#it’s the beans all over again I’m so anxious

[pleeborp]

I can’t even begin to express how excited I am for the next episode of dndads.

Like I was kinda excited to see where the titanic bit was gonna go

BUT NOW I WANNA SEE WHAT MATT ARNOLD IS GONNA DO WITH THIS

Because it could go one of two ways:

1. It doesn’t change anything and we don’t address it

2. We DO address it

Matthew Arnold is such a wild card in this series that at this point I just don’t know.

[malum-forev]

Second Trimester

Authors Note: Thank you guys soo much for the love you gave this story! Here's part 2!

Part 1: First Trimester

She knew something was up when Bucky insisted on picking her up and driving her to the compound. He rubbed two gloved hands together nervously as she locked up her apartment door. 

“You look even more anxious than when we made bean.” She chuckled. 

Bucky let out a staggered breath running a hand through his newly short hair. “I’m sorry, m’not trying to make you nervous it’s just- well, I don’t have any family left, biological family that is. And those dorks are kind of my chosen family. Think of this like meeting your in laws- except they’re not your in laws because we’re not dating, they’re Avengers and they kind of think you got pregnant on purpose.”

(Y/n) gulped, suddenly feeling like a knot of spikes parked in the middle of her esophagus. “So much for not trying to make me nervous.”

“Sorry… again.” Bucky shut his eyes for a second. “I’m not great at the talking part- I don’t usually talk this much. I don’t know what’s come over me.”

Once he opened his eyes back up, Bucky was greeted with a smile that melted the tension. He didn’t know how she did it, one soft look from her and all his problems were suddenly gone. 

“I like your word vomit.” (Y/n) smiled and without thinking twice, she laced the fingers on her right hand with the ones on his left hand. “You don’t have to be nervous alone, you know. We’re in this together for the next eight months and at least my lifetime. I don’t know how long you’re planning on living, how about we round it up to the next seventy years.”

Bucky’s throat went dry and he tried to keep up with her pace walking. He looked down at their linked hands with widened eyes. It had been years since someone had touched his left hand, let alone do it on purpose and without flinching. 

Bucky learned the hard way that some women only wanted to be with him so he could use the vibranium on them, see what it was capable of doing. It all felt so wrong to him, using the arm that was given to him to kill for something other than that. He’d been ashamed of it for so long that he lived life around it. Covering it with a jacket and gloves even in the scorching New York summer. Using his right hand to open doors and help old ladies cross the street, wanting to bring the least amount of attention to his left limb. But in this moment, he didn’t feel discomfort or humiliation; quite the opposite, he felt a calming blooming sensation coming from their joined hands. Like the sun had risen after a long winter and it was casting its warming yellow glow on him. 

He straightened his spine and squeezed her hand, being careful to not put too much pressure but making it clear he welcomed the gesture.

An hour later, it was her who needed Bucky’s hand to hold. She was sitting at the end of a long conference table with people she never thought she’d meet staring her down. 

Captain America, who’d insisted she call him Steve, sat closest to her with his elbows resting on the table. (Y/n) could see the battle going on in his head by the different wrinkles that showed up on his expressive face. Going from excitement to worry in seconds. Next to him was Natasha, the redhead was surprisingly the most inviting of them all, giving (Y/n) a genuine smile. All the way in the back of the room stood the Falcon, Sam hadn’t said a single word and kept his eyes laser focused on her. Like he was waiting for something to give up the fact that (Y/n) was using Bucky. With his arms crossed over his chest, he leaned on the wall and narrowed his eyes. 

Finally, Bucky came back into the room with a glass of water which he placed in front of her. 

“Guys, I really wanted you to meet-“

Bucky’s quiet voice was replaced by Sam’s booming tone. “Have you even thought about how this is going to work out?!”

Groans came from both Steve and Nat.

“You promised to behave.” Steve shot daggers at Sam but he just rolled his eyes. 

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Natasha said. “Before her, we thought it was impossible for people with the super serum to have kids. Think of how this will change the world. They can’t just pass it up.”

“The world,” Sam laughed dryly. “Think about how this is going to change Buck! We can do this, this job, because we have no family except each other. He’ll start pulling his punches and then what? He’ll leave a mission because the kid got sick?”

“That’s enough Sam.” Steve said. “What about Clint? He’s got a family and he got the job done.”

“Have you two even talked about what this relationship is?” Sam waved his hand between Bucky and (Y/n). “Are you two exclusive?”

“Yes.” Said Bucky but at the same time, (Y/n) said: “No.”

Bucky’s neck snapped towards her. “You’re dating? With my kid in there?”

(Y/n)’s brows shot up. “You made it very clear we aren’t dating so yes, I’ve been on a couple of dates.”

“I don’t know how I feel about you dragging my kid on dates with random men.” Bucky crossed his arms over his chest and she mimicked his action.

“This baby is as much my kid as it is yours. And until I pop it out, bean’s going to be following me everywhere I go. That means, if I want to go to the movies or dinner and someone asks me out, I’ll do whatever the hell I want.”

Sam’s arms shot up. “See, this is what I’m talking about. They have no idea what they’re doing!”

Natasha rubbed her temples. “How about this, the next time (Y/n) wants to go out on a date, Bucky takes her out. You’re going to start showing any second now and it’s gonna start getting harder and harder to get commitment-phobe guys to go on a date with the lady growing another human.”

(Y/n) nodded her head. “Sounds great to me.”

“Deal. I’ll take you out once a week.” Bucky uncrossed his arms.

“Twice.” (Y/n) shrugged. “I’m cute, a lot of guys wanting to take me out.”

Bucky’s nostrils flared at the thought of other men waiting behind her front door. “Twice, but I get to choose the place at least once.”

“You get to choose the place but I get flowers, once a week.” (Y/n) rested both elbows on the table and stared at Bucky. 

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “Fine, you’ll get the flowers but I’ll get three vetoes for any of the places you choose.”

(Y/n) brought her right hand closer to him, wanting to shake on the deal before he could back out. “Deal.”

“Deal.” Bucky said with a devious smile. “You need to work on your negotiation skills, dollface. I was already planning on getting you flowers for every date.” 

“I would have done the deal for one date a week.” (Y/n) smiled.

---

Bucky knocked three times on her door, exhausted from the night before. He’d been to Romania on a mission and gotten in at around 3 am, gotten up at 8 am and trained the day through. He leaned his head on the door and waited for (Y/n) to open the door. 

It had been three weeks since they’d reached the date agreement and he’d only had to cancel once. Bucky was quite proud of that, for someone who’s life had been upside down he was keeping his promise and developing some sort of routine. 

Today was his choice of date and in true Bucky fashion, he wanted to stay in. He’d picked up Chinese takeout and wanted to watch another of the thousands of classic movies he’d missed over the decades. 

Bucky heard her soft footsteps leading to the door and the lock turning.

“They didn’t have the pork dumplings so I got you shrimp. And since shrimp don’t have a high mercury level, we’re okay to eat it- you know, since doc sai-“

Bucky’s rambling was cut short the second his eyes locked on her body. His ocean blue eyes widened and his jaw went slack. (Y/n) was wearing a white tank top that clung to her body, it had been only a couple of days since they’d seen each other but Bucky felt like it had been a lifetime. His eyes locked on her chest for a couple of seconds, he couldn’t miss the sight of her bigger breasts, but what really caught his eye was the small bump that sticked out. 

“Y-you’re pregnant.” Bucky stuttered.

(Y/n) let out a loud laugh as she lead him into her apartment. “I thought you got the memo.” Taking the brown paper bag from his hands.

Bucky shook his head, trying to rearrange his thoughts but all that bubbled around in his brain was the image of her with her hands rubbing the small bump.

“I-I mean. You look pregnant.” Bucky’s eyes shone like the night’s sky, his hands itched to get closer to her, closer to the baby.

(Y/n) took her place on the couch, stretching out her hand to him. Bucky walked slowly, afraid of- he didn’t know what he was afraid of but there was a deep feeling settling in his stomach. When Bucky got closer, he absentmindedly brought forward his left hand before ripping it back and stretching out his right one. 

“It’s okay.” (Y/n) whispered, a sweet smile playing on her lips. “Bean loves every part of you.”

Bucky shook his head quickly, extending his right hand closer to her. 

(Y/n) sat up, taking both of Bucky’s hands in hers and lightly pulling him down until he was kneeling in between her legs. With a soft touch, she brought his hands to her protruding belly, rubbing small circles on the back of his hand. 

“Bean will never be afraid of you.” (Y/n) whispered, bringing one of her hands to the back of his neck, soothing Bucky with her touch.

His eyes filled with burning tears, begging to be let out. Years of being feared, years of being used, it all didn’t matter because it brought him to this exact moment. 

No words were spoken because he couldn’t think of words that expressed his feelings. Gratitude, happiness, peace. Instead of saying anything, he unlocked a piece of himself to her. That was the only thing he could do. So, for the next hour they sat in silence, tears falling freely from his eyes as he rubbed her belly softly. Bucky hummed tunes from the 40’s until (Y/n) fell asleep, her back pressed to his chest.

- -

It had been a long day at the compound’s med bay. (Y/n) had been poked and prodded for the better part of two hours and Bucky had been by her side the entire time. He knew better than anyone that being in that situation alone was horrible, a feeling he wouldn’t want anyone to experience let alone the woman carrying his child. 

“Are we almost done here?” Bucky said, his words rough and clipped. The doctors around the two of them scattered and nodded, afraid of him. But, (Y/n)? She just laughed.

“They’re just doing their job Buck.” She smiled. “Bean is an incredible scientific accomplishment that they just want to understand. Plus, I would much rather get my blood drawn and have a couple of ultrasounds than what I get done at the OBGYN.”

Bucky’s brows furrowed at the thought of her being even slightly uncomfortable.

“I’ve lost count of the people who’ve shoved their hands up to my cervix.” She laughed, getting up from the chair. 

Bucky rubbed tiny circles next to her belly button, loving the way her skin felt in his hands, as they walked out of the med bay.

“Isn’t that Sam?” (Y/n) asked, looking left at the man who’d barely talked to them since they’d decided to have the baby. 

“Yeah but I don’t think we should call him ove-“

(Y/n) interrupted him by yelling out Sam’s name and calling him over. 

Bucky saw the annoyed state his friend was in the second he walked towards them. 

“Hey.” Sam gave them a tight smile. 

“I know you don’t trust me,” (Y/n) said. “but just do this time.”

Sam’s eyes furrowed with confusion and it just deepened the second (Y/n) took his hand and brought it to her stomach. What was first hesitation, turned into surprise.

“Is- is that?” Sam asked feeling movement inside her belly. 

“That’s bean.” Bucky’s smile took over his face. 

“It’s moving.” Sam whispered, taking his other hand and bringing it to her stomach too. 

“I know you’re not totally on board with this,” Bucky said. “but you need to trust us. This is the right decision.”

Sam’s wide eyes bounced between the two of them. “I can’t concentrate on anything else but this baby trying to kick its way out of (Y/n)’s stomach. Bean’s going to have my fighting style.”

Both Bucky and (Y/n) smiled at each other, happy that Sam had finally called their baby Bean. 

Third Trimester

tagged: @kpopgirlbtssvt @shara-ne @namelesssaviour @hallecarey1 @aorifukuzawa @sammyssm @alana4610. @mrsjobarnes

[writingtraumaforever]

Courtship: Chapter 3 (Finale)

Notes: AAAAAAAAAND DONE. This was such a joy to write, guys. I love the movie-verse so, so much, and I'm glad I was motivated enough to write a little fic about our two favorite boys. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did, and who know! Maybe if the demand is there, I'll write a little epilogue for our two cuties~

Summary: Shadow meets the Wachowski's. Again.

Chapter Select: Chapter 1, Chapter 2

Mini-Sequel: Home Alone

Link to my AO3!

Start:

Sonic is nothing but nervous energy.

He’s been rushing about the entire morning. He took a bubble bath. He bathed Ozzie in the same bath after. He tidied his room. He put on the coolest pictures of him in the living room and the dopey ones in his dresser drawer to not be found. He combed his quills and brushed his fur. He has prepared in every possible way and still feels like things aren’t near good enough for Shadow to be impressed.

Maddie climbs up the ladder to the attic, gently lifting the door to find Sonic moving his action figures around on his shelf as if to try and find some sort of specifically aesthetic organization.

“No..,” he moves them all around again, “nuh uh,” again, “not it,” again with a frustrated groan, “You know what?? He’ll probably think they’re lame anyway.” And then he’s dumping them all in the upper drawer of his nightstand.

Maddie can’t help but smile at her spazzing son, a sympathetic knit to her brow as she knocks gently on his bedroom floor, “Knock knock?”

Sonic’s attention instantly shift to his peeping mom’s head peering through the attic door, “oh- hey, mom.”

“Hey, kiddo,” she smiles, entering now that he’s granted his approval. She looks at the neat room with raised brows, “Wow.. don’t think I’ve ever seen it so clean in here.”

“Yeah, well. I can’t have a guest thinking I’m a slob.”

“Right. Because that would be misleading,” Maddie says with a playful wink and a hint of sarcasm. Sonic just smiles at this, rolling his eyes before dashing over to his comic books that are stacked next to his bean bag. He begins looking through them, trying to decide which should go on top for viewing.

“You think Batman is cooler or the Flash??”

“Hm.. I think the Flash is pretty cool,” the mother answers as she approaches the hedgehog with a knowing look in her eyes.

“Mm… yeah, but..,” he looks at the Batman comic again before stacking the Flash and then the Batman one on top, “Shadow would probably like Batman more.”

“You’re probably right,” Maddie agrees with a nod, Sonic nodding in return as he turns to his mom again.

“Did you get the hot dogs?”

“Yup,” she assures, “Three whole packs. And the chili is currently in the slow cooker.”

“Sweet,” Sonic grins approvingly, “Shadow is gonna die when he tries your chili dogs. He’ll finally understand that they’re the best thing humans have ever invented.”

“Right,” Maddie snorts with a giggle before she crouches down to eye level with the blue blur, watching how Sonic’s eyes skim around the room looking for something else to perfect. Nerves. Anxious. Excited. Scared..

She knows.

She knows.

“Hey..,” she says softly, catching Sonic’s attention then as she takes his gloved hands into her own, “He already likes you. He wouldn’t be coming here if he didn’t.”

Sonic sighs, some of the tension leaving his shoulders as he squeezes Maddie’s hands, “I know. I know. I just-.. I really want him to think I’m cool.”

“Sonic Wachowski?? Not cool?? That’s an impossible conclusion to come to,” she smirks, Sonic giggling a bit in return.

“I know, but-.. I don’t know..”

Sonic’s ears flatten just slightly, his gaze shifting away sheepishly. And nervously..

Maddie’s smile softens again, squeezing his hands again as she speaks, “Try and relax. If you’re a nervous ball of energy, he likely will feed off that and be one too. Being cool is a nice thing to be, but being welcoming is the more important bit.. You want him to feel safe here.”

“Yeah..,” Sonic breathes with a small smile, looking at his mother earnestly, “..I just want him to want to come back.”

“I’m sure he will,” she assures with a nod, moving to kiss her boy’s spiky forehead before resting hers against it to look him in the eye, “It’ll all go just fine, Sonic. You’re a great kid.”

“I’m seventeen,” Sonic groans with a little eyeroll, but it’s harmless and he’s smiling. He knows good and well no matter how old he is, he’ll always be her baby.

“I’m sorry, you’re a great man,” she corrects with pure confidence, “And you have a big heart. I’m sure he sees that too, and finds comfort in that…”

Sonic’s eyes shut with a sigh, leaning his forehead against his mom’s a bit more before simply moving to slide his arms around her shoulders and give her a big hedgehog hug. 

“Thanks mom..”

She pets her hand along his head and rubs his ear with a smile, hugging him in return tight and warm, “Anytime.”

Sonic stays like that until he feels most of his nerves melt away, pulling back then to look her in the eye with all seriousness, “Dad’s gonna behave, right???”

Maddie hums and looks away as if unsure, “I think so,” she immediately laughs when Sonic’s face shifts to horror and gives his shoulders a playful shake, “Calm down, I’m kidding. We had a talk. And he absolutely is going to behave. As are the other boys.”

Sonic deflates with a breath of relief, “Oh thank God—“

Maddie giggles and stands up again, lightly thumping Sonic’s ear and making it twitch in the process as she turns to exit the attic, “Try and relax a bit. You’re gonna run a hole in the ceiling if you keep at it up here.”

Sonic just scoffs in playful offense, “Is that a fat joke?!”

“It’s a warning,” Maddie says with a pointed look his way as she climbs down the ladder, slowly closing the door on her way down. She playfully points at him in mock threat just before it shuts, leaving Sonic chuckling before moving to his bed.

He sits down carefully on the edge, not wanting to have to make it again. Laying back with a heavy sigh, he stares at his ceiling and tries to ignore the very aggressive butterflies that are multiplying in his stomach..

•••

Shadow has prepared himself appropriately according to his research. 

He anointed himself in his favorite scent: lavender and coffee. He combed his quills neatly. He brushed his chest fur to get any knots out. He’s even wearing an extra article of clothing: a black leather jacket. And to impress Sonic’s parents, he bought two motorcycle helmets to show he cares about safety, wearing one when he shows up at their driveway. 

He read motorcycles are often an alarming sign to most guardians for their children to be associated with, but Sonic once told him that Mr. Wachowski thought they were ‘way past cool’. So he opted to try and impress the man by catering to his interests.

Parking the bike on the street at the end of the driveway, Shadow removes his helmet and rests it on the seat. His crimson eyes stare at the Wachowski residence for a long time. A sick feeling in his stomach.

Maybe he’s ill.

No.. no, lying to himself is pointless. He’s terrified. 

He doesn’t get the luxury of domineering first impressions. He’s already made them long ago, and they weren’t exactly ideal. None of this situation is, honestly. But he has to play the cards he was dealt, and he’s determined to try his damn hardest to win this family over.

He’s watched YouTube tutorials on how to hold conversation, dinner etiquette, appropriate movie watching commentary, manners when meeting parents, common humans topics of conversation..

He’s done his research. Theoretically, this should be a walk in the park.

So why the hell couldn’t he get his feet to move???

He stares at the home. Can see the lights on, humans silhouetted and moving about through the sheer curtains of the windows.. and one blue blur flashing by now and then.

Shadow’s lips purse, his fists tightening at his sides as his stomach aches a bit more uneasily.

Sonic is inside.. Sonic is depending on him to make a good impression. Sonic has done his part in this ritual, now it’s time for Shadow to do his and-…

Nope. No, what is he thinking?? Shadow can’t do this. He doesn’t deserve this. He’s a fraud. He doesn’t deserve redemption or forgiveness. He doesn’t get to just waltz into their home and act as though he’s just some random hedgehog their son brought home. 

He nearly destroyed them.

Picking his helmet back off his motorcycle’s seat, he starts to put it back on with one last glance to the Wachowski home.

The home untouched by a monster. The home he hasn’t destroyed yet. The home that doesn’t need him involved in it..

And ruby finds emerald.

Sonic’s wide, eager eyes are looking out the window in search of his guest’s arrival and find Shadow standing there.

Damnit.

The front door opens in an instant, the blue blur standing there grinning wide and excited and happy. Shadow can see his tail wagging from here.

“Shadow!”

Shadow slowly puts his helmet back on the seat of his bike.

Welp.

No going back now.

Walking around the bike, Shadow offers a small smile to Sonic despite his current need to vomit. Or run. Running sounds more convenient.

”You’re here!” Sonic beams, and Shadow swears he’s never seen the hero so damn giddy.

“I am,” he confirms with a small nod, approaching the steps to the doorway now and stopping right outside the door.

Sonic just stares at him all sunshine and giggles for a long moment, Shadow feeling increasingly weary under his starstruck gaze.

This hedgehog expects far too much of Shadow.. he’s going to end up crushed when he sees him for what he really is eventually. But Shadow will selfishly take whatever attention Sonic will give him for now.

There’s something powerful about it.. a pure-hearted hero like Sonic wanting to court Shadow. The monstrosity. The creature. The thing.

Shadow wonders if Sonic even realizes how much of an impact the way he looks at Shadow has on him..

Sonic’s eyes linger and then look down at Shadow’s attire, “You’re wearing a jacket!”

Shadow shifts a bit on his feet, looking down at his jacket with slight embarrassment now.. maybe it wasn’t the appropriate choice?

“I.. am..?”

“It looks great!” Sonic beams, bouncing on his toes as he bites his lower lip.

“Oh..,” Shadow looks back to Sonic, a shy smile curling on his muzzle, “Thank you.”

“Sure thing,” Sonic replies immediately, going back to just staring at Shadow as if he isn’t real. Like he’s a dream. A vision.

Shadow doesn’t know what to do with that..

“May I—“

“Oh! Yeah, man, sorry—“ Sonic chuckles with a pink tint growing on his cheeks, moving out of the way to allow Shadow inside the home. Shadow steps inside and is immediately met with the smell of peppers and mahogany. He’s guessing it’s the dinner mixed with the natural Wachowski home scent. It’s not unpleasant.

Sonic closes the door behind him, and Shadow looks up to find the Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady themselves looking right back at him.

Oh sweet chaos kill him—

”Hello, Mr. And Mrs. Wachowski,” Shadow greets immediately, nerves making his hands feel a bit shaky but he steels them into hard fists at his sides.

The missus of the home speaks first, “Hello, Shadow.” Her voice is soft and sweet, and her smile looks genuine and welcoming. “We’re so happy to have you here. Welcome to our home!”

“Thank you for allowing my attendance,” Shadow politely nods, swallowing hard as his eyes shift to the man. The father. The leader. The Donut Lord. 

He doesn’t look nearly as genuine as the woman when he smiles. But he is smiling, which is something, at least.

Last Shadow saw this man, he had a foot placed firmly on his neck with a gun pressed to his temple.

Shadow will gladly and gratefully take a damn disingenuous smile.

“Of course,” the man assures, seeming a bit reluctant in his words but Shadow recognizes the effort regardless, “Any friend of Sonic’s is always welcome.”

Even if they blew up half the moon???

Shadow refrains from saying this.

“You have a lovely home, Mrs. Wachowski,” Shadow compliments, trying for some of the training he received from the Internet, “It’s very well decorated.”

“Oh- that’s so sweet,” she smiles, a hand over her heart as if it’s been touched. Shadow is glad this seems to have been the right thing to say.

“Why don’t you let Sonic give you a tour, and I’ll the table set for us to eat out back?”

“Sounds great!” Sonic approves, Shadow looking back to the hedgehog that’s been standing behind him watching the interaction with pins and needles this whole time, “C’mon! We’ll start with the living room.”

Shadow follows Sonic throughout the home, feeling Mr. Wachowski’s lingering gaze now and then when in sight. But Shadow tries not to focus on this and instead on the words Sonic is saying.

“These are our bean bags,” the blue hedgehog points to the line of three large bags, blue, yellow and red, stored against the wall of the living room behind the couch, “We pull them out in front of the tv when we watch a movie or a show. Mine is the blue one— duh. Knuckles’ is red and Tails’ is yellow. Mom and Dad take the couch.”

Shadow nods with a small hum to show he’s paying attention, not having much commentary on the matter. Sonic doesn’t seem to mind this. He makes up by talking enough for the both of them. Always has. This is their dynamic. And the familiarity of it helps Shadow feel a bit more at ease as he continues on with Sonic’s tour.

“This is the dining room where we eat— except we never eat here. We usually just sit in the living room or at the table in the kitchen to eat. We only eat here on special occasions like birthdays or holidays.”

“This is the downstairs bathroom. Always use this bathroom. Knuckles uses it the least.”

