#like could we at least put the ice cream in a different freezer could we at least do that. for my own peace of mind

[revvethasmythh]

I'd thought my mom buried our cat without telling me but actually I just found the body in our back freezer trying to get ice cream and actually this is much worse can we PLEASE just bury her I am begging

[reysdriver]

Cruel Summer | E.M.

Eddie does his very best to help you through the current heatwave — eddie x pregnant!reader fluff

warnings: pregnancy, a little angst if you squint

words: 1.6k

Boiling. 

That was the only way your trailer could be described right now. It was one of Indiana’s hottest summers on record, and it didn’t help that you were six months pregnant and living in an aluminum box. 

You owned three electric fans, and they were all on full blast and aimed at the couch, but they really weren’t making as much of a difference as you needed.

There was a series of thuds coming from something or other outside the thin walls of your trailer, so you assumed your husband was home. And you were proven right when he entered, immediately apologising for leaving you alone in this heat. 

He had no reason to be sorry. Eddie has been so attentive and helpful through this pregnancy, showing you exactly why you fell in love with him everyday, and he was even proving it now. 

Since he just came back from a quick run to the store for some ice, fruit, and frozen treats, he set everything he bought on the recliner before crouching down next to you. 

He pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead and started lightly stroking some of your hair. 

“How are you feeling?” Eddie asked. 

You gave him a side eye, too exhausted to even lift your head. “Take a guess, Teddy.”

He smiled slightly. If it was at the use of your favourite nickname for him or your exasperated joke, you weren’t quite sure. 

“I know that, sweetheart, and I’m sorry. Hopefully I can help a little.”

“Thank you. Did they have black cherry ice cream?”

He hummed out a quiet ‘mhm’ then stood up with a stifled groan. “But it might have melted a bit on the way back. I’ll put it in the freezer and we can have it soon.” 

“What about oranges?”

That was your latest craving. The ice cream and popsicles were luxuries to get you through the heat; the oranges were necessities. You were thankful that your cravings switched from tomato soup to citrus just in time for the heatwave, or you weren’t sure how you would get through it at all. 

Eddie made his way back over to the living room and picked up a paper bag from the recliner. 

“Big bag of ‘em, just for you.”

Hoping to dive right into the bag of fruits, you attempted to sit up, but the baby bump paired with the immense summer heat rendered the process slow and tiring. 

Eddie watched as you moved sluggishly, pitying how this heatwave was taking an extra hefty toll on you. 

“Don’t push yourself.” He advised gently while holding out his hand for you. “I’ll help you with whatever, even if it’s just getting up.”

You thanked him, then grabbed a cutting board and paring knife so you could slice the oranges how you like. 

“You know,” Eddie spoke again. “I was thinking that we could stay at someone else’s place for a bit. Just to get through the heat, you know? I’m sure everyone we know would be more than happy to have us over.”

You started shaking your head before Eddie even finished the proposition. He and you both knew what your answer would be, but Eddie figured there was no harm in asking. 

He really just wanted the best for you. He wanted you to be safe and comfortable, and although that obviously was something you wanted too, you just couldn’t accept his offer. 

“Eddie, I know you just want me to be happy, but I promise you I’m happiest here, at home, with you.”

He sighs, torn between wanting to get you out of this sauna of a trailer and letting you decide what’s best for yourself. In the end, he had to go with your choice, even if it meant suffering; both of you suffering together wasn’t the worst thing ever, he supposed. 

“Alright. Want me to at least draw you a bath?”

“Will you feed me orange slices and ice cream while I’m in the bath?” With wide eyes, you flashed him a hopeful smile. 

He rolled his eyes jokingly, then smiled sincerely back at you. “Of course, anything you want.”

You let out a happy giggle, then took the ice cream out of the freezer almost as quickly as it got there. 

He kissed you on the forehead before heading off to the small bathroom. 

You heard the sound of running water, then your husband’s voice. “Make sure to scoop enough so I can have some too!”

You happily obliged and doled out an extra scoop into the bowl. Then you plucked one ripe cherry from the bag in your fridge and placed it atop the dessert. That was Eddie’s favourite, and if he was being so nice to you, then you would return the favour. 

You took the time to clean the kitchen up, then brought both the ice cream and the orange slices to the bathroom to see Eddie sitting by the tub and turning off the water. 

“It’s a little bit cooler than usual.” He warned. “I just didn’t want the water to be too hot when the whole place is already hot and you’re—”

You cut him off by pressing a kiss to his lips, then another on the corner of his mouth. 

“Thank you, baby. Now hold these while I get undressed. And then turn around.”

“I don’t get to watch?” Your husband asked, baring one of the most betrayed looks you’ve ever seen.

You shook your head. “I promise, you don’t want to see me struggling to get my clothes off because they’re drenched in sweat and I’m about to enter my third trimester. I mean it, don’t look. I don’t want you losing all attraction to me.”

Your husband sighed dramatically, then obeyed and turned slowly to face the other way.

It only took a bit of effort, but you took off your dress and placed it on the towel rack beside you. Then came a wolf whistle from right behind you. After turning around, you noticed that Eddie could totally see you in the bathroom mirror. 

“Pervert.” You mock accused. “Does me being all gross and pregnant really turn you on?”

“Everything about you turns me on.”

And he meant that. Not an ounce of insincerity in that promise. 

You faked a gag and then smiled just because you couldn’t help it. Holding out a hand, you asked if he could help you into the tub and he obviously did so after putting your food down on the counter. 

“How’s the water?” He asked. “I can add some hot or cold water if the temperature is off.”

“It’s amazing, handsome. Perfect temperature for some orange slices.”

Eddie chose the slice that was calling to him the most and held it for you to bite. Some of the juices missed your lips and dropped into the bathwater, but you paid that no mind. 

You were thankful that your husband bought a whole bag of these, because you had a feeling your diet over the next few days would be mainly oranges. 

After a few more slices, you decided you now wanted some of the black cherry ice cream that you had also been craving recently. 

As Eddie held the spoon up close to your lips, he noted that this was similar to feeding a baby—something you would be experiencing soon enough. 

“I don’t know about that.” You said. “I think a baby would be a lot more difficult to feed than me.”

Eddie cringed exaggeratedly and shrugged, telling you he doesn’t know about that either. 

Maybe proving his point, you splashed about a cup’s worth of water at his chest, taking care in your aim to make sure none of it got in your ice cream. He ‘retaliated’ by doing the same to you, though the water didn’t affect you when you were already in a whole tub of it. 

“Do you want to join me?” You proposed, gesturing vaguely to the tub so small that you had to cram just to sit alone in. 

“I don’t think this thing can fit both of us, baby. You enjoy it now, and a big tub will be on the top of our list when we buy a new house.”

“It’ll take a while.” You told Eddie. “A lot of our savings are gonna go to the baby, and who knows when we’ll be able to leave the trailer park.”

“Don’t say that. We’ve been working hard and saving. We’ll get there soon.” Eddie assured you. “And even if we can only afford a place without a big tub, I’ll live in the dark and eat nothing but salt and pepper for as long as it takes to get you one.”

You tried to hide your grin, but you knew you were failing at it. Maybe he didn’t think you believed him, so he kept going.

“I’m serious. We’re almost there.” Eddie looked down at your bump sticking out of the water. “Our baby is gonna have a good life”

“You’re so cheesy, Teddy.”

“I’m in love. Love makes you do cheesy things.”

“Like feeding me ice cream in the bathtub?” You asked, attempting to not put your true intentions on display. 

But Eddie understood, just like he always does. He picked up the spoon once more and scooped a heap just for you. 

“Like feeding you ice cream in the bathtub.” He nodded in agreement.

[simplybakugou]

Hi hi, wonderful!!! How are you on this fine *insert appropriate time of day here*? Could I maybe request dad Bakugou and how he'd react to his son saying something mean to female reader wife? Like, I know Bakugou is really aggressive with his own mom, but I was thinking maybe it'd be a little different when it comes to the mother of his kids?

⋆ PAIRING: dad!bakugou x fem!reader ⋆ WARNINGS/TAGS: swearing; teeny tiny bit of angst; fluff ⋆ WORD COUNT: 2436

A/N: my first written work on here in almost three years . Forgive me if i’m a little rusty lol. Tysm for requesting and i hope you enjoy :)

© simplybakugou — all rights reserved. DO NOT REPOST/REUPLOAD, TRANSLATE, OR EDIT ANY OF MY CONTENT ON HERE OR ANY PLATFORM

For a majority of your life, you thought becoming a pro hero would be the hardest thing you could ever do. From attending the illustrious U.A. High to working through the ranks to be in the top three pro heroes, second to none other than your husband, Bakugou, you never would imagine your life to be more difficult than that.

That is until you became a mother.

Only a year into your marriage, you found out you were pregnant with your son, Katsuo. It was difficult to come to terms with being a mother in the midst of your rising professional career but you knew taking care of your son was always going to be your number one priority, just as it was for Bakugou.

Despite the physical complexities of giving birth and being pregnant, the hardest part came afterwards: raising your extremely temperamental son.

Katsuo, ever since the day he was born, was never one to shy away from vocalizing if anything bothered him or made him upset. To screaming and crying on the top of his lungs as a baby to whining and throwing tantrums as a toddler in public, you felt yourself struggling to parent your son who made it his life’s mission to give you a hard time.

Who did Katsuo not give a hard time to? Bakugou.

Times where Katsuo would throw a tantrum, screaming and kicking his feet as he laid on the floor, all it would take was a “Stop that” from Bakugou to get Katsuo to cease his actions whereas it would take the whole day for him to listen to you. It was a frustrating ordeal but it never made you love your son any less. You knew this was a phase… at least you hoped this would just be a phase. 

Just as you thought there was a lull in his behavior after he turned five, you became pregnant and gave birth to your daughter Suki. To say Katsuo was not thrilled was an understatement. He hated the attention that went to Suki instead of him. He hated that his parents had to take care of his baby sister that he didn’t want and he never hesitated to vocalize how much he didn’t want a sister.

“Can we get ice cream, too?” Katsuo asked excitedly, kicking his feet while sitting in the shopping cart that you were pushing. His little index finger pointed at the box of fudge popsicles.

“Will you share with your sister?” You asked, eyeing your son for his reaction.

As expected he was not pleased as he crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. “Fine. Whatever," he muttered curtly.

You smiled, grabbing the box from the freezer and putting it in your cart, knowing full well that his brief reaction would be the closest thing to a compromise that you'll get out of him.

As you were pushing the cart into the checkout line, your phone buzzed in your pocket. You answered your husband’s call, holding your phone in between your shoulder and your ear as you scanned the items in your car. “Everything okay, Katsuki?”

You could hear your now two-year-old daughter wailing in the background, repeating the word “Nana” as a very frustrated Bakugou expressed, “Please tell me you know where Suki’s fucking banana toy is.”

“Her toy should be on the sofa in the living room like it always is.” You adjusted your phone into your hand as you began to pay for your groceries.

“It’s not there and I’m about to lose my fucking mind.” 

“Honey, I’m not sure where else it could be. Suki always keeps it there so she doesn’t lose it.” 

As you grabbed the receipt from the little printer, you saw Katsuo giggling to himself from the corner of your eye as he was listening to your conversation. “Katsuo, what did you do?”

“Did that little shit fucking hide it?” Bakugou asked angrily through your phone.

“Katsuki, I’m almost done here. I’ll be home soon.” You sighed as Katsuo continued to laugh, his hands covering his mouth as if this were the funniest thing that could’ve happened for him. 

“Katsuo, did you hide your sister’s toy?” You asked sternly, pushing the cart towards the exit. Katsuo simply shrugged, ignoring your question.

All you could was sigh as you loaded your car up and drove you and your son home.

You stood in front of the door to your home and before you could knock, it swung open, revealing an exhausted Bakugou holding Suki who was still crying.

“Still no luck?” You asked as Katsuo ran inside, almost knocking you and the bags of groceries in your hands over.

“No,” Bakugou said with an exasperated sigh as he closed the door. 

“Nana,” Suki cried softly.

You set the groceries on the dining table before rushing over and taking Suki from Bakugou. “I know, sweetie. We’re going to find Nana for you, okay?”

She rested her head on your shoulder, tiring herself from wailing earlier as she rubbed her eyes. You turned to Bakugou who looked like he needed a nap immediately.

You caressed his face. “My poor babies,” you cooed as you teased him.

He glared at you before taking Suki back in his arms. “You better get Suo to confess where that banana is.”

“Me? Where are you going?” You questioned, watching as Bakugou took Suki upstairs. 

“Sleep,” He said plainly. “Exhausted.”

You sighed, going back to the dining table to put the groceries away. “Suo?” 

Katsuo stuck his head from under the table, two of his toy cars in hand.

You sighed. “Katsuo, I’ve told you many times not to go under the table.”

He crawled out and stood to his feet. His vermillion eyes, identical to his father’s, watched as you went back and forth from the table to the refrigerator. “Why?”

“Because you could hit your head. And we have rules and you have to listen to them.”

“Does Suki have to listen to them?” He uttered his sister’s name with as much disgust as his seven-year-old body could muster. 

“Suki is still a baby. She’s two, Suo, and she can barely speak.”

“Well I used to be your baby, too, before she came,” Katsuo grumbled under his breath, fidgeting with his toys.

You smiled at him, understanding the feeling of being jealous of your sibling getting all the attention. You crouched in front of him and ruffled his ash blonde hair. “You’ll always be my baby.”

Katsuo nudged your hand away, turning away from you. “Whatever. You don’t mean that.”

You stood to your feet. “Katsuo.”

Katsuo spun around quickly, dropping his toys to the ground as he raised an accusatory finger at you. “You always say I’m your baby but it’s not true! You care about that stupid baby more than me!”

He turned around again as he started to sprint and make his way upstairs. You went after him as you exclaimed, “That’s not true, Suo!”

Katsuo turned once more in the middle of the staircase, his brows furrowed and his lips overturned into a frown. “I said I didn’t want a sibling and you still had that stupid girl! You’re the worst Mom ever!” 

He continued running upstairs and into his bedroom, slamming the door loudly behind him. 

Bakugou, who so desperately needed and wanted to take a nap, stood to his feet immediately following the sound of Katsuo’s door slam shut. Fortunately Suki hadn’t awoken, allowing him to leave and somehow patch this situation up. 

Katsuo did this often, yelling at his mother and storming off into his room. However, he never insulted you in the way he did that day, and Bakugou knew you were going to take his words to heart.

Bakugou quietly made his way downstairs, peeking around the corner of the railing to spot where you were. You were sitting at the dining table, your back to him. He immediately noticed your shoulders shaking as you sniffled and wiped your eyes profusely.

“Y/N…” You spun your head at the sound of your husband’s unusually soft voice. 

“Katsuki…” You wiped your eyes to get rid of any stray tears, not wanting to worry him. You attempted to muster a small smile, ultimately failing to do so. “What’re you doing awake?”

He sat down in the chair beside you. He stared at you, taking in your features as he raised his thumb and swiped under your eyes to catch your tears. “Don’t cry.”

Your lips quivered and the tears you were attempting to hold back spilled out. “I feel stupid for crying but-but his words hurt, Katsuki.”

Bakugou leaned towards you, his arms maneuvering you onto his lap. He held you close to him as you wrapped your arms around his neck, burying your face into the crook of his neck. “You’re not stupid for crying. He said some fucked up shit, and he shouldn’t have.”

He pulled away, brushing your hair away from your face with his hands as he kissed you softly. “You’re not a bad mom, Y/N.”

You let out a humorless laugh, wiping your eyes again. “I know. I just… don’t know how to validate his feelings.”

“Don’t worry.” Bakugou moved you back onto the chair as he stood to his feet. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Katsuki.” You reached for his hand, looking up at him. “Just don’t yell at him, alright?”

“I know. I was seven once, too, y’know?” And like that Bakugou made his way back upstairs, his footsteps echoing through the hall. He made it to Katsuo’s door and knocked.

“Go away!” Katsuo yelled from the other side.

“I don’t care what you want, I’m coming in,” Bakugou stated and opened the door. 

He was met with a soft pillow to the face as an enraged Katsuo yelled, “I said go away!”

“Katsuo!” Bakugou exclaimed. Katsuo immediately stiffened, his expression twisting into fear from his father’s tone. Bakugou closed his eyes and sighed, calming himself down before speaking to his son. He didn’t want to go about this the wrong way.

Bakugou picked up the pillow as he sat on Katsuo’s bed beside him, placing the discarded item back onto the bed. “Why did you yell at Mom?”

Katsuo crossed his arms over his chest. “‘Cause she wasn’t being fair.”

“So she deserves to get called a ‘bad mom’ because of that?”

“No…” Katsuo mumbled after pausing for a moment. 

Bakugou sighed, lifting Katsuo and repositioning him on the bed so that he was facing him. Katsuo kept his eyes glued down, not wanting to make eye contact with his incredibly intimidating father. “Suo, look at me.”

Katsuo hesitated but nevertheless he looked at his father. “Why did you call Mom a ‘bad mom?’”

Katsuo fidgeted with his thumbs before upsettingly blurting out, “Because she’s always caring about Suki more than she cares about me!”

“And did Mom say she doesn’t care about you?”

“No…” 

“Katsuo,” Bakugou paused to make sure his son was looking at him. “Do you know how much your mother loves you?”

