#is a couple that doesn’t get together until the end of a five book series too much to ask for
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theskeletonsinourclosets · 1 year ago
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is it too much to ask for two characters to not be into each other 100 pages into a book. what happened to slow burns and emotional connections, i’m sick of instant physical attraction and lust
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phanfictioncatalogue · 11 months ago
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Fics w/ Classic Tropes Masterlist
Accidentally on Purpose Falling For You - auroraphilealis
Summary: After being set up on a blind date neither boy was prepared for, Dan and Phil come up with a plan to get back at their friends; Pretend to date, and then have the ugliest break up imaginable. The problem? They hadn’t expected to fall for each other.
A Flash Before The Line Gets Blurry - botanistlester
Summary: Dan gets dared to date Phil Lester, a guy from his school who only dates people for seven days before breaking up with them.
A Game for Those Who Seek to Find a Way to Leave Their World Behind - jilliancares
Summary: In which Dan finds a strange board game and ends up playing it (and releasing its horrors) with his best friend Carrie and arch enemy, Phil.
bruising the sun (ao3) - waveydnp
Summary: the bedsharing friends to lovers roommates au i was always destined to write.
Communication Is Key (ao3) - philsmeatylegss
Summary: In which au Dan and Phil are friends with benefits despite the fact that neither of them want to be friends with benefits and Dan just sucks at talking about his feelings
Falling In Love With The Enemy - dxnhowell
Summary: punk!phil gets dared by Chris to ask rich!dan out. They hate each other and Phil doesn’t want to do the dare but he loves challenges. He only has two weeks until the deadline to make Dan fall in love with him.
Five Times Dan Howell Got Kissed - littlelioncats
Summary: (And one time it actually ended non-horrifically for all parties involved)
Introductions - jilliancares
Summary: Punk!Phil introduces pastel!Dan to his friends, and he has a great reception.
It Starts & Ends With Your Arms - phanimist
Summary: dan and phil share a hotel bed in hong kong as all the other rooms are booked up. despite their unmentioned habit/tendency to wake up finding themselves curled up to one another, they’re both slightly more than comfortable with the sleeping arrangements.
Just Acting - cactuslester
Summary: PJ and Chris are constantly tying to get Dan and Phil together. One day, Dan and Phil get tired of it and decide to tell PJ and Chris they’re already a couple.
make your own miracle (ao3) - orphan_account
Summary: A festive friends to lovers fic featuring ice skating, tree decorating, a power cut and two boys who need to talk about their feelings.
Now or Never - botanistlester
Summary: Dan and Phil are in school and hate each other, but then one day the school catches on fire and one of them gets trapped in a room alone and the other one ends up being the one to find and rescue them.
Our Universe (ao3) - cleartears
Summary: A University AU where Dan and Phil have the appearances of Pastel!Dan and Punk!Phil and the interests of Spaceboy!Dan and Plantboy!Phil. Fun tropes combined with angsty reality! Phil is in his last year of university and feels completely lost - until he meets Dan, a passionate first year, in Astronomy 101. Existential angst and nausea-inducing fluffiness occur over the course of the semester as Phil falls in love with the boy who teaches him a whole new way of looking at the universe.
Pink Roses (ao3) - roryonice
Summary: Popular!FootballPlayer!Phil comes up with creative ways to ask Pastel!Dan to Prom, but it doesn’t work out the way he’d hoped.
strangers (ao3) - waveydnp
Summary: dan is new to london and living in a mostly empty flat, desperate to forget the mistakes of his past. he’s all alone – until one day he gets a piece of mail addressed to someone in the neighbouring flat, one mr. philip lester. he can’t exactly not return it, can he?
The Five Times Phil Was Jealous - gorgeousdan
Summary: Phil’s not a person who gets jealous very easily. Until it came to his boyfriend.
Unlucky Events - jilliancares
Summary: Phil has to pretend to date Dan at his family dinner after a series of unlucky events.
Venus’s Looking Glass - auroraphilealis
Summary: Shy!punk!Phil has been crushing on confident!pastel!Dan for years now, but he’s never felt comfortable enough to do anything about it until he accidentally comes out to his brother Martyn, who is nothing but supportive. It’s Martyn’s idea to woo Dan with flowers - only, he didn’t mean do it anonymously.
You Can Sleep In My Bed (ao3) - clokkerfoot
Summary: Three times Dan and Phil sleep together, and one time they really sleep together.
You Deserve Color - crescendohowell
Summary: Soulmate au where your soumate’s name appears on your body on your eighteenth birthday.  Phil’s name shows up on Dan and they meet when Phil stands up for Dan in a coffee shop.
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thelogbookproject · 1 year ago
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The Unity of Skovlan, Entry 21: Ephemera
The Unity of Skovlan is an upcoming unofficial supplement to Blades In The Dark about the fall and rise of the Skovlander people. This series explores what it is all about in the leadup to its September release.
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Let’s close this week out on a light note! Starting next time, I’m going to be previewing each Mission of the War, with other topics breaking up the pattern between Periods, so I wanted to get a bunch of random stuff in today’s entry.
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Fractured Unity doesn’t exist in a vacuum! I did a lot of research before starting, especially to see how other supplements approached Score-writing. Two in particular stood out: Steelweaver’s Rebellion by Mabel Harper and Broken Spire by Sean Nittner.
Steelweaver’s is a mini-campaign containing a first part with five possible Scores and a second part with a bunch of mechanics for tracking the supplement’s growing revolution and possible reformist “traitor.” Narratively, Steelweaver’s Rebellion is about a labor rebellion led by the steel factory workers of Coalridge. i decided to incorporate the events of Steelweaver’s Rebellion, with a Reform ending, into the timeline of Fractured Unity. I state that Steelweaver’s Rebellion took place one year after the end of the Unity War and one year before the current day, forming the Steelworker’s Union Faction. I’ve incorporated the idea that the neighboring Charhollow Skovlanders, refugees included, were a critical part of waging the rebellion both as Coalridge workers themselves and as enemies of the establishment offering safety and secrecy.
Broken Spire is a supplement for playing the defeat of the Emperor. With several crew types and some sample scores for approaching the goal, and suggestions and questions to answer about how unseating the emperor could even be possible, I see Broken Spire as the natural progression from a successful Fractured Unity game, playing out the final step of the end of the Imperium after Doskvol and Skovlan have been liberated.
The basic progression I see is The Unity War, an intermission of Steelweaver’s Rebellion, Fractured Unity, and ending with a couple sessions of Broken Spire. No part is mandatory for any other, but I think they can tell a fluid, mechanically-evolving story when perceived together. This has been a fun element for me mentally, but it’s not critical to the game itself.
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Fractured Unity has a couple of recipes! This cocktail is great, and even if you don’t always care for Campari you should try it if you get the chance, as the coffee infusion in the Campari actually lessens its herbal bitterness through the coffee’s acidity while adding body and depth to the drink. I like the cute little story for the cocktail’s origin, and making the obvious link between Skovlan and scotch whiskey lets me do a little worldbuilding. This is the only cocktail in the book, the other recipes are a mushroom stew and an oatcake recipe, both of which are quite good without being a ton of work.
Music is a huge part of both my life and my process. I’m a melodic-listener, as opposed to a lyrical-listener, meaning I’m getting a feel for the music with vocals functioning a lot like any other note, and I don’t usually process the meaning of lyrics as words until a couple listens in, and this listening style lets me understand a song’s style very fast and I have an ear for tone that has served me well crafting game playlists. I go through my whole library, building a Source Playlist of songs that get in the right zone for the game (which I’ve usually identified with a couple of tone keywords), then refine that down to a 1-Hour thematic playlist for the game that flows musically and narratively in a way that is compelling to me. These playlists become the soundtrack to working on a game, and keep me focused on making the game what I intend it to be and holding everything consistent. Building these playlists is usually an early phase of a project for me, sometimes before I even open InDesign to start composing text. There are playlists like these in every game I make.
Thanks for checking out this random-stuff entry, back to a more focused entry next time as we open up the first Mission everyone will play in The Unity War: The Factory.
The Unity War releases for PWYW on September 1, 2023. Check out https://tinyurl.com/tuos-details for the rest of this series! Sign up for my Patreon at https://patreon.com/thelogbookproject for a preview, and full early access to the game! See you Monday!
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babesonly · 4 years ago
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fic recs 2.0!
hello kings (gn) ive got significantly more fic than last time which means this is gonna be a little more organized than the last post bc it is much longer <3 categories in order are non casefic canonverse, casefic/roadtrip fic, finale fixits, endverse, non supernatural aus, and then non destiel ones. titles will be in bold for my favs! also within each category they’re in order from shortest to longest
Canonverse
I’m a tulip in a cup by godtiering (1.2k)
I worry that I never really came back from hell. I wonder why, if I got remade by heaven, I’m still the same screwed up kid that I always was.
Sometimes I worry I’m not into women at all.
"Guess not,” he looks at his shoes.
a REALLY good fic that’s basically just a look inside dean’s head during my bloody valentine do not read this looking for a fun time but please do read it
on vessels by flightsofangels (1.9k)
“You know,” Cas mutters into Dean’s bare skin. “When I was still… an angel, I used to dream that I would take you as my vessel.”
hello consumehimnatural fans!!!!! read newt’s fic right now its incredible
dean winchester is not a nicholas sparks protagonist by microcomets (1.9k)
Dean fell in love with Cas the way you fall asleep--slowly, and then all at once. Or some other hackneyed and trite bullshit. God, this is embarrassing.
dean is in LOVE. he’s also a disaster who keeps staring at cas’ hands. sigh
Stay by aeli_kindara (2.5k)
Coda to 13.06 (Tombstone). In which Castiel reckons with the aftermath of Dean's grief.
hello fellow widow arc fans <3 click here to see cas find out abt the events of advanced thanatology !
walking on a string by swordfishtrombones (2.7k)
Between the doomed offensive at the Firmament and the impending retreat from the ravaged northeast border, Castiel left camp long enough to answer one of Dean Winchester's prayers.
S6 DEAN IS A WAR WIFE. been really into early seasons deancas lately and this one is very good. god
the flesh of the mighty by Mudprophet (2.7k)
Ezekiel 39:17 "you shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth."
MY GOD. anyone who saw the @autisticandroids​ purgatory cannibalism talk and was interested read this right now. also anyone who enjoyed nbc hannibal OR raw (2016). if romantic cannibalism is remotely aligned with your interests read this right now. god
Sam Winchester, Ally At Law by alittleduck (3.3k)
Sam was pretty sure he could read every single gay friendly guide to coming out or supporting queer family members ever written and literally none of them would even imply that arguing with gay people that they were actually just homophobic constituted as "ally behavior". However, Sam was equally sure that none of those book authors had found themselves accidentally watching their brother get pounded by an Angel of the Lord at 9 am on Tuesday, so Sam was pretty sure he might actually still have the higher ground. Now, if only Jack would stop trying to bond with Dean using gay slurs long enough for Sam to convince everyone of that, he might just be able to cobble together some remnant of sanity or, failing that, dignity.
Or, the one where Sam desperately wants to invent PFLAG but Dean won't stop teaching Jack gay slurs
JACK VOICE HEY COCKSUCKERS. 
hummed low by microcomets (3.3k)
Dean pulls the Impala over at a cider barn about thirty miles out; doesn't really think about it, just sees the hokey orange lettering off the roadside and lets his hands guide the Impala off the interstate with gravel spitting under the wheels.
they get a nice day out together and dean has a gay crisis and it’s written beautifully mwah
Vena Amoris and Other Old-Fashioned Bullshit by pyrebi (3.9k)
In which angelic marriage bonds are apparently stupidly easy to trigger, Cas wages multidimensional war in Heaven, Dean can't catch a break like ever, Sam rather enjoys being a dick, love saves the day, and nobody consummates anything.
sometimes i think about this fic and it hits that at this point dean and cas would have been married for more than a year. cas my beloved...
an exploration of gender; angelic by sometimeswelose (4k)
Castiel's true form is made of electromagnetic radiation. He has spent the majority of his life, if you really want to add it all up and average the whole thing out, as a wavelength of celestial intent.
The thing about being made of light: it's light in the physics sense of the word. Castiel's waves are gamma, x-ray, micro, and radio. He's visible light too, of course, a visible light so intense that it is blinding to most humans.
hello trans cas community <3 he’s literally trans he was assigned genderless and then went hm actually i will be a man! love of my life
Some Boys are Sleeping Alone by prosopopeya (4.2k)
This isn't something that's okay, not for him, but it chases him through the years until it turns into something he can't -- doesn't want to deny. 
ohhh deans tenuous relationship with his sexuality my beloved...
love. worship. consummation. consumption. by redeyedwrath (4.3k)
ConsumehimNatural (copyright marcusantonius) the Series!
These are all snapshots centered around the idea of you know. Hunger in Supernatural. Both carnal hunger and other kinds. Fics are shown in semi-chronological order but this series is generally nebulously early seasons.
for ANYONE who is a consumehimnaturual this is required reading it is INCREDIBLE and gorgeous and very visceral and i am so very obsessed with it. thank you redeyedwrath for enabling my brainrot
the reach of human sense by perilously (4.5k)
“You know what Jimmy Novak looked like. You think he was beautiful—gorgeous, hot, all of it. It’s him. Not me. This isn’t my face.”
“But,” Dean says. He doesn’t know where he’s going with it. Just that Cas’ face is right there, brows drawn together and cheekbones gleaming in the lamplight. It’s a face that’s made his heart skip probably a couple hundred beats collectively since they met.
And it used to belong to someone else.
this one is just very nice <3 cas gets uncomfortable w dean calling him attractive since dean has never seen his trueform and they work it out
Down in the River by Ias (4.7k)
Alone in Purgatory and hunted by Leviathans, Castiel finds himself praying to the one person who can't hear him.
cas i love you <3 cas alone in purgatory praying to dean bc dean is the only thing he still worships i love you so much
Creature of Habit by trinityofone (5.1k)
The more you love someone, the more you want to kill them. Or: How Cas developed some bad habits, and Dean coped surprisingly well.
written in s5 when cas was depowered and completely nails the later seasons bitchy husbands dynamic it’s very good and fun <3
sink by crackers4jenn (5.4k)
"Where to?" A 9.06 coda.
very bittersweet very well written and also canon compliant so do not go into this one looking for a happy ending but i DO recommend it it’s very good
Sensational by castiowl (6.1k)
“When I first came to earth, it was advised that we temper the senses bound to our vessels. They were a distraction, we were told. An antiquated form of experiencing existence that would hinder our ability to complete our missions, whatever that may be. My true form can better facilitate these experiences. What you would recognize as heightened senses of sight and sound, among other things.”
Or, how Dean helps Cas experience all five human senses for the first time in one night.
early seasons deancas man. i love the sound part i love dean being so worried about doing a good job with this. god. read this please
Something to Protect by Sass_Master (6.2k)
Dean’s violent reaction to being unexpectedly woken has become something of a running joke among them, but Castiel can’t help but look past it to the underlying cause. It makes him ache to think that Dean feels so unsafe, so persecuted, before he’s even fully conscious.
Secretly, Castiel has been determined to work on that, to ease Dean into awareness in a less jarring way, smooth away one of the many stresses that follow him even in sleep. Now’s as good a time as any to try.
oh to sleep more soundly in the presence of someone you love...this fic is very nice i enjoyed it a lot
all this and heaven too by ftmsteverogers (7k)
“Hey,” Dean said. “I’m not ashamed of you, okay?”
Cas raised skeptical eyes to meet his.
“I mean it,” Dean insisted.
“I understand you mean it,” Cas said. “But I don’t think it’s any better if you’re only ashamed of yourself.”
hello trans dean community here is 7k of trans dean having to deal with his internalized homophobia now that he’s sleeping with cas <3 it is SO good
The wilderness. by orange_crushed (8k)
He takes a shower and the pressure is not especially good, but it doesn’t matter. It’s warm and he stands under the spray a long time. Human skin, he knows, constantly renews itself, shedding the dead cells of the epidermis. He wonders how long it will take until he is an entirely new person, until every cell on his surface is a new one. He looks at his hands under the water. It might take less than a month.
this might be the only post 9x03 fic on here with a happy ending actually? plenty of good melancholy leading up to it though <3 canon divergent after 9x03 though which means no 9x06 fanfiction gap but it is absolutely worth reading
till the juice runs by deathbanjo (8.4k)
Apparently whoever drew up the venn diagram of Dean’s sex life decided the circle labelled ‘good sex’ and the one labelled ‘sex with men’ should be kept far apart.
hello this one is SO funny dean finally gets comfortable enough with his bisexuality to start having sex with men and it goes so very bad every time so sorry about your shitty choices beloved </3
First Date by aeli_kindara (8.9k)
“We should go on a date. You and me.”
Castiel wishes he could see Dean’s face. He wishes he had any idea what to say.
“I’m asking you out, Cas.”
this one is very sweet i liked it a lot <3 good refreshing little fic where they just get to have a nice evening together
Entertaining Strangers by cadignan (9k)
Dean settles on to his side, lying in the bed facing Castiel. “So you had sex without me and you bit all my moves. I think I deserve to hear about it, at least. What was her name?”
op im in love with you. premise is established relationship deancas and cas mentions he did have sex before dean and not only that it was a threesome. good for him <3 this fic is cas describing the story of what led up to the threesome and what happened during it while dean interrupts regularly. incredible
the shape you take by noviembre (10k)
“What?” Dean says, fake-offended. “I’d be hot as a girl, you know I would.”
And this is when he really, really should have stopped talking. When he shouldn't have whipped back around and asked, “Cas, if I was a woman, you’d fuck me, right?”
Because if he hadn’t said that, then he wouldn’t have had to deal with this:
Cas, meeting his eyes, forehead wrinkles all smoothed out like there’s nothing to be confused about anymore. Cas with something at the corner of his mouth that might barely be called a smile.
Cas saying, calmly and without hesitation, “Yes, Dean.”
--
Dean Winchester fucks around and, with the inadvertent help of some witches, Finds Out.
dean winchester your gender is diabolical. this fic is insane and its the only thing that matters actually. dean fully convinced its normal and straight to think about being a woman so you can fuck your male friend. incredible. op im proposing to you
Sinnerman by a_good_soldier (10k)
Dean listens to Nina Simone, reads Anne Carson, and makes out with a dude (sort of).
yall want to read about dean realizing he’s in love with a man as a direct result of learning to better respect women right?
you’re fooling yourself by cowboydeanwinchester (13k)
Dean Winchester and Castiel retire from hunting to raise baby Jack. Dean struggles to allow himself the things he truly wants.
Jack is two, Castiel and Dean are idiots, and Sam's gotta solve everyone's problems.
love a married couple who doesn’t know they’re married <3 everyone say thank you sam for bullying dean 
The Girlfriend Experience by rageprufrock (15k)
While it's not like Dean hasn't had a couple of truly regrettable hit-and-runs in his sexual history, this is probably the saddest fucking thing that has ever happened to him.
a classic for good fucking reason. we’ve all talked about dean thinking holding hands is too gay after having just had gay sex but my personal favorite was sam accusing dean of cheating on cas because dean bought condoms. incredible
No Kingdom To Come by domesticadventures (16k)
“We should fuck,” Dean says.
Cas looks up from where he sits on his bed, hair still damp from the shower, frowning as he places a finger on the page of his book to mark where he left off.
There are a million things Cas could say here; Dean has rehearsed them. After lunch, his restlessness had given way to a vague panic, a dread that matched his every step and crept along with him from room to room. Eventually, he had returned to his bedroom and spent the rest of the afternoon pacing back and forth, playing out all the possible scenarios. When Cas asks him Why? or Are you being serious? or when he sighs and says, in that way he has, Dean, he knows exactly what he’s going to do. He’s going to shrug casually, like he isn’t invested in the answer, like he isn’t desperate for an outlet, and say, Why not? He’s going to raise an eyebrow and say, What, are you not interested? He’s going to crowd into Cas’ personal space, he’s going to shove himself right up in there and whisper Cas against his ear.
Instead, Cas says, carefully, “Okay.”
literally the only quarantine fic i’ve ever bothered to read in any fandom and completely worth it it’s SO good. they become fwb and dean has an existential crisis and he keeps bringing up meaninglessness and death during sex
Bodies by Speary (18k)
It was a secret they never acknowledged even with each other. It would change everything, end everything if either of them ever dropped the act. So they became very good at acting, at keeping up the lie that gave them what they wanted. Even if that lie involved constantly seeking out temporary, consenting female vessels, Cas would do it. He told himself it was worth it for Dean. He just hoped that he could stop wanting more, or maybe one day Dean might stop pretending that he wasn't really sleeping with Cas every time.
i don’t even have anything to add tbh if that summary did not immediately make you click we are very different this fic is incredible. god. fellas do you ever make yourself a woman so you can fuck the man you love without him having to talk about it or confront his sexuality
it’s such a mystery (the way you know me) by fleeceframe (20k)
So the man crouching in front of Castiel is named Dean. He wonders if that’s supposed to mean something to him.
“Cas must’ve got hit with something earlier. He just dropped like a sack of fucking potatoes a minute ago. By the time I was checking on him, he had already woken up again, but now he doesn’t fucking know who we are.”
“I’m right here you know,” Castiel says testily.
Sam’s eyes are wide even as his eyebrows are furrowed, and he looks between Dean and Castiel again.
“What do you remember, Cas?”
“Firstly, that I’m not Cas. I don’t know who Cas is, but it’s not me. I don’t know who either of you are, either."
or the one where castiel is hit with a memory curse that makes him forget the winchester brothers and is stunned to find out he has a family... also why can't he stop thinking about dean?
BEST amnesia fic oh my god. cas my beloved you deserve the world. everyone read this that is not a request.
More Than Ever by Sass_Master (20k)
Dean’s getting some pancakes together for breakfast when Cas saunters in after a run.
He’s trying to focus on whisking batter, unfairly distracted by Cas a few feet away, breathing heavily and shining with perspiration. Dean’s been painfully aware for a long time that Cas is pretty easy on the eyes, but he’s used to seeing Cas buttoned-up and unflappable, looking straight-laced in a stiff oxford and an unflattering trenchcoat.
Now Cas is sweating, Dean’s borrowed t-shirt clinging to his skin, flushed from exertion and Dean really can’t deal with that in his kitchen right now.
this entire series is really good i enjoyed it a lot, i’m just putting this one specifically on the list bc the rest of the series is very explicit and this is really good as a standalone for anyone who wouldn’t be into the rest of the series!!
Being Dean Winchester by Anonymous (20k)
"You should show me some respect. I dragged you out of hell. I can throw you back in."
Who the fuck was this bitchy "warrior of God" doing talking to him like that? Fuck Cas-tee-el and his dumbass trench coat and abrasive motherfucking attitude.
Dean was done with this shit.
***
Wherein a monster of the week steals the essence of Castiel's vessel, so he must use Dean, recently raised from hell, as a vessel instead.
it is at this point i realize that there are more fics than i expected there to be on this list that involves a threesome with only two people/using the presence of a female body to act like what’s happening is heterosexual. deangirlism is a disease 
I Shall Not Want by domesticadventures (20k)
His grace is burning out, and the wasteland it leaves inside him becomes an echo chamber for all the memories, all the fear and doubt and self-loathing he's collected over the years. Things said and done hound him on endless repeat until he's convinced they’ll break through his skin and fill the silence of the bunker.
His head is killing him, and he sits hunched over an open book, not really reading, just digging his fingers into his skull and praying nothing slips through the cracks.
this one is GORGEOUS i love it so so much. dean and cas are both struggling so much to get by and they’re trying to support each other but fucking it up and they have to grow together and learn to cope with the fact that this is where their lives are and they fall in love i need everyone to read this
To Boldly Go by 8daysuntiltheapocalypseiguess (24k)
Title: Just One of Those Things Author: Impala67 Series: TOS Rating: M Summary: Four years into their five-year mission, and all the planets start to look the same.
In which Dean is not Gene Roddenberry, but he does write Star Trek fanfiction.
mx winchester writing star trek fanfiction to process his own trauma <3 this is a wip but it’s SO good and i also have not consumed a single piece of star trek media so it IS definitely readable to anyone who isn’t a star trek fan. please read this
where the weeds take root by deathbanjo (30k)
“Are you happy? Y’know. Just—being here,” Dean says, gesturing to the yard with his beer bottle. “Being with—I mean, you used to fight in celestial wars and—and save the world. Now you’re growing vegetables and talking about chickens.”
this is on here just for the 1.5 people who were putting off this one like i did for no reason. it’s extremely good and it is just gentle. i enjoyed it a lot
Heroes for Ghosts by pantheon_of_discord (42k)
After Sam and Dean are arrested, Castiel is left alone and scrambling to find them. He knows they’re locked away in a government facility, and he’s still able to hear their prayers, but no matter how he tries Castiel can’t seem to track them. He chases leads and even attempts to hunt on his own, but Mary is AWOL, Crowley refuses to help, and Castiel’s options are running out.
Weeks pass, Castiel’s hope dwindles, and through it all Dean prays, keeping them connected. His voice is comforting, frustrating, and occasionally annoying, but in his solitude Castiel comes to cherish it. But then one day, without warning, Dean stops praying, and Castiel is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about his feelings.
yall ever wonder what it would’ve been like if the sam and dean arrest storyline in s12 was interesting? yeah <3
Teaching Poetry to Fish by aeli_kindara (52k)
In which Castiel teaches poetry to fish. Also, himself. Also, eventually, Dean.
(A series-long story, diverging slightly from canon after S14.)
cas learning about humanity through poetry before dean and thats what led to him developing enough emotion to be lobotomized....cas i love you so much
Emergence by ellispark (58k)
Something’s been missing from Dean’s life for the past three years, a void left after a hunt gone terribly wrong. He often feels a sense of longing with no discernible cause, a need to talk to someone who isn’t there.
A call from an acquaintance leads Dean to James Novak, a man who disappeared more than a decade ago, and suddenly Dean gets the feeling he’s found what he’s been missing. But James isn’t really James — he’s the angel Castiel, who’s wanted by angels, demons and hunters alike. And he may be at the center of the storm that wrecked Dean’s life all those years ago.
another cool amnesia fic!! for unknown reasons everyone forgot cas three years ago but cas didn’t forget anything. cas deserves so much love and support. god
a turn of the earth by microcomets (95k)
Dean’s your typical half-orphaned, monster-killing 22-year-old until a trenchcoated stranger crashes into his back windshield one September night, claiming he’s an angel that knows him from the future and that he’s on the run.
Frigging fantastic.
(Or, in which Castiel gets stuck in Dean’s timeline preseries and Dean kind of hates it—until he doesn’t.)
cas getting to meet and fall in love with pre hell dean just as much as he loves the dean he already knows oh my GOD. i love this fic so much. turn of the earth my beloved
Crossing Lines by sometimeswelose (122k)
Two Deans, one Cas - it's not as sexy as it sounds
Or
An ethics lesson from Hell
Or
The one where Dean from the past meets Dean in the present. They're not sure they like each other very much.
deans intense self hatred vs cas’ unwavering love for every version of dean oh my GOD also this is a wip fair warning but it’s so worth waiting for updates i’m having such a great time with this one i cannot wait to see how it gets ended
Plot Holes by saltyfeathers (160k)
Of course it wasn’t over after the apocalypse.