“That’s the kitchen, but we’ll stay outta there right now so we don’t get in the way.”

“This is the downstairs office where Dad will do paperwork or Mom will do some vet stuff. Sometimes she brings home animals to foster, and they sleep in here. It’s super cool! Once, she brought home an earth hedgehog. It was super slow.”

“This is the backyard—“

He’s interrupted by instant barking when he opens the door, the family dog having been outside and seemingly waiting at the door for them to join him. Shadow doesn’t like the loud noise, instantly feeling a bit overwhelmed as he takes a small step back with a frown and watches Sonic wrangle the dog by his collar.

“Ozzie! Easy! I know you’re excited we have a guest, but you gotta chill, dawg,” Sonic scolds affectionately, grinning as he tugs the pup away from the door to allow Shadow to step out without being tackled.

Shadow does, eyeing the dog and keeping his distance the entire time.

The dog— Ozzie eventually seems to calm, his barking stopping and being replaced with little whines as he eyes Shadow. His tail is wagging like Sonic’s was when he first got here.

Actually, Sonic’s tail hasn’t stopped wagging, Shadow notes.

His ears perk up from their folded back position once the barking stops, observing the dog silently with an unsure gaze..

Sonic picks up on this, offering a hand out to Shadow as he stays crouched at the dog’s side holding its collar with his opposing hand, “It’s cool. He don’t bite.”

Shadow frowns a bit, looking at Sonic’s hand a bit unsure before looking to the dog again.. then he hesitantly reaches and lets Sonic’s hand guide his own to the dog’s fur. It’s thick. He imagines it’s probably soft without his gloves on, as most well-kept fur is.. 

The dog’s head seems to tilt up into his palm when it touches between his ears, Shadow lightly curling his fingers to scratch there as Ozzie’s tongue hangs happily to the side of his muzzle. Panting and no longer whining now that he’s getting his wanted attention and affection.

Shadow’s frown dissipates slowly, replaced with a content sort of expression. He.. likes petting it. It’s comforting.

Shadow smells the distinct scent of grass on his palm when he retracts it from the dog.

“He’s a good boy,” Sonic smiles, petting the dog under its chin and behind its collar, “He likes you, too! That’s a good sign.”

Shadow’s eyes glint with pride at that, eased that he has passed yet another Wachowski test. 

They go back inside after Sonic shows Shadow the firepit and then picnic table in the back, walking in to find Tom carrying some plates towards the backdoor..

“Dinner is ready to serve,” the sheriff informs with a small smile at the two, seeming a bit more at ease now that “introductions” have been made, “Go get your brothers, huh?”

“On it,” Sonic nods, waving his hand for Shadow to follow— which he does once he’s done holding the door open for Mr. Wachowski.

“Tails’ room is the basement, “Sonic informs as they approach what Shadow had assumed was a coat closet. Instead, he finds there’s a staircase down when Sonic opens it.

“He was in the guest room, but Dad moved him when he kept waking him up at night tinkering. Said he needed more room to work.”

“That was generous of him,” Shadow replies, following Sonic down the stairs.

“Yeah. Dad is pretty supportive of our hobbies,” Sonic shrugs with a little smile, though he seems to hold a new nervousness now..

Once downstairs, Shadow is a bit taken aback by the sight.

The walls are lined with all sorts of tools and gadgets and gizmos, some he recognizes and some he’s never seen before. The room is very much divided by a workspace and an actual bedroom. The workspace being what Shadow would only describe as organized chaos while the bedroom portion is neat and tidy. Clean and almost looking untouched.

It’s intriguing, the contrast.

A personality for each tail, he supposes.

Speaking of— the young kit himself was found seated at a workbench, headphones over pointed ears and fluffy tails winding together then unwinding again behind him repetitively. He seems locked in on whatever he’s fiddling with, his tongue sticking out and his brows furrowed in concentration. Shadow almost hates to interrupt him, but Sonic approaches without a thought.

“Hey Tails,” the hero lightly nudges his shoulder causing the fox to flinch before quickly removing his headphones to turn to Sonic, “dinner’s ready.”

“Oh sweet! I’m starved!” the smaller one grins, “Just let me—“ his smile drops, eyes widening and body stiffening when he sees Shadow.

Shadow swallows, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and trying not to seem too intimidating nor too intimidated.

“Oh,” Tails says, his voice small and his ears drooping back just slightly. His body shifts as if to be a bit more behind Sonic, “hey, Shadow. L-long time no see!.. heh..”

He’s scared. Shadow hates that..

Hates he’s given the kit more than enough reason to be..

He’s actually quite good with kids, contrary to popular belief. He was made to comfort and tend to one after all.. 

His heart would’ve broken to bits had his sister ever looked at him like that..

He clears his throat, glancing around before trying to break the ice with a compliment, “Your.. workspace is impressive,” he looks back at the fox to show he’s earnest, “I haven’t seen many of these tools before.”

“Oh,” Tails’ ears perk up, though a bit hesitantly, “I uh-.. I made most of them myself.”

“You build these things??”

“Yeah! Um.. I can show you some if you want??”

“I’d like that,” Shadow nods.

Sonic listens with a growing smile, watching as Tails stands and slowly begins to show Shadow some of his creations lining the walls and tabletops. He seems pleased this is going well thus far. More than pleased. This is important to him, of course, that much is obvious. But this fox is special to Sonic. He’s protective of him, a guardian of him. He wouldn’t want Shadow to be an object of fear for him.. nor would he want to bring Shadow around if it caused Tails distress, the hybrid is sure.

There’s a soft look in Sonic’s eyes as Tails laughs at something Shadow says, though. It makes Shadow’s stomach do flips. He pretends not to notice.

“I’m actually working on a design for a plane,” Tails explains as he approaches his workbench again, showing Shadow the blueprints, “I kind of got addicted this one time I flew one while fighting Eggman. Wanna make one bigger and better.”

Shadow looks over the blueprints with intrigue, finding the knowledge of this child absolutely baffling as well as simply endearing. His thirst for knowledge is familiar to Shadow..

“The engine design is formidable,” the hybrid observes, “have you considered replacing the transonic truss-braced wings with elliptical ones??”

“I… haven’t..,” Tails hums thoughtfully, tapping his chin as he eyes his blueprints, “that would make it far more aerodynamically efficient—“

“—and produce less drag,” Shadow finishes with a nod, watching as the fox quickly picks up his pencil and makes adjustments to the blueprints

“That’s brilliant! Team Heroes definitely needs this to be fast—“

“Okay you two! Before you start nerding out, we have chili dogs-a-waitin’,” Sonic interrupts, gesturing dramatically to the stairs with a bow.

Shadow and Tails look to him, the fox chuckling sheepishly and putting his pencil back down as he rubs the back of his neck and approaches his older brother, “Sorry. Got carried away.”

“It’s cool, lil’ bro,” Sonic assures with a shrug, waiting for Shadow to walk up the stairs before following behind, “I know you’re a big dork.”

“At least I’m not a big dumb,” Tails retorts with a grin.

“Zing!” Sonic chuckles proudly. Shadow is fairly certain he could’ve thought of a comeback and simply chose to allow the fox the win. It’s cute.

“Alright, let’s go get Knucks because the dawgs are callin’ and I’m staaaarviiiiing~” Sonic sings the last word in a nonsensical way that Shadow has grown accustom to from the hedgehog, smirking slightly as he follows him towards the side door.

Once outside, Shadow notes a large, white shed to the side of the house with its lights on, putting together that that must be where the echidna stays.

As if reading his mind, Sonic narrates, “Knuckles’ room is in the shed. Him and Mom had a lot of fights when he first moved in because he was a bit destructive. After a while, though, we realized this was just because he wasn’t use to sharing his space. He was pretty much a loner before all us, and he likes his independence and to be his own boss. So Mom renovated the shed for him and surprised him with it. I think that’s the first time he hugged her. It was pretty cool,” Sonic reminisces, walking backwards towards the shed so he can keep his eye on Shadow as he speaks.

“She sounds like a very perceptive mother,” Shadow analyzes.

“Oh, she is,” Sonic nods with wide eyes, “It’s scary sometimes how she knows things. It’s like she can read minds or something.”

Shadow’s ears fold back slightly at that, glancing towards the house again and wondering if his mind is currently being invaded..

To his knowledge, humans don’t have this ability, though.

Sonic knocks on the shed door once before opening it right on up. They’re instantly met with loud rap music playing over a speaker, Shadow’s ears once again folding back at the unwelcomed noise.

Sonic seems to notice this, rushing in a dash to switch the music off. This immediately disturbs the echidna who is sitting on a weight bench with a large spear in hand, sharpening the tip with a rock of some sort.

“Hey! Who dares to interrupt my bops?!” the red echidna barks, purple eyes turning to lock on crimson ones.

Oh boy.

The fox was one thing. He feared Shadow, which is something Shadow felt he could change relatively simply with time and trust. But the echidna???

He challenged Shadow.

“Ah! The Utmost Living Being!”

“The Ultimate Lifeform..,” Shadow mumbles the correction with a small frown, trying not to seem annoyed by the guardian’s incompetence. He’s had a lot of practice with Sonic.

“Whatever. You have arrived!” Knuckles continues, standing to approach the two now. Shadow is wary of the spear still in his hand, not even flinching when Knuckles points it directly at him, nearly grazing his chin. The echidna’s voice is deathly serious, gaze firm and menacing like a predator, “What are your intentions with my brother?”

Sonic’s eyes widen with a loud and awkward, “OH-KAY! That’s enough of that, ha-ha!” He’s quickly between the two, shoving the spear away from Shadow’s face with a little glare to his brother. Knuckles ignores it, keeping his eyes locked daringly on Shadow over Sonic’s shoulder. Shadow just looks back unphased before looking back to the nervously laughing Sonic.

“Don’t be weird, Knuckles,” the hedgehog growls under his breath, the echidna scoffing at this as if offended.

“Weird?! I am not being weird! I am merely engaging in conversation with our guest.”

“A weird conversation. And an unnecessarily aggressive one!”

“All aggression is necessary,” Knuckles corrects, finally looking from Shadow to Sonic, “Besides, I am the eldest brother. It is my duty to protect the tribe from newcomers!”

“Dude. Mom and Dad already have it covered. Just— be cool,” Sonic groans, crossing his arms at his brother. 

“The Lady of Pretzels and Lord of Donuts are easily persuaded. I am not,” Knuckles shrugs, looking back to Shadow, “You are welcome to our home! But I will be watching you..”

Shadow just nods at this, “Understandable.”

Sonic groans more at this, seeming annoyed with Knuckles’ typical dramatic antics before he just rubs a hand down his face and shrugs it off, “Whatever. Just— dinner’s ready.”

“Oo sustenance! Is there grapes???” Knuckles’ demeanor shifts from intimidating to giddy like a dime, his eyes wide with hope.

“Yes. She made fruit salad and included grapes. Just for you,” Sonic huffs, turning towards the door to which Shadow promptly follows.

“Superb. She is absolutely a wonderful mother,” Knuckles hums pleased as he follows behind the two, “I am very glad I picked her.”

“Right,” Sonic rolls his eyes, leading the trio across the yard, picking his battles and not arguing with Knuckles on that one.

Shadow can’t help but find the entire interaction amusing. Their dynamic is so different than Sonic and Tails’, but it’s still laced with affection. It’s also endearing. 

Once back inside, the three find that the house is empty and assume the others are already out back waiting in the yard.

Joining them outside, Shadow is immediately met with the appetizing aroma of chili as well as assorted fruits and some sort of meat.

He doesn’t have to eat as much as normal people do, but he certainly doesn’t mind it if it’s a good enough meal.

Tails is sitting with Mrs. Wachowski at the table, fixing his plate with a hot dog and a simple topping of ketchup with a bowl of chili separate on the side. He’s already digging in, not realizing how hungry he was since he had been caught up in his work. 

Mr. Wachowski is squatted by a cooler, filling his cup with ice along with three others that Shadow assumes is for the three who just came outside. Sonic dashes right up to the family, obviously quite eager for their dinner if his wagging tail is anything to go off of. Knuckles follows behind, grabbing himself a paper plate and beginning to stack it up quite messily with anything that seems to be appetizing to his eyes. Topped with a concerning amount of grapes, Shadow notes.

“This food palette looks very balanced and appetizing, Mrs. Wachowski,” Shadow comments, looking at the full picnic table. The vet smiles wide at this, “Thank you, Shadow. That’s very sweet.”

Sonic turns to Shadow, handing him a paper plate with a little smile, “Here ya go.” Shadow looks at the plate a moment and then Sonic, “Thank you.” “Yup! Fix yourself some sides. We got beans, salad, chips– but your dawg?? It’s mine.” Shadow blinks. “I don’t have a dog.”

He notices the way the mother bites her lips together with an amused smile behind Sonic’s shoulder, exchanging knowing glances with the fox who giggles quietly.

“I meant your chili dog,” Sonic clarifies with a head tilt, “I’m gonna fix your first ever chili dog for you.”

“Oh..,” Shadow mumbles, cheeks turning a bit rosy with embarrassment at his incessant habit to take things a bit too literally and not quickly catch onto slang.

“Yeah, so fill your plate and let the master do his thing,” Sonic winks before turning around to get started on building Shadow’s chili dog. And my isn’t it a concoction..

Upon closer examination once placed in front of him, he takes in the ingredients he can curiously, his nose overwhelmed with the complexity of spices he senses.

A hot dog. Chili. Shredded lettuce. Cheese. Ketchup. Mayo. Onion. Tomato. Peppers. And to Shadow’s slight surprise, brown sugar mixed with hot sauce sprinkled on top of it all. 

Interesting.

Shadow’s mouth forms a sideways line as he looks at the intimidating beast of a feast placed before him, looking at Sonic whose chili dog looks identical and is already being devoured by the blue menace. 

Taking a breath, Shadow looks back to his chili dog. He can feel the others watching him. The Wachowskis, Tails, Knuckles.. Sonic even pauses to look at him expectantly, waiting to see his reaction to the ultimate food.

Shadow slowly picks up the chili dog, having to be extra careful not to make a mess of his gloves from all the sloppy contents of the item. He examines it only a moment longer before he opens his mouth and takes a big enough bite to get at least a little of everything.

And as he expected, he’s overwhelmed. There’s too much going on in his mouth for him to properly process it. The flavors are strong, the textures varying with each chew. It makes his spine shiver a bit, slowly chewing it as he keeps his tongue in the back of his mouth like it’ll calm his senses a bit. 

But courting etiquette for humans is to always compliment your host for their meal.

So swallowing his disgust and the bite, Shadow offers a small smile and lies, “It’s delicious.” Sonic snorts at this, immediately bursting into laughter as Knuckles snickers as well. Tails is giggling with the mother and Mr. Wachowski is smiling as if amused.

Shadow just blushes a bit more, shrinking slightly in fear he may have said something wrong. “Oh you poor thing,” Maddie tuts sympathetically, standing to grab another plate and begin fixing a new chili dog, “You don’t have to eat all that. The Sonic Special is very much coded for Sonic.” “Yeah, man,” Sonic snickers, lightly shaking Shadow by his shoulder and then moving his plate from in front of him, sneaking it onto the ground for the dog to devour, “It’s cool. Not everyone can handle so much in one bite.”

Shadow looks at him and then glances up to watch Mrs. Wachowski place a new plate before him. This one looking more like the fox’s. Simple. A hot dog, nothing on it.

“You can add any toppings you like, sweetie,” Maddie smiles, taking her seat again.

“Or you can just have it plain! I only like ketchup on mine,” Tails encourages with a little grin.

“Mine is a mighty volcano,” Knuckles brags, forking another large scarf of the conglomeration down. 

“See? It’s alright to like different stuff,” Sonic winks, nudging Shadow’s side with his elbow before looking back to his own food to continue eating.

Shadow looks around at the others a moment, watching as they all get on with their meals now and not paying him as much mind. Mr. Wachowski’s gaze catches his, though, still watching him with an expression Shadow doesn’t know how to translate. But the officer offers a little smile and nod, to which Shadow returns. He then looks down, and after a moment of hesitation, he tries his simple hot dog.

The rest of dinner goes smoothly. Shadow finishes his plate with ease, quite enjoying the more traditional forms of the food rather than the exaggerated versions his counterparts ate. They all share conversations, the subject often shifting and leaving Shadow a bit lost now and then. But he does his best to keep up, even adding a small input here and there but nothing more.

It’s intriguing.. watching a family. He remembers his time on the ARK with Maria.. How they’d share meals in the cafeteria but often would sneak away to sit on the floor in front of the large window viewing earth to eat together instead. They didn’t have a large family, but they had each other. And that was plenty..

He sees that in these people. Their bond is strong. They’re comfortable with one another. Open and honest and accepting of their differences. It’s..refreshing.

The only time he’s directly addressed is by Mr. Wachowski. “So Shadow,” he starts, swallowing his bite before continuing, “What are you doing these days?”

Shadow pauses. He read about this. The parents of one’s partner will often feel out how successful or motivated one is to see if they’re worthy of taking care of their offspring. 

“Shadow??? He’s doing his own thing, you know. Being cool and–”

“I believe I was talking to Shadow,” Tom cuts Sonic off, though his voice holds no spite and he’s smiling knowingly at Sonic.

Sonic just smiles a bit sheepishly with a quiet “right” before looking to Shadow, not speaking for him this time. Though, Sonic looks a bit nervous, now. Perhaps he fears his father won’t approve of Shadow’s answer.

“I have recently began working with GUN,” Shadow says, looking at Tom now who seems a bit taken aback by this answer if his raised brows are anything to go off of. Next to him, Shadow sees Sonic’s face shift to one of surprise as well.

“You didn’t tell me that..” “It was confidential up until recently,” he explains, looking from Sonic to Tom again, “Nothing is official, but we’re getting close to some sort of work agreement..” “Sounds serious,” Tom replies with an intrigued look, “Didn’t really expect you to want anything to do with GUN..” After my grandfather who was an agent shot your sister goes unsaid, but Shadow hears it nonetheless.

He replies, “I didn’t. Not for some time, at least.” “What changed your mind?”

“Sonic,” Shadow answers bluntly, feeling everyone’s eyes land on him at once, including the said blue hedgehog next to him. 

“..He’s not from here. He’s different. Powerful. And in terms of this planet’s mentality, he’s a threat. That’s what I was seen as,” Shadow explains, eyes staying on Tom’s as to not be intimidated by the many others peering at him, “He was hunted by humanity at first, not seen as a hero but rather a mystery. And humans never take to things they don’t understand well.. But Sonic didn’t let this discourage him. He continued to fight for his freedom and for the freedom of this world from evil-doers like Ivo Robotnik. And with time, he earned their trust. Proved himself. They stopped seeing him as different and saw him as an ally and a hero.. I don’t want to be a hero, but an ally is a good place to start. And while GUN has been corrupted before, I’d say they have good intentions in the long run to protect this world even if often misguided. I plan to be there to help guide them. Make sure what happened on the ARK never happens again..”

He looks to Sonic now, quoting something the blue hero once told him, “I can’t expect change if I just stand still.. I gotta make a move.”

Sonic’s eyes stare back at Shadow, a slow and wide smile forming on his muzzle along with rose tinted cheeks. A look of pride glistening in his eyes.

“That..,” Tom speaks, gaining Shadow’s attention again, “.. is a pretty damn good answer.”

Tom smiles at him. Shadow smiles back.

Dinner ends, and Mrs. Wachowski stands to start gathering up plates to trash, “Okay, Knuckles and Tails. Dishes.”

“What about Sonic?” Knuckles asks, looking distraught that he has to do more work than his brother. Tails is unbothered and already working on gathering up the serving dishes and leftovers to carry inside. 

“He has a guest over,” Tom answers with a pointed look at Knuckles, “So he has to host.”

“So having a guest means you don’t have to do these silly tasks??” Knuckles scoffs as if scandalized by this information, as though he’s been personally targeted.

“Yup. ‘Fraid so, buddy.”

Knuckles huffs at this, snatching a few dishes as he begins making his way back to the house with something along the lines of ‘I must make more friends’ being grumbled from him.

Sonic sticks his tongue out mockingly at the red echidna when he walks by, earning the blue hedgehog a hard punch to the gut. 

“Sonic? Have you shown Shadow your room?” Maddie asks, earning a pointed glare from Mr. Wachowski. Sonic immediately grins and, “Oh! I haven’t! Wanna see??”

Shadow nods at him with a small smile, “Yes, please.”

“Sweet, it’s this way,” he nods his head for Shadow to follow him back inside.

“What the hell was that??” Tom hisses to Maddie once they’re gone, “They don’t need to be alone in his room together–”

“Oh stop,” Maddie rolls her eyes at him with a little grin, “They’ll be fine. Sonic gets antsy just making eye contact with Shadow for too long, and Shadow-... well, I don’t even think Shadow knows how to flirt, let alone make a move.”

Tom groans a little but lets it go, figuring she’s probably right..

Plus, he trusts his boy to make good decisions.

“Here it is!” Sonic announces, climbing up a ladder into the attic, Shadow following behind. It.. isn’t exactly what Shadow was expecting. He was honestly expecting an absolute trainwreck. Clothes everywhere, weird smells, the whole shebang. Instead, he finds a room that so painfully screams Sonic. It’s enchanting in a charismatic sort of way. There’s charming lights lined along the ceilings, multiple road signs that allude to Sonic’s speed. The bed itself resembles a racecar, Shadow finding this immature but endearing. The shelves are lined with trinkets and random objects that must hold enough meaning for Sonic to keep them despite seeming unimportant. A beanbag is sat in the corner with a stack of comic books next to it. Sonic has lended some to Shadow before, and he respects the hero’s infatuation with them. Definitely sees where he gets his heroic antics from.

Shadow looks around the room in wonder. It’s a stark contrast to his own current sleeping arrangements.. Up until a few weeks ago, Shadow had honestly sort of just skipped around from rooftops to caves to trees to sleep. GUN offered him a more permanent place in an apartment in Central City..

It’s very empty. And very unlived in. Sonic’s room?? It’s warm and comforting and feels like a home. A safe space.

Shadow can tell each and every object that’s in here is likely treasured dearly by the blue hedgehog.. Well. except the dirty sock peeking out from under the bed. But Shadow chooses not to acknowledge that for Sonic’s sake.

“Welcome to Casa de Sonic,” the blue hedgehog grins, spreading his arms in showmanship of his space, “Pretty cool, huh??” He seems chill, but Shadow can tell he’s holding onto Shadow’s every move and breath.

Shadow looks at him and then around the room, turning to do a slow 360 look of the place before looking back to Sonic and offering a small smile and approving nod, “Very cool.”

Sonic’s arms drop with a breath of relief, a little chuckle escaping him as he looks at Shadow a moment and then looks towards his bed. In a blur of blue and brief gust of wind, Sonic is plopping onto the bed and then sitting up to look at Shadow, “Mom and Dad set it up for me as a surprise one time. I’ve kinda made it my own since then, but they did a pretty great job of laying down a solid foundation for all my dudeitude.”

“Dudeitude??” Shadow questions, walking over to sit next to Sonic on the bed once Sonic pats the spot next to him. “Yeah, you know, like– dude attitude?” “Oh,” Shadow smiles a bit at this, looking down and discreetly brushing the dirty sock out of sight under the bed with his heel before Sonic can see and be embarrassed, “Yes. Dudeitude is a very accurate word for you, I’d say.”

Sonic snickers at that, smiling all wide as he looks at Shadow. Shadow shyly keeps his eyes away, looking around the room and examining the smaller details like the subtle footprints on the ceiling or the jar with one singular owl feather on the nightstand.

