#if they’re both younger why do two of them look 40

[melonmortis]

“The denarius (silver), which bears an image of a younger Caesar on the obverse and Caesar, Joshua Graham and Bill Calhoun on the reverse…”

Your like actually lying to me

[wjhik]

Any More? (Virgil Van Dijk) *Smut*

A/N: we need more big virg writers because this is criminal

based on:

7:40-8:05

Y/N’s POV: 

“So, any more kids on the way?” My aunt asks me. Virgil and I are visiting my family at my mom's house, and, as per usual, my auntie is interrogating me. “Auntie, I just had a baby a year and a half ago. No harm in taking a break.” I say, juggling our youngest daughter in my arms while reaching for her pacifier. “Don’t you want to try for a boy?” I roll my eyes at that comment. Virgil and I are more than happy with our 3 girls. I simply shrug at her, attempting to ignore her old ways. “Wouldn’t you love a boy to carry on your legacy, Virgil?”, referring to his football career. I look at Virgil, waiting for his answer. “Anything my sons could do, my daughters can as well.” He calmly explains, quickly shutting down her bogus remarks. 

↭

“Kids, come on. We have to go.” I say to my two older girls. “No, mama! Can we stay over? Please??” The oldest begs. “Please, mama. Everyone is staying over with Teta (grandma), can we too??” My secondborn says. I look at Virgil, expecting some backup. “Hey, maybe it’s not such a bad idea. The baby is already asleep, why wake her up?” Virgil says. I look over to my lastborn who is asleep on my mom’s couch. I look up in both frustration and contemplation. “Y/N, they’re more than welcome to stay over.” My mom chimes in. I look down at my daughters looking up at me with pleading eyes. I look to my right to see my husband looking down at me, something behind his eyes that I can’t pinpoint. I look to my left to see my mom playing with the other kids. 

“Alright, fine.” I say which is followed by an eruption of screams and cheers from my daughters then followed up by shushing from my husband, pointing to their sleeping younger sister. 

↭

“Bye, babygirls. I love you and be good!” I say as Virgil ushers me out of my childhood home. We walk down the driveway as Virgil goes on about his day, upcoming games, his co-captaincy with Trent, etc as I listen. He opens the car door of his Mercedes and helps me in. 

“So, first night away from the girls. How do you feel?” Virgil asks me, breaking our comfortable silence. “I’m more nervous for my mom, to be fair. You know how tired we get with 3 girls. Imagine what my mom’s going through with 8 of them.” I joke. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. I mean, she raised you.” Virgil replies. “Yeah, but I was the only girl in my family.” I say. “I’m sure you alone were worse than those 8 girls.” I quickly smack Virgil’s chest with the back of my hand, which was previously resting in his, on my lap. “Hey, I’m driving! That’s a hazard.” I roll my eyes at my far too sassy husband.  

↭

“Sweetheart, we’re home.” I hear as I’m shaken awake. “Hmm? Okay, I’m up.” I say groggily. I throw my arms up in a stretch, unknowingly hitting my husband in the face. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry, Virg.” I say, laughing as he rubs his eyes. 

“The house feels odd empty and quiet. It’s as if we don’t have 3 ticking time bombs in bed.” I comment, making my way up the stairs with Virgil following close behind. “It’s almost like that’s what it is.” Virgil retorts. I look down at him and stuck my tongue out playfully. I turn my head to look in front before I feel a grab on my ass. I slightly jump as I hear a deep giggle from below me. 

↭

Virgil and I are lying in bed together after performing our nightly routines. Virgil has his head in my lap as I sat up and braid his hair, engrossed in the snobby activities of the Dubai Bling cast (best reality show idgaf). “Can you believe Ebrahem? He’s doing way too much.” I comment. (guys i love this show you dont understand. You should all watch it) “Baby?” I heard Virgil say. “Hmm?” I replied. “Let’s do something fun.” He comments. “Hmm? Oh, yeah sure.” I say absentmindedly, focused on my show. Virgil reaches over for the TV remote and turns it off. “HEY!” Virgil is taken aback by my volume and tone of voice. “Sorry, but what the fuck? It was getting so good.” I say. “Did you hear me?” Virgil says. “What did you say?” I ask, taking a sip of my wine. “I said let’s have some fun.” Virgil says suggestively. He sits up and takes the wine out of my hand. He reaches over to my side table and flicks off the lamp, leaving only the recently installed LEDs in our room on. Virgil leans over me and pulls me into a heated kiss. I lowly moan into my husband’s skilled lips. “Hold on.” He says, pulling away. 

Virgil reaches around for his phone. He quickly connects it to our built-in and extremely overpriced home sound system he insisted we needed and plays our shared sex playlist which, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to use nearly enough, having to keep quiet due to our daughters.  

I look up at my husband who is now on top of me. “Seriously?” I say questioning his choice of music. “What? You like it and you know it.” He says as he leans in to kiss me once again. “Mmh, Virg…” I say in between kisses. “What do you need, mama?” He whispers into my ear. “You.” I whisper back. He gets off me and takes off his shirt and leans back in to kiss me. I run my nails up and down his sides which makes him shiver. Virgil slowly kisses down my chin, onto my neck. He sucks on the sensitive spot behind my ear. “Oh, fuck. Virg…” I mewl, grabbing onto his hair, loosely tied, contrary to his slicked-back look during the day. I feel him release his suction on my neck and give my fresh bruise a light kiss. 

Virgil slides himself down my body to where I need him most. He undoes my house robe to reveal me in my panties. He taps my hips, signaling me to lift them up so he can take off my clothes. He comes back up and starts sucking on my nipple, rolling the other in his hand. “Fuck, you’re so beautiful.” He says into me. “Virgil, please. I need you.” I say, my chest heaving. I sit up underneath him, and he gets off me. I pull him to sit on the bed while I get on the carpeted floor, in between his legs. “Can I?” I ask him, pressing on his hard-on through his sweatpants. He lets out a light laugh at me still asking him every single time, without fail, despite all the years together. “Of course, sweetheart.” With his permission, I pull his trousers and underwear down, enough for his dick to spring out at me. 

I let out a sigh as I looked at my husband's horse-cock. (lol im so funny) Virgil grabs the back of my head gently and looks down at me. “Well, go on then, love.” He says encouragingly. I slowly sink my mouth onto him as he groans. I try to go as deep as I can without gagging, however it is inevitable. My eyes start watering as I’m slobbering over Virgil's dick. He pulls me off him and holds my chin up. He leans down and kisses me before pushing me down on him. I bob my head on his dick and suck on his tip, earning a hearty moan from Virgil. “Fuck, love, you keep going like that we’re gonna be done real soon.” He says, pulling me up. 

I climb up my abnormally big husband and give him a sloppy kiss and move to kiss his neck. He gently grabs my neck and makes me face him. I stare into his eyes, very obviously drunk off his dick. I let out a giggle and kiss him more. He grabs me and places me on the bed and turns me onto my stomach. I hear him ridding himself of his remaining clothes behind me. Before I know it, one of his hands lands on my ass, making me yelp. He laughs and leans down to kiss me. I turn my head back and our lips meet. He pulls away and opens the drawer next to our bed. He pulls out a bottle of lube we often use when having sex and squeezes it in his hand. He strokes his dick with it, getting it wet. Then, squeezes some directly onto me, knowing that I like how it feels against me. I hiss at the feeling. “Mmm, it’s cold…” I say. “I know, baby.” Virgil says, lining himself up with me. 

He pushes into me as I let my head drop into the pillow. “Mmm, Fucckkk…” Virgil moans. “You’re so big, Virgil.” I say, clinging onto my husband’s arm, which is propping him up. “Can I-” I quickly interrupt him. “Yes, please. Please fuck me.” He lets out a laugh. “Always so needy for me.” He starts thrusting in and out at a brutal pace. I let out all sorts of erotic noises before I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself. Virgil quickly notices this. “Hey, I wanna hear all those pretty noises. There’s no girls, you don’t have to be quiet.” He reminds me. I remove my hand from my mouth and let myself feel good. 

“Fuck, Virg- I’m gonna cum..” I say, my voice shaking as he pounds into me. “Hmm, already?” He teases. “Viirrrgg!” I half moan half yell. “I’m just kidding. Cum for me, sweetheart. I wanna feel you around me.” He encourages me through my orgasm. “Fuck, I’m close too, baby.” He says, as he relentlessly fucks me, searching for his high. Just as I feel him beginning to spasm, something hits me. “Wait, Virgil. Pull ou-” But I was too late. Virgil fucked me down from his high. He collapsed into my back. “Virg, get off. I can’t breathe.” I laugh. 

↭

Virgil is resting on my chest after he cleaned us up. “Hey, maybe your aunt is right. Another wouldn’t hurt.” He says. “Oh, so that was your ulterior motive.” I say disappointedly. “Virgil pokes me in my side, knowing I’m not serious. “I’m just kidding. I would love to have another baby with you.” 

A/N: always happy with domestic smuts 😋😋

[blooming-lily-petals]

Give Them A Good Dream Tonight

Malleus X Prefect

Summary: Malleus was walking around outside of Ramshackle dorm and Yuu couldn’t sleep because of nightmares so they also go to Ramshackle Dorm to walk around it. The two notice each other and start talking. This FanFiction starts in the middle of the conversation between them.

“Do you see that?” Malleus points at the sky as he looks at Yuu. They shook their head and Malleus hums and says, “Look closer.” He went behind Yuu and held one hand on their shoulder, “You asked how I am feeling, and you didn’t believe me when I said that I was okay, so I will give you the honest answer.” He points at the stars and makes Yuu look up where he’s pointing, “The stars are aligned…” Yuu looked back at Malleus and said, “Yeah, that means good luck.” Malleus hummed, “It may mean good luck to you, but to me it’s a reminder of what Lilia told me whilst you were away.” He sighed and looked away and started walking once again. Yuu got concerned and followed him. Malleus then began to explain himself, “Lilia is 700 years old while I am only 130, I was visiting the Ramshackle Dorm one night while you were away, and I cleaned up a few cauldrons. A couple hours later of just complete and utter silence, Lilia arrived and told me that Sebek couldn’t find me anywhere and he was having a panic attack about it. Then soon after we both laughed about it, Lilia looked at the sky and I followed so, the planets were in a complete line, well one planet was trying to make it a full line, he told me, ‘Oh would you look at that, I haven’t seen the planets be in such a fine line for a hundred years…’ and he sighed and told me, ‘…this may be the last time I see it’.” He stared up at the stars again and said, “Seeing those stars like that just makes me remember what he told me… it pains me to think about… I knew Lilia was going to die but I hoped it wouldn’t be as soon as he’s saying it will be…”

Malleus kept himself from tearing up and Yuu walked over and they spoke, “I’m sorry the aligned stars make you think like that. I’m sure Lilia will see the planets align again. Is dying at 700 years old normal for Fae?” Malleus had to think for a minute on how to answer this question. But once he came up with how to answer, he spoke, “Yes and no… let me explain this with a metaphor of a human…” he said and Yuu looked up and listened to Malleus.

“Humans usually die between the ages of 70 and 80, right?” Malleus asked and Yuu thought for a moment and nodded their head, “Yes, that is usually the age.” Malleus nodded once, “So, Lilia is basically the human years of his 70s. Fae usually die in between the years 700-800, some last until they’re 1000 years old, others get to their 900s sometimes. Very few last longer than their 1000s.” Yuu started to realize the similarities and they spoke, “Oh! Like humans can sometimes and rarely last to their 100s.” Malleus hummed with a smile and nodded, “Yes, at least from what I know in my 130 years of life. Humans are learning to last rather long. When I was younger than I am now, humans used to last until their 40s if they were lucky that is and very rarely compared to others, they would last until they were in their 80s… human years and lives are very fascinating to me, especially now that I know you.” Malleus said suavely and he took Yuu’s hand and kissed the top of it.

“You’re very fascinating yourself, Hornton.” Yuu said with a small smile. Malleus was caught off guard and he blushed, “I…” he then smirked slightly and said with a sway of his voice, “…you never cease to amaze me, child of man.” Yuu laughed a bit, “Slow down with the compliments there, or you’ll end up becoming speechless.” They teased lightly. Malleus laughed a bit, “Very well, child of man.”

The two walked together around the still destroyed Ramshackle dorm and soon Malleus spoke again, “Why are you out here this late by the way?” He looked down at Yuu and Yuu looked up at him, “I couldn’t sleep, the things with Idia were just too much. I felt so useless, and albeit kind of scared…” Malleus was surprised by this, “Is my fearless human finally finding themself a fear?” Yuu laughed lightly, “A most terrifying fear… the fear of death, we were all lucky we got out of there with our lives… then there’s Ace and Deuce… they almost died, so I guess it’s a fear of loss too?” They sighed, “I’ve been having nightmares since we’ve returned… death grabbing me and bringing me down into darkness… I feel like an inconvenience to everyone because I cannot do anything… everyone does everything for me, and sometimes they almost die because of it…” they tear up a bit.

Malleus' eyes widened as he listened. He opened his mouth to speak but a raven cawed twice in the trees nearby. He raises his hand and waved it to reassure the raven Yuu is alright. Then he looked back at Yuu and said, “I’m very sorry to hear that, my dearest human,” he cupped Yuu’s cheek and smiled at him. “Would you like me to bring a smile to that beautiful face of yours, my dear?” He bowed as if he were a man from the 18th century bowing to a lady and held his hand out to Yuu. Yuu hummed with a small smile, “As if you hadn’t already.” They said and they took his hand and Malleus kissed the top of it. “There may be no music playing, but I can sing for us.” He held one of his hands around Yuu’s waist then his other hand, he held Yuu’s delicately as if they were a piece of glass. Then he started leading a waltz with Yuu following, “Hornton, I have two left feet…” they said and Malleus hummed a laugh, “As if that matters.” He said softly. Then he began to sing quietly as they danced to the song.

After the song was finished and the two got slightly dizzy, they stopped and Malleus smiled at them, “I hope I have made your night better, my dear.” He spoke with a voice of concern as well as hope. “Yes you did, Hornton.” They answered and he nodded, “Good.” He said. Yuu then asked, “Hornton, did you know the bird that cawed earlier?” They looked around the trees where they were. “Oh yes, I did. His name is Branwen, he’s my Raven, my wings and my eyes in the sky.” Yuu nodded and asked, “He’s still here?” Malleus nodded once, “Indeed.” He then whistled and extended his arm and a raven flew down from one of the very big trees and landed on him. Branwen tilted his head at Yuu and Malleus said, “Yuu, this is Branwen; Branwen, Yuu.” Yuu smiled and raised their hand up to pet Branwen who allowed them to by putting his head down. “Such a pretty bird…” Yuu said. Malleus rolled his eyes, “You called him a ‘pretty bird’ and now he’s going to love you forever.” He teased, “You made his head grow 10x larger.” Branwen looked at Malleus, offended. “Not literally, figuratively.” Branwen shrugged him off and looked at Yuu. “In other words, you grew his ego.” Malleus said. Yuu laughed a bit, “Sorry Hornton, I was only speaking the truth.” They smiled at Branwen. Malleus shook his head in amusement, “Alright, go back to your tree now, Branwen.” Branwen squawked then nuzzled Yuu and he flew off.

“Branwen, unlike Sebek and Silver, is a guard for me without it being his job. He just guards me because I saved him from being hunted and eaten by a dog, or was it a cat… hmm, oh well.” Malleus explained and he continued walking with Yuu following, “He’s a shapeshifter, that’s his signature spell. He learned how to change his own form because Lilia and I refused to change him back from a chihuahua to a human.” He added and he laughed a bit, “He was always a raven, I'm the one that made him human to keep him from being hunted.” He finished. Yuu nodded, “I see, he seems nice.” Malleus laughed, “He is, but he’s a pain as well.” He said. Yuu laughed too. “Anyway, do you think you may be able to sleep for the night?” Malleus asked, Yuu nodded, “Yes, I do.” They said and Malleus smiled, “Good, I shall escort you to the hall of mirrors and was it the Pomefiore dorm you’re staying at until Ramshackle is fixed?” He asked and Yuu nodded, “Yes, that’s very nice of you.” They said and Malleus hummed, “Only doing what I can for you, child of man.” The two walk together, arms linked, to the hall of mirrors and outside the Pomefiore dorm’s mirror, Yuu looked up at Malleus and kissed his cheek, “Thank you, Malleus.” They said and they left through the Pomefiore mirror with Malleus’ help.

Soon Malleus returned to the Diasomnia dorm and went to wake up Silver, “Silver, I have a task for you to do tonight…” he shook Silver and Silver awoke and asked, “A task..? At…” he looked at the time on his clock, “…2 in the morning?” He asked and Malleus nodded, Branwen sat on Malleus’ shoulder and Silver sighed and said, “Fine, what’s the task?”