Katsuo simply shrugged. Bakugou shook his head slightly, reaching behind in his back pocket to grab his phone. He opened his photo album, one with just you that contained hundreds of photos in fact. He showed a picture where you were very pregnant with Katsuo, your hands cradling your swollen belly as you grinned at Bakugou’s camera.

“Here’s Mom carrying you in her belly before you were born.”

Katsuo’s eyes widened at the sight of your stomach, looking up at his father. “I was in there?!”

Bakugou nodded, this time swiping to a video of you holding a newborn Katsuo, tears streaming down your face as you looked down at your son. Your sobs were audible, looking over at Bakugou who was recording you. “Katsuki!”

Bakugou’s laughter was heard on the other side of the video and Katsuo watched as you looked back at his baby self in the video. “My baby,” you murmured, kissing his cheek and pressing your forehead against his little one.

“I was her baby,” Katsuo whispered astonishingly. “I thought Mom was lying when she said that.”

“Katsuo, you’ll always be our first baby. You’re our first born. But now Suki needs Mom’s attention, too. Did you see how little you were in that video?” Katsuo nodded. “Well, Suki needs Mom’s help to grow big and strong like you. But she’s lucky cause she has a big brother to help her, right?”

“I guess,” Katsuo huffed. “I’ll start being nice to her…”

“Good,” Bakugou patted him on the back. “Now go apologize to Mom. You didn’t mean what you said, right?”

Katsuo shook his head aggressively. He jumped off his bed and stood to his feet. “I’ll go say sorry.”

Before leaving, he crawled under his bed to retrieve something. When he crawled back out, in his hands was Suki’s missing banana toy that Bakugou had been tearing the whole house apart to find. Katsuo handed the toy to his father, threw open the door, and rushed downstairs until he stood in front of the dining table. His chest rose and fell quietly as he caught his breath from moving so fast. You turned around, not expecting his presence so suddenly. “Suo!”

Katsuo frowned at the sight of your slightly puffy eyes, understanding that you had been crying. And it was his fault that you were crying. He looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry, Mom. I shouldn’t have called you a ‘bad mom.’”

You smiled softly, looking at your son lovingly. “It’s okay.”

He shook his head. “It’s not okay. I shouldn’t say things I don’t mean. I just… I was jealous of how you’re always with Suki. But I know that she has to be big and strong like me.”

Your smile widened as you reached out and caressed his cheek. “It’s okay, baby. I forgive you.”

Katsuo perked up. “So am I really still your baby? Even if I’m not little like Suki?”

“Of course.” You pulled him into your embrace, his little arms attempting to wrap around you as he hugged you back. “I already said you’ll always be my baby and I mean it.”

You pulled away, kissing his cheek which caused Katsuo to break out into an even wider smile as he threw his arms around you into another embrace.

You laughed, hugging him once more, holding him onto your lap. You looked up, noticing a smiling Bakugou holding an asleep Suki in his arms. He sent a wink your way as you smiled gratefully at him.

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[sweetiesicheng]

wonwoo - shopping #2

word count : 557

please ignore how i’ve written two wonwoo shopping writings. clearly i don’t check the list of stuff i’ve written.

-

"oh, we need that," you said, pointing to a bag of chips on one of the shelves.

"this one?" wonwoo asked, putting his hand on a different bag of chips.

"no, that one," you said to him.

your boyfriend sighed, "get out of the cart and grab it yourself," he said to you.

"but i like it in here."

wonwoo leaned against the cart, giving you a blank expression.

"can you get the barbecue flavored ones?"

both of you started laughing at each other. wonwoo pecked your cheek before grabbing your bag of chips along with other bags of chips for the party him and his roommates were hosting.

"this would be so much easier if you were out of the cart so you could grab what you want," wonwoo said to you as he pushed the cart. you moved the bags of chips around as wonwoo went into the next aisle. "how much soda do you think we'll need?" he asked as he stopped pushing the cart.

"a lot."

"i should've known you would've said that," he replied to you and started grabbing boxes of soda. he placed the boxes on the shelf beneath the cart but had to stack some in the cart next to you because of the limited space.

"it's getting crammed in here," you mentioned, holding bags of chips in your arms.

"you really should get out of the cart," wonwoo said to you as he pushed the cart down the same aisle.

"make me."

"we can get ice cream."

"stop moving."

wonwoo stopped, and you got out of the cart, leaving the chips in the cart. your boyfriend rolled his eyes at you and started walking again with you by his side.

"do we need to get alcohol too?" you asked while going into another aisle.

"mingyu and vernon are getting stuff," wonwoo mentioned. "do you want anything specific?" he asked you.

you shook your head, "nah, i'll just drink whatever's there," you replied before looking at a sign. "two for one!" you shouted and opened the freezer door, revealing the tubs of ice cream you were wanting.

"hey hey hey, get them later. they'll melt if we get them now," wonwoo said to you, pushing the door closed. "we have more stuff to buy. come on, look at the list on your phone," he said to you and started dragging you away.

"my ice cream..."

"we'll get it later, promise."

-

"happy now?" wonwoo asked as you sat on the countertop in his shared kitchen with the tub of ice cream in your hand.

"mhm," you replied. "want a bite?" you asked him.

he nodded and walked over to stand in front of you. you fed him ice cream.

"good?"

"mhm," he hummed. "now, can you help me out everything away?" he asked, glancing over at the plastic bags and boxes littering the front door area of the apartment.

"you have roommates for a reason."

"and are they here? no."

"listen, i don't live here. i'm a guest."

"yea, a long-term guest. are you saying this is a hotel or something?" he asked you before you fed him some more ice cream.

"i mean, basically."

"just help me put all of this on the table at least."

"but my ice cream."

"it's not going away, doofus. i already bought it."

[password-door-lock]

Mystictober Day 16-- Saeran x MC/Dessert

“My love, would you like some ice cream?” Saeran calls from the kitchen.

You look up from your book. “What kind of a question is that, honey?” You can't help but tease him a little. “Of course I want ice cream.”

“Alright, darling.” You can hear the smile in Saeran's voice, which is followed by a few conspicuous clinking noises that suggest he's getting out some bowls and spoons.

You set your book down— reading can wait. Instead, you make your way to the kitchen. “What flavor did you get?” You and Saeran often experiment with ice cream flavors— of course, you have plenty of standbys, like strawberry, vanilla, and mint chocolate chip, but the two of you are in the process of trying just about every variety of ice cream that your local grocery store offers. Honestly, most of the time, there are at least three cartons of ice cream in your freezer, but you know that Saeran stopped into the store today while you were at work, and it goes without saying that he used the opportunity to choose a new flavor. 

“Raspberry cheesecake,” he informs you, carefully scooping some of the ice cream into one of the bowls. He's like a wizard with that ice cream scoop— without fail, every time he uses it, he produces something that looks like it belongs in a food magazine. “I don't think we've had this one yet.”

You consider it. There are so many different cheesecake flavors that you've lost track of them over the course of the past few months. “Where did you put the ice cream journal, again, honey?” You ask.

Saeran shakes his head with a gentle laugh. “I put it where it goes, my love.”

A few weeks after you moved in together, you and Saeran started keeping track of your mutual ice cream consumption in a small purple journal, writing reviews of various flavors for the benefit of your future selves. The journal has earned a designated position on the bookshelf, though you've been known to leave it on the kitchen counter beside the fridge, as well. “And how was I supposed to know that?” You ask innocently as you retrieve the item. “It could have been anywhere.”

“Could it?” The sound of the freezer door tells you that the ice cream is ready and Saeran is putting the carton away.

You establish yourself in your usual position at the kitchen table, and he slides into his chair across from you. “Yes,” you grin, flipping to the index section of the book. There is no raspberry cheesecake entry to be found. “I guess we haven't tried this one yet.”

Saeran passes you a spoon. “That's what I thought,” he assures you with a triumphant smile. Before you can dig into the ice cream, you are confronted with a spoon in your face. “Let me know how it tastes, my angel.”

“Why did you give me a spoon if you didn't want me to use it?” You tease, though of course, you don't pass up the opportunity to try some ice cream. The raspberry swirls and cream cheese base are delicious, though you could do without the clumps of crust. “It's pretty good,” you announce. “Here, you try it, love.”

You get a good spoonful of the ice cream, trying your best to catch all three elements on your spoon before extending it toward Saeran. “You don't seem to want me to use my spoon, either, darling.” His eyes twinkle with mirth, though he seems to share your views on not passing up free ice cream. “I liked the strawberry cheesecake better,” is his eventual evaluation. 

“Me too, honestly,” you can’t help but agree. “This isn’t bad, though.” 

“There’s no such thing as bad ice cream,” Saeran decides. “Especially when we’re enjoying it together.” 

“That’s very sweet,” you concede, “But it is absolutely not what you said when we tried—” 

He cuts you off with a brief, raspberry cheesecake-flavored kiss. “Shh.” The mischief in his eyes when he pulls away makes you want to kiss him again. “Let’s never think about that again.” 

You can’t help but laugh. Although most of the flavors that the two of you have tried together have been nothing short of delicious, the popcorn ice cream that you sampled three weeks ago didn’t even come close to hitting the mark. You can understand why Saeran would want to forget about it. “Okay. My lips are sealed— well, I mean, unless you want to kiss me again.” 

Saeran shakes his head and chuckles at your bad joke. You’re so thankful that you have so many opportunities to make him laugh. “Hm,” he regards you with obvious adoration, and despite how many times you've seen that look in his eyes, your heart skips a beat, just like it did the first time. “I’ll keep that in mind, my love.” 

[yourgildedcage]

"The World of Another Who Looks Like You"

Chapter 4: On the Other Side at the Same Time

So that no one gets confused the alternate world counterparts for everyone don't refer to each other as alters (especially since they aren't yet aware there's more than one universe.) I'll specify ahead of time whenever the setting switches universes. I apologize if anyone is out of character.

Point of Origin; On the Alternate World..

"Malleus has been missing almost two days!" The door burst open to seven very determined faces. Ah looks like all of his friends came by. That's expected to happen when one goes missing without any warning Lilia supposed.

"Yes we know" Lilia said restraining a frantic Sebek.

"Vanrouge-san we noticed Malleus has been missing for almost 46 hours. We request your permission to search the house for clues!" Deuce stepped forward requested.

Next to him was Ace, Riddle, Zarius, Idia who looked concerned but also like he'd rather be elsewhere, and Azul who avoided eye contact and tried to look more aloof about the situation.

Come to think of it Malleus and Azul had been awfully close for awhile. Close enough to have a deep bond or even a relationship perhaps?

The separation must be bothering him since in Lilia's eyes he could guess that the Leech twins were his only friends.

But still it was a bit odd.

WHAT could cause Malleus to just up and leave without a trace? He would have said if he'd gone for a walk. But not that very many things got that level of serious for him anymore.

"Come over here dear guests have some tea" Lilia offered

"D-did you make it?" Azul asked nervously.

Lilia's eyebrow twitched slightly 'why does everyone feel the need to ask me that whenever i offer food?' "No Sebek made tea to calm down." He gestured to the still steaming teacups.

"Is it effective?" Riddle asked nervously.

"It could be more effective" he shrugged and  glanced at Sebek who was still struggling.

"Let me go Lilia! Malleus-senpai needs me i know it" Lilia kept him in place with his foot on his shoulder.

"At least he's fighting way less than he was a hour ago" Silver sighed.

"... I'll take some tea then," Azul said.

Lilia smiled as he observed the hot beverage fog up Azul's glasses.

Everyone else split up and began rummaging through Malleus's things. Riddle supervised the search of course.

Lilia glanced at his phone. Maybe one more time for the day won't hurt.

His heart nearly leaped for joy when after two rings Malleus answered. But when Malleus said hello he sounded so drained. If Malleus were here he would have given him some ice cream, perhaps the Cherry Garcia was still in the freezer. Assuming it wasn't eaten by Malleus before he left to...where was he exactly?

"Malleus wher--"

"Dad I'm in an entirely different universe"

What? another universe?

"Malleus...." He would laugh and say he was bluffing but Malleus only ever called him "dad" when he was under emotional strain.

Odds were he wasn’t lying about the alternate universe.

Then Lilia did a double take dropping the ladle back into the pot much to Silver's chagrin.

“Hey Lilia I wasn’t through adding the-“ Silver started but he was drowned out by Lilia yelling the next sentence.

"Hold it you're WHAT?!" He yelled running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah the you of this universe said that someone brought me here magically. Apparently this universe has magic. I guess that explains why the four idiots I was fighting kept summoning rope to tie me up with or whatever." Malleus explained

Lilia just stared at the wall in front of him. “I told you a hundred times—" he muttered.

"I..." he started as he realized his mistake.

“And still,” he started calmly. "YOU GOT INTO ANOTHER FIGHT?!"  Lilia raged.

"No! No I did not get into another fight! I was using that as an possible explanation as to why my arm is blee--" he futilely defended and Lilia handed the phone to Silver who had to put down the chili power to take the phone.

"You got into another fight" Silver deadpanned.

"The good news is I won?" Malleus offered.

“So he admits it. I guess I should be happy he made it to this alternate realm in one piece.” Lilia sighed. He was going to have a long meeting explaining where Malleus was with Sir Malorie Draconia. Malleus being on a alternate universe…

Weren’t there repercussions for that?

What would happen if he stayed too long?

On the upside depending on how long he was there he’d have to stay home to catch up on his homework which meant he could have a better eye on him…

Maybe this would teach him a lesson not to go running off all the time.

"All right" Lilia accepted the phone again. Silver in response focused more on the chili he was making.

"Okay...?" Malleus asked nervously it sounded. Maybe his alternate self was present.

"I can't argue with you now. First thing tomorrow is informing the school you will be absent... Indefinitely. Next is getting you back home. Something I suspect will not be as easy. I will go on and inform Sebek, and your friends as to where you are it's only fair after all." Lilia sighed. ‘Raising children is hard'

"You're taking this surprisingly well" Malleus commented.

"So are you" Lilia replied ignoring Silver's yelling about ruining the meal he was making by pouring a jar of jalapenos in.

"Only because it hasn't sunk in yet" Malleus sighed and was about to hang up, but then Lilia requested go speak to the Lilia of the new universe Malleus Alter was trapped in.

Malleus was about to hang up but Lilia stopped him. “I want to speak to the other me if he’s there,”

"I have some advice and a warning" Lilia started, internally thinking it would be interesting and strange to talk to another him.

"What a strange thing, talking to myself” the other Lilia commented immediately voicing his own thoughts. If he wasn’t mistaken the other Lilia sounded younger. Like how he imagined his voice did when he was in high school or around that age. He’d have to ask another time.

"Heh it is kind of odd I admit." Lilia smiled getting over shock that he was talking to himself. "But still I want you to keep him safe, don't let him get into any fights, if you can help it. Take care of him as I know you will" Lilia let a bit of confidence seep through his words.

"And the warning?" The other Lilia asked. Amusement creeping into his tone.

"If Malleus says ‘I'm going for a walk' no matter what don't let him leave your sight! It's basically code for 'I am going to cause mayhem that will result in involving the police!'" He stated with the utmost urgency. He didn't know if the Malleus of that universe had anything similar or not but it was best to warn him either way.

After he hung up he thought about it more.

A alternate world?

With magic?

How did he even get into that situation?

This was not going to be a pleasant meeting.. or report to give Sir Draconia.

But even so Silver visibly relaxed "I'll go tell the search party upstairs that they can stop 'looking for clues'." He commented. But then turned back.

Lilia looked down at his adopted son/trainee who  looked anxious which was rare for him. "So should we tell Sebek?" He asked looking up from the pot of chilli he was "watching Lilia make", more like preventing Lilia from tampering with. "In a minute," he gestured to his phone as if to say 'let me get permission first'.

Stepping aside Lilia placed a call to the Draconia estate. Immediately Sir Draconia's personal secretary Ptilol answered.

"Hello Ptilol, I request a meeting with Sir Draconia herself. It's about Malleus"

꧁❇♕︎❇꧂

"Well if you want someone to make sure I have a good understanding and stay out of trouble, why not someone like Azul?" Malleus Alter asked.

"Azul? What a odd question coming from you. I've never known that pup to do anything for anyone without getting something in return. If you want him to do such a heavy and taxing request I can only assume you have something he'd actually be interested in?" Crewel raised on of his eyebrows and Malleus was hit with a bit of nostalgia.

".." Malleus alter slowed down a bit thinking of his Azul. "Well no... Not at this moment" he sped and caught up with him again.

"I see. We'll have to ask a different pup to lend you some of his time." Crewel had something that resembled a smile on his face. 'Oh well it was worth a shot, guess I'll have to speak to Azul later. Not that this is a bad thing. How would I even initiate a conversation?' Malleus alter averted his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. 'Its not like I'm lovers with every version of Azul there is. It'd probably be extremely awkward between us for all I know'

Taking him to the library and approaching Master Trein who was sitting at the table topped with a stack of books.

"You're a bit later than I anticipated. Run into trouble?" He smiled. Riddle who was a few feet away turned and looked stunned.

'Malleus Draconia..?'

No… he didn’t have horns or slit pupil eyes. He was still intimidating in the distant loner kind of way and he did vaguely give off a dangerous vibe but that was because it was Malleus.