“...So..,” Sonic says after a pause, breathing a quiet sigh before speaking, “What do you think??” “Think?” Shadow questions, finally meeting Sonic’s intense gaze again. “Yeah. Of.. ya’know. My family?” “Oh,” Shadow blinks, a bit thrown off by the question before he offers a soft look and mumbles quietly, “They’re really lovely.”

“They are, aren’t they?” Sonic smirks. “Mm,” Shadow nods, his eyes drifting away from Sonic’s and down to his own lap as he fiddles with the zipper of his jacket, “...What do you think they think?” “Hm?”

“Of me..?”

There’s a long pause of silence, and Shadow isn’t sure if that’s good or bad. But when he brings himself to look back at Sonic, he sees he’s simply thinking his answer over rather than answering immediately.

“I think Mom likes you,” he starts, offering a reassuring smile, “But she’s the easy one to win over, honestly. Tails seems to like talking nerd with you, so that’s totally a good sign! Knuckles is an idiot,” Sonic rolls his eyes and Shadow smirks slightly, “but I think he sees you as strong and formidable which means you have his respect. That’s all you can really ask for of him, honestly. It’s a pretty high honor.”

“And what of your father..?”

Sonic looks at Shadow, tilting his head at him with a sympathetic sort of smile, “..He seems to like you enough to give you a chance. And I think what you said out there about being the change you wanna see in the world definitely won you some brownie points.”

Shadow deflates in relief, some of the tension leaving his rigid spines as he nods and looks down with a mumbled, “Good.. then I’m doing well.” “You’re doing great,” Sonic assures, his hand moving to rest on Shadow’s shoulder and giving it a small squeeze.

Shadow looks back at Sonic at this, not being able to convey it with words but hoping his eyes show how much he appreciates this. All of this. This opportunity and this bond.. 

This chance.

Shadow’s hand moves to rest on Sonic’s knee as his way of trying to show he acknowledges the reassurance, but Sonic’s face does this funny thing and his ears get all pink.

“Okay!” he’s suddenly standing, Shadow’s hand dropping back to his own lap, “Well, we should head back down! I wanna be there when they pick a movie, so Knuckles doesn’t make us watch Planet of the Apes for the billionth time!” His laugh seems a bit shaky, his face flushed.

“Are you okay??”

“Me?? I’m cool. Coolcoolcoolcoolcool–”

“Hey,” Shadow interrupts, standing to shove Sonic’s shoulder, “Bring the dudeitude back.”

Sonic pauses, blinking at Shadow before a little grin forms and be breathes, “Right. Dudeitude.”

Shadow nods with a small smile, not at all realizing the affect he has on this blue hedgehog, but not wanting him to be nervous around him either.

They got back down the ladder to find Tails and Knuckles have finished the dishes and Tom has finished putting away leftovers, leaving Maddie and Ozzie sitting on the couch flipping through Netflix for something to watch.

“Hey you two! You’re just in time to pick a movie,” Maddie greets, “Shadow, you have a preference?” Shadow offers a small shake of his head, “No ma’am, I don’t know many films..”

He was brought up on a space station in the 50s. Movies weren’t exactly on-demand.

“That’s alright. We’ll have to fix that!” she winks, making Shadow’s stomach flip at the idea of them potentially inviting him over for more movie nights in the future, “Sonic, you got a pick??”

“Let’s watch a heartfelt film about a man who loves his dog–,” Sonic begins his answer with zero hesitation, Tom walking into the room to shut that down real quick.

“We’re not watching John Wick,” he grunts as he plops onto the couch next to Maddie, throwing his arm on the back of the couch behind her, “Nothing that isn’t PG.” Sonic groans, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, “You guys are no fun.” “Yeah, it’s in the dad job description,” Tom coos with a smirk. 

Sonic concedes, shrugging and walking towards the loveseat against the wall diagonal to the couch, “We can sit here, Shads.”

“I thought your spot was in the bean bag??” Shadow’s brow furrows, sitting beside Sonic on the loveseat nonetheless. 

Sonic’s body tenses a bit, blushing as he fumbles, “Uh, well–” “Yeah, Sonic,” Mr. Wachowski teases from the couch, “Why don’t you sit in your bean bag like usual??”

Sonic’s puffs his cheeks with a glare at his dad, Mrs. Wachowski swatting at the snickering man’s shoulder with a huffed, “Leave him alone.” “Yeah! Leave me alone!” Sonic agrees, throwing a pillow at his father’s face.

Tom grunts when it hits him, huffing as he tosses it back at Sonic with an offended face, “Since when was this abuse the father night??” “Since you decided to challenge the world’s best hero,” Sonic smirks proudly.

The banter continues, but Shadow is completely lost on any of what just happened anyway. He just finds the interaction between the family members amusing.

And Sonic does not in fact sit in his bean bag.

Tails and Knuckles join them in the living room, Tails carrying a bucket of popcorn and Knuckles having a bowl of grapes. Shadow doesn’t think he could eat another single thing even if he wanted– which is what he tells Sonic when he asks if Shadow would like any snacks.

They all come to an agreement on a movie called Wreck It Ralph. The plot being something along the lines of a videogame character that somehow has thoughts and feelings and doesn’t want to be the bad guy he was written to be.

It sounds silly in concept, but Shadow can’t take his eyes off the screen the whole time.

It’s not until he feels Sonic shivering a bit beside him that Shadow averts his attention to the blue hedgehog beside him. Shadow has been sitting up straight watching the film this entire time, but Sonic is curled in a small ball leaning against the arm of the chair next to him and watching with tiny shivers now and then. It is chilly in this room, Shadow supposes. But he never gets cold, so..

It doesn’t take but a moment for him to decide to take his jacket off and carefully drape it over Sonic’s curled up form.

“You don’t have to–”

“Hush. The movie is playing,” Shadow mumbles, ignoring how precious Sonic looks all huddled under his coat with only his nose, big eyes, and perked ears peeking above the collar. The way Sonic’s eyes squint in the corners let him know he’s smiling..

Shadow’s attention turns back to the movie, unbeknownst to him his warm gesture was noted by his counterpart’s parents and had Maddie smiling all soft with a silent ‘aw’ as she leans over on her husband who just smiles as well.

The movie’s ending has Shadow feeling certain ways.

Ralph is still the bad guy, but he’s.. happy with that. He knows his purpose, and he knows the candy princess speedster will still accept him despite his destructive tendencies. 

It..perhaps hits him a little close to home, and when he Ralph is chanting the villain support group’s affirmation, he finds himself memorizing it to heart.

‘I’m bad, and that’s good. I will never be good, and that’s not bad. There’s no one I’d rather be than me.’

Shadow gasps when Ralph sacrifices himself for the others in the arcade, eyes wide and glossy on the screen and his heart pounding in his chest. He feels like he can’t swallow. Like his palms are sweating. He’s seeing stars fly past him. Seeing the ARK get further and further away as he falls. Seeing–

He feels a hand rest on his and squeeze tight, flinching at the touch and immediately looking over to find Sonic staring wide eyed at the screen too..

They’re both seeing the same thing..

Shadow squeezes Sonic’s hand in return, finally allowing a deep breath to exhale as he relaxes again and looks back to the screen.

They’re here. Not space. Not the ARK. Here..

And there’s nowhere Shadow would rather be than here.

The movie ends. Maddie moves to carefully and silently step next to the bean bag Tails is laying in, the poor fox having fallen asleep around when Ralph was building Vanellope’s race track. She carries the kit down to his room to tuck him in, Knuckles rising from his own bean bag and stretching his muscles before announcing that he too would be retiring for the night.

He wishes his family goodnight and offers Shadow a simple nod of his head and smirk before heading out to his shed.

Tom looks over to Sonic and Shadow. Sonic is now properly wearing Shadow’s jacket and sitting up again, Shadow next to him looking back to Tom as if awaiting what they’re expected to do next.

“Well, Sonic. I think it’s time to call it a night,” the father announces, Sonic’s ears folding back at this and a small pout forming on his muzzle.

“Aw, but we’re not even tired,” he ironically says just before yawning. Shadow chuckles a bit at this and Tom just smiles and raising a brow at Sonic. Sonic groans and stands up, “Alright..” Shadow stands as well, looking to see Maddie now coming back up from the basement.

“We’ll walk you out, Shadow,” Tom offers, Shadow nodding politely as they all move towards the door.

Once outside, Tom immediately takes notice in Shadow’s bike sitting at the end of the driveway. “Did you ride that here???” 

There it is.

He seems impressed as he looks the bike over the best he can from the doorway, Shadow looking to his bike as well now.

“I did,” the hybrid nods.

“What kind?” “Ducati Panigale V4 SP.”

“The Dark Rider??” “Yes sir.”

“Nice. Helmets?” “Two.” “Very nice,” Tom smirks, nodding approvingly as he looks back to Shadow.

Shadow just smiles small and proud, pleased his plot to impress the Donut Lord with his motorbike came to fruition.

“That mean I can go for a ride on it??” Sonic chimes in.

“No,” Maddie answers instead, the blue hedgehog knitting his brows and looking at Tom in preparation to protest only for Tom to wink at him and subtly nod.

Sonic grins. Shadow hums out a chuckle.

“It was really nice meeting you properly, Shadow,” Maddie says warmly, reaching out her hand to shake Shadow’s. Shadow obliges and shakes hers politely with a nod, “Likewise, Mrs. Wachowski.” “Glad we could see this version of you,” Tom adds, reaching to shake Shadow’s hand now, “Ya’know. The version that isn’t set on destroying the world.”

Shadow is about to get nervous at this, but he sees the playful smirk on Tom’s face. Glad to know where Sonic gets his sarcastic attitude.

“I appreciate the opportunity, sir,” Shadow chuckles breathily, shaking the Donut Lord’s hand.

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing you around more often,” Tom adds with a knowing smile, “So long as you take care of my son, that is.”

Sonic groans audibly, flushing as he rubs a hand down his face.

Shadow just nods seriously at this, seeming to take this task to heart.

They both speak at the same time.

“We’re not like that!” “I will.”

They blink. Each processing the other’s words as wide eyes meet in surprise. Both blushing. Both seeming to try and register what the other just said. 

Maddie and Tom stare with wide eyes too.

“Ooo..,” Tom hisses, “Awkward..” Maddie is quickly grabbing her husband to pull him inside, chuckling awkwardly as she goes, “Well, be safe going home, Shadow.” “Yeah, take care!’

The door shuts.

Sonic and Shadow stand alone on the doorstep, still staring at each other.

Sonic, never being one to stay quiet long, is the one to speak first.

“You will..?” he breathes a little smile at that, looking shy now as he rubs the back of his neck with a blushing muzzle, “What did you mean by you will?”

“I meant I’d take care of you,” Shadow states as though it’s obvious, though he’s starting to fear he has in fact had a very deep and embarrassing misunderstanding of their circumstances. His ears stand extra tall, tensing them up so they don’t droop back in disappointment.

“We.. aren’t like that..? I don’t understand.” “I-... you thought we were like that??” “I thought that’s what all this was,” Shadow says quietly, becoming more and more embarrassed as he reruns all this in his head, “You chasing me. Insisting on being in my life. Always planning to meet again. All the circling and snorting and puffing–”

Sonic deadpans, “the what?” “Hedgehog courting rituals!” Shadow huffs, now getting irritated the more he grows humiliated, “All my research talked about it! It’s clearly stated that everything you were doing to pursue me was as a mate.” Sonic’s eyes widen further at this, ears drooping back and now his entire chest and ears are pink too.

“Mate??..,” his voice is small as realization begins to build.

“And then you invited me over to meet your parents for their approval, yes??” Shadow asks, tilting his head with a knit of his brow as he tries to understand where he misread the signs, “That was the objective??” “Woah, hey. Shadow. The objective was to have their approval on me getting to hang out with you, not–”

He stops, seeing how Shadow’s ears twitch back a bit. How his stance is now a bit more drooped than tall and confident. How his eyes hold confusion and shame..

It breaks Sonic’s heart.

Sonic purses his lips, sighing as he looks away shyly and, “...I guess I kinda did do all that, huh??”

Shadow doesn’t answer, just slowly moves to cross his arms in a defensive sort of manner. His crimson eyes averted towards the ground.

Sonic chews on his lower lip and looks back to Shadow, “I’m a hedgehog. Not an earth hedgehog, though, ya’know?? I don’t even know how my kind of hedgehog would try to initiate a–... what’d you call it??” “Courtship,” Shadow mutters.

“Right. That,” Sonic sighs, frowning at how this night took a sudden turn for the awkward and heavy.

It had been going so well.

“...I’m sorry, Shads–” “Don’t-,” Shadow interrupts, eyes closing as he takes a deep breath to gather himself, finishing with a sighed, “--apologize. I shouldn’t have made so many assumptions. That’s not your fault.” “Well, I feel like it kinda is,” Sonic insists, brows knit at the ebony hedgehog in front of him.

This can’t ruin this. He can’t lose him.

“Look..,” Sonic says after a breath, rubbing a hand back through his own quills before pausing to notice Shadow’s eyes were still shut, “Hey… look at me, Shads.”

Sonic’s hand reaches up to delicately cup Shadow’s cheek, tilting his head up to face him as crimson eyes open to meet emerald.

Sonic offers a soft smile, “I know I’m all about going fast, but...we don’t need to rush this.”

Shadow blinks, staying quiet as he listens to the blue hero speak.

“I.. don’t know what we are,” Sonic admits quietly, “I thought we were just buddies, but.. I’d be kidding myself if I said I didn’t know you were different for me.” Shadow chews on the inside of his cheek, still not saying anything in fear of saying the wrong thing and humiliating himself further.

“..I think.. We can take this slow, huh??” Sonic offers, a small smile as he knits his brows up and tilts his head at his rival, “Learn each other better. Learn ourselves better. Maybe go on some actual dates..?” Sonic chuckles a bit and Shadow can’t help but lean his cheek into Sonic’s palm slightly. 

Sonic rubs his thumb along Shadow’s muzzle.

“We’ll figure this out,” he assures simply as if it’s just a fact of life, “Because I’m not goin’ anywhere. And even if you tried to, I’d find you, Faker.”

Shadow can’t help but smile at that, chuckling at the reference to one of their not-so-friendly first encounters. He looks down between them a moment before lifting his eyes back to Sonic.

“We’ll figure this out,” Shadow agrees with a nod.

“We’ve got plenty of time.” “Plenty.”

Sonic smiles at this, breathing a small sigh of relief through his nose that they’re gonna be okay. This misunderstanding won’t ruin or change anything.

“We just gotta learn how to communicate better, dude,” Sonic chuckles, Shadow humming amusedly as well. 

“Agreed.”

Sonic smirks at this. And maybe he looks at Shadow’s eyes a little too long or lets his hand linger on his cheek a bit longer than needed, but sue him.

He just found out Shadow the Hedgehog wants to court him.

Screw that. He just found out what the heck courting even was.

Sonic needs to get educated, he decides.

Shadow ever so subtly rubs his cheek against Sonic’s palm in a nuzzling sort of manner before he takes a step back, Sonic’s hand falling back to his side. The two smile at one another a moment longer before Shadow just smirks with a “hmph” and turns to walk down the front steps.

Sonic watches with a content little smile, “...Wanna race tomorrow??” Shadow keeps walking, not turning around as he responds, “Arcade or waffle house??”

“Waffle house. I’ve been craving french toast.”

Shadow chuckles, waving a hand up at the hedgehog over his shoulder with a nod.

Sonic just grins at this, biting his lower lip before flinching at the sudden realization–

“Oh! Shadow!”

Shadow turns to face him again as Sonic quickly makes his way down the steps and across the yard to him, moving to take Shadow’s jacket off himself– though Shadow notices the slight look of loss as Sonic removes his arm from the first sleeve.

“You forgot this–” “Keep it,” Shadow interrupts, lifting his hand to halt Sonic.

“..Really??” Sonic’s tail wags behind him, a smile curling back onto his muzzle.

“Looks better on you,” Shadow insists, moving to help Sonic put his arm back in and settle it properly on his shoulders once more. 

Sonic just beams at this, “Agree to disagree, pal,” his gaze softens as Shadow looks him over, “But thanks..”

Shadow just smirks at this, shrugging and turning to his bike, “Don’t mention it.”

Sonic shoves his hands in the jacket’s pockets, crossing his arms so that it’s snug around him.

It smells like lavender.. Like a hug from Shadow.

Shadow straddles his bike, looking back to find Sonic standing there with his eyes shut and his nose buried in the jacket’s collar. He smirks smugly.

“It’s called anointing, by the way.” “Huh??” Sonic jumps slightly, jolting from his daze.

“Covering yourself in your mate’s scent,” Shadow explains, placing the helmet he doesn’t actually use in the bag attached to his bike before finishing, “It’s called anointing.”

Sonic blinks, eyes widening as a blush grows on his cheeks with a sheepish, “oh..”

Shadow just cranks his bike up, revving it to life before looking back to Sonic with a wink, “See you tomorrow, Hedgehog.”

Sonic’s left feeling dumbstruck as Shadow drives off from their home and down the street before eventually disappearing with a roar of the engine.

Sonic may not know it yet, but Shadow knows..

They’re absolutely courting.

[littlemissmiller]

Billy the kid but with kind of a Bonnie and Clyde action going on yk? Like partner in crime sorta thing

Yes ma’am…

𝒥𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐻𝒾𝓂

Pairing: billy the kid x fem! reader

Summary: You and Billy have been tasked by Mr. Tunstall to break into the Lincoln jail to get some of his men out. In the thrill of the night and in anticipation of the war ahead, Billy finally tells you how he really feels.

Warning: 21+ (drinking), established relationship, smut, fluff, semi-public sex, p in v, no pullout

Word count: 3.5k

A/N: hey there! i was so excited to get to writing this (and apologize for getting it to the asker so late) but i wrote this before i saw the newest episode and wow it couldn’t have come at a better time…what a sweet little story y’all and I was absolutely clutch my pearls and wine watching that man take his shirt off like y’all 🥵 so i hope you all enjoy I can’t wait for next weeks episode ahhh ♥︎

≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫ ≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫ ≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫

You knew breaking these men out if prison wouldn’t be easy. But you had Billy with you and he had dedicated his life to Mr. Tunstall. As you sit with him and plan you can’t help but feel anxious.

“I reckon we head out after dawn, ride into town and wait until shift change, then we’ll make our move…”

You nod and give your boyfriend a halfhearted smile.

“What’s wrong darling?”

“Just nervous…I mean I know it would be a great deal to free these men, but it’s so risky Billy”

He looks at you more intensely now and scoots closer to you. He trails his finger across your chin and turns you to face him.

“Hey…we got this. Besides you know I’ve done it before…” he chuckles

You nod and smile.

“I know, it’s just I haven’t…”

Billy leans in and gives you a quick kiss, his soft lips slowly melting your anxiety away.

“I promise no matter what you’re my priority. If you get hurt, I will have to leave them men behind to get you help. I won’t let you get hurt though okay?”

You nod and he kisses you again. You knew how much Billy cares for you. And you knew that he could practically have any girl in town. Even a nice proper lady, who wore the big day dresses and rode their carriage into town. You saw how those women looked at him. How they would die to be rebellious and show Billy off on their arm. But they didn’t get him like that. You did. Even though you were more of a cowgirl yourself and that’s really why Billy found you the most beautiful and worthy of his affections. Because you weren’t like most ladies your age.

You’re not dainty and frail. Billy saw that from the moment he met you. The way you confidently held yourself and spoke up when you thought things should be done differently. And your beautiful gaze that left him frozen and intimidated. He was in total awe of you from that day on. Yet, as you sit here with him you allow yourself to be vulnerable and scared. As he rubs his thumb over your cheekbone you try to understand why you feel so nervous.

Maybe because up until now you and the rest of Tunstall’s crew had been operating within the law and were not about causing trouble in town, but with Jesse Evans and his gang working on behalf of Murphy, things had been getting worse. So now you and the crew were being forced to turn to more violent means to protect the farmers and the county. Especially now that Billy was on Tunstall’s side.

“I’m glad you ended up joining our crew, Billy…”

“I’m glad I did too.” He smiles

As the sunsets, Billy is inside the ranch, cleaning off his gun and checking the barrel. You find him and bring him a bowl of ham and beans.

“I reckon we should eat before we go.” You recommend handing him a bowl and some cornbread.

He takes it and smiles. You pull up a stool next to him and sit. The row of you eat in relative silence, watching as the sun disappears behind the horizon. Soon enough, Billy stands up and heads into the kitchen putting his bowl in the sink. He washes his hands and you follow suit.

Your stomach is full with both a good meal and butterflies and you saddle up your horse. The air is colder now and Billy slips on his maroon cardigan and dawns his hat. You pull your jacket on as well and pull your hair back. As you get onto your horse, he helps you hold your hand. His fingers linger on your own for a moment.

“I always thought you looked so beautiful when you rode…”

“You just like how my body bounces…” you smirk

“That’s true, but I’m starting from where I am now, you look like an angel…here” he states handing you a bandana “eventually we’ll need to cover our faces.”

You blush and wrap the bandana around your neck. He hops up on his horse and ties his own bandana around his neck. You and him waste no more time and ride off into Lincoln. The ride itself is only about thirty minutes which allows you to get your nerves out and gain some confidence. As you and Billy approach Lincoln county, stop and look out onto the town. You slowly begin to approach, making sure to sneak in closer to the jail to make the getaway smoother. You look for a close enough spot to hide the horses. The jail is on full view now, close enough to walk to from the hill you and Billy are perched on.

“Ok when the guards leave, we’ll move in. Then we only gotta deal with the warden inside which shouldn’t be too difficult. But you’re gonna help me then ok? I’ll wait around out back and I need you to draw him from his desk. There won’t be any guards outside for at least three minutes, but that’s all we have got?” Billy explains

“I got it.”

“Then once you draw him away, I’ll Come in and we’ll lure him into a cell. I did the same thing down in Mexico. Worked like a charm.”

“That was one person, not two” you remember”

“We can handle it.”

You and him, sit on your horses, and look upon the jail, waiting and waiting and waiting until finally the guards outside begin to move toward the fence to leave.

“Ok let’s go.” Billy instructs.

You and him trot down the hill, keeping a slow enough pace as to not trip or draw attention to yourself. Once you reach the fence you dig out for a pair of wire cutters you had brought along. You cut the fence enough so you and Billy have enough space to slip in. He runs to the back of the jailhouse and you run up to the front. Billy hadn’t given you exact instructions on how to distract the warden, so you decide to get creative. You walk up and frantically pound on the door. You hear footsteps and make it look like you’ve been crying and out of breath.

“Help, please help me!” You plea

The warden steps out confused, looking around for the outside guardsmen.

“I’m so sorry to take you away from you you post sir, it’s just I got into Lincoln and have been running, my horse is wounded, this man is chasing me…” you cry

“A man chasing ya? What ya mean” he says, face scrunched up as he steps outside.

Meanwhile, Billy has broken in and you watch as he approaches the warden from behind, eyes peeking under the brim of his hat, bandana pulled up to hide his face. He clicks his gun at the back of the man’s head and you pull up your own bandana and pull your gun on the man. He frantically looks around for the outside guards, but no one has come to claim the post.

“Get back inside” Billy sneers and the warden listens, turning as you both follow him, gun still raised. Billy glances at you for a moment then back at the man, poking the gun to his head and pushing him inside the cell.

“I’ll go find our men… stay with him.” Billy instructs and leaves you alone with the warden.

You try not to focus on him, but make sure your gun has his full attention. A few moments pass and Billy is still not back. Then the warden sees the new night shift stroll in and begins to yell. You quickly knock him out with the butt if your gun and Billy rushes downstairs.

