#in this case building a cat tree while we were sick

[breachsystem]

the texts my partner gets randomly:

So i may have picked a bad show to start watching while sick.... Im watching falcon and winter soldier and now buck is having a less than good time.. he built us the cat tree

[l-in-the-light]

Chapter 1128 comments

And the Strawhats in Uncanny Valley adventures continues! Some things I noticed from previous chapter turned out to be right, some still have no conlusion, and some I might have been wrong on haha (not losing hope yet!). Since the chapter is super fresh, everything is hidden under the cut below!

Strawhats finally made it to Hogwarts haha. What a cute color picture :D the chapter's title ("RPG") together with this double spread makes me think of Hogwarts Legacy ❤ I like how tiny Zoro is just sitting on the dragon's nose XD

Nami confirmed for us that those plants don't just look fake, they *are* fake. Also, gigantified? I dunno about you all, but I feel like this is exactly the opposite case here. We saw giants who are suddenly small and huge animals/pets... could it be that Strawhats have been minimized/shrunk?? Maybe to the size of the tontattas?? So they could fit the lego set.

No wind, no sea in sight... no wonder I found this place so eerie too, haha.

This is the Land of Gods. And all Gods happen to be animals. Needle God is a hedgehog, Ear God was a rabbit, The Great Iskar is apparently the cat. While I was hoping the sun god would be the cat/lion (apparently not the case, it's some sorcerer dude instead), I was right that every god of this land is actually an animal :D

I gotta say, lovely fantasy lego set. That bridge ❤ the castle ❤ and that lovely house with a tower ❤❤❤ I also like how plants have all different shapes and structures, they're not just copy-paste of one and same plastic tree! Wish I could build a set like this :3

This was a fun callback to Whole Cake Island :D

Welcome back to the mirror world, Luffy! Speaking of which, that chapter I took it from is called "Adventure in the Mysterious Forest". Feels really similar to the previous chapter's title "Adventure in the Mysterious Kingdom", doesn't it? They are more similar than one might think. Both times it took some time to figure out what's actually going on too.

Oooh, we literally broke through the 4th wall here, haha. This is a very neat room. Clearly someone really likes wood and sewing. Interesting that the bricks don't actually seem so small in comparison to the table. Definitely not lego-sized, more like duplo-sized. Or maybe even bigger?

The underside is still completely wrong though. It's either flat or completely hollow (but damaged bricks from chapter before were definitely not hollow inside). Which creates the question: how is it possible they stack on top of each other?!

Apparently plastic is now confirmed to exist in One Piece world. Oficially! Color me surprised :O I thought One Piece world wasn't that advanced and we definitely *never* saw plastic in this world before. But hey, it doesn't neccessarily mean that the current residents can actually *create* it. It might be remains from the Ancient Kingdom! After all we know that plastic can take up to 500 years (or even 1000 years, according to some sceptics) to break up and it never fully decomposes. This one though looks very well preserved, maybe it was stored in some safe place?

Still, if Sanji knows what plastic is, it means it's still being used, right? I still wonder if it means they can still produce it or not.

Someone who likes to watch animals and people trapped in the block world... a sick hobby... remember this bit of info, we will need it in a second.

Also, Usopp, please, there might be more possible explanations to this situation! Don't disappoint me like that!

Is it just me or is that door kinda unusual? Why the Z shape? And here comes our sun god. I guess whatever we expected, it wasn't THIS. What is that? Wendigo?? Or... Elias, is that you?!

This is Elias for all of you who never read this pretty fun series. He's a sorcerer. Curiously enough, his One Piece twin also has a sorcerer's staff. Is it a crossover? (yeah, no way, Oda doesn't do that XD but it's worth mentioning that the anime adaptation of The Ancient Magus Bride was done by the studio that is responsible for One Piece anime remake :D). But wait, before I jump too far away from One Piece, I need to show you all something. Because we MIGHT have seen that guy before once!

Here, at God Valley! He was an unnamed member of the God's Knights! Is it the very same guy? Is it his son/other family member? Or is there a whole cult of them? Does it mean we will finally learn more about God's Knights perhaps?! Also, since he's carrying a sorcerer's staff, does it mean we will finally learn more about magic in One Piece's world?!

Did he summon Strawhats' ship with magic and that's why they're now in this weird place? Did he shrunk Strawhats with his magic as well??

Also few other things to note here: 1. there are multiple, same looking doors in that corridor. I wonder what's behind others... even worse hobbies? 2. There's obviously a very human-looking face/eye behind that skull mask. 3. If it's indeed a God's Knight, that would explain Zoro's comment from before. "Someone's sick hobby". We saw another example of a sick hobby God Knights and World Nobles engaged themselves in: hunting for human "rabbits" at God Valley (and possibly many other, unfortunate places in the world). Speaking of which, I wonder if they still continue doing this kind of cruel entertainment games, even to this day? But of course it's never reported in the news so we would have no idea.

And now let's progress to my new favourite part, pointing out inconsistencies in Strawhats! Just like in my last commentary to previous chapter 1127 (leaving you with link in case anyone's interested), the Strawhats still show some odd behaviour (though it's not obvious at first glance). This time I won't focus on equipment going missing, but I do want to point out one thing:

I dunno how come people didn't notice it, but Luffy apparently does have his strawhat, it's not missing! Like yeah, in last chapter it wasn't there, but in this chapter there are a few shots when it's visible. And since we're speaking of Luffy...

Isn't this like the first time Luffy went into Gear 5 and didn't faint or get hungry or get "old" and exhausted after using it? He's completely fine this time around. Odd. This is definitely the first time it happened. Also poor cat.

"I'm still full from the rabbit"... This is not the Luffy I know xD

Nami charging people for skinship? Yeah, totally normal and to be expected... for everyone BESIDES Chopper. Allow me to refresh your memory below:

Nami had no problem bathing in front of Chopper, she even invited him indirectly to *join in*. In one of the SBS corners Oda wrote this as well:

"Chopper gets invited to bathe with the ladies a lot". Which means Nami would never charge Chopper any money for just a hug or even if Chopper saw her naked. The answer to "why" is simple really. It's because Chopper is a reindeer and doesn't have pervy thoughts about human females, that's why Nami and Robin feel safe being naked around him, hugging him etc.

So this is not exactly correct Nami's behaviour here. Now, let's look at Sanji:

Nothing seems out of order, right? Except the fact that Sanji doesn't sense women in trouble with his nose or his observation haki. It's actually thanks to this:

His sense of hearing. He hears people in distress even from far away. He hears "lady's tears falling". It's been always consistent. So Sanji is using wrong sense up there!

I feel like this scene exists only for Oda to remind viewers that Sanji should be afraid of bugs, so they can compare this moment with the one from the previous chapter, in which he claims they should eat the bees. Seems like Oda wants us to catch on to all those inconsistencies, huh.

The same here, Oda reminds us Usopp is usually very observant and sceptical, and he did not behave this way in previous chapter at all.

Also I totally agree, there's no way giants would have clothes ready at disposal in Strawhats sizes, haha. This almost counts as a 4th wall breaking comment ;)

And again, this is how Usopp usually acts: afraid, would rather take a safe route instead of risking a confrontation. Don't tell me Usopp became a brave warrior of the seas when I wasn't looking, come on. This here is the Usopp I know! Not the one from previous chapter who decided to test out if the illusion is real or not on himself!

Meanwhile, this throws me off. "I totally lost my cool"? Where's my Usopp's tall tale? Where is him trying to say he fought bravely, but the enemy did a dirty trick on him, and he lost in an unfair fight? Where's him blaming it all on Nami that he fell into a trap? Come on, Luffy asks him for a reason here, he believes in many lies of Usopp's, after all. He expects Usopp to brag, but what we get instead? An answer that sounds like truth instead. Since when is Usopp telling us truth?! That is blasphemy to his name!

Here, a comparison to Dressrosa. Usopp will always lie, no matter what. Unless he actually does some brave thing, then he will keep quiet about it and keep it to himself. But that's not the case with the cat. Also please note how Usopp blamed everything and everyone but *himself* when he leaves his friends in the dust. "Someone needs to survive to tell the tale", "This is all Franky's fault!", "I can't die over a little white lie!".

Yeah, whatever the deal is with that answer Luffy received, this is NOT the Usopp I know. Usopp telling the truth, tsk. I'm not accepting any of it!

Meanwhile we have Zoro and I still couldn't find anything wrong with him. Even though it amuses me to no end whenever he talks about "no idea which way the sea is". Zoro, Zoro, you never know where anything is anyway :D

All his comments seem accurate, including the scene with him itching for a fight, and he is very attentive, sensing any enemies/strangers nearby, as always.

I also couldn't find anything wrong with Chopper either. Nice that we found him finally! It's interesting he was the only one out of the diorama (a "temple" it is, apparently, huh) and apparently he had a collar on? None of the animals in the lego city wore any collars, so I guess that was only to prevent Chopper from running away. I wonder what the sorcerer wanted to do with him? Maybe turn him into one of the gods of the lego city? Since Chopper is an animal as well. What would his name then be? Perhaps the Antler God ;)?

I didn't mention it in the last chapter, but the "RPG" title is very fitting! It feels a bit like Strawhats are inside a game of some sort, with random enemies spawning. Ofc our pirates fit very well for the RPG heroes team in some fantasy realm :D even lego bricks and escape room mystery vibes fit the game idea!

Are those high heels btw? XD not judging him/her/they or anything lol.

Anyway, that's all for now. I still have no clue where we are exactly and I love the mystery :D the "temple" bit sure is so curious, but I won't pretend I have any clue about what's that about just yet. I'm still hoping for some trolls magic shanenigans though. Even if they're not trolls like I thought they are, the possibility of impostor Strawhats is still not dismissed ;)

I did enjoy their banters a lot in this chapter :D especially Luffy rushing to the "no one returned back from there" temple. Reminds me of that bridge in Dressrosa and "no one returned back to tell the tale" bit which scared everyone off besides Law and Robin haha.

Is the sorcerer somehow related to the "Green Fairy" alcohol? Maybe that's the origin of the "hallucinations" giants spoke about, a sorcerer kindapping chosen few who drank the alcohol, playing with them, and then returning some later when he gets bored, making it all seem like a prank? He does not look like the type who puts people back in the places they came from tho... if his comment of "I'm not letting you escape!" is anything to go by.

Can't wait for the next chapter!

[babypandawrites]

Allies, Pt. 5

The Blue Spirit

Pairing: Sokka x F Reader Warnings: Death Threats Word Count: 2,742 Summary: While the sickness alimenting Sokka wasn’t affecting you, you still end up with some problems to deal with. 

-Navigation- | -Allies Masterlist- | -Atla Masterlist- 

“Haha! Classic Appa.”  Y/n’s eyebrows furrowed together as her and Aang walked into the temple that the siblings had been in. Sokka being sick was enough of a worry, him having delusions added another level of it.  “How’s Sokka doing?” Aang asked, as the two of them walked closer.  Katara looked at them, worry clearly written into her features. “Not so good. Being out in that storm really did a number on him.” She paused, looking at Y/n. “You're sure you're feeling alright Y/n?”  When Sokka got sick, Katara and Aang assumed that she would as well since she’d also been out in the storm with him. Turns out living in the forest without proper shelter for several years really amped up her immune system so she was a lot luckier than her friend was. That didn’t stop Katara from expressing concern every time she saw her, though.  “Yes, I’m sure Katara. Save your worry for your brother.”  She nodded, looking over at her brother when he sniffed back his runny nose.  “We couldn’t find any ginger root for the tea, but, we did find a map.” Aang brought out a scroll, and spread it on the ground. “There’s a herbalist institute on the top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there.”  “Aang, he’s in no condition to travel. Sokka just needs more rest. I’m sure he’ll be better by tomorrow.” Katara started to cough after finishing her sentence.  “Oh no.” “Not you too!”  “Relax you two, it was just a little cough. I’m fin-” She cut herself off with more coughing.  Aang took a step back and behind Y/n. “That’s how Sokka started yesterday. Now look at him- he thinks he’s an earthbender!” The three looked over at Sokka, who was swinging at the air. “Take that, you rock.”  Y/n nodded in agreement with Aang. “Yeah. A few more hours and you’ll be just as bad as he is.” She sighed, holding her head in her hand. “I knew you should have let me take care of him.”  Grabbing his glider, Aang went to the edge of the temple. “I’m going to find some medicine. Y/n, can you watch them?” A large flash of lightning cracked in the distance. “Uh, maybe it’s safer to go on foot.”  Y/n, who was getting Katara laid down and comfy, looked at Aang. “Maybe I should go with you, just in case, if you need to get something for an antidote it’ll be faster with the two of us.”  Glancing between her and the sick siblings, he was hesitant to agree. But, Y/n was right, and they should be fine up here. It’s out of the way, the Fire Nation shouldn’t find them. “Hmm.. Alright. Appa, Momo, keep an eye on them.”  Appa grunted, as Y/n joined Aang at the edge of the temple. Sokka laughed. “You guys are killin’ me!”  Aang grabbed onto Y/n, and used his airbending to launch them into the air, before safely landing far down onto the hill. 

They’d ran basically the entire way to the herbalist institute, once they got there, they barged in completely out of breath. A cat meowed, and jumped out of their way. Y/n had leaned her hands against her knees, attempting to catch her breath, while Aang babbled off to the herbalist.  “Hello! I’m sorry to barge in like this, but we need some medicine for our friends. They have fevers and they’ve been coughing and-” The herbalist cut off his quick speaking, mixing something in a bowl that sat in front of her. “Settle down, young man. Your friends are going to be fine.” She walked over to another table, where the cat was sitting. “I’ve been up here for over fourty years you know, used to be others, but they all left years ago.” She started to pet the cat, who began to purr in response. “Now it’s just me and Miyuki.” “That’s nice.”  “Wounded Earth Kingdom troops still come by now and again, brave boys, and thanks to my remedies they always leave in better shape than they arrive.” “That’s nice. Are you almost done?”  “Hold on, I just need to ass one last ingredient.” The herbalist walked amongst the shrubbery, looking around and muttering to herself.  Aang was exasperated, Y/n was starting to get the feeling this lady might be nuts.  The herbalist was looking for the ingredient for a while, the two of them just decided to sit themselves while they waited. They both sat with their heads resting on the table.  “Here’s what I was looking for! Plum blossom!” Both of their heads shot up, Aang got up and tried to take the bowl from the woman, but she smacked his wrist making him drop it. “Hands off! What do you think you're doing?” Aang’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Taking the cure for our friends?”  Y/n got up, and moved to stand behind him as the herbalist laughed aloud.  “Ahaha! This isn’t a cure, it’s Miyuki’s dinner.” The woman sat the bowl down on the table in front of Miyuku, the cat began to eat it. “Plum blossom is her favorite.” Aang breathed out a sigh. “What about our friends?”  “Well, all they need is some frozen wood frogs. There’s plenty of them down in the valley swamp.” “Why couldn’t you have mentioned that sooner?!” “What are we supposed to do with frozen frogs?” They spoke at the same time, the herbalist decided to only pay mind to Aang’s question.  “Why, suck on them of course!” Both of their expressions twisted into shock. “What?!” “Suck on them!?”  “The frog’s skin excretes a substance that’ll cure your friends, but make sure you get plenty. Once those little critters thaw out, they’re useless!”  Silence lingered in the air for a moment. Aang broke it.  “You’re insane aren’t you?”  “Thaaat’s right.”  “Wonderful. Aang, let’s go.” Y/n grabbed onto his wrist, and dragged his out of the building so they could go get these frogs. Soon after they left though, a pair of arrows was shot at them. An arrow landed on each side of the two. They looked around, as a large number of arrows zipped through the air at them. Aang used his airbended to blow them away. He reached down and grabbed one of the arrows from the ground, and held it out.  “Uuh, I think you dropped this.”  Both of their eyes widened as several archers surrounded them in the trees above.  Y/n glanced over to her friend. “We should probably run.”  “Yeah.” 

Running didn’t do much for them, seeing as the two ended up getting caught by the archers. This was… just great. Their captors had brought them to a Fire Nation base and separated them into different rooms. Y/n had been shackled by her wrist, with two short chains that connected to the floor. She struggled against the restraints, as someone opened the door to where she was being kept.  “Well, well, well, look who it is. I almost didn’t believe it when I was told that not only the Avatar was retrieved but you were as well, Y/n.”  Looking up, she glared at the man, but didn’t say anything.  “I always thought you were a lot of things, a traitor wasn’t one of them. Though I guess coward and traitor go hand in hand.”  Zhao stepped closer to her. “I have to keep the Avatar alive, so he doesn’t reincarnate. But, there’s nothing stopping me from killing you. I’m sure you’d love to join that pathetic mother of yours.”  “Don’t talk about my mother like that.”  He laughed. “Or what? You’ll handstand me to death? Maybe throw in a somersault? I’m so scared.”  She gritted her teeth as Zhao turned on his heel, walking back to the door.  “I have some business to take care of, you’ll be dealt with later.” He slammed the door behind him.  The way he spoke made her think that she would be facing death. Or worse.  Probably worse. 

Y/n went to grab the chains that held her in place, but stopped at hearing a commotion outside. “Aang please let that be you…”  The blue masked figure who pushed open the door was definitely not Aang. Though, judging by the knocked out guards in the hallway, they might not be here to kill her. They didn’t say anything as they approached her, and sliced the chains that held her down with their dual swords.  Wait… dual swords?  There was no time to dwell on the thought, the person was already leaving the room. Pushing herself off the ground she followed them, swiftly taking one of the guards' swords on the way out. She followed the masked person through the halls, silently following their stealthy movements.  They approached a hallway with a few guards watching over it. The masked person looked back at her, and nodded their head to the guards, before sneaking to the other end of the hallway. So she needed to deal with these guys, alright. Bringing her bow would have been a big help right now. Though on second thought, it probably would have just gotten taken in her capture.  She carefully slid through the shadows to get closer to the guards. There were only three of them, so this shouldn’t be too hard. Adjusting her grip on the sword, she stepped next to one of the guards and grabbed them by the shoulder. Using the handle of the sword, she jabbed it into a pressure point on the neck, causing the guard to collapse immediately. She ducked under a wave of fire sent her way, taking the chance to crouch and knock a guard to the ground. When his back hit the ground she grabbed onto his head and slammed it into the ground.  Once she knocked out the third guard, the masked person came back, this time dragging Aang by his collar. He perked up, as the masked person released his shirt collar and led them through the building.  “I’m glad you're okay Y/n.” He kept his voice to a whisper.  “Yeah, I could say the same to you.”  The masked person turned to look at them, telling them to be quiet by putting a finger to their mouth. After a bit more sneaking, the person slid down into a large grate, it led to the sewer. Y/n and Aang glanced at each other, before the latter motioned to the grate as a silent way to say ‘ladies first’. She rolled her eyes playfully, tucking the sword she stole into the rope tied around her waist, before slipping through the grate, Aang soon followed. They slid along the wall, as Fire Nation soldiers walked above. The masked person peaked up through some of the grates, they turned to look at the two and motioned upwards before climbing out. They must have gotten to an area clear of soldiers. Y/n grabbed onto the grates and pulled herself up through them, helping a slightly struggling Aang once she was up. The three ran through the base, to a conveniently placed rope that hung from one of the guarding walls. It was probably used to get in. Aang started climbing, the masked person going next, then Y/n last. As they were climbing an alarm sounded through the base.  “There, on the wall!”  A soldier appeared at the top of the wall and cut the rope they were climbing, sending the three falling. Aang shouted, but used his airbending so the three of them had a soft landing. The masked person unsheathed their dual swords, Y/n did the same with the sword she stole, and the trio started running.  “The Avatar has escaped! Close all the gates immediately!”  Aang ran to the front of the trio. “Stay close to me!”  As they got close to the closing gate, a group of soldiers blocked it, but Aang sent a blast of air to blow them out of the way. While he got close to the gate, Y/n and the masked person got surrounded by a group of soldiers. The two engage in battle with the soldiers, fighting together effortlessly. Aang stepped in, and used his airbending again to blow the soldiers away. Using a large gust of air he boosted the masked person up to the top of the gate then did the same to Y/n.  She landed at the top with a roll, knocking down one of the guards by crashing into his legs. By the time she got up, Aang was flying towards them by spinning a makeshift staff above his head. He grabbed onto the masked person by the torso with his legs to fly off with them. Y/n grabbed onto their leg so she didn’t get left behind. While Aang struggled to keep them all afloat, the two used their swords to block the spears being thrown up at them. 

