Fiona's supersonic hearing. A woman in white capris glared his way. Okay, maybe it wasn't that quiet.

"Ian!" Fiona's voice rang through his phone. She sounded frantic and exhausted. She had every right to be, but Ian was not in the mood for an early morning guilt trip. "What happened? And you better stop fuckin' lying to me and get your ass-"

"Fi, I gotta go, love you, talk to you later, promise," he mumbled all the formalities as genuinely as he could muster before he hung up. He had tuned his attention into his surroundings and noticed an absurd about of people hovered around the rent-a-car station while the airport gates nearly empty, except for the occasional airport employees trying to reason with irritated passengers.

Sure enough, something did happen, as Fiona would have happily predicted. There was a massive winter storm and all flights had been delayed until further notice. Ian idly walked to his gate just to make sure he wasn't going to miss his plane like he had the day before. The gate was a fuckin' ghost town besides one man in an expensive-looking studded leather jacket and shiny dark hair to match. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of purple sunglasses, despite the fact that they were currently indoors.

Ian instinctively stepped closer to the man to maybe strike up a conversation. It wasn't something he was so fond of doing, but if he was trapped at an airport, he might as well make friends. Anything to distract his anxious thoughts about not making it back to Chicago in time for his interview. He couldn't even look at his phone, knowing Fiona was probably blowing it up right now about how he has to get his shit together. He knows.

In the midst of his inner debate, Ian oh-so-gracefully tripped over a chair -- the wheels of his suitcase coming to a halt, causing the bag to loudly clang against a nearby pole.

The man jumped up with a startle, yanking off his glasses and swiftly reaching into his boot and pulling out a small knife. He slowly took in the fact that there was no threat -- just a giant blushing ginger wincing at the knife pointed his direction.

The man sighed and tucked his knife away, "Shit, I thought you were trying to rob me or something."

Ian eyed a small black backpack tucked behind the man's legs. That bag was sleek and tiny compared to Ian's nightmare of a bag.

"Ain't look like you got much to steal," Ian joked, immediately regretting his decision to be witty after literally just being held at knifepoint. Maybe the mysterious man would appreciate his charm.

The man frowned. Okay, maybe Ian's humor wasn't for everyone.

"And how did you get that knife through security?" Ian asked in attempt to ease the tension a bit.

"None of your damn business." The man retorted shortly, but his eyes lingered over Ian for a moment longer, amused.

"Right." Ian replied after a moment. That was fair. He was a stranger, after all. But there was something about this man that was so intriguing. The man stood nearly half a foot shorter than Ian and clearly had the personality to make up for it. Ian was most definitely not in the mood to almost get stabbed again so he decided to lay off the talking, making an obvious show of adverting his gaze from the gorgeous leather-clad man in front of him.

"Uh.. hey," the man spoke up again as he looked around the terminal. "Did I miss the flight or did everyone just get abducted by aliens or some shit?"

Ian was amused at the aliens bit. Who even was this guy?

"It looks like all flights are delayed. Some freak super-storm coming in, don't want any crashes or anything."

"Buncha pussies," the dark-haired man grumbled as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Shut up, Ian, shut up shut up shut up.

"Rent-a-car? Is that okay with you?" The guy pulled his bag over his shoulder, but turned his gaze back to Ian.

"Uh, yeah, I mean -- sorry, never mind." Nice going, Ian.

"I'm just busting your balls, man. Just gotta get back to Chicago before the weekend. Can't just sit around like a little bitch and wait for a storm to pass like some people." The enigmatic man teased him.

Ian rolled his eyes, but followed him like a lost puppy. "You're not the only one. I have an interview in Chicago in two days and I really can't miss it." Ian pointed back towards the rent-a-car area when the man didn't question him any further. "Don't think you'll have much luck with that, by the way. They looked almost sold outta cars when I walked past here earlier."

"So you walked past the rent-a-car instead of actually getting one? Real smart, Stumbles."

Ian cringed at the nickname. So much for first impressions. The man pulled out his phone from the tight pocket of his pants and stopped abruptly, Ian almost losing his balance to keep from stumbling into the guy. Again. Ian was literally swept up off his feet by this dude. He had to get himself in control before he lost what remained of his dignity.

"Ey' Dimitri, I need a car." The guy said into the phone. Ian awkwardly waited around. It wasn't like they made any plans of travelling together but they were in the middle of a conversation, he couldn't just leave. It wouldn't be polite. Not that much about this guy was polite to begin with. But they had something going at least. The phone conversation got heated very quickly. Now Ian could very clearly see why he was the type of person to have a knife in arm's reach at any given notice.

"I know you have fuckin' plenty. I'll drop it off next time I see Yevgeny, you know I'm good for it. I gotta job this weekend- It is your fuckin' business when your bitch of a wife- Oh c'mon, you can admit she's a bit of a bitch. Whatever- Or do you wanna tell Svetlana that your incompetent ass is the reason why she ain't getting her payment- or do you plan on paying for that shit? Didn't think so. Black cat. Red one."

There was definitely a lot to unpack and as curious as Ian was, he was definitely not gonna ask... yet.

"Red, you comin'?" The dark-haired man called over his shoulder as he started heading towards the airport's exit.

"Me?" Way to play it cool, Ian.

"No. The other giant ginger standing behind you. Yes, you."

"My name's Ian, by the way."

"Don't care."

"Where are we going?"

"Chicago."

--

Together but not together, they waited for... Dimitri, maybe? The shorter man beside Ian was tapping around on his phone and hadn't said a word about their plans beyond the simple 'Chicago.'

Right as Ian got the nerve to ask, a sleek black jaguar came to a halt on the street in front of them. Ian only knew a bit about cars because his brother liked fixing them up -- and man, was this a sick car. Lip would be jealous. Ian fought the urge to take a photo of the car -- unsure what the boundaries were in situations like this.

Ian's mystery man sauntered over to the driver's seat, exchanging a loaded handshake before switching places with the driver, who was apparently not Dimitri.

The passenger side window rolled down, revealing a bright red interior. "Coming, princess?"

Ian placed his suitcase in the backseat before hopping in the front himself.

"Do I ever get to know your name, princess?" Ian teased back. But he was genuinely curious.

The guy smirked, "Buckle up. I ain't slowing down for anything." And true to his word, they sped out of the parking lot, earning a few well-deserved horns from cars that they had cut off. Ian cringed.

--

Ian waited until they were on the interstate to speak again, not wanting to be the cause for an accident with this guy's hectic driving and the snow lightly falling on the road in front of them. Maybe he shouldn't be getting into cars with mysterious strangers. Maybe he should have thought of that before he did, in fact, get into a car with a mysterious stranger.

Ian decided to try again, "Ya know, if you don't tell me your name, I'm just going to start calling you something real stupid, like Bob or Cookie or Raven."

"Raven is actually kinda badass." The man replied, not taking his eyes off the road, but the side of his mouth quirking upward.

This guy was impossible, "Ugh."

"Ya know, you're kind of annoying for a passenger who should be grateful that I'm saving your ass. I could dump you on the side of the road, make you hitch hike all the way to Chicago or wherever the hell you end up. Probably some real weirdos out there wanting to pick up a pretty boy like you."

"Didn't ask to be saved." Ian blushed despite his best efforts to play it cool.

"No? So you were just following me all around the airport, why?" He glanced at Ian this time.

Yeah, he had a point. "Like I said, I got an interview I can't miss. My sister set it up for me and she would actually have my ass if I fucked this up. I'm talking like this-is-the-final-straw." Ian sighed, running his hands up and down his face.

"Hmm. You'll make it. I'm a good driver." He smirked. He lifted his hand off the wheel as if he were about to touch Ian's shoulder or something, but decided against it at the last second.

"Good and fast are not equivalent." Ian's breath hitched.

"Says you." The guy drummed his fingers.

"Says most people. And probably the cops." Ian was not about to spend a night in the slammer.

"Fuck the cops." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah."

The conversation died down and a rock ballad lulled over the car's exquisite sound system. Damn, this was a nice car.

"Mickey." The guy murmured, barely audible over the bass.

"What?" Like the mouse?

"My name's Mickey, by the way." He glanced over at Ian.

Oh. "Kinda badass." Ian returned with eye contact a smirk.

Mickey smiled at the road ahead of them.

--

"Mornin', Sleeping Beauty." Mickey called out from the driver's seat, patting Ian's shoulder. Ian could have sworn Mickey's hand lingered a bit longer than necessary, but maybe he was just reading into the interaction.

Ian must have fallen asleep sometime during the drive, because now they were parking in the parking lot of a diner. Red neon lights highlighted the exterior, giving the place a sultry vibe. Odd vibe for an off-the-road diner, but Ian supposed it could be weirder.

