#it runs on all fours like a meerkat

[elizabethsnuts]

can you do winterwidow with twins? Y/n being one of them, of course. Idk what age range you do, but can you do maybe slightly older like 7? ish? When we all go to the zoo with the twin daughters, and we're really excited and more the hyper one than our twin? With lots of fluff obv!

Love ur writing. Feel free to change things up or wtv! ❤️

Double Trouble

WinterWidow x Daughter!Reader

Summary: Natasha and Bucky take you and your twin sister to the zoo

———

Natasha and Bucky had decided to take you and your twin sister Ellie on an outing to the zoo, an excuse to get out of boring paperwork and hopefully tire the two of you out by the end of the day. You were insanely excited to go to the zoo, you couldn’t help it, it was the zoo.

Natasha was busy packing snacks and juices in a small bag for you and Ellie, there was no doubt you two would demand food halfway through. Bucky was just trying to keep you still enough to put your shoes on.

“Y/N, the sooner you put your shoes on the sooner we can go. Ellie already has her shoes on!” Bucky said with a small huff, he’d been chasing you with your shoes for 10 minutes.

“N/N… put your shoes on, I wanna go now!” Ellie whined and huffed.

“Zoo time! Zoo time!” You squealed and took your shoes off Bucky and quickly jammed your feet in them, doing up the velcro. “Let’s go to the zoo now!”

Bucky nodded and put his hands on his hips, looking at the two of you suspiciously. “Did you two make your bed like I asked?”

You and Ellie quickly looked at each other, turning your heads back at Bucky, speaking in sync. “Yes, Daddy!”

Bucky raised an eyebrow and let out a long hum. He honestly wasn’t in the mood to deal with getting 7-year-olds to make their beds when they were clearly set on doing something else. “Alright then… let’s get going.”

The four of you eventually arrived at the zoo, you couldn’t contain your excitement and immediately grabbed Ellie’s hand, taking off with her. “Come on, Ellie! Come on! We’re here! We have to go see the giraffes!”

Ellie was a bit surprised when you took her hand and suddenly started running, though a smile appeared on her face as she tried to match your pace. “Okay! But we have to see the flamingos after!”

Natasha let out a long groan, she knew you were going to pull that stunt, she should’ve expected it. “Y/N, Ellie! You two, slow down! Wait for Mama and Dad.”

Bucky shook his head and sighed, suppressing a smirk. “We should dig out the old toddler leash.”

Natasha rolled her eyes and smiled, starting to follow you and Ellie, she didn’t let either of you out of her sight. “If we keep Y/N contained then Ellie will also stay, she just follows what her sister does.”

Meanwhile, you and Ellie were busy looking at the giraffes. You giggled and pointed at them long-necked animals. “Look, Ellie! They’re taller than Daddy.”

Ellie laughed and nodded in agreement, looking from the giraffes to you. “Even taller than Uncle Steve! And Uncle Steve is a tall guy.”

“They eat like Uncle Pietro.” You stated, watching as the giraffe messily ate the leaves off the trees. That made Ellie laugh even harder.

“Y/N, that’s not nice,” Natasha spoke firmly but with a hint of amusement from behind you. Neither you nor Ellie realised your parents were behind you.

“It is true, Mama… he gets it all over the table,” Ellie said quietly, shyly defending you.

You nodded in confirmation. “And he chews with his mouth open like the giraffes.”

Bucky just snickered in amusement, Natasha was trying to suppress a smirk. She placed a firm hand on both of your backs and started to walk. “Alright, let’s just keep moving…”

You and Ellie saw lots of different animals, giraffes, flamingos, tigers, hippos, elephants, meerkats and more. Bucky had bought you some binoculars since you insisted you needed them for ‘better animal viewing’.

“I can see up your nose, Ellie.” You said casually as you held the binoculars on your eyes and stared at your twin sister through them.

Ellie huffed and covered her nose quickly. “Ew! Y/N, that’s disgusting! Gross, stop it!”

You just giggled loudly and squealed, tugging at Natasha’s hand. “Mama! Mama! I want to see the chimpanzees!”

Natasha nodded, smiling as she took a sip from her water. “Yep, we can go see the chimpanzees, dorogoy.”

You quickly cheered in excitement before taking off to see the chimpanzees in action. This just made Natasha groan slightly and picked up her pace so you stayed in her line of sight.

Bucky just laughed quietly and took ahold of Ellie’s hand. “At least you don’t just go running off randomly like your sister.”

You were busy trying to look at all the animals, running around like you belonged in one of those enclosures. Natasha was not surprised in the slightest, her hand would drag you back by the back of your shirt every time you tried to stray too far.

Bucky snickered and whispered to Nat. “I’m telling you, toddler leashes.”

Natasha smirked and shook her head, opting to just pick you up instead. She kissed you on the forehead and rubbed your back. “Alright, I think we’ll call it a day.”

By the time Bucky and Natasha got the two of you back to the car, you were asleep. Most likely due to all the running you did. Ellie was eating some animal crackers that she got from the zoo cafe, looking at you. “She’s fast asleep! It’s not even bedtime!”

Natasha chuckled softly from the passenger seat, turning her head slightly to look at you and Ellie in the back. “All the excitement wore her out… and the running. Just let her sleep.”

The excitement really did wear you out, you slept like a baby that night. You had a lot of fun at the zoo and the family picture taken there that had been placed on the fridge would always be a reminder of the fun day all of you had.

[naamahdarling]

My dad and I are planning to go to the Tulsa zoo for the first time in 20 years, what are your can't-miss zoo exhibits?

You're in for a treat, they've done a lot to make it a lot nicer than it was.

Right up front: You can rent wheelchairs or electric scooters now if you need one. It's $30 for a scooter which is more than I think it should be, but at least they're there. Bring some $1 and $5 bills and some quarters if you want to get souvenir coins or pressed pennies. Gift shop employees usually know where the machines are, there's multiple throughout the park but they move occasionally. (I collect these so I plan around them.)

The new elephant habitat just opened, a BADLY needed improvement, I was very uncomfortable with where their male was housed, he was showing stereotypic behavior. They knew it was an issue and instead of halfassing something they just made something totally new and apparently really amazing. I haven't been to see it yet, but we are going very soon. They're redoing a big part of that side to be a better savannah exhibit, actually, so the east side of the park is a bit sparse.

The rest under a cut. I love our zoo.

Definitely hit the Malayan tiger exhibit, which is close to the front and can be easily visited no matter what other parts of the park you want to see. The female just had babies and I think the daddy is still there too, so even if she isn't out, he might be. The tigers are very comfortable with people. Genuinely. They are often very close to the glass. I have seen them almost every time I have been. Also close to the entrance are the snow leopards, siamangs, and red pandas/binturongs. One siamang female had a baby early last year and they are both beautiful, I got to see the baby when she was VERY NEW. Such tiny hands! Perfect little thing!

The old old old string of four(?) connected buildings devoted to different habitats and stuff have undergone some light remodeling, but last I saw were still rather underwhelming and the exteriors are pretty decrepit now. They were blocked off last time I was there for some repairs and renovations so IDK what they have done or if they are open yet. Ask at the front if you intend to go through but I wouldn't necessarily plan on it unless it's significantly nostalgic for you. The Arctic building is open AFAIK and the zoo's brown bear is out front for the time being, and you don't have to go inside to see the outside of the enclosure. She REALLY likes hanging out near the window and scaring children by opening her mouth suddenly so you might see her.

Hit the Amazon rainforest. It's really nice, and the old lady jaguar auntie besties/girlfriends are there. Chel has been there since she was a baby and I had a really cool interaction with her when she was young so I feel personally attached. Not sure if you ever were there, but they have done a little work on it inside and it's even nicer than it was. There's a part with dart poison frogs! Just hopping around in the open!

The reptile and avian building way in back needs expanding, I think they are redoing it soon? Don't wear yourself out going there. There is however a quiet indoor area right near there for families with autistic kids who need a break and I think also nursing parents?

We are freshly down to one lion who I think is elderly and doesn't come out much, and that whole run of exhibits that used to have bear, lion, tiger, and snow leopard is sort of abandoned right now as they have plans to redo it all, so don't go that way. There are some animals there, I think a bear and one other critter? But it isn't the best use of time.

On the east or southeast, the meerkats are lively and curious and actively seem to enjoy coming over to look at humans. Penguin exhibit is good, and the sea lions. I have never seen the African painted dogs, their area has a lot of cover.

If you have limited time or just tire easily, USE THE TRAIN. Rides are not too expensive. Either take the train to the very back and walk out, or walk to the back and take the train out. Riding TO the back takes you east, it's a pretty ride past a lot of stuff you might want to skip on foot, riding FROM the back takes you west, past a lot of stuff worth seeing, so I recommend going from back to front. It's less tiring anyway. Once you're tired you're already headed out.

Museum gift shop staff are predominantly queer and in my experience they know a lot about what is going on in the zoo in general and probably that day. They might have local zoo honey available right now. Ask, and if they do, get some, it's incredible. The flowers there are abundant and lovely and the honey is incredibly flavorful in a layered way that single-crop honey isn't.

If you see a docent in a building, please talk to them. They LOVE their job and AFAIK are still all volunteers. They have their speeches they give to groups, yes, but if you catch them alone they have even more interesting stuff to share that isn't calibrated for people new to the basics and is more entertaining. The elderly white lady often near the tigers and Komodo dragons is just great. She loves those lizards so much.

If you are on SNAP, you get in I think free, and with a guest.

I have to say and want to acknowledge that the Tulsa Zoo used to be terrible. Jane Goodall shit-talked it, okay? Like, I won't repeat what she said because I don't think it was on record and if it wasn't intended for the public I don't want to put it out there, but it was savage, and painfully accurate. (My ex and I did some docent training there, until I had to drop out because I caught a cold. The Goodall story was relayed by the head primate zookeeper.)

But because they have been CONSTANTLY devising new exhibits and finishing very cool improvements I am comfortable supporting them even though parts of it do still need work.

There's a couple of very wealthy donors and organizations that contribute IMMENSELY to the zoo and to our museums and parks and libraries, and most of the big renovations were done with those grants. Those donors aren't going anywhere, they are genuinely behind the things they support, so it will just continue to get better, and patronage helps show donors and investors and the zoo itself that the work they have done is appreciated. The Tulsa Zoo's rejuvenation is a real success story and I am very proud of them.

It used to be so bad but now they have stuff like the Lost Kingdom with the tiger skybridge and the Komodo dragons and the beautiful architecture and landscaping, and you can see what they're consistently moving towards. More room, and more room back where you can't SEE it so the animals can chill away from people (if one of the newer enclosures look small, there is probably a lot of room in back). The bigger animals are never forced to be close to people. (For reptiles and other smaller critters this is not universal, but they are working on it.)

Anyway yeah it's not that big or flashy I guess but it's ours and I do love it and it keeps getting better.

I hope you have a great time! Let me know!

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Sky Full of Stars - Chapter Twenty One.

Thank you so much to everyone for your commitment to the story, as usual! Happy Friday, guys. Enjoy! :)

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty

Tag list - In the comments

Words - 3,946

Warnings - 18+ content throughout. Minors DNI!

“I’m so bored.”  

As was Adrien of hearing his wife chime those three words over and over. He could hardly blame her for it, though, and so thus took it with good nature, knowing that it had to be tough for somebody who kept herself so busy to be rendered incapacitated. After being allowed to go home, they’d spent a week at the apartment in Manhattan before Jade felt well enough to fly. Now she’d been returned upstate for the last week and four days, she was rapidly tiring of being confined to a bed for the most part. 

Her healing was estimated to take twelve weeks from the point of the incident, and they were currently at week eight, with her not allowed to do anything physically demanding, given the instruction to rest as much as possible.  

“What are you even doing out of bed, Moo?” He pointed in the direction of the kitchen door, circling his finger. “Back upstairs, go.” 

“No. I want cheese and I want to sit in the sun while I eat it. I physically can’t lie in a bed for that long unless I have you on top of me, and I can’t even do that for another two weeks. Even though I feel fine, my breathing is normal, my wounds are all healed, but no! I’m being treated like heirloom glass when really, I want to be shagged into the tail end of next week!”  

She’d specifically asked her godmother that, Lucy dying laughing, calling her a horny reprobate. ‘Ten weeks, and then light exertion will be fine. No sexual gymnastics!’  

Walking over to him, she pulled his head down to her level, kissing him, his lips, his nose, and the crinkles that dented his forehead as he frowned. “Sitting, that's all. My eyes hurt from reading, and I’ve binged all ten seasons of Friends in the last two weeks. I need a change of scenery.” 

He made a soft growl. “Fine.” 

“Yes, it is, because you’re not going to boss you around, or I’ll bite you, you bugger.” His pec was chomped upon softly, Adrien shaking his head. 

“That isn’t much of a threat, baby.” Kissing his chest, she hugged him tightly before moving to the fridge, ready to raid the order she’d had delivered from the small deli in the nearest village. It held a surprisingly good selection, little slices of each taken, Jade adding crackers and grapes to the plate she carried outside to enjoy under the summer sun with a glass of wine.  

“That little area over there is entirely too empty,” she spoke, crunching through a cracker while pointing at the little patch of land beneath the trees where the chickens were meant to be.  

It was, he had to agree. “How about once you’ve finished your snacks, we take a drive down to the farm shop and bring a few home?” Perhaps he was being a little too precious with her, he had to concede. Their local farm shop and feed store was only a twenty-minute drive away, Adrien knowing they were running low on horse food, so having to organise that anyway, they might as well.  

It was necessary too, now Mia had finally arrived from Austria five days before. Jade had been annoyed beyond words that he’d told her a firm no over doing a ten hour round trip to JFK in order to bring her back upstate, but he’d had help in the form of Rachel, who had offered to come along, knowing considerably more about horse care than him. He’d needed somebody who knew how to load a steed onto a horse truck properly, how to put the travel boots on, bandage her tail, tie her up properly, all of which his sister-in-law could probably do in her sleep, she was so adept. 

Her head shot up like a meerkat, eyes rounding a little. “Really? You’re allowing me to leave the house?” 

“You make me sound like your captor, Burtie,” he scoffed, receiving a cheeky eyebrow raise. 

“Kinda missing being tied up and defiled.”  

He groaned softly, closing his eyes for a moment. “Don’t. Now I’m not so scared to remember I have a high libido, believe me, my hand ain’t cutting it.”  

Oh, the flicker she felt between her thighs. “You should let me watch that.”  

“Never quite works though, does it? Not with either of us trying to play the captive audience. We get to about a thirty seconds and dive on the other.” That was true enough. The only time they’d ever been able to successfully watch one another masturbate was when they’d done it over Skype while apart. 

“I’ve got in it my head now. Fucks sake,” she groaned, taking a large gulp of wine, crossing her legs tightly with a huff that had him shaking with soft laughter. 

“Two weeks, my baby. Two weeks and I will fucking ruin you.” Pausing, his smile began to widen, chuckling. “For about a minute and half, but damn, it’ll be the best minute and a half of your life!”  

Laughing, she leaned against him, stroking his thigh as he kissed the top of her head. Laughter was medicinal in the wake of what had happened to her, so close to losing her life right there on her own driveway. It had hit her in waves after waking to be filled in on the gaps in her memory, the magnitude of being so close to death. What had affected her most was when her darling Katie had told her it had taken her an hour to bleach off the blood stain from the front drive, she’d been crying so hard, but wanting it gone before either she or Adrien had arrived back to see it there.  

It hadn’t just impacted her, the knock-on effect of her attack leaving her loved ones terrified and her husband with the kind of blood pressure level that had taken days to come back to a normal reading, so her dad had confided. Her poor mother hadn’t slept for longer than a few hours every night immediately after.  

Adrien had thought she wouldn’t want to sue the care facility, but she’d very much proven otherwise. Their legal team had hit them with a suit for gross negligence, Jade stating that if that was how lax they were that a patient with murderous intentions could so easily escape, then truly, they needed to face the consequences of such. After all, what if anyone had gotten in her way prior to her arriving in Cleveland? Would they likely have met the same fate, but perhaps not quite been so lucky? What the hell were the people looking after her thinking, too, allowing a woman who had likely shown such dangerous intentions to remain in such a low security facility?  

As Adrien pulled his truck from the drive out onto the road, she thought about it again, a little shiver running through her. Of course, he noticed, seeing her close into herself a little. “You okay, baby love?” 

“Yeah, ish,” she confessed. “It’s a hard thing to reconcile, my home being the place I always feel so safe, but now the location of where I was the farthest from that. Don’t panic, I’m not about to say I want to move or anything. That mental cunt won’t drive me from my home. It’s just a bit weird right now.” 

Reaching for her, he squeezed her thigh, feeling her hand cover his, her little finger stroking over his knuckles. “Give it time, I think that’s all you need. Also, look at it differently, perhaps? I’m not trying to minimise what happened to you, but if you look at it as the place you survived rather than the alternative, that might be a better perspective going forward.”  

She loved that about him, how she could see a situation strictly from one viewpoint, but he would usually find a way to see it completely opposite, with credible validity. “I never thought of it like that before, baby. You’re right, though. Thank you. Love you.” 

“Love you, too, Moo.”  

As soon as they arrived at the farm shop, Lyn, the woman who had run it for almost twenty years with her husband Ray came out from behind the counter, the dear old lady opening her arms wide with a huge smile. “Hello, sweetheart. Oh, it’s great to see you looking so well! How you feeling, hmm?” 

“Pretty good, actually. Mr. B over there isn’t letting me do much at all, so I’ve had plenty of rest. I can breathe properly again without having to rely on oxygen, which is a bonus. You’re very kind to ask,” she replied, gently clasping her forearms as they parted.  

Shaking her head, she touched a gentle hand to her cheek. “How anybody would want to hurt such a dear soul as you, my love. We’ve had it all up here, you know! Journalists, photographers coming up to grab something to eat. Ray and I pass by you guy’s place every morning on our way in, and we saw them all waiting in their cars for pictures! Damned parasites. I told them I had nothing to say when they asked for comment, other than how sad I was that something so awful happened to such a nice girl.” 

Oh yes, they’d been sitting in wait to get photographs of her upon her arrival at home. “I appreciate that, Lyn. Anyway, I’m here to fill my chicken coop and spend an obscene amount in the shop. As a first-time chicken owner, I’d appreciate your advice on the former.” 

She nodded, walking her round to the area the birds were housed in. “Plymouth Rock hens are good first chicken. Friendly, unfussy and they lay well. Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds are great choices, too, all of which we have. How big is your space, hon?” 

After a few more details were exchanged, three of each chicken breed were chosen, Lyn providing travel cages to be run back up the day after, leaving Adrien and Ray to load the chickens onto the truck and Jade to go and fill a couple of baskets of produce within the shop. Once that had been bought, the required horse and chicken feed, too, they headed home, ready to introduce the birds to their brand-new habitat.  

“That red over there? I’m naming her Marge,” Jade spoke, pointing at one of the three Rhode Island’s. “Listen to her! That’s the same noise Marge Simpson makes when she’s annoyed.”  

He coughed softly. “You do that, too.” 

“Don't you dare let this be another nickname that enters your little repertoire,” she warned, watching him shake with laughter as he wrapped his arm around her. 

“Of course not, Marge.”  

Her side eye was delivered with lethal intent. “I will cock punch you.”  

His laughter boomed so loudly, the chickens spooked, all running for the safety of the hen house with a little flurry and some disgruntled noises. “Now look what you did, making me scare the chickens because of your empty threats.” 

“It wasn’t empty,” she warned, balling her fist. 

“Sounds like somebody doesn’t want to get laid sooner rather than later.”  

“Oh, and you’re really going to give it to me sooner, hmm? Mr only let me out of the damned house for the first time today, when I’m still two weeks away from being able to heavy breathe?”  

He raised his eyebrows rapidly, looking smug. “Might have given you a gentle banging, but now, with this little display of funky assed attitude? Nah. You can wait.”  

Her husband. God, he was insufferably contrary when he put his mind to it. “Fine. Just know I’ll be upstairs with my favourite vibrator. Let that information marinade.” Slapping him on the bum, she walked back to the house. She wasn’t even halfway through the door before she found him draped around her, lifting her into his arms and carrying her upstairs. “So, best minute and a half of my life, huh?” 