“We gotta go.” He urges, the other men following him out the back. The shooting starts and the guardsmen seem to notice things aren’t right. They start to yell and chase after you as Billy and the men run up the hill. You follow behind, but fall and trip over a rock. You scurry back to your feet, but one of the guards catches you, knocking you back on your feet. You cry out.

“Ahh help!”

“Go get the horses from over the hill!” Billy instructs the men, running towards you.

The man holds you down and you struggle to get away, kicking and cursing at the man.

“They send a little thing like you to do a man’s job hmm? Guess Tunstall was never a smart man.”

“Get off me you pig.”

“Shut up bitch, you’re going to go in this jailhouse now.” He stands you up and starts to drag you off

“Hey!” Billy shouts “You better hand her over!”

The man stops and whips you around. He holds you against his chest. His slimy lips press up against your ear as he holds you tight against his chest.

“I’m taking this pretty thing to the jailhouse and next I’ll take you.”

Billy marches forward, drawing and raising his gun.

“Let. Her. Go” he grits and the man merely laughs. Billy waist no time and shoots him in the shoulder, then another one to his thigh causing him to release you and fall down. The guard wasn’t dead, just injured enough to keep him away. Then the other guards catch up as well and start to shoot at Billy and the rest of the crew as the other men come back with the horses. They get off and start shooting.

You start to shoot too, taking cover behind the horses, while Billy tries to shelter you. He takes aim at the guards firing and trying to avoid the returning bullets.

“C’mon we gotta go!” One of the men yells out. Billy takes a few more shots and in the distance sees the sheriff riding towards the jailhouse.

“Shit!” Billy curses and you take one last shot. It hits another guard on the thigh and before you realize you’re being hoisted up onto the saddle by Billy. You and him ride together on his horse, while the two men take the other horse.

Out of breath, Billy continues to check on you the entire ride back asking if you’re okay or hurt. Once back at Tunstall’s ranch, Billy helps you off the horse and inside. The rest of the gang are delighted to see Billy and you got the boys out.

“Good work Billy.” Charlie slaps his back.

The rest of the group heads inside while you put away the horses. Billy waits for you. You walk back to him once the horses are tied up. He pulls down your bandana, and you smile.

“You’re a real cowgirl ya know that.”

“I ain’t half the shot you are though.”

“Is that a requirement?” He asks as you wrap your arms around his waist

“Not necessarily, but don’t change the fact you are one.”

“Well then…Mr. Bonney…” you tease “I guess you are too then?” You kiss him deeply, placing your hands flat on his chest and leaning on your toes slightly. He holds your face in his hands, returning the kiss with equal fervor. You could have stayed out there all night with your lips on his. The warm night draped around you like a blanket and the warmth of Billy’s mouth turning up the heat. He moves his hands to your own waist, pulling you closer.

“Hey Billy!” Charlie call out

Billy pulls back, whipping his head around

“Sorry…Tunstall wants to see you”

Billy nods and Charlie heads back inside. Billy turns to look back at you and you both head inside. You join the rest of the men, grab a drink, and make conversation with Charlie. Billy heads into Mr. Tunstall’s office and closes the door. Soon enough he comes back and you excuse yourself from the conversation as he walks back outside.

“Hey!” You call to him “What did Tunstall say”

“Just taking next steps.” He states to you briefly. You could tell something is off and you touch his shoulder

“Billy…”

“Tunstall says a war is coming…that Jesse and the rest of Murphy’s gang will come for us sooner rather than later. He wants me to be prepared. To help lead us.”

“Oh Billy…” you rub his back.

He moves to stand in front of you and smiles, pushing your hair back. He looks past you, takes your hand and leads you to the side of the ranch. He looks around before pinning you up against the side of the house and kissing you deeply. You return his passions, moving your mouth with his. He grabs your waist and you fling your arms around his neck. He kisses you harder and your head bounces against the wood, causing you to grunt.

“Billy, sweetheart, what’s up.”

“I just…I just don’t want to lose you in this war. I feel like I got too close today. “

“You ain’t gonna lose me Billy. If anything I should be saying that about you…”

“I-I love you…”

It was the first time he’d said it openly to you. Sure you two knew it. The unspoken affections and unconditional care for each other. You hadn’t been together long, but you knew it was true.

“I love you too William Bonney..” you whisper, pressing your mouth back onto his with a searing kiss.

You love how soft and encompassing his mouth feels and as his passions overtake him, he’s practically consuming you. He holds your face gently through, not wanting to be too aggressive. You love it. The way in which he holds your face. The way he can’t seem to get enough of you. You love feeling overwhelmed by him. He pulls back, asking a silent permission if he can continue. You give him a devilish smile and take his wrist, leading him away from the side of the house. He trots after you and you playfully run towards the barn.

You open the door and look around. It’s empty because the horses are tied up outside and for once doesn’t smell. Billy catches up to you, swings you around, and pushes you up against the wooden beam. Cupping your face, he picks back up where he left off. You moan against him and his hands begin to explore your body, sending waves of pleasure through your veins. He smiles and gasps against your mouth, pulling back to admire you.

“You know you’re the only girl I’ve ever said that to…” he breathes

“Really…”

“Really… and I mean it” he smiles

He can’t help but kiss you again. He loves the way your mouth feels against his, loves the way you can’t help but moan for him, and loves how you love him back. You hold the back of his neck, fingers tracing the back of his neck hairs. After a few moments of you and him like this you pull back and Billy dives in for your neck, holding your jaw and the base of it as he starts to suck and nibble. You hold his head against you, hips starting to move against his pelvis, building up more and more of the heat that was coursing through your body. You look around and spot Mr. Tunstall’s empty stagecoach. You push back from the banister, holding his face and he continues to kiss you. He stumbles forward and you look behind, eyeing the stagecoach once again. You pull away and pull him by his shirt to make him follow you.

You bite your lip, glancing at the stagecoach . That’s all you have to do for Billy to know exactly what you’re saying to him. He gives you a boyish smirk that turns into a soft chuckle. He starts to unbutton his shirt as you pull him back more and more until you both hit the doors. You open it and slide in. There isn’t much room, but you and Billy manage.

“You really want to do this here” he breathes

“Ain’t like we are one for following rules…now are we Mr. Bonney.” You tease, loving to throw around his last name like that.

“Fuck darling…come here.” He leans back down and starts to undo your pants. As you work your mouth against his, you fiddle with the rest of buttons on his shirt and then his suspenders. Billy starts to undress you as well, undoing the buttons and pulling your pants down. He slides your bloomers off as well, and then works to take your blouse off. Meanwhile, you’ve successfully rid him of his shirt, leaving the top half of his body bare for you. You admire his toned body, glad that his years of hard labor are gifting you with the sight before you. He tends to go for the top part of your undergarments until you're completely exposed to him.

Billy and you have been intimate before, but with things starting to heat up in Lincoln, you and Billy have found much time in the last week or so. And especially now that he’s declared his love for you, you’re both all too eager. As he kisses you, his hands cup your breast, the moonlight shading your cleavage perfectly. He starts to massage it, slowly, but not too gentle. You work to undone his pants as he works you, sliding them off, and he eventually wiggles out of them and kicks them off. He’s half hard, and you reach for his length, pumping him slowly. He reciprocates your actions drawing his hand down to your core, the feather light feeling of his fingertips tracing your figure.

He starts rubbing you once he gets his hand in-between your legs. Billy can’t decide on if he wants to kiss you or watch you as you come undone for him. He goes back and forth in between the two, your melodic moans filling the cramped stagecoach. He slowly gets more and more hard and he wiggles his hips closer to your own. You giggle ever so girlishly.

“This feels so different…”

“A good different?” He asks

“Mhmm…” you nod. “It's a little dangerous. I like it.”

“Because we can get caught” he smirks

You bite your lip “I wouldn’t mind getting caught with the man I love.”

With that he smiles, starts to kiss you again and slowly pushes himself inside. He feels so incredible and full. He bottoms up and looks down at you. He pushes some loose baby hairs away from your face and gasps. You flatten your hands against his chest at first, feeling his clean, smooth skin, before wrapping them around his neck. He starts to move and you draw your legs further apart and towards you. He rocks in you, picking up his pace, trying not to move the stagecoach.

Intimate moments were always good with him. It’s safe to say that Billy knows what he is doing when it comes to pleasing women. But sometimes about having him now felt like it was for the first time all over. Maybe it was the thrill of getting caught or maybe it was the fact that now you know for sure this man, this unbelievably handsome man, loves you.

He ruts into you deep, causing you to grunt and cling to him tighter. He moves his hips more, faster adding to the sensations of your pleasure. You raise your leg up and wrap it around his waist. He grunts, the pressure on his back pushing him deeper in you. He moans against you, his mouth falling to your jawline and neck again. He props himself up more in his hand and moves his other hand down to rub your clit. You buck your hips against his hand, only adding to your pleasure. He grins against your neck, picking up both the speed of his hips and fingers.

“Fuck fuck fuck…Billy… ya gonna make me cum…”

“Please cum baby. Cum on my cock fuck…”

The stagecoach begins to rock more. The heat pooling in your stomach builds and burns your core. You love the thrill of being intimate with Billy like this. The idea of someone finding you and him like this, walking in, while Billy is filling you up with pleasure. A few more thrusts and you’re finished. You clench down on his length, moan into his neck and cling onto him tight.

Soon enough, he’s spent himself, thrusting into you until he stops. His thick white cum coats the inside of your walls, filling you up in a new way. He stays in you for a moment, gazing into your eyes and catching his breath. He rests his sweaty forehead against your own, painting He kisses you softly, lips melting to your own.

“You’re incredible, you know that?” He whispers

You smile at his words, holding him tight. You never wanted this to end. From here on out you knew, it would be just you and Billy. No matter what.

꧁✵❈✵ ꧂

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

ATIA for masturbating next to my friend?

Sorry for TMI, but I don’t really feel comfortable talking to anyone about this IRL

I (F16) have been friends with Amy (F16) for a couple years ago. We have sleepovers every other week but it’s always been at my house because I get anxious when I have to spend the night away from home. I told Amy this and she said she understands, but she would keep extending the invite for me to spend the night at her house hoping one day I would be comfortable enough to accept. A few days ago she invited me again and I accepted.

We had fun watching movies and baking cookies and playing video games and then it was time to sleep. Amy has two couches in her living room (they make an L shape) and she slept on one and I slept on the other (I was on the | couch and she was on the __ couch, with our heads next to each other). We stayed awake for a couple hours talking but Amy seemed to fall asleep before me, because I asked “Hey? You awake?” a couple times and she didn’t answer.

I was nervous about sleeping in a new place and knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep any time soon, so I turned away from Amy and faced the couch and flicked the bean. It was not sexy, I was not aroused, I didn’t make any mess or noise. It was very mechanical and matter of fact, just to distract myself and hopefully make myself sleepy. It took a while because like I said I wasn’t turned on at all, or even thinking of anything in particular, just trying to get it over with and go to sleep. I finished and fell asleep afterward.

I didn’t wake up until noon the next day and I woke up to Amy calling my name and telling me my mom was there to pick me up. I asked her why she didn’t wake me up so we could hang out more that morning and she just shrugged. I got dressed and got my stuff together and went to hug Amy goodbye but she dodged my hug and said my mom was waiting for me.

I texted her that night asking if we were all good because she was acting weird, and she said it was fucking gross that I touched myself with her in the room. That she was going to burn the sheet I slept on and blankets I slept under and that I was probably a pervert that wanted her older brother to walk in and catch me doing that (which confused me because I don’t even really know her brother?? He’s usually away at college I’ve only seen him like twice and said maybe 5 words to him in total)

I tried to tell her I’m sorry, that I was just anxious and it’s what I usually do when it’s late and my mind is racing and I can’t sleep and I never would have done it if I knew she was awake and all this other stuff but I think she blocked me :( AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[twisted-tales-told]

Part II

When Regulus wakes up its the sound to a coffee maker grinding beans and hissed cursing. 

He sits up to see a very anxious James Potter about to pull the plug to the coffee machine right out of the wall. 

“It already woke me, we might as well have coffee,” he croaks, his voice still slurry from sleep. 

“Sorry,” James scratches the back of his neck. “I hadn’t seen you until I turned it on.” 

“It’s fine, James.” 

James looks at him with soft eyes and a smile that pulls at something deep in Regulus’ chest. “I missed you saying my name.” 

Oh. 

Suddenly Regulus can’t stop the ragged breath that’s been clawing up from the bottom of his lungs. James’ eyes immediately widen and he puts the coffee mug in his hands down and rushes to the side of the couch. His hands hover in the air like he wants to hold on, do something, but Regulus can’t help but flinch away. 

“I’m sorry,” James’ voice goes soft and pleading. “I shouldn’t have—I’m sorry.” 

“I just—“ Regulus tries to get control back against this wild lurching thing. “I didn’t think you would be here.” 

“Oh.” To his credit, James tries hard to hide the hurt. He always does when Regulus’ words bite. But he’s never been very good at hiding anything on that damn face of his. 

“I didn’t know you and Sirius—“ 

“Lived together?” A watery smile replaces the damage Regulus dealt him. 

“I don’t know why, I only knew his address because of you.” 

James breathes out a laugh, “yeah. And—I mean, just so you know, Sirius isn’t exactly…aware of us talking.” 

“Talking,” Regulus sounds out the word, some of the tightness is starting to leave his chest. “You sending me messages and me not responding doesn’t constitute talking.” 

“Well, apparently it was useful,” James grins, some of his old cheer making it back into his voice.

“Why did you?” Regulus asks, unable to help his curiosity. “Keep texting me, I mean.” 

“I didn’t want to let you go,” James shrugs, standing back up. “C’mon, coffee’ll be ready soon.” 

Regulus trails behind him to the kitchen, finally taking in the apartment in the morning light. The walls are a light tan colour, complimenting the deeper brown of the countertops and cabinets. One accent wall along the stove is a deep red. A window on the side wall fills the whole area up with light. In the window is a glass sun catcher shaped like, well, the sun. Regulus recognizes it instantly.

“I can’t believe you kept that thing,” Regulus murmurs, fingertips grazing the small figurine, making it sway and casting a rainbow throughout the kitchen. 

“It’s a nice memory.” He can hear the smile in James’ voice, but he doesn’t look at him. 

A moment later the coffee machine beeps. 

****

Sirius doesn’t remember the events of the night before until he stumbles into the kitchen to see James and Regulus talking quietly over a cup of coffee.

“Coffee’s ready,” James holds out a mug to him. 

“Thanks,” Sirius takes it, going over to the coffee pot and filling it up to the brim. Something tells him he’s going to need it to get through today. Talking with his brother has never been his strong suit. 

They drink in mostly silence, James talks about his job, which he has the day off from today. He’s a fire fighter, meaning he’s got lots of stories. Sirius has heard all of them before, but Regulus seems entranced. Good. It’s the first time since Regulus walked in through the door that he didn’t look utterly shattered. 

Suddenly Sirius’ phone rings. An unknown number. He ignores it, switching the sound off, but Regulus’ gaze flicks to the sound. “Telemarketers,” he waves it off. 

The phone rings again. 

“Don’t answer it,” Regulus says, voice distant. 

“Regulus,” Sirius starts cautiously. “Did you give our mother my phone number.” 

“No,” he scoffs, “do you really think she can’t find it all on out own?” 

“Right. Second question, why is she using it.” 

“Because I ran away,” he says simply. Like it’s the easiest thing in the world to admit. Sirius’ jaw drops anyways. 

“You ran away,” he echos back. He glances to James, who’s face goes from a smile to blank when he catches Sirius watching. “You…”

“Yes, Sirius I ran away.” 

“Why?” 

“Really?” He narrows his eyes, “do you have to ask.” 

“I mean—they’re terrible, but you—Reg, you insisted you had to stay for uni.” 

“Yes, well, as of three months ago, I graduated.” 

“Congrats,” James murmurs, holding out his hand for a fist bump. Regulus ignores it. 

“I—what?” 

“Okay,” James intervenes, putting a hand over Sirius’ to ground him. “Why don’t you start at the beginning.” 

“The good thing about University is that the records are very secure.”

“And that matters because?” Sirius asks, James gives him a glance that obviously means shut up, but Sirius ignores him. Mostly. 

“It means I could switch majors without telling anyone.” 

“You’re not a business major?” 

“I was, for three months.” 

“And then?” 

Regulus just glares at him. 

“So,” James moves the conversation along. “I’m guessing graduation ceremony happened, and your parents found out.” 

“That they did,” Regulus hums, taking a long drink from his coffee. 

“But that was three months ago,” Sirius argues. “What—“

“The point is,” Regulus cuts him off firmly, levelling him with a cutting look. “They’re looking for me.” 

“Shit,” Sirius curses as his phone lights up again with an incoming call. 

“You don’t think they’d like, file a missing persons report or anything do you?” James questions them both. 

“I don’t know,” Regulus admits, “they didn’t with Sirius.” 

“But they also knew where I was,” Sirius reminds him. “Either way, you’re legally an adult. They can’t drag you back there. They won’t.” He tries to say it with as much conviction as possible. Regulus nods minutely in return.

“I’m starving,” Sirius grins, trying to push down the unease in his bones. “Pancakes anyone?” 

James and Regulus both perk up at the thought, and Sirius moves to start them. 

“Did someone say pancakes?” Comes a tired voice from the hallway. Sirius turns to see Remus shuffling in, a big yawn on his face, which quickly morphs to confusion when he spots Regulus. 

“Reg? What are you doing here?” Regulus opens his mouth to speak but Remus holds out a hand. “Coffee first, actually.” 

[writeforfandoms]

Flower

Find my CoD masterlist 

You and Kyle go to a farmers market. Pure fluff.

Warnings: None.

Word count: 1k

Kyle “Gaz” Garrick x f!reader

“Are you ready yet?” You couldn’t help but ask, bouncing a little on your toes. You’d been ready for minutes, and you’d even warned Kyle ahead of time. 

He huffed in amusement. “Almost,” he replied. “Anxious, love?” 

“I just wanna go before all the best stuff is gone.” You puffed out your cheeks. You weren’t really annoyed but at this point you were pretty sure he was deliberately taking longer. 

He snickered but finally emerged from the bedroom, dressed casually. “Alright, love. I’m ready.”

“Finally.” But you were grinning playfully as you grabbed the reusable bags, heading out of the flat and letting him lock up behind you. He took your free hand as you walked, both of you enjoying the early morning sunshine. 

Fortunately it wasn’t far to the farmer’s market, and once you arrived he let you take the lead. You paused at every place that had samples, humming over all the fruit and making note of what Kyle liked. You bought a few vegetables, but as soon as you put them in your bag Kyle whisked it away from you with a wink. 

You gave up the bag without a fight, grinning. 

“You are ridiculous, you know that?” You murmured affectionately, pausing to let a group go past the other direction. 

“Never heard that one before,” he muttered cheekily, just to make you laugh. He took advantage of your pause to lean close from behind and kiss your cheek, smiling against sun-warmed skin. 

“Ridiculous,” you muttered again, warm with affection. You leaned back into him for a moment, taking a moment to just take a deep breath. And then you were off again, Kyle your faithful shadow as you flitted from booth to booth. 

You snuck a few extra fruits into the bag, just because you knew he liked them. He pulled you over to a place with all kinds of homemade spice blends. You both eyed each other over a booth with yogurt and grinned like idiots. 

“Think we’ve seen it all?” Kyle asked, having finally conceded to let you carry one bag. He was pressed close to your side, the two of you paused under the shade of an awning, waiting for a traffic break. It was getting busier as the day progressed, which you’d expected. 

“Almost,” you promised him, smiling up at him. He looked so relaxed and happy here, shoulders down and smiling easily. “One more stop.” 

“Lead the way, love.” He settled his free hand gently at your lower back, nudging you out first. You hummed a little as you breathed in the growing smell of coffee. 

“I found this place on my own once,” you told him over your shoulder, stepping between booths to get behind them. “It’s easy to miss.” 

And it was, just a single door leading into a truly tiny coffee shop that had some of the best coffee you’d ever had. You were amazed there wasn’t a line, but with the farmers market outside… Well, you could see how it would be easy for people to miss.

Kyle made a quiet, awed noise, eyes wide as he looked around. “Good find,” he murmured, hand squeezing your hip appreciatively.

You positively beamed, leading him up to the counter to order and beating him to payment. He made a face at you and you made one right back, making the cashier laugh at you both. You warmed, a little embarrassed but mostly just happy. 

“Having fun?” he asked softly as you two stepped aside to wait for your coffees.

“I am.” You leaned carefully into his side, taking care with the bags. “Are you?” 

“Yeah.” He smiled down at you, his gaze darting back to the counter briefly. “Might have to tell Price if this place is good.”

“Oh it’s good,” you agreed, oddly proprietary. “And I figured you should just bring him a coffee from this place next time you need to bribe him and you’re in the area. Also, they sell their beans. I asked.”

“You are diabolical,” Kyle murmured with a wicked little grin. “I love it.”

“Mm, I know.” You grinned back at him, resisting the urge to giggle like a school girl. 

A call of your name pulled you from the tiny bubble of the two of you, and you handed Kyle his coffee before taking yours. You were sure to watch him take that first sip though, eager. His eyes went wide and he licked his lips. 

“Very good find,” he murmured, clearly pleased. 

You preened as the two of you went back out into the street and through the market once more. This time, you were much less tempted. You already had fruit and veg for the week (at least), and some other staples. You’d shown off everything to Kyle that you wanted him to see. You even had coffee.

And now you had the rest of the day to do whatever you wanted. 

“Be back in a moment,” Kyle murmured, and by the time you turned to look he was gone. You huffed and made your way to the side, as out of the way as you could be. He’d find you again, you had no doubt about that. 

But you were extremely curious to see what caught his eye. 

So when you spotted him coming back with a bouquet tucked carefully in his arm, you couldn’t help but smile. 

“What’ve you got there?” you asked, teasing a little. 

“Reminded me of you,” was all he offered in response, leaning in close to kiss you, soft and chaste. The warmth in your chest spread through the rest of your body. 

“You’re entirely too sweet,” you murmured, absolutely adoring. 

“Not for you.” He pressed another kiss to your forehead. “C’mon, let’s get home and get these in water.” 

You smiled the entire way home, Kyle walking close enough to occasionally bump into you. 

[hannahbarberra162]

Not My Monkey, Chapter 2

on Ao3

Link to Chapter 1

Dining with the Strawhats is just as you would expect.

