#it's very cold and very snowing and I want soup

[mimasroom2]

Hot tub time ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و

Ellie x reader modern au/slice of life

I have a hot tub but we need to get it fixed. I’m literally so eager so I wrote this LMAO. I LOVE SLICE OF LIFE ELLIE X READER SM!! Expect a bunch more, I have so many ideas written down😚 Im so sappy grrrr,,, I already wrote kinky ass sex so here’s soft sex for u guys😋

C/w: smut lol. Ellie + reader have their own house YAHOO! A bit of fluff in this one >•<. Au but Joel is still dead 😞. He’s mentioned like once. Cunnilingus😝 (r! Receiving) I feel so awkward using y/n like seriously and unironically ahhhh.

W/c: 2.4k

𓆟. ° .• .𓆝 .• ° . 𓆟 . ° .• .𓆞

“I’m actually so fucking bored I’m gonna gouge my eyes out.”

You scoff and roll your eyes. Ellie is always so damn dramatic. You glance over and she’s pretending to pull her hair out, large fistfuls in each hand.

You playfully shove her, “Okay, shut up Ellie.” And you both laugh. It was winter, and she was right… sadly. There was nothing to do during this time of year. Well, besides stay in and cuddle. The only problem was.. you’ve already done that. You two were both off work for the holidays, and you’ve already spent the wholeeeee vacation laying in bed together, so you guessed that Ellie wanted to do something a little more active.

“Wanna play Mario kart? I think the switch is in the bedroom.” You try suggesting, absentmindedly rubbing her leg.

“Nah,” she stretches her arms out on the couch, “Somethin’ more like physical yknow. Gotta keep these pretty muscles toned.” She winks at you, and you roll your eyes.

“You’re actually such a gym rat, you should just live there at this point.” You smirk to yourself, examining your nails.

“Maybe if I did I wouldn’t constantly trip on all the shit you leave around here.” Ellie remarks back, lightly kicking you on the knee.

“Hey, I keep it pretty clean considering we both share a room, thank you very much.” You cross your arms and huff.

Ellie gasps and starts kicking you more, so you yelp and start shoving her away. Suddenly she stops, holding out both her hands. “Holy fuck, babe. Yknow what I forgot about?”

“Huh.”

“Hot tub.”

You sit up at lighting speed, “OH DAMN YOURE RIGHT!” You actually can’t believe you forgot about that thing. You try to remember the last time you even used it.. must have been last summer. The hot tub was one of things that you’re OBSESSED with at first, but then you use it one too many times and you forget about it for a couple months. And then the cycle continues.

Ellie leaps off the couch and bolts down the hall. “GET YOUR SWIMSUIT ON WE ARE GOING IN!!”

~

You come outside and see Ellie lifting up the top of the hot tub. The whole things underneath a roof outside, so there’s not much snow in the porch where you two are standing, but it’s still really cold. You look up at the sky. The sun is starting to set, it’s been a little over an hour since you two had dinner. Delicious deer soup that Ellie made from when she went hunting a couple days ago. You always said that if Ellie was stuck in a post apocalyptic world, she would survive.

You suddenly remember the cold air hitting you, breaking you out of your thoughts of your girlfriend. You shiver, and pull the robe you’re wearing tighter around your body. You glance over at Ellie still messing with the top of the hot tub. All Ellie’s wearing is her classic swimsuit: plain black top and swim shorts. Her tattoo flexes as she finally pops the top off and turns the hot tub on.

You jump up and down in your slippers, trying to move to stay warm. “Ellieeee how much longer?”

She reaches down into the water and starts poking around at the buttons and jets. “Hold your horses, y/n, I gotta check all the filters n shit. Haven’t used this in a hot minute.”

“Mmmm I know but it’s cold.” You groan in protest. You know damn well you’re being a brat, but you swear you’re not built for any weather too hot or too cold.

“Well you wanna shut up and help me? Make it go by faster..” She looks up at you and you shake your head vigorously. “Yeah thas’ what I thought.” She smirks at you.

After what felt like foreverrrrr in the cold, Ellie turns the jets on and says you can hop in. There’s steam coming off the water as it hits the cold air. You can barley wait, you’re hyping the hot tub up in your mind. It’s something that feels like a luxury to you. The only thing that can make you stop thinking about your precious hot tub is your precious Ellie. You look up at her and get butterflies, even though you two have been dating for about 2 years now. She looks soooo beautiful, just standing there, folding up the tarp from the tub. You shake your head, thinking it’s so damn stupid to be drooling over your girlfriend who’s literally just standing there, doing the most mundane possible thing.

Some snow falls on top of your head so you brush it off. It’s getting too cold for you. You lick your lips, turning around to shed your rob, you’re still slightly shy undressing in front of Ellie, even though you’re still in a swimsuit. You hang your cute pink robe up on the hook where the towels you brought out are.

Turning back around to head into the tub, you see Ellie with her back towards you, messing around with the water guns from last summer. You check her out unapologetically, looking at her ass before you snap into reality again and take your slippers off to step into the hot tub. The hot water feels like it burns your skin, compared to the cold winter air. You take a couple minutes slowly sliding more of your body deeper into the water.

Ellie turns around, with one water gun still in her hand. “Feel alright, babe? Not too hot?”

You sink in deeper, up to your neck, “Mm feels good.” And then rise up again slowly, “Come in, Els. I’m gettin’ bored in here.”

“Oh yeah?” She closes one eye and lifts up the gun, suddenly shooting a short stream of cold ass water at you. “Not so bored now, huh?” She laughs and walks closer to you.

Your jaw drops and you scream when the water hits you, “ELLIEEEEE WHAT THE FUCKKKK!”

“What?” She fakes a pout, lowering the water gun. “I told you I gotta keep these muscles in good shape, right?”

Before you can retort, she’s already getting in the hot tub. “God, shove over. I’m freezing.” She accidentally splashes you as she’s hastily getting in.

“Ellieeeee! Don’t splash me! >~<“ you whine, but she just laughs, and this time splashes you on purpose. You sigh dramatically at all her antics.

She doesn’t reply, and just sinks in deeper, and you take no shame in watching her stretch her body out. Ellie groans slightly at the hot water enveloping her body. You sigh and blink at her, watching her eyebrows furrow. She slowly leans her head back against the headrest of the hot tub. You swear she’s egging you on, because she moans softly, giving you the perfect view of her neck, which she knows is your favorite place to kiss her. Suddenly, Ellie opens her eyes and says something that breaks you out of the trance you’ve had all day, “You keep lookin’ at me. What’s goin’ on?”

You let yourself float away from her in the water ever so slightly, “Nothing. I’m not looking at you.”

“Yknow I can like,,, feel your eyes burning into my back whenever you stare at me.”

You cover your face with your hands and

face away from her. She laughs to herself. She finds it so cute you still get flustered around her even after all this time you’ve been together.

“That’s too bad because I’m reallyyyy not looking at you.”

Instead of a snarky remark back, Ellie’s abnormally silent. You slowly bring your hands down to face her again, and she’s just looking at you with this look in her eyes. You think it’s somewhere in between concern and contemplation. “You trust me, right?” She says softly, after a few moments. You’re surprised, this is probably the quietest Ellie’s ever been with you.

“Of course I do. What’s wrong, Ellie?” Her tone is completely different than what you’re used to. This only happens on the rare occasion you guys have a disagreement. Or when you talk about something serious.

“Jus’ don’t want you thinking I’m gonna leave you.” She says, almost ashamed. She’s fidgeting with her fingers like how she always does, and avoiding your gaze.

You laugh softly. “Were you….. going to?” You can feel your heart rate speeding up.

Ellie’s eyes widen, “No. no no no.” She sighs, slowly, taking a few moments to collect her thoughts. “I get scared thinking about the future.” She mutters.

You look up at her. You knew Ellie gets scared. Of course she does. When she told you about Joel dying on what, your second date, you knew she’s not as… sturdy.. as she pretends to be sometimes. But that was in the past, and to hear Ellie admit she is worried about her own life ahead of her.. honestly made you surprised.

“Like.. I just want you to know that I’m always gonna be here for you.” She looks so concerned, like she might cry if you guys talk about this for any longer. She’s still looking down, trying to make herself smaller.

“Oh, Ellie.” You raise your hand up and softly tilt her chin to look at you. “I know. Okay? And nothing bad is gonna happen to you. Or me. Or us.”

She looks into your eyes for a second, before she gently tucks your hair behind your ear, leans in, and kisses you.

The kiss is as soft as she’s been talking - all emotion and thought as her lips move slowly against yours. She puts her hand on the back of your neck, pulling you in closer. You sigh into the kiss. She was so tender with you right now. You were so used to fervent and desperate make out sessions with her. Not that that was bad, at all, but you didn’t realize how nice of a change this was until it was happening. You grab her waist, pulling her in closer to you. All of her is so soft and warm against you: her lips, tattooed arm, thighs.. and not just because you two were in the hot tub.

She pulls away to look at you, and you want to melt from the look on her face. She looks like she’s actually in heaven.

“I really love you.”

You smile softly at her, tracing over her tattoo lightly with your finger. “I love you too.” You pull her back into a kiss. After a couple more minutes, she’s more intent with her movements, like how she usually is. She’s not afraid to run her hands over your thighs and squeeze you nipple under your swimsuit.

You gasp at the sudden contact, and moan a little into her mouth.

She pulls away, “Cmon, baby. Need more of that.” and kisses you again, almost immediately licking your bottom lip, asking for entrance. She’s not as soft anymore, back to her usual self wanting to make you moan in pleasure as she works your body. You don’t even try fighting for dominance, just letting her tongue dance around yours as she pleases.

“Ellie…” is all you have to say, and she understands, shifting her position to let you have more of her. You want to press yourself down onto her, and please you both at the same time. You lift your legs up, trying to hook them around her, but you start floating away in the water. You’re not even going fast, it’s so comical how slow the jets are pushing you. You snort and reach out to grab Ellie’s hand.

“Ohmygod!” Ellie starts laughing and she grabs your hand, “Can’t exactly scissor in the water, I guess.” You blush and scoff at how forward she can be.

“Cmere. Let’s get ya propped up.”

You untie the knots on you bikini bottoms to take them off, tossing them somewhere you’ll pick up later. She grabs your hand and gently guides you to sit on the edge of the hot tub, on one of the corners so you don’t lean back and fall off. She brings your arm down to her face, and kisses you on the back of the hand. You smile and giggle. You swear you feel like a little girl again. You’re a princess and Ellie is your prince. You glance up at the sky - the sun is setting. An array of orange and pinks.

Ellie’s below you, turning down the jets of the tub a little, and getting into her favorite position: right between your thighs. You really couldn’t ask for a more perfect fantasy if you tried.

“This okay?” She asks, lightly rubbing your thigh with her thumb.

“Yes,” you breathe out, “please, Ellie.”

From where she is, you’re practically a goddess towering above her. You feel powerful and confident, and fucking desperate, wanting Ellie to just devour you already.

Ellie only hums in response before kissing your clit. You gasp sharply, you swear no matter how many times she eats you out you could never get used to the heavenly feeling. Her tongue starts lapping you up, and you moan loudly. You silently thank the neighbors for never being outside late during the winter, and that the hot tub is reasonably private, so no one can see you.

Maybe it’s just the cold frigid night air in comparison to Ellie’s warm, wet mouth, but you swear this is some of the best head she’s ever given you. Ellie never stopped licking and kissing at your clit - eventually she didn’t know if you were shaking from the sex or shivering because of the cold, but either way, she could tell from the volume of your moans that you weren’t going to last much longer.

“Mmmmmm- gonna cum soon..”

Ellie just nods, her face still buried into you. You can feel her cute little nose bumping up against you, and both her hands are up on your knees, spreading your thighs open for her.

She knows you’re close when you start whimpering and gasping for air.

“Ohmygod ohmygod Ellie,, fuck- you’re gonna make me cum..”

As soon as you warn her you’re throwing your head back, and your hips snap up as your orgasm takes over you. She keeps licking you clean until your breathing slows and you let yourself sink back down into the hot water.

You can’t even think of anything to say, so you grab Ellie’s arm and wrap it around you, as a way to ask her to cuddle you.

“Always such a cuddle bug after you cum..” Ellie mutters, mostly to herself, as she rests her head on yours.

You just chuckle and look up into the sky as the sun finally sets. You sigh in and out the cold winter air. Ellie kisses the top of your head, whispering one more ‘I love you’ as she pulls you closer into her arms.

𓆟. ° .• .𓆝 .• ° . 𓆟 . ° .• .𓆞

[cottonlemonade]

large machiatto for here with atsumu, we all know his ass is even more needy and annoying as fuckkkkkkk when he's sick

When Your Husband Is Sick

word count: 630 || avg. reading time: 3 mins.

pairing: post-time skip husband!Atsumu x chubby!Reader

genre: fluff with a pinch of suggestiveness

warnings: mdni

request: spicy-fluffy, taking care of your sick husband Atsumu

It was still raining when you added the veggies to the soup.

For the past week the weather had been nothing but miserable, alternating between rain and even some snow here and there, adding freezing gusts of wind for good measure. And of course, your husband Atsumu had caught a cold. No matter how many times you had asked him to bundle up when he came home after training he wouldn‘t listen, arguing that all the practice kept him warm and that he was in the prime of his life and never got sick. That “no flu would ever dare to touch him“.

And now he was suffering in your bedroom, groaning and shivering. He turned his nose up at the tea you had made with a special recipe from his mom and asked for a soda instead which, after incessant begging, you had brought him, only for him to whine a second later that the bubbles scratched at his throat.

You sighed and smiled - rather miraculously, all of his idiocy had only made him more endearing to you. Lifting a shallow cup to your lips to taste the broth you hummed a few random notes and jumped with a screech a moment later when a cold clammy hand wrapped around your ankle.

“AHH! Atsumu!!“

Your husband, bundled tightly in his comforter, had crawled like a caterpillar into the kitchen.

“God, babe, I almost drop-kicked you.“ You looked down at the pitiful bundle of blanket writhing at your feet.

“It would have been a more merciful end.“, a dry voice croaked from underneath.

“Why aren‘t you in bed?“

The bundle curled to a ball, engulfing your feet.

“I missed ya… Who knows how much longer I have left.“

You snorted, “Honey, you have a cold, not the plague.“

“Are ya sure?“, he asked, meekly.

“Very. A common cold.“, you knelt down to gently pet the bundle.

“Then why does it feel like I‘m on Death‘s doorstep?“, he lamented, poking his disheveled head out from the cocoon.

“Why don‘t you crawl back to where you came from, hm? The soup is almost done.“

He retreated back into the warm shell of his comforter, “No…“ And he wrapped back around your feet, “Love me…“

“Atsumu, I swear…“, you chuckled, “Go back to bed.“

His body tightened around your legs, “Why don‘t ya love me…“

You poured some broth into the cup and bent down to carefully push it through the opening by his face. You heard a tiny slurping noise. “Good soup.“, he muttered and pushed the cup back out.

Placing it next to the pot, you wrapped your arms around what you assumed was his middle and pulled. He stretched like a cat not wanting to be picked up but eventually got to his feet, leaning heavily onto your shoulder.

“Come on, baby. Off to bed.“

“Yer so great, ya know that?“, he lulled, obviously getting sleepy again.

“You aren‘t so bad yourself. You know, for being on Death‘s doorstep and all.“

You wanted to lug him onto the bed but squeaked when he didn‘t let go and instead pulled you on top of him, arms closing tightly around your soft curves.

Your husband nuzzled into your breasts, squeezing your waist and thighs, slotting his leg between yours. His hands, usually warm and strong, snaked clumsily underneath your shirt and over your back, working the clasp of your bra.

“Tsumu, you can‘t be serious.“

“Imma give it to ya soooo gooooood.“, he mumbled, then his hands stopped and quiet snores could be heard from where his face was still buried in your chest. He had fallen asleep.

You extracted yourself from his grip, slowly to not wake him and tucked him in before heading back to the kitchen to finish up.

a/n: I had way too much fun writing this xD thanks for the request 🌟 please enjoy!

for requests see here

[ghostieyanyan]

~Yandere Regrets~

Yan!Ruggie x mc

Yan!Silver x mc

Yan!Cater x mc

Yan!Vil x mc

i thought of this a while ago so hehe.. what does a yandere regret? where's the line for yanderes? hurting their darling? punishment? threats??