“Stop it,” he laughed, reaching the top of the stairs and turning right, walking down to their bedroom. “Don’t jinx me.” 

“So, what’s different? You’ve been treating me like I’m subject to breakages up until a few hours ago, and now all that’s changed?” she teased, knowing she was being a menace, but not able to fight giving a little back. 

Laying her on the bed, he grumbled at her mildly infuriating riposte, pulling his t shirt off before joining her, hands grasping the straps of her dress and pulling them down. “The fact that I’m only human. And... well... you’ve seen yourself. How the hell am I supposed to keep my hands off someone so gorgeous for twelve weeks? Ten is fine, but just tell me if it isn’t, alright?” 

Her lung could have burned with all the heat of a thousand suns, and she would have kept that to herself, feeling her need for her husband smoulder with the same ferocious heat. He discarded her dress and underwear rapidly, mouth anchoring to hers with a soft grunt, hands softly kneading her bare breasts. How he loved it when she didn’t bother with underwear, his touch skimming down her sides.  

The feel of two, then three little ridged scars beneath his touch prickled him emotionally, his lips following the glide of his hands, pressing kisses, sucking her nipples in turn, his mouth veering right to kiss upon the healed wounds that had almost taken her from him. She knew what he was doing, and how she loved him for it, showing her it didn’t matter to him that her body now came with flaws; he still desired her just the same as he always had.  

Where she craved to feel those kisses, to her delight he did not hesitate in arrival, pushing her thighs apart and burying his mouth between them, ten weeks of longing for her unravelling as his tongue slithered through her slit. He brought those licks against her clit, hungrily tasting her, his mouth eager in its repeated rolling over her bud as she sighed in gratification of him returned so intimately to her.  

Sliding over the little swell of her clit once more, he sent fire roaring through her, a blade of pleasure slicing to her very bones as she shook, the tip of his tongue skimming dewy pink nerve endings, his thumb pulling back the soft skin covering her bundle, making way for his lips to suck gently. Sparks fizzed right down to her marrow, the flush of ecstasy evoked by his mouth ever escalating, her body host to spasmodic judders as he caressed her dewy slit with all the fervour of a man half parched.  

“Fuck, oh god, baby. You’re gonna make me come so hard!” she wailed, hands fisting the grey linen below as she trembled, crested and burned hard against the fire of his mouth. While those divine licks gentled against her, he reached to unfasten his jeans, pushing and kicking himself out of them, kissing his way back to her mouth, hard cock parting her walls with a soft grunt.  

He stilled, thumbs moving to stroke her cheeks, feeling a little overcome. It was a moment that might not have ever happened for them again, but there she was beneath him in their bed, pretty lips parted as she panted softly, looking up at him adoringly. Life; it was truly so precious. As was she.  

As for Jade, the desire and tenderness of the moment pulled her in, guiding his mouth to hers as their bodies began to rock together, feeling a little more restored to her usual self at finally having sexual intimacy resumed. Her nails gently dragged his back, delighting in the feel of his body pressing tight against hers, a sudden hard shunt of his hips against her sending him deep into the flutter of her cunt. 

“Missed me right here, huh?” he chuckled, watching the sated desire glitter her eyes.  

“Mmm.” she purred, stroking his face, their kisses connecting hot, “I always do when I have to go without the best cock in the world.” Every inch of him slipped into her with ease, every ridge scraping tingles over her soaking walls, hands gently kneading her breasts as his kisses moved to her neck.  

“I mean, I’ll take that,” he began, resting his forehead to hers, “but your number isn’t really high enough to know mine’s the best. Forty-two isn’t that high.” 

“Just take the bloody compliment, Brody,” she spoke, kissing him. 

“Yeah... yeah I think I will. Even though it might be vastly inaccurate.” 

“Adrien?” she questioned, an entertained smile playing her lips. “Are you being all chatty because you’re trying not to come?” 

A smidgen of embarrassment flickered across his face. Oh, he was so cute. ��Yeah, maybe.” A few seconds passed. “Okay, I am. I grossly overestimated myself at a minute and a half.” Her laugh filled the bedroom, her husband rooting himself deeper in her to prevent slipping out. “Stop, that feels too good!” 

“Baby?” 

“Yep?” 

“Just come.” Holding his face in her hands, she kissed him, nuzzling away his shame. “I came already against your tongue, didn’t I? You’re fine. Just let go.” It was as he shared kisses of fiery honey with his beloved that his body shuddered hard, staccato thrusts sending him headlong into the enjoyment of lightning forking up his spine.  

“Oh god, I’ve turned into a forty seconds guy,” he panted, laughing softly as he kissed her. “Sorry.” Stroking her face, he kissed her some more, Jade laughing as she shook her head, fingers weaving into his hair.  

“Well, don’t be. I’m flattered it bothers you, though. Most guys are so selfish like that, but you never are. It’s just one of the many reasons I love you.”  

“And because I make you laugh by being an embarrassingly rapid quick draw?”  

Of course, that comment had her in soft fits. “Stop being daft, my love. Besides, there’s always later.” The grin she was met with told her loud and clear he definitely planned to redeem himself a little. Until then, they went back downstairs, taking a gentle walk around their land with the dogs while waiting for the barbecue to heat up, Jade leaving two large steaks marinading in the fridge for dinner. 

“You look thoughtful,” he spoke, turning his focus away from Brando heaving a large stick from the long grass.  

Turning to him, she smiled, but he still picked up on a trace of sadness there. “I was just thinking about the projects I’ve missed out on, because of what happened. It feels selfish, too. Really selfish. I was so lucky to survive and here I am lamenting the loss of work!”  

Tightening his arm around her, he dropped a kiss upon her head. “It isn’t selfish, it’s just you. You hate to feel like you’ve missed out on an opportunity to further yourself, naturally ambitious as you are. Okay, so you missed a couple of exciting projects, but plenty more will come your way. I don’t have to tell you that.”  

“It’s nice to hear all the same, though.” she smiled, yet still the little flicker of something not quite right remained.  

“What else is bugging you?” 

Of course, he wouldn’t let it slide. She didn’t want him to either. “Today when we went out, I felt fine, safe. You were there, but I can’t hide at my husband’s side forever, yet the thought of going out alone scares me. I know it’s ridiculous, too! She can’t get to me again. I mean blimey, watching back the CCTV from the front gate at what happened, I gave almost as good as I got, so I know I can defend myself, but still. It makes me feel nervous.” 

It was something they’d lightly argued about, a day after arriving home, Jade wanting to see the footage of her attack in an effort to remember what had happened, and Adrien not seeing it as a conducive move at all. He’d conceded in the end, though, Jade watching the feed from the office computer, wincing, but finding it helpful. It helped in so much that she witnessed how she’d fought her attacker hard, even if she didn’t remember much. 

“I think that’s natural,” he began, turning to see Atlas running from the trees whilst dragging along a large branch. Always branches with that dog. “Put it down! Atlas, no. That’s too big.” The dog gave it a shake with a playful grown before releasing it, the four canines hurtling off again together. “Anyway, as I was saying before meathead distracted me. You feeling like that probably isn’t uncommon in people who’ve been attacked, so don’t be hard on yourself, or expect to feel perfectly back to normal in the wake of this. Give yourself time, don’t start reverting to old habits.” 

He had worried that she might, but her reassurance was swift. “No, no I won’t. I know if I rush myself to feel back to my old self, I won’t get there. I am still being a bit tough on myself, just so you know, but that’s mostly out of frustration. I can’t really hate her for what she did, because she isn’t in her right mind. I’m struggling with it, reconciling it, that I really shouldn’t be scared because she was just one lone nutter with a grudge borne of what her mental illness had made her believe. At the same time, though, it was a fucking traumatic experience. I need to give myself time, no matter how much it bugs me.” 

“Three years ago, and you would have shut it down, likely thrown yourself into a heap of work and then had to deal with the fallout from all of that,” he noted, hand idly stroking her arm.  

“Three years ago, and I was still two and a half months away from meeting you,” she noted, leaning into him a little, whistling for the dogs. Up popped Groucho’s head, gleaming dark copper in the summer sunshine. “Come on, knob head!” she chuckled, watching him dive over the long grass as they turned at the top of their land, heading back towards the house.  

“How the hell has it been three years? Shit,” he exclaimed softly, his hand reaching for Bear when the big dog licked his fingers, he and the others trotting along much slower after their frenzied exertion. “And I want you to know how proud I am of you, the way you deal with things so much more healthily than you did. Okay, so some stuff lingers, but you at least tell me about it. That’s all I ever wanted.”  

Leaning closer, his kissed the side of his neck with a happy hum. “It’s because I trust you, I feel safe to. I’ll never not feel safe, as long as I have you.”  

“I love hearing that.” Stopping, he took both of her hands in his, resting his forehead to hers. “Can you do something for me?” 

Jade knew where this was going. “Anything.” 

“Love me forever?” 

She smiled, kissing the tip of his nose. “Always.” 

If one thing remained consistent over the years that followed, it was that she truly would love the man who made her feel safe forever. Another consistency was that true to form, once she’d recovered from her ordeal, her attacker locked away in a high security psychiatric facility for the foreseeable, too, was that she returned to work with her usual gusto.  

And boy, did she eventually reap the rewards of that.  

[mewtwoandme]

Do your baby mews race around like jerboas like that other artist's? If so, who's the fastest and who's the slowest?

No, they don't hop. They'd run on all fours. I can see them getting the zoomies. XD As for the fastest, idk. They'd all probably be around the same speed.

(I headcanon mewlings run like meerkats so when they get the zoomies, their tails stick straight up X3)

[dollkichi]

life of pi is a beautiful book about philosophy, the Pacific ocean, a boy, a tiger, a zoo, a sinking boat, existentialism, religion, depression, hope, cannibalism and life in general. i'm not religious at all, in fact i'm an atheist, but i have a deep rooted appreciation for this book. it's about an indian boy who lived in pondicherry, which was a French colonised town. his full name is piscine molitor patel, named after a French swimming pool my his swimming enthusiast uncle. in elementary school he got bullied for his name because it sounded like 'pissing', so when he started middle school he started going with the nickname 'pi', like the one in math. his family ran a zoo, and he grew up caring for and loving animals. he also simultaneously was a hindu, a muslim and a christian, which his dad thought was just a phase and his mom thought was concerning (neither were right). the first part of the book is spent in this town, detailing his life, specific anecdotes and other events that shaped him. there was one humorous encounter where the pandit, the imam and the preacher of all the places of worship he went to meet and their all like 'huh? how do YOU know pi? i thought he's a christian/muslim/hindu!' and pi is just like 'heh guys i can explain...... 😧'

so then they decide to move to canada and take the zoo animals with them to sell there. pi is, obviously, devastated, but accepts the change. they get on the boat, there is a storm, the boat sinks. now pi is stuck on a lifeboat alone....... or so he thinks. in fact there is a zebra with a broken leg, a hyena, an orangutan floating on bananas named Orange Juice, and (drumroll) Richard Parker, a four hundred pound Bengal tiger. pi has no idea what to do with these animals, but they start killing each other off soon enough. the hyena eats the zebra, Orange Juice gets mad, Orange Juice and the hyena fight, the hyena wins and eats Orange Juice, and now pi is terrified because the hyena now has set is sights on him. but luckily (or unluckily), Richard Parker chooses this moment to come out of the tarp he was hiding under and kills the hyena, eating him. now pi is stuck alone in the middle of the Pacific ocean with a bunch of emergency rations, two granulated glass jugs, 50 cans of water, a pen and a notebook. he starts to record his days in the notebook, and writes in really tiny letters because he's scared of running out of paper, but instead runs out of ink. i find that very symbolic. Richard Parker has never seen so much water before and has no idea how to hunt and gets hungry. pi, fearing that he will be Richard Parker's next meal, realises he must learn to fish. pi is a vegetarian and has never eaten fish, let alone thought of hunting them. the rations run out. pi makes his first kill, but scared of committing such a grievous act of murder, wraps the fish in a blanket and hammers it with the blunt side until it dies. later he becomes desensitized to it and does away with the fish blanket business. ironically it is more cruel to do it the first way than to kill it quickly. pi builds a second raft tethered to the lifeboat out of oars so that he can get away from Richard Parker. there is a storm and the raft breaks. pi must share the lifeboat with Richard Parker. pi is still very much traumatised by losing his entire family. pi starts trying to train Richard Parker, intentionally making him seasick then allowing him relief to get him to stay in his part of the lifeboat. this fails. pi starts to find comfort in Richard Parker. pi is convinced he is going insane. he starts losing his vision and hallucinates meeting a blind frenchman in the middle of the ocean. Richard Parker kills the blind frenchman. pi is desolate and hopeless. finally the lifeboat reaches land of some sort, a floating island made up of a strange kind of seaweed, meerkats and large trees with freshwater ponds. the seaweed is edible and pi is convinced he has found paradise. he considers giving up on getting to human civilisation and just staying on the island his entire life. it feels like a haven- ample meat for Richard Parker, fresh drinkable water, sweet seaweed-

the island is parasitic. at night, the lakes turn into acid, the ground turns corrosive. the island is trying to eat him whole. pi finds a strange fruit in a tree, like a tightly rolled up cluster of leaves. he peels it open. it has a human tooth inside. he peels open thirty one others. a complete set of human teeth. the island has eaten others before him. pi gets back on the boat, calls for Richard Parker, and leaves. he eventually finds himself on the coast of Mexico. Richard Parker does not look back once before running into the forest. he is discovered by locals and taken to the hospital. there, the Japanese businessmen from the company that owned the boat visit him and ask for his story. they had a long journey getting there and a rather unfortunate one at that. pi tells them. they do not believe bananas float in water. pi tells them to try it for themself. pi steals their cookies and sandwiches. they ask again for the story. they do not believe the animals, or Richard Parker, or the island. they ask for the truth.

pi says what they really want is a different story. he tells them a different story.

the zebra is a sailor. the orangutan is his mother. the hyena is a cook.

he is the tiger.

the cook amputated the sailor's broken leg, then killed him and ate him. pi's mother, horrified, tries to fight him. she loses. pi, in his rage, kills the cook. he resorts to cannibalism. the island is a mound of trash with rats.

in the end, you are presented with two stories. the 'dry, yeastless factuality' and 'the better story'.

it is up to the reader to choose in the end which one was the one that really happened.

-👤

Oh my god, I NEED to read this book. This was so interesting anddd you seem to love it so that makes it worth picking up!! Giggling over them being like "wait I thought Pi was christian/muslim/hindu". Why is he all three, actually? Is there an explanation to that in the story?

ALSO THE TWISTS WITH THE ISLAND BEING PARASITIC AND THE TWO DIFFERENT STORIES AT THE END?? I'm so intrigued Thank you for taking the time to type this out for me!! I wish I could provide you with a better response but I am genuinely so tired....... I didn't wanna keep you waiting for much longer though. SORRY, HOPEFULLY THIS IS LIKE ADEQUATE. I've never read the book myself so it's like I can't exactly rave about it with you either because the only thing I have to go off of is your explanation wahhh </3 BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I SHOULD PICK IT UP SO WE CAN BOTH TALK ABOUT IT!!! If I ever get the opportunity to get it sometime soon then I will totally tell you my thoughts about it ehehe (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)

[move-your-paws]

Stat Basics

Here in this blog, we roll dice to see how well an action is done, like you would in Dungeons and Dragons! If your character is strong and better at actions that require muscle, they'll have a better strength stat that will add bonuses to those types of rolls. This includes how fights will be rolled, though they will use difference dice and skills than generic action rolls.

The Four Stats

Strength (STR) - Rolls that would require muscle will use the STR skill Examples: Bite, Climb, Wrestle, Dig

Dexterity (DEX) - Rolls that would require agility or skill will use the DEX skill. Examples: Sneak, Sprint, Pounce, Jump, Swim, Swat

Intelligence (INT) - Rolls that would require knowledge or recognizing things will use the INT skill Examples: Ponder, Persuade, Listen, See, Smell

Spirit (SPR) - Rolls that would require concentration will use the DPR skill Examples: Focus, Heal, Hiss, Memory, Charm, Intimidate

Depending on what age you are will determine how many skill points you will have. At age up (kit to apprentice, apprentice to warrior), you will gain any extra stats that you're missing to reach the minimum skill points for each age. Kits start with 5 skill points and no knacks Apprentices start with 7 skill points and 1 basic knack Warriors start with 10 skill points and 2 knacks

Every 2 moons, you will gain 1 skill point, and you'll gain 1 knack every 3 moons (and, if you manage to impress me, perhaps you'll gain special knacks or extra skill points from doing special tasks).

HP Hp is calculated by taking your age-groups base hp and adding your strength bonus to it. Kits have Apprentices have 20 hp Warriors have 30 hp

Knacks!

Knacks are abilities that enhance certain skills, grant new skills, or add extra damage to certain attacks! They will often add bonuses to certain rolls, therefore adding to your chances at succeeding in your action! They're very important to showing what your character is skilled in. Basic knacks are those that an apprentice starts with to show they have potential in a certain skill.

Basic Knacks: Slippery: Gain a +2 to Sprint when running AWAY from an enemy Bold: Gain a +2 to Pounce/Bite when running TOWARDS an enemy Kindhearted: Gain a +1 to persuade and charm rolls Mean-spirited: Gain a +2 to intimidation rolls Big Eyes/Ears/Nose: Gain a +2 to EITHER see/listen/smell rolls (this knack cannot apply to more than one skill)

Strength Knacks: Meerkat: Gain a +3 bonus on any Dig roll Balance: Gain a +3 bonus on any Climb roll Belly Rake: Cause an extra -3 HP to your enemy when rolling for Wrestle Chomp: When using Bite, enemy becomes temporarily immobilized if you roll a 16 or higher CROMCH: Gain a +3 bonus on any Bite roll Pin: When using Pounce/Wrestle, you can CHOOSE to immobilize your enemy if you roll a 15 or higher Pummel: An attack that guarantees -6 HP to the enemy if you roll a 12 or higher Overdrive: When you fall to 0hp in combat, you may immediately roll an attack with a flat d20. If it hits, this attack will deal an extra -5hp. Underdog: When you are outnumbered in an initiative bracket, gain a +2 bonus to all attack rolls. Bulky: You have a dense layer of fat that protects you in battle. You gain a +5 to your base hp. This makes it so you have one extra hit in you before the battle turns deadly! Deep Cut: Your claws are wickedly sharp and score deep slashes in your enemies! This attack causes your enemy to take on the Heavy Bleeding Status if you roll 15+ on your attack rolls. Headbutt: This battle move is a bit risky but is a heavy hitter! It causes your enemy -8hp damage if you roll an 8 or more but it has a recoil of -4hp to yourself.

Dexterity Knacks: Water Affinity: Gain a +3 bonus on any Swim roll Hide: Gain a +3 on any Sneak roll when you are AVOIDING an enemy Stalk: Gain a +3 on any Sneak roll when you are SEEKING an enemy Dash: Gain a +3 bonus on any Sprint roll Leap: Gain a +3 to any Pounce roll Spring: Cause an extra +3 damage to any Pounce roll Dodge: Gain a +3 to any Jump roll Cheap Tactic: Roll d20 plus your dexterity stat modifier, divide by 5 (rounding down). You can impose disadvantage upon this many targets for their next turn. Tactician: When rolling for initiative, you may choose to swap initiative rolls with a willing ally. Eager: You are very eager to go first in battle. You gain a +5 to your initiative rolls. Going first in a battle can mean the difference between who wins and who loses! Sneak Attack: You’re really good at popping into shadows and catching your enemies unaware with this sneaky attack! This attack causes your enemy an additional -5 hp if you roll a successful sneak roll against them first. This can only be used in the first round of combat. Feint: You have a pretty hefty swat! You gain a +3 to any Swat roll you make. This ups your chances of your attacks making their mark!