The song the Reader hums and sings with Sanji is this ad: https://youtu.be/FbQt8pYUY6Q?si=qtAVuaC_wUggmSQd

~~~

You tore your gaze from Blue Maui to glance at the rest of the crew. Luffy was sitting and pounding his fists on the table, chanting for meat. Robin was sitting next to the android and chatting, with her hand on his oversized forearm. The green swordsman was slouching with his arms crossed next to a tiny…deer. Who was talking to a giant skeleton with an afro. Alright. Nami sat next to you and Usopp, with Sanji coming from the kitchen with a serving platter. A strange group of people, but hey, you were dead so it’s not like you could talk. 

Sanji served you first, even before the Captain, which surprised you. “A vegetarian meal for our dearest Reader,” Sanji said. He looked anxious and he was hovering over you. He clearly wanted you to try the food in front of him and give him a review. He gave you glazed carrots, a spring style salad, and a bean and mushroom stew served over rice. 

He didn’t need to be nervous, it all looked incredible. You weren’t the main cook in your previous relationship, that had been mostly done by your partner. You were satisfied eating the same boring things over and over daily, which you’d done for the past few years. You picked up your fork and sampled the glazed carrots. It was unbelievable, the carrots practically melting on your tongue. Your taste buds were singing, you didn’t think carrots could be so rich. You sampled each item he’d prepared while he flitted back and forth, serving the rest of the crew, starting with the women. 

“Sanji, this is outstanding! I’ve never eaten anything like this before, you’re such a talented chef.” The carrots, the stew, the salad, everything tasted like it had been made by a French chef. Sanji beamed at you.

“I apologize, we are running low on supplies right now. At the next island, I’ll buy more vegetables. Most of the crew prefers a more meat heavy diet.” This was him running low on supplies? You couldn’t wait to see what he whipped up with a fully stocked kitchen.

“MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT!…” Luffy continued to chant over Sanji speaking to you.

“LUFFY, SHUT UP! I’m speaking to our lovely Reader,” Sanji sighed and went to fetch food for Luffy. Once the food was placed in front of him, Luffy was like a vacuum. You made a mental note to keep your hands and feet away from his mouth during meal time. He reminded you of that game, Kirby, where the little pink guy would literally inhale food. Or a dog with food aggression. Luffy was using both hands, double fisting the meat and eating as rapidly as humanly possible. 

“Would you like to introduce our new Reader, Luffy?” Robin asked politely.

“Oh yeah, this is Misty,” Luffy said while chewing, gesturing to you with one meat skewer. It took everything in you not to chide him for speaking with his mouth full. Who raised this kid? 

“Actually, her name is also Robin, but we are calling her Misty to avoid confusion,” Robin clarified. “She is our new Reader, but she does not know any information about our world, including who we are. It's a fresh start for all of us, so let’s go around and introduce ourselves. Appropriately. ” Robin gave a look to the android and skeleton, emphasizing the last word.

“She’s obviously lying,” interjected the green haired swordsman.

“No, I’m not, I really -” you started to argue with him but were interrupted by Sanji, who already had his foot on the swordsman's shoulder. 

“How dare you accuse our newest, sweetest Mellorine of lying?!” He was in the green guy’s face on your behalf, it looked like they might fight again. 

“Thank you, Sanji, but I understand his hesitation. But I promise, I really don’t know anything about this world. I haven’t even been to the sea before. I guess that’s one thing off my bucket list.” Well, you’d already kicked the bucket so you weren’t sure that it counted. 

“Whaddya mean? Never been to the sea?” asked Luffy, still chewing with his mouth open. You shrugged.

“I mean, I’ve been in lakes and rivers and pools and things like that. I always wanted to visit the ocean before I died. Where I lived, the ocean was really far away. It was always a little too expensive to go so I never did.” It made you sad to think you'd spend nearly your whole life working and for what? You didn't get to the Pacific, you didn't travel to Fiji, you didn't get to do a lot of things you'd wanted before you apparently died.

“We’ve heard about their world before, others have shared similar sentiments. To Zoro’s point, I do not believe she is lying. I’ve been monitoring her interactions and she does not seem to know any prior information.” Robin had been watching you? You hadn’t seen her following you around. But at least she was corroborating that you weren’t lying. So the green haired guy was Zoro. He still hadn’t introduced himself.

“I’m Franky, the shipwright. It’s SUUUUUPER nice to meet you.” He had exquisite blue hair shaped like a sailing ship. Maybe wild hair colors were natural in this world. You hoped so, you absolutely loved it.

“I like your hairstyle,” you complimented. 

“Thanks, sis,” Franky responded, making a finger gun and running his hand along the side of his hair. It was clearly a source of pride for him, as was only right for such a good style. Next, the skeleton put down his cup of tea.

“I’m Brook, the Soul King. I'm the musician on the crew and I’d love to see -” Nami bonked him over the head before he could finish his sentence. Hard.

“Don’t you dare! Robin just asked everyone to behave!” She was quick, that was for sure. And based on his reaction, fairly strong.

“-your panties,” he finished despite the bonk. 

“No. Don’t ask again,” you replied. Ew. But also he was a nine foot tall skeleton, so his sense of decorum might have been off. He had kind of a Hendrix / Slash vibe going on, complete with afro. You really should commend whoever made this world, the hair here was fantastic.

The little deer put down his milk and said in a serious tone, “I’m Chopper, the ship’s doctor.” It would have been more impressive if he didn’t have a milk mustache when he told you this. Talking skeleton, talking deer, rubber people, dead people, this ship was like a haunted house mixed with Disneyland. At least your life was ending with a bang. “I can help you if you have a headache from the timespace travel, it’s happened to a few of our readers.” 

After thanking Chopper, the last of the group, Blue Maui, introduced himself as well. “I am Jinbe, the ship’s helmsman. It is a pleasure to meet you,” he said, giving you a bow. Your heart and face warmed. You knew it didn’t mean anything - it was basically the same introduction everyone else had given you as well. But coming from someone as good looking as Jinbe, you couldn’t help it. What, were you 12 again?

“Pleased to meet you as well,” you replied smiling. Luffy interrupted your very brief conversation with his mouth full.

“So if you’re shipwrecked on an island, and there were only animals there,” Luffy began as you inwardly groaned, already knowing where this was going, “would you eat one to survive?”

You laughed. “You know what’s funny? I die and come to this world only to be asked the same questions as the last one. I would. But it’s not something I worry about.”

“So who’s your favorite?” Luffy continued, beaming at you.

You weren’t sure exactly what he was asking. “My favorite what?”

“Your favorite Strawhat!” Luffy smiled, but you saw Sanji and Usopp tense slightly.

“Luffy, she doesn’t know us. She doesn't have a favorite like our previous readers,” Robin interrupted her Captain. “I do not know if she is even aware we are the Strawhat Pirates.”

Luffy shoved more meat into his mouth before replying, “oh, right. Well, we’re the Strawhats. Cus of my hat. And your favorites probably gonna be me. Or Zoro. Or Nami. That’s who everyone says.” Luffy grinned widely. You didn’t reply but it seemed kind of rude to pick favorites in front of the other crew members. 

“You’re not always everyone’s favorite!” interjected Usopp, the conversation hitting a nerve.

“I am! It’s my show! I’m the antagonist-” Luffy yelled back.

“Protagonist,” corrected Robin, now sipping on some tea.

“This isn’t a show, it's just life!” continued Usopp. “You’re not the main character, that’s not how it works.” Luffy pouted but kept eating.

“Let’s get a round going for the new reader!” exclaimed Nami, trying to change the subject. 

“Brilliant idea Nami-swan! Dearest Misty, what would you prefer to drink? We have some sake, wine, and ale. You are our guest, you choose first. ” Sanji came to your side immediately, like a waiter on demand.

“Oh, I don’t drink,” you replied, “but it doesn’t bother me if anyone else does.” Zoro (who still hadn’t introduced himself) snorted.

“What kinda life is that? No meat, no booze. What’s the fuckin’ point?” he scoffed. 

You laughed lightly. “I would have said the same when I was 20. Just not my style anymore.” 

“So go get the booze shitcook, she said we can drink,” Zoro turned to Sanji, already ignoring you. You could see Sanji puffing up for a fight already.

“If she’s not drinking, you’re not drinking either, you stupid mossbrain! You don’t get shit anyway for insulting her!” They were already in each other’s faces. No one else had paused their side conversations to listen or watch. You wondered how many times a day this happened. Zoro and Sanji went back and forth, though you noticed Zoro didn’t stop eating his food and Sanji didn’t put down his tray. Everyone else had returned to their side conversations, ignoring the two men completely. The crew seemed cohesive, like everyone was on good terms with each other. Even Zoro and Sanji's fighting wasn't disturbing the overall vibe of the dinner. It was loud, animated, chaotic, and reminded you of Sunday night dinners with your own family. You enjoyed it for a few minutes, eating your meal and watching the dynamics of the crew. 

Everyone was wrapping up their meals and finishing their food. Usopp and Nami got up to leave, but left their dirty plates on the table. “ Excuse me, take your plates to the sink. No one’s coming behind to pick up after you,” you snapped at them. The room went silent as they stared at you. Oops. Having several bad roommates and coworkers over many years had left a few ingrained habits. “Uh, sorry, didn’t mean that. Just tell me where I can put my plate.”

“Leave it on the table, Twirlybrow cleans up,” replied Zoro.

“Why? Didn’t he cook the food?” you asked, confused. It was basically a sin where you grew up to leave your plate on the table, much less for the cook. Didn’t they rotate the cleaning?

“So? He likes it,” Zoro was being petulant, probably because of whatever he had going on with the cook. 

“Again, sorry, I didn't mean to overstep. It’s just that where I’m from, if you cook, you don’t clean. That’s always how it is. But, not my circus,” you said, putting your hands up in apology. You didn’t mean to offend, but the man had just cooked a multi course meal for eleven, plated and served it. Surely he didn’t have to clean up everything by himself too. It felt unfair, but it wasn’t your place to change the way things were.

“Whassat mean? Not my circus?” Luffy asked, finally full of food. His belly was stretched comically large, seemed like being made of rubber had its benefits.

“Oh, it’s a common saying. ‘Not my circus, not my monkeys.’ Meaning, it isn’t my place to say anything. You know like, not my problem, not my business.” Luffy smiled at you.

“I am your monkey! Monkey D. Luffy! Thanks Sanji!” With that, Luffy got up and took his plate, putting it into the sink. Usopp and Nami did the same, bringing their plates with them after watching their Captain. One by one, the crew thanked Sanji and brought their plates to the sink until it was just you and Sanji left. You still had a lot of food on your plate and you weren’t done eating yet. 

“Sorry, I’ve always been a slow eater, especially when I’m in a group or talking with other people. I can finish this later.” You felt bad stopping him from beginning on the overwhelming amount of dishes he was going to have to do. 

“No, no. Please. Enjoy at your leisure mon cherie. It’s nice to see someone who doesn’t just shove everything down their throat.” Sanji was a little off, he wasn’t saying anything cringy or chivalrous in your honor, just clearing off the table.

“Sorry that I butted in. I didn’t mean to disrupt the way things are here,” you offered. 

“No, I - I appreciate the sentiment.” Sanji said, back turned to you.

“I can help you clear the table if you wish, or wash some dishes. I can’t fight and don’t have super-powers like everyone else but I definitely know my way around dish soap,” you tried for a light hearted approach. “My mom really drilled into us that whoever cooks doesn’t clean. It’s hard for me to watch you and not help, especially after you just cooked such an incredible meal.” Sanji smiled at you, but it didn’t reach his eyes. 

“It is no burden on me, mon coeur. Please, eat. You are a guest on the ship, and a lady besides.” You dropped it as the chef began cleaning again, clearing the table of serving platters and pitchers, bringing them to be washed. You watched him as you ate, asking him about the preparation of the dishes you were eating. Once you got him talking about food, he dropped a lot of the chivalrous talk and spoke passionately about his love of food and drink. He was calm and patient, answering all your questions. It was obvious he excelled in his field, both from your empty plate and the amount of knowledge he had. Once you were done, you stacked your silverware, cup and plate and brought them to the sink. Sanji was elbow deep in dishes, and he would be for a while. 

“C’mon, let me help you. This is gonna take you hours to do alone.” 

“Ladies shouldn’t have to life a finger -” Sanji began.

You cut him off. “I don’t have to, I want to. It would…make me happy?” You ended the sentence on a higher register. You figured that if he was really a chivalrous guy, he would take your wants and desires into consideration. 

Sanji blinked up at you with his one visible eye, surprise registering before it was hidden. “It would make you happy? But you only have precious little time left, you want to spend it washing dishes?” What was this guy’s deal? Did no one ever help him before? You’d never fought so hard to wash dishes in your life.

“Well, I want to spend every day eating more of your scrumptious food. Which means that the utensils, pots, pans, bowls, everything has to be washed and cleaned, right? Kind of goes hand in hand.” 

“Alright, just this once mon mie. If it would make you happy.”

“It would,” you replied firmly. With that, he moved over, giving you some space at the sink. You’d had a dishwasher at your house for years, but growing up everything was washed by hand. You had countless hours of experience doing the dishes, and there weren’t any differences between your world and this one on how to scrub a dirty fork. You and the chef fell into an amicable silence, working side by side.

Something you hadn’t anticipated was that there was no background noise on the ship. Sure, there were the sounds of the waves, of some sea birds, of the crew on board. But for the past few years you’d gotten used to always having something on to provide white noise - the television or YouTube mostly. You were used to passively listening to music or long form videos while you cooked, cleaned, did laundry, any basic repetitive task. So standing quietly next to the cook made your mind wander to music. 

Obviously, you didn’t have access to your music from home. You tried to think of songs to sing in your head to keep yourself busy. But, as it turned out, you didn’t know the complete lyrics to all that many songs, even though you listened to music constantly. You could remember bits and pieces, or remember the tune, but there weren’t that many songs you could sing from beginning to end. It seemed like the only songs you could remember the lyrics to were either Top 40s hit ending in 2012, songs from your childhood, or songs from the Disney movies your nieces liked. You were deep in your mind, trying to conjure up some songs to sing to, when the cook asked you what you were humming.

“Beg your pardon?” you hadn’t realized you were humming out loud.

“Oh, I was just wondering what song you were humming. I haven’t heard that one before. It’s always entertaining to learn new songs from Readers.”

“Ah. Sorry. Um, it’s nothing, just a commercial jingle, I’m sorry. I’ll stop,” you turned a little red. 

“No, no. I liked it a lot. Does it have lyrics?”

And so you taught Sanji the words to 877-CASHNOW. By the time the two of you were finishing the dishes, you were calling and responding to one another with gusto. It was quite fun, and you were glad the young chef was humoring you. When the last dish was dry, you patted him on the arm. 

“Thanks for indulging me, Sanji. You have quite a pleasant singing voice. We’ll do it again soon.” He didn’t know you’d be helping him a lot on dish duty. You’d tell him later, you had a feeling he was going to fight you on it. But you wanted to be useful, and it had actually been a fun way to pass the time. 

“The pleasure is all mine,  mon cherie. I’m done much earlier than I usually am, for which I have you to thank.” Sanji lit up a cigarette. You’d seen him smoking earlier, but not during dinner service. But you didn’t know any chefs who didn’t smoke, so you weren’t going to give him grief over it.

“Thank you for dinner, Sanji.” You patted his head like a little boy and left the galley. Outside the crew was relaxing and enjoying the cool evening air together.

“What’s a structured settlement?” Luffy yelled across the deck. You laughed.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you could hear us. I’ll keep it down next time.” You hoped your singing wasn’t too off key.

“Why do you do that?” Luffy asked, walking towards you while picking his nose.

“Sing? I’ve always liked it. I’m not good by any means, but it’s fun -”

“No, apologize all the time. You’re always saying sorry but you don’t do anything you need to apologize for.” 

You fidgeted, rubbing the tips of your fingers together. “Oh, sorry, bad habit, I guess. I’ll try to stop.” Luffy flicked a booger onto the deck and sat down cross legged without washing his hands. Gross.

“You don’t need to be sorry for being here. We want you here.” Luffy said, his hands resting on his feet. For being a gross teenager, he was perceptive. You did worry a little about being a burden on the crew, even if it was only for a short while. You had always been a people pleaser, even when you were a child. It had gotten better for a little while in adulthood, but recently you’d fallen back into old habits. You didn’t like relying on other people without providing anything in exchange. Maybe that’s why you fought Sanji so hard on washing the dishes. It wasn’t like it was a chore you loved doing, it was something you knew you could do. You’d think about what Luffy said more.

“Thank you, Luffy. That’s kind of you to say.” You almost patted his head too, but you remembered the boogers. Maybe after he bathed. You noticed Nami had come up, waiting for you to finish your conversation with Luffy.

“Come on, I’ll give you a tour of the ship,” she said. “We can pop by the living quarters too, Robin’s set something up for you.” You agreed, following the orange haired woman. 

“So, the ship’s called the ‘Going Sunny,’ it’s like the ‘Going Merry’ and ‘1,000 Sunny’ mixed together. I don’t know how Franky did it, but he took the Merry and combined it with the Sunny and this is what we ended up with. A Reader once gave us a good drawing of the 1,000 Sunny and Franky used the best parts of both ships." You didn’t know what she was talking about but you nodded anyway. She took you around the ship, starting with the top deck and working your way down to the bottom. It was an incredible ship - there was a tangerine grove, the head of a ram on the keel, a huge fish tank, a spa level bathing area, even a library. You had never seen anything like it. Finishing with the crew quarters, Nami showed you where you would be sleeping. It was a small cot between her bed and Robin’s. Nothing fancy, but you hoped you wouldn’t need to use it too much. You only had three weeks left to live, and you wanted to make the most of it. 

[thusspoketrish]

LCDrarry 2024 FIC REVEAL!!!!!

YAY!!! I had an absolute blast writing this story! Thank you to everyone who took time to read, leave kudos, and comment on it—your support means the world to me! A huge shout out to the @lcdrarry Mods for their kindness and for hosting another brilliant year! It takes a village to craft a story with love, and wow, did my village deliver! I’m endlessly grateful for the patience, love, and support from my amazing alpha, betas, and reader throughout this experience! I want to give a special thanks to my BFF @dewitty1 for being the best alpha in the entire world. Seriously, this fic wouldn't exist without their support, brilliance, and creativity in helping me tell Draco's wild story of reluctant fatherhood!

This is my Three Men & a Baby meets Taken (1) inspired story, featuring: BAMF!Draco who is also an adorably anxious bean, a Harry bursting with love and sass, and our favorite Ron, who’s both capable and emotionally intelligent! Together, they form an unbeatable BROMANCE! 

Expect a tender Drarry love story with heartfelt confessions, hilarious baby shenanigans, protective Draco moments, and an Auror case that’s totally out of this world! Join our dear boys in an action-packed, heartwarming kid-fic (no one asked for) you never knew you needed!!!

This has been a true labour of love, and I'm so grateful for the experience! I hope this story has brought (and will continue to bring) you all as much joy in reading it as it has brought me in writing it! Thank you again and here's to many more stories and adventures ahead!!!

READ IT ON AO3 HERE.

A Ferret, a ScarHead, a Weasel, and a Baby

Prompt: "Three Men and a Baby", 1987, Leonard Nimoy & "Taken", 2008, Pierre Morel Author: trishjames Word Count: 91,420 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Angst, Anxiety, Epic Fight Scene(s), Canon-Typical Violence, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Blood, Muggle Weapons, References to Past Child Abuse, Abduction, Injuries

Summary: They say becoming a parent is an unparalleled, priceless joy. Draco Malfoy finds himself putting that theory to the test when the star witness in his dangerous illegal potions case entrusts him with a powerful wish: protect her newborn baby at all costs. Now, it's up to Draco to fulfill that wish despite the looming threat of criminals hunting for the child. To think, just the day before, he was fretting over his inappropriate feelings for his annoying, bespectacled git of a housemate—not the mechanics of changing nappies!

Thank Merlin it takes a village to raise a sack of flour, ah, child.

[arklaytears]

Confident When I’m With You [Pt.1?] (Joel x F! Anxious/Shy! Reader)

t/w: anxiety attacks, ptsd flashbacks, mentions of being sold, drinking, mean! joel

a/n: this has taken me a couple days to write, and i’m too anxious to fully read over it again.  i want to try a slowburn something and really wanted to see an anxious reader with joel.  building a relationship off of that.  please please please tell me what you think, i hope you like it and yeah!-

·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

  When the apocalypse started, you were nothing but 5 years old.  Barely able to remember anything aside from the fear and panic in your family’s eyes as they did their best to flee from the all too fucked up situation.

Vividly you remember your mother speaking to you, her hands wrapped tightly around yours as she spoke,

“Hey, you don’t need to be scared.  I promise.” 

Though you can still feel just how much her hands were shaking as she helped to buckle you into your neighbor's car. 

The blood on her hands, even more spurting violently from her neck, you could still feel it when you laid in bed and let your mind wander.  The streak she’d left on your cheek as she leaned in for one final kiss to your forehead, before she shut the door to the truck, your final goodbye.

The last vision was of you pulling out with your neighbors, looking out the window the best you could to see the woman you had been raised all alone by.  Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed to the ground, her wails heard even through the closed window.  Your neighbors quickly peel away, and drive to where you were to reside for the next 20 years.

Before you could reminisce any further, you felt your hands tangled in your sheets.  Knuckles white as you hold them as tightly as you could.  Your breathing was uneven, and when you did your best to look at your watch in the minimal light coming in through your window, you realized you’d only slept for 20 minutes.

A new record, at least as of late.

Sleep had not been kind to you in all the time since you’d made it to the Boston QZ.  After being abandoned by the

‘neighbors’

you held your trust in for the last two decades, you had to find somewhere to go.  The closest being Boston.

Luckily, through the process, though no one was kind to you upon your arrival, you were able to get a bed and find some sort of peace under FEDRA rule.

You’d only been there a few days, and each day you found it harder and harder to get any sleep.  So, knowing that you would be up in your bed once again until it was time to rise and shine, you decided to be a little productive in caring for your new living space, getting in a bit of cleaning.

·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥

Then the sun rose, coloring the sky in soft orange as it rose over the buildings of the QZ.  Though you didn’t have much left, you moved to your kitchen to grab the coffee that you had brewed yourself.  Beans you were able to find on scavenging trips, that you'd had hidden away for months.  Hiding things being much more difficult when it came to the family you were living with before.

Now definitely being the time you needed them most.  But, you’d already been dressed, and wanted to explore and see possibly what sort of jobs you’d be able to get starting the next day.

Grabbing for your key to your apartment, you head out.  Locking the door quickly behind you.

Looking down to your hands, you could see they were definitely shaking.  You gulped the best you could, taking a deep breath to try and calm yourself before you made your way out of the building.

It was just a FEDRA establishment, just people surviving just like you were.. That’s all it was.  No need to panic.  Please, no more panicking.

·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥

The day found itself uneventful, as you’d been rejected for all jobs except for being told to help with gardening.  One of the jobs that paid the least, but the man had refused every other job that he spoke of.  Maybe it was for a lack of trust, or maybe that was all you looked capable of.

Holding the small piece of paper in your hand, you crushed it slightly under the weight of your fist.  You needed to get money, to be able to survive here.  Yet, it didn’t seem like it was going to be all that easy.

Walking back, you shoved your hands into your jeans pockets, kicking along a small pebble before you’d heard the murmuring of a crowd.  Looking up, you saw a large group gathered around what seemed to be a public display of shame.

You approached cautiously, but found your stomach turning in upset at the sight above you.  Three humans standing on a large wooden lift, each with a noose respectively in front of them.  A woman dressed in all black military gear, speaking through what looked to be a walkie connected to a speaker behind her.

Lurching forward, you wrapped your arms around yourself, that all too familiar of an anxiety rising up in your throat.  Like tears were threatening to fall, and acid was rising through your esophagus.  Your breathing felt more labored, and you had to look away.  The idea of how big of a crowd was here to watch, like this was some sort of entertaining sport made your skin crawl.