Warnings: death, hinted of child birth (its still gender neutral but if you feel uncomfortable with it, you can just say its yandere delusions ^^), sleep spell, manipulation, self-loathing, death threats, hate mail(?), mind break, kinda creeping

~~~~~

Ruggie

you were supposed to be fine.. this wasn't how it suppose to be... you and him were supposed to grow old and die together. but no. Life always had to spit in his face.

He was stupid.. you were so different from him and he didn't even think about what your body was strong or weak against. the cold in the slums was easy for him to handle, duh, he grew up there... but you were different...

he should have given you vaccines or something to protect you from the slums sicknesses. he should have slowly eased you into the slums with his family... to build up your immune system.

he couldn't get mad at anyone... only himself..

Ruggie wanted you to be part of his life so badly, he took you to the slums in the dead of night and never looked bad at NRC.

Crowley found the way to your world and you just had a week to say your goodbyes... he didn't want you to leave! he didn't want to say goodbye!

the timing was awful... if it was around the end of the year, he could have graduated and then he'll get a good job to support his family, you, and the family he'd like to make with you..

but he was impassion and scared he'll lose you forever.. and he ultimately lost you in the most cruelest ways.

in the slums, everyone knows that you have to be very careful to not get sick. cuts are even worst. sickness means you need medicine, medicine cost money, which they don't have...

it was supposed to just be a common cold...

it was winter time, the snow was starting to fall and covered the slums in a thin layer of snow. it'll likely go away in the morning but it was still cold out. even in sunset savanna.

Most of the kids stayed inside because of the cold. some, who can handle the cold, were playing outside.

Ruggie was with his grandma making you soup. you had a pretty nasty cough and they insisted on something warm in you system would help.

how did his grandma take him bringing you home..? he promised her some great grandkids and she was down for it.. and to say she scared you more than ruggie's threats on if you were to ran away was an understatement. she was living proof on how scary female hyenas could be..

you were supposed to be fine.. the soup was supposed to make you feel better.. he always got better after the soup. but you were different, unique, one of a kind... that's why he fell in love with you..

he knew you didn't love him. he wasn't a good man. he took you away from your home, not just from the mirror, but NRC. he knew you loved being a part of NRC. helping out, even when Crowley forced you, you still enjoyed it...

he thought you could learn to love him and you two would work hard to provide for your family in the slums... and one day work hard enough to better the slums, or everyone.

instead... you died that winter.. because of that stupid cough. and he's now alone... the one thing he didn't want...

he had to say goodbye..

~~~~~

Silver

When silver was a kid, his father would tell him all the stories he knows, which were a lot. his favorites, as a kid, were the stories where the prince or knight characters protects their home and loved ones.

he told his father that when he grows up, he wants to be strong enough to protect everyone he loves. his father told him at he should train and eat a lot to grow strong and maybe he'll find his "royal stuck in their tower~" or "royal stuck in a death like sleep~"

Silver felt that his father always had his head in the clouds for these, "cheesy" scenarios. he personal didn't mind it though. he, himself, didn't know if he'll find his other half but he's not the type that will roll around in his sleep about it...

he thought..

when silver first heard about you, it came from the news of "a newcomer with no magic and a wild monster came to the school ceremony and caused mayhem." but how Lilia described it was "an excited turn of events." silver didn't mind it too much.

he only hear more about you when malleus was telling him, sebek, and Lilia about the child of man staying in the abandoned dorm and how you invited him to this event, not knowing who he is. with how malleus spoke so highly of you, made him curious of this perfect.

he also over heard how you always finding yourself into a bunch of overblot situations. he hasn't even met you and you already sound amazing. kinda like the princes or knights of those old stories...

to say he was charmed by the mysteriousness of you was an understatement. he wanted to go out and just meet you to understand you better but he was always busy. school, clubs, protect malleus, naps, theres a lot on his plate but what can you do.

when he finally met you, from school events or school trips, each time you were with him it felt so warm and comforting. you were so calm and gentle with him, not like he need that but it was a nice feeling. whenever he fell asleep, he'll either wake up to you stering him or with his head resting in your lap. he never want this feeling to end. Silver wants to keep waking up besides you, for the rest of his life.

when he told Lilia about it, how he should confess to you and all. Lilia told him that he over heard you and your first year friends talking about making a break through about you going home, so this confess better be big...

he grew silent, which is normal for him but this was a different silent and lilia could tell..

"how about you show them how much you love them? that your love has no bounds. from twisted wonderland to other realms out there~"

even with lilia cheesy rometic preaching, he had a point. but how..? he wants to show you that you were important to him and that he'll protect you. he'll be your prince to... wake you...

silver stopped by your dorm late, you were just about to go to bed but he asked for time and how it was really important. you agreed and you both decided to talk outside. he started to tell you about his childhood and his love your fairy tale stories his father use to tell him. he told you how he loved you and wanted to show you that both of you were meant to be. he held your hand and pulled out a needle from his pocket.

you started to get scared and tried to pull away but it was untimely useless. silver just over powered you so easily. with one prike from the needle, you stared to feel dizzy and felt like your head ached. you fell into silver's chest which is arms snaked around you.

"it'll be okay.. ill wake you up.. and you'll understand that we were meant to be~"

he picked you up and gave you a sweet soft kiss on your lips.

he waited... and waited... and gave you a kiss again... and waited..

you didnt open your eyes.

~~~~~

Cater

Cater hated being with his family... his dad wasn't there when he needed him, his sisters treated him like an object or play thing, and his mom enables his sisters... if his friends invites him to any family related events, he'll take it in a heartbeat just to be away from his family. he'd rather die than admit that his sisters didn't have an influence on his behavior as a kid and even now that he's older.

when he first saw you, he thought you were the cutest thing in all of twisted wonderland. Cute little perfect, lost in an unknown world and at the mercy of everyone here. like a little animal that lost their way and that doesn't know better, but he'll help this cute lost animal.

it definitely helped his case, with how much ace and deuce brings you around. plus they often leave you to your lonesome because they cause some trouble and drag grim along too. what his luck~

At first he didn't mind sharing you with Trey, you all often spent time together watching trey bake and talking about any drama or rumors from school, trey didn't really mind the drama but he enjoyed the company.

the more Cater spent time with you, the more he fell for you. and when you come to him for anything, his heart skips a beat. you're just too precious in his eyes.

You both made it a thing that he'll come to you to online shop, mainly browsing because you couldn't effort anything. but every time you pointed something you liked, he always had something to say about it.

"i don't know about that... i think this one will match you better~! you'll look so cute in it~"

you didn't really mind, it wasn't like you took it personal... you shouldn't.. right?

sometimes Cater will stop by the Ramshackle dorm and bring you a "goodie bag." it was either the stuff he said you would look good in or some other cute stuff. pins, hair clips, hair ties, accessories, plushies, etc. some of the things weren't in your wheel house of interests but telling Cater you didn't like them when he looks so happy didn't feel right...

so you just allowed him to do whatever he liked.. it wasn't hurting anyone right..?

it wasn't-... it didn't hurt anymore. his teases that felt like hard jabs into your looks and insecurities, didn't hurt as badly anymore. without you realizing it, Cater was the one to dress you up and tell you what to do, eat, and how to think. you thought about it, why didn't you say anything..? well.. cater will be upset. every time you tell him you had a problem with how he treats you, he gets really sad and you just didn't like it one bit... it was too much to keep fighting it.. you were tired... you were drained..

cater and his "helpful inputs" just made you feel insecure of yourself. maybe you really need cater's help. you don't want to be a sore thumb to the people you care for, right?

"hey, what do you think about this? pref-?"

cater looked at you and he froze... he knows that look in your eyes. the pain.. the hurt.. the empty look.. the helplessness..

he's being the monster of his sisters.. to you...

~~~~~

Vil

Vil is a highly respected figure in twisted wonderland. his looks and his voice, his mere presences is a blessing for some people (his fans-). he has to be perfect, he only expects himself to be perfect. with the people around him, he tries his best to not being so strict about them being perfect but as long as they work for that goal, he cant complain too much.

when he met you, he cant say much or you might get crunched under all his critiques. but he admires how hard working you are, whether you like to be or not. to say vil enjoyed your clumsy potato charm was an understatement. the more he watched you, the more he was charmed~

he tired not to be too harsh on you, you are doing your best with the hand you have been delt, but still do you always have to slouch like that?

Whenever you see Vil, he always gives you "advice" whether if they are convention advice, with vil statures and position, you couldn't really say no...

without you realizing it, you find vil appearing more into your life. when you pass your classes, when your getting any paper work for Crowley, even when you are heading back to your dorm..! Vil requested Rook to get your weekly scheule...

at this rate, you'll see vil more than your friends, the only time you see your friends were in class and lunch.

you confronted vil, asking him if something was wrong.

oh boy~ he loves how you could stand up to him~

likely for him, being a great actor comes into his favor when he has to convince you that he's not creeping on you.

"i just like to check up on you. even if your aren't part of the main dorms. i cant let you make a joke out of NRC just because you are magicless"

he lend into you, reaching his hands to your face-!!

"your uniform is also messed up, potato. do i have to do everything for you!"

"o-oh..."

he starts to fix up your uniform and takes his leave. leaving you to process what happened..?

meanwhile someone with a certain hat took a picture and shared it on magicam. news broke out and rumors like "Vil isn't single anymore?!?!" and "who is this mysterious person?!" broke out like wild fire. you only hear about it from Cater who was upset that you didn't say you were in a relationship, much less, to vil!

but with rumors and a big following of vil's fans, comes lots of hate. you don't even have Magicam but you hear all the hate from your friends, classmates, and even classmates that weren't in your class or grade!! they were all getting concerned..

you're address got leaked and you were sent hate mail and death threats everyday! one person even sent pictures of you when you were out on a school event. it wasn't safe for you anymore. this took such a mental tole on you that Crowley had to asked a favor from Ambrose LXIII and have you transfer to RSA...

you didn't want to leave.. but you didn't have a chose anymore..