Intelligence Knacks: Problem Solver: Gain a +3 to Ponder rolls Keen Sense: Gain a +2 to Smell rolls Orate: Gain a +2 to any Persuade roll, and a +3 to a Persuade roll if your target is three or more cats Seer: Gain a +2 bonus to any See roll Track: Gain a +3 bonus to any See/Smell/Listen roll when seeking another Herb Lore: The DM will tell you what your cat knows about herbs Healer Lore: The DM will tell you what your cat knows about a medical situation Parental Authority: Gain a +3 to any Persuade roll if your target is a kit. Sworn Enemy: Pick one faction or type of non-cat creature. Gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls against them. Sacrifice: You care a lot about your clanmates and anyone else who is around you! You switch your roll with any target that has a lower roll than you. Animal Whisperer: You seem to really know how to handle yourself around predator animals! You gain a +2 Modifier when dealing with a predator. Poison Slash: You’ve coated your claws with the juice from deathberries! This attack causes your enemy to take on the Poisoned Status if you roll 15+ on your attack rolls. Play Dead: This is a last chance sort of attack, that hopefully you won’t have to ever use. You throw your all into this attack because it might be your very last. This attack only works if you are at a quarter health; and it adds +5 to your next attack.

Spirit Knacks: Pathfinder: Gain a +3 to any Focus roll Alertness: Gain a +2 to Listen rolls Cobweb Extraordinaire: Gain a +3 on any Heal roll Eidetic: Gain a +3 to Memory rolls Jaded: The DM will allow you to size up a cat and determine if they are a threat. Cute: Add +2 on flirting/charming rolls. Charismatic: You can use SPIRIT in place of INTELLIGENCE when rolling Persuasion. Rally: Roll d20 plus your spirit stat modifier, divide by 5 (rounding down). You can give this many targets +5 to their Initiative roll. Inspire: You have a very inspiring presence! Roll d20 plus your spirit stat modifier, divide by 5 (rounding down). You can give this many targets +5 to their next roll. Terrify: You have a very terrifying presence! Roll d20 plus your spirit stat modifier, divide by 5 (rounding down). You can give this many targets the Intimidated status until the end of the battle. Encourage: You have a very encouraging presence! Roll d20 plus your spirit stat modifier, divide by 5 (rounding down). You can give this many targets +5 hp until the end of a battle.

[bellasauruss]

Behold a man

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Smile For Me, Sweetcheeks ~ Ghostface x Fem!Reader

I've thought of this for a while, and it's gonna be

F U N

---

Y/N opened her eyes groggily, finding herself on the grassy ground - As she lifted her head to scan her surroundings, she realised she was in some strange, dark place that resembled some weird park with tall trees, yet had random small buildings here and there...It almost seemed like a place to play hide and seek, was her first thought.

Next to her, 3 other people were getting up, looking extremely frightened, as they bolted the hell out of that spot, going in different directions.

But Y/N didn't, and instead, she walked around aimlessly, until she spotted someone dressed in all black, with a weird ghost-like mask, peeking from behind an old car, almost timidly, only to see him wave at her.

Grinning at him, thinking she finally met someone friendly around this place, she extended her arm up in the sky, waving excitedly, which made the man make his way to her.

"Hi! I'm Y/N! It's great finally seeing someone nice around here. The 3 other guys just yelled in my face and ran away. How rude, right?!" she sighed, crossing her arms with a pout, before going back to her friendly smile, extending her hand to shake his. "Woaw, those guys are jerks. Call me Ghostface, darling." he said in an amused, yet somehow hoarse voice. "Uhhh, Ghostface, how cool! You must be a horror movie fan, then? So am I! ...Hmm...Actually, do you have any idea how we got here? I think I need some lecithin, my memory is failing me." she scratched the back of her head sheepishly, only for him to chuckle. "Welp, there's 4 survivors and a killer. All you gotta do is either repair 5 generators and find the exit...Or find the hatch and escape. Basically, don't die, I guess. Fun, huh?" the guy explained, putting his arm around her shoulder, guiding her to who knows where. "...What the hell is this, the Hunger Games?" she looked up at him with a weird look on her face. "Haha, that would be fun! Alas, nothing like that. Ah, look at this, a gen! Here I'll show you how to repair it. You have to tinker with these parts, and then merge these together...You get the cables in the respective coloured sockets...Et voila! Haha, look at it! Fireworks! What a reward!" Ghostface clapped and cheered at the fireworks the generator made, laughing at the startled look on the girl's face, as she clearly didn't expect something like that to happen. "Uh...Honestly, this is insane. Can't we just, like...Go home? I don't think I'm up for dying, even if someone paid me to go through with this silly game." she sighed, crouching down to the next generator, awkwardly trying to repair it, but she was much slower and clumsier compared to him, and it even exploded in her face, making her yelp and fall down. "Dude! Not cool! This gen is working against me!" "Shoulda seen the face you made, toots! Haha, so funny! You're very entertaining, girl. Here, lemme help ya out." he said as he got on the other side of the of the gen and helped repaired it. "You're a real pro at this, man. Have you been playing this for long? Did they at least give you a worthy amount of money for the trouble you're going through? I mean, I'm sure you won very often...Or maybe you're like...The tutorial teacher or something? Is that why you look eccentric compared to those lame-os?" she was asking so many question, but boy, was she so off that it amused the killer so much! He now perfectly understood the wolf who dressed as a sheep, it was too much fun! She was so blindingly trusting, he could mess with her, and more, with the survivors at his heart's content! "Yeah, I win quite often, but they don't pay me! The guy is kinda blackmailing us to play his game, but it's fun when you get used to it." he explained, only to have two other survivors go past them - Her and Ghostface waved at them merrily, but they just shrieked and ran the hell away from there. "...Do I look that scary?" she muttered, looking at the man next to her with a confused expression. "Nahhh, you're a cutiepie. Those guys are just jerks." he petted her hair, beginning to walk again, only to find some really nasty, rusty hooks. "U-Uhm...Gh-Ghostface...? What are these for...?" she stuttered, frowning as she clinged on his arm instinctively. "I think you already know, toots. Careful with those, killers LOVE to impale their victims on these things. It's like a sacrifice for the big guy who's keeping us here." he chuckled as he watched the girl tremble like a little lamb seeing the knife approaching her neck. "...Can we go away from here, please? M-Maybe we can look for the...Uhm...Hatch, you called it?" she muttered, pulling him away from there. "Yeah. It's like a trap in the ground that leads to safety. It only appears when there's only 2 gens left. Felt that shockwave? It meant that the Hatch just appeared. Ah, sorry baby-cakes, I gotta run, but I'll see you around before the match ends, okay?" he was grinning under his mask, knowing that he has to kill the other 3 to make sure the Entity doesn't punish

either of them for some annoying reason...And oh, the shock and horror on her face will be fun~. "N-No...! Please don't go! This place is huge and scary, I'll get lost without you! And who knows what would happen if the Killer finds me? I don't wanna end up...Th-There...!" awww, that cute, little, frightened pout on her face, how lovely~! If only she knew... "Don't worry, cutie, is'yo' first game, the Killer ain't gonna mess with ya, I promise. And if he does, Imma make sure he regrets it. I'm sort of a boss here, you see." he put cupped both his gloved hands on her face, pinching them a bit too hard, just to hear her yelp one more time - And clearly, she didn't disappoint, as her eyes even watered a tiny bit. What a cute little lamb... "...If you're sure, then...Okay. I trust you." she muttered, turning away as she started walking away, only for her to look back at him and yell "Make sure you stay safe too, okay?! We have to escape this place together!" He raised his arm and waved dismissively, barely able to keep himself from laughing, as he started running and stalking the annoying survivors who actually thought they'd have such an easy game!

No, no, clearly not with him!

First, he slashed one of the survivors and put him on a hook, then mori'ed another and took a really cool selfie with their bloody face, and the last one he just messed around with, before repeatedly stabbing his back and throwing him in a corner, just where the Hatch was.

Those idiots thought they could escape him.

Think again.

He wasn't that idiot 'Legion', or that lame ass Amanda. Four lame thugs who can't do a simple job properly, or Jigsaw's useless lackey. Keh.

And at least he was fun, unlike Boring Michael! I mean, look at this masterpiece he made, it's a perfect piece of art! He even wrote Y/N's name on the wall in front of the hatch, so she could see and appreciate his work!

A loud noise that resounded through the place made him realise that, as he was having his fun playing with the obsolete Survivors, his cute little Y/N had her fun repairing generators, meaning that the exits could be activated, if he wasn't careful.

He had to find her quick.

Not that it was difficult for the Master of Stalking, especially since she was so clueless that she didn't even crouch to hide, or at least try to hide in lockers.

There she was...! Look at her, watching everything like a frightened meerkat! Aww, how he wanted to boop that cute nose of hers~! Maybe he could even let some blood paint her nose, and make fun of her, calling her Rudolph!

Ahh, Ghostface, you're so funny!

Yeah, Ghostface, I KNOW, right?!

"Yo, Y/N, over here! I found the hatch! Come on!" he waved his arms up in the air, yelling for her, and the look of sparkling glee on her face as soon as she saw him...Wasn't she such an adorable dummy~? "Ghostface, you're okay! I got so worried when I didn't see you in so long! I heard screams, and I thought something happened to you! I got so scared that I ran away and tried to do the last generators...And then a loud noise almost deafened me, and I had no idea what to do." she gesticulated rapidly, making him chuckle in amusement. Of course, he was worried for nothing. She wouldn't realise what she'd have to do, even if it bit her leg. Hmm, actually...~ "Nahhhh, I'm cool, haven't see the killer. Here, take the key, it will unlock the hatch. Less'goooo~!" he put his arm around her shoulder, guiding her casually where the hatch was, making sure she didn't see his work of art yet. "Oh, so this is the Hatch, huh? It looks scary. Are you sure this isn't some ladder that leads straight to hell or something? It looks...Shady." she muttered, looking at the dark abyss down below. "Don't worry, chickadee, ain't that long of a ride down. It's like a bunker filled with survivors, you'll be okay. They'll tell you what to do from then on. If you're scared, take this flashlight. See? You can see the bottom of the ladder. You'll be okay." he chuckled, weaving the flashlight around. "Wait...You're not coming down with me?" she gasped, her eyes carefully searching for the truth in his...Covered face. "I'd go down on you any day, sugar, but maybe next time we get to play around." he laughed crudely watching her frowning, flustering face. "H-Hey, don't be a jerk! I'm just worried about you!" she muttered, looking away, hoping her hair would cover her blushing face. "Hahaha, you're so fun to tease, Y/N. Only one person can go through the hatch. But s'all cool, I just gotta open up the door, since you did a great job with the gens. We'll see each other later, I can promise you that. Can't get rid of me that easily." he sniggered under his mask, waiting in anticipation until the girl realises his true nature. "Mhh...Alright...If you're so sure..." she muttered, shakily stepping down a few steps, only to be stopped by the man who took out a camera. "Wanna take a selfie before we finish this? Y'know, your first game, and a victory nonetheless...Come on, Smile for me, Sweetcheeks~!" he got on his knees, raising his mask a bit, before gluing himself to her body, one of his arms extending with the camera, while with the other he grabbed her face, kissing her cheek, making sure he guides her eyesight to his masterpiece, and as soon as he heard her gasp, he took the photo.

It was worth more than all the money in the world.

"Y-You...? You were the killer...?!" awww, look at her tremble! Her eyes were glistering with tears, and her plump, rosy bottom lip was quivering in betrayal. "You're too cute for this world, Y/N." he harshly put his mask down, before showing the girl the selfie he took as he mori'ed one of the survivors, and waved her goodbye with his knife, as she quickly descended down the ladder, soft whimpers echoing through the place.

"Till we see each other again, sweet cheeks~." the Killer rose to his feet, slamming down the hatch with his boot and wiping the blood from his knife with his latex glove, before laughing loudly at the endearing experience he just had.

If THAT was the reaction she had when seeing his little gift for her, imagine her cute faces when he'd actually go down on her, as he promised~.

[kuroopaisen]

tiny love || vi

➵ as tooru’s younger sister, falling in love with iwaizumi hajime was easy. iwaizumi ultimately decided to rebuff you. through a few strange twists of fate, you’ve ended up living with the very boy who’d broken your heart. but, perhaps it’s not as bad as you thought it’d be

warnings: f!reader, depictions of implied social anxiety 

wc: 5.3k

m.list | ch. 5 ↞ ch. 6↠ ch. 7

The restaurant was tacky, but it was enough to remind you of home – even if it was in the most cliché ways possible. All of the cultural ‘nods’ are cheesy as a tourist trap, but Iwaizumi had told you that it was run by a family of Japanese migrants. Apparently, the food made that obvious.

“What do you recommend?” You asked, peering closely at the menu.

It was written in both English and Japanese, much to your relief. Most of the dishes offered seem like staples, too; you could grab most of these at some little outlet near your home in Miyagi.

“The rice bowls are pretty good,” Iwaizumi said.

“Should I get one with karaage or vegetable tempura?”

“You prefer karaage, right?”

You blinked at him for a moment. He remembers that?

“Both are good,” he shrugged, as if he hadn’t just made your heart jump.

“What are you gonna get?” You asked.

“Probably just some agedashi tofu and then an oyakodon.”

“Ah,” you nodded. You remembered that he’d shown a fondness for both dishes several years ago. Some things didn’t change.

Another silence fell over you. You wanted to say more, to think of something interesting to say. But nothing came to mind.

“Ah, Iwaizumi!”

You looked towards the source of the voice.

The owner was a cute girl with long black hair tied up in a ponytail, with bright and an apron wrapped around her waist.  

Iwaizumi turned to smile at her. “Hi.”

“How’ve you been?” She asked in perfect Japanese.

“Good,” he nodded. “Just trying to get ready for uni.”

“Of course, of course…” She hummed. “Did you just get back?”

“Yeah.” He turned to nod in your direction. “This is my new roommate.”

You blushed, giving the waitress a little wave as he introduced you.

She turned to you and beamed, giving you a little nod in return. “It’s nice to meet you!”

“You too,” you smiled.

The waitress fished a notebook and a pen out of the front pocket of her apron, turning back to Iwaizumi. “The usual, I presume?”

“Mhm,” he chuckled.

“And what would you like?” She asked, turning to you.

“I’d like a karaage rice bowl, thank you.”

“Perfect,” the waitress beamed once more. “I’ll let Youta know right now.”

With that she hurried off in a flurry, making a beeline straight for the kitchen.

Once you were sure she was safely out if earshot, you turned to Iwaizumi.

“How often do you come here?” You teased. You couldn’t help it.

“More than I should,” Iwaizumi chuckled. “My wallet doesn’t thank me for it.”

You smiled, folding your hands in your lap.

“It reminds me of home,” he said quietly.

You didn’t know what to say to that. It’s a vulnerable statement, one that caught you off-guard. You felt like there was more to it, more woven between those words. Should you respond to what you thought was unsaid? Or to the simple statement he’d said out-loud?

You never knew what to do when it came to Iwaizumi.

“I’m glad you found it,” is what you settled on, your voice soft against the din of the restaurant. You meant it.

Iwaizumi smiled at you. “Me too.”

He was making an effort. A real, genuine effort to make this as smooth as possible.

And you were trying to return that energy, to help the two of you make this unfortunate arrangement work. But you knew it wouldn’t be easy. Perhaps this strange energy would hang over the two of you for the rest of the semester, until you found someone to escape with.

But God, was it hard.

✧ ✧ ✧

“Thanks for this,” you blushed, digging your hands into the fabric of the skirt.

“No problem,” Iwaizumi smiled.

Fall was in full swing as the two of you drove down the street, the air temperate enough as you made your way towards university. Iwaizumi had told you it wasn’t long until it got quite chilly.

“What class have you got?” He asked.

“Uh… PSYCH 9A,” you said. You were stuck firmly between excitement and dread, the conflicting emotions grappling for space in your heart. All your classes would be in English and while you certainly weren’t bad at it – you’d been one of the best in your grade – you knew that what was taught in a classroom was very different to what was actually used in practice.

“I did that last year,” he said.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I did it as one of my general education courses.”

“Right,” you replied. The world flew by your window, a flurry of brown and green and beige. There was a lot to think about; too much, in your opinion. It was hard not to get caught up in all your anxieties, letting them eat away at you like a pack of rats.

“You worried?” Iwaizumi’s voice was far more understanding than it had any right to be.

You sighed, looking at the bag plopped between your feet. “I’m scared I won’t be able to keep up.”

He nodded. “That’s understandable.”

You pressed your lips together, frowning. “If I fall behind in the first week, then…”

“You’ll pick it up quicker than you’d expect,” he smiled, “I promise.”

Most of your conversations over the past few days had been in English, per your request. Iwaizumi had complied. You were jealous of just how comfortable he seemed speaking the language. But the upside was that it’d only been a year for him. If he was already this good, then perhaps you could be, too.

“If you need help, just ask,” he said. He’d been saying that a lot recently.

You bit your lip, your gaze still turned towards the floor.

You couldn’t deny that he had, in fact, been exceptional. Anything you needed, he provided. Any question you had, he answered.

He’d helped you find your way around, showed you the best (and cheapest) places to hang out at, recommended the best dictionary apps, and he’d made you dinner every night.

He was looking after you. Well.

Perhaps that was why Tooru had been so keen on the idea of the two of you living together. If only he knew…

The car slowed to a stop. You jumped, too lost in your own thoughts to realise what was going on. Your head flew up, looking around like a meerkat.

Iwaizumi unbuckled himself and got out of the car, leaving you alone. You leant down and grabbed your bag, placing it in your lap.

Deep breath, you thought. You can do this.

Your door opened.

Iwaizumi was holding it open for you. Of course he was.

Part of you wouldn’t be surprised if he’d laid out a bloody carpet for you so you didn’t have to worry about the dirt.

You gave him a little nod of thanks as you got out of the car and slung your bag over your shoulder.

Oh. Oh.

“Well, this is it,” he said, gesturing to the cluster of buildings that laid before you.

It looked so clean, a concrete forest of russet. And it was so big. So ludicrously big.

How many people were here? How many people could fit on this campus? How easy was it to get lost? Just how many classrooms were there?

Seijoh had felt big to you, once. Now it seemed like just a blip.

“Where’s your class?” Iwaizumi asked, closing the door.

“Uh…” You fished your phone out of your pocket, showing him your timetable.

He looked at it for a moment before nodding. “Follow me.”

You scurried after him, trying to take stock of your surroundings as best you could. It was all so different – so big, so official, so… grown-up. This was certainly a place you could get lost in; would you even see most of it in the next four years? That seemed impossible.  

Iwaizumi walked slowly, letting you take your time. You said nothing as you ambled on, your mind racing. What did the inside of all these buildings look like? Which ones would your classes be in? What sorts of people would be in your classes? Would you make friends? Would you get a boyfriend?

“Hey.” Iwaizumi’s voice had that gentle firmness it always had when he was scolding Tooru.

“Hm?” You looked at him, a little confused.

“We’re here,” he nodded towards a big building to your left. You weren’t sure if you would’ve been able to distinguish it yourself if you’d been left to your own bearings.

“Thank you,” you smiled up at him. “You really didn’t have to.”

He shrugged. “I remember being intimidated by campus when I first came here. It’s easy to get lost, especially when you’re not fluent in English.”

That much was true. You were speaking to each other in Japanese, after all.

“Right…” You nodded.

“Good luck,” he nodded in return, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Thank you,” you said, giving him a small bow. It doesn’t feel like enough of the thanks for the last week.

Iwaizumi shook his head. “You don’t have to do that here.”

You straightened up and blinked at him. “Right.”

“Will you be able to get back alright?” He asked.

“Yes,” you said, with a little too much confidence. In all honesty, you have no idea if you could – something to do with buses, probably.

You couldn’t keep relying on Iwaizumi like this. It’s not that you’re humiliated, per se, but more that you didn’t want to be a burden.

You could do this. You could grab this new life of yours by the throat and take control.

But you also couldn’t ignore the hammering in your chest as you took your first steps into your undergraduate career.

✧ ✧ ✧

“Sorry about this,” you mumbled, biting the inside of your cheek as you slipped into the passenger’s seat.

“It’s fine,” Iwaizumi said, offering you a warm smile. Somehow he even managed to make the interior lighting of his car seem flattering.

You’d managed to make your way home on public transport well enough for the first few days, but all of your classes had finished before three in the afternoon.