The trio barely made it to the next wall, crash landing at the top of the gate. Almost immediately they were engaged in battle. There were three guards, each of them took one on. Y/n was able to shove the guard she fought off the wall of the gate, while the masked person and Aang did as well.  It was a struggle to do so, but they ended up making it to the final gate. Though they were still stuck on the inside, and hadn’t managed to get out yet. A small group of firebenders sent a blast of flames their way, but Aang was quick to push the two behind him and airbend the flames away.  Zhao held his hand up at the soldiers. “Hold your fire! The Avatar must be captured alive.”  The masked person slid up behind Aang, and crossed his swords over his neck. Y/n looked at them with wide eyes, but didn’t do anything. This was a ticket out, Zhao couldn’t risk Aang being killed and this person knew that.  “Open the gate.” Zhao spoke through gritted teeth.  “Admiral, what are you doing?” “Let them out, now!”  The gate opened behind them, and the masked person started to back out with his swords still crossed at Aang’s neck. Y/n backed out with them, keeping her gaze fixated on the soldiers with narrowed eyes. Suddenly, an arrow zipped through the air, and hit the masked person's well… mask. Knocked out, they fell backwards. After recovering from a moment of shock, Aang airbended a large cloud of dust around them.  Curious, Aang reached down to remove the person’s mask, revealing Zuko. Both him and Y/n looked at the Prince with wide eyes, shocked. Aang started to back away, scared, before tripping and falling backwards. Y/n didn’t move, expression contorting to a mix of both shock and concern. What had happened to him…  Aang had started to run away, but halted his steps when he realized Y/n wasn’t following. “Y/n, we have to go!”  “We can’t leave him...” Mumbling, she hooked her arms under Zuko’s and started to drag him along the ground, in the direction Aang had started running. The other hesitated for a moment, before he came over to help her. 

They’d found safety in the nearby forest. After laying Zuko down on the ground, Aang took a seat on a nearby root.  “I’ll stay here until he wakes up, you should get back to Katara and Sokka and make sure they're alright. I’ll get the frozen frogs on my way back.”  Y/n’s gaze bounced between the two. “Are you sure, Aang? I can stay if that would make you feel better.”  He shook his head. “I’d feel better knowing all my friends are safe. Zuko is dangerous, I don’t want to risk you getting hurt or worse.”  “...Alright.”  She was hesitant, but left the two and made her way back to the temple Katara and Sokka were at. They seemed to be doing fine, or as fine as they could be while sick. Aang returned not too long after Y/n, and put a frozen frog in Katara and Sokka’s mouths.  “Suck on these. They’ll make you feel better.” Aang collapsed onto Appa’s tail with a sigh. Y/n looked at him with a concerned expression.  “Are you okay, Aang?”  He offered a silent nod.  “How was your trip? Did you make any new friends?” Sokka’s words were slightly muffled, from the frog in his mouth.  “No, I don’t think so.” Aang rolled over, facing away from the others.

[avionvadion]

Just a quick sketch. The thought popped in my brain when I was outlining and it was like- frick, that’d be cute. 

Story snippet below

I flinched at another sound of the sky roaring. Rain pounded hard against the walls of Ramshackle, almost threatening to break down what was left of this poor building. I always said it would give way during a strong enough storm; I just hoped this one wasn’t it. Oooh, please no. I yawned, eyeing the clock on the wall with distaste. 

It was way past midnight now. Even though I knew sleep wasn’t something I should want, what with the curse still existing within me, not being able to rest was awful. Even more so when every single clap of thunder left you anxious and constantly looking over your shoulder. 

I wasn’t even that scared of it. I think I was just more worried that lightning would strike a tree and send it crashing down onto the building, coincidentally right where this room was, and would kill me and my cat monster companion instantly. Grim didn’t seem to care at all- snoozing away on the broken down mattress. 

Unable to handle much more of this I stood up, needing to get rid of this negative energy. I carefully left the room and headed down the stairs, pacing around the lounge and rubbing my arms, telling myself it was fine. The storm started shortly after school hours and I was too nervous to change into my pajamas, just in case I had to pick up Grim and make a run for it to Heartslabyul for safety. 

Where did it even come from? I grumbled under my breath, shivering as I felt a cold draft enter. Frick- did one the boards come loose? The wind was blowing pretty hard out there; the rain itself sounded like hammers against the walls. I walked over and flinched as the thunder clapped again, before taking a deep shaky breath and trying to figure out what was wrong. 

That was when I saw it- or rather him- from the windows. It was the fireflies that gave him away, always shining so brightly in the darkness of the night. I honestly thought it only made him look more mysterious and charming. Frick. Okay- calm down. Focus. 

Wait. Why is he outside? Oh gods, more thunder is- 

I swear my heart almost stopped when I saw the amount of lightning that flashed across the sky. While beautiful, it was also daunting, and I found hurrying to open the front door. “A-Are you insane!?” I wheezed, shouting as loud as I could to be heard over the crazy downpour. 

Mr. Horns turned, chartreuse eyes seeming to glow brighter than usual. His clothes and hair were soaked, but he didn’t appear to care at all. I yelped and ducked my head down at another clap of thunder before waving at him. 

“Get in here! You’ll get struck!” 

The fireflies seemed to double in intensity and number, and after a moment that felt like an eternity the man finally started to move, walking at such an agonizingly slow pace I grew impatient and panicked, rushing out there barefoot- not caring if I got soaked so long as my friend was safe. 

“Faster! C’mon!” I grabbed his arm, tugging him along with me to the door. “Jeez! I-It’s freezing out!” 

I shivered, slamming the door shut with my back against it. Mr. Horns stood there silent, not saying a word as the storm continued to rage. Coughing and rubbing my arms once more to try and get warm, I looked at the taller fae incredulously. 

“You- just- oh my gosh, okay. Just- take you coat off there, alright? I’ll go get a towel.” 

And so I did. The ghosts were a little surprised to see me fully dressed at this time of night, but I waved them off and grabbed what I needed. Then I headed back downstairs, nearly stumbling over my own feet and falling down the stairs when I saw that the rain had soaked through Mr. Horn’s jacket, leaving his white uniform shirt partially see-through, the fabric sticking close to his muscular form. 

Holy shit. 

Nope. No. Calm down. Oh gods, he rolled his sleeves up. Breathe, girl. There was really something about rolled up sleeves that got to me, and my obvious affection and attraction towards Mr. Horns only made it worse. As much as I hated it sometimes, I was really grateful for how oblivious he could be. 

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, something that definitely wasn’t a cursed rose petal, I awkwardly continued down the stairs and headed over, standing in front of him with as stern an expression my flustered self could muster. I held the towel up with both hands, intent clear by the way I was doing so. 

“Lean down and I can dry your hair.” 

Kneeling would work better, actually. To my surprise, instead of offering one of his usual arrogant smirks and making a cheeky comment, the man followed my instructions without complaint or amusement. Overall he seemed... bothered by something? I frowned, worrying my bottom lip as I stood on my toes and wrapped the towel around the back of his head, carefully avoiding his horns. 

It wasn’t easy, but I think I figured out how to dry his hair. 

Now about this silence... 

Mr. Horns wasn’t one to talk about his problems, so I normally had to guess and go from there. Yet something seemed different this time- a quiet sort of rage that far surpassed his usual signs of anger. I had a feeling it went deeper than not being invited to something this time. 

So, not knowing what else to do, the idiot that I am began to scold him. “Are you trying to make yourself sick?” I questioned, staring at him intently as I tried to discern what was wrong. His eyes bore into mine, full of emotion that his facial features did not convey. “Don’t just stand out in the rain like that! It’s storming out! You could have gotten hit by lightning or something!” 

No response. I inhaled sharply when I felt his hands rest on my waist, very much not used to such intimate contact, body very nearly jolting at the sudden touch. I wiped some of the rain water off his face with the towel, ignoring the way my heart picked up pace, especially as the quietly bubbling anger in his eyes softened into something warmer and more gentle. 

“You... You had me worried, you know?” My voice shook a little, a bit of vulnerability making itself known as I forced myself to admit how concerned I was. “I know you’re some powerful immortal fae, but I’m pretty sure even you would get... hurt if you got zapped by lightning. So...” 

I blinked a couple times, patting gently at his horns with the towel to soak the water up. The way we had to stand for me to do this left his face more than a little close to mine, our noses almost touching. I could feel his warm breath brushing my skin. 

“Yeah.” Towel falling back around his neck, I loosed my hold and stood back on the palms of my feet. It was seriously cold in here, but my face was as warm as could be. Due to our height difference I easily caught sight of the way his collar was unbuttoned, leaving his neck and part of his chest exposed. I made my eyes flick up to his face quickly. “Don’t... do that. I-I quite like you living, you know.” 

Mr. Horns watched as I pulled out of his hold, my arms folding across my chest as I looked away stubbornly. I seriously hated the things this person made me feel. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him raise the towel up to his face, the majority of it still wrapped around his shoulders. The fae closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, shoulders starting to relax. 

Straightening to his full height, he lowered the towel from his face and focused his attention on me with a solemn smile. “My deepest apologies. I did not intend to cause you concern. Please, forgive me... my darling little human.” 

That-! 

My face became even warmer, eyes wide as can be at the affectionate term. It never failed to make my heart stutter or turn me red as a beet, and seeing my reaction the man chuckled, the sound low and beautiful in nature, though to others I knew it would appear quite sinister. 

I worried my bottom lip again, glancing awkwardly to the side and up at him- who still looked so breathtaking- before fiddling with my sleeves and mumbling, “You know you’re forgiven. You always are...” 

His smile only seemed to become more sad at that, despite the tenderness his gaze held. “Indeed, it seems to be so. I remember not a single time when you’ve held a grudge against me. I almost dread the day.” 

A part of me wanted to laugh at that, but I resisted. When I saw how sad he looked when he said that it was hard to joke. Mr. Horns was being serious. He really did dread the day I would harbor a grudge. And... seeing that I found my racing heart ache, nearly breaking at just how truly lonely he was. 

“Hey.” 

He hummed quietly, not protesting or moving as I stood in front of him and grabbed his hands. Brown met chartreuse and I smiled softly. I didn’t even notice how the storm outside had calmed down tremendously, rain more like tiny pebbles compared to before. 

“It’s okay.” Whatever was bothering him, that left him this upset- I was here. “I’m not scared of you and I’m never going to be. You’re my friend, remember?” 

I squeezed his hands gently, and ignored the thump in my chest when he squeezed back. 

“You’re Mr. Horns.” 

Ah- there it was. His eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn’t identify and he seemed to brighten. He had taken his gloves off earlier, so I could feel how cold his skin truly was, and even see his black-painted nails. His long fingers curled around mine, and my eyes went wide when he raised my hands up to his face- pressing my palms to his cheeks. 

“Yes...” He murmured, lashes fluttering as he closed his eyes. “To you, that is who I am. My darling little human... Eleanora Quince.” 

[no-whump-on-main]

Apartment 307-8 (Grabbed by the hair)

Hi guys!! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. School and work have been crazy but luckily I'm out of school next week so I'll have much more time and be posting more frequently! Apologies for the short chapter, I have no idea why but it just kicked my butt lol. I tried doing some cool multimedia stuff, I hope you enjoy! This is @sableflynn's BTHB request, grabbed by the hair.

TWs: Creepy, possessive whumper, mention of branding, also this chapter made me sad bc I love my mom and Elora's mom is sad so warning for that lmao

Elora was still lying there crying hours later. The tears had slowed from her initial keening sobs, but they still fell steadily down her face, accumulating in a small puddle on the tile by her head. She could see a bit of her reflection in the salty water; just her eyes, mostly. She saw green eyes that had once been so full of hope and life that were fading, the slow abandonment of hope almost making them gray out. She wanted to lie there forever, staring into her own eyes, until oblivion took her. If she cleared her head enough, she could pretend she was elsewhere, somewhere warm and loving; the blanket draped over her body did help with the fantasy, though she always knew somewhere in the back of her head that it was just that: a fantasy. She was still here. With him.

Clyde tried to give her time to recover, but his patience wore eventually. He began to get antsy after a few hours of watching her lie there, doing nothing but cry. Admittedly, he did enjoy it at first-seeing her so weak, so docile, because of him-but it eventually grew tiresome. Watching each tear drip down into the puddle became like watching paint dry.

He stood up abruptly. Elora was startled by the motion, flinching before stilling and watching him very carefully. What was he going to do?

“Get up,” he said simply.

Elora froze. She still felt sick, dizzy with pain and the lingering scent of her burning flesh in the bathroom. But why would he care about that? Why should she disobey him, when she knew what would happen?

Yet pride and pain got the better of her again.

“I can’t,” she whimpered. She felt weak. “I hurt. You hurt me.”

The piercing sound of a loud, sudden laugh began to echo through the bathroom. It reminded Elora of the laugh of a hyena. She winced.

“Darling, did you not think that was the point?”

Her expression hardened and her heart thumped in her chest. That was the point. She wanted to say something, but her mouth suddenly got dry.

The man simply grinned. “Get up,” he repeated, but she didn’t. She just laid there, dumbfounded.

He groaned angrily, rolling his eyes. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Be that way.”

He gathered up her hair in his hand, locked his fingers in a tight fist, and pulled up. Elora yelped and scrambled to get to her feet to relieve the pain, but he didn’t give her the chance; he carelessly dragged her off, out of the bathroom, through the hallway, and into the living room. She screamed and thrashed wildly, her hands desperately trying to push him away as her scalp burned like fire. Again and again, her feet scraped the ground to no avail, kicking and kicking but never able to gain enough traction to stand as she was mercilessly dragged. The man finally dropped her on the floor at the foot of a worn leather couch, releasing his death grip on her hair. Her hands immediately flew up to her head, applying gentle pressure to her scalp to try to ease the burning pain as she looked around the new room.

The living room was barren, like the man had half moved into it then given up. There was a dusty box in the corner, the couch, a worn coffee table, a small stand, and an old TV. Other than that, it was empty, in an eerie way. The aged carpet spanned the floor like an ocean.

The pressure didn’t do much and Elora dropped her hands, still wincing as the man plopped himself on the couch behind her, the leather making a loud crackling noise as he sat. She whipped her head around as her shoulders raised up to her ears instinctively. The man made a sour face, his features twisting into an ugly frown.

“Relax,” he commanded, forcefully pushing her shoulders down. At first, she tried to wiggle away, but that idea was abandoned when he tightened his grip, clearly as a warning. He grabbed the TV remote from the arm of the couch and turned it on. It started on some history channel documentary about cars, but Clyde quickly flipped through channels until he found the local news station.

A grin spread across his face as he read the blue banner spanning across the bottom of the screen. They were just in time.

UP NEXT: CAPE COD GIRL GOES MISSING; DESPERATE MOTHER PLEADS FOR HER RETURN

His hands wandered to Elora’s scalp and began to gently card through her hair. She inhaled sharply, and it took everything she had in her not to immediately shove him off. Somehow the gentleness felt worse than the pain; the false sense of care disgusted her. He was a maniac. He hurt her, he branded her, and now he was sitting on the couch petting her hair, pretending like none of it happened. It didn’t escape her attention how he set her on the floor instead of the couch, below him, like a dog.

The banner was bad enough, but she felt sick to her stomach when the station cut to a reporter sitting at a desk with a picture of her on half of the screen. It was the picture her mom took of her at the orchard last fall. It was candid; she remembered it. She was intently focused on a butterfly off on a tree, ignoring her mom as she snapped the photo. It was one of her favorite pictures of herself. And now, it was plastered all over the news.

The reporter on the TV began to speak. “Tonight, a desperate mother pleads for her missing daughter’s safe return. Elora Larkin, nineteen, of Barnstable county, Massachusetts has been missing since Friday night. She was last seen walking home from her job at Agathangelou’s bakery, wearing khakis, a black t-shirt, and black sneakers. The police have opened a tip line and are offering an unspecified reward for any information that leads to Miss Larkin.”

Elora felt a lurching sensation in her stomach, so visceral she wanted to throw up. That was her. On the news. Gone. Missing.

Behind her, the man chuckled.

“Look at that, baby. You’re all over New England.”

“I’m not your baby,” she snapped, turning around. But her head was spinning. All over New England? It wasn’t the Cape Cod news station on the TV. It wasn’t even a state news channel. It was entirely unfamiliar, the reporter’s face one she’d never seen.. So he’d taken her across state lines, making her chances of being found lower yet.

The man shushed her and put a finger up to her lips. “Watch.” She almost bit him, but decided it wasn’t worth the inevitable punishment that would follow. Besides, they might say something useful, something that could help her. She needed to pay attention.

The screen changed, and a missing persons poster popped up. Hers.

It was up for a minute before it faded away as the reporter came back on the screen.

“Such a sad story. Everyone in the studio is hoping and praying for her safe return. Unfortunately, vigilance is so important in this day and age. Up next, we have a recording of a press conference with the girl’s mother.

The girl’s mother. Her mother. Elora felt her heartbeat thumping in her chest.

And there she was. Jodie was standing at a podium in a building that had to be a police station. Demetrios was standing by her side, offering support by merely being present. While Elora hadn’t seen him cry even once in all the years she’d known him, he now looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Her mom started to speak. She looked so sad. Withered, like the life had been sucked out of her, from fear and overthinking and sleepless nights.

“My daughter-My daughter Elora has been missing since Friday night. She’s got-she’s got blonde hair, and green eyes, and she’s real tall. I’m sure pictures have gone around by now. She was walking home from work and-and then she disappeared. We were supposed to have dinner Sunday and she never came. It was supposed to be her weekend off. I- If someone has her, please, I’m begging you, let her go. Bring her home safe. She’s a good kid, she works hard, she rescues cats in her spare time...she doesn’t deserve this. And Elora, if you’re seeing this, I love you. I love you so much, honey. If you chose to leave, please just tell us you’re okay. It’s okay. You can go see the world, just tell us you’re okay. And if something-something bad happened, we’re gonna find you. I promise, baby, I love you and we’re gonna bring you home. Promise.”

At that point, she set the microphone down and began to cry, tears streaming down her face as she hurried off to an exit, the cameras following her for a few moments. Elora’s heart twisted in knots. Seeing her mom’s face brought her so much joy, yet knowing how worried she had to be made her feel sick with guilt.

But she promised. She promised she’d find her.

“That your mom?”

Elora stilled. He already knew the answer.

"She’s kinda pathetic. Could barely keep it together long enough to tell them about you.”

She went cold. “Stop,” she seethed. Her voice was eerily calm, given her anger.

"Or what?” he replied, twisting her hair up in his hand and giving it another tug.

Elora was silent. There was no or what. She knew that.

The reporter came back on the screen.

“Well, folks, that’s all we have on the case for tonight. Remember to be safe and vigilant. This has been Hannah Brown with News12.”

The man released her hair, picked up the remote, and turned off the T.V.

“Notice how they only talked about you, not me?”

Elora turned her head around. She was crying.

“What?”

He scoffed. “I said, notice how they only ran their mouths about you the whole time. Never said a word about me. You know what that means? They don’t know jack shit about me. They don’t know who you’re with or where you are. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but we’re in Connecticut. We crossed state lines twice. They’re never going to find you, you know that?

She tried to hide it, but he could see her expression falling with every word he said, hope beginning to seep out of her. She shook her head vigorously, her bottom lip trembling.

“N-no! No, they will, you’re just crazy! You’re just fucking crazy!”

A scowl formed on his lips. “No, they won’t.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but in a split second, his hand was gripping tightly around her throat, cutting off her air. Her eyes went wide.

“No one is coming to save you.”

Elora swallowed, fear bright in her eyes. She tried to rip herself away, but the man raked his fingers across the fresh brand on her collarbone, sending her to the ground, keeling in pain.

“We could’ve had a nice evening if you behaved. Listened,” he grumbled, standing and once again grabbing her hair tightly before dragging her off towards the bathroom.

Tags: @exploringspaceinpyjamas @all-whumped-out @badthingshappenbingo

[dweetwise]

Can you do a continuation of pyramid head x dummy tick reader with killers and surviors that are flirting or make sexual movements to the reader?

i apologize to all dummy thicc reader fans for taking so long! i got two requests, so i’ll do survivors for this one and more killers for the next <3 warnings for some nsfw suggestive language!

Survivor Thirst (survivors X dummy thicc reader)

Following Pyramid Head’s warnings (and in some cases, a very big sword through the gut), the killers, thankfully, seemed to leave you alone, sticking to chasing and killing you normally.

Even the Entity appeared to notice your annoyance, not calling you into trials quite as often as usual. That left you with more time to hang out with your friends and sneak out to Midwich to see your boyfriend, and you couldn’t help but think of how nice it was to get a break from the crazy shenanigans and embarrassment of the last couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t have been more wrong.

It all started relatively innocently when Steve, after a trial, excitedly bounded over to you.

“Hey y/n, feel my shirt!” he said, a neverending smile on his face. You tilted your head in confusion, before reaching to grab the hem of his sailor costume shirt. It felt like normal fabric, a kind of cheap polyester, and you failed to see what the big deal was. Did he wash it or something? “It’s boyfriend material,” Steve finally quipped, smile morphing into a smirk at his own punchline. You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved the teen away, hiding a small grin of your own.

The other survivors watched the exchange with varying levels of amusement. You thought they were just laughing at the horrible pick-up-line, but it would later become apparent that they took it as an invitation to try to get into your pants.

“Are you close with your father?” Ash asked you out of the blue when you were sitting by the fire, stoking the logs with a stick. The question took you a little off guard; normally, the man was all jokes and extravagant tales of his youth, and you never would have guessed he’d actually be interested in your past. Before you managed to answer, you saw a grin spreading over his lips. “Because you look like you need a daddy,” Ash leered, gaze glued to your generous cleavage from where you were leaned over the other side of the fire.

