#it’s a messed up story all around so might as well enjoy the ride

[isilwhore]

Evolution of feelings toward a certain group of seven dysfunctional oath-bound elves:

Wow these guys are assholes…

Bunch of jerks…

Some of them aren’t as bad as others…

I kind of feel terrible for them at times…

I don’t condone their actions, but let me explain this behavior…

They’re traumatized and under threat of eternal damnation…

I can fix them…

Babies 🥺…

This is my life now, it is what it is

[crazy-only]

nsfw alphabet oscar piastri edition !

a = aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

sweet baby is probably making sure you came, getting in between your legs and licking you clean like the tease he is before cleaning you up properly with a towel and getting you your favorite drink. he jokes around a lot but does not play when it comes to caring for you.

b = body part (favorite body part on themselves, as well as their partner’s)

oscar is OBSESSED with your fucking tits. oh my god you cannot convince me otherwise. every time he sees your rack on display in a low-cut shirt (regardless of your size) he gets turned on. it’s gotten to the point where he has to take a “bathroom break” during family dinners because he just can’t believe you’re his.

once you guys got more comfortable during sex, he got you to ride his face, and oh my god oscar was so happy in that moment. after that, he made sure at least weekly you were nearly suffocating him with your sweet pussy, so, long story short, he likes his nose because you also like it! ≥︺‿︺≤

c = cum (anything to do with cum)

baby cums so much you get worried you might get knocked up sometimes (even though you’re on the pill). if you haven’t cum yet, his stringy ropes will definitely hit all the right spots, leaving you in a moaning mess.

sometimes he cums on your belly and licks it off you when you’re insecure that day, just to show you how much he worships your body.

oscar also loves making you taste your own cum after fingering you slowly for an hour. you just taste so good! he can’t help it. (>‿◠)

d = dirty secret (dirty secret of theirs!)

oscar secretly wants to fuck you while you’re tied up. he seems like the type to joke around and make sarcastic remarks during sex, but deep down he’s fucking sadistic. he wants to see how helpless you can get under his hands.

e = experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

yes. just yes.

haha just kidding. i actually don’t think he’s that experienced, just because of the fact he’s probably been focused on racing his whole life and never really had a chance to hook up with people. naturally, his body count is low.

that being said, though, he’s not scared at all to try new things with you. oscar has no shame when it comes to making you guys feel good—so don’t worry about experience!

f = favorite position (cowgirl, missionary, etc.)

oscar loves fucking you face to face, with your hands held above your head in his left hand and his other hand fondling your tits. he’s big on seeing your reactions, and making you face him while yours contorts with pleasure and pain.

g = goofy (are they serious or more humorous in the moment?)

oscar’s actually pretty scary when it comes to freaky time. you love to tease him just to be a brat, but when your man finally snaps, oscar can’t help it but show you who’s in control. he loves a good laugh, and sometimes when you guys are having soft sex, it’s not rare to hear giggling, but in all other occasions, your man is taming you.

h = hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes?)

this man could care less about the hair situation down there. he shaves and whatnot so it’s never uncomfortable for him while racing, but he knows you like it when there’s a happy trail for you to get entranced in. he also loves forcing you down his cock so your nose is surrounded by his pubes. it makes him so much harder.

i = intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

oh my god this man literally asked you to be his girlfriend with a whole garden of candles and roses. he plays it off like these romantic moments are just to get you flustered, but he truly does enjoy making a good cute memory with you and learning more about you.

j = jack off (masturbation head canon)

oscar doesn’t have much time for getting himself off. (◞‸◟) regardless of his horniness level, most nights, he just falls right to sleep. when he does have a spare minute, though, he jacks off to videos of you moaning his name. he imagines it were your fingers wrapped around himself.

k = kink (one or more of their kinks)

like mentioned previously, oscar loves to tie your ass up, making you whimper and cum several times over before he even thinks about himself.

other than rigging, oscar loves some good food play, like eating whipped cream or something sweet from your tits until you beg for his dick.

l = location (favorite place to have sex!)

he is utterly addicted to fucking you in the car. he loves it when you think you’re the boss and drive him around town. even after you scraped another car trying to park (totally the other car’s fault), he still ate you out, reassuring you that he can afford to fix a little mistake like yours.

extra points if he gets you to suck his dick while he drives. he saw you cum in your panties one time just from sucking him off, and he found it really hot, but he knows you’d be so embarrassed if he ever found out, so he never said anything about it.

m = motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

absolutely anything to do with your tits turns him on. if you’re in the pool or it’s cold and your nipples become prominent—boom! he’s bricked up. if you spill something on your shirt and you try to clean it up with a napkin—you guessed it! man’s bricked up!

he also fucking loves it when you’re a brat, even though it seems otherwise. when you stick your tongue out at him, all he can think about is that tongue getting forced down your throat by his dick. it’s obvious because his cheeks turn red.

n = no (something they wouldn’t do, turn off’s)

oscar doesn’t fuck with blood play or any cutting of the skin for that matter. it’s inconvenient as he trains daily and can’t afford injuries.

he also doesn’t really enjoy being dommed for a whole week. he’s got to have at least 60% control in the bedroom for him to be happy.

o = oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

oscar loves driving you insane with his tongue on your pussy, eating you out how he knows you like it, but he honestly loves it more when you suck him off. it’s just a power thing, and you don’t complain because it also turns you on. ( ^ω^)

he doesn’t mind how good or bad you are at blowjobs. as long as you’re putting in the effort, this man is bound to cum.

p = pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

oscar leans more on the slow side just because he wants to torture you and show you who’s in control. every now and then when you’ve proven your worth he’ll go fast and rough the way you like it, because, at the end of the day, he’s whipped for you.

q = quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

oh my god i just know oscar has a quickie before every race to calm his nerves down. if he doesn’t listen to music beforehand he has to chill out in some other way, no? usually he prefers you sucking his dick off in the family bathroom before hopping in the f1 car, but when he doesn’t have you, he makes due with his hands ＞﹏＜ (though he swears he preforms better after a blowjob from you).

r = risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

your man loves risking being caught while fucking you because he simply doesn’t give a fuck. he personally thinks the chance of getting caught makes the whole situation hotter, and loves covering your moans with wet kisses.

to experiment with non-vanilla type sex, he’s more than happy to do so. he really doesn’t mind trying new things, because baby knows what to fall back on if you’re not getting the pleasure you deserve. (>‿◠)

s = stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

oscar can go for as long as you need. when he has the time, he loves to overstimulate you until you’re near passing out. all of the training he’s done is more than enough to fuck you hard like you want it!

t = toys (do they own toys and use them? on a partner or on themselves?)

due to his busy schedule, baby has a toy that he knows will get him off quick and take away the horniness for at least a few hours. for himself, he’s never really adventured into the world of sex toys, preferring his hands or basic toy.

when he met you, though, he started purchasing all sorts of gadgets just to drive you crazy. his favorite one to use on you is the vibrator with a suction cup that attaches to the ground. he makes you ride it and cum all over it, stroking himself at the erotic scene before fucking you hard with his own dick, making you say that his is better.

u = unfair (how much they like to tease)

like mentioned previously, oscar teases you endlessly, mainly just to show you who’s the boss. you’re just so cute under his lengthy fingers; who wouldn’t tease you a bit?

v = volume (how loud are they? what sounds do they make? etc.)

oh god oscar lets it all out when he’s fucking your pussy. after a day of dealing with the press and holding in all of the rude comebacks he could’ve made to the reporters, oscar needs to let off his steam vocally. he groans and tells you dirty things, calling you his slut, not bothering to keep his volume down for the neighboring hotel rooms. frankly, he finds it a bit funny for them to have to hear all of his sounds.

bonus points if he can make you scream cutely as well! ≧ω≦

w = wild card (a random head canon for the person)

“mmph, fuckkk oscarrrr, feels sooo goood,” you moan with your eyes closed, focused on riding his nose while his tongue did magic to your clit. oscar just hummed in response, the vibrations going right to your core. at first you were a bit worried in case you happened to suffocate your man, but thankfully, the worry dissipated and you were riding your high, oscar with his hands on your thighs. “so fucking hot,” he’d grumble from under you, making you ride his face even faster. when you were close, oscar made sure to tug you down so he could fuck you good with his tongue, lewd noises echoing in the room.

x = x-ray (let’s see what’s going on beneath the clothes)

wow your mans is packing. oscar acts chill but that’s because he’s able to be so confident with his figure! there’s no reason to be insecure because baby is packing, and he knows it.

y = yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

his is quite average, or if anything, below average. he’s learned how to resist his urges when training, and for that reason, only really gets hot and bothered when he sees you! ~>_<~ as long as you’re nearby, all he can think about is that pretty body of yours!

z = zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

oscar falls asleep rather quickly because he knows he’ll be able to have you all to himself the day after. he knows you’re loyal to him and you’ll also want to spend some quality time with him. you’re his safe space, so naturally, he falls asleep around you! *^_^*

notes:

omg i wrote a whole fxcking report on this man’s sex habits holy sh!t. i wish i could write essays like how i write smut. =_=

but yes, hope you enjoyed reading! <3 who should i do next?

[frozenmoonshine]

Headcanon - Hanma Shuuji as your boyfriend

Ok, I hate myself for writing this, 'cause I hate this bitch just as much as Pissaki, but I've been fighting my intrusive fluffy thoughts about him and they won, sooo here they are:

Beware of insinuated hetero relationship, f!reader, and common terms of endearment.

He's a flirt, definitely. He knows he gets lots of attention from the fairer sex simply for being tall and good looking, but he also loves the fact that he's a smooth talker and can get pretty much any girl to fall for him. And he's not better than doing just that, simply because he needs some amusement in his life. Talk about being a piece of shit, going around breaking hearts for fun.

‌However, if he genuinely falls for someone, he basically does a 180⁰ turn and is the most loyal lover you could get! He will, most definitely and undeniably, try to make his SO jealous by casually flirting left and right, just because he can, and he enjoys seeing your frustrated, annoyed, jealous face. However, if you get jealous or hurt for real, he will genuinely freak out, and will try his best to reassure you that he loves you and that he was just messing with you. You are the only one for him, after all, his safe haven and his light! If he realizes that he stepped overboard with his "jokes", he will change his behaviour immediately. Idk why, but he just gives me the vibe of someone who perfectly understands boundaries, and he will choose to honor his commitments.

‌He himself is not jealous at all, and no matter what you may do, he wouldn't get jealous. The bastard is just so cocky and aware of his desirability (even tho he overestimates himself quite a lot), it's unnerving! But unless he straight up catches you "red handed" with another guy, he won't be jealous in the slightest. And if that happens, if you do cheat on him, then he might just beat your side piece to a pulp, and walk out on you like you never even existed. He will be heartbroken about it for a long time, tho.

‌Don't do him dirty, even as annoying and flawed as he is, he is still worth it! He can be super loving and affectionate in private, and he will be your no. 1 cheerleader, in whatever you're aspiring to achieve. Tell him all about your adventures tho, he loves a good story!

‌He gets too easily bored, so he would fall head over heels for someone who can engage him in deep and interesting conversations, and be a bit of a tease as well, just enough to always keep him on the edge of his seat, but not to overdo it. After all, he is the tease one in the relationship, and he doesn't like the idea of giving up that title.

‌Speaking of him being a tease... yes, he's absolutely insufferable! In every sense. (Yes, that too!)

‌Dates with him are always so random and spontaneous, like, he'd take you on a bike ride to the beach at 3 AM, and you'd make sand castles in the dead of the night, just because. It's totally not because he's secretly a hopeless romantic and wanted to watch the sunrise with you, btw. Or he might get you out of your school/work just to take you to the rooftop of the highest building in his neighborhood, where you guys can throw water baloons on the passers-by down there, and photograph their reactions. Or you two would be in a middle of a rollercoaster ride and he'd scream into your ear: "Babe, let's go have a picnic in the woods, this ride is boring!" The worst best part - his idea of a "picnic" is pranking hikers by making weird noises. At least one thing is for sure with him - there is never a single dull moment!

‌But even as the chaos elemental that he is, he is actually looking for (inner) peace. He would want to feel safe and taken care of in a relationship, and I can picture him falling for his childhood friend. If not that, then he'd definitely go for the cozy, domestic, girl-next-door type. Despite what he shows to the outer world, he just craves familiarity and warmth.

‌His friend-turned-girlfriend definitely calls him Shuu-chan. He pretends it annoys him, but there's nothing he loves hearing more. And I will die on that hill if need be!

[jo-harrington]

Developmental Achievement (A Store Manager Verse Story - Steve Harrington/Reader)

Previous Part: Incremental Planning

Pairing: Steve Harrington x HawkTheaterManager!Reader

Summary: Steve messed up and now he needs to fix things if he wants to win you back, hopefully for good.

Warnings/Themes: AU where the Upside Down doesn't terrorize Hawkins. November through January 1986, Steve and Robin work at Scoops (OR DO THEY?), Reader works at The Hawk Theater (formerly at Dippin' Dots AND Wicks and Sticks; you job hop...it's a thing), Relationship Break, Hopeless [Romantic] Steve, Tie in with the Store Manager Verse

Note: So this is the end of our Steve saga of the SMVerse, kind of wrapped up in a neat little bow. Is it the best? Probably not, but it's silly and corny and cheesy and I needed all of those things yesterday and instead of RELEGATING IT TO MY FIRST FAVE...I'll inflict it upon Stevie. Tagging @dr-aculaaa and @loveshotzz because COME AND GET HIM. (@deathbecomesthem ...and a possible Easter Egg?)

You can find my masterlist here for more fics featuring pretty much exclusively Eddie Munson content but also a little Steve.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

---

Steve Harrington fucked up.

Ok. Ok. That’s not right.

Steve Harrington really fucked up.

If he was being honest, he always seemed to fuck up when it came to you, his...well...he could really only call you his ex now, couldn't he?

From rivals in ice cream where he missed every sign that you might like him, to sickeningly-sweet dates around Hawkins because he was being too boring of a boyfriend, and finally to Thanksgiving Dinner with his parents where he absolutely stuck his foot in his mouth.

He thought making a joke about your job-hopping was funny--from Dippin' Dots to Wicks and Sticks to KB Toys, it's lucky you decided he was worth sticking around for--but it only put you under his parents' scrutiny.

He got an earful as he walked you to your car after dinner was over. You stayed a few steps ahead of him until you got to the driver's door and turned to him with tears in your eyes.

"That was embarrassing, Steve," you said through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry, I..." he was at a loss for words, especially making you cry. As strong as you were, you never seemed to be flustered at all; what was happening? "I thought it was a joke. We always laugh about it. I’m gonna work at scoops forever and you’re gonna work everywhere else."

"But it’s meeting your family, you shouldn't joke about...about what a huge flake I am that you're lucky I don't jump from boyfriend to boyfriend just like I go from job to job. They're never gonna look at me the same way again. You only get one first impression."

"You shouldn't worry about what they think about you. I've stopped caring about what they think about me too."

It went back and forth before you threw your hands up and got in the car.

You didn't even kiss him goodnight.

Then sometime during Black Friday weekend, you stopped by Scoops before your shift and broke up with him.

"It was nice, Steve," you said, barely able to look at him. "But uh...I don't know. I need to know I'm with someone who doesn't think I'm some kind of joke."

He chased after you, even with his manager screaming that if he left he'd be fired, and begged you to reconsider.

You didn't.

He watched you ride up the escalator to head to your shift.

And when he got back to Scoops, he was actually fired.

What a great day.

---

Of course, Robin quit as soon as Steve was fired.

"Can't stick it out without you dingus," Robin announced as she approached him in the parking lot shortly after, tossing her hat at him. "And you can't have Scoops without...Stoops. Get it? Because you're stupid. Scoops? Stoops? Stupid. Why aren't you laughing?"

It was pretty funny.

But Steve was heartbroken.

Unemployed and heartbroken.

Robin insisted that she could land them both jobs at Family Video--

"Keith hates me. Pretty sure he calls me Sleeze Harrington."

“Well he loves me. I can vouch for you, come on."

--but Steve was sure that he would have a better chance at winning you back if he kept working at StarCourt.

What an epic bust that was.

Not the job part.

Well, that too.

Most of the stores near the toy store were done hiring seasonal help, and the best that he could land was a temp job as a Mall Santa.

On the upside, it meant that he could walk around the mall on break in his Santa suit and watch you with you none the wiser until he could beg you to take him back.

"It sounds creepy," was the unfortunate response from Steve's newest friend and personal relationship expert, the Claire's Store Manager.

He stopped by before his shift to pick up some of his lucky strawberry lipgloss to make sure he was very pouty and puckery for the moment you realized you'd made a mistake...and after effectively getting it all over his fake beard, the Manager decided to take pity on him and listen to his woes while helping him clean up.

"I'm gonna need to start charging you for advice," she laughed and wiped him off with tissues from the ear piercing station. "You seriously need it if that's the idea you came up with."

"You're a real Lucy Van Pelt," Steve deadpanned. "I'll buy you cookies one day just...please...help me."

"Have you tried just talking?" she questioned. "Wasn't that your problem in the first place? Way back when? You didn't communicate."

"But they're mad at me, they don't want to talk. And I need to fix it."

"Then give them some space, and try again, ok? Give it a week or two. They probably just need time to cool down, sounds like you really hurt their feelings."

"And if they can't forgive me?"

"Then you move on," she sighed. "Sometimes things just don't work out and even though it doesn't make you feel ok, you have to be ok with it."

So he waited a week.

A week was long enough, right? His own personal Lucy said so.

He chose a day he wasn't scheduled at Santa's workshop and waited for you in the food court where he knew you'd seek refuge during your lunch break, just like the two of you had taken your breaks together. He wore his best polo, made sure his hair was perfect, applied some of his lucky lip gloss and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

But you never showed up.

Not during your usual break. Not an hour later. Not even at the supposed end of your shift.

Maybe you were working a double?

So as much as he told himself he wouldn't follow you because it was creepy, he ran up the escalator two steps at a time to KB Toys where you would surely be.

Or not.

"They don't work here anymore kid," your former manager sighed after he asked about you. "I'm sorry."

"W-well where did they go?" he asked frantically, pathetically.

"Didn't say, not really my business to ask. Put in their notice...right after Black Friday, actually. Right before the Christmas rush too."

If he was heartbroken before...his heart was just gone now. Obliterated. Non-existent.

Along with any hope of trying to win you back.

---

Steve stuck through the rest of the holiday season at the mall; you could call him many things but a quitter wasn't one of them. However, come the new year, he needed a new job again, and he took up Robin's offer to butter Keith up and get in at Family Video.

He was offered an opening key shift, a decent employee discount, a better paycheck than both Scoops and Santa's workshop combined, and unlimited access to choose the movie playing overhead whenever he was in charge.

"You're lucky the other person I was about to hire bailed," Keith said after his first week. "Got a job at the Hawk or something. Can't blame 'em. Free popcorn and all that."

The distraction helped the heartache.

Surprisingly, he got a few phone numbers. Nothing ever came of them, nursing a broken heart the way he was, but it was nice. He'd been tempted to call you, several times in fact, but in the end he just decided fate knew better. Still, he denied himself the role of Hawkins' resident heartthrob.

"Are you hearing yourself right now?" Robin scoffed at him as he scrubbed off yet another phone number that had been written onto the palm of his hand by one customer or another. "Resident Heartthrob. Seriously? Ok Cassanova."

"What else do you wanna call it?" he asked, holding his arms out helplessly. "They can't resist the Harrington Charm, even when I don't want to use it."

"It's because you keep putting on sappy romance movies when you're here. Girls like that shit, a guy in touch with his feelings."

"First Nancy and then..." he trailed off, thinking about you sadly. He had to let you go.

"Are you kidding me?" Robin hit him upside the head and shoved him out of the way so she could start processing returns. "You can't even say their name? You need to get over it."

"It's hard."

"Were they your soulmate or something?"

"Robin, all men must...have someone who will never take advantage of a love bright as the sun."

"Love?"

"Someone to stand beside them."

"You're quoting the Monkees now."

"They were the one," Steve lamented. "And now they're--"

He trailed off as his eye landed on something outside the window.

"They're what? On the Last Train to Clarksville?" She made a buzzer noise. "Try again."

"No they're walking in right now, act casual," Steve announced and started typing away at the keyboard of the computer.

The doorbell chimed as you set foot inside Family Video and Steve glanced up to get a look at you for the first time in weeks.

Ok, so maybe he was being a little pathetic with this heartache.

Maybe it wasn't that bad for him.

It was pretty bad.

But when your eyes met, Steve could just tell...it had to have been just as bad for you too.

Because he knew you by now. How many months had you been dating? Dates and lunches and breaks spent together. Was it love? Maybe. Probably. Even if it wasn't, it was damn near close to it. So he knew the way your eyes lost their sparkle a little bit when they landed on him, knew the way your shoulders sagged, knew the words that refused to escape your lips when you saw him.

Stevie Stew. Pookie Bear. Dumb dumb. All the pet names he missed too.

Robin greeted you with an exaggerated lengthening of your name and a pointed glare shot directly at Steve.

"Hey Rob," you cleared your throat and offered a strained grin. "How are you? Didn't know you were working here."

Your eyes shifted to Steve and then back to Robin.

"Either of you."

"I've been here since before Christmas," Robin leaned against the counter as you approached and thumbed over her shoulder at Steve. "And of course dingus over here just couldn't stay away."

"You're the dream team, of course," you nodded. "Scoops Troop. But, uh, not anymore I guess."

"We're workshopping a new name."

The two of you laughed and then you excused yourself to peruse the shelves for a new movie. Robin even offered to show you some new tapes with a low pull it together hissed at Steve as she rounded the counter to show you a new display.

Steve willed himself to say something, Do something. Anything. Say hello, walk over and suggest a new movie, say that it was good to see you, that he missed you.

Communicate, god damn it.

But he was frozen.

Even more when you and Robin returned a few minutes later debating which John Hughes flick you should get: Sixteen Candles or Weird Science.

"You could always get both," Steve suggested, the words rocketing out of his mouth violently as you reached the register.

"Uh, yeah, actually..." you nodded. "That's a good idea, I think I will."

Steve typed in all the information and got your rentals rung out, and as he asked if you wanted candy or popcorn, you laughed.

"You know what, I'm actually all candy and popcorn'd out," your smile faltered when your eyes met again. "I'm...uh...you know."

"Know what?" Steve asked dumbly.

"I'm over at the Hawk," you nodded. "New shift manager and everything. I was...I was actually supposed to work here when Mr. Phillips offered me a dollar more at the theater. And the popcorn didn't hurt."