Mickey hopped out of the car and shoved his hands into the pocket in his leather jacket, searching for something.

After a moment, Ian slowly stretched his legs out as he crawled out of the car and found Mickey smoking a cigarette while leaning against the hood of the car. It was picture perfect. Mickey hadn't noticed him emerge yet, so Ian decided to give into his urges as he snapped a picture of the beautiful man in front of him -- all black shadows and glowing red.

Ian closed the car door and Mickey stubbed out his cigarette and led them inside. "Usual table," he said to the hostess, who led them to a table set for two towards the back of the establishment.

Yeah, this was weird. Who the fuck had a 'usual table' at a joint off the highway in the middle of nowhere?

Inside hung the heads of exotic animals that Ian hoped were fake. Once they were sat across from each other, Mickey ordered a short stack of pancakes and Ian ordered a hamburger and fries -- the first thing he saw on the menu.

"So, brunch and tigers? What is this place?" Ian mused, curiosity and now suspicion overtaking him.

"Cool, huh? Got connections." Mickey went back to rearranging the condiments and sugars on their table.

"Mhm." Ian was skeptical, but didn't want to pry. He seemed to be on this guy's good side for now.

Ian spent the better part of their stay just taking in everything around them. The walls were lined with playing cards, posters from bands he's never heard of, bizarre news articles, lights swung and tacked up with a casual precision, literal jewelry and crowns under display cases, and he could've sworn there was sparkles mixed into the red paint covering the walls. It was like a goblin's cave or something.

Occasionally, he would look up at Mickey, who would look away almost instantly -- like he'd been caught in the middle of something. Planning something? Ian couldn't tell if Mickey's cheeks were actually blushing red or if it was just the lighting. Probably for the best because Ian blushed like a motherfucker whenever he held Mickey's eyes for too long.

Luckily, the waitress brought over their food before Ian could say something stupid. Ian's hamburger and fries were places in a classic red boat with black and white checkered paper. The burger was massive and had a flamingo pick placed in the center of it. Mickey's pancakes were covered in bananas, blueberries, and powdered sugar. The waitress also set down a glass elephant bottle filled with, what looked like, maple syrup. The waitress just smiled at them and walked away without another word. This place was strange. And Ian couldn't shake that feeling.

About halfway through eating, Ian had enough of the odd vibes and promptly excused himself to go to the bathroom. He had to get out of here, forgo his luggage in the fancy ass car. He didn't care if he'd have to hitch hike at this point. He washed his hands in the bathroom sink, planning when to make his escape, when the door swung open.

"Ian." Mickey looked genuinely concerned. No stupid nickname. Ian. "What's wrong, man? You looked pretty sick back there. Is it food poisoning? I'll give Anakin a fuckin' piece of my mind if he didn't cook that fuckin' burger. He knows better than to fuck with me." He rattled off.

Ian felt flighty and tried to take off during Mickey's rage-induced ramble but an arm gripped his bicep, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hey, Ian, look at me." That was the problem. Ian couldn't stop looking at him. He would probably do anything he asked. And that was fucking dangerous. He was a stranger with connections. That couldn't lead to anything good.

Ian finally made eye contact and the grip on his arm loosened, gently sliding towards his wrist before falling back to Mickey's side.

"Promise me you won't kill me." Ian blurted out.

Mickey's eyebrows nearly flew off his face, "Kill you? Where the fuck is this coming from? You think I hate you or something?"

"Well, maybe, I don't know. This is weird."

"Maybe." Mickey paused, actually making an effort to see this whole strange situation from Ian's perspective. "But I like weird."

Ian stayed silent.

"I promise I'm not going to kill you. I promise that I'm going to get you back to Chicago for your interview. I promise we're all good, okay?"

The tension in Ian's shoulder's visibly relaxed and he released a breath he didn't know he had been holding. But that confession still doesn't explain this weird excursion.

"Why does everyone here know you?" Ian finally asked, swallowing his nerves.

This was not a conversation for the men's bathroom, but here they were anyways.

Mickey looked a bit embarrassed. "Used to live a few towns over with my ex-wife-"

"Ex-wife?" Ian nearly choked.

"Svetlana. Fuckin' disaster. But I used to come here with my son, Yev, on special occasions when his mom was out. He always loved it -- thought he was the king or some shit."

"Oh."

"Don't see the kid as much anymore, but this place still has the best fuckin' pancakes so we go when we can."

"So this isn't a sting operation to kidnap me?"

Mickey rolled his eyes, "You're an idiot. I actually happen to like you."

"Yeah, me too."

"So glad you like yourself, champ."

"Oh, fuck me." Ian groaned.

"Maybe later." Mickey smiled too sweetly for someone who had just insinuated what they had.

They returned to their table, finishing off what they could. Mickey had insisted he pay for both of their meals -- reparation for nearly giving Ian a heart attack and fleeing off to fucking Mexico or something. The waitress collected their tab and walked away with a wink, "Have fun tonight, boys."

"See ya 'round, Geneva." Mickey called, "Always in my fuckin' business." But Ian could tell it was meant with nothing but fondness.

Mickey held gave a two finger salute to the hostess on his way out before holding the lion-studded doors and turning to face Ian, "We're in this together, yeah?"

"Yeah."

--

Ian didn't fall asleep in the car this time. Instead, they played the license plate game and carried impersonal conversation in between stops at gas stations and fast food restaurants.

--

"Books or movies?" Ian read from his phone.

"What kind of fuckin' question is that?"

"From the online list you made me look up!"

"Yeah, because you suck at coming up with questions!"

"Whatever. Books or movies?"

"Movies, duh."

"Aw, c'mon, you don't like books? When was the last time you even read a book?"

Mickey flipped him off, "What about you, smartass? You prefer books over movies?"

"Well, no..."

"Well, exactly."

--

"Cats or dogs?" Ian asked. "I've never had either, but dogs are cool."

"Yeah, 'cause you act like one."

Ian gasped, mocking an expression of hurt. "I bet you're a dog person, though."

"Yeah, why're you so sure about that?"

"They're all tough and shit."

"I got a cat back home. She's tougher than any dog I know."

"What's her name?"

"Indy."

"Aw, softy."

"It's short for Indica, clearly we're cool."

Ian gave an even more exaggerated "Aww."

"Shut up, next question."

--

They had missed the worst of the winter storm that had threatened their flight and gotten them in this situation to begin with. It was starting to get dark and while Mickey assured Ian that he could drive through the night, Ian insisted they could stop at a hotel and still make it back before his interview. Truthfully, he didn't want to be involved in a luxury car crash with a maybe Russian mobster. He couldn't pinpoint Mickey, but that's what he had currently decided on.

They had pulled off into the lot of a pink hotel. Mickey had gotten them two rooms, side-by-side. Instead of going up to his room and passing out like Ian had expected, Mickey headed straight towards the hotel bar -- ordering a mojito and a vodka tonic and making friendly talk with the waitress in a very low cut red shirt like they were old friends. Mickey was nothing like Ian expected.

Ian headed up to his room to drop off his suitcase and call Fiona back, sure she was going to disown him right then and there for avoiding her calls all day.

--

Ian opted against going down to the bar and instead watched reruns on the hotel tv. Alcohol didn't really mix well with his meds and he didn't want a hangover if they were going to be in a car all day tomorrow -- especially a nice car like that. Yeah, he wasn't puking in that anytime soon if he could help it.

He took a long, hot shower, indulging in the hotel's eucalyptus-scented body wash before settling in for the night.

Ian was resting peacefully until he heard a blood-curdling scream next door. Mickey was next door. Mickey.

Ian leapt out of bed, grabbing nothing but his shirt before frantically knocking on Mickey's door. C'mon Mickey, don't be dead. C'mon. C'mon.

Mickey swung open the door rubbing sleep from his eyes, "Ian?"

"Uh, hi. I heard screaming. Just making sure you're not being murdered."

"Shit, yeah. I get night terrors sometimes. I meant to mention that to you, but it must have slipped my mind after a few drinks. Didn't see you down there?"

"I called it an early night," Ian replied guiltily. He felt bad if Mickey was waiting for him. But he didn't know.

"Yeah... anything else?" Mickey looked Ian up and down. Ian was suddenly hyper aware he was standing in front of Mickey in only his boxers.

"Um, no." Ian glanced around nervously.

"Great." Mickey shut the door. Whatever. Ian turned to open his door, but it wouldn't open. He searched his pants for the key card only to be reminded that he was not, in fact, wearing pants. Fucking great indeed.

Ian knocked on Mickey's door again.

"What?" He grumbled with a tooth pick between his teeth. "'m not fuckin' screamin' anymore."

"I locked myself out."

"Of course you did." Mickey rubbed a hand down his face, "You ain't goin' down to the front desk in your underwear and I'm not goin' down there either so it looks like you can either come with me or sleep in the hallway, your choice."

