#instead of us just being miserable and butting heads all the time

[shadowmoses]

finding myself carefully buffing a little scuff out of my lolita shoes and realizing I can almost hear my mom's ghost hovering over me telling me "I TOLD YOU SO" because I used to tell her caring for shoes was stupid because they'd just get dirty again....

[bumblebugwrites]

Are You Mine?

Pairing: Anthony Lockwood x fem!Reader

Summary: For as long as you could remember you and Lockwood had butted heads. Always getting on each other’s nerves, getting in each other’s ways. You basically hate each other. Right?

Warnings: Canon typical violence, Cursing, Angst (like lowkey)

Word Count: 3.8k

If there existed within the planes of this earth a man more detestable than Anthony Lockwood, you had been lucky enough to avoid making his acquaintance. Though Quill Kipps may have made for a close second, you would rather spend an hour locked in a room alone with the latter than fifteen minutes solo with Lockwood in the kitchen of your own home. It had always been that way, with some minor exceptions and though time managed to cool some of the ever-raging conflict between you, you never quite saw eye to eye.

It was a well-known fact that you and George came as a package deal. The brains and his bodyguard, that’s what Lockwood called you. And for what it was worth, it wasn’t too far from the truth. You were, always had been, a strike first, ask questions later kind of girl. Where George had the perspective and the research to see the world in shades of gray, your situation forced you to see only in black and white. Maybe that’s why you and Lockwood had always hated each other so much. Everything was always an act with him, and you simply didn’t have the time to peel back the layers. 

From your very first meeting two weeks after George was fired and you quit to ensure his safety, your chances at friendship had been dismal. The pair of you had been staying in a small, rundown hotel with what little money you could spare from your previous stint of employment, getting by on only one meal a day, a small black coffee passed back and forth and one half of a bagel each. It was miserable to say the least. Needless to say, not many people were looking to hire a fired Fittes employee and his weary sidekick. Then, on the second Tuesday since your loss of employment, George found Lockwood’s ad in the papers and after calling and being informed that you would be given the chance to interview immediately you couldn’t help the small plum of hope that settled deep within your chest at the opportunity. George on the other hand was ecstatic, fantasizing eagerly about his first meal post hiring before even setting foot in the door. That is until it opened, revealing a boy no older than you, outfitted in a freshly pressed suit.

“Mr. Lockwood?” George questioned, as you held back taking him in.

“That’s me, come in.” He signaled you forward with a smile so dazzling you were forced to avert your eyes. Your gaze fixed itself on the ground instead, taking note of the unsullied sill and the doormat, that’s edges aligned themselves perfectly with the jambs on either side. It was pristine. Alarmingly so.

“I take it we’re your first interview of the day?” The boy looked caught off guard by the sound of your voice, but quickly readjusted his features into an easy grin. 

“The rest were here yesterday, so you’ve just missed them.” You quirked a doubtful brow but remained silent and followed as he beckoned you forward into what looked to be a small library of sorts. 

“Normally I do my interviews one-on-one,” Lockwood spoke, looking back and forth between the two of you as you sat shoulder to shoulder on the couch. You felt George shift uncomfortably to your left.

“Well, we’re a package deal. We come together or not at all.” The phrase weighed on your tongue as it left your mouth. You’d been using it all week and where at first it felt simple, some sort of obvious truth, it was growing harder and harder to use. Especially when George had his parents to rely on and you had, well, nothing.

“Right… Well, the tests don’t work quite as well when you’re both in the room.” George leaned over, squeezing your hand in a signal that all would be well, before standing up to move to the hallway.

“That’s fine, I’ll wait my turn.”

After a series of demonstrations regarding your Talent, easily passed as you’d always had a fairly strong sense of Sight and a long wait in the hall for George’s turn, you were back in the room once more. 

“Right then, that’s all I’ve really got for today, so you can be on your way, and I’ll be back to you tomorrow with my decision,” Lockwood smiled, leaning back into his armchair.

“Tomorrow?”

“(Y/N)--” George attempted to place a soothing hand on your shoulder, but you shook him off with ease.

“No. I want to know what is going on here.” Once more Lockwood’s brows arched in surprise, but he kept the remainder of his features under control this time.

“Excuse me?” 

“You’re not excused. You have an ad in the papers calling yourself an agency, but you’re obviously just some sad excuse of a one-man operation, sorry one-boy operation. I mean do you even have a Supervisor?”

“Well–”

“Oh, never mind that, because worse yet, you’ve been lying to us since the moment we set foot in the door. There haven’t been any other interviews, have there Mr. Lockwood? And you had better tell me the truth because I don’t appreciate having my time wasted.”

“You do realize I’m the one conducting this interview? As in I have the power to employ you, or not.” The boyish facade vanished in only a moment and the clear hint of a threat laced his tone, but it didn’t matter, because you were outraged. Act first, think later, right? Your hand flew without hesitation to the rapier at your side and within a moment it was drawn and swinging directly towards the boy in front of you. Not to harm of course, just to return the threat. But he was fast, faster than you’d realized, and by the time your blade was making its descent, he had risen from his seat to meet it with his own.

“I highly doubt you would like to face the implications of attacking me in my own home.”

“I was just leaving anyways.” You resheathed your sword in one quick motion, and began your warpath towards the door, George calling out after you. He caught your arm just as you reached your destination.

“(Y/N) please. He’s actually considered us, that’s more than we can say for any other place.”

“I am not here to be to entertain the fantasies of some boy who’s decided to play grown up for the day.”

“Come on, this seems real enough, he’s certified and everything. Besides, we’re running out of options, and you know it–”

“We can find another–”

“We can’t. I could always go live with my parents, but it will take years for anyone to hire me after Fittes let me go. And you– Well I doubt any of those places from before will take you now, and it’s not like you have–”

“That’s enough George–” You cut him off as Lockwood appeared in the doorway to the library, a knowing look painted across his features. “We should just go. I’ve caused enough of a mess as is and it’s not like he’s making his decision any time soon.”

Your stature deflated as you reached once more for the exit.

“Actually, I made my decision the moment you both passed my test.” You and George spun around in unison. “You were right,” he said, hanging his head sheepishly, “there were no other interviews.”

“So, what are you saying?” It was George who spoke, but Lockwood kept his eyes fixed on you as he made his answer.

“I’m saying you’ve got the job.”

Since then, you and Lockwood had come to a sort of understanding: as long as George was safe you would do anything he asked. Any job, any task, no matter how dangerous. Still, that didn’t mean you would take his shit either, a fact he picked up on rather quickly, and though he never let you in completely, a trait that went both ways, he told you enough to gain your trust and you returned the favor. 

And so it went in the year before Lucy came. You weren’t friends, necessarily, but you knew at the end of the day he had your back, and in return, you had his.

Still, Lucy’s arrival made the waters more murky, as she went about breaking down walls like they were nothing. One night, Lockwood happened upon the pair of you in your shared bedroom, giggling like schoolgirls at a story from your youth, splayed out across the attic bed in identical fits of laughter and though you missed it, Lucy told you in a barely audible whisper that night of how his gaze had lingered on your scrunched up face. How his eyes had softened. How for a moment, the dark circles beneath his eyes seemed to vanish as he stood there in awe. Just a boy looking at a girl. No more, no less. 

“You should have seen his smile,” she whispered, her body turned to face yours beneath the covers of the queen. 

“Trust me I’ve seen the ‘Lockwood Smile’ more than enough in one year of acquaintanceship,” you huffed out a laugh, rolling your eyes.

“No, no. It wasn’t like that. It was– He looked so–” She sat up then hands flying at the air as though they might grasp the words she was trying to say.

“He almost looked like a kid. So… unburdened. It was pretty disturbing actually.” She broke off with a laugh. “Look I can’t explain it, but it was like he was actually happy and not just using his dashing good looks to get whatever he desires.” You rolled your eyes at the final bit, but tucked the rest away deep within your heart, stashing it beside that single plum of hope from that very first day on his doorstep.

By the following morning the whole thing was nothing more than a distant memory. You stood, pouring yourself a coffee, watching George scribble away at his notes on your current case when, Lockwood slipped by, swiping the mug from right under your nose.

“That was for me.”

“Well, I pay for everything in this house.” He smirked from behind your steaming cup.

“You don’t even like coffee.” Without breaking eye contact, Lockwood took a long sip and physically incapable of suppressing his reaction scrunched his brow in disgust. Then, parting the drink from his lips he smiled.

“Delicious.”

“You’re such an ass, now I’m going to have to brew another pot.” He shrugged off your inconvenience and took the seat beside George at the table. After putting another pot on, you joined the pair, ditching your previous research in favor of etching your new mantra into the tablecloth. Anthony Lockwood is a pompous ass. Anthony Lockwood is a pompous ass.

“What have you got so far George?” Lockwood questioned, setting down the mug in his hand after just one more sip. 

“Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a Type One I think, probably a Lurker.” 

“Excellent, Luce and I should be able to handle that on our own.”

“Lucy? I’m sat right here.” You glared across the table, daring the coffee thief to disagree with you.

“Besides you know my swordsmanship is superior even if she is basically the Stephen Hawking of ghost hunting.”

“Which is why she needs the practice.”

“And there is a wonderful place for her to do so in the basement. Come on Lockwood, it’s like you won’t let me go anywhere since–”

“Since the last time when you acted like a bumbling idiot and almost got yourself maimed?”

“I had the situation completely under control.”

“You fell down a staircase.”

“You can’t keep me on house arrest for forever.” Lockwood groaned and drew a frustrated hand across his face.

“Fine, but if you screw up like that again I’m locking you in the archives with George myself.” With that he withdrew, coffee abandoned on the table. Dragging it towards your person you let out a deep huff.

“It’s like he doesn’t trust me at all.”

“Or maybe he just cares about you?” George suggested, but quickly averted his eyes following a threatening glare thrown in his direction.

It was late when you reached the house, later than you would have liked. Lockwood had forgotten his rapier, so you’d had to turn back, though you had a suspicion it was some sort of ploy to get you to stay home and let Lucy go instead. Still, you held your ground and remained patient. Well as patient as you could.

“Lockwood, what the fuck. You said this place was ten minutes away, that was a thirty-minute metro ride. Not to mention the fact that that man beside us was trying to look down my shirt the whole way here.” You shivered at the thought but continued to fix Lockwood with a glare as you spoke. Through your anger you almost missed the slight shift in his demeanor at the second comment.

“Well, we’re here now are we not? Besides, it’s only a Type One, we’ll be fine.” 

You were not fine. Within only a moment of stepping foot inside you felt the temperature drop dramatically.

“Lockwood–”

“I felt it too.” His face twisted into a more serious expression. Still, you continued inside to further assess the threat. Dropping your bags several feet inside the entryway, you crouched almost immediately to sift through them for the filings when from across the house, a shadowy figure flew by.

“(Y/N)--”

“One second, you did an absolute rubbish job of organizing the kit, I can’t find the filings anywhere.”

“(Y/N), really–” 

“I said just a second Lockwood–” But he cut you off by using two fingers to drag your chin upwards, fixing your gaze upon the glowing figure lying in wait across the room. 

“That is definitely not a Lurker.”

“No shi–” Lockwood was cut off as the ghost unleashed an unearthly scream, launching itself towards the pair of you. The boy beside you was quick to draw his blade and, tucking yourself into a small ball, you rolled deftly out of the way in an attempt to attack the Type Two from behind. Pulling your rapier from its sheath, you took a defensive position as Lockwood struck at the figure from in front. After causing the ghost to dissipate into thin air his eyes quickly sought yours out.

“We need to locate the Source. Now.” With a shared nod, the pair of you began to advance throughout the remainder of the house. Upon entering the kitchen, something caught your eye immediately.

“Lockwood, look.” You pointed your rapier in the direction of what appeared to be a hand carved cuckoo clock, hung high on the wall. “He was a clockmaker, right? That’s what the file said.” 

“That has to be it.” Lockwood nodded in agreement. Moving at a slow and measured pace, you advanced on the clock, before realization hit and you grabbed Lockwood by the arm. 

“The net–” You stopped short as a glow began to form in the upper corner of the kitchen.

“Go, I’ll handle it,” Lockwood ordered and with a final concerned glance in the direction of the ever-expanding light, you set off in a run down the hall. Distant clattering sounds informed you that the ghost had made its appearance in the other room, and you pushed forward harder, now at a sprint.

Skidding to a halt, you all but dumped out the entire bag of kit in your effort to locate the silver net, before grasping its cool material and spinning on your heel. Distantly, you thought you heard Lockwood call your name, though any reason as to why was beyond you until your eyes caught on the ghostly figure just before you. 

Easily dodging its first attempt to harm you, you slid past its grip and through the doorway to the hall. It followed close behind and as your feet pounded against the wood floor, you could feel the atmosphere around you grow colder by the second. Flying in a panicked fury through the doorway to the kitchen, you just managed to catch Lockwood’s eye before an unseen force threw you against the counter. Your head hit the marble edge. Hard. And in a single moment you crumbled to the ground.

All sound in the room became distant, including the noise of several items on the counter’s smooth surface being dislodged with your impact. And then, in a tone you’d never heard before, Lockwood’s voice cut through all the muffled, pounding noise. 

“(Y/N)!” Your head jerked up just in time to watch as the knife peeking out over the counter teetered over the edge. In a single moment of clarity, you angled your body towards the ground, clasping your head with your hands. A piercing pain laced your shoulder and you let out a scream. Distantly, you noticed Lockwood, backed into a corner, swinging wildly with his rapier, fear etched deep within his normally steady features. That was all it took.

Ignoring the sharp pounding of your head, you reached back to dislodge the knife, pulling it from the deep, now severely bleeding wound in your shoulder. It took most of your energy not to call out in pain at the action, but you knew it would only shift the ghost’s attention back to you. Dragging yourself across the floor, you snatched the net from the ground before using the wall to pull yourself up.

Three things happened at once then. Lockwood’s eyes fixed on you from behind the ghost, wide with concern and something else you couldn’t quite place. Simultaneously, your hand made contact with the clock, instantly alerting the ghost to your presence. Finally, the Type Two turned on you. 

In one fell movement, you wrenched the clock from the wall, just as the ghost launched itself in your direction and covered it with the net, the creature disappearing mere inches from your face. Lockwood took a breath. It was mesmerizing, though you couldn’t understand why, that moment of quiet. And then you began to sway.

“Lock–” But the name died in your throat as you began your descent towards the cold linoleum floor. You were out before you hit the ground, though not before you felt the comfort of two arms as they wrapped themselves around you, breaking your fall.

It had been two weeks and Lockwood could still barely look at you. By the time you awoke in the hospital, he was gone, though George and Lucy had stayed, tangled up with you in the hospital bed, a mess of sleeping limbs. Once they awoke, you questioned the pair on the absence.

“Where’s Lockwood?”

“Said he was too busy to wait for you to wake up,” mumbled George bitterly, but Lucy only chided the other boy.

“He was worried sick about you, really. It’s just, well you know. He’s Lockwood.” You smiled at Lucy’s words, but a seed of disappointment planted itself firmly in your gut.

Your arrival back at 35 Portland Row was not much better. Lockwood remained hidden away in the library as Lucy and George helped you through the door. 

And so, the first week continued. Wordless breakfasts in the kitchen, cold greetings in the hall. One time after you accidentally grazed his side in passing, he physically flinched away. 

On the eleventh day, you found yourself near tears with the behavior.

“I think he hates me, Lucy.”

“Lockwood could never hate you.”

It was day twelve of Lockwood’s one-sided standoff when you caught him in the kitchen alone near two in the morning.

“Could you make me a cup?” You’d questioned, coming up behind him to search the cupboard for some bread as he poured himself a cup of tea. Nothing. Not even a glance.

“Come on Lockwood, it’s been days, can you just drop it? I’m fine.” Still no response. No matter. You’d always known how to get a rise out of Anthony Lockwood.

Waiting until he’d set the kettle down to reach for some sugar, you moved quickly, sandwiching yourself between the counter and the boy. For the first time in days, his eyes met yours, though he dismissed the moment with a quick huff and reached once more for the cabinet above your head. You gave him a shove.

“Fuck you Lockwood, talk to me.” His eyes glinted in a warning, but he made no effort to speak. He didn’t move a muscle. You shoved him harder. 

“Talk to me you prick.” He caught your wrists in his hands as you pulled back for another shove and gripped them tightly.

“Say something!” As you struggled against him to give one final push, your shoulder caught at an odd angle and the searing pain from your still healing wound nearly sent you crumpling to the ground. Nearly. As you began to curl in on yourself, Lockwood removed his hands from your wrists and caught you by the waist.

“You’re going to reopen the gash on your shoulder.” He chided, his tone cold, but his arms continued to hold you in place.

“I know that you hate me. And that’s fine. But this– The silence, it’s too much… It hurts too much.”

“You’re an idiot. You acted recklessly and without forethought. You could have died. You could have gotten yourself killed–”

“I was just–”

“I’m not finished,” he continued, his hold on you tightening, “you jeopardized the entire mission with your actions–”

“I saved your life!”

“I had it under control–”

“Oh, like I did with the staircase?”

“I should never have brought you.”

“Because you hate me? Yeah, I know.”

“Because you are nothing but a distraction.” You froze. Body rigid in his hold. He pushed on.

“Because all I could think about the entire time we were in that house was you. If you were safe, if you were– if you were alive.” One of Lockwood’s hands traveled carefully from your waist to your cheek.

“It’s all I’ve been able to think about since the staircase. It’s why I couldn’t bear to go on any missions with you, it’s why I nearly made you George’s bloody research assistant, it’s why– it’s why I nearly fell apart when I watched you hit that oven– when I saw that knife about too–” 

You could hear his breaths becoming labored and his grip tightened once more as his eyes clouded with the anxiety of distant memories.

“Hey. I’m fine.” You reassured him, bringing a hand up to caress his face. “I’m okay, really.”

“I think I’m– I care about you, so much it hurts.”

And there it was, the boyish face Lucy had seen that night in the attic. Young and afraid. Completely unguarded. You really couldn’t help kissing him.

Bunching the fabric of his shirt in your hand, you pulled his lips down to meet yours, and though surprise initially stilled his mouth, he quickly pulled you closer, kissing deeper, pressing forward to meet you. His hand curled gently in your hair, his other arm pulling you closer, closer, as though if he loosened his grip, you would simply slip away. You only pulled back to catch your breath though you could barely convince yourself to do that much as his lips followed after yours, looking to meet again.

“I love you too Anthony Lockwood.”

[beevean]

https://youtu.be/WldXY_iJh8M?si=feGc6W2tzWn4ru2i

deepromanticdialogue.jpg

ah yes, I sure feel how Lenore has grown to see Hector as a full person and now truly loves him from the bottom of her shriveled heart.

In a more meta sense, it's also telling that this is how the show wants to convey that the two are now in a healthy, respectful relationship. Nevermind that Lenore doesn't respect Hector one iota if you actually bother to analyze the dialogue, S4 is fully intent on woobiefying her and this scene is meant to reassure us that she no longer sees him as a pet/dildo and Hector is totally chill with his abuser because they have come to know each other off-screen.

And they have the exact same chemistry as every other straight couple in the series: sassy bantering where the woman flusters the man.

One, they shouldn't interact the same way as everyone else. Dracula was a shut-in who was impressed by Lisa's courage in talking to him like a normal man. Trevor and Sypha butted heads at first, but then they started to see the positives in each other and bonded by fighting together. Alucard and Greta... I have no clue what their deal is, I honestly don't know what they'd see in each other, Greta is basically a ruder Lisa who can fight but yeah the point is that Alucard overcame his misanthropy by helping her. But Hector and Lenore should have the most fucked up, fake, mutually miserable relationship, because Hector didn't choose to be there! He was betrayed - for the third time, might I add! If he likes Lenore, it's because dude has genuinely no better reference, and from his perspective, the fact that he is being talked to without any ulterior motive is alone a sign of love. They should dance around Lenore crushing his heart and humiliating him, whether her intentions were good or not! Lenore might be talking to Hector only because he is the only person willing to listen to her, and because he is her pet, he is forced to, and she knows it - does she regret it or not? They bonded over how sad Lenore is, while Hector isn't allowed to express his resentment! No matter how much a jailer and a prisoner bond, they cannot escape such power imbalance, and it should be reflected in ther dialogue! If Hector is so damn broken he is willing to forgive rape and betrayal because he is that desperate for the fleeting feeling of being liked and he has a pathological need to cling to anyone who might throw the smallest crumbs of kindness to him, it should be reflected in his character! Forget the disgusting abuse apologism on display, writing-wise they all sound the damn same, and just like the overuse of swearwords, it flattens their personalities! It's always Sassy Cute Woman Holding the Stupid Man's Braincells! It's boring!

And two... on a broader note, doesn't it say a lot about NFCV, that love is so damn insincere? Characters banter, snark, insult each other as a joke or seriously. I'm thinking of Alucard waving Trevor goodbye by showing him the middle finger as a joke. Where is the fondness? Where is the genuine affection? It's rare, I can only think of Dracula and Isaac being honest pals or Trevor saying that he loves Sypha before going to die - and that's not counting the moments that get contradicted by previous proof, like Lenore herself showing (and not telling for once) her care for Hector by wanting to save him from Isaac, which sure is nice but not after in the previous episode she snapped at him for complaining about being enslaved because how dare you, I got your dick hard!

I pointed it out in the post I linked, but was it so damn hard to have Lenore show that her feelings are pure by simply asking Hector how he is doing, like just simple friendly smalltalk, instead of whining about her childhood and keeping this useless streak of dick jokes that only make her look like a spoiled brat?

[mamodewberry]

Holiday Fever

Time for the annual Sad Bastien Christmas drabble. Not too sad this year, but he's still not very happy about it.

Rating: G

Words: 1,361

Summary: Baz is sick and hates it more than usual. Good thing he has Chris.

Bastien preferred being cold to being hot. Much easier to warm oneself up than cool down. But with the constant chill in the air of Swiss winters, brought illness. Global pandemic aside, Bastien was what many would call a germaphobe: everything was cleaned and washed properly and handled with care, touched only when necessary. His parents liked the house tidy, yes, but he wasn’t sure when he himself adapted such hygienic practices. Something within his control perhaps. 

Christophe never felt the need to call him out on it. At least verbally. That crooked smile and the way those green eyes teased him with fondness without a word were unfair sometimes. Over the years Christophe adapted and contributed to Bastien’s practices, intentional or not. Even if just around him.

But no matter how careful he’d been, year after year avoiding indoor crowded spaces (although that was for an unrelated reason), potlucks, public bathrooms, etc he wound up sick. It didn’t make sense, how could his body betray him like this? He wanted to blame something or someone, but that was energy his brain couldn’t spare once Christophe had put him to bed. 