“Give Yuu a good dream tonight.”

[leornadodabvinci]

Hello! Do you have any other Grand Chase headcanons to share on this fine day? 👁️👁️

HI HELLO YES I DO OMGGG SORRY FOR THE LATE RESPONSE I DIDN’T OPEN TUMBLR FOR A BIT BUT I HAVE A DISCORD SERVER FOR KEEPING NOTES OF STUFF AND ONE CHANNEL IS JUST DEDICATED TO RANDOM HCS AND SO UM. I have a few (that would make sense without an elaborate explanation)👉👈 they’re mostly if not all elesis and sieghart though ahahah… ANYWYA

*takes a deep breath*

(Sorry if the terminologies aren’t right im just rambling skhdjsj) (also a lot of them are sieg and elesis aha…)

- Sieghart currently is built like a dancer, lithe and flexible, because of the extra innate godlike strength he got from being a highlander. He doesn’t have to exert as much strength as when he was just a mortal, or like the weight doesn’t affect him that much anymore? Plus, i hc that the highlanders’ style is more elegant and flow-y, compared to the brutishness of the sieghart family’s. When he was younger, around Elesis’ age, he was built more like her. Body builder, bigger muscle kinda look.

- Elesis, as she grows into her late 20’s receives sooooo many “you look just like Sieghart!” Or “you look just like your father!” Comments, but as she grows past 30 and 40, they die down. Because sieghart is stuck in his 30’s, and elscud died (? Disappeared?) in his 40’s.

- sieghart is a jack of all trades, master of none kinda guy.

- Dio and Sieghart have a strange way of being intimate. It isn’t really… intimacy. They don’t do pda, they do something more nothingburger and subtle that it feels more vulgar if you catch them doing it. Its like a game? But not really? Since they’re not trying to hide it either 😭 i don’t know how to describe it. Like the Chase could be in a meeting together and Sieghart/Dio is eating something and one of them goes “blech” and instead of eating the food, they try it from the other’s mouth and then is like “oh ew ur right omg” and then the chase woukd just stare at them.

- dio and sieg are truly, evenly matched in skill. Its a battle of attrition. Though probably sieg has the upper hand since he’s immortal?

- dio’s actually also playboy, just not in mortal sense. He takes up someone every 5 - 10 years, which i hc is the equivalent of changing gfs/bfs every couple of months in demon sense of time. He tries to mean well though, and doesn’t do one night stands.

- sieghart is a one night stand enthusiast. He’s a total flirt too.

- height hc: dio > sieg > zero > ley > grandiel > werner > (noticeable drop) > ryan > lire > jin > rufus > harpe > ronan > asin > lass > edel > rin > elesis > amy > (big drop here) > arme > lime > veigas

- Elesis is a doof and lowkey rich girl coded. “How much is an apple anyway? Like $10?”

- the Chase act more like childish, more their age (more carefree, unburdened, yknow young adults/teens) around Sieghart.

- lass and rufus have the same eye shape. They both take after their mother more.

- Grandiel finds Sieghart to be the best company. They both understand each other very well, and seamlessly fall into conversation no matter how long its been since they last met.

- that’s why when Sieghart found out who Kyle and Cindy was, it stung a little. But he understood, of course. He holds no grudge against Grandiel.

- Sieghart acts like a safeguard for the Chase. He doesn’t want any of them to go through any of this alone.

- Ley, Rin and Sieghart are besties. Wine date trio.

- Lime and Dio also unexpectedly get along well. They’re optimistic people. Two sides of the same coin.

- Rufus cares about Lass more than he thinks. When Lass gets sick, he most definitely appears and lingers around until he gets better.

Okaay i think thats itttt hehe :3 Thank you for this ask I definitely enjoyed it LOL

[blackstar5078]

EggCartonSMP Day 40!

(This happened during July 23th).

Summary under the cut…

Wither woke up, Bluebell was not around, but she sure found new things there.

Turns out, both Bluebell and Rox were at a new building they were making.

They decided to work on the cafe, until Karl showed up… Or was it really Karl?

Lucius: What do you mean?

Wither: I heard about some stuff happening to ‘’you.’’

There was some shooting with arrows and potatoes for a bit, before Wither got to read that purple sign again and stopped.

Soup showed up during the conversation, but decided to stay aside with Bluebell, talking to her, while Wither had this situation handled.

Wither: Again, is there anything you want?

Lucius: Not really :)

Wither: Then what do you want with Karl?

Lucius: Hmm… Pain :)

Wither: Why????

Lucius: I need to give to my boss how people react to pain :)

Wither: Let me guess, I cannot know about this boss.

Lucius: Hmm, her name is Mrs. Flora :)

Wither: Is Flora a lab coat individual?

Lucius: Mhm.

Wither: Why are all you targetting us? Experiment elsewhere.

Lucius: I’ve done it to Azura many times. She’s getting boring.

Wither: So you’re leaving the ghost alone?

Lucius: Hmm no :)

Wither: So you’re implying you’re looking for someone else for this ‘’pain test.’’

Lucius: Technically.

Wither: Well, we can’t help you with that.

Lucius: I know :)

Wither: Will you ever leave Karl alone?

Lucius: Mm, maybe for a few hours, but I will never leave :)

Wither: You’re so sure of it?

Lucius: Mm, obviusly because you can’t control a ‘’person’’ forever.

Wither: But then there is no way for you to actually leave leave?

Lucius: Well, I mean, I was born because of him.

Wither: Mm, I see.

Lucius: Because he’s a stupid experiment.

Wither: You guys underestimating experiments it’s getting tiring.

Lucius: I mean, he’s nothing but a stupid kid.

Wither: He can be capable of more, but it would be better if he could do that without these ‘’tests.’’

Lucius: The only thing he can do it’s f*cking fail. He’s only failing at everything, it’s ridiculous.

Wither: Ha. Not even the first time I have heard that one. He’s more than your test subject, I do believe that.

Lucius: Sure sure. He’s only 19, he’s supposed to be okay. I mean, he’s an hybrid, we need to figure out what he really is.

Wither: You don’t need to figure out anything.

Lucius: I have to, it’s my job. He has very powerful powers. We need to get them every once in a while or they are too strong.

Wither: You’re implying that it can be dangerous if that were to happen?

Lucius: Yes, he’s dangerous.

Wither: I would LOVE to talk with Karl about this, you know.

Lucius: Mmm, only for a little bit :)

Karl: I can’t do anything, Angel will kill me, injure me, because she works with her? She has killed me so many times now, it hurts.

Wither: … Do you know for who those two work for?

Karl: Mrs. Flora, Mr. Snape.

Wither: Yeah, but… are they part of the government?

Karl: I don’t know, but they’re working in a lab.

Wither: I believe that there is always another way. I won’t let this kind of thing to happen to anyone else.

Karl: I don’t want to put anyone in danger because of me.

Wither: Today I found out we’re very similar, and I swear I will find a way to solve this and get rid of them.

Karl: Just don’t put anyone in danger or yourself, please.

Wither: Don’t worry, I got this.

Wither noticed how Karl’s eyes changed to one of them being purple again, knowing that Lucius was back in control.

Soup wanted to talk after that, but there was not enough time, so Wither decided to leave that for the next day.

---

Imagine finding someone that is like a younger version of yourself, so the projection AND protection starts very hard, could not be me... It sure is Wither, though.

Creeeedits:

Bluebell: @bluefoxproductions

Karl/Lucius: @itskarlhere

Soup: @starsoupq

o/

[imaginedreamwrite]

Baby can you tell me more about Steve and Jake? I don’t know why but I am obsessed with them. I think it is because the relationship with a man is new to Steve

Some kind of meet-cute

“Did you know cats can understand 25 to 40 different words?” Its his super soldier hearing that first detects the vocal tone, the excitement and the prattling of scientific facts that piques his interest.

“Jensen, nobody cares.” The snide remark should have sent the omega off a discourse since it had come so brashly from an alpha and yet the omega lets it roll off his back.

“Cats,” Steve steps away from the bar and the alcohol that won’t do anything for him anyway, and finds himself in the direct path of the omega in question, “can’t trust them.”

“You’re a dog person?” Steve comments immediately, bracing for the omegas sudden quietude and is surprised again by a sudden boldness that comes from his veteran.

“Captain America,” he grins and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, “is a cat person?”

“Jensen, Rogers….Rogers, Jensen.” One of the other veterans introduces the two and Steve opens his mouth to speak however the words won’t form on his tongue.

He’s blindsided by the scent of another omega heavily clinging to this omega. Steve’s eyes wander and search the frame of this omega before him, curious about the secondary scent when he finally notices the scent locket hiding behind a set of dog tags.

“My omega,” Jake speaks with unfailing devotion and love when he clasps the locket in his hand, “she worried when I was gone, she sent me this on my last tour.”

Steve has faltered, he knows he has, and he knows that he’s at a loss for words. This world that’s so much more progressive than he’s used to still manages to surprise him. He had never seen or heard of an omega mating another omega, he had never thought it possible.

“You’re not mated,” Steve observed the unmarked neck next, a kind of bold and striking desire to sink his own teeth into the handsome omegas neck is irrefutable, “you have an omega?”

“My omega and I are looking for the right set of alphas.” Jake had dropped his hand from the locket, returning it to his side, still emblazoned and strikingly bold for an omega.

Steve came here to support veterans, to draw in charitable donations to support them on their journey out of the military and into domestic life again. It was supposed to be an in and out experience with nothing to hold him back and yet…

“The right partner.” Steve whispered under his breath, a level of understanding for the omega before him was never before reached.

Steve had known even from a younger age that he was not as streamlined as others may have wanted. Though he had largely denied himself and his feelings, his attractions to both the female and male sexes, Steve was coming face to face with that part of him.

With Jake Jensen right here and now, and the scent of his omega that lingered. Steve’s senses, his heightened awareness, had given him the ability to know that Jake and his omega could have been exactly what he needed.

“Three,” Jake spoke again, adding another layer to the whole picture he was painting for Steve, “we’re supposed to have three alphas-“

“They’re a handful, Captain Rogers.” The mutual friend and veteran had warned him with adoration for the omegas. “The two of them together are trouble.”

He needs you, Steve’s heart fluttered and his fingers trembled against his sides, they need you.

“Too much for you to handle, Captain Rogers-“

“Steve,” he stuck his hand out toward Jake, a better greeting and more casual introduction to hopefully learn more about this omega, “just Steve.”

Jake’s lips began to lift, a smirk building.

“Jake,” Steve cut him off before he could even speak, “I’m more than capable of handling you and you’re omega.”

[b14augrana]

Well seeing 40 million clause for a defender this young and after this season it is too low... And even the barca president knows it because lyon will activate the clause in a second, they have the money and experience of facing the little culer in the final and will do anything to get her on their team and as do chelsea because if Emma Hayes didn't leave for usa she would have demanded that chelsea activate the clause ...

Mind if I request a soft hc of our scrubber with Alexia or mapi or aitana or frido...

Love your fics so much

Put Lyon and Chelsea in a boxing ring last man standing gets to buy Bebita 💯💯

Headcanons for all four of them are below the cut!

Aitana

Pequeñita was intimidated by her at first, because Aitana is such a class player. At their first training, Pequeñita spent most of it just watching Aitana and scheming up ways to impress her. When she told Aitana about this later, Aitana thought she was intimidated by her because she looks scary, and she freaked out because she doesn’t want to look scary. Pequeñita assured her she looks very sweet!!

Sleepovers all. the. time. She finds any excuse to stay over at Aitana’s. Whether it be Irene snores too loud or she forgot something, she will find a way. Aitana has a drawer reserved for her clothes and a spare toothbrush in her bathroom for her.

They basically share a brain cell, and they’re always laughing about something in the locker rooms together. Also, despite being younger than her, Pequeñita is always giving Aitana piggyback rides

Second person on the team to ever know about Pequeñita’s love for Vidić. That’s how she ended up sitting Aitana down for a full 15 minutes to present a slideshow about why Vidić is the best defender to ever grace the Prem, just because Aitana looked confused when she first said the name ‘Vidić’ and Pequeñita took that personally. No questions were asked, it was just Aitana and a bag of chips

They have matching, really badly crocheted beanies that they made together on the Spain camp. Despite how ugly they turned out, they both wear them religiously and did a challenge to see how long they could wear it without having to take it off.

Mapi

Bebita could get sent off with a red card for two-footing someone from behind and Mapi would congratulate her for such an amazing tackle. She is her number one defender all day, every day, Bebita does no wrong in Mapi’s eyes. She’s always cheering her on while she takes up a striker twice her size but it’s okay because Mapi believes in her. If she can tackle Caro, she can tackle anyone

When Bebita isn’t at Aitana’s, she’s with Mapi at her complex. She bought a candle with Bebita’s name on the front to put on the coffee table along with her and Ingrid’s candles. Bebita has a pair of pyjamas in Mapi’s closet and another toothbrush in her bathroom, and her favourite snacks are always in stock in the pantry. Mapi has everything for whenever Bebita wants to stay over

There is a polaroid picture of Mapi and Bebita posing with the UWCL trophy on the day of the final. It’s stuck to Mapi’s fridge, and Bebita has her own copy that she keeps in the back of her phone

Mapi always doing Bebita’s match hair per her request. Bebita says she likes when Mapi does her hair because she slicks it down well and it saves her stealing another one of Alexia’s headbands. She doesn’t even try steal Aitana’s because those headbands are precious to her

Bebita is constantly bombing Mapi’s camera roll with photos of her. Whenever her phone is left unattended, Bebita is already taking pictures of herself with her tongue out. Mapi pretends to be annoyed by it, but she actually has them in an album called ‘Fotos de bebita’, for safekeeping

Alexia

Also intimidated Chiquita, but this time it was because she looked straight up scary. Now, Alexia thinks she looks scary and upset, but to Chiquita she looks completely normal. Rather happy, actually

Her captain duties go beyond the pitch with Chiquita. When the international break is around the corner and they have to attend a Spain camp, she has to make sure Chiquita has all her bags. She always double checks for her boots and her kits, and 9 times out of 10, Chiquita doesn’t remember where she put them and freaks out until Alexia looks inside her backpack… that’s on her back

They always do Just Dance together. Chiquita never does it with anyone else, Alexia never does it with anyone else; they always do it together. Their dancing skills are horrific all the same, but it’s the experience that matters

Ever since the final, whenever Chiquita and Alexia are together and the opportunity comes up, Alexia brags about Chiquita’s goal and assist. Chiquita just turns away and pretends to rub her face so at least when they notice it’s cherry red, she can excuse it by saying it was from rubbing too hard

Sometimes, Chiquita goes to Alexia’s home just to see Nala. She skips right past Alexia and heads straight for Nala’s bed, leaving Alexia standing by the door like an idiot with her arms open, ready for a hug. She isn’t very fond of this human-dog friendship

Fridolina

To Fridolina, she’s referred to as Kärlek or simply just love. She always tries to pronounce the nickname but fails horribly.

Spoils her rotten. Kärlek wants a chocolate muffin? Have a 6-tiered chocolate cake instead. She loves taking her to cafés and treating her to pastries and sweets and fancy restaurant dinners.

Kärlek always begs Fridolina to teach her Swedish. They haven’t gotten around to it yet, but Frido always promises that it will happen one day. Kärlek says she wants to practice in case Vidić knows how to speak Swedish and she can impress him

Literally a second mother to Kärlek. While the others are big sisters, Frido is her mum, mainly because she’s always there for her without fail whenever she’s upset, she’s a master at dressing up wounds and gives the best advice. She also cooks surprisingly well, and she gives the best hugs which is the most important thing

Gives all the clothes she’s grown out of to Kärlek. It’s like an early Christmas whenever Fridolina comes over with a duffel bag of clothes, because she’s got the best fashion taste and Kärlek knows that + how expensive the clothes must be. When she finally wears them out, she feels like the coolest person ever and she proudly flaunts the fact that she’s inherited that Fridolina drip

[unknwnxquantity]

I didn’t wanna keep venting on here but I wanna let this outtt. And I don’t have therapy for another week. And also he’s a man so I feel it’s still a little weird to complain to a man about.. men😭 he validates me tho. But still weird

I’m so tired of theseeee mennnnnn. I’m just tired of men winning when all it seems in life is that a man won somehow. Some way. What triggered this, at least this rant, is my one guy coworker. His name is KM. KM is a cutie patootie I can’t lie. Just this quiet big bear cuddly guy. He’s so sweet and will stay longer if you need him to, doesn’t complain ever. Just vibes and loves his sugary drinks (I get scared for his health). He honestly just reminds you of that quiet nerdy kind guy you went to hs with who loves playing video games, that familiarity and warmth. But he’s pretty slow in his movements. And careless. Idk if he’s slow mentally but that’s what it seems to be, and that’s not even me being mean. It’s just observation. I’m slow in my movements too at times! But he’s like turtle slow. Another guy is like that too but is a fast worker. KG, but he’s legitimately diagnosed on the spectrum. He’s also a gentle giant. I love our talks. I love them both as ppl, but they’re still men (I would love to have them as close friends) and at the end of the day in the way that they’re not inherently considerate or socially aware, or care enough to be socially aware the way women are conditioned to be. They mess up orders constantly! And you gotta be on top of both of them to get things done, like a mother having to stay on top of her children every five seconds and having to constantly remind them what to do.