There was season six. Then there was season seven. Against all expectations, there was season eight. There were the alphas and purgatory, and then the Leviathans, and then the angels fell. Enter season nine. Loose threads Metatron, Abaddon, and Crowley have to be tied up. Sam, Dean, and Cas have to try to tie them while at the same time dealing with their evolving relationships and newfound graceless states.
Amidst all the chaos, someone has started publishing the Supernatural novels again. Convinced there’s something amiss in the pages, Charlie starts her own quest to suss out the truth behind the Winchester Gospels.
With the help of various faces, old and new, they must now not only deal with the typical runs of demons and recently fallen angels, but also reconcile the battles raging inside themselves, as the fate of the world, once again, quite literally lays in the palm of their hands.
saltyfeathers said i WILL make the plot holes in this show mean something because the showrunners are sure as shit never gonna adress them ! and i thank them for it bc this was a really cool read
Casefic/Roadtrip Fic
Deprived Of Every Planet by KelpietheThundergod (9k)
Dean's breathing is audible in the scant space between them, irregular. The motel room is dark, pale blue shadows falling in through the gaps in the blinds. Throwing a pattern of uneven white stripes over the bunched up covers. Over Dean's fingers twisted in the sheets. One half of him in shadow, softened by the dark. The heat of his skin. The tremble of him under Castiel's touch.
He caresses a hand over Dean's chest, slowly. Dean's mouth falls open, his body arching into Castiel's touch. Castiel stops over Dean's heart. Through the fever of his desire, he rejoices about the wonder of experiencing another's heartbeat through one's own senses.
Dean gasps, but then he turns his face away and towards the dark. Eyes closed tight and brows furrowed like something is hurting him.
Castiel stills.
“Dean?”
the case is background on this one but it Does take place over the course of a case so im putting it here. god touchstarved dean trying so hard to work through his shit for cas head in my hands i love this fic so much
before and after breakfast by spocklee (10k)
The monster of the week is a ghost who hates meat, alcohol, and feeling yourself. Guess who it is during the commercials.
chapter 2 of this one.....god. dean and cas you are both so unwell <3 i love everything abt this fic everyone read it now
we shovel all the ashes out by xylodemon (15k)
Dean’s always known things were headed this way. He just figured getting dragged under would be cleaner and easier than jumping in feet-first.
fics that make you go Oh they love each other...also there’s lesbians in it literally what else could you want.
thunder road by dothraki_shieldmaiden (20k)
After Chuck is defeated and the Winchesters settle into life without God, Dean Winchester is bored.
OR: Dean and Cas take a road trip and figure out some stuff along the way.
this fic is just like. it’s kind! this fic is kind it’s just a pleasant experience and i enjoyed it thoroughly. they’re in love and it’s good
Suck It, Judy Garland by GlitterDwarf, midrashic (20k)
It had to be St. Louis. Or, the one where Sam and Cas get fake married for a case, and Dean loses his mind.
actually im gonna defend dean here imagine youre dean and cas gives what definitely sounded like a deathbed love confession while making eye contact with you and then immediately afterwards fake dates your brother. who among us would not have been a bitch about this
best friends without benefits by lizbobjones (20k)
It’s nearing three a.m. and they’ve been on the road a long time. Sam’s been asleep in the back seat since eleven. Giving up and handing the wheel over to Cas and letting the guy who doesn’t sleep drive had seemed like a good idea.
the premise of this fic is so funny. cas voice dean you want to fuck me so bad it makes you look stupid. everyone read this
the taste of gravel in the mouth by deathbanjo (22k)
This is what Cas gave up Heaven for: greasy diner food, shitty motel rooms with even shittier cable, long car rides spent in complete silence except for the same six tapes playing over and over again, and a burnt-out husk of a man who can barely hold a conversation anymore.
alt version of getting rid of the mark of cain, the darkness never happens. this one is VERY heavy but it’s so good and it has a hopeful ending. ive read this one twice and loved it both times
Someone Who’s Feeling For Me by ellispark (45k)
Dean sees her for the first time in nearly six years in some no-name town in Idaho, and it's panic at first sight.
Lisa Braeden, the one woman Dean ever actually had a shot at a real life with, back from where he buried her in his mind. And her hand is on Cas's arm like it's no big deal, like it belongs there. Cas, Dean's dorky, sweet, badass, angelic best friend, and he's just standing there next to Lisa and not moving her hand away.
Dean feels the jealousy rising, and it's not directed where he expected it to be. Because it takes this exact moment for Dean to realize he's in love with his best friend. He's in love with his best friend, and Lisa is looking at Cas like he's the best thing since automatic rifles, and Dean is utterly fucked.
hello op please contact me. please contact me and let me see the inside of your brain. this fic was an unparalleled experience and everyone should also go through it. i love it so very much
Bumper Cars by mansikka (111k)
Two teenagers are missing from an abandoned carnival, and there’s enough to raise suspicion that their disappearance involves a ghost. Dean, Sam, and Cas arrive in town to investigate, though what they find leads them away from those teenagers, and on the trail of a ghost story that churns up things from their past.
Can newly-human Cas, and Dean, with the help of shipper!Sam, work out the mystery behind the abandoned carnival and its ghost, and along the way, figure out the riddle that is them?
one of my absolute fav case fics it forces dean to confront some aspects of johns parenting and work through some shit and also him and cas fall in love and it’s really well done. love this one a lot <3
Finale Fix-its/Finale Denial
Sorry Jimmy by K_K_TiBal (2.1k)
Based on the tumblr textpost:
jellydeans: so are cas and jimmy novak just up in heaven existing at the same time katebushstandean: #jimmy moves to heaven timbuku so that dean stops trying to make out with him every time they run into each other at the heaven grocery store
this one is just extremely funny. local midwestern heterosexual man is forced to play relationship counselor to the dumbest gay people in existence because one of them wore his face
Dean Winchester Really Needs To Make Some Gay Friends by AreYouReady (2.2k)
“Like, I’m trying to think if I’ve had, I don’t know, crushes. If I ever had a gay thing before you came along and just didn’t notice,” Dean said.
Cas suddenly looked down, and away from Dean. If Dean didn’t know better, he would swear Cas looked guilty.
“What is it, Cas?”
“You have had several… gay things before.” Cas still wouldn’t look at him.
“What? When? How come you know this better than I do?”
There was no way the answer to this question wasn’t funny as hell.
dean learning about gay ppl via the memories of dean smith...incredible.
tiny difference (between ending and starting to begin) by sunforgrace (2.4k)
Sometimes Dean catches Cas staring at the sky.
It doesn’t happen often. Not when Dean’s around to tell, anyway. But often enough that he starts to notice.
Eventually Dean starts to recognize the pattern.
Cas just doesn’t watch the sky. He watches the birds.
Chuck is gone, Cas is human, and the world is safe. In the quiet aftermath Dean and Castiel find each other again.
i really don’t have much to say abt this one it is just very good and they love each other so much
Bring Home by cenotaphy (3.8k)
Dean's phone doesn't ring on the drive back to the Bunker, but that's okay. Because—well, maybe Cas lost his cell, what with getting shuffled back and forth between a cosmic void dimension and all. And anyway, Dean doesn't want this conversation to happen over the phone, he wants to—he wants to talk to Cas face-to-face. They should talk face-to-face.
Dean will tell him—
Dean doesn't know what he'll tell Cas. Dean is, in fact, terrified by how utterly and completely he does not know what he'll say to Cas.
cas being forced to face the consequences of sending the risky text that was despair <3
dean’s coworkers vs the heteronormative agenda by cowboydeanwinchester (4.1k)
Dean started working at a local auto repair shop in Lebanon, Kansas about a year ago. His coworkers don't know much about him. Except that he has a wife. Or maybe he doesn't. But he has a kid. Who is either a toddler or a high schooler. Who is either named Jack or Sammy. He also might have a best friend named Cas, but that also might be his wife.
Truth is nobody knows what to make of Dean.
obsessed w people not knowing a single fucking thing about dean because he talks so much and never explains anything. this fic is SO funny
Enhanced Extraction Techniques by goldenraeofsun (5.8k)
The Empty takes Meg’s shape, Samandriel’s, Duma’s, every one of the thousands of angels Cas killed up in heaven. But in the middle of lecturing Cas in the form of Balthazar, it explodes in a burst of light and sound.
Dean Winchester stands in the aftermath.
the empty playing mind games on an awake cas bc it can’t put him to sleep is a thing i like a lot and this is very very good 
Speak Silence No More by rea_sunshine (8.1k)
When Dean imagined this moment, it went like this:
Dean bursts into the Empty—guns blazing, chin high, righteous anger coursing through him. No matter what form his plans and fantasies and whiskey-drunk-whispered-promises took, he is always, always successful. When he imagined it, he was finally the hero Cas deserved.
The reality of the moment is this:
It’s fucking cold.
dean and cas STILL managing to not communicate with each other properly after the confession is so funny to me and this fic does it really well. also i like that a human being in the empty, where humans do NOT belong, had some like. consequences
my heart is a compass by lagaudiere (10k)
“There you are,” the Empty says, in Dean’s voice. It’s cold, like Dean’s eyes are cold, his expression set in contempt. It’s the expression Cas feared, he realizes, all the times he thought about saying it. Revulsion. It makes him feel sick in the way that goes beyond physical, here where there is nothing physical left.
The moment before it happened had been so sweet it covered up all the hurt. For years, Cas had been holding back those words, biting down on his tongue to keep from saying them. And now he had said it, and he knew that it was good, knew that it was worth it. But on the other side there is only this.
--
In the Empty, Cas dreams of his regrets, until someone comes looking for him.
one of thee best dean rescues cas from the empty fics out there i love the way his memories are written i love how many of them were ones that this fic came up with to give me new things to have brainworms over instead of just making me more fixated on He Watched Him Rake Leaves than i already am
killing time by orestespdf (11k)
It's been four years since Dean saved Cas from the Empty and confessed his feelings in return, and in their Vermont lakehouse, the retired couple is now learning how to heal. One morning, Dean gives Cas a haircut.
(A character study of Castiel.)
perfect fic perfect fic no notes no complaints they love each other so much and now dean is giving cas a haircut and they’re spending the day together. god.
and every time we kiss, i swear i can fly by knameless (14k)
Every time, Dean tells himself it’s the last.
--
aka, twelve times dean and cas kiss.
a just boy best friends kiss for every season <3 mwah
for which no words exist by MediaWhore (14k)
'a prayer for which no words exist' // richard siken
"Dear Cas who art in my bathtub, give me the strength to be honest about how I feel. For your sake and for mine. Forgive me all the times I wasn’t in the past, all the words I should have said but didn’t. And please stay. Please stay with me when all is said and done. Amen. "
Dean rescues a newly human Cas from the Empty. That's the easy step.
mediawhore i am in LOVE with you oh my god this fic. this fic. dean taking care of cas after rescuing him dean wrapping cas in a blanket oh my GOD
swimming with the fish pond fish by februyuri (17k)
Some time between Dean bleeding out on a makeshift hook in a barn in Ohio and Sam making marshmallows on his funeral pyre, Dean was brought back to life. By Castiel. Again. Dean agreed to it if only to give Jack time to work out the glitches up top. So, now Dean’s back in the land of the living and things are ... actually good, for once.
Or, as good as they can be when demons are attacking Earth, Dean’s failing to get over why he died in the first place, and Cas is suddenly, inexplicably taking every opportunity to casually tell Dean that he loves him.
this is a wip! but it is so good and so worth the read i love it a lot and am very excited for the last chapter. it IS pretty heavy though dean has a LOT to work through
looking like a true survivor (feeling like a little kid) by courfeyrac (20k)
"Jack’s a clever kid—has been ever since he was born, maybe even before that—but Dean’s pretty sure he hasn’t figured out where they’re going yet. And Dean’s… Dean’s excited about it. He remembers planning surprises for Sammy when they were little—saving up quarters and sneaking off to the arcade the year he turned seven, or slipping a book Dean had seen Sammy admiring into his jacket before sprinting out of the store the year he turned twelve. There was only so much Dean could give him back then, hindered by lack of finances and transportation and a father who paid attention. Now, though, Dean’s got a wallet full of cash, a tank full of gas, and the freedom to give his kid the kind of birthday he deserves."
Or, it's Jack's fourth birthday, and the kid wants to go to Build-A-Bear.
EVERYONE READ THIS RIGHT NOW. that is not a request this fic undid me. oh my god. oh my god. they’re a family and they’re going to build a bear and they love each other. oh my god. also no it isn’t a baby jack fic he is 4 and he is also alcal
what’s missing is found (our souls can exhale now) by sobsicles (27k)
It's not the first time Claire has ever gone missing. It is, however, the first time Kaia panics about it. Dean's dragged into the mess, but he soon finds that it's the best thing that could have happened to him.
~~~
"But have you ever just met someone and maybe it wasn't from the first moment, maybe it was after all these other moments that meant more than you ever expected them to, and it seems like your soul just—just—" Kaia makes a helpless gesture with her hands, pushing out, and she breathes out loudly. "Like it can finally exhale. And that person isn't guaranteed to make you happy, but they're—they're important. You just know it, you can't even escape it, you can't let them go. Ever met someone like that, Dean?"
"I—" Dean halts, his mouth hanging open. He's looking at Kaia, who's looking at him, and his heart is fluttering in his throat like a caged bird aching to soar again. His mind threatens to spiral out of control, but he focuses, swallowing hard. "Yeah. Um. I—yeah, I have."
deancas AND dreamhunter we love to see it also dean DOES smoke weed with kaia and apologizes for pulling a gun on her what more could you want in a fic
Command Me To Be Well by prospopeya (28k)
Dean did a lot of thinking about when and how he would get Cas back. Months of it, actually, stretching into a year, because while Sam and Eileen were settling into their new lives, Dean was stuck. He was stuck in a faraway corner of the bunker, dark and empty and hollow, ringing with the sound of a vibrating phone.
So when he falls to his knees in that same room, exhausted, hurting, breathless, and he feels a hand on his shoulder and looks up to see Cas, he realizes that he doesn't have a single clue about what to do now. Getting Cas out had been easy--actually, it'd been the opposite of that--but the planning of it, the methodical desperation of one attempt after the other had been a familiar rhythm. It'd been soothing almost, solid, something to focus on that wasn't Cas's eyes, watery and jubilant in a way Dean hadn't ever seen that up close on anyone, let alone Cas.
And now Cas is pulling him to his feet, and Dean's stumbling, and he instinctually grabs Cas's arm, and his hand lights up with a fire that he isn't prepared for.
"Hello, Dean."
oh post despair lack of communication....oh dean refusing to work through his feelings...this fic is incredible i love it everyone who enjoys dean doing everything in his power to avoid talking about feelings up to and including having sex with the guy who’s in love with him multiple times should read this
break the skin (to break the barriers) by sobsicles (29k)
The first time she meets him, he's nothing more than an almost-missed appointment.
SOBSICLES TATTOO FIC MY BELOVED. dean grieving and getting tattoos and it turns into tattoo therapy. im SO in love with mitzi it’s insane. requires some suspension of disbelief for how long a tattoo takes but it’s an incredible fic and an unparalleled experience. sobsicles does not miss
ascend by quiettewandering (53k)
Something in the world is wrong.
Demon activity is rising where mysterious black substance oozes and unusual ecological events are shaking the world. Dean, grief hanging on his shoulders, restlessly searches for answers that might lead him to the Empty… and to Cas.
But what Chuck wrote can’t be undone. The narrative thread pulls Dean along, forcing him to comply. Because once a story already has an ending, it can’t be rewritten.
Or can it?
SUPER cool concept i liked this a lot i’m pretty sure everyone’s read it already but just in case someone hasn’t you absolutely should
oh sooner or later it all comes down to faith by sobsicles (62k)
Getting used to Heaven is something of a marvel. It ain't perfect, and Dean thinks he'd hate it if it was, which is probably why it isn't.
~~~
"You don't understand," Dean whispers, exhaling shakily. "I know you don't, because even I don't. The instant you were gone, I wanted you back. Cas, I wanted you back. I wanted—I wanted—"
Cas stares at him, searching his face. After a moment, his own face falls slack, eyes widening just so. "Oh," he breathes out.
Dean wants to be furious that Cas has figured it out before he has—whatever it is—but he's not even that surprised. Cas knows him too well, always has, even more than Dean knows himself. He's been kicking Dean in the goddamn teeth with how deeply he understands him, even about the things Dean doesn't, ever since they first met. You don't think you deserve to be saved, that's what Cas had said. All bundled up in impossibilities and power, this being that looked at Dean Winchester and knew every single inch of him, as if he had a right to each part.
"What?" Dean grits out.
"I love you, too."
the ONLY heaven fic. i do not read heaven fics bc i refuse to budge in my finale denialism i refuse to read fic where it is accepted that dean dies. i was hesitant to read this but god im glad i did it was so good. literally the best possible outcome of dean dying
Endverse
final fantasy. by orange_crushed (1.9k)
“If I’d actually been born human, would I have gotten sick like everyone else? Would I be running around gnawing on the neighbors?” Castiel tilts his head up and even from here Dean can see the black ring of his pupils, wide and dark as dead stars. He’s high as fuck and he’s been loading the guns for forty-five minutes. He stares into the space where Dean is. He smiles and shows his teeth. “Maybe you’d have already put a bullet in my head.”
"This is why you don’t lead storytime anymore," Dean says. "This kind of shit."
endverse last night on earth fics are something that can be so personal actually. god
The Last Song by Moorishflower (3.5k)
The very last song is the Song of Solomon, and Castiel sings it only for Dean. Set in "The End."
this is like. pre endverse and the tone is so like. wistful? is the best word ive got? it’s gorgeous i love it but fair warning there is graphic description of like. viscera and infected wounds
to think that we could stay the same by cipherwriter (6.5k)
cas has all he needs; himself, his creation, and enough power to continue this cycle for a long time. he's fine. dean wants to take care of him anyway.
oh my GOD this one is good it’s based off the thing of how originally endverse cas was supposed to be just sitting in a room killing and resurrecting the same cockroach over and over. very bittersweet at some points i love it a lot, do not read it if youre looking for something happy though lmao
the first church at the end of the world by withbloodstainedclothingon (11k)
The angels don’t eat the brain. Only Croats do that.
this one is fucked but it’s incredible it contains very heavy and violent subject matter and cas is an Actual cult leader he doesn’t just have orgies it is SO well done and i had a great time reading it i recommend it very highly if the warnings sound like something you can stomach
Down to Agincourt by seperis (1.1 million. i know. yes it’s a wip)
There is no such thing as a guarantee when it comes to war.
The outcome's known. Why try? Return your rusty sword to battered sheath, bow your head and bend your stubborn knee. Why take the field when you cannot win the war? But Harry -- he went down to Agincourt.
PLEASE. i know the length is intimidating i KNOW it’s a very long fic but please. please read down to agincourt i am begging you. head in my HANDS this series is incredible.
Non Supernatural AUS
Long-Term Relationship by bendingsignpost (2.7k)
Castiel says, budging over to make room for Dean on the couch, “I thought we should have a serious talk about our relationship.”
Reflexively, Dean laughs.
Castiel does not.
“Uh, Cas... you know we’re not dating, right?”
look man it’s bendingsignpost okay. it’s bendingsignpost it’s good and it’s sweet and you should read it
One White Lie by komodobits (11k)
Castiel takes a deep breath and rings the doorbell. He doesn’t need to run through what he’s going to say – he’s already planned and edited and rehearsed it a thousand times. He is going to ask Dean Winchester out to dinner. If it’s not too forward, he’ll say, perfectly charming. You see, I’ve seen you around the neighbourhood and you always seem so earnest and I’d really like to get to know you bette— The door swings open, and Castiel panics.
He intends to excuse himself. He means to apologise and come back some other time. However, in a moment of blind fear, what comes out of his mouth instead are the words, “Could you spare a moment for Jesus Christ?”
do you ever pretend to be a jehovahs witness for months to hang out with the guy you like because you fucked up asking him out? yeah.
separate ways and sleeping dogs by sobsicles (53k)
Dean is three years sober when Cas comes back into town.
~~~
For a moment, they just stare at each other. Dean, once again, has to swallow the urge to offer to swallow something else. It's very hard to resist the gut-wrenching pull of want that hooks in his chest whenever he looks at Cas. And to think, he used to have him, used to be able to act on that want.
God, he's so fucking stupid.
Well, there's no point in kicking himself three years later for shit he can't change. He'll just sit right here and pretend that his fingers aren't twitching with the urge to reach out and touch. He can't do that anymore, and it's his own damn fault.
"Three years ago," Cas prompts.
Dean huffs a weak laugh. "Yeah. Eventful."
this fic hit me SO hard emotionally oh my god. don’t have much to say bc most of my thoughts on this fic are very personal but my god read this please
Everyone’s a Critic by Englandwouldfall (109k)
The one where uninspired chef Dean Winchester has a one night stand with the male (!) food critic who described the flavour of his garlic bread as 'closeted' and accidentally ends up dating him to try and prove that he's a kick ass chef, thank you very much.
(He may have a point about the 'closeted' thing).
this one is SO fun. dating the food critic who called your garlic bread closeted and lying about your career because you’re embarrassed and you want to redeem your food in his eyes but then you fall in love with him
Non Destiel Centric
gender? you mean that thing i have that pisses people off? by bigender dean winchester (homosexualitie) (946 words)
sam and dean paint each other's nails and dean abuses the technicalities of her gender. what more could you want? 
HELLO HE/SHE DEAN COMMUNITY oh my god the pure rush of euphoria reading this. oh my god. oh my god. 
the quiet road to a distant city by rottingbrains (1.2k)
Sam stares out the windshield again. They’re approaching a city, and she can see the lights in the distance. She’s past the danger zone, and she feels like the world around her reflects that in some way she can’t put into words- as if God is telling her that it’s okay. She did the right thing, and soon she will be past the lonely unknown and into the warm, forgiving light of acceptance. Or something. Come to think of it, the lights only look warm from far away, and she knows that the actual city will seem far less welcoming. Still. Best not to imagine the worst when it’s already going well.
required reading for transfem lesbian sam fans. fics that live in your ribcage to make your heart feel good
Four People Ruby Seduced & One She Actually Fell For (Or: Ruby's Epic Love Affair with Humanity in General and Sam in Specific) by tuesday (3.7k)
In which Ruby has a lot of sex, is not any kind of therapist that would be legal, and helps a few people out for her own reasons. (S4/S5 AU)
for everyone out there who enjoys ruby being a girlboss <3
Fractured Link by Trell (orphan_account) (5.5k)
Meg goes on, resolute despite the way Dean flinches, "He likes me. He likes me a lot, and I like him back, and that's probably good enough for both of us. But fuck me for saying so, Dean-o, he loves you, probably more than anything else on his daddy's green Earth, and you need to man up and give back what Clarence over there has been devoting to you for years."
this is meg/dean/cas which is not smth i really seek out but this was extremely good. set in s7 so it’s meg and dean and honey cas and it’s a lot of dean figuring his shit out and trying to forgive cas and i love meg a lot in this
475 notes · View notes
dreamwritesimagines · 4 years ago
Text
Twisted 25 - The Family Dinner [Spencer Reid x Reader]
A.N.: Thank you so much for your wonderful support my loves! Here’s the next chapter, I hope you will like it as well, and please let me know what you think of it! ❤❤ Ily, kisses! ❤❤❤
Series Masterlist
Warnings: Murder, serial killers, violence, manipulation, mentions of sex, drinking, smoking.
Word Count: 5300
Summary: Family time can be chaotic.
Tumblr media
Sharing secrets was difficult, but sharing secrets about one’s past was quite possibly one of the most difficult things that a person could do with who they loved. You knew how difficult it was for Spencer to talk about his past with you, but he stood by his word and told you absolutely everything, with nothing to hide. By the time you finished that conversation, it was almost dawn and yet you didn’t feel tired at all.
After that night, something changed but it wasn’t a bad change like Spencer feared.
You felt even closer to him, if such a thing was possible. In the following week, your relationship was better than ever-
Well.
Until now.
“I don’t believe this,” you shook your head, “I just… I refuse to believe this. After everything we’ve been through, I don’t even want to believe you’d put yourself in harm’s way and betray me like this. I get that you have no regard for your happiness, but doing this?” you ran a hand over your face, “This is too much, Spencer. You have no idea what you’re walking into, what kind of danger that’s going to be waiting there to ruin you!”
Spencer just raised his brows, then looked between the two ties he was holding up.
“So that’s a no to the blue one?”
“No to this whole thing!” you let out a groan, falling back to the bed, “No to this dinner with my family nonsense!”
He chuckled at your dramatics as you huffed out.
“Don’t you think maybe you’re worried about the wrong thing?” he asked, “You’re also meeting your father today.”
“But we know my father is a sadistic cruel demon sent to earth to make everyone’s life miserable,” you pointed out, keeping your eyes on the ceiling, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but my father isn’t the only dangerous person in my family.”
“It’s just a dinner.”
“No, that’s what they want you to think,” you insisted, sitting up in bed, “Before you know it, they invite you to our place by the lovely countryside, and you’ll walk in thinking it’s just like any other place, there are wolves howling outside and-“
“Why are you giving me the plot of Dracula right now?”
“Because that’s what they are!” you exclaimed, “They’re like vampires! Have you ever wondered why my sister was named Mina? Dracula’s Mina!”
“Your mother loves horror books?”
“Spencer you can’t ignore the signs!” you insisted as he started tying his tie, a small grin pulling at his lips, “They’ll- they’ll suck the life out of you! By the time the dinner is over, you will be begging to see the sunlight again, and you will never be able to. Figuratively speaking.”
“Sweetheart, I’ve already met all of them,” he said patiently and you felt your heart melt, “In case you forgot.”
“Yes, and do you remember how that went?” you asked, “Nolan threatened you, my mother treated you like she was going to hire you and questioned you about everything, and Mina… Mina is a warning by existence.”
“Kenzie was nice though.”
“Yeah, she’s the only good person in our family,” you muttered, then turned your head when you felt his glances on you. “What?”
“Nolan is a part of your family?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” you scrunched up your face and grabbed your lip liner and lipstick to walk to the mirror, uncapped it and started applying it, “I’m going to have a billionaire stepfather who looks like a puppy around my mother— that’s not the point.” You put the lipstick into your purse and went to sit down on the bed again while he ran his fingers through his curls as if trying to keep them under control, “I just don’t want you to change your mind because my family doesn’t know how to act normal.”
“Change my mind about what?”