He didn’t like being sick. Hated it. There was so much to do, especially a week before Christmas. But mostly he didn’t like feeling useless. Not allowed to perform his duties he’d established in the household or professionally. When others took time off work for being sick, he was happy to have them away so not to spread their germs, and Bastien should feel the same about himself but… he was the responsible one that didn’t get sick. Took care of Christophe when he got sick, which admittedly wasn’t often (thank god). 

Feebly he relinquished his tablet with the to-do’s to Christophe, who rummaged through the drawers for his own stylus to use and a face mask. Bastien watched Christophe’s eyes widen at the line items, then soften. Not as bad as he thought or did he think Bastien was exaggerating? He huffed at the latter as well as his miserable predicament. 

“I’ll take care of it,” Christophe said.

“All of it?” Bastien was skeptical. 

“As much as I can.”

“Thank you for being honest.”

“I’m not incapable, Baz. Just not as thorough. The priorities will take priorities. That’s what bold means, right?”

“Right.” Christophe often accompanied him on errands. It wasn’t like it was foreign to him. He could do it. The shopping. The cooking. The cleaning. Read off reports to Josef. “Your license is valid, yes?”

“Yes it’s valid and yes I remember how to drive.”

“Right, of course.” Ugh his head was foggy. Why did fog hurt? “Your family’s party. What will--”

“We’ll see how you are in six days. Don’t want to cancel prematurely.”

“But I’m supposed to make the buche de noel. Your mother loves it so…”

“She does, but I know for a fact she’d rather you not worry about it and rest. And if we have to miss out this year, that’s okay. Maybe we can do something for New Year’s instead.”

No, that wouldn’t do. Bastien frowned. Christmas was more ruined than Christophe was letting on! “But…”

“No buts.” Christophe leaned in and pressed his mask-covered lips to Bastien’s forehead. “I’ll take care of things.” He then turned and bent over to pick up Sabine then placed her on Bastien’s chest. She pattered her paws in rotation a couple times before settling into a loaf. “Keep Daddy in bed.” 

Unfair. No one was allowed to move a comfy cat. 

“Get some rest, mon amor.” 

The next few days were torture. 

It hadn’t been the first time Bastien had been sick, but it no less made him feel awful about it. Mostly had been days he’s stressed himself out into a state of burnout that Christophe forced him into bed before he fell asleep at his feet and passed out. But this? Hearing Christophe downstairs in the kitchen and living space cleaning and cooking and sweetly humming, he didn’t like it. No, the humming he liked, it was nice. Everything else, though!

He was able to calm when Christophe brought him a meal and its taste was good. They’d lived together for years so of course he was used to the tastes of the house and could mimic it well enough. Yes they both ate well. The cake for the Giacometti’s party however, that Bastien knew was too large a task for his beau.

What was worse? Arriving empty handed or skipping it all together? 

By day five and the symptoms only lessening by fifty percent, Bastien knew they wouldn’t be going to Christophe’s parents. No dinner around the table, no cookie baking or poems for Samichlaus and finding the hidden gifts around their lovely home. They saw them at least a month ago, but a hug from Nina sounded really nice and now Bastien would have to wait. 

Christophe’s hugs would suffice. The ones Bastien allowed at bedtime before Christophe retreated to the guest bedroom because Bastien would not be able to live even more with himself if Christophe were to get sick, too. Sabine remained dutiful and at his side. 

Bastien wanted to tell Christophe to go to the Christmas market without him so he could still experience the joys of the season. 

“We went the second week of December, love,” Christophe reminded him with a smile.

Surely once wasn’t enough. Especially if they were going to miss the party and mass. 

“I’d never go do something I know you love without you. I have more than enough Christmas cheer here.”

Bastien frowned with skepticism. 

“Our eve meal is almost ready. If you’re up to eating.”

Oh he would eat everything in sight even if his stomach wasn’t entirely agreeing on solid foods at the moment. He wouldn’t waste Christophe’s efforts. Or disappoint himself. Too many days he dwelled on what he was missing out on for his own enjoyment. If Christophe said it was fine for him, it was, but Bastien couldn’t say the same for himself. “Yes. I would like to eat,” Bastien finally said, knowing Christophe was waiting for his answer. 

“Can we eat together downstairs?”

It was odd to be on this end of permission. Shouldn’t Bastien be the one asking to be free of his insisted quarantine? Still, he couldn’t deny how much he wanted to. “I’d like that.”

Christophe took hold of the comforter and pulled it back and offered Bastien his robe and toed his slippers toward the bed. 

Slipping his arms into the sleeves, Bastien took Christophe’s offered hand and stood into his slippers. It was unnecessary to need assistance down the stairs, but Bastien appreciated it all the same. 

Whatever Christophe had made smelled wonderful. 

As they descended, Bastien noticed the fireplace had been lit, the main lights dimmed, and a small table had been set up in front of the tree. Struck by all implications and sentiments, Bastien let Christophe lead him to the table and down into one of the chairs. He barely registered Christophe saying he’d be right back with their Christmas dinner.

When Christophe returned, a plate of fondue chinoise, mixed greens, and a single zimtsterne was placed in front of him. The star design on the fondue was charmingly homemade. And if it weren’t for how much he loved the cookies, he would have chided Christophe for putting dessert on the dinner plate. Judging by the shape and thickness of the frosting, Bastien knew they had to be Nina’s doing. 

Christophe returned with his own plate and two glasses of wine. “I asked Mother what they were having tonight and gave it a go. She offered to bring it over to us, but I convinced her a plate of her zimtsterne would be perfect.”

Being ill would dull his taste buds naturally, but the atmosphere, the thoughts and care put into it, it would be the most wonderful meal he’d ever had. 

He’d worried about nothing. Christophe took care of everything.

Christophe really was Samichlaus in his own way. 

Tears burned in his eyes. “All of it is. It always is. How could I expect anything different?”

[julietsinclair]

THE OPAQUE. Please welcome JULIET SINCLAIR (SHE/HER) to Huntsville, WV. They are a 34-year-old RESIDENT who lives in TOWN. You may see them around working as a RECEPTIONIST AT PETE'S GARAGE. Poor unfortunate soul. We’ll see if they survive.

tw: divorce

basic

Full Name: Juliet Alexandra Sinclair Nickname(s): Julie, Jules by the selected few Date of Birth: December 8th, 1988 Age: Thirty-four Height: 5′2″ Gender & Pronouns: Cis-female & she/her Orientation: Bicurious Occupation:  Receptionist at Pete's Garage (previously a lawyer Relationship status: Single (divorced) Hunter or Gatherer: neither at the moment

bio

The oldest daughter of Cillian Sinclair, Juliet knew from the very early years that she would need to be successful. No matter what it was; success was an absolute must, and being second best was simply not acceptable.

Following through with the demand, despite the high pressure, Juliet performed well at school. She was a popular girl, and knew how to use her popularity to her advantage - which didn't always mean an advantage for others- knowing that she had to do whatever it takes to succeed. That willingness to do whatever it takes didn't go away even when her father left her mother for a newer model. Instead, Juliet did everything in her power to make the woman's life as miserable as possible, blaming her for anything wrong that came their way.

Juliet's facade softened up at the birth of her half-sister, yet her attitude never really went away. While she loved her half-sister, she still took advantage of her stepmother's willingness to do anything to get in her good graces; after all, what egoistic, self-centered teenager wouldn't do that?

Despite her attitude and overall behavior, Juliet graduated high school with the best grades. When she announced that she'd go on to study law at Columbia University, her parents were proud. So proud, in fact, that they didn't even complain about the fact that their daughter would be away for so many years.

Columbia was eye-opening for Juliet. No longer was she the big fish in a relatively small pond; she had to work even harder to keep the control she was so used to having. And when that began slipping up, a savior in the face of Dominic, another law student just a year ahead of her. At first, they butted heads like crazy, but when their arguments landed them in bed, no one was surprised.

It was a wild romance, yet somehow, it tamed Juliet. Before she knew it, she was head over heels for Dominic, and soon enough, he proposed. Getting married after graduation seemed only natural, and the marriage was highly accepted by her parents.

What wasn't accepted, however, was the decision to move to Australia. Dominic had received an offer to work there, and Juliet knew that it wouldn't be all that difficult for her to find a job as well. That, however, meant leaving Huntsville, her siblings, her parents, and her whole family behind at least for a significant amount of time, without going back to the town whenever she pleased. That caused a storm in the Sinclair household, and after a particularly explosive argument, Juliet turned around and left.

When she left the town, she had no idea that it would happen just mere days before the tragic and mysterious storm. So when, months later, her calls went unanswered and every letter sent wound up being returned, Juliet took it as a sign that for one reason or another, no one from her family wanted to speak to her. Being as stubborn and dramatic as she as, she didn't attempt any further contact, not wanting to back down.

Six years ago Juliet gave birth to a beautiful little girl, who her and Dominic named Violet. With Juliet keeping her maiden last name for work purposes, the little girl took up her father's last name, yet everything else was pure Juliet. The girl was as beautiful and as stubborn as her mother, and Dominic often joked that if it wasn't for the last name, he'd doubt he was ever involved in having their daughter in the first place.

As wonderful as their family life appeared to be, it was all fun and games behind closed doors. Both partners worked hard, becoming well-respected lawyers, but the stress was getting to them. More often than not they came home angry and exhausted, taking it out on one another, until neither could take it. Less than a year ago the couple opted to file for a divorce, knowing better than to keep ruining the safe space their daughter had.

The divorce took a toll on Juliet, and she finally began to break. While it was nothing like her parents' divorce, she always thought that she could find the happy-ever-after with Dominic. Now, even a place as big as Australia seemed to be suffocating her, and soon enough Juliet began missing home. She wanted to see her family, despite the arguments she's had with her parents, and after a particularly terrible period of her life, she decided to pack up her bag and fly back to the US for a visit. It was only at the last minute when she decided not to take Violet with her, figuring that she'd first test the waters and then come back and take her daughter with her.

To this day, Juliet feels like it was both a blessing and a curse not to take Violet with her. Coming back to Huntsville after a decade of being away felt like a shock to Juliet, but when she found out that she couldn't leave, her world was shattered. It was great, getting to see her family - despite years of no contact- yet the mere thought that she'd never get to see her daughter again, hear her voice, or see her smile absolutely shattered the young woman. Before she knew it, she started drowning her pain and sorrow in alcohol, refusing to tell anyone what she had left behind.

It was only a month or two ago that she had finally decided to do something with her life. She still wasn't her full self, preferring the company of whatever alcohol she could find to the company of others, but Juliet knew that moping around couldn't resolve anything. And while she couldn't exactly pick up her old job - or even practice law in the first place - she settled down on being a receptionist at the local garage, figuring that no one in their right mind would expect to find someone like her in there. Still, she spends most of her time thinking about her daughter, fearing that every single day was bringing her closer to the time when Violet would have no idea who Juliet is.

[cursedchildofchaos]

💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬💬

19??? Anon, you little shit! Okay, fine lol. Not giving context either besides that some of these are from fanfics and some original stuff

1. 

COACH

Schmidt just went full Winston and got

pet-ernal.

2. 

ALISON 

Nothing you say is going to change my mind, Dr. Felix. 

CHASE 

(through gritted teeth) 

Oh, it's last names now? Fine, but I'm not helping, Dr. Roberts. Use the damn machine yourself!

3. 

Talk or I'll bite you! I'll bite your whole family! I'll even bite your grandma!

4. 

And that's why you shouldn't trust strangers that offer you candy, kids. Never know when one might turn out to be a vengeful witch.

5. 

It's called a chemical reaction, you fudging sucker!

6. 

BEA

So, what brings you to Hell?

DAVE

Oh, my ex told me she would see me here.

7. 

If our dumbass friend is doing something dumbass, we are doing that dumbass thing, too, because we are dumbasses.

8.

A BANK OFFICIAL, standing in front of Dedire, pulls his collar as he eyes the porcelain dolls about the room. They seem like each one is staring into his soul.

9.

There’s a cat waiting to pounce when we stop dancing. You see, I’m allergic to cats, or cads, whatever you call ’em.

10.

Snape thought briefly that he might be dead and this was his own personal Hell even though he sort of enjoyed seeing Petunia cry. The situation was all too laughable and miserable at the same time...Maybe the Catholics were right about Purgatory being real?

11.

Haru: Tohru, tell your bf to accept this secret passionate love for Yuki and join the new Yuki Fan Club.

Kyo: I said replace me with her, dammit! Not add her and not get rid of me!

Tohru: Kyo, please, honey, just accept your secret passionate love for Yuki. Also, thanks for adding me guys! Kyo has been complaining about this group chat for over an hour, and I wanted in so bad, but didn’t want to just invite myself.

12.

Virgil ripped his arm out of Remus' grasp.

"Scaring people is my thing, Snidely Whiplash," Virgil retorted.

13.

MC: Loser

Dan: Yeah, what about it?

MC: Oh, um, I didn’t mean it

Dan: Ah, well, I did

MC: Stop, you’re making me feel bad for you

Dan: Good

14.

Wait...I forgot I'm the author of this fanfic. I can just go inside his head. Let's do that (not literally, though, I get a little woozy when it comes to organs).

15.

Today really was a Happy Birthday, wasn't it? Molly thought to herself while jamming to music in her car. I can't wait to get home and tell Toby all about it.

16.

"Another time, I forced everyone to listen to Kidz Bop instead of original songs, claiming they were more Good Place friendly as you do. Another time I said the only people who make it to Heaven are the ones that love the movie Citizen Kane and refuse to watch anything else, so we kept watching it repeatedly as you do. Another time, I forced you to retake French, which I know you hated in high school, cuz I had Janet put a French filter on Chidi's voice...as you do," he rambled off.

"You know adding 'as you do' doesn't make it better...especially as NO ONE DOES THOSE THINGS," Eleanor said, now standing, and looking at Michael accusingly.

17.

His eyes began to water. He slid off the chair next to her. He pulled her into an embrace. She stiffened as he buried his face in her hair that hung near her neck and over her shoulder. His tears were hot as they soaked her sleeve and hair.

18.

Jane attempts to put her hands on her hips, but there isn't room. Instead, she sticks them in her armpits.

19. 

"But I-I," Meg stuttered. "NO BUTS! I want you to think about how disrespectful you've been while were gone," Juliet retorted. Olka belly laughed and whispered, "Butts!" Astrid kicked her sister in the shin.

[absolutepokemontrash]

MC’s Date With The Brothers Goes Terribly… Then it Starts to Rain.

Side Characters ver.

Hello my dearest degenerates, there’s nothing I love more than ridiculous crack fics, but I wanted to do some fluff, so here we go!

Lucifer

This just had to happen on Lucifer’s one day off… didn’t it? He had the entire day planned out, his brothers would be out doing their own thing, which left him and MC to have the entire day together.

The two of them would have gone to Ristorante 6, watched a movie, and simply enjoyed each other’s company. But no, Lucifer can’t have nice things.

It certainly started off that way, MC and Lucifer held hands as they made their way over to Ristorante 6, and the Avatar of Pride was reminded for the thousandth time exactly why he adored this human so much.

The human was both one of the most stress inducing parts of his life, and one of the few things that made him feel completely at peace. He would move mountains for them if they asked him too…

While Lucifer was in the middle of staring incredibly lovingly at his beloved MC, the human stopped suddenly and pointed ahead of them.

“I think Ristorante 6 may be… closed today.” “What do you mean, MC- oh.”

Apparently, two demons got into a very nasty fight inside, and one slammed the other through a wall. The restaurant was in the middle of scheduling repairs and would be closed until the hole in the wall was fixed. Lucifer developed the tiniest of tics in his right eye, but all MC had to do was squeeze his hand and give him that perfect smile of theirs… *sigh* they were right… there were other good places to eat.

Well, the cafe they wanted to go to was closed that day and they both walked over there for nothing… the second restaurant they went to was full on account of Ristorante 6 closing earlier…

Finally, the two practically trudged to Hell’s Kitchen, but Beel was there an hour earlier and cleared the entire place out…

Lucifer told MC not to fret, they’d just head to the movies and buy some snacks, sure it wasn’t the fancy dinner they planned but… at least it was food.

Oh… the movie they planned on seeing was… not running that night…

“Did you check online before we left?” “…damn.”

Their date was going decidedly terrible, MC and Lucifer were eating movie theatre popcorn outside, in outfits that were way too formal, and were rapidly becoming more and more convinced that the day was just… cursed.

Then… a crack of lightning, then it began to completely pour.

Lucifer winced the moment he heard the lightning, of course… of course it would start to rain… as the rain began to pour down on the two, he simply stared straight ahead, completely and utterly defeated.

The Morning Star, the right hand to the Crown Prince of The Devildom, The Avatar of Pride himself, was defeated by a simple thunderstorm. He took a deep breath in, prepared to shout, scream, throw a tantrum of the highest degree, then just visibly deflated. He turned to MC, who looked just as defeated and drained.

Lucifer wordlessly used his magic to put up a small shield above them, sheltering the two from the torrential downpour.

“You know,” MC mumbled, resting their head against Lucifer’s arm. “The movies make getting caught in the rain seem much more romantic…”

That comment elicited a quiet chuckle from Lucifer as he pulled MC into a hug. The two were already drenched, what did it matter if Lucifer got cheap popcorn butter all over the front of his outfit? Nothing else mattered when he was with the one person in the world who could make his heart swell with this much love and adoration.

“How about we head home, MC? I think I still have some of Barbatos’ cake hidden in the kitchen, we can enjoy that and listen to some music.”

Lucifer felt MC sigh against his front, then look up with that bright sparkling smile that never failed to make him blush.

“I’d like nothing more.”

Mammon

Okay, Mammon had this whole day planned, by the end of it, his human would be swooning! He had gotten paid big bucks from his latest modelling gigs, and he was going to treat MC to a full day with their first man.

First, they were going to spend the morning shopping, then they were going to eat lunch at this new restaurant that had just opened up, after lunch they were going to just kill time until dinner, then eat dinner at Hell’s Kitchen, then they were going to go home, get changed, then head out to The Fall, party, then head home again where MC would most definitely shower the Great Mammon with all the praise and affection he deserved!

Of course, MC would be given all the love and adoration they deserved and more! Mammon’s human was the best, and they deserved the best! The Avatar of Greed was ready!

Or so he thought. The day began with Mammon deciding that he was going to make himself and MC breakfast. It was going fine until Mammon got lost in an intense daydream and by the time he snapped out of it, Beel had eaten the pancake batter and there was no time to make anything else.

Mammon’s surprise breakfast ended up being toast and cut up fruit. It wasn’t so bad, but everyone knows that fruit is very unreliable. Sometimes it’s good… sometimes it’s squishy and unappetizing…

The morning shopping trip was ruined when Mammon went to withdraw money from his account and it turned out that the money from his shoot wasn’t in the account.

Apparently his paycheque was being held back because one of the modelling agencies was being sued.

“…MC?” “Come here, silly.”

After having his face peppered with kisses, Mammon was completely rejuvenated. His human had magic kisses, after all! They never failed to make him feel better!

The two decided that instead of a shopping spree they’d spend a couple hours of window shopping, after that when the two stopped for lunch at the new restaurant. Twenty minutes after eating there, Mammon was dry heaving over a trashcan while MC chugged a bottle of water to try and settle the awful nausea that had completely taken over. Perhaps a bad review would be necessary…

The time that was meant to be spent just wandering around the Devildom was completely ruined when those damn witches showed up! Mammon was not about to forfeit his time with MC to play servant to those three, so he grabbed his human and sprinted away.

That cat and mouse game with the witches lasted for literal hours and ended with Mammon and MC hiding behind a random alley dumpster…

Finally, Hell’s Kitchen, it turned out that they didn’t take too kindly to dine and dashers, so Mammon ended up spending the time he was supposed to be spending eating with MC waiting tables to pay off his tab.

After that, Mammon was too exhausted to even think about partying, so MC suggested that they just head home and watch some fun action movies.

The moment they began their walk home however…

A single drop of water tapped against Mammon’s sunglasses, he looked up and pointed a finger at the sky.

“No.”

Another drop of water hit the rim of his sunglasses.

“No!”

I’m a matter of seconds, it had begun to completely pour, Mammon dug his hands into his hair and shouted in frustration.

“NO! NO! NO! WHY RIGHT NOW?! Why… why right now..?” His outburst had quickly petered out into Mammon physically drooping and quietly taking off his jacket. He held it over MC so they would be spared the brunt of the rain and looked down at his now soaked shoes. “I… I’m sorry… MC…”

“Mammon, what are you sorry for?” MC said gently, lacing their fingers with his.

What kind of a question was that? Mammon had fucked up the date he had planned and made himself look like a complete idiot in front of the one person who showed him any amount of love and affection.

His heart sank as he managed to drag his gaze over to MC. They were worried about an idiot like him… maybe they’d be better off without needing to constantly babysit him…

“Today… everything… I dunno…” Mammon mumbled, MC looped their arms around him, being careful not to drop his jacket onto the wet ground.

“Are you kidding? You planned this entire nice day for the two of us,” when Mammon didn’t respond, MC took on a more firm tone. “Listen, sometimes dates don’t turn out good, that doesn’t mean you have to mope in the rain. Let’s go home, order some food, and watch a movie or some dumb show, whatever makes you happy.”

Though the constant patter of the rain made it difficult to hear, Mammon sniffled and finally returned the hug. His human really was the best.

“You’re too nice to me… ya know that?” Mammon whispered.

MC pressed a soft kiss to his lips and smiled. “Get used to it, because I don’t plan on stopping.”

Leviathan

Levi had to psyche himself up for months in order to do this… he had seen and swooned over cliche TV show dates thousands of times and now, he wanted to take MC on one.

Simply asking them was a Herculean task all on its own… Levi tried to kabedon them, and failed miserably and ended up head butting MC by accident. The Avatar of Envy could have shrivelled up and died of embarrassment right then and there, but MC let out the sweet laugh that never failed to make Levi’s heart swell. They accepted the date request.

When the day came, the two left the HOL, and Levi began his checklist of things that needed to happen to make this a perfect date. First! Dinner!

Dinner… did not pan out well to say the least. The place they had decided to go to was incredibly crowded and the two of them got seated in just the worst spot. They ended up needing to end their meal early and eat outside because Levi was getting hit with a bad case of sensory overload.

Eating outside wouldn’t have been so bad if it weren’t for the fact that it was cold and windy as hell… Levi was cold blooded… not figuratively, but mostly literally, he did not do well in overly cold environments. He ended up cuddling closer to MC, which would have been really romantic if he hadn’t accidentally spilled their drink all over them.

Okay… that didn’t turn out good… well, after dinner they were supposed to go do some karaoke! Levi loved karaoke! He could sing something cute and sappy for MC, that was a romance staple!