"No this pup just had a run in with Azul which he decided to get chatty with for some reason" Crewel folded his arms.

Malleus looked down over at Riddle and flashed a nervous  smile.

"Ah Presid-- I mean Rosehearts-! It's good to see you" Malleus Draconia #2 stated.

"Pardon my intrusion on your discussion, but Master Crewel, master Trein, could you perhaps explain this for me?" Riddle politely interrupted the conversation the two teachers were having. Malleus alter sat in the chair next to the one across from Trein.

"Riddle Rosehearts according to Lilia and Malleus's story, this is Malleus Draconia from a alternate universe. Until we return him home he'll be here. For a day or two we'd like you to explain the basics of our world as I'm sure Malleus alter is unfamiliar with them" Crewel suggested and Riddle almost dropped his pen, the one that was normally adorned in his pocket specifically adorned with a magestone.

꧁♕︎꧂

Traveling through the mirror to the Heartslabyul dorm Malleus Alter opened his mouth in glee as he stared at the beautiful scenery of the castle like building that was the dorm, the lush gardens and rosebushes.

"It's beautiful!"

Malleus alter looked at the cages filled with hedgehogs.

"Oh Hello" he smiled at the tiny adorable animals.

When Riddle glanced back he bit his tongue to keep from yelling at the sight. Cater smiled.  Malleus alter was being engulfed by several dozen of hedgehogs. He was laughing.

"Okay okay I know I didn’t have permission but.... as a afterthought... Hahaha.. I may have let out too many!"

Riddle glared at Malleus alter who fell over as two hedgehogs crawled into his vest.

"This is a photo op! Mind if I take a few pics and selfies, Draconia-san?" Cater asked holding out his phone as he observed Malleus alter be surrounded by hedgehogs.

“Malleus Draconia Alter, please separate yourself from the—" Riddle started and Trey flinched knowing soon he’d start yelling.

“Adorableness!” Malleus alter giggled happily. Unknowingly interrupting Riddle.

“Well that’s a sight you don’t see everyday,” Trey voiced drawing attention to himself meanwhile Cater took a selfie the first with Malleus more or less a laughing partial blur. The second was a lovely clear photo that if done right would sell for a lot of money or gain a lot of popularity but he needed Malleus’s permission to post it on Magicam.

Riddle and Trey helped Malleus alter up to his feet and gently put all the hedgehogs back.

Upon entering the dorm first Malleus alter took in the sight of the chaotically beautiful decor of the floor, walls and stairs and bookshelves.

"Wow I hope no one has a way to get alcohol at this school. Walking into this dorm will be a trip!" Malleus alter whistled.

Riddle looked aghast "alcohol in this dorm?! I forbid it!" He yelled and Malleus Alter smiled approvingly. "Always the role model aren't you President Rosehearts?" He smiled. Riddle flushed when he remembered who he was speaking to.

Cater followed and was trying to be calm and natural although human Malleus Draconia scared him more than the actual Malleus Draconia.

Cater could see a puzzle with Malleus face set in a calm neutral expression. The more he observed Malleus Alter the less he understood about Malleus as a person and the more puzzle pieces vanished.

“So riddle. You said we could stay here and trade stories? I’m guessing you want to know the difference between your world and mine.”

Malleus sat at Riddle’s desk and smiled twirling a standard red ballpoint pen around. “What do you want to know?”

꧁♕︎꧂

As a Bit of extra for the Japanese Twisted Wonderland Tsum Event:

Malleus alter: *seeing Riddle tsum*: wow Riddle didn’t think you could get any smaller

Riddle:

Malleus alter:

3 seconds later:

Malleus alter:* running down the hallway like his life depends on it* im SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY!

Riddle: DRACONIA!!

[maryrebeccawrites]

My Childhood Crush is a Selkie

See all available chapters here.

Chapter Five: Melancholic

My melancholy ate away like a dry rot. I consoled myself that he would leave before I knew it, and I could finally put this all away with at least a small sense of closure.

I did my best not to speculate about his new job and new life. He had been a bit cryptic about it all, which probably meant he was going to some lavish place to teach surfing lessons. It didn't matter anyway. Summer would be gone, and once again, so would he.

I busied myself with domestic tasks over my weekend. I did laundry and prepared meals for the week and scrubbed my sinks and my shower until the skin on my fingers cracked despite the humidity.

I swam a lot, about twice a day, but I didn't go to my little hidden cove where I had seen him. Instead, I drove to a farther beach with greater stretches of sand and anonymity. I didn't like that beach nearly as much as my own, but the Atlantic was the same, and the bracing saltwater was like a numbing balm that day.

I stayed in until I couldn't feel my skin. I let the salt scrape over my wounds and clean them out without a sting.

I tried not to think about Del's father, Edward Lennox, but it was difficult not to. He hadn't always been so neglectful.

A small sliver of memory revealed the day I had broken the chain on my favorite bicycle. I had been riding by, hoping to see Del. We didn't live in a residential neighborhood. All the houses on our road had been separated by thick mixtures of deciduous and coniferous forest, but the Lennoxes only lived about a half a mile away.

We were both only children, and our desire for companionship had brought us together outside the confines of the classroom, under which we were usually separate.

I remembered how disappointed I had been on that hot summer day, learning that Del had gone to visit his grandparents for the week. I was not someone who became easily bored, but I did become restless and lonely, even at the age of nine. My parents had already started leaving me home alone for long stretches of time.

I think Edward had seen that on my face. He informed me that he had just made a whole batch of cookies the day prior, and he had put them in the freezer. He was planning on making some homemade ice cream sandwiches for Del's return, but he could certainly spare a few.

I had been so upset by Del's absence that I had said my little no thank you and begun to peddle away, when the chain on my bicycle broke. In my frustration over my bicycle and my loneliness, neither of which I really understood the mechanics of, I had started to cry.

Mr. Lennox hadn't just fixed my bicycle for me. He had taught me how to fix it myself. And then we sat on the patio and ate frozen cookies together while he asked me about my summer plans and discussed the different varieties of dragonflies around us.

I saw the empty glass bottles in the lawn, but I didn't really understand their significance. My own father, forever disappointed about my gender and the fact that my mother couldn't have any more biological children, never would have shown his daughter how to fix a bicycle.

My own father never would have baked cookies, and he certainly wouldn't have thought to use them for ice cream sandwiches. My father did not care about dragonflies.

When I told Del about it later, he claimed that I had seen him on one of his good days, which were becoming few and far between. About a year later, there weren't many good days left at all. Edward was fired from his job dredging for oysters and scallops, and he spent most of his days in bed.

"I think he's always waiting for Mom," Del had told me. Del's mother, from what little I knew, was not returning. Del didn't even know her name, because any mention brought his father such immense pain. "I think he'll always be waiting for her."

Over time, Del began to take better care of himself, because he needed to. It was strange how similar yet opposite our homes were. Both of our mothers had left, when it was far more common to experience an absentee father, especially in our small town.

On the other hand, my father was a corporate lawyer. My mother had been a successful defense attorney. We never lacked money or food. But my parents would never look at me the way Edward looked at Del.

Even when he was many, many drinks in, he would still look at Del like he was the most precious thing in the world. On Del's behalf, I had grown so angry with Edward when I was little, but I understood a little now. I understood that alcoholism was a disease. I understood that even if it was his responsibility to get better and take proper care of his son, it wasn't all his fault. I understood that my own parents had no such excuse.

In the waves of the freezing sea, much farther out than I should have been, I tried to let all those wounds go cold and clean as well, but some cuts are just a little too deep.

🌊🌊🌊

It was a Thursday, and Sophie had been uncharacteristically quiet ever since returning from lunch. I wasn't one for prying, but she was starting to worry me. We finally had a lull in customers, and I turned my head to her as I rearranged the earring display. "What's wrong?"

It wasn't tactful, but it was effective.

Her eyebrows hiked, obviously unaware of the little storm cloud that appeared to be over her head. "Oh, it's really nothing.

Ruth just texted again about stopping the sales. I just... I thought I might have some kind of future working at this place, you know?

"You should just start your own place, honestly," I said.

She let out a little laugh. "What, and compete with business here?"

"Please, you'd blow her out of the water. It's not like you signed a non-compete agreement, right?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I just don't know where I'd start the business or how I'd even afford it."

I was about to offer a myriad of ideas, and she must have seen them coming, because she waved her hand. "Let's just not talk about this right now, okay?

I put my hands up.

But she still continued to look very, very deep in thought.

"There's something else, isn't there?" I asked.

She didn't say anything.

I raised my eyebrows in question.

"I just ran into Quinn during lunch," she said.

My heart thrilled strangely, but not because of Quinn. I waited for Sophie to elaborate. "He invited me to join his crew Saturday night. They're going to be at some cabin he's renting out. I always wonder where his family gets all their money."

"They're probably invested in some really popular cereal brand. Or maybe they dabble in art forgeries," I said. "Best not to ask questions."

Sophie gave a weak smile, but she didn't relent. She was waiting for my real opinion. I sighed.

"You should definitely go. They seem like a fun crew," I said.

"Well, the thing is, Quinn wants you to go as well," Sophie said. "And so do I." The unspoken suggestion, of course, was that Del would be there.

"I'm hanging out with Katrina Saturday night," I said. Katrina was a high school friend that I wasn't that close with anymore, but I was hoping to change that. I had texted her the day after the party. If I was struggling to make new friends, then I might as well strengthen some of my existing friendships. It had been difficult to get a hold of her though. The last time we had tried to arrange something, she had canceled at the last minute.

"Just come Sunday then," Sophie said. "They're going to be there all weekend."

I sighed. "Sophie, you know that I can't. And this isn't just me being antisocial. I really, really can't." In combination with the heat, the stress of the situation was making me sweat, the beads running down my back. I turned up the air conditioning.

"I know it's difficult with Del and everything, but I just think it would be so much fun regardless. Besides, you said that you wouldn't be actively avoiding him. You just don't want to hang out with him one-on-one. That's what you said, right?" Sophie asked, eyes hopeful.

"Sophie," was all I could say. It wasn't really like her to push me like this, but I didn't allow myself to get upset. I knew she was frustrated about Ruth.

"There will be at least seven of us there. Plenty of buffers," Sophie said.

I shook my head vehemently. "I'm afraid this isn't one I can be convinced of."

🌊🌊🌊

Unfortunately, it didn't end up taking much to convince me. Saturday evening rolled around. Sophie had given me the address for the cabin in case I changed my mind, and I had nearly deleted it. But I didn't.

The moment I returned to my apartment, I looked at my phone to see a message from Katrina. She wasn't feeling well and would need to reschedule. I only had the energy to respond okay.

If she was sick, then it wasn't her fault, but I had the sneaking suspicion that she wasn't. I drew all the blinds and stripped off all my clothing and sank into bed. It had been a busy day, and I initially decided to take this as a blessing in disguise.

I didn't need more friendships. I needed rest after an incredibly long day of dealing with entitled customers and trying not to think too much.

I queued up a show on my laptop that was certain to make my mind go blank, but that only worked for a couple of hours. I was facing a wall with an old wooden bookshelf containing rows upon rows of books. In the glow of the laptop, which spilled over most of the room as the sun went lower in the sky, my gaze ran over the titles.

Many of them were about environmental activists and climate change. A few of these were of my own selection, but some were gifts from distant relatives, who latched onto the notion that I was interested in the environment for birthdays and Christmases.

There were also a few from college, which possessed more scientific and legal jargon. One in particular detailed the various laws that currently protected the oceans.

Staring at the books that were supposed to be my future sent a wave of unease through me. They called me back to the days when I was so certain I would be studying environmental law by now. I began to feel sick.

The show I had been watching no longer brought any comfort, and I sat up in bed. It wasn't that I never thought about these things before, but I was often able to shove them to the back of my mind. My current situation pulled everything to the forefront.

I was young, and I was lying in bed on a gorgeous summer evening, letting the minutes pass by, never to return. I knew that feeling guilty wouldn't help anything, but the sudden bite of inadequacy was so deep that I could barely catch my breath. It wasn't just that I wasn't in law school. It was that I wasn't doing anything interesting at all.

It would have been one thing if I had been traveling the world with friends and partying and experiencing the final years of my youth, but I wasn't. I would have no stories to tell. The cold, empty void I'd felt since childhood seemed to yawn within me. It had always been there, and I had simply grown accustomed to it.

I rose to my feet. Lethargy had taken over my limbs and my torso, but I peeled back the blinds. This window revealed the street, and I could see the people bursting from the restaurants and ice cream shops, all of them seemingly blissful in their unity under the golden hour before sunset.

I knew it was a bit of an illusion. Some of those people were just as lonely as I was. It was hard to believe that though.

I didn't know much, but I did know that this couldn't continue like this.

With a sigh, I looked down at my phone. I had no messages. There was no one trying to reach me.

But that wasn't entirely true. There were people trying to reach me, and I was busy pushing them away.

I yanked back the blinds with a wince to allow the sun to gild my little room, which had become a bit of a cave once my urge to clean had passed.

It lit up all the dirty dishes and laundry that had piled up throughout the week, but I tried not to let it make me feel worse.

The loneliness already had me in its grip, filling me with strange desperation as I pulled on a bikini and a white sundress. I brushed my hair and put on earrings and sandals, and I packed some more clothes in a little bag.

I reached down to my phone and opened my chat with Sophie. I'm coming, I texted her.

Maybe I didn't have the energy to have the future I wanted, but I could at least have something, even if it wasn't Del—even if I didn't know exactly what it was. I would still reach for it, at least for once.

[rainbowtesttube]

I may not be fully  understanding this, but wanted to look into the scientific literature a little bit and in my few minutes of reading, wanted to share the neat stuff I saw. It includes some clarification, a bit on the original paper this was from, and a pinch of Scientific Drama:

Vitrification, or the ‘turning to glass’ part, seems to refer to freezing something really quickly, so that the  water molecules  don‘t have time to form  ice crystals--

(Side note: on the scale of cells, ice crystals are big pokey things that rupture membranes and make it so many tissues and creatures in general do not appreciate being frozen. Ice crystals are also why meat tastes different after being frozen (ruptures cells), and accumulated ice crystals from multiple refreezings are why ice cream gets less creamy the longer you keep it in your freezer and the more times you take it out and put it back. But back on topic--)

Vitrification: water freezing so fast it doesn‘t form ice crystals, and instead it ‘solidifies into a glass-like structure.’ So if you were thinking these water bears were becoming the same glass as heated-up sand,  no, they just seem to be freezing in a more-ordered way that keeps their cells from lysing (or being ruptured).

I didn‘t take too much time to look through the original Boothby et al paper from 2017 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1097276517301338), which I think this article is getting its info from, because there was that lovely thing that happens in scientific discussions:

Disagreement. Discourse. A reply to this paper, in 2021, from some folks with some different thoughts on the matter: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1097276520308996

The authors of the  reply paper (Arakawa and Numata) are very respectful, and apparently reached out to Boothby et al to compare results in their consideration of an alternate hypothesis. (So not that much drama here, but it is fun nonetheless). From what I could understand (and this is not really my field of biology, but I did my best on a Tuesday evening), is that the method Boothby et al  used to measure how well tardigrades survive desiccation (depletion of water, like when the pond they’re in dries up or they get launched into the vacuum of space by researchers) is not quite sensitive enough to match their explanation. For background, Boothby et al were investigating whether a particular group of disordered proteins (tardigrade-specific intrinsically disordered proteins (TDPs)-- biologists LOVE naming endless groups of proteins) contribute to survivial from desiccation-- I think they did this by looking at 1) the ability of tardigrades  to survive with and without these proteins and 2) the ability of non-tardigrades (bacteria and yeast, here)  to survive desiccation when these genes are introduced and expressed in them.

BUT! The method they used to measure this-- differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)--  turns out to not be sensitive enough in this context, not with the compounding factors of leftover water in these and similar samples. The authors of the reply paper say similar vitrification has been observed in many other proteins measured with DSC, including bovine serum albumin (BSA), aka THE generic protein in biology. The difference in DSC Boothby et al had observed was also only a few degrees Celsius-- not the most robust difference. So these TDPs are not necessarily involved in this process, at least as far as we can tell from the data reported so far, and vitrification may not be happening after all.  But, this is still closer to the answer than we were before and further research into these proteins sounds super cool!

I  encourage anyone reading this to not take my word for it and check  those other two papers out yourself if possible. Remember biology like this is like unearthing fossils, with many people  digging out new bones everyday and always finding new ways to put them together or figuring what they thought were horns are instead finger bones. Anybody claiming they’ve  got it all figured out from their  one new bone are either standing on the shoulders of a ton of previous research (bones previously assembled, in this metaphor) or they’re selling something (or a reporter saw something neat and ran with it). I don’t want to discredit anyone here, everyone is learning everyday and you’ve gotta at least try to sell your findings to keep getting funding and find jobs in this day and age. Hope this wasn‘t too long and winding, but wanted to share the bits of a neat story I  saw!

Good news! Not only have we discovered that tardigrades thwart destruction by turning themselves into glass, but we potentially have a future in which we can use their proteins to freeze-dry medications and vaccines to transport to disadvantaged communities!!

[httpdabi]

Break up

Summary: After having a messed up break up, your best friend Dabi is there to comfort you, and give even more than you asked for.