If you’d been able to reach him over the flames, you’re pretty sure you would have slapped him. As it stood, the disgusted scoff you made was sure to get the point across.

But then, there was Yui.

“So, uhh...” the biker started uncharacteristically meekly, approaching you in a semi-secluded spot in the corner of camp. “I saw you with the Pig the other day...”

Oh, fuck. If Yui had seen the killer glued to your back and sensually stroking your face, she must have gotten the wrong idea.

“Yui, shit, um,” you sputtered nervously, causing Yui to glance at you with hope shining in her eyes. “I don’t swing that way.”

At least you think you don’t. You’d always thought Yui was really pretty, but in a completely no homo way. Like right then, you could objectively see that she’s quite attractive, her crop top and short shorts showing off her muscular build—

Yui managed a quick apology and an awkward laugh, and you cleared your throat and squeaked out an “It’s fine”. Your eyes, as of their own accord, were glued to her ass when she walked away.

Okay, maybe a little homo.

If only Nea had been as sensible as Yui.

“Y/n, over here!” Nea called, waving you over when you walked back into camp after a stroll to Midwich. “Did I ever tell you about my cat?“

“No, not that I remember,” you said, sitting down next to her on one of the logs. “I know you like cats, though.”

“Mm-hm,” Nea agreed, her innocent smile morphing into something much more mischievous. “I sure do love a good pussy,” she practically purred, eyeing you up and down.

“You little brat—” you hissed, jumping back up on your feet while your face flushed red.

“So that’s a no?” the tagger had the audacity to wink at you, and you moodily walked over to the other side of camp to avoid the temptation of smacking her in the face with her own purple flashlight.

It couldn’t even have been a full day before you caught Dwight sneaking glances at you. He blushed furiously every time you noticed, and eventually you just let out a small sigh and made your way over, eager to get this over with.

“Something on your mind, Dwight?” you asked with a friendly smile, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and even sitting down a respectable distance away from him so he wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

After a minute of nervous sputtering and trying to ignore the question, Dwight finally managed to spill the beans. “Feng said you, um, wanted to... k-kiss me?” he squeaked. You sighed long and loud, causing Dwight to nearly have a nervous breakdown. You tried to reassure and reject him without too much of your annoyance shining through, all while thinking of creative ways to get back at Feng for another one of her dumb pranks.

A couple of days must have passed and, thankfully, no more embarrassing incidents occurred. You were just about starting to think the others had managed to get it out of their systems, as no more potential suitors were lining up to harass woo you.

And then you unsuspectingly leaned over a log to rummage through your stack of items to look for a med-kit, and...

“Nice arse, luv!” David hollered from the other side of the campsite. In an instant you were up on your feet, glaring daggers at the brawler who didn’t look the least bit sorry.

When David proceeded to throw in a wolf whistle for good measure, you hurled your med-kit across the camp, turning on your heel and stomping out into the woods. Judging by the dull ‘thunk’ of the item hitting wood and David’s roaring laughter, you’d missed your target—his head.

Eventually you came across Jake in the woods, sitting quietly by a cluster of trees and stocking some of his toolboxes.

You slumped down next to the saboteur with a huff, crossing your arms and trying to think of how to get revenge on David. Jake glanced over in acknowledgement, but didn’t say a word before getting back to his task.

You felt some of your anger dissipate in Jake’s calming presence, watching him work with methodical composure. Jake may have been be a little anti-social, but at least you could always count on him to never think with his dick—

“We should fuck,” Jake said and your mind screeched to a halt.

“I beg your pardon!?” you squawked, causing him to finally turn to look at you properly.

“I think you’re hot. Do you wanna fuck?” he said, the same infuriatingly calm expression on his face, acting like he didn’t just proposition you in the crudest way possible.

You furiously stomped back to the campfire, leaving Jake alone with his tools and an angry red handprint on his cheek.

Upon your return the others, thankfully, seemed to sense your mood and nobody dared to bring up the David incident, leaving you to sulk in a corner in peace.

And then, Ace got back from a trial.

You saw him swaggering over, an annoying cocky grin on his face. He opened his mouth and—

“DON’T,” you warned, lifting your finger to interrupt him while giving him your dirtiest glare. Ace raised his hands up in surrender while one of his eyebrows cocked up in question. “I’m sick of being perved on! You guys are the worst!” you complained, taking the opportunity to give David the stink eye from across camp.

“Actually, I was about to ask if you’d like to play a game of cards?” Ace inquired, genuine curiosity in his voice. “You’ve seemed on edge for a few days, looked like you could use a distraction.”

You blinked in confusion at the words. “Oh,” you weakly managed, a blush rising on your cheeks and feeling a little bit like an idiot. Seems like chivalry isn’t dead after all—

“So, strip poker?” Ace suggested, the sly grin back on his face.

“You FUCKING—” you yelled while Ace’s hearty laugh echoed across camp.

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

“So if you happen to come by any moris, nobody will really mind,” you finish your story, looking up at Pyramid Head with a sickly sweet fake smile that fails to betray just how much you’d like to get petty revenge.

There’s an echoing chuckle from within the pyramid, and then a couple of inquisitive grunts while he draws a hook shape in the air.

“Camping and tunneling?” you ask, feigning ignorance. “I think those are just legitimate strategies.”

[leggomylino]

Stray Kids Playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons

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A/n: M.List linked down below! | My very first reaction!!! :D I hope you all enjoy <3

Tag List: @distrikt9​ @hanniiesuckle17 @smolboiseavey (Let me know if you’d like to be added!)

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✧ Bang Chan ⇢ STAY Island ✧

Passport Title ⇢ Crisp Ringleader

Okay family

As our ENFJ king Chan would totally have a island that revolved around the others 

Sure he’d have his own space too

But he’d def be one to put up lots of fun camping space and interactive inventions

A cute little barbecue grill on the beach with a wooden table and log benches 🥺🥺 and a picnic area too

I feel like he’d also go out of his way to breed black roses but that may just be me 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

Black and white flowers everywhere, and maybe some red roses too?

He’d also be a generous donator and frequently visit the others to see if anyone needed help with anything

Just stopping by to check in and drop off some hardwood, or iron, maybe even gold 

...That’s a big maybe on the gold cause we all know that stuff ain’t common and if you want Marshal on your island you better have some handy

In addition to this, I think that the generosity would only go so far and he’d be quite the tease too

Running around left and right ratting the others out during pranks and “borrowing” things from the others

“where’d my recipe for gold armor go???”

🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ “idk bro I think I saw Minho running off with it?”

For villagers, he’d have a plethora of the animal kingdom on his island

Anyone is welcome

You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit 🥴

He’d def have mentions of Stay on his island too

And the guys, his squad

A Stay flag and Stray Kids written in the sand somewhere

Maybe vice versa

His character would likely be of similar resemblance but I can totally see him playing with the fun hair colors and face paint 

His wardrobe would consist of similar attire too: black, white, caps, hoodies, and chains 

Y’all AC fans know that one punk outfit with the chains across the bodice? He’d own that

His home is a toss up: on one hand it could be very chill and cozy, but on another I’m seeing workout gear in one corner and iron tables and a TV and radio going, maybe (definitely) a music studio setup (similar to Weber’s home but more hardcore LMAO)

All in all, I think Chan would be a chill/causal player that would be happy to help his friends and community while also playing hard ball once in a while just to mess with everyone 😂♥️

♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ 

✧ Lee Minho ⇢ Soodori Island ✧

Passport Title ⇢ Total Genius

Soodori is a combination of Minho’s cats

Your boy Minho couldn’t resist the ingenious idea

He’d pondered for the longest time which of his precious babies was going to be awarded the title of his island; an impossible decision

Then along comes our creative leader, “why don’t you just use all three?”

‼️‼️‼️

Genius!1!1!!1!1 😩✨

On Soodori, you bet all the villagers are cats; if you don’t have pointy ears and a swishing tail, Access Denied 🙅🏻‍♀️

This means you, Han 

Villagers included would consist of Raymond, who may or may not be an island celebrity

And let’s not forget Queen Ankha

But to Minho, all his cat citizens are equally loved and cherished as a valid part of the community

His whole aesthetic would be cats too

That includes a cat cafe

His flag would probably be a paw print 🐾 or his cat’s names, maybe a cute scribbling of their faces

And if you disrespected that, there’d be blood to pay

I can see his character closely resembling him as well, with a little paw print on his cheek? Maybe some whiskers? 

He’d thoroughly enjoy visiting the others islands “if he absolutely had to”

Swipe some goods

And bundle them up to go on the plane out ✈️

For the most part, I see him being more of a hermit on his island that only heads out On Demand

Even then, it’s kind of a toss up: good luck getting him to leave his children behind 

If you’re nice to him, he MIGHT let you come and view the splendor...m a y b e

But you better not touch or take anything 🗿🔥

Shoot, when it came to special visitors, like Redd or K.K., he’d probably try chasing them off

Put those tools to use

There’s more than one way to skin a cat

(Don’t tell him I said that tho 👀💧)

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✧ Seo Changbin ⇢ DARK Island ✧

Passport Title ⇢ Music-Loving Loner

Dark, dark, dark

We all done knew, didn’t we?

Changbin is the KING of darkness

So it goes without saying that his whole island would radiate the stuff, too

It may seem depressing and a little emo at first, but eventually the concept comes off being pretty cool

...In an angsty, Evanescence sort of way

He’d probably be very lost on how to play at first...at first

He’s got Felix and Chan to help him tho, so he’d be breeding black flowers before you know it

Maybe a little gray and navy blue tones to break up the solidarity somewhere

I’m seeing a kind of night sky aesthetic, maybe some astrology furniture???

Look out, Celeste

She’s gonna be running to Big Brother Blathers saying some scary short guy is following her around the woods

Poor Binnie just wants a Starry Sky wall...until he sees how bright it actually is

Then it’s 💯 a fat pass

Binnie would kindly welcome all sorts of villagers while being minorly selective

After all, we can’t break the darkness with some cheery-idol-wannabe villager, or some Judy the anime bear

I can say with utmost certainty at 95% that his whole wardrobe would be black caps and hoodies

Maybe a plain black tee

Some black pants

And 

White or black sneakers 🥴✨

I think he would be pretty intent on building up his island...in particular, collecting all the artifacts and critters for the museum 

He’d work hard but not go crazy or stress about it and still take lots of time to just chill in his deep dark vibes

Maybe get out once in a while to visit Felix and learn a thing or two

Overall, we see through your front, Bin; you may have a dark vibe but you’re really just a small big softie ☺️

♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ 

✧ Hwang Hyunjin ⇢ Kkami Island ✧

Passport Title ⇢ Soothing Season

Welcome to Kkami Island, which was almost named something else aesthetically cute like Honeycomb or Applepuff

However, like Minho, Hyun simply couldn’t resist a chance to use his precious baby’s name

On Kkami, life is pretty chill: EXCEPT WHEN ITS SERIOUS 🔥

That’s right folks

This boy may have some vibing days and go at his own pace

But don’t be fooled: he plays to win

Plant those money trees

Enter those QR codes

Carve out those pathways

Where is Blathers we have a donation 😤😤

Hyunjin would be a steady-paced worker bee 🐝 

He’d likely be selective of his villagers and go for cute ones

Possibly top to secondary tier

When it came to games and get togethers, you’d likely find him chasing another member with a net or an axe, in most cases Jisung

“qUiT LEaViNG TrASh oN mY iSLaNd!!1!1!1!” 💢

“DROP THAT DIY!1!1!1!!1”

Let’s see

His whole island aesthetic would be cute and peaceful:

Plants, terrariums, soft sunlight...

There’d be so many flowers!!! Hyunjin would have a whole colorful flower field 🥰🌸

White and wooden furniture in and around the home

An adorable tea and snack time plaza too! And a library!!! 📖✨

Very cozy and sweet ♥️

Though, shoot, if he had the energy, this guy may just build himself a palace... 🏰

Regardless, just look for the boy with the staple headband and likely some face paint to boot

♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ 

✧ Han Jisung ⇢ Swag HOT Island ✧

Passport Title ⇢ Trendy Supreme Being 

(Edit: Minho convinced Felix to hack his account and changed this to Untossable Trash)

Ohhh boy

I bet y’all were waiting patiently for this one

Or maybe you jumped right to it

Either way here we go:

Han Jisung would be the king of the trash heap

And by that I mean this guy would save up all his bells and buy himself a crown 👑 where he’d sit atop a throne of garbage

BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE TRASH EVERYWHERE SIS 😩😩

This guy would be yeeting furniture and garbage all over the place

...Okay maybe that was a bit overdramatic 

Maybe not EVERYWHERE...

......

...It’d be pretty messy tho

He’d probs have traps set up too

You step off the plane and get catapulted into the ocean, if that were a thing

You’d have to navigate and hop around discarded junk for sure

He’d have clothes here, a fan there, a...urinal...on the beach???

.........o k a y ._.💧

Han Jisung wouldn’t be all that competitive when it came to gathering every fruit or collecting all the fish

He doesn’t have the patience for that

He needs to run around and be free, letting his mind wander while wrecking havoc for everyone else; which is also Minnie’s job but we’ll get to that later

For villagers, he’d have at least one squirrel or two (Marshal?! :D) but I’m not so sure it’d really matter...all that much?

I’m not sure he’d even want many villagers at all

He’d be spending most of his time crashing other member’s islands and leaving little surprises like a useless DIY they already have or a fake painting he got roped into buying bc he was too lazy to check if it was genuine =_=

Everyone got sick of it pretty quickly but no one like Minho or Hyunjin; he’s permanently banned from those two locations and Jeongin’s considering adding him to the list next

Despite there being so much junk, his house would have an almost decent vibe: lots of instruments and fun gear, along with some random clothes, a lava lamp, and...another urinal 🗿💧

Seriously, someone get this boy a closet and some coaching in organization

Chan and Changbin are working on hiring Minnie but it’s not going too well; for one he charges too much

Maybe you can talk some sense into him...

♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ 

✧ Lee Felix ⇢ YEET Island ✧

Passport Title ⇢ Festive Chum

Okay y’all

Felix

Would be

THE KING

OF ANIMAL CROSSING

THIS BOY WOULD HAVE

ALL THE FRUITS!!! 🍎🍐🍊🍒🍑🥥

ALL THE FLOWERS!!!🌷🌹🌺🌸🌼🌻

I MEAN EVERY COLOR OF EVERY COMBINATION

A COMPLETED MUSEUM 🖼 🐜 🐠

I MEAN BEFORE ART WAS ADDED, HE HAD EVERYTHING RARING TO GO

NINTENDO WAS LIKE “wtf?!”

YEAH SIS, HE’S THAT GOOD

Boy would have a five star island all sorted into perfectly measured categories

An amusement park, a picnic area, a freaking ranch probably 🐮

Some awesome neighborhood for his tier one villagers with a YMCA down the street

A fancy one at that

I mean this boy would have it all

Expect a competitive softie that really just wants to have fun but like

He’s gonna win too lmao

He’s got his Nook Miles program all maxed out

When playing with the others, he comes up with really creative solutions when faced with a crisis

That’s because this smart cookie knows the ins and outs of the game

There was one time where he fenced Jisung in like the creepy Easter bunny and left him for ded oop

That was a bad day for Jisung and a hilarious day for everyone else

He felt bad about it but he also wanted that Subway gift card 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Each day is a new hair color for Felix

Sometimes every few days or a week

He sometimes likes to synchronize it with his current hair color but

Experimenting is also fun

Face paint too! 🌈 He chooses a warpaint print he found on Pinterest, for days when the gang gets together for a game of tag or bug catching contests

Even if he doesn’t win, Felix always makes it into the Top 3

And he has a lot of fun doing so! 😊

He’s just one heck of a gamer is all

And his whole aesthetic shines brighter than the sun T-T ☀️

♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ 

✧ Kim Seungmin ⇢ Seungmin’s Island ✧

Passport Title ⇢ Radiant Boy

Like Felix, Seungmin would be an ace at AC

He wouldn’t get everything right off the bat

But he’d put in a logical tried-and-true effort, and once he got the ropes and found his groove, my oh my

This boy would have it all

Sophistication ✨

Class ✨✨

Flair ✨✨✨

He’s got a plethora of fruit and stylish attire too

And his aesthetic is so simple but chic

He’s got this whole clean and polished vibe

Lots of artwork and creativity

He’s even got traps that look like fancy furniture

Those are mainly for Han Jisung tho

That oughta teach him to quit nosing around and taking his DIYs <_<

One time he tried stealing a few apples for Swag HOT Island

Didn’t go well sis...

He made it to just outside the pier before getting lost in the hedge maze by Cafe Seungmin

After that Seungmin closed him into a corner as punishment and wouldn’t let him out until he dropped the Apple

But Jisung was feeling pretty prideful that day so he ate it instead 🗿💧

Anyway

This guy would def make a character that looks just like him!

Would he try new hair colors and face paint? ...Maybe

It seems like a sorta-Seungmin thing to do

Seungmin would wanna be the best of the best while still staying true to himself, so you’ll likely see tier one and two villagers that he particularly fancies

Fancy you, fancy me 🥳✨💃🏻🎶

He’d also be one to go around admiring the chaos from the background while occasionally becoming the chaos

Kinda like the Cheshire Cat 😅

When challenging the others to an art contest (who could buy the most expensive artifact from Redd without using the internet) he switched some of the other members paintings while they were distracted by a meteor shower

“Look, a shooting star! And another one!”

“Make a wish.”

“How do I do that?!”

“Tilt your camera towards the sky and press A.”

“I’ve got my camera app open and it’s just taking photos???”

“Not you CAMERA camera—“

“Hey! Chan hyung, Minho just stole my star!!!”

“I didn’t see your NAME on it...”

“Don’t fight, you can each have half!”

“That’s not how it works at all...”

...Anyway

It was pretty comical until Changbin had to say something, about the art that is

Then Minnie had to bounce before the angry shovels and nets caught up to him

“Hey!!! Why is my painting on Minho’s side???”

“Why is everyone attacking me???”

“Oh, Hyunjin has my painting...”

“I do not! ...Oh hey I do? Why’d you put it over here?”

“I DIDN’T!”

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

...

🛫 🏃🏻‍♀️💨

Poor Minnie just wanted to have some fun amongst the confusion 😔

But

When it gets right down to it, you better believe this boy would be an aesthetic and skillful player ✨

♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ 

✧ Yang Jeongin ⇢ Go Away Island ✧

Passport Title ⇢ Mistakingly Caught Son

Go Away Island means just what the title intends: go away :)

Initially, Jeongin was prepared for what he senior members would do

He knew there would be much anticipation to visit the 막내’s island and drive him crazy

Sometimes, he doesn’t mind it

But others he just wants to be left alone and do his own thing

When he started the game, it was one of those days

So he wanted to make the message clear 😤😤

Also, Don’t Bother Me seemed to be too long 🤷🏻‍♀️

Go Away was straight to the point ;D

Anyhoo

On Go Away, you’ll encounter lots of cute characters 💓

Innie has a very cute and true-to-himself aesthetic

He doesn’t understand much of the mechanics but he’s working on it okay?

And he’s getting better every day!

Okay, so like, sometimes he’ll allow Chan to come over and help

Or Felix or maybe Seungmin if he promises to be genuine and behave

But like

The rest of the members are semi-banned

Hyunjin gets a pass if he whines enough

Or he’ll come up with a crafty excuse to come over

“Innie, look! I got peaches on my island! Don’t you want one? They’re cute like you! 😩❣️”

...He could do without that last embarrassing remark but okay sure

He really did want those peaches for his picnic garden 😔✊🏻

In terms of hair color? We’re on a rotation like Felix

We’re trying lots of hair colors

And a few aesthetic designs, too!

Jeongin is very resourceful when it comes to QR codes, something Felix and Seungmin taught him

He uses them to set flowers and stones pathways everywhere

And an especially prominent one leading to the door 👉🏻🚪 

♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ 

↬ Which island will you be visiting? 🌴✨

♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫ -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- ♪♫

ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ

[my-insanity-is-an-artform]

Eleven Years

Insanity Rambles: Yo. So. I wrote the thing.

It was during a sparring match when Sora finally snapped.

Later, he would argue with Ven that he hadn’t so much as snapped but rather had come to the end of his very long patience.

But that was later and Ven wasn’t at the match.

It was just Riku and Sora which he would later be grateful for if only for Riku’s sake.

They clashed together once, twice, three times before backing off. Circling each other, Riku smirked at Sora.

“Ready to give up?”

He grinned brightly, feeling like they were 14 and 15 again and sparring together next to the Paupu tree with no other worries but the building of the raft. “As if.”

Their match went on and on, their blades coming together over and over, and Sora couldn’t help the exhilaration spreading through his entire body.

This is what he craved. The simple pleasure of spending time with Riku as their muscles grew strained and their hearts sang as one.

Sora blocked a particularly harsh swipe and threw Riku back, springing away with a bright laugh at having finally blocked that particular move after getting his ass handed to him multiple times because of it. The two teens panted lightly, watching each other from opposite ends of the courtyard.