And the karaoke place was closed for renovations… ugh…

Levi wanted to just go home and abandon the whole date idea, but MC looped their arm around him and pulled him away from the closed karaoke place.

“Remember the arcade we went to a few months ago? I saw it on the way here, let’s go there instead.” “Are you sure you want to keep this date with me going..?” “Positive.”

The arcade was fun until Levi spotted the DDR (Devil Dance Revolution) game that he and MC got the high score on last time. Levi wanted to see what other noobs had tried and failed to beat him and MC.

It turned out… someone beat them…

It seemed like Baphomet and Azazel made a good DDR team because they had managed to knock Levi and MC down to second place by a lot, that wasn’t all, apparently someone was salty after not getting past Levi and MC and put “are dumb” under their names!

Levi was practically frothing at the mouth when he pulled MC to the DDR machine to restore their lost honour. They… did not restore their lost honour. Levi ended up getting so upset he tried to unplug the machine, which somehow ended up permanently freezing the high scores onto the screen. It seemed that the entire Devildom would know that Baphomet and Azazel were better than Levi and MC, and that they were both dumb…

There was still one more thing Levi had planned on doing during his date with MC, he wanted to take them to a cherry blossom tree and suavely kiss them under it. Sadly, there were no cherry blossom trees in the Devildom, but there was a pretty decent substitute that was in bloom during that time of year. Levi and MC made their way to a spot where Levi knew there was a tree, and stood under it.

That was when Levi suddenly realized he had no clue how to be suave and began to stutter-spiral. MC patiently waited for Levi to properly articulate what he wanted to say, when they spotted a unicorn in the distance! MC excitedly pointed it out to Levi, who immediately went pale. Apparently Devildom unicorns are very territorial and very aggressive. They are Satan’s familiar for a reason…

Booking it from a unicorn was not how Levi wanted to end the date… it really wasn’t… but the final straw that broke the camel’s back had arrived in the form of a single raindrop. Then another… then another…

“Levi, please get out of the pond…”

“Leave me, find someone better.”

After the rain had started, Levi had taken off his jacket, handed it to MC, then proceeded to float face down in full demon form in the middle of a pond. The Avatar of Envy was so tired and embarrassed that he just wanted the pond to consume him.

“Levi,” MC tutted. “You’re going to get struck by lightning.”

“Good.”

“Leviathan!”

MC’s sudden shout caused Levi to flail in the water for a brief moment before he was able to use his tail to stabilize himself as managed to tread water.

“Get out of the pond right now! The Lord of Shadows would never abandon Henry like this!”

“The Lord of Shadows is cool, I’m not…” Levi crossed his arms and sunk ever so slightly deeper into the water.

“What the hell are you talking about?” MC asked. “Did we watch the same show? The Lord of Shadows is a huge dork, like you, now get out of the pond so we can go home and not get struck by lightning.”

Defeated by the power of friendship/love/fandom brotherhood, Levi made his way back to shore and was given a quick whack to the back of the head.

“Ow!”

“That’s for being a sulky dummy!” MC then yanked Levi forward by the front of his shirt and kissed him. Levi nearly gasped and began to fanboy right then and there in the middle of the kiss. A rain kiss! A dramatic kiss in the rain! That was one of the best tropes ever! “And that, was for trying to take me on a sweet date.”

“M-marry me…” Levi whispered before he could stop himself. MC giggled and patted one of his now bright red cheeks.

“Maybe someday.”

Satan

Going on fun spontaneous dates really wasn’t Satan’s forte, he preferred a schedule, but both he and MC had the afternoon free and Satan didn’t feel like bumming around at home when the two of them could do that any other day.

Oh-so charmingly taking his beloved MC by the hand and leading them to the nearest cat-cafe was the first thing Satan could think to do. He loves cats, he loves MC, what could possibly ruin a nice afternoon with both?

When the two reached the cafe, they were met with an employee closing the place early, claiming that all the cats had actually gotten adopted and they were waiting for more rescues to come in.

Satan couldn’t decide whether to be upset about the lack of cats, or happy that the cats got adopted into loving homes like they deserved. Satan settled on being aggressively happy.

It was no big deal, there were other things they could do together, like go to a library, or bookstore, or a museum, the possibilities were endless!

Well, it would have been endless if it wasn’t for the world conspiring to make Satan loose his cool. First, the line for his favourite book store was looped around the block because of a new book release. Inconveniencing, sure, but nothing too awful, there was a nice park nearby, the two decided to relax on one of the benches.

Problem number two arose when some idiot threw a Fangol ball a little too far and it ended up hitting Satan, then bouncing off his head and hitting the tree that the bench was under, normally, this would be rude and annoying but nothing that would activate Satan’s volcanic temper, except for the tiny issue that there was a wasp nest in that tree that decided Satan’s drink was enemy #1.

After being stung approximately eight times in the hand, Satan wasn’t doing too good, MC could tell and offered to go to the doctor’s with him. As Satan led them out of the park and towards the sidewalk he assured MC that there was nothing to worry about…

But MC, holder of Satan’s heart, went to go get him ice anyway.

The third and final thing to make Satan blow his top, the rain… the cold… depressing… rain…

“Oh…” MC mumbled as they looked up at the rain, then at Satan, whose hands were balled into fists so tight that his palms began to bleed. “Satan are you-”

Completely silent, Satan strode toward a nearby dumpster and slammed his foot into the metal, sending the entire thing into the back of the dead-end alley. The entire dumpster practically compressed and folded in on itself from the sheer force of the kick.

“Do you want to go home?” MC asked gently, taking a few steps towards him, Satan slowly nodded.

“Y-yes. I think that’d be the smart thing to do.” Satan massaged his forehead and took the ice from MC. “It seems that spontaneity isn’t our strong suit as a couple.”

MC sighed and nodded. “Yeah, we should go back to planning this stuff beforehand, and… you know,” They gestured around the two of them. “check what’s open and what the weather’s going to be before we head out.”

Only MC could soothe Satan’s temper as quickly as it flared up, and MC was getting covered with rainwater. That just wouldn’t do. He turned to MC and offered them his jacket. “I don’t want you to get cold.”

“Isn’t your line supposed to be ‘here, take this, you might catch a cold’?” MC lightly teased as they took the jacket. “Like a classic romantic lead?”

Satan shook his head and laughed softly. “No, that’s a common misconception. You can’t actually get the common cold or flu from being out in the rain. The real danger is hypothermia or frostbite.”

“Ah,” MC looped their arm around Satan’s and held his non swollen hand. “So smart, tell me more about the dangers of hypothermia.”

“Don’t tease, dearest, or I’ll take back my jacket.”

Asmodeus

Asmo had just the most stressful day… and decided that he and his sweet MC just had to go on a nice date together to fix it!

Most dates with Asmo had a sort of three act structure, first they would coordinate their outfits together for the actual date activity, then they’d do whatever they set out to do, then they’d go home and either snuggle, or do the Devil’s tango, whichever MC was feeling up for.

But on this particular day, the three act structure was being ruined. It started with the outfit coordination, somehow everything Asmo had that would match with what MC was wearing was in the laundry, he had to be convinced by MC that this wasn’t that big of a deal and the two of them would look radiant whether they matched or not.

Since that was settled, Asmo and MC made their way to Asmo’s all time favourite spa, which was not closed, no no no, it was actively on fire.

“How… how did this happen?” “Well, there were a lot of candles burning in that place, I guess we’ll just have to save the spa trip for another date.”

Everyone was fine by the way

Oh well, it would take more than a raging inferno to ruin Asmo’s date, he was determined to have a good time, so he cheerily took MC’s hand and led them away from the fire. He also casually mentioned that being so close to danger was a total turn-on.

MC very quickly ended that comment with a kiss, Asmo can’t make inappropriate sex jokes when he’s kissing his favourite person. It was truly a testament to his complete and utter adoration of MC that Asmo was willing to share the top spot of his list of favourite people with them!

While on their merry way to find something else to do, Asmo’s fan club caught wind that he and MC were on a date and decided to make their appearance. Now Asmo’s groupies are normally very sweet, but they can also be incredibly unaware of boundaries.

Everywhere Asmo and MC looked, one or two of Asmo’s fans would be half hiding and half spying on how the date was going. It was common knowledge that Asmo x MC was the OTP of the entire club, and some of the members wanted to get a peak of their ship doing something romantic.

As much as Asmo loved attention, it was getting kind of… creepy. He began to usher MC away from certain areas and tried to find a suitably nice place to get away from prying eyes.

The pair ended up in this absolutely gorgeous public garden that was thankfully quite empty. Though, all it took was one awkward step with the kind of shoes he was wearing and Asmo fell straight into a rose bush.

MC had to quickly get to work kissing Asmo’s cut up face better before he started to cry and ruined his mascara. What was even worse was that the fall messed up Asmo’s shoe and he’d have to walk back to the house like an uncoordinated baby deer.

Everything was fine… just fine… no need to worry… everything was… cloudy…

The moment the first drop of rain landed in front of Asmo he stood completely stiff and still.

“Don’t.” He growled. “I just got my hair fixed.”

The rain didn’t listen, and began pouring down, absolutely drenching Asmo and MC in a matter of minutes. MC tried to pull Asmo towards an alcove or a covered patio so they could call a cab home, but the Avatar of Lust refused to move. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, smiled serenely to himself, then looked back up to the sky and screamed with the hatred of a thousand suns:

“FUCK YOU TOO FATHER!”

It was quite a scene for MC to witness, Asmo rarely fully lost his cool, especially not enough to swear like an ‘uncouth barbarian’, combine that with his running mascara, scratched up face, and dirty clothes, he looked more like a feral movie star that was just rescued from the woods than the solid ten out of ten MC normally knew him as.

“Momo?” MC gently patted his back. “Come on, we should go home.”

Asmo finally turned to look at his sweet MC, the poor thing shouldn’t have seen him act like this… the day had gone completely horribly and he just had to drag MC into this, didn’t he? He felt his heart drop right into his gut as he practically collapsed into his human’s arms.

“Oh MC, I’m so sorry I dragged you out today… we should have just stayed home…”

“Asmo,” MC weighed their options, before settling on just rubbing his back. “There there.”

The awkward sniffling and snorting continued for the next couple of minutes while MC called a ride service to come pick the two of them up.

“Thank you, MC,” Asmo sniffled. “You’re the sweetest thing in the universe…”

“You’re sweet too, Asmo. It’s a shame today didn’t work out.”

“Mhm…”

“We can still save this date, you know? When we get back home we can take a bath and snuggle.”

“That…” Asmo sniffed. “That sounds really nice, MC.”

“Anytime spent with you is nice, Asmo.” MC then rolled their eyes while Asmo giggled. “Man that was corny…”

Beelzebub

Beel had come back from one hell of a Fangol game, and he was in an amazing mood! He wanted to take MC out to celebrate!

Between-meal snacks were packed, and they set off to the carnival. Nothing could beat the nice smell of fried dough, Carmel apples, popcorn, and spending time with MC.

Of course, the food wasn’t the only thing Beel wanted to enjoy with MC, there were rides and games to try while they enjoyed their snacks. First they made their way to the teacup ride.

In theory, having big strong Beel to spin the big wheel in the middle to make the teacup move would be a good thing, but even though it was the first ride, MC had eaten quite a lot of carnival snacks.

Beel only had to spin the centre disc once for the disc to both break and make the teacup to whirl around at a speed that practically threw them into Beel’s side. MC then… well… vomited. Everywhere.

Since Beel accidentally ripped the centre disc off, he couldn’t slow the teacup down manually to stop the puke-tornado, so it took a little while before the ride operator realized that something was wrong and stopped the ride.

The walk off the ride was both embarrassing and completely nauseating, MC needed to stumble to the nearest trashcan and hurl. Beel did his best to comfort his poor human and mumbled quite a lot of apologies.

“I’m sorry MC…” “Beel, it’s okay… I’d uh, kiss you but the… vomit.”

Both Beel and MC decreed that maybe rides weren’t the best idea after that, and went over to check out the carnival games.

After a few unsuccessful tries at a few games, a plushie caught MC’s eye and they were absolutely smitten with it. Beel vowed to win it for them, and lined himself up to try the pitching game.

Well, something good came out of that… Beel threw so fast it may have broken a record, the bad thing was that the ball tore through the tent and caused the whole thing to collapse.

The tent then caught fire after landing on some of the candles that were set up… the plushie went up in flames…

Beel turned to MC, who wordlessly patted him on the back. At… at least they still had their snacks…

As Beel and MC made their way to the exit, a group of kids rushed past the pair, Beel, not wanting to step on or bump into any of them, awkwardly wobbled, then fell and dropped all of his emergency snacks.

And then came the rain…

“Oh…” Beel mumbled as he stared down his spilled food, MC quickly wrapped their arms around him, looking up at him with a half-hearted smile.

“We can buy some more, or wait until we get home, it’s okay, Beel.”

The Avatar of Gluttony slowly nodded, tearing his gaze away from the wasted snacks. Thunder sounded above the two and the cold rain began to beat against them.

When Beel looked down at MC, he felt his heart flutter in his chest, they weren’t upset at him, they weren’t angry… they just wanted to make him feel better… Beel nodded resolutely to himself, he was going to make MC feel better too! He picked MC up bridal-style and began to walk away from the rapidly emptying carnival.

“B-Beel?” MC sputtered.

“Let’s go home, MC, I have cookies hidden in one of the cabinets that we can share.”

MC looked up at their sweet cinnamon roll, then buried their face in his chest. Their shoulders shook slightly as they looped their arms around Beel’s neck.

“M-MC?” Beel asked, he tried to shift MC in his arms to see if they were crying, but MC looked up at him with a sweet smile.

“You’re just the best, Beel. Never forget that.”

Belphegor

The Avatar of Sloth doesn’t exactly “do” traditional dates, but even he could tell that MC wanted to do something a little more exciting than “lay in bed and make out until Belphie falls asleep”.

Since Belphie is a totally wonderful brat boyfriend, he decided to take MC out to the best possible place in the human world for some stargazing… and napping.

He even put together a picnic basket so he and MC could eat while watching the sunset before the stars came out!

The favourite blanket was packed, the picnic basket was ready, and Lucifer gave the two permission to visit the human world for the evening. Belphie took a mental note to avoid doing any pranks for a week as a thank-you to his older brother.

Well, the first problem came when the two spread out the blanket and opened up the basket to find… nothing. Belphie immediately thought that Beel must have eaten their food, but then the memory of the food clearly sitting in the fridge entered his mind. He had forgotten to put the food in the basket… and he was too lazy to check why the basket was so light…

Oh well… no big deal, MC had a big lunch. The second problem came in the form of a swarm of mosquitoes. Gross, bloodsucking mosquitos.

“MC?” “Yeah?” “Did you happen to pack bug spray before I took you out on this surprise picnic?” “No…”

Belphie’s solution was to use his tail to bat the bugs away, but that proved to be quite useless. It didn’t help that while both MC and Belphie were being eaten alive, Belphie would end up accidentally thwacking MC with his tail.

Well, at least the sunset was nice, or it would have been if Belphie hadn’t slept through it by accident.

It was classic Belphie to manage to sleep through anything interesting, and apparently he also missed out on a shooting star which soured his mood even more.

The only little bright spot of the date so far was that MC did say that they wished for something for him on that shooting star… hopefully wish magic might salvage the date…

After being awoken by MC to look up at the sky, the two realized that something was… missing. Where were the stars?

MC and Belphie were laying on their backs facing the clouded over sky when they both had the dawning realization of what was to come.

Rain.

Of course… mosquitoes are extra active and crazy before a storm… that’s why they were coming at them…

Belphie let out a dejected sigh as the first raindrop of many hit the tip of his nose. MC scratched at their arms and began to pack up the blanket into the empty picnic basket. At least the blanket wouldn’t get too wet.

Well, he fucked this up royally. The Avatar of Sloth almost never put any actual work into something that didn’t benefit himself, but MC had managed to make themselves the exception. He wanted to make them happy, he wanted to see that cute little face they made when he’d crack a joke or make a quip about something, but now, lying flat on his back staring up at a coming rainstorm, Belphie had come to the crippling realization that all his work went to waste.

“You know, MC, the outdoors is going to lose my patronage.” Belphie murmured, blinking a few raindrops out of his eyes as the rain began to patter down with more ferocity. “I think the two of us should stick to indoor dates.”

“Couldn’t agree more.” MC sighed as they used the picnic basket as a makeshift umbrella.

“I’m um…” Belphie began, guilt twisting in his gut. “I’m sorry this turned out so shitty.”

“It’s okay, Belphie.” MC pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “If by some miracle the food that was supposed to be in the fridge hasn’t gotten eaten by the time we get back home, we’ll eat a late dinner, cuddle, and then sleep till noon.”

[littlesniggy]

Merry Christmas!

A little bit too late but merry Christmas everyone! Spent Christmas in Disneyland Paris and it was amazing! Hope you had wonderful holidays as well!

„Luffy! Stop eating the ingredients!” Sanji’s voice could be heard throughout the whole ship, followed by a punching noise and the captain being kicked out the kitchen. “But I’m hungry! Sanji please! I’m starving!” Luffy complained, looking desperately and miserably at the closed door, and angry cook looking at him through the tiny window as a warning, holding up the long wooden cooking spoon to emphasize it.

“Luffy, leave Sanji san alone. He’s preparing the food. It’ll be ready in no time.” Nami scolded him, leaning against the railing next to Robin who was chuckling amused. “He just can’t help it.” The black-haired woman commented lightly.

“Nami suwaaaan! Robin chuwaaaan! Please! Have a try!” the two women smiled at the blonde who came rushing to them. Both could swear little hearts were swirling around him, in his hands two small plates with some sort of hors d’oevre on it. “Thank you, Sanji san.”

“Sanjiii! I want some, too! I’m the captain!” Luffy complained, scuffling towards them like a starved zombie. “Give me food, Sanji.” He whined. “This is only for the ladies! You have to wait, Luffy!” Sanji hissed at him before focusing his attention back to the two women. “How does it taste?” he insisted, almost having a heart attack when both nodded in approval, complimenting his food.

“Oi, shitty cook!” Sanji’s face turned sour at the voice, turning his head to the source in disgust. “I want some!” Zoro announced, making the cook even angrier. “You wait your turn like everyone else, Mosshead! For all I care you could starve!”

“What was that?” Zoro growled, butting heads with his nemesis in a fight for dominance.

“What’s all the commotion up here? Did I hear food?” Franky’s head poked out from the hatch in the floor, his goggles making him look like a giant fly. “Not yet!! I will call you when it’s ready!” Sanji yelled, frustrated at how things were turning out.

“Is dinner ready?” Usopp and Chopper echoed from behind the huge Christmas tree they were currently decorating, their eyes sparkling hopefully. “I was sure I could already smell Sanji’s amazing cooking.” Usopp said in a dreamy voice, his eyes looking to the sky, imagining everything Sanji could possibly prepared for them. Chopper followed his stare, most likely imagining the same picture.

“Mr. Nosebleed here said it’s not done yet. Only for the ladies.” Zoro informed the two, a displeased look on his face with the intention to show how disgusted he was with Sanji for favoring Nami and Robin who didn’t seem to mind too much about this special treatment.

“Then if it’s not ready why can’t you guys just help us instead of lazing around?!” Usopps scolded the others, Choppers voice echoing his words with the same passion.

“No thank you. Decorating a stupid tree is not for me. Ima take a nap until dinner’s ready.” Zoro waved them off, ignoring the hissing coming from Usopp and Chopper and instead walking to the other side of the ship.

“Call me when it’s ready. I’ll be back down here and work on something.” Franky informed them.

“Work on something? Will it be even greater than the tank?” Chopper exclaimed excitedly until he almost fainted when Franky told him to “just wait and see”.

“Let’s help them with the tree, Robin. We don’t want Usopp and Chopper to ruin it by putting up some robots.” Nami suggested before walking towards the tree together with Robin. “And I’ll be back cooking for you!” Sanji promised before he hurried back into the kitchen.

“Okay, where should we sta-“

“GET OUT, LUFFY!!!”

Said captain was kicked out of the kitchen to his face, an angry red imprint of Sanji’s foot adorning his swollen eyes and bloody nose. Crumbs of food were all over his face, the bone of the chicken sticking halfway out his mouth.

“Luffy, I said leave him alone. Sanji will do his best and hurry with the cooking.” Nami reminded him in a stern yet amused voice, tossing him some fairy lights. “Come, you can help us with the tree. This will keep you busy for a while.”

“But I’m hungry….”

“Yohohoho. And I will play a little song to keep you entertained.” Brook laughed while coming out from inside, his fiddle in his hands.

“Yohohoho yo-ho-ho-ho.” He intoned, the others joining in immediately. Even Luffy seemed to have fun while putting up the Christmas tree ornaments, dancing while doing so.

.

.

.

“Dinner’s ready!” Sanji announced while he walked out the kitchen with several full plates in his hands, putting them down on the table. Luffy was the first to find his seat, followed by Chopper, Nami and Robin.

“I will go and get Zoro and Jimbei.” Usopp said while running back, not hearing Sanji’s “you can forget about the Mosshead”.

“And I will go and get Franky.” Brook opened the hatch and looked down.

“Yohohoho. Franky san! Dinner is ready.” He informed the mechanic. Not even two seconds later, the pervert was already outside, making his way over to the table.

“Finally!”

“It was about time. Took you long enough.” Zoro complained, taking a seat right next to Luffy, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Go to hell!” Sanji hissed but left it at that, taking a seat next to Nami.

“I see you’re as lively as ever.” Jimbei laughed, sitting down last. “Let’s all celebrate!” the fishman raised his glass, looking over to the captain who was already stuffing his mouth. “Luffy, wait! You should say a toast!” Usopp voiced his opinion while holding his glass up as well, followed by everyone else.

Luffy stopped, looked around and then swallowed everything at once that was in his mouth.

“A toast?” he asked confused but everyone nodded.

“Oh well, I guess I can make a toast.” He agreed, raising his glass as well.

“Let’s have a feast we will never forget!” he exclaimed.

“To the future king of pirates!” Zoro added.

“Merry Christmas!” Nami laughed.

“Merry Christmas!”

[silvfyre-writings]

Aizawa Cares Pt. 4 (MHA Fanfic)

The sound of someone knocking on his door slowly drew Aizawa back to the land of the living. He let out a low groan as he slowly dragged himself from his bed, his eyes glancing towards the clock to see what time it was. The clock on his bedside table flashed a bright red three at him. Aizawa glared at the device like it was the one responsible for his sleep being disturbed before he remembered that he had yet to open the door. The teacher dorms were left unlocked in case the students needed their teachers during the night, although many of them had just given their phone numbers out and told the children to call them instead of trudging all the way to the teacher dorms.