"I didn't know that," Steve shook his head.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

You and Steve stared at each other for another long, drawn out minute.

You opened your mouth to say something--

"Can we ta--"

--before Steve, idiot that he was, pushed your tapes across the counter at you and practically shouted at you.

"Your rental's due back on Friday by 2pm, enjoy."

Robin gave him the silent treatment for the rest of his shift.

---

"Do I show up with flowers?"

"Flowers?"

"What's that voice, you don't like flowers?"

"Not really."

There he was, back at Claire's the following day, sitting in the chair at the Ear Piercing Station as the manager restocked the jewelry wall. A bag of fresh chocolate chip cookies from the food court sat on top of the station and the two of them periodically reached in for a treat as Steve regaled her with his tale.

"I know they miss me, I just know it."

"Then why did you freeze up?"

"Because I'm an idiot. Help. Please."

So far, the manager hadn't really been able to offer him much advice outside of a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear. Especially now as he planned a way to win you back.

"Everyone likes flowers," Steve argued skeptically. "You're telling me Munson hasn't gotten you roses or something?"

The shop bell rang, a chain rattled, and leather squeaked, and instead of the manager answering with a gentle tone and an eye roll like she'd been doing all day, Eddie Munson himself chimed in.

"If I was a jealous man," he started with an exaggerated glare at Steve. "I would say you're here flirting with my girlfriend."

Eddie "The Freak" Munson was somehow the Dad to Steve's reluctant Mom when it came to the ragtag gang of Freshman that they shared role-model-ship of, and because of that their previous animosity had been turned into some kind of...agreement.

Could Steve say Eddie was a bad guy? No. Was he still wondering why the kids liked him so much? Yes. Could the two of them get along? Up for debate.

Which was why Steve wasn't so concerned when the metalhead was feigning some kind of intimidation tactic; they had an agreement that went from unspoken to shaken on come the new year: No fighting in front of the kids, no making fun of each other's hair, no stealing Eddie's girlfriend.

"What are you doing here?" the manager laughed at the two boys antics and crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't you have school?"

"I came to ask you a very important question," Eddie smiled a lovesick smile at her, Steve momentarily ignored. "But imagine my surprise when someone else is sitting in my spot."

"It's not your spot. And I'm giving him advice."

"Again?"

"He's hopeless, apparently."

"I'm right here," Steve exclaimed and got to his feet, ready to leave. "I didn't come here to be made fun of. I actually need help."

He didn't like the way Eddie clapped him on the shoulder, or steered him out of the store, or gave him a patronizing smile.

"Listen," Eddie started once they were out of the store. "I know you're having some issues but seriously, you need to get your act together."

"And how should I do that Munson? I've thought of everything and your girlfriend keeps telling me that my ideas are stupid."

"I'm sure they are stupid," Eddie nodded. "I trust her judgment."

"What would you do to win her back? If you fucked up?"

"I wouldn't fuck it up, Number one," Eddie smirked. "Even at the risk of jinxing myself there. Rule Number One in the Munson Relationship Doctrine, don't fuck it up."

"Well that page is missing from the Harrington Relationship Doctrine, because I clearly went and did that."

"Rule Number Two," Eddie continued, ignoring Steve. "Is by making a grand and personal gesture. Didn't you ask Nancy Wheeler to Junior Prom by having the cheer squad perform a routine just for her a few years ago."

"Yeah that took a lot of begging," Steve nodded eagerly, already formulating a plan. "But I could do it again if I--"

"I heard she hated it," Eddie shot a sour expression. "So no, not that."

"Then I'm out of ideas," Steve admitted.

Eddie threw his head back and groaned, and Steve was sure he heard him say something along the lines of and Buckley called him Hawkins Heartthrob.

"Listen," Eddie recovered, tightened his grip on Steve's shoulder with one hand, and jabbed him in the chest with the other hand. "Don't ever say that I didn't do anything for you ok? Where does your friend work? The Hawk?"

"How do you know that?"

"News travels fast when you're friends with 5 freshmen and Robin Bigmouth Buckley ok?" Eddie shook his head. "Now listen to me. Your friend works at the theater? Showing movies right? And what are movies made of?"

"Film?"

"Sure. And the kids...Dustin...what club is he part of at school?"

"Uh...Hellfire Club. Chess Club..."

"AV Club," Eddie insisted with an exaggerated nod. "And where do you work?"

"Family Video."

"And what is in a vid--you know what?" Eddie groaned. "I don't have time for this. How are you not putting two and two together Harrington?"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to be putting together."

"What they all have in common?"

Steve took a second as Eddie leaned closer expectantly, as though trying to transmit his idea through osmosis because Steve was just not getting it.

Until the osmosis was successful and Steve had his lightbulb moment.

"Oh!"

"There you go!" Eddie's face stretched with a feral grin. "I see the wheels turning. Ladies and Gentleman, I believe a plan is underway."

---

It took a little more than a week, the combined efforts of the AV Club and Hellfire Club, and a good chunk out of Steve's paycheck for supplies and to bribe them all and the projectionist at the Hawk.

But the plan was in place.

Steve found out your schedule, bought tickets for a 5pm show of Hey there, It's Yogi Bear.

There couldn't have been a worse movie to choose, but it was the only one he could buy out the theater for.

He showed up to the Hawk promptly at 4:30, got his soda and popcorn, and hung around the lobby impatiently. He was pretty sure he'd ruined his hair from the number of times he'd run his hand through it.

Slowly his friends started to filter in: The Sinclair kids and Max, Mike Wheeler and Will Byers with Nancy and Jonathan in tow--that wouldn't be nerve-wracking or embarrassing at all if the plan didn't work out. At some point, Eddie's van pulled up in front of the Theater and Dustin, Jeff, Gareth, and Dave all walked in bickering about nachos and sour worms, before Eddie and the Claire's Store Manager followed suit, Eddie telling his friends to shut up.

Steve was beginning to sweat at 4:55 when Robin ran in, hand in hand with a new girlfriend that he'd seen waiting for Rob when he dropped her off at school in the morning.

That he'd been maybe a little too in his own head about you to hear Robin rave about for the past few months. He really did feel bad about that.

"Thought you were gonna be late," he accused Robin.

"Me? Late?" she beamed. "Never. Do we have time to grab candy?"

"Just go," he waved them off, then shot Robin a secret thumbs up as she pointed to her crush excitedly, then got nervous when he spotted you across the lobby, talking to one of the ushers.

You faltered when you locked eyes with him, waved back when he sent you a little hello, and then you scurried into the box office.

He allowed himself one more moment of heartache. Then at 5 on the dot, Steve entered the theater and sat in the back row, as close to the projection window as he could get.

The previews started, and for a moment, Steve looked at all his...well, they were all his friends now, weren't they? Here to support him on this hare-brained endeavor. He suddenly felt loved in a way that he didn't think he'd ever felt before, not like this.

The only thing missing was you.

Suddenly the projection started skipping, and he could hear his accomplice in the projection booth shuffle around, then a door opened and closed.

"And so it begins," Eddie said dramatically a few rows ahead.

"Shut up, you're gonna give it away!" Dustin shouted at him.

Everyone started chattering until Steve sent them all a shhhhh when he heard the projection booth door open and shut again and your voice, clearly irritated, started speaking.

"What do you mean it isn't working? Did you try...I don't know...unplugging it and plugging it back in? Re-roll the film and try it again...here let me see..."

Steve felt himself shake with anticipation as the projector started up again, but the images on the screen were decidedly not Yogi Bear and Boo Boo.

"What the hell?" you exclaimed.

On the screen were pictures of you and Steve, all the polaroids and film strips from the little Photo Booth at Starcourt that you'd taken together over the months of your relationship. The ticket from the aquarium that he'd saved. The note you'd pinned to his back one morning when you hugged him before his shift that said "Steve Harrington is a loser."

He heard your snort as the scene panned up to a shot of himself sitting at the desk in his room writing a letter, shot on the Wheeler family's camcorder. The Steve on the screen looked up into the camera and startled.

"Oh," he laughed. "Didn't see you there. It's been a long time, hasn't it? I uh...I really wanted to talk to you and figured there wasn't a better way than writing a letter."

"Nerd," you called through the projection window, garnering laughs from his friends.

The scene faded to Movie Steve in a turtleneck skipping rocks at Lover's Lake in a very artistic shot that Director Dustin was apparently "proud of."

"But a picture is worth a thousand words so I'm pretty sure a video is worth a million." Movie Steve said your name sadly and looked deep into the camera. "I messed up, I was an idiot and a jerk and only took my own feelings into consideration when I made that joke to my parents. I don't care how they felt about you because I'm past the point of caring how they feel about me. My screw ups.

"And unfortunately I made the biggest screw-up of my life that night. I might not care what they think about me...but I care what you think about me."

The scene changed once again, Movie Steve leaning over the counter at Family Video filling out a form on a clipboard.

"There are a million better movies out there than this one you're watching right now Honey, but none of them are able to show just how truly sorry I am, and how much I miss you. I know that we still need to talk things out in person but I hope this shows how much I'm willing to put in the work so you'll forgive me."

A few rows ahead, he could hear Eddie speak along with Movie Steve, he leaned into his girlfriend and said "I wrote that line. Pretty good, right?"

"Uh huh," she pushed his head away from her. "Sap."

Eddie turned back to look at Steve and shot him a thumbs-up.

The scene changed one last time to a panning shot of Steve walking out of StarCourt mall towards his car.

"This is your chance to decide now. I wouldn't blame you if you chose never to talk to me again. I'll wait outside once your shift is over, but I'll respect your choice either way. I miss you Honey, and I love you."

Movie Steve got in the car and drove away into the sunset, only for the camera to pan over to Corroded Coffin playing a sweet ballad that Steve knew was your favorite.

The screen faded to black and the audience erupted into applause before the real previews resumed and the eventual movie.

Steve listened intently for some sign of life from the projection booth, but aside from a few footsteps and the door opening and closing again, there was nothing.

--

After the movie was over and all of his friends went their respective ways, Steve sat by his car until the end of your shift. When the last lights of The Hawk marquee finally turned off and the employees all started filing out, he knew he was holding his breath.

The last person out of the building was you, and as you turned around and spotted him, you stopped in your tracks.

Just like the other day at Family Video, it was a standoff between you and Steve, and although Steve wished that you would just come running into his arms to kiss him, insisting your forgiveness, he knew things were never that easy.

"That, uh...was something," you finally broke the silence.

"It was, wasn't it," he agreed.

"Was that your idea?" you asked. "Pretty sure those were all your friends in there."

"Yeah I bought out the whole theater."

"You bought...seriously?"

"I wanted to make sure you weren't embarrassed...in case anyone else saw."

"And I wouldn't be embarrassed by your friends?" you scoffed.

"Well they all helped me make it so I think I was more embarrassed asking them all for help than you." You let out a long sigh and put your face in your hands and Steve started talking rapid-fire. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I know that sucks when...when I already did. But I promise I'll do better. I'll be better. I'll be anything you need me to be, I just...I need you back."

You said something but it was muffled by your hands.

"What?"

"I said," you pulled them away and looked up at him with watery eyes, and he felt his heart drop again. "Do you really love me? You said so...at the end of that...whatever that was."

"I mean...yeah I guess I do."

"You guess?" you laughed.

"I do!" Steve said with more confidence this time. "I do love you. I'm...sorry I didn't say anything sooner."

"I'm sorry you didn't either," you muttered. You closed the distance and grabbed the lapels of Steve's jacket in your hands, as though you were about to shake him. "Do you know...the real reason I was upset?"

"There's...a real reason?" he asked.

"Why I broke up with you."

"Oh. Uh...no."

"I mean," you took a great breath of confidence. "Yeah I was mad because you made me seem like a joke to your parents on Thanksgiving, and I know...I know their opinion doesn't mean that much to you. But after I left it got me thinking...what if you made a joke like that...because I was a joke. And maybe thats why nothing was ever coming of our relationship because it was just...you didn't care about me. You didn't...love me, the same way I loved you."

Steve felt the invisible hand clench around his heart; it was like Nancy all over again.

"Loved?" he whispered weakly, the sense of deja-vu undeniable. "Honey..."

"So I had to end it. To protect myself. And I took a long hard look at myself when I got to work. The what? Third job I had since I started at StarCourt? I realized that maybe...I was a joke. Maybe you were right, that I was...this job-hopping, unreliable...thing and that's why I quit. And I started looking...for a management position somewhere so I could be better."

"But you were already great," Steve assured. "Can we get back to that...loved thing?"

"Steven..."

"Sorry."

"Let me finish."

"Ok."

"And you know what I found out since I've been here?" you asked. "I...kind of hate working at a movie theater. And I need to leave again. I'm...I'm a free spirit. I can't be tied down to one kind of job. I saw an ad in the paper for an arts and crafts instructor at the Park District and I sort of wanna quit before applying, I would be great at that."

"You would," Steve laughed, still unsure of where this was going.

It was always a bit of a rollercoaster with you though, and it was another thing about you that he loved.

"So...tonight seeing all of that," you waved an arm behind you at the theater. "Seeing you...realizing that you loved me all along...I don't know. I don't need your love to keep being who it is that I am, it's just nice to know that you love me, the same way I love you."

"Love me?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah."

He whispered your name desperately and then cupped your face in his hands.

"I love you Honey."

"I love you too, Steve Harrington."

You pulled him into you and smashed your lips to his. The heartbreak faded away from both of you, and in its place, undeniable love and affection for each other.

Steve Harrington might have been many things, he might have fucked up.

But he was happy to say he was someone who could fix it.

With love.

[kyhgwts]

summary: when Theo can’t help but fall for his best friend…s

WARNINGS: voyeurism, daddy kink, rough sex, crying (in a good way), pet names (sweetheart, baby, princess, mamas), AFTERCARE (the pictures shown are not meant to be what the reader (or Draco and Theo) looks like, just the vibe of the story!!)

PAIRING: Dom!Draco, Shy!Theo, Fem!reader

tags: @dr4cosimp @jessetalexis-blog tagging you guys since you convinced me to finish this <3

You and Draco had noticed Theo’s odd behavior, he wouldn’t talk as much around you two and he would fidget. At first you guys thought it was his anxiety, but after actually paying attention you both came to a conclusion. Theo is unconditionally and inevitably in love with both of you. (you catch that)

At first, you two just kinda enjoyed the way Theo would tense up around you two. You both wanted Theo, but you also wanted fun.

‘Listen, and then he’ll watch i know he will.’ Draco explained, you listened intently on your boyfriends idea.

‘What if he doesn’t?’ you say, Draco gives you a stare.

‘He’s been a complete mess for the past few weeks, you think he wouldn’t take the chance to watch us fuck if he had it?’ Draco asked and you ponder on it.

-

And that’s how you ended up here, Draco smashing into you. Not even a minute into sex you honestly forgot Theo was most likely watching, too drunk on lust.

Theo was indeed watching, Blaise had told him to give something to Draco which he was annoyed but did it anyway and he’s so glad he did.

Standing there, the door slightly open with you riding Draco. It had Theo in shock when he first heard it, but even more in shock when he actually saw it.

He was sweating, almost bursting out of his pajama pants. He knew it was wrong, but who leaves the door cracked open when having sex?!?! (people who want you to catch them)

Hearing your small whimpers, mixed with Draco’s hushed praises made Theo feral. It was like he got trapped, he couldn’t move he was stuck watching you.

‘Theo, come in’ Draco’s voice was firm, making you flinch and making Theo panic. He froze.

well shit.

He watched Draco whisper to you, you whimpered and turned around to see Theo frozen in the wide open door.

Draco had held you down, keeping you from moving. You whimpered pushing at his chest, still stuck in the moment. You push your head down onto Draco’s chest when he grabbed your wrists and placed them behind you.

‘I’m not letting her move till you come in Theodore.’ Draco said, you whine trying to move completely forgetting all about what was happening.

‘W- what?’ Theo’s voice was shaky and unsure, Draco could see the big gulp Theo took.

‘Theoooo just come in please’ you whine, begging him to come in just like Draco had asked you to.

Theo reluctantly slowly walked in shutting the door behind him, he had no idea what was going on.

‘come here’ Draco waved Theo over, still keeping you from moving getting you irritated.

‘i- what’s going on’ Theo said, barley above a whisper.

‘don’t ask questions’ Draco said standing up still holding you to him, you cling onto him like a little koala and Theo wants to melt.

‘sit down’ Draco points to where he was just sitting, Theo hadn’t even argued making his way to sit on the bed.

Once he was sat down Draco followed him placing you between Theo’s legs, all while he stayed planted inside you. Theo froze when your naked body was placed between his legs, your bare back hitting his bare chest.

‘You know Theo, when princess told me that she thought you might like her i was infuriated,’ Draco began, Theo stared at Draco with pure and wide eyed full of love.

‘But then she proceeded to say that she thinks you like me as well, and i just thought what? there’s no way, you can’t want two people at the same time but was i wrong? yes i was. Because you managed to do it, and you made us fall for you just as you fell for us.’ Draco said, Theo just stared in shock.

‘is this a joke? what- are you guys messing around’ Theo looked panicked and nervous, Draco grinned.

‘No. it is not, but you have 5 seconds to deny. I can’t hold up our baby any longer.’ he said. Theo stared down at you and you were mad, brows furrowed with a frown as Draco held down you hips.

‘our?’ Theo asks cautiously, Draco smirks looking down at you. You look up at Theo and he looks back almost letting out a groan when you smile and it looks so sweet and innocent all while you had Draco’s cock stuffed in you.

‘yes.’ Draco says ‘are you going to leave or stay?’ he said, Theo looked away from you back to Draco and swallowed thickly.

‘stay.’ he whispered.

Theo was not that well experienced, he’s only been with one girl and that was at a party and he doesn’t even remember it all that well.

When theo thought he couldn’t get anymore harder, Draco began to rock into you again making you move back and hit Theo’s boner each thrust. You whine grabbing onto Theo’s legs making him fall even more in love.

‘y/n is very clingy, especially during sex. She likes to grab and hold onto things when she feels good,’ Draco spoke as if you weren’t there, and technically you weren’t. Lost in your own world of lust, the feeling of him hitting so deep.

Theo smelt wonderful, of course Draco did too but Theo’s smell was refreshing and calming.

‘Do you like that Theo?’ Draco asked taking notice of the way Theo reacted to your little hands (compared to Theo’s broom thighs) clutching to his thighs.

Theo looked down and you looked lost, eyes glossed over and mouth agape as you looked at Draco.

‘She can be hard to please, but once you get her like this? you’ll have her withering and thrashing in your arms.’ Draco said to Theo making him gulp.

‘Mm!’ you pushed at his chest.

‘Watch this Theo’ Draco whispered, Theo watched as he picked up one of your legs putting it on his shoulder. Theo almost came in his pants when you cried out throwing you head back mouth hung open.

‘Daddy!’ you whined, Theo went wide eyed.

‘oh yeah i forgot, she does that too.’ Draco said grinning at Theo’s obvious liking of it.

Draco pulled out making you whine and pout sitting up to grab onto him. He just leaned down and whispered in your ear, you looked back at Theo and he froze.

‘Theo wouldn’t you be such a gentleman and help our baby cum?’ Draco said, Theo stumbled on his words in shock.

‘um- yeah… yeah ok’ he said nervously, you smile happily making him smile.

Once you were all repositioned, Draco behind Theo as Theo was between his legs and you straddling Theo.

You help Theo pulled down his pajama pants till his cock sprang free. You grabbed it like nothing making his buck his hips. You giggle like a little kid with candy.

You felt Draco’s hands hold your waist still making you pout. You felt Theo’s right hand fall onto Draco’s that was holding you still, you whine pushing at Theo’s shoulders.

‘Don’t let her tell you what to do Theodore.’ Draco whispered, pulling you forward so you fall down on top of Theo.

‘She might seem sweet and innocent, but she’s not Theo.’ Draco said, making you furrow your brows and stick out your tongue to Draco.

Before you could put much thought into it Theo was already entering you making you sigh at the feeling. Theo moaned at the feeling of you.

He began to help you rock back and forth as Draco watched. You have your mouth hung open and you are making noises that only Draco knows what they mean.

‘Like i told you Theo, she’s not sweet or innocent. Don’t be afraid to fuck her’ Draco said, Theo groaned.

‘I don’t want to hurt her’ Theo said in a broken whisper, Draco let out a chuckle.

‘You won’t hurt her, i promise. Fuck her hard. you’ll thank me later.’ Draco said, and who was Theo to deny that?

You gasped clawing at Theo as he started to pound up into you, now not being able to control yourself as you twitched and thrashed in his hold wanting more and more.

‘UGH! Theo’ you cried out falling limp, pulling both boys together as you held onto them. The mix of both their sent making you absolutely insane.

‘That’s not his name y/n.’ you heard Draco whisper to you, you go wide eyed. You’ve never called anyone else daddy except Draco.

‘Daddy’ it was a barley whispered moan, that Theo absolutely caught and he moaned.

Theo began to hit deeper, making you shake and wither.

‘good Theo, look at what you’re doing to her’ Draco guided. You were too cock drunk to even process anything anymore.

you grab onto Theo your nails digging into his back, you head laid on his shoulder. He groaned head leaning back, falling onto Draco.

‘fucking hell’ Theo mumbled, Draco grinned.

You whine, getting closer and closer to your end. Theo shivered as your hot breath fanned on his neck. Draco leaned down kissing your forehead, Theo made a deep throat sound when Draco turned to his neck giving it an open mouthed kiss.

You head Draco whisper to Theo but you were too lost in lust to hear. Then you felt Theo’s hand move down towards the dip of your hip. On the other side of Theo’s head Draco was telling him what to do.

You felt Theo’s thumb slowly make its way to your clit making you jump.

‘AH! i- i mmm’ your eyes start to water, mouth agape.

‘spank her Theo’ Draco told him, you weren’t even there at this point.

‘w-what’ Theo stumbled over his words, Draco grabbed onto you.

‘Spank her. do it.’ Draco said, voice firm. Theo hesitated before laying a small hit, it was way to soft but it caught your attention nonetheless.

‘harder.’ Draco said, Theo froze. Of course Theo was scared, he had a reason to be. He’s never really been with a girl and what Draco was telling him to do was making him nervous.

Draco got impatient, landing a hard smack making you cry out in pleasure all while Theo whimpers when you clench down on him.

Your body locks, limps burning. Draco started to help move your hips, as well as Theo who was hitting up into you.