Some choice.

Ian followed Mickey into his room, the same layout as Ian's -- just mirrored. Mickey tossed a blanket at him and then collapsed back into the pillows himself.

Ian tried to make himself comfortable on the ground but all he was going to do was bruise his fuckin' spine and freeze his ass off because apparently Mickey likes to sleep in Antarctica.

"Fuckin' cold." Ian mumbled, cocooned in his one tiny hotel-grade blanket that hardly covered his long body.

Mickey didn't open his eyes, but he lifted the comforter on the bed, "Get in here, Frosty."

Ian hesitated. But he was really fucking cold. He made sure not to touch Mickey at all as he crawled under the covers, laying as still as he could on the edge of the mattress. Mickey sighed and scooted his back into Ian's chest, grabbed Ian's arm, and draped it around his waist. "There."

Ian was still for a moment before settling into the warmth.

"Mickey." He said softly. He wasn't even sure if Mickey had heard him.

"What?"

"Is that your real name? Mickey?"

Mickey sighed, "Mikhailo."

"Hmm. I like Mikhailo. It's like Mick-halo, like you're an angel."

"Baby, you've met me. There ain't nothing good about me. I'm more like the devil."

"Why's that?"

"Dude, I almost knifed you when we first met."

"I had that coming, though."

"Maybe so."

"Is that all?"

"Fuckin' terrorized my neighborhood as a kid."

"Me too, you ain't special. Got anything else?"

"I'm a raging homo."

Ian rolled his eyes. "Me too. Anything else?"

"Can't do enough for my own kid."

Ian was quiet so Mickey continued.

"Svet won't keep him in Chicago where my job is. I don't wanna be the asshole to choose work over my kid, but I can't just up and leave, either."

"Yeah, but it sounds like you visit him a lot. He must know you love him, though. Bet you're a better father than mine."

"Yeah, mine too. Ain't hard to beat. He's a real dick. I don't wanna be anything like that piece of shit."

Ian squeezing his grip around Mickey's waist. "You're not. I'm still betting you're all things good."

"Hmm."

"Guess we'll just have to see."

"Guess so."

A moment passed before Mickey spoke again.

"Go to sleep, stupid."

"Goodnight, Mick-halo."

Ian nestled his head into Mickey's hair, smelling the eucalyptus on his as well. The two not-strangers drifted off together.

--

Ian woke up after Mickey, who was already packing up his oddly tiny back pack again. And Ian's suitcase. He took a moment to recall last night's events.

"How the fuck did you get that?"

"Morning to you, too." Mickey tossed a prepacked muffin at Ian's half asleep body. "Went to the front desk for a spare key after continental breakfast, duh. Eat up, we're leaving in 10."

Ian groaned and pulled the covers over his head. He felt a weight on the mattress beside him. He peeked from behind the blanket to see that Mickey had sat down and was currently staring at his legs? Ass? Who knew. Turns out 'thighs' was the correct answer as he set his hand on the outer part of Ian's right thigh. Just resting it there for a moment before getting up.

"Fine, we're leaving in 15."

Satisfied, Ian closed his eyes for a few minutes, feeling the ghost of Mickey on his leg. He was so warm. It was like his heart was on fire.

--

They ended up leaving 10 minutes after Mickey's initial 15 were up. But it wasn't Ian's fault that there was a hold-up at the front desk. Something about a scheduling conflict between a drag show and a speech contest. Hell, Mickey thought they should combine the two events and call it a day.

Back in the car, Mickey had some upbeat indie music playing this morning while they circled around the old town to find a gas station.

"Ya want anything?" Mickey asked before he turned away from the pump and towards the building, patting down his ass to make sure he had his wallet.

Ian was distracted by the patting for a moment before replying. "Uh, maybe a Gatorade or something?"

Mickey tapped the hood of the car twice instead of replying verbally, but the message was received nonetheless.

Ian pulled up the picture he had taken yesterday of Mickey in front of the bizarre diner, moments before he thought he was being hunted for sport. It was beautiful. He was beautiful.

After a moment, the driver's side door swung open, "Whatcha lookin' at, Smiles? Texting your girlfriend?" Mickey teased as he closed the gas tank and hopped in with a coffee balancing in one hand and three different flavors of Gatorade in the other.

"Nothing." Damn, Ian. Like that ain't an obvious lie.

"Ain't nothing, lemme see." Mickey took Ian's phone and dropped the Gatorades on his lap.

"Ouch! Well, thanks -- for these -- but give me my phone back!"

"Is that me?"

No sense in lying now. He was literally looking at it. "Uh, yeah. Thought it looked cool."

"That's dope as fuck, man. Send that shit to me, I wanna post it on my Instagram."

Ian certainly hadn't expected that response. But when had Mickey ever been what he expected?

"I don't have your number." And he wasn't asking for his number like some school girl. Mickey had literally requested he send him something. Ian had no idea why he felt so ridiculously nervous.

"Gimme." Mickey made grabby hands for the phone and began to plug in his number before Ian realized that this definitely counted as distracted driving in a very nice car. "Done."

Done.

--

The morning and afternoon went by pretty quickly. Mickey sang along to some pop songs while drumming his hands on the steering wheel. Ian took some photos of the inside of the car, earning some light teasing from Mickey. Shut up, this might be my only time in a car worth more than ten grand.

Ian watched the highway and the grass blurring past his window when he suddenly remembered the small notepad and pen he had swiped from Mickey's hotel room.

Mickey looked pretty distracted, so Ian took it out and began to sketch his profile. The man was too beautiful. He couldn't help himself. With a burst of confidence, he added a note to it before ripping the page out and sticking it in the side pocket of Mickey's back pack. If Mickey saw him, he didn't say anything -- for once -- and Ian was glad for that.

--

They were nearing Illinois state lines, so they had to get into travel specifics. Ian gave him the address to his apartment. Both being Southside, Mickey knew the area well enough that he wouldn't need directions until last minute.

Ian figured now was as good as time as any to ask, "What are you doing in Chicago?"

Mickey made a face like he was thinking about how much he wanted to explain to Ian. "Well, for one, I live there. Second, you've seen my tattoos right?" He held out his knuckles reading FUCK U-UP. Ian nodded and Mickey relaxed one hand back onto the steering wheel before continuing, "Tattoos were a family ritual. I help my brothers on runs when they need it -- those idiots can't plan for shit by themselves. Makes good money though. I also work part-time at this high-end restaurant downtown. Satisfies my sister that I have a legit job. Ain't too bad either. Lotta sketchy shit goes on, though, but they know I'm good to look the other way for a low low price." He grinned.

"Damn, you sure are something," Ian mused.

"Yup yup. What about you hot-shot? What's the whole deal with this interview?"

Ian sighed. "Never finished high school and uh, I have a mood disorder thing so a lot of places won't even consider me. Got fired from my last job for snapping at the dickhead manager --which was well-deserved by the way -- but still stupid. My sister, Fiona, got me this interview with the magazine company she works for -- she thinks I'm so sick like our mother and that if I don't have a job to keep me stable that I'll just fuck off. But the job would be really cool because I've been into photography and shit since like forever. I don't know, it's stupid. But I really just can't stand to let anyone down again, because I am better. They just don't always believe me."

Mickey frowned, and Ian worried he shared too much. But then Mickey rested his hand on Ian's thigh, "Hey, man. That sounds cool. But it's okay to not be okay. Just be honest with me, and I believe you. Promise?"

"Promise."

--

Ian's apartment was in sight before he knew it. It was starting to get dark out, but he would still be able to get a good night's sleep before his interview in the morning. Mickey's car definitely did not belong in his neighborhood. It stood out like a sore thumb. He couldn't stay for long if he wanted to leave with the car in tact.

Mickey helped Ian get his suitcase out of the backseat and then leaned against the car, watching Ian with a strange look in his eye. Before Ian could ask, Mickey stalked over to him and leaned up, and pressed his lip's against Ian's. He smelled so sweet. It wasn't the eucalyptus shampoo either -- that had long faded. This was just pure Mickey. Mikhailo.

The moment was over too soon and Ian groaned. Mickey gently patted his cheek, "Don't worry, big guy, you ain't gettin' rid of me this easy. I'll see you soon."

"Soon." Ian repeated back, still a bit dazed in the head.

Mickey smirked as he hopped back into the jaguar and sped off to wherever the fuck it is that Mickey goes.

Ian lugged his bag upstairs, unlocked his door, and plopped down on the couch.

Soon.

--

After texting Fiona one last time, Ian had turned his phone off to avoid any distractions. Giving in to the urge to text Mickey would definitely be a distraction. He needed routine. At least for tonight.

It was a relatively quiet night in terms of activities. He had microwaved a frozen dinner and watched a couple episodes of Schitt's Creek before taking his meds, brushing his teeth, and heading to bed.