“Uraraka?” Aizawa greeted the girl as he opened his door, trying to not look like he’d just woken up. Based on the girl’s guilty expression, he’d failed. “What’s the matter?”

“Mina’s sick, Sensei.” Uraraka said, fiddling with her pyjama top. “She didn’t want me to tell you, but she melted her bed.”

“How bad?” Aizawa questioned as he went back into his room to grab his phone and keys before heading towards the entrance, pulling his boots on. Uraraka followed him, quietly telling him how she’d gotten a phone call from Shoji, the boy telling her that he’d heard sounds of sickness coming from Ashido’s room via his quirk, and had asked her to check on Ashido.

“I got her to open the door, and yeah, she’s throwing up and accidentally melted her bed so she doesn’t have anything to sleep on.”

“We have spare bedding she can use.” Aizawa informed. “Has anyone else been sick?”

Uraraka began to shake her head before she paused. “I don’t know if he’s sick… but I went to get Mina some water, and I noticed Bakugo on the couch. It’s probably cause of a nightmare but... you know.”

Aizawa nodded, well aware of Bakugo’s habit of going to the common room in the early hours of the morning, having seen the boy himself when he’d done a dorm check after finishing his night patrol. Uraraka was probably correct in assuming it was a nightmare, but after the massive storm a few days ago, Shoji’s cold had worsened into something more contagious and despite quarantining himself into his dorm room, it hadn’t stopped the virus from spreading, and he’d already taken down Ojiro, Hagakure, and Jirou. Aizawa had immediately told them to not leave their rooms unless absolutely necessary, but it seemed like that hadn’t been enough to stop the spread. He’d check on the explosive student after dealing with Ashido.

Once they arrived at the 1-A dorm, Aizawa turned to face Uraraka. “Go and wash up before going back to bed. I’ll handle Ashido.”

“But—”

“No buts. I don’t want anymore of you coming down with this illness.” Aizawa instructed firmly. Four—potentially five—sick kids were enough on his plate to deal with; he didn’t want to add anymore to the equation. He watched Uraraka head towards the bathroom, and only began moving once the door was shut behind her. Heading towards the closet that stored the spare bedding, he grabbed a futon and a blanket before stopping by the kitchen to grab some fever reducer and nausea medication.

He hadn’t even gotten to Ashido’s room before he heard the familiar sounds of someone being ill, and he grimaced at the noise. Dealing with sick students wasn’t the most enjoyable part of his job, and normally he’d just call their parents to come get them. But with the dorm system in place now, that duty now fell to him.

“Ashido?” Aizawa called as he walked into the girl’s bedroom. A quick glance around the room showed the melted bed that Uraraka had told him about, and a distinct lack of a pink figure. Must be in the toilet then. Seconds later, his thoughts were confirmed as he heard Ashido throw up.

“Sensei.” The poor girl croaked, sticking her head out to look at him, her hair plastered to her sweaty forehead, and eyes just screaming that she was miserable.

Aizawa raised the bedding in his arms. “I brought you a futon to use. And medicine.”

“Ugh.” Ashido gave a disgusted face, slumping against the doorway. “I’m not sure if I’ll keep it down, Sensei.”

“Okay.” Aizawa sighed. He’d had to take his student to the doctors in the morning, but that was still several hours away, and based on how she looked, it was clear that Ashido hadn’t gotten much sleep at all. “Who did you hang around today?”

“Literally everyone.” Ashido chuckled, looking amused at his question. “I like to talk, Aizawa-sensei, I just can’t help it. I felt a little off today, but I thought it was just because I missed breakfast this morning.”

“Have you eaten at all today?”

“I ate lunch with the gang. Well… I suppose it’s all in my toilet now. Gross.”

Before Aizawa could respond, his phone buzzed with a message from Uraraka.

Uraraka Ochaco: I’m back in my room, Sensei, but I checked on Bakugo before I went. I think he’s sick as well.

Aizawa sighed, walking over to Ashido and hoisting her up carefully. “Come on, you can camp out on the couch with Bakugo and be miserable together.”

“Why?” Ashido frowned. “Is he sick as well?”

“Apparently.”

Bakugo glared at the both of them angrily as Aizawa deposited Ashido next to her friend. Aizawa simply stared at his student until the boy ducked his head and clicked his tongue. “I’m not sick.”

Aizawa hummed to himself as he crouched in front of Bakugo, reaching out to palm his student’s forehead that definitely felt warmer than it should’ve. He was aware that Bakugo ran at a slightly higher temperature because of his quirk, but this was certainly warmer than that. “That fever says otherwise.”

“Awww, don’t you want to be sick buddies with me?” Ashido grinned, spreading out over the couch and draping herself over Bakugo’s lap. The boy made to shove her off, but then seemed to change his mind and just crossed his arms angrily.

“Fuck no. It’s Earjack’s fault anyway for spreading this shit around.” Bakugo spat, thankfully at a quieter tone than the boy usually used.

“How so?” Aizawa questioned, heading over to the kitchen and measuring out doses of medicine for the two to take before he sent them back to their rooms. He was going to have to disinfect the common room before he could go back to sleep. Fun.

“She kept hanging around the common room after school today. Insisted she was feeling much better and wanted to study.” Bakugo said, accepting the medicine that Aizawa held out towards him with minimal fuss and knocking it back with a mouthful of water. “Shoulda known that was bullshit.”

“You say that like she was just coughing in everyone’s faces.” Ashido turned to face Aizawa. “Jirou was just feeling restless and wanted to hang for a bit. She wore a mask and gloves and sanitized everything she touched!”

“Still, she should’ve stayed in her room instead of infecting us all!” Bakugo snapped.

“Bakugo.” Aizawa said calmly, waiting for the boy to look at him before he continued. “What’s done is done, okay? It sucks that you’re not feeling great, but we can’t do anything except make you feel more comfortable.”