‘i- i’m gonna-‘ you were out of breath and tears rolling down your eyes.

You yelled out in pleasure, releasing onto Theo going completely limp in both the boys’ hold.

‘Can you hold up a little longer for Theo sweetheart, hm?’ Draco whispered to you, you nod.

Theo continues to fuck into you, until he lifts you up and pulling himself out before coming undone. Never in your life would you have thought you could find sounds as beautiful as Draco’s, but here you were.

You tried catching your breath, but you were moved now laying on your back under Draco.

Now that Theo could see your face he started to freak.

‘did i hurt her?!?’ he rushed over, Draco stopped his movements.

‘no, she’s okay. Just a little distant’ Draco explained.

He pulled you into a sitting position, back to the headboard.

‘Go get me a cloth, wet half of it with warm water’ he said, Theo stumbled out of the bed rushing to get a cloth.

‘Still with me mamas?’ Draco asked tapping your cheek, you nod eyes heavy. He gave you a quick forehead kiss, smiling when you let out a small smile.

Theo walked back handing the cloth to Draco, Draco took it cleaning you up. Once he was done he threw the cloth into dirty clothes.

Theo had gotten himself cleaned up, he watched as Draco got off the bed walking to the bathroom. Theo watched you, eyes glossed over mascara smeared under your eyes. You still seemed so calm, even after what you just went through. Peacefully humming as your fingers tapped at your thigh.

Theo’s heart melted when you let out a small yawn, Draco walked back with multiple things.

‘Why don’t you sit with her Theo’ Draco said, Theo got onto the bed and you immediately got between his legs head dropping on his chest.

‘Can you hold her hair back for me?’ Draco asked Theo, to which he immediately did.

Theo watched as Draco opened the small package taking out a wipe, Theo assumed was makeup wipes as Draco began to clean your face with it.

Theo felt so… peaceful. You both gave him a peaceful aura, contrasting with what you were all just doing not even 5 minutes ago.

You’re eyes were closed as Draco held your face in his hand while the other dragged the wipe across your face making sure to get everything off.

Once he was done, he grabbed a small bottle which was lotion? He put some on his hand before rubbing it in and putting it on your face.

Draco kissed your cheek when he was done getting up to put everything back.

‘is he always like that with you?’ Theo whispered softly, because it was weird to see Draco such a way.

‘mhm’ you mumbled ‘love ‘em’ you smile softly. Theo thought about the fact that Draco was not what everyone perceived him as.

‘Most times we’ll take showers, but he could tell i was too tired this time. He’s gonna come back with underwear and one of his shirts. And he’ll help me put it on. I never have to move a muscle, i love it’ you grin, Theo let’s out a small laugh.

Sure enough, Draco came back with one of his shirts and underwear for you. Helping you put it on, all while you bathed in the feeling of sex afterglow.

He was a loving man, truly. Draco went back to clean himself up, leaving you there curled up under the blankets with Theo, he asked you questions.

‘How come he doesn’t just act like that with everyone else?’ Theo says, you shake your head.

‘he doesn’t like it, you know you’re really a special person if your seeing him like this Theo.’ you say, Theo smiled.

‘He may look and act scary, he’s really just a sweetie’ you say grinning, Theo letting out a chuckle.

When Draco came back it was a weird sensation that Theo had felt.

‘you’re really a special person if your seeing him like this Theo’

damn right he was.

Guys… i’ve never been a fan of the nickname mamas but… thinking about Draco saying it sent me into a spiral.

[klbwriting]

Not Romeo and Not Juliet

Chapter 1: Mingle Yarn

Fandom: Red Hood

Pairing: Jason Todd x f!reader

Warnings: fighting, mentions of broken bones and blood

Summary: Jason Todd was alive again. Not only that, but he was back in high school, living with Dick Grayson, and just trying to get by without anyone noticing him. That doesn't go as planned.

Notes: Here it is! Dueling prep schools! Enemies to Lovers! Theater Nerds! Shakespeare! A true rom-com! Jason as a senior and a theater kid! I'm messing with the canon immensely so let's just call this an AU or Elseworlds story where Jason was killed in a similar way to Under the Red Hood movie, but instead of the LoA going and getting him Dick has the falling out with Bruce over Jason's death and he goes to resurrect him without Bruce knowing. He takes Jason to live with him in Bludhaven and enrolls him in Bludhaven Prep so that he can readjust to living and to leaving Robin behind. I hope you enjoy!

The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together

— ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, ACT 4 SCENE 3

               “Jason, you have to get going or you’re going to be late,” Dick Grayson called through the apartment.  He knew Jason wasn’t exactly excited to start his senior year of high school and he couldn’t blame him if he was being honest.  Just a month ago Jason had been murdered by a clown and just a week ago he had been revived in a pit of green goo protected by assassins.  They had only agreed to let Dick revive him because they were the reason Jason was even killed in the first place, so it was honestly the least they could do.  Dick was still coming to terms with who came out of the pit, not Jason but not not Jason either.  While pre-Lazarus Pit Jason had been happy, funny, and kind of scrawny, this Jason was moody, stoic, and big.  He wasn’t sure how the 17-year-old had gone from around skinny 5’8 to a jacked 6’1 during a bath but it was what it was.  Now he was staying in Dick’s Penthouse in Bludhaven, Bruce had no idea he was alive, and he was starting his senior year at Bludhaven Prep and Dick was hoping getting him back out there with kids his own age would help him readjust to living again.  The therapist that Dick hired, the one Clark Kent recommended, had given approval for him to return, saying he was mentally able to be around others, but considering no one knew how the pit might affect him they would still be watching him closely.  Dick stood very still in the dining room, waiting until he heard feet stomping down the stairs from the loft area that Jason had taken as his room. 

               “I’m here, I’m here,” he grumbled, sitting down in front of the plate of eggs and bacon that Dick had made for him.  Jason took two bites and made a face.  “I am making breakfast from now on, this tastes like shit.”  Dick rolled his eyes as he watched Jason clean his plate of the ‘shit’.  “Why am I going to school again anyway?  Bruce pulled me out to be homeschooled when I was freshman.”

               “Ya Bruce also had you running around in tights and you’re not doing that anymore either.  At least not until we know that no side effects from the pit are going to cause problems,” Dick said, putting a bookbag on the chair next to Jason.  Jason glanced at the bag and then at Dick.  Dick was once again struck by how different Jason was, yet he could still see the kid Jason was in those eyes.  They weren’t same, they could never settle on what color they wanted to be, blue like before, green like the pit, even brown sometimes, a muddied version of the two.  But the vulnerability was there, even though Jason was desperately trying to hide it. 

               “Fine, I see your point,” Jason muttered, grabbing the backpack before heading to the bookshelf.  He grunted.  “You need better books, honestly, some actual literature would be nice.”  He gave up on finding something, grabbed his phone and took off towards Bludhaven Prep. 

               The car ride over was nice, then the rest of the day started.  Jason knew he was weird, new kid as a senior, eyes that didn’t know what they were, and that black hair with the one tuft of white streaking across the front.  He would be as rich as his big brother if he had a dollar for every time someone asked him about that during the first class alone.  By the time the day was over he was so tightly wound he wanted to bust.  It didn’t help that some football player had decided that Jason was going to be his target for the year.  It started with an ‘accidental’ tray drop at lunch that left yogurt and milk across his new sneakers.  Then in study hall a football to the back of the head.  Finally, what really broke Jason, was the walk from the front of the school to the back where the cars were lined up.  Jason was straggling, hoping that the jock would have gone first, and he might have peace, but no.  He started walking around the side of the school, no one around at first, when from the back came the jock and two friends.  The guy was cracking his knuckles like he was some gangster in a movie.  Jason rolled his eyes and dropped his bag, knowing where this was going. 

               “You seem to think you can just come in and take over my school,” the jock said.  Jason let out an annoyed breath.  He hadn’t spoken to a single person that, hadn’t raised his hand once, he had barely listened, why did the fact that he was an inch taller than this guy make the jock so insecure?  He didn’t want to deal with it.

               “Can you just try and hit me, and we can get this over with?” Jason asked.  The jock’s friends let out snorts of laughter and that seemed to enrage their leader, who threw a wild punch that Jason dodged easily and then Jason threw a jab right at the guy’s face.  He did forget that he was bigger now, stronger than before.  He was surprised by the blood, but the ear shattering crack of bone and the shriek that the guy let out did surprise him.  Jason took off, running around the back of the school and jumping into the car to get home.  Great, first day and he had probably just broken that guy’s eye socket.  He was getting expelled.  At least he wouldn’t have to wear the student uniform anymore. 

               By the time he got back Dick was already on the phone with the headmaster.  Dick pointed at the couch and Jason sat, not wanting to but he knew it was pointless to argue.  Dick had literally brought him back to life, he could sit there and take his punishment without argument.  He had just shattered a guy’s face; he probably deserved the tongue lashing.

               “-I understand but you have to remember that there were no cameras, no actual witnesses other than this Mr. Harrison’s friends, it seems like a he said, he said situation which will not make anyone on the school board happy.  Especially when I pull my funding for the new football stadium,” he said.  Jason rolled his eyes.  Dick had definitely graduated from the Bruce Wayne school for getting out of shit.  “Of course, I am glad that we could work this out.  And of course, any injuries will be taken care of, but no mention of who the fight was with?  Thank you so much for your discretion.”  Dick hung up and rounded on Jason.  “Care to explain?”

               “Some football asshole decided I was too tall for him,” Jason said.  Dick pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to remember why he had decided to take in a teenager.  “Did you have to break his orbital bone?”

               “I forgot about my biceps being the size of my head,” he mumbled.  Dick actually chuckled at that.  “He threw the first punch…”

               “You look uninjured…”

               “You think I would let an idiot like that hit me?” Jason looked shocked.  Dick sighed and looked at his watch.  Then at his phone clock, like it would be much different.

               “I am going to be late for my date with Barbara, stay here tonight, get your homework done, there’s food in the fridge and tomorrow we can talk about this more,” Dick said, buttoning his suit jacket and grabbing his wallet.  Jason just nodded, pulling out a book that he had gotten at the school library.  That at least had more options than Dick’s place.  Dick took one more glance at Jason before leaving. 

               Around 9PM Jason was starting to climb the walls.  He had this nervous energy and he didn’t know how to relieve it.  He tried to think of something.  Parkour?  No, he was angry.  Video arcade?  No, not enough movement.  Then he remembered the underground fights that he and Batman had once raised over in his old neighborhood, Crime Alley.  He figured the fights were probably back by now, they wouldn’t be down for long.  He knew he couldn’t show his face, Dick didn’t need the stress of him being caught in Gotham, or God forbid Bruce finding him, so headed down to the garage that Dick kept on site.  He started searching the sports equipment that he had, grabbing an old school goalie’s mask.  Very Friday the 13th, and hey, his name was Jason.  But the white, no, that wasn’t his color.  He looked around, finding some spray paint in another section and he painted the mask red.  Nice.  He grabbed an old black hoodie, shoved the mask inside the pocket and taking one of Dick’s bikes. 

               It took him about ten minutes to remember how to drive a motorcycle, apparently death didn’t keep memories of driving in his brain.  He almost wiped out five or six times before finally crossing over into Robbinsville and then up into Crime Alley.  He stowed the bike behind a dumpster near a Big Belly Burger before heading into a laundromat.  He walked to the counter that was helmed by a short woman with dyed blonde hair.

               “I’ve come for some good smelling socks,” he said.  He hoped these types didn’t get change their code phrases, it was the only one he remembered.  The woman nodded and pressed a button, motioning to the side door that said ‘Employees Only’.  Jason went through the door and down the stairs, donning his mask.  The guy waiting at the bottom looked him over.

               “50$ to watch, 100$ to fight,” he said.  Jason nodded and turned over his 100$ and the guy pointed him to another woman with a clipboard.  Jason headed over to her.

               “Name?” she asked.  Jason scrambled.  “Name?” she repeated, louder and more annoyed.  The other fights nearby were starting to watch him.  They weren’t too much bigger than him, he might have a good chance.  Either way he could blow off some steam.

               “Mask of the Red Death,” he said.  She cocked an eyebrow and shook her head. 

               “Too long, you’re Red Mask,” she said.  He nodded, very creative.  Poe would be proud.  “You’re finding Butch first.”  She pointed to a large man with muscles in places Jason didn’t know you could have them.  They were for show, not strength, not fighting.  This guy wanted to look good, not actually be good.  Jason watched him as they entered the makeshift cage.  He circled the guy, letting him come to him.  Butch threw a punch, Jason dodged behind him, and Spartan kicked him in the ass, sending him tripping into the glorified fence surrounding them.  The fight went on for only a few more seconds before the guy came back, trying to kick Jason, who slide to the side, grabbed the guy’s leg and slammed his elbow into his knee.  There was a crunch and Butch fell, howling in pain, unable to get up.  Jason was announced the winner and stepped out, heading towards a back door to get some air.  As he opened the door to the basement walkout, he heard a commotion and turned, seeing cops starting to come down the stairs.  He knew they would be going to the back door next, so he took off, mask going back in his pocket and climbing a nearby fire escape until he was high enough to hide in the shadows above the streetlight.  Once the cops that found the back were inside, he climbed down, running to the alley where he’d left the bike.  He was just moving the dumpster again when the back door to the Big Belly Burger opened, making him jump in surprise and slice his hand on an exposed piece of metal inside the trash.  He let out a grunt and the teenage girl in uniform turned to face him.          

               “Are you ok?” she asked, walking over.  Jason was gripping his hand, trying to stop the bleeding so he could get the bike and leave.  “Hold on, I have a bandage.”  She pulled out a roll box of bandaids from the apron pocket.

               “Clumsy are you?” Jason asked, trying to distract from the annoying ache in his palm.  She chuckled and walked over, pulling a cotton ball out of the packet. 

               “No, we have a griller who thinks he’s a ninja, any time he gets his hand on a knife I have to be ready to stitch him up,” she said.  She started dabbing his hand and Jason once again hissed.  “What music do you like?”

               “I uh…I don’t know, I used to like metal, some alternative stuff, but went through a change this summer…not sure anymore,” he said, confused.  “Why?”

               “Well, one this is distracting you from me disinfecting this thing, so you don’t get tetanus, and two, you live in Crime Alley, don’t be a stereotype.  If you think you might like something different than ‘I grew up in the slums, so I just listen to angry shit’ try Noah Kahan, you look like a guy who’d like him, or Hozier.”  He could tell she was just throwing out names to keep him listening and he appreciated it.  “What’s your name?”

               “Jason,” he said.  She nodded and smiled, finishing with the bandage. 

               “Nice to meet you, I’m YN,” she said.  “Want some help with the dumpster or are all those muscles working?”  She winked at him, and he actually blushed, glad it was dark and she might not notice.

               “Sure,” he said.  Together they moved the dumpster, and he got the bike.  He waved quick before driving back to the penthouse.  He got as far as the elevator door, when it opened there was Dick.

               “So, I see you had an interesting evening,” he said, holding up his phone where video of Jason breaking Butch’s leg was being shown.  Of course, Dick would realize it was him, he would know that move anywhere, Dick had taught it to him. 

               “I needed to get out, blow off some steam, forget who I was for a bit,” he said.  Dick nodded. 

               “Good, then what I just signed you up for will be perfect,” he said.  Jason looked at him, eyebrows raised.  “You’re not a member of the theater program, auditions for Hamlet are Friday.”

               “You can’t be serious,” Jason said, heading out of the elevator.

               “I am very serious, you go to school, go to practice, be someone else for awhile when you’re there, and then you come home and you stay here or I am calling Bruce and sending you back to him, see how Batman deals with your shit,” he said.  Jason sighed, heading up to his room.  Fine, theater, he’d wanted to do that before Bruce pulled him from high school.  How bad could it be?

[ramblingoak]

The Cardinal’s Bride, Chapter 5: Copia

~ A Romantic Adventure in the Old West: After being forced into a marriage with Mr. Saltarian by your father you are sent west to his estate in Nevada.  Along the way you end up meeting one of the cowboys you have always fantasized about... ~

~~ Please visit The Outlaw Brides Masterpost to catch up and read more stories from this world ~~

Thank you to @tasty-ribz for the wanted poster!  Lots of other amazing people have done fanart of Cowboy Copia so please go check it out: @meowsaidmissy (1 / 2), @snail-shell2335  here, @vahvco here, @ghulehgwen here, @rabidghoul here, @nocterish here, @enjoy-my-swearing​ here, @blacktie-whitenoise (1 /2) and from valkyrieinpink on twitter.  Also a huge thank you to @kissingghouls for aggressively holding my hand and letting me scream at her about cowboys.

Cardinal Copia x Female Reader: alternative universe, slow burn romance, gun violence, blood, NSFW, 18+ only MDNI, 8,200 words for this one

Aether hated being left behind.

He hated this situation especially because of who was with Copia and his friends.  The second he saw Mary he knew something stupid was going to happen.  Stupid shit followed Mary around like a shadow.  The fact that Copia was just going along with what everyone knew was a trap pissed him off to no end.  Then there was the fact that Copia left him at camp to fucking babysit.

Babysitting Sunshine was like trying to pet a feral cat.

“Sunshine, what are you doing?”

She had been digging through the saddlebags they were using the stolen stagecoach horses to carry.  All he got for an answer was a grunt so he grabbed a small rock and threw it at her.  That earned him a hiss, but otherwise she remained quiet and continued making a mess.

“Hey, we might have to make a quick retreat here.  What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

Aether groaned and threw another rock.  

“It looks like you’re making a mess.”

“Your cooking shit is still everywhere so maybe take your own advice.”

“Yes, well I’m picking up my cooking shit, you’re dumping clothes everywhere.”  He reached down for another rock but this one she caught and launched back at him, barely missing his head.  “Damn it, Sunshine, I’m ju–.”

“Don’t worry Dad, I'll pick it up.  I’m looking for some clothes.”

“We don’t have time for you to play dress up.”

“They’re not for me.”

Aether glanced over to the tree line where Copia’s ‘Principessa’ was waiting.  She looked nervous, she’d been looking nervous all morning ever since her and Copia came back with Mary.  He hadn’t been able to tell if it was all because of Mary or if something had happened between her and Copia.  Judging by the looks they had been exchanging he was pretty sure it was a bit of both.  He sighed and looked back at Sunshine.

“Well we definitely don’t have time for her to play dress up.”

“Stop worrying, it won’t take long.  We’ve got to get her out of that dress.”

Aether raised an eyebrow and looked back over at the Princess.  Her dress had definitely seen better days, but so had everyone else’s clothes.

“Another week in that thing isn’t gonna kill her.”

“Yeah well, the smell might kill me so she’s changing.  Plus this will make it easier for her to walk and ride.”

“We all smell, Sunshine.  Get over it.”

Unsurprisingly, she ignored him and started holding some shirts up to look them over.  Aether wasn’t trying to be an asshole towards the girl, but he also didn’t want her getting too comfortable.  In one more week they’d be back at The Ministry and they could hopefully arrange for the switch for the ransom money.  The end of this was so close and he didn’t want to deal with having to chase her around again.

“You’re just making it easier for her to run away.”  Sunshine just laughed at him and shook her head.  Aether watched as she finally set aside a shirt and a pair of pants before shoving everything back into the bags.

“I’m sorry, have you seen the way Copia and her have been looking at each other?  She isn’t going to run away again.”  Aether walked closer as she shook the clothes out.  He wasn’t sure whose pants she had grabbed but that looked like one of Swiss’s shirts.

“Of course I’ve seen it and I’ve tried to talk to Copia about it but he won’t listen.”  He crossed his arms when Sunshine just rolled her eyes at him.  “What?”

“Good luck getting Copia to back off, I knew he was doomed as soon as I saw her picture in the paper.”  She turned to head the Princess’s way, but Aether reached out and grabbed her arm, backing off with his hands up when she turned to growl at him.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re up to, but you need to just leave it alone.  Leave them alone and don’t encourage anything.”  Goddammit he was getting really tired of her rolling her eyes at him.

“That’s the problem with you guys, none of you have a romantic bone in your body.”  She took a step towards him and jabbed her finger into his chest, he saw the shirt drop out of her hands and sighed.  That was definitely Swiss’s.  “All I’m doing is giving her a little hand with things, ok?  Besides, if we get ambushed here or wherever it’ll be easier if she’s not tripping over that goddamn dress.”

“Fine.  Fine, but that’s it Sunshine.  Get her dressed and then let her be.”  

“Of course, Dad.”  Satan’s dick, Sunshine drove him crazy.  “It’s just a change of clothes, man.  Maybe a few self defense lessons.”  Sunshine grunted as she leaned down to grab the shirt and started to shake it out.  

Aether groaned and shook his head, but decided not to say anything.  He didn’t know why he’d even wasted his time talking to her.  Sunshine could be as stubborn as Copia some days.  He eyed the shirt in her hands before speaking again.

“You know what seeing her in Swiss’s shirt is going to do to him, don’t you?”  Sunshine just cackled and turned to start walking towards the Princess.  Aether kneeled down to pick up the bags and started for the horses when he glanced back over at the girls.  Something in Sunshine’s hand glinted in the sun and he watched as she handed it over to the girl.  Unholy hell.

“Sunshine, stop giving her knives!” 

The only response he got was Sunshine’s middle finger as they disappeared into the trees so the Princess could change.  Groaning, he started for the horses again to get them ready.  It was possible Copia and the others would be gone most of the day, but he wanted to be prepared in case they showed up sooner.  Who knew how many of Saltarian’s men were waiting in that town.  He was confident in everyone’s abilities, whether it was with a gun or something hand to hand, but still.  A trap was a trap and Mary was an asshole.  

Despite being worried of their need to possibly leave quickly he took his time.  The stagecoach horses weren’t really cut out for anything more than lugging stuff around, but he brushed them out and took care of them just the same as their other ones.  They’d be able to sell them for a decent sum whenever they made it back to town.  He took a moment to look them over before deciding on one for the Princess to ride.  Although he had a sinking suspicion Copia would find an excuse to have her ride with him again.

He had known what would happen as soon as he’d seen her picture in the paper too.

Aether paused when he heard the hoofbeats.  A steady pounding coming from behind him, across the field.  Lucifer, please.  He took a deep breath and turned, hoping to see Copia and the others.  Unfortunately the rider in the lead was dressed in all black so there was no mistake it was Mary.  There were two other riders flanking him and as they got closer Aether’s heart sank when he didn’t recognize them.  