~

the picture was suppose to lead you to him... you were suppose to run to him, crying in his arms to protect you. Vil was suppose to be your knight in shining armor...

~~~~~

[saturnville]

yes, mr. snow.

pairing: young!coriolanus snow x black fem oc (illia furdoix). warning: book accurate snow, arranged marriage, toxic!coriolanus. trigger warning: choking. content: coriolanus and illia are in an arranged marriage. coriolanus seems like a decent man to the public, but behind closed doors, she sees a different side to him. an: I saw someone say that wanted to see a more accurate description of coriolanus based on the books. and in the books, the man is an unhinged, classless, selfish human being. here we go.

tags: @snowlandsontopp @babyzzlove @hlstead @rosewine-5 @unicornqueen05 @thegabbyh @neeville @fastlikealambo @urfavesimto keep your spot on the tag list, you are expected to interact!

She cursed the day she was born. She'd spit on the birth certificate and burn it in the coal-infused fireplace if it meant her existence was a mere wrinkle in time. If the conception of her very being had been unsuccessful, she would have been saved. Saved from the monster that bore the name Coriolanus Snow.

He was just that indeed. A man with the nature of Zeus--arrogant and proud. Expectant of his subjects to adhere to his every command. To fall at his feet like peasants and utter his praises with each breath he took. Like Medusa, his eyes were cold and struck fear in the souls of those who were brave enough to look into them. She never looked in his eyes. They were a beautiful shade of blue, yes, but they were deadly. Stone-cold and deadly.

From their childhood, they were destined to marry. A North magnent and a South magnent forced to attract though they were born to repel.

Her husband was a mean man. How had she been stuck with him, she wondered. Why did the stars have to align the way they did. She carried the name of a monster and laid next to a man she feared. Surely, that was never how marriage was intended to be. It was to be loving, honorable. She was supposed to be adored by her husband as she supported him in his endeavors. What did she get though?

A man who trudged home during the early hours of the morning, clothed in anger and misery, an aroma of scotch and lingering cologne following him with every step he took.

Even still, as time went on, she found ways to love him. He had his moments where she had hope. When he made her soup when she fell ill, how he had a tulip garden put on the roof because he knew they were her favorite flowers. They were rare moments, but she found ways to cherish them.

Illia was afraid to speak as his heavy footsteps echoed throughout the bedroom. His features were frozen in place; furrowed eyesbrows, a deep frown, and a clenched jaw. A walking manifestation of bitterness.

Her eyes were stuck on his swift movements as he floateda around the like a moth. His chest was exposed, as he unfastened the buttons on his short journey up the stairs and to their bedroom. Lean and strong. He tossed his crimson coat on the ottoman on the farthest side of the room. She winced. That was a gift she had made for him.

The sigh he released was heavy. He uttered words beneath his breath as he continued to pace around the room, searching. For what? She did not know.

"You're staring." His voice was low. Icy. Illia jumped and dropped her eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

How you don't come home. Why don't you touch me like you care for me? Will you ever learn to love me? "Where were you, Coriolanus?" Hardly a second passed before flames rose in his eyes. Who knew a simple question could turn a cub into a preying lion an instant.

However, her husband had a keen sense of self control. So rather than yelling like she assumed he would, he instructed her to stand in front of him. "Come here." Her legs carried her to him. They were close in height so her eyes were almost adjacent to his. Their lips, so close, that she could feel the ghost of them.

Slowly, Coriolanus dragged a hand from her bare thigh, up her stomach that was covered by a lace slip, to her breasts which he gave a tight squeeze. It finally landed around her neck. Coriolanus hummed and cocked his head to the side. Illia's breathing was heavy, her lips were parted, and her eyes fluttered closed.

Until he tightened his grip. She gasped in horror. Coriolanus ignored her fingers scratching as his hand as he brought his lips to her hear. "You don't question me, do you understand? I come home when I come home. All that matters is that you are here when I arrive. Do I make myself clear?"

The fear in her eyes would make any man retract and beg for her forgiveness. He was not any man. Illia let out a strained yes, tears welling in her eyes.

It was not enough. "Yes, what?"

She coughed. "Yes, Mr. Snow." He released her from his grip and watched as she fell toward the floor in agony. She crawled away from him in fear. He stared at her with those icy eyes, emotionless and bare. Her husband, he was indeed. The monstor who bore the name Coriolanus Snow.

[6rookie-writer0110]

West End

Clark Kent x Male Reader

Request - Superman (Tyler) x male reader. Clark Solar Flares (when he uses up all the solar radiation in his cells and is basically human for a couple days to a week) and then he gets hit with a cold that knocks him on his ass and so we take care of him. And clark os just like “how do you live like this??”

Clark was fighting Morgan Edge then he used all his power to destroy a device in space. Since that day, he lost his powers temporarily and he is feeling very weak.

“I think I'm sick,” Clark said.

You went out with Clark and he started to sneeze a lot. He sneezed one more time and he fell onto the ground, you tried not to laugh.

“I think you have the flu,” You said.

You helped him stand up.

“I don't want to be sick,” Clark said.

“No one likes being sick. Let's go home” You said.

At home, Clark took a hot shower and you are making tea. Clark is starting to cough a lot and he hates it.

“How do you live like this?” Clark asked.

“It sucks but we have to get through,” You said.

“My body feels sore,” Clark said.

“That will happen. Drink the tea, it will help” You said.

“Okay,” Clark said.

Clark did drink his tea and you give him medication. Later you made him soup, but while watching tv you don't sit next to him.

“I don't want to get sick, so we can't cuddle or kiss,” You said.

“That's even worse. How long I will be sick?” Clark said.

“Almost two weeks,” You said.

“You can't be serious, Y/n” Clark said.

“Clark, stop being a baby. It's different for everyone. Remember I got sick and it was almost two weeks” You said.

“I remember. Then you threw up and ruined my favorite shirt” Clark said.

You made it to the bathroom but not in time to throw up in the toilet. His shirt was on the floor and you threw up on his shirt then threw it away.

“I will buy you a new one,” You said.

“Good” Clark smiled.

---

The next day, Clark is feeling worse. He is coughing even more and you keep giving him medication. He coughed really hard and his throat started to hurt.

“Ugh, being sick is the worst” Clark whined.

“I agree,” You said.

But Clark did stay in bed for a while but got out of bed.

“Clark, you should be resting,” You said.

“I got bored being in bed all day. I will help you with the boxes” Clark said.

You are getting the boxes filled with Christmas decorations from the closet to the living room. Clark starts to help you, he sneezed and he dropped the box and it hit his feet. He is in pain and you are shocked.

“Are you okay?” You asked.

“No. That hurt but I will be fine, give me a minute” Clark said.

You picked up the box and his foot is fine, but the box was heavy. But he did help you decorate the Christmas tree and the living room, took a while since he moves slowly. After decorating, he fell asleep on the couch but he is coughing a lot. After he nap, you gave him medicine and you made the soup again.

“I forgot that I can't use speed,” Clark said.

“You did look funny trying to use speed,” You said.

“You are mean for laughing at me,” Clark said.

You start to laugh and he rolled his eyes at you.

✫ ✫ ✫ ✯

Clark is happy to have his powers back and he can't stop smiling. He wrapped his arms around you and he starts to kiss you passionately.

“I’m not complaining” You smiled.

“Me either. I have a wonderful boyfriend who helped me feel better and I'm happy I can kiss you” Clark said.

You smiled and you start to kiss him. Later it started to snow, then you and Clark went to play in the snow. Clark starts to build a snowman with you but the snowman started to fall apart.

[moonsharkk7]

HUGS! (ft. Kirby characters) pt.1

(Not proofread) Kirby

He's my baby, He's our baby. Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

He'll be more than happy to hug you if he knows you. After all, (almost) everyone is his friend!

He'll make happy sounds, and will ask you to hold him.

May or may not fall asleep in your arms...

He doesn't need a reason, he's just made of love <3

But if I had to write about any situation... it'd be this:

You had a rough day, Meta Knight's hard training lessons, Dedede's nagging, and various things that just drained your energy. You were in the beach, looking at the sea as your thought started to fill your mind. If only you could mute your consciousness...

What you didn't notice, however, was the small heroe next to you, who let out a concerned "poyo?" At the sight of a sad friend.

You didn't notice him run away either, but you did saw him running back to you with some apples. He sat next to you and gave you one of them happily, as if he were trying to cheer you up. He listened to your problems, and even if he didn't understand some of them, he comforted you as best as he could.

You two saw the sunset begin, and he jumped in your arms. It was int that moment that you realize that you'll always have a friend who's willing to listen to you, no matter what. Although he may fall asleep in your arms after that, like what was happening at the moment.

Meta knight

No. At least, not without asking for permission.

Let's be honest, he's a cold knight and even if he cares for his friends he's not a fan of physical contact.

So it takes a lot, A LOT of hard work to get him to trust you. Many battles and long training sessions, nights of talking and insufferable scolding during hikes.

He does that because he cares for your safety, but you're still a stranger to him. Though, your resilience and kindness have surprised this stoic knight.

Seeing you work hard and smile everyday was suspicious, not many are able to pass his training...

But one day, he saw you crying in your quarters out of exhaustion. He felt... guilty.

So he decided to set his ego to the side and apologize.

Try to imagine the expression under his mask when you told him you just wanted to make him proud because you didn't feel like you belonged to dreamland. :(

He hugged you. It was akward, yes, but it's the thought that matters. He feels bad for you, after all.

Meta had the great Idea of asking you to meet up for lunch the next day, to get to know eachother.

King Dedede

In his defense, he was very cold.

Winter in Dreamland, a strange sight but always welcomed by the most playful ones.

You came to Dreamland not too long ago, and the self-claimed king has hated you ever since. I mean, getting back at him for his insults is so unfair....! (Cue him throwing a fit at poor escargoon because you always manage to see him coming at you with a new scheme to ruin your day)

So when he saw you giving away sweet, hot chocolate to people in the town, he became furious (He wanted you to offer him hot chocolate too). He got closer to throw subtle comments about your chocolate not being tasty, and it ended up in a snowball fight.

What he didn't expect, was you covering him completely in snow.

It seems like Meta knight's training was worth it, after all.

This all leads us to the current situation: him having catched a cold and staying in your guest room at the castle. "It was your fault, you take care of him" (Escargoon's words).

He looked at your figure entering the bedroom with some (burning hot) soup and a cup, not really being in the mood to take medicine. You had to practically force him to finish the soup, but there were no problems when he realized the mysterious cup was filled with your hot chocolate.

After that, when the tiredness started to kick in, you decided it was a good moment to get to know him. Turns out he's not that bad, he's just... lonely. And traumatized (For everything that happens to him in the games).

You were about to go away, but he stopped you. You were about to ask why, when he sat up amd wrapped his arms around you. "Please" was the only thing he said. You really couldn't say no, huh?

You may have gotten a cold last night, but hey, at least you don't have a tyrant making your life impossible everyday! Now, you just have a whiny penguin nagging you with his schemes and plans. If you already understood Escargoon's suffering, now you two bond over it. Waddle Dee's

MY BABIES

It was an average friday. You used to watch movies every friday night before coming to Dreamland, and it didn't change since there were TV's here too.

You put on whatever movie you could find, grabbed some snacks, a blanket, and sat on the couch. Everything was normal, until you heard a soft knock on the door. It was Bandana Waddle Dee, who came to see if you were doing alright. You cpuld tell he was happy when you offered him to sit next to you.

You talked to him through the entire movie, sharing the snacks and the blankets, carrying him to his quarters when he fell asleep. (He's so pure I can't-)

He came back the next friday, and the next, but that time he brought two other Waddle Dee's with him, claiming that they were following him. Fortunately, you had more that enough snacks for everyone.

But as weeks passed, your room started to get more crowded, to the point that you had to improvise a projector in the gardens and organise the snack and blankets/pillows situation.

By the time two months had passed, and you moved to the plaza (people like Dedede, Escargoon or Meta Knight may be in the crowd, but disguised or hidden, trying not to be suspicious they are).

However, you'll always be surrounded by a pile of happy Waddle Dee's, with any lucky one sleeping in your arms. It's safe to say that they absolutely adore you.

Me writing the day before an exam bc I'm just that awesome (The anxiety creature is whispering in my ear)-

Ok first of all, I want to let you know that I'm aware that you can't catch a cold for not wearing a coat or being cold, it's just series/games/fanfic logic. I just feel the need to clarify this..

So yeah

I'm tired. (Zzz)

I wanted to be Susie in life but I feel like I'm slowly turning into Escargoon-

Anyways have a good day/night!

[rogueddie]

Eddie is shivering, despite his layers. He tries to crack the door open, squeezing through as little space as possible and quickly shutting the door behind him, keeping the chill out. The warmth inside is in such sharp contrast to the cold outside that it makes his skin burn uncomfortably.

"Fucking hell," Eddie hisses, struggling to wriggle out of his layers. He slowly smells the food cooking, which makes him frustrated. "Stevie? I thought you were going to stay in bed!"

Steve pokes his head out, around the kitchen door, with a sheepish smile. "Sorry? It's just... with the snow, I thought you'd want something warm."

"I do want that, you're right," Eddie strides over, pleased to see that he has their blanket wrapped around his shoulder. "I want to see you comfortable in bed even more." He puts his hand to Steves forehead. "Mm. You've been taking care of yourself?"

"Yes," Steve rolls his eyes. "It's just a cold, I'm fine."

"Is that why you were throwing up?"

"I ate something bad! Whatever. I made you your fave."

Eddie gasps, dramatically throwing his hand to his heart when Steve serves up the dish. "Reuben! Oh, Stevie, I'm trying so hard to stay mad at you."

"So don't," Steve drapes himself across Eddies back once he sits down, opening his blanket so he can wrap them both inside it.

"Fine, you're forgiven." Eddie mumbles around a mouthful, grinning when Steve grimaces. "But! If you get more sick then I will get very upset."

"I won't get more sick. I'm getting better." Steve sighs, resting his chin on Eddies shoulder. "I wouldn't do anything to make this shit worse. I wanna kiss you."

"You can still kiss me."

"That'd make you sick."

"Baby boy, we share the same bed. If I haven't got sick by now, a little kiss won't do anything."

Steve hums, considering. And, when Eddie finally finishes eating, Steve gently turns his head with a finger on his chin, kissing him. He tries to be slow, soft, to show his love as best he can... it's not so easy with Eddie pressing for more.

"Eds, I'm sick," Steve is laughing though, going where Eddie pushes him. "You keep saying that I need to rest!"

"You're well enough to cook," Eddie points out, pushing him down onto the sofa. "Plus, exercise is good for you. You always say that, don't you? Come on, Stevie, I wanna burn some calories."

The next day, Steve feels great, almost fully recovering from his little bug. But, as Eddie insists, he's probably feeling so good because he's also extremely smug.

Eddie is sick.

"Chicken soup?" Steve offers, voice a little high with the laughter he's struggling to hold back.

Eddie pokes his head out from under his pile of blankets, hair flying up in every direction. "Your joy is making my cold worse. Be miserable or get out."

"I'll get you some cold medicine."

"I hate you!"

"Love you too!"

[toasttt11]

penguins

January 7, 2022

Hayden was staying in a hotel close to Matt’s family house and was sleeping, when there was a knock on her hotel door.

Hayden groaned getting up and looked through the door seeing Matt, she opened the door.

Matt looked incredibly excited, “Sorry i couldn’t wait.” Matt woke up easier than usually just so excited to see Hayden and show her around Boston.

Hayden let out a fond laugh not being mad because he looks so happy and gestured for him to come in and Matt did shutting the door behind him.

Matt held up a bag, “Bagels?” Matt offered sheepishly feeling bad he woke her up.

Hayden just smiled at Matt and patted the spot next to her on the bed and Matt plopped down and offered her a bagel that is her favorite and they happily munched on their bagels together letting Hayden wake up.

Hayden fished eating her bagel and grabbed her clothes heading to the bathroom to the get ready.

Hayden put a pair of black jeans, a very thick gray knit turtleneck sweater and black converse with fuzz on the inside and platforms they are her converse perfect for the snow.

Hayden threw her hair up in a low bun and walked out of the bathroom grabbing her black trench coat because it’s literally freezing outside and snowing.

“Ready?” Matt asked as he put his coat back on over his black sweater, black pants and boats.

Hayden nodded grabbing her phone and wallet and following Matt out of her hotel room.

They walked through the hotel to where Matt parked his car and Matt opened the door for Hayden letting her hop in before closing the door.

Matt turned the heated seats and heater on and pulled out of the parking spot. He grabbed the aux cord hanging it to Hayden letting her choose the music for them.

“Where are we going first?” Hayden asked setting her phone down after she picked the music and rested her head on the back of the seat looking at Matt.

“Driving for now i want to show you everything.” Matt explained to her.

Matt drove them around for hours just pointing out things from his past, his schools or his first hockey rink, some things they got out for to see but mostly Matt just drove her around a lot of Massachusetts before heading back towards Boston.

Hayden really enjoyed being able to see so many pieces of Matt’s life and see some places that mean a lot to Matt.

Matt parked the car and Hayden looked out the window seeing a little area that looked like a little village with a lot of little shacks that seemed to all be different foods and stuff to bye. There even is a lot of people walking by even thought it was snowing.

“Come on.” Matt smiled at the look at her face as he opened the door for her, Hayden hopped out and Matt shut the door and they walked into the little village that looked like winter wonderland especially with the falling snow.

Hayden linked her arm with Matt making him look down at her with a small smile and pink cheeks that were not from the cold and looked back forward.