So with KM, he got partner of the quarter. Meaning he gets recognized in that way of outstanding type behavior and an extra $75 in his check. And my one manager…. I don’t wanna name him, I’ll call him J. Is such a passive man. Gay man. Hispanic, pushing 50 but acts younger than me. He reminds me of my old manager at my city job, also a gay Hispanic man, pushing 40, who has a very young spirit. But at least the manager at the city job was more of my mentor and would let me vent and cry to him. But he was sex obsessed and made me scared of the idea if I ever was a man around him…. But J loves trying to get my validation and reactions in any ways he can. “What do you think about these pants?” “What do you think about these shoes?” “I cooked this for dinner it was so good, aren’t you proud of me?” Or if I say I like something, that next shift usually he’ll be like “I bought this!/ I wanna buy this” he’s too much. But he drops to me last shift “KM won partner of the quarter!! It was neck and neck between you two” and then drops this shift “kmmmm partner of the quarter!” In front of me. And before I leave goes something like “aw km you’re the best…this is why I picked you for partner of the quarter” to him. Bc he knows ima be like “oooohhh word?” Like ….. and then J’s explanation is “well the reason I picked him is bc he never calls out…..you’ll get it next quarter tho” …. BC I CALLED OUT FOR STEVE WILKOS??? And some other times but like cmon. And literally got coverage for it. Okay. So I’m like you know what? Maybe Mr partner of the quarter doesn’t need my help as much when I want to go and help. I always try to be considerate and do small things to make life easier for my coworkers. But then I get told “that’s nice but stay in your station” so you know what!! Ima stay my ass right there. Right where I’m designated. That’s fine. I know it’s misdirected anger. I know what J is doing. But damn it it worked 😭

Whether it’s having to pick up the slack of him and KG or even the guys at my other job, I’m tired of babysitting GROWN MEN! Guys who are forgetful, have mental setbacks or just careless and take advantage that they won’t get fired if they do below the bare minimum. And I find myself overextending and overly looking out for people to make their lives easier… and for what? To still have a man preferred over me in some capacity? To not have the same consideration back? Or not even that back, I don’t do to get in return generally. But not even some form of acknowledgment? After a while, it’s too discouraging. It’s having to use discernment of doing things out of the goodness of your heart, vs bending over backwards and people pleasing. Overly exerting your energy where it’s not needed. Walking the line yet again. Balance.

It feels like men always win even by doing the least. Even with women. All the girls in my past except my last ex always went to a guy after or there was always a guy waiting in the wings for her. That wound is a mf bro. There is just always a guy. Or a masculine presence at the least, she goes to. Whoever “she” is (“she” is generalized). I’m just tired bro. I noticed with myself, once I start outgrowing a job and the universe is like okayyyy you learned all you could learn it’s time to move on! And I stay a little longer, I start despising everything and everyone. I’m more pessimistic. I’m more short tempered and defensive and meaner. I don’t care to hold a conversation with anyone not even close coworkers. I’m not as upbeat as I once was when I start outgrowing a job or situation. I just feel and vibrate lower than I should, lower than I should ever allow myself to be at. And that’s just a common thing that happens to every person alive! But to me bc I experience firsthand I’m like okay….. this is why people get grumpy and bitter. But I can’t become that. Only for a little bit tho! Become that to learn the lesson— I feel like I have to become what I hate even for just a little bit to know I don’t wanna become that permanently— then get out before it’s too late and make your journey back to your core beauty. More mature beauty you come out from the other side, the other side of not knowing and then it’s that in-between split state of being.

[evolutiononthebrain]

A harbringer of death, a witch with something wicked inside, and a kidnapped watcher — the perfect combination of siblings, yeah?

Cursed Trio / Cursed Siblings HCs!

- Grian oldest, pearl middle, & Jimmy youngest ?

-> Grian being the older sibling whose supposed to be responsible but is just so not is too funny to pass up

- they don’t have parents, they just spawned one day and then grian created EVO

- Grian is the feral older brother who didn’t know what he was doing so thats why pearl is… like that

-> he got a bit better when jimmy spawned

- they all have pronouns ://

-> Grian = he/they

-> Pearl = She/They

-> Jimmy = ftm He/Him

- the capitalization is on purpose, grian does not care enough about gender to capitalize his pronouns

- WINGS! wings wings wings wings wings win

n e ways: wing headcanons

Grian: Obviously, the rainbow parrot bird wings. we all know where the wings originate from but i’d also like to imagine that, like a male bird, grian is colorful because they were the oldest, the “protector” of his siblings, so he was the brightest and most colorful to distract predators (mobs in this case) from their younger siblings

Pearl: now i haven’t seen many Pearl wing headcanons but i’d like to think that Pearl’s wings are bigass raven wings that she can use to make herself look more intimidating. Also, raven symbolism = every time you see a raven, death is approaching. They would also be easy to conceal under a dark jacket, like the black one they have.

Jimmy: the famed canary wings! canary, obviously referring to “canary in the coal mine.” the yellow to white gradient also looks almost ghostly in sunlight. jimmy is a naturally good singer and very friendly, like canaries often are, but keeping them in cages means there’s a ghost around. too bad he’s usually the ghost that’s around :(

- also i think it’s incredibly funny that, though parrots can grow to be 40 inches, ravens behind at 24-27 inches, and canaries only averaging around 3-5 inches, jimmy is the tallest sibling with pearl being a close second

- jimmy was obsessed with making random animals nests when he was younger:

-> finds a chicken

-> makes it a nest

-> cries when the chicken walks away

- whenever they’re on the same server, grian will just pick jimmy up (cuz tho he is short, their wings are very strong & fcking massive) and throw him like when he was teaching him to fly

- he has attempted this with pearl Once, and never again

- jimmy is the only one who preens his wings on the “regular,” but even then he only preens them like every three months when they are absolutely awful

-> the other two are TERRIBLE about preening

-> they get that hermitcraft hyperfixation that all the hermits get when starting a new build or redstone machine

- all of them are fairly light weight, though all looking like body-builders cuz hollow bird bones

- pearl is so done with her dumb older & younger brothers, at all times

- they will go days without seeing grian, or even weeks without seeing jimmy cuz of the server differences but the moment she sees them she just deflates

- exhausted

- she is very protective tho :) she joined empires to keep jimmy in check and then joined hermitcraft cuz they knew grian needed someone to keep HIM in check

- this was only a few days apart (empires - June 12, 21 / hermitcraft - June 19, 21)

- pearl joined to keep them in check, she failed, they both caused chaos and she joined in

- Pearl = goddess, Grian = watcher, Jimmy = listener

-> they use their abilities to cause mayhem and wreak havoc

- when it was “revealed” that lizzie and jimmy were seablings pearl and grian were jealous that jimmy got to be siblings with somebody cool AGAIN but they were stuck with him

- jimmy was offended they didn’t think he was cool

- both times jimmy has acquired a husband/partner, grian and pearl both had “the talk” with them

-unfortunately, they are simply too goofy to be taken seriously so both scott and tango were unconcerned until pearl’s eyes starting glowing white and grian’s wings were covered in massive purple glowing eyes

- both scott & tango asked jimmy if he could do cool stuff like that after they calmed down

-> he gave a wistful little sigh and said, “no, all i can do is hear down to atoms. not so impressing.”

- much confusion, those days

- feathers:

- jimmy gives feathers out like candy; to his family, his friends, his loves, etc.

- grian only ever gives his feathers out to very close ppl; their siblings and scar & mumbo

- pearl never gives her feathers out; they have a deep seeded fear of her feathers not being pretty enough in comparison to their brother’s bright colorful ones

-> the only time she’s given them is to her brothers when they were like 9

- they love each other !!! oh em gee

[kodaiki]

[1:40 P.M.]

“awh, c’mon pop, it’s just cheeto puffs!”

bokuto stares down at his twin daughters with a heavy pout as they both hug purple decorated bags of the cheesy snack to their chest with the wobbliest grins they can muster. they stand in the middle of the snack aisle, a space bokuto wanted to rush past for both his sake and his daughters. sure, he loved to indulge, but with their recent sugar high, he really didn’t need to encourage that sort of thing again.

the baby hooked into the chest strap in front of him coos in glee, spreading her hands as she reaches for the brightly colored and loud material.

“the ones with the orange stains that end up all over the couch?” bokuto mumbles, feeling his resolve crumble as he recalls his own enjoyment for the treat.

the bokuto family was out grocery shopping, a weekly adventure for them on a saturday afternoon.

“we won’t dirty the couch this time!” one twin chimes with promise in her eyes. miyuri, better known as mimi, is the younger of the two, yet the more responsible one so her promise seems pretty strong.

meanwhile the older twin, sayori, with a tight grip on the cheeto bag now pulled behind her, looks down quietly, avoiding eye contact with her father who she knows she can’t lie to.

“yori-” mimi whispers, nudging her sister as she notices her father’s amused expression toward the older one.

“promise,” sayori murmurs in a breath, looking away bashfully from either of them.

kiyumi, the toddler in the strap against bokuto’s chest, babbles something incoherent, maybe in response to the obvious amusing episode.

unknown to the family, there’s another pair of amused eyes watching them as well.

you don’t even know why you’re in the snack aisle. last you checked, you were trying to cut junk food out of your life.

but how could they put the most delicious treats on the end of the aisle for you to peek into when your shopping cart rolled by? it was mere second nature to do a quick turn to see what else they had that would satisfy the happy grumbles of your stomach.

you’re standing in the middle between three different variations of cookie of the same brand, mentally debating which one you should get, when you hear the pleas of young girls just ahead of you.

so with a quick turn of your head, not necessarily in a nosy sort of way, you take a glance at the scene.

and your heart melted on the spot.

maybe it was your soft spot for kids; the fact that two identical little girls were sporting the cutest faces, or the young toddler glancing around her surroundings with big bright brown eyes. maybe it was the father who seemed utterly devoted with the way he laughed and patted their heads, easing their pleas by allowing them to get whatever treat they wished for.

whatever reason it was, you’re practically a puddle at that point.

but you quickly look away from the family, as to not look strange just staring at them from afar. you return your attention back on the cookies on the shelf in front of you, huffing to yourself as you still can’t make a decision.

while debating if you should just flip a coin or do ‘eenie meenie miney mo,’ you don’t notice the family you were previously amused by walking in the direction you were standing in.

unbeknownst to the father, who’s desperately trying to get out of the snack aisle before his daughters find something else they want, the pacifier clipped onto the front of the baby’s jumper snaps off when she pulls on it. she plays with the end of it, moving it in her chubby hands just before it drops to the floor.

right at your feet.

you hear the light clatter behind you, making you furrow your eyebrows as you briefly forget about your situation at hand. you turn your head to look just before you and there it was; a translucent blue pacifier hooked onto what seems like a small children’s toy, presumably for their enjoyment.

you bend over, quickly picking up the pacifier and glancing around in search of the child who lost it.

they’re not very hard to find, for a baby just a meter ahead of you is now struggling against the chest of her father, pushing herself upwards as she whines and babbles in frustration.

the father – poor guy, really – is at a total loss. kiyumi was fine just a second ago! what could possibly make her so fussy now?

"i think she dropped this." your voice makes the tall father spin on his heel, even making the toddler pause in her frustrated whines. they both look you over, blinking widely at you – she's his twin. you hold out the pacifier for the man to take and he glances down at his daughter's lips before murmuring to himself.

"everytime, 'yumi, hm?" he taps her nose in an amused manner before reaching out for your offering. "thanks." he grins a killer smile that nearly makes your knees buckle in. nearly.

how inappropriate, you quickly mentally scold yourself. you could be acting this way in response to a married man.

as bokuto wipes the pacifier, cleaning it off, you glance over at the two twin girls skipping in the aisle, seemingly casual about the occurrence. they sneak past shelves, whispering to each other and pointing at the shopping cart. from what you can assume, one's talking one twin out of sneaking something inside while the other is attempting to convince them otherwise.

"it's no problem," you chirp. "'must be difficult with two running around the store," you muse, gesturing to the girls attempting to push the full cart but making no distance with it.

"and it's about to be three," the father sighs, almost sadly, bringing his hand down to his chest where his toddler grabs at his finger, shaking it, now happily sucking on the pacifier. "she's close to makin' her first steps, so i'm worried she's about'ta become a track star."

cute, you can't help but smile as he chuckles to himself.

as if remembering something, the man shakes his head to himself. "my bad! i'm bokuto. bokuto kotaro," he introduces, extending a hand out.

bokuto kotaro, where have you heard that name, you can't help but wonder.

"y/n." you smile anyway, "y/n y/l/n."

"it's nice to meet you," he brings the hand you shake behind his head to ruffle his dark gray and black dyed locks at the nape of his neck. he keeps supporting his daughter up with his left hand, rubbing up her belly while she pulls at his fingers. "this is kiyumi," he says gently, smiling as he says so. he really loves his kids.

"she's adorable," you coo, making eye contact with her and grinning when she sticks her tongue out.

"that she is," he agrees. "it ain't great for my wallet when she wants something, though."

"oh, i believe that," you chuckle, straightening your posture.

eventually, the two twins running up and down the aisle grow restless and begin calling for their dad. "i should probably finish up here before those two persuade me into buying so'more snacks."

"i gotta finish up to," you huff, pulling at the small basket that sat at your feet. "it was nice meeting you, too."

"you should get the ones on the left," bokuto says out of the blue, nodding his head at the shelf you were previously staring hard at. "the blue box of cookies. my daughters prefer those over the yellow ones."

had he noticed you in your internal debate when you thought otherwise?

"thanks." you pause, watching bokuto wave at you with a friendly smile. pursing your lips together and hoping your intuition wasn't wrong you blurt, "hope to see you again!"

you squeeze your eyes shut in embarrassment in case the man laughs at you or looks at you strangely. but you hear a chuckle instead. "yeah," he hums, "you, too."

as he walks away and your cheeks are left warm and flushed, you continue to ask yourself what made you say that. was it the genuine smile that he gave you? or maybe was it the fact that his ring finger on his hand, the hand clutching his daughter, was bare?

[redrobin-detective]

Ben 10 lore that exists in my heart regardless of canon

- Ben’s personality in his mid-late teens is a mix of his Alien Force and Omniverse self. On the surface, he’s very cheerful and kind even if he is a bit of arrogant showoff. He makes jokes and plays around and acts as if he isn’t bothered by the things in his life. Those who know him best understand a good portion of his outward confidence and cockiness is just a facade to cover up his insecurities and to project the ideal, effortless hero. While sometimes seen as immature, most beings know Ben 10 means business as he takes his unofficial job and people’s safety very seriously. He’s clever, adaptable, charismatic and empathetic which makes him a formidable opponent and a loyal friend. Doesn’t open up easily but if you get to him, he become so dearly attached. 

- Drinks smoothies so much for several reasons. Comfort food go brrr, reminds him of the good easy times with him Gwen and Kev. It’s also a light but generally nutritous food to give him energy for heroing. Anything too heavy and he’ll be puking (both from physical and emotional stress). Though he jokes about his mom’s health foods, his are a crazy concoction of add in proteins and vitamins/minerals bc he knows he’ll out and out collapse without it. (Still has on occasion bc boy still doesn’t eat right/enough)

- While Fame is exciting for him at first he soon begins to detest it. Not the fans, no, he can’t bring himself to hate the people who look up to him. But he hates the constant attention, that he can’t walk outside without being mobbed. the only place he feels safe is his hometown where most people are so used to him and his weirdness that they don’t react much anymore. Takes to wearing a cape and face shield when going out anywhere so he can actually get things done without being recognized and mobbed.

- Part of the reason Bellwood isn’t concerned with Ben is partially because ben’s been weird and alien for as long as they can remember but also many don’t realize how famous/powerful he is. Yeah that’s just Ben Tennyson over there, sometimes he turns into funny creatures- wait what do you MEAN he’s the savior of the universe?? He cried over a spilled smoothie the other day.