He closed his eyes briefly, saying a quick prayer for his friends before glancing over to where the girls had disappeared into the trees.  At least they hadn’t come out yet, it would give him some backup with Sunshine and he knew she’d tell the Princess to stay there where it would be relatively safe.  He adjusted his gun belt and started walking through camp, passed the dying fire and stopping right at the edge.  

By now he knew Sunshine had to have heard the horses and hopefully she was watching and ready.  She hadn’t taken her rifle with her so she’d have to get close to help him.  He would need to create enough of a distraction to give her that chance without being spotted.  Copia left him here for a reason, he knew Aether would fight like hell to keep everyone with him safe.  His friend had trusted him with his Princess for a reason and he wasn’t going to let Mary take her without a fight.

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

You couldn’t remember the last time you’d worn pants.

When Sunshine had suggested a change of clothes you were ecstatic.  Your poor dress looked nothing like it did when you had stepped into the stagecoach at the start of your journey.  After days of horse riding and sleeping in the dirt it was more brown than blue and white.  Falling into the creek the other day certainly hadn’t helped either.

What was worse was the smell, although it didn’t seem like it bothered any of your companions.  It shouldn’t anyway, they smelled far worse after days on the road.  You figured it was just one of the things people got used to if they spent lots of time out of the city.  Everyone kept mentioning heading to a casino and while you weren’t exactly sure what to expect, Sunshine had promised you there were baths.

You’d never wanted to take a bath so badly in your life.

Anytime someone brought up the casino, The Ministry as it was called, you would get nervous.  It wasn’t really the thought of the casino itself, but what it meant for you.  The Cardinal had said a few times now that once they reached it they would be waiting there to hear from Saltarian.   At that point you assumed they’d arrange the exchange of you for the ransom money and that would be it.  

What happened after that you had tried not to think about too much.  You didn’t want to think about being near Saltarian at all.  In just a few days he’d gone from being some unknown business associate of your father’s to a cold-blooded murderer.  You had no idea what he was like beyond that.  How would he treat you?  Would he be angry you had been kidnapped?  Would you end up locked away in a room until the wedding?

The wedding itself was just one more thing you didn’t want to think about.  While The Cardinal had mentioned the general plan a few times you really had no idea what it actually entailed.  Were you going to be stuck in between flying bullets from both sides?  Or what if The Cardinal and his Ghouls burned the church down?  That would certainly be poetic justice considering what Saltarian had done to them, but what about you?

As the fear started to make your chest clench you tried to take a few deep breaths and calm down. The Cardinal had promised to protect you.  You knew deep down you shouldn’t trust him, trust the outlaw that had kidnapped you, but again your thoughts drifted back to how things had changed between you.  There was something there now, something that made your heart speed up for a different reason.

You shook your head, you shouldn’t be thinking about something like that.  He was probably just trying to keep you happy and prevent you from running away again.  Mary had mentioned another woman and there were probably more besides that.  Why would he choose some silly city girl like you?  You groaned and smoothed your hands down the pants before reaching down to pick up the shirt, turning your head when you heard Sunshine come through the trees.

“How’s it going, kid?”  You smiled softly at her nickname for you, no one here seemed to want to use your actual name.  Even ‘Principessa’ had grown on you a bit, although you’d never tell The Cardinal that.  “Oh hey, those fit great.”

“The shirt’s a little big.”  You held out your arms to show her how far the ends hung off your hands, but she just tsked and walked close to start rolling them up.

“Eh it’ll work just fine, you look great!”  Sunshine finished with the other sleeve and then took a step back and grinned.  “You fit right in now!”

“I’m not sure everyone would agree with you there.” You snorted and fiddled with the shirt for a moment.

“The only opinions that matter are mine and Co–, eh The Cardinal’s and I can guarantee you he’ll approve.”  She winked and you looked down to hide your blush.  Well, you weren’t going to lie and say you didn’t want his approval.  But it was a silly thing to want considering the circumstances.  

“I just…I’m sorry.  I don’t even know what to think, my mind is all over the place.”  You sniffed and turned a bit, trying to hide the tears welling up in your eyes.  Oh now you were really being a silly city girl.  You felt Sunshine’s hand on your arm and looked back at her despite your tears.

“Listen, I’ve known The Cardinal a long time, ok?  I haven’t seen him ac–,”  Sunshine abruptly froze and turned her head back towards camp.  You started to ask what was wrong but she squeezed your arm so you kept quiet.  You stayed frozen as she turned and crept towards the tree line.  It was then that you could hear whatever must’ve stopped her speech, heavy horse hooves getting closer to camp.

She waved her hand towards you, motioning you to get down so you dropped to your knees, resting them on your dress for a moment before slowly moving towards her.  As you got closer you were able to see Aether standing at the edge of camp. You held your breath as you turned to see what he was looking at, hoping it was The Cardinal and the rest of the Ghouls.  Instead all you saw was Mary and two men you didn’t recognize.  They had pulled up right in front of Aether and you could see them talking to each other, but you didn’t understand what they were saying.

“Sunshine, wh–,”  But she shushed you, her eyes not leaving the men as they spoke.  Their voices were becoming louder and your heart started hammering in your chest.  Where was the Cardinal?  Aether reached a hand out to point behind Mary, but the man just shook their head.  Everyone's voices got louder as the conversation became more heated and Sunshine tensed up even more next to you.

“Fucking Mary, I knew that asshole was gonna try something.”  She shook her head and started to say something else when the other two men moved around Aether to surround him.  Mary nudged their horse closer to him right when one of the men drew their gun and cocked it.  Aether turned at the sound, drawing their own gun but Mary abruptly kicked out and caught him in the face.  

“Shit!”

Your hands flew to your face as Aether dropped to the ground, Mary leaping off their horse right after.  When Mary got close Aether slammed his foot into their knee, bringing them down as well.  One of the men jumped off their horse but Aether held out his gun and you gasped into your hands when the shot rang out.  The man’s body dropped swiftly but before Aether could focus on the other man Mary was up and on the Ghoul, slamming a fist into Aether’s face. 

Sunshine cursed under her breath and then turned and grabbed you by your shoulders.

“Stay here.  If Mary or the other two head this way you run, ok?”  You wanted to say something, but she stood up and grinned down at you, before taking off towards camp.  Mary and the other man weren’t looking your way, Mary still busy fighting with Aether.  The other one had gotten off their horse and was checking on his wounded companion.  

You had thought she would have just run up to them shooting, but Aether abruptly spun Mary and was able to overtake them.  The horses startled and started moving away from the chaos in between them.  When the man looked up from what you assumed at this point was his dead companion their eyes immediately latched on Sunshine.  The Ghoulette was quicker than him, getting a shot off before he could aim at her.

He jerked to the side and he went down right on top of the body of his companion.  You couldn’t decide what to watch at this point.  Sunshine seemed calm as she advanced on the man she had shot, but at the same time Aether and Mary were cursing and growling at each other.  You couldn’t even tell who was winning as they rolled around in the dirt.

Where was The Cardinal?  He wasn’t…he couldn’t be dead.  There was no way he and the other Ghouls were dead.  You took a shuddering breath and tried to fight the tears.  Crying wouldn’t do you any good right now, or at all.  Sunshine said you needed to run if anyone headed your way so you needed to pay attention.  You lowered your head for a moment to try and collect yourself, but when another shot rang out you yelped and looked back towards the fighting.

Mary had seemed to get the better of Aether and they had their gun pointed at Sunshine.  You couldn’t tell if their bullet had hit her or not, but she was down.  Mary slowly got off of Aether, giving him one last punch in the gut before limping towards the Ghoulette.  Your eyes stayed on Aether though, silently begging him to get up but he remained motionless where he was.

You looked back towards the other end of the field, still hoping you’d see The Cardinal ride out of the woods on Brizio but there was no one.  Aether was down, possibly dead and Sunshine might be next.  You pushed yourself onto your feet, your hands shaking as they rested against a tree trunk.  Mary was standing over Sunshine now with their back to you pulling their gloves off and shoving them into their coat.  When you looked back you narrowed your eyes, watching as Mary leaned back over Sunshine with a gun in their hand.

You couldn’t let anymore of The Cardinal’s people die.

Sunshine had told you to run away, but where were you supposed to go?  Your chances were probably better with Mary than on your own with no supplies in the middle of nowhere.  You started looking at the ground around you, hoping to find a branch or anything you could use against Mary.  The knives Sunshine had given you were still in your dress and you didn’t have time to dig around for them.

Mary’s laughter rang out from camp, apparently Sunshine was awake you could see Mary kick her hand away from his leg.  They were mocking her!  You growled and grabbed a branch that was about as long as your arm and stalked out of the woods.  Mary’s back was still to you, Aether hadn’t moved and neither had Saltarian’s men.  When you looked back at Mary and Sunshine, Mary had cocked their gun and was pointing it down at your friend.  An angry scream built up in your chest and you ran at them swinging the branch.

The noise startled Mary and they whipped around to face you, but it was too late.  You had swung the branch back and slammed it down as hard as you could, knocking it against Mary’s shoulder.  They cried out and stumbled out of the way, landing on their knees nearby.  You immediately knelt down to check on Sunshine but her eyes were closed, a large bruise forming on her cheek.  Before you could try to wake her Mary’s hands were on your shoulders and they were yanking you up to your feet.

“Man, he really did a number on you, huh?”  You tried twisting away from them, but their grip on your shirt was too strong.  “Quit fucking struggling, Sweet Cheeks.  Your fun little vacation is over.  Time to go back to reality.”

“Fuck you!”  You kicked out behind you, but you missed connecting with anything.  They grunted and wrapped an arm around your waist and then slid the other over your mouth.

“Man no wonder he liked you, the spunky ones always get hi–fucking shit!”  You clamped your teeth down on Mary’s fingers as hard as you could, tasting blood.  They cursed again and shoved you down onto the ground next to the smoldering fire, your hands landing on Aether’s cooking pots he hadn’t put away yet.

You spit Mary’s blood onto the ground and took a few deep breaths.  All you wanted to do was cry, your mind becoming overwhelmed with the idea of The Cardinal being dead.  Mary finally quieted down and you heard his footfalls come up behind you, the spurs on his boots jingling softly.

“I don’t know what kind of fairytale The Cardinal was weaving into your head, but the reality is you meant nothing to him.”

You turned to glare at him, staying on the ground, ashamed of the tears gathering in your eyes.  

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Mary snorted and shook their head.

“No, Sweet Cheeks, I do know what I’m talking about.  But it doesn’t matter now anyway.  He’s dead and so are his annoying sidekicks.” 

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well I don’t give a fuck what you believe, all I need you to do is get up and get ready to go.”

“Don’t touch me!”  You kicked out when Mary tried to grab you, connecting with their ankle.  Mary stumbled back growling, glaring down at you.

“What’s it gonna take for you to accept it, huh?  Do you want me to drag his body back here for you to cry over like some war widow?”

“He’ll come back for me!”  The tears were flowing freely now and your heart was clenching in your chest.  You couldn’t believe it, you didn’t want to believe it.  Mary crouched down in front of you and you tried to take a calming breath.

“Alright, fine.  I’ll play along, what if he did come back?  What did you think was gonna happen?”

“I don’t…we were going to hide out until Saltarian paid the ransom.”

“Then what?  He’d come swooping in like some hero and rescue you from your horrible new husband?”  Your eyes dropped to the ground and Mary snorted before continuing, “Sweet Cheeks, did it ever occur to you he was blowing smoke up your ass to get you to cooperate?  Hell, to get under your dress too.”

You clenched your hands into fists, your nails digging into your skin at the implication of his last words.  The Cardinal had done nothing to pressure you into…into that.  He’d certainly been attentive to you, touching and holding you more than you think you’d ever been since you were a child.  You found yourself shaking your head again, he hadn’t done anything you didn’t like.  If anything his touches had left you wanting more.

“He told me his plan and he said he’d protect me.  That he’d keep me safe.”

“Oh, he’ll keep you safe alright, as long as it’s useful for him to keep you around.”  Mary brought his bloody hand to your chin and lifted your face up so your eyes met.  They smiled, but it was cruel and mocking and all you wanted to do was wipe it off their face.  “Sweet Cheeks, I’ve known The Cardinal for a long time, nothing will get between him and his revenge.  Not even some pretty young virgin like you.”

You jerked your chin out of his hand, narrowing your eyes as they laughed at you.

“He promised that he’d protect me.”

“Copia’s made promises to girls much prettier than you, so good luck holding him to anything.”  Copia?  Was that…was that his name?  Mary must have picked up on your confusion because they started laughing again.  “You see!  You didn’t even know his name!  Not much of a love story is it?”

You felt the fight leaving you as Mary’s words started to sink in.  Maybe they were right, maybe this was all an act by The Cardinal.  By Copia.  An act to help keep you in line and make it easier to drag you to the casino.  Mary was still chuckling, but you tried to block the sound out.  

“This is all an act, Sweet Cheeks.  If you get between him and Saltarian he’s going to take the shot and he’ll walk over your body to get his revenge.”

No.  It wasn’t an act.  Mary was right, you were inexperienced, but you weren’t an idiot.  Copia had listened to you when you told him you weren’t there by choice, his behavior after that had changed.  He had opened up to you that night by the fire, he had trusted you enough to share his past.  You closed your eyes and imagined his arms around you while you rode around on Brizio.

You saw his face leaning closer when he was about to kiss you.

“Fucking wake up!”  Mary’s raised voice startled you back to the present and you reached up to wipe the tears off your cheeks.  “You don’t mean anything to him except the means to an end.  And if your end is part of it, trust me, he won’t lose any sleep over your death.”

“Fuck you and fuck Mr. Saltarian.”  You reached your hand behind you and grasped the handle of one of the cooking pans.  You weren’t going to listen to any more of this.

“Sorry, Sweet Cheeks, you’re not my ty–”  The sound of the pan hitting Mary’s head echoed around the campsite and you held it in the air for a moment, watching as blood started trickling down Mary’s forehead.  Their eyes rolled back and they slumped over, laying there completely still while you stayed frozen with the pan in the air.

After a moment you dropped it to the ground and exhaled slowly.  You looked around the campsite at the carnage, a bunch of bodies still laying around and not moving.  The horses had started to mill around, munching on the grass.  You pushed yourself off the ground and stood up, your hands were starting to shake and for a moment you felt like crying again.  A sound behind you stopped you though and your breath caught as you slowly turned around to see what it was.

The Cardinal, Cardinal Copia, was riding out of the trees and racing towards you.

Before you even registered yourself moving you were running away from the camp towards him.  As he got closer you got a better look at him, his dirty leather jacket was missing along with his hat.  You could see one side of his face was matted with blood and you almost cried out at the sight.  You heard him shout for you and you stumbled in your desperation to get to him.   

“Principessa!” 

Copia pulled up on the reins but didn’t even wait for Brizio to stop, leaping over the side and running the rest of the way towards you.  He caught you as you practically threw yourself at him. You knew you’d probably be embarrassed at your display later, but right now you didn’t care.  You didn’t care about anything except the feel of his arms around you.  You buried your face in his shirt, a deep red button up that was marked with sweat and some blood. 

“Hey, hey,” His hands cupped your face, pulling it away from his chest while you attempted to hide your tears.  When your eyes met he smiled and you felt like crying even more seeing the wound on his face. “I’m ok, I’m here. We’re all ok.” 

Your hand came up to grip his shirt but he caught it in one of his own, squeezing it gently and holding it over his heart.  Like he knew you needed the extra reassurance despite him standing in front of you. His other hand stayed on your cheek, the thumb stroking across your skin back and forth. It helped calm you and you took a shaky breath before trying to speak. 

“Mary’s here.  They came back with two men and attacked Aether and Sunshine.  I, I don’t kno–”  Your voice cracked and he shushed you, holding your head against his chest for a moment.  You felt his own head rest against the top of yours briefly and you swore you felt the ghost of his lips on your hair before he pulled away.

“Stay behind me.”  He kept your hand in his as he walked towards camp, his other hand pulling his gun out of its holster.

“Mary said you were dead.  That you were all dead.”  It almost felt like a dream now, you found yourself squeezing his hand and you couldn’t help but smile when he squeezed back.

“We’re all a bit banged up, but the only ones that are dead are Saltarian’s men.”  He let go of your hand when he reached the first body and nudged the man over onto his back before he knelt down next to him.  You watched as he checked their pulse, then took the man’s hat and covered his face.  

The next body had the same result and you breathed a sigh of relief.  Copia went over to Mary next, giving them a much harder kick to roll them over.  While he knelt down to check Mary you went over to Sunshine and knelt down next to her, taking her wrist to check her pulse.  When you felt it beat steadily against your fingers you reached up to brush some of her hair back.

The bruise on her cheek had gotten bigger, but the worst thing you saw was the blood staining the sleeve of her coat.  You jumped when you felt Copia’s hand on your shoulder and he helped you pull her jacket off, eliciting a few groans from her as the sleeve slid down her arm.  Copia checked the wound for a moment and then pulled off the bandana she wore around her neck, tying it around her arm.

“It’s just a graze, Principessa.  She’ll be fine.”  Sunshine groaned and you watched as her eyes blinked open, squinting into the sun.  

“Fuck you, Boss.”  Copia chuckled and touched her shoulder gently.  The Ghoulette turned towards you and gave you a quick grin before groaning and bringing a hand up to rub her cheek.  “Is Mary still alive?  If so, can I kill them?” 

“Mary’s alive.  For now.”  You watched as Copia got up and started to move over to Aether before pausing.  He looked back to Sunshine for a moment and then back at you with an eyebrow raised.  “Who hit Mary?”

You bit your lip and glanced down to where the cooking pan was still laying in the dirt.  Copia reached down and picked it up, turning it over to look at the huge dent Mary’s head had left.  He looked back to you and started laughing, shaking his head as he tossed the pan back on the ground.  

“Well done, Principessa.”

When you glanced over at Mary you saw that Copia had tied their hands behind their back.  Blood had covered their face, but you couldn’t bring yourself to feel bad.  You’d hit them again if you had to.  You breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Aether and Sunshine were ok.  Copia was helping Aether stand up and they grasped each other’s elbows briefly before they came over to you and Sunshine.

“We need to pack up and head back to the town.”  Copia reached down and you slid your hand into his, letting him pull you up.  Your eyes drifted to his wound again and you winced.  He tilted his head to catch your eyes and smiled at you.  “I’ll be ok, it looks worse than it is.”

You nodded, biting your lip to fight the tears that wanted to come once more.  His face softened and he pulled you away towards where Brizio had wandered to, the horse always staying close to his master.  

“I’m sorry, I was just scared.  I thought you might not be coming back.”  Copia cupped your cheeks again and you blinked your tears away so you could see his face clearly.

“Didn’t I promise to protect you?”  You bit your lip and nodded, forcing all the nasty words Mary said out of your mind.  Words that weren’t true.  “I may be an outlaw, Principessa, but I keep my promises.”

“I believe you, Copia.”  Your body froze when his name slipped out and you were waiting for him to be upset that you knew it now, but he just smiled.  His hands dropped from your cheeks and took your own, bringing one up to his lips so he could kiss the back of it like he had done before.

“I figured Mary would let it slip.  I guess you know all my secrets now.”  You couldn’t help but smirk, pleased that he wasn’t upset about it.  Happy that you knew his real name now and that you could use it.  You looked down at his hands for a moment before he spoke again.  “Well, maybe not all my secrets.”

When you glanced up at his face he winked at you and you rolled your eyes.

“Okie dokie, let’s get going.”

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

Cleaning up camp didn’t take very long.  While Aether and Copia dragged the bodies into the woods you and Sunshine got things packed up.  Mary had woken up eventually, but Copia shoved a rag into their mouth to keep them quiet.  You couldn’t help but glare at them every time you walked by, but Mary just glared right back.

Asshole.

They threw Mary over their own horse and tied them down, you could hear them swearing through their gag but other than that you didn’t bother giving them any attention.  Sunshine wandered up to you with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face.  When she pulled them out she had the knives you had left with your dress in the woods.

“You did pretty good with a frying pan, but I’d still keep these handy, kid.”  You laughed and took them back, but you were unsure where to stash them now.  Sunshine started to say something, but Copia came up and interrupted her.

“Allow me.”  Sunshine snorted and held her hands up while she wandered off towards Aether.  When you looked back at Copia he had an odd look on his face so you raised your eyebrow at him.  “We’ll need to teach you how to use these soon.”

“A knife doesn’t seem difficult to use, just stick them with the sharp end, right?”  Copia laughed, ducking his head while he shuffled them in his hands.  He stepped close and took the smallest one, slipping it into the pocket of your pants.  You held your breath at his proximity, biting down on your lip when he used a finger to pull the waistband out so he could clip one of them to the belt Sunshine had given you. 

“I think we’ll need to let you practice with a gun too.”

“Oh Copia, I don’t kno–”

“No, today proves that despite my promise you still need to be able to defend yourself.”  He knelt down and lifted your pant leg up, tucking the final knife into your boot.  You could feel its leather case rest against your ankle, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.  If anything it was a comfort to have it, to have all of them close by just in case.  

Copia stood up and looked you up and down for a moment.  He cocked his head while he looked at the shirt you had on and you reached up to adjust it a bit self-consciously.  Your lace chemise you had worn under the dress showed sometimes and you had already seen Copia notice it once or twice.  He wouldn’t stop staring so you huffed and crossed your arms.

“What?”

“Principessa, whose shirt is that?”

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

Once you got to the town there was a nice reunion with everyone.  Even Mountain had come up and lifted you in a huge bear hug.  As you walked through the town your mood sobered a bit though, it was obvious quite the battle had taken place.  You could see that in the tired faces of the Ghouls as well although it was clear they had taken the time to clean up a bit and bandage what needed to be bandaged.

Now with night having fallen you were all gathered around another campfire, this time near the outskirts of the town.  Mary had been tied to an overturned wagon a ways away.  The blood still caked on their face and the rag still shoved into their mouth.  You almost asked if someone should clean them up or give them some water but you decided, for the moment at least, you didn’t care.

What you did care about was making sure Copia, Aether and Sunshine got cleaned up.  Dewdrop had been surprisingly helpful, finding a few somewhat clean sheets in one of the houses and then going off to get some water.  He didn’t say anything to you, but it felt like his attitude towards you had changed a bit.  You’d have to apologize at some point for biting him.

Rain had taken up the task of cleaning up Aether’s face while Dew worked on Sunshine.  He seemed like the only one willing to put up with her hissing and cursing while the bullet graze on her arm got sewn up.  You had attempted to watch, but it was a little too much for you so you turned and set your attention on your own patient.