“About this,” you motioned between you and that was more than enough to make him turn his head, his brows furrowed. “I love them, but they’re going to be overly prying, overly dramatic, overly….everything and the next thing we know—“
“That’s never going to happen,” he approached you to crouch down so that he could look at you better, then reached out to entwine his fingers with yours, “That’s why you were so nervous about this?”
You pursed your lips, heaving a sigh and shrugged silently.
“Do you remember what you said to me a couple of days ago, that night?” he asked, “How trust works both ways?”
“You already know almost everything about my past.”
“That’s not it,” he shook his head, “This is about our present, and future.”
“Or lack thereof,” you commented dryly, making him chuckle.
“Do you seriously believe that?”
“They can be a little intimidating.”
“I’ll be fine,” he assured you, “And no matter what happens tonight, or on dinners to come with-“
“Social vampires.”
“With your family,” he corrected you, “It won’t change anything. I promise.”
You cupped his cheek, running your fingertips over his slight stubble and he turned his head to place a kiss into your palm, nuzzling there.
“Fine,” you murmured, “Let’s go see my sadistic demon father then. Should be enough of a practice for tonight.”
                                              ***
When you and Spencer got to the prison your father was held in, Luke was already by the hallway, waiting for you.
“Hey,” he said, “He’s going to be ready in five.”
You nodded, “Okay.”
“And don’t worry, after you guys are done here, I’m taking him to bullpen and he will leave at 7 p.m. latest. Rossi promised, even if there’s a dead body he’s gonna attend the dinner tonight.”
You looked up at Spencer, “Wait, there was a possibility of you not attending if someone ends up dead?”
“I mean if there’s a case…”
“Please don’t kill someone so that you guys can avoid this dinner,” Luke pointed out and you made a face at him, “We took you off our suspects list way too soon.”
“Hilarious,” you deadpanned and one of the guards opened the door.
“He’s ready.”
“I’ll be behind the glass if you two need anything.” Luke said and Spencer squeezed your hand as if trying to assure you everything would be alright.
“Come on,” he coaxed and you nodded, then took a deep breath and entered the interrogation room, Spencer following you. Your father looked up, then raised his brows.
“Oh look at you two, together again,” he said and you rolled your eyes, trying your hardest not to show how nervous you were. You took your seat across from him beside Spencer, and crossed your arms.
“John.”
“Dr. Reid.”
“So that’s why you haven’t had the time to come and see me lately,” your father motioned between you, “I can hardly say I approve but…”
“Oh that’s good. I’d probably kill myself if I did something you’d approve of.”
“Honey, you’re surrounded by CEOs and businessmen, and you went for an FBI agent?”
“What the fuck does that have to do with-”
“How much do you make monthly?” he asked, turning to Spencer, “I mean, I need to make sure-“
“Oh shut up, will you?” you cut him off, “He’s going to be hearing all that nonsense and more tonight, I don’t need this from you too.”
“Tonight?”
You and Spencer exchanged glances and he shrugged slightly, as if telling you to continue. A small smile pulled at your lips and you turned to your father.
“We’re having a family dinner tonight,” you said, “Naturally it doesn’t include you, so there’s one good thing about this bullshit, I guess.”
“Well, if it doesn’t include me you could hardly call it a family dinner.”
Your smile widened and you clicked your tongue,
“Nah, Nolan is going to be there so we’ll be fine. The whole family is there.”
Your father frowned, “Nolan?”
“Yeah,” you said, “Yeah, mom’s boyfriend.”
A silence fell upon the room as he stared at you for a couple of seconds,
“Your mother has a boyfriend now?”
You hissed in a breath,
“You’re right, boyfriend doesn’t exactly cut it,” you said, “He’s going to propose, so I guess we could call him mom’s future husband-“
“You’re lying,” he cut you off and you tilted your head.
“Am I though?”
“She wouldn’t get married,” he shook his head, “No way.”
A laughter escaped from your lips, “Why not?” you asked, “Because she loves you?”
“Yes she does.”
“The last time I checked, she called you a monster and was hoping you would die as soon as possible,” you stated, “Barely a love story.”
“Of course you wouldn’t understand,” he said through his teeth, “Your mother and I were in love, Petal. We still are, regardless of divorce, or this.” He motioned around the room and you blinked a couple of times, trying to wrap your mind around it.
“Jesus, you really are delusional.”
Spencer muttered your name to remind you to be careful, but you shook your head, keeping your eyes on your father.
“I’m pretty sure Nolan could buy this whole prison,” you motioned around, “I should suggest that, as a wedding gift.”
“They won’t get- hold on,” your father said, “Did you say Nolan? Nolan Yates?”
“Mm hm.”
“Nolan fucking Yates is going after my wife?”
“Ex-wife who hates your guts,” you corrected him and he gritted his teeth.
“I knew it,” he spat, “The first time I saw him at that gala, I saw the way he looked at your mother. They’re not getting married.”
“Okay then you lunatic,” you scoffed “I guess you need something to have delusions about while we’re out there moving on—“
It happened in a flash. One second you were talking, the next you were cut off as your father jumped on his feet, Spencer pushing you out of your chair to behind him almost automatically.
Then, something in Spencer’s eyes shifted.
He grabbed him by the arm, twisted it and slammed him down to the table in front of you, making you cover your mouth, your heart beating in your throat as the door opened with a bang and Luke and two guards came in.  Luke was the first to pull Spencer off of your father, telling him to let go while one of the guards grabbed you and pushed you out of the room before he made his way to your father still trying to get out of the handcuffs and lunge at them as if he was a man possessed. They dragged him out of the interrogation room to what you assumed was the hall that led to his cell while you stood still by the wall, trying your hardest to snap out of it but your mind was almost foggy.
“Excuse me,” you managed to say as you made your way to the bathroom, your hands still shaking. Thankfully no one was there, so you rested your palms on the sink, taking a deep breath before you turned on the tap, holding your hands under the ice cold water.
“Okay,” you muttered to yourself, “It’s fine. You’re fine. It happens, you have a fucked up family.”
You rolled your shoulders back, that crazy light in your father’s eyes flashing in your mind before you shook your head, exhaling slowly.
“Y/N?” Spencer’s voice reached inside as he knocked on the door, “Can I come in?”
Your heart was still pacing in your chest but you cleared your throat.
“Yeah,” you called out and he stepped inside, his lips pulled into a thin line as he offered you a small smile.
“Hi,” he said gently, still keeping his distance, standing by the now closed door. “Are you okay?”
You nodded, crossing your arms, adrenaline still pulsing through you, “Yeah, of course.”
“I’m sorry,” he said and you pulled your brows together.
“Huh?”
“That you had to see that,” he said, “I know I shouldn’t have slammed him down like that, but when he lunged at you, I just…. I saw red. I understand that it was hard to watch and I apologize—“
“Hold on,” you cut him off, gawking at him “You’re apologizing because you stopped that psycho from lunging at me?”
Spencer frowned as if he was confused at your own confusion, and nodded.
“Yeah. Human mind is very complex, so even if you think you hate him, it could’ve been difficult for you to see him hurt, not to mention it was me who did that. Jung has a theory that states—“
“Spencer,” You interrupted him again, “Lock the door.”
His frown deepened but he did as you asked, but he didn’t get to ask why when you walked to him and pulled him into a kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck and standing on your tiptoes. His hand cradled your head, a sigh of content escaping him but he pulled back when you grabbed his tie to loosen it.
“Wait, here?” he asked, “Y/N, this is a bathroom.”
“Yeah, I’m aware?”
“Do you have any idea how unsanitary this place probably is?”
“Oh, very unsanitary,” you stated, “On the other hand, though…”
You shrugged your shoulders and pulled your silk blouse over your head, so that he could see you in your bra. He stared at you for a moment and he swallowed thickly, his eyes snapping up to yours when you giggled.
“You make a good point,” he muttered before he pulled you into a kiss and walked you back to the sink.
                                                ***
Unfortunately, the rest of the day wasn’t that fun, especially when it was time to get to your mother’s house for the family dinner. You had insisted on picking Spencer up from work after you were done at your work, so that you would at least try to change his mind on the road again, but when you actually arrived to your mother’s place, he still looked like he wanted to do this.
“Last warning,” you said as Spencer looked up at the house, then twirled the flower bouquet in his hand, “Not too late to change your mind professor.”
“I’ll be fine, come on,” he offered his free hand and you took it, then both of you climbed the stairs to the front door.
“I’m a little nervous, in case you couldn’t tell.”
“You hummed the Darth Vader theme for the whole road,” Spencer reminded you, “I had a feeling you were nervous, yeah.”
“Abandon hope all ye enter here,” you quoted Dante as you both reached the door and Spencer scoffed a laugh.
“Ah we went from the den of vampires into the gates of hell, then?”
“Yeah! As Dante would put it, to a place we come where nothing shines.”
“I doubt he envisioned this when he was talking about the circles of hell.” He rang the doorbell and you let out a small whine, looking up at the dark sky.
“There are worse people than me out there,” you said as the footsteps came closer, “Why am I being subjected to—“
“Spencer!” your mother greeted him as she opened the door and you frowned.
“Since when do you answer the door?” you asked and she shot you a look before smiling at Spencer.
“Hello Ms. Knight.”
“Welcome, both of you!” she gasped at the flowers, “For me?”
“Oh—yes, of course.”
“They’re lovely, thank you!” she said and took them from him, “Come in, come in!”
“No I’m serious, did something happen to Tina? You never answer the door.”
“It’s nice to see you too sweetie, I see we started our dramatics on the way.” she kissed your cheek and you smiled.
“Hi mom.”
“Let me put these in a vase.”
“Spencer!” a gleeful scream rang in the hallway as your mother went to the kitchen and Lily threw herself at Spencer who crouched down as soon as he saw her “Hi!”
“Hi there! Whoa, you’re very strong!”
“Just in time for bedtime,” Kenzie walked into the hallway with a wine glass in her hand, “Hi guys.”
“I told mommy you’re a magician! And grandma, and Nolan too!” Lily counted with her fingers, “And I told them- I told them you can make coins disappear, and that you can do magic with paper, and then—“
“Bug, breathe,” you said, “Also, where’s my hug?”
Lily hastily rushed to you to hug you, then turned to Spencer as if she wasn’t interrupted while he just watched her with a fond smile on her face, listening intently to everything she was saying, and that warm feeling spread through your stomach again.
“And then I told Bobby I know a superhero, then he told me superheroes can’t be magicians but he’s wrong! Do you use magic to catch bad guys? Because if you do, I can help you with your superhero name!”
“Alright, auntie time.” you lifted her up into your arms as Spencer straightened up, “Sorry about that.”
“No, don’t,” Spencer shook his head, still smiling, “Please, I… she’s amazing.”
“Lily,” Kenzie said, “Bed time, come on.”
“Can you show me a magic trick please and thank you?” Lily said breathlessly and Spencer let out a laugh before turning to Kenzie.
“Is that okay?”
“Sure thing.”  
Spencer took out a coin from his pocket and held it in her sight, “Alright Lily, this is just a coin, right?”
“Don’t let him trick you,” you whispered to Lily who giggled, then nodded fervently after checking the coin.
“Yes.”
“Okay, keep your eyes on it,” Spencer showed it to her one more time before he put it into his palm, closed his palm and when he opened it, the coin was nowhere to be seen. Lily gasped, her jaw dropping and you couldn’t help but smile at her expression, her eyes shining with awe. You pressed a kiss on her cheek as Kenzie took her from you, and she let out a whine.
“But you all will have fun here!” she murmured, pouting and you heaved a sigh.
“Lily I can assure you, no one will have fun here.”
“Don’t be like that,” Kenzie shot you a look and smiled at Spencer. “She didn’t intimidate you, did she?”
“She tried,” Spencer said as you wrapped your arms around his torso and he kissed the top of your head, “Didn’t exactly work though.”
“For some reason,” you grumbled and Lily waved at you.
“Night night!”
“Good night!”
“I’ll see you later bug!” you said and entwined your fingers with Spencer’s, then pulled him to the dining room where Kenzie and Nolan were talking. Before you could even greet them, the sight of the dinner table caught your eye and you gawked at all the food there, your mother was definitely out of control and this was the proof of it.
There was enough food for a small army.
“Oh God please don’t tell me we’re going to have live music too,” you muttered and Mina raised her brows.
“Yeah, you might want to lower your expectations,” she shot a fake smile at Spencer, “But then again, that seems to be the theme of tonight. Hi Dr. Reid.”
You gritted your teeth, glaring at her and of course the jab didn’t escape Spencer’s attention, but he chose not to respond with the same sarcasm.
“Hi again.”
“Welcome, Dr. Reid,” Nolan smiled, “Y/N.”
“Hi Mr. Yates.”
“Nolan.”
“So this is where you grew up?” Spencer asked you as you led him away from them towards the library, and you nodded.
“Yeah,” you said, “Right over there me and Mina got into a fight and she pushed me into a vase.”
“Ouch.”
“Spent the next ten minutes begging me not to tell mom. Over there,” you pointed at the corner, “Used to be this huge Christmas tree every year.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and we used to have another room next to this, dad’s study, but after he was arrested and we all figured out how evil he was, mom grabbed a sledgehammer and smashed the—“
“Dinner is ready!” your mother called out and you heaved a sigh.
“Just saying, we could just tell them there’s been a murder.”
“You don’t give up, do you?” he smiled at you fondly and you shook your head, Kenzie entering the living room again.
“I’ve been called stubborn before.”
“Can’t imagine why,” he joked as he kissed you on the forehead and you turned to your family who was slowly taking their seats around the table, then both of you approached the table to sit down as well.
“I’m so glad we decided to have this dinner,” your mother clasped her hands, “It was about time, wouldn’t you say?”
Spencer smiled at her after thanking the maid who was filling his glass, “Thank you for inviting me Ms Knight.”
“Y/N was trying to make him change his mind,” Kenzie sang and your mother tilted your head.
“Spencer, I promise you we’re not as bad as my daughter tries to make you believe.”
“I’m not saying you’re bad,” you defended yourself, “I’m just saying you might be a little too much.”
“Define too much.”
You gawked at her and motioned at the table, making Spencer chuckle silently beside you.
“I really appreciate the effort you put into this,” he added, making your mother smile.
“Why thank you, Spencer,” she said and turned to Nolan, “Honey, Spencer works for the BAU as you know, you should introduce him to your friend.”
“Your friend?” Kenzie asked.
“The head of FBI,” Nolan said, “That’s a great idea. He might also help you in any position you want in the bureau.”
Spencer blinked a couple of times, as if he was at loss for words, then cleared his throat.
“Thank you,” he said “I already- I already have the position that I want though.”
“Ah for the future,” Nolan waved a hand and your mother sipped her drink.
“Yeah, now that it came up,” she said, “What are your future plans?”
“Mom,” you said warningly and Mina leaned back, looking between you with a smirk on her face.
“It’s just a question, don’t be so nervous,” she commented and Kenzie arched a brow at her.
“Mina.”
“No it’s okay,” Spencer pushed his hair behind his ear, “I um… I think I’d like to focus more on teaching.”
You lowered your glass, “Hm? Really?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “I mean I do love BAU, they’re my family but seeing murders every single day, seeing all those victims, it becomes too much sometimes. But I love teaching already, so I think I will do that. In the future, I mean.”
“Oh how lovely. How about something other than your career though? In your future, would you say you’re planning to have chi—“
“New topic,” you cut her off quickly, “I saw dad today, and he knows you two are dating now.”
Your mother frowned but Nolan reached out to squeeze her hand, “It’s okay, he would learn eventually.”
“He actually thinks he is in love with you,” you told your mom and she scoffed.
“Please don’t say that, we’re eating,” she said, “I don’t want to feel nauseous.”
“It’s actually understandable that he’s under that disillusion.” Spencer said, making all of you turn to him, “Especially people in his situation, they feel this need to hold onto some outside world that’s waiting for them to get out of their minds. In a way, he hopes that because if he feels cut off from here, he will probably crash down. It’s very common in people who are imprisoned.”
“Well he can hope all he wants, I never want to see him again.”
“I’m sure Y/N doesn’t want to see him again either, but she’s not that lucky, thanks to FBI. What do you think about that, Spencer?” Mina asked, and Spencer looked at her.
“I think that’s a decision left to her.”
“Is it though?”
You narrowed your eyes. “Mina I need you to remember what I was like when we had dinner with Kenzie, and return the favor.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means shut the fuck up.”
“Y/N!” your mom gasped and Mina tilted her head.
“Ah well, excuse me if not all of us are in a forgiving mood unlike you.”
“None of that!” your mother said, “Both of you, honestly…”
“Spencer, you strike me as a whiskey guy,” Nolan said, attracting his attention, “I purchased a bottle of limited series in an auction in London the other day, would you like to try it after dinner?”
“Sure,” he nodded fervently and you held up your hand.
“I want to try that too. And what about that rum you were talking about the other day? Is it here too?”
“Sure thing.” Nolan snapped his fingers, “In fact, I know a great distillery, why don’t we visit there after dinner?”
You lifted your head, “That could be fun. Where?”
“Costa Rica.”
Spencer looked between you, “You—um, you want to go to Costa Rica after dinner?”
“We could take the jet. We’d be back before the dawn, obviously.”
“People,” you cleared your throat, “Has no one read the normalcy manual I e-mailed you the other day?”
“Yes but the manual said we could talk about drinks.” Nolan said and Spencer turned to you, frowning.
“Normalcy manual?”
“I just thought it’d be useful for tonight.”
“Oh it was very useful,” Mina commented, “Especially the footnote about murders, even if it was unnecessary. No one will joke about murder Y/N, we don’t want your boyfriend to arrest you again after—“ she was cut off as Kenzie kicked her leg under the table, and Spencer pursed his lips, as if he still felt guilty about that.
“I wasn’t in the city,” he said calmly, looking her dead in the eye, “I came back as soon as I heard, I was trying to get her out when you got there.”
“You don’t have to explain anything,” you said, “Mina , stop it will you?”
She didn’t even look like she heard you, “Get her out? Ah so that’s why I walked into that interrogation room when she was being hounded by your team?”
“Okay!” Kenzie said loudly, throwing the napkin on the table, “I’m so sorry, I just remembered something about Lily’s school that we missed. Babe, can you come with me to the kitchen for a moment please?”
Mina huffed out and put her glass down, then pushed her chair back and followed Kenzie to the kitchen.
“Honestly….” you downed your drink and motioned for another one but then Spencer squeezed your hand under the table, as if trying to assure you.
“I bet you miss the serial killers right now huh?” you mumbled and he tilted your head, humoring you.
“Drinks are better here,” he admitted and you tried to smile before you grabbed your cigarette pack from your purse.
“I’m gonna go to the backyard for a moment to smoke,” you said and your mother shot you a look.
“It’s dinner time, Y/N.”
“It’ll take like five minutes, tops,” you said and pushed your chair back, “I need some fresh air anyway. Spencer?”
“Sure, I’ll come with you,” he said and followed you down the hall until you reached the door to the backyard, opened it and stepped outside.
It was a silent night, as silent as it could be in the middle of the city. You looked up at the stars as you lit your cigarette, then heaved a sigh and leaned back to Spencer’s chest when he wrapped his arms around you, resting his chin on top of your head.
“I apologize on her behalf,” you said and he shook his head.
“You don’t have to,” he muttered, “She has a point. I should’ve… I should’ve been there, in that interrogation room.”  
You looked up at him, then reached up to run your fingernails over his slight scruff while he lowered his head to press his nose into the crook of your neck, nuzzling there.
“Spencer, you need to stop blaming yourself,” you said slowly, “I mean it. I don’t blame you for that at all— and….you know Mina. She just turns into someone else when it comes to protecting the family. She doesn’t mean it, not really.”
He nodded silently and you combed back his hair with your fingers, making him heave a sigh.
“This is nice,” he muttered and you let out a small laugh.
“So are you ready to admit that I was right?”
“Hm?”
“I said you would regret it, do you regret it yet?”
“The dinner?”
“Yeah.”
He shook his head “No.”
“Why not?”
His arms around you tightened and he pressed a kiss to your neck, “Because you’re here.”
You closed your eyes for a moment, enjoying the warmth of his body against yours and you stubbed your cigarette before you turned to him. He smiled at you and you couldn’t help but stare at him under the dim lights of the backyard before you stood on your tiptoes and brushed your lips against his.
“God, I love you so much,” you said, making him smile, “Thank you for being here and… I don’t know, going through this absolute torture. I know it’s a lot.”
“Hey,” he cupped your cheek, running his thumb over your cheekbone, “I need you to listen to me, okay?”
You nodded, looking up at him.
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” his voice was silent, almost hesitant, “To make you happy. You know that, right?”
You could feel the burning in your eyes and you sniffled, your heart skipping a beat before you wrapped your arms around his neck, burying your face into his chest. The rest of the world felt like it disappeared as you swayed from side to side, inhaling his scent and you pulled back.
“I know now,” you wiped at your nose, clearing your throat and he pushed your hair behind your ear.
“Good,” he grinned, “Glad we cleared that out.”
Someone knocked on the door and you turned your head to see Mina as she opened the glass door.
“So about earlier,” she leaned sideways to the doorframe, “Apologies and remorse, etc.”
“That means she’s sorry for what happened earlier,” you said helpfully and Spencer scoffed a laugh, shaking his head.
“You don’t need to apologize,” he said, “I get it. Trust me, I felt exactly the same when I saw the tape, but I was trying to get her out with minimum damage.”
Mina nibbled on her lip, eyeing him up and down.
“I guess,” she said, “But just so you both know, mom and Nolan are actually planning a weekend trip to Costa Rica. It’s like what happened with Kenzie all over again, only there’s two of them now.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” you muttered and Mina nodded at Spencer.
“Yeah so you might need to tell them you have murders to solve during the weekend Sherlock, because they’re not going to listen to us.” she said and Spencer looked down at you.
“I’ll be there in a second,” you said and he pressed a kiss into your hair before making his way inside. Mina lingered there for a moment, inspecting her fingernails in a complete nonchalant manner.
“I guess I could trust you to know what you’re doing,” she said, “Just make sure he doesn’t screw you over, okay?”
You raised your brows, then clicked your tongue.
“Kenzie said no sex unless you apologize huh?”
“She meant it too!” Mina whined as you walked past her, letting out a laugh.
“Unbelievable,” you shook your head with a smile, making your way to the dining room. “All of you.”
Chapter 26 
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devildomimagines · 3 years ago
Text
MC Has a Terrible Day
Sooo I had a series of bad days. This is for anyone else in the same boat, have some comforting demons. 😙~✨
Thank you for your patience to anyone who has requested something recently. I’ll get to requests again shortly, I just wasn’t in a great headspace. 
It all started in the morning. You heard loud banging so you rolled over to look at the door.
“We’re leaving in five minutes MC!” Mammon called and you could hear him walking down the hall.
“Five minutes, huh?” You rolled to your back and blinked. “FIVE MINUTES?!” Without thinking, you jumped up and started stripping your pajamas off. You ran into the bathroom to quickly clean your face, apply deodorant, and begin brushing your teeth. 
You went back out to your room with your toothbrush still in your mouth. While buttoning up your school shirt, you went over to check your phone. You leaned down to press the home button with your nose, no response. You tried again and nothing. Once you had finished buttoning your shirt, with one hand brushing your teeth, the other tried to turn on your phone. No response again meant it was dead. 
“Of course,” you rolled your eyes, no power, no alarm. You threw the phone and charger in your backpack, maybe during lunch you could find an outlet to charge it.
You went back to the bathroom to spit out the toothpaste. Most likely four of the five minutes had passed already so you grabbed your tie and draped it around your neck to tie later. You snatched your uniform jacket and backpack as you slipped on your shoes and ran out the door.
~
Although the brothers gave you some odd looks, Lucifer was the only one to speak on your state of dress. “I’ll be sure to look decent by the time we arrive at school,” you were pushing out Asmo and Mammon who were your chaperones for the morning commute today. Once through the door you sighed and Asmo giggled.
“What happened, love?”
“I overslept.” You bit the handle of your backpack while you put on your jacket. Then you threw on your backpack to start with your tie. It wasn’t the easiest without a mirror but you thought you had it pretty close from muscle memory.
“Oi,” Mammon snickered, “I don’t know how, but you tied it upside down.”
With a groan you undid it. You decided to take a second to run your fingers through your hair to fix it and get it out of your face.
“Let me, MC,” Asmo offered. He popped your collar and walking backwards, he deftly tied the knot.
“Thanks Asmo,” You folded down the collar and began with the buttons and belt on your jacket. These uniforms are a nightmare on their own. You felt a tug backwards and looked over your left shoulder.
Mammon blushed, “Your half cape was twisted up.”
“Thanks guys,” you sighed, “hopefully the rest of the day goes better than this morning.”
~
It did not.
The only good thing seemed to be that you passed Lucifer’s uniform check when he passed you in the hall. He nodded and continued on with Diavolo.
Your first class was reviewing homework but when you opened your backpack, you couldn’t find your folder. You groaned internally, picturing your folder exactly where you left it on your desk in your room and began writing down the answers to review later. 
In the next class, there was an assignment due to be handed in but it was also in your folder at home. When the teacher got to you, all you could do was shake your head no and it killed you knowing it was done, just not here.
Unfortunately with over sleeping, you didn’t have time for breakfast in the morning so as lunch time approached, you were getting hungrier and more distracted.
Lunch finally came and you were starving. The menu had something that you were familiar with and you were looking forward to a warm meal. You opened your backpack to look for your wallet with your prepaid cafeteria card. Once you shuffled your books around and still didn’t find it, you sighed. Of course, you left your wallet at home. Dejectedly, you moved to a table against a wall where you knew an outlet would be. You plugged your phone in and put your head down on the table.
“MC~!” The sing-song call of your name made you sit up. Simeon smiled at catching your eye. The rest of Purgatory Hall was in tow and they all took seats around you at the table; Luke sat next to you, Simeon across from you and Solomon across from Luke.
“Hello,” you offered the group.
“Were you napping?” Luke asked. 
“Ah, no. Just recharging a bit,” You ruffled his hair with a smile.
“We can watch your stuff if you want to go up and get your lunch,” Solomon offered.
“I actually forgot my card at home and I don’t have any Grimm on me.”
“So you’re not going to eat?” Simeon looked surprised.
“If I don’t have any money, what can I do besides wait until after school to eat at HOL?”
“Don’t we have that Student Council meeting today?” Luke asked to confirm with the group.
Solomon nodded his head, “Yes, the exchange students have to be there as reps to approve new motions.”
“Ugh,” you buried your face in your backpack, “I completely forgot.” That meeting could be a couple hours depending on how many motions to be reviewed. Your stomach growled just thinking about how long it would be until you could eat.
“Here,” Simeon spoke first and you looked up to him pushing his tray towards you.
“Oh it’s ok Simeon, I’ll be fine, thank you but you shouldn’t have to go without.”
“I insist!” Simeon clearly wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“How about we split it?”