The boy huffed, but stayed silent. Ashido threw him a grateful look. Aizawa stood and ruffled the hair on both of them before helping them both get settled back into the rooms, letting both students know that he’d camp out in the common room for the rest of the night so that if they needed him, they could just come get him. Once Bakugo and Ashido were settled, Aizawa went about disinfecting the common room, not sure how much good that would do. It would only be a matter of time before the rest of his class fell ill to the sickness.

~~~

Aizawa had never wanted to slam his head into a wall more than he did right now. It had only taken two days for the majority of his class to succumb to the illness after the night he’d helped Bakugo and Ashido. The two students sat on either side of him the latest victims. Midoriya was resting his head on Aizawa’s shoulder, looking like he was about to fall asleep then and there, while Kirishima was on his other side, absolute misery on his face as he coughed into the mask Aizawa had forced upon him before even coming to the doctor’s office.

Iida had approached him early that morning to tell him that Midoriya and Kirishima had fallen ill, although reassuring him that they weren’t too sick. Aizawa hadn’t believed it at first, but upon looking at the boys himself, he did have to admit that they seemed alright. Although considering how the rest of his class was, he had no doubt they’d get worse before they started to get better, hence why he had dragged them to the doctors. He counted himself lucky that Yaoyorozu, Iida, and somehow, Kaminari of all people, hadn’t shown any signs of illness. The three students had taken it upon themselves to help Aizawa with dealing out medications and obtaining spare bedding when quirks went off and destroyed blankets and futons.

It wasn’t ideal, but it was certainly helpful to have some extra hands. Especially after he’d had to take Todoroki and Tokoyami to the hospital the previous day, the former having caught the illness and quite literally dropped when the sudden temperature changes within his body caused him to collapse whilst walking down the stairs. That’d been fun. Tokoyami on the other hand had been hit hard by the illness, struggling to breathe due to his bird mutations. Both students were resting peacefully now on the couches in the common room where Aizawa could keep a close eye on them.

“Midoriya?” A nurse called out. Aizawa nudged his dozing student and watched him walk down the hallway to be examined, another nurse coming to collect Kirishima a few minutes later. Letting out a sigh, Aizawa leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He hadn’t been getting much sleep the past few days, the need to make sure that his kids were alright overpowering his need to sleep. Thankfully, Nezu had taken pity and told him to simply quarantine with his class, meaning that he didn’t have to teach or patrol until the sickness went away. Thank god for that.

Half an hour later had the three of them back at the dorm, Aizawa instructing the two to get as much rest as possible and that he’d let them know when it was time for their next dose of medicine. Midoriya gave him a thankful expression. “Thank you for taking care of us, Aizawa-sensei. We’ll be sure to get better soon.”

“Yeah, I know. Now run along, problem children.” Aizawa waved Midoriya and Kirishima towards the stairs before making his way over to the couches to check on his sickest students. Uraraka and Aoyama were camped on one of the couches, struggling to keep anything in their stomachs thanks to the illness. It was enough to make Aizawa worry so he’d demanded—kindly—that they sleep on the couches so that he could monitor them. They both looked miserable, even though they were currently asleep, a bucket by each of their heads just in case. On the other couch, Tokoyami was leaning against a mountain of pillows, the raised position helping him to breathe much easier. Tokoyami was currently awake, slowly reading through a book one of his classmates had given him. Todoroki was at the other end, face flushed with fever and eyes closed in slumber. Aizawa frowned. The boy was still on a concussion watch after falling down the stairs, and he distinctly remembered telling Todoroki to not sleep while he was gone, even if he’d cleared the boy to rest in small intervals.

“He’s only been asleep for thirty-four minutes.” Bakugo grumbled from his makeshift bed that was just the ottoman’s pushed together. The explosive boy held up his phone for Aizawa to see, a timer steadily ticking down. “You said he was good to sleep for an hour.”

“I did.” Aizawa confirmed, taking a seat on the edge of the ottomans. “How’s that fever of yours?”

Bakugo had joined his couch-confined students during the night, his fever increasing into dangerous territories. Kirishima had frantically shaken him awake to tell him and together they’d worked to bring Bakugo’s fever down. Bakugo wasn’t happy to be confined to the common room, claiming that he wasn’t going to get any sleep while his classmates stomped around. But Aizawa had remained firm. If Bakugo’s fever required a visit to the hospital, it would be easier to move from the ground floor than the fourth.

“It’s fine.” Bakugo grumbled. “Pikachu gave out the next doses too while you were gone. And Vlad King stopped by.”

“What did he want?” Aizawa quickly checked his phone in case he’d missed a message from his co-worker, but the screen showed nothing.

Bakugo shrugged. “Ponytail spoke to him. I was sleeping.”

“I’ll ask Yaoyorozu later then. Anything else happen while I was gone.”

Another shrug. “Just the usual coughing, occasional puking.” Bakugo held out his phone for Aizawa to take. “I want to sleep so here’s the timer for Icyhot.”

“Okay. I’ll check on you all later.” Aizawa said, getting to his feet to begin making his rounds. First, he checked on Tokoyami, the boy reassuring him that he was breathing fine, and that he was going to take a nap soon anyway. Aizawa nodded and fixed up Tokoyami’s blanket before tracking down Yaoyorozu and Kaminari.

“Oh, Aizawa-sensei!” Yaoyorozu smiled at him as he approached, her and Kaminari having just finished checking on the students on the fifth floor. “I didn’t realize you’d gotten back!”

“Sensei’s here?” Kaminari poked his head around the corner. “Did Bakugo speak to you yet?”

“He told me you kept on top of things while I was gone.” Aizawa said before turning to Yaoyorozu. “Bakugo said that Vlad stopped by?”

“Oh, yes! He wanted to know if we had spare fever reducer. He ran out and needed it urgently. So I gave him some.” The girl paused, suddenly looking unsure of herself. “Was that the right thing to do, Sensei?”

“I’d have rather been called about it to okay it, but yes, you did the right thing.” Aizawa reassured the girl before she could work herself up. “Any problems happen while I was gone?”

“Not at all.” Kaminari said. “I checked the list you wrote up and dosed everyone that was due. Everyone’s been sleeping.”

“Are you sure?” Aizawa asked.

Kaminari paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face before he had a sudden realization. “Oh! Tokoyami’s breathing went funny so we used that inhaler the doctor gave him and it went right back to normal.”

Aizawa nodded, proud of his student. Since Kaminari’s break down about his grades a few weeks ago, he’d been tutoring the boy after school and they’d slowly found a study method for him that worked, and he’d watched his grades improve. And the improvement had aided in the boy’s confidence rising as well, which was why he was handling the outbreak so well.

“Good job, both of you. Where’s Iida?”

“He got permission from Principal Nezu to do a supply run with Mic-sensei.” Yaoyorozu said. “He’ll be back after lunch.” His student paused. “We can finish doing the checks for you, Sensei, if you want to stay with the common room patients?”

Aizawa frowned. He’d much rather check on his students himself, and was about to tell Yaoyorozu that when Bakugo’s phone buzzed in his hand. It was time to wake Todoroki. With a reluctant sigh, he nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari. You’re both doing amazing.”

The praise was worth seeing both kids beam at him, happiness radiating through their bodies.

“Todoroki.” Aizawa whispered, mindful of the other students in the room who were all still asleep. He gently shook Todoroki’s shoulder. “Todoroki, I need you to wake up.”

A blue eye opened slightly in response before Todoroki groaned and shifted to shove his head into his pillow. Aizawa just continued to shake his student’s shoulder until Todoroki finally looked back at him, both eyes open and glaring at him in anger. “What?”

“You’re still on concussion watch, remember?” Aizawa reminded Todoroki, ignoring his students angry tone, instead shifting some pillows as Todoroki moved so that he had something to lean against once he was sitting up.

The boy grunted. “Bakugo said I could sleep.”

“For an hour.”

“Ugh.”

“How are you feeling?” Aizawa asked as he placed Bakugo’s phone beside the sleeping boy’s head before moving to sit by Todoroki’s feet.

“Better.” Todoroki sighed. “Head hurts a little still. And I’m tired.”

Aizawa nodded. He understood how frustrating not being able to sleep was, so Todoroki’s unhappiness was perfectly valid, especially since the sickness was making the boy even more tired than normal. “While we can’t let you sleep for too long, I don’t see it being too much trouble if you want to sleep now, just so long as we can wake you up every hour.”

Todoroki dropped his gaze to fidget with the blanket before dropping back against his pillows heavily. “Okay. Thanks, Sensei.” And in record time, the boy was asleep, leaving Aizawa to blink in surprise. He quickly set a timer for an hour before heading towards the kitchen to get the next round of medications done. He couldn’t wait for this sickness to pass, and was glad that the first students to fall ill were already on the mend and nearly back to being a hundred percent. In another week, the rest of his class would hopefully have recovered by then.

And then he could finally rest. But until that time, he’d take naps when he could, give out medications when needed, and provide comfort when his students got distressed from being sick. Once they were better, he could go back to being the strict teacher everyone knew him to be.

[urimaginespimp]

Untouchable (This Love pt 8)

Bucky x reader (elemental witch)

Set during TFATWS mainly episodes 4-5

Note: Little references on You All Over Me

Previous Part: Happiness

--------

“I’m letting you go, Bucky.”

It felt like he watched a part of himself die as soon as those words left your lips. How could he have been so late to realize that he’s in love with you? And in the worst possible time ever; When you finally look like you’re in peace and ready to open yourself once more to the world.

“I’d really like to be friends with you again someday. Maybe as you’ve said before, I will thank you.” You genuinely smiled at him and he almost wanted to yell at you to take it back. To say that you still want to be together.

But that would be so cruel of him. So he merely returned a smile, hoping that it came off genuine.

“You go alert Sam. I’m gonna try my best to stall Ayo and the other women. Though I doubt I could buy you more than a few seconds once the eighth hour rolls around.” you grinned and turned to go find where the Dora Milaje were waiting.

--------

Eight hours have passed and you were now taking the Dora Milaje to where Sam, Bucky, and Zemo would be.

Only when you were outside the door, you could hear an unfamiliar man’s voice almost threatening Sam into a fight.

“He’d die before he thinks he can hurt a friend to the throne.” Ayo commented, and before you knew it, one of them have thrown their spear before the man who you now can assume as discount Captain America could even raise a fist to Sam.

You walked in beside Ayo and based on Bucky’s expression, their business with Zemo wasn’t even close to done yet.

“Even if he is a means to your end, time’s up.” Ayo declared out loud in the room. “Release him to us now.”

“Hi. John Walker. Captain America.” The man interrupted. You bit your lip to stop yourself from laughing. This didn’t go unnoticed by Bucky however, who was mentally kicking himself because now was not the time to be reminded that he knows how those felt against his. The little taste of heaven he got.

“You were like a little sister to Steve Rogers, right?” He turned his attention to you with a cheery voice. “Happy to finally meet your new big brother?” He jested.

“Sorry. That positions been long taken over ever since the potty mouth racoon started exchanging memes with me.” you retort with a shrug, which made Sam cough to hide his chuckles, and Zemo to look at you as if that was the craziest thing he’s ever heard.

“Well, let’s uh, put down the pointy sticks and we can walk this through, huh?” Walker tried to gain control over the room’s atmosphere.

“Hey, John. Take it easy.” Sam butted in. “You might wanna fight Bucky before you tangle with the Dora Milaje. Or even worse, Y/N.”

“Yeah, I think I can take some water or rocks being thrown at me.” He smirked at you, making the side of your lip twitch.

“Careful, Walker, I’m almost twitching to blend that bloodstream of yours. I can control you like a puppet and I wouldn’t even have to move an inch from where I’m standing.” You smiled at him almost eerily, and Bucky was sporting a proud look on his face.

But of course, you weren’t gonna do it. You’ve long vowed to put puppeting the living off the table unless it was a life and death situation.

Walker gulped before turning once again to Ayo. “The Dora Milaje don’t have jurisdiction here.”

“The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be.” You could almost see steam coming out of Ayo’s ears as she spoke. She could also feel that something didn’t feel right with this man.

Looking at his companion, you could see that unlike Walker, he was getting nervous.

“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Walker played it off, before he layed his hand on Ayo.

Then all hell broke loose.

--------

Ayo literally disarmed Bucky. Both of you shared the same shocked expression.

Walker was catching his breath after they handed his ass to him, and was failing miserably to remove the spear that held the shield up on the table.

Ayo opened the doors to where Zemo had last gone into, only to find it empty.

One of the women took the spear off effortlessly and picked up the shield as Walker was now on the ground looking defeated.

“He is gone. Leave it.” Ayo told her.

Picking his Vibranium arm off the ground, Bucky was still trying to wrap his head around what just happened.

“Did you know they could do that?” Sam asked, just getting up from the floor.

“Guessing from his reaction, no.” You commented as he attached it back and tested it. “Are you alright?” you approached him. His arm worked just fine. Relief flooded him.

“Yeah. How about you? You still got cuts and bruises from Madripoor.” He reaches out and holds a side of your jaw to turn your head as if to assess the minor damages on your face, causing your breath to hitch.

This was the first time he got to touch you again after all the distancing and avoiding you’ve been doing before. He smiled at you sweetly, making you confused. Sam was also giving Bucky a questioning look.

“I think I’m gonna help them look for Zemo. You guys gonna be alright?” you stepped back away from him and turned to Sam, and he nodded before giving you a hug and told you to be safe.

You gave Bucky a smile before leaving to catch up with the Dora Milaje. As soon as you were out of earshot, Sam turned to him with a smug expression.

“Have something to share, Bucky?” He asked playfully, already having a hunch why Bucky was acting all weird.

“Sam, I’m in love with her.” He replied, still staring at the direction where you just exited.

“Yeah, I figured.” he snorted in reply. It was about damn time.

“But just when it hit me, she then says she’s letting me go. Now I’m the one caught up in her.”

“Well that’s some angsty shit right there, man. Let’s grab something to eat first and talk about how your cyborg brain finally named the feelings you’ve had all this time.” Sam pats his shoulder before muttering that he was gonna need food for this discussion.

--------

You had an inkling that Zemo was heading to Sokovia. And it seemed that Bucky had the same though as he caught up on you and the Dora Milaje on your way there.

The moment you saw him, the dried blood on his face raised your concerns, and he was trying to hide the fact that he was enjoying your attention when you insisted on patching him up, and you were oblivious to the Dora Milaje’s teasing glances thrown his way, and even when one of them mouthed the word simps to him.

He made a mental note to look up what that means later.

I thought you’d be here sooner.” Zemo spoke as he got nearer. “Don’t worry, I’ve decided I’m not going to kill you.”

“Imagine my relief.” Bucky replied, clicking the gun on his side.

“The girl has been radicalized beyond salvation. I warned Sam, but he didn’t listen to me. He’s as stubborn as Steve Rogers before him. But you... they literally programmed you to kill. James, do what needs to be done. Karli has people everywhere, and there’s only one way to make sure she cannot continue her mission.” Zemo rationalized.

“I appreciate the advice. But we’re gonna do it our own way.”

Zemo chuckled softly. “Yeah. I was afraid you would say that.”

Raising the gun to his head, there was no once of fear in Zemo’s eyes, rather it looked like he was ready to be reunited with his family. This was further shown when he actually nodded at Bucky.

Only that nothing happened as he pulled the trigger. Instead, he raised his left fist, and as he opened it, the bullets fell off, clanking on the ground.

Just then, three of the Dora Milajes marched up behind him, ready to take him away this time.

“Ladies...” he acknowledged them before turning back to him. “I took the liberty of crossing my name in your book. I hold no grudges for what you thought you had to do.” Bucky nodded, appreciating the gesture.

“Parting words of advice...” Zemo spoke again, this time lower as he knew you might be somewhere nearer and might hear what he’s about to say next.

“Like every other dollar in our pockets, you can’t change where it’s been, James. Much the same goes for you. But Y/N... She loves you nonetheless. And if my eyes don’t deceive me, I’d say you feel the same but she’s doesn’t know that.” he smiles at him

“I’d only realized it myself recently.” He confesses, only then realizing that the three women were listening and now had their brows raised in surprise.

“Don’t be too late.” Zemo grinned in satisfaction of his confession.

“I’m gonna work on that, thank you.” He returned the smile.

“Goodbye, James.”

As you saw them lead Zemo to the ship, you took that as your cue to finally approach them. You’d witness the entire thing, except that it was all inaudible from where you’ve been standing.

“It would be prudent to make yourself scare in Wakanda for the time being, White Wolf.” You heard Ayo advise him as you were finally in earshot’s way.

“Fair enough.” he replies in understanding.

Ayo nodded at you as you came closer to where they were, and she shot you a teasing wink, confusing you while Bucky cleared his throat in embarrassment.

“We’ll wait for you in the ship.” she told you.

“I didn’t know you could be so theatrical, Bucky.” You grinned teasingly at him.

“Had to give you a little inkling to what was happening since you were so far away.” He gave you a boyish smile.

“You’re gonna pick those up later, right?” you gestured at the bullets still on the ground.

“Yeah, just after all of you are gone. Don’t wanna ruin the magic of that scene.” He replied scratching the back of his head, making you laugh.

"You’re going back to Wakanda with them?” Because if you are, then the universe was definitely punishing him since he can’t really go there right now as he pleases.

“Yeah, I’m long overdue for a visit.” You answered. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to them. You’d be in their good graces again in no time.” you assured.

As you spoke, the sun was just starting to set behind you, creating a golden outline of you. The sight was making his heart pound. To him you were burning brighter than the sun.

Yep, the universe is definitely fucking me. He thought to himself.

And as you stepped closer, he felt like he was coming undone when you hesitantly pulled him in for a small hug.

“Take care of yourself, James.” you whispered.

James. She called me James. Heat was rising up in him.

Breaking off from the hug, you were blushing. “It’s alright if I call you that too, right? I mean I know I said that’s what I called 1940s you when we were testing the time portal, but it’s still you, you know, and-”

“You can call me whatever you want, sweetheart.” He cut off your rambling, smiling at you. “Just not Barnes again.” He added.

“Why?”

“Well, you were mad at me the whole time you did so.”

“Okay, dipshit.”

“Y/N.” he feigned offense.

You laughed at his expense. “I’ll let either one of you know if I’m back in New Asgard.”

“We’ll have a lot of catching up to do by then.” He smiled, and you turned to head to the ship where unbeknownst to you, the women and Zemo have been watching the two of you interacting.

“Hey Y/N?” Bucky called out to you at the last second.

“Yeah?”

He was contemplating whether he’d just tell you right then and there about his feelings. It was starting to eat him up, but then he shook it off, knowing that he and Sam still had a mission to finish first.

“I... I may have another favor to ask Wakanda.”

--------

When he got to Sam’s hometown, he saw that there was a community of people helping repair a boat. It reminded him of his time working with in the docs.

He’s now offered his services to help Sam repair their family boat. He’s also met his sister Sara, nad he was surprised that when he made an attempt to be charming, it actually kind of worked.

They were now enjoying a drink together after a day’s worth of fixing.

“Talked to Y/N, yet?” Sam asked him, taking a swing of the bottle.

“She’s a lot more friendly to me now which is both a good and bad sign for me. But I haven’t told her yet. Not really a good time.” he answered in dep thought.

“You know before we got ourselves tangled into this mess, like way before Walker happened and you decided to show up, we were in constant communication.” Sam shared.

“Yeah?” he failed to hide the jealousy in his voice, causing Sam to crack up.

“Don’t get your metal panties in a twist, man. We were mostly talking about you." he clarified. “She knew you didn’t want to see her - which I beg to differ by the way – but she was somehow hoping you would at least be talking to me.”

“I’m sorry for ignoring your calls and text.” He says to Sam, which the man assured him was fine. “There were instances at night where I couldn’t sleep and my thoughts would be plagued with her. That I wish I hadn’t been so rash with making the decision to be alone and leave her the way I did.” this was the first time he talked about it to someone. His own therapist didn’t know a thing about it.

“Let me ask you something. Where do you want to stand in her life after all of this is over?” Sam knew this wasn’t what co-workers would be talking about but he knew that this was for the good of you both.

“I want to spend the rest of my years making it up to her. To let her know that while it took me long to realize it, we were actually always in the same page.” He found himself replying with no hesitation. Sam was satisfied with this answer.

“And how are you gonna convince her to give you a chance?”

He shrugged. He didn’t know just yet.

“Tell you what. The younger people around here know their stuff when it comes to matters of the heart. I’ll have them make a manuscript you could read, or a video tutorial.” He chuckles. He had no idea Sam was being serious.

“Well...” Bucky got up and clinked their bottles together. “Gotta catch my flight tomorrow. Get a hotel for the night. Crash, you know?”

“You’re just gonna set me up like that, huh?” Sam grinned, shaking his head.

“Well I don’t wanna make it weird for your family.” He shrugged.

“Just stay here. The people in this town are the most welcoming people in the world. They don’t care if you wear small T-shirts, or if you have six toes, or if your mom’s your aunt, or that I work with a reformed cyborg that’s in love with a witch that’s practically an avatar, who apparently single-handedly secured her adoptive father’s kingdom’s economy-” Bucky chuckled at Sam’s ramblings.

“Okay, I get it. I mean, you know, the people are nice.” he concedes.

“But don’t displace your feelings for Y/n by flirting with my sister.” Sam pointed at him. “Cause if you do, I’ll have Carlos cut you up, feed half of you to the fish, and send the other half to New Asgard so they could to feed you to their fish.”

“Okay.”

--------

He was gazing up at the stars, feeling the soft grass underneath his lying figure. The comfort and peace it gave him was almost nostalgic.

“How is it possible that this place also has the best set of stars for us to look at?”  A voice spoke next to him. Turning his head to where it came from, his heart fluttered as he welcomed the sight of you lying next to him, looking up the sky with such wander in your eyes.

He recognizes this scenario. He had just woken up once again from a nightmare, and couldn’t fall back asleep despite your presence. So, you proposed you’d both get some fresh air and just lay out on the field while the rest of Wakanda was fast asleep.

At first he was hesitant, not wanting to keep you up any longer, but you insisted that you haven’t been able to sleep a wink before he woke up from his nightmare. That’s how he groggily got up and took the hand you offered up to him as you lead him out of your shared hut, and into the wide field before you.

“Ayo said you’re having progress.” you turned your head to look at him. This time, he was the one stuck looking up the sky. He merely let out a small grunt as a response.

“I’m proud of you, Buck.” He could almost hear the smile from your tone. The genuineness of it all made the side of his lip twitch.

Getting up halfway to face him, you were supporting yourself up with your elbow. “We could celebrate if you want.” you suggested.

“I’m not even fully recovered yet.” he replied.

“So? Every milestone to recovery should be celebrated.” you shrugged. “C’mon old man, it doesn’t have to be grand. Any piece of treat you have in mind?”

“I’ve been meaning to try sushi.” He muttered shyly.

“Consider it done.” you beamed at him, laying back down.

There it was again. The tingly feeling he had in his stomach, which only ever occurred every time you were near. Maybe this was the feeling of gratitude. You’ve never been less than nice to him.

Yeah, that explains it. He thinks to himself.

“Why are you so fine with spending your days here anyway? Don’t you have someone waiting on you out of Wakanda? Steve said you’re more social than him.” He found himself asking.

Still looking up, you were sporting a gentle smile on your face. “I spent a great deal reading up classic romance novels when I was just learning the Midgardian ways. And I’m still in love with the whole chivalry, slow-burn romance thing. Imagine my disappointment when the first civilian man I found inherently cute outright asked me if he could have some in the bathroom.” you pursed your lips, making Bucky crack a soft laugh.

“My ma would’ve had my head if I ever said that to a lady.” he replied smiling, his eye crinkling at the thought. “...is that why you said you find me incredibly attractive?” he found himself asking, surprising both of you.

Even underneath the stars, he could see the heat rising up your cheeks. “Oh, you remember that?” you chuckled awkwardly.

“It’s not every day a girl would say that to the world’s deadliest assassin whose just been accused of a bombing incident.”  he was mentally kicking himself for even opening up the topic.

“It’s Steve’s fault. He wouldn’t shut up about how charming and a gentleman you are. And it didn’t help that you’re annoyingly handsome.”

He shifted in his position. “Bet you’re disappointed now.” he said in a low voice.

“Not really.” you argued. “If anything, you’ve added the words hot and strong to the list.” you teased, poking him on the arm. He shook his head at how casual you were being.

“Sooner or later Buck, it won’t be just me crushing on you. Maybe you’d even find yourself falling for a civilian.” There was a hint of sadness behind your smiling eyes. Everybody in the kingdom knew of her allegedly having a crush on you, curtesy of Steve’s blabbering mouth, but this was the first time she actually admitted it.

He didn’t say it, but the thought of what you just said didn’t appeal to him. It felt almost wrong to imagine himself casually being open and carefree with someone else.

Carefree. This was what your conversation now felt like. You managed to somehow make him talk, far from his usual quiet and grunting self during daytime.

He opened his mouth trying to think if a reply when you cut him off.

“Don’t respond to that. You’ve already managed to make my drowsy self, confess having a crush on you.” he turned his head to look your way again, only to find that you now had your eyes closed, a small smile playing on your lips.

Letting you finally get some sleep; he turned his attention back to the sky.

And it's like the million little stars above him were spelling out your name.

Just then he wakes up from the dream, as the little whispers by the doorway caught his attention. Sam’s nephews were playing with the shield.

“Hey!” he raised his hand to greet them while still lying down on the couch.

“Put it back.” one of them said to the other. “Hurry, hurry.” and they both took off.

Alone once more, his thought went back to the dream of a memory he had with you.

He found himself smiling.

--------

Y/N: Thanks for all the love! We're one chapter away. I'm just waiting for the last episode (brb crying) to decided where we go from here.

@eternalharry @iheartsebandchris @lizzarooni @the-ayo-lit @tanyaherondale @eliwinchester-barnes @knowyourworth-sellyoursoul @ebxny27 @just-a-littlebit-of-everything @fadingdreamersportsmaker

[keijislove]

Entranced: Ron Weasley X Reader

"I played like a sack of dragon dung," said Ron in a hollow voice when

the changing room door had swung shut behind Ginny.

You had just had Quidditch practice and you, being one of the best Chasers, tried your best not to tell Ron that you’d given him the easiest serves of all

"No, you didn't," you said firmly.

"You're the best Keeper I tried out, Ron. Your only problem is nerves." Harry added.

You both kept up a relentless flow of encouragement all the way back to the castle, and by the time you reached the second floor, Ron was looking marginally more cheerful. When Harry pushed open the tapestry to take their usual shortcut up to Gryffindor Tower, however, they found themselves looking at Dean and Ginny, who were locked in a close embrace and kissing fiercely as though glued together.

You covered your mouth to supress a giggle as Harry’s features set into a scowl of the deepest loathing.

Ron, looking fairly affronted as well, spoke first.

"Oi!"

Dean and Ginny broke apart and looked around. "What?" said Ginny.

"I don't want to find my own sister snogging people in public!"

"This was a deserted corridor till you came butting in!" said Ginny.