As you looked to the side, you saw a man with his back to you as he began walking toward the side street.  Following his path with your eyes, you saw him approaching another FEDRA agent, this one having his gaze set on the stranger you’d just seen. Giving him a seemingly knowing nod to his left.  Following the motion, you saw it led to a dingy looking walkway.

After they’d disappeared from sight, you contemplated.  What the fuck were those two up to?  A civilian going to a back alley deal with a FEDRA agent? 

The woman on her speaker spoke again, speaking of more of the crimes those lined up had committed against the dictatorship that was this new post-apocalypse government.

Fuck this.

In that moment, you decided to follow the stranger quietly, pushing through the crowd as gently as you could to catch up to the two.  Anything was better than knowing you were going to see three human beings be executed for an audience.

Doing your best, you followed the man from a distance once you’d caught up.  Though, as he moved down a gravel path, you took a moment in trying to figure out how to follow quietly. 

Taking a breath, you took a few steps along, being sure to keep holding back and allowing the two to do what they needed to do.  Or maybe this stranger was in trouble?  You didn’t really know, but you followed along the grating of the fence, until you could peek through it and see the two men in front of this green door that was kept away in its own little nook. 

Crouching down as you noticed the man from FEDRA taking one last peek around before digging in his pocket for a stack of… something.  It looked to be like money, handing it to the stranger in his blue-button up and tousled salt and pepper hair.  Though you couldn’t see much of the man you’d followed, the guard looked less than pleased.

What the fuck could this even be?  Some sort of sex thing?  Fuck, if it was anything like that you would have to get the hell out of there.

But, no sooner than you’d had the thought, you saw him being handed a small white pill.  Dropped into his hand, as he looked over it, saying something while he did.  Quickly he pulled it up to his tongue, getting a small taste of it.  Surely to check if it was real, before he nodded to the other, and was handed a bag filled with more of those little capsules.

Wait fuck, this man was able to get pills?  From where?  And, from whom?

Holding your position, you kept peeking above the patch of overgrown grass that hid your body behind it.  Seeing him pour the tablets into his pocket before handing the bag back to the civilian.

Shit, would he be able to get you something like that?  Not even much, just something to let you be able to sleep.  Just one peaceful night was all that you asked. 

The two’s exchange continued, them talking about something that you were completely out of earshot for.  Yet, as the guard pushed himself off from the wall, you knew it was your time to get out of there.  The two seemed to have made their peace with the deal and wanted to get back to their day.

You stood up, being sure you couldn’t see the two before you had fully risen to your feet, and moved back to where the crowd was slowly dispersing.  Averting your eyes from what you knew was hanging on your right. 

Moving forward, you moved to the phone pole that the guard seemed to be leaning against before meeting up for his deal.  Clutching it in your grip slightly as you take another steadying breath.  Maybe that man would even be able to give you medication to stop these attacks from overcoming every small aspect of your life.

“Hey.”

Your heart felt like it had leapt from your chest, and you jumped quickly into the air before turning to meet whomever was speaking to you.

The stranger.

Here you were, face to face with the man you’d followed to something you definitely didn’t need to be a witness to.  His arms were crossed over his broad chest, his chestnut eyes looking as though they would pierce a hole right through you, and his left eyebrow cocked up in a quizzical way.

“H-”

He cut you off, his voice low and gruff.  Commanding as he spoke,

“What the fuck were you doing watching me?  And, who the fuck do you think you are?”

The man had taken a step forward, using his commandeering demeanor to back you further up into the phone pole.  You gulped hard, visibly so.  Which definitely was not unnoticed by the unwavering man.

“I-I-”

Would he kill you?  Was it really something that important that you weren’t meant to see?  Fuck, your heart was pounding so hard you could hear it in your ears, and it droned out a lot of the background noise of passersby and city ambience.

“Spit it out kid.”

Your stuttering had to be on his nerves.  He looked as if he wanted to kill you, and was doing so with his gaze alone. 

You balled your hands into fists, knowing they were trembling as you took a second to try and collect your thoughts.  Speaking them out much faster than you anticipated.

“I’mreallysorry… Iwaswonderingifyouweresellingothersortsofthings…”

Your words jumbled together, and you hang your head.  Your face lighting up a bright red, knowing just how foolish and childish you looked.

His gaze was locked onto you.  You knew because you could feel it.

It was much easier to talk when your eyes weren’t locked with his own, and you let your eyes wander over your beat up sneakers as you spoke softly.

“I was wondering if you sell things like that to other people.. Like, pills?”

You said it almost as a question to yourself.  Maybe it was just some deal this guy had with FEDRA and you were completely overstepping.  Which, you already had overstepped by just following someone you had never met before. 

A long silence wedged itself between you two, and you decided to break it by continuing.

“I mean like.. Sleeping pills.  Pills that make.. Nerves go away.”

As soon as you added that, you heard a gruff chuckle and immediately looked back up.

The smallest of smirks had grown along his face, and his eyes crinkled as he closed them.  Though this gave you an opportunity to look him over. 

And holy shit, was this man

gorgeous.

Definitely much older than you, just by the looks of him.  His confidence in his own stance is almost palpable. 

Yet you continued to look for the small moment that you had. 

His defined eyebrows that knotted together, having a permanent indent between them, (from scowling you would assume.)  Yet, they were knotted together in his small amusement.  A small dimple that you could slightly see with his crooked grin, holding itself on his right cheek.  His large hand moved up to his lips, covering them from view but letting your eyes wander along his beard that matched his graying hairs. Seeing small bits of patches where the hair seemed to refuse to grow.

But, quickly you were torn away as those threatening umber colored eyes caught you looking at him a little too intensely.  Which very quickly had you looking toward one of the abandoned buildings that still lined this street.  That familiar heat rising to your face as you definitely made yourself seem even more embarrassing in front of this stranger.

“That’s it?”

He spoke, almost matter-of-factly, and you nodded quickly.  Still unable to meet your gaze with his own again.

“Yeah, but it’s gonna cost quite a bit of cards, seein’ as I don’t know you.”

  The man definitely had a bit of an accent, something southern you would assume.

Fuck though, you didn’t even think about the fact that you literally watched that officer pay for the drugs he had bought.  Yet, you didn’t even have your first shift until the next day.  And, that shift didn’t even leave you enough to probably get through the week without begging that man to give you more than just gardening.

Chewing at your cheek, you let out a deflating breath. 

“Shit..”

You muttered, though you didn’t realize it was audible to the older man.

“There’s no way you would think that in the end of the world, you could get away with favors and I-O-Us from strangers did you?”

He was blunt, and even a tad rude.  Surely you were just some ignorant child to him.  You were probably wasting his time from other things he had to do, but you couldn’t back down.  If you went another night without sleep, you felt as though you would implode.

“I just got here and..”

Again you were interrupted,

“I don’t care about any of that.  I need payment for anything that I give you.”

Tears were pulling at your eyes, and you did your best to blink them away as your head tilted back to the ground to stare at your feet. 

‘Do not cry in front of this man, please.’

“Is.. There anything other than cards that I can trade you…?”

He backed up a bit, though you didn’t feel that piercing gaze on the back of your head as you kept looking down.  Thankfully.

“What do you have that you think is worth a trade?”

Fucking nothing.  You came with what little you had from your abandonment, clothes, toiletries, some cans of food.. Your thoughts trailed, but then it hit you how much of a commodity that something you owned was.  AT least it was when you were foraging.  

“Coffee.”

  You spoke plainly, feeling the tears halt in your eyes, though they were most definitely glossed over.  But, you cocked your head up, enough that you could take a peek to see if the cogs were turning in this guy’s head.

Which, they definitely looked as though they were.  You had to have been right or he would have scoffed you away.  The man was gently scratching along his peppered facial hair, clicking his tongue before speaking once more.

“Fuck, if that’s true, then yeah I can make a trade.  Just bring over what you’re willing to give.”

It felt as though karma was finally on your good side, and an audible sigh of relief left your throat. 

The man reached into his pocket, grabbing a small piece of paper and a pen and writing down something on it.

“Meet there later tonight, I have some errands to run.”

Folding it in half, he placed it between his index and middle finger, extending his hand to give it to you.  Yet, no sooner as you had it in your grip and were opening it to read, he’d left without even a farewell.

You looked at the small white note, and on it read;

‘Joel’

With an address scribbled below it.  An apartment building you’d thought you’d seen near your own, but you might have to do a bit of searching. 

But, finally, you’re going to get some fucking sleep.

·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥·̩̩̥＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥

The day went by as normal.  A whole lot of nothing as you found yourself shacked up in your apartment, re-reading a book you’ve already read a handful of times.  Hopefully when you were more independent, you could trade some cards for something else.  Hell, you’d rather read a dictionary than this fucking book again.

But, as you were noticing the sun begin to set, you pushed yourself from your raggedy couch and moved to the kitchen.  Opening your cabinet, you pulled out the quite large bag you’d had stored of your coffee beans, deciding to take the entirety with you as you didn’t want to have to walk back to grab more should it not be enough.

You clutched the bag tightly, pulling it to your chest as a bit of that anxiety was swelling its way up your chest.  Slowly filling your throat with a burning sensation, as you realized you were going to this random man’s house, trading for pills.  Someone, somewhere, you didn’t know, you’d never been..

It was going to be a long fucking exchange.

You were right about his apartment building being familiar, as you found it really was right across the street from your own.  A hop away and you’d be at the front of his building.  It looked about the same as yours, just a different color on the outside, and you found yourself frozen outside the front door for a moment, looking up at the sheer height of it.  Dizziness working its way to the forefront as that panic continued to build itself inside of you.

But, you needed these pills.  You had to do it.

‘Bite the bullet.’

You thought to yourself over and over, moving to grip the cool metal of the entry door allowing yourself inside.

Following up a couple flights of stairs, the inside of the building looked completely worn down.  A pink carpet stained with age leads you through the halls.  Random pieces of furniture and debris scattered and lining the walls in each area you walked in.  It definitely wasn’t something you weren’t used to, as people seemed more concerned in making their living quarters a home, and not so much the entryway for others.

You take out the small scribbled note from your pocket, looking over it again as you look at the small scribble he had drawn on it.  A weird little shape with an arrow coming off of it that said, ‘This door.’;

Which was definitely not easy instruction, but as you walked the halls, you saw most of the doors had enough wear and tear that most of them just had chips in the wood as their symbol of entry.  A couple still held their shiny golden numbers, but most seemed to have fallen off or just completely vanished.

So you kept going, walking as far as you could until you’d moved up three floors and finally found the small symbol at the front of a door.  If you looked at it with maybe squinted eyes, it looked a little like a brachiosaurus.  So, that’s how you would decide to remember it should you need to come back.

Holding the beans closer to yourself, you took in a deep breath.  Your free hand hovering itself in front of the wood of the door, trembling as you did.  Your wrist was shaking violently, and you felt hot tears swelling their way up your ducts and holding them behind your eyes.  Taking a moment to blink them away.

Sucking your lower lip into your mouth, you took one last deep inhale before gently tapping the back of your knuckles to Joel’s door. 

Fuck you really hoped you read his note right, because if anyone else were to answer you would be running with your tail between your legs.

Silence followed.  You had taken a step back to allow the man room for him to open the door.  Yet, no answer came.

Was it the wrong room? 

You took out the small piece of paper again, looking at the symbol and back to the door, confident that it had to be it.  Or you were a terrible artistic interpreter.

Fear continued to bubble in your lower abdomen, especially as another stranger began making their way to their room down the hall.  Of course not without taking a look at this new face knocking on his neighbors door.  Cocking a brow at you before he ducked out of the hallway and into his own dwelling.

Knock again..

You had to, you could not fucking go another night without sleep.  It would kill you at this rate.  You took a step forward, once again having your shaky hand move up to the wood, this time knocking a bit harder. 

Fuck, your heart was pounding so hard in your chest you could feel it in your fingertips.  Like your heartbeat was surrounding your entire being in itself, and it’s all you could think about.

So when your next knock came, they were completely desperate.  Slamming against the wood, knowing you would run off this time if he didn’t answer.

Yet, as soon as you found yourself about to turn off on your heel, the door waS swung open with complete aggression and the older man stood there, using the weight of the wood to hold himself up.  His eyebrows were drawn together in annoyance, and he looked over you in confusion.

“Fuck do you want?”

His voice was gruff, lower than you’d heard earlier.  A drawl working its way through him as he wobbled slightly.  Had he been asleep?  There’s no way this man has already forgotten who you are.

“We were going to-”

He cut you off, his hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration, opening the door wider for you to come in. 

“Just get in, I need to sit the fuck down.”

Definitely not a welcoming atmosphere, but you decided to walk past him the best that you could.  And almost as soon as you walked in, you could smell the booze lingering off of him.  A heavy smell of whiskey, and the smell was followed by a messy table right in front of you, littered with maps, papers, and alcohol bottles.  Two almost completely empty as they sat atop the disarray.

Not your place to judge, but the idea of being around someone drunk always puts you on high alert.  You’d had enough experiences, very bad, when your neighbor would drink.  So, you hold yourself a little taller, evening out your posture.  Doing your best to not look as fragile as you most definitely were.

You clasped your hands together in front of you, leaning back on the balls of your feet awaiting him.

The slam of the door made you jump, but he just groaned out as it seemed to piss him off even more as he walked past you.  Right into the small living room.  Giving little to no regard as his shoulders hit yours, moving past to plop himself down onto the worn plush of the couch.

You gulped hard, looking around at the stained and dated wallpaper that lined the entirety of the apartment, around at small little pieces that made the space seem lived in.  Hospitable.  Definitely more than what you currently had at your abode.

Joel had grunted again, leaning his head back onto the dark green of the couch, his head resting next to a small seemingly hand knitted blanket.  His eyes were not even looking over at you, and you were sure it was because of the alcohol.  He seemed far away.  Of course physically, but his brain didn’t seem to be wired correctly at the moment, with how he allowed himself to close his eyes.

“So…”

You decided to break the silence that washed over the room, placing the coffee beans you’d brought on his cluttered table.  Careful not to make too much noise, treading lightly.  Like you were with a sleeping bear.

“Fuck that’s who you are.  The one spyin’ on me earlier.”

  His eyes were still closed, his hand moving up to shield his eyes from the sunset that was making its way through his windows to his right.

“Y-Yeah..”

You stuttered, still not really having any ground to stand on as you began to rock yourself back and forth.  Still holding your head high as you straightened out your back, not wanting to let on just how scared you were.

Joel let out a small laugh.  One you could see peeking under his arm as you kept your gaze solely on him.

“So, you wanted to trade me after spyin’ on my other deals.  Thinkin’ now I should be all up’n kind to you?  Is that it?”

Was this just how he was?  Your voice caught in your throat.  Still keeping your eyes locked to his spot on the couch.  Taking a breath as you were going to respond, he cut you off.

“A fuckin’ new kid in town stickin’ her nose where it don’t belong, is that right?  Now here I am, tradin’ her some pills for fuckin’ coffee?”

It sounded like he was talking to himself.  But, you couldn’t help but feel your throat become a little tighter, jolting even as he moved to be sitting up.  Elbows resting on his knees, his piercing brown eyes staring right through you.

You shook your head, because really what else was there to do in this scenario.  It was made blatantly clear that you were the idiot in the wrong.

“S-Sorry… I just can’t sleep-”

Again he let out a chuckle, this one a bit louder, more spiteful.

“Kid, you’re so lucky I’m not some of the other folks around here.  They woulda followed you home, and murdered you under blanket’a night.  No one would bat a fuckin’ eye.”

This felt like he was threatening you, and you felt yourself back up even though he didn’t move at all.  You leaned your weight onto the messy table, using your hands to hold yourself up as you knew if you kept them in front of you he would see the shaking.

You gulped, nodding this time.  Keeping it slow as your eyes stay locked.

“Even worse, they wouldn’ta just killed you.  They woulda sold you.  For cards.  To whoever was the highest bidder.  Your life would be nothin’ more than the use some rich fucker has for you.”

Silence hung heavy in the air.  Nothing breaking it as Joel had finally looked away from you. 

Surely in his own head he had to think he was doing something out of the kindness of his heart.  To warn you of who else was out there, but to you.. That meant nothing.  Your eyes began to swell with tears, and silently they began to fall down your cheeks.

“Yeah, I’m just a stupid kid.  Sorry for coming.”

Your voice was laced with venom and pain, and your tears continued to slowly slip down your cheeks and to the floor below you.

At that moment Joel seemed to have seen you.  Finally seeing what he’d done, through his drunken haze.

The man leaned back a little, his arm resting over the back of the couch loosely, one hand moving to rest on his inner thigh.  He looked smug, almost pleased with himself, until your voice broke.

“Just fucking keep-”

You couldn’t even talk, your mind felt as though you were that little girl again.  Memories swelling in your brain as you felt as though you were sinking in quicksand, nausea working its way up through your body.

Your breathing became ragged.  Those silent tears turned into hyperventilation, and you found yourself pushing off the table the best you could.

What a fucking embarrassing sight.

You could see only your past, flashing in colors and moments behind your eyes.  Feelings rising to your skin that made your hyperventilation quickly turn to wheezing. 

All of it was catching up to you, all at once.

You looked up to the man, the one you were supposed to be here to trade with, and you saw he had stopped that smug attitude.  His brows furrowed in what you were more than likely just perceiving as concern, but he probably was more annoyed that you were wasting more of his time.

Almost as soon as you saw him, you were back in the eyes of your childhood once again.  Blinking up to a man you thought you could trust, reaching his hand down to you.

A scream escaped you, filling the small apartment as you began to scream in begs

“Please don’t!  Please, please!  I’m sorry!  I’m sorry!  I’m sorry!” 

Your heart felt like it was going to explode,and as your screams continued quickly everything around you was swirling in black.The last thing you remember is the sound of your body fully hitting the floor, and the sound of your own ragged breaths.

[claireelle18]

Everything Turns Out Right - Ross Colton

He’s out of surgery and she meets him in his room afterwards, telling him “you know, they almost didn’t let me in here. They said I had to wait until you were up and asking for me.” Her pointed look towards him.

“They only let me in because you had me listed on your paperwork as your wife. Though I had to convince them, due to us not having the same last name.” 

He put his hands up in a half-hearted attempt, “I’m trying to manifest the things I want by speaking them into the universe.” 

“And you want a wife?” A faked pointed look shot to him. 

“Only if it’s you.” A cocky grin spreading to show his pearly whites. 

“I think your meds are too strong. You, mister, are lucky. I was able to convince them we hadn’t agreed to us taking each other’s names yet and that we were waiting for my passport to be renewed before anything else.” 

He chuckles, “So you’re going along with this wifey?” Her heart racing hearing him jokingly call her that name she desperately wants him to actually mean. 

“Only because I wanted to be here,” she stuck out her tongue, settling next to his bedside. 

Hours must have passed before the next person visited. “Mr. Colton…” stated a middle aged nurse.

“Shhh…please. She is trying to sleep,” he motioned to her curled up in the corner of the hospital room couch. “Kept her up all night worried with the injury as she had to fly in before learning anything further.” 

“So sorry, Mr. Colton. I was trying to inform you that visiting hours are soon to be over.” 

“She’s my wife. She can stay.” 

“My bad sir.” The nurse ducked out of the doorway. She stirred soon after. Blinking around, searching to understand her surroundings. 

“Tony is on his way here with real food for you. You need to eat. I’m pretty sure you last ate that snack size bag of Cheez-Its before the airplane ride.” He said. She squinty-eyed him. “You know I’m right.” 

“You need to eat too, R,” she huffed. 

“Already ate. Hospital food. Not half bad,” he shrugged, motioning to the bed tray with the past dinner plate. 

“I can go down to the cafe and get something before they close for the night,” she started to protest. He shook his head. 

“Too late sweets. He’s on his way. Meantime I’ve been channel surfing and I found a Jurassic Park movie marathon.” 

Thanks to Tony coming in with true food for her before retreating back to the team’s hotel, she was left with him again. “Come here sweetheart,” he motioned to the slightly larger than a twin bed. 

“R…” she started to protest. 

“Nuh uh honey. Join me, I need you here to make sure no dinosaurs come to eat me.” She rolled her eyes. 

“You’re a dork.” 

“Yeah, yeah, but I’m your dork. Now get over here.” She gingerly climbed into the bed as best as she could to avoid bumping into his shoulder. 

Before the team jetted off to the next city for the next game in the road series, a few stopped by to check in. She had slipped out to grab a cup of coffee while the men all talked briefly. “Soooo Tony spilled the beans that you told the docs she’s your wife…” Patty joked. 

“Well I knew she would just be too anxious to sit in the hotel room with one of you guys. No offense,” he replied back.

“You must really love her to go that far to lie about her to a hospital,” Brayden chimed in. 

“And to have us use your card to buy her that emergency flight,” Steven commented. “Ross you have to just tell her the way you feel. Sandra tells me that the way she looks at you is the same way that all of our ladies look at us, but that there is that look of longing written deep in her expression. Hate to break it to you now, but do something about it. Seriously.” No one knew that she had returned from her coffee adventure to over hear the conversation. 

Steven was right. All the guys were. Sandra was, and she knew exactly her feelings towards the New Jersey native as it was a family common topic of discussion in the family box. “I want to give her the entire universe. I wasn’t really lying about the whole wife part, more just trying to actually speak what I want into existence with her. I know Tony knows this since he was there to help me pick it out, but I have the ring for her.” A ring?! So he had that planned out already. 

She burst into the already cramped hospital room, carefully flinging herself into the body of the man she loved so much. A couple of the guys chuckled at the scene in front of them. “I love you so much, R.” 

“So I am guessing you heard the conversation,” his laugh reverberating through her. 

“Every word.”

“Well fuck this wasn’t really the way I had thought it would happen,” he glanced around the room at the guys. “I don’t even have it with me. Didn’t expect to have you here with me, even if it is due to the unfortunate circumstance.” 

“I don’t care if you physically have it. You have known that items aren’t important to me.” Her eyes getting all teary.

“Sweetheart, it’s important as it’s my promise to you. You deserve to have a ring. It’s been in my nightstand drawer for months.” That was true. He bought the ring almost a year ago. She had left for a weekend to visit her family, which meant he was able to go pick out the right ring for her. He had been speaking with a local jeweler for a handful of weeks, and the designed ring finally came in. 

The team left, and the couple (well Ross) was discharged from the hospital. The flight back to Tampa was uneventful, except for the company of one of the trainers to make sure there were no unforeseen complications to the injured offensive. When the two arrived home, he pulled the velvet box from that back part of his nightstand. Her tears springing to blur her vision. “Again, not how I had imagined or planned to do this for you,” he started. 

She shook her head, a silent laugh shaking her body. “My love, you have been the best part of my life,” he continued on. “The nonstop love you have for everyone around you. How much you pour yourself into your life. I could not even imagine life without you in it. When you came into my life, the sunshine brightened the world even further. I saw it from a different outlook that only you could show me.” He watched her closely as he momentarily struggled with the small box. 

Pulling it open, revealing the large custom ring to her. “Will you do me the honor of continuing that life, and be my wife?” He asked her. 