- Does mostly online schooling by the time he’s 15. At first he tries to do half day things to maintain something of a normal life but it quickly becomes overwhelming and dangerous him/the school. Finishes his GED early but the Plumbers and Azmuth make him take additional college level and alien courses to prepare him for his future role. Ben gripes but really does love learning all these things, especially on his terms (ADHD and stress + the public school system do not always go hand in hand). He’s a quick learner when he deems the information important and is made accessible to his learning needs.

- Ben definitely has ADHD speaking of which, it was nearly uncontrollable as a child bc his free-spirited parents didn’t believe in medicating. Ben convinced them he needed it and after some trial and error, found meds that worked. As he became more involved in heroics/growing up he had to change his medicine regimen (resulting in him being a bit more off the rails in OV) and needed antidepressants and therapy to manage it better. As an adult he has a whole litany of coping mechanisms (good and bad yes) and regularly checks in with his therapist and doctors to keep things under control. 

- Has a complicated relationship with his necrofriggian children. Considers himself their mother and worries after them. They too feel a connection to their parent despite this being unusual for their species. A few visit (some more than others) while they grow while others maintain distance. Ben never breathes a word of them to the media for fear of them being targeted. Still he keeps an eye on them and ensures all 14 mature to adulthood (another rarity for the species). Checks in every now and again with the ones who don’t want to see him and those that do. Two join the Plumbers and Ben is both proud and worried. His youngest becomes partners with Rook Ben.

- Just in general loves kids, they’re his favorite fans and while he’ll grumble at pushy adult fans he always smiles and kneels down for the little ones. Not so secretly wanted to have children of his own but knew it was a risk overall and used a lot of that energy with mentoring and teaching. Eventually had Kenny later in life (late 30s-40s) and was over the moon, becoming such a loving and doing parent or as much as he could be with his hectic schedule. 

- Omnitrix can’t come off, never has at any point since it first latched onto Ben’s arm. Azmuth tried and failed to get the device off, doesn’t let Ben know for many years as he feared the consequences. The watch loves and protects Ben even beyond it’s programming making him much more durable to damage and releasing energy charges when he’s threatened. Not even removing Ben’s arm would separate them. They’re stuck for life.

- Ben does have Anodite heritage but the Omnitrix actively suppresses it and uses the built up energy to power the transformations which is why ben is mostly unaffected by what should cause a massive energy drain on him. Theoretically if Ben learned to harness and safely use his Mana at an early age like Gwen he would have been fine but letting it build up without safe outlet meant activation would have killed him. Omnitrix Ben, however, went his whole life not knowing of his latent abilities and how the watch saved his life.

- Ben’s eyes get more green and glowy as time passes from the Omnitrix. At first they think its a trick of the light but by the time he’s an adult his eyes are pretty much glow in the dark. His veins light up too after long stretches of using the Omnitrix. Its vaguely unsettling to people who aren’t used to Ben.

- Max and the Earth Plumbers work so, so hard to keep teen Ben on Earth when half the universe is blowing up their comm lines asking for The Ben 10 to help with whatever problem of the day. Ben himself doesn’t quite understand when he’s younger the prestige and expectations on his shoulders. Max throws up a million and one roadblocks so Ben can live as normal a life as possible while he still can. Still, while doing that he Still overloads Ben with expectations and responsibilities on earth and beyond. He becomes a soldier again with Ben as their greatest weapon. He never forgave himself of losing sight of his grandson underneath the hero esp after Ben’s breakdown. 

- Rook partnership with Ben ends not long after Omniverse with his promotion to Magister. Ben tries to play it cool but the thought of another loved one/teammate leaving his tears him apart. Max revealing that Ben most likely wouldn’t get a new Plumber assigned partner since he’s almost an adult and won’t need it and Rook accidentally missing their last smoothie run due to a scheduling mishap causes Ben to snap and have the nervous breakdown that had been building for almost a decade. He completely loses it for a little while and needs to take an extended leave of absence from school and heroics that lasts about a year. Spends time recovering both on Earth and Galvan Prime, does some diplomatic training, learns about aliens, actually confronts the stress and loneliness of his life. He comes out the other side stronger but still fragile and exhausted.

- Ben’s above mentioned breakdown brings him closer to all his friends who didn’t quite realize the extent of Ben’s burden. Rook had been under the impression Ben didn’t like him all that much so the knowledge that his departure was the final straw for friend/hero’s collapse was shocking. Ben and Azmuth also become closer, the Galvan becoming fiercely protective of the boy seeing as his Earth family didn’t do well to keep him safe. It takes years for him to get over his anger at Max for putting so much on his grandchild. Ben makes more friends, in and out of the hero business, finally gets a therapist and gets some of his burdens eased a bit. It’s not a sure fire fix and Ben has several smaller breakdowns the rest of his life but its something.

- Azmuth was straight up suicidal before he met Ben for the first time. Ben gave him back hope for the universe and his ability to create items for peace not weapons. The boy infuriates him, frightens him, frustrates him but Azmuth cannot deny in his heart of hearts that he loves Ben dearly. He’s very upset at Ben’s breakdown and doesn’t know how to handle the worst of the initail outbursts. Azmuth talks Ben down from a suicide attempt. He reaches out to Ben that he Too felt overwhelmed by pressure, thought himself only good for war. Ben’s arrival in his life saved him and now he will do the same for Ben. It’s the first positive step forward in Ben’s recovery.

- For no other reason than I like it, Azmuth primarily refers to Ben as Benjamin (mostly to annoy the kid but he likes the way it sounds too) and Ben in softer, more serious moments. 

- Professor Paradox continues to flit in and out of Ben’s life. He says its because Ben is the most equipped to handle universal peril (true) but he’s also just very fond of the boy. Ben, existing in so many forms and having such importance also exists a beat outside of normal reality which Paradox identifies with. Ben is naturally attuned to time related problems because of this (instantly IDing Spanner as from the future before being told later deducing him to be his unborn son). Plus Ben named him, way back when. He’s just drawn to Ben.

- Adult Ben, while being seen as an impressively skilled fighter and champion, really has his strength as a universal diplomat of sorts. Based out of Earth, he helps mediate and defuse conflicts, advocate against tyranny and overall preserve peace and balance. He’s not perfect, he makes mistakes and sometimes is forced to become violent (and yes kill) but overall is regarded as a peacekeeper, something younger ben simply couldn’t understand. 

- Gwen gets her degree and primarily does work with advocacy and teaching about magic/alien culture. While she and Ben are still close, there’s a bit of a frustrated divide in that she isn’t helping him share the burden of the universe. Gwen never wanted to be a hero and has enough worth to not shackle herself to a job that’ll burn her out. Ben loves heroing but gives too much of himself away trying to fix everything. They get into screaming arguments that it wouldn’t be so bad out there if she just helped him but she refuses to budge and says he shouldn’t make himself do so much. They always make up and thy still are each other’s closest relationships.

- Ben marries Kai in a political move, Kai is Asexual and Ben Aromantic. They didn’t love each other but they got on well enough and Ben was really feeling the stress of carrying the hero burden so Kai also being involved made him feel like he wasn’t alone. Both were also so tired of the universe constantly asking about their love life and said ‘fuck it we’re married leave us alone’. Gwen was always mad about it feeling Ben deserved better but the two of them were happy with it. They had separate rooms, mostly separate lives but they became strong friends and supports with their strictly platonic marriage. They had Ken via Invitro in an incubator and were loving if extremely busy parents. 

- Also from the moment he appeared, Ben knew that Spanner was his future son, Kenny. He played ignorant and then was kind of deliberately teasing him in future encounters. He knew the rules of time and didn’t want to disrupt things further even if he was angry and worried as heck about why Ken felt the need to time travel. When future Ben catches up in the timeline, Kenny gets SUCH a lecture. 

- Ben isn’t quite immortal but he’s also not entirely human anymore either. The Omnitrix not only keeps him safe from most harm but it lightens the effect of aging. Ben 10 is active many, many years when most humans would have been forced to retire. He’s not sure how long the watch will keep him alive and it terrifies him. Gwen too is functionally immortal however she ages like a normal human, then when her natural death came, shed her skin and became a fulltime Anodite. So in the end, it was her and Ben together wondering which of them will die first. Gwen has trouble retaining her humanity as pure energy and swears she’ll let herself fizzle out when Ben goes. When that’ll be however...

[kohanayaki]

.:Time And Time Again:. (Marauders Era x Reader) Ch 8

You come across an old photo book full of untouched memories and decide to go through it with Harry, though there are some things you decide he doesn't need to know and some things you'd rather forget. (Takes place mostly through Marauders era flashbacks)

LINKS:   CH 1   CH 2   CH 3   CH 4   CH 5   CH 6   CH 7   CH 8

Ch 8 .:Snapshots, Secrets, and Sentimentality:.

“Hey, Harry?” you called out into the living room where said boy was reclined on one of the large charcoal armchairs, “I found something you might want to see.”

His eyes widened behind the round frames of his glasses as you carried over a large, leather bound book that was thick with laminated pages. You sat across from him on the couch, setting it down on the coffee table in front of you.

“We still have a few more hours before the others arrive for the meeting,” you said, “and I don't know when the next time we'll be able to talk like this will be.”

“Wait,” he said before you could open the book, “you aren't staying?”

“I can't,” you smiled at him sadly. A statement that was true for a multitude of reasons you'd rather not get into with your godson. “I wanted to show this to you before I left, though.”

With a wave of your hand the book's pages gently flipped open, revealing a number of old magical photographs. The page you had turned to had a picture of James, and you could see Harry's eyes lock onto it. His father was beaming at the camera, holding up the Quidditch cup as two of his Gryffindor teammates held him up on their shoulders.

“Now you see why everyone always tells you how much you look like him,” you chuckled, “that's him in his fifth year, same as you now.”

Harry stared in wonder at the photo. He really did look like his dad. James was slightly taller, lankier, but he had the same disheveled waves of dark brown hair and boyish grin as Harry. Their faces were nearly identical; except for the eyes, of course.

The photo right next to that one was you wearing a Seeker's crest. You were posed, standing with the rest of your team with a wide smile on your face. Harry's brow furrowed as he spotted an unknown yet somehow familiar boy next to you with curly black hair and light eyes.

“Who is that?” he asked, “he almost looks like—”

“Sirius?” you finished. Harry nodded. “That would make sense,” you said, “that's Regulus, his younger brother.”

“I. . . didn't know he had one,” Harry said in wonder.

“Well, you know he doesn't talk about his family often.”

“Right. . .” Harry trailed off for a moment, “but you knew him? His brother?”

“Yeah,” you said, feeling a tug at your heart, “We were friends, for a while.” Your eyes subconsciously looked up towards his room which now stood empty. “He, um. . . he died, some time ago.”

“Oh,” Harry said, not knowing what to say, “I'm sorry. . .”

You gave him a small smile in thanks, trying to shrug off the grim feeling the memories brought up as you turned the page of the book to the next.

This photograph was one that was moving— you and James in your Quidditch captain's uniforms. He was reaching over, ruffling your hair while you were ducking to avoid him, pushing his face away and turning his glasses askew despite the grin on your face.

“We both became team captains in year six,” you said, smiling fondly at the picture, “we'd squared off as Seekers the year prior, so it was only natural. You were already playing Seeker your first year, weren't you?”

“Yeah,” Harry said bashfully, “although my first time catching the snitch was bit rough to say the least.” You laughed at that, recalling the time he told you the story of how he had caught the snitch with his mouth his first match.

“You take after your father, for sure,” you said, “he was always a creative flier; came up with all sorts of purposefully confusing strategies as captain. By the time the other team figured out what he was doing, he'd have already caught the snitch and the match would be set.”

Harry felt pride fill his chest at your words, glad he was taking on his father's good qualities.

“So you were a Seeker your fifth year and played until you graduated,” he recalled, “but I thought you said you played Chaser before?”

“Well, sort of?” you admitted, “Not officially. My introduction to the game was unconventional, to say the least. . .”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   1974   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James and Sirius huddled with the rest of the Gryffindor team on the Quidditch pitch, gearing up for the match. The energy around them was electric, the stands packed with students and faculty from every house.

“Remember, keep to the left,” Halls, their team captain, said sternly, “and take advantage of Parkinson's blind spot. If Rollins and the rest of the Chasers start scoring above 40 before halftime, we'll go in for the Pincer.”

Sirius nodded, determined to win this match. It was the first one of the season, so a lot was riding on this. However, his attention was diverted as the crowd's cheers suddenly grew louder. The Slytherin team had arrived on the field, marching towards them. Something Sirius didn't expect to see, however, was you, dressed in Chaser's robes next to his brother.

“What are they doing here?” Sirius scoffed as he spotted you, “they're not even on the team!”

“Rollins took a spill last practice,” Vanity said as she stepped forward. The Slytherin captain had a wicked grin on her face, “(L/n)'s a last minute replacement. Don't bother trying to argue, I've already cleared it with Madame Hooch.”

“Convenient of you to tell us ahead of time,” Halls' eyes narrowed.

“Is there a part of 'last minute' that escapes your understanding?” Vanity rolled her eyes.

“Well, no matter,” Halls said, “you've lost your best Chaser, we don't have anything to worry about.”

“That classic Gryffindor confidence,” Vanity smirked, “we'll see about that. I don't choose just anyone to fill in.”

Halls scoffed as Vanity turned on her heels, not bothering to look back.

“Seems you've found yourself another game to lose, (L/n),” James smirked at you.

“Have I?” you arched a brow, “what's our score now? 10-9?”

“10-10 since I got you with that scalene water in the Prefect's bathroom,” James reminded you, “how was being half fish for a day?”

“Marvelous, felt just like you,” you quipped.

“Settle down, everyone,” Madame Hooch said, stepping out onto the field, “Potter, (L/n), I know you two have taken to pranks on each other in class, but I don't want to see a lick of that up in the air, understood?”

“Perfectly,” you said, a smirk sneaking onto your face as you mounted your broom. 

“Wouldn't dream of it, professor,” James said with sarcastic flair.

Sirius eyed you cautiously. Gryffindor had flying class with Hufflepuff, so they'd never actually seen you fly before, but there was no doubt that if Vanity approved of you, you had to pose some kind of threat.

“Take your marks,” Hooch said, and you rose off the ground in unison, staring each other down. “Let the match begin!” With a strong, well placed kick, the Quidditch case was thrown open to release the bludgers and the snitch, and as she threw the quaffle up in the air you lunged forward into a dive. You were just about to grab the ball when a blur of red and gold nearly knocked you off your broom.

“Potter has the Quaffle!” Kingston commentated from the box, “he passes to Longbottom, who evades Catchlove and Regulus Black. Longbottom scores! The first ten points go to Gryffindor!”

The patrons in the red and gold stands went wild, the roar deafening in your ears. This was definitely different from flying class. You had to get it together.

The hair on the back of your neck suddenly stood straight up when something whizzed right past your head as you barely moved to dodge it. Sirius gave you a passive shrug from the other side of the field, a beater's bat resting on his shoulder.

“Tosser,” you grumbled under your breath. You had half a mind to throw him right through the left-field hoops without his broom, but dealing with the bludgers wasn't your job; you just had to evade and score. You wouldn't let your team down.

Your eyes searched the skies for the quaffle again, and found it as you spotted a Gryffindor snatch it out of Catchlove's hands. You built up momentum, lowering your body to your broom handle as you picked up speed, swiping the ball from the red Chaser's hands before his eyes could register. You flew under him before their team could rearrange formation and spun around quickly, swatting the quaffle towards the lower right goal with the tail end of your broom. Their Keeper dove to block it, but was one second too late. The ball flew through the hoop and straight into Regulus' hands, who looped back around and threw it through the top right, leaving the Gryffindor Keeper too disoriented and too low in the corner of the goal posts to do anything about it.

“(L/n) outmaneuvers Johnson and scores!” you heard the commentary box boom, “Regulus Black follows up with another goal, we are 20 Slytherin to 10 Gryffindor, what a quick turnaround to start off the match!”

You huffed, impressed that Regulus was able to make the most of your shot. You knew he was Sirius' brother, but that was about it. He was a year younger than you, so you didn't have any classes together and never really talked to him before.

“Nice shot,” you said, flying next to him.

“Same to you,” he said with the slightest upwards quirk of his lips.

“Oi, keep it up you two!” Vanity shouted, hovering over you before dodging the bludger that flew her way, “Black, keep point on Johnson, he's off his game today. (L/n) I want you on intercept and watch for Potter.”