Hayden and Matt decided to get warm sandwiches and soups for lunch and found somewhere to warm to sit to eat together.

Once they were done they continued to walk around the little village that was like a little farmers market that seemed to be permanent for a few weeks.

They walked into one of the little buildings looking at all the little trinkets and Hayden headed to one side of the store finding a few things for her brothers and Matt found something for Hayden which he quickly bought and held the bag.

Hayden didn’t see Matt and as she walked to the check out she saw a cute little jelly cat and grabbed it for Matt.

Hayden thanked the worked taking her bag and saw Matt waiting near the front of the store, “There you are.” Hayden smiled and nudged him gently, “Oo What did you get?” Hayden asked curiously.

Matt smiled and grabbed the thing out of the bag, it was a pretty big penguin jelly cat and handed it to her, “For you.” Matt loves buying Hayden things.

Hayden just started laughing as she the jelly cat and Matt looked extremely confused, still laughing she grabbed the jelly cat out of her bag and handed it to him, it was the same one he got her.

Matt laughed shaking his head in disbelief, “Thank you.” Matt softly thanked her making her smile.

“And thank you.” Hayden softly smiled a snuggled to the penguin smiling happily, she loves jelly cats and to many because of her family but she always wants new ones.

Hayden and Matt both put their matching jelly cats away before they stepped back out into the cold snowing weather and continued to walk around buying more things.

It was getting colder so Matt lead them over to the hot chocolate booth and bought them both a hot chocolate not letting Hayden pay.

Hayden and Matt sat together and wanted up a little drinking the hot chocolate.

They finished their hot chocolate and walked around for a little while longer until it was eventually starting to her dark and they decided to head back to her hotel.

Matt pulled into the parking lot and Hayden looked at him hopeful, “Come read with me?” Hayden asked softly wanting to spend time with him but also understood if he wanted to spend time with his family.

Matt quickly nodded never missing a chance to be with Hayden and he would be in Boston for a bit after Hayden leaves he can see his family than, he hopped out of the car opening Hayden’s door before going to the backseat and grabbing a pair of sweats from his hockey bag.

They headed up to Hayden’s hotel room and Hayden quickly headed to the bathroom changing into warm sweatpants and sweatshirt and Matt headed in after getting out of his cold clothes and putting on sweatpants.

Matt tossed his clothes on a chair in the room and saw Hayden lying in her bed already reading with her penguin in her arms and a book on the spot next to her.

Matt went to walk over when his eye caught something on her duffel bag and walked closer seeing a little croissant key chain, the key chain he got over her four years ago, “You kept it?” Matt asked in disbelief.

Hayden looked up seeing him hide her favorite key chain, “Of course.” She loved it because she had a piece of Matt with her everywhere and she brought her bag to all away games and trips.

Matt smiled letting out a small fond chuckle shaking his head before getting into the bed and smiled as he got to lay next to Hayden reading together, the only thing that would make it better if is they were cuddling, maybe one day.

Hayden and Matt spent a while just reading together until they got hungry and ordered room service for dinner and continued reading together until they both slowly feel asleep.

[vodika-vibes]

I would love to see Wrecker with Topaz in the winter! Warm soup, cozy fireside snuggles, and just sheer cuteness! 💕

Silent Night

Summary: After Wrecker and the Batch’s Medic are stranded in the middle of a winter wonderland, Wrecker decides to make the best of it.

Pairing: TBB Wrecker x F!Reader

Word Count: 725

Warnings: None

Prompt: Topaz - Affectionate Love

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: This one fought me at every turn. I knew what I wanted it to say, but I'm not sure I managed to make it as soft and sweet as I wanted. Oh well, Happy reading!

“You know, you’re pretty good at this, Doc.” Wrecker says with a grin as his gaze drifts from the fish he’s cleaning, to where the team medic is crouching next to a roaring fire. 

The light from the orange flames gives her an almost ethereal look, and Wrecker has a look away before he gets too distracted. “Well,” She admits as she clears a space of snow, as best as she can, and pulls the tent out of his kit, “Mom and dad divorced when I was a kid. And while mom had a nice house, dad wasn’t so lucky. So his weekends were usually spent camping.”

“So you could probably clean this fish then?” Wrecker asks, as he glances at her curiously.

She smiles sheepishly, “Well, dad did show me how, but you’re doing a wonderful job.”

He grins at her, and sets his knife to the side, “Well, as it happens, I’m done anyway. You have everything set up?”

“Yep. Just toss everything in the pot.”

Wrecker does as she instructs, and watches as she adds a few packets of seasoning, as well as some dehydrated vegetables, “I’m guessing your dad had you doing most of the cooking?”

“Yeah. Well, he wasn’t very good at cooking, really. So it was either learn to cook, or me and my siblings were going to end up with tapeworms or something.” Wrecker sits on the flat rock that she found…somewhere…and starts cleaning his knife.

“You know, you don’t talk about your family often.”

She glances at him, “Well, there’s not really much to say, is there?” She drops the contents of a second package into the pot, and then sits next to Wrecker, “My family is just average.”

“I’m not sure what an average family is,” Wrecker points out, “Though I bet Tech could tell me.”

She laughs, “Right, right. Well, there’s mom. She was a housewife up until she and dad got divorced, and then she got a job at the local elementary school getting me and my siblings free tuition. Dad was a firefighter who had a gambling issue. And then there’s the kids, my other brother, me, and our younger sister.”

“Well, you’re a doctor. What do your siblings do?”

“My brother is a chef at some big name restaurant on Coruscant. My sister is trying to become an actress, though she’s only really starred in commercials.” She shrugs, “Like I said, normal. Your family is so much more interesting.”

He laughs, “That’s one word for them.” Wrecker finishes cleaning his knife and stashes it away, “Are you comfortable?”

“Hm?”

“It’s kind of cold.” Wrecker points out.

“Oh, I’m alright. The fire is helping, and Hunter insisted I wear cold weather gear for this mission.” She hesitates, “Do…do you think-?”

“I’m sure they’re fine. Tech is there, after all.” Wrecker drapes an arm over her shoulder and tugs her against his side, “We’re the ones who have to camp outside in the snow.”

She smiles shyly, “I’m not worried.”

“No?”

“I have you here, don’t I?” She asked with a small, almost flirty, smile.

Wrecker’s heart flips nervously, “I…uh…”

She tilts her head, “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“Nah, Doc. I’m just…I’m not Hunter or Crosshair, I’m not used to flirting.” Wrecker admits.

“I’ll stop, if you want.”

“Well now, I didn’t say that.”

She laughs, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, “I like you, Wrecker. You’re fun and you make me laugh and you make me feel safe. I’d like to go on a proper date with you, if I can.”

Wrecker blinks at her, “You…you do?”

“Yeah, if it’s alright.”

“We don’t really…there isn’t much time for proper dating-” Wrecker stammers, “And I don’t get paid-”

“I do get paid, and, well, it doesn’t have to be a big thing, Wrecker. I just want to spend time with you.”

“Well, in that case, can’t this be considered a date?” Wrecker points out.

She looks startled for a moment, and then she beams at him, “I think that’s a wonderful idea.” She lifts to her knees slightly and presses a light kiss against his cheek, before she settles next to him again.

Wrecker presses his hand against his burning cheek, a wide grin that he isn’t even trying to stifle. 

Being stranded here isn’t as bad as it could be.

[ladygojooo]

The shadows stain the snow (but darling, I want you anyway)

Synopsis: Betrayal, duty, and death - these were the only things the world of jujutsu had ever given you for all that you toiled. A twin of one of the fallen, you left it all behind in the hopes of carving out a small bit of uneasy paradise for yourself.

You should have known it never was going to work.

Pairing: Satoru Gojo x reader

WC: 1.8k

Content: light angst, marriage proposal, marriage of convenience, soft!Gojo, fluffy ending, pre-Shibuya arc

A/N: raaaaah, I was so tired of having this in my drafts, and though I think it's utter trash, maybe one of y'all will like it, lol. Satoru Gojo, my beloved, the man that you are <3

There was white everywhere you looked.

Seven years after you left, and you still couldn’t think of anything but him when you saw the stupid color. At least the sky was covered in clouds today. Sure, it made you feel boxed in, but it certainly wasn’t blue.

You shut off the ignition in your car, not giving yourself time to prepare for the bitterly cold air that you’d step out into. If Japan hadn’t accustomed you to its winter lows, then the Yukon Territory certainly did the trick.

As you stepped out of the car, you watched with faint amusement as your exhales wafted up and away into the air around you. It was the one thing that brought you a bit of joy during the winter season - always reminded you of incense, for some reason.

The warmth of your home hit you all at once, and you couldn’t help the sigh that left your body as you unbuttoned your jacket and hung it up on the coat rack right beside the door. You could hear the ham and potato soup you’d frozen calling your name, and as soon as you shucked all our outerwear, it would be a matter of minutes before you could consume it. It was truly one of the best Western recipes you’d found while in Canada.

You walked into the kitchen and opened the freezer, humming with glee when you saw the frozen soup sitting near the front. So focused were you on pulling out a pot and opening the container that you failed to notice the 6’3” man in black sitting at your kitchen table.

“You have enough for me?”

Over the rush of your heartbeat, you didn’t even realize that you’d thrown a knife from the countertop until you saw it floating a few inches out from his heart.

Gojo laughed. “Oh come on, is that any way to greet an old friend? I’m starving after all this travelling!”

You had two options at this point. 

One - you hadn’t seen Gojo in ten years. You could laugh with him like no time had passed, get out a bigger pot and some more soup, and catch up over dinner.

Two - you could take all the hurt, anger, and fear you were experiencing at that very moment and put it to good use. Maybe you’d even be able to turn him out of your house. Freezing to death would do him some good.

You chose the second option.

“What are you doing here, Gojo?” You hissed, not turning back to the stovetop quite yet. You didn’t trust him not to get up in your business and try to steal some food.

“I’m here for a nice, homemade meal,” he grinned, grabbing the knife, kicking his feet up onto your kitchen table, and lifting his hands up to rest on the back of his head.

You threw a spoon on the countertop at him for doing so, uncaring that his infinity would keep it from reaching him. “I’m insulted that you think I’m that stupid. This isn’t some wellness check.”

Gojo sighed and settled into the chair some more as the spoon clanged to the floor, dragging out each second just because he could.

“We need you to come back,” he said. “We’re in need of more sorcerers, and you’re a special grade.”

You were already shaking your head as you answered, “Absolutely not. I’m retired.”

“You ran away.” The subtle accusation screamed loudly, even as you shrugged your shoulders.

“Semantics.” You waved it away with the bigger pot that you retrieved from under the counter. “Besides, what does it matter? Not once was I needed for missions. Surely the higher ups would have sent out a search party to bring me back if they really needed me.”

“And just who do you think kept the higher ups off your back?”

And oh, how the temperature dropped, even if his voice remained chipper. Your hand froze where it was about to turn on the gas.

“You knew where I was this whole time?” You whispered, voice shaky.

In lieu of an answer, the chair Gojo sat on skid across the floor, protesting the movement. His footsteps moved closer to you, each one sending your heartbeat skittering faster. You didn’t remember shutting your eyes.

“Look at me,” he murmured from right behind you.

You shook your head. “No.”

“Look at me,” he repeated, grabbing your shoulders and turning you around. Still, your eyes didn’t open.

“Gojo, you can’t-”

“Why did you leave?”

His insistent tone had you opening your eyes, only to find the bandana gone and cerulean blue staring back at you. Your heart, despite all the dates and failed relationships you’d had between then and now, fluttered just like it did back in high school. 

He was there, for the first time in a decade, he was there with you. You’d forgotten just how much you craved his attention, his presence, his very being until now.

You wouldn’t have the strength to leave a second time.

“Because my brother didn’t have the answers either.”

You felt him still, and for the briefest of moments, you thought the last thing you’d see would be a blinding purple. Hell hath no fury like a Gojo scorned, after all. You learned that shortly after the Sorcerer Killer’s death, when Suguru told you of the sheer power that Satoru unlocked.

“You know,” you whispered, eyes flitting down to the buttons on his shirt, “why I couldn’t have stayed.”

Gojo hummed. “You could have.”

“And where would that have left me, hm? Stuck between dangerous mission after dangerous mission or fearing when the higher ups would give me a fatal mission to finish me off? That’s not a life for anyone, never mind me.”

“And you don’t think I would have protected you?” He asked, the back of his knuckles brushing lightly over your cheek. Your breath stuttered, even as your eyes widened in disbelief.

“Gojo, we were barely adults! Between everything else going on, you couldn’t have shouldered my burdens.”

He chuckled. “You don’t think I’m strong enough, do you?”

You rolled your eyes and glossed over the parting words your brother left him with. “Satoru Gojo, I know your strength firsthand from our days in school, and I assume you’ve only improved since then. Don’t put words in my mouth.”

He smiled warmly at your free admission and let his thumb brush over your cheek. “Come back with me to train the next generation of sorcerers, and I promise you’ll be safe.”

“Have you not listened to anything I’ve said?” You moved your head back the slightest bit. It certainly wouldn’t surprise you if Gojo let your arguments for staying away go in one ear and out the other. 

The white haired man shook his head. “I’ve listened to everything you’ve said since stepping foot in the house. I just have solutions to each and every one of your protests.”

You moved to push him away, but with his infinity up, he still stood there, mere inches away. It was having an annoyingly dizzy effect on you, if you were being honest. It pissed you off.

“Oh, really? Pray tell, o wise one, how are you going to keep the higher ups from retaliating or marrying me off to some creep who only wants me for my technique?”

“By marrying me, of course.”

You sent him the most deadpan look you’ve ever conjured in your life, hoping that he wouldn’t catch the genuine shock that ran through your body. “That is the worst plan you’ve ever come up with. Absolutely not.”

He whined around the smile on his face. “It’s not! Think about it - you get protection from the higher ups through me, I get to bring you back to train the students, and based on how long it’s socially acceptable to wait to have children once married, we can work out a plan for divorce in plenty of time. After that, you can come right back here and live out your days in lonely solitude.”

“No, Gojo. I’m not coming back, what’s not clicking here?” You groaned in frustration, throwing your head back - anything to get away from his puppy eyes.

“One of the first years is Sukuna’s vessel.”

Your head whipped down to meet his gaze, eyes wide once again. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope!” Gojo chuckled. “Pretty great kid too. You’ll love him.”

The entire conversation was giving you whiplash to the extreme. Gojo showing up out of the blue, wanting you back at the school, offering to marry you to keep you from the higher ups, and now Sukuna, the feared King of Curses himself, was alive and trapped in an innocent boy.

The man really knew how to sweep you off your feet, you’d give him that much.

“Satoru, why do you really want me back?”

His lips slowly fell from a smile, and he backed away to look out the window to your right. Silence curled around you both, growing more suffocating by the second.

“Something big is coming,” he spoke lowly. “I don’t know what it is, but something tells me that it’s time to get my affairs in order. I-” He cut himself off with a harsh sigh and turned back to you once more. “I have my regrets, sure, but I don’t want you - not being with you - to be one of them.”

Your body moved of its own accord, letting an arm slip through his before resting your head against him. You breathed him in, sandalwood and bergamot and him in the best way possible. The fabric of his shirt brushed against your lips as you spoke.

“Can you really love me after all that’s happened? All this time?”

You missed the tender smile on his face. “I never stopped.”

Your breath shuddered as you buried yourself in his chest. After the betrayal from your brother, Satoru being ordered to kill him, the brutal argument you two had in Shoko’s morgue, all of it - you ran away to be free of the memories, the love strangling you every way you turned. You ran away because how could Satoru see you without seeing his best friend in your face? How could you face yourself in the mirror when all you saw was Suguru staring right back at you? How could anyone at Jujutsu High stand to be near you when all you were was a walking failure?

“And you’re sure you want me?”

“Well, it was either you or Utahime, so.”

You groaned and let your head drop to Gojo’s shoulder, slapping his arm a few times. “I hate you with a burning passion.”

“That’s the spirit!” He cheered, rubbing a hand up and down your back.

“You owe me so much kikufuku.”

“I’ll buy it all for you.”

“Satoru?”

“Yeah?”

“This honeymoon better be at the beach.”

“Done.”

[beforeimdeceased]

SNOW ANGEL

i'll angel in the snow until i'm worthy ❄️

🌨️ but if it kills me i tried

if it kills me ⛸️

pairing: ex!ellie x reader

synopsis: ellie shows up at your door in the dead of winter, years after your break up.

warnings: su!cide attempt, alluding to alcohol addiction, no comfort and no happy ending.

authors note: this is short! i’m on my period rn and i am honestly so devastated for absolutely no reason so i decided to write about it. loosely (completely) based on my very sad experience with an ex. if any of you beautiful people need someone to talk to i am always here. i’m always an option.

you’re everywhere. at the bottom of the bottle, at the bottom of the glass. ellie couldn’t shake you. not even in the winter under the warmth of other girls. that’s why she was knocking at your door tonight. for the first time in months.

well not really. she’s always almost about to knock. almost did last week until she heard you laughing with friends. almost two weeks ago until she heard your drunkenly stumbling around, kissing some girl. always almost, almost always.

but tonight she couldn’t help herself. knuckles burning from the cold outside, she knocks three times. it takes you ten seconds to anwser. she counted while drawing shapes in the snow on your porch railing.

“ellie?” you barely breathe. too much floods your mind at once. a kiss on your neck, flowers on the first date, her smile. her laugh, god you hadn’t heard that in forever.

“come in, you must be freezing.”

do you offer her soup or tea? or maybe the warmth of your heart? the remains of your love laying flat on your bathroom floor? that night, the knife. the pills, the whiskey.

who tries to kill themself with their mother’s switchblade?