He blushed and nodded, “Ok! I’ll get you a set of silverware.”
Once he was walking away, Luke offered, “Here MC,” he pushed some candy into your hand, “for later since you’ll probably be hungry before the meeting with eating only half a lunch.”
“Thank you, Luke.” 
“MC,” Solomon asked for your attention, “You can have my drink. This one came with the lunch set but I’m not fond of the flavor.”
Simeon came back and handed the fresh silverware to you with a smile.
“Thank you for looking out for me,” you looked around the table.
“Of course! Us exchange students have to stick together!” Luke accepted for all of them.
The rest of you smiled and laughed. Simeon split the bread in half and you two shared the plate. You left a little more for him before claiming you were full so he could finish it off.
~
Your last classes were fine except for the amount of homework they assigned. Each teacher gave at least an hour’s worth of work on top of the long term assignments they already had going.
Last on your agenda was this Student Council meeting. Luke was right and you were hungry so you popped a candy in your mouth while you waited for the members to assemble. When he entered, you waved at Luke and brought the candy to the front of your mouth to hold with your front teeth in a smile. He snickered as he took his seat. 
There were only three things to review so the meeting was relatively short. Even so, you were exhausted, it felt like you were running on empty. Getting off on the wrong foot at the beginning of the day made you feel like you were trying to play catch up. You still had the walk home and homework to deal with too. 
Beel and Belphie were your walk home companions but they ended up walking next to each other leaving you to follow behind. You trudged your way home, the weight of the day slowing you down. Passing through the entrance of HOL felt like a relief to at least be home. You waved to Beel and Belphie and made a straight shot to your room. Once inside you dropped your backpack, rolled your eyes at the books and folder on your desk that should have gone to school with you and fell face first on your bed. You needed some time to just unwind before even beginning to think about your homework.
~
Through some herculean effort you managed to finish your homework before dinner. You were tired but content as you ate. The brothers were as lively as ever so you didn’t need to provide much to the conversation. 
While everyone was clearing the table, you sought out your favorite demon.
Belphegor
He had already gone to the attic so you climbed the stairs and knocked on the door.
Belphie opened the door and at first he just stared at you.
You stared back, not really sure what to say to him.
He shrugged and stepped aside to let you into the room.
Without a word, you walked in and collapsed into his bed. You took a deep breath thankful to be finally done with the day.
Belphie chuckled and copied you, when he collapsed on the bed, it made you bounce a bit.
“You know I’d never question a good cuddle session.” He wrapped his arms around you and you scooted closer to him, but he left the question unsaid allowing you to choose if you wanted to share why you were seeking him out.
You confessed as you held him tighter, “I had a bad day.”
After, you described the terrible highlights from beginning to end, Belphie listening and humming acknowledgements. You were surprised you hadn’t lost him to sleep half way through.
“It doesn’t sound all bad,” Belphie offered.
You backed up and gave him a questioning look.
“Well you didn’t get in trouble with Lucifer, he would have definitely strung us up for something like that.”
“I guess.”
“Even the scummiest of my brothers helped you start the day.”
“Yeah, though they aren’t scummy.”
“Right, right.” Belphie laughed, “The other exchange students were looking out for you too.”
“That’s true… where is all this positivity coming from?” You gave his side a pinch, “Who are you and what did you do with my Avatar of Sloth?”
“I don’t know, some human has been rubbing off on me I guess,” Belphie yawned.
“Sounds like some kind of good influence or something,” You giggled as you snuggled back into him, ready to end the day by his side.
Beelzebub
You took your plate into the kitchen where you knew he would be.
“Are you still hungry?”
The question threw you for a loop. You had just finished dinner. “No, I had enough.” You laughed while patting your stomach and putting your plate in the sink.
He was rummaging in the fridge for a post-dinner snack himself.
You jumped to sit on the counter, just watching him had a calming effect, Beel was gonna be Beel.
He noticed you staring, “Are you sure? You didn’t eat much for dinner.”
“I’m alright, thanks though.”
Beel paused, he didn’t seem satisfied with the way you answered and nodded to himself. He changed gears and opened a cabinet instead.
You were curious what he decided on eating until you recognized the box. “Are those-”
“Mhmm, they’re chocolates from the Human Realm, the ones you had mentioned last time we took a trip.” 
“Beelzebub, the Avatar of Gluttony, was hiding food?” You smirked.
He offered the box to you shyly, “I almost ate them once in a frenzy but reminded myself I got them for you. Afterwards I asked Lucifer to put a spell on it so only you could open them.”
You reached out to accept the box and he pulled it away. Shocked, you looked up at him.
“But if you’ve had enough to eat…”
“There’s always room for chocolate!” You defended.
Beel chuckled as he surrendered the package. He joined you to sit on the counter as you went to open them, excited to see the contents himself.
“Why are you giving these to me now?”
He shrugged, “I got them for you, I thought I would save them for a special occasion, but you looked like you needed it today.”
You leaned your head on his shoulder, “I did, thanks.” You popped a chocolate in your mouth and it melted just like your stress from the day. Then you laughed at the loud gulp to your side, “Do you want a piece?”
Beel nodded enthusiastically and opened his mouth for you to feed him.
Asmodeus
Asmo always welcomed an after-dinner visit to his room. You didn’t typically take him up on the offer so he was interested in what changed today.
“MC!” He grabbed your wrist and pulled you into his room and shut the door, “What’s the special occasion that brings you by?”
You smiled but it didn’t quite make it to your eyes, Asmo noted. “I just wanted to bask in your beauty,” you joked.
“Ha ha,” Asmo rolled his eyes, “but for real, what’s up?”
You looked away debating on how to answer, you had thought that maybe Asmo would be just the distraction you would need to forget the day you had.
With a sigh, you admitted, “I had a really bad today…  but you always seem to know how to make me feel better, so I guess…”
“Aw MC!” Asmo gathered you into a hug. Softer, he added, “I’m sorry you had a bad day.”
You hugged him back, already feeling some of your energy being restored. “Thanks, I know everyone has bad days… it just sucks.”
“It does, and just because everyone has them, doesn’t minimize your bad day to be insignificant. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Sure,” you released him and pulled him to sit down on the end of his bed.
You reviewed everything after oversleeping.
“You were really going to skip lunch?” Asmo asked with a squeeze of your hand.
“Well yeah, I didn’t have any way to pay for a meal and I’m certainly not sneaky enough to dine and dash in the cafeteria.”
“You should have called me! Or one of my brothers! I bet you could even get Mammon, the cheapskate, to pay for your lunch if you asked. You shouldn’t go without a meal, it’s not good for your health,” he whined as he now played with your hand.
“It’s alright, it worked out somehow.”
“I’m kind of jealous of you and Simeon splitting a meal though,” Asmo puffed out his cheeks.
“Who are you jealous of exactly?” You teased and poked his puffed cheek.
He giggled, “I’ll never tell!”
It was your turn to laugh, “I’m gonna tell Simeon!” you got up and pulled out your phone.
“Wait, no! Don’t!” He chased you to try to snatch your phone away, both laughing.
Satan
You knocked on his door lightly. He was either here or in the HOL’s library. If he wasn’t in then you’d just go to bed.
The door cracked open and you could hear Satan call from further inside, “Come in!”
You were careful with opening the door so as to not hit any piles of books that may be behind. “I’m sorry for bothering you!” You called back to him, wherever he may be.
With a pop of magic, he appeared behind you, “You’d never bother me.” He snickered at your shock.
You lightly hit his chest but smiled seeing his enjoyment. Your hand lingered on him and focused on playing with the fabric to avoid his gaze.
“Something wrong?” He raised his hand to hold the back of yours.
“It’s…” you were going to say nothing but you couldn’t bring yourself to lie. You leaned forward so your forehead rested on his clavicle. “It’s been a long day.”
The fact that you almost never admitted to your more negative feelings was not lost on him, especially since he is guilty of the same. “Oh? Do you want to talk about it?”
“It’s alright,” with a shake of your head you sighed and started preparing yourself to push Satan away, “it was just a regular old bad day.”
And although you hadn’t really stepped back yet, Satan felt you move to be at an arm’s length. You started back physically and he knew a window was closing. Without another thought he pulled you in close.
You giggled but returned the hug, “Satan?”
“I’m sorry you had a bad day.” He gave you a squeeze, “do you want to stay the night?”
Maybe today wasn’t all bad. With a content sigh you nodded, “If that’s ok with you?”
“You’re always welcome.”
He picked up that you were looking to be physically close so he set himself up on the bed and you crawled in after him. You settled your head on his chest and his hand came up to stroke your hair absentmindedly. With his free hand he held a book.
“Can you read to me?”
“It’s not exactly a bedtime story,” he laughed and you relished the way it sounded through his chest.
“That’s alright, I just want to hear your voice, it’s very calming.”
Well that’s a first, the Avatar of Wrath, calming? He laughed and you smiled.
Leviathan
You had caught him in the hallway on the way back to his room.
He hadn’t seen you yet and he had his headphones on watching something on his phone.
Feeling mischievous, you snuck up behind him and pat his back. Levi jumped, yanked his headphones off, and turned quickly to see you smiling at him, proud of your little spook.
“Geez MC!” His hand went to his chest, “You gave me a heart attack!”
“Sorry,” you giggled, walking beside him. “What were you watching?”
He launched into an in-depth review, usually you’d listen more closely to provide some kind of unique perspective but today all you could manage was nodding and some sounds of acknowledgement. After the day you had, it was comforting seeing Levi in his element so you let his enjoyment radiate to you.
“Hello? MC?” Levi waved a hand in front of your face. “Are you listening?”
“Ah sorry, I zoned out there. Your face when you were talking was really cute.” You figured it would fluster him to distract him and you were right.
His face blushed deep red as he stuttered your name.
You smiled, Levi will always be Levi. You walked in front of him, leading him to his room.
“H-hey!” Levi called, you half-turned to look at him, “Is something the matter?”
You were actually a little surprised he had picked that up and it made your smile falter.
He looked down with disgust, “Is it because I was going on about gross otaku shit?”
“No,” You answered. He wasn’t looking at you so you stepped back toward him and headbutted his chest. 
He tensed up but didn’t withdraw completely.
With a sigh you admitted, “I had a rough day at school, I’m sorry I made you feel like it was because of you.”
Levi shifted and you thought he was going to move away but instead he wrapped an arm around your back and started rubbing a circle.
You looked up at him and he was back to being a blushy mess.
Mammon
You actually didn’t have to search him out since he was already walking you back to your room.
Mammon was recapping his day and he actually had a pretty good one. He got a good fill of breakfast before Beel cleaned them out, he got a passing grade on a test he was dreading and avoided Lucifer’s ire the entire afternoon. He was positively glowing.
If you hadn’t been worn down by the day you had, you would be over the moon for him as well but it still brought a smile to your face, his happiness was infectious. “That’s amazing Mammon, I’m really proud of you.”
He blushed at the praise but became serious, “You feeling ok?”
“Mhmm,” you nodded and turned to open your door.
“Are you sure?” Mammon confirmed.
“I’m just tired is all,” the day was finally over, besides entertaining Mammon. You rubbed your face to try and wipe some of the weariness away.
“Rough day?”
“I guess yeah, but it’s alright,” You offered a smile.
Mammon reached out and instinctively you leaned into his touch. You felt the warmth of his palm radiate through your cheek, complimented by the smooth feel of his rings. You hummed a sigh and closed your eyes to savor the tender moment.
“You know,” he started and you peeked your eyes open, “if someone’s giving you a hard time, I could take care of them.”
You laughed, “Even if it was Lucifer?”
He gulped, “Is it?”
“No, just wanted to see what you would do,” you teased and stuck out your tongue.
“I’d handle it, even if it was Lucifer!” Mammon pinched your cheek.
“Ow,” you said more out of habit than actual pain, “too bad you can’t beat up a bad day.”
“I could try!” He puffed out his chest.
Shaking your head, you giggled and leaned your head onto his puffed chest. “Thanks Mammon.”
He tugged you into a tight hug, “I’d do anything to keep hearing your laugh.”
Lucifer
His office door was closed. You knew that meant he was busy with something serious.
If it wasn’t serious then he usually left the door ajar, a silent invitation that guests were welcome.
You walked up to the door and seriously debated knocking. 
He did say if you ever needed anything you could always come to him but one bad day didn’t feel like it stacked up to the duties that Lucifer could possibly be working on at that moment.
While leaning your forehead on the cool door you pretended it was his chest. You took an exaggerated breath in, gathering up your strength and hoping to pick up some of Lucifer’s strength too, and turned to head back to your room for the night.
“MC?” Lucifer called, you hadn’t heard the door open, “I thought I heard footsteps.”
“Oh, hi, I was just passing by,” you lied, “Busy night?”
“Yes,” Lucifer sighed and shook his head, “Diavolo wants to move up the next event which means contacting all the vendors to reschedule and refiling all the permits with the new dates.”
“Sounds rough,” you were somewhat pleased you had guessed correctly earlier but hated to see his frustration, against the protest of every cell in your body you asked, “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
He thought for a moment, “Yes actually, come here?” He extended his hand.
You took it and sighed; more work wasn’t exactly how you wanted to end this terrible day but if you could help relieve some of Lucifer’s unhappiness then maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.
Lucifer first pulled you into the room and then pulled you into a hug.
“What-”
“You looked like you needed a hug.” He admitted with a light blush tinting his ears.
“Well, thank you,” you melted into his hold, it was firm and warm and felt like sunshine after a storm.
“Is everything ok?” Lucifer looked slightly concerned, “You were pretty quiet at dinner too.”
“I feel better now,” you tighten your grip on him trying to stop him from pulling away.
He still did slightly, “You know I’m always here for you, right?”
“Of course,” you confirmed with a smile, “it was just a bad day, it sounds like you’re having one of those too. Let’s get to that paperwork.”
Lucifer chuckled, “To be honest, the help I wanted from you was the hug. I’m glad it could make both of us feel better,” and he embraced you once more.
314 notes · View notes
thewatermelloncat · 2 years ago
Text
Cell Blocks
Summary: Everything was fine until it suddenly wasn’t. After a night of radio silence, Denali has to wait until Rosé is ready to explain why her life seems to be falling apart.
Author’s Note: This is definitely the most mature edition of this series I have done so far, and it has my favourite scene I have ever written in it. I’m so excited to share it will you all.
Warnings: scene with the CONSENSUAL ADMINISTRATION OF STRESS RELIEVING SUBSTANCE. It’s scientifically debatable whether Rescue Remedy works at all, but I know medicinal related themes can be triggering for some, so I thought I’d stick the warning in to be super safe ❤
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Everything was normal. They had walked to school together and Denali had copied the last of the science homework from Rosé’s book before class because she hadn’t found time to finish it after skating practice the night before. The class was boring as to be expected and Denali had to stop herself from drawing in the margins of her book. Then it all changed with a knock at the door.
“Rosé” Mr Charles, the school principal, stands in the doorway.
None of the usual exclamations of ‘ooh, you’re in trouble’ are spoken, possibly because of how solemnly her name was said.
A look of confusion crosses Rosé’s face as she stands from her chair and Denali knows that she wasn’t expecting this at all. Though all she can do is watch as Rosé walks to the doorway across the room. Mr Charles staying beneath it to guide her through with a gentle hand on her shoulder instead of walking off ahead. That’s how they know she’s not in trouble, but it doesn’t make Denali worry any less.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The period is almost over when Rosé comes back. Stepping into the room alone, though the silhouette of someone else can be seen through the frosted window of the classroom door.
“Rosie? What’s happening?” Denali asks quietly as Rosé starts to pack up her stuff beside her.
At Rosé not answering Denali looks up at her, seeing her breathing tensely and her jaw shut tight. The shining of her eyes giving away that she’s either been crying already or is trying really hard not to.
Then not getting an answer doesn’t sting at all since it’s clear Rosé can’t bring herself to speak. So, instead of pressing for more, Denali throws her pen in her pencil case and zips it up before handing it to her with an encouraging smile.
She doesn’t know if Rosé resisters it because she gets nothing back, but she doesn’t blame her and lets her go. Staring at the doorway long after it has closed behind her.
She doesn’t pay attention at all for the last five minutes of class, almost flinching when the bell rings. Habitually she throws her stuff back in her bag and slings it on her back before following the rest of her classmates on their way out the door.
“Denali?” Her teacher’s voice stops her as she walks past the front desk. “You’re close with Rosé, aren’t you?”
Denali nods, at a loss for words.
“Would you check in with her later tonight?”
“What’s happened?” Denali can’t help herself from asking.
“She’ll tell you if she wants to but it’s not my place to say.”
Denali nods, understanding but wishing she didn’t have to. Then she confirms, “yeah, I’ll check in with her.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
She thought she’d give Rosé a little space, so she refrained from texting her at lunchtime. Though as soon as the last school bell sounded, her phone was out of her pocket and up to her ear. Listening to the sound of a ringback tone as she weaves through the hallways and out the school gate.
Her tongue clicks when the call disconnects with no answer and she tries again, ending with the same result.
“For god sakes Rosie, pick up!” she curses under her breath, earning a couple of weird stares from groups who walk home around her. Paying them no mind, she looks down at the call button again before huffing out a sigh and deciding to give it a rest.
Rosé will see that she has missed calls and call her back when she wants to.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It’s getting late and she knows it. If her eyes almost falling shut while she blindly watches the TV doesn’t give it away, her mum reaching for the remote and turning it off does.
“Still haven’t heard anything from her?” Gentle hands come to rest on her shoulders and Denali shakes her head.
“I texted her again, but I can’t tell if she’s read any of them.”
Chamilla hums before her grip tightens. “Come on, bedtime. You’ve waited up for her long enough.”
Denali pulls a face with a weak sound of complaint. “I’m so worried about her.”
“I know.” Chamilla rounds the side of the couch to sit next to her. “You’ve set up the bed for her and we’ve got everything she needs if she comes over.”
“I just…” Denali trails off.
“She knows how to find us” Chamilla assures. “She’ll turn up if she wants to.”
There’s sense in that and Denali nods. Reluctantly she lets herself be guided up from the couch and up the stairs before her mother tucks her into bed and turns out the light.
Even in the dark Denali stares down at the made-up pull-out bed. She can’t make out much of it, but she can make it out enough to know that Rosé isn’t in it. Feeling alone and helpless, she stares at it, empty, until she falls asleep.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was a stupid idea to try and text while walking up the short set of school steps considering Denali nearly trips at the edge of the top one. Though she manages to catch herself on the railing before pulling over to the side of the school doors to finish the text, safely out of the way of the moving crowd.
Staring down at her phone screen, she doesn’t look up until a hand taps her on the leg as Rosé comes to stand beside her.
“I was just texting you” Denali says, forgetting about the message and pocketing her phone.
“I didn’t mean to ignore you” Rosé apologises immediately for all the messages that went unanswered.
“That’s okay” Denali dismisses. “I probably sent you way too many. I just had no idea how you were or what was going on.”
“My dad lost his job” Rosé looks away when she tells her, and Denali knows there is more to it than that, but she won’t push for it.
“Did he not take it well?”
“I wouldn’t say so” Rosé says a little stiffly.
“Well, I guess who would?” Denali considers before asking, “do you want to go sit somewhere for a bit?” Noting how tense Rosé seems being around so many people filing into the hallways.
Rosé nods and Denali takes her hand as they head through to the other side of the building toward the field.
“Huh�� one of the school douchebags, Jeffery, muses as he steps forward to block Rosé’s path. “Surprised you’re here since I saw you leaving yesterday in a police car.”
The implications of the comment go completely over Denali’s head as she steps closer to Rosé’s side.
“What do you want?” Rosé stands taller but lets Denali pull her back a step.
“To know where your ankle bracelet is.”
“Hey, stop!” Denali cuts in, glaring at him but he’s not even looking at her. Her interjection going ignored by both parties.
“If I had an ankle bracelet I wouldn’t be here now, would I?” Rosé bites back at him.
“Guess you wouldn’t” Jeffery accepts but doesn’t back down. “Bet they just let you off with a warning.”
Denali misses whatever Rosé says back to him, suddenly aware of a crowd gathering around them.
“…I don’t know. Weed possession?” Jeffery shrugs obnoxiously.
“Oh, like you’ve never smoked it.” Rosé steps forward again, looking him up and down in challenge.
He scoffs lowly, smirking down at her who he still has a couple of inches on. “It’s only a matter of time before they have you locked in a cell.”
Time seems to slow down then speed up as Rosé’s eyes widen dangerously before she suddenly has him against the lockers. A loud clang echoing through the hallway and his breath knocked out of him. Her hands bunched up in his jacket and his toes only just on the floor.
And for some reason instead of rushing forward to break it up, Denali steps back. Strangely at peace with this playing out.
It takes a few seconds for Jeffery to get his breath back and when he does his fist connects with the side of Rosé’s jaw.
Even as her head turns to the side, she doesn’t let him go. She grunts at the impact and draws in a deep breath as she turns her head back. Then she shifts her jaw before chuckling darkly. A slow smile spreading across her lips before she tightens her grip on him and shoves him to the side, him falling to the floor.
“You should have gone for my nose, you twat!” she speaks down at him. “Would have hurt more.”
Jeffery huffs out a breath as he stands, his fists clenching and his lips twitching as he means to spit something back at her. Only to be cut off before he can.
“Break it up!” Miss Visage makes her way through the crowd that parts for her. “McCorkell, with me.”
Ahead of her Jeffery scoffs a laugh and smiles in self-satisfaction.
Miss Visage then turns to him. “Chapman… principal’s office.”
His smirk falls and one grows across Rosé’s lips as she walks past him.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
She’s been sitting alone in the office for a while now, staring down at her shoes on the floor and her hands fidgeting down on her lap. Normally she doesn’t like doing this anymore, but right now she can’t seem to care. She’ll take whatever punishment is given to her. She’s just so completely numb.
The latch clicks and Rosé sits back in her chair as the door opens. Footsteps walk across the room before an arm comes over her shoulder, holding an icepack in front of her.
“It’s fine” Rosé dismisses the mark forming on her jaw.
“It’ll help” Miss Visage insists not moving it away until Rosé takes it from her. Then she rounds her desk to sit on the other side. “Why are you here?” she cuts straight down to it, though her voice is kind.
“School day” Rosé answers flatly. “I’m legally obligated.”
“Legally obligated within reason” Miss Visage corrects. “You have a justified excuse not to be.”
“I want to be.”
“Today it’s not the place for you.” Miss Visage takes Rose’s answer as her being smart with her rather than for the truth that it is. “You should be at home.”
Rosé scoffs and looks away.
“With everything going on, do you really think you’ll be able to focus on what you’re learning?”
Rosé shakes her head and sets her jaw to stop from biting anything back.
“Then why are you here?”
Rosé pulls in a sharp breath, setting the icepack down on the desk and pushing her chair out. “What was I supposed to do?” She turns back around after taking a few steps away. Not caring how her voice is raised. “No one told me what to do!”
Miss Visage stays silent, listening calmly.
“Maybe I just wanted somewhere normal to go, because I don’t want to be at home” Rosé’s voice quietens as tears spill from her eyes. “When I left this morning, my mum was still out, drunk, on the couch. And I had no idea what she’d do when she woke up, but I didn’t want to be there to find out.
“So maybe I came here because although I hate it most days, it’s somewhere I actually feel safe.” Rosé brushes away her tears, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “But if I chose wrong, I didn’t know any better… because I didn’t know where else to go.”
There are a few uneasy seconds of silence before Miss Visage pushes her chair out. Wordlessly she moves over to Rosé and wraps her arms around her and though Rosé starts off tense, she soon relaxes into them.
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t speak to you like that” Rosé’s voice is broken up through sobs.
“It’s okay” Miss Visage assures, gently tightening the hold she has on her. “I know the difference between stress and anger.”
Rosé nods and hums weakly.
“Come on, let’s sit back down” Miss Visage suggests, feeling Rosé shaking where she stands. Guiding her back to the chair and moving the box of tissues on the desk closer to her reach. Giving her a few moments to clean herself up and settle enough to catch her breath. “If you don’t want to be home for today, is there anywhere else that you could go?”
“I can think of a few places.”
“Do you need to call anyone to pick you up?” Miss Visage looks to the phone on her desk.
Rosé shakes her head.
“I’m going to let you go. You check up on those, okay?”
Rosé nods as she stands from her chair.
“And Rosé?” her teacher’s voice has her turning around before she can reach for the door handle. “If you can’t find anywhere, this door is open.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
She’s not as invisible as she wants to be while people file out of classrooms and into the hallways. Still, no one seems to pay her much mind, too focused on their way, as she leans against the wall across from a doorway.
Stepping out of the room, Denali spots her first with Rosé’s eyes cast down to the floor.
“Hey, oh my God!” She immediately wraps her arms around her, holding on maybe too tightly. “I’m so worried about you.”
Rosé takes in a couple of unsteady breaths before she hesitantly asks, “Nali? How important are your next classes?”
Denali unburies her head from Rosé’s shoulder, looking up at her attentively.
“I just really need someone right now.”
“I’m yours. I’m all yours” Denali says, fitting herself back into a hug. Taking a few moments before she pulls back again. “Come on, let’s go.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Denali has never thought about how weird it is to hear someone breathing until now. Listening to Rosé breathing unevenly as they walk beside each other. Shaky little gasps pulling in air before she steadies herself with a deeper breath, then the cycle repeats again.
“Hey” she says softly, squeezing her grip on the hand she holds. “Do you want to stop? We can sit down at the park up ahead?” she suggests, not liking how tense Rosé seems.
Rosé only looks at her quickly before she shakes her head.
“Are you sure?”
Rosé nods and purses her lips in a tight smile that is anything but reassuring.
“Do you want to talk now? I can listen as we go” Denali offers.
“I—” Rosé’s voice immediately catches in a choked off sob. Then she pulls in another one of her steadying breaths before another. “I don’t know what to say yet.”
“Okay” Denali accepts softly. “I’ll be right here when you’re ready.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For all Rosé fought to keep herself in check, a few tears had already fallen from her eyes by the time they had reached Denali’s driveway. She’d brushed them away immediately but that didn’t mean that Denali hadn’t seen them.
“Let me take your bag Rosie” Denali says once they step inside, helping her to sling it off her back. Setting it down against the wall as her mother stands from where she had been seated at the kitchen table.
Chamilla says nothing as she walks over to them, but the look on her face expresses concern and she opens her arms out for Rosé to step into.
More tears stream down Rosé’s cheeks and her arms shake as she wraps them back around her. Sobs muffling into her shoulder.
Away from them, Denali sets down her own bag and hangs back. Catching her mother’s questioning glance over Rosé’s shoulder, she shakes her head because she doesn’t have an explanation yet.
Then Chamilla draws in a breath as she pulls back from Rosé, running her fingers over her hair to tuck a few strands behind her ear. “Let’s sit down.”
Rosé nods weakly and lets them guide her into the lounge and onto the couch. The three of them packing tightly in a group with her in the middle.