“Gladly,” you smirked, flying off towards the other side of the field. You were starting to feel more comfortable in the air, like you were when you were just flying by yourself; the sounds of the crowd disappeared over the wind rushing in your ears, and you were able to concentrate on your main objective:

Kicking James Potter's arse.

And that you did. The all too confident smirk that seemed to be permanently plastered to his face disappeared when he suddenly felt the weight of the quaffle leave his hands. A victorious smile graced your lips at his dumbfound expression as you threw the ball long to Regulus, who caught it with ease, swatting Johnson away like a fly before scoring another goal.

“(L/n) passes to Black who scores another ten points for Slytherin!” Kingston announced, “it looks like the two rookie players are really hitting their stride now. Choosing (L/n) as a last second fill in is really paying off!”

Sirius' eyes narrowed, grunting in frustration as he hit another bludger your way. Regulus' head turned at the sound of the crack of the bat and signaled over to one of your Beaters, who tossed the bat his way just in time for the Slytherin to send the ball flying back towards his brother. Sirius cursed under his breath, rolling to the right and spinning out of control for a moment before reorienting himself.

“Hooch, what gives!” he shouted, “penalize them!”

“Fair play under protection,” Hooch denied him, “you've been taking headshots, Black. Be grateful I'm not docking you.”

Sirius grumbled a few choice words under his breath before flying back into the fray.

“Thanks for that!” you called over to Regulus.

“Don't mention it,” the boy said, his expression still fairly neutral save for the slight smirk on his face. How the hell was he so calm during this game anyways?

You continued to work with Regulus throughout the match; you'd found a system that worked, and your captain told you to roll with it. Pass after pass you intercepted and scored, mainly targeting Potter not just because Vanity had told you to, but because it brought you a considerable amount of personal enjoyment.

That's when you saw it— a tiny, nearly imperceptible flash of gold that whizzed by your peripheral vision. Neither of the Seekers had caught sight of it yet, but you watched as it zoomed low towards the ground, hovering just beneath one of the crowd stands.

“Oi, Talkalot!” you shouted over the crowd at your Seeker, “Dive low at Hippogriff, now!”

You'd only had  a few hours to look over the strategies that Vanity laid out for you, but you knew the Slytherin team had come up with code words for each quadrant of the Quiditch pitch so you could alert your Seeker if you saw the snitch without the other team knowing where it was. You hoped to Merlin you'd gotten the code right, and you exhaled in relief as Talkalot zoomed past you, taking a sharp dive straight down.

“Nice eye, (L/n)!” she shouted over her shoulder, her voice trailing off as she went after the snitch at top speed.

Sirius' eyes widened as he saw the sporadic move from your Seeker. That could only mean one thing.

“Halls, they've got eyes on the snitch!” he shouted to his team captain who cursed under his breath, taking off in Talkalot's direction, but her lead was too great.

“She's got it!” Kingston hollered into the mic, “Lucinda Talkalot has caught the golden snitch, scoring 150 points for Slytherin! Our score comes out 50 Gryffindor to 230 Slytherin, and this match is over!”

“Slytherin wins!” Madame Hooch proclaimed from her broom.

Everyone in the emerald stands cheered so loudly you thought their tents would topple. You couldn't believe the amount of adrenaline coursing through your body in that moment. It was a complete sensory overload as you were bombarded by the Slytherin team, mostly comprised of people you hardly even knew, and thrown on top of their shoulders and they cheered for you.

“What a game, (L/n)! I never knew you could play!”

“Where the hell have you been all this time, eh?”

“You better try out next year or you're dead!”

You laughed at the last comment from Vanity, people buzzing around you as soon as you were set down. You broke away from the congratulatory comments and pats on the back, however, as you spotted James across the field. You couldn't help but rub this in his face a little.  

“Why so blue, Potter?” you grinned as you bounded over to him, “what was that about me 'finding another game to lose'?”

For once, James had no clever comeback, and his face flushed as you laughed at his expression.

“I do believe that leaves us 11-10,” you said cheekily, doing an overly exaggerated bow before tossing your broom from your left hand to your right and stalking off.

“Not for long,” James said to himself once you were out of earshot, equal parts impressed and supremely annoyed. It was time for him to pay another visit to Zonko's. He'd show you blue all right. . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“After that year I tried out for a permanent position as Seeker,” you said, “your father and I concluded our prank war, Sirius and I put aside our differences, Lupin vouched for my involvement with the map, and the rest is history.”

“I seriously can't believe you became such close friends only two years later,” Harry said, shaking his head in bewilderment.

“Neither could we,” you said, “it was just a series of chance encounters that we learned we were more similar than we thought. I really do believe that friendship can come from anywhere, Harry. Even more so when you least expect it. So if there's anyone around you that you think you might never get along with, I'd say it's worth it to give them a chance.”

Harry paused at your words. There were more than a few people who came to mind.

You turned to the next page, which was a spread of you and the rest of the Marauders in more casual settings. One could clearly tell you had taken them of each other, if the shaky camera movement and blurry rendering were anything to go off of.

You smiled to yourself as you saw a photo of you and Remus asleep in the Hogwarts library, lightly leaning against each other with your eyes peacefully closed. Suddenly the camera flash jolted through the photograph, and you two bolted upright. You glared at the person taking the photo and reached out to smack the camera away, the picture going blurry for a moment before resetting. Harry laughed at the brief repeating scene, as did you.

“Your father took this one,” you huffed, “because of course he did.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   1977  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You rested your head in your palm as you transcribed a few spells into your notebook. The lantern in front of you gave you just enough light to read the elaborate Latin, as the sun had long since set. Your eyelids felt annoyingly heavy, attempting to close on their own as you fought against them to stay awake.

“How are you holding up?” Remus asked with a slight grin, catching you jump awake at his remark.

You and Remus had gotten permission from Madame Pince to use the library after hours to study; after all, you two were outstanding students. If James and Sirius had made the request, they wouldn't have gotten so positive a reaction.

“I've been more awake in my life, but I really need to get this done tonight,” you sighed, “NEWTS start next week and I have to be ready.” You stared up at the boy who was looking at you with obvious concern. “I'm fine, Moony. And I don't want to keep you here, so whenever you want to head off to bed, feel free to.”

“It's no trouble,” he said, “I'll walk you back to your common room, at least. At this rate you'll fall asleep in the middle of the hall for Filch to find you.”

You gave him a light but well-meant glare, groaning as you turned your tired eyes back to the parchment in front of you.

“Why the sudden all-nighters anyways?” Lupin asked, “I thought you'd be plenty prepared.”

“My Charms marks haven't exactly been the best lately,” you admitted, “that's kind of important if I want to become an auror, Remus.”

“Really?” the lycanthrope said, surprised, “but you're always in the know on some spell or another I've never even heard of. You've even made some of your own, right?”

“Yes, but the Ministry wants people who can conjure a corporeal patronus, not someone who made up a spell that makes antlers grow on someone's head to make a very specific joke.”

“Well, I thought it was impressive,” Remus laughed, thinking back to James asking him 'why does my head feel so heavy?' “but I see what you're saying,” Remus continued, “Have you thought about Dumbledore's proposal? Joining the cause might call for some more specialized tasks that would fit you well.”

“Right,” you bit your lip, “I just. . . I don't know. It's a lot to take on. A big part of me is scared, Remus. I'm not like you guys. I can't just fearlessly leap into a battle without any second thoughts. James and Sirius gave their answers so quickly and. . . I couldn't say for sure right away like they could. Honestly, I was terrified, and I still feel guilty because of it.”

“Fear is wisdom in the face of danger, (Y/n),” Remus said, “It's nothing to be ashamed of. No one is forcing you to make this decision right away, nor are they requiring you do it alone. There's a war going on out there, (Y/n). No one would blame you for not diving into it headfirst.”

“Always the quoter of muggle proverbs,” you chuckled lightly, “thank you, Remus. Really.”

A quiet yawn snuck into the back of your throat, and you stretched out of your chair to try to get feeling back into your body.

“Maybe I should turn in soon,” you said, your voice already groggy, “just a few more transcriptions. . .”

Remus stayed by your side as you continued to work diligently, and he found himself smiling at your innate stubbornness. It was something he greatly admired about you; when you decided on something you stuck to it no matter what, sometimes to a fault. You fought to keep your eyes open, even as your head began to slope and your handwriting gradually became slower.

Lupin was beginning to tire himself, which surprised him. He was naturally nocturnal, after all, and usually had no issue staying up to the early hours of the morning. But the quiet scratch of your quill against the parchment, the occasional sound of a page turning, and the smell of your shampoo that wafted with the motion, all lulled him into a sense of ease that was much too easy to doze off to.

Just when he thought he might fall asleep, he almost jumped out of his skin as he felt a soft pressure on his shoulder. He looked to the side to see you sleeping peacefully, your head having slipped from your palm and onto the soft fabric of his sweater. His face flushed a deep red, and he thanked Merlin you were sound asleep. He was caught in between embarrassment and slight panic as he instinctualy wanted to wake you but also ensure you actually got to sleep tonight.

He meant to wake you, he really had, but his mind and body betrayed him, and without even knowing when, his eyes fluttered closed and he drifted off into quite possibly the best sleep he'd had in weeks.

The flash of the magical camera was blinding, even through your closed eyelids. White spots danced in your vision as you groaned, shielding your face from the camera.

“MORNING, LOVEBIRDS!”

Remus jolted awake, remembering last night's events in an instant and banging his head on the bookshelf beside him in an attempt to put some distance between you two.

James was stood there, camera in hand and doubled over in laughter.

“Prongs, you better start running before I skin you and turn you into a pair of shoes,” you growled.

“How is it that I always catch you two sleeping together?” James chortled, completely ignoring your statement, “Can't be long till you get it on to the other sense of the phrase.”

And that's when you lunged at him. Too bad he didn't take your advice for a head start.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That twat,” you said fondly, a statement that about summed up your and James' friendship.

Harry found himself smiling as you recounted your memories with his father. It made him feel that much more grateful for what he shared with Ron and Hermione.

“Oh, Merlin,” you laughed as you saw the next picture. You, Remus, Sirius, Peter, Lily, and James were standing side by side, Slughorn smiling in the middle of all of you. “This was the first and last Slug Club party that we ever attended all together,” you said, “Like I mentioned, Lily and I had always gone, and—”

You caught yourself.

And Severus would pretend to be reluctant tagging along, you finished in your mind. After what happened he stopped attending the parties.

You cleared your throat.

“Ahem, well, we'd always gone together as friends but none of the boys ever went with us,” you said, “It was our last year, and Lily finally convinced James to tag along, because by then they were together and he was contractually obligated to do so. I talked Sirius into coming because Slughorn had been trying to get him to come for years, and I made Remus my plus one. So for the first time ever, we were all at the party.”

“So it was the last party of the year?” Harry asked.

“Um, well, no,” you laughed, “it was the last party we were invited to. Let's just say your godfather thought it would be funny to enchant the ice sculptures to chase Lucius Malfoy around the dance floor. I'll admit, watching that stupid blonde ninny run screaming from a rapidly melting octopus to the tune of a classical string quartet was pretty entertaining, though Slughorn obviously felt otherwise.”

Harry chuckled, clearly seeing the spark of mischief in Sirius' eyes, even through a photo. As Harry's gaze drifted across the page, he noticed an empty space near the corner of the book. A discolored square remained where a photo should have been, the caption reading 'Christmas, 1976.' As he saw the way you ran your fingers lightly across the page, he decided against asking you what used to be there. He instead turned his attention to the next photograph, which was one taken in an all too familiar setting.

“Hold on,” Harry said, pointing to the picture, “that's the Gryffindor common room!”

“Sure is,” you grinned, “that secret passage from the dungeons to Gryffindor tower went from being used purely for pranking purposes to a way for us to actually hang out together at night.”

You stared down at the photograph fondly. You all looked so much older than the first pictures. You and James were lounging on the couch, not bothering to hide the overly full glasses of firewhiskey in your hands. Sirius and Remus were sitting on pillows on the floor, caught in the middle of a fit of laughter before all four of you turned to the camera which flashed. A pang of hurt and anger hit you square in the chest as it did. Peter had been the one taking the photo.

“I remember this day,” you said, an expression Harry couldn't quite figure out on your face, “it was the night before graduation. Our last night at Hogwarts. . .”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   1978   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A giggle rose in your throat as you took yet another drink of firewhiskey with James and Sirius, something that Remus insisted you were going to regret come morning.

“Oh, don't be suck a stickler, Moony,” Sirius guffawed, “tonight's the night! This time tomorrow we'll be packing up camp and heading out into the great unknown.” He made an expansive gesture with his hand that was cut off promptly by James smacking him upside the head.

“I'll brew a pepperup potion tomorrow if anyone really needs it,” you assured Remus.

“Not really the point, (Y/n),” he rolled his eyes.

As you leaned back to look at the four of them, all grinning like idiots and laughing, you felt a strange sense of sadness come over you. This was your last night at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the place you had spent most of your life and where you had met the people you could no longer imagine that life without. As the reality of that fact sunk in, you grew quiet.

“Everything's going to be different after tomorrow, isn't it?” you said.

The boys looked surprised at your sudden and intense declaration, and James was the first to break the tension you'd created.

“Aww, Fangs is getting all sentimental,” he grinned, slinging an arm over your shoulder.

“I will toss you out this window, Prongs.”

He laughed, poking you in the cheek, his smile only widening as you huffed in annoyance.

“It won't be different,” he promised, more serious but with that smile ever present on his face, “we'll still be friends. We'll still be a pack. And besides, after we graduate we could go. . . well, anywhere together! Just think, the five greatest heroes Hogwarts has ever seen, going on top secret missions from Dumbledore, saving the world!”

“It'll be dangerous, James,” you said, “there's a war going on, remember?”

“What war could ever break us up, huh?” he said reassuringly. You felt your heart swell at the remark. “And besides, you're gonna have to see me next year for the wedding anyways! Lily wanted it sometime in Spring.”

“. . .”

“WEDDING?!” you, Sirius, Remus, and Peter screeched, practically in unison as if it had been planned and rehearsed. Chaos erupted in the room, and you couldn't care less if you woke everyone in Gryffindor tower.

“You sly git, when were you gonna tell us?!” Sirius whacked his friend over the head with the map.

“I just did!” James said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, “And ow, Merlin, Pads. . .”

“You hit me first!”

“I can't believe you just dropped that on us,” you said, “Lily actually agreed to this?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” James huffed.

“Hey, I'm just saying you tend to drift off into fantasy land when it comes to her,” you said, putting your hands up in mock surrender, “I was just making sure this was rooted in reality.”

Remus laughed at that, lifting the needle on his record gently.

“They have a point,” he chuckled.

“Yes, I actually proposed, and yes she actually agreed,” James said, a lovesick smile on his face, “I wanted to get married pretty soon after we graduated, and she had no problem with that. She said she'd want to start a family—”

“Oh GOD,” Sirius said, drunken horror on his face.

“An actual nightmare,” you joined in playfully, “imagine another one of you running around. Even Lily's DNA couldn't balance that out.”

“Alright, that's it,” James said, “you're not gonna be godparents anymore.”

“I'd be terrible at that anyways,” Sirius chortled.

“I disagree,” James said earnestly, and the comment struck Sirius completely off guard. He chocked up the welling tears in his eyes to the alcohol, taking another sip to mask it.

“You're going soft, Prongsy,” he grumbled.

“Look who's talking, tough guy,” James laughed, clapping his best friend on the shoulder.

“We should take a picture,” Peter suggested quietly, turning red when everyone stopped what they were doing to face him, “I-I mean, since (Y/n) was worried about things changing, and we're all graduating, a-and who knows when—”

“Good thinking Wormtail,” James beamed, pulling you closer and leaning down towards Sirius and Remus so you could all be in the frame.

Peter was looking down at his shoes, fidgeting with his wand.

“Peter, you don't wanna get in the picture?” you asked.

The large framed boy jumped at your voice, looking nervously between the people he had come to know as his friends. There was an oddly fearful look in his eyes that left as soon as it came— a look you wouldn't understand until years later.

“N-no, that's alright,” he said.

And that was one of the last peaceful days of your life you could recall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I haven't even thought about these in the longest time,” you said, staring at the faded photos, “it's crazy to look back on them. It feels both like yesterday and a hundred years ago.”

The next page immediately summoned a lump in your throat.

“This was their wedding,” you said, fighting to keep your voice level, “the year after we graduated.”

Harry looked down at the dozens of photos of the ceremony and party that took place after; James at the altar in his burgundy and gold embroidered suit, and Lily walking down the isle with a bouquet full of the flowers that shared her name. Remus raising a champagne flute to the large crowd of guests as he made a heartfelt speech. You and Sirius dancing under the floating lanterns made to mimic the Hogwarts ceiling.