“i’ll take the tea thank you.” she blows into her cupped palms, shivering. she looks awful but not drunk. just battling a thought. probably the one telling her to get the hell out of there.

“how’ve you been?” you ask. you’re trying to be polite but it’s fucked to act like you don’t have eyes. even after all these years, she’s still torn. guilt ripping at her from the inside.

“i’ve been pretty good, got a job fixing cars. taking some classes downtown.” she shrugs, looking down at her feet anxiously. she leans onto her left leg, twisting the right in the air slightly.

you sigh. something close to but not quite relief washing over your body. at least she’s busy? you can’t look at her. everytime you see her face you want to break into a slew of tears. hold her, hit her, blame her, apologize. why’d you invite her in again?

“i don’t think i ever said um…” she starts. the tea is screaming on the stovetop. “wait, hold that thought.” you flash a small smile and rush to grab it. she wishes you wouldn’t have. would she have the courage to finish what she was saying when you came back?

the anwser is no. you returned to an empty space in your front entrance. cold air flush from the door. all you want to do is throw the cup at the wall and watch it break into a million pieces. maybe it’ll help the anger. maybe it will mend the tears in your heart. maybe it’ll ease your own guilt, your own ache.

you didn’t understand. she was so happy that week before. you were going to a dinosaur exhibit for her birthday that friday. she was visiting joel’s grave everyday. she was drawing so many pictures of you and the house. you saw her ring shopping online.

what could you have done? how could you have known? could you have known?

[myesmi]

Hi! I heard you wanted some requests? So, I was wondering if you could do something where both the reader and Billy (you can make this poly or not, totally up to you!) take care of a very sick Stu Macher? They had all previously been messing around in the snow (kind of a winter setting I suppose!) but when they head back inside, it’s clear that Stu is developing some cold symptoms.

(Scenery is that they mostly stay at Stu’s house seeing as his parents are always away for trips. Also the reader can be any gender you would like! Totally doesn’t bother me! <3)

You don’t have to make this btw! A writer is always entitled to not do requests if they wish!

HAT & GLOVES. 𓂅 ˖ ࣪ ( poly! ghostface x gn! reader )

cw. vulgar language, established polyamorous relationship

note. this was such a cute idea and such an exciting first request! let me know how you like it hon! billy is a little ooc perhaps, same with stu since i’m still a new blog, so it’ll be awhile till i fully capture horror slasher personalities in my writing — either way, hope you enjoy! <3 comments and reblogs appreciated!

requests are open. masterlist.

stu’s cheeks were a perfect rosy red color, the wind nipping at his uncovered ears. his short hair was messy, white flakes of snow wetting his hair. you’ll never forget the perfect visage of your boyfriend, head laid back in the snow next to your own, his signature wide smile adorning his face. his bare hand was intertwined with your own gloved hand, his fingertips red from the cold air. you had tried to convince him to wear gloves, but after already convincing him to shoulder on a coat and scarf, he refused any more protection against the cold winter weather.

you smiled over at him, feeling how your own cheeks dully ached from the cold. his head lulled over, his smile reaching his eyes cutely, laughter erupting from his chest. it was hard to believe he was anything but a sweetheart sometimes.

the crunch of snow under boots reached your red-tipped ears, stu’s bright laughter that mingled with your own breathless giggles and chuckles fading as you both peered up from your spots, laying comfortably in the soft white snow.

billy loomis, in a coat, scarf, beanie, gloves, and boots stood over you both, something of a smirk adorning his face. “having fun?” he huffed, leaning over to grab stu’s hands, pulling the lanky boy up from the snowy ground. next was you, as you reached up to meet his outstretched gloved hands. he hefted you up from the ground, grimacing as a cold breeze ripped through the tender moment between you three. billy was never one for the cold.

and soon, you found yourself wrapped up in stu’s surprisingly strong arms, his face nuzzled into your neck as he stretched out on top of you where you both laid on his living room couch. billy was still heard in the kitchen.

“we told you to put those damn gloves and hat on.” billy chided, almost like a worried mother with his furrowed brow and scowl on his face. however that didn’t hide the fact that he was still standing in the kitchen, making stu his requested soup and hot tea.

stu grumbled into your neck, his warm breaths nothing compared to how his forehead practically burned your skin, as stu sported a light fever. “make him stop, (y/n)!” stu whined, pulling his head away from your neck briefly to throw you his best attempt at puppy dog eyes.

you winced looking at his face, cheeks reddened and his hair ever so slightly damp from how sweaty he was starting to get, despite refusing to move from being so comfortably laid within your welcoming arms.

stu glared at your wince, and you laughed, “sorry, sorry!” you chuckle, pulling your arm away from being wrapped around his waist to place your palm against his forehead, “i’m just worried is all. billy too.” “i’m not worried!” billy shouted from the kitchen before walking into the living room.

he wore stu’s mother’s kitchen apron, holding a tray that held a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a cup of warm tea.

you raised an eyebrow, looking billy up and down before nodding. “mhm,” you hummed as billy rolled his eyes. “shut up, you’re lucky you’re not sick.” “oh stop whining, just because i didn’t wear a hat or earmuffs doesn’t mean i’m gonna immediately get sick!” you huffed, clutching stu closer to you as he happily snuggled closer.

billy set the tray down on the coffee table, moving towards you both on the couch. he simply lifted your legs, slipping under you both to sit on the other end of the couch, letting both you and stu’s legs lay across his lap. he tried his best to ignore you and stu’s giddy smiles at how gentle billy could be as he grabbed the tv remote, biting the inside of his cheek to prevent his own smile.

© myesmi . . . do not steal, translate, or repost.

[writemekpop]

Psycho | Mark Lee

Summary: A curse means that every one of your boyfriends ends up dead. When you meet Mark, you’re determined to save him.

Genre: College AU, smutty

Warnings: Murder, violence - not for the faint hearted! 

Word Count: 1.4k

You were a perfectly normal college girl... except for the fact that you were a serial killer.

Jeno, Jaemin, Haechan...  Your body count was like any other girl's, only yours was more literal.

You always did it the same way: a knife through the stomach, their eyes widening in slow-motion. Their blood warm in your hands, like soup. Their bodies buried deep in the wooded hills that bordered the grounds of Goddard college. Then, the walk of shame back to your room – a secret shame known only to you.  

Your habit sickened you, but you couldn't stop. When the voice in your head started chanting a person’s name, you had to murder them. That's why you’d made an oath to never make a friend again, to never learn a new name.

Until Mark.

You were sitting alone in the corner of the college meadow, bent over your Edgar Allan Poe poem. It was early October, and the wet red bodies of newly fallen leaves littered the ground.

"Do you know how utterly infuriating you are?" a voice said.

You looked up. Your heart stuttered in your chest. The most beautiful boy you’d ever seen was standing above you. He had tousled black hair, sparkling with rain. His steel-rimmed round glasses gave the impression that he knew all world’s secrets, but would never share them.

Despite the cold, your skin was burning.

"And why is that?" you answered.

"Because you insist on being a mystery." He sat down beside you, his face widening in a smile. "My name's Mark. I think we could be friends."

You walked away. "I’m sorry. I don’t need a friend."

You tried your hardest to avoid Mark. You even shifted around all your courses so they wouldn't match with his. But he was irresistible. Before you knew it, you and Mark were inseparable.

As autumn stretched into winter, you began to get closer to him. You discovered Mark's brilliant, wicked sense of humour. Some nights, beneath the swirling snow, you sensed something hard in the blackness of his eyes. An old wound.

Before you knew it, you were hopelessly in love with him.

Every spark of pleasure Mark gave you was mixed with an equal measure of pain. Because in indulging your need for him, you were putting him in grave danger. You just had to try and resist the urge to kill him, when it inevitably came.

Until one bitterly frosty November day, Mark took your hand in his, and murmured, "You have to see my room. You were going to have to see it one of these days." His voice was light, but something burned in his eyes.

Every rational voice in your head was shouting no. This was too dangerous. In the past, the stakes had never been this high. It had never been love.

But with equal strength, the core of you was screaming yes.

So, against your better judgement, you let yourself be pulled into a taxi and into Mark's room.

Mark’s room was cramped and very dark. Clothes covered the floor. He locked the door behind you.

You knew you had to open that door immediately or you would lose yourself.

But you did not open the door.

Instead, you and Mark stood staring at each other in the dark.

The air smelled of Mark’s aftershave and his warm body. A shiver ran from the crown of your head to your heels. You wanted to laugh. You wanted to cry. You wanted to run away. You wanted to move closer.  

Then, Mark pressed himself against you. When he kissed you, your last dregs of resolve evaporated.

You felt the long-forgotten stirrings of desire awake in you. Every touch - Mark's hands cupping your face, your breast, your butt - was unbearably sweet. Yet, each one struck terror deep in you because at any moment, you could hear the whisper of Mark's name and you would feel the urge to kill.

It would have been easier, safer, if this had just been physical. But from the trembling of Mark's fingers, of your own, you knew this was no normal hook-up. This meant too much to both of you.

When you and Mark were tangled together on his single bed, his moans growing faster, you started to think you'd gotten away with it. A wild elation bubbled up inside of you. You’d beaten the game. You’d won. You’d gotten close to somebody without hurting them. You never had to kill again, you thought.

You should have known better.

Just like all the other times, the whispering began. Mark, Mark, Mark... It grew to a murmur, then a yell, then a deafening roar, screaming out that Mark was the one you had to kill next.

You pushed Mark away, fingers squeezing your ears. It was useless. There was nothing you could do to stop the wave of sound.

You could see Mark’s lips moving frantically, his worried eyes, but could hear nothing over the ear-splitting howl.

Every promise you'd made to yourself, every back-up plan, felt small and distant in comparison to the primal need to stop the chanting that was ringing in your ears.

You would have torn Mark’s room into shreds. You would have killed every student in the college. You would have sent the whole place down in flames. You would have done anything to stop that infernal noise.

The shaving razor poked out of the mess of Mark's bedside table. It glinted dully in the half-light. What you had to do was a small thing, you told yourself. One boy's life to stop an eternity of pain.

The razor was cool and strangely flimsy in your fingers, like a baby's rattle. The chanting grew louder, hungrier: Mark, Mark, Mark...

You met Mark's eyes. You recognised the look you had seen in so many other boys’ faces. The look of a man who has realised he is about to die. Teetering on the knife edge between surprise and fear.  

Suddenly, your body felt very distant, the sound very far away. You saw yourself, hunched on the bed like a cornered animal, thrusting a razor in Mark’s terrified face.

You were repeating the same old pattern. The pattern that had destroyed everyone you ever cared about. But there was another way.  A way to end the bloody parade of boys. It was no compromise, no easy fix like the restrictions you’d been putting on yourself that you now realised were futile. The murderer and the victim simply could not coexist.

Fate was a hungry carnivore, and it had been promised a meal. One human life. The only question was: who would it be? You or Mark?  

Before you could stop yourself, you turned the blade to your own throat. You made the fatal cut.

“Y/n, no!”

You could see that Mark was screaming, but the sound of his voice was muffled to your ears, getting quieter as you slipped into the abyss.

It would be lying to say that you didn't feel horror at the void you were about to enter. But beneath all of this was a full-throated joy at the fact that you had saved the one boy that meant the most to you.

You focused on Mark's face: terrified, glowing, beautiful, as everything faded.

—

MAIN MASTERLIST

Let us know what you thought in the comments or on anon! 💋

[rachelbethhines]

PotP Ch 55 - Blizzards, Blackbirds, and Bargains: Part 1

Snow.

Varian hated snow.

It wasn't always such. In his youth, he had loved winter. Snow days were meant for play. He'd make hot cocoa, ice skate, pick frost berries, and build snow forts for snowball battles with the local kids. Once he invented a machine that helped carve ice sculptures... until it caught on fire and melted them all.

But that was before the amber.

Varian could tell that it was snowing before he ever even poked his head out from under the covers.

First, the cold morning air; unusually cold for San Fransokyo. Then there was the soft diffused light from the frosted window pane shining in his bedroom. There was also the quiet stillness; near unheard of in the big city. Finally there was the fiamiler fresh scent of ice. It lacked the undertones of fir and pine that he was used to, but he could still tell.

A look outside confirmed his worst fears.

Especially when Ruddiger came through the window and shook the white powdery stuff off his fur.

Varian groaned, kicked off the covers, and made his way to the kitchen.

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

"What are you hunting for?" Aunt Cass asked with a yawn.

"I guess we don't have any tripe, do we?" Varian asked in kind as he rummaged in the cupboards.

"Ummm... pretty sure we don't. Why do we need tripe?"

"It's snowing."  

Aunt Cass blinked, unsure of what the connection was. "Snowing?"

"I used to make tripe stew on snow days." Varian explained. "It's just easy and warms the castle up."

"Oh... well... we don't have any tripe, b-but we do have some bacon." She opened the fridge and started rummaging around. "Maybe we can improvise and make some bean and bacon soup instead? Start a new tradition, huh?"

She retrieved the bacon and smiled wide as she offered her suggestion to Varian.

Varian half-heartedly returned her smile and took the meat from her.

Aunt Cass frowned at his lack of enthusiasm.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, pausing him in his hunt for the beans. "Hey, I know sometimes you get homesick, and that's okay. Everything is different here, and it's a readjustment. But If you need anything you know you can talk to me."

Varian shook his head. "It's not that. "

Aunt Cass's brow furrowed in confusion, but rather than explain, Varian just said, "The bacon's a good idea. Tripe is too chewy anyway." and went back to digging around in the pantry.

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

Honey Lemon watched the pink puff balls on her boots bounce up and down as she gingerly stepped off the trolley. The railed carts were the only safe way to travel in this weather as most people in San Fansokyo didn’t own cars with snow tires, including Gogo, who stepped off of the trolley after her. They spotted Fred waving at them both from across the street as they walked over towards the Lucky Cat; very carefully, so as to not slip on any ice.

“Hey, glad you made it!” Tadashi greeted them, as he held a large snowball in his hand. He placed it on top of an even bigger snowball and he and Hiro both started patting extra snow along the seam where the two met.

“We’re building a snow sculpture of Baymax.” Fred explained as he joined them.

Just then Wasabi opened the door to the cafe. “I found the eyes!” He called out as he carried a small cardboard box. Baymax shuffled along behind him.

“What did you get?” Hiro asked him.

“Chocolate covered coffee beans!” He proclaimed as he pulled out a small container of the treats.

“Oooh, I want some!” Fred exclaimed and practically crawled over Wasabi to rummage in the box he held.

Honey Lemon laughed. “You better not eat all of Varian’s stash. He might be tearing the cafe apart looking for those later.” She gently warned.

“Where is Varian anyway?” Gogo asked.

Tadashi shrugged. “Upstairs. He’s been in the kitchen all morning with Aunt Cass.”

“I’ll go get him.” Honey Lemon offered and skipped inside.

Her glasses started fogging up as soon she entered the much warmer cafe. She paused to take them off and rubbed them clean on her matching pink sweater. This only got lint on them, so she wiped them on her jeans instead. Satisfied, she put them back on only to find Aunt Cass coming downstairs to greet her.

“Hi,” She sang out. “I’m glad you and Gogo made it here safe.”

“Hi Aunt Cass. Yeah, the roads weren’t too bad and the trolleys are still running. I thought I’d ask Varian to join us. Is he still upstairs?”

“He is, he’s in the kitchen, however...” Aunt Cass sighed as she poured herself a coffee. “I don’t know how much he’ll want to get out. He’s been pretty shut in all day. Buuuut, if anyone can encourage him to come outside, it’ll probably be you.”

She gave her a sweet smile before heading outside herself to check on the rest of the teens.

Honey Lemon watched her go with a frown. Varian must be in one of his moods again, and no one ever quite knew what to expect when Varian became gloomy. She also didn’t know what she could do that Aunt Cass probably hadn’t already tried.

Still, she took a deep breath and made her way up the stairs.

She found Varian in the upstairs kitchen just like everyone had said. He was sitting at the table reading a large leather bound tome, while a pot on the stove was boiling away. Honey Lemon recognized the book. It was the fantastical grimoire that held the secrets to the magical portal that would send him home. The thought of which filled her with dread, but best not to bring it up now.

“It smells good.” She said with a smile as she came up from behind him.

Varian looked up from the spellbook, startled by her voice, and turned to look at her. “Oh yeah, umm, Aunt Cass and I are making bean and bacon soup. Sorry, I didn’t know you were coming, or I would have made you a vegan option.”

“It’s okay, I can just pick around the bacon.” She shrugged as she lifted the lid off of the pot to look at the soup. “Beans sound like a good supper to me.”

“It’s chicken stock as the base.” Varian warned. “Here, I think we still have some dried beans. I’ll just make you a small pot of your own.”

“Oh, you don’t need to go to any trouble on my account.”

“What trouble?” He asked as he pulled out the bag of dried beans. “All you do is put it in a pot and let it boil for a while. Look to see if there’s any vegetable stock in the cabinet over there.”

Honey Lemon followed his suggestion and quickly found the container of stock next to the other broths. She poured some into another small pot, along with the beans, as Varian started raiding the spice cabinet.

“What do you want in it?” He asked. “Shallot, a bit of celery salt, oooh, how about some chili power for a little kick, huh?”

He gave her a Cheshire smile and waved the plastic shaker full of pepper at her.

She only shrugged in response. “Anything is good with me.”

Varian took this as permission to experiment and pulled out a whole bunch of spices. He happily went to work seasoning the small pot of what was quickly becoming vegan chili.

“What do you think we should have with our soup?” He asked. “Aunt Cass thinks we should just toast the leftover baguettes downstairs and make croutons, but I think we should make some fresh bread.”