Word count: 5,2k

Genre: romance, smut, no quirks haha

Warnings: 18+, creampie, public sex, spitting, choking..

,, I fucking hate him’’ you cried loudly, mouth full of ice cream as you talked to your cousin over the phone. At this point you didn’t care of how loud you were, and you didn’t care about the fact that your cousin had a hard time understanding you since you were a crying mess. Sobbing loudly, you ignored the words coming from the other line.

,, That bitch cheated on me with Toga, can you believe that?’’ you sobbed, tears rolling down your cheeks as you wrapped yourself with your favorite comfort blanket.

,, The girlie with weird hair ?’’ your cousin asked in shock.

,,YES, the fuck she thinking she’s the fifth element with that hairstyle?’’ you choked out, throwing the empty package across the room, as your cousin giggled because of your remark. She wished she was closer so she could pay you a visit, but sadly miles and miles were separating the two of you.

Sure, the first person you wanted to inform about your breakup was Touya, but you couldn’t force yourself to bother him, knowing he’s probably on work. You knew very well that he would drop everything and come over, saying how he doesn’t feel well or some other shit, and you didn’t want that.

After the call ended, you stood up, ignoring your reflection on the window, knowing very well that you look like shit right now with all the smudged mascara over your face. Tears started rolling down your cheeks even more when you saw that there’s no ice cram anymore. What did you do to deserve such a torture.

Wearing your hoodie, you made your way toward the nearest store, ignoring the people that were giving you weird stares because of your silly Sailor Moon pajama shorts. You couldn’t care less of what anyone thought in that moment.

You went to the store with the intention to buy ice cream, only to end up in the part of it with variant different choices of hairdye. So many ideas were going thru your mind, as you looked all over it. You almost ended up buying the pink dye and some bleach, until you saw scissors hanging beside the bleach.

Grabbing the scissors only, you hurried up to pay everything you chose, rolling your eyes shamelessly as you saw Rumi, the cashier of the fucking day. For some weird reason, you almost hated the muscular bitch. Maybe it was because she never had the exchange to give you back, giving you a pack of gums instead. Maybe it was because of her attitude, always giving you some smart comments, how your skirt is too short, how there are kids here, or even because she always rolled her eyes when she saw you coming in.

,, Looks like someone had a rough day’’ she commented sarcastically, as you gave your best to keep calm and ignore her. After the comment, she shut her mouth and did her job.

,, Sweetie, can you help?’’ she asked, suddenly with a cute tone, when her co-worker asked her to bring him few paper bags that were beside her.

,, No, you are doing great’’ you spat, grabbing all of the items as you hurried out of the store. The fuck would you help her? She’s getting paid for it, not you. Stupid bitch.

Placing the ice cream into the freezer, you immediately made your way to the toilet as you unpacked the scissors almost aggressively. Why would you dye and ruin your hair with bleach, when you could just cut off a bit of your hair, which meant the exact length of his dick.

Your hair was already long, and the fact that his dick wasn’t that big meant that you would only cut few inches. After short calculating, you grabbed the scissors, as you turned some silly tutorial on Youtube. Watching yourself in the mirror, you cried even harder, not because you regretted your decision. It was more because you looked like a lunatic.

After you finished, you immediately washed your face, cleaning all the ruined make up. Sure it didn’t look like a professional person did your hairstyle, but it didn’t look bad either, in fact, you liked it.

Since you weren’t in the mood to do your make up, you only put a bit of face cream over your face, and bit of mascara to make your eyes pop up a bit, before you took few selfies to post on instagram.

You were too lazy to do it, all you wanted to do in the moment was cry some more and eat ice cream you just bought, while watching something on Netflix. But you had to do it, you had to embarrass him as much he embarrassed you.

,, Not gonna miss those 5 inches, Kai.’’

You wrote, laughing ironically at the caption under your selfie. It wasn’t the best selfie you ever took, but at least you didn’t look like you were suffering because of the breakup, and the much shorter hair was visible on it.

[cyxnaf] Touya Todoroki

,, What happened?’’

It wasn’t even a minute since you posted your photo on the instagram, and your best friend already messaged you there.

Bitch cheated on me

You replied, sending him a crying selfie, with a spoon in your mouth.

[cyxnaf] Touya Todoroki

I’ll be there in 15 mins

A smile crept on your face, as you read his message. You loved him more than anyone or anything else on the whole word. If it was someone else coming over, you would probably force yourself and clean the apartment. But since it was Dabi, you didn’t give a shit.

The moment he arrived, you started bawling your eyes out. Having a face to face conversation with someone, talking about the break up made your feelings awake again. Dabi in other hand tried to make you feel better, bringing you your favorite snacks, and trying to put Kai down.

,, I’ve never had drama, unless it’s with my inner self’’ you cried loudly. ,, And all of sudden, I’m being cheated on.’’ Adding you grabbed the chips from the paper bag and opened it almost aggressively. Touya laughed you out, pointing every drama you’ve been connected to.

,, Stop it, you’re supposed to make me feel better’’ you slapped his arm lightly, as he talked about the drama that happened back in high school, when you got into a huge fight with a girl that called your dog a rat.

Once Touya realized that your mood was only getting worse, he turned some documentary on Netlfix that he started watching few days ago, explaining everything about it to you. You couldn’t help but smile, as you listened to him explaining every small thing, making sure you won’t be confused once he plays the episode.

,, You only watched few episodes of one murder documentary and you think you’re Mr. worldwide intellectual.’’ You laughed, as he tried to explain professionally.

,, The fuck you talking about ? The only documentary you watch is Keeping up with the Kardashians, so shut the fuck up’’ he spat, rolling his eyes playfully as he played the documentary.

The thing he played was about some murder, nothing you would watch on your own, but you didn’t mind. Seeing him talk about it so excitedly made your heart warm and in that moment you didn’t care if you won’t be able to sleep next few days.

You always loved spending your time with Touya, you simply loved how even when none of you had something to say, the silence was never uncomfortable. Even just sitting with him was making you feel safe.

,, You really choped your hair’’ he said, as he started to play with your hair. Being tired from all the crying and with his gentle movements, you were not capable of replying, simply nodding your head in response.

,, It looks good on you’’ Touya complimented you, placing a soft kiss on top of your head. He noticed that you were zooming out, so he just continued to caress your, helping you fall asleep.

All the horrible thoughts he had washed away, once he saw your sleeping face. He could only smile to himself as he noticed how puffy your face got from all the crying. Sure, it wasn’t that visible, but he simply noticed it and found it more then cute.

He tried to act calm and suppress his feelings, he tried to be there for you, but when you talked about what happened, all he wanted to do was find that piece of shit of your ex and simply kill him. He couldn’t understand how did you always manage to find some weird boyfriends that didn’t appreciate and treat you as you deserved.

If you only gave him a chance, he would always be there for you, he would simply give you anything you wished for. Touya never understood how could you be so blind, never once did you notice his feelings for you. Never once did you question his behavior.

Every time you called him over, he would ditch all his plans and run to you. Every time you needed something, you knew very well that only Touya will help you 100%.

You woke up in your bedroom, a little bit confused about what time it was and if your best friend was still there. Taking your phone to check what time it is, your eyes widened when you saw a Instagram notification from Kai. That piece of shit had balls to like your photo.

Throwing your phone away, you started crying again, wishing the day you met him never happened. You wished you listened to your best friend when he told you that Chisaki ain’t the one for you.

,, You ok?’’ you heard Touya’s voice under the loud TV noise. In just a second he was beside you, warming your body with his own and wrapping his arms around you, telling you how everything is ok and how he’s there for you.

,, Come on, stand up’’ Touya commanded suddenly, forcing your upper body up. ,, We are leaving’’ he added, forcing you out of the bed. You were too confused to even think at that very moment, but you found yourself following his lead. Wearing one of your very oversized shirt that covered more than enough, you hurried out of your bedroom to Toyua who was waiting for you already all ready.

You didn’t know what was happening, and the pack of eggs in his hand was confusing the shit out of you, yet you found yourself in the passenger seat, doing whatever Touya planned at that moment.

,, Where are we going ?’’ you asked, tears long gone.

,, We’re egging his car’’ he said, as your eyes widened in shock.

,, Is that even legal?’’ you asked again, already all excited about it.

,, Nope’’ Touya laughed out, focused on the road. You were sure that Kai would know it was you, definitely. But he also won’t have balls to call the police on you, since you knew about all his dirty deeds, you knew about all the drugs he’s taking and having hidden somewhere in his house.

Kai didn’t live far away from you, so in only few minutes of drive the two of you found yourself in front of his car. Lighting one cigarette, Dabi took the paper that was placed on the windshield.

,, Stop perking on my spot’’ Dabi read out loud, pointing out the word he wrote wrongly. You laughed loudly as you remembered about Kai telling you about some dude parking his Motorcycle in front of his car, making it hard to get out of the spot for him.

,, He can’t write, but he can do meth I guess’’ you laughed, as Touya puffed on his cigarette.

You stood there close to Kai’s car, as you waited for your best friend to finish his cigarette. It was a quiet night, with no people around at all. Maybe it was the adrenaline that was rushing in your blood, or the fact that you spent all day crying like a mad person, but in that very moment all you felt was anger as you thought about your ex.

,,Here’’ Touya gave you the package, still smoking that cigarette. You weren’t sure if he took his time with cigarette or if the time was simply passing so slow for you, since he was a pretty fast smoker.

To his surprise, you grabbed one egg and immediately threw it on his car, making him rise his eyebrows and laugh in shock. You never did something like that before, so you didn’t really understand why the alarm didn’t go on. Was your throw too weak?

A huge grin formed on your lips as you threw another egg, you couldn’t stop the evil laugh as you watched the egg yolk all over the window and in that moment you wished you had rotten eggs instead. Watching you happy like that, Touya couldn’t hide his smile. He was almost sure that everyone could read his emotions, he was sure that everyone could say how much in love he was with you.

You were on your fourth egg when Touya took one from the package and threw it. You weren’t sure if he threw it with much more force, or if he already did this before, but when the egg hit the car, loud alarm took over the peaceful night.

,, Shit, we have to hurry’’ Touya said under his breath as both of you threw one more egg. Sure, Kai won’t call the police, but if someone else saw you, they sure will.

You were laughing loudly, as you took your last egg, ready to throw it while Touya explained to you at what you should aim for.

,, HEY’’ you heard a familiar voice, coming from the building you used to spend so much time in. Not even turning around, you threw the egg and rushed to Toyua’s car, hopping fast into passenger seat. The moment Kai got out, everything happened too fast.

You wished you could take a photo of his upset face as he looked over your car. You were sure that you never saw him mad like that.

,, YOU FUCKING SUCK’’ he yelled once he turned the alarm off, while Dabi was ready to drive off, laughing loudly with you.

,, AND YOU SWALLOW BITCH’’ you yelled, popping your head thru the window. Touya gave you a bit time to flip him a bird, before he drove fast off, leaving your ex boyfriend pissed on the road. Laughing loudly, you leaned back into the seat, satisfied with the little event your best friend thought of.

,, You are seriously the best’’ you said, still smiling widely. Touya nodded his head, focused on the road. Every time he took a look of you, his heart would skip a beat. He was so fucking glad that you weren’t sad anymore, at least not for now.

You weren’t sure what had he planned next, since he wasn’t driving back home, but you didn’t care. You enjoyed his company, and you enjoyed the fact that you felt nothing else beside happiness in the moment. It was weird how fast emotions were taking over you. Just one hour ago you were a crying mess, and all of sudden you found yourself enjoying the night with your best friend.

You didn’t even realize how hungry you were, until Touya stopped by McDonalds to buy some food. Once he came back, placing the milkshakes and paper bag into your lap, you almost started drooling from the delicious smell.

He parked on the spot beside lake, where the two of you usually come to chill a bit. The music played on the low as the two of you ate slowly and talked about casual stuff. The moment a song from the famous tiktoker started playing in the background, you wished your hands weren’t so oily from the food. You wanted to change the song, but you didn’t want to make your phone oily, you weren’t even sure why you had that song in your playlist after all.

,, Does this song bother you?’’ he asked, taking a sip from his milkshake.

,, Yeah there’s a word that’s pissing me off’’ you rolled your eyes in annoyance.

,,Which one?’’ he asked confused.

,,When she says This ain’t build a bitch, you don’t get to pick or choose, what she should have said is nothing and just never release that stupid song’’ you hissed, wiping your hands as you changed the song that was pissing you off so much.

,, You are so cute’’ he complimented you, as both of you placed the rest of the food in the paper bag. Everything you did was cute to him, the was you sneeze is cute to him, the way you rise your brows when you are surprised, the way you laugh at your own jokes sometimes. Everything.

,,Did you know that Yumi got pregnant ?’’He asked you suddenly. Your eyes widened in shock, as you heard him ask, not because it was weird or anything like that, the two of you always gossip, but because you knew Yumi so well. You weren’t best friends with her, but the two of you would casually meet up.

,, Wasn’t she on the pills?’’ you asked, covering your mouth with your left hand. ,, Oh fuck no, I don’t claim this negative energy’’ you gasped shaking your head as Dabi laughed at your sudden reaction.

Talking about pregnancy and sex, you found yourself thinking about the last time you slept with your ex. You didn’t feel any sadness, all you felt was disappointment and anger. Just the thought that he was the last one inside you was making you mad, and the fact that only god knows when will you sleep with someone again was making you mad even more.

It’s not that you were a prude, or that you had something against one night stands. Sure, you could install Tinder and just find a quick fuck, knowing very well that the thought will bother you until the problem in your head is solved. But you weren’t the one to jump under the covers with a complete stranger.

,, What’s up?’’ Dabi asked once he saw you confused and lost in your thoughts. Hearing his voice, a sudden idea popped up in your head. You shook your head, trying to not think about it. He is your best friend for fucks sake, you can’t use him for something like that.

,, Nothing’’ you shook your head once again, trying to avoid his eyes.

,, Oh come on, tell me’’ he said stubbornly, as he placed his cigarette between his lips.

,, You know, the fact that Kai was the last person I had sex with, and the fact that I don’t know how long it will stay that way is bothering me’’ you confessed, skipping the part with the rest of your thoughts.

,, and you thought I could help you with it’’ Touya joked, as he puffed on his cigarette.

,, How did you know?’’ You asked way too fast, regretting it almost immediately once he almost choked onto the air and the smoke of his cigarette.

,, You can’t be serious’’ Touya said under his breath, closing his eyes as he spoke those words out. You weren’t sure why, but your heart sank a bit once you heard him say that.

,, Ah come on, it can be a quick fuck, it won’t change anything between us’’ he whined, turning your body to his direction. Once you said that, Touya grabbed you and forced you into his lap. You were more then shocked by his action, but you still positioned yourself comfortably in his lap, not sure if you should say anything or just wait..

,, You think I’ll be able to go back after it ?’’ he asked, one hand holding your waist firmly, and other holding his cigarette. ,, Doll, you should know better than anyone that I don’t do quick fucks’’ he added, as his grip got stronger. You weren’t sure if you should be embarrassed or not, but you felt uneasy at that moment, not sure where this all is leading.

,, If we do it now, there’s no going back doll, you’ll belong to me’’ he added again, as you sat in his lap confused. It was weird to hear him talk like that.

,, Touya, that can fuck up our friendship’’ you whispered. You were way too confused, not sure if he was talking about a relationship with you or just about you not sleeping with anyone else beside him.

,, And a quick fuck won’t do it?’’ he hissed, throwing the finished cigarette out of his window. He was right, both of it could fuck it up, and your idea was probably the worse option. The problem you had just few minutes ago was long gone, as new thoughts took over your mind. The fact that he was slowly placing soft kisses all over your neck didn’t help the situation, and the fact that you tiled your head to the side to give him more access to it didn’t help either.

You weren’t sure if you were simply too horny in the moment and if emotions took over you, but one part of you wanted to give it a try, yet another part of you was simply too scared of losing him. You did think about it before, how lucky can a girl be to call herself his girlfriend!? He’s not like other guys, at least not to you. He was always so caring, so gentle and so loving with you. He was the one who was always there for you, and in fact, you were more than sure that if you two start something, you won’t end up being hurt. But the fact that your friendship was under a question because of it was making you scared. Touya is the only person you never want to lose, and he knew that very well.

,, What do you say doll? Wanna try?’’ he asked, as he kissed your jaw softly. You weren’t sure how were you even capable of thinking at all in that moment.

,, Yes’’ you breathed out, closing your eyes shut as you enjoyed his soft kisses. Could you really lose him? If you had to worry about it so much, you should worry about the very exact moment. Why wouldn’t the current event ruin your friendship, now that you know that he doesn’t really see you as a friend as much as you thought. If you start some kind of a relationship with him, and if it doesn’t work, the two of you could talk it out.

The moment you said yes, Touya grabbed your yaw with his right hand, brushing his nose with your own before he connected his lips with yours. Once you placed your hands on his cheeks, trying to get closer to him, he couldn’t help but smile into the kiss.

What really drove him crazy was you rolling your hips on him. The fact that you had nothing else under your oversized shirt than your favorite panties almost made him cum in that very moment. Breaking the kiss, he leaned back into the seat, as you tried to catch your breath. Touya pulled your shirt up, exposing your naked chest. Not wasting any time, he placed his left on your right boob, pinching and twisting your already hard nipple, while sucking the other one.