“Absolutely yes! I would say yes in every life time to you Ross.” She couldn’t imagine her life without him in it, and was so glad he felt the same. Through it all, life would be amazing with each other by their sides. 

[plague-karm]

Hadalpelagic Zone Part 7, Valen accidentally spills the beans to someone and funnies ensue.

The trio were having breakfast together and the air immediately felt off, Valen (someone who normally made the most effort to talk to everyone aside from Bentley) looked really guilty, like he had done the unthinkable, Lena finished her pancakes and turned to her anxious friend.

“Val what’s wrong? You haven’t eaten anything…”

“Yeah you’re normally pretty cheery at this time what’s going on?”

“O-Oh it’s nothing! Nothing at all!”

They heard a noise coming from the basement and Lena went over to see what it was, only to be towered over by Sebastian, she tilted her head as she looked up at him. He normally wasn’t awake at this time so she was a little surprised to see him.

“Hello”

“You look different”

“It’s my work outfit”

She was wearing a black blazer with a matching black pencil skirt, she even had a small white oval badge that said “Lena Draxler, Head Accountant” she looked very proud of herself as she gave a small smile

“Right…”

He slithered behind her when he saw Valen bearing a really anxious smile

“…What’s his problem?”

“M-MY PROBLEM?! I HAVE NO PROBLEM! WHAT ARE PROBLEMS ANYWAY?! THAT’S JUST A MADE UP WORD! NOTHING ELSE!”

His eyes were twitching incessantly

“…You’ve done something”

“NOPE- NO NO I HAVEN’T I SWEAR!”

“Valentino Garcia you’re gonna tell us what the hell is going on because I have work in half an hour and I don’t want to be late, whatever it is we can work through it together”

“You three can work through it”

“No you’re joining us you live here you’re one of us that’s the rules”

Valen took a deep breath

“You know we all made a promise to NOT tell anyone about Seb…?”

“Yeah…?”

His anxious smile grew even more and Bentley caught on to what was happening and his face dropped

“You told someone didn’t you?”

“Yes…?”

Bentley and Lena lost it

“VAL WHAT THE FUCK?!”

“THIS ISN’T JUST A RANDOM SECRET VAL YOU’VE JUST PUT OUR FRIEND IN DANGER!”

“YOU KNOW WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN IF HE GETS FOUND?! HE’S GONNA GET CHOPPED UP! FOR FUCKS SAKE VAL YOU HAD ONE JOB!”

Although Sebastian looked annoyed at their shouting on the surface, he was actually a little terrified, he had only started getting used to the surface again, if he ever had to go back there…he wouldn’t be going down without a fight, so he put on his regular facade

“Well if you’re going to go around telling people, you might as well tell us who it was right?”

He looked beyond pissed, Lena put her hands on her hips as she questioned Valen further.

“I know it’s hard keeping secrets but this isn’t JUST a secret! It’s someone’s life!”

“Who the hell was it Val?!”

“IT WAS ELLIE!!”

Bentley and Lena looked at each other and their frustration quickly boiled down to indifference

“Oh”

“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”

“Yeah we thought you told someone who was gonna snitch”

“I’m sorry- ARE YOU JUST GOING TO FORGET THAT HE TOLD SOMEONE?!”

“Ellie’s good at keeping secrets though”

“Yeah, when she hates someone she spills to everyone but we’re cool with her so she keeps her mouth shut. She’s more of Lena’s friend than mine and Val’s but she’s good company ain’t she mate?”

Valen was still shaken by the confrontation from earlier so he muttered out a simple.

“Y-Yeah what he said”

Dear god they were going to be the death of him, he had to take a minute just so he could calm down, the way they took EVERYTHING in stride was as amusing as it was irritating, he sometimes wondered how they were still alive.

“I’m leaving for work now”

He hissed loudly until he realised it was Lena

“Oh uh…okay? Why are you telling me?”

“Just wanted to”

“Fine…as long as you don’t go around telling everyone in the office that you live with a monster than I don’t care”

“You’re not a-…”

She sighed

“Okay”

Lena said goodbye to everybody, leaving the guys alone to discuss what just happened

“Okay it’s a relief that it was Ellie but you’ve gotta be careful mate, if the wrong person finds out…”

“I know! She cornered me! You know how she is when she corners people!”

“That’s fair, but still, you know about the shit he’s been through”

“That file doesn’t even cover HALF the “shit” I’ve been through…”

“See?”

“Look I’m sorry okay I-I just get really jumpy whenever it’s brought up and I try to stay calm but-“

“All you can see are the eyes?”

Valen nodded, Bentley wrapped his shoulder around him and dropped any trace of cockiness, he knows how hard it’s been for him since they all came back to the surface, and regardless of some of his…less than thought out decisions, Valen was like a little brother to him, a little brother he could still protect.

“Don’t let them win…I know it’s hard but don’t, living despite it all is the ultimate act of spite…my dad taught me that”

“Yeah I know…you say it all the time”

“The old man had good sayings alright?”

“…”

“…You’re not weak either, I’m pretty sure guppy was acting just like you when he was in there for the first few months”

Sebastian nodded, he still wasn’t at the stage where he could verbalise his vulnerabilities but he was getting there

“The fact you didn’t get killed is a divine miracle”

“See? Even he agrees-“

“Buuuuut if you didn’t have the other two you would’ve been doomed just like everyone before you was~”

“…Right we’re still getting there on the positive reinforcement- but you know what he means”

Bentley hugged him

“We’re gonna get through this mate…I promise…”

Valen hugged back

“Thanks…”

Sebastian watched from a distance as he counted up the money he made from last night, the people in this town were more desperate than he thought, keeping the loot from previous expendables was genius, now he could sell everything he wanted, he even got traded decent things (the guy’s like a magpie with gills, he loves his gold). Bentley took notice of this and tapped Valen so he could see it too.

“Fucking hell…you’ve been busy”

“I hate giving you credit but that cloak idea was genius, no one can tell I’m not human”

“Call me a genius again~”

“Don’t push your luck”

“All of this from one night…?!”

“I only travel to the more desolate places in town to draw less of an audience, the damper the better”

“Woah…”

“Have you seen the posters around?”

He had, the cloak he wore hid a lot but since his silhouette clearly wasn’t normal, he was slowly becoming an urban legend in town, thankfully it never got any further than a few rumours that got thrown around and few posters and news articles here and there (those of which had pictures of extremely low quality). He realised that it could bring more business in for him so he played it up, scaring people was actually a guilty pleasure for him, ESPECIALLY if it was someone who irritated him, it was like a rush he couldn’t get enough of. Does he want the people he cares about to see him in that way? No, not really, he had been deprived of warmth and compassion for so long that losing it a second time could break him, but hey, he was a monster right? Might as well play the part when it benefits him.

“I’m not surprised”

“You seeing your mom tonight?”

“I’ve already made my quota this week so yeah, I wouldn’t miss her cooking for anything”

“Her food IS amazing”

“Yeah”

The three continued talking for a while. Sebastian was still getting used to this, having normal conversations, living instead of surviving, making sales because he wants to and not because he has to, living with people, people who didn’t fear him (for the most part, Valen still got a little jumpy around him). He didn’t know how to feel about it, Bentley might be a constant thorn in his side (for some reasons he couldn’t even control), but if they didn’t meet, he probably wouldn’t have seen his family again. So he was grateful for that…would he ever say that to his face? Hell no, but it’s something they both subconsciously thought.

Lena came back from work a few hours later in a state of stress, she was shaking a little and she immediately sat with Bentley to have a shot of the nearest vodka she could find.

“GOD THE CHARTS- THEY DIDN’T LISTEN TO THE CHARTS-“

“Really? You know it’s bad when you’re day drinking, you only do that after we-…you know what? I’m not even gonna finish that sentence”

She was gripping her hair and rocking back and forth, Bentley held her hand

“You wanna go up for a bit to cool off?”

She sighed deeply and shakily stood up

“Yes”

“Can you get up alright?”

“Yeah I’ll just hold onto the banister it’s fine…”

Lena went upstairs while Bentley turned to the duo that were currently preoccupied with Cerveza Cristal.

“Right considering Lena’s on the verge of killing someone because members of the company keep fucking up the budget you have to keep the amount you’re spending on this shit to yourselves”

“Noted”

“She can’t be THAT bad when she’s angry-“

“She punched a wall through our old apartment because the neighbours wouldn’t shut up once”

Bullshit. There’s no way.

Every time him and Lena talked she had been the most rational one, she’s the most tolerable one! Yeah she got stressed sometimes but so does everyone! And she looks so fragile and pale! How could she even do something like that?!

“It’s some scary stuff…”

“…Are her legs okay? I saw her shake a lot on the way up”

“Oh she’s fine”

“Do any of you know what condition she has?”

“…Now that you mention it…I don’t think she’s ever told us what it actually is”

“Yeah, I always thought it was just a chronic illness”

“She only started having those issues when she moved in with me all those years back, back when we were kids she was fine…”

“Huh…should we ask her about it?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, she gets really uncomfortable talking about the reason she ran off…”

The three sat in silence until Valen’s phone started ringing

“Shit-!”

“What?”

“It’s Ellie!”

Panic immediately spread until Valen answered the phone, Sebastian could hear Ellie talking on the other line since Valen had her on speaker…to say he wasn’t expecting the tone would be an understatement. She sounded really airheaded, but also cunning, like someone who could ruin your life while bearing the most innocent of smiles.

“Sooooo I had an idea!”

“What is it…?”

“Why don’t I visit tonight! I wanna see what the guy ACTUALLY is y’know?”

Bentley immediately grabbed the phone and interrupted

“ELLIE YOU CAN’T COME OVER TONIGHT!”

“Oh hi Ley-! Wait…why not?”

“Lena had a bad day at work”

“Oh…I’ll just bring the essentials then! Byeee!”

Ellie hung up before he could say anything. Bentley’s eye twitched and Sebastian followed suit

“Will you two excuse me for JUST a minute…?”

He slithered down to the basement and all Bentley and Valen could hear was muffled screaming

“…Wait I thought everyone was okay with Ellie knowing about-“

“KNOWING ABOUT AND SEEING HIM ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS VAL!”

The hours passed by, Lena had come downstairs in her robe since she was still tired from earlier, she was sitting with Sebastian and muttering her frustrations into his arm, he just let her, he didn’t know why he was fine with this, but he was.

“And then the just told me the charts meant nothing? HELLO??? IM THE ONE WHO’S MAKING SURE YOU DON’T GO BANKRUPT???”

“Mhm”

“NEW HIRES MAKE ME WANT TO PULL MY HAIR OUT!”

“I bet they do”

“I’VE WORKED THERE FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS AND THEY ACT LIKE THEY’RE BETTER THAN ME!”

“They’re not”

“EXACTLY!”

She sighed

“I’m so tired…”

“Still?”

“Yeah…sorry…I’m just…I don’t know”

“It’s fine, you’re not climbing all over me so I consider that a net positive”

“Okay…”

Valen was pacing as Bentley ate his dinner

“She’s coming in thirty minutes”

“Who?”

“Ellie”

“It’ll be nice to see her after the day I’ve had…”

Sebastian looked down at her and whispered

“If you don’t see me after today you’ll know why…”

“Don’t worry”

“I’m not”

“You are, you don’t have to lie”

“…”

“Ellie’s a lot of things, but she’s not a snitch, I’ve told her things that I’m taking to the grave and she hasn’t said a word about it”

“She’s subtle right?”

Everyone heard that last comment and looked away awkwardly

“She’s subtle? Right?”

“…Well-“

And as if right on cue, Ellie burst through the door. Dear god, she was the OPPOSITE of subtle, the pinks, the hair, the outfit, she wasn’t just a friend of theirs…she was clearly VERY successful, if she ended up ratting out his existence to anyone, he’d be doomed.

“Hiiiii~! Sorry it took me a while to get here but it took me forever to find a parking space that fit my car!”

She greeted everyone with hugs and smiles until she finally took notice of Sebastian, she paused in the middle of her sentence and immediately took her sunglasses off.

“Since when did you guys make friends with an alien?”

“He’s not an alien, he’s a creature, there’s a difference”

“You know how we got kidnapped?”

“Yeah?”

“Well we found him and when the place collapsed we made sure he got out with us”

“Which is her way of saying that we hauled his fat ass into the back of the truck we used to escape and he’s living with us now”

Ellie walked up to him, Lena did a hand sign that basically meant “don’t touch him”, she nodded in response

“So what are you? Some kind of fish?”

“Multiple kinds”

“Ooooo like what?”

“He’s part mantis shrimp”

She gasped

“OHMYGODOHMYGOD- PUNCH SOMETHING!”

“Why is that ALWAYS the thing people get excited about…?”

“Bullet punches are cool”

He sighed, this was at least the tenth time he’s had to do this demonstration, Bentley quickly went outside to get a random stage prop he had lying around

“Aren’t you going to use that for something?”

“The production got scrapped”

“Okay”

“Will you do the honours~?”

“Oh for the love of god-“

And in an instant it was broken into the tiniest little pieces, Ellie was enamoured by this display of nonchalant brutality

“WOOOWWWWW do you kill people? Because I have like, an ENTIRE list of people who deserve that kind of treatment”

Of course she was just as brainless as the others, that was probably a rite of passage, whoever they let in begins to share the same amount of brain power…oh god…what if that’s already happened to him? He’ll have to ask his mom about it later.

After a while of back and forth Lena was speaking to Ellie about the whole situation.

“Just-…please don’t say anything, he went through hell and…I don’t want him to suffer anymore”

“His safety means a lot to you, huh?”

“Yeah…?”

“Okay, I won’t tell a single living person about the abomination of science and nature living in your basement!”

“…Thanks?”

“You’re welcome!”

Sebastian eventually left to go and visit his mom, Lena noticed that he left something on the side for her before he left, the box had a few smalls dents in it but it was still intact regardless.

“Migraine tablets…”

That night when Bentley and Valen went to sleep, Lena and Ellie stayed awake downstairs to talk since they haven’t seen each other in person for so long, and while the conversation started normally (gossip here and work updates there) it quickly turned into something a lot more sentimental.

“You seriously still haven’t told them what happened?”

“No?”

“Len-Len you know they’re not gonna judge you…what those assholes did to you back then wasn’t your fault…”

“I know…I just don’t want them to see me as helpless because I have some parts of me missing”

“Lena…”

“…”

Ellie held her hands and kneeled on the sofa beside her, she’s the only person Lena’s told about what she went through back then and while Ellie will gladly take that secret to the grave, she wishes she’d at least tell one of the guys what happened to her all those years ago.

“Hey, they won’t, the guys love you, you’d all die for each other…I don’t know much about the freak of nature living in your basement but he really likes you too, it’s not every day a creature from the black lagoon gives you migraine tablets”

“…Yeah, I want to say to him that I kind of know what it’s like to be used like that…but I don’t, I’ll never know what it was like for him and he’ll never know what it was like for me…”

“…Have you gotten the scars checked?”

“Yes”

“Professionally?”

“…”

Ellie threw her hands up in frustration.

“Dammit Lena they could get infected!”

“Don’t like hospitals…”

“I know but-!”

She sighed

“Fine, I’ll do it, the others are asleep, no one’s gonna come in”

Ellie brushed Lena’s hair out of the way so she could look at the scars, she had indent scars running down her neck down to her shoulder blades. The space behind her ears was completely black out, like it was a dead flower bed that couldn’t be recovered, there was also a very faded scar around her neckline, it was hard to notice from a distance, but it was there. Ellie sighed

“Please tell me you’ve been taking stuff for all this…”

“I have, I’m dumb but I’m not that dumb”

“I know you’re not dumb…”

“But…”

“But what?”

“I sometimes wonder what I’d be like if I didn’t have parts of me scooped out? If I still had my entire mind intact…”

“Hey, no matter what your head looks like in there you’re still a good person out here, and you know the only reason I want you to tell the guys is because I care, right?”

“Yeah I know, you’re great”

“I am, aren’t I?”

“Yeah…do you want to stay here tonight? It’s really late…besides no one’s gonna fire you if you’re late for a shoot nepo baby”

Ellie playfully shoved her as they went upstairs

“Oh my god shut uuup! I worked hard to get where I am!”

“Worked hard for that hair dye too?”

“Hey! No one can know I’m a brunette! Remember! Strawberry blonde is always the next step forward!”

“Ha”

Ellie eventually went to sleep in the guest room, Lena took two of the tablets Sebastian left for her before she got into bed, she was thinking hard. She had no idea why she was so scared of telling the guys about the operations, Ellie was right, they weren’t her fault, she was the victim of someone’s twisted mentality that everyone would be okay if they poked around in their brains enough. But still…she was nervous, she went to sleep in a state of worry and discomfort…

Thank god she didn’t have work tomorrow.

[newtthetranswriter]

Surprise Flights - Toru Oikawa

Word Count: 2128

Paring: Toru Oikawa x Fem! Reader

Summary: Toru really just wants to make Christmas special for Y/n, luckily for him he gets the chance to give her the best present of all.

A/n: Hello everyone, this idea came to me while working on a different fic that will be out closer to Christmas. Anyways I thought it was a cute idea, and it definitely turned out better than i thought it would. Also I just want to say that I’m sorry for the random long break in posting, writer’s block kicked my ass, plus I just got a job after almost a year of searching and so I might not be posting as much but I will try to write something every now and then. Anyways enjoy, Happy holidays, and as always remember to hydrate or diedrate.

a/n 2: This is really my first time doing any kind of smau style stuff for a fic so please let me know what you think. I'd be willing to try out doing an smau series in between normal imagines to help keep the ideas flowing just let me know if that's something y'all would want.

   It had been almost a year since Toru left Japan to pursue his dream of being a pro Volleyball player. It had been almost a year since he wiped the tears off her face as he promised to call and visit as often as humanly possible. Toru was able to keep the promise of phone calls and text messages but his schedule didn’t allow for much off time.

  He had only been able to see her in person once since leaving for Argentina. For his birthday Y/n and Iwaizumi had managed to fly out to visit him. His two favorite people managed to surprise him by staying with him for a week, but he still had practice so it’s not like he could truly enjoy it. After they had returned to Japan, Toru had promised himself that he would be the one surprising her next.

   So when he found out in early November that the team would be getting the last two weeks of the year off, he began planning. Immediately he had told Iwa and made him swear not to let it slip that he would be coming home. Toru had it all planned out, he was going to make this the best Christmas she had ever had.

   The days leading up to his flight Toru had to fight the overwhelming urge to just come clean and tell Y/n he would be there soon. The only thing preventing him from spilling the beans was the thought of how happy she would look when they finally got to hold each other again. The image of her smiling and the sound of her laugh as they embraced for the first time in so long pushed him forward, promising that it was worth it to keep it a secret.

   On the morning of his flight, Toru made sure that he had everything ready. He double checked that he had his passport and ticket easy to grab as well as his charger and headphones. Looking over his entryway where he had his suitcase and carry-on placed and ready, he smiled to himself knowing that in less than two days he’d be holding his amazing girlfriend in his arms. Checking the time, he quickly ordered an uber before opening his messages.

  After sending his usual goodnight message to Y/n, knowing that Japan is 12 hours ahead, Toru looked over his apartment one last time before heading out to wait for his ride.

  By the time he reached the parking lot his uber was already waiting. Getting into the car he said a quick thank you to the driver, before turning his attention back to his phone as a new message came through.

   Toru smiled to himself as he read his friend's last message. As Toru sat quietly watching the scenery pass by, he kept thinking over his plan. Sure he had set his lock screen to a list of times he needed to text Y/n so she wouldn’t get suspicious, but he was anxious that she would notice something was up. 

   “Going home for the holidays?” The driver asked, breaking the silence that settled over the car. “Sorry, I know not a lot of people like to talk during these rides, I just can’t help but be curious. Of Course you don’t have to share if you don’t want to.” He added on, sending the brunette a kind smile through the rear view mirror.

   Smiling Toru nodded, happy to have a distraction from his thoughts. “Yeah I am. I haven’t seen my girlfriend in about five months and I have seen my family in about a year so It will be nice to see them all again.” He briefly explained.

   The driver nodded. “Well they all must be excited to see you, if it’s been that long.” He said while keeping focused on his driving. “I know I’d be thrilled to see family if it had been a year since I last saw them.”

   “Actually they don’t know I’m coming.” Toru said with a laugh. “Well, my best friend knows, he’s helping me with the surprise. But I wanted it to be a fun Christmas present for everyone.” He explained after seeing the driver's confused expression.

   Laughing joyously, the driver nodded. “Sounds like an amazing gift. Well here we are. Have a safe flight and Happy Holidays to you.” The driver said pulling up at the passenger drop off door of the airport.

  Grabbing his stuff Toru nodded. “Thank you, Happy Holidays to you as well.” He said, closing the car door and turning to the airport.

   After making it through customs surprisingly quickly for the holiday season, Toru pulled out his phone while finding a seat near his gate. Seeing that it was about two hours until his flight was set to depart he decided it was a good time to start his plan.

   Pressing send on the final message he did his best to calm his nerves once again. He felt slightly bad for lying to Y/n, but he knew that if he didn’t and just never responded to her messages she would worry. Sighing he pulled out his headphones, listening to music in order to block out the sounds of the airport while he waited for his flight.

Time skip to landing in Italy

   After landing in Rome for his roughly eight hour layover, Toru decided to check his phone for any messages.

   He fought the urge to respond right away, but reminded himself that Y/n thinks he’s still in Argentina where it’s currently three in the morning, so a text message from him would be suspicious. Sighing to himself, Toru decided to stay in the airport while waiting for the second half of his flight. Grabbing an overpriced coffee and breakfast from the airport Starbucks, He made himself comfortable close to the gate of his next flight.

   About five hours into the layover, Toru decided it was a good time to finally respond to Y/n’s early texts. After all, nearly twenty hours of ‘sleeping’ was a lot even if he was ‘sick’.

 

 Toru smiled at Y/n’s worrying, happy that she was believing him and she hadn’t caught on to his schemes.

   The two continued to text back and forth for the next couple of hours. As they chatted about their days, Toru fibbing just well enough that Y/n didn’t catch on, Toru noticed that it was getting close to his departure time. He was enjoying talking with his girlfriend but he needed to come up with a way to end the conversation so it wouldn’t be suspicious if he just stopped responding. Luckily Y/n beat him to it.

   Not even ten minutes after hitting send on his final message, Toru was on his flight. Overjoyed to know that the next time he texted Y/n, he would be in the same country and one step closer to being reunited.

Time Skip to landing in Japan

   Stepping off his flight, Toru was surprised he didn’t feel extremely jet lagged after only sleeping for a handful of hours over the last thirty hours. He guessed it had to do with the fact that he was extremely excited about the events that would be happening over the next couple hours. Mainly the thought of holding Y/n in his arms once again.

   While making his way to the baggage claim, Toru decided to text Y/n again. It was even more difficult this time around to not tell her he was back in Japan, but he remembered that she was probably at work right now so he couldn’t distract her too much. So he settled on keeping the surprise.

    He frowned slightly hoping her day wasn’t going to bad, and put his phone back in his pocket. Turning his focus to looking for his suitcase as he tried not to worry too much. As he spotted his bag on the conveyor belt, Toru felt his phone go off again. Pulling out his phone again, he laughed at Iwa’s usual name calling before responding quickly.

    As he texted his best friend he made his way to the passenger pick up, looking for Iwa’s spiky brown hair. Quickly spotting the former spiker’s pointed glare, Toru couldn’t help but walk a little faster. “Iwa, I’m so glad to see you. Thanks again for agreeing to pick me up.” He said in greeting, opening his arms to ask the stoic male for a hug.

   Letting out a fake groan, Iwa embraced his childhood friend before pulling away. “Don’t mention it. Now didn’t you want to stop at the store before going over to Y/n’s?” He asked, no longer hiding the slight smile on his face from being reunited with Toru.

Time skip to Y/n’s apartment

   After buying a few things at the store, Iwa helped Toru get all of his things up to Y/n’s apartment, telling him that Y/n had left a spare key out for him when he made up an excuse about needing to drop something off there. Once the two friends had gotten Toru’s suitcase and bags from the store into the apartment, Iwa gave his friend one last hug before leaving.

  Now alone in his girlfriend's apartment, Toru couldn’t help but be nervous about waiting for her to finally return home and see the amazing surprise he had for her. He knew she would be happy, of course she would be, after all she was so sad when he said he couldn’t make it back for Christmas. He just had to wait another hour or so before she would get there.

Time skip to Y/n getting home & P.o.v switch

   While it had technically been a short day at work for her, Y/n couldn’t help but feel that the day had drug on. When she finally arrived at her apartment all she wanted to do was lay down and wait for Toru to wake up so she could call him during his morning run, like they did most days. Getting to her front door though she was shocked to find out that the spare key she had left out for Iwaizumi was no longer under the mat and the front door was still unlocked. Opening the door and seeing a pair of men’s shoes in the entry way she assumed Iwa had just gotten there so she just shrugged as she took off her shoes and headed for the living room.