By the time they’ve arranged themselves more comfortably, Rosé has settled herself again. Though not enough that it’s easy for her to speak.
“My dad lost his job…” she trails off, the rest of the words getting stuck in her throat before she forces them out, “and he’s at the police station.”
Beside her Denali flinches a little and her arms hold her tighter. Though both her and her mother remain quiet, their questions obvious enough to answer.
For a while Rosé can’t do it. Struggling on remembering how to breathe properly, her chest feeling too tight to let her.
“He nearly put a guy in hospital… he… he just snapped on his way out and his old workmates called the cops. They took him in and they’re holding him until this afternoon.”
“Do you know what will happen next?” Chamilla asks gently.
Rosé shakes her head, looking down at her hands as she pulls them into her sleeves.
“It depends on whether the workplace or the family want to press charges. And if they” – Rosé pulls in a shaky breath – “and if they do… I don’t want to have to testify and say that he would never normally do something like this. When I’ve known my whole life that he would.”
“Sweetheart, at this point it’s still an if” Chamilla reassures. “Going to court is expensive and it’s risky, they might not want to take up on it. And I think that they’ll be able to see that he wasn’t in his right mind. So, don’t you worry about that just yet.”
Rosé nods hesitantly before her expression changes and she shakes her head, another tear rolling down her cheek. “I wouldn’t be one to talk anyway, not after what I did.”
“That wasn’t your fault” Denali objects immediately.
“Dad beat someone up and I’ve just done the same thing” Rosé sobs, only just connecting what she’s done.
“Rosie, they asked for it” Denali promises. “You’re going through enough. You can’t put that on yourself.”
“I’m… I…” Rosé starts to protest before she changes the direction of what she was saying entirely, “I’m scared.”
At the weak admission both pairs of arms shift tighter around her. Denali making gentle shushing noises as she leans her head against her. Both her and her mother letting Rosé ramble incoherently as she cries. Listening as best they can as she tells them how she’s worried that her dad won’t get another job and he’ll stay at home doing nothing or they’ll have to move cities for him to get a new start: and she doesn’t want to move. It’s when her talking stops and she still isn’t settling down that their worry starts to grow.
“Nali?” Chamilla softly calls across to her. “Do you still have your Rescue Remedy?”
Denali nods, thinking of the tiny bottle she keeps in her skating bag to take before competitions. Then knowing she needs to get it; she traces a gentle hand down Rosé’s arm and moves away to find it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A minute later with the bottle in her hand, Denali crouches back in front of Rosé, her fingers unscrewing the lid.
“Rosie, this isn’t going to knock you out, but it will help calm you down. Is that okay?” Chamilla checks, rubbing a hand against her shoulder to help her focus in.
Rosé nods and shifts to sit up straighter, drying tears from her face with her sleeves.
“Open up, Rosie” Denali instructs softly. Moving closer and reaching gentle fingers out to Rosé’s jaw to steady herself as she measures out a couple of drops onto her tongue. Then she moves her hands away and caps the bottle again.
“Deep breaths, my love” Chamilla says, guiding Rosé back into her shoulder as Denali hops back onto the couch.
As Rosé takes them, she starts to settle and her eyes blink slowly as she’s left worn out.
“Why don’t you go lie down for a bit? Have some quiet time?” Chamilla suggests softly.
Rosé isn’t allowed an answer before Denali has helped her up off the couch and wrapped an arm around her.
Everything Denali does for her is gentle. The loose but sure support of the arm she has behind her waist, not breaking away for a second aside from turning the tap on and off as she pours Rosé a glass of water. Her arm reattaching around her as Rosé drinks and her fingers tracing patterns into her side.
The gentle touch of her hands after she sits Rosé down in the bathroom to wash the tear stains from her face with a cloth warmed from the sink.
Then the gentle smile she gives Rosé as she helps her up again to lead her to her room and settle her into bed.
“I’ll just put these over by the chair, okay Rosie?” Even her voice is gentle as she takes Rosé’s jacket to hang over the back of the desk chair and sets her shoes down beneath it. She hadn’t bothered to find Rosé a new set of clothes, figuring that it wasn’t worth the hassle of changing her out of clothes that are already comfortable enough to sleep in.
Then as Denali turns back to the bed, her mother steps into the room.
“Here Rosie, hold onto this. It’ll keep you nice and warm” Chamilla says, handing over a hot water bottle which Rosé takes from her with a hint of a smile. “Sleep well, love. Let us know if there is anything else we can get you.” Chamilla smiles back warmly before she leans down to kiss Rosé on the forehead and leaves the room.
“Can I get you anything else Rosie?” Denali checks as she climbs on the bed behind her.
Rosé shakes her head. Her eyes blink slowly again but she doesn’t give in to sleep, instead she seems distracted. Then she pulls in a breath before she starts, “Nali, I—”
“Shhh. Just rest” Denali stops her. “You’ll feel better after you get some sleep.”
For a few seconds Rosé holds her mouth open to speak again until she closes it with a sigh, her eyes at last falling shut.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Looking down at her fingers still stroking through Rosé’s hair, Denali realises she has no idea how long she’s been zoned out for. Doesn’t even know what she was thinking about either.
Below her Rosé looks deep enough asleep that she isn’t likely to wake up if Denali moves, as long as she is careful. So, Denali risks it, slowly slipping off the bed and creeping over to the doorway. Sparing Rosé one last glance when she stops beneath it, seeing that she hasn’t moved an inch, and despite everything she looks peaceful. Enough that Denali almost wants to stay with her and pretend that they’re having a sleepover and when Rosé wakes up, they’ll watch movies, do each other’s hair and gossip like normal kids their age would do. But Rosé’s life isn’t normal, and Denali has a question to ask.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was a mistake for her to look at the clock on the wall as she walked down the stairs, because it only made Denali more nervous. Especially seeing that the time is only around 11:00.
“How is she?” Chamilla asks from amongst her work at the kitchen table.
“She’s out” Denali says and means to keep talking but her speech stalls. Then she leans against the kitchen wall, crossing her arms and taking a steadying breath. “I don’t want to go back to school. I just don’t want to leave her.” She shakes her head. “I know it’s basically wasting a day – but I just don’t.”
“Nali” Chamilla sighs, pushing her chair out from the table and opening out her arms for Denali to fit into.
Pushing herself off the wall, Denali quietly moves over. Sitting down on her mother’s lap and letting her arms wrap around her.
“I’m not going to make you go back” Chamilla speaks into her hair before she places a kiss against her head. “Not today when you should be with her.”
Denali visibly relaxes at her mother’s words and leans her head onto her shoulder in thanks.
“If you know what you’re working on, try and get some of that done if you can focus on it” Chamilla compromises. “But otherwise, just be willing to catch up over the next few days.”
Denali nods but doesn’t lift her head. For a while she doesn’t say anything either, until holding back the words starts to sting in her throat. “Mum, I don’t know what to do.”
Chamilla hums and holds her closer.
“I don’t know how to help her this time.” Denali sniffles as a tear falls.
“I wish I could tell you, but I don’t know either” Chamilla admits. “But I don’t think Rosé expects us to know how to.”
“I’m just so scared for her” Denali sobs.
“I know, I know” her mother soothes, rubbing a hand over her shoulder. “But there’s nothing we can do right now except wait.”
“I want it to be fixed now.”
“We all do” Chamilla sighs. “For now, just listen to her and reassure her as best you can.”
“I was going to do that anyway.”
Chamilla releases their hold and pulls back with an encouraging smile. “Then nothing has to change, does it?”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was hard to read her textbook in the dim light of the room, but if Denali squinted she could make out the words enough to understand them. Now after a page and a half of her science work, she looks over to Rosé as she shifts beside her.
“Why don’t you just turn a light on?” Rosé asks, opening her eyes to find Denali with her book held close to her face.
“I didn’t want to wake you up” Denali reasons.
Rosé only hums as she reaches out to turn on Denali’s lamp.
Denali smiles affectionately but sets her book aside. “How are you feeling?”
Rosé sighs deeply, her eyes closing for a long second. “I don’t want to be awake right now.”
“You can go back to sleep” Denali advocates.
Rosé only shakes her head and stretches out a little more. “Can’t really sleep until it’s all over, can I?”
“I guess not” Denali concedes.
Then they fade into silence and a few seconds go by before Denali frowns. She hadn’t really left the conversation open for a necessary response, but she thought Rosé would have at least made some kind of noise or something. Instead, she stays quiet, just staring at the ceiling.
“What are you thinking about?” Denali asks softly.
“He said I was going to end up in a cell” Rosé doesn’t look at her as she says it.
Still, Denali shuts her eyes so Rosé can’t see them roll back at the stupid comment Jeffery made that morning. “You won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“How do you know you will?”
“Don’t use logic with me, Denali” Rosé begs, finally looking at her.
“I’m going to use logic when you tell yourself silly things” Denali smiles at her tenderly.
“We look the same, you know?” Rosé speaks of her father. “Sometimes I see my reflection and it’s like he is the one staring back.”
“You share the same genetics, Rosie. It doesn’t mean you’re the same person” Denali assures. “You are so far from the same person.”
Rosé’s lips pull into a grateful smile, but it doesn’t last longer than a second as her eyes well with tears again.
“Come here.” Denali pats a hand on her lap so Rosé knows to rest her head on it.
A tear blinking loose as Rosé settles on it. “Can you promise me that it’ll be alright?”
“You know I can’t do that, Rosie” Denali tells her softly, stroking her fingers through her hair. “You know I won’t promise you something that I don’t know.”
Rosé sighs deeply but she still relaxes despite being given no reassurance.
“But whatever happens, we’ll help you through it” Denali assures. “That’s a promise I can make.”
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tennessoui · 3 years ago
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if you wrote obikin for #4 with anakin as a single parent and obi-wan as luke and leia's teacher i would simply die happy!!
here it is!!! thank you so much!
4. Teacher/Single Parent AU (modern!AU)(DinLuke shows up as little kids)(2.4k)(whoops)
Anakin stares across the table at Luke, who gnaws on a slice of grilled cheese, carefully leaving the crusts behind. Oh god, he’d forgotten to cut them off of Luke’s sandwich, had cut them off of Leia’s instead, even though she didn’t mind them. And of course they hadn’t told him either. He can’t tell if he’s been forgiven for his error or if it will come back to haunt him later tonight when he tries to put the twins to bed at eight.
“Luke,” he says carefully. “I think I’m just a little confused.”
Leia looks up. She loves when her father is a little confused because it means Luke is probably a bit in trouble and she gets to be the one to set the record straight for him.
Which isn’t to say Leia is a tattle-tale. Anakin’s seen her watch Luke hit another child upside the head with a toy train and then say absolutely nothing when questioned by the daycare instructor.
Daddy’s interrogations are just a special case where she can become a guilt-free turncoat.
“How did you get a Unicorn sticker in art class?” he asks.
The Unicorn stickers, of course, mean unsatisfactory.
He pays extra money for his children to be coddled and kept away from words like Fail and Unsatisfactory, even though that’s what all the parents know the stickers mean. As long as the children don't yet.
“And I don’t understand the rainbow sticker at all,” he continues helplessly, regarding the piece of artwork in front of him, where a handful of dried macaroni noodles are lacklusterly glued to the page.
“The Unicorn sticker means it was bad, but the rainbow sticker means that Mr. Kenobi forgives him,” Leia pipes up, leaning across the table to take the icky crusts from her brother’s plate and dipping them into her tomato soup.
“But it was dry macaroni,” Anakin says incredulously. Luke’s eyes start getting misty as he stares resolutely down at his plate. That’s the last thing Anakin wants. But he just doesn’t understand. Luke’s the most creative of both of his children, has seemed to take after Anakin in that way. Last Christmas, Anakin had given him a model train set that he’d put together inside of a week. If he can do that, he can do a self-portrait in dry macaroni.
“He gave Din all of his noodles,” Leia reports.
“Didn’t Din have any?” Anakin asks, feeling completely out of his element and also sort of like a detective trying to solve a cold case.
“He wanted to save them for his puppy,” Luke mumbles. “They just got him and they can’t figure out what he eats, so Din thought he could try macaroni because I told him I like macaroni and cheese a lot.”
Anakin is on the cliff of despair, but he can’t exactly ask whether or not this Din knows there’s a difference between the dried macaroni from art class and boxed macaroni and cheese from Kraft. He’s not sure he even wants to know the answer.
“And then Luke didn’t have a lot left for his picture,” Leia finishes the story and her soup in one fell swoop.
“Couldn’t you have asked Mr. Kenobi for more?” Anakin asks Luke who shakes his head but doesn’t seem to want to elaborate. Anakin turns only slightly pleading eyes to Leia, who is the expert on anything her brother doesn’t want to say.
“Mr. Kenobi sits at the front, and Luke sat at the back today so it was really far.”
“But you always sit at the front!” Anakin says, appalled. Sure, he hadn’t managed to make it to the most recent round of parent-teacher conferences due to an unfortunately timed shift at the garage, but he knows where his kids sit in a classroom.
Luke mumbles something into his bowl.
“What was that?” Anakin asks.
Leia translates. “Din doesn’t sit at the front,” she says.
Anakin sits back in his chair and runs a hand over his mouth. Luke has a crush. His son, Luke, has his very first crush on a boy and he’s already doing stupid things in order to see the boy. Oh no. Oh god. Of all the things to take after Anakin on, it’s this one.
“Okay,” he says, mostly to himself. “It’s okay. Unicorns aren’t so bad.”
“Way better than giraffes,” Leia tells her brother bracingly, seeming to know instinctively that the gossiping part of this conversation is over. “And you got a rainbow, which means Mr. Kenobi isn’t mad.”
Anakin wonders, with the context, if that’s actually what the rainbow means, or if Mr. Kenobi isn’t just incredibly observant.
“TV time, kids,” he says, only feeling sort of bad about the screentime or whatever, as Luke perks up and runs with Leia into the living room.
After five minutes to make sure they’ve successfully turned on and found a child-appropriate show, Anakin gathers the dishes and loads the washer. Then he sighs as loud as he can without disrupting the kids.
Then he pulls out his phone and the school directory and finds the email for one Mr. Obi-Wan Kenobi, art teacher.
It takes him twenty minutes to figure out an email that doesn’t sound too judgemental, harsh, worried, skeptical, or angry. It takes another five minutes to figure out how to sign off on it. Kind regards? Best? Thanks? Sincerely? What is the etiquette for emailing your son’s art teacher to arrange a meeting because you’re worried your son will fail the class simply because he’s inherited terrible genes from his father?
It takes ten minutes, in the end, for Mr. Kenobi to email back, and he does so with a very straightforward message. He’s available to chat after school hours tomorrow, if it works for Anakin.
Anakin pulls up his work schedule. He’s supposed to work until five in the evening tomorrow, has already booked a slot at the after-care program for the twins. But.
He texts Ahsoka to ask if she could cover the last few hours of his shift. She texts back a string of rather offensive emojis, but settles down when he tells her it’s for his kids. Technically, he isn’t even lying. He’s just being overbearing.
He spends another fifteen minutes trying to compose a response email in between making sure the kids brush their teeth, wash behind their ears, and have their bags packed for the morning. He’s so stressed out by it that he’s not even sure he includes a signature at all before he hits send. God. Meeting Mr. Kenobi had better be worth all of this stress.
---
Finding Mr. Kenobi’s classroom is almost more stress than the correspondence from the night before had been. The only reason Anakin doesn’t sit down and cry against the garishly yellow brick lining the hallways is that he keeps telling himself that if his two seven-year-olds can do this, Anakin surely can.
The art classroom is tucked away in a forgotten corner of the school and it takes three wrong turns and one accidental entrance into a thankfully deserted first grade room for Anakin to find it. He knocks on the open door and then decides he should call as well to announce his presence. “Uh, Mr. Kenobi? I’m Anakin. Skywalker. We talked last night?” He takes a couple of steps into the room, which is lined in children’s art and paint-stained tables.
A man emerges from a backroom, dressed in a very loose and paint-flecked denim shirt over a white tank top and a pair of slacks. He’s wearing a pair of thick glasses that he takes off as soon as he sees Anakin. His beard is neatly trimmed and his hair, a sort of bronzed auburn, neatly combed.
He’s holding a paintbrush in one hand, and still, of course, Anakin’s dumb brain overrides the part of him that’s saying, This is clearly Mr. Kenobi in favor saying, quite politely, “Oh! I’m sorry. Is Mr. Kenobi back there?”
The man who could not possibly be more obviously the art teacher raises an amused eyebrow.
Look. No one told Anakin that elementary school art teachers could be so attractive. He’d not done anything to prepare for this.
“You must be Luke’s father,” Mr. Kenobi says, waving him forward.
“What makes you say that?” Anakin asks, a tad too defensively, thinking of his own self-deprecating thoughts last night about Luke taking after him when it comes to being sort of stupid around people they liked. He’s just being paranoid.
“The...last...name,” now Mr. Kenobi is definitely trying to hide his smile and Anakin wants to die. “Would you like to sit?”
Anakin does so rather graciously, given the circumstances. He even makes sure he keeps their chairs very far apart. Mostly in order to preserve his own dignity, but he thinks he should get credit for his self-control at this spur of the moment single-parent-hot-teacher conference.
“I’m sorry for my appearance,” Mr. Kenobi says, pulling the oversized button up closed over his tank top. “I must admit, I mostly forgot you were coming by. I was working on one of my own projects.”
“You paint?” Anakin asks.
Mr. Kenobi tilts his head slightly and flicks his eyes around the room as if in answer.
Anakin flushes but digs his heels in. “Well, I don’t know,” he mumbles mulishly. “Do math teachers do math in their spare time?”
This startles a laugh out of the teacher, which makes some long forgotten part of Anakin’s psyche sit up and preen. “I’m sure some of them do,” he says. “No, I do art mostly for the town right now. I’m working on a series of pieces for the public library at the moment.”
Anakin tries his hardest not to obviously melt, but Mr. Kenobi has not looked away from his face much so surely he can see it in his eyes.
“That’s quite. Nice,” Anakin says, coughing into his fist.
“And what do you do?” Mr. Kenobi asks in a way that’s just on the other side of polite. Anakin has the strange thought that if they had cups of coffee between them, he’d feel like he was on a very casual first date.
He has to shake his head to rid himself of that idea. “I’m a mechanic,” he says.
Mr. Kenobi looks interested, of all things. Most people don’t. Most people make some sort of assumption about him, about his life, his ability to parent his children, as if they’re not the ones rolling into his shop at 5:54 pm because their car is “making a funny noise”.
But Mr. Kenobi just looks interested.
“Oh?” He says. “That makes sense. Leia is always talking about how her father can fix anything.”
“Well,” Anakin blushes and looks away. “You know kids. Turn it off and turn it back on usually blows their minds.”
Mr. Kenobi smiles indulgently before clearing his throat. “You wanted to talk about Luke?”
“Oh! Yes!” He had come here with the express desire to talk about Luke with Mr. Kenobi. Not secure a date with Mr. Kenobi. “I saw that Luke got a... unicorn...and a rainbow on his last project, and it made me worry.”
It sounds very, very overbearing coming out of his mouth. This is an elementary school art class. Why did he think that he should come in and talk to a teacher over his son’s bad grade? Especially when it was pretty clear Luke deserved it.
Mr. Kenobi tilts his head in confusion. “Well, yes, I suppose I usually give Luke two suns on his work, so I understand if the change was upsetting to you.”
“And we’re saying that two suns are good?” Anakin checks, feeling very out of his element here.
“Oh, yes, very good,” Mr. Kenobi assures him. “But his last project wasn’t. Well.”
“He says he got distracted,” Anakin mutters, rubbing a hand down his face. “Over a boy.”
“Haven’t we all been there,” Mr. Kenobi murmurs, sounding very amused. Anakin peeks over his fingers at this declaration.
“Yeah,” he says roughly. “That’s sort of exactly what I thought.”
Mr. Kenobi clears his throat again. “Well. That’s why I gave him the unicorn then. It was a bit of bad work, but a very rare showing of it. And the rainbow, to signify that I know he’ll be back to normal again next time. You shouldn’t worry about this one project either, Mr. Skywalker. I do give final grades holistically, not weighted by any one assignment. This is, after all, a children’s art class.”
Anakin wants to thunk his head on the table in front of him. “You do know that all the parents think unicorn means unsatisfactory, right?”
“Why?” Mr. Kenobi has the nerve to look shocked.
“They both start with U, I don’t know,” Anakin says, waving an agitated hand through the air.
“Well, sometimes parents can be quite stupid,” Mr. Kenobi says primly and then looks horrified at himself. “Please don’t tell them I said that.”
Anakin laughs and gets to his feet reluctantly. His worries over Luke have been dealt with, but he finds himself very reluctant to leave.
“Well,” he says slowly, eyes firmly looking only at Mr. Kenobi’s face, “Thank you for meeting with me. I guess you don’t get many frantic parent-teacher conferences over a unicorn sticker.” He ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck with his hand in embarrassment. He can admit now that perhaps he had overreacted.
Mr. Kenobi places his hand delicately over the hand Anakin still has on the table, just for a second, squeezing it with enough pressure that Anakin has to look up at him again. “Only the best parents,” he says with a half-smile.
Anakin finds himself grinning back, unwilling to move his hand now that Kenobi’s touching it. “And, um. If you ever take the kids on an art museum tour or something, and you need chaperones….give me a call.”
“Would I have to wait that long?” Kenobi asks innocently.
Anakin’s never shaken his head no so quickly before. “Any time,” he tells the man very seriously, already backing out of the room. “Before you think too much about it and decide not to would probably be preferable.”
Mr. Kenobi laughs. “I’m sure I’ll think about it a lot,” he says as he turns to go back to his art studio. He calls over his shoulder. “In bed, tonight.”
Anakin trips over a child-sized easel with a loud clatter and an even louder curse, and he can’t decide which of the two should be more thankful school is out for the day. Probably Mr. Kenobi. Yeah. Probably definitely Mr. Kenobi.
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harrywritingsbyme · 4 years ago
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please write a whole smut with bestfriend's dad!harry
Such A Tease
Based Off Of This Ask
And This One
A/N: I’m sorry it’s a bit late again! But your wishes are my command. This is the first official installment of my new ‘Sneaking Around’ series. The structure of this is just like ‘A Series Of Firsts’, series of ‘random’ blurbs that are all connected. This one will have a little bit more interconnection though. Anyways, it’s a filthyy introduction to some characters🤪...Enjoy🙃
You were never one to sneak around. Nor were you one to be into older men. At least, that was the case until you met Harry. You knew that you shouldn’t have been lusting a man that was substantially older than you, let alone a man who was the father of your best friend. It’s just that neither you nor Harry could help yourselves. 
You and Christine were both in your second year of college when you two met and became instant friends. It didn’t take long for you two to become really close and rock solid in your friendship. Once midterms rolled around, the two of you two were inseparable. And the fact that the two of you were from the same place, and lived there all the way up until you both left for college (which wasn’t that far away) solidified the friendship even more. The two of you even joked that the universe really wanted you guys to be friends. 
But after meeting Harry though, you were starting to think that the universe had other plans. 
She had invited you join her to have dinner at her dads. After knocking down the lame excuse of not wanting to intrude on their father daughter time, she was able to finally convince you to tag along with her. What was the harm in having dinner at her dads house? That was what ran through your mind as you said yes to her. You were expecting to have a nice dinner with her dad, and give him an introduction to the girl who’s been hanging around his daughter. That’s it and nothing more.
To be completely frank and honest, you were expecting to find a middle aged (or close to it) man, who was about average in looks and built, and nice. The only thing you got right was the middle aged and nice part. The rest was the complete opposite of your expectations. When the front door opened, you could’ve sworn that you were met with a god. He was the literal epitome of god loves some of us more than others. You couldn’t believe that he was dad. And even though he was your best friends father, his name followed up by the categorization of dilf was going down in your book. Let’s just say that from the moment you stepped foot into his home, you were salivating; and it wasn’t because of the food. As the time passed, you were paying attention to every word that left his mouth; and every muscle that he involuntarily flexed as he finished getting dinner ready. You even made sure to say little so that he could talk to you more. To make matters worse, Harry was one of the nicest and kindest human beings on the planet. Which meant that your thoughts ranged from him ravishing you to walking down an aisle with him at the end of it. You were a complete mess. 
While you were kicking yourself for lusting after your best friends dad (dilf), Harry was doing the same. Harry was kicking himself left and right for lusting after a young woman who was not only young enough to be his daughter, but who was in fact the best friend of his daughter, and therefore a woman he could never have. From the moment he opened the front door, Harry was gone. It was like you were the opposite end of the magnet that was pulling him towards you. Ever since he and Christines mother divorced years ago, Harry had dated and slept with a good (and very healthy) amount of women. In all of that time, he’d never felt the same feeling he got from simply looking at you. He’d gotten close to it a couple times, but he’d never experienced the jolts of electricity that were firing throughout his entire body and the swelling of his heart as he looked and talked to you at this capacity before.
These feelings weren’t the only feelings you and Harry had in common though. The both of you were also hoping and praying that Christine didn’t have to go to the bathroom and leave you two alone together. But that’s exactly what happened.
“M’gonna run upstairs to the bathroom real quick and you two can talk some more. Just no embarrassing stories from when I was a kid.” She announces as she excuses herself from the table, making sure to clearly direct the last part to her father, causing you to let out a small laugh that was filled with nervousness. You were not only nervous at the thought of being left alone with her father, you were nervous at the thought of being alone with the hottest and nicest man in the world; who just so happened to be your best friends dad. After Harry “surrenders” to her request, she leaves you both in the dining room and heads upstairs.
“I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me.” You whisper to him from across the table once you two are completely alone.
“And I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me.” Harry counters simply, dropping his fork and lifting his head to put the entirety of his attention onto you.
“Well you should stop.” You whisper back, looking up from your plate to find Harry’s piercing green eyes staring right back at you.
“And you should do the same.” Harry replies, as slight smirk rising up onto his face in the process; queuing the floodgates between your legs to burst wide open. What makes the gates fall off their hinges is when you feel his sock clad foot rub up against your ankle. Since Harry was a bit older than you, he could easily read into all of your reactions and body language, allowing him to know exactly what buttons to press and how to press them. “Do you mind helping me clear the table Y/n?” He asks abruptly, flipping the topic of conversation from your attraction to each other to the dishes so that you could cool off a bit. He could see how flustered you were by him in that moment so he wanted to give you a little break. 