No matter how chill of a night he was planning on having, his mind kept racing with thoughts of Mickey with everything he did. That man was so cool and funny and kind, even if he didn't believe it himself. Ian didn't know what exactly had caused such a reign of self-doubt over him, but they would talk about it someday. Ian wanted him to see how good he was. Mickey just brought long-vanished excitement to Ian's life again. He trusted him and cared for him. And he missed him. They had only spent two days together, but Ian couldn't imagine sleeping without him. He drifted off to sleep thinking about what Mickey would look like in his bed with him.

Ian had gotten up at his first alarm for once and arrived to the interview 15 minutes early. He was genuinely passionate about this job so it was easy to turn up his charm. He would hear a call back later that afternoon, but given that he was pretty sure Fiona was sleeping with his would-be boss's boss, he was almost certain he would get the job.

Ian finally turned his phone on when he got home. One message from Fiona -- reminding him of the interview. But more importantly, three from Mickey. He immediately clicked on Mickey's name, absolutely no use in playing it cool anymore. He couldn't get him out of his head.

Mickey (9:27pm): *image attachment*

Mickey (9:27pm): found this in my bag, i wonder how it got there🤔

Mickey (7:32am): good luck at your interview! hope it was worth literally dragging your ass across the country for

Ian smiled.

Ian (10:06am): I have absolutely no idea how that drawing got there. Maybe trolls? 😇

Ian (10:07am): And your luck helped! I think the interviewer liked me :)

Mickey (10:07am): hopefully he didnt like you too much

Ian (10:09am): SHE liked me a very healthy amount.

Mickey (10:10am): gonna keep it that way

Ian (10:12am): 🙄 Oh Mick. Can't be jealous over something you don't have.

Mickey (10:15am): i have you right where i want you dont you worry your pretty little head

Ian (10:17am): So you think I'm pretty is what I'm hearing?

Mickey (10:18am): i think your annoying go away

Ian (10:19am): I thought I couldn't get rid of you that easy?

Mickey (10:19am): changed my fucking mind

--

Their texting banter came to a halt when Mickey picked up a shift at his legitimate job. Ian unpacked his ratty old suitcase and cleaned up his apartment while he waited for his phone to ring. From the job... from Mickey.

--

Right when he was switching loads of laundry, his phone rang. It would be a lie if he said he didn't drop everything and run.

It was his new boss him on his new job. He couldn't hold back his grin as he immediately texted Mickey, then Fiona. He was proud of himself.

Fiona called and they chatted about the job -- omitting the part where he assumed she was sleeping with the boss -- and Ian's road trip -- omitting the part where he kissed his once assumed kidnapper -- and then about Fiona's kids and Carl's lately stunt. He was so invested in his little criminal brother that he almost didn't hear the knock at his door.

"Fi, I gotta call you back. I think I have a delivery or something." Ian wasn't expecting anything.

Ian nearly leapt backwards when he cautiously opened his door (there were no damn peepholes in his building) to find Mickey waiting on his doormat with a grin on his face. "Congrats on the job, man!"

"Oh my God. You're here?"

"Yeah, I told you I would see you soon. I'm a man of my word. And I brought cupcakes." Always the unexpected. "Well minus one. I didn't know which apartment was yours and I went to your neighbor's first and he wouldn't tell me where you lived without a fuckin' cupcake. Greedy asshole." He murmured, quietly smiting the old bastard.

"Mickey." Ian smiled, eyes crinkling with it. "You're good. You're so good."

[al3x1ss]

Santa, Tell Me

Sakusa Kiyoomi

First one of the Christmas oneshots ✨

THIS IS WRITTEN WITH A GENDER NEUTRAL READER!

Based off of the song “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande

Angst(?) to fluff!

Authors note: Hopefully this is the first of multiple oneshots, the plan is to hopefully get out 3-5 before Christmas, but it will really depend on school and “Just a Friend to You”. Other than that, enjoy! 🖤

Warnings: None!

“I don’t understand why you don’t want to commit, Sakusa.”

“Y/N I do want to be with you, I’m just not ready-“ Sakusa sighs, running his hands through his hair as he looked at you once again. Your arms were crossed, still following him with your eyes in his apartment.

“Sakusa, I have so many feelings for you, it’s unbelievable. I want to hold your hand, kiss you, wake up next to you, but I also want to be able to introduce you to my family as my boyfriend, NOT that we’re dating so that I have to explain the situation just so that my father can say that I’m wasting my time.”

You had Sakusa had been in the “talking/exclusive” stage for about 5 months, with liking each other for about 9. Now, you understood Sakusa wanting to take his time. His past relationship wasn’t the best, and especially with his habits, he warned you immediately when you asked him out, giving you a chance to back out.

But, you never did. And you never thought of backing out, despite how much is hurt to say that the boy you possibly love could possibly not love you back.

“If I’m not ready, I’m not ready, Y/N. When I’m ready, I’ll be ready, but please just be patient with me.” Sakusa said, walking up to you to grab your hand, but you retract your hand before he can even touch you, clasping your hands together.

“I’ve been patient for a while, Saku. Just, figure it out before the holidays. If not, then I don’t really know.” You say, and turned to make your way out the door, without him stopping you.

Santa tell me, if you’re really there

Don’t make me fall in love again

if he won’t be here next year

Turning the corner, you walk 3 more blocks, your apartment building slowly coming into view. Despite your, “thing”, being a germaphobe himself, you and your own roommate as well, living in New York City was a dream of yours. Now, you weren’t as extreme as Sakusa, it more was just avoiding getting sick. However, seeing someone sneeze near you? Take out the hand sanitizer please and thank you.

Santa tell me if he really cares

Cuz I can’t give it all away

if he won’t be here next year

Unlocking the door, you stepped into your apartment, coming in to see your roommate, Lex, on the couch with her laptop.

Did I just add this because I didn’t feel like putting in an OC? Yes.

“Woah.” Lex says, and you face her.

“What?”

“Tell me why you got that look on your face like someone just made you drop your $4 bagel in the middle of a crosswalk.”

“Ugh,” you groan, throwing your head back as you throw down your bag, plopping face first into the couch next to her as she types away.

“Sakusa again.” You mumble, turning your head to the side so that it’s actually audible. Lex sighs, putting her glasses on top of her head, closing her laptop.

“I think- ya know what I think, I think, you just gotta go on a walk. Get that Christmas tourist in you ya know. Just go to the Macy’s-“

“Too many people-“

“AS I WAS SAYING, go do the basic tourist stuff around the city. I know you hate it, I do too, but even if it’s gross, it makes you happy. I’ll give you money to go ice skating later if you want.” You sit up, staring her in the eyes.

“You’d do that for me?” Lex nods at you, giving you a small smile as tears start to form in your eyes.”

“EY- WHY ARE YOU CRYING-“

“YOURE NEVER THIS NICE-“

“OH SHUT UP!” Lex tosses a pillow at you, hitting you in your chest. You run and change, grabbing your bag and waving at her as you head out the door.

Walking into the large Macy’s, you stroll around the store, seeing things that you like or you’d want to get for someone as a gift.

A shiny glimmer catches your eye, coming up on a sleek black and silver watch.

Sakusa would like that, you think, about to turn to the employee to ask for the price, however you stop yourself, looking back at it.

Don't make me fall in love again

if he won't be here next year

You walk past the watch, going up the escalator as you stare back down at the section, thinking of Sakusa once more.

I've been down this road before

Fell in love on Christmas night

But on New Year's Day I woke up

You shake your head, turning forward to make your way towards the kitchen section to hopefully find something for your mother.

and he wasn't by my side

You don’t end up finding anything, instead grabbing a jacket for your mother, and purchasing it. After shopping around for another hour, you decide to leave. Walking the streets, you pass by the large nut crackers, taking a picture of them to send to Lex as you know her sister loves them.

Stopping at Baked By Melissa, you pick up a pack of small cupcakes, looking behind you as you wait for the cashier to pack them. You see small flurries of white start to fall, smiling softly at the sight of snow.

“Apparently we’re supposed to get a storm soon, maybe it’ll be a white Christmas.” The cashier says as you turn back to him, nodding slightly as you take the bag out of his hand, giving him a wave as you open the door to leave.

You check your phone, deciding to actually go ice skating with the money Lex gave you. After putting your belongings in a locker and buying your skates, you make your way towards the ice, skating along the icy floor.

While you busy yourself, staring at the families around, Lex opens the door to reveal Sakusa at the door, letting himself in.

“Alright come in I guess-“

“Where’s Y/N?”

“Wow not even a hello the tREATMENT I GET”

Lex shakes her head, faking disappointment as Sakusa sighs, flicking ear forehead, her hand immediately shooting up to mask the pain.