  “Hey Iwa, what was it you needed to drop off …” Her sentence trailed off as she noticed the brunette standing in her living room, who was very clearly not Iwaizumi. “Toru? Am I dreaming?” She asked, pinching her arm, not fully believing that Toru Oikawa was really standing in her apartment holding a bouquet of flowers with a sheepish smile on his face.

   Toru chuckled as he slowly stepped closer to her. “You’re not dreaming I promise.” He said, handing her the flowers.

   Instead of taking the flowers to put them in water she just set them on the coffee table before nearly tackling Toru in an extremely tight hug. Toru quickly returned the hug, resting his head on top of her as she pressed her face into his neck. After a few minutes of silence, She pulled back cupping his face in her hands. 

   “You’re really here.” She stated as if reassuring herself that this was real. “I thought you weren’t able to get time off to come home? And what about you being sick?” She began questioning.

   Chuckling, Toru leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I wanted to surprise you, after you and Iwa surprised me for my birthday. As for being sick, I needed a believable reason to not text you for hours while I was on the plane.” He quickly explained.

   She nodded in understanding. “Well consider me surprised.” She said, before taking a moment to just enjoy being in the same space as him again. 

   “Wait, does this mean you told Iwaizumi about you coming home?” She asked, receiving only a nod. “No wonder he wanted me to leave out my spare key. I couldn’t figure out what he could possibly have wanted to leave here.” Y/n finished laughing slightly.

   After a few moments of just standing in the center of the room, the two moved to sit on the couch deciding to just cuddle as they talked. The conversation eventually faded and the two sat in a comfortable silence. “I’m so glad you’re home.” Y/n said as slowly drifted off to sleep laying on Toru’s chest.

  “I’m glad to be home.” Toru responded, quickly following Y/n into the realm of dreams.

(dividers by @/cafekitsune)

[starksvinyls]

Title: And It's Valentine's Day Rating: Teen+ Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark Tags/Warnings: Getting Together, Fluff, First Date, Valentine's Day, Happy Ending, Age Difference, also peter is a lil anxious bean but it's fine Summary: Tony invites Peter to hang out not realizing it’s Valentine’s Day. Meanwhile, Peter is freaking out trying to figure out if Tony asked him to hang out on Valentine’s Day for a reason. Notes: for @starkly for the @starkerfestivals valentine's exchange <3 the prompt used was 'tony finding out peter’s had a huge crush on him since childhood'. i hope you like it, happy (belated) valentine's day <333333

AO3 Link

“Wait, you’re hanging out with him on Wednesday?” Ned’s voice said through Peter’s headphones. 

“Yeah, why?” Peter erased the last part of the equation he had been working on and flipped his pencil back over to try again. 

“Wednesday is Valentine’s Day.” MJ sounded amused. 

Peter’s head shot up to stare at his best friends on his computer screen. There was no way…he looked up at the calendar hanging on the wall above his desk and stared. Wednesday was indeed Valentine’s Day. Oh. 

“Why would he invite me to hang out on Valentine’s Day?” Peter blinked. “Oh my god, what if he asked me to hang out because he knows I’m a single loser who would be all alone and he felt bad for me?” His voice raised an octave as he rambled on, anxiety flaring. 

“Calm down, dude,” MJ rolled her eyes. “He probably doesn’t even remember the day of the week, let alone what stupid commercialized holiday it is.” She did air quotes around the word holiday. 

“No, you’re right, yeah. Yeah.” Peter nodded. 

“Still haven’t told him about your massive crush, huh?” Ned shoved a handful of chips into his mouth. 

“Of course not!” Peter squeaked. “He does not need to know about that. Oh god, what if he knows about that? And that’s why he invited me over? What if he’s going to make fun of me? Or worse, what if he likes me back?!” 

“Peter!” MJ yelled. “Breathe. Tony would not invite you over just to humiliate you. I might have a lot of issues with the man and his hoarding of wealth, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t see how much you mean to him.” 

“Wait,” Ned cut in. “How would him liking you back be worse?” 

Peter groaned and dropped his head to his desk with a painful thud.

—-

By Wednesday, Peter had worked himself up, back down, and then back up several times. He spent the rest of Saturday night on the call with Ned and MJ, the only way they could hang out now, being at three different colleges. On Sunday, Peter took his laundry to May’s and had dinner with her before swinging around Queens for a bit. He tried to get out and patrol his old neighborhood, but with his dorm closer to campus in Manhattan, it didn’t always happen. 

Classes were normal, which was nice, but it gave Peter too much time to think about seeing Tony on Valentine’s Day. He kept up a constant stream of messages in the group chat, eventually causing MJ to send the rolling eyes emoji and put on Do Not Disturb. MJ was probably right, Tony probably didn’t even remember what day it was when he asked Peter to hang out. Wednesdays were Peter’s easiest days, schedule wise, and Tony more than likely remembered and that was why he picked Wednesday to hang out. 

Peter had himself convinced of that when he finally activated the suit and took off towards the tower on Wednesday afternoon. It was nothing, just friends and superhero colleagues hanging out, like they did all the time. There was no reason to think anything deeper was happening, pfft why did he even get so worked up? That was dumb. 

Launching himself higher on his next upswing, Peter let go of the web and sailed through the air towards the landing deck of the tower. He landed in a crouch, popping back up quickly, mask retracting as he skipped towards the sliding glass doors. 

“Welcome, Peter!” Friday greeted him. 

“Hi, Fri!” The rest of the suit retracted into his web shooters once Peter had removed his backpack. He flung it onto the couch and headed to the kitchen for a drink before going to find Tony, as was his routine now when coming to the tower. Peter stabbed the straw into the top of the juice box and wandered down to the workshop, slurping happily. 

Tony was where he usually was when Peter came to find him, hunched over a worktable. This time he was soldering something, so Peter came in quietly. Nothing worse than being startled while doing something delicate, he knew. It didn’t seem to matter, though, because before the door even finished sliding shut behind him, Tony was looking up, his smile already forming. 

“Hey, Pete.” He pulled off his goggles and set the soldering pen back in its holder. “How was class?” 

Peter told Tony about the lecture, his only class on Wednesdays, as he finished up his juice, suction noises included, which made the older man roll his eyes. Peter laughed and tossed it towards the can, landing it without even looking. 

Tony shook his head. “Show off.” 

Peter grinned, heading over to his own station to check on the latest batch of web fluid. 

—-

Peter could feel Tony come up next to the table, his arm hairs picking up the slight change in air flow as Tony moved. He looked up from his notes and noticed the sky outside was dark. “How long have we been working?” 

“About three hours, but Friday says it’s time for dinner, so,” Tony shrugged in a what can you do? kind of way, as if he didn’t have the power to tell his own AI no. “What are you in the mood for? Your pick tonight.” 

That gave Peter pause, and he swallowed. All the thoughts of “was this or wasn’t it?” that had quieted while he worked, came flooding back to him. Normally, Tony just had Friday order them whatever was fastest (usually because they got caught up in their work and were starving by the time they called it quits in the lab), but letting him pick sounded almost…date-like. No. He had already gone over this with himself, they were just friends hanging out. 

“Uhm, Italian?” Peter inwardly winced. That was such a romantic Valentine’s cliche. Ugh. 

“Sure,” Tony turned his attention to Friday. “Order us up some chicken alfredo, and stuffed shells, baby girl. Oh, and some cannoli, from the usual place.” 

Dessert, too? And Tony remembered that the stuffed shells were his favorite. Oh, man…

They headed back up to the penthouse and got comfortable on the couch, Friday pulling up the movie list for them to browse. Dinner and a movie wasn’t unheard of for them, so Peter forced himself to calm down. There was no way this meant anything more than their hang outs usually did. 

“You okay, Pete?” 

Tony’s voice cut through Peter’s internal panic and he turned wide eyes on his mentor. 

“What? Yeah, of course.” 

“You sure? You look like you’re gonna hurl.” The man’s brow was furrowed in concern. 

Peter wanted to bury his head under the cushions and never come out. How embarrassing for Tony to have noticed he was freaking out. And how embarrassing to be freaking out over nothing. Tony was a straight-forward guy, he does what he wants and doesn’t do what he doesn’t want to. If he wanted this to be a date, he would have asked Peter on a date. It probably would have been way fancier than lab time and ordering in, anyway. 

“I’m all ears if you need to talk about anything,” Tony offered. “I was in college once, I know it can be a weird time,” he joked.

“No, it’s not that,” Peter assured him. “I just, uh, sorry. I’m being weird. Ignore me.” 

“Something is obviously on your mind, so spill.” 

Peter wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole. God, his face must be a tomato by now. “No, it’s fine- it’s nothing.” He bit his lip, physically trying to keep the words in. He tended to word vomit when he was nervous, and Tony tended to make him nervous. Peter seemed to always be word vomiting around the man. 

Tony was quiet, just looking at Peter. The younger man finally cracked. 

“I just…it’s Valentine’s Day and I wasn’t sure if this was just us hanging out like normal or it was supposed to be more, but of course it wouldn’t be more, I mean. You’re you and I’m me, there’s no way it would be more. And I told myself that, and MJ told me that, but my stupid brain has not let me not obsess over it since Saturday!” Peter rushed out. “And now you let me pick dinner and you got dessert and it’s Valentine’s Day. 

“And I know it’s so stupid to assume, but then this stupid crush goes and convinces me that everything you do is a sign that you like me, too, when in reality it’s probably such the opposite because you have never given any indication that what you feel for me is anything but platonic, and Valentine’s Day is just a made up commercialized holiday so-” He glanced over at Tony and the man was staring, wide-eyed. Peter’s mouth snapped shut and he sunk further down into the couch. “Maybe I should go,” he mumbled. 

“Well…first off, I didn’t realize it was Valentine’s Day,” Tony said slowly, before Peter could get up. 

Peter nearly facepalmed, because of course. He had worked himself up over nothing and now he’s spilled his guts all over the place and there’s no way to shove those back inside. 

“And second, that was a lot. How long have you been holding that in?” 

Peter bit his lip. “A…while.” Tony looked expectant. “I mean, I always had like a celebrity hero-worship crush on you after Iron Man came to be. And then I met you and it sort of became more than a crush, but I knew nothing would ever happen because of Miss Potts and my age, so I tried to ignore it. That obviously has not worked well,” Peter said self-deprecatingly, looking down at his hands where they twisted in his lap. “And then after you and Miss Potts ended things, and I got older, well.” 

The older man studied Peter for a minute. “What if I told you there were some not so platonic feelings on my end?” 

“What?” Peter’s head snapped up, eyes wide with shock. He was sure he heard that wrong. There was absolutely no way that someone like Tony Stark would ever like him…

“Kid, fuck, Pete,” Tony sighed. “I’m, what, 30 years older than you? I had to keep that as buried deep as I possibly could. There are so many potential ramifications with just our ages alone, let alone the whole mentor-mentee situation. I wasn’t quite ready to admit to myself that I had any feelings or attraction towards you, especially when you were 17 or 18. It made me feel like a dirty old man, and I never wanted to pressure you into anything. Which it felt like it would be no matter what,” Tony explained. “But, you brought it up first.”

Peter blinked several times before looking over at Tony. “I mean, I’m clearly not all that opposed to the age thing…” 

Tony stared before snorting. “How do you go from a rambly nervous mess to a cheeky little shit in the span of three minutes?” 

A shrug. “Natural gift, I suppose.” 

“C’mere,” Tony held open his arms.

Peter hesitated for just a moment. Tony didn’t move, though, just waited for what decision Peter would make. Finally, the younger man scooted over on the couch and let himself be enveloped into Tony’s warmth. The embrace was comforting, and felt so familiar despite this being the first time they’d been like this. 

“I’m willing to try if you are,” Tony whispered. 

Taking a moment to think about it (something that MJ would be proud of him for, he was sure), Peter nodded. “I really like you, Tony, more than I probably should.” He rubbed his finger over the stitching of the pocket opening on Tony’s jeans. 

“You said you’d had a crush on me as a kid, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Peter agreed. “I didn’t really know or understand who you were when you were just Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries. I heard about you from time to time, mostly Ben or May shaking their heads about some new weapon or scandal. Sorry,” he added. 

Tony snorted. “They weren’t wrong.” 

Peter hummed. “But once Iron Man existed, well, you were a real life superhero. I was eight, that was the coolest thing ever for me.” 

“Jesus, eight,” Tony groaned. 

“Don’t make it weird!” Peter gently shoved his elbow into Tony’s ribs in warning. 

“It’s already weird.” 

“True.” 

There was silence for a few moments. “So, how did it feel to come home and find me sitting in your living room? 

“Oh, man,” Peter giggled. “Pretty sure my stomach dropped to the floor, and then you took me to my room and shut the door,” Peter turned to look at the man. “My fourteen year old, recently-discovered-pornhub brain nearly exploded.” 

Peter shook with Tony’s laughter, smiling at the reaction to what was once such an embarrassing memory for him. He snuggled further into Tony, still a little stunned that he could. They both sat there, content in the quiet of the penthouse. After a while, Tony finally spoke. 

“We should go on a second date,” 

“We haven’t even gone on our first,” Peter laughed. 

Tony laughed, too. “First dates are always full of nervous energy and awkward conversations, but if we count tonight as our first date, then I can take you out and spoil you the way I want and we can call it our second date,” the man explained. “Then, all the first date jitters are solved! Plus, as you pointed out, it is Valentine’s Day and I got dessert.” 

Peter had to admit that was pretty sound logic, and Peter knew he was going to need all the help he could get on a date with Tony Stark. He would be awkward no matter what they called it, but thinking of it as a second date was helping to ease Peter’s mind already. Also, a first date of take out and a movie snuggled on the couch sounded perfect to him. “Okay, now hurry up and pick a movie.” 

Tony picked Empire Strikes Back. He wasn’t a genius for nothing, after all.

[thelonelyshore-if]

I honestly thought this was going to take me a few more days to complete, but it feels pretty complete now and I've gotta send it in before I have time to overthink it. This ended up moreso about the aftermath of Beck and Perri finding out about the fog and that MC was keeping it secret. There’s a lot of guessing about their reactions, so I may have gotten some things wrong. I had fun with it though, so I hope you enjoy it too.

So we know Perri is an anxious bean with self esteem issues. Even in the midst of feeling betrayed by MC, they may blame themself for MC’s secret-keeping. They weren’t trustworthy enough, supportive enough, good enough. Self-criticism mixing in with their pain (and likely anger!), making it even more difficult to face MC. But! They’re willing to talk things out when relationships hit a rough patch. Not comfortable about it, not happy about it, but willing. I feel like they could be the first to forgive MC. At the very least, they will be much easier to talk to about the whole dang thing. Eventually. But god, the work won’t be easy. To truly repair things, they’re going to have to be honest about the ways MC hurt them. Can they bring themself to expose their vulnerable emotions? The hurt? The anger? The betrayal? And oh, I am so certain Perri has to feel at least some anger about this situation. They may not act on it, but I’m sure they feel it. There's going to be a lot to work through before moving toward a solution.

But what about Beck? Beck, who avoids problems in a relationship rather than trying to fix them? Beck, who is so allergic to commitment that they balk at the first sign of it?

Ough, it will be so rough. Beck doesn’t want to talk about it, doesn’t want to acknowledge it, and doesn’t want to see MC, at least for a while. Because if I’m convinced Perri must be at least a little mad, then Beck must be pissed off. With everything about the situation being so bad, they just want to feel good. Recklessness dialed up to 11. But would they try to avoid MC forever? Or would they be afraid of losing that relationship? Would they rather pretend? Sometimes it’s easier to pretend. Pretend they can trust MC, that this situation has not fundamentally altered something about their relationship. That everything is ok. Pretending until pretending doesn’t work anymore. Until it all breaks.

In the end, the pieces can be put back together, but it will take effort and it will never be the same again. I’m willing to put in the work. Are you? Or is it easier to walk away and never look back?

Getting Beck to talk about it, to try to fix it, is going to be like pulling teeth. They don’t want to talk, they don’t want to listen, they just want things to go back to how they were before. But that’s not how life works. Beck’s cooperation and forgiveness is going to be so much harder to achieve (but will ultimately be worth it).

And I definitely feel like this will have to be addressed separately before it’s addressed as a team. I feel like if MC and Perri come to Beck trying to get them to talk about everything, they’re going to feel cornered and bolt and become even less likely to work things out. Oh, the struggle.

(And then there’s me, crying in the corner for a week because I obviously Ruined Everything Forever and they clearly Hate My Guts before I finally get over all the reactive emotions and start working towards actually fixing things and communicating. If Beck is avoidant, and Perri is avoidant, and I have a tendency to be avoidant…well, someone’s gotta pony up and drive this relationship. I’m such an optimist though, so I would truly believe things can work out unless proven otherwise.)

It will be hard, it will be messy, but it will also be beautiful. Beck and Perri learning that fixing a problem in a relationship you cherish can be painful and scary and so so so worth it <3 We’ll come out the other side changed, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Something something love is transformative…

Ooh, I can’t wait to navigate all of the emotional complexities of this relationship. Seeing these characters at their lowest, at their rawest, and loving them anyway (and them feeling the same way toward MC in return) askljslhgsajk. Working hard together to fix the relationship, maybe even make it better and stronger than it was before. Ehehehe <3

(I wanted to incorporate Beck’s insecurity about their relationship with MC into this, but I couldn’t figure out where to fit it so I gave up on that angle. For now. Everytime I think about Beck’s insecurity it does unspeakable things to my brain, especially in tandem with Willow’s dislike of them, and especially especially in terms of Beck/Perri polyroute. Also, dating both Willow’s third least favorite and second favorite ROs at once?? Magnificent. So looking forward to Willow’s reaction to my life choices. And Perri? I already love them unconditionally. Always have. They deserve it <3)

Thank you so much for this!! I've been chewing on it for a few days because it's soooo good and sometimes I want to hoard asks for a bit before I release them into the world.

Gonna stick my thoughts under the cut <3

I love love love reading your thoughts. I think your characterization of them both is so spot-on; you really have a handle on who they are and how they'll react.

These two and Yasmin...man the reveal is going to be good. Especially because, depending on the circumstances, there might not be time to process and fix things. Not right away. The story is going to hit a point where the Plot starts running and it doesn't stop.

I love tension between characters that doesn't get the chance to be resolved. Not right away. Gotta focus on the now, on the horrors, no time to fix this festering wound in your relationship that has blossomed between you...

God. I'm so excited.

Plus there's another layer of complexity to all of this that is going to...complicate things. I can't talk about it but I think about every day.

The Willow stuff...god. Like you're saying: navigating a new relationship/relationships with your pesky little sibling there is going to be so. Man. I'm so excited to write it. I cannot wait for y'all to meet Willow in the flesh this is all going to be so much fun.

I'm all hyped up to write the final scene of this chapter now. Beck and Perri and MC interacting is such a delight to write and that scene is going to be delicious.

[celestialanon]

Slowly but Surely…

Leviathan x (gn) Mc

Fluffy/suggestive themes

I hope you enjoy, dear readers <3

It was no secret that Levi became despairingly shy when it came to affection.

Little by little you managed to get him to warm up to you though. It took a lot of patience and understanding on your end, but it made those affectionate moments you shared all the more enjoyable. You often rewarded him with praise when he became confident enough to hold you, or kiss you, or let his greedy side take over for your attention.

He didn’t let it often, so coming from him it was rather adorable.

But something in you had become to hope for just a little more. It was the way his fingers lingered at your hips when you sat in his lap during a game marathon. The way his lips followed yours when you broke a kiss, and his face flushed immediately afterward realizing what he had done. Those private moments where you both share sweet nothings to each other as he hid his face in your neck.

The ghost of his breath against your skin had sent your mind elsewhere. You wanted him. You wanted every part of him. The good, the bad, the hopelessly shy, irritable and envious parts of him. You wanted it all, especially the side that was meant to only be shown to you.

Yet, as much as you had gotten him to open up to you, you still became nervous to ask. What if he rejected you? You replayed the question countless times in your mind, and you were doing so again as you currently sat quietly against a large bean bag, watching Levi obliterate yet another level in his current game with minimal effort.

He was rambling again, it was always cute when he did that. But the current you was a bit distracted by the negative thoughts repeating themselves in your mind. You never noticed when your face twisted in discomfort at these thoughts, but Levi surely caught them. You have been making that face more recently, how could he not notice? He’s always stealing glances at you when you weren’t looking, there’s no way he could miss it!

So when he stole another glance your way, his words had come to a halt noticing that familiar frown spreading on your lips. He could feel the lump in his throat when he swallowed, suddenly nervous hands setting down his controller in his lap.

He had many thoughts of his own rushing through his head. Was he doing that thing again where he became annoying? Had you grew tired of listening to his rambles? It all led to one conclusion: you didn’t want to be there anymore. He nervously glanced back to you, a similar frown matching yours now on his face.

“M-Mc? Is everything alright? You- You don’t have to stay here if you’re bored…. Or something….” His anxious words immediately snapped you out of your trance, and you looked at him with furrowed brows.

“Huh? Of course I’m not bored hun, why would you think that?” Your voice was soft, reassuring, and it never failed to coax Levi into using his voice to express his honest thoughts.

“Well, it’s just- y-you’ve been frowning a lot more recently, I was wondering if I’d done something wrong…. I-It’s ok, you can be honest with me! I know I can be a bit much and-” You placed a comforting hand atop Levi’s own, giving him a small smile to wipe that previously mentioned frown off your face. You suddenly felt guilty for making him worry so much.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. Seeing you be so honest makes me realize I should be too.” You took a deep breath, ignoring the fear stopping you before your hand squeezed Levi’s just a bit tighter.

“I’ve just been…. Thinking a bit recently. About us- nothing bad! More so…” your words trailed off, and you realized how intently Levi was looking at you. He must have been really worried about you, you realize. The thought alone makes you smile again.

“Levi…. Would you ever want to… go further with me? I-I mean like… more than kissing, cuddling?” You stuttered over your words just a bit, and you didn’t miss the way his eyes went slightly wide and mouth slowly gaped open-

“Please- Please don’t run away! Or hide away, or anything, I really want to know your answer. I know this is new, and you are just getting comfortable and that’s ok! I just really love you a lot and it’s just been on my mind-”

Now you were the one rambling. Levi wanted to run. He wanted to hide away. He was so shocked he even forgot to blush, like his body had begun to malfunction. Then he heard it. You loved him. You loved him, and you said it like it was the easiest thing to say. He’s never felt this before, this warmth in his chest, he always thought something like sex was unreachable to him. Yet here you were expressing how much you wanted him.

Maybe he broke your rules a little, hiding his sudden reddening cheeks behind the back of his hand, only slightly curling in on himself, but he didn’t run away. Him? You wanted to do it with him?

“…Me?” His voice was small, and you could hear the threat of a whine escaping him. You carefully held his free hand with both of yours now, speaking to him in that gentle voice you mastered especially for when he became nervous.

“Yes, you, silly….” You could feel his grip tighten onto one of your hands.

“B-But I’ve never done this before… I don’t think I could make you feel good-” You smiled at his words, carefully removing his hand to find his face completely flushed, but surprisingly he didn’t advert his eyes from you.

“Me neither. But I want you to be my first, Levi. Because I love you.” Ah, there it was again. Those three words that broke through all of his defenses, he was a powerless demon when it came it you. And although he’d have a hard time admitting it, he was over the moon that you suggested such a thing in the first place.

With little confidence he managed up in himself, he gave you a small nod. He felt your gaze burn into his body, stirring something dormant in him awake.

“Ok…” Was all he said, as he kept a tight hold on your hands.