Copia had found his hat and had it back on his head, so you tipped it up a bit to get at the gash above his eyebrow.  It wasn’t as deep as you thought it would be so you were relieved when he said it wouldn’t need stitches.  That was probably a good thing because he was surprisingly twitchy whenever you brought the wet rag to wipe around the wound.  When he kept wincing you shushed him, earning you a very impressive glare.

“I thought cowboys were supposed to be tough.”  He snorted and reached up for his hat, taking it off and setting it on the ground next to him. 

“Cleaning them up is usually worse than getting them.”  You smiled as he made another face when you pressed the rag against the cut again, gently dabbing at the blood.  

“I’m almost afraid to ask what’s the worst you’ve ever been injured.”

He tilted his head up and squinted his eyes, like he was thinking back on what you were sure were the countless injuries he’d received over the years.  When he reached up for your hand you gave him a wary look as he brought it to rest on top of his left thigh, right in the middle.  You glanced back up at his face when he spoke.

“Took a knife here a few years ago.”  You made an ‘oh’ sound and looked back down at where his bare hand was settled over yours.  There were a few scars on the back of it and it made you think of how many scars he probably had covering his body.  Unfortunately that thought made your cheeks flame and you hoped the firelight dancing across your skin hid it from him.

You tried to tug your hand away from his so you could get back to cleaning his cut, but he wouldn’t let go.  Instead he lifted it up so he could study it in the light and then narrowed his eyes at something near your thumb.  There was a very small burn mark there, barely noticeable to you but his keen eyes had honed in on it immediately. 

“Oh, I was trying to make myself some tea.”  Your eyes narrowed as a bark of laughter left him and you jerked your hand away.  “I was a child!  I’m sorry I don’t have any wounds from knife fights to brag about.”

“It was barely a fight, Principessa.”  He was still laughing, like it was a fond memory rather than a painful one.  You looked back up to him with an eyebrow raised and he pointed towards town to where Mary was tied up. 

“Wait, Mary stabbed you?”  Copia nodded his head and smiled when you shook yours in disbelief.  

“Eh, I’ve done worse to them over the years.”  You snorted and wrung the rag out again, glancing back up at his face to make sure the cut wasn’t starting to bleed again.  Another blush started to grow on your cheeks when you saw his eyes on you.  “Still wasn’t the worst wound I’ve gotten.”

You frowned when he took your hand again and watched warily as he pulled it up to his chest.  His hand settled yours right over his heart and you held your breath when you felt it beat strongly against your palm.  Copia didn’t say anything for a moment and you looked back up at his face expectantly.

“A lovely girl in Denver.”  He was biting his lip and you raised your eyebrow as you waited for the rest of the story.  “She broke my heart.”

His laughter covered your groan and when you yanked your hand away he grabbed at it again bringing it up to his lips to place a quick kiss on the back.  Your cheeks were going to be permanently red at this point, it seemed like his only goal anymore was to make you blush. 

“You did good, Principessa.  I’m impressed.”  It was impossible to hide your pleased smile so you just let it grow on your face.  You startled a bit when a shadow fell over you and let out a little sound when something plopped onto your head.  The Cardinal had placed his hat on you, although it was too big and fell nearly to your eyes, obscuring your vision.  Before you could move it one of his hands came up and tilted it back and you were met with a smile so dazzling you had to look away.  “We’ll make a cowboy out of you yet.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever be cut out to be a cowboy.”  You bit your lip as you adjusted the hat a bit more.  When you risked a glance at him his eyes held yours briefly before he winked and you had to look away again.  The moment was quickly ruined when he knocked his hat down to cover your eyes and you growled but as you reached up to fix it you felt his breath on your ear and you froze.

“We’ll see about that.”

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

In the morning they relocated Mary inside one of the buildings so they weren’t baking under the sun.  You stayed back and helped pack up again, not wanting to hear any more poisonous words from Mary.  Everyone seemed to be in better spirits this morning and it made you happy.  Even Dewdrop was in a good mood, but you think that had something to do with whatever he and Swiss had found in one of the buildings.  You had been about to ask them what it was but Copia and Aether had wandered out of the building they put Mary in so you waited in the street as they walked up.

“Are they going to be ok if you leave them here?”  Copia raised an eyebrow at your question and you rolled your eyes.  “I just don’t like the sound of them, or anyone, starving to death.”

“Mary will be fine.  There’s a town nearby, some more of Saltarian’s men are waiting there.”  You froze at that news, but Copia gave you a reassuring smile and rested a hand on your shoulder.  “It’s a few days' ride away, Principessa.  We’re safe.  Mary will even be safe.  When Mary doesn’t show up with you they’ll send some men out here to see what happened.”

“Do you think Saltarian will hurt Mary?  For not bringing me back.  For not killing you.”

“Mary is an idiot, but they’re still useful.  Saltarian won’t waste the energy killing them.”  Copia had remained at your side, his hand sliding down your arm to rest on your elbow.  “We should get going, Rain said there was a storm brewing in the mountains.”

He squeezed your elbow and gave you a gentle tug so you’d follow him.  You looked out to the mountain ridge and bit your lip.  You didn’t see any signs of storm clouds gathering, but you trusted Rain to know what they were doing.  Oh, you hated storms!  Missouri would get such awful ones in the spring and summer and you were always a nervous wreck during them.  

“What will we do?”  Copia stopped next to the horse you would be riding and peered down at you, seemingly a little confused over your question.  “In the storm, how will we avoid it?”

“We usually don’t, Principessa.”  His face softened as he looked at you, seemingly picking up on your nervousness.  “But we can’t stay around here.  It’s not safe, not with Saltarian’s men so close.”

“I know, I’m sorry.  I just, well you’ll poke fun, but I’m scared of storms.”  You felt your cheeks heat a little bit at your admission and you glanced quickly at his face, expecting to see that smirk of his.  All you saw though was compassion, his features still soft as his eyes traced your face.

“How many times will I need to remind you that I’ll protect you, eh?”  His voice was stern but you could see the teasing glint in his eye.  You smiled and nodded, the rest of your insecurities from Mary’s words fading away.  He put a hand at the small of your back and nudged you closer to the horse, “Time to go.”

Copia helped you up much like he had done before, kneeling down and letting you put your foot in his hands to help lift you up onto the horse.  It was much easier to do so now in the pants and while you still missed your dress, you were happy to feel more at home on a horse.  Copia busied himself with adjusting some straps on the saddle before bringing his hands to your foot.

"Do you want to know the best thing about being rid of that stronzino, Principessa?"  You raised an eyebrow and looked down at him expectantly, watching as he finished tucking your foot into the stirrup.  

“What’s that?”  Copia’s hand moved to your ankle, holding it in a loose grip.  His eyes remained focused there, flexing his fingers around it a few times.  The warmth from his hand was starting to seep into your skin through your pants and you couldn’t help but think about how good it felt.  You were focused on his hand so much his voice startled you when he spoke again. 

"With Mary gone there won't be anyone to interrupt us."

“Interrupt us?  From wha–”  Your voice cut off when his hand started moving from your ankle.  It slid slowly up your leg, your cheeks starting to heat as it continued higher, only stopping when it reached your knee.  He brought his other hand up to rest at your waist and you sucked in a breath, feeling caged in by him.  It wasn’t anywhere close to an unpleasant feeling, but you still nudged your knee against his hand, trying to get him to answer.   “Copia, what do you mean?”

He remained silent, but his eyes began to travel from where his hand rested on your knee, trailing up your thigh and higher.  You could feel goosebumps sprouting over your skin as you watched his mismatched gaze take you in.  Copia bit his lip momentarily when they rested at where his hand was on your waist before they continued further.  It wasn’t until he was looking at your lips that they stopped again and the memory of when he had looked at them like that before popped into your head.  Of when he had almost kissed you.  

Oh.

You watched as a smile broke out onto his face, his eyes finally meeting yours.  He took a few seconds to watch your reaction, your mouth had fallen open a little but no sounds were coming out.  His smile just got wider as he watched the realization dawn on your face, both of his hands squeezing the flesh underneath them.

“We’ll have to find some time for that, eh?”  With that Copia winked and gave you a final squeeze before he turned to make his way over to his Ghouls.

Oh.

Go to Chapter 6: The Newlywed Game

If you'd like to be added/removed from the tag list (or if I accidentally left your name off) of this fic or any of my others please leave a comment or send me a dm! Thank you 💙

My Masterlist ~ My Archive of our Own ~ My Ko-Fi Tip Jar

[ranposgirlboss]

~late night car drives with bsd charas~

this is an idea i got while listening to depressing vocaliod songs, SO HERE WE ARE!!! these are just some hc i have about how it would go, some charas are COMPLETELY platonic!! (this is mostly platonic in the 1st place tbh) this is my first time writing on this app, and i haven't written anything online in a few years, so if the formatting is weird, PLEASE TELL ME IDK WHAT IM DOIMNHG

chara list: dazai, chuuya, poe, ranpo, and yosano

GENRE: fluff fluff fluff and sillies

enjoy!!

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

DAZAI

-HESSS DEEEEEFFF THE TYPE TO BRING YOU ON LATE-NIGHT DRIVES!!!!!

-he would probably be going to some weird ass convenience store with you at ungodly hours in the morning 💀

-HE EITHER SINGS THE MOST DEPRESSING SONGS OR THE MOST UPBEAT SILLY SONGS THERE IS LITERALLY NO IN BETWEEN

-i feel like he would mess with you and fucking drift the car when yall turn

-lets just say you get close to dying more then once 😁

-one time when yall tried to sneak out, kunikida caught yalls asses (your ears still hurt to this day from the mouthing off you got from kunikida)

-all in all, VERY FUN TO GO OUT WITH!!! WOULD RECOMMEND IF YOU WANT CHAOS!!!! OR IF YOU LIKE ALMOST DYING 10 TIMES IN 30 MINS <3333

CHUUYA

-ok so i know i said late night CAR rides BUT CMON WHO DOESNT WANNA RIDE A COOL ASS MOTORCYCLE WITH CHUUYA!??!?!?/1

-mf has HORRIBLE ROAD RAGE!!!

-i hc that when chuuya gets really pissed and the person is super rude to him, he fucking makes their car float...LIKE FULL ON 😭

-AND THEN HELL MAKE THEM SAY SORRY

-but other then his road rage, its honestly pretty chill

-i know that he has a BANGER playlist, I JUST KNOW IT

-i fell like he'd also play around on the motorcycle a bit, BUT AT LEAST HE WOULDNT NEARLY KILL YOU UNLIKE DAZAI (눈‸눈)

-id say its pretty nice and balanced, with enough calmness to make it enjoyable for the most part, but enough thrill to keep asking him to take you out <33

RANPO

-just gonna let you know right off the bat, his ass is NOT driving 😂

-there is a high chance that he JUST woke up and started banging on your door because he had cravings and well, he ran out of his snacks...so OBVIOUSLY he had to bang on your door, its important!!!

-and even if he was completely awake...he would get yall lost so fast

-so you were driving him

-honestly? its kinda funny to see groggy ranpo walk around and try to grab what snack he wants at the convenience store when he's barely awake

-bro literally drops the bag like 5 times (you picked it up all 5 bc you kinda pitied him rn 😭)

-he basically ends up sleep walking his ass outta there

-the ride is mostly quiet, mainly because ranpo falls asleep on the way back

-imagine if you played heavy metal and woke him up

POE

-HE WOULD DRIVE WITH YOU FREQUENTLY, DUE TO HIM BEING A NIGHT OWL

-these car rides would be so peaceful

-ngl he would probably sometimes take you out just to drive with you (its not like gas is a problem for him anyways 😭)

-HE HAS SUCH A GOOD PLAYLIST OF SONGS TO JUST SIT THERE AND DAYDREAM TO

-doesnt seem like a talker tbh, he might ask you if you want to go anywhere specific, but you guys mostly just listen to music together (he saves the story telling for another time <3)

-I FEEL LIKE HE WOULD MAKE A PLAYLIST THAT LIKE KIND OF HAS A STORY LINE SO IT WOULD BE SO FUN TO DAYDREAM TO THE SONGS CUZ YOU COULD CREATE YOUR OWN STORY TO THEM

-you hold karl in your lap and pet him like you're an evil villain (cannon)

-very calming and relaxing drive <33

YOSANO

-UGH IM SO GAY FOR HER

-ngl she kinda gives dazai vibes, in terms of playlist

-there has been more than one occasion when she just drunk-drove you

-LUCKILY YALL DONT DIE??!?!?!??! HOLY FUCK

-shes a small talker, OR A GOSSIPER WHILE YALL DRIVE

-yall just have so much fun talking about the ada and everything that's going on there <333

-would scream the lyrics to any 2010's throwback song, while having a (hopefully) safe dance party

-very fun to be around, and even though she drunk drives, shes def safer then dazai

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

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS!!!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

PLEASE SEND ME REQS I BEG OF YOU

[callmeklair]

Cinderella

okay so this got really really long so I had to shift the behind the scenes part for another post at last moment. Also I'm really sorry for how long this might look, I did try to edit it in small font but it was just unreadable so yeah >.<

[no beta because me is sick]

prepare yourselves for a ride. also special mention to @its-irsaa-fyp because our random midnight talk brought this au to life

hope you guys enjoy it ^^

this story revolves around a kind-hearted and beautiful girl named Yui Komori who lives with her stepmother and stepsisters. Her own mother died a long time ago, and father just met with an accident recently while on his way to travel.

???: oh~ cinderella~! cinderella~~!— Yui! Yui!

???: where did she disappear!? me and teddy are starving! is she still asleep!!?

unfortunately for Yui, her stepmother and stepsisters were not that welcoming as from the start they referred to her as Cinderella.

"someone or something that is given little attention or care, especially less than they deserve"

to mock her.

Yui: *sigh* they are at it again.

Yui stretched her sleepy arms as the birds started singing to awaken her and her favorite three mice pulled away the blanket to snuggle on her lap to get some morning pats.

these animals were the only ones who took care of her in this cold and insufferable household.

one of the three mices suddenly spoke to get Yui's attention.

Azusa: why… don't you just… run away from here?

Ruki: Azusa, it's not that easy for humans to run away like us animals. they need backup and basic requirements before moving away to guarantee their safety and survival.

Yuma: sheesh, glad I'm a mouse. if only you had done some good deeds in your previous life, then you would have been a mouse like us, Yui.

Yui chuckled at Yuma's comment and shook her head which made him blush. was it out of embarrassment or shyness? nobody knows. well of course except his brothers Ruki and Azusa.

Ruki: you should leave, before they barge into your room and mess it up like last time.

Yui: right! you are right! I'll see you guys later, take care until then.

she kissed each mice' head and left.

Ayato: what took you so long!? yours truly is starving!

Yui: I'm sorry stepmother, this won't happen again.

Ayato: you said that last time too!

Laito: now now mother, please let it be. poor Cinderella needs her beauty sleep too. After all, I'm pretty sure you won't want an ugly little thing with dark circles lurking around the house like a ghost while doing her chores. it'll be unsightly.

Kanato: as much as I hate her for making me and teddy wait, I agree with laito. it'll be really unpleasant to watch her like that. her pretty average looks are the only thing that is keeping me sane as I watch her face everyday while walking around the house. she's already ugly, don't make it worse.

Ayato: tch, you two. fine, you are spared this time on my daughters' request. but now… you have already wasted our precious time, go make the breakfast and, I don't think I need to repeat about your daily chores.

Yui: understood.

she bowed her head to them like a daily routine and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

later during the meal, while she was serving their breakfast something in their conversation perked her up

Ayato: we have received an invitation from our monarch for the prestigious royal ball that is going to be held in five days. it is rumored that the prince is looking for a wife through this occasion and will make her his queen after taking over the throne.

Laito: ah that sounds so wonderful! but why throw a ball when he can marry a very influential family and also, in the future he is destined to marry a lot of women to stabilize his kingdom. ah~ I really wanted to become his one and only.

Kanato: try getting out of your genius fantasies and assumptions, he'll never marry someone like you even if he wants to keep only one wife. I'm more suitable. me and teddy. right teddy?

Ayato: that's the thing. the current prince only wants to have one wife on his side who'll help him run the kingdom through her ideas and opinions too and not just influence.

Laito: hmmm isn't the king, the current prince's older brother who is still single and healthy, still ruling the kingdom. why will they look for a wife for the prince and not the king?

Ayato: dunno, probably not interested in marriages. and about the prince, he doesn't look like he has any intention to take over the kingdom but who knows what goes around in politics. definitely why they are looking for a wife for him due to this.

Laito: awww man, I thought if not prince then I could get a chance with the king as a backup but looks like I'll have to rely on my natural beauty and talent to press my presence into the prince's heart.

Kanato: gross.

Yui: can I join the ball too? I promise I'll complete all the chores! I'll clean the house to it's finest, laundry your clothes, iron them, and make your favorite foods. Everything.

The three's eyes widened at her request.

Kanato: what made you think, a mere incompetent average mediocre women like you can attend with us—!

Ayato: Kanato. it's alright.

the stepmother stopped her youngest child's tantrum and turned to Yui with an evil smile.

Ayato: fine. I'll let you join us-

Kanato & Laito: mother!

Ayato: shush. I'm still speaking. so Yui, you can join us… only if you complete all the listed chores I give you everyday.

Yui: that's alright with me! thank you!

Ayato: don't thank me so soon. you even have not started working on the chores yet.

the evil smile just grew wider. but Yui chose to ignore it and left the dining area to start preparing for her chores.

Laito: mother?

Ayato: you guys are worrying too much, she doesn't even have proper clothes except those rags. and to think about going to the ball without a proper dress? fufu she'll either be kicked out or made a laughing stock. but I'm pretty sure she won't be even able to step out of this house, as that much of the task and chores will be given to her from me.

on the corner, the three mice were watching the whole ordeal and Yuma just grew angry at the insolent behavior of these people towards Yui and her pure wish & will to go to the ball.

Yuma: those damn bastards- that stepmother is definitely planning something evil. the wickedness is in the air, I can't breathe anymore ugh!

Azusa: Ruki… we need to protect her and help her prepare for the ball.

Ruki: that's right! let's have a talk with her first and see what she is planning for the ball.

the three mice left the scene and went to their Yui.

Yuma: Yui! Yui! what are your plans for the ball?

Yui: ..! you guys know?

Ruki: of course we do, we are mice. our ears are everywhere.

Yui: oh I see. Well I of course don't have a dress so I'm planning to make one, I still have one of my mother's dresses which I can try to remake using various accessories and jewels.

Ruki: is that the pink one you showed a long time ago?

Yui: yes that's the one.

Yuma: then we'll help you remake it! you know those smelly wicked people are definitely planning something unpleasant and difficult for you.

Yui: Shush Yuma, that's not how you talk about people, especially behind their backs. and I'll really appreciate your guys' help my sweet adorable mice.

She rubbed their heads and ruffled around their chin to gesture her gratitude.

the three of them purred.

Now Yui was busy doing all her listed difficult and nasty chores. her stepmother really didn't want her to come so badly that she stooped so low in giving chores.

While on the other hand, the mice called for the birds and explained to them about the situation. Upon hearing this, the birds whistled and called more of their friends from the forest behind the house and with this, all of them proceeded to make a dress for Yui, so beautiful that even the prince will not be able to get up after falling from looking at her. not from the floor, not from his affection.

Days passed and the time for the ball was here. But Yui didn't look very excited as in the past few days, her stepmother really gave her so many tasks that she didn't even get the time to touch her mother's dress. The moment she'll complete those tasks and go to her room in the attic, she'll fall on the bed and sleep due to all the tiredness.

Yui:....! huh! How is this-!

Yuma • Azusa • Ruki • animals: surprise!

Yui was in awe and in tears as she saw the most beautiful dress she has ever seen in her whole life. These animals really remade the old dress into something new with their tiny hands, paws and beaks. She repeatedly thanked them as she stepped forward and took the dress to try it out.

Yuma: You look gorgeous!

Azusa: pretty!

Ruki: As expected, my imagination was on point.

Yui: you guys are really really adorable! I love you so much.

*church bell rings from afar*

Yui: oh no! it's almost time for the ball, I'm leaving. love you guys.

Ruki: we'll escort you out.

Yui and her companions moved to the door just when the stepmother and the stepsisters were about to leave.

Yui: wait, I'm coming too!

The three of them turned around and looked enraged at her beautiful sight.

blinded by jealousy, the sisters tore Yui's dress saying the jewels on her dress resemble their belongings as the mother just watched.

Yui: … why?

she was on the brink of tears.

Ayato: just cause'.

with that they left.

finally the tears poured from her eyes, she didn't want to cry in front of them to fuel their enjoyment more, and ran away from the scene.

the mice followed her, angry yet they couldn't do anything. if only they were human. if only.. if only… if only…

*magical noises*

???: I hear desperate wishes.

mice: !!!

Yui, who was crying on the bench, suddenly looked up and saw a handsome black haired man with pale magenta eyes wearing glasses in a…. blue gown?

Yui: you are?

???: Reiji. Your fairy godmother.

Yui: …

Reiji: what?

Yui: I think I'm hallucinating due to crying too much.

Reiji: and what is that supposed to mean?

Yui: aren't fairy godmothers females?

Reiji: ….

Yui: ….

Reiji: are you…

Yui: ?

Reiji: Are you doubting my profession? Do you know how hard it is to work in this profession? The ethics and norms says nothing about specific gender in this field. What is this gender discrimination!? Can't believe in this time and era, there will be people who'll show such impudent and narrow minded thinking. I knew it, I was born in the wrong generation.

Yui never expected that her simple question would end up with her getting a whole lecture.

Reiji: good grief *sigh* you are helpless.

Yui: isn't that why you are here?

Reiji: now miss mam, I think you don't know how the fairy godmother system works. We-

Yui: another one. here we go (⁠╥▽╥⁠)

Yui: okay okay, I understand.

Reiji: you better.

Yui: So why are you here?

Reiji: to help you out of course. I heard your deepest desires and wishes from far away. and as a compassionate person* I'm here to fulfill your dreams.

*compassionate person X

because it is my profession. ✓

Yui: really? but how?

Reiji: We can start with that dress of yours.

Reiji took out a white wand from his sleeves as he performed the spell bibidi babidi boo and transformed Yui's dress into a beautiful sparkly silver gown with glass heels while also styling her hair with jewels and sparkles.

Yui: oh my gosh! you are amazing.

Reiji: keke, of course. I'm an expert in my profession, as expected of me. hmm but there's still something amiss.

Yui: how am I supposed to go to the ball? on heels?