Tonight’s class finished at six. The idea of trying to navigate your way back to the apartment had been more nerve-wracking than you could bear.

Your first instinct had been to call Iwaizumi.

A small irritation scratched at the back of your mind. It felt independence had just been in reach, tantalisingly close. But all of that bravery had ended up being an illusion. That’s how you felt, at least.

You bit back a sigh, gazing out the window.

The streetlights cast a warm glow on the pavement as a few students ambled along, rapt in conversation. Occasionally, their faces would light up with laughter – a cruel yet unintentional reminder that your own social life had been dead on arrival.

But you’re happy for these people, at least; loneliness was probably the hardest burden you’d had to bear so far. And you were living with the Iwaizumi Hajime.  

“How was your first week?” He asked.

“I’m doing okay,” you admitted. “Sometimes I don’t get what they’re saying, but… the lecture slides make it easier to follow along.” It got a little easier with each class, but you had the suspicion that it would take a while for you to properly adapt.

“Are your lecturers nice?”

You nodded. “Thankfully.”

“Good,” Iwaizumi chuckled. “And your classmates?”

You shook your head. “I haven’t spoken to any of them. Too scared.”

“Ah…” He was silent for a moment, seemingly turning something over in his head.

“What about you?” You asked, desperate to shift the attention away from your failed social life.

“It’s going well,” he nodded. “I’ve been able to get into the rhythm of it pretty quickly.”

“Good,” you smiled.

It’s understandable enough. He’d had a year to get used to the whole university thing.

How long was it going to take you? Were you ever going to get used to it? Or had this whole move been a big mistake, a risk you shouldn’t’ve taken just to prove you could do it?

You looked up at the sky. The stars weren’t as clear or bright as they were in Miyagi. You always looked up when you and Tooru walked home of an evening, after those long practice sessions he insisted on doing. Or when you and Amaya walked to either of your houses for a sleepover as she pointed at different constellations and told you the stories behind them.

Home felt so far away.

Would you ever feel like you belonged here?

“Hey,” Iwaizumi murmured.

“Hm?”

“Is it okay if I have some friends over tomorrow?”

Your stomach twisted. You weren’t sure why.

People you didn’t know in your house… It felt silly, finding it so scary.

But you weren’t going to deny him his social life.

“Sure,” you answered.

“Cool,” he breathed. He sounded genuinely relieved.

You bit the inside of your cheek. You were sure he was asking to be polite, but the guilt had already seeded itself in your mind. Did he really feel like he couldn’t have people over because you were there? Granted, it’d only been a week. Maybe he thought you weren’t quite settled yet.

God, why’d he have to go and be so considerate? He really was setting the standard too high.

“What do you want for dinner tonight?” He asked.

“I’m fine with anything,” you shrugged.

The least you could do in return for all the help he’d given you was be a respectful roommate.

✧ ✧ ✧

The sound of people engaging in conversation outside your room made your stomach swell.

A few hours ago, Iwaizumi had asked you if you’d like to introduce yourself to his friends. You’d agreed – it would probably do you some good to actually meet some people. He’d said they were all Japanese exchange students themselves, so communication shouldn’t be a problem.

Although, that didn’t make it any less stressful.

You took a deep breath, reaching for your door handle.

You could do this. You just needed to get over the awkward introduction.

The sound of laughter heightened as you pushed your door open, allowing yourself to catch sight of the small group gathered in the living room.

“Hey,” Iwaizumi waved at you, smile on his face and beer in hand.

“Hey,” you said quietly, holding a hand up in greeting.

His friends turned to look at you. You recognized some of the faces from the photos on the wall. Three guys, two girls.

“Hello!” One of the girls called out to you with a wave.

You nodded at her with a smile, taking a few tentative steps towards the group.

“This is Ren,” Iwaizumi said, gesturing to a guy with wavy black hair and bright eyes. He’s far too pretty to meet without a warning.

“Taiki,” Iwaizumi gestured to the boy standing to the left of Ren. He had close-cropped hair and muscles that almost gave Iwaizumi some competition. Almost.

“Mei.” She had long red hair and an enviable sense of style. She looked like the sort of girl you’d be terrified of approaching in high school, simply because she was far too cool for you.

“Haruto.” The guy with the kind smile and brown hair so soft you wanted to touch it. There’s something about him that almost reminds you of Tooru – if Tooru wasn’t such a brat.

“And Yuna.” The other girl, with a brown bob and such sharp eyeliner that you couldn’t help but wonder how stable her hand must be when applying it.

You felt a little embarrassed, just standing there in your lounge clothes; thank God it’s wasn’t your pyjamas, but they’re certainly not clothes you’d wear on a fun outing somewhere.

“It’s nice to meet you,” you blushed, looking at the floor.

A chorus of ‘you too’s erupted from the group, much louder than you’d expected. You managed to supress the urge to flinch.

“What’re your plans?” You asked.

“Oh, we’ll just be playing some board games,” Ren said, waving a hand at you.

“Right,” you nodded. You weren’t quite sure what you were expecting. They all had some kind of beer in hand, so you might’ve expected something a bit more… rowdy. But, you weren’t complaining.

“You should join us!” One of the girls – Yuna, was it? – smiled at you, the expression illuminating her entire face.

You considered it for a moment, each pro and con rushing through your head at lightning speed. You didn’t want to be rude, and it would be nice to spend some time with people other than Iwaizumi…

But they were his friends. Wouldn’t you be intruding? You didn’t want to just barge in and expect to be included just because you happened to live with him.

Yet at the same time, Yuna was smiling at you so kindly. Turning her down would feel rude.

“Sure,” you nodded.

Yuna ushered you over towards the couches, sitting you down next to her. Mei sat on your other side, offering you an unbearably pretty smile.

“What’re you doing?” You asked.

“It’s this card game,” Haruto explained, “each card has a symbol on it, see?” He held two cards up for you to see. Sure enough, both cards had a yellow diamond on them.

You nodded.

“So, they each have a category on them,” he said. You looked between both cards. It took you a moment as they were English words, but one said ‘film’ and the other said ‘animal.’

“Mhm.”

“Now all the cards are placed in a deck in the middle, and on your turn, you take a card and place it face up. If the symbol matches another card on the table, then you need to call out a word that belongs in the category of the other card,” he explained.

You nodded slowly. “So… if I had the animal card and you had the film card, I’d need to call out a film?”

“Exactly right,” he smiled.

“You’ll pick it up as you go along,” Iwaizumi reassured.

“Do I have to say it in English?” You asked.

Haruto shook his head. “You can say something in English or Japanese. No stress.”

“Thanks,” you smiled, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Alright, is everyone ready?” Taiki barked. “I wanna start!”

Suffice to say you didn’t do particularly well for the first few rounds.

It took you a little longer than everyone else to translate the English to Japanese, but you did manage to secure a few wins. Although, that was mainly won off the backs of other people’s mistakes – Taiki, for example, yelled out ‘plant’ for the category of ‘vegetable’.

After the second round, you got up and headed to the kitchen, intent on getting yourself a drink of water.

You opened the fridge door as quietly as you could, not wanting to disturb your guests. You grabbed the water jug, grimacing at how heavy it was.

When you closed it, Iwaizumi was standing right there.

“Fuck!” You jumped, a hand flying to your chest.

“Sorry,” he grinned. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

You glared at him for a second, only to give up as soon as your wrist started to ache.

“Are you doing alright?” He asked as you plunked the jug on the countertop.

“Yeah,” you nodded, opening one of your cupboards and grabbing a cup. “Yuna’s really nice.”

“Okay, good,” he smiled. From the look on his face, you guessed that he was relieved. “Don’t feel pressured to stay out here,” he said.

“It’s okay, really,” you shook your head, pouring some water into your glass. Some splashed onto the counter despite your best efforts – and you didn’t even have the excuse of being tipsy.

Iwaizumi nodded slowly, still smiling at you. His cheeks were a bit flushed; a key indicator that he was likely a handful of drinks away from ‘well and truly drunk.’

You held the water out to him instinctively. He took it from you, only for confusion to blossom across his face.

“Huh?”

“You should probably drink some,” you said, rather lost yourself. “So you don’t get a hangover.”

“Oh,” he swallowed. “Right.”

He brought the cup to his lips and tipped it back. You busied yourself with getting another glass – there was no way you were just going to stand there and watch him drink. God knew where your mind might go, and you didn’t like it.

“Let me know if you need anything,” Iwaizumi said, placing the now-empty cup back on the counter.

“Thanks,” you smiled.

Once you’d finally gotten your own cup of water (that you hadn’t handed to Iwaizumi for no good reason), you scampered back to the couch and settled down in your spot between Yuna and Mei.

They’d swapped the first card game out for another – the rules were that one person had a card with a word on it, and they had to try and explain it without using said word.

They cycled through a fair few games, burning through casket of beer after casket of beer. The hours burned on faster than you could keep track, but you didn’t mind. You were laughing too much to care.

“Oh, shit,” Iwaizumi mumbled, staring at his phone.

“Hm?” Taiki sniffed. His face was bright red, but he didn’t seem to care. “Is it Misaki?”

Iwaizumi nudged him with his knee as he grumbled something under his breath. Whether you liked it or not, the name Misaki was lodged firmly in the back of your brain.

“I was gonna say it’s three in the morning,” Iwaizumi grunted.

“Oh,” Yuna gasped, whipping out her own phone. “Fuck.”

“Do buses even run this late?” Mei grimaced.

“I have no idea,” Yuna bit her lip, her brow creasing.

“You guys can crash here if you want,” Iwaizumi offered.

“All of us?” Mei raised an eyebrow at him.

“Why not?” He asked.

“I don’t know about Yuna, but I don’t want to be snuggled up against any of these fools,” Mei grimaced, waving a hand at the three guys.

“What do you mean?” Ren whined.

“There’s only so much room on these couches,” Mei shrugged.

“I guess we can sleep on the floor,” Haruto mumbled.

“I’ve been told you snore,” Mei said.

“And?”

“I’m a light sleeper.”

Haruto scoffed. “How do you even know whether or not I snore?”

“Well, Maka—”

“Alright,” Haruto held his hands up, shaking his head.

An idea brewed in the back of your mind. It’s not a perfect solution, but it could certainly save any of them an early morning trek back to their own apartments.

You took a deep breath, trying to build up the confidence to speak up.

“The girls can stay in my room, if they’d like,” you said quietly.

Every head turned to face you. Yikes.

“Are you sure?” Iwaizumi asked.

“Mhm!” You nodded, trying to look as enthusiastic as possible. “I don’t mind. And I can promise you I don’t snore,” you said, turning to Mei.

She giggled, shaking her head. “You’re an angel.”

You beamed at that little affirmation.

“I owe you one,” Iwaizumi grinned, ruffling your hair fondly. Your cheeks bloomed red; although, that didn’t really stand out amongst this bunch.

You nodded at him, turning on your tail and fleeing to your room.

The girls were already in there, inspecting the wall above your desk. You’d stuck some photos up the other day on a whim; a bunch of polaroids and four-by-sixes arranged in something that resembled a neat collage.

“These are so cute,” Yuna cooed, turning to pout at you.

“Thanks,” you giggled.

“Look at you!” She whined, pointing at a picture of your graduation. Amaya and another one of your friends stand either side of you, your smiles bright and brilliant as you each cradled a bouquet of flowers. It might only have been a few months ago, but you felt like you looked far younger.

“You’re adorable,” Mei pouted.

It felt a bit weird, having people you barely knew in your space like this. But this was at least an echo of the college experience, right? Two drunk girls calling you cute while you were strikingly sober… Sounded about right.

It kind of reminded you of all those sleepovers during your school years. There’s something comforting in that.

Yuna suddenly froze.

“Everything alright?” You asked, tensing up yourself.

“Who is that?” She hissed, pointing at a new photo.

You stepped forward to get a better look at who she was talking about.

Oh. Tooru.

It’s a photo you’d taken with him last winter, when he’d come back to Japan for a week. By that time, he’d gotten quite tanned, and he’d really bulked up. Whatever he was doing in Argentina, it was paying off. Although, you could do without his bragging.

“That’s my brother,” you said, fighting the urge to roll your eyes. You didn’t mean any ill will; you were just quite used to girls asking you about your brother. Usually, you just told them they could do much better.

Yuna gaped at you. “Your brother?”

“Mhm,” you nodded. “He’s currently in Argentina.” You didn’t really know what else to say.

“That’s not that far away,” Mei mused.

“I’m pretty sure it’s still like… a twenty-hour flight away,” you giggled.

“But it’s closer than Japan,” Mei tsked.

“If your brother ever comes to visit,” Yuna said calmly, “let us know.”

You were about to respond when Yuna gasped loudly.

“Is that Hajime?” She hissed, pointing at another photo.

It’s one from Tooru’s graduation, this time. It’s also the only photo of Iwaizumi on your wall. Makki and Mattsun are also in it, grinning brilliantly as they held Tooru in a headlock. You were at the side, laughing at your brother, as Iwaizumi watched the scene fondly.

“Yeah,” you chuckled. “He’s best friends with my brother.”

“Aw, that’s so cute,” Mei cooed. “Why didn’t he ever tell us that his best friend looked like that?”

“You never looked at the photos out in the living room?” You asked.

“Oh,” Mei blinked. “Well, it looks like a bunch of men from far away, so I wasn’t interested.”

“I didn’t even realise there were photos in the front room,” Yuna mumbled.  

You giggled again, shaking your head. You had no idea how you were going to get these two to settle and go to bed, but you’re pretty sure you don’t regret letting them stay here.

This was the most fun you’d had ever since you landed in California.

✧ ✧ ✧

You’d balked when Iwaizumi had first promised to ‘teach you’ how to go grocery shopping.

But standing in the middle of the Asian Grocer, surrounded by more cuts of meat than you could ever conceive, you realised that it was wise to listen to what he had to say.

You’d spent an absurd amount of time going through each isle as Iwaizumi pointed out the bargains – many of which had to do with bulk buying – and discussing what the cheapest version of each item was, and when it was best to sacrifice cost for quality.  

“Oh, by the way,” he said, interrupting your intense observation of the swath of shaved pork staring at you from the freezer.

You turned to look at him expectantly.

“I didn’t say thanks for letting Yuna and Mei stay in your room.”

You shook your head. “It’s fine.”

“I’m sorry for putting that on you,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t expect everyone to stay so late.”

“I said it’s fine,” you chuckled. “I offered. And I wouldn’t have felt good about them all heading home that early in the morning.”

Iwaizumi smiled at you softly for a moment.

You swallowed, turning back to the meat. “They seem nice,” you said. You weren’t sure what else you were supposed to say.

Iwaizumi nodded. “Yeah. Taiki can be a brat though.”

“More or less of a brat than Tooru?” You grinned.

“Oh, less,” Iwaizumi answered immediately.

You giggled, opening the freezer and grabbing a random Styrofoam pallet of meat. You’d spent far too long in this section; long enough that you were getting cold.

“Where’d you meet them?” You asked, putting the pallet in the basket slung over Iwaizumi’s forearm.

“Uh, Taiki’s from the gym. The others are from the Japanese Students Association.”

Your ears perked up at that. “The Japanese Students Association?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “That’s where I met most of my friends, actually.”

“Really?”

“It’s much easier than making friends in your classes,” he smiled.

You chewed on your cheek for a moment. Admittedly, the whole ‘making friends in class’ plan wasn’t going well for you. There was hardly any time to properly socialise, and you never knew when it was okay to strike up a conversation. Maybe if you were still in Japan, you’d have an easier time navigating this torrid new social landscape.

But you just didn’t know what was considered rude or weird or even creepy here.

“You should join,” he suggested. When you caught his eye, he was already looking at you, a touch of concern on his brow.

“You think?”

“It’s a good way of getting to know people,” he shrugged. “I joined when I felt lonely last year.”

The words hit you harder than you thought they would. “I’m sorry,” you frowned.

“It’s fine,” he chuckled. “Anyway, they’re having a party soon.”

“Are they?”

He nodded. “To ‘kick off’ the semester or something. It’s really just an excuse to get shit-faced.”

You laughed. “Really?”

“That’s what all uni parties are for,” he grinned.

You considered it for a moment.

A party… you’d never really been to one before. Not an Americanised party, anyway. Not one where everyone got absurdly drunk.

Alone, surrounded by unfamiliar drunk people, in a city you don’t know…

Your stomach lurched.

You wanted to be brave. You wanted to put yourself out there. But the thought did nothing but make your skin crawl. Maybe you were just being paranoid, but it sounded dangerous.

“You okay?” Iwaizumi asked.

You blinked up at him. “Oh, yeah, I…” You turned your attention to the floor. “I just don’t think I’ll go.”

“Why not?”

“I think I’d just feel…” You paused for a moment, trying to think of the mildest way to say what you were feeling. “I think I’d feel a little uncomfortable.”

You braved a glance at him.

He was pressing his lips together, a thoughtful frown on his face.

A knot of guilt twisted in your stomach. You were making him worry again. That’s all you seemed to have done since you’d been here. You knew he’d offered to live with you, but it’s like you’ve been nothing but a burden ever since you’d arrived.

And you hated that more than anything. You hated making him worry. You hated giving him reason for concern. All because you couldn’t go to a stupid party on your own.

“I could come with you, if you’d like.”

His offer surprised you.

Maybe you should’ve expected him to say something like that. And usually, the thought of going to a party with him would make you feel like you wanted to throw up.

But you’d survived the past few weeks. And Iwaizumi looked like that. No weird asshole was going to try and approach you or make you feel uncomfortable if he was standing next to you.

“If it’s not too much trouble,” you said sheepishly.

Iwaizumi smiled, shaking his head. “Not at all.”

[amelinksanatomy]

can you write something where amelia is pregnant and they’re trying to take scout on as many days out as they can before she gives birth so they take him to the zoo?

Day Out

A/N: Thank you for the prompt! Sorry for not posting in a while, I've been so busy and had very bad writers block! This isn't great but I hope you enjoy!

Amelia watched her 3-year-old son in the mirror with a smile as he bounced around in his seat in the back of the car.

"Are you excited, Scout?" she asks, laughing as she carefully turns her body in the front passenger seat to be able to look at him. Scout cheers and kicks his feet happily in response.

"What animals are we gonna see, buddy?" Link asks, eyes staying focused on the road ahead.

"Lion! Lion! Lion!" Scout shouts from the back of the car causing his parents to laugh, both aware of his new found obsession with this particular animal, "Mama, can we see lions?"

"Of course, baby." she smiles, "Whatever you want to do!".

Amelia meant it. Whatever Scout wanted to do today, they would do it. They had decided to give Scout one last day out, doing whatever he wanted to do, before they became a family of four. Of course, he had chosen to have ice cream and donuts for breakfast and to then go to the zoo. She turned back in her seat and placed a hand on top of her huge baby bump, letting out a deep breath.

"You sure you're gonna be okay to do this? Walk around all day?" Link asks, glancing over at Amelia with slight concern in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. She's just in my ribs right now but she'll move, she always does." Amelia smiles, rubbing her hand across the top of her stomach, "This is Scout's day.".

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

After purchasing their tickets at the entrance, the family start making their way around the zoo. Scout walks between his parents, each of them taking hold of one of his hands, knowing that when he gets excited, he tends to run off.

"Look, buddy!" Link exclaims, bending down to lift Scout onto his hip, pointing at the enclosure.

"Ooh ooh ah ah!" Scout imitated loudly, causing his parents and the family next to them to laugh.

"That's right, baby!" Amelia giggles, running her hand down Scout's back, "You're so smart, huh!".

The family of three stood and watched the monkeys for the next few minutes. Scout continued imitating them; pointing and laughing every time they move. Link spotted one in the tree closest to the fence, moving closer before pointing it out to his son. Scout suddenly started bouncing on his Dad's hip, his arm reaching out and pointing excitedly to the monkey as it swung to a lower branch.

"Mommy!" Scout squealed, "Can we have one?".

His serious tone set Amelia off into a fit of laughter, not expecting that to come out of his mouth. She held the bottom of her bump as she giggled, "I think we should see how things go with baby sister first before we try pets."

"No, Mommy! I want a monkey!" Scout pouts dramatically.

Amelia rubs his back and laughs, "How about, we have baby sister and then maybe, we can think about getting a dog?".