Dean was looking embarrassed. He gave Harry a shifty grin that Harry did not return.

"Er . . . c'mon, Ginny," said Dean, "let's go back to the common room. ..."

"You go!" said Ginny. "I want a word with my dear brother!" Dean left, looking as though he was not sorry to depart the scene.

"Right," said Ginny, tossing her long red hair out of her face and glaring at Ron, "let's get this straight once and for all. It is none of your business who I go out with or what I do with them, Ron --"

"Yeah, it is!" said Ron, just as angrily. "D' you think I want people saying my sister's a --"

"A what?" shouted Ginny, drawing her wand. "A what, exactly?"

"He doesn't mean anything, Ginny --" you coaxingly began.

"Oh yes he does!" she said, flaring up at you. "Just because he's never snogged anyone in his life, just because the best kiss he's ever had is from our Auntie Muriel --"

"Shut your mouth!" bellowed Ron, bypassing red and turning maroon.

"No, I will not!" yelled Ginny, beside herself. "I've seen you with Phlegm, hoping she'll kiss you on the cheek every time you see her, it's pathetic! If you went out and got a bit of snogging done yourself, you wouldn't mind so much that everyone else does it!"

  Ron had pulled out his wand too; Harry stepped swiftly between them.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Ron roared, trying to get a clear shot at Ginny around Harry, who was now standing in front of her with his arms outstretched. "Just because I don't do it in public --!"

Ginny screamed with derisive laughter, trying to push Harry out of the way. “Been kissing Pigwidgeon, have you? Or have you got a picture of Auntie Muriel stashed under your pillow?" You –"

A streak of orange light flew under Harrys left arm and missed Ginny by inches; Harry pushed Ron up against the wall.

"Don't be stupid --"

"Harry's snogged Cho Chang!" shouted Ginny, who sounded close to tears now. "Hermione snogged Viktor Krum! Heck, even Y/N’s nogged Cedric probably once, it's only you who acts like it's something disgusting, Ron, and that's because you've got about as much experience as a twelve-year-old!"

“Hey, you’ve got no business talking to him like that!” you were very red in the face indeed.

“Oh, save it.” Ginny snarled, “You’re just embarrassed I told Ron you snogged Cedric.”

“I didn’t snog him-”

“I’m sorry Y/N, as much of a great friend and elder-sister vibes you have given me... he needs to know.”

And with that, she stormed away. Harry quickly let go of Ron; the look on his face was murderous. They both stood there, breathing heavily, until Mrs. Norris, Filch’s cat, appeared around the corner, which broke the tension.

"C'mon," said Harry, as the sound of Filch's shuffling feet reached their ears.

They hurried up the stairs and along a seventh-floor corridor. "Oi, out of the way!" Ron barked at a small girl who jumped in fright and dropped a bottle of toadspawn.

You hardly noticed the sound of shattering glass; you felt disoriented, dizzy; being struck by a lightning bolt must be something like this. You saw Ron ripping open the tapestry curtain and drawing his wand on Harry, shouting things like "betrayal of trust" . . . "supposed to be my friend" . . .

"Did you really snog Diggory?" Ron asked abruptly, as you approached the Fat Lady.

You turned around, “Excuse me?”

"Dilligrout," Ron said darkly to the Fat Lady, and they climbed through the portrait hole into the common room.

“I hardly think that’s any of your business, Ronald.” You coldly said.

“Oh, please.” The redhead sneered before trudging upstairs to his dormitory.

--------

Ron had been awful to you since the past few days. He’d try his best to ignore you and even slip in a few snarky comments about you, something which was very un-Ron-like.

You had become so tired of Ron's recent unpleasant behaviour that you had not come down to breakfast with him and Harry since, instead choosing to go with Hermione.

She had initially questioned you, but a few snaps and choked sobs later, she left it and just consolingly rubbed your back as you silently thanked her every night.

She paused on her way up the table.

"How are you both feeling?" she asked tentatively, her eyes on the back of Ron's head.

"I dont know what you're talking about," said Harry, stowing the little bottle hastily in his pocket.

“Thanks.” You gave a weary smile. You felt really bad ignoring Harry, but your pride had gotten on the way tremendously.

“She doesn’t need it.” Ron whispered loud enough for you to hear, “I ‘spose Diggory had already said that a hundred times.”

You were about to open your mouth, but someone interrupted.

"Nearly time.” said Harry blithely.

"Fishy, isn't it?" he said in an undertone to Ron. "Malfoy not playing?"

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

You, Ron and Harry were the last two in the changing room. You were just about to leave when Hermione entered. She was twisting her Gryffindor scarf in her hands and looked upset but determined. "I want a word with you, Harry." She took a deep breath. "You shouldn't have done it. You heard Slughorn, its illegal."

"What are you going to do, turn us in?" demanded Ron.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Harry.

"You know perfectly well what we're talking about!" said Hermione shrilly. "You spiked Ron’s juice with lucky potion at breakfast! Felix Felicis!"

"No, I didn't," said Harry, turning back to face them both.

"Yes, you did, Harry, and that's why everything went right, there were Slytherin players missing and Ron saved everything!"

"I didn't put it in!" said Harry, grinning broadly. He slipped his hand inside his jacket pocket and drew out the tiny bottle that Hermione had seen in his hand that morning. It was full of golden potion and the cork was still tightly sealed with wax. "I wanted Ron to think I'd done it, so I faked it when I knew you were looking." He looked at Ron. "You saved everything because you felt lucky. You did it all yourself."

He pocketed the potion again.

"There really wasn't anything in my pumpkin juice?" Ron said, astounded. "But the weather's good. . . and Vaisey couldn't play. ... I honestly haven't been given lucky potion?"

Harry shook his head. Ron gaped at him for a moment, then rounded on Hermione, imitating her voice. "You added Felix Felicis to Ron's juice this morning, that's why he saved everything! See! I can save goals without help, Hermione! Y/N’s bad enough as it is, I don’t need you making my life miserable as well."

You inhaled sharply as Harry guiltily sent you what looked like a consoling stare. You shook your head, trying your best not to scream at Ron.

"I never said you couldn't -- Ron, you thought you'd been given it too!" said Hermione.

But Ron had already strode past her out of the door with his broomstick over his shoulder.

"Er," said Harry into the sudden silence; he had not expected his plan to backfire like this, "shall. . . shall we go up to the party, then?"

"You go!" said Hermione, blinking back tears. "I'm sick of Ron at the moment, I don't know what I'm supposed to have done. . . ."

And she stormed out of the changing room too.

Which left you and Harry.

You refused to look at him and when he cleared his throat, you wanted to run, screaming.

“Y/N.” he began, “Is there... something I don’t know about?”

“Like what?”

“Like what the hell is going on between you and Ron?”

Harry instantly regretted saying this, as your lip trembled and you glared at him straight in the eye before coldly snapping, “If you haven’t noticed... Ronald has a problem of not knowing the fine line between being upset with someone and being nasty to them. I’m surprised how his broomstick can fly with that fat head on it.

When you arrived, the Gryffindor celebration party, which as in full swing. Renewed cheers and clapping greeted your appearance, and he was soon surrounded by a mob of people congratulating you. What with trying to shake off the Creevey brothers, who wanted a blow-by-blow match analysis, and the large group of girls that encircled Harry, laughing at his least amusing comments and batting their eyelids, it was some time before you could escape.

As you moved, you walked straight into Ginny, Arnold the Pygmy Puff riding on her shoulder and Crookshanks mewing hopefully at her heels.

"Looking for Ron?" she asked, smirking. "He's over there, the filthy hypocrite.”

You looked into the corner she was indicating. There, in full view of the whole room, stood Ron wrapped so closely around Lavender Brown it was hard to tell whose hands were whose.

"It looks like he's eating her face, doesn't it?" said Ginny dispassionately. "But I suppose he's got to refine his technique somehow. Good game, Y/N."

She patted you on the arm; you felt as if you had forgotten how to breathe, trying not to choke on your spit too severely from the amount of effort it took you not to cry.

You quickly turned away from Ron, who did not look like he would be surfacing soon, and darted out the door out of sight.

---------

"Y/N?" Harry’s voice called five minutes later.

He found her in the first unlocked classroom he tried. You were sitting on the teacher's desk, next to Hermione, who had a small ring of twittering yellow birds circling her head, which she had clearly just conjured out of midair.

"Oh, hello, Harry," she said in a brittle voice. "I was just practicing."

"Yeah . . . they're -- er -- really good. ..." said Harry. “Listen, Y/N...”

He had no idea what to say to you. He was just wondering whether there was any chance that you had not noticed Ron, that you had merely left the room because the party was a little too rowdy, when you said, in an unnaturally high-pitched voice, "Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations."

"Er . . . does he?" said Harry.

"Don't pretend you didn't see him," said Hermione. "He wasn't exactly hiding it, was -- ?"

The door behind them burst open. To Harry's horror, Ron came in, laughing, pulling Lavender by the hand.

"Oh," he said, drawing up short at the sight of Harry, you and Hermione.

"Oops!" said Lavender, and she backed out of the room, giggling. The door swung shut behind her. There was a horrible, swelling, billowing silence. Hermione was staring at Ron in disapproval and anger, who refused to look at her and the H/C girl, but said with an odd mixture of bravado and awkwardness, "Hi, Harry! Wondered where you'd got to!"

Hermione slid off the desk. The little flock of golden birds continued to twitter in circles around her head so that she looked like a strange, feathery model of the solar system.

"You shouldn't leave Lavender waiting outside," she said quietly. "She'll wonder where you've gone."

She walked very slowly and erectly toward the door. Harry glanced at Ron, who was looking relieved that nothing worse had happened.

"Oppugno!" came a shriek from the doorway.

You spun around to see Hermione pointing her wand at Ron, her expression wild: The little flock of birds was speeding like a hail of fat golden bullets toward Ron, who yelped and covered his face with his hands, but the birds attacked, pecking and clawing at every bit of flesh they could reach, and you were not sorry for him in the least.

"Gerremoffme!" he yelled, but with one last look of vindictive fury, Hermione wrenched open the door and pulled you along, before you disappeared through it, choking on a sob.

----------

'Want one?” said Ron thickly, holding out a box of Chocolate Cauldrons.

It was his birthday, and no matter how angry you were, you dropped by to say an awkward hello.

“Suit yourself,” said Ron, stuffing a second Cauldron into his mouth as he slid out of bed to get dressed. 'Come on Harry. If you don't hurry up, you'll have to Apparate on an empty-stomach ... might make it easier, I suppose ..."

Ron looked thoughtfully at the box of Chocolate Cauldrons, then shrugged and helped himself to a third.

Harry tapped the map with his wand, muttered, 'Mischief managed,”

'Ready?' he said to Ron.

“Excuse me.” You quietly said to make them aware of your presence, “We’re going to be late.”

You and Harry were halfway to the dormitory door when you realised that Ron had not moved, but was leaning on his bedpost, staring out of the rain-washed window with a strangely un-focused look on his face.

'Ron? Breakfast.'

“I'm not hungry,”

You stared ai him. “I thought you just said -?”

“-Well, all right, I'll come down with you,' sighed Ron, 'but I don't want to eat.'

  You scrutinised him suspiciously.

'You've just eaten half a box of Chocolate Cauldrons, haven't you?'

'It's not that,' Ron sighed again. 'You ... you wouldn't understand.'

'Fair enough,' said Harry, albeit puzzled, as he turned to open the door.

'Harry!' said Ron suddenly.

'What?'

'Harry, I can't stand it!'

'You can't stand what?' asked Harry; you were now starting to feel definitely alarmed. Ron was rather pale and looked as though he was about to be sick.

'I can't stop thinking about her!' said Ron hoarsely.

You gaped at him. You had not expected this and were not sure you wanted to hear it. ‘Friends’ you might be, but if Ron started calling Lavender 'Lav- Lav', you would have to put your foot down.

'Why does that stop you having breakfast?' Harry asked, trying to inject a note of common sense into the proceedings.

'I don't think she knows I exist,' said Ron with a desperate gesture.

'She definitely knows you exist,' you said angrily. 'She keeps snogging you, doesn't she?'

Ron blinked.

'Who are you talking about?'

Who are you talking about?' said you and Harry together, with an increasing sense that all

reason had dropped out of the conversation.

'Romilda Vane,' said Ron softly, and his whole face seemed to illuminate as he said it, as though hit by a ray of purest sunlight. You stared at each other for almost a whole minute, before Harry said, 'This is a joke, right? You're joking.'

Think ... Harry, I think I love her,' said Ron in a strangled voice.

'OK,' you said, walking up to Ron to get a better look at the glazed eyes and the pallid complexion, 'OK ... say that again with a straight face.'

'I love her,' repeated Ron breathlessly. 'Have you seen her hair, it's all black and shiny and silky ... and her eyes? Her big dark eyes? And her -'

'This is really funny and everything,' said Harry impatiently, 'but joke's over, all right? Drop it.'

He turned to leave; he had got two steps towards the door when a crashing blow hit him on the right ear. Staggering, he looked round. Ron's fist was drawn right back, his face was contorted with rage; he was about to strike again.

  Harry reacted instinctively; his wand was out of his pocket and the incantation sprang to mind without conscious thought: Levicorpus!

Ron yelled as his heel was wrenched upwards once more; he dangled helplessly, upside-down, his robes hanging off him.

'What was that for?' you bellowed.

'He insulted her! He said it was a joke!' shouted Ron, who was slowly turning purple in the face as all the blood rushed to his head.

'This is insane!' said Harry. 'What's got into -?'

And then he saw the box lying open on Ron's bed and the truth hit him with the force of a stampeding troll.

'Where did you get those Chocolate Cauldrons?'

'They were a birthday present!' shouted Ron, revolving slowly in midair as he struggled to get free. ‘I offered you one, didn't I?'

'You just picked them up off the floor, didn't you?'

'They'd fallen off my bed, all right? Let me go!'

'They didn't fall off your bed, you prat, don't you understand? They were mine, I chucked them out of my trunk when I was looking for the map. They're the Chocolate Cauldrons Romilda gave me before Christmas and they're all spiked with love potion!'

You gave an outraged cry at this information.

But only one word of this seemed to have registered with Ron.

‘Romilda?' he repeated. 'Did you say Romilda? Harry - do you know her? Can you introduce me?'

Harry stared at the dangling Ron, whose face now looked tremendously hopeful, and fought a strong desire to laugh... Y/N thought that he would deserve another punching if he permitted Ron to declare undying love for Romilda Vane.

'Yeah, I'll introduce you,' said Harry, thinking fast. 'I'm going to let you down now, OK?'

He sent Ron crashing back to the floor (his ear did hurt quite a lot), but

Ron simply bounded to his feet again, grinning.

'She'll be in Slughorn's office.’ said Harry confidently, leading the way to the door.

'Why will she be in there?' asked Ron anxiously, hurrying to keep up.

'Oh, she has extra Potions lessons with him,' you said, inventing wildly.

'Maybe I could ask if I can have them with her?' said Ron eagerly.

'Great idea,' said Harry. Lavender was waiting beside the portrait hole, a complication both you and Harry had not foreseen.

  'You're late, Won-Won!' she pouted. 'I've got you a birth-day-'

'Leave me alone,' said Ron impatiently, 'Harry's going to introduce me to Romilda Vane.'

And without another word to her, he pushed his way out of the portrait hole. Harry tried to make an apologetic face to Lavender, but it might have turned out simply amused, because she looked more offended than ever as the Fat Lady swung shut behind them.

You had been slightly worried that Slughorn might be at breakfast, but he answered his office door at the first knock, wearing a green velvet dressing-gown and matching nightcap and looking rather bleary-eyed.

'Harry, Y/N.' he mumbled. 'This is very early for a call ... I generally sleep late on a Saturday ..."

'Professor, I'm really sorry to disturb you,' said Harry as quietly as possible, while Ron stood on tiptoe, attempting to see past Slughorn into his room, 'but my friend Ron's swallowed a love potion by mistake. You couldn't make him an antidote, could you? I'd take him to Madam Pomfrey, but we're not supposed to have anything from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and, you know ... awkward questions ...'

‘I’d have thought you could have whipped him up a remedy, Harry, an expert potioneer like you?' asked Slughorn.

'Er,' said Harry, somewhat distracted by the fact that Ron was now elbowing him in the ribs in an attempt to force his way into the room, and Y/N held him firmly back, 'well, I've never mixed an antidote for a love potion, sir, and by the time I get it right Ron might've done something serious -'

Helpfully, Ron chose this moment to moan, 'I can't see her. Harry - is he hiding her?'

'Was this potion within date?' asked Slughorn, now eyeing Ron with professional interest. 'They can strengthen, you know, the longer they're kept.'

That would explain a lot,' panted Harry, now positively wrestling with Ron to keep him from knocking Slughorn over.

'It's his birthday, Professor,' you added imploringly.

'Oh, all right, come in, then, come in,' said Slughorn, relenting. 'I've got the necessary here in my bag, it's not a difficult antidote ...'

Ron burst through the door into Slughorn's overheated, crowded study, tripped over a tasselled footstool, regained his balance by seizing Harry around the neck and muttered, 'She didn't see that, did she?'

'She's not here yet,' said Harry, watching Slughorn opening his potion kit and adding a few pinches of this and that to a small crystal bottle.

That's good,' said Ron fervently. 'How do I look?'

'Very handsome,' said Slughorn smoothly.

‘It can never be me, can it?’ you asked quietly so only Harry could hear, ‘Even when it’s a mistake...’

‘You have no idea.’ Harry whispered back, patting your hand slightly, handing Ron a glass of clear liquid. 'Now drink that up, it's a tonic for the nerves, keep you calm when she arrives, you know,'

'Brilliant,' said Ron eagerly, and he gulped the antidote down noisily.

Harry, you and Slughorn watched him. For a moment, Ron beamed at you. Then, very slowly, his grin sagged and vanished, to be replaced by an expression of utmost horror.

'Back to normal, then?' said Harry, grinning. Slughorn chuckled. Thanks a lot, Professor.'

'Don't mention it, m'boy, don't mention it,' said Slughorn, as Ron collapsed into a nearby armchair, looking devastated. 'Pick-me-up, that's what he needs,' Slughorn continued, now-bustling over to a table loaded with drinks. 'I've got Butter-beer, I've got wine, I've got one last bottle of this oak-matured mead ... hmm ... meant to give that to Dumbledore for Christmas ... ah well ...' he shrugged '... he can't miss what he's never had! Why don't we open it now and celebrate Mr Weasley's birthday? Nothing like a fine spirit to chase away the pangs of disappointed love ...'

He chortled again and you and Harry joined in.

There you are, then,' said Slughorn, handing Harry, Y/N and Ron a glass of mead each, before raising his own. 'Well, a very happy birthday, Ralph -'

'- Ron -' you whispered.

But Ron, who did not appear to be listening to the toast, had already thrown the mead into his mouth and swallowed it.

There was one second, hardly more than a heartbeat, in which Harry knew there was something terribly wrong and Slughorn, it seemed, did not. '- and may you have many more -

'Ron!' you yelled.

Ron had dropped his glass; he half-rose from his chair and then crumpled, his extremities jerking uncontrollably. Foam was dribbling from his mouth and his eyes were bulging from their sockets.

'Professor!' you bellowed. 'Do something!'

But Slughorn seemed paralysed by shock. Ron twitched and choked: his skin was turning blue.

'What - but -' spluttered Slughorn.

‘HARRY, THE STONE!’ you yelled, frightened at the spasming body in front of you.

Harry leapt over a low table and sprinted towards Slughorn's open potion kit, pulling out jars and pouches, while the terrible sound of Ron's gargling breath filled the room. Then he found it - the shrivelled kidney-like stone Slughorn had taken from him in Potions.

He hurtled back to Ron's side, wrenched open his jaw and thrust the bezoar into his mouth. Ron gave a great shudder; a rattling gasp and his body became limp and still.

-----------

“He’s alright, isn’t he?” you asked Madame Pomfrey for about the hundredth time.

“Yes dear, he’s fine,” she consolingly told you.

“Quick thinking on your part, Harry and Y/N. Using a bezoar.” Dumbledore informed you.

“I agree, Potter and L/N’s actions were heroic! Only, why were they necessary?” Professor McGonagall questioned.

As they moved onto a conversation about a plot, you moved Ron’s flaming red hair out of his face, gently stroking his arm. The thought of someone wanting to poison him was too gruesome.

“Where is he? Where is my Won-Won? Has he been asking for me?” a high-pitched voice suddenly asked as you groaned.

“You.” Lavender spat, “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing!” you angrily shot back.

“I happen to be his girlfriend!” Lavender said in a dignified voice.

“Oh yeah?” you asked, “I happen to be his... best friend!”

“Friend.” Lavender scoffed, “Don’t make me laugh. You haven’t spoken in weeks! I suppose you want to patch up with him now that he’s all... interesting!”

“Interesting?!” you shrilly cried, “He’s poisoned, you daft dimbo!”

Ron chose that moment to groan in his sleep, muttering to himself unconsciously.

“Ah.” Lavender said triumphantly, “See? He senses my presence.”

“Ugh.” Ron groaned, still sleeping, “Uhh.... Y/N... Y/N/N...”

Your eyes grew wide as Lavender stifled a sob, running out of the room.

The professors stared after her.

“Oh, to be young.” Professor Dumbledore sighed, “And to feel love’s keen sting. I think we ought to leave, Mr. Weasley is well tended to by Miss L/N.”

“About time.” Ginny whispered as she and Harry shared a smirk, sending heat to your cheeks.

“Oh, shut up.” You huffed, still blushing madly as you stroked Ron’s hand.

-----

Ron had been released from the hospital wing, and was once again seated in the common room with you, Harry and Hermione at late night. The room was deserted.

“I’m leaving, Crookshanks is probably hungry,” Hermione announced, getting up.

The silence was deafening.

“So,” Harry said in an obvious attempt to make conversation, though you could practically feel the smirk in his voice, “Aren’t you curious, Ron? About how we drove Lavender away?”

“Not really.” Ron shrugged, “As long as she’s gone, it’s fine by me.”

The truth was, Ron was very much aware of what had caused the girl to run away from the hospital wing a week ago.

“Right.” Harry was smirking worse than ever, “Y/N. Say, why have you been avoiding Ron for so long?”

“Hmm?” you squeaked. Seeing no possible way out of this, you sighed, “He was being a git.”

“Aren’t I always being a git to you?” Ron teased, causing you to roll your eyes.

“And say, Ron. Why have you been so keen to get rid of Lavender?” Harry asked again.

“She was annoying me.” Ron whined, “All she did was snog me. My lips got chapped! Look!”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Harry grimaced in disgust, “But that can’t be all, can it? Is there someone else? Or are you ready to shag whoever asks you first?”

“Excuse me?” Ron’s ears had turned scarlet, “Of course not! So, what if there was someone else?”

“You like someone?” you asked, trying to make the agony in your voice less obvious.

Ron, who noticed it anyway, felt a small glimmer of hope inside his body, “Uhm, yeah. I do.”

“And who might that be?” you struggled to keep your voice even; it was already two octaves higher than usual.

Taking a deep breath and considering that this could prove to be a disaster, Ron told the truth.

“You. I fancy you.”

“WHAT?” you asked, “Did I hear that right?!”

“I said I fancy you!” Ron yelled in embarrassment and pain, scared that you would burst out laughing.

“Oh,” you said thickly, “Oh, Ron! I... I fancy you too.”

“What?” it was Ron’s turn to ask, “Say that again?”

“I fancy you too.” You clarified, cheeks burning.

Ron leaned into the distance between you and you could feel his breath on your face. Gaze flickering to your lips, he ran his thumb over them before closing the distance between you.

The kiss started out sweet and loving, but soon turned angry and passionate as your lips collided multiple times.

“Um, guys?” Harry asked, reminding you that he was still there, “I got the point, you can stop now.”

Ignoring him, you and Ron continued.

[ktheist]

06 — show me yours & i’ll show you mine

➙ muses. seokjin x college student / gamer!reader ft. best friend! taehyung

➙ genre. best friend’s brother au. university au. working au. fwb au.

➙ word. 1.8k

➙ index. 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | finale | side story 1 |

➙ synopsis.

“friends?”

“i’m still mad at you.”

x

kim taehyung looks at you like a teacher would to a student that he suspects would likely cheat on a test after said test.

“what?” you ask, lifting up one of the topmost boxes in the storage room and placing it down gently to sift through the contents in the box below it.

“nothing,” he shrugs, his breath disappearing into the cold air.

“okay, then come and help me look for the angel,” you’re in your family’s storage room after you’ve returned to the kim’s living room after you broke apart from the hug at the sound of feet padding down the hallway.

it was, unsurprisingly, taehyung who came to check up on you and see if seokjin needed ‘help’ treating a tiny cut.

to which seokjin brandished the most innocent smile and answered, “nah, we’re good. we’re almost done here.”

feelin your guilt eat up, you offered to look for your family angel, apologizing profusely, “i’m sorry i ruined christmas, i think we have an angel from last year’s decorations in the storage room.”

“oh honey, ruining christmas is a bit of a stretch,” mrs. kim laughed warmly, “but if you want to, bring one of these lazy bums with you.”

and that’s how kim taehyung and kim seokjin ended up butting heads and almost fighting about who gets to escort you out of the kim manor and into ___’s house which is just next door to look for said angel.

“since you’re the head chef, jinnie, i think taehyung should go with ___,” mina interjected with that prim, innocent smile.

you almost wrapped your arms around seokjin possessively and declared that you didn’t care if he was in charge of christmas eve’s meal - and that you wanted him to come with you.

“you know, you’ve been glaring at mina since she got here,” taehyung’s voice pulls you out of your ocean of thoughts.

“yeah? what about it?” you roll your eyes, placing another box on the ground to look through the one underneath it.

“would it hurt to be nice? she lost her parents last year,” he’s still leaning against the doorway like he doesn’t see you huffing and puffing trying to get move the boxes around.

yoo mina’s state of living alone and inevitable possibility of celebrating christmas alone this year is what made mr. and mrs. kim invite her over for christmas eve. and since everyone knew everyone in this neighborhood, none of them would expect either of you to treat her any less than family.

“oh gee, i don’t know, if she’d stop eye-fucking seokjin, i’d very much appreciate it,” you don’t mean to, but taehyung flinches from your glare.

“are you seriously jealous?” the glint of gold and red in the third box you’re sifting through catches your eyes.

found that christmas ornament box.

“are you seriously jealous?” a high pitched imitation leaves your lips as you pull out the porcelain angel, holding it with your uninjured hands, “i’m not jealous, you prick. get out of the way,” you push past the boy and march over to the kim’s without even looking back.

“oh my god, seokjin, this tastes so good!” mina’s voice rings from the kitchen all the way to the door as you push off your shoes and march over to the half-done decorated christmas tree.

“really? gosh, i’m so relieved. you don’t know how many times i almost burned our kitchen in seoul for this,” seokjin laughs.

“you? burning kitchens? highly dubious. you’re one of the best cooks i know.” mina remarks, her ear-to-ear grin makes her look like a monkey.

“you kids are so cute,” mrs. kim chirps, “mina, do you have a boyfriend? forget boyfriend, seokjin here makes a great husband, don’t you think?”

you let out a frustrated huff as you set up the ladder leaned up against the wall that taehyung used even though he didn’t need a ladder to reach the top. well, that was before you broke the angel. you set up the ladder as close to the tree as you can.

“o-oh, i don’t have a boyfriend,” your back’s on her but you can practically hear her blushing.

“hey, do you mind if i did that? not that i’m unconvinced of your expertise to put the angel on the tree but let’s just be safe after... what happened,” a familiar velvet-like voice murmurs from next to you, a warm hand covering yours that’s holding the angel.

“i thought...” you steal a glance over the dark haired girl and mrs. kim at the counter and back at the smiling seokjin.

well, he’s here and not there.

you hop off the ladder and stand on your tippy toes before placing a kiss on his cheek, “thanks.”

“if i knew i would get a reward, i would’ve offered to help more often,” hymn trickles out of seokjin’s mouth as he chuckles, easily climbing the ladder and placing the angel on top of the tree with your commentaries of moving it “slightly to the left” and “okay, but slightly but not too much to the right.”

“okay, perfect,” you clap in satisfaction, stepping closer to the man and offering your hand, “what? men need help getting off from high places too,” you grin.

“if you insist,” he returns your grin with his own, his hand swallowing yours like it could break it with one squeeze and yet his touch is as light as a feather as he hops off the last step of the ladder.