His best friend smiled at him with a soft pride, an expression so full of love that eleven years of silence and a promise of patience were flung out of the window, and Sora finally snapped.

“Are you ever gonna ask me on a date or are you just going to stand there and pine?” He asked exasperatedly.

Riku froze with his eyes wide and shocked panic crawling across his face. “What?”

Sora did not have time for that and he was sick of not talking about it. “A date? You know, that thing where two people who like each other in a romantic sense go do stuff together?”

Riku dropped Braveheart which vanished in a flicker of light. He stuttered a few times to which Sora graciously let him have even though he was slowly reaching the end of his patience. “Y… You know I-“

“Am madly in love with me? Yes, I know. I’ve known that since I was 13.” Sora let the Kingdom Key vanish and crossed his arms. “I also know you only just figured it out a month ago at my welcome back party.”

Riku made a sound like a dying cat.

Sora sighed and walked towards his friend who was getting redder and redder. “I mean really? You’ve always barrelled on ahead, but the moment feelings are involved, you back off. At least I had the excuse of waiting for you to catch up for once.” Sora started gesturing as he got more worked up.

Riku made another sound like a larger, louder dying cat. “You-“

“Have been in love with you since I was 5 years old and you gave me my necklace during the meteor shower? Yes, thank you for noticing Riku. It’s not like I haven’t been completely obvious about it for the past couple of months if not years. Even your replica asked if we were dating yet last week.”

He stared at the brunette who squinted at him and jabbed him in the chest.

“I swear if you pass out, I will not be happy. I’ve waited eleven years for you Riku. Eleven years.”

Sora was pretty sure Riku was only still conscious out of pure shock.

By this point, Sora was firmly in Riku’s personal space and looking up at him with determined bright eyes.

“So I’m asking again Riku. Are you going to ask me out or do you need more time?”

Riku somehow blushed even further and Sora would later swear his eyes flashed pink. “Um, did you… er wanna… go… with me?”

Sora beamed and reached up to peck him on the cheek, close to his lips. Riku exhaled so quickly, he was afraid he might pass out, but Riku stayed on his feet.

“I’d love too. See you later.”

Riku just stared, his fingers reaching up to lightly touch the spot Sora kissed. Preening, Sora swaggered back into the Tower for a drink.

Today was the best day ever.

 Bonus: (It was about half an hour later that Ventus came into the kitchen. Sora finished the last of his lemonade, unable to keep the grin off his face, while Vanitas, who was sitting opposite Sora and looking bored, snacked on pilfered biscuits.

“Hey Ven!”

“Hey Sora. Do you know why we found Riku just staring into space in the courtyard? We tried to ask him what happened, but he just buried his face in his hands and screamed.” Ventus said worriedly. “Terra’s still out there with him and Aqua went to get Mickey in case he was hurt.”

Sora just beamed. “Oh, I asked if he was gonna ask me on a date or just keep pining after me despite the fact I’ve been in love with him for over a decade now. He asked me out and then I kissed him.”

Ventus and Vanitas stared for a moment before a look of utter delight crossed Vanitas’ face and he burst in hysterical laughter, burying his face in his arms and thumping on the table.

“Sora, please don’t break Riku any further than you already have. We kinda need him.”

He poured himself some more lemonade and took a long sip, staring at Ventus who looked utterly done. He placed the drink down carefully.

“But he’s cute when I break his brain.”

Vanitas, the ass, just laughed harder and fell out of his chair.)

[holylulusworld]

The End

Summary: To get hold of Brock Rumlow, his nemesis Steve Rogers is not holding back. He will cross lines if he has to, even if this means to use Brock’s sister to take him down.

Pairing: Cop!Steve Rogers x Rumlow!Reader

Characters: Bucky Barnes

Warnings: angst, mentions of injuries, pregnant reader, language, scared reader, comforting, fluff

A/N: Just a short epilogue to end this series.

Love Undercover Masterlist

This is the end. The thought won’t let you go watching the doctor and nurse talk to Director Fury. Your throat tightens and you fear you will blank out any minute.

“He’s going to be alright, doll. Breathe, Y/N. Steve is too stubborn to die that easily. You’ve got no clue how strong your boyfriend is.”

Bucky runs one hand gently up and down your back while you try to get a glimpse of Steve when the door to his room opens.

“I…I need to see him, please.” Tearing up you look at the doctor who ignores you for the longest time. “I said, I need to see my man!” Your voice rises and the doctor's head snaps toward you.

“Doc, you better let that girl into Steve’s room. She’s his wife.” Bucky insists and you squeeze his flesh hand to thank him. “I am his brother and we want to see him. Right. Now.”

“Sir, we need to ask you to calm. Detective Rogers is in no life-threatening status. You can see him after my colleague checked his wound.” Your hands shake hearing the word ‘wound’.

“I am a doctor too. Please tell me what’s wrong with my husband.” Sniffling you feel like your legs are about to give in. “I want to know how he is!”

“Mrs. Rogers, I have to ask you to take a deep breath. You shouldn’t stress yourself in your condition.”  The doctor tries to reason with you but your stoic face and the angry look in your eyes tell him to fall silent.

“Only as I am pregnant doesn’t mean you can hide my husband’s condition from me. I want to see him. Right. Fucking. Now.” Even Fury flinches at your outburst when the nurse next to the doctor chuckles lightly.

“You heard my sister-in-law. We want to see my brother.” Bucky balls his metal hand into a fist right when the door to the room opens. 

Steve slowly walks out of the room, his bullet-proof vest in his hands he watches you and Bucky fight with the doctor.

“Doll? What are you doing here?” Steve mumbles when you run to his side to check on him. “Baby Girl?” Gasping you tug at his shirt to see three bullet holes.

“How bad is it, Stevie?” Sniffling you look up at your husband. “Are you in pain?” 

“Oh-Y/N. I got hit but three bullets, but my vest saved me, doll. I got one bruised rib and a few bruises at my back, nothing serious.” Steve gently places one hand onto your baby bump, a soft smile on his lips.

“How’d this happen? You promised you are a desk jockey now, Steve. You said that you will not risk your life anymore. Still, here we are in the middle of a hospital and you have three bullet holes in your shirt.” Lips quivering you look up at Steve.

“Doll, I promised I am a desk jockey. This was…revenge.” Steve sighs while he gently runs his hands up and down your arms. 

“A guy from my past, my time at the army believed he needs to blame me for losing his position at the team. He got arrested back then after me, Bucky and two others gave a statement.” Bucky grunts remembering Danny Leighton and his doings.

“What did he do?” Gently rubbing your belly Steve sighs. He thought, or rather hoped this part of his life lies in the past but as people say, ‘your past always catches up with you’. “Stevie?”

“We were on a mission around ten years ago. All of us were young, carefree, and got thrown into a war which wasn’t ours. 

One day we were at home, drinking beer and making fun – the next week we stood in the middle of a battlefield and were covered in blood.” Your husband’s voice cracks, and you know, he tries to shelter you.

“It’s alright, Steve. Just tell me what happened, I can take it.” His lips press a soft kiss to your temple, and you relax when he wraps his strong arms around you. “Stevie…”

“He did something a good man; a member of the U.S. Army should’ve never done. Let’s say he involved civilians in the war we were fighting. He was…”

“A bastard, Y/N. Sorry, punk but that’s the ugly truth. That man went into a village and killed innocent people, accusing them to be soldiers. Truth is – he killed three old men and two kids. There were a young woman and he…”

“Don’t Buck. She doesn’t need to hear all of it.” Bucky nods, giving his friend a sad smile. “I still blame myself for not being faster and stopping him before he had the chance to hurt people.”

“Steve, Danny was one sick lunatic. What he did was inhuman. You know it, the Colonel knew it and the judge knew it. I got no clue why they let him go.” Pacing around the hallways Bucky curses.

“It did not happen on U.S. ground. My word and yours stood against his. A smeary lawyer took over his case. Files disappeared. The girl's statement too and, in the end, – they let him go.” Steve runs his hands gently up and down your back when you rest your head against his chest.

“How’d he hit you? I mean, no one ever managed to sneak on you.” Bucky grins when Steve gives him a dirty look. “You’re getting old man, just saying.”

“He shot me when I walked out of the building. Good thing I showed the recruits how to use their bulletproof vest or …” 

Steve stops talking when you look up at him with fear in your eyes. “He’s dead and gone. That man will not hurt anyone ever again. I promise I’ll only train our recruits and do paperwork, doll.”

Sniffling you nod before you wrap your arms tightly around Steve. He smiles when he feels your seven months baby bump press against this abs. “Did your bump grow again?”

“Hey!” Head snapping upward you glare at Steve who has a smug grin on his lips. “I am pregnant with not one but two babies! I can’t help it when I get hungry all the time.”

“Detective, how about you bring your girl home and cook something nice for her?” Bucky snickers hearing your stomach growl. “She seems to be hungry again, punk. That’s your punishment for knocking her up with twins.”

“That’s no punishment, Buck.” Smiling Steve cradles your face to press soft kisses to your lips. “I’ll bring my girl home now.”

“How do you feel Steve?” Checking on his ribs you frown. “Does it still hurt? Can you breathe? Do you need pain meds?”

Steve smiles when you hover over him like a mother hen. He already imagines you barefoot running after his kids while he brings the wood to the fireplace. 

“Stop watching me, Rogers. I try to fix the mess you made.” Sighing you carefully straddle his lap to stroke his chest. “I was scared, Stevie. Never do such a thing again.”

“I promise, this was the first and last time you have to worry about me. Now let me check on you, wife.” Snickering you raise your shirt to show Steve your swollen belly. “So beautiful.”

“Don’t give me those eyes, Rogers! Two are the limit.” Steve rubs his hands over your belly, and you sigh seeing the look he gives you. “Steve.”

“How about I tell you about my dream…” Your eyes round when Steve starts talking.

“I see you chasing after our kids, barefoot as you forgot your shoes. I bring in firewood and we sit around the large Christmas tree I found for our family. Four kids sit with us and another is in your belly.”

“Steve…” Sniffling you press your lips to his. Steve just revealed his secret dream. Having a large family with you. “You have a breeding kink, baby.” 

“I just want kids with you, a family. Kitty can have more kids too.” Now you laugh as he looks at Kitty lie in front of the fireplace, surrounded by three other cats.

“Kitty will not want more kids. She’s getting old, Baby.” Humming Steve looks at your baby bump and your features soften. “Let us survive the twins and we can think about having more kids. I love you Steve and with you, I’ll have a football team.”

“Love you too, Y/N. Now tell me about your dreams…” Snuggling into Steve’s side, you pat his chest. “Doll?”

“I want to be married to the man I love. Check. I want to have a home with him. Check. I want to get pregnant with his kids after we are married for like five years. Check.” Steve hums when he presses a soft kiss to your hair.

“I think my dreams came true, Steve. I got a cozy home, my husband, two kids on their way, a job I love, and Kitty is still with us.” Smiling wildly, you look up at Steve and for the first time, you see tears in his eyes.

“I got all I want too, with you…doll...”

“Now that was what I call cheesy, but I love it…”

THE END...

Love Undercover Tags

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[alkhale]

Desert Sun (Male!Vivi x Male!Hoku) Memos AU Ko-fi request

Hi! Recently i begin to love Vivi(theres dome amazing fanarts about genderbender!Vivi that i found ). so i would like to get an Vivi x Hoku or M!Vivi x Hoku or M!Vivi x M!Hoku ,please.

Pictures for reference! Male!Vivi by @bab_119

Male!Hoku looks a lot like Allen from D. Gray Man with just a bit shorter hair. He keeps the side braid with Mihawk’s ribbon or uses it to tie off a little ponytail at the base of his neck.

“What are you drawing, Hoku?”

Hoku paused, his fingers loosely holding the pencil in his grip. The lazy, light sketches looked back at him over the expanse of thick paper and he grinned a bit at the sight, looking up at Vivi’s voice. “Couldn’t sleep, prince charming?”

Vivi rolled his eyes at him, lightly running his fingers through the soft blue tufts of his hair. He came down the set of steps onto the lower deck where Hoku was leaning against one of Nami’s tangerine trees. A few peels sat at Hoku’s bare feet in the grass, his only evidence.

The front of Hoku’s wispy white bangs were pulled up over the top of his head, tied together in a silly looking tuft. The sight made Vivi want to chuckle, but he withheld it for now in case Hoku just started making fun of him for something else. The artist tended to be quick to bite back with retorts at Vivi if he tried to tease him too much, like stepping on the end of a cat’s tail.

Maybe it means we got closer. Vivi wondered, sighing as he looked over to the side. Or not.

The air was cool outside, another sign of their closeness to Alabasta’s own climate. Hot, rolling sun throughout the days and dark, cold nights across the endless expanse of sand and rolling desert. A sight and sensation Vivi never got sick of, not once, only missing it more as he got closer and closer to home.

Hoku shifted a bit to make room for Vivi underneath the tangerine tree. Vivi smiled a bit at that, trying not to get too hopeful and lowering himself down and getting comfortable beside Hoku, carefully stretching out his legs and watching how his legs stretched out just a bit further than Hoku’s.

Hoku’s feet weren’t as scratched up or scarred as Vivi thought they’d be. Well-protected by the sturdy, worn material of his boots sitting on the other side of him. Hoku’s hands were a different story though. Calloused, smoothed over, and then calloused all over again, only soft at the fingertips.

“It was getting too stuffy in the room,” Vivi said. Hoku snorted. “I wanted a bit of air.”

“Told you to just take the hammock outside,” Hoku said, pointing his pencil at the hammock he’d drawn from sheets and set up between Nami’s tangerine trees. Vivi raised a brow in amusement. “Nothing can beat a good hammock under the fresh air.”

“What do you do when it rains?”

“Just draw a tarp or a big umbrella, what else?”

Vivi laughed, a soft, elegant sound. Hoku rolled his eyes, turning his focus back to his sketchbook. Vivi watched his slender fingers move in silence, taking in the careful strokes and quick shifts of Hoku’s finger across the pages. He was never one for drawing or artistic crafts, but Vivi sometimes felt like he could watch Hoku do this forever.

Hoku loved what he did. He always looked like he loved down what he did.

Vivi wondered how much of that love Hoku could see himself.

“You’d die for your country, right? That’s good. I’ll lend you a life then if you need it.”

Their shoulders pressed against each other, warm still, from the earlier sunlight. Vivi idly rubbed the back of his neck, staring at the small space between his and Hoku’s legs before he quickly turned them away. Vivi winced, realizing his eyes landed instead on the bare expanse of Hoku’s stomach, left exposed from the shortness of the tight white turtleneck he wore, showing off the lean, taut muscle.

Vivi’s eyes quickly shifted to the side of Hoku’s face instead, quietly following the red ink pattern blended into his skin, curving softly around his eye. Vivi almost laughed again, realizing normally Luffy didn’t let him get away with looking this long.

“Tell me about Alabasta.”

Vivi blinked, looking up in confusion. Hoku didn’t look up at him, never taking his eyes off the page. “Go on, anything. Or you could just give me a bit of blood too.”

“Alabasta?” Vivi said. Hoku nodded, once. “I—well, is there a reason—”

“Don’t have too if you don’t want to,” Hoku said, sketching absently at the bottom of the page. “Up to you. Running out of ideas.”

Vivi kept silent for a moment, thinking it over. Hoku was warm beside him, reminding Vivi of the first rays of sunlight in the morning, not too warm, just barely there and gone in a blink. Hoku smelled like ink, a hint of iron and something else, like a flower maybe underneath the heavier smell of tangerines all around them. 

“Guess I’ll just draw Usopp,” Hoku muttered.

Vivi quickly straightened, clearing his throat before he started to speak, a little hurried at first. “It’s a lot larger than people realize. Across the desert it seems like it stretches as far as the ocean, but there’s all kinds of small spots that mark what’s what. The towns are all different, unique in their own way and filled with history.”

“Okay, tell me about one.”

“Alubarna—it’s where I grew up,” Vivi quickly continued, trying to keep Hoku’s attention on his words, on his home. Hoku’s pencil lightly shifted over the paper. “So big, a small child could easily get lost in the columns, fit right behind them.”

“What were you like as a kid?” Hoku mused. Vivi brightened.

“I, well, I wasn’t quite the picture perfect image for a prince. I got into trouble a bit and fought with some of the local kids, but we also became friends! I followed my father around—”

“You look more like your mom or your dad?” Hoku asked.

Vivi hesitated a second before saying softly, warmly, “My mother.”

Hoku’s lips curled up into a crooked smile. Vivi stared at it a bit in wonder. “Me too.”

Vivi felt the words gathering up at his throat. He tried to figure out the most elegant way to say it, to ask— “What was your home like? What were you like as a child, Hoku?”

“Keep going,” Hoku said softly.

“T-The palace is grand and white, huge, swirling columns and massive statues of Alabasta’s guardian deities stand in front of it,” Vivi said, hoping his chance would come again. “I think people from Artopoki were paid years ago to help build them.”

“Oh~” Hoku said. “Must be real good then. Keep going.”

Vivi’s voice grew smoother, warmer as the memories came flooding back to him in perfect clarity. They appeared, bright as day and perfectly clear in all their entirety, as if he’d never left the sand and the smell of the sun and the dry, warm heat. Hoku’s hand continued to move, quick and effortless across the page and Vivi followed it with a sort of hypnotic ease, feeling his shoulders unwind, his back relax. Hoku’s warmth didn’t disappear beside him.

“I love Yuba too,” Vivi said slowly. “My best friend is there... Yuba’s a great center of commerce and life...”

“What are the seasons like?” Hoku murmured.

“Always warm,” Vivi mumbled, his eyes drooping a bit. He tried to shake his head awake. “But the nights get cold... you might... like it...”

“Keep going,” Hoku said, soft by his ear. Vivi continued, mumbling the words out, his eyes drooping a bit. He tried to keep going, feeling the heavy, heavy fatigue pulling at his eyes.

Vivi could feel the sun behind his eyelids, warming his skin. He wondered if Hoku wouldn’t mind the heat too much. He said he liked the sun, right? Hoku had never tried food from Alabasta either. Would he like the palace baths? Maybe not, since Hoku didn’t seem fond of water. There was a lot Vivi wanted to show him, lots and lots.

More of my home... would you like to see it?

Hoku waited a few more minutes until the soft sound of Vivi’s breathing filled his ears. He sighed in amusement through his nose, shifting his shoulder under the weight of Vivi’s head resting on it. Hoku snorted, ripping out the page in his book and folding it up, tucking it into the waistband of Vivi’s pants.

Hoku debated his options for a bit until the silky ends of Vivi’s hair started to tickle his chin, the soft warmth of Vivi’s breath against his neck. Hoku rolled his eyes. Look at this guy.

Hoku carefully maneuvered Vivi’s head onto the soft grass, standing up. He took a moment, considering Vivi’s poor looking figure on the lonely floor before he finally threw a quickly drawn blanket over him. Vivi shifted, groping around on the grass and Hoku tossed a body shaped pillow down beside him too, watching with a snort as Vivi wrapped his arm around it and sighed, content.

Hoku rolled his eyes again, lightly nudging Vivi’s slumbering form with his foot before hopping into his own hammock with a satisfied sigh, grinning up at the stars as he shut his eyes.

“Sleep tight, prince charming—hngh?”

Hoku let out a garbled shout, a strong tug ripping him entirely out of his hammock and back onto the grass. He tried to sit up, hissing at the pain in his back when a sudden weight tossed itself over his stomach, pinning Hoku back flat to the ground. His eyes bulged from his head, jerking over to where a completely knocked out Vivi was sighing in deep content, the crease in his brow relaxing as he tightened his arm around Hoku and let his cheek rest on Hoku’s shoulder, snuggling up to him.

Hoku experimentally pried at Vivi’s arm, wheezing in surprise at the young man’s grip. Goddess!

Hoku scowled, grumbling in discontent. He threw his arms behind his head, cushioning it and shutting his eyes with a sigh. I’ll just wait till he lets up. When he wakes up tomorrow he’s gonna get it.

A few minutes passed and Hoku’s own brows relaxed a bit, body growing slack as sleep overtook him. Somewhere along the way Vivi shifted, one hand sleepily guiding Hoku’s head to rest on his chest while the blanket was strewn over them, Vivi’s arm returning to encircle Hoku’s shoulders.

Hoku muttered something in his sleep while Vivi let out a relaxed sigh, looking pleased.

- Luffy threw a fit in the morning, Vivi hid his face in his hands and Hoku simply packed up his hammock and decided he’d set up camp up in the crow’s nest

(this was more fun to write than i expected hahahaha, i get such student council president and lazy, not really a delinquent but unmotivated, complicated art student dynamics from these two)

[daydream-hobii]

Hybrid Heart Attack | Chapter 9

Genre: Poly!AU; Hybrid!AU; Fluff; Angst

Pairing: BTS x Female!Reader; Human!Seokjin x Human!Reader; Eventual relationship with Snow Leopard!Yoongi, Red Panda!Hoseok, Koala!Namjoon, Calico Cat!Jimin, Husky!Taehyung, Doberman!Jungkook

Summary: Y/n finds her current fiance during college, his name is Seokjin. They fell in love and dated for three years before he proposed. Now, Seokjin is a lawyer for hybrids, and Y/n, well, she has the perfect stay at home job. When Seokjin invites her to move in, she wasn’t expecting that he has six hybrids. She doesn’t know why a hybrid lawyer wouldn’t have hybrids, she just didn’t think about it…. Y/n is petrified of hybrids, something happened to her when she was little…. Guess she’ll have to adapt… or leave.