“Why not both?” Honey Lemon awkwardly asked. She didn’t like being caught in the middle of any sort of disagreement, even a mild one like this.

“I like the way you think.” Varian agreed, and Honey Lemon felt relief wash over her. Varian didn’t seem to be in a bad mood at all. Perhaps what had bothered him earlier today had been forgotten, or maybe he had worked through it.

“Shall we go for a sourdough, or a dark rye... Oh hey, I’ve never made cornbread before. That’d be fun. Something new?” Varian gave her a wide smile and Honey Lemon returned it.

“I’m down for something new.” She agreed. However, as Varian started to gather up the ingredients she decided to press on with why she was here. “Speaking of fun. Everyone is outside building a snowman. You wanna join in?”

Varian paused in shifting the cornmeal and started to stare blankly at the opposite wall. Then he shook his head and went back to cooking.

“No, it’s alright. You go on ahead, and I’ll just keep fixing our dinner.”

“Well... dinner’s not for hours.” Honey Lemon nervously suggested. She could feel the change in Varian’s mood the way one would feel the temperature drop. “Why don’t you take a break and do this later?”

Varian paused in what he was doing and turned to face her with a cold frown.

“I.. don’t like snow,” He said carefully. “I would rather not.”

He then turned away from her and placed the mixing bowl on the stand mixture. “You can go on ahead though. Y'all have fun.”

He said this in a much lighter tone, but Honey Lemon couldn’t dismiss the sudden change in attitude. Especially not with the grimoire still lying there on the table.

“Is... is everything alright?” She asked.

“Yeah... yeah, everything is fine. Snow is... just not my thing.” He lied to her. “After all, it’s not that special when you get it regularly every winter.”

“Do... do you get a lot of snow in Corona?” She timidly asked as she placed her hands behind her back.

Varian finally turned to look at her, and he gave her the most peculiar stare; as if he was simultaneously seeing all of her, and through her at once, looking past her at some distant memory that she wasn’t privy to.

“We get far too much.” He said ominously, and Honey Lemon didn’t want to know what he meant by that.

She sighed, accepting defeat. “Well I thought I would just ask... promise me though... that you won’t stay cooped up in the kitchen at least. You’ll come down stairs for hot cocoa, right?”

Varian gave her a small, sad smile. “Alright, I promise.”

“Okay,” She nodded.”I’ll come and get you when we do that. Sounds good?”

“Yeah, I’ll see ya then. In the meantime I’ll fix the rest of dinner.”

Honey Lemon pursed her lips and gave a tight smile before awkwardly turning to leave. She did however turn back to look at Varian one final time before heading downstairs. His back was turned towards her now as he continued to make the cornbread. Her eye landed on the spellbook again, and for one brief moment she wished she could throw the thing in the trash.

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

The storm only got worse throughout the day. By the time lunch rolled around all the roads were completely closed, with announcements that the trolleys would soon stop running and shut down early for the day, and the news was advising people to stay at home.

Everyone agreed therefore to an impromptu sleepover in the living room.

Board games, movies, hot cocoa, and pillow forts with pillow fights helped to pass the time away.

Aunt Cass yawned as she finished handing out the last of the blankets. "Man, this snow day has worn me out. I'm heading to bed early. Just don't stay up too late. Good Night."

"Night Aunt Cass." The chorus of college kids rang out behind her.

"I'm with Aunt Cass," Wasabi yawned himself as he laid down on his makeshift pallet on the floor. "I'm pooped."

His beauty rest  was short-lived when Rudigger crawled up on his chest, circled around once, and then curled up to sleep.

Wasabi frowned before picking the wild creature up and putting him down on the floor. "Hey now. I am not a pillow"

He then readjusted his sleep mask and laid back down again, only for Ruddiger to ignore his warning and perch upon the scientist's chest once more.

Wasabi's ensuing battle with the raccoon for dominance was ignored by everyone.

"Well, I for one think we shouldn't end any good sleepover without ghost stories." Tadashi mischievously smiled as he flopped on the couch.

"Varian's got a good vampire story to tell." Hiro chimed in. "You know, that one you told during the camping trip."

Varian, who was already laying down on his own pallet on the floor, heaved a sigh. "I'm not really up for stories. I'm pretty tired as well."

Gogo frowned. "Hey, is everything alright? "

"Yeah, you've been pretty bummed out all day." Fred added bluntly.

"It... it's nothing." Varian insisted. "I'm just not a fan of the cold."

And with that he pulled the cover up higher and turned on his side. Everyone shared knowing looks as he pretended to sleep, but all thought it best not to press the matter.

"Well, I guess it's up to me then." Tadashi sighed as a knowing smile played on his lips. "How about the one about…”

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

Tadashi was midway through his ghost story when the power went out. 

Varian had only been half paying attention but his eyes snapped open and he bolted upright at the sudden darkness. 

He vaguely heard screaming, but he couldn't tell if it was just himself or the others. 

“Ha. ha. Very funny Tadashi.” Wasabi yelled into the darkness sarcastically. 

“It wasn't me.” The other boy protested. 

That's when Baymax’s chest lit up and produced a weather report. 

“The news is reporting temporary power outages across the city. Citizens are recommended to stay inside and keep warm while the electric company works on the lines. Power should be back shortly.” The robot helpfully informed. “In the meantime I will activate my built-in heater.”

Varian could see a few of the teens make their way over to the glowing automaton and snuggle up to it. Others wrapped their blankets around them tighter. 

All except Hiro, who had made his way over to him. 

“Hey, are you okay?” He asked in a low voice. 

Not low enough to Varian’s liking however, as he put on his usual front. “Yeah I'm fine.” 

“I didn't think Tadashi’s story was that scary.” Gogo added, commenting on everyone else's earlier screams. 

“Just because you're not afraid of anything Gogo..” Honey Lemon started but Fred interrupted her. 

“Nuh uh… She’s afraid of leprechauns, remember?” 

“Leprechauns?” Tadashi snorted. 

Gogo rolled her eyes. “It's from that stupid movie that came out when we were kids. I was five. Okay.” 

“Oh Unlucky Charms!” Tadashi nodded recognizing the film. “Okay, I can see why that would creep a kid out. Not me of course… but…” 

“Oh stop lying.” Hiro needled his brother. “I know what you're afraid of.” 

“Oh come on… no… not that.” Tadashi begged. 

“He’s weirded out by the Share Bears.” 

Tadashi groaned and literally everyone else burst out laughing. Everyone but Varian. 

“Bears can be scary.” 

“No he means the Share Bears.” Wasabi tried to explain. 

“It's a cartoon.” Honey Lemon added through her snickers. 

“Yeah, a cartoon for babies.” Fred chimed in. “Seriously bro?” 

“Hey, they're disturbing. Alright?” Tadashi defended himself. 

“How are teddy bears that teach kids manners 'disturbing’?” Gogo asked. 

“Because they don't teach anything. They brainwash people into being perfect little mindless drones with those heartfilled laser beams. I'm telling you guys, it's a messed up show. Also Hiro had one of those stuffed animals as a kid and it would not die. I'd bury it in the backyard and three months later it was back in the toy box singing ‘I love you very much’ in its high-pitched voice over and over again.” 

“So in other words, your parents found it outside and put new batteries in it.” Wasabi stated matter of factly. 

“That's just it,” Tadashi insisted. “There were no batteries in it. I checked!” 

“Ooooh… now that is creepy.” Fred whispered. 

Gogo rolled her eyes. "So we got leprechauns, share bears, " she pointed to Fred, "spiders," then to Wasabi, "heights," and lastly to Honey Lemon, "and hippos... for some reason."

"Hippos?" Varian couldn't help asking in spite of himself.

"Hippos are mean." Honey Lemon defended herself. "They bully all of the other animals. Even crocodiles are afraid of them!"

"Don't crocodiles eat hippos though?" Hiro asked.

"Actually adult hippopotamuses are extremely aggressive and most predators leave them alone." Baymax informed them.

"See!?" Honey Lemon shouted, validated. "And they have those big scary tusks and huge mouths, and they can trample you under their weight."

"So can elephants and you love those." Wasabi butt in.

"Yeah, but elephants are adorable." Honey Lemon countered, as if this was an obvious difference.

"Okay," Gogo rolled her eyes again, "So we know what everyone is afraid of, except for you Hiro."

"Me?" Hiro asked, and shrugged. "I don't know. I used to be scared of monsters under the bed when I was like three, but after you've faced what we've faced…. It's kind of hard to find normal things scary."

"What about abnormal things then?" Tadashi asked.

"I... I still have nightmares about the void sometimes." Hiro admitted. "I can face it, but like... it's just nothingness... endless... I won't lie... that's kind of terrifying."

"Many people find the unknown scary. It is a common fear." Baymax said comfortingly.

"But apparently it's not unknown." Fred said. "That Madame Canardist says she traveled through it to get here.” 

“So she says .” Gogo pointed out. “We've no reason to believe her.” 

“We don't really have any reason to disbelieve her either.” Tadashi shrugged. “I mean given everything we've seen so far.” 

“What do you think, Varian?” Wasabi asked. 

Everyone turned to resident portal expert among them, but Varian just sat there hugging his knees and staring at the floor. 

"I think... I'm afraid of failing."

Silence fell over the little group as Varian kept staring at his toes.

He seemed to be considering something before he looked up again, coming to a sort of decision.

"Where did you put Carnardist's scroll?" He asked.

"No." Tadashi said softly, but firmly. "We all agreed that we weren't going that route."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. You said it yourself. It's too dangerous. We'll use the portal."

"And what if I can't get it to work?" Varian sobbed.

"You will," Tadashi reassured, "and we'll go with you to rescue your dad."

For once, Varian didn't even bother to argue the second part. "You don't know that."

"You got it to work before." Hiro pointed out.

"If anyone can make it work you can, querido." Honey Lemon encouraged, wrapping him in a hug.

Varian didn't return it. "Exactly. What if no one can? What if we're just wasting time? What if he's... what if he's already d-"

Gogo sighed, and laid a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his panic.

"Hey... I believe in you. We'll keep Madam Carnardist's scroll as a backup, but until we know more about the void, we're going to focus on fixing the portal first."

"Just tell us what you need and we'll help." Wasabi added.

"Oh and Minimax has been running algorithms on that secret code in that Demanti guy's journal every night, just like you asked." Fred said.

Varian only frowned at them, in spite of their support.

"You don't understand." He whispered before suddenly standing up.

He briskly made his way to the stairs and everyone rushed to follow him.

Despite the darkness he ran down them two steps at a time and for a moment, everyone feared that he was going to rush out into the storm, but he stopped at the door.

He stood there staring out into the alleyway and the flurry of snowflakes. Everyone stood still on the stairs, afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing that might send him into a flight. Only for him to  forcefully slam the door. He turned back towards them, shaking as tears ran down his cheeks.

"I hate the snow." His voice cracked with this little admission before he slumped down onto the floor, his back to the door.

Tadashi broke from the group first. "Well I love it, especially if it keeps you from running away yet again."

He stood there in front of his adopted brother, his hands on his hips, as if waiting for an explanation. He had tried to keep his voice light and his manner half joking, but he couldn't fully rid the evident concern on his face. Finally he sighed and sat down next to him.

"Look, I know we don't understand." He said more softly. "And I know it's difficult for you to talk about it. Just.... What are we supposed to do? How can we help?"

Varin sniffled. "Nothing."

Tadashi shook his head and rung his hands. He looked back up the landing to his friends, completely lost.

"What if... what if we ran some experiments?" He slowly offered. "After school starts back. While you and Hiro work on the portal... maybe Baymax and I could study the scroll mor-"

"No!" Hiro half ran, half jumped down the stairs towards them. "No one is reading any freaky magic scrolls or going anywhere near the void."

Tadashi gave his little brother a pleading look, but was surprised to hear Varian speak up in agreement.

"Hiro's right. It was stupid of me to ask. Just... just forget it."

Hiro immediately looked regretful. "We can still work on the portal. You've proven that can be done safely."

Varian gave a long sigh.

"Sure." He said flatly.

Everyone exchanged worried glances. Unable to run away or fight, Varian now went back to his depressed state from earlier, and for some reason that seemed to be even worse.

It was Fred who spoke up first. "It worked the first time, before Momaksake showed up. Did you change the design of the portal any when you rebuilt it?"

Varian shook his head. "No... and I'm using the same focusing device. The amber should work. That's what I can't understand."

"What is the amber anyways?" Tadashi asked. "You said that you made it somehow."

Varian eyes darted away from his, and he wouldn't answer.

"Well, then do you have anything else that you could try?" Wasabi asked.

"No. Nothing else would have the same energy signature. Except... except for the rocks."

"Like Carnardist's paperweight?" Gogo asked. "She said it was made from those rocks."

"She won't let us use it though." Tadashi pointed out.

"Well maybe if we just explained-" Honey Lemon started but Varian interrupted.

"Guys.. just drop it!"

Everyone stared at him. That's when the lights came back on.

This seemed to signal something to Varian. He stood up and made his way back to the stairs. He stopped at the top of the landing.

"Maybe it's time to face the facts." He whispered. "I'm never going to see my Dad again, and it's my fault."

Gogo stepped forward. "Don't say that."

"Gogo, please. All this time I've been trying and trying to fix my mistakes and all I've done is either gone nowhere or made things worse."

"That's not true." Tadashi said, standing up himself, as if highlighting what good Varian had really done just by being there.

Varian looked back at him, lost. Tadashi wouldn't let him continue.

"I've already told you before. It's not your fault."

Varian's face hardened as he looked down on them.

"You weren't there."

His voice sounded colder than the freezing snow outside.

Tadashi made his way back up the stairs until they were face to face.

"In what way is it your fault? It's not like you hurt your dad. You didn't cause the rocks. You didn't start the war. It isn't your fault that the portal's not working."

Varian seemed to crumple in on himself as Tadashi continued.

"Tadashi, please..."

Tadashi ignored his pleas and held him by the shoulders. "Listen. I know. Okay? I know what it's like to blame yourself for bad things, to think about all the ways you could have changed time if you had just done something different, but sometimes accidents just happen and it's no one's fault."

Varian was openly crying now. Tadashi waited.

He was going to make Varian understand. That he didn't need to feel ashamed of his past. They were going to get through this as a family, just like they had always done.

Nothing prepared for the words that came next.

"But I did do all those things." Varian whispered.

"What?"

"I caused the accident..." He started to ramble as he pulled away from Tadshi's astonished grasp. "The rocks were destroying our home! I had to do something! Dad told me not to. B-but I didn't listen. Not till it was too late! We.. we were arguing in my lab, and I heard him shout and he pushed me out of the way... and... and... It's my fault!"

Everyone stood there in shock as the most pitiful wail broke from Varian's lips. "Oh God, why did I ever mix that formula?"

He broke down in tears and no one knew what to do. Then suddenly he gasped as if coming to a realization.

"What if he really is dead? What... what if I killed hi-?"

"Now none of that." That seemed to snap Wasabi out of his shock. He took three big strides and before Varian could react he found himself wrapped up in a big bear hug.

"None of that." Wasabi repeated; softer this time. "Your dad is alive, and we're going to rescue him. And... even if the worse has happened...it is still. not. your. fault."

He made sure to emphasize each word and only held onto him tighter.

"Of course not." Tadashi agreed, and joined in on the hug.

"An accident is still just an accident." Hiro explained as he too came forward.

"Your dad wouldn't blame you." Gogo added.

"We certainly don't." Honey Lemon said as she came up from behind.

"That's.. *hic*... the saddest... *sob*... origin story I've ever heard." Fred bawled before adding himself to the group hug.

"It is difficult sometimes to face our past." Baymax advised. "But remember that, even when you believe you've made a mistake, you are loved."

Now Varian was crying for a whole new reason. He was still loved. They saw his deepest fear and still cared. They still were promising to help his dad, the same as they had done months ago under the sequoia tree. And if they still had hope... maybe he could too.

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

Honey Lemon turned in her sleep and reached out to cuddle the nearest person, but her hands grasped nothing but the cold rug underneath.

Her brow furrowed as she barely consciously noticed something was amiss. She fell asleep surrounded by her friends. Someone should be there.... but who?

Her eyes snapped open with alarm. Varian!

She sat up quickly and tried to pierce the darkness as she scanned the living room.

Everyone else was still asleep but Varian's sleeping bag was definitely empty.

Honey Lemon tried not to panic. After all, he could have just decided that his own bed was more comfortable than the floor. But somehow Honey Lemon knew that not to be the case.

Varian, for all his pertinacity for running away, he genuinely hated being alone. Especially when he was upset.

She couldn't see him retreating to his room and willing isolating himself after what he had told everyone about his dad.

Slowly she stood up and tipped toed towards the kitchen. Maybe he woke up for a midnight snack?

She was surprised that her hunch was correct. Varian was indeed in the kitchen, but he wasn't eating.

He just stood there, silently, staring out of the window at the swiftly falling snow.

Unsure how best to approach him, Honey Lemon just quietly moved to stand beside him and watch the storm too.

"Sorry, I tried my best not to wake you." He whispered.

"It's okay." Honey whispered back, and then after a pause asked. "Did you have another nightmare?"

Varian's only answer was to sigh and hang his head, as if he was ashamed of such a thing.

Rather than asking if he wanted to talk about it, Honey Lemon decided on a new tactic. "C-cause I just had one. That's what woke me up actually."

This had the desired effect as Varian completely forgot about his own insecurities and reverted all of his concern onto her instead.

"What about?"

Honey thought quick. "That you had disappeared."

It was close enough to the truth that Varian didn't question it. Instead he gave a soft laugh and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Well I'm right here." He smiled.

Honey grabbed his hand with both hers as he caressed her cheek. He was still here and she couldn't have been happier for it. If only he would stay and never go back to that awful Corona.

Varian broke away from the embrace first, but he still held her hand as he led her to one of the kitchen chairs. He sat down, and without even thinking about it, Honey Lemon sat in his lap.