the lights come to live around the tree like fairy dust as the gold and red baubles glints and winks at the twined hands in between you and seokjin whilst mrs and mr kim stands a few feet away, the middle aged woman’s head leaned against her husband’s shoulder. you can distinctly make out the outlines of her smile.

it looks like namjoon’s when you turn around to walk back to the kitchen for a drink, the man sitting down on the sofa a few feet away from the tree where you were standing, granting him a full view of how tightly but tenderly seokjin’s hand was gripping yours.

x

“hey,” is the first thing you say to the middle child when you manage to catch him watching some christmas movie on the tv.

“hey,” he shoots you a knowing smile before reverting his eyes on the screen.

for the longest moment, you stay there, letting the sound of the actors and actresses fill the room whilst the better cooks among all of you which are mrs. kim, mina and seokjin chatter along in the kitchen, waiting for the meals to cook.

“i knew,” he says ever so calmly, the only reason you knew you heard is because he’s looking at you, “i knew about you two -seokjin and taehyung got into a fight because taehyung deleted your number from seokjin’s phone - i think he made seokjin’s account block you on all social media but i gather everything’s alright now because you two made up?”

“yeah...” you trail off in an attempt to laugh it off but failing miserably, hugging your knees to your chest to make yourself smaller, “no, we decided not to do this.”

namjoon’s looks at you like he didn’t see that coming but nods anyway.

“what?” you ask.

“nothing...” he shrugs, “just that it didn’t look like seokjin was going to give up on you even if it meant never talking to taehyung ever again...”

“they didn’t really fight, did they?” you feel your eyebrows knitting together.

“no, but they would’ve if i hadn’t been the voice of reason,” a well-deserved tinge of proudness wrapped around his voice as you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding but before you can even say anything, taehyung’s calling out to you from the front door, all dressed in his jacket.

you don’t even have to ask why. standing up and picking up your own jacket, you follow him outside.

so it goes, you walking down the neighborhood with a gap you didn’t know could exist in between you after all those years. and the snowflakes fluttering down and settling on top taehyung’s deep brown tresses.

“sorry, i was being pretty annoying, wasn’t i?” he suddenly says.

and you shrug.

“it’s cool, i was being annoying too anyway.”

“you and seokjin... you looked good together,” he announces in the air. breath coming out in puffs.

you find yourselves in the abandoned park you used to play at as kids. taehyung leans against one side of the monkey bar and you on the other.

his hands are buried in his pockets - as if he went out with the sole thought of this talk and complete disregard for dressing warm.

well, so did you.

you’re freezing in just your jacket. the muffler around your neck isn’t doing anything.

“where did that come from?” you pretend to look up at the sunless sky but your heart’s already thumping uncontrollably in your chest.

is this really happening?

it would seriously blow if it was all just a dream.

“just things that i notice... you're acting like a jealous girlfriend and he looks like he’s enjoying it. you should be together,” taehyung shrugs, as if he didn’t just threatened a lifetime’s worth of friendship when he found out about you and seokjin.

somehow, you hear the crunch of the snow under your feet. the rush of the blood in your ears.

it feels like taehyung’s words just light up a fire to an ocean full of oil spill.

“just like that?” you breathe out in disbelief, “you think i’m just gonna say thank you after you literally forced me to choose you and then after i did, you’re going to say i proved myself and passed the test? after all the shit you spouted? i might be messed up but you’re selfish as fuck, taehyung.”

“i know,” instead of the flames you thought would burn in his eyes, taehyung’s replies seems too unrealistic. resigned.

“i hate you.” you say bluntly.

“as you should,” comes his response.

“literally?” you sigh. half-humored and half-vindictive.

“you can slap me-”

almost as though your motor senses got triggered by that single word, your hand goes flying to his face.

the sound of skin smacking against skin rings in the air for a good few seconds even after the deed’s been done.

“ouch!” you scream, gripping the hand that you used to bitch slap taehyung because it happens to also be the hand which finger you cut on the angel shard and boy, did the slap sting.

“ow! why’d you slap me?” taehyung blinks several times, jaw hitting the ground.

“wha- you told me to!” you almost scream in his face, mainly because of the searing pain spreading across your palm.

“you didn’t even wait for me to finish! i was saying, you can slap me but i think it’s enough karma that i had to hear you have sex over the phone with my brother three weeks ago and that’s why i’m saying you’re gonna see each other behind my back anyway so stop hiding your relationship-”

another smack lands on his face.

“you ass, what do you take me for? a liar? we’re not seeing each other. that was the last time... ow!” as if the last second was up, you finally explode.

and it just so happens that you used the same bandaged hand to smack him.

for someone who’s supposedly asking for forgiveness, taehyung has the gall to scrunch his nose as though in pain himself at the sight of your agony.

“shit. that’s gotta hurt like a bitch.” this time, he sounds more like him.

rude. unbothered. insensitive.

but so very taehyung.

he also has a hand clasped against the reddening cheek that probably will start forming a map of your palm on it soon.

“ya think?” you spit out, glaring.

taehyung simply shrugs before stretching open his free arm, “friends?”

“i’m still mad at you,” you declare before the snow scrunches under your boots as you close the distance and engulf him in a big hug.

you stay like that for barely even a minute when your body starts to stiffen and your gut starts threatening to hurl out its contents at realization that you’re actually holding each other in your arms.

“okay, dweeb, let me go.” taehyung announces, you bet his hand’s twitching to shove your face away from his chest but he’s nice enough to wait until you release your hold and step back.

“yeah okay, good talk,” you dust whatever taehyung gave you off your shoulders.

x

taglist.  @aretha170​ @scalubera​ @ambersaesthetics​ @heyjiminnie​ @hyuck-me​ @fanfuckingfic​ @fangurl-ontgeside​ @bri-mal @waves-and-woods​ @rjsmochii​

[forever-rogue]

Afterglow - Part 6

A/N: Honey Bee finally made the smartest decision of her life in the last chapter and now...time to deal with the fallout. Thank you guys for supporting and loving this story too! As always, feedback and comments are welcome, and if you’d like to be tagged, let me know. xx 💕

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 6.5k

Warnings: None

AFTERGLOW MASTERLIST

MASTERLIST

»»————-　♡　————-««

Spitting out the toothpaste into the sink, you groaned slightly when you realized that you had left your mouthwash back on your desk. Tilting your head under the tap, you got a mouthful of water and swished it around in your mouth, trying to get the last bits of toothpaste out.

When you were satisfied with the lackluster brushing, you quickly splashed some cold water onto your face to wake yourself up. But it was no use - you still looked as tired and dragged out as you felt. There were dark circles under your eyes, your lips were chapped and cracked, and the joy you normally held in your eyes was all but gone. You had been going through the motions for the last three, feeling more like an empty shell than anything else. 

But you felt liberated - free. More so than you had in a long time. That in itself made your current struggle worth it.

Grabbing your toothpaste, toothbrush, and hairbrush, you stalked out of the bathroom, ready to slink back to your office before anyone else arrived. 

Looking furtively around the hall, you walked the short distance to your own office, almost making it to safety when you heard your name being called softly. Groaning inwardly, you cleared your throat and turned around, plastering on the best smile you could.

"Ally," you said softly, "y-you're here early!"

"I was just thinking the same thing," she joked, and while you could tell she meant no harm, it still caused you to panic slightly. She was well aware of you calling off your engagement, hell the whole world seemed to know, but she never seemed to pity you for it. Her eyes flicked to the items in your hands as a warmth crept into your chest and blossomed over your whole face, "I'm meeting a client early this morning because it was the only thing that fit into his schedule. Are you..."

You remained silent for a moment, hanging your head before letting out a long sigh, "look, I've just been staying here since things ended with Chad. I'm trying to find my own place, but its been a bit of a difficult go. Turns that a lot of people don't want to rent to you if you happen to have supposedly wronged Chad Williams. It seems like everyone knows him."

She reached out and gave your shoulder a soft, reassuring squeeze. Meeting her eyes, you found a small smile on her face, luckily not one of pity, "I'm sorry he's making things miserable still. I'm guessing your parents are out of the question?"

"Absolutely not an option," you admitted with a stiff laugh, "my mom seemed okay at first but she and my father quickly came to the conclusion that I was in the wrong and making a horrible mistake. They insisted I was just going through a phase because of nerves. When I told them I was sure about my decision and wasn’t going back, they all but...disowned me. Imagine the shame I’ve brought upon them in their minds...they’re so old fashioned. Maybe they’ll come around one day.”

"Yikes," she said as you nodded, "can I be honest with you?"

"Of course."

"I never liked him," she admitted softly, causing you to almost give yourself whiplash as you looked over at her, "there was just something about him that was off. I think - I know, you can do so much better."

"Thank you," you said as you laughed lightly, trying to hold the tears that threatened to well up at bay, "I hope so too."

"I mean it," she insisted, "you're kind, smart, pretty, and you've got a good heart. What more could anyone ask for?"

"Apparently a dutiful, quiet little wife..."

"Very funny," she teased, "why don't you come and stay with us? While you get your own place? We've got an extra bedroom that's not being used, and it's much better than staying here. Have you been sleeping on your hard old couch?”

"Yes..."

"Absolutely not," she shook her head, "come over when you're done for the day. We'll get the room ready for you. Anna will be happy to see you again too. And you know what, it's not an option, its a demand. Just come over tonight and we'll get you settled. I'll have Anna pick up some wine for dinner and everything."

"Ally, you're much too kind..." you said as her phone stared to ring. She looked at the screen and a big smile spread across her visage as her wife's name popped up on the screen.

"Speak of the devil," she laughed lightly, "tonight! No if, ands, or buts!"

You could only nod as she walked away, chattering excitedly as she went to her own office. Before stepping in and closing the door, she gave you a grin and wave that was enough to cause a single tear to roll down your cheek. It had been weeks since anyone had even shown you an ounce of kindness; most people had decided to scorn you instead, blaming you for everything that had happened. Wiping the warm drop away, you stepped foot into your own office, stashing your toiletries away for what you hoped would be the last time. Hopefully that everything you'd finally be able to have a proper, long, hot shower and sleep in a bed, two luxuries that you had been greatly missing. 

Pulling out a dress from the small wardrobe, you slipped it on, vowing to stop your little pity party. Sure, things weren't ideal right now, but you were still so much better off than others. That was something you did not take for granted.

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Men really can be the worst,” Anna laughed, almost snorting into her wine as you held up your glass in a mock salute, “can you imagine being that pathetic and trying to sabotage someone you supposedly loved? I think it speaks volumes to his character.”

“The longer we were together, the more I realized that it was never about love, even if that’s how it started out. It was always about appearances and trying to please everyone else. It was getting so tiring.”

“I can only imagine,” Ally gave her your leg a small pat as you downed the rest of your glass, “but at least you’re free now. It’s easy to fall  into routine and not realize how unhappy we’ve become. We get used to just staying on one path. Usually it takes something big to make us realize what we’re doing isn’t what we wanted in the first place.”

“Okay Dr. Ally,” Anna teased her wife, “we’re not at the office. But I agree...I am curious, and happy, as to what caused you to realize that you deserve more.”

You felt the blood draining from your face almost immediately as you swallowed nervously, mouth dry. You weren’t about to delve into the memories and dreams that had been plaguing you over the weeks, becoming increasingly more frequent the closer your former wedding date had approached. Frankly, you hadn’t even admitted that to yourself yet, not out loud anyway. 

How were you supposed to tell yourself, let anyone else, that the reason you realized you deserved was better because you’d been dreaming of your high school boyfriend again? It had been twenty years, twenty long years without him - there was no reason you should have even given him a second thought. Yet...here you were. Still hung up on Frankie Morales, the boy that had earned your heart...and then brought it into a million pieces. You knew, you would be the first to admit, that it wasn’t all his fault, that you were to blame to an extent as well, but it didn’t make it any easier.

Ever since the day that you had run into him again, a day that should have been like any other, he’d been living rent free in your mind. Even if you hated him, even if you were still mad at him after all this time. You couldn’t help but wonder - what if. What if. 

What if he had come to California with you and you’d both stayed there? What if you had waited for him while you went to school and he was in the military? What if he’d come back to you long ago? Would you still be together? Would you be married to him? Would  you have a daughter or son that took on both of your best qualities? Or would you have eventually fallen out and broken up anyway, only to loathe each with every fiber of your being? Would you have stayed together?”

What if. What if. What if. 

It was that haunted you for so long now.

“Umm,” you snapped back into reality and pushed the thought of the boy you had loved out of your mind. You set the glass back down and made a small, noncommittal sound, “it was just a lot of things. The more real things became with the wedding planning the more I realized that I didn’t want this. It was at my last dress fitting actually, that I realized I couldn’t do it.” 

“That must have been quite a wake up call,” Anna’s eyes widened as she imagined the scene as you nodded, taking the almost empty bottle of wine and pouring the remainder into your class. 

“It was,” you admitted with a long sigh, “you should have been the poor dress maker. I almost ran out on her. But you know, even though things are far from perfect right now, I would still do it all again.”

“Cheers to that,” Ally held up her class, and the two of you clinked yours against it, “now to bigger and better things. You can, and will, do so much better.”

“Thank you both,” just being in their presence, let alone their home, had you feeling infinitely better, “I don’t even know where to begin to thank you.”

“What are friends for?” 

“I, however, do have some more good news,” Anna was proud of herself as the two of your gave her an inquisitive look, “I spoke to my friend who is a realtor today, no connection to Chad or anything, and he said he has a perfect little house available! It’s a little on the outskirts of town, a small, quiet neighborhood, but that it would be perfect for you. It’s not big, just a little two bedroom, one bath, but it’s all been redone recently, and it’s quaint. He showed me some pictures and I think you’d really like it.”

“You did...you did this for me?” you felt another wave of tears sting at the back of your eyes as she nodded. 

“I’m not trying to push this on you at all, or anything of the sort,” she promised, “but we were talking and it just came up and I thought of you. I thought I’d just tell you in case you were interested...you are, of course, welcome to stay with us however long you want.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” you said softly, “truly. I’d love to see the place. If you like, I’m sure it’ll be great. And honestly, it would be nice to get out of the city and be a little bit out of the way and I don’t need anything much. I just want a place that will feel like home...my own place.”

“Obviously it comes with the stipulation that we will get to help decorate and pick out furniture if you move into it.”

“I would expect nothing less,” you agreed, “it’s going to be nice getting my own things and having it be truly mine.”

“A fresh start,” she agreed, “I’ll tell Elijah that we’ll stop by tomorrow and take a look? How does that sound?”

“Perfect,” you agreed, feeling your heart finally feel warm again, as a wave of calm washed over you, “absolutely perfect.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

The next two weeks were a whirlwind of moving, although you technically didn’t have much to move, furniture shopping, unpacking, and organizing your new home. 

The house was cute, an older little home that had been recently renovated with a small yard and  a perfect spot for a garden. You could already picture yourself gardening once the cooler autumn and winter months were over. 

It wasn’t huge, but it had a spare bedroom you decided would serve as a home office and occasional guest room, although you figured you weren’t going to have many of those considering how easily everyone had cut you off. It was open, warm, and inviting, and it was perfect for what you wanted. It had brought up the idea of maybe adopting a dog or cat to keep as your friend. It had made you think of something that Frankie always said: anyone who wasn’t willing to share their home with an animal was as good as heartless.

It served as a sharp contrast to your former living situation; everything in the apartment you had shared with Chad had been cold, dark, and minimalistic. Nothing about it had ever felt truly homey, more like an ornate display at an art museum you were afraid to even look at. Chad had never wanted an animal of any sorts, not even a goldfish, claiming that it would take up too much time, too much space, and he just didn’t want something to take care of.

But your new home was the polar opposite, it was romantic and airy and filled with items and trinkets that made it feel like a home. A little animal friend would fit in perfectly. You were fitting in perfectly already. 

You’d even made it a point to go around the neighborhood and introduce yourself to people. Your justification was that you had literally nothing to lose, your family had turned their backs on you, your ex-fiance had taken almost all of the so called friends you’d had, and were left to your own devices. In the worst case scenario, you’d have met a few unsavory people, and in the best case scenario you’d get to know your neighbors and maybe make a few friends.

Something in the stars seemed to align, as your neighbors turned out to be kind and welcoming, and you were sure the cookies you offered them weren't a deterrent either. They were mostly either older couples, or small families, a few roommates that lived together. The normalcy of it all was endearing, and to know that you had a place that you were welcome was enough to let your heart rest easy. 

The only mystery that remained was your next door neighbor, the one on your left side. Whoever it was had been missing, gone or something, since you’d moved in several weeks before. While trying to maintain a respectful distance, you’d kept an eye on the house to see if you could spy anyone coming or going, see a car...something. But you never did - not even seen so much as a porch light flicker on. It seemed odd, especially in this neighborhood.

One afternoon, in the middle of unpacking the new bits of furniture for your living room and rearranging everything for about the tenth time, curiosity got the better of you. Maybe it was because you were in the middle of watching some true crime documentaries as you worked but you just felt...nervous. You were concerned about the health and safety of this mysterious neighbor that you hadn’t even met. You’d hastily wiped the sweat from your brow before rushing over to the neighbor on the other side of the seemingly nonexistent neighbor. 

Unfortunately, much to your chagrin, the other neighbor, an older widowed man by the name of Eddie, who happened to have an adorable dog that you decided you’d offer to take on walks, was just as clueless as you. 

He said he’d seen the man, at least you narrowed it down to that much, come on and go on occasion, but that he kept odd hours. He commented that he must have worked evenings or something, because he wasn’t around much at that time and it was always quiet during the day. Apparently it wasn’t odd for him to be gone for days at a time, or at least for no one to notice him. At least he’d be a quiet neighbor if he ever appeared again. But the older man hadn’t seemed too concerned, so figured there was nothing to worry about. You ended finding out that he was likely around your age, with dark hair. That was about all that Eddie knew; he said the man whose name he couldn’t even remember had always kept to himself since he’d moved in a few years ago. 

You’d thanked him, given the small fluffy dog a few pets and trudged back to your own place, arms filled with various baked goods, including a delicious smelling loaf of banana bread. Eddie had proudly declared that he had taken up the hobby of baking in his retirement and he always had been plenty to share. You made a mental note to store that little piece of info away for future use. 

And yet still, even as more days passed, you still didn’t see hide nor hair of the mystery man. You’d gone to work each morning, wondering if maybe you just missed him and you had conflicting schedules. You didn’t know why you even cared so much, or what drew you to solving this mystery, but you were just inexplicably invested. 

One evening, as you were watching some Netflix and unwinding with a glass of wine, browsing the adoptable animals at the local shelter, it hit you. It was like the proverbial lightbulb had been switched on and you came up with a brilliant idea. When you’d moved in, you’d taken some fresh, homemade cookies to everyone in the small cul-de-sac - why didn’t you just make some for him? 

It was brilliant, you thought to yourself as you set the wine glass down and almost tossed your laptop to the floor in excitement. You would make your favorite cookies, soft, gooey chocolate chip ones you fancied so much, get them all safely in a container and drop them off when you felt for work in the morning. If they were gone by the time you came home that would mean he had to have been there. 

Yes, you thought to yourself, this is brilliant. No one could turn down a plate of fresh cookies. 

So you’d spent the rest of the evening, bouncing around the kitchen excitedly, pouring your heart and soul into the every little step it took to make the perfect treat. By the time you’d gone to bed, excited and worn out, the little package was sitting on your counter for your to grab on your way out. This was going to be it, you just knew it.

»»————-　♡　————-««

You woke up early the next morning, even before your alarm went off, a smile on your face despite being tired. You almost stopped dead in your tracks when you realized that this was the first, the first time in what felt like a small eternity that you woke up like that. It was a good feeling, and you hoped that you would be able to hang onto it. 

Once you’d showered and done up your makeup and hair to your liking, you slipped on a pretty golden dress. It always made you feel pretty, the color bringing a slight bit of joy into your heart. You always felt confident and good in it, and you decided it was just what you needed. If your last session ended early enough, you even planned on stopping by the animal shelter to see if you made a connection with any of the adoptable animals. It was going to be a good day. You could feel it in your bones. 

Once you were ready to go, you grabbed your pre-packed lunch from the fridge, along with your purse and the package for your mystery neighbor. Almost flouncing over to his porch because you were buzzing with energy, you hopped up the steps and set it on the front porch and center, in the middle of the doormat, topped off with a handwritten note introducing yourself. The mat was a generic one, and you did a little look around to see if you could find a name or any personal touches around the porch. But there was nothing - no clue as to who it could be. It was no matter, you told yourself, you would have your answers soon enough.

Giving the neatly wrapped container one last fond look, you headed to your car and off to work. Hopefully you’d be busy enough to keep your mind occupied. It was silly to get so invested in something so trivial and yet...here you were. An eternal dreamer and optimist at heart, just like you always had been, even as a teenager. Even if you had to suppress that side of yourself for some time, more so with each passing year, you were still the same girl underneath it all. 

The day felt like it had like it went by in a blur as you saw several of your regular patients, feeling like you were finally able to help them properly and give them your undivided attention. It went so well that you did manage to finish up early, which meant  you could have your fun and go look at animals. You knew it would be a challenge to meet different pets and not be able to take them all home, but you were willing to give it the old college try. 

You hadn’t bothered to stop home and change, opting to go straight to the shelter.

»»————-　♡　————-««

As soon as you'd gotten there and started looking at the different dogs, you knew it would be hard. 

So many of the sweet dogs came up to you, some wagging their tails in nervous excitement, some just beside themselves, but others were more reluctant, sitting and observing you. You went up to as many as you could, keeping a respectful distance from them and offering them your hand to sniff. A couple of them give you a few licks, letting you reach in and pet them, but getting distracted as soon as they spied other people. Sweet dogs, all of them, but those weren’t the ones for you. As you walked through the various dogs, you were disheartened to find that you didn’t seem to have a connection to any of them. You hoped they would go to good homes soon regardless. Maybe it wasn’t your day to find a companion, which was totally okay with you. You’d just come back some other day and make sure that one of them got a home in your adobe.

But as you neared the end of the last row, you stopped when you spotted a small dog, small for being a pitbull that was, sitting in the corner of her kennel, a sad, dejected look on her face. She was a pretty thing, light tan with white marking on her sweet face, but her eyes contained a deep sadness.

“Hi, sweet girl,” you said softly as you didn’t even hesitate to drop to your knees, dropping on the floor of the kennel, sliding a few fingers under the barrier keeping you from her, trying to coax her to you. She observed you with keen interest, but remained rooted in her spot, “you are so pretty! I bet you’re just as sweet too, aren’t you? I can tell…”

“She’s very sweet,” one of the shelter’s volunteers, a young boy by the name of Lucas that had let you in, said as he walked up to you, “but she’s really shy. She’s less than a year old, but she’s already had a go of it.”

“What happened to her?” you asked gently, keeping your voice down so you wouldn’t startle her, “she looks so sad.”

“She was abused by her former owner, sadly. They found her when they went to raid the owner’s home, apparently he was a small time drug dealer on top of it,” he explained and you made a small in the back of your throat as you just looked at her. It made your heart break to know that this poor animal, and so many others like her, were being abused for no reason - not that anyone, person or animal, should ever have been abused, “it’s made her shy, but she does warm up to people.”

“What’s her name?” you asked as she moved ever so marginally closer to you. You smiled at her, giving her an encouraging little nod.

“Daisy.”

“Daisy,” you called softly as her ears perked up slightly. It suited her, you decided, a soft pretty name for a pretty girl, “hi sweet Daisy. You are a big lovebug underneath it all, aren’t you?”

She turned her slightly to look at as you offered her a small, reassuring nod. 

“How about Miss Daisy Mae?” you asked her and you got a glimpse of her tail wagging ever so slightly, “yeah, I think that’s perfect too. May I pet you?”

It was silent, completely so sans for the other dogs in their kennels as you attempted to gain her trust. You didn’t want to scare her off, but you wanted to see if you could get her to come closer. Lucas told you could stay as long as you wanted, and you decided that you would do just that, plopping onto your bottom as you gently spoke to her. You spent some time sitting there, talking to her about anything and everything, and slowly, inch by precious inch, she came closer to you until she was just a few inches from your hand. When you moved your hand and she didn’t flinch, you gently petted her muzzle, tracing over it delicately with a few fingers. 

“You’ve been through a lot,” you mused quietly and she gently rubbed her head into your hand, “but you’ve got so much life left to live. So many happy things to come. Would you like to come home with me and see? I have a big bed that I have all to myself, and I could really use a companion to take up some of the space. Would you like to help me?”

She made a small sound as she looked up at you, her tail wagging ever so slightly. That was enough to convince you that you were making the right decision. Giving Daisy one last gentle touch, you slowly pulled your hand back to keep from startling her and jumped to your feet. She was yours, it hadn’t taken much to figure that out, and you were going to make sure she came home with you. 

Telling her you would be back in a little bit, you went off in search of Lucas, to tell him to get you all the paperwork so you could bring her home with that day.

»»————-　♡　————-««

As soon as Daisy was all yours, you’d set her up in your car, draping a big, soft blanket over the backseat for her. You were glad you kept one in your car for whatever occasion called for it; this was the perfect time. As soon as she seemed to realize what was happening, Daisy’s eyes had lit up and she already seemed like a different dog, her tail going softly, but nonstop as she stayed close to your side. 