Just the feeling of his hot breath made you throw your head back, enjoying the sucking and squeezing he was giving you. You placed your hands on his shoulders, finding support in it. Every roll you did with your hips, was met with his own one, making you feel his hard erection under his sweatpants. A quiet moan escaped your lips when you felt him bite on your nipple few times before he got back onto sucking it again.

Touya pulled your hips up a bit, giving you a sign to stay in that position as he pulled his sweatpants and boxers down, just enough for his dick to spring up. You knew that he had a dick piercing, in fact, you were in the waiting room when he decided to get it, but you still were shocked. It looked so good, so attractive.

You wanted to get out of his lap, you wanted to taste him, but his hands stopped you. Pushing you back onto his lap once again.

,, You have no idea how much I love you’’ he said, brushing his lips on your own, as he pushed your panties to the side and rubbed the tip of his dick around your hole.

,, I love you too, so much’’ you confessed, kissing him softly, as the pink head of his dick slowly entered you, hands on your hips slowly leading you down onto his length, until he was all in.

,, I know’’ Touya smirked into the kiss, enjoying the warmth of your walls hugging his dick. The hands on your hips slowly started to lead your hips up and down. The pace was so slow you could feel every inch of his dick rubbing against your velvety walls. Touya wasn’t one to enjoy the slow pace that much, but with you it was something else. He wanted to feel you as much as possible, and pushing his dick so slow into you gave him that possibility.

Just thinking about how it finally happened almost made him cream inside you. Closing his eyes, he let you move up and down his dick on your own. When you nuzzled your head into his neck he almost lost it, holding your hips down for few seconds just to calm his dick down. The small I love you that you whispered into his neck all over again didn’t help either, making it hard for him to control himself.

His hand found its way under your shirt, while his lips were all over your neck now, leaving sloppy marks all over it. You weren’t sure what did you enjoy more, his lips and hot breath over your neck, sucking and biting it, his hand squeezing your left breast or his dick deep inside you rubbing against your cervix.

Even tho you were moving your hips so slow, every time you were pushing your hips down, his would move upward, snapping against you with a little force and hitting your cervix perfectly. The both of you were breathing heavily, enjoying every second of the slow sex you had.

Wrapping his arms around you, he pulled your body closer to his, as he started moving just a little bit faster. You squeezed your eyes shut, as you realized that your climax was getting closer and closer with every move. Touya noticed your breathing getting faster, and your walls hugging his dick tighter then before, as he pulled your body up a bit, pushing you against the steering wheel and giving himself more access to move and fuck you a bit faster and stronger then before.

Moaning loudly, you wrapped your arms around him as you came all over his dick, almost shocked that you came without any clit stimulation. Dabi didn’t stop fucking you, helping you ride off the hard orgasm that just hit you.

Once he was sure you were done, he sat down. He lowered his seat, as he changed the position, locking you under him. Without giving you a chance to understand anything, he pushed his dick inside you.

,, I’m not done with you’’ he groaned, as he started moving his hips at much faster pace then before. Instead of saying anything, you wrapped your legs around him, placing your hands around his neck and just kissing him again. You couldn’t get enough of him, and luckily he felt the same. Accepting everything you had to offer, gladly.

The slow and steady pace was long forgotten, as he fucked you into the seat of his car with much more force and at one ungodly speed. You were pretty sure that the car was moving with every move he did, and you were sure if someone happened to be near, they would know what’s going on, but that was the last thing you cared of.

You were a moaning mess under him, and he was no better than you. You were surprised when you felt his hand around your throat, holding you in one place and playing with your breath. Open your mouth for me was all he said, before you felt thick saliva in your mouth. When it started, you thought it would be only some vanilla sex, the last thing you thought was that he would end up choking you and spitting in your mouth.

If it was someone else, you would probably freak out, but since it was him, you only obeyed, mouth open and tongue out, giving him approval for more.

,,That’s my good girl’’ he said, as he spat into your mouth one more time, while his grip around your neck only grew stronger. He was moving at rapidly speed, his skin slapping against your own was louder than the music that was playing in the background.

You closed your eyes as you started catching your breath once his hand moved away from your neck. Touya couldn’t control himself anymore, grabbing the edges of the seat, as he fucked into you. The pain mixed with pleasure was too intense for you, but you are his good girl, and you are doing so great for him, he made sure you understood that, as he repeated it all over again, while fucking into you.

The moment you felt his fingers rubbing your clit in circles, all you could do was squeeze your eyes shut, moaning loudly, as he told you to cum all over his dick, so you did as you were told and that was enough for him to reach his own high. Few harsh moves and he found himself cuming deep inside you. Even Toyua doesn’t know how did he find the energy to tell you how good you are milking his dick, but he did.

Collapsing on top of you, he fucked his seed inside of you, making sure not a single drop will get outside of your tight little out, making sure none of it will go to waste.

,, You’re mine’’ he said, placing soft kisses all over your face, and you were his. You were always his and he was always yours.

You weren’t sure how long would it take you to get over your stupid ex, but you were sure that Touya will be there for you and help you out in every way he can. Starting from the moment the two of you left your apartment, to the very moment the two of you cuddled inside of his car, after one steamy sex. All you could think of was your best friend and what would future bring you.

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

Random Self-care suggestions from tired adults:

Brush your teeth, listen to me... you get one set of adult teeth and dentistry is expensive. And take your meds. And get vaccinated for the love of FUCK.

Pre-diced frozen veggies. Seriously, people, sometimes you can have all the ingredients, but a full sweet potato can just drain your willpower if its been a Big Day. Get yourself some pre-diced and/or frozen vegies an whack 'em in the freezer.

Canned Fruit / Fruit Salad Fresh fruit is great, but can be very anxiety inducing when you have a 20sec window to eat the damn thing... there is nothing inherently wrong with having some canned fruit around. IS it as fresh as it could be? No. But it's still fruit.

Change your pillows once per year (at least) Esp, if you have respiratory issues or sensitivities. After 12 months, you have dust, dustmites, their poop, dead skin, and all manner of body fluids (sweat, drool, tears, other) in them. CHANGE THEM.

Have a second bank account for savings You can slide two bucks in there each pay or whatever, but there is a level of stress that can be taken off knowing that if you suddenly have an unexpected household/vet bill or all your teeth turn into goblin scholars... you can at least make a downpayment for urgent support. And be open with a vet or dentist, bc mostly they have payment plan options as long as you can meet a minimum deposit. [There is VetPay in Australia, too, aparently]

Shopping list Your brain will be salsa by the time you get to 5pm or later most days, have a post it note with cryptic scribbles or maybe a stone tablet reminding you to complain about a certain merchant... it stops the "Ah, fuck... I forgot the..." moment. But also be nice to yourself. We all fucking forget something several times over, that's adulthood.

Basic Meds In your home, you should have some basic stuff in a first aid drawer. IF you're on a farm, you probs have one. Super stark basics are painkillers, bandaids, a bandage, tweezers, lozenges, hydralite or similar dehydration support, berocca or similar (similar for rehydration), cold and flu stuff, tissues, lipbalm and similar. Please be careful of using ibuprofen if you are on SSRIs.

Bulk / Reuseable If you use things like handsoap or laundry soup, you can get a BIIIIG bottle that refills the smaller ones several times over. It can be very helpful in the household if you can afford it.

Premade Meals Nothing wrong with something that can be bunged into the microwave or oven. Quick and easy still counts, and is better than hungry.

Variety Silly, but true. You will get bored of routine rapidly. A multipack of something with multiple options (eg. the little cereal packets of different kinds, chips, etc) can give soe general variety without making you go out of your way to make things Magical.

Make a Treat Put whipped cream on your ice cream. Put some jelly in the fridge and let it set so future you gets a snack. Buy the pre-made cookie dough and cook yourself something. Feels good to Make Things. Plus, a treat.

Do a physical craft, hobby or task. Especially if you are an anxious person, having a small task to do with your hands can and will help to ground you. Even if it is just a crossword puzzle in a magazine, etc. IT gives you a sense of achievement, releases physical tension, and you can make fun stuff. [ALSO: Make bad art / don't try to monetise your hobby See #5, but don't place expectations on yourself. IF you muck up five or twenty time sbut get it on the 21st? Hell yeah. >Listen to me, the people on etsy and similar sites? They spend a LOT of time and effort and money to create and provide those items. This is, in effect, mostly their Job. It's okay to just have something you do for fun, you don't need a side hustle! You don't have to turn every waking moment into profit! It will make you miserable.]

Do not listen to youtube ads / MLM propaganda All that bullshit about 'only work 4 hours and make $$$$' is MLM nonsense. It's a scam, ignore it. Also don't buy things that youtubers are made to shill to you... there' a bunch of good posts about how shitty those things are.

Work out a fragrance you like Get something that smells like it. Shower gel, soap, candle, one of those pillow sprays, etc. IT woill make you feel better.

Sheets Change them. Weekly. At the absolute max, fortnightly. I know it's a bitch and a half but there's nothing on earth like being showered and on clean sheet. 10/10 baby.

Water Drink it. If you can't stand base water, do not HESITATE to try the cold water steeping stuff, and if that's as weak as nun's piss to your tastebuds, try cordial.

Clutter Don't clutter your space up, you will start to feel overwhelmed and blocked in. Get all the fun tacky ornaments you want... but make sure there is somewhere for it. Use a second person as your "Do you REALLY need it?" guy, because your Want is not always a Need. Always think about a goofy purchase (for instance, a horse-sized snorlax plush is great in theory, but where would you put it?).

Delete Candycrush / Clash of Clans / Merge Games / the other games that demand constant attention and money They won't make you happy, they want your money, they want you desperate to spend real life cash to earn that sweet extra life for... no real payout. Yeah they can be fun but pay attention to your engagement with them. Some people have lost a LOT on those little apps, because they are literally made to be addictive.

Don't Wallow If you're in the dumps and cycling through stupid shit in your brain, tell it it's bullshit and go do something that takes focus. A puzzle, talk to someone. Go straight to be in a room with other people. Hell, go to the library and just be around people or chill at the park if you can. 20. Work out local supports Check out if there's a 24/hr servo in the area that you can access in an emergency. Know how to get to the hospital. Look into what local services there are around health, housing, community engagement

Don't kill (prank or otherwise bitch about on social media) your roommate/s No matter what they do, or how annoying they can be, they are not forever. Imagine it if you must, but look for other options and get out. None of those ridiculous passive aggressive prank wars or sniping on social media. Some people don't click well in an enclosed space, it happens, but you will look ridiculous if your every social media post is a rant against X, or you do things that can be considered offences against Y. I know tiktok and the youtube prank channels make this stuff look Interesting, but it isn't. Adulthood is compromise. SElf-care is reacting in the best way you can to bad situation, because unfortunately social media is literally impacting people's jobs.

Remember that there's nothing wrong with being solo There is a lot of pressure, and more than a few people have confessed feeling that they Should Be in a relationship or with kids by 25... but remember. You are you, and your journey through life is like no one else's. Jumping from relationship to relationship can cause more harm, especially if you haven't had time to find out Who You Are outside of a Couple (or more). There's time. You've got time guys. Remind yourself that no one knows what happens next, and its only in hindsight that the thread of your life becomes an intricate pattern of choices made, paths not taken, etc. None of it is inherently wrong, just things to wonder on... if you went with B not A, etc. --------\ add to this if you can think of something off the top of your head do feel free to ask if there's another way to do something or a way to make it self care... the sade truth of adulthood is that you can, and will, get excited to have new cleaning items and more efficient ways to do stuff

[londonalozzy]

Stop Pretending (TFATWS)

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Genre: Romance, Angst

Summary: The reader thinks she's doing a stellar job of keeping her feelings for a certain soldier buried deep inside. Turns out, all it takes is an observant new friend to begin the unraveling of her most precious secret (Spoilers for TFATWS)

Masterlist

Word: Pretence

Definition: A way of acting that is intended to deceive people.

Example: Saying that he's just a friend when he's really the love of your life.

Your POV

Being caught in the midst of war is something that I, (Y/N) (Y/L/N)  know all too well. As a war vet, former shield agent, and now Avenger I'm used to being centered amongst conflict. When the fight begins within me though, a battle between what I want and what I think is right, how will I react? Will I listen to my heart, my head, or will the winner be chosen for me?

Delacroix, Louisiana.....

I love my sleep, always have, always will. It's not necessarily the comfort of the bed, the quiet or even the rest. It's the fact that I'm at peace when I sleep. My life has a tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, so anything that will put that off for as long as possible I savor.

I wish it were the same for a certain super soldier in my life. I look forward to going to bed, everything calms down then, and for most people it's the same. For Bucky however, it's when everything starts, the nightmares, the terrors, the seemingly unending darkness. If only I could take his pain away like he has with mine.

For the last few weeks, my life had, for want of a better word, been hectic. Hectic to say the least.

After the eventual defeat of Thanos and the loses we endured as a result, I thought naively that life might calm down a bit, that I'd have time to breathe, to live. How wrong I was.

It all began with John Walker being announced to the world as the new Captain America.

I was baking cookies with Morgan in the Stark family kitchen when it came over the radio. As that latest turn of events sunk in, my first thoughts were of Bucky, what that would do to him. Not even an hour later I had said my goodbyes and was on my way to help him get the shield back.

Since then even more had happened. We'd regrouped with Sam, busted Zemo out of prison which in turn ruffled the feathers of Ayo and the Dora Milaje. We came face to face with Morgenthou and the Flag Smashers, and finally witnessed the man who thought he could even compete with Steve, make himself judge, jury and most significantly executioner.

After that went around the world we knew we had to end it sooner rather than later. It couldn't get much worse than Captain America becoming a murderer. We got the shield back, which was a fight all in itself. Handed Zemo over to Ayo, to try and recompense for the distrust we'd instilled in the people who'd helped us so much. Then we travelled to stay with Sam and his family in Louisiana whilst we waited for Karli's next move.

This is where we found ourselves now, in the eye of it, the calm before the storm.

Waking up in the Wilson households guest room, I was greeted to the golden hue of the rising sun penetrating through the single glaze windows, and the melodic sounds of gulls on the hunt for their morning meal down by the docks.

Actually, no that's not right. What I could hear was most certainly not birds, and it was definitely not melodic. What were those boys doing?

Quickly and quietly I threw on the first clothes I could get my hands on and made my way downstairs towards the noise. What caught my attention when I discovered the source, was not the two youngest Wilson boys playing with our newly reacquired shield in the living room, but the super solider who was blissfully ignorant to it all, sleeping peacefully on the couch in front of them. I don't think I'd ever been so happy.

"Right you two, if you're determined to play Avengers all morning then I suggest you re-assemble in the back yard. You're gonna wake Bucky up," I whispered out in one breath, stepping between the boys, then placing my hands on their backs and tip toeing them towards the door.

"So what if we wake him up? It's gone 10am," Cass questioned in protest, pulling on his sneakers and jacket.

"Exactly! Which is why if you do as I say, I will make you the biggest plate of waffles for breakfast that you've ever seen."

The boys eyes lit up. "Can we have ice cream with it? Mum never lets us have ice cream for breakfast, and I'm sure there's a tub of Stark raving hazelnuts in the freezer," AJ clapped in muted excitement. "Oh, for God's sake.....Yes. You can have whatever you want if you get out of this house now and keep the noise down."

Once the boys were outside, I made my way over to the kitchen, stopping on the way to lean over my favourite senior citizen and make sure that he was still peaceful in his slumber. He'd never looked so relaxed, so at ease. It was a brand new Bucky I'd never seen before, a Bucky that had my heart pounding for him even more than it normally did. Not that he knew any of that.

Half an hour later and up to my elbows in waffle mix, I failed to notice my new friend and host Sarah making her way to my side at the counter, the huge smile on my face not going unnoticed. "What's got you grinning like the Cheshire cat, like I need to ask?"

"Bucky's sleeping. Isn't it amazing?" I spoke softly, bouncing up and down on my feet as I did so.

"And why is that?" She couldn't looked more confused if she tried.

"In all the years I've known him, I don't think I've ever woken up before he has. If his nightmares don't keep him awake all night, they normally have him up before the crack of dawn. I don't think I've ever seen him so still."

"Good answer," Sarah nodded in a hush, understanding why this meant so much to me, but not done yet with her morning interrogations, "Now on to my next question......"

"I'm already not liking the sound of this."

"Sleeping Beauty over there follows you around like a little puppy dog. He hangs on your every word, looks at you like you hung the stars or something. It's pretty obvious how crazy he is about you, so when are you gonna stop pretending that you're not head over heels in love with him?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Wilson," I smiled forcefully, making out like the waffle maker deserved my attention way more than the conversation I was being made to have.

This was all Sam's doing, without a shadow of a doubt. He'd tried to have this conversation with me on multiple occasions and I shut him down every time. He obviously hadn't given up like I thought he did, and decided to draft in his sister. He is seriously gonna regret it when I find him.

"Sure you know what I'm talking about. Sam sees it, I don't even know you that well and I see it. The only reason Bucky doesn't, is because he doesn't believe he could ever be that lucky. You're a smitten kitten." These Wilson's are all as annoying as each other.