“Your father never was one for subtlety,” you laughed lightly, “he wanted the ceremony to be as extravagant as possible. He pulled out all the stops. . . and then, the very next year, they announced that they were going to have you.”

You looked up at Harry, and the resemblance he shared with two of your closest late friends conjured feelings of happiness, love, and deep, cutting sadness all at the same time.

Your fingers moved to turn the page, wanting to move on to something else, but you froze as you saw the edge of the next one. So much for that plan.

“I think that's enough for now,” you said quickly, smoothing the page back down, “the others will be arriving soon for the meeting, you best get washed up.”

Harry was curious, of course, but he nodded, not wanting to press for anything else as he reluctantly headed back upstairs.

When you were left alone with the photo book you sighed, bringing yourself to turn the page to see a picture of you and Severus. You were beaming at the camera, proudly holding out your perfectly brewed Draught of Living Death, the photo having been taken by Slughorn to put up on his famous wall. One of your arms held the cauldron haphazardly, the other slung around Severus' shoulders. He certainly wasn't displaying your level of enthusiasm, but a small smile graced his expression, allowing his lips to fully curve upwards, which was as close to 'beaming' as he ever got. He looked so much younger— less burdened.

Right next to that photo was an older one from 1973. It was one you had taken from the top of the oak tree, with Severus and Lily looking up at you. You knew he'd be here soon, and you knew you should talk to him, but you found yourself stuck back in the cycle of doubting every opening spiel you came up with.

You groaned in frustration, snapping the book shut and resting your forehead on the table as stress flooded your being. You refused to live in this perpetual state of dwelling on what happened. You were ready to talk, you just had to take the first step.

Chapter 9 coming soon!

Taglist:  @sleep-i-ness, @blackpinkdolan, @parker-natasha, @ornella0910 @undertaker1827 @thatwierdo-koemi @nxstalgicnxbxdy @calaryssia @aleksanderwh0r3 @juggysgirlfriend @beautifulsweetschaos @kattirin @mialupin1 @crazy-obsessed-fangirl, @youcantbesirius @pan-pride-12​

[tennessoui]

You kind of already did 31 but pleaseeeeeeee

these ficlets keep getting longer ffs this is 2k

31. One is a sex worker, the other is a client AU

anakin's had his turn as a sex worker in my writing so it's Obi-Wan this time, paired with Vaderkin and i made it more dark than I thought would happen whoops but. warnings are: probably bordering extremely dubious consent even though no sex happens and this is just the lead up. a brief reference to underage sex work, though absolutely nothing comes of it. and vaderkin being a bit creepy.

There is a saying among the workers at the Establishment: if the imperial palace calls for you, you should hope the person that is displayed next to you is prettier.

Obi-Wan has never bought into prayers of any kind and this saying is only ever said with something akin to a worshipful dread. Still, when Ahsoka drapes a cloak of red around his shoulders and whispers those words to him—“May the others be your betters”—he thinks for a second about the nature of prayer and of hope and the futility of both in this galaxy.

“Don’t worry, little ‘Soka,” he smiles from under the cloak’s hood. “I’m sure it’s just a mistake.” He is, after all, one of the oldest workers here, makes most of his money these days tending bar and running the front desk, called in to serve mostly for virgin customers who want a gentler and more experienced hand to guide them in the art of pleasure. He doesn’t think any of the words could be used to describe the Emperor Vader, can’t see the imposing black-suited man interested in the art of pleasure.

Ahsoka can’t look him in the eye, but she hugs him tightly as he boards the shuttle that will take him to the Palace.

The ride there is quiet. Obi-Wan tries to avoid as many glances from the other people as he gives to them. Most of them are young, human. He seems to be the only male above 40. His chances are good.

Maybe he hadn’t been lying to Ahsoka. Maybe, truly, his name being included on the list had been a mistake

Something inside him hesitates though. He’d been out in the Upper levels a week ago, making his way home after one of his rare appointments with an old client turned friend. A child had fallen into the path of a small parade of speeders. A correctional officer had raised a whip. Obi-Wan had reacted on instinct, catching its lash with his forearm. The child had run off. Obi-Wan had stayed. He’d raised his head just enough, eons later, to see the durasteel outside of the largest speeder pass by his prone form, just enough to see the Imperial crest on its hull. Just for long enough to see a glint of a yellow eye from the window.

Bacta had treated his wounds, but his mind had not allowed him to rest easily, caught up in the memory of that eye--had he imagined the interest? Had he imagined it all?

And so to hear his name called tonight--the first calling since The Incident--had felt like the confirmation of all of his most unfounded fears.

Would tonight be the night he died? He had lived a long life. A rough one. Perhaps it is time.

Still, in the back of his head, a selfish, utterly human part of him whispered, may the others be your betters.

---

Those chosen do, often, come back. Sometimes they do not. Mostly they do. Obi-Wan has never truly decided which of these fates is the worse one. Those who survive don’t say anything for days on end, their eyes blank as they stare forward. Their bruises, if they are there, are easy to heal. But something is always wrong with their minds afterwards. And those who don’t come back...well. It’s hard to say what happens to them, where they go. Far away or down below.

Obi-Wan is forced to his knees in between a moderately aged female Togruta and a fairly young teenager. The boy is shaking. He can’t be more than sixteen.

They’re in the Entrance Hall. Obi-Wan has never been here before, but he supposes it makes sense. There will be one person who ventures further into the Palace. The rest will be dismissed out the doors that just shut. No need to bring the scum further in than they have to.

Distantly, like a funeral drum, Obi-Wan can hear the sound of feet falling, making their way closer. Just a single pair. He wants to look up, to watch the Emperor--because it has to be the Emperor--approach, but there’s a Guard behind him, holding his head down.

The footsteps are close now. There’s only ten of them--sometimes, Obi-Wan has heard that there can be as many as twenty or thirty--so the line is short. Vader paces quietly from the first to the last person, before stopping in the middle. Obi-Wan can just see the black of his boots if he flicks his eyes as far as they can go to the left. The boy next to him lets out a muffled sob. Obi-Wan wishes he could offer the kid some sort of comfort, some sort of reassurance that the Emperor will choose one of the other workers, a body more desirable than either of theirs, but there are no words to describe the guilty relief of a suffering passed onto someone else.

On some sort of invisible signal, the Guard behind Obi-Wan wrenches his head back by the hold he has on both the silken hood and his own hair. It’s far from comfortable, tilted so far back. The message is obvious. Submission is not optional. Respect will be shown through any means necessary.

Obi-Wan tries to keep the hulking form of Vader in his eyesight, even though to see ahead of him he has to close his eyes almost completely because of the angle. It’s impossible to see anything from the chest up, but he can still hear. Loud, mechanical breathing fills the halls. Vader stops at each person for no longer than five seconds before he continues down the line. Obi-Wan holds his breath, waiting for his turn. Does he turn his head as much as he can, to try and accentuate the gray at his temples? Does he lower his eyes?

He doesn’t, in the end, do either. Vader is wearing a mask, completely covering his face. He doesn’t even look human, except for the way he cocks his head slightly as he stares down at Obi-Wan. He feels flayed, just under the single look, but he can’t turn away either. He glowers up at him. Five seconds pass. Vader should be moving on by now. The fact that he hasn’t fills Obi-Wan with the sort of fear he’s only felt a handful of times in his life.

“This one,” Vader says through a voice modulator. Obi-Wan closes his eyes in defeat, thinks of Little Ahsoka back at the Establishment, thinks of what she’ll think if he doesn’t make it home.

But the boy next to him bursts into sobs and Obi-Wan opens his eyes to see that Vader’s hand isn’t pointing to him at all, but instead just to his right.

But Vader’s face is still pointed directly at Obi-Wan though, head still cocked. The question is as clear as if he actually spoke the words aloud. What will you do about this?

What will he do? What can he do? It’s the street from a week ago all over. A child is in danger. How can Obi-Wan ever live with himself if he doesn’t at least try to throw himself on the blade?

“No!” he says before he can think it through. The Guard behind him jerks his hair back roughly in punishment, but the monster in front of him runs two gloved fingers down his cheek, the pantomime of a lover’s caress. “Me instead. Choose me.”

“Quiet,” the Guard hisses to him, making him wince with the ferocity of the yank he gives his hair. Obi-Wan pants open-mouthed as he tries to think of an argument, of a single reason why the Emperor should not get what he wants, should settle for a washed up whore instead of a younger model. All he can think of is the moral justifications of it, and he’s not sure Vader would care for that line of reasoning.

“I’m asking,” he blurts out. The fingers pause from where they’ve been absent-mindedly touching his beard. “When has anyone ever asked?”

The Emperor takes a step back and seems to consider Obi-Wan, what he has to offer. He tries to preen, to throw his shoulders back and sit back on his heels to show off his body, but it’s hard when the Guard hasn’t let up on his hair. In fact the grip gets even tighter as the man behind him snorts a common insult.

A second later, the hand and the pressure disappear. Obi-Wan falls forward automatically at his sudden release. He scrambles away instinctively, even if that means closer to Vader. Vader who has his hand raised out in front of him clenching his gloved fist tight. Obi-Wan looks behind him at the guard who had held him. The man is scrabbling at his throat. Obi-Wan knows already it will be a futile effort. With Vader distracted by his execution, he turns to check on the boy. He’s looking down, refusing to make eye contact.

Probably for the better.

The Guard falls to the floor. The other nine Guards don’t move at all. Obi-Wan supposes there’s no room for loyalty in a galaxy like this.

“Come,” Vader says, running a hand through his hair. It’s a surprisingly gentle touch, seeing as that hand just took someone else’s life.

Slowly, Obi-Wan rises to his feet and follows behind him, through the twisting halls of the Imperial Palace. He thinks anyone could get lonely here if they have no one to keep them company. It’s so big. Obi-Wan shares his room with three other people, and he frets if one of them is still gone by the time he falls asleep.

This much space would drive anyone mad for another’s touch.

He blinks at himself, incredulous. Is he actually trying to feel compassion for the Emperor? Is it actually working?

The Emperor flings open a pair of elaborate doors without touching them, and suddenly Obi-Wan’s in the bedchambers of the most powerful man on the planet. And to think, he’s wearing mismatched and terribly darned socks.

He resolves to not ask Vader for permission to do anything with his own body for the entire night. He sits on the edge of the bed and watches as Vader takes off his cape and his gloves.

“Would you like to know my prices before or after?” He asks as cooly as possible.

“Your price is that it’s you here and not the boy.”

“Would you have wanted the boy?” Obi-Wan can’t hide the disgust in his tone.

“No,” the Emperor says succinctly. “But I did want to know what you would do. If you really were the same man as the one in the street.”

Obi-Wan’s breath catches in his throat. “Why would you want to know that?”

“There’s so little good left in the galaxy. It’s fascinating that so much is concentrated in you.” Vader reaches up to unlatch his mask. A cascade of golden curls falls out.

He huffs. The Emperor of the Galactic Empire thinks there’s not enough good in the galaxy. It’s at the very least ironic. “It’s a greedy galaxy, your Imperial Majesty--”

The Emperor turns around to face him, helmet still held in his hands. Obi-Wan is surprised to learn he’s just a man. An attractive man, certainly, young and almost pretty with a perfect arch to his lips and a roguish scar cutting through a thick eyebrow. If he had been one of Obi-Wan’s workers, he’d have taken him under his wing, tried to protect him from the clients who would have paid extra to rough up that face.

He was saying something. Obi-Wan had meant to say something else. Oh. Right. “Good cannot be bought.”

The man in front of him--was it really Vader?--smiles, but it doesn’t reach his yellow eyes. “No,” he purrs, discarding his helmet and stalking forward. “But you can.”

[soldrawss]

Sol i need headcanons for the brothers, please im begging you

BRUH I GOT YOU

I’m currently working on some little fics for them BUT I CAN GIVE YOU SOME DETAILS BECAUSE I’M DYING TO SHARE

(Warning, gets a little dark towards the middle, but overall fine. Sorry for the long read. I went for a DEEP dive on the Age Gap Au)

Ace was put into foster care 4 hours after his birth. His father died before he was born and his mother died during childbirth. Ace had nothing to his name but physical traits of the dead (Like his father's sharp eyes and his mother’s freckles) He grew up with a need to prove himself and to gain something that truly belonged to him all on his own.

Sabo was placed in foster care when he was 5 because of an altercation with his abusive and possesive parents, involving him having broken ribs and running away.

Ace and Sabo met in a halfway home for troubled youths when they were 6. (They both had issues with authority and past placements in foster homes, so they quickly bonded over that, and decided to stick together ever since)

Their bond was so strong that ‘honorary’ brothers didn’t really fit them. They were brothers. And they stuck together and stood up for one another like it was them against the world (which sometimes it was)

They would often run away from the halfway home they were at, trying to earn a living on their own on the streets, and often commit petty thefts in order to survive. 

These little runaway trips wouldn’t last long though, because they were always caught by Officer Garp, a police officer that happened to have a knack for catching little runaways.

However tough Garp acted though, he had an incredibly big soft spot for these two little brats that were only trying to make their lives better. These two kids, barely 8 years old, who had so much hatred for the world because of adults in their lives that failed them. Adults that hurt them, giving them scars and bruises on their hearts just as easily as the scars and bruises on the little frames. 

After a particular runaway incident, Ace breaks down and confesses about all the horrible placements he and Sabo had been in before. How social services always judge Ace’s sharp eyes and label in a problem child, how Sabo’s quick wit always get him in trouble with the adults, how they both have scars and bruises from past foster homes they were placed in, and that's why Ace and Sabo runaway. They’re tired of getting placed in bad homes. They’re tired of having adults try to separate them. Ace is all Sabo has and vice versa because that's the only person in the whole world who they trust to not hurt them. And Garp thinks that’s the last fucking straw.

Garp, much to Ace and Sabo’s but nobody else’s surprise, adopts both the boys, and takes them into his own home. Because dammit, if they’re just gonna runaway, they might as well stay with someone who will at least love them enough to always look for them and bring them back to a good home when they do.

And it’s weird at first, because Garp is the rough and loud and nosey officer that used to grab them by the scruffs of their shirts and drag them back to that awful halfway home kicking and screaming. But then it gets better. Because he still yells at them, but it’s with a tempered and fiercely protective love it when he does. He still grabs them, but it’s just to pull them into a rough bear hug that they fervently pretend they don’t like. And every dinner is spent with tears of laughter in their eyes and cheeks warm with delight at the stories he tells them. (They call him old man with affection and he’s their father figure even though they treat him like their grandpa.)

Sabo joins his school’s baseball team! Which is so freaking cool! He’s a really strong batter, can weild a bat like it’s an extension of his own arm, and Ace and Garp are always the loudest cheers on the bleachers every home run hit Sabo makes.

Garp makes Ace take up boxing, because the kid’s got a lot of pent-up rage and aggression, and he figures it’s a good constructive sort of therapy for the rowdy brat.

The two still get up to mischief every now and again, though. Nothing illegal, but Garp is still having to wrangle up his two little idiots before they do something stupid. (They get into a lot of fights with local gangs because they have smart mouths and are still a little reckless)

Garp has a biological son that Ace and Sabo never met due to Garp’s and Dragon’s strained relationship. Garp had always bad-mouthed him whenever his son was brought up, but it was always with words that had no heat behind them, and Sabo and Ace could tell there was a sadness behind his eyes whenever he looked at the picture of his son in his wallet.

The boys were 10 when they got the news of Dragon’s death a week after it happened. Garp had gotten the phone call when he and the boys were watching some late-night trash tv on the weekend, and he had all but strangled the phone in a grip that turned his knuckles white. He didn’t say what had killed his son, (he never did), but he had told the boys he needed to take care of something, told them to pack up some of their things, dropped them off at his friend Newgate’s house, and got the quickest flight out that night.

He came back 3 days later, and when he did, he had a tiny little baby with him.

Ace and Sabo were no strangers to babies. There was always some snot-nosed kid that would get dropped off at the halfway home (and then adopted that week, because everybody loved babies), and they were pretty sure this baby wasn’t gonna be any different. Because babies were loud and gross and never stopped crying, and Ace and Sabo were prepared for the absolute worse.

But then they stood over the baby’s crib to get a good look at him, and the baby looked back.

And smiled the biggest and happiest smile Ace and Sabo had ever seen.

And Garp had said “His name is Luffy,” and Ace and Sabo had been hooked around his little finger ever since. 