Warning: Mentions of Animal Attacks, Abuse (Physical & Mental), Depression, Anxiety; Possible PTSD mentions; Suggestions of Smut; Read with caution. <3 This Particular Chapter Mentions Alcoholic Parents, Abusive Parents, and the Likes, Read with Caution~ <3 

Word Count: 1,860

// Previous // Next //

Author’s Note: Welcome to Chapter 9! I hope you all enjoy it!! ^_^

        It’s been a couple days since talking to Jungkook and, since then, everything seemed back to normal. Taehyung and Yoongi would come into my office for pets, Hoseok and I would go on walks in the park or the forest out back, Namjoon and I would talk about the wedding, he’s been helping me pick everything out, Jimin has been a mix of all three of these, and Jungkook… well, he’s been distant as usual. There hasn’t been any more growling or tension, but we haven’t talked since then.

       It was a new day and I had the day off, but Seokjin had to go to the office. He’s easily becoming one of the best hybrid lawyers in our town, so he has a lot of cases under his belt. Being gone so much made me miss him… but I do have the boys around to keep me company.

       I sat in the kitchen at the island, drinking my coffee. Namjoon was sat next to me, his fluffy blondish, pinkish hair a mess from just waking up, ears perked as he stared at the laptop looking at the venues I’ve been interested in. I heard stomping coming down the stairs, a couple of people were running. 

       Taehyung and Jimin came in, Taehyung running to me only to have me flinch and put up my hands. Taehyung froze, whining softly before mumbling an apology, giving me a side hug and running out the door. Jimin did the same before following. Fall was beginning, so the trees in the back were all different colors, as well as the air cool but not too cold.

       Hoseok and Yoongi came down, not too long after the other two. Hoseok immediately went and started on breakfast while Yoongi sat on the other side of me, laying his head on the island, tail flicking. I leaned over, looking at the pictures Namjoon was scrolling through. 

       Jungkook made an appearance in the archway, making my heart race. There was a tension surrounding me, causing me to gulp. Namjoon gave me the side eye, concern written all over his face. Yoongi’s tail puffed out, making me know they all sensed it. Jungkook walked over to his banana nut muffins, picking up one, completely ignoring the nerves I felt. He paused, looking at it, before walking towards me. From across the island, he carefully pushed the muffin to me, nodding his head before grabbing a second one for himself, walking out.

       “He never shares those,” Hoseok said, back still turned to us. “That’s a compliment.”

       I stared at the muffin with wide eyes, blinking in shock. I nodded, taking it and unwrapping it, taking a small bite. To me, this was progress. That’s a word I’m becoming familiar with, it was becoming my favorite word.

       “Hobi, can I ask you something?” I asked, looking at him.

       “Hmm?” Hoseok hummed, a smile forming on his face. I knew he loved when I called him Hobi. To be honest, I did too.

       “What was your relationship with Seokjin?” I asked, taking another bite of the muffin. “Before me?”

       “Mm, I’m not sure what you mean?” Hoseok said, turning around after making a plate of food, giving it to Yoongi, whose head was now up, looking at me.

       “You all are very loving towards each other, like you’re all dating,” I replied, watching him build another plate and place it in front of me. “Were you like that with Seokjin?”

       “I don’t know if you’re ready to know that,” Namjoon replied, moving my laptop to the side so he could also get a plate.

       “Why not?” I replied, a fire burning in me. “It’s not like you’re all quiet about it.”

       “And what does that mean?” Hoseok asked, handing Namjoon his plate as a smirk played on his lips.

       “Well, these walls are thin, for one,” I replied, eyes sharp with amusement. “and you’re the loudest.” A light blush formed on Hoseok’s cheeks as he smiled, shaking his head and turning around.

       “I disagree. I’d say Jiminie is the loudest,” Hoseok replied turning around and setting his plate on the island, continuing to stand and eat. “Why are you so curious?”

       “Well…” I mumbled, biting my lip. “Seokjin told me a little bit about it and… I think he misses it.” The three older hybrids paused, eyes drooping slightly.

       “What did he say about it?” Namjoon asked, curiously. 

       “He explained that it wasn’t a relationship, more so all mutual love,” I said, squinting my eyes in thought. “Like you all act like your dating, but there’s no titles to it. He told me he’d help you all out whenever you animal instincts took over.”

       “Mating season,” Yoongi mumbled.

       “Yeah, but when we started dating, he told me he stopped everything…” I said, pulling my lips between my teeth.

       “What brought up all these questions?” Hoseok asked, raising an eyebrow.

       “I’m just… curious. Is that why some of you didn’t like me…?” I asked, looking at my plate of food. “Do you guys miss him…?”

       “Of course we do,” Yoongi replied, bluntly. “but we’re also happy he found someone he loves. He found you.”

       “Plus, we don’t really have to miss him, since we’re still with him. Just physically miss him sometimes,” Hoseok replied.

       I began to eat my plate, my brow furrowed at this information. The rest of the boys acted as if nothing happened, but occasionally looked at me. Finally, when my plate was clean, and Namjoon stood up to clean the dishes, I finally found the words.

       “I wouldn’t have minded,” I said, confidently. Yoongi and Hoseok’s ears perked up, Namjoon’s twitching.

       “What’s that mean?” Yoongi asked, looking at you.

       “I wouldn’t have minded if Seokjin was still loving you all,” I said, gulping at his intense stare. “I figure some partners would have an issue, and I get that, but I don’t think I would’ve minded.”

       “Why do you say that?” Hoseok asked gently, leaning on the island and smiling. 

       “Because I’ve seen your love for each other,” I replied, looking between them all. “It just makes sense to me. People would kill for a love like that.”

       I looked down into my coffee cup - it was almost empty. I bit my lip, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Did I overstep? I shouldn’t have said anything…. I should apologize. I looked up, opening my mouth to speak, but my words were halted at the feelings on lips on my cheek. I turned and looked at Yoongi, who ignored my stare, a light blush on the tips of his human ears. I looked back at the island, cheeks flaring as I excused myself, walking to my room.

       The day was unproductive, just eating and chatting with the boys. No incidents happened between me and them, so it was a good mental health day. It made me hopeful for the future. Now, deep into the night, as I lay in the large bed alone, I begin to overthink. I can never sleep when my mind is so wired…. Light taps hit the window from the rain and, as the night goes on, they become louder, thunder slowly building and small flashes of light making the room bright.

       Seokjin decided to stay at the office for longer, telling me he’d be home later. The storm outside made me think he’d sleep there, which made my heart sting. I didn’t realize how much I missed him…. Is this how the boys were when Seokjin was with me…?

       I heard a light tap on my door, making me look. When it opened, it revealed a nervous Jimin, staring at me with big eyes. He was playing with his hands, ears flat to his head. His tail was twitching nervously.

       “Jimin, are you alright?” I asked, voice cracking from exhaustion. My heart was beating against my rib cage, none of them have ever come into the room at night, let alone when Seokjin wasn’t here.

       A larger boom echoed through the room, making Jimin and I flinch. Jimin’s tail puffed out, a small whimper sounding as he shut his eyes to hide them from the flashes. My heart sank as I looked at the frightened boy. 

       “Do you want to stay in here tonight…?” I offered, not even hesitating. He nodded, slowly coming over and crawling into bed, staying on the far side as to not touch me.

       “I never liked storms,” Jimin whispered, looking at the window with dilated eyes. “They remind me of my old home….” I paused turning to my side so we were facing each other.

       “Why…” I whispered, my curiosity getting the best of me.

       “I was in a good home. A mom and dad, two kids. They all really liked having me around…” Jimin whispered. “until the dad began to drink…. More and more each day. He started to get mad, screaming at all of us. Then he got physical….”

       As I listened, I couldn’t help but flinch. This story was familiar, a lot of families go through something like this. Jimin sighed, wincing at a bolt of lightning crackling through the sky.

       “I’d try and take care of the kids, try to protect their mom… but he’d turn on me,” Jimin replied, looking into my eyes. “Honestly… I was glad when he took it out on me.”

       I furrowed my brow, as if to ask why. Another boom sounded, making Jimin flinch and move a little closer to me, still cautious about how I would react.

       “Because it meant he’d take out all his energy on me, not them,” Jimin replied. “One day, he got sick of me…. Took me to the shelter while they were all out. I haven’t seen them sense.”

       “Jimin, that’s awful,” I whispered, frowning. Jimin shrugged, looking at me.

       “It’s okay. My story isn’t the worst of the bunch…. Plus, I didn’t have to stay in the shelter for too long. Seokjin found me a week later, said I was too pretty to stay in there,” Jimin said, flashing a smile.

       Another larger boom rang through, lightning following. The wind had picked up, so the raindrops were hitting the window with some force. Jimin flinched, pulling his knees up slightly, a whimper escaping his throat as he closed his eyes, hiding his face slightly with the blanket.

       I hesitated, thoughts rolling through my head. I slowly moved towards him, pausing when he looked at me with soft, but shocked, eyes. I was trembling, my memories flooding back of the hybrids who attacked me. I pushed it down, looking at this beautiful hybrid. He protected his family from an abusive human…. He’s nothing like the hybrids who hurt me….

       I slowly wrapped my arms around him, pulling him to me. Our legs tangled and his arms found their way around me, pressing against my lower back. I was still shaking, fear in my mind but love in my heart. His head rested in my chest, my head on top of his. As I closed my eyes to sleep, I was comfortable, warm. It was the best night of sleep I’ve had since living here….

[twilights-800-cats]

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Chapter 10

“Stoneheart? Stoneheart, wake up!”

Stoneheart opened his eyes with a start, his claws gripping the earth. He got his bearings quickly – the sky was orange with evening, and he was in the patch of woods behind the Twoleg vet. His panic faded, his heartbeat slowing. I must have dozed off.

Wolftooth was sitting near him, whiskers twitching with amusement, with a paw raised to prod him. Stoneheart pushed himself to his paws, feeling embarrassment pricking his pelt. He licked his chest fur to soothe it.

“Tucker says Branch ought to be coming out soon,” Wolftooth meowed. He nodded to a scraggly clump of ferns near Pinewhisker and Tucker, who were chatting. “We managed to save you a sparrow – they're thin here, too, but easy enough to catch.”

Stoneheart nodded his thanks. He stretched sleep from his muscles and then padded over to the makeshift fresh-kill pile. Wolftooth was right – the sparrow was tiny compared to what flew in the forest, but that didn’t matter. Just the sight of it made Stoneheart’s stomach yowl.

He gave thanks to StarClan for the meal as he tucked in, observing the world around him while he ate. From what Purdy had said, Twolegplaces got loud near the end of the day – this one seemed to be no different. Stoneheart could see monster after monster passing by beyond the vet’s den, and he could hear that loud roar they make when awakened everywhere around him. The Twolegs must be heading home.

Stoneheart fought a sigh – would that they were heading home, too. He pushed away the bones of his meal, feeling dissatisfied. He wanted to sleep in his nest in ShadowClan camp, not under Twoleg bushes, and he wanted Rowanclaw by his side now more than ever. His dreams were so restless without his beloved by his side.

He felt hurt bloom in his chest, and he tried to stamp it down. We’ll find him; that’s why we’re here! Instead of focusing on missing his mate, Stoneheart turned his ears to catch what Pinewhisker and Tucker were talking about.

“... so, do you guys have vets?” the kittypet was asking. “You guys have to get sick out there, and I know you get into fights. Who do you go to if you don’t have a vet?”

Pinewhisker scoffed, “We don’t need Twolegs to take care of us – we've got medicine cats.”

“Medicine cats?” Tucker looked confused, but intrigued.

Pinewhisker nodded. “They collect herbs and know what they do, and they use them to heal us when we’re sick or hurt,” he explained. “They also guide the Clan with signs they receive from our warrior ancestors.”

“Oh, wow!” Tucker’s eyes widened like bright little moons. Then, he looked confused: “But you said you weren’t born a Clan cat, Pinewhisker. You don’t have warrior ancestors then, right?”

Pinewhisker shrugged. “Probably not,” he admitted, “but when I die, I’ll go to StarClan, and then I’ll be a warrior ancestor for my kits, and their kits.” He raised his head, looking proud. “The first of my line!”

Wolftooth looked his way, his eyes sparking with mischief. “You’ll be the last if you don’t give Nightwing the time of day,” he chuckled.

Pinewhisker bristled, looking offended. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, incredulous. “Nightwing knows how I feel about her!”

Wolftooth grinned. “Does she? Have you told her?”

Stoneheart twitched his whiskers at Pinewhisker, trying not to purr at his Clanmate’s abashed expression. Nightwing and Pinewhisker padding in circles after one another wasn’t something he’d thought he’d come back to when he left on the journey, but there it was.

“I-I think she knows!” Pinewhisker stammered back.

“You need to tell her, Pinewhisker,” Stoneheart meowed. He recalled the worried way Nightwing had begged to come with them, and how dismissive Pinewhisker had been. “Don’t lead her on by the tail. If you don’t say it, how can you know she knows?”

Pinewhisker looked like a fish, his mouth opening in closing as if gasping for air. Finally, he sagged, and meowed, “Fine - if we make it out of this place, I’ll tell her.”

“Good,” Wolftooth grunted. The big gray tom stretched out, triumphant. “And when we get to the lake, you two can have as many kits as you can handle.”

Pinewhisker’s tail bristled, and whatever response he might have made, Stoneheart missed – his heartbreak had opened anew, and he couldn’t help but wallow. He was happy for Pinewhisker and Nightwing and whatever the future might hold for them, but bitter claws gripped his shoulders.

What if he never found Rowanclaw?

Stoneheart stared down at the remains of his meal, finding that it was now a lump in his throat. If he never found Rowanclaw, if he had to leave the forest without him... would he ever feel happy again? Would his dreams keep taking him to dark, dank places? Would he succumb to his own anxieties and fears? Sometimes it felt like the hope that Rowanclaw might be out there was all that was keeping him going.

His expression must have given his thoughts away – he felt Wolftooth’s tail rest on his shoulders. “Hey,” the older warrior grunted, his breath close to Stoneheart’s ear, “it’ll be okay. We’ll find Rowanclaw.”

Stoneheart leaned into Wolftooth, feeling his limbs go weak. “What... What if StarClan wants me to leave him behind?” he whispered. Speaking such a secret fear made his tongue dry as wood.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” Wolftooth murmured back. “And you can’t think that, either.”

Stoneheart swallowed. He was aware that both Pinewhisker and Tucker were staring at him, their eyes round and, in Tucker’s case, confused. Stoneheart pulled away from Wolftooth, giving his pelt a shake. Clanmates were one thing, but Stoneheart couldn’t bring himself to look so weak in front of a kittypet - what kind of Clan cat would he be?

“I see I have visitors.”

The voice was pleasant, soft, and, above all, unfamiliar; coming as the dark of night descended upon the Twolegplace. Weak moonlight lit up the massive, powerful shoulders of a very, very large tomcat, turning his dark brown pelt to silver. He tilted his broad head, observing the four cats with calm yellow eyes that glowed like small suns.

Tucker nearly jumped out of his pelt. “Branch!” he cried. “You scared us!”

Wolftooth stepped forward. “You’re Branch?” he asked.

“I am,” Branch answered, dipping his head.

Stoneheart was stunned – this Branch dwarfed even Wolftooth, who was one of ShadowClan’s largest cats, alongside Blackfoot, who might look like a kit in comparison. How does a cat even get that big? More importantly, how had such a large cat appeared without anyone noticing him?

Stoneheart couldn’t help but lean forward and sniff. Something about Branch’s scent seemed... off. It was plain, alien, with a subtle tang that Stoneheart felt came from nowhere in nature. Perhaps that was why they hadn’t noticed him coming – this tom barely smelled like a cat at all!

Branch calmly observed the ShadowClan cats, his eyes resting on each in turn. When his eyes met Stoneheart’s, he meowed, “I’m sorry to keep you waiting; my partner had a patient who needed some extra attention.”

“Your partner?” Pinewhisker tilted his head.

“The vet,” Branch meowed, nodding back to the building behind him. He licked a paw and drew it over his ear. “We are not owner and kittypet, as you might think. We consider one another partners. You three aren’t here to talk with me about that, however.”

Branch looked at Tucker, and the kittypet stood at attention: “These cats want your help, Branch,” he explained, gesturing to the ShadowClan patrol with his tail. “They came from the marshlands, in the forest, and they’re--”

“They’re looking for someone,” Branch finished. Stoneheart felt unnerved – the big tom’s eyes had not left him. “That much seems obvious. Thank you, Tucker, for bringing them to me.”

“So, you’ll help us?” Pinewhisker guessed, looking hopeful.

Branch nodded, his eyes soft and compliant. “I am not the type to turn away someone in need – now, tell me, who are you looking for? I will help if I can.”

“My mate,” Stoneheart burst, taking a step towards Branch. His heart thudded in his ears, and he was aware of just how selfish he seemed. “Ah... there are others, too – they were all taken by the Twolegs that are destroying the forest. We can’t leave for our new home without them.”

“Tucker and Cody tell us that you’re the cat to see about finding the missing,” Wolftooth rumbled on.

Branch blinked. “Well, I don’t like to brag, but... they are correct. Come.”

The big tom brushed past, heading further into the little patch of woodland behind the vet’s den. Tucker followed without question, his tail up and his eyes bright with excitement. Wolftooth shrugged and got to his paws, heading after them.

Pinewhisker rubbed his pelt against Stoneheart’s. “What’s there to lose?” he offered, sounding encouraging.

Stoneheart nodded in agreement, his heart lifting despite the uncertainty as he followed Pinewhisker. What could this Branch cat offer that no one else could? Perhaps he was like a medicine cat himself, if something like that could exist within a Twolegplace.

This patch of woodland was small, and Branch led them to its very heart. Despite being able to see Thunderpaths and monsters and even Twolegs from where they sat, it seemed very quiet here, the sound muffled by the thin trees and scrappy bushes. Moonlight streamed down between the branches, which had already lost almost all their leaves.

Branch settled down beside the stump of what might have been a very tall oak. He curled his tail around his paws, sweeping dry leaves around him. He turned his muzzle to the sky, and took a deep breath, his whiskers trembling with concentration.

“What’s he doing?” Pinewhisker wondered.

“Ssh!” Tucker hissed, his eyes round and bright. “You’ll see!”

Stoneheart glanced warily at Wolftooth. The big gray tom looked just as concerned, and as time stretched on, Stoneheart was half tempted to prod at Branch – the brown tom seemed frozen stiff, his muzzle to the sky and his tail covered in leaves.

The night stretched on, and it seemed like an eternity before Branch lowered his muzzle.

“My apologies,” he said, sounding tired. “With the workfolk in the forest, the earth has become hard to hear.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Stoneheart wondered, getting to his paws. His heart began to beat faster. “You can’t find them?”

Branch blinked, staring into Stoneheart’s eyes. “I can find them,” he said, with no uncertainty, “but I am saying that it won’t be easy.”

“Well, what can we do to help?” Wolftooth wondered. He glanced at the sky, and how the moon was a catscratch from half-full. He’d promised Russetstar that their patrol would be back before that happened, Stoneheart recalled. “We’re running out of time.”

Branch twitched his whiskers. “Tell me about those you’re looking for. That may help me find them.”

Pinewhisker worked his jaw. “Well... it’s not like we know them all personally, but... Robinwing is a WindClan cat – she's brown with blue eyes. Smells like moor grass and heather.”

“Tawnypelt is RiverClan’s deputy,” Wolftooth went on. “She’s fierce, and strong, and smells like willows and river water and fish, like all RiverClan cats. An older tortoiseshell with a scarred pelt.”

Stoneheart swallowed. “Cloudtail and Brightheart are mates, and they’re both so brave. Brightheart is missing an eye, and an ear, and Cloudtail is the best tracker in ThunderClan.” His heart stirred with memories of ThunderClan, only to ache again as he went on, “And Rowanclaw... he’s my mate. I love him so much – h-he's dark ginger, and his eyes sparkle when he purrs, and I would do anything just to see him again, a-and...”

He was conscious of the eyes on him, now, but it didn’t stop it all from tumbling out: “I just want to tell him I’m sorry for leaving him alone.” He stared into Branch’s eyes, willing him to understand, hoping that this would help. “I want to tell him that I want to have kits, and that I’m sorry for being too scared to tell him that. I want to look into his eyes again, and I want to hear his voice, even if he says he doesn’t forgive me for leaving him behind.”

Stoneheart swallowed, realizing that the lump in his throat was almost choking him. He fell to his haunches, wanting nothing more than to curl up into a ball. Being so vulnerable made him feel like his pelt had fallen off of his body. His voice was a whimper, now: “I want to tell him that... e-even if we make it to the lake... to me, it’ll mean nothing if he’s not there beside me...”