Link's eyes widen at Amelia's suggestion, unsure of how they'd handle two kids, a dog, surgical careers and general life. Scout, on the other hand, was ecstatic, immediately starting to smile and clap.

"Right," Link starts, changing the subject swiftly, "Let's go and see the meerkats!".

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

After another hour of walking around, they had made it to the halfway point. Scout had begun complaining that he was hungry so, they decided to stop at the mid-way cafe.

"Scout, come and sit down, your food is here." Amelia tells her son, who was across the room and had become fascinated by the animal themed toy selection.

Scout was a slow eater, a trait he had inherited from his Mom and so by the time Amelia and Link had finished, he was only half way through. Amelia leant back in her chair, resting a hand on top of her bump, rubbing back and forth softly as she watched Scout eat, wondering just when her baby got so big.

"Ames, how you doing?" Link asks, smiling at her from across the table, one arm resting on the back of Scout's chair.

Amelia diverts her attention to Link, smiling and circling her hand around her bump, "I'm good. She's settled down in there now and finally moved away from my ribs." she laughs.

"Mommy!" Scout shouts loudly. For such a small person, he sure did have a loud voice.

"Yes, angel?" Amelia turns back to her son, "I'm done!".

Scout pushes his plate towards Amelia and starts to bounce in his seat, having refuelled his energy. He suddenly stands up on his chair, "Can we go and see the lions now?".

Link grabs hold of his sons arm carefully, supporting him as he stands, "Let's let Mommy rest for a few more minutes before we go back out, okay?".

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

"Lions!" Scout shouts, seconds before he starts running away from his parents.

"No, Scout!" Amelia shouts after him, always worried that something will happen if he runs off. Link runs after him, his longer legs allowing him to catch up to the toddler in only a few strides. He scoops Scout up into his arms and holds him against his side. Now ahead of Amelia, Link stops in his place and turns towards her. Amelia slowly waddles her way to catch up with them.

"Scout, we told you baby, you can't just run off like that." Amelia says softly as she gets closer.

"You need to stay close to us, okay?" Link adds, bouncing him on his hip, "But Mommy's slow! I wanna see the lions!".

Link chuckles as he sees the look on Amelia's face, "Scout, be nice."

"She is slow!" Scout reaffirms, never one to hide his thoughts.

"You try having a full size baby against your pelvis and walking quickly." Amelia says, unamused, as she catches up to her boys.

Still holding Scout on his hip, Link reaches his free arm around Amelia's waist, rubbing his hand up and down her back as they began walking towards the lions. Link took her hand in his, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand gently.

"RAWRRRR!" Scout yells as they reach the lion enclosure.

"Daddy! RAWR!" he points to one of the lions laid out on the grass, "Mommy! Look!".

Amelia lent her back against a wooden sign pole, her hand clasped together on the underside of her bump for support, starting to feel how exhausted she was becoming. She smiled at her excited toddler, "Wow! They're so scary!" she says dramatically causing her son to laugh, "They can't get you, Mama!".

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

Now back in the car, Amelia leans against the back of her chair, trying her best to stretch out her back. Her hand runs in circles around her tight bump. They had only been driving for 5 minutes but, when she turns her head to the backseat, she notices Scout has fallen asleep.

"I think we tired him out." Amelia chuckles, her heart feeling full as she watches his chest rise and fall and his lips pout as he sleeps, "Do you think he had a good day? I feel bad that I couldn't keep up with him towards the end"

"Babe, you're 39 weeks pregnant." Link smiles sympathetically, reaching a hand across and placing it on her thigh, "He had a great day! He loved all of it!"

"You sure?" she asks softly, "I'm positive. And, I'm sure he'll tell us all about it when he wakes up as if we weren't there with him.".

Amelia laughs quietly, "I just wanted to make sure he knows we love him and that he doesn't feel like he's gonna be pushed aside when the baby comes because that would break my heart.".

Link squeezes her leg gently, "Love, I promise he's gonna be okay. He knows we love him. Nothing is going to change when she comes." he reaches up to her bump, running his hand across it, "They will both get just as much love as each other and while she may need a little more attention from you in the beginning, we will do our best to make sure Scout doesn't feel left out. Okay?".

Amelia nods, smiling softly, "I'm glad we had this time with him because I really don't think it's going to be long before she comes.".

She turns back to look at her little boy as he cuddled his new lion stuffed animal close to his chest and smiles, "He's going to be the best big brother.".

[a-little-birdie]

Flower Husbands fluff? (Their new home seems like an awfully good place for a picnic of sorts!)

Here you go! Sorry it’s a little late!

A Monopoly on love

(Name is based on the fact that they have destroyed two monopolies and they’re in love)

Scott laughed as the four of them ran from the desert. “Fantastico and away we go!” One of them cried out, Scott was running and laughing to hard to know which one of them yelled it out. When the four of them got to the forest they split ways, Jimmy and Scott making it to their home in Flower Valley. Martyn and Joel went somewhere else, away from Jimmy and Scott but that was the point.

“The look on their faces!” Jimmy said through his laughter.

“Ohhhh that was glorious!” Scott exclaimed wiping a tear from his eye as they walked into the valley “but the sheer amount of dark oak logs they had! Good lord!”

Jimmy laughed as the two men walked into their house and when they came down from their adrenaline high they were left with nothing to do.

Scott pursed his lips while Jimmy leaned against the wall. “Well what now?” Scott asked and Jimmy speculated for a while. “Well we could go look for cows, it’ll be good to get some extra food and items we might need, wanna come?” Scott looked up to Jimmy from the sword on his hip, the blue haired boy shook his head. “No I’ve got a few things that I wanna do as well.” Jimmy nodded his head and walked out the door.

“See you soon!”

Scott was standing next to the farm feeding the sheep and chickens while waiting for more wheat to grow when Jimmy came back- with a cow! Scott watched in surprise and slight disbelief as Jimmy brought the cow across the pond on a boat. The man has many skills and getting cows into boats is one of them. “Where did you find it?” Scott asked as Jimmy coaxed the cow out of the boat and onto some dry land with some wheat. “Well I’ve been all over the place, did you know this place had a swamp? I didn’t I’ve been to the farthest corner.” Jimmy replied absentmindedly handing the cow some of the wheat in his hand. Scott hummed and nodded his head along as he made a pen around Jimmy and the cow.

“What should we name it?” Jimmy asked as he gave the cow pets and wheat. “Daisy, let’s name it Daisy.” Scott said and smirked to themselves while they put some things in a chest as Jimmy tsked and muttered under his breath. “It’s always Daisy, why is it always Daisy?”

Scott wandered back over. “I’ve got something to show you.”

Jimmy perked up like a meerkat. “Oh?” He left Daisy to her own devices happily munching on the wheat that was left in her pen. Scott led Jimmy a little past the farms to a blanket on the ground surrounded by flowers and food. “What’s this?” Jimmy asked wide eyed at the food and the blanket on the soft green grass. “A picnic.” Scott says nonchalantly as if eating food together had no meaning, or sitting in the same space with each other has no meaning or having a picnic together had no meaning oh my god was this a date? Scott brought Jimmy back to earth by patting a spot on the blanket next to him, Jimmy blinked and then decided to join Scott on the blanket. The blanket was soft and the flowers around them gave a delicate smell to the air, Scott planted a sandwich in Jimmy’s lap and began eating his own. Jimmy picked up the sandwich in his lap and took a bite. “This is really good!” He said through a mouthful and Scott beamed at him. “Glad you like it!” And then the two continued to eat in silence just enjoying each other’s company and the birds singing in the trees.

When they were finished Scott looked at Jimmy and frowned lightly before grabbing a napkin. “Hold still.”

Scott lifted the napkin to the brown eyed males face. Jimmy held still not exactly knowing what Scott was gonna do but when he gently wiped away the remaining crumbs and sauce from Jimmy’s face, he felt his cheeks heat up slightly. And by the gods Scott must’ve noticed because he grinned when he was finished cleaning up Jimmy’s face. So in retaliation Jimmy picked up a Daisy and placed it behind Scott’s ear and it was a beautiful sight to behold. Scott looked surprised with the Daisy behind his ear holding up some of his blue hair, a light dusting of pink appeared on Scott’s cheeks as the sun was setting in the background.

Even though it was getting darker the person in front of them glowed brighter.

“It’s always Daisys, why is it always Daisys?” Scott mumbled bringing a hand up to the flower in his hair and Jimmy laughed at the simple question. “I love you.” Jimmy said as he kissed Scott on the cheek. Scott froze processing what just happened. “Oh crap! I’m sorry I should’ve asked first, I’m sorry!” Jimmy exclaimed worried he might’ve ruined the relationship between him and Scott. “No, no it’s okay, I actually quite liked it.” Scott admitted while looking towards the setting sun and when he looked back at Jimmy he said five simple words.

“Can you do it again?”

Jimmy blushed as he nodded and the two boys shared many soft kisses and words of love filled the air well into the night. The two fell asleep in each other’s arms making a silent promise to each other, that no matter what they would be together side by side, they would stand hand in hand through it all. They had all the love in the world and they would keep this monopoly they had on love.

Hope this is okay! Sorry that it’s a little late! Tell me what you think if you want! Also my favourite part is the fact that it goes from plot straight to gay panic (pun intended) to some fluff!

[bakugou-jpg]

Cherry wine || Single dad!Tsukishima

Hello, hello ! I here by present you with chapter 1 of cherry wine. I apologize for the last bit since it was a bit rushed but i do hope you will all enjoy it anyways. Also! Thank you so much for all the kind words and support you guys have given we really appreciate it :)

Masterlist

-Chapter 1-

________________________________________

"..Wake up bud, there's cereal waiting for you on the counter."

The covers moved, a small groan coming from underneath them. A tuft of dirty, messy, blonde hair peeked through the top together with the nose of what seemed to be a stuffed meerkat. "Noo.." A voice grumbled, barely hearable due to the covers almost deafening the sounds coming from underneath.

It didn't take long before the curtains were shoved aside, the blinding sunlight shooting through and immediatly taking grasp of whatever it could find. Which also seemed to be the face of the 7 year old boy hiding from his father underneath the covers.

"Dad! Its too bright, i'm going blind!" The boy whined while pushing his stuffed animal into his face. He nuzzled his face into its fur and sighed, enjoying his last few seconds of comfort in bed. Monday mornings were the worst, a morning where his father wouldn't have any mercy with waking him up. Even if that meant tossing him over his shoulder or for his wiggly fingers to find their way onto his side while that very annoying smirk was present on his face.

Tsukishima stretched, letting his eyes get used to the morning sunlight before dragging his long legs to the small turtle enclosure that was placed on top of a drawer. He flicked on the light and immediately checked if the turtle, who went by the name of Mika, was still alive and good. Once he was greeted by the grumpy eyes of the drowsy turtle he reached for the small box of crickets and took out the last two, tossing them into the enclosure after having opened the top and closing it again afterwards.

He crossed his arms and looked at the hidden boy with a raised brow. "Kaoru Tsukishima. Your cereal will get soggy and i'm not making you a new bowl. So get out of bed or else i'll help you." He said, walking towards the bed and kneeling down, tugging at the sheets.

An mischief giggle errupted from under the blankets and a head poked out of the sheets. A pair of golden brown eyes peeked up at him and Tsukishima certainly didn't miss the big grin on the boy's face.

Kaoru was almost a carbon copy of his dad. He had his dad's dirty blonde hair, golden-brown eyes and his dad's interest in dinosaurs. It brought some sense of pride to Tsukishima, knowing that he did that. That a kid so smart, imaginative and nice was his son.

Had you told Tsukishima, 10 years ago when he was 16, that he'd father a boy at the last year of his college and take responsibility for him by raising him on his own. How he'd provide and do anything he did for his son and that every decision he made was for his son? He would've called you crazy, saying how he wouldn't be stupid enough to make the decision of doing such things without the right protection.

It was something that was true, Tsukishima had been dumb enough to not use the right precautions that one night. He was too busy thinking with his dick instead of his brain, too busy with his own desires instead of thinking of the consequences.

Though Tsukishima wasn't religious in any way or shape, he was god forever thankful that he wasn't a responsible person that one night.

"..I'm not leaving my bed" The boy said while giggling like crazy, knowing exactly what the outcomes could be. He had one of his arms tightly wrapped around his stuffed meerkat and pulled the blankets up, trying to hide his smile but Tsukishima's didn't miss how his eyes crinkled and how his eyes held nothing but joy.

The tall man dipped down, throwing Kaoru's sheets off the bed revealing the boy and grabbed his ankles. He stood up, taking a few steps back and dangled the boy upside down by his legs. Kaoru burst out in a fit of giggles, his arm dragging over the floor and his shirt slipping down his chest down to his head. His dad moved his legs on his shoulders, Kaoru now up side down dangling on his back as he took him down the hall, to the kitchen.

Tsukishima slowly lowered Kaoru, making sure he wouldn't just harshly fall onto the ground and hurt himself. The boy put his hands on the ground and his legs slipped down his father's back, landing on his fours. He jumped up, immediately letting his eyes scan the kitchen counter before grabbing his bowl of cereal. "Thanks"

Whilst climbing onto the stool next to the kitchen island, Tsukishima quickly put down a spoon before disappearing somewhere into bathroom only to return with a small pile of fresh clothes. He walked back into Kaoru's room and put the pile of clothes on top of his bed, making his bed before doing so.

"Eat up, brush your teeth and get dressed. After school we're gonna buy some more food for Mika, no buts. Now hurry up we're gonna be late"

Kaoru groaned and shoved a spoon full of colored dinosaur shaped cereal into his mouth. "Mnnyeah wyeah" The boy said with his mouth full, some droplets of milk going down his chin and onto his pyjamas.

Quickly finishing his breakfast, Kaoru hopped off of the stool and ran to his room. He quickly got rid of his pyjamas, leaving the discarded clothes somewhere on the ground for Tsukishima to once again clean it after him, and pulled his sweater over his head. The raccoon print on the front was a bit damaged after having been in the washing machine several times, but Kaoru loved it very much regardless of it.

Tsukishima was in the bathroom, splashing his face with water rubbing a towel rather harshly over it. He put his toothbrush back into the cup placed next to the mirror and spat out the remaining bits of toothpaste that was in his mouth.

There was a soft tug at his sleeve, the 7 year old boy signaling towards the cup that held the toothbrushes and Tsukishima handed him his dark blue toothbrush. "..thanks" Kaoru mumbled while putting a little dot of toothbrush on it before climbing onto the

Tsukishima left the bathroom and went to the hallway, sliding his feet into his shoes when he felt his phone buzz.

        Turning off his phone again, Tsukishima could hear quick footsteps coming his way. He kneeled down, loosening Kaoru's shoes for him since Kaoru always managed to take the longest time getting them on.

"Kuroo's waiting for me, u can tie your shoes in the car just be careful u don't trip" He said while grabbing Kaoru's bag, checking to see if he put his lunch in.

Kaoru shoved his feet into his shoes and looked at Tsukishima with pleading eyes. "Can you carry me to the car~? Pretty pleaseee?" His son begged while looking at him with his hands folded. Kaoru was forcing puppy eyes,

A look most parents would think was adorable..

Tsukishima tilted his head and looked down at Kaoru, his eyes scanning over the body from the 7 year old. "Kaoru, can you do this?". He moved his foot up and down, kicking his leg in and out before looking back at Kaoru again who was looking at him with a confused look in his eyes.

Kaoru nodded and got up. He started copying Tsukishima's movement, moving his foot up and down, kicking his legs in and out and even wiggling around with it a little. "Yeah, of course.." The boy muttered, his eyes looking back up at Tsukishima.

..but Tsukishima absolutely hated it when Kaoru tried to bribe him with just a single look.

"Well then your legs work perfectly fine now get your butt to the car or else i'll leave you home alone and you can walk yourself to school." Tsukishima said with a smirk, looking down at his son with a devilish glint in his eyes. He unlocked the door and waited for Kaoru to catch up, who was currently groaning and rolling his eyes at his dad.

"Daaad!" Kaoru whined, leaning into his father while holding onto his arm while he locked the door again. He pressed his face into his arm and started making inaudible noises into his sleeve.

Tsukishima was still smirking, loving nothing more but to tease his son and get on his nerves sometimes. He reached into the pocket of his coat and grabbed his car keys, pushing a button so that the car would unlock. "Kaoruuu" He said in a similar high pitched whiney tone, something which made Kaoru puff his cheeks, only getting more and more annoyed by his father's behavior.

The two of them got into the car, Tsukishima making sure Kaoru was buckled up correctly, and they left their apartment complex on their way to school.

It wasn't too far away, a ten minute ride tops. The ride to school was always quiet, except for the music Tsukishima put on softly playing in the background. Kaoru wasn't exactly a morning person, though already having finished his morning routine the boy was still sleepy and when Tsukishima would look at him through the rear view mirror, he'd almost every time catch his son dozing off.

With the familiar building in sight, handsful of children screaming and running around. Parents kissing their kids goodbye, dropping them off and immediately leaving and of course the gossip moms  who's husbands already left for work and were currently either talking about other children or the way other parents raise their children. Tsukishima knew they talked about him often, after all he wasn't very involved with the other parents there just with his son. He also knows he'd get judged for the fact he'd raise Kaoru without a 'mother figure' in his life was something he apparently 'needed'.

Tsukishima couldn't give the slightest fuck about what those women thought about them, but he had to admit that sometimes he wanted nothing more than to shove his foot up-

"Thanks for the ride, say hello to Kuroo for me!"

Kaoru unbuckled himself and leaned towards the front of the car, giving his dad half a hug due the fact that hugging like that didn't go as smooth, and Tsukishima ruffled his hair in response. "Hurry up, bud, you're gonna be late" His father said, looking at all the kids who hurried inside of the building.

The boy gasped and quickly grabbed his bag from the seat next to him.  He threw the door open, it almost bouncing back shut from the force, and quickly jumped out of the car.

Tsukishima furrowed his brows and glared at Kaoru. "Oi, Kaoru careful with the-"

Without sparing a second of his attention to his dad, Kaoru swung around and threw the car door shut with big force. It was as if the boy tried to blast the car to the other side of the road just with his hand. They sound of the door colliding with the car made Tsukishima's ears buzz and he groaned.

"-door, Kaoru Tsukishima are you deaf?"

Kaoru had already ran inside of the building, not sparing a second glance back at his dad as he greeted his friends with a big smile.

Tsukishima groaned and rolled his eyes, starting his car again before taking off. "Little asshole" he muttered under his breath, turning his car around to go towards his work but not before making a stop along the way first.

The ride there didn't take long, after all Kuroo also didn't live too far away from the school Kaoru went to. In a way, it annoyed Tsukishima. After all Kuroo was a pain in his ass that he couldn't get rid off, yet it was better than having to drive for over half an hour just pick him up.

With the leaves twirling in the wind, around his car which slightly blinded his sight for a second, Tsukishima slowly stopped his car and looked up at the two story house whos curtains were all closed instead of 1 room which was probably Kuroo's.

After college, Kuroo had moved in with Kenma. Tsukishima didn't exactly really know Kenma, the two of them barely having anything in common except for the fact they both used to play volleybal and were associated with Kuroo. All he knew from Kuroo was that Kenma now was quite a famous twitch streamer and his working hours were ungodly which was most definitely why all the curtains were still closed except for Kuroo's room.

Right before Tsukishima could reach for his phone on his deskboard, the front door flew open and the raven haired man who's hair always looked messy walked out of the door with a smirk. He waved at Tsukishima, who only rolled his eyes at him and started his car again, and quickly locked his door before walking towards the car parked in front of his house.

"Took you long enough-"

"U wanna take public transport next time? Cause i'd be more than glad to go straight to work and let you ride the metro every morning if its a bother for you." Tsukishima said while turning his head towards Kuroo as he entered the car. There a digustingly sweet smile on his face, his eyes squinted and his voice was laced with a thick layer of sarcastic politeness. He slowly opened his eyes again and send a death glare Kuroo's way.

"In fact you could take the metro right no-"

"Okay, i get it! Geez, Mr dinosaur, chill your ass down. Who got on your nerve this morning?" Kuroo exclaimed while clicking his seatbelt shut. He shoved his brown leather bag, that over the years got quite some damage here and there, down in front of his legs and spread his legs his folded hands resting on his lap.