“I don’t mind Mr. Styles.” You promptly whisper back to him. You were so grateful that the previous conversation was over. He then gives you a little nod and the both of you rise up from the table to collect the nearly empty plates and dishes before bringing them into the kitchen. The two of you then stack them on the counter by the sink before turning to go back into the dining room to collect the rest. Before you could take a good five steps, you’re being pulled back, turned around, and pinned against the kitchen counter. Harry has a hand on your waist and the other is softly nudging your chin up so that you could look at him. And before you know it, after looking into your eyes for confirmation, Harry is lowering his mouth down onto yours. This is what you both had been wanting all night long. You knew that from the outside, his lips were a pretty shade of pink (which is the same shade of pink that may or not paint the head of his cock; you were dying to find out) and they were pillow soft. That was the one of the few things you got right all night long. When his lips met yours, they were the softest and most inviting lips you’d ever felt in your entire life. And the way he was pressed up against you as he kissed you was the best. He was pressed tightly pressed against you and your hands were wound in his hair as your lips moved against each others. The thoughts of how wrong this was were blown out of your minds as soon as your lips touched. As you two continued to kiss, you and Harry began to subtly (not so subtly in actuality) rut against each other. Unfortunately, this doesn’t last long. Your kiss, movements, moans and touches were brought to an abrupt and quick halt when the both of you hear the footsteps leading down the stairs. The both of you quickly move into less compromising positions and focus in on gathering and washing the dishes. 
Once the dinner is finally over and it’s time for you and Christine to head back home, Harry gives her a big hug and kiss to the cheek and you a more friendly hug to (not be too obvious) and the two of you are on your way. As you two are heading back home, you reach into your coat pockets in search of your phone. As you’re feeling around, you stumble across a small piece of paper. When you pull it out, you try your best to look at it without turning on the light. The only things you can see are an H, a couple numbers, and a semicolon next to a single parenthesis to form a winking face. You were a little bit on the sad side (inside of course; Christine couldn’t find out about anything) because you weren’t leaving with Harry’s number. You already knew that you were going to break into Christines phone to get it, but you were hoping to get it from Harry himself. So knowing that he went out of his way to make sure you had it was really nice.
 And from that night on, the rest was history. 
You were constantly covering up bruises on your thighs and neck, and taking aspirin to numb the throbbing and sore feeling between your legs from the way Harry relentlessly (and deliciously) pounded his cock into you. You weren’t trying to hide your sex life from Christine. You wanted to share, and tell her about the amazing (if there was even a word to describe it) sex you were having but you couldn’t. And for reasons that were and are beyond understandable. The last thing you were going to tell your best friend is that you were getting dicked down by her father. Or that you were in love with him. That was a completely different story though. 
At first, the thought of getting caught terrified you. And only you. Harry was a little scared since his daughter was involved in the grand scheme of things, but his fear was nothing in comparison to yours. In fact, he instigated every situation that heightened the possibility of you two getting caught. One time, he tasked Christine with running to the grocery store to pick something he forgot. It took him less than 30 seconds after you two were completely alone for him to drop what he was doing and pull your pants down. It also took him less than 30 seconds to pull both of you guys’ pants up when he heard her car pulling up into the driveway. As the time went on though, you began to become more comfortable and willing to take risks here and there. You and Harry would always try to sneak some time in whenever you were visiting with Christine. And whenever you and Harry both had some alone or downtime, you’d drive to Harry’s on your own so that you two could spend some time together. Now even though the sex was beyond amazing, you guys’ relationship as a whole grew. The two of you were pretty much in a full fledged relationship (except for the disclosure part of course) and you both were very happy.
Fast forward about six months and everything was beyond perfect. You and Harry’s relationship was great and you two were in your own secret bubble of love and sex. And your best friend/ Harry’s daughter was completely oblivious to it all. Everything was perfect. You and Christine had just finished your sophomore year of college and the two of you were now spending time with your families. You’d been staying with your family for a little and she was doing the same with Harry. After about a week of not seeing each other  (you not seeing Christine…and you not seeing Harry) your felt that it was time for some quality time. And believe it or not, Harry and Christine were on the same page. You’d received two text messages, one from Harry and the other from Christine, begging you to come over. Hers had more of a ‘I miss my best friend vibe’ and Harry’s had more of a ‘I miss your pussy and cuddles’ vibe. So you figured that it was time to pay them both a little visit. Christine also mentioned that you should stay over for the weekend. So packed a little bag and you made sure to pack everything you’d need. Some tight and short clothes, no panties (well maybe just one pair since Harry liked ripping them off of you), two pairs of pajamas, and some toiletries. Once you were dressed and packed for the weekend, you hop into your car and you’re on your way to Harry’s home.
Once you arrive, you knock on the door and you’re immediately engulfed in an almost bone crushing hug from your best friend. After a good minuet, you’re finally released from her arms and able to breathe again. She pulls you into the house and as she does, you see Harry rounding the corner into the living room. As soon as you see him, you’re a mess all over again.
“Hey Mr. Styles.” You smile “innocently” to him, giving him a small wave to help your little act out a bit. 
“You know you can call me Harry right?” Harry replies with a smirk as he makes his way over to the couch. As he says this, all the times you were screaming his name (and daddy) as he pounded into you. It was so wrong, but it felt so good. He couldn’t wait until you two were able to get some alone time. 
“Me and my dad were just about to watch a movie and you’re gonna watch it with us.” She interjects, dragging you over to the free couch. 
“Is it the notebook again? Because if it is, then we may need to have an intervention.” You joke, dropping your bag onto the floor and plopping yourself down onto the couch. 
“Don’t blame me! He’s the one who got me hooked on it!” Christine replies, pointing her finger in Harry’s direction. 
“I would’ve never thought that you were into these types of movies.” You ponder, turning your head towards Harry as you kick your shoes off. That was a big fat lie. You knew that Harry was the sappiest man in the world. Whenever you guys weren’t running the risk of getting caught, after sex, the two of you would cuddle and watch a romcom or romance/drama movie. 
“What can I say? I like a good romance.” Harry shrugs, sending you a soft smile. He too was thinking back the romcoms and cuddles you two shared.
“Well lets get it started!” Christine interjects excitedly, pulling both you and Harry from your little moment, and grabbing the remote from the table. You pull the blanket from the back of the couch and throw it over the two of you while she starts the movie.
After about an hour, you were a little restless. You loved spending time with your best friend and you wanted to continue watching the movie with her, but you needed a little break. And the idea you had for this little break may or may not have included Harry. 
“I’m gonna take a little trip to the ladies room.” You whisper to Christine as you pull the blanket off of you. When you stand up from the couch, Harry’s eyes leave the tv screen as you walk away. Instead of going straight upstairs, you stand behind the couch you were just sitting on with Christine and you begin “phase one” of your little break.
Instead of just going upstairs and mouthing to him to come with you, you decide to tease him a bit. Get him worked up so that he’d be running to you. While his attention is still on you, you decide to just go for it and lift up your shirt, exposing your bare breasts to him. In an instant, Harry’s eyes widen and his cock stirs in his pants. He couldn’t believe what you were doing. He thought he was the one who was doing the absolute most to live on the edge, but what you were doing right now tied you both for the top spot of the wilder one in the relationship. He constantly makes sure that Christine’s eyes are clued to the tv screen and he’s not being too obvious when it came to being distracted while he took in your teasing. He watched as you squeezed your breasts and tweaked your nipples. You decided to do this for a minuet or two before lifting your skirt a little to give him a peek and ultimately tiptoeing upstairs. This left Harry’s cock completely hard, and his mind completely scrambled as he tried to figure out a plausible reason to step away. After about five minuets, he comes up with a good enough reason to step away and meet you. 
“Have t’make a phone call for work. I’ll be right upstairs.” He announces to Christine as he stands from his seat. 
“Alright. But can you tell Y/n to hurry up, she’s gonna miss the best parts.” She asks, diverting his attention 
“Maybe she’s handling something.” Harry replies, alluding to the possibility of you getting your period. All she does is shrug in response to him, prompting Harry to dash upstairs. As soon as he reaches the top of the stairs, he makes a b-line to the bathroom. Where you were waiting with your panties around your ankles. When he pushes the door open, he’s met with you standing at the counter looking into the mirror. Without saying a single word to you, Harry steps into the bathroom. He closes and locks the door before standing right behind you.
“What’s wrong daddy? Did I make you hard?” You ask sweetly, diverting your attention from your reflection to him.
“Did I say that you could speak?” Harry whispers calmly, lifting his foot to kick your legs apart. “You’re playing a very dangerous game. I’m leaning towards the thought that you want to get caught.” Harry continues, gripping onto your hips and yanking you back so that you fall against the counter and your backside is closer to him.
“Maybe.” You hum, moving your hips a little in his grasp.
“Oh really?” Harry questions, flipping up the bottom of your skirt. “Well now’s the perfect time to see if you want to get caught little girl.” Harry continues on, sending a sharp swat to your ass to make sure that you know who’s in control of this situation. “You could either lay there and moan, whimper, and cry like you do when were all by ourselves, or you could lay there and take it quietly like the good girl you’re supposed to be.” Harry offers, removing a hand from one of your hips shoving down his sweatpants and boxers down all at once. “Your choice.” He whispers finally before lining his cock up with your sopping wet entrance and slowly pushing into you. “Such a tight little hole f’me.” Harry moans as he continues to push into you.
 “So big.” You whisper as you feel his cock stretching and filling you. It felt so good to have him inside you again. Once he’s fully inside and you can feel him in the pit of your stomach. He doesn’t give you much time to adjust to his size before slightly pulling out of you, just to slam back in. He then continuously slams into you over and over again, grunting and moaning lowly behind you. His cock was constantly pushing at the deepest part of you. He was going so hard that you could feel his balls slapping against your clit over and over again.
“This what you wanted babygirl? Wanted me t’fuck you hard while your best friend is downstairs waiting for you?” He pants, continuing to fuck into you. He missed being inside you. He missed the feeling of your spongy, warm, and wet walls around his cock as he gave you everything he had. And he couldn’t wait to spend the entirety of the following week with you. He’d be able to be inside of you 24/7. That’s where he always wanted to be. 
“Oh my-“ you gasp, feeling his cock dig into your sweet spot. His cock was so good. That was all you could say. The way he masterfully maneuvered his cock in and out of you. He knew exactly how to move and slam into you and make you go numb. He was slamming into you so hard that you could guarantee that your thighs would be sore and bruised. But again, it felt so good. As he continues, Harry yanks you up, keeping the same hard and fast pace from slamming his cock into you.
“Look at yourself baby.” He whispers into your ear, pushing his hand up your tight shirt to cup your breasts in his hands. “A cock crazed little girl getting pounded by daddy. A pretty, moaning, and crying little mess.” Harry chuckles cynically, looking into the mirror to see your worn out yet pleasured face and your watery eyes. He can hear your moans as you get closer and closer to your release. He wraps his thumbs and forefingers around your perky nipples before bending you both down onto the counter. “Feel your walls squeezin’ me baby. Wanna cum for daddy?” Harry pants behind you, feeling his release nearing as well.
 “Please daddy.” You whimper. That was all you could say. Your release was coming at full speed and it wasn’t going to slow down. It was hot and tight in the pit of your stomach and you were going to explode.
“Cum with daddy baby.” He groans once more, sending one final, sharp and power filled thrust into you, pinning his cock right against your sweet spot.
 At that moment, the both of you let go. Your bottom lip was completely raw at this point, you were trying so hard to hold back your moans the entire time and it was getting harder and harder. It felt so good to cum around him, and to feel him cumming inside of you. You were more than welcoming to the warm and sticky cum painting your walls. As Harry came, he was on the verge of collapse. He was finally emptying himself into you. He let go of everything he had and it was like your walls were milking him for more from the way you were convulsing around him. You were pulsating as you came. 
Once you two are done, he pulls out of you and does his pants back up, leaving you slumped over on the counter. Before leaving, the plucks open the mirrored medicine cabinet in front of him and pulls out a bottle of aspirin. He sits it on the counter next to your limp body and just stands behind you to admire the sight. “Might wanna take one, don’t want you to be too sore. Wanna pound into you some more later on.” Harry says nonchalantly. He then brings his hand down to your exposed, sore, and a tiny bit swollen pussy to gather some of his sticky cum that was dripping out. “Might wanna put those panties back on too, don’t want any of m’cum leakin’ out. Want you to be nice and full of it once I empty more of it into you later sweetheart.” Harry continues before bringing his cum covered fingertip to his mouth. He then leans down to press a kiss to the exposed skin of your neck and unlocks the bathroom door to walk out, leaving you alone to try your best to put yourself back together. 
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hannigramficrecs · 4 years ago
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Newly Added Fics 5/16
Hello everyone, sorry again for the slight hiatus! I’ve replied to all the messages in my inbox (at least the ones that were sent to me before this past friday), so if you asked me something before that, be sure to check out my replies!
As usual, I’ve emboldened the fics I really liked and italicized the ones that are incomplete.
Looks Like Love by luvkurai [words: 5,987] — (AU)
After his sister's wedding, Will kisses his childhood housekeeper (and first love).
Betrothed by slashyrogue [words: 3,932] — (AU)
In one month he would marry a total stranger.
Titan Arum by ProxyOne [words: 64,614] — (AU)
Will is a botanist, working in the greenhouse of the local Botanical Gardens. He is getting his life back on track after his divorce, but he can't help but notice someone who keeps coming back to his greenhouse to draw, day after day. A man who seems to have been paying very close attention to him...
Find Me In The Dark by Rising_Phoenix [words: 40,131] — (AU)
After a fateful accident, the marriage of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter has reached its end. Grief and the inability to stop them from falling apart has brought an irreconcilable distance between the formerly deeply devoted couple. While Hannibal is apathetic towards his husband, ignores him, and is withdrawn, Will has started an affair with fellow teacher Francis and drowns his desperation in more and more alcohol. 
Light of All Lights by whiskeyandspite [words: 20,377] — (AU)
Dracula-like fic without any of the vampires
The Stage Just For You by CarnivalMirai [words: 6,494] — (AU + Age Gap)
Will has landed himself the role of Odette for world-famous choreographer Hannibal Lecter's rendition of The Swan Lake.
There Will Be Bells by Entropyrose [words: 36,639] — (A/B/O)
In Georgian England, male omegas are very rare diamonds. Baron and Baroness Graham have a plan to build their wealth and social status by offering their son Will's hand in marriage to a mysterious older Duke, an Alpha named Lord Hannibal Lecter. Will's personal feelings need not apply.
Alpha Mart by slashyrogue [words: 63,164] — (A/B/O)
Will needs an alpha. After years of fake knots, half-assed suppressants, and his own damn hand during heats he’s reached the end of his rope. He doesn’t do dating so he decides to waste his life savings and hype with the current trend. Alpha Mart.
Enchanted By Your Name by CarnivalMirai [words: 9,207] — (A/B/O + PWP)
“Now, my husband would prefer it if I got the job done quickly.” He says, slashing down the back of each gag as he passes each man, watching as the silk falls gracefully to the floor. “However, I want to have some fun. Considering you’ve troubled my husband so much… it’s only fair, right?” One of the men whimpered fearfully. Or: The name "Will Graham" is a name you'll only ever hear once.
I've Been Building Black Ships by cloudsarefluffy [words: 8,116] — (A/B/O + AU)
Alpha Hannibal moves to the States with his sister Mischa after being overtly done with the fancy life of a count, and his blind omega neighbor gives him an insight into love that he never quite expected.
A Rare Find by hit_the_books [words: 5,379] — (A/B/O + AU)
Life as an omega bookseller can be quite lonely. However, as the owner of Graham’s Books, Will Graham is reasonably content. That is until he meets—long-time customer and crush—Doctor Hannibal Lecter in person for the first time. Attraction blossoming between them both, Will agrees to a dinner date with the good doctor.
We All Have a Hunger by 1ntothew1ld [words: 12,260] — (A/B/O + Age Gap)
Hannibal will ensure a properly slow and painful death for an alpha who allowed a beautiful young omega to go to waste as this one has. Too skinny for his own good, a stuttering and humble mess. The likes of the omega in front of him belonged at Opera houses and in million-dollar mansions, not scrounging for his next meal. Meek and afraid in some disheveled row house. When he finally looked back up the alpha had to conceal the utter punch to the stomach that meager glance was, blue eyes full of innocence but also hunger.
The Doctor Is In by Kummerspeck7 — (A/B/O + PWP)
Will nearly scoffed. "You can't expect me to believe you'd want anything other than a delicate flower to adorn your side, keep your ostentatious home, bare you the exact number of children you want--No more, no less-- all while being available at your whims." "Not at all." Hannibal disagreed. "I would no more put a wilting flower in my home than in a bouquet given as a gift. Tell me, Will, is that how you are treated? Forbidden from work, cloistered inside and used at Mr Brown's discretion?" "My Alpha's discretion." Hannibal looked pointedly at the curve of Will's neck, free from a single scar. "Not yet he isn't."
Teenage Wildlife by writtenbyizzy [words: 10,163] — (Age Gap + Sugar Daddy)
While reluctantly prowling Grindr for a sugar daddy to pay for his dog Bean's vet bills Will comes across Hannibal, and gets far more than he bargained for.
Just As Poised As I Remember by CarnivalMirai [words: 5,721] — (Age Gap + School)
When Will was in high school he had an incredibly handsome psychology teacher-- tall and sharp with a thick European accent. And now, a decade later, said psychology teacher-turned psychiatrist... just swiped right on him.
We Can Chase the Dark Together by K_R_Closson [words: 16,615] — (Fantasy)
Will tips him and Hannibal off the cliff. Instead of hitting the water, he wakes up in his bed, several years in the past. His first, and only, priority is to find Hannibal again.
We Killed a Dragon Last Night by inameitlater [words: 88,150] — (Fantasy)
Will remembers falling. He wakes up months before Jack got him to work for him. Months before he met Hannibal for the first time. Free from his past he decides to change events and meet Hannibal again.
My Only Constant Is You by TheSilverQueen [words: 25,369] — (Fantasy)
Hannibal Lecter is an immortal who can never die. Will Graham is a time traveler who can never stay in one place. Perhaps that is why they are perfect for each other.
Motinos Kalba by Lyla_Joy [words: 6,040] — (Fluff)
Five times Hannibal Lecter spoke Lithuanian on accident and one time he meant too.
You Make Me Feel (Good) by sourweather [words: 7,190] — (Fluff)
Will Graham has sensory issues. The world gets too loud, he gets overstimulated easily, but most of all he hates being touched. He never expected someone to work so hard to make him comfortable, to be so patient with him.
Pick Me Up by sourweather [words: 6,053] — (Fluff)
Will doesn't go to bars much. He doesn't end up needing a ride home much. But when he does get drunk, he always wants to ask Hannibal to pick him up.
Hard to Get by JSinister32 [words: 5,561] — (Jealousy)
Will and Hannibal had been broken up for six months. When confessions are made during a work function, can they find it within themselves to forgive?
Polar Opposites by Lyla_Joy [words: 19,513] — (Kidnapping)
“Says the cannibalistic serial killer who knocked me out and is now holding me hostage,” sassed Will. The Ripper didn’t smile but his eyes crinkled in the corner. “Please call me Hannibal.”
Fate Is A Keen-Eyed Hound by LydiaFearing [words: 5,890] — (Mischa)
Hannibal may be a successful, charming psychiatrist but Mischa worries that her brother is lonely so she gifts him a puppy. Hannibal reluctantly falls for his little dog but wants to get involved with time-consuming FBI work and not just anyone can be allowed to look after his pet. Luckily, Alana can recommend a boarding kennel in Wolf Trap.
The Significant Other: The Will and Hannibal Edition by house_of_lantis [words: 18,431] — (Murder Husbands)
After their terrible and abrupt break up, Will and Hannibal attempt to maneuver through their social circles, side step ongoing gossip, and deal with the fact that Will knows the truth of Hannibal. Through impossible odds, Will and Hannibal do find their way to each other again.
Dancing with the Beast by proser [words: 86,347] — (Murder Husbands)
In order to catch a mediocre serial killer, Will must pose as Hannibal's date for a series of pretentious social events. Hannibal is dramatic and jealous as ever, and Will is having a great time without the encephalitis. Of course, it's a love story.
Arriving at the Crossroads by HigherMagic [words: 7,558] — (Mpreg)
"You haven't been my psychiatrist for a long time," Will echoes. "But you've been my friend. You've helped me. With…" He gestures vaguely to his head. "When my brain was on fire. On consults. When it's dark and I need a guiding light." "It pleases me very greatly to be a source of comfort and reassurance for you, Will," Hannibal says. "I have wanted to be that for you, for a long time."
The Hanged Man by justhavesex [words: 13,076] — (Mpreg)
Will Graham had never wanted children before, but he had never considered it to be a consequence of his omegan brain not finding anyone worthy, but the moment he had met Hannibal Lecter he had been filled with want. In which a dinner party one-night stand results in a pregnancy that changes Will's entire life.
I Don't Even Like Lana Del Rey by perpetuallycaffeinated [words: 4,328] — (PWP)
The tension and low thrum of arousal were making Will speak impulsively. He knew this, but he’d just finished his drink. There was nothing he could use to stop the question, blunt and presumptuous and rude. “So, what, you’re my daddy?”
A Bad Combination In The Dark by perpetuallycaffeinated [words: 1,957] — (PWP)
When a nerve wracked Will Graham accidentally cuts his hand on Dr. Lecter's letter opener, things quickly get out of control.
The Best Bait by sourweather [words: 3,327] — (PWP)
Will is a good fisherman, he knows which bait to use for his catch. Will seduces Hannibal at a party by being sexy.
Whimsy by justheretoreadhannibalfics [words: 3,001] — (School)
Doctor Hannibal Lecter is standing in as a teacher while Professor Graham is out of town on a case. The students start to kind of like him, and become very invested in his love life.
Callipygian by ProxyOne [words: 2,260] — (Season 1)
Hannibal has a lot of sketches of Will, which he normally keeps safely away. One day though, Will shows up unexpectedly and Hannibal is caught unawares, and unprepared.
L'appel Du Vide by sourweather [words: 5,413] — (Season 1)
Will is hiding things from his coworkers. From himself. But Doctor Lecter knows.
Friends Don't Frame Friends: A Lesson for a Clueless Cannibal by LadyFelixTristis [words: 5,041] — (Season 1)
Ear? What ear? Will Graham doesn’t try to thwart Hannibal Lecter’s plans for him. He just does. By accident. And then on purpose.
For All My Pride, You Were the Fall of Me by nobetterlove [words: 13,212] — (Season 2)
After being released from the BSHCI, Will grabs the dogs he can't live without and leaves without a trace
Letters to God by CarnivalMirai [words: 4,698] — (Season 3+)
Will writes letters to Hannibal every day after his incarceration. But they never make it.
Blankets, Coffee Cups, and Christmas Morning by sourweather [words: 6,352] — (Season 3+)
Hannibal wants to enjoy the domesticity. The love, the closeness, the being Known. But something about his life with Will makes him want to lash out.
All These Fictionary Tales by ProxyOne [words: 18,492] — (Season 3+)
After the fall, Hannibal is presumed dead. Will has been declared dead. But Will isn't willing to believe that Hannibal would just abandon him like that 
Seduction by BloodunderMoonlight [words: 7,086] — (Season 3+)
“For fuck’s sake, Hannibal.” Will glared at him, brimming with wrath he had only seen behind Will’s gun. He had no doubt Will would draw out a knife from beneath the duvet or pillows, but clearly words were enough to make him gobsmacked—“Are you a fucking virgin or monk? If all these can’t get you to bed then I don’t know what can.” Hannibal stood gaping at Will.
Blood, Cedar and Dog Hair by sourweather [words: 3,351] — (Season 3+)
Something terrible happens while Hannibal is in prison. Something he never prepared for.
Hidden Potential by sourweather [words: 20,789] — (Soulmates)
The first time you make eye contact with your soul mate, you see a vision of their greatest accomplishment. They call it your Peak. Unfortunately for Will Graham, his soul mate's Peak is a vision of blood and horror. Fortunately for Hannibal Lecter, his soul mate's is too.
Karoliai by slashyrogue [words: 4,577] — (Sugar Daddy)
Will works at a jewelry store. He has worked there for three months and sold less than any other person there. His boss tells him to sell something by the end of the day or he may not have a job tomorrow. If there was one thing Will hated more than having to talk people into buying jewelry they didn’t need, it was trying to do it two days before Valentine’s Day.
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fuckyeahgoodomens · 4 years ago
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Was doing Staged a big decision, because it’s so personal and set in your homes? Georgia Tennant: We’d always been a very private couple. Staged was everything we’d never normally say yes to. Suddenly, our entire house is on TV and so is a version of the relationship we’d always kept private. But that’s the way to do it, I guess. Go to the other extreme. Just rip off the Band-Aid.
Anna Lundberg: Michael decided pretty quickly that we weren’t going to move around the house at all. All you see is the fireplace in our kitchen.
GT: We have five children, so it was just about which room was available.
AL: But it’s not the real us. It’s not a documentary.
GT: Although some people think it is.
Which fictional parts of the show do people mistake for reality? GT: People think I’m really a novelist because “Georgia” writes a novel in Staged. They’ve asked where they can buy my book. I should probably just write one now because I’ve done the marketing already.
AL: People worry about our elderly neighbour, who gets hospitalised in the show. She doesn’t actually exist in real life but people have approached Michael in Tesco’s, asking if she’s OK.
Michael and David squabble about who’s billed first in Staged. Does that reflect real life? AL: With Good Omens, Michael’s name was first for the US market and David’s was first for the British market. So those scenes riffed on that.
Should we call you Georgia and Anna, or Anna and Georgia? GT: Either. We’re super-laidback about these things.
AL: Unlike certain people.
How well did you know each other before Staged? GT: We barely knew each other. We’ve now forged a friendship by working on the show together.
AL: We’d met once, for about 20 minutes. We were both pregnant at the time – we had babies a month apart – so that was pretty much all we talked about.
Did you tidy up before filming? AL: We just had to keep one corner relatively tidy.
GT: I’m quite a tidy person, but I didn’t want to be one of those annoying Instagram people with perfect lives. So strangely, I had to add a bit of mess… dot a few toys around in the background. I didn’t want to be one of those insufferable people – even though, inherently, I am one of those people.
Was there much photobombing by children or pets? AL: In the first series, Lyra was still at an age where we could put her in a baby bouncer. Now that’s not working at all. She’s just everywhere. Me and Michael don’t have many scenes together in series two, because one of us is usually Lyra-wrangling.
GT: Our children aren’t remotely interested. They’re so unimpressed by us. There’s one scene where Doris, our five-year-old, comes in to fetch her iPad. She doesn’t even bother to glance at what we’re doing.
How was lockdown for you both? AL: I feel bad saying it, but it was actually good for us. We were lucky enough to be in a big house with a garden. For the first time since we met, we were in one place. We could just focus on Lyra . To see her grow over six months was incredible. She helped us keep a steady routine, too.
GT: Ours was similar. We never spend huge chunks of time together, so it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At least until David’s career goes to shit and he’s just sat at home. The flipside was the bleakness. Being in London, there were harrowing days when everything was silent but you’d just hear sirens going past, as a reminder that something awful was going on. So I veered between “This is wonderful” and “This is the worst thing that ever happened.”
And then there was home schooling… GT: Which was genuinely the worst thing that ever happened.