He felt Pinewhisker and Wolftooth press close to him, a gesture which normally would have pricked at his pride, but right now he wanted nothing more than the companionship of his Clanmates, especially in this strange place. Stoneheart managed to lift his head, and his eyes met Branch’s, blue to yellow.

“We can’t leave the forest without any of them,” he meowed, “but without Rowanclaw...”

“I understand,” Branch soothed. He stood up on all fours, planting his paws firmly against the earth. “I hear your love, Stoneheart, and the earth feels it. You call to your Family, and I join my voice to yours.”

Stoneheart had no idea what the strange cat meant – Branch sank down, shoving his paws into the earth as if they were the roots of a tree. The brown tom touched his nose to the soil, and again he was silent and still, but for the twitch of his ears or the sweep of his tail.

Stoneheart was conscious of every moment fading away into oblivion. Was it working? There was no way to tell, and that not knowing was making Stoneheart’s pelt crawl, as if ants had made a home in his fur.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Branch shivered from ears to tail, gasping as he lifted his head. The big cat staggered, and Tucker rushed forward to steady him, though the big tom would have crushed the kittypet if he fell.

Branch regained himself, thanking Tucker with a murmur. He looked exhausted, now, his eyes drawn and drooping, but he lifted his head and declared, “I’ve found them.”

Stoneheart got to his paws. “You did?” His heart thudded, threatening to leap out of his chest. “Truly?”

Branch nodded. “They are in the forest,” he breathed. “Something surrounds them, blocking my senses, but... I heard them crying out from within.” He looked at the Clan cats. “Their cries were weak, difficult to hear.”

“Where are they in the forest?” Wolftooth asked, stepping forward. “Could you tell?”

Branch struggled, for a moment. “The earth was broken all around them,” he said, “trampled by workfolk and their monsters. But... something remained, something nearby that resonated with the energy your Clans put into it. Rocks... rocks that formed little caves, rocks that hid secrets...”

“Snakerocks?” Stoneheart guessed.

“Yes,” Branch nodded, “a sinister place, but one that knows your Clans.”

“They’re in ThunderClan territory,” Stoneheart breathed. Wind stirred his pelt, and he looked to Wolftooth and Pinewhisker. “Snakerocks must have been one of the first places the Twolegs destroyed in ThunderClan.”

His mouth felt dry, but his limbs were charged, and Stoneheart felt as if he could leap over all of Twolegplace. He could picture Snakerocks now – that flat piece of land, barren of trees, would be a perfect place to keep the captured cats. I know where Rowanclaw is!

“But how do we get to them?” Pinewhisker wondered, eyes wide. “If the Twolegs are all over that place, then...”

“We can figure that out later,” Wolftooth grunted. “What matters is that we found them. Russetstar will know what to do from here.”

“You must take care, and act swiftly,” Branch meowed. He seemed to be regaining his strength. “If the workfolk took these cats from the forest, there isn’t much time before they’re sent to the city.”

“What will happen to them then?” Pinewhisker wondered, his eyes round.

“They’ll be given to Twolegs, or taken to the vet to be Cut and released, if no Twoleg will take them,” Tucker answered. “That’s what they usually do to the cats they catch.”

Wolftooth bristled. “Then there’s no time to waste,” he growled. “Tucker, can you take us back to the forest? We need to get to our leader with this information immediately.”

Tucker blinked. He looked dazzled by these events. “I... yes, I think I can,” he meowed. “We’ll need to leave now, though, if you’re in a hurry!”

Wolftooth seemed all right with that. He turned and nodded to Branch, meowing, “Thank you for your help.”

“It’s no problem,” Branch meowed. He dipped his head formally. “It’s my purpose to help others. The earth speaks, and I listen.”

Tucker raised his tail, and Wolftooth and Pinewhisker clustered around the kittypet. Stoneheart got to his paws to join them, only to find that Branch had put his massive body between him and is Clanmates.

“Good luck on your Great Wander,” he meowed evenly, his eyes pale and sparkling. “We may not see one another again, but through the earth we are connected.”

Stoneheart blinked at the tom, confused. He had no idea what Branch meant, or what strange powers he possessed, but he felt the sentiment. He meowed, “Thank you,” before pushing past the big brown tom and heading after Wolftooth and Pinewhisker.

“Family is forever!” Branch called after them. “And Family is always wherever you are!”

--

Dawn had broken by the time that Stoneheart, Wolftooth, and Pinewhisker had to stay good-bye to Tucker. The kittypet had been beside himself with sorrow, especially knowing that he would never see the Clan cats again – but the farewells had to be brief, and Stoneheart sent a prayer to StarClan, thanking them for Tucker’s help.

He found himself leading the way across the open marshes, Wolftooth and Pinewhisker streaming behind him. There was no need to speak – there was no time. Tiredness and hunger were forgotten in their flight. The Twoleg monsters had already roared to life in ShadowClan territory, and the sight of the smoke they belched, so close to ShadowClan’s camp, put speed to their paws.  

Ultimately, though, when they arrived at the crest of a hill that overlooked the ShadowClan camp from a distance, they saw that they were too late.

The monsters were devouring the very heart of ShadowClan.

[lcnelyinthesky]

that time - kenma x reader

a/n: good evening! i feel like i haven’t written in ages, but maybe i kinda wish this wasnt the piece i was coming back in with. in any case, here she is.

based on that time by regina spektor

genre: angst

warnings: heavy mentions of drug use and suicide.

word count: 1.4k

Do you remember the time when I found a human tooth down on Delancey?

It was a perfect spring day. The flowering trees existed in all of their beautiful glory, painting the green grass with splotches of pinks and purples. You walked around a park, looking to meet up with your boyfriend Kenma.

Hey, remember that time we decided to kiss anywhere except the mouth?

Your boots clunked around your feet with every step you took. The legs of your baggy jeans rubbed against themselves as you walked, creating the slightest vibration. The light cotton of your shirt melted into your skin. Your hands found each other behind your back, fingers interlocking. You looked around at the trees and benches and people in dark clothes as you strolled along the paths.

Hey, remember that time when my favorite colors were pink and green?

You remembered the past fondly, a small smile creeping to your face as you thought about the first time you met your kitten. You were at a party with your friends, passing drunken stories around the circle you had formed together. Your pastel pink shirt was tucked into your olive green pants, the fabric held together by a grey belt with a chain attached to the loops. You moved the silver links around in your fingers when a group of guys came in, a particular one catching your eye more than the others. 

Your fingers anxiously fiddled together while you dug deeply into the yellowish eyes of the man standing above you, who proceeded to shoot you a coy smile. He sat down next to you, maroon fabric of his shirt folding as his posture faltered.

He took a liking to you instantly, both of you clicking as stories continued to pass around the room. You giggled as his face turned red every time a so-called “Kuro” poked fun at him. 

Hey, remember that month when I only ate boxes of tangerines?

You were just broke college students, but you made it work. Your shared, albeit small, income covered the rent of a tiny studio apartment and you figured the rest out somehow. None of that really mattered though, because you’d take waking up in his arms, engulfed in his cinnamony scent, over a dorm any day. He was always so cute in the morning. His sleepy eyes told you they loved you without him uttering a word. His hair would be in every single direction but he wore it so well.

So cheap and juicy, tangerines.

Kenma spent most of his time at home. You’d carry him to bed after he passed out at his post, eyes glued to a monitor. You’d lay his exhausted body in bed before you went to shower, and when you’d come back to him, his position would have changed entirely. You’d climb in next to him and face him while he slept. The scent of orange on your breath became something that could never fail to lull him to sleep.

Hey, remember that time when I would only read Shakespeare?

You were always one with spurts of energy, whereas his energy was constant and unwavering. You’d randomly tell him something you wanted to do and he’d laugh, causing a flame that allowed you to actually get it done. 

“I’m gonna memorize Lady Macbeth’s monologues. All of them.” You looked up from your phone at your boyfriend. His gaze met yours as his mouth twisted into a smirk and his eyebrows raised.

“Definitely, baby. I’ll learn Macbeth’s and we can be them for Halloween.” He laughed at you slightly, but it was all out of love. It always was.

Hey, remember that other time when I would only read the backs of cereal boxes?

You sat at the kitchen table in a trance, staring down the box your breakfast came from. Kenma walked in, sleepily trudging towards you, and asked what you were doing. The words came in one ear and out the other, an empty haze going over your brain. He went to the kitchen and tried to hide the clinking of a pill bottle with a story about a woman he saw in the park. He swallowed something mint green with water, before asking you--once again--about your blank stare.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Kenma walked over to you and placed an arm around your back, bringing you back to reality. You shook your head and looked up at him, asking flirtatiously if you could join him in a morning shower. He stuttered out an “okay”, but that’s when the worry started.

Hey, remember that time I tried to save a pigeon with a broken wing?

“Kenma! Hey!” You shouted, panicked in front of your apartment complex, a bird in your hands. The sky was a pale grey that contrasted heavily with your bright yellow shirt. The terrace attached to your living room had someone standing on it now.

“What the hell is that?”

A street cat got him by morning, and I had to bury pieces of his body in my building's playground

You wore black the next day. Something in you became used to the lack of color. It wasn’t exactly a change in personality, and it sure was subtle. Kenma never noticed when your closet’s colors started to fade. Nothing confused him when you left your pink shirts at the laundromat on purpose. Yet he was so observant elsewhere.

I thought I was going to be sick

But maybe something went too deeply into his brain, occupying his every thought. Nothing really seemed too different because his focus was always deep in a video game, but then you beat him at Mario Kart.

Hey, remember that time when I would only smoke Parliaments?

He wasn’t as sharp with a controller in his hands. He stopped falling asleep at three in the morning, sometimes turning in at as early as ten. He started spending more time away, walking down the alleyways between office buildings before and after his normal desk job. 

Hey, remember that time when I would only smoke Marlboros?

You woke up at seven one morning to an empty bed, knowing you fell asleep next to your boyfriend at twelve the night before. You rubbed your eyes and stretched your arms, walking twenty feet to see a blob of dyed blond hair and plushy black fabric. 

Hey, remember that time when I would only smoke Camels?

The bags under his eyes were deeper and darker than you had ever noticed them. His eyes fluttered open at the soft touch of your hand and he groaned at the brightness of the light. 

Hey, remember that time when I was broke?

“Shit, y/n. My neck hurts.” His arm reached around to massage the back of his neck, wincing his eyes shut at the light movement. 

“What’s this about, Ken?” Concern littered your face and nipped from your voice. He came back to reality slowly.

I didn't care; I just bummed from my friends

“I- uhm. I got too warm and had to sleep on the couch. Sorry, baby.” He seemed genuine. He put on a genuine face for you. The stutter made you doubt him.

Hey, remember that time when you OD'ed?

You were still strolling about a park, waving hellos to birds as they flew by. The black denim of your baggy jeans rubbed together, creating the slightest vibration. A tear fell from your squinting eyes at the memory. The happy facade you created fell quickly and all at once. 

Hey, remember that other time when you OD'ed for the second time?

You were looking to meet up with your boyfriend Kenma at the usual spot. He would be sitting there happy to see you, ready to push your hair from your face the second you sit down next to him.

Well, in the waiting room while waiting for news of you

Plot 34D. There were always flowers placed in the small vase. Kuroo came every three Thursdays. You typically went on Saturdays.

I hallucinated I could read your mind

“Hey, Kenma. On the way over here I was thinking about that one summer I only ate those tiny oranges! Remember how you always said they reminded you of your friend Shoyo?” You giggled, tear falling onto the well-maintained grass. “I stole one from a little farmers market in town and ate it right there. You would’ve scolded me so bad.”

And I was on a lot of shit too, but what I saw, man, I tell you it was freaky

[dottie-wan-kenobi]

wishing and hoping

Remus/Sirius + “Will you marry me?”

---

They’re fourteen, and it’s summer, the end of the semester hanging as thick in the air as the humidity. Late afternoon has found Remus hiding in the shade under a tree, his back against the cushion-spelled bark, his legs splayed out in front of him. He feels dreadfully overheated (even with his sleeves and trousers rolled up some, his socks and shoes kicked off beside him) and sick to his stomach in a grieving sort of way, and he can’t stop looking at Sirius. He’s laying next to Remus, similarly barefooted, his cuffs rolled up as far as they’ll go, the top buttons of his shirt loose. His hair isn’t long enough to be put up, yet, but it lays about his head in perfect waves. Arms tucked behind his head, he stretches like a cat and makes a sound like he’s never been so content.

Remus looks away, his cheeks surely red, but there’s nothing nearly as interesting to turn his attention to—James and Peter and some others playing Exploding Snap, Marlene skipping stones as she chats up a girl, Lily and Mary talking to younger Gryffindor girls—so he turns back to Sirius.

Their eyes meet. Sirius has that air about him, like he’s got his mind set on something and won’t let go of it for anything. It makes Remus nervous—the last time he’d seen that look, Sirius had found out that Remus thinks he might be bent. Just a little. And Sirius had said, eyes bright and searching, “I think I might be too. Just a little.”

They’d agreed not to tell anyone else yet, struck by the opportunity to have a companion, someone to keep a secret with, and by the fear that their friends won’t understand. But they haven’t spoken about it together yet, either, and part of that is Remus’ fault. Sirius has tried, when lights went out at night and it was only the two of them awake in their room and Remus pretended to sleep. 

He knows they need to talk about it before they have to leave for the summer. It won’t do to go all that time, questions building up and no answers or any way to get them. But thinking about it this way leaves a lump in his throat, his fingers pulling at the strings of his shirts. While he’s never quite minded getting to go home before, he does this time, and he isn’t sure why. Or, well, he has some idea but he doesn’t want to think about the possible reasons for it.

Sirius breathes out, looking up at the clouds, releasing Remus from his clutches. He asks, “Do you ever think about the future?”

“You know I do.”

“Well, humor me, would you?”

Remus shrugs, even though Sirius isn’t looking at him, and picks at his fingers. He has a hangnail, and he stares at it as he says, “I’ll have to get registered once I get out of here. Probably work in the Muggle world, since no one will want to hire a…well, me. They won’t want to hire me.” He can already imagine the kinds of jobs that’ll be available to him—important work, he knows that, but not what he wants. “What about you?”

“I’ll go where James goes, I suppose.”

“What about work?”

“What about it?”

“What do you think you’ll do?”

Sirius pulls an arm out from under his head just to wave his hand in the air dismissively. “Haven’t a clue. Probably nothing. I don’t want to work, anyway. Do you think I could pull off being a house-husband?”

Remus sighs, gazing up through the branches of the tree.

For a few moments, they’re silent, and it’s comfortable even if he’s wishing for patience. But then Sirius breaks it, because he hates silence and never lets it last as long as Remus would like him to. “If you could have any job in the whole world, what would you be?”

“I can’t—”

“Guaranteed you’d get it,” Sirius adds, turning to peek at him. 

Remus gives in, knowing it’ll be easier to just go along with wherever Sirius is trying to take him. “A teacher, I suppose.”

“Here at Hogwarts? Or in the Muggle world?”

“Well, I don’t exactly know what Muggles study, now do I?”

“So here, then.” Fluidly, Sirius sits up and turns to face him, his legs crossed. “Would you want to live in Hogsmeade, or somewhere else?”

He shrugs again. “I don’t know, wherever they’d take me would be enough.” 

“But if you were allowed anywhere,” he stresses.

He knows Sirius isn’t trying to be mean, but he can’t help his sharp tone when he replies, “If was allowed anywhere?”

Sirius’ eyes widen as he realizes what he said, his mouth turning down apologetically. “I meant—I just mean, imagine you could go anywhere in the whole world! Price doesn’t matter, and neither does the fact that you’re a—you. Where?”

“Why are you being so pushy?” Remus demands, feeling like the butt of some joke he doesn’t understand at all. “Why do you care where I’d want to live?” 

He scowls now, crossing his arms. “I’m just curious! Why won’t you tell me?”

“I don’t see why you should care if you’re just going to go and live with James anyway.”

“Well maybe I’ll go live with you! And I want to know where we might hypothetically live, is that so wrong? Just tell me!”

Remus throws a hand over his eyes, trying to calm down—the dark, conveniently free of Sirius, helps somewhat. Without pulling it away, he answers, “I don’t know, okay! I’ll be lucky if I don’t end up homeless or in with the—the you-know-whats. I’ve never thought about it before.”

Well, he has. But it hurts enough to get his own hopes up, nevermind sharing such private thoughts with Sirius. Maybe if they were hidden in one of their beds, a silencing charm up, lumos lighting them up enough to see, enough for Sirius to pretend Remus didn’t have tears in his eyes. But no—they’re sitting on the lawn under a tree, and their friends are all around. This privacy they have is fragile, and will be easily broken whenever James decides he’s bored and wants Sirius’ attention. He can’t admit to what he wants for himself here, or that he’s actually thought quite extensively about his future—a teaching job at Hogwarts, where his class will be fun and whimsical while still educational; a cozy house with a room for the moons that he’ll try to occupy on other days, a big bed to snuggle down into, someone by his side. He really is only a little bent—he wouldn’t mind a wife, he thinks, remembering flashes of imagined curves, a closet with his things on one side and beautiful dresses on the other. But usually when he imagines this home, he thinks of Sirius beside him. In bed, and in the kitchen, or taking a bath while Remus brushes his teeth.

He can’t possibly tell him any of this. He’s humiliated enough.

Sirius reaches out to rest a hand on his knee, breaking into his thoughts. When he speaks, his voice isn’t gentle like James’ would be or afraid of saying the wrong thing like Peter’s would. There’s a kind of unshakable confidence that only he has when he says, “That will never happen. I mean it, Remus. You’ll always have a place with me.”

“I—I—” He doesn’t know how to say thank you, or I won’t be your charity case, or anything at all.

“It’s not charity,” Sirius says, rolling his eyes. “I know that’s what you’re thinking but it’s not! You’re one of my best friends, and I’ve heard what the you-know-whats are like, and I know you wouldn’t be happy there. And I want you to be happy. So does Hogsmeade sound okay or would you prefer somewhere else? Ottery St Catchpole? Godric’s Hollow? I suppose we could live in one of the Muggle cities….”

“Those sound alright.” He shifts uncomfortably, and though it wasn’t his intention, Sirius takes his hand away.

He starts to muse aloud about the advantages and downfalls of the various towns, occasionally glancing at Remus like he expects him to be taking notes or something. A few minutes, he trails off, contemplative. “If you don’t like those options—”

“No, no, I do, they’re fine—”

“—we could always live in Paris, you know. Or Rome. Or we could go back to Wales?” He offers. “If you want.”

“What about what you want?” As soon as he says it, he regrets it—this whole conversation has left him wrong-footed and he’d meant to ask why on earth Sirius is acting so weird, not bring attention to the fact that this is all very one-sided. “No, wait, I meant—why are you—what are you—I don’t understand what’s going on right now,” he finally settles on. “You’re going to live with James, and the only way you and I will ever be together—live together, I mean—is if things get so bad for me I have no other choice. So—so why are you—”

“You know,” Sirius interrupts, a casual air about him that Remus knows is an act. He looks at Remus head-on, but he’s nervous—it’s obvious by how he’s ripping blades of grass out of the ground, one by one, twirling them around his fingers as he pulls. “We could just skip that step all together. Just follow James wherever he goes, be his next door neighbors. Peter can be on the other side.”

“Sirius, that’s—” ridiculous, he’s going to say, utterly bonkers, but Sirius talks over him.

“As long as we’re together, I don’t care where we live really. Just not London. That’s the last place I want to go.” He looks away then, to the grass. “Remus, I know this will sound mad, but…. Will you marry me?”

“We’re fourteen,” Remus says without thinking. Then—”What?”

“Will you marry me?” Sirius repeats, peeking over through his fringe.

“Are you—Sirius, don’t joke.” He can feel his whole face warming at the thought, though with humiliation or anger, he doesn’t know. He’d thought this would be something Sirius could be, well, serious about, that he’d understand. Remus can take all kinds of ribbing and hazing, but he cannot take this.

“I’m not joking!” Sirius is much too loud, his eyes widening again. “Remus, what we talked about—I thought—I mean, we get along and if we’re both you-know, then why not—”

“We’re fourteen,” Remus repeats. His heart is pounding at top speeds, and he feels like he’s just run a marathon, his whole body tight with shock and all kinds of other emotions he doesn’t want to think about. “And there are others like us out there, you know, and maybe you’ll find one who you could actually love if you just take the time to find them—”

Sirius makes a strangled noise. “I could, I absolutely could love y—”

Remus waves his hand agitatedly. “It doesn’t matter! You’re nutters.”

“So you don’t want to marry me?” It’s a demand, his eyes hard and piercing. But Remus can tell he’s hurt—his hands are in fists now, trembling against the ground.

“I—” He thinks about those fantasies. Thinks about Sirius with a ring, or sitting at a table with his bedhead and a copy of the Daily Prophet while Remus makes them tea. Not having to sneak into Remus’ bed because it’s his bed too. Mornings after full moons, Sirius hovering over him and trying to distract him from the pain. Kissing and holding each other the way Remus has seen two aunts do. Meekly, he answers, “I didn’t say that.”