Reiji: right! that was what it was missing.

Reiji danced his wand again as he turned a full grown pumpkin, from the corner, into a carriage.

Reiji: perfect. now we are ready.

Yui: who is going to drive it?

Reiji: those three mice glaring at me from the start.

Yui turned at the direction of Reiji's stare and saw her companions glaring daggers. But such thing was completely normal for Reiji as he danced his wand again and turned the mice into humans.

*poof*

Azusa: we are…

Ruki: humans now.

Reiji: for now. Listen to me and remember one thing very carefully, once the clock strikes midnight, my spell will be lifted and everything will be turned back to how it was i.e. your torn dress, pumpkin, mice, everything and everyone.

Yui: I understand, thank you so much.

Yuma: ugh this body is tall, why am I the only one like this!?

Yui: if only you would have done some good deeds.

Yui joked around repeating Yuma's comment from that day and the latter in turn grew more furious.

Reiji: bickering for later. the ball is starting soon. now if you don't want my precious energy and stamina I invested in you to go to waste. Please.

Yui: wait! what if my stepmother and stepsisters recognize me!? it'll be over for me.

Reiji: ah that's true, let me cast another enchanting spell on you which will act like an illusion.

he danced his wand again.

Reiji double checked and made sure everything is at point and now

he pointed at the carriage door's direction, impatient for them to leave. He had to go fill in his reports as early as possible to get some increment.

The three mice, now humans, discussed something among themselves and decided that Ruki & Azusa will be the escorts while Yuma will be the driver.

before Yuma could argue more, Yui looked at him with hopeful eyes and he wasn't able to say anything.

Without anymore further ado, they left for the ball.

———————x

Subaru: tch. I'm not dealing with this nonsense anymore! 

Inside the ballroom, Subaru was starting to get frustrated in the upper room, where royals watch the people from above. 

Just a few hours ago, Shu, his older brother, the current king, lazily barged into his room and dropped the bomb that the ball was actually being held to find a bride for him. Until now he was just kept in the dark and was only told that a royal ball will be held for political purposes and so he assumed that it must be something to do with his king position but now this… this was frustrating.

All he could see was disgusting coaxing of females and the nobles trying to get their daughter with the prince. It got worse when suddenly a maiden with reddish brown hair and green eyes winked at him and 'nfu'-ed at him. Right now Subaru was running away from that maiden and successfully managed to ditch him. 

Subaru sighed as took in the familiar scenario of the grand corridors of this spacious castle. 

Subaru: tch. well now that I'm here, might as well roam around and cool myself down until that brother of mine and his followers drag me into this whole set-up mess again. 

Subaru walked but tensed up when he saw a beautiful gown. 

Subaru: not another one

He looked around to find a hiding spot until..

Subaru: …..! 

Subaru: she is ethereal

no no no, that shouldn't change his decision as he has already seen some beautiful/pretty faces tonight trying to suck him up, be it by their own will or their family's will. 

he shouldn't stop himself just because of an ethereal looking woman. but it was too late, she already saw him.

???: uhm hello? uh, do you know the direction of the ballroom? I'm kind of lost here. 

It looks like she didn't recognise, good for him. But sooner she might if someone from palace suddenly shows up and reveals his identity because of the formalities. 

Subaru: You are? 

Yui: oh… uh I was supposed to attend the ball with my family but due to cho— circumstances I wasn't able to depart with them on time.

She really let herself be open around and introduce herself without any hesitation. such a vulnerable prey. 

Subaru: let me do the honor and take you.

Yui: you will? thank you! 

the little rabbit has fallen into the hands of a beast. 

Yui: oh right! what is your name? Need to know your name to express my gratitude later for your each and every help. 

Subaru: Subaru. 

Yui: I see…

Subaru didn't say his full name because he didn't want his cover to be lifted, at least not yet especially when he gets to see her such beautiful smile making her eyes shape into alluring crescents.

He silently took her to the ballroom, so that people wouldn't notice him and expose him. 

Yui came back to her senses from her daze of taking in the marvelous interior of the palace when she realized that Subaru had taken her to the dance floor and both of them were waltzing now. 

Yui: S-subaru-kun!?

Subaru: shh. 

Yui blushes as she finally takes in his appearance illuminated by the golden lights of the ball room and how dazzling he looked with that silver pink hair and his scarlet eyes. 

Subaru wanted to quietly enjoy his moment with this ethereal girl he just met. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to make her his own. He was intrigued. her soft expressions, her soft voice, her smile, her vulnerability, everything. He wanted to know them deeply. 

As Subaru and Yui were enjoying their peaceful dance with love filled eyes looking into each other with the desire to get to know each other more, Yui's stepmother and stepsisters were seen from afar as Ayato looked carefully and started to doubt how much the girl dancing with the prince looked familiar.

Ayato: No it can't be her, she doesn't even have a dress and the one she has we destroyed it. must be some other girl looking like her. 

Meanwhile Shu watched the scene in front of him unfold and sighs following with a lazy but genuine smile, glad that his younger brother finally found someone for him. With Subaru's past and his mental health condition this past few weeks, Shu decided to look for someone who'll help his brother out. 

Time passed and Yui and Subaru were at the balcony at the end of the ballroom to get some fresh air and get to each other. the more they talked to each other, the more they found each other falling for the other person. At first it was a little awkward so they started with random small talks and in between Subaru finally revealed his true identity. Yui was shocked and tried to bow curtly as she started being formal but Subaru stopped her. 

He wanted to spend time with her as a normal person. 

Has it been an hour or two since they started talking? Subaru doesn't know and doesn't care, the only thing that matters to him is the girl in front of him. At first he just wanted to see what she was capable of when she so openly left herself in his care, a beast's care. but now, there's more to it. 

He stepped forward and circles his arm around her waist pulling her closer. Yui squeaked at his sudden movement. Shy, she asked him what he was doing but instead of a reply she was met with a closer image of his face and realized their lips were getting closer. He didn't wait or hesitate as he landed a kiss on her lips in his daze of watching her intensely. 

At first Yui didn't know what to do as her heart and mind were saying different things. In the end she kissed him back, entangling her hands in his soft hair.

it went on for a few minutes as each second Subaru would try pulling himself closer to her or pulling Yui closer to him to deepen the kiss. 

Yui slowly opened her eyes to try parting with him to catch a breath but her eyes flew open when her gaze fell on the watch behind Subaru.

Yui: shoot! it's going to be midnight in 10 minutes. 

Yui's slowly pushed Subaru away who looked surprised. 

Yui: I'm sorry, but I need to go, it's getting late.

Subaru: it's alright, I'll order my people to drop you at your home so it won't matter.

Yui: no! i mean it's alright, i won't want to trouble you, your high-

Subaru: I told you to drop the formalities. and, it's not troublesome.

what should she do? if she stays here any longer her illusionary dress and everything will be exposed and she is worried if the connection they have until now, will it disappear if Subaru sees her true form?

Yui apologizes again as she slowly gets out of Subaru's grip and runs for the main gate to leave. Subaru shouted for her to wait for him and followed after her. Yui was rushing and rushing when suddenly Subaru caught her hand stopping her in her tracks at the stairs of the main gate.

Yui looked at the watch, terrified she gently held his hand and got her hand out and rushed again.a pologizing to him while running away.

and also, dropping one of her glass shoes on the stairs on the way. she did stop in her tracks to go above and pick it up but decided not to as the watch ticked over and over again in her ears, like a warning.

Subaru: wait! you never told me your name!

subaru cried out, but it was already too late as Yui had already disappeared, only her forgotten glass show left behind. picking it up, Subaru decided to find the girl no matter what. his determination through the roof.

Next morning, Subaru's bestie, Kou visited him after hearing about the rumors of his dearest friend being seen with a girl and looking at her with love filled eyes.

Subaru was already frustrated at Kou's arrival but started gritting his teeth at the non-stop blabber and teasing of the latter man in front of him.

Kou: aww c'mon man, you can't keep your bestie in the dark!

Subaru: who are you calling your friend!? i don't ever remember having such a relationship with you!

Kou: Hey Subaru-kun! you hurt me. I have been your reading partner since we were ten.

Subaru ignored Kou's annoying chatter, as he gazed at the glass show in his hand. oh how so badly he wanted to find her and keep her to himself. He swore he wouldn't let her get out of his grip anymore.

…!?

was he becoming possesive? even Subaru was shocked at his thoughts.

Shu: stop looking at it like that. The girl won't magically appear out of nowhere if you keep glaring at it.

Shu has entered the room.

Shu: I'll help you find her.

He gestures his hand at three men behind him to take the shoes and leave for the town to find the girl whose foot fits in the shoe.

Subaru recognised the three men as Shu's loyal followers from the start and also his reading partners. Kino, Shin and Carla.

Thus, he let the shoe go because he trusted in their methods and resources.

Kino: just wait for us~

Kino winked at Subaru, and Shin sighed complaining about the enthusiasm.

Shin: how are you guys so sure that this shoe will only fit one lady? There can be many people.

Subaru: the size of the shoe.. is very small. Kou has the smallest shoe size among us all and this shoe is even smaller than that, making it a very rare case.

Kou: Subaru stop exposing me!

Subaru ignored his friend's glaring as Carla nodded, understanding something.

Carla: in other words, the one whose foot glides in this shoe swiftly is the true owner.

Subaru: yes.

and so began the search for the girl that has mesmerized the prince of the kingdom and it didn't take long for the rumors to reach every household. even where Yui lives.

Ayato was in Yui's room, suspicious. Totally suspicious. No matter how much he thinks about it, the girl he saw yesterday doesn't sit right with him as a stranger. he looked around her room, and finally found it. the glass shoe! under her bed.

Ayato: che, I knew it. that cunning fox.

at the same time, Yui entered the room to make sure her glass slipper was still there as the people from the palace were coming & this was her chance to finally meet Subaru again. but the moment she saw Ayato, she was on alert. but it was too late as Ayato smirked while dancing the glass shoe in his hand.

Yui tensed as she stepped forward to take it form Ayato's hand but the latter just extended his hand above and because of the height difference Yui was left helpless.

Ayato: very smart huh? trying to get the prince to you. How did you do it? the dress? how did you reach there when it was already too late to reach in time by walking?

Yui remained silent.

Ayato: no answer huh? fine, for such disrespect, you'll be locked in your room for the meantime.

Yui: no you can't do that!

Ayato: Oh I can, just watch me. those people from the palace will never be able to find you.

with that ayato rushed and locked the door, trapping Yui in.

Ayato: Laito! Kanato! prepare yourselves, the prince is coming! you guys must do whatever you can to get the shoe fit your foot.

Laito • Kanato: Yes, mother.

Meanwhile, trapped Yui cries on the edge of her bed as she remembers how on the way back, it was already midnight and on the way back everything turned back to how it was, just like Reiji said.

except that one glass slipper on her feet still remaining intact.

how? was it because they were seperated? at first Yui was scared that the moment midnight hits the shoe under Subaru's care will turn back to normal and he will start doubting her, making them never meet again. but that wasn't the case as the shoes still remain as how they were.

No matter how much Yui thought it over, nothing explained the logic behind the shoes remaining the same. but at the same time, this gave her hope to meet him again. to meet Subaru again.

the mice notices this and planned to free Yui from the room, but how?

suddenly Ruki perks up as he comes up with a plan to take the key from Ayato's pocket.

The time was here, the people from the palace were here. and… the Prince was also along with them?

Carla: are you three the only people here?

Ayato: yes.

Carla: alright then.

the shoe fitting trial was starting, after going house to house and no one fitting the shoe, this was the only last house left. Subaru was starting to get impatient but he was determined to find her even if she turns out to be from another kingdom.

Meanwhile the mice parted themselves as Azusa went to steal the glass shoes from Ayato's locker. All three of them were glad to be mice as they can use their origin skills to help Yui out.

While Ruki and Yuma slowly approached Ayato and through tricks managed to get the key.

before ayato could notice it was too late, Ruki and Yuma already left and so did Azusa successfully managed to get the glass slipper.

the commotion here was too noisy for him to notice sooner.

Kino: god we don't even need to try the fitting here, it's obvious it won't fit.

Kino cried out the moment he sees the difference in the the glass shoe and the feet of laito.

Ignoring him, Laito still tried it out but as Kino said, it was really really big, no matter how much he tried to fit it in.

Shin: you are going to break it!

Kanato: leave it you pervert! I'll try!

Kanato pushed Laito off the chair and sat himself down, ready to try out the shoe.

Shin: shortie stop! even though you are smaller than him, you are also really big for the glass shoe!

Kanato: who are you calling shortie! WHO ARE YOU—

Ayato: ahem.

Ayato hushed Kanato as the prince was in the room. they cannot take any risk.

On the other hand the three mice finally freed Yui and gave her shoe back.

Yui hurried out and reached downstairs just when the palace people were about to leave.

Yui: wait, I'm here!

they turned back at the newcomer.

Subaru: you said you guys were only three!?

Subaru looks at the girl and the moment he sees her, he senses her. it's her! he rushed to her who was still running down the stairs and caught her in his arms in the form of a hug.

He didn't need that stupid shoe fitting trial to know if the girl he spent last night talking with is her or not. It's her. He can feel it. the warmth, the expressions, the tone. It's her!

Yui hugs him back for few seconds before pushing his shoulder gently to present the glass slipper. he other pair.

Shin: that shoe!

Ayato: Your highness, please listen to this subject. She is nothing but just a mere maid. There's no way she can be involved in matters like prestigious balls. I have no idea how she got that pair of shoe.

Carla: It doesn't matter who she is. you defied the orders, and on top of that lied to his highness. This matter won't go unnoticed and will be reported to the King immediately. Shin.

Shin: on my way ~

Yui: wait! please don't.

Kino: huh? are you saying?

Yui: yes. even though they, well they didn't treat me rightfully, I still don't want to become the reason for their demise. No matter what, everybody deserves a second chance.

Shin: hehe, you guys will be grateful for your life.

Kino snatched the shoes from Kanato's hands and gave it to Subaru.

and after taking the pair of shoes from both Yui and kino, the silver haired man bent down on his one knee and swiftly lifted Yui's feet one by one to slide the shoes.

they fit!

Subaru couldn't be any happier. she was finally his.

Yui hugged Subaru and both of them merrily smiled & laughed to be with each other again.

the glass shoes suddenly starts glowing and turns into dust. that dust soon forms a figure of a beautiful man who introduces himself as karlheinz and says

Karlheinz: Adam and Eve have been found in this universe too, my job is done.

And then disappears again by forming into dust before anyone could say anything.

Shin: what the hell!? what was that just now!? I have heard about fairies, but that was one scary and creepy one, if he was even one.

Kino • Carla: Adam and Eve?

Yui: is that why the shoes remained intact till the end even when the fairy godmother Reiji's spell was lifted at midnight?

even though the mystery about the shoes is solved, the more Yui thinks about it, the creepier it gets, especially how she wore those shoes all the time during the ball and when she was with Subaru…

Yui: don't tell me he witnessed everything…

Subaru realized what Yui was talking about but he can't also fall in the mood. he lifted her up as he gave the most genuine bright smile.

Subaru: Yui will you marry me?

Yui was surprised at the sudden proposal and cried the tears of happiness as she repeatedly said yes to him.

————————x

The wedding bells rang as Subaru and Yui exited the chapel after completing their wedding vows. everyone in the town came to pay their respects and give blessings to the newly married couple. the prince and the princess. The mice were throwing petals from the basket as they watched their Yui finally being happy.

Subaru lifted Yui in the bridal style, causing her to become shy for the nth time and ofc it doesn't goes unnoticed by Subaru.

Subaru: hehe, you should get used to such stuff now because I'll be loving you seven days a week. monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, sunday. 24/7.

Yui blushes more as Subaru walks down the stairs and enters the carriage.

He sets Yui down and leaned in to kiss her as curtains fell.

[suckerfordylansstuff]

New Journey (S.H.) Epilogue Season 1

Pairing: (eventual) Steve Harrington x henderson!reader

Summary: The beggining of the story. How did Y/n Henderson get herself into this mess? How did she deal with the loss of a dear friend and how will she survive the bullies and monsters?

Warnings: swearing, blood

Notes: This is it! The first season is officially over people! Next up we have season 4, which might take a little time to start uploading the chapters because the story plot is big and I want to make sure I don't miss any details and that everything is plausible and enjoyable in the story. I have half of the chapters ready but I constantly keep changing things to make it better, so bear with me. Enjoy! 💕

Gif not mine

Chapter 7 << Masterlist >> Season 2 Prologue

After calming down, you decided you should go back to the middle school to check on the kids. You and Jonathan rode together, while Nancy got into Steve’s car to try and explain what had just happened to them on the way there.

The ride was silent. You weren’t sure what topic you could discuss after fighting an interdimensional monster. So you just settled on the passenger's seat, closing your eyes for just a moment until you arrived at the school. You were certain that by leaving the kids behind you were doing the right thing. You all had agreed that inside the gymnasium they would be far away from any kind of trouble. But your luck was terrible.

Arriving at Hawkins Middle and seeing all the police cars and ambulances, almost felt like a stroke. Before Jonathan could even park the car, you were out of your seat, running around the parking lot, searching for the kids. Searching for Dustin.

You spot Dustin and Lucas sitting on one of the ambulances and you make a bee line to get to them. You couldn’t even feel the tears that were falling from your eyes as he turned to see you, his eyes opening wide.

“Y/n, you won’t believe wha-” he began speaking only to get interrupted by your arms hugging his small frame.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry for leaving.” you were sobbing, your faced smushed on his curly head of hair “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Lucas, are you okay? What happened?” you couldn’t stop asking questions, panic rising inside you as began looking all over Dustin’s body for any injuries as well as Lucas’s, but thankfully didn’t find anything out of place.

“Y/n, we’re fine, we’re okay.” your brother reassured you, taking ahold of your hands, so they would stop trembling.

“Okay, good- Wait. What about Mike? Where is he?”

“He’s over there with his parents.” Lucas pointed to your left and you turned to see him in Karen’s arms.

He looked alright as well, but there was one more kid missing “And Eleven? Where is she?”

The look on Dustin’s face made it clear that not everything was okay.

So you sat down between the boys, Jonathan joining you after a few minutes, while you listened to the kids explain what had happened when you left. How the bad men came to take Eleven, how she stopped them with her powers, but also how the blood from the bodies attracted the Demogorgon to them.

He described to you the battle between the creature and Eleven and finally, he tries to explain the fact that she just vanished into thin air, both your friend and the monster.

You felt awful. You felt like you betrayed them. You didn’t manage to kill the creature, so you didn’t protect the kids and you didn’t save Eleven. This was all your fault. You were going to miss that little girl and her peculiar powers, and as much as you hated the fact that she was gone, you couldn’t help but feel relieved that the rest of the kids were safe, you couldn’t help but thank her for her sacrifice.

___

Your next stop was the hospital where you also reunited with Hopper, Joyce, and Will, who was unconscious, but alive. Relief surrounded you now that everything was finally over. The Demogorgon was dead, and Will was rescued, you could finally breathe again. Your mother was called when the police had arrived at the school, but as Dustin told you, she didn’t answer, which meant she was having another late shift. After discussing with Hopper what to say, you decided to wait until you got back

As they were treating Will, a couple of nurses called upon you, Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve to treat the cuts you all had around your bodies. The moment Jonathan was free to go, he rushed back into Will’s room, while the rest of you made your way back to the waiting area.

You didn’t know how long you were waiting for Will to wake up. You were sitting in one of the most uncomfortable chairs you had ever sat your ass on with Dustin’s head on top of your left shoulder while Lucas’s on top of your right one, both of them sleeping and snoring. You could feel sleep calling for you too, your body aching for it, but you couldn’t sleep now, you had to wait for Will to wake up.

At one point Jonathan came back with the news you were all anxiously waiting for as he nodded towards Mike, which made him jump off his seat and shake his friends to wake up “Guys. Guys, he’s up. Will is up. Guys, Will’s up.”

The shaking surely made you more awake and get out of your seat while the kids started running to Will’s room. You walked over to Jonathan with a small smile and hugged him, his arms returning the hug before walking after the kids. You stopped and leaned on the doorframe, looking fondly over at the party reunited again. Seeing Will awake brought tears to your eyes, his gaze on you making you smile widely at him and give him a little wave.

After a while, you felt your throat drying so you walked over to the vending machine to buy a soda, but the stupid thing decided to eat the only money you had on you.

“Come on, you piece of shit.” you hit it in exaggeration when a voice interrupted you.

“Here, let me.” when your head turned around to look at your savior you definitely didn’t expect Steve, but here he was putting a dollar on the machine, asking you what you wanted, and handing you your soda. You took it silently and leaned against the wall as you opened and drank it. You watched as he took a small cup, ready to fill it with coffee when you felt the need to warn him.

“I wouldn’t drink that if I were you.”

“Why not?” you thought his tone was going to be sarcastic but his concerned eyes made you realize this wasn’t the case.

“It’s awful. I've had it before and it just isn’t worth your time. That’s why I am settling for a sugary soda. At least it will keep me awake for a little longer.”

He nodded at your words, and set the cup back down, getting another dollar from his pocket, and buying a soda for himself. You expected him to return back to the waiting room, thinking he had accomplished his goal here, but you frowned when you saw him leaning like you on the wall opposite of yours.

You tried not to show it, but you couldn’t help but wonder, why the hell was he sitting here with you? You didn’t like him, and you were certain, after your fight and Jonathan and his fight, he didn’t like you either. You debated to just walk away and return to the waiting room, not feeling the need to have more small talk about what the fuck had happened, but a memory stopped you. You remembered him back at the Byers’ with the bat in his hands, hitting the Demogorgon and saving you from getting torn into pieces, and as much as you thought he was a dickhead for everything he has done, you couldn't ignore his actions back there. If it weren’t for him things probably would have been a lot different.

So you took a deep breath, pushed your pride down and opened your mouth “Hey, uh… I just wanted to say thank you…” you looked up and saw him frown at your words as if he didn’t understand why you were thanking him “You know, for earlier.”

His eyes shot open the moment he realized what you were referring to “Oh, yeah, yeah, no problem. I was nothing.”

“Well, if it weren’t for you, I would have died so I don’t think it was nothing. So… yeah, thanks.” you looked back down at your soda, wishing the ground would swallow you up after that awkward interaction. 

Steve however couldn’t help but smirk as he watched you “How much did it kill you to say that?”

“A lot.” you admitted truthfully, but you both started snickering under your breaths “You have no idea.”