Knowing I wasn't getting out of this one, I grabbed Sarah by the arm and pulled her right into the corner of the room, trying my best to keep this convo as private as possible. "Look, I'm not pretending.....I'm ignoring. There's a difference."

"Care to explain what that difference is?" Sarah spoke softly, but with a sarcastic air.

Turning to look over my shoulder at the subject of our conversation, making sure he was still safely in the land of nod, I decided to just be honest. Sarah was much like her brother. Once she wanted to get to the bottom of something she wasn't about to give up.

"I love Bucky, more than I've ever loved anyone...and that terrifies me," the rawness of finally being honest making my voice shake, and tears come to my eyes. "Nat was like my sister, and she's dead. Tony was the closest I've ever gotten to having a Dad...and he's dead too. Then there's Steve, Vision, God knows where Wanda is....Everyone I love, either leaves or dies. If I admit my feelings for Buck then I face the risk of losing him too."

"Do you have any idea how crazy you sound right now? He's not going to die because you love him (Y/N)."

Silent tears were falling now. I was revealing my deepest fears to a woman I'd only known a few days, and I'm not underplaying it when I say it was like a colossal weight off my chest, a release I didn't know I needed. "Believe me...I know, but I can't take that risk. I can't lose anyone else, especially not him."

"Let's just say for a second that you're right, that there is some higher power somewhere, set on destroying everyone you love. Do you really think ignoring your feelings is going to make them disappear?" I didn't know what to say to that. "Natasha and Stark died so that everyone could continue living, and (Y/N) you're not living as long as you keep this to yourself. They wouldn't want that for you."

"But what if I lose him?" I whispered with a choked sigh.

"Then at least he'll die knowing how you felt about him. After everything he's been through don't you think he deserves to know there's someone out there who loves him like you do?"

"Of course..."

Sarah's lips pulled upwards in a satisfied smirk, wrapping her arm around my shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze, "then you owe it to yourself, and to him, to tell him the truth."

"Why do all you Wilson's have to be so clever?" I voiced in mock irritation, pushing her away from me and acting like I was annoyed she had gotten one up on me.

"I don't know," she thought aloud and with a cheeky grin, grabbing a plate to start piling on the long forgotten waffles, "I think it might be the sea air or something."

"Nah, it's in the genes," I chuckled quietly, grabbing my jacket and deciding it was time to get this conversation wrapped up. "I'll go find Sam and the boys for breakfast. Clear my head a little bit."

"You promise you're gonna tell him?" Sarah stopped me as I went to push the door open.

"I'll think about it."

3rd person POV

Once (Y/N) was out of ear shot, Sarah couldn't help but start jumping up and down in excitement, clapping her hands loudly as she did so. That went even better than she thought it would, and she was so proud of herself. Sarah Wilson could now add matchmaker to her resume.

"Coast is clear Barnes. You can open your eyes now."

(Y/N) had no idea what she had metaphorically walked into just minutes earlier, entering that very revealing conversation with her overly inquisitive host.

What drew Sarah to come down that morning was the sounds of both the front porch door opening and the smell of homemade waffles wafting up the stairs. As she entered the kitchen she was met with two sights. One being (Y/N), facing the counter and looking very smiley, the other being a wide awake super soldier who was just laying on the couch and staring at her, the sole object of his affection. Sarah could work with this.

Every time (Y/N) turned back in his direction, Bucky would close his eyes and pretend to be asleep again. He had never slept so soundly, so peacefully, thoughts of (Y/N) and his new friends filling his nightmare free dreams.

He'd initially woken to (Y/N) ushering the boys outside because she was afraid they would wake him up. He didn't want to disappoint her by proving her right. Besides, he liked just watching her move around the kitchen, completely unaware he was observing her the whole time. He had no idea about the conversation that was just about to happen.

After (Y/N) had left and Sarah had confirmed so, Bucky sat himself up, his body shaking with adrenaline and a look of complete shock fixed on his face. Had he definitely woken up, or had the whole thing been a part of his dream? Did (Y/N) seriously just admit that she was in love with him?

Bucky didn't know how to react, didn't know what to say as he looked up at a smug Sarah from his spot. All he'd ever wanted was for (Y/N) to feel the same way about him as he did about her. Now he knew that she did.

"You're welcome by the way."

[doeeyeseddie]

i’ll make the moon shine just for your view

this is not a 5+1 fic, but it IS a fic about 5 times buck and eddie find comfort in each other. but mainly, it’s a birthday gift for @seacoloredeyes, happy birthday manon!!! i love you and i hope you love this 🥰❤️

Some calls are harder than others, and this one was particularly gutting - a car crash with multiple fatalities, some DOA but some not yet. Eddie will never get used to losing someone on a call, to doing everything you can and it still not being enough. They’re silent on the ride back to the station, the mood in the Engine subdued. Eddie stares out of the window and wishes the end of the shift was closer, so he could go home and hug Christopher. It’s the only thing that helps him feel better after a call like this, he thinks - but then Buck’s knee nudges against his and Eddie exhales. He nudges back until their legs are pressed together from hip to ankle and gives Buck a half smile. Buck’s gonna suggest they call Chris when they’re back at the station, and they’ll do it together, letting Christopher’s laugh push away the images in their minds for a while. It’ll be enough to tide Eddie over until morning, and he feels gratitude for Buck wash over him, gratitude to be understood, to be known like that. He leans over until their shoulders press together too, and feels a little lighter.

~

Buck winces when he goes to dry his face and the towel rubs against the swollen skin around his eye. That’s gonna bruise like hell, and it’ll look like he got into a fistfight. He finishes drying off and dresses in his uniform pants and t-shirt, then pulls the zip-up hoodie on on top because it’s warm and soft and doesn’t hurt when he puts it on, so it at least doesn’t make him feel worse, though it doesn’t do much to improve his mood either.

When he gets upstairs to the loft, it’s dim and quiet, so everyone must be in the bunk room. Buck doesn’t feel like lying down, not with the way the skin around his eye is throbbing, so he heads for the kitchen instead, planning to look for something to cool the bruise with.

“How’s your face?” a familiar voice asks behind him, and Buck only just manages not to jump.

“Jesus, man, you can’t sneak up on me like that, especially not on Halloween.”

Eddie laughs. “Were you hit in the face or the ear? I wasn’t quiet on the stairs.”

Buck rolls his eyes at him but even that hurts, so he winces again. Eddie’s face immediately flashes with concern.

“Did you put ice on it?”

“I was just gonna get that,” Buck says, but Eddie’s already rummaging through the freezer for an ice pack.

He pulls one out, wraps a clean towel around it and steps up to Buck, pressing the cool package to his face gently. “Hold that and sit down,” he says, “I’m gonna get the pain relief cream.”

Buck bites down on his smile and takes a seat at the table, sighing at the relief the ice pack brings. Eddie returns with a tube of pain cream and sits down next to him, eyes intense on Buck’s face in a way that makes him equal parts want to squirm away and lean in closer.

“I’m fine, Eddie. It’s just a little bruise.”

Eddie hums. “Let’s put this on it anyway, it looks like it hurts.”

It does hurt, and Buck can’t refuse Eddie anything, so he lowers the ice pack and sets it down on the table.

The legs of the chair Eddie was sitting on scrape across the floor as he pulls it out of the way and steps in between Buck’s legs. Buck stops breathing for a second and then forces himself to continue so Eddie won’t notice. He’s just doing this to put cream on Buck’s bruise. He cares, but he cares as a best friend. Buck can’t make this weird just because he recently discovered he may want to kiss said best friend.

Eddie cups his good cheek with one hand to tilt Buck’s head slightly, and starts applying the cream with the other hand, fingers soft and careful.

He’s close, and he’s so gentle that Buck’s heart squeezes painfully. Shit. When he looks up, their eyes meet and catch, neither of them looking away. Eddie’s hands are still on Buck’s face and Buck aches to touch him too, to reach out and pull him all the way in, to hold him.

But Eddie drops his hands and steps back, reaching for the ice pack next to Buck and handing it back to him.

“You should keep cooling it for a while,” he says. “Take this while I get you a new one.”

Buck nods mutely and swallows. He’s not sure what just happened.

~

Eddie hates funerals. Granted, so does everyone else, probably, but...they’re hard, for him. This is nothing like Shannon’s funeral, obviously, but Eddie’s been tense all day. Firefighter Sullivan from the 124 died in a structure fire a few days ago, and the A-shift from the 118 have collectively decided to pay their respects. Eddie didn’t know him well, they’ve only spoken a couple of times, but it’s always horrible to lose one of their own. And to see his wife and two teenage kids in the front row, knowing exactly what they feel like - it sucks.

He can’t focus on what any of the speakers are saying, just keeps staring at the coffin covered by the American flag. Eddie pulls on the collar of his shirt, feeling too hot in his dress uniform. His mind flits from Shannon, to the Army, to the very real possibility that something like this might happen to someone close to him one day, never settling on anything for long, a carousel of dread.

From next to him, Buck shoots him a worried glance and Eddie stops fidgeting, trying to pull himself together. He breathes slow and deep, counting to five with each in- and exhale. He hasn’t had a panic attack in a while, and he’s not even sure that’s what’s happening here, but he can’t risk it.

“You okay?” Buck whispers. He’s intimately familiar with Eddie’s panic attacks, and his elbow nudges Eddie’s lightly as he shifts closer. “Or do you need to get out of here?”

Eddie knows that Buck’s not just asking that, that he’d come with him, no questions asked, and the knowledge of that alone eases some of the tension in his body.

He’s known that he’s in love with Buck for a while now, but Buck still keeps finding ways to make Eddie’s heart beat faster and double down on his feelings. It’d be great under different circumstances, but Eddie still hasn’t worked up the courage to tell him, too scared he’s misreading the signs. So it’s hard, feeling like he’s bursting at the seams with love for Buck.

“No, I’m okay,” he tells Buck, eyes catching on Sullivan’s grieving family again and making his stomach feel lead-heavy. But it’s more sympathy now, and a little less dread. “I think.”

When the bagpipes start to play and Eddie has to swallow thickly, Buck reaches for his hand and entangles their fingers, squeezing tightly. Eddie doesn’t look over, but he squeezes back. And holds on.

~

Nothing is different the night it finally happens. They’re at Eddie’s house, like countless nights before, they watch a movie with Chris and read him a story at bedtime, then head to the kitchen to grab a couple of beers.

Buck’s standing with his head in the fridge, telling Eddie about an article he read earlier on what space smells like (hot metal, apparently), when Eddie says, apropos of nothing: “I love you.”

And Buck hits his head on a shelf in the fridge, making everything on it rattle loudly, a jar of pickles falling over and nearly rolling off the shelf. His instincts take over and he somehow catches it in time and closes the fridge before he turns around, finding Eddie right up in his space, a worried expression on his face and already reaching out to cup the back of Buck’s head where he hit it.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he says, and his face is adorably flushed. Buck still can’t do anything but stare. “Does it hurt?”

“I’m good,” Buck manages to get out, blinking a few times. “I- Eddie, what?”

Eddie closes his eyes and drops his hand, but stays close for now. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to tell you like that.”

“But you meant to tell me?” Buck asks. He lifts a careful hand and grabs a handful of Eddie’s t-shirt to stop him from going anywhere. Something flashes in Eddie’s eyes and Buck smiles, heart beating in his throat.

“Yeah,” Eddie says, and there’s that smile he gives Buck so often, soft and private. “I did. I’m...I don’t have a speech prepared-”

“Eddie,” Buck interrupts, tugging on Eddie’s t-shirt until Eddie takes a stumbling step closer, bracing himself with a hand on Buck’s chest. He can probably feel Buck’s heartbeat like that, and it only beats faster at the thought. They look at each other for a long moment, then Buck tips forward until his forehead rests against Eddie’s. He watches as Eddie’s eyelids flutter closed and closes his own eyes too before he continues. “I don’t need a speech. I just...need you.”

Eddie’s nose brushes against Buck’s, and there’s a smile in his voice when he asks, “You need me?”

“You and Christopher,” Buck says, lifting his free hand to the side of Eddie’s neck. When he strokes his thumb along Eddie’s jawline, Eddie shivers. His hand is warm on Buck’s chest, the other one now holding him by the waist. “If you’ll have me.”

Eddie leans back just enough to look Buck in the eye. “You know Christopher thinks the world of you. And I kind of just told you how in love with you I am, so…”

“Well, you didn’t say it in so many words,” Buck teases, and Eddie shoves at his chest but doesn’t move away. “I love you too, though.”

~

Not much later, they’re on Eddie’s couch. It’s too small for two grown men, but they’re making it work, Eddie thinks. Buck’s sprawled out, half sitting up against the armrest with Eddie between his legs, lying half on top of him, and he’s finally, finally kissing his best friend. Has been for the past hour or ten, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

Buck smiles against his lips and Eddie pulls back.

“What?” he asks.

Buck shrugs, lifting a hand to cup Eddie’s cheek, and Eddie leans into it. “Just happy.”

“Me too,” Eddie smiles. He takes Buck’s other hand and laces their fingers together, marveling at how well they fit. Buck watches him with a smile. “We should do this more often.”

“What, hold hands?”

“We fit, don’t you think?”

“Oh,” Buck says with a gleeful smile, “you’re secretly a romantic, aren’t you?”

“Says you! Did you forget you told me how you once rented a hot air balloon for a date?”

“Well, it’s not a secret that I’m a romantic, I’ve just never seen that side of you. Will I get to see it a lot?”

Eddie lifts his hand to Buck’s face, running a careful thumb over his birthmark. “Maybe. But it’s also not just about being romantic, you know? I like holding your hand, or when you hug me, I like being close to you, because…you make me feel safe. Like I’ll never be alone, like you’ll always be there to have my back.”

“And you’ll have mine,” Buck says, pressing their foreheads together again. Eddie’s pretty sure there are tears in his eyes. “You say that as if it’s not the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Eddie chuckles and shifts a little until he can rest his head on Buck’s shoulder, his ear right above Buck’s heart. “Can we just…stay like this for a while?”

Buck kisses Eddie’s forehead and squeezes his fingers where their hands lie entangled on his chest, his other hand sweeping warmly up and down Eddie’s back.

“For however long you want, Eds.”

[mypoisonedvine]

Consolation || Bucky Barnes x reader

summary: you know it’s probably not great that you always turn to your best friend Bucky whenever you’re especially hurt by your husband.  you know your husband should probably care that you spend so much time with him, but he doesn’t.  which is good, in the end, because you two really are just friends… until you’re not.

word count: 4k

warnings: smut!, infidelity (see summary, reader is married), descriptions of failing/sexless marriage, angst, fluff, ~feelings~

You were good at hiding it— the real reason why you showed up at Bucky's apartment unexpectedly, that is.  

It wasn’t entirely unexpected: you sent a text first, asking if he was down for a movie night, telling him you missed when you used to hang out more.  He did, too, but he had always been afraid your husband would be an issue.  Nice enough guy, but he didn’t seem to trust Bucky entirely… certainly didn’t seem to love that you two were so close.

And who could blame him?  A beautiful, sweet, smart girl like you… he understood why your husband didn’t want you hanging out with other guys when avoidable.  I’ve told him a thousand times, you’re just a friend— you’re just Bucky, you would tell him when you were recounting arguments, explaining why it had been a while since you two had had a chance to catch up.  But Bucky never told you that your husband was right to worry, that he had dreamed since he met you of being more than ‘just a friend,’ that he himself was the reason you two didn’t spend more time together: because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from confessing his feelings.

Because of course he would never make a move on his best friend— on a married woman.  It would be so overwhelmingly inappropriate, such a colossal waste of time; and it wasn’t like he couldn’t handle just being your friend.  Sure, it killed him a little bit sometimes, but it was worth it a million times over to be near you at all.  He would take what he could get… and if that meant platonic movie night because you’d had another argument with your husband, then so be it.

“I stopped by the store on my way; heard your ice cream reserve was depleted,” you explained as you brandished the Ben & Jerry’s before slipping past him to put them in his freezer.  

He watched you walk there, silently hating how comfortable you were in his apartment.  He loved it, but he hated it, too.  

“What are we watching?” you asked, snapping him back to reality.

“Uh, I dunno…”

“You were supposed to pick while I was driving over, genius,” you grumbled sarcastically.

“I narrowed it down to The Ring or You’ve Got Mail,” he decided suddenly.

You chuckled lightly and the sound lifted his spirits. “Okay, so, two drastically different evenings."

“I mean, if you think about it, they’re both about meeting new people through technology,” he corrected.

“Do VHS tapes count as technology?” you raised an eyebrow incredulously.

“They do to me,” he shrugged.

//

With the ice cream supply exhausted and Bucky’s largest plastic bowl now containing only the unpopped kernels and little broken pieces of popcorn that didn’t make the cut, the third act of The Ring was beginning and you were spending more time covering your eyes than not.

“Let me know when the scary part is over,” you requested weakly from between the hands on your face.

“It’s a horror movie; the whole thing is one long scary part!” he laughed.

You peeked out through your fingers only to see another terrifying moment, yelping and hiding yourself in his chest.

He froze, not sure at all what to do with your face pressed against him; he held his breath in case the inflation of his chest would disturb you.  

“I can’t look!” you whimpered, voice muffled by his shirt.

He lifted his hand in consideration of stroking your hair comfortingly, but ultimately decided against it and set it back down.