Luffy was barely 6 months old, and was a bundle of chubby cheeks and contagious giggles. With big brown chocolate colored eyes that melted all the sharp corners and edges of Ace’s and Sabo’s hearts.

Because Sabo and Ace were the same age, and neither one of them felt like the older or younger brother. They were equals in every way. But it was different with Luffy. Because Luffy was tiny, and soft and could barely wrap all 5 of his little fingers around one of theirs, and it hit Sabo and Ace like a bullet train because oh.

 Oh this is what it was like to be an older brother. This was what it was like to have a little brother. And Sabo and Ace have always looked out for each other, of course. But Luffy was something they had to protect fully and with their entire being. His smile, his laughter, his heart. All of it. Sabo and Ace knew all the horrible things in the world, knew all the hatred and fear and heartbreak the world could throw at you and it was like a silent promise to each other they never verbalized, that Luffy should and would never have to go through the things they went through. He would never feel unloved. He would never feel unwanted. He would never feel like he had to prove his worth or reason for existing. (He was worth more than any price anyone could give anyway)

Sabo and Ace stopped getting into trouble. They got good grades, excelled in their respective clubs, and didn’t give Garp any reason to chase them down in his old cop car and bring them home. (They were always at home anyway, giving Luffy piggyback rides and teaching him how to ride a bike and do one-handed handstands and cartwheels, and basking in the warmth that was Luffy’s endless love) And they lived in peace like that for 5 years.

Then the fire happened.

Garp was a good police officer and an even better Deputy Chief, and for almost 40 years, he served on the Foosha County Police Department. He had put away a lot of bad guys and saved a lot of people in the process and was an honored and highly respected man. However, this also made him a big target and earned him quite a few enemies. He was 3 weeks away from retirement and spending most of those weeks staying at home, playing with Luffy, and ingnoring the last of his paperwork left on his office desk.

When the fire broke out, Ace and Sabo had just turned the corner from the bus stop on their way home from school. They had seen the smoke, but didn’t know where it was coming from till they saw the towering blaze of fire that used to be their 2 story home and the group of neighbors surrounding the outside. 

They managed to push their way to the front, hands shaking and eyes wide and absolutely breathless, because that was their house! That was their house that was one fire and where was gramps?! Where was Luffy?!

The only thing Ace heard Sabo whisper among the roar of the fire and the loud murmur of people around them was “Do you hear that? That... crying?” Before Sabo surged forward.

Ace didn’t have time to reach out and stop him, and by the time he could, Sabo had already disappeared into the open front door, which was covered in flames. He had screamed out, tried to race in and follow his brother into the flames, but the neighbors around him were quicker than he was and pulled him back. 

Edward Newgate, one of their neighbors and close personal friend of Garp’s was in the crowd, and he was holding Ace to his chest with an arm like an iron bar, as he was on the phone with the local fire department. (Newgate was also the Foosha County fire chief, and was shouting at his lieutenants to “get your asses out here now!’) But Ace didn’t hear a word he was saying. All he could do was struggle to get out of the older man’s grip, reach out for his brother and best friend, and scream his lungs out.

What felt like hours went by, and Ace felt like his heart was shattering into a million piece, the glass shards falling around him, as he sobbed into Newgate's chest, thinking he had lost everything. His home. His family. His only purpose and reason for living.

And then some of the neighbors were shouting again, only this time in surprised alarm and Ace looked up with hazy eyes blurred by tears, to see something was coming out of the front door.

And it could only be Sabo. Ace knew it was him before he could even register it, and bolted out of Newgate's grips that had slacked at the surprise and towards his brother.

Ace met Sabo only a few feet from the door, Sabo collapsing into his arms, and Ace had to pull him the extra few feet away because the flames were still too much to bear even at that distance.

And Sabo’s skin was hot and red and covered in smoke and ash alike. There was a giant welting red burn against the side of Sabo’s face that looked like it would leave a scar forever, but Ace was having a hard time focusing on it because he was too bust focusing on the bundle of blankets that Sabo was desperately trying to push into Ace’s arms.

And Ace was already crying before, but he began crying even harder when he removed the fold of blankets to reveal a muffled Luffy, covered in ash but unharmed, crying his eyes out. 

Sabo had a coughing fit that rocked his whole body, and burns that looked like they'd hurt forever, but he was smiling when Ace broke into a sob, clutching both Sabo and Luffy into his chest.

The firefighters and paramedics came a few minutes later, and they had to physically pull Sabo and Luffy from Ace’s arms to check and treat them. Luffy only ended up with a few mild burns and cuts on his arms and legs and some burning of his throat from inhaling so much smoke, but Sabo had to be taken to the hospital immediately for his burns, especially for the one on his face. Ace pleaded to let them all ride in the same ambulence on the way to the hosipital, and held on to Sabo’s shirt sleeve with a grip that would take the end of the world and then some for him to let go.

Sabo had to get some surgery and treatment to save his left eye, but he was all in all ok, and Ace and Luffy were allowed to visit his hospital room for as long as they needed.

When Ace finally confronted Sabo on why he had ran into the house in the first place, it was on the first night of their hospital stay. Sabo had a giant white gauze wrapping half of his head, and he looked at Ace with tired blue eyes that looked a little fuzy, still a little drugged from all the medication he was on to ease the pain. 

And Ace felt bad about it, he really did, because Sabo didn’t derserve to be grilled on the matter. Not after he had sacrificed himself and saved Luffy. Their little brother. Their little brother who they wouldn’t even have anymore if it weren’t for Sabo. 

But Ace had to know. He was so mad and heartbroken and scared out of his mind when Sabo had rushed in without word or warning. Because they had lost Garp. They had almost lost Luffy. And Ace could have almost lost Sabo too.

But Luffy was tucked underneath Sabo’s arm on the hospital bed, and Sabo just smiled at Ace with a patience that only Ace and Luffy could pull out of him, and patted the other side for Ace to join them. Ace climbed onto the bed beside him, and even with the two 15-year-olds and one little 5 year old, the bed didn’t feel too small at all.

Sabo explained that he could hear crying from the door and he just moved. Knowing it was Luffy before his mind could really think about the implications behind that. He confessed how the flames hurt at first. Hurt so bad, and it was so hot, and everything, from the floor to the ceiling, was on fire and he could barely see anything through the smoke. But he could hear Luffy’s little rough and horse scream, coming from one of the back rooms that used to be Garp's office, and suddenly all Sabo could afford to think about was Luffy’s crying.

Sabo would tell a watered-down version of this story to the cops in the morning, because they were Garp's friend and companions, and they only really needed the broad details for their report anyway. 

He’ll tell a heroic version of this story, lacking any horrific graphics, to an older Luffy whenever the eternally curious kid wonders and asks about it.

But he only ever told the whole story right then on that night, one arm tight around his baby brother in a toothed and protective love, while the other one gripped his best friend's hands with shaking and bandaged fingers hard enough to leave bruising.

Garp was long dead when Sabo found him. The smell of his skin burning off is something that will haunt Sabo for the rest of his life. (Sometimes certain smells will set him off. Uncooked bacon is not allowed in the house anymore after one traumatic morning when Luffy is six. Campfires are viewed and enjoyed from a distance.)

He was lying on his stomach, clutching something to his chest. Sabo knew it was Luffy by the cries, bundled up in a few quilts and one of this office rugs, and Sabo knew he had to get them out of there before the smoke killed them off like it had a personal agenda against them.

The heat was unbearable, Sabo had confessed, but it was nothing compared to having to drag Luffy from underneath Garp’s grip. The old man was built like a brick house, sure, but even in death, his grip on Luffy, protecting Luffy, like he was daring the world to take anything away from him, was steadfast and almost unbbreakable. 

It was the hardest thing Sabo had ever had to make himself do.

He didn’t look at Garp’s face. His body was burned black and bloody and raw, and Sabo couldn’t live with himself if his memory of Garp’s face was replaced by anything other than with the one of his scruffy beard and the shit-eating grin that he always wore.

When he pulled Luffy out, he didn’t look back, and raced out of the house as fast as he could. Something along the way fell and smacked him in the face, knocking him down at one point, but Sabo couldn’t pay it much mind. He got back up, and continued towards the door. He could barely see, barely breathe, with all the smoke and the ash, and the pain from the fire was almost numbing against his skin, but he didn’t stop.

All he could think about was Luffy, still struggling and crying against the blankets wrapped tightly around him. Next thing he knew, he was outside, and looking up at Ace’s snot-covered face.

Ace had never seen Sabo cry for the almost 10 years he knew him. He didn’t cry when he was 7, and the Anderson family had called him a freak and had sent him back after a failed foster home placement. He didn’t cry when he was 9, and broke his arm falling out of the tree in their backyard that Garp had told him not to climb, so of course he had to climb it. And he didn’t even cry earlier that day, at 15, when he was off medication and feeling the full extent of his painful burns.

So when tears started pooling out of Sabo’s pale blue eyes, falling down his cheeks and staining the cotton white blanket he was under as he told his story, Ace pretended not to notice, wrapped an arm around Sabo’s shoulders, and held him like it was the only lifeline in the world. 

Garp’s funeral was held the following week. Closed casket. All the police departments in the county, and even some outside of it, showed up to give him a full send-off. Ace cried for both Sabo and himself. Sabo spoke a few words for the both of them. And Luffy stood between them, holding both their hands. They explained the night before that gramps was gone, but they don’t think the notion of death really got through to Luffy. He was crying, but only because Ace was crying, and when he asked ‘can gramps come out of the box to give me a hug before he goes away?’ everyone has to clench their teeth and hold their breaths to stop their hearts from breaking. Sabo kneeled down to wrap Luffy in a tight hug. Ace covered his face with his arm and cried harder

(They never bother asking Luffy about how the fire started, or what happened that day. Luffy doesn’t remember, and they don’t push it further. The truth isn’t as important as Luffy’s mentality is, but Garp’s old squad promises that they won’t rest until they get to the bottom of it. And as much as Ace and Sabo want justice and revenge, they have Luffy to think about, so they leave it up to the police)

Sabo and Ace are almost 16, and they suddenly have no parental figure, no home, no anything, and suddenly they’re faced with the horrible notion that even more can be taken from them when a blast from their past threatens to take Luffy away from them too.

They’re no stranger to the foster care system, so when social services show up at the motel they were renting with Garp’s savings, they feel their hearts drop to their stomach for fear of the very real possibility that Luffy will be placed in immediate foster care, and possibly, so would they. 

Ace and Sabo jump into action then, because no way, no fucking way, were they gonna lose Luffy. They had lost everything else. They almost did lose Luffy. They weren’t gonna risk that chance again.

Ace was only a few weeks older than Sabo. Sabo hadn’t paused a second to jump into the fire, risking life and limb, to protect what little they had. It was Ace’s turn to be the heroic older brother. And on the day he turned 16, Ace petitioned legal guardianship and parental rights for Sabo and Luffy.

And it was hard, because of course the courts felt sorry for him, the grandson of one of the best police chiefs in the county’s history, begging the courts to let him keep what little family he had left together. The courts wanted to give it to him, wanted to help him. But Luffy was a child. And Ace and Sabo were practically still kids themselves. Asking kids to raise themselves was something no one should ask them to do. 

But Ace and Sabo fought for it. Ace was 16, and Sabo would be 16 soon enough. They could get GED’s, no problem. They’d get jobs, get a little apartment near Luffy’s school, attend any parenting and child service meeting required of them. They’d buy all the necessities over again and they’d love Luffy where no other foster family could even compare. They’d do everything, everything and anything, to keep Luffy. To let them stay together.

With a couple of vouchers from Garp’s old police squad, including one from an overly enthusiastic Edward Newgate and one from the boy’s homeroom teacher, Makino, the courts ruled in Ace’s and Sabo’s favor, and Luffy was officially theirs until they proved that Luffy was better off somewhere else.

Ace and Sabo were never gonna let that happen.

They got a little 2 bedroom apartment a couple blocks from Luffy’s elementary. They quit school, and worked extra hard to earn their GED’s within the following months. (With the help of their old teachers and a few of their overly enthusiastic neighbors)

Ace got a job at the local fire department, as a rookie in training under Newgate.

Sabo got a job at the local news station, writing reports on top of his interning duties. 

Ace eventually got a motorcycle that same year, which scared Sabo half to death and delighted Luffy to no end. It was cheaper than a car, and easier to travel to and from work on, and no matter how hard Sabo tried, he couldn’t come up with a valid reason why Ace shouldn’t use it to their advantage. So Sabo made Ace promise to always wear a helmet when riding it, and that Luffy wasn’t allowed to ride it until he was much older. (Which Luffy pouted about to no end)

And it’s hard at times, both of them working overtime just to make enough to support themselves and keep them afloat, but it’s good, and it’s theirs.

Luffy makes a friend on his first day of first grade named Zoro Roronoa, another kid that lives just across the street from them, and when Ace and Sabo know they’re gonna be late in getting home, Luffy goes over there and hangs out until they can pick him up (Which is totally fine with Zoro’s father Koushirou, a kendo teacher and single father of 6-year-old Zoro and 9-year-old Kuina. Zoro has a bit of a personality problem and often has trouble making friends (because the child doesn’t see a need to) so when little bright-eyed and endlessly joyful Luffy pops into their life, Kushirou jumps at the chance to have him over as much as possible, because the two small children seem to bring out the best in each other, and are best friends attached at the hip) Sabo and Ace are eternally grateful to the kind man)

A few years go by, and Luffy is 8. Ace is still working at the fire station and is now legally allowed to join them on calls and emergencies. (Fire used to make Ace nervous, because he almost lost everything to it. Now he has a personal agenda with it, to make sure it doesn’t take anything from anyone else)

Sabo has moved up the ranks now, and when he turns 18, confronts Ace with a rare job opportunity he was offered.

“It’s a year-long internship for this really cool company that reports and delivers high-class diplomatic information around,” Sabo starts, rubbing the back of his head like he doesn’t know what to do with his hands. “I’d be working as like, a cool undercover spy with diplomatic immunity and a messenger bag. It’s not dangerous at all, and pays almost triple my paycheck now, which would really help us out. But it’s overseas, and I’d be gone for a whole year. You’d be raising Luffy all by yourself, birthdays and holidays and skinned knees, with just the two of you, so say the word, and I’ll totally turn this job down on the spot.”

And it’s scary to Ace. Because he hasn’t been alone since he was 6 years old, and he can’t possibly remember a time when Sabo hadn’t been by his side. His best friend and brother. It was always the two of them. Two little runaways that found a home, lost that home, and then built a new home all on their own despite it all. And neither of them had ever been away from Luffy for longer than a weekend, so Ace was sure it would kill Sabo to be away from them for so long.

But he also knew that Sabo was only playing this off like it wasn’t a big deal, when in fact it was the job opportunity of a lifetime for someone like Sabo, a kid who breathed adventure and freedom with every breath. And that when he talked about it, his eyes sparkled with a joy that Ace would hate himself forever for taking it away. 

Sabo was giving Ace the choice, and Ace knew that Sabo would go along with whatever Ace decided without a second thought or complaint. But Ace knew that Sabo would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't go, so he slugged Sabo in the arm, gave him his best shit-eating, confident grin, (the kind he used to give him right before they were about to steal some food as kids, or about to get into a fight when they were teens) and said, “You let me have a motorcycle. The least I can do is let you go road tripping abroad.”

Because Ace and Luffy would be fine. They’d miss Sabo like crazy, and Ace was pretty sure Sabo was like, 90% of his impulse control, but they’d survive. Sabo had the burn marks to prove how far he was willing to go for their family, and Ace had never thanked him for that. Ace was never gonna live that down, and was going to spend the rest of his life making it up to both Sabo AND Luffy, and prove just how good of an older brother he could be. This was the least he could do for them.

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine Sokka becoming jealous when he finds out you and Zuko have a history together

Your POV

Your father Piando was the best sword fighting teacher in all the four nations and people came from all over to seek his guidance. So you’d met many men who trained with your father but none of them were like Sokka, or more accurately Sokka wasn't like anyone else who passed through your father’s door. Mainly because he openly admitted he wasn’t perfect which none of the other men had ever dared to do. They’d openly boasted all their achievements hoping to impress your father whereas Sokka was brutally honest about himself and you respected that. Your father was intrigued too and so Sokka was allowed to train with him.

You were also very intrigued and observed Sokka’s training to see what this unique man would do. You watched amused as Sokka completed every single task with his own unique style and grew fonder of him with each passing day. You never interfered with your fathers training methods but you did help Sokka where you could and became friends.