“That’s okay, I get it. I- I also need to apologize for acting like a dick before. I swear I am done with Tommy H. and Carol and with the whole ‘king’ stuff.”

“Yeah, right.” you scoffed and looked up to see his serious eyes watching you closely as you rolled your own “Oh, come on. They follow you around like lost puppies. There is no way you are getting rid of them and your fame.” you said before taking a sip from your soda.

Steve simply nodded at your words before clearing his throat “They will after I left them stranded at the Fair Mart.” a small smirk lining his lips when he saw how surprised you were at his actions.

“You didn’t.” you gasped at his words, fairly surprised that you didn’t want to hit your head on the wall after talking to him so much.

“Yeah. they were talking shit like usual, and I just realized how annoying they were being. Which made me realize that’s how the rest of you see me too, and I didn’t like that. I didn’t want Nance to see me like that.” his smile faded as his words became more honest. You never thought you were going to be having an actual meaningful conversation with the Steve Harrington, but you had to admit, you almost liked this side of him. The one that wasn’t screaming jackass in all directions. And you appreciated the fact that he wanted to change for your friend, so you decided to give him the second chance he was searching for.

“Well, if you keep making their lives a living hell, I will definitely consider changing my mind about you.” you said cheekily making him chuckle.

“Giving you my word, Henderson.” he joked back, which made your smile wider.

“Cheers to that.” you raised your sodas and drank them together.

___

One month later

You couldn’t believe it. You were literally driving your new car and you still couldn’t believe it.

After a year of working, you had saved the amount your mom had told you you needed to split the price and the day before Christmas you bought your new (well used but it didn’t matter to you) car. It felt great to have something of your own and the feeling you had as you drove down the road, made every annoying customer worth it.

You were glad you didn’t have to deal with any more of the customer’s bitter remarks. After you told your mom you had the money, she made you promise her that you would now focus on your classes, especially since next year you were graduating. So the next day you went back to the diner and parted ways with Mr. Miller promising to come for breakfast on the weekends with Dustin as much as you could.

It almost felt weird that life carried on like nothing had happened last month. No one knew what had truly happened, the government doing its job and keeping it under racks like it was nothing. It felt weird the first few weeks, going to school, and talking to people who didn’t know you had fought an actual monster, but maybe that’s exactly what you needed to let it in the past, to forget that it had ever happened, to pretend like its growl wasn’t still haunting your dreams.

That’s what you were thinking as you drove to the Wheeler’s house. The party was having another campaign and you were on your way to pick Dustin up after he spent the whole day with his friends. When you parked the car and got out you saw the front door open and smiled at how cheerful Will looked after the campaign. Jonathan followed after him, carrying a box in his hands.

“Hey, guys!” you smiled and made your way through the light snow that had fallen, careful not to slip.

“Y/n! You won’t believe what happened in the end! The thessalhydra appeared and I rolled a fourteen and- and fireballed him and we won!” you couldn’t help but giggle at his excitement, glad to see him so happy after everything he’s been through.

“Wow, well done! Next time make sure to save me a seat.”

“Really?”

“Yep. The courageous High Elf, Erida, will accompany you to yet another adventure.” you jokingly vowed before him and he responded as he laughed. You smiled and turned to look at Jonathan, trying to take a look at the present in his hands “And what loot does this traveler hold?” you kept your speech theatrical, liking the effect it had on Will.

“Oh, this… It’s- It’s nothing.” Jonathan tried to dismiss it but Will was always ready to give you every information you needed.

“Nancy gave it to him.”

“Oh. Nancy, huh?” you smirked at Jonathan who was now avoiding your eyes completely.

After all of you had a couple of days to relax, you went over to Jonathan’s to apologize for all the secrecy you held during everything. You explained the situation involving Eleven and as the tears started gathering in your eyes at her memory, you felt his arms pulling you into a hug, telling you it was okay. You calmed down and continued to talk when you eventually brought up him and Nancy. Maybe you were imagining things but you had to ask him if something had changed in him about her. He told you you were crazy and nothing had changed other than just being better friends, but you saw his blush.

Nancy was now officially with Steve, but deep down you could feel it wasn’t going to last forever. Although for now, you had decided to drop it, only annoying Jonathan with your thoughts from time to time.

“Okay, I think it’s time for us to go.” he asked when he opened the door to let Will in.

“Fine, fine. Say hello to Joyce for me.” you called after them and waved goodbye to the two brother before knocking the front door.

You only waited a few seconds for Karen to answer and invite you inside, your feet immediately heading for the basement. You walked down the stairs but stopped when you saw the sight before you. Both Dustin and Lucas were on the floor with their limbs tangled up.

“Hey, Y/n.” they said in unison when they spotted you.

“I am not going to ask what happened. Ready to go, big guy?”

“Yes. Next time make the campaign longer!” he pointed his finger at Mike, grabbing his bag and heading to you.

“Also, I wanna play next time. Will you have me?”

“Heck yeah!”

“Erida returns!”

You laughed at their exclaims “Alright, Merry Christmas, boys. And please, open a window in here. It stinks.”

“Yeah, Dustin’s farts stink.” you stopped Dustin from going back down to defend his honor and instead pushed him up the stairs “Wait. Let me wish Nancy a Merry Christmas as well and then we’ll go.”

“Make it quick. I’m hungry.” you ignored his whining and left to search for Nancy, finally finding her in the living room cuddled up with Steve.

“Sorry to interrupt, lovebirds. Just came to wish you a Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Y/n.” you opened your arms to welcome her hug as she stood up and walked towards you. Steve just gave you a smile and a wave as he returned the wish, not yet comfortable with anything else.

“Hey, do you wanna stay for a bit?” Nancy asked you “Call your mom to pick you up? We don’t want you riding home with fresh snow falling.”

“Ah, that would be now problem anymore.” you had a sly smile on your face and because she didn’t understand what you were talking about you grabbed her hand and walked over to the window that had a clear view of your car.

“Shut up. It looks great.” Nancy announced excitedly.

“My Christmas gift to myself.”

“That’s a nice set of wheels, Henderson. I’m impressed.” Steve told you after he joined you two by the window.

“Why you sounding surprised, Harrington? I know my stuff.” you were ready for a playful banter when Dustin’s voice to hurry up gave you your cue to leave.

You wished them goodnight and opened the passenger’s door for the impatient Dustin to get in, before opening your own and starting the car.

“I still don’t understand what she sees in him.” you heard him mutter.

“Who?”

“Nancy. Isn’t Steve a bully? Why does she like him?” you couldn't help but smirk at how miserable and disappointed your brother looked at this very moment. It's incredible how delusional you can be at that age.

“He’s not that bad anymore, and don’t forget that without him you wouldn’t have a sister anymore.” you stole a glance to see him frowning which made you chuckle “Oh, come on. I bet you’ll have your chance one day.”

“Really?”

“No, but it’s important to have dreams.” he stuck out his tongue at you while you laughed.