“Then—”

“Oi!” James calls, bounding over with Peter a few steps behind. “What are you two bickering about now?”

“Nothing,” Sirius says at the same time Remus says, “It doesn’t matter.”

James and Peter pretend to back off, their hands up, vowing they won’t ask again. It makes Sirius smile, but Remus scowls, not ready to be eased into calming down. James nudges him with his foot, and Remus makes a grab for his ankle, trying and failing to trip him.

Laughing, he bounces away, and Peter shuffles closer to Sirius, obviously not wanting to face his wrath either.

“Come on,” James says, pulling Sirius to his feet but speaking to them both. “We need two more for a match of football.”

“Ask Marlene,” Remus snaps, sinking back into the tree. If any of them try to drag him along, he has no compunctions about fighting, none at all.

“What’s going on with you?” Peter demands after a few moments of quiet. 

“Just leave him alone,” Sirius replies, grabbing his shoes. “Remus, watch my stuff, will you?”

He grumbles an affirmative, and they leave. Their voices carry long enough for him to hear the other two questioning Sirius, and it does nothing but make his temper raise even higher.

Furious tears well in his eyes, and he slams them shut. He doesn’t know if Sirius was mocking him or not, if he honestly thinks that just because they’re both a little queer, that means they should get together. He doesn’t know which one is worse. It doesn’t help that Sirius seems to have all these plans for them, an expensive and lavish life that Remus will never be able to afford, even if they split the costs. 

It takes until the game is over for him to feel like he might be able to look at Sirius without his head exploding in anger and embarrassment. When the others come back, Sirius slips his bag over his shoulder without looking at him. “Thanks,” he says, and is off before Remus can decide what to say back.

“You know,” James sings, “He told us all about it. So if you wanna talk about what happened, we’re here for you, okay?”

Peter nods along, and it would be convincing if Remus weren’t absolutely sure that Sirius would never out them both this way.

“Piss off,” Remus says, and asks about the match before either can try and keep the subject going.

They don’t mention it again the whole rest of the semester, and Remus spends the summer fretting terribly about it, waking from dreams that leave him reaching out across his mattress for someone who isn’t there. And when they come back in the fall, Sirius manic with his returned freedom, they don’t mention it then either. But there are nights when Sirius slips into his bed and they talk about how they’re both just a little bent, feeling less alone with each conversation, and slowly the tension eases from Remus’ shoulders.

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

They’re twenty-seven, and it’s winter, apprehension hovering around Remus as much as their breaths do outside. Early morning has found them laying in their bed, tucked under the light covers and sharing body heat as the weak sunlight filters in. He feels warm (a good, comfortable kind that goes deeper than the skin) and nervous though he thinks he probably shouldn’t, and he can’t stop looking at Sirius. He’s laying next to Remus, dozing off with one hand resting under his head, the other holding the small of Remus’ back. Strands of his hair have come out of the bun he put it in before bed last night. As Remus watches, he stretches out his legs, cold air seeping in from where the blankets get displaced by the movement.

He doesn’t think he ever wants to look away.

Looping his arm around Sirius, he shifts them so he’s on his back, Sirius laying on his chest. It’s enough for him to open his eyes, soft but probing too.

“C’mon, wake up,” Remus says, quiet, not wanting to breach the atmosphere.

Sirius groans and ducks his head, forehead pressing to Remus’ collarbone. “Too early,” he complains.

He can’t help but smile, amused. They woke up for the first time an hour before, and it certainly wasn’t because Remus wanted to. He’d gotten with the program eventually, of course, but at first? All Sirius. “There’s something I want to talk about.”

“Something bad?” Sirius checks, peeking up.

“Well, I don’t think it is.”

“Will I?”

Damn, he hopes not. But he plays along, making a contemplative face. “Depends. Are we gonna talk about it, or are you gonna sleep again?”

“Maybe I will,” Sirius grumbles, not really all that upset. He sits up a little, and Remus’ hands find his hips without thinking, stroking his thumb up and down Sirius’ bare skin. “What is it, then?”

“Do you ever think about the future?”

Sirius stares down at him, some realization sparking in his eyes. “If you’re asking about my inheritance—”

“I’m not, I’m not,” Remus says, petting Sirius’ flanks like he does Padfoot’s, hoping to calm him down some. It won’t do to have him all ready to argue if Remus is going to take them where he’s trying to go. “I meant, do you ever think about what we’re doing here?”

“We live here,” Sirius says blandly.

“Well, yes—”

“And this is our bed, so clearly we’re laying in it. When we get up, we’ll visit the loo and then go have a late breakfast and maybe I’ll take another stab at getting the telly and the magic to work. We’ll have lunch and I’ll pester you about getting a dog again and you’ll say, ‘No, Sirius, we already have one and that’s you’. Then maybe I’ll take you in the den, and we can lay on the floor for a while complaining about the cold. Supper will be something delicious, no doubt because I’ll make it, and then when we’re done eating, we can take a bath together.”

“I meant more generally,” Remus cuts in. “Though that all sounds lovely.”

Sirius smirks, but it’s fleeting. “Generally? I think we’re making a life together, Moony. Why, what do you think we’re doing here?”

“The same thing as you,” he reassures, and means it with everything in him. Life with Sirius is amazing, and it has been since they got together five years before, and he hopes—embarrassingly and achingly hopes—that he’ll get to have it for the rest of his days. “But maybe it’s time for a change?”

They’re quiet for a long moment, their eyes locked. Remus can practically hear Sirius’ mind whirring, something in his gaze flickering. He can probably the see right through Remus, can see where this is going, is trying to figure out how to say that he likes them the way they are and doesn’t want any more, doesn’t want a more formal attachment than their names together on a lease.

Finally, Sirius sits up fully, pushing the flyaways out of his face. When he speaks, his voice is tight, straight-forward. “Are you trying to break up with me?”

It takes a moment for his words to get through to Remus, the very idea feeling foreign and wrong, and then he splutters, “What?”

“Are you trying to break up with me,” Sirius repeats. “Because if you are I’m going to be really, really upset. I’m not letting you go without a fight, okay, I thought we agreed that if we were having issues we’d fucking talk about them instead of just—”

“Sirius,” Remus calls, feeling frantic.

“—just letting it all build up and explode in our faces so it’s too late to save anything,” he blazes on. “You said that yourself, and now you’re not even going to—? What was it? What did I do? We’re gonna talk about it, we’re gonna sit down and go over everything, we’ll—I’ll compromise if I have to, and if you still feel like it’s—this is—we’re—if we can’t overcome it, then—then fine, I’ll—”

“Sirius!”

“—I’ll go, okay, you can have the cottage, I would never kick you out, I hope you know that—”

For a second, he’s thrown back to the first time they talked about this, and all the other times Sirius was weirdly adamant about Remus having some place to live. It makes him feel weirdly light-headed—that he would worry so much about it in the first place, that even now as he thinks he’s being broken up with, he’s still looking out for Remus. They’ve been together for years, friends for almost two decades, and it’s far from the first time Sirius has been considerate of him. But it feels so big this time, and he isn’t sure why.

“Sirius, for Godric’s sake, will you listen to me?”

Finally, finally he stops, but he pulls away, too, lifting himself off Remus’ lap and landing beside his legs. There’s a distance there, and by the way Sirius is scrutinizing him, he can easily see tears in his eyes, and it makes Remus feel like his insides have been scooped out. 

This isn’t what he wanted, not what he expected to happen at all. For years, ever since they were fourteen, he’s been dreaming of this moment, all the different ways he could ask or be asked. He knows Sirius occasionally has a hard time taking the lead in their relationship, and from what James had said, this is one of those areas, so Remus had decided he’d do it. A comfortable place, like their bed, alone so there’s no pressure, broaching it the same way Sirius had thirteen years before because it had seemed like a good way to remind him they’ve been here before.

Clearly he’s screwed up somewhere, though, and has to backtrack quickly before things really go to shit.

“Padfoot,” he says as calmly as he can, speaking around his heart in his throat. “I’m not trying to break up with you. You didn’t do anything wrong, there’s nothing—that’s not—I mean, we’re okay. Fully, totally okay, alright? If I did have an issue, I would bring it to you like we agreed.”

“Then I don’t understand,” Sirius says, his words glancing past in the face of Sirius’ hurt and confusion. “Why do you want things to change? If we’re so okay, then we don’t need it.”

“We are okay,” Remus says, more of a snap than he wants it to be. It’s not Sirius’ fault he’s misunderstanding what’s going on here. Apologetically, he reaches out for Sirius’ hand, and he lets him take it, pressing his thumb to Remus’ wrist. “I’m—I’ve right mucked this up.”

Sirius makes a noise, not quite a scoff or an agreement. Just an acknowledgment.

“What I meant by all this was, do you ever think about our future? And would you ever want to…”

“Want to what?” Sirius coaxes when Remus has taken too long. He still sounds upset, but he’s listening, and that’s enough for now.

Remus meets his eyes, and a bolt of fear overwhelms him for a second. He and Sirius haven’t talked about taking this next step, not really. For all that they’ve joked about certain things—being Harry’s gay uncles, getting a dog to raise as their own baby, being old men still bickering about the laundry—they’ve never quite sat down and just said it, that they want to marry each other. Remus hasn’t admitted it to Sirius since he was fourteen. It’s been too long—and now he’s thinking he really should’ve brought it up before now, to gauge where Sirius is at with this. Too late now, he supposes.

“Want to marry me,” he says, then clears his throat, and asks, louder, trying to sound confident, “Will you marry me, Sirius?” 

Sirius blinks, some of the hurt falling away to make room for surprise. “What?”

“Will you marry me?”

“Don’t joke, Moony,” he says, a waver to his voice. He pulls his hand away, his mouth turning down. “If you’re joking right now….”

“I’m not, I’m not joking. Let’s get married.”

“We’ve never—we can’t—Remus.”

He reaches out and cups Sirius’ shoulders, and Sirius leans in, nearly collapsing into his lap. It was a mistake, he realizes, to go about it this way. “Look, if you don’t want to, you can say no. I know…I know I didn’t really go about this the right way, I should’ve asked you about it before I just sprung it on you. So if you want to say no, I won’t mind.”

“You won’t mind?” Sirius chokes. “Are you—did you just ask me to marry you and now you’re saying you don’t want to?”

He groans, thoroughly irritated with himself for having so much trouble communicating this. “No! I want to get married to you, I’ve wanted to since—well, for a very long time, okay, all I’m saying is that if you want to wait or don’t want to at all, that’s fine. We can keep doing what we’ve been doing, I won’t be upset. I’ll be a little upset,” he corrects, already planning ahead for a miserable night of mourning the chance to call Sirius his husband. “But I’ll get over it.”

Sirius breathes in deeply, and out just as loudly. “Give me a second,” he says, and doesn’t wait for a response before he shuts his eyes and lays his head in the crook of Remus’ neck. Immediately, prickling anxiety fills him, but he figures letting Sirius gather his thoughts is the least he can do, and opts for rubbing long circles on his back.

They’ve found themselves in this position many times before, sometimes like this and sometimes flipped. He’s come to the sound conclusion that there’s no better place to be than in Sirius’ arms, or holding him, nowhere safer or more comforting. Even now, as emotions pile up—fear and guilt and embarrassment and so, so much love—he feels…okay. It’s easy to reassure himself, because he knows even if Sirius says no, they’ll talk about it and they’ll be fine.

“I’m ready to talk,” Sirius says, putting on airs again, but doesn’t pull away. His arms loop around Remus’ waist, one hand holding the other wrist against the small of his back.

Remus presses his cheek to his head, breathing in his shampoo and sweat and the slight dog smell he can never get rid of. He whispers, “Okay.”

“I—you’ve gotta know, Moony. I’ve wanted to be your husband for…ever. Since I found out it could maybe come true some day. Me not wanting to marry you isn’t the issue here.”

“But there is an issue.”

“Well, yeah. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know anyone who would officiate, and even if we did find someone, it wouldn’t be legal, would it?”

“They’re trying to get it legalized with the Ministry,” he reminds, though a stab of something—guilt and false hope and a familiar, numb anger—hits him as he says it. The chances of it actually happening… Lily didn’t seem optimistic, the last time they talked.

Sirius scoffs. “You know how that’s going to go.”

There’s no use denying it. Still… “Yeah, but there’s always a chance. Lily’s on the committee. That’s at least one person on our side.”

“That’s true…”

A few moments of quiet pass them by. They both seem to realize how cold it is in the room at the same time, so Remus grabs a throw blanket from the end of the bed to tuck around their shoulders. Sirius hums contentedly, and the sound of it shoots right through Remus. He can’t help but break the silence. “Pads.”

“Yeah?”

“If we could find someone to do a ceremony, would you want to do that? Whether it’s legal or not.”

“Of course I would. Finally get to see you in a proper suit, mmm.”

Remus grins, poking at him and getting his hands playfully slapped away for the trouble. “Who said I’d wear a suit?”

The look he gets is a wonderfully amusing mix of horror and disappointment, and if Sirius says anything, he doesn’t hear it over his laughter. By the time he’s calmed down, Sirius has them laying back down, curled up together like when they woke up. He wants to ask more questions—what kind of venue, what season, if he’s as committed to Harry being the ring bearer as Remus is—but they can wait. He ducks his head down, breathing in Sirius and their bed and the cold air, and lets himself bask in the realization that, sooner or later, they’ll be husbands.

(reblogs greatly appreciated! 🥺❤️)

[doritopaw101]

Arc1, book 2: Chapter 5

It had been a whole half-moon since that day. Things had been eventful to say the least.

Riverclan as expected called out Splashsong's murder and Bluestar defended Graypaw saying it was an accident, leaving out why Thunderclan cats were there in the first place of course.

Brokenstar had been quiet throughout Bluestar's hissing match with Leopardclaw. The golden molly demanded blood but Willowpelt nearly tore her throat for demanded her son's death. "The only thing you'll get from Thunderclan is fox dung" Willowpelt had snarled "This death is your fault not Graypaw's"

He had to corner Whiteclaw to tell him what happened to Silverpaw and Silverstream. Silverpaw has recovering, his eye will heal, not the best but he'll be able to use it.

When Windclan showed up, Brokenstar looked like he was going to rip Duskstar's throat out. When Brokenstar asked what they were doing back here Bluestar cut in and said.

"Starclan sent an omen and said Windclan would return right?"

Duskstar and Stormstar agreed with her words, it was a wise choice. Brokenstar was furious but Palecloud said that he had the omen but didn't say anything. Brokenstar basically called the gathering over and left in a huff.

He heard from Weaselwhisker that Shadowclan tried scaring off Windclan again but Duskstar wasn't going be driven out again and they won the fight. Luna wasn't fully convinced with clan life but she said she would stay til her kits, Marblekit and Thornkit become warriors, she held the name Moonclaw for the time being.

Piling on with Riverclan and Shadowclan biting at Thunderclan's heels, winter had arrived already and there was a greencough outbreak in the camp. Adderkit and Leapkit currently had it as did Birchstep.

Swiftpaw and Lynxpaw had been apprenticed a few days after Cinderpaw, Smokepaw, Lichenpaw, and Brackenpaw were. Swiftpaw to Fogtail and Lynxpaw to Willowpelt respectively.

Brindleface's litter was certainly interesting. The rest of the clan thought they only had three kits when they had four. Brindleface had snuck out of camp the night of the birth,the clan lead them but Bluestar asked Icebelly and Embereyes to watch them, they agreed. Blackfoot was the sire of the kits and took the only kit that would give them away, Elderkit. Icebelly couldn't have been to sure whether Brindleface saw him but it felt confirmed when the pale gray cat made sure to stay out of his way at all times.

Though with the filling nursery came with the decrease in food for the warriors and apprentices.

The nursery in general was packed with: Frostbite expecting kits sired by Tiger-roar for her and Mossthorn, Yellowkit was growing big for her age, Willowpelt's litter was also growing well, Miststrike's kits: Yewkit was getting bigger by the day but Leapkit was still so small and wouldn't be ready, Doekit, Adderkit, and Volekit were close to apprenticeship. Robinwing's litter was growing well and should make lovely apprentices. Bluestar had also given birth to her litter: Maplekit, Snowkit, Mistlekit, and Aspenkit, one had been born still and Bluestar named the kit Starkit. Icebelly had been all over the four kits from the get go.

His own apprentice, Cinderpaw was definitely a pawful but he was determined to train them well like Tiger-roar trained him. He was glad he got to have Tiger-roar and Nightshade to lean on for advice as well as Miststrike and Leopardstorm. Cinderpaw worked well in a group setting rather by themself so being around Sleetpaw and Smokypaw helped alot.

Ravenpaw decided he wanted to be a Silverblood. His help certainly lighten Thymeroot and Yellowfang's workload. The tom seemed more at peace in the medicine den than he did in the apprentice's den.

Though things could've been better:

-Flashback-

His belly had been aching all day, he just thought he ate something bad but apparently not. He definitely didn't let Cinderpaw fight him with the chance to kick his belly.

Chestnutclaw looked ready to claw his ears off "Go be weak in the herb den with herb cats" he hissed "I don't want Smokepaw's training falling"

He had went to see them, feeling like he was being kicked all over. Thymeroot examined him and her tail curled up in surprise "Well, you're not sick Icebelly?"

"Then.." Icebelly trailed off, knowing the answer.

"Congrats" the seer purred, her green eyes shining "I know you've wanted to have kits for a while"

'Not with his kits' he hadn't mated with Chestnutclaw as planned, he had been busy training Cinderpaw and had pushed the plans til Cinderpaw had finished her training. He wanted to forget what had happened to him but Brokenstar seemed determined to make sure he never forgot like the scar on the side of his throat.

"If I may be so bold to ask, who's the sire?"

Icebelly looked away "I...he's..."

"Not of Thunderclan?"

Icebelly couldn't bring himself to really answer with words but Thymeroot took his silence.

Thymeroot licked his ear "It's alright, you'll be fine"

"I hope so"

-Flashback ends-

"I never realized how it must suck having short fur during leaf-bare, how do Sandstorm and Ravenpaw deal with it" Cherrycloud mewed, nudging into his chest breaking his thoughts

Icebelly hummed "Find a fluffy cat to huddle and snuggle with"

"Oh is that what I am" she rubbed her head along his neck "A cat to snuggle with"

"Or course not, I'm fluffy as well if not more than you though we've been doing a lot more than 'snuggling' lately" He smirked 'It take my mind off the fact I'm carrying Brokenstar's kits, please let some of them be Chestnutclaw's' he shouted in his mind

Cherrycloud purred with amusement

"Icebelly Cherrycloud" Redtail's voice sounded rough and tired. Icebelly could see the deputy looked exhausted he couldn't blame him. Him and Bluestar must have a hard time dealing with their clanmates concerns about the Shadowclan attacks, Riverclan's new hostility and now the greencough outbreak.

"Can you two take your apprentices out?"

"Sure" Cherrycloud mewed getting up

"Any place in particular?" Icebelly asked shaking his fur

"We need prey try going near twolegplace or the owl tree"

Thymeroot popped her head from the medicine den, some feverfew and tansy were stuck on her pelt. "If you find catmint get as much as you can"

"Gotcha sir deputy sir" Cherrycloud purred "And you miss medicine"

A smile appeared on Redtail's face and a chuckle escaped from his throat. "You are a blessing in this time Cherrycloud"

They woke Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw up and headed for twolegplace. The experience could do them good.

Cinderpaw pounced on a squirrel, a swift bite to its neck. "Got it!" they called

Brackenpaw looked down, while Cinderpaw had managed to catch four kills now all he caught was a "lousy shrew" in his own words.

Cherrycloud noticed and bumped against her apprentice "Hey cheer up, everyone has off days, I'm sure Mossthorn or Frostbite will love it"

"Maybe you're a better fighter than Cinderpaw, you got Lionheart's large build while Cinderpaw got Mossthorn's lean one" Icebelly added, though he wondered if that was true. When he first took Cinderpaw out he taught her some basic fighting moves and increased the harshness since. Cinderpaw complained of sore pads the first day but was ready for it the next day. The eagerness of this young cat made it worth while.

"We'll try to battle train soon though" Cherrycloud mewed "For now let's make make Redtail proud that we all caught at least something"

That seemed to cheer Brackenpaw up. The all had caught some good and worthy kills. Cinderpaw found catmint and couldn't wait to see the look on Yellowfang's face when she brought it.

"Look!" Cinderpaw pointed with her nose at a molly padding along across the forest floor. It was a fluffy white molly with blue eyes. 'Princess!' Icebelly thought with shock. Her belly was swollen, heavy with unborn kits. "Kittypet!" Cinderpaw sneered, their fur fluffed out "Let's chase her out"

"No" he mewed pulling the gray apprentice back by their tail "She's a kittypet afterall she's no threat, stay here"

Princess may have a collar but it had many teeth and fangs it it to protect her throat and he knew his sister was far from helpless, Bone taught her well.

He padded slowly over to her "Princess!" he called

Princess's back fur spiked up and she bared her teeth but she got a closer look at him. "Splinter?"

He nodded and nuzzled her.