It felt so natural to just sit together in the quiet. Him holding her. She absentmindedly running her fingers through his hair.

She could have remained there all night to watch the sunrise, but then her eyes soon landed on the journal sitting on the table.

She reached out to pick it up. It was opened to a page about portals.

She gave him a pout and Varian pressed his lips together, unsure of what to say.

She shook her head, laid the book back down, and stood back up.

"Honey?"

Varian took off after her as she made her way down the stairs.

But rather than answer she forced a smile on her face.

"Do you want some hot cocoa?' She asked him with as cheerful a voice as she could manage, and without waiting for an answer, she went behind the counter and started to pull out the hot cocoa packet and mugs.

Varian stood frozen on the bottom of the landing, bewildered by Honey Lemon's sudden mood swings, not knowing how to proceed.

"Do you want marshmallows?" She asked.

"Yeeeah...?"

He inched slowly towards her as she pulled out the half and half; almost as if she was a deer in the forest that might bolt if he so much as breathed wrong.

"You know... I umm... about that nightmare I had?" He paused waiting for her reaction. She slowed in her moments but didn't look at him. He continued on. "Mine was about the black rocks again. I keep having them. It's sort of the same dream... only different each time and well, whenever I can't sleep I'd rather work on something then just sit there in the dark. S-so that's why I was studying Demantius journal."

"Okay."

Her reply was soft but curt and Varian didn't know how to respond to it.

"Here's your coco." She said with another forced smile and handed him the steaming mug. He took it and gave it a half hearted sip as she went to sit in front of the window.

The street lamp outside lit the swirling flurries with a soft warm glow. It was beautiful. It was deceptive. And it was cold.

His gaze landed back on the slender woman's silhouette, also bathed in that same warm light and every bit as frosty as the snow that fell.

He suppressed a sigh of frustration and took a seat next to her. They sat there, for who knows how many minutes, just looking at the storm.

“I know you don't want me going back to Corona.” He said, finally breaking the silence. 

Honey Lemon didn't respond. 

“B-but you do understand how important it is, right?” He pressed. “Now that I've told you everything?...You don't have to like it. I just need you to understand.” 

“I understand.” She whispered; not looking at him. 

“Do you? Do you really? Cause, it doesn't feel like it when you get mad at me for working on the portal.” 

She turned her head away from him, but didn't answer. He sighed and went back to nursing his cup of coco. The uncomfortable silence returned. 

"Did you know I had a sister?" She asked suddenly, and Varian turned to her in surprise.

"Umm... n-no. No I didn't." he stuttered.

"I've never met her."

She still wasn't looking at him as she stared at her toes.

"I don't even know her name."

She almost laughed at that. Almost. Like a breathless gasp that she nearly choked on.

"See... after dad moved out he got this job at a university. It was practically on the opposite side of the world. Anyways... I  hadn't heard from for awhile, so I contacted the collage and got his private office. Some girl answered the phone and when I asked to talk to 'Professor Hopken’, I heard her call out 'Daaad!' Phone call for you!' so I just hung up.” 

Varian didn't say anything. He sat there, with concern etched onto his face. Honey Lemon knew that look, but didn't turn to face him. She kept staring at her cup of coco that she had barely drunk out of. 

“I always thought that the reason he left was because he didn't want to be a dad. That he had to put his career on hold when he and mama had me. But I guess he just didn't want to be my dad.” 

“Don't say that.” 

Honey Lemon finally looked at him and gave him a sad smile. “I know. It's not me. It was never about me or my brother.” 

She let out a shaky breath. 

“Look, you're right. I don't understand. I never had a dad who cared. I can't even begin to imagine what you've gone through. But why do I have to understand? I'm not trying to stop you. I said I would help.” 

Varian let out a second sigh; one of defeat instead of frustration. 

“I know. I guess… I just feel guilty when I see you upset over it.” 

“Sorry.”

“No. No, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. I guess…I should be happy that you care so much?”

Honey Lemon snorted over his awkwardness. 

“Well, if I was planning on traveling to a dangerous alternate dimension to save someone, what would you do?” 

“Go with you.” 

“And if I told you ‘No. It's too dangerous.’ What then?” 

He conceded with a nod. 

“Okay. I get it.” 

“Sooo you'll let us help you?” 

“Define help.” 

“Like coming with you to Corona to save your dad?” 

Varian stifled a groan. “How?” 

“What do you mean ‘how’?” 

“I mean how will you being there help?” 

“Well for one we could fight off that nasty king if he showed up!” 

“It wouldn't be the king. It would be the king's guard and Rapunzel. You can't just bubble the princess like you do criminals.” 

“Why not?” 

“Magic.” He said seriously. 

Honey Lemon’s stomach dropped. Varian hated any association with magic. It only dawned on her just now why. He hated magic, because he had fought against magic. It wasn't fairy godmothers granting wishes to attend royals balls nor pixie dust that made people fly. Magic was something to be feared. Magic was a weapon. 

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and looked him straight in the eye.

“And we have the power of science.” She said with far more confidence than she felt. 

Varian slowly broke out into a grin before snorting with laughter. 

“It wasn't that corny… was it?” 

“It was,” he snickered.

Honey Lemon pouted. 

“And it was glorious.” He added. Which made her feel a little better. 

“B-but I mean it. We could figure out some way to like.. I don't know… block her powers or something.” 

Varian swallowed down his giggles with another swig of coco, before gaining his composure. 

“I'll make you a deal.” He said, more seriously this time. “If you can find a way to dispel magic. You can come. ” 

Honey Lemon raised an eyebrow. “And if we can't?” 

“Then you stay behind to man the portal.” 

“I'm not sure if I like that deal.”

“Someone has to stay behind, so that whoever goes won't get stuck.” He reasoned. 

Honey Lemon saw the logic in that but wasn't ready to give up. 

“On one condition.” 

“Name it.” 

Honey Lemon bit her lip for a moment before jumping up and pulling Varian away from the table and his mug of coco. 

“We have a snowball fight.” 

“What!?” 

“We have a snowball fight.” She repeated as she opened the front door. Everything looked pale and gray in the early morning. “If you win, then I'll accept the terms of the deal. If I win, then we renegotiate.” 

She stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, looking at him expectantly. 

He however looked at her as if she was crazy. 

“I’m not going out in that .” He pointed behind her. 

“It's just snow. It won't hurt you.” 

“It's cold.” 

“We're both wearing sweaters.” 

She grabbed a couple of scarves and hats off the coat hanger next to the door and tossed some at him. 

“You could slip on the ice.” He protested, as she put on her boots.

“And it's not even fully light out yet.”

 She didn't hear him as she ran outside. 

“Fine, I'll renegotiate!” He yelled from the doorway; his hands up in the air in surrender, still clutching the hat and scarf. 

Honey Lemon paused, snow in hand. 

“You mean I can come with?” 

“I didn't say that.” 

Honey Lemon grabbed another handful of snow and started packing it on top of the previous handful. 

“Okay… okay.” 

She looked up to see him snag a handful of snow himself while still standing in the doorway. 

A short but fierce snowball fight began. Honey Lemon ran this way and that. Varian never left the doorway. Somehow they both manage to completely miss each other every time. 

Varian dogged another snowball as it smacked into the side of the doorframe, and then he scooped down to get more ammunition. 

He had to lean out far to grab more fresh snow, since had used up all that was in front of the door. 

Honey Lemon took aim, and then lowered her arm as she watched him struggle. 

“We can take a break if you want to get your shoes.” 

“No… it's fine… I got it.” He grunted as he nabbed a pitiful handful of powdery frost, before catching himself as he nearly fell face forward. 

He righted himself quickly and started quickly forming a ball before it melted in his hand. He stopped when he noticed that Honey was no longer throwing anything at him. 

“Do you really hate the snow that much?” She asked. 

“I… don't hate it.” He squirmed. “I just…” 

He trailed off, unable to articulate his complex history with the weather. When looked up again, she was standing in front of him. Her hands now empty. 

“I'm sorry. I just thought it would be fun.” 

“It was fun.” He insisted. “Really. I'm… I'm just bad at snowball fights.”

She threw her arms around his neck, and he dropped the last of the half melted snow. 

“Oh what are we going to do?” She moaned, her face inches from his own. 

“Uhhh…” His mind blanked. “I don't know.” He managed to mutter.

His head swam. She had given him hugs before but this felt different. He could feel her warm breath on his lips, contrasting with freezing air and he wanted to kiss her. Kiss her properly, on the mouth. Like he'd seen in movies and read in books. 

But would she let him?

He didn't get a chance to find out. 

“What are you doing holding the open like that? It's freezing out there.” 

Varian snapped his head around to see Aunt Cass and his brothers on the stairs. 

“Yeah and some of us are still trying to sleep.” Tadashi added, hugging himself to keep warm. 

“If you want to go outside that's fine, but try not to let all the warm air out with you.” Aunt Cass finished before turning to go back up stairs. 

“Why can't you two flirt like normal people?” Hiro sneered before following after. 

Both Varain and Honey Lemon turned beat red. 

She slowly untangled her arms from around his neck as Tadashi left as well, and he stepped aside to let her in. 

He was about to close the door too when a strong gust of wind blasted in his face. 

Honey Lemon squeaked and covered her head as something clambered against the side of the wall. 

Varian looked to see what had hit the side of the house. It was black and poking out of the snow. 

Ignoring his socks getting soaked through, he strode over to the object to pick it up. 

Its handle glinted in the soft light and his heart stopped. 

“What is it?” Honey asked, peering from the doorway. 

“It's a knife.” 

“A knife?” 

He pulled the dagger from its sheath to show her. Even the blade was polished black stone. 

“That's weird.” She commented. “Who leaves knives lying around?”

He looked at her with an unreadable expression on his face. 

“It's not from here.” He said. “It's from Corona.”

[trashyswitch]

The Cold of Winter

Link and Zelda are spending time alone together after defeating Calamity Ganon. Zelda tells Link some family backstory, which leads to some playful silliness between the two.

Hi @feathergil! Surprise! I was your Secret Santa! I hope you enjoy your christmas fanfic!

It was the middle of winter, and Link and Zelda were sitting out on the snowy field under a tree. It was freezing out, and they were eating cream of mushroom soup in front of a campfire. 

“Goodness…It’s very cold out here…” She said, blowing some air out of her mouth and looking at the cold, visible steam that left her mouth. 

She looked at Link, and widened his eyes. Link was visibly shivering, his cream of mushroom soup shaking from his shivering hands. 

“Oh goodness, you’re freezing!” She grabbed the blanket from her own shoulders, and wrapped it around Link. “Here…” She adjusted it on him and smiled. “This should keep you warm.” 

Link wrapped the blanket around his front and held his right hand out with the bowl of soup. He sipped a bit more of the mushroom broth of the soup, before eating some more of his soup with his spoon in an attempt to get himself warm. 

Zelda grabbed the last bit of her soup in her spoon and ate it before placing the bowl onto the log beside her. 

Link slurped up the last of his soup, before placing the now-empty bowl of soup down onto his side of the log. With his hands free, Link bundled himself up more with the blanket. He could feel his energy coming back slowly, but his body was still quite cold. The soup was warming his belly, but not his entire body…sauteed peppers would greatly help him right now…but he didn’t have any on him. So he supposed he would just have to make due. 

“You’re still freezing…Did that mushroom soup not warm you up enough?” She asked. 

He shook his head. 

“Oh…I see.” She replied, not really offended but still disappointed. “What else could we do to warm you up further?” She asked. 

Link shrugged his shoulders. He knew what would warm him up, but neither had them on their person. So with that off the list, Link had no idea. 

Zelda sighed and looked at the campfire for a while. “The wintertime was a breathtaking season for me and my family.” She told him. “My mother used to take me on walks outside of Hyrule Castle. The winter was the hardest time to travel due to the endless snow that covered the ground.” Zelda explained. “The cobble around the castle was easier to walk on, and I always insisted that we walk there…” Zelda chuckled. “But my mother insisted that we walk in the snow to ‘strengthen our legs’. She told me that ‘the cold of the snow makes her feel better’. And I suppose the snow made me feel better too, even if I didn’t want to admit it.” She told him with a giggle. 

Link’s face showed a sense of calm and love as he listened. 

“My mother and father had many different ways of keeping me warm in the winter.” Zelda continued. “My mother used to cuddle with me whenever I was visibly chilled…Her body heat and her loving embrace always helped warm me up.” Zelda explained. 

Link smiled a bit at this. It sounded really sweet. He placed a hand on her shoulder to show his condolences for her dear mother. 

Zelda placed her own hand on Link’s, to reciprocate the appreciation. “What are your thoughts about cuddling?” She asked rhetorically. 

Link looked at Zelda with surprise at first. Was…was this a rhetorical question? Or a hint? Link’s facial expression turned soft as he wrapped his arms around her. 

Zelda was thrown off guard by this at first, but she let him hug her and eventually hugged him back. “I suppose that means you like cuddling too?” She asked aloud. 

Link nodded his head and closed his eyes as he felt his body warming up slightly. She was warm and cuddly…almost as if she had earned her mom’s ability to keep people warm with her body warmth. Perhaps this was what made her stay warm for a lot longer than him? He couldn’t be sure.

“It’s funny…I remember something else I used to do when I was cuddling her.” She admitted, before gently poking his left side. “I used to tell her jokes.” She admitted. 

Link looked at Zelda, almost with a curious expression. Tell jokes? Really? He tilted his head as he began wondering: What kind of jokes? 

“They were bad jokes, but they never failed to make her laugh.” She explained. “Do you want to hear one?” She asked. 

Link shrugged his shoulders before nodding his head with a smile. He wanted to know what kind of joke she was talking about. And now, he gets to hear one. 

Zelda cleared her throat. “Someone in Clock Town told me about a map maker who had grown tired of making maps and riding around Termina on a balloon.” She started to tell him. 

Link raised an eyebrow. A story joke? Where is this story going? 

Zelda smiled. “Word is, the reason he took a break was because his feet started to Tingle.” She told him happily with a few laughs. 

Link closed his eyes with a grimace on his face. He looked very unimpressed. Of all the types of jokes to enjoy…

Zelda’s laughter doubled upon seeing Link’s facial expression. “Wahahas ihit that bad?!” Zelda asked. 

Link looked away, showing slight guilt for having given Zelda such a disappointed look. 

“What about this one:” She let go of Link and looked at him. “Why doesn’t Hestu cook anymore?” She asked next. 

Link thought for a moment, attempting to come up with an answer. But he didn’t know, so he shrugged his shoulders. 

“He lost too many seeds.” Zelda replied with a giggle. 

Link blinked and sighed. He looked down, and visibly tried not to chuckle out of pure pity. 

Zelda saw this, and smirked. “I know you want to laugh.” She teased. “I can see your breath hitching.” She told him. 

Link widened his eyes and looked at Zelda, before looking away almost desperately. 

This reaction alone only made Zelda giggle. “You’re not going to laugh at my joke?” She asked. 

Link raised an eyebrow, before looking away as if saying ‘no, why would I?’.  

“Don’t make me tickle you.” She warned with a smirk, poking his belly. “I know you’re ticklish.” She reminded him. 

Link widened his eyes and jumped a bit, trying not to let any giggles out at first.

“Come on, Link…” She switched her finger tactic to skittering all over his belly and sides. “Laugh for me!” She told him. 

Despite his ability to stop himself from laughing, Link could still feel his lips morphing into a wobbly smile. He could feel the giggles filling his lungs little by little. His lungs needed to let it out, but he was refusing to let it happen. He didn’t want to laugh at her bad jokes. But he had to admit…the tickles were working on him. 

“Laugh, Link, laugh!” She said before squeezing his belly. 

These squeezes were enough to make his laughter finally free itself and take over his entire being. “HahahahAHAHAHA!” He wiggled around in her grasp, unsure if he should push her away, or let her tickle him. 

“Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle~” She teased. “There’s your wonderful laugh.” She said. 

“HAHAhahaha- Heehehehehe!” Link let go of Zelda and hugged himself to stop her. But she just kept following right behind him and sneaking tickles everywhere she could reach. Soon, Link got up and ran several steps backwards in an attempt to get away from her. He had his arms up in a defensive position with a visible smile on his face. 

This told Zelda he was fine with her continuing her rampage. “Trying to get away, huh?” Zelda teased, wiggling her fingers. “You can’t escape the tickle monster for long, Link.” She said to him with more excitement building in her body. 

Link gasped and did a full 180, taking off running from her. 

Zelda gasped. “GET BACK HERE!” She reacted, taking off running after him. 

Link attempted to run up the field as far as he could go, but he had only so much endurance until he inevitably had to slow down. And not only that, but Zelda wasn’t very far behind him. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately) for Link, Zelda was a lot faster than she looked. All those years of walking in the snow with her mother had clearly paid off…And within a matter of minutes, Link was tackled right into the snow. “I got you! Now fear the wrath of the tickle monster!” She declared as she tickled all over his sides.

“BAHAhahahahaha! Hahahaha-HAHAHA!” Link laughed loudly almost immediately. 

“Goodness, what a reaction!” She reacted with a giggle of her own. “Ihit makes me want to tickle you more!” She added. 

Hahahahahahahahaha! HAHAhahahaHAHAHA!” He reacted, his laugh moving up and down octaves depending on where she tickled. 

“Now let’s see…” She poked in his lower rib, which earned her a little giggle. “If my knowledge on Hylian anatomy is correct…” She started to count up his ribs. “There should be 12 ribs on each side.” Zelda explained. 

“HahahahAHAHA! HAHAHAHAAAHAHA!” He covered his mouth in an attempt to muffle his laughter. 

“1…2…3…4- Link, please!” She held on a little tighter. “In the name of scientific discovery, can you please sit still?” She asked him. 

“HAhahahaha-hehehehe!” He giggled.

“Let’s try this again.” She started counting again. “1…2…3…4…5…” She adjusted herself. “I know it’s hard, but try to keep still.” She encouraged. “This is number 5…so this is 6…and 7…8…9…” She kept going. 

“HAHAHAHA- BAAAHAHAHAHAHA!” Link’s laughter, as well as his wiggles, had almost doubled. It seemed like the higher that she went up, the more ticklish he was. 