You’ve spent a lot of time on video calls, clearly. What are your top Zooming tips? GT: Raise your camera to eye level by balancing your laptop on a stack of books. And invest in a ring light.
AL: That’s why you look so much better. We just have our sad kitchen light overhead, which makes us look like one massive shiny forehead.
GT: Also, always have a good mug on the go [raises her cuppa to the camera and it’s a Michael Sheen mug]. Someone pranked David on the job he’s shooting at the moment by putting a Michael Sheen mug in his trailer. He brought it home and now I use it every morning. I’m magically drawn to drinking out of Michael.
There’s a running gag in series one about the copious empties in Michael’s recycling. Did you lean into lockdown boozing in real life? AL: Not really. We eased off when I was pregnant and after Lyra was born. We’d just have a glass of wine with dinner.
GT: Yes, definitely. I often reach for a glass of red in the show, which was basically just an excuse to continue drinking while we were filming: “I think my character would have wine and cake in this scene.” The time we started drinking would creep slightly earlier. “We’ve finished home schooling, it’s only 4pm, but hey…” We’ve scaled it back to just weekends now.
How did you go about creating your characters with the writer Simon Evans? AL: He based the dynamic between David and Michael on a podcast they did together. Our characters evolved as we went along.
GT: I was really kind and understanding in the first draft. I was like “I don’t want to play this, it’s no fun.” From the first few tweaks I made, Simon caught onto the vibe, took that and ran with it.
Did you struggle to keep a straight face at times? AL: Yes, especially the scenes with all four of us, when David and Michael start improvising.
GT: I was just drunk, so I have no recollection.
AL: Scenes with all four of us were normally filmed in the evening, because that’s when we could be child-free. Usually there was alcohol involved, which is a lot more fun.
GT: There’s a long scene in series two where we’re having a drink. During each take, we had to finish the glass. By the end, we were all properly gone. I was rewatching it yesterday and I was so pissed.
What else can you tell us about series two? GT: Everyone’s in limbo. Just as we think things are getting back to normal, we have to take three steps back again. Everyone’s dealing with that differently, shall we say.
AL: In series one, we were all in the same situation. By series two, we’re at different stages and in different emotional places.
GT: Hollywood comes calling, but things are never as simple as they seem.
There were some surprise big-name cameos in series one, with Samuel L Jackson and Dame Judi Dench suddenly Zooming in. Who can we expect this time around? AL: We can’t name names, but they’re very exciting.
GT: Because series one did so well, and there’s such goodwill towards the show, we’ve managed to get some extraordinary people involved. This show came from playing around just to pass the time in lockdown. It felt like a GCSE end-of-term project. So suddenly, when someone says: “Samuel L Jackson’s in”, it’s like: “What the fuck’s just happened?”
AL: It took things to the next level, which was a bit scary.
GT: It suddenly felt like: “Some people might actually watch this.”
How are David and Michael’s hair and beard situations this time? AL: We were in a toyshop the other day and Lyra walked up to these Harry Potter figurines, pointed at Hagrid and said: “Daddy!” So that explains where we’re at. After eight months of lockdown, it was quite full-on.
GT: David had a bob at one point. Turns out he’s got annoyingly excellent hair. Quite jealous. He’s also grown a slightly unpleasant moustache.
Is David still wearing his stinky hoodie? GT: I bought him that as a gift. It’s actually Paul Smith loungewear. In lockdown, he was living in it. It’s pretty classy, but he does manage to make it look quite shit.
---
Omg the mug’s origins :D
‘GT: Also, always have a good mug on the go [raises her cuppa to the camera and it’s a Michael Sheen mug]. Someone pranked David on the job he’s shooting at the moment by putting a Michael Sheen mug in his trailer. He brought it home and now I use it every morning. I’m magically drawn to drinking out of Michael. ‘
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admiral-alby · 4 years ago
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bob fic recs galore
here’s the fruits of my labour. a working fic rec master-post containing multiple bob ships and many, many amazing fics. the writers in this fandom are absolutely incredible and their talent astounds me every time I read a new fic. all the kudos to y’all. keep on keeping on!
this is a long post. recs and some general notes are under the cut :)
(04/13/21) I’ll do my best to keep this list updated... or I’ll make a part 2 depending on length. if anyone has any recs that are not already listed in this post, please please message me! this is no way an exhaustive list and I’m sure I missed some fantastic fics out there - to get started I mostly just plucked from my bookmarks. I’d be happy to add on new fics for ANY pairing, rare-pairs included. I don’t really have much for rare-pairs in this rec because I haven’t read much yet but that will change soon when I have some more time on my hands to get into them  :)
if you are an author on this list and you would like your work removed from it, please just message me. no explanation necessary I will take it off asap.
I’ll make the disclaimer that while I tried to include some general information about each fic, I did not include tags/warnings. so if you choose a fic, read the tags and proceed at your own discretion.
 @capsparkyspeirs   you’re a lovely human being and this is probably not what you were imagining when I said I’d be happy to rec some fics for you. I admit it got a little out of hand but there’s so many great fics out there I couldn’t stand to choose just a couple to send your way... so you get them all! you inspired me to do this, so this is for you and anyone else who wants to read some great fics but doesn’t know where to start <3
WINNIX (RICHARD WINTERS/LEWIS NIXON)
Long Ago and Far Away (Canon Winnix) by churchkey (Series) Rated T-E / Canon Era / 18013 Words (Total) / 4 Parts / Not Complete
Summary: “A few scenes exploring how Dick and Lew became the timeless cosmic lovers they were born to be.“
*Each part can be read as a stand-alone!
It Happened One Night by raquelelpillo Rated M / Groundhog Day AU / 7704 Words / Complete
Summary: “ Nixon gets the chance to do the day before the big jump over and over and over (or, Every Fandom Needs Groundhog's Day Fic).”
Finding Our Way in the Dark by rilla Rated E / Canon Era / Soulmate AU / 8477 Words / Complete
Summary: “After Dick and Lew share their first kiss in Austria, they open their eyes to find a golden thread binding their wrists together.“
Mutual by miss_grey Rated G / Canon Era / 2105 Words / Complete
Summary: “Dick couldn’t help wondering to himself when exactly Nix had decided that Dick’s personal space had become their mutual space.“
Let Me Be Close by armyofbees  Rated G / Canon Era (Post-War) / 8679 Words / Complete
Summary: “Five things Nix loves about Dick, and one thing Dick loves about Nix.Or,The thing about Nix, Dick is beginning to learn, is that he doesn’t love in halves. Nix loves with everything in him, and sometimes that means moving to the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania for Dick. Sometimes it means making spaghetti with him because Dick came to New Jersey and planted tomatoes, of all things. Sometimes it means telling without saying.”
Let’s Start the New Year Right by slightlytookish Rated G / Canon Era (Post-War) / 10523 Words / Complete
Summary: “Nix had always been able to pick Dick out of a crowd, even when he was lying on his belly in the dirt two hundred yards away, squinting through binoculars at an entire company of men wearing identical uniforms. It was easier to spot him in the crush of people inside Penn Station, even out of the familiar uniform: the same tall figure, the same bright hair, the same way he always seemed to find Nix just as easily and turn towards him, like an arrow on a compass.”
Lancaster County by raquelelpillo Rated T / AU / 31500 Words / 17 Chapters / Complete
Summary: “Nix is born later. Dick is there. (AU). Set in the summer of 1942 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.”
**It is part of a series with the other works being small ‘extras’ set through the story. This is the main work. It ends a bit ambiguously.
SPEIRTON (RONALD SPEIRS/CARWOOD LIPTON)
The Desolate House by Howling_Harpy Rated E / Canon Era (Post-War) / 26672 Words / Complete
Summary: “It's been fifteen years since Carwood has last seen or spoken to Speirs when they reunite suddenly at an Easy Company reunion and have both recently relocated back to the US. Carwood has promised to his mother to finish packing and cleaning the family's boarding house that's about to be put up for sale, and on a whim invites Speirs to help him. He didn't expect him to actually show up.”
and you on my mind by seabright Rated E / Canon Era (Post-War) / 11081 Words / Complete
Summary: “’You say that you don’t want any of Easy to know that you’re in Boston but you give me your address.’  Following a relationship through the end of the war and beyond.”
Of Soldiers and Secrets by nanuk_dain Rated E / Canon Era / 62988 Words / 26 Chapters / Complete
Summary: “A series of moments in the life of the Easy men, from Foy until after the war, focussing on the development of the relationship of Carwood Lipton and Ronald Speirs.”
Erasure by Howling_Harpy Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 15255 Words / Complete
Summary: “Carwood takes time off from work to visit his mother to get away from his lonely life in Boston. Ron is deployed to Korea and has been for a long while, and after spending a year alone and even longer lying to everyone, Carwood is not sure he wants to live like this anymore.”
Fluences by masongirl (Series) Rated T-M / Canon Era / Soulmates AU / 12818 Words (Total) / 5 Works / Complete
Summary: “ Soulmate AU in which soulmates can sense each other's emotions if they are close enough.”
**Mainly Speirton centric. Part 2 is Winnix & Part 3 is Shifty/Tab.
A Thousand Kisses by Arwen88 Rated T / Canon Era / 1993 Words / Complete
Summary: “ A late night in Hardigny brings Carwood to the room where Ron is dealing with paperwork, but even with a comfortable bed, he can’t find his peace. Late night chats have Ron showing a side of himself that Carwood had not expected.”
stop the world by languageofthebirds Rated T / Canon Era / 3001 Words / Complete
Summary: “The way his hair fell in mussed waves over his forehead made Carwood want to reach out and run his fingers through it. He was sin personified, in that moment.”
**Did I throw in a shameless self promo? Sure did.
WEBGOTT (JOSEPH LIEBGOTT/DAVID WEBSTER)
rivers always reach the sea by bitchbutter (Series) Rated E / Canon Era / 40790 Words (Total) / 2 Works / Not Complete / Last Updated March 17, 2021
Part 1 Summary: “Joe breaks things off with Web in Austria. Of course, nothing with them is ever that simple.“
Part 2 Summary: “The end of the war could be the end of a lot of things. If Joe could let it be.“
if i know you at all, i know you’ve gone too far by starblessed Rated T / Canon Era / 2654 Words / Complete
Summary: “How many stars d’you think there are, Web?” Joe asks after a moment.David has no damned clue. “A lot,” he answers confidently. “Millions.”“Millions,” echoes Joe. The glittering stars are reflected in his eyes, like black pits sending each beam of light back outward. It’s almost hypnotizing, the way they flicker. If he stares too long, David knows he will get lost in them...  and that doesn't seem like the worst way to go.”
Teller of Tales; Song of Songs by thedastardly Rated E / Canon Era (Post War) / 8352 Words / Complete
Summary: “He hopes that he dreams about the mountaintop tonight. He isn’t in the mood to dream of the water, the shore, the everything after, again.”
the only noise beating out is ours by lakehymn Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 3470 Words / Complete
Summary: “Over the next couple weeks, Webster realizes that Liebgott has effortlessly invaded every corner of his life. Even on the days when he barely sees Liebgott at all, he can always find comic books or packs of cigarettes lying around somewhere. It’s almost disconcerting how ordinary it’s beginning to feel to stumble upon someone else’s belongings in his own house.”
push and pull by LT_Aldo_Raine
Rated T / Modern AU / 4115 Words / Complete
Summary: ““got hands like an ocean, push you out, pull you back in” And David Webster never could resist the ocean. OR: Webster snorted, a sardonic sound that echoed across the hotel room. “You don’t know the first thing about what I need.””
hang in there, baby by rilla Rated M / Modern AU / 3116 Words / Complete
Summary: “Written for the Kisstober prompt 'upside down Spiderman kisses'. '“I don’t know what I was expecting when I asked you what your top fantasy is,” Web says, “but it wasn’t this."'”
In His Wildest Dreams by Impala_Chick Rated E / Canon Era / Dream Sharing AU / 3891 Words / Complete
Summary: “While David is in the hospital, he starts sharing dreams with Liebgott.“
Black Ink on Some Blue Lines by thelastfig Rated E / Canon Era & Post War / 10185 Words / Complete
Summary: “It’s been sixteen years since the letter was written, but it never found its way to the one it was intended for. The thing about secrets is they eat away at you, not all at once but slowly over the years, and you begin to wonder, to play out the what if scenarios in your mind. Instead, David buried it away and pretended like it never existed. He should have killed it, he thinks to himself, not buried it while it still had breath in its lungs. In which David remembers his evolving relationship with Joe over the course of the war and decides to deliver a letter.”
LUZTOYE (GEORGE LUZ/JOSEPH TOYE)
The best laid plans by masongirl (Series) Rated G-E / Modern AU / 52652 Words (Total) / 15 Parts / Complete
Summary: “Modern AU in which Joe and George find each other as college students and build a life together.“
each and every day (of the year) by bruce_the_shark Rated M / Modern AU / 21630 Words / 2 Chapters / Complete
Summary: “Joe grins, lifts his hand from George’s hip to grip him by the chin, twists his face around to catch his lips in a bruising kiss. George relishes in it, likes how the taste of Joe’s preferred brand of liquor mixes with the taste of his own on his tongue. He grins against Joe’s lips, knows it’s going to be a good year.”
Babysitting and Other Rationales by aces_low Rated T / Modern AU / 3267 Words / Complete
Summary: “George Luz is a god damn saint, or at least some kind of kid whisperer. And Joe's just trying to keep his head on straight.”
who let the dogs in? by starblessed Rated T / Modern AU / 1869 Words / Complete
Summary: ““And he heard me shouting and I guess it inspired him or something, cause he full-on charged at me, Joe, and before I could even slam the door, he was just —“ George cuts off with an incoherent noise, gesturing grandly to their front door. “In! And then he was running, and sniffing everything, and exploring our shit, and he peed —““Not on my damn couch,” Joe growls.“No, on the nice carpet. Marking his territory, y’know? Except it’s our territory, but I guess it’s his now, because he won’t freakin’ leave.”
BABEROE (EDWARD HEFFRON/EUGENE ROE)
Call me sweetheart, please? by mariamegale (Series) Rated G-E / Modern AU / 95865 Words (Total) / 12 Works / Complete
Summary: “A not-relationship in the making.”
**Each part could be read as a standalone I suppose... But it’s so worth it to read the whole series!
between the walls by CountlessStars Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 2275 Words / Complete
Summary: “ Eugene decides to paint his living room. It should be easy, it really should, but it doesn't go as planned (in more ways than one).”
Walking Wounded by papersky_pencilstars Rated G / Canon Era / Magic AU / 3501 Words / Complete
Summary: “Prompt: Canon-era; Either Gene or Babe have magic, or both. Maybe magic is known or maybe they need to hide it.”
JOHNNY MARTIN/BULL RANDLEMAN
they don’t know about the up all nights (they don’t know I’ve waited all my life) by PotofCoffee Rated T / Canon Era / 22010 Words / 3 Chapters / Complete
Summary: “ Johnny and Bull throughout the war, in a slow meandering dance you might just call love.”
All My Love to Give by Muccamukk Rated E / Canon Era / 8852 Words / Complete
Summary: “ Johnny wants to screw around to pass the time. Bull wants to show Johnny how he feels without having to risk saying it”
The Red String by Arwen88 Rated M / Canon Era / Soulmates AU / 1834 Words / Complete
Summary: “He had to wrench his gaze away from the sickening sight, from the machine that was probably moments away from killing his soulmate. He would’ve thrown himself under that tank if that meant saving his lover, but he couldn’t do it. He had to take care of his men, and so he forced himself to stop looking, to order his men to retreat, to see that they did what he was screaming at them.“
Over Where You Began Muccamukk Rated E / Canon Era / 2949 Words / Complete
Summary: “ The way Bull saw it, Johnny was mad at him now, and Bull had no idea what he'd done wrong. Maybe it was better to just let it lie, let Johnny come out of whatever angry mood he was in on his own, instead of kicking an ant's nest.”
Simple as a Glass of Chocolate by ThrillingDetectiveTales Rated E / Canon Era / 2600 Words / Complete
Summary: ““It was supposed to be syrup,” Johnny muttered darkly. “Says right there on the can!”“Reckon it started out that way,” Bull shrugged, biting his lip against a smile when Johnny narrowed a glare over his shoulder.(In which Johnny and Bull try to sweeten up their sex life and it doesn't go exactly as planned.)”
CHUCK GRANT/RONALD SPEIRS
to Babel, in ruins by captainkilly Rated T / Canon Era (Post-War) / 5114 Words / Complete
Summary: “Chuck knows recovery isn't a linear event. Knows there are times when words will leave him and the night will place him back beneath the dirt. Knows there are things he just can't speak about.Captain Speirs hears him anyway.”
pulse by captainkilly Rated T / Canon Era  / 4706 Words / Complete
Summary: “ Ron Speirs knows how to kill. Knows how to hurt, how to twist, how to maim. He doesn't think he's figured out how to love, not really, not where it counts the most, but the touches he reserves for Chuck Grant beg to differ.. “
AUTHORS
there are so many authors on this list that have written tons of amazing works for one or multiple pairings. as much as I would have loved to, I couldn’t rec all of their works... I had a hard enough time keeping it down to 3 or less works from the same author! similar to fics, I’ve only linked authors that I am familiar with/know have written multiple fics, so feel free to send me more people to add to the list :)
churchkey - is a sweetheart. has multiple amazing winnix works. she has recently gotten into super rarepair toye/malarkey. godspeed I’ll see you there when I read those fics.
ThrillingDetectiveTales - writes for multiple pairings. all of their works are fantastic! every time I see their name as the author I go !! and know it’s going to be good.
Howling_Harpy - has written so many fics. many different pairings. lots of speirton. they’ve ripped my heart out and made me cry but then gently kissed my forehead and put my heart back. I think that’s praise of the highest order.
masongirl - another fantastic author who has written so many amazing fics. tons of speirton and other ships too. also has made me cry and then quietly wiped my tears away.
mariamegale - baberoe queen. that’s all I have to say. I was tempted to just rec all her baberoe fics. check them out!
Muccamukk - another multi ship, multi works writer. i had a hard time only choosing a few of their fics to rec. they’ve got so much to offer!
Impala_Chick - writes lots of great webgott and other pairings too!
captainkilly - if i could rec all her fics I would. there’s some rarepair pieces that are fantastic. I didn’t list it here because it’s more of a character centric piece with an OFC and a little bit of ron/chuck dashed in mostly at the end, but read her form & void series. seriously. read it. I have nothing else to say because her work speaks for itself.
Arwen88 - another writer for multiple pairings with multiple works! love to see it. some great rarepair stuff and also fantastic popular pairings.
LT_Aldo_Raine - love their work! they write for multiple pairings.
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earnestly-endlessly · 3 years ago
Note
hello! do you have any fics where erik and charles are childhood best friends now in a relationship?
Hi anon, thanks for the ask. There are a fair few fics where Charles and Erik are childhood best friends and are now in a relationship but there are actually more where they are childhood best friends and end up in a relationship in the fic. So, I decided to include those in this list since it kind of matches what you're looking for.
Childhood best friends now in a relationship
Work/Life Balance - pocky_slash
Summary: As teens, Charles was the star of a super popular tween/teen television show and Erik was his best friend. As adults, they're a frighteningly domestic married couple and Alex, Darwin, and Sean are Erik's nosy co-workers.
Some Forgotten Corner of the Universe - Black_Betty
Summary: Erik remembers the boy he met on Osiris.
Charles is no longer that boy, but that doesn't mean Erik loves him any less…
A Winter in New York - nextraordinaire
Summary: Charles and Erik have been childhood friends for as long as they can remember – Erik, living with his mother in Queens, and Charles in the big mansion in Westchester. For all, expect themselves, it was just natural progression that they'd end up together.
A series of ficlets from the same universe – can be read as separate and are out of chronological order.
A Very Cherik Sleepover – Penguina
Summary: When Erik invites Charles for one of their traditional sleepovers he doesn't expect it'll turn out that way. Instead of taking the upper bunk bed as usual, Charles decides to curl up in Erik's bed with Erik to keep them warm... However, it gets a little too hot.
Something in the way you move – BrightDream
Summary: Erik and Charles have been best friends for years now, but four months ago their relationship secretly became something more.
This means that when Erik's mom leaves them alone in the house, it's their chance to figure it out just what they can do to make each other feel good, even though there are some deep insecurities that might get in the way...-
Quiet Like a Fire - kianspo
Summary: Charles has been in love with his best friend for years without realizing it. When he finally figures it out, Erik is married to a wonderful woman and has an adorable daughter, who thinks the world of Charles. Erik has the perfect life that Charles helped him build, so there is only one thing for it - get over his feelings. So what if his methods are unhealthy or if Erik has an opinion on the matter? Charles is determined to do the right thing.
Love Story - Sophia_Bee
Summary: Charles and Erik are best friends, until they're not. A love story in three parts.
Curve Fitting - kianspo
Summary: The weird thing is, Charles always introduces Raven as his sister, but he never calls Erik his brother. Erik would be bothered, except he prefers not to think of Charles as his brother, either. He can’t figure it out for four years, and then suddenly he can.
Or. A non-powered AU in which Sharon Xavier never remarries, and Charles 'adopts' not only Raven, but Erik too.
Bad things happen when you mix siblings with spite - inazumaghostking
Summary: Erik is determined to fuck Charles.
Raven is determined to stop them.
a.k.a. a sibling fight ft. two gay boys, a concerned sister, and a closet
Did You See This, Erik! - Iggysassou
Summary: "What if Charles and Erik grew up together, Charles absolutely convinced that he was the one protecting Erik and being super proud of himself for it when in reality, Erik has always secretly protected him with his powers because Charles is simply the most adorable person on Earth."
Hot Cocoa Magic – nextraordinaire
Summary: Charles takes Erik out to the skating rink. Erik has never stood on a pair of skates in his life, but it'll be easy-peasy, right?
For Us Two – aliceecrivain
Summary: Erik is five years old the first time he meets Charles in the forest outside his new home and quickly discovers the other boy is more than he appears. Despite being accidental, the event defines the course of his life in ways he never could have expected.
The two boys grow up together, mutually braving the ups and downs of adolescence, and, over time, become inextricably attached. Initially intimidated by the limits the attachment puts on him, Erik yearns to break free in spite of his own feelings, but learns with time that the connection between them is not something he can live without.
Practical Cartography - pearl_o, pocky_slash
Summary: When Charles discovers how frustrated and self-conscious his best friend Erik is about his ignorance about sex, he's eager to volunteer to help teach him and practice. Charles might not have any more direct experience than Erik, but he does have a telepath's mind full of accidentally picked-up fantasies and memories, as well as knowledge of a few dirty books - and more importantly, he's been madly in love with Erik for years. This seems like a brilliant, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he can't pass up.
Now he just needs to manage to keep his feelings in check, and not ruin their friendship forever.
A Kiss is Just a Kiss – Penguina
Summary: Charles Xavier has always been in Erik's life. However something always gets in the way of Erik actually realizing he has feelings for this adorable dork who was so obviously crushing on him since high school. Until one day, years after their first kiss, Erik finally understands what that feeling he always had for Charles really was! But is he too late? Did he miss his chance to tell Charles 'I love you'? It's been years and did Erik really think Charles would wait for him his entire life?
You and Me Against the World – madmalina
Summary: One important thing to remember: this is a love story.
Twenty years and two lifetimes later. Just two boys learning to mutant, grow up, and love each other.
Wicked Game - obstinatrix, seutedeern
Summary: Erik's reputation as a defender of the weak in elementary school isn't undeserved. He wouldn't have expected a Xavier to fall into that category, but it seems that other people don't see Charles the way Erik does, as a warm, lovely person who should be protected. As the years draw on, Charles and Erik become best friends, inseparable. Everything is perfect, platonically ideal, until it isn't.
Believe (One More Time) – luninosity
Summary: For the prompt, Charles and Erik dated during college and had a bitter break-up right before graduation. It's five years later and they both meet again at their class's reunion for a weekend. Someone was even stupid enough to have them room with each other for the weekend…
If We Met Differently – swoopswoop
Summary: Erik wasn't the only mutant 'taken in' by Shaw, Erik learns this the hard way when a new mutant is dropped into his cell. They manage to escape together, but things aren't all roses after that. Erik has a score to settle and needs to make sure Charles is safe.
With pulses that beat double – aesc, pearl_o
Summary: It has been thirteen years since Charles watched his beloved childhood companion walk out of his life. Now, in fin-de-siècle Paris, a chance overheard remark may lead them to each other's sides once more.
Change is Constant – Black_Betty
Summary: Erik and Charles knew each other in high school, might have even called themselves friends. At their ten year high school reunion, Erik realizes how much has changed.
There is No Future Without You – EnchantedPhoenix
Summary: Charles and Erik were friends when they were children - Until certain circumstances tore them apart. Many years later, when Erik moves to England so that he can study at Oxford University, he certainly doesn't expect to run into his childhood friend again. In fact, he doesn't expect any of the events that follow.
The Cost of a Good Man – archipelago (arcanewriter)
Summary: Erik and his mother flee Europe before the advent of the war to live on the Xavier estate. Charles never questions their good fortune, or his own.
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firelxdykatara · 3 years ago
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Katara x Aang :3c
are you trying to get me in trouble
-cough-
no but in all honesty, my genuine feelings about kataang boil down to three major points: 1. it's boring, and does not jive thematically with either of their character arcs, to the point of, 2. actively hampering character development on both sides, and 3. katara deserved better.
points expanded under the cut. (please, if you're a kataang shipper and you see this, just keep scrolling. i've tagged it appropriately and put the bulk under a cut and at this point that's literally all i can do lmfao.)
send me a ship and get my (brutally) honest opinion!
1. It's Boring: This is the most subjective point on the list (I mean, in fairness, it's all subjective, but I have evidence from the show and post-canonical materials to support my other points; this one is just preference), but there's just... nothing to kataang. It's cute (when it's not actively aggravating), and... that's about it. It's not even that I dislike friends-to-lovers as a shipping trope (though it's not my overall preference), because there are a lot of friends-to-lovers couples that I do ship (kanej comes to mind, also will/elizabeth from potc, karolsen from supergirl, romione and hinny from hp, among others), but one thing that I think all of those couples have that kataang doesn't is that both sides of the pairing are teens or adults when they get together, with teen/adult dynamics and issues and stories to deal with, rather than one half being a teenager and the other being literally prepubescent.
And don't get me wrong, I have no problem with age gap ships in general. And as far as atla goes, Katara, at 14, has the same age difference from Zuko (16) as Aang has from her, and it's never stopped me--because both Katara and Zuko are well into puberty when they meet and I have no problem picturing them being into one another and growing together as they enter adulthood. Aang, on the other hand, is a child. And he acts like it. Which wouldn't be a problem, if the show weren't expecting me to believe he is a) ready for a romantic relationship, and b) ready for one specifically with Katara, who is not only older and far more mature but is specifically cast as his caretaker in a very maternal role for the entire show's run.