"What on earth are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, far from the city"

"I got picked up, Snake found me" Princess mewed

"We''ll talk tomorrow" he mewed "Stay around here, my other clanmates would shred you trust me on that"

"I'd kill them when they stood if they tried" Princess drawled "But I have kits to think about, be around here tomorrow by dawn, I have to get back to Bloodclan soon" She heaved herself over one of the fences.

"Problem solved" he said heading back "Let's get back to camp shall we?"

/

Icebelly woke at dawn with the image of his sister still clear in his mind. He pushed his way out of the den, hoping to get out of camp as soon as he could. It was another cold, frosty morning. Though his fur seemed to get fluffier where it was more tolerable. Leopardstorm and Fogtail were waiting near the camp entrance, preparing to leave on patrol. Mousefur padded past on her way to join them and greeted Icebelly with a cherry mew. Fogtail called for Swiftpaw, who came racing out of the camp.

He padded across the clearing, wondering if Cinderpaw was awake yet. Brindleface was just squeezing out of the narrow nursery entrance. Ashkit followed her, Tulipkit close to his dam, then Fernkit followed tumbling out and falling onto the ground. Brindleface picked Fernkit up by her scruff and placed her gently back on her paws.

"Are they well?" he asked

"So far yes" Brindleface replied, green eyes avoiding his "We've had no other cases in the nursery so far and we hope to keep it that way"

"How's Embereyes?"

Brindleface sighed "She's keeping it together for Volekit and Doekit but she's worried for Adderkit, Nettlemist has been helping her relax"

Icebelly nodded as he heard Cherrycloud's pawsteps behind him. He turned to greet his friend, stretching his head to touch Cherrycloud's nose, and asked, "Could you take Cinderpaw for the day?"

Cherrycloud looked curiously at Icebelly "Why?"

"Oh, nothing important" Icebelly replied "Just wanted to check something and plus they'll need the battle training I can't really do in my state"

"Alright" Cherrycloud mewed, whiskers twitching with amusement, he knew she didn't believe anything he said but was going along with it.

"Thanks, Cherrycloud!" Icebelly bounded away toward the camp entrance.

As the houses came into view through the trees, Icebelly dropped into a crouch. He opened his mouth and breathed in the cold morning air. No sign of a Thunderclan patrol, and no human scents either. He relaxed a little.

Slowly he approached the fence where he had seen the molly disappear. He hesitated at the bottom and looked around, sniffing the air once more. Then he leaped, landing on a fence post in one easy jump. No huamns to be seen-just an empty garden with its strongly scented plants. Icebelly felt exposed on the post but he didn't have to climb when he heard the cheery voice of his sister.

"Splinter!"

Icebelly jumped from the fence landing flat on his paws right infront of his littermate. "It's Icebelly now, how are you doing?"

"As well as you could expect with me expecting" Princess mewed, her collar had more teeth than the last time he saw her

"Who'd you kill?" he asked

"I forget as time goes by" Princess replied, she sat down firmly resting her budging belly "Seven now, got three claws from that one"

"Is this your first litter?" He eyed her belly

"Yes, finally decided I wanted to help Bloodclan's legacy with my kits"

"Smudge?"

"Yep, I'm due very soon"

Icebelly sighed, rubbing his face with his paw "At least I'm not alone in parenthood"

Princess looked confused and cocked her head to the side "What?"

"Luna's had kits and joined Duskstar and Jake in Windclan for the time being, I'm also...expecting"

Princess's eyes widen "Seriously? You having kits?"

"Yeah"

"Well we know we'll do better than our birth giver" Princess stated

"Also Filou is part of Riverclan she's named Flamepaw, Nutmeg's in Shadowclan under the name of Dewflare with our new siblings. Also we have an older brother, Gingerblaze"

"What?"

"Yeah. Nutmeg was a clan cat, she lived in Thunderclan before she had us"

"I'd like to meet him"

"I'll work something out"

Princess moved closer to him, pressing her fur against his flank. This is what he missed, the feeling of someone who related to him.

"You've mentioned these clans"

Icebelly nodded

"I've heard things from dad already before but what's it like? Is it different than Bloodclan or the other groups round here?"

"In the clans, we take care of each other, Younger cats hunt for elders; warriors protect the hunting grounds from the other clans. I trained all spring and summer to become a warrior from training under Tiger-roar. I have an apprentice of my own now Cinderpaw"

"Was that the pointed dark gray cat I saw yesterday?"

Icebelly nodded "They're great, full of energy but knows the skill well so far" he looked around "where've you been staying?"

"This house doesn't have humans you know, I relax here and go inside if needed which I'm doing right now"

Icebelly looked back at the forest "I have to get back to my clan and you'll have your paws full soon enough as will I. I'll come back to see you in two days, I'll see if Gingerblaze will come"

"Great" Princess called over her shoulder. She was already trotting back to the house "See ya Icebelly?"

"See you soon" Icebelly called. His sister disappeared from view, and he heard the swinging flap slap shut behind her.

Once the garden was silent, Icebelly crept through the bushes to the fence. He jumped over it and ran into the forest.

/

When he finally returned to camp, he carried a vole and a wood pigeon in his mouth. He missed a few pigeons along the way when his vision started to blurry. The sun was setting, thank Starclan, and the clan were gathering for their evening meal. Graypaw sat alone beside the nettle clump, a fat chaffinch at her paws. She looked like she wasn't sleeping he was about to go over when Nettlemist laid his tail on his back "I got this" he whispered and Icebelly nodded to him as he padded across the clearing to the pile of fresh-kill that had already been collected.

Tiger-roar, Lionheart, and Leopardstorm was sitting near by, the dual colored tabby's amber and blue eyes narrowed. "I noticed that Cinderpaw spent the day with Cherrycloud" he mewed as Icebelly dropped his catch onto the pile. "Where were you?"

Icebelly returned Tiger-roar's gaze, he was good at not flinching at the gaze after being around Tiger-roar for so long. "It seemed like a good day for hunting-too good to waste" he replied

"Considering your vision's acting up and that you were alone" Icebelly could tell that Tiger-roar's voice contained a great amount of amount of concern which which didn't surprise him. Tiger-roar had been his mentor so he knew when he had any of his problems. "I'm guessing you missed a few catches on your way back"

"Why did Bluestar let him be a mentor" Lionheart muttered to which Leopardstorm nudged him in the shoulder harshly

Icebelly forced his fur flat and tried not to curse the golden tom "Bluestar trusts my abilities, have a problem take it up with her" Icebelly tried but couldn't resist " Or maybe you're a little bitter that Frostbit seems to have dumped you for Mossthorn, or that she's pregnant with Tiger-roar's kits rather than yours"

Lionheart's eyes narrowed at him

"But hey you're not mateless, you have Leopardstorm and Tiger-roar it seems. The great two-colored tom he is allows you to worship his great di-"

"Icebelly" Tiger-roar warned

He regretted nothing and he knew Tiger-roar knew that as well. "The clan needs all the fresh-kill it can get at the moment, I may have missed but I got something at least" Icebelly replied calmly

Tiger-roar nodded, suspicion darkening his eyes "Yes, but we also need warriors if we're going to put Shadowclan back in their place and send Riverclan back into their rivers. Cinderpaw's training is your responsibility not Cherrycloud's, she already has Brackenpaw to worry about. Redtail wants apprentices in as top shape as possible"

Icebelly nodded "I understand, Tiger-roar" he dipped his head respectfully "I'll take them out tomorrow near the Riverclan border"

"Good" Tiger-roar said seeming satisfied

"Make sure they doesn't get into any trouble with Riverclan, we already have enough of it as is already" Leopardstorm added

"Of course Leopardstorm"

/

Three of Morningflower's claws snapped off when she met rock and clay. She didn't even flinch she was used to her claws snapping off when tunneling, it still felt good to be back down here after moons in a rotten twoleg tunnel. She still swiped the dirt with her left paw, standing firmly on her hind legs.

"Morningflower, take a break I got this" Deadfoot called, his twisted paw covered in mud

"You should go see Barkface for that paw" Mudclaw added "We don't need infections right now"

'Like I'll leave our kits without their mother' Morningflower dropped down to all fours, shaking her fluffy coat. "I'm fine, just a broken claw"

"Now's not a time to be stubborn, rest, go the nursery with your kits" Deadfoot stated

"Yes deputy sir" Morningflower mewed rolling her eyes. She padded past the tom, head held high as she made her way up the tunnel.

Things in Windclan haven't been the best since they've been back. Prey was scarce as it is in leaf-bare and Shadowclan thought that was the best time to attack them. Duskstar was firm and saying Windclan won't be driven off again. Let's hope they'll survive to newleaf.

Morningflower padded out of the tunnel, eyes shut from the blinding sunlight. As a tunneler, her eyes were more sensitive to sun than a moor-runners.

She quickly headed to the nursery where Barkface was waiting. Ashfoot and Rabbit-tail were asleep in the corner of the den while Moonclaw was in a nest close to her with Marblekit and Thornkit. Whitetail was quiet and at peace, her new born kits suckling gently.

She laid down in her nest, her kits latching on as she did. She let Barkface treat her bleeding paw as she watched her kits nurse. They were growing well thank goodness, Briarkit gave her a scare but she hung on.

She didn't expect Runningpaw to start mushing her belly. She was about ask but Runningbrook beat her too it.

"It's to stimulate milk" the gray tabby mewed "Frogleap told me he tired it with Fallowtail and it worked well"

Morningflower sighed just letting them do their work, it wasn't too bad. It felt nice to be honest

"Have you thought of names yet?" Thrushwing padded into the den, her plump belly showing brightly as she sat close to Whitetail, placing more wool in the nest "It's been a moon" Morningflower wasn't surprised to see her sister already back into the ways of the clan. She wore the jewels a high ranking moor-runner as well as a star-keeper in training.

'Important to the clan' Morningflower thought 'That's what mother wanted for us, for you most of all Thrushwing' she was aware their mother wasn't pleased when she became a tunneler, even more so when Stoneclaw became one was well. She wanted them all to be proud moor-runnners like her and their late father Grasstail.

"Icekit" Whitetail replied, softly licking her son's head "For the cat that helped me when I needed it and the cat who helped bring back Windclan when he didn't have to"

Morningflower could see her sister's annoyance at their nephew being named after a Thunder cat rather than his late father but thankfully her sister seemed to know she wouldn't win.

"Lovely" she said, Morningflower could tell it was forced "And the other tom? He reminds me of the sun with his golden fur"

"More like a Lion" Runningpaw commented "Fluffy like one too."

"Fluffy isn't a term used for Windclanners" Thrushwing retorted.

Morningflower wondered if her sister would talk about Runningbrook being half-clan. The clan already had a time when they found about Ryestalk's code breaking with Marshcloud, she fought hard to make sure Runningpaw didn't face anything.

Runningpaw cocked their head to the side "Is thick-furred better?"

Before Thrushwing could reply Whitetail interrupted "Lionkit it is" she purred "My little lion"

"Maybe he'll have the strength of Lionclan" Runningpaw mewed

Thrushwing narrowed her eyes at the gray tabby "Lionclan is Thunderclan's circle we have Leopardclan as ours Runningpaw"

"That you have to share with Riverclan" Moonclaw sneered "Shadowclan gets Tigerclan all to themselves"

"Don't mention them here" Thrushwing shushed "It could bring bad fortune for the kits, Tawnykit's future as a seer could go bad"

"What?" Tawnykit whimpered "I can't be Barkface's apprentice?"

"Wait no no you'll still be my apprentice" Barkface quickly soothed the kitten "You'll be a great seer Tawnykit"

"That she will" Rabbit-tail purred.

Rushkit, Ryekit, and Robinkit looked out of place the attention was once again returned to their sister/cousin.

It was peaceful for a few moments, but of course it couldn't last forever because nice things can't happen.

"Shadowclan is coming up near the east badger den" she heard Sorrelflight cry "I see Dewflare leading them"

"Oh it's on, a score needs to be settled" Moonclaw rushed out before anyone could stop her.

"Why can't they leave us alone, it's leaf-bare" Runningpaw whined

"That's their goal" Whitetail answered

"Moonclaw!" Thrushwing called

"Don't" Rabbit-tail hissed "I'll watch Moonclaw's kits" she drawled "Who else will I be watching?"

"Mine" Ashfoot mewed "Eaglekit's easy to watch"

"Mine too" Morningflower replied "I need to stretch my legs"

"I'll get my marigold" Barkface signed as they rushed out.

Morningflower and Ashfoot were on their paws and racing out of camp leaving Rabbit-tail in charge of their kits. "Send them back in their marshes" Deadfoot yowled leading them on.

Morningflower smirked at the command.

Windclan won't be chased from their home a second time.

[divagonzo]

Passing Grade

Ao3 // FF.net

A/N: In honor of Ron Weasley’s 40th Birthday (I hope Hermione has worn you out completely!) here’s a little something hashed out for his birthday. Rated 15/PG-13/T+ for plenty of innuendo and double entendres and citrus basket stuff that isn’t explicitly stated. Caveat Emptor for my lovely Aces who follow me. Circa 1 March 1999. (And I’ll eventually post on Ao3 and FF.net and relink them in.)

give me my demarcation line damn it

I’m gonna ask her,” Ron whispered from his side of the enormous tree root that he was hiding behind.

“Ron, not now,” Harry hissed.

“Why not now? Not like we’re going anywhere the next ten minutes I reckon.”

“You git, I mean not now as in we’re still in training and Hermione’s off at Hogwarts for another 2 terms. Besides, have you asked her about it?”

“We’ve talked,” Ron peeked over the edge of the tree stump and dropped back down, dodging a red spell that flew over his head. “And she knows I want to ask her.”

“And you’re still in training. We both are. Not like I don’t want to ask – “

“Yeah, I know who you want to ask and I don’t want to think about your pasty arse again after what I saw at Christmas,” Ron cheeked.

“Fair point,” Harry looked up over the edge of the stump and ducked back down, dodging a purple spell flying over his head. “These arseholes are annoying the fuck out of me,” He growled.

“You’re the one with the cloak. Why haven’t you used it yet to get closer?”

“And get blown to shreds? No thank you. Your sister would have my – “

“And Hermione’d have mine,” Ron sighed. “Not like they aren’t hers already.”

“You’re really arse over tits for her, aren’t you?”

“Course I am. I’ve been that way for yonks. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do. But we’re both still – “

“Only on a calendar, mate. Everything we’ve been through? My back says that I’m already 50 some mornings.”

“Well, the way you wear it out every morning I’m not surprised,” Harry muttered under his breath. “But neither of us is going to go anywhere if we’re still pinned down here while those bastards are blasting away at us.”

“I’m only here because you’ve not tossed your cloak over your head and taken a header at them. When you do, I’ll draw their fire and you can stun 'em.”

“No can do. Last time I told Hermione you got hurt on a mission she nearly took my head off. I don’t want a repeat of that happening ever again.”

“And you think it’s not as bad as telling my sister you got hurt again? I thought she was going to shove her wand up – “

“She told me,” Harry felt the chagrin rush over his face.

“And blast me to Warwickshire. I don’t think my ears will ever be the same.”

“I thought that was ‘cause of Hermione,” Harry smirked and Ron gave him a rude gesture in reply.

“It’s not like you hear anything now, not after we went over every single square inch of our room and put Auror grade spells on it. We could have the Weird Sisters performing in our room and no one would be the wiser for it.”

“Good thing too since that keeps the nightmares down,” Harry gave Ron a side-eye and saw his best mate giving him a rather shirty look. “Look, it’s not like you’re not shagging my sister either, ya git.”

“Well, I am, and we’re glad you’re so accepting,” Harry dodged the handful of leaves Ron threw at him.

“Prat,” Ron growled.

“Ponce,” Harry retorted. “On three, we’re going. I’m sick of freezing my bollocks off here in Lake Country in February.”

“You think I’m enjoying it?” Harry threw the cloak over his head and froze. “Better idea. You hide under it and I’ll draw your fire.”

“Rubbish. It’s too short for me. They’ll see me from my knees on down.”

“You’re a wizard. Get invisible.”

“And you?”

“Cloak and wand time,” Harry watched Ron do the incantation silently, hiding under a cloak of magic.

“On three,” Ron whispered.

“On Three. One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

The rolled out from their hiding place behind the old oaken stump and ran pell-mell towards the farmhouse. They passed six people, lying prone on the ground, immobile.

A gold spell circled the area, highlighting both of them racing towards the house.

Red spells erupted from six places, missing them as they dashed inside.

“Hold your wands,” Robards's voice boomed over the meadow and the cottage.

One by one Aurors were disillusioning themselves and standing up. One by one they went to a trainee who was frozen on the cottage grounds and revered the stunner spell. Groans and groggy heads prevailed, not seeing Harry and Ron standing inside the cottage looking confused.

“Training?” They looked at one another.

“Yes, training. You thought this was a real mission?” A voice they didn’t expect whispered behind them. Both turned to see the dark features of Senior Auror Hemera Jones standing right behind them. They hadn’t heard her move in their vicinity. She had to be part cat with how quiet she was when she was on duty.

“Where the bloody fuck were you hiding? We could have used your help,” Ron said.

“I was hiding right at the front door. My task was to pick off those who made too many mistakes. The two of you didn’t so you were allowed to pass so you get full marks for this mission. Those gits,” She motioned to that half dozen additional trainees sitting in a semi-circle getting berated by Gawain Robards. “Those gits are probably not going to pass and will go into MLS. Each of them made a fundamental mistake and got themselves taken out.”

“So what now?” Harry asked.

“Now you two get to return to London and debrief. I’ll be joining you shortly with the rest. Oh and since you ponces made full marks,” Ron’s eyes went wide, “you get a 72-hour furlough from training.”

“72 hours. Wow.”

“Use them wisely, gentlemen. Come Monday night at 8 pm I expect to see both of you ready to work.”

“Sorted,” they said in unison.

“Oh and try not to upset Professor McGonagall when the two of you go to Hogwarts.”

“How do – “

“I’m not a fool, Weasley. Everyone in the department knows what is up with you and Granger. Same for you, Potter.” She gave both of them a half-smile. “Go rent a room in Hogsmeade, both of you. Ask Professor McGonagall for them to have a weekend. But I better not hear of you having news in three months from it. Understood?”

“Sorted,” the said in unison before apparating away.

“Sodding gits,” she muttered before heading out to the rest of the apprentices who were about to fail to get into the Aurors.

“Hermione?”

She opened her eyes and saw Ron smiling down on her. “Were you watching me sleep?”

“Yeah.  I couldn’t help it. You were snoring – “

“I don’t snore,” she said primly.

“Ok then breathing loudly while asleep. Anyway, you were breathing loudly,” she reached to pinch the closest nip and he ducked away, just out of her reach “and I kept thinking how incredibly lucky I am.”

“Oh, I dunno. I think I’m on the better end of this bargain.”

“Well, I am surprised you still have a voice after – “

“I do hope that no one heard us,” She interrupted.

“Nah, not here.” Ron glanced around at the one-room flat above the closed Zonko’s shop. Hermione found out from him earlier that George had purchased the building and would have it as a pop-up shop for the Hogsmeade weekends. “I made sure of it before you came around earlier.”

“Good,” She tucked her head up under his, relishing this contact that she’d desperately missed in the last few months. “I’m so glad you’re here. I missed you so much,” she whispered into his skin.

“And I bloody well missed you,” he lifted her chin to drop a languid kiss upon her lips. “And it’s just blind luck that we got this. I thought it was a real mission and instead it was training yet again.”

“And you seem to be doing quite well during it, the way you talk about it. I think you might have found your calling.”

“Nah, not really.”

“Well, I think so.”

“I don’t since I think my calling is loving you and the rest are just details.”

“I’m glad we got things sorted for good,” She said to herself. “I dunno what I’d have done not having you by my side now.”

Ron grinned. “Oh I dunno, probably leading a quiet life and still changing the world one moment at a time.”

“Nah. I’d have my head buried in a book somewhere, miserable, and waiting to find something to make me content.”

Ron reached under his pillow to pull a small box out. “Well since that it’s the case, and I already know,”

“Are you?”

“Consider it an ‘I’m going to ask you to marry me someday and it’s not today but it will happen’ ring.” He opened the box and showed the small sapphire ring inlaid on white gold. “I know it’s not much but – “

Hermione leaned in closer, brushing her nose against his. “It’s brilliant,” She looked at it closer, seeing that it was inscribed with runes on the inside. She grinned understanding what they said.  “Who did the engraving?”

“I did, actually,” he turned bright red. “I made sure it was correct by asking Fleur and she told me. Once I had it written down I used magic to engrave it. Anyone can engrave in gold but if it’s silver I’d get in trouble with the goblins since that’s their domain.”

“I can feel the magic wrapped around it,” She leaned up further so Ron could put it on her right hand. “And it fits perfectly,” she said in awe.

“I nicked one of your other dainty ones you keep but don’t wear and had it sized to fit it.”

She lifted her hand and looked at it in the candlelight. “I love it.”

“You do? I didn’t pick a rubbish gift this time?”

“No, you picked a brilliant gift. You get an O for this gift.” He leaned in for a kiss and they forgot about everything else except the two of them celebrating a future growing older together.