“Okay-Link!” She grunted and moved her fingers back down. “Great…Now I must start all over again.” She told him, giggling a bit. 

Link giggled and shook his head with a wide smile on his face. Come on…How is that fair?! 

“Listen-” Even Zelda couldn’t stop her own laughter from leaving her mouth. “Ihif you cannot sit still, then my scientific evidence will be futile.” Zelda told him, attempting to be serious, but failing miserably. 

“HAHAhahahahaha!” The man was still laughing, even though he wasn’t even being tickled! He couldn’t help it! He couldn’t tell what was making him laugh more: Her teases? Or the phantom tickles? 

She giggled a couple more times before resuming. “1…2, 3, 4, 5…” She smirked and wiggled her finger on the next rib. “6! That’s the halfway point.” She declared. 

“HAHAhahahaHAHAhaHA!” Link cackled. 

Zelda giggled at his laughter before resuming her counting. “7, 8, 9, 10…11…” She wiggled her finger on the very last rib, cheerfully saying the word “12!”. 

Link’s laughter doubled and turned hissy the moment his last rib, and therefore his armpit, was dug into with strong, ticklish intent. 

Zelda smiled brightly. “It looks like the anatomy books are correct! All the Hylians of this generation appear to have 12 ribs on each side!” She declared. “That also means…” She stopped her fingers. “-That the Hylians’ anatomy has not changed in over a hundred years!” She added. 

Link went completely limp on the ground, visibly tired from the tickles. 

Zelda just giggled with a smirk. “I didn’t kill you, did I?” Zelda asked. 

Link huffed slightly and shook his head. 

Zelda smirked and crossed her arms. “This is he?” Zelda asked, before walking up and tickling his sides, making Link guffaw in surprise. “This is the man who is destined to protect me from the dangers of this world?” She asked, moving her fingers down to squeeze his hip. “This is the Hero of Time who saved the Kingdom of Hyrule from the wrath of Calamity Ganon?” She asked next. 

“BAHAHAhahaha- HAHAHAAhahahaHAHA!” He cackled, attempting and failing to stop her hands a multitude of times. “I must say, my protector is much too ticklish to be given such a profound responsibility.” Zelda teased before moving her fingers to the inner hollow of his right hip. 

“Hahahaha-HEHEEEHEEHEHEE!” Link fell onto his back and turned to his side, kicking his feet rapidly. 

“Ooooh, is the legend true? Does the Hero of Time have a special sweet spot?” She asked with an evil smirk, digging into the spot a slight bit more. “HEEHEEEHEEEHEHEEHEEE! HAAAHAHAHAA!” Link shouted with laughter, still kicking his feet like a hyper little child. 

“I’ll lessen the tickles a little bit. I wouldn’t want to kill my protector, after all.” Zelda told him. She moved her fingers away from his hips, and started to gently drag her fingers against his belly once again. Only, she used her one index finger rather than all 5 of her fingers. “Is this a little easier for you to handle?” She asked. 

Link’s laughter managed to die down to just giggles in only a couple minutes. His kicking had lessened, and it felt easier for him to breathe again. 

“Link, can you feel my finger?” She asked, tracing her finger up and down. 

Link giggled and squeaked as he nodded his head. He certainly could feel it! And though it wasn’t as ticklish as his hip, it did leave him feeling vulnerable and extra giddy. 

“Okay, good. Do you recognize these symbols?” She asked, drawing out symbols against the right side of his belly. 

Link giggled as he felt them, and nodded his head. He recognized them as letters from the Hylian alphabet. “Good. Can you understand what I am writing?” She asked. 

Link continued to giggle as he attempted to understand the letters she was writing out on his belly. To say it was ‘difficult’, was a massive understatement. 

…T…i…c? T? No, N…No, K? What was that le- Okay, E…What was the word? He hadn’t figured it out yet. And she was already done. 

“I take it you cannot understand my writing yet?” She asked with a giggle. 

Link nodded his head. He couldn’t decipher the word yet. He was very lost. “Very well. I will spell it out for you again. Focus on my finger.” Zelda spelled out the letters a lot slower this time. Link’s giggles started up again as he attempted to decipher her spelling. 

T…I…C…okay, K…Oh! L…and E. Okay! He got it! It spells tickle-

...Oh…

Link widened his eyes and let out a high-pitched whine as a blush formed on his face. 

“HAhahaha! Do you understand now?” She asked. 

Link squeezed his eyes shut and hesitantly nodded his head. 

“Good! Now decipher this one.” Zelda declared before starting right away. 

C…o…o…c…h…f? No, y. C…Coochy?

“There’s word one.” She said. “Do you understand?” She asked. 

Link nodded his head. “Okay good. Here’s the next one.” She said before spelling out the next word. He felt the giggles bubble up in his lungs and flow out almost immediately. 

C…o…o…c-h-y? She spelled out the same word! Why?! Coochy coochy- Wait…There was no way she was- 

“And here’s the last one!” She declared. 

Link giggled as he felt it. 

C…O…O…Is she spel-nope…She’s done. C-o-o…Coo- 

Link gasped and turned to look at Zelda the moment he got it. She had really spelled out ‘coochy coochy coo’! 

Zelda, why?! 

This darkening blush mixed with his sheepish facial expression, had told Zelda everything she needed to know. “You understand?!” She asked with a laugh, clapping her hands excitedly. “Yay!!” She cheered, before taking one better glance at his face. Zelda gasped and howled with surprise. “Oh my goodness, your face!” She hugged her own belly and absolutely laughed her heart out. Zelda hadn’t focused on his face the first time! And when she did see Link’s once-in-a-lifetime reaction, she had quickly lost herself in the sea of her own laughter. She was almost tempted to pull out her Purah pad and take a picture of his face, so she could never  forget it again. 

Link’s blush only deepened as he watched Zelda laugh beside him. Her laugh was really adorable to listen to…he could only imagine how fun it would be to tickle Zelda back…but, he didn’t dare try it, especially now when they were laying in the middle of the snow field. 

But on the other hand…The snow had never stopped Zelda from tickling him…

Zelda started to calm herself down as she rolled back over to look at him. “How long has it been since you have heard those childish words?” Zelda asked. 

Link blinked once at her…and slowly looked down as his blush deepened a little bit. 

This made Zelda laugh all over again. “Your flustered face has got to be the best thing I have ever seen on you!” She reacted. She bit her lip and looked at Link for a moment, before bringing her hand up and booping his nose with her mitted index finger. “Boop!” She added for extra effect. 

Link went cross-eyed as the blush spread out on his face. By this point, his blush was coating all his cheeks, and had spread out to the tops of his pointy Hylian ears! It was super adorable to see, and Zelda was grateful to be one of the only people in his life to experience such a reaction out of him. 

She scooted herself closer and danced her thin fingers all over his belly and sides. “Your reactions alone are encouraging me to keep tickling you.” She admitted. 

Link squealed and doubled over, attempting to cover up his belly again. 

“Don’t make me tickle your hips again, Link. I know just how outrageously ticklish they are, and I will use it to my advantage.” She teased. 

Though he knew his hips were worse, Link refused to uncover his belly…so, Zelda ended up throwing him into endless hysterics. 

Link shook his head as he laughed and cackled helplessly. Though the tickles and laughter were super embarrassing for him, he had to admit…the laughter was making him feel amazing. Not only that, but the tickles were warming him up as well! And best of all? Zelda looked like she was having a blast just toying with him! So that only made him feel even better! 

But alas, he did need to properly breathe again. So he reached for her hands and pulled them off himself to tell her ‘PLEASE STOP! IT’S TOO MUCH!’. And Zelda seemed to understand that sign right away. She moved her fingers up and gently felt his cheeks. “Oh! Your cheeks are warm! Are you no longer chilled?” Zelda asked. 

Link chuckled and nodded his head. He felt warmer now, and he had Zelda to thank. 

“Oh, that’s wonderful news!” She declared. “Are you okay to walk back to the castle?” Zelda asked. 

Link nodded his head and got back up onto his feet. He felt a lot better now, and was ready to take on the cold weather once again. 

Perhaps chili peppers and armor aren’t the only cold resistant remedies out there…

[solaslow74]

@olnfweek2024 Day 2 - Sick Days / Fantasy

MC - Ariel

Note: This fic takes place in December 2012, around halfway between Step 1 and 2, and assumes that Qiu hadn’t transitioned to different pronouns yet.

It was winter in Golden Grove, and Ariel could feel it. Throughout the rest of the year, the chill could be kept at bay with just a scarf or jacket, or it retreated into the mountains altogether. But on a day like today, that chill was all around, and seeped into every opening it could find to reach Ariel through their heavy brown coat and red earmuffs. Even the tupperware container of hot chicken soup in Ariel’s hands couldn’t keep them from feeling a bit numb.

It wasn’t all bad, though. There were some things Ariel quite enjoyed about winter. The feeling of the air, cool and crisp in their lungs; the crunching of the snow beneath their boots as they trekked across the cul-de-sac; the colorful glistening of lights strewn across the front of the Baumann house as they marched up to the door. Ariel took care not to slip on their way; their backpack was the most packed it had been since winter break had begun last week, and would make for a nasty fall.

Granny welcomed Ariel graciously, and gave them a chance to shed the outermost layer of snow-encrusted clothes before heading upstairs to see their neighbor in her room. Mrs. Baumann didn’t come with; she and her husband may have been quite healthy all things considered, but their age still made infection more of a risk than it might otherwise be.

So it was Ariel alone, still carrying a bit of the outside chill, that knocked on Tamarack’s door. “Tamarack?” they asked timidly, clutching the strap of their pack. “May I come in?”

After a moment of waiting, the reply came. “Yeah..”

It was the least like Tamarack that Tamarack had ever sounded. Ariel gently entered the room.

It was easy to recall some of the first times they’d ever seen this room, a couple years ago now; the way that Tamarack would bound towards her guest, and happily show them all of her favorite things in it. It was supposed to be a pit stop, a place for a day of fun to have its humble beginnings before the adventure inevitably spread into the forest behind her house. But today, things weren’t the way they were supposed to be.

Tamarack sat very still against her pillows, and the small smile that appeared on her face when her eyes met Ariel’s was a shadow of the beacon it would normally be, fading as she glumly turned her eyes back downwards. Her nose was flushed red, and even her hair seemed to sparkle less than usual. Used tissues filled a wastebasket sitting at her bedside, and a box of the unused variety sat on her nightstand.

Her voice came with the same weakness, softness, and nasally quality as her initial reply. “Hi, Ariel…”

Ariel pushed through the gloomy miasma of the room, which a fan was struggling to keep out of the air. “Hi, Tamarack… I missed you. I’m sorry…”

It wasn’t the level of energy they had wanted to bring with their greeting, but what else could be expected? It was a sorry scene.

Tamarack laughed, though with less unbridled mirth than usual. “You don’t have to be sorry. You didn’t get me sick. And I missed you too.”

The last few days had apparently been even worse; Mama and the Baumanns had agreed that Ariel couldn’t visit, that Tamarack’s cold was at its most contagious. Their heart ached to think of how miserable and lonely Tamarack must have been- the queen of the forest consigned to live alone in her tower, and during break, too. But they were here now, and they had to help her feel better.

So they took a breath, and then held out the tupperware, with a plastic spoon balanced atop it. “My mama made you soup, and I helped. She says it's good food for feeling better when you’re sick. So please have some.”

Tamarack’s eyes seemed to lighten a bit more. “Omi says the same thing. She made me some yesterday. I’m kind of- I mean, thank you.”

She accepted the gift with weak hands, and sat up a little straighter. Eating food in bed, especially of such a potentially messy variety, would never be tolerated by Granny, but these were dire times indeed. And besides, Tamarack wasn’t as wild as she used to be, even when she wasn’t sick. She was twelve, almost a teenager; she wouldn’t spill her soup, she was too mature to do that.

Ariel began to pull something out of their bag, another tool to help their ailing friend. It was a book, a big one, with a man on the cover. His bright red coat, and his funny-shaped hat, were instantly recognizable. The Night Before Christmas, the title read in big curvy letters.

Tamarack suppressed a smile, but not before Ariel could see it. It was enough to encourage them to continue with an explanation of their plan.

“I got this at the library, and a few others. I know you can’t go out and have fun in the snow right now, so I wanted to bring the winter fun to you.” They paused to gauge the reaction of their audience of one, then continued. “Plus, I don’t really know these, since my family doesn’t celebrate Christmas. So maybe it’ll be fun for me to read them to you.”

Tamarack laughed, though it came out with a bit of a wheeze. “Ariel, that’s…”

It was kiddy. That was what she thought. Tamarack didn’t always act her age, but having a picture book read to her was too much.

But looking at her friend’s face, she couldn’t say it.

It was a weird feeling. She could hardly remember a time where she didn’t want to say what she was thinking. When did that change?

“Okay, okay… we can do that,” finally came her response, before she had to grab a tissue to sneeze into.

So, Ariel pulled up a chair to the bedside, and read. It was a poem she’d heard before, but Ariel’s voice made it extra nice to listen to, and so did their occasional commentary.

“Now, Dasher, now, Dancer, now, Prancer and Vixen, on, Comet, on, Cupid, on, Donner and Blitzen!” they read, before grinning. “Now, I thought I had heard of this part for sure! Isn’t Rudolph supposed to be one of the reindeer?”

Tamarack laughed. “Not in this story! Maybe Santa didn’t hire him yet, when they wrote this.”

She could’ve said that earnestly when she was a bit younger, but it was definitely a joke.

The achiness and stuffiness were still ever-present in her body, but Tamarack felt like she could be distracted from it a little more with every silly joke Ariel made, whether it was poking her while reading about Saint Nick’s “nose like a cherry”, or making little motions acting out “a wink of his eye and a twist of his head”. She did have fun, even though it was so silly; so she didn’t complain when they pulled out the next book and began to spin another familiar tale.

“Usually I’m the one with all the energy,” she said unexpectedly, after Ariel’s inspiring rendition of the Grinch’s redemption. “Is that why I’m sick? You took all my energy?”

Ariel smiled at her joke. “Maybe it’s just the Christmas magic finding its way into my heart.”

She rolled her eyes. “Ariel, that’s not real.”

Their smile changed a little bit, in a way that was hard for Tamarack to read.

“Yeah… I know.”

A sigh. Then…

“I just want to help you feel better. I couldn’t help you at all until now. So I had to plan something, and make it good. Because I know it’s hard.”

“Yes. It sucks!!” It was the loudest Tamarack had gotten since Ariel came over, maybe since she had caught the cold in the first place. She couldn’t sustain it, so the next part came out weakly. “I hate being sick. Being inside. Being alone. It sucks…”

The mood was low. Just like it had been when Ariel first got here. But it didn’t have to be, not for long.

“I’m here now, and we can have a little fun. And when you’re better, and I bet that will be soon, then we can have a lot of fun. I promise.”

Tamarack looked at Ariel, then. Their golden eyes were full of warmth that radiated out through their glasses.

She smiled weakly. She didn’t believe in Christmas magic, and little by little, she was starting to doubt herself, too. But she would believe in her friend- in that promise.

Autumn laid on his side, staring at the white world outside. Usually his bed was a place of comfort and familiarity, but it didn’t do much to relieve the awful way he felt- the soreness of his throat, the aching in his head, the weakness in his limbs. It had only been a matter of time; plenty of his friends had caught the seasonal sickness. He’d figured that he might be one of the ones left standing- but that had been stupid to think.

Darren had been one of those lucky few, which was why he and Qiu had planned to get out and enjoy the snow today. That obviously didn’t happen, in the end. But Autumn had refused to explain why he had to cancel their plans. It was probably obvious, but he couldn’t bring himself to let anyone else know that he was sick.

If people knew he was sick, they’d worry. And that was his job, not theirs- even if that job was getting more and more tiresome to keep up with, these days.

It was fine. He’d carry the burden alone. Until he felt better, until he had the energy to act like he normally did, Qiu would tough it out without worrying anyone else.

Eventually, those thoughts began to drift, and the aching began to fade. Qiu did nothing to resist the call of sleep as he was pulled into a feverish dream.

Qiu woke groggily to the sound of music. The sight before him was unfamiliar, but somehow, it didn’t strike him as strange.

Lit from above by the moon shining through a skylight, dozens of partygoers dressed in finery danced gracefully across a ballroom floor. All of them were dazzling in their attire, but none more so than a young golden-haired lady, adorned with a leafy crown, spinning wildly with her dancing partner, a similarly young noble. The pair’s merriment made them stand out despite their small stature. But then, the noble’s bright eyes met Qiu’s, and after excusing themself, they made their way over to him. They knelt before him, offering a hand.

“You’re awake,” they enthused. “I was hoping you’d join us!”

Autumn hesitated, then accepted the hand, standing with the noble’s help. A pang in his head accompanied the movement, though, and he winced. That was right, he remembered- he was sick, wasn’t he?

“I shouldn’t join you guys,” he explained to the noble. “I need to get some rest-”

“Come on, dance with us!” exclaimed the girl with the crown, who had bounded over to join them. “You’re our friend, so come on!”

Another twinge in Qiu’s head- this time, of annoyance. He was trying to be considerate, to not get them sick, and she couldn’t get that?

“I really shouldn’t. Besides, you two were having fun on your own, right? Leave me be.”

The pair just looked back at him with frowns. The girl shook her head, huffed, then grabbed at his arm suddenly. “Don’t you care about us? Come on-”

“NO!”

The shout that came from Qiu surprised him as much as anyone else, but he didn’t back down.

“Why is it such a big deal to you? Why can’t you just leave me be?”

With each word, his friends seemed to get smaller. Everything did, actually- until Qiu was taller than any of the guests. The music ceased, and confused dancers were stopping to look over at the scene.

The noble with the bright eyes gaped up at Qiu. “Autumn, we’re your friends-”

“Then why don’t you GET IT?”

His words came out with a booming roar, and a spurt of hot fire. A mix of shame and anger filled Qiu as everyone watched him with horror. He didn’t ask to be here! It wasn’t his fault!

He needed to get out of here. To find some peace and quiet, where nobody would look at him like that. Frantically looking for an exit, his gaze settled on the skylight. Without thinking, Qiu sprung from where he loomed over his friends, and with wings he hadn’t realized he had, soared up and out through the glass. Scales protected him from the shattered skylight, and flying higher, he was finally alone. With one last look back towards the royal estate he had escaped, Qiu soared away, leaving everyone behind, as the light of the moon guided him to the mountains.