This show asks me to believe that a teenage girl well into adolescence is going to be attracted to and develop romantic feelings for a pre-adolescent child--and it asks me to believe this while showing us otherwise that Katara's type is actually older boys with fabulous hair and angsty pasts in all of her other potential romantic dalliances--and then enter into a relationship with him, all while ignoring the elephant in the room that is the fact that she was basically acting like his mother for the entire series to that point. (Something that is heavily lampshaded earlier in the very same season.) That just stretches the bounds of credulity way too far for me, especially when there's no evidence that Katara herself would get anything out of their romantic relationship.
There's nothing there for me to sink my teeth into. No delicious development, no parallels where they help each other grow, no internal conflicts that they have to work through together, nothing. Certainly no reason for me to actually believe Katara feels (or would grow to feel) anything for him other than the platonic affection of a caretaker. I can easily believe she loves him dearly, as a friend and quasi-little-brother, but I just can't see that developing naturally into romantic love--not the way it's presented in the show.
And even if they did manage to at least make the development of Katara's feelings believable, unless they changed something fundamental about the nature of their relationship, it'd still be boring, so.
2. It Actively Hampers Their Character Development--On Both Sides: I've written before (extensively lol im so sorry) about how kataang is actively detrimental to Katara and to Aang. In short (because ye gods this post is already getting long enough), Katara is narratively harmed by being shoved into a relationship that completely ignores her stated feelings--a relationship that had been presented as a one-sided puppylove crush for the vast majority of the series--and it inhibits her growth as a character in ways that become far more obvious in the comics and lok, where the very same creative forces that lead to her beginning a relationship with Aang in the first place reduce her to 'the Avatar's girl' and very little else, all the way through to the end of LoK (where she is a Healer and the Avatar's wife and, again, very little else).
As for Aang:
As to how this relationship is detrimental to Aang (other than the comics and LoK nonsense)? Just take a look at book 2, when he’s trying to learn Earthbending from Toph. Katara constantly coddles him. Much of the time, she’s afraid to be anything other than gentle and understanding with Aang--partly because of her fear that if she pushes him too far, he’ll run away. (Which he does, several times.) But sometimes, what Aang needs to grow is a sharp kick in the slats, which Toph was more than willing to provide--and which worked. Katara was great for teaching Aang to waterbend, but he needed more than that to grow as a person. And he can’t get that while he’s in a relationship with someone who will apologize for getting upset when he was very explicitly neglecting her.
In addition, it is pointed out by Guru Pathik at the end of Book 2 that one of Aang's chakras is blocked by his attachment to Katara. Aang takes this to mean (incorrectly) that he has to stop loving her in order to become fully realized as an Avatar, but this is actually part of the problem--because the issue isn't that he is in love with Katara, it's that he's possessively attached to her. He believes himself entitled to her love in return, rather than selflessly loving someone regardless of whether or not they return that affection. (This is obvious come the EIP episode, where Aang demands to know why he and Katara aren't in a relationship already--because he kissed her without asking [or even checking to see if she'd be ok with kissing him], which he phrases as mutual even though it very much was not, and he gets angry and violates her boundaries when she says that she is confused and doesn't want to think about it right then.)
It is his attachment to Katara--the need for her to return his love, the belief that she will and it is only a matter of time before he gets what he wants--that he was supposed to let go of, not his feelings for her in general. Unfortunately, while he pays lipservice to doing this (far too late for it to be useful--if he'd stayed with the Guru for five more minutes and unlocked his chakra there, that battle would've gone very differently), he almost immediately backtracks on that development come book 3, and there isn't another single whisper of Aang maybe growing up and moving past his one-sided and possessive crush and realizing that even if Katara doesn't feel the same way, it doesn't mean she loves him less or that their friendship is less important.
What really needed to happen, for Aang to grow as a person and become fully realized as an Avatar, was for him to grow up. To realize that his feelings were not of paramount importance, and that even if he was in love with Katara, he was not entitled to her love in return. He should have been able to move past his need for her to love him back, in order to get past that stumbling block, unlock his chakras, and regain the Avatar State in time to face the Firelord. But he didn't. As a result, they had to find some other way to just give him the Avatar State (a well-placed rock) and the means to defeat Ozai without killing him (the deus ex lionturtle) and his entire character arc just fell apart in the third act rather than reaching a satisfying conclusion.
3. Katara Deserved Better: This really ties into how her romantic relationship with Aang hampered her own development, but I'm still bitter enough about it that it gets its own bullet-point. And the biggest single reason I could never ship kataang--the thing that would've turned me off even if there were substance and a halfway decent storyline for them--is the fact that Aang kisses her without her consent (for the second time) in Ember Island Players, Katara gets angry at him and storms off, and then..... she walks out onto the balcony to make out with him.
With nothing to bridge that gap.
It's bad enough that a show aimed at children had a scene where the child protagonist kissed the object of his affections without her consent when she didn't want him to (made explicit by her angry reaction)--and this is absolutely an issue when the show is aimed at children and it may well be the first experience they've had with consent issues portrayed in media--but this moment is never addressed again. Katara just decides--completely off-screen--that she does love him Really and walks out to make out with him in the epilogue. There's no conversation, no apology for violating her boundaries, no discussion of why that was wrong or any indication that Aang understands what he did and why it upset her. They don't have a single one-on-one interaction between that kiss and the epilogue, and the only other time they are on screen together, Aang yells at her and storms off.
So, even leaving the comics and lok aside, Katara deserved much better from her own romantic plotline. In fact, she deserved to have one, rather than simply being the oblivious object of Aang's affections, given a couple moments where she blushes but otherwise remains completely ignorant of his feelings (she looks shocked and upset when he kisses her prior to the invasion, and then she completely forgets that even happened because she's confused as to what Aang is even talking about during EIP until he brings it up; that's not the behavior of a fourteen-year-old girl who was kissed by someone she was developing romantic feelings for), before the epilogue where it becomes clear that she figured all of that out off-screen and had feelings for him after all.
She's a main character, not a side-character written in solely to give one of the mains a love interest. She deserved a romantic plotline of her own. (She could have had one with someone else, with very few changes made to what was actually on-screen prior to the epilogue, but that's another conversation entirely.) She deserved to have her feelings considered at all important by the person she was going to be paired with in the end, rather than having him just assume she felt the same way and then get mad at her for never giving any indication of it when he'd never asked about her feelings to begin with. She deseserved agency in her own romantic narrative, and she just didn't get that with Aang.
So yeah, at the end of the day, my biggest issue with kataang is that it involved doing Katara dirty, and she's my favorite character and she deserved so much better damnit.
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earlgreytea68 · 4 years ago
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My Golden Ratio Theory (and television finales)
I have this theory that I call my Golden Ratio Theory. The theory states that there is some golden ratio of angst to end-happiness that you must hit in order to have your audience truly believe in the happy ending and find it satisfying. I do not have any precise mathematical formula in mind, I just know that, proportionately, the more angst in the overall narrative, the longer the happy coda at the end has to be to convince the audience that the ending actually will stay happy. 
Because, the more angst you’ve had through the length of your narrative, the more you’ve conditioned your audience not to trust happiness, to believe that it only lasts for fleeting moments before being yanked away again. If that’s the pattern you have established in your narrative, why would you expect your audience to accept a tacked-on happy ending? Your audience has been primed to mistrust that, to wait for the other shoe to drop. Knowing that it’s the ending doesn’t shift the subjective feeling of anxiety and nervousness at the happiness that’s reared its head. 
This is why television series finales are so often so incredibly unsatisfying. Television series are very long-form angsty narratives. Because of the rules of television storytelling, no one is happy for anything more than a few breaths at a time, because more story must quickly be flung at them to keep the viewer engaged. Television writers tend to keep telling their angsty narrative up until the final five minutes of the whole show, and then they’ll slam a happy ending in there and be like, “Ta-da! They lived happily every after!” 
But the thing is: You don’t feel that, and no wonder, because they never lived happily ever after before, so why should they live happily ever after now? I sometimes see people disdain happy endings as feeling fake or contrived, but this is often what the problem is: the writer not recognizing the Golden Ratio that governs how persuasive a happy ending is to the audience. A five-minute happy ending does feel fake and contrived, and then that gets understood somehow as “all happy endings are fake and contrived,” instead of recognizing that a happy ending is actually really hard to write correctly, not that happy endings are intrinsically bad forms of storytelling. 
So. Golden Ratio theory. You know who violates this theory? Hallmark Christmas movies. You know how the couple never kisses until the last scene? You know how you never leave a Hallmark Christmas movie really shipping the couple? How could you? You know nothing about how they function as a couple. I have nothing against Hallmark Christmas movies -- we watch a lot of them -- but the happy ending of a romantic story is usually not the first kiss, or the moment when they get together. Think about Bridget Jones’s Diary, which is a book and movie I truly love, but like, hahaha, at the end of either, did you have great confidence that Bridget wasn’t going to mess everything up with Mark????? 
Now, some stories are perfectly fine with a quick happy ending because there hasn’t been much angst beforehand, because you’ve already laid the foundation for the happy ending so thoroughly that it makes sense to the audience. I feel like maybe Pride & Prejudice is a story that ends fairly quickly after they get together but there is so much carefully laid-out character development that I think convinces you Elizabeth and Darcy will be okay (as opposed to Bridget Jones, which, although retelling P&P, is also telling a very different story). 
I think about a story like, say, “You’re the Culmination of Everything I’ve Never Had.” I could have ended that story when Patrick shows up and sings “Deep Blue Love” to Pete. But they’d been through so much that I think it would have felt unsatisfying. How did you really know that they wouldn’t find more incredibly harsh words to shout at each other? So everything after that I considered fulfillment of the Golden Ratio: You needed to see them in a cozy Chicago apartment writing music together, you needed to see Pete cuddling a small, dark-haired boy. And then you hit the end and you’re hopefully smiling, thinking, They’ll be totally okay. 
I am biased, because I love to write the Golden Ratio bits. That coda to “Culmination” is my favorite part of the whole fic. But I think also that those bits mean more than might be realized during first-read. Whenever I walk away from a story feeling dissatisfied, even though it had a theoretically happy ending, the problem is almost always one of Golden Ratio. And luckily, that is something many of us are primed to correct in fandom. Why so much curtainfic? We’re constantly trying to Golden-Ratio happiness out of our angsty canons. Sometimes, it takes hundreds of thousands of words to make you think, Okay, they’ll make it. And then you’re ready to hear The End. 
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sevlgi · 4 years ago
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bubblegum pop
requested: no
group: twice
pairing: sana x fem!reader
genre: fluff
contents: rich girl!sana, college!au, cashier!reader.
warnings: none
synopsis: An unfortunately hostile encounter with the school’s sweetest rich girl might just lead to more than you ever expected.
a/n: inspired by @pearicot​‘s mean girl rosie series! (by the way, i’m not trying to feed into the “dumb sana” stereotype with this; i just thought that her personality fitted the character i was trying to achieve! does anyone wanna request continuations or scenarios in this universe 👀
word count: 3.3k
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Something about Mondays the week of finals always got you in a bad mood, especially when you had  to work double shifts at the same stupid ice cream shop you’d worked at for the past 2 years of college. 
So maybe, just maybe, there was reasoning behind you snapping at the love of your life during your first meeting.
Actually, there really, really wasn’t.
There were plenty of mean girls on campus who you wouldn’t regret yelling at whatsoever, but you just happened to blow up at one of the considerably nicer rich girls.
Minatozaki Sana didn’t mean anything bad when she innocently held out a hundred dollar bill to pay for a $5 ice cream. She didn’t mean to seem pretentious, nor did she mean to mock you and your minimum-wage job, but you just so happened to take it that way.
“Really? You have to rub it in my face like that?”
Sana stared at you, the money that she held out wavering in the ear. “Sorry?”
Pinching the space between your eyebrows, you huffed out an exasperated breath. Luckily, there was no one else in the shop about to witness the stupidest meltdown of your life. “You think I don’t know that I’m poor? It’s five dollars for God’s sake, no need to bring out the big guns. Oh, or are you doing this to avoid seeming more pretentious with your daddy’s black card?”
The brunette’s hand retreated quickly, the heels of her Louboutins clacking softly against the pastel-toned linoleum of the ice cream shop. Fuck, you hated that linoleum. “I... I didn’t mean any of that, I swear! Um, is there an ATM near here?”
Once again, the girl meant well, and you took it badly. You scoffed, glaring disbelievingly at her. Some part of you was screaming out that you were putting your entire job at stake, and your morals as well, but you disregarded any common sense remaining in your brain. “An ATM for 5 bucks? Dude, just don’t.” Dipping your hand into the tip jar, you scrounged out a lousy crumpled bill and threw it down on the counter, shoving the bubblegum-flavored sweet to Sana. “Okay? Now get out, I don’t want to see your privileged ass anywhere near here.”
The dense gray clouding your mind somehow missed the hurt expression on the girl’s face as the staff door swung open. Wendy’s hands, though gentle on your shoulders, shoved you behind her with surprising force. “I am so sorry, Sana, it’s finals week. Surely you can understand? The ice cream’s on the house.”
“No, of course it’s okay!” Sana sounded genuine enough, that was for sure; you caught her glancing worriedly at you a couple times, nothing malicious whatsoever in her eyes. “I can pay though, are you sure?”
“I’m sure. See you in class,” Wendy called out, smiling all the while until the girl disappeared into the Lamborghini parked by the curb. As soon as that happened, she turned back to you, concern tugging at the corner of her lips. “Y/N...”
“Yeah, I know,” you mumbled as you crossed your arms. Already, you were regretting what you said, though you were far too stubborn to actually apologize on the spot. “No arguing with customers about capitalism. Sorry, Wendy.”
The girl bit her lip, scanning the store to make sure that there wasn’t about to be an influx of customers. Usually she enjoyed working with you; you just had absolutely terrible mood swings sometimes, and those days were nothing short of hellish for her to deal with. “Just head home. Focus on your finals, and come back next week. Okay?”
You hesitated to agree, knowing that you needed the money, but the grim expression on Wendy’s face told you that you had no other option. “Okay. Sorry.”
As you snatched up your stuff and shoved the door to the street open, you missed the sight of Sana watching you through the tinted windows of her 6-figure car.
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“Really? Sana?”
“I know,” you groaned, biting down on the plastic spoon in your mouth. The flavor of the month (the only one you could eat completely free) lingered unpleasantly on your tongue, the taste of it oddly salty. “She was so nice about it, too.”
Jeongyeon and Mina exchanged glances, not touching their respective cups of “Ocean Caramel” either. It was extremely kind of them to come and accompany you on the slow days, both of them even offering to suffer through the gross ice cream with you.  “If it was Park Roseanne I might understand, but Sana,” Mina winced. Jeongyeon nodded in agreement; after all, everyone on campus knew about the reputations of Roseanne and Sana.
On one end of the “rich girl” spectrum, Roseanne was quite possibly the bitchiest one of all. She and her Bugatti Veyron, the college upgrade from her old McLaren, absolutely weren’t to be messed with. People who went to high school with you often told story of the G Wagon she smashed, the locker room she lit on fire, and so many other horror tales of a spoiled girl gone wild. You were sure that had you gone off on her, even Wendy wouldn’t have stopped you.
But on the other end, Sana was notoriously kind. Sure, her family raked in an income close to that of the other girl’s, and her wardrobe was just as expensive, but she made a point to donate to charities every time she went shopping. She tipped in the hundreds, and she didn’t ever ask for her designer clothes back when she lent them to strangers. She paid any dinner bill in full when she was there, and sometimes even when she wasn’t invited.
No one was entirely sure about the relationship between the two, but Roseanne seemed to hate Sana more than she did other people. The two fought publicly occasionally, but Sana’s kind heart made it so that even Roseanne couldn’t carry a fight very long. She didn’t respond to insults, it seemed, nor did she ever seem to actually take them personally. 
Stirring her half-melted soup, Mina continued, “Hopefully she doesn’t hold it against you. She doesn’t seem like the type, but...”
Jeongyeon shook her head, opening her mouth just as the doorbell rang. You froze when you looked up to find a designer-dressed bombshell, a sweet smile outlined in Chanel Rouge Allure. She looked completely out of place amidst tired college kids spending their last paycheck on ice cream, white gauzy sleeves and blue dress shimmering under LED lights. If you were being honest, you’d say that she was the most beautiful person you’d seen in your life, but you were always well versed in lying to yourself. “Y/N, you better go.”
“Why?” you whined, pouting at your much more responsible friends. They ignored your puppy face, though; Jihyo was usually the only one you could sway, Momo sometimes if she was feeling merciful. “I’m on break.”
“Only when there’s no customers,” Mina argued, shoving you to stand. Jeongyeon smiled at you, waving you away. “Go, and don’t screw it up this time.”
You forced a smile onto your face when you reached the counter, bowing and adjusting your name tag. “Hi, what can I help you with today?”
“Hi, Y/N!” Sana grinned, bowing back. The fact that she remembered your name only made your guilt worse; if she forgot who you were, you could at least pretend that she didn’t remember the incident at all. “Ah, could I have the same thing as last time? Bubblegum Pop ice cream, on a sugar cone today. 3 scoops?”
Nodding, you moved to open the case, avoiding the girl’s gaze as you did. “Of course.” She was quiet at that, staring at the ceiling so as not to rush you. Without prompting, you blurted, “I’m... I’m really sorry about last week, by the way. I don’t know what I was thinking, blowing up at you like that.”
“Oh, no, it’s okay!” she protested, waving a manicured hand in the air. “I promise I understand you. We all have our bad days.”
You wanted to apologize again, if just to assuage your guilt, but you held off on it, joking, “How do you deal with them? Yell at Gucci assistants?”
Sana looked honestly offended as she accepted the cone proffered to her, eyes widening in shock. “I’ve never done that, I swear! Besides, I don’t like Gucci much.”
A light smile quirking at the corners of your lips, you handed the receipt to her as well. She didn’t ask for it, probably not caring about the measly price or having the space for it in her tiny bag, but took it anyway. “I’m sure you don’t. Your total is $5.23, will that be cash or card?”
“Cash!” She held out a 10 dollar bill, pride shining behind that gorgeous face as you raised your eyebrows in surprise. When your hands brush together, you were reminded of how much better she was than you, how you probably weren’t worthy at all to be touching her with your shop-issued baseball cap and grimy apron. But Sana doesn’t seem to mind, still smiling that airy smile at you and not moving away. She broke your stare by offering, “I don’t want to sound rude, but keep the change.”
“Not rude at all,” you fully laughed that time, dishing out the remainder to stuff in your tip jar. You still felt terrible that she felt the need to apologize about such a normal comment, asking, “Are you sure it’s okay? You can have this one free too, if it makes up for me shouting at you...”
Sana shook her head, sugary light pink already mixing into her lipstick. She walked away, still waving with that gorgeous smile on her face. “It’s okay. I’ll see you soon, Y/N, you look really pretty today!”
Turning back to your friends, you whispered, “Damn. She’s really nice.”
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You planned on spending your one day off from school and work cozied up with a good book and your favorite hot drink, but you supposed that getting into a fight with Park Roseanne wasn’t the worst way to go either.
As soon as you entered campus, book in hand and blasting music in your earbuds, you found a crowd of at least 3 dozen people right in front of the library building. It was unlike you to butt into others’ business, especially when it might lead to a ruined day, but Roseanne’s voice carried loud over the hushed whispers of everyone else. “--huh, Sana?”
It wasn’t any of your business, but for some reason, Roseanne’s tone when saying Sana’s name angered you immensely. Frowning, you shouldered your way through the crowd. The closer you got to the center, the more expensive the clothing that brushed against your own rough jean jacket was, cotton and leather becoming silk and velvet. You originally planned to just fit in with the other spectators, but with a shove at the small of your back, you were thrust into the center too.
To your shock, Sana’s eyes were red and shining with tears, the tip of her nose cherry-colored as well. Her head was almost bowed as she stared at her shoes, but she looked up to you when you almost bumped into her. You stuttered out, “H-hey. What’s going on?”
Instead of an explanation from the Japanese girl, though, your gaze was drawn to the blonde across the courtyard. “Didn’t you hear? Little Miss Perfect here got broken up with,” Roseanne scoffed, an infuriating smirk on her perfect face as she tilted her head at you. “By a future CEO, no less. I guess she isn’t a gold-digger, or maybe there’s some other reason that he didn’t want her anymore.”
Your hand shot out to protect Sana, a scowl making its way onto your own face. “Excuse me? From my standpoint, any future CEO is still way outta her league, so forgive me for doubting that he’s the one who didn’t want her. You’re the one dating someone who makes a tenth of what you do.”
Roseanne rolled her eyes, lips thinning. “Don’t talk about my girlfriend like that, Y/L/N, or you’ve got another thing coming. There aren’t many lesbians in this damn school.”
“You know me, don’t you?” Sana’s voice was wavering as she spoke, but it was strong enough to echo in the courtyard. To your surprise (and somewhat satisfaction), the blonde  girl’s eyes widened as Sana stood forward, her lips jutting forward. “That’s why I’m not dating him anymore. I like girls, too.”
Somehow, you’d never expected that Sana was attracted to girls, but it made perfect sense. An irrational part of you wanted to cheer, but instead, you forced yourself to speak.
“R-right.” You continued to glare at Roseanne, who finally seemed to be speechless. “Yeah, so how come you’re tearing Sana down? We should be supporting each other, but you’re being so rude to someone so kind, and that says all I need to know about you.”
Reaching out, you latched onto Sana’s upper arm and pulled her out of the circle, people parting to let the two of you through as Roseanne wasn’t able to conjure up something to respond with. You didn’t stop walking until there was only silence surrounding you under the shade of a swaying tree, finally stopping to let the girl sit. “Are you okay?” you asked, brow furrowed as you knelt to be mostly face-level with her.
Somehow, there was a smile on her face; a slightly snotty smile, but nonetheless the most beautiful one you’d ever seen in your life. You ignored the uncomfortable leap of your heart when you reached out to take her hands into your own, somehow forgetting about the hostility you’d felt towards her from the beginning. “You- you stood up for me.”
“Yeah. I did, I guess,” you shrugged, smiling slightly. “I’m sure that was rough, though, to come out. How’re you feeling?”
“Honestly, much better,” Sana sighed. She leaned back, fingers curling slightly around yours as the afternoon sun shone golden brown in the locks of hair spread out on her shoulders. “It was good to get it off my chest. I didn’t even know you were into girls, you know.”
Reaching up to scratch your head, you chuckled, “Well, I am, if it makes you feel any better. What happened between the two of you, by the way? She seems to hate you so much.”
The girl laughed, as bubbly and airy as her regular voice. “I may or may not have dated her girlfriend before. But it was a long time ago, and I’m still friends with her! Roseanne just can’t forgive me.”
You feigned shock, swatting at her arm. “How terrible of you! I’m so disappointed.”
You were stuck simply smiling at each other for a good minute or so before you looked away, picking at your shoelace for something to do. “So. Uh, Roseanne knew the whole time?”
“She did,” Sana confirmed, nodding. “She just never talked about it.”
“Well, it’s good to know that she isn’t the only other one in the school with me,” you sighed, sitting back on your heels.
Sana lurched back forward, hands clasping together at her chest. “Then we should celebrate! We can go shopping or something, and we can just be happy that we aren’t alone anymore.”
It suddenly struck you how quickly you could change the girl’s entire outlook, a smile coming onto her face with no effort from you whatsoever. But even more surprising, you smiled even larger than she did just looking at her. 
Laughing, you sat back on your heels and shook your head lightly. Seeming to take it as a rejection, Sana’s eyes widened. “Oh, only if you want to, of course! We can go wherever you want, we don’t even have to go shopping if you don’t want to!”
“No, we can go shopping,” you answered, reaching back over to squeeze her hand and pulling her up with you when you stood. “Come on, then. Let’s go celebrate.”
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Sana wasn’t a great driver, but you didn’t expect much else. You were practically sick to your stomach by the time that you reached the mall, face green as you swayed out of the car.
“Ah, Y/N, I’m sorry!” Her hands rubbed lightly at your back as you squatted in the parking lot, fist held tight to your mouth. It wasn’t like you were actually going to throw up, but you didn’t want to risk ruining the girl’s expensive shoes. “I’ll let you drive next time.”
Next time? you wanted to ask. But you managed to stand, nodding quickly to ease Sana’s worry. “Yeah. It’s fine, I’m fine. Should we go?”
Immediately, she latched onto your hand, swinging between the two of you as she started to rush forward. “H-hey, lock your car first!”
Sana had unsurprisingly expensive tastes, but also surprisingly understated ones. She was fun to shop with, that was for sure- she loved to offer you clothes and also to offer to pay for them, but you didn’t necessarily hate a pretty girl telling you you’d look gorgeous in a certain sparkly dress.
She didn’t do any of the typical stuck-up things you expected her to- Sana carried her own bags, and she never forced you to follow her instead of doing what you wanted to. She did like to try on outfits and show them to you, but that could be ignored when it was just another opportunity for you to stare at her.
Eventually, you ended up having ice cream at one of the stores in the mall. You balked at the price, but Sana swiped her credit card without hesitation. “I have to admit, this bubblegum doesn’t taste as good as yours,” she pouted.
Chuckling, you savored the rich flavor on your own tongue. “You should’ve picked an expensive flavor then. Vanilla and chocolate are always good in these kinds of stores.”
“You know a lot about ‘these kinds of stores’ for someone who claims to be poor,” she teased, eyes widening as soon as the words slipped out of her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean-”
“Nah, it’s fine,” you smiled, leaning on your palm. “I’m good with it, since we’re friends now.”
Sana grinned at that, her eyes curving charmingly. “We’re friends? Most people don’t want to be friends with me, I’m really glad you’re willing to.”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
Looking down for once, the girl mumbled, “They say I’m dumb. You know that everyone says I’m nice, but they also think I’m dumb because I pay for everything. I just want to be kind, but no one takes me seriously.”
A wave of guilt rushed over you for previously feeding into the stereotype. The more time you spent with Sana, the more you realized that she was as brilliant as any other, and far more kind. “Well, that’s stupid. You are kind, Sana, and you’re amazing. I’m lucky to be your friend.”
She clasped your hand over the table, soft skin warm over yours, pink flushing in her pale cheeks. “Thank you, Y/N. You know, this is the best time I’ve had in a while. My boyfriend didn’t even listen to me this well,” she laughed.
Despite the fact that she treated it as a joke, you felt horrible. She was all too used to thinking the worst about herself and not believing that she was worth any better, and that was the worst possible thing you could imagine for a girl with a heart of gold. Jabbing your spoon into the remaining ice cream, you blurted, “Then go on a date with me. A proper one, not just a normal hangout like this.”
Sana instantly blushed, looking down as if it’d hide her face at all. But she missed the heat that rose to your cheeks too, the nervous biting of your lip as you waited for a response. “I would love nothing more,” she smiled, her eyes shining brilliantly. “And I can’t wait.”
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