Thankfully, the movie was almost over and you wouldn’t stay cuddled up to him after it ended— meaning he’d finally be free from the glorious torture of your nearness.

But then the credits were rolling and you still didn’t budge, holding him tight.  At first he thought you were just still scared, but then you took a slow, shaky breath… and he realized something was wrong with you, way beyond just a spooky movie.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly, preparing to hear you explain what really happened with you and your husband that made you come here.

You just shook your head a little against his chest, making him sigh.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he continued, and you hesitated before pulling back and sitting up straight again.  As painful as it had been, he missed your touch already.

“Yes,” you answered, “but I shouldn’t.”

“Okay,” he nodded.

“But I need to.”

“Okay.”

“But I can’t.”

“...okay…”

You groaned and hid your face in your hands— not from fear this time, but exasperation.  “I told myself that if it ever got to this point, I’d tell someone.  But now I… I don’t know.”

“It’s okay,” he soothed.

"He doesn't… we don't…” you started and stopped a few times.  “God, Buck, I can't even say it…"

"You don't have to—" he began to tell you, but you said it anyway, tearing your hands away from your face and looking back at him sternly.

"He hasn't touched me in months.  And today marks an entire year since the last time I had sex."

He tried not to choke when he heard that.  He figured you were just going to say that he was texting a female coworker too much or flip-flopping about if he wanted kids or not.  This was something else entirely.  "Oh… um, wow."

“Yeah.”

He wasn’t sure where to start.  In spite of all his obliviousness, he was pretty sure he should say something, he just didn’t know what.  “And he… he knows that you… want that?  I mean, you’ve like… tried to, you know… initiate things, right?”  He cringed at his own voice, and stupid question.

You laughed a little, in a sad way.  "I've begged him for it, fuck, it's so humiliating.  It doesn't even work.  He's always too tired, not in the mood, busy with something.  And of course I want to respect him and not pressure him into anything but at the same time, I feel so fucking unlovable— so hideous."

"You're not hideous,” he said firmly, more sure of that than anything else he’d said so far.

“I try to believe that, really,” you mitigated, “I try not to take it personally— but fuck, it feels personal.  Do you know how often people talk about sex?  It’s like society has this idea that men just wanna bang twenty-four hours a day and the only thing stopping them is women being prudes.  Do you know what it’s like to hear people talk like that when your husband rejects you every night?  Do you know how it feels to hear your girlfriends complaining about how their boyfriends are pestering them for sex too often, and you’re just sitting there screaming inside your head ‘at least he wants you’?  Bucky, you can’t even imagine…”

“I can’t,” he agreed.  

"It's been so long…” you sighed shakily, collecting yourself before you started again.  “It's been so long since somebody touched me.  I wondered if I would forget what it felt like."

His hand shook a little as he reached out with his flesh hand and brushed it against your arm, staring into your watery eyes and finding less fear there than he expected, thankfully.

"Did you forget?" he asked softly.

"I must have," you mumbled, "it feels better than I remembered."

The heartbreak in your voice made anger bubble up in his chest, amazed at how your husband ever allowed this to happen; ever allowed you to become so touch-starved that even just a brush on your arm made you emotional.  "I can't imagine being with you every day and not wanting to touch you whenever I could get the chance,” he admitted.  “I can't imagine being your husband and not making love to you every day, every hour, whenever you wanted; whenever you'd let me.  I can't imagine having you beg me for something and not giving it to you— I'd give you everything."

He had to fight a gasp as you suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss, a bit sudden at first but melting into something gentle and patient and soft.  

“Then do it,” you whispered as you finally pulled back; he could barely think straight to even process what you were saying.  “Give me everything.”

He nodded a little before he kissed you again, rough but deep and slow.  His hands roamed your body like he'd wished to for so long; his tongue slid against yours and the taste of you drove him wild.

As hard as it was to break from your lips, he moved his kisses down your jaw to your neck, sucking at your pulse as you groaned and clutched at his shoulders through his shirt.

"Fuck," you whispered under your breath, and he must've heard you swear a million times but this time it sounded so different.  

His cock was straining against his jeans already, just from this— it was like he was a fucking teenager again, but to be fair, you'd always had that effect on him: sweaty palms, stammering, sudden boners.  It was like lifelong puberty with you around.

When his fingers toyed with the hem of your shirt, just barely brushing over the skin right above your sweats, you pulled back briefly to pull your shirt off over your head.  He thought it might be awkward if he just stood there gawking at your chest, so he only allowed himself a moment of it before he got back to work holding you tight and kissing your collarbones.

He pulled you closer and you must've felt his cock pressed against you because you gasped a little.  And you must've liked it, because your hand slipped down and rubbed him through the front of his jeans, making him choke on nothing.

“S’big,” you mumbled, and he grinned a little.  

“Feel what you do to me?” he asked softly, and you nodded a little before grabbing his wrist and pulling his hand down your body and into the waistband of your pants.  He shuddered when he felt how warm your skin was, the lacy fabric of your panties, the slick folds you guided his fingers through.

“Feel what you do to me?” you shot back, but your cockiness faded when he circled his middle finger over your swollen bud.  He loved the way your body reacted so easily, subtle little gasps and shivers, your hips jolting forward for more stimulation.  You both moaned when he pushed a finger into your channel, your walls already pulsing around him.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

You whispered your approval and he twisted the finger inside you.  Even just that made you let out a heavy breath, your hands reaching down to grip his wrist— they didn’t push him away, thankfully, just reminded him to be gentle with you as he added the second finger, pushing a bit deeper than before.

“More,” you whimpered your plea, “I want more.”

For a second he thought you meant more fingers, but then you opened your eyes and gave him a look… that look.  

It made it abundantly clear that fingers weren’t going to be enough.  After all, you had asked him to give you everything.  So he gladly obliged when you started to tug at his shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it aside.  You lifted your hips to let him pull down your sweats, not giving him much time to drink in the sight of you before you started opening his fly for him.

Being undressed by you made his heart race; the way you rushed, like you couldn’t wait a moment longer to have him, was flattering yet relatable.

You sighed when you got his cock out, instantly wrapping your hand around his shaft and stroking.  He shuddered at the softness of your hands, at your gentle but persistent exploration.  Clearly it had been a while since you’d gotten the chance to interact with a dick, but it didn’t show in any lack of skill— if anything it just made you more eager, your grip firm but your touches gentle.  He kissed you again, holding your face in one hand and leaning you back with the other until you were laid on the couch and he was hovering over you.

He guided your hand away from his cock, replacing it with his own as he guided the weeping head over your slick folds, smiling at your gasp when he bumped against your clit.

“Do you want this?” he asked, fully prepared for you to back out now before you did something you really couldn’t take back.

“Yes.”  Your answer was more confident than he was expecting, but he still couldn’t really believe it.  It was just too good to be true.  So he had to check again.

“...are you sure?”

"Don't make me beg, Bucky," you whimpered, "I've done it enough, I can't do it again.  Just make love to me— I need you inside me, please…"

Your head fell back as he pushed into you, your nails digging into his shoulders until he stopped from fear of hurting you (even though it took more willpower than he knew he had).

"Don't stop," you whined, "need to feel all of you, Bucky, please please don't stop—"

He definitely didn't have enough willpower to resist that.  Slamming into you all at once, he hissed as you cried out, baring his teeth at the sight of you quivering and moaning beneath him.

"I— I need a second," you explained, voice tight with ill-concealed pain, "it's been a while.”

"I can wait," he nodded, "I won't move until you're ready."

He could tell you were struggling, because how could you not be when you felt so fucking tight around him?  He guided you to breathe slowly with him, feeling your body relax slightly and noticing the way your face untwisted as you became more comfortable.

You nodded a little, but he needed to hear you say it.  "Fuck me," you whispered.

And he did.  

He still kept his pace measured and relaxed, savoring every inch of you— savoring your reactions to every inch of him.

But watching your face was going to push him towards the edge too fast, and he wanted to make this last if possible, so he leaned down to suck on your neck, thoroughly tasting your skin as you moaned and writhed beneath him.  It felt incredible to surround your body with his, to cage you in and pin you down with his weight— it made him feel like he could protect you, keep you safe, even though he knew he couldn’t save you from heartache as much as he wanted to.

If you wanted someone to touch you, to give you affection, to make love to you and make you feel loved, then you’d come to the right place.  That came to him naturally; the hard part was going to be letting you go, letting this be the one-time favor for a friend that he already knew it was.

“You feel so good,” he found himself whispering against your skin, just beside your ear, “so good for me.”

The praise must have had a strong effect on you, because your walls tightened around him suddenly.

“So perfect,” he continued, wanting to feel it again, “my perfect girl.”  And you weren’t his girl, but maybe he could pretend you were; you certainly seemed to enjoy pretending, with the way your moans egged him on.  “God, baby, your pussy feels so fucking good around my cock.”

“Bucky,” you whined, arching your back, and he grinned because it was obvious that you responded even better to dirty talk than praise.

“You like that, huh?  You like makin’ me feel good?” he pressed, laughing a little when you nodded feverishly.  “Fuck, such a good girl… takin’ me so good, so fuckin’ deep…”

You grabbed him by his hair to make him kiss you again, hungry lips smashing against his.

Inspired by your passion but afraid of what he’d do with all of this control, he wrapped his arms around you and hoisted you up until he was sitting while you straddled him, looking up at you with a grin.  "Ride me, pretty girl, show me how bad you want it," he instructed lowly.  The way you rocked your hips and threw your head back was everything he'd dreamed it would be, increased exponentially.  Of course, he'd never told anyone that he dreamed about that, but he'd also never thought it could ever come true.  He ran his hands over every part of you he could reach, just to make sure it was real; just to make sure he memorized the feel of you while he could.

He leaned forward and wrapped his lips around a hardened nipple, sucking gently and smirking a little when you moaned loudly.  “You’re sensitive here,” he noted aloud, kissing his way to the other nipple but still teasing the first with his metal fingers.

Your moans came faster and louder, your fingers combing through his hair and pulling seemingly unintentionally.  He noticed that you let your eyes fall shut, your head crane back, and although he was glad that it was a sign of pleasure, he wanted to see you; he wanted you to see him, know that it was him making you feel this way.  so, he reached up and cupped your face in his hand, cradling your cheek, pulling you closer to look at him, staring into your eyes— and he knew it wasn't a subtle move, wasn't believable as a guy just helping out a friend, but he didn't care anymore.  When he kissed you again, it almost felt like you meant it, too; like you wanted him first, and not just as a consolation prize.

But you pulled back a little too soon, a reminder to both of you that this couldn’t be anything more than what it was.

Your hips gyrated faster and more vigorously, his hands gripping you tight and guiding your movements while you sighed and bit your lip.  You looked so indescribably good when you were immersed in pleasure like this, your hands gripping his shoulders tightly for balance, your chest swelling and deflating with quick breaths.

“So fucking beautiful,” he whispered below his breath as his hand softly trailed from your collarbone down to your thigh.  The sounds you made were constantly changing, a little more high-pitched and needy now as you rode him faster.  He was already picking up on the little signs that you were getting closer: your thighs flexing where they were straddled beside his own, how your body jolted and shivered in his grasp, your eyes wrenched shut and your skin breaking out into goosebumps.

Already he knew your body so well, but he knew there was so much more he would never get the chance to discover.  For now, he’d just have to settle for a preview of all the perfect little ways you fell apart.

And, in the interest of speeding that process up a bit, he reached down to where your bodies were joined and circled a thumb over your clit.

“Fuck!” you yelped, your inner muscles bearing down on him out of nowhere until he was forced to groan from your tightness.

“You close?” he stammered out, way less confident than he meant it to be.  He should’ve said something cool like ‘I know you’re close’ or ‘aw, baby, does that feel good?’ but no, he was too far gone and gave his own desperation away.

"Yes, baby, I'm so close," you sighed, "I'm gonna come— you're gonna make me come."

You said it with a hint of shock in your voice, like you could barely believe it.  He couldn't believe it, either, because it was surely too good to be true.

"Come for me," he instructed firmly, pulling you closer until his nose brushed against yours, "say my name when I make you come."

It was unfair, but he needed to pretend you were his for just a moment.  Only his.

"Bucky," you whimpered shakily.  Your walls tightened around him so perfectly, over and over, until it took everything in him not to bust right then.  "Bucky, I'm coming, fuck, I'm coming—"

"I know," he whispered, "I know, pretty girl, keep going."

Your nails dug into his skin, but he couldn’t even notice the pain when he was watching your face as you came— it was tight and twisted at first, before falling into a gasp and a moan that made his heart swell along with his cock that painted your walls the absolute second he knew you’d come.  It was intense, not just from holding back for so long, but from knowing he was coming inside you.

He sighed and started to catch his breath as you slumped forward and buried your face in the crook of his neck.  His arms wrapped around you and pulled you closer, the warmth of your body nearly overwhelming now as he felt little aftershocks ripple through your channel around where he was still within you.

"Thank you," you whispered, so quiet he could barely hear it.  But he did, and he nodded a little as he rested his face against yours, stroking your hair gently.  You held each other in silence for a long time, so long that when your breathing slowed down significantly and he could feel your body relax entirely, he realized you had fallen asleep.  

Carefully, he held you tighter so he could stand up and carry you to his bedroom, your body instinctively wrapping around him like a koala… like even in your sleep, you could act all adorable and break his heart just that much more.  

He did his best to tread quietly and gently, laying you down onto the bed and only then pulling his softened cock out of you, finding his discarded boxers to put back on before joining you between the sheets.  

He knew you would be gone in the morning but he indulged himself in holding you tonight, breathing your scent and pressing your back against his chest.  He didn't want to fall asleep because he didn't want to miss a second of your body wrapped in his, but it was impossible not to with the soft pace of your breathing almost rocking him to sleep like a beautiful lullaby.

Where there was warmth and peace before, he awoke to cold and emptiness— both between his sheets and in himself.

It’s not like he really expected you to stay, and even if you had it wouldn’t mean that you would leave your husband for your best friend, that this would have ever been anything more than a glimpse of what could’ve been in another life or another universe.

He could still smell you, barely, and he buried his face in the sheets to take it all in before it faded away.  When it was gone, he pulled back only to find a wet patch of his tears there instead.

[kngcrms]

Summer Vs La Squadra

(La Squadra, GN!Reader, SFW, Fluff/Crack)

Risotto

Second best at handling the heat.

Stays in his office with 20 fans turned on.

Shorts and tank top since black leather+ hat don't go well with the Italian weather.

Checks up on everyone.

"Drink some water"

If you're on a mission he calls you mid-fight to make sure you're ok/hydrated.

Comes home from the store with 5 packs of ice cubes just to be sure everyone is cool.

"You shouldn't drink that. It will not hydrate you. Also, use more sunscreen."

Prosciutto

Do I even have to explain?

Mama mode.

Water provider. Gives you more water once you drank 3 nite glasses.

You had a mission and didn't wear a hat to protect yourself from the sun? Grounded.

Carries moisturizer with him 24/7.

Performs even better in missions from the heat.

Takes baths in cold water.

His face turns red from sun exposure.

"...Me?Sweat?Are you nuts?!"

Formaggio

The cocktail man.

Mixes alcohol as if he was a chemist.

Doesn't even try to handle the heat-you'll see him only in his shorts.

Tries to cuddle you at night but the room has at least 30 degrees Celsius.

Buys a pool and puts ice in it.

Grooms his cats religiously and gives them cold water daily.

Beach volleyball with Formaggio.

Once tried to get inside the fridge.

"Why is it so hot outside...I feel like burning up!"

Illuso

Outside? Never heard of it.

20 fans turned on in his room + AC at the coldest setting.

Always has his hair up cause it's too hot to even style it anymore.

You tried once to drag him outside the house to touch the grass.

Boom-sunburned.

Will do anything to stay cool.

If you ever get to go out with him on a cute date, it's only in the evening or at night.

Waterproof mascara so it doesn't sweat off his face.

"I wish we lived in Antarctica..."

Pesci

The poor man can't handle the Italian heat.

Bathes in ice.

Makes homemade ice cream and lemonade to keep everyone cool.

Prays every night to rain.

Goes fishing at night and night only.

Takes you with him ofc <3

Just like Prosciutto, his face goes red from sun exposure.

Flips the pillow every 3 minutes.

Shuffles in bed for an hour then finally says he can't sleep from the heat.

"Amore, when will it rain again?"

Melone

Good luck.

If you live together, he'll walk around the house naked.

Shame doesn't exist in his vocabulary.

Gets an inflatable pool and puts it inside the house/apartment.

Buys ice cream and cold drinks.

Gets tan really quick.

Once he can't handle the heat anymore, he'll drive the both of you to the ocean side.

Could sleep in the pool if you'd let him.

Feels blessed if the weather suddenly changes.

"May God forgive the sun, but I won't."

Ghiaccio

Portable freezer

Best at handling hot weather.

Cling on him and you'll never be bothered by the heat ever again.

Life is easier.

Could go out in winter clothes and wouldn't be bothered.

The first person you call when temperatures go higher than 43 degrees Celsius.

When the heat actually gets to him, he'll get angry-like REALLY angry.

Ice-inator™

"Seriously, what's up with this weather?"

Sorlato

Sorbet can handle the summer heat, but Gelato is a complete mess without water and an AC.