“RUDE I SWEAR!”

Sakusa smiles at Lex, taking her dramatics light heartedly as she shakes her head.

“I sent Y/N to clear their head. You really got up there today, Saku.”

“I know, that’s why I’m wondering where they are.” Lex sighs, slightly shaking her head.

“An apology isn’t just gonna fix this again Sak-“

“No Lex, I want them to be mine. I don’t care anymore I just want to tell Y/N I’m in love with them.”

Lex’s eyes immediately soften, a small “aww” falling from her lips. She then throws her head back, slightly groaning in frustration.

“Can’t you do it tomorrow? It’s freezing outside and I don’t wanna change-“

“No it has to be now, Y/N has to know I love them.”

“But Sakusaaaaa,” Lex whines, slightly stomping her feet, “I was gonna shower-“

“LEX!”

“UGH FINE!”

After a while, Lex grabs her coat and the two head down the stairs and onto the streets of the city, flooded with people trying to get home and avoid the cold. Calling for a taxi to head to Rockefeller rink. The two sit in the taxi as the traffic told on, finally getting there after 30 minutes. Getting out of the taxi, the two speed walk their way into the center. Trying to spot the passing people coming off the rink, neither can spot you.

A glimpse of light blue passes Sakusa’s eyes, seeing your familiar bag as you walk away.

“Y/N!” He tells, trying to go towards you, but you couldn’t hear him over the load chatter of passing New Yorkers. Leaving Lex to follow him, he starts randomly saying excuse me as he pushes his way through the walking people.

You walk up the stairs, hearing the screaming people around you, seeing the classic clutter around the tree. You stare at it from a distance, then decide to walk towards it.

“Y/N!”

At this point Sakusa couldn’t care who he was touching. Lex had tripped over her shoe, leading her to sprint back to Sakusa as he finally got a clearing, seeing you walking towards the tree.

“Y/N!”

You hear a yell of your name, you lifting your head and quickly looking around.

“Y/N”

Your eyes finally fall towards the voice, facing Sakusa with a heaving Lex behind him.

“God damnit asthma-“

He walks closer to you, coming within a few feet of you.

“I love you.”

Santa tell me

If he really cares

Time feels as if it stops, you hearing those 3 little words that you’ve wanted to here for the longing months. Your body moves to its own accord, beginning to sprint towards him.

Cuz I can’t give it all away

You grab him by his collar, pulling Sakusa down to lock lips with him, your eyelashes fluttering closed as he holds you tight by your waist. You hear a faint cheering, but your ears block it out, only focusing on your love right in front of you, continuing to kiss him until you’re breathless.

If he won’t be here

Next year

~ Lex 🎲

if you do enjoy, remember to reblog! It helps a ton 🖤

[quillsareswords]

Breathing Room

Damian Wayne

Of course the little dog here is basically my sweet baby girl Rogue with a different name (Baby/Babe because I'm sure all of you at home have dogs you'd like to substitute names for), who sends all her love and puppy kisses to all of you! Ugh this was fun to write. So goddamn fluffy I could call Build-a-Bear a competitor.

Reader is a Titan.

Requested:

Prompt List // Masterlist (in bio)

"If I die, I'm leaving my dog to you."

Damian turns halfway to give you a suspicious glance over his shoulder. Then, he turns back to the fire place, where he's successfully stoking the flames currently living there.

The animal in question is the next victim of his scrutiny, laying perfectly peacefully on the corner of your blanket that's been left unused on the couch next to you. He points, you nod, he rolls his eyes.

"Awe! What? You wouldn't take my poor baby girl in?" You're borderline incredulous. "Did you hear that Baby? He doesn't love you!"

He scoffs, then pushes himself to his feet and joins you on the couch once more. The little dog lifts her head to look at Damian, almost accusingly.

You pet her gently. "Don't mind him, Baby, he's just jealous because I love you more," you soothe, babytalking the eight pound pooch like the spoiled princess she is.

"Firstly, you aren't going to die, it's only a snow storm," he argues, "and secondly, even if something were to happen, of course I'd take in your large rat."

You gasp and lightly slap his chest. "Damian Wayne!" you shrill. He chuckles loudly. "You take that back right now! Apologize!"

He rolls his eyes, knowing that if he doesn't, you'd probably give his spot on the bed to Titus, who's listening to the entire exchange from the giant pillow on the floor. He reaches across you, lays a hand on her little head, and says clearly, "Baby, I am sorry for calling you a rat. You are clearly small not-dog."

You sigh in exasperation and defeat. He laughs, though it's obvious he's trying not to and failing miserably. "What am I going to do with you, you scoundrel?"

His arm lays across your shoulders as you shiver for the second time in the last five minutes. "Well, you can first let me chose what movie we watch since I started the fire for you."

You can't help snuggling closer to him. "Firstly," you mock, "I could have started the fire myself. Secondly, I'll let you pick the movie if you let me pick the genre."

"Deal," he relents.

Two comedies and a horror film later, you hear the front door downstairs unlock, with a roaring chorus of arguing voices behind it.

When Kori and Dick invited you and Damian to a Titans Winter Vacation, you had been a little skeptical. You hadn't been a Titan for very long, and you weren't as familiar as you'd like to be with any of them.

However, you'd known Damian for years, and he insisted it wouldn't be as bad as you thought. He wasn't entirely keen on the idea either, but you'd eventually agreed that it'd be nice.

They'd rented a cabin up in the mountains. It was three stories, with six bedrooms, five bathrooms, two living rooms, a home theater, and a game room. You especially loved the balconies on every level. That provided a truly glorious view of the Smoky Mountains.

Though, when you heard it was six bedrooms, you knew that meant sharing a room. You only really slept alright by yourself or with Damian, so it concerned you that you'd most likely be sharing a bunk bed with Raven, as you and Damian were seventeen. But, because Dick knew you wouldn't be doing anything more than cuddling, he was more than happy to let you and Damian share a queen-size in the loft, directly above Garfield and Jaime's.

To sweeten the deal even further, everyone was in perfect agreement that you should definitely bring your dog. She was very sweet and quiet, and perfectly mannered. You didn't worry about taking her anywhere. It made you feel even better that Damian was taking Titus.

So here you are now, tucked into Damian's side on a plush plaid couch in the loft, Baby curled up next to you and Titus sprawled at your feet, listening to Gar and Raven and Cyborg come shivering in through the front door.

"Holy hell, it's cold as balls!" Gar shouted, kicking off his boots at the door. You were about to call down to ask how town was, but he was already sprinting up the spiral staircase.

Damian sighed, though only loudly enough for you to hear. He thought of the loft in it's entirety as yours, even though the bedroom was an entirely separate room, kept private by a thick door.

Garfield paused by the couch to lean over and pet Babe, which she gladly accepted, before zipping over to the firepalce to warm up.

"How was town?" you ask. Damian grabs the remote and backs out of the movie, which was already rolling credits.

"Eh, it was okay. Grocery store was neat, though. Had a candy section that was lit."

You laugh softly. "Get all the groceries?"

He nods. "Yeah, but their produce section was so confusing."

"Are you sure you aren't just dull?" Damian quips. You roll your eyes and flick his ear as you sit up. "Hey!" he chirps.

"Ha!" Garfield shouts and points boldly, though he looks as though he's about to hurdle the railing behind you. "Damian got in trouble!"

Damian, the tough, mature man he is, flings a pillow toward the green boy with as much force as he can while slouched against the couch back.

"Watch the fire, you dufus," you scold, laughing, as you slide toward the steps with Baby at your heels.

"Ha ha! You got in trouble agaaiinn!" Garfield sings. Then he shrieks, and then there's a green bird diving over the wooden railing and Damian's shouting something that has you scooping up Baby and hustling down the stairs to stay out of his way.

• • •

Your bedroom is dark, and because you both like the curtains pulled away from the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the drop of the mountain your cabin is perched over, it is quite cold.

Too cold for your liking, even pressed against Damian's back and Babe curled into the small of yours.

It's been fifteen minutes of listening to Bob's Burgers play on the television over your shared dresser and the collective body heat still isn't enough. So, in a desperate attempt to chase the chill off, you half unwind your arms from his waist, and slide them under the hem of his tee shirt to press them flat against his side and his back.

While you're sighing in relief, he's jumping and sucking in a breath of absolute shock. He all but gasps, "What are you doing with your ice cold hands up my shirt?"

You almost laugh at the tone of absolute offence he's using. "I'm cold! We can't all keep the same core temperature as the sun, Wayne."

"Well Jesus, you could have at least warned me," he grumbles, rolling in your hold to face you.

You fall asleep pretty quickly now, wrapped up in his arms, legs tangled with yours beneath a heavy quilt.