When Sokka completed his training it was time for him to leave and you felt sad. It was nice to have someone so unique and refreshingly imperfect. You and your father both disliked the fire nation and your father always told you it would change eventually. Watching the avatar leave you couldn’t help but wonder if the time was now and realised how much you wanted to be a part of it. "Go" your father said suddenly and you paused "what?". "Join them" he smiled passing you a packed bag and your sword "i always knew you were destined for greatness and this is it....why do you think i pressed you to be so skilled with a sword? Go with Sokka and help him overthrow the firelord". You paused overwhelmed with emotion so you just hugged him "thank you". "You're welcome...just don't get any closer to Sokka okay?". You blushed but made no promises. You ran out of the house and caught Sokka as he was halfway down the road. "Sokka i..." you paused as Sokka and all his friends looked at you and you took a breath "i was wondering if you wanted any help defeating the firelord?". "You want to help us?" Aang asked and you nodded "i’m pretty good with a sword and i know a lot about the fire nation....i’d like to help, i want to fight". Sokka pretended to think before grinning "welcome to the team y/n!".

You worked with Sokka on his invasion plan for the fire nation and provided Aang with invaluable information on the firelord. You and Sokka grew closer and started dating pretty soon after you joined the group. You loved your time travelling with the gang and finally felt like things were changing for the better when a piece of your past came back to you.

You had just arrived at the western air temple and after finally getting Aang to talk to you were interrupted by the prince of the fire nation. Everyone rushed to attack him but you just stood there frozen between shock and awkwardness. Eventually you came forward to stand beside Sokka and listened as the others all debated letting Zuko join. Finally the group agreed to let Zuko join and only then did he fully look up from the ground at you all and he spotted you immediately. "Y/n?" Zuko asked and you smiled "hi Zuko". "Wait you two know each other?" Katara asked. "Yeah my father taught Zuko how to use his dual swords a couple of years ago". Zuko nodded "see her father is this amazing swordsman famous in the fire nation known for....". "Yeah i know, i’ve met him" Sokka replied "and he also trained me so you're not the only sword master here". Zuko nodded awkwardly and you changed the subject.

You showed Zuko around as nobody else wanted to and because you wanted to help make him feel welcome. You also wanted to apologise for not telling the gang you knew each other. You explained to Zuko how you didn’t vouch for him earlier because you thought it was Aang’s place not yours and he understood your reasons. You caught up over everything you’d missed in the fire nation and Zuko’s life while Sokka watched with a confused expression.

Sokka’s POV

"I can believe i had no idea they were friends" Sokka cried and Katara sighed "y/n never said they were friends she just said they knew each other, also how would you know? It never came up". "Yeah but y/n knew we were conspiring against the firelord and she never mentioned she knew his son....do you think that’s odd?”. Sokka’s eyes drifted back to where you were both sat together "and now they're sat laughing and joking around together". Katara sighed "i’m sure they're both just happy to be around people they know, Zuko probably just feels more comfortable around her because she’s from the fire nation too, she knows what it’s like". Sokka raised an eyebrow not convinced. The way you and Zuko acted was way too familiar for casual acquaintances. You seemed very at ease with each other and Sokka couldn’t help but feel you were hiding something about this from him.

Later

You were sat around the campfire drinking tea Zuko made with the group when you realised your boyfriend was missing. You searched all over for him before you finally found him. "There you are!" you called spotting Sokka stood at the edge of the woods "why are you all the way out here it’s freezing". "I don’t feel the cold" Sokka said and you snorted "you don’t feel the cold?" you asked imitating him mockingly and Sokka shook his head but smiled "i meant...i have more of a tolerance to it than you because i grew up surrounded by snow and ice" Sokka said nudging you playfully. You smiled at him and took his hand in yours "well that may be but i still think you shouldn’t be out here all alone, come back to the fire with me, Zuko was telling jokes it was crazy!". "No thanks" Sokka said abruptly dropping your hard and you paused "what?". "I don’t want to listen to Zuko be hilarious and watch him become even better than he already is". You paused "Sokka is everything okay....". "Why didn’t you tell me you knew him?". You paused "i...it didn’t come up plus i wasn’t sure it was relevant...I knew Zuko a while ago, it’s not like we’re close". "I thought the same thing but then i saw the two of you together and you seemed comfortable, familiar even and it made me think....has something ever happened between you two?". You paled and Sokka gasped "i knew it! You like him!". "What? Sokka of course i don't, i left to come with you right?". "So why...". "Okay so while he was being trained with my father we became friends and we might have maybe gone on a couple of dates...". "YOU WHAT!" Sokka cried and you jumped "Sokka it’s not that big a deal! It was like 4 times! Then he left for the capital and we never ever spoke again, you have to believe me". Sokka nodded his head as you stared at him fiercely "i do just wow i can’t believe you dated?". You shrugged "i don’t even know if you can call it that, it was just casual and fun, neither of us were expecting anything long term...it was literally just some fun". Sokka paused "is it...does Zuko still seem fun to you?". You shook your head "Sokka i’d never dated anyone before Zuko...that was half the appeal! The other half was he’s a prince, which when i was younger seemed amazing. I’m older now and not so easily enticed by titles or just any guy. It takes a lot more, someone as great as you" you smiled up at him "and trust me Zuko will never seem as good to me as you do”. Sokka smiled and looked at you "really?". "Really" you nodded and kissed him. Sokka was enjoying it before a thought popped into his head "wait when you two dated did you ever...have you kissed Zuko?". Your eyes widened again and Sokka gasped "you have! Y/n!". "It was only a few times!" you cried and Sokka gaped "of all the girls i fall for...her ex-boyfriend is the future firelord...". "He wasn’t my boyfriend and i...wait girl you've fallen for?". Sokka blushed "well i figured it was pretty obvious...wasn’t i?". "No but even if it was hearing you say it...i’m falling for you too Sokka and that’s why this whole Zuko thing is just...so what if i’ve dated and kissed Zuko? That’s so far in the past! I don’t feel anything for him anymore and even if i did there’s no way it’d ever compare with you...nothing and nobody could". "Not even a fancy nobel man?" Sokka asked smiling and you shook your head "nope". "Or a titled tribal leader?". "No" you grinned and Sokka smiled "what about the earth king?". "Isn’t he like 40?" you asked and Sokka’s smile dropped "ow so if he wasn’t then he'd be an option". You got worried Sokka was actually upset when his frown was replaced with a smile "i’m kidding" he grinned. "You're an ass" you said pushing him but Sokka caught your hands and pulled you to him swiftly. "Yeah i know that’s what you like so much about me...my winning personality". “That’s one of the reasons” you grinned and before Sokka could ask you to list all the reasons you tugged his hand “now can we go back to the fire? I don’t have your water tribe protection from the cold”. Sokka nodded wrapping an arm around you “let's go”. You and Sokka reached the fire and sat together, Sokka stayed close to you to try and share his body heat with you and you willingly leant into him savouring it.

“They look happy” Zuko commented to Katara who nodded smiling. She wasn’t technically speaking to Zuko but she loved you and Sokka as a couple and it melted away her anger. “They are” she smiled. “I’m glad y/n found someone, she deserves someone good”. Katara frowned as Zuko was obviously talking like he knew you well but she didn’t push it. She just smiled seeing her brother so obviously in love with someone who loved him back just as much.

[skellebonez]

Could you write 22 “Oh, you’re just grumpy” with Monkie King and a deage MK?

OOOOH coming back to this? Yeah, I am totally up for giving this another go! MK is having a not so great time, nothing warning worthy but I do HC him not being the healthiest kid. Mild spoilers for season 2 episodes 1 and 2.

Oh, you're just grumpy.

"Noooooooo!" MK shouted, stomping his foot on the ground in anger. "I'm not grumpy, I'm mad! You can't let them leave me behind! Take me back! I'm the Monkie Kid! I have to do this myself! I-"

"You are currently physically 4 years old with all the control over your powers of that age," Sun Wukong rebutted with a soft sigh, frowning and wincing at the high pitched angered scream in reaction he received at that. That was... not the best way to go about this... He needed a different tactic.

He knelt down to be at eye level with his now even younger protégé, holding out his hand. When MK stared at it he chanced putting it on his shoulder and continued when MK didn’t shrug it off or start yelling again. “Bud, MK, it’s ok. I know you’re frustrated. You have every right to be! But we just want to make sure you’re safe until we can get you back to normal.”

This was not the kind of trouble the Monkey King expected to happen immediately before... well, put a cork on that for now. But this wasn't the kind of trouble be expected to happen regardless of time frame. How in the world anyone managed to not only curse an object in this way but find a way to slip it on his student was anyone's guess. But the fact of the matter was that MK, the Monkie Kid himself, was now physically 4 years old. Mentally, he was still the same age he was before the curse, personality and memories still completely intact... for the most part, it became clear to them very quickly that being physically a kid again came with more than just a smaller body. It came with the mood swings and heightened emotions of “kid brain” as Mei called it, when MK immediately burst into tears at just the mention of being left behind so Mei and the others could go after the demon. And then he couldn’t figure out why he was crying, whether from frustration or worry or both or why he even started, which lead to more crying out of sheer confusion, which made everyone feel very bad.

They’d managed to calm him down long enough for the Monkey King get him on his cloud and bring him to Flower Fruit Mountain in case the demon attempted to go after him like this, but that was short lived once they actually made landfall.

"But I can do this!" MK continued, pouting and tears of frustration starting to peak at the corners of his eyes once again, albeit calmer frustration. "I-I beat the Spider Queen! I can handle one demon who had to slap a bracelet on me to make me a kid to beat me, even if I'm tiny! I can kick his butt!"

"I know you can, Bud," Wukong said evenly, offering him an understanding smile. "And normally I'd let you go in guns blazing and know you could handle everything no problem now! You've more than proven you can handle stuff even I couldn't. If you were just shrunk I wouldn’t dare think you couldn’t handle this." He reached out a hand, ruffling his hair far more gently that he normally would. But still rough, rough enough to let him know he wasn't going to just treat him like glass now. "But this is a bit different. Remember what I said when Macaque was having you use your full power?” MK scowled for a second before nodding. “Using your powers like this? Could hurt you. And I don’t want to see you get hurt like that. Heck, even I would have trouble controlling my powers and probably get hurt if I was turned into a little kid monkey man, and if this happened to me I would trust you if you told me to stay safe."

"... you would?" MK asked softly, and Wukong nodded. Maybe it was a... bit of a stretch of the truth. Sun Wukong would probably need some convincing too (Great Sage title leading to Great Misjudgement sometimes, the previously mentioned Spider Queen fight a key example), but that's just one more thing he and MK had in common.

"Course I would,” Wukong said, and given said convincing that was the truth. “I trust you, MK, and-AGH!" He may be the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, but nothing prepared him for the barreling rocket that was a 4 year old launching themselves at him to hug him with all the strength of... well, himself!

"I trust you too!" MK yelled right in his ear and oh if he thought his student had a loud yell before. But that only lasted for a second before he pulled back from the hug, body limp and head rested on his shoulder as the energy seemed to sap a bit from him as Wukong stood back up and he held him on his hip instead of setting him down when he saw the bright red rings around his eyes and how tired he seemed already... Tang had mentioned that he knew MK wasn’t exactly the healthiest as a child... "But... I feel bad not doing anything..."

"Then we can do something, that's an easy fix!" Wukong laughed, and his chest warmed as he was reminded of the few children he had helped take care of or play with while on the long journey centuries ago. He was a softie, really. "No training though, I am not going to body slam you when you come up to my knees."

This apparently was the magic joke to make, making MK devolve into a fit of giggles. A testament to how this cursed object affected him, he never would have giggled at that without it. Probably... MK had an odd sense of humor sometimes. But then again, so did he!

"Actually... I think I have just the thing for us to try."

~

All things considered, Wukong probably should have expected something like this. He did tell MK that he probably didn’t have much control over his powers. And that using his powers was a bad idea. And Tang did warn him he wasn’t a healthy child. The three together were a bad combo when his powers activated with MK’s unconscious reactions to certain things...

“How you feeling, Bud?” Wukong whispered softly, rubbing his back as he laid face down on his couch. He’d barely used his powers at all, just activated his true sight to find ingredients when they were cooking without even thinking about it, but that was enough to make the kid’s head feel like it was splitting open (in symptoms that sounded like a migraine, which... yeah, he felt really bad for him, and the jolt of worry and fear that shot through him surprised him less than he felt it should). “Still bad?”

There were a few of Wukong’s monkeys hanging out on the couch, one in particular was curled up next to MK’s head. Perhaps they were keeping him company while he wasn’t feeling well and nodded off in the process.

“I think I’m ok now,” MK answered, sitting back up and leaning into the Monkey King’s side (he seemed to seek out contact a lot more like this, letting Wukong carry him to the house, leaning on his shoulder when he showed him how to prepare the snacks they were making, now this... it made him wonder just how much physical affection he got as a kid). He looked leagues better than he had just 40 minutes ago, thankfully not nearly as exhausted as he had looked before he laid down. “Headache went away... I dunno, a while ago. But I didn’t wanna get up.”

“Completely understandable,” Wukong nodded in approval, glad that he’d gotten some form of rest. He needed it after everything he had been through. “You feel like getting up now, though? I made us some lunch... dinner... not desert food! Just like I promised.”

“Yeah!” MK exclaimed, immediately jumping off the couch and making his way to the kitchen like a rocket. “How about our snacks, how much longer do they have? Do you think we did ok? Do you think the others are gonna like em!?”

“They still have well over an hour of sitting in the fridge,” Wukong laughed, following him and watching him scramble to sit on one of the chairs at the table. “But I think we did a pretty good job of making annin tofu for the first time. They already look pretty darn delicious.” The almond jelly dish wasn’t as hard as he believed it would be, and using agar even he would be able to enjoy it... once he added some peaches on top, of course! “But that’s for later, for now what do you think of your meal?” MK looked up from his bowl, a spoonful of rice and vegetables already in his mouth. Wukong couldn’t help but laugh. “I think I’ll take that as a job well done.”

The two ate their respective lunches, rice and steamed vegetables for MK and rice and fruits for Wukong, talking about what dishes they could try making together in the future. Being a monkey Wukong had a very limited pallet for what he could (and would, given other circumstances) actually eat, so brainstorming workaround for that was a great way to pass the time before moving back to the couch. They played some, shockingly not Sun Wukong related, games that he had stashed away (and he was very offended by MK’s disbelief that he had media not related to himself in his house, totally offended). The game was one of those ones with a motion controller that you had to move around to play, and MK was having a blast with it.

The monkeys also seemed to be enjoying the show quite a lot.

Before the two knew it the sun had begun to set, MK’s grip on his controller starting to weaken as he sat down on the couch and attempted to keep his eyes open. Even with his rest earlier he was exhausted.

“Did anyone... tell you anything yet?” He asked softly, once again leaning into Wukong’s side with a yawn.

“Not yet,” Wukong admitted, looking at MK’s phone for the fourth time in he hour. “Not since they told me they found out where the demon went. But that probably means they’re focused on catching him! They’re gonna get the guy, I have a good feeling about it.”

“If you say so...” MK mumbled out, the controller slipping from his grasp as he closed his eyes.

“UH.. Bud? MK?” Wukong gently nudged his student, smiling softly when he realized that he’d just fallen asleep. “OK, that game clearly did it’s job a little too well.” He made to stand up, stopping short when something tugged on his clothing. MK had an iron grip on him, holding tight to his side and not looking like he was going to be letting go any time soon.

Well... Wukong didn’t have the heart to make him let go or chance waking him up to move him... so instead he took a hair and poofed up a blanket to lay over top of MK as he made himself comfortable on the side of the couch. It didn’t take long, and it took even less time for the monkeys around the house to curl up around and on top of the duo.

It was nice... Wukong didn’t want to admit it, but he was going to miss this. Not just when MK was changed back to his normal age, but when he had to... “go on vacation”.

He felt bad, lying to his student. His kid, now that he realized he couldn’t keep from admitting that to himself. But he trusted MK, genuinely trusted him in this regard, to keep everyone in the city safe while he was gone and he didn’t want the extra stress of knowing just what Wukong was really doing to weigh him down. He knew how much MK worried, seen how much anxiety he had after Macaque and the fight with the Spider Queen, how hard it would be to keep him from following him into places that were too dangerous for him to traverse without training they hadn’t completed yet.

He... really regretted not training him more in the beginning. Regretted it more than most things he had lately. Maybe if he had he could have explained things to him better. Known that if he did sneakily follow him he would at least be in much less danger.

He couldn’t let himself be too close after this. He’d have to go back to normal, aloof, jokey, “ah you’re fine cool beans good luck bud I believe in you!” Monkey King. For MK’s sake.

As he looked down at the sleeping child curled into his side he had to make himself believe it was for MK’s sake.

Why did that feel like it was a lie?