You’d stopped by the pet store on your way home, bringing her in with you as you stocked up on the best dog food, treats, several big fluffy beds (one for each room of the house naturally), and let her pick out several toys. Whatever she wanted she got, honestly, and before you knew it before pushing a huge cartful to the counter to the pay. Daisy, now in a pretty yellow collar and leash, followed closely by your side, a little stuffed bear in her mouth. This felt so right, so natural, almost like you had meant to find her. You couldn’t even remember the last time you had felt this much joy in your heart, and you hoped the feeling would never go away.

“And this is where we live,” you told her as you pulled into the driveway, pulling up to the garage and turning off the car. She stood up and went to the window, looking out eagerly. Your break broke a little when you realize she probably never got to run and play like any puppy should, but you vowed to change that. You got and opened the door, not even bothering to stop her as she jumped out and started to sniff everywhere. 

Sighing contentedly at the sight of the happy dog, the one that had quickly turned from nervous to optimistic, you started to gather everything out of the car to bring inside. Daisy came back to your side, following you with keen attention as you opened the door to the house and let her explore. 

It wasn’t until your last excursion to the car to bring in the last of the toys, that your attention wandered back to your MIA neighbor. When you studied his house, you noticed that all the lights were off, and there was no car in the driveway. The package you had you left for him was still right where you had placed that morning. A small, dejected sigh left your lips as you quickly dashed over and retrieved the package. It was only slightly heartbreaking,  but you knew it wasn’t due to any fault of yours. But still...you couldn’t help but wonder. Who was he? Where was he? Maybe one day your questions would be answered, but at least for now you had your new friend to keep you company. Just as you thought about her, you heard a small, almost tiny bark from your door as Daisy poked her head out and looked excitedly at you.

“Coming sweet girl!” you promised her as you ran back over to her. This day was decidedly not a waste in the slightest, you reminded yourself, you had a new friend and that was more important than anything else.

»»————-　♡　————-««

Several more days passed, and Daisy adjusted to life with you without a hitch. She really was the sweetest girl you had met, and she had won a big spot in your heart, and bed, almost instantly. Gone were the cookies you had baked for the neighbor you thought might not actually exist, eaten with some milk as you watched Netflix late into the evening with Daisy snoozing next to you. 

Something though, whatever little stubborn streak you had, told you to keep trying.

So you did.

That night you dragged yourself back to the kitchen and repeated the painstaking process of making your now neighborhood famous cookies again. He was going to get these cookies come hell or high water. This time Daisy joined you in the kitchen and watched your every move intently, as you walked her through the process, giving her your best impression of some lofty Food Network chef. 

Just as you had previously done earlier in the week, you prepped everything and stuck the same note on the top, making sure it looked perfect. Even if it ended up as another batch that you would eat, you wanted to go through the efforts and ensure it was perfect. 

The next morning, you herded Daisy into the car, allowing her to come to your office with you. She had been enjoying coming to your office and greeting your clients, being a good girl and laying on her bed while you worked. Many of them seemed to find her comforting, and as thought she could sense when they needed something, which she probably did, she’d often go to comfort them with wet kisses and nuzzles. Ally had suggested that you look into her having certified as a therapy dog, which you decided was a perfect idea. 

You wandered over to his porch and left the little package again and turned to head off to work. Whatever was meant to happen would happen. So if he didn’t come and get the cookies, so be it. You’d stop worrying about it and let it go. 

When you got home that evening, you brought everything inside and let Daisy into the backyard to roam around before her dinner time, when you looked through the front windows to try and see your neighbor’s porch. You huffed when you came to the conclusion that you were at just the wrong angle to be able to see anything. Stalking out the front door to get a better look, you sighed deeply when the package was once again there. What had you really expected? You’d struck out for weeks now, the man was an enigma to yourself and everyone else around, it was a far cry that you’d ever really see him. 

Grumbling at yourself for being too hopeful and optimistic, you trudged over to his porch, ready to take the cookies back again and enjoy them for yourself. Maybe you could bring them, and Daisy, over to Eddie and see if he would enjoy them and the dogs would get along. It wasn’t terribly exciting, but it was something anyway.

You bent down to pick up the small container, ready to head back home and get on with your day. But just as you swooped up the container, you heard the door unlock, causing you to jump back in surprise, dropping the container and letting it clatter to the ground. You took a step back and looked up, finding the door open, but the screen closed. Squinting your eyes, you tried to make out the person on the other side but found it almost impossible. 

“H-hi,” you stammered nervously, hoping the person wouldn’t think you were stealing or snooping around, “I-I moved into the neighborhood a few weeks ago, and I was just...I made cookies! I was going to introduce myself but I hadn’t seen you or anything, so I figured I’d leave them for you. They-they’re not old though, I made this batch last night.”

Nothing but silence met your ears for several moments as you nervously picked up the container to display it for him. You were nervous suddenly, terrified that you had somehow offended him, or...something.

“I-I’ll get going,” you said as you set the cookies on the bench that was near the door. Unsure why you felt the need to keep speaking you gave him your name, letting it linger in the air for a moment, “I live right next door, so I guess maybe I will see you around. Yeah...well, umm...goodbye!”

But before you made it off the porch, you heard the screen door open, and swing shut. You swallowed the lump in your throat, ready to turn around and make a proper introduction when you heard your name whispered so quietly, that you thought you might have imagined it. That voice...that soft, gentle voice caused your heart to skip a few beats. You knew that voice. 

Turning around slowly, you came face to face with the man that had been on your mind for weeks. You brought your eyes up to the man’s face and a small gasp of surprise left your lips. 

“F-Frankie?” except this wasn’t the Frankie you’d known. No, this man was tired looking, nothing but sheer exhaustion on his face, dark circles, parched lips, no trace of facial hair, his hair flattened from what you knew was a signature hat. This was a different man, a world weary man, a man who you never intended on seeing again. But you knew that voice, you knew it so well, you’d recognize it anywhere, even after all this time. But there was something about him, how he was looking at you that broke our heart. 

He remained silent as his dark eyes watched you, wondering how and why on earth you’d ended up as his neighbor. It was like some force was at play, some weird thing that kept bringing the two of you together. 

He remained silent as the two of you looked at each other, his eyes quickly flicked to your left hand. You straightened up when you noticed that and got ready to walk away, unsure of how to feel in that moment. Once again, your life was thrown in a complete tailspin. 

You swallowed the lump in your throat, unable to find any words. 

But before you could leave his porch, his hand went to your wrist, taking it gently in his large hand as you immediately turned around and gave him a wide eyed stare.

Your chest was rising and falling rapidly as you looked at him in silent question, and he did the same. 

This was Frankie - your Frankie. After all these years, he was still yours.

Before either of you could say anything, he gently grabbed your face and studied it for a moment before crashing his lips onto yours. It took a moment for you to react, and for a few beats before you kissed him back, not even having to think about it. But just as quickly as it had started you came to your senses and while part of you was screaming to continue to kiss him, the logical part of your brain took over and you pushed him away from you. Immediately realizing what you were doing, he let go of you and took a step back. 

“Don’t,” you insisted sharply, your voice crackling on the singular word, “don’t. You don’t get to do that. I shouldn’t have done that. Not anymore. Never again.”

Before he could say anything, you dashed away from him, running back over to your house. This had to be some sort of weird dream, surely life couldn’t be throwing another challenge at you. Surely you’d been through enough.

Surely you weren’t neighbors, after all this time and years, with Frankie Morales. 

Life couldn’t be that cruel...right?

»»————-　♡　————-««

Permanent Taglist: @secretsweetscollectionblog  @sheridans-dynamos   @rogerfxckingtaylor  @queenbbarnes  @persephonesnebula @spacedustmazzello  @queenlover05  @ah-callie  @blushingwueen  @thisis-theway @el-lizzie  @rosetophighlander  @rae-gar-targaryen    @hiscyarika  @readsalot73  @huliabitch  @ollyoxenfrees @coffeeandtodd  @beepbeepsephy  @gooddaykate  @scarlettwitcher  @nerdyknightwritersblog  @choicesarcade  @arrowswithwifi  @everythingaboutnothingstuff  @24kgolden  @suckerfor-fanfics  @bestintheparsec @pedrosdoll  @winters-buck @javihoney  @aeryntheofficial  @hail-doodles @engineeredfiction @aeryntheofficial  @asgardianvamp21  @keithseabrook27  @karmezii  @dearspacepirates  @thatsuitlooksgoodonyou  @shameless-pope @paintballkid711 @mrpascals @lv7867

Frankie Taglist: @misslolasworld @annathewitch @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @mrscrain-x7 @jaime1110 @lokiaddicted @prettylittlegoldfish @heythere-mel @mrsparknuts @mrpascals @agingerindenial @knittingqueen13 @wickedfrsgrl @rogueonestan @i-ship-it-ironically @lv7867 @heyitmelexie @lordmotherofcats @godohammers @stitchers-in-stitches @none-of-your-bullshit @ghostwiththemostbitch @computeringturtle 

[f00tball-imagines]

Ivy - Jadon Sancho

Player: Jadon Sancho (with a guest appearance of Marco Reus)

Word count: 847

Prompt: “You are dating one of Sancho teammates and your boyfriend is cheating on you. Everyone in the team knows about it and Sancho gets mad at him for doing that to you 1st because no one deserves that and 2nd because he loves you and would never treat you that way. He doesn’t understand why your boyfriend is having an affair when he has the most beautiful and intelligent woman by his side.” (Request by Anon) 

A/N: I combined this request with Ivy by Taylor Swift, I hope you’re alright with that, Anon! Your prompt goes so well with the lyrics, so I just kinda seized the opportunity 😅✨ Also, Jadon is still playing for Borussia Dortmund in this fic, so I could include my problematic fave Marco Reus as the cheating boyfriend! ✨ If you guys have any more requests (for our Taylor Swift series or in general), please let us know! 💖😊

"Give me that!" I reach for the wine bottle on the table that Marco has left there before stepping out on the pitch a minute ago, much to Jadon’s surprise, though. "I thought you-"

"Change of priorities," I interrupt him harshly, shrugging. I take a sip and crack a smile. It's good wine. No wonder Marco prefers getting drunk over spending time with me. "Change of heart, actually."

"I see," he says. He's so unfazed by everything, it's unbelievable! I watch him scratching at the ink on his forearm, as if he was trying to claw his own skin off. Maybe he's not all that calm and collected after all... "How come you're not watching Marco play?"

Are you actually that oblivious or are you just pouring salt into the wound? "I've watched him play so many times." Why the fuck do you even care, anyways?

"So?"

"So?"

"I thought you were in love with Marco."

The bottle almost slips out of my fingers into the dirt and grime on the hardwood floor of the dressing room. "I-, I, umm, I was."

He looks up at me. "Ah." Then, he looks down again. "Let me guess. Homeboy cheated?" 

"He did." Not just once. Not twice either. In fact, he has a whole ass fling going on behind my back. But he doesn’t know that I know about it yet.

"Too bad."

"It really is." I take one last more swig before setting the wine bottle aside. I’ve never been a big drinker, but after that thing with Marco... I’d try about anything to take my mind off things. “Jadon... Why are boys so strange at times?”

He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Strange? I wouldn’t exactly call Marco’s behaviour strange, to be honest.” Excuse me? Are you coming to that cheater’s defense now or what? “It’s just... pathetic.” Ah. Alright. Couldn’t agree more.

“Maybe it’s what I deserve...” 

“Bullshit!” Jadon frowns at me, I get the feeling that if he wasn’t injured, he would’ve jumped to his feet to lecture me. “Honestly, you’re such a kind soul, always smiling, always trying to make people happy. And-, umm, you’re so beautiful, too...” Beautiful? I think I got off at the wrong station! “Oh, come on!” I snort, shaking my head at him while my cheeks are getting warm. “I can’t be all that beautiful and kind and whatever if Marco found himself someone else!” Someone better, I suppose.

“The man’s off his rocker or something!” No, Jadon, you are off your rocker for thinking I’m something special! “Like, why would he have an affair when he already has the most beautiful and intelligent lady by his side?” His words hit home. It’s been a while since Marco has called me anything like that. Truth be told, it’s been a while since we’ve had a decent conversation in general. Right now, it’s nothing more than “Good morning”, “Have a nice day” and “Good night”. Day after day. I don’t feel welcome anymore. I have no idea why I’m here tonight. 

“Hey, I thought I’m the one who’s drunk!” I exclaim, even giggling a little. I don’t know, he just makes me feel like there’s ivy growing out of the cracks of the stone-cold boulder my heart has turned into. Ivy - because it represents fidelity. Something that Marco surely is lacking. And Jadon... He’s so unlike him!

“What do you mean?” he asks so nonchalantly. “I’m being serious!”

“Are you trying to confess your love or what?” I frown at him. I mean, I wouldn’t even be surprised! Not after that long, long talk with Jude. About Marco’s side bitch and Jadon who apparently likes me quite a lot.

He blushes visibly as he’s struggling for words. “Umm... Well... Perhaps.” Oh, goddamn...

“Jadon, I-” I wish I could. But I can’t. “I’m dating Marco.” Officially. But actually... Our love has died a long time ago already. I have no idea why I’m still grieving for it after everything he has put me through.

“I know...” I can see his Adam’s apple moving underneath his tanned skin. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-”

“I wish I wasn’t,” I tell him unceremoniously. 

“Mhm,” he makes merely. I don’t know what to say, I just put the wine bottle up to my lips again, secretly wishing his kiss was numbing my pain instead of an ocean of alcohol. “You could... break up with him,” he suggests carefully. Oh, really? No shit! “I-, I don’t know...” Yeah, I don’t know why I’m still holding onto the shards of our relationship either. “Maybe...” To be honest, that thought has crossed my mind before. Multiple times.

“It’d be the right thing to do,” he says and I know that he’s right about that. “He’s just making you miserable.”

“But-”

“No buts. That relationship isn’t going anywhere anymore and you know it.” I do. “Honestly, dump him!”

I just sigh. There really is nothing left to do. Except for running from the mess with Marco. So whatever Jadon and I have going on now can blossom instead.

[yugirl]

Day 3: “Mind on Air”

Dreamers are dreaming with their heads in the clouds. Show us your favorite character’s dream career, their secret desires, or that diary they keep under their pillow. ;)

((You know what time to finish my first ever serious GX fic. I started this when I started watching season 2 back in April. Let’s do it))

@gxmonth

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

This was still very unreal to Jaden. He couldn’t believe all of his friends had moved into the Slifer red dorms. Usually, he’d be excited, but honestly, he just felt shy.

Living together with all his friends should be like a massive sleepover, and yet... here he was. Struggling to think outside of the Slifer dorm battle and.... that wanting...

Jaden had a certain yearning ever since he was 10. It was embarrassing. He didn’t want anyone to know, but... he couldn’t stop thinking about it to the point it was getting distracting.

“Jaden..?”

“Huh?”

“Are you ok? You’ve been staring at your fried shrimp for a while.” Syrus looked at his best friend, concerned, his eyes searching Jaden’s face for answers.

“Slacker’s not eating his shrimp?! Now that’s cause for alarm,” Chazz butted in.

“It’s nothing, guys. I’m fine.”

“Really? If you’re sure, Jay.”

Syrus didn’t buy that for a second. There had to be something up with his best friend, but what?

Jaden decided to go for a walk to clear his head before class, but he still couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was so cheesy, and yet he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He shook his head. Maybe for once, if he paid attention in class, this feeling would go away.

Aaaaand Jaden was wrong. He couldn’t focus in class and instead fell asleep, squeezing his Kuriboh keychain and hoping for a dreamless sleep.

By the time Jaden had left class, he was rested but frustrated. He wanted to tell his friends what was on his mind but... how do you even go about it!?

Well, his friends had noticed he was acting very oddly. They all looked at each other and knew they had to confront Jaden about this.

Jaden got invited over to Chazz’ luxurious half of the Slifer red dorms, where he saw the others were waiting for him. They tried to ask him what was going on, but Jaden would dodge the question or blow it off entirely, so the others kept pressing.

“Please, Jaden! Talk to us! What’s going on!!”

“I WANNA HOLD HANDS!!”

“.... what?”

“All of my friends are living together like it’s a giant sleepover, and I want to do what they do in like every sleepover in anime and manga. I want to sleep in a giant bed and hold hands!”

The Slifer slacker was utterly red at this point.

“What the hell, slacker!? That’s what this is all about!?” Chazz snapped, almost repulsed

Alexis couldn’t help but let a giggle slip out. “Oh, Jaden, that’s so cute!”

Syrus was about to say something, but Jaden had already turned and left the building out of embarrassment. “Aw, man… I think we hurt his feelings….”

“I had no idea the sarge wanted something so innocent that badly….” Hassleberry mutter and rubbed the back of his head.

“I’ll go talk to him….” Bastion announced and left the room, Alexis following soon after.

Syrus and Hassleberry looked at each other, “thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I gotcha private! Know where we can get some spare futons?”

“What?” Chazz needed a minute to realise what the other two were up to. “Y… you may as well do it here… my room is the only one with enough floor space.”

“Really? Thanks, Chazz!” Syrus grinned.

Jaden sat on the cliffside melancholically. He felt so embarrassed. He finally opened up to his friends, and… they laughed at him.

A soccer ball rolled towards him. Jaden blinked in surprise and picked it up.

“I remember you mentioned in P.E that you enjoyed playing it...” Bastion smiled as he approached him.

“Thanks but I'm not in the mood” Jaden huffed and tossed the ball over his shoulder.

“Jaden... I'm sorrry” Alexis said quietly and sat next to her classmate “i didn't mean to laugh I was just... Surprised and relieved”

Jaden looked at her, sceptical of that. “Relieved?”

“Yeah... I thought something awful had happened and you looked so miserable and spaced out and I felt so helpless because I wanted to help but didn't know how...” Alexis sighed “so to find out you just wanted to fall asleep holding hands? I felt relieved because of course I could do that!”

“Oh...” now Jaden felt like an ass. His friends were genuinely concerned about him and he mistook their relief for ridicule. “Sorry... It's just... I've never really had friends before coming here... So it was kinda hard to open up to you guys... So when you laughed I just...”

Bastion and Alexis slid their hands into Jaden’s

“Dont worry about it Jaden” Bastion smiled “I didn't have any friends until you welcomed me into your friend group either.”

“Me neither to be honest” Alexis mumbled “I mean I had some admirers in middle school and there was Atticus, Mindy and Jasmine... But you guys are the only ones I've felt comfortable being myself around in a long time...”

The boys were surprised at that; Alexis always seemed so popular but to know that she felt comfortable around them, it made them happy.

“Come on, Jaden!” Bastion smiled. “I’m sure the others want to apologise to you too.”

Jaden hesitated for a moment but then nodded and followed the others.

When they returned to Chazz’s dorm room they had discovered Chazz, Syrus and Hassleberry had laid out a series of futons on the floor.

“Wh-whats going on guys!!”

“We felt really bad for not supporting you earlier Sarge!” Hassleberry explained “so we decided to make your little wish come true.”

“You guys...”

Syrus hugged Jaden tight “you should’ve told us earlier! I would've done it a lot sooner!”

Jaden smiled and hugged back. “Thanks Sy...”

Chazz blushed and looked aside “d-don’t get the wrong idea, slacker; I only let this happen because my room was the only place with enough space!”

“Sure, Chazz!”

That night Jaden got settled on the futon. Syrus decided to forgo the hand-holding and cuddle Jaden, resting his head on the other’s chest. Hassleberry did the same on the other side, not wanting to be one-upped by the little man.

Bastion and Alexis, on the other hand, remembered their promises, and each held one of Jaden’s hands.

Chazz sheepishly reached over Bastion to hold Jaden’s hand too. “I didn't want to make Alexis uncomfortable...” he muttered when, in reality, Bastion didn't mind, and the two of them had become close.

Jaden looked to his friends, and a tear dripped down his face as he smiled “thanks, guys... I love you so much...”

“We love you too, Jaden.”

[13uswntimagines]

Overprotective Much? (Pregnant!Omega!Tobin x Alpha!Reader)

Request: pregnant Tobin and like tattooed y’all reader? Where the reader is very protective over Tobin and the baby and yells at anyone for even the smallest of touches to Tobin and Tobin has enough of it and tells the reader to stop and they have like a conversation? Could this be a/b/o universe?

Any pregnant Tobin and protective and possessive girlfriend

For as long as you could remember, you and Tobin had been referred to by the US Women’s National team as the chill bro’s. That was until Your omega had gotten pregnant. You had turned into the most protective Alpha that had ever existed. Tobin wasn’t even out of the first trimester yet, and she already wanted to kill you. 

“Watch it sonnett,” you growled loudly as the omega approached your very pregnant wife, quickly placing your bags down and moving in between the two omegas, glaring at the younger blond. 

She had a reputation for being clumsy, and that made you nervous. All of your instincts told you that it was dangerous to have her near your pregnant wife. 

“I wasn’t even doing anything, I just wanted to rub her belly,” Emily pouted at you, not at all phased by the dominant pheromones rolling off of you in waves. 

“She’s not a puppy,” You glowered, wrapping a protective arm around your mate who huffed unhappily. She was an omega not an invalid, and she fucking hated it when you talked like she wasn’t even here. She could take care of herself and pregnancy didn’t change that. 

“Careful with that tone Y/n,” Lindsey warned with a low growl, completely disapproving of how you were speaking to her omega. She got that you were feeling a little protective, but that didn’t excuse your behavior. 

“Just wait until Emily’s pregnant, you’ll be just as bad as me,” You snorted in her direction, pulling Tobin tighter to you, trying to ease the distress that was leaking through your bond. 

“Don’t think anyone could be as bad as you Y/n.” JJ laughed with an eye roll, and Alex added in a 

“Even Kelley wasn’t this protective when I was pregnant with Charlie,” for good measure. Tobin huffed again. 

She loved you, she really did. And at first, your overprotective nature had been adorable, but she was over it now. You had never been the hovering, doting type, always respecting her independence and never pulling the instincts cart. That was until she got pregnant. Now she was lucky if she got a 5-minute shower without you checking in on her and the baby. Frankly, she had had enough. 

“Well while you all discuss how much of a knothead my mate is, I’m gonna go kick a ball around,” She mumbled, pushing your arm off her shoulder and moving to the door. You immediately stood up and offered a hand to help her stand. 

“I’ll come with you,”

“I can go alone,” She huffed back with an eye roll, standing on her own and shoving you back into your seat. 

“But it would make me feel better if you let me come along,” you said, standing again, but refraining from using your alpha voice.

“No. I’m going alone and that’s final. I can go places by myself. I’m not an invalid,” She growled, shoving you harder into your seat and your eyebrows furrowed, and a large pout broke across your face. 

You inner alpha whining at the thought of being separated from your mate. You couldn’t properly protect her if you were separated. You hadn’t had a parental figure growing up, and you were going to do everything you could to make sure your child was never in the same situation. 

“I know you’re not, but…” You mumbled. 

“No buts. You’ve been acting like I’m made of glass, and I’m not. I’m gonna go hit some balls around and if you try and follow me, they’ll be your balls I’m kicking. I want time to myself and you’re going to respect that, got it?” She said her voice deadly calm, advancing forward, her finger poking your chest threateningly. You shrunk back in your seat, nodding so quickly your head looked like a bobblehead. 

“Good,” She glared, slamming the door on the way out, the room erupting in laughed, most of your friends cackling about how whipped you were for your omega. You didn’t smile, instead, you stayed frozen, staring at the door, a frown playing in your lips. You hadn’t meant to upset your omega, but you didn’t know how to do this. You didn’t know how to be a parent, and clearly you were fucking it up already and they weren’t even here yet. 

You ran a frustrated hand through your hair, you really didn’t know how you were going to fix this. Hopefully, your omega would let you. 

*****

You stared up at the hotel ceiling, shoving down every instinct to go and find your omega. She asked you for space, and you were doing your damnedest to give it to her. You played with your fingers, trying to minimize your fidgeting, biting your lip. 

The sound of the door opening broke you out of your miserable thoughts. You sat up but didn’t move to greet your mate like you usually would. You didn’t want to set your omega off like you had before. You wanted her to know that you respected her. 

She shuffled slowly into the room, nodding towards you. “Hey,”

“Hey, uh,” You paused, your hand coming up to rub the back of your neck insecurely. You had never felt this way around Tobin. The moment you had met her, you knew she was your mate. Her chill demeanor balanced out your need for control and organization. You had always been terrified of being like your father, so you were thankful to find an independent omega. An omega who wasn’t afraid to set boundaries and do her own thing.

But you had fucked that up hadn’t you? You had treated her differently and now she was probably going to disown you. You just… didn’t know how to do this. How to be a parent. 

“Wanna sit? I think we need to talk,” You mumbled, gesturing to the bed across from you. She nodded and took the seat. You cringed internally. For the first time in forever, the silence between you wasn’t comfortable. It was charged and full of tension. 

“I’m sorry that I’m being a knothead and overprotective. I just… I can’t seem to control my instincts to help you,” You started, focusing on a hangnail instead of the woman sitting across from you. 

You were never very good at expressing yourself in words, and you just couldn’t seem to admit that you were being overprotective because you were ducking terrified. 

“You do realize that suffocating me isn’t helping anyone right?” She said slowly as if she was talking to a child, rolling her eyes. 

“I-,” You started, trying to find the words. Your mouth opened and closed several times, and you ran a frustrated hand through your hair. You sighed, closing your eyes and steeling yourself.“I’m so terrified of fucking this up that I may have gone a little overboard,” You murmured, scrubbing your hand down your face. 

“A little,” Tobin snorted, grabbing your hand from where it was rubbing your skin raw and using it to pull you to sit next to her. She released a puff of her soothing scent. Sure she may be agitated with you, but you were still her mate and she didn’t like how distressed you were. 

“You know how my dad was…I… I don’t know how to do this. How to be a parent and now I’ve become just like him,” You continued, stuttering and sniffing towards the end. 

“No babe. You’re nothing like him,” She denied,  wrapping her arm around you and pulling you closer. The pieces suddenly clicking into place. “a little overprotective yes, but you’re going to be a fantastic parent. You’re never going to leave them, and you’re going to do everything to protect them. That much is obvious,” She finished, kissing your ear and scratching your scalp. 

You relaxed into her, letting her scent and words wrap around you like a blanket. You may have been the alpha in the relationship, but you also really loved physical contact. 

“I’m sorry,” You nearly purred, kissing the underside of Tobin’s jaw, just below her scent gland. 

“I’m sorry too,” she hummed, tilting her head to the side to give you better access. She appreciated your devotion to breaking alpha stereotypes. Particularly when it came to the idea that they didn’t like to please their mates. You took pride in that ability and who was she to stop apology sex. “look this is new for both of us, and we’ll figure it out together,” She sighed out, groaning when you pulled away to kiss her cheek. 

“Together, and I’ll try and stop being a stupid alpha,” You smiled lightly, squeezing her side and kissing her lips. 

“And I’ll try and be a little more tolerant,” She smiled back, allowing you to roll her over. You two could do this… together.