• • •

You're always the first ones up. Well, not always, but for the past four days that you've been on the trip, you both have. It's usually Damian, and only Damian, but you aren't far behind once your main source of heat leaves you alone in bed with sunlight beaming into the room.

You, Baby, and Titus all follow him down the spiral staircase and through the main common room, dining room, and the intermediate stretch between the two staircases and two bedroom doors.

He turns on the coffee pot for the rest of the team while you start the kettle and set out tea bags and mugs for the two of you. While he's still fiddling with the settlings on the machine, you let the dogs out to the small fenced yard off to the side of the huge cabin.

The machine spurs to life just as you're lifting yourself up onto the countertop of the kitchen island. "Are you gonna make pancakes and eggs?" You keep your voice low, considerate of Raven in the room on the left and Jamie and Garfield in the room on the right, all still sleeping.

"I wasn't planning to," he answers, leaning against the counter by the gas stove, where the steel kettle is still heating up.

"But you promised. . ." You just out your bottom lip and tilt your head just a little, soft eyes oh so slowly grinding away at that steel cover he keeps locked around his heart.

After exactly forty two seconds, he caves in. "Did the Happy Bunch even get the ingredients yesterday?"

Your sweet begging facade switches on a dime, now housing a devious glint in your eyes. "Of course they did, I put it on the list."

He sighs, loudly. He lets the dogs in before he goes around the kitchen, gathering all things necessary for the pancake mix you love so much.

It's twenty minutes later when Kori and Dick are opening the basement door and emerging from the hall downstairs, Kori's hair just as unkept as every morning and Dick's shirt just as wrinkly as the night before.

"Sometimes I think you only love me for my pancakes," Damian chides playfully, having yet to associate the creaking hinges with the basement door.

"I won't deny it," you laugh, grinning down at the bowl you're stirring with more dedication than is probably necessary.

"Damian, I didn't know you cook," Kori states, with enough surprise that you're a little taken aback.

He turns to look at her over his shoulder, still dicing strawberries without looking and making your nerves twitch while he does it. "Only occasionally."

"Hey hey, watch what you're doing, boy," you sound a little too much like someone's grandmother, but you're really a little aghast that he hasn't steeled himself yet.

Damian reserves a certain part of himself around most people. It's a part of him you're allowed to bask in only after years of assurance and affection. You wouldn't be so surprised if it was only shown to Dick, but it was Kori he was speaking to, eyes still a little glittery and smile still lopsided and prominent.

In a moment of adoration and maybe a little pride in him, you hum, "Only for me, of course."

To yours and even Kori's awe, he chuckles. "Only when you force me, you mean."

You recover faster than she does, and cover yourself with a laugh. "I wouldn't call you promising me strawberry-blackberry pancakes forcing you, but if you wanna try and save a little face . . ."

Kori turns to Dick, with a look on her face that is silently asking if he's seen the same thing. His eyes flit between her, you, and his youngest brother, before they settle on you. He seems a little less jarred.

"Gezz, what'd you do, (Y/N)? Drug him in his sleep?"

With Garfield's arrival, Damian's smile fades off and he resumes quickly dicing strawberries on a wooden cutting board.

You mumble into your batter, "I'm starting to wonder."

• • •

At 11:15 in the morning on the sixth day, a war commences.

While you and Damian decide to hide out the still-raging snowstorm in your cozy little loft with your faithful hounds, half the team is out in the snow, hurling handfuls of snow that vaguely resemble spheres at one another from behind artificial snowbanks.

Though eventually, you decide the total war out in the front yard is far more entertaining than anything on his Hulu or Disney+. So, you pop a bowl of popcorn and brew your third batch of tea, and sit backward on the couch to watch out the massive windows that take up most of the front wall of the common room.

Over the porch roof, you can watch all the atrocities of battle play out from the safe warmth of your loft together.

Though, some time around three, Damian reminds you that you have plans to drive into town to explore, and asks if you'd rather stay and finish the battle.

An hour later, you and Damian stand at the front door, dressed to brave the weather, having bid your dogs goodbye as you left them in the warm safety of your bedroom.

Damian's hand is on the doorknob, but he seems hesitant. "Are you ready?"

You flip up your hood and pull your scarf up over your nose. "Yes."

He hauls the door open, and with your hand in his, you quickly cross the porch, jump the steps, and make it halfway around to the driveway, when you hear somebody shout, "Civilians! Open fire on civilians, they're both wicked!"

Damian spins on his heel to threaten the entire group, but you beat him to it when you see Jamie, snowclod wound up, aimed right at you.

Silence falls over the battlefield like the snow still drifting down at an alarming rate.

You point a sharp finger at him. "If you do this, I will never forgive you," you declare lowly. "I swear to every god in existence you'll wake up with your head sewn to the carpet."

He stops. Narrows his eyes. "You're bluffing."

"Am I?"

A moment's debate. You can image the Scarab waving you off with we can take her. But oh, that thing has never seen you with a grudge.

He swivels on his feet and hurls it at Raven, who's been hiding behind the snow that'd been shoveled off the sidewalk that morning.

You take Damian's hand again and make a break for his car.

After the drive to Downtown Gatlinburg and three or four hours spent roaming the streets, you're already talking about living there. In all honesty, he isn't so opposed to the idea of buying a home in the area. You seem so in your element here, and the town and the scenery surrounding you is so breathtaking.

But you know you'd never be able to drag him out of Gotham. Perhaps a vacation home, or maybe retirement.

You decide to stop in to a little cafe in a place called The Village, which is a collection of shops surrounding a lovely courtyard off the main stretch of Downtown.

It's crowed inside, so you decide to stand out by the fountain while you sip your steaming drinks and converse about the little shops you liked best so far. You are particularly fond of a candy shop, and he would very much like to check out a blade shop a block or so down the way.

Your teeth chatter as you talk about wanting a souvenir, something small to keep on a shelf, and finish the rest of your hot chocolate.

"Are you that cold?" his question is simple enough, but his voice is so soft and so drenched in concern it catches you off guard.

You laugh lightly. "I'm okay, just might need another hot chocolate before we set off again," you shrug, jamming your hand into your pocket has he takes the paper cup from you and nods.

"Well, I'm sure that can be arranged." He smiles.

There's something in his eyes, though. It's subtle, in the little wrinkles between his eyebrows, and the redness of his nose and his cheeks. As much as you like the way it looks on his honey crisp complection, it's starting to worry you. Not the blush he gets from the cold's kiss, but the slightly out of character openness he's been exhibiting. You like to think that maybe he's growing out of hiding his louder emotions, for his own sake, but you can't take the risk that it's something else.

He returns to you with an offering of mint hot chocolate. He smiles again when he greets you, and the pair of you set off back toward the sidewalk do a little shopping.

"Hey, Dame?"

"Hm?"

You wind your arm around his elbow with your free hand. "Everything okay with you?"

He turns his full attention on you. "Yes, of course. Why do you ask?"

You take a sip out of your hot chocolate. "I don't know, you've just been acting a little differently the last few days." His eyebrows crease in a worried way, and you get the sense he's disappointed. "In a good way, I mean," you correct yourself quickly, "I just want to be sure it isn't for a bad reason."

He shakes his head and takes a deep breath. You turn out onto the sidewalk, and start making your way farther up the street. "No, there isn't anything wrong," he assures. "I can't exactly explain it, which I'm not entirely okay with, but it's been. . . nice, this trip. The land is beautiful, the air is much cleaner than in Gotham, the people here are nice." He turns to face you again. "And you seem a lot more comfortable with the Titans. I'm glad; I'd feared you wouldn't bond with them at all, truthfully, and they're all far more bearable with you around."

You nod as he speaks, eyes jumping past him to the signs on the building fronts every once in a while. There's something he isn't saying, and you know it.

"And. . ." He sighs. "And you."

You pass him a quizzically quirked brow.

His voice lowers and he lays a hand over yours on his arm. "I love you so much, (Y/N). I can't even find the right words anymore."

Your eyes lock with his and you stop walking. Your lips part because your jaw goes a little slack, and your wide eyes reflect all the neon colors of the signs in the window on your right.

It isn't the first time he says he loves you. And you know it won't be the last, but he hardly ever says it so freely. It always behind closed doors in the softest moments, when you're both vulnerable or so drunk on love for one another neither of you can think straight.

You can't remember the last time he's been so open about in in front of anyone else, and it only ripens your concern.

You pull him closer, eyebrows slanting together. "Damian, I'm serious, are you okay?"

Now he's the one with one eyebrow reaching for answers. "Pardon?"

"I'm sorry," you blurt, "you know I love you from here clear to Alpha Centauri but you're really starting to worry me."

He laughs at that. Then, his eyes are as soft as his smile, and his hands smooth down the sides of your arms before they rest on your forearms. "(Y/N), I promise you there is nothing wrong with me now that hasn't been for the past seven years. Am I not allowed to let once in a little while, and allow myself a little breathing time?"