The car drove away from its previous parked spot and slowly sped up. The blonde male behind it gripped the wheel a little tighter and squinted his eyes as the rays of the sun started irritating them. "Think that's a question you already know the answer of" He answered, moving down the sun visor from the car.

Kuroo scoffed and shook his head. He rested his elbow against the door and supported his head with his hand. His hazel colored orbs scanned over the area, his eye falling onto two kids holding hands while walking to school.

"When's ya' next match? Cool if we hop on by?"

Sendai frogs.

Sendai frogs was a volleybal team, one Tsukishima had joined a few years ago. At first volleybal to him wasn't something he did for 'fun'. He never understood why his teammates got so overly excited about scoring just a single point or how they'd cry because they lost. If you told 16 year old him he'd be joining a somewhat 'proffesional' volleybal team for fun, he'd laugh at you and call you names.

Yet a lot had changed since then. He now enjoyed it more than anything else, feeling an extreme wave of pride wash over him everytime he'd block a good ball or score a point. The wave of pride became almost some sort of tsunami everytime he'd look at the bleacher's and see Kaoru wearing a kids-sized version of his shirt with green and yellow stripes painted on his cheeks while cheering him on.

Tsukishima tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and sighed. "Do whatever you want. Just google the next few matches it should be on there somewhere." He spoke, slowly halting the car when the light turned red.

Kuroo grabbed his phone out of the pocket of his coat, silently mumbling about how Tsukishima could show some more appreciation, and started typing away. His eyes slightly squinted as he let them run over the screen, trying to read the little letters at the bottom of the page.

Once the traffic light turned green again, the car took off and rode through a pile of dead leaves that laid on the pavement making them all shoot up into the air before they gently and gracefully whirled back onto the ground.

The ride there wasn't exactly long nor short. Both Tsukishima and Kuroo were blessed with the fact they were able to find a place to live in the same town as where their jobs were located. It was only about 15/20 minutes by car and about 30/35 minutes with public transport.

Sendai city museum.

It wasn't the biggest museum in japan, that was for sure, but it had one thing that interested Tsukishima a lot when he started looking around for an internship in his last year.

A fossil department. One with the most magnificent dinosaurs, his favorites and the fossils themselves were of great quality. Though, back then, Kaoru was only about 1/2 years old Tsukishima never forgot the way his big golden brown eyes would stare up at the mammoth that was 100 times his size back then. How he'd coo while making grabby hands towards the triceratops while trying to wiggle out of his father's safe embrace.

It was one of the first times Tsukishima took Kaoru somewhere, only being about 19/20 years old back then and still being kind of new to all of the changes Kaoru was going through. It was weird realizing the tiny baby he held in his hands before was becoming a human being with actual personality.

Probably one of his proudest memories, knowing his son might love dinosaurs as he did.

After he graduated it didn't take long before his old internship had offered him a job for he had worked really hard back at Sendai city museum as an intern and they wanted him really badly. An opportunity that opened many doors for him, for about 7 years later he was now head of the fossil department after working hard to achieve his goals.

It didn't take long before Tsukishima had learned about the fact that 2 years before he joined, a certain 'friend' of his got himself enrolled into the science department as a researcher.

So that is exactly how Tsukishima found himself dropping Kuroo off at the museum every morning for the last 6 years.

Closing the door behind him with a soft bang, he reached into his pocket and pressed the lock button on his carkeys. With the signal of the lights flashing for a moment and the familiar beep echoeing in his ears, the two men took it as their sign to walk towards the entrance of the museum.

The raven haired bedhead stuffed his hands into the pocket of his coats and stretched his shoulders, his eyes glancing at Tsukishima from the corner of his eye. "You've got that big opening on Friday, right?" He questioned, stopping in front of the automatic doors while waiting for them to open so they could enter and be welcomed by the warmth inside.

Once the doors slid aside, the two men made their way inside and Kuroo already started unbuttoning his coat. "..Nakamura mentioned something about it so i was just wondering. Heard it was a pretty big deal."

Tsukishima hummed and sighed, removing his hands from his jacket to take his glasses off his face now that the change of temperature was starting to make them get fogged up.

"Just a 'grand opening' for a new fossil i've been trying to get my hands on for some months now. Recently discovered somewhere in the US, you know why i left for two weeks? But yes, that is friday."

His eyes were slightly squinted, not wanting to run into anything or look over an object. His eyesight was quite poor so in many ways had he been glad to hear that so far, knock on wood, Kaoru hadn't inherited that gene.

Kuroo hummed, pursing his lips slightly while greeting the older woman who was sitting behind the welcoming desk. He started unwrapping his scarf from his neck and folded it, slowly coming to a stop once the two men had reached the spot where they parted ways.

"What time?"

Tsukishima sighed and pushed his glasses further up his nose for they started slipping off. He shrugged and turned around, his back turned towards Kuroo as he made his way towards his office. "Eight and i'm not picking your sorry ass up" He said, bag swung over his shoulder.

His footsteps echoed through the hallway, his eyes set on the large entrance at the end of the hall that read 'Jurrasic' in somewhat elegant yet adventurous way to catch the attention of both eldery but also of kids. He could hear Kuroo saying something, but for his own headache he decided not to pay attention to it as he entered the fossil display area.

With a triceratops on his right, his eyes settled upon the fossil on the other side of the room. A stegosaurus. Though, it by far wasn't Tsukishima's favorite dinosaur, it was his first ever project. To add to that, the fossil was on great shape too. It's back plater being in perfect condition, something which isn't very common with a stegosaurus fossil for the fact that it's back platers are so thin and fragile.

Even though it had been 6 years since it got here, Tsukishima always took a moment right before going into his office to admire it. Of course, he was very proud of all of the fossils and projects he did over the course of the last 7 years, but that stegosaurus being his first big fossil project brought a lot of pride with it.

In the middle of the hall was a big red curtain, circled around the fossil hidden behind it that reached all the way to the top of the high ceiling. So far, Tsukishima's tallest fossil. Surely, not the one with the best quality, but it was a new dinosaur and a tall one at that and that by itself had been enough to draw a lot of attention of the public.

"Ah, Tsukishima! Good to see you"

Tsukishima's eyebrows slightly rose as his eyes locked with the ones of his boss who was currently standing in the middle of his office.

It was strange, for Tsukishima barely saw his boss during his usual work day. There were many weeks where'd it go by without even seeing the man. After all the museum was quite big and his boss worked in an office on the third floor while Tsukishima worked on the first.

Perhaps, there was something urgent? After all, why else would he be waiting for him in his office? Only then did he notice the new desk lined up in front of his own, two cardboard boxes filled with computer material inside of it. Since he was the only person working in this specific office that would mean-

His boss clapped his hands together and smiled warmly. "There'll be a new person joining you today. Hope its not a problem she'll be in your office, i was hoping you'd be able to take her underneath your wing? She's still quite new to the job and worked at a museum in Miyagi before here before she moved." He started explaining, his hazel eyes settled upon Tsukishima's form as he moved to place his bag next to his desk. The man took one of his hands out of the pocket of his blazer and held it out towards the door, nodding towards the same direction.

In the 7 years Tsukishima worked at the museum, he had been completely alone in an office for 5 of them. The first two, he was under the wing of his mentor. An older man, around his 60s, who taught him all the ropes of this job. He was very kind and wise, Tsukishima admired him and was very grateful for all the knowledge he received from him. He retired two years later, leaving Tsukishima alone in the office they used to share. Surely, some people came and went, but around the time of last year Tsukishima became the head of the department after having put up 7 years of absolute great work and got his own office. Besides, there weren't many people working on this department for some reason.

"Oh! Sorry!"

In the door opening, Tsukishima was met my a pair of legs holding onto a cardboard box with a big pile of organisers balancing on top of it. He could see the slightest glimpse of (H/c) coloured hair sticking out of the top. A few papers fell down one of the high storage cabinets, probably because the woman had bumped into it with her sight being blocked.

Tsukishima watched as the pile of documents and organisers started tilting and quickly took a step forward, straightening them before taking them from her. He took a step back and looked down at the woman now standing in front of him.

She opened her mouth, about to thank him, but once she looked at his chest her eyes widened surprised by the fact Tsukishima was so extremely tall being 1,95 meter tall and all. Her eyes traveled up his body, stopping once they locked with his eyes.

"..thank you. Sorry i thought that if i piled it up it would be a bit faster instead of having to walk up and down to the entrance." The woman said with a small chuckle following afterwards.

He could notice she was a bit nervous, hiding it with a smile and some sort of awkward humor. There was just the slightest hint on pink dusting her cheeks. Not because of the fact he made her flustered, but because of the fact she suddenly felt like a very tiny mouse compared to the tall man of a giraffe looking down at her.

The man turned around and placed the pile on top of her desk, the woman following shortly afterwards and placing the box next to it before clenching and unclenching her hands to relief the cramps.

"I'm (Y/n) (L/n), thank you for having me here and nice to meet you" She said while holding out her hand. Tsukishima looked down at her hand for a moment before taking it, squeezing it as he shook her hand.

"Kei Tsukishima. Glad to have you here."

(Y/n) smiled at him and held his gaze for a moment, peering into his eyes for a moment before quickly removing her hand from his grip and look away not being able to hold eye contact before feeling intimidated.

Once again, their boss clapped his hands. The man walked towards the two of them, softly slapping a hand onto their shoulders and squeezing it. It was quite the friendly gesture, something he did often and Tsukishima had gotten used to it over time but he could see how (Y/n) slightly flinced at the sudden action.

The older man laughed warmly and sighed rather loudly. "Well then, now that's settled, Tsukishima why don't you show her around a bit yes? Just take today to show her around the hall, teach her all the basics and get to know each other a bit yeah?" He said, removing his hands from their shoulders only to rub them together as if wanting to rub off the germs.

Without even having waited for a response, the man walked towards the exit and closed the door behind them leaving the two new colleagues alone together in an empty room.

There was an awkward silence. From (Y/n)'s side it was not knowing what to say, not knowing what Tsukishima liked talking about or what type of humour or interests he had. Of course, talking about their job seemed like the most logic thing to do since they both liked it but maybe it was a bit too predictable and boring to begin with. All the thoughts and panic ran through her head, yet Tsukishima just didn't seem to notice the fact there was an awkward silence and didn't feel the need to fill up that silence.

He looked at the boxes, peering into them to look at all the cables and gadgets. "Do you need help, setting that up?"

The woman's head snapped to her right, snapping out of her thoughts and followed Tsukishima's eyes. She peered into the box and started rubbing the back of her neck, a crooked smile appearing on her face. "Oh, uhh. If you'd like to, i mean i'm pretty bad with setting up electronics. My..old roommate always did that for me." She said with a chuckle. She started unpacking the boxes, placing all of the equipments on the desk. Tsukishima followed after her, organizing all the cables.

"I'm not the best at setting stuff up either, but i can try to help." The blonde said while lifting the monitor out of the box and placing it down. He adjusted it slightly, making sure it was straight and not tilted all the way to the sides. "..Is this spot good?"

(Y/n) hummed and nodded as her hand unconciously fiddled with the side of her blazer, rolling a button between her fingers. Maybe she should of have figured out how to do this at home first, asking a friend or one of her parents to help her. That would've made a better impression then she currently was making, standing next to Tsukishima while watching him with big eyes while handing him all the things he asked for. Like a kid holding a flashlight for their dad.

With his back on the ground, Tsukishima started connecting some of the loose cables with a zip tie to make sure the bottom of her desk wouldn't be a tangled mess. His eyes were slightly squinted and his bottom lip was trapped between his teeth, something he often did while doing something physically he had to concentrate on such as putting together Ikea furniture.

His mother had commented on how Kaoru started doing it, saying how she'd always notice how he'd try and copy a lot of things Tsukishima did when Kaoru was a toddler and how he'd really focus on everything his father did. That phase was over, sadly because Kaoru's grandma was delighted with looking at the scene that Tsukishima himself never noticed, but it seemed that Kaoru had taken over the same expression whenever he coloured or build something with legos.

Tsukishima plugged the powerboard into the outlet and flicked on the power button. A sigh left his nose and he pushed himself up, clumsily shuffling out from underneath the desk. The space was tiny, way too tiny for Tsukishima's long body and that surely was confirmed when he bumped his head against the top of the wooden desk.

(Y/n) kneeled down, looking at Tsukishima with a worried expression. "Are you okay?" She asked after hearing the knock and seeing him rub the back of his head.

The man hummed and nodded his head, quickly getting up and plucking a little dust bunny off of his sleeve before throwing it into the trash. Tsukishima turned towards the computer and once he saw that all the lights that were supposed to be on were on he turned towards the woman standing behind him. "That should do it for now. I'll send you some codes via mail soon so that you can get access to Bicrosoft for stuff like word and excel."

He took the last empty cardboard box and folded it together, making sure not to rip it for Tsukishima wasn't sure if she wanted to keep them for something else. "I'll show you around after you're done setting everything down, after that you need to fill in some things to get your own ID card. To prove you work here. " He said while showing her the ID card that hung on his neck, secured with a dark blue neckstrap.

There was his picture on it, one taken in his usual work attire, in front of a white screen. The picture was already a bit old, it being from 3 years ago already, and was supposed to get replaced soon but so far neither Tsukishima or his boss really bothered about it. Next to his picture there was his full name, birthdate, profession/the department he worked at and his employee code.

The woman leaned a bit closer and examined the card, humming to herself before backing up again. Her eyes scanned over her desk that was now filled with a completely set up computer and a small smile made its way onto her face.

(Y/n) looked at Tsukishima and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for setting it up. I think i'd still be here next Thursday if i had to it myself, i'd never be able to figure out which cord would go where." She said, once again with forced awkward humor and a smile. These jokes, trying to act 'relaxed' and 'fun' really weren't paying off at all. If it wasn't the awkward smile on Tsukishima's face it would be the fact that she didn't even find them funny herself.

With a second of silence gone by, the two of them started doing their own thing. As (Y/n) unpacked her stuff, placing down a plant and filling her drawers with paper and pens, Tsukishima was busy on his computer to try and already get the form for her ID ready.

The upcoming hour had been spend mostly in silence.

Once again, it was some sort of not noticing the awkwardness hanging in the air type of situation coming from Tsukishima. After all, he was just doing his thing and concentrated on the words he read on the screen and the things he typed. The man didn't notice how she bit her lip and fiddled with her blazer. He didn't even notice when she was done and stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say.

First days at work were always rather awkward, right? She'd be fine eventually..right?

Like his boss had already informed him, today wasn't exactly very productive.

Tsukishima spent all his time helping her, mostly with getting programs installed and telling her about how certain processes of things went. Like the process of getting a new fossil in, something the museum was currently in the middle of doing.

Though it had already been a few hours since the two of them met, they still hadn't really talked. Well, they had, but only work related things. There was no small talk or getting to know each other a bit better, something that Tsukishima later on realized he might should. After all, she was under his wing now and she had to feel comfortable.

God how he was bad at that.

"Why did you pick this over the museum in Miyagi?"

The two of them were currently standing in front of a pachycephalosaurus, als referred to 'Egg head' by Kaoru. They were in the middle of the tour, Tsukishima showing her around a bit and telling her about the history of where the fossils were from and how they got them.

The question seemed to have taken (Y/n) off guard for a moment, the eyes that once admired the fossil now slightly widening before snapping towards Tsukishima. He could see how she licked her lips, softly tugging her bottom lip before they tugged into a smile.

She chuckled and looked and moved her hands around, signalling at all the fossils around them. "I think this is enough of an answer, don't you think? I wanted to move somewhere else, so once i found the job application i knew i couldn't let this opportunity slip through my fingers."

Tsukishima slowly nodded his head. He looked around the hall, his eyes scanning over the variety of fossils, plastic dinosaurs and pictures. It was set up in a way so both children and adults could enjoy it, the choice of fake plants and placements of the dinos together making it look like as if you were walking around amongst them. It wasn't too over the top, after all people who wanted to admire the fossils also still had to enjoy walking around here without thinking it was too childish.

He inhaled deeply and looked back down at the woman standing in front of him, his golden brown eyes locking with her (e/c) ones. "I chose it for the same reason. Walking around here made me realize that something like this was really somewhere i could see myself walking around even when i'm old.."

There was a moment of silence before Tsukishima sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"..what made my decision final though, was the paycheck" He followed, not even meaning for it to sound like a joke and also not realizing it until he heard a laugh escape the woman's throat. For the first time that day, it being a genuine one.

A small half sidded grin made its way onto Tsukishima's face and he adverted his eyes to the red curtains that were currently hiding the new fossil from the public eye.

"I mean, that paycheck really did look good" (Y/n) said, an actual more relaxed smile present on her face. Though, it wasn't the funniest thing in the world, she felt more at ease. After all this was the first time today the two of them had an actual fun interaction.

She looked at Tsukishima for a moment and noticed how his eyes were looking at the other side of the room. Following his gaze, she now too noticed the curtains and barricaded area. When coming in today, she hadn't been very focused on the fossils around her since she had her attention on not dropping the boxes in her hand.

Tilting her head and squinting her eyes,the woman turned her body towards the new discovery. "What's behind that?" She asked him, adeberting his eyes back to him.

"A brachiosaurus. Discovered in the US, process took a few months but he's finally here." Tsukishima said while stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket. He hummed for a second before turning towards (Y/n). "The big reveal is gonna be Friday evening at 8. You should come, it'll be a good experience for you to see how these things go."

(Y/n)'s eyes widened and a small smile made its way onto her face. She switched her gaze between the currently hidden by the curtains brachiosaurus and Tsukishima. "Really? That would be wonderful, i'd be honored!" She exclaimed, her hands folding together. There was a spark in her eye, one of excitement. After all, its not every day you get to experience such a thing in your first week of working at a new place. "Could i see it now?"

The man opened his mouth to answer but quickly closed it again. A small smirk made its way onto his face and he tilted his head slightly. "I think it would be more interesting to wait until Friday, that way it will be a reveal for you too."

(Y/n)'s had raised her eyebrows at him and slightly squinted her eyes. "You-..I..That's a wonderful idea, Tsukishima! There's nothing i love more than a good surprise.." She exclaimed, a tone in her voice Tsukishima couldn't quite place but the twitch in her eyebrow said enough.

Softly snickering at her reaction, soft enough for her not to hear, the two of them completed their tour. Though they still didn't talk a lot apart from work related things, (Y/n) had now started asking him a bit more questions. About when he became interested in dinosaurs, where he went to college etc. Still, in a way, related to work yet subtly going off course to more personal stuff.

"Is this your son?"

Tsukishima looked up from the map he was holding in his hands and saw (Y/n) examining a framed picture he had on his desk. The only picture there, really. He looked back down at the map and nodded. "Yes, Kaoru." He said while signing his name at the bottom of the paper.

(Y/n) put the picture down on his desk and smiled. "He looks a lot like you. How old is he?"

"He just turned 7."

Her eyes slightly squinted and she pulled up her eyebrow, her head tilted as she looked at Tsukishima with a questioning look. "You're 26 right?"

Silence.

Great, not only are the judgemental karens at Kaoru's school there but he now apparently also has one at work. Not that he minded, he couldn't give less of a shit about it but it was annoying as hell.

Tsukishima sighed annoyed and closed the map with a loud bang. He turned around and shoved it into the office storage closet. "Yes i am 26 years old and yes i was 19 when Kaoru was born, no i do not regret it." He said, a very annoyed tone lacing his words.

Once again, there was a silence.

"I think its wonderful that you're a dad, my apologies if you thought i meant it in a judgemental way. Just curious, but i'll stop the questions if you feel uncomfortable-"

"Oh, no its okay. I'm used to people..Doesn't matter, my apologies" Tsukishima said, face palming internally. In this moment, there was nothing more he wanted to do than punch himself in the gut what a great way of responding to a new colleague who's just curious about his life.

(Y/n) only chuckled and shook her head. "Its okay, don't worry about it." She said, grabbing her coat from her desk chair one they put together that morning with a bit of a struggle. Their shift had already ended, after all they didn't have anything to do today except for introductions to each other and everything new to her.