Suddenly they want to travel to Egypt.

Why?

"To live the full experience of the Egyptian weather"

Both pull out the water guns and water hose.

You know what happens next.

Go out at night since it gives different vibes.

"Tesoro, tomorrow we're going to Venezia, on Tuesday we have a flight to Egypt, and next week we are probably going to visit some county in Asia."

[soccerximagines]

Could you do a Jesse Lingard imagine? One where you're his daughters babysitter and every time he's off to training, you're at his place, babysitting Hope. He's had feelings for you since you started working with them a few months ago and Hope practically is crazy in love with you. One day Jesse makes it home early, catching you baking with his little princess while singing to Frozen songs and debating about which ice cream flavour is best. Your shift doesn't finish till another hour so you're still around, this time Jesse joining in on the rest of your activities and he watches while you put Hope out for her nap, adoring you more. You have small talk as you make your way to leave but before you do, he asks you out.

Ooo I'm excited for this one, thank you!

Babysitting

Whenever someone found out about your job, which was babysitting Jesse Lingards' daughter, they were incredibly jealous. "I bet you love your job," they would say, "being able to work for one of the sexiest footballers out there!"

However, the truth was that you barely saw Jesse apart from at the beginning and end of your shifts. The rest of the time you were on your own with Hope.

Nevertheless, they were right, you did love your job. Hope was an amazing kid, both funny, sweet and fairly easy to care for. On top of that it paid way more than any of your previous babysitting gigs.

Today had started of as any other day; you going over to Jesse's house to watch Hope. Jesse greeted you as you arrived, the two of you having a quick chat before he had to leave. However, what differed from other days was the small "good luck" he had thrown your way before getting in his car.

It turned out that the normally cheerful Hope was in quite the mood; grumpily not going along with any of the things you suggested that you could do.

"Do you want to go play outside in the rain?"

"No!" She huffed, crossing her arms sassily.

"Do you want to draw something?"

"No!"

Eventually you suggested that you could bake some brownies for when her dad returned from practice. Luckily she agreed to that, her previous mood completely replaced with a cheery one.

Immediately afterwards the two of you got to work as you put on her absolute favorite soundtrack in the entire world; the one from Frozen.

The music was still playing when Jesse returned from his practice early, making his return unnoticed by the two of you.

Instead of greeting you immediately he stood in the doorway into the kitchen, watching you do the dishes while the brownies were in the oven. You and Hope were also talking about the cake you were going to eat.

"Ice cream too?" Hope asked, giving you pleading eyes.

"Are you kidding? Ice cream to brownies is mandatory!" You giggled, poking her nose playfully.

Hope wanted chocolate flavor, but you tried to tell her that vanilla was a better choice. "Since the brownies are made of chocolate it might be a bit too much chocolate then," you tried to reason, "plus vanilla is much better anyways!"

"Chocolate is best. Silly Y/N," Hope scoffed - making you laugh.

Eventually Jesse decided to make his presence known, walking into the kitchen and greeting you.

"Daddy!" Hope squealed and ran over to hug him.

"Hi princess!" He lifted her up and held her in his arms.

"You're home early!" You commented, giving him a polite smile.

"Yeah, we finished a bit earlier as a reward for our recent win," he shrugged.

You didn't quite know what to do next. Your shift didn't end for another hour or so, and the brownies weren't even finished yet, but now that Jesse was home you didn't want to overstay your welcome.

"I should probably get going then," you awkwardly said - not quite sure if you were telling him about leaving, or asking if you should.

"No," Hope protested as she heard you, "Y/N, stay!"

Jesse agreed with his daughter. "You should stay, at least until the brownies are done. Can't have you making them and not even getting a taste."

"That would be tragic," you stated with a laugh, giving in and deciding to stay a little longer.

If Jesse was honest with himself he was happy that he got to spend a little time with you too. From the start he had been attracted to you, but when he saw how great you were with Hope; and he got to know you better through small talk, the attraction had evolved into something more. He had even contemplated asking you out for a while now, but the fear of rejection held him back. Maybe you would find it weird seeing how he technically was your boss.

Before any of you could say another word your timer went off; indicating that the brownies were done. Hope clapped her hands together in glee, knowing what the sound meant. "Brownies!"

The three of you ate the brownies together in harmony. Jesse had gotten both chocolate and vanilla flavored ice cream out of the freezer, trying to make both his girls happy. Well, although you technically weren't his girl, he definitely wanted you to be.

You laughed and joked around with each other, all whilst listening to the Frozen soundtrack - that Hope refused to let you turn off.

After the brownies had been eaten it was time for Hope's afternoon nap. Jesse got up to take her, but you beat him to it. "I'll do it," you smiled and carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Jesse trailed after you and watched as you laid her down and sung her favorite bedtime song, staying with her until she fell asleep.

You blushed as you felt his gaze on you, but kept your own gaze on Hope. Although you never dared to admit it to anyone you had developed a small crush on the footballer. You never said anything though, afraid he would find it weird since you worked for him.

Eventually you got up and faced him with a smile. "Well, I guess that it my cue to leave for today." He nodded, "I'll walk you to the door."

You grabbed your coat and said your goodbyes; but the minute you stepped outside you heard him speak up again.

"Would you," he cleared his voice before continuing, "would you like to go out for dinner sometime? Just the two of us, no Hope."

You smiled and internally cheered, happy he felt the same way that you did.

"Yeah, sounds like a date."

[fbfh]

I think you've horribly misread the situation [shitty roommate pt 2] - leo x reader

wc: 2.3k

genre: contemporary drama, you're definitly going to get second hand embarrassment, cozy fluff

pairing: leo x reader, attempted isabella x leo

reader: gender neutral, they/them

requested: hell yeah

warnings: mild swearing, roommate tries to steal your man once again, mentions of various mainstream vampire media (twilight, the vampire diaries etc.), brief mention of castlevania (even though i haven't seen it yet lol), breif mention of videogames and assassins creed, very mild delusion (roommate is secretly convinced leo is a vampire that's in love with her), attempted age gap relationship (she's 17 and leo's 19, he shuts that down real fast), very bad poetry

summary: You and Leo are both looking foward to spending a long weekend together, and Leo is determined not to let anything interrupt it, even if it means turning down your roommate's attempts to seduce him in the kitchen.

a/n: absolutley no hate or shade or judgement to anyone who has the same or similar traits as isabella!!!!!! at her core she's annoying because she's the antagonist, not bc of any isolated trait or traits

also she's shitty cause she keeps trying to steal your boyfriend?????

Edit: I forgot to mention before, but this is a college au where you're both still demigods, so you went to camp and on quests and stuff together

This weekend is going to be all about recharging. Recharging from the ridiculous back to back closing and opening shifts at work, recharging from having to redo that stupid project twice because your professor couldn’t decide on a clear way to define the criteria, and recharging from Isabella having her townie friend Regan over almost non stop to “completely shake up her look” as she put it.

Between the constant presence of someone you’d barely consider an acquaintance and Big Time Rush’s self titled album blasting on repeat out of her giant airpod shaped speaker, it’s been harder than usual to get in some effective self care. You have no idea how many more times you can hear the phrase “I’m going for Jade West meets Elena Gilbert, with just a little Buffy Summers” before you lose your fucking mind.

Thankfully, the hard part is almost over. There’s some minor holiday tomorrow on friday, so you and Leo both have a three day weekend ahead of you, which you intend to spend entirely together. You planned ahead, frontloading homework, chores, errands, and everything you could think of to remove anything that isn’t cuddling or playing video games and watching netflix together from your horizon.

This includes going straight from work to the grocery store to stock the fridge and get any snacks you and Leo want. You had texted him a while ago asking for anything he was craving, and head into the store with a concrete list. After a while, you circle around some aisles, avoiding the check out.

“I feel like I’m forgetting something,” you muse, knowing it’s untrue, but hoping to trigger a memory anyway. You can’t put it off any longer, finally checking out and heading back to your apartment. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t avoiding Isabella just a little.

You know bringing in all these groceries would be way easier with Isabella and possibly Regan’s help, but you just don’t have the social energy to talk to anyone, much less her, right now. By some miracle, you bring everything in yourself, and hope to get it put away before you see Isabella.

You turn to the freezer, putting away the ice cream. When you turn back around, you’re suddenly met face to face with Isabella, who has opened one of the boxes and is picking at a pastry.

“Hey girlie,” she says, elongating the hey.

“Hey,” you reply lethargically, putting the last of the groceries away. She looks at the pastry in her hand like she’s just noticing it.

“Sorry, I can’t help it, I’m italian.” She smiles, endeared by her own behavior. You have no idea what being italian has to do with asking before you open a box of your roommate’s food, but this really isn’t out of character for her. She brings up the fact that she’s half italian more than Lele Pons blames her behavior on being latina.

She’s wearing sweatpants that say chaser on the leg in red and gold varsity font, and a tight tee shirt that says “it’s okay to love them both” with silhouettes of the male love interests from one of the vampire shows she always watches. You collect the plastic bags to put in recycling, and see a piece of paper on the counter.

It reads as follows:

Drowning in my mind

No one hears me cry

Who was I before society

Before society put me in a pink dress

And handed me blonde hair dye

And told me to lose ten pounds or be labeled a freak?

The happiest people cry the most

Let the lyrics be your story

But I’m not like the other skinny blonde pretty girls

I’m

Different

-b.g. xox

You hold back a sigh.

“I think this is yours.” you say, handing it to her.

“Oh, it’s just some of my poetry I left lying around, that’s so embarrassing.”

I know, you think, you do that all the time.

“Did you read it?” She asks, hopefully.

“Nope.”

“Thank god, that would have been so embarrassing. My poetry is something really… deep, and personal to me.”

“Uh huh. Hey, I’m going to be doing a lot of self care this weekend, so-”

“Oh!” she interjects, eerily similar to Phoebe Buffay - you guess she’s been watching friends again - “I wanted to ask… is Leo coming over later?” Her voice is riddled with subtext, the expression on her face a little too invested in your answer.

“Uh, yeah. I told you the other day we’re spending the weekend together…”

She cuts you off again, a sudden, intense look on her face.

“When will he be here?”

You check your phone, scrolling through your recent texts.

“By 7 at the latest.” It’s around 6:40 now.

“Oh my god, I have to change,” she rushes back to her room, presumably digging through her recent additions to her closet.

You’re frozen for a minute after the interaction, left with a furrowed brow and the beginnings of a headache. You blink, then choose to reschedule processing why she feels the need to change for your boyfriend to a more convenient time. That’s enough of that for today. You don’t care what else happens, you’re not talking to anyone besides Leo for at least the rest of the day. You retreat to your room to finally shower and change into something comfy. As you pass by Isabella’s room, you hear her talking to Regan.

“...There’s something almost… supernatural about him.”

You bite back a laugh.

“Do you think he’s a…” Regan begins, ending the sentence with something too quiet to hear, but you’d bet almost any organ she said vampire.

So close. So, so close, and yet… here you are.

Not much later, Leo texts you to let you know he’s here. You read his text, and run out to hug him in the living room before even typing a reply. He picks you up, and spins you around. The embrace is warm and fulfilling and familiar, and you wish it would last forever.

“Hi, Sparky.” you murmur into his neck.

“Estrella…” he says, rocking you back and forth gently and pressing a kiss into your jawline, “I missed you so much.” He punctuates the sentence with another kiss, this one to your lips, and you smile more genuinely than you have all day. You’re about to agree when you remember the good news you’ve been saving to tell him in person.

“Guess what I got on sale for like, half off,” you start, excitedly, continuing at his invested expression, “the Assassin’s Creed bundle I showed you!”

“No way,” he starts, and you nod.

“I’ll go get everything set up, drinks are in the kitchen!” He watches you retreat into your room, disbelieving how he could possibly get someone as perfect as you to fall for him. He’s not going to question his luck. He grabs a couple caffeinated sparkling ices, and meets you in your room, setting down his bag and grabbing some comfy clothes to change into.

As you both get settled in, you fill each other in on all the ridiculous shit you’ve been through this week. You finally conclude the bizarre - yet somehow standard - Isabella escapades.

“So I will be avoiding all contact as much as possible,” you laugh.

“Yeah, no shit,” he agrees, “Consider me your human buffer.” You thank him, hugging him again and pressing a kiss to his lips.

The next couple hours are spent cuddling and finishing season 4 of Castlevania. Both reeling from the season finale, you agree this is a good place to take a break, get some food, and decide what game you should start with. It’s already 10pm, which most people would consider too late for dinner, but you have all weekend to fuck up your sleep schedules.

“Let’s review,” Isabella says, holding up two red lipsticks. She turns to Regan. “Which one?”

“That one,” Regan says, pointing to the one on the left, then turns to her list, and continues. “Here’s what we know; we’ve never seen him eat, and he never seems tired. He’s really smart-”

“Almost too smart,” Isabella adds, selecting black rose dangle earrings from her jewelry. Regan agrees, and continues.

“He’s almost hypnotically attractive, and his smile is a little too dazzling.”

“There’s something… supernatural about him. Like he’s not… all human.”

Regan writes this down.

“Plus he’s always wearing black and red, and those flowy button up shirts? It’s all adding up, Ree. That dream that someone was outside my window, the ring, everything…” She says, referencing the black and red cocktail ring she’d found with her stuff when she’d first moved, “I’m not saying it’s definite, just that… there’s a chance.”

“What about…” Regan says hesitantly, nodding toward your room.

“Please,” she scoffs, “he’s only with them to get close to me, like Damon and Caroline. Edward couldn’t have just approached Bella out of the blue, he had to infiltrate her friend group first, to seem less suspicious. Not to sound mean or anything, but they really don’t seem like the type someone… like him… would choose.” her voice gets dreamy when she mentions him.

In spite of having seen most mainstream vampire media almost as many times as Isabella, Regan still considers her the expert on these things, and decides not to point out that Edward didn’t infiltrate Bella’s friend group. Maybe it comes up in one of the retellings she hasn’t read yet.

“So, what now?”

Isabella sets down her lipstick, and turns to her friend.

“I tell him.”

Regan’s eyes widen.

“You’re going to tell him you know?”

“No… not yet. It’s too soon, we don’t have enough evidence. I’m going to tell him I know he’s in love with me, then once he’s secure in our relationship... we’ll see where it goes.”

She stands up, assessing herself in the mirror. She chose her outfit carefully; short red dress with black roses and black mesh collar, black rose bracelet to match her earrings, snug faux leather jacket, and black stiletto ankle booties with a very skinny heel, the zipper on the outside gold, not silver. She fluffs her wavy hair and turns towards the door. She looks back one more time, holding onto the doorway.

“Wish me luck.”

Leo enters the kitchen, seeing Isabella already there, leaning against the counter seductively. She’s wearing an outfit and jewelry this late at night that makes Leo wonder if she’s going to an emo tea party. He puts the takeout in the microwave. She’s still staring at him.

“Uh… hey.”

She lets out a dainty giggle, looking him up and down.

“... Hi.”

At a loss for words, and really wanting the awkward silence to be over, he continues, “Did you need something?”

“What I need,” she walks closer to him, tracing her finger over his collar, “is you.”

What the fuck?

His brain seems to stall for a moment, and she uses this opportunity to continue.

“I know why you’re here. I know that you’re only using them to get closer to me. I know-”

“Woah-”

“That you’re in love with me.”

Okay, double what the fuck.

She takes his stunned silence as shyness, and steps closer, putting her arms around his shoulders.

“You don’t need to play so coy, I-”

This time she’s the one that gets cut off. He grabs her arms and gently steps away, trying to make it abundantly clear that he’s not into this.

“Woah, okay, slow down. First of all, you’re 17 and I’m turning 20 in a couple months, so that’s a hard no. Second, I don’t know where you got this idea, but I am not dating them to get closer to you. We’ve known each other since we were like, 15, and have been through everything together. I’ve only known you for a couple months. I love them. Probably more than I’ve loved anything ever. I thought that was pretty obvious.”

He doesn’t want to be mean, he really doesn’t, but he can tell from the look on her face that she still thinks this is all part of some game.

“So why don’t I ever see you eat? Why are you so smart, and always up at night? I know what you are.”

He has to physically hold back a laugh. He takes a step back, and places his hands on the counter.

“Isabella, I have adhd. And I’m literally an engineering student. Why wouldn’t I be smart and have a shitty sleep schedule?”

She starts to protest, and he pulls out the reheated take out from the microwave.

“And for the record, I do eat.”

Exiting the kitchen quickly and retreating back to your room, he hands you your food.

“I got the game set up!” you say excitedly.

“Nice!”

You take one look at his face and can tell something happened. He sees this, and continues.

“I just had a very… interesting interaction with Isabella,” before he finishes the sentence, your head is already in your hands. You let out a groan.

“What did she do?” you mutter from behind your hands.

He pulls you into his lap, rubbing your back.

“I’m not totally sure,” you laugh, “but I think she thinks I’m secretly in love with her…” you’re both laughing before he can even finish the sentence.

“No…” you laugh, “no fucking way…”

“Believe me, I put an end to that as soon as it started.”

“Oh, I do.”

He runs his hand over your back, and you’re quiet for a moment.

“You know,” he continues, “I think getting our own place has definitely moved up the priority list.”

You couldn’t agree more.