You hadn't realized you were so tense until you relax under his touch with the assurance. "Of course you are," you reply after a pause. You take one hand off your hot chocolate to rest it on his chest, coincidentally over his heart. "I just worry sometimes. I don't want anything to happen to you, Dame."

"I know," he says. He gingerly takes the paper cup from you and sets it on the bench you hadn't noticed before. He pulls you into his arms, enveloping you in a warmth like sunshine and a scent that's too particular to Damian Wayne to be mistaken. Your arms wind inside his open coat to the hoodie he's wearing underneath.

A long moment passes in relative silence. Your eyes are closed, ears perked to the drifting sounds of uncaring passersby and the rumbling of passing cars.

"I really want to slip my hands under your shirt right now," you mumble into his shoulder. "But if you tell me not to, I won't."

He grunts.

And for a moment, you ponder weather or not that was a denial. You silently make your choice and close your eyes again.

He leaps under your touch. "Damn it, (Y/N)!"

[hanadoesstuffbadly]

Daughter of Giants

"You should move along, Giant, we don't want your sort around here." The bartender's voice was low and authoritative, the voice of a man not easily ignored, but one didn't need the ears of a bat to make out the tremors coursing through it. Everything about him was a well made manor with good foundations, but Aravis could tell it was built on sand. Give him a little shake and everything would start slipping.

Aravis smirked and tapped her fingers idly against the bar's puckered wooden surface. A part of her cursed  how ineffective her disguise had been proving recently, even after she's taken to covering her folc markings. The last thing she needed now was to have word of a nomadic folcwoman travelling the Engle Lands like a sad silk trader. Her tankard's rim just brushed her lips as she held it there and she concentrated on the fact that the man had not moved along, still standing just out of sight behind her mustard coloured hood. If he just needed a shake, why was she feeling inclined to rattle him until the very bricks of his character were dust to be scraped off of her heel. Maybe she was too tired for this today, too done with walkers and their sloppy, indelicate ineptitude. But at the same time, her ichor was roaring through her veins, violet and rushing. It made her lungs burn like magma beneath the island's crust. Her titanic heart yearned for a fight. It had been too long.

"My sort?" Silk dropped into her tone inadvertently, turning her deep, hoarse, broken voice into an almost mechanical purr. Fear rippled through the room like ribbons. It was a cool breeze in a suffocating glare of self-importance and Aravis breathed it in.

"You're a bounty-hunter!" Not the bartender, but a nasal, underdeveloped voice called from the crowd of patrons that had interrupted their own meals to gawk like a gaggle around what had been a peaceful evening drink. Aravis didn't bother seeking out the speaker (though she suspected one of the pasty, mealy shepherds seated closer to the entrance. An easy escape, she mused, smart choice.) Her brow, however, creased at his choice of words. Bounty hunters were perhaps the lowest of the low creatures grovelling on the earth's filthy surface. Turning in fellows of your kind for the reward of others? Had they no sense of honour or kinship at all. Had a folcman or woman acted in such a way, they would be plunged beneath the clouds to the endless oceans below and ripped to shreds by the wild, Bacchic merpeople of the depths. Honour, trust, loyalty; mere dramatic concepts to be learned and forgotten by those thugs like poor poetry.

"Now what would give you that idea?" Likely her stature or lack of ladylike grace. Maybe-

"The ends of your hair. They're white." The thought died before it even took shape in her mind. A chill crawled up around her shoulders, turning the thick muscle there into cold stone. She was frozen in place, barely able to open her mouth to reply through gritted teeth, her head bowed lower toward the counter and her tankard rested against her suddenly ringing forehead.

"Why," she ground out, "would that," turning slowly like a tin doll, her eyes flashed, "mark me out?" Moonlight flashed against a bronze knife behind the bar and it set the room aflame. The man- boy really- stood and quaked like a tethered kite before the entrance like it was a headwind. He had a round, dark, unfinished face; the face of a scholar or bard, not a warrior. Nevertheless, Aravis wanted nothing more than to turn it blue with bruises.

"I've heard stories," He shuddered and searched any face but hers for help "my father's a pepper merchant, he told me about you and your kind." The idea of some miserable, slimy, slithering underwalker's tongue speaking of her ‘kind’ made Aravis' fists curl. "Your hair is dark and- and blue, right?" He was slipping, but didn't run. Yet. "He used to say, when- when what was inside your head became darker, your hair literally started paling in comparison... Making the tips turn white... And- I-I thought..."

"Tom Tom, that's enough." Hissed the bartender.

Aravis was very still. Whispers are meant to be lost in the chaos. Aravis’ words were like breaths, yet each one rang in the floorboards and out of the door like the echoes of screams.

"Your father is well-learned. Darkness seeping into every crevice of the mind, turning you into a miasma veiled in flesh? What better fits that description than a callous, underhanded criminal? What could be so dark, so evil, as to turn the tips of my hair so pale?"

With one hand she tore the hood from her head. And not a breath was drawn as their pathetic faces took in the blank, dull cascades, the colour of new snow. Cold and dead. White to the roots.

She closed her eyes when the whispers started seeping into their fear, and as always, before her there stretched a great gash in the clouds on which she, still an adolescent wrapped in sunlight, stood. Beneath that crevice she saw the island of the underwalkers. But she wasn't looking at them. Instead, all that filled her vision was the great, massive warrior lying like unwanted venison beside the hulking, grotesque, monstrous corpse of a Beanstalk. And the underwalkers were dancing. At their head, leading them on there stood a creature of pale flesh and golden hair. To others he might have looked like a child, beautiful and beaming. Aravis knew what he really was. The axe was still in his hands. That smiling, glittering face was the last thing she saw before the vision cleared and Aravis opened her eyes to the bar counter. 

Shards of metal and broken wood lay before her. Her hand was bloodied by purple ichor. Still lodged within the cut were some remains of the crushed tankard. But it was her eyes that were burning with pain.

The whispers had ceased. And so had the roar in her veins. She was ice.

Standing, she swept her cloak aside to rest both hands on her hips, her feet apart. She was taller now than she had been when she entered, and now the crest of her ringed headband just skimmed the ceiling. Everybody in the room cowered below her. It felt right.

"Indeed. I am a hunter. But what I'm after is not the reward of a slippery, stupid nobleman. It is justice. And it is mine alone." the low rasp of her voice grew full and round as pride swelled within, "as a daughter of the mighty Laestrygonians."

At the name of her folc, new horror trickled into slow running red blood all around her. So many eyes darted to the door, for escape. Many more became fixed on her lips or, more specifically, on the teeth that lay behind them. Aravis didn’t need to be a mind mage to know they were wondering how much mortal flesh had been shredded upon them. That stout bartender was the first to finish quivering.

"Who do you seek, great Giantess? I will tell you all that I know, just don't hurt any of my customers, I beg of you!" Ugh. Begging. Typical underwalkers.

"I'm hunt Prince Jack of Gaul. As I have for almost ten years." Voice rising such that everyone might hear, she let fear carry her words. "He has taken something very precious from me, many things in fact, and I intend to exact justice."

“But, he’s been missing over three years! Many young princes have been.” Aravis was well aware of that. So close. She had been so close she could see the ridiculous peak of his hair, illuminated under dragon fire. But the presence of one of the more powerful fae had forced to keep her distance. But she had him cornered. It was almost over. And then he was gone.

“Haven’t you heard? They’re back, now.” Every head turned back to the scholarly boy by the entrance. “Yeah, the entire Fearless-”

But Aravis was deaf to the world.

They’re back now. He’s back now. He’s back. Again, and again, and again. The sound of clouds being split down the middle and the shining eyes of the blonde, beautiful murderer. And dancing. Aravis’ eyes were filled with axes, ichor and dancing.

Her bident spear was in her hand one moment and whistling across the room the next. The boy- Tom Tom he’d been called- was pinned between its prongs like a fish, flailing and panicked. He grasped at the twin spikes which were twice as thick as his arm. As Aravis strode over, he just resisted going limp.

With her feelings crashing and shrieking in her head, Aravis paid no attention to the fact that the ceiling had splintered around it. She didn’t notice the splinters to timber that clawed at her waist, nor the frigid night air whipping her face as she waded through the bar like mud. People the size of dolls scurried for the exit, while the one she wanted remained pinned. Until she knelt down and gripped the long handle of her weapon, pushing it closer into his throat.

“Where?” Was all she managed. Everything inside was a storm that even she herself was becoming lost in.

“I- I don’t know! I was told by a friend!”

“WHERE?!” Her bellow ricocheted off the dark sky itself like thunder and the bident spear-head pressed harder against his trachea until he gasped for air.