The already slowly setting sun creeped its way through the blinds, landing on top of their desks and warming up Tsukishima's coat that was currently on top of his own. Tsukishima quickly closed them, closing everything up so they could leave, and he took his coat and bag from his desk. "If you close up, always make sure to close the blinds. Though it currently isn't the biggest problem, in the summer the sun shines onto the computer and can get them overheated and its not the nicest thing in the world" He said, turning off the light of the office as the two of them left the room.

"Noted. Once again, thank you very much for showing me around today and helping me with everything. I'm also very grateful for the fact i'm able to work under your wing." She said while slipping her arms through the sleeves of her coat. Her fingers made quick work of the buttons and belt and she quickly swung her bag over her shoulder afterwards.

Tsukishima shook his head and wrapped his scarf around his neck. "No need. I'd like to see what you've got up your sleeve" He said, the two of them exiting the fossil area only to end up in the big reception hall where right next to the front desk a raven haired man was talking to the old receptionist with grin.

It only took a few seconds until Kuroo had spotted them, quickly wishing the receptionist goodbye and jogged towards them. His eye fell onto the woman next to Tsukishima and his eyes immediately lit up. "Ah, Tsukishima, who might this be? Nice to meet you, i'm Kuroo i work as a researcher here." He said while holding out his hand, something (Y/n) gladly took with a smile.

"I'm (Y/n), nice to meet you too. I work with Tsukishima." She said, shaking his hand before retreating it back into her pocket. Right before she was about to say something else, her eyes fell onto the clock on the wall and immediately widened.

She quickly bowed her head before sprinting off. "I'm terribly sorry, i'm gonna miss my train! I'll see you tomorrow, goodbye!" She yelled, her bag swinging left and right next to her money as her coat swayed behind her. Within seconds, she was out of sight.

Kuroo grinned and nudged Tsukishima with his elbow, something which made the man wanna roll his eyes all the way back already knowing what was about to come. "She looks like a nice person and likes dinosa-"

Tsukishima's lips pulled into a sugary sweet smile and he closed his eyes. "Oh? You heard her didn't you, the train's leaving soon i'd hurry if i were yo-"

"Geez, geez, mr dinosaur! You really can't take a joke, huh?" Kuroo said, rolling his eyes and scoffing afterwards. He shook his head as the two of them left the building and sighed. "You know, you'd never actually leave me here, you're too nice for that" Kuroo said with a grin, waiting at the passenger's seat door as Tsukishima got into his car.

The blonde raised a brow and looked at Kuroo through the window, closing his door behind him while starting his car. The ravenette pulled at the doorhandle several times with no success and his eyes widened as Tsukishima drove the car out of the parking spot, without Kuroo in it.

"O-oi! Tsukishima i was kidding, please let me in man!"

__________________________________________________

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Taglist:

@iamthepenguinwhosearseisonfire @pooofthechicken  @its-bnha-babe @tchalameme @breaking-ur-kneecaps​ @fallingintoimagination @extrasugafree @verbluehte @keikink @beanst0ck @naughtylittleweeb @guzmagirl @soft4kei @igorsbby @pleasemelafook-outta-ere @tanzaniiite @weyheyjxlya @obsessedwhxre @beew @itsanimecrack @sugawalmartwobble @pattys-got-cakes @deathcab4daddy @queenmira29 @astrablossom @savemesteeb @assclowning @yakus-yakult @food8me

[superspookywombat]

falling {j.h} chapter four

Warnings: oops i forgot there was a sexual innuendo 

Taglist: sleepy-whoregeekysimmerthingsmauvette268treestarrrrrrrrkaleigh404krazykatkay456meganlikesfandomsdarknacademiahi-my-name-is-rileyvdtwsupernaturalselmeuuhraindancer2004wondersandtempestsroyale-trash-slytherinim-hella-brightbootylimpicslivfgit-is-rebel-owl-ma-dudes

You grip the beige food tray in your hands so tight that your knuckles pale. Your eyes frantically search the large cafeteria for any sign of Bella- or Edward. The clock on the wall tells you that you arrived a few minutes early, mostly because you had nothing to put in your locker. At your old school, no one used their lockers. You just managed to fit everything in your backpack that clung tightly to your burdend shoulders. You set your tray down at an empty table, the apple loose on the plastic threatening to fall over the raised sides. Before you have the chance to catch it, it jumps over the barrier and falls over the edge of the table. A flash of white comes from behind you and you see someone catch the runaway in the corner of your eye. 

“I believe this is yours?” A harmonical, masculine voice asks. You turn your head and you’re met with Bella’s boyfriend, Edward. Behind him stands three other people, two you recognize, the blond from English, and your sister. A small, pixie-like girl stands in between them, her hair dark and her eyes large. You reach out for the apple, your gaze fixed to the ground and your mouth agape.

“I’m Alice, and this is Jasper.” The girl speaks out. You can’t find yourself thinking more about her though, because all of a sudden your senses are invaded by Jasper. Jasper. You speak the name silently, only a small noise coming from your lips as you pronounce the ‘sp’. You glance back up and see Alice holding Jasper’s hand, but his body is rigid as his eyebrows furrow and his intense caramel eyes burn holes through your warm cheeks. There’s something familiar about him. You clear your throat and smile, shaking off the thoughts that plague your mind.

“Nice to meet you, Alice. And I think you’re in my English class, Jasper.” Your throat becomes dry as you say his name aloud. 

“Yes, Ms. Garcia is a delightful teacher.” He answers in a southern drawl. You’re taken aback for a second, but then you understand his choice of shoes- or boots, actually. You smile, but don’t say anything in response. You nod to the table you’re sat at, and they take it as an invitation to sit down alongside you. Edward holds Bella close to him, almost in a protective nature. You look down at the smooth apple in your hand, and you bring it to your lips. The sharp edge of your teeth rips through the skin as if it were paper, and the juice drips down your chin. You pull the apple away from your mouth, satisfied in the chunk you took out of it, the imprints of your teeth left in the fruit like a crispy fossil. You place it back on your tray and wipe the juices from around your mouth with the back of your hand. Your eyes wander over the group that sit by you. Alice reminds you of a fairy, her hair dark, twirly, and quirky. She smiles at you, her teeth whiter than white, and her lips a blushed pink. Under the table, it seems that Alice and Jasper’s legs are touching. Are they a thing? You shake the thought from your head. They’re siblings. That’d be gross. Bella sits next to Edward, of course. He has an arm wrapped protectively around her. You turn back to Alice.

“Your dad’s a pretty cool guy. Super sweet.” You say, twirling your thumbs beneath the table. Alice glances at Edward.

“He’s a great man. We couldn’t have been luckier.” Edward cuts in. You give a small smile. Turning your attention back to the plate in front of you, you push some cold pasta around with your fork. Bleh. Alice, Edward, and Bella engage in a conversation as Edward sips slowly out of a water bottle- something about hiking- as you steal quick glances up at Jasper. Your eyes swiftly scan his pale frame, a curtain of blond locks falling over his eyes. He looks up and you briefly make eye contact. You stare at each other for a second before you look away. 

“So... Jasper,” You say, burning holes into your apple sitting on the table with your eyes. “Cowboy boots, southern accent, good posture... Did Doctor Cullen take you from the cowboy life?” 

“Something like that.” He says with a sly smile. You can’t stop the thought that pops into your mind. Save a horse, ride a cowboy. A choking noise comes from your right, and your peripheral vision catches Edward spewing out a spray of water, hitting both you and Bella. 

“Oh- Edward!” Bella whines. Frozen droplets run down your cheek, and you reach a hand up to wipe them off. This water is so cold.. The water bottles they hand out here are always grossly warm. You ignore the churning feeling in your stomach, and watch as Alice laughs at the incident. The bell rings from somewhere behind you, and everyone says their goodbyes as you part ways. 

Bella walks with you to gym class, and you try to ignore the thick, tense air between you. Entering the locker rooms, you place your backpack in front of a vacant locker and grab your gym clothes. You take off your shirt, then you peel off your pants. After slipping on some shorts, you shove your shoes back on and pick up the standard issued gym shirt. You glance around the room full of half-naked women, your sister among them. You pull the shirt over your head and exit the room, ready to start the class. 

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

Weeks flew by as you settled into your new routine. Soon after the first day, Edward started picking up Bella before school. You had the choice to either ride with them, or drive Bella’s truck. You chose the latter. 

The truck didn’t run too smoothly, but it worked fine as long as you stayed mostly in Forks. You pull into the school parking lot and spot Bella and Edward over by a tall figure standing by a motorcycle. You park and walk over to them.

“Is this your bike?” You ask the guy. He looks familiar, his tan skin and dark hair striking some resemblance. He finally acknowledges you, his eyes rake down your body, then back to your face. 

“Does she-” He starts to say. 

“No.” Bella cuts him off. She turns to you, “Y/n, this is Jacob, Charlie’s friend Billy’s son. Jacob.. y/n, my sister.” 

He sticks out his hand, and you take it. His hand is hot- like he has a fever. It’s also twice the size of yours. “Oh! Y/n.. you got hot.” 

“Jacob!” Bella warns, he steps back and throws his hands up in a mock surrender. You chuckle awkwardly, your ears burning from the male attention. 

“Sorry, sorry.” He responds. “But back to the more pressing matters at hand..” He stares pointedly at you.

“I was just leaving anyway. Nice to see you, Jacob.” You give him a thin smile and walk to class. 

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

Senior year goes by fast, and you are quick to make friends with Alice and Edward. Jasper doesn’t like to be around you. Well, okay. He never said that, at least verbally. But it always seemed he’d hold his breath around you, or just get a pained look on his face. Graduation was about a month away, and you’d already applied to multiple schools. The plan was University of Washington, to be close to Charlie.

You and Bella sat on your bedroom floor, talking about school. “So you’re good on UW, then?” 

“Yeah, I think that’s my number one choice. What about you? Mom’s pushing for Florida.” You answer. Things were much better between the two of you, but you still felt that she was holding back on you in some areas. 

“I don’t want to live in Florida. Too sunny.” She sighs. You look at her, raising an eyebrow. 

“Who are you and what have you done with Bella?” You ask. She loves the sun! She’s basically a meerkat. Popped out her head anytime the sun shone. 

“Change of heart, I guess.” She shrugs. “Hey.. how do you feel about marriage? Like, is it totally ruined for you because of what happened with Renee and Charlie?” 

“What happened with mom and dad happens sometimes. But if I let bad experiences ruin things for me all the time, then there’d be no point in anything anymore.” 

She bites her lip. “What about.. Marriage right out of high school..?” She looks up at you after saying it, eager to catch your expression.

“What are you implying, Bella? If this is about you and Edward, then I think you shouldn’t worry. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, like you’re his whole world. You’re lucky to have him and he’s even luckier to have you. Not to mention his body? God, Bells, you gotta lock that down.” You answer. You find it easier to give advice if you sandwich it with a teasing tone. Bella chuckles and tosses a pillow at you. You swat it back at her and you both fall over in a fit of giggles. “But seriously, if you truly love him, if you know deep down in your bones that he’s your forever, then you should do it.” 

“Yeah.. yeah.” She says. “Look, I, uh, gotta go meet Jake. I’ll see you later.” She gets up and pulls on some shoes. 

“Okay, yeah. Have fun.” You watch her walk out the door. 

[goldeneyedgirl]

TwiFicMas20 Day 4: Daemons

Greetings! I hope everyone is having a less profoundly irritating day than I am. Also, migraine :( 

Today I bring you a Daemon-verse fic, ala His Dark Materials. Whilst I love the idea of animal souls, and I love Daemon fic, I have never read or see His Dark Materials, so if I’ve messed up on the laws of daemons, I apologise. 

It was intended to follow Alice from awakening through to around her discovery of her past, but I’m honestly on the fence about how the final version will shape up.

The list of daemons is below the cut, which might be spoilery but I think it’s easier to envisage what’s happening when you know what each daemon looks like. 

Onwards! (And thank you for reading!)

--

Cast

Alice – Milo - ??

Jasper – Lula – grey wolf

Rosalie – Beauregarde – white mink

Emmett – Allegra - Sun bear

Esme – Pax – Tree pangolin

Carlisle – Winnie – Giant Anteater

Edward - Khalida - Owl

Bella – Egil - Crane

--

One.

She wakes up in the mud, curled into a ball. Beetles are crawling through her hair, and there is mud – and blood? – dried all down one side of her.

He was curled against the small of her back, and clung to the ragged gown she was wearing as she sat up, blinking confused ruby-coloured eyes.

She does not recognise him at all, does not even know her own name, and he is terrified of her blood-coloured eyes, and what she has become. She has been born anew, and what she doesn’t remember cannot hurt her. She is bright and cheerful and giddy in a way that she has never been before.

“What are you?” she asks eagerly, kneeling before him, smiling.

“I’m you. You’re me. I’m… your soul,” he explains, and her lips into a surprised ‘o’.

“What is your name?” is her next question, one that breaks his heart.

“Milo,” he says. “Me-lo.”

“And I’m …Alice?” she says, suddenly uncertain.

“Yes. You’re my Alice.”

She scoops him up and kisses his nose, and for the first time, he thinks they might be okay.

Two.

They are wrong, and she doesn’t even know it.  

He tries to talk about it, weeks after she awakens as a red-eyed monster.

“I used to be a mouse,” he says suddenly, as they make their way through the forest.

“Really?” she looks intrigued.

“Yes.”

He hasn’t settled. He can feel his skin alight with energy and possibility, and he worries. She was sent away before he ever settled, and then everything happened to them.

Are they broken?

When she asks, he denies remembering ‘much’ from before she woke, remembering their names and the fact that he was a small white mouse with grey ears, which she accepts without question.

He is lying.

He remembers most of everything that happened to them. And whilst he hates her red eyes, and watching her feast on the stray humans that cross their path, he adores this cheerful, joyous self.

She steals a dress in the next town they cross through, a yellow gingham with ties at the back and a pocket big enough for him to ride in, that seems to swallow her up. She keeps the filthy, ratty hospital gown she was found in, wearing it like a cape, until she steals a bag. She carries it in there, along with a little notebook and a pencil, a second dress (dark blue wool, just as stolen.)

She finds a piece of blue ribbon one night, and ties it loosely around his neck, stroking his soft fur, and cradles him, her face so happy.

If this is broken, they’ll be okay.

Maybe.

Three.

They have a peaceful existence for twenty-eight years. They stay in the forests, only sneaking into small towns to steal after she learns that she can hunt wild animals instead of humans. That makes him feel better about what she’s become.

Everything is wonderful to her - the flowers, the weather, whatever her latest outfit is. She would sit for hours, watching a spider spin a web, or sit in the branches of a tree, watching birds build nests, utterly transfixed.

The dreams that made her family turn away from her have become fulling fledged visions of the future, ones that seize her without rhythm or warning. Those visions are for her mind only, though she shares every detail with him - including that of the vampire she calls Jasper.

He’s worried about how she speaks about Jasper, about the look on her face when she’s thinking of him. But Alice promises him that Jasper will only mean good things - like the Cullens.

“We’ll have a family, Milo!” she beams, lying in the soft grass next to a river, stroking him. “A mother and a father and brothers and a sister!”

She had a mother and a father and a sister, and they turned her into this, he wants to say, but he doesn’t. He tucks their lost history in the back of his heart and tries not to worry.

He’s sorrier than he can say when their solitude ends, and they slide into Philadelphia. They break into a hotel room to wash, and Alice seems giddy with excitement; then to a shop where Alice tries on a dozen dresses, and stuffs the toes of a pair of shoes so that they fit properly. She twirls in the mirror, and she’s beautiful. She even steals a bag, little brush and some new ribbon for him, so that he can be fancy too.

“We have to make a good impression,” she informs him, as she pockets a gold tube of lipstick and then some gold hairpins. “It’s our fate."

Their date with destiny goes to plan, though Milo wishes that he had been able to see the visions, to be prepared. This ‘Jasper’ is not just anyone; he’s over six feet tall, with dozens of overlapping scars, black eyes and lank blonde hair. He’s not particularly bulky, but every movement reveals his strength and skill; he practically emits violence - as does the mangy grey wolf at his side.

But Alice doesn’t flinch, doesn’t falter. She gets up and goes to him, her eyes full of him before he ever knows her name. Milo just huddles in her stolen handbag, his ribbon drooping, and waits.

Somehow the impossible happens and Jasper takes Alice’s hand. The wolf - Lula, Jasper calls her - huffs, and Alice scoops up her bag and they walk out into the drizzly night together.

Four.

She doesn’t tell Jasper about them, about how wrong they are. He’s told her before, gently, but she really doesn’t understand, and so it isn’t important. It’s up to him to worry and plan and watch.

Lula keeps her distance, and her eyes see everything. Every odd statement, every little mistake that reveals how broken they truly are. But Lula is not cruel or unkind - she is simply wary, and as more pieces of Jasper’s story comes out, Milo understands why.

The worst day is the one Alice spies a fawn drinking at a stream and stuffs him into Jasper’s hands before taking off.

Jasper audibly gasps, and he flinches but Alice doesn’t even look back.

Milo flickers in and out, and the sugar-glider form vanishes, leaving behind the grey and white mouse form.

“She doesn’t understand,” he manages to tell Lula, trying not to shake at the feeling of Jasper’s hands cradling him, at the faint pulling as Alice strains their link.

Lula whines, and Jasper looks at him carefully, and follows Alice. Her hunt is successful, blood on her mouth, and she beams up at them all without seeing the pity, the new understanding in their eyes. Instead, she splashes some water on her face, and reaches out for him, letting him run up her arm and tuck himself under the collar of her dress. Then she tucks her arm through Jasper’s and smiles up at him.

He wonders, later, if she truly doesn’t understand how broken then are.

Or she just doesn’t care.

Five.

The Cullens seem nice, and Esme is enchanted by Milo, currently a meerkat, who likes high places.

But he worries. So does Jasper. And the Cullens are surprised by the way Lula trails after Alice – the separation is a strain on both Jasper and Lula, but one they bear without flinching to make sure Alice is safe. But Alice and Jasper are connected in a special way, and Alice always jerks slightly when she realises that Lula has stretched as far from Jasper as they can tolerate, always apologetic at her ignorance. She knows that the pull other people experience when separated from their daemons is much more painful than when she and Milo seperate.

She doesn’t ask why, she just accepts it. Sometimes he wonders if she knows, in her heart of hearts, how much they suffered. How there’s no pain now because they ran through all of it - and then some - in the Before.

And then two things go terribly wrong. They are there only a week or so before there is a family hunting trip. He rides in the pocket of Alice’s new coat, and he wants to pretend everything is fine but he can feel the energy under his skin, twitchy and static.

He climbs out and scrambles up her shoulder, around her neck and back again – trying to burn off the manic energy.

He hears her voice – for his ears only. “It’s okay, Milo. Don’t force it.”

He knows. They aren’t settled, it’s going to happen eventually, and they’re going to know.

She still doesn’t understand that they will be ostracised for such a thing. Not Jasper’s warlike history, not his slip-ups, not her gift, but because they are deformed freaks.

It happens with a crack as he hits the ground – from meerkat to pika. He hears Rosalie’s hiss of horror, of gasps and growls at the unexpected shift and he scrambles back to Alice’s ankles, where she scoops him up tenderly.

“Better?” she asks out-loud, gently scratching his neck. He just nuzzles in.

The Cullens are horrified. A splayed-out corpse would be less obscene, less of a tragedy than a vampire with an unsettled daemon.

Jasper is glowering at them, Lula’s glare dark as well. The message is clear - do not draw attention to this. Do not upset them.

Esme’s Pax and Carlisle’s Winnie are both upset, curling together, fear in their eyes. Beau tucks himself deeper into Rosalie’s hair.

Alice looks back up, still happy, still ignorant and no one breathes a word.

The second time, it is an accident, it is instinct and it is terrifying. Jasper and Emmett are wrestling, and Alice is perched on a rock, jeering at Emmett’s attempts to pin Jasper. The rest of the family is nearby – enjoying the peace of the forest.

Emmett and Allegra are nice, and he trusts them. He does.

But Emmett looks at them with a glint and lunges, grabbing Alice around the arms and flinging her over his shoulder with a victorious roar.