You arrived back home quickly and began preparing the dining table to eat with your family. While you sat on your chair and looked around, you were grateful to be alive and well. Grateful Dustin was also okay, even though you still catch him crying in secret but always hiding it so he would not concern you. Grateful to let everything in the past and forget about the Upside Down and the Demogorgon. Ready to start living your once again normal life.

~~~

If you want to be tagged just ask!

Taglist:   @bookscoffeandotherstuff @i-am-the-coffee-queen @bi-andready-tocry​ @enchantedcruelsummer​ @daddystevee​ @elite4cekalyma @hayadora​ @hannarudick​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​ @lookalivesunshine-x​ @sarasmismyonlydefence​ @astream-ofconsciousness​ @the-haikyuu-hoe ​​ @mileven-reddie @mochminnie​​ @synonymforlame @teamkiall ​​ @samanthadegaro​​ @the-passionate-freak​​ @thesailbells​​ @i-mmunity​​ @marvelouspottering @mrs-diggory @mydarlingharry @beepbeephargrove @mikariell95 @sweetdreamsshifter @paninipress @anolddayslover @10minutesofscreentime @bookfrog242 @onecrazydirectioner @harrycanyonmoonn @grippleback-galaxy @doctorsgirl262 @mayonesavegana @inkpot-winters @le-who-zer-her  @mysticgardenpolice @untitledarea

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.98 Honeymooners

If last night was any indication of how our year would be, we were in for an incredible ride. I couldn't think of a better way to ring in the new year than pleasuring my wife. The woohoo was so good; we were still stunned well into the next morning. I awoke, feeling foggy, wondering if last night had been a dream. When Sophia came down for breakfast, I didn't even know what to say to her and we ate in silence with this amazing secret looming over us. Eventually, her voice broke the silence, and we began to recover from our drunken-like stupor.

Tartosa was a gorgeous city, and I didn't question how it became the number one location for weddings. From the beaches and shopping to the beautiful landscapes and architecture, it had everything one could want for a perfect wedding. Unfortunately, we married too early in the season to appreciate all the amenities. Not only was it the first day of the year, but also the first day of spring. Looking out at the ocean from our patio began as a delicious treat, but became an evil tease. The water was too frigid to enjoy, and it rained all day. We were both looking forward to spending lots of time at the beach and were disappointed about canceling our main activity. Well...main activity outside of the house, that is. But at least we had the hot tub. It wasn't the same as the ocean, but Sophia had fun with it.

I too had fun playing in the water, heh.

Tartosa gave us another dark, cloudy, chilly day, so we spent the morning and much of the afternoon in bed, talking and playing. What we had between us was more than enough fun, but it would be a shame to spend the week in that beautiful city and not see it. Around dinnertime, we dragged ourselves out of bed and went out. Every corner of the city seemed to be carefully designed as if they wanted us to take selfies everywhere. It's no wonder why it became the wedding capital of the world.

We tried to eat at this nice restaurant we stumbled upon, but they had a very strict dress code. We didn't feel like being fancy, so we went back home and cooked together for the first time! Well, I cooked. She read the recipe. Either way, I loved doing that with her.

The next morning, the soft pitter patter of rain lured me out of my sleep, and I groaned at the idea of spending yet another day inside. I chuckled at how ironic it was that I originally looked forward to spending three days in this very room with Sophia, but now felt trapped. It's not that I tired of her presence, but simply knowing outside was not an option made me anxious.

The mattress felt more level than it should have, so I rolled over and saw Sophia was gone. That's when the faint buzz of the TV downstairs grabbed my ear. Taking advantage of the alone time, I pulled out my phone to do a little scrolling before joining her. I received a message from Dub asking me to call him because he messed up, so I did. I thought maybe they had a fight or something because he slipped up and said something about Maia and Chi Chi, but the real story was much bigger than that. They had just found out they were expecting! Joy overwhelmed me, and I was just about to offer my congratulations, but the fear and panic in his voice stopped me. He didn't call to spread the good news; he needed help to make sense of that reality. Their relationship was so new, it still had the tags on it. Like Sophia and me, they began dating and moved in together within a matter of days. Even though I knew Sophia was the one, if I had gotten her pregnant back then, I would have panicked too. I felt for Dub, but he didn't have all the complications I had. He'd always been 100% positive about his feelings for Maia even when he didn't realize it. I believe the only reason he hesitated in the beginning was because he so desperately wanted to be with her. A baby might not have been the next item on the agenda, but it was definitely on the list. I drew from that to encourage him.

It amused me at how different our parents were, though. He was concerned about what they would say, especially her dad, who allegedly threatened him with bodily harm. My parents would have rejoiced if I had announced they would be grandparents. My dad might have had concerns, but I wouldn't have been afraid of what he'd say. I'd probably run to his house and ask him what I should do, just like Dub did with me. I did my best to encourage him, letting him know that everything would be alright, and he sounded like he was in a better state by the end of the conversation.

I'd been sitting on the bed in my underwear the whole time and realized I was cold, so I put on the onesie Sophia got me for Winterfest. I smiled when I found her wearing hers. Tartosa's houses were gorgeous, with their spacious, open windows and arches that clearly catered to the warm climate.

Dub's phone call weighed heavy on my mind, and I wondered if Sophia could be pregnant. I stopped using protection at her behest when we got engaged, and we've certainly had plenty of opportunities to make it happen. But how would we know? Do we just randomly decide to take a test one day? Wait until it's obvious? Knowing how anxious Sophia was about starting a family, I put it out of my mind because I knew she'd be on top of it. I had a bigger question in my mind, anyway.

When Dub mentioned fearing Maia's father, I felt oddly weird. That was the first time it really occurred to me I didn't have in-laws. I mean, of course I thought about it all during the wedding, the parties, and even the planning, but I thought of it more in terms of her not having parents to celebrate her. I never considered what their absence meant for me. Every couple had a huge llama in the room, and that was ours. Whenever she talked about them, she kept it brief and vague, and I could sense something missing in every sentence. I didn't want to start any trouble, but I had to find out what happened. It was the perfect day for it. We had no plans and were stuck inside. I hoped she was ready to talk.

Links take you to collab posts on @mysimsloveaffair's blog.

[cainluvr69]

"Willfully Playful" Owen SSR Card Story - The Flowerfall Game Hall, With You ~ Invitation for Owen

the recordings for this were provided by known owen yume dante!

✦✧☾✧✦

Cain: Oh, here you are.

Akira: Owen!

Owen: Munch munch…

Mithra: Owen, those people have something they need from you.

Owen: What do you want…? In case you can't tell, I'm in the middle of something right now.

Cain: Are you two eating dinner together? It's definitely that time of night when you start getting hungry.

Owen: This is my tart. I'm not giving you any.

Mithra: I don't want anything but meat, anyway.

Akira: No, we're not here to eat… Owen, it's going to be your birthday soon, so I wanted to invite you to the Flowerfall Game Hall.

Owen: The Flowerfall Game Hall… Oh, that mini playground thing. An old friend of Shylock's made it a fancy place to play around in. I think.

Cain: If you already know about it, that'll make this faster. Akira wants to escort you there to celebrate your birthday. You can get there through this miniature of a door.

Akira: Will you accept my invitation, Owen? I'll escort you properly, so you can have a fun time and stuff…!

Owen: Hmmm. If I get to have fun there, does that mean I can mess it up as much as I want?

Akira: Huh?! Um, it's not mine, so I'd prefer if you didn't go wild in it…

Mithra: Munch. You might as well go.

Owen: Hey. You just took some of my fruit.

Mithra: There's not enough meat and I'm hungry. That little playground wasn't too bad of a place, you know. There was a place that I thought you might enjoy too, maybe. I only saw it while I was riding on horseback through the sky, though…

✦✧☾✧✦

According to Mithra, he'd seen what sounded like a European-style house standing in a dark corner of the grounds. It sounded a whole lot like some kind of scary haunted house-like attraction.

Cain: Now that you mention it, I think I saw a place like that too when we were high enough up. I remember thinking that just that one part of the park looked creepy and weird…

Owen: Oh? And here I was thinking it'd be nothing but kid's toys all lined up together.

Akira: (That's the kind of thing Owen's interested in…?!) Um… If you want to go there, I'd be happy to take you there! I'm a little scared of things like that, but I can ask Shylock about it and get ready for it…

Owen: You don't need to do that. Hey, how do we go to this Game Hall?

Akira: Oh, um, write your name on the invitation and then recite your spell, and the door will open. I do have an invitation already prepared…

I presented the invitation, and with a flourish of magic, Owen pulled a pen out from thin air and smoothly wrote his name down on it.

Akira: Huh?

Cain: What, you want to go there right now?

Owen: Might as well.

Owen grinned broadly at me and Cain, both of us wide-eyed.

Owen: There's nothing I love more than people's faces twisted in fear, screams ripped from their throats. <Cure Memini>

The invitation began to flicker with light, and the door to the Game Hall began to open. The entire area was draped in mist.

✦✧☾✧✦

When the mist cleared up, we were standing in a place that looked a lot like an amusement park, with rides all around us.

Akira: We're really just here now… But I'm glad you accepted my invitation, Owen. Thank you so much. That outfit suits you wonderfully.

Owen: I guess this outfit isn't horrible or anything. Even if it did put itself on me without permission.

One aspect of the Flowerfall Game Hall's hospitality was giving the person invited into it an outit that suited them perfectly.

Owen: More importantly. We don't need anything from the fluffy, frilly place. Where's that haunted house?

Akira: Ah, hold on…!

Owen was on his broom before I knew it, and I was left chasing after him. Before long, however, we arrived at the house we'd been told about.

Owen: So this is it.

Just as we'd heard, this was the only part of the park that the sun didn't reach, shrouding it in a sinister, unearthly air. There were even strange animal cries from something just out of sight.

Akira: This feels really…real… This is the only part of all the fancy scenery that feels out of place…

Owen: Why are you just standing there? Didn't you say you were going to escort me? I'm looking forward it. Come on, let's go in already.

Akira: O-okay…!

Owen pushed me forward, a faint smile dancing on his lips, and I tamped down all my fears and opened the door. The inside of the manor was even darker than it was outside, and there was an unpleasant chill in the air. My eyes darted back and forth over things I couldn't quite see as I took a single, fearful step forward.

Akira: It's pretty dark… Owen, be sure to watch your feet… …Huh? I feel like I just stepped on something soft…

Owen: It's just a bunch of fabric. Maybe someone's scattered clothing?

Akira: Oh, you're right. But whose clothes are these…?

As those words were coming out of my mouth, something wrapped around my ankle.

Akira: ?!

✦✧☾✧✦

I started to panic and looked down--and immediately met the eyes of a face staring at me from within the fabric confines of the fallen clothing. Its eye sockets were sunken and hollow, and its bones rasped hollowly against one another as it opened it mouth.

Skull: Wel…come…

Akira: Waugh!!

Owen: Ahaha. Aren't you so happy? It's welcoming you. Come on, we're still standing in the door. Don't just stand there looking stupid, get yourself in already.

Akira: D-don't push on me like that…wahh, those paintings are laughing!

I was surrounded on all sides by frightening phenomena, but I still pressed forward, timidly though it was. There was a blood-red door laying in wait for us at the end of this dark and decrepit hallway. Even its very form, the curves of its handle, the carvings in the wood, was ominous. I was on edge. More on edge than I'd ever been before.

Akira: Ahh… There's definitely something lurking behind this…

Owen: Are you scared?

Owen tilted his head, watching me carefully. His mismatched eyes gleamed with a dark light, one that threatened to swallow me up.

Owen: I'm having a lot of fun right now, you know. If you say you hate it here, are we going to turn back?

Akira: …N-no…it's fine…

And then I heard a sound from above us--and when I looked up, something was falling from the ceiling.

Akira: …Watch out!

Owen: !

The second after I grabbed Owen's hand and pulled him out of the way, several skeletons swung down from above us, hanging suspended in the air.

Akira: …Huh? I thought they were going to hit us…

Owen: …Ahaha! You were the one who told me to watch out. Should someone as cowardly as you be saying the one saying that here? …But that's a lovely expression on you. Pale, desperate, and completely pathetic.

Owen's face drew close to mine, like a snake scenting its prey. His voice was as sweet and heavy as honey as he slowly, slowly reached his hand towards me.

Owen: Let me see that face as much as I want today, okay?

With a smile as seductive as an anglerfish's lure, Owen pushed the bloody door at my back open.

✦✧☾✧✦

Akira: Haah… Haah… We're finally out…

Owen: Oh, that was odd. What was that last scream? I haven't even heard anything like that from a crazed hen.

Akira: But, but, a severed head rolled down the stairs, and it startled me…!

Owen: You're such a wimp. If you get so scared by everything that comes at you like that, you'll need an extra heart for when your first one gives out. Oh, what a laugh. Just remembering it is getting to me.

I could see tears in the corners of his eyes. It felt like his laughter was more…open and genuine than it usually was. All his defenses were down.

Akira: (I don't think I've ever seen Owen laughing like this before.) (It was a heck of an adrenaline rush, but I'm glad I committed to doing this…)

It was pretty scary, but I was still happy to see Owen enjoying himself from the bottom of his heart. It made me want to say it to him one more time.

Akira: …Happy birthday, Owen. I hope this year is a wonderful one for you.

Owen: …

When Owen turned his gaze to me, something white started falling from the sky.

Akira: Ah…

Owen: What is this. Flower petals?

When the Flowerfall Game Hall had satisfied the heart of the person who'd been invited into it, the exit door would open, and this rain of flower petals was the cue. We were wrapped in a pale mist, our vision fading to white.

✦✧☾✧✦

Mithra: Oh, they're back.

Cain: Woah, they are! Welcome home, you two.

It took hearing Mithra's voice for me to realize we were back in the dining hall. Cain rushed over to us, looking worried.

Cain: I was starting to get worried you'd never come back. Um…did everything go okay?

Akira: Ahaha. It did, somehow…

Owen: Hm?

Owen tilted his head to one side and looked me over.

Owen: They didn't come back with us. And they suited you so well.

Akira: What do you mean by "them"…?

Owen: You had so many hands gripping onto you. On your shoulders and your arms. Hands of bone, and hands of flesh and blood.

Akira: …What?! Y-you're kidding, right…?!

I felt the blood drain from my face as I swatted at my arms and shoulders to make sure nothing was there, but Owen just grinned at me, looking as satisfied as he would stuffing an extra helping of dessert into his mouth.

Owen: Well now. Who knows?

Sub Story: The Whereabouts of the Stolen Meat

Akira: Oh, good evening, Owen. I see you're eating alone tonight.

Owen: What do you mean, "tonight".

Akira: When I came to give you the invitation to the Flowerfall Game Hall a while ago, you were eating with Mithra… I feel like I see the two of you together a lot.

Owen: That's just coincidence. That time he was only there because he was trying to steal the fruits off my fruit tart. So the next day I stole the meat he was going to have for dinner as payback and we almost killed each other about it. It's not like I'm ever around him because I want to be.

Akira: You two do tend to try to kill each other if you're around each other for too long…

Owen: Well, you know how it is. But about when we tore a hole in the roof, the twins suddenly popped out. They said whoever started it was the one in the wrong, so Mithra was the only one who got lectured about it. And he made that face he always does when he's like, "Hahh?" It was so funny.

Akira: Ahaha… That sounds like a very lively dinner. By the way, did you eat the meat that you stole, Owen? Although I honestly can't really picture you eating that kind of thing…

Owen: I would have, but the idea of eating something Mithra had been rubbing his grubby hands all over is disgusting. Who knows where he's been and what he's been touching. So I gave it to Sir Knight.

Akira: You gave it to Cain?

Owen: Yep. It's more like I forced it on him, actually. Like how you throw stuff into the trash? Like that. It's what he's there for. He gave me some sweets from a new shop in the capital as thanks. He acts all upright and proper about the weirdest things.

Akira: (He says that, but he looks pretty happy about it…) (Knowing he enjoyed himself at the Game Hall and that he had another good day right after makes me happy too, though.)

[aihoshiino]

hello!!! you have no idea how hard it is (for me at least haha) to find a blog that talks about ai even semi consistently let alone analyze her this closely so i enjoy ur blog very much! thank you for feeding my ai brainrot :D

anyways any thoughts on ai and hikaru’s relationship? or just speculation since theres not much on it rn? its pretty fascinating to me, they were both children who were abused and exploited as a whole (that and their own respective fucked up relationship and idea of sexual intimacy which might be one of the catalysts for them jumping to sex so quickly despite both (i think?) being aware of the consequences with them being relatively active in the entertainment industry and what not) so its not too hard to imagine them potentially bonding even if it never quite reached genuine love romantic or otherwise

HAPPY TO PROVIDE, ANON! <3 I fully admit that my ramblings are mostly for my own benefit because if I don't talk about Hoshino Ai at least twice a day I will turn into the Oshi no Joker but it's always so nice to hear folks are glad to be along for the ride.

Hikaru and Ai's relationship has always been really fascinating to me, though! It's kind of an interesting subversion on some of our and Aqua's ingrained assumptions about the kind of person the twins' father would be – there's this sort of implicit, unspoken understanding based on the way Aqua focuses primarily on men who were already adults when Ai got pregnant that Ai was victimized in some way which resulted in the twins. Finding out who Hikaru is and the fact that he and Ai were peers immediately casts all of Ai's decisions regarding him in a hugely different light and raises a lot of questions about things that we otherwise assumed went without saying.

That said, given that we know so little about both their relationship and Hikari himself as a person, it's kind of hard to make solid guesses! I sort of have a rough shape of what I imagine it was like in my head just based on Hikaru's emotional function in the story VS what we know about him specifically as a person – Hikaru is very clearly intended to be a sort of bad end/dark mirror of Aqua, so I like to think that his and Ai's relationship probably contained echoes of the two main Aqua romances we see play out in the present. I had like a huge and honestly kind of incomprehensible ramble here originally while I tried to define what I meant by that but then I realized the series itself already lays it out...

In Hikaru, Ai found someone she thought would finally understand and accept her.

In Ai, Hikaru saw light.

Ai is tied to stars and light constantly through the series while also being tied to Kana pretty strongly as well, so I think it makes sense for her to be the Kana/light equivalent in this relationship. Uh, of course, I think I have accidentally implied that this means Akane is paralleling Hikari, so let's move on................................

It's also interesting to take into account 45510 when trying to pick up some info about how this relationship went. The stream at the center of this story is dated just after Ai came back from her hiatus following the birth of the twins, so around when she was 16/17 years old -- closer to the latter and so likely two or three years after her relationship with Hikaru fell apart. With that in mind, Ai's words here feel kind of... I guess, accidentally revealing? In some interesting ways.

When asked to describe her ideal type for a lover, Ai says: ""I guess I'd like to be with someone who doesn't lose their cool with me when I mess things up, ‘cause that happens a lot! Someone who gets all worked up over every little thing would probably get tired of me pretty quick. It’d be unfair for them, so I'd rather be with someone who's not like that.""

And unprompted, she continues from there with this: ""Love is all about trust, isn't it? They call it... 'recipricity', I think? Like, if someone showed me they love me, I'd feel the same way about them. But, I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat. It's tough for me to really believe in words like 'love' and 'like.' I've never actually fallen in love with someone before, so I'm not even sure what it means, you know?""

This is FASCINATING knowing this is Ai on the other side of her relationship with Hikaru. We know that this is Ai's true feelings because even the 45510 narrator, who calls her a liar every time she so much as breathes, admits that she knows Ai is probably telling the truth here. If this is the case, then this basically confirms that however intense the HikaAi relationship was, she didn't feel as though she loved him, which matches with the snippets we've gotten from the DVD and the movie where Ai's parting/break up with Hikaru was centered on Ai admitting that she couldn't love him.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that their bond wasn't genuine or that they didn't have real feelings for each other – I totally agree with your take that they probably gravitated towards each other as victims of abuse generally and CSA specifically and found a sort of comfort and solidarity in recognizing and licking each others' wounds. But obviously, things didn't work out and I think we have a lot of clues already what this fundamental misunderstanding was.

When Ai tells Hikaru "I can't love you" this is an apology, an admission of weakness and self-blame. What Ai is saying is I can't love you, because I'm broken and I can't love anyone.

What Hikaru likely hears is I can't love you because you're broken and nobody could.

That sense of rejection, combined with the trauma he already carried from his abuse would have been bad enough but that Ai got pregnant and broke up with him was likely hugely retraumatizing for him, ripping open the scars of his abuse at Airi Himekawa's hands. He may have even misconstrued Ai's actions as an act of abuse similar to Airi's and everything went spiralling from there.

I don't have any really solid shots to call, unfortunately! So much about Hikaru is up in the air right now, but I think he's a super interesting character and his and Ai's relationship is something I really, really want to eventually see more of.

[mountain-in-springtime]

unchained melody

pairing: josh x reader | word count: 914 | warnings: kissing (?), slight implications of nsfw but only if you're really looking for it | my masterlist

summary: a quiet evening with josh after he returns from tour <3

author's note: this idea came into my head yesterday, and i haven't been able to stop thinking about it, so i hope y'all enjoy it. also, this is obviously inspired by hearing josh sing unchained melody

*******************************************************

Josh practically fell through the front door. He’d been away on tour for what felt like a lifetime, and his plane ride home had left him exhausted. He placed his bags on the ground and allowed his eyes to scan the room. His only concern was finding you and having you in his arms again. Thankfully, his prayers were answered as he heard footsteps drawing closer from the hallway.

“Joshy!” you gasped, running up to him and enveloping him in a tight hug.

He let out a small chuckle. “Hey, honey, it’s good to see you. I missed you so much.”

Your grip on him only tightened. “I missed you too, Josh. What are you doing here so early? I thought you were landing around nine.”

“Our flights got moved up, so I figured I’d surprise you,” he explained with a smile. “But if you want, I can leave and just come back at nine.” He started to pull away but was quickly stopped by your arms holding him in place.

“Not a chance, Joshua,” you said through a fit of laughter. “Besides, I like surprises.”

He fell into a small string of giggles. “Good.”

Your lover leaned forward, pulling you into a kiss. You felt his hands travel to the small of your back as yours found their way into his mess of curls. Feeling his touch again after months of being separated was like heaven on earth, and you couldn't wait to make up for lost time. You pushed yourself against Josh, wanting to be as close to him as possible. He deepened the kiss, his hungry lips moving against yours. You kissed him back with fervor until you finally (and reluctantly) pulled away.

“Alright, loverboy, I have a pot of soup in the kitchen that I have to go check on,” you said, watching the pink hue that colored Josh's cheeks at the pet name.

“Oh honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were cooking anything. Do you need any help?” he asked as he slowly made his way towards the kitchen.

You shook your head. “No, baby, I just want you to relax. The soup was supposed to be ready when you got home, but it might take another 30 minutes or so.”

“That’s alright,” he replied, placing a quick kiss to your forehead, “I appreciate you doing all this, you know. You didn’t have to.”

You smiled before giving him a kiss on the cheek in return. “I know, but I wanted to. I like to make you feel special.”

He gave you a soft smile, “Well, thank you, honey. That’s very sweet of you,” he responded, pulling you in for one last hug before letting you tend to the simmering pot on the stove.

When you got to the counter, you turned back to face Josh again. “Hey, honey, why don’t you put on a record before you sit down? You can pick the album.”

“Great idea,” he answered, walking into the living room. After a few moments, he returned, and the sound of gentle music filled the household. You let out a long sigh as Josh sat at the kitchen table, a content smile painted across his features.

You returned the smile, turning back towards the stove. "So tell me about the tour! I wanna hear all the details."

His face lit up as he began a long account of various stories from the road and high points from each show. You happily listened, delighted to hear his voice and be in his company again. As the two of you fell into a moment of silence, you heard the record player begin another song.

Woah, my love, my darling

I’ve hungered for your touch

A long, lonely time

Josh got up from his seat and began to walk towards you. “Oh, baby, dance with me.” You felt his hands find their way to your sides, gently turning you to face him.

You gave a quiet “okay” before placing your hands on his shoulders and pulling yourself into his embrace. The two of you softly swayed back and forth, slowly making your way across the kitchen floor. After a bit, Josh began to quietly sing along to the record

Lonely rivers flow

To the sea, to the sea

To the open arms of the sea, yeah

Lonely rivers sigh

Wait for me, wait for me

I’ll be coming home, wait for me

You looked up at him and grabbed his face, pulling his lips to yours. The kiss was gentle but full of passion, and it completely enveloped the both of you, allowing you to become lost in each other until there was nothing left but silence in the room as the song ended. You finally came up for air but didn’t speak a word, afraid to end such a perfect moment. It was only after a few seconds that Josh broke the silence.

“Hey, baby? I love you so much.”

A wide grin spread across your face, “I love you too, Joshy. I missed you so much,” you said, burying your face into his chest.

He let out a small chuckle, replying, “I missed you too, honey.”

“Hey josh?” you inquired, your face muffled by his chest.

“Yes?” he prompted, looking down at you.

“Maybe that could be our song,” you replied, shyness painting your cheeks pink.

A smile danced across his features as he placed a kiss to your forehead. “Yeah, maybe it could, my love.”

[defiledtomb]

Ouroboros: Progress

I haven't written one of these in forever, so it's slightly clunky, but I aim to have one of these out at least every quarter, if not monthly. Let's dive into it! Spoiler warning for the sneak peeks at the bottom.

What I got done since last month:

After the update drop, I took some time off the main story to prevent the budding burnout. I’m sure you are well aware of my malaise by now- it's a constant effort to stay on the tightrope.

I don't think I brought it up explicitly but when I started writing Ouroboros it was me riding the high of becoming a person again right after years long sick leave and battle with mental health, meaning that while I am absolutely thrilled that I'm getting so much out of life again, that fragile part of me still lives on and I have to take care not to let it get the best of me, and that means constant vigilance and self-compassion. Writing a project this big could easily be a full time job on its own, but I also have to account for going back to the workforce after being gone for so long. It's tough! irl work/life keeps amping up and will continue to eat my energy. Though, come summer, I might actually have some good news on my schedule and how my writing will fit into that. Fingers crossed.

Otherwise I have really enjoyed interacting and goofing around with you on tumblr again, and I’ve had a blast just reading and playing games. It was a very welcomed break. I still got a lot done regarding Ouroboros:

- Got started on all the short stories you voted on, and built the framework of code for how stories will be unlocked as you progress the story. 

- I got some much needed help with setting up a side-blog for writing content only; it’s getting there! Soon Ouro will have its own space.

- I added about 3k words to the next chunk of act 1. A drop in the ocean, but progress is progress. 

- I started sneak-writing on the next act and specifically, the underwater/caving chapter. I am so excited for it! Besides writing and hiking, diving and caving are core parts of my interests. (Didn't I once say that Ouro is disgustingly self indulgent? x] Because it sure is.) 

What’s next:

I am still taking it slow, since most of act 1 pt2 is already written  (60k words ish), and I have some responsibilities I’m gonna need to devote my time to. My goals for February are leading up to Ouro’s first anniversary, so I want to prepare something fun for us to enjoy! If it will be a chunk of update or something else remains to be decided. On the 8th of March we ride.

My priorities for February are:

-having fun with the short stories

-get the sideblog up and running with a new FAQ and character pages, and a new intro post.

-solidify the code and scene transitions for the next update 

- (stretch goal) edit/rewrite/add to the unhinged mess that the next update still is 

 Re: bug reports

Thankfully, last update was relatively bug free, but there are still a few reports sitting in my inbox waiting for changes, mainly

-the egregious oversight of having id's romance scenes appearing although the hunter is committed to L/not in the poly. More on that here.

-the questions with Iontif cutting off short in one path

-a section of the flashback with wrong pronouns + other pronoun variables not displaying correctly (the bane of my existence!!)

Thank you to those who reported these, I always note them down if I don't fix them directly. The reason why I am almost always tardy on bug fixes is because I'm treating this as a first draft that will be rewritten; it makes little sense to dedicate so much time to fixing things that will need to be fixed again. I do them when I have little else I want/have to do. I'm sorry! Triaging problem areas is essential to keeping this show going. I hope that it isn't too invasive to have a few errors in the scenes; rest assured that they will get fixed (eventually 🤡)

Re: save system

Something that has really bothered me lately, is thinking about CoG's obstinate refusal to implement save systems. I absolutely won't release Ouroboros without one, as with how much variation goes into the story (and knowing from first-hand experience playing large games, that one miss-click (or that horrendous bug that chooses options for you if you even look at it wrong) will have you go down a path you didn’t want, or you are faced with starting over, which sometimes leads to such fatigue that you just…stop playing.) it feels like shooting yourself in the foot to not have one. And worse, it feels plain cruel to subject the reader to that. There isn’t any possible way to fit every nuance of a choice into the box-text, or to imply a delayed outcome as a result of making a choice that seems very “innocent” at first glance.

So I stand before a really difficult decision; either code a save system from the bottom up, and I would have to do that sooner rather than later, or port the game to twine which brings its own bundle of problems. Right now I honestly no idea what I want to do, and I have to admit that it fuels a bit of writer's block as I feel locked in place until I come to a decision. Heurgh.

Now for the fun part. Sneak peeks!

I wont share the latter parts as they are still... Unhinged. But the next update isn't just romance, its weapons and insidious cults and fighting, too.  More on that, later.

Thanks for your support, your kind words and for sharing your journey in Ouro. It means the world to me. I’m serious!

[moodymisty]

Five Times You Flirted With Wrecker, and The Time He Flirted Back - Ch1

< Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 >

Author's Note: Totally not inspired by the Wrecker simps that came out of the woodwork I had the pleasure of chatting with. Hope you guys enjoy it <3 Five chapters of fluff, and the sixth being a steamy pile of sauce to top it off. All the chapters are pretty much done, so it'll be an easy ride to the end. This chapter is the shortest one, with scenebuilding and some fluff of course. Enjoy! <3

This has been a really fun formatting experiment, if you want more, feel free to say.

Summary: Of course out of all the clones in the galaxy to fall head over heels in love with, you pick the one that just thinks you're doing a flip.

Relationships: Wrecker/Fem!Reader

Story-wide Warnings: Eventual NSFW, Fluff, Shy!Reader, Friends to lovers, Awkward flirting, Pining, one instance of a drunk clone being a little pushy but nothing extreme, Reader is too shy and Wrecker is too oblivious, Reader is vaguely one or twice described as being ‘nerdy’ but no details, Size difference, Vaginal sex, Unprotected sex,

Word count: 1791

Ao3 Link

The food the base gives you isn’t good, per say; But it’s good enough. Far better than whatever the clones are regulated to eat per their training and tight dietary restrictions, as you watch Hunter sat across from you finish the last of his designated portions. He’s the final person to finish eating, having managed to sneak their meals out to the Marauder and eat, instead of having to deal with the cluttered chaos of the cantina.

You were also allowed out here in the hanger, versus the cantina that they should be eating in being an area of the base secluded only to the clones.

You know it’s a thing that could technically get them in trouble, disobeying the rules like this; Then again they don’t seem all that apposed to doing so quite often. They also don’t seem apposed to you joining them either, even though you’re technically someone who could write them up for this behavior. In fact, they’ve not been very quiet at all about telling you many different things that could get them in their fair share of trouble from multiple branches of command; From sneaking in contraband to disobeying direct orders from a superior officer.

Or regs, as they like to call them.

Over time they've also given you that same nasty habit of calling them regs as well, which you now constantly have to stifle whenever you speak to anyone that wasn’t one of the Batch.

You don’t mind all that much; It’s a side effect of spending time with them that you consider well worth it. The other GAR civilian workers, medics and the like, are usually too busy or find you a bit too odd to spend time around, so their company is more than appreciated. Now whenever you're on base, it's not long before you're flanked by at least one set of black and red plastoid armor.

Hunter had once joked that it was an apology for making you guilty by association, after experiencing multiple instances of regs giving you the stink eye; Prompted by being around with them in any positive way.

But it's usually Wrecker who tags along with you everywhere however, as much as you might not want him to.

Not at all because you don’t like him. It’s actually the exact opposite, as he tends to make your heart race in your chest so much it feels like it’s trying to break out of your ribcage as if it's a prison.

You don’t exactly know when these feelings started, but you don’t quite remember a time where you didn’t feel this way whenever Wrecker was close. Every time your eyes lock with his you can feel the way your chest gets tight, and there's absolutely no cure for it.

Maybe it's his bright personality; Maybe it's his own brand of gogetitness or his 'on the fly' thinking and endless explosive knowhow, but Wrecker has a remarkable ability to turn you into a mess of fumbled words and nonsensical motions of your hands, attempting to scurry away from the situation and whoever else is involved before you say something stupid.

You have a crush, and it is bad.

It's hair twirling, giggling, kicking your heels in the air while you daydream of him bad, and you have absolutely zero way to tell if Wrecker feels even marginally the same.

It didn't help that there was a little voice in the back of your head that keeps telling you he doesn't, and that you're looking so desperately for hints that are just Wrecker’s overflowing amount of friendliness. It's not too out of the realm of reality, at least in the fighting ground of your own mind.

You're a GAR volunteer with a penchant for oddballs and a nerdy disposition, while Wrecker is a dynamo who’s physical strength is only toppled by the sound of his voice. He can craft something that could take an arm off out of only random materials around the scrap heap, meanwhile you're trying to find a partner for holochess. Sure he may have his head in the clouds sometimes, but it's part of what you find so endlessly endearing about him.

Your personalities couldn't be more opposite, would he even fall in love with someone like you?

It doesn’t help your situation that the idea of confessing that you like him only to get turned down would turn you into a puddle of mush right on the floor in front of his boots, so you've currently been settling for a safer but all the more agonizing silence.

It's not been working; As the more time you spend with him the harder and harder it is to not fall more for him, and keep biting your tongue.

You remember going through the effort of smuggling him some sweets once, and even though you knew he wanted to snarf them all down he still shared them with you, despite you having brought them all just for him. You could more than easily get your stomach’s fill when not on the base. But the memory of him holding out a little piece, dwarfed by the size of his hand while you're distracted by the small smudge of sweet staining his bottom li-

"Hey, you good?"

Wrecker's voice suddenly pulls you from your thoughts, looking over to see him leaning over the armrest of his seat, pressing a hand against the side against of the seat you're in. If he leaned anymore forward you'd probably be in his shadow, watching as his eyes glance up and down your form.

You must’ve zoned out staring down at your empty plate, your eyes traveling up his arm before finally meeting his face, giving him a nod and a nervous grimace.

"Oh! Yeah I'm good; Sorry, I was just thinking about something." He's smiling at you, leaning back and taking his hand away from your seat so he isn't so much in your personal space. Not that you minded at all.

Hunter’s sitting across from you in the seat behind the pilot’s seat, where Tech is, while Wrecker sits in the co-pilot’s seat. Crosshair has decided to stand, leaning against the wall just outside of the main group, but close enough that he’s still technically a part of it all.

"Hopefully our last mission didn't leave you with too much to clean up," Hunter gives you a tiny smile, clearly referencing the deployment they’d only just recently returned from. It had been about three standard weeks; No longer than usual, but enough that it had been beginning to get boring around here without them.

"No more than usual; Mandatory write-ups for disobeying superior officers and negligent use of explosives, as well as damaging GAR property without proper authorization and using illegally modified blasters. All multiple counts, of course."

It’s not even the worst list of offenses you’ve gotten with ‘Clone Force 99’ on it, in hindsight. Maybe you’d invest in a high score counter for the troopers, one day. Surely the 501st troopers stationed here would get a kick out of it.

"Granted, you guys get a decent bit of leeway since you get things done and don't ask any questions, so most of it is just going to be ignored anyways." Wrecker leans back in his seat hard enough that it creaks, crossing his left leg over his right thigh.

"You'd think they would stop writing us up if they were gonna keep forgiving all of it," Wrecker has a confident smirk on his face, even more so when you smile back at him and respond. "Everyone has to follow the rules. At least somewhat." 

If someone looked closer on the matter they might consider you somewhat biased, however.

Just as you both finish speaking, Tech all the sudden pulls his nose from his datapad and looks across to Wrecker; Making him turn his gaze from you. Good, because you always quickly run out of words to say while his full attention was on you.

“Wrecker,” Most the Batch looks over at Tech, who’s extended out an index finger in the direction of nothing in particular but towards the back of the ship. “We need some more crates of ammunition from the armory loaded onto the Marauder before we deploy next, if you will.” Wrecker nods, leaning forward enough that his elbows press into his thighs.

“No problem! I'll go get 'em in a bit.”

Those crates are huge, you think; Looking over at him just as Tech is telling him not to forget again.

You don't usually go into the storage areas; Though you have seen those ammunition crates a few times, and know that on you, they reach high enough that you’d have pretty big trouble moving one. Let alone multiple.

“Can you really lift all that? Those crates are massive...” Turning to look down at you beside him, Wrecker’s smile is wide as can be while he tenses his own forearm, making a fist.

“Yeah! That stuff’s easy. Just gotta know how to lift it, that’s the key.” You knew that he was inhumanly strong, however it seems every day you become a little bit more impressed at just how strong he really is.

You remember once he'd given you a giant hug and lifted you off the ground, trapping your arms against your side. It was impossible to remember what he'd even been hugging you for- probably just a hello, he was always overly friendly with you- but you remember Hunter yelling at him to not manhandle you while your legs dangled useless.

Needless to say, that display of such casual strength had left you, impressed.

However when it comes to Wrecker, you being impressed quickly changes into daydreaming about things far too inappropriate to be in your head during the daytime. You manage to avoid going down that path this time, though largely because you blurt out the first words that come into your head; Which also serves to be your undoing.

“Wow, when the Kaminoans wanted you to be strong they really meant it, heh...” Just as the words slip out of your mouth you wish more than anything you could just eat them up again; Hating how they sound so wispy and in awe of him.

Ok, that was way too obvious… I need to dial it down.

Wrecker thankfully however seems completely oblivious to how infatuated your flirty little sentence had sounded, which fills you with endless relief. He keeps talking, leaning closer to you over the armrest of his seat and ignoring all of his brothers.

To the side however almost out of view, you catch Crosshair rolling his eyes at you out of the corner of your own.