“STONEBURY!” Violent sobs wracked his body but Aravis did not relent, “GLASS STONEBURY! MY FRIEND HORNER IS IN GLASS STONEBURY! HE CAN TELL YOU!”

Only then, with a grunt of dark satisfaction did she pull the spear from the wall, releasing him. With the first real, tangible feeling she had felt in years melting into her veins, she shrank back down until she was practically the same stature she had been when she had arrived. The bar’s roof was gone, allowing freezing wind to howl through. She cared not.

Aravis finished a drink that had been abandoned on a table in the panic. It was revolting, crude stuff, typical for underwalkers. But a smile was curled on her face regardless.

"What will you do once you find the prince? He's a hero, and has many powerful friends!" So the bartender had stayed, she hadn’t counted on that. She graciously turned to look at him, feeling lighter than she had in almost four years.

"Simple. I will rend his arms from his sides. I will cast his broken body across the air until each and every bone is ground into dust."

"They'll see you coming, people have already run to tell others of you."

"You speak as if I’d intended this to be a slaughter. You are wrong.” Aravis’ hood fell to the floor and her hand reached into her satchel. She sighed softly when her fingers met the gentle, rippling fabric of her cloak. Her mother’s cloak. “It’s an execution.” she pulled it free, letting it grow in size until it could wrap around her completely. Her legs and torso disappeared from sight. “And I must have him know his sentence.”

Turning, she vanished behind the concealment of the cloak and into the darkness of the night. The Engle Lands were solitary, located deep in the marshes of Fairytale Island. 

It wasn’t far to Glass Stonebury. And then all that was left was to find this Horner.

Just an intro that I couldn't get out of my head since creating Aravis (her name was Astrid originally). I kinda want to write a whole fic about this but I'm not sure since it would be pretty much all my ocs... I'm imagining basically zootopia but with a Giant princess and a bounty hunter.

Also ive already started about two big projects with no third chapter soooo.....

[melancholicillusions]

How you two meet.

Tuesday, January 13 2018

"We are expecting a rather violent snow storm this evening. Its suspected to last a good three days. Infact its suppose to drop below freezing tonight and its expected to stay that way leading into tomorrow morning..." The women on the small television exclaimed.

"Ugh.. Of all days She could have made me work..." Y/n sighed, looking out the window which reflected no other color but white.

"Well what can you do about it?" You coworker Dokyeom chuckled, mixing the batter.

Rolling your eyes you walked over to the oven placing the empty pan inside and pulling out the cooked bach, setting it on the table turning off the oven.

"Well I could go home b-"

"Then go home, ill cover for you."

You smiled. "..but! You didn't let me finish. I was going to say.. I need this job."

Cocking his brows he reminded you, "y/n you dads a billionaire, you said it yourself he's given you more than enough to buy a nice car, house, and then just sit on your ass all day, for the rest of your life."

"Yes but he's also only a billionaire because of his father and his fathers, father. Should i go on?"

Dokyeom quickly declined your offer waving you off with his towel. "Blah blah blah."

"Haha very funny. Hey can you go tell them they need to leave? Its a minute till closing time."

"What?! Why can't you do it?" Dokyeom complained.

"Because, one I have to stay late anyways remember? Im on clean up duty. Also I dont like kicking people out.. Besides, I think they're homeless.." You trailed off.

Dokyeom sighed. "Fine. But you owe me.."

"대박! 감사해요." (Awesome! Thank you.)

"I see you've been practicing." He commented.

You smiled.

He made his way to the simi-empty dinning room where a young man and a child sat. The man had a smile on his face as he listened to the small child, who from what I could understand was telling him about her day at daycare. I couldn't help but feel guilty. Trying not to think about it, I began throwing out old samples and displays that once sat in the display case, though I over heard Dk politely tell them they had to leave.

"Excuse me, sir.." He started.

Trying my best to make it seem like I wasn't there I slouched down behind the case. Listening to the small conversation between the two men, peaking around the corner. The male looked up at Dk, worry on his face as he pulled the small girl closer. she looked to be around three while the male looked to be in his late twenties. He had short brown hair and what looked to be a faint beard growing. He was wearing an old torn-up off white sweater, ripped black jeans, and a gray scarf. The girl on the other hand had oily black hair that was pulled into a ponytail. She was wearing a hoodie that was three sizes too large for her, an ankle length navy blue skirt, and a red bennie.

"...I'm sorry to say that's its closing time and you'll have to leave." Dk finished.

"Ah, I'm sorry. We hadn't realized what time it was. haha!" The man said. Standing up to pick up the small child only to sit her down and begun putting her winter attire on.

"Okay. Stay safe." Dk smiled and started walking back to the kitchen putting the freshly made batter into the fridge for early shift staff tomorrow and begun washing the dishes.

"Daddy, are we gonna sleep under the bridge again?"

My breath hitched, and i slowly stood up looking at the child who was now putting on gloves while he wrapped the scarf around her neck. As she looked up to him warmly.

"N-no sweetheart we'll find somewhere."

Once his stuff was on he picked her up and made their way out into the harsh weather with one last glance into the kitchen, making eye contact with me for the first time.

_________________________

"Welp that concludes our shift.. I owe you one Dk. Again."

Dokyeom chuckled putting his coat on. "You sure do. Now if you'll excuse me I have a wife and daughter that are waiting for me. The wife especially." He winked.

"Gross, really Dokyeom? Really."

He smiled before clocking out, telling you to drive safe and walking out the door. I followed his steps only there was no one to tell drive safe and I had the extra step that included locking the doors.

"Shit, it really is cold out here... Doesn't help that my car is halfway down the fuckn' street." I muttered to myself.

Sitting in my car I couldn't help but think back to the man and his child. What she said to him specifically.

'Daddy, are we gonna sleep under the bridge again?'

Resting my head on the steering wheel I sighed. "Why didn't i say anything..."

Once I was done pondering and beating myself up about the past I started on my way home. Though the road I usually take was blocked off so I had to take the Sketchy way, through the alley and under the bridge. When it was in sight I calmed my nerves with some low-fi music my friend Yoongi produced. As I was driving through I saw someone- no someones. A familiar red bennie was huddled into something. I couldn't help but pull up next to them, driving slowly. Rolling my window down only to be greeted by snow and cold air assaulting my face.

"Excuse me. Do you need somewhere to stay?" I had to yell just to be heard over the yelps and roars of the winter air.

Man stopped and so did I, the little girls grip remained tight on her fathers arm.

"Uh. No, thank you we'll be fine.." He responded looking down.

"Daddy I'm cold.." She said and as a response he begun taking off his coat only to wrap it around her small frame, because she had one of his arms he could only use one to keep himself warm.

"Come on, its suppose to drop below freezing tonight, and if she's gonna have your coat.. You'll freeze... You'll both freeze."

He sniffled before telling her to get in the car.

"Come one Haru, get in the car... Hurry sweetie."

You smiled unlocking the doors, he sat in the back with her.

"You can get in the front."

"No, its fine." He quickly responded.

_________________________

"Here, I'll go make you two some hot chocolate."

"Hot chocolate! Yay!" The child now known as Haru yelled in excitement.

"Here let me help you princess.." He said taking her shoes and wet clothes off.

When you came back you set the three cups on the table and warmed up some left over egg soup.

"Do you have some dry clothes? Haru's are wet.." He said sounding timid and a bit hesitant.

"Uh ya.. Um, can you keep an eye on the food? You know to make sure it doesn't boil over."

"Sure.. Come here haru, and stop bouncing around on her furniture." He said sternly.

You chuckled walking to your room looking through your night gowns looking for one that was, shall we say appropriate for someone of her age.

"Finally..." You sighed.

'to the moon and back.' It read.

You started looking through the stuff your late husband left behind, and came up with a shirt that said 'proud husband of a kick ass military wife!' And some sweats. Quickly folding them you made you way into the kitchen where Haru and her father waited.

"Oh you could have made yourselves a bowl.."

"Oh, sorry we didn't want to touch anything..."

Making your way to the cabinet s to get them a bowl. "No no its fine im sure you two are starving anyways.. Here are the clothes. I found some for you to..."

He smiled slightly, "I'm Jeonghan by the way.."

"Im y/n. So that's your daughter?" You smiled as he picked Haru up and begun to dress her.

"Y-yes, her mother died at birth and things went down hill from there.."

"Oh, I'm so sorry.."

Jeonghan looked at you "I saw a picture of a man.. Assuming by the shirt you cave me your married?"

You cleared your throat. "Um no he died 2 years ago.."

He stared at you before apologising profusely.

"Heh.. No its fine, I guess I'm over it anyway.. I didn't stop and cry when going through his stuff.." You chuckled.

"No one ever truly gets over the loss of a loved one..."

He looks at you. You shake your head. "That makes two of us.."