A prankster, a gentle giant, a consummate big brother – all things Milo knows about Emmett. But there is a flash of unease in Alice’s mind that he’s not sure she is even aware of, and the way he grabs her is so reminiscent of how they would drag her away back at the asylum… the way she would cry…

Jasper and Lula are pissed, too, but they are a blur as he lunges – a two-pound meerkat that shifts into an almost-seven hundred pound Siberian Tiger that roars at Emmett, whose eyes are as wide as saucers.

Rosalie is shrieking, Esme is clutching Carlisle and Alice is bewildered, but holding her hands out in an attempt to placate him, still upside down on Emmett’s shoulder.

Lula is suddenly at his side, looking tiny and delicate against his new form (and it is entirely new. He’s never been a predator before, never been too big to carry). He growls at her but it is not a threat, but an expression of fear at the way Emmett grabbed at Alice, at that tiny flash in the back of her mind that remembered their suffering.

“Put Alice down, Emmett.” Edward is there, calm and collected. “You startled them. Jasper, can you calm them?”

As soon as Alice’s feet hit the ground, Jasper is by his side, stroking his head and pushing peace and security onto him. Alice is there, too, her arms around his neck and her face buried in his fur. Rosalie and Allegra are clinging to Emmett, who looks shell-shocked.

Esme and Carlisle are having a quick conversation, too low for anyone else to hear.

“I’m sorry, Alice, Milo. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Emmett’s apology is unexpected in the tense silence, and is genuine. His voice is steady and he is sympathetic; Rosalie is giving them murderous looks.

He looks at Emmett for awhile before resting his giant head against Alice’s, his eyes closing and a loud huff leaving his body.  

“Don’t be afraid,” she whispers to him. “We’re safe here. I promise.”

He wishes he could believe her.

[jennsmischievousmind]

Fucks not Found

Die Hard

Ch1 Ghosts | Ch2 Florence | Ch3 A Matter of Seconds | Ch4 I need a Backdoor | Ch5 Die Hard | Ch6 White Flag | Ch7 Haunt the Living | Ch8 One, but not done [end]

“I’m not mean, I’m brutally honest. Five you got any band-aids?”

“Here we go sarcasm, can’t you communicate like a normal person.” One turned to you

“He’s kidding me, right? you look at the others - You’re kidding me, you’re the master of sarcasm, prendila in culo da un ciuccio imbizzarrito!”

“And Italian now, see, no communication skills,”

“Stop bickering like an old couple!” Five argued 

“How many times do we have left?” Two asked Seven in the cockpit “About 3 hours.” She rolled her eyes.

“Green lantern sucks that’s all I’m saying,” You sat back, hands up defensively.

“Seven hold me back!” One feigned to stood up

“Ok you two, TIME OUT!” Five threatened you with her index, you mimed zipping your lips.

Two hours later you were finally on solid earth, you met up in a market to eat something and review details about the extraction. 

Three and Two were acting weird, when Seven implied something happened between them in Vegas, you carefully looked at Four. One intervened, you gulped, he could kick you out the team in a second. He asked them if it was a matter of love, or just sex. Two insisted it was only sex. One approved her answered. Four gently kicked your foot under the table in a reassuring gesture.

The night fell slowly on Asia's World City, you geared up for Murat’s extraction. The plan was to use the sky’s crane to go from building to building, gas masks for a grand entry on the main hall, and a zip line for extraction. You look at yourself in the mirror, wearing all black and suit up like a spy, you kinda liked it, damn you were far from Italy and your barista job.

Before that you met Four in his room.

“You be careful up there, okay!”

“Yes m’am,” he cockily smiled, while packing his abseiling equipment. “By the way .. about what One asked Two and Three...,” you let the question hanging.

Four’s lips closed in a thin line, his green eyes searching yours “We…,“ loud knocks on the door scared the shit out of you two, followed by Three’s voice telling Four to move his ass. 

 Your post was at the end of the zip line, laptop on top of a barrel, One was supposed to meet you there later to pick up the target.

Four and Seven on the cranes, Five in the lobby, Two and Three waiting for their go-to.

“Team set – Target set – it’s your call One.” You announced on the comm. You felt like a fucking MI:6 agent or something.

“Hit it, guys!” One spoke.

Five launched the laughing gas, Two and Three entered the lobby a minute later, heading for the lift.

“Five, I got a transmission, someone is calling the police from the security post!” you heard her groaned preceded by a loud bang.

“We’ve got 13 minutes from now!” She cursed , you launched a chrono on your laptop.  

Four secured the zip line on his side, One arrived to secure it not far from you. Murat’s bodyguards became agitated because of the crane overhanging the penthouse.

Two and Three were on their way up. While Four decided to take a dip to avoid the bodyguards. One ran to the other side of the building.

“Skinny dipping” you let out snorting.

Focusing on the chrono you realized 60 seconds had passed and Four was still underwater.

“One … have you ever seen Le Grand Bleu? Four ain’t the main role!” you stated with a warning tone.

“That’s a good movie.” Two intervened shortly

Seven insisted Four was going to drown, but One stayed radio silent. Biting your lip, you became agitated; until Seven took over and shoot in the pool glass near Four, allowing him to breathe through the bullet hole. You let out the breath you were holding; shit One what the fuck man, you thought!

Police Sirens were being heard in the distance, the bodyguards left the pool area, you gave Four the go-to.

“How you doing over there? You having fun yet?” One asked Four on the comm, whom was abseiling and installing high intensity speakers on the windows’ penthouse. “Anyone ever asked you dumb questions when you’re ninety stories up?”

You sighed “Don’t distract him please, he has already lost time,”

“Yeah mom” One sighed “You care way too much for the boy, Eight,”

“Mate, Four cut One, you’re really ruining my flow right now, you know that?”

Neither of you came up with a smart answer, fortunately One moved on pretty quickly. 

Time came for the second hit. One launched the audio in the speakers, the THX synthesized crescendo, you saw the glass shattered because of the high frequency. And then it was the 4th of July without the pretty colors. Gunshots were fired from the entire penthouse. At some point you wondered if from where you stood you could receive a bullet, so you curled up a bit behind your laptop and the barrel. 

Apart from Three being under nitrous, everything was going as planned. Four had the target in no time.

“Bad news, I got a lift with 3-armed douchebags coming up. And more guys that were on the floor below, coming up the stairs, also armed .. for whatever that’s worth.” Switching the view cams, you saw Two and Three stuck at the stairs.

“15 minutes, time’s out” Five called out.

“Shit, police are crowding in the lobby,” You look around for One for direct advice, but he was nowhere to be seen until you look above “One, what the hell are you doing on the crane!?” you asked over the comm. “That’s ..that’s high,” was all he said.

They were surrounded and Seven for the second time tonight ended up saving their ass, maybe he wasn’t that bad after all you thought. They obviously got so mad at Seven for exploding the pool and drowning the all penthouse, almost killing Two.

You heard some screaming, looking above your screen like a meerkat you saw Murat Alimov sliding down the zip line. You detached him at his arrival, but he started running away, leaving you wondering but seeing Three hot on his tail you understood, this latter tackled the target to the ground. You groaned flinging your arms up “And now you’re hitting him, really!?!” Two landed next to you, followed by One.

“Your toy boy is stupid” you grabbed Two’s carabiner

“Tell me about it.” She sighed, reloading her gun

“Can’t one of you stop this dumbass!?!” One pointed at Three still beating up Rovach’s brother

You both shrugged.

“You've picked this dumbass.” Two said

One excused Three’s behavior to Murat Alimov, he asked you to take him quickly to the elevator.

“Sir, this way” you held his arm urging him forward the lift.

“Come on Four. We’re moving,” One came running behind

“Just go, I can’t get across. They cut the zip line,”

You stop dead in your tracks, still holding Murat.

“Four ...,” your voice was low even though everyone could hear you in the comm.

You heard gun shots and Four cursed.

One stopped behind, talking to Four, you were processing your next move. Shoving Murat to Two, you grabbed the pearl handle-gun Three stole and ran the opposite direction.

“Hey that's mine chiquita!”

One swirled on himself seeing you run “We're not waiting for you just so you know.” One voice echoed; you heard the elevator’s door closing.

“Four what’s your location?” you asked while running.

“Eight, go!”

“Where the fuck are you?!”

He sighed “I’m going for the crane!”

“Meet you there,”

You arrived at the crane’s feet, hardly breathing, “Shit I need to work on my cardio,”

“Eight!” you heard from above, Four jumped down next to you.

“See, you got out!” you slapped his chest for worrying you. Voices from the crane distracted you.

“Run!”

Four started running followed by you, but it wasn’t just a run, it was full parkour shit and you had no choice but to follow him.

Soon your charger was empty, 2 guys were down, 1 got thrown over the edge by Four, meaning only 3 left.

“Why are we climbing!?” You yelled at Four as he started running up the ledge.

One of the assholes started throwing grenades at you, like it wasn’t enough. Then you look ahead, Four jumped on 4 pylons and turned to you.

“Shit, Shit, Shit!!”

“COME ON!” The adrenaline took over, your legs jumped, feet joining on the 5 square foot platforms on top of the pylons. Four got a hold on you when you reached him.

“Shit!” you let out nervous laugh. “I’m a newbie in parkour remember?” But immediately you felt trapped, the douchebags were shooting at you. Suddenly a loud explosion had you two look up, your eyes widened as a bunch of I-beams fell from the sky crane.

“WHOA!!” Four yelled, shoving you inside the pylons corner, shielding you with his body, you grabbed onto him as hard as you could, trying to shield him as well. You tried focusing on something else than the heavy metallic sound the I-beams were making. Directing your attention on Four’s deep voice cursing and breathing loudly.

Screwing your eyes shot, you felt Four’s arms tightening at each thunder like sound. All of sudden the rattles sounded far away, a white silence filling your ears except for your heavy breathing. Locking eyes with Four, he pressed his forehead on yours. “Let’s go,”.

You resumed your escape, climbing down the pylons, without being seen, calling out the squad to give your position. Four was leading the way, but a shadow caught your eye. Before you could say anything, Four had been ran into by the biggest bodyguard, propelling the both of them into the empty. You froze, an image of your brother dead at the wheel flashed in your mind - not again - Until you heard a loud bang and Four cried out, he was alive, you ran to the edge, and saw them like 6 stories under, on a net, fighting.

"No, no, no" you look around, trying to come up with something until you saw a rolled fire hose.

"Big Mclane energy" grabbing the hose you tied it up to your waist, not thinking any longer in fear your brain you’d stop you, you jumped. Screaming like hell on your down, until the hose came to an abrupt stop, the knot immediately untying under the pressure letting you free fall 2 meters. Slamming on the metal net, the shocked knocked your airway for a second.

You groaned "..Never again!" propelling yourself up with difficulty. The adrenaline kicking in you ran to the big guy, jumping on his back and tightening his neck. It didn’t last long till he threw you off him with one arm, going on with punching Four. Between Four’s grunts breaking your heart, you heard the team arguing on the comm’. Seven yelling he’ll not let the both of you behind. Crawling back to Four, the big guy pushed him over the edge, himself falling a bit backward, a gasp escaped your dry throat. Fortunately, Four’s foot got stuck in the orange plastic net, you no longer cared that the big guy was still there, you had to go for Four. The big guy was determined to catch Four to crush him himself. 

“GRAB MY HAND!” you extended your arm over the edge, facing the void, his left hand grazed yours, but a foreign hand slide around your neck.

“NO!!” Four yelled, writhing trying to reach the ledge. 

The fall had already knock out your lungs so it didn’t take long before your vision became fuzzy. As the guy chocked you, your eyes rolled to the back of your head. Your mind drifted to your brother, his warm hug before he got on that green car, his cheeky smile never leaving his face, his hand in yours at your mother’s grave.

“It’s only the two of us now.” A tear rolled down your face.

Sixth chapter White Flag

A/N: don’t forget to double tap if you liked it 🙏 

[macybeckham7]

Nine Months -Ben Chilwell

October 2019

Ben found himself in nightclub in London and because it was Halloween it was the perfect excuse for the girls to dress up as sluts. Ben couldn’t help but crinkle his nose up at some of the girls, who was practically not leaving anything to the imagination. He looked at the girls that James and Demarai invited over. His eyes roamed around and saw a girl who looked gorgeous, she was in a cow girl, wearing short shorts and knee high cow print boots.

He decided to take his chance and walk towards the girl. He felt his heart rate rise as his eyes met with hers, and she was definitely even more goodlooking up close. He offered to by her a drink which she instantly agreed. The pair talked and drank and danced and had a good time. He learned her name was YN which was the perfect name for a stunning girl like her.

James appeared and introduced himself as Ben’s ‘wing man’ which she instantly sassed that he wasn’t a good one then as he came over by himself. James making a cheeky comment about Ben bagging a cow girl because they are good at riding, which instantly made her fake gag at his awful joke.

The two of of them decided to leave the club and call it a night. They both went back to YN’s place and into bed together.

November 2019

It had been a month since Ben walked out on her the next morning as if he had never been there. The two did swap numbers and YN didn’t want to be the one to slide into his DMs. But hadn’t stopped her friends for telling her everything the guy seems to do. Whether he has got a goal for Leicester or if he has got into the England call up.

It was mid November when YN started to feel alittle funny, her friend instantly telling her to take a pregnancy test which she does was complaining all the way through. Sat on her bed with her bed friend beside her she felt like her whole world had just paused and in slow motion as she looked at the two lines that means positive she was pregnant. She felt herself getting nervous as she questioned how she was going to tell Ben. Should she even tell him?

YN was pacing outside of Wembley stadium where England played, everytime the door opened she looked like a little meerkat hoping to find Ben walking towards the coach. But nothing. He was one of the last ones out, he was laughing and joking with a brunette guy with loads of freckles covering his face and a olive skinned toned guy with a cross earring.

‘Ben’ she calls reaching out for him.

He instantly recognised her, he told the guys to go without him, his hand was in hers as he distanced them away from the fans.

‘Why did you just up and bolt?’ She mutters. ‘Was I just a quick shag for you, wasn’t I good enough?’ She rambles.

His face softens. ‘I was late, I had a meeting that day’ he explained.

She didn’t believe him. He could of left a note to tell her or even wake her up, anything was better than leaving her high and dry.

She lets out a shaky breath before handing him the test. ‘Just thought you would like to know.. I don’t want anything from you’ she says before turning hot on her heels and walking off.

He was about to chase after her but James appeared and told him to get on the bus.

December 2019

Ben was sat beside YN as she winced slightly as she felt the cold gel on her stomach. The midwife spoke to the two of them as she talked about mummy and baby classes that they could go to before the baby arrives. Asking the two whether they are going to find out what they were having or if they have any names ready. Ben noticed as she gave a blank look, he answering for her and getting the lady of their backs. The three of them looked at the monitor with a confused look as there was nothing there but the midwife knew exactly what she was looking at.

The two of them decided to go for coffee in the hospital, he walks with two hot chocolate and slides one over to her.

‘Why did you come?’ YN questions.

His brows furrow at her. ‘Because I don’t want you to go through this alone, I know this was a drunken night out and neither of us planned this but I want to be there for you and my child’ he says softly. ‘If you’ll allow me that is’ he mutters.

She nods her head slowly before sipping her drink.

‘We should start thinking of telling family’ he mutters as he sees her wince.

He held her hand before knocking on his parents door, they had already told YN’s parents and now it was time to meet the Chilwell’s. They were surprised when they saw their son wasn’t alone, as they sat around the dining table YN couldn’t help but feel awkward as they tried to find out the pretty female was to their son.

‘I’m pregnant’ she announces, before see Ben’s face scrunch up slightly wanting to announce it a little bit more delicately.

Their reacts was probably how you imagined, his mum jumped up and walked out leaving you with his sister and brother. The three of the stayed quiet as they heard them call her every name under the sun. As they left YN muttering a small ‘that couldn’t of went any more worse’.

January 2020

YN was now four months into her pregnancy and Ben was always round when he wasn’t training or at games. He started waiting on her hand and foot. He made sure that she had everything she needed in the house and catered to her craving.

The two of them had got to know each other more, wanting to have a better relationship as the two of them were always going to be connected with this little person.

The two sat on the sofa with the two bidding names that they liked.

‘Curtis?’ YN questioned.

‘Absolutely not’ Ben chuckled.

‘I like Jamie for a girl’ YN announces.

‘Jamie Chilwell’ he says slowly before they both crinkled their noses and shook their heads.

‘Saint?’ Ben suggests.

YN bursts out laughing. ‘We’re not boujee enough for that’

February 2020

Ben had told YN that she could live with him, not really wanting her living alone and being close whenever he needed him.

He had a girl round when YN came walking into the living room gushing that the baby has kicked. Ben instantly jumped up and ran towards her, his hands instantly on her growing stomach. The girl stayed sat on the sofa as she watched the two freeze as they waited for movement. There was a suddenly squeal coming from the two as Ben instantly sinks to his knees.

‘That was amazing, that was a big kick’ he gushed. ‘Practicing your free kicks buddy’ he giggles.

He has recently got in his head that the baby is a boy and started pushing his favourite names.

‘Sorry to interrupt but who is this?’ The girl spoke up.

The two looking at, suddenly remembering that they weren’t alone in and realising how weird this looked. Ben stepped away from YN and the bump as he looked awkward.

‘I’m....’ she starts.

‘My sister, she’s my sister’ he quickly cutting her off. YN raises her brows at him as he tells her to go to his bedroom and he’ll meet her in their.

The girl smiles at YN and then walks down the hall.

‘Oh will me and the bump be your cock block’ she rolls her eyes at her. ‘Wear a condom this time, don’t want to be in this mess again’ she sasses.

She sits in the kitchen alone as she hears everything the two is getting up to as she eats icecream from the tub.

March 2020

‘Are you uncomfortable?’ James instantly freaks as he sees her wince and runs her hand over her bump.

She shakes her head as she lets James guides her to sit down.

After the last month situation, they both spoke about Ben not bringing any girls back. It hurt YN even though she wouldn’t admit it, she thought they were going well, even thought they could even try to be a thing. The two of them were so alike they even started finishing eachothers sentences.

‘I need to get the nursery done’ YN groans as James doesn’t let her get up.

‘You need to take it slow’ he mutters. ‘Let Ben do it’ he says softly.

She instantly bursts into tears. ‘Where is he? He missed the scan’ she cries, as he pulls her into him.

Ben comes waltzing through the door and sees his best mate with his baby mumma, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Mentioning that before they jump into bed wait till this baby gets out. YN jumps up and barges past him before pushing the scan into his chest.

May 2020

The past two months James has been the middle person between YN and Ben, they have been arguing a lot more and YN has really began to hate Ben with him saying some really mean things to her. They learned that they were having a boy. Whenever YN needed something she didn’t want anything from Ben, even though he was so desperate to help. Her comeback was to go to his latest slut.

James just wishing he could just banging their heads together and tell them to act like grown ups. He knew that they will be amazing parents but they needed to get on as they were on the same team.

‘Guys the baby is coming in 2 months let’s get your shit together’ he sassed.

He looks at his friend gives him a stern look.

‘You are old enough to fuck and get pregnant, act your age’ he mutters before leaving them.

Ben lets out a small sigh before sitting beside her. Her head going to his shoulder as they start having it out with eachother.

July 2020

‘BABE!’ YN calls in a panic tone which gets Ben running towards her voice. ‘My waters-‘ she says.

He instantly starts panicking looking like a stressed sim. She held onto the sink as he panicked called his mum. He was surprised when he looked over at YN she was starting a bath. He helped her in the bath and relaxed in there and overcome a few of her contractions.

A few hours went by of YN relaxing at home and riding her contractions, Ben being completely on edge.

The Labour was a few hours and Ben instantly burst into tears as the midwife places the large baby on YN’s chest. YN let out a small crying laugh as she looks down at her little man. Ben kissing her forehead as he tells her how proud he was of her.

‘Luke James Chilwell’ YN gushes.

They both gush over the little creation they made, the last crazy nine months completely forgotten about because it was now about the next eighteen years of being the best parents to this little guy. Neither of them would of believed when they were at that Halloween party that their lives would change forever.